Note 1385 — BOOK VII.835 MAN, HIS BIRTH, HIS ORGANIZATION, AND THE INVENTION OF THE ARTS. (continued 2)
John Bostock translation
It is very difficult, probably impossible, in the present day, to determine to which of the nations of antiquity we are indebted for the invention of the art of dyeing. We have notices of coloured stuffs in various parts of the Pentateuch, and there is reason to suppose, that the art was practised, at a very early period, by the Egyptians, the Phœnicians, and the Indians. They had even arrived at the knowledge of partial dyeing, or what is technically termed “printing,” as applied to cotton or linen.—B.