52 POPULAR ERRORS. 



various operations in accordance with the different 

 phases of the moon. Pliny could lay aside the 

 weightier matters of law and history to teach that 

 eggs, in order to hatch successfully, should be set 

 in the new of the moon ; that the full of the moon 

 was the time to sow beans, and the new of the 

 moon to sow lentils; that wheat intended for sale 

 should be purchased in the full moon, because it 

 will then increase in bulk and weight. 



Wonderful are the effects related of the influence 

 of the moon upon animals, and especially on the 

 bodies and minds of men. Sanctorius, the inventor 

 of the thermometer, held that a healthy man gained 

 two pounds at the beginning of every lunar month, 

 which was lost towards the close of the month. 

 Exposure to moonlight has been supposed to be 

 the cause of the sallow complexion of those who 

 keep late hours. Sailors have a belief that it is 

 particularly dangerous to sleep with the face ex- 

 posed to the rays of the full moon. Horrible stories 

 are related of the fate of those who have thought- 

 lessly or wantonly disregarded this danger: how 

 persons so exposed have had their muscles distorted, 

 their mouths drawn awry, and their features dread- 

 fully and sometimes permanently disfigured. The 

 numerous mental derangements, hallucinations, 

 epileptic attacks, and similar strange maladies 

 which have been attributed to the moon's influence 



