CHAP. 12.—THE SEVERAL KINDS OF AMBER: THE REMEDIES
DERIVED FROM IT.
There are several kinds
1 of amber. The white is the one
that has the finest odour;
2 but neither this nor the wax-coloured
amber is held in very high esteem. The red amber is more
highly valued; and still more so, when it is transparent, without
presenting too brilliant and igneous an appearance. For
amber, to be of high quality, should present a brightness like
that of fire, but not flakes resembling those of flame. The
most highly esteemed amber is that known as the "Falernian,"
from its resemblance to the colour of Falernian wine; it is
perfectly transparent, and has a softened, transparent, brightness.
Other kinds, again, are valued for their mellowed tints, like the
colour of boiled honey in appearance. It ought to be known,
however, that any colour can be imparted to amber that may
be desired, it being sometimes stained with kid-suet and root
of alkanet; indeed, at the present day, amber is dyed purple
even. When a vivifying heat has been imparted to it by
rubbing it between the fingers, amber will attract chaff, dried
leaves, and thin bark, just in the same way that the magnet
attracts iron. Pieces of amber, steeped in oil, burn with a more
brilliant and more lasting flame than pith of flax.
3
So highly valued is this as an object of luxury, that a very
diminutive human effigy, made of amber, has been known to sell
at a higher price than living men even, in stout and vigorous
health. This single ground for censure, however, is far from
being sufficient; in Corinthian objects of vertu, it is the copper
that recommends them, combined with silver and gold; and in
embossed works it is the skill and genius of the artist that
is so highly esteemed. We have already said what it is that
recommends vessels of murrhine and of crystal; pearls, too, are
of use for wearing upon the head, and gems upon the fingers.
In the case of all other luxuries, in fact, it is either a spirit of
ostentation or some utility that has been discovered in them
that pleads so strongly in their behalf; but in that of amber
we have solely the consciousness that we are enjoying a luxury,
and nothing more. Domitius Nero, among the other portentous
extravagances of his life, bestowed this name upon the
ringlets of his wife Poppæa, and, in certain verses of his, he has
even gone so far as to call them "succini." As fine names,
too, are never wanting for bodily defects, a third tint has been
introduced of late for hair among our ladies, under the name of
"amber-colour."
Amber, however, is not without its utility in a medicinal
point of view; though it is not for this reason that the women
are so pleased with it. It is beneficial for infants also, attached
to the body in the form of an amulet; and, according to Callistratus,
it is good for any age, as a preventive of delirium and as
a cure for strangury, either taken in drink or attached as an
amulet to the body. This last author, too, has invented a new
variety of amber; giving the name of "chryselectrum"
4 to an
amber of a golden colour, and which presents the most beautiful
tints in the morning. This last kind attracts flame, too,
with the greatest rapidity, and, the moment it approaches the
fire, it ignites. Worn upon the neck, he says, it is a cure
for fevers and other diseases, and, triturated with honey and
oil of roses, it is good for maladies of the ears. Beaten up
with Attic honey, it is good for dimuess of sight; and the
powder of it, either taken by itself or with gum mastich in
water, is remedial for diseases of the stomach. Amber, too, is
greatly in request for the imitation of the transparent precious
stones, amethystos in particular: for, as already stated, it
admits of being dyed of every colour.