PartIII。
Ineednotexplainthatsilk^61isoriginallyspunfromthebowelsofacaterpillar,andthatitcomposesthegoldentomb,fromwhenceawormemergesintheformofabutterfly。TillthereignofJustinian,thesilk—wormwhofeedontheleavesofthewhitemulberry—treewereconfinedtoChina;thoseofthepine,theoak,andtheash,werecommonintheforestsbothofAsiaandEurope;butastheireducationismoredifficult,andtheirproducemoreuncertain,theyweregenerallyneglected,exceptinthelittleislandofCeos,nearthecoastofAttica。Athingauzewasprocuredfromtheirwebs,andthisCeanmanufacture,theinventionofawoman,forfemaleuse,waslongadmiredbothintheEastandatRome。WhateversuspicionsmayberaisedbythegarmentsoftheMedesandAssyrians,Virgilisthemostancientwriter,whoexpresslymentionsthesoftwoolwhichwascombedfromthetreesoftheSeresorChinese;^62andthisnaturalerror,lessmarvellousthanthetruth,wasslowlycorrectedbytheknowledgeofavaluableinsect,thefirstartificeroftheluxuryofnations。Thatrareandelegantluxurywascensured,inthereignofTiberius,bythegravestoftheRomans;andPliny,inaffectedthoughforciblelanguage,hascondemnedthethirstofgain,whichexploresthelastconfinesoftheearth,fortheperniciouspurposeofexposingtothepubliceyenakeddraperiesandtransparentmatrons。^63Adresswhichshowedtheturnofthelimbs,andcoloroftheskin,mightgratifyvanity,orprovokedesire;thesilkswhichhadbeencloselywoveninChinaweresometimesunravelledbythePhoenicianwomen,andthepreciousmaterialsweremultipliedbyaloosertexture,andtheintermixtureoflinenthreads。^64TwohundredyearsaftertheageofPliny,theuseofpure,orevenofmixedsilks,wasconfinedtothefemalesex,tilltheopulentcitizensofRomeandtheprovinceswereinsensiblyfamiliarizedwiththeexampleofElagabalus,thefirstwho,bythiseffeminatehabit,hadsulliedthedignityofanemperorandaman。Aureliancomplained,thatapoundofsilkwassoldatRomefortwelveouncesofgold;butthesupplyincreasedwiththedemand,andthepricediminishedwiththesupply。IfaccidentormonopolysometimesraisedthevalueevenabovethestandardofAurelian,themanufacturersofTyreandBerytusweresometimescompelled,bytheoperationofthesamecauses,tocontentthemselveswithaninthpartofthatextravagantrate。^65Alawwasthoughtnecessarytodiscriminatethedressofcomediansfromthatofsenators;andofthesilkexportedfromitsnativecountrythefargreaterpartwasconsumedbythesubjectsofJustinian。Theywerestillmoreintimatelyacquaintedwithashell—fishoftheMediterranean,surnamedthesilk—wormofthesea:thefinewoolorhairbywhichthemother—of—pearlaffixesitselftotherockisnowmanufacturedforcuriosityratherthanuse;andarobeobtainedfromthesamesingularmaterialswasthegiftoftheRomanemperortothesatrapsofArmenia。^66
[Footnote61:InthehistoryofinsectsfarmorewonderfulthanOvid'sMetamorphosesthesilk—wormholdsaconspicuousplace。
ThebombyxoftheIsleofCeos,asdescribedbyPliny,Hist。
Natur。xi。26,27,withthenotesofthetwolearnedJesuits,HardouinandBrotier,maybeillustratedbyasimilarspeciesinChina,MemoiressurlesChinois,tom。ii。p。575—598;butoursilk—worm,aswellasthewhitemulberry—tree,wereunknowntoTheophrastusandPliny。]
[Footnote62:Georgic。ii。121。Sericaquandovenerintinusumplanissimenonacio:suspicortameninJuliiCaesarisaevo,namantenoninvenio,saysJustusLipsius,Excursusi。adTacit。
Annal。ii。32。SeeDionCassius,l。xliii。p。358,edit。
Reimar,andPausanius,l。vi。p。519,thefirstwhodescribes,howeverstrangely,theSericinsect。]
[Footnote63:Tamlonginquoorbepetitur,utinpublicomatronatransluceat……utdenudetfoeminasvestis,Plin。vi。20,xi。
21。VarroandPubliusSyrushadalreadyplayedontheTogavitrea,ventustexilis,andnebulalinen,Horat。Sermon。i。2,101,withthenotesofTorrentiusandDacier。]
[Footnote*:Gibbonmusthavewrittentransparentdraperiesandnakedmatrons。Throughsometimesaffected,heisneverinaccurate。—M。]
[Footnote64:Onthetexture,colors,names,anduseofthesilk,halfsilk,andliuengarmentsofantiquity,seetheprofound,diffuse,andobscureresearchesofthegreatSalmasius,inHist。
August。p。127,309,310,339,341,342,344,388—391,395,513,whowasignorantofthemostcommontradesofDijonorLeyden。]
[Footnote65:FlaviusVopiscusinAurelian。c。45,inHist。
August。p。224。SeeSalmasiusadHist。Aug。p。392,andPlinian。
Exercitat。inSolinum,p。694,695。TheAnecdotesofProcopiusc。25stateapartialandimperfectrateofthepriceofsilkinthetimeofJustinian。]
[Footnote66:ProcopiusdeEdit。l。iii。c。1。ThesepinnesdemerarefoundnearSmyrna,Sicily,Corsica,andMinorca;andapairofglovesoftheirsilkwaspresentedtoPopeBenedictXIV。]
Avaluablemerchandiseofsmallbulkiscapableofdefrayingtheexpenseofland—carriage;andthecaravanstraversedthewholelatitudeofAsiaintwohundredandforty—threedaysfromtheChineseOceantothesea—coastofSyria。SilkwasimmediatelydeliveredtotheRomansbythePersianmerchants,^67whofrequentedthefairsofArmeniaandNisibis;butthistrade,whichintheintervalsoftrucewasoppressedbyavariceandjealousy,wastotallyinterruptedbythelongwarsoftherivalmonarchies。ThegreatkingmightproudlynumberSogdiana,andevenSerica,amongtheprovincesofhisempire;buthisrealdominionwasboundedbytheOxusandhisusefulintercoursewiththeSogdoites,beyondtheriver,dependedonthepleasureoftheirconquerors,thewhiteHuns,andtheTurks,whosuccessivelyreignedoverthatindustriouspeople。Yetthemostsavagedominionhasnotextirpatedtheseedsofagricultureandcommerce,inaregionwhichiscelebratedasoneofthefourgardensofAsia;thecitiesofSamarcandandBocharaareadvantageouslyseatedfortheexchangeofitsvariousproductions;andtheirmerchantspurchasedfromtheChinese,^68
therawormanufacturedsilkwhichtheytransportedintoPersiafortheuseoftheRomanempire。InthevaincapitalofChina,theSogdiancaravanswereentertainedasthesuppliantembassiesoftributarykingdoms,andiftheyreturnedinsafety,theboldadventurewasrewardedwithexorbitantgain。ButthedifficultandperilousmarchfromSamarcandtothefirsttownofShensi,couldnotbeperformedinlessthansixty,eighty,oronehundreddays:assoonastheyhadpassedtheJaxartestheyenteredthedesert;andthewanderinghordes,unlesstheyarerestrainedbyarmiesandgarrisons,havealwaysconsideredthecitizenandthetravellerastheobjectsoflawfulrapine。ToescapetheTartarrobbers,andthetyrantsofPersia,thesilkcaravansexploredamoresouthernroad;theytraversedthemountainsofThibet,descendedthestreamsoftheGangesortheIndus,andpatientlyexpected,intheportsofGuzeratandMalabar,theannualfleetsoftheWest。^69Butthedangersofthedesertwerefoundlessintolerablethantoil,hunger,andthelossoftime;theattemptwasseldomrenewed,andtheonlyEuropeanwhohaspassedthatunfrequentedway,applaudshisowndiligence,that,inninemonthsafterhisdeparturefromPekin,hereachedthemouthoftheIndus。Theocean,however,wasopentothefreecommunicationofmankind。FromthegreatrivertothetropicofCancer,theprovincesofChinaweresubduedandcivilizedbytheemperorsoftheNorth;theywerefilledaboutthetimeoftheChristianaerawithcitiesandmen,mulberry—treesandtheirpreciousinhabitants;andiftheChinese,withtheknowledgeofthecompass,hadpossessedthegeniusoftheGreeksorPhoenicians,theymighthavespreadtheirdiscoveriesoverthesouthernhemisphere。Iamnotqualifiedtoexamine,andIamnotdisposedtobelieve,theirdistantvoyagestothePersianGulf,ortheCapeofGoodHope;buttheirancestorsmightequalthelaborsandsuccessofthepresentrace,andthesphereoftheirnavigationmightextendfromtheIslesofJapantotheStraitsofMalacca,thepillars,ifwemayapplythatname,ofanOrientalHercules。^70Withoutlosingsightofland,theymightsailalongthecoasttotheextremepromontoryofAchin,whichisannuallyvisitedbytenortwelveshipsladenwiththeproductions,themanufactures,andeventheartificersofChina;theIslandofSumatraandtheoppositepeninsulaarefaintlydelineated^71astheregionsofgoldandsilver;andthetradingcitiesnamedinthegeographyofPtolemymayindicate,thatthiswealthwasnotsolelyderivedfromthemines。ThedirectintervalbetweenSumatraandCeylonisaboutthreehundredleagues:theChineseandIndiannavigatorswereconductedbytheflightofbirdsandperiodicalwinds;andtheoceanmightbesecurelytraversedinsquare—builtships,which,insteadofiron,weresewedtogetherwiththestrongthreadofthecocoanut。Ceylon,Serendib,orTaprobana,wasdividedbetweentwohostileprinces;oneofwhompossessedthemountains,theelephants,andtheluminouscarbuncle,andtheotherenjoyedthemoresolidrichesofdomesticindustry,foreigntrade,andthecapaciousharborofTrinquemale,whichreceivedanddismissedthefleetsoftheEastandWest。Inthishospitableisle,atanequaldistanceasitwascomputedfromtheirrespectivecountries,thesilkmerchantsofChina,whohadcollectedintheirvoyagesaloes,cloves,nutmeg,andsandalwood,maintainedafreeandbeneficialcommercewiththeinhabitantsofthePersianGulf。Thesubjectsofthegreatkingexalted,withoutarival,hispowerandmagnificence:andtheRoman,whoconfoundedtheirvanitybycomparinghispaltrycoinwithagoldmedaloftheemperorAnastasius,hadsailedtoCeylon,inanAethiopianship,asasimplepassenger。^72
[Footnote67:Procopius,Persic。l。i。c。20,l。ii。c。25;
Gothic。l。iv。c。17。MenanderinExcerpt。Legat。p。107。OftheParthianorPersianempire,IsidoreofCharaxinStathmisParthicis,p。7,8,inHudson,Geograph。Minor。tom。ii。hasmarkedtheroads,andAmmianusMarcellinusl。xxiii。c。6,p。
400hasenumeratedtheprovinces。
Note:SeeSt。Martin,Mem。surl'Armenie,vol。ii。p。41。—
M。]
[Footnote68:TheblindadmirationoftheJesuitsconfoundsthedifferentperiodsoftheChinesehistory。TheyaremorecriticallydistinguishedbyM。deGuignes,Hist。desHuns,tom。
i。parti。intheTables,partii。intheGeography。Memoiresdel'AcademiedesInscriptions,tom。xxxii。xxxvi。xlii。xliii。,
whodiscoversthegradualprogressofthetruthoftheannalsandtheextentofthemonarchy,tilltheChristianaera。Hehassearched,withacuriouseye,theconnectionsoftheChinesewiththenationsoftheWest;buttheseconnectionsareslight,casual,andobscure;nordidtheRomansentertainasuspicionthattheSeresorSinaepossessedanempirenotinferiortotheirown。
Note:Anabstractofthevariousopinionsofthelearnedmodernwriters,Gosselin,Mannert,Lelewel,Malte—Brun,Heeren,andLaTreille,ontheSericaandtheThinaeoftheancients,maybefoundintheneweditionofMalte—Brun,vol。vi。p。368,382。
—M。]
[Footnote69:TheroadsfromChinatoPersiaandHindostanmaybeinvestigatedintherelationsofHackluytandThevenot,theambassadorsofSharokh,AnthonyJenkinson,thePereGreuber,&c。
SeelikewiseHanway'sTravels,vol。i。p。345—357。A
communicationthroughThibethasbeenlatelyexploredbytheEnglishsovereignsofBengal。]
[Footnote70:FortheChinesenavigationtoMalaccaandAchin,perhapstoCeylon,seeRenaudot,onthetwoMahometanTravellers,p。8—11,13—17,141—157;Dampier,vol。ii。p。
136;theHist。PhilosophiquedesdeuxIndes,tom。i。p。98,
andHist。GeneraledesVoyages,tom。vi。p。201。]
[Footnote71:Theknowledge,orratherignorance,ofStrabo,Pliny,Ptolemy,Arrian,Marcian,&c。,ofthecountrieseastwardofCapeComorin,isfinelyillustratedbyD'Anville,AntiquiteGeographiquedel'Inde,especiallyp。161—198。OurgeographyofIndiaisimprovedbycommerceandconquest;andhasbeenillustratedbytheexcellentmapsandmemoirsofMajorRennel。
Ifheextendsthesphereofhisinquirieswiththesamecriticalknowledgeandsagacity,hewillsucceed,andmaysurpass,thefirstofmoderngeographers。]
[Footnote72:TheTaprobaneofPliny,vi。24,Solinus,c。53,
andSalmas。PlinianaeExercitat。,p。781,782,andmostoftheancients,whooftenconfoundtheislandsofCeylonandSumatra,ismoreclearlydescribedbyCosmasIndicopleustes;yeteventheChristiantopographerhasexaggerateditsdimensions。HisinformationontheIndianandChinesetradeisrareandcurious,l。ii。p。138,l。xi。p。337,338,edit。Montfaucon。]
Assilkbecameofindispensableuse,theemperorJustiniansawwithconcernthatthePersianshadoccupiedbylandandseathemonopolyofthisimportantsupply,andthatthewealthofhissubjectswascontinuallydrainedbyanationofenemiesandidolaters。AnactivegovernmentwouldhaverestoredthetradeofEgyptandthenavigationoftheRedSea,whichhaddecayedwiththeprosperityoftheempire;andtheRomanvesselsmighthavesailed,forthepurchaseofsilk,totheportsofCeylon,ofMalacca,orevenofChina。Justinianembracedamorehumbleexpedient,andsolicitedtheaidofhisChristianallies,theAethiopiansofAbyssinia,whohadrecentlyacquiredtheartsofnavigation,thespiritoftrade,andtheseaportofAdulis,^73
stilldecoratedwiththetrophiesofaGrecianconqueror。
AlongtheAfricancoast,theypenetratedtotheequatorinsearchofgold,emeralds,andaromatics;buttheywiselydeclinedanunequalcompetition,inwhichtheymustbealwayspreventedbythevicinityofthePersianstothemarketsofIndia;andtheemperorsubmittedtothedisappointment,tillhiswishesweregratifiedbyanunexpectedevent。ThegospelhadbeenpreachedtotheIndians:abishopalreadygovernedtheChristiansofSt。
Thomasonthepepper—coastofMalabar;achurchwasplantedinCeylon,andthemissionariespursuedthefootstepsofcommercetotheextremitiesofAsia。^74TwoPersianmonkshadlongresidedinChina,perhapsintheroyalcityofNankin,theseatofamonarchaddictedtoforeignsuperstitions,andwhoactuallyreceivedanembassyfromtheIsleofCeylon。Amidsttheirpiousoccupations,theyviewedwithacuriouseyethecommondressoftheChinese,themanufacturesofsilk,andthemyriadsofsilk—worms,whoseeducationeitherontreesorinhouseshadoncebeenconsideredasthelaborofqueens。^75Theysoondiscoveredthatitwasimpracticabletotransporttheshort—livedinsect,butthatintheeggsanumerousprogenymightbepreservedandmultipliedinadistantclimate。ReligionorinteresthadmorepoweroverthePersianmonksthantheloveoftheircountry:afteralongjourney,theyarrivedatConstantinople,impartedtheirprojecttotheemperor,andwereliberallyencouragedbythegiftsandpromisesofJustinian。Tothehistoriansofthatprince,acampaignatthefootofMountCaucasushasseemedmoredeservingofaminuterelationthanthelaborsofthesemissionariesofcommerce,whoagainenteredChina,deceivedajealouspeoplebyconcealingtheeggsofthesilk—worminahollowcane,andreturnedintriumphwiththespoilsoftheEast。Undertheirdirection,theeggswerehatchedattheproperseasonbytheartificialheatofdung;thewormswerefedwithmulberryleaves;theylivedandlaboredinaforeignclimate;asufficientnumberofbutterflieswassavedtopropagatetherace,andtreeswereplantedtosupplythenourishmentoftherisinggenerations。Experienceandreflectioncorrectedtheerrorsofanewattempt,andtheSogdoiteambassadorsacknowledged,inthesucceedingreign,thattheRomanswerenotinferiortothenativesofChinaintheeducationoftheinsects,andthemanufacturesofsilk,^76inwhichbothChinaandConstantinoplehavebeensurpassedbytheindustryofmodernEurope。Iamnotinsensibleofthebenefitsofelegantluxury;yetIreflectwithsomepain,thatiftheimportersofsilkhadintroducedtheartofprinting,alreadypractisedbytheChinese,thecomediesofMenanderandtheentiredecadsofLivywouldhavebeenperpetuatedintheeditionsofthesixthcentury。
Alargerviewoftheglobemightatleasthavepromotedtheimprovementofspeculativescience,buttheChristiangeographywasforciblyextractedfromtextsofScripture,andthestudyofnaturewasthesurestsymptomofanunbelievingmind。Theorthodoxfaithconfinedthehabitableworldtoonetemperatezone,andrepresentedtheearthasanoblongsurface,fourhundreddays'journeyinlength,twohundredinbreadth,encompassedbytheocean,andcoveredbythesolidcrystalofthefirmament。^77
[Footnote73:SeeProcopius,Persic。l。ii。c。20。CosmasaffordssomeinterestingknowledgeoftheportandinscriptionofAdulis,Topograph。Christ。l。ii。p。138,140—143,andofthetradeoftheAxumitesalongtheAfricancoastofBarbariaorZingi,p。138,139,andasfarasTaprobane,l。xi。p。339。]
[Footnote*:Mr。SaltobtainedinformationofconsiderableruinsofanancienttownnearZulla,calledAzoole,whichanswerstothepositionofAdulis。Mr。Saltwaspreventedbyillness,Mr。
Stuart,whomhesent,bythejealousyofthenatives,frominvestigatingtheseruins:oftheirexistencethereseemsnodoubt。Salt's2dJourney,p。452。—M。]
[Footnote74:SeetheChristianmissionsinIndia,inCosmas,l。
iii。p。178,179,l。xi。p。337,andconsultAsseman。Bibliot。
Orient。tom。iv。p。413—548。]
[Footnote75:Theinvention,manufacture,andgeneraluseofsilkinChina,maybeseeninDuhalde,DescriptionGeneraledelaChine,tom。ii。p。165,205—223。TheprovinceofChekianisthemostrenownedbothforquantityandquality。]
[Footnote76:Procopius,l。viii。Gothic。iv。c。17。TheophanesByzant。apudPhot。Cod。lxxxiv。p。38。Zonaras,tom。ii。l。xiv。
p。69。Pagitom。ii。p。602assignstotheyear552thismemorableimportation。MenanderinExcerpt。Legat。p。107
mentionstheadmirationoftheSogdoites;andTheophylactSimocattal。vii。c。9darklyrepresentsthetworivalkingdomsinChinathecountryofsilk。]
[Footnote77:Cosmas,surnamedIndicopleustes,ortheIndiannavigator,performedhisvoyageabouttheyear522,andcomposedatAlexandria,between535,and547,ChristianTopography,Montfaucon,Praefat。c。i。,inwhichherefutestheimpiousopinion,thattheearthisaglobe;andPhotiushadreadthiswork,Cod。xxxvi。p。9,10,whichdisplaystheprejudicesofamonk,withtheknowledgeofamerchant;themostvaluableparthasbeengiveninFrenchandinGreekbyMelchisedecThevenot,RelationsCurieuses,parti。,andthewholeissincepublishedinasplendideditionbyPereMontfaucon,NovaCollectioPatrum,Paris,1707,2vols。infol。,tom。ii。p。113—346。Buttheeditor,atheologian,mightblushatnotdiscoveringtheNestorianheresyofCosmas,whichhasbeendetectedbyLaCrozChristianismedesIndes,tom。i。p。40—56。]