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 SAPPHO (See TOPAZ.) The violet sapphire is the orien- tal amethyst, a very rare gem of a magnificent lustre. It is the ninth stone in the breastplate of the Hebrew high priest, and is the sacred stone which ornaments the cross and the pas- toral ring of Catholic bishops. It was often cut both in relief and in intaglio by the an- cients. In the national library of France there is a splendidly wrought profile in amethyst, supposed to be Maecenas in old age, engraved by Dioscorides, one of the four celebrated en- gravers mentioned by Pliny. The greater part of the amethysts of commerce are occidental amethysts, quartz crystals colored a fine violet by certain metallic oxides. (See AMETHYST.) The oriental emerald, the green variety of precious corundum, when of a beautiful green and perfectly transparent, is the rarest of gems. Specimens have been found in Montana terri- tory. (See EMERALD.) When the sapphire is colorless it is called the white sapphire, and when properly cut and polished it has been mistaken for the diamond ; but it is inferior in brilliancy, and may be distinguished by its somewhat less specific gravity, and by its be- ing readily scratched by the diamond. Speci- mens of sapphire have been found in the ripi- dolite of North Carolina by Col. C. W. Jenks, in large crystals of several hundred pounds weight. They occur in the native rock in situ, of different colors, possessing much beauty as mineralogical specimens, and some of them have been cut; but as they are traversed by cleavage planes, they do not possess the per- fection of the eastern gems. Artificial sap- phires have been formed by Deville and Caron in small crystals by subjecting fluoride of alu- minum to the action of boracic acid at a white heat, and adding various quantities of fluoride of chromium. A certain quantity yields the blue sapphire, somewhat more the ruby, and still more the emerald. Daubre"e formed pure crystals by the action of chloride of aluminum on lime ; Ebelmann by exposing to a high heat four parts of borax and one of alumina ; and Gaudin by decomposing potash alum with charcoal. SAPPHO, a Greek poetess, born at Mytilene or Eresus in the island of Lesbos, flourished about 600 B. C. She lived in friendly inter- course with her countryman Alcseus, and was married to Cercolas of Andros, by whom she had a daughter, Cleis. From Mytilene, where she lived, she was compelled by persecution to flee to Sicily, but whether she remained there until her death is not known. The com- mon story that, being in love with a youth named Phaon, she leaped in despair from the Leucadian rock, probably originated in the myth of the love of Aphrodite for Adonis, who is called Phaon by the Greeks, while the leap from the rock is a metaphor used by many poets besides Sappho. Her poems are principally erotic compositions for the single voice, but she also wrote on a variety of oth- er subjects, serious as well as satirical, and is SAKAGOSSA 627 said to have first employed the Mixolydian mode in music. The Attic comic poets de- lighted in introducing her into their dramas as a courtesan; but Welcker, K. O. Mailer, Neue, and other commentators have attempted to vindicate her character. The poems of Sap- pho were arranged by the later literary Greeks in nine books according to their metres ; but only one complete ode, that to Aphrodite, and a number of short fragments, remain. She wrote in the ^Eolic dialect, and is said to have invented the metre which bears her name. It was formerly the custom to print her literary remains in editions of the pseudo-Anacreon, and it was not till 1733 that a separate edition of any portion of them appeared. Numerous collections and critical editions have since been published, the best being by Volger (1810), Neue (1827), Schneidewin (1838), and Bergk (1843). There are numerous translations. SARACENS, originally the name of an Arab tribe, then applied to the Bedouins, afterward to the followers of Mohammed, and later to all the Moorish or Mohammedan people who invaded Europe, and against whom the cru- saders fought. The classical writers do not clearly indicate the locality occupied by the tribe. Decius, it is said, let loose among them a number of lions, to punish them for their predatory habits. In regard to the origin of the name, some suppose that an Arab tribe claimed Sarah as their ancestress in order to escape the stigma of being descendants of Ha- gar ; others, that the name was given to them in consequence of their roving and plundering life, from the Arabic saralc, to plunder ; and others, that the word is a derivative of sha- rak, to rise, and hence signifies merely "an eastern people." SARAGOSSA (Sp. Zaragoza). I. A N. E. prov- ince of Spain, in Aragon, bordering on Na- varre, Huesca, L6rida, Tarragona, Teruel, Gua- dalajara, Soria, and Logrono; area, 6,607 sq. m.; pop. in 1870 (estimated), 401,894. The surface is generally hilly. The valley of Caspe in the southeast is remarkably fertile. The Ebro flows S. E. through the province ; other rivers are the Jalon, Gallego, and Jiloca. Lead, copper, tin, and sulphur are found, but few mines are in operation. Wheat, flax, hemp, silk, wine, and oil are produced. Little at- tention is paid to manufactures. The chief towns, besides the capital, are Tarazona, Ca- latayud, Daroca, Mequinenza, and Caspe. II. A city (anc. Ceesarea Augusta), capital of the province, on the right bank of the Ebro, at the junction of the Huerba and nearly opposite the mouth of the Gallego, and on the canal of Aragon, 170 in. N. E. of Madrid; pop. about 65,000. Although one of the most important cities in Spain, it is gloomy and antiquated, with narrow, irregular, and ill-paved streets. The canal and the crossing of two main rail- way lines have lately given the city an in- creased activity. There are two cathedrals, several churches, an academy of fine arts, a