'Tonsor Humanus': Razor and Toilet-Knife in Antiquity

Abstract

‘To be shaved by a barber means good all round, for — so to speak — from the act of being shaved (karēnai) proceeds that of being gladdened (charēnai), just one letter being substituted for another. … ‘By a barber’ is stipulated, because, if one shaves oneself and is not a barber, then that signifies bereavement or a sudden disaster. … Cutting one's own nails signifies paying one's debts, if one is a debtor. … ’