Vestibus lineis utuntur Ægyptii sacerdotes non solum extrinsecus, sed et intrinsecus.—Hieron. in Ezek. 44. folio 257.
The Egyptian priests use linen garments, not only without, but also within.
Plutarch says[469], that the priests of Isis wore linen on account of its purity, and he remarks how absurd and inconsistent would have been their conduct, if they had carefully plucked the hairs from their own bodies, and yet clothed themselves in wool, which is the hair of sheep. He also mentions the opinion of some who thought that flax was used for clothing, because the color of its blossom resembles the etherial blue which surrounds the world; and he states, that the priests of Isis were also buried in their sacred vestments. According to Strabo, Panopolis was an ancient seat of the linen manufacture[470].
[469] L. xvii. § 41. p. 586. ed. Siebenkees.
[470] De Iside et Osiride, prope init. Opp. ed. H. Stephani, Par. 1572, tom. i p. 627, 628.
Celsius in his Hierobotanicon (vol. ii. p. 287-291.), and Forster in his treatise De Bysso Antiquorum (p. 65-68.) have quoted other passages from ancient authors, which concur to show the abundance and excellence of the flax grown anciently in Lower Egypt, and more particularly in the vicinity of Pelusium, the general employment of it among the inhabitants for clothing, and the exclusive use of linen cloth for the garments of the priesthood and for other sacred purposes, and especially for the worship of Isis and Osiris. From the same authorities we learn, that the Egyptian flax and the cloth woven from it were shipped in great quantities to all the ports of the Mediterranean[471].
[471] “Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn” (טקוח): 1 Kings x. 28. 2 Chron. i. 16.
In connection with these statements the reader is referred to what has already been advanced (See Part Second, [Chap. I.]) on the use of wool for clothing by the Egyptians; and it may be also observed, that when we find it stated by ancient authors, that the priests wore linen only, the term ought not to be so strictly understood as to exclude the use of cotton, which would probably be considered equally pure and equally adapted for sacred purposes with linen, and which was brought in ancient times from India to Egypt; and the term linum was undoubtedly often employed in so general a sense as to include cotton.
These testimonies of ancient authors are confirmed in a very remarkable manner by existing monuments. The paintings in the Grotto of El Kab represent among other scenes a field of corn and a crop of flax, the latter distinguished by its inferior height, by its round capsules, and by being pulled up by the roots instead of being reaped. The mode of binding the flax in bundles is also exhibited, and the separation of the “bolls,” or capsules, containing the lin-seed, from the stalk, by the use of a comb, or “ripple.” (See Description de l’Egypte: Antiquités; Planches, tome i. pl. 68. and the Plates to Hamilton’s Ægyptiaca, xxiii.)
In [Plate VI.] is inserted so much of the painting as relates to our present subject. Five persons are employed in plucking up the flax by the roots, viz., four men and one woman. The woman wears a shift reaching to her ancles, but transparent[472]. The four men wear shirts which reach to their knees, and are not transparent. Another man binds the flax into sheaves: a sixth carries it to a distance: and a seventh separates the seed from the stem by means of a four-toothed ripple. The back of the ripple rests on the ground; its teeth being raised to the proper elevation by a prop, as shown in the drawing. The man sets his foot upon the back to keep the instrument firm, and, taking hold of a bunch of flax near the root, draws it through the comb. This method is now employed in Europe. At the left-hand corner of the Plate lies a bundle of flax stript of its capsules, and underneath the ripple is the heap of seed which has been separated from the stem.