Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/350

 STONES

306

STONES

beryl, though sometimes white, is usually of a light blue verging into a yellowish green; the emerald is more transparent and of a finer hue than the beryl; as a gem, it is more beautiful, and hence more costly; the aqua marine is a beautiful sea-green variety. The emerald derives its coloiu- from a small quantity of oxide of chromium; the beryl and aqua marine from a small quantity of oxide of iron. The beryl occurs in the shape either of a pebble or of an hexagonal prism. It is found in metamorphic limestone, slate, mica- schist, gneiss, and granite. In ancient times it was obtained from Upper Egypt and is still found in the mica slate of Mt. Zaborah, The largest beryls known have been found in .4cworth and Grafton, New Hampshire, and in Royalston, Massachusetts, United States of America; one weighs 2900 lb., measures 51 inches in length, 32 inches through in one direction and 22 in another transverse. The beryl has been employed for cabalistic uses (Aubrey, " Miscellanies " ).

Carbuncle, Heb., "23; Sept. av^pa| (Ex.,xxviii, 18; xxxix, 11; Ezech., xx\'iii, 13; omitted in Ezech., xxvii, 16); Vulg., carbuncuhis (Ex., xxviii, 18; x.xxix, 11; Ezech., xxviii, 13), gemma (Ezech., xxvii, 16), the first stone of the second row of the rational; it represented Juda, and is also the eighth stone mentioned of the riches of the King of Tyre (Ezech., xxviii, 13), being, not a native product, but an object of importation (Ezech., xxvii, 16); it is perhaps the third stone of the foundation of the celestial city (Apoc, xxi, 19). The ancient authors are far from agreeing on the precise nature of this stone. It very probably corresponds to the dvdpa^ of Theophrastus (De lap., IS), the car- buncuhis of Phny (Hist, nat., XXXVH, x\'\-), the charchedonius of Petronius, and the ardjouani of the Arabs. If so it is a red glittering stone, probably the Oriental ruby, though the appellation may have been applied to various red gems. Theoplirastus says of it: "Its colour is red and of such a kind that when it is held against the sun it resembles a burning coal." This description tallies fairly well with that of the Oriental ruby. He relates also that the most perfect carbuncles were brought from Carthage, Marseilles, Egypt, and the neighbourhood of Siena. Carbuncles were named differently according to the places whence they came. Phny (Hist, nat., XXXVH, xxv) cites the Hthizontes, or Indian carbuncles, the amethysti- zontes, the colour of which approached that of the amethyst, and the sitites. Most probably, then, the name of carbuncle applied to several stones.

Casneli.\n, Heb. 2~S fromO"!*, tobered, especially "red blooded"; Sept. and Apoc. adpSiov; Vulg. sar- dius; the first stone of the breastplate (Ex., xxviii, 17; xxxix, 10) representing Ruben; also the first among the stones of tlie King of Tyre (Ezech., xxviii, 13) ; the sixth foundation stone of the celestial city (Apoc, xxi, 19). The word £rd/)5io>' has sometimes been rendered sardonyx; this is a mistake, for the same word is equiv- alent to carnelian in Theophrastus (De lap., 55) and Pliny (Hist, nat., XXXVII, xxxi), who derive the name froni that of the city of Sardes where, they say, it was first found. The carnelian is a siliceous stone and a species of chalcedony. Its colour is a flesh-hued red, varying from the palest flosh-colour to a deep blood- red. It is of a conchdidal structure. Usually its col- our is without clouds or \-i'ins; but sometimes delicate veins of extremely light red or wliite are found ar- ranged much like the rings of an agate. Carnelian is used for rings and seals. The finest carnelians are found in the East Indies.

Chalcedony, Apoc, xxi, 19, x'^^^v^'^"', Vulg. chalce- donius, tlie third foundation stone of the celestial Jerusalem. Some claim the writing x'»^'")Su>' is erro- neous, and that it should be x<»P'"I^'^', the carbuncle. Though this view is countenanc-ed by but few MSS., yet it is not devoid of reason; for whilst the other eleven stones correspond to a stone in the rational it is singular that this should be the only exception.

Moreover the ancients very often confounded the names of these two stones. The chalcedony is a sili- ceous stone. Its name is supposed to be derived from Chalcedon, in Bithynia, whence the ancients obtained the stone. It is a species of agate and bears various names according to its colour. It is usually made up of concentric circles of various colours. The most valuable of these stones are foimd in the East Indies. Sets for rings, seals, and, in the East, cups and beakers are made of chalcedon.

Chodchod, ■3"il (Is., Uv, 12; Ezech., xxvii, 16); Sept. (a<rvis (Is., liv, 12), xopx^P (Ezech., xx^'ii, 16); Vulg. Ja.S7»s (Is., liv, 12), chodchod (Ezech., wi\, 16). — This word is used only twice in the Bible. The chod- chod is generally identified wifh the Oriental ruby. The translation of the word in Is. both by the Septuagint and the Vulgate is jasper; in Ezech. the word is merely transliterated; the Greek X'PX^P is explained by con- sidering how easy it is to mistake a "i for a 1. " What chodchod signifies", says St. Jerome, "I have until now not been able to find" (Comment, in Ezech., x.xvii, 16, in P. L., XXV, 255). In Is. he follows the Septuagint and translates chodchod by jaspis. The word is probably derived from "1";, "to throw fire"; the stone was therefore brilliant and verj' likely red. This supposition is strengthened by the fact that the Ara- bic word kadzkadzat, evidently derived from the same stem as chodchod, designates a bright red. It was therefore a kind of ruby, likely the Oriental ruby, perhaps also the carbvmcle (see above).

Chrysolite, Heb. t'"U:"1."^ (Ex., xxviii, 20; xxxLx, 13; Ezech., i, 16; x, 9; xx-viii, 13; Cant., v, 14; Dan., x, 6); Sept., xp^"^^'^"' (Ex., xx\iii, 20; xxxix, 13; Ezech., x\-\-iii, 13); Oapffh (Cant., v, U; Dan., x, 6); 0ap<reii (Ezech., 1, 16; x, 9); Vulg. chry.solithus (Ex., xxviii, 20; x-X-xLx, 13; Ezech., x, 9; xxviii, 13; Dan., x, 6), hyacinlhus (Cant., v, 14); quasi visio maris (Ezech., i, 16); Apoc, xxi, 20, xpi"''<i^'*'"; Vulg. chrysolithus. — This is the tenth stone of the rational, representing the tribe of Zabulon; it stands fourth in the enumeration of ICzech., xxviii, 13, and is given as the seventh foun- dation stone of the celestial city in Apoc, xxi, 20. In none of the Hebrew texts is there any hint as to the nature of this stone; however, since the Septuagint habitually translates the Hebrew word by XP""^!*^'*"', except where it merely t ranslit erat es it and in Ezech. , x, 9, since, moreover, the Vulgate follows this translation with very few exceptions, and Aqiiila, Josephus, and St. Epiphanius agree in their rendering, we can safely accept the opinion that the chni'solite of the ancients, which is our topaz, was meant. The word tharsis very likely points to the place whence the stone was brought (Tharsis). The modern ehiysohte is a green oblong hexagonal prism of unequal sides terminated by two triangular pyramids. The topaz, or ancient chrj'solite, is an octangular prism of an orange-yel- low colour; it is composeil of alumina, silica, hydro- fluoric acid, and iron. It is found in Ceylon, Arabia, and Egj'pt, and several species were admitted to exist (Pliny, ""Hist, nat.", XXXVII. xlv). In the Middle Ages it was believed to po.'isess the power of dispelling the fears of night and of driving away devils; it was also supposed to be an excellent cure for the diseases of the eye.

Chrysoprasus, Greek xP<"'i'^P'^<'", the tenth foun- dation stone of the celestial Jerusalem (.Apoc, xxi, 20). This is perhaps the agate of Ex., xxviii, 20, and xxxix, 13, since the chrj'soprasus was not vorj- well known among the ancients. It is a kind of green agate, composed mostly of silica and a small percent- age of nickel.

Coral, Ileb. n'i*:S' (Job, xxviii, IS; Prov., x.xiv, 7; Ezech., xxvii, 16); Sept. utriupa, pap.o$; Vulg. cxcvtsa, sericuyn. — The Hebrew word seems to come from SNT or 2'", "to be high", probably connoting a resem- blance to a tree. It may be also that the name canie from a strange country, as did the coral itself. It ie