Today, in England anyway, we still carry out anaemic type
daily practises; for luck, we cross our fingers, touch wood, some even in extremis, throw salt over our shoulders and is this any different than the following?
Xenophon was a down-to-earth cavalry
officer with an intelligent interest in Socratic philosophy. When he was asked
to take sole command of the mercenary army in which he was serving, his
decision was determined by the sacrifice of two animals and the interpretation
of an eagle’s cry (Anabasis, VI i 23).
An Eagle's cry is more aesthetically pleasing than throwing salt over your shoulder, but both defer;
the heroic Greeks act without real introspection and your average English Joe leaves it all to fate..
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