He describes an ape ludicrously attired in a silk jacket; and, inveighing against the progress of luxury, he speaks of some to whom even silk garments were a burthen. In elaborate descriptions of the figured consular robes (the Trabeæ) of Honorius and Stilicho, he mentions the reins and other trappings of horses, as being wrought in silk[54].
[54] Rubra Serica, De VI. Cons. Honor. I. 577. Serica Fræna. In I. Cons. Stilichonis 1. ii. V. 350.
The frequent allusions to silk in the complimentary poems of Claudian, receive illustration from various imperial laws, which were promulgated in the same century, and in part by the very emperors to whom his flattery is addressed, and which are preserved in the Code of Justinian. Their object was not to encourage the silk manufacture, but, on a principle very opposite to that of modern times, to make it an imperial monopoly. The admiration excited by the splendor and elegance of silk attire was the ground, on which it was forbidden that any individual of the male sex should wear even a silken border upon his tunic or pallium, with the exception of the emperor, his officers and servants. To confine the enjoyment of these luxuries more entirely to the imperial family and court, all private persons were strictly forbidden engaging in the manufacture, gold and silken borders were to be made only in the imperial Gynæcea[55].
[55] See the Corpus Juris Civilis, Lugduni 1627, folio, tom. v. Codex Justiniani, l. x. tit. vii. p. 131. 134.
THE PERIPLUS MARIS ERYTHRÆI.
In this important document on ancient geography and commerce, we find repeated mention of silk in its raw state, in that of thread, and woven[56]. These articles were conveyed down the Indus to the coast of the Erythrean Sea. They were also brought to the great mart of Barygaza, which was on the Gulf of Cambay near the modern Surat, and to the coast of Lymirica, which was still more remote. The author of the Periplus states, that they were carried by land through Bactria to Barygaza from a great city called Thina, lying far towards the North in the interior of Asia. He of course refers to some part of Serica. It is remarkable, that he makes no mention of silk as the native production of India.
[56] Arriani Opp., vol. ii. Blancardi, pp. 164. 170. 173. 177.
Silk is mentioned in two passages of the laws of Manu, viz. XI. v. 168, and XII. v. 64. It is, however, observed by Heeren, who quotes passages of the Ramayana that make mention of silk, that garments of this material are there represented as worn only on festive occasions, and that they were undoubtedly Seric or Chinese productions[57]. Indeed it appears that the cloth made from the thread of the native worms of Hindostan, although highly valued for strength and durability, is not remarkable for fineness, beauty, or splendor.
[57] Ideen über die Politik, &c. der alten Welt, i. 2. pp. 647. 648. 665-668. 677. 3rd edition. Göttingen, 1815.