Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder

by Pliny the Elder

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  CHAP. 57.

  REMARKABLE FACTS CONNECTED WITH PEARLS — THEIR NATURE.

  It is quite clear that the interior of the pearl is solid, as no fall is able to break it. Pearls are not always found in the middle of the body of the animal, but sometimes in one place, and sometimes another. Indeed, I have seen some which lay at the edge of the shell, just as though in the very act of coming forth, and in some fishes as many as four or five. Up to the present time, very few have been found which exceeded half an ounce in weight, by more than one scruple. It is a well-ascertained fact, that in Britannia pearls are found, though small, and of a bad colour; for the deified Julius Cæsar wished it to be distinctly understood, that the breast-plate which he dedicated to Venus Genetrix, in her temple, was made of British pearls.

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  CHAP. 58.

  INSTANCES OF THE USE OF PEARLS.

  I once saw Lollia Paulina, the wife of the Emperor Caius — it was not at any public festival, or any solemn ceremonial, but only at an ordinary wedding entertainment — covered with emeralds and pearls, which shone in alternate layers upon her head, in her hair, in her wreaths, in her ears, upon her neck, in her bracelets, and on her fingers, and the value of which amounted in all to forty millions of sesterces; indeed she was prepared at once to prove the fact, by showing the receipts and acquittances. Nor were these any presents made by a prodigal potentate, but treasures which had descended to her from her grandfather, and obtained by the spoliation of the provinces. Such are the fruits of plunder and extortion! It was for this reason that M. Lollius was held so infamous all over the East for the presents which he extorted from the kings; the result of which was, that he was denied the friendship of Caius Cæsar, and took poison; and all this was done, I say, that his grand-daughter might be seen, by the glare of lamps, covered all over with jewels to the amount of forty millions of sesterces! Now let a person only picture to himself, on the one hand, what was the value of the habits worn by Curius or Fabricius in their triumphs, let him picture to himself the objects displayed to the public on their triumphal litters, and then, on the other hand, let him think upon this Lollia, this one bit of a woman, the head of an empire, taking her place at table, thus attired; would he not much rather that the conquerors had been torn from their very chariots, than that they had conquered for such a result as this?

  Nor, indeed, are these the most supreme evidences of luxury. There were formerly two pearls, the largest that had been ever seen in the whole world: Cleopatra, the last of the queens of Egypt, was in possession of them both, they having come to her by descent from the kings of the East. When Antony had been sated by her, day after day, with the most exquisite banquets, this queenly courtesan, inflated with vanity and disdainful arrogance, affected to treat all this sumptuousness and all these vast preparations with the greatest contempt; upon which Antony enquired what there was that could possibly be added to such extraordinary magnificence. To this she made answer, that on a single entertainment she would expend ten millions of sesterces. Antony was extremely desirous to learn how that could be done, but looked upon it as a thing quite impossible; and a wager was the result. On the following day, upon which the matter was to be decided, in order that she might not lose the wager, she had an entertainment set before Antony, magnificent in every respect, though no better than his usual repast. Upon this, Antony joked her, and enquired what was the amount expended upon it; to which she made answer that the banquet which he then beheld was only a trifling appendage to the real banquet, and that she alone would consume at the meal to the ascertained value of that amount, she herself would swallow the ten millions of sesterces; and so ordered the second course to be served. In obedience to her instructions, the servants placed before her a single vessel, which was filled with vinegar, a liquid, the sharpness and strength of which is able to dis- solve pearls. At this moment she was wearing in her ears those choicest and most rare and unique productions of Nature; and while Antony was waiting to see what she was going to do, taking one of them from out of her ear, she threw it into the vinegar, and directly it was melted, swallowed it. Lucius Plancus, who had been named umpire in the wager, placed his hand upon the other at the very instant that she was making preparations to dissolve it in a similar manner, and declared that Antony had lost — an omen which, in the result, was fully confirmed. The fame of the second pearl is equal to that which attends its fellow. After the queen, who had thus come off victorious on so important a question, had been seized, it was cut asunder, in order that this, the other half of the entertainment, might serve as pendants for the ears of Venus, in the Pantheon at Rome.

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  CHAP. 59.

  HOW PEARLS FIRST CAME INTO USE AT ROME.

  Antony and Cleopatra, however, will not bear away the palm of prodigality in this respect, and will be stripped of even this boast in the annals of luxury. For before their time, Clodius, the son of the tragic actor Æsopus, had done the same at Rome; having been left by his father heir to his ample wealth and possessions. Let not Antony then be too proud, for all his trumvirate, since he can hardly stand in comparison with an actor; one, too, who had no wager to induce him — a thing which adds to the regal munificence of the act — But was merely desirous of trying, by way of glorification to his palate, what was the taste of pearls. As he found it to be wonderfully pleasing, that he might not be the only one to know it, he had a pearl set before each of his guests for him to swallow. After the surrender of Alexandria, pearls came into common and, indeed, universal use at Rome; but they first began to be used about the time of Sylla, though but of small size and of little value, Fenestella says — in this, however, it is quite evident that he is mistaken, for Ælius Stilo tells us, that it was in the time of the Jugurthine war, that the name of “unio” was first given to pearls of remarkable size.

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  CHAP. 60.

  THE NATURE OF THE MUREX AND THE PURPLE.

  And yet pearls may be looked upon as pretty nearly a possession of everlasting duration — they descend from a man to his heir, and they are alienated from one to another just like any landed estate. But the colours that are extracted from the murex and the purple fade from hour to hour; and yet luxury, which has similarly acted as a mother to them, has set upon them prices almost equal to those of pearls.

  (36.) Purples live mostly seven years. Like the murex, they keep themselves in concealment for thirty days, about the time of the rising of the Dog-star; in the spring season they unite in large bodies, and by rubbing against each other, produce a viscous spittle, from which a kind of wax is formed. The murex does the same; but the purple has that exquisite juice which is so greatly sought after for the purpose of dyeing cloth, situate in the middle of the throat. This secretion consists of a tiny drop contained in a white vein, from which the precious liquid used for dyeing is distilled, being of the tint of a rose somewhat inclining to black. The rest of the body is entirely destitute of this juice. It is a great point to take the fish alive; for when it dies, it spits out this juice. From the larger ones it is extracted after taking off the shell; but the small fish are crushed alive, together with the shells, upon which they eject this secretion.

  In Asia the best purple is that of Tyre, in Africa that of Meninx and the parts of Gætulia that border on the Ocean, and in Europe that of Laconia. It is for this colour that the fasces and the axes of Rome make way in the crowd; it is this that asserts the majesty of childhood; it is this that distinguishes the senator from the man of equestrian rank; by persons arrayed in this colour are prayers ad- dressed to propitiate the gods; on every garment it sheds a lustre, and in the triumphal vestment it is to be seen mingled with gold. Let us be prepared then to excuse this frantic passion for purple, even though at the same time we are compelled to enquire, why it is that such a high value has been set upon the produce of this shell-fish, seeing that while in the dye the sm
ell of it is offensive, and the colour itself is harsh, of a greenish hue, and strongly resembling that of the sea when in a tempestuous state?

  The tongue of the purple is a finger in length, and by means of this it finds subsistence, by piercing other shellfish, so hard is the point of it. They die in fresh water, and in places where rivers discharge themselves into the sea; otherwise, when taken, they will live as long as fifty days on their saliva. All shell-fish grow very fast, and purples more especially; they come to their full size at the end of a year.

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  CHAP. 61.

  THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PURPLES.

  Were I at this point to pass on to other subjects, luxury, no doubt would think itself defrauded of its due, and so accuse me of negligence; I must therefore make my way into the very workshops even, so that, just as among articles of food the various kinds and qualities of corn are known, all those who place the enjoyment of life in these luxuries, may have a still better acquaintance with the objects for which they live.

  There are two kinds of fish that produce the purple colour; the elements in both are the same, the combinations only are different; the smaller fish is that which is called the “buccinum,” from its resemblance to the conch by which the sound of the buccinus or trumpet is produced, and to this circumstance it owes its name: the opening in it is round, with an incision in the margin. The other fish is known as the “purpura,” or purple, and has a grooved and projecting muzzle, which being tubulated on one side in the interior, forms a passage for the tongue; besides which, the shell is studded with points up to the very apex, which are mostly seven in number, and disposed in a circle; these are not found on the buccinum, though both of them have as many spirals as they are years old. The buccinum attaches itself only to crags, and is gathered about rocky places.

  (37.) Purples also have another name, that of “pelagiæ there are numerous kinds of them, which differ only in their element and place of abode. There is the mud purple, which is nurtured upon putrid mud; and the sea-weed purple, which feeds on sea-weed; both of which are held in the very lowest esteem. A better kind is the reef-purple, which is collected on the reefs or out at sea; still, however, the colour extracted from this is too light and thin. Then, again, there is the variety known as the pebble-purple, so called from the pebbles of the sea, and wonderfully well adapted for dyeing; and, better than any of them, that known by the name of “dialutensis,” because of the various natures of the soil on which it feeds. Purples are taken with a kind of osier kipe of small size, and with large meshes; these are cast into the sea, and in them cockles are put as a bait, that close the shell in an instant, and snap at an object, just as we see mussels do. Though half dead, these animals, as soon as ever they are returned to the sea, come to life again, and open their shells with avidity; upon which the purples seek them, and commence the attack, by protruding their tongues. The cockles, on the other hand, the moment they feel themselves pricked, shut their shells, and hold fast the object that has wounded them: in this way, victims to their greediness, they are drawn up to the surface hanging by the tongue.

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  CHAP. 62. (38.)

  HOW WOOLS ARE DYED WITH THE JUICES OF THE PURPLE.

  The most favourable season for taking these fish is after the rising of the Dog-star, or else before spring; for when they have once discharged their waxy secretion, their juices have no consistency: this, however, is a fact unknown in the dyers’ workshops, although it is a point of primary importance. After it is taken, the vein is extracted, which we have previously spoken of, to which it is requisite to add salt, a sextarius about to every hundred pounds of juice. It is sufficient to leave them to steep for a period of three days, and no more, for the fresher they are, the greater virtue there is in the liquor. It is then set to boil in vessels of tin, and every hundred amphoræ ought to be boiled down to five hundred pounds of dye, by the application of a moderate heat; for which purpose the vessel is placed at the end of a long funnel, which communicates with the furnace; while thus boiling, the liquor is skimmed from time to time, and with it the flesh, which necessarily adheres to the veins. About the tenth day, generally, the whole contents of the cauldron are in a liquified state, upon which a fleece, from which the grease has been cleansed, is plunged into it by way of making trial; but until such time as the colour is found to satisfy the wishes of those preparing it, the liquor is still kept on the boil. The tint that inclines to red is looked upon as inferior to that which is of a blackish hue. The wool is left to lie in soak for five hours, and then, after carding it, it is thrown in again, until it has fully imbibed the colour. The juice of the buccinum is considered very inferior if employed by itself, as it is found to discharge its colour; but when used in conjunction with that of the pelagiæ, it blends with it very well, gives a bright lustre to its colour, which is otherwise too dark, and imparts the shining crimson hue of the kermes-Berry, a tint that is particularly valued. By the admixture of their respective virtues these colours are thus heightened or rendered sombre by the aid of one another. The proper proportions for mixing are, for fifty pounds of wool, two hundred pounds of juice of the buccinum and one hundred and eleven of juice of the pelagiæ. From this combination is produced the admirable tint known as amethyst colour. To produce the Tyrian hue the wool is soaked in the juice of the pelagiæ while the mixture is in an uncooked and raw state; after which its tint is changed by being dipped in the juice of the buccinum. It is considered of the best quality when it has exactly the colour of clotted blood, and is of a blackish hue to the sight, but of a shining appearance when held up to the light; hence it is that we find Homer speaking of “purple blood.”

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  CHAP. 63. (39.)

  WHEN PURPLE WAS FIRST USED AT ROME: WHEN THE LATICLAVE VESTMENT AND THE PRÆTEXTA WERE FIRST WORN.

  I find that, from the very first, purple has been in use at Rome, but that Romulus employed it for the trabea. As to the toga prætexta and the laticlave vestment, it is a fact well ascertained, that Tullus Hostilius was the first king who made use of them, and that after the conquest of the Etruscans. Cornelius Nepos, who died in the reign of the late Emperor Augustus, has left the following remarks: “In the days of my youth,” says he, “the violet purple was in favour, a pound of which used to sell at one hundred denarii; and not long after, the Tarentine red was all the fashion. This last was succeeded by the Tyrian dibapha, which could not be bought for even one thousand denarii per pound. P. Lentulus Spinther, the curule ædile, was the first who used the dibapha for the prætexta, and he was greatly censured for it; whereas now-a-days,” says he, “who is there that does not have purple hangings to his banqueting-couches, even?”

  This Spinther was ædile in the consulship of Cicero, and in the year from the Building of the City, 691. “Dibapha” was the name given to textures that had been doubly dyed, and these were looked upon as a mighty piece of costly extravagance; while now, at the present day, nearly all the purple cloths that are reckoned of any account are dyed in a similar manner.

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  CHAP. 64.

  FABRICS CALLED CONCHYLIATED.

  Fabrics that are called conchyliated are subjected to the same process in all other respects, but without any admixture of the juice of the buccinum; in addition to which, the liquid is mixed with water and human urine in equal parts, one-half only of the proportion of dye being used for the same quantity of wool. From this mixture a full colour is not obtained, but that pale tint, which is so highly esteemed; and the clearer it is, the less of it the wool has imbibed.

  (40.) The prices of these dyes vary in proportion to the quantity produced by the various shores; still, however, those who are in the habit of paying enormous prices for them, may as well be informed that on no occasion ought the juice of of the pelagiæ to exceed fifty, and that of the buccinum one hundred sesterces for one hundred pounds.

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  CHAP. 65.

  THE AMETHYST, THE TYRIAN, THE HYSGINIAN, AND THE CRIMSON TINTS.

  But no sooner have we finished with one branch of this subject than we have to begin upon another, for we find that it is made quite a matter of sport to create expense; and not only this, but the sport must be doubled by making new mixtures and combinations, and falsifying over again what was a falsification of the works of Nature already; such, for instance, as staining tortoise-shell, alloying gold with silver for the purpose of making electrum, and then adding copper to the mixture to make Corinthian metal.

  (41.) It was not sufficient to have borrowed from a precious stone the name of “amethyst” for a dye, but when we have obtained this colour we must drench it over again with Tyrian tints, so that we may have an upstart name compounded of both, and at the same moment a two-fold display of luxury; for as soon as ever people have succeeded in obtaining the conchyliated colour, they immediately begin to think that it will do better as a state of transition to the Tyrian hues. There can be little doubt that this invention is due to some artist who happened to change his mind, and alter a tint with which he was not pleased: hence a system has taken its rise, and spirits, ever on the rack for creating wonders, have transformed what was originally a blunder into something quite desirable; while, at the same time, a double path has been pointed out to luxury, in thus making one colour carry another, and thereby become, as they say, softer and more mellow. And what is even more than this, human ingenuity has even learned to mingle with these dyes the productions of the earth, and to steep in Tyrian purple fabrics already dyed crimson with the berry of the kermes, in order to produce the hysginian tint. The kermes of Galatia, a red berry which we shall mention when we come to speak of the productions of the earth, is the most esteemed of all, except, perhaps, the one that grows in the vicinity of Emerita, in Lusitania. However, to make an end, once for all, of my description of these precious dyes, I shall remark, that the colour yielded by this grain when a year old, is of a pallid hue, and that if it is more than four years old, it is quickly discharged: hence we find that its energies are not developed either when it is too young or when old.