The evil eye. An account of this ancient and wide spread superstition

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IV THREE KINDS OF AMULETS 149
Amulets then which protect against the power of
would naturally l^e of three classes. First,
those whose intention was to attract upon themselves
the malignant glance. These were necessarily either
worn on the outside of the dress, or openly exposed
to view like the grillo of Pisistratus at Athens, the
brazen serpent set up by Moses, or the various
household objects displayed for the same purpose.
Secondly, there were all those charms, worn or
carried secretly, or hidden beneath the dress ; and
thirdly, the written words of Scripture, Koran, and
other sacred writings, or the cabalistic figures and
formulae considered so powerful.
The former class were the most numerous, and of
them we have the greatest number of examples, both
ancient and modern. For the reason above stated,
amulets consisting alone of das viannliche Glied, or
compounded with it as the attractive feature, were so
common that they obtained a technical name from
the purpose they were intended to serve. The usual
term among old writers w3l.s fascimi7n.'^'^^
Other writers, especially Varro, call one particular
form which was commonly suspended from the necks
248 i( Quid ? quod libelli Stoici inter Sericos
Jacere pulvillos amant ?
Illiterati num minus nervi rigent,
Minusve languet fascinum ?
Quod ut superbo provoces ab inguine
Ore allaborandum est tibi."—Horace, Epodon viii. 15.
(This epode is omitted in the expurgated editions.) See also Frommannd,
Tract, de Fasc. p. 5, who says : " Per fascinum virile membrum, quod fascia
tegi solet sive campestribus, hie intelligi Commentator et Cruquius dicunt.
Fascinum autem vocarunt partem illam, quoniam fascinandis rebus hsec
membri deformitas apponi fuit solita."
He goes on to connect the reason of the name with the licentious cult of
Liberus. He also writes much on the subject which is unfit to be reproduced
here, referring frequently to the worship of Priapus, and to the sayings of
Enothea, priest of Priapus.