104 I^y- Falconer on the Knowledge 



glafs, * fays he, is commonly made, drawn out, 

 or fwelling with many angles in form of a club : 

 this, fays he, if the rays of the fun fall upon it in 

 a tranfverfe direftion, exhibits the fame colours 

 as we are accuftomed to fee in the rainbow," 

 This curious paflage has not been fufficiently 

 attended to by the commentators. 



Petronius Arbiter, in his account of 

 lAm% ^^' ^^^ feaftt of Trimalcio, makes him 

 Petronli. relate a ftory of " an artificer, who could 

 make veflels of glafs of fuch a degree 

 of tenacity as not to be more liable to be broken 

 than if made of gold or filver. Having made a 

 drinking cup of the pureft glafs of this kindj 

 which he thought no one worthy to poflefs but 

 the Emperor, he was admitted into his prefence, 

 in order that he might offer this fpecimen of his 

 ingenuity for the Emperor's acceptance. The 

 nature of his prefent met with praife; the hand 

 of the artificer was commended, and the refpeft 

 he fliewed by it, found a favourable reception. 

 The artift, however, being defirous to heighteri 



* Virgula folet fieri vitrea, ftrifta, vel pluribus anguHs in 

 modum clavae torofa ; haec fi ex tranfverfo folem accipit 

 coloretn talem qualis in arcu videri folet, reddit. 



Senec. Qusft. Natur. Lib. I. Cap. 7. 



f This paiTage from Petronius is to be found in Joannes 

 Sarifburienfis. 



Polycrat. L. IV. Cap. 5, and literally tranflated. 



their 



