Customer Reviews

Occult and Curative Powers of Precious Stones

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Another treasure from the past, this book, written by a medical doctor, was originally published in 1907. A virtual encyclopedia of precious and semi-precious stones and metals, this nearly 500-page book is loaded with lore and sprinkled liberally with anecdotes and historical information on how precious and semi-precious stones and metals were used in the past. There are many fascinating stories about the superstitions and legends that surrounded them; who owned what and how much; which diamonds were the biggest and how big they were, stories about kings, queens and potentates who owned them, how traditions surrounding precious and semi-precious stones came to be, and much more.

Although the book is encyclopedic, fortunately, it doesn't read like an encyclopedia. Dr. Fernie is a gifted writer whose engrossing style grabs and holds the reader's interest as he brings the history and lore of metals and precious stones to life. Of course there are sections for each stone and metal so you can go right to one you are interested in if you don't want to read the whole book.

In his introduction the good doctor states that the purpose of the book is to vindicate our forefathers' confidence in precious stones and metals for remedial uses either by scientific grounds or simple experience. Much of the information is anecdotal, and he freely admits that some if it is pure superstition, but not all. The metal copper is a notable exception as there is plenty of proof of its antiviral and antibacterial properties. It seems that whole villages near copper mines were infected with cholera, except for the miners. Doctors, noting this, began to experiment and found that by causing a person to wear a small copper plate over his/her stomach area, the seat of the disease, the person was protected from contracting cholera. This was proven again and again with soldiers and many others. He also adds other information about how copper was used to kill bacteria and viruses in water.

I did a little research on the Internet and found that in 2008 scientists had proven the ability of copper to kill bacteria and viruses and were doing research on uses for it, one possibility being use as touch plates in public places. There is nothing to indicate that anything was ever done. I am not good at reading scientific jargon, but my understanding from reading the report was that they tried to break it down into its components and found that wasn't possible. Sounds like they were looking for something to patent, and when they couldn't find it, they may have abandoned the project. Makes me wonder how many other useful and valuable substances have never been used for the benefit of the public because they couldn't be patented.
The table of contents is really a convenient index in the front of the book of where information on each stone and metal can be found. There is a general index in the back.

All in all very enjoyable to read and a valuable addition to my library.