Ferguson — On the Ceremonial Turn, called " Desiul." 363 



in tlie battle by swarms of left-wheeling demons in the air, "ina 

 tarmanaib troma . . tuaithbel, gan tairisium" (Cath. M. B. 230), 

 which, as in the similar case of Merlin at Ardericld, drive him into 

 a fatidical madness. Another probable example is supplied by a MS. 

 illustration of the account given by Giraldus Cambrensis of a cere- 

 monial circuit performed by contracting parties, among the Irish of 

 the twelfth century, each in turn carrying the other on his shoulders 

 three times round the church : — 



" Sub religionis et pacis obtentu, ad sacrum aliqueni locum conveniunt : — deinde 

 ter circa ecclesiam se invicem portant." {Top. Sib. c. x x ii.) 



The scribe who has illustrated this test, about to appear amongst 

 the "Facsimiles of National MS S. of Ireland," has, by a singular, 

 though possibly a chance, coincidence, shown them making their 

 circuit left -hand- wise, which would be quite consistent as imprecatory 

 of misfortune in the event of a violation of the pact. But no great 

 reliance can be placed on those illustrations which are the work of an 

 Anglo-Norman scribe, nor does Gerald himself say anything to deter- 

 mine the direction in which the parties made their round. 



"With these considerations before the mind, we may approach the 

 religiosius of Pliny with a better prospect of ascertaining the true 

 meaning in which he has employed it. Religiosus is a word of many 

 meanings, having relation to superstitious and execrable, as well as 

 pious observances. Amongst its other forces, it signifies unlucky, 

 ominous, inauspicious, forbidden : 



" Religiosi dies dicuntur tristi online infames, inipeditique." (Gell. 1. iv. c. 9.) 

 41 Majores nostri funestiorem diem esse voluerunt Alliensis pugnas quani urbis 

 captse : — Itaque alter religiosus etiam nunc dies." {Cic. TJpist. ad Attic, lib. ix. 5). 

 " Xsevos in facie tondere religiosum babent etiam nimcmulti." (Plin. 1. sxviii. c. 4), 



and the other examples in Forcellini, sub voce, where it appears plainly 

 that religiosus, in this acceptation, is strictly the equivalent of what, 

 among the Irish Celts is called gaes= " pro hibitio," or, as has been 

 pointed out to me by Mr. Hennessy, in the language of other old 

 populations, something "taboo." Thus, it was deemed religiosum 

 for a man to enter the Temple of Bona Dea; religiosum to eat the 

 •crop grown on certain fields which, therefore, were cast into the Tiber; 

 and, generally, in the words of Aelius Gallus, cited by Pestus, religiosum 

 for a man to do a forbidden thing in the doing of which he should 

 appear to contravene the will of the Gods. O'Donovan in his 

 definition of geis (Book of Bights, xlv,) — " any thing or act forbidden, 

 because of the ill-luck which would result from its doing," — comes 

 nearer the reason of the thing than the Classical expositor. I fail 

 to find an exact equivalent in the English language ; but the Low- 

 land Scotch " uncanny" expresses the meaning exactly, and in 

 this sense we seem to obtain a comprehension of the true meaning of 

 Pliny, whose words we may now render: — "When we adore the 

 <Gods, we raise the right hand to the lips, and turn ourselves entirely 



