Hoyt & Roberts, comps. Hoyt’s New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations. 1922.
Jewels; Jewelry
January
By her who in this month is born,
No gems save Garnets should be worn;
They will insure her constancy,
True friendship and fidelity.
February
The February born will find
Sincerity and peace of mind;
Freedom from passion and from care,
If they the Pearl (also green amethyst) will wear.
March
Who in this world of ours their eyes
In March first open shall be wise;
In days of peril firm and brave,
And wear a Bloodstone to their grave.
April
She who from April dates her years,
Diamonds should wear, lest bitter tears
For vain repentance flow; this stone,
Emblem of innocence is known.
May
Who first beholds the light of day
In Spring’s sweet flowery month of May
And wears an Emerald all her life,
Shall be a loved and happy wife.
June
Who comes with Summer to this earth
And owes to June her day of birth,
With ring of Agate on her hand,
Can health, wealth, and long life command.
July
The glowing Ruby should adorn
Those who in warm July are born,
Then will they be exempt and free
From love’s doubt and anxiety.
August
Wear a Sardonyx or for thee
No conjugal felicity.
The August-born without this stone
’Tis said must live unloved and lone.
September
A maiden born when Autumn leaves
Are rustling in September’s breeze,
A Sapphire on her brow should bind,
’Twill cure diseases of the mind.
October
October’s child is born for woe,
And life’s vicissitudes must know;
But lay an Opal on her breast,
And hope will lull those woes to rest.
November
Who first comes to this world below
With drear November’s fog and snow
Should prize the Topaz’ amber hue—
Emblem of friends and lovers true.
December
If cold December gave you birth,
The month of snow and ice and mirth,
Place on your hand a Turquoise blue,
Success will bless whate’er you do.
In Notes and Queries, May 11, 1889. P. 371.
If that a pearl may in a toad’s head dwell,
And may be found too in an oyster shell.
Bunyan—Apology for his Book. L. 89.
Black is a pearl in a woman’s eye.
George Chapman—An Humorous Day’s Mirth.
Stones of small worth may lie unseen by day,
But night itself does the rich gem betray.
Abraham Cowley—Davideis. Bk. III. L. 37.
These gems have life in them: their colors speak,
Say what words fail of.
George Eliot—The Spanish Gypsy. Bk. I.
And I had lent my watch last night to one
That dines to-day at the sheriff’s.
Ben Jonson—Alchemist. Act I. Sc. 1.
It strikes! one, two,
Three, four, five, six. Enough, enough, dear watch,
Thy pulse hath beat enough. Now sleep and rest;
Would thou could’st make the time to do so too;
I’ll wind thee up no more.
Ben Jonson—Staple of News. Act I. Sc. 1.
Après l’esprit de discernement, ce qu’il y a au monde de plus rare, ce sont les diamants et les perles.
The rarest things in the world, next to a spirit of discernment, are diamonds and pearls.
La Bruyère—Les Caractères. XII.
Pearl of great price.
Matthew. XIII. 46.
Rich and rare were the gems she wore,
And a bright gold ring on her wand she bore.
Moore—Irish Melodies. Rich and Rare were the Gems She Wore.
On her white breast a sparkling cross she wore,
Which Jews might kiss and Infidels adore.
Pope—Rape of the Lock. Canto II. L. 7.
Nay, tarry a moment, my charming girl;
Here is a jewel of gold and pearl;
A beautiful cross it is I ween
As ever on beauty’s breast was seen;
There’s nothing at all but love to pay;
Take it and wear it, but only stay!
Ah! Sir Hunter, what excellent taste!
I’m not—in such—particular—haste.
J. G. Saxe—The Hunter and the Milkmaid. Trans.
I see the jewel best enameled
Will lose his beauty; and the gold ’bides still,
That others touch, and often touching will
Wear gold.
Comedy of Errors. Act II. Sc. 1. L. 109.
’Tis plate of rare device, and jewels
Of rich and exquisite form; their value’s great;
And I am something curious, being strange,
To have them in safe stowage.
Cymbeline. Act I. Sc. 6. L. 189.
Your ring first;
And here the bracelet of the truest princess
That ever swore her faith.
Cymbeline. Act V. Sc. 5. L. 416.
Ever out of frame,
And never going right, being a watch,
But being watch’d that it may still go right!
Love’s Labour’s Lost. Act III. Sc. 1. L. 198.
And jewels, two stones, two rich and precious stones,
Stol’n by my daughter!
Merchant of Venice. Act II. Sc. 8. L. 20.
A quarrel***
About a hoop of gold, a paltry ring.
Merchant of Venice. Act V. Sc. 1. L. 146.
I’ll give my jewels for a set of beads.
Richard II. Act III. Sc. 3. L. 147.
The clock upbraids me with the waste of time.
Twelfth Night. Act III. Sc. 1. L. 141.
The tip no jewel needs to wear:
The tip is jewel of the ear.
Sir Philip Sidney—Sonnet. What Tongue can Her Perfection Tell?
The lively Diamond drinks thy purest rays,
Collected light, compact.
Thomson—The Seasons. Summer. L. 142.