4oS Hijioiy of the Art of Dyeing. 



not dark red, but had a blueifli cad *. Pliny mentions three 

 fliadesofit, one of which he compares to the night- violet, 

 viola ferolina, 



IT. Compound Purple Colours. 



lfl> Color Tyriametbyflus. This was a mixture of the 

 Tyriaii purple with the amethyft colour, as the name indicates. 



2d, Color hyfginus \ was compofcd of the fcaflet and 

 Tyrian purple colours. 



Thefe are the colours which, in the works of the antients, 

 are particularly diftinguiflied by the name of purple. As no 

 fpecimensof them have been preferved, we muft be contented 

 with the defcriptions given of them by Pliny and others ; ^nd 

 it would be fruitlefs to attempt to obtain a more accurate 

 knowledge of them %. 



Of their durability, Plutarch gives a remarkable inftance 

 in the life of Alexander. This prince, it is faid, found in the 

 ireafury of the Perfian monarch a large quantity of purple, 

 180 years old, which Itill retained all its beauty; and the 

 caufe, according to Plutarch, was, that it had been prepared 

 with honey. 



As the antients had no colour equal to the purple in beauty, 

 durabrlity, and coftlinefs §, it is not furprifing that they en- 



* For th's rcaibn it w:is called (/y/j?;- <://7a'/wj, c/Z'//////i, and, at la(l,i^//<'/z<.<-, 

 of which the French have made iifu, the Englilh />/;/<?, and the Germans 

 ILiu — Br aim ut j^'pra^ c. xiii. CtiinJ. Salmaf. ad TcrtidlUvi de PalliOf 

 p. 189. 



t Pliny, lib. ix. c. 41, deduces this name from a certain flov.er whick 

 had a finiilar colour. 



\ ft is here necciTary to noti<.e fome terms of artrcfpe^iini'; t!iis c®lour, 

 ■which ofreii render the meaning of the anticnt authors obicure. The 

 purple li<iuor was calledy?05, ro/, janies, "j'nns; when prepared f<;r dyeing, 

 figmtninm^ meu'Lnmcnf jns^ in Greek Bittxtxa, ^tfxci. Liquor not yet rca-iy 

 for dyeing was called rudia rnedkanuniay immatura et 'uiridh cordina ; a 

 perfect dark red Tyrian colour was diltinguilhed by the appellation of 

 iohr prejfu! yfuurus ^ faturiitus^ ojuvatus^ pUnin^ adjirUiv^, aujinus, fuprrbus^ 

 vepetus ; a bright fitry red colour color cxontraluSy t'xdtatus, clurus, acuUis^ 

 <vigiduSy dilutusy ahlutuSy b lulus. 



§ See Plato de Repub. lib. iv. p. 449. edit. Lugd. 



The learned traoflatcr, Marfilius Ficinus, has rendered this paffage fo 

 confufed, ih::t without the help of the (Jreck text it is not poihtle to un- 

 der ftand ir. Thus, for example* he trjrnliates the w»rd B^-^iv:, which fi^ 

 nitics a dyer, by futlo. 



nobled 



