Forty Centuries of Ink | Page 5

to which gum was sometimes added.
The Arabian methods of making ink (alchiber) were more complex.
Lampblack was first made by the burning of oil, tar or rosin, which was
then commingled with gum and honey and pressed into small wafers or
cakes, to which water could be added when wanted for use.
About 1200 years before the Christian era, the Chinese perfected this
method and invented "Indian Ink," ostensibly for blackening the
surface of raised hieroglyphics, which "was obtained from the soot
produced by the smoke of pines and the oil in lamps, mixed with the
isinglass (gelatin) of asses' skin, and musk to correct the odour of the
oil." Du Halde cites the following, as of the time of the celebrated
Emperor Wu-Wong, who flourished 1120 years before Christ:
"As the stone Me (a word signifying blackening in the Chinese
language), which is used to blacken the engraved characters, can never
become white; so a heart blackened by vices will always retain its
blackness."
That the art of dyeing was known, valued and applied among early
nations, is abundantly clear. The allusions to "purple and fine raiment,"
to "dyed garments," to "cloth of many colours," &c., are numerous in
the Bible. In a note to the "Pictorial Bible, after an allusion to the
antiquity of this art, and to the pre- eminence attached by the ancients
to purple beyond every other color, it is remarked: "It is important to
understand that the word purple, in ancient writings, does not denote
one particular colour."
Many of the names of the dyestuffs have come down to us, some of
them still in use at this time and others obsolete. They were employed
sometimes as ink, and certain color values given to them, of which the
more important were blue, red, yellow, green, white, black, purple, gold
and silver. Some colors were estimated symbolically. White was
everywhere the symbol of purity and the emblem of innocence, and,
just opposite, black was held up as an emblem of affliction and

calamity.
Green was the emblem of freshness, vigor and prosperity.
Blue was the symbol of revelation; it was pre-eminently the celestial
color blessed among heathen nations, and among the Hebrews it was
the Jehovah color, the symbol of the revered God. Hence, it was the
color predominant in Mosaic ceremonies.
Purple was associated as the dress of kings, with ideas of royalty and
majesty.
Crimson and scarlet, from their resemblance to blood, became
symbolical of life, and also an emblem of that which was indelible or
deeply ingrained.
Later, in Christian times, only five colors were recognized as fitting for
theological meaning or expression: white, red, green, violet and black.
White was esteemed as being the union of all the rays of light, and is
often referred to as the symbol of truth and spotless purity. Red was
emblematic both of fire and love, while green from its analogy to the
vegetable world, was indicative of life and hope. Violet was considered
the color of penitence and sorrow. Blue was forbidden except as a color
peculiarly appropriated to the Virgin Mary, while black represented
universally sorrow, destruction and death.
The art of dyeing was also well understood and practiced in Persia in
the most ancient periods. The modern Persians have chosen Christ as
their patron, and Bischoff says at present call a dyehouse Christ's
workshop, from a tradition they have that He was of that profession,
which is probably founded on the old legend "that Christ being put
apprentice to a dyer, His master desired him to dye some pieces of
cloth of different colors; He put them all into a boiler, and when the
dyer took them out he was terribly frightened on finding that each had
its proper color."
This, or a similar legend, occurs in the apocryphal book entitled, "The

First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ." The following is the
passage:
"On a certain day also, when the Lord Jesus was playing with the boys,
and running about, He passed by a dyer's shop whose name was Salem,
and there were in his shop many pieces of cloth belonging to the people
of that city, which they designed to dye of several colors. Then the
Lord, Jesus, going into the dyer's shop, took all the cloths and threw
them into the furnace. When Salem came home and saw the cloth
spoiled, he began to make a great noise and to chide the Lord Jesus,
saying: 'What hast Thou done, unto me, O thou son of Mary? Thou hast
injured both me and my neighbors; they all desired their cloths of a
proper color, but Thou hast come and spoiled them all.' The Lord Jesus
replied: 'I will change the color of every cloth to what color thou
desirest,' and