Note 1384 — BOOK VII.835 MAN, HIS BIRTH, HIS ORGANIZATION, AND THE INVENTION OF THE ARTS. (continued 2)

We have sufficient evidence of the early period at which the art of weaving was practised in Egypt, from the figures to be found on their monuments, and from the specimens of their manufactures, some of very delicate texture, which have been found in the most ancient of their tombs. It was doubted, at one time, whether these fine stuffs were formed from the fibres of flax or of cotton, or, in other words, whether they were cambric or muslin; but it is now generally admitted that they are made of flax. We have frequent mention of the products of the loom in the Pentateuch; we may select the 13th chapter of Leviticus, where linen and woollen stuffs are especially mentioned, and distinguished from each other.—B.