In Eastern countries it is a time-honored custom to place salt before strangers as a token and pledge of friendship and good-will. The phrase “to eat some one’s salt” formerly signified being in that person’s service, and in this sense it is used in the Book of Ezra, iv. 14, where the expression, “we have maintenance from the king’s palace,” means literally, “we are salted with the salt of the palace,” which implies being in the service of the king. And from the idea of being in the employment of a master, and eating his salt, the phrase in question came to denote faithfulness and loyalty.[256] As an instance of the superstitious reverence with which salt is regarded in the East, it is related that Yacoub ben Laith, who founded the dynasty of Persian princes known as the Saffarides, was of very humble origin, and in his youth gained a livelihood as a free-booter. Yet so chivalrous was he that he never stripped his victims of all their belongings, but always left them something to begin life with anew. On one occasion this gallant robber had forcibly and by stealth entered the palace of a prince, and was about departing with considerable spoil, when he stumbled over an object which his sense of taste revealed to be a lump of salt. Having thus involuntarily partaken of a pledge of hospitality in another man’s house, his honor overcame his greed of gain and he departed without his booty.[257] Owing to its antiseptic and preservative qualities, salt was emblematic of durability and permanence; hence the expression “Covenant of Salt.” It was also a symbol of wisdom, and in this sense was doubtless used by St. Paul when he told the Colossians that their speech should be seasoned with salt. Homer called salt divine, and Plato described it as a substance dear to the gods. Perhaps the belief in its divine attributes may have been a reason for the employment of salt as a sacrificial offering by the Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans, all of whom, moreover, regarded it as an indispensable relish. Plutarch said that without salt nothing was savory or toothsome, and that this substance even imparted an additional flavor to wines, thus causing them “to go down the throat merrily.” And the same writer remarked that, as bread and salt were commonly eaten together, therefore Ceres and Neptune were sometimes worshiped together in the same temple.[258] II. SALT UNCONGENIAL TO WITCHES AND DEVILS Grimm remarks that salt is not found in witches’ kitchens, nor at devils’ feasts, because the Roman Catholic Church has taken upon herself the hallowing and dedication of this substance. Moreover, inasmuch as Christians recognize salt as a wholesome and essential article of diet, it seems plausible enough that they should regard it as unsuitable for the use of devils and witches, two classes of beings with whom they have no particular sympathy. Hence perhaps the familiar saying that “the Devil loveth no salt in his meat.”