[156:1] Rönsch, _Buch der Jubiläen_, p. 385. [156:2] _Notes and Queries_, Tenth Series, June 4, 1904. [156:3] F. Lenormant, _Chaldean Magic_, p. 81. [157:1] Evidence of the old belief in planetary influence is found in our language in the words "jovial," "mercurial," "saturnine," "martial," "disastrous," and "ill-starred." [158:1] Otto A. Wall, M.D., _The Prescription_, pp. 12-23. In this work much space is devoted to the history and evolution of medical recipes. [159:1] _Boston Herald_, February 27, 1908. [162:1] _The Century Dictionary._ [162:2] Book iii, p. 130. [163:1] _Encyclopædia Britannica_, art. "Unicorn"; Rev. J. G. Wood, _Bible Animals_. [164:1] F. S. W., _Dame Heraldry_, p. 175. CHAPTER XV REMEDIAL VIRTUES ASCRIBED TO RELICS A relic has been defined as an object held in reverence or affection, because connected with some sacred or beloved person deceased. And specifically, in the Roman Catholic and Greek churches, a saint's body or portions of it, or an object supposed to have been associated with the life or body of Christ, of the Virgin Mary, or of some saint or martyr, and regarded therefore as a personal memorial, worthy of religious veneration.[165:1] The worship of relics and the belief in their healing properties appear to have originated in a very ancient custom which prevailed among the early Christians, of assembling at the tombs of martyrs, for the purpose of holding memorial services. The bones of saints also became objects of great veneration, and this doctrine was supported by the teachings of Saint Ambrose, Saint Augustine, Saint Jerome, and other Fathers of the Church, of the fourth and fifth centuries. The belief in the marvellous virtues attributed to sacred relics was sustained by such miracles as that recorded in 2 Kings, xiii, 21: "And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha; and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet." Some authorities, however, ascribe the origin of the cult of relics to the words contained in Acts, v, 15: "Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them." In the year 325, Saint Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor of Rome, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where she was alleged to have discovered the wood of the true Cross. This, according to tradition, was found, with two other crosses and various sacred relics, under a temple of Venus, which stood near the Holy Sepulchre. And the true Cross was identified by means of a miraculous test; for when a sick woman was touched with two of the crosses, no effect was apparent; but upon contact with the true Cross, she was immediately restored to health.[166:1] Such is the legend.