July 4, 1890.] 



SCIENCE. 



graduates'' of conventual schools in this country involuntarily 

 answer a knock at their doors by the word "Toujours!'" instead of 

 "Come in!" through the habit formed when the sister at the con- 

 vent dormitory door uses a formula in praise of the Virgin Mary, 

 to which the obligatory response was, "Forever!" Very lately a 

 similar custom prevailed throughout Spain by which the visitor 

 ejaculated "Maria purissima!" the reply being "Sin pecado con- 

 cebida!" On other occasions the Spaniards say, "Vaya con Dios!" 

 ("Go with God!") In the Tyrol, people exchange the formula 

 "Praised be Jesus Christ!" and the Neapolitans, that of "Increase 

 in holiness!" 



3. The forms of greeting that pray for the health and well-being 

 of the friend addressed are distributed generally. Indeed, our 

 term "salutation" is derived from the Latin salus, and similar 

 etymologies are found in other languages. The Ottoman cries, 

 "Be under the guard of God!" In Arabia, on the first meeting of 

 the day, the proper phrase is, "May God strengthen your morn- 

 ing!" or "May your morning be good!" The Persian begins his 

 polite address with "I make prayers for thy greatness." The re- 

 turn to a salutation in the Orient is sometimes not only religious, 

 but non-committal. If an Arab is directly asked about his health, 

 he responds, "Praise be to God!" leaving his condition to be in- 

 ferred from the modulation of his voice. If the form of the 

 query is, "Is it well with thee?" the answer is, "God bless and pre- 

 serve thee!" The Zuni exchange the prayer, "May the light of the 

 gods rest with thee!" 



3. The general wish for health and prosperity, of which the 

 English "farewell" as distinguished from "good-by" is an exarn- 

 ple, is often only implied in the query showing interes-t as to their 

 present possession. The Arabs reiterate the query "How are you?" 

 for some minutes, and, when well brought up, afterwards inter- 

 rupt the subject of the conversation by again interjecting "How 

 are you?" many times. Our "How d'you do?" has almost lost sig- 

 nificance, as it is seldom answered except by reproduction, no one 

 supposing it to be a bona-fide request for information. Many 

 other salutations, abroad as well as at home, — e.g., "Good-morn- 

 ing!" "Hot day!" "Cold dayl" or other meteorologic comments, — 

 are now mere watchwords or countersigns, to indicate that the 

 parties meeting are on good terms. Indeed, the origin of many 

 old forms is the distinct declaration of peace, which was practi- 

 cally useful in the turbulent days when an enemy was more fre- 

 quently met than a friend. This "passing the time of day" is now 

 common at the occasional meeting of good-natured persons, by 

 which the inane words form the friendly recognition of one of the 

 same race. 



The North American Indians do not have many conventional 

 forms of salutation. Their etiquette generally is to meet in 

 silence, and smoke before speaking, the smoking being the real 

 salutation. But a number of tribes— i.e., the Shoshoni, Caddo, 

 and Arikara — use a word or sound very similar to 'How!" but 

 in proper literation "Hau!" or "Hao!" Most of the Sioux use the 

 same sound in communication with the whites, from which the 

 error has arisen that they have caught up and abbreviated the 

 "How are you?" of the latter. But the word is ancient, used in 

 councils, and means "good," or "satisfactory." It is a response 

 as well as an address or salutation. 



An interesting point in this connection is the objection of some 

 peoples to being praised for flourishing health, which is never 

 admitted. For instance: to the Cingalese the expression "You 

 look well," or "You have become stout," is very annoying, the 

 reason being that the notice of malign deities would be attracted 

 to their fortunate condition, upon which it would be destroyed. 

 This illustrates the old story of the jealous gods, and the power 

 of evil being the most important deity, and recalls many classic 

 fables, among others that of the ring of Polycrates, in several 

 lands and languages. 



That this dread survives among some of the peasantry of Eu- 

 rope appears in their invariable refusal to respond that they are 

 perfectly well, and a similar superstition has recently been re- 

 ported from the mountains of North Carolina. The Chinese, in 

 greeting, not only depreciate their own status, but exaggerate 

 that of the party of the other part. The established ritual aver- 

 ages thus: "How is the excellent health enjoyed by your wealthy 



and accomplished highness, and that of the brilliant full moon 

 his spouse, and of the strong lions his sons, and graceful gazelles 

 his daughters?" The obligatory response would be, "The igno- 

 rant beggar whom your benevolence deigns to notice is in his 

 usual condition of dirt and disease, and the sow his wife, and 

 pigs his offspring, starve in their old filthy sty." Perhaps the 

 elegant expressions of response by cultured persons in absolute 

 health, " Quite well, thank you!" "Passably," "About the same," 

 and the like, considered to re a polite avoidance of boasting, have 

 their origin in high antiquity. 



Persons of general intelligence in the most civilized nations 

 yet show relics of the dread of demons when an epidemic pre- 

 vails. It was lately noticeable in Washington that the response 

 about freedom from the grippe generally contained some quali- 

 fication, — "Haven't got it yet," or the like. 



The wish of salute is often specific, connected with the circum- 

 stances of environment. The people of Cairo anxiously ask, 

 "How do you perspire';" a dry skin being the symptom of the 

 dreaded fever. In hot Persia the friendly wish is expressed, 

 "May God cool your age!" that is, give you comfort in declining 

 years. In the same land originates the quaint form, "May your 

 shadow never be less!" which does not apply, as often now used 

 in Europe, especially in Ireland, to the size and plumpness of the 

 body as indicating robust health, but to deprecate exposure to the 

 noon sun, when all shadows are least. 



The Genoese, in their time of prosperity, used the form 

 "Health and gain!" In some of the Polynesian isles the prayer 

 for coolness is carried into action, it being the highest politeness 

 to fling a jar of water over a friend's head. According to Hum- 

 boldt, the morning salute on the Orinoco is, "How have the 

 mosquitoes used you?" 



The old religious views of the Persians are found in their wishes, 

 "Live forever!" and (still retained in Spain) "May you live a 

 thousand years!"' They believed only in this life, and that through 

 divine favor it might be unlimited. 



4. The terms of affection in greeting are too numerous to be 

 now recited. The following are mentioned as unhackneyed and 

 of interest. Some Orientals say, "Thou hast made me desolate 

 by thine absence from me;" and the ordinary form of greeting 

 among the Zulus is simply, "I see you, and I am glad." 



The variant phrases of respect are also multitudinous. Perhaps 

 the most distinct form in which the common and ancient expres- 

 sion of the East, "I am your slave," survives in western Europe 

 is in the Piedmont district of Italy. The Spaniards, through the 

 influence of Moors and Jews, have many relics of Orientalism. 

 It becomes colloquial in the form Usted contracted from "Veustra 

 merced;" ' your mercy," "your grace." often appearing in the 

 phrase " I kiss my hands to your grace."' 



But the forms of respect and subservience, more than those of 

 affection, have become established into titles of honor and no- 

 bility, therefore can be presented with some defined system not 

 boundless as are the epithets poured from the ardent imaginings 

 of friends and lovers. 



It is not, however, possible now to attack the grandiose division 

 of human vanity to which Selden alone devoted one thousand 

 printed folio pages. Perhaps the only civil title of ceremony, as 

 distinct from official designation, legally existing in this country, 

 is that of esquire, which has almost fallen into disuse, being 

 chiefly employed by attorneys-at-law. But they have a right to 

 it. An esquire was originally an attendant on a knight; but 

 later in England the title was given to all oiBcers of the crown, 

 which included attoraeys, who are officers of the courts. Hence 

 the English jest of the last century, that attorneys were only 

 "gentlemen by act of Parliament."' Such acts, being in force 

 in our colonial period, applied to attorneys here, also officers of 

 court. 



"Sir,"' which has ceased to be a title in becoming the general 

 form of address, has been generally derived directly from "sieur," 

 the abbreviation of "seigneur,"' implying the lordship of land so 

 essential to the feudal system that the legal maxim ran. "Point 

 de terre sans seigneur;" but the derivation of "sieur" and "sire" 

 was from the same root, originally signifying "senior,"' i.e., 

 "elder,"' with the synonyme of "father." The form "sire" ante- 



