Chaps. 41-50.

Chap. 41.—Encaustic Painting.

In ancient times there were but two methods of encaustic [See Chapter of this Book. Pausias painted in wax with the cestrum.] painting, in wax and on ivory, [Wornum is of opinion that this must have been a species of drawing with a heated point, upon ivory, without the use of wax. Smith’s Dict. Antiq. Art. Painting.] with the cestrum or pointed graver. When, however, this art came to be applied to the painting of ships of war, a third method was adopted, that of melting the wax colours and laying them on with a brush, while hot. [This method, as Wornum remarks, though first employed on ships, was not necessarily confined to ship-painting; and it must have been a very different style of painting from the ship-colouring of Homer, since it was of a later date even than the preceding methods.] Painting of this nature, [Though he says nothing here of the use of the “cauterium,” or process of burning in, its employment may certainly be inferred from what he has said in Chapter. Wornum is of opinion that the definition at the beginning of this Chapter, of two methods apparently, “ in wax and on ivory,” is in reality an explanation of one method only, and that the ancient modes of painting in encaustic were not only three, but several.] applied to vessels, will never spoil from the action of the sun, winds, or salt water.

Chap. 42.—The Colouring of Tissues.

In Egypt, too, they employ a very remarkable process for the colouring of tissues. After pressing the material, which is white at first, they saturate it, not with colours, but with mordents that are calculated to absorb colour. This done, the tissues, still unchanged in appearance, are plunged into a cauldron of boiling dye, and are removed the next moment fully coloured. It is a singular fact, too, that although the dye in the pan is of one uniform colour, the material when taken out of it is of various colours, according to the nature of the mordents that have been respectively applied to it: these colours, too, will never wash out. Thus the dye-pan, which under ordinary circumstances, no doubt, would have made but one colour of several, if coloured tissues had been put into it, is here made to yield several colours from a single dye. At the same moment that it dyes the tissues, it boils in the colour; and it is the fact, that material which has been thus submitted to the action of fire becomes stouter and more serviceable for wear, than it would have been if it had not been subjected to the process.

Chap. 43. (12.)—The Inventors of the Art of Modelling.

On painting we have now said enough, and more than enough; but it will be only proper to append some accounts of the plastic art. Butades, a potter of Sicyon, was the first who invented, at Corinth, the art of modelling portraits in the earth which he used in his trade. It was through his daughter that he made the discovery; who, being deeply in love with a young man about to depart on a long journey, traced the profile of his face, as thrown upon the wall by the light of the lamp. Upon seeing this, her father filled in the outline, by compressing clay upon the surface, and so made a face in relief, which he then hardened by fire along with other articles of pottery. This model, it is said, was preserved in the Nymphæum [Or Temple of the Nymphs. The daughter of Butades is called “Core” by Athenagoras.] at Corinth, until the destruction of that city by Mummius. [See B. xxxiv. c..] Others, again, assert that the first inventors of the plastic art were Rhœcus [Son of Philæus. He is mentioned by Pausanias, B. viii. c. 14, and by Herodotus, B. iii. c. 60, as the architect of a fine temple at Samos, and, with Smilis and Theodorus, of the Labyrinth at Lemnos.] and Theodorus, [Mentioned also in B. xxxiv. c.. Pliny is in error here in using the word “plastice;” for it was the art of casting brass, and not that of making plaster casts, that these artists invented.] at Samos, a considerable period before the expulsion of the Bacchiadæ from Corinth: and that Damaratus, [See Chapter of this Book. He is said by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, B. iii., to have been a member of the family of the Bacchiadæ.] on taking to flight from that place and settling in Etruria, where he became father of Tarquinius, who was ultimately king of the Roman people, was accompanied thither by the modellers Euchir, [A different person, probably, from the one of the same name mentioned in B. vii. c. 56.] Diopus, and Eugrammus, by whose agency the art was first introduced into Italy.

Butades first invented the method of colouring plastic compositions, by adding red earth to the material, or else modelling them in red chalk: he, too, was the first to make masks on the outer edges of gutter-tiles upon the roofs of buildings; in low relief, and known as “prostypa” at first, but afterwards in high relief, or “ectypa.” It was in these designs, [Terra cotta figures.] too, that the ornaments on the pediments of temples originated; and from this invention modellers first had their name of “plastæ.”

Chap. 44.—Who Was the First to Mould Figures in Imitation of the Features of Living Persons, or of Statues.

The first person who expressed the human features by fitting a mould of plaster upon the face, and then improving it by pouring melted wax into the cast, was Lysistratus [See B. xxxiv. c.. Tatian mentions a statue of Melanippe by Lysistratus.] of Sicyon, brother of Lysippus, already mentioned. It was he, in fact, who first made it his study to give a faithful likeness; for before his time, artists only thought how to make their portraits as handsome as possible. The same artist, too, was the first who thought of making models for his statues; a method which afterwards became so universally adopted, that there could be neither figure nor statue made without its model in clay. Hence it would appear, that the art of modelling in clay is more ancient than that of moulding in bronze. [See B. xxxvi. c..]

Chap. 45.—The Most Famous Modellers.

The most celebrated modellers were Damophilus and Gorgasus, who were painters as well. These artists adorned with their works, in both kinds, the Temple of Ceres, [In the Eleventh Region of the City. This Temple of Ceres, Bacchus, and Proserpine, in the Circus Maximus, was vowed by A. Posthumius, the Dictator, A.U.C. 258, and dedicated by the consul Cassius, A.U.C. 261, or B.C. 493.] in the Circus Maximus at Rome; with an inscription in Greek, which stated that the decorations on the right-hand were the workmanship of Damophilus, and those on the left, of Gorgasus. Varro says that, before the construction of this temple, everything was Tuscan [See B. xxxiv. c..] in the temples; and that, when the temple was afterwards repaired, the painted coatings of the walls were cut away in tablets and enclosed in frames, but that the figures on the pediments were dispersed. Chalcosthenes, [Sillig (Dict. Anc. Art.) is of opinion that this Chalcosthenes is not identical with the artist of that name mentioned in B. xxxiv. c.; the name “Ceramicus” probably being of far earlier origin than the formation of the statues of Comedians.] too, [“Et.” The insertion of this word seems to militate against Sillig’s position.] executed at Athens some works in unbaked earth, on the spot which, from his manufactory, has since obtained the name of “Ceramicus.” [The “Pottery.”]

M. Varro states that he knew an artist at Rome, Possis by name, who executed fruit, grapes, and fish, with such exactness, that it was quite impossible, by only looking at them, to distinguish them from the reality. He speaks very highly also of Arcesilaüs, [See also B. xxxvi. c..] who was on terms of intimacy with Lucius Lucullus, [See Chapter of this Book.] and whose models in plaster used to sell at a higher rate, among artists themselves, than the works of others. He informs us, also, that it was by this modeller that the Venus Genetrix in the Forum of Cæsar was executed, it having been erected before completion, in the great haste that there was to consecrate it; that the same artist had made an agreement with Lucullus to execute a figure of Felicity, at the price of sixty thousand sesterces, the completion of which was prevented by their death; and that Octavius, a Roman of equestrian rank, being desirous of a model for a mixing-bowl, [“Crater.” A vase in which wine and water were mixed for drinking.] Arcesilaüs made him one in plaster, at the price of one talent.

Varro praises Pasiteles [See B. xxxiii. c., B. xxxvi. c., and end of B..] also, who used to say, that the plastic art was the mother of chasing, statuary, and sculpture, and who, excellent as he was in each of these branches, never executed any work without first modelling it. In addition to these particulars, he states that the art of modelling was anciently cultivated in Italy, Etruria in particular; and that Volcanius was summoned from Veii, and entrusted by Tarquinius Priscus with making the figure of Jupiter, which he intended to consecrate in the Capitol; that this Jupiter was made of clay, and that hence arose the custom of painting it with minium; [See B. xxxiii. c..] and that the four-horse chariot, so often [In B. viii. c. 4, for instance.] mentioned, upon the pediment of the temple, was made of clay as well. We learn also from him, that it was by the same artist that the Hercules was executed, which, even to this day, is named [The “Hercules fictilis.” It is mentioned by Martial, B. xiv. Ep. 178.] at Rome from the material of which it is composed. Such, in those times, were the most esteemed statues of the gods; and small reason have we to complain of our forefathers for worshipping such divinities as these; for in their day there was no working of gold and silver—no, not even in the service of the gods.

Chap. 46.—Works in Pottery.

Statues of this nature are still in existence at various places. At Rome, in fact, and in our municipal towns, we still see many such pediments of temples; wonderful too, for their workmanship, and, from their artistic merit and long duration, more deserving of our respect than gold, and certainly far less baneful. At the present day even, in the midst of such wealth as we possess, we make our first libation at the sacrifice, not from murrhine [See B. xxxiii. c., and B. xxxvii. cc.,,.] vases or vessels of crystal, but from ladles [“Simpuvia.”] made of earthenware.

Bounteous beyond expression is the earth, if we only consider in detail her various gifts. To omit all mention of the cereals, wine, fruits, herbs, shrubs, medicaments, and metals, bounties which she has lavished upon us, and which have already passed under our notice, her productions in the shape of pottery alone, would more than suffice, in their variety, to satisfy our domestic wants; what with gutter-tiles of earthenware, vats for receiving wine, pipes [See B. xxxi. c. 31.] for conveying water, conduits [“Mammatis.” The exact meaning of this word is unknown. The passage is evidently in a corrupt state.] for supplying baths, baked tiles for roofs, bricks for foundations, the productions, too, of the potter’s wheel; results, all of them, of an art, which induced King Numa to establish, as a seventh company, [As to the Roman “Collegia,” see B. viii. c. 42, and B. xxxiv. c..] that of the makers of earthenware.

Even more than this, many persons have chosen to be buried in coffins [“Solia.”—The same name is given also to a kind of sitting or reclining-bath, often mentioned by Pliny.] made of earthenware; M. Varro, for instance, who was interred, in true Pythagorean style, in the midst of leaves of myrtle, olive, and black poplar; indeed, the greater part of mankind make use of earthen vases for this purpose. For the service of the table, the Samian pottery is even yet held in high esteem; that, too, of Arretium in Italy, still maintains its high character; while for their cups, and for those only, the manufactories of Surrentum, Asta, Pollentia, Saguntum in Spain, and Pergamus in Asia, [Asia Minor.] are greatly esteemed.

The city of Tralles, too, in Asia, and that of Mutina in Italy, have their respective manufactures of earthenware, and even by this branch of art are localities rendered famous; their productions, by the aid of the potter’s wheel, becoming known to all countries, and conveyed by sea and by land to every quarter of the earth. At Erythræ, there are still shown, in a temple there, two amphoræ, that were consecrated in consequence of the singular thinness of the material: they originated in a contest between a master and his pupil, which of the two could make earthenware of the greatest thinness. The vessels of Cos are the most highly celebrated for their beauty, hut those of Adria [See B. iii. c. 18.] are considered the most substantial.

In relation to these productions of art, there are some instances of severity mentioned: Q. Coponius, we find, was condemned for bribery, because he made present of an amphora of wine to a person who had the right of voting. To make luxury, too, conduce in some degree to enhance our estimation of earthenware, “tripatinium,” [A service of three dishes.] as we learn from Fenestella, was the name given to the most exquisite course of dishes that was served up at the Roman banquets. It consisted of one dish of murænæ, [See B. ix. c. 39.] one of lupi, [See B. ix. cc. 24, 28, 74, 79.] and a third of a mixture of fish. It is clear that the public manners were then already on the decline; though we still have a right to hold them preferable to those of the philosophers even of Greece, seeing that the representatives of Aristotle, it is said, sold, at the auction of his goods, as many as seventy dishes of earthenware. It has been already [In B. x. c. 72.] stated by us, when on the subject of birds, that a single dish cost the tragic actor Æsopus one hundred thousand sesterces; much to the reader’s indignation, no doubt; but, by Hercules! Vitellius, when emperor, ordered a dish to be made, which was to cost a million of sesterces, and for the preparation of which a furnace had to be erected out in the fields! luxury having thus arrived at such a pitch of excess as to make earthenware even sell at higher prices than murrhine [See Note above.] vessels. It was in reference to this circumstance, that Mucianus, in his second consulship, when pronouncing one of his perorations, reproached the memory of Vitellius with his dishes as broad as the Pomptine Marsh; not less deserving to be execrated than the poisoned dish of Asprenas, which, according to the accusation brought against him by Cassius Severus, caused the death of one hundred and thirty guests. [See B. xxiii. c. 47, and the of this Book.]

These works of artistic merit have conferred celebrity on some cities even, Rhegium for example, and Cumæ. The priests of the Mother of the gods, known as the Galli, deprive themselves of their virility with a piece of Samian [Martial speaks of this practice, B. iii. Epigr. 81.] pottery, the only means, if we believe M. Cælius, [Nothing further seems to be known of this personage, or of the grounds of his invective. Pliny may possibly allude to some abominable practices, with which Vitellius is charged by Suetonius also.] of avoiding dangerous results. He it was, too, who recommended, when inveighing against certain abominable practices, that the person guilty of them should have his tongue cut out, in a similar manner; a reproach which would appear to have been levelled by anticipation against this same Vitellius.

What is there that human industry will not devise? Even broken pottery has been utilized; it being found that, beaten to powder, and tempered with lime, it becomes more solid and durable than other substances of a similar nature; forming the cement known as the “Signine” [The “Opus Signinum” was a plaster or cement much used for making pavements. It took its name from Signia, in Italy, celebrated for its tiles. See B. iii. c. 9.] composition, so extensively employed for even making the pavements of houses. [The floors of the Roman houses were seldom boarded.]

Chap. 47. (13.)—Various Kinds of Earth, the Puteolan Dust, and Other Earths of Which Cements Like Stone Are Made.

But there are other resources also, which are derived immediately from the earth. Who, indeed, cannot but be surprised at finding the most inferior constituent parts of it, known as “dust” [“Pulvis.” See B. iii. c. 9, B. xvi. c. 76, and B. xxxvi. c.. He alludes to the cement made of volcanic ashes, now known as “Pozzuolane.”] only, on the hills about Puteoli, forming a barrier against the waves of the sea, becoming changed into stone the moment of its immersion, and increasing in hardness from day to day—more particularly when mixed with the cement of Cumæ? There is an earth too, of a similar nature found in the districts about Cyzicus; but there, it is not a dust, but a solid earth, which is cut away in blocks of all sizes, and which, after being immersed in the sea, is taken out transformed into stone. The same thing may be seen also, it is said, in the vicinity of Cassandrea; [See B. iv. c. 17.] and at Cnidos, there is a spring of fresh water which has the property of causing earth to petrify within the space of eight months. Between Oropus and Aulis, every portion of the land upon which the sea encroaches becomes transformed into solid rock.

The finer portion of the sand of the river Nilus is not very different in its properties from the dust of Puteoli; not, indeed, that it is used for breaking the force of the sea and withstanding the waves, but only for the purpose, forsooth, of subduing [It being the practice to rub the bodies of the athletes with sand.] the body for the exercises of the palestra! At all events, it was for this purpose that it used to be brought over for Patrobius, [This circumstance is mentioned also by Suetonius, in his life of Nero. Patrobius was slain by order of the Emperor Galba.] a freedman of the Emperor Nero. I find it stated also, that Craterus, Leonnatus, and Meleager, generals of Alexander the Great, had this sand transported along with their munitions of war. But I forbear to enlarge any further upon this subject; or indeed, by Hercules! upon those preparations of earth and wax of which the ceromata are made, so much employed by our youth in their exercises of the body, at the cost of all vigour of the mind.

Chap. 48. (14.)—Formacean Walls.

And then, besides, have we not in Africa and in Spain walls [Ajasson says that they are called tapias at the present day in Spain.] of earth, known as “formacean” walls? from the fact that they are moulded, rather than built, by enclosing earth within a frame of boards, constructed on either side. These walls will last for centuries, are proof against rain, wind, and fire, and are superior in solidity to any cement. Even at this day, Spain still beholds watch-towers that were erected by Hannibal, and turrets of earth [See B. ii. c. 73.] placed on the very summits of her mountains. It is from the same source, too, that we derive the substantial materials so well adapted for forming the earth-works of our camps and embankments against the impetuous violence of rivers. What person, too, is unacquainted with the fact, that partitions are made of hurdles coated with clay, and that walls are constructed of unbaked bricks?

Chap. 49.—Walls of Brick. The Method of Making Bricks.

Earth for making bricks should never be extracted from a sandy or gravelly soil, and still less from one that is stony; but from a stratum that is white and cretaceous, or else impregnated with red earth. [“Rubrica.”] If a sandy soil must be employed for the purpose, it should at least be male [See B. xxxi. c. 28.] sand, and no other. The spring is the best season for making bricks, as at midsummer they are very apt to crack. For building, bricks two years old are the only ones that are approved of; and the wrought material of them should be well macerated before they are made.

There are three different kinds of bricks; the Lydian, which is in use with us, a foot-and-a-half in length by a foot in breadth; the tetradoron; and the pentadoron; the word “doron” being used by the ancient Greeks to signify the palm [Which was, as a measure, nearly three inches in breadth. See Introduction to Vol. III.] —hence, too, their word “doron” meaning a gift, because it is the hand that gives.—These last two kinds, therefore, are named respectively from their being four and five palms in length, the breadth being the same. The smaller kind is used in Greece for private buildings, the larger for the construction of public edifices. At Pitane, [See B. v. c. 32.] in Asia, and in the cities of Muxilua and Calentum in Farther Spain, there are bricks [Ajasson says that these bricks have been imitated by Fabroni, with a light argillaceous earth, found in the territory of Sienna. Delafosse thinks that a place called “Cala,” in the Sierra Morena, probably marks the site of the cities above mentioned.] made, which float in water, when dry; the material being a sort of pumice-earth, extremely good for the purpose when it can be made to unite. The Greeks have always preferred walls of brick, except in those cases where they could find silicious stone for the purposes of building: for walls of this nature will last for ever, if they are only built on the perpendicular. Hence it is, that the Greeks have built their public edifices and the palaces of their kings of brick; the wall at Athens, for example, which faces Mount Hymettus; the Temples of Jupiter and Hercules at Patræ, [See B. iv. c. 5, and B. xxxvi. c..] although the columns and architraves in the interior are of stone; the palace of King Attalus at Tralles; the palace of Crœsus at Sardes, now converted into an asylum [“Gerusia.”] for aged persons; and that of King Mausolus at Halicarnassus; edifices, all of them, still in existence.

Muræna and Varro, in their ædileship, had a fine fresco painting, on the plaster of a wall at Lacedæmon, cut away from the bricks, and transported in wooden frames to Rome, for the purpose of adorning the Comitium. Admirable as the work was of itself, it was still more admired after being thus transferred. In Italy also there are walls of brick, at Arretium and Mevania. [See B. iii. c. 19.] At Rome, there are no buildings of this description, because a wall only a foot-and-a-half in thickness would not support more than a single story; and by public ordinance it has been enacted that no partition should exceed that thickness; nor, indeed, does the peculiar construction of our party-walls admit of it.

Chap. 50. (15.)—Sulphur, and the Several Varieties of It: Fourteen Remedies.

Let thus much be deemed sufficient on the subject of bricks. Among the other kinds of earth, the one of the most singular nature, perhaps, is sulphur, an agent of great power upon other substances. Sulphur is found in the Æolian Islands, between Sicily and Italy, which are volcanic, as already [In B. iii. c. 6.] stated. But the finest sulphur of all, is that which comes from the Isle of Melos. It is obtained also in Italy, upon the range of hills in the territories of Neapolis and Campania, known as the Leucogæi: [See B. xviii. c. 29.] when extracted from the mines there, it is purified by the agency of fire.

There are four kinds of sulphur; the first of which is “live” sulphur, known as “apyron” [“Untouched by fire.” Native sulphur.] by the Greeks, and found in solid masses, or in other words, in blocks. This, too, is the only sulphur that is extracted in its native state, the others being found in a state of liquescence, and requiring to be purified by being boiled in oil. This kind is green and transparent, and is the only sulphur that is used for medicinal purposes. A second kind is known as the “glebaceous” [“Gleba.”] sulphur, and is solely employed in the workshops of the fullers. The third kind, also, is only used for a single purpose, that of fumigating wool, a process which contributes very greatly to making the wool white and soft; “egula” [“Gleba.”] is the name given to it. The fourth kind is used in the preparation of matches more particularly.

In addition to these several uses, sulphur is of such remarkable virtue, that if it is thrown upon the fire it will at once detect, by the smell, whether or not a person is subject to epilepsy. Anaxilaüs used to employ this substance by way of pastime: putting sulphur in a cup of wine, with some hot coals beneath, he would hand it round to the guests, the light given by it, while burning, throwing a ghastly paleness like that of death upon the face of each. Its properties are calorific and maturative, in addition to which, it disperses abscesses on the body: hence it is that it is used as an ingredient in plasters and emollient poultices. Applied to the loins and kidneys, with grease, when there are pains in those parts, it is marvellously effectual as a remedy. In combination with turpentine, it removes lichens on the face, and leprosy, [Sulphur has been always considered highly useful for the cure of cutaneous affections.] the preparation being known as “harpax,” [From ἅρπαζω, “to carry away.”] from the celerity with which it acts upon the skin; for which reason it ought to be removed every now and then. Employed as an electuary, it is good for asthma, purulent expectorations, and stings inflicted by scorpions. Live sulphur, mixed with nitre, and then bruised with vinegar and applied, causes morphew to disappear, and destroys nits in the hair; in combination, too, with sandarach and vinegar, it is good for diseases of the eyelids.

Sulphur has its place among our religious ceremonies, being used as a fumigation for purifying houses. [Ovid, in his “Art of Love,” speaks of purifying houses with eggs and sulphur.] Its virtues are also to be perceived in certain hot mineral waters; [See B. xxxi. c. 32.] and there is no substance that ignites more readily, a proof that there is in it a great affinity to fire. Lightning and thunder are attended with a strong smell of sulphur, and the light produced by them is of a sulphureous complexion.