"When the haughty and able Pope Innocent III. caused Cardinal Langton to
be elected Archbishop of Canterbury in despite of King John, and
compelled him to submit, to appease the latter and to admonish him, his
Holiness presented him with four golden rings, set with precious stones,
at the same time taking care to inform him of the many mysteries implied
in them. His Holiness begged of him (King John)," says Hume, "to
consider seriously the _form_ of the rings, their _number_, their
_matter_, and their _color_. Their _form_, he said, shadowed out
eternity, which had neither beginning nor end; and he ought thence to
learn his duty of aspiring from earthly objects to heavenly, from things
temporal to things eternal. The _number_, from being a square, denoted
steadiness of mind, not to be subverted either by adversity or
prosperity, fixed forever on the firm base of the four cardinal
virtues. _Gold_, which is the matter, being the most precious of the
metals, signified wisdom, which is the most precious of all the
accomplishments, and justly preferred by Solomon to riches, power, and
all exterior attainments. The _blue color_ of the sapphire represented
Faith; the _verdure_ of the emerald, Hope; the _redness_ of the ruby,
Charity; and the _splendor_ of the topaz, good works." Jewelers, who
usually deal so little in sentiment in their works, may learn from this
ingenious allegory the advantage of calling up the wonder-working aid of
fancy, in forming their combinations of precious things.