80. The priests, also, under the old law, as we
read in Exodus, wore breeches, as it was told Moses by the Lord:
“And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their
shame: from the loins even to the thighs they shall reach, and
Aaron and his sons shall wear them, when they enter into the tabernacle
of witness, and when they
come unto the altar of the holy place to
offer sacrifice, that they lay not sin upon themselves and
die.” Ex. xxviii. 42, 43. Some of us
are said still to observe this, but most explain it spiritually, and
suppose it was said with a view to guarding modesty and preserving
chastity.