126 CEREMONIAL INSTITUTIONS. 



of a condescending temper, he will snatch away his hand as soon as 

 the other has touched it; then the inferior puts his own fingers to his 

 lips and afterwards to his forehead.&quot; 



This, 1 think,, makes it clear that the common custom of 

 kissing the hand to another, originally expressed the wish, 

 or the willingness, to kiss his hand. 



Here, as before, the observance, beginning as a spon 

 taneous propitiation of conqueror by conquered, of master 

 by slave, of ruler by ruled, early passes into a religious pro 

 pitiation also. To the ghost, and to the deity developed 

 from the ghost, these actions of love and liking are used. 

 That embracing and kissing of the lower extremities, which 

 was among the Hebrews an obeisance to the living person, 

 Egyptian wall-paintings represent as an obeisance made to 

 the mummy enclosed in its case; and then, in pursuance of 

 this action, we have kissing the feet of statues of gods in 

 pagan Kome and of holy images among Christians. An 

 cient Mexico furnished an instance of the transition from 

 kissing the ground as a political obeisance, to a modified kiss 

 ing the ground as a religious obeisance. Describing an oath 

 Clavigero says u Then naming the principal god, or any 

 other they particularly reverenced, they kissed their hand, 

 after having touched the earth with it.&quot; In Peru &quot; the 

 manner of worship was to open the hands, to make some 

 noise with the lips as of kissing, and to ask what they 

 wished, at the same time offering the sacrifice; &quot; and Garci- 

 lasso, describing the libation to the Sun, adds &quot; At the 

 same time they kissed the air two or three times, which 

 . . . was a token of adoration among these Indians.&quot; Xor 

 have European races failed to furnish kindred facts. Kiss 

 ing the hand to the statue of a god was a Roman form of 

 adoration. 



Once more, saltatory movements, which being natural 

 expressions of delight become complimentary acts before 

 a visible ruler, become acts of worship before an invisible 

 ruler. David danced before the ark. Dancing was 



