The renowned medieval philosopher and theologian, Albertus Magnus (1193-1280), for a short time Bishop of Ratisbon, and who later taught theology in the University of Paris and had the great St. Thomas Aquinas for a pupil, was not altogether free from the superstitious notions of his time, traces of which appear in certain of his numerous writings. Many years after his death some of this material was extracted from his works and, amplified by additions from other sources, was published under the title “Secrets des vertus des Herbes, Pierres et Bestes.” Of this there are two versions, one being an epitome of the other and termed respectively “Le Grand Albert” and “Le Petit Albert.” These little books were often reprinted and widely circulated, and eventually enjoyed great popularity among the French peasants. Indeed, even to the present day they may still be met with in out-of-the-way parts of rural France. Among literary deceptions one of the boldest was that practised in the early part of the seventeenth century by Ludovico Dolce. This writer made, in 1565, a literal translation into Italian of the “Speculum lapidum” of Camillo Leonardo, printed in Venice in 1502, and he had the courage to issue it as his own work, under the title “Trattato delle gemme chè produce la natura.” In view of the general familiarity with Latin among the better classes at that period, and the numerous fine libraries existing in Venice at the time, it seems most extraordinary that Dolce should have been successful in palming off this work as his own, but even to-day citations are made from Dolce’s “Trattato delle gemme” and from Leonardo’s “Speculum lapidum,” as though these were distinct works. II On the Use of Precious and Semi-Precious Stones as Talismans and Amulets