Talisman ist Karneol Gläubigen bringt er Glück und Wohl; Steht er gar auf Onyx’ Grunde, Küss’ ihm mit geweihtem Munde! Alles Übel treibt er fort, Schützet dich und schützt den Ort; Wenn das eingegrabene Wort Allah’s Namen rein verkündet; Dich zu Lieb’ und Tat entzündet; Und besonders werden Frauen Sich am Talisman erbauen![59] Carnelian is a talisman, It brings good luck to child and man; If resting on an onyx ground, A sacred kiss imprint when found. It drives away all evil things; To thee and thine protection brings. The name of Allah, king of kings, If graven on this stone, indeed, Will move to love and doughty deed. From such a gem a woman gains Sweet hope and comfort in her pains. The wearing of carnelians is recommended by the Lapidario of Alfonso X[60] to those who have a weak voice or are timid in speech, for the warm-colored stone will give them the courage they lack, so that they will speak both boldly and well. This is in accord with the general belief in the stimulating and animating effects produced by red stones. On a carnelian is engraved in Arabic characters a prayer to keep away evil and to deliver the wearer from all the tricks of the devil and from the envious. The inscription reads in translation: In the name of God the Just, the very Just! I implore you, O God King of the World, God of the World, deliver us from the devil Who tries to do harm and evil to us through Bad people, and from the evil of the envious. Throughout all the East people are afraid of the envious. They believe that if you envy a person for his health or his wealth or any good thing he may have, he will lose it in a short time, and it is the devil who incites the envy of some people against others. So it is supposed that by wearing this stone, bearing this prayer against the envious, their envy will cease to do you harm. The popularity of the carnelian as a talismanic stone among Mohammedan peoples is said to be due to the fact that the Prophet himself wore, on the little finger of his right hand, a silver ring set with a carnelian engraved for use as a seal. One of the most famous of the imâms, Jafar, lent the weight of his authority to the belief in the virtue of the carnelian, for he declared that all the desires of any man who wore this stone would be gratified. Hence in Persia the name of one of the twelve imâms, comprising Ali and his successors, is frequently engraved on this stone.[61] [Illustration: CARNELIAN SEAL, WORN BY NAPOLEON I, NAPOLEON III, AND THE PRINCE IMPERIAL.