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CHAP. 72.—PRECIOUS STONES WHICH DERIVE THEIR NAMES FROM ANIMALS. CARCINIAS. ECHITIS. SCORPITIS. SCARITIS. TRIGLITIS. ÆGOPHTHALMOS. HYOPHTHALMOS. GERANITIS. HIERACITIS. AETITIS. MYRMECITIS. CANTHARIAS. LYCOPHTHALMOS. TAOS. TIMICTONIA.

Other stones, again, derive their names from various animals. Carcinias1 is so called from the colour of the sea-crab; echitis,2 from the colour of the viper; scorpitis,3 from either the colour or the shape of the scorpion; scaritis, from the fish called scarus;4 triglitis, from the sur-mullet;5 ægophthalmos, from the eye of the goat; hyophthalmos, from the eye of the swine; geranitis, from the neck of the crane; hieracitis, from the neck of the hawk; and aëtitis, from the colour of the whitetailed eagle. Myrmecitis6 presents the appearance of an ant crawling within, and cantharias,7 of a scarabæus. Lycophthalmos8 is a stone of four different colours; on the exterior it is ruddy and blood-red, and within it is black, surrounded with a line of white, closely resembling the eye of the wolf in every respect. Taos9 is a stone with colours like those of the peacock. Timictonia, I find, is the name of a stone, like the asp in colour.

1 "Crab stone."

2 "Viper-stone."

3 "Scorpion stone."

4 See B. ix. c. 29, B. xi. c. 61, and B. xxxii. c. 53. This was perhaps the same stone as the "Synodontitis" of Chapter 67.

5 Which was called τριγλὰ in Greek.

6 "Ant stone." Possibly a kind of amber.

7 "Beetle stone."

8 "Wolf's eye."

9 "Peacock stone."

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