quartz: a hard glossy mineral consisting of silicon dioxide in crystal form; present in most rocks (especially sandstone and granite); yellow sand is quartz with iron oxide impurities
mineral: solid homogeneous inorganic substances occurring in nature having a definite chemical composition
society of jesus: a Roman Catholic order founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola in 1534 to defend Catholicism against the Reformation and to do missionary work among the heathen; it is strongly committed to education and scholarship