taken for the devil, being unluckily mounted on a black horse and
dressed in black, and was met by a priest with a crucifix, who was at
last persuaded to "disinfect" him with holy water as a condition of his
being admitted to the village. But the Romans of historical times, in
this as in so many other ways, discovered easy methods of overcoming
these fears and scruples: we find a good example of this in the
organised college of Fetiales, who, on entering as envoys a foreign
territory, were fully protected by their sacred herbs, carried by a
_verbenarius_, against all hostile contamination.[44]

A remark seems here necessary about the apparent inconsistency between
this feeling of anxiety about strangers and the well-known ancient
Italian practice of _hospitium_, by which two communities, or two
individuals, or an individual and a community, entered into relations
which bound them to mutual hospitality and kindness in case of need:[45]
a practice so widely spread and so highly developed that it may be
considered one of the most valuable civilising agents in the early
history of Italy. There is, however, no real inconsistency here. In the
first place, the stranger who was removed on the occasion of solemn
public religious rites may be assumed not to have been in possession of
the _ius hospitii_ with the Roman state, and in any case it must be
doubtful whether that _ius_ would give him the right of being present at
all sacrificial rites. Secondly, the researches of Dr. Westermarck have
recently, for the first time, made it clear that both the taboo on
strangers and the very widely-spread practice of hospitality can
ultimately be traced down to the same root. The stranger is dangerous;
but for that very reason it is desirable to secure his good-will at
once. He may have the evil eye; but if so, it is as well to disarm him
by offering him food and drink, and, when he has partaken of these, by
entering into communion with him in the act of partaking also yourself.
Expediency would obviously suggest some such remedy for the danger of
his presence, and this would in course of time, in accordance with the
instinct of Romans and Italians, grow into a set of rules sanctioned by
law as well as custom--the _ius hospitii_.[46]

_Hostis vinctus mulier virgo exesto._ We have noticed traces of taboo on
women and strangers: what of the _vinctus_? This is, so far as I know,
the only proof we have that a man in chains was thought to be
re