Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, BOOK XXXVI. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF STONES., CHAP. 34.

Home Collections/Texts Perseus Catalog Research Grants Open Source About Help

Hide browse bar Your current position in the text is marked in blue. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position:

This text is part of:

Greek and Roman Materials

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View text chunked by:

book : chapter

CHAP. 34.—GAGATES: SIX REMEDIES.

Gagates¹ is a stone, so called from Gages, the name of a town and river in Lycia.² It is asserted, too, that at Leucolla³ the sea throws it up, and that it is found over a space twelve stadia in extent. It is black, smooth, light, and porous, differs but little from wood in appearance,⁴ is of a brittle texture, and emits a disagreeable odour⁵ when rubbed. Marks made upon pottery with this stone cannot be effaced. When burnt, it gives out a sulphureous smell; and it is a singular fact, that the application of water ignites it, while that of oil quenches it.⁶ The fumes of it, burnt, keep serpents at a distance, and dispel hysterical affections: they detect a tendency also to epilepsy,⁷ and act as a test of virginity.⁸ A decoction of this stone in wine is curative of tooth-ache; and, in combination with wax, it is good for scrofula. The magicians, it is said, make use of gagates in the practice of what they call axinomancy;⁹ and they assure us that it will be sure not to burn, if the thing is about to happen as the party desires.

1 Our jet, which somewhat resembles cannel-coal, and is found in clay soils.

2 See B. v. c. 28, where a place called "Gagæ" is mentioned. In Note 5 to that Chapter, "gagates" is erroneously rendered "agate."

3 See B. v. c. 26.

4 This comparison is not inapt, as it is closely akin to Lignite, or brown coal.

5 A bituminous and animal odour, Ajasson says, quite peculiar to itself.

6 He has borrowed this erroneous assertion, probably, from Nicander, who, with Pliny, says the same of the "Thracian stone," which has not been identified, but is supposed to have been a sort of coal. See B. xxxiii. c. 30.

7 This is, probably, the meaning of "sonticus morbus," a disease, which, according to the jurists, excused those affected with it, from attending in courts of justice.

8 Albertus Magnus, De Mineral, B. ii., says that if it is given in water to a female, it will have a diuretic effect immediately, if she is not in a state of virginity, and that the contrary will be the case if she is.

9 See B. xxx. c. 5. According to Dalechamps, this was practised by placing the jet upon a hatchet at a red heat.

The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar:

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

This text is part of:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View text chunked by:

Table of Contents:

CHAP. 34.—GAGATES: SIX REMEDIES.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

This text is part of:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View text chunked by:

Table of Contents:

CHAP. 34.—GAGATES: SIX REMEDIES.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.