-of Plinies Naturall Hiftorie. 
Car vi. 
2& When fir/t began Marble flones to be ufed in building of privat houfes.Who began av 
Rome to parget and cover walls with thin leaves of Marble, In what ages 
each kind of Marble came into ufe and reque/t:Whoinvented cut- 
ting of Marble into thin plates :the devife and manne? 
{ thereof.of fand proper for building. 
°F Hos faire forth have! difcaurfed of the cutters and engraversin marble, and of tliofe ex- 
§ cellent artificers,who have been moft renowned, Inwhich Treatife I rememberwell, that 
the diapred and fpotted matbleall this while was of no tegard : for all the antique peeces. 
which I haverehearfed, were made of the marble of Thafos,of the Iflands Cyclades, as alfo'of 
Lesbos: and yet this enclineth toa blackifh orblewith colour fomewhat more than the reft.. As 
for marble {potted in fundrie colours,as alfo of the ordering, wotkmanthip and ufe of any kinds 
of marble in. building, Menander who in his time was moft curious of all others in difcufling alk 
fuch fuperfluitie, dealt firft therein, but feldome medled hee withall: Howbeit, true itis, that at 
Jength pillars of marble were taken up tobee wfed in temples; not upon any pride, braverie, or 
imagoificence(for as yet they knew not what fuch thingsmeant) butforthatit was thought,that 
they could not bee erected nor beare upon any thing ftronger : and in that manner was begun 
theremple at Athens of Jupiter O.ywepias, out of which, Sy/la brought thofe columnes which 
ferved for his houfe and pallace in the Capitol]. Howbeit,even in Homers time a difference there 
was made betweene ordinarie {tone and marble: For this Poét faith plainely, That Paves canghe 
arap upon the mouth witha marble ftone: And yet whenfoever hee extolleth and feceth our in 
the higheft degree the moft ftately pallaces of kings and princes, hee never maketh mention of 
any other matter to adorne them withall; but of Brafle, Gold, Ele@rum, Silverjand Yvorie, and 
not one word of Marble.Bursas Ltake it,the firft cime that chefemmarbles of fundrie {pots and co- 
Jours were difcovered, was in the quarries of the Hlandersof Chios, by occafion that they dig. 
ged for ftone to fortifie their cittie with walls ; whereupon 24,Cicero plaieth merrily upon them 
with a pleafant conceit :for whetithey made fhew unto all tharcamesand among the reft to him, 
what wals they had built of marble,and{eemédito take great pride in their {umptuons and mag- 
nificent building ; What adoe is here(quoth Gicere)1 would have marvelled much more at your 
wall and thoughtyou had donea greater deed, if you had built it out of the quarie of Tyburtum. 
Certes,ifmarble had Seene ofanyname and credit in old time, painters had not beene{o highly 
honored as they wete,nayshad there been (thinke ye) any reckoning made of thematall ? 
Astouching the manner of flitting marbleinto thin platesstherewith to cover and {eele as ie 
were the outfides of wals,] wot nor well whether the invention came from Caria,orno, The pal- 
lace of Maufolas king of Caria, buileat Halicatnaflus,is the auncienteft building that I can findin 
any record, garnifhed fet out and enriched with marble of Proconnefus,notwithftanding all the 
wais were reared of bricke. This prince changed his life in the fecond yeare of the:100 Olympias, 
which feil outto be the 302 yeareafter the foundation of thecitieof Rome. As for our Romans; 
Coruelius Nepos writeth, That Mamurra,borne at Formiz, a gcotleman of Rome, and fometime 
Provott over the Pioners, Mafons, Smiths, and Carpenters under Cefar in Fraunce,was the firlt 
who coveredall the wals throughout his houfe which he had upon mount Cecelius,with leaves of 
martble.Now when L{peake of Mamurra,you tuutt not bee offended,and thinke that] afcribe the 
invention hereoftoameane perfon; for I tell you,thisisthat Mamurra, whom the Poet Catallas, 
my countryman of Verona, fo taunted and reviled in his verfes ; this is the man, whofe houfe be- 
forefaid,teftificth better by proofe and effet than Catulivs could by his Poéfie expreffe, That he 
had laid upon icand gathered intoitall theriches of Gallia Comata : which was as much to fay 
as all trance, fave only Provance,Languedoc,Savoy,and Dauphine, And well it mightbe fo,for 
Cornelius Nepos beforenamed addeth moreover and faith, That he was the firft man,who caufed 
_ thepillars of his houfe to be of marble;and had not one of other matter neither wete thofe flight 
and flender,butiolide and maflic,eyen hewen outofthe quarries either of Caryftus or Luna.But 
after hinr, in proceffe of time, Lepidws who was joined companion in the Confulfhip to Cars 
Ls was the firlt man known to lay thefils,lintels & cheeks of his doresthroughout his houfe with 
Num.dian marble;& Confull he was in the 666 yearc,teckoningfrom the foundation of Rome: 
Pa. wee . ss! i but 
PA ~ 
