21.04.26: Describing objects [16]; gemstones (iv); reading: Revelation 21.18-21

The numbers in (brackets) below refer to nouns not previously discussed:

[18] et erat strūctūra mūrī eius ex lapide iaspide (1) │ And the building of the wall was made of jasper (1) stone:

ipsa vērō cīvitās aurō mundō │  but the city itself of pure gold

simile vitrō mundō │ similar to clear glass.

[19] fundāmenta mūrī cīvitātis omnī lapide pretiōsō ōrnāta │ And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stone

fundāmentum prīmum iaspis  │ The first foundation was jasper

secundum sapphīrus  │ the second, sapphire

tertium carcedonius (2)  │ the third; a chalcedony (2)

quārtum zmaragdus │ the fourth, an emerald

[20] quīntum sardonyx (3) │ the fifth, sardonyx (3)

sextum sardīnus (4)│ the sixth, sardius (carnelian) (4)

septimum chrȳsolitus (5)│ the seventh, chrysolite (5)

octāvum bērillus │ the eighth, beryl

nōnum topazius │ the ninth, a topaz

decimum chrȳsoprassus (6) │ the tenth, a chrysoprasus (6)

ūndecimum hyacinthus │ the eleventh, a jacinth

duodecimum amethistus │ the twelfth, an amethyst

[21] et duodecim portae duodecim margarītae sunt ¦ per singulās │ And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, ¦ each one of a single pearl

et singulae portae erant ex singulīs margarītīs │ and the individual gates were made of a single pearl / individual pearls (i.e. emphasis on perfection and unity — each gate being not a composite but one flawless pearl)

et platēa cīvitātis aurum mundum tamquam vitrum perlūcidum │ and the street of the city was pure gold, just like transparent glass

(1) iaspis, iaspidis [3/f]: jasper

(2) carcedonius, -ī [2/m]: calchedony, fine-grained quartz nearly transparent or with a milky translucence

(3) sardonyx, sardonychis [3 m/f]: sardonyx, a gemstone with bands of red

(4) sardius, -ī [2/m]: a carnelian, a reddish-orange semi-precious gemstone; adjective: sardīnus, -a, -um

(5) chrȳsolitus, -ī [2 m/f]: used in the Classical Latin period to refer to topaz, but later acquired the meaning of chrysolite, various green-coloured gems

(6) chrȳsoprassus, -ī [2/m]: chrysoprase, a light-green translucent quartz