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Title: The History of Silk, Cotton, Linen, Wool, and Other Fibrous Substances; - Including Observations on Spinning, Dyeing, and Weaving.
Author: Gilroy, Clinton G.
Language: English
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LINEN, WOOL, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES; ***
[Illustration:
_Plate I._
_From Original Drawings_
CHINESE LOOMS.
_See Page 119._]
THE
HISTORY
OF
SILK, COTTON, LINEN, WOOL,
AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;
INCLUDING OBSERVATIONS ON
SPINNING, DYEING AND WEAVING.
ALSO AN ACCOUNT OF THE
PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS, THEIR SOCIAL STATE
AND ATTAINMENTS IN THE DOMESTIC ARTS.
WITH APPENDICES
ON PLINY’S NATURAL HISTORY;
ON THE ORIGIN AND MANUFACTURE OF LINEN AND COTTON PAPER;
ON FELTING, NETTING, &C.
DEDUCED FROM COPIOUS AND AUTHENTIC SOURCES.
ILLUSTRATED BY STEEL ENGRAVINGS.
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, 82 CLIFF STREET.
1845.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1845,
BY HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States,
for the Southern District of New York.
TO THE
PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES,
THIS VOLUME
IS RESPECTFULLY
INSCRIBED.
PREFACE.
History, until a recent period, was mainly a record of gigantic crimes
and their consequent miseries. The dazzling glow of its narrations
lighted never the path of the peaceful Husbandman, as his noiseless,
incessant exertions transformed the howling wilderness into a blooming
and fruitful garden, but gleamed and danced on the armor of the
Warrior as he rode forth to devastate and destroy. One year of his
labors sufficed to undo what the former had patiently achieved through
centuries; and the campaign was duly chronicled while the labors it
blighted were left to oblivion. The written annals of a nation trace
vividly the course of its corruption and downfall, but are silent or
meagre with regard to the ultimate causes of its growth and eminence.
The long periods of peace and prosperity in which the Useful Arts were
elaborated or perfected are passed over with the bare remark that
they afford little of interest to the reader, when in fact their true
history, could it now be written, would prove of the deepest and most
substantial value. The world might well afford to lose all record of
a hundred ancient battles or sieges if it could thereby regain the
knowledge of one lost art, and even the Pyramids bequeathed to us by
Egypt in her glory would be well exchanged for a few of her humble
workshops and manufactories, as they stood in the days of the Pharaohs.
Of the true history of mankind only a few chapters have yet been
written, and now, when the deficiencies of that we have are beginning
to be realized, we find that the materials for supplying them have in
good part perished in the lapse of time, or been trampled recklessly
beneath the hoof of the war-horse.
In the following pages, an effort has been made to restore a portion
of this history, so far as the meagre and careless traces scattered
through the Literature of Antiquity will allow.--Of the many beneficent
achievements of inventive genius, those which more immediately minister
to the personal convenience and comfort of mankind seem to assert a
natural pre-eminence. Among the first under this head may be classed
the invention of Weaving, with its collateral branches of Spinning,
Netting, Sewing, Felting, and Dyeing. An account of the origin and
progress of this family of domestic arts can hardly fail to interest
the intelligent reader, while it would seem to have a special claim on
the attention of those engaged in the prosecution or improvement of
these arts. This work is intended to subserve the ends here indicated.
In the present age, when the resources of Science and of Intellect have
so largely pressed into the service of Mechanical Invention, especially
with reference to the production of fabrics from fibrous substances, it
is somewhat remarkable that no methodical treatise on this topic has
been offered to the public, and that the topic itself seems to have
almost eluded the investigations of the learned. With the exception of
Mr. Yates’s erudite production, “_Textrinum Antiquorum_,” we possess no
competent work on the subject; and valuable as is this production for
its authority and profound research, it is yet, for various reasons, of
comparative inutility to the general reader.
That a topic of such interest deserved elucidation will not be denied
when it is remembered that, apart from the question of the direct
influence these important arts have ever exerted upon the civilization
and social condition of communities, in various ages of the world,
there are other and scarcely inferior considerations to the student,
involved in their bearing upon the true understanding of history,
sacred and profane. To supply, therefore, an important desideratum in
classical archæology, by thus seeking the better to illustrate the true
social state of the ancients, thereby affording a commentary on their
commerce and progress in domestic arts, is one of the leading objects
contemplated by the present work. In addition to this, our better
acquaintance with the actual condition of these arts in early times
will tend, in many instances, to confirm the historic accuracy and
elucidate the idiom of many portions of Holy Writ.
How many of the grandest discoveries in the scientific world owe their
existence to accident! and how many more of the boasted creations of
human skill have proved to be but restorations of lost or forgotten
arts! How much also is still being revealed to us by the monumental
records of the old world, whose occult glyphs, till recently, defied
the most persevering efforts of the learned for their solution!
To be told that the Egyptians, four thousand years ago, were cunning
artificers in many of the pursuits which constitute lucrative branches
of our modern industry, might surprise some readers: yet we learn from
undoubted authorities that such they were. They also were acquainted
with the fabrication of crapes, transparent tissues, cotton, silk, and
paper, as well as the art of preparing colors which still continue to
defy the corrosions of defacing time.
If the _spider_ may be regarded as the earliest practical weaver upon
record--the generic name _Textoriæ_, supplying the root from which is
clearly derived the English terms, _texture_ and _textile_, as applied
to woven fabrics, of whatever materials they may be composed--the
_wasp_ may claim the honor of having been the first paper-manufacturer,
for he presents us with a most undoubted specimen of clear white
pasteboard, of so smooth a surface as to admit of being written upon
with ease and legibility. Would the superlative wisdom of man but
deign, with microscopic gaze, to study the ingenious movements of the
insect tribe more minutely, it would not be easy to estimate how much
might thereby be achieved for human science, philosophy, and even
morals!
For those who love to add to their fund of general knowledge,
especially in the department of natural history, the author trusts that
much valuable and interesting information will be found comprised in
those pages of this work which delineate the habits of the Silk-Worm,
the Sheep, the Goat, the Camel, the Beaver, &c.; while another
department, being devoted to the history of the Pastoral Life of the
Ancients, will naturally enlist the sympathies of such as take a deeper
interest in the records of ages and nations long since passed away.
From a mass of heterogeneous, though highly valuable materials, it has
been the design of the author to select, arrange, and conserve all
that was apposite to his subject and of intrinsic value. Thus has he
endeavored to render the piles of antiquity, to adopt the words of a
recent writer, well compacted--a process which has been begun in our
times, and with such eminent success that even the men of the present
age may live to see many of the thousand and one folios of the ancients
handed over without a sigh to the trunk-maker.
The ample domains of Learning are fast being submitted to fresh
irrigation and renewed culture,--the exclusiveness of the cloister has
given place to an unrestricted distribution of the intellectual wealth
of all times. What civilization has accomplished in the physical is
also being achieved in the mental world. The sterile and inaccessible
wilderness is transformed into the well-tilled garden, abounding
in luxurious fruits and fragrant flowers. It is the golden age of
knowledge--its Paradise Regained. The ponderous works of the olden time
have been displaced by the condensing process of modern literature;
yielding us their spirit and essence, without the heavy, obscuring
folds of their former verbal drapery. We want real and substantial
knowledge; but we are a labor-saving and a time-economizing people,--it
must therefore be obtained by the most compendious processes. Except
those with whom learning is the business of life, we are too generally
ignorant of the mighty mysteries which Nature has heaped around
our path; ignorant, too, of many of the discoveries of science and
philosophy, in ancient as well as modern times. To meet the exigencies
of our day, a judgment in the selection and condensation of works
designed for popular use is demanded--a facility like that of the
alchymist, extracting from the crude ores of antiquity the fine gold of
true knowledge.
The plan of this work naturally divides itself into four departments.
The first division is devoted to the consideration of _Silk_, its
early history and cultivation in China and various other parts of the
world; illustrated by copious citations from ancient writers: From
among whom to instance Homer, we learn that embroidery and tapestry
were prominent arts with the Thebans, that poet deriving many of his
pictures of domestic life from the paintings which have been found to
ornament their palaces. Thus it is evident that some of the proudest
attainments of art in our own day date their origin from a period
coeval at least with the Iliad. Again we find that the use of the
distaff and spindle, referred to in the Sacred Scriptures, was almost
as well understood in Egypt as it now is in India; while the factory
system, so far from being a modern invention, was in full operation,
and conducted under patrician influence, some three thousand years
ago. The Arabians also, even so far back as five centuries subsequent
to the deluge, were, it is stated on credible authority, skilled in
fabricating silken textures; while, at a period scarcely less remote,
we possess irrefragable testimony in favor of their knowledge of paper
made from cotton rags. The inhabitants of Phœnicia and Tyre were, it
appears, the first acquainted with the process of dyeing: the Tyrian
purple, so often noticed by writers, being of so gorgeous a hue as to
baffle description. The Persians were also prodigal in their indulgence
in vestments of gold, embroidery and silk: the memorable army of Darius
affording an instance of sumptuous magnificence in this respect. An
example might also be given of the extravagance of the Romans in
the third century, in the fact of a pound of silk being estimated
literally by its weight in gold. The nuptial robes of Maria, wife of
Honorius, which were discovered in her coffin at Rome in 1544, on being
burnt, yielded 36 pounds of pure gold! In the work here presented,
much interesting as well as valuable information is given under this
section, respecting the cultivation and manufacture of Silk in China,
Greece and other countries.
The second division of the work, comprising the history of the
_Sheep_, _Goat_, _Camel_, and _Beaver_, it is hoped will also be found
curious and valuable. The ancient history of the _Cotton_ manufacture
follows--a topic that has enlisted the pens of many writers, though
their essays, with two or three exceptions, merit little notice. The
subsequent pages embody many new and important facts, connected with
its early history and progress, derived from sources inaccessible
to the general reader. The fourth and last division, embracing the
history of the _Linen_ manufacture, includes notices of _Hemp_, _Flax_,
_Asbestos_, &c. This department again affords a fruitful theme for the
curious, and one that will be deemed, perhaps, not the least attractive
of the volume. Completing the design of the work, will be found the
Appendices, comprising rare and valuable extracts, derived from
unquestionable authorities.
Of the _Ten Illustrations_ herewith presented, five are entirely
original. It is hoped that these, at least, will be deemed worthy the
attention of the scholar as well as of the general reader, and that
their value will not be limited by their utility as elucidations of
the text. Among these, especial notice is requested to the engraving
of the Chinese Loom, a reduced fac-simile, copied by permission from a
magnificent Chinese production, recently obtained from the Celestial
Empire, and now in the possession of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign
Missions in this city. Another, equally worthy of notice, represents an
Egyptian weaving factory, with the processes of Spinning and Winding;
also a reduced fac-simile, copied from _Champollion’s_ great work on
Egypt. The Spider, magnified with his web, and the Indian Loom, it is
presumed, will not fail to attract attention.
Throughout the entire work, the most diligent care has been used in the
collation of the numerous authorities cited, as well as a rigid regard
paid to their veracity. As a work so elaborate in its character would
necessarily have to depend, to a considerable extent, for its facts
and illustrations, upon the labors of previous writers, the author
deems no apology necessary in thus publicly and gratefully avowing his
indebtedness to the several authors cited in order at the foot of his
pages; but he would especially mention the eminent name of Mr. Yates,
to the fruits of whose labors the present production owes much of its
novelty, attractiveness, and intrinsic value.
_New York, Oct. 1st, 1845._
CONTENTS.
PART FIRST.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF SILK.
CHAPTER I.
SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING.
Whether Silk is mentioned in the Old Testament--Earliest
Clothing--Coats of Skin, Tunic, Simla--Progress of Invention--Chinese
chronology relative to the Culture of Silk--Exaggerated
statements--Opinions of Mailla, Le Sage, M. Lavoisnè, Rev. J. Robinson,
Dr. A. Clarke, Rev. W. Hales, D.D., Mairan, Bailly, Guignes, and Sir
William Jones--Noah supposed to be the first emperor of China--Extracts
from Chinese publications--Silk Manufactures of the Island of
Cos--Described by Aristotle--Testimony of Varro--Spinning and Weaving
in Egypt--Great ingenuity of Bezaleel and Aholiab in the production of
Figured Textures for the Jewish Tabernacle--Skill of the Sidonian women
in the Manufacture of Ornamental Textures--Testimony of Homer--Great
antiquity of the Distaff and Spindle--The prophet Ezekiel’s account
of the Broidered Stuffs, etc. of the Egyptians--Beautiful eulogy on
an industrious woman--Helen the Spartan, her superior skill in the
art of Embroidery--Golden Distaff presented her by the Egyptian queen
Alcandra--Spinning a domestic occupation in Miletus--Theocritus’s
complimentary verses to Theuginis on her industry and virtue--Taste
of the Roman and Grecian ladies in the decoration of their Spinning
Implements--Ovid’s testimony to the skill of Arachne in Spinning and
Weaving--Method of Spinning with the Distaff--Described by Homer and
Catullus--Use of Silk in Arabia 500 years after the flood--Forster’s
testimony 1
CHAPTER II.
HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE CONTINUED TO THE 4TH CENTURY.
SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING.--HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN
THESE ARTS.
Testimony of the Latin poets of the Augustan
age--Tibullus--Propertius--Virgil--Horace--Ovid--Dyonisius
Perigetes--Strabo. Mention of silk by authors in the
first century--Seneca the Philosopher--Seneca the
Tragedian--Lucan--Pliny--Josephus--Saint John--Silius
Italicus--Statius--Plutarch--Juvenal--Martial--Pausanias--Galen--Clemens
Alexandrinus--Caution to Christian converts against the
use of silk in dress. Mention of silk by authors in the
second century--Tertullian--Apuleius--Ulpian--Julius
Pollux--Justin. Mention of silk by authors in the
third century--Ælius Lampidius--Vopiscus--Trebellius
Pollio--Cyprian--Solinus--Ammianus--Marcellinus--Use of silk by the
Roman emperors--Extraordinary beauty of the textures--Use of water
to detach silk from the trees--Invectives of these authors against
extravagance in dress--The Seres described as a happy people--Their
mode of traffic, etc.--(Macpherson’s opinion of the Chinese.)--City of
Dioscurias, its vast commerce in former times.--(Colonel Syke’s account
of the Kolissura silk-worm--Dr. Roxburgh’s description of the Tusseh
silk-worm.) 22
CHAPTER III.
HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE FROM THE THIRD TO THE SIXTH CENTURY.
SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING.--HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN
THESE ARTS.
Fourth Century--Curious account of silk found in the Edict of
Diocletian--Extravagance of the Consul Furius Placidus--Transparent
silk shifts--Ausonius describes silk as the produce of
trees--Quintus Aur Symmachus, and Claudian’s testimony of silk
and golden textures--Their extraordinary beauty--Pisander’s
description--Periplus Maris Erythræi--Dido of Sidon. Mention
of silk in the laws of Manu--Rufus Festus Avinus--Silk
shawls--Marciannus Capella--Inscription by M. N. Proculus, silk
manufacturer--Extraordinary spiders’ webs--Bombyces compared to
spiders--Wild silk-worms of Tsouen-Kien and Tiao-Kien--M. Bertin’s
account--Further remarks on wild silk-worms. Christian authors of the
fourth century--Arnobius--Gregorius Nazienzenus--Basil--Illustration
of the doctrine of the resurrection--Ambrose--Georgius
Pisida--Macarius--Jerome--Chrysostom--Heliodorus--Salmasius--Extraordinary
beauty of the silk and golden textures described by these
authors--Their invectives against Christians wearing
silk. Mention of silk by Christian authors in the fifth
century--Prudentius--Palladius--Theodosian Code--Appollinaris
Sidonius--Alcimus Avitus. Sixth century--Boethius. (Manufactures of
Tyre and Sidon--Purple--Its great durability--Incredible value of
purple stuffs found in the treasury of the King of Persia.) 41
CHAPTER IV.
HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE CONTINUED FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF
SILK-WORMS INTO EUROPE, A. D. 530, TO THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
A. D. 530.--Introduction of silk-worms into Europe--Mode by
which it was effected--The Serinda of Procopius the same with the
modern Khotan--The silk-worm never bred in Sir-hind--Silk shawls
of Tyre and Berytus--Tyrannical conduct of Justinian--Ruin of the
silk manufactures--Oppressive conduct of Peter Barsames--Menander
Protector--Surprise of Maniak the Sogdian ambassador--Conduct of
Chosroes, king of Persia--Union of the Chinese and Persians against
the Turks--The Turks in self-defence seek an alliance with the
Romans--Mortification of the Turkish ambassador--Reception of the
Byzantine ambassador by Disabul, king of the Sogdiani--Display of silk
textures--Paul the Silentiary’s account of silk--Isidorus Hispalensis.
Mention of silk by authors in the seventh century--Dorotheus,
Archimandrite of Palestine--Introduction of silk-worms into Chubdan,
or Khotan--Theophylactus Simocatta--Silk manufactures of Turfan--Silk
known in England in this century--First worn by Ethelbert, king of
Kent--Use of by the French kings--Aldhelmus’s beautiful description of
the silk-worm--Simile between weaving and virtue. Silk in the eighth
century--Bede. In the tenth century--Use of silk by the English, Welsh,
and Scotch kings. Twelfth century--Theodoras Prodromus--Figured shawls
of the Seres--Ingulphus describes vestments of silk interwoven with
eagles and flowers of gold--Great value of silk about this time--Silk
manufactures of Sicily--Its introduction into Spain. Fourteenth
century--Nicholas Tegrini--Extension of the Silk manufacture through
Europe, illustrated by etymology--Extraordinary beauty of silk and
golden textures used in the decoration of churches in the middle
ages--Silk rarely mentioned in the ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth
centuries 66
CHAPTER V.
SILK AND GOLDEN TEXTURES OF THE ANCIENTS.
HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN THIS MANUFACTURE.
Manufacture of golden textures in the time of Moses--Homer--Golden
tunics of the Lydians--Their use by the Indians and
Arabians--Extraordinary display of scarlet robes, purple, striped with
silver, golden textures, &c., by Darius, king of Persia--Purple and
scarlet cloths interwoven with gold--Tunics and shawls variegated with
gold--Purple garments with borders of gold--Golden chlamys--Attalus,
king of Pergamus, _not_ the inventor of gold thread--Bostick--Golden
robe worn by Agrippina--Caligula and Heliogabalus--Sheets interwoven
with gold used at the obsequies of Nero--Babylonian shawls intermixed
with gold--Silk shawls interwoven with gold--Figured cloths of gold
and Tyrean purple--Use of gold in the manufacture of shawls by the
Greeks--4,000,000 sesterces (about $150,000) paid by the Emperor Nero
for a Babylonish coverlet--Portrait of Constantius II.--Magnificence of
Babylonian carpets, mantles, &c.--Median sindones 84
CHAPTER VI.
SILVER TEXTURES, ETC., OF THE ANCIENTS.
EXTREME BEAUTY OF THESE MANUFACTURES.
Magnificent dress worn by Herod Agrippa, mentioned in Acts xii.
21--Josephus’s account of this dress, and dreadful death of
Herod--Discovery of ancient Piece-goods--Beautiful manuscript
of Theodolphus, Bishop of Orleans, who lived in the ninth
century--Extraordinary beauty of Indian, Chinese, Egyptian, and other
manufactured goods preserved in this manuscript--Egyptian arts--Wise
regulations of the Egyptians in relation to the arts--Late discoveries
in Egypt by the Prussian hierologist, Dr. Lepsius--Cloth of glass 93
CHAPTER VII.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SILK-WORM, ETC.
Preliminary observations--The silk-worm--Various changes of the
silk-worm--Its superiority above other worms--Beautiful verses on the
May-fly, illustrative of the shortness of human life--Transformations
of the silk-worm--Its small desire of locomotion--First sickness
of the worm--Manner of casting its Exuviæ--Sometimes cannot be
fully accomplished--Consequent death of the insect--Second, third,
and fourth sickness of the worm--Its disgust for food--Material of
which silk is formed--Mode of its secretion--Manner of unwinding the
filaments--Floss-silk--Cocoon--Its imperviousness to moisture--Effect
of the filaments breaking during the formation of the cocoon--Mr.
Robinet’s curious calculation on the movements made by a silk-worm
in the formation of a cocoon--Cowper’s beautiful lines on the
silk-worm--Periods in which its various progressions are effected
in different climates--Effects of sudden transitions from heat to
cold--The worm’s appetite sharpened by increased temperature--Shortens
its existence--Various experiments in artificial heating--Modes of
artificial heating--Singular estimate of Count Dandolo--Astonishing
increase of the worm--Its brief existence in the moth state--Formation
of silk--The silken filament formed in the worm before its
expulsion--Erroneous opinions entertained by writers on this
subject--The silk-worm’s Will 98
CHAPTER VIII.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHINESE MODE OF REARING SILK-WORMS, ETC.
Great antiquity of the silk-manufacture in China--Time and mode
of pruning the Mulberry-tree--Not allowed to exceed a certain
height--Mode of planting--Situation of rearing-rooms, and their
construction--Effect of noise on the silk-worm--Precautions observed
in preserving cleanliness--Isan-mon, mother of the worms--Manner
of feeding--Space allotted to the worms--Destruction of the
Chrysalides--Great skill of the Chinese in weaving--American writers
on the Mulberry-tree--Silk-worms sometimes reared on trees--(M.
Marteloy’s experiments in 1764, in rearing silk-worms on trees in
France)--Produce inferior to that of worms reared in houses--Mode of
delaying the hatching of the eggs--Method of hatching--Necessity for
preventing damp--Number of meals--Mode of stimulating the appetite of
the worms--Effect of this upon the quantity of silk produced--Darkness
injurious to the silk-worm--Its effect on the Mulberry-leaves--Mode
of preparing the cocoons for the reeling process--Wild silk-worms of
India--Mode of hatching, &c.--(Observations on the cultivation of silk
by Dr. Stebbins--Dr. Bowring’s admirable illustration of the mutual
dependence of the arts upon each other.) 119
CHAPTER IX.
THE SPIDER.
ATTEMPTS TO PROCURE SILKEN FILAMENTS FROM SPIDERS.
Structures of spiders--Spiders not properly insects, and why--Apparatus
for spinning--Extraordinary number of spinnerules--Great number of
filaments composing one thread--Réaumur and Leeuwenhoeck’s laughable
estimates--Attachment of the thread against a wall or stick--Shooting
of the lines of spiders--1. Opinions of Redi, Swammerdam, and
Kirby--2. Lister, Kirby, and White--3. La Pluche and Bingley--4.
D’Isjonval, Murray, and Bowman--5.--Experiments of Mr. Blackwall--His
account of the ascent of gossamer--6. Experiments by Rennie--Thread
supposed to go off double--Subsequent experiments--Nests, Webs,
and Nets of Spiders--Elastic satin nest of a spider--Evelyn’s
account of hunting spiders--Labyrinthic spider’s nest--Erroneous
account of the House Spider--Geometric Spiders--Attempts to procure
silken filaments from Spiders’ bags--Experiments of M. Bon--Silken
material--Manner of its preparations--M. Bon’s enthusiasm--His
spider establishment--Spider-silk not poisonous--Its usefulness
in healing wounds--Investigation of M. Bon’s establishment by M.
Réaumur--His objections--Swift’s satire against speculators and
projectors--Ewbank’s interesting observations on the ingenuity of
spiders--Mason-spiders--Ingenious door with a hinge--Nest from
the West Indies with spring hinge--Raft-building Spider--Diving
Water-Spider--Rev. Mr. Kirby’s beautiful description of
it--Observations of M. Clerck--Cleanliness of Spiders--Structure of
their claws--Fanciful account of them patting their webs--Proceedings
of a spider in a steamboat--Addison--His suggestions on the compilation
of a “History of Insects” 138
CHAPTER X.
FIBRES OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINNA.
The Pinna--Description of--Delicacy of its threads--Réaumur’s
observations--Mode of forming the filament or thread--Power of
continually producing new threads--Experiments to ascertain
this fact--The Pinna and its Cancer Friend--Nature of their
alliance--Beautiful phenomenon--Aristotle and Pliny’s account--The
Greek poet Oppianus’s lines on the Pinna, and its Cancer friend--Manner
of procuring the Pinna--Poli’s description--Specimens of the
Pinna in the British Museum--Pearls found in the Pinna--Pliny and
Athenæus’s account--Manner of preparing the fibres of the Pinna for
weaving--Scarceness of this material--No proof that the ancients were
acquainted with the art of knitting--Tertullian the first ancient
writer who makes mention of the manufacture of cloth from the fibres
of the Pinna--Procopius mentions a chlamys made of the fibres of
the Pinna, and a silken tunic adorned with sprigs or feathers of
gold--Boots of red leather worn only by Emperors--Golden fleece of the
Pinna--St. Basil’s account--Fibres of the Pinna not manufactured into
cloth at Tarentum in ancient times, but in India--Diving for the Pinna
at Colchi--Arrian’s account 174
CHAPTER XI.
FIBRES, OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINE-APPLE.
Fibres of the Pine-Apple--Facility of dyeing--Manner of preparing the
fibres for weaving--Easy cultivation of the plant--Thrives where no
other plant will live--Mr. Frederick Burt Zincke’s patent process of
manufacturing cloth from the fibres of this plant--Its comparative
want of strength--Silken material procured from the Papyfera--Spun
and woven into cloth--Cloth of this description manufactured
generally by the Otaheiteans, and other inhabitants of the South Sea
Islands--Great strength (supposed) of ropes made from the fibres of the
aloe--Exaggerated statements 185
CHAPTER XII.
MALLOWS.
CULTIVATION AND USE OF THE MALLOW AMONG THE ANCIENTS.--TESTIMONY OF
LATIN, GREEK, AND ATTIC WRITERS.
The earliest mention of Mallows is to be found in Job xxx.
4.--Varieties of the Mallow--Cultivation and use of the
Mallow--Testimony of ancient authors--Papias and Isidore’s mention of
Mallow cloth--Mallow cloth common in the days of Charlemagne--Mallow
shawls--Mallow cloths mentioned in the Periplus as exported from
India to Barygaza (Baroch)--Calidāsa the Indian dramatist, who
lived in the first century B. C.--His testimony--Wallich’s (the
Indian botanist) account--Mantles of woven bark, mentioned in the
Sacontăla of Calidāsa--Valcălas, or Mantles of woven bark,
mentioned in the Ramayana, a noted poem of ancient India--Sheets made
from trees--Ctesias’ testimony--Strabo’s account--Testimony of Statius
Cæcilius and Plautus, who lived 169 B. C. and 184 B. C.--Plautus’s
laughable enumeration of the analogy of trades--Beauty of garments of
Amorgos mentioned by Eupolis--Clearchus’s testimony--Plato mentions
linen shifts--Amorgine garments first manufactured at Athens in the
time of Aristophanes 191
CHAPTER XIII.
SPARTUM OR SPANISH BROOM.
CLOTH MANUFACTURED FROM BROOM BARK, NETTLE, AND BULBOUS
PLANT.--TESTIMONY OF GREEK AND LATIN AUTHORS.
Authority for Spanish Broom--Stipa Tenacissima--Cloth made from
Broom-bark--Albania--Italy--France--Mode of preparing the fibre for
weaving--Pliny’s account of Spartum--Bulbous plant--Its fibrous
coats--Pliny’s translation of Theophrastus--Socks and garments--Size
of the bulb--Its genus or species not sufficiently defined--Remarks of
various modern writers on this plant--Interesting communications of Dr.
Daniel Stebbins, of Northampton, Mass. to Hon. H. L. Ellsworth 202
PART SECOND.
ORIGIN AND ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE SHEEP.
CHAPTER I.
SHEEP’S WOOL.
SHEEP-BREEDING AND PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS--ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE
SCRIPTURES, ETC.
The Shepherd Boy--Sheep-breeding in Scythia and Persia--Mesopotamia
and Syria--In Idumæa and Northern Arabia--In Palestine and Egypt--In
Ethiopia and Libya--In Caucasus and Coraxi--The Coraxi identified
with the modern Caratshai--In Asia Minor, Pisidia, Pamphylia, Samos,
&c.--In Caria and Ionia--Milesian wool--Sheep-breeding in Thrace,
Magnesia, Thessaly, Eubœa, and Bœotia--In Phocis, Attica, and
Megaris--In Arcadia--Worship of Pan--Pan the god of the Arcadian
Shepherds--Introduction of his worship into Attica--Extension of the
worship of Pan--His dances with the nymphs--Pan not the Egyptian
Mendes, but identical with Faunus--The philosophical explanation of Pan
rejected--Moral, social, and political state of the Arcadians--Polybius
on the cultivation of music by the Arcadians--Worship of Mercury in
connection with sheep-breeding and the wool trade--Present state
of Arcadia--Sheep-breeding in Macedonia and Epirus--Shepherds’
dogs--Annual migration of Albanian shepherds 217
CHAPTER II.
SHEEP-BREEDING AND PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS--ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE
SCRIPTURES, ETC.
Sheep-breeding in Sicily--Bucolic poetry--Sheep-breeding in
South Italy--Annual migration of the flocks--The ram employed to
aid the shepherd in conducting his flock--The ram an emblem of
authority--Bells--Ancient inscription at Sepino--Use of music by
ancient shepherds--Superior quality of Tarentine sheep--Testimony
of Columella--Distinction of the coarse and soft kinds--Names
given to sheep--Supposed effect of the water of rivers on
wool--Sheep-breeding in South Italy, Tarentum, and Apulia--Brown
and red wool--Sheep-breeding in North Italy--Wool of Parma, Modena,
Mantua, and Padua--Origin of sheep-breeding in Italy--Faunus the same
with Pan--Ancient sculptures exhibiting Faunus--Bales of wool and
the shepherd’s dress--Costume, appearance, and manner of life of the
ancient Italian shepherds 256
CHAPTER III.
SHEEP-BREEDING AND PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS--ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE
SCRIPTURES, ETC.
Sheep-breeding in Germany and Gaul--In Britain--Improved by the
Belgians and Saxons--Sheep-breeding in Spain--Natural dyes of Spanish
wool--Golden hue and other natural dyes of the wool of Bætica--Native
colors of Bætic wool--Saga and chequered plaids--Sheep always bred
principally for the weaver, not for the butcher--Sheep supplied milk
for food, wool for clothing--The moth 282
CHAPTER IV.
GOATS-HAIR.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE GOAT--ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES, ETC.
Sheep-breeding and goats in China--Probable origin of sheep and
goats--Sheep and goats coeval with man, and always propagated
together--Habits of Grecian goat-herds--He-goat employed to lead
the flock--Cameo representing a goat-herd--Goats chiefly valued for
their milk--Use of goats’-hair for coarse clothing--Shearing of goats
in Phrygia, Cilicia, &c.--Vestes caprina, cloth of goats’-hair--Use
of goats’-hair for military and naval purposes--Curtains to
cover tents--Etymology of Sack and Shag--Symbolical uses of
sack-cloth--The Arabs weave goats’-hair--Modern uses of goats’-hair
and goats’-wool--Introduction of the Angora or Cashmere goat into
France--Success of the Project 293
CHAPTER V.
BEAVERS-WOOL.
Isidorus Hispalensis--Claudian--Beckmann--Beavers’-wool--Dispersion of
Beavers through Europe--Fossil bones of Beavers 309
CHAPTER VI.
CAMELS-WOOL AND CAMELS-HAIR.
Camels’-wool and Camels’-hair--Ctesias’s account--Testimony of modern
travellers--Arab tent of Camels’-hair--Fine cloths still made of
Camels’-wool--The use of hair of various animals in the manufacture
of beautiful stuffs by the ancient Mexicans--Hair used by the Candian
women in the manufacture of broidered stuffs--Broidered stuffs of the
negresses of Senegal--Their great beauty 312
PART THIRD.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE COTTON MANUFACTURE.
CHAPTER I.
GREAT ANTIQUITY OF THE COTTON MANUFACTURE IN INDIA--UNRIVALLED SKILL OF
THE INDIAN WEAVER.
Superiority of Cotton for clothing, compared with linen, both in
hot and cold climates--Cotton characteristic of India--Account of
Cotton by Herodotus, Ctesias, Theophrastus, Aristobulus, Nearchus,
Pomponius Mela--Use of Cotton in India--Cotton known before silk
and called Carpasus, Carpasum, Carbasum, &c.--Cotton awnings
used by the Romans--Carbasus applied to linen--Last request of
Tibullus--Muslin fillet of the vestal virgin--Linen sails, &c., called
Carbasa--Valerius Flaccus introduces muslin among the elegancies
in the dress of a Phrygian from the river Rhyndacus--Prudentius’s
satire on pride--Apuleius’s testimony--Testimony of Sidonius
Apollinaris, and Avienus--Pliny and Julius Pollux--Their testimony
considered--Testimony of Tertullian and Philostratus--Of Martianus
Capella--Cotton paper mentioned by Theophylus Presbyter--Use of Cotton
by the Arabians--Cotton not common anciently in Europe--Marco Polo
and Sir John Mandeville’s testimony of the Cotton of India--Forbes’s
description of the herbaceous Cotton of Guzerat--Testimony of Malte
Brun--Beautiful Cotton textures of the ancient Mexicans--Testimony
of the Abbé Clavigero--Fishing nets made from Cotton by the
inhabitants of the West India Islands, and on the Continent of
South America--Columbus’s testimony--Cotton used for bedding by the
Brazilians 315
CHAPTER II.
SPINNING AND WEAVING--MARVELLOUS SKILL DISPLAYED IN THESE ARTS.
Unrivalled excellence of India muslins--Testimony of the two
Arabian travellers--Marco Polo, and Odoardo Barbosa’s accounts of
the beautiful Cotton textures of Bengal--Cæsar Frederick, Tavernier,
and Forbes’s testimony--Extraordinary fineness and transparency of
Decca muslins--Specimen brought by Sir Charles Wilkins; compared
with English muslins--Sir Joseph Banks’s experiments--Extraordinary
fineness of Cotton yarn spun by machinery in England--Fineness of
India Cotton yarn--Cotton textures of Soonergong--Testimony of R.
Fitch--Hamilton’s account--Decline of the manufactures of Dacca
accounted for--Orme’s testimony of the universal diffusion of the
Cotton manufacture in India--Processes of the manufacture--Rude
implements--Roller gin--Bowing. (Eli Whitney inventor of the cotton
gin--Tribute of respect paid to his memory--Immense value of Mr.
Whitney’s invention to growers and manufacturers of Cotton throughout
the world.) Spinning wheel--Spinning without a wheel--Loom--Mode of
weaving--Forbes’s description--Habits and remuneration of Spinners,
Weavers, &c.--Factories of the East India Company--Marvellous skill
of the Indian workman accounted for--Mills’s testimony--Principal
Cotton fabrics of India, and where made--Indian commerce in Cotton
goods--Alarm created in the woollen and silk manufacturing districts
of Great Britain--Extracts from publications of the day--Testimony of
Daniel De Foe (Author of _Robinson Crusoe_.)--Indian fabrics prohibited
in England, and most other countries of Europe--Petition from Calcutta
merchants--Present condition of the City of Dacca--Mode of spinning
fine yarns--Tables showing the comparative prices of Dacca and British
manufactured goods of the same quality 333
PART FOURTH.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE LINEN MANUFACTURE.
CHAPTER I.
FLAX.
CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF FLAX BY THE ANCIENTS--ILLUSTRATIONS OF
THE SCRIPTURES, ETC.
Earliest mention of Flax--Linen manufactures of the Egyptians--Linen
worn by the priests of Isis--Flax grown extensively in Egypt--Flax
gathering--Envelopes of Linen found on Egyptian mummies--Examination of
mummy-cloth--Proved to be Linen--Flax still grown in Egypt--Explanation
of terms--Byssus--Reply to J. R. Forster--Hebrew and Egyptian
terms--Flax in North Africa, Colchis, Babylonia--Flax cultivated in
Palestine--Terms for flax and tow--Cultivation of Flax in Palestine and
Asia Minor--In Elis, Etruria, Cisalpine Gaul, Campania, Spain--Flax of
Germany, of the Atrebates, and of the Franks--Progressive use of linen
among the Greeks and Romans 358
CHAPTER II.
HEMP.
Cultivation and Uses of Hemp by the Ancients--Its use limited--Thrace
Colchis--Caria--Etymology of Hemp 387
CHAPTER III.
ASBESTOS.
Uses of Asbestos--Carpasian flax--Still found in Cyprus--Used in
funerals--Asbestine-cloth--How manufactured--Asbestos used for fraud
and superstition by the Romish monks--Relic at Monte Casino 390
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX A.
ON PLINY’S NATURAL HISTORY.
Sheep and wool Price of wool in Pliny’s time--Varieties of wool
and where produced--Coarse wool used for the manufacture of
carpets--Woollen cloth of Egypt--Embroidery--Felting--Manner of
cleansing--Distaff of Tanaquil--Varro--Tunic--Toga--Undulate or waved
cloth--Nature of this fabric--Figured cloths in use in the days of
Homer (900 B. C.)--Cloth of gold--Figured cloths of Babylon--Damask
first woven at Alexandria--Plaided textures first woven in
Gaul--$150,000 paid for a Babylonish coverlet--Dyeing of wool in the
fleece--Observations on sheep and goats--Dioscurias a city of the
Colchians--Manner of transacting business 401
APPENDIX B.
ON THE ORIGIN AND MANUFACTURE OF LINEN AND COTTON PAPER.
THE INVENTION OF LINEN PAPER PROVEN TO BE OF EGYPTIAN ORIGIN--COTTON
PAPER MANUFACTURED BY THE BUCHARIANS AND ARABIANS, A. D. 704.
Wehrs gives the invention of Linen paper to Germany--Schönemann
to Italy--Opinion of various writers, ancient and modern--Linen
paper produced in Egypt from mummy-cloth, A. D. 1200--Testimony of
Abdollatiph--Europe indebted to Egypt for linen paper until the
eleventh century--Cotton paper--The knowledge of manufacturing,
how procured, and by whom--Advantages of Egyptian paper
manufacturer’s--Clugny’s testimony--Egyptian manuscript of linen paper
bearing date A. D. 1100--Ancient water-marks on linen paper--Linen
paper first introduced into Europe by the Saracens of Spain. (The Wasp
a paper-maker--Manufacture of paper from shavings of wood, and from the
stalks or leaves of Indian-corn.) 404
APPENDIX C.
ON FELT.
MANUFACTURE AND USE OF FELTING BY THE ANCIENTS.
Felting more ancient than weaving--Felt used in the East--Use of
it by the Tartars--Felt made of goats’-hair by the Circassians--Use
of felt in Italy and Greece--Cap worn by the Cynics, Fishermen,
Mariners, Artificers, &c.--Cleanthes compares the moon to a
skull-cap--Desultores--Vulcan--Ulysses--Phrygian bonnet--Cap
worn by the Asiatics--Phrygian felt of Camels’-hair--Its great
stiffness--Scarlet and purple felt used by Babylonish decorators--Mode
of manufacturing--Felt Northern nations of Europe--Cap of
liberty--Petasus--Statue of Endymion--Petasus in works of ancient
art--Hats of Thessaly and Macedonia--Laconian or Arcadian hats--The
Greeks manufacture Felt 900 B. C.--Mercury with the pileus and
petasus--Miscellaneous uses of Felt 414
APPENDIX D.
ON NETTING.
MANUFACTURE AND USE OF NETS BY THE ANCIENTS--ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE
SCRIPTURES, ETC.
Nets were made of Flax, Hemp, and Broom--General terms for nets--Nets
used for catching birds--Mode of snaring--Hunting-nets--Method
of hunting--Hunting-nets supported by forked stakes--Manner of
fixing them--Purse-net or tunnel-net--Homer’s testimony--Nets used
by the Persians in lion-hunting--Hunting with nets practised by
the ancient Egyptians--Method of hunting--Depth of nets for this
purpose--Description of the purse-net--Road-net--Hallier--Dyed
feathers used to scare the prey--Casting-net--Manner of throwing
by the Arabs--Cyrus king of Persia--His fable of the piper and the
fishes--Fishing-nets--Casting-net used by the Apostles--Landing-net
(Scap-net)--The Sean--Its length and depth--Modern use of the
Sean--Method of fishing with the Sean practised by the Arabians
and ancient Egyptians--Corks and leads--Figurative application of
the Sean--Curious method of capturing an enemy practised by the
Persians--Nets used in India to catch tortoises--Bag-nets and small
purse-nets--Novel scent-bag of Verres the Sicilian prætor 436
LIST OF PLATES.
I. Frontispiece--Chinese Looms. _to face page_
II. Egyptian Looms, with the Processes of Spinning and Winding, 93
III. Silk Worm, Cocoons, Chrysalis, Moths, and Pinna 118
IV. Spiders, with the Processes of Spinning and Weaving 172
V. Indian Loom, with the Process of Winding off the Thread 315
VI. Egyptian Flax-gathering. Magnified Fibres of Flax and Cotton 359
VII. Map, showing the Divisions of the Ancient World, coloured
according to the Raw Materials principally produced in them
for Weaving 400
VIII. Caps worn by Cynic Philosopher, Vulcan, Dædalus, Ulysses,
and a Desultor. Caps worn by Modern Greek Boy and Fisherman.
Mysian Cap or Phrygian Bonnet. Coins in the British Museum 415
IX. Statue of Endymion. Hats worn by Shepherds and Athenian
Ephebi. Coins in the British Museum 434
X. Hunting-scenes in bas-reliefs at Ince-Blundell. Egyptians
with the Drag-Net 464
PART FIRST.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF SILK.
CHAPTER I.
SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING.
Whether Silk is mentioned in the Old Testament--Earliest
Clothing--Coats of Skin, Tunic, Simla--Progress of Invention
Chinese chronology relative to the Culture of Silk--Exaggerated
statements--Opinions of Mailla, Le Sage, M. Lavoisnè, Rev. J.
Robinson, Dr. A. Clarke, Rev. W. Hales, D.D., Mairan, Bailly, Guignes,
and Sir William Jones--Noah supposed to be the first emperor of
China--Extracts from Chinese publications--Silk Manufactures of the
island of Cos--Described by Aristotle--Testimony of Varro--Spinning
and Weaving in Egypt--Great ingenuity of Bezaleel and Aholiab in the
production of Figured Textures for the Jewish Tabernacle--Skill of the
Sidonian women in the Manufacture of Ornamental Textures--Testimony
of Homer--Great antiquity of the Distaff and Spindle--The
prophet Ezekiel’s account of the Broidered Stuffs, etc. of the
Egyptians--Beautiful eulogy on an industrious woman--Helen the
Spartan, her superior skill in the art of Embroidery--Golden Distaff
presented her by the Egyptian queen Alcandra--Spinning a domestic
occupation in Miletus--Theocritus’s complimentary verses to Theuginis
on her industry and virtue--Taste of the Roman and Grecian ladies in
the decoration of their Spinning Implements--Ovid’s testimony to the
skill of Arachne in Spinning and Weaving--Method of Spinning with the
Distaff--Described by Homer and Catullus--Use of Silk in Arabia 500
years after the flood--Forster’s testimony.
To please the flesh a thousand arts contend:
The miser’s heaps of gold, the figur’d vest,
The gem, the silk-worm, and the purple dye,
By toil acquir’d, promote no other end.--_Peristeph. Hymn._ x.
Whether silk is ever mentioned in the Old Testament cannot perhaps be
determined.
In Ezek. xvi. 10 and 13, “silk” is used in the common English bible
for משי, which occurs no where except here, but which, as appears from
the context, certainly meant some valuable article of female dress.
Le Clerc and Rosenmüller translate it “serico;” Cocceius, Schindler,
Buxtorf, in their Lexicons, and Dr. John Taylor in his Concordance,
give the same interpretation. Augusti and De Wette in their German
translation make it signify “_a silken veil_.” Others give different
interpretations. The only ground, on which silk of any kind is supposed
to be meant, is that in the Alexandrine or Septuagint version משי is
translated τρίχαπτον, and τρίχαπτον is explained by Hesychius to mean
“the _silken_ web fitted to be placed over the hair of the head” (τὸ
βομβύκινον ὕφασμα ὑπὲρ τῶν τριχῶν τῆς κεφαλῆς ἁπτόμενον), and that
other ancient Greek lexicographers also suppose a silken garment to be
meant.[1] But the meaning of τρίχαπτον is in reality as obscure as that
of משי. Jerome could not discover it, and concluded that the word was
invented by the Greek translator. It is now extant no where else except
in a passage of the comic Pherecrates preserved in Athenæus. Schneider,
followed by Passow, supposes it to mean some garment made of hair, and
quotes to this effect the explanation of Pollux (2. 24.), πλέγμα ἐκ
τριχῶν. Although, therefore, the term in question may possibly have
denoted some elegant and costly ornament for the head, made at least
partly of silk, yet this opinion appears to rest altogether upon the
assumption, first, that the ancient lexicographers are accurate in
their use of the epithet βομβύκινον, and secondly, that the Alexandrine
version is accurate in adopting the word τρίχαπτον.
[1] See Schleusner, Lexicon in LXX., v. Τρίχαπτον.
In Isaiah xix. 9, according to King James’s Translators and Bishop
Lowth, mention is made of those “_that work in fine flax_,” in the
original עבדי פשתים שריקות. Rosenmüller adopts nearly the same
interpretation, which is founded upon the use of the verb שרק or סרק in
the Chaldee and Syriac dialects to denote the operation of _combing_
flax, wool, hair, and other substances. In this sense the word has been
taken by the author of the Alexandrine Version, τοὺς ἐργαζομένους τὸ
λίνον τὸ σχιστὸν; by Symmachus, who instead of σχιστὸν uses κτενιστὸν;
and by Jerome, “qui operabantur linum _pectentes_.”
In the Targum of Jonathan and in the Syriac Version the same root is
taken to denote silk; רסריקין פלחי כתנא Targ. ܥܒܕܝ ܟܬܢܐ ܕܣܪܩܝܢ Syr. Both of
these seem to admit of the following literal translation, “_those who
make silken tunics_,” or in Latin, “_Factores tunicarum e sericis_.”
Kimchi supposes שריקות to mean silk webs, observing that silk is called
אל שרק by the Arabs. The same opinion has been adopted by Nicholas
Fuller[2], Buxtorf, and other modern critics. Kennicott, however,
arranges the words in two lines as follows,
ובשו עבדי פשתים
שריקות וארגים הורי
According to this arrangement, which seems most suitable to the rules
of grammatical construction, we have three co-ordinate phrases in the
plural number, denoting three different classes of artificers. The
second, שריקות, would by its termination denote _female_ artificers,
viz. women employed in _combing_ wool, flax, or other substances. On
the whole we are inclined to adopt this explanation of the word, as it
appears to be attended with the least difficulty, either grammatical or
etymological.
[2] Miscellanea Sacra, l. ii. c. 11.
Silk is mentioned Prov. xxxi. 22. in King James’s Translation, i. e.
the common English version, and in the margin of Gen. xli. 42. But the
use of the word is quite unauthorized.
After a full examination of the whole question Braunius[3] decides that
there is no mention of silk in the whole of the Old Testament, and that
it was unknown to the Hebrews in ancient times.
“There can be no doubt,” says Professor Hurwitz, “that manufactures and
the arts must have attained a high degree of perfection at the time
when Moses wrote; and that many of them were known long before that
period, we have the evidence of Scripture. It is true that inventions
were at first few, and their progress very slow, but they were suited
to the then condition and circumstances of man, as is evident even
in the art of clothing. Placed in the salubrious and mild air of
paradise, our first parents could hardly want any other covering than
what decency required. Accordingly we find that the first and only
article of dress was the חגורה _chagora_, the belt, (not aprons, as
in the established version). The materials of which it was made were
fig leaves; (Gen. iii. 7.) the same tree that afforded them food and
shelter, furnished them likewise with materials for covering their
bodies. But when in consequence of their transgressions they were to
be ejected from their blissful abode, and forced to dwell in less
favourable regions, a more substantial covering became necessary, their
merciful Creator made them (i. e. inspired them with the thoughts of
making for themselves) כתנות עור coats of skins. (Gen. iii. 21.) The
original word is כתנת _c’thoneth_, whence the Greek χιτὼν the tunic,
a close garment that was usually worn next the skin, it reached to
the knees, and had sleeves (in after times it was made either of wool
or linen.) After man had subdued the sheep (Hebrew כבשׂ _caves_ from
כגש to subdue[4]) and learned how to make use of its wool, we find
a new article of dress, namely the שמלה _simla_, an upper garment:
it consisted of a piece of cloth about six yards long and two or
three wide, in shape not unlike our blankets. This will explain Gen.
ix. 23, ‘And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both
their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their
father.’ It served as a dress by day, as a bed by night, (Exod. xxii.
26,) ‘If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou
shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down; for that is his
covering only; it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep?’
And sometimes burdens were carried in it, (Exod. xii. 34,) ‘And the
people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs
being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.’
“In the course of time various other garments came into use, as
mentioned in several other parts of Scripture. The materials of which
these garments were usually made are specified in Leviticus xiii.
47-59, ‘The garment also that the plague of the leprosy is in, whether
it be a woollen garment or a linen garment, whether it be in the _warp_
or _woof_, of linen or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in anything
made of skin, &c.’”
[3] De vestitu Heb. Sacerdotum, l. 1. cap. viii. § 8.
[4] There is not the least shadow of truth in support of such a
deduction; and particularly so since the general tenor of the
Scriptures leads to a very different conclusion. We are, therefore,
not authorized to give our support to any such hypothesis. The
history of the Sheep and Goat is so interwoven with the history of
man, that those naturalists have not reasoned correctly, who have
thought it necessary to refer the first origin of either of them to
any wild stock at all. Such view is, we imagine, more in keeping
with the inferences to be drawn from Scripture History with regard
to the early domestication of the sheep. Abel, we are told, was
a keeper of sheep, and it was one of the firstlings of his flock
that he offered to the Lord, and which, proving a more acceptable
sacrifice, excited the implacable and fatal jealousy of his brother
Cain. (See Part ii. pp. 217 and 293.)
In our search for the distant origin of any art or science, or in
looking through the long vista of ages remote even to nations extinct
before our own, we are favored with satisfactory evidence so long as we
are accompanied with authentic records: beyond, all is dark, obscure,
tradition, fable. On such ground it would be credulous or rash in the
extreme to repeat as our own, an affirmation, when that rests on the
single testimony of one party or interest, especially when that is of
a very questionable character. It is even safer, when history or well
authenticated records fail us, to appeal to philosophy, or to the well
known laws of mind, from which all arts and science spring. The former
favors us with the commanding evidence of certainty and decision;
and though the latter may only afford the testimony of analogy, yet,
is its probability more safe, at least, than what rests on misguided
calculations or on the legendary tales of artifice and fiction.
We have, however, authentic testimony that the _inventive_ faculty
existed at a very early period. The peculiar condition of man at that
time must have afforded many imperative occasions for its exertion.
Hence we read that “Jabal was the father of such as dwell in tents”
(_i. e._ _inventor_ of tent-making); that “Jubal, his brother, was the
father” (inventor) of musical instruments: such as the _kinnor_, harp,
or stringed instruments, and the _ugab_, organ, or wind instruments;
that “Tubal-cain was the instructor of every artificer in brass
and iron, the first smith on record, or one to teach how to make
instruments and utensils out of brass and iron; and that the sister of
Tubal-cain was Naamah, whom the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel affirms
to have been the _inventrix_ of plaintive or elegiac poetry[5]. Here
is then an account of the _inventive_ faculty being in exercise 3504
years before the Christian era; or 1156 years prior to the deluge; or
804 years before the earliest period assigned to the Chinese for the
discovery of silk. And of whatever arts or sciences existing amongst
men prior to the deluge, there is no difficulty in conceiving the
possibility of the transmission of the leading and most essential
parts, at least, to the post-diluvians, by the family of Noah.
[5] As a proof that the inventive faculty, as to every thing truly
useful to man, originally proceeded from _the only “Giver of every
good and perfect gift,”_ consult Isa. xxviii. 24-29: and also a
beautiful comment by Dr. A. Clarke on, “And thou shalt speak unto
all that are wise hearted, _whom I have filled_ with the spirit of
wisdom.” Exod. xxviii. 3: and also on, “I have filled him with the
spirit of God in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge,
and in all manner of workmanship; to devise cunning works, to work
in gold, and in silver, and in brass; and in cutting of stones,
to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of
curious workmanship.” Exod. xxxi. 3, 4, and 5.
But instead of giving our unqualified assent to what has been
servilely copied from book to book from the most accessible account, we
shall advert to the great discrepancy relative to Chinese chronology,
amongst those who have had equal access to their records. Thus the time
of Fohi, the first emperor, has been said to be 2951 B. C., by some
2198 B. C., and by others 2057, or about 300 years after the deluge:
of Hoang-ti, 2700 B. C., by Mailla it is quoted at 2602 B. C., by Le
Sage at 2597 B. C., and by Robinson and others at 1703 B. C. Similar
disagreements might, would our limits allow, be observed concerning the
rest, and particularly of the emperors, Hiao-wenti, Chim-ti, Ming-ti,
Youen-ti, Wenti, Wou-ti, and Hiao-wou-ti. Even in more modern times,
and relative to a character so notorious as Confucius, no less than
three dates are equally affirmed to be true. As to Hoang-ti, who is
said to have begun _the culture of silk_, we are inclined to prefer the
latter account, 1703 B. C., which makes him contemporary with Joseph,
when prime minister over the land of Egypt.
As a confirmation of this, it may be stated, that by referring to the
account given of nine[6] of the patriarchs at this period, we shall
find that the average age of human life, _before much greater_, soon
after rapidly declined. Now the average duration of the reigns of the
first three[7] Chinese emperors, including Hoang-ti, was 118 years;
of the five that immediately succeeded, only 68 years. After this,
until the Christian era, the average duration of a single reign did
not exceed 23 years, and thence until the present time not 13 years.
Since, therefore, the average duration of the reign of the first three
emperors bears an evident and fit proportion to that of the age of man
at the period specified, though not at any other before or after, being
in the former case as much too small as it would in the latter be too
great, the opinion now offered is the only one that can be consistent
with these striking facts; and, if duly considered, presents an
argument strongly corroborating this view of the subject.
[6] Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph:
Gen. xi. 16-26; xlvii. 28; and l. 26.
[7] Fohi, Eohi Chinun, and Hoang-ti.
To attempt to establish any greater certainty, in a case of this
nature, the Chinese during the dynasty of Tschin, having, to conceal
the truth, destroyed everything authentic, would be in vain. It would
be even more rational to have recourse to the Vedas, or sacred books of
the Brahmins, or to records in the Sanscrit, were it not a well known
fact, that nearly all ancient nations, _except the Jews_, actuated by
the same ambition, have betrayed a wish to have their origin traced
as far back as the creation. And in the gratification of this passion
none are so notoriously pre-eminent as the Egyptians, Hindoos, and
Chinese.[8] For them the limits of the creation itself have been too
narrow, and days, weeks, and even months too short, unless multiplied
into years.[9]
[8] See Dr. A. Clarke’s remarks: end of Gen.
[9] See pp. 68, 74, 119 and 294.
The chronology relative to the early culture of silk, as found in
Chinese documents, for several irrefragable objections already
assigned, is exceedingly questionable, and therefore we are by no means
pledged to affirm that either in the authenticity of the books, or in
the correctness of the dates have we any faith. M. Lavoisnè dates the
commencement of the Chinese dynasties at A. M.[10] 1816, _or 159 years
after the deluge_. The Rev. J. Robinson of Christ Col., Cam., at A. M.
1947. We have already given as strong reasons, as under the extreme
incertitude of the case, can, perhaps, be offered, for preferring the
latter; the important points may be briefly stated, thus:
End of the deluge [11]1657 A. M.
Fohi, first emperor, began to reign 1947 A. M.
Noah died 2007 A. M.
Eohi Chinun, second emperor, began to reign 2061 A. M.
Hoang-ti, the third emperor, began to reign 2201 A. M.
Hoang-ti after establishing the silk culture, died 2301 A. M.
Hoang-ti was therefore contemporary with Joseph when administering
the affairs of Egypt.[12] But would we know what account the Chinese
themselves give relative to the earliest introduction of the silk
culture, we shall find it in the French version of the Chinese
Treatises, by M. Stanislas Julien, or in the following words of pages
77 and 78, as translated and published in 1838, at Washington, under
the title of “Summary of the principal Chinese Treatises upon the
Culture of the Mulberry, and the rearing of Silk-worms.”
[10] A. M. signifies _Anno Mundi_, that is in the year of the World.
The Year of Our Lord always commences on the first day of January,
the day on which Christ was circumcised, being eight days old. From
the Creation until the birth of Christ, was 4004 years.
Tirin places the birth of Christ in the 36th year of Herod, the 40th of
Augustus, the 28th from the battle of Actium, the 749th of Rome, and
the 4th of the 193d Olympiad.
[11] It will here not be improper to observe that the Samaritan
text and Septuagint version of the Hebrew, carry the deluge as far
back as to the year 3716 before Christ; or 1000 years before the
Chinese account of Hoang-ti. On this subject see the New Analysis
of Chronology, by the Rev. W. Hales, D.D. 4to., 3 vol.
[12] Joseph died in the 2369th year from the Creation.
In the book on silk-worms, we read: “The lawful wife of the emperor
Hoang-ti, named _Si-ling-chi_, began the culture of silk. It was
at that time that the emperor Hoang-ti invented the art of making
garments(!).” The same fact is mentioned more in detail in the general
history of China, by P. Maillà, in the year 2602, before our era (4447
years ago).
“This great prince (Hoang-ti) was desirous that Si-ling-chi, his
legitimate wife, should contribute to the happiness of his people. He
charged her to examine the silk-worms, and to test the practicability
of using the thread. Si-ling-chi had a large quantity of these insects
collected, which she fed herself, in a place prepared for that purpose,
and discovered not only the means of raising them, but also the manner
of reeling the silk, and of employing it to make garments.”
“It is through gratitude for so great a benefit,” says the history,
entitled _Wai-ki_, “that posterity has deified Si-ling-chi, and
rendered her particular honors under the name of the goddess of
silk-worms.” (Memoirs on the Chinese, vol. 13, p. 240.)
We have seen that the most probable account relative to the time of
Fohi, said to have been the first Chinese emperor, is that he reigned
2057 years before the Christian era, or in the year of the world 1947.
“According to the most current opinion,” says M. Lavoisnè, “China was
founded by one of the colonies formed at the dispersion of Noah’s
posterity under the conduct of Yao, who took for his colleague Chun,
afterwards his successor. But most writers consider Fohi to have been
Noah himself(!).”
Now the deluge terminated A. M. 1657, and Noah lived after the deluge
350 years[13], and therefore died A. M. 2007; and as Fohi is said to
have reigned 114 years, before Eohi Chun or Chinun succeeded him, he
was contemporary, at least, with Noah. The ark rested on Mount Ararat,
which is generally allowed to be one of the mountains of Armenia, to
the east of the head of the Tigris. And here the same author remarks,
that “in rather less than a century and a half, after the birth of
Peleg, it is supposed that Noah, being then about his 840th year,
_wearied with the growing depravity of his descendants, retired with
a select company to a remote corner of Asia, and there began what in
after ages has been termed the Chinese monarchy_.”[14] This view of the
subject, we believe, coincides perfectly with the reputable testimonies
presented by Mairan, Bailly, Guignes, and Sir William Jones, and
demonstrates that the transit of more central aborigines, since the
deluge, to the extremes of China, was perfectly feasible,[15] and a
matter of even high probability.
[13] Gen. ix. 28.
[14] Clarke’s “Treatise on the Mulberry-tree, and Silk-worm,” pp. 14,
18, 20, 21, 27, and 34.
[15] See chap. iv. p. 67. Also Plate VII. (Map.)
The first ancient author, who affords any evidence respecting the
use of silk, is Aristotle. He does not, however, appear to have been
accurately acquainted with the changes of the silk-worm; nor does he
say, that the animal was bred or the raw material produced in Cos. He
only says, “Pamphile, daughter of Plates, is reported to have first
woven it in Cos.” (See Chapters ii. iii. and iv. of this Part.)
Long before the time of Aristotle a regular trade had been established
in the interior of Asia, which brought its most valuable productions,
and especially those which were most easily transported, to the shores
opposite this flourishing island. Nothing therefore is more likely
than that the raw silk from the interior of Asia was brought to Cos
and there manufactured. We shall see hereafter from the testimony of
Procopius, that it was in like manner brought some centuries later to
be woven in the Phœnician cities, Tyre and Berytus.
The arts of spinning and weaving, which rank next in importance to
agriculture, having been found among almost all the nations of the old
and new continents, even among those little removed from barbarism, are
reasonably supposed to have been invented at a very remote period of
the world’s history[16]. They evidently existed in Egypt in the time of
Joseph (1700 years before the Christian era), as it is recorded that
Pharaoh “arrayed him in vestures of fine linen.” (Genesis xli. 42.) Two
centuries later, the Hebrews carried with them on their departure from
that ancient seat of civilization, the arts of _spinning_, _dyeing_,
_weaving_, and _embroidery_; for when Moses constructed the tabernacle
in the wilderness, “the women that were wise-hearted did spin with
their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and
of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.” (Exod. xxxv. 25.) They
also “spun goats’ hair;” and Bezaleel and Aholiab “worked all manner
of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of _the
embroiderer, in blue, and of purple, and in scarlet, and in fine linen,
and of the weaver_.” These passages contain the earliest mention of
woven clothing, which was linen, the national manufacture of Egypt. The
prolific borders of the Nile furnished from the remotest periods, as
at the present time, abundance of the finest flax[17]; and it appears,
from the testimony both of sacred and profane history, that linen
continued to be almost the only kind of clothing used in Egypt till
after the Christian era[18]. The Egyptians exported their “linen yarn,”
and “fine linen,” to the kingdom of Israel, in the days of Solomon, (2
Chron. i. 16; Prov. vii. 16;) their “fine linen with broidered work,”
to Tyre, (Ezek. xxvii. 7.)
[16] According to Pliny, Semiramis, the Assyrian queen, was believed
to have been the inventress of the art of weaving. Minerva is
in some of the ancient statutes represented with a distaff, to
intimate that she taught men the art of spinning; and this honor
is given by the Egyptians to Isis, by the Mohammedans to a son of
Japhet, by the Chinese to the consort of their emperor Yao, and
by the Peruvians to Mamaoella, wife to Manco-Capac, their first
sovereign. These traditions serve only to carry the invaluable arts
of spinning and weaving up to an extremely remote period, long
prior to that of authentic history.
[17] Paintings representing the gathering and preparation of flax
have been found on the walls of the ancient sepulchres at Eleithias
and Beni Hassan, in Upper Egypt, and are described and copied by
Hamilton.--“Remarks on several parts of Turkey, and on ancient and
modern Egypt,” pp. 97 and 287, plate 23.
[18] Herodotus, book ii. c. 37, 81. (See Plate VI.)
The women of Sidon before the Trojan war, were especially celebrated
for the skill in embroidery: and Homer, who lived 900 years B. C.,
mentions Helen _as being engaged in embroidering the combats of the
Greeks and Trojans_.
The transition from vegetable fibre to the use of animal staples,
such as wool and hair, could not have been very difficult; indeed, as
already stated, it took place at a period of which we possess no very
authentic written record.
The instrument used for spinning in all countries, from the earliest
times, was the distaff and spindle. This simple apparatus was put by
the Greek mythologists into the hands of Minerva and the Parcæ; Solomon
employs upon it the industry of the virtuous woman; to the present day
the distaff is used in India, Egypt, and other eastern countries.
The ancient spindle or distaff was a very simple instrument. The late
Lady Calcott informs us, that it continued even to our own days to be
used by the Hindoos in all its primitive simplicity. “I have seen,” she
says, “the rock or distaff formed simply of the leading shoot of some
young tree, carefully peeled, it might be birch or elder, and, further
north, of fir or pine; and the spindle formed of the beautiful shrub
Euonymus, or spindle-tree.”[19]
[19] The superior fineness of some Indian muslins, and their quality of
retaining, longer than European fabrics, an appearance of
excellence, has occasioned a belief that the cotton wool of which
they are woven is superior to any known elsewhere; this, however,
is so far from being the fact, that no cotton is to be found in
India which at all equals in quality the better kinds produced in
the United States of America. The excellence of India muslins must
be wholly ascribed to the skilfulness and patience of the workmen,
as shown in the different processes of spinning and weaving. (See
Plate v.) Their yarn is spun upon the distaff, and it is owing to
the dexterous use of the finger and thumb in forming the thread,
and to the moisture which it thus imbibes, that its fibres are more
perfectly incorporated than they can be through the employment of
any mechanical substitutes.
Spinning among the Egyptians, as among our ancestors of no very
distant age, was a domestic occupation in which ladies of rank did not
hesitate to engage. The term “spinster” is yet applied to unmarried
ladies of every rank, and there are persons yet alive who remember to
have seen the spinning wheel an ordinary piece of furniture in domestic
economy.
We are told that “Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt and linen
yarn; the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.” (1
Kings, x. 28.) And the linen of Egypt was highly valued in Palestine,
for the seducer, in Proverbs, says, “I have decked my bed with
coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.”
(Prov. vii. 16.) The prophet Ezekiel also declares that the export of
the textile fabrics was an important branch of Phœnician commerce; for
in his enumeration of the articles of traffic in Tyre, he says: “Fine
linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest
forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elisha was that
which covered thee.” (Ezek. xxvii. 7.)
It deserves to be remarked that the prophet here joins Egypt with the
isles of Elisha or Elis, that is, the districts of western Greece,
and thus confirms the ancient tradition recorded by Herodotus of some
Egyptian colonists having settled in that country, which the sceptics
of the German school of history have thought proper to deny.[20]
Spinning was wholly a female employment; it is rather singular that
we find this work frequently performed by a large number collected
together, as if the factory system had been established 3000 years ago.
[20] The sceptical school of history, founded by Niebuhr, in Germany,
and extended by his disciples to a sweeping incredulity, far
beyond what was contemplated by the founder, has labored hard to
prove, that the Greek system of civilization was indigenous, and
that the candid confession of Herodotus, attributing to Egyptian
colonies the first introduction of the arts of life into Hellas,
was an idle tale, or a groundless tradition. But the examination of
the monuments has proved that Greek art originated in Egypt; and
that the elements of the architectural, sculptural, and pictorial
wonders which have rendered Greece and Italy illustrious, were
derived from the valley of the Nile.
We have, however, many specimens of spinning as a domestic employment.
Indeed, attention to the spindle and distaff forms a leading feature in
king Lemuel’s description of a virtuous woman. “Who can find a virtuous
woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth
safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will
do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool and
flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchant’s
ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet
night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it; with the fruit of her hands
she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength, and
strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:
her candle goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle,
and her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the
_poor_; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the _needy_. She is not
afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed
with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing
is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth
among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it;
and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.” (Prov. xxxi. 10-24.)
Hamilton and Wilkinson have already shown that many of the descriptions
of combats we meet in the Iliad appear to have been derived from
the battle pieces on the walls of the Theban palaces, which the
poet himself pretty plainly intimates that he had visited. The same
observation may be applied to most of Homer’s pictures of domestic
life. We find the lady of the mansion superintending the labors of
her servants, and using the distaff herself. Her spindle made of some
precious material, richly ornamented, her beautiful work-basket, or
rather vase, and the wool dyed of some bright hue to render it worthy
of being touched by aristocratic fingers, remind us of the appropriate
present which the Egyptian queen, Alcandra, made to the Spartan Helen;
for the beauty of that frail fair one scarcely is less celebrated than
her skill in embroidery and every species of ornamental work. After
Polybus had given his presents to Menelaus, who stopped at Egypt on his
return from Troy,
Alcandra, consort of his high command,
A golden distaff gave to Helen’s hand;
And that rich vase, with living sculpture wrought,
Which, heap’d with wool, the beauteous Phylo brought;
The silken fleece empurpled for the loom,
Rivall’d the hyacinth in vernal bloom.
_Odyssey_, iv.
In the hieroglyphics over persons employed with the spindle on the
Egyptian monuments, it is remarkable that the word _saht_, which
in Coptic signifies to twist, constantly occurs. The spindles were
generally of wood, and in order to increase their impetus in turning,
the circular head was occasionally of gypsum, or composition: some,
however, were of a light plaited work, made of rushes, or palm leaves,
stained of various colors, and furnished with a loop of the same
materials, for securing the twine after it was wound[21]. Sir Gardner
Wilkinson found one of these spindles at Thebes, with some of the linen
thread upon it, and is now in the Berlin Museum.
[21] The ordinary distaff does not occur in these subjects, but we may
conclude they had it. Homer mentions one of gold, given to Helen by
“Alcandra the wife of Polybus,” who lived in Egyptian Thebes.--Od.
iv. 131.
Theocritus has given us a very striking proof of the pleasure which the
women of Miletus took in these employments; for, when he went to visit
his friend Nicias, the Milesian physician, to whom he had previously
addressed his eleventh and thirteenth Idylls, he carried with him
an ivory distaff as a present for Theugenis, his friend’s wife. He
accompanied his gift with the following verses, which modestly commend
the matron’s industry and virtue, and, at the same time, throw an
interesting light on the domestic economy of the ladies of Miletus:
O Distaff, friend to warp and woof,
Minerva’s gift in man’s behoof,
Whom careful housewives still retain,
And gather to their households gain;
With me repair, no vulgar prize,
Where the famed towers of Nileus rise[22],
Where Cytherea’s swayful power
Is worship’d in the reedy bower.
Thither, would Jove kind breezes send,
I steer my course to meet my friend,
Nicias, the Graces’ honor’d child,
Adorn’d with sweet persuasion mild,
That I his kindness may requite--
May be delighted, and delight.
Thee, ivory distaff, I provide,
A present for his blooming bride;
With her thou wilt sweet toil partake
And aid her _various vests_ to make.
For Theugenis the shepherds shear
The sheep’s soft fleeces twice a year,
So dearly industry she loves
And all that wisdom points, approves,
I ne’er design’d to bear thee hence
To the dull house of Indolence;
For, in that city thou wert framed
Which Archias built, Corinthian named,--
Fair Syracuse, Sicilia’s pride,
Where troops of famous men abide.
Dwell thou with him whose art can cure
Each dire disease that men endure;
Thee to Miletus now I give,
Where pleasure-crown’d Ionians live;
That Theugenis by thee may gain
Fair honor with the female train;
And thou renew within her breast
Remembrance of her muse-charm’d guest.
Admiring thee, each maid will call
The favor great, the present small;
For love the smallest gift commends,
All things are valued by our friends.
_Idyll_, xxviii.
[22] Miletus was called “the towers of Nileus,” from its having been
founded by Nileus, the son of the celebrated king Codrus, who
devoted himself for the safety of Athens. Nileus was so indignant
at the abolition of royalty on his father’s death, that he migrated
to Ionia.
The Roman and Grecian ladies displayed not less taste in the decoration
of their various spinning implements, than those of modern times in
the ornaments of their work-table. The _calathus_ or _qualus_ was
the basket in which the wool was kept for the fair spinsters. It was
usually made of wicker-work. Thus Catullus in his description of the
nuptials of Peleus and Thetis, says:
The softest fleeces, white as driven snow,
Beside their feet in osier baskets glow.
_Poema_, lxiv.
Homer asserts that the Egyptian queen Alcandra presented Helen with a
silver work-basket as well as a golden distaff (Odyss. iv.); and from
the paintings on ancient vases, we see that the _calathi_ of ladies
of rank were tastefully wrought and richly ornamented. From the term
_qualus_ or _quasillus_, equivalent to _calathus_, the Romans called
the female slaves employed in spinning _quasillariæ_.
The material prepared for spinning was wrapped loosely round the
distaff, the wool being previously combed, or the flax hackled by
processes not very dissimilar to those used at the present day amongst
the peasantry in the west of Ireland. The ball thus formed on the
distaff required to be arranged with some neatness and skill, in order
that the fibres should be sufficiently loose to be drawn out by the
hand of the spinner. Ovid declares, that Arachne’s skill in this simple
process excited the wonder of the nymphs who came to see her triumphs
in the textile art, not less than the finished labors of the loom.
Oft, to admire the niceness of her skill,
The nymphs would quit their fountain, shade, or hill:
Thither from green Tymolus they repair,
And leave the vineyards, their peculiar care;
Thither from fair Pactolus’ golden stream,
Drawn by her art, the curious Naids came.
Nor would the work, when finish’d, please so much
As while she wrought to view each graceful touch;
Whether the shapeless wool in balls she wound,
Or with quick motion turn’d the spindle round.
_Met_, vi.
The distaff was generally about three feet in length, commonly a stick
or reed, with an expansion near the top for holding the ball. It was
sometimes, as we have shown, composed of richer materials. The distaff
was usually held under the left arm, and the fibres were drawn out
from the projecting ball, being, at the same time, spirally twisted
by the forefinger and thumb of the right hand. The thread so produced
was wound upon the spindle until the quantity was as great as it would
carry.
The spindle was made of some light wood, or reed, and was generally
from eight to twelve inches in length. At the top of it was a slit, or
catch, to which the thread was fixed, so that the weight of the spindle
might carry the thread down to the ground as fast as it was finished.
Its lower extremity was inserted into a whorl, or wheel, made of stone,
metal, or some heavy material which both served to keep it steady and
to promote its rotation. The spinner, who, as we have said before, was
usually a female, every now and then gave the spindle a fresh gyration
by a gentle touch so as to increase the twist of the thread. Whenever
the spindle reached the ground a length was spun; the thread was then
taken out of the slit, or clasp, and wound upon the spindle; the clasp
was then closed again, and the spinning of a new thread commenced. All
these circumstances are briefly mentioned by Catullus, in a poem from
which we have already quoted:--
The loaded distaff, in the left hand placed,
With spongy coils of snow-white wool was graced;
From these the right hand lengthening fibres drew
Which into thread ’neath nimble fingers grew.
At intervals a gentle touch was given
By which the twirling whorl was onward driven.
Then, when the sinking spindle reach’d the ground,
The recent thread around its spire was wound,
Until the clasp within its nipping cleft
Held fast the newly-finish’d length of weft.
In order to understand this description of Catullus, it is necessary
to bear in mind, that as the bobbin of each spindle was loaded with
thread, it was taken off from the whorl and placed in a basket until
there was a sufficient quantity for the weavers to commence their
operations.
Homer incidentally mentions the spool or spindle on which the weft-yarn
was wound, in his description of the race at the funeral-games in honor
of Patroclus:
Oileus led the race;
The next Ulysses, measuring pace with pace
Behind him, diligently close he sped,
As closely following as the running thread
The spindle follows, and displays the charms
Of the fair spinner’s breast, and moving arms.
_Iliad_, xxiii.
In India women of all castes prepare the cotton thread for the weaver,
spinning it on a piece of wire, or a very thin rod of polished iron
with a ball of clay at one end; this they turn round with the left
hand, and supply the cotton with the right; the thread is then wound
upon a stick or pole, and sold to the merchants or weavers; for the
coarser thread the women make use of a wheel very similar to that of
the Irish spinster, though upon a smaller construction. (For further
information on the manufactures of India, their present state, &c., see
Part III.)
The Reverend Mr. C. Forster of Great Britain, has lately published
a very curious work on Arabia, being the result of many years’
untiring research in that part of the world; from which we learn the
very interesting fact, that the ancient Arabians were skilled in the
manufacture of _silken textures_, at as remote a period as within 500
years of the flood!
Mr. Forster has, it appears, succeeded in deciphering many very
remarkable inscriptions found on some ancient monuments near Adon on
the coast of Hadramant. These records, it is said, restore to the world
its earliest written language, and carry us back to the time of Jacob,
and within 500 years of the flood.
The inscriptions are in three parts. The longest is of ten lines,
engraved on a smooth piece of rock forming one side of the terrace
at Hisn Ghorab. Then there are three short lines, found on a small
detached rock on the summit of the little hill. There are also two
lines found near the inscriptions, lower down the terrace. They all
relate to one transaction, an incident in Adite history. The tribe of
Ad, according to Mr. Sale, were descended from Ad the son of Aws or Uz,
the son of Aram, the son of Shem, the son of Noah. The event recorded
is the rout and entire destruction of the sons of Ac, an Arab tribe, by
the Aws or tribe of Ad, whom they invaded. In Mr. Forster’s book fac
similes are given of the inscription; the Aditie and the Hamyaritie
alphabet; and a glossary containing every word in them, its derivation,
and its explanation; with notes of copious illustration upon every
point which they involve. The first inscription of ten lines is thus
translated:
We dwelt, living long luxuriously in the zananas of this spacious
mansion; our condition exempt from misfortune and adversity. Rolled in
through our channel.
The sea, swelling against our castle with angry surge; our fountains
flowed with murmuring fall, above
The lofty palms; whose keepers planted dry dates in our valley
date-grounds; they sowed the arid rice.
We hunted the young mountain-goats and the young hares, with gins and
snares; beguiling we drew forth the fishes.
We walked with slow, proud gait, IN NEEDLE-WORKED, MANY-COLORED SILK
VESTMENTS, IN WHOLE SILKS, IN GRASS-GREEN CHEQUERED ROBES[23]!
Over us presided kings, far removed from baseness, and stern
chastisers of reprobate and wicked men. They noted down for us
according to the doctrine of Heber,
Good judgments, written in books to be kept; and we proclaimed our
belief in miracles, in the _resurrection_, in the _return into the
nostrils of the breath of life_.
Made an inroad robbers, and would do us violence; we rode forth, we
and our generous youth, with stiff and sharp-pointed spears; rushing
onward.
Proud champions of our families and wives; fighting valiantly upon
coursers with long necks, dun-colored, iron-gray, and bright bay.
With our swords still wounding and piercing our adversaries, until
charging home, we conquered and crushed this refuse of mankind.
[23] Silk is the only material used for human clothing which Mohammed,
the impostor, introduces among the luxuries of Paradise. (See the
Koran, chap. 35.)
On the subject of these inscriptions, Mr. Forster, in the dedication
of his book to the Archbishop of Canterbury, thus remarks: “What Job
(who, living in the opposite quarter of Arabia, amid the sands of the
great Northern desert, had no lasting material within reach on which to
perpetuate his thoughts,) so earnestly desired, stands here realized.”
“Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a
Book! That (like the kindred creed of the lost tribe of Ad) they were
_graven with an iron pen, and lead, in the rock forever_. (For mine
is a better and brighter revelation than theirs.) For I know that my
Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the
earth; and though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in the
flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall
behold, and not another.”
That the Arabians should have understood the manufacture of silken
textures at as remote a period as that supposed by Mr. Forster, viz.,
500 years after the flood, is, to say the least of it, exceedingly
questionable, yet it cannot be denied that we are indebted to them for
many useful inventions, and among which may be mentioned the art of
making _cotton paper_[24]. It is no less true that we first received
our cotton-wool from countries where the Arabic language was spoken.
To the Arabs also we are indebted for that almost indispensable article
of apparel, the _shirt_, the Arabic name for which is _camees_, whence
the Italian _camiscia_, and the French _chemise_[25].
In the attempt here made to trace from the dark ages of antiquity
the progress of trades and manufactures so widely diffused over
the civilised world as those of cotton, linen, silk, wool, &c.,
_chronological order_ is followed as closely as the nature of the
inquiry will permit.
[24] See Appendix B.
[25] For further information on Arabia, see Parts II. and III.
CHAPTER II.
HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE CONTINUED TO THE FOURTH CENTURY.
SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING.--HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN
THESE ARTS.
Testimony of the Latin Poets of the Augustan
age--Tibullus--Propertius--Virgil--Horace--Ovid--Dyonisius
Perigetes--Strabo. Mention of silk by authors in the
first century--Seneca the Philosopher--Seneca the
Tragedian--Lucan--Pliny--Josephus--Saint John--Silius
Italicus--Statius--Plutarch--Juvenal--Martial--Pausanias--Galen--Clemens
Alexandrinus--Caution to Christian converts against the use
of silk in dress. Mention of silk by authors in the second
century--Tertullian--Apuleius--Ulpian--Julius Pollux--Justin.
Mention of silk by authors in the third century--Ælius
Lampidius--Vopiscus--Trebellius Pollio--Cyprian--Solinus--Ammianus
Marcellinus--Use of silk by the Roman emperors--Extraordinary
beauty of the textures--Use of water to detach silk from the
trees--Invectives of these authors against extravagance in
dress--The Seres described as a happy people--Their mode of traffic,
etc.--(Macpherson’s opinion of the Chinese.)--City of Dioscurias,
its vast commerce in former times.--(Colonel Syke’s account of
the Kolissura silk-worm--Dr. Roxburgh’s description of the Tusseh
silk-worm.)
The next Authors, who make mention of silk, are the Latin poets of
the Augustan age, Tibullus and Propertius, Virgil, Horace, and Ovid.
The Parthian war, and the increased intercourse between the Roman
empire and the kingdoms of the East, had been the means of recently
introducing every kind of silken goods into more general use, although
these manufactures were still so rare as to be the objects of curiosity
and admiration, and were therefore well adapted to be brought in among
the embellishments of poetical imagery.
The appearance of the silken flags attached to the gilt standards of
the Parthians (Florus iii. 11.) must have been a very striking sight
for the army of Crassus, contributing both to inflame their cupidity
and to alarm them with a sense of the power of their opponents. The
conflict here referred to took place in the year 54 B. C. In about 30
years after this date the Roman empire obtained its greatest extension.
In the language of Petronius Arbiter (c. 119.),
Th’ insatiate Roman spread his conquering arms
O’er land and sea, where’er heaven’s light extends.
After these words he says, that among the richest productions of
distant climates the Seres sent their “new fleeces.” The remotest
countries thus contributed to increase the luxury of Rome, and we shall
now see how silk, one of the most costly and the most admired of its
recent acquisitions, was used by its poets to represent the polish
of elevated life and to adorn their language with rich and beautiful
allusions. The webs, which they mention, are either those still
obtained from Cos, or those imported from the country of the Seres.
TIBULLUS.
A Coan vest for girls.
L. ii. 4.
She may thin garments wear, which female Coan hands
Have woven, and in stripes dispos’d the golden bands.
L. ii. 6.
The latter of these two passages is remarkable as showing that the Coan
women practised the elegant art of interweaving gold thread in their
silken webs. The gold was no doubt displayed in transverse stripes.
PROPERTIUS.
Why thus, my life, display thy braided hair,
And heave beneath thin Coan webs thy bosom fair?
L. i. 2.
In the next passage Propertius is speaking of his own Poetry, and
alludes to his frequent mention of Coan garments.
If bright she walk in Coan vest array’d,
Through all this book will Coan be display’d.
L. ii. 1.
ON A STATUE OF VERTUMNUS.
My nature suits each changing form:
Turn’d into what you please, I’m fair.
Clothe me in Coan, I’m a decent lass,
Put on a toga, for a man I pass.
L. iv. 2.
The texture of the Coan Minerva.
L. iv. 5.
Who gives no Coan robe, but verse instead,
Artless shall be his lyre, his verses dead.
_Ibid._
The same poet (L. iv. 8. 23.) mentions “Serica carpenta,” chariots
with silk curtains; and the following line (L. i. 14. 22.) shows, that
couches with ornamented silk covers were then in use:
Quid revelant variis Serica textilibus?
Propertius also mentions silk under the name of the animal, which
produced it:
Shines with the produce of th’ Arabian worm.
L. ii. 3. 15.
In this line, as well as in some of those before quoted, he alludes to
the use of silk by females of indifferent character. He probably uses
the epithet _Arabian_, because the Roman merchants obtained silk from
the Arabs, who received it from Persia.
VIRGIL.
Soft wool from downy groves the Æthiop weaves,
And Seres comb their fleece from silken leaves.
_Georg._ ii. 120, 121.--Sotheby’s Translation.
The poet is here enumerating the chief productions of different
countries, and therefore mentions cotton and silk. The idea, that silk
webs were manufactured from thin fleeces obtained from trees, will be
found recurring in many of the subsequent citations. It may have been
founded on reports brought by the soldiers of Crassus, or by others who
visited the interior of Asia about the same period.
HORACE.
Nor Coan purples, nor the blaze
Of jewels can bring back the days,
Which, fix’d by time, recorded stand,
By all, who read the Fasti, scann’d.
_Od._ _l._ iv. 13. (_ad Lycen._) 13-16.
As if uncloth’d, she stands confess’d
In a translucent Coan vest.
_Sat._ i. 2. 101.
These passages allude to the fineness and transparency of silken webs,
which in the time of Horace were worn at Rome only by prostitutes,
or by those women who aimed at being as attractive and luxurious as
possible in their attire.
The former passage shows, that the silks manufactured in Cos were dyed
with the murex, “Coæ purpuræ.”
The expression “Sericos pulvillos” (_Epod._ 8. 15.) has been supposed
to denote small cushions covered with silk. But the epithet “Sericos”
implies nothing more than that they were obtained from the Seres, who
supplied the Romans with skins as well as silk[26]; and leather seems
to have been a more proper substance than silk for making cushions.
[26] Plin. xxxiv. cap. 24.
OVID.
Sive erit in Tyriis, Tyrios laudabis amictus,
Sive erit in Cois, Coa decere puta.
Aurata est: ipso tibi sit pretiosior auro;
Gausapa si sumsit, gausapa sumta proba.
_Ars Amat._ ii. 297-300.
Whatever clothing she displays,
From Tyre or Cos, that clothing praise:
If gold shows forth the artist’s skill,
Call her than gold more precious still:
Or if she choose a coarse attire,
E’en coarseness, worn by her, admire.
In another passage (_Amores_ i. 14. 5.) Ovid compares the thin hairs of
a lady to the silken veils of the Seres,
Veils such as color’d Seres wear.
We now proceed to the testimonies of authors who wrote either in Greek
or Latin at the latter part of the Augustan age, or immediately after
it.
DYONISIUS PERIEGETES.
Καὶ ἔθνεα βάρβαρα Σηρῶν,
Οἵτε βοὰς μὲν ἀναίνονται καὶ ἴφια μῆλα,
Αἰόλα δὲ ξαίνοντες ἐρήμης ἄνθεα γαίης,
Εἵματα τεύχουσιν πολυδαίδαλα, τιμήεντα,
Εἰδόμενα χροιῇ λειμωνίδος ἄνθεσι ποίης·
Κείνοις οὔτι κεν ἔργον ἀραχνάων ἐρίσειεν. (_l._ 755.)
And the barbarous nations of the Seres, who renounce the care of sheep
and oxen, but comb the variously colored flowers of the desert land
to make precious figured garments, resembling in color the flowers of
the meadow, and rivalling (in fineness) the work of spiders.--Yates’s
Translation.
It is worthy of observation that Dyonisius speaks expressly not only of
the fineness of the thread, but of the _flowered texture_ of the silk.
STRABO.
Τοιαῦτα δὲ καὶ τὰ Σηρικὰ, ἔκ τι νων φλοιῶν ξαινομένης βύσσου.
L. xv. 695. (v. vi. p. 40. _Tzschucke._)
This is repeated by Eustathius on Dyonisius Periegetes[27]. The
account seems to have been taken by Strabo, perhaps inaccurately, from
Nearchus. It is doubtful, whether Σηρικὰ denoted silken webs in this
passage. But whatever Strabo meant, he supposed the raw material to be
scraped from the bark of trees[28].
[27] L. 1107. p. 308, Bernhardy.
[28] Book ii. ch. 3. p. 307.
As contemporary with the authors last quoted, Dyonisius and Strabo,
we may here mention the law passed by the Roman Senate early in
the reign of Tiberius, “Ne vestis Serica viros fœdaret.” _Taciti
Annales_, ii. 33. _Dion. Cass._ _l._ 57. p. 860. _Reim. Suidas in v._
Τιβέριος[29]. Silk was to be worn by women only.
[29] Dio Cassius (l. 43. p. 358. Rheim.) mentions as a report, that
Julius Cæsar employed silk curtains (παραπετάσματα Σηρικὰ) to add
to the splendor of his triumph.
The next emperor Caligula had silk curtains to his throne (_Dion.
Cass. l._ 59. p. 915. _Reim._), and he wore silk as part of his dress,
when he appeared in public. Dio Cassius particularly mentions, that,
when he was celebrating a kind of triumph at Puteoli, he put on what
he alleged to be the _thorax_ of Alexander, and over that a silken
chlamys, dyed with the murex, and adorned with gold and precious
stones. On the following day he wore a tunic interwoven with gold[30].
The use of shawls and tunics of silk was, however, except in the case
of the extravagances of a Caligula, still confined to the female sex.
Under the earlier emperors it is probable, that silk was obtained in
considerable quantities for the wardrobe of the empress, where it was
preserved from one reign to another, until in the year 176 Marcus
Aurelius Antoninus, the philosopher, in consequence of the exhausted
state of his treasury, sold by public auction in the Forum of Trajan
the imperial ornaments and jewels together with the golden and silken
robes of the Empress[31].
[30] In describing the effeminate dress of the emperor Caligula,
Suetonius tells us (_cap._ 52), that he often went into public,
wearing bracelets and long sleeves, and sometimes in a garment of
silk and a cyclas.
[31] Jul. Capitol. c. xvii. p. 65. Bip.
FIRST CENTURY.
SENECA, THE PHILOSOPHER.
Posse nos vestitos esse sine commercio Serum.--_Epist._ 91.
We may clothe ourselves without any commerce with the Seres.
Video Sericas vestes, si vestes vocandæ sunt, in quibus nihil est,
quo defendi aut corpus aut denique pudor possit: quibus sumtis mulier
parum liquidò nudam se non esse jurabit. Hæc ingenti summâ ab ignotis
etiam ad commercium gentibus accersunter, ut matronæ nostræ ne
adulteris quidem plus sui in cubiculo quam in publico ostendant.--_De
Beneficiis, L._ vii. _c._ 9.
I see silken (Seric) garments, if they can be called garments, which
cannot afford any protection either for the body or for shame: on
taking which a woman will scarce with a clear conscience deny, that
she is naked. These are sent for at an enormous price from nations,
to which our commerce has not yet extended, in order that our matrons
may display their persons to the public no less than to adulterers in
their chamber!--Yates’s Translation.
The Seres must be supposed to have dwelt somewhere in the centre of
Asia. Perhaps those geographers who represent Little Bucharia as their
country[32], are nearest the truth, and thus far neither Greeks nor
Romans had penetrated. Silk was brought to them “from nations, to which
even their commerce had not yet extended.” Hence their inaccurate ideas
respecting its origin[33].
[32] The position of Serica is discussed by Latreille in his paper
hereafter cited. See also Mannert. iv. 6. 6, 7. Brotier, Mém. de
l’Acad. des Inscrip. tom. 46. John Reinhold Forster (_De Bysso_,
p. 20, 21.) thinks that Little Bucharia was certainly the ancient
Serica. Sir John Barrow (_Travels in China_, p. 435-438.) thinks
the Seres were not the Chinese.
[33] The first author who speaks of the Seres as a distinct nation, is
Mela, iii. 7. He describes them as a very honest people, who
brought what they had to sell, laid it down and went away, and
then returned for the price of it. The same account is given by
Eustathius, on Dyonisius, l. 752. p. 242, Bernhardy.
SENECA, THE TRAGEDIAN.
Nec Mæonià distinguit acu,
Quæ Phœbeis subditus Euris
Legit Eois Ser arboribus.
_Herc. Œtæus_, 664.
Nor with Mæonian needle marks the web,
Gather’d by Eastern Seres from the trees.
Seres, illustrious for their fleece.
_Thyestes_, 378.
Remove, ye maids, the vests, whose tissue glares
With purple and with gold; far be the red
Of Tyrian murex, and the shining thread,
Which furthest Seres gather from the boughs.
_Hyppolitus_, 386. (_Phædra loquitur._)
At a very early period the art of dyeing had been carried to a very
great degree of perfection in Phœnicia. The method of dyeing woollen
cloths purple was, it is said, first discovered at Tyre. This color,
the most celebrated among the ancients, appears to have been brought to
a degree of excellence, of which we can form but a very faint idea:
“In oldest times, when kings and hardy chiefs
In bleating sheep-folds met, for purest wool
Phœnicia’s hilly tracts were most renown’d,
And fertile Syria’s and Judæa’s land,
Hermon, and Seir, and Hebron’s brooky sides,
Twice with the murex, crimson hue, they ting’d
The shining fleeces--hence their gorgeous wealth;
And hence arose the walls of ancient Tyre[34].”
[34] Old Tyre was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar in the second year after
the destruction of Jerusalem, or 584 B. C.
LUCAN.
Candida Sidonio perlucent pectora filo,
Quod Nilotis acus percussum pectine Serum
Solvit, et extenso laxavit stamina velo.
L. x. 141.
Her snowy breast shines through Sidonian threads,
First by the comb of distant Seres struck,
Divided then by Egypt’s skilful toil,
And with embroidery transparent made.
The poet is describing the dress of Cleopatra. He supposes her to have
worn over her breast a piece of silk, woven by the Seres, imported
through Sidon into Egypt, and then embroidered. By the last process,
in which the Egyptians greatly excelled, the threads were in part
separated, so as to exhibit the appearance of lace, and to allow the
white breast of the queen to be visible through the texture.
Amidst the braidings of her flowing hair,
The spoils of orient rocks and shells appear:
Like midnight stars, ten thousand diamonds deck
The comely rising of her graceful neck;
Of wondrous work, a thin transparent lawn
O’er each soft breast in decency was drawn,
Where still by turns the parting threads withdrew,
And all the panting bosom rose to view.
Her robe, her every part, her air confess
The power of female skill exhausted in her dress.
_Pharsalia_, x.
In glowing purple rich the coverings lie,
Twice had they drunk the noblest Tyrian dye
Others, as Pharian artists have the skill
To mix the party-color’d web at will,
With winding trails of various silks were made,
Whose branching gold set off the rich brocade.
_Ibid._
With this description we compare that of Seneca, which represents silk
as embroidered in Asia Minor, with the “Mæonian needle.”
PLINY
speaks copiously and repeatedly of the manufacture of silk.
Nevertheless we learn from him scarce anything, which we did not know
from the earlier authorities. His accounts are taken from Aristotle,
from Varro, and probably also from persons who accompanied the Parthian
expeditions, or who engaged in the trade with inner Asia. But according
to his usual manner, when he speaks of what he has not himself seen,
he confounds accounts from different witnesses, which are inconsistent
with one another. He asserts that the bombyx was a native of Cos; but
it is not probable that the women of that island would, in such case,
have recourse to the laborious operation of converting foreign finished
goods into threads for their own weaving. It is, therefore, only
reasonable to suppose that whatever manufacture was carried on from the
raw material, was, like that of Tyre or Berytus, composed of unwrought
silk imported from the East. It is mentioned both by Theophanes and
Zonares, the Byzantine historians, that before silk-worms were brought
to Constantinople in the middle of the sixth century, no person in
that capital knew that silk was produced by a worm; a tolerably strong
evidence that none were reared so near to Constantinople as Cos.
Pliny’s account of the Coan bombyx is evidently a cloud of fable and
absurdity, in which, however, we may discern a few lines of truth,
probably derived from the accounts of the silk-worm of the Seres.
JOSEPHUS
says, that the emperors Titus and Vespasian wore silk dresses[35],
when they celebrated at Rome their triumph over the Jews.
[35] De Bello Jud. vii. 5. 4.
SAINT JOHN.
Silk (Σηρικὸν) occurs but once in the New Testament, Rev. xviii. 12.
It is here mentioned in a curious enumeration of all the most valuable
articles of foreign traffic.
SILIUS ITALICUS.
Seres lanigeris repetebant vellera lucis. _Punica._ vi. 4.
Seres took fleeces from the woolly groves.
Munera rubri
Præterea Ponti, depexaque vellera ramis,
Femineus labor. _Ib._ xiv. 664.
The produce of the Erythræan seas,
And fleeces comb’d by women from the trees[36].
Videre Eoi (monstrum admirabile!) Seres
Lanigeros cinere Ausonio canescere lucos.
_Ib._ xvii. 595, 596.
The Seres’ woolly groves, O wondrous sight!
In the far East, were with Italian ashes white.
[36] See latter part of Chapter viii. Part First.
In the last passage Silius is describing the effects of the recent
eruption of Mount Vesuvius, A. D. 79. That its ashes should reach the
country of the Seres, whether it was in Persia or China, would indeed
have been “Monstrum admirabile!”
STATIUS.
Seric (i. e. _silken_) palls.
_Sylvæ_, iii. 4. 89.
PLUTARCH
dissuades the virtuous and prudent wife from wearing silk[37]. He
mentions, that webs of silk and fine linen were at the same time thin
and compact or close[38].
[37] Conjugailia Præcepta, tom. vi. p. 550. ed. Reiske.
[38] De Pythiæ Orac. c. iv. p. 557. Reiske.
JUVENAL
speaks of women,
Quarum
Delicias et panniculus bombycinus urit. _Sat._ vi. 259.
Whose beauty e’en a silken veil o’erheats.
MARTIAL.
Nec vaga tam tenui discursat aranea tela,
Tam leve nec bombyx pendulus urget opus. _L._ viii. 33.
The spider traces not so thin a line,
Nor does the pendent silk-worm spin so fine.
Fœmineum lucet sic per bombycina corpus,
Calculus in nitida sic numeratur aqua. _L._ viii. 68.
Thus through her silk a lady’s body looks,
Thus count we pebbles in the sparkling brooks.
De Pallatinis dominæ quod Serica prelis.
_L._ xi. 9.
Here Martial alludes to the employment of presses (_prela_) for
preserving the garments of silk and other precious materials, belonging
to the Empress, in the same way, in which we now use presses to keep
table-linen. He says to a lady (L. ix. 38.),
Nec dentes aliter, quam Serica, nocte reponas.
Your teeth at night, like silks, you lay aside.
In another passage (L. xi. 27.) he speaks of silken goods (_Serica_) as
procurable in the Vicus Tuscus at Rome: and lastly in L. xiv. _Ep._ 24,
he mentions ribbons or fillets of silk as used for adorning the hair.
Tenuia ne madidi violent bombycina crines,
Figat acus tortas, sustineatque comas.
Lest your moist hair defile the ribbons thin,
Twist it in knots, and fix it with a pin.
PAUSANIAS,
a native of Asia Minor, and an inquisitive traveller in the second
century, gives the following distinct account of Sericum according to
the ideas received among the Greeks in his time.
The threads from which the Seres make webs, are not the produce of
bark, but are obtained in the following manner. There is an animal
in that country, which the Greeks call _Ser_, but which _they_ call
by some other name. Its size is twice that of the largest beetle.
In other respects it resembles the spiders, _which weave under the
trees_. It has also the same number of feet as the spider, namely,
eight[39]. In order to breed these creatures, the Seres have houses
adapted both for summer and winter. The produce of the animal is a
fine thread twisted about its legs. The Seres feed it four years on
“panicum.” In the fifth year they give it green reed, of which it is
so fond as to eat of it until it bursts, and after this the greatest
part of the thread is found within its body[40].
[39] This does not apply to the silk-worm, which has sixteen legs, in
pairs: six proper legs before, and ten holders behind. (See Figure
1. Plate iii.)
[40] _L._ vi. 26. p. 125. ed. Siebel.
The most interesting circumstance, mentioned by Pausanias, is the
breeding of the silk-worms within doors in houses adapted both for
summer and winter. There seems no reason to doubt the truth of this
fact; and, if admitted, it proves, that their country, the Serica of
the ancients, lay so far North, or was so elevated, as to have a great
difference of temperature in summer and in winter. It is remarkable,
that in China the worms are now reared in small houses, and this
practice has long prevailed in that country[41].
[41] Barrow’s Travels in China, p. 437, &c. Résumé des Traités Chinois,
&c. traduit par Julien, p. 70-72. 77-80. The practice is here shown
to have prevailed as early as the fifth century B. C.
GALEN
recommends silk thread for tying blood-vessels in surgical operations,
observing that the opulent women in many parts of the Roman empire
possessed such thread, especially in the great cities[42]. He also
mentions cloths of silk and gold in his treatise, c. 9. (_Hippocratis
et Galeni Opp. ed. Chartier_, tom. vi. p. 533.):
[42] Methodus Medendi, l. xiii. c. 22.
“Of this kind are the shawls _interwoven with gold_, the materials of
which are brought from afar, and which are called Seric or silk.”
CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS,
dissuading the Christian convert from luxury in dress, thus speaks:
Εἰ δὲ συμπεριφέρεσθαι χρὴ, ὀλίγον ἐνδοτέον αὐταῖς μαλακωτέροις χρῆσθαι
τοῖς ὑφάσμασιν· μόνον τὰς μεμωρημένας λεπτουργίας, καὶ τὰς ἐν ταῖς
ὑφαῖς περιέργους πλοκὰς ἐκποδὼν μεθιστάντας· νῆμα χρυσοῦ, καὶ σῆρας
Ἰνδικοὺς, καὶ τοὺς περιέργους βόμβυκας χαίρειν ἐῶντας, ὃς σκώληξ
φύεται τὸ πρῶτον· εἶτα ἐξ αὐτοῦ δασεῖα ἀναφαίνεται κάμπη. μεθ’ ἣν
εἰς τρίτην μεταμόρφωσιν νεοχμοῦται βομβύλιον· οἱ δὲ νεκύδαλον αὐτὸ
καλοῦσιν· ἐξ οὗ μακρὸς τίκτεται στήμων, καθάπερ ἐκ τῆς ἀράχνης ὁ τῆς
ἀράχνης μίτος.--_Pædag._ ii. 10.
But, if it is necessary to accommodate ourselves to the women, let
us concede to them the use of cloths, which are a little softer,
only refusing that degree of fineness, which would imply folly, and
such webs as are _excessively labored_ and _intricate_; bidding
farewell to gold thread, and to the Indian Seres, and that industrious
bombyx, which is first a worm, then puts on the appearance of a hairy
caterpillar, and hence passes, in the third place, into a Bombylius,
or, as some call it, a Necydalus; and out of which is produced a long
thread, in the same manner as the thread of the spider. --_Yates’s
Translation._
The use of the epithet “Indian” in this passage may be accounted for
from the circumstance, that in the time of the writer silken goods were
brought to Alexandria and other cities of Egypt from India. Clemens has
evidently borrowed this description from Aristotle.
SECOND CENTURY.
TERTULLIAN.
thus describes the Bombyx:
Vermiculi genus est, qui per aërem liquando aranearum horoscopis
idoneas sedes tendit, dehinc devorat, mox alvo reddere; proinde si
necaveris, animata jam stamina volves.
It is a kind of worm, which extends abodes like the _dials of spiders_
by floating them through the air. It then devours them so as to
restore them to its stomach. Therefore, if you kill it, you will roll
living threads. (See chap. ix.)
In the same treatise (_De Pallio_, c. 4.) we find the following notice:
Such as Hercules was in the silk of Omphale.
Soon after, the same author, speaking of Alexander the Great, says,
Vicerat Medicam gentem, et victus est Medicâ veste:----pectus
squamarum signaculis disculptum, textu pellucido tegendo, nudavit: et
anhelum adhuc ab opere belli, ut mollius, ventilante serico extinxit.
Non erat satis animi tumens Macedo, ni illum etiam vestis inflatior
delectâsset.
He had conquered the Medes, and was conquered by a Median garment.
When his breast exhibited the sculptured resemblances of scales, he
covered it with a pellucid texture, which rather laid it bare; panting
from the work of war, he cooled and mollified it by the use of silk,
exposing it to the wind. It was not sufficient for the Macedonian to
have a tumid mind; he required to be delighted also with an inflated
garment.
He afterwards says of a philosopher,
He went wearing a garment of silk, and sandals of brass.
Again he says of a low character, “_She exposes her silk to the wind_.”
In his treatise on Female Attire he mentions silk in relation to
Milesian wool, and he concludes that treatise in the following terms:
Manus lanis occupate, pedes domi figite, et plus quam in auro
placebitis. Vestite vos serico probitatis, byssino sanctitatis,
purpurâ pudicitiæ.
Employ your hands with wool; keep your feet at home. Thus will you
please more than if you were in gold. Clothe yourselves with the silk
of probity, with the fine linen of sanctity, and with the purple of
modesty.
Lastly, this author says (_Adv. Marcionem_, _l._ i. p. 372.),
Imitare, si potes, apis ædificia, formicæ stabula, aranei retia,
bombycis stamina.
Imitate, if thou canst, the constructions of the bee, the retreats of
the ant, the nets of the spider, the threads of the silk-worm.
APULEIUS.
Prodeunt, mitellis, et crocotis, et carbasinis, et bombycinis injecti.
* * * Deamque, serico contectam amiculo, mihi gerendam imponunt.
_Metamorphoseon_, _l._ viii. _p._ 579, 580. _ed. Oudendorpii._
They came forward, wearing ribbons, and cloths of a saffron color, of
cotton, and of silk, loosely thrown over them. * * * And they place on
me the Goddess covered with a small silken scarf, to be carried by me.
Hic incinctus baltheo militem gerebat; illum succinctum chlamyde,
copides et venabula venatorem fecerant; alius soccis obauratis,
indutus serica veste, mundoque pretioso, et adtextis capite crinibus,
incessu perfluo feminam mentiebatur. _Ibid._ _l._ xi. _p._ 769.
One performed the part of a soldier, girt with a sword; another
had his chlamys tucked up by a belt, and carried scimitars and
hunting-poles, as if engaged in the chace; another, wearing gilt
slippers, a silken tunic, precious ornaments, and artificial hair, by
his flowing attire represented a woman.
ULPIAN.
Vossius, in his _Etymologicum Linguæ Latinæ_, in the learned
and copious article SERICUM, says, “Inter _sericum_ et
_bombycinum_ discrimen ponit Ulpianus, l. xxiii. de aur. arg. leg.
‘Vestimentorum sunt omnia lanea, lineaque, vel serica, vel bombycina.’”
JULIUS POLLUX.
The Bombyces are worms, which emit from themselves threads, like the
spider. Some say, that the Seres collect their webs from animals of
this kind. L. vii. 76. p. 741.--_Kühn._
JUSTIN
evidently refers to the use of silken garments in his account of the
customs of the Parthians, where he says,
They formerly dressed after their own fashion. After they became rich,
they adopted the pellucid and flowing garments of the Medes. L. xli.
c. 2.
All doubt, whether the transparent garments, mentioned by Justin, were
of silk, must be removed by the authority of Procopius, from whom we
shall hereafter cite ample and important testimony in reference to the
time when he lived, and who in the two following passages expressly
states, that the webs, called by the Greeks in his time _Seric_, were
more anciently denominated _Median_.
Among the valuable and curious effects of the emperor Commodus, which
after his death (A. D. 192.) were sold by his successor Pertinax, was a
garment with a woof of silk, of a bright yellow color, the appearance
of which was more beautiful than if the material had been interwoven
with threads of gold[43].
[43] Vestis subtegmine serico, aureis filis insignior.--Jul. Capitolini
Pertinax, c. 8. in Scrip. Hist. Augustæ.
THIRD CENTURY.
The authorities now quoted supply evidence respecting the use of silk
among the Greeks and Romans down to the end of the second century.
It is rarely mentioned by any writer belonging to the following
century[44]; so far as we have discovered, only by the three historians
now to be quoted, by Cyprian, and by Solinus. But we have from these
historians some remarkable accounts of the regard paid to it by the
emperors Heliogabalus, Alexander Severus, Aurelian, Claudius II.,
Tacitus, and Carinus, all of whom reigned in the third century.
[44] Mannert (Geogr. iv. 6. 7. p. 517.) attributes the excessive
dearness of silk in the third century to the victories of the
Persians, which at that time cut off all direct communication
between Serica and the western world.
ÆLIUS LAMPRIDIUS says (c. 26.), that the profligate and
effeminate emperor Heliogabalus was the first Roman, who wore cloth
made wholly of silk, the silk having been formerly combined with other
less valuable materials, and, in consequence of his example, the
custom of wearing silk soon became general among the wealthy citizens
of Rome. He mentions (c. 33) among the innumerable extravagances of
this emperor, that he had prepared a silken rope of purple and scarlet
colors to hang himself with.
Of the emperor Alexander Severus he says (c. 40), that he himself had
few garments of silk, that he never wore a tunic made wholly of silk,
and that he never gave away cloth made of silk mixed with less valuable
materials.
The following is the testimony of Flavius Vopiscus in his life of the
emperor Aurelian.
Aurelian neither had himself in his wardrobe a garment wholly of silk,
nor gave one to be worn by another. When his own wife begged him to
allow her to have a single shawl of purple silk, he replied, Far be it
from us to permit thread to be reckoned worth its weight in gold. For
a pound of gold was then the price of a pound of silk. c. 45.
Although the above mentioned restrictions in the use of silk may be
partly accounted for from the usual severity of Aurelian’s character,
yet the facts here stated abundantly show the rarity and high value of
this material in that age.
Flavius Vopiscus further states, that the emperor Tacitus made it
unlawful for men to wear silk unmixed with cheaper materials. Carinus,
on the other hand, made presents of silken garments, as well as of
gold and silver, to Greek artificers, and to wrestlers, players, and
musicians.
TREBELLIUS POLLIO, in his life of Claudius II. (c. 14
_and_ 17.), twice mentions white garments of silk mixed with cheaper
materials, which were destined for that emperor.
CYPRIAN,
Bishop of Carthage in the third century, inveighs in the following
terms against the use of silk:
Tu licet indumenta peregrina et vestes sericas induas, nuda es. Auro
te licet et margaritis gemmisque condecores, sine Christi decore
deformis es. _De Lapsis_, _p._ 135. _ed. Fell._
Although thou shouldest put on a tunic of foreign silk, thou art
naked; although thou shouldest beautify thyself with gold, and pearls,
and gems, without the beauty of Christ thou art unadorned.
Also in his treatise on the dress of Virgins he says,
Sericum et purpuram indutæ, Christum induere non possunt: auro et
margaritis et monilibus adornatæ, ornamenta cordis et pectoris
perdiderunt.
Those who put on silk and purple, cannot put on Christ: women, adorned
with gold and pearls and necklaces, have lost the ornaments of the
heart and of the breast.
In the same place he gives us a translation of the well-known passage
of Isaiah enumerating the luxuries of female attire among the Jews:
“In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling
ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like
the moon, the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets,
and the ornaments of the legs, and the head-bands, and the tablets,
and the ear-rings, the rings, and nose-jewels, the changeable suits of
apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, the
glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils.” Isaiah in.
18-23.
SOLINUS,
Primos hominum Seres cognoscimus, qui, aquarum aspergine inundatis
frondibus, vellera arborum adminiculo depectunt liquoris, et lanuginis
teneram subtilitatem humore domant ad obsequium. Hoc illud est
sericum, in quo ostentare potius corpora quàm vestire, primò feminis,
nunc etiam viris persuasit luxuriæ libido. _Cap._ 1.
The Seres first, having inundated the foliage with aspersions of
water, combed down fleeces from trees by the aid of a fluid, and
subdued to their purposes the tender and subtile down by the use of
moisture. The substance so prepared is silk; that material in which at
first women, but now even men, have been persuaded by the eagerness of
luxury rather to display their bodies, than to clothe them.
AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS.
This historian describes the Seres as “a quiet and inoffensive people
who, avoiding all quarrels with their neighbors, are exempt from the
distresses and alarms of war, and not being under the necessity of
using offensive arms, do not even know their use, and occupy a fertile
country under a delicious and healthy climate. He represents them as
passing their happy life in the most perfect tranquillity and the most
delicious repose amidst shady thickets refreshed by pleasant zephyrs,
and where the soil furnishes so soft a wool, that after having been
sprinkled with water and combed, it forms cloths resembling silk.”
Marcellinus proceeds to describe the Seres as being content with their
own felicitous condition, and so reserved in their intercourse with the
rest of mankind, that when foreigners venture within their boundaries
for wrought and unwrought silk, and other valuable articles, they
consider the price offered in silence, and transact their business
without exchanging a word; a mode of traffic which is still practised
in some eastern countries.
Macpherson, in the Annals of Commerce, a very valuable work, thinks
that according to all appearances, the Seres were themselves the
authors of this story, in order to make strangers believe that their
country enjoyed all these benefits by the peculiar blessing of heaven,
and that no other nation could participate in them.
The remarks of Solinus and Ammianus conspire to show, how much more
common silk had become about the end of the third century, being then
worn, at least with a warp of cheaper materials, by men as well as
by women, and not being confined to the noble and the wealthy. These
authors likewise dilate upon the use of showers of water to detach silk
from the trees on which it was found. According to Pliny and Solinus,
water was also employed after the silk was gathered from the trees[45]:
and probably the fact was so. Silk, as it comes from the worm, contains
a strong gum, which would be dissolved by the showers of water dashed
against the trees, and thus the cocoons, being loosened from the leaves
and twigs, would be easily collected. In the subsequent processes,
water would be further useful in enabling the women to spin the silk or
to wind it upon bobbins.
[45] “The remaining shores are occupied by savage nations, as the
Melanchlæni and Coraxi, Dioscurias, a City of the Colchians, near
the river Anthemus, being now deserted, although formerly so
illustrious, that Timosthenes has recorded that _three hundred
nations_ used to resort to it _speaking different languages_; and
that business was afterwards transacted on our part through the
medium of _one hundred and thirty_ interpreters.”
It may be observed that in this use of water art only follows nature.
When the moth is ready to leave its cell, it always softens the
extremity of it by emitting a drop of fluid, and thus easily obtains
for itself a passage. In the third volume of the Transactions of the
Royal Asiatic Society (p. 543.), Colonel Sykes gives the following
account of the process by which the moth of the Kolisurra silk-worm
liberates itself from confinement. “It discharges from its mouth a
liquor, which dissolves or loosens that part of the cocoon adjoining to
the cord which attaches it to the branch, causing a hole, and admitting
of the passage of the moth. The solvent property of this liquid is very
remarkable; for that part of the cocoon, against which it is directed,
although previously as hard as a piece of wood, becomes soft and
pervious as wetted brown paper.”
In the seventh volume of the Linnæan Transactions, is an account
by Dr. Roxburgh of the Tusseh silk-worm. Both species are natives
of Bengal. The cocoons require to be immersed in cold water before
the silk can be obtained from them. In the latter species it is too
delicate to be wound from the cocoons, and is therefore spun like
cotton. Thus manufactured it is so durable, that the life of one person
is seldom sufficient to wear out a garment made of it, and the same
piece descends from mother to daughter. (See Chap. VIII. of this Part.)
CHAPTER III.
HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE FROM THE THIRD TO THE SIXTH CENTURY.
SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING.--HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN
THESE ARTS.
Fourth century--Curious account of silk found in the Edict of
Diocletian--Extravagance of the Consul Furius Placidus--Transparent
silk shifts--Ausonius describes silk as the produce of
trees--Quintus Aur Symmachus, and Claudian’s testimony of silk
and golden textures--Their extraordinary beauty--Pisander’s
description--Periplus Maris Erythræi--Dido of Sidon. Mention
of silk in the laws of Manu--Rufus Festus Avinus--Silk
shawls--Marciannus Capella--Inscription by M. N. Proculus, silk
manufacturer--Extraordinary spiders’ webs--Bombyces compared to
spiders--Wild silk-worms of Tsouen--Kien and Tiao-Kien--M. Bertin’s
account--Further remarks on wild silk-worms. Christian authors of the
fourth century--Arnobius--Gregorius Nazienzenus--Basil--Illustration
of the doctrine of the resurrection--Ambrose--Georgius
Pisida--Macarius--Jerome--Chrysostom--Heliodorus--Salmasius--Extraordinary
beauty of the silk and golden textures described by these
authors--Their invectives against Christians wearing
silk. Mention of silk by Christian authors in the fifth
century--Prudentius--Palladius--Theodosian Code--Appollinaris
Sidonius--Alcimus Avitus. Sixth century--Boethius. (Manufactures of
Tyre and Sidon--Purple--Its great durability--Incredible value of
purple stuffs found in the treasury of the King of Persia.)
FOURTH CENTURY.
Some curious evidence respecting the use of silk, both unmixed with
linen and with the warp of linen, or some inferior material, is found
in the EDICT OF DIOCLETIAN, which was published A. D. 303 for
the purpose of fixing a maximum of prices for all articles in common
use throughout the Roman Empire[46]. The passage pertaining to our
present subject, is as follows:
Sarcinatori in veste soubtili replicat(u)ræ * sex
Eidem aperturæ cum subsutura olosericræ * quinquaginta
Eidem aperturæ cum subsutura su(b)sericæ * triginta
(Sub)suturæ in veste grossiori * quattuor.
Denarii[47].
To the Tailor for lining a fine vest 6
To the same for an opening and an edging with silk 50
To the same for an opening and an edging with stuff
made of a mixed tissue of silk and flax 30
For an edging on a coarser vest 4
_Colonel Leake’s translation._
[46] It was edited A. D. 1826, by Colonel Leake, as a sequel to his
Journal of a Tour in Asia Minor, and is also published in Tr. of
the Royal Society of Literature, vol. i. p. 181.
[47] A Roman coin of the value of about sixteen or seventeen cents,
called Denarii from the letter X upon it; which denoted _ten_.
This document proves, in exact conformity with the passages quoted
from Solinus and Ammianus, that silk had come into general use at
the commencement of the fourth century. It is also manifest from
this extract, that silk was employed in giving to garments a greater
proportion of intricacy and ornament than had been in use before.
The authors who make mention of silk in the fourth and following
centuries are very numerous. We shall first take the heathen authors,
and then the Christian writers, whose observations often have some
moral application, which gives them an additional interest.
The unknown author of the Panegyric on the emperor Constantine,
pronounced A. D. 317, thus mentions silk as characterizing oriental
refinement.
Facile est vincere timidos et imbelles, quales amœna Græcia et deliciæ
Orientis educunt, vix leve pallium et sericos sinus vitando sole
tolerantes.
It is easy to vanquish the timid and those unused to war, the
offspring of pleasant Greece and the delightful East, who, whilst they
avoid the heat of the sun, can scarcely bear even a light shawl and
folds of silk.
The testimony of the Roman historian FLAVIUS VOPISCUS, in
reference to the practice of the emperor Aurelian and the dearness of
silk during his reign, has already been produced. This author, in his
life of the same emperor, makes the following remarks on a display of
silk which he had himself recently witnessed.
We have lately seen the Consulate of Furius Placidus celebrated in
the Circus with so great eagerness for popularity, that he seemed to
give not prizes, but patrimonies, presenting tunics of linen and silk,
borders of linen, and even horses, to the great scandal of all good
men.
The exact period here referred to is no doubt the Consulship of
Placidus and Romulus, A. D. 343.
In the Epistles of ALCIPHRON (i. 39.) Myrrhine, a courtesan,
loosens her girdle, which probably fastened her upper garment or shawl.
Her _shift_ was silk, and so transparent as to show the _color_ of her
skin.
AUSONIUS
satirizes a rich man of mean extraction, who nevertheless made lofty
pretensions to nobility of birth, pretending to be descended from
Mars, Romulus, and Remus, and who therefore caused their images to be
embossed upon his plate and _woven_ in a silken shawl.--Epig. 26.
In the following line, he alludes to the production of silk in the
usual terms:
Vellera depectit nemoralia vestifluus Ser.
_Idyll._ 12.
The Ser remote, in flowing garments drest,
Combs down the fleeces, which the trees invest.
QUINTUS AUR SYMMACHUS.
This distinguished officer, in a letter to the Consul Stilicho,
apologizes in the following terms for his delay in sending a
contribution of Holoseric pieces, that is, webs wholly made of silk, to
the public exhibitions.
Others have deferred supplying the water for the theatre and the
Holoseric pieces, so that I have examples in my favor.--_Epist._ _l._
iv. 8.
In a letter to Magnillus (_l._ v. 20.) he speaks of Subseric pieces,
webs made only in part of silk, as presents;
At your instigation the Subseric pieces have been supplied, which
my men kept back after the price had been settled; and likewise
everything else pertaining to the prizes which were to be given.
CLAUDIAN
mentions silk in numerous passages. This poet, in describing the
consular robes of the two brothers Probinus and Olybrius (A. D. 395.),
represents the Gabine Cincture, by which the toga was girt over the
breast, as made of silk.
In the following passage he represents the two brothers, Honorius
and Arcadius, as dividing the empire of the world between them and
receiving tributes of its productions from the most distant regions:
Vestri juris erit, quicquid complectitur axis.
Vobis rubra dabunt pretiosas æquora conchas,
Indus ebur, ramos Panchaia, vellera Seres.
_De III. Cons. Honorii_, _l._ 209-211.
To you the world its various wealth shall send:
Their precious shells the Erythrean seas;
India its iv’ry, Araby its boughs,
The distant Seres fleeces from the trees.
In a poem, which immediately succeeds this in the order of time,
Claudian describes a magnificent toga, worn by Honorius on being
appointed a fourth time consul, by saying, that it received its color
(_the Tyrian purple_) from the Phœnicians; its woof (_of silk forming
stripes or figures_) from the Seres; and its weight (_produced by
Indian gems_) from the river Hydaspes[48]. Again, in his poem on the
approaching marriage of Honorius and Maria, he mentions yellow silk
curtains (_l._ 211.) as a decoration of the nuptial chamber.
[48] De IV. Cons. Honorii, i. 600, 601.
Again he says (_in Eutrop._ _l._ i. _v._ 225, 226. 304. _l._ ii. _v._
337.):
Te grandibus India gemmis,
Te foliis Arabes ditent, te vellere Seres.
Let India with her gems thy wealth increase,
The Arabs with their leaves, the Seres with their fleece.
He also mentions with delight the use of gold in dress, as well as
of silk. The following passage represents the manner in which Proba,
a Roman matron, near the end of the fourth century, expressed her
affectionate congratulations on the elevation of her two sons to the
Consulship, by preparing robes _interwoven with gold_ for the ceremony
of their installation.
With joy elated at this proud success,
Their venerable mother now prepares
The golden trabeas, and the cinctures bright
With Seric fibres shorn from woolly trees:
Her well-train’d thumb protracts the length’ning gold,
And makes the metal to the threads adhere.
_In Probini et Olybrii Consulatum_, _l._ 177-182.
From these verses we learn that Proba had herself acquired the art of
_covering the thread with gold_, and that she then used her gold thread
in the _woof_ to form the stripes or other ornaments of the consular
trabeæ. These are afterwards called stiff togas (_togæ rigentes_, _l._
205.), on account of the rigidity imparted to them by the gold thread.
The same poet gives an elaborate description of a Trabea which he
supposes to have been woven by the Goddess Rome with the aid of Minerva
for the use of the Consul Stilicho. Five different scenes are said to
have been _woven_ in this admirable robe (_regentia dona, graves auro
trabeas_), and certain parts of them were wrought in gold[49].
[49] In I. Cons. Stilichonis, L. ii. 330-359.
Again, Claudian supposes Thetis to have woven scarfs of gold and purple
for her son Achilles:
Ipsa manu chlamydes ostro texebat et auro. (_Ep._ 35.)
The epigram in which this line occurs, seems to imply that Serena,
mother-in-law of the Emperor Honorius, wove garments of the same kind
for him.
Maria, the daughter of the above-mentioned Stilicho, was bestowed
by him upon Honorius, but died shortly after, about A. D. 400. In
February, 1544, the marble coffin, containing her remains, was
discovered at Rome. In it were preserved a garment and a pall,
which, on being burnt, yielded 36 _pounds of gold_. There were also
found a great number of glass vessels, jewels, and ornaments of all
kinds, which Stilicho had given as a dowry to his daughter[50]. We
may conclude, that the garments discovered in the tomb of Maria
were _woven_ by the hands of her mother Serena, since the epigram
of Claudian proves that she wove robes of a similar description for
Honorius, and probably on the same occasion. Anastasius Bibliothecarius
says, that when Pope Paschal was intent on finding the body of St.
Cæcilia, having performed mass with a view to obtain the favor of a
revelation on the subject, he was directed A. D. 821 to a cemetery on
the Appian Way near Rome, and there found the body enveloped in cloth
of gold[51]. Although there is _no_ reason to believe, that the body
found by Paschal was the body of the saint pretended, yet it may have
been the body of a Roman lady who had lived some centuries before, and
probably about the time of Honorius and Maria.
[50] Surii Comment. Rerum Gest. ab anno 1500, &c.
[51] “Aureis vestitum indumentis.” DE VITIS ROM. Pontificum Mogunt.
1602, p. 222.
Pisander, who belonged to the same period (900 B. C.) with Homer,
speaks of the _Lydians_ as _wearing tunics adorned with gold_. Lydus
observes, that the Lydians were supplied with gold from the sands of
the Pactolus and the Hermus[52].
[52] De Magistratibus Rom. L. iii. § 64.
Virgil also represents the use of gold in weaving, as if it had existed
in Trojan times. One of the garments so adorned was manufactured by
_Dido_, the _Sidonian_, one by Andromache, and another was in the
possession of Anchises[53]. In all these instances the reference is to
the habits of Phœnice, Lycia, or other parts of Asia.
[53] Æn. iii. 483.; iv. 264.; viii. 167.; xi. 75.
He describes an ape ludicrously attired in a silk jacket; and,
inveighing against the progress of luxury, he speaks of some to whom
even silk garments were a burthen. In elaborate descriptions of the
figured consular robes (the Trabeæ) of Honorius and Stilicho, he
mentions the _reins and other trappings of horses_, as being wrought in
silk[54].
[54] Rubra Serica, De VI. Cons. Honor. I. 577. Serica Fræna. In I.
Cons. Stilichonis 1. ii. V. 350.
The frequent allusions to silk in the complimentary poems of Claudian,
receive illustration from various imperial laws, which were promulgated
in the same century, and in part by the very emperors to whom his
flattery is addressed, and which are preserved in the CODE OF
JUSTINIAN. Their object was not to encourage the silk manufacture,
but, on a principle very opposite to that of modern times, to make
it an imperial monopoly. The admiration excited by the splendor and
elegance of silk attire was the ground, on which it was forbidden that
any individual of the _male sex_ should wear even a silken border upon
his tunic or pallium, with the exception of the emperor, his officers
and servants. To confine the enjoyment of these luxuries more entirely
to the imperial family and court, all private persons were strictly
forbidden engaging in the manufacture, gold and silken borders were to
be made only in the imperial Gynæcea[55].
[55] See the Corpus Juris Civilis, Lugduni 1627, folio, tom. v. Codex
Justiniani, l. x. tit. vii. p. 131. 134.
THE PERIPLUS MARIS ERYTHRÆI.
In this important document on ancient geography and commerce, we find
repeated mention of silk in its raw state, in that of thread, and
woven[56]. These articles were conveyed down the Indus to the coast
of the Erythrean Sea. They were also brought to the great mart of
Barygaza, which was on the Gulf of Cambay near the modern Surat, and
to the coast of Lymirica, which was still more remote. The author of
the Periplus states, that they were carried by land through Bactria to
Barygaza from a great city called _Thina_, lying far towards the North
in the interior of Asia. He of course refers to some part of Serica.
It is remarkable, that he makes no mention of silk as the native
production of India.
[56] Arriani Opp., vol. ii. Blancardi, pp. 164. 170. 173. 177.
Silk is mentioned in two passages of the laws of Manu, viz. XI. v.
168, and XII. v. 64. It is, however, observed by Heeren, who quotes
passages of the Ramayana that make mention of silk, that garments of
this material are there represented as worn only on festive occasions,
and that they were undoubtedly Seric or Chinese productions[57]. Indeed
it appears that the cloth made from the thread of the native worms of
Hindostan, although highly valued for strength and durability, is not
remarkable for fineness, beauty, or splendor.
[57] Ideen über die Politik, &c. der alten Welt, i. 2. pp. 647. 648.
665-668. 677. 3rd edition. Göttingen, 1815.
RUFUS FESTUS AVIENUS.
This author, adopting the common notion of his time, supposes the Seres
to spin thread from fleeces which were produced upon the trees. He
also mentions silk shawls (_Serica pallia_, _l._ 1008.) as worn by the
female Bacchantes of Ionia in their processions in honor of Bacchus;
and it is worthy of remark, that they are not mentioned in the original
passage of Dionysius, the author whom Avienus translates, so that we
may reasonably infer, that the use of them on these occasions was
introduced between the time of Dionysius (about 30 B. C.) and that of
Avienus (A. D. 400).
MARTIANUS CAPELLA.
Beyond these (_the Anthropophagi_) are the Seres, who asperse their
trees with water to obtain the down, which produces silk.
L. vi. _p._ 223. _ed. Grotii_, 1599.
The following Inscription is given in Gruter, Tom. iii. p.
DCXLV. It was found at Tivoli, and expresses that M. N.
Proculus, _silk-manufacturer_, erected a monument to Valeria Chrysis,
his excellent and deserving wife.
D. M.
VALERIAE. CHRYSIDI.
M. NVMIVS. PROCVLVS.
SERICARIVS.
CONJVGI. SVAE.
OPTIMÆ. BENEM.
FECIT.
Before proceeding to the Christian writers of the 4th and following
centuries we may now introduce the remarks of Servius on the passage
formerly quoted from Virgil. He is supposed to have written about A. D.
400.
Among the Indians and Seres there are on the trees certain worms,
called Bombyces, which draw out very fine threads after the manner of
spiders; and these threads constitute silk.
It will be seen hereafter, that these “Indian Seres” were the
inhabitants of Khotan in Little Bucharia.
The frequent comparison of Bombyces to spiders by the ancients suggests
the inquiry whether they employed the thread of any kind of spider
to make cloth, as was attempted in France by M. Bon. The failure of
his attempt is sufficient, as it appears, to show, that the extensive
manufacture of garments from this material must have been scarcely
possible in ancient times. It is also to be observed, that the
ancients, when they compare the silk-worm to the spider, refer to the
spider’s _web_, whereas M. Bon, not finding the web strong enough, made
his cloth from the thread with which the spider envelopes its eggs[58].
[58] The most extraordinary account of a spider’s web, which we have
ever seen, is that given by Lieutenant W. Smyth. He says, “We
saw here (_viz._ at Pachiza, on the river Huayabamba in Peru) a
gigantic spider’s web suspended to the trees: it was about 25 _feet
in height_, and near 50 _in length_; the threads were very strong,
and it had the empty sloughs of thousands of insects hanging on it.
It appeared to be the habitation of a great number of spiders of a
larger size than we ever saw in England.” Narrative of a Journey
from Lima to Para, London, 1836, p. 141.
For some interesting notices of the great spider of Brazil the
reader is referred to Caldcleugh’s Travels in South America, London
1825, vol. i. ch. 2. p. 41; and to the Rev. R. Walsh’s Notices
of Brazil, London 1830, vol. ii. p. 300, 301. Mr. Caldcleugh
“_assisted in liberating from a spider’s net a bird of the size of
a swallow, quite exhausted with struggling, and ready to fall a
prey to its indefatigable enemies_.” Mr. Walsh had his light straw
hat removed from his head by a similar web extending from tree
to tree in an opening through which he had occasion to pass. He
wound upon a card several of the threads composing the web; and he
observes, that, as these spiders are gregarious, the difficulties
experienced by M. Bon from the ferocity of the solitary European
spiders in killing and devouring one another, would not exist if
the attempt were made to obtain clothing from the former.
In the forests of Java Sir George Staunton “found webs of spiders,
woven with threads of so strong a texture as not easily to be
divided without a cutting instrument.”--Account of Lord Macartney’s
Embassy to China, London 1797, vol. i. ch. 7. p. 302. (See Chap.
IX.)
But, although we have no reason to believe, that the web of any spider
was anciently employed to make cloth, yet these accounts may have
referred to worms, possibly varieties of the silk-worm, which spun long
threads floating in the air. The common silk-worm spins and suspends
itself by its thread, long before it begins its cocoon. It appears
probable, therefore, that there may have been wild varieties of this
creature, or perhaps other species of the same genus, which in the
earlier stages of their existence spun threads long enough for use. We
ground this conjecture partly on the following passage from Du Halde’s
History of China[59].
[59] Vol. ii. p. 359, 360, 8vo. edition, London, 1736.
“The province of Chan-tong produces a particular sort of silk, which
is found in great quantities on the trees and in the fields. It is
spun and made into a stuff called _Kien-tcheou_. This silk is made
by little insects that are much like caterpillars. They do not spin
an oval or round cocoon, like the silk-worms, but very long threads.
These threads, as they are driven about by the winds, hang upon the
trees and bushes, and are gathered to make a sort of silk, which is
coarser than that made of the silk spun in houses. But these worms are
wild, and eat indifferently the leaves of mulberry and other trees.
Those who do not understand this silk would take it for unbleached
cloth, or a coarse sort of drugget.
“The worms, which spin this silk, are of two kinds: the first,
much larger and blacker than the common silk-worms, are called
_Tsouen-kien_; the second, being smaller, are named _Tiao-kien_. The
silk of the former is of a reddish gray, that of the latter darker.
The stuff made of these materials is between both colors, it is very
close, does not _fret_, is very lasting, washes like linen, and, when
it is good, receives no damage by spots, even though oil were to be
shed on it.
“This stuff is much valued by the Chinese, and it is sometimes as
dear as satin or the finest silks. As the Chinese are very skilful at
counterfeiting, they make a false sort of _Kien-tcheou_ with the waste
of the Tche-kiang silk, which without due inspection might easily be
taken for the genuine article.”
This account affords a remarkable illustration of many of the
expressions of the ancient writers, such as “Bombyx pendulus urget
opus,” _Martial_; “Per aerem liquando aranearum horoscopis idoneas
sedes tendit,” _Tertullian_; “In aranearum morem tenuissima fila
deducunt,” _Servius_.
In further illustration of the subject, and as tending to show
that the _Kien-tcheou_ is manufactured from the thread of a
silk-worm, modified in its habits and perhaps in its organization by
circumstances, we shall now quote a few passages from a work having the
following title: “_China; its costume, arts, manufactures, &c., edited
from the originals in the cabinet of M. Bertin, with observations by M.
Breton. Translated from the French. London, 1812._” _Vol._ iv. _p._ 55,
_&c._
“The wild silk-worms are found in the hottest provinces of China,
especially near Canton. They live indifferently on all sorts of
leaves, particularly on those of the ash, the oak, and the fagara, and
spin a greyish and rarely white silk. The coarse cloth manufactured
from it is called _Kien-tcheou_, will bear washing, and on that
account persons of quality do not disdain to wear clothes of it. With
this silk also the strings of musical instruments are made, because it
is stronger and more sonorous.
“Entomologists treat but very superficially of the habits of the wild
silk-worms, while they dwell in minute detail on the method of rearing
them in Provence.
“It is between the nineteenth and twenty-second day of their
existence, that they undertake the great work of spinning their
cocoon. They curve a leaf into a kind of cup, and then form a cocoon
as large and nearly as hard as a hen’s egg! This cocoon has one end
open like a reversed funnel; it is a passage for the butterfly, which
is to come out.
“The oak-worms are slower in making their cocoon than those of the
fagara and ash, and they set about it differently. Instead of bending
a single leaf, they roll themselves in two or three and spin their
cocoon. It is larger, but the silk is inferior in quality, and of
course not so valuable.
“The cocoons of wild silk-worms are so strong and compact, that the
insects encounter great difficulty in extricating themselves, and
therefore remain inclosed from the end of the summer, to the spring
of the following year. These butterflies, unlike the domestic insect,
fly very well.--The domestic silk-worm is but a variety of the wild
species. It is fed on the leaves of the mulberry tree.” (See chap.
VIII.)
The circumstance that the worms were sometimes fed with oak-leaves is
mentioned in Du Halde’s History of China, vol. ii. p. 363.
Here then we have a justification of the ancients in asserting, both
that the silk-worms produced _long threads and webs floating in the
air like those of spiders_, and that they fed upon the leaves of the
oak, the ash, and many other trees. It may be recollected, that Pliny
expressly mentions both the oak (_quercus_) and the ash (_fraxinus_).
Until very lately the use of silk among the ancients was investigated
only by philologists. Within a few years M. Latreille, an entomologist
of the highest distinction, has directed his attention to the subject
and has examined particularly the above-cited passages of Aristotle,
Pliny, and Pausanias[60]. He never supposes the ancient Sericum to
have been the produce of anything except the silk-worm. But of this
there are several varieties, partly perhaps natural, and partly the
result of domestication. He endeavors to explain some parts of Pliny’s
description by showing their seeming correspondence with some of the
practices actually observed by the Orientals in the management of
silk-worms.
[60] M. Latreille’s paper is published in the Annales des Sciences
Naturelles, tome xxiii. pp. 58-84.
An account of the wild silk-worms of China is to be found in the
“Mémoires concernant l’Histoire, les Sciences, les Arts, &c., des
Chinois,” compiled by the missionaries of Peking[61]. This account is
principally derived from the information of Father D’Incarville, one
of the missionaries. It coincides generally with the accounts already
quoted from Du Halde and Breton. We extract the following particulars
as conveying some further information:
[61] Tome ii. pp. 579-601. Paris, 1777, 4to. This Memoir is reprinted
with abridgments as an Appendix to Stanislas Julien’s Translation
of the Chinese Treatise on the Breeding of Silk-worms, Paris, 1837,
8vo.
“The Chinese annals from the year 150 B. C. to A. D. 638 make frequent
mention of the great quantity of silk produced by the wild worms, and
observe that their cocoons were as large as eggs or apricots.”
The following passage is also deserving of attention: “Le papillon de
ces vers sauvages, dit le Père d’Incarville, est à ailes vitrées.” This
information, if correct, would prove that there was at least one kind
of wild silk-worms in China, which was a different species from the
Phalæna Mori; for that has no transparent membranes in its wings, and
would not be likely to receive them in consequence of any change in its
mode of life.
We now proceed to take the Christian authors of the fourth and
following centuries in the order of time.
ARNOBIUS (A. D. 306.)
thus speaks of the heathen gods:
They want the covering of a garment: the Tritonian virgin must spin a
thread of extraordinary fineness, and according to circumstances put
on a tunic either of mail, or silk[62].
[62] Adv. Gentes, l. iii. p. 580, ed. Erasmi.
GREGORIUS NAZIENZENUS, CL., A. D. 370.
The following passage contains, we believe, the earliest allusion to
the use of silk in the services of the Christian Church.
Ἄλλοι μὲν χρυσόν τε καὶ ἄργυρον, οἱ δὲ τὰ Σηρῶν
Δῶρα φέρουσι θεῷ νήματα λεπταλέα.
Καὶ Χριστῷ θυσίην τὶς ἁγνὴν ἀνέθηκεν ἑαυτον·
Καὶ σπένδει δακρύων ἄλλος ἁγνὰς λιβάδας.
_Ad Hellenium pro Monachis Carmen._
_tom._ ii. _p._ 106. _ed. Par._ 1630.
Silver and gold some bring to God
Or the fine threads by Seres spun:
Others to Christ themselves devote,
A chaste and holy sacrifice,
And make libations of their tears.
Yates’s Translation.
BASIL, CL., A. D. 370.
Although this celebrated author was a native of Asia Minor, and had
studied in Syria and Palestine, he appears to have known the silk-worm
only from books and by report. His description of it in the following
passage, in which we first find the beautiful illustration of the
doctrine of a _resurrection_ from the change of the chrysalis, is
chiefly copied from Aristotle’s account as formerly quoted.
Τί φάτε οἱ ἀπιστοῦντες τῷ Παύλῳ περὶ τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν
ἀλλοιώσεως, ὁρῶντες πολλὰ τῶν ἀερίων τὰς μορφὰς μεταβάλλοντα; ὁποῖα
καὶ περὶ τοῦ Ἰνδικοῦ σκώληκος ἱστορεῖται τοῦ κερασφόρου· ὃς εἰς κάμπην
τὰ πρῶτα μεταβαλὼν, εἶτα προϊὼν βομβυλιὸς γίνεται, καὶ οὐδὲ ἐπὶ ταύτης
ἵσταται τῆς μορφῆς, ἀλλὰ χαύνοις καὶ πλατέσι πετάλοις ὑποπτεροῦται.
Ὅταν οὖν καθέζησθε τὴν τούτων ἐργασίαν ἀναπηνιζόμεναι αἱ γυναῖκες,
τὰ νήματα λέγω, ἃ πέμπουσιν ὑμῖν οἱ Σῆρες πρὸς τὴν τῶν μαλακῶν
ἐνδυμάτων κατασκευὴν, μεμνημέναι τῆς κατὰ τὸ ζῶον τοῦτο μεταβολῆς,
ἐναργῆ λαμβάνετε τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἔννοιαν, καὶ μὴ ἀπιστεῖτε τῇ ἀλλαγῇ,
ἣν Παῦλος ἅπασι κατεπαγγέλλεται.--_Hexahemeron_, _p._ 79. _A. Ed.
Benedict._
What have you to say, who disbelieve the assertion of the Apostle
Paul concerning the change at the resurrection, when you see many
of the inhabitants of the air changing their forms? Consider, for
example, the account of the horned worm of India, which (i. e. the
silk-worm) having first changed into a caterpillar (_eruca_, or
_veruca_), then in process of time becomes a cocoon (_bombylius_, or
_bombulio_), and does not continue even in this form, but assumes
light and expanded wings. Ye women, who sit winding upon bobbins
the produce of these animals, namely the threads, which the Seres
send to you for the manufacture of fine garments, bear in mind the
change of form in this creature; derive from it a clear conception of
the resurrection; and discredit not that transformation which Paul
announces to us all.--Yates’s Translation.
When St. Basil says of the new-born moth, that “it assumes light
and expanded wings,” the beauty of the comparison in illustrating
the Christian doctrine of the resurrection is enhanced, when we
consider that in its _wild_ state the moth flies very well, although,
when domesticated, its flight is weak and its wings small and
shrivelled[63]: but still more beautiful does the figure become, if we
suppose a reference to those larger and more splendid Phalænæ which
produce the coarser kinds of silk in India, and probably in China also.
[63] The Phalæna Atlas, apparently a native of China, measures eight
inches across the wings from tip to tip.
Basil is the _first_ writer, who distinctly mentions the change of
the silk-worm from a Chrysalis to a moth. In his application of that
fact he addresses himself to his countrywomen in Asia Minor, and his
language represents them sitting and winding on bobbins the raw silk
obtained from the Seres and designed to be afterwards woven into cloth.
Between these two authors, Aristotle and Basil, we observe a difference
of phraseology which appears deserving of notice. While they both
describe the women, not as spinning the silk, but as _winding it on
bobbins_, they designate the material so wound by two different names.
Basil uses the term νήματα, which might be meant to imply that the silk
came from the Seres in skeins as it comes to us from China: Aristotle,
on the contrary, uses the term βομβύκια, which can only refer to the
state of silk before it is wound into skeins. As it might appear
impossible to convey it in this state to Cos, we shall here insert from
the authorities already quoted, the Chinese Missionaries, an account of
the process by which the cocoons are prepared for winding, and it will
then be seen, that the cocoons might have been transported to any part
of the world.
“To prepare the cocoons of the wild silk-worms, the Chinese cut the
extremities of them with a pair of scissors. They are then put into a
canvass bag, and immersed for an hour or more in a kettle of boiling
lye, which dissolves the gum. When this is effected, they are taken
from the kettle; pressed to expel the lye, and then laid out to dry.
Whilst they are still moist, the chrysalises are extracted; each
cocoon is then turned inside out, so as to make a sort of cowl. It is
necessary only, to put them again into lukewarm water, after which ten
or twelve of them are capped one upon another like so many thimbles, to
insert a small distaff through them, when the silk may be reeled off.”
Basil, in one of his Homilies, (_Opp. tom._ ii. _p._ 53. 55. _ed.
Benedict._) inveighs against the ladies of Cæsarea, who employed
themselves in weaving gold; and he is no less indignant at their
husbands who adorned even their horses with cloths of gold and scarlet
as if they were bridegrooms.
The author of a Treatise “De disciplinâ et bono pudicitiæ,” which is
usually published with Cyprian, and which may be referred to the fourth
or fifth century, thus speaks (_Cypriani Opera, ed. Erasmi, p._ 499.):
To weave gold in cloth is, as it were, to adopt an expensive method of
spoiling it. Why do they interpose stiff metals between the delicate
threads of the warp?
The same censure is implied in the following address of Alcimus Avitus
to his sister.
Non tibi gemmato posuere nonilia collo,
Nec te contexit, neto quæ fulguratauro
Vestis, ductilibus concludens fila talentis:
Nec te Sidonium bis coeti muricis ostrum
Induit, aut rutilo perlucens purpura succo,
Mollia vel tactu quæ mittunt vellera Seres:
Nec tibi transfossis fixerunt auribus aurum.
No threaded gems have pressed thy sparkling neck:
No cloth, with lines incased in ductile gold,
Or twice with the Sidonian murex dyed,
Has glittered on thee: thou hast never worn
The fleeces soft which distant Seres send:
Nor are thy ears transfixed for pendent gold.
The effect of such exhortations as the preceding, was to induce
piously disposed persons to apply pieces of gold cloth to _public_
and _sacred_, instead of private purposes. After this period we find
continual instances of their use in the decoration of churches and in
the robes of the priesthood.
AMBROSE, CL. A. D. 374.
Sericæ vestes, et auro intexta velamina, quibus divitis corpus
ambitur, damna viventium, non subsidia defunctorum sunt.--_De Nabutho
Jezraelitâ_, _cap._ i. _tom._ i. _p._ 566. _Ed. Bened._
Silken garments, and veils interwoven with gold, with which the body
of the rich man is encompassed, are a loss to the living, and no gain
to the dead.
Here we think it not out of place to introduce the account of the
silk-worm by Georgius Pisida, who flourished about A. D. 640, although
he lived at Constantinople after the breeding of silk-worms had been
introduced there. According to him the silk-worm pines or moulders
almost to nothing in its tomb, and then returns to its former shape.
The verses are however deserving of attention for their elegance, and
for the repetition of Basil’s idea, which Ambrose has left out, of the
analogy between the restoration of the silk-worm and the resurrection
of man.
Ποῖος δὲ καὶ σκωλήκα Σηρικὸν νόμος
Πείθει τὰ λαμπρόκλωστα νήματα πλέκειν,
Ἃ, τῇ βαφῇ χρωσθέντα τῆς ἁλουργίδος,
Χαυνοῖ τὸν ὄγκον τῶν κρατούντων ἐμφρόνως;
Μνήμη γὰρ αὐτοὺς εὐλαβῶς ὑποτρέχει,
Ὅτι πρὸ αὐτῶν τῆς στολῆς ἡ λαμπρότης
Σκώληκος ἦν ἔνδυμα καὶ φθαρτὴ σκέπη,
Ὃς, τῇ καθ’ ἡμᾶς μαρτυρῶν ἀναστάσει,
Θνῆσκει μὲν ἔνδον τῶν ἑαυτοῦ νημάτων,
Τὸν αὐτὸν οἶκον καὶ ταφὴν δεδεγμένος,
Σχεδὸν δὲ παντὸς τοῦ κατ’ αὐτὸν σαρκίου
Σαπέντος ἢ ῥυέντος ἢ τετηγμένου,
Χρονόυ καλοῦντος ἐκ φθορᾶς ὑποστρέφει,
Καὶ τὴν πάλαι μόρφωσιν ἀῤῥήτως φύει
Ἐν τῷ περιττεύσαντι μικρῷ λειψάνῳ,
Πρὸς τὴν ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς σωματούμενος πλάσιν.
_l._ 1265-1282.
What law persuades the Seric worm to spin
Those shining threads, which, dyed with purple hue,
Inflate, yet check the pride of mighty men?
For, whilst they blaze in grand attire, the thought
Steals on,--This splendid robe once cloth’d a worm:
Type of our resurrection from the grave,
It dies within the tomb itself has spun,
That perishing abode, which is at once
Its house and tomb; in which it rots away,
Till at the call of time it gladly leaves
Corruption, and its ancient shape resumes.
A little remnant of its mould’ring flesh,
By processes unspeakable and dark,
Restores the wonders of its earliest form.
Yates’s Translation.
MACARIUS, CL., A. D. 373.
This author gives us an additional proof (_Homil._ 17, § 9,) that the
use of silken clothing was characteristic of dissolute women.
JEROME, CL., A. D. 378.
This great author mentions silk in numerous passages.
In his translation of Ezekiel xxvii. he has supposed silk (_sericum_)
to be an article of Syrian and Phœnician traffic as early as the time
of that prophet.
In his beautiful and interesting Epistle to Læta on the Education of
her Daughter (_Opp. Paris_, 1546, _tom._ i. _p._ 20. C.), he says:
Let her learn also to spin wool, to hold the distaff, to place the
basket in her bosom, to twirl the spindle, to draw the threads with
her thumb. Let her despise the webs of silk-worms, the fleeces of the
Seres, and gold beaten into threads. Let her prepare such garments as
may dispel cold, not expose the body naked, even when it is clothed.
Instead of gems and silk, let her love the sacred books, &c.
Because we do not use garments of silk, we are reckoned monks; because
we are not drunken, and do not convulse ourselves with laughter,
we are called restrained and sad: if our tunic is not white, we
immediately hear the proverb, He is an impostor and a Greek.--_Epist.
ad Marcellum, De Ægrotatione Blesillæ, tom._ i. _p._ 156, _ed.
Erasmi_, 1526.
You formerly went with naked feet; now you not only use shoes, but
even ornamented ones. You then wore a poor tunic and a _black_ shirt
under it, dirty and pale, and having your hand callous with labor; now
you go adorned with linen and silk, and with vestments obtained from
the Atrebates and from Laodicea.--_Adv. Jovinianum, l._ ii. _Opp. ed.
Paris_, 1546, _tom._ ii. _p._ 29.
In the following he further condemns the practice of wrapping the
bodies of the dead in cloth of gold:
Why do you wrap your dead in garments of gold? Why does not ambition
cease amidst wailings and tears? Cannot the bodies of the rich go to
corruption except in silk?--_Epist._ L. ii.
You cannot but be offended yourself, when you admire garments of silk
and gold in others.--_Epist._ L. ii. No. 9, _p._ 138, _ed. Par._ 1613,
_12mo._
CHRYSOSTOM, CL., A. D. 398.
Ἀλλὰ σηρικὰ τὰ ἱμάτια; ἀλλὰ ῥακίων γέμουσα ἡ ψυχή.
_Comment. in Psalm 48. tom._ v. _p._ 517. _ed. Ben._
Does the rich man wear silken shawls? His soul however is full of
tatters.
Καλὰ τὰ σηρικὰ ἱμάτια, ἀλλὰ σκωλήκων ἐστὶν ὕφασμα.
(_Quoted by Vossius, Etym. Lat. p._ 466.)
Silken shawls are beautiful, but the production of worms.
Chrysostom also inveighs against the practice of embroidering shoes
with silk thread, observing that it was a shame even to wear it woven
in shawls. Such is the change of circumstances, that now even the
poorest persons of both sexes, if decently attired, have silk in their
shoes.
HELIODORUS, CL., A. D. 390.
This author, describing the ceremonies at the nuptials of Theagenes
and Chariclea, says, “The ambassadors of the Seres came, bringing the
thread and webs of their spiders, one of the webs dyed _purple_ (!),
the other white.” _Æthiopica, lib._ x. _p._ 494. _Commelini._
Salmasius (_in Tertullianum de Pallio, p._ 242.) quotes the following
passage from _an uncertain author_.
Ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ τοῦ παρόντος βίου τερπνότης Ἰνδικῷ σκωληκιῷ, ὅπερ τῷ
φυλλῷ τοῦ δένδρου συντυλιχθὲν, καὶ τῇ τροφῇ ἀσχοληθὲν, συνεπνίγη ἐν
αὐτῷ τοῦ μεταξίου κουκουλίῳ.
The pleasure of the present life is like the Indian worm, which,
having involved itself in the leaf of the tree and having been
satisfied with food, chokes itself in the cocoon of its own
thread.--Yates’s Translation.
This writer, whoever he was, appears to have had a correct idea of the
manner in which the silk-worm wraps itself in a leaf of the tree, on
which it feeds, and spins its tomb within[64].
[64] In the Royal Museum of Natural History at Leyden are eight or ten
cocoons of the Phalæna Atlas from Java. They consist of a strong
silk, and are formed upon the leaves of a kind of Ficus. The first
layer of the cocoon covers the whole of a leaf, and receives the
exact impress of its form. Then two or three other layers are
distinctly perceptible. Two or three leaves are joined together to
form the cocoon. In regard to the looseness of the layers these
cocoons do not correspond to M. Breton’s description of the cocoons
of the wild silk-worms of China, which are very strong and compact,
and therefore more resemble those of the Phalæna Paphia.
FIFTH CENTURY.
PRUDENTIUS, CL., A. D. 405.
The following sentence occurs in a speech of St. Lawrence at his
martyrdom:
Hunc, qui superbit serico,
Quem currus inflatum vehit;
Hydrops aquosus lucido
Tendit veneno intrinsecus.
_Peristeph. Hymn._ ii. _l._ 237-240.
See him, attir’d in silken pride,
Inflated in his chariot ride;
The lucid poison works within,
Dropsy distends his swollen skin.
In another Hymn to the honor of St. Romanus we find the following lines:
Aurum regestum nonne carni adquiritur?
Inlusa vestis, gemma, bombyx, purpura,
In carnis usum mille quæruntur dolis.
_Peristeph. Hymn._ x.
To please the flesh a thousand arts contend:
The miser’s heaps of gold, the figur’d vest,
The gem, the silk-worm, and the purple dye,
By toil acquir’d, promote no other end.
In the same Hymn (_l._ 1015.) Prudentius describes a heathen priest
sacrificing a bull, and dressed _in a silken toga_ which is held up by
the Gabine cincture (_Cinctu Gabino Sericam fultus togam_). Perhaps,
however, we ought here to understand that the cincture only, not the
whole toga, was of silk. It was used to fasten and support the toga by
being drawn over the breast.
In two other passages this poet censures the progress of luxury in
dress, and especially when adopted by men.
Sericaque in fractis fluitent ut pallia membris
_Psychomachia, l._ 365.
The silken scarfs float o’er their weaken’d limbs.
Sed pudet esse viros: quærunt vanissima quæque
Quîs niteant: genuina leves ut robora solvant,
Vellere non ovium, sed Eoo ex orbe petitis
Ramorum spoliis fluitantes sumere amictus,
Gaudent, et durum scutulis perfundere corpus.
Additur ars, ut fila herbis saturata recoctis
Inludant varias distincto stamine formas.
Ut quæque est lanugo feræ mollissima tactu,
Pectitur. Hunc videas lascivas præpete cursu
Venantem tunicas, avium quoque versicolorum
Indumenta novis texentem plumea telis:
Ilium pigmentis redolentibus, et peregrino
Pulvere femineas spargentem turpitur auras.
_Hamartigenia, l._ 286-298.
They blush to be call’d men: they seek to shine
In ev’ry vainest garb. Their native strength
To soften and impair, they gaily choose
A flowing scarf, not made of wool from sheep,
But of those fleeces from the Eastern world,
The spoil of trees. Their hardy frame they deck
All o’er with tesselated spots: and art
Is added, that the threads, twice dyed with herbs,
May sportively intwine their various hues
And mimic forms, within the yielding warp.
Whatever creature wears the softest down,
They comb its fleece. This man with headlong course
Hunts motley tunics which inflame desire,
_Invents new looms_, and weaves a feather’d vest,
Which with the plumage of the birds compares:
That, scented with cosmetics, basely sheds
Effeminate foreign powder all around.
PALLADIUS.
A work remains under the name of Palladius on “The Nations of India
and the Brachmans.” Whether it is by the same Palladius, who wrote the
Historia Lausiaca, is disputed. But, as we see no reason to doubt, that
it may have been written as early as his time, we introduce here the
passages, which have been found in it, relating to the present subject.
The author represents the Bramins as saying to Alexander the Great,
“You envelope yourselves in soft clothing, like the silk-worms.” (_p._
17. _ed. Bissœi._) It is also asserted, that Alexander did not pass
the Ganges, but went as far as Serica, where the silk-worms produce
raw-silk (p. 2.).
In the London edition this tract is followed by one in Latin, bearing
the name of St. Ambrose and entitled DE MORIBUS BRACHMANORUM.
It contains nearly the same matter with the preceding. The writer
professes to have obtained his information from “Musæus Dolenorum
Episcopus,” meaning, as it appears from the Greek tract, Moses, Bishop
of Adule, of whom he says,
Sericam ferè universam regionem peragravit: in quâ refert arbores
esse, quæ non solum folia, sed lanam quoque proferunt tenuissimam, ex
quâ vestimenta con ficiuntur, quæ Serica nuncupantur. _p._ 58.
He travelled through nearly all the country of the Seres, in which, he
says, that there are trees producing not only leaves, but the finest
wool, from which are made the garments called Serica.
These notices are not devoid of value as indicating what were the first
steps to intercourse with the original silk country. It may however
be doubted, whether the last account here quoted is a modification of
the ideas previously current among the Greeks and Romans, or whether
it arose from the mistakes of Moses himself, or of other Christian
travellers into the interior of Asia, _who confounded the production of
silk with that of cotton_.
THE THEODOSIAN CODE,
published A. D. 438, mentions silk (_sericam et metaxam_) in various
passages.
APOLLINARIS SIDONIUS, CL., A. D. 472.
Describing the products of different countries, this learned author
says (_Carmen._ v. _l._ 42-50),
Fert
Assyrius gemmas, Ser vellera, thura Sabæus.
Th’ Assyrian brings his gems, the Ser
His fleeces, the Sabean frankincense.
In a passage (_Carmen._ xv.), he mentions a pall,
Cujus bis coctus aheno
Serica Sidonius fucabat stamina murex.
The Tyrian murex, twice i’ th’ cauldron boil’d,
Had dyed its silken threads.
The expression here used, indicates that the silk thread was brought
from the country of the Seres to be dyed in Phœnice. In Horace we have
already noticed the “Coæ purpuræ.”
A passage from the Burgus Pontii Leontii (_Carmen._ xxii.), shows that
the same article (_Serica fila_) was imported into Gaul.
In the same author (_l._ ii. _Epist. ad Serranum_) we meet with
“Sericatum toreuma.” The latter word probably denoted a carved sofa or
couch. The epithet “sericatum” may have referred to its silken cover.
The same author describes Prince Sigismer, who was about to be married,
going in a splendid procession and thus clothed:
Ipse medius incessit, flammeus cocco, rutilus auro, lacteus serico.
_L._ iv. _Epist. p._ 107. _ed. Elmenhorstii_.
He himself marched in the midst, his attire flaming with coccus,
glittering with gold, and of milky whiteness with silk.
Describing the heat of the weather, he says:
One man perspires in cotton, another in silk.
_L._ ii. _Epist._ 2.
Lastly, in the following lines he alludes to the practice of giving
silk to the successful charioteers at the Circensian games:
The Emp’ror, just as powerful, ordains
That silks with palms be given, crowns with chains:
Thus marks high merit, and inferior praise
In brilliant _carpets_ to the rest conveys.
_Carmen._ xxiii. _l._ 423-427.
ALCIMUS AVITUS, CL., A. D. 490.
Describing the rich man in the parable of Lazarus, this author says:
Ipse cothurnatus gemmis et fulgidus auro
Serica bis coctis mutabat tegmina blattis.
_L._ iii. 222.
In jewell’d buskins and a blaze of gold,
Silk shawls, or twice in scarlet dipt, he wore.
Avitus also mentions “the soft fleeces sent by the Seres.”
SIXTH CENTURY.
BOETHIUS, CL., A. D. 510
Nor honey into wine they pour’d, nor mix’d
Bright Seric fleeces with the Tyrian dye.
_De Consol. Philos._ ii.
The Tyrians are chiefly known to us in commercial history for their
skill in dyeing; the Tyrian purple formed one of the most general and
principal articles of luxury in antiquity: but dyeing could scarcely
have existed without weaving, and though we have no direct information
respecting the Tyrian and Sidonian looms, we possess several ancient
references to their excellence, the less suspicious because they are
incidental. Homer, for instance, when Hecuba, on the recommendation
of the heroic Hector, resolves to make a rich offering to Minerva,
describes her as selecting one of Sidonian manufacture as the finest
which could be obtained.
The Phrygian queen to her rich wardrobe went
Where treasured odors breathed a costly scent;
There lay the vestures of no vulgar art--
Sidonian maids embroider’d every part,
Whom from soft Sidon youthful Paris bore
With Helen, touching on the Tyrian shore.
Here, as the queen revolved with careful eyes
The various textures and the various dyes,
She chose a veil that shone superior far,
And glow’d refulgent as the morning star.
_Iliad_, vi.
Tyre appears to have been the only city of antiquity which made dyeing
its chief occupation, and the staple of its commerce. There is little
doubt that purple, the sacred symbol of royal and sacerdotal dignity,
was a color discovered in that city; and, that it contributed to its
opulence and grandeur. It is related that a shepherd’s dog, instigated
by hunger, having broken a shell on the sea shore, his mouth became
stained with a color, which excited the admiration of all who saw it,
and that the same color was afterwards applied with great success
to the dyeing of wool. According to some of the ancient writers,
this discovery is placed in the reign of Phœnix, second King of Tyre
(five hundred years before the Christian era); others fix it in that
of Minos, who reigned 939 years earlier or, 1439 B. C. The honor of
the invention of dyeing purple, is however, generally awarded to the
Tyrian Hercules, who presented his discovery to the king of Phœnicia;
and the latter was so jealous of the beauties of this new color, that
he forbade the use of it to all his subjects, reserving it for the
garments of royalty alone. Some authors relate the story differently:
Hercules’ dog having stained his mouth with a shell, which he had
broken on the seashore, Tysus, a nymph of whom Hercules was enamored,
was so charmed with the beauty of the color, that she declared she
would see her lover no more until he had brought garments dyed of the
same. Hercules, in order to gratify his mistress, collected a great
number of the shells, and succeeded in staining a robe of the color
she had demanded. “Colored dresses,” says Pliny[65], “were known in
the time of Homer (900 B. C.), from which the robes of triumph were
borrowed.” Purple habits are mentioned among the presents made to
Gideon, by the Israelites, from the spoils of the kings of Midan.
Ovid, in his description of the contest in weaving between Minerva and
Arachne, dwells not only on the beauty of the figures which the rivals
wove, but also mentions the delicacy of shading by which the various
colors were made to harmonize together:
[65] Plin. viii. 48.
Then both their mantles button’d to their breast,
Their skilful fingers ply with willing haste,
And work with pleasure, while they cheer the eye
With glowing purple of the Tyrian dye:
Or justly intermixing shades with light,
Their colorings insensibly unite
As when a shower, transpierced with sunny rays,
Its mighty arch along the heaven displays;
From whence a thousand different colors rise
Whose fine transition cheats the clearest eyes;
So like the intermingled shading seems
And only differs in the last extremes.
Their threads of gold both artfully dispose,
And, as each part in just proportion rose,
Some antic fable in their work disclose.--_Metam._ vi.
The Tyrian purple was communicated by means of several species of
univalve shell-fish. Pliny gives us an account of two kinds of
shell-fish from which the purple was obtained. The first of these was
called _buccinum_, the other _purpura_[66]. A single drop of the liquid
dye was obtained from a small vessel or sac, in their throats, to the
amount of only _one drop_ from _each_ animal! A certain quantity of the
juice thus collected being heated with sea salt, was allowed to ripen
for three days, after which it was diluted with five times its bulk of
water, kept at a moderate heat for six days more, occasionally skimmed,
to separate the animal membranes, and when thus clarified, was applied
directly as a dye to white wool, previously prepared for this purpose,
by the action of lime-water, or of a species of lichen called fucus.
Two operations were requisite to communicate the finest Tyrian purple;
the first consisted in plunging the wool into the juice of the purpura,
the second into that of the buccinum. Fifty drachms of wool required
one hundred of the former liquor, and two hundred of the latter.
Sometimes a preliminary tint was given with cocus, the kermes of the
present day, and the cloth received merely a finish from the precious
animal juice. The color appears to have been very durable; for Plutarch
observes in his life of Alexander[67], that, at the taking of Susa,
the Greeks found in the royal treasury of Darius a quantity of purple
stuffs of the value of five thousand talents, which still retained its
beauty, though it had lain there for one hundred and ninety years[68].
[66] Plin. Lib. vi. c. 36.
[67] Plutarch, chap. 36.
[68] The true value of the talent cannot well be ascertained, but it is
known that it was different among different nations. The Attic
talent, the weight, contained 60 Attic minæ, or 6000 Attic drachmæ,
equal to 56 pounds, 11 ounces, English troy weight. The mina being
reckoned equal to £3 4_s._ 7_d._ sterling, or $14 33 cents; the
talent was of the value of £193 15_s._ sterling, about $861. Other
computations make it £225 sterling.
The Romans had the great talent and the little talent; the great
talent is computed to be equal to £99 6_s._ 8_d._ sterling, and the
little talent to £75 sterling.
2. _Talent_, among the Hebrews, was also a gold coin, the same
with a shekel of gold; called also stater, and weighing only four
drachmas. But the Hebrew talent of silver, called _cicar_, was
equivalent to three thousand shekels, or one hundred and thirteen
pounds, ten ounces, and a fraction, troy weight.--_Arbuthnot._
CHAPTER IV.
HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE CONTINUED FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF
SILK-WORMS INTO EUROPE, A.D. 530, TO THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
A. D. 530.--Introduction of silk-worms into Europe--Mode by which
it was effected--The Serinda of Procopius the same with the modern
Khotan--The silk-worm never bred in Sir-hind--Silk shawls of Tyre
and Berytus--Tyrannical conduct of Justinian--Ruin of the silk
manufactures--Oppressive conduct of Peter Barsames--Menander
Protector--Surprise of Maniak the Sogdian ambassador--Conduct of
Chosroes, king of Persia--Union of the Chinese and Persians against
the Turks--The Turks in self-defence seek an alliance with the
Romans--Mortification of the Turkish ambassador--Reception of the
Byzantine ambassador by Disabul, king of the Sogdiani--Display of silk
textures--Paul the Silentiary’s account of silk--Isidorus Hispalensis.
Mention of silk by authors in the seventh century--Dorotheus,
Archimandrite of Palestine--Introduction of silk-worms into Chubdan,
or Khotan--Theophylactus Simocatta--Silk manufactures of Turfan--Silk
known in England in this century--First worn by Ethelbert, king of
Kent--Use of by the French kings--Aldhelmus’s beautiful description of
the silk-worm--Simile between weaving and virtue. Silk in the eighth
century--Bede. In the tenth century--Use of silk by the English,
Welsh, and Scotch kings. Twelfth century--Theodorus Prodromus--Figured
shawls of the Seres--Ingulphus describes vestments of silk
interwoven with eagles and flowers of gold--Great value of silk
about this time--Silk manufactures of Sicily--Its introduction into
Spain. Fourteenth century--Nicholas Tegrini--Extension of the Silk
manufacture through Europe, illustrated by etymology--Extraordinary
beauty of silk and golden textures used in the decoration of churches
in the middle ages--Silk rarely mentioned in the ninth, eleventh, or
thirteenth centuries.
We now come to the very interesting account of the first introduction
of silk-worms into Europe, which is given by Procopius in the following
terms. (_De Bello Gothico_, iv. 17.)
“About this time (A. D. 530.) two monks, having arrived from India,
and learnt that Justinian was desirous that his subjects should no
longer purchase raw silk from the Persians, went to him and offered
to contrive means, by which the Romans would no longer be under the
necessity of importing this article from their enemies the Persians or
any other nation. They said, that they had long resided in the country
called Serinda, one of those inhabited by the various Indian nations,
and had accurately informed themselves how raw silk might be produced
in the country of the Romans. In reply to the repeated and minute
inquiries of this Emperor, they stated, that the raw silk is made by
worms, which nature instructs and continually prompts to this labor;
but that to bring the worms alive to Byzantium would be impossible;
that the breeding of them is quite easy; that each parent animal
produces numberless eggs, which long after their birth are covered with
manure by persons who have the care of them, and being thus warmed a
sufficient time, are hatched. The Emperor having promised the monks a
handsome reward, if they would put in execution what they had proposed,
they returned to India and brought the eggs to Byzantium, where, having
hatched them in the manner described, they fed them with the leaves of
the _Black Mulberry_, and thus enabled the Romans thenceforth to obtain
raw silk in their own country.”
The same narrative, abridged from Procopius, is found in Manuel Glycas
(_Annal. l._ iv. _p._ 209.), and Zonares (_Annal. l._ xiv. _p._ 69.
_ed. Du Cange._). In the abstract given by Photius (_Biblioth. p._ 80.
_ed. Rotham_) of the history of Theophanes Byzantinus, who was a writer
of nearly the same age with Procopius, we find a narrative, in which
the only variation is, that a Persian brought the eggs to Byzantium in
the hollow stem of a plant. The method now practised in transporting
the eggs from country to country is to place them in a bottle not more
than half full, so that by being tossed about, they may be kept cool
and fresh. If too close, they would probably be heated and hatch on the
journey[69].
[69] Transactions of the Society for encouraging Arts, Manufactures,
&c., vol. xliii. p. 236.
The authors who have hitherto treated of the history of the silk-worm,
have supposed the Serinda of Procopius to be the modern Sir-hind, a
city of Circar in the North of Hindostan[70]. Notwithstanding the
striking similarity of names, we think it more likely that Serinda was
adopted by Procopius as another name for Khotan in Little Bucharia. The
ancients included Khotan among the Indian nations[71]: and that they
were right in so doing is established from the facts, that Sanscrit
was the ancient language of the inhabitants of Khotan; that their
alphabetical characters, their laws, and their literature resembled
those of the Hindoos; and that they had a tradition of being Indian
in their origin[72]. Since, therefore, Khotan was also included in
the ancient Serica, a term probably of wide and rather indefinite
extent[73]; the name _Serinda_ would exactly denote the origin and
connexions of the race which occupied Khotan.
[70] In this they have followed D’Anville, Antiquité Géographique de
l’Inde, Paris, 1775, p. 63.
[71] In proof of this we refer to Heeren, Ideen, i. l. p. 358-387, on
the Indian tribes which constituted one of the Persian Satrapies,
and in which the inhabitants of Khotan appear to have been
included; and also to Cellarii Antiqui Orbis Notitia, l. iii. c.
23. § 2.
[72] Rémusat, Hist. de la Ville de Khotan, p. 32. Note 1. and p. 37.
[73] De Guignes (Hist. Gen. des Huns, tome i. p. v.) expresses his
opinion, that Serica, besides the North of China, included the
countries towards the West, which were conquered by the Chinese,
viz. Hami, Turfan, and other neighboring territories. Rennell (Mem.
of a map of Hindostan) agrees with D’Anville, _that Serica was at
the Northwest angle of the present empire of China_. Heeren decides
in favor of the same opinion, supposing Serica to be identical with
the modern Tongut. Comment. Soc. Reg. Scient. Gottingensis, vol.
xi. p. 106. 111. Gottingæ, 1793.
Pausanias observes that the Seres, in order to breed the insects
which produced silk, had houses adapted both for summer and winter,
which implies that there was a vast difference between the summer
and winter temperature of their country. A late oriental traveller
says of the climate of Khotan, “In the summer, when melons ripen,
it is very hot in these countries; but, during winter, extremely
cold.”--Wathen’s Memoir on Chinese Tartary and Khotan, in Journal
of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, December 1835, p. 659.
On referring to the map, Plate VII., the reader will see the
position of Serica indicated at its Eastern extremity. As that map
is limited to the _Orbis Veteribus Cognitus_, only a small space on
its border is marked as the country of silk indicated by the yellow
color. It is, nevertheless, pretty certain that silk may be justly
placed next in order to wool.
On the other hand, although Sir-hind is termed “an ancient city” by
Major Rennell[74], we cannot find any evidence that the silk-worm was
ever bred there. So far is this from being the case, that it appears to
be a country very ill adapted for the production of silk[75]. It may
indeed be true, as stated by Latreille, that Sir-hind was colonized
from Khotan, and it may be mentioned as a remarkable circumstance in
confirmation of this supposition, that there is a town called Kotana a
little way to the North East of the City of Sir-hind. But, supposing
this account to be correct, it is highly probable that the settlement
of Sir-hind as a colony of Khotan did not take place till after the
year 530, when the breeding of silk-worms was according to Procopius
introduced into Europe from “Serinda.” Rather more than 120 years
before this time India was visited by the Chinese traveller, Fa Hian,
who on his way passed some months with great delight and admiration in
Khotan; and the special object of whose journey was to see and describe
all the cities of India where Buddhism was professed. The inhabitants
of Khotan being wholly devoted to that delusion, the same system must
have been established in its colony; and, since this zealous pilgrim
crossed India at no great distance from the spot where Sir-hind
afterwards stood, we cannot doubt that he would have mentioned it, if
it had existed in his age. He says not a word about it; and the time is
comparatively so short between his visit to India and the date of the
introduction of silk-worms into Europe, that we can scarcely suppose
Sir-hind, the colony of Khotan and consequently the seat of Buddhism,
to have been in existence either at the former or latter period[76].
[74] Memoir of a Map of Hindostan.
[75] “The S. W. portion of the Circar Sir-hind is extremely barren,
being covered with low scrubby wood, and in many places destitute
of water. About A. D. 1357 Feroze the Third cut several canals from
the Jumna and the Sutlege in order to fertilize this naturally arid
country.”--Walter Hamilton’s Description of Hindostan, vol. i. p.
465.
[76]Foĕ Kouĕ Ki, ou Relation des royaumes bouddhiques: Voyage dans la
Tartarie, dans l’Afghanistan, et dans l’Inde; traduit du Chinois et
commenté par Rémusat, Klaproth, et Landresse. Paris, 1836, 4to.
In another passage of his history (_Bell. Pers._ 1. 20.) Procopius
throws some light upon our subject by stating that in consequence
of the monopoly of the trade in raw silk by the Persians, Justinian
attempted to obtain it through the Æthiopians of Arabia, but found this
to be impracticable, as the Persian merchants frequented the ports to
which the Indians resorted, and from them purchased all their cargoes.
Procopius further states (_Hist. Arcana, c._ 25.), that _silk shawls_
had long been manufactured in the Phœnician cities Tyre and Berytus (to
which all who were concerned in the silk trade, either as merchants
or manufacturers, consequently resorted, and from whence goods were
carried to every part of the earth); but that in the reign of Justinian
the manufacturers in Byzantium and other Greek cities raised the
prices of their goods, alleging that the Persians had also advanced
theirs, while the imposts were increased among the Romans. Justinian,
pretending to be much concerned at the high prices, forbade any one
in his dominions to sell silk for more than eight _aurei_ per pound,
threatening confiscation of goods against any one who transgressed
the law. To comply was impossible, since they were required to sell
their goods at a price lower than that for which they bought them.
They therefore abandoned the trade, and secretly sold the remnant
of their goods for what they could get. The Empress Theodora, on
being apprised of this, immediately seized the goods and fined the
proprietors a hundred _aurei_ besides. It was then determined, that the
silk manufacture should be carried on solely by the Imperial Treasurer.
PETER BARSAMES held the office, and conducted himself in
relation to this business in the most unjust and oppressive manner, so
that the silk-trade was ruined not only in Byzantium but also at Tyre
and Berytus, while the Emperor, Empress and their Treasurer amassed
great wealth by the monopoly.
MENANDER PROTECTOR, A. D. 560-570.
In an account of an embassy sent to Constantinople by the Avars of
Sarmatia, this author states, that the Emperor Justinian endeavored to
excite their admiration by a display of splendid couches, gold chains,
and garments of silk[77].
[77] Corp. Hist. Byzant. ed. 1729. tom. i. p. 67.
The establishment of the Turkish power in Asia, about the middle of the
sixth century, together with subsequent wars, had greatly interrupted
the caravan trade between China and Persia. On the return of peace,
the Sogdians, an Asiatic people, who had the greatest interest in the
revival of the trade, persuaded the Turkish sovereign, whose subjects
they were become, to send an embassy to Chosroes, king of Persia, to
open a negotiation for this purpose. Maniak, a Sogdian prince, who was
ambassador, being instructed to request that the Sogdians might be
allowed to supply the Persians with silk; presented himself before the
Persian monarch in the double character of merchant and envoy, carrying
with him many bales of silken merchandise, for which he hoped to find
purchasers among the Persians. But Chosroes, who thought the conveyance
by sea to the Persian Gulf more advantageous to his subjects than this
proposed traffic, was not disposed to lend a favorable ear to the
legation, and rather uncourteously showed his contempt for the Sogdian
traders. He bought up all the silk which the ambassador had carried
with him, and immediately burned it before them; thus giving the most
convincing proof of the little value which it had in his estimation.
After this the Persians and Chinese united against the Turks, who,
to strengthen themselves, sought an alliance with the Emperor Justin.
Maniak was again appointed ambassador, and sent to negotiate the terms
of the alliance; but disappointment, though from a dissimilar cause,
attended this his second embassy. The sight of silk-worms, and the
establishment for manufacturing their produce, in Constantinople,
were to him as unwelcome as unexpected; he however concealed
his mortification, and, with perhaps an overstrained civility,
acknowledged, that the Romans were already become as expert as the
Chinese in both the management of silk-worms and manufacture of their
silk[78]; and when in the fourth year of Justin II. (_i. e._ A. D.
569.) they went on the same mission to Byzantium, they found that here
also there was no demand, since silk-worms were bred there already.
Soon after this we learn· that the Byzantines sent an embassy to
Disabul, King of the Sogdiani, who received the ambassadors in tents
covered with variously-colored silks.
[78] Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. xlii.
PAUL, THE SILENTIARY, A. D. 562,
mentions silk thread, used in adorning the vestments in the church of
St. Sophia at Constantinople. (P. ii. l. 368.) The note of the Editor,
Du Cange, on the description of the pall, (577.), contains various
quotations from ecclesiastical writers, which mention “vela rubea
Serica;” “vela alba holoserica rasata;” “vela serica de blattin.” These
quotations show, that silk had been introduced into general use for the
churches.
ISIDORUS HISPALENSIS, CL., A. D. 575.
The etymological work of Isidore of Seville may be regarded as a kind
of encyclopedia, exhibiting the general state of knowledge and art at
the time when he wrote. Hence the following descriptive extracts are
well deserving of attention.
Bombyx frondium vermis, ex cujus texturâ Bombycinum conficitur.
Appellatur autem hoc nomine ab eo quod evacuetur dum fila generat, et
aer solus in eo remanet.--_Origin. l._ xii. _c._ 5.
Bombyx, a worm which lives upon the leaves of trees, and from whose
web silk is made. It is called Bombyx, because it empties itself in
producing threads, and nothing but air remains within it.
The cloth called _Bombycina_, derives its name from the silk-worm
(_Bombyx_), which emits very long threads; the web woven from them is
called Bombycinum, and is made in the island of Cos.
That called _Serica_ derives its name from silk (_sericum_), or from
the circumstance, that is was first obtained from the Seres.
_Holoserica_ is all of silk: for _Holon_ means _all_.
_Tramoserica_ has a warp of linen; and a woof (_trama_) of silk.--L.
xix. c. 22.
Touching these extracts we would remark, that the testimony of Isidore
must not be considered as proving, that the silk manufacture still
existed in Cos. His statement was no doubt merely copied from Varro or
Pliny, or founded upon the authority of other writers long anterior to
his own age. It is indeed probable that silk-worms had by this time
been brought into Greece, but that he was ignorant of the fact.
SEVENTH CENTURY.
DOROTHEUS, ARCHIMANDRITE OF PALESTINE, A. D. 601.
Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐνδεδυμένος ὁλοσήρικον.--_Doctr._ 2, _as quoted in Cod.
Theodos. Gothofredi. L. Bat._ 1665.
For as a man wearing a tunic entirely of silk.
THEOPHYLACTUS SIMOCATTA, A. D. 629.
This author, in his Universal History (_l._ vii. c. 9.), informs us
that the silk manufacture was carried on at Chubdan, with the greatest
skill and activity, which was probably the same as Khotan, or, as it
was called in his time, Ku-tan[79].
[79] Itinéraire de Hiuan Thsang, Appendice ii. à Foe Koue Ki, p. 399.
We have, moreover, the following account of the origin of the growth
and manufacture of silk in that country (p. 55, 56.).
“The monastery of Lou-che (_occupied by Buddhists_) is to the
south-west of the royal city. Formerly the inhabitants of this kingdom
had neither mulberries nor silk-worms. They heard of them in the
East country, and sent an embassy to ask for them. The King of the
East refused the request, and issued the strictest injunctions to
prevent either mulberries or silk-worms’ eggs from being conveyed
across the border. Then the King of Kiu-sa-tan-na (_i. e._ _Koustana_,
or _Khotan_) asked of him a princess in marriage. This having been
granted, the king charged the officer of his court who went to escort
her, to say, that in his country there were neither mulberry-trees
nor cocoons, and that she must introduce them, _or be without silk
dresses_. The princess, having received this information, obtained the
seed both of mulberries, and silk-worms, which she concealed in her
head-dress. On arriving at the frontier, the officers searched every
where, but dare not touch the turban of the princess. Having arrived
at the spot, where the monastery of Lou-che was afterwards erected,
she deposited the seed both of the mulberries and worms. The trees
were planted in the spring, and she afterwards went herself to assist
in gathering the leaves. At first the worms were fed upon the leaves
of other plants, and a law was enacted, that no worms were to be
destroyed or sacrificed until their quantity was sufficiently great.
The monastery was founded to commemorate so great a benefit, and some
trunks of the original mulberry-trees can yet be seen there[80].”
[80] It may be observed, that the folds of the turban are not
unfrequently used in the East to convey articles of value. See
Journal of a Tour in Asia Minor, by Charles Fellows, London, 1839,
p. 216.
In the following passage (_Règne Animal, par Cuvier, tom._ v. _p._
402.,) Latreille mentions Turfan as an important city as far as it
affected the early silk-trade. In other respects his account coincides
with that already given.
“La ville de Turfan, dans la petite Bucharie, fut long-temps le
rendez-vous des caravanes venant de l’Ouest, et l’entrepôt principal
des soieries de la Chine. Elle était la métropole des Sères de l’Asie
supérieure, ou de la Sérique de Ptolémée. Expulsés de leurs pays par
les Huns, les Sères s’établirent dans la grande Bucharie et dans
l’Inde. C’est d’une de leurs colonies, du Ser-hend (_Ser-indi_), que
des missionaires Grecs transportèrent, du temps
de Justinien, les œufs du ver à soie à Constantinople.”
The City of Turfan in Little Bucharia was for a long time the
rendezvous of the caravans coming from the West, and the principal
market for Chinese silks. It was the metropolis of the Seres of Upper
Asia, or the Serica of Ptolemy. The Seres having been expelled their
country by the Huns, established themselves in Great Bucharia and
in India. It is from one of their colonies (of Ser-indi), that the
Grecian Missionaries, in the time of Justinian, brought the eggs of
the silk-worm to Constantinople.
A diploma of ETHELBERT, King of Kent, mentions “Armilausia
holoserica,” proving that silk was known in England at the end of the
sixth century[81]. The usual dress of the earliest French kings seems
to have been a linen shirt and drawers of the same material next to the
skin; over these a tunic, probably of fine wool, which had a border
of silk, ornamented sometimes with gold or precious stones; and upon
this a sagum, which was fastened with a fibula on the right shoulder.
Eginhart informs us, that Charlemagne wore a tunic, or vest, with a
silken border (_limbo serico_)[82].
[81] Dugdale’s Monasticon, vol. i. p. 24. Adelung’s Glossarium Manuale,
v. Armilausia.
[82] Examples of it may be seen, I. in the two figures of Charlemagne,
executed in mosaic during his life-time, one of which is preserved
in the Penitentiary of St. John Lateran at Rome, and both of these
are described by Spon in his Miscellanea Eruditæ Antiquitatus (p.
284.); II. in the figure of Charles the Bald, the grandson of
Charlemagne, which is in the splendid copy of the Latin Gospels
made for his use, now preserved in the library at Munich, and
which may be seen engraved in Sanft’s Dissertation on that MS. (p.
42.); III. in the figure of an early French king engraved from a
MS. by Baluzius in his Capitularia Regum Francorum (tom. ii. p.
1308.); and IV. in the first volume of Montfaucon’s Monumens de la
Monarchie Française.
ALDHELMUS, CL., A. D. 680.
This author, who died Abbot of Sherburn, was among the most learned men
of his age. In his Ænigmas, which are written in tetrastics, we find
the following description of the silk-worm. As it is scarcely possible
that he could have seen this creature, we have cause to admire both the
ingenuity and general accuracy of his lines. The ascending to the tops
of thorns or shrubs, such as “genistæ,” to which the animal may attach
its cocoon (_globulum_), has not been noticed by any earlier author.
De Bombycibus.
Annua dum redeunt texendi tempora telas,
Lurida setigeris replentur viscera filis;
Moxque genistarum frondosa cacumina scando,
Ut globulus fabricans cum fati sorte quiescam.
_Maxima Bibl. Vet. Patrum, tom._ xiii. _p._ 25.
Soon as the year brings round the time to spin,
My entrails dark with hairy threads are fill’d:
Then to the leafy lops of shrubs I climb,
Make my cocoon, and rest by fate’s decree.
In a book written by this author, in praise of virginity, he observes,
That chastity alone did not form an amiable and perfect character,
but required to be accompanied and adorned by many other virtues; and
this observation he further illustrates by the following simile taken
from the art of weaving: “As it is not a web of one uniform color and
texture, without any variety of figures, that pleaseth the eye and
appears beautiful, _but one that is woven by shuttles, filled with
threads of purple, and many other colors, flying from side to side, and
forming a variety of figures and images_, in different compartments,
with admirable art.”--_Bibliotheca Patrum, tom._ xiii.
EIGHTH CENTURY.
BEDE, CL., A. D. 701.
Joseph autem mercatus est sindonem, et deponens eum involvit sindone.
(_Marc._ xv. 46.)--Et ex simplici sepultura domini ambitio divitum
condemnatur, qui ne in tumulis quidem possunt carere divitiis.
Possumus autem juxta intelligentiam spiritalem hoc sentire, quod
corpus domini non auro, non gemmis et serico, sed linteamine puro
obvolvendum sit, quanquam et hoc significet, quod ille in sindone
munda involvat Jesum, qui pura eum mente susceperit. Hinc ecclesiæ mos
obtinuit, ut sacrificium altaris non in serico, neque in panno tincto,
sed in lino terreno celebretur, sicut corpus est domini in sindone
munda sepultum, juxta quod in gestis pontificalibus a beato Papâ
Silvestro legimus esse statutum.--_Expos. in Marcum, tom._ v. _p._
207. _Col. Agrip._ 1688.
But Joseph bought a linen cloth, and, taking him down, wrapped him
in the linen cloth. (Mark xv. 46.)--The simple burial of our Lord
condemns the ambition of rich men, who cannot be without wealth even
in their tombs. That his body is to be wrapped not in gold, not in
silk and precious stones, but in pure linen, may be understood by us
spiritually. It also intimates, that he incloses Jesus in a clean
linen cloth, who receives him with a pure mind. Hence the custom of
the church has obtained, to celebrate the sacrifice of the altar,
not in silk, nor in dyed cloth, but in earthy flax, as the body of
our Lord was buried in a clean linen cloth; for so we read in the
pontifical acts, that it was decreed by the blessed Pope Silvester.
The latter portion of this extract, wherein we are informed of the
origin of the practice, universally adopted, of covering the Eucharist
with a white linen cloth, must be a _later_ addition. Pope Silvester
lived, as the reader will perceive, long _after_ the time of Bede.
Bede, in his History of the Abbots of Wearmouth, states that the first
abbot and founder of the monastery, Biscop, surnamed Benedict, went a
fifth time to Rome for ornaments and books to enrich it, and on this
occasion (A. D. 685.) brought two _scarfs_, or palls, of incomparable
workmanship, composed entirely of silk, with which he afterwards
purchased the land of three families situated at the mouth of the
Wear[83]. This shows the high value of silken articles at that period.
[83] Bedæ Hist. Eccles. &c. cura Jo. Smith. Cantab. 1722. p. 297.
Mr. Sharon Turner, speaking of Bede, says, “His own remains were
inclosed in silk. Mag. Bib. xvi. p. 88. It often adorned the altars
of the church; and we read of a present to a West-Saxon bishop of a
casula, not entirely of silk, but mixed with goat’s wool.” Ibid. p.
50. He refers to p. 97. of the same volume, as mentioning “pallia
holoserica.”--History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. iii. book vii.
chap. 4. p. 48, 49.
TENTH CENTURY.
About the year 970 Kenneth, king of Scotland, paid a visit in London
to Edgar, king of England. The latter sovereign, to evince at once his
friendship and munificence, bestowed upon his illustrious guest silks,
rings, and gems, together with one hundred ounces of pure gold[84].
[84] Lingard’s Hist. of England, vol. i. 241. London, 1819, 4to.
Perhaps we may refer to the same date the composition of the “Lady of
the Fountain,” a Welsh tale, recently translated by Lady Charlotte
Guest[85]. At the opening of this poem King Arthur is represented
sitting in his chamber at Caer-leon upon Usk. It is said,
In the centre of the chamber, King Arthur sat upon a seat of green
rushes, over which was spread a covering of flame-colored satin, and a
cushion covered with the same material was under his elbow.
The mention of silk and satin is frequent in this tale.
[85] The Mabinogion, from the Llyfr Coch o Hergest and other ancient
Welsh manuscripts; with an English translation and notes. By Lady
Charlotte Guest. Part I. The Lady of the Fountain. Llandovery, 1838.
GERBERT, CL., A. D. 970.
This author, who became Pope Silvester, mentions garments of silk
(sericas vestes) in a passage which has been already quoted (see Part
II. chap. V.).
TWELFTH CENTURY.
THEODORUS PRODROMUS,
a romance writer in the twelfth century, mentions the _figured shawls_
(πέπλα) manufactured by the Seres.
The breeding of silk-worms in Europe appears to have been confined
to Greece from the time of the Emperor Justinian until the middle of
the twelfth century. The manufacture of silk was also very rare in
other parts of Europe, being probably practised only as a recreation
and accomplishment for ladies. But in the year 1148 Roger I., King of
Sicily, having taken the cities of Corinth, Thebes, and Athens, thus
got into his power a great number of silk-weavers, took them away
with the implements and materials necessary for the exercise of their
art, and forced them to reside at Palermo[86]. Nicetas Choniates[87],
referring to the same event, speaks of these artisans as of both sexes,
and remarks that in his time those who went to Sicily might see the
sons of Thebans and Corinthians employed in weaving velvet stoles
_interwoven with gold_, and serving like the Eretrians of old among the
Persians[88].
[86] Otto Frisingen, Hist. Imp. Freder. l. i. c. 33. in Muratori, Rerum
Italicarum Scriptores, tom. vi. p. 668.
[87] In Manuel Comnenus, l. ii. c. 8., tom. xii. of the Scriptores
Hist. Byzantinæ, p. 51. ed. Ven.
[88] Hugo Falcandus, who visited this manufactory A. D. 1169,
represents it as being then in the most flourishing condition,
producing great quantities of silks, both plain and figured, of
many different colors, and enriched with gold.
We find in the writings of Ingulphus several curious accounts of
vestments of silk, interwoven with eagles and flowers of gold. This
author, in his history, mentions that among other gifts made by Witlaf,
king of Mercia, to the abbey of Croyland, he presented _a golden
curtain, embroidered with the siege of Troy_, to be hung up in the
church on his birth-day[89]. At a later period, 1155, a pair of richly
worked sandals, and three mitres, the work of Christina, abbess of
Markgate, were among the valuable souvenirs presented by Robert, abbot
of St. Albans, to Pope Adrian IV.[90].
[89] Ingulphus, p. 487, edit. 1596.
[90] Adrian IV., was the only Englishman that ever sat in St. Peters
chair. His name was Nicolas Breakspear: he was born of poor parents
at Langley, near St. Albans. Henry II., on his promotion to the
papal chair, sent a deputation of an abbot and three bishops to
congratulate him on his election; upon which occasion he granted
considerable privileges to the abbey of St. Albans. With the
exception of the presents named above, he refused all the other
valuable ones which were offered him, saying jocosely,--“I will
not accept your gifts, because when I wished to take the habit of
your monastery you refused me.” To which the abbot pertinently
and smartly replied,--“It was not for us to oppose the will of
Providence, which had destined you for greater things.”
Without digressing from our subject to question the right of the royal
marauder thus tyrannously to sever these unoffending artisans from
the ties of country and of kindred, we may yet be allowed to express
some satisfaction at the consequences of his cruelty. It is well
for the interests of humanity that blessings, although unsought and
remote, do sometimes follow in the train of conquest; that wars are not
always limited in their results to the exaltation of one individual,
the downfall of another, the slaughter of thousands, and misery of
millions, but occasionally prove the harbingers of peaceful arts,
heralds of science, and in short deliverers from the yoke of slavery or
superstition.
In twenty years from this forcible establishment of the manufacture,
the silks of Sicily are described as having attained a decided
excellence; as being of diversified patterns and colors; some
fancifully interwoven with gold tastefully embellished with figures;
and others richly adorned with pearls. The industry and ingenuity thus
called forth, could not fail to exercise a beneficial influence over
the character and condition of the Sicilians.
From Palermo the manufacture of silk extended itself through all parts
of Italy and into Spain. We learn from Roger de Hoveden, that the
manufacture flourished at Almeria in Grenada about A. D. 1190[91].
[91] “Deinde per nobilem civitatem, quæ dicitur Almaria, ubi fit nobile
sericum et delicatum, quod dicitur sericum de Almaria.” Scriptores
post Bedam, p. 671.
FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
According to Nicholas Tegrini[92], the silk manufacture afterwards
flourished in Lucca; and the weavers, having been ejected from that
city in the earlier part of the fourteenth century, carried their art
to Venice, Florence, Milan, Bologna, and even to Germany, France, and
Britain.
[92] Vita Castruccii, in Muratori, Rer. Ital. Scriptores, t. xi. p.
1320.
We have seen from different historical testimonies, that silk was
known to the inhabitants of France and England as early as the sixth
century. The fact of its introduction into all parts of the North of
Europe is manifest from the use of words for silk in several northern
languages. These words appear, according to the inquiries of the
learned orientalists, Klaproth and Abel Rémusat[93], to
have been derived from those Asiatic countries, in which silk was
originally produced. In the language of Corea silk is called _Sir_; in
Chinese _Se_, which may have been produced by the usual omission of
the final _r_. In the Mongol language silk is called _Sirkek_, in the
Mandchou _Sirghè_. In the Armenian the silk-worm is called _Chèram_. In
Arabic, Chaldee, and Syriac, silk was called Seric[94]. From the same
source we have in Greek and Latin Σηρικὸν, Sericum.
[93] Journal Asiatique, 1823, tom. ii. p. 246. Julius Klaproth (Tableau
Historique de l’Asie, Paris, 1826, p. 57, 58.) says, that in
the year 165 B. C. the inhabitants of the country called by us
Tangut, who constituted a powerful kingdom, were attacked by the
Hioung Nou, and driven to the West, where they fixed themselves
in Transoxiana, and that these events led to an uninterrupted
communication with Persia and India, especially in regard to the
silk trade. Klaproth considers that the Seres of the ancients were
the Chinese; but he appears to include under that term all the
nations which were brought into subjection to the Chinese.
Professor Karl Ritter (Erdkunde, Asien, Band iv. 2 te Auflage,
Berlin, 1835, p. 437.) observes, in allusion to the authority just
quoted, that all the names of the silk-worm and its products are to
be accounted for on the supposition (which he considers the true
one) that they were first known and cultivated in China, and from
thence extended through central Asia into Europe.
[94] See Schindler’s Pentaglott, p. 1951, D.
In the more modern European languages we find two sets of terms for
silk, the first evidently derived from the oriental Seric, but with the
common substitution of _l_ for _r_, the second of an uncertain origin.
To the first set belong,
_Chelk_, silk, in Slavonian.
_Silke_, ---- in Suio-Gothic and Icelandic[95].
_Silcke_, ---- in Danish.
Siolc or Seolc, ---- in Anglo-Saxon. Also Siolcen or Seolcen,
silken; Eal, reolcen, _Holosericus_;
Seolcpynm, silk-worm[96].
_Silk_, ---- in English[97]
_Sirig_, ---- in Welsh[98].
To the second set belong,
_Seda_, silk, in the Latin of the middle ages.
_Seta_, ---- in Italian.
_Seide_, ---- in German.
_Side_, ---- in Anglo-Saxon.
Also Sidene, silken, Ælfric as quoted by
Lye; Sidpypm, silk-worm, Junius, l. c.
_Sidan_, ---- in Welsh.
_Satin_, ---- in French and English[99].
[95] _Silki trojo ermalausa_, a silk tunic without sleeves. Knitlynga
Saga, p. 114, as quoted by Ihre, Glossar. Suio-Goth. v. Armalausa.
[96] Ælfric’s Glossary (made in the tenth century), p. 68. Appendix to
Sumner’s Dictionary.
[97] Nicholas Fuller (Miscellanea, p. 248.) justly observes, Vocabulum
Anglicanum Selk non nisi Sericum authorem generis sui agnoscit.
Selk enim nuncupatum est quasi Selik pro Serik, literæ r in l
facili commutatione factâ.
Minshew and Skinner give the same etymology.
[98] Junius, Etymologicum, v. _Silk_. It appears doubtful, however,
whether Junius is here to be depended on.
[99] Ménage, Diction. Etym. de la Langue Française, tom. ii. p. 457,
ed. Joult.
According to Abel Rémusat (_Journal Asiat. l. c._) the merchandise
of Eastern Asia passed through Slavonia to the North of Europe in
the middle ages, even without the mediation of Greece or Italy. This
may account for the use of the terms of the first class, while it is
possible that those of the second have been derived from the South of
Europe, from whence we have seen that silken commodities were also
occasionally transported to the North.
To the evidence now produced from _authors_ and _printed documents_
respecting the history of silk from the earliest times to the period
of its universal extension throughout Europe, another species of proof
may be added, viz. that afforded by Relics preserved in churches, and
by other remains of the antiquities of the middle ages. As examples of
this method for illustrating the subject, the following articles may be
enumerated.
I. The relics of St. Regnobert, Bishop of Bayeux in the seventh
century. These consist of a _Casula_, or _Chasuble_, a _Stole_, and a
_Maniple_. They are yet preserved in the cathedral of Bayeux, and worn
by the Bishop on certain annual festivals. They are of silk _interwoven
with gold_, and _adorned with pearls_[100].
[100] See John Spencer Smythe’s Description de la Chasuble de Saint
Regnobert, in the Procès Verbal de l’Académie Royale des Sciences,
Arts, et Belles Lettres, de la Ville de Caen, Séance d’Avril 14,
1820.
II. Portions of garments of the same description with those of St.
Regnobert were discovered A. D. 1827 on opening the tomb of St.
Cuthbert in the Cathedral of Durham. They are preserved in the library
of that church, and accurately described by the Rev. James Raine, the
librarian, in a quarto volume.
III. The scull-cap of St. Simon, said to have been made in the tenth
century, and now preserved in the Cathedral of Treves. Its border is
_interwoven with gold_.
In regard to these interesting relics, they may with confidence be
looked upon as specimens of the manufacture of silk from the _seventh_
to the _twelfth_ century.
IV. In the Cathedral at Hereford is a charter of one of the Popes with
the bull (the leaden seal), attached to it by silken threads. Silk was
early used for this purpose in the South of Europe[101]. The Danish
kings began to use silk to append the waxen seals to their charters
about the year 1000[102].
[101] Mabillon, de Re Diplomaticâ, l. ii. cap. 19. § 6.
[102] Diplomatarium Arna-Magnæanum, a Thorkelin, tom. i. p. xliv.
V. Silk, in the form of velvet, may be seen on some of the ancient
armor in the Tower of London.
VI. The binding of ancient manuscripts affords specimens of silk. A
French translation of Ludolphus Saxo’s Life of Christ in four folio
volumes, among Dr. William Hunter’s MSS. at Glasgow, still has its
original binding covered with red velvet, which is probably as old as
the _fourteenth_ century. A curious source of information on the art
of book-binding at that period is the Inventory, or Catalogue of the
library collected by that ardent lover of books, Charles V. of France.
As this catalogue particularly describes the bindings of about 1200
volumes, many of which were very elaborate and splendid, it enables us
to judge of the use made of all the most valuable stuffs and materials
which could be employed for this purpose, and under the head of silk we
find the following: “soie,” silk; “veluyau,” velvet; “satanin,” satin;
“damas,” damask; “taffetas,” taffetas; “camocas;” “cendal;” and “drap
d’or,” cloth of gold, having probably a basis or ground of silk[103].
From the few examples of ancient Catholic vestments that have escaped
destruction, the generality of persons are but little acquainted with
the extreme beauty of the embroidery worked for ecclesiastical purposes
during the Middle Ages. The countenances of the images were executed
with perfect expression, like miniatures in illuminated manuscripts.
Every parochial church, previous to the Reformation, was furnished with
complete sets of frontals and hangings for the altars. One of the great
beauties of the ancient embroidery was its appropriate design; each
flower, leaf, and device having a significant meaning with reference
to the festival to which the vestment belonged. Such was the extreme
beauty of the English vestments in the reign of Henry III., that
Innocent IV. forwarded bulls to many English bishops, enjoining them to
send a certain quantity of embroidered vestments to Rome, for the use
of the clergy[104].
[103] See Inventaire de l’Ancienne Bibliothèque du
Louvre, fait en l’année 1373. Paris, 1836, 8vo.
[104] The art of embroidery seems to have attained a higher degree of
perfection in France, than any other country in Europe;--it is not,
however, so much practised now. Embroiderers formerly composed
a great portion of the working population of the largest towns;
laws were specially framed for their protection, some of which
would astonish the working people of the present day. They were
formed into a company as early as 1272, by Etienne Boileau, Prévot
de Paris, under their respective names of “Brodeurs, Découpeurs,
Egratigneurs, and Chasubliers.”
In the last and preceding centuries, when embroidery, as an
article of dress both for men and women, was an object of
considerable importance, the Germans, and more particularly those
of Vienna, disputed the palm of excellence with the French. At
the same period, Milan and Venice were also celebrated for their
embroidery; but the prices were so extravagantly high, that
according to Lamarre, its use was forbidden by sumptuary laws.
CHAPTER V.
SILK AND GOLDEN TEXTURES OF THE ANCIENTS.
HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN THIS MANUFACTURE.
Manufacture of golden textures in the time of Moses--Homer--Golden
tunics of the Lydians--Their use by the Indians and
Arabians--Extraordinary display of scarlet robes, purple, striped with
silver, golden textures, &c., by Darius, king of Persia--Purple and
scarlet cloths interwoven with gold--Tunics and shawls variegated with
gold--Purple garments with borders of gold--Golden chlamys--Attalus,
king of Pergamus, _not_ the inventor of gold thread--Bostick--Golden
robe worn by Agrippina--Caligula and Heliogabalus--Sheets interwoven
with gold used at the obsequies of Nero--Babylonian shawls intermixed
with gold--Silk shawls interwoven with gold--Figured cloths of gold
and Tyrean purple--Use of gold in the manufacture of shawls by the
Greeks--4,000,000 sesterces (about $150,000) paid by the Emperor Nero
for a Babylonish coverlet--Portrait of Constantius II.--Magnificence
of Babylonian carpets, mantles, &c.--Median sindones.
The use of gold in _weaving_ may be traced to the earliest times, but
seems to be particularly characteristic of oriental manners.
It was employed in connexion with woollen and linen thread of the
finest colors to enrich the ephod, girdle, and breast-plate of
Aaron[105]. The sacred historian goes so far as to describe the mode
of preparing the gold to be used in weaving: “And they did beat the
gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue,
and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with
cunning work.”--Ex. xxxix. 2-8. The historian certainly does not intend
to describe the process of wire-drawing, nor probably the art of
making gold thread. It seems likely, that neither of these ingenious
manufactures were invented in his time. The queen described in Ps.
xiv., wears “clothing of wrought gold[106].” Homer mentions a golden
girdle, (Od. ε. 232. κ. 543.). He also describes an upper garment,
which Penelope made for Ulysses before going to Illium. On the front
part of it a beautiful hunting piece was wrought in gold. It is thus
described. “A dog holds a fawn with its fore feet, looking at it as it
pants with fear and strives to make its escape.” This, he says, was
the subject of universal admiration[107].
[105] “And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and
fine linen. And they shall make the ephod _of gold_, _of blue_, and
_of purple_, _of scarlet_, and _fine twined linen_, with _cunning
work_. It shall have the two shoulder-pieces thereof joined at the
two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. And the
curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the
same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and
purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. And thou shalt take two
onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:
six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the
rest on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of
an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet shalt thou
engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel:
thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. And thou shalt
put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of
memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their
names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial. And
thou shalt make ouches of gold; and two chains of pure gold at
the ends; of _wreathen work_ shalt thou make them, and fasten the
wreathen chains to the ouches. And thou shalt make the breast-plate
of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod shalt
thou make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and
of fine twined linen shalt thou make it.”--Ex. xxviii. 5-15.
[106] “The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of
wrought gold.”--Ps. xlv. 13.
[107] Od. τ. 225-235.
Pisander, who probably lived at the same period with Homer, speaks
of the Lydians as wearing tunics adorned with gold. Lydus, who has
preserved this expression of the ancient cyclic poet, observes that the
Lydians were supplied with gold from the sands of the Pactolus and the
Hermus[108].
[108] De Magistratibus Rom. L. iii. § 64.
Virgil also represents the use of gold in weaving, as if it had existed
in Trojan times. One of the garments so adorned was made by Dido, the
Sidonian, another by Andromache, and a third was in the possession of
Anchises[109]. In all these instances the reference is to the habits of
Phœnice, Lycia, or other parts of Asia.
[109] Æin. iii. 483.; iv. 264.; viii. 167.; xi. 75.
Among all the Asiatics, none were more remarkable than the Persians
for the display of textures of gold, as well as every other kind of
luxury in dress. A tiara interwoven with gold was one of the presents
which Xerxes gave as an expression of his gratitude to the citizens of
Abdera (_Herod._ viii. 120.). The Indians also employed the same kind
of ornament (_Strabo_, L. xv. _c._ i. § 69.); and the Periegesis (_l._
881.) of Priscian attributes the use of it to the Arabians[110].
[110] In Europe the nearest approach to oriental habits in regard
to dress was made by the Gauls. Their principal men wore collars,
armlets, and bracelets of gold, and clothes enriched with the same
metal.--_Strabo_, L. iv. cap. 4. § 5.
The history of Alexander the Great affords frequent traces of the use
of cloth _interwoven with gold_ in Persia. Garments made of such cloth
were among the most splendid of the spoils of Persepolis[111].
[111] _Diod. Sic._ L. xvii. 70. _p._ 214. _Wessel._
Justin (L. xii.) says that Alexander, to avoid offending the Persians,
ordered his principal attendants to adopt for their dress “longam
vestem auream purpureamque.” The dress prescribed was therefore of fine
woollen cloth, or probably of silk, dyed purple, and _interwoven with
gold_. Among the vast multitudes which preceded the King of Persia
when he advanced to oppose Alexander, was the band of ten thousand
called the Immortals, whose dress was carried to the ‘ne plus ultra’
of barbaric splendor, some wearing golden collars, others “cloth
variegated with gold.” Some idea of the extravagance and pomp of the
Persians on this occasion may be formed from the following passage,
taken from Rollin’s “Ancient History.”
“The order Darius observed in his march was as follows. Before the
army were carried silver altars, on which burned the fire, called by
them sacred and eternal; and these were followed by the magi, singing
hymns, and 365 youths _in scarlet robes_. After these proceeded a
consecrated car, drawn by white horses and followed by one of an
extraordinary size, which they called “The horse of the sun.” The
equerries were dressed in white, each bearing in his hand a golden
rod. Next appeared ten sumptuous chariots, enriched with curious
sculptures in gold and silver; and then the vanguard of the horse,
composed of twelve different nations, in various armor. This body
was succeeded by those of the Persians, called “The Immortals,”
amounting to 10,000, who surpassed the rest of the barbarians in the
extravagant richness and splendor of their dress; for they all wore
_collars of gold_, and were clothed in robes _of gold tissue_, having
large sleeves, garnished with precious stones. About thirty paces from
them came the king’s relations or cousins, to the number of 15,000,
apparelled like women, and more remarkable for the pomp of their
dress than the glitter of their arms; and after these Darius attended
by his guards, seated on a chariot, as on a throne. The chariot was
enriched, on both sides, with images of the gods in gold and silver;
and from the middle of the yoke, which was covered with jewels, rose
two statues, a cubit in height; the one representing War, the other
Peace, having between them a golden eagle with wings extended. The
king was attired in _a garment of purple striped with silver_; over
which was a long robe, glittering with gold and precious stones, and
whereon two falcons were represented as if rushing from the clouds at
each other. Around his waist he wore _a golden girdle_, from whence
hung scimitar, the scabbard of which was covered with gems. On each
side of Darius walked 200 of his nearest relations, followed by 10,000
horsemen, whose lances were plated with silver, and tipped with gold.
After these marched 30,000 foot, the rear of the army, and, lastly,
400 horses belonging to the king.
“About 100 paces from the royal divisions of the army came Sisygambis,
the mother of Darius, seated on a chariot, and his consort on another,
with female attendants of both queens riding on horseback. Afterwards
came fifteen chariots, in which were the king’s children, and their
tutors. Next to these were the royal concubines, to the number of 360,
all attired like so many queens. These were followed by 600 mules,
and 300 camels, carrying the king’s treasure, and guarded by a body
of bowmen. After these came the wives of the crown officers, and the
lords of the court; then the suttlers, servants; and, lastly, a body
of light armed troops, with their commanders.”
At the nuptials of Alexander purple and scarlet cloths, _interwoven
with gold_, were expanded over the guests: and a pall of the same
description covered the golden sarcophagus made to contain his body.
Among the splendid ornaments of the tent erected not long after at
Alexandria by Ptolemy Philadelphus, there were tunics interwoven with
gold: and in the procession on the same occasion, the colossal statues
of Bacchus and his nurse Nysa were attired; the former in a shawl; the
latter in a tunic variegated with gold. Probably we may refer to the
same country and age the “golden tunic” mentioned in one of the Arundle
marbles (No. xxii. 2.). Also the tent pitched by Arsace with hangings
of gold and purple tissues, and the robe of similar materials worn by
Arsace herself, as described by Heliodorus (_Æthiop._ vii.), relate to
the customs of the same country.
Another of the successors of Alexander, viz. Demetrius Poliorcetes,
wore purple garments with _borders of gold_[112].
[112] Plutarch, Demet. 41.
Themistius describes a portrait of one of the kings of Persia, who
wore, together with the tiara and the collar or necklace, _a purple
shawl interwoven with gold_ (_Orat._ 24. _p._ 369. _ed._ Dindorf.).
During the periods to which the preceding evidence has allusion, it is
not probable that cloth of gold was in use among the Greeks and Romans
except to a very limited extent. Nevertheless it does not appear to
have escaped the avidity for every species of excellence, which in
early times distinguished the inhabitants of Magna Græcia. For, when
Pythagoras became a teacher of wisdom and philosophy at Crotona, among
other lessons of frugality he persuaded the matrons to put off their
“golden garments” with other fashionable ornaments, and deposit them
in the temple of Juno as offerings to the goddess[113]. In a passage
attributed to Menander we meet with the mention of a “golden or purple
chlamys” as a suitable offering to the gods[114]. Hedylus of Samos,
a writer of the same age, describes a woman of loose morals, by name
Niconoe, as wearing a tunic striped with gold (_Brunck’s Analecta_, i.
483.).
[113] Justin, L. XX. c. 4.
[114] Menandri Reliquiæ, à Meineke, p. 306. Böckh, Gr. Trag. Principes,
p. 157.
Attalus, king of Pergamus, is said by Pliny (L. viii. cap. 48.) to have
invented the art of embroidering with gold thread[115]. Nevertheless
we have seen, that gold was thus used long before the time of Attalus.
But there can be no doubt, that he established and maintained a great
manufacture of these stuffs at Pergamus; thus contributing greatly to
improve the art, and bring these cloths into more general use.
[115] See Appendix A.
The next passage is from Dr. Bostock’s translation of the 33rd Book,
ch. xix. “Gold may be spun or woven like wool, without the latter being
mixed with it. We are informed by Verrius, that Tarquinius Priscus rode
in triumph in a tunic of gold; and we have seen Agrippina, the wife
of the Emperor Claudius, when he exhibited the spectacle of a naval
combat, sitting by him covered with a robe made _entirely_ of _woven
gold_. In what are called the Attalic stuffs, the gold is woven with
some other substance. This art was the invention of one of the kings of
Asia.”
In Book xxxv. c. 36. Pliny says that Zeuxis, to display his wealth at
Olympia, caused his name to be woven _in gold_ in the compartments of
his outer garment.
Caligula once wore a tunic interwoven with gold. Heliogabalus was
far more profuse in regard to this kind of splendor. White sheets,
_interwoven with gold_, were used at the funeral obsequies of
Nero[116]. We may here observe, that the use of gold in dress almost
invariably accompanied that of silk. The same Emperors who took delight
in the one, indulged themselves with the other also. On the contrary,
Alexander Severus, as we shall show when treating of linen in Part IV.,
was economical in both these respects.
[116] Suetonius, Nero, 50.
In Chapters II. and III., we quoted several passages which make mention
of cloth of gold, from Tibullus, Ovid, Seneca the Tragedian, Lucan, Dio
Cassius, Claudian, Virgil, Gregorius Nazienzenus, and Basil, all of
which speak of cloth of gold. Ovid mentions purple garments variously
colored and interwoven with gold, as belonging to Bacchus.--_Met._ iii.
556.
Publius Syrus was a writer of the same period. In the following
fragment preserved by Petronius Arbiter, he compares the train of the
peacock to Babylonian stuffs enriched with gold and various colors:
Thy food the peacock, which displays his spotted train,
As shines a Babylonian shawl with feather’d gold!
Shawls, interwoven with gold, are mentioned by Galen[117], and by
Valerius Flaccus[118]; also by Lucan in the following passage, where he
is describing the furniture of Cleopatra’s palace (x. 125, 126.):
Part shines with feather’d gold, part sheds a blaze
Of scarlet, _intermixed_ by _Pharian looms_!
[117] Quoted in Chapter II.
[118] Auro depicta chlamys.
The following passages also contain evidence on the same subject.
SENECA, THE PHILOSOPHER.
As yet figured cloths did not exist: gold was not woven, it was not
even extracted from the ground.--_Epist._ 91.
LUCIAN
describes the tragic actors, when they performed the part of kings, as
wearing a chlamys interwoven with gold[119].
[119] Somnium, vol. ii. p. 742. ed. Hemsterhusii.
APULEIUS.
They carefully spread over the couches, cloths figured with gold and
Tyrian purple.--_Met._
PHILOSTRATUS
depicts Midas wearing a golden robe[120].
[120] Imag. i. 22.
NEMESIANUS.
In thy scarf’s woof much sportive gold display.--_Cyneg._ 91.
The poet is addressing Diana and describing her attire.
AUSONIUS.
Weave flexile gold within thy shawls, O Greece[121].
This is the _first_ passage since the time of Homer, which mentions
Greece as concerned in weaving with gold. But Ausonius probably alluded
to the Greeks of Asia Minor, as, besides the evidence produced from
Basil, we have seen that Pergamus was one of the most noted places
for these productions, which were on that account called “Attalicæ
vestes[122].”
When Ausonius was appointed Consul at Rome A. D. 379, his friend
and former pupil, the Emperor Gratian, sent him as a present a toga
in which was inserted a figure of Constantius II., _wrought in
gold_.--Ausonii Gratiarum Actio, § 53.
[121] Epigram 37.
[122] “I find evidence that kings wore the _striped toga_; that
figured cloths were in use even in the days of Homer; and that
these gave rise to the _triumphal_. To produce this effect with
the needle was the invention of the Phrygians, on which account
cloths so embroidered have been called _Phrygionic_. In the same
part of Asia king Attalus discovered the art of inserting a woof
of gold(?); from which circumstance the _Attalic_ cloths received
their name(?). Babylon first obtained celebrity by its method of
_diversifying the picture with different colors_, and gave its name
to textures of this description. But to weave with _a great number
of leashes_, so as to produce the cloths called _polymita_ (the
polymita were damask cloths), was _first_ taught in Alexandria; to
divide by squares (_plaids_) in Gaul. Metellus Scipio brought it
as an accusation against Cato, that even in his time Babylonian
_coverlets_ for triclinia were sold for 800,000 sesterces (about
$30,000), although the emperor Nero lately gave for them no less
than 4,000,000 sesterces (about $150,000). The _prætextæ_ of
Servius Tullius, covering the statue of Fortune which he dedicated,
remained until the death of Sejanus, and it is wonderful that they
had neither decayed of themselves nor been injured by moths during
the space of 560 years.”--_Plin. H. N._ viii. 64. (See Appendix A.)
CLAUDIAN
mentions with delight the use of gold in dress as well as of silk. His
testimony has been given in chapter III. of this Part.
SIDONIUS APOLLINARIS
mentions the gold in the dress of Prince Sigismer. His testimony is
also given in chapter III.
CORIPPUS,
describing the accession of Justin II. to the Empire (A. D. 565),
mentions (L. ii.) his tunic enriched with gold as part of his imperial
costume.
PAULINUS.
Misceturque ostro mollitum in fila metellum.
_De Vita Martini_, L. iii.
We find the following law in the Codex Justinianus:
Nemo vir auratas in tunicis aut in lincis habeat paragaudas: nisi hi
tantummodo, quibus hoc propter Imperiale ministerium concessum est.
_Corpus Juris Civilis_, tom. v. tit. viii. leg. 2.
The “aurata paragauda” was a border of gold lace or thread. It
appears that ladies might wear it on their tunics, while men were
only permitted to use it in token of their official character as
being in the service of the emperor. In allusion to these or similar
regulations, Ælius Lampridius (34) says of the emperor Alexander
Severus,
Auratam vestem ministerium nullus vel in publico convivio habuit.
The testimony of Ambrose, Jerome, and Basil has been given in Chapter
III., which see.
From the book of Joshua we learn that the woven stuffs of Babylon were
not confined to domestic use, but exported into foreign countries. The
two chief productions of Babylonian looms were _carpets_ and _shawls_.
One of the principal objects of luxury in Asia from the remotest ages,
were nowhere so finely woven, and in such rich colors as at Babylon.
On the Babylonian carpets were woven or depicted representations of
those fabulous animals the dragon and griffin, together with other
unnatural combinations of form, probably originating in India, and with
which we have become acquainted by the ruins of Persepolis. It was
by means of the Babylonian manufactures, that the knowledge of these
fanciful and imaginary beings, was conveyed to the Western world, and
from them transferred to the Greek vases. “A mantle of Shinar,” or as
our translators have rendered it, “A Babylonish garment,” was secreted
by Achan from the spoils of Jericho; and the delinquent speaks of this
as being the most valuable part of his plunder[123]. Next to carpets
and shawls, the Babylonian garments called _Sindones_ were held in the
highest estimation. The most costly _Sindones_, were so much valued for
their fineness of texture and brilliancy of color, as to be compared to
those of Media, and set apart for royal use; they were even to be found
at the tomb of Cyrus, which was profusely decorated with every species
of furniture in use among the Persian monarchs during their lives.
[123] “When I saw among the spoils _a goodly Babylonish garment_, and
two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels
weight, then I coveted them, and took them, and behold, they are
hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under
it.”--Joshua vii. 21.
[Illustration:
_Plate II_
_From Champollion_
EGYPTIAN LOOMS,
with the processes of Spinning and Winding.]
CHAPTER VI.
SILVER TEXTURES, &c., OF THE ANCIENTS.
EXTREME BEAUTY OF THESE MANUFACTURES.
Magnificent dress worn by Herod Agrippa, mentioned in Acts xii.
21--Josephus’s account of this dress, and dreadful death of
Herod--Discovery of ancient Piece-goods--Beautiful manuscript
of Theodolphus, Bishop of Orleans, who lived in the ninth
century--Extraordinary beauty of Indian, Chinese, Egyptian, and other
manufactured goods preserved in this manuscript--Egyptian arts--Wise
regulations of the Egyptians in relation to the arts--Late discoveries
in Egypt by the Prussian hierologist, Dr. Lepsius--Cloth of glass.
The Evangelist Luke, in Acts xii. 21. speaks of the “royal apparel,”
in which Herod Agrippa, king of Judea, was arrayed when he received
the ambassadors of Tyre and Sidon, sitting in great state upon his
throne at Cæsarea. “And upon a set day, Herod arrayed in royal apparel,
sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people
gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And
immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God
the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.”
Josephus describes the same garment, which was a tunic, as “all made
of _silver_, and wonderful in its texture.” He adds, that the king
appeared in this dress at break of day in the theatre, and that the
silver, illuminated by the first rays of the sun, glittered in such a
manner as to terrify the beholders, so that his flatterers began to
call out aloud, saluting him as a god. _He was then seized with the
painful and loathsome distemper, of which he soon after died[124]._
[124] _Ant. Jud._ L. xix. _cap._ 8. § 2. p. 871. _Hudson_.
We extract the following curious account of the discovery of Ancient
Piece-goods and manufactured stuffs from a late number of an English
publication called the “Mining Review.”
Discovery of ancient Piece-goods and manufactured stuffs.--“It is
more than a thousand years since Theodolphus, Bishop of Orleans, gave
to Notre Dame du Puy en Velay a beautiful manuscript, containing the
ancient Testament, the chronography of St. Isidor, and other pieces,
the whole distributed into 138 articles; which he presented in token
of gratitude for his deliverance from the prison of Angers, where he
was confined in the year 835. It was on Palm Sunday that year, while
Louis Le Debonnaire was passing, that he began to sing a well-known
Canticle, which the Catholic church _has since then_ introduced into
its ceremonies. This precious manuscript, in a state of perfect
preservation, is to be seen in the archives of the Bishopric of the Puy
en Velay, department of the Haute Loire. A portion of the manuscript
is written on leaves of common parchment, in letters of red and black,
with a few of gold intermixed. The other portion is inscribed on
leaves of parchment, dyed purple, with _letters of gold_ and _silver_,
among which are observed, ornaments of different kinds and colors,
designated the “_Byzantine style_.” The manuscript, remarkable for its
beauty and preservation, is still more valuable for the manufactured
stuffs which it contains. When Theodolphus composed his manuscript,
with the intention of preserving from contact and friction the gold
and silver characters (which, in time, would have tended to displace
and obliterate them), he placed between each page a portion of the
manufactured tissues peculiar to the era in which he lived. These
specimens of the silk, and other pieces of goods of the time are thus
curiously preserved[125]. Till lately, little attention was paid to
these tissues, which are principally of India manufacture, bearing
scarcely _any analogy_ to the products of the _modern loom_. Some are
CASHMERE SHAWLS of those patterns, which the French call _broucha_
and _espouline_, and are made in the Indian fashion, but with this
difference, that they are limited to _four_ colors, and demonstrate
the greatest antiquity by the primitive simplicity of their colors
and design. Others are CRAPES and GAUZES, against the luxury of
whose transparent tissues, the fathers of the church at that time so
perseveringly fulminated their censures. The rest consist of _muslins_
and _China-crape of exquisite beauty_. The components of the majority
of these tissues are of goats’ or camels’ hair of exceeding delicacy
and fineness. Like the manufactured stuffs of ancient Egypt, painted on
the walls of its palaces and tombs, or substantially preserved amidst
the envelopes of mummies, the designs are limited to four colors, which
are in fact the _four sacred ones of China_, _India_, _Egypt_, and the
_Hebrew Tabernacle_. Nevertheless, the Egyptian designs, _identical
with those of India_, are many of them of exquisite beauty. The
consummate skill of the silk and cotton manufacturers of ancient Egypt,
4000 years ago, _the beauty and richness of their fabrics_--the little
alteration which has taken place in the economy or machinery of the
factories, as well as in their product, has been recently demonstrated
in the great work of Champollion. All the details of the silk and
cotton factories of Egypt, under the Pharaohs of the 18th dynasty
(which then monopolized the commerce of the world, and sent a colony
of weavers, from the overburthened population of Lower Egypt, to found
Athens, and the subsequent civilization of Europe), are laid open with
vivid accuracy in that splendid work[126], and brought with all their
startling analogies before the eye of the modern reader by drawings
from the temples, palaces, and tombs which it contains. It proves,
indeed, that there is ”_nothing new under the sun_.”
[125] A shred of gold cloth is preserved in the Museum of Antiquities
at Leyden, which is supposed to have been discovered in one of the
ancient tombs at Tarquinia in Etruria. In this tissue the gold
forms a compact covering over bright yellow silk.
[126] See Plate II.
That the Egyptians excelled in science and art is evident from their
monuments, paintings, and sculptures, whereon they are depicted. It is
also proved by Scripture, which speaks of the “wisdom of Egypt” with
reference to art; and from the fact that Egypt was deemed by other
nations the fountain of arts and sciences, and that their philosophers
were wont to resort thither to collect some of the “droppings of
Egyptian wisdom.” According to Diodorus, all trades vied with each
other in improving their own particular branch, no pains being spared
to bring each to perfection. To promote the more effectually this
object, it was enacted that no artisan should follow any trade or
employment but that defined bylaw, and _pursued by his ancestors_. No
tradesman was permitted to meddle with political affairs, or hold any
civil office in the state, _lest his thoughts should be distracted by
the inconsistency of his pursuits_, or the jealousy and displeasure of
the master in whose service he was employed. They foresaw that without
such a law constant interruptions would take place, in consequence of
the necessity or desire of becoming conspicuous in a public station;
that their proper occupations would be neglected, and many would be
led by _vanity_ and _self-sufficiency_ to interfere in matters which
were out of their sphere. They considered, moreover, that to pursue
more than one avocation would be detrimental to their own interests,
and those of the community at large; and that, when men, from a motive
of avarice, engage in numerous branches of art, the general result
is, that they are unable to excel in any. If any artisan interfered
in political matters, or engaged in any employment other than the one
to which he had been brought up, a severe punishment was immediately
inflicted upon him.
The eminent German hierologist, Dr. Lepsius, now employed in Egypt by
the Prussian government, after mentioning, in a recent letter, the many
discoveries he had made of ancient ruins, tombs, &c., writes as follows:
“With the exception of about twelve, which belong to a later period,
all these tombs were erected contemporaneously with, or soon after,
the building of the great pyramid, and consequently their dates throw
an invaluable light on the study of human civilization in the most
remote period of antiquity. The _sculptures_ in relief are surprisingly
numerous, representing whole figures, some the size of life, and others
of various dimensions. The _paintings_ are on back grounds of the
finest chalk. They are numerous and beautiful beyond conception--_as
fresh and perfect as if finished yesterday_! The pictures and
sculptures on the walls of the tombs, represent, for the most part,
scenes in the lives of the deceased persons, whose wealth in cattle,
fish-boats, servants, &c., is ostentatiously displayed before the eye
of the spectator. All this gives an insight into the details of private
life among the ancient Egyptians. By the help of these inscriptions I
think I could, without difficulty, make a “Court Calendar” of the reign
of King Cheops[127]. In some instances I have traced the graves of
father, son, grandson, and even great-grandson--all that now remains of
the distinguished families, which five thousand years ago, formed the
nobility of the land.”
[127] We do not find in these researches, that the ancients were
acquainted with the arts of spinning and weaving glass, or of
giving it any required shade of color. This invention, therefore,
must be considered as belonging to the nineteenth century, and the
honor of the discovery is due to M. Dubus Bonnel, an ingenious
Frenchman, a native of Lille, and for which he obtained patents in
Great Britain, and various countries of the European continent in
1837.
“When we figure to ourselves an apartment decorated with cloth of
glass, and resplendent with lights, we must be convinced that it
will equal in brilliancy all that the imagination can conceive; and
realise, in a word, the wonders of the enchanted palaces mentioned
in the Arabian tales. The lights flashing from the polished
surface of the glass, to which any color or shade may be given,
will make the room have the appearance of an apartment composed of
pearls, mother-of-pearl, diamonds, garnets, sapphires, topazes,
rubies, emeralds, or amethysts, &c., or, in short, of all those
precious stones united and combined in a thousand ways, and formed
into stars, rosettes, boquets, garlands, festoons, and graceful
undulations, varied almost ad infinitum.”--L’Echo du Monde Savant,
&c. No. 58, Feb. 15, 1837.--_Translated from the French._
The warp is composed of silk, forming the body and groundwork on
which the pattern in glass appears, as effected by the weft. The
requisite flexibility of glass thread for manufacturing purposes
is to be ascribed to its extreme fineness; as not less than from
fifty to sixty of the original threads (spun by steam engine power)
are required to form one thread of the weft. The process is slow;
for no more than a yard of cloth can be produced in twelve hours.
The work, however, is extremely beautiful and comparatively cheap,
inasmuch as no similar stuff, where bullion is really introduced,
can be purchased for anything like the price for which this is
sold; added to this, it is, as far as the glass is concerned,
imperishable. Glass is more durable than either gold or silver,
and, besides, possesses the advantage of never tarnishing.
CHAPTER VII.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SILK-WORM, &c.
Preliminary observations--The silk-worm--Various changes of the
silk-worm--Its superiority above other worms--Beautiful verses on the
May-fly, illustrative of the shortness of human life--Transformations
of the silk-worm--Its small desire of locomotion--First sickness
of the worm--Manner of casting its Exuviæ--Sometimes cannot be
fully accomplished--Consequent death of the insect--Second, third,
and fourth sickness of the worm--Its disgust for food--Material of
which silk is formed--Mode of its secretion--Manner of unwinding the
filaments--Floss-silk--Cocoon--Its imperviousness to moisture--Effect
of the filaments breaking during the formation of the cocoon--Mr.
Robinet’s curious calculation on the movements made by a silk-worm
in the formation of a cocoon--Cowper’s beautiful lines on the
silk-worm--Periods in which its various progressions are effected
in different climates--Effects of sudden transitions from heat to
cold--The worm’s appetite sharpened by increased temperature--Shortens
its existence--Various experiments in artificial heating--Modes of
artificial heating--Singular estimate of Count Dandolo--Astonishing
increase of the worm--Its brief existence in the moth state--Formation
of silk--The silken filament formed in the worm before its
expulsion--Erroneous opinions entertained by writers on this
subject--The silk-worm’s Will.
It can never be too strongly impressed upon a mind anxious for the
acquisition of knowledge, that the commonest things by which we are
surrounded are deserving of minute and careful attention. The most
profound investigations of Philosophy are necessarily connected
with the ordinary circumstances of our being, and of the world in
which our every-day life is spent. With regard to our own existence,
the pulsation of the heart, the act of respiration, the voluntary
movement of our limbs, the condition of sleep, are among the most
ordinary operations of our nature; and yet how long were the wisest
of men struggling with dark and bewildering speculations before they
could offer anything like a satisfactory solution of these phenomena,
and how far are we still from an accurate and complete knowledge of
them! The science of Meteorology, which attempts to explain to us the
philosophy of matters constantly before our eyes, as dew, mist, and
rain, is dependent for its illustrations upon a knowledge of the most
complicated facts, such as the influence of heat and electricity upon
the air; and this knowledge is at present so imperfect, that even these
common occurrences of the weather, which men have been observing and
reasoning upon for ages, are by no means satisfactorily explained, or
reduced to the precision that every science should aspire to. Yet,
however difficult it may be entirely to comprehend the phenomena we
daily witness, everything in nature is full of instruction. Thus the
humblest flower of the field, although, to one whose curiosity has
not been excited, and whose understanding has, therefore, remained
uninformed, it may appear worthless and contemptible, is valuable to
the botanist, not only with regard to its place in the arrangement of
this portion of the Creator’s works, but as it leads his mind forward
to the consideration of those beautiful provisions for the support of
vegetable life, which it is the part of the physiologist to study and
admire[128].
[128] “Insect Architecture,” vol. i. p. 9. London: Charles Knight &
Co., Ludgate St. 1845.
This train of reasoning is peculiarly applicable to the economy of
insects. They constitute a very large and interesting part of the
animal kingdom. They are everywhere about us. The _spider_ weaves his
curious web in our houses; the _caterpillar_ constructs his silken cell
in our gardens; the _wasp_ that hovers over our food has a nest not
far removed from us, which she has assisted to build with the nicest
art; the _beetle_ that crawls across our path is also an ingenious and
laborious mechanic, and has some curious instincts to exhibit to those
who will feel an interest in watching his movements; and the _moth_
that eats into our clothes has something to plead for our pity, for he
came, like us, naked into the world, and he has destroyed our garments,
not in malice or wantonness, but that he may clothe himself with the
same wool which we have stripped from the sheep. An observation of
the habits of these little creatures is full of valuable lessons,
which the abundance of the examples has no tendency to diminish. The
more such observations are multiplied, the more we are led forward to
the freshest and the most delightful parts of knowledge; the more do
we learn to estimate rightly the extraordinary provisions and most
abundant resources of a creative Providence; and the better do we
appreciate our own relations with all the infinite varieties of Nature,
and our dependence, in common with the _ephemeron_ that flutters its
little hour in the summer sun, upon that Being in whose scheme of
existence the humblest as well as the highest creature has its destined
purposes. “If you speak of a _stone_,” says St. Basil, “if you speak
of a _fly_, a _gnat_, or a _bee_, your conversation will be a sort of
demonstration of his power whose hand formed them, for the wisdom of
the workman is commonly perceived in that which is of little size. He
who has stretched out the Heavens, and dug up the bottom of the sea, is
also He who has pierced a passage through the sting of the bee for the
ejection of its poison.”
If it be granted that making discoveries is one of the most
satisfactory of human pleasures, then we may without hesitation affirm,
that the study of insects is one of the most delightful branches of
natural history, for it affords peculiar facilities for its pursuit.
These facilities are found in the almost inexhaustible variety which
insects present to the curious observer.
There is, perhaps, no situation in which the lover of nature and the
observer of animal life may not find opportunities for increasing
his store of facts. It is told of a state prisoner under a cruel and
rigorous despotism, that when he was excluded from all commerce with
mankind, and was shut out from books, he took an interest and found
consolation in the visits of a _spider_; and there is no improbability
in the story. The operations of that persecuted creature are among the
most extraordinary exhibitions of mechanical ingenuity; and a daily
watching of the workings of its instinct would beget admiration in
a rightly constituted mind. The poor prisoner had abundant leisure
for the speculations in which the spider’s web would enchain his
understanding. We have all of us, at one period or other of our lives,
been struck with some singular evidence of contrivance in the economy
of insects, which we have seen with our own eyes. Want of leisure, and
probably want of knowledge, have prevented us from following up the
curiosity which for a moment was excited. And yet some such accident
has made men Naturalists, in the highest meaning of the term. Bonnet,
evidently speaking of himself, says, “I knew a naturalist, who, when
he was seventeen years of age, having heard of the operations of the
ant-lion, began by doubting them. He had no rest till he had examined
into them; and he verified them, he admired them, he discovered new
facts, and soon became the disciple and the friend of the Pliny of
France[129]” (Réaumur). It is not the happy
fortune of many to be able to devote themselves exclusively to
the study of nature, unquestionably the most fascinating of human
employments; but almost every one may acquire sufficient knowledge to
be able to derive a high gratification from beholding the more common
operations of animal life. His materials for contemplation are always
before him.
[129] Contemplation de la Nature, part ii. ch. 42.
The silk-worm is a species of caterpillar which, like all other
insects of the same class, undergoes a variety of changes during
the short period of its life; assuming, in each of three successive
transformations, _a form wholly dissimilar to that with which it was
previously invested_.
Among the great variety of caterpillars, the descriptions of which are
to be found in the records of natural history, the silk-worm occupies
a place far above the rest. Not only is our attention called to the
examination of its various transformations, by the desire of satisfying
our curiosity as entomologists, but our artificial wants incite us
likewise to the study of its nature and habits, that we may best and
most profitably apply its instinctive industry to our own advantage.
It has been well observed by Pullein, a writer on this subject, that
“there is scarcely anything among the various wonders which the animal
creation affords, more admirable than the variety of changes which the
silk-worm undergoes;” but the curious texture of that silken covering
with which it surrounds itself when it arrives at the perfection of
its animal life, vastly surpasses what is made by other animals of
this class. All the caterpillar kind do, indeed, pass through changes
like those of the silk-worm, and the beauty of many in their butterfly
state greatly exceeds it; but the covering which they put on before
this mutation is poor and mean, when compared to that golden tissue in
which the silk-worm wraps itself. They, indeed, come forth in a variety
of colors, their wings bedropped with gold and scarlet, yet are they
but the beings of a summer’s day; both their life and beauty quickly
vanish, and they leave no remembrance after them; but the silk-worm
leaves behind it such beautiful, such beneficial monuments, as at once
to record both the wisdom of their Creator and his bounty to man.”
We may without impropriety, here introduce the following truly
beautiful comparison of the shortness of human life, as well as in
illustration of this part of our subject, as evidenced in the May-fly.
“The angler’s May-fly, the most short-lived in its perfect state of
any of the insect race, emerges from the water, where it passes its
_aurelia_ state, about six in the evening, and dies about eleven at
night.”--WHITE’S _Selborne_.
The sun of the eve was warm and bright
When the May-fly burst his shell,
And he wanton’d awhile in that fair light
O’er the river’s gentle swell;
And the deepening tints of the crimson sky
Still gleam’d on the wing of the glad May-fly.
The colors of sunset pass’d away,
The crimson and yellow green,
And the evening-star’s first twinkling ray
In the waveless stream was seen;
Till the deep repose of the stillest night
Was hushing about his giddy flight.
The noon of the night is nearly come--
There’s a crescent in the sky;--
The silence still hears the myriad hum
Of the insect revelry.
The hum has ceas’d--the quiet wave
Is now the sportive May-fly’s grave.
Oh! thine was a blessed lot--to spring
In thy lustihood to air,
And sail about, on untiring wing,
Through a world most rich and fair,
To drop at once in thy watery bed,
Like a leaf that the willow branch has shed.
And who shall say that his thread of years
Is a life more blest than thine!
Has his feverish dream of doubts and fears
Such joys as those which shine
In the constant pleasures of thy way,
Most happy child of the happy May?
For thou wert born when the earth was clad
With her robe of buds and flowers,
And didst float about with a soul as glad
As a bird in the sunny showers;
And the hour of thy death had a sweet repose,
Like a melody, sweetest at its close.
Nor too brief the date of thy cheerful race--
’Tis its use that measures time--
And the mighty Spirit that fills all space
With His life and His will sublime,
May see that the May-fly and the Man
Each flutter out the same small span;
And the fly that is born with the sinking sun,
To die ere the midnight hour,
May have deeper joy, ere his course be run,
Than man in his pride and power;
And the insect’s minutes be spared the fears
And the anxious doubts of our threescore years.
The years and the minutes are as one--
The fly drops in his twilight mirth,
And the man, when his long day’s work is done,
Crawls to the self-same earth.
Great Father of each! may _our_ mortal day
Be the prelude to an endless May[130]!
[130] “See,” exclaims Linnæus, “the large, elegant painted wings of
the butterfly, four in number, covered with delicate feathery
scales! With these it sustains itself in the air a whole day,
rivalling the flight of birds and the brilliancy of the peacock.
Consider this insect through the wonderful progress of its
life,--how different is the first period of its being from the
second, and both from the parent insect! Its changes are an
inexplicable enigma to us: we see a green caterpillar, furnished
with sixteen feet, feeding upon the leaves of a plant; this is
changed into a chrysalis, smooth, of golden lustre, hanging
suspended to a fixed point, without feet, and subsisting without
food; this insect again undergoes another transformation, acquires
wings, and six feet, and becomes a gay butterfly, sporting in
the air, and living by suction upon the honey of plants. What
has Nature produced more worthy of our admiration than such an
animal coming upon the stage of the world, and playing its part
there under so many different masks?” The ancients were so struck
with the transformations of the butterfly, and its revival from
a seeming temporary death, as to have considered it an emblem of
the soul, the Greek word _psyche_ signifying both the soul and a
butterfly; and it is for this reason that we find the butterfly
introduced into their allegorical sculptures as an emblem of
immortality. Trifling, therefore, and perhaps contemptible, as
to the unthinking may seem the study of a butterfly, yet when
we consider the art and mechanism displayed in so minute a
structure,--the fluids circulating in vessels so small as almost
to escape the sight--the beauty of the wings and covering--and
the manner in which each part is adapted for its peculiar
functions,--we cannot but be struck with wonder and admiration, and
allow, with Paley, that “the production of beauty was as much in
the Creator’s mind in painting a butterfly as in giving symmetry to
the human form.”
Silk-worms proceed from eggs which are deposited during the summer by a
grayish kind of moth, of the genus palæna. These eggs are about equal
in size to a grain of mustard seed: their color when first laid is
yellow; but in three or four days after, they acquire a bluish cast.
In temperate climates, and by using proper precautions, these eggs may
be preserved during the winter and spring, without risk of premature
hatching. The period of their animation may be accelerated or retarded
by artificial means, so as to agree with the time when the natural food
of the insect shall appear in ample abundance for its support.
All the curious changes and labors which accompany and characterize
the life of the silk-worm are performed within the space of a very
few weeks. This period varies, indeed, according to the climate or
temperature in which its life is passed; all its vital functions being
quickened, and their duration proportionally abridged, by warmth. With
this sole variance, its progressions are alike in all climates, and the
same mutations accompany its course.
The three successive states of being put on by this insect are, that
of the worm or caterpillar, of the chrysalis or aurelia, and moth. In
addition to these more decided transformations, the progress of the
silk-worm in its _caterpillar state_ is marked by _five distinct stages
of being_.
When first hatched, it appears as a small black worm about a quarter
of an inch in length. Its first indication of animation is the desire
which it evinces for obtaining food, in search of which, if not
immediately supplied, it will exhibit more power of locomotion than
characterizes it at any other period. So small is the desire of change
on the part of these insects, that of the generality it may be said,
their own spontaneous will seldom leads them to travel over a greater
space than three feet throughout the whole duration of their lives.
Even when hungry, the worm still clings to the skeleton of the leaf
from which its nourishment was last derived. If, by the continued
cravings of its appetite, it should be at length incited to the effort
necessary for changing its position, it will sometimes wander as far
as the edge of the tray wherein it is confined, and some few have been
found sufficiently adventurous to cling to its rim; but the smell of
fresh leaves will instantly allure them back. It would add incalculably
to the labors and cares of their attendants, if silk-worms were endowed
with a more rambling disposition. So useful is this peculiarity of
their nature, that one is irresistibly tempted to consider it the
result of design, and a part of that beautiful system of the fitness of
things, which the student of natural history has so many opportunities
of contemplating with delight and admiration.
In about eight days from its being hatched, its head becomes
perceptibly larger, and the worm is attacked by its first sickness.
This lasts for three days; during which time it refuses food, and
remains motionless as in a kind of lethargy. Some have thought this
to be sleep, but the fatal termination which so frequently attends
these sicknesses seems to afford a denial to this hypothesis. The
silk-worm increases its size so considerably, and in so short a space
of time,--its weight being multiplied many thousand fold in the course
of one month,--that if only one skin had been assigned to it, which
should serve for its whole caterpillar state, it would with difficulty
have distended itself sufficiently to keep pace with the insect’s
growth. The economy of nature has therefore admirably provided the
embryos of other skins, destined to be successively called into use;
and this sickness of the worm, and its disinclination for food, may
very probably be occasioned by the pressure of the skin, now become too
small for the body which it encases.
At the end of the third day from its first refusal of food, the
animal appears, on that account, much wasted in its bodily frame; a
circumstance which materially assists in the painful operation of
casting its skin: this it now proceeds to accomplish. To facilitate
this moulting, a sort of humor is thrown off by the worm, which,
spreading between its body and the skin about to be abandoned,
lubricates their surfaces, and causes them to separate the more
readily. The insect also emits from its body silken traces, which,
adhering to the spot where it rests, serves to confine the skin to
its then existing position. These preliminary steps seem to call for
some considerable exertion, as after them the worm remains quiet for a
short space of time, to recover from its fatigue. It then proceeds, by
rubbing its head among the leafy fibres surrounding it, to disencumber
itself of the scaly covering. Its next effort is to break through the
skin nearest to the head, which, as it is there the smallest, calls for
the greatest exertion; and no sooner is this accomplished and the two
front legs are disengaged, than the remainder of the body is quickly
drawn forth, the skin being still fastened to the spot in the manner
already described.
This moulting is so complete, _that not only is the whole covering of
the body cast off, but that of the feet, the entire skull, and even
the jaws, including the teeth_. These several parts may be discerned
by the unassisted eye; but become very apparent when viewed through a
magnifying lens of moderate power.
In two or three minutes from the beginning of its efforts the worm is
wholly freed, and again puts on the appearance of health and vigor;
feeding with recruited appetite upon its leafy banquet. It sometimes
happens that the outer skin refuses to detach itself wholly, but breaks
and leaves an annular portion adhering to the extremity of its body,
from which all the struggles of the insect cannot wholly disengage it.
The pressure thus occasioned induces swelling and inflammation in other
parts of the body; and, after efforts of greater or less duration,
death generally terminates its sufferings.
Worms newly freed from their exuviæ are easily distinguished from
others by the pale color and wrinkled appearance of their new skin.
This latter quality, however, soon disappears, through the repletion
and growth of the insect, which continues to feed during five days.
At this time its length will be increased to half an inch; when it
is attacked by a second sickness, followed by a second moulting, the
manner of performing which is exactly similar to the former. Its
appetite then again returns, and is indulged during other five days, in
the course of which time its length increases to three quarters of an
inch: it then undergoes its third sickness and moulting. These being
past in all respects like the former, and five more days of feeding
having followed, it is seized by its fourth sickness, and casts its
skin for the last time in the caterpillar state. The worm is now about
one and a half or two inches long. This last change being finished, the
worm devours its food most voraciously, and increases rapidly in size
during ten days.
The silk-worm has now attained to its full growth, and is a slender
caterpillar from two and a half to three inches in length (See Figure
1. Plate III.). The peculiarities of its structure may be better
examined now than in its earlier stages. It can readily be seen that
the worm has twelve membranous rings round its body, parallel to each
other; and which, answering to the movements of the animal, mutually
contract and elongate. It has sixteen legs, in pairs: six in front,
which are covered with a sort of shell or scale, and are placed under
the three first rings, and cannot be either sensibly lengthened, or
their position altered. The other ten legs are called holders: these
are membranous, flexible, and attached to the body under the rings,
being furnished with little hooks, which assist the insect in climbing.
The skull is inclosed in a scaly substance, similar to the covering of
the first six legs. The jaws are indented or serrated like the teeth of
a saw, and their strength is great considering the size of the insect.
Its mouth is peculiar, having a vertical instead of an horizontal
aperture; and the worm is furnished with eighteen breathing holes,
placed at equal distances down the body, nine on each side. Each of
these holes is supposed to be the termination of a particular organ of
respiration. On either side of the head, near to the mouth, seven small
eyes may be discerned. The two broad appearances higher upon the head,
which are frequently mistaken for eyes, are bones of the skull. The two
apertures through which the worm draws its silken filament are placed
just beneath the jaw, and close to each other; these being exceedingly
minute.
At the period above-mentioned the desire of the worm for food begins
to abate: the first symptom of this is the appearance of the leaves
nibbled into small portions and wasted. It soon after entirely ceases
even to touch the leaves; appears restless and uneasy; erects it head;
and moves about from side to side, with a circular motion, in quest of
a place wherein it can commence its labor of spinning. Its color is now
light green, with some mixture of a darker hue. In twenty-four hours
from the time of its abstaining from food, the material for forming
its silk will be digested in its reservoirs; its green color will
disappear; its body will have acquired a degree of glossiness, and have
become partially transparent towards its neck. Before the worm is quite
prepared to spin, its body will have acquired greater firmness, and be
in a trifling measure lessened in size.
“The substance,” says Mr. Porter, “of which the silk is composed, _is
secreted in the form of a fine yellow transparent gum in two separate
vessels of slender dimensions, wound, as it were, on two spindles in
the stomach; and if unfolded, these vessels would be about ten inches
in length_[131].” This statement is proved to be erroneous, as the
reader will perceive, at the conclusion of this chapter.
[131] Porter’s “Treatise on the Silk Manufacture,” p. 111.
When the worm has fixed upon some angle, or hollow place, whose
dimensions agree with the size of its intended silken ball or cocoon,
it begins its labor by throwing forth thin and irregular threads, see
Figure 2. Plate III., which are intended to support its future dwelling.
During the first day, the insect forms upon these a loose structure of
an oval shape, which is called floss silk, and within which covering,
in the three following days, it forms the firm and consistent yellow
ball; the laborer, of course, always remaining on the inside of the
sphere which it is forming[132].
[132] If at this time any of the threads intended for the support of
the cocoon should be broken, the worm will find, in the progress
of its work, that the ball, not being properly poised, becomes
unsteady, so that the insect is unable properly to go forward
with its labors. Under these circumstances the worm pierces
and altogether quits the unfinished cocoon, and throws out its
remaining threads at random wherever it passes; by which means the
silk is wholly lost, and the worm, finding no place wherein to
prepare for its change, dies without having effected it. It may
sometimes happen, but such a thing is of unfrequent occurrence,
that the preparatory threads before mentioned are broken by another
worm working in the neighborhood, when the same unsatisfactory
result will be experienced.--_Obs. on the Culture of Silk_, _by_ A.
STEPHENSON.
The silken filament, which when drawn out appears to be one thread,
is composed of two fibres, unwound through the two orifices before
described; and these fibres are brought together by means of two hooks,
placed within the silk-worm’s mouth for the purpose. The worm rests on
its lower extremity throughout the unwinding operation, and employs
its mouth and front legs in the task of directing and uniting the two
filaments. The filament is not wound in regular concentric circles
round the interior surface of the ball, but in spots, going backwards
and forwards with a sort of wavy motion. This apparently irregular
manner of proceeding is plainly perceptible when the silk is being
reeled off the ball; which does not make more than one or two entire
revolutions while ten or twelve yards of silk are being transferred to
the reel[133].
[133] Mr. Robinet, of Paris, made the following curious calculation
on the movements a silk-worm must make in forming a cocoon supposed
to contain a thread of 1500 metres. It is known, says Mr. Robinet,
that the silk-worm, in forming his cocoon, does not _spin_ the
silken filament in concentric circles round the interior surface of
the ball, but in a zigzag manner. This it effects by the motions of
its head. Now if each one of these motions gives half a centimetre
of the silken filament; it follows that the worm must make 300,000
motions of its head to form it; and if the labor requires 72 hours
in the performance, the creature makes 100,000 motions every 24
hours, 4,166 per hour, 69 per minute, and a little more than one in
a second!
At the end of the third or fourth day, the worm will have completed
its task; and we have then a _silk cocoon_ (See Figure 3. Plate III.),
with the worm imprisoned in its centre; the cocoon being from an inch
to an inch and a half long, and of a yellow or orange color.
When the insect has finished its labor of unwinding, it smears the
entire internal surface of the cocoon with a peculiar kind of gum, very
similar in its nature to the matter which forms the silk itself; and
this is no doubt designed as a shield against rain or the humidity of
the atmosphere, for the chrysalis in its natural state; when of course
it would be subject to all varieties of weather. The silken filament
of which the ball is made up, is likewise accompanied, throughout its
entire length, by a portion of gum, which serves to give firmness and
consistency to its texture; and assists in rendering the dwelling of
the chrysalis impervious to moisture. This office it performs so well,
that when, for the purpose of reeling the silk with greater facility,
the balls are thrown into basins of hot water, they swim on the top
with all the buoyancy of bladders; nor, unless the ball be imperfectly
formed, does the water penetrate within until the silk is nearly all
unwound. In figure 4, plate III., the cocoons are drawn two-thirds
of the usual size, and are shown with part of the outward floss silk
removed.
The continual emission of the silken material during the formation of
its envelope, together with its natural evaporation, uncompensated
by food, causes the worm gradually to contract in bulk; it becomes
wrinkled, and the rings of its body approach nearer to each other and
appear more decidedly marked. When the ball is finished, the insect
rests awhile from its toil, and then throws off its caterpillar garb.
If the cocoon be now opened, its inhabitant will appear in the form of
a chrysalis or aurelia, in shape somewhat resembling a kidney-bean (See
Figure 5. plate III.), but pointed at one end, having a smooth brown
skin. Its former covering, so dissimilar to the one now assumed, will
be found lying beside it.
The account which has been given of the progressions of the silk-worm
shows, that, in its various modifications, _the animal organization of
the insect has been always tending towards its simplification_. Count
Dandolo, writing upon this subject, observes, “Thus the caterpillar
is in the first instance composed of animal, silky, and excremental
particles; this forms the state of the _growing caterpillar_: in the
next stage it is composed of animal and silky particles; it is then the
_mature caterpillar_: and lastly, it is reduced to the animal particles
alone; and is termed in this state the _chrysalis_. The poet Cowper, in
the following lines, beautifully illustrates this subject:
The beams of April, ere it goes,
A worm, scarce visible, disclose;
All winter long content to dwell
The tenant of his native shell.
The same prolific season gives
The sustenance by which he lives,
The mulberry leaf, a simple store,
That serves him--till he needs no more!
For, his dimensions once complete,
Thenceforth none ever sees him eat;
Though till his growing time be past
Scarce ever is he seen to fast.
That hour arrived, his work begins.
He spins and weaves, and weaves and spins;
Till circle upon circle, wound
Careless around him and around,
Conceals him with a veil though slight,
Impervious to the keenest sight.
Thus self-inclosed, as in a cask,
At length he finishes his task:
And, though a worm when he was lost,
Or caterpillar at the most,
When next we see him, wings he wears,
And in papilio pomp appears;
Becomes oviparous; supplies
With future worms and future flies
The next ensuing year--and dies!
Well were it for the world if all
Who creep about this earthly ball,
Though shorter-lived than most he be,
Were useful in their kind as he.
It has been already noticed that the progressions of the insects are
accelerated by an increase of temperature; and some variation will
equally be experienced where different modes of treatment are followed;
and, in particular, where different periods of the year are chosen in
which to produce and rear the worm. Malpighius, in his “Anatomy of the
Silk-worm,” says, that worms which he hatched in May were eleven days
old ere they were attacked by their first sickness; others hatched in
July were ten days, and those brought forth in August nine days, before
they refused their food, preparatory to their first moulting. Eight
days appear to be the most usual term for their first attack; and by
his judicious treatment count Dandolo shortened even this term by two
days. In Europe, except where recourse is had to artificial aid, the
term of the caterpillar state is usually that which has been already
mentioned.
Sudden transitions from cold to heat, or vice versa, are highly
injurious to the silk-worm; but it can bear a very high degree of heat,
if uniformly maintained, without sustaining injury. Count Dandolo
observed, that “the greater the degree of heat in which it is reared,
the more acute are its wants, the more rapid its pleasures, and the
shorter its existence.” Monsieur Boissier de Sauvagues made many
experiments on this point. One year, when by the early appearance of
the mulberry leaves, which were developed by the end of April, he was
forced to hurry forward the operations of his filature, he raised the
heat of the apartment in which the newly-hatched worms were placed to
100°; gradually diminishing this during their first and second ages
to 95°. In consequence of the animal excitement thus induced, there
elapsed only nine days between the hatching and the second moulting
inclusively. It was the general opinion of those cultivators who
witnessed the experiment, that the insects would not be able to exist
in so intensely heated an atmosphere. The walls of the apartment, and
the wicker hurdles on which the worms were placed, could scarcely be
touched from the great heat, and yet all the changes and progressions
went forward perfectly well, and a most abundant crop of silk was the
result.
The same gentleman, on a subsequent occasion, exposed his brood to the
temperature of 93° to 95° during their first age; of 89° to 91° in the
second age; and remarked that the attendant circumstances were the same
as in his former experiment, the changes of the worm being performed
in the same space of time; whence he came to the conclusion, that
it is not practicable to accelerate their progress beyond a certain
point by any superadditions of heat. In both of these experiments the
quantity of food consumed, was as great as is usually given during
the longer period employed in the common manner of rearing. After the
second moulting had taken place in the last experiment, the temperature
was lowered to 82°; and it is remarkable that the worms occupied only
five days in completing their third and fourth changes, although
others which had been accustomed to this lower degree from their birth
occupied seven or eight days for each of these moultings. It would
therefore seem that the constitution of the insects can be affected,
and an impetus given to their functions at the period of their first
animation, which accompanies them through their after stages. So far
from this forcing system proving injurious to the health of silk-worms,
M. de Sauvagues found that his broods were unusually healthy; and that
while the labors of cultivation were abridged in their duration, much
of the attendant anxiety was removed.
Like other caterpillars, the silk-worm is not a warm-blooded
animal, and its temperature is therefore always equal to that of the
atmosphere in which it is placed. In the silk-producing countries,
where modes of artificial heating have not been studied practically
and scientifically, the difficulty and expense that must attend
the prosecution of this heating system, form abundant reasons why
it cannot be generally adopted. The great susceptibility of the
insect to atmospheric influences would also in a great degree render
unsuitable the more common arrangements for the purpose. The plan
of warming apartments by means of stoves, in its passage through
which the air becomes highly heated before it mixes with and raises
the general temperature of the air in the chamber, is liable to
this inconvenience,--that the portion so introduced, having its
vital property impaired by the burning heat through which it has
passed, injures, proportionably, the respirable quality of the whole
atmosphere; an effect which is easily perceptible by those who inhale
it. A better plan of heating has lately been suggested, and is rapidly
coming into practice, viz., of warming buildings by a current of hot
water (an American invention), which is, by a very simple process, kept
constantly flowing in close channels through the apartment, where it
continually gives off its heat by radiation; and the degree of this
being far below the point which is injurious to the vital quality of
air, the evil before alluded to is avoided. If the expense of fuel
be not too great, as compared with that of the labor which would be
saved by this invention, the adoption in silk countries of such a
mode of raising and regulating the temperature might, probably, prove
advantageous.
The silk-worm remains in the form of a chrysalis, for periods which,
according to the climate or the temperature wherein it may be placed,
vary from fifteen to thirty days. In India, the time is much shorter
(See Chapter VIII.); in Spain and Italy, eighteen to twenty days. In
France three weeks; and in the climate of England, when unaccelerated
by artificial means, thirty days will elapse from the time the insect
begins to spin until it emerges in its last and perfect form. It then
throws off the shroud which had confined it in _seeming lifelessness_,
and appears as a large moth of a grayish-white color, furnished with
four wings, two eyes, and two black horns or antlers which present a
feathery appearance (See Figure 6. plate III.).
If left until this period within the cocoon, the moth takes immediate
measures for its extrication: ejecting from its mouth a liquor with
which it moistens and lessens the adhesiveness of the gum wherewith
it had lined the interior surface of its dwelling, and the insect is
enabled, by frequent motions of its head, to loosen, without breaking,
the texture of the ball; then using its hooked feet, it pushes aside
the filaments and makes a passage for itself into light and freedom.
It is erroneously said that the moth recovers its liberty by gnawing
the silken threads; but it is found, on the contrary, that if carefully
unwound, their continuity is by this means rarely broken.
One of the most remarkable circumstances connected with the natural
history of silk-worms, is the degree in which their bulk and weight
is increased, and the limited time wherein that increase is attained.
Count Dandolo, who appears to have neglected nothing that could tend
to the right understanding of the subject, and to the consequent
improvement of the processes employed, had patience enough to count
and weigh many hundred thousand eggs, as well as follow out to the
ultimate result his inquiries respecting their produce. He found that
on an average sixty-eight sound silk-worm’s eggs weighed one grain.
One ounce[134], therefore, comprised, 39,168 eggs. But one twelfth
part of this weight evaporates previous to hatching, and the shells
are equal to one fifth more. If, therefore, from one ounce, composed
of 576 grains, 48 grains be deducted for evaporation, and 115 for the
shells, 413 grains will remain equal to the weight of 39,168 young
worms; and, at this rate, 54,526 of the insects when newly hatched, are
required to make up the ounce. After the first casting of the skin,
3840 worms are found to have this weight, so that the bulk and weight
of the insects have in a few days been multiplied more than _fourteen
times_. After the second change 610 worms weigh an ounce, their weight
being increased in the intermediate time six fold. In the week passed
between the second and third ages, the number of insects required to
make up the same weight, decreases from 610 to 144, their weight being
therefore more than quadrupled. During the fourth age, a similar rate
of increase is maintained: thirty-five worms now weigh an ounce. The
fifth age of the caterpillar comprises nearly a third part of its brief
existence, and has been described, by an enthusiastic writer on the
subject, as the happiest period of its life, during which it rapidly
increases in size, preparing and secreting the material it is about to
spin. When the silk-worms are fully grown, and have arrived at their
period of finally rejecting food, six of them make up the weight of an
ounce. They have, therefore, since their last change, again added to
their weight _six fold_.
[134] This ounce contains 576 grains; 8.5325 of these grains equal
seven grains troy. One ounce avoirdupoise is therefore equal to
about 533 grains, and between 11-12 and 11-13 ounce avoirdupoise
equals one of the above ounces.
It is thus seen that, in a few short weeks, the insect has multiplied
its weight more than _nine thousand fold_! From this period, and during
the whole of its two succeeding states of being, the worm imbibes no
nourishment, and gradually diminishes in weight; being supported by its
own substance, and appearing to find sufficient occupation in forming
its silken web, and providing successors for our service, without
indulging that grosser appetite which forms the beginning and the end
of their desires during their caterpillar existence.
The moth enjoys its liberty for only a very brief space. Its first
employment is to seek its mate; after which the female deposits her
eggs; and both in the course of two or three days after, end their
being.
Formation of Silk. By M. H. Straus, of Durckheim.--“It is generally
admitted by naturalists that the thread of the caterpillar is
produced by a simple emission of liquid matter through the orifice of
the spinner, and that it acquires solidity at once from the drying
influence of the air. It was easy to entertain such an hypothesis,
for nothing is more simple than the formation of a very fine thread
by such a process. But a little reflection will soon show us, even _à
priori_, that it is not possible; for how can we comprehend that so
fine a fibre, liquid at the instant of its issue from the aperture,
should _instantly_ acquire such a consistence as to bear the weight of
the animal suspended by it, and at the same time that it is rapidly
produced? Though the fluid, holding the silk in solution, should be
quickly volatilised, it must still be a matter of conjecture, how the
animal suspended by this thread could be able to arrest its issue,
holding on only by the thread itself, for it cannot pinch the thread,
seeing that it is only in a liquid state inside, and the thread cannot
be glued to the edge of the opening, as its rapid adhesion would
prevent its issue while the animal is spinning. A little examination
would satisfy us that silk cannot be produced in this manner, but that
it is secreted in the _form of silk_ in the silk vessels, and that
the spinning apparatus _only winds it_. The thread is produced in the
slender posterior part of the vessel, the inflated portion of which
consists of the reservoir of ready formed silk, where it is found in
the form of a skein; each thread being rolled up so as to occupy in the
silk-worm (_Bombex mori_) a space of only about a sixth part of the
real length of the skein. The fact is shown by the following experiment
I made for the purpose of ascertaining whether the silk is formed in
the body of the caterpillars.
‘_Take one of the animals when about to form its cocoon, clean it in
common vinegar, in which it may remain from four to six hours, open it
on the back and extract the silk vessels, there being one on each side
of the alimentary canal. Take them up by the hinder end, just where
they begin to swell (further back the silk is not solid enough), and
draw them out. The membrane forming the vessel is easily torn open,
and the contents expand to six or seven times its original length.
The skein having attained its full length by the letting out of its
gathers, we obtain a cord perfectly equal in size throughout, except
at the end, where it is attenuated._ This cord resembles a large
horse-hair, and constitutes what fishermen call “_Florence hair_.” I
ought to add that in simply drawing out the silk vessel, the Florence
hair is found enveloped in a golden yellow gummy matter, forming the
glutinous portion by which the worm fastens its thread. This must be
got rid of by drawing the cord through the fold formed on the inside of
the joint of the left fore finger, converted into a canal by applying
to it the end of the thumb. The glutinous substance and the membranes
being thus separated, we have the _naked hair_. In this state, before
the silk becomes dry and hard, not only will it be indefinitely divided
longitudinally, which proves its fibrous structure, but in trying to
split it by drawing it transversely, _the little filaments of silk
which form it are perfectly separated_, making _a bundle of extremely
fine fibrils_.’
We cannot better conclude this interesting portion of our subject, than
by quoting the following beautiful lines by Miss H. F. Gould:--
THE SILK-WORM’S WILL.
On a plain rush hurdle a silk-worm lay,
When a proud young princess came that way:
The haughty child of a human king,
Threw a sidelong glance at the humble thing,
That took, with a silent gratitude,
From the mulberry leaf, her simple food;
And shrunk, half scorn and half disgust,
Away from her sister child of dust--
Declaring she never yet could see
Why a reptile form like this should be,
And that she was not made with nerves so firm,
As calmly to stand by a “crawling worm!”
With mute forbearance the silk-worm took
The taunting words, and the spurning look:
Alike a stranger to self and pride,
She’d no disquiet from aught beside--
And lived of a meekness and peace possessed,
Which these debar from the human breast.
She only wished, for the harsh abuse,
To find some way to become of use
To the haughty daughter of lordly man;
And thus did she lay a noble plan,
To teach her wisdom, and make it plain,
That the humble worm was not made in vain;
A plan so generous, deep and high,
That, to carry it out, she must even die!
“No more,” said she, “will I drink or eat!
I’ll spin and weave me a winding-sheet,
To wrap me up from the sun’s clear light,
And hide my form from her wounded sight.
In secret then, till my end draws nigh,
I’ll toil for her; and when I die,
I’ll leave behind, as a farewell boon,
To the proud young princess, my whole cocoon,
To be reeled and wove to a shining lace,
And hung in a veil o’er her scornful face!
And when she can calmly draw her breath
Through the very threads that have caused my death;
When she finds, at length, she has nerves so firm
As to wear the shroud of a crawling worm,
May she bear in mind, that she walks with pride
In the winding-sheet where the silk-worm died!”
[Illustration:
_Plate III_
Silk-Worm, Cocoons, Chrysalis, Moths and Pinna.]
CHAPTER VIII.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHINESE MODE OF REARING SILK-WORMS, &c.
Great antiquity of the silk-manufacture in China--Time and mode
of pruning the Mulberry-tree--Not allowed to exceed a certain
height--Mode of planting--Situation of rearing-rooms, and their
construction--Effect of noise on the silk-worm--Precautions observed
in preserving cleanliness--Isan-mon, mother of the worms--Manner
of feeding--Space allotted to the worms--Destruction of the
Chrysalides--Great skill of the Chinese in weaving--American writers
on the Mulberry-tree--Silk-worms sometimes reared on trees--(M.
Marteloy’s experiments in 1764, in rearing silk-worms on trees in
France)--Produce inferior to that of worms reared in houses--Mode of
delaying the hatching of the eggs--Method of hatching--Necessity for
preventing damp--Number of meals--Mode of stimulating the appetite of
the worms--Effect of this upon the quantity of silk produced--Darkness
injurious to the silk-worm--Its effect on the Mulberry-leaves--Mode
of preparing the cocoons for the reeling process--Wild silk-worms of
India--Mode of hatching, &c.--(Observations on the cultivation of silk
by Dr. Stebbins--Dr. Bowring’s admirable illustration of the mutual
dependence of the arts upon each other.)
In China, the tradition of the silk culture is, as already shown,
carried back into the mythological periods, and dates with the origin
of agriculture itself. These two pursuits or avocations, namely,
husbandry and the silk-manufacture, form the subject of one of the
sixteen discourses to the people. It is there observed, that “from
ancient times the Son of Heaven directed the plough: the Empress
planted the mulberry-tree. Thus have these exalted personages, not
_above_ the practice of labor and exertion, set an example to all men,
with a view to leading the millions of their subjects to attend to
their essential interests.”
In the work published by Imperial authority, entitled “Illustrations of
Husbandry and Weaving[135],” there are numerous wood-cuts, accompanied
by letter-press explanatory of the different processes of farming and
the silk-manufacture. The former head is confined to the production
of rice, the staple article of food, and proceeds from the ploughing
of the land to the packing of the grain; the latter details all the
operations connected with planting the mulberry and gathering its
leaves, up to the final weaving of the silk.
[135] The drawing, plate I. (Frontispiece) is a faithful copy of a loom
represented in this curious work. For this representation of
a Chinese weaving engine, as well as several translations,
explanatory of the silk-manufacture, &c., we are indebted to Walter
Lowry, Esq., Sec. to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions in
this city; who kindly permitted us to copy it from the original
plate, forming a part of the interesting work above referred
to, which is composed of seventy-five volumes, and was, as we
understand, presented to the Board by a New York merchant. Many of
the illustrations are extremely beautiful, reflecting the highest
credit upon the artisans of the “Celestial Empire.”
The mulberry-tree is chiefly cultivated in Chĕ-kiang, which
province, together with the only three others that produce fine
silk, namely, Kiang-nân, Woo-pĕ, and Sze-chuen, is crossed by the
_thirtieth_ parallel of latitude. Chĕ-kiang is a country highly
alluvial, intersected by numerous rivers and canals, with a climate
that corresponds pretty nearly to the same latitude as that in the
United States of America. The soil is manured with mud, dug from the
rivers, assisted with ashes or dung; and the spaces between the trees
are generally filled with millet, pulse, or other articles of food. The
time for pruning the young trees, so as to produce fine leafy shoots,
is at the commencement of the year. About four eyes are left on every
shoot, and care is taken that the branches be properly thinned, with
a view to giving plenty of light and air to the leaves. In gathering
these, they make use of steps, as the young trees could not support
a ladder, and would besides be injured in their branches by the use
of one. The trees, with their foliage, are carefully watched, and the
mischiefs of insects prevented by the use of various applications,
among which are some essential oils.
The young trees of course suffer by being stripped of their leaves,
which are the _lungs_ of plants, and this is an additional reason for
renewing them after a certain time. They endeavor in part to counteract
the evil effect, by pruning and lopping the tree, so as to diminish the
wood when the leaves have been gathered. It is surprising, however, to
observe how soon a tree in those climates will recover its leaves in
the summer or autumn, after having been entirely stripped of them by a
typhoon or hurricane. Fresh plants are procured by cuttings or layers,
and sometimes from seed. When the trees grow too old for the production
of the finest leaves, and show a greater tendency to fruiting, they are
either removed or so cut and managed as to produce young branches.
The principal object, in the cultivation of the mulberry, is to produce
the greatest quantity of young and healthy leaves without fruit. For
this reason the trees are not allowed to exceed a certain age and
height. They are planted on the plan of a quincunx[136], and said to be
in perfection in about three years.
[136] In _gardening_, the _quincunx_ order is a plantation of trees
disposed in a square, consisting of five trees, one at each corner
and a fifth in the centre, which order repeated indefinitely,
forms a regular grove or wood, viewed by an angle of the square or
parallelogram, presents equal or parallel alleys.
Mr. Barrow, who observed the management of the trees and silk-worms
in Chĕ-kiang, confirms the usual Chinese accounts, by saying that
“the houses in which the worms are reared are placed generally in the
centre of each plantation, in order that they may be removed as far
as possible from every kind of noise; experience having taught them
that a sudden shout, or the bark of a dog, is destructive of the young
worms. A whole brood has sometimes perished from the effects of a
thunder-storm.”
Some notion of the extent of the care required in the management of the
worms may be formed from the following extract, taken from the Chinese
work referred to at the beginning of this chapter.
“The place where their habitation is built must be retired, free from
noise, smells, and disturbances of every kind. The least fright, makes
great impressions on these sensitive creatures; even the barking of
dogs, &c., is capable of throwing them into the utmost disorder.
For the purpose of paying them every attention an affectionate mother
is provided, who is careful to supply their wants; she is called
_Isan-mon_, ‘mother of the worms.’ She takes possession of the chamber,
but not before she has washed herself and put on clean clothes, which
have not the least repulsive smell; she must not have eaten anything
immediately before, or handled any wild succory, the smell of which is
very prejudicial. She must be clothed in a plain habit, without any
lining, that she may be more sensible of the warmth of the place, and
accordingly increase or lessen the fire. She must also carefully avoid
making a smoke or raising a dust, which would also be offensive.”
Silk-worms require to be carefully humored before the time of casting
their slough. Every day is to them a year, having in a manner, the four
seasons; the morning being the Spring; the middle of the day: Summer;
the evening: Autumn; and the night, Winter.
The chambers are so contrived as to admit of the use of artificial heat
when necessary. Great care is taken of the sheets of paper on which the
eggs have been laid; and the hatching is either retarded or advanced,
by the application of cold or heat according to circumstances, so as
to time the simultaneous exit of the young worms exactly to the period
when the tender spring-leaves of the mulberry are most fit for their
nourishment.
They proportion the food very exactly to the young worms by weighing
the leaves, which in the first instance are cut, but as the insects
become larger, are given to them whole. The greatest precautions being
observed in regulating the temperature of the apartments. The worms
are fed upon a species of small hurdles of basket-work, strewed with
leaves, which are constantly shifted for the sake of cleanliness, the
insects readily moving off to a fresh hurdle with new leaves, as the
scent attracts them. In proportion to their growth, room is afforded
to them by increasing the number of these hurdles, the worms of one
being shifted to three, then to six, and so on until they attain their
greatest size. When they have cast their several skins, reached their
greatest size, and assumed a transparent yellowish color, they are
removed to places divided into compartments, preparatory to casting
forth their silken filaments.
In the course of a week after the commencement of this operation, the
cocoons are complete, and it now becomes necessary to take them in
hand before the pupæ turn into _moths_, which would immediately bore
their way out, and spoil the cocoons. When a certain number, therefore,
have been laid aside for the sake of future eggs, the chrysalides are
killed by being placed in jars under layers of salt and leaves, with a
complete exclusion of air. They are subsequently placed in moderately
warm water, which dissolves the glutinous substance that binds the
silk together, and the filament is wound off upon reels. This is put
up in bundles of a certain size and weight, and either becomes an
article of merchandise under the name of “raw silk,” or is subjected
to the loom, and manufactured into various stuffs, for home or foreign
consumption. The Chinese notwithstanding the simplicity of their looms
(see frontispiece), will imitate _exactly_ the newest and most elegant
patterns from France. They particularly excel in the production of
_damasks_, _figured-satins_, and _embroidery_. Their crape has never
yet been perfectly imitated; and they make a species of washing silk,
called at Canton “ponge,” which, the longer it is used, the softer it
becomes.
The Chinese have from time immemorial been celebrated for the beauty of
their embroideries; indeed, it has been doubted whether the art was not
originally introduced into Europe by them, through the Persians.
From what has been said, it is evident that the raising of the
_mulberry-tree_ should first engage the attention of the cultivator,
since its leaves form the almost exclusive nourishment of the
silk-worm. It is scarcely necessary that we should in a work of this
description enter more fully into the cultivation of the mulberry-tree.
This has already been so ably done by Jonathan Cobb, Esq. of Dedham,
Mass., Dr. Pascalis of New York, Judge Comstock of Hartford, Conn., and
E. P. Roberts, Esq. of Baltimore, as to leave no stone unturned, or any
want upon the subject.
In such parts of the Chinese empire where the climate is favorable
to the practice, and where alone, most probably, the silk-worm is
indigenous, it remains at liberty, feeding on the leaves of its
native mulberry-tree, and going through all its mutations among the
branches, uncontrolled by the hand and unassisted by the cares of man.
As soon, however, as the silken balls have been constructed, they are
appropriated by the universal usurper, who spares only the few required
to reproduce their numbers, and thus furnish him with successive
harvests[137].
[137] Mons. Marteloy of Montpelier, who made many experiments upon
the rearing of silk-worms, presented a memorial upon the subject
to the French minister, in compliance with whose recommendation, a
few silk growers of Languedoc caused an experiment to be publicly
made in the open air, in the garden belonging to the Jesuits’
college at Montpelier. The whole was placed under the direction of
Mons. Marteloy, who had 1200 livres assigned to him to defray the
necessary expenses. The experiment succeeded perfectly. This was
in 1764. In the following year a second trial was made, and 1800
livres were set apart for the expenses. Owing, however, to the
unfavorable nature of the season, this experiment failed entirely,
the heavy and incessant rains making it impossible to keep the food
of the worms in a sufficiently dry state. The rearing of silk-worms
in the open air was not again attempted in that quarter; but the
partial success led to the adoption among cultivators of a better
system of ventilation, and the production of silk was about this
time very much extended throughout Languedoc.--_Obs. on the Culture
of Silk_, _by_ A. STEPHENSON.
This silk, the spontaneous offering of nature, is not, however,
equal in fineness to that produced by worms under shelter, and whose
progressions are influenced by careful management. Much attention
is, therefore, bestowed by the Chinese in the artificial rearing of
silk-worms. One of their principal cares, is to prevent the too early
hatching of the eggs, to which the nature of the climate so strongly
disposes them. The mode of insuring the requisite delay, is, to
cause the moth to deposit her eggs on large sheets of paper: these,
immediately upon their production, are suspended from a beam in the
room, while the windows are opened to expose them to the air. In a few
days the papers are taken down and rolled loosely up with the eggs
inside, in which form they are again hung during the remainder of the
summer and autumn. Towards the end of the year they are immersed in
cold water wherein a small portion of salt has been dissolved. In this
state the eggs are left during two days; and on being taken from the
salt and water are first hung to dry, and then rolled up rather more
tightly than before, each sheet of paper being thereafter inclosed in a
separate earthen vessel. Some persons, who are exceedingly particular
in their processes, use a lye made of mulberry-tree ashes, and place
the eggs likewise, during some minutes, on snow-water.
These processes appear efficacious for checking the hatching,
until the expanding leaves of the mulberry-tree give notice to the
silk-worm-rearer that he may take measures for bringing forth his
brood. For this purpose the rolls of paper are taken from the earthen
vessels, and hung up towards the sun, the side to which the eggs adhere
being turned from its rays, by being placed inside, and thus allowing
the heat to be transmitted to them through the paper. In the evening
the sheets are rolled closely up and placed in a warm situation.
The same proceeding is repeated on the following day, when the eggs
assume a grayish color. On the evening of the third day, after a
similar exposure, they are found to be of a much darker color, nearly
approaching to black; and the following morning, on the paper being
unrolled, they are covered with worms. In the higher latitudes the
Chinese have recourse to the heat of stoves, in order to promote the
simultaneous hatching of the eggs.
The apartments in which the worms are kept stand in dry situations, in
a pure atmosphere, and apart from all noise, which is thought to be
annoying to the worms, especially when they are young. The rooms are
made very close, but adequate means of ventilation provided: the doors
being open to the south. Each chamber is provided with nine or ten rows
of frames, placed one above the other. On these frames, rush hurdles
are ranged; upon which the worms are fed through their five ages. A
uniform degree of heat is constantly preserved, either by means of
stoves placed in the corners of the apartments, or by chafing-dishes
which from time to time are carried up and down the room. Flame and
smoke being always carefully avoided: cow-dung dried in the sun is
preferred by the Chinese to all other kinds of fuel for this purpose.
The most unremitting attention is paid to the wants of the worms,
which are fed night and day. On their being hatched they are furnished
with forty meals for the first day, thirty are given on the second
day, and fewer on and after the third. The Chinese believe that the
growth of silk-worms is accelerated, and their success promoted
by the abundance of their food, and therefore, in cloudy and damp
weather, when the insects are injuriously affected by the state of the
atmosphere, their appetites are stimulated by a wisp of very dry straw
being lighted and held over them, thus causing the cold and damp air to
be dissipated.
The Chinese calculate that the same number of insects which would, if
they had attained the full size in twenty-three or twenty-four days,
produce twenty-five ounces of silk, would give only twenty ounces if
their growth occupied twenty-eight days, and only ten ounces if forty
days. In order, therefore, to accelerate their growth, they supply
them with fresh food every half-hour during the first day of their
existence, and then gradually reduce the number of meals as the worms
grow older. It deserves to be remarked as a fact unnoticed in Natural
Theology, that the substance on which this valuable caterpillar feeds,
is the leaf of the mulberry-tree; and Providence, as if to ensure the
continuance of this useful species, has so ordained it that no other
insect will partake of the same food; thus ensuring a certain supply
for the little spinster.
Many persons believe that light is injurious to silk-worms; but, so far
from this opinion being correct, the opposite belief would probably
be nearer to the truth. In its native state, the insect is of course
exposed to light, and suffers no inconvenience on that account; and
it has been observed by one who gave much attention to the subject
(Count Dandolo), that in his establishment, “on the side on which the
sun shone directly on the hurdles, the silk-worms were stronger and
more numerous than in those places where the edge of the wicker hurdle
formed a shade.” The obscurity wherein the apartments are usually kept
has a very pernicious influence on the air: the food of the worms emits
in light oxygen, or vital air, while in darkness it exhales carbonic
acid gas, unfit for respiration. This well-known fact occurs alike
with all leaves similarly circumstanced[138]. To the bad effects thus
arising from the exclusion of the sun’s rays, another evil is added
by the nature of the artificial lights employed, being such as still
further to vitiate the air.
[138] “There is in the order of nature a certain, and very surprising
fact; when the leaves of vegetables are struck by the sun’s rays,
they exhale an immense quantity of vital air necessary to the life
of animals, and which they consume by respiration.
“These same leaves in the shade as well as in darkness exhale an
immense quantity of mephitic or fixed air, which cannot be inhaled
without destruction of life.
“This influence of the sun does not cease even when the leaf has
been recently gathered; on the contrary, in darkness, gathered
leaves will exhale a still greater quantity of mephitic air.
“Place one ounce of fresh mulberry leaves in a wide-necked bottle
of the size of a Paris pint, containing two pounds of liquid;
expose this bottle to the sun; about an hour afterwards, according
to the intensity of the sun, reverse the bottle and introduce a
lighted taper in it; this done, the light will become brighter,
whiter, and larger, which proves that the vital air contained in
the bottle has increased by that which has disengaged itself from
the leaves: to demonstrate this phenomenon more clearly, a taper
may be put in a similar bottle, that only contains the air which
has entered into it by its being uncorked. Shortly after the first
experiment, water will be found in the bottle which contained
the mulberry leaves; this water, evaporating from the leaves by
means of the heat, hangs on the sides, and runs to the bottom when
cooling; the leaves appear more or less withered and dry according
to the liquid they have lost. In another similar bottle place an
ounce of leaves, and cork it exactly like the former; place it
in obscurity, either in a box, or wrap it in cloths, in short,
so as totally to exclude light; about two hours after, open the
bottle, and put either a lighted taper or a small bird into it; the
candle will go out, and the bird will perish, as if they had been
plunged into water, which demonstrates that in darkness the leaves
have exhaled mephitic air, while in the sun they exhaled vital
air”.--COUNT DANDOLO’S _Treatise on the Art of Rearing Silk-worms_,
_p._ 144.
An almost incredible quantity of fluid is constantly disengaged by
evaporation from the bodies of the insects; and if means be not taken
to disperse this as it is produced, another cause of unwholesomeness
in the air arises. Noticing this, Count Dandolo observes, “This series
of causes of the deterioration of the air which the worms must inhale,
may be termed a continual conspiracy against their health and life;
and their resisting it, and living throughout shows them to have great
strength of constitution.”
In seven days from the commencement of the cocoons they are collected
in heaps; those which are designed to continue the breed being first
selected and set apart on hurdles, in a dry and airy situation. The
next care, is to destroy the vitality of the chrysalides in those balls
which are to be reeled. The most approved method of performing this,
is to fill large earthen vessels with cocoons, in layers, throwing in
one-fortieth part of their weight of salt upon each layer, covering the
whole with large dry leaves resembling those of the water-lilly, and
then closely stopping the mouths of the vessels. In reeling their silk
the Chinese separate the thick and dark from the long and glittering
white cocoons, as the produce of the former is inferior.
We are indebted to Dr. Ure for the two following articles (_extracted
from the Journal of the Asiatic Society, for January, 1837_), on wild
silk-worms. The first article is from the pen of Thomas Hugon, a
resident of Nowgong, and relates to wild silk-worms of Assam.
“The Assamese select for breeding, such cocoons only as have been
begun to be formed in the largest number on the same day, usually the
second or third after the commencement; those which contain males
being distinguishable by a more pointed end. They are put in a closed
basket suspended from the roof; the moths, as they come forth, having
room to move about, at the expiration of a day, the females (known
only by their large body) are taken out, and tied to small wisps of
thatching-straw, selected always from over the hearth, its darkened
color being thought more acceptable to the insect. If out of a batch,
there should be but few males; the wisps with the females tied to
them are exposed outside at night; and the males thrown away in the
neighborhood, find their way to them. These wisps are hung upon a
string tied across the roof, to keep them from vermin. The eggs laid
after the first three days, are said to produce weak worms. The wisps
are taken out morning and evening, and exposed to the sun, and in ten
days after being laid, a few of them are hatched. The wisps being then
hung up to the tree, the young worms find their way to the leaves. The
ant, whose bite is fatal to the worm in its early stages, is destroyed
by rubbing the trunk of the tree with molasses, and tying dead fish
and toads to it, to attract these rapacious insects in large numbers,
when they are destroyed with fire; a process which needs to be repeated
several times. The ground under the trees is also well cleared, to
render it easy to pick up and replace the worms which fall down. They
are prevented from coming to the ground, by tying fresh plantain-leaves
round the trunk, over whose slippery surface they cannot crawl; and
then transferred from exhausted trees to fresh ones, on bamboo platters
tied to long poles. The worms require to be constantly watched and
protected from the depredations of both day and night birds, as well
as rats and other vermin. During their moultings, they remain on
the branches; but when about beginning to spin, they come down the
trunk, and being stopped by the plantain-leaves, are there collected
in baskets, which are afterwards put under bunches of dry leaves,
suspended from the roof, into which the worms crawl, and form their
cocoons--several being clustered together: this accident, owing to the
practice of crowding the worms, which is most injudicious, rendering
it impossible to wind off their silk in continuous threads, as in the
filatures of Italy, France, and even Bengal. The silk is, therefore,
spun like flax, instead of being unwound in single filaments. After
four days the proper cocoons are selected for the next breed, and the
rest are reeled. The total duration of a breed varies from sixty to
seventy days; divided into the following periods:--
Four moultings, with one day’s illness attending each, 20
From fourth moulting to beginning of cocoon, 10
In the cocoon 20, as a moth 6, hatching of eggs 10, 36
--
66
“On being tapped with the finger, the body renders a hollow sound; the
quality of which shows whether they have come down for want of leaves
on the tree, or from their having ceased feeding.
“As the chrysalis is not soon killed by exposure to the sun, the
cocoons are put on stages, covered with leaves, and exposed to the hot
air from grass burned under them; they are next boiled for about an
hour in a solution of the potash, made from incinerated rice-stalks;
then taken out and put on a cloth folded over them to keep them warm.
The floss being removed by hand, they are then thrown into a basin of
hot water to be unwound; which is done in a very rude and wasteful way.
“The plantations for the mooga silk-worm in Lower Assam, amount to 5000
acres, besides what the forests contain; and yield 1500 maunds of 84
lbs. each per annum. Upper Assam is more productive.
“The cocoon of the _Koutkuri mooga_ is of the size of a fowl’s egg. It
is a wild species, and affords filaments much valued for fishing-lines.
“The _Arrindy_, or _Eria_ worm, and moth, is reared over a great part
of Hindostan, but entirely within doors. It is fed principally on
the _Hera_, or _Palma christi_ leaves, and gives sometimes 12 broods
of spun silk in the course of a year. It affords a fibre which looks
rough at first; but when woven, becomes soft and silky, after repeated
washings. The poorest people are clothed with stuff made of it, which
is so durable as to descend from mother to daughter. The cocoons are
put in a close basket, and hung up in the house, out of reach of rats
and insects. When the moths come forth, they are allowed to move about
in the basket for twenty-four hours; after which the females are tied
to long reeds or canes, twenty or twenty-five to each, and then hung
up in the house. Of the eggs that are laid the first three days, about
200, only are kept; then tied up for seed. When a few of the worms
are hatched, the cloths are put on small bamboo platters hung up in
the house, in which they are fed with tender leaves. After the second
moulting, they are removed to bunches of leaves suspended above the
ground, beneath which a mat is laid to receive them when they fall.
When they cease to feed, they are thrown into baskets full of dry
leaves, among which they form their cocoons, two or three being often
discovered joined together.
“The _Saturnia trifenestrata_ has a yellow cocoon of a remarkably
silky lustre. It lives on the soom-tree in Assam, but seems not to be
much used.”
The second article is from the pen of Dr. Helfer, upon those wild
silk-worms which are indigenous to India. Besides the _Bombyx
mori_, the Doctor enumerates the following seven species, formerly
unknown:--1. “The wild silk-worm of the central provinces, a moth not
larger than the _Bombyx mori_.” 2. “The Joree silk-worm of Assam,
_Bombyx religiosæ_, which spins a cocoon of a fine filament, with much
lustre. It lives upon the pipul tree (_Ficus religiosa_), which abounds
in India, and ought therefore to be turned to account in breeding this
valuable moth.” 3. “_Saturnia silhetica_, which inhabits the cassia
mountains in Silhet and Dacca, where its large cocoons are spun into
silk.” 4. “A still larger _Saturnia_, one of the greatest moths in
existence, measuring _ten inches_ from the _one end of the wing to the
other_[139]; observed by Mr. Grant, in _Chirra punjee_”. 5. “_Saturnia
paphia_, or the Tusseh silk-worm, is the most common of the native
species, and furnishes the cloth usually worn by Europeans in India.
It has not hitherto been domesticated, but millions of its cocoons are
annually collected in the jungles, and brought to the silk factories
near Calcutta and Bhagelpur. It feeds most commonly on the hair-tree
(_Zizyphus jujuba_), but it prefers the _Terminalia alata_, or Assam
tree, and the _Bombax heptaphyllum_. It is called _Koutkuri mooga_, in
Assam.” 6. “Another _Saturnia_, from the neighborhood of Comercolly.”
7. “_Saturnia assamensis_, with a cocoon of a yellow-brown color,
different from all others, called _mooga_, in Assam; which, although
it can be reared in houses, thrives best in the open air upon trees,
of which seven different kinds afford it food. The _Mazankoory mooga_,
which feeds on the Adakoory tree, produces a fine silk, which is nearly
white, and fetches 50 per cent. more than the fawn colored. The trees
of the first year’s growth produce by far the most valuable cocoons.
The mooga which inhabits the soom-tree, is found principally in the
forests of the plains, and in the villages. The tree grows to a large
size, and yields three crops of leaves in the year. The silk is of a
light fawn color, and ranks next in value to the Mazankoory. There are
generally five breeds of mooga worms in the year; 1. In January and
February; 2. In May and June; 3. In June and July; 4. In August and
September; 5. In October and November; the first and last being the
most valuable.”
[139] See p. 40. Also p. 54. footnote [63]
Dr. Anderson informs us, that in Madras the silk-worm goes through
all its evolutions in the short space of twenty-two days. It appears,
however, that the saving of time, and consequently labor, is the only
economy resulting from the acceleration; as the insects consume as
much food during their shorter period of life, as is assigned to the
longer-lived silk-worms of Europe.
We extract the following paper, with slight emendations, from
Ellsworth’s Report of the Patent Office for the year 1844, being a
communication from Dr. Stebbins of Northampton, Mass[140]., to the
Editor of the American Agriculturalist, as having some bearing upon the
present subject.
[140] See Chapter XIII. p. 211.
“As requested, I forward you a sketch of Mr. Gill’s cradle for feeding
silk-worms, (It is not necessary for us to give a drawing of it in
a work like the present, which is chiefly intended for the general
reader, and besides, this machine is already sufficiently known to
silk culturists.) I have five patches of mulberry, (in all, ten or
twelve acres,) two parcels of which you have seen. The one adjoining my
garden, by estimation, may furnish foliage sufficient for a million and
a half of worms. The mulberries consist of the white, black, alpine,
broosa, moretta, alata, multicaulis, Asiatic, and large-leaf Canton.
The two latter I prefer for my own use--the Canton for early feeding
with foliage, and the Asiastic for branch feeding. The Canton is highly
approved of for producing heavy and firm cocoons, which, by competent
testimony and experiments, have been found in favor of the Canton feed
as five to eight, and is the true species used by the Chinese, as
testified by a resident Missionary, the Rev. E. C. Bridgman, and more
recently by Dr. Parker, while on his late visit to the United States.
I consider the peanut variety of worms the best for producing the most
silk of a good quality.
“From an elevated plat near my cocoonery, you had a view of our
extensive meadows spread out at the foot of Mount Holyoke. My cocoonery
you have examined, with its fixtures for feeding silk-worms--the mode
of open feeding, ventilator, and ventilating cradles. Since you left,
the whole has been completed, with hammocks suspended over the cradles,
easily put in motion, and so constructed that no offal can drop into
the cradles beneath, nor interfere with the rocking motion or winding;
the arrangement is much admired, and estimated to accommodate half a
million of worms, or more, to be fed simultaneously. About half of
the cocoonery has hurdles of lattice work, covered in part with gauze
netting four feet wide and the same number of tiers in height. The
cocoonery is supposed to be sufficiently open on the sides, ends, and
roof, to admit a free circulation of pure air. The flooring is the
natural earth.
“The past winter has been uncommonly severe on grape-vines and fruit;
forest and mulberry trees; the Asiatic I found the most hardy of any
other, and the Canton the earliest in foliage. On the 21st and 22d
of May there were severe frosts, destroying garden vegetables, and
injuring some early mulberry foliage; added to this, ice was formed
in many places. The accounts from Vermont and New Hampshire are so
disastrous as to delay early feeding; while in Northampton, June 14, at
one of my plantations, you saw silk-worms in the act of winding, and
others in a good state of forwardness. On the day of your departure,
I received a letter from a distant silk grower, a staunch promoter
of the _one early_ and _open_ crop system, that, on account of the
unpropitious season and condition of his trees, he would delay fetching
out his worms until the last of June, and then make his great effort
upon one crop.
“To provide against premature hatching of silk-worms, or the disaster
of an early frost, it is advisable to have foliage gathered and dried
the year preceding; which, being pulverized and moistened with water,
may be given to the worms until new foliage appears; and they will eat
it freely.
“To obtain the most and best foliage of the mulberry, it will be
necessary every Spring to cut or head them down within three or four
inches of the ground, and preserve the stalks for _bark-silk_. I have
a quantity of them saved with bark peeled from the large Asiatics
to be used for making _bark-silk_, in addition to a quantity of
mulberry-leaves preserved for making paper. The whole process, although
not carried out, as yet, in this country, with either, has been
successfully accomplished in France, from proof shown by M. Frassinet.
I am endeavoring to have it tested here, by subjecting both stalk
and peeled bark to the operation of steaming with soap and water, to
facilitate the separation of the bark from the wood, and the outside
cuticle from the fibrous substance of the bark, before trying the
operation of the brake for dressing, carding, spinning, &c. Should it
prove successful, it will be made public (See Mr. Zinke’s process,
Chapter XI.). Hopes are entertained that what has been done may be done
again; that Yankee ingenuity and perseverance may prove a match for
foreign cheap labor(?).
“The present time has been called the age of invention and improvement.
But if ”there is nothing new under the sun” (a pretty fair illustration
of this assertion of the wise man--Vide Ecclesiastes i. 9, 10.--will be
found in this work.); and if what is, has been and may be again, then
may we hope to be benefitted by the reproduction of astonishing results
in all coming time; and even now, while there has been anxious inquiry
for some easy mode to separate the bark of the mulberry from the wood,
an _historical fact_ has been recently communicated(?); by which,
some two hundred and forty years ago, in the year 1600, an accident
occurred, which resulted in the manufacture of a handsome fabric from
the fibrous bark of the mulberry, with the inference that the bark had
been previously used for the manufacture of cordage, on account of the
superior strength of the fibrous bark over that of other materials used
for cordage[141].
“Under date of June 6, 1844, I have been favored with a letter from
the president of one of the most eminent literary institutions of our
country, who expresses his opinion of the progress of silk culture as
follows:
‘I am gratified to find a renewed and more general interest excited
at the present time. If this awaking up to a scientific and practical
consideration of the subject is not soon crowned with signal success,
I am satisfied it will not be for want of enterprize or skill in our
countrymen, but merely from the high price of labor, compared with
the scanty wages given in other silk-growing countries. Even this
consideration (though it may retard for a while the complete success
of this department of productive industry), will not prevent its
ultimate triumph.’
“The above is the opinion of one of the most scientific men of the age,
who, in early life, was himself a silk grower. His opinion accords with
that of many others of high consideration in the United States.
“While viewing the flourishing condition of one of my mulberry patches,
you asked with what it had been manured? and received for answer,
_ashes_, and the _deciduous foliage_. The foliage, you thought, could
be gathered for making _paper_, and answered, that there would be
sufficient defective foliage left to manure the land; the foliage
is richer than any stable manure, and stable manure should never be
applied to the mulberry. I have not had occasion the last five or six
years to use even ashes as a manure, but keep the land in good tilth
by frequent hoeing. If you found these mulberries more flourishing
than others you had seen, it may be attributed, in a great measure, to
frequent hoeing, and dressing with the decayed mulberry foliage.
“The soil is a light sandy loam; and, previous to its being stocked
with mulberry, would not yield the value of $10 in any crop; and now,
my feeder says, if his worms do well, he hopes to get $800 for the
crop! A part of this lot being stocked with alpine, broosa, and Asiatic
mulberry, of 6 to 10 feet in height, in rows 3 feet apart; and having
grown so vigorously as to shade each other, and liable to have spotted
leaves. I have, in order to avoid this, and procure more, larger,
and better foliage, cut away or headed down every other row, within
three or four inches of the ground; and from the stumps have sprung
up a multitude of thrifty sprouts, now fit for use, and the leaves
three times larger than those on the standard trees, are so fresh and
tender, that in some measure it is hoped, they may answer the purpose
of seedling foliage, so highly recommended by M. Frassinet, who has
the following encomium on _seedling_ foliage: ‘that 100 pounds of
such foliage is worth near 200 pounds of old leaves to make the same
quantity of cocoons; or in fact, equivalent in value to nearly double
the stock of other foliage.’ I have caused considerable bark to be
stripped from the Asiatic trees cut away for manufacturing purposes;
and M. Rouviere, of Lyons, has proved that the bark of young shoots,
submitted to the same process as hemp, yields abundant silk-fibre
to make beautiful tissues (noticed at the close of Chapter XI.). I
should advise silk growers to preserve the shoots, have them barked in
the best way, and the silky fibre rotted, carded, spun, and wove. M.
Rouviere asserts that it will be not only fine and strong, but take
the most beautiful colors. Of the bark, ropes and nets are made in the
Morea, and may be applied to great advantage in the manufacture of
paper, together with the foliage.
“The Canton and Asiatic seed sown this year are in a flourishing
condition for plantation use, exclusive of several mulberry plantations
which will be for rent, or growing silk on shares, next spring. Up to
the first of July, worms have been uncommonly healthy--the probable
effect of more open ventilation than in former years.
“Mr. Dabney, consul at Fayal, (now in Boston) has two millions of worms
at present on feed. S. Whitmarsh, at Jamaica, has 360 of what he calls
_creolized native_ eggs, in constant feed, which go through the whole
course to the cocoon in 24 days. The eggs hatch in 10 days after being
laid. He has received the silk report, and made such improvement as to
save, in all, nine-tenths of the usual labor. The silk cause at Jamaica
occasions great interest in England for its prosperity and success.”
D. Stebbins.
Northampton, Mass., _July_, 1844.
[141] We have abundant testimony that the most beautiful fabrics,
comprising _mantles_, &c., as well as cordage, was produced from
the bark of trees, as early as the year 412 B. C. So that Mr.
Stebbins’s “_historical fact_” is anticipated by 2012 years! (See
Chapters XII. and XIII. of this Part.)
We will now conclude this Chapter with Dr. Bowling’s admirable
illustration, of the mutual dependence of the arts upon each other:--
“Let us fancy that some thousand years ago, a mortal, wandering
through an oriental wood, saw a worm falling from a fruit-bearing
tree--that he found this little creature had reached the end of one
of its stages of existence, and was laboriously engaged in shrouding
itself in an unknown substance, like a fine thread of gold, out of
which it constructed its tomb; that, attracted by the circumstance,
he found this shroud to consist of a thread hundreds of yards long,
which a very little attention enabled him to detach; he found he
could strengthen the threads by uniting them together, and they
could be applied to various purposes of usefulness; he thought of
winding off the thread; the reel lends him the first assistance,
but he could not make the reel without the co-operation of a knife,
or some such instrument with a sharp edge. Thus the aid of art--of
the produce of art--is already called in. With this rude instrument
he makes a machine which enables him to reel off the thread coffin
of the curious animal. In process of time, he finds that this fine
filament can be applied to the making of garments--garments alike
useful and ornamental. Now trace the progress of things by which,
from the narrow sphere of his observation and experiment, his
success spreads through the districts he inhabits, and from them
to other lands, and becomes an object of importance to communicate
with the whole family of man. By and by the cocoon, or its produce,
finds its way to foreign countries, probably more enlightened than
his own, again to be operated on by a higher intelligence and more
practised skill. This associates the thread of the silk-worm with a
ship, with ship-building, and all its marvellous combinations.--Some
wandering merchant probably conveyed the raw material to Persia; some
adventurous mariner to Greece or Italy, or other regions where it gave
a new impulse to science and to thought. But consider for a moment,
before the ship was launched upon the water, how many elements were
necessary for its production; think of how multitudinous and various
the materials which that ship required for its construction, before
the products of that remote country are brought to their ultimate
markets for manufacture. I refer to this particular topic, because
it is associated with the prosperity of the districts in which we
are, and I wished to carry back your thoughts to the germ whence
that prosperity sprung.”--BOWRING’S _Lecture at the Poplar
Institution_.
CHAPTER IX.
THE SPIDER.
ATTEMPTS TO PROCURE SILKEN FILAMENTS FROM SPIDERS.
Structures of spiders--Spiders not properly insects, and
why--Apparatus for spinning--Extraordinary number of
spinnerules--Great number of filaments composing one thread--Réaumur
and Leeuwenhoeck’s laughable estimates--Attachment of the thread
against a wall or stick--Shooting of the lines of spiders--1.
Opinions of Redi, Swammerdam, and Kirby--2. Lister, Kirby, and
White--3. La Pluche and Bingley--4. D’Isjonval, Murray, and
Bowman--5. Experiments of Mr. Blackwall--His account of the
ascent of gossamer--6. Experiments by Rennie--Thread supposed
to go off double--Subsequent experiments--Nests, Webs, and Nets
of Spiders--Elastic satin nest of a spider--Evelyn’s account of
hunting spiders--Labyrinthic spider’s nest--Erroneous account
of the House Spider--Geometric Spiders--Attempts to procure
silken filaments from Spiders bags--Experiments of M. Bon--Silken
material--Manner of its preparations--M. Bon’s enthusiasm--His
spider establishment--Spider-silk not poisonous--Its usefulness
in healing wounds--Investigation of M. Bon’s establishment by M.
Réaumur--His objections--Swift’s satire against speculators and
projectors--Ewbank’s interesting observations on the ingenuity of
spiders--Mason-spiders--Ingenious door with a hinge--Nest from
the West Indies with spring hinge--Raft-building Spider--Diving
Water-Spider--Rev. Mr. Kirby’s beautiful description of
it--Observations of M. Clerck--Cleanliness of Spiders--Structure of
their claws--Fanciful account of them patting their webs--Proceedings
of a spider in a steamboat--Addison--His suggestions on the
compilation of a “History of Insects.”
Of spiders there are many species; most of them extend their labors no
farther than merely to make a web to ensnare and detain their food. But
others are known to go beyond this, and spin a bag in the form of a
cocoon, for the protection of their eggs, nearly similar to that of the
silk-worm.[142]
[142] Don Luis Nee observed on certain trees growing in Chilpancingo,
Tixtala in South America, ovate nests of caterpillars, eight
inches long, which the inhabitants manufacture into stockings and
handkerchiefs.--Annals of Botany, 2d, p. 104.
Modern naturalists do not rank spiders among insects, because they
have no antennæ, and no division between the head and shoulders. They
breathe by leaf-shaped gills, situated under the belly, instead of
spiracles in the sides; and have a heart connected with these. But as
spiders are popularly considered insects, it will sufficiently suit our
purpose to introduce them here as such.
Spiders are usually classed according to their difference of color,
whether black, brown, yellow, &c., or sometimes by the number and
arrangement of their eyes: of these organs some possess no fewer than
ten, others eight, and others again six[143].
[143] Porter’s “Treatise on the Silk Manufacture,” p. 168.
Some species of spiders are known to possess the power of not merely
forming a web, but also of spinning, for the protection of their
eggs, a bag somewhat similar in form and substance to the cocoon of
the silk-worm. The apparatus by which they construct their ingenious
fabrics, is much more complicated than that which is common to the
various species of caterpillars. Caterpillars have only two reservoirs
for the materials of their silk; but the spider spins minute fibres
from fine papillæ, or small nipples placed in the hinder part of its
body. These papillæ serve the office of so many wire-drawing machines,
from which the silken threadlets are ejected. Spiders, according to the
dissections of M. Treviranus, have four principal vessels, two larger
and two smaller, with a number of minute ones at their base. Several
small tubes branch towards the reservoirs, for carrying to them, no
doubt, a supply of the secreted material. Swammerdam describes them as
twisted into many coils of an agate color[144]. We do not find them
coiled, but nearly straight, and of a deep yellow color. From these,
when broken, threads can be drawn out like those spun by the spider,
though we cannot draw them so fine by many degrees.
[144] Hill’s Swammerdam, part i. p. 23.
From these little flasks or bags of gum, situated near the apex of the
abdomen, and not at the mouth as in caterpillars, a tube originates,
and terminates in the external spinnerets, which may be seen by the
naked eye in the form of five little teats surrounded by a small
circle, as represented in Fig. 8. Plate IV.; this figure shows the
garden spider (_Epeira diadema_) suspended by a thread proceeding from
its spinneret.
We have seen that the thread of the silk-worm is composed of two
filaments united, but the spider’s thread would appear, from the first
view of its five spinnerets, to be quintuple, and in some species
which have six teats, so many times more. It is not safe, however,
in our interpretations of nature to proceed upon conjecture, however
plausible, nor to take anything for granted which we have not actually
seen; since our inferences in such cases are almost certain to be
erroneous. If Aristotle, for example, had ever looked narrowly at a
spider when spinning, he could not have fancied, as he does, that the
materials which it uses are nothing but wool stripped from its body.
On looking, then, with a strong magnifying glass, at the teat-shaped
spinnerets of a spider, we perceive them studded with regular rows
of minute bristle-like points, about a thousand to each teat, making
in all from five to six thousand. These are minute tubes which we
may appropriately term _spinnerules_, as each is connected with the
internal reservoirs, and emits a thread of inconceivable fineness. Fig.
9. represents this wonderful apparatus as it appears in the microscope.
We do not recollect that naturalists have ventured to assign any cause
for this very remarkable multiplicity of the spinnerules of spiders,
so different from the simple spinneret of caterpillars. To us it
appears an admirable provision for their mode of life. Caterpillars
neither require such strong materials, nor that their thread should
dry as quickly. It is well known in our manufactures, particularly
in rope-spinning, that in cords of equal thickness, those which are
composed of many smaller ones united are stronger than those spun at
once. In the instance of the spider’s thread, this principle must
hold still more strikingly, inasmuch as it is composed of fluid
materials that require to be dried rapidly, and this drying must be
greatly facilitated by exposing so many to the air separately before
their union, which is effected at about the tenth of an inch from
the spinnerets. In Fig. 10. Plate IV. each of the threads shown is
represented to contain one hundred minute threads, the whole forming
only one of the spider’s common threads. In the figure the threads are,
of course, greatly magnified, so that, for the small space represented,
the lines are shown as parallel. The threadlets, or filaments as they
come from the papillæ, are too fine to be counted with any degree of
accuracy, but it is evident that very many are sent forth from each
of the larger papillæ. This fact tends to explain the power possessed
by the spider of producing threads having different degrees of
tenuity. By applying more or less of these papillæ against the place
whence it begins its web, the spider joins into one thread the almost
imperceptible individual filaments which it draws from its body; the
size of this thread being dependent on the number of nipples employed,
and regulated by that instinct which teaches the creature to make
choice of the degree of exility most appropriate to the work wherein it
is about to engage.
Réaumur relates that he has often counted as many as seventy or
eighty fibres through a microscope, and perceived that there were yet
infinitely more than he could reckon; so that he believed himself to be
far within the limit of truth in computing that the tip of _each_ of
the five papillæ furnished 1000 separate fibres: thus supposing that
one slender filament of a spider’s web is made up of 5000 fibres!
Leeuwenhoeck, in one of his extraordinary microscopical observations
on a young spider, not bigger than a grain of sand, upon enumerating
the threadlets in one of its threads, calculated that it would require
_four millions_ of them to be as thick as a hair of his head!
Another important advantage derived by the spider from the
multiplicity of its threadlets is, that the thread affords a much more
secure attachment to a wall, a branch of a tree, or any other object,
than if it were simple; for, upon pressing the spinneret against the
object, as spiders always do when they fix a thread, the spinnerules
are extended over an area of some diameter, from every hair’s breadth
of which a strand, as rope-makers term it, is extended to compound
the main cord. Fig. 11. Plate IV. exhibits, magnified, this ingenious
contrivance. Those who may be curious to examine it, will see it best
when the line is attached to any black object, for the threads, being
whitish, are, in otherwise, not so easily perceived.
SHOOTING OF THE LINES.--It has long been considered a curious
though difficult investigation, to determine in what manner spiders,
seeing that they are destitute of wings, transport themselves from tree
to tree, across brooks, and frequently through the air itself, without
any apparent starting point. On looking into the authors who have
treated upon this subject, it is surprising how little there is to be
met with that is new, even in the most recent. Their conclusions, or
rather their conjectural opinions, are, however, worthy of notice; _for
by unlearning error, we the more firmly establish truth_.
1. One of the earliest notions upon this subject is that of Blancanus,
the commentator on Aristotle, which is partly adopted by Redi, by
Henricus Regius of Utrecht, by Swammerdam[145], by Lehmann, as well as
by Kirby and Spence[146]. “The spider’s thread,” says Swammerdam, “is
generally made up of two or more parts, and after descending by such a
thread, it ascends by one only, and is thus enabled to waft itself from
one height or tree to another, even across running waters; the thread
it leaves loose behind it being driven about by the wind, and so fixed
to some other body.” “I placed,” says Kirby, “the large garden spider
(_Epeira diadema_) upon a stick about a foot long, set upright in a
vessel containing water.... It let itself drop, not by a single thread,
but by _two_, each distant from the other about the twelfth of an inch,
guided, as usual, by one of its hind feet, and that one apparently
smaller than the other. When it had suffered itself to descend nearly
to the surface of the water, it stopped short, and by some means, which
I could not distinctly see, broke off, close to the spinners, the
smallest thread, which still adhering by the other end to the top of
the stick, floated in the air, and was so light as to be carried about
by the slightest breath. On approaching a pencil to the loose end of
this line, it did not adhere from mere contact. I, therefore, twisted
it once or twice round the pencil, and then drew it tight. The spider,
which had previously climbed to the top of the stick, immediately
pulled at it with one of its feet, and finding it sufficiently tense,
crept along it, strengthening it as it proceeded by another thread, and
thus reached the pencil.”
[145] Swammerdam, part i. p. 24.
[146] Intr. vol. i. p. 415.
1. “We have repeatedly witnessed this occurrence,” says Mr. Rennie,
“in the fields, and when spiders were placed for experiment, as Kirby
has described; but we very much doubt that the thread broken is ever
intended as a bridge cable, or that it would have been so used in that
instance, had it not been artificially fixed and again accidentally
found by the spider. According to our observations, a spider never for
an instant, abandons, the thread which she dispatches in quest of an
attachment, but uniformly keeps trying it with her feet, in order to
ascertain its success. We are, therefore, persuaded, that when a thread
is broken in the manner above described, it is because it has been spun
too weak, and spiders may often be seen breaking such threads in the
process of netting their webs.”
The plan, besides, as explained by these distinguished writers, would
more frequently prove abortive than successful, from the cut thread
not being sufficiently long. They admit, indeed, that spiders’ lines
are often found “a yard or two long, fastened to twigs of grass not a
foot in height.... Here, therefore, some other process must have been
used[147].”
[147] Kirby and Spence, vol. i. Intr. p. 416.
2. The celebrated English naturalist, Dr. Lister, whose treatise
upon the native spiders of that country, has been the basis of every
subsequent work on the subject, maintains that “some spiders shoot out
their threads in the same manner that porcupines do their quills[148];
that whereas the quills of the latter are entirely separated from
their bodies, when thus shot out, the threads of the former remain
fixed to their anus, as the sun’s rays to its body[149].” A French
periodical writer goes a little farther, and says, that spiders have
the power of shooting out threads, _and directing them at pleasure
towards a determined point_, judging of the distance and position
of the object by some sense of which we are ignorant[150]. Kirby
also says, that he once observed a small garden spider (_Aranea
reticulata_) “standing midway on a long perpendicular fixed thread, and
an appearance caught” his “eye, of what seemed to be the emission of
threads.” “I,” therefore, he adds, “moved my arm in the direction in
which they apparently proceeded, and, as I had suspected, a floating
thread attached itself to my coat, along which the spider crept. As
this was connected with the spinners of the spider, it could not have
been formed” by breaking a “secondary thread[151].” Again, in speaking
of the gossamer-spider, he says, “it first extends its thigh, shank,
and foot, into a right line, and then, elevating its abdomen till it
becomes vertical, _shoots its thread_ into the air, and flies off from
its station[152].”
[148] Porcupines do not shoot out their quills, as was once generally
believed.
[149] Lister, Hist. Animalia Angliæ, 4to. p. 7.
[150] Phil. Mag. ii. p. 275.
[151] Vol. i. Intr. p. 417.
[152] Ibid. ii. p. 339.
Another distinguished naturalist, Mr. White of Selborne, in speaking
of the gossamer-spider, says, “Every day in fine weather in autumn do
I see these spiders shooting out their webs, and mounting aloft: they
will go off from the finger, if you take them into your hand. Last
summer, one alighted on my book as I was reading in the parlor; ran
to the top of the page, and _shooting out a web_, took its departure
from thence. But what I most wondered at, was, that it went off with
considerable velocity in a place where no air was stirring; and I am
sure I did not assist it with my breath[153].”
[153] Nat. Hist. of Selborne, vol. i. p. 327.
“Having so often witnessed,” says Mr. Rennie, “the thread set afloat
in the air by spiders, we can readily conceive the way in which
those eminent naturalists were led to suppose it to be ejected by
some animal force acting like a syringe; but as the statement can be
completely disproved by experiment, we shall only at present ask, in
the words of Swammerdam--‘how can it be possible that a thread so fine
and slender should be shot out with force enough to divide and pass
through the air?--is it not rather probable that the air would stop
its progress, and so entangle it and fit it to perplex the spider’s
operations[154]?’” The opinion, indeed, is equally improbable with
another suggested by Dr. Lister, that the spider can retract her thread
within the abdomen, after it has been emitted[155]. De Geer[156] very
justly joins Swammerdam in rejecting both of these fancies, which,
in our own earlier observations upon spiders, certainly struck us as
plausible and true. There can be no doubt, indeed, that the animal has
a voluntary power of permitting the material to escape, or stopping it
at pleasure, but this is not projectile.
[154] Book of Nature, part i. p. 25.
[155] Hist. Anim. Anglæ, 4to.
[156] Mémoires, vol. vii. p. 189.
3. “There are many people,” says the Abbé de la Pluche, “who believe
that the spider flies when they see her pass from branch to branch,
and even from one high tree to another; but she transports herself
in this manner; and places herself upon the end of a branch, or some
projecting body, and there fastens her thread; after which, with her
two hind feet, she squeezes her dugs (_spinnerets_), and presses out
one or more threads of two or three ells in length, which she leaves
to float in the air till it be fixed to some particular place[157].”
Without pretending to have observed this, Swammerdam says, “I can
easily comprehend how spiders, without giving themselves any motion,
may, by only compressing their spinnerets, force out a thread, which
being driven by the wind, may serve to waft them from place to
place[158].” Others, proceeding upon a similar notion, give a rather
different account of the matter. “The spider,” says Bingley, “fixes one
end of a thread to the place where she stands, and then with her hind
paws _draws out_ several other threads from the nipples, which, being
lengthened out and driven by the wind to some neighboring tree or other
object, are by their natural clamminess fixed to it[159].”
[157] Spectacle de la Nature, vol. i.
[158] Book of Nature, pt. i. p. 25.
[159] Animal Biography, vol. iii. p. 475, 3d edition.
Observation gives some plausibility to the latter opinion, as the
spider always actively uses her legs, though not to draw out the
thread, but ascertain whether it has caught upon any object. The notion
of her pressing the spinneret with her feet must be a mere fancy; at
least it is not countenanced by anything which we have observed.
4. An opinion much more recondite is mentioned, if it was not started,
by M. D’Isjonval, that the floating of the spider’s thread is
electrical. “Frogs, cats, and other animals,” he says, “are affected
by natural electricity, and feel the change of weather; but no other
animal more than myself and spiders.” In wet and windy weather he
accordingly found that they spun very short lines, “_but when a spider
spins a long thread, there is a certainty of fine weather for at least
ten or twelve days afterwards_[160].” A periodical writer, who signs
himself Carolan[161], fancies that in darting out her thread the spider
emits a stream of air, or some subtle electric fluid, by which she
guides it as if by magic.
[160] Brez, Flore des Insectophiles. Notes, Supp. p. 134.
[161] Thomson’s Ann. of Philosophy, vol. iii. p. 306.
A living writer (Mr. John Murray) whose learning and skill in
conducting experiments give no little weight to his opinions, has
carried these views considerably farther. “The aëronautic spider,” he
says, “can propel its thread both horizontally and vertically, and at
all relative angles, _in motionless air_ and in an _atmosphere agitated
by winds_; nay more, the aërial traveller can even dart its thread, to
use a nautical phrase, in the ‘wind’s eye.’ My opinion and observations
are based on many hundred experiments.... The entire phenomena are
electrical. When a thread is propelled in a vertical plane, it remains
perpendicular to the horizontal plane always upright, and when others
are projected at angles more or less inclined, their direction is
invariably preserved; the threads never intermingle, and when a pencil
of threads is propelled, it ever presents the appearance of a divergent
brush. These are electrical phenomena, and cannot be explained but on
electrical principles.”
“In clear, fine weather, the air is invariably positive; and it is
precisely in such weather that the aëronautic spider makes its ascent
most easily and rapidly, whether it be in summer or winter.” “When the
air is weakly positive, the ascent of the spider will be difficult, and
its altitude extremely limited, and the threads propelled will be but
little elevated above the horizontal plane. When negative electricity
prevails, as in cloudy weather, or on the approach of rain, and the
index of De Saussure’s hygrometer rapidly advancing towards humidity,
the spider is unable to ascend[162].”
[162] Loudon’s Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. i. p. 322.
Mr. Murray tells us, that “when a stick of excited sealing-wax is
brought near the thread of suspension, it is evidently repelled;
consequently, the electricity of the thread is of a negative
character,” while “an excited glass tube brought near, seemed to
attract the thread, and with it the aëronautic spider[163].” His
friend, Mr. Bowman, further describes the aërial spider as “shooting
out four or five, often six or eight, extremely fine webs several
yards long, which waved in the breeze, diverging from each other like
a pencil of rays.” One of them “had two distinct and widely diverging
fasciculi of webs,” and “a line uniting them would have been at right
angles to the direction of the breeze[164].”
[163] Experim. Researches in Nat. Hist., p. 136.
[164] Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. i. p. 324.
“Such is the chief evidence in support of the electrical theory,” says
Mr. Rennie; “but though we have tried these experiments, we have not
succeeded in verifying any one of them. The following statements of Mr.
Blackwall come nearer our own observations.
5. ‘Having procured a small branched twig,’ says Mr. Blackwall, ‘I
fixed it upright in an earthen vessel containing water, its base being
immersed in the liquid, and upon it I placed several of the spiders
which produce gossamer. Whenever the insects thus circumstanced were
exposed to a current of air, either naturally or artificially produced,
they directly turned the thorax towards the quarter whence it came,
even when it was so slight as scarcely to be perceptible, and elevating
the abdomen, they emitted from their spinners a small portion of
glutinous matter, which was instantly carried out in a line, consisting
of four finer ones, with a velocity equal, or nearly so, to that with
which the air moved, as was apparent from observations made on the
motion of detached lines similarly exposed. The spiders, in the next
place, carefully ascertained whether their lines had become firmly
attached to any object or not, by pulling at them with the front pair
of legs; and if the result was satisfactory, after tightening them
sufficiently, they made them pass to the twig; then discharging from
their spinners, which they applied to the spot where they stood, a
little more of their liquid gum, and committing themselves to these
bridges of their own constructing, they passed over them in safety,
drawing a second line after them, as a security in case the first gave
way, and so effected their escape.
‘Such was invariably the result when spiders were placed where the air
was liable to be sensibly agitated: I resolved, therefore, to put a
bell-glass over them; and in this situation they remained seventeen
days, evidently unable to produce a single line by which they could
quit the branch they occupied, without encountering the water at its
base; though, on the removal of the glass, they regained their liberty
with as much celerity as in the instances already recorded.
‘This experiment, which, from want of due precaution, has misled so
many distinguished naturalists, I have tried with several geometric
spiders, and always with the same success[165].’”
[165] Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 456.
Mr. Blackwall, from subsequent experiments, says he is “confident
in affirming, that in motionless air, spiders have not the power of
darting their threads even through the space of half an inch[166].”
The following details are given in confirmation of this opinion. Mr.
Blackwall observed, the 1st of Oct., 1826, a little before noon, with
the sun shining brightly, no wind stirring, and the thermometer in the
shade ranging from 55°.5 to 64°, a profusion of shining lines crossing
each other at every angle, forming a confused net-work, covering the
fields and hedges, and thickly coating his feet and ankles, as he
walked across a pasture. He was more struck with the phenomenon because
on the previous day a strong gale of wind had blown from the south,
and as gossamer is only seen in calm weather, it must have been all
produced within a very short time.
[166] Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. ii. p. 397.
“What more particularly arrested my attention,” says Mr. Blackwall,
“_was the ascent of an amazing quantity of webs of an irregular,
complicated structure, resembling ravelled silk of the finest quality,
and clearest white; they were of various shapes and dimensions, some of
the largest measuring upwards of a yard in length, and several inches
in breadth in the widest part; while others were almost as broad as
long, presenting an area of a few square inches only_.
“These webs, it was quickly perceived, were not formed in the air,
as is generally believed, _but at the earth’s surface_. The lines of
which they were composed, being brought into contact by the mechanical
action of gentle airs, adhered together, till, by continual additions,
they were accumulated into flakes or masses of considerable magnitude,
on which the ascending current, occasioned by the rarefaction of the
air contiguous to the heated ground, acted with so much force as to
separate them from the objects to which they were attached, raising
them in the atmosphere to a perpendicular height of at least several
hundred feet. I collected a number of these webs about mid-day, as they
rose; and again in the afternoon, when the upward current had ceased,
and they were falling; but scarcely one in twenty contained a spider:
though, on minute inspection, I found small winged insects, chiefly
_aphides_, entangled in most of them.
“From contemplating this unusual display of gossamer, my thoughts were
naturally directed to the animals which produced it, and the countless
myriads in which they swarmed almost created as much surprise as the
singular occupation that engrossed them. Apparently actuated by the
same impulse, all were intent upon traversing the regions of air;
_accordingly, after gaining the summits of various objects, as blades
of grass, stubble, rails, gates, &c., by the slow and laborious process
of climbing, they raised themselves still higher by strengthening
their limbs; and elevating the abdomen, by bringing it from the usual
horizontal position into one almost perpendicular, they emitted from
their spinning apparatus a small quantity of the glutinous secretion
with which they construct their webs_. This viscous substance being
drawn out by the ascending current of rarefied air into fine lines
several feet in length, was carried upward, until the spiders, feeling
themselves acted upon with sufficient force in that direction, quitted
their hold of the objects on which they stood, and commenced their
journey by mounting aloft.
“Whenever the lines became inadequate to the purpose for which they
were intended, by adhering to any fixed body, they were immediately
detached from the spinners and so converted into terrestrial gossamer,
by means of the last pair of legs, and the proceedings just described
were repeated; which plainly proves that these operations result from
a strong desire felt by the insects to effect an ascent[167].” Mr.
Blackwall has recently read a paper (still unpublished) in the Linnæan
Society, confirmatory of his opinions.
[167] Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 453.
6. “Without going into the particulars,” says Mr. Rennie, “of what
agrees or disagrees in the above experiments with our own observations,
we shall give a brief account of what we have actually seen in our
researches. So far as we have determined, then, all the various species
of spiders, how different soever the form of their webs may be, proceed
in the circumstance of shooting their lines precisely alike; but those
which we have found the most manageable in experimenting, are the
small gossamer spider (_Aranea obtextrix_, BECHSTEIN), known
by its shining blackish-brown body and reddish-brown semi-transparent
legs; but particularly the long-bodied spider (_Tetragnatha extensa_,
LATR.), which varies in color from green to brownish or
grey--but has always a black line along the belly, with a silvery white
or yellowish one on each side. The latter is chiefly recommended by
being a very industrious and persevering spinner, while its movements
are easily seen, from the long cylindrical form of its body and the
length of its legs.
“We placed the above two species with five or six others, including
the garden, the domestic, and the labyrinthic spiders, in empty
wine-glasses, set in tea-saucers filled with water, to prevent their
escape. When they discovered, by repeated descents from the brims of
the glasses, that they were thus surrounded by a wet ditch, they all
set themselves to the task of throwing their silken bridges across. For
this purpose they first endeavored to ascertain in what direction the
wind blew, or rather (as the experiment was made in our study) which
way any current of air set,--by elevating their arms _as we have seen
sailors do in a dead calm_. But, as it may prove more interesting to
keep to one individual, we shall first watch the proceedings of the
gossamer spider.
“Finding no current of air on any quarter of the brim of the glass, it
seemed to give up all hopes of constructing its bridge of escape, and
placed itself in the attitude of repose; _but no sooner did we produce
a stream of air, by blowing gently towards its position, than, fixing
a thread to the glass, and laying hold of it with one of its feet, by
way of security, it placed its body in a vertical position, with its
spinnerets extended outwards; and immediately we had the pleasure of
seeing a thread streaming out from them several feet in length, on
which the little aëronaut sprung up into the air_. We were convinced,
from what we thus observed, that it was the double or bend of the
thread which was blown into the air; and we assigned as a reason for
her previously attaching and drawing out a thread from the glass, the
wish to give the wind a _point d’appui_--something upon which it might
have a _purchase_, as a mechanic would say of a lever. The bend of the
thread, then, on this view of the matter, would be carried out by the
wind,--would form the point of impulsion,--and, of course, the escape
bridge would be an ordinary line doubled.”
Such is the opinion of Mr. Rennie, which is strongly corroborated
by what has been said by M. Latreille--than whom no higher authority
could be given. “When the animal,” says he, “desires to cross a brook,
she fixes to a tree or some other object one of the ends of her first
threads, in order that the wind or a current of air may carry the other
beyond the obstacle[168];” and as one end is always attached to the
spinnerets, he must mean that the double of the thread flies off. In
his previous publications, however, Latreille had contented himself
with copying the statement of Dr. Lister. “In order to ascertain the
fact,” says Mr. Rennie, “and put an end to all doubts, we watched, with
great care and minuteness, the proceedings of the long-bodied spider
above mentioned, by producing a stream of air in the same manner, as
it perambulated the brim of the glass. It immediately, as the other
had done, attached a thread and raised its body perpendicularly, like
a tumbler standing on his hands with his head downwards; but we looked
in vain for this thread bending, as we had at first supposed, and
going off double. Instead of this it remained tight, while another
thread, or what appeared to be so, streamed off from the spinners,
similar to smoke issuing through a pin-hole, sometimes in a line, and
sometimes at a considerable angle, with the first, according to the
current of the air,--the first thread, extended from the glass to
the spinnerets, remaining all the while tight drawn in a right line.
It further appeared to us, that the first thread proceeded from the
pair of spinnerets nearest the head, while the floating thread came
from the outer pair,--though it is possible in such minute objects
we may have been deceived. That the first was continuous with the
second, without any perceptible joining, we ascertained in numerous
instances, by catching the floating line and pulling it tight, in
which case the spider glides along without attaching another line to
the glass; but if she have to coil up the floating line to lighten
it, as usually happens, she gathers it into a packet and glues the
two ends tight together. Her body, while the floating line streamed
out, remained quite motionless, but we distinctly saw the spinnerets
not only projected, as is always done when a spider spins, but moved
in the same way as an infant moves its lips when sucking. We cannot
doubt, therefore, that this motion is intended to emit (if eject
or project be deemed words too strong), the liquid material of the
thread; at the same time, we are quite certain that it cannot throw
out a single inch of thread _without the aid of a current of air_. A
long-bodied spider will thus throw out in succession as many threads
as we please, by simply blowing towards it; but not one where there is
no current, as under a bell-glass, where it may be kept till it die,
without being able to construct a bridge over water of an inch long. We
never observed more than one floating thread produced at the same time;
though other observers mention several.
[168] ----“L’un des bouts de ces premiers fils, afin que le vent ou
un courant d’air pousse l’autre extrémité de l’un d’eux au delà de
l’obstacle.”--Dict. Classique d’Hist. Nat., vol. i. p. 510.
“The probable commencement, we think, of the floating line, is by the
emission of little globules of the glutinous material to the points of
the spinnerules--perhaps it may be dropped from them, if not ejected,
and the globules being carried off by the current of air, drawn out
into a thread. But we give this as only a conjecture, for we could not
bring a glass of sufficient power to bear upon the spinnerules at the
commencement of the floating line.
“In subsequent experiments we found, that it was not indispensable for
the spider to rest upon a solid body when producing a line, as she
can do so while she is suspended in the air by another line. When the
current of air also is strong, she will sometimes commit herself to it
by swinging from the end of the line. We have even remarked this when
there was scarcely a breath of air.
“We tried another experiment. We pressed pretty firmly upon the base
of the spinnerets, so as not to injure the spider, blowing obliquely
over them; but no floating line appeared. We then touched them with a
pencil and drew out several lines an inch or two in length, upon which
we blew in order to extend them, but in this also we were unsuccessful,
as they did not lengthen more than a quarter of an inch. We next
traced out the reservoirs of a garden-spider (_Epeira diadema_), and
immediately taking a drop of the matter from one of them on the point
of a fine needle, we directed upon it a strong current of air, and
succeeded in blowing out a thick yellow line, as we might have done
with gum-water, of about an inch and a half long.
“When we observed our long-bodied spider eager to throw a line by
raising up its body, we brought within three inches of its spinnerets
an excited stick of sealing-wax, of which it took no notice, nor did
any thread extend to it, not even when brought almost to touch the
spinnerets. We experienced the same want of success with an excited
glass rod; and indeed had not anticipated any other result, as we have
never observed that either these attract or repel the floating threads,
as Mr. Murray has seen them do; nor have we ever noticed the end of a
floating thread separated into its component threadlets and diverging
like a brush, as he and Mr. Bowman describe (See Fig. 11.). It may
be proper to mention that Mr. Murray, in conformity with his theory,
explains the shooting of lines in a current of air by the electric
state produced by motion in consequence of the mutual friction of the
gaseous particles. But this view of the matter does not seem to affect
our statements.”
NESTS, WEBS, AND NETS OF SPIDERS.--“The neatest,” says
Mr. Rennie, “though the smallest spider’s nest which we have seen,
was constructed in the chink of a garden-post, which we had cut out
the previous summer in getting at the cells of a carpenter-bee. The
architect was one of the larger hunting-spiders, erroneously said by
some naturalists to be incapable of spinning. The nest in question was
about two inches high, composed of a very close satin-like texture.
There were two parallel chambers placed perpendicularly, in which
position also the inhabitant reposed there during the day, going,
as we presume, only abroad to prey during the night. But the most
remarkable circumstance was, that the openings (two above and two
below) were so elastic, that they shut closely together. We observed
this spider for several months, but at last it disappeared, and we took
the nest out under the notion that it might contain eggs; but found
none, and therefore concluded that it was only used as a day retreat.”
The account which Evelyn has given of these hunting spiders is so
interesting that we must transcribe it.
“Of all sorts of insects,” says he, “none have afforded me more
divertisement than the _venatores_ (hunters), which are a sort of
_lupi_ (wolves) that have their dens in rugged walls and crevices of
our houses; a small brown and delicately-spotted kind of spiders, whose
hinder legs are longer than the rest. Such I did frequently observe
at Rome, which, espying a fly at three or four yards distance, upon
the balcony where I stood, would not make directly to her, _but crawl
under the rail, till being arrived to the antipodes, it would steal
up, seldom missing its aim; but if it chanced to want anything of
being perfectly opposite, would, at first peep, immediately slide down
again,--till taking better notice, it would come the next time exactly
upon the fly’s back: but if this happened not to be within a competent
leap, then would this insect move so softly, as the very shadow of the
gnomon seemed not to be more imperceptible, unless the fly moved; and
then would the spider move also in the same proportion, keeping that
just time with her motion, as if the same soul had animated both these
little bodies; and whether it were forwards, backwards, or to either
side, without at all turning her body, like a well-managed horse: but
if the capricious fly took wing and pitched upon another place behind
our huntress, then would the spider whirl its body so nimbly about, as
nothing could be imagined more swift: by which means she always kept
the head towards her prey, though, to appearance, as immoveable as if
it had been a nail driven into the wood, till by that indiscernible
progress (being arrived within the sphere of her reach) she made a
fatal leap, swift as lightning, upon the fly, catching him in the pole,
where she never quitted hold till her belly was full, and then carried
the remainder home_.”
One feels a little sceptical, however, when he adds, “I have beheld
them _instructing their young ones how to hunt_, which they would
sometimes discipline for not well observing; but when any of the old
ones did (as sometimes) miss a leap, _they would run out of the field
and hide themselves in their crannies, as ashamed, and haply not to
be seen abroad for four or five hours after_; for so long have I
watched the nature of this strange insect, the contemplation of whose
so wonderful sagacity and address has amazed me; nor do I find in any
chase whatsoever more cunning and stratagem observed. I have found some
of these spiders in my garden, when the weather, towards spring, was
very hot, but they are not so eager in hunting as in Italy[169].”
[169] Evelyn’s Travels in Italy.
We have only to add to this lively narrative, that the hunting-spider,
when he leaps, takes good care to provide against accidental falls by
always swinging himself from a good strong cable of silk, as Swammerdam
correctly states[170], and which anybody may recognise, as one of the
small hunters (_Salticus scenicus_), known by its back striped with
black and white like a zebra.
[170] Book of Nature, part i. p. 24.
Mr. Weston, the editor of “Bloomfield’s Remains,” falls into a
very singular mistake about hunting-spiders, imagining them to be
web-weaving ones which have exhausted their materials, and are
therefore compelled to hunt. In proof of this he gives an instance
which came under his own observation[171]!
“As a contrast,” says Mr. Rennie, “to the little elastic satin
nest of the hunter, we may mention the largest with which we are
acquainted,--that of the labyrinthic spider (_Agelena labyrinthica_,
WALCKENAER). Our readers must often have seen this nest spread
out like a broad sheet in hedges, furze, and other low bushes, and
sometimes on the ground. The middle of this sheet, which is of a close
texture, is swung like a sailor’s hammock, by _silken_ ropes extended
all around to the higher branches; but the whole curves upwards and
backwards, sloping down to a long funnel-shaped gallery which is nearly
horizontal at the entrance, but soon winds obliquely till it becomes
quite perpendicular. This curved gallery is about a quarter of an inch
in diameter, is much more closely woven than the sheet part of the web,
and sometimes descends into a hole in the ground, though oftener into
a group of crowded twigs, or a tuft of grass. Here the spider dwells
secure, frequently resting with her legs extended from the entrance of
the gallery, ready to spring out upon whatever insect may fall into her
sheet net. She herself can only be caught by getting behind her and
forcing her out into the web; but though we have often endeavored to
make her construct a nest under our eye, we have been as unsuccesful
as in similar experiments with the common house spider (_Aranea
domestica_).
“The house spider’s proceedings were long ago described by Homberg,
and the account has been copied, as usual, by almost every subsequent
writer. Goldsmith has, indeed, given some strange mis-statements from
his own observations, and Bingley has added the original remark, that,
after fixing its first thread, creeping along the wall, and joining
it as it proceeds, it ‘_darts itself to the opposite side_, where the
other end is to be fastened[172]!’ Homberg’s spider took the more
circuitous route of travelling to the opposite wall, carrying in one
of its claws the end of the thread previously fixed, lest it should
stick in the wrong place. This we believe to be the correct statement,
for as the web is always horizontal, it would seldom answer to commit
a floating thread to the wind, as is done by other species. Homberg’s
spider, after stretching as many lines by way of _warp_ as it deemed
sufficient between the two walls of the corner which it had chosen,
proceeded to cross this in the way our weavers do in adding the _woof_,
with this difference, that the spider’s threads were only laid on, and
not interlaced[173]. The domestic spiders, however, in these modern
days, must have forgot this mode of weaving, for none of their webs
will be found thus regularly constructed!”
[171] Bloomfield’s Remains, vol. ii. p. 64, _note_.
[172] Animal Biography, iii. 470, 471.
[173] Mem. de l’Acad. des Sciences, pour 1707, p. 339.
The geometric, or net-working spiders (See Fig. 12. Plate IV.) are as
well known as any of the preceding; almost every bush and tree in our
gardens and hedge-rows having one or more of their nests stretched out
in a vertical position between adjacent branches. The common garden
spider (_Epeira diadema_), and the long-bodied spider (_Tetragnatha
extensa_), are the best known of this order.
“The chief care of a spider of this sort,” says Mr. Rennie, “is, to
form a cable of sufficient strength to bear the net she means to hang
upon it; and after throwing out a floating line as above described,
when it catches properly, she doubles and redoubles it with additional
threads. On trying its strength she is not contented with the test of
pulling it with her legs, but drops herself down several feet from
various points of it, as we have often seen, swinging and bobbing with
the whole weight of her body. She proceeds in a similar manner with the
rest of the frame of her wheel-shaped net; and it may be remarked that
some of the ends of these lines are not simple, but in form of a Y,
giving her the additional security of two attachments instead of one.”
In constructing the body of the nest, the most remarkable circumstance
is the using of her limbs as a measure, to regulate the distances of
her _radii_ or wheel-spokes (See Fig. 12. Plate IV., which represents
the geometric net of the “_Epeira diadema_”), and the circular meshes
interwoven into them. These are consequently always proportional to
the size of the spider. She often takes up her station in the centre,
but not always, though it is so said by inaccurate writers; but she
as frequently lurks in a little chamber constructed under a leaf
or other shelter at the corner of her web, ready to dart down upon
whatever prey may be entangled in her net. The centre of the net is
said also to be composed of more viscid materials than its suspensory
lines,--a circumstance alleged to be proved by the former appearing
under the microscrope studded with globules of gum[174]. “We have not
been able,” says Mr. Rennie, “to verify this distinction, having seen
the suspensory lines as often studded in this manner as those in the
centre.”
[174] Kirby and Spence, Intr. i. 419.
At the commencement of the last century a method was discovered in
France by Monsieur Bon, of procuring silk from spiders’ bags, and its
use was attempted in the manufacture of several articles. Mr. Bon has,
however, noticed only _two_ kinds of silk-making spiders, and these he
has distinguished from each other as having either long or short legs,
the last variety producing the finest quality of raw silk. According to
this ingenious observer, the silk formed by these insects is equally
beautiful, strong, and glossy with that formed by the silk-worm.
When first formed, the color of these spiders’ bags is gray, but, by
exposure to the air, they soon acquire a blackish hue. Other spider
bags might probably be found of different colors, and affording silk
of better quality, but their scarcity would render any experiment with
them difficult of accomplishment; for which reason M. Bon confined his
attention to the bags of the common sort of the short-legged kind.
These always form their bags in some place sheltered from the wind
and rain, such as the hollow trunks of trees, the corners of windows
or vaults, or under the eaves of houses. A quantity of the bags was
collected from which a new kind of silk was made, said to be in no
respect inferior to the produce of the silk-worm. It took readily all
kinds of dyes, and might have been wrought into any description of
silken fabric. Mr. Bon had stockings and gloves made from it, some
of which he presented to the Royal Academy of Paris, and others he
transmitted to the Royal Society of London.
This silk was prepared in the following manner:--Twelve or thirteen
ounces of the bags were beaten with a stick, until they became entirely
freed from dust. They were next washed in warm water, which was
continually changed, until it no longer became clouded or discolored
by the bags under process. After this they were steeped in a large
quantity of water wherein soap, saltpetre, and gum-arabic had been
dissolved. The whole was then gently boiled during three hours, after
which the bags were rinsed in clear warm water to discharge the
soap. They were finally set out to dry, previous to the operation of
carding, which was then performed with cards differing from those
usually employed with silk, being much finer. By these means silk of
a peculiar ash color was obtained, which was spun without difficulty.
Mr. Bon affirmed that the thread was both stronger and finer than
common silk, and that therefore fabrics similar to those made with the
latter material might be manufactured from this, there being no reason
for doubting that it would stand any trials of the loom, after having
undergone those of the stocking frame.
The only obstacle, therefore, which appeared to prevent the
establishing of any considerable manufacture from these spider bags
was the difficulty of obtaining them in sufficient abundance. Mr. Bon
fancied that this objection could soon be overcome, and that the art
of domesticating and rearing spiders, as practised with silk-worms,
was to be attained. Carried away by the enthusiasm of one who, having
made a discovery, pursues it with ardor undismayed by difficulties, he
met every objection by comparisons, which perhaps were not wholly and
strictly founded on fact. Contrasted with the spider, and to favor his
arguments, the silk-worm in his hands made a very despicable figure. He
affirmed that the female spider produces 600 or 700 eggs; while of the
100, to which number he limited the silk-worm, not more than one-half
were reared to produce balls. That the spiders hatched spontaneously,
without any care, in the months of August and September; that the old
spiders dying soon after they have laid their eggs, the young ones
live for ten or twelve months without food, and continue in their bags
without growing, until the hot weather, by putting their viscid juices
in motion, induces them to come forth, spin, and run about in search of
food.
Mr. Bon’s spider establishment, was managed in the following
manner:--having ordered all the short-legged spiders which could be
collected by persons employed for the purpose, to be brought to him,
he inclosed them in paper coffins and pots; these were covered with
papers, which, as well as the coffins, were pricked over their surface
with pin-holes to admit air to the prisoners. The insects were duly
fed with flies, and after some time it was found on inspection that
the greater part of them had formed their bags. This advocate for the
rearing of spiders contended that spiders’ bags afforded much more silk
in proportion to their weight than those of the silk-worm; in proof
of which he observed, that thirteen ounces yield nearly four ounces
of pure silk, two ounces of which were sufficient to make a pair of
stockings; whereas stockings made of common silk were said by him to
weigh seven or eight ounces.
It was objected by some of Mr. Bon’s contemporaries, that spiders were
venomous; and this is so far true that a bite from some of the species
is very painful, producing as much swelling as the smart sting of a
nettle. Mr. Bon, however, asserted that he was several times bitten,
without experiencing any inconvenience; if so, he was more fortunate
or less sensitive than any of the spider-tamers with whom we have been
acquainted. It was further asserted, that this venom extended itself
to the silk which the spider produced; but this assertion was utterly
absurd, as any one who has ever applied a cobweb to stop the bleeding
from a cut ought to have known. Mr. Bon declared with perfect truth,
that the silk, so far from being pernicious, was useful in staunching
and healing wounds, its natural gluten acting as a kind of balsam.
The honest enthusiasm of the projector, and the singularity of a
regular establishment being formed for rearing and working spiders,
excited a considerable share of public attention. It was, indeed, an
age of strange speculations, for nearly at the same time a German
gentleman broached a scheme for turning tame squirrels and mice to
account in spinning; and companies were formed in England, with large
nominal capitals to carry out schemes still more preposterous. So
important did Mr. Bon’s project appear to the French Academy, that they
deputed the eminent naturalist, M. Réaumur, to investigate the merits
of this new silk-filament.
After a long and patient examination M. Réaumur stated the following
objections to Mr. Bon’s plan for raising spider-silk, which have ever
since been regarded as insurmountable.
1. The natural fierceness of spiders renders them unfit to be bred
together. On distributing four or five thousand of these insects into
cells or companies of from fifty to one or two hundred, it was found
that the larger spiders quickly _killed and ate the smaller_, so that
in a short space of time the cells were depopulated, scarcely more than
one or two being found in each cell.
2. The silk of the spider is inferior to that of the silk-worm both
in lustre and strength; and produces less material in proportion, than
can be made available for the purposes of the manufacture. The filament
of the spider’s-bag can support a weight of only thirty-six grains,
while that of the silk-worm will sustain a weight of one hundred and
fifty grains. Thus four or five threads of the spider must be brought
together to equal one thread of the silk-worm, and as it is impossible
that these should be applied so accurately over each other as not to
leave little vacant spaces between them, the light is not equally
reflected, and the lustre of the material is consequently inferior to
that in which a solid thread is used.
3. A great disadvantage of the spider’s silk is, that it cannot be
wound off the ball like that of the silk-worm, but must necessarily
be carded. By this latter process, its evenness, which contributes so
materially to its lustre, is destroyed.
The ferociousness and pugnacity of the spiders are not exaggerated;
they fight like furies. Their voracity, too, is almost incredible,
and it is very questionable whether the mere collection of flies
sufficient to feed a large number of the spiders would not involve an
amount of expense fatal to the project as a lucrative undertaking.
The strength of the spiders’ filament is, if anything, overstated by
Réaumur. Deficiency of lustre arising from the carding of the filaments
is common to the spider-fabric and to spun silk; this objection would,
perhaps, not be of very great weight but for the decisive calculation
by which Réaumur showed the comparative amount of production between
the spider and the silk-worm.
The largest cocoons weigh four, and the smaller three grains each;
spider-bags do not weigh above one grain each; and, after being cleared
of their dust, have lost two-thirds of this weight; therefore the _work
of twelve spiders_ equals that of _only one silk-worm_; and a pound of
spider-silk would require for its production 27,648 insects. But as the
bags are wholly the work of the females, who spin them as a deposit for
their eggs, it follows that 55,296 spiders must be reared to yield one
pound of silk: yet this will be obtained only from the best spiders;
those large ones ordinarily seen in gardens, &c., yielding not more
than a twelfth part of the silk of the others. The work of 280 of these
would therefore not yield more silk than the produce of one industrious
silk-worm, and 663,552 of them would furnish only one pound of silk!
Although Réaumur’s report completely extinguished Mr. Bon’s project
in France, it was revived in England two or three times in the early
part of the last century. Swift has not neglected to make it a portion
of his unrivalled satire against speculators and projectors, in his
account of Gulliver’s visit to the Academy of Lagado:
“I went into another room, says he, where the walls and ceilings were
all hung round with cobwebs, except a narrow passage for the artist to
go in and out. At my entrance he called out to me not to disturb his
webs. He lamented the fatal mistake the world had been so long in, of
using silk-worms, while we had such plenty of domestic insects, who
infinitely excelled the former, because they understood how to weave
as well as spin. And he proposed further, that, by employing spiders,
the charge of dyeing silk should be wholly saved; whereof I was fully
convinced, when he showed me a vast number of flies most beautifully
colored, wherewith he fed his spiders, assuring us that the webs would
take a tincture from them, and as he had them of all hues, he hoped
to suit every body’s fancy, as soon as he could find proper food for
the flies, of certain gums, oils, and other glutinous matter to give a
strength and consistency to the threads.”
THE INGENUITY OF SPIDERS.--Mr. Thomas Ewbank of New York,
in a letter to the Editor of the Journal of the Franklin Institute,
bearing date September 20th, 1842, gives us the following interesting
description of the ingenuity of the Spider.
“The resources of the lower animals have often excited admiration, and
though no comprehensive and systematic series of observations have yet
been made upon them(?), the time is, I believe, not distant when the
task will be undertaken--perhaps within the next century. But whenever
and by whomsoever accomplished, the mechanism of animals will then form
the subject of one of the most interesting and _useful_ volumes in the
archives of man.
“Among insects, spiders have repeatedly been observed to modify
and change their contrivances for _ensnaring their prey_. Those
that live in fields and gardens often fabricate their nets or webs
vertically. This sometimes occurs in locations where there is no object
sufficiently near to which the lower edge or extremity of the web can
properly be braced; and unless this be done, light puffs or breezes of
wind are apt to blow it into an entangled mass. Instead of being spread
out, like the sail of a ship, to the wind, it would become clewed over
the upper line, or edge, like a sail when furled up. Now how would a
human engineer act under similar circumstances? But ere the reader
begins to reflect(!), he should bear in mind that it would not do to
brace the web by running rigging from it to some _fixed_ or immovable
object below--by no means;--for were this done, it could not yield to
impulses of wind; the rigging would be snapped by the first blast, and
the whole structure probably destroyed.
“Whatever contrivances human sagacity might suggest, they could hardly
excel those which these despised engineers sometimes adopt. Having
formed a web, under circumstances similar to those to which we have
referred, a spider has been known to descend from it to the ground by
means of a thread spun for the purpose, and after selecting a minute
pebble, or piece of stone, has coiled the end of the thread round it.
Having done this, the ingenious artist ascended, and fixing himself on
the lower part of the web, hoisted up the pebble until it swung several
inches clear of the ground. The cord to which the weight was suspended
was then secured by additional ones, running from it to different parts
of the web, which thus acquired the requisite tension, and was allowed,
at the same time, to yield to sudden puffs of wind without danger of
being rent asunder.
“A similar instance came under my notice a few days ago. A large
spider had constructed his web, in nearly a vertical position, about
six feet from the ground, in a corner of my yard. The upper edge was
formed by a strong thread, secured at one end to a vine leaf, and the
other to a clothes line. One part of the lower edge was attached to a
Penyan sun-flower, and another to a trellis fence, four or five feet
distant. Between these there was no object nearer than the ground, to
which an additional brace line could be carried; but two threads, a
foot asunder, descended from this part of the web, and, eight or ten
inches below it, were united at a point. From this point, a single
line, four or five inches long, was suspended, and to its lower
extremity was the weight, a _living one_, viz. a worm, _three inches
long_, and _one-eighth of an inch thick_. The cord was fastened around
the middle of the victim’s body, and as no object was within reach, all
its writhings and efforts to escape were fruitless. Its weight answered
the same purpose as a piece of inanimate matter, while its sufferings
seemed not in the least to disturb the unconcerned murderer, who lay
waiting for his prey above.
“Whether the owner of the web found it a more easy task to capture this
unlucky worm and raise it, than to elevate a stone of the same weight,
may be a question(?). Perhaps in seeking for the latter, the former
fell in his way, and was seized as the first suitable object that came
to hand--like the human tyrant, (Domitian) who, to show his skill in
archery, planted his arrows in the heads of men or cattle, in the
absence of other targets. It may be, however, that a piece of stone,
earth, or wood, of a suitable weight, was not in the vicinity of the
web.
“To observe the effect of this weight, I separated, with a pair of
scissors, the thread by which it was suspended, and instantly the web
sunk to half its previous dimensions--the lower part became loose, and
with the slightest current kept shaking like a sail shivering in the
wind. A fresh weight was not supplied by the next morning; but instead
of it two long brace lines extended from the lower part of the web to
two vine tendrils, a considerable distance off. These I cut away to
see what device would be next adopted, but on going to examine it the
following day, I found the clothes line removed, and with it all relics
of the insect’s labors had disappeared.”
MASON-SPIDERS.--A no less wonderful structure is composed
by a sort of spiders, natives of the tropics and the south of Europe,
which have been justly called mason-spiders by M. Latreille. One of
these (_Mygale nidulans_, WALCKN.), found in the West Indies,
“digs a hole in the earth obliquely downwards, about three inches in
length, and one in diameter. This cavity she lines with a tough thick
web, which, when taken out, resembles a leathern purse; but what is
most curious, this house has a door with hinges, like the operculum of
some sea-shells, and herself and family, who tenant this nest, open and
shut the door whenever they pass and repass. This history was told me,”
says Darwin, “and the nest, with its door, shown me by the late Dr.
Butt, of Bath, who was some years physician in Jamaica[175].”
[175] Darwin’s Zoonomia, i. 253, 8vo. ed.
“The nest of a mason-spider, similar to this,” says Mr. Rennie, “has
been obligingly put into our hands by Mr. Riddle of Blackheath. It came
from the West Indies, and is probably that of Latreille’s clay-kneader
(_Mygale cratiens_), and one of the smallest of the genus. We have
since seen a pair of these spiders in possession of Mr. William Mello,
of Blackheath. The nest is composed of very hard argillaceous clay,
deeply tinged with brown oxide of iron. It is in form of a tube, about
one inch in diameter, between six and seven inches long, and slightly
bent towards the lower extremity--appearing to have been mined into
the clay rather than built. The interior of the tube is lined _with
a uniform tapestry of silken web, of an orange-white color_, with a
texture intermediate between India paper and very fine glove leather.
But the most wonderful part of this nest is its entrance, which we look
upon as the perfection of insect architecture. A circular door, about
the size of a crown piece, slightly concave on the outside and convex
within, is formed of more than a dozen layers of the same web which
lines the interior, closely laid upon one another, and shaped so that
the inner layers are the broadest, the outer being gradually less in
diameter, except towards the hinge, which is about an inch long; and in
consequence of all the layers being united there, and prolonged into
the tube, it becomes the thickest and strongest part of the structure.
The elasticity of the materials, also, gives to this hinge the
remarkable peculiarity of acting like a spring, and shutting the door
of the nest spontaneously. It is, besides, made to fit so accurately to
the aperture, which is composed of similar concentric layers of web,
that it is almost impossible to distinguish the joining by the most
careful inspection. To gratify curiosity, the door has been opened and
shut hundreds of times, without in the least destroying the power of
the spring. When the door is shut, it resembles some of the lichens
(_Lecidea_), or the leathery fungi, such as _Polyporus versicolor_
(MICHELI), or, nearer still, the upper valve of a young
oyster-shell. The door of the nest, the only part seen above ground,
being of a blackish-brown color, it must be very difficult to discover.”
Another mason-spider (_Mygale cœmentaria_, LATR.), found in the south
of France, usually selects for her nest a place bare of grass, sloping
in such a manner as to carry off the water, and of a firm soil, without
rocks or small stones. She digs a gallery a foot or two in depth, and
of a diameter (equal throughout) sufficient to admit of her easily
passing. She lines this _with a tapestry of silk glued to the walls_.
The door, which is circular, is constructed of many layers of earth
kneaded, and bound together with _silk_. Externally, it is flat and
rough, corresponding to the earth around the entrance, for the purpose,
no doubt, of concealment: on the inside it is convex, _and tapestried
thickly with a web of fine silk_. The threads of this door-tapestry are
prolonged, and strongly attached to the upper side of the entrance,
forming an excellent hinge, which, when pushed open by the spider,
shuts again by its own weight, without the aid of spring hinges. When
the spider is at home, and her door forcibly opened by an intruder, she
pulls it strongly inwards, and even where half-opened often snatches it
out of the hand; but when she is foiled in this, she retreats to the
bottom of her den, as her last resource[176]. The nest of this spider
(the mason spider) is represented in Plate IV. Fig. 14., and shows the
nest shut. Fig. 15., represents it open. Fig. 16. the spider (_Mygale
cœmentaria_). Fig. 17. the eyes magnified. Figures 18 and 19 parts of
the foot and claw magnified. Rossi ascertained that the female of an
allied species (_Mygale sauvagesii_, LATR.), found in Corsica, lived in
one of these nests, with a numerous posterity. He destroyed one of the
doors to observe whether a new one would be made, which it was; but it
was fixed immoveably, without a hinge; the spider, no doubt, fortifying
herself in this manner till she thought she might re-open it without
danger[177].
[176] Mém. Soc. d’Hist. Nat. de Paris, An. vii.
[177] Mém. Soc. d’Hist. Nat. de Paris, An. vii. p. 125, and Latreille,
Hist. Nat. Génér. viii. p. 163.
“The Rev. Revett Shepherd has often noticed, in the fen ditches of
Norfolk, a very large spider (the species not yet determined) which
actually forms a _raft_ for the purpose of obtaining its prey with more
facility. Keeping its station upon a ball of weeds about three inches
in diameter, probably held together by slight silken cords, it is
wafted along the surface of the water upon this floating island, which
it quits the moment it sees a drowning insect. The booty thus seized it
devours at leisure upon its raft, under which it retires when alarmed
by any danger[178].” In the spring of 1830, Mr. Rennie found a spider
on some reeds in the Croydon Canal, which agreed in appearance with Mr.
Shepherd’s.
[178] Kirby and Spence, Intr. i. 425.
Among our native spiders there are several, which, not contented with a
web like the rest of their congeners, take advantage of other materials
to construct cells where, “_hushed in grim repose_,” they “expect their
insect prey.” The most simple of those spider cells is constructed by
a longish-bodied spider (_Aranea holosericea_, LINN.), which
is a little larger than the common hunting spider. It rolls up a leaf
of the lilac or poplar, precisely in the same manner as is done by the
leaf-rolling caterpillars, upon whose cells it sometimes seizes to
save itself trouble, having first expelled, or perhaps devoured, the
rightful owner. The spider, however, is not satisfied with the tapestry
of the caterpillar, _but always weaves a fresh set of her own_, more
close and substantial.
Another spider, common in woods and copses (_Epeira quadrata?_) weaves
together a great number of leaves to form a dwelling for herself, and
in front of it she spreads her toils for entrapping the unwary insects
which stray thither. These, as soon as caught, are dragged into her
den, and stored up for a time of scarcity. Here also her eggs are
deposited and hatched in safety. When the cold weather approaches, and
the leaves of her edifice wither, she abandons it for the more secure
shelter of a hollow tree, where she soon dies; but the continuation of
the species depends upon eggs, deposited in the nest before winter, and
remaining to be hatched with the warmth of the ensuing summer.
The spider’s den of united leaves, however, which has just been
described, is not always useless when withered and deserted; for the
dormouse usually selects it as a ready-made roof for its nest of dried
grass. That those old spiders’ dens are not accidentally chosen by the
mouse, appears from the fact, that out of about a dozen mouse-nests of
this sort found during winter in a copse between Lewisham and Bromley,
Kent (England), every second or third one was furnished with such a
roof.
THE WATER SPIDER.--We extract the following exquisitely
beautiful and interesting fact in nature, _connected with diving
operations_, from the Rev. Mr. Kirby’s Bridgewater Treatise:--
“The Water Spider is one of the most remarkable upon whom that office
(diving) is developed by her Creator. To this end, her instinct
instructs her to fabricate a kind of _diving-bell_ in the bosom of that
element. She usually selects still waters for this purpose. Her house
is an _oval cocoon_, filled with air, and lined with _silk_, from which
threads issue in every direction, and are fastened to the surrounding
plants; in this cocoon, which is open below, she watches for her prey,
and even appears to pass the winter, when she closes the opening. It is
most commonly, yet not always, entirely under water; but its inhabitant
has filled it with air for her respiration, which enables her to live
in it. She conveys the air to it in the following manner: she usually
swims upon her back, when her abdomen is enveloped in a bubble of air,
and appears like a globe of quicksilver[179]; with this she enters her
cocoon, and displacing an equal mass of water, again ascends for a
second lading, till she has sufficiently filled her house with it, so
as to expel all the water.
“The males construct similar habitations by the same manœuvres. How
these little animals can envelope their abdomen with an air-bubble,
and retain it till they enter their cells, is still one of Nature’s
mysteries that have not been explained.
“We, however, cannot help admiring, and adoring, the wisdom, power, and
goodness manifested in this singular provision, enabling an animal that
breathes the atmospheric air, to fill her house with it under water,
and which has instructed her in a secret art, _by which she can clothe
part of her body with air as a garment_, and which she can put off when
it answers her purpose.
“This is a kind of attraction and repulsion which mocks all our
inquiries.”
[179] Her singular economy was first, we believe, described by Clerck
(Aranei Suecici, Stockholm, 1757.), L. M. de Lignac (Mém. des
Araign. Aquat., 12mo. Paris, 1799.), and De Geer.
“The shining appearance,” says Clerck, “proceeds either from an
inflated globule surrounding the abdomen, or from the space between
the body and the water. The spider, when wishing to inhale the air,
rises to the surface, with its body still submersed, and only the
part containing the spinneret rising just to the surface, when it
briskly opens and moves its four teats. A thick coat of hair keeps
the water from approaching or wetting the abdomen. It comes up for
air about four times an hour or oftener, though I have good reason
to suppose it can continue without it for several days together.
“I found in the middle of May one male and ten females, which I
put into a glass filled with water, where they lived together very
quietly for eight days. I put some duck-weed (_Lemna_) into the
glass to afford them shelter, and the females began to stretch
diagonal threads in a confused manner from it to the sides of the
glass about half way down. Each of the females afterwards fixed
a close bag to the edge of the glass, from which the water was
expelled by the air from the spinneret, and thus a cell was formed
capable of containing the whole animal. Here they remained quietly,
with their abdomens in their cells, and their bodies still plunged
in the water; and in a short time brimstone-colored bags of eggs
appeared in each cell, filling it about a fourth part. On the 7th
of July several young ones swam out from one of the bags. All this
time the old ones had nothing to eat, _and yet they never attacked
one another_, as other spiders would have been apt to do (Clerck,
Aranei Suecici, cap. viii.).”
“These spiders,” says De Geer, “spin in the water a cell of strong,
_closely woven, white silk_ in the form of half the shell of a
pigeon’s egg, or like a diving bell. This is sometimes left partly
above water, but at others is entirely submersed, and is always
attached to the objects near it by a great number of irregular
threads. It is closed all round, but has a large opening below,
which, however, I found closed on the 15th of December, and the
spider living quietly within, with her head downwards. I made a
rent in this cell, and expelled the air, upon which the spider
came out; yet though she appeared to have been laid up for three
months in her winter quarters, she greedily seized upon an insect
and sucked it. I also found that the male as well as the female
constructs a similar subaqueous cell, and during summer no less
than in winter (De Geer, Mém. des Insectes, vii. 312.).” “We have
recently kept one of these spiders,” says Mr. Rennie, “for several
months in a glass of water, where it built a cell half under water,
in which it laid its eggs.”
Thus it appears, that by the successive descents of the little
water-spider under the impulsion of its instinct, produce effects
in its subaqueous pavilion equivalent to those produced in the
diving-bell, or diving helmet, by the successive strokes of the
condensing air-pump of scientific man!
In the language of the book of Psalms, this insect “LAYETH THE BEAMS
OF” her “CHAMBERS IN THE WATERS,” and there secures her subaqueous
chambers in the manner described.
CLEANLINESS OF SPIDERS.--“When we look at the viscid
material,” says Mr. Rennie, “with which spiders construct their lines
and webs, and at the rough, hairy covering (with a few exceptions) of
their bodies, we might conclude, that they would be always stuck over
with fragments of the minute fibres which they produce. This, indeed,
must often happen, did they not take careful precautions to avoid it;
for we have observed that they seldom, if ever, leave a thread to float
at random, except when they wish to form a bridge. When a spider drops
along a line, for instance, in order to ascertain the strength of her
web, or the nature of the place below her, she invariably, when she
re-ascends, coils it up into a little ball, and throws it away. Her
claws are admirably adapted for this purpose, as well as for walking
along the lines, as may be readily seen by a magnifying glass. Fig.
13. Plate IV. shows the triple-clawed foot of a spider, magnified,
the others being toothed like a comb, for gliding along the lines.
This structure, however, unfits it to walk, as flies can do, upon
any upright polished surface like glass; although the contrary[180]
is erroneously asserted by the Abbé de la Pluche. Before she can do
so, she is obliged to construct a ladder of ropes, as Mr. Blackwall
remarks[181], by elevating her spinneret as high as she can, and laying
down a step upon which she stands to form a second; and so on, as any
one may try by placing a spider at the bottom of a very clean wine
glass.
“The hairs of the legs, however, are always catching bits of web and
particles of dust; but these are not suffered to remain long. Most
people may have remarked that the house-fly is ever and anon brushing
its feet upon one another to rub off the dust, though we have not seen
it remarked in authors that spiders are equally assiduous in keeping
themselves clean. They have, besides, a very efficient instrument in
their mandibles or jaws, which, like their claws, are furnished with
teeth; and a spider which appears to a careless observer as resting
idly, in nine cases out of ten will be found _slowly combing her
legs with her mandibles, beginning as high as possible on the thigh,
and passing down to the claws_. The flue which she thus combs off is
regularly tossed away.
“With respect to the house-spider (_A. domestica_), we are told in
books, that ‘she from time to time clears away the dust from her
web, and sweeps the whole by giving it a shake with her paw, so
nicely proportioning the force of her blow, that she never breaks
any thing[182].’ That spiders may be seen shaking their webs in this
manner, we readily admit; though it is not, we imagine, to clear them
of dust, but to ascertain whether they are sufficiently sound and
strong.
“We recently witnessed a more laborious process of cleaning a web
than merely shaking it. On coming down the Maine by the steam-boat
from Frankfort, in August 1829, we observed the geometric-net of a
conic spider (_Epeira conica_, WALCK.) on the framework of
the deck, and as it was covered with flakes of soot from the smoke of
the engine, we were surprised to see a spider at work on it; for, in
order to be useful, this sort of net must be clean. Upon observing it
a little closely, however, we perceived that she was not constructing
a net, but dressing up an old one; though not, we must think, to save
trouble, so much as an expenditure of material. Some of the lines she
dexterously stripped of the flakes of soot adhering to them; but in
the greater number, finding that she could not get them sufficiently
clean, she broke them quite off, bundled them up, and tossed them over.
We counted five of these packets of rubbish which she thus threw away,
though there must have been many more, as it was some time before
we discovered the manœuvre, the packets being so small as not to be
readily perceived, except when placed between the eye and the light.
When she had cleared off all the sooted lines, she began to replace
them in the usual way; but the arrival of the boat at Mentz put an
end to our observations.” Bloomfield, the poet, having observed the
disappearance of these bits of ravelled web, says that he observed a
garden spider moisten the pellets before swallowing them! Dr. Lister,
as we have already seen, thought the spider retracted the threads
within the abdomen.
[180] Spectacle de la Nature, i. 58.
[181] Linn. Trans. vol. xv.
[182] Spectacle de la Nature, i. p. 61.
“I could wish,” says Addison, in ‘The Spectator,’ “our Royal Society
would compile a body of natural history, the best that could be
gathered together from books and observations. If the several
writers among them took each his particular species, and gave us a
distinct account of its original, birth, and education; its policies,
hostilities, and alliances; with the frame and texture of its inward
and outward parts,--and particularly those which distinguish it from
all other animals,--with their aptitudes for the state of being in
which Providence has placed them; it would be one of the best services
their studies could do mankind, and not a little redound to the glory
of the All-wise Creator.”--‘Spectator,’ No. iii.
Although we do not consider Addison as a naturalist, in any of the
usual meanings of the term, yet it would be no easy task, even for
those who have devoted their undivided attention to the subject,
to improve upon the admirable plan of study here laid down. It is,
moreover, so especially applicable to the investigation of insects,
that it may be more or less put in practice by any person who chooses,
in whatever station or circumstances he happens to be placed. Nay,
we will go farther; for since it agrees with experience and many
recorded instances that individuals have been enabled to investigate
and elucidate particular facts, who were quite unacquainted with
systematic natural history, we hold it to be undeniable, that _any
person of moderate penetration, though altogether unacquainted with
what is called “Natural History_,” who will take the trouble to
observe particular facts and endeavor to trace them to their causes,
has every chance to be successful in adding to his own knowledge, and
frequently in making discoveries of what was previously unknown. It
is related of M. Pélissan, while a prisoner in the Bastille, that he
tamed a spider by means of music. This in conjunction with Evelyn’s
observations on hunting-spiders is strong proof of our position,
and show that though books are often of high value to guide us in
our observations, they are by no means indispensable to the study
of nature, inasmuch as the varied scene of creation itself forms an
inexhaustible book, which “even he who runneth may read.”
“It will be of the utmost importance, in the study here recommended,
to bear in mind that an insect can never be found in any situation,
nor make any movement, without some motive, originating in the
instinct imparted to it by Providence. This principle alone, when it
is made the basis of inquiry into such motives or instincts, will
be found productive of many interesting discoveries, which, without
it, might never be made. With this, indeed, exclusively in view,
during an excursion, and with a little attention and perseverance,
every walk--nay, every step--may lead to delightful and interesting
knowledge.”--“INSECT ARCHITECTURE,” p. 219.
[Illustration:
_Plate IV._
Spiders, with the processes of Spinning and Weaving.]
CHAPTER X.
FIBRES OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINNA.
The Pinna--Description of--Delicacy of its threads--Réaumur’s
observations--Mode of forming the filament or thread--Power of
continually producing new threads--Experiments to ascertain
this fact--The Pinna and its Cancer Friend--Nature of their
alliance--Beautiful phenomenon--Aristotle and Pliny’s account--The
Greek poet Oppianus’s lines on the Pinna, and its Cancer
friend--Manner of procuring the Pinna--Poli’s description--Specimens
of the Pinna in the British Museum--Pearls found in the Pinna--Pliny
and Athenæus’s account--Manner of preparing the fibres of the Pinna
for weaving--Scarceness of this material--No proof that the ancients
were acquainted with the art of knitting--Tertullian the first ancient
writer who makes mention of the manufacture of cloth from the fibres
of the Pinna--Procopius mentions a chlamys made of the fibres of
the Pinna, and a silken tunic adorned with sprigs or feathers of
gold--Boots of red leather worn only by Emperors--Golden fleece of the
Pinna--St. Basil’s account--Fibres of the Pinna not manufactured into
cloth at Tarentum in ancient times, but in India--Diving for the Pinna
at Colchi--Arrian’s account.
In the preceding chapter we have confined our remarks, principally, to
the various attempts made to obtain a silken or filamentous material
from the spider, and although those efforts have not been crowned with
that degree of success which would render a speculation of the kind
worthy of our attention in a pecuniary point of view, yet, it must be
conceded, that the subject is scarcely the less interesting; and Mr.
Bon, the gentleman who first undertook the training of spiders, has at
least given us matter for further interesting speculation. It is now
about 104 years since Mr. Bon commenced his experiments.
In this chapter, we shall proceed to describe the Pinna of the
ancients, and upon which human ingenuity has been more successfully
exercised in seeking, many feet below the surface of the Ocean, for
the slender filaments, the produce of an animal in almost a vegetative
state of existence.
The Pinna is a bivalve[183] shell-fish, which, when full grown, is 18
inches long, and 6 wide at its broad end. It is found near the shores
of South Italy, Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia; also in the Bay of
Smyrna, and in the Indian Ocean. It does not fasten itself to rocks
in the same position as the muscle, but sticks its sharp end into the
mud or sand, while the rest of the shell is at liberty to open in
the water. In common with the muscle, it has the power of spinning a
viscid matter from its body, conformably with that of the spider and
caterpillar. Although the pinna is vastly larger than the muscle,
its shell being sometimes found two feet long, the threads which it
produces are more delicate and slender than those of the muscle, being
in fineness and beauty scarcely inferior to the single filament of
the comparatively minute silk-worm. Threads so delicately thin, as
may readily be imagined, do not singly possess much strength; but
the little power of each is made up by the aggregate of the almost
infinite number which each fish puts forth to secure itself in a fixed
situation, and preserve it against the rolling of the waves. The
threads are, however, similar in their nature to those of the muscle,
differing only in their superior fineness and greater length. These
fish have, therefore, been distinguished by some naturalists, the one
as the silk-worm, the other as caterpillar of the sea.
[183] An animal having two valves, or a shell consisting of two parts
which open and shut.
It has been from a very remote period well known, that muscles have
the power of affixing themselves either to rocks or the shells of one
another, in a very firm manner; yet their method of effecting this
was not understood until explained by the accurate observations of
M. Réaumur, the _first_ naturalist who ascertained that if, by any
accident, the animals were torn from their hold, they possessed the
power of substituting other threads for those which had been broken
or injured. It was found by him, that if muscles, detached from each
other, were placed in any kind of vessel and then plunged into the sea,
they contrived in a very short time to fasten themselves both to the
vessel’s side and one another’s shells: in this process, the extremity
of each thread seemed to perform the office of a hand in seizing upon
the body to which it would attach itself.
The threads issue from the shell at that part where it naturally
opens, and in affixing themselves to any substance, form numerous
minute cables, by which the fish steadies itself in the water. Each
animal is provided with an organ, which it is difficult to designate
by any name, since it performs the office of so many members, and is
the only indicator of the existence of vital powers in the creature. It
is by turns a tongue, an arm, and sometimes a leg. Its shape resembles
that of a tongue, and is, therefore, most frequently called by that
name. Whenever the fish requires to change its place, this member
serves to drag its body forward, together with its cumbrous habitation:
in performing a journey, the extremity of this organ, which may then be
styled a leg, is fixed to some solid body, and being then contracted
in length, the whole fish is necessarily drawn towards the spot where
it intends to station itself; and by a repetition of these movements,
the animal arrives at its destination. It is not often that the organ
is put to this use, as the pinna is but little addicted to locomotion:
some naturalists indeed affirm that it is always stable. The purpose to
which the tongue is most frequently applied, is that of spinning the
threads. Although this body is flat, and in form similar to a tongue
through the greater part of its length, it becomes cylindrical about
the base or root, where it is much smaller than in any other part: at
this lower end are several ligatures of a muscular nature, which keep
the tongue firmly fixed against the middle of the shell; four of these
cords are very apparent, and serve to move the tongue in any direction
according to the wants of the fish. Through the entire length of this
member there runs a slit, which pierces so deeply into its surface,
as almost to divide it into two longitudinal sections; this performs
the office of a canal for the liquor of which the threads are formed,
and serves to mould them into their proper form: the canal appears
externally like a small crack, being almost covered by the flesh
from either side, but internally it is much wider, and surrounded by
circular fibres. The channel thus formed extends regularly from the
tip to the base of the tongue, where it partakes of the form of the
member and becomes cylindric, producing there a tube or pipe in which
the canal terminates. The viscid substance is moulded in this tube into
the shape of a cord, similar to the threads produced from it, though
much thicker, and from which all the minute fibres issue and disperse.
The internal surface of the tube, wherein the large cord is formed,
is furnished with glands for the secretion of the peculiar substance
employed in its production, and which is always in great abundance in
this animal as well as in muscles.
Réaumur observed, “that although the workmanship of the land and sea
animals when completed is alike, the manner of its production is very
different. Spiders, caterpillars, &c., form threads of any required
length, by making the viscous liquor of which the filament is formed
pass through fine perforations in the organ appointed for spinning.
But the way in which muscles form their thread is widely opposite; as
the former resembles the work of the wire-drawer[184], so does the
latter that of the founder who casts metals in a mould.” The canal of
the organ destined for the muscle’s spinning is the mould in which its
thread is cast, and gives to it its determinate length.
[184] This remark of M. Réaumur confirms the observations of M. H.
Straus, quoted in Chapter VII. that the thread of the silk-worm
is not produced by a simple emission of liquid matter through the
orifices of the spinner, or that it acquires solidity at once from
the drying influence of the air. Indeed, silk cannot be produced
in this manner, but is _secreted in the form of silk in silk
vessels_, and the spinning apparatus, so called, only unwinds it.
Mr. Straus’s observations on this head admit of no argument. The
discovery reduces all that has been heretofore written upon the
subject to the character of old lumber.
Réaumur learned the manner of the muscle performing the operation of
swimming by actually placing some of these fish under his constant
inspection. He kept them in his apartment in a vessel filled with
sea water, and distinctly saw them open their shells and put forth
their tongues. They extended and contracted this organ several times,
obtruding it in every direction, as if seeking the fittest place
whereon to fix their threads. After repeated trials of this kind,
the tongue of one was observed to remain for some time on the spot
chosen, and being then drawn back with great quickness, a thread was
very easily discerned, fastened to the place: this operation was again
resumed, until all the threads were in sufficient number: one fibre
being produced at each movement of the tongue.
The old threads were found to differ materially from those newly spun,
the latter being whiter, more glossy, and transparent than the former,
and it was thence discovered that it was not the office of the tongue
to transfer the old threads one by one to the new spots where they were
fixed, which course M. Réaumur had thought was pursued. The old threads
once severed from the spot to which they had been originally fixed were
seen to be useless, and that every fibre employed by the fish to secure
itself in a new position was produced at the time required; and, in
short, that nature had endowed some fish, as well as land insects, with
the power of spinning threads, as their natural wants and instincts
demanded. This fact was incontrovertibly established by cutting away,
as close to the body as they could with safety be separated, the old
threads, which were always replaced by others in a space of time as
short as was employed by other muscles not so deprived.
“The pinna and its cancer friend” have on more than one occasion been
made subjects for poetry. There is doubtless some foundation for the
fact of the mutual alliance between these aquatic friends which has
been thus celebrated; yet some slight coloring may have been borrowed
from the regions of fancy wherewith to adorn the verse, and even the
prose history of their attachment may be exposed to a similar objection.
The scuttle-fish, a native of the same seas with the pinna, is its
deadly foe, and would quickly destroy it, were it not for its faithful
ally. In common with all the same species, the pinna is destitute of
the organs of sight, and could not, therefore, unassisted, be aware
of the vicinity of its dangerous enemy. A small animal of the crab
kind, itself deprived of a covering, but extremely quick-sighted,
takes refuge in the shell of the pinna, whose strong calcareous
valves affords a shelter to her guest, _while he makes a return for
this protection by going forth in search of prey_. At these intervals
the pinna opens her valves to afford him egress and ingress: if the
watchful scuttle-fish now approach, the crab returns instanter with
notice of the danger to her hostess; who, timely warned, shuts her door
and keeps out the enemy. When the crab has, unmolested, succeeded in
loading itself with provisions, _it gives a signal by a gentle noise
at the opening of the shell_, and when admitted, the two friends feast
together on the fruit of its industry. It would appear an arduous,
nay, a task almost impossible for the defenceless and diminutive crab,
not merely to elude its enemies and return home, but likewise obtain
a supply of provender sufficient to satisfy the wants of its larger
companion. The following different account of the nature of this
alliance is more credible:--
Whenever the pinna ventures to open its shell, it is immediately
exposed to the attacks of various of the smaller kinds of fish, which,
meeting with no resistance to their first assaults, acquire boldness
and venture in. The vigilant guard, by a gentle bite, gives notice of
this to his companion, who, upon such a hint, closes her shell, and
having thus shut them in makes a prey of those who had come to prey
upon her: when thus supplied with food, she never fails to share her
booty with so useful an ally.
We are told that the sagacious observer, Dr. Hasselquist, in his
voyage, (about the middle of the last century,) to Palestine, which
he undertook for objects connected with the study of natural history,
beheld this curious phenomenon, which, although well known to the
ancients, had escaped the attention of the moderns.
It is related by Aristotle[185] that the pinna keeps a guard to watch
for her, which grows to her mouth, and serves as her caterer: this he
calls pinnophylax, and describes as a little fish with claws like a
crab. Pliny observes[186], that the smallest species of crab is called
the pinnotores, and being from its diminutive size liable to injury,
has the prudence to conceal itself in the shells of oysters. In another
place he describes the pinna as of the genus of shell-fish, with the
further particulars that it is found in muddy waters, always erect,
and never without a companion, called by some pinnatores, by others
pinnophylax; this being sometimes a small squill, and at others a crab,
which remains with the pinna for the sake of food.
[185] Hist. lib. v. c. 15.
[186] Lib. ix. 51. 66.
The description of the pinna by the Greek poet Oppianus, who flourished
in the second century, has been thus given in English verse:--
The pinna and the crab together dwell,
For mutual succor in one common shell;
They both to gain a livelihood combine,
That takes the prey, when this has given the sign;
From hence this crab, above his fellows famed,
By ancient Greeks was Pinnotores named.
It is said that the pinna fastens itself so strongly to the rocks, that
the men employed in fishing for it are obliged to use considerable
force to break the tuft of threads by which it is secured fifteen,
twenty, and sometimes even thirty feet below the surface of the sea.
It is fished up in the Gulf of Tarentum by the _Pernonico_, which
consists of two semicircular bars of iron fastened together at the
ends, at one of which is a wooden pole, at the other a ring and cord.
The fishermen conduct their boat over the place, where the pinna is
seen through the clear water, let down the Pernonico, and, having
loosened the pinna by embracing it with the iron bars and twisting it
round, draw it up to the boat. The pinna is also obtained by diving.
Poli, in his splendid work on the Sicilian Testacea (_Parma_, 1795,
_folio_,) gives beautiful representations of the several species and
especially of the Pinna Nobilis[187]. The following description of
submarine scenery and operations, is so vivid and pleasing that we
quote it at length.
[187] The figure (Fig. 7.) of the Pinna Nobilis, Plate III., is reduced
from Plate XXXIV. in vol. ii.
Pinnis hujusmodi abundant præ cæteris litus Trinacriæ, sinus
Tarentinus, oraque maritima Crateris Neapolitani, potissimum ultra
Promontorium Pausilypi. Equidem persummâ adficimur animi jucunditate,
quoties illarum piscationis recordamur, quam vere jam inchoato
inibi facere iterum iterumque consuevimus. Est ad Insulam Nisitæ,
quâ illa ad septentrionem vergit, respicitque contra Pausilypi
Promontorium, amœnissimi maris plaga, quoddam maris ocium. Ibi inter
ingentes, pulcherrimosque marinarum stirpium saltus, quibus plaga
illa undique virescit, oculosque animumque recreat, Pinnarum greges
sponte gignuntur; quæ mari tranquillo, umbrisque ab insulæ summitate
cadentibus, ab iis qui cymbis insistunt, ad triginta fermè pedum
altitudinem, subrectæ, inque fundo arenoso defixæ perspicuè cerni
possunt. Urinatores igitur, sese mari submergentes, illis arripiendis
destinantur. Quoniam vero, ne reiteratis quidem ictibus, ab arenâ,
ubi consitæ sunt, educi queunt; arena etenim, et pondere suo et
altissimâ aquarum mole sibi incumbente fortiter stipata, urinatorum
conatibus validè resistit; hi maris fundum nacti, ibique veluti in
solo sedentes, arenam Pinnæ circumjectam manibus averrunt, Pinnamque
deinceps ambabus manibus comprehensam divellere conantur. Et si
diutius, quam par est, spiritum cohibere nequeunt, ad summa æquorum
ascendunt, suberibusque aquæ innatantibus inibi de industriâ positis
innituntur, donec tandem aëris haustu recreati, maris fundum iterum
petant, operamque penitus absolvant. _v._ ii. _p._ 230, 231.
This species of Pinna is especially abundant on the shores of Sicily,
in the Gulf of Taranto, and in the Bay of Naples, particularly beyond
the Cape of Posilipo. It always fills my mind with the greatest
delight to recollect the manner of fishing for it, in which I have
often taken a part at that spot in the commencement of spring. On the
northern shore of the Isle of Nisida opposite Posilipo, is a most
agreeable expanse of water, where the sea appears to be ever at rest.
Here, amidst those vast and most beauteous submarine forests, with
which the coast is decorated in every direction so as at once to charm
the mind and refresh the eye, the Pinna grows spontaneously in large
groups, and in calm water, when the shadows fall from the summit of
the island, is clearly seen by persons in boats growing nearly upright
and fixed in the sandy bottom at the depth of about thirty feet. There
are divers, whose business it is to bring it up. But, since it cannot
be loosened even by repeated blows, (for the sand firmly resists the
attempts of the diver, being supported by its own weight and by the
super-incumbent water,) in these circumstances he sits down at the
bottom of the sea, brushes away with his fingers the earth which
encompasses the shell, and then endeavors to pull it up by seizing it
with both hands. If he is thus likely to be detained at the bottom for
a longer time than he can hold his breath, he ascends to the surface,
supports himself _upon corks_, which are in readiness for him, and,
when he has sufficiently recovered himself by breathing, he again
dives to the bottom to complete his task.
The specimens of Pinna in the British Museum show not only the tuft,
but also the pearls and the mother of pearl. Poli found in one specimen
of the Pinna Nobilis no less than twenty pearls, of which he has given
figures in his splendid work. Pliny (l. ix. c. 35.) mentions the
practice of diving for the Pinna in the Mediterranean Sea in order
to obtain pearls from it: and Athenæus (l. iii. p. 93 Casaub.) has
preserved extracts from two historical writers, one of whom accompanied
Alexander on his Indian expedition, and who informs us, that the Pinna
was procured in the Indian seas, by diving and for the sake of the
pearls.
The Italians call the fibres _Lana Pesce_ or _Lana Penna_, i. e. _Fish
Wool_, or _Pinna Wool_. It is not equally good in all places. When the
bottom of the sea is sandy, the shell with its bunch of fibres may be
easily extracted, and they are silky and of a fine color. But in rushy
and muddy bottoms so fast do they stick as to be generally broken in
drawing up, and are of a blackish color without gloss.
The Lana Penna is twice washed in tepid water, once in soap and water,
and again in tepid water, then spread on a table to dry: while yet
moist, it is rubbed and separated with the hand, and again spread on
the table. When quite dry, it is drawn through a wide comb of bone, and
then through a narrow one. That which is destined for very fine works
is also drawn through iron combs, called _scarde_ (_cards_). It is then
spun with a distaff and spindle.
As it is impossible to procure much of this material of a good quality,
the manufacture is very limited, and the articles produced, stockings
and gloves, are expensive. They are esteemed excellent preservatives
against cold and damp, are soft and very warm, and the finest of a
brown cinnamon, or glossy gold color. The manufacture is chiefly
carried on at Taranto, the ancient _Tarentum_[188].
[188] Riedesel’s Travels through Sicily and Græcia Magna, translated
by J. R. Forster, London, 1773, p. 178-180. De Salis, Travels in
the Kingdom of Naples. Keppel Craven, Tour through the Southern
Provinces of the Kingdom of Naples, p. 185. D’Argenville, Lithol.
et Conchologie, p. 183, and Plate 25.
The _Lana Penna_, having been spun, is now almost universally knit.
But, as it does not appear that the ancients were acquainted with this
process prior to the second century, whatever garments they made of
this material must have been woven.
The first proof we possess of its use among them is in Tertullian, who
lived in the second century (_De Pallio_, iii. _p._ 115, _Rigaltii_).
Speaking of the materials for weaving, he says,
Nec fuit satis tunicam pangere et serere, ni etiam piscari vestitum
contigisset nam et de mari vellera, quo mucosæ lanusitatis plautiores
conchæ comant.
Nor was it enough to comb and to sow the materials for a tunic. It was
necessary also to fish for one’s dress. For fleeces are obtained from
the sea, where shells of extraordinary size are furnished with tufts
of mossy hair[189]. (See Fig. 7, Plate II.)
[189] In this passage _piscari_ is rather fancifully opposed to
_pangere_ and _serere_. The former of these two terms (_pangere_)
refers to tunics of wool, which was _pacta_ or _pexa_; the latter
to tunics of cotton and flax, which were _sata_. The epithet
_plautiores_, (etymologically allied to _latiores_, and to πλατὺς,)
well describes the large size and expanded form of the Pinna.
Procopius informs us (_De Edif. lib._ iii. _c._ 1.), that Armenia was
governed by five hereditary satraps, who received their _insignia_ from
the Roman Emperor. Among these was a Chlamys made of the fibres of the
Pinna. (Χλαμὺς ἡ ἐξ ἐρίων πεποιημένη, οὐχ οἷα τῶν προβατίων ἐκπέφυκεν,
ἀλλ’ ἐκ θαλάσσης συνειλεγμένων· πίννους τὰ ζῶα καλεῖν νενομίκασι, ἐν
οἷς ἡ τῶν ἐρίων ἔκφυσις γίνεται.) This chlamys was fastened with a
fibula of gold, in which a precious stone was set, and three hyacinths
were suspended from it by golden chains (χρυσαῖς τε καὶ χαλαραῖς
ἀλύσεσιν.) The chlamys was accompanied by a silken tunic, adorned with
sprigs or “_feathers_” of gold. It is thus described:
Χιτὼν ἐκ μετάξης, ἐγκαλλωπίσμασι χρυσοῖς πανταχόθεν ὡραΐσμενος, ἃ δὴ
νενομίκασι πλούμμια καλεῖν.
With the chlamys and tunic were worn boots of red leather, such as only
the emperors of Rome and Persia were allowed to wear.
St. Basil mentions with admiration “the golden fleece” of the Pinna,
which no artificial dye could imitate. Πόθεν τὸ χρυσοῦν ἔριον αἱ πίνναι
τρέφουσιν, ὅπερ οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀνθοβάφων ἐμιμήσατο.--_Hexaem._ vii.
Whether the tuft of the Pinna was used for weaving before the time of
the authors, who have now been cited, seems doubtful. As the Pinna is
frequently mentioned by earlier writers, both Greek and Latin[190], but
without any reference to the use of its tuft, it may be regarded as
probable, that this kind of cloth was not invented before the time of
Tertullian.
[190] The passages are collected in Stephani Thesaurus L. Græcæ, ed.
Valpy, p. 7579.
It is a no less curious question, Whence did the ancients obtain the
fibres of the Pinna, _and where was the manufacture of them carried on_?
It has been commonly said at _Tarentum_, but apparently for no
other reason than that the Pinna is obtained and the manufacture
principally carried on at _Taranto_ in modern times. By referring to
the authorities above quoted, it will be seen that none of them makes
any allusion to Tarentum. Consequently we have no direct evidence, that
this was the seat of the ancient manufacture. On the contrary, we have
testimony, that fine cloths of this substance were made in _India_, and
thence imported into Greece and other countries.
The author of the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, a document of an age
at least as late as the time of Tertullian, states that the business
of diving for the wool of the Pinna was prosecuted near the city
called _Colchi_ in the south of India. Different species of Pinna
with tufts of fine silk are now no less abundant in the Indian than
the Mediterranean Sea. The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea presents a
sufficient proof, that this beautiful substance was spun and woven
by the Indians, whereas we can only suppose from analogy that the
manufacture was carried on in ancient times by the Tarentines.
CHAPTER XI
FIBRES, OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINE-APPLE.
Fibres of the Pine-Apple--Facility of dyeing--Manner of preparing the
fibres for weaving--Easy cultivation of the plant--Thrives where no
other plant will live--Mr. Frederick Burt Zincke’s patent process of
manufacturing cloth from the fibres of this plant--Its comparative
want of strength--Silken material procured from the Papyfera--Spun
and woven into cloth--Cloth of this description manufactured
generally by the Otaheiteans, and other inhabitants of the South Sea
Islands--Great strength (supposed) of ropes made from the fibres of
the aloe--Exaggerated statements.
This plant, which has hitherto been valued solely as ministering to the
luxuries of the table, has lately had a new interest attached to it
from the discovery of a fibre contained in its leaves, possessing such
valuable properties, that it will, in all probability, soon form a new
and important article of commerce.
The fibres of the pine-apple plant are disposed in fasciculi, each
apparent fibre being an assemblage of fibres adhering together, of
such exceeding delicacy, as only to measure from 1/5000th to 1/7000th
part of an inch in diameter; viewed under the microscope, they bear
considerable resemblance to silk, from their glossy, even, and
smooth texture. They appear altogether destitute of joints, or other
irregularities, and are remarkably transparent, particularly when
viewed in water: they are very elastic, of considerable strength,
and readily receive the most delicate dyes. This last fact appears
singular, when we bear in mind the resistance, if we may be allowed
the expression, which flax offers to dyes. With much trouble, and by
long processes, flax will receive a few dark dingy colors: all light
and brilliant ones it wholly resists; they do not enter the fibre,
but merely dry upon it externally, and afterwards easily peel, or rub
off,--in short, it may be said to be _painted_, and not dyed.
The preparation of the pine-fibre is exceedingly simple. If a leaf of
this plant be examined, it will be found to consist of an assemblage
of fibres running parallel from one extremity of the leaf to the
other, embedded in the soft pabulum. All the process necessary is to
pass the leaf under a “tilt hammer,” the rapid action of which, in a
few seconds, completely crushes it, without in the slightest degree
injuring the fibre, which remains in a large skein, and then requires
to be rinsed out in soft water, to cleanse it from impurities, and be
afterwards dried in the shade. So simple and rapid is the process, that
a leaf, in a quarter of an hour after being cut from the plant, may
be in a state fit for the purposes of the manufacturer, as a glossy,
white fibre, with its strength unimpaired by any process of maceration,
which, by inducing partial putrefaction, not only materially injures
the strength of flax, but also renders it of a dingy color.
The pine-plant abounds both in the East and West Indies, and may be
easily propagated from the crown; offsets from round the base of the
fruit, which often amount to upwards of twenty in number; and from
the young plants which spring from the parent stem; its cultivation
requires but little care or expense, and is of such hardy growth, as
to be almost independent of those casualties of weather, which often
prove so detrimental to more delicate crops--it is one of those plants
which Nature has scattered so profusely through tropical regions,
whose leaves are thick and fleshy, to contain a large supply of
nourishment, and covered by a thick, glazed cuticle; admitting of so
little evaporation, that many of them will thrive upon a barren rock,
where no other plant would live. Also from the large portion of oxalic
acid which the leaves contain, no animal will touch them, and are,
therefore, exempt from the trespasses of cattle, &c. Indeed no greater
proof of the hardiness of the plant can be given, than the fact,
that in many places where lands have been under tillage,--afterwards
abandoned, and allowed to return to a state of nature, the pine-apple
plant exhibits the only trace of former cultivation; every other
cultivated plant has died away before the encroachments of the
surrounding wood, while they alone remained increasing from year to
year, and spread into large beds.
Mr. Frederick Burt Zincke obtained a patent in England, bearing date
December 9, 1836, for the following mode of preparing the filaments
of this plant, the “_Bromelia ananas_.” We give the patentee’s own
description (with slight emendations), as received from the patent
office, London, and which is as follows.
“I (the said Frederick Burt Zincke) do hereby declare that the nature
of my said invention consists--Firstly, in preparing or manufacturing
the leaf of the plant, commonly called the pine-apple, by bruising,
beating, washing, and drying the same, in such manner as to separate
the long fibrous parts from the cuticle pabulum, and other matter
comprising the said leaf. Secondly, in the application of the fibrous
substance, so prepared to various manufactures and purposes, for which
silk, flax, cotton, hemp, wool, and other fibrous materials are now
used. And further, I describe the manner in which my said invention
is to be performed by the following statement: For the purpose of
preparing the fibre, I cut the leaves from the pine-apple plant, at any
period from the time of their obtaining their full growth, till the
ripening of the fruit, for I find that if the leaves are taken before
they are full grown, the fibre is less strong, and if suffered to
remain on the plant, after the ripening of the fruit, the fibre becomes
harsh, and is more difficult to divest of the extraneous matter. The
small thorns having been trimmed from the edge of the leaves, with
a sharp knife, the leaves should be crushed, so as to disengage the
fibre from the other matter composing the leaf, for which purpose the
employment of a mallet upon a block of wood, will fully answer the
intended purpose. This process of crushing is to be continued until
the fibre appears in an assemblage of long silky filaments, with more
or less of the pulpy and other matter of the leaf adhering to them;
to cleanse them from which they are to be well rinsed in soft water,
_immediately after having been crushed_ or beaten, and then the water
should forthwith be squeezed out of them, by drawing them between the
edges of two pieces of wood, placed parallel to each other, so as to
admit of the fibres being drawn out rather lightly between them, for if
the green matter is allowed to dry on the fibre, it of course becomes
more difficult to cleanse. The washing must be carefully performed,
so as to prevent the fibre from becoming tangled or knotted. The
operation of washing or rinsing must be repeated until the fibre be
thoroughly cleansed. If it be found difficult to clean the fibre from
the extraneous matter, in consequence of not collecting the leaves from
the plant sufficiently early, or from any other cause, the operation
will be facilitated by boiling the fibre, after it has been beaten,
and partially purified in a solution of soap in soft water. For this
purpose the fibre must be regularly disposed in any suitable vessel, so
as to prevent its becoming tangled, with sufficient water to cover it,
in which soap has been dissolved, in the proportion of about 5 lbs. to
50 lbs. of fibre, a light weight being then placed upon it, to keep the
fibre beneath the surface of the liquor; the whole is then to be boiled
for the space of three or four hours, and after boiling, to be well
rinsed out in soft water, and squeezed as before directed. The fibre
having been cleansed by these processes, is to be _gradually dried in
the shade_, and occasionally shaken out, so as to prevent the too close
adhesion of the filament in drying, which would otherwise take place.
The fibre may be obtained free from the extraneous matter of the leaf
by other modes; but I prefer that which I have above described. As to
the second part of my said invention, it is only necessary to observe
that from the _superiority of this fibre in several respects over those
now in common use_(?), it is adapted to a vast number of purposes,
in which fibrous materials are now employed; it is of a glossy white
color, it receives dyes with facility, it possesses great strength, and
is divisible to an exceeding degree of fineness, for upon examination
each filament that appears a single fibre, is, in fact, a bundle
of very delicate fibres, adhering more or less strongly together.
These qualities render it applicable to the manufacture of _shawls_,
_drills_, _damask-linens_, _plushes_, _carpets_, _rugs_, _lace_,
_bonnets_, _paper_; as a material for _rope_, _twine_, or _thread_, and
a variety of other purposes to which silk, cotton, flax hemp, wool, and
other fibrous materials are now applied. As a material for spinning in
the ordinary method in which flax is now spun through hot water, this
fibre requires to undergo the process generally in use for bleaching
flax. I find the period at which the bleaching can be most conveniently
performed, is when the fibre is in the state called technically “a
roving;” for the coarser yarns the first stages of the bleaching
process will be sufficient, but this operation must be carried further,
in proportion to the fineness of the yarn intended to be spun. The
effect of the bleaching upon the fibre is, to disengage part of the
adhesive matter, which connects the fine filaments together, and render
the yarn susceptible of longation, between the receiving and delivering
rollers in spinning, after it has passed through the hot water; I
therefore claim as my invention, the preparing and manufacturing into
the fibres hereinbefore particularly described; the leaf of the plant
commonly called the pine-apple, by any mode or modes of preparation,
and also the application of the said fibres, when prepared and
manufactured, to the several purposes hereinbefore also particularly
specified, the same being to the best of my knowledge (information,
remembrance, and belief), now and not heretofore practised.”
M. de la Rouverie affirms, that he procured a beautiful vegetable silk
from the Papyfera or paper mulberry; cutting the bark while the tree
was in sap, beating it with mallets, and steeping it in water; he
obtained a thread from the fibres, almost equal to silk in quality; and
this was woven into a cloth the texture of which appeared as if formed
of that material. The finest sort of cloth among the inhabitants of
Otaheite, and other of the South Sea Islands, is made of the bark of
this tree.
According to M. Chevremont, Engineer of Mines, “ropes made of aloes
have _four times the resistance_ of those of hemp of the same diameter,
and made by the same process(?). The fibres of the aloe contain
a resinous substance which protects the ropes from the action of
moisture: even at sea, and renders the tarring of them unnecessary.
They are lighter than hempen ropes, and lose nothing of their strength
by being wet(?). When plunged into water, they are shortened only two
per cent., so that they become less rigid than ropes made of hemp(?).”
There appears to be a good deal of exaggeration in regard to the
great superiority of the fibres of these plants over cotton, flax, &c.
This is particularly the case in regard to Mr. Zincke, for although
he succeeded in producing some very beautiful specimens of fabric,
in conformity with the foregoing specification, yet, the manufacture
does not appear to make much progress, chiefly on account of the
_inferiority in point of strength of the cloth_, more especially when
bleached.
CHAPTER XII.
MALLOWS.
CULTIVATION AND USE OF THE MALLOW AMONG THE ANCIENTS.--TESTIMONY OF
LATIN, GREEK, AND ATTIC WRITERS.
The earliest mention of Mallows is to be found in Job xxx.
4.--Varieties of the Mallow--Cultivation and use of the
Mallow--Testimony of ancient authors--Papias and Isidore’s mention of
Mallow cloth--Mallow cloth common in the days of Charlemagne--Mallow
shawls--Mallow cloths mentioned in the Periplus as exported from
India to Barygaza (Baroch)--Calidāsa the Indian dramatist, who
lived in the first century B. C.--His testimony--Wallich’s (the
Indian botanist) account--Mantles of woven bark, mentioned in the
Sacontăla of Calidāsa--Valcălas or Mantles of woven bark,
mentioned in the Ramayana, a noted poem of ancient India--Sheets made
from trees--Ctesias’ testimony--Strabo’s account--Testimony of Statius
Cæcilius and Plautus, who lived 169 B. C. and 184 B. C.--Plautus’s
laughable enumeration of the analogy of trades--Beauty of garments of
Amorgos mentioned by Eupolis--Clearchus’s testimony--Plato mentions
linen shifts--Amorgine garments first manufactured at Athens in the
time of Aristophanes.
The earliest mention of mallows is that given in the book of Job, in
the following words: “For want and famine they were solitary: fleeing
into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. Who cut up
_mallows_ by the bushes, and _juniper-roots_ for their meat.”--Job xxx.
4.
We find in ancient authors of a more modern date, distinct mention of
three species of malvaceous plants, which are still common in the South
of Europe. These are, the Common Mallow, _Malva Silvestris_, Linn.; the
Marsh Mallow, _Althæa Officinalis_, Linn.; and the Hempleaved Mallow,
_Althæa Cannabina_, Linn.
The Common Mallow is called by the Latin writers _Malva_, by the Greek
Μαλάχη, or Μολόχη.
This plant was used for food from the earliest times. Hesiod represents
living on Mallows and asphodel as the sign of moderation, contentment,
and simplicity of manners.
Νήπιοι, οὐδ’ ἴσασιν ὅσῳ πλέον ἥμισυ παντὸς,
Οὐδ’ ὅσον ἐν μαλάχῃ τε καὶ ἀσφοδέλῳ μέγ’ ὄνειαρ.--_Op. et Dies_, 41.
Fools! not to know how much more the half is than the whole, and how
much benefit there is in mallows and asphodel.
A dish of these vegetables was probably the cheapest of all kinds
of food; they grew wild in the meadow and by the wayside, and were
gathered and dressed without any labor or trouble.
Various authors however mention the cultivation of the Common Mallow in
gardens. See Virgil, _Moretum_, 73. Pliny, _Hist. Nat._ l. xix. c. 22
and 31. Isidori _Orig._ l. xvii. c. 10. Papiæ _Vocabular._ v. _Malva.
Geoponica_, xii. l. Palladuis, iii. 24. xi. ll.
Dioscorides (_l._ ii. c. III.) calls it the Garden Mallow. Aristophanes
(_Plutus_ 544.) mentions eating the shoots of mallows instead of
bread, intending by this to represent a vile and destitute kind of
living. Plutarch (_Septem Sapientum Convivium_) says, “The mallow is
good for food, and the Anthericus is sweet.” According to Le Clerc
ὁ ἀνθέρικος (_Anthericus_) means the scapus of the asphodel: if he
is right, this plant was eaten as we now eat asparagus. It is also
remarkable that on this supposition Plutarch mentions the same two
plants, which are also mentioned together by Hesiod.
According to Theophrastus (_Hist. Plant._ vii. 7. 2.) the mallow
was not eaten raw, as in a salad, but required to be cooked. Cicero
(_Epist. ad Fam._ vii. 26.) mentions the highly-seasoned vegetables at
a dinner given by his friend Lentulus. Having been made ill by them,
he says, that he, “who easily abstained from oysters and lampreys, had
been deceived by beet and mallows.” Probably the leaves of the mallow
were on this occasion boiled, chopped, and seasoned, much in the same
way as spinach is now prepared in France.
Moschus in the following well-known lines refers to the common mallow
together with other culinary vegetables:
Αἲ, αἲ, ταὶ μαλάχαι μὲν, ἐπὰν κατὰ κᾶπον ὄλωνται,
Ἠδὲ τὰ χλωρὰ σέλινα, τό τ’ εὐθαλὲς οὖλον ἄνηθον,
Ὕστερον αὖ ζώοντι, καὶ εἰς ἔτος ἄλλο φυόντι.
Mallows, alas! die down, and parsley, and flourishing fennel;
Then they spring up afresh, and live next year in the garden.
This is accurately true of the common mallow, the root of which is
perennial, so that the stems grow up and die down again every year.
Accordingly Theophrastus brings it as an example of a plant _with
annual stems_[191].
[191] Hist. Plant. l. vii. c. 8. p. 142. Heinsii. 240. Schneider.
Horace in two passages signifies his partiality to mallows, calling
them “_leves_,” _light to digest_.
Let olives be my food, endive, and mallows light.
_Od._ _l._ i. 31. _v._ 16.
Mallows, salubrious to a frame o’er-filled.
Epod. 2. 57.
Martial recommends this vegetable on account of its laxative effect:
Utere lactucis, et mollibus utere malvis. (iii. 47.)
Exoneratarus ventrem mihi villica malvas
Attulit, et varias, quas habet hortus, opes. (x. 48.)
Diphilus of Siphnos (_as quoted by Athenæus_, _l._ ii. _p._ 58. E.
_Casaub._), after enumerating the medical virtues of the Common Mallow,
says, that “the wild was better than the cultivated kind.”
Without quoting other classical authorities, the ancient practice may
be illustrated by the observations of modern travellers, who mention
that the Common Mallow is still an article of consumption in the same
parts of the world.
Biddulph, who visited Syria about the year 1600, says, he “saw near
Aleppo many poor people gathering mallows, and three-leaved grass, and
asked them what they did with it, and they answered, that it was all
their food, and that they boiled it, and did eat it.” (_Collection of
Voyages and Travels from the Library of the E. of Oxford_, _p._ 807.)
Dr. Sibthorp states, that the _Malva Silvestris_ grows wild in Cyprus,
and is called Μόλωχα. He also says, “The wild mallow is very common
about Athens: the leaves are boiled and eaten as a pot-herb, and an
ingredient in the Dolma.” (_Memoirs relating to European and Asiatic
Turkey_, _edited by Walpole_, _p._ 245.) Dr. Holland mentions both
_Malva Silvestris_ and _Althæa Officinalis_ among the officinal
plants, which he found in Cephalonia. (_Travels in Greece_, _p._ 543,
_4to._).
The _Althæa Officinalis_, or Marsh Mallow, is called by the Greek
authors Ἀλθαία, by the Latin, Hibiscus. Theophrastus says, that it went
also under the name of wild mallow[192]. Whilst the Common Mallow,
though highly esteemed for its medicinal virtues, was principally
regarded as a substantial article of food; the Marsh Mallow, on the
contrary, seems to have been rarely used except as an article of the
Materia Medica[193]; and, as its peculiar properties were likely to
be more matured in the wild than cultivated state, it does not appear
to have been grown in gardens[194]. Theophrastus describes it by
comparing it with the Common Mallow, and mentions its application, both
internally and externally, as a medicine[195]. Dioscorides (_l._ iii.
_c._ 139.) gives similar details. Besides mentioning the proper name of
the plant in Greek and in Latin, he calls it, “a kind of wild mallow.”
Palladius (_l._ xi. _p._ 184. _Bip._) explains “_Hibiscus_” to be the
same as “_Althæa_.” See also Pliny, _l._ xx. _c._ 14. _ed. Bip._ Virgil
alludes to the use of it as fodder for goats, and as a material for
_weaving baskets_[196].
[192] Hist. Plant. l. ix. cap. 15. p. 188. Heinsii.
[193] Calpurnius (Eclog. iv. 32,) mentions the “Hibiscus” as used for
food, but only by persons in a state of great destitution.
[194] At a later period, however, we find the Althæa Officinalis under
the name of “_Ibischa Mis-malva_” in a catalogue of the plants,
which Charlemagne selected for cultivation in the gardens attached
to his villas. See Sprengel, Hist. Rei Herb. i. 220.
[195] Hist. Plant. l. ix. cap. 19. p. 192. ed. Heinsii.
[196] Eclog. ii. 30. and x. 71. See Servius, Heyne, and J. II. Voss.,
_ad loc._
The Hemp-leaved Mallow, _Althæa Cannabina_, is once mentioned by
Dioscorides (_lib._ iii. _c._ 141.). Giving an account of hemp, he
distinguishes between the cultivated and the wild. He says of the wild
hemp, that the Romans called it _Cannabis Terminalis_[197]. After
mentioning the medical properties of the plant, Dioscorides says, that
its bark was useful for making ropes. The truth of this observation
will be apparent to every botanist. The plants belonging to the natural
order _Malvaceæ_ are all remarkable for the abundance of strong and
beautiful fibres in their bark[198].
[197] Meaning literally Hedge-hemp.
[198] We have the following testimony respecting the actual fabrication
of mallow-cloth in modern times:
“Nous avons vu à Madrid, chez le savant pharmacien D. Casimir
Ortéga, de ces tissus, qui nous ont semblé fort remarquables.
Ils étaient faits avec l’écorce des _Althéas officinalis_ et
_cannabina_, et avec celle du _Malva sylvestris_.” Fée, Flore de
Virgile, Paris 1822, p. 66.
But of the European species there is none superior in the fineness,
the strength, the whiteness, and lustre of its fibres, to the Common
Mallow, the _Malva Silvestris_. We have seen that the _ancients_ were
familiarly acquainted with this plant; that it was commonly cultivated
in their gardens; and that they gathered it, when growing wild, to be
taken as food or medicine. In these circumstances they could scarcely
fail to observe the aptitude of its bark for being spun into thread.
More especially in places where they had no other native supply of
fibrous materials; in Attica, for example, which probably produced
neither hemp nor flax, it seems in the highest degree probable, that
the fitness of the mallow to supply materials for weaving would not be
overlooked.
In producing the evidence, which establishes this as a positive fact,
we shall begin with the latest testimonies and proceed in a reverse
order upward to the most ancient. According to this plan, the first
authority is that of Papias, who wrote his Vocabulary about the year
1050. He gives the following explanations:
Malbella vestis quæ ex malvarum stamine conficitur,
quam alii molocinam vocant.
Molocina vestis quæ albo stamine sit: quam alii malbellam vocant.
These passages clearly describe a kind of cloth made of the white
fibres of the common mallow. _Malbella_, the same with Malvella, is a
Latin adjective, in the form of a diminutive, from _Malva_: _Molocina_,
the same with Μολόχινη, is a Greek adjective from Μολόχη, and signifies
_made of mallow_.
Papias, who seems in compiling his dictionary to have made great use of
Isidore, perhaps derived these explanations in part from the following
passage of the latter author:
_Melocinia_ (vestis est), quæ malvarum stamine conficitur, quam alii
_molocinam_, alii _malvellam_ vocant. _Isid. Hisp. Orig._ xix. 22.
The cloth called _Melocinea_ is made of the thread of mallows, and is
called by some _Molocina_, by others _Malvella_.
The passages of Papias cannot be taken as a proof, that mallow-cloth
was woven in his day. But that it was in fashion as late as the age
of Charlemagne appears from the following line, which is quoted by
Du Cange (_Glossar. Med. et Inf. Lat. v. Melocineus_) from a poem in
praise of that monarch, attributed to Alcuin:
Tecta melocineo fulgescit femina amictu.
Wrapt in a mallow shawl the lady shines.
The word “_fulgescit_” aptly describes the lustre of the material under
consideration. From the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea[199] we learn,
that _cloths made of mallow_, were among the articles of export from
India, being brought from Ozene (Ugain) and Tagara in the interior of
the country to the sea-port of Barygaza (Baroch). P. 146. 169, 170, 171.
[199] P. 146. 169, 170, 171. Arriani Op. ed. Blancardi, tom. ii.
The genus _Hibiscus_, Linn. is very abundant in India. The bark of a
certain species of this genus, especially of H. _Tiliaceus_ and H.
_Cannabinus_, is now very extensively employed for making _cordage_,
and might unquestionably have been used for making cloth[200].
[200] Cavanilles, Tab. 52, fig. 1, represents H. Cannabinus, the
leaf of which is like that of hemp. Tab. 55, fig. 1, represents H.
Tiliaceus, in the description of which we read “_cortice in funes
ductili_;” and Cavanilles says, the inhabitants of the South Sea
Islands (_Australium insularum_) use in their ships and boats ropes
made from the bark.
H. _Tiliaceus_ is also represented in Rheede’s Hort. Malabaricus (vol.
i. fig. 30.). It grows about 15 feet high.
Dr. Wallich (Cat. of Indian Woods, p. 18.) mentions two other species
as used for making cordage from the bark.
The late Mr. John Hare, who lived in India a long time, says, that a
coarse kind of cloth, used for making sacks, &c., is now woven from
Hibiscus bark.
As a further evidence, that the _Molochina_ mentioned in the Periplus
were made from the bark of the Hibiscus, we may refer to that admirable
specimen of Eastern taste and ingenuity, the Sacontăla of the great
Indian dramatist Calidāsa. Several passages of this poem make
mention of the _Valcăla_, which the Sanscrit Lexicons, themselves
of great antiquity, explain as meaning either bark, or a vesture made
from it. We learn from Dr. Wallich, a celebrated Indian botanist, that
many kinds of Hibiscus had this quality in an eminent degree, and, as
their bark was in common use for making all kinds of cordage, it might
undoubtedly be employed for weaving.
The Sacontăla is of a date as ancient as the Periplus. Professor
Von Bohlen (_Das alte Indien_, _vol._ ii. _p._ 477.) asserts, that the
author Calidāsa certainly flourished as early as the first century
B. C. Sir William Jones makes him older by several centuries. (_Works_,
_vol._ vi. _p._ 206.) The place also agrees as well as the time. The
Hibiscus Tiliaceus, according to Sir J. E. Smith, is “one of the most
common trees in every part of the East Indies, thriving in all sorts
of situations and soils, and cultivated for the sake of its shade
even more than the beauty of its flowers, in towns and villages and
by road-sides. A coarse cordage,” he adds, “is made of the bark; the
wood is light and white, useful for small cabinet-work; the mucilage of
the whole plant is applied to some medical purposes.” The Molochina,
mentioned in the Periplus, were brought from Ozene and Tagara, and may
have come from still further North. The hermitage, described in the
drama, was at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains, and near the river
Malina, and, according to the representations given by the poet, the
Valcălas (translated by Sir W. Jones “_mantles of woven bark_,” and
by Chézy, “_vêtemens d’écorce_”), were worn both by the hermits and by
the beautiful Sacontăla, while she was their inmate[201].
[201] Translation of the Sacontăla, Sir W. Jones’s Works, vol. vi. pp.
217. 225. 289. Original, ed. Chézy, Paris, 1830, p. 7, l. 10.; p.
9, l. 10; p. 24, l. 7.; p. 131, l. 14. Chézy’s translation, pp. 10.
27. 142. 143. See also Heeren, Ideen, i. 2. p. 648.
“Valcălas” are mentioned in precisely the same manner in the
Ramayana, one of the most noted of the heroic poems of ancient India.
They are represented as coarse garments worn by ascetics.
If the explanation now given be admitted as applicable to the Molochina
of the Periplus, it may throw light upon some other passages of ancient
authors.
Ctesias, in his _Indica_[202], mentions “_sheets made from trees_.”
[202] Cap. 22. Fragmenta, ed. Bähr. p. 253. 326.
Strabo’s account of the webs, which he calls _Serica_, an account
derived from the writings of Nearchus, admiral of Alexander the Great,
represents those webs as made from fibres, _which were scraped from the
bark of trees_. This would apply exactly to the supposed use of the
Hibiscus for making cloth. The bark must have been first stript from
the tree, and the fibres then scraped from the _inside of the bark_.
To the same source we may, we think, trace the idea of Arethas (_in
Apoc._ _c._ 57.), that the Byssus, Rev. xix. 8., was “_the bark of an
Indian tree made into flax_.”
Although the date of the following inscription, found at Rome, is
uncertain, it may be conveniently brought in here. It is published by
Muratori, _Novus Thesaurus Vet. Inscriptionum_, _tom._ ii. _p._ 939.
P. AVCTIVS P. L. LYSANDER.
VESTIARIVS. TENVIARIVS.
MOLOCHINARIVS. VOT. SOL.
Muratori in his Note says, that “Vestiarius Tenuiarius” was the man
who made thin garments, and “_Molochinarius_” the man who made such
garments of a mallow color.
The authors, next in regard to antiquity, who make mention of
_Molochina_, are the writers of the Latin Comedy, Statius Cæcilius, who
died 169 B. C., and Plautus, who died 184 B. C.
Nonius Marcellus (_l._ xvi.) quotes the following line from the
_Pausimachus_ of the former dramatist:
Carbasina, molochina, ampelina.[203]
[203] See C. C. Statii Fragmenta, a Leonhardo Spengel, Monachii 1829,
p. 35. Statius chiefly copied Menander (_Gellius_, ii. _c._
16.); but it is not certain that Menander wrote any play called
_Pausimachus_.
The passage of Plautus is in the Aulularia (_Act_ iii. _Scene_ v. _l._
40.), where we have a ludicrous enumeration, extending through more
than ten lines, of all the persons concerned in the manufacture or sale
of garments.
Solearii astant, astant molochinarii.
All the lexicographers and commentators explain _Molochinarius_ to
be one who dyes cloth of the color of the mallow. _Lanarius_ was
a woollen-draper; _Coactiliarius_, a dealer in felts, a hatter;
_Lintearius_ a linen-draper; and _Sericarius_ a silk-mercer. According
to the same analogy, _Molochinarius_ would mean _a dealer in
Molochina_, i. e. _in all kinds of cloth made from mallows_.
The class of writers, which will now be produced as affording testimony
respecting the use of the mallow for weaving, are Greek authors,
and who instead of the common Greek terms employ the Attic term
Ἀμοργὸς and its derivatives.
Ἀμοργὸς has been explained by some of the lexicographers to be a kind
of flax (See Julius Pollux, L. vii. § 74.). Perhaps by this explanation
nothing more was intended than that it was a plant, the fibres of which
were used to spin and weave into cloth. It is highly probable that it
was the _Malva Silvestris_ or _Common Mallow_, and that it was called
Ἀμοργὸς.
According to the Attic lexicons of Pausanias (_apud Eustath. l. c._)
and of Mœris, Ἀμοργὸς was an Attic term. We now find traces of it in
seven Attic writers, four or five of whom wrote comedy. These are
Aristophanes, Cratinus, Antiphanes, Eupolis, Clearchus, Æschines, and
Plato.
I. We shall take first Aristophanes, whose comedy called Lysistrata
is frequently quoted by Pausanias and Cratinus, and being still extant
throws considerable light upon the subject. It was represented in the
year 412. B. C. Lysistrata says (_l._ 150),
Κᾂν τοῖς χιτώνιοισι τοῖς ἁμόργινοις
Γυμναὶ παριοῖμεν,
“And if we should present ourselves naked in shifts of amorgos;”
showing that these shifts were transparent. Accordingly Mœris says,
that the ἀμόργινον was λεπτὸν ὕφασμα, “a thin web.” Bisetus in his
Greek commentary on this play, after quoting the explanations of
Stephanus Byzantinus, Suidas, Eustathius, and the Etymologicum Magnum,
judiciously concludes as follows: “From all these it is manifest, that
ἀμόργινοι χιτώνες, whether they took their name from a place, from
their color, or from the raw material, were a kind of valuable robe,
worn by the rich, fashionable, and luxurious women.”
A subsequent passage of the Lysistrata (v. 736-741) still further
illustrates this subject. A woman laments, that she has left at home
her ἀμοργις _without being peeled_ (ἄλοπον), and she goes _to peel it_
(ἀποδείρειν). The mallow no less than flax and hemp, would require the
bark to be stript off, and doubtless the best time for stripping it is
as soon as the plant is gathered.
II. Cratinus died about 420 B. C. The following line, from his comedy
called Μαλθακοὶ, represents a person spinning Ἀμοργός.
Ἀμοργὸν ἔνδον βρυτίνην νήθειν τινα.
_Cratina Fragmenta, a Runkel_, _p._ 29.
III. Julius Pollux, speaking of garments made of Ἀμοργὸς (L. vii. c.
13.) quotes the Medea of Antiphanes thus: Ἦν χιτὼν ἁμόργινος. This
author was contemporary with Aristophanes.
IV. Eupolis wrote about the same time, and his authority may be added
to the rest as proving that garments of Amorgos were admired by
luxurious persons at Athens[204].
[204] See Harpocration, p. 29. ed. Blancardi. 1683. 4to. Also Pher. et
Eupolidis Fragmenta, a Runkel, p. 150.
V. Clearchus of Soli[205] mentions the use of a cover of Amorgos
for inclosing a splendid purple blanket. This application of it is
agreeable to the foregoing evidence, showing that the _amorgine webs
were transparent_. The silky translucence of the lace-like web of
mallow would have a very beautiful effect over the fine purple of the
downy blanket.
[205] Ap. Athenæum, L. vi. p. 255, Casaub. Clearchus probably wrote
about 100 years later than the before-mentioned authors, but the
circumstances related by him may have occurred about the time when
those authors flourished, and even at Athens.
VI. Æschines in an oration against Timarchus, the object of which is
to hold up to contempt the extravagancies of this Athenian spendthrift,
in his enumeration of them, he mentions (p. 118, ed. Reiskii.) that
Timarchus took to his house a “woman skilled in making cloths of
Amorgos.”
VII. Plato in the 13th Epistle, addressed to Dionysius, tyrant of
Syracuse, which, if not genuine, is at least ancient, proposes to give
to the three daughters of Cebes three long shifts, not the valuable
shifts made of Amorgos, but the linen shifts of Sicily.
The mention of amorgine garments by the writers, who have now been
cited, seems to prove, that the fashion of making and wearing them
first came in among the Greeks at Athens in the time of Aristophanes,
who lived, as the reader will have observed, in the fifth century
before Christ. From them the fashion may have extended itself into
Sicily and Italy, which will account, if _Amorgina_ were the same
with _Molochina_, for the striking agreement in this respect between
the writers of Greek and of Latin Comedy. In subsequent ages the
manufacture seems to have declined, probably in consequence of the
abundance of silk and other rich and beautiful goods imported from
Asia. But the mention of these stuffs in the writings of Isidore and
Alcuin renders it probable, that they were brought again into use in
the fifth and following centuries of the Christian era.
CHAPTER XIII.
SPARTUM, OR SPANISH BROOM.
CLOTH MANUFACTURED FROM BROOM BARK, NETTLE, AND BULBOUS
PLANT.--TESTIMONY OF GREEK AND LATIN AUTHORS.
Authority for Spanish Broom--Stipa Tenacissima--Cloth made from
Broom-bark--Albania--Italy--France--Mode of preparing the fibre for
weaving--Pliny’s account of Spartum--Bulbous plant--Its fibrous
coats--Pliny’s translation of Theophrastus--Socks and garments--Size
of the bulb--Its genus or species not sufficiently defined--Remarks of
various modern writers on this plant--Interesting communications of
Dr. Daniel Stebbins, of Northampton, Mass. to Hon. H. L. Ellsworth.
Pliny says, that “in the part of Hispania Citerior about New Carthage
whole mountains were covered with Spartum; that the natives made
mattresses, shoes, _and coarse garments of it_, also fires and torches;
and that its tender tops were eaten by animals[206].” He also says,
that it grows spontaneously where nothing else will grow, and that it
is “the rush of a dry soil.”
[206] L. xix. c. 2.
The question now arises, what plant Pliny intended to describe.
Clusius, who travelled in Spain chiefly with a view to botany, supposed
Pliny’s “Spartum” to be the tough grass, used in every part of Spain
for making mats, baskets, &c., which Linnæus afterwards called Stipa
Tenacissima[207]. It is not surprising, that the opinion of so eminent
a botanist as Clusius has been generally adopted. It is, however, far
more probable, that the plant, which Pliny intended to speak of, was
the Spartium Junceum, _Linn._, so familiarly known under the name of
Spanish Broom.
[207] Clusii Plant. Rar. Historia, L. vi. p. 219. 220.
In the first place, the name _Spartum_ should be considered as
decisive of the question, unless some sufficient reason can be shown
for ascribing to it in this passage a sense different from that which
it commonly bore. _Spartus_ or _Spartum_, is admitted to be used by
all authors, Greek and Latin, and even by Pliny himself in another
passage[208], to denote the Spanish Broom. We learn from Sibthorp, that
the Spanish Broom is still called _Sparto_ by the Greeks, and that it
grows on dry sandy hills throughout the islands of the Archipelago
and the continent of Greece. _Sparto_ was indeed properly the Greek
name of this shrub, the Latin name being _Genista_, and the use of the
Greek name in Hispania Citerior may have been owing to the Grecian
settlements on that coast, colonized from Marseilles.
[208] See L. xi. 8. where Pliny says, that bees obtain honey and wax
from “Spartum,” and compare this with Aristotle, Hist. Anim. L. x.
40.
Besides the passages of Latin authors referred to by Schneider and
Billerbeck, and which it is unnecessary to repeat, the following from
Isidore of Seville appears decisive respecting the acceptation of the
term.
“Spartus frutex virgosus sine foliis, ab asperitate vocatus; volumina
enim funium, quæ ex eo fiunt, aspera sunt.” _Originum_ L. xvii. _c._ 9.
This is the definition of a learned and observant author, who lived
in Spain, and who must have been familiar with the facts. “_Frutex
virgosus sine foliis_” is a clear and striking description of the
Spanish Broom, the leaves of which are so small as easily to escape
observation[209]. The Stipa Tenacissima, on the other hand, is not a
shrub with twigs, but a grass, which grows in tufts, the long leaves
being as abundant and useful as the stems or straws. Clusius himself
(_l. c._) in laying down the distinction between the Spartum of the
Greeks, which he supposed to be the Spanish Broom, and the Spartum of
Pliny, which he supposed to be the Stipa Tenacissima, asserts that the
former is a shrub (_frutex_), the latter a herb with grassy leaves
(_herba graminacea folia proferens_). It is clear, therefore, that
the inhabitants of Spain in the time of Isidore still used the term
_Spartus_ in its original acceptation, viz. to denote the Spartium
Junceum of Linnæus.
[209] Dioscorides also describes the Spanish Broom to be “a shrub
bearing long twigs without leaves.” Isidore’s etymology, deducing
Spartus from Asper, is manifestly absurd.
When the Stipa Tenacissima was brought into use for making ropes and
for other purposes, for which the Spanish Broom was employed, the name
of the latter would naturally be extended to the former, and we may
thus account for the fact that the Stipa Tenacissima is now universally
known in Spain by the name _Esparto_. Indeed it is possible, that the
employment of the Stipa Tenacissima for these purposes may have been
as ancient as the time of Pliny; and his use of the word “_herba_” in
describing it, as well as the locality which he assigns to it, the
hilly country about Carthage, favors the common interpretation, and
perhaps even authorizes the conclusion, that his account is the result
of confounding the two plants together, so that he says of one supposed
plant things, which were partly true of both, and partly applicable
either to the Spanish Broom, or to the Stipa Tenacissima only. But,
even if this be admitted, it is still possible that the plant, from
whose fibres the “_pastorum vestis_” was manufactured, was not the
grassy Stipa, but the shrub, the Spanish Broom.
In order to establish this point we now proceed to mention the
evidence respecting the application of it to such uses. It has been
employed for making cloth in Turkey, in Italy, and the South of France,
but in circumstances, which were either specially favorable to the
manufacture, or where flax could not be cultivated. It is manufactured
into shirts in Albania according to Dr. Sibthorp[210]. Nearly a century
ago, Pope Benedict XIV. brought a colony of Albanians to inhabit a
barren and desolate portion of his territory on the sea-coast. Here
they obtained a very fine, strong, durable thread from the Broom
and the _Nettle_, and used it, when woven, in place of linen[211].
Trombelli, who relates this fact, also gives an account of the
manufacture of broom-bark in the vicinity of Lucca, where the hills,
called Monte Cascia, are covered with this plant[212]. “Formerly,” he
says, “the people derived no other advantage from the shrub than to
feed sheep and goats with it, and to heat their stoves and furnaces.
But their ingenuity and industry have now made it far more profitable.
They steep the twigs for some days in the thermal waters of Bagno a
Acqua near Lucca. _After this process the bark is easily stript off,
and it is then combed and otherwise treated like flax._ It becomes
finer than hemp could be made; it is easily _dyed_ of _any_ color, and
may be used for garments of _any_ kind[213].” In the vicinity of Pisa
we find that the twigs of the Spanish Broom were in like manner soaked
in the thermal waters, and that a coarse cloth was manufactured from
the bark[214].
[210] Flora Græca, No. 671.
[211] Trombelli, Bononiensis Scient. atque Artium Instituti
Commentarii, tom. vi. p. 118.
[212] Trombelli calls the plant Genista, and says it is the kind
called by botanists “Genista juncea flore luteo.” This is the
Spartium Junceum of Linnæus. See Ray, Catal. Stirp. Europ. and
Scopoli, Flora Carniolica, 1772, tom. i. No. 870.
[213] Bononiensis Scientiarum atque Artium Instituti Commentarii, tom.
iv. Bonon. 1757, p. 349-351. A similar account of the manufacture
of the “Teladi Ginestia” at Bagno a Acqua is given by Mr. John
Strange, who says he had sent an account of it to the Society
for encouraging Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. Lettera sopra
l’Origine della carta naturale di Cortona, Pisa 1764. p. 79.
[214] Mém. de l’Académie des Sciences, Paris 1763.
But the manufacture has been carried to a far greater extent in the
South of France. In the _Journal de Physique_, _Tom._ 30. _4to._ An.
1787. p. 294., is a paper by _Broussonet Sur la culture et les usages
économiques du Genêt d’Espagne_. A minute and highly curious account is
here given of the mode of preparing the fibres, which is practised by
the inhabitants of all the villages in the vicinity of Lodêve in Bas
Languedoc. The shrub abounds on the barren hills of that region, and
all that the people do to favor its growth is to sow the seed in the
driest places, where scarce any other plant can vegetate. After being
cut, the twigs are dried in the sun, then beaten, macerated in water,
and treated in the same way as flax or hemp (See Zincke’s process,
Chapter XI.). The coarser thread is used to make bags for holding the
legumes, corn, &c.; the finer for making _sheets_, _napkins_, and
_shirts_. The peasants in this district use _no other kind of linen_,
not being acquainted with the culture either of flax or hemp. The
ground is too dry and unproductive to suit these plants. The linen made
of the Spanish Broom is as supple as that made from hemp; it might be
even as beautiful as real linen, if more pains were taken with it.
It becomes whiter, the oftener it is washed. It is rarely sold, each
family making it for its own use. The stalks, after the rind has been
separated from them, are tied in small bundles, and sold for lighting
fires.
Let us now see how far Pliny’s account of the Spartum agrees with
these representations of the mode of manufacturing Broom-bark.
The Spartum, of which he speaks, is “_the rush of a dry soil_,” a
description far more applicable to the young twigs of the Spanish Broom
than to the grassy stems of the Stipa Tenacissima, or indeed to any
other plant. His Spartum was used for making fires and for giving light
(_hinc ignes facesque_), purposes for which the Stipa Tenacissima is
not at all adapted, but to both of which the stems and twigs of the
Spanish Broom are applied. The tender tops of Pliny’s Spartum served
as food for animals. According to Trombelli sheep and goats feed upon
the Spanish Broom in Italy; but we cannot find that this is the case
with the Stipa Tenacissima. Pliny’s Spartum, after being steeped in
water, was beaten in order to be made useful (_Hoc autem tunditur, ut
fiat utile_); and this process was quite necessary in preparing the
twigs of Spanish Broom, whereas the Stipa Tenacissima is most commonly
manufactured without going through any such process. Clusius indeed
states (_l. c._) that by macerating it in water like flax, and then
drying and beating it, the Spaniards of Valencia make a kind of shoes,
which they call _Alpergates_, also cords, and other finer articles;
but, at the same time, he says, that it is made into mats, baskets,
ropes, and cables, merely by being dried, platted, and twisted, without
any other operation. The same account is given by Townsend, who visited
the country as late as 1787, and who further states, that “the esparto
rush” had latterly “been spun into fine thread for the purpose of
making cloth[215].” It seems, however, that this had only been done as
an experiment, whereas the accounts which have been quoted show, that
the manufacture of cloth from broom-bark had been long established
in Albania, Italy, and the South of France. In the latter district
more especially, the entire dependence of the people on this material
as a substitute for flax and hemp, and the primitive mode in which
this domestic manufacture was carried on in a retired and mountainous
region, seem to indicate the high antiquity of the practice. All the
other authors, who mention the use of the Stipa Tenacissima, certainly
give little countenance to the idea of its fitness to supply a thread
for making cloth. Mr. Carter, adopting the common opinion that the
Spartum of Pliny is the Stipa Tenacissima, observes, that “at present
the meanest Spaniard would think clothing made from this grass very
rough and uncomfortable[216].” We shall only quote one other authority,
that of Löfling, the favorite pupil of Linnæus, who became botanist
to the King of Spain, and whose Iter Hispanicum (_Stockholm_, 1758.)
relates particularly to the plants of that country. He follows Clusius
in supposing the Spartum of Pliny to be the Stipa Tenacissima of
Linnæus. He mentions, that its stem is two or three feet high, with
leaves so long, thin, tough, and convoluted, that they are admirably
adapted for the purposes to which they are applied. He adds, “Hispanis
nominatur Esparto. Usus hujus frequentissimus per universam Hispaniam
ad storeas ob pavimenta lateritia per hyemem: ad funes crassiores pro
navibus ad que corbes et alia utensilia pro transportandis fructibus.”
(_p._ 119.)
[215] Journey through Spain, vol. iii. p. 129, 130.
[216] Carter’s Journey, vol. ii. p. 414, 415.
Pliny’s remark, that the Spartum, of which he speaks, could not be
sown (_quæ non queat seri_), is not true of the Spanish Broom; but this
is of little importance in the present inquiry, because it is coupled
with the remark, that nothing else could be sown in the same situation
(_nec aliud ibi seri aut nasci potest_); a remark, which is totally
unfounded in fact. The Spanish Broom would unquestionably be propagated
by its seed, which is very abundant.
From these facts, the reader will have no difficulty in forming his
decision. Notwithstanding the respect due to the authority of Clusius,
into which that of all the subsequent writers seems to resolve itself,
it appears to us that the evidence preponderates against the use of
Stipa Tenacissima for making cloth in ancient times, and points to the
conclusion, that the coarse garments, to which Pliny alludes, were
fabricated from the fibrous rind of Spartium Junceum.
One of the most interesting facts in the geography of plants is the
frequent substitution in one country, of a plant of a certain natural
order for another of the same natural order in another country. The
Indians have a plant, bearing a very close and striking resemblance
to the Spartium Junceum, which they employ just as the natives of Bas
Languedoc employ that plant. We refer to the Crotalaria Juncea, called
by the natives Goni, Danapu, or Shanapu, and by us the Sun-plant, or
Indian Hemp. From the bark are made all kinds of ropes, packing-cloths,
sacks, nets, &c. In order to improve the fibre, the plants are sown as
close as possible and thus draw up to the height of about ten feet.
According to Dr. Francis Buchanan, the plant thrives best on a poor
sandy soil, and requires to be abundantly watered. After being cut
down it is spread out to the sun and dried. The seed is beaten out by
striking the pods with a stick. After this the stems are tied up in
large bundles, about twelve feet in circumference, and are preserved
in stacks or under sheds. When wanted, the stems are macerated during
six or eight days. They are known to be ready, when the bark separates
easily from the pith. “The plant is then taken out of the water,
and a man, taking it up by handfuls, beats them on the ground, and
occasionally washes them until they be clean; and at the same time
picks out with his hand the remainder of the pith, until nothing except
the bark be left. This is then dried, and being taken up by handfuls,
is beaten with a stick to separate and clean the fibres. The hemp is
then completely ready, and is spun into thread on a spindle, both by
the men and women. The men alone weave it, and perform this labor in
the open air with a very rude loom.” The fabric made from it is a
coarse, but very strong sack-cloth.
“The fibres, when prepared,” says Ironside, “are so similar to hemp,
that Europeans generally suppose them to be the produce of the same
plant[217].”
[217] Account of the culture and uses of the Son-or Sun-plant of
Hindostan by Ironside, in the Phil. Trans., vol. lxiv.: Dr. F.
Buchanan’s Journey, vol. i. 226, 227, 291.; vol. ii. 227, 235.:
Wissett on Hemp, passim.: Roxburgh’s Flora Indica, vol. iii. p.
259-263.
The genus _Lupinus_ (_the Lupin_), belonging to the same natural
order as Spartium and Crotalaria, might probably afford materials
of the same kind. Mr. Strange (_Lettera_, &c. p. 70.) mentions the
filamentous substance of the Lupin _as adapted for making paper_.
Theophrastus[218] (Hist. Pl. viii. 13.) gives the following account
of a bulbous plant, called by him Βολβὸς ἐριοφόρος, the root of which
supplied materials for weaving:--“It grows in _bays_, and has the wool
under the first coats of the bulb so as to be between the inner eatable
part and the outer. Socks and other garments are woven from it. Hence
this kind is woolly, and not hairy, like that in India.”
[218] “Theophrastus relates, that there is a kind of bulb growing
about the banks of rivers, and that between its outer rind and the
part of it which is eaten there is a woolly substance, out of which
they make certain kinds of socks and cloths. But in the copies
which I have found, he neither mentions in what country this is
done, nor anything else with greater exactness, except that the
bulb is called _eriophoros_; nor does he make any mention at all of
spartum, although he examined the whole subject with great care 390
years before my time, as I have observed in another place (Viz.,
lib. xv. 1.), from which circumstance it appears, that spartum came
into use since that time.”
It is difficult to determine what plant is meant, though the
description seems accurate and scientific. Billerbeck absurdly supposes
it to be cotton-grass[219]. By former botanists, men of great eminence,
it was supposed to be Scilla Hyacinthoides. Sprengel objects, that
this species does not grow in Greece[220]. Sir James Smith however
(_article_ SCILLA in _Rees’s Cyclop._) represents it as
growing in Madeira, Portugal, and the Levant. If this account be true,
Theophrastus may have been acquainted with it. In another article,
Eriophorus, Sir J. Smith doubts whether either Scilla Hyacinthoides or
any other bulb produces wool of such quality and in such quantity as
to answer the description of Theophrastus. But, we learn from other
well-informed botanists, that various bulbs have under the outermost
coats a copious tissue of tough fibres, _fully sufficient_ to be
employed in _weaving_. This is particularly the case with the genera
_Amaryllis_, Crinum, and _Pancratium_, as well as _Scilla_. The fibrous
coats serve as a protection to the interior and more vital parts of the
bulb.
[219] Flora Classica, p. 20.
[220] German translation of Theophrastus, Notes, vol. ii. p. 283.
Hoffmansegg and Link, who travelled in Portugal, in the description of
Scilla Hyacinthoides, say, “Bulbus tomento viscoso tectus[221].”
[221] Annals of Botany, by König and Sims, Lond. 1805, vol. i. 101.
Sonnini says of the Scilla Maritima, “The Greeks of the Archipelago
call it Kourvara-skilla, _kourvara_ signifying properly a ‘tuft of
thread’ (_peloton de fil_[222]).” Does this refer to the fibres
mentioned by Theophrastus? The _size_ of this bulb, which is the common
squill, used in pharmacy, seems to favor this supposition. It is often
as large as a man’s head[223]. Hoffmansegg and Link[224] say it grows
abundantly on barren hills in Spain and Portugal; but add, “The name
_maritima_ is not quite proper: for the plant is seldom met with near
the sea-shore, and sometimes very remote from it.” On the other hand,
it must have been so called, because it was reported by others to
grow on the sea-shore; and Sir James Smith (_in Rees’s Cyclopedia_)
expressly states, that it grows on “sandy shores.” Redouté says the
same.
[222] Voyage en Grèce, tom. i. ch. 14. p. 295.
[223] “Bulbus ovatus, tunicatus, _crassitie ferè capitis humani_.”
Desfontaines’ Flora Atlantica, tom. i. p. 297.
[224] An. of Bot. vol. i. p. 101.
From the account of Pancratium by Sir James Edward Smith (_in Rees’s
Cyclop._), we learn that two species grow in Greece, viz. P. Maritimum
and Illyricum.
The remarks now offered appear to prove, that there certainly may
have been a bulb, such as Theophrastus describes, though we have not
sufficient information to decide its genus and species. It may have
been the Scilla Maritima.
It is to be observed, that he refers also to an Indian bulb, having
similar properties. Perhaps he alluded to some plant of a kind similar
to Agave Vivipara, the leaves of which are extensively used in India
for making cordage[225].
[225] Dr. F. Buchanan’s Journey in Mysore, &c. i. p. 36.
We cannot better conclude this part of the subject, than by giving
the following interesting communication of Dr. Daniel Stebbins, of
Northampton, Mass., to the Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, a gentleman who has,
in our opinion, rendered most valuable services, not only to the people
of the United States, but to the world at large, since his appointment
to the office of Commissioner of Patents.
_Northampton, Hampshire County, Mass._
“Dear Sir: The favorable notice of silk culture in document No. 109,
from the Patent Office report of February, 1843, is my apology for
presenting the enclosed samples of _paper_, made of mulberry foliage
and bark. Unfortunately, the _external cuticle_ of the bark had not
been removed; producing the spots, but does not injure the paper for
the use intended, which was for the purpose of depositing silk-worms’
eggs upon something dark; and this being _unbleached_, is considered
adapted to the habits of the silk-worm, and is now in successful
experiment.
“The four samples are all of one batch; the darkest, having more of
the outside cuticle, was most buoyant, rose to the top and came off
first.
“A quantity of genuine Canton foliage, which retains its verdure in
greater perfection and later than any other mulberry, is gathered,
dried, and sent to the mill for making paper, bleached, without spots,
fit for cotton paper, as hoped; and, if successful, I shall take
pleasure in sending you a sample, to be preserved with the enclosed.
“I began, some ten or twelve years since, to bring silk culture
into notice among the members of the Hampshire Agricultural Society,
believing that if we tried the right kind of trees, (such as used in
China,) we could raise silk, yet could not afford to pay $1 per tree,
as then asked for multicaulis; not reflecting how easily they could
be propagated by cuttings and layers. Under this view of the subject,
I wrote to the Rev. E. C. Bridgman, missionary at Canton, China, a
native of Hampshire county, with the request that he would procure and
forward me some _mulberry seed_ of the most approved kind for growing
in China, for the use of members of the agricultural society. He
promptly attended to the request; the seed was forwarded and sown in
the spring of 1834 or 1835. It grew finely, and developed a splendid
leaf.
“About two years since, while Dr. Parker, with a Chinaman, was here on
a visit, on being shown the Canton foliage, it was readily recognized.
As the trees had grown here very luxuriantly, and developed a larger
leaf than in China, Dr. Parker suggested that our soil might be more
congenial to the plant than even China, its native soil.
“Soon after receiving the seed from Canton, a friend sent me another
parcel from the South of Asia, with high commendations, that if it
would grow here, it would be of essential benefit to the United States
for raising silk. It succeeded well, and is more hardy than the white
mulberry, very productive in small branches, and a good-sized leaf.
I named the latter _Asiatic Canton_. These two kinds are highly
approved of for feeding silk-worms--the Canton for leaf-feeding, and
the Asiatic for branch feeding. I have, however, almost every variety
which was cultivated during the mulberry speculation--covering,
altogether, some ten or twelve acres, besides a large number of young
Canton and Asiatic seedlings, of this year’s sowing, from seed of my
own raising, to enlarge the plantations.
“A few days since, the Rev. William Richards, of the Sandwich
Islands, with the young prince, called on me. At a former visit, I
had supplied him with Canton mulberry-seed, silk-worms’ eggs, and dry
mulberry foliage to use in case the eggs should hatch on the passage;
but this they did not do until his arrival home. About the same time,
other eggs had been received there from China; but the cocoons raised
from them were not _one quarter_ as large as the American, and must
have required some 10,000 to 12,000 to make a pound of silk, while in
America 2,400 to 3,000 would make a pound.
“Mr. Titcomb, also a silk-grower in one of the islands, having the
American and Chinese, crossed them: but the crossing produced cocoons
so small as to require from 5,000 to 6,000 to make a pound of silk,
while not over 3,000 of the American would be required to do the same
thing(!).
“Mr. Richards was shown several _pamphlets_, _newspapers_, _cap_ and
_writing paper_, supposed to have been made of mulberry bark. He
said rags were _not_ used in India[226], China, or the islands, for
making paper, but they always make it of some vegetable leaf; that the
bark was too valuable for that, and was used to make _fabrics_. (See
Chapters XI. and XII. of this Part. Also Appendix A.)
“We, as Americans, have the appropriate soil and climate for the
Canton and Asiatic mulberry, with the pea-nut variety of worms, which,
being managed with due care and attention, together with the skill,
ingenuity, and perseverance of Americans--and, in addition, and could
we have the aid of our country to encourage new beginners--we might
hope to compete with any nation in the production of silk, their cheap
labor and cheap living to the contrary notwithstanding. There is
abundant evidence that worms fed exclusively on the Canton mulberry
have been larger, and produced heavier cocoons, by one-third in size
of worms and weight of cocoons, than by other feed. I have supplied an
order of the peanut variety of eggs, to go to Guatemala; and Canton
seed, of my own raising, to go to Rio; and now have an order for a
number of the genuine Canton mulberry trees, roots, or cuttings,
to go to Lima, where the applicant went on business, a few years
since, taking with him a few multicaules, at $2 each--now multiplied
to 50,000; who, without any practical knowledge of raising trees,
reeling and manufacturing silk, or having seen a silk-worm or reel
until he introduced them in 1843, has now presented me with beautiful
samples of _floss cocoons, reeled and sewing silk_, done by ladies
as a diversion, without any assistance, and very little instruction
from him. The silk is of good quality. Samples had been sent by a
mercantile house in Lima to England, for an opinion of the quality;
but no return had been received when he came away. He has come to this
place with a native Spaniard, to obtain more perfect information in
all the branches of reeling, twisting, coloring(!), &c.; to procure
machinery, with a view of enlarging operations, so that he might turn
off twenty-five pounds per day of sewings, cords, braids, &c. He
represents the climate and soil as adapted to the culture of silk, and
could feed every month in the year; that the necessaries of living
are procured with but little labor; that the laboring population are
indolent, _the wealthy classes too proud to labor_. He feels confident
of success, and that he can introduce habits of industry by silk
culture, that would counteract their natural indolence; and he will
inform me of his success in due time, that may be more interesting
than speculations upon what he intends doing. He has engaged several
to perfect themselves in reeling, &c., to accompany him when he
returns to Lima with his machinery. He has become so satisfied with
the superiority of the genuine Canton mulberry, that he has engaged to
take it on with him for propagation and use.
“I have letters from widely different locations, rendering favorable
accounts of this year’s success in growing silk, and in corroboration
of the prevalent opinion _that the silk cause will finally prevail_. I
have several letters on this subject--one from a gentleman presiding
over one of our most eminent literary institutions, under date of
June, 1844. Discoursing about the culture of silk, he writes as
follows:
“‘If this earnest waking up to a scientific and practical
consideration of the subject be not soon crowned with signal success,
it will not be for want of enterprize or skill in our countrymen, but
merely from the high price of labor here, compared with the scanty
wages given in other silk-growing countries. Even this consideration,
though it may _retard_ for a while the complete success of this
department of productive industry, will not prevent its ultimate
_triumph_.’
“Another gentleman, under date of August, 1844, writes from the far
West, ‘that the soil and climate of the Western and South-western
States are admirably suited to the growth of the mulberry and raising
silk-worms,’ and that ‘eventually the two great staples of the
Western and South-western States will be _silk_ and _wool_.’ It is
the opinion of competent skilful silk manufacturers, who have made
critical experiments upon the _Pongee-silk_ (so called) of foreign
make, by tests which they consider satisfactory and decisive, that
it is _only a vegetable production_, and that the material was never
operated upon _by the silk-worm_(?). There can be no reasonable doubt
about the ultimate success of silk-culture in some _future_ years;
but to accelerate that desirable event, which may constitute an
important American staple for revenue (which might not only enrich the
Government, but reward the labor of personal enterprize), a bounty
is deemed necessary to stimulate and encourage that portion of the
agricultural population whose circumstances or health disqualifies
them for the more laborious exercises of the fields, to commence
operations upon a new and untried crop. Our extensive imports of raw
and manufactured silks are encouraged by us as consumers, instead of
being producers. We now contribute to support foreign enterprize and
industry, to produce the article of silk, which we might, with proper
encouragement, raise ourselves, not only for our own consumption, but
for exportation.”
Very respectfully, yours, &c.
Daniel Stebbins.
Henry L. Ellsworth, Esq.,
Commissioner of Patents.
[226] Abdollatiph who visited Egypt A. D. 1200, informs us (Chapter
iv. p. 188 of Silvestre de Sacy’s French translation, p. 221 of
Wahl’s German translation.), “_that the cloth, rags, &c. found in
the catacombs, and used to envelope the mummies, was made into
garments, or sold to the scribes to make paper for shop-keepers_.”
This cloth is proved to be linen (See Part IV. p. 365), and the
passage of Abdollatiph may be considered as decisive proof, which
however has never been produced as such, of the manufacture of
linen paper as early as the year 1200. Professor Tychsen in
his learned and curious dissertation on the use of paper from
Papyrus (published in the _Commentationes Reg. Soc. Gottingensis
Recentiores_, vol. iv. A. D. 1820), has brought abundant
testimonies to prove that _Egypt supplied all Europe with this kind
of paper until towards the end of the eleventh century_. The use
of it was then abandoned, cotton paper being employed instead. The
Arabs in consequence of their conquests in Bucharia, had learnt
the art of making _cotton paper_ about the year 704, and through
them or the Saracens it was introduced into Europe in the _eleventh
century_. Another fact should not be lost sight of, namely, “that
most of the old MSS. in Arabic and other oriental languages are
written on this sort of paper,” and that it was first introduced
into Europe by the Saracens of Spain. (For further proof, see
Appendix A. Also Part IV. already referred to.)
The amount of silk imported into the United States annually, nearly
equals that of linen and woollen together, and is equal to one half of
all other fabrics combined. Is it not then, an important consideration,
that this expenditure be saved to the nation?
PART SECOND.
ORIGIN AND ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE SHEEP.
CHAPTER I.
SHEEP’S WOOL.
SHEEP-BREEDING AND PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS--ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE
SCRIPTURES, ETC.
The Shepherd Boy--Sheep-breeding in Scythia and Persia--Mesopotamia
and Syria--In Idumæa and Northern Arabia--In Palestine and Egypt--In
Ethiopia and Libya--In Caucasus and Coraxi--The Coraxi identified
with the modern Caratshai--In Asia Minor, Pisidia, Pamphylia, Samos,
&c.--In Caria and Ionia--Milesian wool--Sheep-breeding in Thrace,
Magnesia, Thessaly, Eubœa, and Bœotia--In Phocis, Attica, and
Megaris--In Arcadia--Worship of Pan--Pan the god of the Arcadian
Shepherds--Introduction of his worship into Attica--Extension
of the worship of Pan--His dances with the nymphs--Pan not the
Egyptian Mendes, but identical with Faunus--The philosophical
explanation of Pan rejected--Moral, social, and political state
of the Arcadians--Polybius on the cultivation of music by the
Arcadians--Worship of Mercury in connection with sheep-breeding and
the wool trade--Present state of Arcadia--Sheep-breeding in Macedonia
and Epirus--Shepherds’ dogs--Annual migration of Albanian shepherds.
THE SHEPHERD BOY.
The rain was pattering o’er the low thatch’d shed
That gave us shelter. There was a shepherd boy,
Stretching his lazy limbs on the rough straw,
In vacant happiness. A tatter’d sack
Cover’d his sturdy loins, while his rude legs
Were deck’d with uncouth patches of all hues,
Iris and jet, through which his sun-burnt skin
Peep’d forth in dainty contrast. He was a glory
For painter’s eye; and his quaint draperies
Would harmonize with some fair sylvan scene,
Where arching groves, and flower-embroider’d banks,
Verdant with thymy grass, tempted the sheep
To scramble up their height, while he, reclin’d
Upon the pillowing moss, lay listlessly
Through the long summer’s day. Not such as he,
In plains of Thessaly, as poets feign,
Went piping forth at the first gleam of morn,
And in their bowering thickets dreamt of joy,
And innocence, and love. Let the true lay
Speak thus of the poor hind:--His indolent gaze
Reck’d not of natural beauties; his delights
Were gross and sensual: not the glorious sun,
Rising above his hills, and lighting up
His woods and pastures with a joyous beam,
To him was grandeur; not the reposing sound
Of tinkling flocks cropping the tender shoots,
To him was music; not the blossomy breeze
That slumbers in the honey-dropping bean-flower,
To him was fragrance: he went plodding on
His long-accustomed path; and when his cares
Of daily duties were o’erpass’d, he ate,
And laugh’d, and slept, with a most drowsy mind.
Dweller in cities, scorn’st thou the shepherd boy,
Who never look’d within to find the eye
For Nature’s glories? Know, his slumbering spirit
Struggled to pierce the fogs and deepening mists
Of rustic ignorance; but he was bound
With a harsh galling chain, and so he went
Grovelling along his dim instinctive way.
Yet _thou_ hadst other hopes and other thoughts,
But the world spoil’d thee: then the mutable clouds,
And doming skies, and glory-shedding sun,
And tranquil stars that hung above thy head
Like angels gazing on thy crowded path,
To thee were worthless, and thy soul forsook
The love of beauteous fields, and the blest lore
That man may read in Nature’s book of truth.
Despise not, then, the lazy shepherd boy:
For his account and thine shall be made up,
And evil cherish’d and occasion lost
May cast their load upon thee, while his spirit
May bud and bloom in a more sunny sphere.
The inquiry into the origin and propagation of sheep, no less than
of the silk-worm, may be justly regarded as a subject of the deepest
interest. For the management and use of these animals has, from the
earliest dawn of human history, formed a striking feature in the
condition of man. Of the materials employed by the ancients for making
cloth, by far the most important was the wool of sheep. We are able
to trace with great probability the process of sheep-breeding and of
the use of wool for weaving. Among the bones of quadrupeds, found in
ancient caves _throughout Europe_, we cannot find on consulting the
works of Cuvier, Buckland, and De la Beche, that remains of sheep have
ever been discovered. This fact affords some reason for presuming, that
the sheep is not a native of Europe, but has been introduced there by
man.
It appears to have been a general opinion among Zoologists, that the
Argali, or _Ovis Ammon_ of Linnæus, which inhabits in vast numbers
the elevated regions of Central Asia, is the primitive stock of the
whole race of domesticated sheep. Agreeably to this supposition we
find, that from the earliest times the inhabitants of Tartary, Persia,
Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, and the North of Arabia, have been
addicted to pastoral employments. The tribes of wandering shepherds,
which frequent those countries, are descended from progenitors, who led
the same life thousands of years ago, and whose manners and habits are
preserved to the present day with scarcely the slightest change.
As might be expected, we have little precise information respecting
the Scythians, who inhabited the elevated plains of inner Asia. Some
of their hordes are distinguished by Herodotus, Strabo, and others,
under the name of _Nomadic_ or _pastoral_ Scythians; and that this
denomination was understood to imply, that they tended sheep as well as
larger cattle may be inferred from what Herodotus says of their use of
felt (See Appendix B.). Strabo, moreover, says of a particular tribe of
the Massagetæ, that they had “few sheep,” which implies that the rest
were rich in flocks; and of another tribe he says, “They do not till
the ground, but derive their sustenance from sheep and fish, _after
the manner of the Nomadic Scythians_[227].” But a much more distinct
account of the manners of this people is given us by Justin, who says,
that they were accustomed to wander through uncultivated solitudes,
always employed in tending herds and flocks (_armenta et pecora_). He,
however, adds, that they were strangers to the use of woollen garments,
being clothed in skins and furs[228]. Hence it appears, that they were
too rude and ignorant to have acquired the arts of _spinning_ and
_weaving_.
[227] Strabo, l. xi. cap. 8. p. 486. ed. Siebenkees.
[228] Justin, l. ii. cap. 2.
If we may trust to the authority of Strabo, the Medes did not tend
sheep; for he says of them, “They eat the flesh of wild animals;
they do not bring up tame cattle[229].” Nevertheless, their southern
neighbors, the Persians, with whom they were united under one
government, had sheep in abundance. These animals are strikingly
represented in the bas-reliefs of Persepolis. In one of them, which
represents a long procession sculptured on the wall of a splendid
staircase, two rams, attended by keepers, are accompanied in the same
train by horses, asses, camels, and oxen[230]. Herodotus, in his
account of the manners and institutions of the Persians (L. i. cap.
133.), mentions all these animals together in the following passage:
“Of all days they are accustomed to observe most that on which each
individual was born. On this day they set before their guests a more
abundant feast than on any other. The wealthy provide an ox, a horse, a
camel, and an ass, roasted whole in furnaces; and the poor provide the
smaller cattle.” By “_the smaller cattle_,” this author always means
sheep and goats.
[229] Strabo, l. xi. cap. 8. p. 567.
[230] See Ancient Universal History, vol. vi. plates 6. 8.
The superior excellence of the rich plains of Mesopotamia for
the pasture of sheep as well as oxen, is attested by Dionysius
Periegetes[231], and his account illustrates in an interesting manner
the history of Jacob as contained in the book of Genesis, the rapid
multiplication of the flocks and herds showing how well the soil and
climate were adapted to this pursuit, and how well the business of
tending them was there understood from the earliest times. Seldom do
we find in any ancient author so beautiful a picture as is presented
to us, when Jacob arrives at Padan-aram, and sees the flocks of sheep
and goats assembling from the neighboring pastures in the evening
to be watered at the well. Rachel appears conducting the flock of
her father Laban, which she tended, and Jacob rolls from the mouth
of the well the stone, which was placed to preserve the water cool
and fresh, and assists his relative and future bride in watering her
sheep. (Gen. xxix. 1-10.) Also on Jacob’s departure his remonstrance
with Laban presents to us an animated representation of the duties and
difficulties of the shepherd’s life; “These twenty years have I been
with thee; thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and
the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts
I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it: of my hand didst thou
require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. Thus I was; in
the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep
departed from mine eyes.” (Gen. xxxi. 38-40.)
[231] Ὅσση δ’ Εὐφρήτου, &c. l. 992-996.
In English,
“As for the land, which lies between the Euphrates and the Tigris,
called the land _Between the Rivers_, the herdsman would not
contemn its pastures, nor he who tends flocks folded in the fields,
and honors with his syrinx Pan who has horny hoofs.”
From Ezekiel we learn, that Damascus supplied the Tyrians with
wool[232], and Jerome, who well knew the country, says in his comment
on the passage, that this article was still produced there in his
time (A. D. 378.)[233]. Aristotle, referring to the sheep of Syria,
mentions a variety with tails, which were a cubit broad[234]; and Pliny
in addition to this circumstance asserts generally the abundance of
the Syrian wool[235]. Probably the part of Syria appropriated more
especially to the breeding of sheep, was the eastern part, which
bordered on Arabia, and was distinguished by the same natural features.
[232] “Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy
making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon,
and _white_ wool. Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied
in thy fairs: _bright_ iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy
market. Dedan was thy merchant in _precious clothes for chariots_.
Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in
_lambs_, and _rams_, and _goats_: in these were they thy merchants.
The merchants of Shebah and Raamah, they were thy merchants:
they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with
all precious stones, and gold. Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the
merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants. These
were thy merchants in all sorts of things, _in blue clothes_, and
_broidered work_, and _in chests of rich apparel_, bound with
cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.”--_Ezekiel_ xxvii.
18-24.
[233] “Et lana præcipua, quod usque hodie cernimus.”
[234] Hist. Animalium, l. viii. cap. 28.
[235] Plinii Hist. Nat. l. viii. c. 75. ed. Bipont. See Appendix A.
In no part of the ancient world does sheep-breeding appear to have
been more cultivated than in that which we are now approaching. Here
were the Moabites, among whom it was _a royal occupation_, and, as it
appears, the chief source of the revenues of the sovereign: for it is
said in 2 Kings iii. 4. “Mesha, king of Moab, was _a sheep-master_,
and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs and an
hundred thousand rams with the wool.” Here on occasion of a war, which
the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, whose
territory was to the east of Jordan, carried on against the Hagarites,
they obtained as part of their booty 250,000 sheep. (I. Chron. v. 21.)
Here was Idumæa, in a part of which Job is represented to have dwelt,
being possessed of 7,000, and afterwards of 14,000 sheep (Job i. 3.
xlii. 12.): and we have a beautiful allusion to the pastoral habits
of the same country in the language of consolation employed by the
prophet Micah (ii. 12.): “I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee;
I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together
as the sheep of Bosrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they
shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.” Here also
were the Midianites, whose flocks were so vast, that the sheep taken
from them by Moses after his victory amounted to 675,000. (Num. xxxi.
32.) Jethro, the priest of Midian, was himself the owner of a numerous
flock, tended by his seven daughters, whom Moses assisted in watering
them, when the neighboring shepherds rudely attempted to drive them
from the well. He afterwards married one of them, and was employed
by the father as his shepherd; and, having occasion according to the
practice of the country to conduct the flock from the plains to pasture
upon the mountains of Horeb, he was thence called to undertake his
extraordinary mission for the deliverance of his nation. (Exod. ii.
15-iii. 1.)
The Arabs appear from the earliest times to the present day to have
bestowed no less attention upon sheep than upon horses. Isaiah also
records the excellence of the sheep of Arabia in the following terms
addressed by the Almighty to his people (Ch. lx. 7.): “All the flocks
of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth
shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine
altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.” The habits of the
Nebatæi, or Arabs of Nebaioth, are depicted as follows by Diodorus
Siculus: “They live in the open air, and call a land their country,
which is destitute of habitations, and has neither rivers nor copious
fountains, such as could satisfy an army of invaders. _Their law
forbids them on pain of death either to sow corn, to plant fruit-trees,
to use wine, or to build houses._ They submit to this law, because
they think, that those who enjoy such conveniences may for the sake
of them be readily compelled by the powerful to do what they command.
Some of them rear camels, and others sheep, which they pasture in the
wilderness[236].”
[236] Diod. Sic. l. xix. 94. p. 722. ed. Steph.
Strabo (l. xvi. cap. 4. p. 460. ed. Siebenkees.), speaking
apparently of another division of the Nebatæi, says they have large
oxen, camels, and white sheep.
Various ancient authors mention that extraordinary variety of sheep
among the Arabs, the tail of which grew to so great a size as to
require to be supported on a wooden carriage, which was dragged after
the wearer[237].
[237] The passages of ancient authors relating to this variety, with
various confirmations from modern travellers, are quoted with his
usual accuracy by Bochart, Hieroz. l. ii. cap. 45. p. 494-497. Ed.
Leusden. Lug. Bat. 1692.
We have no reason to believe, that the Phœnicians employed themselves
in the breeding and pasture of sheep. The narrow strip of territory,
which they occupied at the eastern extremity of the Mediterranean Sea,
was in general too densely peopled to be adapted for this purpose.
Their activity, intelligence, and enterprize were directed into other
channels, and they supplied themselves from foreign countries with wool
for their celebrated manufactures.
On the other hand, the Hebrews, who were the immediate neighbors of
the Phœnicians, were altogether an agricultural and pastoral people.
The history of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, presents to
us beautiful images of the kind of life, which still continues with
little variation among the Bedouins, or wandering Nomads of Arabia. Not
only was David _a shepherd boy_; but, when he had ascended the throne,
he had numerous herds and flocks superintended by distinct officers.
“And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite:
and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of
Adlai. Over the camels also was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the
asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite: and over the flocks was Jaziz the
Hagarite. All these were the rulers of the substance which was king
David’s.” (I. Chron. xxvii. 29-31.) The reader cannot fail to call to
mind David’s frequent allusions in the Psalms to those employments,
which were no less familiar to his own mind than to the rest of his
countrymen, and which supplied to them the most touching comparisons
for the expression of their deepest religious convictions. The passage
“The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Yea though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;
for thou art with me; thy rod (or _crook_) and thy staff, they comfort
me” (Psalm xxiii. 1, 2, 4.). “He shall feed (_i. e._ _tend_) his flock
like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry
them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young”
(Is. xl. ii.). “The pastures are _clothed_ with flocks,” an expression
denoting the vast multitudes of sheep, which overspread the mountains
and plains (Ps. lxv. 13.). “Be thou diligent,” says Solomon, “to know
the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. The lambs are for
thy clothing, and the goats are the price of thy field; and thou shalt
have goat’s milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household,
and for the maintenance of thy maidens” (Prov. xxvii. 23. 26, 27.). We
would particularly refer the reader to the thirty-fourth chapter of
Ezekiel, where the prophet, reprimanding the rulers of Israel under
the character of shepherds, makes some allusion to every circumstance
connected with the care of sheep and goats. Language very similar
is employed by our Saviour in John x. where he speaks of himself as
“_the good shepherd_.” The whole system and history of the sacrifices
both before and after the giving of the Mosaic law, might be produced
to prove the pastoral habits of this people from the earliest times.
The districts of Bashan and Carmel, seem to have attained the highest
reputation in respect to the breeding of sheep. Bashan, which lay to
the east of the Jordan in the country adjoining that of the Hagarites
and Moabites, already mentioned, and Carmel, the mountainous range near
the Dead Sea in the south of Judea. In the latter district Nabal kept
his flocks, and as he is said to have been “very great,” and we are
at the same time informed that “he had 3000 sheep and 1000 goats” (I.
Sam. xxv. 2.), these numbers afford us a precise idea of the wealth of
a considerable proprietor in this respect. That the “rams of the breed
of Bashan,” were particularly celebrated, we learn from Deut. xxxii.
14; and Ezekiel mentions with distinction (ch. xxxix. 18.) a sacrifice
“of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of
Bashan.”
It is impossible to conceive a more striking difference in manners
and institutions, than that which must have presented itself to the
traveller in very ancient times, when on crossing the Isthmus of
Suez he passed from the deserts of Arabia and Idumæa to the richly
cultivated and populous plains of Egypt. According to the statement
already quoted from an ancient historian the wandering tribes of
Nabaioth were forbidden by a positive law to till the ground or to
construct settled habitations, and they lived on the produce of their
flocks, which they continually led from place to place in pursuit
of pasture adapted to the season of the year. The Egyptians, on the
contrary, appear to have been originally under a prohibition of exactly
the opposite kind, since they cultivated the ground with care, excelled
most other nations in all the arts of life, and produced the most
splendid proofs of their architectural skill, but were not allowed to
keep flocks of sheep and goats. That this was the case at the time,
when Jacob took his family to sojourn in Egypt, is evident from their
application to Pharaoh on arriving in the land of Goshen, which was
on the eastern border of Egypt adjoining Palestine and Arabia, to be
permitted to remain there on the ground, that from their youth they
had been accustomed to tend flocks, whereas “every shepherd was an
abomination to the Egyptians[238].”
[238] Gen. xlvi. 28.--xlvii. 6. Compare Josephus, Ant. ii. 7. 5.
It appears that the Nabatæan law was far more effectual towards the
attainment of its object than the Egyptian. For, whereas the pastoral
tribes of Arabia have retained their independence and their national
peculiarities even to the present day; the Egyptians, on the other
hand, became a prey to foreign invasion, and among other changes in
their customs we have to notice the introduction of the management of
sheep. Even as early as the time of Moses the practice had commenced;
for in the account of the effects of the murrain in Exodus ix. 3, we
find mention of sheep, and indeed it is remarkable, that the domestic
animals there enumerated, viz. horses, asses, camels, oxen, and sheep,
are exactly the same, which, as we have before shown, were bred by the
ancient Persians[239]. Later historians afford distinct testimony to
the same fact. Thus Diodorus Siculus says, that “upon the subsidence of
the waters after the inundation of the Nile the flocks were admitted to
pasture, and the produce of the soil was so abundant, that the sheep
were not only shorn _twice_, but also brought forth young _twice_ in
the year.” Herodotus also plainly supposes, that sheep and goats were
bred in Egypt, when he contrasts the inhabitants of the Theban Nome,
who worshipped Ammon, with the inhabitants of the Mendesian Nome, who
worshipped Mendes. The former, he says, “all abstain from sheep, and
sacrifice goats;” the latter “abstain from goats, which they hold
in veneration, and sacrifice sheep.” He, however, mentions that the
Thebans slew a ram once a year on occasion of a particular ceremony,
which he describes (ii. 42. 46.). The testimony of Strabo and Plutarch,
though differing in some particulars from that of Herodotus, is to the
same general effect. Aristotle (_l. c._) mentions, that the sheep of
Egypt were larger than those of Greece.
[239] It should be observed, that the Hebrew word translated _sheep_ in
Ex. ix. 3. included goats.
But, although these passages show, that sheep were bred in Egypt, we
think it evident that their number was very limited. Egyptian wool
cannot have been of the least importance as an article of commerce.
What was produced must also have been consumed in the country. For,
although the chief material for the clothing of the Egyptians was
linen, and they were forbidden to be buried in woollen or to use it in
the temples, yet Herodotus (ii. 81.) states, that on ordinary occasions
they wore a garment of white wool over their linen shirt. They also
used wool for embroidering. According to Pliny[240] the Egyptian wool
was coarse and of a short staple. Tertullian records a saying of
the Egyptians, that Mercury invented the spinning of wool in their
country[241].
[240] Hist. Nat. l. viii. 73. See Appendix A.
[241] De Pallio, c. 3.
Strabo in an instructive manner contrasts the Ethiopians with the
Egyptians. Having observed, that the boundary between the two nations
was the smaller cataract above Syene and Elephantine, he says, that the
Ethiopians led for the most part a pastoral life without resources,
both on account of their intemperate climate and the poverty of their
soil, and also because they were remote from the civilized world;
whereas the Egyptians had always lived in a refined manner and under
a regular government, settled in fixed habitations, and cultivating
philosophy, agriculture, and the arts[242]. Thus do we find the nomad
life recurring immediately to the south of Egypt. Strabo further
states, that the Ethiopian sheep were small, and instead of being
woolly were hairy like goats, on which account the people wore skins
instead of woollen cloth[243]. That these sheep were held in some
estimation by the Egyptians is, however, manifest from the fact,
that in the splendid procession exhibited at Alexandria by Ptolemy
Philadelphus, there were 130 sheep from Ethiopia, 300 from Arabia, and
20 from Eubœa[244]. Also, that the pastoral habits of the Ethiopians
were known to the Romans may be inferred from the allusion, which
Virgil makes to them in his Tenth Eclogue (l. 64-68.):
No toils of ours can change the cruel god,
Though we should flee him through each new abode;
Whether we drink, where chilling Hebrus flows,
And winter reigns amid Sithonian snows;
Or, where the elms beneath hot Cancer bend,
Our Ethiopian sheep we fainting tend.
[242] Strabo, l. xvii. c. 1. § 3. p. 476, 477. ed. Siebenkees.
[243] Cap. 2. § 1. 3. p. 621. 626. Strabo’s account is illustrated and
confirmed by the traveller, Dr. Shaw, who describes a variety of
sheep in the interior of Africa with “fleeces as coarse and hairy
as those of the goat.”--Travels in Barbary, part iii. chap. 2. § 1.
[244] Callixenus Rhodius, apud Athenæum, l. v. p. 201. ed. Casaub.
We find, that the people of Libya had attained to some distinction in
the management of flocks. What Diodorus says of the Egyptian sheep is
asserted by Aristotle of those of Libya, viz. that they produced young
_twice_ in the year[245]. That sheep-breeding had extended hither in
very early times appears from a passage in the Odyssey, which, however,
in consequence of the remoteness of the situation and the imperfect
knowledge of geography in the time of the writer, is mixed with fable,
inasmuch as it represents, that the ewes brought forth not only twice,
but even _three_ times in the year, and that the lambs were immediately
provided with horns[246].
That happy clime! where each revolving year
The teeming ewes a triple offspring bear,
And two fair crescents of translucent horn
The brows of all their young increase adorn;
The shepherd swains, with sure abundance blest,
On the fat flock and rural dainties feast;
Nor want of herbage makes the dairy fail,
But every season fills the foaming pail.
_Pope’s Translation._
[245] Aristot. Problem. cap. x. sec. 46.
[246] Odyss. iv. 85-89.
Pindar (_Pyth_. ix. 11.) distinguishes Libya by the epithet πολύμηλος,
“abounding in flocks.” To the same district of Africa, Virgil alludes
in the following passage of the Georgics, which is surpassed by few as
a happy example of the art of the poet in describing the various modes
of pastoral life.
Why should I sing of Libya’s artless swains;
Her scatter’d cottages and trackless plains?
By day, by night, without a destined home,
For many a month their flocks all lonely roam;
So vast th’ unbounded solitude appears,
While, with his flock, his all the shepherd bears,
His arms, his household god, his homely shed,
His Cretan darts, and dogs of Sparta bred.
_Georg._ iii. 339-345.--_Warton’s Translation._
It is to be observed, that, although the Libyan shepherd according to
Virgil’s description led a migratory life, conducting his sheep from
place to place in search of pasture, yet the scale, upon which he
carried on his operations, was widely different from that which has
always characterized the nomadic tribes of Asia. The poet represents
the Libyan shepherd as a solitary wanderer, bearing with him all his
arms and implements, just as a Roman soldier (l. 346.) carried his
military accoutrements. On the other hand, as we have seen, the Syrian
or Arabian shepherd goes in a kind of state, with camels and horses to
carry his wife and children, his tents, and the rest of his equipage;
and he is followed by thousands, instead of hundreds or perhaps scores,
of sheep and goats.
Let us now pursue the progress of this employment in another direction,
viz. towards the north-west, and across the Euxine Sea and the straits
connected with it into Europe.
Near the eastern extremity of the Euxine Sea we meet with a very
remarkable instance of the attention paid to the produce and
manufacture of wool in a tribe called _the Coraxi_. Strabo alludes
to the value of their fleeces in a passage which we shall produce in
speaking of the wool of Spain, to which it more directly refers. At
present we shall only consider the following evidence preserved by
Joannes Tzetzes.
Τὸ παλαιὸν περὶ στρωμνὰς ἦν τῇ Μιλητῷ φήμη·
Ἔρια τὰ Μιλησία καλλίστα γὰρ τῶν πάντων,
Κᾂν ὦσι τῶν Κοραξικῶν φέροντα δευτερεῖα[247].
[247] Jo. Tzetzes, Chiliad. x. 348-350, in Lectii Corp. Poetarum
Græcorum.
“Anciently Miletus was famed for carpets: for of all fleeces the
Milesian were the most beautiful, although the Coraxic bore the second
prize.”
Περὶ τῶν Μιλησιῶν ἔφαν πολλοὶ ἐρίων·
Περὶ ἐρίων Κοράξων ἐν πρωτῷ δὲ Ἰαμβῷ
Ἱππῶναξ οὗτως εἴρηκε, μέτρῳ χωλῶν Ἰάμβων,
Κωραξικὸν μὲν ἠμφιεσμένη λῶπος.[248]
“Of the Milesian fleeces many have spoken: and to the Coraxic Hipponax
has alluded in his Choliambic measure, where he mentions ‘a woman
enveloped in a Coraxic shawl.’”
[248] Ib. 378-381.
Hipponax, who is here cited by Tzetzes, was a satirical poet of
Ephesus, and flourished about 540 B. C. In confirmation of his
testimony it may be proved, that his countrymen and contemporaries had
constant intercourse with a port in the vicinity of the Coraxi. We
learn from Pliny (l. vi. cap. 5.)[249], that the Coraxi were situated
near Dioscurias, which, though deserted in his time, had been formerly
so illustrious that 300 nations, _speaking different languages_,
resorted to it. As we learn from other authorities, Dioscurias _was
a colony of Miletus and one of its chief settlements_. Miletus also
in the time of Hipponax had risen to the summit of its prosperity,
and was the greatest commercial city in the world next to Tyre and
Carthage[250]. Its chief trade was towards the north and as far as the
extremity of the Euxine Sea. Among the numerous Asiatic tribes, which
were accustomed to bring their productions to Dioscurias and exchange
them for Grecian merchandise, the Coraxi were, as we may conclude
from the evidence now produced, a nation of superior enterprize and
intelligence, who sent to the shores of the Ægean in the vessels of
Miletus their fine wool, as well as the _carpets_ and _shawls_, which
they made from it.
[249] See Appendix A.
[250] Heeren, Handbuch, iii. 2. 2. p. 185. Mannert, Geographie, 6. 3.
p. 253, &c.
If we had no more exact information than that which has been already
cited, we might infer, that the Coraxi occupied part of the modern
Circassia, a mountainous region admirably adapted to the breeding of
sheep. The Circassians of the present day have numerous herds of cattle
and vast flocks of sheep and goats. Their vallies are distinguished
by beauty and fertility. A late traveller says, that from whatever
country you enter Circassia, “_you are at once agreeably impressed
with the decided improvement in the appearance of the population, the
agriculture, and the beauty of their flocks and herds_[251].” With
respect to Dioscurias, we are informed, that “the memory of its ancient
name is still preserved in the present appellation of Iskouriah[252].”
Sir John Chardin, who visited it and calls it Isgaour, commends its
safety in summer as a road for ships, but says that it is a complete
desert, where he could obtain no provisions, the traders who anchor
there being obliged to construct temporary huts and booths of the
boughs of trees for their accommodation, whilst awaiting the arrival of
the natives of Mingrelia and Caucasus[253].
[251] Travels in Circassia, &c. in 1835, by Edmund Spencer, Esq., vol.
ii. p. 355. Julius von Klaproth, in the work quoted below, says,
(p. 582.), that the wealth of the Circassians consists principally
in their sheep, from whose wool the women make coarse cloth and
felt. In the summer they drive their sheep into the mountains, but
feed them under cover in winter, and at other times in the plains.
[252] Dr. Goodenough, in Journal of the Royal Geographical Society,
vol. i. p. 110. See also Major Rennell’s Map of Western Asia.
[253] Chardin’s Travels, vol i. p. 77. 108. of the English Translation.
London, 1686.
But, besides the general inference that the Coraxi occupied part of
the modern Circassia, we are able to determine their abode with still
greater precision, and even obtain some insight into their distinctive
characters as a nation.
At the south-eastern extremity of Chirkess, or Circassia, on the
northern declivity of Mount Elborus, and about the sources of the
Kuban, the ancient Hypanis, we find a mountain clan, consisting of
rather more than 250 families, which appears to retain not only the
manners and habits, but even the very name of the Coraxi. Julius von
Klaproth, to whom we are principally indebted for our knowledge of
them, calls them the Caratshai[254]. From him we learn the following
particulars respecting their appearance, manners, and employments.
They are among the most beautiful of the inhabitants of Caucasus, and
more like the Georgians than the wandering Tartars of the Steppe.
_They are well formed, and have fine features, which are set off by
large black eyes and a white skin._ Their language resembles that of
the Nogay-Tartars. They live in very neat houses, built of pine. Their
children are _strictly_ and _well_ educated; and in general it may be
said of them, that they are the most cultivated nation in Caucasus,
surpassing all their neighbors in refinement of manners. They are
very _industrious_, and subsist chiefly by agriculture. Their soil is
productive, and, besides various kinds of grain, yields abundance of
grass for pasture. The country around them is covered with woods, which
abound with wild animals, such as bears, wolves, wild goats, hares,
and wild cats, whose skins are much prized, and martins. _Their dress
is chiefly made of woollen cloth, which they weave themselves from the
produce of their flocks, and which is admired throughout the whole of
Caucasus. They sell their cloth_, called by them _Shal_[255], their
_felt_ for _carpeting_, and their furs, partly to the Nogay-Tartars and
Circassians, from whom they purchase articles of metal, and partly _at
Souchom-Kalé, a Turkish fort on the Black Sea_, which contains shops
and ware-houses, and carries on a considerable trade with the Western
Caucasus. They receive here in return goods of _cotton_ and _silk_,
tobacco and tobacco-pipes, needles, thimbles, and otter-skins. While
the men are employed out of doors, the women stay at home, make gold
and silver thread, and sew the clothes of their fathers and brothers.
[254] Reise in den Caucasus, cap. 24. The author thus spells the name
in German characters, _Ckaratschai_. Father Lamberti, a missionary
from the Society of the Propaganda at Naples, who remained twenty
years in that part of Asia in the seventeenth century, calls them
“_i Caraccioli_,” in which name we observe the addition of an
Italian termination. See his Relatione della Colchide, hoggi delta
Mengrelia, Napoli, 1654, cap. 28. p. 196.
[255] The origin of the English _shawl_.
Such is the account given by a recent and most competent witness
of the actual condition of this interesting nation, who, though now
perhaps reduced in number, occupy probably after the lapse of 2500
years their original seat at the distance of from forty to eighty miles
to the north-east of the same coast, to which they have always resorted
for commercial purposes[256].
[256] Souchom-Kalé is only twelve miles from _Iscuria_, a single
promontory intervening between the bay and river of the former
harbor and those of the latter. See Spencer’s Travels, vol. i. p.
295-297, and his Map at p. 209.
We cannot survey the now deserted Iscuria without observing, what a
mournful contrast the Euxine presents under the sway of both Russia and
Turkey to the useful energy, which more than 2000 years ago promoted
life and the arts of life, and brought into close and peaceful contact
the most refined and the most uncultivated nations, under the direction
of the Ionians of Miletus. The beauty, the bravery, the activity, and
the independence of a highland clan still represent the skill and
enterprize of the ancient Coraxi; but the commerce, which rewarded
their industry, and extended their reputation through the civilized
world, has sunk into insignificance.
Besides the above notices of the Coraxi in Strabo and Tzetzes we find
little said concerning the breeding of sheep in this part of Asia.
Aristotle, however, mentions the sheep of “Pontus near Scythia,” and
says that they were without horns[257]. The Melanchlæni also, who are
mentioned by Herodotus in his account of the Scythian tribes, and who
lived to the north of the Coraxi, were so called, because they wore
black palls.
[257] Hist. Anim. viii. 28.
There can be no doubt, that the use and management of sheep were known
from the earliest times throughout nearly the whole of Asia Minor, and
that some nations in this region had attained to a superiority in the
art before the settlement in it of the Grecian colonists.
The imagery of the Homeric poems (supposed to be written about 900
B. C.) affords abundant evidence of these facts. They continually
mention shepherds, who had the care of sheep, as well as goat-herds,
who managed goats. They speak of the folds, in which the flocks were
secured at night to preserve them from the attacks of wild beasts.
The dangers to which the flocks were exposed from both wolves and
lions, are in accordance with similar expressions and incidents in
the Scriptures of the Old Testament, arising from the existence of
the same ravenous and destructive quadrupeds in Palestine. Also, the
language both of the Scriptures and of the Homeric poems _is precisely
the same_, in which the king, ruling his people is compared to the
shepherd tending his flock, or to the strong and large ram, which leads
the sheep[258]. It is to be observed, that the geographical knowledge
expressed in the Homeric poems extended as far as the promontory
of Carambis on the south coast of the Euxine Sea, and included all
Phrygia, Ionia, and the western half of Asia Minor.
[258] See Bochart’s Hierozoïcon, l. ii. cap. 44. De Gregum Pastoribus.
The Greek mythology affords similar evidence. The well-known story of
Paris, adjudging the golden apple, is founded on the pastoral scenes
of Ida. Marsyas also was a shepherd on mount Ida[259]: the river
Marsyas, famed for his contest with Apollo, was among the Phrygian
mountains[260].
[259] Hyginus, Fab. 165.
[260] It appears not impossible, that, when Theocritus in Idyll. iii.
46, represents Adonis as “tending flocks upon the mountains,” he
may have referred to the mountains of Phrygia or of Ionia. For in
another Idyll. (i. 105-110,) he seems to connect the love of Venus
for Adonis with her love for Anchises, as if the scene of both were
in the same region. Among the various accounts of Adonis, one makes
him the offspring of Smyrna; and Cinyras, _the father of Adonis,
is said to have founded the city of Smyrna in Ionia, calling it by
that name after his daughter_. (Hyginus, Fab. 58 and 275.) This
supposition accounts most satisfactorily for the production of the
beautiful elegy on the death of Adonis by Bion, who was a native of
Smyrna.
The historical evidence to which we now proceed, though referring to
times much posterior to the mythological, is more exact as well as more
entitled to absolute credit.
According to Strabo the branches of Mount Taurus in _Pisidia_ were rich
in pastures “for all kinds of cattle[261].” The chief town of this
region was _Selge_, a very flourishing city, and hence Tertullian,
in a passage, mentions “oves Selgicæ,” Selgic sheep, among those of
the greatest celebrity. The superior whiteness of the fleeces of
_Pamphylia_ is mentioned by Philostratus.
[261] Lib. xii. c. 7, § 3.
We have reason to believe, that the _Lydians_ and _Carians_ bestowed
the greatest attention on sheep-breeding and on the woollen manufacture
before the arrival of the Greek colonists among them. The new settlers
adopted the employments of the ancient inhabitants, and made those
employments subservient to a very extensive and lucrative trade. Pliny
(viii. 73. ed. Bip.) mentions the wool of Laodicea (See Appendix A.)
in Caria; and Strabo (xii. c. 7. p. 578. Casaub.) observes, that
the country about this city and Colossæ, which was not far from it,
produced sheep highly valued on account of the fineness and the color
of their fleeces.
Aristophanes mentions a _pall_, made of “Phrygian fleeces[262]:” and
Varro asserts, that in his time there were many flocks of wild sheep in
Phrygia[263].
[262] Aves, 492.
[263] De Re Rusticâ, ii. 1.
The passages above quoted from Strabo and Joannes Tzetzes allude to the
very great celebrity of the wool of _Miletus_ and of the articles woven
from it.
The passages, which will now be produced from both Greek and Latin
authors of various ages, conspire to prove the distinguished excellence
of the wool of Miletus, although in many of them the epithet _Milesian_
may be employed only in a proverbial acceptation to denote wool of the
finest quality. The animals, which yielded this wool, must have been
bred in the interior of Ionia not far from Miletus.
Ctesias describes the softness of camels’-hair by comparing it to
Milesian fleeces[264]. A woman in Aristophanes (Lysist. 732.) says,
she must go home to spread her Milesian fleeces on the couch, because
the worms were gnawing them. In a fragment of a Greek comedy, called
Procris, of a somewhat later age (ap. Athen. l. xii. p. 553), a
favorite lap-dog is described, lying on Milesian fleeces:
Οὐκοῦν ὑποστορεῖτε μαλακῶς τῷ κυνί·
Κάτω μὲν ὑποβαλεῖτε τῶν Μιλησίων
Ἐρίων.
Therefore make a soft bed for the dog: throw down for him Milesian
fleeces.
[264] Ctesiæ fragmenta, a Bähr, p. 224.
The Sybarites wore _shawls_ of Milesian wool[265]. Palæphatus explains
the fable of the Hesperides by saying, that their father Hesperus
was a Milesian, and that they had beautiful sheep, such as those
which were still kept at Miletus[266]. Eustathius says, the “Milesian
_carpets_[267]” had become proverbial. Virgil represents the nymphs of
Cyrene spinning Milesian fleeces, dyed of a deep _sea-green_ color:
The nymphs, around her placed, their spindles ply,
And draw Milesian wool, of glassy dye.
_Georg._ iv. 334.
[265] Timæus apud Athenæum, xii. p. 519. B.
[266] De Incred. § 19.
[267] In Dionysium, v. 823.
He also alludes to the high price of Milesian fleeces in the following
passage:
Let rich Miletus vaunt her fleecy pride,
And weigh with gold her robes in purple dyed.
_Georg._ iii. 306.--_Sotheby’s Translation._
The comment of Servius on the latter passage is as follows:
Milesian fleeces, most valuable wools; for Miletus is a city of Asia,
where the best wools are dyed.
The ancient Greek version of Ezekiel (xxvii. 18.) enumerates Milesian
fleeces among the articles of Tyrian importation.
Columella (vii. 2.) and Pliny (viii. 48.) assert the celebrity of the
flocks of Miletus in former times, although in their time they were
surpassed by the sheep of some other countries.
In soft Milesian wool as fine as possible.--Hippocrates, vol. i. p.
689. ed. _Fœsii_.
Ye are hairs of sheep, although Miletus may boast of you, and Italy be
in high repute, and though the hairs be guarded under skins.--Clemens
Alexandrinus, Pæd. ii. 30.
Lying on Milesian carpets.--Aristoph. Ranæ, l. 548.
Nor do I speak of the sheep of Miletus and Selge and Altinum, nor of
those, for which Tarentum and Bætica are famous, and which are colored
by nature.--Tertullian de Pallio, 3.
If, from the beginning the Milesians were occupied _in shearing
sheep_, the Seres _in spinning the produce of trees_, the Tyrians _in
dyeing_, the Phrygians _in embroidering_, and the Babylonians _in
weaving_.--Tertullian de Habitu Muliebri.
We may now notice Samos, as being near the Ionic coast. Athenæus (xii.
p. 540. D.) cites two ancient authors who assert that, when Polycrates
was introducing into Samos the most excellent of the different breeds
of animals, he chose the dogs of Laconia and Molossis, the goats of
Scyros and Naxos, and the sheep of Miletus and Attica.
Respecting the breeding of sheep in _Samos_ it may be proper to quote
the remark of Ælian (Hist. Anim. xii. 40.), that the Samians gave some
religious honor to this animal, because a consecrated utensil of gold,
which had been stolen from one of their temples, was discovered by a
sheep.
It appears probable, that the shepherd life was established in Thrace
as early as in any part of Europe; for in the Homeric poems it is
called “the mother of flocks” (Il. v. 222.). In a much later age the
sheep of Thrace are mentioned by Nicander (Nicand. Ther. 50.). We learn
from Plato (De Legibus, l. vii. p. 36. ed. Bekker) that in Thrace
the flocks were entrusted to the care of the women, who were there
compelled like slaves to work out of doors.
Aristotle speaks of the sheep of Magnesia, and says that they brought
forth young twice a year[268].
[268] Problem. cap. x. sec. 46.
A little further south we find sheep from the earliest times in
Thessaly near the river Amphrysus. Here was Iton, which Homer also
calls “the mother of flocks[269].” It was celebrated for a temple of
Minerva, who was called from it _Itonis_, or _Itonia_[270], and whose
worship was transferred from hence to Bœotia.
[269] Il. B. 696.
[270] Strabo, l. ix. c. 2. § 29. p. 458; and c. 5. § 14. p. 614. ed.
Siebenkees. Apollonius Rhodius, Argon. i. 551; and Schol. ad locum.
Alcæi Reliquiæ, a Maththiæ, No. 54.
That Eubœa was famous for sheep we know from the testimony of two
different authors cited by Athenæus. That of Callixenus Rhodius has
been already produced; and that of Hermippus occurs in his metrical
enumeration of the most excellent and characteristic productions of
different countries[271].
[271] Athen. Deip. l. i. p. 27. D.
Bœotia appears from very early times to have been rich in flocks. The
tragic history of Œdipus supposes, that his father Laius, the king
of Thebes, had flocks on Mount Cithæron. According to Sophocles (Œd.
Tyr. 1026-1140.) Œdipus was delivered to one of the royal shepherds
to be there exposed, and this shepherd through pity committed him to
another, and thus saved his life[272]. Seneca in his free version of
Sophocles (Œd. Act. iv. v. 815-850.) has added a circumstance, as it
appears, from the practice established in other cases. He says, that
the shepherd of Laius, whom he calls _Phorbas_, had many others under
him. But, although it may be doubted whether the flocks of Laius were
so numerous as to require a head shepherd placed over many others, we
learn that his possessions of this description excited contest and
warfare among his descendants. Their countryman, Hesiod, represents
them fighting at the gates of Thebes “for the flocks of Œdipus” (Op. et
Dies, 163.), an expression, which must at least be understood to imply,
that sheep constituted a principal part of the king’s wealth.
[272] This transaction is represented in Plate VIII. Fig. 5.
Among the Elgin marbles in the British Museum we have an interesting
inscription relating to a contract made between the city of Orchomenos
in Bœotia and Eubulus of Elatea in Phocis, _according to which
Eubulus was to have for four years the right of pasturage for 4 cows,
200 mares, 20 sheep, and 1000 goats_. In the opinion of Professors
Böckh[273] and Ottfried Müller[274] this inscription may be referred to
the time of the Peloponnesian war. The supposed effect of the waters
of the Melas and Cephisos on the fleeces of sheep is a testimony of
a much later date, but proves that sheep, both black and white, were
bred in that country[275]. Varro (De Re Rust. ii. 2.) mentions the
practice of covering sheep with skins in order to improve and preserve
their fleeces. The Attic sheep, thus clothed with skins, are mentioned
by Demosthenes under the name of “soft sheep[276].” The hilly part of
Attica was of course particularly adapted for sheep as well as goats;
and accordingly a letter of Alciphron (iii. 41.) describes flocks of
them at Decelia near Mount Parnes about fifteen miles to the north of
Athens. The fame of the Attic wool is also alluded to by Plutarch (De
audiendo, p. 73. ed. Steph.), and by the Roman poet Laberius, who died
in the year 43 B. C.
No matter whether in soft Attic wool,
Or in rough goats’-hair you be clothed[277].
[273] Corpus Inscrip. Græcar., vol. i. p. 740.
[274] Orchomenos, p. 471.
[275] Vitruvius, viii. 3. p. 218. ed. Schneider. See also Dodwell’s
Tour, vol. i. p. 242. It was imagined that the water of the Melas
rendered the wool black, and that of the Cephisos white.
Dr. Sibthorp, in crossing the plain of Bœotia near Platæa in
November A. D. 1794, says, “Flocks of sheep, whose fleeces
were of remarkable blackness, were feeding in the plain; the
breed was considerably superior in beauty and size to that of
Attica.”--Walpole’s Memoirs on Eur. and As. Turkey, p. 65.
[276] Contra Everg. et Mnesid. p. 1155. ed. Reiske.
[277] Apud Non. Marcellum.
We learn from Theocritus, that the shepherds of Acharnæ, one of the
Attic demi, excelled in playing on the pipe[278].
[278] Idyll. vii. 71.
In the adjoining country of _Megaris_ was a temple of great antiquity
in honor of Δήμητηρ Μαλοφόρος. It was said, that Ceres was worshipped
under that title, THE BRINGER OF FLOCKS, by those who first kept sheep
in the country[279]. Theognis (v. 55.) mentions, that the people of
Megaris used before his time to wear goat-skins, which shows the late
introduction of the growth and manufacture of wool. Here, as in Attica,
it was usual to protect the sheep with _skins_; and, as the _boys_ were
sometimes seen _naked_ after the Doric fashion, Diogenes, the cynic,
said in reference to these practices, _he would rather be the ram of a
Megarensian than his son_[280].
[279] Paus. i. 44. 4.
[280] Diog. Laert. vi. 41. Æliani Var. Hist. xii. 56.
In the Peloponnesus, _Arcadia_ was always remarkable for the attention
paid to sheep.
Arcadia claims our especial consideration, because in it the shepherd
life assumed that peculiar form, which has been the subject of so much
admiration both in ancient and modern times. Here the lively genius and
imaginative disposition common to the Greek nation were directed to
the daily contemplation of the most beautiful and romantic varieties
of mountain and woodland scenery, and hence their employments, their
pleasures, and their religion, all acquired a rustic character, highly
picturesque and tasteful, and, as it appears to us, generally favorable
to the development of the domestic and social virtues. To attempt a
full investigation of this subject, and to show in what degree the want
of higher attainments _in religious knowledge_ and _moral cultivation_
was supplied by the peculiar rites, ideas, and customs of Arcadia,
would lead us too far from our proper subject. We only wish to bring
forward the principal facts and authorities, and to give a succint
account of the genuine Arcadian system of religion and manners without
attempting to refute at length the opposite views, which have been
adopted by ancient and modern writers.
The peculiar Divinity of Arcadia, whose worship had a constant and
manifest reference to the principal employments of the inhabitants,
was _Pan_. Hence he is called by Virgil and Propertius “the God
of Arcadia[281].” According to Herodotus (ii. 145.), Pan, the son
of Mercury (who was born at Cyllene in Arcadia, where Mercury was
previously worshipped,) first saw the light after the Trojan war, and
about 800 years before his own time. Thus we are able to refer the
supposed birth of Pan, and consequently the commencement of his worship
to about the year 1260 B. C.[282].
[281] Virg. Buc. x. 26. and Georg. iii. 385. See also Propert. i. 17.
[282] Hist. d’Herodote, par Larcher, tome vii. p. 359, 582.
The circumstances of the birth of this divinity, with his habits and
employments, are described as follows in the most ancient document
which we have relating to him, viz. Homer’s Hymn to Pan. Mercury
tended rough flocks at Cyllene in the service of a mortal man, being
enamored of a beautiful nymph. In the course of time she bore him a
son, _having the feet of a goat, two horns upon his forehead, a long
shaggy beard, and a bewitching smile_. This was Pan, who became the god
of the shepherds, and the companion of the mountain nymphs, penetrating
through the densest thickets, and inhabiting the most wild, rough,
and lofty summits of the sylvan Arcadia. There it is his business to
destroy the wild beasts; _and when, having returned from hunting, he
drives his sheep into a cave, he plays upon his reeds a tune sweet as
the song of any bird in spring_. The nymphs, delighting in melody,
listen to him when they go to the dark fountain, and the god sometimes
appears among them, wearing on his back the hide of a _lynx_, which he
has lately killed, and he joins with them in the choral song and dance
upon a meadow variegated with the _crocus_ and the _hyacinth_. He is
beloved by Bacchus, and is the delight of his father Mercury, and he
celebrates their worship beyond that of all the other gods.
Callimachus (Hymn. in Dianam, 88.) represents Pan at his fold in
Arcadia, feeding his dogs with the flesh of a lynx, which he has caught
on Mænalus. It is to be observed, that the care of dogs to guard the
flock was an indispensable part of the pastoral office. Philostratus,
in his Second Book of Pictures[283], supposes the nymphs to have been
reproving Pan for his want of grace in dancing, _telling him that he
leapt too high and like a goat_, and offering to teach him a more
gentle method. He pays no attention to them, but tries to catch hold
of them. Upon this they surprise him sleeping at noon after the toils
of the chase; and he is represented in the picture with his arms tied
behind him, and enraged and struggling against them, while they are
cutting off his beard and trying to transform his legs and to humanize
him.
[283] Philostrati Senioris Imag. l. ii. c. 11.
In the Bucolics and Georgics of Virgil we find frequent invocations to
Pan as the god of shepherds, the guardian of flocks, and the inventor
of the syrinx, or Pandean pipes.
Ipse, nemus linquens patrium, saltusque Lycæi,
Pan, ovium custos, tua si tibi Mænala curæ,
Adsis, O Tegeæe, favens.
_Georg._ i. 16-18.
God of the fleece, whom grateful shepherds love,
Oh, leave Lycæus and thy father’s grove;
And if thy Mænalus yet claim thy care,
Hear, Tegeæan Pan, th’ invoking prayer.
_Georg._ i. 16-18.
Delightful Mænalus, ‘mid echoing groves,
And vocal pines, still hears the shepherds’ loves;
The rural warblings hear of skilful Pan,
Who first to tune neglected reeds began.
_Bucol._ viii. 22-24.--_Warton’s Translation._
O that you lov’d the fields and shady grots,
To dwell with me in bowers and lowly cots,
To drive the kids to fold, the stags to pierce;
Then shouldst thou emulate Pan’s skilful verse,
Warbling with me in woods: ’twas mighty Pan
To join with wax the various reeds began.
Pan, the great god of all our subject plains,
Protects and loves the cattle and the swains:
Nor thou disdain thy tender rosy lip
Deep to indent with such a master’s pipe.
_Bucol._ ii. 28-34.--_Warton’s Translation._
Besides the four places in Arcadia, which are referred to in the
above-cited passages of Virgil, Pausanias informs us of several others,
in which he saw temples and altars erected to Pan. He says[284], that
Mount Mænalus was especially sacred to this deity, _so that those who
dwelt in its vicinity asserted, that they sometimes heard him playing
on the syrinx_. A continual fire burnt there near his temple.
[284] L. viii. c. 36. 5. and c. 37. 8.
Herodotus gives a very curious account of the introduction of the
worship of Pan into Attica[285]. He says, that before the battle
of Marathon the Athenian generals sent Philippides as a herald to
Sparta. “On his return Philippides asserted, that Pan had appeared to
him near Mount Parthenius above Tegea, had addressed him by name and
with a loud voice, and commanded him to ask the Athenians why they
did not pay any regard to him, a god, who was kind to them, who had
been often useful to them and would be so in future. The Athenians,
believing the statement of Philippides, when they found themselves
prosperous, erected a temple to Pan below the Acropolis, and continued
to propitiate him by annual sacrifices and by carrying the torch.” From
various authorities we know, that this temple was in the cave on the
northern side of the Acropolis below the Propylæa[286].
[285] Lib. vi. c. 105.
[286] Eurip. Jon. 492-504. 937. Paus. i. 28. 4. Stuart’s Ant. of
Athens. Hobhouse’s Travels, p. 336. Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 304.
In Sir R. Worsley’s collection of Antiques at Appledurcombe in
the Isle of Wight is a bas-relief, in which Pan is reclining as
if after the chase near the mouth of this cave. He holds the
syrinx in the left hand, a drinking-horn in the right. A train of
worshippers are conducting a ram to the altar within the cave.
See Museum Worsleianum, Lon. 1794. plate 9. In the vestibule of
the University Library at Cambridge is a mutilated statue of Pan
clothed in a goat-skin and holding the syrinx in his left hand.
This statue was discovered near the same cave, and from its style,
(the Æginetic,) may be supposed to have been carved soon after the
battle of Marathon. See Dr. E. D. Clarke s Greek Marbles, p. 9. No.
xi. Wilkins’s Magna Græcia, p. 71, and Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p.
304.
In later times a cave near Marathon was dedicated to Pan, the
stalactitio incrustations within it being compared to goats, and to
their stalls and drinking-troughs[287].
[287] Paus. l. i. 32. 6. Dodwell’s Tour, vol. ii. p. 162. Mapat, p. 330
of Mem. on Eur. and As. Turkey, edited by Walpole.
Chandler and Dodwell in their Travels describe another cave larger than
that at Marathon and containing more varied stalagmitic concretions.
It is near the summit of Mount Rapsāna between Athens and Sunium.
ΠΑΝΟϹ is inscribed on the rock near the entrance, proving that it
was considered sacred to Pan. It is no doubt the Panīon mentioned by
Strabo[288].
[288] L. ix. cap. 1. § 21. It was consecrated to the Nymphs as well
as to Pan, this association of the Nymphs with that deity being
universally practised. Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 550-555. “The
countryman and shepherd, as well as the sportsman, has often
repaired, it is likely, to this cave, to render the deities
propitious by sacrificing a she-goat or lamb, by gifts of cakes or
fruit, and by libations of milk, oil, and honey; simply believing,
that this attention was pleasing to them, _that they were present
though unseen_, and partook without diminishing the offering; their
appetites as well as passions, caprices, and employments resembling
the human. At noon-day the pipe was silent on the mountains, _lest
it might happen to awake Pan, then reposing after the exercise of
hunting, tired and peevish_.” Chandler’s Travels in Greece, c. 32.
p. 155.
The Corycian cave on Mount Parnassus was dedicated by the surrounding
inhabitants to Pan and to the Nymphs[289]. Theocritus also (Idyll.
viii. v. 103.) speaks of Homole, a mountainous tract in the south
of Thessaly, as belonging to Pan. Altars were dedicated to Pan on
the race-course at Olympia in Elis[290], as we may presume, out of
respect to the Arcadians, who resorted to the Olympic games. Pindar
states[291], that he had near his door a statue of Pan. Here, as his
able commentators Heyne and Böckh observe, his daughters with other
Theban virgins sung hymns in honor of the god.
Time has spared the traces of hymns performed on such occasions, of
which the following Scholion is the most entire specimen.
Ὦ Πάν, Ἀρκαδίας μέδων κλεεννᾶς,
ὀρχηστὰ βρομίαις ὀπαδὲ νύμφαις,
γελάσειας, ὦ Πὰν, ἐπ’ ἐμαῖς
εὐφροσύναις, ἀοιδαῖς κεχαρημένος[292].
O Pan, Arcadia’s sovereign lord,
Dancing and singing with the nymphs;
Smile, Pan, responsive to my joys,
O shout, delighted with my songs.
[289] Paus. l. x. 32. 5. Strabo, l. ix. cap. 3. § 1. p. 488. ed.
Siebenkees Raikes’s Journal in Memoirs edited by Walpole, p.
311-315.
[290] Paus. l. v. c. 15. § 4.
[291] Pyth. iii. 137-139.
[292] Athenæus, l. xv. 50. 1547. ed. Dindorf. Pindari Op. a Böckh. ii.
2. p. 592. Brunck, Analecta, vol. i. p. 156; and vol. iii. Lect. et
Emend. p. 27.
On a vase of Greek marble in the Royal Museum at Naples (This vase
was first described in [Italian 275] Bayardi, Catalogo degli antichi
monumenti dissottarretti da Ercolano. Napoli, 1754, p. 290. No. 914.),
we see Pan dancing with the nymphs exactly as he is represented in the
preceding song. The sculpture is in that very ancient style, which is
called _Etruscan_. Pan is here exhibited with goats’ feet and horns
(Hom. Hymn. in Pana, 1. 2.). He wears the skin of an animal, and
employs his right hand in drawing it up towards his left shoulder. In
his left hand he holds the crook or pastoral staff, which is one of
his usual emblems. Pan and the three females, with whom he is dancing,
form a distinct group by themselves. They are moving round a large
stone, and the artist probably imagined them to be moving first in one
direction, and then in the opposite, as if performing the Strophe and
Antistrophe around an altar. We learn from Mr. Dodwell, that the modern
Greeks in their circular dances hold each other with a handkerchief,
and not by the hand[293].
[293] Dodwell’s Tour, vol. ii. p. 21, 22.
That the Romans considered Pān and Faun to be the same, using the
two names indiscriminately, the one as the Greek, the other as the
Latin form, is evident from such passages as the following:
Pan from Arcadia’s hills descends
To visit oft my Sabine seat,
And here my tender goats defends
From rainy winds and summer’s heat.
For when the vales, wide-spreading round,
The sloping hills, and polish’d rocks,
With his harmonious pipe resound,
In fearless safety graze my flocks.
Hor. Od. l. i. c. 17. v. 1-12.
The names Pan and Faun, scarcely differ except in this, that the
one begins with P, the _lenis_, and the other with F, which is its
_aspirate_: in the second place, both were conceived to have not only
the same form and appearance, but the same habits, dispositions, and
employments: thirdly, the goat was sacrificed to Pan in Greece[294]
and to Faunus in Italy[295], because the Arcadian and Roman deity was
conceived to be the guardian of goats as well as sheep, but this animal
was not sacrificed to the Egyptian Mendes, because
In safety through the woody brake
The latent shrubs and thyme explore,
Nor longer dread the speckled snake,
And tremble at the wolf no more.
_Francis’s Translation, abridged._
in Egypt the goat itself was supposed to be Mendes, an incarnation
of the god; and lastly, it is recorded as an historical fact, that
the worship of Faunus was brought to Rome from Arcadia, whereas the
supposition of the introduction of the same worship into Arcadia from
Egypt, though found in the pages of an historian, is not given by him
as a matter of history, but only as a matter of opinion. The account of
the origin of the worship of Faunus at Rome, is as follows: _Evander,
the Arcadian, introduced a colony of his countrymen into Italy, and
established there the rights of Mercury and of the Lycean Pan on the
hill, which was afterwards called the Palatine Mount and became part of
the city of Rome_. A cave at the base of the hill was dedicated to Pan,
as we have seen was the case some centuries afterwards at Athens[296].
[294] Longi Pastor. l. ii. c. 17. In an epigram by Leonidas of Tarentum
(No. xxx. Brunckii Analecta, tom. i. p. 228.) Bito, an aged
Arcadian, dedicates offerings to Pan, to Bacchus, and to the
Nymphs. To Pan he devotes a kid.
[295] Ovid. Fasti, ii. See also Hor. Od. l. i. 4. v. ii.
[296] Dionys. Halicarn. Hist. Rom. l. i. p. 20, 21, ed. R. Steph. Paris
1546. Strabon l. v. cap. iii. § 3. Aur. Victor, Origo Gentis
Romanæ. Livii l. i. c. 5. Pausanias, viii. 43. 2. Virg. Æn. viii.
51-54. 342-344. Heyne’s Excursus ad loc. Ovidii Fasti, ii. 268-452.
v. 88, &c.
In the preceding observations we have endeavored to give a correct
representation of the real sentiments and practices of the Arcadians
in regard to the proper divinity of their country; and from this
account we are naturally led to inquire what influence this peculiar
belief and worship had upon their manners and their social life.
Whilst the elegant simplicity and innocence of the Arcadian shepherds,
their graceful chorusses, their dance and song, their love for their
fleecy charge, which they delighted and soothed with the melody of
the pipe, have been the theme and ornament of poetry and romance from
the earliest times, the question is highly important and interesting,
whether these ideal visions are realised by historical testimony?
whether the shepherds of the ancient Arcadia were so entirely and so
favorably distinguished from men of the same class and employment
in almost all other times and countries? One modern writer denies
this fact. He says, “The refined and almost spiritualized state of
innocence, which we call the pastoral life of Arcadia, was entirely
unknown to the ancients:” and he quotes in support of this assertion
several expressions, used by Philostratus and other writers, and
denoting contempt for the Arcadians as a rude, ignorant, stupid race
of people[297]. Polybius, who was an Arcadian, confidently asserts,
that they had throughout Greece a high and honorable reputation, not
only on account of their hospitality to strangers and their benevolence
towards all men, but especially on account of their _piety towards
the divine being_! It is true they make no figure in Grecian history,
because they were too wise to take part in the irrational contests,
which continually embroiled the surrounding states. Their division into
small independent communities, each presenting a purely _democratic_
constitution, _rendered it impossible for them to acquire celebrity
in legislation_; and yet we are informed of some of the citizens of
Arcadia, who were reputed excellent lawgivers for the sphere in which
they acted[298]. It appears to be no inconsiderable evidence of their
progress in the art of government upon republican principles, _that
in the choice of magistrates at Mantinea they proceeded upon the plan
of a double election_[299]. We have the most decisive proofs of their
public spirit in the splendid cities, which they erected, and which
were adorned with theatres, temples, and numerous other edifices. We
are informed by Pausanias[300], that of all the temples in Peloponnesus
the most beautiful and admirable were those of Minerva at Tegea and
of Apollo at Phigalia; and these were both cities of Arcadia. Now
it should be observed, that the taste and splendor of their public
edifices are the more decisive proofs of their national enthusiasm,
when it is considered, _that among them property was exceedingly
subdivided; that they had no overpowering aristocracy_, no princes or
great landed gentry, who might seek for renown or court popularity by
bestowing their wealth upon public institutions; but that the noble
temples, the sculptures, and other works of art, which ornamented their
cities and were subservient to purposes of common interest, could have
been produced only by the united deliberations and contributions of the
mass of the inhabitants. They seem therefore to _prove_ the _universal_
prevalence both of a liberal patriotic feeling, and of a cultivated
taste for the beautiful and the sublime.
[297] J. H. Voss, Virgil’s Ländliche Gedichte, tom. ii. p. 353.
[298] Wachsmuth, Hellen. Alterthumskunde, i. 1. p. 180; i. 2. p. 305.
[299] Aristot. Polit. l. vi. 2. 2.
[300] L. viii. c. 41. 5. p. 429, ed. Siebel.
Virgil bears his testimony to their superior skill in vocal and
instrumental music.
Arcadian swains,
Ye best artificers of soothing strains.
_Bucol._ x. 32.--_Warton’s Translation._
This must of course be understood as referring only to music and
poetry of the pastoral kind. To the composition of the higher species
of poetry, by which the Greeks of other countries laid a foundation for
the instruction and delight of all succeeding ages, the Arcadians never
aspired. At the same time there can be no doubt that they bestowed
great care upon the exhibition of dramatic compositions, though they
did not attempt to write them: of this fact we have sufficient proof
in the remains of the theatres found upon the sites of their principal
cities, and especially of the theatre of Megalopolis, which was the
greatest in all Greece[301].
[301] Pausanias, l. viii. 32. 1. Leake’s Travels in the Morea, vol. ii.
p. 32. 39, 40.
But with respect to their cultivation of music and its influence on
their national character, we have upon record the full and explicit
testimony of one of their most distinguished citizens, the historian
Polybius, whose remarks will appear especially deserving of the
reader’s attention, when it is considered, that he must himself have
gone through the whole course of discipline and instruction which he
describes. Having had occasion to mention the turbulent character
as well as the cruel and perfidious conduct of the Cynætheans, who
occupied a city and district in the north of Arcadia, he proposes to
inquire why it was that, although they were indeed Arcadians, they
had acted in a manner so entirely at variance with the usual habits
and manners of the Greeks, and he then proceeds with earnestness and
solemnity to explain upon the following principles the cause of this
extraordinary contrast. It was, as he states, that the Cynætheans
were the only inhabitants of Arcadia who had neglected to exercise
themselves in music; and he then gives the following account of
the established practice of the rest of the Arcadians in devoting
themselves to the study of _real_ music, by which he means the
united arts of music, poetry, and dancing, of all those elegant and
graceful performances, over which the Muses were supposed to preside.
He informs us that the Arcadians, whose general habits were very
severe, were required by law to go on improving themselves in music,
so understood, until their thirtieth year. “In childhood,” says he,
“they are taught to sing in tune hymns and pæans in honor of the
domestic heroes and divinities. They afterwards learn the music of
Philoxenus and Timotheus. They dance to the pipe in the theatres at
the annual festival of Bacchus; and they do this with great emulation,
the boys performing mock-fights adapted to their age, and the young
men the so-called manly fights. In like manner throughout the whole
of life their pleasure at feasts and entertainments consists, not in
listening to singers hired for the purpose, but in singing themselves
in their turns when called upon. For, although a man may decline any
other performance on the ground of inability and may thereby bring no
imputation on himself, no one can refuse to sing, because all have
been obliged to learn it, and to refuse to take a part, when able, is
deemed disgraceful. The young men also unite together to perform in
order all the military steps and motions to the sound of the pipe,
and at the public expense they exhibit them every year before their
fellow-citizens. Besides these ballets, marches, and mock-fights,
the men and women unite in great public assemblies and in numerous
sacrifices, to which are to be added the circular or choral dances by
the boys and virgins.” Polybius adds, that these musical exercises had
been ordained as the means of communicating softness and refinement to
the otherwise rough and laborious life of the Arcadians, and he warns
them by the example of the half-savages of Cynæthæ never to abandon
such wholesome institutions[302]. With how great benefit to our own
social character might we adopt this counsel! How greatly might we
contribute both to the innocent enjoyment and to the more improved and
elevated tastes of our rustics and artisans, if well-regulated plans
were devised, by which graceful recreations, providing at the same time
exercise for the body, amusement for the imagination, and employment
for the finer and more amiable feelings, were made to relieve the
degrading and benumbing monotony of their protracted labors, whether in
the factory or in the field!
[302] Polyb. l. iv. c. 20, 21.
It will be readily perceived, that the education here described, and
the tastes and habits which it produced, were immediately associated
with the popular religion, and especially with the notions and rites
entertained towards the peculiar god of the shepherds. Other deities
indeed, such as Apollo, Diana, and Minerva, who were also worshipped in
Arcadia, may have contributed to the same effect; and especially this
may have been the case with Mercury, perhaps the only one of the higher
Greek divinities, who was conceived to have a benevolent character,
who was the father of Pan, and was himself reported to have been born
in a cave of the same mountain in Arcadia, on which he was worshipped.
He was a lover of instrumental music, having invented the lyre, and
he was frequently represented on coins and gems, riding upon a ram,
or with his emblems so connected with the figures of sheep, and more
rarely of goats and of dogs, as to prove that in his character as the
god of gain the shepherds looked up to him together with his offspring
to bless the flocks and to increase their produce[303]. Hence Homer, in
order to convey the idea that Phorbas was remarkably successful in the
breeding of sheep, says that he was beloved by Mercury above all the
other Trojans[304]. The inhabitants of one territory even in Arcadia,
viz. the city of Phineos, honored Mercury more than all the other gods,
and expressed this sentiment by procuring a statue of him made by a
celebrated sculptor in Ægina, in which he was represented carrying a
ram under his arm, and which they placed in the great temple of Jupiter
at Olympia[305]. At Corinth there was a brazen statue of Mercury in a
sitting posture with a ram standing beside him. According to Pausanias
(ii. 3, 4.) the reason of this representation was, that of all the
gods Mercury was thought most to take care of flocks and to promote
their increase. But, as the Corinthians had little or nothing to do
with the tending of sheep and were devoted to commerce, we may ask what
interest had they in this attribute of Mercury? It is very evident
that it could only be an interest arising from the part which Corinth
took in the wool-trade. That the Arcadians did not themselves consume
their wool is manifest. How could they have built cities, which were
so large, numerous, and handsome in proportion to the extent of their
country, and have lived even in that degree of elegance and luxury,
to which they attained, _unless they had been able to dispose of the
chief produce of their soil in a profitable manner_? It is probable
therefore, that the representation of Mercury or of his emblems in
conjunction with the figure of the sheep on the coins of Corinth and
Patræ may be regarded as an intimation, that the Arcadians disposed of
their wool in those cities for exportation to foreign countries.
[303] Buonaroti (Osservazioni sopra alcuni Medaglioni Antichi, p.
41.) has exhibited brass coins, in one of which Mercury is riding
on a sheep; in a second the sheep is seen with Mercury’s bag of
money on its back; and in a third the caduceus is over the sheep,
and two spikes of corn, emblems of agricultural prosperity, spring
out of the ground before it. Among the gems of the Baron de Stosch,
now belonging to the Royal Cabinet at Berlin, No. 381. Class II.
represents Mercury sitting upon a rock with a dog by his side:
Winckelmann observes, that “the dog is the symbol of Mercury as
the protector of shepherds.” Nos. 392, 393, 396-402, in the same
collection, represent him with sheep, and one of them (399.)
exhibits him standing erect in a chariot drawn by four rams, and
holding the bag or purse in his right hand and the caduceus in his
left.
Some of the coins of Sicily appear to refer in like manner to the
character of Mercury as the promoter of the trade in wool.
The Honorable Keppel Craven (Excursions in the Abruzzi, London,
1838, vol. i. ch. 4. p. 109.) mentions a temple at Arpinum, a city
of Latium, which was dedicated, as appears from an inscription
found on its site, to MERCURIUS LANARIUS. This title evidently
represented Mercury as presiding over the growth of wool and the
trade in it.
Perhaps the very ancient idea of Mercury making the fleece of
Phryxus golden by his touch may have originated in the same view.
See Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, l. 11. 1144, and Scholion ad
locum.
[304] Il. xiv. 490. See also Hom. Hymn to Mercury, 569. Hesiod, Theog.
444.
[305] Paus. l. v. 27. 5. and l. viii. 14. 7.
But, notwithstanding the important share, which Mercury had in the
religious sentiments and observances of the Arcadians, the proper god
of the shepherds of Arcadia was Pan, and we have already had abundant
evidence to suggest the conviction, that their songs and dances were
performed principally in honor of him, and were supposed to be taught,
guided, and animated by him.
Arcadia has for many centuries exhibited a most melancholy contrast
to that condition of hardy and yet peaceful independence, of rustic
simplicity united with tasteful elegance, of social kindness and
domestic enjoyment undisturbed by the projects of ambition, which has
supplied many of the most beautiful pictures to the writers of poetry
and romance. The great natural features of the country are unalterable.
The pine-forests of Lycæus, its deep glens continually refreshed with
sparkling streams and cataracts, its savage precipices where scarce
even a goat can climb, remain in their original beauty and grandeur.
This region also affords pasture to flocks of sheep more numerous
than those which feed in any other part of Greece[306]. But whatever
depends on the moral nature of man is changed. The valleys, once richly
cultivated and tenanted by an overflowing population, are scarcely kept
in tillage. The noble cities are traced only by their scattered ruins.
The few descendants of the ancient Arcades have crouched beneath a
degrading tyranny. The thick forests and awful caverns but a few years
ago served to shelter fierce banditti; and the traveller startled at
the sound of their fire-arms instead of being charmed with the sweet
melody of the syrinx[307]. But a new dynasty has been established under
the sanction of the most powerful and enlightened nations of Europe. It
remains to be seen whether this or any other part of Greece will again
become wise, virtuous, and renowned. The philanthropist, who amidst the
gloom and desolation of the moral world depends with confidence upon
an all-wise and all-disposing Providence, may console himself with the
hope, that that great Being who bestowed such inestimable blessings
upon Arcadian shepherds in their ignorance, will not abandon those
of their descendants, who with superior means of knowledge, aim at
corresponding attainments in the excellencies of political, social, and
private life.
[306] [German 283] Bartholdy, Bruchstücke zur Kenntniss des
heut. Griechenlands, p. 238.
[307] Dodwell’s Tour, vol. ii. p. 388-393. Leake’s Travels in the
Morea, vol. i. p. 486-490. The latter author gives the following
account of a visit which he paid to the family of a shepherd,
consisting of twelve or fifteen individuals, who lived together in
a tent on Mount Lycæus:--“Milk and misithra (a preparation made
by boiling milk and whey together) is their usual food. ‘We have
milk in plenty,’ they tell me, ‘but no bread.’ Such is the life
of a modern Arcadian shepherd, who has almost reverted to the
balanephagous state of his primitive ancestors (Orac. Pyth. ap.
Pausan. Arcad. c. 42.). The children, however, all look healthy and
are handsome, having large black eyes and regular features with
very dark complexion.”
According to the representation in the Odyssey (xiv. 100.) Ulysses
had twelve flocks of sheep, and as many of goats on the continent
opposite to Ithaca. At a much later period Neoptolemus, a king of
Molossis, in possession of flocks and herds, which were superintended
by a distinct officer appointed for the purpose[308]. In Macedonia
also the king, though living in a state of so little refinement that
his queen _baked the bread for the whole household_, was possessed at
an early period of flocks of sheep and goats together with horses and
herds of oxen, which were entrusted to the care of separate officers.
We are informed that three Argive brothers, having taken refuge in the
upper part of Macedonia bordering upon Illyria, became hired servants
to the king, one of them having the custody of the horses, another of
the oxen, and a third of the sheep and goats[309]. Here then we find
in Europe a state of society _analogous to that which_, as we have
seen, _existed in Palestine under David_. Indeed we may observe, that
all the countries bordering on Macedonia were contrasted with Attica
and Arcadia in this respect, that, while the Athenians and Arcadians
were in general small landed proprietors, each shepherd tending his
flock upon his own ground, Phrygia[310], Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus,
and even Bœotia belonged probably to an aristocracy, the richest
and most powerful individuals of which became shepherd kings, their
landed possessions giving them a superiority over the rest of their
countrymen, and leading to the employment of numerous persons as their
servants engaged in tending their cattle and in other rural occupations.
[308] Plutarchi Pyrrhus, p. 705. ed. Steph.
[309] Herod. viii. 137.
[310] Theopompus, as quoted by Servius on Virgil, Buc. vi. 13, makes
mention of the shepherds, who kept the flocks of Midas, king of
Phrygia.
Respecting the attention paid to sheep-breeding in Epirus we have
the testimony of Varro in his treatise De Re Rustica. He informs us
(ii. 2.) that it was usual there to have one man to take care of 100
coarse-wooled sheep (_oves hirtæ_), and two men for the same number of
“_oves pellitæ_,” or sheep which wore skins. The attention bestowed
upon dogs is an indirect evidence of the care which was devoted to
flocks. It is worthy of remark, that the dogs used to guard the flocks
in the modern Albania, appear to be the genuine descendants of the
ancient “canes Molossici,” being distinguished by their size as well as
by their strength and ferocity[311]. Further notices respecting them
may be found in Virgil’s Georgics, l. iii. 404-413, and in the Notes of
his editors and translators, Heyne, Martyn, and J. H. Voss. See also
Ælian de Nat. An. iii. 2. and Plautus, Capt. l. i. 18.
[311] Holland’s Travels, p. 443. Hughes’s Travels, vol. i. p. 483, 484,
496.
There is another important circumstance, in which probably the habits
of the modern shepherds of Albania are similar to those of the ancient
occupants of the same region, viz. the annual practice of resorting
to the high grounds in summer and returning to the plains in winter,
which prevails both here and in most mountainous countries devoted to
sheep-breeding. The following extract from Dr. Holland’s Travels in the
Ionian Isles, Albania, &c. (_p._ 91-93.), gives a lively representation
of this proceeding:
“When advanced eight or nine miles on our journey (from Cinque
Pozzi to Joannina; October 31st, 1813,) and crossing another ridge
of high and broken land, we were highly interested in a spectacle,
which by a fortunate incident occurred to our notice. We met on the
road a community of migrating shepherds, a wandering people of the
mountains of Albania, who in the summer feed their flocks in these
hilly regions, and in the winter spread them over the plains in the
vicinity of the Gulph of Arta and along other parts of the coast. The
many large flocks of sheep we had met the day before belonged to these
people, and were preceding them to the plains. The cavalcade we now
passed through was nearly two miles in length with few interruptions.
The number of horses with the emigrants might exceed a thousand; they
were chiefly employed in carrying the moveable habitations and the
various goods of the community, which were packed with remarkable
neatness and uniformity[312]. The infants and smaller children were
variously attached to the luggage, while the men, women, and elder
children travelled for the most part on foot; a healthy and masculine
race of people, but strongly marked by the wild and uncouth exterior
connected with their manner of life. The greater part of the men
were clad in coarse white woollen garments; the females in the
same material, but more curiously colored, and generally with some
ornamented lacing about the breast.” He then adds, “These migratory
tribes of shepherds generally come down from the mountains about the
latter end of October, and return thither from the plains in April,
after disposing of a certain proportion of their sheep and horses. In
travelling, they pass the night on the plains or open lands. Arrived
at the place of their destination, they construct their little huts or
tents of the materials they carry with them, assisted by the stones,
straw, or earth, which they find on the spot.”
[312] No one has described this pastoral migration more minutely or
more beautifully, than Mr. Charles Fellows, in his _Discoveries in
Lycia_.
According to Dr. Sibthorp (_in Walpole’s Memoirs_, _p._ 141.), “a
wandering tribe of Nomads” on the other side of Greece drive their
flocks from the mountains of Thessaly into the plains of Attica and
Bœotia to pass the winter. “They give some pecuniary consideration to
the Pasha of Negropont and Vaivode of Athens. These people are much
famed for their woollen manufactures, particularly the coats or cloaks
worn by the Greek sailors.”
CHAPTER II
SHEEP-BREEDING AND PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS--ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE
SCRIPTURES, &c.
Sheep-breeding in Sicily--Bucolic poetry--Sheep-breeding in
South Italy--Annual migration of the flocks--The ram employed to
aid the shepherd in conducting his flock--The ram an emblem of
authority--Bells--Ancient inscription at Sepino--Use of music by
ancient shepherds--Superior quality of Tarentine sheep--Testimony
of Columella--Distinction of the coarse and soft kinds--Names
given to sheep--Supposed effect of the water of rivers on
wool--Sheep-breeding in South Italy, Tarentum, and Apulia--Brown
and red wool--Sheep-breeding in North Italy--Wool of Parma, Modena,
Mantua, and Padua--Origin of sheep-breeding in Italy--Faunus the same
with Pan--Ancient sculptures exhibiting Faunus--Bales of wool and
the shepherd’s dress--Costume, appearance, and manner of life of the
ancient Italian shepherds.
Still shall o’er all prevail the shepherd’s stores,
For numerous uses known; none yield such warmth,
Such beauteous hues receive, so long endure;
So pliant to the loom, so various, none.--_Dyer._
We now pass over to _Sicily_. The pastoral life of the Sicilians was
marked by peculiar characters as well as that of the Arcadians. The
bucolic poems of Theocritus represent many of its circumstances in the
most lively colors; and, while their dramatic spirit and vivacity are
unrivalled, they seem to be most exact copies of nature, the dialogues
which they contain being in the style, the language, and the precise
dialect of the Sicilian shepherds, and indeed only differing from
their real conversation by being composed in hexameters. It is to
be observed, that the mountains and pastures of Sicily were browsed
by goats and oxen as well as by sheep. These animals were, however,
under distinct keepers, called respectively Shepherds, Goatherds, and
Herdsmen. But the tastes, manner of life, and the superstitions of
these three classes of rustics appear to have been undistinguishable.
They were probably not always independent proprietors of the soil,
but in many cases the servants of a landed aristocracy who lived in
_Syracuse_ and other splendid cities. They appear, however, to have
enjoyed far greater comforts and advantages than the corresponding
class of hired laborers in the countries to the north of the
Peloponnesus and of Attica. In composing pastoral verses and in playing
on the pipe and the syrinx they probably equalled the Arcadians. Whilst
they were watching their flocks and herds, it was a frequent amusement
with them for two persons to contend for a stipulated prize, such as a
goat, a carved wooden bowl, or a syrinx, which was to be awarded by an
appointed judge to him who most excelled either in instrumental music,
or in singing alternate and extemporaneous verses[313].
[313] According to the learned German traveller, Baron Riedesel, the
custom was not extinct in his time; for in his Travels through
Sicily, page 148 of Forster’s English translation, he says, “The
shepherds still sing with emulation to gain the crook or the purse,
which is the prize of the best performer.” Nevertheless, the modern
can be only a very faint imitation of the ancient practice; for
thus the same author speaks in other passages:
“Here I had an opportunity of pitying the wretched situation of
modern Sicily in comparison with what it was in former ages. Many
towns and different nations are destroyed; immense riches are
dissipated; the whole island can at present scarce show 1,200,000
inhabitants, _the number which Syracuse alone formerly had_. Many
beautiful spots, which used to produce corn and fruits, are now
deserted for want of laborers; many spacious ports are without any
ships for want of trade; and many people want bread, _whilst the
nobility and the monks_ are in possession of all the lands.” p.
112, 113.
“To conclude, the climate, the soil, and the fruits of the country
are as perfect as ever. But the precious Greek liberty, population,
power, magnificence, and good taste, are now not to be met with as
in former times, and the present inhabitants can only say, Fuimus
Troes.” p. 151.
That this elegant recreation was of Sicilian origin we have clear and
abundant evidence. Bion (_Idyll_ vii. 1.) calls pastoral poetry “a
Sicilian strain;” which certainly implies, that of all places where the
Greek language was used Sicily was the most noted for it, and that in
fact it properly belonged to Sicily. So Moschus (_Idyll_ iii.) speaks
of “the Sicilian muses;” and throughout this Idyll, which is the lament
of Moschus on the death of Bion, he repeatedly speaks of the pastoral
poetry, such as Bion cultivated, as proper to Sicily. In Virgil’s
Bucolics we find frequent allusions to the same acknowledged fact. Thus
he says,
“I will set my verses to the tune of a Sicilian shepherd.”
_Buc._ x. 51.
The historian Diodorus, himself a Sicilian, who lived about the
commencement of the Christian æra, supposes bucolic poetry and music
to be the peculiar invention and exercise of his own country, and
says, that it continued in use at his time and was held in the same
estimation as formerly[314]. In less than 200 years from this period
the art lost much of its original simplicity. Maximus Tyrius (Diss.
xxi.) says, that “the Dorians of Sicily became, to use the mildest
term, _more weak in understanding_,” (_more dissolute_) “when instead
of the simple Alpine music, which they used to employ in the presence
of their flocks and herds, they began to love the tunes of the
Sybarites, and a style of dancing adapted to them, such as was required
by the Ionic pipe.”
[314] L. iv. c. 84, p. 283.
But, although the rustic Dorians of Sicily had the full credit of this
invention and were never surpassed in the practice of it by any other
people, yet the imitation of it was attempted in various instances
by the pastoral inhabitants of other countries. More especially, it
appears to have been adopted in the neighboring district of Magna
Græcia; for it is near _Sybaris_ that Theocritus has placed the scene
of his Fifth Idyll, in which, a shepherd having staked a lamb and a
goatherd a kid, they contend in alternate verses, whilst a wood-cutter,
whom they have called from his labor, listens as judge, and awards
the prize to the goatherd, who hereupon joyfully sacrifices his newly
acquired lamb to the Nymphs.
In the Seventh Idyll (_v._ 12, 27, 40.) Theocritus mentions the
goatherd, _Lycidas_ of Crete, who was his contemporary, and also his
predecessors and supposed instructors, _Asclepiades of Samos_, and
_Philetas of Cos_, as distinguished for skill in pastoral music.
The bucolic poems of Theocritus prove, that the Arcadian belief in
the attributes of Pan had extended itself into Sicily and the South of
Italy, so that the rustics of those countries not only invoked him by
name, but even sometimes offered sacrifices to him. Thus, in Idyll v.
58, the Lucanian goatherd already referred to says, that he will set
aside for Pan eight dishes of milk and six of honey.
But besides importing the belief in Pan from Arcadia the Sicilians
recognized two demigods of native origin, who contributed, if not to
excite feelings allied to religion, at least to amuse their imagination
and to contribute greatly to the variety and liveliness of their
poetry. These were the shepherd Polyphemus, who was horridly deformed,
and the herdsman Daphnis, who was endowed with the most surpassing
beauty.
Polyphemus was the son of Neptune. Notwithstanding his forbidden aspect
he is represented as susceptible of some tender emotions, and it is his
misfortune to be deeply enamored of the beautiful _Nereid_ or Mermaid
Galatea, whom he sees sporting in the green waves, while he surveys the
coast from the summit of a mountain and plays upon the syrinx for the
amusement of himself and his flock[315].
[315] Theocritus, Idyll vi. and xi. Lucian, Dial. Doridis et Galateæ.
Ovid, Met. L. xiii. 739-870.
The Sicilian Daphnis, like the Arcadian Pan, was the son of Mercury and
of a mountain nymph, and excelled in playing on the syrinx; but his
form was entirely human and the most beautiful that could be imagined.
The guardian of fair kine, himself more fair.
_Virg. Buc._ v. 44.
He tended his cattle upon the picturesque Heræan mountains to the north
of Ætna, and did not mix in the society of men. At the time when the
beard was beginning to grow on his upper lip, the nymph Echenais became
enamored of him, and enjoined him upon pain of losing his eye-sight
not to approach any other female. He consented, and for some time
persisted in obeying her; but at length a Sicilian princess, having
intoxicated him with wine, accomplished her purpose. He shared the fate
of Thamyras, the Thracian, and was thus punished for his folly[316]. He
then pined away, and died of hopeless love for the nymph, whom he had
offended[317]. According to Virgil (_Buc._ v. 56-71.) _he was raised to
the stars_, and sacrifices were offered to him by the shepherds.
[316] Timæus, author of the Hist. of Sicily, as quoted by Parthenius,
c. 29. Ælian, Var. Hist. L. x. c. 18. Diod. Sic. L. iv. c. 84. p.
283.
[317] Theocritus, Idyll i. 66-141. and vii. 72-77.
Daphnis was the frequent subject of pastoral poetry, being regarded as
an ideal representation of the perfection of the shepherd’s culture and
manner of life. Of this we have a proof in the epigram of Callimachus
on the death of Astacides, and which concludes thus: “We (shepherds)
will no longer sing of Daphnis, but of Astacides.” The poet’s design
was to extol Astacides, by comparing him with Daphnis. According to
Ælian (_l. c._) the first bucolic poems related to the blindness of
Daphnis and its cause; and the first poet, who composed verses upon
this subject, was Stesichorus of Himera in Sicily. In Theocritus the
allusions to the beautiful story of Daphnis are very frequent[318],
and his sad fate is described at length by contending shepherds or
goatherds in the First and Seventh Idylls. We shall quote only his
dying words, where he calls on Pan to leave the great Mænalus and the
long ridges of Lycæus, and to come to Sicily in order to receive from
his own hand the syrinx, on which he had been accustomed to play.
Ἔνθ’ ᾦναξ, καὶ τάνδε φέρ’ εὐπάκτοιο μελίπνουν
Ἐκ κηρῶ σύριγγα καλὰν, περὶ χεῖλος ἑλικτάν·
Ἠ γὰρ ἐγὼν ὑπ’ ἔρωτος ἐς ἅδᾶν ἕλκομαι ἤδη.
Come, mighty king, come, Pan, and take my pipe,
Well join’d with wax and fitted to my lip;
For now ’tis useless grown, Love stops my breath,
I cannot pipe, but must be mute in death.
_Creech’s Translation._
[318] Idyll v. 20. See also v. 80. In Idyll vi. Daphnis is one of the
performers, and gives a description of Galatea.
Pliny informs us, that in his time the wool of Apulia was in the
highest repute; that throughout the South of Italy the best sheep were
bred in the vicinity of Tarentum and Canusium; and that the wool of
Tarentum was admired for its tinge of black, and that of Canusium for
its fine brown or yellow color[319].
[319] See Appendix A.
The directions for the management of sheep, given by Varro, Columella,
Virgil, and other writers on rural affairs, all tend to show the pains
taken by the Romans to improve the breed of sheep, and especially to
produce wool of the finest quality.
The first of these authors (_De Re Rustica_, L. ii. _Præf._) mentions
his own flocks of sheep in Apulia. It appears from his account that
every man was obliged to report the number of his sheep to the publican
and to have them inscribed in a register, the earliest allusion, to a
code of laws, which may probably have been in some respects similar to
that now called “La Mesta” in Spain. Varro further speaks expressly of
the summer and winter migrations of the flocks; and to show the great
distances to which they were conducted on these occasions, he states
that the sheep of Apulia were taken every year to pass the summer in
the mountains of Samnium, and sometimes even in those of Reate[320].
[320] De Re Rustica, L. ii. c. 1. p. 161. ed. Bip. See also, c. 2. p.
167.
Of the nature and circumstances of these annual migrations we are
enabled to form some judgment, not only from the animated description
already quoted from Dr. Holland in relation to Albania, but still more
distinctly from the following accounts by the Honorable Keppel Craven,
one of which relates to the first group of mountains mentioned by
Varro, the other to the second.
In the year 1818 Mr. Craven visited a large farm a few miles to the
south of Foggia, and consequently not far from the site of the ancient
Arpi in Apulia. He mentions the following particulars.
“Above 200 persons were employed, and resided on the spot. The
stock of sheep consisted of 8000, divided into several flocks; to
which those of cows, goats, and buffaloes, together with a set of
brood mares and a suitable quantity of poultry, bore an equivalent
proportion. All the cattle are guarded by large milk-white dogs of
the Abruzzo breed. These animals are very handsome and resemble
the Newfoundland species, but have sharper noses; they are very
intelligent and equally fierce. The flocks are tended by natives
of Abruzzo, who also undertake the care of milking them, as well
as making the cheese, &c.; they are assisted by their wives and
children, who accompany them in their yearly migrations to and from
the mountains. These shepherds are clothed in the skins of the animals
which they watch, and are reckoned a quiet, attentive, frugal, and
trust-worthy race.” _Tour through the southern Provinces of the
Kingdom of Naples, by the Honorable Keppel Craven_, p. 80.
The scene of the following extract is the valley of the Aternus,
descending from the region of the highest Apennines, the “montes
Reatini” of Varro, not very remote from the ruins of his farm and
villa, (These ruins are described at page 45 of the volume from which
this passage is extracted.), and proceeding towards the sites of the
modern Aquila and of the ancient Amiternum.
“One of the broad tratturos, or cattle-paths, runs in the same line
with the high-road to Aquila; and I was so fortunate as to see it
occupied by a very extended line of flocks, which slowly passed by the
carriage for the space of a mile or more. The word ‘fortunate’ adapted
to such a spectacle, may excite a smile in my readers; but I own that
I never beheld one of these numerous animal congregations plodding
across the flats of Capitanata, or the valleys of Abruzzo, as far as
the eye could reach, without experiencing a sensation of a novel and
exciting kind, nearly allied to that of enjoyment, but which I shall
not attempt to account for.
“One shepherd heads each division of cattle, of which he has the
peculiar care and direction. Armed with his crook, he walks some
paces in advance of his flock, followed by an old ram termed _il
manso_; which word, meaning tame or instructed, has undoubtedly a more
apposite signification than that of our bell-wether, though he is, as
well as ours, furnished with a large deep-toned bell.
“The sheep march in files of about twelve in each; and every
battalion, if I may so call it, is attended by six or eight dogs,
according to its number; these accompanying the herd, walking at the
head, middle, and rear of each flank. The beauty and docility of
these animals, which are usually white, has often been described, and
their demeanor is gentle as long as the objects of their solicitude
are unmolested, but at night they are so savage, that it would be
dangerous to approach the fold they guard.
“The goats, which bear a very small proportion to the sheep, and
are in general black, wind up the array, and evince their superior
intelligence by lying down whenever a temporary halt takes place. The
cows and mares travel in separate bodies. A certain number of these
flocks, commonly those belonging to the same proprietor, are under the
immediate management and inspection of an agent, entitled _fattore_,
who accompanies them on horseback, armed with a musket, and better
clad than the shepherds, who, both in summer and winter, wear the
large _sheep-skin jacket_, and are in other respects provided with
substantial though homely attire, including good strong shoes.
“These Fattores are all natives of Abruzzo, an Apulian never having
been known to undertake the profession: the former, through particular
habits and the repeated experience of years, are looked upon as so
peculiarly fitted for the care required by cattle, and indeed animals
of all kinds, that all the helpers in the stables of the capital are
natives of these provinces, or of the adjoining county of Molise. In
addition to these qualifications, they are esteemed an abstemious and
honest race.
“When following the calling of shepherds, and occupied, as I saw
them, in the duties of their charge in travelling, their countenances
are almost invariably marked by the same expression, which combines
mildness and sagacity with immovable gravity, and, it is painful to
add, a look of deep-seated sadness; the whole caravan, animal as well
as human, exhibiting, at least while engaged in one of those tedious
peregrinations, a general appearance of suffering and depression,
distinguishable in every individual that composes it. The shepherd
that opens the march, the independent manso jingling his brazen bell,
the flocks that follow, the dogs that watch over their security, and
even the Fattore who directs the procession, all appear to be plodding
through a wearisome existence of monotony and toil. The extreme
slowness of their progress, the downcast expression of every head
and eye, and, above all, the indications of exhaustion and fatigue
which are but too perceptible after a journey of more than a month’s
duration, may well account for this impression.
“The animals suffer greatly from heat until they reach their summer
dwelling, and full as much from lameness, which, when it has reached
a certain pitch, becomes the signal for destruction. I saw a mule
bearing no other load than the skins of those that had perished in
this manner.
“Several other beasts of burden follow the rear of the herds, laden
with the various articles necessary for them and their guardians
during their protracted march: these consist in the nets and poles
requisite to pen the folds at night, the coarse cloth tents for the
use of the shepherds, and a limited stock of utensils for milking, and
boiling the produce of the flock. Among these are to be noticed some
portable jointed seats of very ingenious though simple construction,
composed of the stems of the giant fennel, a substance remarkable for
its light and compact texture.
“The cattle which I thus met near Aquila were within two days’ journey
of their resting-place, which is generally in some of the valleys
placed on the lower flanks of the mountain ridges, but sufficiently
elevated above the larger plains to afford fresh and abundant herbage
and a cooler temperature.
“The duration of their abode in these regions is regulated by the
rapid or slow progression of the summer season; in the course of which
they shift their quarters, as the heat increases, till they reach the
highest spots, which are the last divested of the deep snows, in which
they have been buried during three quarters of the year. Here large
tracts of the finest pasture, rills of the coldest and purest water,
and shady woods of considerable extension, are occupied by them during
the remainder of the fine weather, and afford the _ne plus ultra_
of enjoyment allotted to an existence of such restricted variety.”
_Excursions in the Abruzzi by the Honorable Keppel Craven._ _London_,
1838, _vol._ i. _p._ 259-264.
The account, given in the second paragraph of this extract, of the
shepherd marching at the head of his battalion of sheep illustrates in
a striking manner the remark made respecting the comparison of kings to
shepherds, and to their leading rams in Homer and in the Scriptures.
The Greek word Κτίλος, originally an adjective, corresponds exactly to
the Italian _manso_. It appears to have been applicable to all trained
tame animals. Hence it was used specially to denote the large and
powerful ram, which was instructed to assist the shepherd in disposing
the sheep in proper order and in leading them to and from their daily
pasture as well as during their long migrations. In the third book
of the Iliad (_l._ 196-198), where Priam is described surveying the
Greek troops from the Scæan gate, after the account of Agamemnon, who
was considered as their shepherd, we find Ulysses, who was inferior
to him both in rank and in stature, represented as his _manso_, that
is, as the ram, which immediately follows the shepherd and aids him in
conducting the flock. The same image is repeated in the thirteenth book
(_l._ 492, 493), where Pope’s translation, though very paraphrastic, is
an admirable representation of the real circumstances.
In order follow all th’ embodied train,
Like Ida’s flocks proceeding o’er the plain:
Before his fleecy care, erect and bold,
Stalks the proud ram, the father of the fold;
With joy the swain surveys them, as he leads
To the cool fountains, through the well-known meads.
Propertius presents us with a similar picture in the following lines:
Corniger Idæi vacuam pastoris in aulam
Dux aries saturas ipse reduxit oves. _Lib._ iii. _El._ 13.
The fold receives the sheep on Ida fed,
By the great ram, their horned chieftain, led.
Aristotle calls these rams “the leaders of the sheep,” and he states,
that the shepherds provided for each flock such a leader, _which, when
called by name by the shepherd, placed himself at the head of the
flock_, and was trained to execute this office from an early age[321].
The employment of the _manso_ was probably the ground, on which many of
the Orientals adopted the ram as the emblem of military authority[322].
According to this supposition it would rather denote secondary than
supreme command; and if so, _the representation of the king of Persia
by the symbol of a ram in the 8th chapter of Daniel is the more
expressive, because it indicated that he was the agent of the supreme
Deity_. Probably also the same sentiment was intended to be conveyed by
the enthusiastic Sapor, or Shahpoor II., King of Persia in the _fourth
century_, when he rode to battle in front of his army wearing instead
of a diadem a ram’s head wrought in gold and studded with precious
stones[323].
[321] Hist. Animal. viii. 19.
[322] E. F. K. Rosenmuller, Bibl. Alterthumskunde, iv. 2. p. 83.
[323] Ammianus Marcell. xix. 1.
Any one, who has seen the collection of ancient bronze bells in the
Museum at Naples, and compared them with those now worn in Italy
about the necks of sheep and other cattle, will be struck with
their similarity. We know also from various ancient laws and other
evidence[324] that the shepherds fastened bells upon their sheep as
they do at the present day.
[324] See note of Sweertius on the treatise of Hieron. Magius de
Tintinnabulis, cap. viii.
There is a striking correspondence between the words of Varro, “crates,
retia, cæteraque utensilia,” and Craven’s account of the provision of
nets, &c. for making folds, and of the other necessary utensils.
At Sepino, the ancient Sæpinum, situated in the highest part of the
mountains of Samnium near the source of the Tamarus, Mr. Craven saw
over the Eastern gate the remains of a very remarkable inscription
referring to the same practice[325]. This inscription has been
accurately published by Muratori[326]. It clearly distinguishes between
the “fattores” (_conductores gregum oviaricorum_) and the shepherds
who were under them (_pastores quos conductores habent_). These were
molested by the magistrates of Sæpinum and the neighboring town of
Bovianum, and by the “stationarii” or soldiers, who, instead of
being ready to protect them in case of need, charged them with being
fugitives and with cattle-stealing, and under this pretence drove
back even those sheep which belonged to the emperor (_oves quoque
dominicas_) and thus greatly injured his revenue. These grievances were
consequently represented to an officer at Rome who kept the emperor’s
accounts (_Cosmus, Augusti Libertus a Rationibus_); and he writes in
the terms of the inscription to Basseus Rufus and Macrinus Vindex,
officers of rank in the army, in order that the evil might be remedied.
This inscription must have been erected about the commencement of the
Christian æra. As Mr. Craven remarks, “It not only corroborates what
was already known, that the periodical migration of the herds from
Apulia is of most ancient origin, but it proves, that they observed the
same line of route which they follow to the present day; the road, that
runs from the east to the western gate of this inclosure, falling into
the line of the _tratturos_, or sheep-paths, exclusively allotted to
the use of the flocks in their annual journeys.”
[325] See Excursions in the Abruzzi, vol. ii. p. 135, 136.
[326] Novus Thesaurus Vet. Inscriptionum, p. DCVI.
Whilst we discover these numerous points of resemblance between the
ancient and the modern practice, it is probable that in other respects
there was a greater diversity. If the author whose observations have
been cited had witnessed a similar procession in very ancient times,
he would have seen less reason to deplore its toilsome and melancholy
aspect. Music was then probably of no little service in animating
both the shepherds and their flocks. The sonorous _bagpipe_ may have
contributed to this effect[327]. At least Mr. Craven’s account of a
modern pastoral march is strikingly contrasted with the following
description by Apollonius Rhodius, in which he compares the ship Argo
and the music of Orpheus, followed by multitudes of fishes, to a
shepherd playing on the syrinx and followed by his sheep.
Ὡς δ’ ὁπότ’ ἀγραύλοιο κατ’ ἴχνια σημαντῆρος
μυρία μῆλ’ ἐφέπονται ἄδην κεκορημένα ποίης
εἰς αὖλιν, ὁ δέ τ’ εἶσι πάρος σύριγγι λιγείῃ
καλὰ μελιζόμενος νόμιον μέλος· ὥς ἄρα τοί γε
ὡμάρτευν· πὴν δ’ αἰὲν ἐπασσύτερος φέρεν οὖρος.
_Argon_, _L._ i. 575-579.
As sheep in flocks thick-pasturing on the plain
Attend the footsteps of the shepherd-swain,
His well-known call they hear, and fully fed,
Pace slowly on, their leader at their head;
Who pipes melodious, as he moves along,
On sprightly reeds his modulated song:
Thus charm’d with tuneful sounds the scaly train
Pursued the flying vessel o’er the main.
_Fawkes’s Translation._
[327] According to Montfaucon (Ant. Expliquée, Suppl. Tom. iii.
p. 188.) the bagpipe was seen under the arm of a shepherd in the
collection of Cardinal Albani at Rome.
The testimony afforded by Varro relative to the management of the South
Italian sheep, having been given and illustrated, it is to be deplored
that Italy, once so renowned for its sheep, can now boast little of
this production of her bounteous clime. The Romans, whose dress was
woollen, cultivated in an especial degree the fineness of the fleece;
and it was not until the days of the Empire that the silk and cotton of
the East began to supersede the ancient raiment of the Roman people.
The finest wools of ancient Italy were produced in Apulia and Calabria,
being the eastern parts of the present kingdom of Naples[328].
[328] It appears from the following passage of Varro, that the Apulian
was sold at a higher price than some other kinds of wool which were
equally beautiful, because it wore better. By _lana Gallicana_ in
this passage we must understand the wool of Gallia Cisalpina, of
which we shall next treat.
Sic enim lana Gallicana et Appula videtur imperito similis propter
speciem, cum peritus Appulam emat pluris, quod in usu firmior sit.
_De Lin. Lat._, lib. ix. 28. p. 484. ed. Spengel.
We now proceed to the other writers on Rural Affairs, viz., Columella
and Palladius.
The first attests the high estimation in which the sheep of Calabria
and Apulia were held by the Romans, especially before his own time,
and he says that among them the Tarentine sheep were the best of all.
In speaking of the practice so prevalent in this district of covering
them with skins, he shows, that these “oves pellitæ” were also called
“soft” (_molles_), and “covered” (_tectæ_). Indeed he makes the great
distinction of sheep to be into the “_genus molle_,” i. e. the soft
kind, and the “genus hirsutum,” or “hirtum,” i. e. the coarse kind.
We further learn that the soft sheep were called by the Romans Greek
sheep, because they were bred in Græcia Magna, and Tarentine, because
the best of all were bred at Tarentum. According to Palladius they
were also sometimes called Asiatic (_Asianæ_). It is to be observed
that by _Asia_, Palladius and his contemporaries would understand
the celebrated sheep-country of which Miletus was the centre[329];
and considering the frequent, long-established, and very friendly
intercourse between Miletus and Tarentum[330], we may infer that the
Milesians imported into Tarentum their fine breed of sheep, and at the
same time introduced the art of _dyeing_ and _preparing_ the wool.
The same sheep, which were called Greek by the Romans, were called
_Italian_ by the Egyptians and others, to whom the word _Greek_ would
not have been distinctive. Columella (vii. 4.) insists particularly
on the great pains and care, which it was necessary to bestow upon
this description of sheep, the “covered” or “soft,” in regard to food,
warmth, and cleanliness, and he says that they were principally brought
up in the house[331].
[329] Cellarii Ant. Orbis Notitia, iii. 1. 7, 8, 9.
[330] Herod. vi. 21. and Wesseling _ad locum_.
[331] According to Bochart (Hieroz. cap. 45. p. 486, ed. Leusden), the
Talmud and another rabbinical book, lambs soon after their birth
were invested with garments fastened upon them with thongs or
buckles.
In the sheep-breeding countries of Europe the practice seems to
have been very general. Besides South Italy, Attica, Megaris, and
Epirus, in regard to which countries positive evidence has been
produced, we find that soft sheep, or “oves pellitæ” were kept by
an inhabitant of Cynethæ in Arcadia (Polybius, L. ix. c. 17.), by
the Roman settlers in the North of Gaul and in Spain.
As there was in general a great affinity between the manners and
ideas of Sicily and South Italy, we might infer that the pastoral
habits of these two districts were in many respects similar. Theocritus
accordingly lays the scene of some of his Idylls on the coast opposite
to Sicily. The fifth Idyll describes a contest between a shepherd and
a goatherd, who are supposed to have been employed as hired servants
in the vicinity of Sybaris. The shepherd, observing some of his sheep
to be feeding on an oak, which could not be very good for them, utters
the following exclamation, showing that it was customary to give proper
names to sheep, and thus confirming the fact, that in ancient times
they were regarded as the objects of affection, and not of profitable
speculation merely:
Οὐκ ἀπὸ τᾶς δρυὸς οὗτος ὁ Κώναρος, ἅ τε Κυναίθα·
Τουτεὶ βοσκησεῖσθε ποτ’ ἀντολὰς, ὡς ὁ Φάλαρος.
Ho! Sharphorn, Browning, leave those hurtful weeds,
And come and graze this way, where Colly feeds.
_Creech’s Translation._
The passage has often been cited in illustration of the following
verses from the Gospel of St. John. Our Savior, describing himself as a
shepherd, here alludes to various indications of care and attachment,
which distinguish the owner of a flock from the hireling, who, being
engaged to tend the sheep only for a season, could not be so well known
by them, nor so much interested in their security and welfare.
“He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he
putteth forth (from the fold) his own sheep, he goeth before them, and
the sheep follow him; for they know his voice. And a stranger will
they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice
of strangers.”--_John_, x. 3-5.
In reference to this passage of Scripture the following remarks of a
late traveller are instructive:
“I asked my man if it was usual in Greece to give names to sheep.
He informed me that it was, and that the sheep obeyed the shepherd
when he called them by their names. This morning (_March 5, 1828_),
I had an opportunity of verifying the truth of this remark. Passing
by a flock of sheep, I asked the shepherd the same question which
I put to my servant, and he gave me the same answer. I then bade
him to call one of his sheep. He did so, and it instantly left its
pasturage and its companions, and ran up to the hand of the shepherd,
with signs of pleasure and with a prompt obedience which I had never
before observed in any other animal. It is also true of the sheep
in this country, _that a stranger will they not follow, but will
flee from him; for they know not the voice of the strangers_. The
shepherd told me that many of his sheep are still WILD;
that they had not yet learned their names; but that by teaching they
would all learn them. The others, which knew their names, he called
TAME.”--_Researches in Greece and the Levant, by the Rev.
John Hartley_, p. 321.
The city of Sybaris stood between two rivers, the Sybaris and the
Crathis. The ancients asserted that the sheep which drank of the
Crathis, were white, and those which drank of the Sybaris, black. They
attributed similar virtues to other streams in various parts of the
world[332].
[332] Ælian, Nat. Anim. xii. 36. Plinii Hist. Nat. xxxi. 9. Kruse’s
Hellas, i. p. 369. (See Appendix A.)
According to Strabo (L. vi. _cap._ 3. § 9. _p._ 303. _ed. Siebenkees_)
the hilly promontory of Garganus was particularly celebrated for its
sheep. He says, that their wool was softer than the Tarentine, but less
shining.
The Roman poets allude in various instances to the excellence of
the Apulian wool, and especially to that of Tarentum. Horace in the
following stanza expresses his predilection for this celebrated city,
and mentions its “soft” or “covered” sheep. He had been asserting his
wish to end his days at Tibur, the modern Tivoli.
But, should the partial Fates refuse
That purer air to let me breathe,
Galesus, thy sweet stream I’ll choose,
Where flocks of richest fleeces bathe:
Phalanthus there his rural sceptre sway’d,
Uncertain offspring of a Spartan maid.
_Od._ _l._ ii. 6.--_Francis’s Translation._
Martial alludes to the celebrity of the Tarentine wool in no less than
five of his epigrams.
Spartan Galesus did your toga lave,
Or from a flock select fair Parma gave.
L. ii. _ep._ 43. _l._ 3, 4.
The poet intended here to describe a toga of the most expensive and
fashionable kind.
You give, O Chloe, to Lupercus,
Your tender favorite, lacernas
Of Spanish, Tyrian, scarlet fleeces,
And togas wash’d in warm Galesus.
L. iv. _ep._ 28. _l._ 1-3.
Thou wast more sweet, O lovely child!
Than song of aged dying swans:
Thy voice, thy mien were soft and mild
As Phalantine Galesus’ lambs.
L. v. _ep._ 37. _l._ 1, 2.
The last lines were written by Martial on the death of Erotion in her
sixth year. He describes her interesting qualities by comparing her to
a lamb of the soft Tarentine breed, always clothed and usually kept in
the house and hence remarkably tender and delicate.
The following epigram (L. viii. _ep._ 28.) was written on the receipt
of a handsome toga from the wealthy and munificent Parthenius,
chamberlain to the emperor Domitian. In expressing his admiration of
it, the poet enumerates the places from which the Romans of his time
obtained the best and most fashionable garments of this description. He
next proceeds to extol its whiteness; and in conclusion observes how
ridiculous he would appear wearing his old _lacerna_ over this new and
snowy garment, and he thus conveys a hint to Parthenius how acceptable
and suitable would be the present of a lacerna in addition to the toga.
De Partheniana toga.
Dic, toga, facundi gratum mihi munus amici,
Esse velis cujus fama, decusque gregis?
Appula Ledæi tibi floruit herba Phalanthi,
Quà saturat Calabris culta Galesus aquis?
An Tartessiacus stabuli nutritor Iberi
Bætis in Hesperia te quoque lavit aqua?
An tua multifidum numeravit lana Timavum,
Quem prius astrifero Cyllarus ore bibit?
Te nec Amyclæo decuit livere veneno;
Nec Miletus erat vellere digna tuo.
Lilia tu vincis, nec adhuc dilapsa ligustra,
Et Tiburtino monte quod albet ebur.
Spartanus tibi cedet olor, Phaphiæque columbæ:
Cedet Erythræis eruta gemma vadis.
Sed licet hæc primis nivibus sint æmula dona,
Non sunt Parthenio candidiora suo.
Non ego prætulerim Babylonica picta superbè
Texta, Semiramia quæ variantur acu.
Non Athamantæo potius me mirer in auro,
Æolium dones si mihi, Phryxe, decus.
O quantos risus pariter spectata movebit
Trita Palatina nostra lacerna toga!
Say, grateful gift of mine ingenious friend,
What happy flock shall to thy fleece pretend?
For thee did herb of famed Phalantus blow,
Where clear Galesus bids his waters flow?
Did thy wool count the streamlets, more than seven,
Of him, who slaked the warrior horse of heaven?
Or did Tartessian Guadalquiver lave
Thy matchless woof in his Hesperian wave?
Thou didst not need to taste Amyclæ’s bane,
And wouldst have tried Milesian art in vain.
With thee the lily and the privet pale
Compared, and Tibur’s whitest ivory fail.
The Spartan swan, the Paphian doves deplore
Their hue, and pearls on Erythrean shore.
But, though the boon leave new-fall’n snows behind,
It is not purer than the donor’s mind.
I would prefer no _Babylonian vest_,
_Superbly broider’d_ at a queen’s behest;
Nor better pleased should I my limbs behold,
Phryxus, in _webs_ of thine Æolian gold.
But O! what laughter will the contrast crown,
My worn lacerna on th’ imperial gown!
It may be observed, that in this ingenious epigram, as well as in two
of the preceding, which relate to togas, Martial supposes the Tarentine
wool to be white: for the Roman toga was of that color except in
mourning, and one object of the last-cited epigram is to praise the
whiteness of the particular toga, which it describes. The Tarentines
therefore must have produced both dark-colored and white fleeces.
The fifth passage of Martial (xii. 64.), which mentions the sheep of
the Galesus, more directly refers to those of Spain, and will therefore
be quoted under that head.
Besides the epigrams, now cited, in which Martial commends the wool of
Tarentum in particular, we find others, in which he celebrates that of
Apulia in general. In Book xiv. Ep. 155. he gives an account of the
principal countries, which yielded white wools, and informs us that
those of the first quality were from Apulia.
White Wools.
The first Apulia’s; next is Parma’s boast;
And the third fleece Altinum has engrost.
_Elphinston’s Translation._
Also in the following lines Martial alludes to the large and numerous
flocks of Apulia, and to the whiteness of their wool.
Of white thou hast to clothe a tribe sufficient stock,
The produce fair of more than one Apulian flock.
L. ii. _Ep._ 46. _l._ 5, 6.
On the other hand the wool from the vicinity of Canusium was no less
esteemed for its dark colors, whether inclining to brown or to red.
These saved the expense of dyeing. The testimony of Pliny to their
value has been already produced. In the two following Epigrams (_l._
xiv. 127 _and_ 129.) Martial alludes to the peculiar recommendations
and uses, first of the brown, and secondly of the reddish variety.
This Canusine lacerna, it is true,
Looks muddy: but it will not change its hue[333].
Rome in the brown delights, gay Gaul in red:
This pleases boys, and whose is blood to shed.
[333] It appears from this epigram that, when shaken, it had the
color of the brown wool of Canusium, a kind of drab. The lacerna
was a mantle, which the Romans wore out of doors over their white
toga, with which it was well contrasted, whether it was purple,
scarlet, or brown; but the last color, though less showy at first,
must have had the advantage of durability. See Appendix A.
On referring to the passages produced from Pliny, Columella, and
Martial, it will be seen that the Romans ascribed a very high value
to the white wool of Gallia Cisalpina, i. e. of North Italy, or the
region about the Po. Parma was considered second only to Apulia for
the whiteness of its wool. Besides the two epigrams of Martial already
cited, he refers to Parma as a great place for sheep-breeding in the
following passage, addressed to the wealthy Callistratus:
And Gallic Parma shears thy num’rous flocks.
L. v. _ep._ 13.
Columella speaks moreover (_l. c._) of the superiority of the wool
of Mutina, now Modena; and Martial (_l._ v. _ep._ 105.) mentions
the circumstance of a _fuller_, or _clothier_, in that city having
exhibited a show to the public, which is a presumptive evidence that he
had a great business in manufacturing the produce of the surrounding
country.
Strabo in his account of the productions of Cisalpine Gaul divides
the wool into three kinds; First, the soft kind, of which the finest
varieties were grown about Mutina and the river Scutana, which is the
modern Scultenna, a tributary of the Po, rising in the Apennines;
Secondly, the coarse kind, grown in Liguria and the country of the
Insubres, which was very much used for the common wearing apparel
of the Italians; and Thirdly, the middle kind, grown about Patavium
(now Padua) and employed for making valuable _carpets_ and various
descriptions of _blankets_[334]. By comparing the statements of this
author with those of Columella and Martial it will appear, that the
whole region watered by the parallel rivers Parma, Gabellus, and
Scultenna, and known by the name of _Macri Campi_, or the Barren
Plains, was esteemed for the production of the fine white wool.
[334] Strabo, L. v. c. 1. § 12. p. 119. ed. Siebenkees.
That the tending of both sheep and goats was a principal occupation
of the people of Mantua we learn from Virgil, a native of that city,
who places the scene of most of his pastorals in its vicinity. His
First and Ninth Eclogues more particularly relate to the calamities,
which the Mantuans were compelled to sustain, when Augustus seized
on their lands to reward his veteran soldiers after the battle of
Philippi. These eclogues mention flocks both of sheep and goats,
and show that those who had the care of them cultivated music and
poetry after the manner of the Sicilians. The commencement of the
Seventh Eclogue is especially instructive, because it gives us reason
to believe, that while many of the Arcadians left their country in
consequence of that excess of population, to which mountainous regions
are subject, in order to become foreign mercenaries, others, on the
contrary, entered into foreign service as shepherds and goatherds, and
in this condition not only made themselves useful by their experience,
skill, and fidelity, but also introduced at the same time their native
music together with that refinement of manners and feelings which it
promoted. The poet thus describes two such individuals, who had been
employed in tending flocks upon the banks of the Mincius (_l._ 12,
13), and who were either born in Arcadia, or were at least of Arcadian
origin.
Two blooming swains had join’d their flocks in one,
Thyrsis his sheep, and tuneful Corydon
His goats, which bore their treasur’d milk along;
Arcadians both, both skill’d in amœbean song.
At a considerable distance to the North-East of Mantua lay Altinum,
which is mentioned by Columella[335], Tertullian, and Martial, as
one of the principal places for the produce of _white_ wool. Martial
says, that it ranked in this respect next to Parma[336], and we must
understand him as referring to the same region in Book viii. Epig. 28,
where he asks, “Did thy wool count the many streams of the Timavus,
which Cyllarus previously drank with his starry mouth?” The Timavus was
indeed a considerable way still further towards the North-East, and
must have been very insignificant in connection with the sheep-breeding
of the Altinates. The poet introduces it here only on account of its
picturesque and mythological interest, just as we have seen that the
Galesus, a small, though clear and very beautiful stream, is repeatedly
named in order to designate the pastoral region about Tarentum. It may
also be observed, that in this epigram, where Martial alludes to three
of the principal places for the growth of white wool, he indicates each
of them by its river, the three rivers being the Galesus, the Bætis,
and the Timavus; and he probably did so on account of the supposed
effect of the waters of these rivers in improving the wool.
[335] L. vii. cap. 2.
[336] L. xiv. Ep. 155.
We can make no question, after what we have seen of the universal
practice of both ancient and modern times, that the sheep, which in the
winter were pastured in the plains and lower grounds about Altinum,
were taken to pass the summer in the vallies of the Carinthian Alps
about the sources of the Brenta, the Piave, and the Tagliamento. We may
also trace the wool, after it was manufactured, in its progress towards
Rome, where was the chief demand for garments of this description. For
Strabo says, that Patavium (_Padua_), which was situated at no great
distance from Altinum on the way to Rome, was a great and flourishing
mart for all kinds of merchandize intended to be sent thither, and
especially for every kind of cloth[337]. It appears, therefore, that
the wool-growers and clothiers of the country to the North-East of
Padua, the modern Trevisano, employed that city as an entrepôt where
they disposed of their goods to the Roman dealers. At the same time we
learn, that this place served as a market for _carpets_ and _blankets_
made of a stronger and more substantial material, which, according to
the same authority[338], was produced in its more immediate vicinity.
[337] L. v. cap. 1. § 6, 7. Strabo alludes to the pastoral occupations
of the territory about Altinum and the Timavus.
[338] Strabo.
In the North-Western portion of Cisalpine Gaul the wool was generally
coarse, and according to Strabo (_l. c._) the garments made of it
were used by the Italians for the ordinary clothing of their domestic
establishments. Nevertheless, black wool of superior value was grown
at Polentia, now Polenza, on the Stura, which is a tributary of the
Po[339]. The following two Epigrams of Martial (_l._ xiv. 157 and 158.)
allude to the use of the dark wool of Polentia for mourning and for the
dress of inferior domestic servants.
Polentine Wools.
1. Not wools alone, that wear the face of woe;
Her goblets once did proud Polentia show.
2. Our sable hue to croplings may belong,
That tend the table, not of primal throng.
_Elphinston’s Translation._
[339] Pliny, L. viii. Columella, vii. 2. To these testimonies may be
added Silius Italicus de Bello Punico, l. viii. 597.
The country people about Modena and in other parts of the Northern
Apennines still wear _undyed_ woollen cloth of a gray color. Muratori
quotes from the statutes of the city of Modena, A. D. 1327, a law to
_prevent the makers of such cloth from mixing with their gray wool the
hair of oxen, asses, or other animals_[340].
[340] Dissertazioni sopra le Antichità Italiane, Diss. 30. tomo ii.
48, 49, 4to edition. This author in his 21st Dissertation endeavors
to assign reasons for the decline of the modern Italians in the
growth and manufacture of wool.
Before quitting Italy we may properly inquire, whence and how came
the practice of sheep-breeding into Great Britain. It has already been
observed that the very improved state of the art at Tarentum may be in
part ascribed to the intercourse of its inhabitants with the Milesians.
The reader will have noticed the fact that the worship of Pan was
introduced into Italy from Arcadia by Evander, from which circumstance
it may be reasonably inferred, that improvements in the management of
sheep were also introduced at the same time. According to Dionysius of
Halicarnassus, Evander with his companions was said by the Romans to
have migrated to Latium _about sixty years before the Trojan war_[341].
The same historian alleges that this colony taught in Italy the use
of letters, of instrumental music and other arts, established laws,
and brought some degree of refinement instead of the former savage
mode of life. The story of the birth of Romulus and Remus supposes
sheep-breeding to have been practiced at the period of that event, and
in a state of society similar to that which we have found prevailing
further eastward; for it is stated, that Faustulus, who discovered
them, kept the king’s flocks. He was “magister regii pecoris[342].”
[341] Hist. Rom. l. i. p. 20, 21. ed. R. Stephani, Par. 1546. folio.
As it has been a frequent error with nations to push back their
annals into a higher antiquity than was consistent with fact, this
may have been the case in the present instance. For it is to be
observed, that according to Herodotus the worship of Pan did not
arise in Arcadia until after the time when according to this latter
statement it was introduced from Arcadia into Latium.
[342] Livii l. i. c. 4.
According to Pausanias (_l._ viii. _c._ 3. § 2.) the first Greek
colony, which went into Italy, was from Arcadia, being conducted
thither by Œnotrus, an Arcadian prince[343]. This was several centuries
before the expedition under Evander, and the part of Italy thus
colonized was the southern extremity, afterwards occupied by the
Bruttii[344]. If with Niebuhr we regard this tradition only in the
light of a genealogical table, designed to indicate the affinities of
tribes and nations, still the simple fact of the colonization of South
Italy by Arcadians certainly authorizes the conjecture, that Arcadia
was one of the stepping-stones, by which the art of sheep-breeding was
transported from Asia into Europe.
[343] As further evidence for this tradition see Pherecydis Fragmenta,
a Sturtz, p. 190. Virg. Æn. i. 532, and iii. 165. Compare Heyne,
Excursus vi. ad Æn. l. iii.
[344] Heyne, Excursus xxi. ad Æn. l. i. Niebuhr, Röm. Geschichte, i. p.
57.
The reader will have perceived from the observations already made on
the worship of Faunus in Italy, that the Roman Faunus was the same with
the Arcadian Pan. It seems no sufficient objection to this hypothesis,
that a few Roman authors have supposed Faunus to be either the son of
Mars[345], or of Picus and the grandson of Saturn, thus connecting him
with their native mythology, or that his oracle was held by them in
high repute[346]. It is here sufficient to remark, that we find him
extensively recognized in Italy as a pastoral divinity.
Stretch’d on the springing grass, the shepherd swain
His reedy pipe with rural music fills;
The god, who guards his flock, approves the strain,
The god, who loves Arcadia’s gloomy hills.
_Horat. Carm._ iv. 12. 9-12.--_Francis’s Translation._
The above stanza occurs in a description of the beauties of spring,
and the poet no doubt alludes to the pastoral habits of his Sabine
neighbors.
[345] Appian apud Photium.
[346] Virgil, Æn. vii. 48, 81-105, and Heyne, Excursus v. ad loc.
From ancient monuments as well as from the language of the poets we
find, that the worship of other divinities was associated with that
of Faunus in reference to the success of all agricultural pursuits
including that of sheep-breeding. Boissard, in the Fourth Part of his
Antiquitates Romanæ, has published somewhat rude engravings of the
bas-reliefs upon two altars, one of them (No. 130) dedicated to _Hope_,
the other (No. 134) to _Silvanus_. The altar to Hope was erected, as
the inscription expresses, in a garden at Rome by M. Aur. Pacorus,
keeper of the temple of Venus. He says, that he had been admonished
to this deed of piety by _a dream_; and, if the representation in the
bas-relief was the image thus presented to his mind, his dream was
certainly a very pleasant one. Hope, wearing on her head a wreath of
flowers, places her right hand upon a pillar and holds in her left
poppy-heads and ears of corn. Beside her is a bee-hive on the ground,
and on it there is also fixed a bunch of poppy-heads and ears of corn.
Above these emblems of the fruitfulness of the field and of the garden
is the figure of a bale of wool.
The altar to Silvanus exhibits that divinity crowned with the cones and
foliage of the pine. A pine grows moreover beside his terminal statue,
bearing the large cones, which were used for food at entertainments and
carried in bacchanalian processions. Faunus, or Pan, sits at the foot
of the pine, the syrinx and the double pipe being placed at his feet.
In his right hand he holds an olive branch, while a young winged genius
advances towards him as if to receive it, and another genius of the
same kind appears to be caressing him and whispering into his ear. On
the other side of the terminal statue of Silvanus we see the caduceus
of Mercury and the bale of wool, manifest indications of success in the
wool trade. In this sculpture the bale is surrounded with cords, which
are twisted round one another where they cross. In the former instance
the compression of the wool appears to be effected by the use of
thongs instead of cords[347]. There is also introduced the figure of a
shepherd of the same country. This statue was found in the vicinity of
Rome and is now preserved in the Vatican[348]. The extremities are in
part restorations. A cameo in the Florentine Museum[349] represents the
shepherd Faustulus sitting upon a rock, and contemplating the she-wolf,
which is suckling Romulus and Remus. It is of the Augustan age, and no
doubt exhibits the costume and general appearance of a Roman shepherd
of that period. He wears a _tunica cucullata_, i. e. a tunic of coarse
woollen cloth with a cowl, which was designed to be drawn occasionally
over the head and to protect it from the injuries of the weather. This
garment has also sleeves, which Columella mentions (_tunica manicata_)
as an additional comfort. On his feet the shepherd wears high shoes, or
boots, which, as we may suppose, were made of leather.
[347] The bas-relief on the first altar is copied from Boissard by
Montfaucon, Ant. Expliquée, tome i. p. 332. and that on the second,
tome ii. p. 275. The latter is also represented by the Rev. Henry
Moses, Collection of Antique Vases, &c. Plate 52.
[348] Museo Pio-Clementino, tomo iii. tav. 34 and p. 44.
[349] Museum Florentinum. Gemmæ Antiquæ a Gorio illustratæ, tav. ii.
No. 10.
The appearance of the shepherds, who are represented in these ancient
works of art, is, doubtless, adapted to produce the impression, that
their condition, even if it were that of slaves, was nevertheless one
of comfort and respectability. Neither their garb, nor their attitude,
suggests the idea of anything base or miserable. On the contrary,
the countenance of each indicates trust-worthiness, steadiness, and
care. That many of the agricultural laborers of ancient Italy had this
character may be inferred also from written testimonies.
In reference to this subject, and with a view to illustrate at the
same time the habits and employments of the ancient farmer among the
_Sabine_ or _Apulian_ mountains, we will here quote some parts of
Horace’s Second Epode, in which he describes the pleasures of a country
life.
Like the first mortals blest is he,
From debts, and usury, and bus’ness free,
With his own team who ploughs the soil,
Which grateful once confess’d his father’s toil.
The sounds of war nor break his sleep,
Nor the rough storm, that harrows up the deep;
He shuns the courtier’s haughty doors,
And the loud science of the bar abjures.
Either to poplars tall he joins
The marriageable offspring of his vines;
Or lops the useless boughs away,
Inserting happier as the old decay:
Or in a lonely vale surveys
His lowing herds, safe-wand’ring as they graze;
Or stores in jars his liquid gold
Prest from the hive, or shears his tender fold.
* * * * *
And, if a chaste and prudent wife
Perform her part in the sweet cares of life,
Of sun-burnt charms, but honest fame,
Such as the Sabine or Apulian dame;
If, when fatigued he homeward turns,
The sacred fire, built up with faggots, burns;
Or if in hurdles she inclose
The joyful flock, whence ample produce flows;
Though unbought dainties she prepare,
And this year’s wines attend the homely fare;
No fish would I from foreign shore
Desire, nor relish Lucrine oysters more.
Olives, fresh gather’d from the tree;
_Mallows, the frame from heaviness to free_[350];
A kid snatch’d from the wolf, a lamb
To Terminus with due devotion slain;
Such is the meal, his labor o’er;
No bird from distant climes I’d relish more.
Meanwhile how pleasant to behold
His sheep well fed, and hasting to their fold;
To see his wearied oxen bow
Their languid necks, and drag th’ _inverted_ plough;
And then his num’rous slaves to view
Round his domestic gods their mirth pursue.
[350] See chap. xii. p. 191.
CHAPTER III.
SHEEP BREEDING AND PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS--ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE
SCRIPTURES, &c.
Sheep-breeding in Germany and Gaul--In Britain--Improved by the
Belgians and Saxons--Sheep-breeding in Spain--Natural dyes of Spanish
wool--Golden hue and other natural dyes of the wool of Bætica--Native
colors of Bætic wool--Saga and chequered plaids--Sheep always bred
principally for the weaver, not for the butcher--Sheep supplied milk
for food, wool for clothing--The moth.
According to Tacitus[351], the ancient Germans had abundance of cattle,
although we have no reason to suppose that they had acquired any of
that skill in sheep-breeding, by which their successors in Silesia and
Saxony are now distinguished. On the contrary, we are informed by the
same author that the only woollen garment, which they commonly wore,
was the _Sagum_, a term implying the coarseness of the material[352].
[351] Terra pecorum fecunda, sed plerumque improcera.--Germania, v. 2.
[352] Nudi, aut sagulo leves.--Germania, vi. 3. Tegumen omnibus sagum.
xvii. 1.
We find almost as little in any ancient author in favor of the wool of
Gallia Transalpina, the modern France. Pliny mentions a coarse kind,
more like hair than wool, which was produced in the neighborhood of
Pezenas in Provence[353]. Martial’s account of the Endromis Sequanica,
coarse, but useful to keep off the cold and wet, bears upon the same
point;
The frousy foster of a female hand;
Of name Laconian, from a barb’rous land;
Though rude, yet welcome to December’s snow,
To thee we bid the homely stranger go:
* * * * *
That into glowing limbs no cold may glide,
That baleful Iris never drench thy pride:
This fence shall bid thee scorn the winds and showers;
The Tyrian lawn pretends no equal powers.
_Elphinston’s Translation._
[353] See Appendix A.
In the following epigram of Martial (vi. 11.), addressed to his
friend Marcus, we observe a similar opposition between the fine and
fashionable cloth of Tyre, and the thick coarse “sagum” produced in
Gaul.
Proud Tyrian thine, gross Gaulish mine array:
In purple thee can e’er I love in gray?
Juvenal gives exactly the same account of the woollen manufactures
of Gaul. In the following passage the needy dependant of a rich man
is speaking of the lacernas from that country, which were sometimes
presented to him by his patron.
Some coarse brown cloaks perhaps I chance to get,
Of Gallic fabric, as a fence from wet.
_Satir._ ix. _v._ 30.--_Owen’s Translation._
To the same effect are several passages in the Epistles of Sidonius
Apollinaris, who was Bishop of Clermont in Auvergne in the fifth
century. He mentions, for example, that the attendants on Prince
Sigismer at his marriage wore green _Saga_ with red borders, and he
describes a friend of his own as wearing the Endromis[354]. Also in an
account of his own villa he speaks of the pipe with seven holes, as
the instrument of the shepherds and herdsmen, who used to entertain
themselves during the night with musical contests, while their cattle
were grazing with bells upon their necks.
[354] Viridantia saga limbis marginata puniceis. L. iv. Ep. 20. Tu
endromidatus exterius. L. iv. Ep. 2.
All these passages are confirmed and illustrated by the testimony
of Strabo. According to him Gaul produced cattle of all kinds[355].
The Belgæ, who occupied the most northern part, opposite to Britain,
excelled the rest of the Gauls in their manufactures. Nevertheless
their wool was coarse, and was spun and woven by them into the thick
Saga, which were both worn by the natives of the country and exported
in great quantities to Rome and other parts of Italy. The Roman
settlers, indeed, in the most northern parts had flocks of covered
sheep, and their wool was consequently very fine[356].
[355] L. iv. cap. i. § 2. p. 6. ed. Siebenkees.
[356] L. iv. cap. iv. § 3. pp. 56-59. ed. Siebenkees.
Here also may be produced the evidence of Eumenius, who in his Oration,
which will be quoted more fully hereafter, intimates the abundance of
the sheep on the western banks of the Rhine by saying, that the flocks
of the Romans were washed in every part of the stream[357].
[357] Arat illam terribilem aliquando ripam inermis agricola, et toto
nostri greges flumine bicorni mersantur. p. 152.
Cæsar informs us, that the ancient inhabitants of Britain had abundance
of cattle (_pecoris magnus numerus_); under the word (_pecus_)
“cattle,” sheep must no doubt be understood to be included. It also
appears, that in his time the Celts, or proper Britons, lived to the
North of the Thames, the Belgians having expelled them and taken
possession of the part to the South, called _Cantium_ or _Kent_. These
last were by far the most civilized inhabitants of the island, not much
differing in their customs from the Gauls. With respect to the others,
Cæsar says, that for the most part they did not sow any kind of grain,
but lived upon milk and flesh, and clothed themselves with skins[358].
[358] Ex his omnibus longè sunt humanissimi, qui Cantium incolunt;
quæ regio est maritima omnis; neque multum a Gallicâ differunt
consuetudine. Interiores plerique frumenta non serunt; sed lacte et
carne vivunt, pellibusqe sunt vestiti. De Bello Gallico, I. v. cap.
10.
It appears therefore, that before our æra, sheep, and probably goats,
were bred extensively in England, their milk and flesh being used for
food, and their skins with the wool or hair upon them for clothing;
and that the people of Kent, who were of Belgic origin, and more
refined than the original Britons, had attained to the arts of spinning
and weaving, although their productions were only of the coarsest
description.
Eumenius, the Rhetorician, who was a native of Augustodunum, now
called Autun, delivered his Panegyric in praise of the Emperors
Constantius and Constantine in the city of Treves about A. D. 310.
In the following passage he congratulates Britain on its various
productions, and also on the circumstance, that Constantine had been
recently declared Emperor at York on the death of his father:
O fortunate Britain, now the happiest country upon earth; for thou
hast been the first to see Constantine made Emperor. It was fit that
on thee Nature should bestow every blessing of climate and of soil.
Suffering neither from the excessive severity of winter, nor the heat
of summer, thy harvests are so fruitful as to supply all the gifts
both of Ceres and of Bacchus; thy woods contain no savage beasts, thy
land no noxious serpents, but an innumerable multitude of tame cattle,
distended with milk, and loaded with fleeces[359].
[359] Panegyrici Veteres, ed. Cellarii, Halæ Magd. 1703. pp. 147, 148.
The improvements in sheep-breeding which were first introduced into
England by the Belgians, appear to have been advanced still further by
the Saxons.
The only country, which now remains to be surveyed in relation to the
production of sheep’s wool, is Spain; and, as this kingdom retains
its pre-eminence at the present day,[360] so we find none, in which
sheep-breeding was carried to a greater extent in ancient times.
[360] For accounts of the state of sheep-breeding in modern Spain,
including the annual migration of the flocks, which is conducted
there as in Italy, the reader is referred to “Travels through
Portugal and Spain in 1772, 1773, by R. Twiss,” pp. 72-82; and
to De la Borde’s View of Spain, vol. iv. pp. 45-61, English
Translation. London, 1809.
Of all the countries in Europe, says Mr. Low, Spain has been the
longest distinguished for the excellence of its wool. This fine
country, more varied in its surface and natural productions than any
other region of the like extent in Europe, produces a great variety of
breeds of sheep, from the larger animals of the richer plains, to the
smaller races of the higher mountains and arid country. Besides the
difference produced in the sheep of Spain by varieties of climate and
natural productions; the diversity of character in the animals may be
supposed to have been increased by the different races introduced into
it:--first, from Asia, by the early Phœnician colonies; secondly, from
Africa by the Carthaginians, during their brief possession; thirdly,
from Italy by the Romans, during their dominion of six hundred years;
and fourthly, again from Africa, by the Moors, who maintained a footing
in the country for nearly eight centuries. The large sheep of the
plains have long wool, often colored brown or black. The sheep of the
mountains, downs, and arid plains have short wool, of different degrees
of fineness, and different colors. The most important of these latter
breeds is the merino, now the most esteemed and widely diffused of all
the fine-wooled breeds of Europe.
Pliny not only refers in general terms to the various natural colors of
the Spanish wool, but mentions more particularly the red wool produced
in the district adjoining the river Bætis, or Guadalquiver[361].
[361] See Appendix A.
Among the natural colors of the Bætic wool, Columella, a native of
Cadiz, (vii. 2.) mentions, as has been already stated, _gray_ and
_brown_. The latter is what we call _drab_, and the Spaniards _fusco_.
It is now commonly worn by the shepherds and peasants of Spain, the
wool being made into clothes without dyeing.
Nonius Marcellus (_cap._ 16. _n._ 13), explaining the word _pullus_,
which was called a _native_ color, because it was the natural color of
the fleece, also shows, that this was a common quality of the Spanish
wool. Another testimony is that of Tertullian.
The sheep of Tarentum were imported into this part of Spain, and there
also their fleeces were protected by clothing. Columella (L. vii. 2.)
gives a very interesting account of the experiments made by his uncle,
a great agriculturalist of Bætica, in crossing his Tarentine breed with
some wild rams of an extraordinary color, which had been brought from
Africa to Cadiz. (See latter part of next chapter.)
We have a further evidence of the pains taken to improve the Spanish
breed in the circumstance, that Italian shepherds passed into Spain,
just as we have formerly seen, that they migrated into Italy from
Arcadia. In the following lines of Calpurnius (Ecl. iv. 37-49.),
Corydon, a young shepherd, tells his friend and patron, Melibœus,
that he should have been transported into Bætica, had not the times
improved, and his master’s favor enabled him to remain in Italy.
Through thee I rest secure beneath the shade,
Such plenty hath thy generous bounty made,
But for thy favor, Melibœus, sent
Where Bætis’ waves the western plains indent,
Plains at the earth’s extremest verge, expos’d
To the fierce Moors, which Geryon once inclos’d.
There had I now been doom’d to tend for hire
Iberian flocks, or else of want expire:
In vain I might have tun’d my seven-fold reed:
Mid thickets vast no soul my strains would heed:
Not even Pan on that far-distant shore
Would lend his vacant ear, or be my solace more.
Juvenal in his Twelfth Satire (_l._ 37-42.) describes a merchant
overtaken by a dreadful storm, and to save the ship throwing his
most valuable goods into the sea. It will be observed, that the poet
attributes the excellence and fine natural color of the woollen cloth
of Bætica to three causes, the rich herbage, the occult properties of
the water, and those of the air.
“Over with mine,” he cries; “be nothing spar’d;”
To part with all his richest goods prepar’d;
His vests of Tyrian purple, fit to please
The softest of the silken sons of ease,
And other robes, which took a native stain
From air and water on the Bætic plain.
_Owen’s Translation._
Strabo (iii. 144. p. 385. _ed. Sieb._) gives the following account of
the wool of Turdetania.
Πολλὴ δὲ καὶ ἐσθὴς πρότερον ἤρχετο· νῦν δὲ καὶ ἔρια μᾶλλον τῶν
Κυραξῶν, καὶ ὑπερβολή τις ἐστὶ τοῦ κάλλους· ταλαντιαίους γοῦν ὠνοῦνται
τοὺς κριοὺς εἰς τὰς ὀχείας, ὑπερβολὴ δὲ καὶ τῶν λεπτῶν ὑφασμάτων, ἅπερ
οἱ Σαλτιῆται κατασκευάζουσιν.
“Much cloth used formerly to come from this country. Now also fleeces
come from it more than from the Coraxi; and they are exceedingly
beautiful, so that rams for breeding are sold for a talent
each. Also the fine webs are very famous, which are made by the
Saltiatæ.”--_Yates’s Translation._
The reader will please to remark, that this is the passage of Strabo,
formerly referred to as containing evidence respecting the Coraxi.
Martial, a Spaniard by birth, frequently alludes to the sheep of
Bætica and especially to the various natural colors of their wool,
which were so much admired, that it was manufactured without dyeing.
Two of his epigrams (iv. 28. and viii. 28.) have been already quoted,
as they refer also to the sheep of Tarentum: to these the seven
following may be added.
In the Tartessian lands a house appears,
Where Cordova o’er placid Bætis rears
Her wealthy domes; and where the fleeces show
Metallic tints, like living gold that glow.
ix. 62.
Corduba, more joyous far
Than Venafrum’s unctuous boast;
Nor inferior to the jar,
That renowns glad Istria’s coast:
Who surmount’st the fleecy breed,
That the bright Galesus laves;
Nor bidd’st lying purple bleed
O’er the hue, that nature craves.
xii. 63.--_Elphinston’s Translation._
Bætis, with wreaths of unctuous olive crown’d,
For Bacchus’ and for Pallas’ gifts renown’d;
Whose waters clear a golden hue impart
To fleeces, that require no further art;
Such wealth the Ruler of the waves conveys
In ships, that mark with foam thy liquid ways.
xii. 99.
Lacernas from Bætica.
My wool disdains a lye, or caldron hue.
Poor Tyre may take it: me my sheep imbue.
xiv. 133.--_Elphinston’s Translation._
Charming Ero’s golden lock
Beat the fleece of Bætic flock.
v. 37. See § 21.--Ib.
Bætic fleeces, many a pound.
xii. 65. l. 5.
Let him commend the sober native hues;
Of Bætic drab, or gray, lacernas choose,
Who thinks no man in scarlet should appear,
And only women pink or purple wear.
i. 97.
The numerous passages, which have now been produced relative to the
native colors of the Spanish wool, explain the following line of
Virgil, in which he describes the clothing of a warrior;
With broider’d chlamys bright, and Spanish rust.
Æn. ix. 582.
The poet probably intended to describe an outer garment, a chlamys,
made of undyed Spanish wool of a clear brown or yellowish color,
resembling that of rust; and afterwards enriched with embroidery.
Ramirez de Prado, the Spanish commentator on Martial (_4to. Paris_,
1607.), says, that two native colors were common in Spain in his time,
the one a golden yellow, the other more brown or ferruginous.
In the North of Spain the Celtiberi wore saga made of a coarse
wool like goats’-hair (_Diod. Sic._ v. 33. _tom._ i. _p._ 356.
_Wesseling_.), and woven _double_ according to Appian[362].
[362] Appiani Hist. Rom. l. vi. de Rebus Hispan., vol. i. p. 151. ed.
Schweighäuser.
At Salacia in Lusitania, according to Pliny, a chequered pattern
was employed in the manufacture of the coarse wool. This was in all
probability the same as the shepherd’s plaid of the Scotch, the weaver
taking advantage of the natural difference of the white and black wool
to produce this variety of appearance. (See Appendix A.)
Estremadura, a part of the ancient Bætica, is still famous for its
wool. There the Spanish flocks hybernate, and under the direction of a
peculiar code of laws, called _La Mesta_, are conducted every spring
to pasture in the mountains of Leon and Asturias. Other flocks are led
in the same season from great distances to the heights of the Sierra
Morena, lying to the east of the ancient Bætica, where the vegetation
is remarkably favorable to the improvement of their wool.
As bearing directly upon the present inquiry it may be observed, that
sheep have always been bred principally for the weaver, not for the
butcher, and that this has been more especially the case in ancient
times and in eastern countries.
If we may judge from the following epigram of Martial, the Romans
regarded with feelings little short of aversion the act of killing a
sheep for food except on solemn or extraordinary occasions.
The Ram’s head.
Hast pierc’d the neck of the Phryxean lord,
Who oft had shelter’d thine? O deed abhorr’d!
xii. 211.--_Elphinston’s Translation._
The customs of the shepherd tribes in the East are in this respect
remarkably like those of the ancients.
“The Arabs rarely diminish their flocks by using them for food, but
live chiefly upon bread, dates, milk, butter, or what they receive in
exchange for their wool. They however sell their sheep to the people in
the towns. A lamb or kid roasted whole is a favorite dish at Aleppo,
but seldom eaten except by the rich[363].” When the Arabs have a
sheep-shearing, they perhaps kill a lamb, and treat their relations
and friends with it together with new cheese and milk, but nothing
more. Among the Mohammedans sheep are sacrificed on certain days as a
festive and at the same time a religious ceremony; these ceremonies are
of great antiquity and derived from Arab heathenism. On the pilgrimage
to Mecca every one is required to sacrifice a sheep at a certain place
near Mecca[364].
[363] Harmer s Observations, vol. i. p. 393. ed. Clarke.
[364] Harmer, p. 39.
Pallas (Spicilegia Zoologica, Fasc. xi. p. 79.) speaks of the
beautiful lamb-skins from Bucharia, as being admired for their
curled gray wool.
By the Law of Moses the sheep was a _clean_ animal, and might
consequently be eaten or sacrificed. A lamb or kid, roasted whole, was
the principal and characteristic dish at the feast of the passover. The
rich man kills a lamb to entertain his guest in the beautiful parable
of Nathan. (2 _Sam._ xii. 4.) Sheep were killed on the festive occasion
of shearing the very numerous flocks of Nabal. (1 _Sam._ xxv. 2. 11.
18.) An ox and six choice sheep were sacrificed daily for the numerous
guests of Nehemiah, while he was building the wall of Jerusalem.
(_Neh._ v. 17, 18.) Immense numbers of sheep and oxen were sacrificed
at the dedication of Solomon’s temple. (1 _Kings_, viii. 5. 63.) The
prophet Ezekiel (xxxiv. 3.) describes the bad shepherd as selfishly
eating the flesh and clothing himself with the wool of the sheep,
without tending them with due care and labor.
In the Suovetaurilia among the Romans a hog, a sheep, and a bull,
their principal domestic animals, were sacrificed. A sheep was
killed every day for the guards, who watched the tomb of Cyrus.
(_Arrian_, _vol._ i. _p._ 438, _Blancardi_.) In the Odyssey (ρ.
180-182.) a sacrifice is made and a feast prepared of sheep, goats,
hogs, and a cow. Also in Od. v. 3. 250. sheep are sacrificed and
furnish part of a feast. In order to ratify a treaty between the Greeks
and Trojans, the former sacrificed a lamb of the male sex to Jupiter;
the latter one of the male sex and white to the Sun, and another of
the female sex and black to the Earth. (Il. γ. 103, 104.) Sheep are
sacrificed to Apollo at Delphi in Euripides, Ion, _l._ 230. 380.
The rare instances of the use of sheep for food or sacrifice by the
Egyptians have been already noticed.
But, although sheep, both old and young, male and female, were
sacrificed to the objects of religious worship and on other festive
occasions were eaten, especially by the rich and great, yet their chief
use was to supply clothing, and the nourishment they yielded consisted
in their milk and the cheese made from it, rather than in their flesh.
This fact is illustrated by the words of Solomon, formerly quoted, and
in which he speaks of lambs for _clothing_ and goat’s _milk_ for food.
In like manner St. Paul says (1 Cor. ix. 7.), “Who planteth a vineyard,
and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth
not of the milk of the flock?”
Varro thinks, that sheep were employed for the use of man _before any
other animal_ on account of their usefulness and placidity, and he
represents their use to consist in supplying cheese and milk for food,
fleeces and skins for clothing[365]. In like manner Columella in his
account of the use of sheep (vii. 2.) says, they afforded the chief
materials for clothing. In treating of their use for food, he mentions
only their milk and cheese. Pliny refers to the employment of sheep
both for sacrifices and for clothing. He also remarks, that as the
ox is principally useful in obtaining food, to wit, by ploughing and
other agricultural processes, the sheep, on the other hand, supplies
materials for clothing[366].
[365] De Re Rustica, l. ii. cap. i.
[366] See Appendix A.
The fact, that wool was among the ancients by far the most common
material for making clothes, accounts for the various expressions in
scripture respecting the destructiveness of the moth.
“Your garments are moth-eaten.” James v. 2. “He, as a rotten thing,
consumeth, as a garment that is moth-eaten.”--Job xiii. 28. “They all
shall wax old as a garment, the moth shall eat them up.”--Is. l. 9.
“The moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worms shall eat
them like wool.” Is. li. 8. “From garments cometh a moth.” Eccles.
xlii. 13. “Treasures, where moth and rust corrupt.” Matt. vi. 19.
But it is to be observed, that the sacred writers mention not the
moth, but the minute worm, which changes into a moth, and which alone
gnaws the garments. In the passages which have been quoted, the word
“moth” must be understood to signify the larva[367] of the clothes-moth
(_Phalæna Vestianella_, Linn.), or of some insect of the same kind.
[367] When an insect first issues from the egg, it is called by
naturalists _larva_.
CHAPTER IV.
GOATS-HAIR.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE GOAT--ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES, ETC.
Sheep-breeding and Goats in China--Probable origin of sheep and
goats--Sheep and goats coeval with man, and always propagated
together--Habits of Grecian goat-herds--He-goat employed to lead
the flock--Cameo representing a goat-herd--Goats chiefly valued for
their milk--Use of goats’-hair for coarse clothing--Shearing of goats
in Phrygia, Cilicia, &c.--Vestes caprina, cloth of goats’-hair--Use
of goats’-hair for military and naval purposes--Curtains to
cover tents--Etymology of Sack and Shag--Symbolical uses of
sack-cloth--The Arabs weave goats’-hair--Modern uses of goats’-hair
and goats’-wool--Introduction of the Angora or Cashmere goat into
France--Success of the project.
The inquiry into the origin and propagation of the Goat, no less than
that of the sheep, may justly be considered a subject for interesting
investigation. Goats were no less highly prized by the ancient
inhabitants of Greece and Italy than by the modern. We have seen, that
the great value of sheep always consisted in its fleece. The goat,
on the contrary, was more valued for the excellence and abundance
of its milk, and for its suitableness to higher and more rugged and
unproductive land[368].
[368] Virgil, Georg. iii. 305-321.
We observe a clear allusion to this distinction between the principal
uses of sheep and of goats in the twenty-seventh chapter of the book
of Proverbs[369]. The management and use of goats has from time
immemorial formed a striking feature in the condition of man, and
especially of those nations which belong to the Caucasian, or, as Dr.
Prichard more properly denominates it, the _Iranian_ or _Indo-Atlantic_
variety of our race[370]. Their habits of sheep-breeding seem no
less characteristic than the form of their countenances, a no less
essential part of their manner of life than any other custom, by which
they are distinguished: and, as all the circumstances, which throw
any light upon the question, conspire to render it probable, that the
above-mentioned variety of the human race first inhabited part of the
high land of central Asia, so it is remarkable, that our domestic sheep
and goats may with the greatest probability be referred to the same
stock with certain wild animals, which now overspread those regions.
The sheep, as has been already observed in chapter I., is regarded as
specifically the same with the Argali; and in the opinion of Pallas,
which has been very generally adopted by zoologists, the goat is the
same with the Ægagrus, a gregarious quadruped, which occupies the
loftiest parts of the mountains extending from the Caucasus to the
South of the Caspian Sea, and thence to the North of India[371].
Indeed the history of these animals is so interwoven with the history
of man, that those naturalists have not reasoned quite correctly, who
have thought it necessary to refer the first origin of either of them
to any wild stock at all. They assume, that these quadrupeds first
existed in an undomesticated state, that is, entirely apart from man
and independent of him; that, as he advanced in civilization, as his
wants multiplied, and he became more ingenious and active in inventing
methods of supplying them, the thought struck him, that he might obtain
from these wild beasts the materials of his food and clothing; and that
he therefore caught and confined some of them and in the course of time
rendered them by cultivation more and more suitable to his purposes.
[369] “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well
to thy herds. The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the
price of thy field; and thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy
food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance of thy
maidens.” Prov. xxvii. 23, 26, 27.
Bochart has quoted a great variety of ancient testimonies to the
value of goats’-milk in his Hierozoicon, l. ii. cap. 51. pp. 629,
630. ed. Leusden.
[370] See Prichard’s Researches into the Physical History of Mankind,
third edition, vol. i. pp. 247. 257-262. 303, 304. These
nations are characterized by the _oval_ form of the skull. Their
distribution over the face of the earth may be seen in the Map,
Plate VII.
The only remarkable exception to this limitation of ancient
sheep-breeding, is the case of the Chinese. It would appear from
the following evidence, that they had both sheep and goats in
ancient times.
The Chinese character for a sacrifice is a compound of two
characters, one placed above the other; the upper one, _Yang_, is
the character for _a lamb_, the lower is the character for _fire_;
so that _a lamb on the fire_ denotes _a sacrifice_. See Morison’s
Chinese Dictionary, vol. iii. part i.
According to the mythology of the Chinese, which as well as their
written characters is of high antiquity, one of the four rivers,
which rise in Mount Kaen-lun and run towards the four quarters of
the globe, is called the Yang-Choui, i. e. the _Lamb-River_. Thomas
Stephens Davies, Esq. in Dr. Robert Thomson’s British Annual for
1837, p. 271, 277.
Yang-Ching, i. e. _Sheep-city_, was an ancient name of Canton.
Morison, p. 55. There is a character for the _Goat_, which means
the _Yang of the mountains_, Yang being a general term like the
Hebrew צאן, including both sheep and goats. Ib. p. 61, 62.
In the following passage of Rufus Festus Avienus, who flourished
about A. D. 400, we have a distinct testimony, that the ancient
Seres, the probable ancestors of the Chinese, employed themselves
in the care of sheep at the same time that they were devoted to the
production of silk.
Gregibus permixti oviumque boumque,
Vellera per silvas Seres nemoralia carpunt.
Descriptio Orbis Terræ, l. 935, 936.
[371] Pallas, Spicilegia Zoologica, Fasciculus xi. pp. 43, 44. See also
Bell’s History of British Quadrupeds, London, 1837, p. 433.
We have no reason to assume, that man and the two lesser kinds of
horned cattle were originally independent of one another. So far as
geology supplies any evidence, it is in favor of the supposition,
that these quadrupeds and man belong to the same epoch. No properly
fossil bones either of the sheep or goat have yet been found, and we
have no reason to believe, that these animals were produced until
the creation of man. But, as we must suppose, that man was created
perfect and full-grown, and with those means of subsistence around him,
which his nature and constitution require, there is no reason why the
sheep and the goat may not have been created in such a state as to be
adapted immediately both for clothing and for food, or why it should be
considered more probable that they were at first entirely wild. They
may have been produced originally in the same abode, which was occupied
by that variety of the human race, to whose habits and mode of life
the use of them has always been so essential; and, if we assume, that
this abode was somewhere in the elevated land of central Asia, in the
region, for example, of Armenia, we adopt an hypothesis, which explains
in the most simple and satisfactory manner the apparent fact of the
propagation not only of men, but of these quadrupeds with them, from
that centre over immense regions of the globe.
With regard to historical evidence, it is certainly very defective.
No express testimony assures us of the facts included in the
above-named hypothesis. One thing, however, is certain, and it appears
very deserving of attention, viz. that the sheep and the goat have
_always_ been propagated together. We find great nations, which had
no acquaintance with either of these quadrupeds, but depended for
their subsistence upon either oxen or horses. We find others, on the
contrary, to whose mode of life the larger quadrupeds were of much less
importance than the smaller; but we find none, which were accustomed to
breed sheep without goats, or goats without sheep.
The reader will find numerous illustrations of this fact on reviewing
the evidence contained in the preceding chapters. General terms were
employed in the ancient world to include both sheep and goats[372].
Where more specific terms are used, we still find “rams and goats,”
“ewes and she-goats” mentioned together. Sheep and goats were offered
together in sacrifice, and the instances are too numerous to mention,
in which the same flock, or the wealth of a single individual, included
both these animals.
[372] It should be observed, that the Hebrew word translated _sheep_ in
Ex. ix. 3. included Goats.
In consequence of this prevailing association of sheep and goats,
they are often represented together in ancient bas-reliefs and other
works of art. Of this we have a beautiful example in the Rev. Robert
Walpole’s collection of “Travels in various countries of the East.” At
the end of the volume is a plate taken from a votive tablet of Pentelic
marble dedicated to Pan, and representing five goats, two sheep, and a
lamb. As the goats are in one group, and the sheep and lamb in another,
the artist probably designed to represent a flock of each. For, though
sometimes mixed in the same flock, the two kinds of animals were
generally kept apart; and to this circumstance our Savior alludes in
his image of the shepherd dividing the sheep from the goats[373].
[373] “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate
them one from another, _as a shepherd divides his sheep from the
goats_: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats
on the left.”--Matt. xxv. 31-33.
A sheep and a goat are seen reposing together in a Roman bas-relief in
the Monumenta Matthæiana, vol. iii. tab. 37. fig. 1.
Rosselini gives two paintings from Egyptian tombs, which exhibit both
sheep and goats[374]; and he mentions an inscription on the tomb of
Ranni, according to which that person had 120 goats, 300 rams, 1500
hogs, and 122 oxen.
[374] Monumenti dell’ Egitto, parte ii. Mon. Civili, tomo i. cap. iii.
§ 2. tavola xxviii. xxix.
In the account given in chapter II. of the Sicilian Daphnis, an epigram
by Callimachus on Astacides, who was a goatherd in Crete, was partially
quoted, probably remarkable for his beauty and his immature death. The
translation of the passage will now be given.
Ἀστακίδην τὸν Κρῆτα, τὸν αἰπόλον, ἥρπασε Νύμφη
Ἐξ ὄρεος· καὶ νῦν ἱερὸς Ἀστακίδης
Οἰκεῖ Δικταίῃσιν ὑπὸ δρυσίν· οὐκέτι Δάφνιν
Ποιμένες, Ἀστακίδην δ’ αἰὲν ἀεισόμεθα.
A nymph has snatch’d Astacides away;
Beneath Dictæan oaks our goatherd lies:
Shepherds! no more your songs to Daphnis pay;
For now with him the sacred Cretan vies.
_Yates’s Translation._
Theocritus (_Idyll._ vii. 12-20.) describes a goatherd of Cydon in
Crete, named Lycidas; and from the account which he gives of his
attire, we may judge of that commonly used in ancient Greece by the
same description of persons. He wore on his shoulders the dun-colored
hide of a shaggy goat, and an old shawl was fastened about his breast
with a broad girdle. In his right hand he held a crook of wild olive.
The same author (_Idyll._ iii. 5.) mentions a fine strong he-goat,
which was brought from Lybia to Sicily. The design of its
transportation was, no doubt, to improve the breed. Probably Chromis,
the Lybian (_Idyll._ i. 24.), who resided in Sicily, had migrated there
to undertake the management of goats and to improve their quality.
Maximus Tyrius (_Diss._ xxvii.) seems to suppose, that a flock of goats
could not even exist without the music of the syrinx. “If you take
away,” says he, “the goatherd and his syrinx, you dissolve the flock of
goats; in like manner, if you take away reason from the society of men,
thus depriving them of their leader and guide, you destroy the flock,
which by nature is tame, but may be injured by a bad superintendence.”
The he-goat was employed to lead the flock as the ram was among sheep.
The following passages of scripture allude to this custom. “Remove out
of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans,
and be as the he-goats before the flocks.” _Jer._ l. 8. “Mine anger was
kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats.” _Zech._ x.
3. In Proverbs xxx. 31., according to the Septuagint version, we read
of “the goat which leads the flock.” Julius Pollux (Lib. i. _cap._ 12.
_sect._ 19.) says, that “The he-goat leads the goats[375].”
[375] See also Ælian, Hist. Anim. vi. 42. and Pausanias, ix. 13. 4.
On a cameo in the Florentine Museum there is a representation of an
ancient goatherd[376]. The goatherd holds the syrinx in his left hand,
and a young kid in his right. A goat stands beside him, and his dog
appears partially concealed within a kennel formed in the rock, upon
which the goatherd is seated. The herdsman is represented sitting under
an aged ilex. At least this supposition accords with the language of
Tibullus already quoted.
[376] Mus. Florentinum. Gemmæ antiquæ a Gorio illustratæ. tab. xc. No.
7.
A modern authoress, who spent some of the summer months in the year
1819 among the mountains east of Rome, notices goats in the following
terms as part of the stock of the farmers in that country.
“We frequently walked to one of these little farms, to meet the goats
coming in at night from the mountain. As the flock crowded down the
broken road leading to the fold, followed by their grotesque-looking
shepherd and his rough dogs, _the pet-kids crowding round their master
and answering to his call_, we could not help thinking of the antique
manners described by the poets, and represented in the pictures of
Herculaneum and Pompeii.
“The goats are the most useful domestic animals. Here no other cheese
or milk is tasted. Besides, the ricotta, a kind of curd, and junkets,
are made of goats’-milk, and, with bread serve many of the country
people for food[377].”
[377] Three Months passed in the Mountains east of Rome, by Maria
Graham (Lady Calcott), p. 36. 55, 56.
The same writer says, that “black sheep are rather encouraged here
for the wool,” and that “the clothing of the friars is of this
undyed wool.” p. 55.
From Athenæus[378] we learn the superior excellence of the goats of
Scyros and Naxos.
[378] Quoted in Chapter I. p. 236. Ælian bears testimony to the same
fact, observing, that the cows of Epirus were said to yield the
greatest quantity of milk, and the goats of Scyros. Hist. Anim. l.
iii. cap. 33.
From Tournefort, Sonnini, and other modern travellers we learn,
that both Scyros and Naxos are very rocky and mountainous, and that
they still produce goats. See also Dapper, Description des Isles de
l’Archipel, p. 256. 350.
Virgil (_l. c._), after mentioning the use of goats for food, goes on
to show their contributions to the _weaver_.
Cloth’d in their shaven beards and hoary hair,
Fence of the ocean spray and nightly air,
The miserable seaman breasts the main,
And camps uninjur’d press the marshy plain.
_Sotheby’s Translation._
The last line of this passage of Virgil is quoted by Columella (L. vii.
6.) in speaking of the utility of the he-goat;
For he himself is shorn “for the use of camps and to make coverings
for wretched sailors.”
Virgil, moreover, has here followed Varro, who writes thus;
As the sheep yields to man wool for clothing, so the goat furnishes
hair for the use of sailors, and to make ropes for military engines,
and vessels for artificers. * * * * * The goats are shorn in a great
part of Phrygia, because there they have long shaggy hair. Cilicia
(i. e. hair-cloths), and other things of the same kind, are commonly
imported from that country. The name _Cilicia_ is said to be derived
from the circumstance, that in Cilicia goats were first shorn for this
purpose. _De Re Rustica_, L. ii. _c._ ii. _p._ 201. _ed. Bip._
The language of Varro in this passage indicates, that the female goat
was shorn as well as the male; and that the excellence of goats’-hair,
which was used only for coarse articles, consisted in its length.
Columella mentions the long bristly hair of the Cilician goats[379].
[379] Setosum, quale est in Cilicia. De Re Rustica, l. i. Præf. p. 20.
ed. Bip.
Aristotle says, “In Lycia goats are shorn, as sheep are in other
countries.” _Hist. Anim._ viii. 28. This testimony of Aristotle agrees
with that of his nephew and pupil, Callisthenes, who says (_ap. Ælian.
de Nat. Anim._ xvi. 30.), “that in Lycia goats are shorn just as sheep
are everywhere else; for that they have a very thick coat of excellent
hair, hanging from them in locks or curls; and that this hair is
twisted so as to make ropes, which are used in navigation instead of
cables.”
Pliny, in his account of goats[380], says, “In Cilicia and about the
Syrtes they are covered with hair, which admits of being shorn.” From
this it may be inferred, in conformity with the testimonies already
cited from Varro and Virgil, that the longest and best goats’-hair was
obtained in Cilicia, and on the coast of Africa opposite to Sicily and
Malta, the modern Tripoli. It is remarkable, that Virgil, in order to
designate the latter district, refers to the romantic river Cinyps,
which flowed through it, observing the same practice, which we have
seen to be so common with the poets in regard to the countries noted
for the produce of the most excellent wool. In the interior and more
hilly portion of this district of Africa both sheep and goats are still
reared[381].
[380] L. viii. c. 76. See Appendix A.
[381] Proceedings of the Expedition to explore the Northern Coast of
Africa from Tripoli Eastward, by Beechey, ch. iv. p. 73. In the
same chapter, p. 52. 62-68, is an account of the Wad’el Khahan, the
ancient Cinyps.
The geographer Avienus asserts that goats’-hair was obtained for the
purpose of being _woven_ in the country of the Cynetæ in Spain[382].
Isidore of Seville, in his enumeration of the different kinds of
cloth (_Orig._ xix. 22.), uses the following expressions: “Fibrini
(vestis est) tramam de fibri lanâ habens: caprina.” Thus the text
now stands, evidently defective. The writer no doubt alluded to a
kind of cloth called _caprina_, because goats’-hair was used in the
manufacture of it. Beckmann (_History of Inventions_, _Eng. Trans._,
_vol._ iv. _p._ 224.) proposes to read, “tramam de fibri lanâ habens,
stamen de caprinâ,” i. e. “having the woof of beaver-wool, the warp
of goats’-wool.” But the ancients were unacquainted with the fine
wool of certain goats, and it is highly improbable, that they used
goats’-_hair_ in the case referred to, since the “Vestes Fibrinæ” were
of great value, as will soon be shown, and not made in any part of
coarse materials.
[382] _Rufi Festi Avieni Ora Maritima_, l. 218-221.
The cloth of goats’-hair would be suitable for sailors, both on account
of their hardy mode of life, and because it was better adapted than any
other kind to bear exposure to water.
Its use as clothing to express mourning and mortification will be
noticed presently.
The employment of goats’-hair for military and naval purposes was
far more extensive, and is proved by the following passage from the
Geoponica (xviii. 9.) in addition to the former testimonies.
Προσοδόυς δίδωσιν οὐκ ὀλίγας, τὰς ἀπὸ γάλακτος καὶ τύρου καὶ (σἀρκός)·
πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τὰς ἀπὸ τῆς τριχός. ἡ δὲ θρὶξ ἀναγΚαία πρός τε σχοίνους
καὶ σάκκους, καὶ τὰ τούτοις παραπλήσια, καὶ εἰς ναυτικὰς ὑπηρεσίας,
οὔτε κοπτόμενα ῥᾳδίως, οὔτε σηπόμενα φυσικῶς, ἐὰν μὴ λίαν κατολιγωρηθῇ.
The goat yields no small profit from its milk, cheese, and (flesh).
It also yields a profit from its hair, which is necessary for making
ropes, sacks, and similar articles, and for nautical purposes, since
it is not easily cut, and does not rot from natural causes, unless it
be much neglected.--_Yates’s Translation._
Cicero (_in Verrem_, _Act_ i.) mentions _Cilicia_ together with hides
and sacks, and Asconius Pedianus in his Commentary on the passage (_p._
95. _ed. Crenii._) gives the following explanation: “Cilicia texta de
pilis in castrorum usum atque nautarum.” Servius on Virgil, Georg. iii.
313. says, that these Cilicia, or cloths of goats’-hair, were used to
cover the towers in sieges, because they could not be set on fire.
The reader is referred to the Poliorcetica of Lipsius, L. iii. Dial.
3. p. 158. for evidence respecting the use of hair ropes for military
engines, and to L. v. Dial. ix. for passages from Thucydides, Arrian,
Ammianus, Suidas, Vegetius, Curtius, and others, proving, that the
besieged in cities hung Cilicia over their towers and walls to obviate
the force of the various weapons hurled against them, and especially of
the arrows, which carried fire.
From Exodus we learn[383], that the Israelites in the wilderness among
their contributions to the Tabernacle gave goats’-hair, and that it
was spun by women. The spun goats’-hair was probably used in part to
make cords for the tent; but part of it at least was _woven_ into the
large pieces, called in the Septuagint “curtains of goats’-hair.” Such
curtains, or _Saga_, of spun goats’-hair seem to have been commonly
used for the covering of tents[384].
[383] “And thou shalt make curtains of goats’-hair to be a covering
upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make. The length of
one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain
four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure.
And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains
by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront
of the tabernacle. And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of
the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in
the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. And thou shalt
make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops,
and couple the tent together, that it may be one. And the remnant
that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that
remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle. And a
cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which
remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang
over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to
cover it.”--Ex. xxvi. 7-13.
[384] “And he made curtains of goats-hair for the tent over the
tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them. The length of one curtain
was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain:
the eleven curtains were of one size.”--Ex. xxxvi. 14, 15.
Cloths of the same kind were used for rubbing horses[385]. The term for
goats’-hair cloth in Hebrew, Chaldee, and Syraic, is שק or סק, i. e.
SHAC, or SAC, translated ΣΑΚΚΟΣ in the Septuagint, and SACCUS in the
Vulgate version of the Scriptures. The Latin SAGUM, appears to have
had the same origin. In English we have _Sack_ and _Shag_, scarcely
differing from the oriental and ancient terms either in sound or sense.
[385] _Vegetii Ars Veter._ _l._ i. _c._ 42.
_Cilice_, the modern French term for a hair-shirt, is immediately
derived from _Cilicium_, the origin of which has been explained[386].
[386] Menage, Dict. Etym. v. _Cilice_.
This kind of cloth, which was black or dark brown, the goats of Syria
and Palestine being chiefly of that color even to the present day,
is alluded to in the sixth chapter of Revelations[387], and in Is.
l. 3. “I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sack-cloth their
covering.” It was worn to express mourning and mortification. In
Jonah we have a very remarkable case, for on this occasion blankets
of goats’-hair were put on the bodies both of men and beasts, and
one was worn even by the king of Nineveh himself[388]. When Herod
Agrippa was seized at Cæsarea with the mortal distemper mentioned
in Acts xii. (See chap. vi. p. 93.), the common people sat down on
hair-cloth according to the custom of their country, beseeching God
on his behalf.--_Josephus_, _Ant. Jud._ _l._ xix. _cap._ 8. _p._ 872.
_Hudson_. So according to Josephus (_Ant. Jud._ _l._ vii. _cap._ 7.
_p._ 299.), David fell down upon sack-cloth of the same description and
lay on the ground praying for the restoration of his son.
[387] “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there
was a great earthquake; and the sun became as black as sack-cloth
of hair, and the moon became as blood.”--Rev. vi. 12.
[388] “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast,
and put on sack-cloth, from the greatest of them even to the least
of them. The word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from
his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with
sack-cloth, and sat in ashes.”--Jonah iii. 5, 6. In v. 5. we should
translate “put on hair-cloths;” for the word is _plural_ in the
Hebrew.
Hence the use of the hair-shirt by devotees in more recent times.
St. Basil, Bishop of Cæsarea in the fourth century, in answer to the
question, Whether a monk ought to have besides his night-shirt (_post
nocturnam tunicam_) a Cilicium or any other, says, “Cilicii quidem usus
habet proprium tempus. Non enim propter usus corporis, sed propter
afflictionem carnis inventum est hujuscemodi indumentum, et propter
humilitatem animae[389].” He then adds, that as the word of God forbids
us to have two shirts, we ought not to have a second except for the
purpose here mentioned. From this it is clear, that the Cilicium was
not commonly worn by the monks, but only at particular times for the
sake of humiliation.
[389] From the ancient version of Rufinus, p. 175. ed. 1513.
Dr. Sibthorp (_in Memoirs, edited by Walpole_,) informs us, that in
the present day the shepherds of Attica “shear the goats at the same
time with the sheep, about April or May,” and that the hair is made
into sacks, bags, and _carpets_, of which a considerable quantity is
exported. In modern as in ancient times, the inhabitants of Greece
subsist in a great measure upon goats’-milk and the cheese made from
it[390].
[390] Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 144.
The wives of the Arabian shepherds still _weave_ goats’-hair for their
tents. This hair-cloth is nearly black, and resembles that of which our
modern coal-sacks are made[391]. The Arabs also hang bags of the same
cloth, containing barley, about the heads of their horses to supply
them with food[392].
[391] Harmer’s Observations, ch. ii. Obs. 36. Dr. Shaw’s Travels, Part
iii. ch. 3. § 6. E. F. K. Rosenmuller, Biblische Alterthumskunde,
iv. 2. p. 89.
The use of goats’-hair for making cloth among the Moors is
mentioned by Rauwolff, _Travels_, part ii. ch. 1, p. 123 of Ray’s
Translation. The herdsmen on the wide plains about Smyrna live in
tents of “black goats’-hair.”--C. Fellows’s _Discoveries in Lycia_,
p. 8.
[392] D’Arvieux and Thevenot, ap. Harmer, ch. v. Obs. 9.
The goat, as is the case with some other quadrupeds, if confined to
a country, which is hot in summer and very cold in winter, is always
protected in the latter season by an additional covering of fine wool
beneath its long hair. A specimen of the Syrian goat in the Hunterian
Museum at Glasgow shows both the hair and the wool. In Kerman and
Cashmere this very fine wool is obtained by combing the goats in the
spring, when it becomes loose; and, having been spun into yarn, it is
used to make the beautiful _shawls_ brought from those countries.
We will now conclude this chapter with the following interesting
communication from Mr. E. Riley, being the substance of a paper lately
read before the Society of Arts, London.
Mr. Riley “in 1825 and 1828 transported to that territory two flocks
of the finest sheep procurable throughout Germany, my father had
also long contemplated introducing there the celebrated Cashmere
goat, anticipating that the fulfilment of his views would, in proving
advantageous to himself, become also of ultimate benefit to the colony;
in which expectation, he has been encouraged from the results that
have attended the importation of the Saxon breed of sheep into their
favored climates, the wools of New South Wales, and in proportion to
their improvement, those also of Van Dieman’s Land being now eagerly
purchased by the most intelligent manufacturers in preference to those
of equal prices imported from any part of Europe.
“With this object in view, he subsequently, during an agricultural tour
on the Continent, directed my attention to the Cashmere flocks of Mons.
Ternaux, and in October 1828, I met this distinguished man at his seat
at St. Onen (Mons. Ternaux is a great shawl manufacturer and a
Peer of France,) where he preserved the elite of his herds; the animals
were a mixture of various sizes and colors, from a perfect white to
brown, with scarcely any stamped features as if belonging to one race
exclusively; they were covered with long coarse hair, under which so
small a quantity of soft short down was concealed, that the average
produce of the whole collection did not exceed three ounces each;
therefore, under these unfavorable circumstances, my father deferred
for a time his intention of sending any of them to Australia.
“I was then advised by the Viscomte Perrault de Jotemps,
to see the stock of M. Polonceau at Versailles, he having, by a happily
selected cross, succeeded in increasing the quantity and value of the
qualities of the Cashmere goat beyond the most sanguine anticipations,
and in consequence of his enlightened taste for agricultural pursuits,
was also honored with the directorship of the model farm at Grignon. He
became among the first to purchase a chosen selection of the original
importation of the Cashmere goat from M. Ternaux, and some time after
seeing, at one of the estates of the Duchesse de Beri, an
Angora buck with an extraordinary silkiness of hair, having more the
character of long coarse but very soft down, he solicited permission
to try the effects of a union with this fine animal and his own pure
Cashmeres. The improvement even in the first drop was so rapid that
it induced him to persevere, and when I first saw his small herd they
were in the third generation from the males produced solely by the
first cross; the unwillingness however of M. Polonceau to part with any
number of them at this period (the only alienation he has made from the
favorite products of his solicitude being two males and two females
to the _King_ of _Wirtemberg_, for the sum of 3400 francs,) caused
my father again to postpone his intentions until my return from the
Australasian Colonies, judging that M. Polonceau would then probably be
enabled to dispose of a sufficient number, and that the constancy and
properties of the race would by that time be more decidedly determined.
“On my arrival in England at the close of 1831, he again recurred to
his favorite project of introducing these animals into our colonies,
for which purpose I went to France with the intention of purchasing a
small flock of M. Polonceau, should I find all his expectations of the
Cashmere Angora breed verified, which having perfectly ascertained,
I at length succeeded in persuading M. Polonceau to cede to me ten
females in kid, and three males, and I fortunately was able to convey
the whole in health to London, with the intention of proceeding as
speedily as possible with them to Port Jackson, looking sanguinely
forward not only to their rapid increase but also to _crossing_ the
_common goats_ of the country with this valuable breed, in full
expectation that they may, exclusive of their own pure down, become
thus the means of forming a desirable addition to the already much
prized importations from New South Wales and Van Dieman’s Land. I am
led to the conclusion that the latter result may be accomplished, as M.
Polonceau, who has tried the experiment with the native goat of France,
has obtained animals of the second cross very little inferior to the
breed that has rendered his name so distinguished. He has also crossed
the common goat with the pure Cashmere, but only obtained so tardy an
amelioration, that it required eight or ten generations to produce a
down simply equal to their inferior quantity and quality when compared
to the produce of the Cashmere Angora.”
Mr. Polonceau has unremittingly persevered in the improvement so
immediately effected, and has proved during the several years which
have elapsed since the first experiment in the year 1822, that an
entire satisfactory result in the union of the most essential qualities
of down, _abundance_, _length_, _fineness_, _lustre_, and _softness_,
was accomplished by the first cross, without any return having ensued
to the individual characters of either of the primitive races, and in
consequence, he has since constantly propagated the produce of that
cross among themselves, careful only of preserving animals entirely
white and of employing for propagation those bucks which had the down
in the greatest quantity and of the finest quality with the smallest
proportion of hair.
In 1826; the “Societie Royale et Centrale d’Agriculture de Paris”
acquainted with the interesting result of M. Polonceau’s flock, being
at that time in the third generation, and considering that the down of
this new race was _more valuable than that of the East_, and that it
was the most beautiful of filaceous materials known, as it combines
the softness of Cashmere with the lustre of silk, awarded him their
large gold medal at their session, 4th April, 1826, and nominated him a
member of their society in the following year.
In 1827, at the exhibition of the produce of National Industry, the
jury appointed to judge the merits of the objects exposed, also awarded
him their medal.
At present the animals are in the twelfth generation, their health and
vigor, the constancy of their qualities, and abundance of their down
_without any degeneration_, prove that this new race may be regarded as
one entirely fixed and established, requiring solely the care that is
generally observed with valuable breeds; that is to say, a judicious
choice of those employed for their reproduction, and in such a climate
as New South Wales it may be reasonably expected that the brilliant
qualities of their down may yet be improved as has been so eminently
the case with the wool of the merino and Saxon sheep imported there.
M. Polonceau has goats that have yielded as many as thirty ounces of
the down, in one season, and he states that the whole of his herd
produce from twelve to twenty ounces; thus showing the astonishing
advantages this new breed has _over the uncrossed Cashmere_, which
never yield more than four ounces and seldom exceed two ounces each.
This gentleman also states, that, the Cashmere Angora goats, are more
robust and more easily nourished than the common goat, and that they
are less capricious and more easily managed in a flock; and from the
experience he has already had, he finds them much more docile than even
sheep. They prefer the leaves of trees, as do all other goats, but
they thrive either on hay or straw, or green fodder, or in meadows;
they also feed with equal facility on heaths, and on the most abrupt
declivities, where the sheep would perish; they do not fear the cold,
and are allowed to remain all the winter in open sheds. For the first
year or two of M. P.’s experiments he thought it prudent to give them
aromatic herbs, from time to time, but during the last six years he has
not found it necessary. He knows not of any particular disease to which
they are subject, his flock never having had any. M. P. arranges they
should kid in March, but occasionally he takes _two_ falls from those
of sufficient strength during the year.
The down commences to grow in September, and developes itself
progressively until the end of March, when it ceases to grow and
detaches itself, unless artificially removed.
To collect the down, he waits the period when it begins to detach
itself, and then the locks of down which separate from the skin with
little force are taken off by hand; the down is removed from the
animals every three or four days; in general it first begins to fall
from the neck and shoulders, and in the following four or five days
from the rest of the body; the collection is completed in the space
of eight or ten days. Sometimes the entire down can be taken from
the animal at one shearing, and almost in an unbroken fleece, when
it begins to loosen. The shearing has the advantage of preserving
more perfectly the parallelisms of the individual filaments, which
much increase the facility of combing and preparing the down for
manufacturing purposes.
CHAPTER V.
BEAVERS-WOOL.
Isidorus Hispalensis--Claudian--Beckmann--Beavers’-wool--Dispersion of
Beavers through Europe--Fossil bones of Beavers.
The passage quoted from Isidore of Seville, in the last chapter, shows
that the ancients made a cloth, the woof of which was of Beavers’-wool
(_de fibri lanâ_), and which was therefore called _Vestis Fibrina_.
By _lana_ he must have meant the very fine wool, which, agreeably to
the observation in the last paragraph, grows under the long hair of
the beaver. Isidore in the same Book, observes, “Fibrinum lana est
animalium, quæ fibros vocant: ipsos et castores existimant.”
The following Epigram of Claudian seems intended, as Beckmann (iv. _p._
223.) supposes, to describe “a worn-out beaver dress, which had nothing
more left of that valuable fur but the name.”
ON A BEAVER MANTLE.
The shadow of its ancient name remains:
But, if no nap of beaver it retains,
A Beaver Mantle it can scarce be nam’d.
The price, however, proves its claim: it cost
Six pounds. Hence, though all lustre it has lost,
Yet, bought so dear, as beaver let it still be fam’d.
Sidonius Apollinaris calls those who used this costly apparel
_castorinati_. _Lib._ v. _Epist._ 7. _p._ 313. _Paris_, 1599, 4_to._
Gerbert, or Gilbert, surnamed the Philosopher, and afterwards Pope
Silvester II., commenting on the qualities of a good Bishop according
to 1 Timothy iii. 1., says in reference to the word “ornatum:”
“Quod si juxta sensum literæ tantûm respiciamus, non aliud,
sacerdotes, quam amictum quæremus clariorem; verbi gratiâ, castorinas
quæremus et sericas vestes: et ille se inter episcopas credet esse
altiorem, qui vestem induerit clariorem. Sed S. Apostolus taliter
se intelligi non vult, quia non carne, &c.”--_De Informatione
Episcoporum, seu De Dignitate Sacerdotali, in ed. Benedict. Opp. S.
Ambrosii, tom._ ii. _p._ 358.
“An upper garment of this cloth was worn by the Emperor Nicephorus II.
at his coronation in the year 936.”--_Beckmann_, _l. c._ § 31.
“This method of manufacturing beavers’-hair,” observes Beckmann, “seems
not to have been known in the time of Pliny; for, though he speaks much
of the _castor_, and mentions _pellis fibrina_ three times, he says
nothing in regard to manufacturing the hair, or to beaver-fur.”
It seems probable, that the Greeks and Romans did not use cloth of
beavers’-wool until the 4th century. In an earlier age the furs and
drugs supplied by beavers were obtained from the countries to the
North of the Euxine Sea. But in the period now under consideration
the intercourse of the Romans with the West of Europe would open a
much more extended sphere for procuring the Vestes Fibrinæ, since we
have traces of the existence of beavers in almost all parts of Europe.
Their appearance in Wales, Scotland, Germany, and the North of Europe
generally, is attested by Giraldus Cambrensis[393].
[393] Topographia Hiberniæ, c. 21, and Itinerarium Cambriæ, l. ii. c. 3.
Dr. Patrick Neill, in a valuable paper on this subject,[394] has
given an account of the bones of recent beavers found in Perthshire
and Berwickshire. They have also been found in Cambridgeshire[395].
We learn from the life of Wulstan[396], that _beaver-furs_, as well
as those of _sables_, _foxes_, and other quadrupeds, were used by the
Anglo-Saxons in very early times for _lining_ their garments. Other
modern authors speak of their occurrence in Austria, Hungary, and
the North of Italy[397]. They are still found in Sweden[398]. Strabo
informs us, that in his time they frequented the rivers of Spain[399].
[394] Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, vol. i. p. 177-187.
[395] Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, vol. i. part
i. p. 175.
[396] See Extracts in Henry’s History of Britain, vol. iv.
[397] Muratori, Antichità Italiane, tomo ii. p. 110. Napoli, 1783. The
authors, cited by Muratori, are Gervase of Tilbury, and Mathioli.
[398] Travels in Sweden, by Dr. Thomas Thomson, p. 411.
[399] Lib. iii. 163. vol. i. p. 737, ed. Siebenkees.
Buffon says (_Hist. Nat._ _tome_ 26. _p._ 98.), “There are beavers in
Languedoc in the islands of the Rhone, and great numbers of them in
the North of Europe.” “But as human population extends,” he observes,
“beavers, like other animals, are dispersed, become solitary, fugitive,
or conceal themselves in the ground: they cease to unite in bands, to
engage in building or other undertakings.”
“We have been unable to ascertain,” says Cuvier[400], “after the most
scrupulous comparisons, if the Castors or Beavers, which burrow along
the Rhone, the Danube, and the Weser, are different in species from
those of North America, or if they are prevented from building by the
vicinity of man.” The same distinguished author in his work on Fossil
Bones says, “The greater part of our European rivers having formerly
supported beavers, and some of them doing so still, viz. the Gardon and
the Rhone in France, the Danube in Bavaria and Austria, and several
small rivers in Westphalia and Saxony, we cannot be surprised to find
their hones preserved in our mosses, or turbaries.” He then mentions
instances of the heads and teeth of beavers, in the valley of the
Somme in Picardy, in the valley of Tonnis-stein near Andermach, and at
Urdingen on the Rhine in Rhenish Prussia[401].
[400] Règne Animal, vol. iii. p. 65. of Griffith’s Translation.
[401] Cuvier, Ossemens Fossiles, tome v. partie Ière, p. 55.; partie
2nde, p. 518. See also Annales du Museum d’Hist. Naturelle, tome
xiv. p. 47.
CHAPTER VI.
CAMELS-WOOL AND CAMELS-HAIR.
Camels’-wool and Camels’-hair--Ctesias’ account--Testimony of modern
travellers--Arab tent of Camels’-hair--Fine cloths still made of
Camels’-wool--The use of hair of various animals in the manufacture
of beautiful stuffs by the ancient Mexicans--Hair used by the Candian
women in the manufacture of broidered stuffs--Broidered stuffs of the
negresses of Senegal--Their great beauty.
We are informed by Ctesias, in a fragment of the 10th Book of his
Persic History, that there were camels in a part of Persia, whose hair,
soft as Milesian fleeces, was used to make garments for the priests and
the other potentates[402].
[402] Apollonii Mirabilia xx. Ælian, Hist. An. xvii. 34. Ctesiæ
Fragmenta, a Bähr, p. 224.
John the Baptist wore a garment of camels’-hair; but this must be
supposed to have been coarse. (_Matt._ iii. 4., _Mark_ i. 6.)[403].
This passage of scripture is illustrated by Harmer in the following
observation[404]:
“This hair, Sir J. Chardin tells us (in his MS. note on 1 _Sam._ xxv.
4.) is not shorn from the camels like wool from sheep, but they pull
off this woolly hair, which the camels are disposed to cast off; as
many other creatures, it is well known, change their coats yearly. This
hair is made into cloth now. Chardin assures us the modern dervishes
wear such garments.”
[403] “And the same John had his raiment of camels’-hair, and a
leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild
honey.”--_Matt._ iii. 4, also in Mark:
“And John was clothed with camels’-hair, and with a girdle
of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild
honey.”--_Mark_ i. 6.
[404] Ch. xi. Obs. 83. vol. iv. p. 416. ed. Clarke.
Campbell, the poet, mentions a tent of camels’-hair cloth, which he
saw at an Arab encampment between Oran and Mascara in the kingdom of
Algiers. It was 25 feet in diameter and very lofty. (_Letters from
the South_, 1837, _vol._ ii. _p._ 212.) He also mentions (_vol._ i.
_p._ 161.) that the Kabyles or Berbers, who live in the vicinity of
Algiers, and are descended from the original occupants of the country,
dwell in “tents of camels’-hair.” We are informed that the Chinese
make _carpets_ of the same material[405]. _Coverlets_ of goats’ or
camels’-hair are used by the soldiers in Turkey to sleep under[406].
“The Circassians, when marching, or on a journey, always add to their
other garments a cloak made from camel or goats’-hair, with a hood,
which completely envelopes the whole person. It is impenetrable by
rain; and it forms their bed at night, and protects them from the
scorching sun by day[407].”
[405] China, its Costume, Arts, Manufactures, &c., by Bertin:
translated from the French. London, 1812, vol. iv.
[406] Travels in Circassia, by Edmund Spencer, vol. i. p. 202.
[407] Ibid. vol. ii. p. 219.
Fortunatus, in his life of St. Martin (l. iv.), describes a garment of
such cloth; but it may be doubted whether he took his description from
actual knowledge of the use of it, or only from the account in Matthew
of the dress of John the Baptist already quoted.
Camels’-hair of annual growth would vary in fineness according to
circumstances, and might be used either for the coarse raiment of
prophets and dervises, _or for the costly shawls_, to which Ctesias
alludes. Fine wool, adapted to the latter purpose, might also grow,
as in the goat and beaver, beneath the long hair of the camel. It has
been doubted whether cloth so fine and beautiful as Ctesias asserts,
could possibly be obtained from camels. The following accounts by
modern travellers illustrate and justify the statement of the suspected
ancient.
Marco Polo, who travelled in the 13th century, in his account of the
city of Kalaka, which was in the province of Tangut and subject to
the Great Kahn, says[408], “In this city they manufacture beautiful
camelots, the finest known in the world, of the hair of camels and
likewise of fine wool.” According to Pallas, (Travels, vol. ii. § 8.,)
“From the hair of the camel the Tartar women in the plains of the
Crimea manufacture a narrow cloth, which is used in its natural color,
and is extremely warm, soft, and light.” According to Prosper Alpinus,
(_Hist. Nat. Ægypti_, _l._ iv. _c._ 7. _p._ 225.) the Egyptians
manufactured from the hair of their camels not only coarse cloth for
their tents, but other kinds so fine as to be worn not only by princes
but even by the senators of Venice.
[408] Book i. ch. 52. p. 235. of Marsden’s Translation.
Elphinstone, in his account of Cabul (_p._ 295.), mentions, that
“Oormuck, a fine cloth made of camels’-wool,” is among the articles
imported into Cabul from the Bokhara country. This country lies North
of the Oxus, and East of the Southern extremity of the Caspian Sea, and
is probably the country, to which Ctesias more especially referred.
A still more recent authority is that of Moorcroft, who informs us,
that “Cloth is now made from the wool of the wild camels of Khoten in
Chinese Tartary,” and that “at Astrakhan a fine cloth is manufactured
from the wool of the camel foal of the first year[409].”
[409] Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. i. p. 241, 242.
It is customary in many parts of the East, as it was in Mexico in
the time of Cortes (See Part Third, Chapter I.) to use the hair of
various animals in embroidering garments. The Candian women even
embroider with their own hair, as well as that of animals, with
which they make splendid representations of flowers, foliage, &c.:
they also insert the skins of eels and serpents.
According to M. de Busson, the negresses of Senegal, embroider
the skins of various beasts, representing figures, flowers, and
animals, in every variety of color.
[Illustration:
Plate V.
Drawn from the life.
INDIAN LOOM with the process of Winding off the THREAD.]
PART THIRD.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE COTTON MANUFACTURE.
CHAPTER I.
GREAT ANTIQUITY OF THE COTTON MANUFACTURE IN INDIA--UNRIVALLED SKILL
OF THE INDIAN WEAVER.
Superiority of Cotton for clothing, compared with linen, both in
hot and cold climates--Cotton characteristic of India--Account of
Cotton by Herodotus, Ctesias, Theophrastus, Aristobulus, Nearchus,
Pomponius Mela--Use of Cotton in India--Cotton known before silk
and called Carpasus, Carpasum, Carbasum, &c.--Cotton awnings
used by the Romans--Carbasus applied to linen--Last request of
Tibullus--Muslin fillet of the vestal virgin--Linen sails, &c. called
Carbasa--Valerius Flaccus introduces muslin among the elegancies
in the dress of a Phrygian from the river Rhyndacus--Prudentius’s
satire on pride--Apuleius’s testimony--Testimony of Sidonius
Apollinaris, and Avienus--Pliny and Julius Pollux--Their testimony
considered--Testimony of Tertullian and Philostratus--Of Martianus
Capella--Cotton paper mentioned by Theophylus Presbyter--Use of Cotton
by the Arabians--Cotton not common anciently in Europe--Marco Polo
and Sir John Mandeville’s testimony of the Cotton of India--Forbes’s
description of the herbaceous Cotton of Guzerat--Testimony of Malte
Brun--Beautiful Cotton textures of the ancient Mexicans--Testimony
of the Abbé Clavigero--Fishing nets made from Cotton by the
inhabitants of the West India Islands, and on the continent of
South America--Columbus’s testimony--Cotton used for bedding by the
Brazilians.
Among all the materials which the skill of man converts into
comfortable and elegant clothing, that which appears likely to be
the most extensively useful, though it was the last to be generally
diffused, is the beautiful produce of the cotton-plant.
The properties of cotton strongly recommend it for clothing,
especially in comparison with linen, both in hot and cold countries.
Linen has, indeed, in some respects the advantage; it forms a smooth,
firm, and beautiful cloth, and is very agreeable wear in temperate
climates; but it is less comfortable than cotton, and less conducive
to health, either in heat or in cold. Cotton, being a bad conductor
of heat, as compared with linen, preserves the body at a more
equable temperature. The functions of the skin, through the medium
of perspiration, are the great means of maintaining the body at an
equable temperature amidst the vicissitudes of the atmosphere. But
linen, like all good conductors of heat, freely condenses the vapor
of perspiration, and accumulates moisture upon the skin: the wetted
linen becomes cold, chills the body, and checks perspiration, thus
not only producing discomfort, but endangering health. Calico, on the
other hand, like all bad conductors of heat, condenses little of the
perspiration, but allows it to pass off in the form of vapor. Moreover,
when the perspiration is so copious as to accumulate moisture, calico
will absorb a greater quantity of that moisture than linen. It has
therefore a double advantage,--it accumulates less moisture, and
absorbs more.
From the above considerations, it is evident that in cold climates, or
in the nocturnal cold of tropical climates, cotton clothing is much
better calculated to preserve the warmth of the body than linen. In
hot climates, also, it is more conducive to health and comfort, by
admitting of freer perspiration[410].
[410] Bains’s “History of the Cotton Manufacture,” p. 12.
Wool, as we have seen, was principally used for weaving in Palestine
and Syria, in Asia Minor, Greece, Italy and Spain; hemp in the Northern
countries of Europe; flax in Egypt (The history of the two last, hemp
and flax, is given in Part IV. to which the reader is referred.); silk
in the central regions of Asia[411]. In like manner cotton has _always_
been characteristic of India. We find this circumstance distinctly
noticed by Herodotus[412]. Among the valuable products, for which
India was remarkable, he states, that “the wild trees in that country
bear fleeces as their fruit, surpassing those of sheep in beauty and
excellence; and the Indians use cloth made from these trees.” In the
same book (c. 47.) Herodotus says, that the thorax or cuirass sent
by Amasis, king of Egypt, to Sparta, was “adorned with gold and with
fleeces from trees.” These substances were perhaps used in the weft to
form the figures (ζῶα), which were woven into the thorax; but it
appears equally probable that the gold only was thus employed, the
cotton being used as an inside lining or stuffing: and in this case
it is possible, that the down of the Bombax Ceiba, a tree allied to
the Cotton-plant (_Gossypium_), may have been used, since, though not
fitted for spinning or weaving, it has long been used in India for
the stuffing of pillows and similar purposes, and would be included
under the phrase employed by Herodotus, “_wool_” or “_fleeces from
trees_.” The thorax may have been made in Egypt; but the materials,
used to enrich it, were probably imported: for we have no proof, that
either gold or cotton of any kind was found in that country as a native
product in the time of Amasis.
[411] See Map Plate VII. at the end of Part IV.
[412] L. iii. c. 106.
Ctesias, the contemporary of Herodotus, seems also to have known the
fact of the use of a kind of wool, the produce of trees, for spinning
and weaving among the Indians. It is evident that Ctesias referred
exclusively to cotton cloths, as may be inferred from the testimony
of Varro, as we find it in Servius (_Comm. in Virgilii Æn._ i. 649.).
“Ctesias ait in Indiâ esse arbores, quæ lanam ferant.”
The expedition of Alexander the Great into India contributed to make
the Greeks better acquainted than before with cotton. Hence it is
distinctly mentioned by Theophrastus, the disciple of Aristotle. He
says, “The trees, from which the Indians make cloths, have a leaf like
that of the Black Mulberry; but the whole plant resembles the dog-rose.
They set them in the plains arranged in rows, so as to look like vines
at a distance[413].” In a succeeding part of the same book (_c._ 7.
_p._ 143, 144. _ed. Schneider_) he notices the growth of cotton, not
only in India, but in _Arabia_, and in the island called Tylos, which
he places in the Arabian Gulf, although it was probably in the Persian
Gulf, near the Arabian coast[414]. According to his account in the
latter passage, “The wool-bearing trees, which grew abundantly in this
island, had a leaf like that of the vine, but smaller; they bore no
fruit, but the capsule containing the wool, was, when closed, about the
size of a quince, when ripe, it expanded so as to emit the wool, which
was woven into cloths, either cheap, or of great value.”
[413] Hist. Pl. iv. c. 4. p. 132. ed. Schneider.
[414] See the Map,--Plate vii. at the end of Part iv. Bochart, Geogr.
Sacra, p. 766. Cadomi, 1651. Heeren, Ideen, i. 2. p. 214-219.
Sprengel in his German translation (_p._ 150. _vol._ ii.) supposes
the Broussonetia Papyrifera to be meant in the former passage. But he
gives no good reason for this supposition, and he admits, that the
Broussonetia Papyrifera grows in China, not in India. The expression of
Theophrastus, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, which he employs in the latter passage
(_c._ 9. _p._ 144. _ed. Schneider_), clearly proves, that he is
speaking of the same plant in both passages, and Sprengel himself (_p._
164.) supposes the Gossypium Arboreum of Linnæus, the Cotton Tree, to
be meant in the latter, though not in the former. The description of
Theophrastus is remarkably exact, if we consider it as applying, not to
the Cotton Tree (_Gossypium Arboreum_), but to the Cotton Plant (_G.
Herbaceum_), from which the chief supply of cotton for spinning and
weaving into cloth has always been obtained.
Aristobulus, one of Alexander’s generals, made mention of the
cotton-plant under the name of the Wool-bearing Tree, and stated that
its capsule contained seeds, which were taken out, and that what
remained was combed like wool[415].
[415] Strabo, L. xv. c. 1. vol. vi. p. 43. ed. Siebenkees.
The testimony of Nearchus, who was the admiral of Alexander, is also
preserved to the following effect; “that there were in India trees
bearing, as it were, flocks or bunches of wool; that the natives made
linen garments of it, wearing a shirt, which reached to the middle of
the leg, a sheet folded about the shoulders, and a turban rolled round
the head; and that the linen made by them from this substance was fine
and whiter than any other.” It is to be observed, that Nearchus, or
rather the two later authors who quote him, viz. Arrian and Strabo, use
the terms for linen in a general sense, as including all fine light
cloths made of vegetable substances[416].
[416] Arriani Rer. Indic. p. 522. 539. ed. Blancardi. Strabo, L. xv. c.
1. vol. vi. p. 40. ed. Sieb.
We read in the account of India by Pomponius Mela (L. iii. _c._ 7.),
that the woods produced wool, used by the natives for clothing. He
distinctly mentions the use of flax likewise. It has been conjectured,
that he may have taken his account from Nearchus, or some other Greek
writer, and that he may have intended to speak only of the use of
cotton. But in reply to this it is to be observed, that Pomponius Mela
here mentions flax in opposition to cotton, and that his assertion, so
understood, was probably true, since we have other evidence to show
that flax grows in India as well as cotton. (See Part IV.) Nevertheless
it seems necessary to understand other authors of the same period as
meaning cotton by the term λίνον, or _linum_. Thus Dyonisius Periegetes
(_l._ 1116), speaking of the employments of the Indians, says, Οἱ δὲ
ἱστοὺς ὑφόωσι λινεργέας, which probably meant “some weave muslins”. In
the same manner we must interpret the assertion of Quintus Curtius,
“Terra _lini_ ferax, unde plerisque sunt vestes” i. e., The land
produces flax, from which the greater part obtain garments. Soon after
this Curtius says in terms more strictly proper,
Corpora usque pedes _carbaso_ velant, soleis pedes, capita linteis
vinciunt.
They cover their bodies from head to foot with _carbasus_; they bind
shoes about their feet, linen cloths about their heads.
Again, speaking of the dress of the King, he says,
Distincta sunt auro et purpurâ _carbasa_, quæ indutus est. L. viii. 9.
The _carbasa_ which he wore, were spotted with purple and gold.
In like manner, Lucan, describing the Indian nations, says,
Who drink sweet juices from the tender cane,
With dyes of crocus stain their hair, and fix
With color’d gems the flowing carbasus.
L. iii. _v._ 239.
Strabo says, (L. xv. _c._ 1. _vol._ vi. _p._ 153. ed. Sieb.)
That the Indians use white raiment, and fine white cloths and
_carpasa_.
Also the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea states, that the region about
the Gulf of Barygaza in India was productive “of _Carpasus_ and of the
fine Indian cloths made of it[417].” These were what we now call _India
muslins_. These muslins we are informed by Dr. Vincent, were imported
into Egypt, and accordingly Pacatus[418] represents Antony’s army as
wearing cotton in that country.
[417] Arriani Opp. v. ii. p. 165. ed. Blancard.
[418] Paneg. Theodosii, c. 33.
The term _Carbasus_, is evidently used by the five last-cited authors
to signify cotton; for they employ it in describing the common dress
of the Indians. As the Greeks and Romans became acquainted with cotton
much earlier than with silk, we find that _Carpas_, the proper Oriental
name for cotton, was also in use among them at a comparatively early
period; and we shall now endeavor to trace the progress of this term
from India, Westward. With little variation it is found in the same
sense in the Sanscrit, Arabic, and Persic languages[419].
[419] Celsii Hierobot. vol. ii. p. 159. Sir W. Jones, in As.
Researches, vol. iv. p. 226. London Edition. Schlegel, Indische
Bibliotek, ii. p. 393. E. F. K. Rosenmüller, Biblische
Alterthumskunde, 4. 1. p. 173.
This word occurs once in the Hebrew Scriptures, viz. Esther, i. 6.,
and there evidently as a foreign term. The hangings, used to decorate
the court of the royal palace at Susa on occasion of the great feast
given by Ahasuerus, are thus described in the common version of the
Scriptures:--
“Where were white, green, and blue hangings, fastened with cords of
fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds
were of gold and silver upon a pavement of red and blue and white and
black marble.”
The word, corresponding to “_green_” in the original is _Carpas_
(כרפס). It has been translated “green”
by the authors of the common version on the authority of the Chaldee
Paraphrase.
The earliest instance of the use of the oriental name in any classical
author is the line from Statius Cæcilius, who died 169 B. C. as quoted
by Nonius Marcellus (_l._ xvi.) from the _Pausimachus_ of Statius:
Carbasina, molochina, ampelina[420].
As these words are all three Greek, and the play, in which the verse
occurred, was also called by a Greek name, we cannot doubt, that
Statius translated it according to his usual custom from one of the
writers of the New Comedy. We may therefore infer with some confidence
from this expression, that the Greeks made use of muslins or calicoes,
or at least of cotton cloths of some kind, which were brought from
India as early as 200 years B. C.
[420] See C. C. Statii Fragmenta, a Leonhardo Spengel, Monachii 1829,
p. 35.
Statius chiefly copied from Menander (_Gellius_ ii. _c._ 16.); but
we cannot find, that Menander wrote any play called _Pausimachus_.
After some time the oriental custom of using cotton as a protection
from the sun’s rays was adopted also by the Romans. Cotton was not
only a cheaper and commoner article than silk, but it was particularly
adapted for this purpose on account of its lightness, as well as
its beauty and fineness; and, besides the instance already cited
from the book of Esther, we may observe also, that where the _Latin_
authors mention the use of “Carbasa,” it is sometimes for purposes
of this kind. “Tabernacula carbaseis intenta velis,” _i. e._ “Tents
with coverings of cotton,” were among the expensive novelties which
contributed to the luxury of Verres, when Prætor in Sicily[421]. The
same species of ornament was first displayed at Rome in the magnificent
ædileship of P. Lentulus Spinther, at the Apollinarian games and in the
year 63 B. C.
“At a later period awnings of linen were used to keep out the sun,
but originally in the theatres only, which contrivance was first
adopted by Q. Catulus, when he dedicated the capitol. After this
Lentulus Spinther is said to have first introduced cotton awnings in
the theatre at the Apollinarian games. By and by Cæsar the Dictator
covered with awnings the whole Roman forum, and the sacred way, from
his own house even to the ascent of the Capitoline hill, which is
said to have appeared more wonderful than the gladiatorial exhibition
itself. Afterwards, without exhibiting games, Marcellus the son of
Octavia, sister of Augustus, when he was Ædile and his uncle consul
the eleventh time[422], on the day before the Kalends of August,
protected the forum from the rays of the sun, that the persons engaged
in lawsuits might stand with less injury to their health. What a
change from the manners which prevailed under Cato the Censor, who
thought that the forum should even be strewed with caltrops! Of late
sky-blue awnings, spotted with stars, have been extended by means
of strong ropes, even in the amphitheatre of the Emperor Nero. Red
awnings are used to cover the atria of houses, and they defend the
moss from the sun. As for the rest, white linen has always remained
in favor. This plant was honored in the Trojan war. _For why should
it not perform its part in battles as well as in shipwrecks?_ Homer
testifies, that a few of his warriors fought in linen cuirasses. The
tackle of his ships was also of flax, according to some of his more
learned interpreters, who argue that by the term _sparta_ he meant
_sata_, or things that are sown.”--_Pliny_, Lib. xix. chap. vi.
[421] This was about the year 70 B. C. Cic. in Verrem, Act. ii. l. v.
c. 12.
[422] The following are the dates of the display of awnings on the
several occasions referred to:--
_Linen_ awnings first used in the theatre at the dedication of the
temple of Jupiter by Catulus 69 B. C.
_Cotton_ awnings first used in the theatre by Lentulus Spinther,
July 6th, 63 B. C.
Linen used to cover the forum and Via Sacra at the gladiatorial
show by Julius Caesar 46 B. C.
Linen awnings extended over the forum by Marcellus,
July 31st 23 B. C.
Lucretius apparently refers to the introduction by Lentulus Spinther of
the cotton awnings above mentioned (vi. 108.), when he is theorising
on the cause of thunder, and compares the clouds spread over the sky
to the awnings of calico, which veiled the theatres and sheltered the
spectators from the sun:
Carbasus ut quondam magnis intenta theatris
Dat crepitum, malos inter jactata trabeisque.
As flaps the cotton, spread above our heads
In the vast theatres from mast to beam.
We now find frequent mention of cotton by the poets of the Augustan
age and by many subsequent writers. As in the case of silk, these
authors introduce cotton, not only historically, but for the purpose
of embellishment; and, considering _Carbasus_ as a poetical term, they
often by a _catachresis_ employ it where they mean to speak of linen.
Also as was before observed in regard to silk (Part I. chapter II.), it
may likewise be noticed here, that the wars against Mithridates and the
Parthians may have contributed to make the Romans familiar with the use
of cotton, although their chief supply of it was more probably through
Egypt, than through Persia and Babylonia.
Catullus (64.), speaking of the black sail which Ægeus furnished for
the ships of his son Theseus, calls it “_Carbasus Ibera_,” “an Iberian
sail.” As, on the one hand, he here uses the proper term for cotton,
without intending to describe the sail as cotton, so on the other hand
he calls the sail Iberian merely because Iberia was a country adjoining
Colchis, and from Colchis (as will be shown in Part IV.) the Greeks and
Romans obtained a great supply of flax and sail-cloth.
Tibullus, or Lygdamus, entreats (iii. 2. 17.), in the contemplation of
his death and funeral, that after his bones have been washed, first
with wine, and then with milk, they may be dried “carbaseis veils,”
with linen napkins. Although he uses the proper term for cotton, he
probably did not intend to denote any preference for cotton rather than
linen. His bones, after being wiped, were to be deposited in a marble
urn.
Propertius seems to have aimed at a display of knowledge on these
subjects (see Part First, chapter II.); and in the following passage
(iv. 3.) he probably used _Carbasa_ in its proper sense, as he is
referring to Eastern habits:
Raptave odorata carbasa lina duci.
Muslins taken among the spoils from a scented general.
In the last Elegy of the same Book he refers to the story of the young
Vestal virgin, who, when the flame was extinguished upon the altar
committed to her care, and when the scourge appeared to await her for
her neglect, threw upon the ashes a fillet of muslin from her head, and
saved her life by its ignition, which was supposed to be effected by
the favor of the goddess:
Vel cui, commissos cum Vesta reposceret ignes,
Exhibuit vivos carbasus alba focos.
The fire had died, and Vesta urged her claim,
When the white cotton show’d a living flame.
The story is related by Valerius Maximus (i. 7.). Although we are not
informed of the date of the event, it appears from his language that
the fillet was of fine muslin: “Cum _carbasum, quam optimum habebat_,
foculo imposuisset, subito ignis emicuit.” This description is well
suited to the nature of cotton, than which nothing was more easily
ignited.
The passage in Virgil’s Georgics, which mentions cotton, has been
already quoted (See Part I. chapter II. p. 24.). By the Æthiopians,
whose groves were “white with soft wool,” he probably intended those
of Arabia; and we may suppose him to have referred to accounts, not so
much of the Gossypium Herbaceum, to which the word “groves” (_nemora_)
would not apply, as to groves of Gossypium Arboreum and Bombyx Ceiba.
In the following passages of Æneid he mentions cotton under its proper
name, though probably not intending to distinguish accurately between
cotton and linen, and only using the term for the sake of ornament:--
Jamque dies, alterque dies processit, et auræ
Vela vocunt, tumidoque inflatur carbasus austro. iii. 356.
Two days were past, and now the southern gales
Call us aboard, and stretch the swelling sails.
_Pitt’s Translation._
Vocat jam carbasus auras;
Puppibus et læti nautæ imposuere coronas. iv. 417.
The flapping sail invites the gales; the poops
By the glad seamen are already crown’d.
Eum (_fluvium Tiberim_) tenuis glauco velabat amictu
Carbasus, et crines umbrosa tegebat arundo. viii. 33.
Thin muslin veils him with its sea-green folds;
His head a copious shade of reeds sustains.
Tum croceam chlamydem, sinusque crepantes
Carbaseos fulvo in nodum collegerat auro. xi. 775.
His saffron chlamys, and each rustling fold
Of muslin was confined with glittering gold.
This last passage is part of the description of the attire of Chloreus,
the Phrygian, whose muslin chlamys may have rustled in consequence of
being interwoven with gold.
OVID.
Totaque malo
Carbasa deducit, venientesque excipit auras.--_Met._ xi. 477.
The active seamen now unfurl the sails,
And spread them wide to catch the coming gales.
Carbasa mota sonant, jubet uti navita ventis. xiii. 420.
The flapping sails resound; the captain bids advance.
Cum dabit aura viam, præbebis carbasa ventis.--_Epist._ vii. 171.
When the gale favors, give the wind your sails.
Sed non, quo dederas a litore carbasa, vento
Utendum, medio cum potiare freto.--_Art. Am._ ii. 357.
The wind to which you give your sails on shore,
In the mid ocean will assist no more.
Dumque parant torto subducere carbasa lino.--_Fast._ iii. 587.
They now with twisted ropes let down the sails.
In all these passages Ovid uses _carbasa_ in the improper sense: it was
an easy transition from the idea of a cotton awning, with which the
Romans had become familiar, to apply the term to the sail of a ship. To
these examples we may add the following:
Et sequitur curvus fugienta carbasa delphin.
_Seneca, Œd._ ii. _prope fin._
The dolphin curved pursues the flying sails.
Strictaque pendentes deducunt carbasa nautæ.--_Lucan_, ii. 697.
The mariners confine the sails with cords,
And, clinging to the mast, they take them down.
Recto deprendit carbasa malo. ix. 324.
The mast stands upright; he takes down the sails.
Jamque adeo egressi steterant in littore primo,
Et promota, ratis pendentibus arbore nautis,
Aptabant sensim pulsanti carbasa vento.
_Silius Italicus. Pun._ iii. 128.
They leave the port and reach the shore: aloft
They hang upon the mast, and by degrees
They fit the sails to catch the beating wind.
Festinant trepidi substringere carbasa nautæ.
_Martial_, _l._ xii. _ep._ 29.
The trembling seamen haste to reef their sails.
Primæ, carbasa ventilantis, auræ.--_Statius, Sylv._ iv. 3. 106.
Of the first gale, which breathes upon the sails.
Statius also mentions “Carbasei sinus,” the folds of cotton in the
chlamys of a Bacchanal (_Theb._ vii. 658.).
Æstivos penetrent oneraria carbasa fluctus.--_Rutilius_, i. 221.
Postquam tua carbasa vexit--Oceanus.--_Val. Flaccus_, i.
Necdum aliæ viderunt carbasa terræ.--_Ibid._
Valerius Flaccus also introduces muslin among the elegances in the
dress of a Phrygian from the river Rhyndacus.
Tenuai non illum candentis carbasa lini,
Non auro depicta chlamys, non flava galeri
Cæsaries, pictoque juvant subtemine braccæ. vi. 228.
No aid to him his chlamys white as snow,
Muslin with gold enrich’d, his yellow curls
Of artificial hair, and _figured_ pantaloons.
(See Part 1, chap. iii. p. 59.)
Also Prudentius, the Christian poet (See Part 1, chap. iii. p. 59.),
in an elaborate account of Pride, depicts her in a garment of the same
kind:
Carbasea ex humeris summo collecta coibat
Palla sinu, teretem nectens a pectore nodum.--_Psychom._ 186.
A muslin kerchief by a knot compress’d,
Pass’d o’er her shoulders, and adorn’d her breast.
Tantâ tamque multiplici fertilitate abundat rerum omnium Cyprus, ut
nullius externi indigens adminiculi, indigenis viribus, a fundamento
ipso carinæ ad supremos usque carbasos ædificet onerarium navem,
omnibusque armamentis instructam mari committat.--_Amm. Marcellinus_,
xiv. 8.
Apuleius mentions _carbasina_ in conjunction with _bombycina_ and other
kinds of cloth[423]. He may consequently be presumed to use the word
in its proper sense, to wit, as denoting calico or muslin. In the same
manner cotton is distinguished from silk by Sidonius Apollinaris[424].
Also we may presume that cotton and not linen sails are to be
understood in the following line of Avienus:
Si tamen in Boream flectantur carbasa cymbæ.
_Descr. Orbis_, 799.
[423] Metamorphoseon l. viii. p. 579, 580. ed. Oudendorpii. (Quoted in
Part First, Chapter ii. p. 35.)
[424] L. ii. _Epist._ 2. (Quoted in Part First, Chapter iii. p. 61.).
Here the writer not only professes to give geographical information,
but he is describing the Indian seas and islands; and as in the present
day, so also in ancient times, the sails used in the navigation of
those seas were probably made of cotton.
Strabo uses the word καρπασίναι in describing the official dress of a
certain class of priestesses among the Cimbri[425]. Although it is
possible, that muslin may have been conveyed to them to be used on
solemn occasions, it appears more probable that fine linen or cambric,
which was manufactured at no great distance among the Atrebates, ought
here to be understood.
[425] L. vii. cap. 2. § 3. p. 336. ed. Siebenkees.
Pliny mentions cotton in four different passages of his Natural
History. Two of them are translated with some inaccuracies from the
passages of Theophrastus. To his translation of one of these passages
Pliny annexes the remark, derived perhaps from some other source, that
the inhabitants of Tylos called their Cotton Trees _gossympins_, and
that an island which was called the smaller Tylos, distant ten miles,
was still more fertile in cotton than the larger island of the same
name.
The third passage introduces cotton under its proper name, Carbasa.
It would imply that cotton was first grown or manufactured at Tarraco
in Spain, than which assertion nothing can be more inaccurate and
groundless.
The fourth passage is also contrary to all previous evidence, inasmuch
as it represents cotton to be the native growth of Egypt. It calls
the Cotton Plant _gossypion_, and hence the name has been given to it
by modern botanists. Supposing this last passage to be genuine, still
we know not on what authority Pliny depended, or from what source he
derived his information, nor can we tell to what extent he allowed
himself to be inaccurate in transcribing or translating. Taken by
itself, therefore, it appears to us that this passage is no better
proof of the growth of cotton anciently in Egypt than the third passage
is of its first discovery in Spain.
In Upper Egypt, towards Arabia, there grows a shrub, which some call
_gossypium_, and others _xylon_, from which the stuffs are made which
we call _xylina_. It is small, and bears a fruit resembling the
filbert, within which is a downy wool, which is spun into thread.
There is nothing to be preferred to these stuffs for whiteness or
softness: beautiful garments are made from them for the priests of
Egypt.[426]
[426] Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. xix. c. 1. (Delph. Ed. c. 2.)
This passage seems however deserving of more consideration, when taken
in conjunction with the following from the Onomastícon of Julius
Pollux, who wrote 100 years later than Pliny:--
There are also Byssina; and Byssus, a kind of flax. But among the
Indians, and now also among the Egyptians, a sort of wool is obtained
from a tree. The cloth made from this wool may be compared to linen,
except that it is thicker. The tree produces a fruit most nearly
resembling a walnut, but three-cleft. After the outer covering, which
is like a walnut, has divided and become dry, the substance resembling
wool is extracted and is used in the manufacture of cloth for woof,
the warp being linen.
The description here given of the Cotton Tree or Cotton Plant,
whichever was meant, is remarkably correct; indeed more correct than
any account obtained since the time of the expedition of Alexander.
The circumstance of the pericarp being three-cleft is agreeable to the
fact, _and is not noticed by any earlier writer_. The comparison of
it to a walnut in regard to size and form is also accurate. From this
account, and from those of Theophrastus, Aristobulus, and Nearchus, we
gather the following particulars, which are agreeable to the fact: that
the cotton-plants are set in the plains, and in rows like vines; that
the plant is three or four feet high, and is branched, spreading, and
flexible, like a dog-rose; that the leaf is palmated like that of the
vine; that the capsule is three-valved, about the size of a walnut,
and, when it bursts, emits the cotton, resembling flocks of wool, in
which the seeds are imbedded.
On the other hand, we have had no previous evidence respecting the use
of cotton in the manufacture of cloth _for the woof only_, and it is
doubtful whether this piece of information is correct, _because we have
no reason to suppose that cotton was used for weaving in any country in
which flax was also spun and woven_.
Tertullian in the third Chapter of his treatise De Pallio, enumerates
nearly all the raw materials which were spun for weaving. He mentions
the class of vegetable substances (cotton and flax) in the following
terms:
Et arbusta vestiunt, et lini herbida post virorem lavacro nivescunt.
Both thickets supply clothing; and crops of flax, after being green,
are rendered by washing white as snow.
Philostratus, who wrote in the third century, makes distinct mention
of cotton in two passages[427].
[427] Vita _Appollonii_, _l._ ii. _cap._ 20. Ibid. _l._ iii. _cap._ 15.
Martianus Capella (_l._ ii. § 4. _p._ 99. _ed._ Goetz.) makes distinct
reference to a tunic and shawl white as milk, and made either of cotton
or fine linen.
Theophilus Presbyter, who wrote probably about A. D. 800, describes the
use of cotton-paper for making gold-leaf. He calls it Greek parchment,
made of tree-wool, _Pergamena_, or _Parcamena Græca, quæ fit ex lanâ
ligni_[428].
[428] De Omni Scientiâ Picturæ Artis, c. 21. quoted in Lessing’s
Schriften, vol. iv. p. 63. ed. 1825, 12mo., and in Wehr’s vom
Papier, p. 132. (See Appendix B.)
From the travels of the two Arabians who visited China in the ninth
century, we learn that at that time the ordinary dress of their
countrymen was cotton: for they remark, that “the Chinese dressed,
not in cotton, as the Arabians did, but in silk[429].” Probably the
use of imported cotton might by this time have become not uncommon in
Egypt, Syria, and other oriental countries; but we apprehend, that it
was never generally employed in Europe either for clothing, or for any
other purpose, until very lately.
[429] See the Travels as published by Renaudot, and translated from his
French into English.
It is unnecessary to further discuss the question as to whether cotton
was or was not cultivated in Egypt in ancient times. This vexed
question having been lately set at rest, by a discovery which reduces
a great deal of the learning that has been expended upon it _to the
character of old lumber_. The difficulty of ascertaining whether the
mummy-cloths (of which the specimens are exceedingly numerous) were
made of linen or cotton, has at length been overcome; and though no
chemical test could be found out to settle the question, it has been
decided by that important aid to scientific scrutiny, the microscope.
(See Chapters I. and II. Part IV.)
The following observations of Dr. Robertson in his “Historical
Disquisition concerning the knowledge which the Ancients had of
India[430],” appear very just and important.
If the use of the cotton manufactures of India had been common among
the Romans, the various kinds of them would have been enumerated in
the Law _De Publicanis et Vectigalibus_, in the same manner as the
different kinds of spices and precious stones. Such a specification
would have been equally necessary for the direction both of the
merchant and of the tax-gatherer.
[430] _Note_ xxv. p. 370. _Second ed._ 1794.
In confirmation of these remarks it may be observed, that the passages
collected in this chapter represent cotton cloth as an expensive and
curious production rather than as an article of common use among the
Greeks and Romans. Among the ancients linen must have been far cheaper
than cotton, whereas the improvements in navigation, the discovery
of the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope, and still more the
discovery of America, have now made cotton the cheaper article among
us, and have thus brought it into general use.
India produces several varieties of cotton, both of the herbaceous
and the tree kinds. Marco Polo mentions that “cotton is produced in
Guzerat in large quantities from a tree that is about six yards in
height, and bears during twenty years; but the cotton taken from trees
of this age is not adapted for spinning, but only _quilting_. Such, on
the contrary, as is taken from trees of twelve years old, is suitable
for muslins and other manufactures of extraordinary fineness[431].” Sir
John Mandeville, on the other hand, who travelled in the fourteenth
century, fifty years later than Polo, mentions the annual herbaceous
cotton as cultivated in India: he says--“In many places the seed of
the cotton, (cothon,) which we call tree-wool, is sown every year, and
there springs up from its copses of low shrubs, on which this wool
grows[432].” Forbes also, in his Oriental Memoirs, thus describes the
herbaceous cotton of Guzerat:--“The cotton shrub, which grows to the
height of three or four feet, and in verdure resembles the currant
bush, requires a longer time than rice (which grows up and is reaped
in three months) to bring its delicate produce to perfection. The
shrubs are planted between the rows of rice, but do not impede its
growth, or prevent its being reaped. Soon after the rice harvest is
over, the cotton bushes put forth a beautiful yellow flower, with a
crimson eye in each petal; this is succeeded by a green pod, filled
with a white stringy pulp; the pod turns brown and hard as it ripens,
and then separates into two or three divisions containing the cotton. A
luxuriant field, exhibiting at the same time the expanding blossom, the
bursting capsule, and the snowy flakes of ripe cotton, is one of the
most beautiful objects in the agriculture of Hindostan[433].”
[431] Book iii. chap. 29.
[432] Hakluyt’s Voyages, vol. ii. p. 169.
[433] Forbes’s Oriental Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 405.
The following general statement concerning the cotton of India, is
from the geographical work of Malte Brun:--“The cotton-tree grows on
all the Indian mountains, but its produce is coarse in quality: the
herbaceous cotton prospers chiefly in Bengal and on the Coromandel
coast, and there the best cotton goods are manufactured. Next to these
two provinces, Maduré, Marawar, Pescaria, and the coast of Malabar,
produce the finest cotton[434].” He elsewhere says--“Cotton is
cultivated in every part of India: the finest grows in the light rocky
soil of Guzerat, Bengal, Dude, and Agra. The cultivation of this plant
is very lucrative, an acre producing about nine quintals of cotton in
the year[435].”
[434] Malte Brun, vol. iii. p. 30.
[435] Ibid. vol. iii. p. 303.
On the discovery of this continent by Columbus, Cotton formed the
principal article of clothing among the Mexicans.
We are informed by the Abbé Clavigero that “of cotton the Mexicans
made _large webs_, and as delicate and fine as those of Holland, which
were, with much reason, highly esteemed in Europe. They wove their
cloths _of different figures_ and _colors_, representing _different
animals_ and _flowers_. Of feathers interwoven with cotton, they made
_mantles_ and _bed-curtains_, _carpets_, _gowns_, and other things,
not less soft than beautiful. With cotton also they _interwove the
finest hair of the belly of rabbits and hares, after having spun
it into thread_: of this they made most beautiful cloths, and in
particular winter waistcoats for their lords[436].” Among the presents
sent by Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico, to Charles V., were “cotton
mantles, some all white, others mixed with white and black, or red,
green, yellow, and blue; waistcoats, handkerchiefs, counterpanes,
tapestries, and carpets of cotton; and the colors of the cotton were
extremely fine[437].” That the Mexicans should have understood the art
of dyeing those beautiful colors referred to in the above extract, is
not to be wondered at when we consider that they had both _indigo_ and
_cochineal_ among their native productions.
[436] Clavigero’s History of Mexico, book vii. sect. 57, 66.
[437] Clavigero’s History of Mexico, book vii. sect. 58.
Columbus also found the cotton plant growing wild, and in great
abundance, in Hispaniola, and other West India islands, and on
the continent of South America, where the inhabitants wore cotton
dresses, and made their fishing nets of the same material[438]; and
when Magellan went on his circumnavigation of the globe, in 1519,
the Brazilians were accustomed to make their beds of this vegetable
down[439].
[438] Sommario dell’Indie Occidentali del S. Don Pietro Martire, in
Ramusio’s Collection, tom. ii. pp. 2, 4, 16, 50. (See Appendix D.)
[439] Vincentino’s Viaggio atorno il Mondo, (with Ferd. Magellan,) in
Ramusio, tom. i. p. 353.
CHAPTER II.
SPINNING AND WEAVING--MARVELLOUS SKILL DISPLAYED IN THESE ARTS.
Unrivalled excellence of India muslins--Testimony of the two Arabian
travellers--Marco Polo, and Odoardo Barbosa’s accounts of the
beautiful Cotton textures of Bengal--Cæsar Frederick, Tavernier,
and Forbes’s testimony--Extraordinary fineness and transparency of
Dacca muslins--Specimen brought by Sir Charles Wilkins; compared
with English muslins--Sir Joseph Banks’s experiments--Extraordinary
fineness of Cotton yarn spun by machinery in England--Fineness of
India Cotton yarn--Cotton textures of Soonergong--Testimony of R.
Fitch--Hamilton’s account--Decline of the manufactures of Dacca
accounted for--Orme’s testimony of the universal diffusion of the
Cotton manufacture in India--Processes of the manufacture--Rude
implements--Roller gin--Bowing. (Eli Whitney inventor of the Cotton
gin--Tribute of respect paid to his memory--Immense value of Mr.
Whitney’s invention to growers and manufacturers of Cotton throughout
the world.) Spinning wheel--Spinning without a wheel--Loom--Mode of
weaving--Forbes’s description--Habits and remuneration of Spinners,
Weavers, &c.--Factories of the East India Company--Marvellous skill
of the Indian workman accounted for--Mills’s testimony--Principal
Cotton fabrics of India, and where made--Indian commerce in Cotton
goods--Alarm created in the woollen and silk manufacturing districts
of Great Britain--Extracts from publications of the day--Testimony
of Daniel De Foe (Author of _Robinson Crusoe_.)--Indian fabrics
prohibited in England, and most other countries of Europe--Petition
from Calcutta merchants--Present condition of the City of Dacca--Mode
of spinning fine yarns--Tables showing the comparative prices of Dacca
and British manufactured goods of the same quality.
The antiquity of the cotton manufacture in India having been noticed
in the last chapter, the present one will give some account of the
remarkable excellence of the Indian fabrics,--the processes and
machines by which they are wrought,--the condition of the population
engaged in this department of industry,--the extensive commerce
formerly carried on in these productions to every quarter of the globe,
and the causes that have tended to destroy it.
The Indians have in all ages maintained an unapproached and almost
incredible perfection in their fabrics of cotton. Indeed some of their
muslins might be thought the work of fairies or insects, rather than of
men; but these are produced in small quantities, and have seldom been
exported. In the same province from which the ancient Greeks obtained
the finest muslins then known, namely, the province of Bengal, these
astonishing fabrics are manufactured to the present day[440].
[440] Bains’s “History of the Cotton Manufacture,” p. 55.
We learn from two Arabian travellers of the ninth century, that
“in this country (India) they make garments of such extraordinary
perfection, that nowhere else are the like to be seen. These garments
are for the most part round, and wove to that degree of fineness that
they may be drawn through a ring of moderate size[441].” Marco Polo,
in the thirteenth century, mentions the coast of Coromandel, and
especially Masulipatam, as producing “the finest and most beautiful
cottons that are to be found in any part of the world[442];” and
this is still the case as to the flowered and glazed cottons, called
chintzes, though the muslins of the Coromandel coast are inferior to
those of Bengal.
[441] Anciennes Relations des Indes et de la Chine, de deux Voyageurs
Mahometans, qui y allerent dans le neuviéme siecle, p. 21.
[442] Travels of Marco Polo, book iii. c. 21, 28.
Odoardo Barbosa, one of the Portuguese adventurers who visited India
immediately after the discovery of the passage by the Cape of Good
Hope, celebrates “the great quantities of cotton cloths admirably
painted, also some white and some striped, held in the highest
estimation,” which were made in Bengal[443]. Cæsar Frederick, a
Venetian merchant, who travelled in India in 1563, and whose narrative
is translated by Hakluyt, describes the extensive traffic carried
on between St. Thomé (a port 150 miles from Negapatam) and Pegu, in
“_bumbast_ (cotton) cloth of every sort, painted, which is a rare
thing, because this kind of cloths show as if they were gilded with
divers colors, and the more they are washed, the livelier the colors
will become; and there is made such account of this kind of cloth, that
a small bale of it will cost 1000 or 2000 ducats[444].”
[443] Ramusio’s “Raccolto delle Navigationi et Viaggi,” tom. i. p. 315.
[444] Hakluyt’s Voyages, vol. ii. p. 366. Edition of 1809.
Tavernier, who, like Marco Polo, Barbosa, and Frederick, was a
merchant as well as a traveller, and therefore accustomed to judge
of the qualities of goods, and who travelled in the middle of the
seventeenth century, says--“The white calicuts,” (calicoes, or rather
muslins, so called from the great commercial city of Calicut, whence
the Portuguese and Dutch first brought them) “are woven in several
places in Bengal and Mogulistan, and are carried to Raioxsary and
Baroche[445] to be whitened, because of the large meadows and plenty
of lemons that grow thereabouts, for they are never so white as they
should be till they are dipped in _lemon-water_. Some calicuts are made
so fine, _you can hardly feel them in your hand_, and the thread, when
spun, is scarce discernible[446].” The same writer says, “There is
made at Seconge (in the province of Malwa) a sort of calicut so fine
that when a man puts it on, _his skin shall appear as plainly through
it, as if he was quite naked_; but the merchants are not permitted
to transport it, for the governor is obliged to send it all to the
Great Mogul’s seraglio and the principal lords of the court, to make
the sultanesses and noblemen’s wives shifts and garments for the hot
weather; and the king and the lords take great pleasure to behold them
in these shifts, and see them dance with nothing else upon them[447].”
Speaking of the turbans of the Mohammedan Indians, Tavernier says, “The
rich have them of so fine cloth, that twenty-five or thirty ells of it
put into a turban will not weigh four ounces[448].”
[445] “At the town of Baroche, in Guzerat, Forbes describes the
manufacture as being now in nearly the same state as when Arrian’s
Periplus was written (about A. D. 100.). He says--”The cotton trade
at Baroche is very considerable, and the manufactures of this
valuable plant, from the finest muslin to the coarsest sail-cloth,
employ thousands of men, women, and children, in the metropolis
and the adjacent villages. The cotton clearers and spinners
generally reside in the suburbs, or poorahs, of Baroche, which are
very extensive. The weavers’ houses are mostly near the shade of
tamarind and mango trees, under which, at sun-rise, they fix their
looms, and weave a variety of cotton cloth, with very fine baftas
and muslins (See Plate V.). Surat is more famous for its colored
chintzes and piece goods. The Baroche muslins are inferior to those
of Bengal and Madras, nor do the painted chintzes of Guzerat equal
those of the Coromandel coast.”--Forbes’s Oriental Memoirs, vol.
ii. p. 222.
[446] Tavernier’s Travels, contained in Dr. Harris’s Collection of
Voyages and Travels, vol. i. p. 811.
[447] Ibid. vol. i. p. 829.
[448] Tavernier’s Travels, Harris’s Collection, vol. i. p. 833.
An English writer, at the end of the seventeenth century, in a
remonstrance against the admission of India muslins, for which,
he says, the high price of thirty shillings a yard was paid,
unintentionally compliments the delicacy of the fabric by stigmatizing
it as “only the _shadow_ of a commodity[449].”
[449] The Naked Truth, in an Essay upon Trade, p. 11.
The late Rev. William Ward, a missionary at Serampore, informs us
that “at Shantee-pooru and Dhaka, muslins are made which sell at a
hundred rupees a piece. The ingenuity of the Hindoos in this branch of
manufacture is wonderful. Persons with whom I have conversed on this
subject say, that at two places in Bengal, Sonar-ga and Vilkrum-pooru,
muslins are made by a few families so exceedingly fine, that four
months are required to weave one piece, which sells at five hundred
rupees. When this muslin is laid on the grass, and the dew has fallen
upon it, _it is no longer discernible_[450].”
[450] View of the History, Literature, and Mythology of the Hindoos, by
William Ward; vol. iii. p. 127. 3d edition.
After such statements as the above, from sober and creditable
witnesses, the Oriental hyperbole which designates the Dacca muslins as
“_webs of woven wind_,” seems only moderately poetical.
Sir Charles Wilkins brought a specimen of Dacca muslin from India
in the year 1786, which was presented to him by the principal of the
East India Company’s factory at Dacca, as the finest then made there.
Like all Indian muslins, it has a yellowish hue, caused by imperfect
bleaching. Though the worse for many years’ exposure in a glass case,
and the handling of visitors, it is of exquisite delicacy, softness,
and transparency; yet the yarn of which it is woven, and of which Mr.
Wilkins also brought a specimen, is not so fine as some which has been
spun by machinery in England. The following minute, made by Sir Joseph
Banks on a portion of this yarn, thirty or forty years since, appears
at the India House in his own writing, together with a specimen of the
muslin:--
“The portion of skein which Mr. Wilkins gave to me weighed 34-3/10
grains: its length was 5 yards 7 inches, and it consisted of 196
threads. Consequently, its whole length was 1018 yards and 7 inches.
This, with a small allowance for fractions, gives 29 yards to a grain,
203,000 to a pound avoirdupoise of 7000 grains; that is, 115 miles, 2
furlongs, and 60 yards.”
Cotton yarn has been spun in England, making _three hundred and fifty
hanks_ to the _lb. weight_, each hank measuring 840 yards, and the
whole forming a thread of 167 miles in length[451]. This, however,
must be regarded merely as showing how fine the cotton can possibly
be spun by machinery, since no such yarn is or could be used in the
making of muslins, or for any other purpose. The extreme of fineness
to which yarns for muslins are ever spun in Great Britain is 250 hanks
to the lb., which would form a thread measuring 119⅓ miles; but
it is very rarely indeed that finer yarn is used than 220 hanks to
the lb., which is less fine than the specimen of Dacca muslin above
mentioned. The Indian hand-spun yarn is softer than mule-yarn, and the
muslins made of the former are much more durable than those made of the
latter. In point of appearance, however, the book-muslin of Glasgow
is very superior to the Indian muslin, not only because it is better
bleached, but because it is more evenly woven, and from yarn of uniform
thickness, whereas the threads in the Indian fabric vary considerably.
[451] Pliny, in speaking of linen yarn, gives us an account (L. xix.
cap. 2.) of the cuirass of the Egyptian king Amasis, which is
preserved in the temple of Minerva in Rhodes. “Each thread,” says
he, “is shown to consist of 365 fibres, which fact Mucianus, being
a third time Consul, lately asserted at Rome.”--Mucianus was Consul
the third time A. D. 75.
It is probable that the specimens brought by Wilkins, though the
finest then made at the city of Dacca, is not equal to the most
delicate muslins made in that neighborhood in former times, or even in
the present. The place called by the Rev. Mr. Ward Sonar-ga, and, by
Mr. Walter Hamilton, Sooner-gong, a decayed city near Dacca, has been
said to be unrivalled in its muslins. Mr. Ward’s testimony has been
quoted above. Mr. Ralph Fitch, an English traveller, in 1583, spoke
of the same place when he said--“Sinnergan is a town six leagues from
Serrapore, where there is the best and finest cloth made of cotton
that is in all India[452].” Mr. Hamilton says--“Soonergong is now
dwindled down to an inconsiderable village. By Abul Fazel, in 1582, it
is celebrated for the manufacture of a beautiful cloth, named _cassas_
(cossaes,) and the fabrics it still produces justify to the present
generation its ancient renown[453]”. But it seems that there has been a
great decline in the manufacture of the finest muslins, which is both
stated and accounted for by Mr. Hamilton in the following passage on
the district of Dacca Jelulpoor:--
[452] Hakluyt’s Voyages, vol. ii. p. 390; edit. 1809.
[453] A Geographical, Statistical, and Historical Description of
Hindostan, by Walter Hamilton, Esq. vol. i. p. 187--(1820.)
“Plain muslins, are distinguished by different names, according to the
fineness or closeness of the texture, as well as _flowered_, _striped_,
or _chequered_ muslins, are fabricated chiefly in this district, where
a species of cotton named the banga grows, necessary, although not of a
very superior quality, to form the stripes of the finest muslins, for
which the city of Dacca has been so long celebrated. The northern parts
of Benares furnish both plain and flowered muslins, which are not ill
adapted for common use, though incapable of sustaining any competition
with the beautiful and inimitable fabrics of Dacca.
“The export of the above staple articles has much decreased, and
the art of manufacturing some of the finest species of muslins is in
danger of being lost, the orders for them being so few that many of the
families who possess by _hereditary_ instruction the art of fabricating
them have desisted, on account of the difficulty they afterwards
experience in disposing of them. This decline may partly be accounted
for from the utter stagnation of demand in the upper provinces since
the downfall of the imperial government, prior to which these delicate
and beautiful fabrics were in such estimation, not only at the court
of Delhi, but among all classes of the high nobility in India, as to
render it difficult to supply the demand. Among more recent causes also
may be adduced the French revolution, the degree of perfection to which
this peculiar manufacture has lately been brought in Great Britain, the
great diminution in the Company’s investment, and the advance in the
price of cotton.”
With respect to the peculiar species of cotton of which the Dacca
muslins are made, the following statement was given to a committee of
the House of Commons, in 1830-31, by Mr. John Crawfurd, for many years
in the service of the East India Company, and author of the “History of
the Indian Archipelago:”
“There is a fine variety of cotton in the neighborhood of Dacca, from
which I have reason to believe the fine muslins of Dacca are produced,
and probably to the accidental discovery of it is to be attributed the
rise of this singular manufacture; it is cultivated by the natives
alone, not at all known in the English market, nor, as far as I am
aware, in that of Calcutta. Its growth extends about forty miles along
the banks of the Megna, and about three miles inland. I consulted
Mr. Colebrook respecting the Dacca cotton, and had an opportunity of
perusing the manuscripts of the late Dr. Roxburgh, which contain an
account of it; he calls it a variety of the common herbaceous annual
cotton of India, and states that it is longer in the staple, and
affords the material from which the Dacca muslins have been always
made.”
The cotton manufacture in India is not carried on in a few large
towns, or in one or two districts; it is universal. The growth of
cotton is nearly as general as the growth of food; everywhere the women
spend a portion of their time in spinning; and almost every village
contains its weavers, and supplies its own inhabitants with the scanty
clothing they require[454]. Being a domestic manufacture, and carried
on with the rudest and cheapest apparatus, it requires neither capital,
mills, or an assemblage of various trades. The cotton is separated from
the seeds by a small rude hand-mill, or gin, turned by women.
[454] Orme, in his Historical Fragments of the Mogul Empire, says, “On
the coast of Coromandel and in the province of Bengal, when at some
distance from the high road or a principal town, it is difficult to
find a village in which every man, woman, and child is not employed
in making a piece of cloth. At present, much the greatest part of
the whole provinces are employed in this single manufacture.” (p.
409.) “The progress of the cotton manufacture includes no less than
a description of the lives of half the inhabitants of Indostan.”
(p. 413.)
The mill consists of two rollers of teak wood, fluted longitudinally
with five or six grooves, and revolving nearly in contact. The upper
roller is turned by a handle, the lower being carried along with it by
means of a perpetual screw at the axis. The cotton is put in at one
side, and drawn through by the revolving rollers; but the seeds, being
too large to pass through the opening, are torn off and fall down on
the opposite side from the cotton[455].
[455] To the efforts of Eli Whitney, America is indebted for the value
of her great staple. While the invention of the cotton gin has been
the chief source of the prosperity of the Southern planter, the
Northern manufacturer comes in for a large share of the benefits
derived from this most important offspring of American ingenuity.
Eli Whitney, who may with justice be considered one of the most
ingenious and extraordinary men that ever lived, was born in
Westborough, Worcester County, Massachusetts, December 8th, 1765.
His parents belonged to that respectable class in society, who, by
the labors of husbandry, manage, _by uniform industry_, to provide
well for a rising family,--a class from whom have risen most of
those who, in New England, have attained to high eminence and
usefulness.
Although Mr. Whitney’s machines have benefited the people of this
country, and the world at large, millions upon millions, yet,
it is to be lamented that he did not reap that reward which his
ingenuity and industry, as well as virtuous course of conduct so
richly merited, but died much involved in debt, while thousands who
had conspired to defraud him of his just and lawful rights, were
enriched by the use of his machines.
“If we should assert,” said Judge William Johnson, “that the
benefits of this invention (the Cotton gin) exceed $100,000,000, we
can prove the assertion by correct calculation.”
Who is there that, like him, has given his country and the world a
machine--the product of his own skill--which has furnished a large
part of its population, from childhood to age, with a lucrative
employment; by which their debts have been paid off; their capitals
increased; their lands trebled in value?
Mr. Whitney died on the 8th of January 1825, and is buried in the
cemetery of New Haven, Connecticut. His tomb is after the model
of Scipio’s at Rome. It is simple and beautiful, and promises to
endure for years. It bears the following inscription.
=ELI WHITNEY.=
THE INVENTOR OF THE COTTON GIN.
OF USEFUL SCIENCE AND ARTS, THE EFFICIENT PATRON AND IMPROVER.
IN THE SOCIAL RELATIONS OF LIFE, A MODEL OF EXCELLENCE.
WHILE PRIVATE AFFECTION WEEPS AT HIS TOMB, HIS COUNTRY HONORS HIS
MEMORY.
BORN DECEMBER 8TH, 1765.--DIED JAN. 8TH, 1825.
The convention of American Geologists and Naturalists who met at
New Haven in May last (1845.), were invited, together with their
ladies, by Mrs. Whitney, the _widow of the inventor of the Cotton
gin_, to attend an evening party at her house, which was accepted,
where they had an elegant supper and conversazione.
“It is melancholy,” says Mr. Bains in his History of the Cotton
Manufacture, p. 114, “to contrast with the sanguine eagerness
of inventors, the slowness of mankind to acknowledge and reward
their merits,--to observe how, on many occasions, genius, instead
of realizing fame and fortune, has been pursued by disaster and
opposition,--how trifling difficulties have frustrated the success
of splendid discoveries,--and how those discoveries, snatched from
the grasp of their broken-hearted authors, have brought princely
fortunes to men whose _only_ talent was in making money. When
inventors fail in their projects, no one pities them; when they
succeed, persecution, envy, and jealousy are their reward. Their
means are generally exhausted before their discoveries become
productive. They plant a vineyard, and either starve, or are driven
from their inheritance, before they can gather the fruit.”
Would it not be greatly to the credit of the cotton manufacturing
interest in this country and in Europe, to present Mrs. Whitney
with some token of their respect and veneration for the memory of
the inventor of the Cotton gin?
The next operation is that of bowing the cotton, to clear it from dirt
and knots. A large bow, made elastic by a complication of strings, is
used; this being put in contact with a heap of cotton, the workman
strikes the string with a heavy wooden mallet, and its vibrations open
the knots of the cotton, shake from it the dust and dirt, and raise it
to a downy fleece. The hand-mill and bow have been used immemorially
throughout all the countries of Asia, and have their appropriate names
in the Arabic and other languages: they were formerly used in America,
whence the term, still applied in commerce, “_bowed Georgia cotton_.”
The hatters of Great Britain still raise their wool by the bow. The
cotton being thus prepared, without any carding, it is spun by the
women; the coarse yarn is spun on a one-thread wheel, and very much
resembling those used at the present day by the peasantry in the west
of Ireland.
The finer yarn is spun with a metallic spindle, and sometimes without
a distaff; a bit of clay is attached as a weight to one end of the
spindle, which is turned round with the left hand, whilst the cotton
is supplied with the right; the thread is wound upon a small piece of
wood. The spinster keeps her fingers dry by the use of a chalky powder.
(See Part First, Chapter I, pp. 17 and 18.)
The yarn, having been reeled and warped in the simplest possible
manner, is given to the weaver whose loom is as rude a piece of
apparatus as can be imagined. It consists merely of two bamboo rollers,
one for the warp and the other for the web, and a pair of headles. The
shuttle performs the double office of shuttle and lay, and for this
purpose is made like a large netting needle, and of a length rather
more than the breadth of the web[456]. This apparatus the weaver
carries to a tree, under which he digs a hole (which may be called the
_treadle-hole_) large enough to contain his legs and the lower tackle.
He then stretches his warp by fastening his bamboo rollers at a proper
distance from each other by means of wooden pins. The headle-jacks
he fastens to some convenient branch of the tree over his head (See
Plate V.): two loops underneath, _in which he inserts his great toes_,
serve instead of treadles; and his long shuttle, which also performs
the office of lay, draws the weft through the warp, and afterwards
strikes it home to the fell. “There is not so much as an expedient for
rolling up the warp: it is stretched out to the full length of the web,
which makes the house of the weaver insufficient to contain him. He is
therefore obliged to work continually in the open air; and every return
of inclement weather interrupts him[457].”
[456] The shuttle is not always of this length. Hoole, in his “Mission
to India,” represents it as requiring to be _thrown_, in which
case it must be short; and a drawing of a Candyan weaver, in the
Magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge,
shows the shuttle of the same size as our modern shawl shuttle.
Indeed we have abundant evidence that the Indians employed shuttles
of this latter description from time immemorial. The Chinese also
use shuttles of the same description. (See Chinese loom, Plate I.)
[457] Mill’s History of British India, book ii. ch. 8.
Forbes describes the weavers in Guzerat, near Baroche, as fixing their
looms at sun-rise under the shade of tamarind and mango trees. In some
parts of India, however, as on the banks of the Ganges, the weavers
work under the cover of their sheds, fixing the geer of their looms
to a bamboo in the roof (See Plate V.). They size their warps with a
starch made from the root called _kandri_. When chequered muslins are
wrought, three persons are employed at each loom.
Some authentic particulars concerning the habits and remuneration
of the Hindoos engaged in the making of cotton cloth, are contained
in an unpublished account of the districts of Puraniya (Purneah,)
Patna, and Dinajpur, by Dr. Francis Hamilton, better known as Dr. F.
Buchanan, (he having taken the name of Hamilton,) the author of the
“Journey from Madras to Mysore, Canara, and Malabar.” This account of
the above-named provinces near the Ganges is in several manuscript
volumes in the library of the India House, in London. We learn from
his elaborate survey that the spinning and weaving of cotton prevails
throughout these provinces. The fine yarns are spun with an iron
spindle, and without distaff, generally by women of rank; no caste is
disgraced here by spinning, as in the south of India; the women do not
employ all their time at this work, but only so much as is allowed by
their domestic occupations. The coarse yarns are spun on a small wheel
turned by the hand. The hand-mill is used to free the cotton from its
seeds, and the bow to tease it. The following capital is required for
the weaver’s business: a loom, 2½ rupees; sticks for warping and
a wheel for winding, 2 anas; a shop, 4 rupees; thread for two ready
money pieces, worth 6 rupees each, 5 rupees;--total 11 rupees 10 anas;
to which must be added a month’s subsistence. The man and his wife
warp, wind, and weave two pieces of this kind in a month, and he has
7 rupees (14 shillings stg.) profit, deducting, however, the tear and
wear of his apparatus, which is a trifle. A person hired to weave can
in a month make three pieces of this kind, and is allowed 2 anas in
the rupee of their value, which is 2¼ rupees (4_s._ 6_d._) a month.
The finest goods cost 2 rupees a piece for weaving. Dr. Hamilton, in
his observations on another district, states the average profit of a
loom engaged in weaving coarse goods to be 28 rupees (£2. 16_s._) a
year, or something less than 13_d._ a week. At Puraniya and Dinajpur
the journeymen cotton-weavers usually made from 2 to 2½ rupees (from
4_s._ to 5_s._) a month. At Patna a man and his wife made from 3 to 4
rupees (from 6_s._ to 8_s._) a month by beating and cleaning cotton;
and each loom employed in making chequered muslins, has a profit of
108½ rupees a year (£10. 16_s._), that is, 1_s._ 4_d._ a week for
each of the three persons who work the loom. The average earnings of a
journeyman weaver, therefore, appear to be from 1_s._ to 1_s._ 4_d._
per week. At Bangalore, and in some other parts of southern India, this
author states that weavers earn from 3_d._ to 8_d._ a day, according
as they are employed on coarse or fine goods[458]; but this is so much
above the usual remuneration for labor in India, that, if the statement
is not erroneous, it must be of extremely limited application. On the
same authority, a woman spinning coarse yarn can earn 1⅔_d._ per
day[459].
[458] Buchanan’s Journey through Mysore, vol. i. pp. 216-218.
[459] Ibid. vol. iii. p. 317.
A fact is mentioned by Dr. Hamilton, in his unpublished account of
Patna, which affords a striking indication as to the national character
of the Hindoos--“All Indian weavers, who work for the common market,
make the woof of one end of the cloth coarser than that of the other,
and attempt to sell to the unwary by the fine end, although every one
almost, who deals with them, is perfectly aware of the circumstance,
and although in the course of his life any weaver may not ever have an
opportunity of gaining by this means, yet he continues the practice,
with the hope of being able at some time or other to take advantage of
the purchaser of his goods.”
The East India Company has a factory at Dacca, and also in other
parts of India,--not, as the American use of the word “factory” might
seem to imply, a mill, for the manufacture is entirely domestic--but
a commercial establishment in a manufacturing district, where the
spinners, weavers, and other workmen are chiefly employed in providing
the goods which the Company export to Europe. This establishment is
under the management of a commercial resident, who agrees for the
kinds of goods that may be required, and superintends the execution
of the orders received from the presidencies. Such is the poverty
of the workmen, and even of the manufacturers who employ them, that
the resident has to advance beforehand the funds necessary in order
to produce the goods. The consequence of this system is, that the
manufacturers and their men are in a state of dependence almost
amounting to servitude. The resident obtains their labor at his own
price, and, being supported by the civil and military power, he
establishes a monopoly of the worst kind, and productive of the most
prejudicial effects to industry. The Act of 1833, which put an end to
the commercial character of the Company, will of course abolish all the
absurd and oppressive monopolies it exercised.
It cannot but seem astonishing, that in a department of industry,
where the raw material has been so grossly neglected, where the
machinery is so rude, and where there is so little division of labor,
the results should be fabrics of the most exquisite delicacy and
beauty, _unrivalled by the products of any other nation, even those
best skilled in the mechanic arts_. This anomaly is explained by the
remarkably fine sense of touch possessed by that effeminate people,
by their patience and gentleness, and by the hereditary continuance
of a particular species of manufacture in families through many
generations, which leads to the training of children from their very
infancy in the processes of the art. Mr. Orme observes--“The women spin
the thread destined for the cloth, and then deliver it to the men,
who have fingers to model it as exquisitely as these have prepared
it. The rigid, clumsy fingers of a European would scarcely be able to
make a piece of canvass with the instruments which are all that an
Indian employs in making a piece of cambric (muslin). It is further
remarkable, that every distinct kind of cloth is the production of a
particular district, in which the fabric has been transmitted perhaps
for centuries from father to son,--_a custom which must have conduced
to the perfection of the manufacture_[460].” The last mentioned fact
may be considered as a kind of division of labor.
[460] Ormes’s Historical Fragments of the Mogul Empire, p. 413.
Mr. Mill thus explains the unequalled manual skill of the Indian
weaver:--“It is a sedentary occupation, and thus in harmony with his
predominant inclination. It requires patience, of which he has an
inexhaustible fund. It requires little bodily exertion, of which he
is always exceedingly sparing; and the finer the production, the more
slender the force which he is called upon to apply. But this is not
all. The weak and delicate frame of the Hindu is accompanied with an
acuteness of external sense, particularly of touch, which is altogether
unrivalled; and the flexibility of his fingers is equally remarkable.
The hand of the Hindu, therefore, constitutes an organ adapted to
the finest operations of the loom, in a degree which is almost or
altogether peculiar to himself[461].”
[461] Mill’s History of British India, book ii. c. 8.
It is, then, to a physical organization in the natives, admirably
suited to the processes of spinning and weaving; to the possession of
the raw material in the greatest abundance; to the possession also of
the _most brilliant dyes_ for _staining_ and _printing_ the cloth;
to a climate which renders the colors lively and durable; and to the
hereditary practice, by particular castes, classes, and families,
both of the manual operations and chemical processes required in the
manufacture;--it is to these causes, with very little aid from science,
and in an almost barbarous state of the mechanical arts, that India
owes her long supremacy in the manufacture of cotton.
Bengal is celebrated for the production of the finest muslins; the
Coromandel coast, for the best chintzes and calicoes; and Surat, for
strong and inferior goods of every kind. The cottons of Bengal go under
the names of _casses_, _amâns_, and _garats_; and the handkerchiefs are
called Burgoses and Steinkirkes. _Table cloths_ of superior quality are
made at _Patna_. The _basins_, or _basinets_, come from the Northern
Circars. Condaver furnishes the beautiful handkerchiefs of Masulipatam,
the fine colors of which are partly obtained from a plant called
_chage_, which grows on the banks of the Krishna, and on the coast
of the Bay of Bengal. The chintzes and ginghams are chiefly made at
Masulipatam, Madras, St. Thomé, and Paliamcotta. The long cloths and
fine pullicats are produced in the presidency of Madras. The coarse
piece-goods, under the name of baftas, doutis, and pullicats, as well
as common muslins and chintzes, are extensively manufactured in the
district of which Surat is the port. Besides all these, there is an
endless variety of fabrics, many of which are known in the markets of
Europe, Asia, and Africa.
The commerce of the Indians in these fabrics has been extensive, from
the Christian era to the end of the last century. For many hundred
years, Persia, Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Abyssinia, and all the eastern
parts of Africa, were supplied with a considerable portion of their
cottons and muslins, and with all which they consumed of the finest
qualities, from the marts of India. This commerce existed in the last
age, and is described by the Abbé Raynal[462] and Legoux de Flaix. The
blue calicoes of Guzerat were long bought by the English and Dutch for
their trade with Guinea. The great marts of this commerce on the west
coast of India were Surat and Calicut, the former of which is near to
Baroche, the manufacturing capital of Guzerat, in which province a
considerable part of the exported cottons of India were made; and on
the east coast, Masulipatam, Madras, and St. Thomé, whence the varied
and extensive products of the Coromandel coast are exported.
[462] Histoire Philosophique et Politique des Etablissements du
Commerce des Européens dans les deux Indes, tom. ii. liv. iv. ch. 4.
Owing to the beauty and cheapness of Indian muslins, chintzes,
and calicoes, there was a period when the manufacturers of all the
countries of Europe were apprehensive of being ruined by their
competition. In the seventeenth century, the Dutch and English East
India Companies imported these goods in large quantities; they became
highly fashionable for ladies’ and children’s dresses, as well as
for drapery and furniture, and the coarse calicoes were used to line
garments. To such an extent did this proceed, that as early as 1678 a
loud outcry was made in England against the admission of Indian goods,
which, it was maintained, were ruining the woollen manufacture,--a
branch of industry which for centuries was regarded with an almost
superstitious veneration, as a kind of palladium of the national
prosperity, and which was incomparably the most extensive branch of
manufactures till the close of the eighteenth century. A few extracts
from pamphlets published in the seventeenth and at the beginning of
the eighteenth century, will not only afford amusement, but will show
the wonderful commercial revolution which has since been effected
by machinery. In the year 1678, a pamphlet was issued under the
title--“The Ancient Trades Decayed and Repaired again,” in which the
author thus bewails the interference of cotton with woollen fabrics.
“This trade (the woollen) is very much hindered by our own people,
who do wear many foreign commodities instead of our own; as may be
instanced in many particulars; viz. instead of green _sey_, that
was wont to be used for children’s frocks, is now used painted and
Indian-stained and striped calico; and instead of a perpetuana or
shalloon to line men’s coats with, is used sometimes a glazed calico,
which in the whole is not above 12_d._ cheaper, and abundantly worse.
And sometimes is used a _Bangale_ that is brought from India, both
for linings to coats, and for petticoats too; yet our English ware is
better and cheaper than this, only it is thinner for the summer. To
remedy this, it would be necessary to lay a very high impost upon all
such commodities as these are, and that no calicoes or other sort of
linen be suffered to be glazed.”--pp. 16, 17.
The writer, with equal wisdom, recommends the prohibition of _stage
coaches_, on account of their injuring the proprietors of the inns on
the road, by conveying the passengers too quickly, and at too little
expense to themselves. A pamphlet entitled “The Naked Truth, in an
Essay upon Trade,” published in 1696, informs us that--
“The commodities that we chiefly receive from the East Indies are
calicoes, muslins, Indian wrought silks, pepper, saltpetre, indigo, &c.
The advantage of the Company is chiefly in their muslins and Indian
silks, (a great value in these commodities being comprehended in a
small bulk,) and these becoming the general wear in England.”--p. 4.
“Fashion is truly termed a witch; the dearer and scarcer any commodity,
the more the mode; 30_s._ a yard for muslins, and only the shadow of a
commodity when procured.”--p. 11.
So sagacious and far-sighted an author as Daniel de Foe (Author of
Robinson Crusoe) did not escape the general notion, that it was not
merely injurious to the woollen and silk manufactures, a but also a
national evil, TO HAVE CLOTHING CHEAP FROM ABROAD RATHER THAN
TO MANUFACTURE IT DEAR AT HOME. In his _Weekly Review_, which
contains so many opinions on trade, credit, and currency far beyond the
age, he thus laments the large importations of Indian goods.
“The general fancy of the people runs upon East India goods to that
degree, that the _chintz_ and _painted calicoes_, which before were
only made use of for carpets, quilts, &c., and to clothe children and
ordinary people, become now the dress of our ladies; and such is the
power of a mode as we saw our persons of quality dressed in stuffs
which but a few years before their chambermaids would have thought
too ordinary for them: the chintz was advanced from lying upon their
floors to their backs, from the foot-cloth to the petticoat; and even
the queen herself at this time was pleased to appear in China silks and
calico. Nor was this all, but it crept into our houses, closets, and
bed-chambers; curtains, cushions, chairs, and at last beds themselves,
were nothing but calicoes or Indian stuffs; and in short, almost
everything that used to be made of wool or silk, relating either to the
dress of the women or the furniture of our houses, was supplied by the
Indian trade.”
“Above half of the (woollen) manufacture was entirely lost, half of the
people scattered and ruined, and all this by the intercourse of the
East India trade.”--_Weekly Review_, _January_ 31st, 1708.
However exaggerated and absurd De Foe’s estimate of the injury caused
to the woollen manufacture, as manifested by the small value of the
whole importations of Indian fabrics, at that time, as well as (much
more decisively) by the experience of recent times, when the woollen
manufacture has sustained the incomparably more formidable competition
of the English cotton manufacture, it is evident from his testimony,
and that of other writers, that Indian calicoes, muslins, and chintzes,
had become common in England at the close of the seventeenth century.
De Foe’s complaint was not of an evil existing in 1708, when he wrote,
but of one a few years earlier; for he says in another place, that
the “PROHIBITION OF INDIAN GOODS” had “AVERTED THE RUIN OF ENGLISH
MANUFACTURES, AND REVIVED THEIR PROSPERITY.” This prohibition took
place by the Act 11 and 12 William III. cap. 10., (1700,) which forbid
the introduction of Indian silks and printed calicoes for domestic use,
either as apparel or furniture, under a penalty of £200 on the wearer
or seller, and as this Act did not prevent the continued use of the
goods, which were probably smuggled from the continent of Europe, other
Acts for the same purpose were passed at a later date.
A volume published in the year 1728, entitled “A Plan of the English
Commerce,” shows that the evil of a consumption of Indian manufactures
still prevailed, and that it was ascribed to a cause for which the
writer saw no remedy, namely, the _will of the ladies_, or, in his own
words, their “_passion for their fashion_.” The other countries of
Europe are represented as equally suffering from Indian competition
and _female perverseness_, and as attempting in the same way to find a
remedy in legislative prohibition. Holland was an honorable exception.
The author says--
“The calicoes are sent from the Indies by land into Turkey, by land and
inland seas into Muscovy and Tartary, and about by long-sea into Europe
and America, till in general they are become a grievance, and almost
all the European nations but the Dutch restrain and prohibit them.”--p.
180.
“Two things,” says the writer, “among us are too ungovernable, viz. our
_passions_ and our _fashions_.
“Should I ask the ladies whether they would dress by law, or clothe by
act of parliament, they would ask me _whether they were to be statute
fools_, and to be made pageants and pictures of?--whether the sex was
to be set up for our jest, and the parliament had nothing to do but
make Indian queens of them?--that they claim liberty as well as the
men, and as they expect to do what they please, and say what they
please, so they will wear what they please, and dress how they please.
“It is true that the liberty of the ladies, their _passion_ for their
_fashion_, has been frequently injurious to the manufactures of Great
Britain, and is so still in some cases; but I do not see so easy a
remedy for that, as for some other things of the like nature. The
ladies have suffered some little restraint that way, as in the wearing
East India silks, instead of English; and calicoes and other things
instead of worsted stuffs and the like; and we do not see they are
pleased with it.”--p. 253.
It appears, then, that not more than a century ago, the cotton fabrics
of India were so beautiful and cheap, that nearly all the governments
of Europe thought it necessary to prohibit them, or to load them with
heavy duties, IN ORDER TO PROTECT THEIR OWN MANUFACTURES.
How surprising a revolution has since taken place! The Indians have
not lost their former skill; but a power has arisen, which has robbed
them of their ancient ascendancy. The following document furnishes
superabundant proof how a manufacture which has existed without a rival
for thousands of years, is withering under the competition of a power
which is as it were but of yesterday: it would be well if it did not
also illustrate the very different measure of protection and justice
which governments usually afford to their subjects at home, and to
those of their remote dependencies.
PETITION OF NATIVES OF BENGAL, RELATIVE TO DUTIES ON COTTON AND SILK.
“Calcutta, 1st. Sept. 1831.
“_To the Right Honorable the Lords of His Majesty’s Privy Council for
Trade, &c_.
“The humble Petition of the undersigned Manufacturers and Dealers in
_Cotton_ and _Silk Piece-goods_, the fabrics of Bengal;
“Sheweth--That of late years your Petitioners have found their
business nearly superseded by the introduction of the fabrics of Great
Britain into Bengal, the importation of which augments every year, to
the great prejudice of the native manufactures.
“That the fabrics of Great Britain are consumed in Bengal, without
any duties being levied thereon to protect the native fabrics.
“That the fabrics of Bengal are charged with the following duties when
they are used in Great Britain--
“On manufactured cottons, 10 per cent.
“On manufactured silks, 24 per cent.
“Your Petitioners most humbly implore your Lordships’ consideration
of these circumstances, and they feel confident that no disposition
exists in England to shut the door against the industry of any part of
the inhabitants of this great empire.
“They therefore pray to be admitted to the privilege of British
subjects, and humbly entreat your Lordships to allow the cotton and
silk fabrics of Bengal to be used in Great Britain free of duty, _or
at the same rate which may be charged on British fabrics consumed in
Bengal_[463].
“Your Lordships must be aware of the immense advantages the
British manufacturers derive from their skill in constructing and
using machinery, which enables them to undersell the unscientific
manufacturers of Bengal in their own country: and, although your
Petitioners are not sanguine in expecting to derive any great
advantage from having their prayer granted, their minds would feel
gratified by such a manifestation of your Lordships’ good will towards
them; and such an instance of justice to the natives of India would
not fail to endear the British government to them.
“They therefore confidently trust, that your Lordships’ righteous
consideration will be extended to them as British subjects, without
exception of _sect_, _country_, or _color_.
“And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.”
[Signed by 117 natives of high respectability.]
[463] This reasonable request was not complied with, the duty on India
cotton being still 10 per cent. The extra duty of 3½_d._ per yard
on printed cottons was taken off when the excise duty on English
prints was repealed, in 1831. English cottons imported into India
only pay a duty of 2½ per cent.
Dacca, notwithstanding its present insignificance as compared with
its former grandeur, may nevertheless still be classed among second
rate cities. It has a population of 150,000 inhabitants, which is
nearly a third more than the city of Baltimore contains. Some new
brick dwellings have silently sprung up here and there, it may also be
observed, within the last few years; and this city can now boast an Oil
Mill driven by steam, and an Iron Suspension Bridge. Three more steam
engines are in the course of erection[464]. On the whole, an increase
may be looked for, rather than the contrary, in the wealth, population,
and importance of the city of Dacca.
[464] Asiatic Researches, vol. xvii.
It would be curious to compare the gradual decrease of the population,
with the falling off of the manufacture of those beautiful cotton
fabrics, for which this city was once without a rival in the
world[465]. The first falling off in the Dacca trade, took place so far
back as 1801, previous to which the yearly advances made by the East
India Company, and private traders, for Dacca muslins, were estimated
at upwards of twenty-five lacs of rupees[466]. In 1807, the Company
s investment had fallen to 595,900, and the private trade to about
560,200. In 1813, the private trade did not exceed 205,950, and that of
the Company was scarcely more considerable. And in 1817, the English
commercial residency was altogether discontinued. The French and Dutch
factories had been abandoned many years before. The division of labor
was carried to a great extent in the manufacture of fine muslins. In
spinning the very fine thread, more especially, a great degree of skill
was attained. It was spun with the fingers on a “_Takwa_,” or fine
steel spindle, by young women, who could only work during the early
part of the morning, while the dew was on the ground; for such was
the extreme tenuity of the fibre, that it would not bear manipulation
after the sun had risen. One retti of cotton could thus be spun into a
thread eighty cubits long; which was sold by the spinners at one rupee,
eight annas, per sicca weight. The “Raffugars,” or _Darners_, were also
particularly skilful. They could _remove an entire thread from a piece
of muslin_, and _replace it by one of a finer texture_. The cotton
used for the finest thread, was grown in the immediate neighborhood
of Dacca, more especially about Sunergong. Its fibre is too short,
however, to admit of its being worked up by any except that most
wonderful of all machines--the human hand. The art of making the very
fine muslin fabrics is now lost--and a pity it is that it should be so.
[465] If Providence should continue to bless the work of our hands, and
our life and health be preserved, we indulge the hope of being
able, at no very distant period, to investigate this subject more
fully.
[466] _Lac of rupees_ is one hundred thousand rupees, which at 55 cents
each amount to fifty-five thousand dollars, or at 2_s._ 6_d._
sterling, to £12,500.
In 1820, a resident of Dacca, on a special order received from China,
procured the manufacture of two pieces of muslin, each ten yards long
by one wide, and weighing ten and a half sicca rupees.--The price of
each piece was 100 sicca rupees. In 1822, the same individual received
a second commission for two similar pieces, from the same quarter; but
the parties who had supplied him on the former occasion had died in the
mean time, and he was unable to execute the commission.
The annual investment, called the “Malbus Khás,” for the royal wardrobe
at Delhi, absorbed a great part of the finest fabrics in former
times: the extreme beauty of some of these muslins, was sufficiently
indicated by the names they bore: such as, “_Abrowan_,” running water;
“_Siebnem_,” evening dew, &c. The cotton manufacture has not yet
arrived at anything like this perfection with us, and probably never
will.[467]
[467] The manufacture of fine muslin, was attempted both in Lancashire
and at Glasgow, about the year 1780, with weft spun by the jenny.
The attempt failed, owing to the coarseness of the yarn. Even with
Indian weft, muslins could not be made to compete with those of
the East. But when the mule was brought into general use, in 1785,
both weft and warp were produced sufficiently fine for muslins; and
so quickly did the weaver avail himself of the improvement in the
yarn, that no less than 500,000 pieces of muslin were manufactured
in Great Britain in the year 1787. In a “Report of the Select
Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company upon
the subject of the Cotton Manufacture of this Country,” made in the
year 1793, it is said, that “_every shop offers British muslins
for sale equal in appearance, and of more elegant patterns than
those of India, for one-fourth, or perhaps more than one-third,
less in price_.” “Muslin began to be made nearly at the same time
at Bolton, at Glasgow, and at Paisley, each place adopting the
peculiar description of fabric which resembled most those goods
it had been accustomed to manufacture; and, in consequence of
this judicious distribution at first, each place has continued
to maintain a superiority in the production of its own article.
Jaconets, both coarse and fine, but of a stout fabric, checked and
striped muslins, and other articles of the heavier description of
this branch, are manufactured in Bolton, and its neighborhood.
Book, mull, and leno muslins, and jaconets of a lighter fabric
than those made in Lancashire, are manufactured in Glasgow. Sewed
and tambored muslins are almost exclusively made there and in
Paisley.”--_Encyclopædia Britannica_.
Coarse cotton piece goods still continue to be manufactured at Dacca,
though from the extreme cheapness of English cloths, it is not
improbable that the native manufacture will be altogether superseded
ere long.
In 1823-4, cotton piece goods, mostly coarse, passed the Dacca Custom
House, to the value of 1,442,101. In 1829-30, the value of the same
export was 969,952 only. There was a similar falling off in _silk_ and
_embroidered_ goods during the same period.
In the export of the articles of cotton yarn again, there has been an
increase. In 1813, the value was 4,480 rupees only; whereas in 1821-22,
it amounted to 39,319 rupees. From that period it has, however,
decreased; and in 1829-30, the value of the native cotton yarn exported
from Dacca, amounted to 29,475 rupees only.
Annexed are two statements--one showing the comparative prices of
muslins now manufactured at Dacca, and of the same description of
cloth, the produce of British looms.--The other, the comparative prices
of Dacca cloths, manufactured from yarn spun in the country, and from
British cotton yarn. These cannot fail to be interesting at the present
moment, and their general accuracy may be relied on.
COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF THE PRICES OF MUSLINS MANUFACTURED AT DACCA,
AND THE PRODUCE OF THE BRITISH LOOMS.
+------------------------------------------+------------+------------+
|ASSORTMENTS. |Manufactured|Produce of |
| | at |the British |
| | Dacca. | Looms. |
+------------------------------------------+------------+------------+
|Jamdaní, with small spot, 1st sort | 25 | 8 |
|Jamdaní, with small spot 2nd ditto | 16 | 5 |
|Jamdaní, Mabíposh, | 27 to 28 | 6 |
|Jamdaní, Diagonal pattern, | 12 to 13 | 4 to 4½ |
|Jaconet Muslin, 40½, } 1st ditto | 38 to 40 |20 to 22 |
| corresponding } 2nd ditto | 24 to 25 | 9 to 10 |
| with Jungle Cossas, } | | |
|Nyansook, 40 to 2¼, | 8 to 9 | 5 to 6 |
|Cambric, corresponding with Camiz Cossas, | 13 to 14 | 6 to 9½ |
|Jamdaní blue or red sprigs, | 15 to 16 | 4 to 5 |
|Jamdaní Sarîs, | 12 to 13 | 5 to 5½ |
|Book Muslin, corresponding with Mulmulls, | 10 to 11 | 7 to 8 |
|Sahun, 48 by 3, | 28 to 30 |14 to 15 |
+------------------------------------------+------------+------------+
COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF THE PRICES OF DACCA CLOTHS, MANUFACTURED WITH
COTTON YARN SPUN IN THE COUNTRY, AND FROM BRITISH COTTON YARN.
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| | DACCA MUSLINS. |
| +----------------+--------------+
|ASSORTMENTS. | Manufactured | Manufactured |
| | with Country | with Europe |
| | Cotton Thread. | Cotton Yarn. |
+--------------------------------+----------------+--------------+
|Mulmuls, 40 by 2, 1st sort | 8 to 9 | 3 to 4 |
| 2nd ditto | 10 to 12 | 5 to 6 |
| 3rd ditto | 14 to 15 | 9 to 10 |
| | | |
|Sablams, 40 by 2, 1st ditto | 4 to 4½ | 2½ |
| 2nd ditto | 5½ to 6 | 3 |
| 3rd ditto | 11 to 12 | 6 |
| 4th ditto | 14 to 15 | 8 |
| 5th ditto | 17 to 18 | 10 to 11 |
| | | |
|Sarbans, 40 cubits, 1st ditto | 3 | 1½ |
| 2nd ditto | 3½ to 3¾ | 1¾ |
| | | |
|Allabalís Adí, 1st ditto | 5 to 5½ | 3 |
| 2nd ditto | 7 to 7½ | 4 |
| 3rd ditto | 8 to 9 | 5 to 5½ |
| 4th ditto | 9 to 10 | 6 to 6½ |
| | | |
|Tarindans, 40 cubits, 1st ditto | 4½ to 5 | 3 |
| 2nd ditto | 6½ to 7 | 4 |
| 3rd ditto | 11 to 12 | 7 to 8 |
| 4th ditto | 13 to 14 | 10 to 11 |
|Sarí, per pair, 1st ditto | 5 | 3 |
| 2nd ditto | 5 to 5½ | 3½ to 4 |
| 3rd ditto | 9 to 10 | 5½ to 6 |
| | | |
|Dhotis, per pair, 1st ditto | 5 | 3 |
| 2nd ditto | 6 to 6½ | 3½ |
| 3rd ditto | 7 to 7½ | 5 |
| 4th ditto | 8 to 8½ | 6 |
| 5th ditto |10½ to 11 | 8 to 8½ |
| 6th ditto | 9 to 11 | 7 to 7½ |
| | | |
|Sheraganj Cossas, 1st ditto | 4 | 2¾ |
| 40 cubits, 2nd ditto | 5 | 3¼ |
| 3rd ditto | 5½ to 6 | 4 |
| 4th ditto | 7 to 7½ | 5 |
| 5th ditto | 8 to 8½ | 6 |
| | | |
|Sheraganj Hamam, 1st ditto | 5 | 3½ |
| 40 by 3, 2nd ditto | 6 to 6½ | 4 |
| 3rd ditto | 7½ to 8 | 5 |
| 4th ditto | 9 to 9½ | 6 to 7 |
| 5th ditto | 11 to 12 | 8 to 9 |
| 6th ditto | 14 to 15 | 10 to 11 |
| | | |
|Jamdan Dhotis, 1st ditto | 5½ to 6 | 4 |
| 10 cubits, 2nd ditto | 6½ to 7 | 4½ |
| 3rd ditto | 7½ to 8 | 5 |
+--------------------------------+----------------+--------------+
The manufacture of cotton, as we have seen, was general in India and
had attained high excellence in the age of the first Greek historian,
_that is, in the fifth century before Christ_, at which time it had
already existed for an unknown period; yet eighteen centuries more
elapsed before it was introduced into Italy or Constantinople, or even
secured a footing in the neighboring empire of China. Though so well
suited to hot climates, we have seen that cottons were known rather
as a curiosity than as a common article of dress in Egypt and Persia,
five centuries after the Greeks had heard of the “wool-bearing trees”
of India: in Egypt, as has been shown, the manufacture never reached
any considerable degree of excellence, and the muslins worn by the
higher classes have always been imported from India[468]. In Spain the
manufacture, after flourishing to some degree, became nearly extinct.
In Italy, Germany, and Flanders, it had also a lingering and ignoble
existence.
[468] In Arabia and the neighboring countries, cottons and muslins came
gradually into use; and the manufacture was spread, by the
commercial activity and enterprise of the early followers of
Mohammed, throughout the extended territories subdued by their
arms. “It is recorded of the fanatical Omar, the immediate
successor of the Arabian impostor, that he preached in a tattered
cotton gown, torn in _twelve_ places; and of Ali, his contemporary,
who assumed the caliphate after him, that on the day of his
inauguration, he went to the mosque dressed in a thin cotton
gown, tied round him with a girdle, a coarse turban on his head,
his slippers in one hand, and his bow in the other, instead of a
walking staff.”--_Crichton’s History of Arabia_, _vol._ i. _pp._
397, 403.
PART FOURTH.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE LINEN MANUFACTURE.
CHAPTER I.
FLAX.
CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF FLAX BY THE ANCIENTS--ILLUSTRATIONS OF
THE SCRIPTURES, ETC.
Earliest mention of Flax--Linen manufactures of the Egyptians--Linen
worn by the priests of Isis--Flax grown extensively in Egypt--Flax
gathering--Envelopes of Linen found on Egyptian mummies--Examination
of mummy-cloth--Proved to be Linen--Flax still grown in
Egypt--Explanation of terms--Byssus--Reply to J. R. Forster--Hebrew
and Egyptian terms--Flax in North Africa, Colchis, Babylonia--Flax
cultivated in Palestine--Terms for flax and tow--Cultivation of
Flax in Palestine and Asia Minor--In Elis, Etruria, Cisalpine Gaul,
Campania, Spain--Flax of Germany, of the Atrebates, and of the
Franks--Progressive use of linen among the Greeks and Romans.
The earliest mention of flax by any author occurs in the account of the
plague of hail, which devastated Lower Egypt, Ex. ix. 31. The Hebrew
term for flax in this and various other passages of the old Testament
is פשתה; the corresponding word in the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic
versions is כתנא Λίνον, LXX. Linum, _Jerome_.
In Isaiah xix. 9, according to King James’s Translators and Bishop
Lowth, mention is made of those that “_work in fine flax_,” and which
was one of the chief employments of the Egyptians. According to
Herodotus (ii. 37, 81.) the Egyptians universally wore linen shirts,
which were fringed at the bottom. The fringe consisted of the _thrums_,
or ends of the webs. Thrums used for this purpose may be seen in the
cloths which are found in Egyptian mummies.
[Illustration: _PLATE VI_ Egyptian flax-gathering.]
Besides the linen shirt the priests wore an upper garment of linen,
more especially when they officiated in the temples. This garment was
probably of the exact form of a modern linen sheet. The distinction
between the shirt and the sheet worn over it, as well as the reason why
linen was used for all sacred purposes, is clearly expressed in the two
following passages from Apuleius and Jerome.
Etiamnè cuiquam mirum videri potest, cui sit ulla memoria religionis,
hominem tot mysteriis Deûm conscium, quædam sacrorum crepundia domi
adversare, atque ea lineo texto involvere, quod purissimum est rebus
divinis velamentum? Quippe lana, segnissimi corporis excrementum,
pecori detracta, jam inde Orphei et Pythagoræ scitis, profanus
vestitus est. Sed enim mundissima lini seges, inter optimas fruges
terrâ exorta, non modò indutui et amictui sanctissimis Ægyptiorum
sacerdotibus, sed opertui quoque in rebus sacris usurpatur.
_Apuleii Apolog. p. 64. ed. Pricæi._
Can any one impressed with a sense of religion wonder, that a man who
has been made acquainted with so many mysteries of the gods, should
keep at home certain sacred emblems and wrap them in a linen cloth,
the purest covering for divine objects? For wool, the excretion
of a sluggish body, taken from sheep, was deemed a profane attire
even according to the early tenets of Orpheus and Pythagoras. But
flax, that cleanest and best production of the field, is used, not
only for the inner and outer clothing of the most holy priests of
the Egyptians, but also for covering sacred objects.--_Yates’s
Translation._
_Indutus_ was the putting on of the _inner_, amictus of the _outer_
garment.
Vestibus lineis utuntur Ægyptii sacerdotes non solum extrinsecus, sed
et intrinsecus.--_Hieron. in Ezek. 44. folio 257._
The Egyptian priests use linen garments, not only without, but also
within.
Plutarch says[469], that the priests of Isis wore linen on account of
its purity, and he remarks how absurd and inconsistent would have been
their conduct, if they had carefully plucked the hairs from their own
bodies, and yet clothed themselves in wool, which is the hair of sheep.
He also mentions the opinion of some who thought that flax was used
for clothing, because the _color of its blossom resembles the etherial
blue which surrounds the world_; and he states, that the priests of
Isis were also buried in their sacred vestments. According to Strabo,
Panopolis was an ancient seat of the linen manufacture[470].
[469] L. xvii. § 41. p. 586. ed. Siebenkees.
[470] De Iside et Osiride, prope init. Opp. ed. H. Stephani, Par. 1572,
tom. i p. 627, 628.
Celsius in his Hierobotanicon (_vol._ ii. _p._ 287-291.), and Forster
in his treatise De Bysso Antiquorum (_p._ 65-68.) have quoted other
passages from ancient authors, which concur to show the abundance
and excellence of the flax grown anciently in Lower Egypt, and more
particularly in the vicinity of Pelusium, the general employment
of it among the inhabitants for clothing, and the exclusive use of
linen cloth for the garments of the priesthood and for other sacred
purposes, and especially for the worship of Isis and Osiris. From
the same authorities we learn, that the Egyptian flax and the cloth
woven from it were shipped in great quantities to all the ports of the
Mediterranean[471].
[471] “Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and _linen yarn_”
(טקוח): 1 Kings x. 28. 2 Chron. i. 16.
In connection with these statements the reader is referred to what has
already been advanced (See Part Second, Chap. I.) on the use of wool
for clothing by the Egyptians; and it may be also observed, that when
we find it stated by ancient authors, that the priests wore linen only,
the term ought not to be so strictly understood as to exclude the use
of cotton, which would probably be considered equally pure and equally
adapted for sacred purposes with linen, and which was brought in
ancient times from India to Egypt; and the term _linum_ was undoubtedly
often employed in so general a sense as to include cotton.
These testimonies of ancient authors are confirmed in a very
remarkable manner by existing monuments. The paintings in the Grotto of
El Kab represent among other scenes a field of corn and a crop of flax,
the latter distinguished by its inferior height, by its round capsules,
and by being pulled up by the roots instead of being reaped. The mode
of binding the flax in bundles is also exhibited, and the separation
of the “bolls,” or capsules, containing the lin-seed, from the stalk,
by the use of a comb, or “ripple.” (_See Description de l’Egypte:
Antiquités; Planches, tome_ i. _pl._ 68. _and the Plates to Hamilton’s
Ægyptiaca_, xxiii.)
In Plate VI. is inserted so much of the painting as relates to our
present subject. Five persons are employed in plucking up the flax
by the roots, viz., four men and one woman. The woman wears a shift
reaching to her ancles, but _transparent_[472]. The four men wear
shirts which reach to their knees, and are not transparent. Another
man binds the flax into sheaves: a sixth carries it to a distance: and
a seventh separates the seed from the stem by means of a four-toothed
ripple. The back of the ripple rests on the ground; its teeth being
raised to the proper elevation by a prop, as shown in the drawing.
The man sets his foot upon the back to keep the instrument firm, and,
taking hold of a bunch of flax near the root, draws it through the
comb. This method is now employed in Europe. At the left-hand corner of
the Plate lies a bundle of flax stript of its capsules, and underneath
the ripple is the heap of seed which has been separated from the stem.
[472] This circumstance is adapted to illustrate the mention of
“transparent garments” in Isaiah iii. 23. Lowth’s Translation.
Evidence equally decisive is presented in the innumerable mummies,
the fabrication of successive ages through a period of more than two
thousand years, which are found in the catacombs of Egypt. It is indeed
disputed, whether the cloth in which they are enveloped is linen or
cotton.
It was believed to be linen by all writers previous to Rouelle. More
especially, this opinion was advanced by the learned traveller and
antiquary, Professor John Greaves, in his Pyramidographia, published A.
D. 1646. He speaks of the “linen shroud” of a mummy, which he opened,
and he says, “The ribbands” (_or fillets_) “by what I observed, were of
linen, which was the habit also of the Egyptian priests.” He adds, “of
these ribbands I have seen some so _strong_ and _perfect_ as if they
had been made but yesterday.”
Rouelle’s dissertation on Mummies is published in the _Mémoires de
l’Académie R. des Sciences_ for the year 1750. He there asserts (_p._
150), that the cloth of every mummy which he had an opportunity of
examining, even that of embalmed birds, was cotton.
Dr. Hadley, however, who wrote a few years after Rouelle (_Phil.
Transactions for 1764, vol. 54._), seems to adhere to the old opinion.
He calls the cloth of the mummy, which he examined, “linen.” He says,
it was in fillets of different breadths, but the greater part 1½
inches broad. “They were torn longitudinally; those few that had a
selvage, having it on one side only.”
But the opinion of Rouelle received a strong support from Dr. John
Reinhold Forster, to whom it appeared at first almost incredible,
although he afterwards supported it in the most decided manner. He
determined to take the first opportunity of settling the question by
the inspection of mummies, and examined those in the British Museum,
accompanied by Dr. Solander. Both of these learned and acute inquirers
were convinced, that the cloth was cotton, deriving this opinion from
the inspection of all those specimens, which were sufficiently free
from gum, paint, and resins, to enable them to judge[473]. Larcher
informs us, that he remarked the same thing in these mummies in 1752,
when he was accompanied by Dr. Maty[474]. It is to be observed,
however, that neither Larcher, Rouelle, nor Forster mentions the
criterion which he employed to distinguish linen from cotton. They
probably formed their opinion only from its apparent softness, its
want of lustre, or some other quality, which might belong to linen no
less than to cotton, and which therefore could be no certain mark of
distinction.
[473] Forster, De Bysso Antiquorum, London 1776, p. 70, 71.
[474] Herodote, par Larcher. Ed. 2nde, Par. 1802, livre ii. p. 357.
The opinion of Larcher, Rouelle, and Forster appears to have been
generally adopted. In particular we find it embraced by Blumenbach,
who in the Philosophical Transactions for 1794 speaks of the “cotton
bandages” of two of the small mummies, which he opened in London[475].
In his _Beiträge (i. e. Contributions to Natural History, 2nd part, p.
73, Göttingen_, 1811) he says, he is more firmly convinced than ever,
that the cloth is universally cotton. He assigns also his reasons in
the following terms. “I ground this my conviction far less on my own
views than on the assurance of such persons as I have questioned on the
subject, and whose judgment in this matter I deem incomparably superior
to my own or to that of any other scholar, namely, of ladies, dealers
in cotton and linen cloth, weavers and the like.” He also refers to
the cultivation of cotton in Egypt, which he assumes probably on the
authority of Forster; and to the fable of Isis enveloping in “cotton”
cloth the collected limbs of her husband Osiris, who had been torn in
pieces by Typhon. The latter arguments are founded on the supposition,
that the ancient term _Byssus_ meant cotton, and not linen. But the
question as to its meaning must in part be decided, as we shall see
hereafter, by previously settling the present question as to the
materials of the mummy cloth. The opinion of ladies, tradesmen, and
manufacturers, though it may be better than that of the most learned
man, if derived from mere touch and inspection, is quite insufficient
to decide the question. If those whom Blumenbach consulted thought
that the cloth was always cotton, many others of equal experience and
discernment have given an opposite judgment; and the fact is, that
linen cloth, which has been long worn and often washed, as is the case
with a great proportion of the mummy cloth, and which is either ragged
or loose in its texture, cannot be distinguished from cotton by the
unassisted use of the external senses.
[475] On the authority of this paper the mummy-cloth is supposed to be
cotton by Heeren, Ideen, i. 1. p. 128.
Relying, however, on the same evidence of ocular inspection, another
distinguished author, who travelled in Egypt and published his remarks
about the same time, says, “As to the circumstance of cotton cloths
having been exclusively used in the above process, an inspection of the
mummies is sufficient evidence of the fact[476].”
[476] Ægyptiaca, by William Hamilton, Esq. F. R. S. London, 1809. p.
320.
M. Jomard, one of the authors of the great French work on Egypt,
published about 1811, paid great attention to this subject. He
concluded, that both linen and cotton were employed in the bandages of
mummies, grounding his opinion partly on their appearance and touch,
and partly on the testimony of Herodotus, whom he misinterpreted in the
manner, which will hereafter be mentioned[477].
[477] Description de l’Egypte. Mémoires.--Sur les Hypogées, p. 35.
Another of these authors, M. Costaz, who contributed the memoir on the
grotto of El Kab, asserts that the mummy cloth is found on examination
to be cotton[478].
[478] Ibid. tom. i. p. 60.
An important paper on the same subject appeared in the Philosophical
Transactions for 1825. In this Dr. A. B. Granville describes a mummy,
which he opened. He dwells more particularly on the circumstances,
which have reference to anatomical and surgical considerations, and
expresses very strongly his admiration of the skill and neatness
employed in folding the cloth, so as to present an example of every
kind of bandage used by modern surgeons, and to exhibit it in the most
perfect manner.
The passages which are connected with the present inquiry, will be
quoted at length. Dr. Granville observes (_p. 272._),
The principal rollers appear to be made of a very compact, yet elastic
linen, some of them from four to five yards in length, without any
stitch or seam in any part of them. There were also some large square
pieces thrown around the head, thorax, and abdomen, of a less elastic
texture. These pieces were found to alternate with the complete
swathing of the whole body. They occurred four distinct times; while
the bandaging, with rollers and other fasciæ, was repeated, at least,
twenty times. The numerous bandages, by which the mummy was thus
enveloped, were themselves wholly covered by a roller 3½ inches
wide and 11 yards long, which after making a few turns around both
feet, ascended in graceful spirals to the head, whence descending
again as far as the breast, it was fixed there. The termination of
this outer roller is remarkable for the loose threads hanging from
it in the shape of a fringe and for certain traces of characters
imprinted on it similar to those described and delineated by Jomard
in the _Description de l’Egypte_. One or two of these characters have
corroded the linen, leaving the perforated traces of their form.
Dr. Granville gives a fac-simile of these characters, and in the same
Plate he represents the exact appearance of the external rolls of cloth
on the mummy. He then says (_p._ 274.),
I have satisfied myself, that both cotton and linen have been employed
in the preparation of our mummy, although Herodotus mentions only
cotton (_byssus_) as the material used for the purpose. Most mummies
have been described as wholly enveloped in linen cloth, and some
persons are disposed to doubt the existence of cotton cloth in any,
not excepting in the one now under consideration.
But with respect to the last point, a simple experiment has, I
think, set the question at rest. If the surface of old linen, and
of old cotton cloth be rubbed briskly and for some minutes with a
rounded piece of glass or ivory, after being washed and freed from
all extraneous matter, the former will be found to have acquired
considerable lustre; while the latter will present no other difference
than that of having the threads flattened by the operation. By means
of this test I selected several pieces of cotton cloth from among the
many bandages of our mummy, which I submitted to the inspection of an
experienced manufacturer, who declared them to be of that material.
Besides the appeal to the senses of “an experienced manufacturer,”
Dr. Granville here proposes a new test, that of rubbing in the manner
described. But, although cotton cloth in all circumstances has less
lustre than linen, still this cannot be considered a satisfactory
criterion.
The ingenious John Howell of Edinburgh[479] paid some attention to
this question, having a few years since obtained and opened a valuable
mummy. He and the friends, whom he consulted, and who were _weavers_
and other persons of _practical_ experience, most of them thought that
the cloth was altogether linen: some however thought that certain
specimens of it were cotton.
[479] Author of an Essay on the War Galleys of the Ancients, Edinburgh
1826, 8vo.
This curious and important question was at length decisively settled
by means of microscopic observations instituted by James Thomson,
Esq. F. R. S. of Clitheroe, one of the most observant and experienced
cotton-manufacturers in Great Britain. He obtained about 400 specimens
of mummy cloth, and employed Mr. Bauer of Kew to examine them with
his microscopes. By the same method the structure and appearance of
the ultimate fibres of modern cotton and flax were ascertained; and
were found to be so distinct that there was no difficulty in deciding
upon the ancient specimens, and it was also found that they were
universally linen. About twelve years after Mr. Thomson had commenced
his researches he published the results of them in the Philosophical
Magazine[480], and he has accompanied them with a Plate exhibiting the
obvious difference between the two classes of objects. The ultimate
fibre of cotton is a transparent tube without joints, flattened so
that its inward surfaces are in contact along its axis, and also
twisted spirally round its axis (See A. Plate VI.): that of flax is a
transparent tube jointed like a cane, and not flattened nor spirally
twisted (See B. Plate VI.). To show the difference two specimens of the
fibres of cotton, and two of the fibres of mummy cloth are exhibited,
all of the specimens being one hundredth of an inch long, and magnified
400 times in each dimension. Any person, even with a microscope of
moderate power, may discern the difference between the two kinds of
fibres, though not so minutely and exactly as in the figures of Mr.
Bauer.
[480] Third Series, vol. v. No. 29, November 1834.
The difference, here pointed out, will explain why linen has greater
lustre than cotton: it is no doubt because in linen the lucid surfaces
are much larger. The same circumstance may also explain the different
effect of linen and cotton upon the health and feelings of those who
wear them (See Part Third, Chap. I.). Every linen thread presents
only the sides of cylinders: that of cotton, on the other hand, is
surrounded by an innumerable multitude of exceedingly minute edges.
Mr. Pettigrew, in his “History of Egyptian Mummies” (_London_ 1834,
_p._ 95.), expresses the opinion that the bandages are principally
of cotton, though occasionally of linen. He has since arrived at the
conclusion that they are all of linen: and his opinion appears to be
established on the following evidence, which he gives in a note to the
above mentioned work (_p._ 91.).
Dr. Ure has been so good as to make known to me that which I
conceive to be the most satisfactory test of the absolute nature of
flax and cotton, and in the course of his microscopic researches
on the structure of textile fibres he has succeeded in determining
their distinctive characters. From a most precise and accurate
examination of these substances he has been able to draw the following
statement:--The filaments of flax have a glassy lustre when viewed by
day-light in a good microscope, and a cylindrical form, which is very
rarely flattened. Their diameter is about the two-thousandth part of
an inch. They break transversely with a smooth surface, like a tube of
glass cut with a file. A line of light distinguishes their axis, with
a deep shading on one side only, or on both sides, according to the
direction in which the incident rays fall on the filaments.
The filaments of cotton are almost never true cylinders, but are
more or less flattened and tortuous; so that when viewed under
the microscope they appear in one part like a riband from the
one-thousandth to the twelve-hundredth part of an inch broad, and
in another like a sharp edge or narrow line. They have a pearly
translucency in the middle space, with a dark narrow border at each
side, like a hem. When broken across, the fracture is fibrous or
pointed. Mummy cloth, tried by these criteria in the microscope,
appears to be composed both in its warp and woof-yarns of flax, and
not of cotton. A great variety of the swathing fillets have been
examined with an excellent achromatic microscope, and they have all
evinced the absence of cotton filaments.
Mr. Wilkinson considers the observations of Dr. Ure, and Mr. Bauer as
decisive of the question[481].
[481] Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, London 1837, vol.
iii. p. 115.
With regard to the evidence from mummies it should be further remarked,
that, as they are partly wrapped in old linen (shirts, napkins, and
other articles of clothing and domestic furniture being found with the
long fillets and the entire webs), they prove the general application
of linen in Egypt to all the purposes of ordinary life.
Even to the present day flax continues to be a most important article
of cultivation and trade in Egypt[482]. The climate and soil are so
favorable, that it there grows to a height, which it never reaches in
Europe. It must no doubt, become coarser in proportion to its size,
and this circumstance may account for the use of it in ancient times
for all those purposes, for which we employ hemp, as for making nets,
ropes, and sail-cloth. The fine linen of the ancient Egyptians must
have been made from flax of lower growth and with thinner stems; and
the mummies testify, that they made cloth of the finest as well as of
the coarsest texture.
[482] Browne’s Travels in Africa, p. 83.
The following remark of Hasselquist respecting the _soft_ and _loose_
texture of the linen made in Egypt in his time agrees remarkably with
the appearance of that found in mummies. “The Egyptian linen is not
so thick,” says he, “as the European, being softer and of a looser
texture; for which reason it lasts longer and does not wear out so
soon as ours, which frequently wears out the faster on account of its
stiffness.” He also observes, “The common people in Egypt are clothed
in linen only, dyed blue with _indigo_; but those of better fortune
have a black cloak over their linen shirt.”
The coarse linen of the Ancient Egyptians was called Φώσων. It was made
of thick flax, and was used for towels (σουδάρια, _Julius Pollux_, vii.
_c._ 16.), and for sails (Φώσσωνας, _Lycophron_, _v._ 26.)[483]. Φώσων
may be translated _canvass_, or sail-cloth.
[483] Jablonski Glossarium Vocum Ægyptiarum, in Valpy’s edition of
Steph. Thesaur. tom. i. p. CCXCV.
Fine linen, on the other hand, was called Ὀθόνη. This term, as well
as the preceding, was in all probability an Egyptian word, adopted by
the Greeks to denote the commodity, to which the Egyptians themselves
applied it. It seems to correspond, as Salmasius[484], Celsius[485],
Forster[486], and Jablonski[487] have observed, to the אטון מצריס “Fine
linen of Egypt,” in Proverbs vii. 16. For אטון, put into Greek letters
and with Greek terminations, becomes ὀθόνη and ὀθόνιον. Hesychius
states, no doubt correctly, that ὀθόνη was applied by the Greeks to any
fine and thin cloth, though not of linen[488]. But this was in later
times and by a general and secondary application of the term.
[484] Salmasius in Achill. Tat. l. viii. c. 13, ὀθόνης χιτών.
[485] Celsii Hierobotanicon, t. ii. p. 90.
[486] Forster, De Bysso, p. 74.
[487] Ubi supra, p. CCXVII.
[488] The ancient Scholia (published by Mai and Butmann) on Od. η.
107, state that ὀθόναι were made both of flax and of wool. The silks
of India are called Ὀθόναι σηρικὰ.
It appears also that in later times ὀθόνη was not restricted to fine
linen. It is used for _a sail_ by Achilles Tatius in describing a storm
(l. iii.), and by the Scholiast on Homer, _Il._ σ.
Agreeably to the preceding remarks, the ὀθόναι mentioned in the two
passages of the Iliad may be supposed to have been procured from Egypt.
Helen, when she goes to meet the senators of Ilium at the Scæan Gate,
wraps herself in a white sheet of fine linen (Il. γ. 141.). The women,
dancing on the shield of Achilles (Il. σ. 595.), wear _thin sheets_.
These thin sheets must be supposed to have been worn as shawls, or girt
about the bodies of the dancers. Helen would wear hers so as to veil
her whole person agreeably to the representation of the lady, whom
Paulus Silentiarius addresses in the following line, written evidently
with Homer’s Helen before his mind:
You conceal your flowing locks with a snow-white sheet.--_Brunck_,
_Analecta_, _vol._ iii. _p._ 81.
Perhaps even the sheets, spread for Phœnix to lie upon in the tent of
Achilles, and for Ulysses on his return to Ithica from the country of
the Phæacians[489], though not called by the Egyptian name, should
be supposed to have been made in Egypt. In the time of Homer (900 B.
C.) the use of linen cloth was certainly rare among the Greeks; the
manufacture of it was perhaps as yet unknown to them.
[489] Il. ι. 657. Od. ν. 73. 118.
The term Σινδών (_Sindon_), was used to denote linen cloth still more
extensively than ὀθόνη, inasmuch as it occurs both in Greek and Latin
authors[490]. According to Julius Pollux this also was a word of
Egyptian origin, and Coptic scholars inform us that it is found in the
modern _Shento_, which has the same signification[491].
[490] E. g. Martial.
[491] Jablonski, ubi supra, p. CCLXXIV.
Serapion was called Sindonites, because he always wore linen (Palladii
_Hist. Lausiaca_, p. 172). He was an Egyptian, and retained the custom
of his native country.
Although Σινδών originally denoted linen, we find it applied, like
Ὀθόνη, to cotton cloth likewise; and although both of these terms
probably denoted at first those linen cloths only, and especially the
finer kinds of them, which were made in Egypt, yet as the manufacture
of linen extends itself into other countries, and the exports of India
were added to those of Egypt, all varieties either of linen or cotton
cloth, wherever woven, were designated by the Egyptian names Ὀθόνη and
Σινδών.
Another term, which is probably of Egyptian origin, and therefore
requires explanation here, is the term Βύσσος or Byssus. Vossius
(_Etymol._ L. _Lat._ v. _Byssus_) thinks it was, as Pollux and Isidore
assert, a fine, white, soft flax, and that the cloth made from it was
like the modern cambric: “Similis fuisse videtur lino isti, quod vulgo
_Cameracense_ appellamus.” Celsius, in his Hierobotanicon (_vol._ ii.
_p._ 173.), gives the same explanation. This was indeed the general
opinion of learned men, until J. R. Forster advanced the position, that
_Byssus was cotton_. A careful examination of the question confirms the
correctness of the old opinions, and for the following reasons.
I. The earliest author, who uses the term, is Æschylus. He represents
Antigone wearing a shawl or sheet of fine flax[492]. In the Bacchæ
of Euripides (_l._ 776.) the same garment, which was distinctive of
the female sex, is introduced under the same denomination. We cannot
suppose, that dramatic writers would mention in plays addressed to
a general audience clothing of any material with which they were
not familiarly acquainted. But the Greeks in the time of Æschylus
and Euripides knew little or nothing of cotton. They had, however,
been long supplied with fine linen from Egypt and Phœnice; and the
βύσσινον πέπλωμα of Antigone is the same article of female attire with
the ἀργενναὶ ὀθόναι of Helen, described by Homer. Indeed Æschylus
himself in two other passages calls the same garment linen. In the
Coephoræ (_l._ 25, 26.) the expressions, Λινόφθοροι δ’ ὑφασμάτων
λακίδες and Πρόστερνοι στολμοὶ πέπλων, describe the rents, expressive
of sorrow, which were made in the linen veil or shawl (πέπλος) of an
Oriental woman. In the Supplices (_l._ 120.) the leader of the chorus
says, she often tears her linen, or her _Sidonian veil_.
[492] Septem contra Thebas, l. 1041. See also Persæ, l. 129.
II. The next author in point of time, and one of the first in point of
importance, is Herodotus. In his account of the mode of making mummies,
he says (_l._ ii. _c._ 86.) the embalmed body was enveloped in cotton.
But the fillets or bandages of the mummies are proved by microscopic
observations to be universally linen; at least all the specimens have
been found to be linen, which have been submitted to this, the only
decisive test.
III. Herodotus also states (vii. 181.), that a man, wounded in an
engagement, had his torn limbs bound σινδόνος βυσσίνης τελαμῶσι. Now,
supposing that the persons concerned had their choice between linen
and cotton, there can be no doubt that they would choose linen as most
suitable for such a purpose. Cotton, when applied to wounds, irritates
them. Julius Pollux mentions (_l._ iv. _c._ 20. 181.; _l._ vii. _c._
16. _and_ 25. 72.) these bandages as used in surgery. The same fillets,
which were used to swathe dead bodies, were also adapted for surgical
purposes. Hence a Greek Epigram (_Brunck_, _An._ iii. 169.) represents
a surgeon and an undertaker AS LEAGUING TO ASSIST EACH OTHER IN
BUSINESS. The undertaker supplies the surgeon with bandages stolen from
the dead bodies, and the surgeon in return sends his patients to the
undertaker!
IV. Diodorus Siculus (_l._ i. § 85. _tom._ i. _p._ 96.) records a
tradition, that Isis put the limbs of Osiris into a wooden cow, covered
with Byssina. No reason can be imagined, why cotton should have been
used for such a purpose; whereas the use of fine linen to cover the
hallowed remains was in perfect accordance with all the ideas and
practices of the Egyptians.
V. Plutarch, in his Treatise de Iside et Osiride (_Opp._ _ed.
Stephani_, 1572, _vol._ iv. _p._ 653.) says, that the priests enveloped
the gilded bull, which represented Osiris, in a black sheet of Byssus.
Now nothing can appear more probable, than that the Egyptians would
employ for this purpose the same kind of cloth, which they always
applied to sacred uses; and in addition to all the other evidence
before referred to, we find Plutarch in this same treatise expressly
mentioning the linen garments of the priesthood, and stating, that
the priests were entombed in them after death, a fact verified at the
present day by the examination of the bodies of priests found in the
catacombs.
VI. The magnificent ship, constructed for Ptolemy Philopator, which
is described at length in Athenæus, had a sail of the fine linen of
Egypt[493]. It is not probable, that in a vessel, every part of which
was made of the best and most suitable materials, the sail would be
of cotton. Moreover Hermippus describes Egypt as affording the chief
supply of sails for all parts of the world[494]: and Ezekiel represents
the Tyrians as obtaining cloth from Egypt for the sails and pendants of
their ships[495].
[493] Deipnos. l. v. p. 206 C. ed. Casaubon.
[494] Apud. Athenæum, Deipnos. l. i. p. 27 F.
[495] Ez. xxvii. 7. שש ברקמה ממצרים.
VII. It is recorded in the Rosetta Inscription (_l._ 17, 18.), that
Ptolemy Epiphanes remitted two parts of the fine linen cloths, which
were manufactured in the temples for the king’s palace; and (_l._ 29.)
that he also remitted a tax on those, which were not made for the
king’s palace. Thus in an original and contemporary monument we read,
that Ὀθόνια βύσσινα were at a particular time manufactured in Egypt.
But we have no reason to believe, that cotton was then manufactured in
Egypt at all, whereas linen cloth was made in immense quantities.
VIII. Philo, who lived at Alexandria, and could not be ignorant upon
the subject, plainly uses Βύσσος to mean flax. He says, the Jewish
High-Priest wore a linen garment, made of the purest _Byssus_, which
was a symbol of firmness, incorruption, and of the clearest splendor,
since _fine linen_ is most difficult to tear, is made of nothing
mortal, and becomes brighter and more resembling light, the more it is
cleansed by washing[496].
[496] De Somniis, vol. i. p. 653. Mangey.
Here we may notice the tenacity of the cloth found in Egyptian mummies.
A great part of it is quite rotten; and its tender and fragile state is
to be accounted for, not only from its great antiquity and exposure to
moisture, but from the circumstance, that much of it was old and worn,
when first applied to the purpose of swathing dead bodies. Nevertheless
pieces are found of great strength and durability.
Hans Jac. Amman, who visited the catacombs of Sakara in 1613,
found the bandages so strong, that he was obliged to cut them with
scissors[497]. Professor Greaves[498] and Lord Sandwich found them
as firm _as if they were just taken from the loom_. Abdollatiph, who
visited Egypt A. D. 1200, mentions that the Arabs employed the mummy
cloth to make garments[499]. Much more recently the same practice has
been attested as coming under his observation by Seetzen[500]. Caillaud
discovered in the mummy, which he opened, several _napkins_ in such
a state of preservation, that he took a fancy to use one. He had it
washed eight times without any perceptible injury. “With a sort of
veneration,” says he, “I unfolded every day this venerable linen, which
had been woven more than 1700 years.” (_Voyage à Meroe et au Fleuve
Blanc._)
[497] Blumenbach’s Beiträge, Th. 2. p. 74.
[498] Pyramidographia.
[499] P. 221 of the German translation; p. 198 of Silvestre de Lacy’s.
See App. A.
[500] See his letter to Von Hammer in the Fundgruben des Orients, 1 St.
p. 72. as quoted by Blumenbach, l. c.
IX. According to Josephus the Jewish priests wore drawers of spun
flax, and over the drawers a shirt. He calls a garment made of
Βύσσος a _linen_ garment. It had _flowers woven into it, which were
of three different substances_[501]. He soon after mentions the same
materials _as used for making the curtains of the tabernacle_. In all
these instances the figures or ornaments _were of splendid colors upon
a ground of white linen_. We have no reason to believe, that either
the Egyptians or the Israelites in the time of Moses knew anything of
cotton: so that, if Josephus gives a true account, Βύσσος must have
denoted a kind of flax.
[501] Ant. Jud. iii. 7. 1, 2. p. 112. ed. Hudson.
The shirt of the High Priest of the Jews was probably like that
worn in the worship of Isis, which was of Byssus, _but adorned with
flowers_, “Byssina, sed floridè depicta.” Apuleius, Met. l. xi.
X. Jerome on Ezekiel xxvii. says, “Byssus grows principally in Egypt”
(_Byssus in Ægypto quàm maximè nascitur_). Of the celebrity of the
Egyptian flax we have the most abundant proofs; but, if by _Byssus_
Jerome meant cotton, he here committed a strange mistake; for,
supposing cotton to have grown at all in Egypt, it certainly grew far
more abundantly in other countries, and of this fact he could scarcely
be ignorant.
XI. Martianus Capella plainly distinguishes between that substance and
_Byssus_[502]. He seems to have considered cotton as an Indian, Byssus
as an Egyptian product. He certainly supposed, that they were not the
same thing.
[502] Etym. L. Lat. v. Byssus.
XII. Isidorus Hispalensis expressly states, that _Byssus_ was a kind of
flax, very white and soft.
Byssus genus est quoddam lini nimium candidi et mollissimi, quod Græci
papatem vocant.--_Orig. l._ xix. 27.
Byssina (vestis) candida, confecta ex quodam genere lini grossioris
Sunt et qui genus quoddam lini byssum esse existiment.--_Ibid. c._ 22.
Forster conjectures (_p._ 4.) that for _genus quoddam lini_ we should
read _genus quoddam lanæ_, and conceives _tree_-wool (as Pollux and
some others call it), i. e. cotton, to be intended. His conjecture
seems probable. The remark of Isidore intimates, that in his time it
had already been a matter of dispute whether Byssus was a kind of flax
or something else.
XIII. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, testifies to the great strength of the
threads of Byssus.
Cloth made of Byssus indicates firm faith:
For threads of Byssus, it
is said, surpass
E’en ropes of broom in firmness and in strength[503].
_Ad Cytherium in Max. Biblioth. Patrum_, _vol._ vi. _p._ 264.
[503] See Part First, Chapters XII. and XIII.
Vossius also quotes the authority of Jerome and Eucherius to prove the
great tenacity of Byssus. But, if Byssus were cotton, it certainly
would not have been celebrated on that account.
The arguments of Dr. J. R. Forster on the other side of the question
will now be considered. See his _Liber Singularis de Bysso Antiquorum_,
Lon. 1776, _p._ 11. 50.
I. His first argument is as follows. Julius Pollux says (_l._
vii. _c._ 17.), that Βύσσος was “a kind of flax among the Indians.”
The Jewish rabbis indeed all explain the Hebrew שש (Shesh), which in
the Septuagint is always translated Βύσσος, as signifying _flax_. But
they use the term for flax in so loose and general a way, that they
may very properly be supposed to have included cotton under it. In the
same general sense we must suppose λίνον to be used by Julius Pollux;
and it is clear, that he must have meant cotton, because cotton grows
abundantly in India, whereas flax was never known to grow in India at
all.
In proof of this last assertion Forster refers to Osbeck’s Journal,
vol i. p. 383. He also appeals to a passage of Philostratus (_Vita
Apollonii_, _l._ ii. _c._ 20. _p._ 70, 71.), which has been quoted in
Part Third, p. 328., where that author certainly applies the term in
question to the cotton of India.
An answer to this argument, so far as it depends on the testimony of
Julius Pollux, was furnished by Olaus Celsius in his Hierobotanicon,
published in 1747, a work which Forster had better have consulted, when
he was writing a treatise expressly intended to ascertain the meaning
of one of the botanical terms employed in the _Scriptures_. The learned
and accurate Swede gives on good authority an emendation of the text of
Pollux, which entirely destroys the argument founded upon it by Forster
and those who agree with him. According to this reading Pollux only
asserts that Βύσσος is a kind of flax, without adding that it grew
among the Indians[504]. In a separate Appendix (E.), will be examined
distinctly and fully the critical evidence for the correct state of the
passages of Pollux, which it may be found necessary to cite. Pollux, in
asserting that Byssus was a kind of flax, coincides with all the other
witnesses who have been produced.
[504] Celsii Hierobot. vol. ii. p. 171.
Forster is also exceedingly incorrect in his mode of reasoning upon
the passage of Pollux, supposing it to be accurate and genuine. He
argues, that Pollux must have meant cotton by “_a kind of flax among
the Indians_,” because real flax does not grow in India at all; “In
Indiâ verò linum non erat, nec quidem nostrâ ætate linum reperitur in
Indiâ, quod jam Osbeckius in Itinerario ostendit, p. 383. vol. i. edit.
Anglicæ.” The “_English edition_” of Osbeck’s Voyage is a translation
from the German by Forster himself. In the page referred to we find the
following passage relative to flax, and no other:--“_Flax is so rare a
commodity in the East_, that many have judged with great probability
that the fine linen of the rich man, Luke xvi. 19, was no more than
our common linen.” This sentence implies that flax grew in the East,
though rarely. Whether it grew in India, Osbeck does not inform us.
Dr. Wallich, who travelled in India, states that flax grows in India,
and that he remembered having seen there a whole field blue with its
flowers. It is cultivated principally for its seed, from which oil is
extracted, the stalks being thrown aside as useless.
With respect to the passage from Philostratus, it is admitted, that he
uses Βύσσος to denote cotton. Besides its proper and original sense,
this word was occasionally used, as λίνον, ὀθόνη, _Sindon_, _Carbasus_,
and many others were, in a looser and more general application.
But the use of the term in this manner by a single writer, or even,
if they could be produced, by several writers of so late an age as
Philostratus, would be of little weight in opposition to the evidence,
which has been brought forward to prove, that Βύσσος properly meant
flax only.
II. Forster produces a passage from the Eliaca of Pausanias[505] from
which he argues, that βύσσος was not flax, because Pausanias here
distinguishes it from flax as well as from hemp.
[505] Paus. l. vi. cap. § 4.
But we know, that all plants undergo great changes by cultivation and
in consequence of the varieties of soil and climate. What can be more
striking than the innumerable tulips derived from the original yellow
tulip of Turkey, or all the varieties of pinks and carnations from a
single species? To make all the descriptions of cloth from the coarsest
canvass or sail-cloth to the most beautiful lawn or cambric, there must
have been, as there now are, great differences in the living plant. The
best explanation therefore of the language of Pausanias seems to be,
that he used λίνον to denote the common kind of flax, and βύσσος to
signify a finer variety[506]. In another passage, where he speaks of
the Elean Byssus, his language shows, that its peculiar excellence
consisted both in its fineness and in its beautiful yellow color; for
after expressing the admiration, to which this substance was entitled,
as growing nowhere else in Greece, he says, that “in fineness it was
not inferior to that of the Hebrews, but was not equally yellow[507].”
[506] Pausanias also distinguishes between λίνον and βύσσος in his
account of the clothing of a reputed statue of Neptune, l. vi. c.
25. § 5. When flax is raised to be manufactured into cambric and
fine lawn, twice as much seed is sown in the same space of ground.
The plants then grow closer together; the stalks are more delicate
and slender; and the fibres of each plant are finer in proportion.
[507] L. v. 5. § 2.
Others commend Byssus on account of its whiteness. See Philo.
Apoc. xix. 14. Themistius (Orat. p. 57. ed. Paris, 1684. p. 68. ed.
Dindorfii, Lips. 1832.) saw at Antioch “ancient letters wrapt _in
white Byssus_.” These, he says, were brought from Susa and Ecbatana.
It may further be remarked in opposition to the idea, that βύσσος meant
cotton in these passages, that there is not the slightest ground for
supposing, that cotton was cultivated either in Elis or in any other
part of Europe so early as the time of Pausanias, nor indeed until a
comparatively recent age.
III. Forster (_p._ 69-71.) considers the testimony of Herodotus, that
the embalmed bodies of the dead were wrapt in fillets of Byssus, as
decisive in favor of his opinion, because those fillets are found
on examination to be all cotton. It is presumed that the preceding
testimony, proves that so far as they have been examined, in the only
way which can settle the dispute, they are found universally to be
linen.
Of Forster’s _celebrated_ work it may be observed in general, _that
he rather from the very beginning assumes his point, than endeavors to
prove it_. He continually speaks of it as _demonstrated_. Nevertheless
the only arguments which can be found in his book, are those already
stated. Little as these arguments amount to in opposition to the
evidence, which has now been brought forward on the other side of the
question, we find that the most learned authors since Forster’s time,
and especially since the same opinion was embraced by Blumenbach, have
generally been content to adopt it. But, although such eminent names
as those of Porson[508], Dr. Thomas Young[509], Mr. Hamilton[510],
Dr. T. M. Harris[511], Mr. Wellbeloved[512], E. H. Barker[513],
Dr. A. Granville[514], Jomard[515], Wehrs[516], J. H. Voss[517],
Heeren[518], Sprengel[519], Billerbeck[520], Gesenius[521], E. F. K.
Rosenmuller[522], and Roselini[523], stand arrayed against the evidence
now produced, i. e. to prove that βύσσος meant _flax_ and _not_
cotton, as those authors have supposed. Yet their evidence may be
considered as going all for nothing, because they express not their own
opinion formed by independent inquiry and investigation, but merely the
opinion which they have adopted from Forster and Blumenbach.
[508] In his translation of the Rosetta Inscription, Clarke’s Greek
Marbles, p. 63.
[509] Account of Discoveries in Hieroglyphic Literature, p. 101. 114.
[510] Ægyptiaca, p. 321.
[511] Natural History of the Bible, 2nd edition, p. 447.
[512] Translation of the Bible, Gen. xli. 42.
[513] Classical Recreations.
[514] As quoted at p. 364.
[515] Description des Hypogées, p. 35.
[516] Vom Papier, p. 201.
[517] Virgil’s Ländliche Gedichte, iii. p. 313.
[518] Ideen über die Politik, &c.
[519] Historia Rei Herbariæ, tom. i. c. i. p. 15.
[520] Flora Classica, p. 177.
[521] Thesaurus Philologico-Criticus, v. נוצ.
[522] Biblische Alterthumskunde, 4. l. p. 175.
[523] Monumenti dell’ Egitto. Mon. Civili, tomo. i. Pisa, 1834, capo.
iv. § 6.
There is, however, no reason to doubt, that Forster is right in
considering Βύσσος, or Byssus, as an Egyptian word with a Greek or
Latin termination. In the Septuagint version it is always used as
equivalent to the Hebrew שש (_Shesh_ or _Ses_), which according to
the Hebrew Rabbis was a kind of flax, that grew in Egypt only and was
of the finest quality[524]. Another term, used in the Pentateuch for
linen cloth is בד (_bad_), which seems to be nearly the same as שש.
The Egyptian term שש or בוץ (_buts_) is very seldom found in the Hebrew
Scriptures, and not until the intercourse became frequent between the
Jews and other oriental nations. But it is continually employed by the
Arabic, Persic, and Chaldee Translators, as equivalent to the Hebrew
terms שש and בד.
[524] Forster De Bysso, p. 5.
The distinction between Βύσσος and the Egyptian terms formerly
explained is very obvious. Φώσων, Ὀθόνη, and Σινδών denoted linen
cloth; Βύσσος the plant, from which it was made. Hence we so commonly
find the adjective form Βύσσινος or Byssinus, i. e. made of Byssus, as
in Σινδὼν βύσσινη, Ὀθόνη βύσσινη, Ὀθόνια βύσσινα, Στόλη βύσσινη, &c.,
and this is agreeable to the remark of the Patriarch Photius in his
192nd Epistle, Φυτὸν δὲ ἡ βύσσος, “Byssus is a plant.”
Herodotus (ii. 105.), pointing out resemblances between the Egyptians
and the Colchians, says, they prepare their flax in the same manner,
and in a manner which is practiced by no other nation. Xenophon
directs, that nets should be made of flax from the Phasis, or from
Carthage[525]. Pollux (_l._ v. _cap._ 4. § 26.) says, that the flax
for the same purpose should be either from those countries, or from
Egypt or Sardes. Callimachus (_Frag._ 265.) mentions the flax of
Colchis under the name of “the Colchian halm.” Strabo (_l._ xi. § 17.
_vol._ iv. _p._ 402. Tschuz.) testifies to the celebrity of Colchis for
the growth and manufacture of flax, and says, that the linen of this
country was exported to distant places.
[525] De Venat. ii. 4. Gratius Faliscus, in his directions on the same
subject, recommends the flax from the rich moist plains about the
river Cinyps, not very far from Carthage.
Optima Cinyphiæ, ne quid contere, paludes Lina
dabunt.--_Cynegeticon_, 34, 35.
It seems still to maintain its ancient pre-eminence: Larcher refers to
Chardin (_tom._ i. _p._ 115.), as saying, that the Prince of Mingrelia,
a part of the ancient Colchis, paid in his time an annual tribute of
linen to the Turks.
That flax was extensively cultivated in Babylonia appears from the
testimony of Herodotus, who says (i. 195.), that the Babylonians wore
a linen shirt reaching to the feet; over that a woollen shirt; and
over that a white shawl. Strabo (_l._ xvi. _cap._ 1. _p._ 739. _ed.
Casaub._) shows where these linen shirts were chiefly made; for he
informs us that _Borsippa_, a city of Babylonia, sacred to Apollo and
Diana, was a great place for the manufacture of linen.
The cultivation of flax in the region of the Euphrates may also be
inferred from the use of the linen thorax, as attested by Xenophon
(_Cyropedia_, vi. 4. 2.).
From Joshua ii. 6. we have evidence, that flax was cultivated in
Palestine near the Jordan. Rahab concealed the two Hebrew spies
(according to the common English version) “with the stalks of flax,
which she had laid in order upon the roof.” According to the Septuagint
translation, “the stalks of flax” were not merely “laid in order,” but
“stacked.” Josephus says, _she was drying the bundles_. The Chaldee
Paraphrast Onkelos also uses the expression מעוני כחנא, _bundles of flax_.
Agreeably to these explanations, the history must be understood as
implying, that the stalks of flax, tied into bundles, as represented in
the painting at El Kab[526], were stacked, probably crossways, upon the
flat roof of Ahab’s house, so as to allow the wind to blow through and
dry them.
[526] See Plate VI. p. 358.
Other passages, referring to the use of flax for weaving in Palestine,
are Levit. xiii. 47, 48. 52. 59, where linen garments are four times
mentioned in opposition to woollen.
Proverbs xxi. 13. The virtuous woman, so admirably described in this
chapter, “seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.”
(See Part First, Chapter I. p. 13.). This proves, that flax was still
an important article of cultivation in Palestine.
In 1 Chron. iv. 21. there is an allusion to a great establishment for
dressing the fine flax, called _Butz_, or _Byssus_. It was conducted by
certain families of the tribe of Judah[527].
[527] _Hebr._ משפחת בית־עבדת הבץ, i. e. “the families, or perhaps the
partnerships, of the manufactory of Byssus;” _Vulg._ “Cognationes
domus operantium byssum.”
Jeremiah (xiii. 1.) mentions אזור פשתים, “_a linen girdle_;” Lumbare
lineum, _Vulgate_; περίζωμα λινοῦν LXX. זרז רכתן _Jonathan_; סוזרא
רכהנא (sudarium) _Syriac_.
Hosea (ii. 5. 9.) mentions wool and flax as the two chief articles of
clothing for the Jews in his time.
Ezekiel (xliv. 17, 18.), in his description of the temple which he saw
in vision, says, the priests on entering the inner court would put on
linen garments, including a turban and drawers of linen[528]. The use
of wool is here prohibited and linen prescribed for those who were to
be engaged in sacred services, on account of its superior cleanliness
and purity. They were not to “_gird themselves with anything that
causeth sweat_.” On returning to the outer court, so as to be in
contact with the people, they were to put on the common dress, which
was at least in part woollen.
[528] It is remarkable that the Chaldee Paraphrast Jonathan here uses
בוצ (byssus) for the Hebrew פשתיס.
In the Old Testament we also find flax used _for making cords_, Judges
xv. xvi.; for the _wicks of lamps_, Is. xiii. 17.; and for a _measuring
line_, Ezek. xl. 3[529].
[529] The use of the cord of flax (_linea_) for measuring, &c. is the
origin of the word _line_. “Linea genere suo appellata, quia ex
lino fit.” Isidori Hisp. Etymol. l. xix. c. 18. De instrumentis
ædificiorum.
According to Herodotus vii. 25, 34, 36, the Phœnicians furnished Xerxes
with _ropes of flax_ for constructing his bridge, while the Egyptians
supplied ropes of Papyrus, which were inferior to the others in
strength.
Whilst פשת, derived probably from פשט, to strip or peel, is used for
flax in every state, we find another term, נערת, used for tow. This
term therefore corresponds to _Stuppa_ in Latin[530]; Etoupe in French;
Στύπη, στυππίον or στιππίον in Greek; סרקהא, from סרק, to comb, in
Syriac; _Werg_ in modern German.
[530] The origin of _Stuppa_, the Latin term, was from its use in
_stopping_ chinks (_stopfer_, German). It was either of hemp or
flax.
“Stuppa cannabi est sive lini. Hæc secundum antiquam orthographiam
stuppa (stipa?) dicitur, quod ex eâ rimæ navium _stipentur_: unde
et stipatores dicuntur, qui in vallibus eam componunt.” Isid. Hisp.
Orig. xix. 27.
Eccles. xl. 4. represents poor persons as clothed in coarse linen,
ὠμολίνον (Lino crudo, _Jerome_), meaning probably flax dressed and spun
without having been steeped[531].
[531] See Bodæusa Stapel on Theophrasti Hist. Plant. l. viii. p. 944.
In Rev. xv. 6. the seven angels come out of the temple clothed “_in
pure and white linen_.” This is to be explained by what has been
already said of the use of linen for the temple service among the
Egyptians and the Jews. On three other occasions mentioned in the New
Testament, _viz._ the case of the young man, who had “a linen cloth
cast about his naked body” (_Mark_ xiv. 51, 52.); the entombment of
Christ (_Matt._ xxvii. 59. _Mark_ xv. 46. _Luke_ xxiii. 53. xxiv. 12.
_John_ xix. 40. xx. 5, 6, 7.); and the case of the “sheet” let down in
vision from heaven (_Acts_ x. 11. xi. 5.), the sacred writers employ
the equivalent Egyptian terms, Σινδών, and Ὀθόνη or Ὀθόνιον.
The “Byssus of the Hebrews,” mentioned by Pausanias may have been so
called, because it was imported into Greece by the Hebrews, not because
it grew in Palestine, as many critics have concluded.
Herodotus (_l. c._) observes, that the Greeks called the Colchian flax
Σαρδονικόν. The epithet must be understood as referring to Sardes, from
the vicinity of which city flax was obtained according to the testimony
of Julius Pollux (_l. c._). In another passage Herodotus remarks (v.
87.), that the linen shift worn by the Athenian women, was originally
Carian. The Milesian Sindones, mentioned by Jonathan, the Chaldee
Paraphrast, on Lam. ii. 20, were, no doubt, made of the flax of this
country, although Forster (_De Bysso_, _p._ 92.), on account of the
celebrity of the Milesian wool, supposes them to have been woollen. It
is probable, that the Milesian net caps, worn by ladies, were made of
linen thread.
Jerome, describing the change from an austere to a luxurious mode of
life, mentions shirts from _Laodicea_. Some commentators have supposed
linen shirts to be meant.
According to Julius Pollux (vii. _c._ 16.) the Athenians and Ionians
wore a linen shirt reaching to the feet. But the use of it among the
Athenians must have come in much later than among the Ionians, who
would adopt the practice in consequence of the cultivation of flax
in their own country as well as in their colonies on the Euxine Sea,
and also in consequence of the general elegance and refinement of
their manners. Indeed it appears probable, that the linen used by the
Athenians was imported.
The only part of Greece, where flax is recorded to have been grown, was
Elis. That it was produced in that country is affirmed by Pliny (_l._
xix. _c._ 4.), and by Pausanias in three passages already quoted.
When Colonel Leake was at Gastūni near the mouth of the Peneus in
Elis, he made the following observations.
For flax (one of the chief things produced there) the land is once
ploughed in the spring, and two or three times in the ensuing autumn,
with a pair of oxen, when the seed is thrown in and covered with the
plough. The plant does not require and hardly admits of weeding, as it
grows very thick. When ripe, it is pulled up by the roots, and laid
in bundles in the sun. It is then threshed to separate the seed. The
bundles are laid in the river for five days, then dried in the sun,
and pressed in a wooden machine. Contrary to its ancient reputation,
the flax of Gastuni is not very fine. It is chiefly used in the
neighboring islands by the peasants, who weave it into cloths for
their own use[532].
[532] Journal of a Tour in the Morea, vol. i. p. 12.
In one of the Pseudo-Platonic Epistles (No. xiii. _p._ 363.) mention
occurs of linen shifts for ladies, made in Sicily, which certainly
implies nothing more than that linen was woven in Sicily. The material
for making it may have been imported. In like manner the linen of Malta
was exceedingly admired for its fineness and softness[533]; but the raw
material was in all probability imported.
[533] Diod. Sic. l. v. 12. tom. i. p. 339. ed. Wesseling.
“Flax,” observes Professor Müller, “was grown and manufactured in
Southern Etruria from ancient times, and thus the Tarquinii were
enabled to furnish _sail-cloth for the fleet of Scipio_: yarn for
making nets was produced on the banks of the Tiber, and fine linen for
clothing in Falerii[534].” This account agrees remarkably with the
views of Micali, and those historians who maintain the Egyptian origin
of the Etrurians.
[534] Etrusker. vol. i. p. 235, 236.
Pliny (xix. 1, 2.) mentions various kinds of flax of superior
excellence, which were produced in the plains of the Po and Ticino;
in the country of the Peligni (in Picenum); and about Cumæ in
Campania[535]. No flax, he says, was whiter or more like wool than that
of the Peligni.
[535] Probably Cumæ is intended by Gratius Faliscus in the expression
“Æoliæ de valle Sibyillæ.”--_Cyneg._ 35.
In the next chapter Pliny gives an account of the mode of preparing
flax; plucking it up by the roots, tying it into bundles, drying it in
the sun, steeping, drying again, beating it with a mallet on a stone,
and lastly hackling it, or, as he says, “_combing it with iron hooks_.”
This may be compared with the preceding extract from Colonel Leake’s
Journal, and with chapter 97 of Bartholomæus Anglicus, De Proprietabus
Rerum, which is perhaps partly copied from Pliny and treats of the
manufacture of flax, steeping it in water, &c., and of its use for
clothes, nets, sails, thread, and curtains.
In Spain there was a manufacture of linen at Emporium, which lay
on the Mediterranean not far from the Pyrenees[536]. According to
Pliny (_l. c._) remarkably beautiful flax was produced in Hispania
Citerior near Tarraco. He ascribes its splendor to the virtues of
the river-water flowing near Tarraco, in which the flax was steeped
and prepared. Still further southward on the same coast we find
Setabis, the modern Xativa, which is celebrated by various authors
for the beauty of its linen, and especially for linen _sudaria_, or
handkerchiefs:
Setabis et telas Arabum sprevisse superba
Et Pelusiaco filum componere lino.
_Silius Ital._ iii. 373.
Nam sudaria Setaba ex Hiberis
Miserunt mihi muneri Fabullus
Et Veranius.--_Catullus_, xx. 14.
Hispanæque alio spectantur Setabis usu.
_Gratius Faliscus_, l. 41.
[536] Strabo, l. iii. cap. 4. vol. i. p. 428. ed. Siebenkees.
Pliny also mentions a kind of flax, called Zoelicum, from a place in
Gallicia.
Strabo (iv. 2. 2. p. 41. ed. Sieb.) particularly mentions the linen
manufacture of the Cadurci: and from them the Romans obtained the best
_ticking_ for beds, which was on this account called Cadurcum.
Flax, as we are told by Pliny (xix. 1.), was _woven into sail-cloth in
all parts of Gaul_; and, in some of the countries beyond the Rhine, the
most beautiful apparel of the ladies was linen. Tacitus states that the
women of Germany wore linen sheets over their other clothing[537].
[537] Fœminæ sæpiùs lineis amictibus velantur.--_Germania_, xvii.
5. The use of the same term for Flax in so many European languages,
and especially in those of the North of Europe, is an evidence of
the extensive use of this substance in very early times; e. g. Greek,
Λίνον· Latin, Linum; Slavonian, Len; Lithuanian, Linnai; Lettish,
Linni; German, Lein; French, Suio; Gothic, and Anglo-Saxon, Lin; Welsh,
Llin.
Jerome mentions the shirts of the Atrebates as one of the luxuries of
his day, and his notice of them seems to show, that they were conveyed
as an article of merchandize even into Asia.
Whether the manufactures of the Atrebates were equal to the modern
Cambric we cannot say; but, supposing the garments in question to
have been linen, it is remarkable that this manufacture should have
flourished in Artois for 1800 years[538].
[538] Erasmus makes the following remarks on the words “Atrebatum et
Laodiceæ:”
“Apparet ex his regionibus candidissima ac subtilissima linea mitti
solere. Nunc hujus laudis principatus, si tamen ea laus, penes meos
Hollandos est. Quanquam et Atrebates in Belgis haud ita procul a
nobis absunt.”
See also Mannert, Geogr. 2. l. p. 196.
The following translation of a passage from Eginhart’s Life of
Charlemagne (c. 23.) shows, that during several succeeding centuries
the Franks wore linen for their under garments.
Vestitu patrio, hoc est Francisco utebatur: ad corpus camiseam
lineam, et feminalibus lineis induebatur: deinde tunicam, quæ limbo
serico ambiebatur, et tibialia............Sago Veneto amictus. In
festivitatibus veste auro textâ, et calceamentis gemmatis, et fibulâ,
aureâ sagum astringente, diademate quoque ex auro et gemmis ornatus
incedebat. Aliis autem diebus habitus ejus parum a communi et plebeio
abhorrebat.
Charles drest after the manner of his countrymen, the Franks. Next
to the skin he wore a shirt and drawers of linen: over these a tunic
bordered with silk, and breeches. His outer garment was the sagum,
manufactured by the Veneti. On occasion of festivals he wore a garment
_interwoven with gold_, shoes adorned with gems, a golden fibula to
fasten his sagum, and a diadem of gold and gems. On other days his
dress differed little from that of the common people[539].
[539] The trowsers worn by the Franks were sometimes linen, sometimes
made of skins.--Agathias ii. 5.
The Veneti here mentioned were, no doubt, the people who lived in the
country near Vannes in Britany. We have formerly seen (Part Second, pp.
282 and 283. Chapter III.), that the Sagum was the principal article of
dress manufactured in the north of Gaul.
According to Paulus Diaconus, as quoted in the notes on this passage of
Eginhart[540], the Lombards and the Anglo-Saxons used principally linen
garments.
[540] Ed. Schmincke, Trajecti 1711, p. 110.
Linen, which appears to have been originally characteristic of the
Egyptian and Germanic nations, came by degrees into more and more
general use among the Greeks and Romans, and was employed not only
for articles of dress, especially those worn by women, and for sheets
to lie upon, but also for _table-covers_ and for _napkins_ to wipe
the hands, an application of them which was the more necessary on
account of the want of knives, forks, and spoons. Also those who
waited at table, were girt with towels. At the baths persons used
towels to dry themselves. A man wore a similar piece of cloth under
the hands of the tonsor. Plutarch (_On Garrulity_) tells the following
anecdote of Archelaus. When a loquacious hair-dresser was throwing
the ὠμόλινον about him in order to shear him, he asked as usual, “How
shall I cut your majesty’s hair?” “_In silence_,” replied the king.
Alciphron tells of the barber putting on him a linen cloth (σινδών) in
order to shave him (_l._ iii. Ep. 66.); and Phaneas, in an Epigram,
calls the cloth used in shaving by the same name, Σινδών. Diogenes
Laertius also (vi. 90.) tells a story respecting the philosopher
Crates, which shows that at Athens it was not deemed proper for a man
to wear linen as an outer garment, but that persons were enveloped in
it under the hands of the hair-dresser. “The Athenian police-officers
(οἱ ἀστύνομοι) having charged him with wearing a linen sheet for his
outer garment, he said, ‘I will show you Theophrastus himself habited
in that manner;’ and when they doubted the fact, he took them to see
Theophrastus at the hair-dresser’s.”
Coarser linen was used in great quantity both for sails, and for
awnings to keep off the heat of the sun from the Roman theatres, the
Forum, and other places of public resort[541].
[541] See p. 321.
The Emperor Alexander Severus, as we learn from the following passage
of his Life written by Ælius Lampridius, was a great admirer of good
linen, and preferred that which was plain to such as had _flowers_
or _feathers_ interwoven as practised in Egypt and the neighboring
countries.
Boni linteaminis appetitor fuit, et quidem puri, dicens, ‘Si lintei
idcirco sunt, ut nihil asperum habeant, quid opus est purpurâ?’ In
lineâ autem aurum mitti, etiam dementiam judicabat, quum asperitati
adderetur rigor.
He took great delight in good linen, and preferred it plain. “If,”
said he, “linen cloths are made of that material in order that
they may not be at all rough, _why mix purple with them_?” But to
_interweave gold in linen_, he considered madness, because this made
it rigid in addition to its roughness.
The following passage of the Life of the Emperor Carinus by Flavius
Vopiscus is remarkable as proving the value attached by the Romans of
that age to the linen imported from Egypt and Phœnice, especially to
the _transparent_ and _flowered_ varieties.
Jam quid lineas petitas Ægypto loquar? Quid Tyro et Sidone tenuitate
perlucidas, micantes purpurâ, plumandi difficultate pernobiles?
Why should I mention the linen cloths brought from Egypt, or
those imported from Tyre and Sidon, which are so thin as to be
_transparent_, which _glow with purple_, or are prized on account of
their _labored embroidery_?
CHAPTER II.
HEMP[542].
CULTIVATION AND USES OF HEMP BY THE ANCIENTS--ITS USE
LIMITED--THRACE--COLCHIS--CARIA--ETYMOLOGY OF HEMP.
[542] According to a statement in the Western (Missouri) Journal, about
7,000 bales of hemp, the crop of 1844, was shipped from that place
last spring. It is thought that 20,000 bales will be raised in that
neighborhood this year (1845).
The use of Hemp among the ancients was very limited. It is never
mentioned in the Scriptures, and not often by the heathen writers
of antiquity. It is remarkable, that no notice is taken of it by
Theophrastus. It was however used among the Greeks and Romans,
for making ropes and nets, but not for sacks, these being made of
goats’-hair[543].
[543] See Chap. IV. p. 299, 301.
The only reason for introducing hemp in this enumeration is, that,
according to Herodotus (iv. 74.) _garments were made of it by the
Thracians_. “They were so like linen,” says he, “that none but a very
experienced person could tell whether they were of hemp or flax; one,
who had never seen hemp, would certainly suppose them to be linen.” The
coarser kinds of linen would, it is certain, be scarcely, if at all
distinguishable from the finer kinds of hempen cloth.
Hesychius (_v._ Κάνναβις) quotes the preceding remark of Herodotus,
only saying that the Thracian _women_ made _sheets_ of hemp (ἱμάτια).
In substituting these expressions he puts upon the words of Herodotus
an explanation derived from his familiar knowledge of Grecian customs.
To the present day hemp is produced abundantly in the vicinity of the
countries which were occupied by the ancient Thracians. A traveller
who has lately visited them, informs us, that “the men who drive the
horses, which drag the boats upon the Danube between Pest and Vienna,
_now wear coarse tunics of hemp_[544].
[544] Travels in Circassia, &c., by Edmund Spencer, 1837, vol. i. p. 13.
Ammianus Marcellinus (xxxi. 2. _p._ 474.), speaking of the Huns, who
lived beyond the Palus Mæotis, says,
They cover themselves with tunics made of linen, or of the skins of
_wild mice_ sewed together.
These _tunics_, though called “lintea,” may have been the hempen
garments, which, according to Herodotus, were scarce to be
distinguished from linen.
The next writer, who mentions hemp after Herodotus, is Moschion,
rather more than 200 years B. C. He states[545], that the magnificent
ship Syracusia, built by the command of Hiero II., was provided with
hemp from the Rhone for making ropes. The common materials for such
purposes were _the Egyptian Papyrus, the bark of the Lime-tree, of
the Hemp-leaved Mallow, and of the Spanish and Portugal Broom_, and
probably also the Stipa Tenacissima of Linnæus.
[545] Apud Athenæum, l. v. p. 206. Casaub.
Hemp, as well as flax, was grown abundantly in Colchis[546]. It was
brought to the ports of the Ægean Sea by the Ionian merchants, who were
intimately connected with the northern and eastern coasts of the Euxine
through the medium of the Milesian colonies. This fact may account for
the cultivation of hemp in Caria. The best was obtained in the time of
Pliny (_l._ xix. _c._ 9.) from Alabanda and Mylasa in that country.
Pliny also mentions a kind, which grew in the country of the Sabines,
and which was remarkable for its height.
[546] Strabo, l. xi. § 17. vol. iv. p. 402, ed. Siebenkees.
Automedon, who lived a little before Pliny, complains in an Epigram
of a bad dinner given him by one of his acquaintances, and compares
the tall stringy cabbages to hemp[547]. As this author was a native
of Cyzicus, he would probably have abundant opportunities of becoming
familiar with the plant.
[547] Κανναβίνη. Brunck’s Analecta, ii. 209.
In the time of Pausanias hemp was grown in Elis. See his _Eliaca_, _c._
26. § 4.
Dioscorides (_l._ iii. _c._ 141.) gives an account of hemp, in which he
distinguishes between the _cultivated_ and the _wild_. By _Wild Hemp_
he means the AlthϾ Cannabina, _Linn._[548]. He observes respecting the
Cultivated Hemp, by which he meant proper hemp, the Cannabis Sativa,
_Linn._, that it was “of great use for twisting the strongest ropes.”
[548] See Chap. XII. p. 194.
On the whole we may conclude, that hemp was not the natural growth
either of Italy, Greece, or Asia Minor, but was confined, as it still
is in a great degree, to countries lying further north and having a
more rigid climate. The intimate connexion of the Romans with the
Greek colony of Marseilles may have brought it among the Sabines, as
the active trade between the Euxine and Miletus may have introduced it
into Caria. With the material its name was also imported, and this is
substantially the same in all the languages of Europe, as well as in
many Asiatic tongues[549].
[549] Sanscrit, GONI, SANA, or SHANAPU; Persic, CANNA; Arabic, KANNEH,
or KINNUB; Greek, ΚΑΝΝΑΒΙΣ; Latin, CANNABIS; Italian, CANNAPA;
French, CHANVRE, or CHANBRE; Danish and Flamand, KAMP, or KENNEP;
Lettish and Lithuanian, KANNAPES; Slavonian, KONOPI; Erse, CANAIB;
Scandinavian, HAMPR; Swedish, HAMPA; German, HANF; Anglo-Saxon,
HAENEP; English, HEMP. Our English word CANVASS (French, CANEVAS,)
has the same origin, meaning cloth made of hemp (CANAV).
Hemp is comparatively rare in India, as well as flax; and, as flax
is there only used for obtaining oil, so hemp is never used for
making cordage or for weaving, _but only for smoking on account of
the narcotic qualities of its leaves_. (Wissett on Hemp, p. 20,
25.) Its name SANA, SUNU, or GONU, is given also to the Crotalaria
Juncea, which is principally applied by the Indians to the same
uses as hemp in Europe. See Chap. XIII. p. 202.
If we compare flax with other spinning materials, such as wool
and cotton, we shall find it to possess several characteristic
properties. While cotton and wool are presented by nature in
the form of insulated fibres, the former requiring merely to be
separated from its seeds, and the latter to be purified from dirt
and grease before being delivered to the spinner, flax must have
its filaments separated from each other by tedious and painful
treatment. In reference to the spinning and the subsequent
operations, the following properties of flax are influential and
important:--
1. The considerable length of the fibres, which renders it
difficult, on the one hand, to form a fine, level, regular thread,
on the other, gives the yarn a considerably greater tenacity, so
that it cannot be broken by pulling out the threads from each
other, but by tearing them across.
2. The smooth and slim structure of the filaments, which gives to
linen its peculiar polished aspect, and feel so different from
cotton, and especially from woollen stuffs, unless when disguised
by dressing. The fibres of flax have no mutual entanglement,
whereby one can draw out another as with wool, and they must
therefore be made adhesive by moisture. This wetting of the fibres
renders them more pliant and easier to twist together
3. The small degree of elasticity, by which the simple fibres can
be stretched only one twenty-fifth of their natural length before
they break, while sheep’s wool will stretch from one fourth to one
half before it gives way.
Good flax should have a bright silver gray or yellowish color
(inclining neither to green nor black); it should be long, fine,
soft, and glistening, somewhat like silk, and contain no broad
tape-like portions, from undissevered filaments. Tow differs from
flax in having shorter fibres, of very unequal length, and more
or less entangled. Hemp agrees in its properties essentially with
flax, and must be similarly treated in the spinning processes.
The manufacture of linen and hemp yarn, and the tow of either, may
be effected by different processes; by the distaff, the hand-wheel,
and spinning machinery. It will be unnecessary to occupy the pages
of this volume with a description of the first two well known
domestic employments. Spinning of flax by _machinery_ has been much
more recently brought to a practical state than the spinning of
cotton and wool by machines, of which the cause must be sought for
in the nature of flax as above described. The first attempts at the
machine spinning of flax, went upon the principle of cutting the
filaments into short fragments before beginning the operation. But
in this way the most valuable property of linen yarn, its cohesive
force, was greatly impaired; or these attempts were restricted to
the spinning of tow, which on account of its short and somewhat
tortuous fibres, could be treated like cotton, especially after it
had been further torn by the carding engine. The first tolerably
good results with machinery seem to have been obtained by the
brothers Girard at Paris, about the year 1810. But the French have
never carried the apparatus to any great practical perfection. The
towns of Leeds in Yorkshire, of Dundee in Scotland, and Belfast
in Ireland, have the merit of bringing the spinning of flax by
machines into a state of perfection little short of that for which
the cotton trade has been so long celebrated.
For machine spinning, the flax is sometimes heckled by hand, and
sometimes by machinery. The series of operations is the following:--
1. The heckling.
2. The conversion of the flax into a band of parallel rectilinear
filaments, which, forms the foundation of the future yarn.
3. The formation of a sliver from the riband, by drawing it out
into a narrower range of filaments.
4. The coarse spinning, by twisting the sliver into a coarse and
loose thread.
5. The fine spinning, by the simultaneous extension and twisting
of that coarse thread.
All heckle machines have this common property, that the flax
is not drawn through them, as in working by hand, but, on the
contrary, the system of heckles is moved through the flax properly
suspended or laid. Differences exist in the shape, arrangement,
and movements of the heckles, as also in regard to the means by
which the adhering tow is removed from them. The simplest and most
common construction is to place the heckles upon the surface of a
horizontal cylinder, while the flax is held either by mechanical
means or by the hand during its exposure to the heckle points.
Many machines have been made upon this principle. It is proper in
this case to set the heckle teeth obliquely in the direction in
which the cylinder turns, whereby they penetrate the fibres in
a more parallel line, effect their separation more easily, and
cause less waste in torn filaments. To conduct the flax upon the
cylinders, two horizontal fluted rollers of iron are employed,
which can be so modified in a moment by a lever as to present the
flax more or less to the heckling mechanism. The operator seizes
a tress lock of flax with her hand and introduces it between the
fluted rollers, so that the tips on which the operation must begin,
reach the heckles first, and by degrees the advancing flax gets
heckled through two thirds or three fourths of its length, after
which the tress or strick is turned, and its other end is subjected
to the same process. By its somewhat rapid revolution the heckle
cylinder creates a current of air which not only carries away the
boomy particles, but also spreads out the flax like a sheaf of
corn upon the spikes, effecting the same object as is done by the
dexterous swing of the hand. The tow collects betwixt the teeth of
the heckle, and may, when its quantity has become considerable, be
removed in the form of a flock of parallel layers.
Flax has been for a long period spun wet in the mills; a method
no doubt copied from the practice of housewives moistening their
yarn with their saliva at the domestic wheel. Within a few years
the important improvement has been introduced of substituting hot
for cold water, in the troughs through which the fibres in the act
of spinning pass. By this means a much finer, smoother, and more
uniform thread can be spun than in the old way. The flax formerly
spun to twelve pounds a bundle is, with hot water, spun to six.
The inconvenience of the spray thrown from the yarn on the fliers
remains, aggravated by increased heat and dampness of the room
where this hot process goes on. Being a new expedient, it receives
daily changes and ameliorations. When first employed, the troughs
of hot water were quite open; they are now usually covered in, so
as almost entirely to obviate the objections to which they were
previously liable. With the covers has been also introduced a new
method of piecening or joining on any end, which may have been run
down, namely, by splicing it to the adjoining roving, whereby it
is carried through the water without imposing a necessity on the
spinner to put her hand into the water at all. In some places she
uses a wire, for the purpose of drawing through the end of the
roving to mend a broken yarn.
This may be considered the inherent evil of flax-spinning,--the
spray thrown off by the wet yarn, as it whirls about with the flier
of the spindles. A working dress, indeed, is generally worn by the
spinners; but, unless it be made of stuff impermeable to water,
like Mackintosh’s cloth, it will soon become uncomfortable, and
cause injury to health by keeping the body continually in a hot
bath. In some mills, water-proof cloth and leather aprons have
actually been introduced, which are the only practicable remedy;
for the free space which must be left round the spindles for the
spinner to see them play, is incompatible with any kind of fixed
guard or _parapluie_.
CHAPTER III.
ASBESTOS.
Uses of Asbestos--Carpasian flax--Still found in Cyprus--Used in
funerals--Asbestine-cloth--How manufactured--Asbestos used for fraud
and superstition by the Romish monks--Relic at Monte Casino--Further
impostures of the monks--Remarks thereon.
Varro mentions the name _Asbestos_ as a proof, that the cloth so called
was a Greek invention[550]. His argument is obviously correct. The term
(ἄσβεστος) means _inextinguishable_, and was most properly applied to
the wicks of lamps, which were made of this substance and were never
consumed.
[550] De Lingua Lat. L. v. p. 134. ed. Spengel.
The fullest account of the properties and uses of Asbestos is contained
in the following passage from Sotacus, a Greek author who wrote on
Stones[551]. The passage occurs in the Historiæ Commentitiæ, attributed
to Apollonius Dyscolus (_cap._ 36).
The Carystian stone has woolly and colored appendages, which are
_spun_ and woven into _napkins_. This substance is also twisted
into wicks, which, when burnt, are bright, but do not consume. The
napkins, when dirty, are not washed with water, but a fire is made
of sticks, and then the napkin is put into it. The dirt disappears,
and the napkin is rendered white and pure by the fire, and is
applicable to the same purposes as before. The wicks remain burning
with oil continually without being consumed. This stone is produced
in Carystus, from which it has its name, and in great abundance in
Cyprus under rocks to the left of Elmæum, as you go from Gerandros to
Soli.--_Yates’s Translation._
[551] Sotacus is several times quoted by Pliny (L. xxxvi., xxxvii.) as
a foreign writer on Stones.
“At Carystus,” says Strabo, “under Mount Ocha in Eubœa is produced the
stone, which is combed and woven so as to make _napkins_ (χειρόμακτρα)
or _handkerchiefs_. When these have become dirty, instead of being
washed, they are thrown into a flame and thus purified[552].”
[552] Lib. x. p. 19. ed. Sieb.
Plutarch speaks in similar terms of napkins, nets, and _head-dresses_,
made of the Carystian stone, but says, that it was no longer found in
his time, only thin veins of it, like hairs, being discoverable in the
rock[553].
[553] De Oraculorum Defectu, p. 770. ed. H. Stephani, Par. 1572.
Mr. Hawkins ascertained, that the rock, which was quarried in Mount
Ocha, now called St. Elias, above Carystus, is the Cipolino of the
Roman antiquaries[554]. Further north in the same island Dr. Sibthorp
observed “rocks of _Serpentine_ in beds of saline marble, forming the
Verdantique of the ancients[555]:” and he states, that on the shore
to the north of Negropont “the rocks are composed of serpentine stone
with veins of asbestos and soapstone intermixed[556].” Tournefort
speaks of Amiantus as brought from Carysto in his time, but of inferior
quality[557].
[554] Travels in various Countries of the East, edited by Walpole, p.
288.
[555] Ibid. p. 37.
[556] Ibid. p. 38.--N. B. Asbestos is always found in rocks of
Serpentine.
[557] Voyage, English Translation, vol. i. p. 129.
Pausanias (i. 26. 7.) says, the wick of the golden lamp which was kept
burning night and day in the temple of Minerva Polias at Athens, was
“of _Carpasian flax_, the only kind of flax which is indestructible
by fire.” This “Carpasian flax” was asbestos from the vicinity of
Carpasus, a town near the north-east corner of Cyprus, which retains
its ancient name, _Carpas_.
Dioscorides (L. v. c. 93.) gives a similar account of the qualities and
uses of Amiantus, and says it was produced in Cyprus[558].
[558] See p. 392.
Majolus says[559], that in the year 1566 he saw at Venice Podocattarus,
a knight of Cyprus, and a writer on the history of that island, who
exhibited at Venice cloth made of the asbestos of his country, which he
threw into the fire, and took it out uninjured and made quite clean.
[559] Dier. Canicular. Part I. Collog. xx. p. 453.
Referring to Cyprus, Sonnini (_Voyage en Grèce_, i. _p._ 66.) says,
L’amiante, _asbestos_, ou lin incombustible des anciens, est encore
aussi abondant qu’il le fut autrefois; la carrière qui le fournit est
dans la montagne d’Akamantide, près du cap Chromachiti.
Le talc est commun, surtout près de Larnaca, où on l’emploie à
blanchir les maisons; et le plàtre a de nombreuses carrières.
The “talc” may be the same with the “Lapis specularis,” which was found
in Cyprus, according to Pliny (xxxvi. 45.). The testimony of Sonnini so
far agrees with those of the ancients, that all the places mentioned
were on the northern side of the island, so that the asbestos seems to
have been found between Solæ towards the West and Carpas towards the
East.
Pietro della Valle, when he was at Larnaca, was presented with a piece
of the amiantus of the country, but says that it was no longer spun and
woven.
Pliny, if we can rely upon his testimony as given in the existing
editions of his works, states, that Asbestos was obtained in Arcadia
(H. N. xxxvii. 54.) and in India.
“A kind of flax has been discovered which is incombustible by fire.
It is called _live flax_; and we have seen napkins of it burning upon
the hearth at entertainments, and, when thus deprived of their dirt,
more resplendent through the agency of fire than they could have been
by the use of water. The funeral shirts made of it for kings preserve
the ashes of the body separate from those of the rest of the pile. It
is produced in deserts and in tracts scorched by the Indian sun, where
there are no showers, and among dire serpents, and thus it is inured
to live even when it is burnt. It is rare, and woven with difficulty
on account of the shortness of its fibres. That variety which is of
a red color becomes resplendent in the fire. When it has been found
it equals the prices of excellent pearls. It is called by the Greeks
Asbestine Flax, on account of its nature. Anaxilaus relates, that if a
tree surrounded with cloth made of it be beaten, the strokes are not
heard. On account of these properties this flax is the first in the
world. The next in value is that made of byssus, which is produced
about Elis in Achaia, and used principally for fine female ornaments.
I find that a scruple of this flax, as also of gold, was formerly
sold for four denarii[560]. The nap of linen cloths, obtained chiefly
from the sails of ships, is of great use in surgery, and their ashes
have the same effect as spodium. There is a certain kind of poppy
the use of which imparts the highest degree of whiteness to linen
cloths.”--Pliny, Lib. xix. ch. 4.
[560] i. e. eighteen grains of this flax were worth 2_s._ 10_d._ stg.,
being equal in value to its weight in gold.
Besides the manufacture of napkins, this description exactly agrees
with the accounts of Strabo, Sotacus, Dioscorides, and Plutarch.
Pliny’s account of the use of this material in funerals has been
remarkably confirmed by the occasional discovery of pieces of asbestine
cloth in the tombs of Italy. One was found in 1633 at Puzzuolo, and was
preserved in the Barberini gallery[561]. Another was found in 1702 a
mile without the gate called Porta Major in Rome. We have an account of
the discovery in a letter written from Rome at the time; and appended
to Montfaucon’s Travels through Italy. A marble sarcophagus having been
discovered in a vineyard was found to contain the cloth, which was
about 5 feet wide, and 6½ long. It contained a skull and the other
burnt bones of a human body. The sculptured marble indicates, that the
deceased was a man of rank. He is supposed to have lived not earlier
than the time of Constantine. This curious relic of antiquity has been
preserved in the Vatican Library since the period of its discovery, and
Sir J. E. Smith, who saw it there, gives the following description of
its appearance:--
It is coarsely spun, but as soft and pliant as silk. Our guide set
fire to one corner of it, and the very same part burnt repeatedly with
great rapidity and brightness without being at all injured[562].
[561] Keysler’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 292. London 1760.
[562] Tour on the Continent, vol. ii. p. 201.
Also in the Museo Barbonico at Naples there is a considerable piece of
asbestine cloth, found at Vasto in the Abruzzi, the ancient Histonium.
Hierocles, the historian, as quoted by Stephanus Byzantinus, gives the
following account of the Asbestos of India:--
The Brachmans use cloth made of a kind of flax, which is obtained from
rocks. _Webs_ are produced from it, which are neither subject to be
consumed by fire nor cleansed by water, but which, after they have
become full of dirt and stains, are rendered clear and white by being
thrown into the fire.
The following testimonies illustrate the fact, recorded by both
Hierocles and Pliny, that Asbestos was obtained from India.
Marco Polo[563] mentions, that incombustible cloth was woven from a
fibrous stone found at Chenchen in the territory of the Great Khan.
It was pounded in a brass mortar; then washed to separate the earthy
particles; spun and woven into cloth; and cleansed, when dirty, by
being thrown into the fire.
[563] Marsden’s Translation, p. 176.
Bugnon, in his _Rélation Exacte concernant les Caravanes_ (_Nancy_,
1707, _p._ 37-39.) mentions, that Amiantus was found in Cyprus and on
the confines of Arabia. He says, _they spun it and made stockings,
socks, and drawers_, which fitted closely; that over these they wore
their other garments; and that they were thus protected from the heat
in travelling with the caravans through Asia.
Basil, Bishop of Cæsarea, shows that he was acquainted with the
properties of this substance, _by comparing the three children cast
into the fiery furnace without being hurt_ (_Dan._ iii.) to Asbestos,
“which, when put into the fire seems to burn and to be turned to
ashes, but, when taken out, becomes purer and brighter than it was
before[564].”
[564] Homilia de Jejunio, p. 111.
Damasus (_in Silvestro Papa_) mentions, that the Emperor Constantine
directed asbestos to be used for the wicks of the lamps in his
baptistery at Rome.
For further particulars respecting the places where amiantus is
procured, and the mode of preparing it for the manufacture of cloth, we
refer to the treatises of mineralogists and to the Essays of Ciampini,
Tilingius, Mahudel, and Bruckmann on this particular subject. We are
informed, that it is softened and rendered supple by being steeped in
oil, and that _fibres of flax are then mixed with it_ in order that it
may be spun. When the cloth is woven, it is put into the fire, by which
the flax and oil are dissipated, and the asbestos alone remains[565].
[565] Tournefort’s Travels, vol. i. p. 129. Bruckmann, Hist. Nat.
Lapidis. Brunswic. 1727. p. 31, 32. This author says the asbestos
was put into warm water, and there rubbed and turned about. An
earth separates from it, which makes the water as white as milk.
This is repeated five or six times. The fibres, thus purified, are
spread out to dry.
Ignorance of the true nature of Asbestos caused it to be employed in
the dark ages for purposes of superstition and religious fraud. Of this
we have a proof in the following account which we find in the Chronicon
Casinense of Leo Ostiensis, L. ii. _c._ 33.
His diebus Monachi quidam ab Jerusolymis venientes particulam lintei,
cum quo pedes discipulorum Salvator extersit, secum detulerunt, et
ob reverentiam sancti hujus loci devotissimè hic obtulerunt, sexto
scilicet Idus Decembris; sed, cum a plurimis super hoc nulla fides
adhiberetur, illi fide fidentes protinus prædictam particulam in
accensi turibuli igne desuper posuerunt, quæ mox quidem in ignis
colorem conversa, post paululùm vero, amotis carbonibus, ad pristinam
speciem mirabiliter est reversa. Cumque excogitarent qualiter, vel
quanam in parte pignora tanta locarent, contigit, dispositione
divinâ, ut eodem ipso die, transmissus sit in hunc locum loculus
ille mirificus, ubi nunc recondita est ipsa lintei sancti particula,
argento et auro gemmisque Anglico opere subtiliter ac pulcherrimè
decoratus. Ibi ergò christallo superposito venerabiliter satis est
collocata: morisque est singulis annis, ipso die Cœnæ Dominicæ ad
mandatum Fratrum eam a Mansionariis deferri et in medium poni, duoque
candelabra ante illam accendi et indesinenter per totum mandati
spatium ab Acolito incensari. Demum verò juxta finem mandati a
singulis per ordinem fratribus flexis genibus devotissimè adorari et
reverentèr exosculari.
There is no good reason to doubt the truth of this narrative so far as
respects the veracity and credit of the historian. Leo Ostiensis became
an inmate of the Abbey of Monte Casino a few years after the event is
said to have happened, and could scarcely be misinformed respecting the
circumstances, more especially as he held during the latter part of
his abode there the office of Librarian. There is nothing improbable
in the story. Asbestine cloth, as we have learnt from Marco Polo, was
manufactured in Asia during the middle ages, and the reputed relic was
obtained at Jerusalem. That the pilgrims, who visited Jerusalem, should
be imposed upon in this manner, is in the highest degree probable,
since we are informed, that the very same substance _in its natural
state_ was often sold to devotees AS THE WOOD OF THE TRUE CROSS, and
its incombustibility was exhibited as the proof of its genuineness.
This we learn in the following passage from Tilingius, who wrote “_De
lino vivo aut asbestino et incombustibili_.”
Antonius Musa Brassavolus Ferrariensis tradit, impostores lapidem
Amiantum simplicibus mulierculis ostendere vendereque sæpenumero pro
ligno crusis Servatoris nostri. Id quod facile credunt, cùm igne
non comburatur, quodque ligni modo plurimis constet lineis intercur
santibus.--_Miscellanea Curiosa Naturæ Curiosorum_, _Decuriæ_ ii.
_Ann._ ii. _p._ 111. _Norembergæ_, 1684.
The monks on their arrival at Monte Casino would naturally display the
same evidence, by which they themselves had been convinced; and the
appearance of the cloth, when put into the fire and taken out of it,
is described exactly as it would be in fact, supposing it to have been
made of amiantus.
Montfaucon, in his Travels in Italy (_p._ 381. _English ed._ 8_vo._),
describes a splendid service book, which was written A. D. 1072 by Leo
at the expense of brother John of Marsicana, and presented by John to
the Monastery of Monte Casino, where it was exhibited to Montfaucon
as one of the most valuable and curious monuments. An illumination in
this book represents a monk _kneeling before St. Benedict_, the patron
and founder of the institution, and holding in his hands a cloth,
on which St. Benedict is placing his left foot. Montfaucon gives an
engraving from this picture: he supposes the cloth to be a monk’s
cowl, and conjectures that it was thus used in admitting novices. This
explanation is evidently a most unsatisfactory one, nothing being
produced to render it even probable. We believe the cloth to be that
the history of which has just now been given, and that the design of
the artist was to represent a monk _wiping the feet of St. Benedict
with the same cloth with which Jesus wiped the feet of his disciples_.
This supposition will appear the more probable if we attend to the
date of the MS. (A. D. 1072) and the persons, by whom and at whose
expense it was written. “_Brother_ John of Marsicana” appears to have
been at this time advanced in years, wealthy, and highly respected,
since we are informed, that in the year 1055, when Peter was chosen
Abbot of the Monastery, some of the brotherhood wished to choose John,
although he, foreseeing that the choice would be likely to fall on
him, had obstinately sworn on the altar, that he would never undertake
the office. John was at this time provost of Capua[566]. Seventeen
years afterwards he went to the expense of providing the service-book
seen by Montfaucon. He employed as his scribe one of the fraternity,
who was his junior and from the same city with himself. For there can
be scarcely a doubt, but that Leo, who wrote the MS., was the same
who was the author of the Chronicon. The author of the Chronicon, at
the commencement of his history, calls himself “Frater Leo, cognomine
Marsicanus[567]”. He was made Bishop of Ostia A. D. 1101, so that we
may suppose him to have been twenty or thirty years of age, when the
MS. was made. Of his aptitude for such an employment we cannot doubt,
when we consider his future labors as Librarian and author of the
Chronicle. But if these facts be evident, it is equally manifest, that
these two accomplished Benedictines could not have expressed their
veneration towards their founder in any way better suited to their
ideas and belief than by exhibiting in the manner described that relic,
WHICH WAS SOLEMNLY DISPLAYED ONCE A YEAR WITH BURNING CANDLES AND
ATTENDING ACOLYTHES TO THE ADMIRING AND ADORING CROWD OF DEVOTEES.
[566] Dominum Johannem, cognomine Marsicanum, qui tunc Capuæ erat
præpositus, &c.--_Leonis Ostientis Chronicon Casinense_, L. ii.
_c._ 92.
[567] Marsicana (civitas) was in Marsica, the territory of the ancient
Marsi.
On inquiry it is found that this relic exists no longer at Monte
Casino, although the original copy of the Chronicon of Leo Ostiensis is
still preserved in the Library[568]. It appears that the relic has long
been lost, since there is no mention either of it, or of the casket
which contained it in the “Descrizione Istorica del Monastero di Monte
Casino, Napoli, 1775.”
[568] Excursions in the Abruzzi, by the Hon. Keppel Craven, vol. i. p.
54.
A large glove of this substance is in the Hunterian Museum at
Glasgow. An English traveller states that he has lately seen at Parma
a _table-cloth_, made of Amiantus from Corsica, for the use of the
ex-Empress Maria Louisa, who resided there after the fall of Napoleon.
In modern times cloth of asbestos is scarcely made. Indeed it is not
probable that this material will ever be obtained in much abundance,
or that it will cease to be a rarity except in the places of its
production. It is never seen in Great Britain, or on the continent,
save in the cabinets of the curious.
The annexed Map (Plate VII.) is designed to indicate the divisions
of the Ancient World as determined by the Raw Materials principally
produced and employed in them for weaving.
The Red division produced Sheeps’-Wool and Goats’-Hair: also
Beavers’-Wool in the portion of this division, which lies to the North
of the Mediterranean Sea, and of the rivers Padus and Ister: and
Camels’-Wool and Camels’-Hair in the portion lying South-East of a line
drawn through the coast of Syria. The nations to the North of this
division clothed themselves in skins, furs, and felt.
The Yellow at the Eastern corner indicates the commencement of the
vast Region, unknown to the Ancients, the inhabitants of which clothed
themselves in Silk.
The Green indicates the countries, all low and bordering on rivers, in
which the cloth manufactured was chiefly Linen.
The Brown is designed to show the cultivation of Hemp in the low
country to the North of the Euxine Sea, and probably in other places,
North of the Red division, which were adapted for its growth.
Lastly, the Blue, which is the colour of the Baharein Isles and of
India, shows that the inhabitants of these countries have from time
immemorial clothed themselves in Cotton.
[Illustration: _Plate VII_
_SERICA_
_MAP showing the Divisions of the ANCIENT WORLD
according to the Raw Materials principally produced in them for
Weaving._]
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX A.
ON PLINY’S NATURAL HISTORY.
Sheep and wool--Price of wool in Pliny’s time--Varieties of wool
and where produced--Coarse wool used for the manufacture of
carpets--Woollen cloth of Egypt--Embroidery--Felting--Manner of
cleansing--Distaff of Tanaquil--Varro--Tunic--Toga--Undulate or waved
cloth--Nature of this fabric--Figured cloths in use in the days of
Homer (900 B. C.)--Cloth of gold--Figured cloths of Babylon--Damask
first woven at Alexandria--Plaided textures first woven in
Gaul--$150,000 paid for a Babylonish coverlet--Dyeing of wool in the
fleece--Observations on sheep and goats--Dioscurias a city of the
Colchians--Manner of transacting business.
LIB. VIII. c. 47s. 72. 50s. 76.[569]
[569] The edition here followed is that of Sillig, Lipsiæ, 1831-6, 5
vols., 12mo.
“We are also much indebted to sheep both in sacrifices to propitiate
the gods, and in the use of their fleeces. As oxen produce by
cultivation the food of men, so we owe to sheep the protection of
our bodies.... There are two principal kinds of sheep, the _covered_
and the _common_. The former is softer, the latter more delicate in
feeding, inasmuch as the covered feeds on brambles. Its coverings are
chiefly of Arabic materials.
“The most approved wool is the Apulian, and that which is called
_the wool of Greek sheep_ in Italy, and _the Italic wool_ in other
places. The third kind in value is that obtained from Milesian sheep.
The Apulian wools have a short staple, and are only celebrated for
making pænulas. They attain the highest degree of excellence about
Tarentum and Canusium. In Asia wools of the same kind are obtained at
Laodicea. No white wool is preferred to those which are produced about
the Po, nor has a pound ever yet exceeded a hundred sesterces (about
$3,60.). Sheep are not shorn everywhere: in certain places the practice
of pulling off the wool continues. There are various colors of wool,
so that we want terms to denote all. Spain produces some of those
varieties which we call _native_; Pollentia, near the Alps, furnishes
the chief kinds of black wool; Asia and Bætica those ruddy varieties
called _Erythrean_; Canusium a sandy-colored[570] wool; and Tarentum
one of a dark shade peculiar to that locality. New-shorn greasy wools
have all a medicinal virtue. The wool of Istria and Liburnia being
more like hair than wool, is unsuitable for making the cloths which
have a _long_ nap. This is also the case with the wool of Salacia in
Lusitania; but the cloth made from it is recommended by its _plaided
pattern_. A similar kind is produced about Piscenæ (i. e. _Pezenas_),
in the province of Narbonne, and likewise in Egypt, the woollen cloth
of which country, having been worn by use, is _embroidered_ and lasts
some time longer. The _coarse wool with a thick staple was used in
very ancient times for carpets_: at least Homer (900 B. C.) speaks
of the use of it. _The Gauls have one method of embroidering these
carpets, and the Parthians another._ Portions of wool also make cloth
_by being forced together by themselves_[571]. With the addition of
vinegar these also resist iron, nay even fires, which are the last
expedient for purging them; for, having been taken out of the caldrons
of the polishers, they are sold for the stuffing of beds, an invention
made, I believe, in Gaul, certainly in the present day distinguished
by Gallic names: for in what age it commenced I could not easily say,
since the ancients used beds of straw, such as are now employed in
camps. The cloths called _gausapa_ began to be used within the memory
of my father; those called _amphimalla_ within my own, (See Part
First, p. 30,) as well as the shaggy coverings for the stomach, called
_ventralia_. For the tunic with the laticlave is now first beginning
to be woven after the manner of the _gausapa_. The black wools are
never dyed. Concerning the dyeing of the others we shall speak in their
proper places, in treating of sea-shells or the nature of herbs.
“M. Varro says, that the wool continued to his time upon the distaff
and spindle of Tanaquil, also called Caia Cæcilia, in the temple of
Sangus; and that there remained in the temple of Fortune a royal
undulate toga made by her, which Servius Tullius had worn. Hence
arose the practice of carrying a distaff with wool upon it, and a
spindle with its thread, after virgins who were going to be married.
She first wove the straight tunic, such as is worn by tiros together
with the _toga pura_, and by newly-married women. The _undulate_
or waved cloth was originally one of the most admired; from it was
derived the _soriculate_[572]. Fenestrella writes, that _scraped_ and
_Phryxian_ togas came into favor about the end of the reign of the
Divine Augustus. The _thick poppied_ togas are of remoter origin, being
noticed even so far back as by the poet Lucilius in his Torquatus.
The _toga prætexta_ was invented among the Etruscans. I find evidence
that kings wore the _striped toga_[573], that figured cloths were
in use even in the days of Homer; and that these gave rise to the
_triumphal_. To produce this effect with the needle was the invention
of the Phrygians, on which account cloths so embroidered have been
called _Phrygionic_. In the same part of Asia king Attalus (see Part
I. p. 88.) discovered the art of inserting a woof of gold: from which
circumstance the _Attalic_ cloths received their name. Babylon first
obtained celebrity by its method of _diversifying the picture with
different colors_, and gave its name to textures of this description.
But to weave with a great number of leashes, so as to produce the
cloths called _polymita_ (i. e. damask cloths), was first taught in
Alexandria; to divide by squares (i. e. plaids) in Gaul. Metellus
Scipio brought it as an accusation against Cato, that even in his time
Babylonian coverlets for triclinia were sold for 800,000 sesterces
($30,000), although the emperor Nero lately gave for them no less
than 4,000,000 sesterces (about $150,000). The _prætexta_ of Servius
Tullius, covering the statue of Fortune which he dedicated, remained
until the death of Sejanus, and it is wonderful that they had neither
decayed of themselves nor been injured by the worms of moths through
the space of 560 years. We have, moreover, seen the fleeces of living
sheep dyed with purple, with the coccus, or the murex, in pieces of
bark _a foot and a half long_, luxury appearing to force this upon them
as if it were their nature.
“In the sheep itself the excellence of the breed is sufficiently shown
by the shortness of the legs and the clothing of the belly. Those which
have naked bellies used to be called _apicæ_, and were condemned. The
tails of the Syrian sheep are a cubit broad, and in that part they
bear a great quantity of wool. It is thought premature to castrate
lambs before they are five months old. In Spain, but especially in
Corsica, there is a race of animals called musmons, resembling sheep,
except that their covering is more like goats’-hair. The ancients
called the mixed breed of sheep and musmons _Umbri_. _Sheep have a very
weak head_, on which account they are obliged to turn from the sun in
feeding. _They are most foolish animals._ Where they have been afraid
to enter, they follow one dragged along by the horn. They live ten
years at the longest, but in Æthiopia thirteen years. Goats live there
eleven years, and in other countries eight at the most.... In Cilicia
and about the Syrtes, goats have a shaggy coat, which admits of being
shorn.”
[570] This term is adopted as the best translation of the Latin
_fulvus_, which, as well as the corresponding Greek adjective
ξανθὸς, denoted a light yellowish-brown. Hence it was so commonly
applied to the light hair, which accompanies a light complexion and
often indicates mental vivacity, and which has consequently been
always considered beautiful. Hence also it was used to denote the
appearance of the Tiber and other rivers, when they were rendered
turbid by the quantity of sand suspended in their waters.--See
Fellows’s _Discoveries in Lycia_.
[571] See Appendix C.
[572] It is probable that _soriculate_ cloth was a kind of velvet, or
plush, so called from its resemblance to the coat of the
field-mouse, _sorex_, dim. _soricula_. _Soriculata_ may have been
changed into _sororiculata_ by repeating or at the beginning of the
word.
[573] The toga worn by the kings and other supreme magistrates among
the Romans was called _trabea_ from the stripes, which were
compared to the joists or rafters of a building (_trabes_).
LIB. VI. c. 5.
“The remaining shores are occupied by savage nations, as the
Melanchlæni and Coraxi, Dioscurias, a city of the Colchians, near the
river Anthemus, being now deserted, although formerly so illustrious,
that Timosthenes has recorded that three hundred nations used to resort
to it, speaking different languages; and that business was afterwards
transacted on our part through the medium of one hundred and thirty
interpreters.”
APPENDIX B.
ON THE ORIGIN AND MANUFACTURE OF LINEN AND COTTON PAPER.
THE INVENTION OF LINEN PAPER PROVEN TO BE OF EGYPTIAN ORIGIN,--COTTON
PAPER MANUFACTURED BY THE BUCHARIANS AND ARABIANS, A. D. 704.
Wehrs gives the invention of Linen paper to Germany--Schönemann
to Italy--Opinion of various writers, ancient and modern--Linen
paper produced in Egypt from mummy-cloth, A. D. 1200--Testimony of
Abdollatiph--Europe indebted to Egypt for linen paper until the
eleventh century--Cotton paper--The knowledge of manufacturing,
how procured, and by whom--Advantages of Egyptian paper
manufacturers--Clugny’s testimony--Egyptian manuscript of linen paper
bearing date A. D. 1100--Ancient water-marks on linen paper--Linen
paper first introduced into Europe by the Saracens of Spain--The Wasp
a paper-maker--Manufacture of paper from shavings of wood, and from
the stalks or leaves of Indian-corn.
No part of the _Res Diplomatica_ has been more frequently discussed
than the question respecting the origin of paper made from linen rags.
The inquiry is interesting on account of the unspeakable importance
of this material in connection with the progress of knowledge and
all the means of civilization, and it also claims attention from the
philologist as an aid in determining the age of manuscripts.
Wehrs refers to a document written A. D. 1308 as the oldest known
specimen of linen paper; and, as the invention must have been at least
a little previous to the preparation of this document, he fixes upon
1300 as its probable date[574]. Various writers on the subject, as Von
Murr, Breitkopf, Schönemann, &c., concur in this opinion.
[574] Vom Papier, p. 309, 343.
Gotthelf Fischer, in his Essay on Paper-marks[575], cites an extract
from an account written in 1301 on linen paper. In this specimen the
mark is a circle surmounted by a sprig, at the end of which is a star.
The paper is thick, firm, and well grained; and its water-lines and
water-marks (_vergures et pontuseaux_) may readily be distinguished.
[575] This Essay, translated into French, is published by Jansen, in
his Essai sur l’origine de la gravure en bois et en taille-douce,
Paris 1808, tome i. p. 357-385.
The date was carried considerably higher by Schwandner, Principal
Keeper of the Imperial Library at Vienna, who found among the charters
of the Monastery of Göss in Upper Stiria one in a state of decay, only
seven inches long and three wide. So highly did he estimate the value
of this curious relic as to publish in 1788 a full account of his
discovery in a thin quarto volume, which bears the following title,
“_Chartam linteam antiquissimam, omnia hactenus producta specimina
ætate suâ superantem, ex cimelüs Bibliothecæ Augustæ Vindobonensis
exponit Jo. Ge. Schwandner_,” &c. The document is a mandate of
Frederick II. Emperor of the Romans, entrusting to the Archbishop
of Saltzburg and the Duke of Austria the determination of a dispute
between the Duke of Carinthia and the Monastery of Göss respecting the
property of the latter in Carinthia. Schwandner proves the date of it
to be 1243. He does not say whether it has any lines or water-mark,
but is quite satisfied from its flexibility and other qualities, that
it is linen. Although on the first discovery of this document some
doubt was expressed as to its genuineness, it appears to have risen
in estimation with succeeding writers; and we apprehend it is rather
from inadvertence than from any deficiency in the evidence, that it is
not noticed at all by Schönemann, Ebert, Delandine, or by Horne. Due
attention is, however, bestowed upon it by August Friedrich Pfeiffer
_Uber Bücher-Handschriften, Erlangen_ 1810, _p._ 39, 40.
With regard to the circumstances which led to the invention of the
paper _now in common use_, or the country in which it took place,
we find in the writers on the subject from Polydore Virgil to the
present day nothing but conjectures or confessions of ignorance. Wehrs
supposes, and others follow him, that in making paper linen rags were
either by accident or through design at first mixed with cotton rags,
so as to produce a paper, which was partly linen and partly cotton,
and that this led by degrees to the manufacture of paper from linen
only[576]. Wehrs also endeavors to claim the honor of the invention
for Germany, his own country; but Schönemann gives that distinction
to Italy, because there, in the district of Ancona, a considerable
manufacture of cotton paper was carried on before the fourteenth
century[577]. All however admit, that they have no satisfactory
evidence on the subject.
[576] Vom Papier, p. 183.
[577] Diplomatik, vol. i. p. 494.
A clear light is thrown upon these questions by a remark of the Arabian
physician, Abdollatiph, who visited Egypt A. D. 1200. He informs
us[578], “_that the cloth found in the catacombs, and used to envelope
the mummies, was made into garments, or sold to the scribes to make
paper for shop-keepers_.” Having shown (See Part IV. Chapter I.) that
this cloth was linen, the passage of Abdollatiph, therefore, may be
considered as a decisive proof, which, however, has never been produced
as such, of the manufacture of linen paper as early as the year 1200.
[578] Chapter iv. p. 188 of Silvestre de Sacy’s French translation,
p. 221 of Wahl’s German translation. This interesting passage was
translated as follows by Edward Pococke, the younger:--“Et qui
ex Arabibus, incolisve Rifæ, aliisve, has arcas indagant, hæc
integumenta diripiunt, quodque in iis rapiendum invenitur; et
conficiunt sibi vestes, aut ea chartarüs vendunt ad conficiendam
chartam emporeaticam.”
Silvestre de Sacy (Notice, &c.), animadverting on White’s
version which is entirely different, expresses his approbation of
Pococke’s, from which Wahl’s does not materially differ.
This account coincides remarkably with what we know from various other
sources. Professor Tychsen, in his learned and curious dissertation
on the use of paper from Papyrus (published in the _Commentationes
Reg. Soc. Gottingensis Recentiores_, vol. iv. A. D. 1820), has brought
abundant testimonies to prove _that Egypt supplied all Europe with
this kind of paper until towards the end of the eleventh century_. The
use of it was then abandoned, cotton paper being employed instead. The
Arabs in consequence of their conquests in Bucharia had learnt the art
of making _cotton paper_ about the year 704, and through them or the
Saracens it was introduced into Europe in the eleventh century[579].
We may therefore consider it as in the highest degree probable, that
the mode of making cotton paper was known to the paper-makers of Egypt.
At the same time endless quantities of linen cloth, the best of all
materials for the manufacture of paper, were to be obtained from the
catacombs.
[579] _Wehrs vom Papier_, p. 131, 144, _Note_. _Breitkopf, p._ 81.
If we put together these circumstances, we cannot but perceive how
they conspire to illustrate and justify the statement of Abdollatiph.
We perceive the interest which the great Egyptian paper-manufacturers
had in the improvement of their article, and the unrivalled facilities
which they possessed for this purpose; and thus, we apprehend,
the direct testimony of an eye-witness of the highest reputation
for veracity and intelligence, supported as it is by collateral
probabilities, clears up in a great measure the long-agitated question
respecting the origin of paper such as we _now_ commonly use for
writing.
The evidence being carried thus far, we may take in connection with it
the following passage from Petrus Cluniacensis:--
[Latin 444]Sed cojusmodi librum? Si talem quales quotidie in usu
legendi habemus, utique ex pellibus arietum, hircorum, vel vitulorum,
sive ex biblis, vel juncis orientalium paludum, aut ex rasuris veterum
pannorum, seu ex qualibet alia forte viliore materia compactos,
et pennis avium vel calamis palustrium locorum, qualibet tinctura
infectis descriptos.--_Tractatus adv. Judæos_, c. v. _in Max. Bibl.
vet. Patrum, tom._ xxii. p. 1014.
All the writers upon this subject, except Trombelli, suppose the
Abbot of Clugny to allude in the phrase “ex rasuris veterum pannorum”
to the use of woollen and cotton cloth only, and not of linen. But,
as we are now authorized to carry up the invention of linen paper
higher than before, and as the mention of it by Abdollatiph justifies
the conclusion that it was manufactured in Egypt some time before his
visit to that country in 1200, we may reasonably conjecture that Petrus
Cluniacensis alluded to the same fact. The treatise above quoted is
supposed to have been written A. D. 1120. The account of the materials
used for making books appears to be full and accurate. The expression
“_scrapings of old cloths_” agrees exactly with the mode of making
paper from linen rags, but is not in accordance with any facts known to
us respecting the use of woollen or cotton cloth. The only objection
against this view of the subject is, that, as Peter of Clugny had
not when he wrote this passage travelled eastward of France, we can
scarcely suppose him to have been sufficiently acquainted with the
manners and productions of Egypt to introduce any allusion to their
newly invented mode of making paper. But we know that the Abbey of
Clugny had more than 300 churches, colleges, and monasteries dependent
on it, and that at least two of these were in Palestine and one at
Constantinople. The intercourse which must have subsisted in this way
between the Abbey of Clugny and the Levant, may account for the Abbot
Peter’s acquaintance with the fact. It is therefore probable that he
alludes to the manufacture of paper in Egypt from the cloth of mummies,
which on this supposition had been invented early in the twelfth
century[580].
[580] Gibbon says (vol. v. p. 295, 4to edition), “The inestimable art
of transforming linen into paper has been diffused from the
manufacture of _Samarcand_ over the Western world.” This assertion
appears to be entirely destitute of foundation.
Another fact, which not only coincides with all the evidence now
produced, but carries the date of the invention still a little higher,
is the description of the manuscript No. 787, containing an Arabic
version of the Aphorisms of Hippocrates, in Casiri’s _Bibliotheca
Arabico-Hispana Escurialensis_, tom. i. p.
235. This MS. was probably brought from Egypt, or the East. It has a
date corresponding to A. D. 1100, and is of linen paper according to
Casiri, who calls it “Chartaceus.”
“Codices chartacei,” _i. e._ MSS. on linen paper, as old as the
thirteenth century, are mentioned not unfrequently in the Catalogues of
the Escurial, the Nani, and other libraries. Joseph Brooks Yates, Esq.
F. S. A., of West Dingle near Liverpool, is in possession of a fine
MS. of some of the Homilies of Chrysostom, written in all probability
not later than the thirteenth century. It is on linen paper, with the
water-lines perfectly distinct in both directions. The water-mark is a
tower, the size and form of which are shown in Plate IX. Fig. 18. From
the appearance of this paper, it is probable that the form or mould may
perhaps have been made of thin rods of cane or some other vegetable.
These rods, however, may have been metallic. They were placed so close,
that of the water-lines produced by them 17 may be counted in the space
of an inch, the water-lines at right angles to these being one inch and
a quarter apart.
The preceding facts coincide with the opinion long ago expressed by
Prideaux, who concluded that linen paper was an Eastern invention,
because “most of the old MSS. in Arabic and other oriental languages
are written on this sort of paper,” and that it was first introduced
into Europe by the Saracens of Spain[581].
[581] Old and New Testament connected, Part I. chapter 7. p. 393, 3rd
edition, folio.
A few observations, by way of concluding this part of the subject,
may here be properly bestowed upon the _material_ with which the
WASP-FAMILY construct their nests.
The wasp is _a paper-maker_, and a most perfect and intelligent one.
While mankind were arriving, by slow degrees, at the art of fabricating
this valuable substance, the wasp was making it before their eyes, by
very much the same process as that by which human hands now manufacture
it with the best aid of chemistry and machinery. While some nations
carved their records on wood, and stone, and brass, and leaden
tablets,--others, more advanced, wrote with a style on wax,--others
employed the inner bark of trees, and others the skins of animals
rudely prepared,--the wasp was manufacturing a firm and durable paper.
Even when the papyrus was rendered more fit, by a process of art, for
the transmission of ideas in writing. The paper of the papyrus was
formed of the leaves of the plant, dried, pressed, and polished; _the
wasp alone knew how to reduce vegetable fibres to a pulp, and then
unite them by a size or glue, spreading the substance out into a smooth
and delicate leaf_. This is exactly the process of paper-making. It
would seem that the wasp knows, as the modern paper-makers now know,
that the fibres of rags, whether linen or cotton, are not the only
materials that can be used in the formation of paper; she employs other
vegetable matters, converting them into a proper consistency by her
assiduous exertions. In some respects she is more skilful even than our
paper-makers, for she takes care to retain her fibres of sufficient
length, by which she renders her paper as strong as she requires. Many
manufacturers of the present day cut their material into small bits,
and thus produce a rotten article. One great distinction between good
and bad paper is its toughness; and this difference is invariably
produced by the fibre of which it is composed being long, and therefore
tough; or short, and therefore friable.
The wasp has been laboring at her manufacture of paper, from her
first creation, with precisely the same instruments and the same
materials; and her success has been unvarying. Her machinery is very
simple, and therefore it is never out of order. She learns nothing,
and forgets nothing. Men, from time to time, lose their excellence in
particular arts, and they are slow in finding out real improvements.
Such improvements are often the effect of accident. Paper is now
manufactured very extensively by machinery, in all its stages; and
thus, instead of a single sheet being made by hand, a stream of paper
is poured out, which would form a roll large enough to extend round
the globe, if such a length were desirable. The first experimenters
on paper machinery in England, Messrs. Fourdrinier, it is said,
spent the enormous sum of 40,000_l._ in vain attempts to render the
machine capable of determining the width of the roll; and, at last,
accomplished their object at the suggestion of a bystander, by a strap
revolving upon an axis, at a cost of _three shillings and sixpence_!
Such is the difference between the workings of human knowledge and
experience, and those of animal instinct. We proceed slowly and in the
dark--but our course is not bounded by a narrow line, for it seems
difficult to say what is the perfection of any art; animals go clearly
to a given point--but they can go no further. We may, however, learn
something from their perfect knowledge of what is within their range.
_It is not improbable that if man had attended in an earlier state of
society to the labors of wasps, he would have sooner known how to make
paper_. We are still behind in our arts and sciences, because we have
not always been observers. If we had watched the operations of insects,
and the structure of insects in general, with more care, we might have
been far advanced in the knowledge of many arts which are yet in their
infancy, for nature has given us abundance of patterns. We have learnt
to perfect some instruments of sound by examining the structure of the
human ear; and the mechanism of an eye has suggested some valuable
improvements in achromatic glasses.
Réaumur has given a very interesting account of the wasps of Cayenne
(_Chartergus nidulans_), which hang their nests in trees[582]. Like
the bird of Africa called the social grosbeak (_Loxia socia_), they
fabricate a perfect house, capable of containing many hundreds of
their community, and suspend it on high out of the reach of attack.
But the Cayenne wasp is a more expert artist than the bird. He is _a
pasteboard-maker_;--and the card with which he forms the exterior
covering of his abode is so smooth, so strong, so uniform in its
texture, and so white that the most skilful manufacturer of this
substance might be proud of the work. It takes ink admirably!
[582] Mémoires sur les Insectes, tom. vi., mem. vii. See also Bonnet,
vol. ix.
The nest of the pasteboard-making wasp is impervious to water. It hangs
upon the branch of a tree, and those rain-drops which penetrate through
the leaves never rest upon its hard and polished surface. A small
opening for the entrance of the insects terminates its funnel-shaped
bottom. It is impossible to unite more perfectly the qualities of
lightness and strength.
Mr. J. Rennie, speaking of wasps’ nests, gives us the following
interesting account of one lately examined by him:--“The length,”
says he, “is about nine inches, six stout circular platforms stretch
internally across, like so many floors, and fixed all round to the
walls of the nest. They are smooth above, with hexagonal cells on the
under surface. These platforms are not quite flat, but rather concave
above, like a watch-glass reversed; the centre of each platform is
perforated for the admission of the wasps, at the extremity of a short
funnel-like projection, and through this access is gained from story to
story. On each platform, therefore, can the wasps walk leisurely about,
attending to the pupæ secured in the cells, which, with the mouths
downward, cover the ceiling above their heads--the height of the latter
being just convenient for their work.”
Pendent wasps’-nests of enormous size are found in Ceylon, suspended
often in the talipot-tree at the height of seventy feet. The appearance
of these nests thus elevated, with the larger leaves of the tree,
used by the natives as umbrellas and tents, waving over them, is very
singular. Though no species of European wasp is a storer of honey,
yet this rule does not apply to certain species of South America. In
the “Annals and Magazine of Natural History” for June, 1841, will
be found a detailed account, with a figure of the pendent nest of a
species termed by Mr. A. White _Myraptera scutellaris_. The external
case consists of stout cardboard covered with conical knobs of various
sizes. The entrances are artfully protected by pent-roofs from the
weather and heavy rains; and are tortuous, so as to render the ingress
of a moth or other large insect difficult. Internally are fourteen
combs, exclusive of a globular mass, the nucleus of several circular
combs, which are succeeded by others of an arched form--that is,
constituting segments of circles.
Good writing, printing and wrapping paper, may be procured from the
shavings of common wood. The wood must be reduced to shavings by the
ordinary jack-plain shaving size. The shavings are then placed in a
cistern or boiler sufficiently large, and covered with water, which
should be raised to the boiling-point. To every one hundred pounds of
the wood so reduced, from twelve to eighteen pounds of alkali, either
vegetable or mineral, is to be added, in proportion to its quality for
strength. If salts are used they should be reduced before coming in
contact with the wood. The salts may, however, be put in with the water
and wood before reduction, but the first method is the most preferable.
Should lime be used, there must be a sufficient, in all cases, to equal
twelve pounds of pure black salts. One hundred pounds of wood will, if
well attended to, make from five to seven reams of paper[583].
[583] Mr. Edmund Shaw, of Fenchurch Street, London, obtained a
patent in England bearing date September 14, 1837, for a method
of manufacturing paper from the leaves which cover the ears of
Indian-corn.
According to this patent the envelopes or leaves which cover
the corn are in the first instance put into a vessel containing
water. The water may be pure or slightly alkaline; the water is
then boiled in the vessel into which the aforesaid envelopes or
fellicular leaves are thrown, after being macerated. When they
have imbibed water and become thickened and swollen, so that the
matter interposed between the fibres is reduced to a state of pulp
or jelly, a slight beating by fulling, mallet, or other mechanical
means will effect a separation of the fibre from the adherent
glutinous matter, and washing or rinsing with water during the
beating, will cleanse it entirely from the glutinous matter.
The fibre is then bleached, by immersing, or immersing and beating
or stirring it about in a solution of chloride of lime, or with
beating engines, as at present practised for the bleaching of
rags in paper mills, and the fibre is in like manner reduced to
pulp, and paper manufactured therefrom, or the quality of the
paper may be varied by the admixture of a portion of rags or other
filamentous substance.
It may be well to remark, that some attempts to produce paper from
the above mentioned material, have been made, but were abandoned
from the incapability of producing good white paper.
The patentee claims the mode, or process, above described of making
white paper by the application of bleached pulp, produced from the
stalks or leaves of Indian-corn.
APPENDIX C.
ON FELT.
MANUFACTURE AND USE OF FELTING BY THE ANCIENTS.
Felting more ancient than weaving--Felt used in the East--Use of it
by the Tartars--Felt made of goats’-hair by the Circassians--Use
of felt in Italy and Greece--Cap worn by the Cynics, Fishermen,
Mariners, Artificers, &c.--Cleanthes compares the moon to a
skull-cap--Desultores--Vulcan--Ulysses--Phrygian bonnet--Cap
worn by the Asiatics--Phrygian felt of Camels’-hair--Its great
stiffness--Scarlet and purple felt used by Babylonish decorators--Mode
of manufacturing Felt--Northern nations of Europe--Cap of
liberty--Petasus--Statue of Endymion--Petasus in works of ancient
art--Hats of Thessaly and Macedonia--Laconian or Arcadian hats--The
Greeks manufacture Felt 900 B. C.--Mercury with the pileus and
petasus--Miscellaneous uses of Felt.
There seems no reason to question the correctness of Professor
Beckmann’s observation[584], that the making of felt was invented
_before_ weaving[585]. The middle and northern regions of Asia are
occupied by Tartars and other populous nations, whose manners and
customs appear to have continued unchanged from the most remote
antiquity[586], and to whose simple and uniform mode of existence
this article seems to be as necessary as food. Felt is the principal
substance both of their clothing and of their habitations. Carpini, who
in the year 1246 went as ambassador to the great Khan of the Moguls,
Mongals, or Tartars, says, “Their houses are round, and artificially
made like tents, of rods and twigs interwoven, having a round hole in
the middle of the roof for the admission of light and the passage of
smoke, _the whole being covered with felt, of which likewise the doors
are made_[587].” Very recently the same account of these “portable
tents of felt” has been given by Julius von Klaproth[588]. Kupffer says
of the Caratchai, “Leurs larges manteaux de feutre leur servent en même
tems de matelas et de couverture[589].” The
large mantle of felt, here mentioned, is used for the same purpose in
the neighboring country of Circassia[590]. One of these mantles now in
the possession of Mr. Urquhart was made of black goats’-hair, and had
on the outside a long shaggy villus. The Circassians sleep under this
mantle by night, and wear it, when required, over their other dress
by day. A similar article is thus described by Colonel Leake[591]:
the postillions in Phrygia “wear a cloak of white camels’-hair, _half
an inch thick_, and so stiff that the cloak stands without support,
when set upright on the ground. There are neither sleeves nor hood;
but only holes to pass the hands through, and projections like wings
upon the shoulders for the purpose of turning off the rain. It is the
manufacture of the country.” The Chinese traveller, Chy Fa Hian, who
visited India at the end of the fourth century, says, that the people
of Chen Chen, a kingdom in a mountainous district situated about the
Lake of Lob, wore dresses like those of the Chinese, except that they
made use of felt and stuffs (_du feutre et des étoffes_[592]).
[584] _Anleitung zur Technologie_, p. 117, _Note_.
[585] See Gilroy’s Treatise on the _Art of Weaving_, p. 14.
[586] Malcolm’s _Hist. of Persia_, ch. vi. vol. i. pp. 123, 124.
[587] Kerr’s _Collection of Voyages and Travels_, vol. i. p. 128. See
also p. 167, where the same facts are related by William de
Rubruquis.
The account which Herodotus gives (iv. 23) of the habitations of the
Argippæi evidently alludes to customs similar to those of the modern
Tartars. He says, “They live under trees, covering the tree in
winter with strong and thick undyed felt (πίλῳ στεγνῷ λευκῷ), and
removing the felt in summer.” Among the ceremonies observed by the
Scythians in burying the dead, Herodotus also mentions the erection
of three stakes of wood, which were surrounded with a close covering
of woollen felt (iv. 73). Also, in the next section but one (iv. 75.)
there is an evident allusion to the practice of living under tents
made of felt (ὑποδύνουσι ὑπὸ τοὺς πίλους).
[588] _Reise in dem Kaucasus und nach Georgien_, ch. vi. p. 161.
[589] _Voyage dans les Environs du Mont Elbrouz._ St. Petersburg, 1829,
4to, p. 20.
[590] _Travels in Circassia_, by Edmund Spencer.
[591] _Journal of a Tour in Asia Minor_, p. 38.
[592] Ch. ii. p. 7, of Rémusat’s Translation, Par. 1836, 4to.
[Illustration: PLATE VIII.]
In conformity with the prevailing use of this manufacture in the
colder regions of Asia, scarlet or purple felt (such as that lately
_re-invented_ at Leeds, in England), was used by the Babylonish
decorators for the drapery of the funeral pile, when Alexander
celebrated the splendid obsequies of Hephæstion: for so we must
understand the expression φοινικίδες πιληταί (Diod. Sic. xvii. 115. p.
251, Wess.). Xenophon (_Cycrop._ v. 5. § 7.) mentions the use of felt
manufactured in Media, _as a covering for chairs and couches_. The
Medes also used bags and sacks of felt (Athenæus, 1. xii. p. 540 _c._
Casaub.).
The process, by which wool is converted into felt, was called by the
Greeks πίλησις (Plato _de Leg._ 1. viii. p. 115. ed. Bekker), literally
a compression, from πιλέω, to compress[593]. The ancient Greek scholion
on the passage of Plato here referred to thus explains the term:
Πιλήσεως· τῆς διὰ τῆς τῶν ἐρίων πυκνώσεως γινομένης ἐσθῆτος, _i. e._
“cloth made by the thickening of wool.” With this definition of felt
agrees the following description of a πέτασος in a Greek epigram, which
records the dedication of it to Mercury:--
Σοὶ τὸν πιληθέντα δι’ εὐξάντου τριχὸς ἀμνοῦ,
Ἑρμᾶ, Καλλιτέλης ἐκρέμασε πέτασον.
Brunck, _Anal._ ii. 41.
[593] Xenophanes thought that _the moon_ was _a compressed cloud_
(νέφος πεπιλημένον, Stobæi _Eclog._ i. 27. p. 550, ed. Heeren); _and
that the air was emitted from the earth by its compression_
(πίλησις, i. 23. p. 484).
The art of felting was called ἡ πιλητικὴ, (Plato, _Polit._ ii. 2. p.
296, ed. Bekker). According to the ancient Greek and Latin glossaries,
and to Julius Pollux (vii. 30), a felt-maker, or hatter, was πιλοποιὸς
or πιλωτοποιὸς, in Latin _coactiliarius_. From πῖλος (_dim._ πίλιον,
_second dim._ πιλίδιον), the proper term for _felt_ in general, derived
from the root of πιλέω, came the verb πιλόω, signifying _to felt_,
or _to make felt_, and from this latter verb was formed the ancient
participle πιλωτὸς, _felted_, which again gave origin to πιλωτοποιός.
It may be observed, that our English word _felt_ is evidently a
participle or a derivative, and that its verb or root FEL
appears to be the same with the root of πιλέω.
The Latin _cogo_, which was used, like the Greek πιλέω, to denote the
act of compressing, or forcing the separate hairs together, gave origin
to the participle _coactus_, and its derivative _coactilis_. Pliny (H.
N. viii. 48. s. 73.), after speaking of woven stuffs, mentions in the
following terms the use of wool for making felt: “Lanæ et per se coactæ
(_al._ coactam) vestem ficiunt,” _i. e._ “Parcels of wool, driven
together by themselves, make cloth.” This is a very exact, though
brief description of the process of felting. The following monumental
inscription (Gruter, p. 648, n. 4.) contains the title _Lanarius
coactiliarius_, meaning _a manufacturer of woollen felt:_--
M. BALLORIUS M. L. LARISEUS, LANARIUS COACTILIARIUS, CONJUGA
CARISSIMÆ B. M. FEC.
Helvius Successus, the son of a freed man, and the father of the Roman
emperor Pertinax, was a hatter in Liguria (_tabernam coactiliariam in
Liguria exercuerat_, Jul. Cap. _Pertinax_, c. 3.). Pertinax himself,
being fond of money, having the perseverance expressed by his agnomen,
and having doubtless, in the course of his expeditions into the East,
made valuable observations respecting the manufacture which he had
known from his boyhood, continued and extended the same business,
carrying it on and conveying his goods to a distance by the agency of
slaves. The Romans originally received the use of felt together with
its name[594] from the Greeks (Plutarch, _Numa_, p. 117, ed. Steph.).
The Greeks were acquainted with it as early as the age of Homer, who
lived about 900 B. C. (_Il._ x. 265), and Hesiod (_Op. et Dies_, 542,
546).
[594] _Pileus_ or _Pileum_ (Non. Marc. iii., _pilea virorum sunt_,
Servius _in Virg. Æn._ ix. 616.), dim. _Pileolus_ or _Pileolum_
(Colum. _de Arbor._ 25).
The principal use of felt among the Greeks and Romans was to make
coverings of the head for the male sex, and the most common cover
made of this manufacture was a simple skull-cap, _i. e._ a cap
exactly fitted to the shape of the head, as is shown in Plate VIII.
fig. 1. taken from a sepulchral bas-relief which was found by Mr.
Dodwell in Bœotia[595]. The original is as large as life. The person
represented appears to have been a Cynic philosopher. He leans upon
the staff (_baculus_, βάκτρον, σκῆπτρον); he is clothed in the blanket
(_pallium_, χλαῖνα, τρίβων) with one end, which is covered, over his
left breast, and another hanging behind over his left shoulder; he
wears the beard (_barba_, πώγων); his head is protected by the simple
skull-cap (_pileus_, πῖλος). All these were distinct characteristics of
the philosopher, and more especially of the Cynic[596]. The dog also
probably marked his sect. Leonidas of Tarentum, in his enumeration
of the goods belonging to the Cynic Posochares[597], including a
dog-collar (κυνοῦχον), mentions, καὶ πῖλον κεφαλᾶς οὔχ ὁσίας σκεπανὸν,
_i. e._ “The cap of felt, which covered his unholy head.” This passage
may be regarded as a proof, that among the Greeks, though not among
the Romans, the cap of felt was worn by very poor men. It also proves
that this cap, which was the _fess_ of the modern Greeks, was worn by
philosophers, and therefore throws light on a passage of Antiphanes
(_ap. Athen._ xii. 63. p. 545 a) describing a philosopher of a
different character, who was very elegantly dressed, having a small cap
of fine felt (πιλίδιον ἁπαλὸν), also a small white blanket, a beautiful
tunic, and a neat stick. When Cleanthes advanced the doctrine, _that
the moon had the shape of a skull-cap_ (πιλοειδῆ τῷ σχήματι, Stobæi
_Ecl. Phys._ 1. 27. p. 554, ed. Heeren), he probably intended to
account for its phases from its supposed hemispherical form. A cap of a
similar form and appearance, though perhaps larger and not so closely
fitted to the crown of the head, was worn by fishermen[598]. In an
epigram of Philippus[599], describing the apparatus of a fisherman, the
author mentions πῖλον ἀμφίκρηνον ὑδασιστεγῆ, “the cap encompassing his
head and protecting it from wet.” Figure 2. in Plate VIII. represents a
small statue of a fisherman belonging to the Townley Collection in the
British Museum. His cap is slightly pointed and in a degree, which was
probably favorable to the discharge of water from its surface. Hesiod
recommends, that agricultural laborers should wear the same defence
from cold and showers (_Op. et Dies_, 545-547). The use of this cap
by seamen was no doubt the ground, on which the painter Nicomachus
represented Ulysses wearing one. “Hic primus,” says Pliny (H. N. xxxv.
36. s. 22.), “Ulyssi addidit pileum[600].” For the same reason the cap
is an attribute of the Dioscuri; and hence two caps with stars above
them are often shown on the coins of maritime cities and of others
where Castor and Pollux were worshipped. Figure 3. of Plate VIII. is
taken from a brass coin of Dioscurias in Colchis, preserved in the
British Museum. On the reverse is the name ΔΙΟΣΚΟΥΡΙΑΔΟΣ. Figure 4.
represents both sides of a silver coin in the same collection, with
the legend ΒΡΕΤΤΙΩΝ. It belongs to Bruttium in South Italy. On the one
side Castor and Pollux are mounted on horseback. They wear the chlamys
and carry palm branches in their hands. Their caps have a narrow brim.
The reverse shows their heads only, and their caps, without brims, are
surrounded by wreaths of myrtle. The cornucopia is added as an emblem
of prosperity. Figure 5. is from a brass coin of Amasia (ΑΜΑΣΣΕΙΑΣ) in
Pontus. It shows the cornucopia between the two skull-caps. Charon also
was represented with the mariner’s or fishermen’s cap, as, for example,
in the bas-relief in the _Museo Pio-Clementino_, tom. iv. tav. 35, and
the painted vase in Stackelberg’s _Grüber der Hellenen_, t. 47, 48,
which is copied in Becker s _Charicles_, vol. ii. taf. i. fig. 1, and
in Smith’s _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities_, p. 404.
[595] _Tour through Greece_, vol. i. pp. 242, 243.
[596] See the articles _Baculus_, _Barba_, _Pallium_, p. 703, in
Smith’s _Dict. of Greek and Roman Antiquities_.
[597] Brunck, _Anal._ i. p. 223. Nos. x. xi.
[598] Theocrit. xxi. 13.
[599] Brunck, _Anal._ ii. p. 212. No. v.
[600] Compare Eustathius _in Hom. Il._ x. 265, as quoted below.
A pileus of the same general form was worn by artificers; and on
this account it was attributed to Vulcan and to Dædalus, who, as well
as Ulysses and Charon, are commonly found wearing it in works of
ancient art. Arnobius says, that Vulcan was represented “cum pileo
et malleo”--“fabrili expeditione succinctus;” and that on the other
hand Mercury was represented with the petasus, or “petasunculus,” on
his head.[601] This observation is confirmed by numerous figures of
these two divinities, if we suppose the term _petasus_, which will be
more fully illustrated hereafter, to have meant a hat with a brim, and
_pileus_ to have denoted properly a fessor cap without a brim.
[601] _Adv. Gentes_, lib. vi. p. 674, ed. Erasmi. When Lucian
ludicrously represents Jupiter wearing a skull-cap, which we may
suppose to have been like that of the philosopher in Plate VIII.
figure 1. he must have intended to describe the “Father of gods and
men” as a weak old man; Διεῖλε τὴν κεφαλὴν κατενεγκών· καὶ εἴ γε μὴ
ὁ πῖλος ἀντέσχε, καὶ τὸ πολὺ τῆς πληγῆς ἀπεδέξατο, &c. _Dial.
Deor._, vol. ii. p. 314. ed. Hemster.
Fig. 6. Plate VIII. is taken from a small bronze statue of Vulcan in
the Royal Collection at Berlin. He wears the _exomis_, and holds his
hammer in the right hand and his tongs in the left. For other specimens
of the head-dress of Vulcan the reader is referred to the _Museo
Pio-Clementino_, t. iv. tav. xi., and to Smith’s _Dictionary of Greek
and Roman Antiquities_, p. 589.
Plate VIII. is intended still further to illustrate some of the most
common varieties in the form of the ancient skull-cap. Figure 7. is
a head of Vulcan from a medal of the Aurelian family[602]. Figure 8.
is the head of Dædalus from a bas-relief, formerly belonging to the
Villa Borghese, and representing the story of the wooden cow, which
he made for Pasiphae[603]. Fig. 10. is from a cameo in the Florentine
collection. Fig. 9. is the head of a small bronze statue, wearing boots
and the _exomis_, which belonged to Mr. R. P. Knight, and is now in the
British Museum. It is engraved in the “Specimens of Ancient Sculpture
published by the Society of Dilettanti,” vol. i. pl. 47. The editors
express a doubt whether this statue was meant for Vulcan or Ulysses,
merely because the god and the hero were commonly represented wearing
the same kind of cap. Not only does the expression of countenance
decide the question; but also the small bronze of Mr. Knight’s
collection agrees in attitude and costume with many small statues of
Vulcan, who is represented in all of them wearing the exomis, holding
the hammer and tongs, and having the felt cap on his head[604]. Fig.
11. is another representation of Ulysses from an ancient lamp[605].
It exhibits him tied to the mast, while he listens to the song of the
Sirens. The cap in this figure is much more elongated than in the
others.
[602] Montfaucon, _Ant. Expl._ t. i. pl. 46. No. 4.
[603] Winckelmann, _Mon. Ined._ ii. 93. The skull-cap, here represented
as worn by Dædalus, is remarkably like that which is still worn by
shepherd boys in Asia Minor. Fig. 12, in Plate VIII. is copied from
an original drawing of such a Grecian youth, procured by Mr. George
Scharf who accompanied Mr. Fellows on his second tour into that
country.
According to Herodotus the Scythians had felted coverings for their
tents, a custom still found among their successors, the Tartars.
Felting appears to have preceded weaving. It is certainly a much
ruder and simpler process: and, when we consider both the long
prevalence of the art among the pastoral inhabitants of the ancient
Scythia, and the extensive use of its products among them so as to
be employed even for their habitations, perhaps we shall be right
in considering felting as the appropriate invention of this people.
[604] Montfaucon, _Ant. Expl._ vol. i. pl. 46. figs. 1. 2. 3; _Mus.
Florent. Gemmæ Ant. a Gorio illustratæ_, tom. ii. tab. 40. fig. 3.
[605] Bartoli, _Lucerne Antiche_, P. III. tab. 11. There is a beautiful
figure of Ulysses in _Picturæ Antiquæ Virgiliani cod. Bibl. Vat._ a
Bartoli, tab. 103, taken from a gem. In Winckelmann, _Mon. Ined._
ii. No. 154, he is represented giving wine to the Cyclops: this
figure is copied in Smith’s _Dict._ p. 762.
The felt cap was worn not only by _desultores_, but by others of the
Romans upon a journey, in sickness, or in cases of unusual exposure.
Hence Martial says in _Epig._ xiv. 132, entitled “Pileus,”
Si possem, totas cuperem misisse lacernas:
Nunc tantum capiti munera mitto tuo.
_i. e._
O that a whole lacerna I could send!
Let this (I can no more) your head defend.
The wig (_galerus_) answered the same purpose for the wealthy classes
(_arrepto pileo vel galero_, Sueton. _Nero_, 26), and the _cucullus_
and _cudo_ for both rich and poor. On returning home from a party,
a person sometimes carried his cap and slippers under his arm (Hor.
_Epist._ l. xiii. 15).
The hats worn by the Salii[606] are said by Dionysius of
Halicarnassus to have been “tall hats of a conical form[607].” Plutarch
distinctly represents them as made of felt. He says (_l. c._), that
the _flamines_ were so called _quasi pilamines_, because they wore
felt hats, and because in the early periods of Roman history it
was more common to invent names derived from the Greek. On coins,
however, this official cap of the Salii and Flamines is commonly oval
like that attributed to the Dioscuri. We observe indeed continual
variations in the form of the pileus from hemispherical to oval, and
from oval to conical. A conical cap is seen on the head of the reaper
in the wood-cut to the article FLAX in Smith’s _Dictionary_
of Greek and Roman Antiquities, which wood-cut is taken from a coin
of one of the Lagidæ, kings of Egypt. Caps, regularly conical and
still more elongated, are worn by the buffoons or comic dancers, who
are introduced in an ancient mosaic preserved in the Villa Corsini
at Rome[608]. Telephus, king of Mysia, is represented as wearing a
“Mysian cap[609].” This “Mysian cap” must have been the same which is
known by the moderns under the name of _the Phrygian bonnet_, and with
which we are familiar from the constant repetition of it in statues
and paintings of Priam, Paris, Ganymede[610], Atys, Perseus, and
Mithras, and in short in all the representations not only of Trojans
and Phrygians, but of Amazons and of all the inhabitants of Asia Minor,
and even of nations dwelling still further to the East. Also, when
we examine the works of ancient art which contain representations of
this Mysian cap, we perceive that it was a cone bent into the form in
which it is exhibited, and so bent, perhaps by use, but more probably
by design. This circumstance is well illustrated in a bust of Parian
marble, supposed to be intended for Paris, which is preserved in the
Glyptotek at Munich. A drawing of it is given in Plate VIII. fig. 13.
The flaps of the bonnet are turned up and fastened over the top of the
head. The stiffness of the material is clearly indicated by the sharp
angular appearance of that portion of it which is turned forwards.
Mr. Dodwell, in his _Tour in Greece_ (vol. i. p. 134), makes the
following observations on the modern costume, which seems to resemble
the ancient, except that the ancient πῖλος and πιλίδιον were probably
of undyed wool:--“The Greeks of the maritime parts, and particularly
of the islands, wear a red or blue cap of a conical form, like the
pilidion. When it is new it stands upright, but it soon bends, and
then serves as a pocket for the handkerchief, and sometimes for the
purse. Others wear the red skull-cap, or _fess_.” The Lycians, as we
are informed by Herodotus (viii. 92), wore caps of felt, which were
surrounded with feathers. Some of the Lycian coins and bas-reliefs,
however, show the “Phrygian bonnet,” as it is called, in the usual
form[611].
[606] Smith’s _Dict. of Gr. and R. Antiquities_, art. Apex.
[607] _Ant. Rom._ L. ii.
[608] Bartoli, _Luc. Ant._ P. I. tab. 35.
[609] Aristoph. _Acham._ 429.
[610] Stuart, in his _Antiquities of Athens_, vol. iii. ch. 9. plates
8, 9, has engraved two beautiful statues of Telephus and Ganymede
from a ruined colonnade at Thessalonica. In these the cap is very
little pointed.
[611] Fellows’s _Discoveries in Lycia_, Plate 35. Nos. 3, 7. The
“Phrygian bonnet” is seen in the bas-reliefs brought from Xanthus
by this intelligent traveller, and now deposited in the British
Museum.
The cap worn by the Persians is called by Greek authors κυρβασία or
τιάρα[612], and seems to have had the form now under consideration.
Herodotus, when he describes the costume of the Persian soldiers in
the army of Xerxes, says, that they wore light and flexible caps of
felt, which were called _tiaras_. He adds, that the Medes and Bactrians
wore the same kind of cap with the Persians, but that the Cissii wore
a mitra instead (vii. 61, 62, 64). On the other hand he says, that the
Sacæ wore _cyrbasiæ_, which were sharp-pointed, straight, and compact.
The Armenians were also called “weavers of felt” (Brunck, _Anal._ ii.
p. 146. No. 22). The form of their caps is clearly shown in the coins
of the Emperor Verus, one of which, preserved in the British Museum,
is engraved in Plate VIII. fig. 14. The legend, surrounding his head,
L. VERVS. AVG. ARMENIACVS, refers to the war in Armenia. The reverse
shows a female figure representing Armenia, mourning and seated on the
ground, and surrounded by the emblems of Roman warfare and victory.
The caps represented on this and other coins agree remarkably with the
forms still used in the same parts of Asia. Strabo (L. xi. p. 563, ed.
Sieb.) says, that these caps were necessary in Media on account of the
cold. He calls the Persian cap “felt in the shape of a tower” (L.
xv. p. 231). The king of Persia was distinguished by wearing a stiff
cyrbasia, which stood erect, whereas his subjects wore their tiaras
folded and bent forwards.[613] Hence in the _Aves_ of Aristophanes the
cock is ludicrously compared to the Great King, his erect comb being
called his “cyrbasia.” The Athenians no doubt considered this form of
the tiara as an expression of pride and assumption. It is recorded as
one of the marks of arrogance in Apollodorus, the Athenian painter,
that he wore an “erect cap[614].”
[612] Herod, v. 49. According to Mœris, _v._
Κυρβασία, this was the Attic term, τιάρα meaning the same thing in
the common Greek. Plutarch applies the latter term to the cap worn
by the younger Cyrus: Ἀποπίπτει δὲ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἡ τιάρα τοῦ Κύρου.
--_Artaxerxes_, p. 1858. ed. Steph.
The “Phrygian bonnet” is called _Phrygia tiara_ in the following lines
of an epitaph (_ap. Gruter._ p. 1123):
Indueris teretes manicas Phrygiamque tiaram?
Non unus Cybeles pectore vivet Atys.
[613] Xenoph. _Anab._ ii. 5. 23; _Cyrop._ viii. 3, 13. Clitarchus, _ap.
Schol. in Aristoph. Aves_, 487.
[614] Πῖλον ὀρθόν. Hesychius, _s. v._ Σκιαγραφαί.
The coin represented in Plate VIII. fig. 15. (taken from Patin, _Imp.
Rom. Numismata_, Par. 1697, p. 213) is of the reign of the Emperor
Commodus, and belonged according to the legend either to Trapezus in
Cappadocia or to Trapezopolis in Caria. It represents the god Lunus
or Mensis, who was the moon considered as of the male sex agreeably
to the ideas of many northern and Asiatic nations (Patin, p. 173).
This male moon or month was, as it seems, always represented with the
cyrbasia[615]. In another coin published by Patin (_l. c._) a cock
stands at the feet of this divinity, proving that this was the sacred
bird of Lunus, and probably because the rayed form of the cock’s comb
was regarded as a natural type of the cyrbasia, which distinguished the
kings of Persia and was attributed also to this Oriental divinity. A
lamp found on the Celian Mount at Rome[616] represents in the centre
Lunus with 12 rays, probably designed to denote the 12 months of the
year, and on the handle two cocks pecking at their food. A head of
the same divinity, published by Hirt (_l. c._) from an antique gem at
Naples, has 7 stars upon the cap, perhaps referring to the 7 planets.
[615] Hirt’s _Bilderbuch_, p. 88. tab. xi. figs. 8, 9.
[616] Bartoli, _Luc. Ant._, P. II. tav. 11.
Instead of the conical cap of the Asiatics many of the Northern
nations of Europe appear to have worn a felt cap, the form of which
was that of a truncated cone. Of this a good example is shown in the
group of Sarmatians, represented in the wood-cut in Smith s _Dictionary
of Greek and Roman Antiquities_ (p. 160), which is taken from the
Column of Trajan. The same thing appears in various coins belonging
to the reign of this Emperor, two of which, preserved in the British
Museum, are engraved in Plate VIII. fig. 16. represents Dacia sitting
as a captive with her hands tied behind her back, wearing trowsers
(_braccæ_) and a conical or oval cap with the edge turned up. Figure
17. represents Dacia mourning. In each we see a Dacian target together
with Roman armor. Each has the same legend, DAC. CAP. COS. V. P.
P. S. P. Q. R. OPTIMO. PRINC. On the reverse is the head of the
Emperor with the inscription IMP. TRAJANO. AUG. GER. DAC. P. M. TR.
P.
According to the representation of Lucian (_de Gymnas._), the
Scythians were in the constant habit of wearing caps or hats: for
in the conversation between Anacharsis and Solon described by that
author, Anacharsis requests to go into the shade, saying that
he could scarce endure the sun, and that he had brought his cap (πῖλον)
from home, but did not like being seen alone in a strange habit. In
later times we read of the “pileati Gothi” and “pileati sacerdotes
Gothorum[617].”
[617] Jornandes, &c., _ap. Div. Gentium Hist. Ant._, Hamb. 1611, pp.
86, 93.
In considering the use of the skull-cap, or of the conical cap of
felt, it remains to notice the use of it among the Romans as the emblem
of liberty[618]. When a slave obtained his freedom he had his head
shaven, and wore instead of his hair the pileus, or cap of undyed felt,
(Diod. Sic. Exc. Leg. 22. p. 625, ed. Wess.). Plutarch, in allusion to
the same custom, calls the cap πιλίον, which is the diminutive of πῖλος.
It is evident, that the Latin _pileus_ or _pileum_ is derived from the
Greek πῖλος and its diminutive, and this circumstance in conjunction
with other evidence tends to show, that the Latins adopted this use of
felt from the Greeks. Sosia says in Plautus (_Amphit._ i. l, 306), as a
description of the mode of receiving his liberty, “Ut ego hodie, raso
capite calvus, capiam pileum.” Servius (_in Virg. Æn._ viii. 564) says,
the act of manumitting slaves in this form was done in the temple of
Feronia, who was the goddess of freedmen. In her temple at Terracina
was a stone seat, on which was engraved the following verse:
“Benemeriti servi sedeant, surgent liberi.”
[618] Hæc mea libertas; hoc nobis pilea donant.--Persius, v. 82.
In allusion to this practice it appears that the Romans, though they
did not commonly wear hats, put them on at the Saturnalia.[619] At
the death of Nero, the common people to express their joy went about
the city in felt caps.[620] In allusion to this custom the figure of
Liberty on the coins of Antoninus Pius holds the cap in her right hand.
Figures 1 and 2 in Plate IX. are examples selected from the collection
in the British Museum, and, as we learn from the legend, were struck
when he was made consul the fourth time, _i. e._ A. D. 145.
[619] Pileata Roma. _Martial_, xi. 7; xiv. 1.
[620] Plebs pileata. _Sueton. Nero_, 57.
In contradistinction to the various forms of the felt cap now
described and represented, all of which were more or less elevated,
and many of which were pointed upwards, we have now to consider those,
which, though made of felt, and therefore classed by the ancients under
the general terms _pileus_, πῖλος, &c.,[621] corresponded more nearly
to our modern _hat_. The Greek word πέτασος, _dim._ πετάσιον, derived
from πετάννυμι, _extendo_, _dilato_, and adopted by the Latins in the
form _petasus_, dim. _petasunculus_, well expressed the distinctive
form of these hats. They were more or less broad and expanded. What
was taken from their height was added to their width. Those already
mentioned had no brim; the petasus of every variety had a brim, which
was either exactly or nearly circular, and which varied greatly in its
width. In some cases it seems to be a mere circular disc without any
crown at all. Of this we have an example in a beautiful statue, which
has, no doubt, been meant for Endymion, in the Townley collection of
the British Museum. See Plate IX. Fig. 3. His right hand encircles his
head, and his scarf is spread over a rock as described by Lucian[622].
He sleeps upon it, holding the fibula in his left hand. His feet are
adorned with boots (_cothumi_) and his simple petasus is tied under his
chin. In this form the petasus illustrates the remark of Theophrastus,
who, in describing the Egyptian Bean, says, that the leaf was of the
size of the Thessalian petasus[623]. For the purpose of comparing
these two objects, a representation of the leaves of the plant referred
to, is introduced into the same Figure (3); taken from the “Botanical
Magazine,” Plates 903, 3916, and Sir J. E. Smith’s “Exotic Botany,”
Tab. 31, 32. The petasus here shown on the head of Endymion, the
original statue being as large as life, certainly resembles very
closely both in size and in form the leaf of the Egyptian Bean, which
is the Cyamus Nelumbo, or Nelumbium Speciosum of modern botanists.
[621] Plutarch (_Solon_, 179) says that Solon, pretending
to be mad and acting the part of a herald from Salamis, ἐξεπήδησεν
εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν ἄφνω πιλίον περιθέμενος. Here πιλίον seems to mean
the πέτασος.
[622] In the Dialogues of the Gods (xi.), the Moon says in answer to
Venus, that Endymion is particularly beautiful “when he sleeps,
having thrown his scarf under him upon the rock, holding in his
left hand the darts just falling from it, whilst his right hand
bent upwards lies gracefully round his face, and, dissolved in
sleep, he exhales his ambrosial breath.”
The recumbent statue, here represented, is of white marble, and is
placed in room XI. of the Townley Gallery. It was found in 1774
at Roma Vecchia (Dallaway’s _Anecdotes of the Arts_, p. 303). It
has been called Mercury or Adonis. But there are no examples or
authorities in support of either of these suppositions. It is
not sufficient to say that every beautiful youth may have been
meant either for Mercury, who was never represented asleep, or
for Adonis. We know that the fable of Endymion and the Moon was
a favorite subject with the ancient artists. In the _Antichita
d’Ercolano_, tom. iii. tav. 3, we find a picture, which was
discovered at Portica, and which represents this subject. It is
still more frequent in ancient bas-reliefs. See _Mus. Pio-Clem._
tom. iv. v. 8, pp. 38, 41; Sandrart, _Sculp. Vet. Adm._ p.
52; Gronovii _Thesaur._ tom. i. folio O; _Proceedings of the
Philological Society_, vol. i. pp. 8, 9.
[623] Πετάσῳ Θετταλικῇ. _Hist. Plant._ iv. 10. p. 147, ed. Schneider.
The flowers of umbelliferous plants are aptly called by Phanias[624]
πετασώδη, _i. e._ like a petasus. The petasus, as worn by the two
shepherds, who discover Romulus and Remus, in a bas-relief of the
Vatican[625], is certainly not unlike the umbel of a plant. See Plate
IX. Fig. 4.
Callimachus ascribes the same head-dress to shepherds in the following
lines:
Ἔπρεπε τοι προέχουσα κάρης εὐρεῖα καλύπτρη,
Ποιμενικὸν πίλημα.--_Frag._ cxxv.
The wide covering projecting from your head, the pastoral hat, became
you.
[624] _Apud Athen._ ix. 12. p. 371 D. ed. Casaub.
[625] Museo Pio-Clementino, tom. v. tav. 24. This bas-relief formerly
belonged to the Mattei collection. See _Monumenta Matthæinana_,
tom. iii. tab. 37.
This pastoral hat, if we may judge from the representation of the
two shepherds in the bas-relief just referred to (Fig. 4.), was in
its shape very like the “bonny blue bonnet” of the Scotch. Figure
5 in Plate IX. is taken from a painted Greek vase, and represents
the story of the delivery of Œdipus to be exposed. His name ΟΙΔΙΠΟΔΑΣ
is written beside him. The shepherd ΕΥΦΟΡΒΟΣ, who holds the naked child
in his arms, wears a flat and very broad petasus hanging behind his
neck. It is of an irregular shape, as if from long usage[626]. The
shepherd Zethus wears a petasus hanging behind his back in a bas-relief
belonging to the Borghese collection, published by Winckelmann (_Mon.
Inediti_, ii. 85). See Plate IX. Fig. 6.
[626] See [Italian 469]_Monumenti Inediti pubblicati dall’ Instituto di
Correspondenza Archeologica_, vol. ii. tav. 14.
The Athenian ephebi wore the broad-brimmed hat, together with the scarf
or chlamys[627]. Meleager, in an epigram on a beautiful boy, named
Antiochus, says, that he would be undistinguishable from Cupid, if
Cupid wore a scarf and petasus instead of his bow and arrows and his
wings[628].
[627] Pollux, _Onom._ x. 164; Philemon, p. 367. ed. Meineke; Brunck,
_Anal._ vol. ii. p. 41; Jacobs _in Athol. Græc._ i. l. p. 24.
[628] Brunck, _Anal._ vol. i. p. 5.
When a young Greek conquered in the games, his friends sometimes
bestowed a hat (_petasus_) upon him as a present[629].
[629] Eratosthen. _a Bernhardy_, p. 249. 250.
In consequence of the use of the petasus as a part of the ordinary
costume of the Athenian youth, we find it in a great variety of works
of ancient art illustrative of the religion and mythology of Greece.
For example:--
1. In the inner frieze of the Parthenon, the remains of which are now
in the British Museum, it is worn by many of the riders on horseback.
Figure 7, in Plate IX. shows one of these horsemen (from the slab No.
54.) with his petasus tied under his chin.
2. It is worn by Theseus, as represented on a vase in the Vatican
collection. See Winckelmann, _Mon. Inediti_, vol. ii. 98, and Fig. 8,
Plate IX.
3. Also by Œdipus, as represented on one of Sir William Hamilton’s
vases (vol. ii. Plate 24.), standing before the sphinx.
4. The coins of Ætolia exhibit Meleager wearing the petasus. Five of
these have been selected from the collection in the British Museum,
which are engraved according to the size of the originals in Plate
IX. Figures 9, 10, and 11, are of silver. In each of them the petasus
has the form of a circular disc with a boss at the top like that on a
Scotch bonnet: on the reverse is the Calydonian boar, with a spear head
beneath it, and the word ΑΙΤΩΛΩΝ. Figure 12, which is of gold[630],
and Figure 13, which is of silver, have the head of Hercules on the
reverse. The hero, supposed to be Meleager, wears a petasus, a scarf,
and boots, as we have seen to be the case with Endymion (Fig. 3), this
being the attire of hunters. In these two coins he also holds a spear
in his right hand, and is seated upon a shield (see Fig. 13.) and other
pieces of armor. ΑΙΤΩΛΩΝ is written by the side. The gold coin (see
Fig. 12.) represents him with a Victory in his left hand, and with a
small figure of Diana Lucifera in front.
[630] This is engraved by Taylor Combe, _Vet. Populorum Nunmi._ tab. v.
No. 23.
The broad-brimmed hat, or petasus, was more especially worn by the
Greeks when they were travelling[631]. Its appearance is well shown in
Fig. 14, taken from a fictile vase belonging to the late Mr. Hope[632].
It represents a Greek soldier on a journey, wearing his large blanket,
and holding two spears in his right hand. This figure also shows one of
the methods of fastening on the hat, viz. by passing the string round
the occiput.
The comedies of Plautus, being translated from the Greek, contain
allusions to the same practice. In the Pseudolus (ii. 4. 55, and iv.
7. 90,) the petasus and the scarf are supposed to be worn by a person
to indicate that he was coming from a journey. In the prologue to the
Amphitryo, Mercury says,
Ego has habebo hic usque in petaso pinnulas,
Tum meo patri autem torulus inerit aureus
Sub petaso: id signum Amphitruoni non erit.
[631] Brunck, _Anal._ ii. 170, No. 5.
[632] Hope, _Costume of the Ancients_, vol. i. pl. 71.
Mercury and his father Jupiter are here supposed to be attired like
Sosia and Amphitryo his master, both of whom had been travelling and
were returning home. At the same time there is an allusion to the
winged hat of Mercury, of which more hereafter. Again, in act i.
scene i. l. 287, the petasus is attributed to Sosia, because he is
supposed to be coming from a journey; and to Mercury, both because it
was commonly attributed to him, and because on this occasion he was
personating Sosia.
The Romans were less addicted to the use of the petasus than the
Greeks: they often wore it when they were from home; but that they
did not consider it at all necessary to wear hats in the open air is
manifest from the remark of Suetonius about the Emperor Augustus,
that he could not even bear the winter’s sun, and hence “domi quoque
non nisi petatasus sub divo spatiabatur.” (_August._ 82.) Caligula
permitted the senators to wear them at the theatres as a protection
from the sun (Dio. Cass. lix. 7. p. 909, ed. Reimari). What was meant
by wearing hats “according to the Thessalian fashion” is by no means
clear. Perhaps the Thessalians may have worn hats resembling those
of their neighbors, the Macedonians, and of the shape of these we
may form some conception from the coins of the Macedonian kings. One
of these coins from the collection in the British Museum is copied
in Plate IX. Fig. 15. It is a coin of the reign of Alexander I. and
exhibits a Macedonian warrior standing by the side of his horse,
holding two spears in his left hand, and wearing a hat with a broad
brim turned upwards. This Macedonian petasus is called the _Causia_
(καυσία)[633], and was adopted by the Romans[634], and more especially
by the Emperor Caracalla, who, as Herodian states, aimed to imitate
Alexander the Great in his costume. It appears probable, nevertheless,
that the turning up of the brim was not peculiar to the Macedonians,
and it may have depended altogether on accident or fancy; for we find
instances of it on painted fictile vases, where there is no reason
to suppose that any reference was intended either to Macedonia or
Thessaly. Fig. 16. Plate IX. for example, is taken from the head
of Bellerophon, on one of Sir William Hamilton’s vases[635]; and
the left-hand figure from a fictile vase at Vienna, engraved by
Ginzrot[636]. This hat is remarkable for the boss at the top, which we
observe also on the Ætolian coins, and in various other examples.
[633] Val. Max. v. 1. _Extem._ 4. Pausan., _ap. Eustath. in Il._ ii.
121. It is to be observed, that the _causia_ and _petasus_ are
opposed to one another by a writer in Athenæus (L. xii. 537, e), as
if the _causia_ was not a petasus!
[634] Plautus, _Mil._ iv. 4. 42. _Pers._ i. 3. 75. Antip. Thess. in
_Brunck Anal._ ii. 111.
[635] Vol. i. pl. 1.
[636] _Uber die Wägen und Fuhrwerke der Alten_, vol. i. p. 342.
In connection with the above quoted expression of Dio Cassius it may
be observed further, that besides the _causia_ two varieties of the
petasus seem to be alluded to by several ancient authors, viz. the
Thessalian, and the Arcadian or Laconian. How they were distinguished,
cannot be ascertained, but the passages which mention them will now be
produced, that the reader may judge for himself. The Thessalian variety
is mentioned by Dio Cassius, by Theophrastus, as above quoted (p. 427),
and by Callimachus in the following fragment, which is preserved in the
Scholia on Sophocles, _Œd. Col._ 316.
And about his head lay a felt, newly come from Thessaly, as a
protection from wet.--_Frag._ 124. _ed._ Ernesti.
The frenzied Cynic philosopher Menedemus, among other peculiarities,
wore an Arcadian hat, HAVING THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC WOVEN INTO
IT[637]! Ammianus (Brunck, _Anal._ ii. 384.) represents an orator
dedicating “an Arcadian hat” to Mercury, who was the patron of his art,
and also a native of Arcadia.
[637] Diog. Laërt. vi. 102. See Gilroy’s Treatise on the _Art of
Weaving_, American edition, p. 446.
Herodes Atticus wore “the Arcadian hat” at Athens, as a protection
from the sun; and the language of Philostratus, in recording the fact,
shows that the Athenians of his time commonly wore it, more especially
in travelling[638]. Arrian, who wrote about the middle of the second
century, says, that “Laconian or Arcadian hats,” were worn in the army
by the peltastæ instead of helmets[639]. This circumstance shows a
remarkable change of customs; for in the early Greek history we find
the Persian soldiers held up as the objects of ridicule and contempt,
because they wore hats and trowsers[640]. On the whole, it is very
evident that “the Arcadian or Laconian hat” was one and the same
variety, and that this variety of head-dress was simply the petasus,
or hat with a brim, so called to distinguish it from the proper πῖλος,
which was the skull-cap, or hat without a brim.
This supposition suits the representations of the only imaginary beings
who are exhibited in works of ancient art wearing the petasus, viz. the
Dioscuri and Mercury.
[638] _Vit. Sophist._ ii. 5. 3.
[639] _Tactica_, p. 12. ed. Blancardi.
[640] _Herod._ v. 49.
It has been already observed that the Dioscuri are commonly represented
with the skull-cap, because they were worshipped, as the reader will
have perceived, as the guardians of the mariner[641]; but on ancient
vases we find them sometimes painted with the petasus; and if this
was the same with the πῖλος Λακωνικὸς, it would coincide with their
origin as natives of Sparta. In Plate IX. Fig. 16, an example is shown,
on one of Sir William Hamilton’s vases, in which their attire resembles
that of the Athenian ephebi. They wear boots and a tunic, over which
one of them also wears the scarf or chlamys. They are conducted by the
goddess Night.
[641] See p. 419.
In like manner Mercury, as a native of Arcadia, might be expected
to wear “the Arcadian hat.” In the representations of this deity on
works of ancient art, the hat, which is often decorated with wings to
indicate his office of messenger, as his talaria also did[642], has a
great variety of forms, and sometimes the brim is so narrow, that it
does not differ from the cap of the artificer already described, or
the πῖλος in its ordinary form. These hats, with a brim of but small
dimensions, agree most exactly in appearance with the cheapest hats of
undyed felt, now made in the United States and Great Britain[643]. On
the heads of the rustics and artificers in our streets and lanes we
often see forms the exact counterpart of those which we most admire in
the works of ancient art. The petasus is also still commonly worn by
agricultural laborers in Greece and Asia Minor.
[642] Servius (on _Virg. Æn._ viii. 138) says, that Mercury was
supposed to have wings on his petasus and on his feet, in order to
denote the swiftness of speech, he being the god of eloquence.
[643] These hats are sold in the shops for sixpence, ninepence, or a
shilling each.
A bas-relief in the Vatican collection[644], represents the birth
of Hercules, and contains two figures of Mercury. In one he carries
the infant Hercules, in the other the caduceus. In both he wears a
large scarf, and a skull-cap, like that of Dædalus[645], without a
brim. This example therefore proves that, although the petasus, as
distinguished from the pileus, was certainly the appropriate attribute
of Mercury[646], yet the artists of antiquity sometimes took the
liberty of placing on his head the skull-cap instead of the hat, just
as we have seen that they sometimes made the reverse substitution in
the case of the Dioscuri.
[644] _Museo Pio-Clementino_, tom. iv. tav. 37.
[645] See Plate VIII. Fig. 8.
[646] See Brunck, _Anal._ ii. 41, and Arnobius, _Adv. Gentes_, lib. vi.
See also Ephippus, _ap. Athen._ xii. 53. p. 537 F. Casaub.
It is remarkable that the person who acted the part of a Silenus
in the Dionysiac procession instituted by Ptolemy Philadelphus at
Alexandria, wore a hat and a golden caduceus (_Athen._ v. 27. p.
198 A.). In this case the imagination appears to have been indulged
in decorating a mere festive character with the peculiar attributes
of Mercury. It is added, that various kinds of chariots were driven
by “boys wearing the tunics of charioteers and petasi” (_Athen._
v. p. 200 F.). This would be in character, being agreeable to the
custom of the Grecian youth.
The following is from a sepulchral urn found near Padua (_Gruter._
_p._ 297):
Abite hinc, pessimi fures, * * * vestro cum Mercurio petasato
caduceatoque.
Another bas-relief in the Vatican[647], represents the story of
the birth of Bacchus _from Jupiter’s thigh_. Thus the subject of it
is very similar to that, which relates to the birth of Hercules,
the infant being in each instance consigned to the care of Mercury.
But the covering of Mercury’s head in these two cases is remarkably
different, though from no other reason than the fancy of the artist.
In the bas-relief now under consideration, Mercury holds the skin
of a lynx or panther to receive the child. He wears the scarf or
chlamys and cothumi. This was a very favorite subject with the
ancients. It occurs on a superb marble vase with the inscription
ΣΑΛΠΙΩΝ ΕΠΟΙΗΣΕ[648], and on one of Sir W. Hamilton’s fictile
vases[649].
[647] _Museo Pio-Clementino_, tom. iv. tav. 19.
[648] Spon., _Misc. Erud. Ant._ § xi. art. 1.
[649] Vol. i. No. 8.
Figure 4. in Plate X. is from Hope’s _Costume of the Ancients_, vol.
ii. pl. 175. The money-bag is in Mercury’s right hand.
In a painting found at Pompeii[650], Mercury is represented with wings
(_pinnulæ_) on his petasus, though not very ancient, is also recognized
in the Amphitryo of Plautus.
[650] Gell’s _Pompeiana_, London 1819, pl. 76.
Figure 5. in Plate X. is from the Marquis of Lansdowne’s marble bust,
published by the Dilettanti Society[651]. In this beautiful bust the
brim of the hat is unfortunately damaged.
[651] _Specimens of Ancient Sculpture_, London 1809, pl. 51.
Figures 6 and 7, Plate X., are from coins engraved in Carelli’s _Nummi
Veteris Italiæ_ (plates 58 and 65). Figure 7 is a coin of Suessa in
Campania.
To these illustrations might have been added others from ancient gems,
good examples of which may be found in the second volume of Mariette’s
_Traité des Pierres Gravées_, folio, Paris, 1750.
Besides the application of felt as a covering of the head for the
male sex in the manner now explained, it was also used as _a lining for
helmets_. When in the description of the helmet worn by Ulysses we read
Μέσσῃ δ’ ἐνὶ πῖλος ἀρήρει[652],
we may suppose πῖλος to be used in its most ordinary sense,
consequently that the interior of the helmet was a common skull-cap.
[Illustration: PLATE IX.]
[652] Homer, _Il._ x. 265. Eustathius, in his commentary on this
passage, says, that the most ancient Greeks always wore felt in
their helmets, but that those of more recent times, regarding
this use of felt as peculiar to Ulysses, persuaded the painters
to exhibit him in a skull-cap, and that this was _first_ done,
according to the tradition, by the painter _Apollidorus_. The
account of Pliny, who, together with Servius (_in Æn._ ii. 44),
represents Nicomachus, and not Apollidorus, as having first adopted
this idea.
Being generally thicker than common cloth, felt presented a more
effectual obstacle to missile weapons. Hence, when the soldiers under
Julius Cæsar were much annoyed by Pompey’s archers, they made shirts
or other coverings of felt, and put them on for their defence[653].
Thucydides refers to the use of similar means to protect the body from
arrows[654]; and even in besieging and defending cities felt was used,
together with hides and sackcloth, to cover the wooden towers and
military engines[655].
[653] Jul. Cæsar, _Bell. Civ._ iii. 44.
[654] Thucyd. iv. 34. Schol. _ad loc._
[655] Æneas Tacticus, 33.
Felt was also sometimes used to cover the bodies of quadrupeds.
According to Aristotle[656], the Greeks clothed their _molles oves_
either with skins or with pieces of felt; and the wool became gray in
consequence. The Persians used the same material for the trappings of
their horses (Plutarch, _Artax._ II. p. 1858. ed. Stephani).
[656] _De Gen. Animalium_, v. 5. p. 157. ed. Bekker.
The loose rude coverings for the feet called _Udones_ were sometimes
made of felt, being worn within the shoes or brogues of the rustic
laborers[657].
[657] Hesiod, _Op. ed Dies_, 542; Grævius, _ad loc._; Cratini,
_Fragmenta_, p. 29. ed. Runkel.
In concluding this investigation it may be proper to observe, that,
although πῖλος originally meant _felt_, and more especially a skull-cap
made of that manufacture, it was sometimes used, at least by the later
Greek authors, by an extension of its meaning, to denote a cap of any
other material. Thus Athenæus (lib. vi. p. 274. Casaub.) speaking of
the Romans, says, that they wore about their heads πίλους προβατείων
δερμάτων δασεῖς, _i. e._ “thick caps made of sheep skins.”
APPENDIX D.
ON NETTING.
MANUFACTURE AND USE OF NETS BY THE ANCIENTS--ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE
SCRIPTURES, ETC.
Nets were made of Flax, Hemp, and Broom--General terms for nets--Nets
used for catching birds--Mode of snaring--Hunting-nets--Method
of hunting--Hunting-nets supported by forked stakes--Manner of
fixing them--Purse-net or tunnel-net--Homer’s testimony--Nets used
by the Persians in lion-hunting--Hunting with nets practised by
the ancient Egyptians--Method of hunting--Depth of nets for this
purpose--Description of the purse-net--Road-net--Hallier--Dyed
feathers used to scare the prey--Casting-net--Manner of throwing
by the Arabs--Cyrus king of Persia--His fable of the piper and the
fishes--Fishing-nets--Casting-net used by the Apostles--Landing-net
(Scap-net)--The Sean--Its length and depth--Modern use of the
Sean--Method of fishing with the Sean practised by the Arabians
and ancient Egyptians--Corks and leads--Figurative application of
the Sean--Curious method of capturing an enemy practised by the
Persians--Nets used in India to catch tortoises--Bag-nets and small
purse-nets--Novel scent-bag of Verres the Sicilian prætor.
The raw materials, of which the ancients made nets, were flax,
hemp[658], and broom[659]. Flax was most commonly used; so that
Jerome, when he is prescribing employment for monks, says,
“Texantur et _lina_ capiendis piscibus[660].” The operation of
netting, as well as that of platting, was expressed by the verb
πλέκειν[661]. The meshes were called in Latin _maculæ_[662], in Greek
βρόχοι, _dim._ βροχίδες[663].
[658] Rete cannabina. Varro, _De Re Rust._ iii. 5. p. 216, ed. Bipont.
[659] Pliny, H. N. xix. 1. s. 2; xxiv. 9. s. 40.
[660] Hieron. _Epist._ l. ii. p. 173, ed. Par. 1613, 12mo. Hunting-nets
are called “lina nodosa” by Ovid, _Met._ iii. 153, and vii. 807.
Compare Virg. _Georg_, i. 142; Homer, _Il._ v. 487; Brunck, _Anal._
ii. 94, 494, 495; Artimedorus, ii. 14. See also Pliny, H. N. xix.
1. s. 2.
[661] Πλεξάμενος ἄρκυς, Aristoph. _Lysist._ 790. Τῶν πεπλεγμένων
δίκτυων, Bokkeri _Anecdota_, vol. i. p. 354.
[662] Varro, _De Re Rust._ iii. 11; Ovid, _Epist._ v. 19; Nemesiani
Cyneg. 302.
[663] Heliodor. l. v. p. 231, ed. Commelini.
The use of all the Latin and Greek terms for nets will now be
explained, and in connection with this explanation of terms, will be
produced all the facts which can be ascertained upon the subject.
I.
RETIS and RETE; _dim._ RETICULUM.
ΔΙΚΤΥΟΝ[664].
[664] From δικεῖν, _to throw_. See Eurip. _Bacc._ 600, and the Lexicons
of Schneider and Passow.
_Retis_ or _Rete_ in Latin, and δίκτυον in Greek, were used to denote
nets in general. Thus in an epigram of Leonidas Tarentinus[665], three
brothers, one of whom was a hunter, another a fowler, and the third
a fisherman, dedicate their nets to Pan. Several imitations of this
epigram remain by Alexander Ætolus[666], Antipater Sidonius[667],
Archias[668], and others[669]. In one of these epigrams (Ἰουλιάνου
Αἰγυπτίου) we find λίνα adopted as a general term for nets instead of
δίκτυα, no doubt for the reason above stated. In another epigram[670]
a hare is said to have been caught in a net (δίκτυον). Aristophanes
mentions nets by the same denomination among the contrivances employed
by the fowler[671]. Fishing-nets are called δίκτυα in the following
passages of the New Testament: Matt. iv. 20, 21; Mark i. 18, 19; Luke
v. 2, 4-6; John xxi. 6, 8, 11: also by Theocritus, _ap. Athen._ vii.
20. p. 284, Cas.; and by Plato, _Sophista_, 220, _b._ p. 134, ed.
Bekker.
[665] Brunck, _Anal._ i. 225.
[666] Brunck, _Anal._ i. 418. Alexandri Ætoli _Fragmenta_, a Capelmann,
p. 50.
[667] _Ibid._ ii. 9, Nos. 15, 16.
[668] _Ibid._ ii. 94, No. 9.
[669] _Ibid._ ii. 494, 495. Jacobs, _Anthol._ vol. i. p. 188, 189.
[670] Brunck, _Anal._ iii. 239, No 417.
[671] _Aves_, 526-528.
Netting was applied in various ways in the construction of _hen-coops_
and aviaries; and such net-work is called _rete_[672]. It was used to
make pens for sheep by night. At the amphitheatres it was sometimes
placed over the podium. At a gladiatorial show given by Nero, the
net, thus used as a fence against the wild beasts, was knotted _with
amber_[673]. The way in which the net was used by the _Retiarii_ is
well known. The head-dress called κεκρύφαλος, was a small net of fine
flax, silk, or gold thread, and was also called _reticulum_[674]. But
by far the most important application of net-work was to the kindred
arts of hunting and fishing: and besides the general terms used alike
in reference to both these employments, there are special terms to be
explained under each head.
[672] Varro, _De Re Rust._ iii. 5.
[673] Plin. H. N. xxxvii. 3. s. 11.
[674] Nonius Marcellus, p. 542, ed. Merceri. See also the article
CALANTICA, in Smith’s _Dict. of Greek and Roman Antiquities_.
The use of nets for catching birds was very limited, on which account
we find no appropriate name for fowlers’ nets[675]. Nevertheless
thrushes were caught in them[676], and doves or pigeons, with their
limbs tied up, or fastened to the ground, or with their eyes covered
or put out, were confined in a net in order that their cries might
allure others into the snare[677]. An account of the nets used by the
Egyptians to catch birds is given by Sir Gardner Wilkinson[678], being
derived from the paintings found in the catacombs. The net commonly
employed for the purpose was the clap-net. Bird-traps were also made by
stretching a net over two semicircular frames, which, being joined and
laid open, approached to the form of a circle. The trap was baited, and
when a bird flew to it and seized the bait, it was instantly caught by
the sudden rising of the two sides or flaps.
[675] See Aristophanes, _l. c._
[676] Hor. _Epod._ ii. 33, 34.
[677] Aristoph. _Aves_, 1083.
[678] _Man. and Customs_, vol. iii. p. 35-38, 45.
II.
CASSIS; PLAGA.
ΕΝΟΔΙΟΝ, ΑΡΚΥΣ.
In hunting it was usual to extend nets in a curved line of considerable
length[679], so as in part to surround a space, into which the beasts
of chase, such as the boar, the wild goat, the deer, the hare, the
lion, and the bear might be driven through the opening left on one
side. Tibullus (iv. 3. 12) speaks of inclosing woody hills for this
purpose:--
... densos indagine colles
Claudentem.
[679] Τὰ δίκτυα περιβάλλουσι. Ælian, H. A. xii. 46. Uno portante
multitudinem, qua saltus cingerentur. Plin. H. N. xix. l. s. 2.
Oppian (_Cyneg._ iv. 120-123) says, that in an Asiatic lion-hunt the
nets (ἄρκυες) were placed in the form of the new moon.
The following lines of Virgil show, that the animals were driven into
the toils from a distance by the barking of dogs and the shouts of men:
Thy hound the wild-ass in the sylvan chase,
Or hare, or hart, with faithful speed will trace;
Assail the muddy cave with eager cries,
Where the rough boar in secret ambush lies;
Press the tall stag with clamors echoing shrill
To secret toils, along the aërial hill.
Georg. iii. 411-413.--_Warton’s Translation._
In another splendid passage the boar is described as coming into the
midst of the nets after he has been driven to them from a mountain or a
marsh at a great distance:
And as a savage boar on mountains bred,
With forest mast and fattening marshes fed;
When once he sees himself in toils inclosed,
By huntsmen and their eager hounds opposed;
He whets his tusks, and turns and dares the war:
The invaders dart their javelins from afar:
All keep aloof and safely shout around,
But none presumes to give a nearer wound.
He frets and froths, erects his bristled hide,
And shakes a grove of lances from his side.
_Æn._ x. 707-715.--_Dryden’s Translation._
Even in a case where the same poet introduces an equivalent expression
to that of Tibullus, already quoted, viz. “saltus indagine cingunt”
(_Æn._ iv. 121), he represents the hunting-party as going over a large
extent of country to collect the animals out of it:
Postquam altos ventum in montes atque invia lustra,
Ecce feræ saxi dejectæ vertice capræ
Decurrere jugis; alia de parte patentes
Transmittunt cursu campos, atque agmina cervi
Pulverulenta fuga glomerant, montesque relinquunt.
At puer Ascanius mediis in vallibus acri
Gaudet equo, jamque hos cursu, jam præterit illos,
Spumantemque dari pecora inter inertia votis
Optat aprum, aut fulvum descendere monte leonem.
_Æn._ iv. 151-159.
So Ovid (_Epist._ iv. 41, 42):
In nemus ire libet, pressisque in retia cervis,
Hortari celeres per juga summa canes;
and (_Epist._ v. 19, 20):
Retia sæpe comes maculis distincta tetendi,
Sæpe citos egi per juga longa canes.
The _younger_ Pliny describes himself on one occasion sitting beside
the nets, while the hunters were pursuing the boars and driving them
into the snare (_Epist._ i. 6). In Euripides (_Bacc._ 821-832) we find
the following beautiful description of a fawn, which has been driven
into the space inclosed by the nets, but has leaped over them and
escaped:--
ὡς νεβρὸς χλοεραῖς
ἐμπαίζουσα λείμακος ἡ-
δοναῖς, ἡνίκ’ ἂν φοβερὸν φύγῃ
θήραμ’ ἔξω φυλακᾶς
εὐπλέκτων ὑπὲρ ἀρκύων, &c.
Here a Bacchanal, tossing her head into the air with gambols and
dancing, is said to be “like a fawn sporting in the green delights
of a meadow, when she has escaped the fearful chase by leaping over
the well-platted nets so as to be out of the inclosure, whilst the
shouting hunter has been urging his dogs to run still more swiftly:
by great efforts and with the rapidity of the winds she bounds over a
plain beside a river, pleased with solitudes remote from man, and hides
herself in the thickets of an umbrageous forest.”
If hollows or valleys were inclosed[680], the nets were no doubt
extended only in those openings, through which it was possible for the
animals to escape. Also a river was of itself a sufficient boundary:
Inclusum flumine cervum.--Virg. _Æn._ xii. 749.
[680]
Nec, velit insidiis altassi claudere valles,
Dum placeas, humeri retia ferre negent.--Tibullus, i. 4. 49, 50.
It was the duty of the attendants (J. Pollux, v. 4. 27-31) in
most cases to carry the nets on their shoulders, agreeably to the
representation in the Plate X. Pliny, _l. c._
Cassibus impositos venor.--Propert. iv. 2. 32.
... alius raras
Cervice gravi portare plagas.--Sen. _Hippol._ i. l. 44.
The proper Latin term for the hunting-net, but more especially for the
purse-net, which will be hereafter described, was CASSIS.
“Cassis, genus venatorii retis.” Isidori Hispalensis _Orig._ xix. 5.
“Arctos rodere casses” is applied by Persius (v. 170) to a quadruped
with incisor teeth caught in such a net and striving to escape. See
also Propertius as just quoted, and the _Agamemnon_ of Seneca and
Virgil’s _Georgics_ as quoted below. _Cassis_ seems to be derived from
the root of _capere_ and _catch_. But PLAGA was also applied
to hunting-nets, so that Horace describes the hunting of the boar in
the following terms:
Aut trudit acres hinc et hinc multa cane
Apros in obstantes plagas.--_Epod._ ii. 31, 32.
Lucretius (lib. v. 1251, 1252) aptly compares the setting up of the
_plagæ_ to the planting of a hedge around the forest:
Nam fovea atque igni prius est venarier ortum,
Quam sæpire plagis saltum, canibusque ciere.
In the same manner _plagæ_ is used in the _Hippolytus_ of Seneca, as
above quoted, and in Pliny[681].
[681] H. N. xix. 1. s. 2.
To dispose the nets in the manner which has been described, was called
“retia ponere” (Virg. _Georg._ i. 307) or “retia tendere” (Ovid, _Art.
Amat._ i. 45).
In Homer a hunting-net is called λίνον πάναγρον, literally, “the flax
that catches everything[682].” But the proper Greek term for the
hunting-net, corresponding to the Latin _cassis_, was ἄρκυς, which is
accordingly employed in the passages of Oppian and Euripides cited
above. Also the epigram of Antipater Sidonius, to which a reference has
already been made, specifies the hunting-net by the same appellation:
Δᾶμις μὲν θηρῶν ἄρκυν ὀρειονόμων.
The word is used in the same sense by Cratinus[683]; also by
Arrian, where he remarks that the Celts dispensed with the use of
nets in hunting, because they trusted to the swiftness of their
greyhounds[684]. In Euripides[685] it is used metaphorically: the
children cry out, when their mother is pursuing them,
Ὡς ἐγγὺς ἤδη γ’ ἐσμέν ἀρκύων ζίφους,
_i. e._ “Now how near we are being caught with the sword.”
[682] _Il._ v. 487.
[683] Cratini _Fragmenta_, a Runkel, p. 28.
[684] Καί εἰσὶν αἱ κύνες αὗται, ὅ τι περ αἱ ἄρκυς Ξενοφῶντι ἐκείνῳ,
_i. e._ “And here greyhounds answered the same purpose as Xenophon’s
hunting-nets.” _De Venat._ ii. 21. See Dansey’s translation,
pp. 72, 121.
[685] _Medea_, 1268.
Also in the _Agamemnon_ of Æschylus (l. 1085):
Ἡ δίκτυον τί γ’ Αἴδου;
ἀλλ’ ἄρκυς ἡ ζύνευνος, ἡ ζυναιτία
φόνου.
In this passage reference is made to the large shawl in which
Clytemnestra wrapt the body of Agamemnon, as in a net, in order to
destroy him. On account of the use made of it, the same fatal garment
is afterwards (l. 1353) compared to a casting-net, which in its
form bore a considerable resemblance to the _cassis_. In l. 1346,
ἀρκύστατα[686] denotes this net as set up for hunting. The same form
occurs again in the _Eumenides_ (l. 112); and in the _Persæ_ (102-104)
escape from danger is in nearly the same terms expressed by the notion
of overleaping the net. In Euripides[687] this contrivance is called
ἀρκύστατος μηχανὴ; and in the _Agamemnon_ of Seneca[688] the same
allusion is introduced:
At ille, ut altis hispidus silvis aper;
Cum, casse vinctus, tentat egressus tamen,
Arctatque motu vincla, et incassum furit,
Cupit, fluentes undique et cæcos sinus
Disjicere, et hostem quærit implicitus suum.
[686] Or, ἀρκύστατον, ed. Schütz. l. 1376.
[687] _Orestes_, 1405, s. 1421.
[688] L. 886-890.
Part of the apparatus of a huntsman consisted in the stakes which he
drove into the ground to support his nets, and which Antipater Sidonius
thus describes:
Καὶ πυρὶ θηγαλέους ὀξυπαγεῖς στάλικας;
_i. e._ “The sharp stakes hardened in the fire[689].”
The term which Xenophon uses of the stakes is, according to some
manuscripts of his work, σχαλίδες. He says, they should be fixed so
as to lean backwards, and thus more effectually to resist the impulse
of the animals rushing against them[690]. The Latin term answering to
στάλικες was VARI. We find it thus used by Lucan:
Aut, cum dispositis adtollat retia varis
Venator, tenet ora levis clamosa Molossi.
_Pharsalia_, iv. 439, 440.
_i. e._ “The hunter holds the noisy mouth of the light Molossian dog,
when he lifts up the nets to the stakes arranged in order.”
[689] Brunck, _Anal._ ii. 10. We find στάλικες in Oppian,
_Cyneg._ iv. 67, 71, 121, 380; Pollux, _Onom._ v. 31.
[690] _De Venat._ vi. 7.
Gratius Faliscus, adopting a Greek term, calls them _ancones_, on
account of the “elbow” or fork at the top:
Hic magis in cervos valuit metus: ast ubi lentæ
Interdum Libyco fucantur sandyce pinnæ,
Lineaque extructis lucent anconibus arma,
Rarum, si qua metus eludat bellua falsos.--_Cyneg._ 85-88.
It was the business of one of the attendants to watch the nets:
Ego retia servo.--Virg. _Buc._ iii. 75.
Sometimes there was a watchman at each extremity and one in the middle,
as in the Persian lion-hunt[691]. The prevalence of this method of
hunting in Persia might be inferred from the circumstance, that one of
the chief employments of the inhabitants consisted in making these nets
(ἄρκυς, Strabo, xv. 3. § 18). To watch the nets was called ἀρκυωρεῖν
(Ælian, H. A. i. 2), and the man who discharged this office ἀρκυωρὸς
(Xen., _De Ven._ ii. 3; vi. 1.).
[691] Oppian, Cyneg. iv. 124, &c.
The paintings discovered in the catacombs of Egypt show, that the
ancient inhabitants of that country used nets for hunting in the same
manner which has now been shown to have been the practice of the
Persians, Greeks and Romans[692].
[692] Wilkinson’s _Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians_,
vol. iii. p. 3-5.
Hunting-nets had much larger meshes than fishing or fowlers’-nets,
because in general a fish or a fowl could escape through a much smaller
opening than a quadruped. In hunting, the important circumstance
was to make the nets so strong that the beasts could not break
through them. The large size of the meshes is denoted by the phrases
“retia rara[693]” and “raras plagas[694];” and it is exhibited in a
bas-relief in the collection of ancient marbles at Ince-Blundell in
Lancashire. See Plate X. fig. 1. This sculpture presents the following
circumstances, which are worthy of notice as illustrative of the
passages above collected from ancient authors. Three servants with
staves carry a large net on their shoulders. The foremost of them holds
by a leash a dog, which is eager to engage in the chase[695]. Then
follows another scene in the hunt. A net with very large meshes and
five feet high is set up, being supported by three stakes. Two boars
and two deer are caught. A watchman, holding a staff, stands at each
end of the net. Fig. 2, Plate X. is taken from a bas-relief in the same
collection, representing a party returning from the chase, with the
quadrupeds which they have caught. Two men carry the net, holding in
their hands the stakes with forks at the top. These bas-reliefs have
been taken from sarcophagi erected in commemoration of hunters, and
they are engraved in the _Ancient statues, &c. at Ince-Blundell_, vol.
ii. pl. 89 and 126. An excellent representation of these forked staves
is given in a sepulchral bas-relief in Bartoli, _Admiranda_, tab. 70,
which Mr. Dansey has copied at p. 307 of his translation of Arrian
_on Coursing_, and which represents a party of hunters returning from
the chase. Another example of the _varus_, or forked staff, is seen
in a sepulchral stone lately found at York (England), and engraved
in Mr. Wellbeloved’s _Eburacum_, pl. 14. fig. 2. The man, who holds
the varus in his right hand, and who appears to be a huntsman and a
native of the north of England, though partly clothed after the Roman
fashion, wears an inner and outer tunic, and over them a fringed
sagum. In the _Sepolcri de’ Nasoni_, published by Bartoli, there is a
representation of a lion-hunt, and of another in which deer are caught
by means of nets set up so as to inclose a large space. In Montfaucon’s
_Supplement_, tome iii., is an engraving from a bas-relief, in which
a net is represented: but none of these are so instructive as the two
bas-reliefs at Ince-Blundell.
[693] Virg. _Æn._ iv. 131; Hor. _Epod._ ii. 33.
[694] Seneca, _Hippol._ l. c.
[695] See Lucan, as quoted in the last page.
Gratius Faliscus recommends that a net should be forty paces long, and
full ten knots high:
Et bis vicenos spatium prætendere passus
Rete velim, plenisque decem consurgere nodis.--_Cyneg._ 31, 32.
The necessity of making the nets so high that the animals could
not leap over them, is alluded to in the expression Ὕψος κρεῖσσον
ἐκπηδήματος, _i. e._ “a height too great for the animals _to leap
out_[696].”
[696] Æschyli _Agamemnon_, 1347.
Xenophon, in his treatise _on Hunting_, gives various directions
respecting the making and setting of nets; and Schneider
has added to that treatise a dissertation concerning the ἄρκυς. It
is evident that this kind of net was made with a bag (κεκρύφαλος,
vi. 7), being the same which is now called the _purse-net_, or the
_tunnel-net_, and that the aim of the hunter was to drive the animal
into the bag; that the watchman (ἀρκυωρὸς) waited to see it caught
there; that branches of trees were placed in the bag to keep it
expanded, to render it invisible, and thus to decoy quadrupeds into it;
that a rope ran round the mouth of the bag (περίδρομος, vi. 9), and was
drawn tight by the impulse of the animal rushing in so as to prevent
its escape[697]. To this rope was attached another, called ἐπίδρομος,
which was used as follows. In fig. 1. of Plate X. we observe, that
the upper border of the net consists of a very strong rope. Xenophon
calls this σαρδὼν (vi. 9). In the purse-net it was furnished with
rings. The ἀρκυωρὸς, or watchman, lay in ambush, holding one end of the
ἐπίδρομος, which ran through the rings, and was fastened at the other
end to the περίδρομος, so that by pulling it he drew the mouth of the
bag still more firm and close. He then went to the bag and despatched
the quadruped which it inclosed, or carried it off alive, informing his
companions of the capture by _shouting_[698].
[697] This effect of the περίδρομος is well expressed by Seneca,
“Arctatque motu vincla:” also the circumstance of the branches used
to distend the bag and to make it invisible; “Fluentes undique et
cæcos sinus.”
Homer (_Il._ v. 487) seems to allude to the same contrivance, and to
apply the term ἀχῖδες to the rope which encircled the entrance of
the bag, with the others attached to it.
We find in Brunck’s _Analecta_ (ii. 10. No. xx.) the phrase ἀγκύλα
δίκτυα applied to hunting-nets. It was probably meant to designate
the ἄρκυς, which might be called ἀγκύλα, _i. e._ angular, because
they were made like bags ending in a point. The term νεφέλη, which
occurs in Aristophanes (_Aves_, 195), and denoted some contrivance
for catching birds, is said by the Scholiast on the passage to have
meant a kind of hunting-net. But this explanation is evidently good
for nothing.
[698] Oppian, _Cyneg._ iv. 409. Pliny mentions these _epidromi_, or
_running ropes_: H. N. xix. 1. s. 2.
In this treatise Xenophon distinguishes the nets used in hunting by
three different appellations; ἄρκυς, ἐνόδιον, and δίκτυον. Oppian also
distinguishes the δίκτυον used in hunting from the ἄρκυς[699]. The
ἄρκυς or _cassis_, _i. e._ “the purse- or tunnel-net,” was by much
the most complicated in its formation. The ἐνόδιον, or “road-net,”
was comparatively small: it was placed across any road, or path, to
prevent the animals from pursuing that path: it must have been used to
stop the narrow openings between bushes. The δίκτυον was a large net,
simply intended to inclose the ground: it therefore resembled in some
measure the sean used in fishing. The term, thus specially applied,
may be translated _a hay_, or _a hallier_[700]. These three kinds of
nets appear to be mentioned together by Nemesianus under the names of
_retia_ (i. e. δίκτυα), _casses_ (i. e. ἄρκυς), and _plagæ_ (i. e.
ἐνόδια.):
Necnon et casses idem venatibus aptos,
Atque plagas, longoque meantia retia tractu
Addiscunt raris semper contexere nodis,
Et servare modum maculis, linoque tenaci.
_Cyneg._ 299-302.
[699] _Ibid._ iv. 381.
[700] See Arrian _on Coursing: the Cynegeticus of the younger_
Xenophon, _translated from the Greek_, &c. &c. _by a graduate of
Medicine_ (William C. Dansey, M. B.). London, 1831, pp. 68, 188.
Xenophon, in his treatise on Hunting, further informs us, that the cord
used for making the ἄρκυς, or purse-net, consisted of three strands,
and that three lines twisted together commonly made a strand (ii. 4);
but that, when the net was intended to catch the wild boar, nine lines
went to a strand instead of three (x. 2).
It remains to be noticed, that, when the long range of nets, set up in
the manner which has been now represented, was designed to catch the
stag (_cervus_), it was flanked by cords, to which, as well as to the
nets themselves, feathers _dyed scarlet_, and of other bright colors
intermixed with their native white, and sometimes probably birds’
wings, were tied so as to flare and flutter in the wind[701]. This
appendage to the nets was called the _metus_ or _formido_ (Virg. _Æn._
xii. 750), because it frightened these timid quadrupeds so as to urge
them onwards into the toils. Hence Virgil, speaking of the method of
taking stags in Scythia, says,
Nor toils their flight impede, nor hounds o’ertake,
Nor plumes _of purple dye_ their fears awake.
_Georg._ iii. 371, 372.--_Sotheby’s Translation._
[701] Dum trepidant alæ.--Virg. _Æn._ iv. 121.
The following passages likewise allude to the use of this contrivance
in the stag-hunt:
Nec formidatis cervos includite pennis.--Ovid. _Met._ xv. 475.
Vagos dumeta per avia cervos
Circumdat maculis et multa indagine pinnæ.
Auson. _Epist._ iv. 27.
Nemesianus, in the following passage, asserts that the cord (_linea_)
carrying feathers of this description had the effect of terrifying not
the stag only, but the bear, the boar, the fox and the wolf:
Linea quinetiam, magnos circumdare saltus
Quæ possit, volucresque metu concludere prædas,
Digerat innexas non una ex alite pinnas.
Namque ursos, magnosque sues, cervosque fugaces
Et vulpes, acresque lupos, ceu fulgura cœli
Terrificant, linique vetant transcendere septum.
Has igitur vario semper fucare veneno
Cura tibi, neveisque alios miscere colores,
Alternosque metus subtemine tendere longo.
_Cyneg._ 303-311.
The same fact is asserted in a striking passage, which has been above
quoted from Gratius Faliscus. To the same effect are the following
passages:
Nec est mirum, cum maximos ferarum greges linea pennis distincta
conterreat, et ad insidias agat, ab ipso effectu dicta
formido.--Seneca, _de Ira_, ii. 11.
Feras lineis et pinna conclusas contine: easdem a tergo eques telis
incessat: tentabunt fugam per ipsa quæ fugerant, proculcabuntque
formidinem.--Seneca, _de Clementia_, i. 12.
Picta rubenti lineo pinna
Vano claudat terrore feras.
Seneca Frag. _Hippol._ i. 1.
III.
FUNDA, JACULUM, RETE JACULUM, RETIACULUM.
ΑΜΦΙΒΛΗΣΤΡΟΝ, ΑΜΦΙΒΟΛΟΝ.
Fishing-nets[702] were of six different kinds, which are enumerated by
Oppian as follows:
Τῶν τὰ μὲν ἀμφίβληστρα, τὰ δὲ γρῖφοι καλέονται,
Γάγγαμα τ’, ἠδ’ ὑποχαὶ περιηγέες, ἠδὲ σαγῆναι,
Ἄλλα δὲ κικλήσκουσι καλύμματα.--_Hal._ iii. 80-82.
[702] Ἁλιευτικὰ δίκτυα. Diod. Sic. xvii. 43. p. 193, Wessel.
Of these by far the most common were the ἀμφίβληστρον, or
_casting-net_, and the σαγήνη, _i. e._ the _drag_ or _sean_.
Consequently these two are the only kinds mentioned by Virgil and Ovid
in the following passages:
Atque alius latum funda jam verberat amnem,
Alta petens; pelagoque alius trahit humida lina.
Virg. _Georg._ i. 141, 142.
Hi jaculo pisces, illi capiuntur ab hamis;
Hos cava contento retia fune trahunt.
Ovid, _Art. Amat._ i. 763, 464.
By Virgil the casting-net is called _funda_, which is the common term
for a sling. In illustration of this it is to be observed, that the
casting-net is thrown over the fisherman’s shoulder, and then whirled
in the air much like a sling. By this action he causes it to fly open
at the bottom so as to form a circle, which is loaded at intervals
with stones or pieces of lead, and this circle “strikes the broad
river[703]:” for the casting-net is used either in pools of moderate
depth, or in rivers which have, like pools, a broad smooth surface;
whereas the sean is employed for fishing in the deep (_pelago_)[704].
[703] The Arabs now employ the casting-net on the shores of the Arabian
Gulf. “Its form is round, and loaded at the lower part with small
pieces of lead; and, when the fisherman approaches a shoal of
fish, his art consists in throwing the net so that it may expand
itself in a circular form before it reaches the surface of the
water.”--Wellsted’s _Travels in Arabia_, vol. ii. p. 148.
[704] For a technical account of nets, including the casting-net as now
made, the reader is referred to the Hon. and Rev. Charles
Bathurst’s _Notes on Nets; or the Quincunx practically considered_,
London, 1837, 12mo. Duhamel wrote on the same subject in French.
Isidore of Seville, in his account of the different kinds of nets
(_Orig._ xix. 5), thus speaks: “_Funda_ genus est piscatorii retis,
dicta ab eo, quod in fundum mittatur. Eadem etiam a jactando _jaculum_
dicitur. Plautus:
Probus quidem antea jaculator eras[705].”
[705] _Jaculator_ corresponds to the Greek ἀμφιβολεὺς.
Ausonius, in the following lines, which refer to the methods of
fishing in the vicinity of the Garonne, appears to distinguish
between the _jaculum_ and the _funda_.
Piscandi traheris studio? nam tota supellex
Dumnotoni tales solita est ostendere gazas:
Nodosas vestes animantum Nerinorum,
Et jacula, et fundas, et nomina villica lini,
Colaque, et indutos terrenis vermibus hamos.
_Epist._ iv. 51-55.
Besides the passage of Plautus, here quoted by Isidore, there are two
others, in which the casting-net is mentioned under the name of _rete
jaculum_, viz. _Asinar_. l. i. 87, and _Truc._ l. i. 14. Pareus, as
we find from his _Lexicon Plautinum_, clearly understood the meaning
of the term, and the distinction between the casting-net and the
sean. Of the _Rete jaculum_ he says, “Sic dicitur ad differentiam
_verriculi_, quod non jacitur, sed trahitur et verritur.” He adds, that
Herodotus calls it ἀμφίβληστρον, and the Germans _Wurffgarn_.
The word occurs twice in Herodotus, and both places throw light upon
its meaning. In Book i. c. 141. he says: “The Lydians had no sooner
been brought into subjection by the Persians than the Ionians and
Æolians sent ambassadors to Cyrus at Sardis, entreating him to receive
them under his dominion on the same conditions on which they had been
under Crœsus. To this proposal he replied in the following fable. A
piper, having seen some fishes in the sea, _played for a while on his
pipe, thinking that this would make them come to him on the land_.
Perceiving the fallacy of this expectation, he took a casting-net, and,
having thrown it around a great number of the fishes, he drew them out
of the water. He then said to the fishes, as they were jumping about,
_As you did not choose to dance out of the water, when I played to
you on my pipe, you may put a stop to your dancing now_.” The other
passage (ii. 95) has been illustrated in a very successful manner by
William Spence, Esq., F. R. S., in a paper in the Transactions of the
Entomological Society for the year 1834. In connection with the curious
fact, that the common house-fly will not in general pass through the
meshes of a net, Mr. Spence produces this passage, in which Herodotus
states, that the fishermen who lived about the marshes of Egypt, being
each in possession of a casting-net, and using it in the day-time to
catch fishes, employed these nets in the night to keep off the gnats,
by which that country is infested. The casting-net was fixed so as
to encircle the bed, on which the fisherman slept; and, as this kind
of net is always pear-shaped, or of a conical form, it is evident
that nothing could be better adapted to the purpose, as it would be
suspended like a tent over the body of its owner. In this passage
Herodotus twice uses the term ἀμφίβληστρον, and once he calls the
same thing δίκτυον, because, as we have seen, this was a common term
applicable to nets of every description[706].
[706] _None of the commentators appear to have understood these
passages._ In particular we find that Schweighäuser in his _Lexicon
Herodoteum_ explains Ἀμφίβληστρον thus: “Verriculum, Rete quod
circumjicitur.” _Rete_, however, corresponds to δίκτυον, which meant
a net of any kind; and _Verriculum_ is the Latin for Σαγήνη, which,
as will be shown hereafter, was a sean, or drag-net.
The antiquity of the casting-net among the Greeks appears from a
passage in the _Shield of Hercules_, attributed to Hesiod (l. 213-215).
The poet says, that the shield represented the sea with fishes seen in
the water, “and on the rocks sat a fisherman watching, and he held in
his hands a casting-net (ἀμφίβληστρον) for fishes, and seemed to be
throwing it from him.” We apprehend that, the position of _sitting_ was
not so suitable to the use of the casting-net as standing, because it
requires the free use of the arms, which a man cannot well have when he
sits. In other respects this description exactly agrees with the use of
the casting-net: for it is thrown by a single person, who remains on
land at the edge of the water, observes the fishes in it, and throws
the net from him into the water so as suddenly to inclose them.
In two of the tragedies of Æschylus we find the term ἀμφίβληστρον
applied _figuratively_ by Clytemnestra to the _shawl_, in which she
enveloped her husband in order to murder him.
Ἄπειρον ἀμφίβληστρον, ὥσπερ ἰχθύων,
περιστίχιζω, πλοῦτον εἵματος κακόν.--_Agamem._ 1353, 1354.
Μέμνησο δ’, ἀμφίβληστρον ὡς ἐκαίνισαν.--_Choëph._ 485.
Lycophron (l. 1101) calls this garment by the same name, when he refers
to the same event in the fabulous history of Greece. We have seen, that
in other passages the shawl so used is with equal aptitude called a
purse-net (ἄρκυς).
One of the comedies of Menander was entitled Ἁλιεῖς, “the Fisherman.”
The expression, Ἀμφιβλήστρῳ περιβάλλεται, is quoted from it by Julius
Pollus (x. 132)[707].
[707] Menandri et Phil. _Reliquæ, a Meineke_, p. 16.
Athenæus (lib. x. 72. p. 450 c. Casaub.) quotes from Antiphanes the
following line, which describes a man “throwing a casting-net on many
fishes”:
Ἰχθύσιν ἀμφίβληστρον ἀνὴρ πολλοῖς ἐπιβάλλων.
In an epigram of Leonidas Tarentinus we find the casting-net called
ἀμφίβολον instead of ἀμφίβληστρον[708].
[708] Brunck, _Anal._ i. 223, No. xii. Jacobs, _Anthol._ i. 2. p. 74.
The ἀμφίβληστρον is mentioned together with two other kinds of nets by
Artemidorus, and which will be quoted presently.
The following curious passage of Meletius _de Natura Hominis_, in
which that author, probably following Galen, describes the expansion
of the optic nerves, mentions the casting-net as “an instrument used
by fishermen”:
Διασχίζονται δὲ τὰ νεῦρα εἰς τοὺς θαλάμους, ὥσπερ ἤν τις λαβὼν
πάπυρον, ταύτην εἰς λεπτὰ διατεμὼν καὶ διασχίζων ἀναπλέκηται πάλιν,
καὶ ποιῇ χιτῶνα λεγόμενον ἀμφιβληστροειδῆ, ὅμοιον ἀμφιβλήρτρῳ. ὄργανον
δὲ τοῦτο θηρευταῖς ἰχθύων χρήσιμον.--Salmasius, _in Tertull. de
Pallio_, p. 213.
The χιτὼν ἀμφιβληστροειδὴς, or _tunica retina_, was so called on
account of its resemblance in form to the casting-net.
As we learn from Herodotus that the casting-net was universally
employed by the fishermen of Egypt, we shall not be surprised to find
it mentioned in the Alexandrine, or, as it is commonly called, the
Septuagint version of the Psalms and Prophets:--
Πεσοῦνται ἐν ἀμφιβλήστρῳ αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτωλοὶ,
_i. e._ “Sinners shall fall in _his_ casting-net.”--_Psalm_ cxli. 10.
Cadent in retiaculo ejus peccatores.--_Vulgate Version._
“Let the wicked fall in their own nets.”
--_Common English Version._
The word in the original Hebrew is
מכמור, which Gesenius translates “Rete,” _a net_. This word
must have been more general in its meaning than the Greek ἀμφίβληστρον,
and included the purse-net, or ἄρκυς. The Chaldee and Syriac versions
use in this passage a word, which denotes _snares_ in general. See
_Isaiah_ li. 20, where the same word is used in the Hebrew, but applied
to the catching of a quadruped, and where consequently the purse-net
must have been intended.
Καὶ οἱ βάλλοντες σαγήνας, καὶ οἱ ἀμφιβολεῖς πενθήσουσι.
_i. e._ “And they who throw seans, and they who fish with the
casting-net, shall mourn.”--_Isa._ xix. 8.
Et expandentes rete super faciem aquarum emarcescent.--_Vulgate
Version._
“And they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.”--_Common
English Version._
It is to be observed, that this prophecy relates to Egypt. The Hebrew
verb פרש, here translated “_expandentes_,”
“_they that spread_,” is exactly applicable to the remarkable
expansion of the casting-net just as it reaches the surface of the
water. In the Alexandrine version we may also observe the clear
distinction between the two principal kinds of nets, the sean and the
casting-net, and that the man who fishes with the latter is called
ἀμφιβολεὺς, as in Latin he was designated by the single term
_jaculator_.
Εἵλκυσεν αὐτὸν ἐν ἀμφιβλήστρῳ, καὶ συνήγαγεν αὐτὸν ἐν ταῖς σαγήναις
αὐτοῦ· ἕνεκεν τοὺτου εὐφρανθήσεται καὶ χαρήσεται ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ.
Ἕνεκεν τούτου θύσει τῇ σαγήνῃ αὐτοῦ, καὶ θυμιάσει τῷ ἀμφιβλήστρῳ
αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐλίπανε μερίδα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ βρώματα αὐτοῦ
ἐκλεκτά. Διὰ τοῦτο ἀμφιβαλεῖ τὸ ἀμφίβληστρον αὐτοῦ, καὶ διαπαντὸς
ἀποκτένειν ἔθνη οὐ φείσεται.
_i. e._ “He (the Chaldean) hath drawn him in a casting-net and
gathered him in his seans: therefore his heart shall rejoice and be
glad. Therefore he shall sacrifice to his sean and burn incense to
his casting-net, because by them he hath fattened his portion and his
chosen dainties. Therefore he shall throw his casting-net, and not
spare utterly to slay nations.”--_Habakkuk_, i. 15-17.
“They catch them in their net and gather them in their drag; therefore
they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they sacrifice unto their net and
burn incense unto their drag: because by them their portion is fat and
their meat plenteous. Shall they therefore empty their net, and not
spare continually to slay the nations?”--_Common English Version._
The Latin Vulgate in this passage uses without discrimination the terms
_rete_ and _sagena_, which latter is the Greek word in a Latin form.
Ἀμφίβληστρον occurs twice in the New Testament. Matthew iv. 18: “Jesus,
walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon and Andrew,
_casting a net into the sea_; for they were fishers”: in the original,
βάλλοντας ἀμφίβληστρον εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν; in the Vulgate version,
“mittentes rete.” It appears no sufficient objection to the sense
which has been assigned to ἀμφίβληστρον, that here two persons are
mentioned as using it at the same time. Being partners and engaged in
the same employment, one perhaps collecting the fishes which the other
caught, they might be described together as “throwing the casting-net,”
although only one at a time held it in his hands. In other respects
this explanation is particularly suitable to the circumstances. Jesus
was walking on the shore and accosted the two brothers. This suits the
supposition that they were on the shore likewise, and not fishing out
of a boat, as they did with the sean at other times. In verse 20 the
Evangelist uses the term δίκτυα (nets), saying “they left their nets,”
and meaning both their casting-net and those of other kinds. In verse
21 he mentions that James and John were in their boat, mending their
nets (δίκτυα).
The same things are to be observed in Mark i. 16, which is the parallel
passage.
IV.
ΓΡΙΦΟΣ, _or_ ΓΡΙΠΟΣ.
Pursuing the order adopted by Oppian in his list of fishing nets above
quoted, we come to the Γρῖφος. What kind of net this was we have been
unable to discover. It must, however, have been one of the most useful
and important kinds, because Plutarch mentions γρίφοι καὶ σαγήναι as
the common implements of the fisherman[709], and Artemidorus speaks of
this together with the casting-net and the sean in similar terms[710].
[709] Περὶ ἐνθυμίας, vol. v. p. 838, ed. Steph.
[710] L. ii. c. 14.
It may be observed, that Γριπεὺς is used for a fisherman[711],
apparently equivalent to ἁλιεὺς[712]. We also find the expression
Γριπηΐδι τέχνῃ, meaning, “By the fisherman’s art[713]”.
[711] Jacobs, _Anthol._ vol. i. p. 186, Nos. 4 and 5.
[712] Theocrit. i. 39; iii. 26.
[713] Brunck, _Anal._ ii. 9, No. 14.
V.
ΓΑΓΓΑΜΟΝ.
The third fishing-net in Oppian’s enumeration is Γάγγαμον. We find
it once mentioned metaphorically, viz. by Æschylus, who calls an
inextricable calamity, Γάγγαμον ἄτης[714]. In Schneider’s edition
of Oppian we find this note, “Rete ostreis capiendis esse annotavit
Hesychius.” Passow also in his Lexicon explains it as “a small round
net for catching oysters.” The reference to Hesychius is incorrect. If
it was a net for catching oysters, which appears very doubtful, it may
have been the net used by the Indians in the pearl-fishery[715].
[714] _Agam._ 352.
[715] Λέγει Μεγασθένης θηρεύεσθαι τὴν κόγχην αὐτοῦ δικτύοισι.
Arrian, _Indica_, vol. i p. 525, ed. Blancardi.
VI.
ὙΠΟΧΗ.
The ὑποχὴ, which is the fourth in Oppian’s enumeration, was the
landing-net, used merely to take fishes out of the water when they rose
to the surface, or in similar circumstances to which it was adapted. It
was made with a hoop (κύκλος) fastened to a pole, and was perhaps also
provided with the means of closing the round aperture at the top[716].
Of the Κάλυμμα we find nowhere any further mention.
[716] See Oppian, _Hal._ iv. 251.
VII.
TRAGUM, TRAGULA, VERRICULUM.
ΣΑΓΗΝΗ.
These were the Greek and Latin names for the _sean_. Before producing
the passages in which they occur, we will present to the reader an
account of this kind of net as now used by the fishermen on the coast
of Cornwall (England) for catching pilchards, and as described by Dr.
Paris in his elegant and pleasant _Guide to Mount’s Bay and Land’s
End_[717].
“At the proper season men are stationed on the cliffs to observe by
the color of the water where the shoals of pilchards are to be found.
The sean is carried out in a boat, and thrown into the sea by two
men with such dexterity, that in less than four minutes the fish are
inclosed. It is then either moored, or, where the shore is sandy and
shelving, it is drawn into more shallow water. After this the fish are
bailed into boats and carried to shore. A _sean_ is frequently _three
hundred fathoms long, and seventeen deep_. The bottom of the net is
kept to the ground by leaden weights, whilst the corks keep the top of
it floating on the surface. A sean has been known to inclose at one
time as many as _twelve hundred hogsheads_, amounting to about _three
millions of fish_.”
[717] Penzance, 1816, p. 91
Let this passage be compared with the following, which gives an account
of the use of the same kind of net among the Arabs. It will then appear
how extensively it is employed, since we find it used in exactly the
same way both by our own countrymen and by tribes which we consider
as ranking very low in the scale of civilization; and on making this
comparison, the inference will seem not unreasonable, that the ancient
Greeks and Romans, who in several of their colonies in the Euxine Sea,
on the coasts of Ionia, and of Spain, and in other places, carried on
the catching and curing of fish with the greatest possible activity and
to a wonderful extent, used nets of as great a compass as those which
are here described.
“The fishery is here (_i. e._ at Burka, on the eastern coast of Arabia)
conducted on a grand scale, by means of nets many hundred fathoms in
length, which are carried out by boats. The upper part is supported by
small blocks of wood, formed from the light and buoyant branches of
the _date-palm_, while the lower part is loaded with lead. To either
extremity of this a rope is attached, by which, when the whole of the
net is laid out, about thirty or forty men drag it towards the shore.
The quantity thus secured is enormous; and what they do not require for
their own consumption is salted and carried into the interior. When, as
is very generally the case, the nets _are the common property of the
whole village_, they divide the produce into equal shares[718].”
[718] Lieutenant Wellsted’s _Travels in Arabia_, vol. i. (_Ornam_), pp.
186, 187.
That this method of fishing was practised by the Egyptians from a
remote antiquity appears from the remaining monuments. The paintings
on the tombs show persons engaged in drawing the sean, which has
floats along its upper margin and leads along the lower border[719].
An ancient Egyptian net, obtained by M. Passalacqua, is preserved in
the Museum at Berlin. Some of its leads and floats remain, as well as a
gourd, which assisted the floats[720].
[719] See Wilkinson’s _Manners and Customs of Ancient Egypt_, vol. ii.
p. 20, 21; see also vol. iii. p. 37. One of these paintings, copied
from Wilkinson, is introduced in Plate X. fig. 3. of this work.
The fishermen are seen on the shore drawing the net to land full
of fishes. There are eight floats along the top, and four leads at
the bottom on each side. The water is drawn as is usual in Egyptian
paintings.
[720] Un filet de pêche à petites mailles, et fait avec du fil de lin.
Cet objet, qui est garni de ses plombs, conserve encore les
morceaux de bois qui garnissaient sa partie supérieure, ainsi
qu’une courge qui l’aidait à surnager.--Thèbes, Passalacqua,
_Catalogue des Antiquitiés découvertes en Egypte_, No. 445. p. 22.
Besides the verses of Oppian, which are above quoted, we find another
passage of the same poem (_Hal._ iii. 82, 83), which mentions the
following appendages to the σαγήνη, viz. the πέζαι, the σφαιρῶνες, and
the σκολιὸς πάναγρος. As the πόδες, or _feet_ of a sail were the ropes
fastened to its lower corners, we may conclude that the πέζαι were
the ropes attached to the corners of the sean, and used in a similar
manner to fasten it to the shore and to draw it in to the land, as is
described by Ovid in the line already quoted,--
Hos cava _contento_ retia _fune_ trahunt.
The σφαιρῶνες, as the name implies, were spherical, and must therefore
have been either the floats of wood or cork at the top, or the weights,
consisting either of round stones or pieces of lead, at the bottom.
The σκολιὸς πάναγρος must have been a kind of bag formed in the sean
to receive the fishes, and thus corresponding to the purse or conical
bag in the ἄρκυς. The term is illustrated by the application of the
equivalent epithet ἀγκύλα or “angular,” to hunting-nets in a passage
from Brunck’s _Analecta_, which was formerly explained, and by the
epithet “cava” in the line just quoted from Ovid[721].
[721] Observe also the use of the word μυχὸς in the passage of Lucian’s
_Timon_, quoted below.
In the following passage Ovid mentions the use both of the corks and of
the leads[722]. This passage also shows that several nets were fastened
together in order to form a long sean:
Aspicis, ut summa cortex levis innatat unda,
Cum grave nexa simul retia mergat onus?
_Trist._ iii. 4. 1, 12.
[722] Μολύβδαιναι, J. Pollux, x. 30. § 132.
This use of cork and lead in fishing is also mentioned by Ælian,
_Hist. Anim._ xii. 43; and that of cork by Pausanias, viii. 12. § 1;
and by Pliny, H. N. xvi. 8. s. 13, where, in reciting the various
uses of cork, he says it was employed “piscantium tragulis.” Sidonius
Apollinaris, describing his own villa, says:--
Hinc jam spectabis, ut promoveat alnum piscator in pelagus, ut
stataria retia suberinis corticibus extendat.--_Epist._ ii. 2.
“Hence you will see how the fisherman moves forward his boat into the
deep water, that he may extend his stationary nets by means of corks.”
Alciphron, in his account of a fishing excursion near the Promontory
of Phalerum, says, “The draught of fishes was so great as almost to
submerge the corks[723].” The earnest desire of a posterity, founded
on the wish for posthumous remembrance, which was a very strong
and prevailing sentiment among the ancients, is illustrated by the
language of Electra in the Choëphorœ of Æschylus, where she entreats
her father upon this consideration to attend to her prayer, and likens
his memory to a net, which his children, like corks, would save from
disappearing:--“_Do not extinguish the race of the Pelopidæ. For
thus you will live after you are dead. For a man’s children are the
preservers of his fame when dead, and, like corks in dragging the net,
they save the flaxen string from the abyss._” The use of the corks is
mentioned in several of the epigrams of the Greek Anthology, already
referred to, and in the following passage of Plutarch:--
Ὥσπερ τοὺς τὰ δίκτυα διασημαίνοντας ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ φελλοὺς ὁρῶμεν
ἐπιφερομένους .--_De Genio Socratis_, p. 1050, ed. Steph.
[723] Μικρὸν καὶ τοὺς φελλοὺς ἐδέησε κατασύραι ὕφαλον τὸ δίκτυον
ἐξογκούμενον.--_Epist._ i. 1.
Passages have been already produced from Plutarch, Artemidorus,
and the Alexandrine version of Isaiah and Habakkuk, in which the
sean is mentioned by its Greek name σαγήνη, in contradistinction
to other kinds of nets. Also the passage above cited from Virgil’s
Georgics (“pelagoque alius trahit humida lina”), indicates the use of
the sean in deep water, and the practice of dragging it out of the
water by means of ropes, which gave origin both to its English name,
_the Drag-net_, and to its Latin appellations, _tragula_, used by Pliny
(_l. c._), and _tragum_, which is found in the ancient Glossaries and
in Isidore of Seville[724].
[724] Tragum genus retis, ab eo quod trahatur nuncupatum: ipsum est et
verriculum. Verrere enim trahere est.--_Orig._ xix. 5.
The Latin name _verriculum_ occurs in a passage of Valerius
Maximus, which is also remarkable for a reference to the Ionian
fisheries, and for the use of the word _jactus_, literally, _a
throw_, corresponding to that which the Cornish men denominate, _a
hawl of fish_.
A piscatoribus in Milesia regione verriculum trahentibus quidam
jactum emerat.--_Memor._ lib. iv. cap. 1.
We introduce here an expression of Philo, in which we may remark
that βόλος ἰχθύων corresponds exactly to _jactus_ in Latin, and
that the drawing of the net into a circle is clearly indicated:
βόλον ἰχθύων πάντας ἐν κύκλῳ σαγηνεύσας. --_Vita Mosis_, tom. ii.
p. 95. ed. Mangey.
We find mention of the sean more especially for the capture of the
tunny and of the pelamys, which were the two principal kinds of fish
caught in the Mediterranean. Lucian speaks of the tunny-sean[725],
which was probably the largest net of the kind, and he relates
the circumstance of a tunny escaping from its bag or bosom[726].
The sean is thrice mentioned in the Epistles of Alciphron (_l.
c._ and lib. i. epp. 17, 18.), and in the two latter passages, as
used for catching tunnies and pelamides. We read also of a dolphin
(δελφὶς) approaching the sean[727]; but this might be by accident. It
was not, we apprehend, employed to catch dolphins.
[725] Σαγήνη θυννευτική.--_Epist. Saturn._ tom. iii. p. 406. ed. Reitz.
[726] Ὁ θύννος ἐκ μυχοῦ τῆς σαγήνης διέφυγεν.--_Timon_,
§ 22. tom. i. p. 136.
[727] Οὐκ ἔτι πλησιάζει τῇ σαγήνῃ.--Ælian, H. A. xi. c. 12. In this
chapter the same net is twice called by the common name, δίκτυον.
In the following passage of the Odyssey (xxii. 384-387) we have a
description of the use of a sean in a small bay, having a sandy shore
at its extremity, and consequently most suitable for the employment of
this kind of net:
Ὥστ’ ἰχθύας, οὕσθ’ ἁλιήες
Κοῖλον ἐς αἰγιαλὸν πολιῆς ἔκτοσθε θαλάσσης
Δικτύῳ ἐξέρυσαν πολυωπῷ· οἱ δέ τε πάντες
Κύμαθ’ ἁλὸς ποθέοντες ἐπὶ ψαμάθοισι κέχυνται.
The poet here compares Penelope’s suitors, who lie slain upon the
ground, to fishes, “which the fishermen by means of a net full of holes
have drawn out of the hoary sea to a hollow bay, and all of which,
deprived of the waves of the sea, are poured upon the sands.” Although
the general term δίκτυον is here used, it is evident that the net
intended was the sean, or dragnet.
In one of the passages of Alciphron already referred to, mention is
made of the use of the sean in a similar situation. Some persons,
who are fishing in a bay for tunnies and pelamides, inclose nearly
the whole bay with their sean, expecting to catch a very large
quantity[728]. This circumstance proves, that the sean was used with
the ancient Greeks, as it is with us, to encompass a great extent of
water.
[728] Τῇ σαγῆνῃ μονονουχί τὸν κόλπον ὅλον περιελάβομεν. --_Epist._ i. 17.
A few miscellaneous passages, which refer to the use of the sean,
may be conveniently introduced here:
Diogenes, seeing a great number of fishes in the deep, says there
is need of a sean to catch them; σαγήνης δέησις.--Lucian, _Piscata_,
§ 51. tom. i. p. 618, ed. Reitz.
The sean is called, from its material, σαγηναίον λίνον, in an
epigram of Archias.--Brunck, _Anal._ ii. 94. No. 10.
Plutarch, describing the _spider’s web_, says, that its _weaving_
is like the labor _of women at the loom_, its hunting like that
of fishermen with the sean.--_De Solertia Animalium_, tom. x. p.
29, ed. Reiske. He here uses the term σαγηνευτὴς for _a fisher with
the sean_. This verbal noun is regularly formed from σαγηνεύειν,
which means _to inclose or catch with the sean_: e. g. ἐν δίκτυοις
σεσαγηνευμένοι.--Herodian, iv. 9, 12.
Lucian uses the same verb in reference to the story of Vulcan
inclosing Mars and Venus in a net; σαγηνεύει τοῖς δεσμοῖς.--_Dialogi
Deor._ tom. i. p. 243. _Somnium_, tom. ii. p. 707, ed. Reitz.
Leonidas of Tarentum, in an epigram enumerating the ornaments
of a lady’s toilet (Brunck, _Anal._ i. p. 221), mentions ὁ πλατὺς
τριχῶν σαγηνευτήρ. Jacobs (_Annot. in Anthol._ i. 2. p. 63) supposes
this to mean the lady’s comb; but, judging from the known meaning
of σαγήνη and its derivatives, we may conclude that it was the
κεκρύφαλος, or net, which inclosed and encircled the hair, like a sean.
The following verse of Manilius (lib. v. ver. 678.) is remarkable
as a rare instance of the adoption of the Greek word _sagena_ by a
Latin poet:--
Excipitur vasta circumvallata sagena.
We have seen that the sean supplied figures of speech no less than the
purse-net (ἄρκυς), and the casting-net (ἀμφίβληστρον). It is applied
thus in the case of persons who are ensnared by the wicked[729], who
are captivated by the charms of love[730] or of eloquence[731], or who
are held in bondage by superstition[732]. But by far the most distinct,
expressive and important of its metaphorical applications, was to
the mode of besieging a city by encircling it with one uninterrupted
line of soldiers, or sweeping away the entire population of a certain
district by marching in similar order across it. Of this the first
example occurs in Herodotus iii. 145:--
Τὴν δὲ Σάμον σαγηνεύσαντες οἱ Πέρσαι παρέδοσαν Σολυσῶντι, ἐρῆμον
ἐοῦσαν ἀνδρῶν.
“The Persians, having dragged Samos, delivered it, being now destitute
of men, to Solyson.”
[729] Σαγηνεύομαι πρὸς αὐτῶν.--Lucian, _Timon_, § 25. tom. i. p. 138,
ed. Reitz.
[730] Brunck, _Anal._ iii. 157. No. 32. Here the sean is called by the
general term δίκτυον, but the particular kind of net is indicated by
the participle σαγηνευθείς.
[731]
Τῶνδὲ μαθητὴν,
Οἳ κόσμον γλυκερῇσι Θεοῦ δήσαντο σαγήναις,
_i. e._ “A disciple of those who bound the world in the sweet seans
of God.”--Greg. Nazianz. _ad Nemesium_, tom. ii. p. 141, ed. Paris,
1630. (See Chap. III, p. 53.)
[732] Plutarch, evidently referring to the siege of Jerusalem by
Titus, says, “The Jews on the Sabbath sitting down on coarse
blankets (ἐν ἀγνάμπτοις, literally, in ἱμάτια, or blankets, which
had not been fulled, or cleansed by the γναφεύς), even when the
enemy were setting the ladders to scale the walls, did not rise up,
but remained, as if inclosed in one sean, namely, superstition,
(ὥσπερ ἐν σαγήνῃ μιᾷ, τῇ δεισιδαιμονίᾳ, συνδεδεμένοι).”--_Opp._
tom. vi. _De Superstit._ p. 647, ed. Reiske.
As we speak of _dragging_ a pit, so the Greeks would have spoken,
in this metaphorical sense, of _dragging_ an island. In the sixth
book (ch. xxxi.) Herodotus particularly describes this method of
capturing the enemy. According to this account the Persians landed on
the northern side of the island. They then took hold of one another’s
hands so as to form a long line, and thus linked together they walked
across the island to the south side, so as to hunt out all the
inhabitants. The historian here particularly mentions, that Chios,
Lesbos, and Tenedos were reduced to captivity in this manner. It is
recorded by Plato[733], that Datis, in order to alarm the Athenians,
against whom he was advancing at the head of the Persian army, spread
a report that his soldiers, joining hand to hand, had taken all the
Eretrians captive as in a sean. The reader is referred to the Notes
of Wesseling and Valckenaer on Herod. iii. 149 for some passages, in
which subsequent Greek authors have quoted Herodotus and Plato.
We find σαγηνευθῆναι, “to be dragged,” used in the same manner by
Heliodorus[734].
[733] _De Legibus_, lib. iii. prope finem.
[734] Lib. vii. p. 304. ed. Commelini.
In addition to the passages of Isaiah and Habakkuk which mention the
drag in opposition to the casting-net; we find three references to the
use of it in the prophecies of Ezekiel, viz. in Ezek. xxvi. 5. 14;
xlvii. 10. The prophet, foretelling the destruction of Tyre, says it
would become _a place to dry seans upon_, ψυγμὸς σαγηνῶν; “siccatio
sagenarum,” _Vulgate Version_; “a place for the spreading of nets,”
_Common English Version_. The Hebrew term for a drag or sean is here
חרם.
The only passage of the New Testament which makes express mention of
the sean, is Matt. xiii. 47, 48: “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a
net (σαγήνη) that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind;
which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered
the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.” The casting-net, which
can only inclose part of a very small shoal, would not have been
adapted to the object of this parable. But we perceive the allusion
intended by it to the great quantity and variety of fishes of every
kind which are brought to the shore of the bay (αἰγιαλὸν) by the use
of the drag. The Vulgate here retains the Greek word, translating
_sagena_ as in the above-cited passages of Habakkuk and Ezekiel. In
John xxi. 6. 8. 11, the use of the sean is evidently intended to be
described, although it is called four times by the common term δίκτυον,
which denoted either a sean, or a net of any other kind. It is in this
passage translated _rete_ in the Latin Vulgate.
The Greek σαγήνη having been adopted under the form _sagena_ in the
Latin Vulgate, this was changed into rezne by the Anglo-Saxons[735],
and their descendants, have still further abridged it into _sean_. In
the south of England this word is also pronounced and spelt _seine_,
as it is in French. We find in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History[736] a
curious passage on the introduction of this kind of net into England.
He says, “the people had as yet only learnt to catch eels with nets.
Wilfrid caused them to collect together all their eel-nets, and to use
them as a sean for catching fishes of all kinds.”
[735] See Caedmon, p. 75. ed. Junii.
[736] Page 294, ed. Wilkins.
VIII.
RETICULUS or RETICULUM.
ΓΥΡΓΑΘΟΣ.
In the ancient Glossaries we find Γύργαθος translated _Reticulus_ and
_Reticulum_: it meant, therefore, _a small net_. It was not a name
for nets in general, nor did it denote any kind of hunting-net or
fishing-net, although the net indicated by this term might be used
occasionally for catching animals as well as for other purposes. It
was used, for example, in an island on the coast of India to catch
tortoises, being set at the mouths of the caverns, which were the
resort of those creatures[737]. But the same term is applied to the
nets which were used to carry pebbles and stones intended to be thrown
from military engines[738]; and a similar contrivance was in common
use for carrying loaves of bread[739]. Hence it is manifest that the
γύργαθος was often much like the nets in which the Jewish boys in our
streets carry lemons, being inclosed at the mouth by a running string
or noose. We may therefore translate γύργαθος, “a bag-net,” as it was
made in the form of a bag. “To blow into a bag-net,” εἰς γύργαθον
φυσᾷν, became a proverb, meaning to labor in vain. But this bag was
often of much smaller dimensions, and of much finer materials, than in
the instances already mentioned. From a passage of Æneas Tacticus (p.
54. ed. Orell.) we may infer that it was sometimes not larger than a
purse for the pocket. Hence Aristotle[740] properly applies the term
γύργαθος to the small spherical or oval bag in which spiders deposit
their eggs. Among the luxurious habits of the Sicilian prætor Verres,
it is recorded, that he had a small and very fine linen net, filled
with rose-leaves, “which ever and anon he gave his nose[741].” This net
was, no doubt, called γύργαθος in Greek.
[737] Ἐν δὲ ταύτῃ τῇ νήσῳ καὶ γύργαθοις αὐτὰς ἰδίως λινεύουσιν,
ἀντὶ δικτύων καθίεντες αὐτοὺς περὶ τὰ στόματα τῶν προράχων.
[738] Athenæus, lib. v. § 43. p. 208, ed. Casaub.
[739] Γύργαθον· σκεῦος πλεκτὸν, ἐν ᾧ βάλλουσι τὸν ἄρτον οἱ
ἀρτοκόποι.--Hesych. Reticulum panis.--Hor. _Sat._ i. l. 47.
[740] _Anim. Hist._ v. 27. Compare Apollodorus, _Frag._ xi. p. 454, ed.
Heyne.
[741] Reticulum ad nares sibi admovebat, tenuissimo lino, minutis
maculis, plenum rosæ.--Cic. _in Verr._ ii. 5. 11. --_Arrian, Per.
Maris Eryth._ p. 151. ed. Blancardi.
THE END.
[Illustration: _Plate X._]
Transcriber’s Notes:
A number of typographical errors have been corrected silently.
Cover is in public domain.
Footnote 731 may not be pointing to the exactly correct location as the
original was not marked.
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