Divers are the virtues of gems; some give favor in the sight of lords; some protect against fire; others make people beloved; others give wisdom; some render men invisible; others repel lightning; some baffle poisons; some protect and augment treasures, and others cause that husbands should love their wives. Arabic version of Solomon’s writings. While no special gems are mentioned in the tribute which the Arabs credit to Solomon, it seems that pearls must certainly have been included, for in nearly all countries where these gems have been prized and from the earliest period, they have been credited with mystic properties and healing virtues. In the first chapter of this book, reference was made to the Atharvaveda, dating from at least 2400 years ago, and its allusion to the use of an amulet of pearl shell and of pearls among the Hindus in bestowing long life and prosperity upon young Brahmanical disciples. As this amulet is fastened upon the youth, the following hymn is recited, according to this ancient Veda of the Atharvans: Born of the wind, the atmosphere, the lightning, and the light, may this pearl shell, born of gold, protect us from straits! With the shell which was born in the sea, at the head of bright substances, we slay the Rakshas and conquer the Atrins [devouring demons]. With the shell [we conquer] disease and poverty; with the shell, too, the Sadanvas. The shell is our universal remedy; the pearl shall protect us from straits! Born in the heavens, born in the sea, brought on from the river [Sindhu], this shell, born of gold, is our life-prolonging amulet. The amulet, born from the sea, a sun, born from Vritra [the cloud], shall on all sides protect us from the missiles of the gods and the Asuras! Thou art one of the golden substances, thou art born from Soma [the moon]. Thou art sightly on the chariot, thou art brilliant on the quiver. (May it prolong our lives!) The mystical Taoists, in their pursuit of immortality, made much of pearls as an important ingredient in formulÆ for perpetuating youth. According to an old Taoist authority, in preparing one of these elixirs, an extra long pearl which has been worn for many years is steeped in some infusion of malt, or a preparation of serpents’ gall, honeycomb, and pumice-stone. When the pearl becomes plastic, it is drawn out to the length of two or three feet, cut into suitable lengths, and formed into pills, the taking of which renders food thenceforth unnecessary. The myth of the dragon and the pearl has been a far-reaching theme of the artists in Japan and China, whether in color, metal, or stone. There has been much written as to how the myth became so fixed in the minds of the Orientals, and Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, who has made an exhaustive study of the myth of the dragon in all its phases, has very courteously communicated to us the following facts. Personally he had never been able to learn of a true or clear description of the origin of the myth other than the well-recorded legend given by Legge in the “Sacred Books of the East” (Vol. XL, p. 211), in which there is a quotation from Shuangtze, a writer of the fourth century before Christ, who says: “Near the Ho river there was a poor man, who supported his family by weaving rushes. His son, when diving in a deep pool, found a pearl worth a thousand ounces of silver. The father said: ‘Bring a stone and beat it in pieces. A pearl of this value must have been in a pool nine khung deep and under the chin of the black dragon. That you were able to get it must have been owing to your having found him asleep. Let him awake, and the consequences will not be small.’” Prince Rupprecht says: This legend has nothing to do with the illustration to which you refer; it belongs to a cycle of myths concerning a stone in the head of a serpent, or the crown of the king of the serpents or dragons; myths which also exist in Germany since the days of old. I should rather be inclined to think that the commonly accepted pearl between the two dragons is not a pearl at all. At least this pearl is always surrounded by ornaments in the shape of flames or claws, and Professor Hirth discovered on such a representation in woodcut, an explanation of the flames by the sign for Yangsui, a very ancient kind of metallic mirrors, of concave form, that were used to produce the heavenly fire. JAPANESE LEGEND OF THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL, IDEALIZED IN JADE I, for my part, believe that the pearl is the belly not indeed of a spider, but of Garuda, the eagle of Vishnu, known in the old Hindu mythology as the foe of the Vagas, beings with human bodies and the tails of serpents. At least, I found on an old Chinese gateway, dating back to the times of the Mongol emperors, a sculpture showing the contest between Garuda and the Vagas. On another sculpture of the late King epoch the Vagas are already changed into dragons, and the wings, the limbs and the head of Garuda have become quite insignificant, while his belly is prominent like a ball. A beautiful metaphor occurs in ancient Chinese writings, in the Book of the Later Han, There is no end of legends and myths regarding the pearl in oriental literature. One fable credits it with a peculiar magical power: by speaking the right word, a spirit can be called therefrom which makes the owner a possessor of all the happiness of the earth. Browning notes this in two exquisite stanzas, “A Pearl, a Girl,” published on the day of his death in 1889, in which he compares this characteristic with a woman’s love called forth by the mystic word. A simple ring with a single stone. To the vulgar eye no stone of price; Whisper the right word, that alone— Forth starts a sprite, like fire from ice, And lo, you are lord (says an Eastern scroll) Of heaven and earth, lord whole and sole, Through the power in a pearl. A woman (’tis I this time that say) With little the world counts worthy praise; Utter the true word—out and away Escapes her soul: I am wrapt in blaze, Creation’s lord, of heaven and earth, Lord whole and sole—by a minute’s birth— Through the love in a girl. 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. 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.” 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.” 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. The idea of pearly purity is inseparably linked with the name Margaret, derived from the Persian Murwari (pearl, or child of light) through the Greek a??a??t??. This name—beautiful in sound as well as in origin—is popular in all European countries, and likewise are its abbreviations and diminutives: in Italian, Margherita and Rita; in French, Marguerite, Margot, and Groten; in German, Margarethe, Gretchen, and Grethel; and in English, Margaret, Marjorie, Madge, Maggie, Peggy, etc. The use of the word as a proper name among the early Christians was doubtless suggested by the sweet simplicity and loveliness of the pearl, and by the beautiful symbolical references to this gem in the Scriptures; and the meaning of the name has been strengthened by the pure lives and the good deeds of the many beautiful Margarets in all lands, including the virgin martyr, St. Margaret of Antioch, “the mild maid of God” referred to in the Liturgy, who, before the fifth century, was the embodiment of feminine innocence and faith overcoming evil, and who is often represented wearing a string of pearls; also St. Margaret Ætheling of the eleventh century, who endeared the name in Scotland, was canonized in 1215, and was adopted as the patron saint of Scotland in 1673; and Margaret, “Pearl of Bohemia,” so beloved by the Danes. Especially among the Germans has the name a tender significance; with them it is symbolical of maidenly sweetness and purity associated with richness of womanhood, such as was typified by Goethe in the heroine of his “Faust.” This idea may have impelled Wordsworth in the selection of a name for the lovely, girlish character in his “Excursion”; and Tennyson for his “Sweet pale Margaret,” and likewise Scott for “Ladye Margaret, the flower of Teviot.” With the memory of these lives and characters before her, many a loving mother has Poets seem never to tire of using the pearl as a symbol of perfection in form, in purity, in luster, and in sweetness. But probably none has made a more lovely comparison than Owen Meredith: As pure as a pearl, And as perfect: a noble and innocent girl. The Oriental poets unite with those of the West in their love for this gem, and those gifted writers are lavish in its use. Let us but add the lament of Shabl Abdullah on the death of Nozami: Nozami’s gone, our fairest pearl is lost. From purest dew, kind Heaven had given her birth, And then had fashioned her the pearl supreme. She softly shone, but hidden from mankind, So God has now restored her to her shell. Far more crude, but possibly equally pathetic, is that old epitaph from Yorkshire, England: In shells and gold pearls are not kept alone, A Margaret here lies beneath a stone. In the seventeenth century, Pierre de Rosnel wrote in a burst of enthusiasm: The pearl is a jewel so perfect that its excellent beauty demands the love and esteem of the whole universe. Suidas expresses himself in regard to it thus: “The possession of the pearl is one of love’s greatest delights; the delight of possessing it suffices to feed love.” In a painting, Philostratus, who had the same ideas, has represented cupids with bows enriched with pearls; and the ancients were all agreed to dedicate the pearl to Venus. Now, to my thinking, the reason for their so doing was, that inasmuch as this goddess of love, the fairest of all divinities, is descended from heaven and is formed of the sea, so in like manner the pearl—the loveliest of all gems—is formed in the sea and is the offspring of the dew of heaven. But he that would learn more of the excellence of the pearl, let him inquire of the ladies, who will relate much more in its praise than I can write, and who will doubtless confess that nothing else so well adorns them. Emblematic as the pearl is of maidenly purity and sweetness, it is deemed especially appropriate as a wedding gift. This use dates The dedication of the pearl to love and marriage appears to have been recognized by the artistic Greeks. One of the choicest engravings preserved from classic times is a magnificent sardonyx showing the marriage of Cupid and Psyche, in which the lovers are united by what some authorities consider a string of pearls—emblematic of conjugal bonds—by means of which the god Hymen leads them to the nuptial couch. And yet in Western countries the ill omen of pearls as bridal ornaments has been widely recognized, these determining the tears that will be shed in the married life. As Milton says, referring to the Marchioness of Winchester: And those pearls of dew she wears, Prove to be presaging tears. It was told that when the Empress EugÉnie of France was finishing her toilet preparatory to her wedding in Notre Dame in 1853, a personal attendant reminded her of the omen, and begged that she refrain from wearing her pearl necklace on that occasion. Eugenie paid no heed to the warning and wore the beautiful jewels just the same; and, as all the world knows, her life has been one long tragedy. Since that necklace was a lengthy one, containing very many pearls, the bride who wears only a few on her wedding day need not dread the adage so much, for, unfortunately, no woman’s life is wholly free from grief; and most brides would doubtless risk a few tears rather than refuse to wear a wedding gift of pearls. It was a very old idea that to dream of pearls betokens tears. A suggestion of this occurs in John Webster’s “Duchess of Malfi” (1623), Act III, sc. 5: Methought I wore my coronet of state, And on a sudaine all the diamonds Were chang’d to pearles. Antonio: My interpretation Is, you’ll weepe shortly; For to me the pearles Doe signifie your teares. And we quote also from “The Parson’s Wedding” (1663), Act II, sc. 5, where Jolly exclaims: “What! in thy dumps, brother? The captain sad! ’Tis prophetic. I’d as lieve have dreamt of pearl, or the loss of my teeth.” Tradition relates that Queen Margaret Tudor, wife of James IV of Scotland, just before the battle of Flodden Field (1513), had many fears as to the disastrous issue of that conflict, owing to having dreamed on three nights in succession that all her jewels were suddenly turned into pearls. This was interpreted as a sign of coming widowhood and sorrow, which was soon verified; and a similar story is told of Marie de’ Medici shortly before the murder of Henry IV of France in 1610. The employment of pearls medicinally dates from an ancient period. This use is mentioned in the oldest existing Sanskrit medical work, the “Charaka-Samhita,” It is particularly in Oriental countries that therapeutic properties have been credited to pearls. The powder of these gems has been rated very highly there, and is still used to some extent. It was considered beneficial in cases of ague, indigestion, and hemorrhages, and was regarded as possessing stimulative qualities. Medical literature of the Orient contains many accounts of the uses of pearls and of the methods of forming them into pills, ointments, etc. According to a treatise written by Narahari, a physician of Kashmir, about 1240 A.D., the pearl cures diseases of the eyes, is an antidote to poisons, cures consumption and morbid disturbances, and increases strength and general health. In China, as well as in other Asiatic countries, a distinction was made in the therapeutic effects of so-called “virgin” pearls and of Quoting principally from Ahmed Teifashi, Whitelow Ainslie wrote in 1825 that Arabian physicians suppose the powder of the pearl to have virtues in weak eyes; and they credit it with efficacy in palpitations, nervous tremors, melancholia, and hemorrhage. Also they have this strange notion, that when applied externally and while in the shell, it cures leprosy. Statements of the curative properties of pearls come also from Japan at a somewhat recent date. The catalogue of the National Exhibition at Yedo in 1877, Part V, page 78, notes that they soothe the heart, lessen phlegm, are an antidote to poison, and cure fever, smallpox, and blear-eyedness. The popular modern idea in India as to the therapeutic value was thus expressed by a native prince, Sourindro Mohun Tagore, Mus. Doc., the Maharajah of Tagore, in 1881: The use of pearls conduces to contentment of mind and to strength of body and soul. The burnt powder of this gem, if taken with water as sherbet, cures vomiting of blood of all kinds. It prevents evil spirits working mischief in the minds of men, takes off bad smell from the mouth, cures lunacy of all descriptions and all mental diseases, jaundice and all diseases of the heart, intestines and stomach. Burnt pearl mixed with water and taken into the nostrils, as a powder, takes away headsickness, cures cataract, lachryma and swelling of the eyes, the painful sensation such as is caused by the entry of sand into them, and ulcers. Used as a dentifrice, it strengthens the gums and cleanses the teeth. Rubbed on the body with other medicines, it cures all skin diseases. It stops bleeding from cuts and ultimately heals them up. Whether taken internally or externally, it is a sure antidote to poison. It drives away all imaginary fears and removes all bodily pain. To prevent its tendency to affect the brain, it should always be used with the burnt powder of basud, and in its absence with that of white mother-of-pearl. The dose of pearl-powder should not exceed 2¼ mashas [19.68 grs.]. The Hindus credited specific virtues to pearls of different colors: the yellow brought wealth, the honey shade fostered understanding, the white attracted fame, and the blue, good luck. Defective pearls caused leprosy, loss of fortune, disgrace, insanity, and death, according A similar idea is expressed in an old Hindu treatise on gems by Buddhabhatta, where we read: “The pearl from the shell ought always to be worn as an amulet by those who desire prosperity.” Pearls still find a place in the pharmacopoeia of India. One of the latest standard works, that of R. N. Khory and N. N. Katrak, Owing to the high cost of sea pearls, even those of the smallest size, a substitute for medicinal and similar purposes is found in the Placuna pearls of Ceylon, Borneo, etc. These are of such slight luster that only the choicest are of ornamental value, consequently they are sold at relatively small prices. A considerable demand exists for them to be placed in the mouths of deceased Hindus of the middle class, instead of the sea pearls which are used by the wealthy, or the rice which is employed in a similar manner by persons of poorer rank. This custom seems to be analogous to that of the ancient Britons, and also to that of the American Indians, in depositing food and other requisites for a journey in burial graves. The practice is an old one in India and was noted by Marco Polo more than six hundred years ago. Most of the Placuna pearls are calcined and are used with areca-nuts and betel-pepper leaves in a very popular masticatory, one of the “seven sisters of sleep,” which is to the Hindu what opium is to the Chinaman, or tobacco to the American or European. The hard white areca-nut (Areca Catechu) is about the size and shape of a hen’s egg. Three or four thousand tons of the small, tender nuts are annually shipped from Ceylon to India for this masticatory, which is chewed by a hundred million persons. After boiling in water, pellets of them are placed in a leaf of the betel-pepper (Piper betle) with a small quantity of lime made from pearls or shells, according to the desired quality and value of product. It is credited with hardening the gums, sweetening the breath, aiding digestion, and stimulating the nervous system like coffee or tobacco; its most visible effect is tingeing the saliva and blackening the teeth, which is far from attractive, especially in an otherwise beautiful It is not alone the Orientals that have found medicinal virtues in pearls. Even in Europe they have occupied a prominent place in materia medica, especially during the Middle Ages when a knowledge of the occult properties of gems was an important branch of learning. Indeed, they could scarcely have been overlooked by people who at one time or another swallowed pretty much everything, from dried snake’s eyes to the filings of a murderer’s irons, in their quest for the unusual and costly with which to relieve and comfort themselves. During the Middle Ages in Europe, writers who gave attention to pearls, as well as to other gems, treated almost exclusively of their reputed efficacy in magic and in medicine; and most of the accounts from the ninth to the fourteenth century seem wholly without scientific value, and at times reach the climax of extravagance and absurdity in their claims for the wonderful potency of the gem. Albertus Magnus, the Dominican scholar born in Germany in the twelfth century, wrote that pearls were used in mental diseases, in affections of the heart, in hemorrhages, and dysentery. The “Lapidario” of Alfonso X of Castile (1221–1284), called “The Wise,” the father of the Spanish language, states: The pearl is most excellent in the medicinal art, for it is of great help in palpitation of the heart, and for those who are sad or timid, and in every sickness which is caused by melancholia, because it purifies the blood, clears it and removes all its impurities. Therefore, the physicians put them in their medicine and lectuaries, with which they cure these infirmities, and give them to be swallowed. They also make powders of them, which are applied to the eyes; because they clear the sight wonderfully, strengthen the nerves and dry up the moisture which enters the eyes. Anselmus de Boot, physician to Emperor Rudolph II, and one of the great authorities at the beginning of the seventeenth century, gave the following directions for making “aqua perlata, which is most excellent for restoring the strength and almost for resuscitating the dead. Dissolve the pearls in strong vinegar, or better in lemon juice, or in spirits of vitriol or sulphur, until they become liquified; fresh juice is then added and the first decanted. Then, to the milky and turbid solution, add enough sugar to sweeten it. If there be four ounces of this solution, add an ounce each of rose-water, of tincture of strawberries, of borage flowers and of balm and two ounces of cinnamon water. When you wish to give the medicine, shake the mixture so that the sediment A curious book on the medicinal use of pearls was written in 1637 by Malachias Geiger, Quotations might be given from a hundred medieval writers as to the therapeutics of pearls. The diseases for which they were recommended, as noted by Robert Lovell’s “Panmineralogicon, or Summe of all Authors,” published at Oxford in 1661, seems to have included a large portion of the entire list known at that period. This summary states: Pearls strengthen and confirme the heart; they cherish the spirits and principall parts of the body; being put into collyries, they cleanse weafts of the eyes, and dry up the water thereof, help their filth, and strengthen the nerves by which moisture floweth into them; they are very good against melancholick griefes; they helpe those that are subject to cardiack passions; they defend against pestilent diseases, and are mixed with cordiall remedies; they are good against the lienterie, that is, the flux of the belly, proceeding from the sliperiness of the intestines, insomuch that they cannot retaine the meat, but let it passe undigested; they are good against swounings; they help the trembling of the heart and giddinesse of the head; they are mixed with the Manus Christi against fainting (called Manus Christi perlata in the London Pharmacopaea); they are put into antidotes or corroborating powders; they help the flux of bloud; they stop the terms, and cleanse the teeth; they are put into antidotes for the bowels, and increase their vertue, make the bloud more thin, and clarify that which is more thick and feculent; they help feavers. The oile of Pearles or unions helpeth the resolution of the nerves, convulsion, decay of old age, phrensie, keepeth the body sound, and recovereth it when out of order, it rectifieth womens milk, and increaseth it, corrects the vices of the natural parts and seed. It cureth absesses, eating ulcers, the cancer and hemorrhoides.... The best are an excellent cordial, by which the oppressed balsame of life and decayed strength are recreated and strengthened, therefore they resist poyson, the plague, and putrefaction, and exhilarate, and therefore they are used as the last remedie in sick persons. RUSSIAN EIKON OF THE MADONNA A prominent historical instance of administering pearls medicinally was in the treatment of Charles VI of France (1368–1422), to whom pearl powder mixed with distilled water was given for the cure of insanity. A far more illustrious patient was Lorenzo de’ Medici, “The Magnificent” (1448–1492), the celebrated ruler of Florence. When this plebeian prince lay dying of a fever at Careggi, just after that famous interview with Savonarola, his friends called in Lazaro da Ticino, a physician of reputation, who administered pulverized pearls. Politian, who was present, is credited with the statement that when the medicine was administered, to the inquiry as to how it tasted, Lorenzo replied: “As pleasant as anything can be to a dying man.” Even the English philosopher, Francis Bacon (1561–1626), mentioned pearls among medicines for the prolongation of life. He adds: “Pearls are taken, either in a fine powder or in a kind of paste or solution made by the juice of very sour and fresh lemons. Sometimes they are given in aromatic confections, sometimes in a fluid form. Pearls no doubt have some affinity with the shells wherein they grow; perhaps may have nearly the same qualities as the shells of crawfish.” Powdered pearl or mother-of-pearl mixed with lemon juice was used as a wash for the face, and was considered “the best in the world.” Dissolve two or three ounces of fine seed-pearl in distilled vinegar, and when it is perfectly dissolved, pour the vinegar into a clean basin; then drop some oil of tartar upon it, and it will cast down the pearl into fine powder; then pour the vinegar clean off softly; put to the pearl clear conduit or spring water; pour that off, and do so often until the taste of the vinegar and tartar Through their composition of carbonate of lime, pearls possibly possess some slight therapeutic value, which, however, can easily be supplied by other materials—as the shell, for instance—and is entirely out of proportion to their market value as ornaments. Although pearls have lost their therapeutic prestige and no longer have a recognized place in materia medica, their healing qualities are not to be denied, for there are few ills to which women are subject that cannot be bettered or at least endured with greater patience when the sufferer receives a gift of pearls; the truth of which any doubting Thomas may easily verify in his own household to the limit of his purse-strings. Owing to their beauty and great value, pearls have been deemed particularly appropriate as a sacrifice in enriching a drink for a toast or tribute. Shakspere alludes to this in the words of King Claudius, the pearl being frequently designated union in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: The king shall drink to Hamlet’s better breath; And in the cup an union shall he throw, Richer than that which four successive kings In Denmark’s crown have worn. It is stated that a pearl worth £15,000 was reduced to powder and drunk by Sir Thomas Gresham, the English merchant, in the presence of the Spanish ambassador, as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth, by whom he had been knighted. The most celebrated instance of enriching a drink with a pearl was doubtless Cleopatra’s tribute to Antony, Pliny’s account of which we give in the words of old Philemon Holland: This princesse, when M. Antonius had strained himselfe to doe her all the pleasure he possibly could, and had feasted her day by day most sumptuously, and spared for no cost: in the hight of her pride and wanton braverie (as being a noble courtezan, and a queene withall) began to debase the expense and provision of Antonie, and made no reckoning of all his costly fare. When he thereat demanded againe how it was possible to goe beyond this magnificence of his, she answered againe, that she would spend upon him at one supper ten million Sestertij. Antonie laid a great wager with her about it, and shee bound it againe, and made it good. The morrow after, Cleopatra Elsewhere has been set forth the impracticability of dissolving a pearl in a glass of vinegar without first pulverizing it. Pliny, and other Roman writers, mention another instance, that of Clodius “the sonne of Aesope the Tragedian Poet,” who took two pearls of great price “in a braverie, and to know what tast pearles had, mortified them in venegre, and drunke them up. And finding them to content his palat wondrous well, because he would not have all the pleasure by himselfe, and know the goodnesse thereof alone, he gave to every guest at his table one pearle apeece to drinke in like manner.” |