He explained, corrected or commented till the clock struck nine; then, with the little finger of the right hand brushing from his coat and waistcoat the shower of superfluous snuff which had fallen on them, he pocketed his snuff-box, and resuming his hat, he as silently as when he came in made his exit by the door which I rushed to open for him."
These lines isolate certain swellings or monticuli, the largest of which is (I) the ball of the thumb, called the mountain of Venus; (2) that at the base of the index finger is the mountain of Jupiter; (3) at the root of the middle finger is the mountain of Saturn, while those at the bases of ring and little finger are respectively the mountains of the (4) Sun and (5) of Mercury.
Similarly the hypothenar muscles for the little finger underlie the three ulnar marginal mountains, the sizes of which depend on their development and on the prominence of the pisiform bone.
Zeus grants the petition as in the version of Pausanias, but permits the hair of Attis to grow, and his little finger to move.
Treaties and occasional very important contracts were made "blood-covenants" and inviolable by drawing a drop of blood from the little finger of each of the contracting parties, blending this with water, and both drinking the mixture out of the same cup. The forms of legal evidence were pledges, documents, witnesses and oaths.
