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THE BOOK OF THE PEARL
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In the folk-song of Servia is a pretty little poem which testifies to the love they bear to pearls :
A
youth unmated prays to God, To turn him to pearls in the sea, Where the
maidens come to fill their urns ; That so they might gather him into
their laps, And string him on a fine green thread, And wear him pendant
from the neck ; That he might hear what each one said, And whether his
loved one spoke of him.
His
prayer was granted and he lay Turned to pearls in the dark blue sea,
Where the maidens come to fill their urns ; Then quickly they gather
him into their laps, And string him on a green silk thread, And wear
him pendant from the neck ; So he hears what each one says of her own
And what his loved one says of him.1
In
the days when romance and chivalry held sway in Europe, pearls and
other favors were presented by ladies for the brave knights to wear at
tournaments. And we are told in the Arthurian legends how Elaine, "the
lily maid of Astolat," gave to Sir Lancelot "a red sleeve of scarlet,
embroidered with great pearls," for him to wear on his helmet : and
"then to her tower she climbed and took the shield, there kept it and
so lived in fantasy" ; while he fought and won at the tilt, "wearing
her scarlet sleeve, tho' carved and cut, and half the pearls away."2
The
sweet sentiment of purity associated with the pearl ennobles it above
all other gems. Rabanus Maurus, archbishop of Mainz, wrote, about 850,
that "mystically, the pearl signifies the hope of the Kingdom of
Heaven, or charity and the sweetness of celestial life."3
True, it was not among the twelve gems which adorned the breastplate of
the high priest of the Temple, symbolical of the twelve apostles. A
Father of the Church—St. Augustine, we believe—explains this by saying
that it was reserved for a more sacred office, that of representing
Christ himself.
Pearl'signifies
purity, innocence, humility, and a retiring spirit. All stones of the
gray color of the pearl have the significances which are given to this
beautiful gem.4
1 Translated from Klenn, "Culturge- 3 "Opera omnia," Paris, 1864, Vol. V, p. 473.
schichte," Leipzig, 1852, Vol. X, p. 318. 4 W. & G. Audsley, "Handbook of Christian
'Tennyson, "Idylls of the King." Symbolism," London, 1865, p. 140.
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