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第22章

the zincali-第22章

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as strange things without believing in sorcery。







As for the dates of dung; and the paper money; they are mere feats 



of legerdemain。







I repeat; that if legitimate Gypsies really exist in Barbary; they 



are the men and women of the Dar…bushi…fal。















CHAPTER VII















CHIROMANCY; or the divination of the hand; is; according to the 



orthodox theory; the determining from certain lines upon the hand 



the quality of the physical and intellectual powers of the 



possessor。







The whole science is based upon the five principal lines in the 



hand; and the triangle which they form in the palm。  These lines; 



which have all their particular and appropriate names; and the 



principal of which is called 'the line of life;' are; if we may 



believe those who have written on the subject; connected with the 



heart; with the genitals; with the brain; with the liver or 



stomach; and the head。  Torreblanca; (23) in his curious and 



learned book on magic; observes:  'In judging these lines you must 



pay attention to their substance; colour; and continuance; together 



with the disposition of the correspondent member; for; if the line 



be well and clearly described; and is of a vivid colour; without 



being intermitted or PUNCTURIS INFECTA; it denotes the good 



complexion and virtue of its member; according to Aristotle。







'So that if the line of the heart be found sufficiently long and 



reasonably deep; and not crossed by other accidental lines; it is 



an infallible sign of the health of the heart and the great virtue 



of the heart; and the abundance of spirits and good blood in the 



heart; and accordingly denotes boldness and liberal genius for 



every work。'







In like manner; by means of the hepatal line; it is easy to form an 



accurate judgment as to the state of a person's liver; and of his 



powers of digestion; and so on with respect to all the other organs 



of the body。







After having laid down all the rules of chiromancy with the utmost 



possible clearness; the sage Torreblanca exclaims:  'And with these 



terminate the canons of true and catholic chiromancy; for as for 



the other species by which people pretend to divine concerning the 



affairs of life; either past or to come; dignities; fortunes; 



children; events; chances; dangers; etc。; such chiromancy is not 



only reprobated by theologians; but by men of law and physic; as a 



foolish; false; vain; scandalous; futile; superstitious practice; 



smelling much of divinery and a pact with the devil。'







Then; after mentioning a number of erudite and enlightened men of 



the three learned professions; who have written against such absurd 



superstitions; amongst whom he cites Martin Del Rio; he falls foul 



of the Gypsy wives in this manner:  'A practice turned to profit by 



the wives of that rabble of abandoned miscreants whom the Italians 



call Cingari; the Latins Egyptians; and we Gitanos; who; 



notwithstanding that they are sent by the Turks into Spain for the 



purpose of acting as spies upon the Christian religion; pretend 



that they are wandering over the world in fulfilment of a penance 



enjoined upon them; part of which penance seems to be the living by 



fraud and imposition。'  And shortly afterwards he remarks:  'Nor do 



they derive any authority for such a practice from those words in 



Exodus; (24) 〃et quasi signum in manu tua;〃 as that passage does 



not treat of chiromancy; but of the festival of unleavened bread; 



the observance of which; in order that it might be memorable to the 



Hebrews; the sacred historian said should be as a sign upon the 



hand; a metaphor derived from those who; when they wish to remember 



anything; tie a thread round their finger; or put a ring upon it; 



and still less I ween does that chapter of Job (25) speak in their 



favour; where is written; 〃Qui in manu hominis signat; ut norint 



omnes opera sua;〃 because the divine power is meant thereby which 



is preached to those here below:  for the hand is intended for 



power and magnitude; Exod。 chap。 xiv。; (26) or stands for free 



will; which is placed in a man's hand; that is; in his power。  



Wisdom; chap。 xxxvi。 〃In manibus abscondit lucem;〃 (27) etc。 etc。 



etc。







No; no; good Torreblanca; we know perfectly well that the witch…



wives of Multan; who for the last four hundred years have been 



running about Spain and other countries; telling fortunes by the 



hand; and deriving good profit from the same; are not countenanced 



in such a practice by the sacred volume; we yield as little credit 



to their chiromancy as we do to that which you call the true and 



catholic; and believe that the lines of the hand have as little 



connection with the events of life as with the liver and stomach; 



notwithstanding Aristotle; who you forget was a heathen; and knew 



as little and cared as little for the Scriptures as the Gitanos; 



whether male or female; who little reck what sanction any of their 



practices may receive from authority; whether divine or human; if 



the pursuit enable them to provide sufficient for the existence; 



however poor and miserable; of their families and themselves。







A very singular kind of women are the Gitanas; far more remarkable 



in most points than their husbands; in whose pursuits of low 



cheating and petty robbery there is little capable of exciting much 



interest; but if there be one being in the world who; more than 



another; deserves the title of sorceress (and where do you find a 



word of greater romance and more thrilling interest?); it is the 



Gypsy female in the prime and vigour of her age and ripeness of her 



understanding … the Gypsy wife; the mother of two or three 



children。  Mention to me a point of devilry with which that woman 



is not acquainted。  She can at any time; when it suits her; show 



herself as expert a jockey as her husband; and he appears to 



advantage in no other character; and is only eloquent when 



descanting on the merits of some particular animal; but she can do 



much more:  she is a prophetess; though she believes not in 



prophecy; she is a physician; though she will not taste her own 



philtres; she is a procuress; though she is not to be procured; she 



is a singer of obscene songs; though she will suffer no obscene 



hand to touch her; and though no one is more tenacious of the 



little she possesses; she is a cutpurse and a shop…lifter whenever 



opportunity shall offer。







In all times; since we have known anything of these women; they 



have been addicted to and famous for fortune…telling; indeed; it is 



their only ostensible means of livelihood; though they have various 



others which they pursue more secretly。  Where and how they first 



learned the practice we know not; they may have brought it with 



them from the East; or they may have adopted it; which is less 



likely; after their arrival in Europe。  Chiromancy; from the most 



remote periods; has been practised in all countries。  Neither do we 



know; whether in this practice they were ever guided by fixed and 



certain rules; the probability; however; is; that they were not; 



and that they never followed it but as a means of fraud and 



robbery; certainly; amongst all the professors of this art that 



ever existed; no people are more adapted by nature to turn it to 



account than these females; call them by whatever name you will; 



Gitanas; Ziganas; Gypsies; or Bohemians; their forms; their 



features; the expression of their countenances are ever wild and 



Sibylline; frequently beautiful; but never vulgar。  Observe; for 



example; the Gitana; even her of Seville。  She is standing before 



the portal of a large house in one of the narrow Moorish streets of 



the capital of Andal

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