The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 6 (of 6)

The stones called Idæi dactyli,3345 and found in Crete, are of an iron colour, and resemble the human thumb in shape. The colour of icterias3346 resembles that of livid skin, and hence it is that it has been thought so excellent a remedy for jaundice. There is also another stone of this name, of a still more livid colour; while a third has all the appearance of a leaf. This last is broader than the others, almost imponderous, and streaked with livid veins. A fourth kind again is of the same colour, but blacker, and marked all over with livid veins. Jovis gemma3347 is a white stone, very light, and soft: another name given to it is “drosolithos.”3348 Indica3349 retains the name of the country that produces it: it is a stone of a reddish colour, and yields a purple liquid3350 when rubbed. There is another stone also of this name, white, and of a dusty appearance. Ion3351 is an Indian stone, of a violet tint: it is but rarely, however, that it is found of a deep, full, colour.