The history of silk, cotton, linen, wool, and other fibrous ... - Cd3wd.com

60 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF
Vellere non ovium, sed Eoo ex orbe petitis
Ramorum spoliis fluitantes surnere amictus,
Gaudent, et durum scutulis pcrfundere corpus.
Additur ars, ut fila herbis saturata recoctis
Inluduiit varias distincto staniine formas.
Ut qufequc est lan\igo feraj mollissinia tactu,
Per.tifiir. Hunc videas lascivas priEpete cursu
Venantem tnninas, avium quoque versicolorum
Indumenta novis texentem phimea telis:
Ilium piginentis ledolentibus, et percgrino
Pulvcre femineas spargentem turpitur auras.
Hamartigp.rtia, l. 286-^98.
They blush to be call'd men : they seek to shine
In cv'ry vainest garb. Their native strength
To soften and impair, tliey gaily choose
A flowing scarf, not made of wool from sheep,
But of those fleeces from the Eastern world,
The spoil of trees. Tiieir 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 neio looms, and weaves a feather'd vest,
Which with the plumage of the birds compares ;
That, scented with cosmetics, basely sheds
EfFemmate 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 PaUadius, who wrote the Historia Lausiaca; is disputed.
But, as we see no reason to doubt, that it may have been writ-
ten as early as his time, we introduce here the passages, which
have been found in it, relating to the present subject. The au-
thor represents the Bramins as saying to Alexander the Great,
" You envelope yourselves in soft clothing, like the silk-worms."
(2>. 17. ed. Bisswi.) It is also asserted, that Alexander did not
pass the Ganges, but went " as far as Serica, where the siUc-
worms produce raw-silk" (p. 2.).
In the London edition this tract is followed by one in Latin,