OMEN is a word which, in its proper sense, signifies a sign or indication of some future event, taken from the language of a person speaking without any intention to prophecy. Hence Tully says that the Pythagoreans attend to the discourse, not only of gods, but also of men, which they call omens. This sort of omen was supposed to de- 'pend much upon the will of the person concerned in the event; and hence the phrases, accepit omen, arripuit omen. Such were the original omens; but they were afterwards derived from things as well as from words. Thus Paterculus, speaking of the bead of Sulpicius on the rostrum, says it was velut amen imminentis proscriptioms, the omen of an impending proscription. Suetonius observes of Augustus, that he believed implicitly in certain omens; and that if his shoes were improperly put on in the morning, especially if the left shoe was put upon his right foot, he considered it as a bad omen. Omen was used, in a still larger sense, to signify an augury, as in the following line of Tully: “Sic aquilae clarum firmavit Jupiter omen” thus Jove confirmed the bright omen of the eagle. Lastly, it was used, in the most generic sense of all, for a portent or prodigy; as in the third book of the Aeneid, where a myrtle torn up by Aeneas dropped blood.

The portentous or supernatural omens were either external or internal. Of the former kind were those showers of blood so frequently occurring in the Roman history, which were much of the same nature with this adventure of Aeneas, which he calls monstra deum. Of the latter kind were those sudden consternations, which, seizing upon men without any visible cause, were imputed to the agency of the god Pan, and hence called panic terrors. But indeed there was hardly any thing, however trivial, from which the ancients did not draw omens. That it should have been thought a direful omen when any thing befell the temples, altars, or statues of the gods, need therefore excite no wonder; but that the meeting of an eunuch, a negro, a bitch with whelps, or a snake lying on the road, should have been looked upon as portending bad fortune, [7:16:338]is a deplorable instance of human weakness, and of the pernicious influence of superstition on the mind.

It is more than probable that this practice of making ordinary events ominous of good or bad fortune took its rise in Egypt, the parent land of almost every superstition; but wherever it may have arisen, it spread itself over the whole inhabited globe, and at this day prevails in a greater or less degree amongst the vulgar of all nations. The following may be cited as examples.

To break a looking-glass is extremely unlucky; the party to whom it belongs will lose his best friend. If, going a journey on business, a sow cross the road, you will probably meet with a disappointment, if not a bodily accident, before you return home. To avert this you must endeavour to prevent her crossing you; and if that cannot be done, you must ride round on fresh ground. If the sow be attended with her litter of pigs, it is lucky, and denotes a successful journey. It is unlucky to see first one magpie, and then more; but to see two denotes marriage or merriment; three, a successful journey; four, an unexpected piece of good news; and five, that you will shortly be in a great company. To kill a magpie will certainly be punished with some terrible misfortune. If in a family the youngest daughter should be married before her elder sisters, they must all dance at her wedding without shoes. This will counteract their ill luck, and procure them husbands. If you meet a funeral procession, or if one pass by you, always take off your hat. This keeps all the evil spirits attending the body in good humour. If, in eating, you miss your mouth, and the victuals fall, it is very unlucky, and denotes approaching sickness. It is lucky to put on a stocking the wrong side outwards; changing it alters the luck. When a person goes out to transact any important business, it is lucky to throw an old shoe after him. It is unlucky to present a knife, scissors, razor, or any sharp or cutting instrument, to one’s mistress or friend, as they areapt to cut love and friendship. To avoid the evil effects of this, a pin, a farthing, or some trifling recompense, must be taken. To find a knife or razor denotes ill luck and disappointment to the party that finds it.