Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 June 1894 — Tears as a Medicine. [ARTICLE]

Tears as a Medicine.

The Persians are the only people in the world that still adhere to the o.ld custom of bottling tears. In that country it constitutes an important part in the funeral ceremonies performed over the dead. Each of the mourners are presented with a sponge with which to mop the face and eyes, and after the burial these are taken by a priest who squeezes the tears into bottles. Mourners’ tears are believed to be the most efficacious remedy that can be applied in several forms of Persian diseases. The custom of bottling tears is mentioned in the Bible. See Psalm LVI, 8.