620 
aropouerti'ot, 
 podtCvore, 
oseny dC 8 0c, 
 Thelevén and thirtieth Booke 
Cappadocia partly purple and partly bléw,butnokind of lufire hath it,atall; Ourof Amifes, a 
citi¢ in Pontus,we have Lafpers brought, much like unto the Indian : &the lafper of Chalcedon 
is muddie and troubled. But it were better to fer.downe their degrees in gdadnefle,rather than to 
ftand upon the countries from whence they are tranfported, The beitla{per then is-that eftee- 
G 
med which ftandeth much upon purple or Lag: the fecond is incarnat, or of arofecolours the — 
third refembleth the Emeraud in greeneneffe. To every one of;thefe feverall kinds, the Greekes 
have impofed fignificant names. And in a fourth place the Greekes have raunged another called 
Borea,like unto the morning skie in the time of Autumne;/andthis may wellbe called Aérizufa, 
There isa Lafper alfo in colour like to the Sarda, é.che Cornalline, asalforefembling much the 
violets, [here beas many more forts behind,which I havenottouched,but fubjeG they be-all to 
tof fh, which blemithes,as namely being blew or like to Cryftall or * waterie fleame.Laft of all,we havea laf 
Plt ine 
| fideratly ha 
ae percalled Terebinthizufa by the Greekes,but as] take it very unproperly,asif it were compoune 
turned, Myx. ded of many gems of one and, the fame kind ; and therefore the better fort of fuch areenclofed 
withina circle of gold, yetfo,asthey be open both above atid beneath, neither is any thing but 
the edges onely compafled with gold. The faults or imperfections of the lafperbe thele]fthelu- 
{tre endure not long,norwithftanding it glitter afarre off;.alfo if it fhewa {pot like untoa graine 
of falc; befides all other which Lhave alreadie named in the reft Moreover, lafpers may be falfi- 
fied by the meanes of glafle: and this isfoone dete@ed, namely,when they caft areverberation 
of theirluftre outwardly, and hold.itnot within, To conclude wich the {tones called Sphragides, 
they are notmuch unlike to the Iafpers: And this giftthey have above all the reft,that they make 
the belt lignets,andfealefaireft, re biclgg 
C HAP, EX. 
» @R Sundrie kinds of lafpers. 
, F divers forts of lafpers,all the Eaft part(by report)are moft affected tothat whichislike 
che Emeraud,and they carie it ordinarily about them asa countercharme. The fame. if it 
-y.. be compaffed round about with one white croffe line in the middeft;iscalled Grammati- 
as; if with many, Polygransmos, And here by the way Ican hold no longer, but my mind {erves 
mevery well to challenge the Magicians ,who have given it out, That this {tone is verie good for 
thofe to. have aboutthem who are to make fome publicke fpeech or folemne Oration to the peo- 
ple-Moreover,we havea lafpercalled Onycho-punéta and [afponyx, which feemeth to enclofe 
a cloud within it, and in fore fort to refemble the fnow. This lafper is fathioned like unto a Star 
and befet with diverfe reddith points: a man that fawit, would fay ic were a kind of Megarian 
fale. There is befides a lafper which feemeth as if it were infected with {moake,: and thisisiealled 
Capnias . Concerning the bigneffe of the lafper, I have feene one of them nine inches long, 
which ferved for.to reprefent the vifage of Nero the Emperour, ftandingreadie armedwith a 
cuirace, " ip yisyant, cor joes 
As touching the precious ftone Cyanos, I muft fpeake of itapart,notwithftanding I have of 
late mentioned and applied itto one of the names of the lafper, to wit, that with che blew co- 
lour. The beft Cyanos is chat of Scythia,the next commeth from Cypros; and in the Jaft place 
we are toreckon the Zgyptian, This {tone is very aptto bee counterteited,and efpecially by tin- 
Cture: the invention whereof is afcribedtoa king of Aigypt, who was highly honoured for bee- 
ing the firft that gave a colour co it.Diftinguifhed thefe {tones alfo are bythe fex,forthere be of 
them both male and alfo female. Orherwhiles you fhall perceive acertaine pouder inthem asit 
were of gold,and yet not like to that of Saphites:for the Saphire alfo glittereth with markes and 
prtickes of gold. Saphires are likewife fometime blew; mixed alfo with purple, although that be - 
very feldome : thebeft are among the Medes, yetin no place be they tranfparent. Moreover, 
they.are untoward forto bee cut and engraven, by reafon that thelapidarie dhall meet with cer- 
H 
taine hardknots of Cryftall comming here and there betweene. The bleweft are thought to bee 
the male. eri 07 fOEnitwOe bi ypelites i . 
Next afterthef,] am toraunge thofe ftonés that bee of apurple colour,andfachas decline 
fomewhat from them,and yetfeeme to depend of them: of which, I mutt place in the firftranke 
as principallthe Amechyfts of India: And.of them there bee found in a part of Arabia. which 
bordereth upon Syria,and is called Petra :alfo in Armeniathe lefle,in A.gypt,andin wig 
ut 
. 
