discovered. The stone is our peridot. The Roman lapidaries distinguished the two varieties, the chrysopteron, our chrysolite, and the prasovdes, our peridot. The former is much harder, and the yellow color predominates over the green. The modern topaz was entirely unknown to the ancients.
Chrysoprasus. Rev., chrysoprase. From ypuvads gold and mpacov a leek; the color being a translucent, golden green, like that of a leek. According to Pliny it was a variety of the beryl.
Jacinth (sdxw3os). See on ch. ix. 17.
Amethyst (auzé$votos). From & not and wedtw to be drunken with wine, the stone being supposed to avert intoxication. Pliny distinguishes it from the jacinth, in that, in the latter, the vio- let hue of the amethyst is diluted. The stone is the amethyst- ine quartz, or rock-crystal, colored purple by manganese of iron.
21. Pearls (uapyapita). The pearl seems to have been known from the earliest times to the Asiatic Greeks, in conse- quence of their intercourse with the Persians. Among the motives which impelled Cesar to attempt the conquest of Britain, was the fame of its pearl-fisheries. Pearls held the highest rank among precious stones. The Latin term unio (unity) was applied to the pearl because no two were found exactly alike; but the word became in time restricted to the fine, spherical pearls, while the generic name was margarita. Shakespeare uses wnion for pearl in Hamlet, Act v., Se. 2.
‘¢ The king shall drink to Hamlet’s better health : And in the cup an wnion shall he throw
Richer than that which four successive kings In Denmark’s crown have worn.”
And again: ‘¢ Drink of this potion : is thy wnion here ?”
Every several gate (ava els &xacros Tov TuA@VeV). Rev., each one of the several gates, thus bringing out the force of the