544 ^^ ^^^ ^^^ "/ Pointing 



illinehat ita tenui ut id ip/um reprcujju claritas cotorum 

 excitarety ciiftodiretque a pulvere etjordibus, ad manum 

 intuenti demum appareret. Sed et turn ratione magna 

 fiecolorum claritas oculorum aciem offenderet veluti per 

 lapidem Jpecularera intuenti e longinquq : et eadem res 

 nimis Jloridis coloribus aufteritatem occulte daret. I 

 have already quoted Pliny's complaints that the 

 Roman artifts facrificed every thing to colouring; 

 and in the following paflage he praifes the oppo- 

 fite ftile. Nicia* comparatur et aliquando prafertur 

 Athenion Maronitesy Glaucionis dijcipulusy et aujierior 

 colore et in aujteritate jucundiory ut in ipjd piSturd 

 eruditio eluceat. To what can this Eruditio apply, 

 but to technical Ikill in the particular province 

 of colouring ?-j- The analogy as to colouring, as 

 well as in other refpecls, between the Greek 

 painters among the ancients, and the Roman and 

 Florentine fchools among the moderns on the 

 one hand ; and between the ancient Roman 

 artifts, and the Venetian and Flemifh fchools on 

 the other, will be fufHciently obvious. 



• XXXV. 39. 



f I would obferve that Pliny (as it feems to me) gene- 

 rally applies the terms durusy durior where the colouring 

 was chalky or the kandling harfli. The term aujierior \ 

 think implies what the moderns would term chaftity or 

 fobriety of colouring. Where the handling was fmooth 

 and laboured, it is implied in the CommiJJura 53* Corruptela 

 Colontm: which latter expreflion was alfo ufed for cer- 

 tain procelTes in the mechanical mixture of colours. 



Upon 



