Искусства и ремесла Средневековья

72 Arts and Crafts in the l\1idd1e Ages

Isle of Ormus, as "spices, pearls, precious stones, cloth of gold and si}yei·, elephant's teeth, and all other precious thiпgs f1·ош India." In Balaxiam he says are found " ballasses авd othe1· precious stones of great valнe. No man, оп pain of death, dаге either dig such stones or са�ту theш out of thc country, for all those stoвes are tl1c King's. Other шouвtains also in this pгovince yield stones called lapis lazuli, whcreof the best azure is шасlе. The like is not found in the \Yorld. These шiпеs also yield silveг, bгass, and lead." Не speaks of the natives as weaгiпg gold and silYer earгings, " with pearls and other stones artificially wгought in them." Iп а certaiп riYer, too_. аге fошн.l jaspeг and chalcedons. Магсо Polo's account of how diaшonds are oЬtained is ingenuous in its reckless defiaпce of fact. Не says that in the шotшtains " tl1erc аге ce1·tain great deep valleys to the bottoш of whicЬ there is no access. vVlieгefore the men ,vho go in search of the diamoпds take ,vith tl1em pieces of шеаt," \YhicЬ they thгow into this deep valley. Не гelates that the eagles, ,vhen they see these pieces of шеаt, fly do\\'ll апd get them, and when they гeturn, they settlc on the higher гocks, ,vhen the men raise а shout, and drive them off. Afte1· tl1e eagles have thus been driven away, " the men recover the pieces of meat, and fiш.l them fнll of diamonds, which have stuck to them. "For the abundance of diamonds down in the deptЬs," coвtinнcs l\Iarco Polo, na1Yely " is astonishing; but nohody сап get down, and if one could, it would Ье only to Ье incontinently de-