Sapphire. A variety of native corundum or aluminum sesquioxide. as the name of a gem the term is restricted to the transparent varieties of blue, pink, yellow, and other colors. The best specimens of the blue variety are nearly as valuable as the diamond. The sapphire is next to the diamond in hardness.

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“God has no better way to make us value his love, than by withdrawing it awhile. If the sun shone but once a year, how it would be prized!”
–Thomas Watson, A Divine Cordial