20'jt Itijlory of the Art of Dyeing, 



fliepherci's dog. The dog happening to take in his mouth 

 a flielUlirti which he found lying on the fand, his mouth 

 became coloured with the purple juice it emitted. The 

 fhepherd's fweetheart having feen this colour, was ib ftruck 

 with it, that (lie requellcd her lover to procure her a drefs 

 dyed with it. In confequence of this rcqnefl the iliepherd 

 endeavoured to find out the fubftance which had produced 

 fuch a beautiful colour, and by thcfe means difcovercd the 

 art of dyeing purple *. Some, however, afcrihe this inven- 

 tion to a Tyrian named Hercules, who prefented the refult 

 of his firft experiment to the king of Phoenicia, who was 

 fo captivated with it, that he made purple one of his prin^ 

 cipal ornaments f. The lail opinion appears to be the more 

 probable, as the former fable may have originated from i\ 

 play; qp words; fbr, as dog and colour are exprefled in the 

 Syrian language by the fame word J, the Greek writers, who 

 borrowed this flory from the Syrians, and the Romans who 

 copied the Greeks, might eafily have been led into an error. 

 That a Tyrian was the inventor of purple, is unanimouily 

 alTerted by all writers; but they differ in regard to the time. 

 Some place the invention under Phoenix, the tenth king of 

 Tyre, that is, about 1500 years before the birth of Chrift § ; 

 Qthers, in the time when Minos reigned in Crete, or about 

 Jthc year 1439 before the Chriilian aera |1. The period of the 

 invention, however, can be better determined than tliat of the 

 aft of prepg.ring the colour; though the diilertations written 

 by old as,vy;ell as ,ne\V' authors .on this fubje6i are fo nume- 

 rous that they would almoft form a fmall library. For the 

 fatisfadlion of the reader, I fliall here give an abftraft of what 

 lias been faid by thefe authors refpe6king a colour which tbr- 



'■■' Caffiodorus, lib. 1. Var. Ep. ii. Jul. Pollux, lib. i. 4. Achillesr 

 Tatius <ie Arrtor. Leue. et Clitoph. lib. ii« Rviph. Volateirani Com- 

 mcncar. Urban, lib. xxvii. 



f Goguet de TOrigine Jes Lois, des Arts, et des Sciences, book li* 

 chap. i. 



:f Rocliart de Animal, p. iv. lib. v. cap. 1 1. Braun dc Veftitu Sace.rdot. 

 Hebraeoruin, cap. 14. 



^ § Phoenix was the Ton of Agen<Jfaft<i brother of Cadmus : the latter 

 came to Greece in the year 15 19 before Chrill. 



II Goguet ut luprci. 



nierlv 



