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Achates, Agate

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ACHATES.
modern mineralogists. Besides the species still retaining the name, it embraced all the inferior quartz-gems, the clouded Carnelians, and the like, as well as those now called Jaspers : fur the ancient name " Jaspis " was properly re­stricted to the green translucent species of Calcedony, the Plasma, and the Heliotrope (Jaspis). How wide the sig­nification of the term " Achates " had become in ancient times appears from Orpheus (604), who sings its praises as " the multiform, excellent Achates, invested with every colour; for numerous to be seen are the dyes of the Achates. In it thou wilt find, on looking, the glass-like Jaspis, the blood-red Sard, and the sparkling Emerald. Amongst them is found one of a vermilion aspect, moreover a copper-colour, and the huo of the summer apple ; but. chiefest of all that, canst thou obtain it, picturing the tawny hide of the fierce lion dappled all over with spots ; red, white, dusky, and green,"—this last sort evidently the Brocatella. These varieties are all distinguished in Pliny by compound names expressing the different shades or conformation of the subject-matter. Thus his Jasp-achates would be an Agate with a green ground ; his Cerachates, one yellow and opaque ; his Sardachates, one mixed with translucent red ; his Haemachates, our rare Red Agate, of the deepest blood-colour, traversed by translucent veins of a lighter sanguine ; the Dendrachates, " decorated with little trees," our Moss-Agate.* The Corallachates, " besprinkled with gold-dust like Lapis-lazuli, and entitled sacred," is unmistakably our Aven-turine-quartz, of a translucent reddish-brown, filled with
* Sometimes called " Mocha-stone," and consequently believed to come from Arabia. But in reality " mocha " is merely the Saxon patois for " moss ;'' the stone having the same name in both languages. The filaments giving the appellation are not petrified vegetation as they appear, but. particles of clay suspended in the pure silicious matter of the Agate whilst yet in a liquid state.
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