That Poisonous Thing Called Diamond
There are many myths alluding to the wondrous healing and
magical powers of the diamond. It could cure a liar from
lying…it could help the body resist poisons…it could repel
the attack of phantoms …it could cure a person who was prone to
having nightmares…and if you had an orchard or a
vineyard–which most of us most assuredly do–and if you touched
a corner of said orchard or vineyard with your
diamond…why…your property would be henceforth protected from
lightening and blight. The diamond had, in short, many wonderful
and curative powers.
Ah…but there another side to the diamond. It’s a black, and
malevolent side. It’s a little know facet of this most desired
and soon to be dreaded gemstone. Let me give you some
you might not readily have available at your
fingertips. For example …did you know that if you held a
diamond in your mouth your teeth would fall out? Yes…well
folks…it’s true.
The Hindus of olden times–and perhaps to this very day for all
I know–the Hindus believed that the power of a flawed diamond
was so intense and venomous that it could produce, not only
virulent illnesses to their owners, but was also one of the
singular causes of lameness and jaundice and pleurisy and
leprosy. “D” flawless anyone?
Now then…some of you may well say something like, yeah, well,
that may all be true Benjamin…and then again it may not. It
would be nice, Benjamin, if you could give us some concrete
evidence of instances where the diamond did some real damage.
Myth may be okay for some…but we’d like to hear the rest of the
story. To you lads and lassies, I say…read on!
Let’s take Emperor Frederick II. He was, at different times, a
German king, a king of Sicily, a king of Jerusalem, and finally
the Holy Roman Emperor. The guy got around. He was certainly
what I would consider a cosmopolitan man of his times. And
so…how did he kick the bucket? He imbibed a fatal dose of
diamond powder.
Turkey. The 1400’s. The Ottoman Empire. A time fraught with
strife. Who could you trust. Sultan Bejazet was not immune to the
trials of his time. His throne was in jeopardy. But, alas, he ate
a fatal amount of pulverized diamond which was mixed in with his
food. The administrator of this meal of gems…his son.
Then, last but not least, that great wife of Henry II, Catherine
de Medici. A wily woman with few scruples, she too died of
having powdered diamond in her food. Of course, there are some
heretics that will claim outright that it wasn’t diamond powder
that killed her, but rather arsenic. Bah, I say. If that’s so,
then why was the diamond powder subsequently known as “poudre de
succession”?
As time went by, as time is wont to do, many more magical powers
were attributed to the diamond, and it became equated with the
sun, giving it even more importance than it was already carrying
on its broad and faceted shoulders.
And so my friends…there it is. All the things you ever wanted
to know about the diamond’s dark side, but were afraid to ask.
Oh…one more quick thing. The main ingredient in legend and
myth is time. And so…as an act of clairvoyance…and altruism,
I bring you all a legend-to-be. While it is true that the
diamond does indeed have a dark side…time will eventually show
that the very diamond you may now dread, can be bought with
safety and the assurance that only its finer side will ever rear
its head, if it is bought from Tyler-Adam Corp. Oh, how I blush
to say this. Oh, how modesty ever prevails. But I have to tell
the truth. Don’t I?
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark
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