Book XXXV. An Account of Paintings and Colours.

Chaps. 1-13.

Chap. 1. (1.)—The Honour Attached to Painting.

I have now given at considerable length an account of the nature of metals, which constitute our wealth, and of the substances that are derived from them; so connecting my various subjects, as, at the same time, to describe an immense number of medicinal compositions which they furnish, the mysteries [“Officinarum tenebræ;” probably in reference to the ignorance displayed by the compounders of medicines, as pointed out in B. xxxiii. c., and in B. xxxiv. c..—B.] thrown upon them by the druggists, and the tedious minutiæ of the arts of chasing, [See B. xxxiii. c..] and statuary, [See B. xxxiv. c..] and of dyeing. [See B. xxxiii. c..] It remains for me to describe the various kinds of earths and stones; a still more extensive series of subjects, each of which has been treated of, by the Greeks more particularly, in a great number of volumes. For my own part, I propose to employ a due degree of brevity, at the same time omitting nothing that is necessary or that is a product of Nature.

I shall begin then with what still remains to be said with reference to painting, an art which was formerly illustrious, when it was held in esteem both by kings and peoples, and ennobling those whom it deigned to transmit to posterity. But at the present day, it is completely banished in favour of marble, and even gold. For not only are whole walls now covered with marble, but the marble itself is carved out or else marqueted so as to represent objects and animals of various kinds. No longer now are we satisfied with formal compartitions of marble, or with slabs extended like so many mountains in our chambers, but we must begin to paint the very stone itself! This art was invented in the reign of Claudius, but it was in the time of Nero that we discovered the method of inserting in marble spots that do not belong to it, and so varying its uniformity; and this, for the purpose of representing the marble of Numidia [See B. xxxvi. c..] variegated with ovals, and that of Synnada [See B. v. c. 29.] veined with purple; just, in fact, as luxury might have willed that Nature should produce them. Such are our resources when the quarries fail us, and luxury ceases not to busy itself, in order that as much as possible may be lost whenever a conflagration happens.

Chap. 2. (2.)—The Honour Attached to Portraits.

Correct portraits of individuals were formerly transmitted to future ages by painting; but this has now completely fallen into desuetude. Brazen shields are now set up, and silver faces, with only some obscure traces of the countenance; [“Surdo figurarum discrimine.”] the very heads, too, of statues are changed, [We are informed by Suetonius, that this practice existed in the time of Tiberius.—B. See also Note 18, p. 196.] a thing that has given rise before now to many a current sarcastic line; so true it is that people prefer showing off the valuable material, to having a faithful likeness. And yet, at the same time, we tapestry the walls of our galleries with old pictures, and we prize the portraits of strangers; while as to those made in honour of ourselves, we esteem them only for the value of the material, for some heir to break up and melt, and so forestall the noose and slip-knot of the thief. [Which he is ready to employ in carrying away his plunder.] Thus it is that we possess the portraits of no living individuals, and leave behind us the pictures of our wealth, not of our persons.

And yet the very same persons adorn the palæstra and the anointing-room [“Ceromata;” this is properly a Greek term, signifying an ointment used by athletes, composed of oil and wax.—B.] with portraits of athletes, and both hang up in their chamber and carry about them a likeness of Epicurus. [This practice is referred to by Cicero, De Finib. B. v.—B.] On the twentieth day of each moon they celebrate his birthday [In reality, his birth-day was not on the twentieth day of any month; but, for some reason which is not known, he fixed upon this day.—B. He was born on the seventh day of the month Gamelion.] by a sacrifice, and keep his festival, known as the “Icas,” [From the Greek εἰκὰς, the “twentieth” day of the month.] every month: and these too, people who wish to live without being known! [In obedience to the maxim of Epicurus, Λάθε βιῶσας —“Live in obscurity.”] So it is, most assuredly, our indolence has lost sight of the arts, and since our minds are destitute of any characteristic features, those of our bodies are neglected also.

But on the contrary, in the days of our ancestors, it was these that were to be seen in their halls, and not statues made by foreign artists, or works in bronze or marble: portraits modelled in wax [See B. xxi. c. 49, and Note 2139, p. 346.] were arranged, each in its separate niche, to be always in readiness to accompany the funeral processions of the family; [This appears to have been the usual practice at the funerals of distinguished personages among the Romans: it is referred to by Tacitus, Ann. B. ii. c. 73, in his account of the funeral of Germanicus.—B.] occasions on which every member of the family that had ever existed was always present. The pedigree, too, of the individual was traced in lines upon each of these coloured portraits. Their muniment-rooms, [“Tabulina.” Rooms situate near the atrium.] too, were filled with archives and memoirs, stating what each had done when holding the magistracy. On the outside, again, of their houses, and around the thresholds of their doors, were placed other statues of those mighty spirits, in the spoils of the enemy there affixed, memorials which a purchaser even was not allowed to displace; so that the very house continued to triumph even after it had changed its master. A powerful stimulus to emulation this, when the walls each day reproached an unwarlike owner for having thus intruded upon the triumphs of another! There is still extant an address by the orator Messala, full of indignation, in which he forbids that there should be inserted among the images of his family any of those of the stranger race of the Lævini. [A cognomen of the Gens Valeria at Rome, from which the family of the Messalæ had also originally sprung.] It was the same feeling, too, that extorted from old Messala those compilations of his “On the Families of Rome;” when, upon passing through the hall of Scipio Pomponianus, [So called from his father-in-law Pomponius, a man celebrated for his wealth, and by whom he was adopted. It would appear that Scipio Pomponianus adopted Scipio Salvitto, so called from his remarkable resemblance to an actor of mimes. See B. vii. c. 10.] he observed that, in consequence of a testamentary adoption, the Salvittos [They were probably, like the Scipios, a branch of the Gens Cornelia. Suetonius speaks in very derogatory terms of a member of this family, who accompanied Julius Cæsar in his Spanish campaign against the Pompeian party.] —for that had been their surname—to the disgrace of the Africani, had surreptitiously contrived to assume the name of the Scipios. But the Messalas must pardon me if I remark, that to lay a claim, though an untruthful one, to the statues of illustrious men, shows some love for their virtues, and is much more honourable than to have such a character as to merit that no one should wish to claim them.

There is a new invention too, which we must not omit to notice. Not only do we consecrate in our libraries, in gold or silver, or at all events, in bronze, those whose immortal spirits hold converse with us in those places, but we even go so far as to reproduce the ideal of features, all remembrance of which has ceased to exist; and our regrets give existence to likenesses that have not been transmitted to us, as in the case of Homer, for example. [In the Greek Anthology, B. v., we have the imaginary portrait of Homer described at considerable length.—B.] And indeed, it is my opinion, that nothing can be a greater proof of having achieved success in life, than a lasting desire on the part of one’s fellow-men, to know what one’s features were. This practice of grouping portraits was first introduced at Rome by Asinius Pollio, who was also the first to establish a public library, and so make the works of genius the property of the public. Whether the kings of Alexandria and of Pergamus, who had so energetically rivalled each other in forming libraries, had previously introduced this practice, I cannot so easily say.

That a strong passion for portraits formerly existed, is attested both by Atticus, the friend of Cicero, who wrote a work on this subject, [Hardouin supposes that this work was written by Cicero, and that he named it after his friend Atticus; but, as Delafosse remarks, it is clear from the context that it was the work of Atticus.—B.] and by M. Varro, who conceived the very liberal idea of inserting, by some means [M. Deville is of opinion that these portraits were made in relief upon plates of metal, perhaps bronze, and coloured with minium, a red tint much esteemed by the Romans.] or other, in his numerous volumes, the portraits of seven hundred individuals; as he could not bear the idea that all traces of their features should be lost, or that the lapse of centuries should get the better of mankind. Thus was he the inventor of a benefit to his fellow-men, that might have been envied by the gods themselves; for not only did he confer upon them immortality, but he transmitted them, too, to all parts of the earth; so that everywhere it might be possible for them to be present, and for each to occupy his niche. This service, too, Varro conferred upon persons who were no members of his own family.

Chap. 3. (3.)—When Shields Were First Invented with Portraits Upon Them; and When They Were First Erected in Public.

So far as I can learn, Appius Claudius, who was consul with P. Servilius, in the year of the City, 259, was the first to dedicate shields [“Clypei.” These were shields or escutcheons of metal, with the features of the deceased person represented either in painting or in relief.] in honour of his own family in a sacred or public place. [Hardouin informs us that there are some Greek inscriptions given by Gruter, p. 441, and p. 476, from which it appears that public festivals were celebrated on occasions of this kind.—B.] For he placed representations of his ancestors in the Temple of Bellona, and desired that they might be erected in an elevated spot, so as to be seen, and the inscriptions reciting their honours read. A truly graceful device; more particularly when a multitude of children, represented by so many tiny figures, displays those germs, as it were, which are destined to continue the line: shields such as these, no one can look at without a feeling of pleasure and lively interest.

Chap. 4.—When These Shields Were First Placed in Private Houses.

More recently, M. Æmilius, who was consul [A.U.C. 671.—B. See B. vii. c. 54.] with Quintus Lutatius, not only erected these shields in the Æmilian Basilica, [See B. xxxvi. c..] but in his own house as well; in doing which he followed a truly warlike example. For, in fact, these portraits were represented on bucklers, similar to those used in the Trojan War; [It is scarcely necessary to refer to the well-known description of the shield of Achilles, in the Iliad, B. xviii. l. 478 et seq., and of that of Æneas, Æn. B. viii. l. 626, et seq. —B.] and hence it is that these shields received their present name of “clypei,” and not, as the perverse subtleties of the grammarians will have it, from the word “cluo.” [He implies that the word is derived from the Greek γλύφειν, “to carve” or “emboss” and not from the old Latin “cluo,” “to be famous.” Ajasson suggests the Greek καλύπτω “to cover.”] It was an abundant motive for valour, when upon each shield was represented the features of him who had borne it. The Carthaginians used to make both their bucklers and their portraits of gold, and to carry them with them in the camp: at all events, Marcius, the avenger of the Scipios [Cneius and Publius Scipio, who had been slain by Hasdrubal.—B. As to L. Marcius, see B. ii. c. 3.] in Spain, found one of this kind on capturing the camp of Hasdrubal, and it was this same buckler that remained suspended over the gate of the Capitoline Temple until the time when it was first burnt. [See B. xxxiii. c..] Indeed, in the days of our ancestors, so assured was the safety of these shields, that it has been a subject of remark, that in the consulship of L. Manlius and Q. Fulvius, in the year of the City, 575, M. Aufidius, who had given security for the safety of the Capitol, informed the senate that the bucklers there which for some lustra [“Lustrations.” Periods at the end of the census, made by the censors every five years. The censors were the guardians of the temples, and consequently these bucklers would come under their supervision.] had been assessed as copper, were in reality made of silver.

Chap. 5.—The Commencement of the Art of Painting. Monochrome Paintings. The Earliest Painters.

We have no certain knowledge as to the commencement of the art of painting, nor does this enquiry fall under our consideration. The Egyptians assert that it was invented among themselves, six thousand years before it passed into Greece; a vain boast, it is very evident. [This period for the invention of painting by the Egyptians is evidently incorrect; but still there is sufficient reason for concluding that there now exist specimens of Egyptian art, which were in existence previous to the time of the earliest Grecian painters of whom we have any certain account.—B.] As to the Greeks, some say that it was invented at Sicyon, others at Corinth; but they all agree that it originated in tracing lines round the human shadow. [All the ancients who have treated of the history of the art agree, that the first attempt at what may be considered the formation of a picture, consisted in tracing the shadow of a human head or some other object on the wall, the interior being filled up with one uniform shade of colour.—B.] The first stage of the art, they say, was this, the second stage being the employment of single colours; a process known as “monochromaton,” [From the Greek μονοχρώματον, “single colouring.”—B.] after it had become more complicated, and which is still in use at the present day. The invention of line-drawing has been assigned to Philocles, the Egyptian, or to Cleanthes [He is mentioned also by Athenagoras, Strabo, and Athenæus.] of Corinth. The first who practised this line-drawing were Aridices, the Corinthian, and Telephanes, the Sicyonian, artists who, without making use of any colours, shaded the interior of the outline by drawing lines; [Called “graphis,” by the Greeks, and somewhat similar, probably, to our pen and ink drawings.] hence, it was the custom with them to add to the picture the name of the person represented. Ecphantus, the Corinthian, was the first to employ colours upon these pictures, made, it is said, of broken earthenware, reduced to powder. We shall show on a future [In Chapter of this Book.—B.] occasion, that it was a different artist of the same name, who, according to Cornelius Nepos, came to Italy with Demaratus, the father of the Roman king, Tarquinius Priscus, on his flight from Corinth to escape the violence of the tyrant Cypselus.

Chap. 6.—The Antiquity of Painting in Italy.

But already, in fact, had the art of painting been perfectly developed in Italy. [Ajasson remarks, that a great number of paintings have been lately discovered in the Etruscan tombs, in a very perfect state, and probably of very high antiquity.—B.] At all events, there are extant in the temples at Ardea, at this day, paintings of greater antiquity than Rome itself; in which, in my opinion, nothing is more marvellous, than that they should have remained so long unprotected by a roof, and yet preserving their freshness. [There would appear to be still considerable uncertainty respecting the nature of the materials employed by the ancients, and the manner of applying them, by which they produced these durable paintings; a branch of the art which has not been attained in equal perfection by the moderns.—B.] At Lanuvium, too, it is the same, where we see an Atalanta and a Helena, without drapery, close together, and painted by the same artist. They are both of the greatest beauty, the former being evidently the figure of a virgin, and they still remain uninjured, though the temple is in ruins. The Emperor Caius, [Caligula.] inflamed with lustfulness, attempted to have them removed, but the nature of the plaster would not admit of it. There are in existence at Cære, [See B. iii. c. 8.] some paintings of a still higher antiquity. Whoever carefully examines them, will be forced to admit that no art has arrived more speedily at perfection, seeing that it evidently was not in existence at the time of the Trojan War. [We have already remarked that painting was practised very extensively by the Egyptians, probably long before the period of the Trojan war.—B.]

Chap. 7. (4.)—Roman Painters.

Among the Romans, too, this art very soon rose into esteem, for it was from it that the Fabii, a most illustrious family, derived their surname of “Pictor;” indeed the first of the family who bore it, himself painted the Temple of Salus, [Or “Health.” It was situate on the Quirinal Hill, in the Sixth Region of the City.] in the year of the City, 450; a work which lasted to our own times, but was destroyed when the temple was burnt, in the reign of Claudius. Next in celebrity were the paintings of the poet Pacuvius, in the Temple of Hercules, situate in the Cattle Market: [“Forum Boarium.” In the Eighth Region of the City.] he was a son of the sister of Ennius, and the fame of the art was enhanced at Rome by the success of the artist on the stage. After this period, the art was no longer practised by men of rank; unless, indeed, we would make reference to Turpilius, in our own times, a native of Venetia, and of equestrian rank, several of whose beautiful works are still in existence at Verona. He painted, too, with his left hand, a thing never known to have been done by any one before. [Holbein and Mignard did the same.]

Titidius Labeo, a person of prætorian rank, who had been formerly proconsul of the province of Gallia Narbonensis, and who lately died at a very advanced age, used to pride himself upon the little pictures which he executed, but it only caused him to be ridiculed and sneered at. I must not omit, too, to mention a celebrated consultation upon the subject of painting, which was held by some persons of the highest rank. Q. Pedius, [Q. Pedius was either nephew, or great nephew of Julius Cæsar, and had the command under him in the Gallic War; he is mentioned by Cæsar in his Commentaries, and by other writers of this period.—B.] who had been honoured with the consulship and a triumph, and who had been named by the Dictator Cæsar as co-heir with Augustus, had a grandson, who being dumb from his birth, the orator Messala, to whose family his grandmother belonged, recommended that he should be brought up as a painter, a proposal which was also approved of by the late Emperor Augustus. He died, however, in his youth, after having made great progress in the art. But the high estimation in which painting came to be held at Rome, was principally due, in my opinion, to M. Valerius Maximus Messala, who, in the year of the City, 490, was the first to exhibit a painting to the public; a picture, namely, of the battle in which he had defeated the Carthaginians and Hiero in Sicily, upon one side of the Curia Hostilia. [Originally the palace of Tullus Hostilius, in the Second Region of the City.] The same thing was done, too, by L. Scipio, [Asiaticus, the brother of the elder Africanus.—B.] who placed in the Capitol a painting of the victory which he had gained in Asia; but his brother Africanus, it is said, was offended at it, and not without reason, for his son had been taken prisoner in the battle. [It was before the decisive battle near Mount Sipylus, that the son of Africanus was made prisoner. King Antiochus received him with high respect, loaded him with presents, and sent him to Rome.—B.] Lucius Hostilius Mancinus, [He was legatus under the consul L. Calpurnius Piso, in the Third Punic War, and commanded the Roman fleet. He was elected Consul B.C. 145.] too, who had been the first to enter Carthage at the final attack, gave a very similar offence to Æmilianus, [The younger Scipio Africanus.] by exposing in the Forum a painting of that city and the attack upon it, he himself standing near the picture, and describing to the spectators the various details of the siege; a piece of complaisance which secured him the consulship at the ensuing Comitia.

The stage, too, which was erected for the games celebrated by Claudius Pulcher, [We learn from Valerius Maximus, that C. Pulcher was the first to vary the scenes of the stage with a number of colours.—B.] brought the art of painting into great admiration, it being observed that the ravens were so deceived by the resemblance, as to light upon the decorations which were painted in imitation of tiles.

Chap. 8.—At What Period Foreign Paintings Were First Introduced at Rome.

The high estimation in which the paintings of foreigners were held at Rome commenced with Lucius Mummius, who, from his victories, acquired the surname of “Achaicus.” For upon the sale of the spoil on that occasion, King Attalus having purchased, at the price of six thousand denarii, a painting of Father Liber by Aristides, [See Chapter of this Book.] Mummius, feeling surprised at the price, and suspecting that there might be some merit in it of which he himself was unaware, [We have an amusing proof of this ignorance of Mummius given by Paterculus, B. i. c. 13, who says that when he had the choicest of the Corinthian statues and pictures sent to Italy, he gave notice to the contractors that if they lost any of them, they must be prepared to supply new ones. Ajasson offers a conjecture which is certainly plausible, that Mummius might possibly regard this painting as a species of talisman.—B.] in spite of the complaints of Attalus, broke off the bargain, and had the picture placed in the Temple of Ceres; [In the eleventh Region of the City.] the first instance, I conceive, of a foreign painting being publicly exhibited at Rome.

After this, I find, it became a common practice to exhibit foreign pictures in the Forum; for it was to this circumstance that we are indebted for a joke of the orator Crassus. While pleading below the Old Shops, [“Sub Veteribus;” meaning that part of the Forum where the “Old Shops” of the “argentarii” or money-brokers had stood.] he was interrupted by a witness who had been summoned, with the question, “Tell me then, Crassus, what do you take me to be?” “Very much like him,” answered he, pointing to the figure of a Gaul in a picture, thrusting out his tongue in a very unbecoming manner. [We have an anecdote of a similar event, related by Cicero, as having occurred to Julius Cæsar, De Oratore, B. ii. c. 66.—B.] It was in the Forum, too, that was placed the picture of the Old Shepherd leaning on his staff; respecting which, when the envoy of the Teutones was asked what he thought was the value of it, he made answer that he would rather not have the original even, at a gift.

Chap. 9.—At What Period Painting Was First Held in High Esteem at Rome, and from What Causes.

But it was the Dictator Cæsar that first brought the public exhibition of pictures into such high estimation, by consecrating an Ajax and a Medea [See B. vii. c. 39.] before the Temple of Venus Genetrix. [We have had this Temple referred to in B. ii. c. 23, B. vii. c. 39, B. viii. c. 64, and B. ix. c. 57: it is again mentioned in the Chapter of this Book, and in B. xxxvii. c..—B.] After him there was M. Agrippa, a man who was naturally more attached to rustic simplicity than to refinement. Still, however, we have a magnificent oration of his, and one well worthy of the greatest of our citizens, on the advantage of exhibiting in public all pictures and statues; a practice which would have been far preferable to sending them into banishment at our country-houses. Severe as he was in his tastes, he paid the people of Cyzicus twelve hundred thousand sesterces for two paintings, an Ajax and a Venus. He also ordered small paintings to be set in marble in the very hottest part of his Warm Baths; [In the “Vaporarium,” namely.—B. The Thermæ of Agrippa were in the Ninth Region of the City.] where they remained until they were removed a short time since, when the building was repaired.

Chap. 10.—What Pictures the Emperors Have Exhibited in Public.

The late Emperor Augustus did more than all the others; for he placed in the most conspicuous part of his Forum, two pictures, representing War and Triumph. [According to Hardouin, this was done after the battle of Actium, in which Augustus subdued his rival Antony.—B.] He also placed in the Temple of his father, [By adoption. The Temple of Julius Cæsar was in the Forum, in the Eighth Region of the City.] Cæsar, a picture of the Castors, [See B. vii. c. 22, B. x. c. 60, and B. xxxiv. c..] and one of Victory, in addition to those which we shall mention in our account of the works of the different artists. [In Chapter of this Book.—B.] He also inserted two pictures in the wall of the Curia [See B. vii, cc. 45, 54, 60, and B. xxxiv. c..] which he consecrated in the Comitium; [See B. vii. c. 54, B. xv. c. 20, B. xxxiii. c., and B. xxxiv. c..] one of which was a Nemea [This was the personification of the Nemean forest in Peloponnesus, where Hercules killed the Lion, the first of the labours imposed upon him by Eurystheus.—B.] seated upon a lion, and bearing a palm in her hand. Close to her is an Old Man, standing with a staff, and above his head hangs the picture of a chariot with two horses. Nicias [See Chapter of this Book.] has written upon this picture that he “inburned” [“Inussisse;” meaning that he executed it in encaustic. The Greek term used was probably ΕΝΕΚΑΥΣΕ.] it, such being the word he has employed.

In the second picture the thing to be chiefly admired, is the resemblance that the youth bears to the old man his father, allowing, of course, for the difference in age; above them soars an eagle, which grasps a dragon in its talons. Philochares [Hemsterhuys is of opinion that he was the brother of Æschines, the orator, contemptuously alluded to by Demosthenes, Fals. Legat. Sec. 237, as a painter of perfume pots. If so, he was probably an Athenian, and must have flourished about the 109th Olympiad.] attests that he is the author of this work, an instance, if we only consider it, of the mighty power wielded by the pictorial art; for here, thanks to Philochares, the senate of the Roman people, age after age, has before its eyes Glaucion and his son Aristippus, persons who would otherwise have been altogether unknown. The Emperor Tiberius, too, a prince who was by no means very gracious, has exhibited in the temple dedicated by him, in his turn, to Augustus, several pictures which we shall describe hereafter. [In Chapter of this Book.]

Chap. 11. (5.)—The Art of Painting.

Thus much then with reference to the dignity of this now expiring art. We have already [In B. xxxiii. c.. He alludes to cinnabaris, minium, rubrica, and sinopis.] stated with what single colours the earlier artists painted, when speaking of these pigments under the head of metals. The new modes of painting which were afterwards discovered, and are known as “neogrammatea,” [Meaning “new painting,” probably. The reading, however, is doubtful.] the names of the artists, their different inventions, and the periods at which these inventions were adopted, will all be described when we come to enumerate the painters: for the present, however, the proposed plan of this work requires, that I should enlarge upon the nature of the several colours that are employed.

The art of painting at last became developed, in the invention of light and shade, the alternating contrast of the colours serving to heighten the effect of each. At a later period, again, lustre [“Splendor.” Supposed by Wornum to be equivalent to our word “tone,” applied to a coloured picture, which comprehends both the “tonos” and the “harmoge” of the Greeks. Smith’s Dict. Antiq. Art. Painting.] was added, a thing altogether different from light. The gradation between lustre and light on the one hand and shade on the other, was called “tonos;” while the blending of the various tints, and their passing into one another, was known as “harmoge.” [“Tone,” says Fuseli, (in the English acceptation of the word) “is the element of the ancient ‘harmoge,’ that imperceptible transition, which, without opacity, confusion, or hardness, united local colour, demitint, shade, and reflexes.”—Lect. I.]

Chap. 12. (6.)—Pigments Other Than Those of a Metallic Origin. Artificial Colours.

Colours are either [“Austeri aut floridi.”] sombre or florid, these qualities arising either from the nature, of the substances or their mode of combination. The florid colours are those which the employer supplies [Because of their comparatively great expense.] to the painter at his own expense; minium, [See B. xxxiii. cc.,. Under this name are included Sulphuret of mercury, and Red oxide of lead.] namely, armenium, cinnabaris, [See B. xxxiii. cc.,.] chrysocolla, [See B. xxxiii. c.. “Indicum” and “purpurissum” will be described in the present Book.] indicum, and purpurissum. The others are the sombre colours. Taking both kinds together, some are native colours, and others are artificial. Sinopis, rubrica, parætonium, melinum, eretria and orpiment, are native colours. The others are artificial, more particularly those described by us when speaking of metals; in addition to which there are, among the more common colours, ochra, usta or burnt ceruse, sandarach, sandyx, syricum, and atramentum.

Chap. 13.—Sinopis: Eleven Remedies.

Sinopis [Or “rubrica Sinopica;” “red earth of Sinope,” a brown red ochre, or red oxide of iron. Dioscorides identifies it with the Greek μιλτὸς, which indeed seems to have embraced the cinnabaris, minium, and rubricæ of the Romans.] was discovered in Pontus; and hence its name, from the city of Sinope there. It is produced also in Egypt, the Balearic islands, and Africa; but the best is found in Lemnos and Cappadocia, being extracted from quarries there. That part is considered the best which has been found adhering to the rock. In the native mass, it has its own proper colour within, but is spotted on the exterior; the ancients made use of it for tone. [“Splendorem.” See Note above.]

There are three kinds of sinopis, the red, the pale red, and the intermediate. The price of the best is twelve denarii per pound; it is used both for painting with the brush, and for colouring wood. The kind which comes from Africa sells at eight asses per pound; the name given to it is “cicerculum.” [So called from its deep grey brown colour, like that of the “cicer” or chick-pea.] That [The sense of this passage seems to require the insertion of “quæ,” although omitted by the Bamberg MS.] which is of the deepest red is the most in use for colouring compartitions. The sinopis known as the dull [“Pressior.”] kind, being of a very tawny complexion, sells also at the price of eight asses per pound; it is used principally for the lower [Those parts of the walls, probably, which were nearer to the ground, and more likely to become soiled.] parts of compartitions.

Used medicinally, sinopis is of a soothing nature, and is employed as an ingredient in plasters and emollient poultices. It admits of being easily used, whether in the form of a dry or of a liquid composition, for the cure of ulcers situate in the humid parts of the body, the mouth and the rectum, for instance. Used as an injection, it arrests looseness of the bowels, and, taken in doses of one denarius, it acts as a check upon female discharges. Applied in a burnt state, with wine in particular, it has a desiccative effect upon granulations of the eyelids.