From the PREFACE.
In these pages a sincere attempt is made to blend modern science with the ancient and occult philosophy of the precious, semi-precious and common stones of the earth. It will be shown that many of the seemingly absurd narratives of old authors are but cunningly concealed truths, the unravelling of which can be followed with interest and profit along the lines herein indicated. The ancient masters held that the influences exerted by the heavenly bodies entered into harmonious relations with various terrestrial substances. Hence we have the venerable philosophy of fortunate stones, planetary gems and "stones of power," which form a part of the vast department known as talismanic magic. It is the philosophy of sympathy and antipathy prevailing through nature—atom for atom, stone for stone, plant for plant, animal for animal, man for man. This observation was subjected to an orderly scientific arrangement which for completeness of detail would compare, in some cases, more than favorably with the most careful synthesis of modern science. In order to make easily understood the matter treated and to secure pronunciations as nearly correct as possible, it has been considered advisable to render all foreign words, ancient and modern, in familiar letters.
