(b) For wool. On account of the presence of natural oil and many accretions and impurities in the fleece, the cleansing had to be done before the cloth was woven. For this the chief in- gredient was urine collected and kept till it formed ammonium carbonate during putrefaction. Be- cause of the ottensive odours of such cleansing agents, as well as on account of the free space needed for drying purposes, the fullers' establish- ments were placed near or outside the city walls. Tile wool was further purified in several changes of water containing the lye or soap already mentioned, and was finally rinsed in running water.
{c) For silk. This also had to be treated before being woven, in order to remove from the thread the gluey substance called sericin (fr. cr-npiKov, Rev 18'-), which not only gave off an ottensive odour, but, if allowed to remain, would make the cloth hard and lustreless. To remove this, the silk fibre had to be kept for several hours in a bath of liot water containing soap made of olive oil and alkali salt. This process tested the skill of the fuller ; for if the soaking were insufficient, some of the sericin still adhered to the silk fibre, and if prolonged beyond a certain point it imparted an indelible yellow stain. The raw silk was then transferred for a short time to a bath of water in which dog or pigeon dung had been mixed, and, as in the case of the other materials, the last stage was a thorough washing in pure Avater.
The eye-witnesses of our Lord's majesty in the Mount (Mk 9^'*) testified that on that occasion the white radiance of His garments was beyond the art of any fuller on earth.
3. Christ's parabolic use of undressed cloth. — In Mt 9'6 II Mk 2-1 Christ, in reply to the question of tlie disciples of John the Baptist as to why His disciples did not fast, employs the figure of a piece of undres.sed cloth (pdicos a.yva<pov) sewed on an old garment, to show the incongruity between fasting according to rule and the new spirit of Christi- anity. paKos (fr. prjyvv/M, ' to break ') is properly a piece of cloth torn off", cf . Eng. ' rag ' ; &yva(po^ (fr. a privative and ypdirru, ' to full or dress cloth ' [whence 7i/a<^€t's, 'a fuller,' Mk 9*]) = ' unfulled,' ' undressed.' Neither of the Gr. words occurs else- where in NT. In the |)avallel passage Lk 5*®, where, however, a somewhat ilifferent turn is given to the saying, ifidTiov KaivduC new garment ') occurs instead of poLKos dyva<poi>. By the rendering ' undressed
cloth ' RV brings out the point of the original, which is quite lost in the colourless ' new cloth ' of AV, though suggested by the ' raw or unwrought ' of AVni. A piece of cloth that is undressed or unfulled is certain to shrink with a wetting, and so to strain and tear away the old garment to whicli it is sewed. Thus, as Christ said, it ' taketli from the garment, and a Avorse rent is made. ' For the religious significance of the saying see esp. Bruce, Parabolic Teaching of Christ, p. 302 tt'. Cf. also artt. Bottle in vol. i., and Law, above, p. 12''.
G. M. Mackie and J. C. Lambert. UNION.— 1. Union of the world with God.— In a sense the creation is always closely related to the Creator, and has no separate, independent exist- ence : ' thy heavens ' (Ps 8^), ' in him Ave live, and move, and have our being' (Ac 17^^). Yet it is in a relative independence of the creation that all things hapi^en. Hence Ave read in Eph 1'" and Col 1-" that God Avill gather together all things in Christ, and Avill reconcile all things unto Himself. This is spoken in reference to the human spirit and its salvation. By the redemj^tion of man, God Avill jierfect the relationship of the creation to Himself. All things are so linked together that God's apjiroach to the human race, and His causing of the human race to approach to Him in Christ, is also a draAving of the Avhole Avorld into a more perfect union Avitli God.
2. Union between God and the human race. — It is only from the human side, and as matter of his- tory, that Ave can study the union into Avliich God has progressively entered Avith the spirit of man. It is the effect of any religious exercise that is matter of observation. Thus Ave are made aAvare of the daAvning consciousness of God in the human spirit ; ' then began men to call ujion the name of the Lord ' (Gn 4^*'). Those avIio Avere receptive above their felloAvs of the Divine influence Avere prophets (Dt IS^', 1 S 9»). This being the case, Ave are led to postulate and believe in a corresponding communication on the part of God toAvards men, and to observe its development (see Revelation). The history of Israel Avas so shaped by providences, and spiritual progress Avas so determined by pro- phecy, that Christ Avas prepared for, and came (Gal 4^), and in Him the union of God Avith our race Avas perfected (Is 7^* 8^").
In regard to the union of God Avith man in Christ, the emphasis in Scripture is not laid upon the manner or that union so much as upon the fact of it. If Creeds and Catechisms seem to do otherAvise, it is still to be remembered that their chief concern is to establish the fact that God Avas in Christ. In Pli 2^"" St. Paul says nothing of the manner of the union of the Divine and human natures in Christ, but accepts as assuredly true that He Avas God Avith us, and that the same Per- son Avho emptied Himself and took the form of a servant, also humbled Himself and became obedi- ent even unto death, j^ea the death of the cross.