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SARDIUS.
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The Sard,
according to Pliny, is so called after the place Sardis, where it was
first discovered. This etymology, however, is merely based upon the
similarity of the words, and is of no more worth than the ludicrous
derivation given by Epiphanius, from its resemblance in colour to a
pickled sardine—an idea that very naturally suggested itself to an
icthyophagous Byzantine saint. But Σ,άρ&ιον, the earliest Greek form of the word, cannot be derived grammatically from 'Ϊ,άρΒεις ; its root is undoubtedly the Persian Sered, "
yellowish red," very slightly altered. The name came with the stone
from Persia ; the Babylonian mine producei the sort first known and
most esteemed : hence the stone is termed by Epiphanius the Babylonian
Sard.
Of
the modern name Carnelian, the derivations are numerous, the usual one
being from its colour of raw flesh (carneus). Again, it is spelt
Cornelian, as if from Corneolus, and equivalent to the German Hornstein, which signifies the European sort. Lessing, with some plausibility, supposes this form taken from the French Cornaline, to describe its similarity in colour to the cornel cherry.1
The
common Carnelian, a semi-transparent quartz coloured red or yellow by
oxide of iron, and its superior Oriental variety the Sard, hold the
first place in the list of stones employed by the ancient engravers,
presenting us alone with as many intagli cut upon them as all the other
species of gems collectively.
The Carnelian is found abundantly in many parts of Europe, wherever the shingle on the coast is composed of flint-pebbles,
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