(100) And they who worship stones, and grave images of gold and silver and wood 〈and stone〉 and clay, and those who worship impure spirits and demons, and all kinds of idols not according to knowledge, shall get no manner of help from them.

(2) No stone was ever so renowned as the stone in the Ring of Solomon, yet it was quite a simple stone weighing no more than half a dang. But when Solomon made a seal of it, the whole earth came under his sway. His rule was established and his law extended to the far horizons. Though the wind carried his will to every quarter, he possessed only a stone of half a dang. He said: ' Since my realm and rule depend on this stone, from henceforth no one shall have such power.'

Although Solomon became a great king because of his seal, it was this that delayed his progress on the spiritual path; and he came to the Paradise of Eden five hundred years later than the other prophets. If a stone could produce such a state in regard to Solomon, what could it do to a being

like you, poor Partridge? Turn your heart away from common jewels. Seek the true jewel and be always in quest of the Good Jeweller.

(19) Leaf 7. The verse at the top reads:," This Stone is so noble and worthy that Nature has hidden it in her recesses. Its soul is all fair, and pure, for it is the true sun. I inform you of this. Keep it removed, apart and separated. Whatever boon you crave, it will come to you bounteously. without sin, with pleasure and delight." The seated figure on the left holding aloft the hammer is described as breaking hard stone, while the words beside the man with the retort read: "Breaking of stone our replenishment." Between the standing figures below is the exclamation; "O Sages, seek and ye shall find my Stone!" Under the outstretched hand of the man with a basket appear the words: "Draw out sorerem [?] in the bottom." Below the pool which the man on the left is stirring appears the simple statement: "Our healing water." The faces of the four men are extremely well drawn.

(8) Seperate thou ye earth from ye fire, ye subtile from the gross sweetly wth great indoustry.

(5) Thoth slaughtereth them, the Son of the Rock, proceeding from the place of the Two Rocks

(1) The Partridge next approached, graceful yet self-satisfied. Shyly she rises from her treasure of pearls in her garment of the dawn. With blood-rimmed eyes and red beak she flies with lightly-turning head, carrying her belt and sword.

She said: 'I like to wander among ruins for I love precious stones. They have lighted a fire in my heart and this satisfies me. When I burn with desire for them the pebbles I have swallowed become as if tinged with blood. But often I find myself between stones and fire, inactive and perplexed. O my friends, see how I live! Is it possible to awaken one who sleeps on stones and swallows gravel?

'My heart is wounded by a hundred sorrows because my love for precious stones has bound me to the mountain. Love for other things is transitory; the kingdom of the jewels is eternal, they are the essence of the everlasdng mountain. I know the mountains and the precious stones. With my belt and my sword I am always seeking the diamond, and I have yet to discover a substance of a loftier

nature than precious stones - even the pearl is not as beautiful. Also, the way to the Simurgh is difficult, and my feet are attached to the stones as if they were stuck in clay. How can I expect to go bravely into the presence of the mighty Simurgh, my hand on my head, my feet in the mud? Either I will die or I will discover precious stones. My nobility is evident, and he who does not share in my aim is not worth considering.'

The Hoopoe said: 'O you who have colours of all the stones, you limp a little and give lame excuses. Your heart's blood stains your claws and beak, and your search demeans you. What are jewels but coloured stones, yet the love of them hardens your heart. Without their colours they would be just ordinary little pebbles. He who possesses the perfume does not seek the colour; he who has the essence will not forsake it for the glitter of outward form. Seek the true jewel of sound quality and no longer be content with a stone.'

(8) Stones were highly venerated by prehistoric peoples primarily because of their usefulness. Jagged bits of stone were probably man's first weapons; rocky cliffs and crags constituted his first fortifications, and from these vantage points he hurled loose boulders down upon marauders. In caverns or rude huts fashioned from slabs of rock the first humans protected themselves from the rigors of the elements. Stones were set up as markers and monuments to primitive achievement; they were also placed upon the graves of the dead, probably as a precautionary measure to prevent the depredations of wild beasts. During migrations, it was apparently customary for primitive peoples to carry about with them stones taken from their original habitat. As the homeland or birthplace of a race was considered sacred, these stones were emblematic of that universal regard shared by all nations for the place of their geniture. The discovery that fire could be produced by striking together two pieces of stone augmented man's reverence for stones, but ultimately the hitherto unsuspected world of wonders opened by the newly discovered element of fire caused pyrolatry to supplant stone worship. The dark, cold Father--stone--gave birth out of itself to the bright, glowing Son-fire; and the newly born flame, by displacing its parent, became the most impressive and mysterious of all religio-philosophic symbols, widespread and enduring through the ages.

(13) Thou hast a similitude of this, in that the earth and stones are proceeded out of the incomprehensibility.

(8) For this is very well to be apprehended and perceived in the Earth and Stones, that the four Elements are of one only Substance, and that the Earth and Stones were generated in the Fierceness from the Kindling of the Elements. For a Stone is but Water; and therefore we should do well to consider, what Kind of Fierceness there must have been, that has drawn the Water so hard together.

(102) And now, when it is almost made, then it has its true virtue and colour, and there is nothing wanting except in this, that the spirit cannot elevate itself with its body into the light, but must remain to be a dead stone; and though indeed it be of greater virtue than other stones, yet the body remaineth in death.

(7) "I am Aglaurus, who became a stone!" And then, to press myself close to the Poet, I backward, and not forward, took a step. Already on all sides the air was quiet; And said he to me: "That was the hard curb That ought to hold a man within his bounds; But you take in the bait so that the hook Of the old Adversary draws you to him, And hence availeth little curb or call. The heavens are calling you, and wheel around you, Displaying to you their eternal beauties, And still your eye is looking on the ground; Whence He, who all discerns, chastises you."

(23) If it then hold itself dear, it is an infidel; Wherefore 'tis unlawful for the stone then to say 'I, Because it is entirely in darkness and nothingness." Pharaoh said, "I am the Truth," and was laid low. Mansur Hallaj said, "I am the Truth," and escaped free.' Pharaoh's "I" was followed by the curse of God; Mansur's "I" was followed by the mercy of God, O beloved! Because Pharaoh was a stone, Mansur a ruby; Pharaoh an enemy of light, Mansur a friend. O prattler, Mansur's "I am He" was a deep mystic saying, Expressing union with the light, not mere incarnation.

(6) Of particular interest are the rocking or logan stones, which evince the mechanical skill of these early peoples. These relics consist of enormous boulders poised upon one or two small points in such a manner that the slightest pressure will sway them, but the greatest effort is not sufficient to overthrow them. These were called living stones by the Greeks and Latins, the most famous one being the Gygorian stone in the Strait of Gibraltar. Though so perfectly balanced that it could be moved with the stalk of a daffodil, this rock could not be upset by the combined weight of many men. There is a legend that Hercules raised a rocking stone over the graves of the two sons of Boreas whom he had killed in combat. This stone was so delicately poised that it swayed back and forth with the wind, but no application of force could overturn it. A number of logan stones have been found in Britain, traces of one no longer standing having been discovered in Stonehenge. (See The Celtic Druids.) It is interesting to note that the green stones forming the inner ring of Stonehenge are believed to have been brought from Africa.

(77) It was not needful that the Stone should be rolled away [from the Grave,] but to convince the blind Jews, that they might see it was but Folly in them to go about to detain or shut up God; also because of the Disciples weak Reason, that they might see that he was risen for certain; for [when the Stone was rolled away,] they could go into the Grave and see it themselves.

(3) Let it not fall upon me; let me not approach it with my hands, let me not tread upon it with my sandals

(5) It was necessary for the Indian to secure the red stone for his calumet from the pipestone quarry where in some remote past the Great Spirit had come and, after fashioning with His own hands a great pipe, had smoked it toward the four corners of creation and thus instituted this most sacred ceremony. Scores of Indian tribes--some of them traveling thousands of miles--secured the sacred stone from this single quarry, where the mandate of the Great Spirit had decreed that eternal peace should reign.

(25) Even at the time that the pebbles are being counted out, be not frightened, nor terrified; tell no lies; and fear not the Lord of Death.

(7) Away with thee! Steel, which art made fast upon my hand. I remain in thy prison, the Bark sails on and thou seest the path; but thine eyes close, [thine eye is delivered to me], thy head is veiled, and I go on and stay thy steps

(11) For the astringent quality now attracted the Salitter very strongly together, and dried it, whence the bitter earth is proceeded; but the stones are from the Salitter which at that time stood in the power of the tone or tune.

(8) Thus, as a ball of earth is scattered when hitting on a solid stone, will he be scattered who wishes evil to one who knows this, or who persecutes him; for he is a solid stone.