AS to the clothes of the Israelites, we cannot know exactly the shape of them. They had no pictures or statues, and there is no coming at a right notion of these things without seeing them. But one may give a guess at them, from the statues which remain of the Greeks and other nations: for, as to modern pictures, most of them serve only to give us false ideas. I do not speak only of those Gothic paintings in which every person, let him have lived where and when he would, is dressed a • There is every reason to believe that the dress of the Jews was similar to that of the antient Egyptians: and, as many statues and monuments of Egyptian antiquity still remain, we may see by them what the antient Jewish habits were. A tunic was the principal part of their dress: this was made nearly in the form of our present shirt. A round hole was cut at top, merely to permit the head to pass through. Sometimes it had long sleeves, which reached down to the wrists; at other times short sleeves, which reached to the elbow; and some had very short sleeves, which reached only to the middle of the upper arm; and some had no sleeves at all. The tunic was nearly the same with the Roman stola; and was in general girded round the waist, or under the breasts, with the zona, or girdle. Besides the tunic, they wore the pallium, which covered the shoulders and back, and was the same with the chlamys of the Greeks. Indeed all these antient nations seem to have had nearly the same dress. like those the painter was accustomed to see; that is, as the French or Germans were some hundred - years ago I mean the works of the greatest painters, except Raphael, Poussin, and some few others that have thoroughly studied the manner or costume of each age, as they call it. All the rest have had no more sense then to paint the people of the east such as they saw at Venice, or other parts of Italy: and for the stories of the New Testament, they painted the Jews like those of their own country. However, as most Scripture painting is copied from these originals, we have taken the impression of it from our infancy'; and are used to form to ourselves an idea of the patriarchs with turbans, and beards down to their waist; and of the Pharisees in the Gospel with hoods and pouches. There is no great evil in being deceived in all this: but, if possible, it is better not to be deceived. The antients commonly wore long garments, as most nations in the world still do; and as we ourselves did in Europe not above two hundred years ago. One may much sooner cover the whole body all at once, than each part of it singly; and long garments have more dignity and gracefulness. In hot countries they always wore a wide dress; and never concerned themselves about covering the arms or legs, or wore any thing upon the feet but soles fastened in different ways. Thus their dress took but little making it was only a large piece of cloth shaped into a garment; there was nothing to cut, and not much to sew. They had likewise the art of weaving gowns with sleeves all of one piece, and without seam, as our Saviour's coat The fashions never changed, nor do they now, in any part of the East. And since clothes are made to cover the body, and men's bodies are alike in all ages, there is no occasion for the prodigious variety of dresses, and such frequent changes, as we are used to. It is reasonable to seek that which is most convenient, that the body may be sufficiently defended against the injuries of the weather, according to the climate and season, and be at perfect liberty in all its motions. There must be a proper respect paid to decency, age, sex, and profession. One may have an eye likewise to the handsomeness of clothes, provided, under that pretence, we do not wear uneasy ornaments, and are contented, as the antients were, with pleasing colours and natural drapery: but, when once we have found what is handsome and convenient, we ought by no means to change. Nor are they the wisest people who invent new fashions: they are generally women and young people, with the assistance of mercers, milliners, and tailors, who have no other view but their own interest. Yet these trifles have very grievous consequences. The expense occasioned by superfluous ornaments, and the changing of fashions, is very hard upon most people of moderate circumstances, and is one reason that marrying is so difficult: it is a continual source of quarrels betwixt the old b John xix. 23. and young, and the reverence for antient times is much lessened by it. Young fantastical people, when they see their ancestors' pictures, in dresses which are only ridiculous because they are not used to them, can hardly believe they were persons of a good understanding, or their maxims fit to be followed. In a word, they that pretend to be so very nice and exact in their dress must spend a great deal of their time in it, and make it a study, of no' use surely towards improving their minds, or rendering them capable of great undertakings. As the antients did not change their fashions, the rich had always great quantities of clothes by them, and were not liable to the inconvenience of waiting for a new suit, or having it made up in haste. Lucullus had five thousand cloaks in his wardrobe, which was a sort of military dress; by с C Chlamydes Lucullus, ut aiunt, Si posset centum scenæ præbere rogatus, post paulò scribit, sibi millia quinque - Lucullus, as they say, Once being asked to furnish for a play Five thousand vests were ready at a call. HORAT. Epist. lib. 1. Ep. vi. ver. 40-44. As this was a kind of military dress, it is probable that Lucullus had them principally for the purpose of clothing his soldiers. Lucullus commanded the Roman armies against Mithridates king of Pontus, and Tigranes king of Armenia; and d which we may judge of what he had besides. It was common to make presents of clothes; and then they always gave two suits, for change, that one might be worn whilst the other was washing, as we do with our sets of linen. The stuffs were generally made of wool. In Egypt and Syria they wore also fine linen, cotton, and byssus, which was finer than all the rest. This byssus, which the Scripture so often mentions, is a sort of silk, of a golden yellow, that grows upon great shellfish. As to our silk made from worms, it was unknown in the time of the Israelites; and the use of it did not become common on this side the Indies, till more than five hundred years after CHRIST. The beauty of their clothes consisted in the fineness and colour of the stuff. The most esteemed were the white and the purple, red or violet. And, it seems, white was the colour most in use among the Israelites, as well as the Greeks and Romans : since Solomon says, Let thy garments be always white, meaning clean. Nothing in reality can be plainer than to make use of wool or flax just as nature produces them, without dyeing. Young people of both sexes wore clothes variegated with e was honoured with a triumph A. U. C. 691. He is accused of being the first who introduced luxury among the Romans. d Gesner. Hist. Anim. 1. iv. de Pinnâ. The Byssus of the Greeks and Latins was the p buts of the Hebrews; and was formed out of the beard or tuft of the pinna longa, a large shell-fish of the muscle species, found on the coasts of the Mediterranean sea. • Eccles. ix. 8. |