Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 1.djvu/877

 GEM

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GEM

For the Third, The Wane of the Moon is prefer'd as the fittest Time.

The manner of gelding is thus : The Beaft being caft on fome foft Place, the Operator takes the Testicles be- tween his fore and great Finger; flits the Cod, and preffes out the Stones; then with a pair of Nippers made very fmcoth, either of Steel, Box, or Brazil, claps the Srrings of the Stones between them, very near to where the Stones are fet on ; and prefles them fo hard, that there may be no Flux of the Blood ; then fears away the Stone with a thin drawing cauterizing Iron, made red hot.

This done, he takes a hard Plaller, made of Wax, Ro- fin, and wafh'd Turpentine melted together, and melts it on the Head of the Strings with the hot Iron; and after- wards fears the Strings, and melts more of the Salve, till there is a good Thicknefs of the Salve laid on the Strings.

This being done to one Stone, the Kippers are loofen'd, and the like done to fhc other ; and the two Slits of the Cod fill'd with white Salt; and the Out-fide of the Cod anointed with Hogs Greafc : And thus they let him rife, and keep him in a warm Stable, without tying him up.

If he fwclls much in his Cod, or Sheath, they chafe him up and down, and make him trot an Hour in a Day ; and he foon recovers.

GELOSCOPY, GELoscopiA.a kind of Divination, per- form'd by the means of Laughter : Or, a Knowledge of any Peifon's Character and Qualities, acquired from the Consideration of his Laughter. See Physiognomy.

Metapofcopy, Chiromancy, Galofcopy, Ophthalmofcopy, Idemgraphy; Mafcurat. p. 607.

GEM, Gemma, a common Name for all precious Stones, or Jewels. See Precious Stones.

Among Gems, the principal are the T>iamond, Ruby, Sa- jfft'ir, Emerald, Turcoife, Opal, Agat, Cryjlal, &c. See each under its proper Article, Diamond, Ruby, Saphir, Emerald, ckc.

Pearls are aJfo ranked among Gems ; tho' not Stones. See Pearl.

Several Author?, both Antient and Modern, relate Won- ders of the Virtues and Medicinal Properties of Gems : But their Reputation, in this refpect, is now not a little fallen ; and many even deny them any Virtue at all. let are the Fragments of fuch Stones {till preferv'd by the Physicians, in fome of the tnoft celebrated Compositions ; and there are feveral Chemical Preparations made of them.

In effect, as feveral Perfons of the greater!: Candour and Experience, have related fome considerable Effects of cer- tain Gems, on their own particular Obfervations ; and, as it is no ways improbable that fome of the fofter Stones may have considerable Operations on the human Body ; it might Be imprudent indiicriminately to exclude them from any Medicinal Vcrtue at all.

When much the greatest Part of their traditionary Qua- lities arc fct aside as fabulous; there will ftill remain fome, on as real, and well warranted a footing, as many of our other Medicines.

On fuch Considerations, Mr. 'Boyle was induced to give us a Treatife of the Origin and Virtue of Gems ; the Pur- port whereof is to make appear, that fuch Stones were ori- ginally in a fluid State; or made up of fuch Substances as were formerly fluid ; and that many of their general Vir- tues are probably derived from the Mixture of Metalline, and other Mineral Subftancesufually in.orporated wirh them; while the great Variety, and the particular Efficacy of their Virtues arife from fome happy concurrent Circutnflances of that Commixture ; e, gr. the peculiar Nature of the im- pregnating Liquor, the Proportion wherein it is mix'd, with the petrefcent Juice, and the like.

To fuppcrt this Hypothesis of the Virtues of Gems, he Jhews that feveral of them are not simple Concretions of any petrefcent Liquors, but coniift alfo of other mineral adventitious Parts ; which he argues from the Scparablenefs of fuch Subllances in lome Stones; the fpecific Gravity in others; and the different Waters or Tinctures to be met with in Gems of the fame Species, as Rubies, Saphires, Granates, and even Diamonds ; ol which fome are yellow ; fome of other Colours; and fome green, almost like Emer- alds.

There may therefore be in fome Gems numbcrlefs ad- ventitious Corpulcles : But there is great reafon to think that fome of thefe Corpufcles may be endued with feveral Pro- perties and Medicinal Virtues : There is a great Difference among thefe impregnating Particles ; and probably a greater Variety than ia known by us: .And lastly, many Gems are very richly impregnated with thefe Particles; why, then, may not they exert fome Power ? This is the Substance of what is direcTly alledg'd, in behalf of Gems.

The Strcfs of what is objected against. them, is, that the Mineral Substances they contain, are lb clofely locked up, ihat they can communicate nothing to the Body, and fo can have no medicinal Operation, being unconquerable by fo

fmall a Heat, as that of the Stomach, and other Parts of the Body. See Digestion.

Which Objection might be plausible enough to prevent one's afcribing any Medicinal Virtues to them a priori ; but can conclude nothing againft what is warranted by fo many Fafts, and Obfervations; efpecially, when there are ieveral Particulars, that obviate this Objection.

For, a vigorous Loadstone, tho' frequently harder than many Gems, is known to emit copious Effluvia : And there are many which have been found to have a manifest and inconvenient Operation on the human Body, by being wore in the Pocket, or long held in the Hand. Mr. Soyle has found many transparent Pebbles, which, when cut, would re- femble Diamonds, that might be immediately brought to emit copious, and ftrong-fcented Steams. And if electrical Attractions be owing to the Effluvia of Bodies excited by rubbing ; very flight Alterations may suffice to procure Ex- pirations from transparent Gems, many of which are electri- cal, and even the nardeft of all, viz. Diamonds; one of which Mr. Bcylc kept by him, which upon a little Friction would attract very vigoroufly. See Magnet, Effluvia, Electricity, Diamond, &C.

To that Part of the Objection, which pretends Gems not to be digeftablc by the Heat of the Stomach, it may be re- plied, that we do not know how far the Digefiion of Things in the Stomach is owing to Heat: Nor is it proved, that fuch Materials can have no Operation on the Body, without being digested, i. e. in patTing thro' it, without undergoing any fenslble Change of Bulk, Figure, &c. as Gems, when fwallow'd, are luppofed to do.

For fome Chemists make a kind of Bullets of Regulus of Antimony, which they call 'Pillule ferpetue, becaufe when they have perform'd their Operation in the Body, and are caft forth with the Excrements, they may be ap- plied again and again to the fame purpofe. Nor do we know, what Analogy there may be between fome Juices in the Body, and thole mineral Parts which impregnate Gems: For tho' Oculus Mundi be reckon'd among the rare Gems 5 yet if one of the beft fort, be, for a while, kept in common Water, it will receive an Alteration, obvi'ms to the Eye.

Add that Mr. Soyle has, without Heat, obtain'd a mani- feft Tincture from feveral hard Bodies, and even from a tranfparent fort of Gems, by means of a faint Liquor, diftiUed from a Vegetable Subftance ; as harmlefs, and as plentifully- eaten as Bread. And whether fome Juices of the Body, affiled by the natural Heat thereof, may not ferve for Menftrua to fome Gems, we will not fay ; but even the na- tural Heat of a human Stomach, nay perhaps of the exter- nal Parts of the Body, may be able, tho* nor ro digest pre- tious Stones, yet to fetch out fome of their Virtues ; For 'tis certain, it' makes a fenfibJe Alteration in the hardest Sort of them : Witnefs a Diamond of Mr. Boyle's ; which might have its eleclrick Faculty excited without rubbing, only by a languid Degree of adventitious Heat: And an- other, which, by means of Water, made a little more than luke warm, might be brought to ihinc in the dark. See Phosphorus.

Lastly, if it be yet objected, that 'tis not likely Gems ifiould part with any Effluvia, or Portions of themfelves, inafmuch as they lofe none of their Weight : It may be anfwer'd, that the Antimonial Glafs and Cup imbue Wine and other Liquors, with a strong emetic Quality, without undergo- ing any fenslble Diminution of Weight. Add, that though common Water be not allow'd a Menftruum fit to draw any thing from Mercury ; yet, both Helmont, and others in- form us, that a large Quantity of it being kept a Day or two upon a fmall Proportion of that Drug, will acquire a Virtue of killing Worms; tho' the Mercury retains its former Weight. See Mercury.

Gem, or Germen, in Botany, a Shoot, or Bud of a Plant. See Plant, Germen, Bud, Germination,^-

GEMARA, or Ghemara, the fecond Part of the "Tal- mud of 'Babylon. See Talmud.

The Word iTIQJ Gemara, is commonly fuppos'd to denote a Supplement ; but, in Stricfncis, it rather Signifies Comple- ment, Perfection j as being form'd of rhe Cbaldee"\t2'iGe- mar, or Gbemar, to finifh, perfect, or compleat any thing; In which SenTe it is that the Rabbins ufe the Word.

For, the Pentateuch, they call limply the Za-zv; the flrfl: Part of the Talmud, which is only an Explication of that Law, or an Application thereof to particular Cafes, with the Decisions of the antient Rabbins thereon, they call the Mifchna, i. e. Second Law ; and the fecond Part, which is a more extensive and ample Explication of the fame Law, and a Collection of Decisions of the Rabbins, posterior to the Mifchna, they call Gemara, i. e. Perfection, Completion, Finifhing ; by reafon they efteem it the Finifliing of the Law, or an Explication, beyond which there is nothing further to be desired. See Mischna.

The Gemara is ufually call'd Talmud, the common Name of the whole Work. In this Senfe we fay, there are two

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