Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1892-10-04
CURSE or THE EWL eyE


neiAcF IN Its Mnissntant influence Il a.
Very Ancient Origin.
There Is no superstitious belief a. tha
human race which il 70 widely held a the
BELIEF In the existence and ma;evoIert
power 81 the evil eye. 1t Is everywhere
known and finds a place Ia the folklore n
~ nations The apparent cause Il aIwaya
tne same-that power Of fascination by the
human eye which Is now known - hvn-
notlc force, which y primitive age could
imagine 70 be nothing but demon resid-
ing IN and speaking from the human Eva.
20 forclble did this thought seem to tba
mind 81 the ancients that the eye and tha
soul were convertible terms In ancient
magic. 1s
Even In this day Of advanced human
knowledge there are many things connected
with the influence Of mind upon mind that
are not fully understood, hencs IL 4 ID
wonder that they proved the possesgion 81
dcmoniac powers to the mind OF him who
attributed everything which he could not
understand to some supernatural agency.
II the thing was not only mysterious but
bewildering the first thought waa 4, III
tribute 1t to djabolism OF some kind n
the influence went SO far as to control the
Will Of another, then it became witchcraft.
and the one exercising it was witch.
Everywhere was the belief that the souls
OF the dead could enter into and animate
the living. Their essence was considered
as controlling those into whom thev en-
tered, and the sign Of their presence vas
the glittering eye, something like that
with which the Ancient Mariner hold
THE wedding guest" in Coleridcc,s
Kline" These gIittering eyes, in the
great or the small, were counted a. sure
marks OF an indwelling presence. In tbe
great it was divine; In the mean It was Z
sure sign Of an evil eye, or in other words
= demoniac possession. In like manner
the glitter in the eyes Of the good indicated
the possession Of benefcent virtues, while
the same glitter in the eyes Of the maleyo
lent indicated malefcent diabolism.
The key to the theory Is the possession
OF that power known as fascination. where
by mere look makes one man ready To do
the will OF another instead Of his own.
This power in the eye in all folklore is at
trlbuted to either souls or demons, which
are supposed to swarm around us In al
most infinite number. These souls are
everywhere, and large proportion Of them
are not only supposed to be malevolent.
but to be possessed Of considerable power
for working i'll to those who offend them.
The folklore tales are full OF stories
about the operation Of the evil eye and Of
recipes for defense against its power
large proportion of these are connected with
the use OF fire or the color of red, that being
10 all magic the equivalent Of fire. This
supposed value arises from the old worship
OF the sun or from the hatred which ali
evil things are thought to have Of the Ore
which Is to consume them in the pit Of woe.
A red string about the neck or arm is the
most ordinary device, but red berries as OF
the rowan tree" or mountain ash. are
still more highly priced.
Among the Scandinavian nations. the
Scotch, and particularly with the gypsies.
the rowan tree has a standing Of its own.
apart from its use in connection with the
evil eye That special meaning reaches
back to the old pagan faith and need not
be considered here. In Italy and among
the Latin races generally the horseshoe, or
It's equivalent, is chiefly relied upon to
counteract the influence Of the evil eve.
Ii a horseshoe is not at hand a forked twip.
or even the fingers of the hand parted. is
counted OF great value.-Chicago Times.