‘THE MOTH. 295

eating garments, Tinea pellionella, and the other as corrod-
ing wool, Zinea sarcitella ; unless we suppose, that, after
a custom of Hebrew poetry, one and the same are intended
by both words. The ravages which these latent marauders
commit among the most costly stuffs and the choicest furs,
can scarcely be imagined by those who have had no oppor-
tunities of observing the effects. Moths so abound in the
East as to occasion far greater damage than we are accus-
tomed to witness; and as the orientals are in the habit of
forming extensive wardrobes, often containing articles of |
great price and richness, the loss thus produced is the
more sensibly felt, and accounts for the frequent allusions
in Scripture to the devastations of the moth*.”

Though silk is alluded to in Ezekiel xvi., it seems very
uncertain whether this article of luxury were really known
to the Israelites at the time the prophet wrote, or whether
it was only known to himself from his captivity in Babylon;
the latter conjecture is probable, as in the ensuing chapter
he speaks of Babylonia as “a land of traffic,” and Babylon,
“a city of merchants.”

These “merchants” would, in all probability, obtain
silk as an article of luxury from India, the inhabitants of

* Pictorial Bible.