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Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 
-surface left.* More than that, a large yellow diamond belonging to the 
estate of the late Mr. B. Peiser a few years ago was scored with "criss-cross" 
glacial striae. Hence the argument that a diamond could not have been 
used in the breastplate of the High Priest (Exodus XXYIII, 18) because 
the Hebrews knew of no means of engraving a sign upon it loses some of 
its force. t Besides, it, is only surmised and has not been proved that no 
lapidary of old had ever found out how to engrave a diamond. Arts are 
acquired and perish : e. g. the way to cleave diamond was learned and 
forgotten before Woll as ton's time. 
Note. — Speaking of things that are hard Lucretius says that : 
" In quo iam genere in j^rimis adamantina saxa 
Prima acie constant ictus contemnere sueta." 
H. A. J. Munro gives "diamond stones " as the equivalent of "adamantina 
saxa." But cf * Ovid,' Fasti III : 
" Immolat liunc Briareus facta ex adamante securi/' 
which certainly cannot be a diamond axe. F. A. Paley suggests basalt. 
* (1) " The diamond, in spite of its great hardness, is readily affected by attrition 
when transported over even relatively short distances." — H. Merensky, "The Origin 
of Kiver Diamonds within the Area of the Vaal," ' Trans. Geol. Soc. S.A.,' 1907. 
(2) "The distinct wear seen on many of the river diamonds sugg^ested the same 
source (the Dwyka) for many of those gems, as the attrition due to a slow-moving 
ground moraine, especially at or near its base, Avovild be great enough to wear and 
triturate even the diamond." — H. S. Harger, " The Occurrence of Diamonds in Dwyka 
Conglomerate, etc.," ihid., 1909. 
t Apart from that a diamond in the breastplate might have had a natural mark 
upon one of its faces which simulated the signet sign of one of the tribes. Diamonds 
occasionally carry remarkable intaglio outlines suggestive of the art of a runic scribe. 
On the other hand, the Septuagint (Lee Brenton's Version) does not use the Avord 
diamond (6 aSdfjiag) at all, but supplies some variant in every case, e. g., 'ia<jTziQ in 
Ex. xxviii, 18, ajxdpaycop in Ez. xxviii, 13, and curiously, ciaTravrvg in Ez. iii, 9. 
