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Beryllus, Beryl

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BERYLLUS.
51
from amongst the pebbles of their torrents, and in another passage as met with embedded in serpentine rock in Baby­lonia. Pliny distinguishes its varieties with all the exact­ness of modern science. " The most admired," says he, "emulate the green tint of pure seawater " (the present Aqua­marine). " Next in favour is the Chrysoberyl, in which this green is tinged with a golden lustre " (an exact description this of our Indian Chrysolite, as the jewellers invariably terni it, although mineralogists retain for it its ancient name of Chrysoberyl. In its composition, alumina con­stitutes 70 to 75 per cent., the glucina being greatly diminished in proportion ; the stone is therefore much harder than the true Beryl). There was a still paler kind known then by the name of Chrysoprase, but in fact only a variety of the last mentioned. Then came the Hyacinthi-zontes, or sapphire-like sort; and the Aëroides, of a yet fainter shade of sky-blue.* The last was the species in­variably employed for intagli by the ancient engravers, as all existing antique examples attest. Lowest of all were ranked the wax-coloured, the oily, i. e. those of a greasy yellowish green, and such as were totally colourless.
The Beryl was the only one amongst the precious stones that was facetted by the Boman jewellers, who cut it into a sexangular pyramid, as otherwise it had no brilliancy. Beryls were then highly prized both for the purpose of ear-drops and of mere ornamental, i.e. not engraved, ring-stones. When Cynthia's shade appears to Properties he remarks that (iv. 7)—
" Et solitam digito bcryllon adederat ignis."
* St. Laurent thinks this was the true Sapphire, and Lessing agrees with him (Ant. Briefe xxvi.), asserting that the ancients knew the Sapphire only as a sort of Amethyst, or of Beryl. But this is an-
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