RELIGIOUS USES OF PRECIOUS STONES 269
yet
the most sceptical cannot fail to be impressed by the fact that such a
stone was found at the time and place of the Passion Play. As Max
Müller said, in commenting on this strange discovery: "The chapter of
accidents is much larger than we imagine," and the present writer feels
disposed to add that it is remarkable how often we find what we are
looking for, especially if we are only looking or thinking of one
object or subject.
The
religious symbolism of the diamond was a favorite theme with the
thirteenth century "lapidaria," or rhymed treatises on precious stones.
Just as it could only be discovered by night—an old fancy—so was the
Incarnation a hidden mystery ; it gave forth a great light, just as
Jesus illumined the depths of Hades when he descended thither; it was
unconquerably hard, and who can resist the might of God?67
^
The
mediaeval Italians who were fond of seeking some hidden and significant
meaning in the names of precious stones, in the case of the diamond
(diamante), read the phrase amante di Dio, or "lover of God."68 This was a reason for regarding the brilliant gem as a sacred stone and one especially suitable for religious use.
The
Rosicrucians, who sought to combine pagan with Christian types and
figures, saw in the amethyst and the amethystine color a symbol of the
divine male sacrifice, since the stone and the color were typical of
love, truth, passion, suffering, and hope. The love of Christ led him
to make the supreme sacrifice and suffer the agony of the Cross, and
the Crucifixion was followed by
"
Barbier de Montault, " Le Trésor de l'Abbaye de Sainte-Croix de
Poitier"; in Mém. de la Soc. d'Antiq. de l'Ouest, Sec. Ser., vol. lv,
1881, pp. 105, 106 ; Poitiers, 1882.
68 Italian MS. of the fourteenth century in the author's library ; fol. 41 b.
