OMENS. 159 



mon occasion, may, as I have known it, arise 

 from a disposition to apoplexy, shown by an 

 incipient numbness in the hand, and may be 

 a fatal symptom; and persons, dispirited by 

 bad omens, sometimes prepare the way for 

 evil fortune; for confidence in success is a 

 great means of ensuring it. The dream of 

 Brutus, before the field of Pharsalia, pro- 

 bably produced a species of irresolution and 

 despondency, which was the principal cause 

 of his losing the battle : and I have heard 

 that the illustrious sportsman to whom you 

 referred just now, was always observed to 

 shoot ill, because he shot carelessly, after 

 one of his dispiriting omens. 



HAL. I have in life met with a few things 

 which I found it impossible to explain, either 

 by chance coincidences or by natural con- 

 nections; and I have known minds of a very 

 superior class affected by them, persons 

 in the habit of reasoning deeply and pro- 

 foundly. 



PHYS. In my opinion, profound minds 

 are the most likely to think lightly of the 

 resources of human reason; and it is the 



