ignifies a sign or indication of some future event, taken from the language of a person speaking without any intention to prophesy. This appears from the archaic form of the word, which was omen. Varro says (De Lingua Latina, lib. v., c. 7, § 76) "omen quid ex ore primum elatum est, omen dictum;" and Freund conjectures that this original form of the word may again be related to ὁράω and ὁράω, which signified primarily a prophetic voice. Cicero remarks (De Divinatione, i. 46) that the Pythagoreans attended to the words not only of gods, but also of men, which they called omens. The term omen became subsequently applied to all signs, of whatever nature, from which men believed themselves capable of extracting any knowledge of future events. Omens are distinguished from all other modes of divination by their purely accidental character. To trace the history of this superstition, it would be necessary to begin almost with the origin of the race. There is perhaps no form of erroneous belief so common to all nations, and so similar in its special development, as that of omens. The causes of this uniformity are not far to seek. The desire, so peculiar to man, of drawing aside the curtain of mystery which hangs over his life, combined with the general sameness of human experience throughout the world, are sufficient to account for the striking coincidences often traceable between the ominous events of an eastern king and an ancient Roman, between an old Greek and an ignorant Englishman. Lightning, thunder, &c.; the motions and voices of animals, and particularly of birds; personal sensations of body and mind, &c., were regarded by the Greeks and Romans as peculiarly ominous. The Romans especially carried this superstition to an extravagant extent. (See AUGUR.) One curious variety in ancient divination is, that to a Greek the right hand denoted good luck, and the left the contrary; while the Roman exactly reversed this order.

The portentous or supernatural omens were either external or internal. Of the former kind were those showers of blood so frequently occurring in the Roman history, which were much of the same nature with the adventure of Aeneas, which he calls monstra dem. Of the latter kind were those sudden consternations, which, seizing upon men without any visible cause, were imputed to the agency of the god Pan, and hence called panic terrors. But indeed there was hardly anything, however trivial, from which the ancients did not draw omens. That it should have been thought a direful omen when anything befell the temples, altars, or statues of the gods, need excite no wonder; but that the meeting of a eunuch, a negro, a bitch with whelps, or a snake lying on the road, should have been looked upon as portending bad fortune, seems absurd enough.

Of the countless occurrences still regarded by the ignorant and superstitious as of ominous import, the following may be cited as examples:—To break a looking-glass is extremely unlucky; for the party to whom it belongs will lose his best friend. If, going a journey on business, a sow cross the road, you will probably meet with a disappointment, if not a bodily accident, before you return home. Omar, Sr. To avert this you must endeavour to prevent her crossing you; and if that cannot be done, you must ride round on fresh ground. If the sow be attended with her litter of pigs, it is lucky, and denotes a successful journey. It is unlucky to see first one magpie, and then more; but to see two denotes marriage or merriment; three, a successful journey; four, an unexpected piece of good news; and five, that you will shortly be in a great company. To kill a magpie will certainly be punished with some terrible misfortune. If in a family the youngest daughter should be married before her elder sisters, they must all dance at her wedding without shoes. This will counteract their ill luck, and procure them husbands. If you meet or pass a funeral procession, always take off your hat. This keeps all the evil spirits attending the body in good humour. If, in eating, you miss your mouth, and the victuals fall, it is very unlucky, and denotes approaching sickness. It is lucky to put on a stocking the wrong side outwards; changing it alters the luck. When a person goes out to transact any important business, it is lucky to throw an old shoe after him. It is unlucky to present a knife, scissors, razor, or any sharp or cutting instrument, to one's mistress or friend, as they are apt to divide love and friendship. To avoid the evil effects of this, a pin, a farthing, or some trifling recompense, must be taken. To find a knife or razor denotes ill luck and disappointment to the party that finds it. (For much curious information on this subject, see Brand's Popular Antiquities, Bohn's edition, vol. iii., pp. 110-255.)