9. The Egyptians do not seem to have made any im portant additions to the knowledge of dyeing, whien they hollowed from their neighbours; and indeed little could be expected from the genius or industry of a people who were strictly prohibited by the principles of their religion, from changing even their most indifferent customs. 1 t appears, however, according to Pliny, that they were acquainted with a mode of dyeing, very much resembling calico-printing. Ile mentions that the Egyp tians began by painting on white cloths, with certain drugs, which in themselves possessed no colour, but had the property of abstracting or absorbing' colouring matters; that these cloths were after•ar.ls immersed in a heated dyeing liquor, of a uniform colour, and yet when removed from it soon after, that They were found to he stained with indelible colours, differing from one ano ther according to the nature or the drugs which had been previously' applied to different parts of the stuff—See Min. lib. xxxv. cap. ii.
10. From Egypt, the knowledge of dyeing seems to have been communicated to the of Tyre, to whom the art became indebted for the discovery of one the most celebrated dyes known to the ancients. This species of dye, called the Tyrian purple, which was su isequently ithe• lost or neglected, soon became an obje t of the most refined luxury, and contributed great ly to the opuleto e of that unterprizing and industrious people. The circumstances w hich led lo the discovery of it are very imperfectly known: but fiction has sup plied the want of historical facts, and described its origin with sufficient minuteness of detail. According to one account, the merit of Its discovery is due to a dog be longing to a certain I lerculcs. We arc informed, that when this dog was accompanying his master along the sea-shore, who was then Following the nymph Tyros, the animal seized one of the purpura. lying on the sand, and breaking the shell with his teeth, his mouth soon became coloured with the purple juice. The nymph having observed the effect, immediately expressed a strong desire to obtain a dress dyed of the same beautiful colour ; and her lover, no less anxious to gratify her wishes, at last succeeded in discovering a method of applying it to cloth. The of the nymph by whom the colour was first worn being Tyros. the dye itself was called the Tyrian purple.—See Cu8sulorus, lib. I.; Julius Pollux, lib. I. 4.
II. Others ascribe the discovery to the Plicenician Hercules, and affirm, that he afterwards communicated it to the King or Plarnicia, woo immediate ly after be gan to wear purple, and was so jealous of its beauty, that he forbade the use of it to ills subjects, reserving it exclusively for the robes of royalty. It is probable,
however, that this colour was first discovered at Tyre, and on that account received the name of Tylian pur ple ; more particularly, as the epithet Sarranua,• from Sacra, the ancient name of Tyre, was frequently ap plied to it.
12. The more ancient writers differ no less with re spect to the time when the Tyrian purple was discover ed, than with respect to the circumstances which led to its discovery ; sonic stating it to have been 1500 years before the commencement of the Christian zera, and others nearly a century later, at the time Minos reign ed in Crete. Frequent mention is made of purple in the books of Moses ; but whether the colour alluded to was the Tyrian put ple, or communicated by a different process, is difficult to determine. At any rate the fre quency (Exod. xxv. 4; xxvi. I.) with which it is men tioned, implies that some method of dyeing purple was common among the Israelites soon after they quitted Egypt, which was nearly about the period already sta ted (1491 13. C.) The great antiquity of this colour is also confirmed by the testimony or Homer, who repre sents his heroes to have been dressed in purple.
13. This colour was so highly valued by the ancients, that it was either consecrated to the worship of the Deity-, or conceived to be fit only for the garments of royalty. Under the Mosaic, dispensation, the stuff's for the service of the altar, and the habits of the high priest, were en joined to be of purple. The Babylonians devoted this colour to the dress of their idols, and most of the other nations of antiquity seem to have clone the same thing, Pliny informs us, that it was used by Romulus.,. .and the succeeding kings of Rome, as well as by the consuls, and first magistrates under the republic. The Roman emperors at last appropriated it entirely to their own use, and denounced the punishment of death against those who should dare to wear it though. covered with another colour. This absurd and tyrannical restriction confined the dyeing of the Tyrian purple to a few indi viduals; and in a short time the knowledge of the pro cess was completely lost. In the twelfth century, nei ther the shell fish which furnished the dye, nor the me thods which the ancients employed to communicate to Cloths the rich and beautiful purple which it afforded, were at all known ; and on the revival of learning, it was even suspected by many, that the accounts which have come down to us respecting this celebrated colour, were entirely fabulous.