Ancient Ideas on their Origin and Virtues, 49
inscription occurring on the obverse of the principal gold coin of the Shah Akbar ; this has been translated as follows :—
" The sun from whom the seven seas obtained Pearls, The black stone from his rays obtains the jewel ; The mine from the correcting influence of his beams obtains
gold, And gold is ennobled by the impression of Shah Akbar."
It
may be mentioned incidentally, that this same Shah " ennobled " a
diamond by having his name engraved upon it, as duly recorded in the
author's work on diamonds. See "The Great Diamonds of the World," chap,
xxxvi., p. 232.
The
most wide-spread notion respecting the origin of Pearls, as briefly
mentioned in our introductory chapter, is that which regards them as
formed by dew and rain received into the gaping shell of the
Pearl-oyster. This explanation of their origin is well set forth by
Pliny, whose passage on the subject is thus quaintly rendered into
English by old Dr. Holland :—
" This shell-fish, which is the mother of Pearle,
differeth not much in the manner of breeding and
generation from the oysters, for when the season
of the yeere requireth that they should engender,
seeme to yawne and gape, and so doe open wide ;
and then (by report) they conceive a certaine moist
dew as seed, wherewith they swell and grow bigger
D
