Precious Stones as Objects of Commerce. 45
the
true Diamond. Ezekiel says of the Tynans :—" Thou hast been in Eden,
the Garden of God ,· every precious stone was thy covering, the
Sardius, Topaz and the Diamond, the Beryl, the Onyx, and the Jasper,
the Sapphire, the Emerald, and the Carbuncle. . . . Thou hast walked up
and down in the midst of the stones of fire." (Ez. xxviii. 13, 14).
The
Chaldeans—who were the most superstitious people, and seem to have
initiated the Jews into their mysteries, and their charms against evil
and mischance— perverted the precious stones from their purpose of
ornament and even of usefulness into idolatrous amulets, and fixed on
them superstitious attributes, from which it has been found impossible
to dissociate them, even at the present day.
In early times the Diamond was worn rough, or
polished only on its upper surface. It was in this form that it was
used to ornament temples, stage goblets, reliquaries, and crowns. In
India the native uncut stones are still prized under the name of Naifes.
It
was not until the time of Charles VII. that the French ladies began to
adorn themselves with Diamonds. The well-known Agnes Sorrel was
probably a leader of this fashion. Under Francis I. the ladies indulged
to such an extent in Diamond ornaments that it gave rise to the saying,
that " the ladies of France carried mills, forests, and lands, on their
shoulders." The Luxus or Sumptuary Laws, in the reign of Charles IX.
and Henry IV., were aimed at this extravagance.
After
the introduction of the art of Diamond-cutting by Louis de Berquem,
Diamonds were largely used for ornament ; and at the present day a
lady's dress is not considered complete without them.
