Testimony of the Latin poets of the Augustan age--Tibullus--Propertius--Virgil--Horace--Ovid--Dyonisius Perigetes--Strabo. Mention of silk by authors in the first century--Seneca the Philosopher--Seneca the Tragedian--Lucan--Pliny--Josephus--Saint John--Silius Italicus--Statius--Plutarch--Juvenal--Martial--Pausanias--Galen--Clemens Alexandrinus--Caution to Christian converts against the use of silk in dress. Mention of silk by authors in the second century--Tertullian--Apuleius--Ulpian--Julius Pollux--Justin. Mention of silk by authors in the third century--Ælius Lampidius--Vopiscus--Trebellius Pollio--Cyprian--Solinus--Ammianus--Marcellinus--Use of silk by the Roman emperors--Extraordinary beauty of the textures--Use of water to detach silk from the trees--Invectives of these authors against extravagance in dress--The Seres described as a happy people--Their mode of traffic, etc.--(Macpherson’s opinion of the Chinese.)--City of Dioscurias, its vast commerce in former times.--(Colonel Syke’s account of the Kolissura silk-worm--Dr. Roxburgh’s description of the Tusseh silk-worm.) 22 CHAPTER III. HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE FROM THE THIRD TO THE SIXTH CENTURY. SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING.--HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN THESE ARTS. Fourth Century--Curious account of silk found in the Edict of Diocletian--Extravagance of the Consul Furius Placidus--Transparent silk shifts--Ausonius describes silk as the produce of trees--Quintus Aur Symmachus, and Claudian’s testimony of silk and golden textures--Their extraordinary beauty--Pisander’s description--Periplus Maris Erythræi--Dido of Sidon. Mention of silk in the laws of Manu--Rufus Festus Avinus--Silk shawls--Marciannus Capella--Inscription by M. N. Proculus, silk manufacturer--Extraordinary spiders’ webs--Bombyces compared to spiders--Wild silk-worms of Tsouen-Kien and Tiao-Kien--M. Bertin’s account--Further remarks on wild silk-worms. Christian authors of the fourth century--Arnobius--Gregorius Nazienzenus--Basil--Illustration of the doctrine of the resurrection--Ambrose--Georgius Pisida--Macarius--Jerome--Chrysostom--Heliodorus--Salmasius--Extraordinary beauty of the silk and golden textures described by these authors--Their invectives against Christians wearing silk. Mention of silk by Christian authors in the fifth century--Prudentius--Palladius--Theodosian Code--Appollinaris Sidonius--Alcimus Avitus. Sixth century--Boethius. (Manufactures of Tyre and Sidon--Purple--Its great durability--Incredible value of purple stuffs found in the treasury of the King of Persia.) 41 CHAPTER IV. HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE CONTINUED FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF SILK-WORMS INTO EUROPE, A. D. 530, TO THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.