Page:The history of silk, cotton, linen, wool, and other fibrous substances 2.djvu/73

 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—Appolinaris 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, 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. The passage pertaining to our present subject, is as follows: