Ibid., fol. 55, col. 2.

Three things tranquilize the mind of man:—­Melody, scenery, and sweet odor.  Three things develop the mind of man:—­A fine house, a handsome wife, and elegant furniture.

Ibid., fol. 57, col. 2.

The Rabbis have taught that there are three sorts of dropsy:—­Thick, resulting from sin; bloated, in consequence of insufficient food; and thin, due to sorcery.

Shabbath, fol. 33, col. 1.

These three grow stronger as they grow older:—­The fish, the serpent, and the pig.

Ibid., fol. 77, col. 2.

It were better to cut the hands off than to touch the eye, or the nose, or the mouth, or the ear, etc., with them without having first washed them.  Unwashed hands may cause blindness, deafness, foulness of breath, or a polypus.  It is taught that Rabbi Nathan has said, “The evil spirit Bath Chorin, which rests upon the hands at night, is very strict; he will not depart till water is poured upon the hands three times over.”

Ibid. fol. 109, col. 1.

The great importance of this ceremonial washing of the hands will appear from the following anecdote, which we quote verbatim from another part of the Talmud:—­“It happened once, as the Rabbis teach, that Rabbi Akiva was immured in a prison, and Yehoshua Hagarsi was his attendant.  One day the gaoler said to the latter as he entered, ’What a lot of water thou hast brought to-day!  Dost thou need it to sap the walls of the prison?’ So saying, he seized the vessel and poured out half of the water.  When Yehoshua brought in what was left of the water to Rabbi Akiva, the latter, who was weary of waiting, for he was faint and thirsty, reproachfully said to him, ’Yehoshua, dost thou forget that I am old, and my very life depends upon thee?’ When the servant related what had happened, the Rabbi asked for the water to wash his hands, ‘Why, master,’ said Yehoshua, ’there’s not enough for thee to drink, much less to cleanse thy hands with.’  To which the Rabbi replied, ’What am I to do?  They who neglect to wash their hands are judged worthy of death; ’tis better that I should die by my own act from thirst than act against the rules of my associates.’  And accordingly it is related that he abstained from tasting anything till they brought him water to wash his hands.” (Eiruvin, fol. 21, col. 2.  See also Maimonides, Hilc.  Berach., vi. 19.)

From the context of the passage just quoted we cull the following, which proves that the Talmud itself bases the precept concerning the washing of hands on oral tradition and not on the written law:—­“Rav Yehudah ascribes this saying to Shemuel, that when Solomon gave to the traditional rules that regulated the washing of hands and other ceremonial rites the form and sanction of law, a Bath Kol came forth and said (Prov. xxiii. 15), ’My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine;’ and again it