Dante calls the spirit of Cacciaguida a living topaz set in the celestial cross, probably from the brilliancy and golden light of this precious stone. He may also have had in his mind the many wonderful qualities, as well as the beauty, of the gem. He makes use of the same epithet in Canto XXX 76.

The Ottimo says, that he who wears the topaz cannot be injured by an enemy; and Mr. King, Antique Gems , p. 427, says:⁠—