taught theology in the famous University of Paris.29
After noting the old dictum according to which the sapphire was the
"gem of gems" and one worthy to adorn the fingers of kings,
Bartolomaeus proceeds to instruct his readers in regard to the
wonderful curative powers of this beautiful gem. These appear always to
be connected with its supposed calming and cooling influence. Thus it
reduced the temperature in fevers and checked the flow of blood; for
instance, if attached to the temples it stopped nose-bleed; if the
heart were unduly excited, this agitation could be controlled by the
power of the sapphire. Too profuse perspiration was also checked if a
sapphire were worn. It shared with the diamond the virtue of
reconciling discord. Its power as an antidote to poison was believed to
be proved by an experiment in which a spider was placed in a box with a
sapphire. After a short time the poor spider expired, done to death by
the supreme virtue of the celestial stone. A like story was told by
ancient writers in regard to the emerald. Of course, the chastening
virtues of the sapphire are not forgotten, virtues which have caused it
to be selected as especially appropriate for the rings of cardinals and
high church dignitaries ; this belief arose from the association of
purity with the color of the heavens, the pure, unadulterated blue of
the cloudless sky.
One of the rarest and most beautiful of the corundum gems of Ceylon is locally known there by the name padpara-sham. It
is of a most rare and delicate orange-pink hue, the various specimens
showing many different blendings of the pink and orange. The
significance of the Cinghalese name seems to be somewhat obscure, but a
probable conjecture explains it to mean "hidden ray of light"; another
etymology
"
From a XIII century MS. of his work, " De Proprietatibus Kerum," foL
clzi, recto and verso. This vellum MS. was originally in the possession
of the Carthusian Monastery of the Holy Trinity at Dijon. Now the
property of I. Martini of New York.
