The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction - Volume 13, No. 364, April 4, 1829 by Various
page 10 of 54 (18%)
page 10 of 54 (18%)
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On Juno smiles, when he impregns the clouds,
That shed May flowers, and pressed her matron lip With _kisses_ pure. _Par. Lost_, b. 4, 1. 499--502. --------Kissing the world begun, And I hope it will never be done _Old Song_. Kissing has been practised in various modes, and for various purposes, from a period of very remote antiquity. Among the ancient oriental nations, presents from a superior were saluted by kissing, to express gratitude and submission to the person conferring the favour. Reference is made to this custom, Genesis, ch. xl. v. 41, "According to thy words shall my people be ruled;" or, as the margin, supported by most eminent critics, renders it, "At thy mouth shall my people _kiss_." The consecration of the Jewish kings to the regal authority was sealed by a kiss from the officiator in the ceremony: 1 Sam. ch. x. v. 1. Kissing was also employed in the heathen worship as a religious rite. Cicero mentions a statue of Hercules, the chin and lips of which were considerably worn by the repeated kissing of the worshippers. When too far removed to be approached in this manner, it was usual to place the right hand upon the statue, and return it to the lips. That traces of these customs remain to the present day, kissing the Testament on oath in our courts of judicature, and kissing the hand as a respectful salute, afford sufficient evidence. But it is with kissing as a mode of expressing affection or endearment that we are principally concerned, and its use, as such, is of equal (perhaps greater) antiquity with any of the preceding usages. To the passage cited, MIRROR, No. 357, by _Professor Childe Wilful_, on this subject, may be added the meeting of Telemachus |
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