Ball — On the Colloquies of Garcia Be Orta — II. 661 
I have seen, as you may if you wish, and therefore I believe them. 
Although some writer shows how to counterfeit stones I will not tell 
it to you, as it is not fit work for a philosopher, much less for a theo- 
logian. This writer shows how to make diamonds from water sapphires, 
but after all they are but sapphires, and not diamonds, although they 
appear like them. 
(2) Da pedra Armenia. 
[Armenian stone.] As the identity of this stone is a point of some 
interest, I quote the whole of the passages referring to it here : — 
Eecause all this discourse must not be on things foreign to 
physic, I wish you to tell me whether you have seen the Armenian 
stone in these countries. We have not got it in Europe, although the 
lapis lamli^ is found in many places. 
0. 1 will order the Armenian stone to be brought here. Girl, give 
me that key ! 
S. Here it is. 
0. Open the parcel of large stones. 
S. There, it is open. 
0. Now you see the Armenian stone. 
R. They have many marks that you speak of ; for although they 
have something blue about them, yet they are bright green. But how 
do you know that they are Armenian stones ? 
0. The Moors, the great physicians who cure the Mzamoxa, gave 
me these stones, and they use them to drive away melancholy. These 
stones are called, in Arabic, Uager Armine, which is the same as 
Armenian stone. I asked where they were to be found, and was told in 
TJltabado, a well-known city of Ealagate. I asked also whether they 
were found in Turkey or Persia and heard that they had been seen 
there, but only in very small quantities. The Moors did not know 
whether the stones came from Armenia or not. I may say that this 
medicine purges very little, as I have found from experiment. I have 
asked many Armenians here in India whether these stones were found 
in their country, but they could not tell me. 
[I am inclined to believe that this Armenian stone, which is men- 
tioned by many early writers, was either Azurite combined with 
Malachite or a green variety of Turquoise, known as Callainite, which 
is found at Nishapur, in Persia and a few other localities, but has 
not been recorded from India.] 
^ Perhaps, rather, berg-blau or Lazulite ? as the true lapis lazuli is of very rare 
occurrence. 
