[128] Note that Virgil writes of masks used in rude play-acting, as well as of _oscilla_ hung on trees, and conjoins the two as though they had something in common. The evidence of an engraved onyx cup in the Louvre, of which a cut is given in the article "Oscilla" in the _Dict. of Antiquities_, seems to make it probable that masks worn by rustics on these occasions were afterwards hung by them on trees as _oscilla_. Some of these masks on the cup are adorned with horns, which may explain an interesting passage of Apuleius (_Florida_, i. 1): "neque enim iustius religiosam moram viatori obiecerit aut ara floribus redimita ... aut quercus cornibus onerata, aut fagus pellibus coronata," etc. See also _Gromatici veteres_, ii. 241. [129] See, however, Dr. Frazer's remarks in _G.B._ ii. p. 454. He thinks that the air might in this way be purged of vagrant spirits or baleful ghosts, as the Malay medicine man swings in front of the patient's house in order to chase away the disease. Cp. _G.B._ ii. 343, where a rather different explanation is attempted of the _maniae_ and _pilae_. [130] Magic in the old forms, or many of them, has survived not only into the old Roman religion, but to the present day, in many parts of Italy. "The peasants have recourse to the priests and the saints on great occasions, but they use magic all the time for everything," was said by a woman of the Romagna Toscana to the late C.G. Leland (_Etruscan Roman Remains_, Introduction, p. 9). This enterprising American's remarkable book, though dealing only with a small region of northern Italy, deserves more consideration than it has received. The author may have been uncritical, but beyond doubt he had the gift of extracting secrets from the peasantry. He claims to have proved that "la vecchia religione" contains much that has come down direct from pre-Christian times; and the appearance of Mr. Lawson's remarkable book on _Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion_ may tempt some really qualified investigator to undertake a similar work in Italy before it is too late. LECTURE IV THE RELIGION OF THE FAMILY