arn that silk was precious and fabulously esteemed to the end of
the second century A.D.; but it is seldom mentioned in the third
century.

AElius Lampridius speaks of a silken cord with which to hang himself,
as an imperial extravagance on the part of Heliogabalus (and of this
only one strand was silk); and he mentions that Alexander Severus
rarely allowed himself a dress of silk (holosericum), and only gave
away robes of partly silken substance.

Flavius Vopiscus says that Aurelian had no dress wholly of silk
(holosericum).[245] His wife begged him to allow her a shawl of purple
silk, and he replied, "Far be it from me to permit thread to be
reckoned worth its weight in gold!"--for a pound of gold was then
worth a pound of silk.

Flavius Vopiscus further states that the Emperor Carinus, however,
gave away silken garments, as well as dresses of gold and silver, to
Greek artificers, players, wrestlers, and musicians.[246]

Yates gives us a translation of an edict of Diocletian, giving a
maximum of prices for articles in common use in the Roman empire. It
reads like a tailor's or a dress-maker's bill of to-day:--

DENARII.
To the tailor, for lining a fine vest 6
To the same, for an opening of an edging of silk 50
To the same, for an opening and an edging of a mixed
tissue of silk and flax 30
For an edging of a coarser vest 4[247]

A monument at Tivoli is erected to the memory of his estimable wife,
Valeria Chrysis, by "M. N. Poculus, silk manufacturer." This was
probably an imperial office in the fourth century.[248]

From the first to the sixth centuries, poets and historians
continually speak of silk,[249] praising its beauty or blaming it as
extravagance or luxury; but according to Yates, all the information we
collect from these sources requires to be tested as to accuracy, and
is often erroneous.

I have spoken of the first silk-weaving in Cos, 300 B.C. The first
arrival of the silkworm in Europe was in the sixth century, 900 years
later. Cosmas Indicopleustes and another monk brought eggs from China
in the hollow staves they carried in their hands. This was a great
event in European commerce. The eggs were solemnly presented to the
Emperor Justinian, and the monopoly of their cultivation is to be
found in his law-ordaining codex.[250]