MOST PEOPLE are now familiar with the term “quarantine“. It is well known, for instance that any animal brought into one country from another one must be kept in isolation for several months to make sure that it has not brought with it any infectious disease.

A very sick person with a particularly contagious or infectious disease is also kept in quarantine. He is kept well away from other people so that there is no possibility of the infected person spreading the disease.

What is most interesting about the world is its origin. The actual word come from the Italian “quarantena” which of course comes from Latin and it meant a period of forty days. Originally quarantine meant merely a period of time consisting of 40 units, whether they were seconds, minutes, hours, days, months or years.

Forty was picked by the ancient people because it was considered a figure with magical power. In early days, it was believed that a unit of 40 could protect a person from evil. Thus widows used to mourn their husbands for 40 days to protect them from being disturbed by his spirit. Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai waiting for an inspiration from God and Christ fasted in the wilderness for 40 days to strengthen himself from the temptations of the Devil.