Kitap 23
6.86
And it is a proof that they are of ethereal origin, rather than that they are conceived and fed from nourishment derived from the sea, that when drops of morning dew fall upon these gems, they make them brilliant and round, but the dew of evening, on the contrary, makes them irregular, red, and sometimes spotted; and they become large or small under varying conditions, according to the quality of what they have taken in. Very often the shell-fish close through fear of thunderstorms, and either produce imperfect stones or none at all; or at any rate, it melts away as the result of abortion.
6.87
Their taking is difficult and dangerous, and their price is high, for the reason that they avoid shores that are usually frequented, to escape the snares of the pearlfishers, as some believe, and hide amid solitary rocks and the lairs of sea-hounds.I.e. sharks.
6.88
That this kind of gem is found and gathered in the lonely bays of the Britannic Sea,Cf. Tac., Agr. 12; Pliny, N.H. ix. 116; Solin. 56, 3, 28. although of less value than these, is well known to us.
