ANCIENT OPINIONS REGARDING THE BEAN. ] 99 



election of their magistrates. A white bean signified 

 "absolution/' and a black one "condemnation/' 



Ovid gives a lively description of the ceremonies of the 

 Lemur alia and Parentalia, wherein beans appear to have 

 had a mysterious value attached to them as a portion of 

 the ceremony. The master of the family had to throw 

 black beans over his head, still repeating the words, " I 

 redeem myself and my family by these beans/' Abstin- 

 ence from beans was strictly enjoined by Pythagoras, 

 one of whose precepts is jfynpuv aTrf^eardat abstinere a 

 fabis. This precept of Pythagoras has been variously 

 interpreted, owing to the word he uses for beans bearing 

 another and very different interpretation. Clemens Alex- 

 andrinus grounds the prohibition against beans on their 

 alleged quality of rendering women barren; and this is 

 confirmed by Theophrastus, who asserts that some other 

 plants have the same property. Cicero suggests another 

 reason for this enjoined abstinence, namely, that beans 

 are great enemies to tranquillity of mind. Hence Amphi- 

 arivus is said to have abstained from beans even before 

 Pythagoras, that he might enjoy a clearer divination from 

 dreams. 



There is no doubt that beans, consumed by themselves, 

 or with but a sparing admixture of other food-materials, 

 would be very likely, especially with those of sedentary 

 habits or occupations, so to disturb the natural functions 

 of the body as to produce many of those mysterious sen- 

 sations which have been by the ancients attributed to 

 them. Chemistry has accounted for and dispelled many 

 such illusions. In this case we see (page 241) that beans 

 contain a far larger proportion of nitrogen compounds 

 than that which experience has shown to be best adapted 

 to the requirements of the human economy ; consequently, 

 any large surplus, such as beans contain, could not be 

 consumed for any time without deranging some of the 



