The history of silk, cotton, linen, wool, and other fibrous ... - Cd3wd.com

THE LINEN MANUFACTURE. 371
tions (/. iv. c. 20. 181. ; I. vii. c. 16. and 25. 72.) these ban-
dages as used in surgery. The same fillets, which were used to
swathe dead bodies, were also adapted for surgical purposes.
Hence a Greek Epigram {Brunck, An. iii. 169.) represents a
surgeon and an undertaker as leaguing to assist each
OTHER in business. The undertaker supplies the surgeon
with bandages stolen from the dead bodies, and the surgeon in
return sends his patients to the undertaker !
IV. Diodorus Siculus (1. i. § 85. torn. i. p. 96.) records a tra-
dition, that Isis put the limbs of Osiris into a wooden cow, cov-
ered with Byssina. No reason can be imagined, why cotton
should have been used for such a purpose ; whereas the use of
fine linen to cover the hallowed remains was in perfect accord-
ance with all the ideas and practices of the Egyptians.
V. Plutarch, in his Treatise de Iside et Osiride {0pp. ed.
Stephani, 1572, vol. iv. p. 653.) says, that the priests envelop-
ed the gilded bull, which represented Osiris, in a black sheet of
Byssus. Now nothing can appear more probable, than that
the Egyptians would employ for this purpose the same kind of
cloth, which they always applied to sacred uses ; and in addi-
tion to all the other evidence before referred to, we find Plutarch
in this same treatise expressly mentioning the linen garments
of the priesthood, and stating, that the priests were entombed
in them after death, a fact verified at the present day by the
examination of the bodies of priests found in the catacombs.
VI. The magnificent ship, constructed for Ptolemy Philopa-
tor, which is described at length in Athenaeus, had a sail of the
fine linen of Egypt*. It is not probable, that in a vessel, every
part of which was made of the best and most suitable mate-
rials, the sail would be of cotton. Moreover Hermippus de-
scribes Egypt as affording the chief supply of sails for all parts
of the worldt : and Ezekiel represents the Tyrians as obtaining
cloth from Egypt for the sails and pendants of their shipst.
VII. It is recorded in the Rosetta Inscription {I. 17, 18.), that
* Deipnos. 1. v. p. 206 C. ed. Casaubon.
t Apud. Athenaeum, Deipnos. 1. i. p. 27 F.
\ Ez. xxviL 7. D'nJDDia nnp*T3 »B.