On the Antiquities of Prussia

...or of a tree is indicated by the pine-like scent when rubbed, and by the fact that when ignited, it gives off a fragrance like a torch. It is rough and unformed, and very similar to a clod of earth when it is taken from the water; because it was long unknown to the barbarians, being covered in bark and other debris adhering to it, it lay among the refuse of the sea. The Germans are said to have been the first to know of it and to have brought it into Pannonia to the town of Carnuntum; the Veneti, receiving it from there, first made the thing famous. Soon, those near Pannonia around the Adriatic Sea and the Transpadani, whose rustic women wore amber in place of necklaces for the sake of adornment, did the same. From this, we believe, the story concerning the Po became known to all. It is agreed that there are very many kinds of it; the white ones are of the most excellent scent, to which little value was given for a long time, but in this present age, both the tawny and the wax-colored are highly prized; the tawny, translucent ones also had greater authority, unless they burn with too much heat, for it is held that they contain a fiery image, not fire itself. The greatest praise formerly went to the Phalernian, named for the color of wine, and conspicuous for its soft luster; we find that by some it is called Chrysolectrum, as if to say "golden-colored," and it is most greedy of fire, and if fire is nearby, it ignites most quickly. There are some in which the smoothness of cooked honey pleases. Domitius Nero, the Roman Emperor, had adopted this name for the hair of his wife Poppaea, calling them "Succinos" (amber-colored) in a certain poem. From that time, this third color began to be sought by matrons for their hair. While also he was to exhibit a gladiatorial show, with a certain Julian, a Roman knight, in charge of this task, having been sent to procure it, who traveled these shores, he saw it and attempted trade. And he brought such a great quantity to Rome that the nets used in the public hunting spectacles were knotted with it, and the arms and the litters, and the entire equipment of a single day, were of amber; a single lump of thirteen pounds was seen at that time. Solinus, however, relates that this amber was given as a gift to Nero by the King of Germany, to which opinion I rather subscribe. Its value was so great that learned men have left it in writing that in the estimation of luxuries, it exceeded the prices of even small portraits of living men. And while in other things sought for luxury, display and use were pleasing—as in Corinthian bronze, which is a mixture of gold and silver, and in engraved work, art and talent—and pearls are worn on the head and gems on the fingers, in amber, as Pliny says, only the consciousness of luxury and extravagance was sought. Its use in medicine is manifold. For it is worn by infants as an amulet against madness, and it benefits any age against night fears. Callistratus has written that it heals fevers if drunk in a potion for difficulties with urination, or if worn tied around the neck, which they call Chrysolectrum. Ground with honey and rose oil, it removes eye cloudiness and is used for ear ailments; and if ground with Attic honey, it is even more effective. For stomach ailments, whether its flour is taken by itself or drunk with mastic in water—which I would believe especially of the white kind—it is beneficial. It is also believed to resist tonsillar and throat ailments; for this reason, the Paduan women have worn it around their necks for a long time, as various kinds of water there afflict the throat and surrounding flesh, which today the equestrian forces of the Turks observe in their horses. Likewise, the experience of moderns brings it forth that the white kind acts to induce birth, a thing most well-known to the women of Germany. Very many testify that stones of the bladder and kidneys are crushed and expelled by drinking it. It has been found that poisons and pestilential air are driven away by its scent. It is also beneficial to stop fluxes, and for the wounded if they take it in a drink. For this reason, it is also taken in poultices. But this also should be made known: amber can be dyed any color one wishes with the tallow of kids and the root of Alkanet; indeed, they say it is even dyed with murex. Those pieces that are translucent have a great resemblance to gems for the purpose of adulteration, especially to amethysts. Amber is polished by being boiled in the fat of a sucking pig. Its shavings, with oil added, burn more brightly and for a longer time than the pith of flax. It is known to everyone that by the force of heat received from the rubbing of fingers, they attract to themselves straw and dry leaves, just as a magnet attracts iron. Some have reported that it has even attracted leaves of copper and iron. I have seen a lump to which iron had adhered as if grown to it, which it had perhaps attracted by its own power. Many have attempted to render amber flexible and ductile, but it has resulted in nothing—a wonder, since it emerges too moist and succulent, as we have indicated. Let these things be said in a summary fashion about amber and the riches of the Sudini, for which they were often sought in war by foreign nations.