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

224 THE EVIL EYE chap.
some reason the men allowed no cutting instrument
to touch their beards. Six thousand Saxons once
swore they would not cut their hair nor shave until
they had taken vengeance of their enemies. The
Nazarite of Scripture, too, was set apart by " no razor
shall come on his head." ^^^ No doubt this aversion
to cutting the hair implied not only that the man
should not be defiled by iron, but probably also,
especially on the war path, that nothing belonging to
the warrior should by any chance fall into the hands
of his enemy—whose possession of so special a part
of him as a lock of his hair, would enable him to work
untold evil. The same dread of iron has doubtless
given rise to the custom throughout Europe regard-
ing children's nails. Everywhere, including England,
it is the practice to bite off the infant's nails if too
long, and not to cut them, at least for the first year,
or until the child, who is peculiarly open to the
attacks of all malignant influences, has grown strong.
It is presumed that to postpone cutting will enable
the child to get power to withstand at least one of the
evils awaiting him, that which may be in the iron.
English mothers in this respect hold to the same
fashion, belief, custom or whatever may be the motive
for the practice, as Hindoos. The latter cut the
nails of the firstborn at six months, while other
children, presumed to be weaker, are left for two
years.^*^* The Slav, Hare, and Dogrib Indians of
North America do not cut their female (the weaker)
children's nails till they are four years of age.
The same anxiety exists everywhere with respect
to nails as to hair, teeth, or any other part of the
3fi*( Judges xiii. 5.
361 Fjinjaiib Notes and Queries, ii. No. 1092.