No. DCLXX. LUXURIOUS MAGNIFICENCE IN LATER AGES. IF the reader will turn back to No. ccccL. he will see Lady Wortely Montague's description of her own dress, at Constantinople, and that of the fair Fatima. We are not to suppose that these dresses of princesses can be procured by women of the lower rank; their attire is simple enough. But, the wishes of those removed a few degrees above poverty, certainly take a strong turn in favour of what is considered as Magnificence. The same lady asserts, in behalf of the Turkish women, that "A husband would be thought mad, who exacted any degree of economy from his wife, whose expenses are no way limited but by her own fancy. "Tis his business to get money, and her's to spend it: and this noble prerogative extends to the very meanest of the sex. Here is a fellow that carries embroidered handkerchiefs upon his back to sell, and as miserable a figure as you may suppose such a mean dealer, yet, I'll assure you his wife scorns to wear any thing less than cloth of gold; has her ermine furs, and a very handsome set of jewels for her head. 'Tis true they have no places but the bagnios, in which to display this finery, and these can only be seen by their own sex; however that is a diversion they take great pleasure in." Letter 42. The extravagant and heedless are confined to no age or country; and if the apostle Peter saw or suspected in his day any thing like a similar disposition among the women professing godliness, he certainly did right to enjoin a different mode of conduct (1 Epist. iii. 3.): "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel, but, the hidden man of the heart, in that which is incorruptible-a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." It is unwise to suppose that the apostle prohibits external ornaments, entirely: it is not his object to censure those proprieties of appearance which befit station and respectability: but, he means to reduce them to their true value; and to raise much higher on the scale of estimation virtues which neither gleam nor sparkle in the eyes of beholders, yet contribute essentially to personal comfort, to domestic happiness, and to the amiabilities of the christian character. Such of our readers as are conversant with antiquities know that many elaborate works have been written on the dresses of the ancients; especially on those of the Roman ladies, who certainly carried their passion for "outward adornings" to the very extreme of extravagance. It is notorious that the Heathen moralists, themselves, as Seneca, and others, reproved with great severity the unlimited expenses and the meretricious arts of personal appearance, practised in their day; while the Christian Fathers, as Tertullian, Clem. Alex. and many more, insisted on the observance of that decorum by their converts, which, as one of the distinctions enjoined by the gospel, became the duty of pious and exemplary Christians. The Luxuries of Rome were derived from the East; and Juvenal was right when he described the overflowings of the Tigris as swelling the stream of the Tiber, and Syrian practices as debasing the sons of Romulus and Numa. The silk and purple of Tyre augmented the Luxury of the conquerors of the world; and they won, fatally for themselves, the dominion of countries, which eventually seduced them into a worse than slavish bondage. We have seen the harlot of Jerusalem, in ancient days, boast of the decorations of her duan, or seat for receiving her company: to what sumptuosity these were afterwards carried may be learned, inter alia, from Athenæus, vi. who refers to what is said by Clearchus Solesis of the excessive effeminacy and luxury of a young king of Paphos. "He lay (says he) on a bed, having silver feet, with a carpet richly wrought, of the Sardian manufacture; (the bed) covered with another drapery of purple velvet, bound also with purple." He adds, "It had three pillows for the head, of silk edged with purple, with which, at regular distances, it was garnished: it had also two at the feet dyed purple, of the kind called Dorics; and on these he lay in a white garment." The same writer (lib. x.) speaks of " Lectus Indica testudine perlucidus, plumea congerie tumidus, veste serica floridus:"-a couch, glittering with inlayings of tortoiseshell, swelled out with stuffings of down, and gaudy with coverings of silk." And Martial (iii. 82.) describes one lounging on such a piece of furniture, as, Effultus ostro, sericisque pulvinis, Propped upon drapery dyed with murex [purple] and a silken cushion. Accessions, these, of no small moment to luxury and pride, since the days of Solomon! and evidences to be added to what is said under the article SILK, in the Dictionary, Add. on the common use of that costly material in the days of the Roman supremacy. To the extravagance of the sex, ambitious of personal appearance, we need no other evidence than the testimony of Pliny on the profusion of gold and pearls interlaced in every part of their costume with emulative ostentation; as for instance, lib. xxxiii. 3. he says, "Habeant (aurum) feminæ in armillis, digitisque totis, collo, uribus, spiris. Discurrant catenae circa latera, et inserta margaritarum pondera e collo dominarum auro pendeant:"-the women employ gold in their bracelets, on every finger, on the neck, in the ears, in their curls. Their gold chains wander about the side, and, attached to the gold ornament of the neck, the ladies hang no small weight of pearls.-Farther, describing the luxury of the Roman ladies, on the subject of pearls, the same writer (ix. 35.) mentions among other things, having seen Lollia Paolina, "smaragdis margaritisque opertam, alterno textu fulgentibus toto capite crinibus, spiris, auribus, collo, manibus, digitisque :"-covered with emeralds and pearls, alternately, each glittering, interwoven thoughout the whole hair of the head, throughout every curl, in the ears, around the neck, the hands, and also every finger. Surely, if this be a specimen of the overflowings of the Tigris into the current of the Tiber, the apostle, writing on the banks of the Tigris, had ample reason for cautioning his fair readers against excess in outward adorning, in plaiting the hair, in wearing of gold, &c. No. DCLXXI. ON THE APPROPRIATE COLOURS OF GARMENTS. THE Colours of Garments were, certainly, regulated in early ages-in some places by law, in others by public opinion. The Athenians had a law, derived from Zaleucus, by which it was ordained that women of good character should wear white Garments, when they appeared in public. Loose and immodest women were at liberty to adopt what Colour they thought most to their purpose. We learn this from Suidas in 'Erapov, and in Zaleucus. Athenæus (lib. xii. 4.) reports a similar regulation established in Syracuse. More anciently still, Hesiod ('Epy' 198.) describes the goddesses Modesty and Justice, as retiring to heaven-" their beautiful persons enveloped in white Garments Λευκοίσιν φαρέεσσι καλυψομένω χροα καλόν. And those fair forms in snowy raiment bright, Leave the broad earth, and heaven-ward soar from sight. Rise to th' immortal family of heaven. This distinction eventually became emblematical; and Hermas in his Visions (iv. 2.), takes special care to inform us that the virgin whom he saw in his dream, and who represented the Christian church, was entirely dressed in white, even her shoes. Says he, "Behold there met me a certain virgin [comp. 2 Cor. xi. 2.], well adorned, as if she had been just come out of her bride-chamber; all in white; having on white shoes, and a veil down her face, and her head covered with shining hair. Now, I knew by my former visions that it was the Church."- -This habit is not accidental but intentional: it is characteristic; as character was estimated at the time. In a note to his "Description of the Dresses of Sabina," a Roman lady, M. Bottiger has this remark, "When she attended parties of pleasure, she did not scruple to wear Coloured dresses, and to imitate the capricious fashions of women who disregarded all rules of propriety [whereas, Decorum required that the Roman ladies should never appear in public but in the matron's costume: entirely white, with the exception of the border and trimming']. Ovid and other poets frequently mention the various Colours used for women's dresses. But, it must be observed, that they allude to women of loose character, who were included under the denomination of libertinia. Matrons are never referred to. They invariably wore white dresses, and could not appear in any other without degrading themselves." It is well known that Christians newly baptized, immediately after the rite, put on white Garments, anciently, as symbolical of a new life, to be devoted to holiness and piety. These Garments they wore at least a week publicly. Hence we read in the Revelation of those who had washed their robes and made them white; and of those who should walk with the Lamb, in white, being worthy; and of being clothed in white raiment, as a mark of having overcome the world, &c. This token of joy and gratulation was familiar at the time; and to a certain degree it is so still. Most virgins when newly married wear white; and that is thought becoming in them, which in a widow who re-married would be deemed affectation. Whether the "Shepherd of Hermas," be placed a little before, or a little after the Revelation, is of no moment to our present purpose: it is sufficient for us, that we may be allowed to consider those works as contemporaries. But, the woman who appeared to John (ch. xii.) as a sign of heaven, was not clothed in white: she was not then a virgin, but pregnant and near delivery. She is therefore described as being clothed with an upper and outer garment (Epißeßλnuévn, clothed around), radiant as the sun; and her inner and under garment (vokáтw under and lower), descending about and before her feet, was of pure linen, as resplendent, as white, and silvery as the moon itself. This is the allusion, considered as referring to the parts of dress. We are now now brought to the principal object of the present inquiry.-Red Coloured Garments were proper to the train of Bacchus: or perhaps, they were rather crocota, saffron-coloured, as they are called; no doubt, with red intermingled. Such were the usual dresses worn by the frantic Bacchantes. The Bassara [a robe worn by a certain description of priestesses of Bacchus] was fox-coloured [still partaking of much red], Lucian, in Baccho, says, that deity was dressed in female fashion, and, v Toppupíde, kaì xpvoǹ éμßádi, walked about clothed in purple and gold. We assume, therefore, as certain, that scarlet and crimson, and deep lake colour (purple) were proper to the inebriate votaries of the god of wine. It is not, then, without a specific object, that the writer of the revelation describes the woman—the prostitute-the mother of harlots, as "arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls-having a golden cup in her hand-and drunken with the blood of the saints, and of the martyrs," chap. xvii. His original readers would sufficiently understand what power it was which the merchants of the earth lamented, as no longer purchasing her luxuries-"The merchandize of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner of vessels of ivory, and all manner of vessels of most precious wood, and of brass and of iron, and of marble; and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and the souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul iusted after-and all things which were dainty and goodly." Much as several previous numbers had prepared the reader to accustom himself to "the pomps and vanities of this wicked world," this long list of particulars greatly exceeds the extent of his preparation. It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to set the proper knowledge of the subject before those who are entirely unacquainted with the antiquities of the great city that ruled over the kings of the earth." Modern discoveries have brought to light a thousand confirmations of the charge of heinous luxury, profligacy, and crime, practised in the seat of empire. The decorum to be preserved, and preserved, too, with the highest respect, among Christians, forbids even allusion to much which the writers of that day spoke out in plain terms. Those who best understand the subject will most explicitly acknowledge the necessity of reformation; but they can find in the then established institutions no rudiments, no impulse, no principle of reformation: not in the political government, for the very emperors were sunk in debauchery and brutality, and their officers were like themselves; not in the religion of the state, for whatever could degrade human nature, had, at length, its patron divinity, who delighted in that very degradation, and adopted it into the acts and ceremonies of his worship. In vain were soi disant laws enacted from time to time.-"What are laws without manners?"Vance proficiunt, says the Satirist, answering himself. Manners triumphed over laws. The numbers and rank of transgressors suffocated the laws. The enormity, even, of crime, in some instances, overwhelmed the laws. At last, when Hope no longer hoped, a spark appeared, where disdain would least of all have looked for it, and it gradually illumined the whole horizon. The works of darkness fled before it. The common sense, the natural conscience, the popular feeling of mankind, now awakened, stood aghast at what their ancestors had adored; and though this salutary emanation from the Father of Lights has been, in all ages, too much obscured by the mists of error, and "the deceivableness of unrighteousness," yet it has produced effects sufficiently powerful, to have rendered us all but incredulous when the vices, the excesses, the horrid profligacies of ancient ages, are called up, as it were, to pass in review before us:-and we ask-almost expecting a negative, Could such things really be? No. DCLXXII. DRESS OF THE POOR. IT is well known that the Dress of the lower classes in the East is extremely simple; the most humiliating contrast to what we have been contemplating. It was so anciently; and there is a strong spirit of compassion in the directions of the Mosaic law (Exod. xxii. 26.): "If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it to him by the time that the sun goeth down: for that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass when he crieth unto me, that I will hear: for I am gracious." The reader will observe the hesitating permission-If thou dost at all take-implying an expectation to the contrary, or allowing an extreme case: and closing with the observation-I am gracious-What, then, ought you to be towards your neighbour? The propriety of this injunction in favour of the poor, will appear from the following notice taken by Niebuhr, of the services expected by night as well as by day from the Dress of an Arab. "The common class of the Arabs wear only two caps, with the sasch carelessly bound on the head; some have drawers and a shirt, but the greatest number have only a piece of linen about their loins, a large girdle with the jambea, and a piece of cloth upon the shoulders; in other respects they are naked, having neither shoes nor stockings. In the highlands, where the climate is colder, the people wear sheep skins. The scanty clothes which they wear through the day are also their covering by night: the cloth swaddled about the waist serves for a mattress; and the linen garment worn about their loins is a sheet to cover the Arab while he sleeps. The highlanders, to secure themselves from being infested by insects, sleep in sacks." vol. ii. p. 234. The following extracts are from the MS. Journals of the late Major Hope, who formed part of the English Mission sent to assist the army of the Grand Vizir, acting against the French in Egypt, in 1801. They are among that officer's observations on the countries and people he visited on that expedition. 13 June. "Note. The Arab Sheiks in general wear a cloak, with a blue-andwhite chequered handkerchief negligently twisted round one shoulder and under the other. They commonly carry a long spear." 24 July. "Remark. The Sheiks are in general armed with a sabre, have frequently a pike, and almost always are mounted on mares, apparently very fleet. 18 September, at Cairo. "Note. The Arab women, in general, are dressed in a shift and a pair of loose trousers underneath. Their usual way of carrying their infant children is, astride on their shoulders: these unfortunate beings are scarcely ever covered." Comp. Isaiah xlix. 23. No. DCLXXIII. OF HONOURS CONFERRED BY DRESSES. VERY few English readers are sufficiently aware of the importance attached to the donation of Robes of Honour in the East. They mark the degree of estimation in which the party bestowing them holds the party receiving them; and sometimes the conferring or the withholding of them leads to very serious negotiation, and |