§2.5CAP. V. Αὕτη τε δὴ περιττὴ τῇ δυνάμει καὶ τὸ λυγγούριον· καὶ γὰρ ἐκ τούτου γλύφεται τὰ σφραγίδια καὶ ἔστι στερεωτάτη καθάπερ λίθος· ἕλκει γὰρ ὥσπερ τὸ ἤλεκτρον, οἱ δέ φασιν οὐ μόνον κάρφη καὶ ξύλον (φύλλα) ἀλλὰ καὶ χαλκὸν καὶ σίδηρον ἐὰν ᾖ λεπτὸς, ὥσπερ καὶ Διοκλῆς ἔλεγεν.
CAP. V. This stone indeed is extraordinary in its power, and so is lyncurium; for from this too seals are carved, and it is extremely solid, just like stone; for it attracts just like amber, and some say it attracts not only chaff and leaves of wood, but even bronze and iron if they are thin, just as Diocles also used to say.
ἔστι δὲ διαφανές τε σφόδρα καὶ ψυχρόν.
It is extremely transparent and cold.
βέλτιον δὲ τὸ τῶν ἀγρίων ἢ τὸ τῶν ἡμέρων καὶ τὸ τῶν ἀρρένων ἢ τὸ τῶν θηλειῶν ὡς καὶ τῆς τροφῆς διαφερούσης, καὶ τοῦ πονεῖν ἢ μὴ πονεῖν, καὶ τῆς τοὐ σώματος ὅλως φύσεως, ᾗ τὸ μὲν ξηρότερον τὸ δʼ ὑγρότερον.
And that of wild animals is better than that of tame ones, and that of males than that of females, since there is a difference in their food, and in their active or inactive life, and in the general nature of their body, in that one is drier and the other moister.
εὑρίσκουσι δʼ ἀνορύττοντες οἱ ἔμπειροι· κατακρύπτεται γὰρ καὶ ἐπαμᾶται γῆν ὅταν οὐρήσῃ.
Those who are experienced find it by digging it up; for it conceals itself and scrapes earth over it when it urinates.
γίνεται δὲ καὶ κατεργασία τις αὐτοῦ πλείων.
And there is also a more elaborate processing of it.
ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τὸ ἤλεκτρον λίθος, τὸ γὰρκιὸν κιὸν ὅ περὶ Λιγυστικὴν, καὶ τούτῳ ἄν ἡ τοῦ ἕλκειν δύναμις ἀκολουθοίη.
And since amber is also a stone—the fossilized kind which is found around Liguria—to this too the power of attraction would belong.
μάλιστα δʼ ἐπίδηλος καὶ φανερωτάτη ἡ τὸν σίδηρον ἄγουσα.
But the most obvious and manifest is that which attracts iron.
γίνεται δὲ καὶ αὕτη σπανία καὶ ὀλιγαχοῦ.
This too is rare and found in few places.
καὶ αὕτη μὲν δὴ συναριθμείσθω τὴν δύναμιν ὁμοίαν ἔχειν.
Let this then be numbered among those having a similar power.
ἐξ ὧν δὲ τὰ σφραγίδια ποιεῖται καὶ ἄλλαι πλείους εἰσὶν, οἷον ἥ θʼ ὑαλοείδης ἣ καὶ ἔμφασιν ποιεῖ καὶ διάφασιν, καὶ τὸ ἀνθράκιον, καὶ ἡ ὄμφαξ· ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἡ κρύσταλλος καὶ τὸ ἀμέθυσον, ἄμφω δὲ διαφανὴ εὑρίσκονται δὲ καὶ αὗται καὶ τὸ σάρδιον διακοπτομένων τινῶν πετρῶν.
There are also many other stones from which seals are made, such as the glassy kind which produces both reflection and transparency, and the anthrakion, and the omphax; and further, rock-crystal and amethyst, both being transparent; and these, as well as sard, are found when certain rocks are split open.
καὶ ἄλλαι δὲ ὡς προείρηται πρότερον διαφορὰς ἔχουσαι καὶ συνώνυμοι πρὸς ἀλλήλας.
And there are others, as was said before, which have differences though they share the same name.
τοῦ γὰρ σαρδίου τὸ μὲν διαφανὲς ἐρυθρότερον δὲ καλεῖται θῆλυ, τὸ δὲ διαφανὲς μὲν μελάντερον δὲ ἄρσεν.
For of sard, the transparent and reder kind is called female, and the transparent but darker kind, male.
καὶ τὰ λυγγούρια δὲ ὡσαύτως ὧν τὸ θῆλυ διαφανέστερον καὶ ξανθότερον.
And the lyncuria likewise, of which the female is more transparent and yellow.
καλεῖται δὲ καὶ κύανος ὁ μὲν ἄρρην ὁ δὲ θῆλυς· μελάντερος δὲ ὁ ἄρρην.
And kyanos also is called male and female, and the male is darker.
τὸ δʼ ὀνύχιον μικτὸν λευκῷ καὶ φαιῷ παρʼ ἄλληλα.
While onyx is a mixture of white and grey arranged side by side.
τὸ δʼ ἀμέθυσον οἰνωπὸν τῇ χρόᾳ.
And amethyst is wine-colored.
καλὸς δὲ λίθος καὶ ὁ ἀχάτης ὁ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀχάτου ποταμοῦ τοῦ ἐν Σκελίᾳ καὶ πωλεῖται τίμιος.
The agate also is a beautiful stone, coming from the river Achates in Sicily, and is sold at a high price.
ἐν Λαμψάκῳ δέ ποτʼ ἐν τοῖς χρυσίοις εὑρέθη θαυμαστὴ λίθος ἐξ ἧς ἀνενεχθείσης πρὸς στιρὰν (Ἄστυρα Schn. ) σφρα γίδιον γλυφθὲν ἀνεπέμφθη (Ἀλεξάνδρῳ Plin. ) βασιλεῖ διὰ τὸ περιττόν.
And once in the gold mines of Lampsacus a wonderful stone was found, which, when brought to Astyra and carved into a seal, was sent to the King because of its extraordinary nature.
§2.6CAP. VI. Καὶ αὗται μὲν ἅμα τῷ καλῷ καὶ τὸνιον ἔχουσιν.
CAP. VI. And these stones, along with their beauty, also possess their peculiar efficacy.
αἱ δὲ δὴ ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος εὐτελέστεραι, οἷον τὸ ἀνθράκιον τὸ ἐξ Ὀρχομενοῦ τῆς Ἀρκαδίας.
On the other hand, those from Greece are of less value, such as the anthrakion from Orchomenus in Arcadia.
ἔστι δὲ οὗτος μελάντερος τοῦ Χίου· κάτοπτρα δὲ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ποιοῦσι· καὶ ὁ τροιζήνιος·
This is darker than the Chian stone, and they make mirrors from it; and there is also the Troezenian stone.
οὗτος δὲ ποικίλος τὰ μὲν φοινικοῖς τὰ δὲ λευκοῖς χρώμασι.
This is variegated with colors partly red and partly white.
ποικίλος δὲ καὶ ὁ κορίνθιος τοῖς αὐτοῖς χρώμασι πλὴν ὅτι χλωροειδέστερος.
The Corinthian stone also is variegated with the same colors, except that it is greener.
τὸ δὲ ὅλον πολλοὶ τυγχάνουσιν οἱ τοιοῦτοι ἀλλʼ οἱ περιττοὶ σπάνιοι καὶ ἐξ ὀλίγων τόπων οἷον ἔκ τε Καρχηδόνος καὶ ἐκ τῶν περὶ Μασσαλίαν καὶ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου κατὰ τοὺς Καταδούπους καὶ Συήνης πρὸς Ἐλεφαντίνῃ πόλει καὶ ἐκ τῆς Ψεφὼ καλουμένης χώρας.
In general, such stones are numerous, but the extraordinary ones are rare and come from few places, such as Carthage and the neighborhood of Massalia, and from Egypt near the Cataracts and Syene close to the city of Elephantine, and from the region called Psepho.
καὶ ἐν Κύπρῳ ἥ τε σμάραγδος καὶ ἡ ἴασπις.
And in Cyprus there are both smaragdus and jasper.
οἷς δὲ εἰς τὰ λιθοκόλλητα χρῶνται ἐκ τῆς Βακτριανῆς εἰσὶ πρὸς τῇ ἐρήμῳ.
While those which they use for inlaying with stones come from Bactria near the desert.
συλλέγουσι δʼ αὐτοὺς ὑπὸ ἐτησίας ἱππεῖς ἐξιόντες· τότε γὰρ ἐμφανεῖς γίνονται κινουμένης τῆς ἄμμου διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν πνευμάτων.
Horsemen go out and collect them at the time of the Etesian winds; for then they become visible as the sand is moved by the strength of the winds.
εἰσὶ δὲ μικροὶ καὶ οὐ μεγάλοι.
They are small and not large.
τῶν σπουδαζομένων δὲ λίθων ἐστὶ καὶ ὁ μαργαρίτης καλούμενος, διαφανὴς μὲν τῇ φύσει, ποιοῦσι δʼ ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοὺς πολυτελεῖς ὅρμους.
Among the highly valued stones is also that called pearl, which is transparent by nature, and they make expensive necklaces from it.
γίνεται δὲ ἐν ὀστρείῳ τινὶ παραπλησίῳ ταῖς πίνναις, (πλὴν ἐλάττονι· μέγεθος δὲ ἡλίκος ἰχθύος ὀφθαλμὸς εὐμεγέθης· Athen. ) φέρει δὲ ἥ τε Ἰνδικὴ χῶρα καὶ νῆσοί τινες τῶν ἐν τῇ ἐρυθρᾷ.
It is formed in a kind of oyster similar to the pinna (except smaller; and in size it is as large as a fish's eye of considerable size); and it is produced both in the Indian region and on some islands in the Red Sea.
τὸ μὲν οὖν περιττὸν σχεδὸν ἐν ταύταις.
These then are pretty much the extraordinary stones.
εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλαι τινὲς, οἷον ὁ ἐλέφας ὁ ὀρυκτὸς ποικίλος μέλανι καὶ λευκῷ.
But there are also some others, such as fossil ivory, variegated with black and white.
καὶ ἣν καλοῦσι σάπφειρον· αὕτη γὰρ μέλαινα οὐκ ἄγαν πόρρω τοῦ κυάνου τοῦ ἄρρενος καὶ πρασίτις· αὕτη δὲ ἰώδης τῇ χρόᾳ.
And that which they call sapphire; for this is dark, not very different from the male kyanos; and the prasitis, which is leek-green in color.
πυκνὴ δὲ καὶ αἰματίτις· αὕτη δʼ αὐχμώδης καὶ κατὰ τοὔνομα ὡς αἵματος ξηροῦ πεπηγότος.
The haematite also is dense; and this is dry in appearance and, according to its name, like dried, congealed blood.
ἄλλη δὲ ἡ καλουμένη ξανθὴ, οὐ ξανθὴ μὲν τὴν χρόαν ἔκλευκος δὲ μᾶλλον, ὃ καλοῦσι χρῶμα οἱ Δωριεῖς ξανθόν.
Another is that called xanthe, though not yellow in color but rather whitish, which color the Dorians call xanthon.
τὸ γὰρ κουράλιον, καὶ γὰρ τοῦθʼ ὥσπερ λίθος, τῇ χρόᾳ μὲν ἐρυθρὸν, περιφερὲς δʼ ὡς ῥίζα· φύεται δʼ ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ.
For coral, which is also like a stone, is red in color and rounded like a root, and grows in the sea.
τρόπον δέ τινα οὐ πόρρω τούτου τῇ φύσει καὶ ὁ ἰνδικὸς κάλαμος ἀπολελιθωμένος.
And in a way not far from this in nature is the petrified Indian reed.
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἄλλης σκέψεως.
These matters, then, belong to another investigation.