Chapter 386

1110Asia Minor.

1111King of Pergamus.

1112Over King Antiochus.

1113He alludes to the destruction of Corinth, by L. Mummius Achaïcus.

1114A drinking cup with handles, sacred to Bacchus. See B. xxxiv. c.25.

1115Bacchus.

1116In allusion to the plebeian origin of C. Marius, who was born at the village of Cereatæ, near Arpinum. It is more than probable that the story that he had worked as a common peasant for wages, was an invention of the faction of Sylla.

1117“Ille arator Arpinas, et manipularis imperator.”

1118Meaning the first king of that name. He was son of Mithridates IV., king of Pontus.

1119Appian says that there “was a gold statue of this Mithridates, exhibited in the triumph of Pompey, eight cubits in height.” Plutarch speaks of another statue of the same king, exhibited by Lucullus, six feet in height.

1120“Compedes.” See Chapter12of this Book.

1121The translation of this passage is somewhat doubtful. We will, therefore, subjoin that of Holland, who adopts the other version. “As we may see by our proud and sumptuous dames, that are but commoners and artizans’ wives, who are forced to make themselves carquans and such ornaments for their shoes, of silver, because the rigour of the statute provided in that case will not permit them to weare the same of gold.”

1122A rhetorician who taught at Rome in the reign of Augustus. The poet Ovid was one of his pupils. His rival in teaching declamation was Porcius Latro.

1123Of an improper intimacy with his pupils.

1124Rings of silver being passed through the prepuce. This practice is described by Celsus, B. vii. c. 25.

1125“Videret hinc dona fortium fieri, aut in hæc frangi.”

1126In B. vii. c. 39, and in Chapter53of this Book.

1127“Quatuor paria ab eo omnino facta sunt.” Sillig, in hisDictionary of Ancient Artists, finds a difficulty in this passage. “The term ‘omnino’ seems to imply that the productions in question, all of which perished, were theonlyworks executed by this artist; but we find several passages of ancient writers, in which vases, &c. engraved by Mentor, are mentioned as extant. Thus, then, we must conclude, either that the term ‘omnino’ should be understood in the sense of ‘chiefly,’ ‘pre-eminently,’ or that the individuals claiming to possess works of Mentor, were themselves misinformed, or endeavoured to deceive others.” If, however, we look at the word “paria” in a strictly technical sense, the difficulty will probably be removed. Pliny’s meaning seems to be that Mentor made fourpairs, and no more, of some peculiar kind of vessel probably, and that all these pairs were now lost. He does not say that Mentor did not make other works of art, insinglepieces. Thiersch,Act. Acad. Monac.v. p. 128, expresses an opinion that the word “omnino” is a corruption, and that in it lies concealed the name of the kind of plate that is meant.

1128See B. vii. c. 39.

1129His age and country are unknown.

1130From Pausanias we learn that he was a statuary and engraver on plate, born at Carthage; but Raoul Rochette thinks that he was a native of Chalcedon. He is mentioned also by Cicero, In Verrem, 4. 14, and in the Culex, l. 66, ascribed by some to Virgil.

1131His country is uncertain. According to the statements of Pausanias, B. i. c. 28, he must have been a contemporary of Phidias, about Olymp. 84,B.C.444. He is mentioned also by Propertius, Martial, and Statius.

1132His birth-place is unknown, but he probably lived about the time of Phidias, and we learn from Pausanias that he was living when the plague ceased at Athens, inB.C.429. He is mentioned also by Cicero, Ovid, Quintilian, Lucian, and Dionysius of Halicarnassus.

1133Nothing further is known of this artist.

1134“Collocavisse verius quam cælasse.”

1135“Phiala.”

1136He lived probably about Olymp. 126; but his country is unknown. He is mentioned by Athenæus. See also B. xxxiv. c.19.

1137Nothing whatever is known of him, unless indeed he is identical with the Tauriscus mentioned in B. xxxvi. c.5.

1138Nothing is known of his age or country. He is also mentioned in B. xxxiv. c.19.

1139His age and country are unknown. See B. xxxiv. c.19.

1140Nothing further is known of him. See B. xxxiv. c.19.

1141See theendof this Book.

1142Beyond the mention made of him in B. xxxiv. c.19, no particulars relative to him are known.

1143Other readings of this name are “Lædus Stratiotes,” “Ledis Thracides,” “Hieris Thracides,” and “Lidistratices.” The Bamberg MS. has “Hedys Trachides.” Salmasius, Hardouin, and Sillig propose “Leostratides,” and Thiersch “Lysistratides.”

1144Nothing further is known of him.

1145For the murder of his mother Clytæmnestra.

1146Nothing is known of this artist.

1147From Troy.

1148“Coquos,” literally, “cooks.”

1149“Cooks in miniature.”

1150By the process of moulding, probably.

1151“Crustarius.” Of this artist nothing further is known.

1152Yellow or brown Ochre, probably. Ajasson thinks that under this name may be included peroxide of iron, hydroxide of iron in a stalactitic and mamillary form, and compact peroxide of iron, imparting a colour to argillaceous earth.

1153“Scaly and ochrey brown iron ore are decomposed earthy varieties, often soft like chalk; yellow ochre is here included.”—Dana, Syst. Mineral, p. 436.

1154“Marmorosum.”

1155“Lucidum.”

1156“Abacos.” Small compartments or partitions in a square form on the walls of rooms.

1157See B. vii. c. 57, where he is called an Athenian, whereas he was a native of Thasos. He was one of the most eminent painters of antiquity, and flourished in the age of Pericles. See a further account of him in B. xxxv. c.35.

1158Son of Phanochus, and contemporary of Polygnotus. See B. xxxv. c.25, where it is stated that in conjunction with Polygnotus, he either invented some new colours, or employed them in his paintings on a better plan than that previously adopted.

1159“It is possible that the ‘cæruleum’ of the ancients may in some cases have been real ultramarine, but properly and in general, it was only copper ochre.”—Beckmann’s Hist. Inv. Vol. I. p. 472.Bohn’s Edition.Delafosse identifies it with blue carbonate and hydrocarbonate of copper, one of the two azurites.

1160“Candidiorem nigrioremve, et crassiorem tenuioremve.”

1161Beckmann thinks that Pliny is here alluding to an artificial kind of “cæruleum.” “Pliny clearly adds to it an artificial colour, which in my opinion was made in the same manner as our lake; for he speaks of an earth, which when boiled with plants, acquired their blue colour.”—Hist. Inv., Vol. II. p. 480.

1162Supposed by Hardouin to have been “glastum” or “woad,” the Isatis tinctoria of Linnæus, mentioned in B. xxii. c. 2.

1163“In suâ coquitur herbâ.”

1164A blue powder; see Chapter27of this Book. Beckmann has the following remarks on this and the preceding lines: “The well-known passage of Pliny in which Lehmann thinks he can with certainty discover cobalt, is so singular a medley that nothing to be depended on can be gathered from it. The author, it is true, where he treats of mineral pigments, seems to speak of a blue sand which produced different shades of blue paint, according as it was pounded coarser or finer. The palest powder was called lomentum, and this Lehmann considers as our powder-blue. I am, however, fully convinced that thecyanusof Theophrastus, thecæruleumof Pliny, and thechrysocolla(see Chapter26), were the blue copper earth already mentioned, which may have been mixed and blended together.”—Hist. Inv. Vol. I. pp. 480, 481.Bohn’s Edition.

1165According to Vitruvius, B. vii. c. 11, the manufactory of Vestorius was at Puteoli, now Pozzuoli. This was probably the same C. Vestorius who was also a money-lender and a friend of Atticus, and with whom Cicero had monetary transactions. He is mentioned as “Vestorium meum,” in the Epistles of Cicero to Atticus.

1166For colouring surfaces of clay or cretaceous earth. This kind was also manufactured by Vesturius, most probably.

1167“Idem et Puteolani usus, præterque ad fenestras.” “The expression here,usus ad fenestras, has been misapplied by Lehmann, as a strong proof of his assertion; for he explained it as if Pliny had said that a blue pigment was used for painting window-frames; but glass windows were at that time unknown. I suspect that Pliny meant to say only that one kind of paint could not be employed near openings which afforded a passage to the light, as it soon decayed and lost its colour. This would have been the case in particular withlake, in which there was a mixture of vegetable particles.”—Beckmann, Hist. Inv. Vol. I. p. 480.

1168“Indian” pigment. Probably our “indigo.” It is again mentioned, and at greater length, in B. xxxv. c.27. See also Beckmann, Hist. Inv. Vol. II. pp. 259, 267.Bohn’s Edition.

1169This is probably a more correct reading than “seven.”

1170See B. xxxv. c.19. Vitruvius, B. vii. c. 14, describes an exactly similar method adopted by dyers for imitating the colour of Attic sil, or ochre, mentioned in Chapter56.

1171A quarter in the city of Capua, inhabited by druggists and perfumers; see B. xvi. c. 18, and B. xxxiv. c.25.

1172In some MSS. the reading here is “Domitius,” and in others the name is omitted altogether. We learn from the writings of Suetonius, that the Emperor Domitian devoted himself to literary pursuits in his younger days, and Quintilian and the younger Pliny speak of his poetical productions as equal to those of the greatest masters. Sillig expresses an opinion that Pliny may possibly have borrowed something from his works, and inserted his name, with a view of pleasing the young prince and his father, the Emperor Vespasian.

1173He is quoted in Chapter9of this Book, where it appears that he took his cognomen on account of his friendship for C. Gracchus. He wrote a work, “De Potestatibus,” which gave an account of the Roman magistrates from the time of the kings. A few fragments of this work, which was highly esteemed by the ancients, are all that remain.

1174See end of B. ii.

1175See end of B. iii.

1176See end of B. ii.

1177Valerius Messala Corvinus. See end of B. ix.

1178See end of B. vii.

1179Calvus Licinius Macer was the son of C. Licinius Macer, a person of prætorian rank, who, on being impeached of extortion by Cicero, committed suicide. We learn from our author, B. xxxiv. c.50, that in his youth he devoted himself to study with the greatest zeal, and applied himself with singular energy to intellectual pursuits. His constitution, however, was early exhausted, and he died in his 35th or 36th year, leaving behind him twenty-one orations. We learn from Cicero and Quintilian that his compositions were carefully moulded after the models of the Attic school, but were deficient in ease and freshness. As a poet he was the author of many short pieces, equally remarkable for their looseness and elegance. He wrote also some severe lampoons on Pompey and Cæsar, and their respective partisans. Ovid and Horace, besides several of the prose writers, make mention of him.

1180See end of B. ii.

1181See end of B. ii.

1182Cornelius Bocchus. See end of B. xvi.

1183Annius or Annæus Fetialis. See end of B. xvi.

1184See end of B. viii.

1185See end of B. vii.

1186See end of B. xx.

1187See end of B. xii.

1188See end of B. iii.

1189See end of B. ii.

1190See end of B. v.

1191The person mentioned in Chapter13of this Book, is probably different from those of the same name mentioned at the end of Books ii. and iv. If so, no further particulars are known of him.

1192It seems impossible to say which of the physicians of this name is here alluded to. See end of Books iv. and xii.

1193See end of B. xx.

1194See end of B. xii.

1195See end of B. xiii.

1196See end of B. xii.

1197See end of B. xii.; and for Sallustius Dionysius, see end of B. xxxi.

1198See end of B. xxix.

1199See end of B. xii.

1200See end of B. xii.

1201As King Attalus was very skilful in medicine, Hardouin is of opinion that he is the person here meant; see end of B. viii.

1202A different person, most probably, from the writer of Pliny’s age, mentioned in B. xxxvii. c.2. The Xenocrates here mentioned is probably the same person that is spoken of in B. xxxv. c.36, a statuary of the school of Lysippus, and the pupil either of Tisicrates or of Euthycrates, who flourished aboutB.C.260.

1203There were two artists of this name, prior to the time of Pliny; a sculptor, mentioned by him in B. xxxiv. c.19, and a painter, contemporary with Apelles, mentioned in B. xxxv. c.36. It is impossible to say which of them, if either, is here meant.

1204See end of B. iii.

1205See end of B. xii.

1206It is impossible to say which writer of this name is here meant. See end of Books iv., viii., xi., and xx.

1207A statuary, sculptor, and chaser in silver, who flourished at Rome aboutB.C.60. He was a native of Magna Græcia, in the south of Italy. He is not only mentioned in Chapter55of the present Book, but also in B. xxxv. c.45, as an artist of the highest distinction. His narrow escape from a panther, while copying from nature, is mentioned in B. xxxvi. c.4. His five Books on the most celebrated works of sculpture and chasing were looked upon as a high authority in art. He was also the head of a school of artists.

1208A writer on painting of this name is mentioned by Diogenes Laertius, B. vii. c. 12. He is probably the same as the person here mentioned, and identical with the Greek sculptor mentioned by Pliny in B. xxxiv. c.19, who probably flourished about 240B.C.The Toreutic Art, “Toreutice,” was the art of making raised work in silver or bronze, either by graving or casting: but the exact meaning of the word is somewhat uncertain.

1209Menæchmus of Sicyon, probably; see end of B. iv., also B. xxxiv. c.19.

1210If he is really a different person from the Xenocrates mentioned above, nothing is known of him.

1211See end of B. vii.

1212Possibly one of the persons mentioned at the end of Books viii., xix., and xxxi. If not, nothing whatever is known of him.

1213An Athenian writer, surnamed “Periegetes.” The work here mentioned, is alluded to by other writers under different names. From a passage in Athenæus, he is supposed to have lived after the time of Antiochus Epiphanes.

1214See end of B. iii.

1215The present Book is translated by the late Dr. Bostock, the translation being corrected by the readings of the Bamberg MS., which do not appear to have come under his notice. Some Notes by Dr. Bostock will be also found at the commencement of Books 33 and 35; they are distinguished by the initial B.

1216“Æris Metalla.” The word “Æs” does not entirely correspond to our word “brass;” the brass of the moderns being a compound of copper and zinc, while the “Æs” of the ancients was mostly composed of copper and tin, and therefore, would be more correctly designated by the word “bronze.” But this last term is now so generally appropriated to works of art, that it would seem preferable to employ in most cases the more general terms “copper” or “brass.” For an excellent account of the “Æs” of the ancients, see Smith’s Dict. Antiq. “Æs.”—B. Mr. Westmacott, in the above-mentioned article, says that the ancient “Æs” has been found, upon analysis, to contain no zinc, but in nearly every instance to be a mixture of copper and tin, like our bronze. Beckmann says, on the other hand, that the mixture of zinc and copper now called “brass,” first discovered by ores, abundant in zinc,was certainly known to the ancients. “In the course of time, an ore,which must have been calamine, was added to copper while melting, to give it a yellow colour.” Hist. Inv. Vol. II. pp. 32, 33.Bohn’s Edition.There can be little doubt that the nativeCadmiaof Chapter22of this Book was our Calamine, hydrosilicate of zinc, or carbonate of zinc, or else copper ore impregnated with calamine.

1217In B. xxxiii. c.13.

1218“Stipis auctoritas.” The standard in money payments.

1219These terms must have come into use when brass, “æs,” was the ordinary medium, of circulation.—B. Their meaning is, “soldiers’ pay,” “tribunes of the treasury,” the “public treasury,” “made bondmen for debt,” and “mulcted of their pay.”

1220In B. xxxiii. c.13.—B.

1221“Collegium” The colleges of the priests and of the augurs being the first two associated bodies.—B.

1222In B. xxxiii. c.31, where we have an account of the ores of silver.—B.

1223Pliny again refers to this mineral in the22d Chapter. We have no means of ascertaining, with certainty, what is the substance to which this name was applied by the ancients. The ores of copper are very numerous, and of various chemical constitutions: the most abundant, and those most commonly employed in the production of the pure metal, are the sulphurets, more especially what is termed copper pyrites, and the oxides. It has been supposed, by some commentators, that the Cadmia of the ancients was Calamine, which is an ore of zinc; but we may be confident that theÆsof the ancients could not be produced from this substance, because, as has been stated above, theÆscontains no zinc. I must, however, observe that the contrary opinion is maintained by M. Delafosso.—B. See Note1216above.

1224The inhabitants of Bergamum, the modern Bergamo.—B. See B. iii. c. 21.

1225Aristotle gives the same account of the copper ore of Cyprus. Chalcitis is also spoken of by Dioscorides, as an ore of copper.—B. See further as to “Chalcitis,” in Chapter29of this Book.

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