136 NATURAL HISTORY. 



hold that the spirit of the lover doth pass into the 

 spirits of the person loved ; 1 which causeth the de 

 sire of return into the body whence it was emitted : 

 whereupon followeth that appetite of contact and con 

 junction which is in lovers. And this is observed like 

 wise, that the aspects that procure love, are not gaz- 

 ings, but sudden glances and dartings of the eye. As 

 for envy, that emitteth some malign and poisonous 

 spirit, which taketh hold of the spirit of another ; 

 and is likewise of greatest force when the cast of the 

 eye is oblique. It hath been noted also, that it is most 

 dangerous when an envious eye is cast upon persons in 

 glory and triumph and joy : the reason whereof is, for 

 that at such times the spirits come forth most into the 

 outward parts, and so meet the percussion of the en- 

 vioxis eye more at hand : and therefore it hath been 

 noted, that after great triumphs, men have been ill- 

 disposed for some days following. We see the opinion 

 of fascination is ancient, for both effects : of procuring 

 love, and sickness caused by envy : and fascination is 

 ever by the eye. But yet if there be any such infec 

 tion from spirit to spirit, there is no doubt but that it 

 worketh by presence, and not by the eye alone ; yet 

 most forcibly by the eye. 



945. Fear and shame are likewise infective ; for we 

 see that the starting of one will make another ready to 

 start : and when one man is out of countenance in a 

 company, others do likewise blush in his behalf. 



Now we will speak of the force of imagination 



l Tr)v tyvxrjv, A-yuduva (pihuv, im xe iktaw ea^ov 

 jjh&e -yap r) T^.r/fj.uv we tiiafiqoofievrj . 



PLATO, ap. Aul. Gelliura. 



