The Pahlavi Lapidary

Abstract

The text “The Pahlavi Lapidary” is difficult for translation and interpretation because different properties are attributed to stones of the same colour and the same properties to stones of different colours. Correct translation of Pahl. sāyišn as a concrete noun ‘a powder’ appears to explain the lapidary and to show that it is not only a question of stones of different colours, but of different coloured powders of these stones. Pahl. muhrag used not in its meaning of ‘a seal’, but in the meaning ‘a stone’ appears to suggest that this text may have been translated from a language in which there is one noun for these two meanings.

Full Text

Olga Chunakova The Pahlavi Lapidary Abstract: The text “The Pahlavi Lapidary” is difficult for translation and interpretation because different properties are attributed to stones of the same colour and the same properties to stones of different colours. Correct translation of Pahl. sāyišn as a concrete noun ‘a powder’ appears to explain the lapidary and to show that it is not only a question of stones of different colours, but of different coloured powders of these stones. Pahl. muhrag used not in its meaning of ‘a seal’, but in the meaning ‘a stone’ appears to suggest that this text may have been translated from a language in which there is one noun for these two meanings. Key words: Pahlavi, Pahlavi literature, Pahlavi lapidary The late compilation “The Pahlavi Rivāyat” known to us from MS K35 (A.D. 1572)1 and a few later copies contains a short treatise usually referred to as “The Pahlavi Lapidary”. It was published by E.B.N. Dhabhar,2 translated by Jean de Menasce,3 later it was again published and translated by A.V. Williams.4 Menasce noted its illogical structure, the same gems being repeatedly mentioned, while their properties are described in more than one way;5 Williams detected some “cyclical structure” in the list, as every other member of each group was mentioned accompanied by the noun sāyišn.6 Following Menasce, Williams translated that Pahlavi noun as ‘gloss’.7 Before I offer another translation, I must remark that the noun muhr// muhrag translated by both publishers as ‘gem-stone’ has never had that meaning in either Pahlavi or Modern Persian. The noun muhr means ‘seal; seal-ring’, etc., while muhrag means ‘bead; piece (for playing backgammon, © Olga Mikhailovna Chunakova, Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences 1 CODICES AVESTICI et PAHLAVICI 1934. 2 DHABHAR 1913. 3 MENASCE 1942-5, 180-186. 4 WILLLIAMS 1990a, 229-232; WILLIAMS 1990b, 111-113. 5 MENASCE 1942-5, 181 (after WILLIAMS 1990b, 266). 6 WILLIAMS 1990b, 266. 7 WILLIAMS 1990b, 111, 112. etc.); vertebra; a kind of small shell resembling pearls’, etc. The Pahlavi word sāyišn used six times in the text is a noun formed by the suffix -išn on the present verbal stem of the verb sūdan ‘to rub, to powder’, etc. The suffix -išn makes a noun denote the process of an action (dārišn ‘preservation, maintenance’; garzišn ‘complaint’, etc.), but also the specific result, materialization, or object of an action (dārišn ‘possessions’; garzišn ‘supplication’, etc.). Modern Persian still has some nouns with the suffix -еš (<Pahlavi -išn) reflecting both shades of meaning (dāneš ‘science, knowledge; learning’; gardeš ‘motion; wandering about’), while nouns having a more specific meaning (garzeš ‘a cry against injustice’) are usually considered ‘obsolete’. As a rule, such nouns denote actions (sāyеš ‘friction; polish’). It is not unreasonable to conjecture that this last word could also have once had another, more specific meaning - ‘powder’ (cf. Modern Persian suda (past participle) ‘powder’). Thus one phrase containing the noun sāyišn would mean: “the black +stone (muhrag) whose powder is white is used as an antidote against any poison shaped like a seal (muhragīhā)” (p. 259, ll. 11-12); the following phrase, “the yellow +stone (muhrag) whose powder is white, whoever owns it, will quickly get any assistance he wants, (both) from Gods and people” (p. 259, l.18-260, l.1). Further, it is explained how an owner profits from “the red +stone whose powder is white”, “the blue +stone whose powder is white”, “the light blue +stone whose powder is white”, and, once more, “the black +stone whose powder is white” which appears to be a remedy for all maladies: that recalls the properties ascribed to the black stone with white powder described at the very beginning. It might be that the second description of the black stone was once part of some other treatise purely mechanically linked with this text. Each phrase of the first text dealing with the properties of gems that have a white (i.e. colourless) powder is followed by a description of the properties possessed by varying numbers of +stones (muhrag): after the black stone with the white powder come the healing and protecting characteristics of yellow, red, blue, light blue and green stones; after the yellow stone with white powder, there again follow five stones, but with the black one described instead of yellow; after the red one with white powder, there again follow five stones; after the blue one with white powder four; the description of the light blue stone with white powder remains incomplete, as the first text was damaged. The first phrase of the second text, as it has been mentioned, describes the properties of the black stone with the white powder, but the following one containing the adjective ‘yellow’ starts with the attributive construction ān ī replacing the preceding noun, i.e. sāyišn ‘powder’. Correspondingly, after the description of the properties of the black stone with the white powder there follows one of another black stone, which produced yellow powder when ground. Later, the properties of black stones with red, blue, and green powders are described in more detail than in the first text. It would appear that initially the first text followed the same pattern and the passages dealing with the white powder of each stone (black, yellow, green, red, blue, and light blue) began with the same grammatical construction ān ī, indicating differing colours of powder produced by the same stone. Later, some copyist replaced the noun sāyišn with muhrag, which distorted both the sense and the logic of the whole. In reality, all gems are nothing but particularly attractive minerals, their colour depending on their chemical composition. Colour was once the basic principle for their classification, but in itself, it cannot be considered a distinctive feature, as a lot of gems have the same colour, albeit with different hues (e.g. spinel, hyacinth, garnet and other stones are red despite belonging to different mineral classes). On the other hand, the colour of the powder a gem leaves on a touchstone is unique and is used in mineralogy for the attribution purposes.[101] The coloured powder of various stones mixed with water,[102] so-called ‘juice’, was long used as medicine. Perhaps that sort of water (Sogdian ’’ph) was mentioned in the treatise on stones published by E. Benveniste[103]. That text lists black, white, blue, greenish, red, black, yellow, sandal-coloured, and white stones that when rubbed[104] produce correspondingly white, black, greenish, light blue, black, yellow, red, light blue and, again, light blue water. Thus the contents of the Pahlavi treatise uniting two unfinished texts was actually a description of the properties ascribed to stones having similar colour but differing in chemical composition as indicated by the differing colours of their powders. That also explains why the final passage mentions seven colours of powder, the seventh being plain white,[105] the others black, yellow, red, blue, light blue, and green. Accordingly, the first sentence concerning the green colour of the +powder (muhrag) was actually the last element in a lost description of a white or green stone. That means that the Pahlavi text of the lapidary was not only unfinished, but also lacking its beginning; its introductory passages, as well as the concluding ones, were simply added to an incomplete text, a compilation of two earlier ones. The Pahlavi word muhrag could mean ‘gem’ instead of ‘seal’ if the text were not original,[106] but rather a translation from a language in which both ‘gem’ and ‘seal’ were denoted by the same word. The source language could be Syriac, as it was the language of scholars in the medieval Middle East, and Syriacs, with their good knowledge of Greek and Middle Persian, were translators, physicians, and astrologers at the Sassanid royal court. And indeed, the Syriac word ’bn’ does mean both ‘seal’ and ‘(precious) stone’.[107] This idea could also explain the peculiar grammar, syntax, and lexicon of this text, which could have been caused by the translator’s insufficient familiarity with certain words and grammatical structures. No Syriac lapidaries are known to have reached us, but they gave birth to the earliest Arabic mineralogy, the so-called “Book of Stones” ascribed to Aristotle. We know fragments of it in Hebrew translation from which that apocrypha was subsequently translated into Latin.[108] On the basis of certain features, Julius Ruska who published and translated the “Book” suggested that it was not written in Byzantium, but rather in the Syro-Persian environment, and its sources should be looked for among medical treatises by such Syriac authors as Hunayn ibn Ishaq (9th c.) who were well acquainted with texts following the Greek[109] tradition.[110] And the Arabic translation of the “Book of Stones” was based on a Middle Persian version, which is indicated by the fact that the names of the stones followed the Middle Persian pattern (fīrūzağ, etc.).[111] Ruska also translated a chapter from “Cosmography” by Zacharia Kazvini (13th c.)19 which contained stories about gems, most of them referring to Aristotle. Having compared Kazvini’s work with other Arabic texts quoting the “Book of Stones” by Pseudo-Aristotle, Ruska noticed that Kazvini mentioned 48 stones omitted elsewhere. He then split those gems, most of them fantastic, into four groups: those with pronounced chemical activity; those used as medicine; magical and colourful magical stones.[112] That last group comprised seven colours: white, red, green, light blue (in Arabic, asmānjūnī; a word borrowed from the Pahlavi asmāngōn), black, yellow, and gray. Here are a few examples of their descriptions: “The black stone. So said Aristotle: If the stone is black and, when ground, its powder is white, it can be used against the poison of snakes and scorpions; the one bitten should drink (water with) this powder, or else that stone (lit. ‘it’, i.e. ‘powder’. - O.Ch.) should be worn as a pendant. If the powder is yellow, few of its owners will wake up(?) (the question mark is in Ruska’s translation. - O.Ch.), and the inhabitants of a house in which diseases occur will remain healthy. If the powder is black like the stone itself, its owner will have all his wishes fulfilled, and his wisdom will grow. If the powder is green, its owner will never get bitten by reptiles. “The yellow stone. So said Aristotle: if the stone is yellow and, when ground, its powder is white, its owner will receive from other people everything he may ask for. If the powder is green, one should expect that its owner will succeed in everything. If the powder is red, its owner will receive God’s assistance in everything he will ask for. If the powder is black, the one who takes it may pronounce the name of any other person who will have to follow him (the owner. - O.Ch.), and will not be able to follow his own will for as long as the owner has that stone.”[113] Even though that text does not follow the Pahlavi lapidary to the letter,[114] their typological similarity is obvious: most probably, the latter, combining two texts, followed some other treatises written by Syriac translators and being separate scholarly works. Thus studying the Pahlavi lapidary proves that this text was logical both in its contents and its structure. It probably was a translation of some Syriac work reflecting contemporary ideas concerning the medicinal and magical properties of stones. The Pahlavi text The publication based on manuscript K 35 employs the following conventional signs: round brackets mark additions and explanations, angular brackets mark words written erroneously, crosses mark reconstructed words. Transliteration p. 259 9 nyš’n' mwhryh’ Y PWN k’l k’lt Y nywk byšz MNW ’sm’n W ’NŠWT’ 10 hwlmtl W l’mšntl YḤSNNyt' mwhlk' spz ’MT' PWN k’l d’lyt' ’SLWNynd W ZLYTNd bl KZY ŠPYL YḤYTYWNyt' mwhlk' Y syd’ MNWš <s’yh> s’dšn spyt' p’t z’hl' Y KR’ z’hl mwhlk'yh’ wc’lyhyt' mwhlk' Y zlt' MNW d’lyt' mynwg wylw'yšn' YḤWWNyt' mwhlk' Y swhl PWN MND‛Mc L’ š’yt' mwhlk' Y hšyyn' ptyhw'yh ’pz’yt' W l’t' YḤWWNyt' mwhlk' Y 15 ’sym’ngwn ’wš PWN wyhyh YḤSNNyt' L’ HY’ MNW mwhlk' Y spz MNW d’lyt' hlpstl ’šwpyt' mwhlk' spz MNW d’lyt' hlpstl’n' L’ gcyt' mwhlk' Y zlt' hcš s’dšn' spyt MNW d’lyt' KR’ ’y’pt' MN p. 260 1 yzd’n' ’NŠWT’’n B‛YḤWN'yt' tycyh’ ḤŠKḤWnyt' mwhlk' Y syd’ MNW d’lyt' PWN KR’ hymym’l W ptk’l bwhtyt' mwhlk' swhl MNW MNW d’lyt' KR’ k’l = 1 pr’c' ‛ḤDWNyt' plc’mynyt' BR’ L’ zwtk' YḤWWNyt' mwhlk' Y hšyn MNW d’lyt' KR’ gyw’k ’YK YḤMTWNyt' dwst' 5 ptš wst’hw' YḤWWNd W KR’ MH B‛YḤWWN'yt' wyš YḤBWNd MNW ’sym’ngwn mn'šn' Y ’NŠWT’’n MDM t’pyt' nywk' YḤWWNyt' mwhlk' Y spz MNW d’lyt' KR’ shwn p’shw' zwt' W tyc' YḤMTWNyt' mwhlk' Y swhl MNWš s’dšn spyt' MNW d’lyt' KR’ k’l = 1 pr’c ‛ḤDWNyt' zwt' tyc' SGYTWNyt' W mwhlk' Y syd’ MNW d’lyt' mnšn' tyc W zwpl W MH' 10 hndšyt' nywk' ’y’pyt' mwhlk' Y zlt' MNW d’lyt' KR’ gyw’k ’p’dšn' W gl’myk YḤWWNyt' mwhlk' Y hšyn' KR’ ’YK YḤMTWNyt' PWN KR’ gyw’k' ’YK KTLNyt' lwb’k' YḤWWNyt mwhlk' Y ’sm’ngwn ’MT ’šk’lk' L‛YN' Y ŠDY’ W dlwc’n YḤSNNyt' MND‛Mc yz’dšn' wn’sšn' ptš krtn' L’ twb’n bym hcš L’ YḤWWNyt' mwhlk' Y spz MNW d’lyt' ’DNš PWN k’lyc’l 15 MND‛Mc zy’hm W nydy MNW nyck W spšyl ptš L’ YḤWWNyt' mwhlk' Y hšyn' MNWš s’dšn' spyt' ’MT NYŠH YḤSNNd PWN ŠM GBR’ s’dynd BYN ‛L YNH ’hncynd ’DYN'š ZK GBR’ dwst'' YḤWWNyt' p. 261 1 hcš wštn' L’ twb’n' GBR’’n' PWN ’p’yt' d’št' mwhlk' syd’ MNW d’lyt' gyw’k ’YK YḤMTWNyt' slb'' MDM KR’ ’YŠ gl’myk YḤWWNyt' mwhlk' Y zlt' MNW YḤSNNyt' ’YK ‛ZLWNyt' mynynd plystynynd ’Pš hwd’k'yh’ L‛YN YK‛YMWNd 5 mwhlk' Y swhl MNW d’lyt' KR’ gyw’k ’p’dšnyk YḤWWNyt' ’pyltl PWN hncmn' myd’n Y hmym’l’n' mwhlk' Y ’sm’ngwn MNWš s’dšn' spyt' MNW d’lyt' w’st’n' PWN l’mšn' ’Pš hk'lc'' byš PWN tn' m’hm’n' L’ YḤWWNyt' mwhlk' Y syd’ MNWš s’dšn' spyt' KR’ MH byšz'šnyh’ dlm’n YBLWNx2 lwb’k YḤWWNyt' W ZK Y 10 zlt' ‛L KBD MND‛M wyz’yt' MH ’MT' ‛L c’h W kts h’nyk' LMYTWNyt' MY’ k’hyt' ’MT' ‛L ’pyl MDM YḤSNNd plgnyt W w’l’n' L’ YḤWWNyt' BR’ ’MT' swhl p’thš’ MDM ’c’lyt' ’MT d’lyt W whšt' dwst YḤWWNyt' MNW swhl d’lyt'' ‛D ywd wl’hynšn' pr’c' YḤMTWNyt' ’DYNš MND‛Mc L’ tlwnyt' MNW 15 hšyn'' GBR’’n' ’MT PWN ŠM Y NYŠH hwyšynnd W ‛L cšm NPŠH' ’hncynd ZK NYŠH ‛LH' GBR’ dwst'' YḤWWNyt' ’Pš hcš wštn' L’ twb’n ZKc gw’hl PWN tn' d’štn' ’p’yt' MNW spz mdy’nc Y p. 262 1 wyd’p(’n ’p)’yt' d’štn' W w’l’n' w’lyt' ptyhw(yh ’pc’yt') W KR’ MH plm’dynd ‛BYDWNx1 W ZK MNW d’lyt' mnšn' Y ’NŠWT’’n YD‘YTNyt cw stn' MH ’MT ‘L L‘YN' ‛ZLWNd ptk’l ‛BYDWNx1 ’MT SLY’ hndšynd kwstk' Y hwy W ’MT nywk' ZK Y dšn' gl’dyyt ’MT' ’wctn Y 5 ’YŠ l’d hndšynd PWN mnšn' YḤSNNd L’ gl’dyyt' W ZNH mwhlk' Y gw’hl Y yzd’n' MNW nylwk' Y hptlng d’lyt' ZNH gw’hlyh’ ’YT' Y MY’ W ’YT' zmyk' ’YT' ’wlwl W ’YT' Y w’t' Y y’nwl’n cyhlk' YḤWWNd. Transcription p. 259 9 nišān (ī) muhrīhā ī pad kār (ī) kārd ī nēk bēšaz kē asmān ud mardōm 10 huramtar ud rāmišntar dārēd (……) muhrag sabz ka pad kār dārēd bandēnd ud kārēnd bar ahī weh āwārēd muhrag ī syā kē-š sāyišn spēd pād-zahr ī har zahr muhragīhā wizārīhēd muhrag <ī> zard + kē dārēd mēnōg wirāyišn bawēd muhrag <ī> suxr pad tis-iz nē šāyēd muhrag <ī> xašēn padēxīh abzāyēd ud rād bawēd muhrag <ī> + + 15 asmāngōn ōš pad wēhīh dārēd nē gyān <kē> muhrag <ī> sabz kē dārēd xrafstar āšōbēd muhrag sabz kē dārēd xrafstarān nē gazēd muhrag <ī> zard az-iš sāyišn spēd kē dārēd har ayāft (ī) az p. 260 1 yazdān mardōmān xwāhēd tēzīhā windēd muhrag <ī> syā + kē dārēd pad har hamēmālīh ud pahikār bōxtēd muhrag suxr <kē> kē dārēd har kār-ē frāz gīrēd frazāmēnēd bē nē zūdag bawēd muhrag <ī> xašēn kē dārēd har gyāg kū rasēd dōst 5 pad-iš wistāxw bawēnd ud har čē xwāhēd wēš dahēnd kē +asmāngōn manišn ī mardōmān abar tābēd nēk bawēd muhrag <ī> sabz kē dārēd har saxwan (ud) pāsox zūd ud tēz rasēd muhrag <ī> suxr kē-š sāyišn spēd kē dārēd har kār-ē frāz gīrēd zūd (ud) tēz rawēd ud muhrag <ī> syā kē dārēd manišn-tēz ud -zōfr ud čē + + 10 handēšēd nēk ayābēd muhrag <ī> zard kē dārēd har gyāg abāyišnīg ud grāmīg bawēd muhrag <ī> xašēn har kū rasēd pad har gyāg kū mānēd rawāg bawēd muhrag <ī> asmāngōn ka āškārag pēš ī + dēw ud druzān dārēd tis-iz wizāyišn wināhišn pad-iš kardan nē tuwān + bīm az-iš nē bawēd muhrag <ī> sabz kē dārēd ēg-iš pad kārēzār + + + 15 tis-iz zaxm ud nīš az nēzag ud šafšēr pad-iš nē bawēd muhrag ī xašēn kē-š sāyišn spēd ka zan dārēnd pad nām (ī) mard + sāyēnd andar ō čašm ahanjēnd ēg-iš ān mard dōšt bawēd p. 261 1 az-iš waštan nē tuwān mardān pad (tan) abāyēd dāšt muhrag + syā kē dārēd gyāg kū rasēd husraw abar har kas grāmīg bawēd muhrag <ī> zard kē dārēd kū šawēd + + + mēnēnd paristēnēnd u-š hudāgīhā pēš ēstēnd 5 muhrag <ī> suxr kē dārēd har gyāg abāyišnīg bawēd +abartar pad hanjaman mayān ī hamēmālān muhrag ī asmāngōn kē-š + + sāyišn spēd kē dārēd bāstān pad rāmišn u-š hagriz + bēš pad tan mēhmān nē bawēd muhrag ī syā kē-š sāyišn spēd har čē bēšazišnīhā darmān barēd rawāg bawēd ud ān ī 10 zard ō was tis wizāyēd čē ka ō čāh ud kahas + xānīg abgānēd āb kāhēd ka ō abr abar dārēnd parganēd ud wārān nē bawēd bē ka suxr pādixšā abar āzārēd ka dārēd ud wahišt dōst bawēd kē suxr dārēd + + tā jud- brēhēnišn frāz rasēd ēg-iš tis-iz nē tarwēnēd kē + 15 xašēn mardān ka pad nām ī zan xwēšēnēnd ud ō čašm (ī) xwēš āhanjēnd ān zan ōy mard dōst bawēd u-š az-iš waštan nē tuwān ān-iz gōhr pad tan dāštan abāyēd kē sabz mayān-iz ī p. 262 + + + + 1 wyābān abāyēd dāštan ud wārān wārēd padēxīh abzāyēd ud har + čē framāyēnd kunēd ud ān kē dārēd manišn ī mardōmān dānēd wizō- + stan čē ka ō pēš šawēd pahikār kunēnd ka wad + + handēšēnd kustag ī hōy ud ka nēk ān ī dašn grāyēd ka ōzadan ī + 5 kas rāy handēšēnd pad manišn dārēnd nē grāyēd ud ēn muhrag ī gōhr ī yazdān kē nērōg ī haft rang dārēd ēn gōhrīhā ast ī āb ud ast (ī) zamīg ast (ī) urwar ud ast ī wād (ud ast) ī gyānwarān čihrag bawēnd. Translation p. 259, line 9. The properties of the +stones[115] worked over (‘which were worked over’) with a knife, healing well, which make (‘keep’) the Heaven and people happier and quieter. (…).[116] (If) +the powder[117] is green, if (the stone) is used while planting (a tree),[118] (it) should be hung up, (the tree) planted, and it will give fruit soon and well. The black +stone whose powder[119] is white is used as an antidote against any poison shaped like a seal. (If) +the powder is yellow, its owner will be drawn to the spiritual. (If) +the powder is red, that (stone) is worthless. (If) +the powder is blue, that (stone) increases well-being and its owner will be generous. (If) +the powder is light blue, that (stone) protects wisdom, but never the soul. <Who> (If) +the powder is green, whoever owns (that stone) will frighten reptiles; (if) +the powder is green, whoever owns (that stone) will never be bitten by a reptile. The yellow +stone whose powder is white, whoever owns it, will quickly get any assistance p. 260 he wants, (both) from Gods and people. (If) +the powder is black, whoever owns it will be safe in every +fight and battle. (If) +the powder is red, <who> whoever owns (that stone) will succeed in anything, but never quickly. (If) + the powder is blue, whoever owns (that stone) may come anywhere, and his friends will be devoted to him and give him (‘more’) of everything he might desire. The one with light blue (powder), (that stone) wakes up the thought (‘of people’) and it will be good. (If) +the powder is green, whoever owns (that stone) learns to speak quickly and soon and (finds) the answer. The red + stone whose powder is white, whoever owns (it) will start any action quickly and soon. (If) +the powder is black, whoever owns (that stone) will be clever and wise, and whatever he +thinks about, he will easily get. (If) + + the powder is yellow, whoever owns (that stone) will be required and favoured everywhere. (If) +the powder is blue, wherever (the owner of that stone) comes, and in any place he stays, he will be welcomed. (If) +the powder is light blue, in the event that (the owner) shows (that stone) to a devil or demons, they will not be able to harm[120] or cause evil to him, and (he) will not be frightened of them. (If) +the powder is green, whoever owns (that stone), (‘+then’) in combat he will not have a single +wound or +damage[121][122] caused by a spear or a sword. The blue stone whose powder is white, in case women own (it) they should rub it saying a man's name and bring it to their + 30 eyes, and then that man will fall in love with (that woman) p. 261 and will never be able to leave her. Men should always wear that stone close to (the body).[123] (If) the +powder is black, whoever owns (that stone), wherever he walks, will be +famous[124] and adored by all. (If) the +powder is yellow, whoever owns (that stone), wherever he walks, will be thought and cared about[125] and every good will be done for him. (If) the +powder is red, whoever owns (that stone) will be needed in all places and in a conference (he) will be +above (‘among’) his opponents. ((If) the +powder is green, whoever owns (that stone), wherever he goes, will have plenty).[126] The light blue +stone whose powder is white, whoever owns (that stone), will +always[127] (live) in peace and his body will be devoid of pain. (Line 8). The black + stone whose powder is white, heals all maladies and is good (for all diseases). (The one) with yellow powder,[128] (that stone) harms a lot of things, because if (someone) throws (it) into a well (‘and’) a canal, (or) a spring, the water flow will decrease; if it gets raised towards the +clouds, it will disperse (them), and there will be no rain. And if (the powder) is red, the ruler…,[129] if he has (it), he will deserve paradise. Whoever has the red (powder), whenever a +disaster(?)[130] occurs, (the owner of that stone) will be impossible to + defeat. Whoever (has) the blue (powder), in case men take (‘appropriate’) that stone saying the name of a woman and bring it to their eyes, that woman will fall in love with that man and be unable to leave him. And that gem[131] should be worn close to the body. Whoever (has) the green (powder), it is that stone which p. 262 is necessary in the desert for the rain to fall. It will increase prosperity[132] and it will do whatever (its owners) tell to do. The one who owns (it) can +learn[133] other people’s thoughts, as when (the stone) moves forward, they are about to quarrel; if they mean harm, (it will move) left, and if they mean good, right; if they +think about killing someone and keep (that) in mind, it will not move. These are the divine gems possessing the powers of seven colours. 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