Nos autem ita leves, atque inconsiderati sumus, ut si mures corroserint aliquid quorum est opus hoc unum, monstrum putemus? Ante vero Marsicum bellum quod Clypeos Lanuvii--mures rosissent, maxumum id portentum haruspices esse dixerunt. Quasi vero quicquam intersit, mures diem noctem aliquid rodentes, scuta an cribra corroserint ... cum vestis a soricibus roditur, plus timere suspicionem futuri mali, quam præsens damnum dolere. Unde illud eleganter dictum est Catonis, qui cum esset consultus a quodam, qui sibi erosas esse Caligas diceret a soricibus, respondit; non esset illud monstrum; sed vere monstrum habendum fuisse, si sorices a Caligis roderentur.--Cicero, Divinatio, ii. 27.
Mole-spots. A mole-spot on the armpit promises wealth and honor; on the ankle bespeaks modesty in men, courage in women; on the right breast is a sign of honesty, on the left forebodes poverty; on the chin promises wealth; on the right ear, respect; on the left forebodes dishonor; on the centre of the forehead bespeaks treachery, sullenness and untidiness; on the right temple foreshows that you will enjoy the friendship of the great; on the left temple forebodes distress; on the right foot bespeaks wisdom, on the left, rashness; on the right side of the heart denotes virtue, on the left side, wickedness; on the knee of a man denotes that he will have a rich wife, if on the left knee of a woman she may expect a large family; on the lip is a sign of gluttony and talkativeness; on the neck promises wealth; on the nose indicates that a man will be a great traveller; on the thigh forebodes poverty and sorrow; on the throat, wealth and health; on the wrist, ingenuity.
Moon (The). When the “mone lies sair on her back, or when her horns are pointed towards the zenith, be warned in time, for foul weather is nigh at hand.”--Dr. Jamieson.
Foul weather may also be expected “when the new moon appears with the old one in her arms.”
Late yestreen I saw the new moone
Wi’ the auld moone in her arme,
And I feir, I feir, my deir master,
That we will come to harme.
The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens.
To see a new moon for the first time on the right hand, and direct before you, is lucky; but to see it on the left hand or to turn round and see it behind you, is the contrary.