Note 059 By the discovery of cochineal, &c., we far surpass the colors of antiquity. Their royal purple had a strong smell, and a dark cast as deep as bull's blood - obscuritas rubens, (says Cassiodorus, Var. 1, 2,) nigredo saguinea. The president Goguet (Origine des Loix et des Arts, part ii. l. ii. c. 2, p. 184 - 215) will amuse and satisfy the reader. I doubt whether his book, especially in England, is as well known as it deserves to be.]

---

The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire —Fall In The East —Chapter 40