Brewer's: Ruby

The King of Ceylon has the finest ruby ever seen. “It is a span long, as thick as a man's arm, and without a flaw.” Kublai-Khan offered the value of a city for it, but the king answered that he would not part with it if all the treasures of the world were laid at his feet. (Marco Polo.)

Ruby

(The). The ancients considered the ruby to be an antidote of poison, to preserve persons from plague, to banish grief, to repress the ill effects of luxuries, and to divert the mind from evil thoughts.

Ruby

(The Perfect). The philosopher's stone. (See Flower Of The Sun.)

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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