(from the Greek θαυμασίαν, to fascinate or bewitch), a sort of witchcraft supposed to operate either by the eye or the tongue.

Ancient writers distinguish two sorts of fascination, one performed by looking, or the efficacy of the eye. Such is that spoken of by Virgil in his third eclogue:

Nescio quis teneros oculos mihi fascinat agnos.

The second by words, and especially by malignant praises. Such is that mentioned by the same poet in his seventh eclogue:

Aut, si ultra placitum laudabit, baccare frontem Cingite, ne vati noceat mala lingua futuro.

Horace alludes to both kinds in his first book of epistles:

Non illic obliquo oculo mea commodia quiquam Limat, non odio obscuro, morfique venenat.

FASCINATION of serpents, a faculty which these animals are supposed to possess of attracting birds from the air, and making them their prey. See ORTHOLOGY Fascines Index.