Chapter XXIV: Book XXXVII: The Natural History of Precious Stones (3)

Arabica[3226] is a stone which closely resembles ivory in appearance, and, indeed, might easily be taken for it, were it not for its superior hardness: persons who have this stone about them, it is thought, will experience a cure of diseases of the sinews. Aromatitis,[3227] too, is a stone that is found in Arabia, as also in the vicinity of Phiræ in Egypt: it is always full of small stones, and like myrrh in colour and smell, a thing that makes it much in request with ladies of rank.[3228] Asbestos[3229] is found in the mountains of Arcadia, and is of an iron colour. Democritus informs us that aspisatis[3230] is a native of Arabia, that it is of a fiery colour, and that patients should wear it attached to the body with camels’ dung; he says, too, that it is found in the nests of certain birds[3231] in Arabia. The same writer also mentions another stone of this name, that is found at Leucopetra in the same country, of a silver colour, radiant, and an excellent preservative against delirium. In India, he says, and on Mount Acidane in Persia, there is a stone found that is known as “atizoë,”[3232] of a silver lustre, three fingers in length, like a lentil in shape, possessed of a pleasant smell, and considered necessary by the Magi at the consecration of a king. Augetis[3233] is thought by many to be identical with callaina.[3234] Amphidanes,[3235] which is also known as “chrysocolla,”[3236] is a stone found in that part of India where the ants[3237] throw up gold, and in it there are certain square pieces, like gold in appearance. The nature of this stone, it is asserted, is similar to that of the magnet; in addition to which, it is said to have the property of increasing gold.

Aphrodisiaca[3238] is a stone of a reddish white colour. Apsyctos,[3239] when heated by fire, retains the warmth so long as seven days; it is black and ponderous, and is streaked with red veins. It is good too, it is thought, as a preservative against cold. According to Iacchus, Ægyptilla[3240] is a kind of white and black sarda, intersected with veins; but the stone commonly known by that name is black at the lower part, and azure on the surface. It takes its name from the country that produces it.

CHAP. 55.—BALANITES. BATRACHITIS. BAPTES. BELI OCULUS. BELUS. BAROPTENUS OR BARIPPE. BOTRYITIS. BOSTRYCHITIS. BUCARDIA. BRONTEA. BOLOS.

Of balanites[3241] there are two kinds, the one of a greenish hue, and the other like Corinthian bronze in appearance; the former comes from Coptos, and the latter from Troglodytica. They are both of them intersected by a flame-like vein, which runs through the middle. Coptos, too, sends us batrachitis;[3242] one kind of which is like a frog in colour, another has the tint of ebony, and a third is blackish inclining to red. Baptes[3243] is a soft stone, and of a most excellent smell. Beli oculus[3244] is a stone of a whitish hue, surrounding a black pupil in the middle, which shines amid a lustre like that of gold. This stone, in consequence of its singular beauty, has been consecrated to the deity[3245] held in the highest veneration by the people of Assyria. According to Democritus, there is also a stone called belus, and found at Arbela; it is about the size of a walnut, and looks[3246] like glass. Baroptenus or barippe is black, and covered with knots of a white and blood-red colour: the use of it as an amulet is avoided, as being apt to produce monstrosities.

Botryitis[3247] is sometimes black and sometimes purple-red,[3248] and resembles a bunch of grapes[3249] in form, when making its first appearance. Zoroaster says, that bostrychitis[3250] is a stone which is more like the hair of females than anything else. Bucardia[3251] resembles an ox-heart in appearance, and is only found at Babylon. Brontea[3252] is a stone like the head of a tortoise, which falls with thunder, it is supposed: if too, we are to believe what is said, it has the property of quenching the fire in objects that have been struck by lightning. Bolos[3253] is the name of a stone found in Iberia,[3254] similar to a clod of earth in appearance.

CHAP. 56.—CADMITIS. CALLAIS. CAPNITIS. CAPPADOCIA. CALLAICA. CATOCHITIS. CATOPTRITIS. CEPITIS OR CEPOLATITIS. CERAMITIS. CINÆDIA. CERITIS. CIRCOS. CORSOÏDES. CORALLOACHATES. CORALLIS. CRATERITIS. CROCALLIS. CYITIS. CHALCOPHONOS. CHELIDONIA. CHELONIA. CHELONITIS. CHLORITIS. CHOASPITIS. CHRYSOLAMPIS. CHRYSOPIS. CEPONIDES.

Cadmitis differs only from the stone that is known as ostracitis[3255] in being sometimes surrounded with blisters of an azure colour. Callais[3256] is like sapphiros[3257] in colour, only that it is paler and more closely resembles the tint of the water near the sea-shore in appearance. Capnitis,[3258] in the opinion of some, is a peculiar species of stone: it is covered with numerous spiral streaks, of a smoky colour, as already[3259] stated in the appropriate place. Cappadocia[3260] is a native of Phrygia, and resembles ivory in appearance. Callaica[3261] is the name given to a stone like a clouded callaina;[3262] a number of them are always found united, it is said. Catochitis[3263] is a stone found in Corsica, of larger size than the other precious stones; and of a more wonderful nature, if the story is true, that it retains the hand like gum, when placed upon it. Catoptritis[3264] is found in Cappadocia, and, from its whiteness, reflects figures like a mirror. Cepitis[3265] or cepolatitis is a white stone, with veins upon it uniting together. Ceramitis[3266] has a colour like that of earthenware.

Cinædia[3267] is a stone found in the brain of a fish[3268] of a corresponding name. It is white and oblong, and possessed of marvellous virtues, if we are to put faith in what is said, that it announces before-hand whether the sea will be tranquil or stormy.[3269] Ceritis[3270] is a stone like wax: circos[3271] resembles the plumage of the hawk: corsoides[3272] is like white hair in appearance. Coralloachates[3273] is very similar to coral, marked with drops of gold; and corallis, a native of India and Syene, resembles minium[3274] in appearance. Crateritis[3275] is in colour a medium between chrysolithos[3276] and amber, and is remarkable for its hardness. Crocallis[3277] is a gem like the cherry in its tints. Cyitis[3278] is a stone found in the vicinity of Coptos; it is white, and to all appearance has an embryo stone within, the rattling of which may be heard on shaking it. Chalcophonos[3279] is a black stone, but when struck it clinks like brass: tragic actors are recommended to carry it about them. Of chelidonia[3280] there are two varieties, both resembling the swallow in colour: one of them is purple on one side, and the other is purple besprinkled with black spots. Chelonia[3281] is the eye of the Indian tortoise, and is the most marvellous of all the stones, if we believe the lying stories told by the magicians. For, according to them, this stone, placed upon the tongue after rinsing the mouth with honey, will ensure power of divination, if this is done at full moon or new moon, for one whole day. If, however, this plan is adopted while the moon is on the increase, the power of divination will be acquired before sun-rise only, and if upon other days, from the first[3282] hour to the sixth.

Chelonitis,[3283] too, is a stone that resembles the tortoise[3284] in appearance, and the many virtues of which are talked of for calming storms and tempests. As to the one that has all the appearance of being sprinkled with spots of gold, if thrown with a scarabæus into boiling water, it will raise a tempest, they say. Chloritis[3285] is a stone of a grass-green colour: according to the magicians, it is found in the crop of the motacilla,[3286] being engendered with the bird. They recommend also that it should be set in iron, for the purpose of working certain portentous marvels which they promise, as usual. Choaspitis is a stone so called from the river Choaspes,[3287] of a brilliant, golden colour mixed with green. Chrysolampis[3288] is a native of Æthiopia, and is pale by day, but of a fiery lustre by night. Chrysopis[3289] has all the appearance of gold.[3290] Ceponides[3291] is found at Atarna, a borough, and once a city, of Æolis. It is transparent, presents numerous tints, and has sometimes the appearance of glass, sometimes of crystal, and sometimes of iaspis. Indeed, the stones of this kind that are tarnished even, are possessed of such singular brilliancy as to reflect objects like a mirror.

CHAP. 57.—DAPHNEA. DIADOCHOS. DIPHYES. DIONYSIAS. DRACONITIS.

Daphnea[3292] is mentioned by Zoroaster as curative of epilepsy. Diadochos[3293] is a stone that resembles the beryl. Of diphyes[3294] there are two kinds, the white and the black, male and female, with a line dividing the characteristics of either sex. Dionysias[3295] is hard and black, and covered with red spots. Triturated in water, this stone imparts to it the flavour of wine, and it is generally thought to be a preservative against intoxication. Draconitis[3296] or dracontia is a stone produced from the brain of the dragon;[3297] but unless the head of the animal is cut off while it is alive, the stone will not assume the form of a gem, through spite on the part of the serpent, when finding itself at the point of death: hence it is that, for this purpose, the head is cut off when it is asleep.[3298]

Sotacus, who tells us that he once saw a stone of this kind in the possession of a king, says that persons go in search of it in a chariot drawn by two horses; and that, the moment they see the serpent, they strew narcotic drugs in its way, and then cut off its head when asleep. According to him, this stone is white and pellucid, and admits of no polishing or engraving.

CHAP. 58.—ENCARDIA OR ARISTE. ENORCHIS. EXEBENUS. ERYTHALLIS. EROTYLOS. AMPHICOMOS, OR HIEROMNEMON. EUMECES. EUMITHRES. EUPETALOS. EUREOS. EUROTIAS. EUSEBES. EPIMELAS.

The stone encardia[3299] is also called “ariste.”[3300] There are three varieties of it; one of a black colour, with a figure in relief upon it like a heart; a second of a green colour, and like a heart in shape; and a third, with a black heart upon it, the rest of the stone being white. Enorchis[3301] is a white stone, the fragments of which, when it is split asunder, resemble the testes in shape. Exebenus, Zoroaster tells us, is a white, handsome stone, employed by goldsmiths for polishing gold. Erythallis,[3302] though a white stone, assumes a red hue when viewed at an inclined angle. Erotylos,[3303] also known as “amphicomos”[3304] and “hieromnemon,”[3305] is highly praised by Democritus for its use in the art of divination.

Eumeces[3306] is a stone of Bactriana, like silex in appearance; placed beneath the head, it produces visions in the night of an oracular description. Eumithres[3307] is called by the Assyrians “gem of Belus,”[3308] the most sacred of all their gods; it is of a leek-green colour, and greatly in request for superstitious purposes. Eupetalos[3309] is a stone that has four different tints, azure, fiery, vermilion, and apple-colour. Eureos[3310] is similar to an olive-stone in form, streaked like a shell, and moderately white. Eurotias[3311] has all the appearance of concealing its black colour beneath a coat of mould. Eusebes[3312] is the stone, it is said, of which the seat was made in the Temple of Hercules at Tyrus, from which the pious [only] could raise themselves without difficulty. Epimelas[3313] is a white gem, with a black hue reflected from its surface.

CHAP. 59.—GALAXIAS. GALACTITIS, LEUCOGÆA, LEUCOGRAPHITIS, OR SYNNEPHITIS. GALLAICA. GASSINADE. GLOSSOPETRA. GORGONIA. GONIÆA.

Galaxias,[3314] by some called “galactitis,”[3315] is a stone that closely resembles those next mentioned, but is interspersed with veins of blood-red or white. Galactitis[3316] is of the uniform colour of milk; other names given to it are, leucogæa,[3317] leucographitis,[3318] and synnephitis,[3319] and, when pounded in water, both in taste and colour it marvellously resembles milk. This stone promotes the secretion of the milk in nursing women, it is said; in addition to which, attached to the neck of infants, it produces saliva, and it dissolves when put into the mouth. They say, too, that it deprives persons of their memory: it is in the rivers Nilus and Acheloüs that it is produced. Some persons give the name of “galactitis” to a smaragdus surrounded with veins of white. Gallaica is a stone like argyrodamas,[3320] but of a somewhat more soiled appearance; these stones are found in twos and threes clustered together. The people of Media send us gassinade,[3321] a stone like orobus in colour, and sprinkled with flowers, as it were: it is found at Arbela. This stone, too, conceives,[3322] it is said; a fact which it admits when shaken; the conception lasting for a period of three months. Glossopetra,[3323] which resembles the human tongue, is not engendered, it is said, in the earth, but falls from the heavens during the moon’s eclipse; it is considered highly necessary for the purposes of selenomancy.[3324] To render all this however, still more incredible, we have the evident untruthfulness of one assertion made about it, that it has the property of silencing the winds. Gorgonia[3325] is nothing but a coral, which has been thus named from the circumstance that, though soft in the sea, it afterwards assumes the hardness of stone: it has the property of counteracting fascinations,[3326] it is said. Goniæa,[3327] it is asserted, and with the same degree of untruthfulness, ensures vengeance upon our enemies.

CHAP. 60.—HELIOTROPIUM. HEPHÆSTITIS. HERMUAIDOION. HEXECONTALITHOS. HIERACITIS. HAMMITIS. HAMMONIS CORNU. HORMISCION. HYÆNIA. HÆMATITIS.

Heliotropium[3328] is found in Æthiopia, Africa, and Cyprus: it is of a leek-green colour, streaked with blood-red veins. It has been thus named,[3329] from the circumstance that, if placed in a vessel of water and exposed to the full light of the sun, it changes to a reflected colour like that of blood; this being the case with the stone of Æthiopia more particularly. Out of the water, too, it reflects the figure of the sun like a mirror, and it discovers eclipses of that luminary by showing the moon passing over its disk. In the use of this stone, also, we have a most glaring illustration of the impudent effrontery of the adepts in magic, for they say that, if it is combined with the plant[3330] heliotropium, and certain incantations are then repeated over it, it will render the person invisible who carries it about him.

Hephæstitis[3331] also, though a radiant stone, partakes of the properties of a mirror in reflecting objects. The mode of testing it is to put it into boiling water, which should immediately become cold. If exposed to the rays of the sun, it should instantly cause dry fuel to ignite:[3332] Corycus[3333] is the place where it is found. Hermuaidoion[3334] is so called from the resemblance to the male organs which it presents, on a ground that is sometimes white, sometimes black, and sometimes of a pallid hue, with a circle surrounding it of a golden colour. Hexecontalithos[3335] receives its name from the numerous variety of colours which, small as it is, it presents: it is found in Troglodytica.[3336] Hieracitis[3337] is entirely covered with mottled streaks, resembling a kite’s feathers alternately with black. Hammitis[3338] is similar in appearance to the spawn of fish: there is also one variety of it which has all the appearance of being composed of nitre,[3339] except that it is remarkably hard. Hammonis cornu[3340] is reckoned among the most sacred gems of Æthiopia; it is of a golden colour, like a ram’s horn in shape, and ensures prophetic dreams, it is said.

Hormiscion[3341] is one of the most pleasing stones to the sight; it is of a fiery colour, and emits rays like gold, tipped at the extremity with a whitish light. Hyænia[3342] is derived from the eyes of the hyæna, it is said, the animal being hunted to obtain it; placed beneath the tongue, if we believe the story, it will enable a person to prophesy the future. Hæmatitis,[3343] of the very finest quality, comes from Æthiopia, but it is found in Arabia and Africa as well. It is a stone of a blood-red colour, and we must not omit to mention the assurance given [by the magicians], that the possession of it reveals treacherous designs on the part of the barbarians. Zachalias of Babylon, in the books which he dedicated to King Mithridates, attributing the destinies of man to certain properties innate in precious stones, is not content with vaunting the merits of this stone as curative of diseases of the eyes and liver, but recommends it also as ensuring success to petitions addressed to kings. He also makes it play its part in lawsuits and judgments, and even goes so far as to say that it is highly beneficial to be rubbed with it on the field of battle. There is another stone of the same class, called “menui” by the people of India, and “xanthos”[3344] by the Greeks: it is of a whitish, tawny colour.

CHAP. 61.—IDÆI DACTYLI. ICTERIAS. JOVIS GEMMA. INDICA. ION.

The stones called Idæi dactyli,[3345] and found in Crete, are of an iron colour, and resemble the human thumb in shape. The colour of icterias[3346] resembles that of livid skin, and hence it is that it has been thought so excellent a remedy for jaundice. There is also another stone of this name, of a still more livid colour; while a third has all the appearance of a leaf. This last is broader than the others, almost imponderous, and streaked with livid veins. A fourth kind again is of the same colour, but blacker, and marked all over with livid veins. Jovis gemma[3347] is a white stone, very light, and soft: another name given to it is “drosolithos.”[3348] Indica[3349] retains the name of the country that produces it: it is a stone of a reddish colour, and yields a purple liquid[3350] when rubbed. There is another stone also of this name, white, and of a dusty appearance. Ion[3351] is an Indian stone, of a violet tint: it is but rarely, however, that it is found of a deep, full, colour.

CHAP. 62.—LEPIDOTIS. LESBIAS. LEUCOPHTHALMOS. LEUCOPŒCILOS. LIBANOCHRUS. LIMONIATIS. LIPAREA. LYSIMACHOS. LEUCOCHRYSOS.

Lepidotis[3352] is a stone of various colours, and resembles the scales of fish in appearance. Lesbias, so called from Lesbos which produces it, is a stone found in India as well. Leucophthalmos,[3353] which in other respects is of a reddish hue, presents all the appearance of an eye, in white and black. Leucopœcilos[3354] is white, variegated with drops of vermilion of a golden hue. Libanochrus[3355] strongly resembles frankincense, and yields a liquid like honey. Limoniatis[3356] would appear to be the same as smaragdus; and all that we find said about liparea[3357] is, that employed in the form of a fumigation, it allures all kinds of wild beasts. Lysimachos resembles Rhodian marble, with veins of gold: in polishing it, it is reduced very considerably in size, in order to remove all defects. Leucochrysos[3358] is a kind of chrysolithos interspersed with white.

CHAP. 63.—MEMNONIA. MEDIA. MECONITIS. MITHRAX. MOROCHTHOS. MORMORION OR PROMNION. MURRHITIS. MYRMECIAS. MYRSINITIS. MESOLEUCOS. MESOMELAS.

What kind of stone memnonia[3359] is, we do not find mentioned. Medea[3360] is a black stone, said to have been discovered by the Medea[3361] of fable: it has veins of a golden lustre, and yields a liquid like saffron in colour and with a vinous flavour. Meconitis[3362] strongly resembles poppies. Mithrax[3363] comes from Persia and the mountains of the Red Sea: it is of numerous colours, and reflects various tints when exposed to the sun.[3364] Morochthos[3365] is a stone of a leek-green colour, from which a milk exudes. Mormorion[3366] is a transparent stone from India, of a deep black colour, and known also as “promnion.” When it has a mixture of the colour[3367] of carbunculus, it is from Alexandria; and when it shares that of sarda,[3368] it is a native of Cyprus. It is found also at Tyrus and in Galatia; and, according to Xenocrates, it has been discovered at the foot of the Alps. These stones are well adapted for cutting in relief.[3369] Murrhitis[3370] has just the colour of myrrh, and very little of the appearance of a gem: it has the odour also of an unguent, and smells like nard when rubbed. Myrmecias[3371] is black, and has excrescences upon it like warts. Myrsinitis[3372] has a colour like that of honey, and the smell of myrtle. “Mesoleucos”[3373] is the name given to a stone when a white line runs through the middle; and when a black vein intersects any other colour, it is called “mesomelas.”[3374]

CHAP. 64.—NASAMONITIS. NEBRITIS. NIPPARENE.

Nasamonitis is a blood-red stone, marked with black veins. Nebritis, a stone sacred to Father Liber,[3375] has received its name from its resemblance to a nebris.[3376] There is also another stone of this kind, that is black. Nipparene[3377] bears the name of a city and people of Persia, and resembles the teeth of the hippopotamus.

CHAP. 65.—OICA. OMBRIA OR NOTIA. ONOCARDIA. ORITIS OR SIDERITIS. OSTRACIAS. OSTRITIS. OPHICARDELON. OBSIAN STONE.

Oica is the barbarian name given to a stone which is pleasing for its colours, black, reddish yellow, green, and white. Ombria,[3378] by some called “notia,”[3379] falls with showers and lightning, much in the same manner as ceraunia[3380] and brontea,[3381] the properties of which it is said to possess. There is a statement also, that if this stone is placed upon altars it will prevent the offerings from being consumed. Onocardia[3382] is like kermesberry in appearance, but nothing further is said about it. Oritis,[3383] by some called “sideritis,”[3384] is a stone of globular form, and proof against the action of fire. Ostracias,[3385] or ostracitis, is a testaceous stone, harder than ceramitis,[3386] and similar in all respects to achates,[3387] except that the latter has an unctuous appearance when polished: indeed, so remarkably hard is ostracitis, that with fragments of it other gems are engraved. Ostritis[3388] receives its name from its resemblance to an oyster-shell. Ophicardelon is the barbarian name for a stone of a black colour, terminated by a white line on either side. Of Obsian[3389] stone we have already spoken in the preceding Book. There are gems, too, of the same name and colour, found not only in Æthiopia and India, but in Samnium as well, and, in the opinion of some, upon the Spanish shores that lie towards the Ocean.

CHAP. 66.—PANCHRUS. PANGONUS. PANEROS OR PANERASTOS. PONTICA; FOUR VARIETIES OF IT. PHLOGINOS OR CHRYSITIS. PHŒNICITIS. PHYCITIS. PERILEUCOS. PÆNITIS OR GÆANIS.

Panchrus[3390] is a stone which displays nearly every colour. Pangonus[3391] is no longer than the finger: the only thing that prevents it from being taken for a crystal, is, its greater number of angles. What kind of stone paneros[3392] is, Metrodorus does not inform us; but he gives some lines, by no means without elegance, that were written upon this stone by Queen Timaris, and dedicated to Venus; from which we have reason to conclude that certain fecundating virtues were attributed to it. By some writers it is called panerastos.[3393] Of the stone called “pontica”[3394] there are numerous varieties: one is stellated, and presents either blood-red spots, or drops like gold, being reckoned in the number of the sacred stones. Another, in place of stars, has streaks of the same colour, and a fourth presents all the appearance of mountains and valleys.

Phloginos,[3395] also called “chrysitis,”[3396] strongly resembles Attic ochre,[3397] and is found in Egypt. Phœnicitis[3398] is a stone so called from its resemblance to a date. Phycitis receives its name from its resemblance to sea-weed.[3399] Perileucos[3400] is the name given to a gem, in which a white colour runs down from the margin of the stone to the base. Pæanitis,[3401] by some called “gæanis,”[3402] conceives, it is said, and is good for females at the time of parturition: this stone is found in Macedonia, near the monument[3403] of Tiresias there, and has all the appearance of congealed water.

CHAP. 67.—SOLIS GEMMA. SAGDA. SAMOTHRACIA. SAURITIS. SARCITIS. SELENITIS. SIDERITIS. SIDEROPŒCILOS. SPONGITIS. SYNODONTITIS. SYRTITIS. SYRINGITIS.

Solis gemma[3404] is white, and, like the luminary from which it takes its name, emits brilliant rays in a circular form. Sagda is found by the people of Chaldæa adhering to ships, and is of a leek-green colour. The Isle of Samothrace gives its name to a stone[3405] which it produces, black and imponderous, and similar to wood in appearance. Sauritis[3406] is found, they say, in the belly of the green lizard, cut asunder with a reed. Sarcitis[3407] is a stone, like beef in appearance. Selenitis[3408] is white and transparent, with a reflected colour like that of honey. It has a figure within it like that of the moon, and reflects the face of that luminary, if what we are told is true, according to its phases, day by day, whether on the wane or whether on the increase: this stone is a native of Arabia, it is thought. Sideritis[3409] is a stone like iron, the presence of which in lawsuits creates discord. Sideropœcilos,[3410] which is a variety of the same stone, is a native of Æthiopia, and is covered with variegated spots.

Spongitis has its name from its resemblance to sponge. Synodontitis is a stone found in the brain of the fish known as “synodus.”[3411] Syrtitis is a stone that used formerly to be found on the shores of the Syrtes,[3412] though now it is found on the coasts of Lucania as well: it is of a honey colour, with a reflected tint of saffron, and contains stars of a feeble lustre within. Syringitis[3413] is hollow throughout, like the space between the two joints in a straw.

CHAP. 68.—TRICHRUS. THELYRRHIZOS. THELYCARDIOS OR MULC. THRACIA; THREE VARIETIES OF IT. TEPHRITIS. TECOLITHOS.

Trichrus[3414] comes from Africa: it is of a black colour, but yields three different liquids, black at the lower part, blood-red in the middle, and of an ochre colour at the top. Thelyrrhizos[3415] is of an ashy or russet colour, but white at the lower part. Thelycardios[3416] is like a heart in colour, and is held in high esteem by the people of Persia, in which country it is found: the name given to it by them is “mulc.” Of thracia[3417] there are three varieties; a green stone, one of a more pallid colour, and a third with spots like drops of blood. Tephritis[3418] is crescent-shaped, with horns like those of the new moon, but it is of an ashy colour. Tecolithos[3419] has all the appearance of an olive stone: it is held in no estimation as a gem, but a solution of it will break and expel urinary calculi.

CHAP. 69.—VENERIS CRINES. VEIENTANA.

Veneris crines[3420] is the name given to a stone that is remarkably black and shining, with an appearance like red hair within. Veientana is an Italian stone, found at Veii: it is black, divided by a line of white.

CHAP. 70.—ZATHENE. ZMILAMPIS. ZORANISCÆA.

Zathene, according to Democritus, is a native of Media. It is like amber in colour, and, if beaten up with palm-wine and saffron, it will become soft like wax, yielding a very fragrant smell. Zmilampis is found in the river Euphrates: it resembles marble of Proconnesus in appearance, and is of a sea-green colour within. Zoraniscæa is found in the river Indus: it is a stone used by magicians, it is said, but I find no further particulars relative to it.

CHAP. 71. (11.)—PRECIOUS STONES WHICH DERIVE THEIR NAMES FROM VARIOUS PARTS OF THE HUMAN BODY. HEPATITIS. STEATITIS. ADADUNEPHROS. ADADUOPHTHALMOS. ADADUDACTYLOS. TRIOPHTHALMOS.

There is also another method of classifying stones; according to the resemblance which they bear to various other objects. Thus, for example, the different parts of the body give the following names to stones:—Hepatitis[3421] is so called from the liver; and steatitis[3422] from its resemblance to the fat of various animals. Adadunephros, adaduophthalmos, and adadudactylos, mean “kidney of Adad,” “eye of Adad,” and “finger of Adad,” a god[3423] of the Syrians so called. Triophthalmos[3424] is a stone found in conjunction with onyx, which resembles three human eyes at once.

CHAP. 72.—PRECIOUS STONES WHICH DERIVE THEIR NAMES FROM ANIMALS. CARCINIAS. ECHITIS. SCORPITIS. SCARITIS. TRIGLITIS. ÆGOPHTHALMOS. HYOPHTHALMOS. GERANITIS. HIERACITIS. AETITIS. MYRMECITIS. CANTHARIAS. LYCOPHTHALMOS. TAOS. TIMICTONIA.

Other stones, again, derive their names from various animals. Carcinias[3425] is so called from the colour of the sea-crab; echitis,[3426] from the colour of the viper; scorpitis,[3427] from either the colour or the shape of the scorpion; scaritis, from the fish called scarus;[3428] triglitis, from the sur-mullet;[3429] ægophthalmos, from the eye of the goat; hyophthalmos, from the eye of the swine; geranitis, from the neck of the crane; hieracitis, from the neck of the hawk; and aëtitis, from the colour of the white-tailed eagle. Myrmecitis[3430] presents the appearance of an ant crawling within, and cantharias,[3431] of a scarabæus. Lycophthalmos[3432] is a stone of four different colours; on the exterior it is ruddy and blood-red, and within it is black, surrounded with a line of white, closely resembling the eye of the wolf in every respect. Taos[3433] is a stone with colours like those of the peacock. Timictonia, I find, is the name of a stone, like the asp in colour.

CHAP. 73.—PRECIOUS STONES WHICH DERIVE THEIR NAMES PROM OTHER OBJECTS. HAMMOCHRYSOS. CENCHRITIS. DRYITIS. CISSITIS. NARCISSITIS. CYAMIAS. PYREN. PHŒNICITIS. CHALAZIAS. PYRITIS. POLYZONOS. ASTRAPÆA. PHLOGITIS. ANTHRACITIS. ENHYGROS. POLYTHRIX. LEONTIOS. PARDALIOS. DROSOLITHOS. MELICHRUS. MELICHLOROS. CROCIAS. POLIAS. SPARTOPOLIAS. RHODITIS. CHALCITIS. SYCITIS. BOSTRYCHITIS. CHERNITIS. ANANCITIS. SYNOCHITIS. DENDRITIS.

Hammochrysos[3434] resembles sand in appearance, but sand mixed with gold. Cenchritis[3435] has all the appearance of grains of millet scattered here and there. Dryitis[3436] resembles the trunk of a tree, and burns like wood. Cissitis,[3437] upon a white, transparent surface, has leaves of ivy running all over it. Narcissitis[3438] is distinguished by veins on the surface, and has a smell like that of the narcissus. Cyamias[3439] is a black stone, but when broken, produces a bean to all appearance. Pyren[3440] is so called from its resemblance to an olive-stone: in some cases it would appear to contain the back-bone[3441] of a fish. Phœnicitis[3442] resembles a palm-date in form. Chalazias[3443] resembles a hailstone, both in form and colour: it is as hard as adamant, so much so, indeed, that in the fire even it retains its coolness, it is said. Pyritis,[3444] though a black stone, burns the fingers when rubbed by them. Polyzonos[3445] is a black stone traversed by numerous zones of white.

Astrapæa[3446] has rays like flashes of lightning, running across the middle on a ground of white or blue. In phlogitis,[3447] there is, to all appearance, a flame burning within, but not reaching the surface of the stone. In anthracitis,[3448] there are sometimes sparks, to all appearance, flying to and fro. Enhygros[3449] is always perfectly round, smooth, and white; but when it is shaken a liquid is heard to move within, just like the yolk within an egg. Polythrix[3450] presents the appearance of hair upon a green surface; but it causes the hair to fall off, it is said. Leontios and pardalios[3451] are names given to stones, from their resemblance to the skin of the lion and panther. Drosolithos[3452] has received its name from its colour. Melichrus is a honey-coloured stone, of which there are several varieties. Melichloros[3453] is a stone of two colours, partly honey-coloured, partly yellow. Crocias[3454] is the name given to a stone which reflects a colour like that of saffron; polias, to a stone resembling white hair in colour; and spartopolias, to a stone more thinly sprinkled with white.

Rhoditis is like the rose in colour, chalcitis resembles copper, and sycitis[3455] is in colour like a fig. Bostrychitis[3456] is covered with branches of a white or blood-red colour, upon a ground of black; and chernitis[3457] has, on a stony surface, a figure like that of two hands grasping each other. Anancitis[3458] is used in hydromancy, they say, for summoning the gods to make their appearance; and synochitis,[3459] for detaining the shades from below when they have appeared. If white dendritis[3460] is buried beneath a tree that is being felled, the edge of the axe will never be blunted, it is asserted. There are many other stones also, of a still more outrageously marvellous nature, to which, admitted as it is that they are stones, barbarous names have been given: we have refuted, however, a quite sufficient number of these portentous lies already.

CHAP. 74. (12.)—PRECIOUS STONES THAT SUDDENLY MAKE THEIR APPEARANCE. COCHLIDES.

New species of precious stones are repeatedly brought into existence, and fresh ones are found all at once, destitute of names. Thus, for example, there was a stone formerly discovered in the gold-mines of Lampsacus, which, on account of its extraordinary beauty, was sent to King Alexander, as we learn from Theophrastus.[3461] Cochlides,[3462] too, which are now so common, are rather artificial productions than natural, and in Arabia there have been found vast masses of them; which are boiled, it is said, in honey, for seven days and nights without intermission. By doing this, all earthy and faulty particles are removed; after which, the mass, thus cleansed and purified, is adorned by the ingenuity of artists with variegated veins and spots, and cut into such shapes as may be most to the taste of purchasers. Indeed, these articles, in former times, were made of so large a size, that they were employed in the East as frontals for the horses of kings, and as pendants for their trappings.[3463]

All precious stones in general are improved in brilliancy by being boiled in honey, Corsican honey more particularly; but acrid substances are in every respect injurious to them. As to the stones which are variegated, and to which new colours are imparted by the inventive ingenuity of man, as they have no name in common use, they are usually known by that of “physis;”[3464] a name which claims for them, as it were, that admiration which we are more ready to bestow upon the works of Nature. But really, these artificial stones have names without end, and I could never think of recounting the infinite series of them, coined as they have been by the frivolous tendencies of the Greeks.

Having already described the more noble gems, and indeed those of inferior quality which are found among the stones that are held in high esteem, I must content myself with knowing that I have pointed out those kinds which are the most deserving of mention. It will be as well, however, for the reader to bear in mind, that, according to the varying number of the spots and inequalities on their surface, according to the numerous intersections of lines and their multiplied tints and shades, the names of precious stones are subject to repeated changes; the material itself, for the most part, remaining just the same.

CHAP. 75.—THE VARIOUS FORMS OF PRECIOUS STONES.

We will now make some observations in reference to precious stones in general, following therein the opinions that have been expressed by various authors. Stones with a level surface are preferred to those which are concave or protuberant on the face. An oblong shape is the one that is most approved of, and, next to that, the lenticular[3465] form, as it is called. After this, the stone with a plane surface and circular is admired, those which are angular being held in the least esteem. There is considerable difficulty in distinguishing genuine stones from false; the more so, as there has been discovered a method of transforming genuine stones of one kind into false stones of another.[3466] Sardonyx, for example, is imitated by cementing together three other precious stones, in such a way that no skill can detect the fraud; a black stone being used for the purpose, a white stone, and one of a vermilion[3467] colour, each of them, in its own way, a stone of high repute. Nay, even more than this, there are books in existence, the authors of which I forbear to name,[3468] which give instructions how to stain crystal in such a way as to imitate smaragdus and other transparent stones, how to make sardonyx of sarda, and other gems in a similar manner. Indeed, there is no kind of fraud practised, by which larger profits are made.

CHAP. 76. (13.)—THE METHODS OF TESTING PRECIOUS STONES.

On the contrary, we will make it our business to point out the methods of detecting these false stones, seeing that it is only proper to put luxury even on its guard against fraud. In addition to the particulars which we have already given, when treating of each individual kind of precious stone, it is generally agreed that transparent stones should be tested by a morning light, or even, if necessary, so late as the fourth[3469] hour, but never after that hour. The modes of testing[3470] stones are numerous: first, by their weight, the genuine stone being the heavier of the two; next, by their comparative coolness, the genuine stone being cooler than the other to the mouth; and, next to that, by their substance; there being blisters perceptible in the body of the fictitious stone, as well as a certain roughness on the surface; filaments, too, an unequal brilliancy, and a brightness that falls short before it reaches the eye. The best[3471] mode of testing is to strike off a fragment with an iron saw; but this is a thing not allowed by the dealers, who equally refuse to let their gems be tested by the file. Dust of Obsian[3472] stone will not leave a mark upon the surface of a genuine stone: but where the gem is artificial, every mark that is made will leave a white scratch upon it. In addition to this, there is such a vast diversity in their degrees of hardness, that some stones do not admit of being engraved with iron, and others can only be cut with a graver blunted at the edge. In all cases, however, precious stones may be cut and polished by the aid of adamas[3473] an operation which may be considerably expedited by heating the graver. The rivers which produce precious stones, are the Acesinus[3474] and the Ganges; and, of all countries, India is the most prolific of them.

CHAP. 77.—A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF NATURE AS SHE APPEARS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. THE COMPARATIVE VALUES OF THINGS.

Having now treated of all the works of Nature, it will be as well to take a sort of comparative view of her several productions, as well as the countries which supply them. Throughout the whole earth, then, and wherever the vault of heaven extends, there is no country so beautiful, or which, for the productions of Nature, merits so high a rank as Italy, that ruler and second parent of the world; recommended as she is by her men, her women, her generals, her soldiers, her slaves, her superiority in the arts, and the illustrious examples of genius which she has produced. Her situation, too, is equally in her favour; the salubrity and mildness of her climate; the easy access which she offers to all nations; her coasts indented with so many harbours; the propitious breezes, too, that always prevail on her shores; advantages, all of them, due to her situation, lying, as she does, midway between the East and the West, and extended in the most favourable of all positions. Add to this, the abundant supply of her waters, the salubrity of her groves, the repeated intersections of her mountain ranges, the comparative innocuousness of her wild animals, the fertility of her soil, and the singular richness of her pastures.

Whatever there is that the life of man ought not to feel in want of, is nowhere to be found in greater perfection than here; the cereals, for example, wine, oil, wool, flax, tissues, and oxen. As to horses, there are none, I find, preferred to those of Italy for the course;[3475] while, for mines of gold, silver, copper, and iron, so long as it was deemed lawful to work them,[3476] Italy was held inferior to no country whatsoever. At the present day, teeming as she is with these treasures, she contents herself with lavishing upon us, as the whole of her bounties, her various liquids, and the numerous flavours yielded by her cereals and her fruits. Next to Italy, if we except the fabulous regions of India, I would rank Spain, for my own part, those districts, at least, that lie in the vicinity of the sea.[3477] She is parched and sterile in one part, it is true; but where she is at all productive, she yields the cereals in abundance, oil, wine, horses, and metals of every kind. In all these respects, Gaul is her equal, no doubt; but Spain, on the other hand, outdoes the Gallic provinces in her spartum[3478] and her specular stone,[3479] the products of her desert tracts, in her pigments that minister to our luxuries, in the ardour displayed by her people in laborious employments, in the perfect training of her slaves, in the robustness of body of her men, and in their general resoluteness of character.

As to the productions themselves, the greatest value of all, among the products of the sea, is attached to pearls: of objects that lie upon the surface of the earth, it is crystals that are most highly esteemed: and of those derived from the interior, adamas,[3480] smaragdus,[3481] precious stones, and murrhine,[3482] are the things upon which the highest value is placed. The most costly things that are matured by the earth, are the kermes-berry[3483] and laser;[3484] that are gathered from trees, nard[3485] and Seric tissues;[3486] that are derived from the trunks of trees, logs of citrus[3487]-wood; that are produced by shrubs, cinnamon,[3488] cassia,[3489] and amomum;[3490] that are yielded by the juices of trees or of shrubs, amber,[3491] opobalsamum,[3492] myrrh,[3493] and frankincense;[3494] that are found in the roots of trees, the perfumes derived from costus.[3495] The most valuable products furnished by living animals, on land, are the teeth of elephants; by animals in the sea, tortoise-shell; by the coverings of animals, the skins which the Seres[3496] dye, and the substance gathered from the hair of the she-goats of Arabia, which we have spoken of under the name of “ladanum;”[3497] by creatures that are common to both land and sea, the purple[3498] of the murex. With reference to the birds, beyond plumes for warriors’ helmets, and the grease that is derived from the geese of Commagene,[3499] I find no remarkable product mentioned. We must not omit, too, to observe, that gold, for which there is such a mania with all mankind, hardly holds the tenth rank as an object of value, and silver, with which we purchase gold, hardly the twentieth!

HAIL to thee, Nature, thou parent of all things! and do thou deign to show thy favour unto me, who, alone of all the citizens of Rome, have, in thy every department,[3500] thus made known thy praise.[3501]

SUMMARY.—Facts, narratives, and observations, one thousand three hundred.

ROMAN AUTHORS QUOTED.—M. Varro,[3502] the Register of the Triumphs,[3503] Mæcenas,[3504] Iacchus,[3505] Cornelius Bocchus.[3506]

FOREIGN AUTHORS QUOTED.—King Juba,[3507] Xenocrates[3508] the son of Zeno, Sudines,[3509] Æschylus,[3510] Philoxenus,[3511] Euripides,[3512] Nicander,[3513] Satyrus,[3514] Theophrastus,[3515] Chares,[3516] Philemon,[3517] Demostratus,[3518] Zenothemis,[3519] Metrodorus,[3520] Sotacus,[3521] Pytheas,[3522] Timæus[3523] the Sicilian, Nicias,[3524] Theochrestus,[3525] Asarubas,[3526] Mnaseas,[3527] Theomenes,[3528] Ctesias,[3529] Mithridates,[3530] Sophocles,[3531] King Archelaüs,[3532] Callistratus,[3533] Democritus,[3534] Ismenias,[3535] Olympicus,[3536] Alexander[3537] Polyhistor, Apion,[3538] Horus,[3539] Zoroaster,[3540] Zachalias.[3541]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] It is in the last six Books of Pliny, and those only, we regret to say, that we are enabled to avail ourselves of the new readings of the Bamberg MS., which has been so admirably collated by M. Ian. In a vast number of passages previously looked upon as hopelessly corrupt, or else not at all suspected of being in a mutilated state, this MS. supplies words and clauses, the existence of which in the original was hitherto unknown; indeed by its aid the indefatigable Sillig has been enabled, if we may be allowed the term, almost to _rewrite_ the last six Books of Pliny. From a perusal of these new readings, as Dr. Smith has justly remarked, we have reason to infer “that the text of the earlier Books is still in a very defective state, and that much of the obscurity of Pliny may be traced to this cause.”

[2] The Echeneis remora of Linnæus. See B. ix. c. 41.

[3] He alludes to the “rostra,” or metal beaks, with which the prows of the ships of war were furnished.

[4] An absurd tradition, no doubt, invented, probably, to palliate the disgrace of his defeat.

[5] From the delay caused by the stoppage of the prætorian ship.

[6] Caligula.

[7] For Astura and Antium, see B. iii. c. 9.

[8] And well it might surprise him. If there was any foundation at all for the story, there can be little doubt that a trick was played for the purpose of imposing upon Caligula’s superstitious credulity, and that the rowers as well as the diving sailors were privy to it.

[9] “Limax.” A singular comparison, apparently.

[10] In B. ix. c. 41.

[11] See B. ix. c. 41, where he is speaking of a murex, a fish which bears no such affinity to the remora as to warrant our author’s expression, “Idem valere omnia ea genera.”

[12] Properly meaning “delay.” “Remora” is another reading, and perhaps a better one, as the word is found in Plautus.

[13] In B. ix. c. 41.

[14] From λύειν τὰς ὠδίνας, “to release from the pains of childbirth.”

[15] See B. ix. c. 67.

[16] Ajasson remarks that it was owing probably to this opinion that it was formerly the belief, that by holding the breath a person could render himself proof against the shock of the torpedo; a precaution recommended by Kæmpfer, in his “Amenitates Exoticæ,” p. 514. Ed. 1712.

[17] “Quâdam aurâ sui corporis adficiat membra” seems a preferable reading to “Quâdam aurâ corporis sui adficiat membra,” as given by the Bamberg MS., and adopted by Sillig.

[18] See B. ix. c. 72, and the Note.

[19] A fabulous story, Ajasson remarks, but one that was commonly believed in the 16th and 17th centuries. Gessner, however, a conscientious enquirer into the mysteries of Nature, asserts (_de Aquatilibus_, p. 563) that, to his own knowledge, the sight of this fish was productive of the symptoms here mentioned. Beckmann reckons the Aplysia depilans (with which the Sea-hare of the ancients is identified) in the number of the animal poisons, and remarks that (as we find stated by Cœlius Rhodiginus, B. xxvi. c. 30) the Emperor Titus was dispatched by the agency of this poison, administered to him by the direction of his brother Domitian. _Hist. Inv._ vol. I. p. 51. _Bohn’s Ed._

[20] Athenæus says, B. viii., that the Scarus pursues it and devours it.

[21] “Quibus impactus est.” A curious expression; if indeed it is the correct reading.

[22] See B. ix. c. 72.

[23] Mituli. See B. ix. c. 74.

[24] “Cetos.”

[25] Ajasson remarks, in confutation of this story, that there are few rivers in Arabia of such a breadth.

[26] See B. xi. c. 34.

[27] Of this work, began by Ovid during his banishment in Pontus, and probably never completed, only a fragment of one hundred and thirty-two lines has come down to us. Pliny again makes reference to it, in the last Chapter of the present Book.

[28] Or “Treatise on Fishes.”

[29] See B. ix. c. 69, and B. xi. c. 61.

[30] Quoted from the Halieuticon.

[31] The wolf fish. The Perca labrax of Linnæus. See B. ix. cc. 24, 28, 74, 79, and B. x. c. 89.

[32] From the Halieuticon of Ovid.

[33] See B. ix. cc. 14, 35, 39, 48, 74, 79, 81.

[34] From the Halieuticon.

[35] From the Halieuticon.

[36] See B. ix. cc. 21, 26, 67.

[37] From the Halieuticon.

[38] From the Halieuticon. See Note 31 above, if indeed the same fish is meant. See also B. xxxi. c. 44, and the Note.

[39] From the Halieuticon.

[40] See B. ix. c. 85.

[41] In B. ix. c. 39. Aristotle, however, as there stated, was not of the same opinion.

[42] See B. xx. c. 98.

[43] “Novacula piscis.” Pliny is the only ancient author that mentions this fish. There are numerous varieties of it, among which the best known are the Coryphæna novacula of Linnæus, the Rason of the Mediterranean, highly esteemed as an article of food, and the Coryphæna pentedactyle of Bloch, identical with the _Hemiptéronote à cinq taches_, of Lacépède.

[44] An absurdity, owing, no doubt, to its name.

[45] Or “globe-fish.” The Mola, orbis marinus, or sun-fish of modern Natural History, the _Lune de mer_, or _poisson-lune_ of the French. Though the skin is harsh and tough, there is no firmness in its flesh, which is of a gluey consistency.

[46] In reality it _has_ scales, but they are almost imperceptible, from their minuteness.

[47] Or rather, as Dalechamps observes, “all belly.”

[48] See B. ix. cc. 44, 45, and B. xviii. c. 87.

[49] See B. ix. cc. 1, 21 and c. 53 of the present Book. There are two varieties of it, the Xiphias gladius of Bloch and Lacépède, and the Xiphias machæra of Shaw.

[50] See B. v. c. 1.

[51] Martial, B. iv. Ep. 30, speaks of this being the case at the fishponds of Baiæ, where the Emperor’s fish were in the habit of making their appearance when called by name.

[52] A village of Caria, celebrated for its sanctuary of Zeus Stratios. Ælian, Hist. Anim. B. xii. c. 30, says that there was a spring of clear water, within the sanctuary, which contained fish with golden necklaces and rings.

[53] “Inaures.” He probably means ornaments suspended from the gills, a thing which, in the case of eels, might be done.

[54] “Senum delubrum.” Ælian speaks of tame fish in the Old Men’s Harbour (λιμὴν) at Chios.

[55] In B. xxxi. c. 22.

[56] The seat of the worship of the half-fish goddess Addirga, Atergatis, Astarte, or Derceto. See B. v. c. 19. The original names of Hierapolis (the Holy City) were Bambyce and Mabog.

[57] See B. iii. c. 9.

[58] A Greek name signifying “black-tails.” See c. 53 of this Book. Holland translates it “the black-tailed ruffe” or “sea-bream.”

[59] See B. v. c. 38.

[60] See B. v. c. 31, and B. xxxi. c. 43.

[61] See B. iii. c. 14.

[62] See B. v. cc. 3, 4.

[63] See B. iii. cc. 16, 26.

[64] Ajasson thinks that this may possibly be true to some small extent.

[65] Identical with the fish called “orbis,” already mentioned in c. 5 of this Book. Ajasson remarks that though these fish have been known to weigh as much as three hundred pounds, there are many others which grow to a larger size, the sturgeon, and the silurus, for instance.

[66] Ajasson thinks that this notion may possibly have been derived from the name, which not improbably was given to it from the spongy and oleaginous nature of the flesh.

[67] See B. iii. c. 16.

[68] Owing, perhaps, to the moisture of the atmosphere.

[69] We learn from Festus, that he prohibited the use also of the scarus, a fish _with_ scales.

[70] “Ad pulvinaria.” Literally, “At the cushions;” in reference to the practice of placing the statues of the gods upon pillows at the Lectisternia, which were sacrifices in the nature of feasts, at which images of the gods were placed reclining on couches, with tables and food before them, as if they were really partaking of the things offered in sacrifice. Livy, B. v. c. 13. gives an account of a Lectisternium celebrated with great pomp, which he asserts to have been the first instance of the practice.

[71] In B. ix. c. 54.

[72] See B. iii. c. 11.

[73] Theophrastus reckons coral among the precious stones, and the Pseudo-Orpheus among the minerals. Pliny would seem to be at a loss whether to consider it as an animal or a vegetable. In reality it is the production of marine organized bodies of an arborescent habit, known as Corallina, with jointed stems, supported on a kind of root divided into branches, which are likewise jointed.

[74] Because κειρεῖται, it is “cut short” in the sea, a far-fetched derivation, apparently.

[75] Solinus informs us that Zoroaster attributed certain mysterious properties to coral.

[76] A practice still retained, though the original intention of it has been lost sight of. As to the form of the coral now used by infants, see Note 2171 to B. xxviii. c. 7.

[77] In reality, the Pastinaca or Sting-ray is _not_ venomous; but the wounds inflicted by the sting in its tail are highly dangerous, from their tendency to gangrene.

[78] In B. ix. c. 72. As Ajasson remarks, it is quite possible that the sting of the Pastinaca might penetrate to the heart of a young tree, and so kill it; but that is no proof of its being poisonous. See also B. ix. cc. 40, 67.

[79] Or Mustela, the sea-weasel, mentioned in B. ix. c. 29, and in c. 37 of the present Book. See also Note 2407 to B. ix. c. 29. Ajasson is of opinion that under the names of “Galeos” and “Mustela,” the ancients confounded the Squalus galeus and the Squalus mustelus of Linnæus.

[80] See B. xix. c. 15, and B. xxii. c. 49.

[81] As water, and are consequently amphibious.

[82] The Castoreum of the ancients, the “castor” of our Materia Medica, is _not_ in reality produced from the testes of the beaver, as was supposed by the ancients, but from two oval pouches situate near the anus of the animal of either sex. There are four of these pouches in all, two containing a species of fat, and two larger ones including in their membranous cells a viscous fetid substance, which forms the castor of medicine. It is considered to be an antispasmodic.