Some large scarabs which were fastened on the breasts of mummies had inscriptions from the 30th chapter of the _Book of the Dead_. The deceased person prays: “Let there be no obstruction to me in evidence; let there be no obstacle on the part of the Powers; let there be no repulse in the presence of the Guardian of the Scale.” Other amulets consist of papyrus sceptres, buckles of Isis, hearts, fingers, etc., in gold and precious stones. They are laid between the bandages of mummies to guard the dead from evil. Professor Lenormant explains the magical incantations which were used in connection with these talismans; they had to be “pronounced over the beetle of hard stone, which is to be overlaid with gold and to take the place of the individual’s heart. Make a phylactery of it anointed with oil, and say magically over this object, ‘My heart is my mother; my heart is in my transformations.’”[558] The ancient Egyptians were buried with their amulets as a protection against the evil powers of the other world. Mr. Flinders Petrie, excavating at the Pyramid of Hawara, discovered on the body of Horuta a great number of these charms. He says: “Bit by bit the layers of pitch and cloth were loosened, and row after row of magnificent amulets were disclosed, just as they were laid on in the distant past. The gold ring on the finger which bore his name and titles, the exquisitely inlaid gold birds, the chased gold figures, the lazuli statuettes, delicately wrought, the polished lazuli and beryl, and carnelian amulets finely engraved, all the wealth of talismanic armoury, rewarded our eyes with a sight which has never been surpassed to archæological gaze. No such complete and rich a series of amulets has been seen intact before.”[559] Anodyne necklaces, made of beads from peony roots, are worn by children in some parts to assist them in teething. The ancient Greeks held the peony in great repute; they believed it to be of divine origin, and it was for many centuries held to have the power to drive away evil spirits.[560] Abydemis, a Greek historian who wrote a history of Assyria, says that the inhabitants made amulets from the wood of the ash, and hung them round their necks as a charm against sorcery. In the Sanskrit Atharvaveda are found charms for diseases, which are influenced by colours. Saffron and the yellow-hammer are prescribed for jaundice; red remedies, and especially red cows, for blood diseases. The extremity of the intestine of the ossifrage, says Pliny, if worn as an amulet, is well known to be an excellent remedy for colic. Another cure is for the patient to drink the water in which he has washed his feet![561] A tick from a dog’s left ear, worn as an amulet, will allay all kinds of pains, but we must be careful to take it from a dog that is black.[562]