Sir John Chardin supposes that allusion is here made to the custom, so prevalent in the East, of making external applications of oils, ointments, plasters, and frictions, especially on the stomach and abdomen. In addition to this the passage may obtain further illustration from a fact mentioned by Roberts. He says that in India “the navel is often spoken of as a criterion of prosperity”; and he gives several proverbial expressions which are frequently used to denote good fortune, in which a figure is brought out similar to that in the text.