[ SI J 
became brown j which contributed much to make 
the experiments tedious. I would therefore advife 
the ufe of mineral or metallic colours for this fort 
of painting, as moft likely to preferve their colour : 
for although I neutralized Spanifh white, by fer- 
menting it with vinegar, and afterwards wafhed it 
very well with water, it did not fucceed to my wifh. 
Thefe experiments, and this paffage from Vitruvius, 
will in fome meafure explain the obfcurity of part of 
that paffage in Pliny which Dr. Parfons, in his learned 
comment on the encauftic painting with wax, feems 
to defpair of. 
Ceris pingere was one fpecies of encauftic painting. 
Ewtauo-TOK, inufium , may be tranflated, forced in by 
the means of fire, burnt in : for whatever is forced 
in by the help of fire can be rendered into Latin by 
no other fignificant word, that I know of, but in- 
uftum. If this is allowed me, and I think I have 
the authority of Vitruvius (a writer in the Auguftan 
age) for it, who feems to have wrote from his own 
knowlege, and not like Pliny, who copied from 
others much more than he knew himfelf, the diffi- 
culty with regard to this kind of painting is folved, 
and the encauftic with burnt wax recovered to the 
public. 
What he means by the next kind he mentions, 
in ebore cejiro id eft viriculo , I will not attempt to 
explain at prefent. 
The fhip painting is more ealily accounted for: 
the practice being, in part, continued to this time; 
and is what is corruptly called breaming, for bren- 
ning or burning. This is done by reeds fet on fire, 
and held under the fide of a fhip till it is quite hot ; 
H 2 then 
