brighten, and, as if endowed with life, they smile, and lift up their heads in the face of the sun. BOOK I.--NOMENCLATURE AND METHODS. CHAPTER I. TECHNOLOGY. Confusion in Use of Terms.--Porcelain as an Instance.--Derivation of Ceramic.--Pottery.--Faience.--Majolica.--Mezza-Majolica.--Composition of Porcelain.--Origin of Word.--Where first made.--When introduced into Europe.--Hard and Soft Paste.--Soft Porcelain of Venice, Florence, England, France.--Hard Porcelain invented at Meissen by Böttcher.--Vienna.--Discovery of Kaolin in France.--Biscuit. [Illustration: Fig. 20.--Blue-glazed Pottery. Egyptian.] It will be necessary as we proceed to make use of certain terms, the meaning of which should be defined with as much exactness as possible. It may be premised that considerable confusion exists in the nomenclature of the art. This has arisen partly from the want of precision in the language employed by writers, and partly from diversity of usage. As an illustration, the word “porcelain” may be adduced. The material to which the Egyptians applied a glaze, and which was very largely used in making ornaments and small images, has been called, and is constantly spoken of, as Egyptian porcelain (Fig. 20). In reality the substance is not porcelain, having neither the transparency nor the hardness of that ware, but a compound between porcelain and earthen-ware. The word was also used by the Italians in the sixteenth century, to designate their finer qualities of majolica. An equally incongruous application of it is made in the case of Lambeth faience, which is described by the manufacturers as a “kind of porcelain.” Such words as faience, hard and soft porcelain, majolica, stone-ware, etc., are in continual use by writers upon ceramic art, and a few of the more important will now be defined. Allusion has already been made to the derivation of the word “ceramic.” Viewing the subject more prosaically, the name κεραμος was applied by the Greeks to pottery in general, and also to a large jar; and several derivatives were used for the designation of different vessels. The potter himself was called κεραμευς, and the pot-market κεραμεικος. Although the matter has been differently viewed, it appears probable that the root of all the above words is κερας, a horn. The horn was used at a very early period as a drinking-cup, and a more decided air of probability is thus given to the above assumption, since Bacchus was the reputed parent of κεραμος, or Ceramus. However philologists may ultimately settle this matter, the word “ceramic” is now employed to designate the potter’s art and its productions.