Smyrna times., 1905-11-08
SALUTING A SNEEZER
A CUSTOM THAT BELONGS TO EVERY
NATION AND CLINE.


That Was Asked by PIiny Some
Nineteen Centuries Ago.
why do we salute the sneezer?" ask
ed Pliny nineteen centuries ago We
still ask the question. and one Won
ders if Pliny could collect so many
ingenious replies as the ana of the
twentieth century furnish.
In Caxton's 1883 edition of 'Tle
Golden Legende" is an account of a
pestilence in Rome in the time of Greg
ory the Great, from which many died |
suddenly. ''In this manere, sometyme |
snesying they deyed, so that when any |
persone was herd sneSying. anone they |
that We're by said to hym. God helpe |
you, or Cryst helpe. and yet endureth
the custOme." AS Pope Gregory reign
ed in the sixth century Pliny's query
far antedates the explanation in The
Golden Legende."
In the Buddhist Scriptures, dating
at least 250 B. c., it is related that
Buddha, when preaching one day to
his disciples, sneezed, whereupon all
exclaimed: MAY the Blessed Lord
live! May the welcome one live! thus
seriously interrupting the discourse.
Buddha said, "Tell me, when a person
sneezes, if the bystanders say, May
you live,' will he live the longer or
die the sooner for it?' Certainly not,
lord" So he forbade them to say it.
But the people took offense because the
priests did not thus salute them, and
Buddha revoked his command.
The Talmudic tradition is that the
custom dates from Jacob. Before his
time man did not die of disease, but
when his appointed time was come he
sneezed once and was dead. Jacob pc
titioned for exemption from this law,
and his prayer was granted on condi-
ton that among all nations a sneeze
should be hallowed by the words, God
bless you"
The Greeks traced the custom back
to the myth of Prometheus, who made
an image of clay and wished to give it
life. From the sun he stole reedful
of rays, and, Fastening back to his
statue, he placed the reed under its
4)strils, producing a sneeZe-a phe-
nomenOn we may at any time produce
by standing in the sun. At this sign
of life in his creation Prometheus ejac-
ulated a blessing and a prayer for its
preservation, and this response to a
sneeze has been handed down through
all generations.
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. "The child sneezed seven
times, and the child opened his eyes.
According to Scottish folklore, a new
born child is under the fairy spells un
til it sneezes. Aristotle mentions th'
practice of physicians who, when dealt
seems near, give medicines to in6uc'
sneezing, hoping thereby to arouse tn
failing faculties. Aristotle seems Il
have given much attention to omen
of sneezing He says sneeze on tn
right hand brings good fortune; on tn
left hand it betokens i'll.
In the Odyssey, when Penelope call
on the absent Ulysses to punish wrong
Telemachus then sneezed aloud
The smiling queen the happy omen bles:
ed,
$50 may these irnpious fall by fate OF
pressed.
st. Augustine records that when Ii
ancients arose in the morning If the
sneezed while putting on their shoe
they Immediately went back to be
again in order to get up more au
piciously and so escape mlsfortun
likely to occur during the day. If
Hindoo sneezes while performing b
~, H. AAa
touches his foreL q, nose, chin al
cheeks with the tips of his fingers al
recommences his prayers from the We
beginning. In illness sneezing Is CO
sidered a good omen, a sign Of retur
ing health Howell in 1859 said, Il
that hath sneeZed twice, turn him o
of the hospital" Among the ancier
If any one sneezsd directly after d
ner a dish was brought back and ta
ed to avert misfortune.
The custom of saluting belongs
every nation and cline. In Ethiol
when the king sneezed those abt
him saluted so loudly that they w
heard and echoed through the VIII
city. In 1912 De Soto had an int
view in Florida with a cacique v
during conversation happened
sneeze. All his attendants bowed th
heads, opened and closed their ar
and saluted the prince with May
sun guard you, shine on you, def
you, prosper you," and similar phra:
An Italian chld's primer of 1858 Sc
being prompt in saluting any
who may sneeze and returning tina
10 any who on such an occasion I
have wished you we'll"
An epigram in the Greek anthol
shows it was customary to say "'
bless you" The ancient Romans
"salve" The modern Roman Of
lower class says, "Figli maschi"