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ON THE VIRTUES OF FABULOUS STONES 163
toad
for a whole night, it did not eject anything, and from this time I
became convinced all the tales concerning this stone were merely fond
imaginings.
A
stone called simply the "Indian Stone," and said to be light and
porous, is noted by pseudo-Aristotle, and to it is attributed the power
to relieve those suffering from dropsy, by drawing the water to itself.
If weighed after having been applied to the patient, the stone was
found to have increased in weight in proportion to the amount of water
absorbed, and when it was placed in the sun, water of a yellowish hue
exuded, until, finally, the stone resumed
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its original appearance and weight.3 Another and perhaps earlier authority gives the name "toad-stone" to this material.*
The
toad-stone was not only an antidote for poisons, but was also thought
to give warning of their presence by becoming very hot. To fully profit
by this strange quality, the wearer of such a stone was advised to have
it so set in a ring that it would touch the skin ; in this way he would
be
* Rose, " Aristoteles de lapidibus und Arnoldus Saxo," Zeitschr. für d. Alt., New Series, vol. vi, 1875, pp. 373, 374.
* Petra, " Specilegium Solesmense," Parisiis, 1856, p. 370.
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