And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper: the second, sapphire: the third, a chalcedony: the fourth, an emerald:
Glossa Ordinaria
Jasper. This stone is green, and therefore signifies the unfading greenness of faith. Or jasper is the faith of the saints, not withering, but always persevering in the greenness of work. Sapphire. It is like a clear sky, which, struck by the rays of the sun, sends forth a burning brightness; and it signifies the loftiness of the hope of the saints, whose conversation is in the heavens, who also, renewed by the true sun, seek eternal things more ardently, and teach others to seek them, saying: Our conversation is in the heavens. Chalcedony. This stone has the colour of a pale lamp: it shines, etc., up to they draw sinners and the frail to themselves and join them to themselves. Emerald. The fourth, of exceeding greenness beyond all grasses and leaves, so much so that even, etc., up to it is called the fourth, faith, on account of the four Gospels.
English is machine-translated from the public-domain Latin (Glossa Ordinaria, Migne, Patrologia Latina 113-114, 1852; digital text from Corpus Corporum, mlat.uzh.ch), since no public-domain English translation exists. It is not a scholarly translation. Please report errors.