Vellere non ovium, sed Eoo ex orbe petitis
Ramorum spoliis fluitantes sumere amictus,
Gaudent, et durum scutulis perfundere corpus.
Additur ars, ut fila herbis saturata recoctis
Inludant varias distincto stamine formas.
Ut quæque est lanugo feræ mollissima tactu,
Pectitur. Hunc videas lascivas præpete cursu
Venantem tunicas, avium quoque versicolorum
Indumenta novis texentem plumea telis:
Ilium pigmentis redolentibus, et peregrino
Pulvere femineas spargentem turpitur auras.
Hamartigenia, l. 286-298.
They blush to be call'd men: they seek to shine
In ev'ry vainest garb. Their native strength
To soften and impair, they gaily choose
A flowing scarf, not made of wool from sheep,
But of those fleeces from the Eastern world,
The spoil of trees. Their hardy frame they deck
All o'er with tesselated spots: and art
Is added, that the threads, twice dyed with herbs,
May sportively intwine their various hues
And mimic forms, within the yielding warp.
Whatever creature wears the softest down,
They comb its fleece. This man with headlong course
Hunts motley tunics which inflame desire,
Invents new looms, and weaves a feather'd vest,
Which with the plumage of the birds compares:
That, scented with cosmetics, basely sheds
Effeminate foreign powder all around.
PALLADIUS.
A work remains under the name of Palladius on "The Nations of India and the Brachmans." Whether it is by the same Palladius, who wrote the Historia Lausiaca, is disputed. But, as we see no reason to doubt, that it may have been written as early as his time, we introduce here the passages, which have been found in it, relating to the present subject. The author represents the Bramins as saying to Alexander the Great, "You envelope yourselves in soft clothing, like the silk-worms." (p. 17. ed. Bissœi.) It is also asserted, that Alexander did not pass the Ganges, but went as far as Serica, where the silk-worms produce raw-silk (p. 2.).
In the London edition this tract is followed by one in Latin,
