And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of saints.
Read Chapter 19
George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
Fine linen. The symbol of justifications, or the good works and merit of her holy members; the most pleasing attire in which she can present herself to the Lamb. Her robe is glittering and white, because she has been purified as silver in the furnace, and washed white in the waters of tribulation and persecution. (Pastorini)
The fine linen, or byssus, here mentioned, is, according to Calmet, a kind of silk produced by a shell-fish, called pinna; though the same learned commentator allows that the Greek authors use this word for fine linen.
