Note 287 — Chapter I

Amongst the Romans, on the contrary, the flight to the left was an excellent omen; thus Plautus in the Epidicus: "Tacete, habete animum bonum, liquido exeo foras auspicio, ave sinistra." (But this change from right to left may depend upon the various positions taken by the observer in placing himself.) In the mediæval legend of Alexander, a bird with a human face (a harpy) meets Alexander and advises him to turn to the right, when he will see marvellous things.—Cfr. Zacher, Pseudo-Callisthenes, Halle, 1867, p. 142.