The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-09-11
Sneezing Customs.


collect so many ingenious replies as the
ana of the nineteenth century furnish.
In Cations 1888 edition of "The Golden
Legende' is an account of pestilence in
Rome In the time of Gregory the Great,
from which many died suddenly. "In this
manere, somctyme snesying thcy doyed,
so that when any persone was herd sncsy-
ing, anonc they that were by said TO hymn,
God helpc you, or Cryst hclpc, and yet en-.
dureth the customc." AS Pope Gregory
roigned In the sixth century, Pliny's query
far antcdatcs the explanation in "The
Golden Lcgendo.
In the Buddhist Scriptures, dating at
least $50 b. G., it is related that Buddha,
when preaching one day to his disciples,
sncezed. Whereupon all exclaimed May
the Blessed Lord livc May the wei
come one livcl' thus seriously interrupt
ing the discourse. Buddha said, "Tcll me,
when u person sncczcs, if the bystanders
say May you live, will he live the longer
or die the sooner for iti' Certainly not,
lord. So he forbade them to say it, But
the people took ulfcnse because the priests
did not thus salute them and Buddha re-
vu',cd his command.
Tho Talmudic tradition is that the Gus
tom dates from Jacob Before his time
uri oiu;od time was come he sncczcd once
uid was dead jacob pctitioncd for cxcmp-
tic. gplA this law, and his prayer vas
.,'.'.. 90 condition that among all ma
{. ..- o. $4,000 should be hallowed by the
wu".. "GDi bless you
Ihc Greeks traced the custom back to
the myth Of Prumcthcus, who made an
iuu-e Of clay and wished TO give it life.
Fu!I the sun he stole rcedful of rays,
and fastening back to his statue he placed
tie reed under its nostrils, producing a
sncczc--a phenomenon we may at any
time produce by standing in the sun. At
this sign of life in his creation, Prometheus
CIRCULATED blessing and "A prayer for its
preservation, and this response to a sneeze
has been handed down through all gener-
atoms.
Also in the story of the Shunamite child
restored to life by the prophet Elisha do
we find the idea that this convulsive effort
of nature is the first sign of life 1.-The
child sneezed seven times and the child
opened his eyes" According to Scottish
folklore, newborn child is under the
fairy spells until it sncezes. Aristotle men
tions the practice Of physicians who, when
death seems near, give medicines to induce
sneezing hoping thereby to arouse the
failing faculties Aristotle seems to have
given much attention to omcns of sneez-
ing. He says sneezc on the right hand
brings good fortune; on the left hand it
betokens i'll. In the Odyssey, when Pencil
ope calls on the absent Ulysses to punish
wrong:
Telemachus then sneezed aloud
The smiling queen the happy omen blessed,
$50 may these impious fall by fate oppressed. 3"
And in the Anabasis it is related that
while Xenophon was haranguing the army
some one sneczed. Immediately the gen
eral voice addressed CALCULATIONS to pro-
tccting Jupiter, whose omen it was sup
posed to he. a sacrifice to the gods was
then proposed, universal shout declared
appreciation, and the whole army in one
chorus sang the pran."
st. Augustine records that when the an
clients arose in the morning, if they sncozed
while putting on their shoes, they immcdi-
ately went back to bed again in order to
get up more auspiciously and 50 escape
misfortuncs likely to occur during the
day If Hindoo sncezes while perform
ing his morning abutions in the Ganges,
he touches his forehead, nose, chin and
cheeks with the tips of his fingers and re-
commences his prayers from the very be
a good omen, a sign of returning health.
Howell, in 1853, said, He that hath
sneezed twice, turn him out Of the hospi-
tai Among the ancionts if any one
sneezed directly after dinner dish was
brought back and tasted to avert misfor-
tune.
The custom of saluting belongs to every
nation and cline. In Ethiopia, when the
king sneezed, those about him saluted SO
loudly that they We're heard and echoed
through the whole city. In 1912 De Soto
had an interview in Florida with Ca
Clique who, during conversation, happened
to sneeze. All his attendants bowed their
heads, opened and closed their arms and
saluted the prince with May the sun
guard you, shine on you, defend you, pros
per YOU ~ and similar phrases An Italian
child's primer of 1553 says, Being prompt
in saluting any one who may sneeze, and
returning thanks to any who on such an
occasion may have wished you we'll e"
An epgram in the Greek anthology
shows it was customary to say, "God bless
you" The ancient Romans said Salve."
The modern Roman of the lower class
says, Figli maschi!' MAY you have male
children.) The North Germans say Your
good health" in Vienna, God be with
YOU" in Ireland the peasant says God
bless your honor Long life to your
honor" The Russian form is "To your
good health, or How do YOU doy" Eng
fish folklore is full of rhymes about sneez-
ing on certain days. In Devonshire they
say:
Sneeze on Sunday morning fasting,
You'll enjoy your own true love everlasting.
In Lancashire:
Sneeze on IA Monday, you sneeze for danger
Sneeze on Tuesday you kiss a stranger
Sneeze on Wednesday, you sneeze for letter;
Sneeze on a Thursday for something better;
Sneeze ON Friday, you'll sneeze for sorrow;
Sneeze on Saturday, your sweetheart tomor-
row;
Sneeze on "A Sunday, your safety seek;
The devil will have you the rest of the week.
An old Puritan book had for its title
1.-THE Spiritual Mustard Pot, to Make the
Soul Sneeze With Devotion. IN. A. \.
In New York Post