t became
indecent not to retire. Then it became a tradition from ancestors that
one always must retire, and the ghosts would be angry if this rule was
not observed. It was disrespectful to them, and would offend them to
expose the body or not to retire. The Greeks said that it offended the
gods. In the books of Moses the sanction for all the rules of decency
is, "For it is an abomination unto the Lord." That is only an expression
of the disapproval in the mores which God also was supposed to feel.

+453. What functions should be concealed?+ What is the limit of the
bodily functions to be concealed? A member of the Jewish sect of the
Essenes, who were all celibate men, always wore an apron, even when
alone in the bath. The genitals were impure and must not be uncovered to
the eye of God. The same sect had elaborate rules like those in Deut.
xxiii. 12 ff. When the Medes elected Deioces king he made a rule that no
one should laugh or spit in his presence.[1415] The Zulu king Chaka
punished with death sneezing or clearing the throat in his
presence.[1416] At Bagdad, in the tenth century, the court of the
caliphs had become luxurious, and a very severe and minute etiquette had
been introduced. It was forbidden to spit, clear the throat or nose,
gape, or sneeze in the presence of the sovereign. The nobles imitated
this etiquette and adopted rules to regulate salutations, entrance into
company, reception of visitors, table manners, and approach to one's
wife. "If any one refused to conform to this etiquette, he exposed
himself to universal blame as an eccentric person, or even as an enemy
of Islam."[1417] In the Italian novel _Niccolo dei Lapi_ it is said in
honor of the heroine that she never saw herself nude. It was a custom
observed by many to wear a garment which covered the whole body even
when alone in the bath. Erasmus gives the reason for this. The angels
would be shocked at nakedness. He made it a rule for men. One should
never, he says, bare the body more than necessary, even when alone. The
angels are everywhere and they like to see decency as the adjunct of
modesty.[1418] The angels are here evidently the Christian
representatives of the ghosts of earlier times. In 1 Cor. xi. 10 it is
said: The woman was created for the man. "For this cause ought the woman
to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels." It
seems to be believed that the angels might be led into sin by seeing the
women. For this idea