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Superstitions and Their Sources: Boot

In the next chapter of his work, De Boot, while extolling the remedial power of a certain group of stones, insists upon the falsity of many of the superstitions regarding these objects. (De Boot, "Gemmarum et lapidum historia, lib. i, cap. 26, Lug. Bat., 1636.) That gems or stones, when applied to the body, exert an action upon it, is so well proven by the experience of many persons, that any one who doubts this must be called over-bold. We have proof of this power in the carnelian, the hematite, and the jasper, all of which when applied, check hemorrhage. . . . However, it is very necessary to observe that many virtues not possessed by gems are falsely ascribed to them.

Paracelsus, the gifted and brilliant thinker, scientist, and, we must probably add, charlatan of the sixteenth century, whose really extraordinary mental endowment was largely wasted in the effort to impress his followers with the idea that he had a mystic control over supernatural agencies, was the owner of a talismanic jewel which he asserted to be the dwelling-place of a powerful spirit named "Azoth." Some old portraits of the philosopher, or pseudo-philosopher, figure him wearing this jewel, in whose virtues we may fairly doubt that he himself believed, but which furnished part of the paraphernalia be freely employed to gain influence over the credulous. (Mackey, "Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions," London, n. d.) The following passage from the "Faithful Lapidary" of Thomas Nicols, (Nicols, "Faithful Lapidary," London, 1659.) who wrote in the middle of the seventeenth century, illustrates the prevailing opinion in England at that time as to the virtues of precious stones:

Perfectionem effectus contineri in causa. But it cannot truly be so spoken of gemms and pretious stones, the effects of which, by Lapidists are said to be, the making of men rich and eloquent, to preserve men from thunder and lightning, from plagues and diseases, to move dreams, to procure sleep, to foretell things to come, to make men wise, to strengthen memory, to procure honours, to hinder fascinations and witchcrafts, to hinder slothfulness, to put courage into men, to keep men chaste, to increase friendship, to hinder difference and dissention, and to make men invisible, as is feigned by the Poet concerning Gyges ring, and affirmed by Albertus and others concerning the ophthalmius lapis, and many other strange things are affirmed of them and ascribed to them, which are contrary to the nature of gemms, and which they as they are materiall, mixt, inanimate bodies neither know nor can effect, by the properties and faculties of their own constitutions: because they being naturall causes, can produce none other but naturall effects, such as are all the ordinary effects of gemms: that is, such effects as flow from their elementary matter, from their temper, form and essence; such as are the operations of hot and cold, and of all the first qualities, and all such accidents as do arise from the commixtion of the first qualities: such as are hardnesse, heavinesse, thicknesse, colour, and tast. These all are the naturall faculties of gemms, and these are the known effects of the union of their matter, and of the operation of the first qualities one upon another. The long-continued concentration of vision on an object tends to produce a partial paralysis of certain functions of the brain. This effect may be noted in the helplessness of a bird when its gaze is fixed upon the glittering eyes of a serpent, or in the unwilling obedience yielded by a lion or some other wild animal when forced to look into the intent eyes of its trainer. In the same way those who gaze for a long time and without interruption on a crystal or glass ball, on an opal, a moonstone, a sapphire, or a cat's-eye, may become partially hypnotized or even fall into a profound sleep. The condition induced, whether it be that of semi-trance, of hypnotism, or simply due to the imaginative workings of the brain, is believed to give an insight into the future. This hypnotic effect is probably caused by some gleam or point of light in the stone, attracting and fixing the beholder's gaze. The moonstone, the star sapphire, and the cat's-eye are all gems which possess a moving light, a moving line, or three crossed lines, and they are believed by the Orientals to be gems of good luck. Indeed, it is supposed in the East that a living spirit dwells within these stones, a spirit potent for good. Superstitious fancies bear the same relation to truth that the shadow of a form does to the form itself. We know that the shadow has no substantial existence, and yet we know equally well that it is cast by some real body; in the same way we may be sure that, however foolish a superstition may appear to be, it has some foundation in fact. Indeed, superstition is associated with the highest attribute of the human mind,--imagination. The realities about us gain much of their charm from sentiment, and all that is great in art and literature owes its being to the transforming energy of pure imagination. Morbid imagination, on the other hand, distorts and degrades the impressions it receives and produces only unlovely or ignoble forms and ideas. Sentiment may best be expressed as the feeling of one who, on a warm summer's day, is rowing along a shady brook or resting in some sylvan dell, with nothing to interfere with his tranquil mood and nothing to spur him on to action; thus he has only suggestions of hope and indulges in rosy views of life. Reality, on the other hand, may be likened to a crisp winter's morning when one is filled with exhilaration, conscious of the tingle of the cold, but comfortable in the knowledge of wearing a tightly-buttoned garment which will afford protection should the elements become disturbing. Superstition, lastly, can be said to resemble a dark, cold, misty night, when the moon is throwing malevolent shadows which are weird and distorted, while the cold seems to seize one by the throat and arouse a passionate desire to free one's self from its grip in some way, to change a horrible nightmare into a pleasant dream. In the early part of the last century a series of very interesting experiments designed to demonstrate the effects produced upon a sensitive subject by the touch of precious stones and minerals, were made in the case of the "Seeress of Prevorst," Frederike Hauffe (b. 1801), a woman believed to possess remarkable clairvoyant powers. (Gorres, "Die christliche Mystik," Regensburg, 1840.) When pieces of granite, porphyry, or flint were placed in her hand, she was not affected in any way. The finest qualities of fluorspar, on the other hand, had a marked action, relaxing the muscles, causing diarrhoea, and producing a sour taste in the mouth; occasionally a somnambulistic state was induced. This latter condition was also produced by Iceland spar and by the sapphire. While the substances so far noted depressed the vital energy, sulphate of barium stimulated the muscles, produced an agreeable warmth of the body, and made the subject feel as though she could fly through the air. If the application of this material was long continued, the pleasurable sensation found expression in laughter. In the case of witherite, a carbonate of barium, this effect was produced to an even greater degree, for if water in which this mineral had been dipped were swallowed, spasms of laughter resulted. Rock-crystal also was found to possess a strongly stimulating influence, for if put in the hand, it aroused the subject from a half-slumber, and if placed on the pit of the stomach, it had the power to awaken the seeress from a somnambulistic trance, while at the same time an aromatic odor was diffused around. When, however, the application was continued for some time, the muscles stiffened, until finally an epileptic state ensued. Indeed, the rigidity produced was so great that the limbs resisted all attempts to bend them. The same effect, but in a much less degree, was caused by glass, even by looking at it, or by the tones emitted by a glass object when struck. All colorless silicates, the diamond, and even gypsum, had a similar effect, as did also heliotrope and basalt, either of which caused a bitter taste in the mouth.

The most powerful action was that exerted by hematite, the oxide of iron in this substance inducing a kind of paralysis, with a sensation of inner chill; this condition could only be relieved by the application of a piece of witherite. Octahedrons of magnetite (loadstone) caused a sensation of heaviness and convulsive movements of the limbs, even when the material, wrapped up in paper, was brought near the subject. Spinel, in whose composition oxide of chromium enters, caused the same symptoms as loadstone, except that in this case the force seemed to exert itself from the hand upward along the arm, while with the loadstone the action was downward along the arm to the hand, owing to the attractive quality of this magnetic iron. Ruby called forth a sensation of coldness in the tongue, and rendered this member so heavy that only incoherent sounds could be emitted; the fingers and toes also became cold, and the body was agitated by a violent shivering; but to all these bad symptoms succeeded a sense of elasticity and well-being, not, however, without a vague fear that the stone might cause a renewal of the physical depression. When chrysoprase was used, chills and shivering resulted, beginning at the breast and spreading thence over the whole body. We have touched upon the hypnotic influence exercised by gems, but there can be no doubt that the subject has not been as carefully studied as it deserves to be. That the hypnotic state can be induced by gazing fixedly upon a bright object held just above the eyes is a wellknown fact, but quite probably a similar though not so pronounced effect results from gazing on a bright object just before the gazer's eyes. In the case of colored precious stones, the effects of the various color-rays combine with the light effects and strengthen the impression upon the optic nerve. All this, however, concerns only the purely physical impression, but we know that very often the hypnotic state is produced by a mental impression, by the belief, or the fear, that the state will supervene. With precious stones as hypnotizing agents; the mental impression is widely different, for here the physical impression is heightened by the consciousness of the value and rarity of the material. The fascination that a fine set of jewels, with all their sparkle and color, exercises upon the mind of a woman who sees them in their glorious radiance on the neck, the arms, and the head of another woman, is not only due to the beauty of the spectacle, but is largely owing to the consciousness that they are rare and valuable objects and are perhaps eloquent witnesses of the power of love. A dash of envy sometimes serves to render the emotion more complex. The names of precious stones and semi-precious stones are frequently used as adjectives, and when so employed convey something more to the mind than do the corresponding adjectives of color. We may instance the following expressions: the "Emerald Isle" and "emerald meadows"; "sapphire seas" and "sapphire eyes"; "ruby wine," "ruby lips," and, in Shakespeare, "the natural ruby of your cheeks"; "coral lips" and "coral ears"; "pearly teeth" and "pearly skin"; "turquoise skies"; "amethystine locks" and, in Roman times, "amber hair." In all these cases the name of the precious mineral is really used as a superlative of the adjective, suggesting the choicest variety of the color or shade. The phrases "hard as adamant" and "clear as crystal" show a similar use of the name of a precious or ornamental stone to express the highest grade of a given quality.

Before the introduction of the "point" system in typography three of the grades of type bore the names of precious stones,--namely, "diamond type," "agate type," and "emerald type"; this latter designation is employed only in England, where "agate type" is called "ruby type." Another size was denominated "pearl type."

A fanciful tale written not long ago treats of the practical inconveniences which would result, could such metaphorical expressions find a realization in fact. (Virna Sheard, "The Jewelled Princess," in Canadian Magazine.) At the birth-feast of a certain princess, one of the fairies was not invited; she, nevertheless, made her appearance. After the other fairies had endowed the child with many good qualities, the neglected fairy said, "I will give her vanity, and her vanity shall change her beauty to the things it is said to resemble." However, a friendly fairy came to the rescue, saying, "I will give her unselfishness, and by it she shall turn her beauty back to what she wishes it to be."

The result can easily be imagined. As the little princess grew up, those who wished to flatter her vanity spoke of her "teeth of pearl," of her "golden hair," of her "coral lips," and of her "sapphire eyes." Upon this her teeth changed to pearls, her hair to spun gold, her lips to coral, and her eyes to two magnificent sapphires. However, beautiful as these were, they did not grant the power of sight, so that the unhappy princess became blind. Not long after this a revolution deprived the king and queen of their throne and they were reduced to great poverty. In these straits the daughter sacrificed her "gold-hair" to relieve their wants, and immediately the spell was dissolved and she regained all her natural beauty.

Shelley, who saw the world illumined by the rainbow hues of poetic fancy, wrote of "diamond eyes," "an emerald sky," "the emerald heaven of trees," "the sapphire ocean," "sapphire-tinted skies," "the sapphire floods of interstellar air," and "the chrysolite of sunrise." For some reason, he does not use the ruby, a favorite stone with many poets, and psychologists might find in this a proof that red appeals less strongly to the idealist than do the other colors. The principal literary sources for the talismanic and therapeutic virtues attributed to ornamental stones may be divided into several groups, at first more or less independent of each other, but combined to a greater or lesser extent by later writers. Pliny gives, sometimes rather grudgingly, a number of superstitions current in his time, but the Alexandrian literature of the second, third, and fourth Christian centuries provides a much richer field for these superstitions, as shown in the Orphic poem "Lithica," the "Cyrianides," attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, the little treatise "On Rivers," which bore the name of Plutarch, and last, but not least, in the work by Damigeron, which purported to be written by an Arab king named Evax, and sent by him to Tiberius or Nero. The influence exerted by the legends surrounding the stones of the high priest's breastplate, and those chosen as foundation stones for the New Jerusalem, will be treated of elsewhere.