PHILOSOPHY AND FUN OF ALGEBRA
At such times, as I told you before, people had better be a little extra careful not to catch cold; because colds caught under such conditions are rather prone to leave unpleasant traces, which last a long time, and sometimes all one's life.
Well, the angel who gave Jacob sciatica gave him something else: a new name. Why did he give him a new name? Taking a new name was an ancient ceremony which meant entering a new service. Sixty years ago servants in Devonshire were called by their employer's name. A gardener would have two names—his own, which he got from his father, and his master's. I have even heard dogs called by their master's names, for instance, Toby Smith, or Ponto Jones.
You will often notice in old books that when people were converted, that is to say, when they either took up a new religion or turned from bad ways to good ones, the people who persuaded them to be converted gave them a new name, very often the teacher's own name. Well, the angel who wrestled with Jacob appears to have converted him. He seems to have persuaded
56
