The Flamen, according to Plutarch (_R. Q._ 40), was forbidden to anoint his body in the open air, _i.e._ _sub Jove_; and of the Mikado we are told, "Much less will they suffer that he should expose his sacred person to the open air."[74] The Flamen was forbidden to touch meal or raw meat, _i.e._, meal or meat which might be consumed by others; so, too, the vessels used by the Mikado were "generally broke, for fear they should come into the hands of laymen; for they believe religiously that if any layman should presume to eat his food out of these sacred dishes, it would swell and inflame his mouth and throat."[75] For the many other taboos imposed on the Flamen, I must refer to Mr. Frazer's great work.[76] I will here only mention one, which is not explicitly explained in the _Golden Bough_. If the Flamen's wife died, he had to resign (_Q. R._ 50). Now, it is obvious from this that a widowed Flamen was somehow dangerous or in danger, and that the danger was one which re-marriage would not avert. I submit, therefore, that a widowed Flamen was considered in danger of sudden death, and that this danger (a danger to the community, which might thus lose the sky-spirit) consisted in the probability that the soul of the departed wife might tempt away the soul of the living Flamen. In Burmah, proper precautions are taken to prevent a baby's soul from following that of its dead mother, or the soul of a bereaved husband or wife from rejoining the lost one, or to prevent the soul of a dead child "from luring away the soul of its playmate to the spirit-land."[77] But accidents will happen, and it is so important for an agricultural community to have the sky-spirit under direct control, that the Romans were doubtless well advised in running no risks, and in transferring the spirit into another Flamen. IX. TABOOS.