never used to an old man, as it was presumed he had no teeth to lose. The Jewish rabbins assigned a cause not quite so ancient, but no less absurd. They affirm that the disease called 70 angina, or strangulation, which seizes children on the fourth day after their birth, was averted by the parents fasting; and, therefore, they always abstained from food on that day. From children, who were in early times only affected, the disease ascended to adults, and caused their death by strangulation, which was always preceded by the symptom of sneezing; and this was the disease, they say, of which Ahitophel died;* for when he saw that his counsel was not followed, he went home and was strangled-that is, as Buxtorf and others affirm, he died of sneezing, followed by strangulation. Hence the Jews always said, xDx, when a person sneezed, which signifies, "May it be medicine to you!" Among the Greeks sneezing was not referred to any physical cause, but was always considered a most important omen from the earliest times; so that the head was esteemed sacred because it was the organ of 2 Sam. xvii. 23-" And when Ahitophel saw that his counsel was not ollowed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died." The word which we translate, "hanged himself," is, in the original, Pan, strangulatus est, which the Rabbins expound by Angina suffocatus est.-Buxtorf. Lex. Talmud. on the word . sternutation.* Penelope, when harassed by her lovers, uttered imprecations against them, and prayed for the return of Ulysses. At the same instant Telemachus sneezed so loud that the house resounded, and Penelope laughed with pleasure; it was considered a certain omen of the success of her prayer, which was verified by the event. "She spoke. Telemachus then sneezed aloud; Constrained, his nostrils echoed through the crowd; WAKEFIELD'S TRANS. While Xenophon was haranguing his soldiers one of them sneezed; he was advising a dangerous undertaking, which they were indisposed to venture on; but on this sternutating omen they all resolved to proceed with confidence, and Xenophon sacrificed to Jupiter, the preserver, since he had sent the omen.‡ There was even something very tender in the act, and the Grecian ladies considered it an important * Aristotle. Problem. Sect. 33. † Ως φατό· Τηλεμαχος δε μεγ' επταρεν αμφι δε δῶμα Σμερδαλέον χαναχησε, γελασε δε ΠηνελόπειαΟυχ όραας, ὁ μοι διος επέπταρε πᾶσιν επεσσι; Odys. lib. xvii. v. 541. # Τετο δε λεγοντος αυτε, πταρνυται τις ακέσαντες δε, οι στρατιῶται, παντες μιᾷ ορμῆ προσεκύνησαν τον θεον. Anab. lib. iii. indication of their lovers' affection. Parthenis was about to write to the person on whom she had fixed her affections, to ascertain if they were mutual; but she sneezed in the act of inditing a tender sentiment. She immediately desisted from her task, as now unnecessary, persuaded by the sneeze that her lover was fondly attached to her, of which she required no further proof. Similar to this was the opinion of Theocritus, who says, "The Loves sneezed upon Symmachis."* In affairs of the heart, it seems that a sneeze was equivalent to a smile. But it was not always considered a good omen. When Hippias, son of Pisistratus, was drawing out his men on the sea-shore, he sneezed so violently that he blew out one of his teeth. He immediately took it up from the sand, and said it was an omen that they should not get possession of a greater share of the country than that which his tooth had touched and occupied. And when Timotheus was going on a naval expedition, he happened to sneeze, which the Athenians deemed so unfavourable an augury, that they wished to return again to harbour and disembark. It appears, however, that on most occasions the nature of the omen depended on the circumstances connected with it, which rendered it relatively good * Συμμαχίδα μὲν Ερωτες επέπταρον. Theocrat. Idyl. 7. Thalysia. + Herod. Erato. or bad.* Sneezing in the morning was unlucky, but, in the evening, propitious or fortunate, particularly so if it occurred on the right hand; and these indications were considered so certain, that Plutarch affirms the Genius of Socrates was nothing more than a sneeze.t "I have heard," said he, "that the Genius (dapoviov) of Socrates has sternutation (πτарμоç) as well for himself as for others. When another was present, if he sneezed on the right hand, either before or behind him, it was an indication that he should proceed with his undertaking; if on the left, it was a warning that he should desist from it. If he sneezed himself when he was about to begin any enterprise, it confirmed him to persevere in it; but, if he had actually commenced it, the omen restrained him, and determined him to proceed no further." This extraordinary and unexpected conjecture of the true nature of the celebrated Genius of Socrates, while it detracts from the high idea we entertain for the wisdom of the philosopher, considerably enhances our respect for the dignity of sneezing. But, whatever was indicated by the omen, it was oi * τῶν πταρμῶν, οἱ μὲν εἰσιν ὠφελιμοι οι δε βλαβεροι. Scholiast. vet. † ἤκεσα ὅτι τὸ Σωκράτες δαιμόνιον ΠΤΑΡΜΟΣ ἤν. Plut. de Gen. Socrat. Plut. ibid. always the practice of the bystanders, and of the person who sneezed, to utter some pious ejaculation, either to secure its propitious or avert its unfortunate indication. The universal salutation was ZEY ENZON, "Jupiter preserve us !"-which is thus alluded to in the curious but well-known verses of the Anthologia: "The proboscis of Proclus extends such a space, He in vain tries to blow it-he cannot come near it ; The sound's so far off, the poor man cannot hear it."* Among the Romans the same superstition prevailed. Pliny relates that Tiberius Cæsar exacted the pious salutation whenever he passed along in his chariot; and that some persons thought it a religious duty to salute the person by name. It is recorded of Cicero, that he once sneezed very loud in the theatre during a comic representation, and all rose up to salute him, when a droll fellow named Lemniscus addressed him, saying, "I never saw a man who deserved a salutation for sneezing more than Tully, since it has emptied his head, which was full of wind." Catullus alludes to it, * Οὐ δύναται τῇ χειρί Προχλος τὴν ρῖν ἀπομυσσειν Anthol. lib. 2, cap. de deform. + Pliny, lib. 1, cap 2. |