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Ch. 7: Hyacinthus, Sapphire, Corundum

Ch. 7: Hyacinthus, Sapphire, Corundum Page of 377 Ch. 7: Hyacinthus, Sapphire, Corundum Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
250 NATURAL HISTORY OF PRECIOUS STONES, &c.
mixtse cernuntur emicare nigredines." The " gloomy lustre " and "mingled blackness," or deep violet, aptly illustrate the preceding remarks.
Epiphanius, however (a.D. 400), notices some other im­portant varieties of this gem.* He divides the Hyacinthus into five sorts, because the deeper in colour the greater the value of the gem, inasmuch as the Hyacinthus, like dyed wool, displayed various shades of purple. The first quality was called Thalassites, or Marine (i.e. deep blue, according to the analogy of Venetus and ultramarine) ; the second, the Rose-coloured ; the third, Νativus ; the fourth, Chaniseus ; the fifth, the Pale. All came from the interior of Scythia, and possessed the property of not merely being uninjured by fire, but even of extinguishing it when thrown in, and, moreover, of rendering incombustible the linen in which they might be wrapped. In this list the third name, " Na-tivus," discloses a curious fact, for De Laet quotes Zosimus Panopolitanus to the effect that " Natef " is the Arabic for " a cake of vermilion paint." It is there­fore evident that Epiphanius had derived his information about this stone from some Oriental source, which accounts for his more accurate acquaintance with its varieties, like the Ruby, differing indeed in colour, but identically the same in chemical constitution. Still more strange is it to find Marbodus, in the eleventh century, venturing here to leave his usual guide, Isidorus, and, following the example of Epiphanius, but with still greater accuracy, to make the three divisions above alluded to, the blue, the red, and the yellow ; and with an exactness of arrange-
Ch. 7: Hyacinthus, Sapphire, Corundum Page of 377 Ch. 7: Hyacinthus, Sapphire, Corundum
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