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Due probably to the same general idea is the statement that a snake can be pulled out of a hole only with the left hand: Geoponica, 13, 8, 6; cf. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 28, 3, 33: 'Minus miretur hoc qui sciat vestem a tineis non attingi quae fuerit in funere, serpentis aegre praeterquam laeva manu extrahi.'

Suetonius states that Nero possessed as a charm the skin of a snake, which had been found on his couch, enclosed in a golden bracelet. This he wore on his right arm. The connection with what has been already seen in regard to certain remedies is plain: Suetonius, Nero, 6, 23.

ASSOCIATION OF THE RIGHT WITH THE MALE, OF THE LEFT WITH THE FEMALE

In Dreams.

Artemidorus in his Onirocritica explains the significance of the appearance of the right and the left in dreams. In general the right is connected with the male, the left with the female. Thus in the case of the right and left hands: Onirocritica, 1, 2: . . . δεξιὰ χεὶρ εἰς πατέρα υἱὸν φίλον ἀδελφόν, ἀριστερὰ χεὶρ εἰς γυναῖκα καὶ μητέρα καὶ φίλην καὶ θυγατέρα καὶ ἀδελφήν.

1

Artemidorus himself gives the explanation for this interpretation, which is in direct line with characteristics of the right and left hands already discussed. Ib. 1, 42: σημαίνειν γὰρ ἔφη τὴν μὲν δεξιὰν χεῖρα τὰ ποριζόμενα τὴν δὲ εὐώνυμον τὰ πεπορισμένα· ἡ μὲν γὰρ πρὸς τὸ λαβεῖν ἕτοιμος, ἡ δὲ ἐπιτήδειος πρὸς τὸ φυλάξαι. ἔστι δὲ παλαιὰ διαίρεσις καὶ ἀληθὴς καὶ ἥδε. σημαίνει ἡ μὲν δεξιὰ χεὶρ υἱὸν πατέρα φίλον καὶ ὃν ἐν τῇ συνηθείᾳ καταχρώμενοι λέγομεν ὅτι ἡ δεξιὰ χείρ ἐστι τοῦ δεῖνος· ἡ δὲ εὐώνυμος γυναῖκα μητέρα ἀδελφὴν θυγατέρα

1 Cf. p. 9 ff.

δούλην. ὁποτέρας οὖν ἄν τις δόξῃ ἀφῃρῆσθαι, στερηθήσεταί τινος τῶν ὑπ' αὐτῆς σημαινομένων.

Interesting as being in exact accord with this explanation is a dream recorded by Artemidorus, in which a sick man beheld Cerberus shaking his right paw at him as a sign that he was ready to receive him into Hades. In this same passage there occurs the use of the right hand as a favorable sign and of the left as the reverse: Onirocritica, 5, 92: Νοσῶν τις ηὔξ ατο τῷ Σαράπιδι, εἰ μέλλει σωθήσεσθαι, τὴν δεξιὰν αὐτῷ χεῖρα ὄναρ ἐπισεῖσαι, εἰ δὲ μή, τὴν ἀριστεράν. καὶ δὴ ἔδοξεν εἰσιόντι αὐτῷ τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Σαράπιδος τὸν Κέρβερον τὴν χεῖρα τὴν δεξιὰν ἐπισείειν αὐτῷ, τῇ ἐπιούσῃ ἀπέθανεν εἰκότως· ἀρθείσης γὰρ τῆς δεξιᾶς ἕτοιμος ἦν παραδέξασθαι αὐτὸν ὁ Κέρβερος, ὅσπερ ὄλεθρος εἶναι νενόμισται.

This same significance belongs to other parts of the body also when they occur in dreams, as well as to the hand. Thus the eyes: Onirocritica, 1,26: ὁ μὲν δεξιὸς ὀφθαλμός σημαίνει υἱὸν καὶ ἀδελφὸν καὶ πατέρα. ὁ δὲ ἀριστερὸς θυγατέρα καὶ ἀδελφὴν καὶ μητέρα· δύο δὲ υἱῶν ὄντων ἢ θυγατέρων δύο ἢ δύο ἀδελφῶν ὁ μὲν δεξιὸς τὸν πρεσβύτερον υἱὸν ἢ ἀδελφὸν ἢ θυγατέρα τὴν πρεσβυτέραν, ὁ δὲ εὐώνυμος θυγατέρα τὴν νέω τέραν καὶ ἀδελφὸν καὶ υἱὸν τοὺς νεωτέρους.

Here also the second contingency emphasizes the superiority of the right over the left as representing those persons by nature stronger or more important: cf. Onirocritica, 5, 37; Onirocritica, 1, 31 (the teeth); Onirocritica, 1, 21 (the head).

With regard to the walls of a house, the right is interpreted as meaning the children and the left as meaning the wife, while the middle one stands for the master of the house: Onirocritica, 2, 10: τοίχων δὲ ὁ μὴν τὴν θύραν ἔχων τὸν δεσπότην σημαίνει, ὁ δὲ τὴν θυρίδα τὴν δέσποιναν. ὅπου δὲ μὴ ἔστι θυρίς, ὁ μὲν μέσος τὸν δεσπότην ὁ δὲ δεξιὸς τὰ τέκνα ὁ δὲ εὐώνυμος τὴν γυναῖκα.

Closely related to the foregoing is the method of foretelling future events by means of the involuntary movement of various

parts of the body. A reference to this occurs in Plautus, Pseudol. 106: Atque id futurum unde unde dicam nescio | nisi quia futurum est: ita supercilium salit'; cf. Theocritus, 3, 37 f.: ἅλλεται ὀφθαλμός μου ὁ δεξιός· ἆρά γ' ἰδησῶ αὐτάν.

In the complete elaborations 1 of this system, however, the regular distinctions between the right and the left as lucky and unlucky, or as referring, one to the male, the other to the female, do not seem to hold good. Thus, while the movement of members on the right side of the body generally foretells the occurrence of some favorable event, the same is true also of members on the left side.

Right:

Melampus, l. c. (6) 224, 5; (13) 224, 23; (49) 227, 10; (72) 229, 1; Rylands, l. c. 1. 14; 97, etc.

Left:

Melampus, l. c. (14) 224, 25; (16) 225, 1; (75) 229, 6; (88) 230, 6, etc.

So, also, the movement of members both on the left and right sides denotes misfortune:

Left:

Melampus, l. c. (7) 224, 7; (11) 224, 19; (44) 227, Rylands, l. c. 1. 19; 113; etc.

Right:

2 ;

Melampus, l. c. (15) 224, 27; (74) 229, 7; (78) 229, 14; Rylands, l. c. 1. 135, 168; etc.

The distinction made by Artemidorus between the right

as referring to males, the left to females, is rare.

Right:

Rylands, l. c. 1. 135.

Left:

1

Rylands, l. c. 1. 93; 102; 156; 201; 228.

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1 Cf. Melampus, Пepl Пaλuv MavтIKÝ, Diels, l. c.; Catalogue of the Greek Papyri in the John Rylands Library,' l. c.

3

In the Determination of Sex.

Closely associated with dreams of the nature just discussed, on account of the significance attributed to right and left in both, are the ideas which were held with regard to the determination of the sex of an embryo. Varro gives the following directions for telling the sex of a calf yet unborn from the actions of the bull: De Re Rustica 2, 5, 13: 'tum denique tauros in gregem redigo. mas an femina sit concepta, significat descensu taurus, cum init[si], quod, si mas est, in dexteriorem partem abit; si femina in sinisteriorem.' The same statement is repeated by Columella, De Re Rustica, 6, 24, 3; and by Pliny, Nat. Hist. 8, 45, 176. Similarly Geoponica, 17, 6, where are added directions for producing the sex desired: Οἱ προγινώσκειν θέλοντες, πότερον ἄρρεν ἢ θῆλυ τέξεται ἡ βιβασθεῖσα βοῦς, παρατηρείτωσαν· ἐὰν μὲν εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ μέρη ὁ βοῦς κατέλθῃ, ἄρρεν τὸ τεχθησόμενον τεκμαιρέσθω· ἂν δὲ ἐπὶ τὰ ἀριστερά, θῆλυ. εἰ δὲ καὶ βουληθείης ἄρρεν τεχθῆναι, τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ὀχείας τὸν ἀριστερὸν ὄρχιν ἀπόδησον· εἰ δὲ θῆλυ, τὸν δεξιόν; cf. ib., 18, 3, 7.

The essential idea in all these, and the one which calls for our attention, is the connection between the right side and the male, the left and the female. We have already seen it occurring in the explanations given by Artemidorus of the meaning of certain dreams. The association in all cases must be attributed to exactly identical causes, going back to the general attributes of the right and the left which we have already considered.

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In explanation of Columella, de Re Rustica, 6, 24, 3, Schneider 1 writes: Orta est opinio ex alia aeque falsa, dextrum testiculum et ovarium feminarum a natura foetibus masculis, sinistra femineis destinata fuisse." ment we have numerous proofs.2

1 Scriptores Rei Rusticae, 2, p. 339. Ploss, l. c., 1, p. 373.

Of the truth of this state-
Thus with regard to the

parts of the uterus of the mother, Galen (In Epid. 6, 48 [17, Α, 1002 Κ]) quotes a line from Parmenides:1 τὸ μέντοι ἄρρεν ἐν τῶι δεξιῶι μέρει τῆς μήτρας κυίσκεσθαι καὶ ἄλλοι τῶν παλαιοτάτων ἀνδρῶν εἰρήκασιν. ὁ μὲν γὰρ Παρμενιδὴς οὕτως ἔφη· δεξιτεροῖσιν δεξιτεροῖσιν μὲν κούρους, λαιοῖσι δὲ κούρας. Further Aetius (5, 7, 4 [D 420] 2 adds that the semen from the right side of the male enters the right side of the uterus, and that from the left enters the left side. If, however, the semen from the two sides become interchanged in their descent, the resulting offspring will be female: Αναξαγόρας Παρμένιδης τὰ μὲν ἐκ τῶν δεξιῶν (sc. σπέρματα) καταβάλλεσθαι εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ μέρη τῆς μήτρας τὰ ἐκ τῶν ἀριστερῶν εἰς τὰ ἀριστερά, εἰ δ ̓ ἐναλλαγείη τὰ τὴς καταβολῆς, γίνεσθαι θήλεα.

This would seem to show that the sex of the child was considered as not dependent solely upon the mother. In fact, Aristotle (De Animal. Gen. 4, 1, 763 b) states a theory that it depended also upon the side of the father from which the semen came; that from the right side producing a male, that from the left a female: πότερον δὲ καὶ πρὶν δήλην τὴν διαφο ρὰν εἶναι πρὸς τὴν αἴσθησιν ἡμῶν τὸ μὲν θῆλυ το δ' ἄρρεν ἐστίν ἐν τῇ μητρὶ λαβόντα τὴν διαφορὰν ἢ πρότερον, ἀμφισβητεῖται. φασὶ γὰρ οἱ μὲν ἐν τοῖς σπέρμασιν εἶναι ταύτην τὴν ἐναντίωσιν ἐυθύς οἷον ̓Αναξαγόρας καὶ ἕτεροι τῶν φυσιολόγων· γίνεσθαι τε γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ ἄρρενος τὸ σπέρμα, τὸ δὲ θῆλυ παρέχειν τὸν τόπον, καὶ εἶναι τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν ἐκ τῶν δεξιῶν τὸ δὲ θῆλυ ἐκ τῶν ἀριστερῶν, καὶ τῆς ὑστέρας τὰ μὲν ἄρρενα ἐν τοῖς δεξιοῖς εἶναι τὰ δὲ θήλεα ἐν τοῖς ἀριστεροῖς; Censorinus, De Die Natali, 6, 6: ex dextris partibus profuso semine mares gigni at e laevis feminas Anaxagoras Empedoclesque consentiunt'; Censorinus,. 1. c., 5, 2 ; Aristotle, De Gen. Animal, 4, 765.

So, too, with respect to which of the parents the child should resemble, the side from which came the semen and the side of the uterus played an important part: Censorinus, De Die

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