,,chronicles ,,of ,,pharmacy ,illustration ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41 ,,limited ,,london 4 ,,bombay 4 ,,calcutta ,,melbourne ,,the ,,macmillan ,,company ,,new ,,york 4 ,,boston 4 ,,chicago ,,atlanta 4 ,,san ,,francisco ,,the ,,macmillan ,,co4 ,,of ,,canada1 ,,ltd4 ,,toronto ,,chronicles ,,of ,,pharmacy ,,by ,a4 ,c4 ,,wootton ,,vol4 ,i ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41 ,,limited ,,st4 ,,martin',s ,,street1 ,,london #aiaj ,,richard ,,clay ,,and ,,sons1 ,,limited1 ,,bread ,,street ,,hill1 ,e4,c41 ,,and ,,bungay1 ,,suffolk4 ,,preface ,pharmacy1 or the art of selecting1 extracting1 preparing1 and compounding medicines from vegetable1 animal1 and mineral substances1 is an acquirement which must have been almost as ancient as man himself on the earth4 ,in experimenting with fruits1 seeds1 leaves1 or roots with a view to the discovery of varieties of food1 our remote ancestors would occasionally find some of these1 which1 though not tempting to the palate1 possessed this or that property the value of which would soon come to be recognised4 ,the tradition of these virtues would be handed down from generation to generation1 and would ultimately become1 by various means1 the heritage of the conquering and civilising races4 ,of the hundreds of drugs yielded by the vegetable kingdom1 collected from all parts of the world1 and used as remedies1 in some cases for thousands of years1 ,i do not know of a single one which can surely be traced to any historic or scientific personage4 ,it is possible in many instances to ascertain the exact or approximate date when a particular substance was introduced to our markets1 and sometimes to name the physician1 explorer1 merchant1 or conqueror to whom we are indebted for such an addition to our materia medica2 but there is always a history or a tradition behind our acquaintance with the new medicine1 going back to an undetermined past4 ,in modern dispensatories the ever increasing accumulation of chemical1 botanical1 histological1 and therapeutic notes has tended to crowd out the historic paragraphs which brightened the older treatises4 ,perhaps this result is inevitable1 but it is none the less to be regretted on account of both the student and the adept in the art of pharmacy4 8,i have always thought10 wrote ,ferdinand ,hoefer in the ,introduction to his still valuable 8,history of ,chemistry0 7#ahdb71 8that the best method of popularising scientific studies1 generally so little attractive1 consists in presenting1 as in a panorama1 the different phases a science has passed through from its origin to its present condition40 ,no science nor1 indeed1 any single item of knowledge1 can be properly appreciated apart from the records of its evolution2 and it is as important to be acquainted with the errors and misleading theories which have prevailed in regard to it1 as with the steps by which real progress has been made4 ,the history of drugs1 investigations into their cultivation1 their commerce1 their constitution1 and their therapeutic effects1 have been dealt with by physicians and pharmacologists of the highest eminence in both past and recent times4 ,in ,flckiger and ,hanbury's 8,pharmacographia0 7,macmillan3 #ahgd71 earlier records were studied with the most scrupulous care1 and valuable new information acquired by personal observation was presented4 ,no other work of a similar character was so original1 so accurate1 or so attractive as this4 ,a very important systematic study of drugs1 profusely illustrated by reproductions of photographs showing particularly the methods whereby they are produced and brought to our markets1 by ,professor ,tschirch of ,berne1 is now in course of publication by ,tauchnitz of ,leipsic4 ,in these humble 8,chronicles0 it has been impossible to avoid entirely occasional visits to the domain so efficiently occupied by these great authorities2 but as a rule the subjects they have made their own have been regarded as outside the scope of this volume4 ,but the art of the apothecary1 of pharmacy1 as we should now say1 restricted to its narrowest signification1 consists particularly of the manipulation of drugs1 the conversion of the raw material into the manufactured product4 ,the records of this art and mystery likewise go back to the remotest periods of human history4 ,in the course of ages they become associated with magic1 with theology1 with alchemy1 with crimes and conscious frauds1 with the strangest fancies1 and dogmas1 and delusions1 and with the severest science4 ,deities1 kings1 and quacks1 philosophers1 priests1 and poisoners1 dreamers1 seers1 and scientific chemists1 have all helped to build the fabric of pharmacy1 and it is some features of their work which are imperfectly sketched in these 8,chronicles40 ,my original intention when ,i began to collect the materials for this book was simply to trace back to their authors the formulas of the most popular of our medicines1 and to recall those which have lost their reputation4 ,i thought1 and still think1 that an explanation of the modification of processes and of the variation of the ingredients of compounds would be useful1 but ,i have not accomplished this design4 ,i have been tempted from it into various by-paths1 and probably in them have often erred1 and certainly have missed many objects of interest4 ,i shall be grateful to any critic1 better informed than myself1 who will correct me where ,i have gone astray1 or refer me to information which ,i ought to have given4 ,i may not have the opportunity of utilising suggestions myself2 but all that ,i receive will be carefully collated1 and may assist some future writer4 ,a4 ,c4 ,,wootton4 #d1 ,,seymour ,,road1 ,,finchley1 ,,london1 ,n4 ,,publishers' ,,note ,as the author unhappily died while his book was still in the printer's hands1 his friend1 ,mr4 ,peter ,mac,ewan1 editor of ,the ,chemist and ,druggist1 has been good enough to revise the proofs for press4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,,myths ,,of ,,pharmacy #a ,,ii4 ,,pharmacy ,,in ,,the ,,time ,,of ,,the ,,pharaohs #cd ,,iii4 ,,pharmacy ,,in ,,the ,,bible #df ,,iv4 ,,the ,,pharmacy ,,of ,,hippocrates #gg ,v4 ,,from ,,hippocrates ,,to ,,galen #hh ,,vi4 ,,arab ,,pharmacy #ig ,,vii4 ,,from ,,the ,,arabs ,,to ,,the ,,europeans #aac ,,viii4 ,,pharmacy ,,in ,,great ,,britain #abd ,,ix4 ,,magic ,,and ,,medicine #aeg ,x4 ,,dogmas ,,and ,,delusions #agd ,,xi4 ,,masters ,,in ,,pharmacy #bjf ,,xii4 ,,royal ,,and ,,noble ,,pharmacists #bhg ,,xiii4 ,,chemical ,,contributions ,,to ,,pharmacy #cbc ,,xiv4 ,,medicines ,,from ,,the ,,metals #cgf ,,illustrations ,,vol4 ,i ,,page ,isis #c ,osiris #c ,apollo #g sculapius #h ,arms of the ,society of ,apothecaries #aj ,chiron the ,centaur #ae ,achillea ,milfoil #af ,centaury #be ,phnix #bf ,unicorn #bh ,dragon #ca ,the ,dragon ,tree #cb ,papyrus ,ebers #da ,hippocrates #he ,interior of ,mosque1 ,cordova #ii ,avicenna #ajh ,nuremberg ,pharmacy #abj ,sir ,theodore ,mayerne #ade 8,lohn0 #afc ,george ,ernest ,stahl #agf ,marquise de ,svign #aib ,sir ,kenelm ,digby #aid ,galen #baa ,raymond ,lully #bbb ,basil ,valentine #bbe ,paracelsus #bdg1 #bdh1 #bdi ,culpepper #beb ,culpepper's ,house #bec ,j4 ,b4 ,van ,helmont #beh ,glauber #bfb ,karl ,wilhelm ,scheele #bfg ,scheele's ,pharmacy #bfi cole de ,pharmacie1 ,paris #bga ,vauquelin #bgb ,joseph ,pelletier #bge ,baron ,liebig #bhc ,sir ,humphry ,davy #bhd ,dr4 ,william ,heberden #bia ,sir ,walter ,raleigh #caa ,berkeley #cae ,dr4 ,nehemiah ,grew #cdc ,joseph ,black #ceg ,johann ,kunckel #cfb ,antimony cup #che ,dr4 ,thomas ,sydenham #djj ,thomas ,willis1 ,m4,d4 #dja ,quicksilver bottles #djh ,,errata ,,vol4 ,i ,page #aja4 ,tenth line from top1 for ,mesu read ,mesu4 #baa4 ,sixth line from bottom1 reference should be3 ,vol4 ,,ii41 #fc4 #bag4 ,eighth line from top1 reference should be3 ,vol4 ,,ii41 #ahb4 #bbd4 ,top line1 reference should be3 ,vol4 ,,ii41 #cg4 #ccg4 ,second line from top1 additional reference3 ,vol4 ,,ii41 #agi4 #dai4 ,ninth line from top1 for ,panchymagogum read ,panchymagogon4 ,,chronicles ,,of ,,pharmacy ,,myths ,,of ,,pharmacy 8,deorum immortalium inventioni consecrata est ,ars ,medica40--,,cicero1 ,tusculan4 ,quaest41 ,lib4 #c4 ,the earliest medical practitioners of any sort and among all peoples would almost certainly be1 as we should designate them1 herbalists2 women in many cases4 ,how they came to acquire knowledge of the healing properties of herbs it is futile to discuss4 ,old writers often guess that they got hints by watching animals4 ,their own curiosity1 suggesting experiments1 would probably be a more fruitful source of their science1 and from accidents1 both happy and fatal1 they would gradually acquire empiric learning4 ,very soon these herb experts would begin to prepare their remedies so as to make them easier to take or apply1 making infusions1 decoctions1 and ointments4 ,thus the ,art of ,pharmacy would be introduced4 ,the herbalists and pharmacists among primitive tribes would accumulate facts and experience1 and finding that their skill and services had a market value which enabled them to live without so much hard work as their neighbours1 they would naturally surround their knowledge with mystery1 and keep it to themselves or in particular families4 ,the profession of medicine being thus started1 the inevitable theories of supernatural powers causing diseases would be encouraged1 because these would promote the mystery already gathering round the practice of medicine1 and from them would follow incantations1 exorcisms1 the association of priestcraft with the healing arts1 and the superstitions1 credulities1 and impostures which have been its constant companions1 and which are still too much in evidence4 ,,the ,,inventors ,,of ,,medicine ,medicine and ,magic consequently became intimately associated1 and useful facts1 superstitious practices1 and conscious and unconscious deceptions1 became blended into a mosaic which formed a fixed and reverenced ,system of ,medicine4 ,again the supernatural powers were called in and the credit of the revelation of this ,art1 that is its total fabric1 was attributed either to a divine being who had brought it from above1 or to some gifted and inspired creature1 who in consequence had been admitted into the family of the deities4 ,in ,egypt ,osiris and ,isis1 brother and sister1 and at the same time husband and wife1 were worshipped as the revealers of medical knowledge among most other sciences4 ,formulas credited to ,isis were in existence in the time of ,galen1 but even that not too critical authority rejected these traditions without hesitation4 ,in ancient ,egypt1 however1 the priests who held in their possession all the secrets of medicine claimed ,isis as the founder of their science4 ,some old legends explained that she acquired her knowledge of medicine from an angel named ,amnael1 one of the sons of ,god of whom we read in the book of ,genesis4 ,the science thus imparted to her was the price she exacted from him for the surrender of herself to him4 ,the son of ,isis1 ,horus1 was identified by the ,greeks with their ,apollo1 and to him also the discovery of medicine is attributed4 ,illustration3 ,,isis4 ,,osiris4 ,from the ,collection of ,medals and other ,antiquities of ,casalius 7#agth century74 ,in ,leclerc's ,history of ,medicine4 ,the legend which associated 8the sons of ,god0 with the daughters of men before the ,flood1 and the suggestion that they imparted a knowledge of medicine to the inhabitants of the earth1 is traceable in the traditions of the ,egyptians1 the ,assyrians1 and the ,persians1 as well as in ,jewish literature4 ,in the #fth chapter of ,genesis it is said that 8they saw the daughters of men that they were fair2 and they took them wives of all that they chose40 ,from these unions came the race of giants1 and the wickedness of man so 8great in the earth0 that the destruction of the race by the ,flood resulted4 ,the apocryphal ,book of ,enoch1 composed1 it is agreed1 about #ajj or #aej years before the birth of ,christ1 is very definite in regard to this legend1 showing that it was current among the ,jews at that period4 ,we read in that ,book1 that 8,they 7the angels7 dwelt with them and taught them sorcery1 enchantments1 the properties of roots and trees1 magic signs1 and the art of observing the stars40 ,alluding to one of these angels particularly it is said 8he taught them the use of the bracelets and ornaments1 the art of painting1 of painting the eyelashes1 the uses of precious stones1 and all sorts of tinctures1 so that the world was corrupted40 ,,hermes4 ,with ,osiris and ,isis is always associated the ,egyptian ,thoth whom the ,greeks called ,hermes1 and who is also identified with ,mercury4 ,he was described as the friend1 or the secretary1 of ,osiris4 ,eusebius quotes an earlier author who identified ,hermes with ,moses2 but if ,moses was the inventor of medicine and all other sciences it would be hardly exact to speak of him as 8learned in all the wisdom of the ,egyptians40 ,thoth1 who is also claimed as a ,phoenician1 as ,canaan the son of ,ham1 and as an associate of ,saturn1 attained perhaps the greatest fame as an inventor of medicine4 ,he was the presumed author of the six sacred books which the ,egyptian priests were bound to follow in their treatment of the sick4 ,one of these books was specially devoted to pharmacy4 ,thoth1 or ,hermes1 is supposed to have invented alchemy as well as medicine1 the art of writing1 arithmetic1 laws1 music1 and the cultivation of the olive4 ,according to ,jamblicus1 who wrote on the mysteries of ,egypt in the reign of the ,emperor ,julian1 the ,egyptian priests then recognised forty-two books as the genuine works of ,hermes4 ,six of these dealt respectively with anatomy1 diseases in general1 women's complaints1 eye diseases1 surgery1 and the preparation of remedies4 ,jamblicus is not sure of their authenticity1 and1 as already stated1 ,galen uncompromisingly declares them to be apocryphal4 ,other writers are far less modest than ,jamblicus in their estimates of the number of the writings of ,hermes4 ,seleucus totals them at #bj1jjj1 and ,manethon says #ch1jjj4 ,the legend of ,hermes apparently grew up among the ,alexandrian writers of the first century4 ,it was from them that his surname ,trismegistus 7thrice-great7 originated4 ,it was pretended that in the old ,egyptian temples the works of ,hermes were kept on papyri1 and that the priests in treating diseases were bound to follow his directions implicitly4 ,if they did1 and the patient died1 they were exonerated2 but if they departed from the written instructions they were liable to be condemned to death1 even though the patient recovered4 ,it is hardly necessary to say that in the preceding paragraph no attempt has been made to discuss modern researches on ancient beliefs4 ,greek scholars1 for example1 trace the ,greek ,hermes to an ,indian source1 and assume the existence of two gods of the same name4 ,,bacchus1 ,,ammon1 ,,and ,,zoroaster4 ,bacchus1 ,king of ,assyria1 and subsequently a deity1 was claimed by some of the ,eastern nations as the discoverer of medicine4 ,he is supposed to have taught the medicinal value of the ivy1 but it is more likely that he owes his medical reputation to his supposed invention of wine4 ,some old writers identify him with ,noah4 ,hammon1 or ,ammon1 or ,amen1 traced to ,ham1 the second son of ,noah1 has been honoured as having originated medicine in ,egypt4 ,some attribute the name of sal ammoniac to the temple of ,ammon in the ,libyan oasis1 on the theory that it was first produced there from the dung of camels4 ,gum ammoniacum is similarly supposed to have been the gum of a shrub which grew in that locality4 ,zoroaster1 who gave the ,persians their religious system1 is also counted among the inventors of medicine1 perhaps because he was so generally regarded as the discoverer of magic4 ,,apollo4 ,apollo1 the reputed god of medicine among the ,greeks1 was the son of ,jupiter and ,latona4 ,his divinity became associated with the sun1 and his arrows1 which often caused sudden death were1 according to modern expounders of ancient myths1 only the rays of the sun4 ,many of his attributes were similar to those which the ,egyptians credited to ,horus1 the son of ,osiris and ,isis1 and it is evident that the ,egyptian legend was incorporated with that of the early ,greeks4 ,besides being the god of medicine ,apollo was the deity of music1 poetry1 and eloquence1 and he was honoured as the inventor of all these arts4 ,he evidently possessed the jealousy of the artist in an abundant degree1 for after his musical competition with ,pan1 ,apollo playing the lyre and ,pan the flute1 when ,tmolus1 the arbiter1 had awarded the victory to the former1 ,midas ventured to disagree with that opinion1 and was thereupon provided with a pair of asses' ears4 ,marsyas1 another flute player1 having challenged ,apollo1 was burnt alive4 ,illustration3 ,,apollo4 ,peon1 sometimes identified with ,apollo1 was the physician of ,olympus4 ,he is said to have first practised in ,egypt4 ,in the fifth book of the #8,iliad' ,homer describes how he cured the wound which ,diomed had given to ,mars3-- --,peon sprinkling heavenly balm around1 ,assuaged the glowing pangs and closed the wound4 ,,sculapius4 sculapius1 son of ,apollo and ,coronis1 had a more immediate connection with medicine than his father4 ,he was taught its mysteries by ,chiron the ,centaur1 another of the legendary inventors of the art1 who also taught ,achilles and others4 sculapius became so skilful that ,castor and ,pollux insisted on his accompanying the expedition of the ,argonauts4 ,ultimately he acquired the power of restoring the dead to life4 ,but this perfection of his art was his ruin4 ,illustration3 ,,sculapius4 ,from the ,casalius ,collection of ,medals1 c4 7#agth century74 ,from the ,louvre ,statue1 ,paris4 ,pluto1 alarmed for the future of his own dominions1 complained to ,jupiter1 and the ,olympian ruler slew sculapius with a thunderbolt4 ,apollo was so incensed at this cruel judgment that he killed the ,cyclops who had forged the thunderbolt4 ,for this act of rebellion ,apollo was banished from ,olympia and spent nine years on earth1 for some time as a shepherd in the service of the king of ,thessaly4 ,it was during this period that the story of his adventure with ,daphne1 told by ,ovid1 and from which the quotation on ,,the ,,arms ,,of ,,the ,,society ,,of ,,apothecaries 7italicised below7 is taken1 occurred4 ,ovid relates that ,apollo1 meeting ,cupid1 jeered at his child's bows and arrows as mere playthings4 ,in revenge ,cupid forged two arrows1 one of gold and the other of lead4 ,the golden one he shot at ,apollo1 to excite desire2 the leaden arrow1 which repelled desire1 was shot at ,daphne4 ,the legend ends by the nymph being metamorphosed into a laurel which ,apollo thenceforth wore as a wreath4 ,one of the incidents narrated by ,ovid represents the god telling the nymph who he is4 ,dryden's version makes him say3 ,perhaps thou knowest not my superior state ,and from that ignorance proceeds thy hate4 ,a somewhat uncouth method of seeking to ingratiate himself with the reluctant lady4 ,among his attainments ,apollo says3 ,invention medicina meum est1 ,opiferque per orbem ,dicor1 et herbam subjecta potentia nobis4 ,dryden versifies these lines thus3 ,medicine is mine1 what herbs and simples grow ,in fields and forests1 all their powers ,i know1 ,and am the great physician called below4 ,the arms of the ,society of ,apothecaries are thus described in ,burke's 8,encyclopdia of ,heraldry10 #ahea3 8,in shield1 ,apollo1 the inventor of physic1 with his head radiant1 holding in his left hand a bow1 and in his right a serpent4 ,about the shield a helm1 thereupon a mantle1 and for the crest1 upon a wreath of their colours1 a rhinoceros1 supported by two unicorns1 armed and ungulated4 ,upon a compartment to make the achievement complete1 this motto3 #8,opiferque per orbem dicor4'0 ,illustration3 ,,arms ,,of ,,the ,,society ,,of ,,apothecaries4 ,it was ,william ,camden1 the famous antiquary and 8,clarenceux ,king at ,arms0 in ,james ,i4's reign1 who hunted out the middle of the above ,latin quotation for the newly incorporated ,society of ,apothecaries4 ,,the ,,sons ,,of ,,sculapius4 sculapius left two sons1 who continued their father's profession1 and three or four daughters4 ,it is not possible to be chronologically exact with these semi-mythical personages1 but according to the usual reckoning sculapius lived about #abej ,b4,c4 ,he would have been contemporary with ,gideon1 a judge of ,israel1 about two centuries after the death of ,moses1 and two centuries before the reign of ,king ,david4 ,his sons ,machaon and ,podalirus were immortalised in the ,iliad among the ,greek heroes who fought before ,troy1 and they exercised their surgical and medical skill on their comrades1 as ,homer relates4 ,when ,menelaus was wounded by an arrow shot by ,pandarus1 ,machaon was sent for1 and 8sucked the blood1 and sovereign balm infused1 which ,chiron gave1 and sculapius used40 ,after the ,trojan war both the brothers continued to exercise their art1 and some of their cures are recorded4 ,their sons after them likewise practised medicine1 and the earliest sculapian ,temple is believed to have been erected in memory of his grandfather by ,spyrus1 the second son of ,machaon1 at ,argos4 ,perhaps he only intended it as a home for patients1 or it may have been as an advertisement4 ,from then1 however1 the worship of sculapius spread1 and we read of temples at ,titane in the ,peloponnesus1 at ,tricca in ,thessalia1 at ,trithorea1 at ,corinth1 at ,epidaurus1 at ,cos1 at ,megalopolis in ,arcadia1 at ,lar in ,laconia1 at ,drepher1 at ,drope1 at ,corona on the ,gulf of ,messina1 at ,egrum1 at ,delos1 at ,cyllene1 at ,smyrna1 and at ,pergamos in ,asia ,minor4 ,the ,temple of ,epidaurus was for a long time the most important1 but before the time of ,hippocrates that of ,cos seems to have taken the lead4 ,,the ,,daughters ,,of ,,sculapius are often described as allegorical figures1 ,hygeia representing health1 and ,panacea1 medicine4 ,hygeia especially was widely worshipped by ,greeks1 and when rich people recovered from an illness they often had medals struck with her figure on the reverse4 ,pliny says it was customary to offer her a simple cake of fine flour1 to indicate the connection between simple living and good health4 ,panacea was likewise made a divinity4 ,she presided over the administration of medicines4 ,egrea and ,jaso are but little known4 ,the former 7whose name signified the light of the ,sun7 married a serpent and was changed into a willow1 while ,jaso in the only known monument on which she appears1 is represented with a pot1 probably of ointment1 in her hand4 ,,prometheus4 ,more mythical than the story of sculapius1 or even of ,orpheus1 who was also alleged to have discovered some of the secrets of medicine1 is the legend of ,prometheus who stole fire from heaven for the benefit of mankind4 ,according to the older mythologists ,prometheus was the same as ,magog1 and was the son of ,japhet4 schylus is the principal authority on his tradition4 ,after recounting many other wonderful things he had done for humanity1 the poet makes him say1 8,one of the greatest subtilties ,i have invented is that when any one falls ill1 and can find no relief2 can neither eat nor drink1 and knows not with what to anoint himself2 when for want of the necessary remedies he must perish2 then ,i showed to men how to prepare healing medicine which should cure all maladies40 ,or as ,dean ,plumptre has rendered it3-- ,if any one fell ill ,there was no help for him nor healing balm1 ,nor unguent1 nor yet potion2 but for want ,of drugs they wasted till ,i showed to them ,the blendings of all mild medicaments ,wherewith they ward the attacks of sickness sore4 ,in other words1 ,prometheus was the first pharmacist4 ,,melampus4 ,melampus was a shepherd to whom we owe1 as legend tells us1 hellebore 7,gr4 ,melampodion7 and iron as medicines4 ,melampus studied nature closely1 and1 when young1 brought up by hand some young serpents1 who were dutifully grateful for the cares he had bestowed on them4 ,one day1 finding him asleep1 two of them crept to his ears and so effectively cleaned them with their tongues that when he woke he found he could easily make out the language of birds1 and hear a thousand things which had previously been hidden from man4 ,thus he became a great magician4 ,in tending his goats he observed that whenever they ate the black hellebore they were purged4 ,afterwards1 many of the women of ,argos were stricken with a disease which made them mad4 ,they ran about the fields naked1 and believed they were cows4 ,among the women so afflicted were the three daughters of ,proetus1 the king of ,argos4 ,melampus undertook to cure the three princesses1 and did so by giving them the milk of the goats after they had eaten the hellebore4 ,his reward was one of them for his wife and a third of the kingdom4 ,another cure effected by ,melampus was by his treatment of ,iphiclus1 king of ,phylacea1 who greatly desired to beget children4 ,melampus gave him rust of iron in wine1 and that remedy proved successful4 ,this was the earliest ,vinum ,ferri4 ,melampus is supposed to have lived about #achj ,b4,c4 ,,glaucus4 ,glaucus1 son of ,minos1 king of ,crete1 was playing when a child and fell into a large vat of honey1 in which he was suffocated4 ,the child being lost the king sent for ,polyidus of ,argos1 a famous magician1 and ordered him to discover his son4 ,polyidus having found the dead body in the honey1 it occurred to ,minos that so clever a man could also bring him back to life4 ,he therefore commanded that the magician should be put into the same vat4 ,while perplexed at the problem before him1 ,polyidus saw a serpent creeping towards the vat4 ,he seized the beast and killed him4 ,presently another serpent came1 and looked on his dead friend4 ,the second went out of the place for a few minutes and returned with a certain herb which he applied to the dead reptile and soon restored him to life4 ,polyidus took the hint and used the same herb on ,glaucus with an equally satisfactory result4 ,he restored him to his father1 who loaded the sorcerer with gifts4 ,unfortunately in telling the other details of this history the narrator has forgotten to inform us of the name of the herb which possessed such precious properties4 ,polyidus1 according to ,pausanias1 was a nephew of ,melampus4 ,,chiron4 ,chiron the ,centaur was very famous for his knowledge of simples1 which he learned on ,mount ,pelion when hunting with ,diana4 ,the ,centaury owes its name to him1 either because he used it as a remedy or because it was applied to his wound4 ,his great merit was that he taught his knowledge of medicines to sculapius1 to ,hercules1 to ,achilles1 and to various other ,greek heroes4 ,in the ,iliad ,homer represents ,eurypylus wounded by an arrow asking ,patroclus ,with lukewarm water wash the gore away ,with healing balms the raging smart allay ,such as sage ,chiron1 sire of pharmacy1 ,once taught ,achilles1 and ,achilles thee4 7,il41 ,bk4 ,,xi41 ,pope's ,translation47 ,chiron was shot in the foot by ,hercules by an arrow which had been dipped in the blood of the ,hydra of ,lerna1 and the wound caused intense agony4 ,one fable says that ,chiron healed this wound by applying to it the herb which consequently bore the name of ,centaury2 but the more usual version is that his grief at being immortal was so keen that ,hercules induced ,jupiter to transfer that immortality to ,prometheus1 and that ,chiron was placed in the sky and forms the constellation of ,sagittarius4 ,the ,centaurs were a wild race inhabiting ,thessaly4 ,probably they were skilful horse tamers and riders1 and from this may have grown the fable of their form4 ,illustration3 ,,chiron ,,the ,,centaur4 ,,achilles4 ,achilles carried a spear at the siege of ,troy which had the benign power of healing the wounds it made4 ,he discovered the virtues of the plant ,achillea ,milfoil1 but ,pliny leaves it doubtful whether he cured the wounds of his friend ,telephas by that remedy or by verdigris ointment1 which he also invented4 ,illustration3 ,,achillea ,,milfoil4 ,,aristes4 ,aristes1 king of ,arcadia1 was another famous pupil of ,chiron4 ,he is credited with having introduced the silphion or laser which became a popular medicine and condiment with the ancients1 and which was long believed to have been their name for asaftida1 but which modern authors have doubted1 alleging that silphion was the product of ,thapsia silphion4 ,aristes is further said to have taught the art of collecting honey and of cultivating the olive4 ,,medea4 ,medea of ,colchis is one of the most discussed ladies of mythical history4 ,euripides1 ,ovid1 and other poets represented her for the purposes of their poems as a fiend of inhuman ferocity4 ,some more trustworthy historians believe that she was a princess who devoted a great deal of study to the medicinal virtues of the plants which grew in her country1 and that she exercised her skill on the poor and sick of her country4 ,certainly the marvellous murders attributed to her must have been planned by a tragic poet to whom no conditions were impossible4 ,diodorus declares that the ,corinthians stoned her and her sons1 and afterwards paid ,euripides five talents to justify their crime4 ,medea's claim to a place in this section is the adopted theory that she discovered the poisonous properties of colchicum1 which derived its name from her country4 ,colchis had the reputation of producing many poisonous plants2 hence the ,latin expression 8venena ,colchica40 ,,morpheus4 ,morpheus was1 according to the ,roman poets1 the son or chief minister of the god of sleep 7,somnus74 ,the god himself was represented as living in ,cimmerian darkness4 ,morpheus derived his name from ,morphe1 7,gr41 form or shape71 from his supposed ability to mimic or assume the form of any individual he desired to pose as in dreams4 ,thus ,ovid relates how he appeared to ,alcyone in a dream as her husband1 who had been shipwrecked1 and narrated to her all the circumstances of the tragedy4 ,morpheus is represented with a poppy plant in his hand bearing a capsule with which he was supposed to touch those whom he desired to put to sleep4 ,he also had the wings of a butterfly to indicate his lightness4 ,sertrner adopted the term 8morphium0 as the name of the opium alkaloid which he had discovered4 ,,pythagoras4 ,pythagoras1 who lived in the sixth century before ,christ1 has been the subject of so many legends that it is difficult to separate the philosopher in him from the charlatan4 ,he is said to have tamed wild beasts with a word1 to have visited hell1 to have recounted his previous stages of existence from the siege of ,troy to his own life1 and to have accomplished many miracles4 ,probably these were the myths which often gather round great men1 and it is certain that from him or from his disciples in his name much exact learning1 especially in mathematics1 has reached us4 ,pythagoras was famous in many sciences4 ,his chief contribution to pharmacy was the invention of acetum scillae4 ,according to ,pliny he wrote a treatise on squills1 which he believed possessed magic virtues4 ,pliny also states that he attributed magic virtues to the cabbage1 but it is not certain that he meant the vegetable which we call the cabbage4 ,aniseed was another of his magic plants4 ,holding aniseed in the left hand he recommended as a cure for epilepsy1 and he prescribed an anisated wine and also mustard to counteract the poisonous effect of the bites of scorpions4 ,an ,antidotum ,pythagoras is given in some old books1 but there is no authority for supposing that this was devised by the philosopher4 ,it was composed of orris1 #ah drachms and #b scruples2 gentian1 #e drachms2 ginger1 #d drachms2 black pepper1 #d drachms2 honey1 q4s4 ,,the ,,patron ,,saints ,,of ,,pharmacy4 ,cosmas and ,damien1 who are regarded as the patron saints of pharmacy in many ,catholic countries1 were two brothers1 ,arabs by birth1 but who lived in the city of ,egea1 in ,cilicia1 where they practised medicine gratuitously4 ,overtaken by the ,diocletian persecution in the fourth century1 they were arrested and confessed their faith4 ,being condemned to be drowned1 it is related that an angel severed their bonds so that they could gain the shore4 ,they were then ordered to be burnt1 but the fire attacked their executioners1 several of whom were killed4 ,next they were fastened to a cross and archers shot arrows at them4 ,the arrows1 however1 were turned from them and struck those who had placed them on the crosses4 ,finally they were beheaded1 and their souls were seen mounting heavenward4 ,for centuries their tomb at ,cyrus1 in ,syria1 was a shrine where miracles of healing were performed1 and in the sixth century the ,emperor ,justinian1 who believed he had been cured of a serious illness by their intercession1 not only beautified and fortified the ,syrian city1 but also built a beautiful church in their honour at ,constantinople4 ,later1 their relics were removed to ,rome1 and ,pope ,felix consecrated a church to them there4 ,physicians and pharmacists throughout ,catholic ,europe celebrated their memory on ,september #bgth for centuries4 ,,fables ,,of ,,plant ,,medicines4 ,the ,mandrake 7,atropa ,mandragora7 has been exceptionally famous in medical history4 ,its reputation for the cure of sterility is alluded to in the story of ,leah and ,rachel 7,genesis xxx1 #ad-af74 ,it is not1 however1 certain that the ,hebrew word 8dudaim0 should be translated mandrake4 ,various ,biblical scholars have questioned this which was the ,septuagint rendering4 ,lilies1 violets1 truffles1 citrons1 and other fruits have been suggested4 ,in ,cant41 vii1 #ad1 the same plant is described as fragrant1 and the odour of the mandrake is said to be disagreeable4 ,mandragora is described in ,chinese books of medicine1 and from ,hippocrates down to almost modern times every writer on the art of healing treats it with reverence4 ,hippocrates asserts that a small dose in wine1 less than would occasion delirium1 will relieve the deepest depression and anxiety4 ,the roots of the mandrake are often of a forked shape and were supposed to represent the human form1 some being regarded as male and others as female4 ,this fancy originated with ,pythagoras1 who conferred on the mandrake the name of anthropomorphon4 ,it was said that when the roots were drawn from the earth they gave a human shriek4 ,shakespeare in ,romeo and ,juliet alludes to this superstition3 ,and shrieks like mandrakes torn out of the earth ,that living mortals hearing them run mad4 ,in ,othello again ,shakespeare refers to this medicine1 and particularly to its alleged narcotic properties3 ,not poppy1 nor mandragora1 ,nor all the drowsy syrups of the world4 ,in ,antony and ,cleopatra1 too1 ,cleopatra says1 8,give me to drink mandragora0 7that she may sleep out the great gap of time while ,antony is away72 and ,banquo in ,macbeth1 when he asks1 8,or have we eaten of the insane root that takes the reason prisoner80 is believed to allude to the mandrake4 ,there is a good deal of evidence that mandragora was used in ancient and medival times not only as a soporific1 but also as an ansthetic4 ,dioscorides explicitly asserts this property of the root more than once4 ,he describes a decoction of which a cupful is to be taken for severe pains1 or 8before amputations1 or the use of the cautery1 to prevent the pain of those operations40 ,elsewhere he alludes to its employment in parturition1 and in another passage dealing with a wine prepared from the external coat of the root1 says1 8,the person who drinks it falls in a profound sleep1 and remains deprived of sense three or four hours4 ,physicians apply this remedy when the necessity for amputation occurs1 or for applying the cautery40 ,pliny refers to the narcotic powers of the mandrake1 and among later writers its effects are often described4 ,josephus mentions a plant which he calls ,baaras1 which cured demoniacs1 but could only be procured at great risk1 or by employing a dog to uproot it1 the dog being killed in the process4 ,this ,baaras is supposed to have been mandrake4 ,dr4 ,lee in his ,hebrew ,lexicon quotes from a ,persian authority an allusion to a similar root which1 taken inwardly1 8renders one insensible to the pain of even cutting off a limb40 ,baptista ,porta describes the power of the mandrake in inducing deep sleep1 and in ,a4 ,g4 ,meissner's 8,skizzen10 published at ,carlsruhe in #aghb1 there is a story of ,weiss1 surgeon to ,augustus1 ,king of ,poland and ,elector of ,saxony1 who surreptitiously administered a potion 7of what medicine is not stated7 to his royal master1 and during his insensibility cut off a mortifying foot4 ,,amaranth1 ,,ambrosia1 ,,and ,,athanasia4 ,amaranth is the name which has been given to the genus of plants of which ,prince's ,feather and ,love-,lies-,bleeding are species4 ,this means immortal and is the word used in the ,epistle of ,st4 ,peter 7v1 #d71 the amaranthine crown of glory1 or as translated in our version 8the crown of glory that fadeth not away40 ,milton refers to the 8immortal amaranth1 a flower which once in ,paradise1 fast by the ,tree of ,life began to bloom40 ,ambrosia1 the food of the gods1 sometimes alluded to as drink1 and sometimes as a sweet-smelling ointment1 was also referred to by ,dioscorides and ,pliny as a herb1 but it is not known what particular plant they meant4 ,it was reputed to be nine times sweeter than honey4 ,the herb ,ambrose of the old herbalists was the ,chenopodium ,botrys1 but ,c4 ,ambroisioides 7the oak of ,jerusalem71 the wild sage1 and the field parsley have also borne the name4 ,the ,ambroisia of modern botanists is a plant of the wormwood kind4 ,athanasia was abbreviated by the old herbalists into ,tansy1 and this herb acquired the fame due to its distinguished designation4 ,in ,lucian's ,dialogues of the ,gods1 ,jupiter tells ,hercules to take with him the beautiful ,ganymede1 whom he has stolen from earth1 8and when he has drunk of ,athanasia 7immortality7 bring him back1 and he shall be our cupbearer40 ,naturally the ancients sought for that herb1 ,athanasia1 which would yield immortality4 ,,myrrh4 ,myrrha1 the daughter of ,cinyrus1 ,king of ,cyprus1 having become pregnant1 was driven from home by her father1 and fled to ,arabia4 ,the story told by ,ovid is that she had conceived a criminal passion for her father1 and that by deception she had taken her mother's place by his side one night4 ,lost in the desert and overcome by remorse1 she had prayed the gods to grant that she should no longer remain among the living1 nor be counted with the dead4 ,touched with pity for her1 they changed her into the tree which yields the gum which to this day bears her name4 ,,nepenthe4 ,nepenthe1 or more correctly ,nepenthes1 is described by ,homer in the ,odyssey as an ,egyptian plant which ,helen1 the wife of ,menelaus1 had received from ,polydamna1 wife of ,thonis1 ,king of ,egypt4 ,the word is compounded of ne1 negation1 and penthos1 pain or affliction4 ,helen mixed it for ,telemachus in 8a mirth inspiring bowl0 which would ,clear the cloudy front of wrinkled care1 ,and dry the tearful sluices of despair4 ,its effects would last all through one day4 ,no matter what horrors surrounded1 ,from morn to eve1 impassive and serene ,the man entranced would view the dreadful scene4 ,much discussion of ,homer's drug has of course resulted from his description of these effects4 ,was it a mere poetic fancy of ,homer's and was the name his invention1 or was there an ,egyptian drug known in his time to which the properties he describes were attributed8 ,plutarch1 ,philostratus1 and some other ancient commentators suppose that the poet is only representing in a materialistic form the charm of ,helen's conversation and manner4 ,the difficulty about that interpretation is that he explicitly states that the remedy came from ,egypt4 ,theophrastus credits the opopanax with similar properties to those which ,homer claims1 and ,dioscorides is believed to allude to the same gum under the name of ,nectarion1 which he indicates to have been of ,egyptian origin4 ,this has been adopted by some old critics as the true nepenthes4 ,pliny asserts that ,helenium was the plant which yielded the mirth-inspiring drug1 but it is not clear that he means our elecampane4 ,borage and bugloss have also had their advocates1 ,galen supporting the latter4 ,rhazes voted for saffron4 ,cleopatra is assumed to have meant mandragora when she asked for some nepenthe to make her forget her sorrow while she was separated from ,antony4 ,opium has of course been selected by many commentators1 but it could hardly have furnished a mirth-inspiring bowl4 ,indian hemp or haschish seems to meet the requirements of the verse better than any other drug4 ,there are also reasons for choosing hyoscyamus or stramonium4 ,the ,indian pitcher plants to which ,linnaeus gave the name of nepenthes are out of the question4 ,a learned contribution to this study may be found in the ,bulletin de ,pharmacie1 ,vol4 ,v4 7#ahac71 by ,m4 ,j4 ,j4 ,virey4 ,,belladonna4 ,atropa ,belladonna is the subject of several legends4 ,how it came by its several names it would be interesting to know4 ,atropa1 from the eldest sister of the ,fates1 she who carried the scissors with which she cut the thread of life1 is appropriate enough but not more to this than to any other poison plant4 ,belladonna--so-called because ,italian ladies made a cosmetic from the berries with which to whiten their complexions2 so-called because the ,spanish ladies made use of the plant to dilate the pupils of their brilliant black eyes2 so-called because ,leucota1 an ,italian poisoner1 used it to destroy beautiful women4 ,these are among the explanations of the name which the old herbalists gave without troubling themselves about historical evidence4 ,belladonna is supposed to have been described by ,dioscorides under the name of ,morella furiosum lethale1 and by ,pliny as ,strychnos manikon4 ,it was used by ,galen in cancerous affections1 and its employment for this purpose was revived in the #agth century1 infusions of leaves being administered both internally and externally4 ,that it figured among the philtres of the sorcerers cannot be doubted4 ,like mandragora1 it did not act by exciting amorous passions1 but by rendering the victim helpless4 ,,centaury4 ,the lesser ,centaury 7,erythraea ,centaurium7 is alleged to owe its name to ,chiron the ,centaur1 who is supposed to have taught medicine to sculapius4 ,the story which associates ,chiron with the plant has been given already4 ,illustration3 ,,centaury4 ,,mint4 ,mentha was a nymph of the infernal regions beloved of ,pinto4 ,prosperine out of jealousy caused her to be metamorphosed into the plant which thus acquired her name4 ,,dittany4 ,dittany1 the origanum ,dictamnus1 was reputed to possess wonderful virtues for healing wounds4 neas1 wounded in a combat1 was treated by ,iapyx1 who had been specially taught by ,apollo1 but his simples had no effect4 ,venus1 touched by the sufferings of her son1 thereupon descended from heaven in a cloud1 gathered some dittany on ,mount ,ida1 and secretly added it to the infusion with which ,iapyx was vainly trying to relieve the hero4 ,she added some ambrosial elixir1 and suddenly the pain ceased1 the flow of blood was arrested1 the dart was easily drawn from the wound1 and neas recovered his strength4 ,,mythical ,,animals4 ,,the ,,ph,,nix4 ,the ,phnix was largely adopted by the alchemists as their emblem1 and afterwards was a frequent sign used by pharmacists4 ,according to ,herodotus this bird1 which was worshipped by the ,egyptians1 was of about the size of an eagle1 with purple and gold plumage1 and a purple crest4 ,its eyes sparkled like stars2 it lived a solitary life in the ,arabian desert1 and either came to ,heliopolis1 the city of the sun1 to die and be burned in the temple of that city1 or its ashes were brought there by its successor4 ,there was only one phnix at the same time1 and it lived for #ejj years4 ,the legends vary as to its longevity1 but #ejj years is the period usually assigned4 ,when the phnix knew that its time had come1 it made its own funeral pyre out of spiced woods1 and the sun provided the fire4 ,out of the marrow of its bones came a worm1 which quickly grew into a new phnix1 who1 after burying its parent in ,egypt1 returned to ,arabia4 ,illustration3 ,,ph,,nix4 ,the ,talmud relates some curious legends of the phnix1 which the ,jews believed to be immortal4 ,one story is that when ,eve had eaten the forbidden fruit she gave some to all the animals in the ,garden of ,eden1 and that the phnix was the only one which refused4 ,hence it escaped the curse of death which overtook the rest of the animal creation4 ,another legend is that when it was in the ark1 and when all the other animals were clamouring to be fed1 the phnix was quiet4 ,noah1 observing it1 asked if it was not hungry1 to which the phnix replied1 8,i saw you were busy1 so would not trouble you10 an answer which so pleased ,noah that he blessed it with eternal life4 ,in the book of ,job1 xxix1 #ah1 recalling his earlier glory1 the patriarch says1 8,then ,i said ,i shall die in my nest1 and ,i shall multiply my days as the sand40 ,many ,jewish scholars believe that the word translated sand should be phnix1 and our ,revised ,version gives 8phnix0 as an alternative rendering4 ,it is easy to appreciate how aptly this would express ,job's idea4 ,some of the ,hebrew commentators translate the verse in ,ps4 ciii1 #e1 8,so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle10 by substituting phnix for eagle4 ,,the ,,unicorn had not quite passed into the region of fable when ,pomet wrote his ,history of ,drugs very early in the #ahth century1 for though he does not believe in the animal himself1 he quotes from other authors not so very long antecedent to him who did4 ,he states1 however1 that what was then sold as unicorn's horn was in fact the horn or tusk of the narwhal1 a tooth which extends to the length of six to ten feet4 ,the unicorn1 or monoceros was referred to by ,aristotle1 ,pliny1 ,aelian1 and other ancient writers1 and in later times it was described by various travellers who1 if they had not seen it themselves1 had met with persons who had4 ,illustration3 ,,unicorn 7,,after ,,bochaut',s ,,hierozoicon74 ,the details given by ,aristotle are supposed to have been derived from ,ctesias1 whose description of the ,indian wild ass is what was adopted with many embellishments for the fabulous unicorn4 ,it is this author who first notices the marvellous alexipharmic properties so long attributed to the unicorn's horn4 ,drinking vessels1 he says1 were made of the horn1 and those who used them were protected against poison1 convulsions1 and epilepsy1 provided that either just before or just after taking the poison they drank wine or water from the cup made from the horn4 ,in the middle ages the horn of the unicorn was esteemed a certain cure for the plague1 malignant fevers1 bites of serpents or of mad dogs4 ,it was to be made into a jelly to which a little saffron and cochineal were to be added4 ,some writers allege that poisoned wounds could be cured by merely holding the horn of a unicorn opposite the wound4 ,these horns are said1 however1 to have cost about ten times the price of gold1 so that not many sufferers could avail themselves of them as a remedy4 ,the unicorn is mentioned several times in the ,old ,testament1 the translators of the ,authorised ,version having followed the ,septuagint in which the ,hebrew word ,re'em was rendered by the ,greek term ,monokeros1 which corresponds with our unicorn4 ,it is agreed that the word in the original had no reference to the fabulous animal1 but that the wild ox1 or ox antelope1 a strong untameable beast1 known in ,palestine1 was intended4 ,in the ,revised ,version wild ox is uniformly substituted for unicorn4 ,this animal is believed to have been the ,urus mentioned by ,julius ,csar as existing in his time in the forests of ,central ,europe1 and not entirely extinct until some #ejj or #fjj years ago4 ,the translators evidently found a difficulty in associating the unicorn with the ,hebrew ,re'em in ,deut4 xxxiii1 #ag1 where we read of 8the horns of the unicorns40 ,in the ,hebrew the horns are the plural but ,re'em is singular4 ,but the horns of the unicorn would have been a contradiction in terms4 ,the allusions to the unicorn in ,shakespeare all seem to show unbelief in the legends4 ,in the ,tempest 7,act #c1 sc4 #c7 ,sebastian says when music is heard in the wood1 8,now ,i will believe that there are unicorns40 ,in ,julius ,csar 7,act #b1 sc4 #a71 ,decius ,brutus1 recounting ,csar's superstitions1 says1 8,he loves to hear that unicorns may be betrayed with trees02 and ,timon of ,athens raves about the unicorn among the legendary animal beliefs 7,act #d1 sc4 #c74 ,an authority on heraldry1 ,guillim1 in #affj1 however1 comments thus on the scepticism of his contemporaries3 8,some have made doubt whether there be any such beast as this or not4 ,but the great esteem of his horns 7in many places to be seen7 may take away that needless scruple40 ,the unicorn was introduced into the ,british royal arms by ,james ,i41 who substituted it for the red dragon with which ,henry ,,vii4 had honoured a ,welsh contingent which helped him to win the battle of ,bosworth fighting under the banner of ,cadwallydr4 ,the unicorn had been a ,scotch emblem for several reigns before that of ,james ,i4 7or ,,vi474 ,the ,scottish pound of that period was known by the name of a unicorn from the device stamped on it4 ,pomet tells us that in #aeec a unicorn's horn was brought to the ,king of ,france which was valued at #bj1jjj sterling2 and that one presented to ,charles ,i4 of ,england1 supposed to be the largest one known1 measured #g feet long1 and weighed #ac lbs4 ,it is also related that ,edward ,,iv4 gave to the ,duke of ,burgundy who visited him1 a gold cup set with jewels1 and with a piece of unicorn's horn worked into the metal4 ,one large unicorn's horn was owned by the city of ,dresden and was valued at #ge1jjj thalers4 ,occasionally a piece was sawn off to be used for medical purposes4 ,it was a city regulation that two persons of princely rank should be present whenever this operation was performed4 ,this was in the sixteenth century4 ,the unicorn was a frequent sign used by the old apothecaries4 ,it was also adopted by goldsmiths4 ,the arms of the ,society of ,apothecaries are supported by unicorns4 ,illustration3 ,,dragon4 ,,the ,,dragon was only associated with pharmacy by means of the 8blood0 which took his name and was at one time popularly supposed to be yielded by him4 ,i know of no evidence in support of this statement1 but it is sometimes so reported4 ,according to ,pharmacographia dragon's blood was first obtained from ,socotra and taken with other merchandise by the ,arabs to ,china4 ,possibly it was there that it acquired the name of dragon's blood1 for the dragon has always been a much revered beast in that country4 ,dioscorides called this product cinnabar4 ,i find in old books that the fruit of the calamus draconis on which the resin collects along with scales 7and this is the source of our present supply71 when stripped of its skin shows a design of a dragon4 ,lemery quoting from 8,monard and several other authors10 says1 8,when the skin is taken off from this fruit there appears underneath the figure of a dragon as it is represented by the painters1 with wings expanded1 a slender neck1 a hairy or bristle back1 long tail1 and feet armed with talons4 ,they pretend10 he adds1 8that this figure gave the name to tree4 ,but ,i believe this circumstance fabulous because ,i never knew it confirmed by any traveller40 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,dragon ,,tree 7,dracona ,draco74 ,the tree illustrated above is at ,teneriffe1 and is1 perhaps1 the oldest tree in the world4 ,humboldt1 in #agii1 found its trunk was forty-eight feet in circumference4 ,very likely the shrewd ,arabs invented the name dragon's blood to please their ,chinese customers1 and it may be therefore that the tree acquired its name from the resin1 not the resin from the tree4 ,dragon's blood was given in old pharmacy as a mild astringent1 and was one of the ingredients in the styptic pills of ,helvetius4 ,it was also included in the formula for ,locatelli's balsam4 ,now it is chiefly used as a varnish colouring1 as for example in varnishes for violins4 ,in some parts of the country it has a reputation as a charm to restore love4 ,maidens whose swains are unfaithful or neglectful procure a piece1 wrap it in paper1 and throw it on the fire1 saying3 ,may he no pleasure or profit see ,till he come back again to me4 ,cuthbert ,bede in ,notes and ,queries4 ,series #a41 ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #bdb4 ,dragons are mentioned many times in the ,authorised ,version of the ,old ,testament4 ,in most of these instances jackals are substituted in the ,revised ,version1 and only once1 ,i think1 the alternative of crocodiles is suggested in the margin1 though in many instances it would obviously be a better rendering1 as has been pointed out by many scholars4 ,,the ,,science ,,of ,,mythology which seeks to explain how the old myths1 some poetical1 many disgusting1 and all impossible1 originated1 is a modern study which has fascinated a large number of learned scholars4 ,the old notion that they were merely allegorical forms of representing facts and phenomena is not tenable in view of the universality of the legends among the least cultivated races4 ,professor ,max ,mller initiated a lively controversy some forty years ago by suggesting that myths were a consequence of language1 a disease of language1 as ,mr4 ,andrew ,lang has termed it4 ,he traced many of the ,greek myths to ,aryan sources1 and insisted that they had developed from the words or phrases used to describe natural phenomena4 ,thus1 for example1 he explained the myth of ,apollo and ,daphne 7mentioned on page #i7 by supposing that a phrase existed describing the ,sun following1 or chasing1 the ,dawn4 ,he even maintained that the ,sanskrit ,ahana1 dawn1 was the derivation of ,daphne4 ,words1 of course1 were invented to convey some mental conception2 that conception1 while it was intelligible1 would 7according to ,max ,mller's system7 be developed into a story4 ,the argument was most ingeniously worked out1 but it has not proved capable of satisfying the conditions of the problem4 ,how could it suffice1 for instance1 to explain the occurrence of almost identical myths treasured by the most degraded and widely separated peoples8 ,the more likely theory is that in a very early stage of the savage mind the untrained imagination tended inevitably to associate the facts of nature with certain monstrous1 obscene1 and irrational forms4 ,perhaps the most able exposition of this view1 or something like it1 expounded within moderate limits1 is to be found in an article on ,mythology contributed to the 8,encyclopdia ,britannica0 by ,mr4 ,andrew ,lang4 ,,ii ,,pharmacy ,,in ,,the ,,time ,,of ,,the ,,pharaohs 8,go up into ,gilead and take balm1 ,o virgin daughter of ,egypt3 in vain dost thou use many medicines2 there is no healing for thee40 ,so wrote the prophet ,jeremiah 7xlvi1 #aa71 and the passage seems to suggest that ,egypt in his time was famous for its medicines4 ,herodotus1 who narrated his travels in ,egypt some two or three hundred years later1 conveys the same impression1 and the records of the papyri which have been deciphered within the last century confirm the opinion4 ,whatever may have been the case with other arts and sciences1 it does not appear that much progress was made in medicine in ,egypt during the thousands of years of its history which have been more or less minutely traced4 ,the discovery of remedies by various deities1 by ,isis especially1 or the indication of compounds invented for the relief of the sufferings of the ,sun-god ,ra1 before he retired to his heavenly rest1 is the burden of all the documents on which our knowledge of ,egyptian pharmacy is founded4 ,it was criminal to add to or vary the perfect prescriptions thus revealed1 a provision which made advance impossible to the extent to which it was enforced4 8,so wisely was medicine managed in ,egypt10 says ,herodotus1 8that no doctor was permitted to practise any but his own branch40 ,that is to say1 the doctors were all specialists2 some treated the eyes1 others the teeth1 the head1 the skin1 the stomach1 and so forth4 ,the doctors were all priests1 and were paid by the ,treasury1 but they were allowed to take fees besides4 ,their recipes were often absurd and complicated1 but there is reason to suppose that their directions in regard to diet and hygiene were sensible1 and there is evidence that they paid some attention to disinfection and cleanliness4 ,the physicians were always priests1 but all the priests were not physicians2 ,clement of ,alexandria says those who actually practised were the lowest grade of priests4 ,they prepared as well as prescribed medicines1 but relied perhaps more on magic1 amulets1 and invocations than on drugs4 ,the secrets of magic were1 however1 especially the property of the highest grade of priests1 the sages and soothsayers4 ,according to ,celsus1 the medical science of ,egypt was founded on the belief that the human body was divided into thirty-six parts1 each one being under the control of a separate demon or divinity4 ,the art of medicine consisted largely in knowing the names of these demons so as to invoke the right one when an ailment had to be treated4 ,symbolical names were given to many of the herbs used as medicines4 ,the plant of ,osiris was the ivy1 the vervain was called ,tears of ,isis1 saffron was the blood of ,thoth1 and the squill was the eye of ,typhon4 ,until the mystery of the ,egyptian writings was unlocked1 the key being found about a century ago in the decipherment of the ,rosetta ,stone1 of which ,napoleon first took possession1 and which was subsequently taken from the ,french by the ,british1 and is now a familiar object in the ,british ,museum1 knowledge of ,egyptian science and life was limited to the information which came to us from ,greek and ,roman authors2 and this was often fabulous4 ,now1 however1 the daily life of the subjects of the ,pharaohs has been revealed in wonderful minuteness by the papyri which have been deciphered4 ,among the papyri preserved in various museums a number of medical and pharmaceutical records have been found4 ,some medical prescriptions inscribed on a papyrus in the ,british ,museum 7,no4 #aj1jei7 are said to be as old as the time of ,khufu 7,cheops71 reckoned to have been about #cgjj years ,b4,c4 ,dr4 ,e4 ,a4 ,wallis ,budge1 the ,director of the ,department of ,egyptian and ,assyrian ,antiquities in the ,british ,museum1 informs me that these prescriptions have not been translated1 and that no photograph of them is available4 ,the ,papyrus itself may be of about #adjj ,b4,c41 but it refers to some medical lore of the time of ,khufu1 as a modern ,english book might quote some prescriptions of the time of ,alfred the ,great4 ,by far the most complete representation of the medicine and pharmacy of ancient ,egypt is comprised in the famous ,papyrus ,ebers1 which was discovered by ,georg ,ebers1 ,egyptologist and romancist1 in the winter of #ahgb-c4 ,ebers and a friend were spending that winter in ,egypt1 and during their residence at ,thebes they made the acquaintance of a well-to-do ,arab from ,luxor who appeared to know of some ancient papyri and other relics4 ,he first tried to pass off to them some of no particular value1 but ,ebers was an expert and was not to be imposed on4 ,ultimately the ,arab brought to him a ,papyrus which he stated had been discovered fourteen years previously between the knees of a mummy in the ,theban ,necropolis4 ,after examination ,ebers was convinced of its genuineness and bought it4 ,his opinion was fully confirmed by all the authorities when he brought it to ,germany1 and the contents have proved to be of extreme value and interest in the delineation of the medical manners and customs of the ancient ,egyptians4 ,this papyrus was wrapped in mummy cloths and packed in a metal case4 ,it is a single roll of yellow-brown papyrus of the finest quality1 about #ab inches wide and more than #bb yards long4 ,it is divided into #ajh columns each separately numbered4 ,the numbering reaches actually #aaj1 but there are no numbers #bh and #bi1 though there is no hiatus in the literary composition4 ,ebers supposes there may have been some religious reason for not using the missing numbers4 ,the writing is in black ink1 but the heads of sections and weights and measures are written with red ink4 ,the word 8nefr0 signifying 8good0 is written in the margin against many of the formul in a different writing and in a paler ink1 evidently by someone who had used the book4 ,it has been considered possible that this was one of the six hermetic books on medicine mentioned by ,clement of ,alexandria2 but it is more likely to have been a popular collection of medical formul from various sources4 ,internal evidence1 satisfactory to experts1 the writing1 the name of a king1 and particularly a calendar attached to one of the sections1 establish the date of this document4 ,the king named was ,tjesor-ka-,ra1 and his throne-name was ,amen-hetep ,i41 the second king of the #ahth dynasty4 ,the date assigned to the papyrus is about the year #aeeb ,b4,c41 which1 according to the conventional scriptural chronology1 would correspond with about the #bast year of the life of ,moses4 ,if this estimation is approximately correct it follows that the prescriptions of the papyrus are considerably older than those given in the book of ,exodus for the holy anointing oil and for incense1 which in old works are sometimes quoted as the earliest records of 8the art of the apothecary40 ,the papyrus begins by declaring that the writer had brought help from the ,king of ,eternity from ,heliopolis2 from the ,goddess ,mother to ,sais1 she who alone could ensure protection4 ,speech had been given him to tell how all pains and all mortal sicknesses might be driven away4 ,here were chapters which would teach how to conjure away the diseases 8from this my head1 from this my neck1 from this my arm1 from this my flesh1 from these my limbs4 ,for ,ra pities the sick2 his teacher is ,thuti0 7,thoth or ,hermes7 8who has given him words to make this book and to save instructions to scholars and to physicians who will follow them1 so that what is dark shall be unriddled4 ,for he whom the ,god loveth1 he maketh alive2 ,i am one who loveth the ,god1 and he maketh me alive40 ,here are the words to speak when preparing the remedies for all parts of the body3 8,as it shall be a thousand times4 ,this is the book of the healing of all sicknesses4 ,that ,isis may make free1 make free4 ,may ,isis heal me as she healed ,horus of all pains which his brother ,set had done to him who killed his father ,osiris4 ,oh1 ,isis1 thou great magician1 heal me and save me from all wicked1 frightful1 and red things1 from demoniac and deadly diseases and illnesses of every kind4 ,oh1 ,ra4 ,oh1 ,osiris40 ,the form of words to be said when taking a remedy3--8,come remedy1 come drive it out of this my heart1 out of these my limbs2 ,oh strong magic power with the remedy40 ,on giving an emetic the conjuration to be spoken was as follows3--8,oh1 ,demon1 who dwellest in the body of 444 son of 4442 ,oh1 thou1 whose father is called the bringer down of heads1 whose name is ,death1 whose name is accursed for all eternity1 come forth40 ,the following shows how the ,egyptian physicians diagnosed a liver complaint3 8,when thou findest one with hardening of his re-het2 when eating he feels a pressure in the bowels1 and the stomach is swollen2 feels ill while walking2 look at him when lying outstretched1 and if thou findest his bowels hot1 and a hardening in his stomach1 say to thyself1 ,this is a liver complaint4 ,then make a remedy according to the secrets of botanical knowledge from the plant pa-chestat and from dates cut up4 ,mix it and put in water4 ,the patient may drink it on four mornings to purge his body4 ,if after that thou findest both sides of the bowels1 namely1 the right one hot and the left one cold1 then say1 ,that is bile4 ,look at him again1 and if thou findest his bowels entirely cold then say to thyself1 ,his liver is cleaned and purified2 he has taken the medicine1 the medicine has taken effect40 ,superstitious notions in connection with medicine are not more apparent in the ,ebers ,papyrus than they are in any ,english herbal of three or four hundred years ago4 ,the majority of the drugs prescribed are of vegetable origin1 but there is a fair proportion of animal products1 and as in comparatively modern pharmacopias these seem to have been valued as remedies in the ratio of their nastiness4 ,lizards' blood1 teeth of swine1 putrid meat1 stinking fat1 moisture from pigs' ears1 milk from a lying-in woman2 the excreta of adults1 of children1 of donkeys1 antelopes1 dogs1 cats1 and other animals1 and the dirt left by flies on the walls1 are among the remedies met with in the papyrus4 ,among the drugs named in the papyrus and identified are oil1 wine1 beer 7sweet and bitter71 beer froth1 yeast1 vinegar1 turpentine1 various gums and resins1 figs1 sebestens1 myrrh1 mastic1 frankincense1 opium1 wormwood1 aloes1 cummin1 peppermint1 cassia1 carraway1 coriander1 anise1 fennel1 saffron1 sycamore and cyprus woods1 lotus flowers1 linseed1 juniper berries1 henbane1 and mandragora4 ,there are certain substances1 evidently metals by the suffixes1 but they have not been exactly identified4 ,neither gold1 silver1 nor tin is included4 ,one is supposed to be sulphur1 another1 electrum 7a combination of gold and silver71 and another alluded to as 8excrement divine10 remains mysterious4 ,iron1 lead1 magnesia1 lime1 soda1 nitre and vermilion are among the mineral products which were then used in medicine4 ,it need hardly be said that scores of drugs named have only been guessed at1 and in regard to a number of them1 it has not been possible to get as far as this4 ,most of the prescriptions are fairly simple1 but there are exceptions4 ,there is a poultice with thirty-five ingredients4 ,here is a specimen of rather complicated pharmacy4 ,it is ordered for what seems to have been a common complaint of the stomach called setyt4 ,seeds of the sweet woodruff1 seeds of mene1 and the plant called ,a'am1 were to be reduced to powder and mixed4 ,then seven stones had to be heated at a fire4 ,on these1 one by one1 some of the powder was to be sprinkled while the stone was hot2 it was then covered with a new pot in the bottom of which a hole had been made4 ,a reed was fitted to the hole and the vapour inhaled4 8,afterwards eat some fat10 says the writer4 ,illustration3 ,,reduced ,,facsimile ,,of ,a ,,page ,,of ,,the ,,papyrus ,,ebers4 ,the ,papyrus ,ebers has been reproduced by photography in facsimile1 and published in two magnificent volumes by ,mr4 ,wilhelm ,engelmann1 of ,leipzig4 ,mr4 ,engelmann has kindly permitted me to copy one of the pages from his work for this book4 ,the above is a reduced reproduction of page #dg of the ,papyrus4 ,the photograph was taken at the ,british ,museum4 ,the first line of this page is the end of the instructions for applying a mixture of powders rubbed down with date wine to wounds and skin diseases to heal them4 ,that compound was made by the god ,seb1 the god of the earth1 for the god ,ra4 ,then follows a complicated prescription devised by the goddess ,nut1 the goddess of heaven1 also for the god ,ra1 and like the last to apply to wounds4 ,it prescribes brickdust1 pebble1 soda1 and sea-salt1 to be boiled in oils with some groats and other vegetable matter4 ,isis next supplies a formula to relieve ,ra of pains in the head4 ,it contains opium1 coriander1 absinth1 juniper berries1 and honey4 ,this was to be applied to the head4 ,three other formulas for pains in the head1 the last for a pain on one side of the head 7migraine71 are given1 and then there is a break in the manuscript1 and afterwards some interesting instructions are given for the medicinal employment of the ricinus 7degm7 tree4 ,the stems infused in water will make a lotion which will cure headache2 the berries chewed with beer will relieve constipation2 the berries crushed in oil will make a woman's hair grow2 and pressed into a salve will cure abscesses if applied every morning for ten days4 ,the paragraph ends 7but on the next page71 as many of them do1 with the curious idiom1 8,as it shall be a thousand times40 ,the translation is given in full 7in ,german7 in ,dr4 ,joachim's ,papyros ,ebers4 ,das lteste ,buch ber ,heilkunde 7,berlin1 ,georg4 ,reimer4 #ahij74 ,to draw the blood from a wound3--,foment it four times with a mixture made from wax1 fat1 date wine1 honey1 and boiled horn2 these ingredients boiled with a certain quantity of water4 ,to prevent the immoderate crying of children a mixture of the seeds of the plant ,sheben with some fly-dirt is recommended4 ,it is supposed that ,sheben may have been the poppy4 ,incidentally it is remarked that if a new-born baby cries 8ny0 that is a good sign2 but it is a bad sign if it cries 8mbe40 ,to prevent the hair turning grey anoint it with the blood of a black calf which has been boiled in oil2 or with the fat of a rattlesnake4 ,when it falls out one remedy is to apply a mixture of six fats1 namely those of the horse1 the hippopotamus1 the crocodile1 the cat1 the snake1 and the ibex4 ,to strengthen it anoint with the tooth of a donkey crushed in honey4 ,a few other prescriptions are appended4 ,as ,purges3--,mix milk1 one part1 yeast and honey1 two parts each4 ,boil and strain4 ,a draught of this to be taken every morning for four days4 ,pills compounded of equal parts of honey1 absinth powder1 and onion4 ,in another formula 8kesebt0 fruits are ordered with other ingredients4 ,ebers conjectures that kesebt may have been the castor oil tree4 ,for ,headache3--,equal parts of frankincense1 cummin1 berries of u'an tree and goosegrease are to be boiled together2 the head to be anointed with the mixture4 ,for ,worms3--,resin of acanthus1 peppermint flowers1 lettuce1 and 8as0 plant4 ,equal parts to make a plaster4 ,for too much urine 7diabetes73--,twigs of kadet plant 1 grapes 1 honey 1 berries of u'an tree 1 sweet beer #a4 ,as a ,tonic3--,figs1 sebestens1 grapes1 yeast1 frankincense1 cummin1 berries of u'an tree1 wine1 goosegrease1 and sweet beer are recommended4 ,an ,application for ,sore ,eyes4 ,dried excrement of a child #a1 honey #a1 in fresh milk4 ,to make the hair grow3--,oil of the ,nile horse #a1 powder of mentha montana #a1 myrrh #a1 mespen corn #a1 vitriol of lead #a4 ,anoint4 ,another formula prescribed for the same purpose was prepared for ,schesch 7a queen of the #crd dynasty7 and consisted of equal parts of the heel of the greyhound 7from ,abyssinia71 of date blossoms1 and of asses' hoofs boiled in oil4 ,a long formula for an ointment 8which the god ,ra made for himself0 contains honey1 wax1 frankincense1 onions1 and a number of unidentified plants4 ,the dust of alabaster and powdered statues are prescribed as applications for wounds4 ,to stop ,diarrha3--,green bulbs 78 onions7 1 freshly cooked groats 1 oil and honey 1 wax 1 water dena 7a dena is about a pint74 ,take four days4 ,a plaster to remove pains from one side of the stomach3--,boil equal parts of lettuce and dates in oil1 and apply4 ,medicines against worms are numerous4 ,heftworms1 believed to be thread worms1 are treated with pomegranate bark1 sea-salt1 ricinus1 absinth1 and other unidentified drugs4 ,for tape worms1 mandrake fruits1 castor oil1 peppermint1 a preparation of lead1 and other drugs are prescribed4 ,remedies which the ,god ,su 7god of the air71 the ,god ,seb 7god of the earth71 the ,goddess ,nut 7goddess of the sky71 and other divinities had devised are comprised in this collection4 ,this is an application which ,isis prescribed for ,ra's headache3--,coriander1 opium1 absinth1 juniper1 7another fruit71 and honey4 ,remedies are also prescribed in this papyrus for diseases of the stomach1 the abdomen1 and the urinary bladder2 for the cure of swellings of the glands in the groin2 for the treatment of the eye1 for ulcers of the head1 for greyness of the hair1 and for promoting its growth2 to heal and strengthen the nerves2 to cure diseases of the tongue1 to strengthen the teeth1 to remove lice and fleas2 to banish pain2 to sweeten the breath2 and to strengthen the organs of hearing and of smell4 ,quantities are indicated on the prescriptions by perpendicular lines thus3 one1 two1 three4 ,each of these lines represents a unit4 ,ebers calls the unit a drachm and supposes it to be equivalent to the ,arabic dirhem1 about forty-eight ,english grains4 ,the ,egyptian system of numeration was decimal4 ,up to nine lines were used2 symbolbridge was ten1 and two1 three or more of these figures followed each other up to ninety4 ,then came symbol,c a hundred1 symbollotus a thousand1 and so on4 ,fractions were shown by the figure symboloval1 and this with three dots under it meant one-third1 with four dots one-fourth1 or with the #aj sign under it1 symboloval with bridge under one-tenth4 ,half was represented by symboldouble horizontal bar4 ,the unit of liquid measure is believed to have been the tenat1 equal to three-fifths of a litre1 or rather more than an ,english pint4 ,in the ,british ,museum 8,guide0 ,dr4 ,budge quotes the following prescription 8for driving away wrinkles of the face10 and gives the same in hieroglyphics3--8,ball of incense1 wax1 fresh oil1 and cypress berries1 equal parts4 ,crush1 and rub down1 and put in new milk1 and apply it to the face for six days4 ,take good heed40 ,generally medicines are directed to be taken or applied for four days2 the ingredients are very often four2 and in many cases incantations are to be four times repeated4 ,the ,pythagoreans swore by the number #d1 and probably their master acquired his reverence for that figure from ,egypt4 ,a sacred perfume called kyphi is prescribed to perfume the house and clothes for sanitary reasons4 ,it was composed of myrrh1 juniper berries1 frankincense1 cyprus wood1 aloes wood1 calamus of ,asia1 mastic1 and styrax4 ,among the ,greek ,papyri discovered in the last decade of the #aith century at ,oxyrinchus one quoted by ,messrs4 ,grenfell and ,hunt in their work on these papyri 7,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #acd7 gives about a dozen formulas for applications for the earache4 ,these are believed to have been written in the #bnd or #crd century ,a4,d4 ,one is3--,dilute some gum with balsam of lilies2 add honey and rose-extract4 ,twist some wool with the oil in it round a probe1 warm1 and drop in4 ,onion juice1 the gall of an ox1 the sap of a fir tree1 alum and myrrh1 and frankincense in sweet wine1 are among the other applications recommended4 ,,iii ,,pharmacy ,,in ,,the ,,bible ,pour bien entendre le ,vieux ,testament il est absolument ncessaire d'approfondir l',histoire ,naturelle1 aussi bien que les murs des ,orientaux4 ,on y trouve peu prs trois cents noms de vgtaux2 je ne sais combien de noms tirs du rgne animal1 et un grand nombre qui dsignent des pierres prcieuses4--,t4 ,d4 ,,michaelis1 ,gttingen1 #agij4 ,to some extent the habits and practices of the ,israelites were based on those of the ,egyptians4 ,but in the matter of medicines the differences are more notable than the resemblances4 ,in ,egypt the practice of medicine was entirely in the hands of the priesthood1 and was largely associated with magical arts4 ,it appears1 too1 that the ,egyptian practitioners had acquired experience of a fairly wide range of internal medicines4 ,among the ,israelites the priests did not practise medicine at all4 ,some of the prophets did1 and they were expected to exercise healing powers4 ,elijah and ,elisha were frequently called upon for help in this way1 and the prescription of ,isaiah of a lump of figs to be laid on ,hezekiah's boil 7#b ,kings1 xx1 #g7 will be recalled4 ,but among the ,israelites physicians formed a distinct profession1 though it cannot be said that in all the history covered by the ,scriptures they performed the same functions4 ,the physicians of ,joseph's household whom he commanded to embalm his father 7,genesis #a1 #b7 were rather apothecaries4 ,that1 of course1 was in ,egypt4 ,there is a curious allusion to physicians in #b ,chronicles1 xvi1 #ab1 where it is said that when ,asa was exceedingly ill with a disease in his feet 8he sought not to the ,lord1 but to the physicians40 ,possibly this means that he employed physicians who practised incantations4 ,some commentators think1 however1 that the passage has reference to himself1 his name signifying a physician4 ,in the apocryphal ,book of ,ecclesiasticus physicians are alluded to in language which suggests that at the time it was written there were doubts about the necessity of physicians4 ,until recently this work was attributed to ,joshua or ,jesus1 the son of ,sirach4 ,it so appeared in the ,greek manuscripts4 ,but a ,hebrew manuscript discovered in #ahif shows that the author was ,simon1 son of ,jeshua1 and critics agree that the date of its composition was rather less than #bjj years before ,christ4 ,this book1 8,ecclesiasticus10 is professedly a collection of the grave and short sentences of wise men4 ,those relating to medicine and physicians are brought together in the first part of the #chth chapter4 ,they appear to be quoted from different authors1 and several of the verses are merely parallels4 ,thus we have1 8,honour a physician with the honour due unto him for the uses which ye may have of him2 for the ,lord hath created him40 ,and again1 8,then give place to the physician1 for the ,lord hath created him2 let him not go from thee1 for thou hast need of him40 ,but the author of a verse inserted between these appears to regard the physician as less essential4 ,he says1 8,my son1 in thy sickness be not negligent2 but pray unto the ,lord1 and ,he will make thee whole40 ,the #aeth verse is somewhat enigmatic1 and may or may not be complimentary4 ,it runs1 8,he that sinneth before his ,maker1 let him fall into the hand of the physician40 ,in the recently discovered manuscript is the passage not previously known1 8,he that sinneth against ,god will behave arrogantly before his physician40 ,probably into this may be read the converse idea that he that behaves arrogantly towards his physician sinneth before ,god4 ,in the same chapter we are told that 8the ,lord hath created medicines out of the earth1 and he that is wise will not abhor them40 ,possibly this was directed against the ,jewish prejudice against bitter flavours4 ,then the writer asks1 8,was not the water made sweet with wood80 and he says 8of such0 7the medicines7 men to whom ,god hath given skill heal men and take away their pains2 and 8of such doth the apothecary make a confection40 ,the idea that physicians get their skill direct from ,god is prominent in these passages1 and is perhaps truer than we are willing to admit in this age of curricula and examinations4 ,,medicines ,,of ,,the ,,jews4 ,the ,papyrus ,ebers was supposed by its discoverer to have been compiled about the time when ,moses was living in ,egypt1 a century before the ,exodus4 ,there is no evidence in the ,bible that the ,jews brought with them from the land of their captivity any of the medical lore which that and other papyri not much later reveal4 ,it is not certain that in the whole of the ,bible there is any distinct reference to a medicine for internal administration4 ,it is assumed that ,rachel wanted the mandrakes which ,reuben found to make a remedy for sterility1 but that is not definitely stated4 ,nor is it certain that the ,hebrew word ,dudaim1 translated mandrakes1 meant the shrub we know by that name4 ,violets1 lilies1 jasmin1 truffles1 mushrooms1 citrons1 melons1 and other fruits have been proposed by various critics4 ,there are three passages in ,jeremiah where ,balm of ,gilead is mentioned in a way which may have meant that it was to be used as an internal remedy4 ,these are c4 viii4 v4 #ab1 c4 xlvi4 v4 #aa1 and c4 li4 v4 #h4 ,in two of these the expression 8take balm0 is used1 but it is quite possible to understand this as meaning employ balm1 and in all the passages the sense is metaphorical4 ,the ,mishnah1 the book of ,jewish legends1 which forms part of the ,talmud1 mentions a treatise on medicines believed to have been compiled by ,solomon4 ,hezekiah is said to have 8hidden0 this work for fear that the people should trust to that wisdom rather than to the ,lord4 ,the ,talmud also cites a treatise on pharmacology called ,megillat-,sammanin1 but neither of these works has been preserved4 ,in the ,talmud an infusion of onions in wine is mentioned as a means of healing an issue of blood4 ,it was necessary at the same time for someone to say to the patient1 8,be healed of thine issue of blood40 ,this remedy and the formula to be spoken are strongly reminiscent of ,egypt4 ,the ,talmud1 though it was compiled in the early centuries of our era1 undoubtedly reflects the ,jewish life and thought of many previous ages1 and consequently indicates fairly enough the condition of therapeutics among the ancient ,hebrews4 ,among its miscellaneous items are cautions against the habit of taking medicine constantly also against having teeth extracted needlessly4 ,it advises that patients should be permitted to eat anything they specially crave after4 ,among its aphorisms are salt after meals1 water after wine1 onions for worms1 peppered wine for stomach disorders1 injection of turpentine for stone in the bladder4 ,people may eat more before #dj1 drink more after #dj4 ,magic is plentifully supplied for the treatment of disease4 ,to cure ague1 for instance1 you must wait by a cross-road until you see an ant carrying a load4 ,then you must pick up the ant and its load1 place them in a brass tube which you must seal up1 saying as you do this1 8,oh ant1 my load be upon thee1 and thy load be upon me40 ,towards the time of ,christ the sect of the ,essenes1 ascetic in their habits and communistic in their principles1 cultivated1 according to ,josephus1 the art of medicine1 8collecting roots and minerals0 for this purpose4 ,their designation may have been derived from this occupation4 ,,the ,,apothecary is1 or was1 familiar to readers of the ,old ,testament1 but in the revised translation he has partially disappeared4 ,the earliest allusion to him occurs in ,exodus xxx41 #be1 where the holy anointing oil is prescribed to be made 8after the art of the apothecary02 and in the same chapter1 v4 #bi1 incense is similarly ordered to be made into a confection 8after the art of the apothecary1 tempered together40 ,the ,revised ,version gives in both cases 8the art of the perfumer10 and instead of the incense being 8tempered together0 7c4 xxx1 v1 #ce7 the instruction is now rendered 8seasoned with salt40 ,a further mention of the art of the apothecary1 or in the ,revised ,version1 the perfumer1 is found again in connection with the same compounds in ,exodus xxxvii41 #bi4 ,in #b ,chronicles xvi41 #ad1 the apothecaries' art in the preparation of sweet odours and divers kinds of spices for the burial of ,king ,asa is again alluded to1 and this time without any apparent reason the ,revised ,version retains the old term4 ,the next quotation 7,nehemiah1 iii1 #h7 is particularly interesting4 ,the ,authorised ,version says 8,hananiah1 the son of one of the apothecaries10 worked on the repair of the walls of ,jerusalem by the side of ,haraiah of the goldsmiths4 ,in the ,revised ,version ,hananiah is described as 8one of the apothecaries40 ,hebrew scholars tell us that the idiom employed shows that these men belonged to guilds of apothecaries and goldsmiths respectively2 a pretty little insight into ancient ,jewish trade history4 ,in ,ecclesiastes1 x1 #a1 we come to the oft quoted parallel1 8,dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour10 this being likened to a little folly spoiling a reputation for wisdom4 ,the revisers have substituted perfumer for apothecary in this text4 ,they certainly ought to have changed ointment for pomade in the same text to explain their view of the meaning of the passage4 ,in the passage already quoted from the apocryphal book of ,ecclesiasticus1 xxxviii1 #h1 8,of such doth the apothecary make a confection10 and in xlix1 #a1 8,the remembrance of ,josias is like the composition of the perfume made by the art of the apothecary10 the revisers have not seen fit to alter the trade designation4 ,the words translated apothecary1 compound1 ointment1 and confection in the passages cited1 and in many others in the ,hebrew scriptures1 are all inflexions of the root verb1 ,rakach 7in which the final ch is a strong aspirate or guttural74 ,gesenius says of this root1 8,the primary idea appears to be in making the spices small which are mixed with the oil40 ,the apothecary1 therefore1 may be regarded as a crusher1 or pounder4 ,,pharmacy1 ,,disgraceful4 ,the ,greek word1 pharmakeia1 the original of our 8pharmacy10 had a rather mixed history in its native language4 ,it does not seem to have exactly deteriorated1 as words in all languages have a habit of doing1 for from the earliest times it was used concurrently to describe the preparation of medicines1 and also through its association with drugs and poisons and the production of philtres1 as equivalent to sorcery and witchcraft4 ,it is in this latter sense that it is employed exclusively in the ,new ,testament4 ,st4 ,paul1 for instance 7in ,galatians1 v1 #bj71 enumerating the works of the flesh names it after idolatry4 ,the word appears as witchcraft in the ,authorised1 and as sorcery in the ,revised ,version4 ,pharmakeia or one of its derivatives also occurs several times in the ,book of ,revelations 7ix1 #ba2 xviii1 #bc2 xxi1 #h1 and xxii1 #ae71 and is uniformly rendered sorcery or sorcerers in both versions1 and is associated with crime4 ,hippocrates uses the verb ,pharmakeuein with the meaning of to purge1 but he elsewhere employs the same word with the meaning of to drug a person1 to give a stupefying draught4 ,in ,homer the word 8,pharmaka0 appears in the senses of both noxious and healing drugs1 and also to represent enchanted potions or philtres4 ,the word 8pharmakoi0 in later times came to be used for the criminals who were sacrificed for the benefit of the communities1 and thus it acquired its lowest stage of signification4 ,it is remarkable and unusual for a word which has once fallen as this one did to recover its respectable position again4 ,,drugs ,,named ,,in ,,the ,,bible4 ,,balm ,,of ,,gilead is now usually identified with the exudation from the ,balsamum ,gileadense1 known as ,opobalsamum1 a delicately odorous resinous substance of a dark red colour1 turning yellow as it solidifies4 ,it is not now used in modern pharmacy1 except in the ,east4 ,the ,london ,pharmacopia of #agdf authorised the substitution of expressed oil of nutmeg for it in the formula for ,theriaca4 ,some ,biblical commentators have preferred to regard mastic as the original ,balm of ,gilead1 and others have thought that styrax has fulfilled the description4 ,at this day the monks of ,jericho sell to tourists an oily gum extracted from the ,takkum1 or ,balanites ,egyptiaca1 as ,balm of ,gilead4 ,it is put up in tin cases1 and is said to be useful in the treatment of sores and wounds2 but it cannot be the true ,balm of the ,bible4 ,the references to ,balm of ,gilead in the ,old ,testament show that it was exported from ,arabia to ,egypt from very early times4 ,the ,ishmaelites 8from ,gilead0 who bought ,joseph1 were carrying it down to ,egypt with other ,eastern gums and spices 7,genesis1 xxxvii1 #be74 8,a little balm0 was among the gifts which ,jacob told his sons to take to the lord of ,egypt 7,genesis1 xliii1 #aa74 ,this was the same substance3 tsora in ,hebrew4 ,the translation 8balm0 in the ,authorised ,version is said in the ,encyclopedia ,biblica to be 8an unfortunate inheritance from ,coverdale's ,bible40 ,why it is unfortunate is not clear1 unless it is that the ,english word suggests the idea of a medicine4 ,in the ,genesis references to the substance there is no indication that the tsora was employed as a remedy1 but in the ,book of ,jeremiah it is mentioned three times 7viii1 #bb2 xlvi1 #aa2 li1 #h71 and in all these allusions its healing virtues are emphasised4 ,wyclif translates tsora in ,genesis 8sweete gum10 and1 in ,jeremiah1 8resyn40 ,coverdale adopts 8triacle0 in ,jeremiah4 ,the ,septuagint rendered the ,hebrew tsora into the ,greek retin1 resin4 ,the text of the prophetic book leaves it open to doubt whether the balm was for internal or external administration4 ,probably it was made into an ointment4 ,gilead was the country on the ,east of the ,jordan1 not very defined in extent1 a geographical expression for the mountainous region which the ,israelites took from the ,amorites4 ,but it is not necessary to suppose that the balsam was produced in that district4 ,josephus states that the ,balsamum ,gileadense1 the ,opobalsamum tree1 was grown in the neighbourhood of ,jericho2 but he also reports the tradition that it was brought to ,judea by the ,queen of ,sheba when she visited ,solomon4 ,this is not incompatible with the much earlier record of the ,ishmaelites carrying it 8from ,gilead0 to ,egypt4 ,for the ,sabaeans who inhabited the southern part of ,arabia were from very early times the great traders of the ,east1 and they would have supplied the balm to these ,ishmaelites in the regular course of commerce4 ,the ,sabaeans are believed to have colonised ,abyssinia1 and the ,queen of ,sheba may have come from that country4 ,but whether the tree was originally grown in ,africa or ,arabia1 there is no doubt about the esteem in which it was held by many nations4 ,strabo 7,b4,c4 #bcj7 says3 8,in that most happy land of the ,sabaeans grow frankincense1 myrrh1 and cinnamon2 and on the coast that is about ,saba1 the balsam also40 ,many later writers allude to its costliness and to its medicinal virtues2 ,pliny tells us that it was preferred to all other odours4 ,he also states that the tree was only grown in ,judea1 and there only in two gardens1 both belonging to the ,king4 ,,incense4 ,the formula for the holy incense given in ,exodus1 xxx1 #ce1 is sufficiently definite4 ,taking it as it is translated in the ,revised ,version1 the prescription orders stacte1 onycha1 galbanum and frankincense1 equal parts2 seasoned with salt2 powdered4 ,the word translated incense in that passage1 and also in ,deuteronomy1 xxxiii1 #aj1 and in ,jeremiah1 xliv1 #ba1 is ,ketorah1 which originally meant a perfumed or savoury smoke4 ,in the ,septuagint the word used for ,ketorah is ,thymiana4 ,in other passages 7,isaiah1 xliii1 #cc1 lx1 #f1 lxvi1 #c2 ,jeremiah1 vi1 #bj2 xvii1 #bf1 and xli1 #e71 the word used in ,hebrew was ,lebonah4 ,this in our ,authorised ,version appears each time as incense1 but in the ,revised ,version the name frankincense is uniformly adopted4 ,lebonah meant whiteness1 probably milkiness being understood in this connection1 and travellers state that when the gum exudes from the tree it is milky-white4 ,the ,greek equivalent1 libanos1 occurs severed times in the ,new ,testament 7,matt41 ii1 #aa2 ,revelations1 xviii1 #c74 ,the ,arabic term was luban1 and apparently olibanum is a modification of this ,arabic name with the article prefixed1 ,al-luban4 ,the common trade term 8thus0 is the ,greek word for incense1 and is derived from the verb thuein1 to sacrifice4 ,thurible was the ,greek equivalent of the censer4 ,the same word has been modified into fume in ,english4 ,there is1 besides1 a common gum thus1 obtained from the pines which yield ,american turpentine4 ,olibanum1 or frankincense1 derived from various species of the ,boswellia1 was greatly prized among many of the ancient nations1 especially by the ,egyptians1 the ,assyrians1 and the ,phnicians4 ,the finest qualities were grown in ,somaliland1 but the stocks of these were always bought up by the ,arabs1 who monopolised the commerce in olibanum4 ,it was believed for centuries that the shrub from which it was obtained was a native of ,south ,arabia1 and an old ,eastern legend alluded to in the ,apocalypse of ,moses declares that ,adam was allowed to bring this tree with him when he was expelled from the ,garden of ,eden4 ,bruce1 the ,african traveller1 first ascertained its ,african origin4 ,the historical notes on ,olibanum in 8,pharmacographia0 are extremely interesting and complete4 ,stacte1 in ,hebrew ,nataph1 is frequently identified with opobalsamum1 and this interpretation is given in the margin of the ,revised ,version4 ,but there are reasons for regarding it as a particularly fine kind of myrrh in drops or tears4 ,nataph meant something dropped or distilled4 ,galbanum1 it is not disputed1 was the galbanum known to us by the same name4 ,its ,hebrew name was ,helbanah or ,chelbanah4 ,it has been an article of commerce from very early times1 but the exact plant from which it is obtained is very uncertain4 ,hanbury states that the ,irvingite chapels in ,london still use galbanum as an ingredient in their incense in imitation of the ancient ,jewish custom4 ,onycha has been the subject of much discussion4 ,the balance of learned opinion favours the view that it is the operculum of a species of sea-snail found on the shores of the ,red ,sea4 ,it is known as ,unguis odoratus1 blatta ,byzantina1 and devil's claw4 ,nubian women to this day use it with myrrh1 cloves1 frankincense1 and cinnamon1 to perfume themselves4 ,the incense made from the formula just quoted was reserved specially for the service of the tabernacle1 and it was forbidden1 under the penalty of being cut off from his people1 for any private person to imitate it4 ,it does not appear1 however1 that the ,israelites continued to use the same formula for their ,temple services4 ,josephus states that the incense of his day consisted of thirteen ingredients4 ,these were1 as we learn from ,talmudic instructions1 in addition to the four gums named in the ,exodus formula1 the salt with which it had to be seasoned1 myrrh1 cassia1 spikenard1 saffron1 costus1 mace1 cinnamon1 and a certain herb which had the property of making the smoke of the incense ascend straight1 and in the form of a date palm4 ,this herb was only known to the family of ,abtinas1 to whom was entrusted the sole right of preparing the incense for the ,temple4 ,rooms were provided for them in the precincts1 and they supplied #cfh minas 7about #cfh lbs47 to the ,temple for a year's consumption2 that was #a lb4 per day and an extra #c lbs4 for the ,day of ,atonement4 ,in the first century 7,a4,d47 this family were dismissed because they refused to divulge their secret4 ,the ,temple authorities sent to ,alexandria for some apothecaries to succeed them1 but these ,egyptian experts could not make the smoke ascend properly1 so the ,abtinas had to be re-engaged at a considerably increased salary4 ,they gave as a reason for their secrecy their fear that the ,temple would soon be destroyed and their incense would be used for idolatrous sacrifices4 ,the incense now used in ,catholic churches is not made according to the ,biblical formula4 ,the following is a typical recipe in actual use3--,olibanum1 #dej2 benzoin1 #bej2 storax1 #abj2 sugar1 #ajj2 cascarilla1 #fj2 nitre1 #aej4 ,,olive ,,oil4 ,among all the ancient ,eastern nations olive oil was one of the most precious of products4 ,it was used lavishly by the ,egyptians for the hair and the skin1 as well as in all sorts of ceremonies4 ,the ,israelites held it in the highest esteem before they went to ,egypt1 the earliest allusion to it in the ,scriptures being in ,genesis1 xxviii1 #ah1 where we read that ,jacob poured oil on the stone which he set up at ,bethel1 evidently with the idea of consecrating it4 ,the ,apocalypse of ,moses has a legend of ,adam's experience of its medicinal virtues in the ,garden of ,eden4 ,when he was in his #icjth year he was seized with great pain in his stomach and sickness4 ,then he told ,eve to take ,seth and go as near as they could get to the ,garden1 and pray to ,god to permit an angel to bring them some oil from the tree of mercy so that he might anoint himself therewith and be free of his pain4 ,eve and ,seth were1 however1 met by the ,archangel ,michael1 who told them to return to ,adam1 for in three days the measure of his life would be fulfilled4 ,to the ,israelites in the ,desert the anticipation of the 8corn and wine and oil0 of ,canaan was always present1 and throughout their history there are abundant evidences of how they prized it4 ,the prescription for the 8holy anointing oil0 given in ,exodus1 xxx1 #bc1 is very remarkable4 ,it was to be compounded of the following ingredients3-- ,flowing myrrh #ejj shekels4 ,sweet cinnamon #bej ,sweet calamus #bej ,cassia 7or costus7 #ejj ,olive oil ,one hin4 ,it is the ,revised ,version which gives 8flowing myrrh10 apparently the gum which exudes spontaneously4 ,the ,authorised ,version reads 8pure myrrh40 ,the ,revised ,version also suggests costus in the margin as an alternative to cassia4 ,this oil was to be kept very sacred4 ,any one who should compound any oil like it was to be cut off from his people4 ,a hin was a measure equivalent to about #e of our quarts4 ,the shekel was nearly #ae lbs41 and some of the ,rabbis insist that the 8shekel of the sanctuary0 was twice the weight of the ordinary shekel4 ,at the lowest reckoning1 less than #f quarts of oil were to take up the extract from nearly #ij lbs4 of solid substance4 ,it will be seen on reference that the shekel weights are not definitely stated1 but the verses can hardly be otherwise read4 ,some critics have suggested that so many shekels' worth is intended1 but this reading under the circumstances is almost inadmissible4 ,maimonides1 a great ,jewish authority1 says the method was to boil the spices and gum in water until their odours were extracted as fully as possible1 and then to boil the water and the oil together until the former was entirely evaporated4 ,doubtless the expression 8after the art of the apothecary0 7or 8perfumer10 ,r4,v47 was a sufficient explanation to those ,israelites who had practised that art in ,egypt4 ,the consistence of the oil could not have been thick1 for when used it trickled down on ,aaron's beard4 ,rabbinical legends say that the quantity of the holy oil prepared at the time when it was first prescribed was such as would miraculously suffice to anoint the ,jewish priests and kings all through their history4 ,in the reign of ,josiah the vessel containing the holy oil was mysteriously hidden away with the ark1 and will not be discovered until the ,messiah comes4 ,messiah1 it need hardly be said1 means simply anointed2 and ,christ is the ,greek equivalent of the ,hebrew word4 ,,manna4 ,the manna of the wilderness provided for the children of ,israel on their journey towards ,canaan has no claim to be regarded as a drug1 except that a drug has in modern times usurped its name4 ,when the ,israelites first saw the small round particles 8like hoar frost on the ground0 7,exodus1 xvi1 #ad7 they said1 according to the ,authorised ,version1 8,it is manna2 for they wist not what it was40 ,the ,revised ,version makes the sentence read more intelligibly by translating the ,hebrew word ,man-hu interrogatively thus3--8,what is it8 ,for they wist not what it was40 ,this ,hebrew interrogation has been widely adopted as the origin of the name1 but it is more probable that the ,hebrew word man1 a gift1 is the true derivation4 ,ebers suggested the ,egyptian word 8manhu10 food1 as a probable explanation4 ,the ,arabic word for the manna of ,sinai is still 8man40 ,this is the substance which scientific investigators have agreed is the manna described in ,exodus4 ,it is an exudation from the ,tamarisk mannifera1 a shrub which grows in the valleys of the ,sinai peninsula1 the manna being yielded from the young branches after the punctures of certain insects4 ,another ,eastern manna1 a ,persian product from a leguminous plant1 ,alhagi ,maurorum1 and a manna yielded by an evergreen oak in ,kurdistan1 are still sold and used in some ,eastern countries for food and medicine4 ,but in ,europe1 and to some extent in the ,east also1 ,sicilian manna1 the product of an ash tree1 ,fraxinus ornus1 has displaced the old sorts since the fifteenth century4 ,the commerce in this article and its history were investigated by ,mr4 ,daniel ,hanbury and described by him in ,science ,papers and in ,pharmacographia4 ,the rabbinical legends concerning the manna of the wilderness are many and strange4 ,one is to the effect that when it lay on the ground all the kings of the ,east and of the ,west could see it from their palace windows4 ,according to ,zabdi ben ,levi it was provided in such abundance that it covered every morning an area of #b1jjj cubits square and was #fj cubits in depth4 ,each day's fall was sufficient to nourish the camp for #b1jjj years4 ,the ,book of ,wisdom 7xvi1 #bj1 #ba7 tells us that the manna so accommodated itself to every taste that it proved palatable and pleasing to all4 8,able to content every man's delight1 and agreeing to every taste40 ,the rabbinical legends enlarge this statement and assure us that to those ,israelites who did not murmur the manna became fish1 flesh1 fowl at will4 ,this is in a degree based on the words in ,ps4 lxxviii1 #bd1 #be1 in which it is described as 8corn of heaven1 bread of the mighty1 and meat to the full40 ,but the traditions say it could not acquire the flavours of cucumbers1 melons1 garlic1 or onions1 all of which were ,egyptian relishes which were keenly regretted by the tribes4 ,it is also on record among the legends that the manna was pure nourishment4 ,all of it was assimilated2 so that the grossest office of the body was not exercised4 ,it was provided expressly for the children of ,israel4 ,if any stranger tried to collect any it slipped from his grasp4 ,,bdellium4 ,bdellium 7,heb4 ,bedoloch7 is mentioned in ,genesis1 ii1 #ab1 as being found along with gold and onyx in the land of ,havilah1 near the ,garden of ,eden4 ,the association with gold and onyx suggests that bdellium was a precious stone4 ,the ,septuagint translates the word in ,genesis1 anthrax1 carbuncle2 but renders the same ,hebrew word in ,numbers1 xi1 #g1 where the manna is likened to bdellium1 by ,krystallos1 crystals4 ,the ,greek bdellion described by ,dioscorides and ,pliny was the fragrant gum from a species of ,balsamodendron1 and this word was almost certainly derived from an ,eastern source1 and might easily have been originally a generic term for pearls4 ,pearls would better than anything else fit the reference in ,numbers 78like coriander seed1 and the appearance thereof as the appearance of bdellium071 and this is the meaning attached to the word in the rabbinical traditions4 ,some authorities have conjectured that the 80 7d7 of bedolach may have been substituted for 80 7r7 berolach1 so that the beryl stone may have been intended4 ,,aloes ,,wood4 ,references to aloes are frequent in the ,scriptures4 ,the first allusion is found in ,numbers1 xxiv1 #f1 when in his poetic prophecy ,balaam describes ,israel flourishing 8as lign-aloes which the ,lord hath planted40 ,the other allusions occur in ,psalm xlv1 #h1 ,proverbs1 vii1 #ag1 ,canticles1 iv1 #ad1 and ,john1 xix1 #ci4 ,in the four last-named passages aloes is associated with myrrh as a perfume4 ,of course it is understood that the lign or lignum aloes1 the perfumed wood of the aquilaria agallocha1 the eagle wood of ,india1 is meant1 but as that tree is believed not to have been known except in the ,malayan peninsula in the days of ,balaam1 critics have remarked on the extraordinary circumstance that it should be used as a simile by an orator in ,palestine who would naturally select objects for comparison familiar to his hearers4 ,it has been suggested1 and with much force1 that the original word in ,balaam's prophecy may have been the ,hebrew word for the palm or date tree4 ,the ,septuagint translates the word 8tents40 ,,myrrh4 ,it has been stated that the stacte ordered in the formula for incense was probably a very fine kind of liquid myrrh 7the flowing myrrh of the holy oil formula74 ,but myrrh 7,heb4 mur7 is several times directly mentioned4 ,esther purified herself for six months with oil of myrrh 7ii1 #ab72 myrrh1 aloes1 and cassia are grouped as sweet odours in ,ps4 xlv1 #h2 with cinnamon in the place of cassia in ,prov41 vii1 #ag1 and in numerous verses of the ,song of ,songs4 ,in the ,new ,testament it is named among the gifts which the wise men brought to the ,saviour4 ,nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes to embalm the body of ,jesus4 ,on the cross ,st4 ,matthew 7xxvii1 #cd7 names vinegar mixed with gall as a drink given to ,christ by the soldiers2 in an apparently parallel passage in ,st4 ,mark's ,gospel 7xv1 #bc7 wine with myrrh is the mixture described4 ,it is possible that ,matthew writing in ,syriac may have used the word mur 7myrrh7 and that his translator into ,greek read from his manuscript ,mar 7gall74 ,in ,genesis1 xxxvii1 #be1 and xliii1 #aa1 the word translated myrrh is ,loth 7not mur7 in the ,hebrew4 ,the best opinion is that this meant ladanum1 the gum from the cistus labdaniferus which ,dioscorides states was scraped from the beards of goats which had fed on the leaves of this shrub and had taken up some of the exuding gum4 ,,wormwood4 ,the ,israelites had great objection to bitter flavours1 and the coupling of 8gall and wormwood0 expresses something extremely unpleasant4 ,the ,hebrew word is ,la'anah1 and the ,septuagint twice renders this hemlock 7,hos41 x1 #d and ,amos1 vi1 #ab7 but in other places wormwood4 ,the star which fell from heaven and made the rivers bitter 7,rev41 viii1 #aa7 was called by the ,greek name for wormwood1 ,apsinthos4 ,,hyssop4 ,hyssop is a word which has occasioned much difference of opinion among interpreters4 ,the ,hebrew word hezob was translated in the ,septuagint by hyssopos1 and this word is used twice in the ,new ,testament4 ,from references used in the ,pentateuch it is clear that 8a bunch of hyssop0 was employed in the ,israelitish ritual for sprinkling purposes 7,exodus1 xii1 #bb2 ,leviticus1 xiv1 #d and #f2 ,numbers1 xix1 #f and #ah74 ,from #a ,kings1 iv1 #cc1 it appears that it was a shrub that grew in crevices of walls2 from ,psalm li1 #g1 8,purge me with hyssop and ,i shall be clean10 it has been assumed to have possessed purgative properties1 though it is more likely that the allusion was to the ceremonial purification of the law2 according to ,st4 ,john its stem was used to hand up the sponge of vinegar to the ,saviour on the cross1 but ,st4 ,matthew and ,st4 ,mark use the term calamus1 or a reed4 ,it may have been that a bunch of hyssop was fixed to the reed and the sponge of vinegar placed on the hyssop4 ,some learned commentators have conjectured that the word hyssopos in ,st4 ,john's account was originally hysso1 a well-known ,greek word for the ,roman pilum or javelin4 ,the other allusion in the ,new ,testament occurs in ,hebrews1 ix1 #ai1 and is merely a quotation from the ,pentateuch4 ,it has been found impossible to apply the descriptions quoted to any one plant4 ,that which we now call hyssop 7,hyssopus officinalis7 does not grow in ,palestine4 ,it is generally agreed that it was not that shrub4 ,the caper has been suggested and strongly supported1 but the best modern opinion is that the word was applied generically to several kinds of origanum which were common in ,syria4 ,,juniper4 ,the ,hebrew word rothem1 translated juniper in our ,authorised ,version1 has given much trouble to translators4 ,the ,septuagint merely converted the ,hebrew word into a ,greek one1 and the ,vulgate followed the ,septuagint4 ,the allusions to the tree are in #a ,kings1 xix1 #d and #e1 where ,elijah slept under a juniper tree2 ,job1 xxx1 #d1 speaks of certain men so poor that they cut up mallows by the bushes1 and juniper roots for their meat2 and ,psalm cxx1 #d1 8,sharp arrows of the mighty with coals of juniper40 ,the tree alluded to was almost certainly the ,broom1 and it is so rendered in the ,revised ,version either in the text or in the margin in all the instances4 ,the ,arabic name for the broom is ratam1 evidently a descendant of rothem4 ,the ,genista roetam is said to be the largest and most conspicuous shrub in the deserts of ,palestine1 and would be readily chosen for its shade by a weary traveller4 ,the mallows in the ,book of ,job are translated salt wort in the ,revised ,version4 ,renan gives 8,they gather their salads from the bushes40 ,salads were regarded as indispensable by the poorest ,jews4 ,the coals of juniper 7or broom7 are supposed to have reference to the lasting fire which this wood furnishes1 but other translations suggest as the proper reading of the verse 8,the arrows of a warrior are the tongues of the people of the tents of ,misram40 ,,jonah',s ,,gourd4 ,the ,gourd1 of which we read in ,jonah1 iv1 #f-aj1 is ,kikaion in ,hebrew1 and there has been some doubt what the plant could have been which grew so rapidly and was so quickly destroyed4 ,it is stated that the ,lord made this grow over the booth which the prophet had erected in a single night1 and provide a shade of which ,jonah was 8exceedingly glad40 ,the next morning1 however1 a worm attacked it1 and it withered4 ,the author of 8,harris's ,natural ,history of the ,bible10 ,dr4 ,thaddeus ,m4 ,harris1 of ,dorchester1 ,massachusetts 7#ahbd71 quotes from an earlier work1 8,scripture ,illustrated10 a curious account of a violent dispute between ,st4 ,jerome and ,st4 ,augustine in reference to the identification of this plant4 ,according to this author 8those pious fathers 444 not only differed in words1 but from words they proceeded to blows2 and ,jerome was accused of heresy at ,rome by ,augustine4 ,jerome thought the plant was an ivy1 and pleaded the authority of ,aquila1 ,symmachus1 ,theodotion1 and others2 ,augustine thought it was a gourd1 and he was supported by the ,seventy1 the ,syriac1 the ,arabic1 c4 ,had either of them ever seen the plant8 ,neither4 ,let the errors of these pious men teach us to think more mildly1 if not more meekly1 respecting our own opinions2 and not to exclaim ,heresy1 or to enforce the exclamation1 when the subject is of so little importance as--gourd versus ivy40 ,while endorsing the practical lesson which the author just cited extracts from his rather unpleasant story1 ,i think ,i ought to append to this narrative another which is given in ,gerard's ,herbal 7#aeig7 which seems to be incompatible with the previously quoted account of the quarrel4 ,this is what ,gerard writes3-- 8,ricinus1 whereof mention is made in the fourth chapter and sixt verse of the prophecie of ,jonas1 was called of the ,talmudists kik1 for in the ,talmud we reade ,velo beschemen kik1 that is in ,english1 ,and not with the oile of kik2 which oile is called in the ,arabian toong ,alkerua1 as ,rabbi ,samuel the sonne of ,hofni testifieth4 ,moreover a certain ,rabbine mooveth a question saying ,what is kik8 ,hereunto ,resch ,lachisch maketh answer in ,ghemara1 saying ,kik is nothing else but ,jonas his kikaijon4 ,and that this is true it appeareth by that name kiki which the ancient ,greeke phisicions and the ,aegyptians used1 which ,greeke word cometh of the ,hebrew kik4 ,hereby it appeereth that the olde writers long ago1 though unwittingly1 called this plant by his true name4 ,but the olde ,latine writers knew it by the name ,cucurbita which evidently is manifested by an ,historie which ,st4 ,augustine recordeth in his ,epistle to ,st4 ,jerome where in effect he writeth thus3--,that name kikaijon is of small moment yet so small a matter caused a great tumult in ,africa4 ,for on a time a certaine ,bishop having occasion to intreat of this which is mentioned in the fourth chapter of ,jonas his prophecie 7in a collation or sermon which he made in his cathedral church or place of assemblie71 said that this plant was called ,cucurbita1 a ,gourde1 because it increased to so great a quantitie in so short a space1 or else 7saith he7 it is called ,hedera4 ,upon the novelty and untruth of this doctrine the people were greatly offended1 and there arose a tumult and hurly burly1 so that the bishop was inforced to go to the ,jews to aske their judgement as touching the name of this plant4 ,and when he had received of them the true name which was kikaijon1 he made his open recantation and confessed his error1 and was justly accused of being a falsifier of ,holy ,scripture40 ,i quote the letter as ,gerard gives it without quite understanding it1 and ,i have not been able to trace its origin4 ,but it is clear that if ,st4 ,augustine thought it was such a small matter he would hardly have quarrelled so violently with ,st4 ,jerome about it4 ,probably1 however1 the story of the quarrel is founded on this letter4 ,moreover the conclusion seems to be that the gourd was not a cucurbita but the ,palma ,christi4 ,the importance of ,jerome's translation of the word representing the plant to be ,ivy 7,hedera7 is that he incorporated it into his ,latin version of the ,bible known as the ,vulgate4 ,the much older ,septuagint 7,greek7 translation gives 8kolokyntha10 the bottle gourd1 as the rendering of the ,hebrew kikaion4 ,the ,swedish botanist and theologian ,celsius strongly supported the view that ,jonah's gourd was the ,palma ,christi in his 8,hierobotanicon2 sive de ,plantis ,sacrae ,scripturae10 #agdf4 ,but though this tree is of very rapid growth1 and is planted before houses in the ,east for its shade1 and though philological arguments are in its favour1 ,dr4 ,hastings 78,encyclopdia ,biblica07 rejects the suggestion and prefers the ,septuagint version because he thinks the passage clearly indicates that a vine is intended4 ,he considers there is no support1 either botanical or etymological1 for the selection of ivy to represent the gourd4 ,,the ,,wild ,,gourds mentioned in #b ,kings1 iv1 #ci1 are generally supposed to have been colocynth fruit1 though the squirting cucumber 7,ecbalium purgans7 has also been suggested4 ,the plant on which this grows1 however1 would hardly be called a wild vine1 for it has no tendrils4 ,the ,jews were in the habit of shredding various kinds of gourds in their pottage1 and as narrated1 someone had brought a lapful of these gourds1 the fruit of a wild vine1 and shredded them into the pottage which was being prepared for the sons of the prophets4 ,the mistake could hardly have been made with the squirting cucumber1 which is very common throughout ,palestine1 but the colocynth only grew on barren sands like those near ,gilgal1 and might easily be mistaken for the globe cucumber4 ,the mistake was discovered as soon as the pottage was tasted1 and the alarm of 8death in the pot0 was raised4 ,elisha1 however1 casting some meal in the pot destroyed the bitter taste1 and apparently rendered the pottage quite harmless4 ,,the ,,horse ,,leech mentioned in ,proverbs1 xxx1 #ae1 8,the horse-leech hath two daughters1 crying ,give1 ,give10 is a translation of ,hebrew ,aluka1 the meaning of which is not without doubt4 ,the ,hebrew word is interpreted by corresponding terms in ,arabic1 but of these there are two1 one meaning the leech1 and the other fate or destiny4 ,the latter word is supposed to have been derived from the former from the idea that every person's fate clings to him4 ,another similar ,arabic word is ,aluk1 a female ghul or vampire1 who1 it was believed1 sucked the blood of those whom she attacked4 ,,nitre is mentioned twice in the ,old ,testament1 first in ,proverbs1 xxv1 #bj1 8,as vinegar upon nitre1 so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart40 ,in the ,revised ,version soda is given instead of nitre in the margin4 ,the other reference is in ,jeremiah1 ii1 #bb1 8,though thou wash thee with nitre1 and take thee much sope40 ,in this passage the ,revised ,version changes nitre to lye4 ,the ,hebrew word is ,nether1 the natrum of the ,east1 an impure carbonate of sodium which was condensed from certain salt lakes1 or obtained from marine plants4 ,vinegar would cause effervescence with this substance1 but not with nitrate of potash4 ,the soap in the same passage in ,jeremiah1 in ,hebrew ,borith1 was either the soap wort or a salt obtained from the ashes of herbs by lixiviation4 ,,mustard ,,seeds are mentioned twice by the ,saviour as illustrations of something very small3 first as the small seed which grows into a tree1 and second as the measure of even a minute degree of faith4 ,the weed did in fact grow in ,palestine to some ten or twelve feet in height4 ,,vinegar4 ,homez in ,hebrew1 ,oxus in ,greek1 is mentioned five times in the ,old ,testament1 and five times in the ,new ,testament4 ,it was used as a relish by the ,jews1 the food being dipped into it before eating4 ,the passages where vinegar is mentioned in the accounts of the ,crucifixion in the several ,gospels are not fully explained by ,biblical scholars4 ,the first administration of vinegar to the ,saviour was1 according to ,st4 ,matthew1 vinegar mixed with gall2 according to ,st4 ,mark1 vinegar mixed with myrrh4 ,there are linguistic reasons for assuming that the additional ingredient may have been opium1 given with a merciful intention4 ,but both evangelists state that ,jesus refused it4 ,the second time vinegar was given to him on a sponge1 and ,st4 ,luke seems to suggest that this was given in mockery4 ,it is supposed that the vinegar was the posca1 a sour wine which was largely drunk by the ,roman soldiers4 ,,anethon4 ,all translators agree that dill and not anise was the 8anethon0 named with mint and cummin in the passage1 ,matthew1 xxiii1 #bc4 ,anise was never grown in ,palestine4 ,the other herbs were common in gardens1 and the allusion to paying tithe on them1 and to rue in a similar connection in ,luke1 xi1 #db1 appears to refer to the scrupulous observance of the letter of the law by the ,pharisees1 even down to such an insignificant matter as the tithe on these almost valueless herbs4 ,the law did not1 in fact1 require tithe to be paid except on productions which yielded income4 ,it was therefore rather to satisfy their own self-righteousness that the ,pharisees insisted on paying the contribution on mint and anise and cummin4 ,,saffron is only mentioned in the ,song of ,solomon1 iv1 #ad1 as one of the many valuable products of an ,eastern garden4 ,there is not much doubt that this was the crocus sativa known to medicine from the earliest times4 ,the ,hebrew word1 karkum1 was kurkum in ancient ,arabic1 and this is given in ,arab dictionaries as equivalent to the more modern za-faran from which our word is derived4 ,,pomegranates are always referred to in the ,scriptures as luxuries4 ,the spies sent by ,moses to see the land of ,canaan brought back pomegranates with figs and grapes 7,numbers1 xiii1 #bc72 the same fruits are promised in ,deut4 7viii1 #h72 the withering of the pomegranate tree is1 with that of the vine and fig tree1 noted by the prophet ,joel 7i1 #ab7 as a sign of desolation4 ,it is still highly prized as a fruit in the ,east4 ,,the ,,poultice ,,of ,,figs applied to ,hezekiah's boil 7#b ,kings1 xx1 #g7 is an interesting reminiscence of ,israelitish home medicine4 ,the fig tree often appears in the ,bible4 ,some very learned ,biblical commentators 7,celsius1 ,gesenius1 ,knobel1 among them7 have believed that the fig leaves with which ,adam and ,eve made aprons were in fact the very long leaves of the banana tree4 ,this1 however1 is scarcely possible1 as the banana is a native of the ,malay ,archipelago1 and there is no evidence that it was known to the ,jews at the time when the ,pentateuch was written4 ,,spikenard is mentioned three times in the ,song of ,songs 7i1 #ab1 iv1 #ac1 iv1 #ad71 and in the ,new ,testament on two occasions 7,mark xiv1 #c1 and ,john xii1 #c71 a box of spikenard ointment1 8very costly0 and 8very precious0 is1 in the instance recorded by ,st4 ,mark1 poured on the ,saviour's head1 and in the narrative of ,st4 ,john1 is used to anoint ,his feet4 ,on both occasions we are told that the value of this box or vase was three hundred pence4 ,it is explained in the ,revised ,version that the coin named was equivalent to about #h;d4 ,the price of the ointment used was therefore over ten pounds4 ,in the ,greek text the word used is nardos pitike4 ,it has been variously conjectured that the adjective may have meant liquid1 genuine or powdered2 the word lends itself to either of those meanings4 ,or it may have been a local term1 or possibly it may have been altered from a word which would have meant what we understand by 8spike0 in botany4 ,the most likely meaning is 8genuine10 for we know that this product was at that period a perfume in high esteem1 and that there were several qualities1 the best1 and by far the costliest1 being brought from ,india4 ,the ointment employed was really an otto1 and it was imported into ,rome and other cities of the ,empire in alabaster vessels4 ,dioscorides and ,galen refer to it as nardostachys4 ,the ,arab name for it was ,sumbul ,hindi1 but this must not be confounded with the sumbul which we know4 ,the word sumbul simply means spike4 ,the botanical origin of the ,scripture spikenard1 the nardostachys of ,dioscorides1 was cleared up1 it is generally agreed1 by ,sir ,william ,jones in #agij4 ,he traced it to a ,himalayan plant of the valerian order which was afterwards exactly identified by ,royle4 ,a ,brahman gave some of the fibrous roots to ,sir ,william ,jones1 and told him it was employed in their religious sacrifices4 ,pliny mentions an ointment of spikenard composed of the ,indian nard1 with myrrh1 balm1 custos1 amomum1 and other ingredients1 but the 8genuine0 nard alluded to in the ,gospels was probably the simple otto4 ,pliny also states that the ,indian nard was worth1 in his time1 in ,rome1 one hundred denarii per pound4 ,horace mentions an onyx box of nard which was considered of equal value with a large vessel of wine3 ,nardo vinum merebere ,nardi parvus onyx eliciet cadum4 ,,eastern ,,imagery4 ,in ,ecclesiastes1 xii1 #e1 the familiar words 8and desire shall fail10 have been changed in the ,revised ,version to 8the caper-berry shall fail40 ,this alteration does not strike the ordinary reader as an improvement1 but it appears that the ,revised ,version translation is a reversion to that of the ,septuagint1 and is probably exactly correct4 ,it is supposed to mean the same thing4 ,the caper has always been recognised as a relish to meat1 as we use it2 and there is evidence that it was given as a stimulating medicine among the ,arabs in the ,middle ,ages1 and perhaps from very ancient times4 ,the idea would be therefore that even the caper-berry will not now have any effect4 ,the ,revisers also suggest in the margin 8burst0 for 8fail40 ,it is only a question of points in ,hebrew which word is intended1 and some think that the berry when fully ripe and bursting may have been an emblem of death4 ,the other clauses in the same verse have given rise to much difference of opinion4 8,the almond tree shall flourish0 is generally supposed to indicate the white locks of the old man4 ,but against this it is objected that the almond blossom is not white1 but pink2 and by a slight alteration of the original it is possible to read 8the almond 7the fruit7 shall be refused0 or rejected2 it is no longer a tempting morsel4 ,the almond and the almond tree 7the same word may mean either7 are mentioned several times in the ,bible4 ,jacob's gifts to ,joseph from ,canaan to ,egypt included almonds4 ,they were grown in ,canaan and were a luxury in ,egypt4 ,in ,jeremiah1 i1 #aa1 the almond branch is used as symbolical of hastening or awakening1 which is the primary meaning of the word1 derived from the early appearance of the blossoms on the almond tree4 ,the third clause1 8the grasshopper shall be a burden10 similarly presents difficulties1 but these hardly concern us here4 ,probably all the metaphors conveyed distinct ideas to ,eastern readers at that time1 but have lost their point to us4 ,the interpretation of the beautiful ,hebrew poetry of the twelfth chapter of ,ecclesiastes1 as given in ,leclerc's 8,history of ,medicine10 may be of interest4 ,leclerc says the chapter is an enigmatic description of old age and its inconveniences1 followed by death4 ,the sun1 the light1 the moon1 and the stars are respectively the mind1 the judgment1 the memory1 and the other faculties of the soul1 which are gradually fading4 ,the clouds and the rain are the catarrhs and the fluxions incident to age4 ,the guards of the house and the strong man are the senses1 the muscles1 and the tendons4 ,the grinders are the teeth2 those who look out through the windows is an allusion to the sight4 ,the doors shall be shut in the streets1 and the sound of the grinding is low1 means that the mouth will scarcely open for speaking1 and that eating must be slow and quiet4 ,the old man must rise at the voice of the bird1 for he cannot sleep4 ,there is no more singing1 and reading and study are no longer pleasures4 ,the fear of climbing1 even of walking1 are next expressed2 the white hair is signalised by the almond blossom1 and the flesh falling away by the grasshopper1 though the word burden may indicate the occasional unhealthy fattening of old persons4 ,the caper failing indicates the loss of the various appetites4 ,the silver cord represents the spinal marrow1 the golden bowl the brain or the heart2 the pitcher1 the skull2 and the wheel1 the lung4 ,the long home is the tomb4 ,,iv ,,the ,,pharmacy ,,of ,,hippocrates4 ,when we search into the history of medicine and the commencement of science1 the first body of doctrine that we meet with is the collection of writings attributed to ,hippocrates4 ,science ascends directly to that origin and there stops4 ,everything that had been learned before the physician of ,cos has perished2 and1 curiously1 there exists a great gap after him as well as before him4444 ,so that the writings of ,hippocrates remain isolated amongst the ruins of ancient medical literature4--,,littr4 ,introduction to the ,translation of the ,works of ,hippocrates4 ,about eight hundred years separated the periods of sculapius and ,hippocrates4 ,during that long time the study of medicine in all its branches was proceeding in intimate association with the various philosophies for which ,greece has always been famous4 ,intercourse between ,greece and ,egypt1 ,persia1 ,india1 and other countries brought into use a number of medicines1 and probably these were introduced and made popular by the shopkeepers and the travelling doctors1 market quacks as we should call them4 ,leclerc has collected a list of nearly four hundred simples which he finds alluded to as remedies in the writings of ,hippocrates4 ,but these include various milks1 wines1 fruits1 vegetables1 flits1 and other substances which we should hardly call drugs now4 ,omitting these and certain other substances which cannot be identified ,i take from the author named the following list of medicines employed or mentioned in that far distant age2-- ,abrotanum4 ,absinthe4 ,adiantum 7maidenhair74 ,agnus castus4 ,algae 7various74 ,almonds4 ,althaea4 ,alum4 ,amber4 ,ammoniac4 ,amomum4 ,anagallis 7a veronica74 ,anagyris4 ,anchusa4 ,anemone4 ,anethum4 ,anise4 ,anthemis4 ,aparine 7goose grease74 ,aristolochia4 ,armenian stone4 ,asphalt4 ,asphodel4 ,atriplex4 ,baccharis4 ,balm4 ,basil4 ,bistort4 ,blite4 ,brass 7flowers1 filings1 ashes74 ,briar4 ,bryony4 ,burdock4 ,cabbage4 ,cachrys4 ,calamus aromaticus4 ,cantharides4 ,capers4 ,cardamom4 ,carduus benedictus4 ,carrot4 ,castoreum4 ,centaury4 ,centipedes4 ,chalcitis 7red ochre74 ,chenopodium4 ,cinnamon4 ,cinquefoil4 ,clove4 ,colocynth4 ,coriander4 ,crayfish4 ,cress4 ,cucumber 7wild74 ,cummin4 ,cyclamen4 ,cytisus4 ,dictamnus4 ,dog4 ,dracontium4 ,earths 7various74 ,elaterium4 ,elder4 ,erica4 ,euphorbia4 ,excrement of ass1 goat1 mule1 goose1 fox4 ,fennel4 ,fig tree 7leaves1 wood1 fruit74 ,foenugreek4 ,frankincense4 ,frogs4 ,galbanum4 ,galls4 ,garlic4 ,germander4 ,goat 7various parts74 ,hawthorn4 ,heather4 ,hellebore 7white and black74 ,hemlock4 ,henbane4 ,honey4 ,horehound4 ,horns of ox1 goat1 stag4 ,hyssop4 ,isatis4 ,ivy4 ,juniper4 ,laserpitium4 ,laurel4 ,lettuce4 ,licorice4 ,linseed4 ,loadstone4 ,lotus4 ,lupins4 ,magnesian stone4 ,mallow4 ,mandragora4 ,mecon 7874 ,melilot4 ,mercurialis4 ,minium4 ,mints 7various74 ,mugwort4 ,myrabolans4 ,myrrh4 ,myrtle4 ,narcissus4 ,nard4 ,nitre4 ,oak4 ,oenanthe4 ,oesypus4 ,olive4 ,onions4 ,origanum4 ,orpiment4 ,ostrich4 ,ox-gall4 ,ox 7liver1 gall1 urine74 ,panax4 ,parthenium4 ,pennyroyal4 ,peony4 ,pepper4 ,persea 7sebestens74 ,persil4 ,peucedanum4 ,phaseolus4 ,philistium4 ,pine4 ,pitch4 ,pomegranate4 ,poppy4 ,quicklime4 ,quince4 ,ranunculus4 ,red spider4 ,resin4 ,rhamnus4 ,rhus4 ,ricinus4 ,rock rose4 ,rose4 ,rosemary4 ,ruby4 ,rue4 ,saffron4 ,sagapenum4 ,sage4 ,salt4 ,samphire4 ,sandarach4 ,scammony4 ,sea water4 ,secundines of a woman4 ,sepia4 ,serpent4 ,sesame4 ,seseli4 ,silver4 ,sisymbrium4 ,solanum4 ,spurge4 ,squill4 ,stag 7horns1 c474 ,stavesacre4 ,styrax4 ,succinum4 ,sulphur4 ,sweat4 ,tarragon4 ,tetragonon4 ,thaspia4 ,thistles 7various74 ,thlapsi4 ,thuja4 ,thyme4 ,torpedo 7fish74 ,trigonum4 ,tribulus4 ,turpentine4 ,turtle4 ,umbilicus veneris4 ,verbascum4 ,verbena4 ,verdigris4 ,verjuice4 ,violet4 ,wax4 ,willow4 ,woad4 ,worms4 ,worm seed4 ,this list may be taken to have comprised pretty fairly the materia medica of the ,greeks as it was known to them when ,hippocrates practised1 and as it is not claimed that he introduced any new medicines it may be assumed that these formed the basis of the remedies used in the temples of sculapius1 though perhaps some of them were only popular medicines4 ,the temples of sculapius were in all those ages the repositories of such medical and pharmaceutical knowledge as was acquired4 ,the priests of these temples were called ,asclepiades1 and they professed to be the descendants of the god4 ,probably the employment of internal medicines was a comparatively late development4 ,plato remarks on the necessarily limited medical knowledge of sculapius4 ,wounds1 bites of serpents1 and occasional epidemics1 he observes1 were the principal troubles which the earliest physicians had to treat4 ,catarrhs1 gout1 dysentery1 and lung diseases only came with luxury4 ,plutarch and ,pindar say much the same4 ,the latter specially mentions that sculapius had recourse to prayers1 hymns1 and incantations in mystic words and in verses called epaioide1 or carmina1 from which came the idea and name of charm4 ,in later times these temples were beautiful places1 generally situated in the most healthy localities1 and amid lovely scenery4 ,they were either in forests or surrounded by gardens4 ,a stream of pure water ran through the grounds1 and the neighbourhood of a medicinal spring was chosen if possible4 ,the patients who resorted to them were required to purify themselves rigorously1 to fast for some time before presenting themselves in the temple1 to abstain from wine for a still longer preliminary period1 and thus to appreciate the solemnity of the intercession which was to be made for them4 ,on entering the temple they found much to impress them4 ,they were shown the records of cures1 especially of diseases similar to their own2 their fasts had brought them into a mental condition ready to accept a miracle1 the ceremonies which they witnessed were imposing1 and at last they were left to sleep before the altar4 ,that dreams should come under those circumstances was not wonderful2 nor was it surprising that in the morning the priests should be prepared to interpret these dreams4 ,not unfrequently the patients saw some mysterious shapes in their dreams which suggested to the priests the medicines which ought to be administered4 ,for no doubt they did administer medicines1 though for many centuries they observed the strictest secrecy in reference to all their knowledge and practices4 ,it need hardly be added that offerings were made to the god1 to the service of the temple1 and to the priests personally by grateful patients who had obtained benefit4 ,at one of the temples it is said it was the custom to throw pieces of gold or silver into a well for the god4 ,at others pieces of carving representing the part which had been the seat of disease were sold to those who had been cured1 and these were again presented to the temple1 and1 it may be surmised1 sold again4 ,that cures were effected is likely enough4 ,the excitement1 the anticipation1 the deep impressions made by the novel surroundings had great influence on many minds1 and through the minds on the bodies4 ,records of these cures were engraved on tablets and fixed on the walls of the temples4 ,sprengel gives a translation of four of these inscriptions found at the ,temple of sculapius which had been built on the ,isle of the ,tiber1 near ,rome4 ,the first relates that a certain ,gaius1 a blind man1 was told by the oracle to pray in the temple1 then cross the floor from right to left1 lay the five fingers of his right hand on the altar1 and afterwards carry his hand to his eyes4 ,he did so1 and recovered his sight in the presence of a large crowd4 ,the next record is also a cure of blindness4 ,a soldier named ,valerius ,aper was told to mix the blood of a white cock with honey and apply the mixture to his eyes for three successive days4 ,he1 too1 was cured1 and thanked the god before all the people4 ,julian was cured of spitting of blood4 ,his case had been considered hopeless4 ,the treatment prescribed was mixing seeds of the fir apple with honey1 and eating the compound for three days4 ,the fourth cure was of a son of ,lucius who was desperately ill with pleurisy4 ,the god told him in a dream to take ashes from the altar1 mix them with wine1 and apply to his side4 ,the legend of the foundation of this ,roman temple is curious4 ,in the days of the republic on the occasion of an epidemic in the city the sibylline books were consulted1 with the result that an embassy was sent to ,epidaurus to ask for the help of sculapius4 ,quintus ,ogulnius was appointed for this mission4 ,on arriving at ,epidaurus the ,romans were astonished to see a large serpent depart from the temple1 make its way to the shore1 and leap on the vessel1 where it proceeded at once to the cabin of ,ogulnius4 ,some of the priests followed the serpent and accompanied the ,romans on the return journey4 ,the vessel stopped at ,antium1 and the serpent left the ship and proceeded to the ,temple of sculapius in that city4 ,after three days he returned1 and the voyage was continued4 ,casting anchor at the mouth of the ,tiber the serpent again left the vessel and settled itself on a small island4 ,there it rolled itself up1 thus indicating its intention of settling on that spot4 ,the god1 it was understood1 had selected that island as the site for his temple1 and there it was erected4 ,as might be expected1 some of the less reverent of the ,greek writers found subjects for satire in the worship of sculapius4 ,aristophanes in one of his comedies makes a servant relate how his master1 ,plautus1 who was blind1 was restored to sight at the sculapian temple4 ,having placed their offerings on the altar and performed other ceremonies1 this servant says that ,plautus and he laid down on beds of straw4 ,when the lights were extinguished the priest came round and enjoined them to sleep and to keep silence if they should hear any noise4 ,later the god himself came and wiped the eyes of ,plautus with a piece of white linen4 ,panacea followed him and covered the face of ,plautus with a purple veil4 ,then on a signal from the deity two serpents glided under the veil1 and having licked his eyes ,plautus recovered his sight4 ,it cannot be doubted that in the course of the centuries a large amount of empiric knowledge was accumulated at these temples1 and probably the pretence of supernatural aid was far more rare than we suppose4 ,in an exhaustive study of the subject recently published by ,dr4 ,aravintinos1 of ,athens1 that authority expresses the opinion that the temples served as hospitals for all kinds of sufferers1 and that arrangements were provided in them for prolonged treatment4 ,he thinks that in special cases the treatment was carried out during the mysterious sleep1 when it was desired to keep from the patient an exact knowledge of what was being done2 but generally he supposes a course of normal medication or hygiene was followed4 ,forty-two inscriptions have been discovered1 but on analysing these ,dr4 ,aravintinos comes to the conclusion that they record in most cases only cures effected by rational means1 and not by miracles4 ,he finds massage1 purgatives1 emetics1 diaphoresis1 bleeding1 baths1 poulticing1 and such like methods indicated1 and though the sleeps1 possibly hypnotic1 are often mentioned1 this is not by any means the case invariably4 ,about a century before ,hippocrates wrote and practised1 the ,asclepiads began to reveal their secrets4 ,the revolt against the mysteries and trickeries of the temples was incited by the infidelity to their oaths of certain of the ,italian disciples of ,pythagoras4 ,the school of philosophy and medicine founded by that mystic aimed also to keep his doctrines secret1 but when the colony he had established at ,crotona1 in ,south ,italy1 was dispersed by the attacks of the mob1 a number of the initiates travelled about under the title of ,periodeutes practising medicine often in close proximity to an sculapian temple4 ,the first of the ,asclepiads to yield to this competition were those of ,cnidos1 but the school of ,cos was not long after them4 ,the direct ancestors of ,hippocrates were among the teachers of the temple who became eager to make known the accumulated science in their possession1 and thus by the time when the famous teacher was born 7#dfj ,b4,c47 the world was ripe for his intellect to have free play4 ,,hippocrates4 ,hippocrates was born in ,cos1 as far as can be ascertained1 about the year #dfj ,b4,c41 and is alleged to have lived to be #ii1 or1 as some say1 #aji years of age4 ,it is claimed that his father1 ,heraclides1 was a direct descendant of sculapius1 and that his mother1 ,phenarita1 was of the family of ,hercules4 ,his father and his paternal ancestors in a long line were all priests of the sculapian temples1 and his sons and their sons after them also practised medicine in the same surroundings4 ,the family1 traceable for nearly #cjj years1 among whom were seven of the name of ,hippocrates1 were all1 it would appear1 singularly free from the charlatanism which the ,greek dramatists attributed to the sculapian practitioners1 from the superstition which overlaid the medical science of so many older and later centuries1 and especially from the fantastic pharmacy which was to develop to such an absurd extent in the following five hundred years4 ,it is not possible to distinguish with any confidence the genuine from the spurious writings attributed to ,hippocrates which have come down to us4 ,but the note which even his imitators sought to copy was one of directness1 lucidity1 and candour4 ,he tells of his failures as simply as of his successes4 ,he does not seek to deduce a system from his experience1 and though he is reputed to be the originator of the theory of the humours1 he does not allow the doctrine to influence his treatment1 which is based on experience4 ,illustration3 ,this portrait of ,hippocrates1 which is given in ,leclerc's 8,history of ,medicine10 is stated to be copied from a medal in the collection of ,fulvius ,ursinus1 a celebrated ,italian connoisseur4 ,it is believed that the medal was struck by the people of ,cos at some long distant time in honour of their famous compatriot4 ,a bust in the ,british ,museum1 found near ,albano1 among some ruins conjectured to have been the villa of ,marcus ,varro1 is presumed to represent ,hippocrates on the evidence of the likeness it bears to the head on this medal4 ,the medical views of ,hippocrates do not concern us here except as they affect his pharmaceutical practice2 but a very long chapter might be written on his pharmacy1 that is to say1 on the use he made of drugs in the treatment of disease4 ,galen believed that he made his preparations with his own hand1 or at least superintended their preparation4 ,leclerc's list of the medicaments mentioned as such in the works attributed to ,hippocrates have been already quoted1 and it will be found that after deducting the fruits and vegetables1 the milks of cows1 goats1 asses1 mules1 sheep1 and bitches1 as well as other things which perhaps we should hardly reckon as medicaments1 there remain between one hundred and two hundred drugs which are still found in our drug shops4 ,there are a great many animal products1 some copper and lead derivatives1 alum1 and the earths so much esteemed2 but evidently the bulk of his materia medica was drawn from the vegetable kingdom4 ,hippocrates was considerably interested in pharmacy4 ,galen makes him say1 8,we know the nature of medicaments and simples1 and make many different preparations with them2 some in one way1 some in another4 ,some simples must be gathered early1 some late2 some we dry1 some we crush1 some we cook10 c4 ,he made fomentations1 poultices1 gargles1 pessaries1 katapotia 7things to swallow1 large pills71 ointments1 oils1 cerates1 collyria1 looches1 tablets1 and inhalations1 which he called perfumes4 ,for quinsy1 for example1 he burned sulphur and asphalte with hyssop4 ,he gave narcotics1 including1 it is supposed1 the juice of the poppy and henbane seeds1 and mandragora2 purgatives1 sudorifics1 emetics1 and enemas4 ,his purgative drugs were generally drastic ones3 the hellebores1 elaterium1 colocynth1 scammony1 thapsia1 and a species of rhamnus4 ,hippocrates describes methods for what he calls purging the head and the lungs1 that is1 by means of sneezing and coughing4 ,he explains how he diminishes the acridity of spurge juice by dropping a little of it on a dried fig1 whereby he gets a good remedy for dropsy4 ,he has a medicine which he calls ,tetragonon1 or four-cornered4 ,galen conjectures that this was a tablet of crude antimony4 ,leclerc more reasonably suggests that it was a term for certain special kinds of lozenges1 and points out that not long after ,hippocrates physicians used a trochiscus trigonus1 or three-cornered lozenge for another purpose4 ,although he used many drugs1 ,hippocrates is especially insistent on ,diet as the most important aid to health4 ,he claims to have been the first physician who had written on this subject1 and this assertion is confirmed by ,plato1 who1 however1 somewhat grimly commends the ancient doctors for neglecting this branch of treatment1 for1 he says1 the modern ones have converted life into a tedious death4 ,barley water is repeatedly recommended by the physician of ,cos1 with various additions to suit the particular case under consideration4 ,oxymel is the usual associate1 but dill1 leeks1 oil1 salt1 vinegar1 and goats' fat also figure4 ,particular instructions are also given about the wine to be drunk1 the kind1 and the quantity of water with which it is to be diluted in spring1 summer1 autumn1 and winter4 ,in one place1 at the end of the #crd ,book on ,diet1 a word is used which apparently means that persons fatigued with long labour should 8drink unto gaiety0 occasionally2 but there is some doubt about the correct translation of that word4 ,v ,,from ,,hippocrates ,,to ,,galen4 ,medicine is a science which hath been more professed than laboured1 and yet more laboured than advanced2 the labour having been1 in my judgment1 rather in circle than in progression4 ,for ,i find much iteration1 but small addition4--,,bacon1 8,advancement of ,learning40--,book #b4 ,the fame of ,hippocrates caused naturally a great multiplication of works attributed to him4 ,the ,ptolemies when founding the ,library of ,alexandria1 which they were determined should be more important than that of ,pergamos1 commissioned captains of ships and other travellers to buy manuscripts of the ,greek physician at almost any price2 an excellent method of encouraging forgeries4 ,the works attributed to ,hippocrates have been subject to the keenest scrutiny by scholars1 but even now the verdict of ,galen in regard to their genuine or spurious character is the consideration which carries the greatest weight4 ,even the imitations go to prove how free the physician of ,cos was from superstitious practices or prejudiced theories4 ,between him and ,galen an interval of some six hundred years elapsed and1 especially in the latter half of that period1 pharmacy developed into enormous importance4 ,not that it necessarily advanced4 ,but the faith in drugs1 and especially in the art of compounding them1 and the wild polypharmacy which grew up in ,alexandria and ,rome in the first two centuries of our era1 of which ,galen shows so much approval1 add inestimably to the chronicles of pharmacy4 ,it was during the interval between ,hippocrates and ,galen that the many sects of ancient medicine1 the ,dogmatics1 the ,stoics1 the ,empirics1 the ,methodics1 and the ,eclectics were born and flourished4 ,some of these encouraged the administration of special remedies4 ,but probably a far greater influence was exercised on the pharmacy of the ancient world by the new commerce with ,africa and the ,east which the ,ptolemies did so much to foster1 and by the travelling quacks and the prescribing druggists who exploited the drugs of foreign origin which now came into the market4 ,serapion of ,alexandria1 one of the most famous of the ,empirics1 who is supposed to have lived in the second century1 was largely responsible for the introduction of the animal remedies which were to figure so prominently in the pharmacy of the succeeding seventeen centuries4 ,among his specifics were the brain of a camel1 the excrements of the crocodile1 the heart of the hare1 the blood of the tortoise1 and the testicles of the wild boar4 ,the ,empirics were the boldest users of drugs1 and so far as can be judged1 were the practitioners who brought opium into general medicinal esteem4 ,one of the most famous doctors of this sect1 ,heraclides1 made several narcotic compounds which are commended by ,galen4 ,one of these formul prescribed for cholera was #b drms4 of henbane seeds1 #a drm4 of anise1 and drm4 of opium1 made into #cj pills1 one for a dose4 ,another which was recommended for coughs was composed of #d drms4 each of juice of hemlock1 juice of henbane1 castorum1 white pepper1 and costus2 and #a drm4 each of myrrh and opium4 ,musa1 a freed slave of ,augustus1 and apparently a sort of medical charlatan1 but a great favourite with the ,emperor1 is alleged to have introduced the flesh of vipers into medical use especially for the cure of ulcers4 ,celsus1 ,dioscorides1 and ,pliny1 whose works are recognized as the storehouses of the science of ,imperial ,rome1 belonged to the period under review4 ,celsus wrote either a little before or a little after the commencement of our era4 ,he was the first eminent author who wrote on medicine in ,latin4 ,pliny died ,a4,d4 #gi1 suffocated by the gases from ,vesuvius1 which in his eagerness to observe he had approached too near during an eruption4 ,dioscorides is supposed to have lived a little before ,pliny1 who apparently quotes him1 but curiously never mentions his name1 though usually most scrupulous in regard to his authorities4 ,themison1 who lived at ,rome in the reign of ,augustus ,csar1 and who is said to have been the first physician to have distinguished rheumatism from gout1 is noted in pharmacy as the author of the formul for ,diagredium and ,diacodium4 ,he praised the plantain as a universal remedy1 and is also the earliest medical writer to mention the use of leeches in the treatment of illness4 ,several of the writers on medical subjects of this period adopted the method of prescribing their formulas and the instructions for compounding them in verse4 ,the most famous instance is that of ,andromachus1 physician to ,nero1 whose elegiac verses describing the composition of his ,theriakon are quoted by ,galen4 ,the idea was that the formula thus presented was less likely to be tampered with4 ,theriakon as invented contained #fa ingredients4 ,its principal improvement on the more ancient ,mithridatum was the addition of dried vipers4 ,andromachus appears to have acquired a large and lucrative practice in ,rome at the time when wealth was most lavishly squandered4 ,among other medical verse writers were ,servilius ,damocrates1 who lived in the reign of the ,emperor ,tiberius1 and who invented a famous tooth powder1 a number of malagmata1 7emollient poultices71 acopa 7liniments for pains71 electuaries1 and plasters2 and ,herennius ,philon1 a physician of ,tarsus 7about ,a4,d4 #ej71 whose fame rests on his philonium1 a compound designed to relieve colic pains1 which appear to have been specially frequent at that period4 ,this philonium was composed of opium1 saffron1 pyrethrum1 euphorbium1 pepper1 henbane1 spikenard1 and honey4 ,menecrates1 physician to ,tiberius1 and said to have written #aee works1 was the inventor of diachylon plaster1 but his diachylon was a compound of many juices 7as the name implies7 along with lead plaster4 ,the ,romans were curiously badly off for regular doctors until ,julius ,csar specially tempted some to come from ,greece and ,egypt by offers of citizenship4 ,augustus1 too1 warmly encouraged the settlement in the city of trained medical men4 ,,pharmacy ,,in ,,the ,,roman ,,empire4 ,the separation of the practices of medicine1 pharmacy1 and surgery1 which became general though never universal1 was of course a gradual process4 ,galen expresses the opinion that ,hippocrates prepared the medicines he prescribed with his own hands1 or at least superintended the production of them4 ,according to ,celsus1 it was in ,alexandria and about the year #cjj ,b4,c4 that the division of the practice of medicine into distinct branches was first noticeable4 ,the sections he names were ,dietetics1 ,surgery and ,pharmaceutics4 ,the physicians who practised dietetics were like our consultants1 only more so4 ,they were above all things philosophers1 the recognised successors of the ,greek thinkers and theorists1 and but too often their imitators4 ,although they owed their designation to their general authority on rgime1 they prescribed and invented medicines4 ,the pharmaceutical section came to be called in ,latin medicamentarii1 and their history corresponds closely with that of our ,english apothecaries4 ,at first they prepared and administered the medicines which the physicians ordered4 ,but in ,alexandria and ,rome they gradually assumed the position of general practitioners4 ,to another class1 designated by ,pliny ,vulnerarii1 was left the treatment of wounds1 and probably of tumours and ulcers4 ,the necessity of a lower grade of medical practitioners in ,rome is manifest from a remark of ,galen's to the effect that no physician1 meaning a person in his own rank1 would attend to diseases of minor importance4 ,it is worthy of note that the ,latin designation medicamentarius1 which was nearly equivalent to the ,greek pharmacopolis1 was similarly used to mean a poisoner1 while pharmakon in ,greek and medicamentus in ,latin might mean either a medicine or a poison4 ,it is noted elsewhere 7page #eb7 that the word pharmakeia when it occurs in the ,new ,testament is universally translated in our versions by the term sorcery or some similar word4 ,at the time when the ,apostles wrote this was evidently the prevalent meaning attached to the term4 ,but in earlier ,greek literature the reputable and the disgraceful ideas associated with the word seem to have run side by side for centuries4 ,homer uses pharmakon in both senses2 ,plato makes pharmakeuein mean to administer a remedy1 while ,herodotus adopts it to signify the practice of sorcery4 ,apparently this word came from an earlier1 pharmassein1 which was derived from a root implying to mix1 and the gradual sense development was that of producing an effect by means of drugs4 ,they might produce purging1 they might produce a colour1 or they might produce love4 ,the multiplication of names for the various classes connected with medicine and pharmacy in the ,roman world is rather confusing4 ,as the language of medicine up to and including ,galen was largely ,greek1 many of the designations employed were those which had been drawn from that tongue4 ,the name ,pharmacopeus1 used in ,greek to denote certain handlers of drugs1 had always a sinister signification4 ,it suggested a purveyor of noxious drugs1 a compounder of philtres1 a vendor of poisons4 ,the men who kept shops for the sale of drugs generally were called pharmacopoloi4 ,this term was not free from reproach1 because it was a common appellation1 not only of the shopkeepers strictly so-called1 but was also applied to the periodeutes1 or agyrtoi1 travelling quacks or assembly gatherers1 or as they came to be named in ,latin1 circulatores or circumforanei4 ,these itinerant drug sellers are occasionally referred to by the classic authors4 ,lucian speaks of one hawking a cough mixture about the streets2 and ,cicero1 in his ,oratia pro ,cluentio1 suggests that the travelling pharmacopolists who attended the markets of country towns were not unwilling to sell poisons as well as medicines when they were wanted4 ,one of these is specifically named1 ,lucius ,clodius1 and the orator suggests that he was bribed to supply medicines to a certain lady which were to have a fatal effect4 ,the designation ,periodeutes meant originally1 and always in strict legal terminology1 physicians who visited their patients4 ,the term was also used among the ,christians to describe the ministers charged to visit the sick and poor in their dioceses4 ,the tramp doctor in time gets tired of his vagabond life1 and1 it may be1 a little weary of hearing his own voice4 ,if he has saved a little money1 therefore1 the attractions of a shop in the city1 where he can exercise his healing on people who seek him1 appeal strongly to him4 ,so in ,greece and in the ,roman ,empire the charlatans settled in little shops and were called iatroi epidiphrioi or sellularii medici1 meaning sedentary doctors4 ,but all these were pharmacopoloi4 ,peculiarly interesting is the suggestion made by ,epicurus and intended as a sneer1 that ,aristotle was one of these pharmacopoloi in his younger days4 ,according to ,epicurus the philosopher having first wasted his patrimony in riotous living and then served as a soldier1 afterwards sold antidotes in the markets up to the time when he joined ,plato's classes4 ,seplasia was the ordinary name in ,rome for a druggist's shop1 and those who kept them were designated ,seplasiarii or ,pigmentarii4 ,these names appear to have been used without much recognition of their original meanings4 ,strictly the ,seplasiarii were ointment makers1 and though the ,pigmentarii were no doubt at first sellers of dyes and colours1 they evidently came to include medicines in their stocks of pigments1 and ,coelius ,aurelianus1 in writing on stomach complaints1 alludes to aloes as a pigment4 ,greek designations corresponding to those just quoted were ,pantopoloi and ,kadolikoi 7the latter used by ,galen in referring to the trader who supplied the drugs for the theriacum prepared in the palace of the ,emperor ,antoninus74 ,kopopoloi1 and ,migmatopoloi1 both of which words meant dealers in all sorts of small wares1 were like the mercers in this country when shopkeeping first began4 ,the shops of perfumers were myropolia or myrophecia1 the perfumers themselves were myrepsi4 ,a general term in ,latin for any sort of shop where medicines were sold or surgical operations performed was ,medicina4 ,this was in the days before the ,empire1 when there was no usual distinction between the branches of the healing art4 ,pharmacotribae1 strictly drug-grinders1 may have been compounders1 and it has also been conjectured that they were the assistants employed by the ,seplasiarii or ,roman druggists4 ,herbalists were of very ancient ,greek lineage1 under the names of ,botanologoi1 who were collectors of simples1 and who1 to enhance the price of their wares1 pretended to have to gather them with many superstitious observances2 and ,rhizotomoi1 or root-cutters4 ,the name ,apothek1 which came to be appropriated to the warehouse where medicinal herbs were kept1 and which is to-day the ,german equivalent of our pharmacy1 or chemist's shop1 meant originally any warehouse1 and from it has been derived the ,french boutique and the ,spanish bodega4 ,the earlier ,greek and ,roman physicians were in the habit of themselves preparing the medicines they prescribed for their patients4 ,but naturally they did not gather their own herbs1 and as many of those used for medicine were exotics1 it is obvious that they could not have done so if they had wished4 ,the herbalists who undertook this duty 7botanologoi in ,greek7 developed into the seplasiarii1 pharmacopoloi1 medicamentarii1 and pigmentarii already mentioned4 ,beckmann says they competed with the regular physicians1 having acquired a knowledge of the healing virtues of the commodities they sold1 and the methods of compounding them4 ,this could not help happening1 but it ought to be remembered that the physicians of all countries had themselves developed from herbalists1 that is1 if we abandon the theories of miraculous instruction which are found among the legends of ,egypt1 ,assyria1 ,india1 and ,greece4 ,how similar the relations of the doctors and druggists of ancient ,rome were with those still prevailing in this country may be gathered from a reproach levelled by ,pliny against physicians contemporary with him 7,bk4 xxxiv1 #aa7 to the effect that they purchased their medicines from the seplasiarii without knowing of what they were composed4 ,,vi ,,arab ,,pharmacy4 ,in the science of medicine the ,arabians have been deservedly applauded4 ,the names of ,mesua and ,geber1 of ,razis and ,avicenna1 are ranked with the ,grecian masters2 in the city of ,bagdad #hfj physicians were licensed to exercise their lucrative profession2 in ,spain the lives of the ,catholic princes were entrusted to the skill of the ,saracens2 and the ,school of ,salerno1 their legitimate offspring1 revived in ,italy and ,europe the precepts of the healing art4--,,gibbon3 8,decline and ,fall of the ,roman ,empire10 ,chap4 ,,lii4 ,no period of ,european history is more astonishing than the records of the triumphant progress of the ,arab power under the influence of the faith of ,islam4 ,from the earliest times this grand ,semitic race was distinguished for learning of a certain character1 for gravity1 piety1 superstition1 a poetic imagination1 and eloquence4 ,centuries of independence1 jealously guarded1 and innumerable local feuds made the material of perfect soldiers1 and when ,mohammed had grafted on the native religious character his own faith and missionary zeal the ,arab army1 the ,saracens1 as they came to be called1 filled with fanatic fervour1 and utterly indifferent to death1 or1 rather1 eager for it as the introduction to the ,paradise which their prophet had seen and told them of1 formed such an irresistible force as on a small scale has only been reproduced by ,cromwell in our nation4 ,but the rapidity of the conquests of ,mohammedanism was perhaps less remarkable than the extraordinary assimilation of ancient learning and the development of new science among these hitherto unlettered ,arabs4 ,mohammed was born in the year #efi of our era4 ,the ,koran was the first substantial piece of ,arabic literature4 ,alexandria was taken and ,egypt conquered by the ,moslems under ,amrou in ,a4,d4 #fdj1 ,persia and ,syria having been previously subdued4 ,amrou was himself disposed to yield to the solicitations of some ,greek grammarians1 who implored him to spare the great ,library of the city1 the depository of the learning of the ancient world4 ,but he considered it necessary to refer the request to the ,caliph ,omar4 ,the reply of the ,commander of the ,faithful is one of the most familiar of the stories in ,gibbon's fascinating history4 8,if the writings support the ,koran they are superfluous2 if they oppose it they are pernicious2 burn them40 ,it is declared that the papers and manuscripts served as fuel for the baths of the city for six months4 ,the destruction of the ,alexandrian ,library is often alluded to as a signal triumph of barbarism over civilisation4 ,gibbon cynically remarks that 8if the ponderous mass of ,arian and ,monophysite controversy were indeed consumed in the public baths a philosopher may allow with a smile that it was ultimately devoted to the benefit of mankind40 ,but at least the spirit which animated ,omar in #fdj may be noted for comparison with the encouragement of learning which was soon to characterise the ,arab rulers4 ,only a lifetime later1 in ,a4,d4 #gaa1 the sons of the ,alexandrian conquerors invaded ,spain1 and within the same century made their western capital1 ,cordova1 the greatest centre of learning1 civilisation1 and luxury in ,europe4 ,the following quotation from ,dr4 ,draper's 8,history of the ,intellectual ,development of ,europe0 will give an idea of this achievement3 ,scarcely had the ,arabs become firmly settled in ,spain than they commenced a brilliant career4 ,adopting what had become the established policy of the ,commanders of the ,faithful in ,asia1 the ,emirs of ,cordova distinguished themselves as patrons of learning1 and set an example of refinement strongly contrasting with the condition of the native ,european ,princes4 ,cordova under their administration1 at the highest point of their prosperity1 boasted of more than two hundred thousand houses1 and more than a million inhabitants4 ,after sunset a man might walk through it in a straight line for ten miles by the light of the public lamps4 ,seven hundred years after this time there was not so much as one public lamp in ,london4 ,its streets were solidly paved4 ,in ,paris1 centuries subsequently1 whoever stepped over his threshold on a rainy day stepped up to his ankles in mud4 ,other cities1 as ,granada1 ,seville1 ,toledo1 considered themselves rivals of ,cordova4 ,the palaces of the ,khalifs were magnificently decorated4 ,those sovereigns might well look down with supercilious contempt on the dwellings of the rulers of ,germany1 ,france1 and ,england1 which were scarcely better than stables--chimneyless1 windowless1 with a hole in the roof for the smoke to escape1 like the wigwams of certain ,indians4 ,illustration3 ,,interior ,,of ,,mosque1 ,,cordova4 ,about the same time the passion for learning was growing in the ,east4 ,bagdad was founded ,a4,d4 #gfb1 and about the year #hjj ,haroun ,al-,raschid founded the famous university of that city4 ,libraries and schools were established throughout the two sections of the ,saracenic dominions4 ,greek and ,latin works of philosophy and science were translated1 but the licentious and blasphemous mythology of the classical poets was abhorred by this serious nation1 and no ,arabic versions of ,olympian fables were ever made4 ,astronomy1 mathematics1 metaphysics1 and the arts of agriculture1 of horticulture1 of architecture1 of war1 and of commerce1 were advanced to an extent which this century does not realise1 while amid all this progress the study of chemistry1 medicine1 and pharmacy was pursued with particular eagerness4 ,curiously the ,arabs owed their instruction in these branches of knowledge to those whom we are accustomed to regard as their traditional foes4 ,the dispersion of the ,nestorians after the condemnation of their doctrines by the ,council of ,ephesus in ,a4,d4 #dca resulted in the foundation of a ,chaldean ,church and the establishment of famous colleges in ,syria and ,persia4 ,in these the science of the ,greeks1 the philosophy of ,aristotle1 and the medical teaching of ,hippocrates were kept alive when they had been banished by the ,church from ,constantinople4 ,the ,jews had also acquired special fame for medical skill throughout the ,east1 and they and the ,nestorians appear to have associated in some of the schools4 ,it was to these teachers the ,arabs turned when1 having assured their military success1 they demanded intellectual advancement4 ,the ,caliphs not only tolerated1 they welcomed the assistance of the 8unbelievers10 and1 in fact1 depended on them for the equipment of their own schools1 and for the private tuition of their children4 ,to ,john ,mesu1 a ,nestorian1 and a famous writer on medicine and pharmacy1 ,haroun ,al-,raschid entrusted the superintendence of the public schools of ,bagdad4 ,the first ,nestorian college is believed to have been established in the city of ,dschondisabour in ,chuzistan 7,nishapoor71 before the revelation of ,mohammed4 ,theology and ,medicine were particularly studied at this seat of learning1 and a hospital was established to which the medical students were admitted1 but they had first to be examined in the ,psalms1 the ,new ,testament1 and in certain books of prayers4 ,it was the ,caliph ,almansor and his immediate successor1 ,haroun ,al-,raschid1 who between them made ,bagdad a centre of study4 ,students and professors came thither from all parts of the then civilised world1 and the ,caliphs welcomed1 and indeed invited1 both ,christians and ,jews to teach there4 ,hospitals were established in the city1 and the first public pharmacies or dispensaries were provided in ,bagdad by ,haroun ,al-,raschid4 ,it is on record that in ,a4,d4 #hjg envoys from that monarch came to the court of ,charlemagne bringing gifts of balsams1 nard1 ointments1 drugs1 and medicines4 ,arabic medicine was based on the works of ,hippocrates and ,galen1 which were for the most part translated first into ,syriac1 and then into ,arabic4 ,it does not come within the scope of this work to narrate or estimate the advance in medicine which may be accredited to the ,arabian writers and practitioners4 ,medical historians do not allow that they contributed much original service to either anatomy1 physiology1 pathology1 or surgery2 but it is admitted by every student that their maintenance of scholarship through the half dozen centuries during which ,europe was sunk in the most abject ignorance and superstition entitles them to the gratitude of all who have lived since4 ,the medicine of ,avicenna was perhaps much the same as that of ,galen4 ,both were accepted by the physicians of ,england1 ,france1 and ,germany with the slavish deference which the long burial of the critical faculties had made inevitable1 and which needed the vigorous abuse of ,paracelsus to quicken into activity4 ,whatever may have been the case with medicine it cannot be denied that the ,arabs contributed largely to the development of its ministering arts1 chemistry and pharmacy4 ,the achievements attributed to ,geber in the eighth century were probably not due to any single adept4 ,tradition assigned the glory to him and1 likely enough1 if such a chemist really lived and acquired fame1 other investigators who followed him for a century or two adopted the pious fraud so frequently met with in other branches of study in the early centuries of our era of attributing theories or discoveries to some venerated teacher in order to assure for them immediate acceptance4 ,however this may be1 it is not the less established that the chemistry of ,geber1 or of ,geber and others1 was in fact the fruit of ,arab industry and genius4 ,our language indicates to some extent what ,pharmacy owes to the ,arabs4 ,alcohol1 julep1 syrup1 sugar1 alkermes1 are ,arabic names2 the general employment in medicine of rhubarb1 senna1 camphor1 manna1 musk1 nutmegs1 cloves1 bezoar stones1 cassia1 tamarinds1 reached us through them4 ,they first distilled rose water4 ,they first established pharmacies1 and from the time of ,haroun ,al-,raschid there is evidence that the ,government controlled the quality and prices of the medicine sold in them4 ,sabor-,ebn-,sahel1 president of the school of ,dschondisabour1 was the author of the earliest pharmacopia1 which was entitled 8,krabadin02 and ,hassan-,ali-,ebno-,talmid of ,bagdad in the tenth century1 and ,avicenna 7,al-,hussein-,ben-,abdallah-,ebn-,sina7 in the eleventh century prepared collections of formulas which were used as pharmacopias4 ,it was the ,arabs who raised pharmacy to its proper dignity4 ,we do not read of any noted pharmacists among them who were not physicians1 but the latter were all keen students of the materia medica1 and occupied themselves largely with pharmaceutical studies4 ,but it is evident that there was a distinct profession of pharmacy4 ,we read of ,avicenna1 for example1 taking refuge with an apothecary at ,hamdan1 and there composing some of his famous works4 ,elsewhere a quotation from ,rhazes gives some indication of the irregular practice of medicine which has prevailed in every country and among all nations2 and ,sprengel quotes some translated items from various ,arabic authors which show that as early as the ninth century the ,government sanctioned the book of pharmaceutical formulas1 compiled by ,sabor-,ebn-,sahel1 director of the ,school of ,dschondisabour1 already mentioned4 ,his work was frequently imitated in later times4 ,the first ,london ,pharmacopia was professedly based largely on the ,formulary of ,mesu4 ,there is also evidence that both in civil life and in the army the pharmacists were closely supervised4 ,their medicines were inspected1 and the prices at which they were sold to the public were controlled by law4 ,the development and progress of medicine and its associated sciences among the ,arabs may be very concisely sketched4 ,the flight of ,mohammed from ,mecca to ,medina1 the ,hejira as it is called1 from which the ,mohommedan era is dated1 corresponds in our chronology with ,a4,d4 #fbb4 ,the prophet died in #fcb4 ,contemporary with him lived a priest at ,alexandria named ,ahrun or ,aaron1 who compiled from ,greek writers thirty books which he called the ,pandects of ,physic4 ,these were translated into ,syriac and ,arabic about #fhc by a ,jew of ,bassora named ,maserdschawaih-,ebn-,dschaldschal4 ,it is not in existence1 and is only known by references to it made by ,rhazes4 ,the first allusion to small-pox known to history was contained in these ,pandects4 ,serapion quotes a number of formulas which he says were invented by ,ahrun4 ,in #ggb ,almansor1 the ,caliph who founded the city of ,bagdad1 brought thither from ,nishabur 7,dschondisabour7 in ,persia1 a famous ,christian physician named ,george ,baktischwah1 who stayed for some time1 and at the request of ,almansor translated into ,arabic certain books on ,physic4 ,he then returned to his own land1 but his son was afterwards a physician in great favour with the two succeeding ,caliphs1 ,almohdi and ,haroun ,al-,raschid4 ,freind states that when the elder ,baktischwah returned to ,persia ,almansor presented him with #aj1jjj pieces of gold1 and that ,al-,raschid paid the younger ,baktischwah an annual salary of #aj1jjj drachmas4 ,the last-named ruler also brought to ,bagdad the ,nestorian ,christian1 ,jahiah-,ebn-,masawaih1 who1 under the name of ,mesu the ,elder1 retained a reputation for his formulas even up to the publication of the ,london ,pharmacopia4 ,mesu is noted for his opposition to the violent purgative medicines which the ,greek and ,roman physicians had made common1 and he had much to do with the popularisation1 if not with the introduction of1 senna1 cassia1 tamarinds1 sebestens1 myrabolans1 and jujube4 ,he modified the effects of certain remedies by judicious combinations1 as1 for example1 by giving violet root and lemon juice with scammony4 ,he gave pine bark and decoction of hyssop as emetics1 and recommended the pancreas of the hare as a styptic in diarrha4 ,a disciple of ,mesu's1 ,ebn-,izak1 added greatly to the medical resources of the ,arabs by translations of the works of ,hippocrates1 ,galen1 ,pliny1 ,paul of ,egineta1 and other ,greek authors4 ,abu-,moussah-,dschafar-,al-,soli1 commonly called ,geber1 the equivalent of his middle name1 is supposed to have lived in the eighth century4 ,it has already been remarked that the chemical discoveries attributed to this philosopher were probably the achievements of many workers1 and were afterwards collected and passed on to posterity as his alone4 ,from him are dated the introduction into science1 to be adopted later in medicine1 of corrosive sublimate1 of red precipitate1 of nitric and nitro-muriatic acids1 and of nitrate of silver4 ,these chemical discoveries must have been made within the hundred years from #gej to #hej1 because ,rhazes1 who wrote in the latter half of the ninth century1 mentions them4 ,geber has been supposed to have claimed to have discovered the philosopher's stone1 and to have made the universal medicine4 ,but it is not at all certain that he contemplated medicine at all4 ,his language is highly figurative1 and probably when he says his gold had cured six lepers he meant only that he had1 or thought he had1 extracted gold from six baser metals4 ,rhazes1 whose ,europeanised name is the modification of ,arrasi1 which was the final member of a long series of ,eastern patronymics1 was of ,persian birth1 and commenced his studies in that country with music and astronomy4 ,when he was thirty he removed to ,bagdad1 and it was not until then that he took up the sciences of chemistry and medicine4 ,subsequently he was made director of the hospital of ,bagdad1 and his lectures on the medical art were attended by students from many countries4 ,his principal work was entitled ,hhawi1 which has been translated ,continent1 apparently because it was supposed to contain all there was to know about medicine4 ,the style of this treatise is that of notes without method1 and it is certain that it could not have been written entirely by ,rhazes1 as authorities are named who did not live until after he had died4 ,the theory is that ,rhazes left a quantity of notes of his lectures and cases1 and that some of his disciples afterwards published them with additions1 but without much editing4 ,among the methods of treatment for which ,rhazes is responsible may be mentioned that of phthisis1 with milk and sugar2 of high fever1 with cold water2 of weakness of the stomach and of the digestive organs1 with cold water and buttermilk2 and he advises sufferers from melancholia to play chess4 ,he states that fever is not itself a disease1 but an effort of nature to cast out a disease4 ,he was particularly careful in the use of purgatives1 which he said were apt to occasion irritation of the intestinal canal1 and in dysentery he relied usually on fruits1 rice1 and farinaceous food1 though in severe cases he ordered quicklime1 arsenic1 and opium4 ,in ,freind's ,history of ,medicine 7#agbg7 a translation of some comments of ,rhazes on the impostors of his day shows better than the citations already given how just and1 it may be said1 modern were the ideas of this practitioner of more than a thousand years ago4 ,it may be added that ,freind is not very complimentary to ,rhazes generally4 ,i append an abbreviation of this interesting notice of the quackery of the ninth century4 ,there are so many little arts used by mountebanks and pretenders to physic that an entire treatise1 had ,i mind to write one1 would not contain them4 ,their impudence is equal to their guilt in tormenting persons in their last hours4 ,some of them profess to cure the falling sickness 7epilepsy7 by making an issue at the back of the head in form of a cross1 and pretending to take something out of the opening which they held all the time in their hands4 ,others give out that they will draw snakes out of their patients' noses2 this they seem to do by putting an iron probe up the nostril until the blood comes4 ,then they draw out an artificial worm1 made of liver4 ,other tricks are to remove white specks from the eye1 to draw water from the ear1 worms from the teeth1 stones from the bladder1 or phlegm from various parts of the body1 always having concealed the substance in their hands which they pretend to extract4 ,another performance is to collect the evil humours of the body into one place by rubbing that part with winter cherries until they cause an inflammation4 ,then they apply some oil to heal the place4 ,some assure their patients they have swallowed glass4 ,to prove this they tickle the throat with a feather to induce vomiting1 when some particles of glass are ejected which were put there by the feather4 ,no wise man ought to trust his life in their hands1 nor take any of their medicines which have proved fatal to many4 ,rhazes writes of aqua vit1 but it is now accepted that he only means a kind of wine4 ,the distillation of wine was not practised till a century after him4 ,mercury in the form of ointment and corrosive sublimate were applied by him externally1 the latter for itch2 yellow and red arsenic and sulphates of iron and copper were also among his external remedies4 ,borax 7which he called tenker71 saltpetre1 red coral1 various precious stones1 and oil of ants1 are included among the internal remedies which he advises4 ,illustration3 ,,avicenna4 ,as represented on the diploma of the ,pharmaceutical ,society4 ,the ,arab author who acquired by far the greatest fame in ,western lands1 and who1 indeed1 shared with ,galen the unquestioning obedience of myriads of medical practitioners throughout ,europe until ,paracelsus shook his authority five hundred years after his death1 was ,al-,hussein-,abou-,ali-,ben-,abdallah-, ebn-,sina1 which picturesque name loses its ,eastern atmosphere in the transmutation of its two concluding phrases into ,avicenna4 ,this famous man was born at ,bokhara in #ihj2 at twelve years of age he knew the ,koran by heart2 at sixteen he was a skilful physician2 at eighteen he operated on the ,caliph ,nuhh with such brilliant success that his fame was established4 ,in the course of a varied life he was at one time a ,vizier1 and soon afterwards in prison for being concerned in some sedition4 ,he escaped from prison and lived for a long time concealed in the house of a friendly apothecary1 where he wrote a large part of his voluminous 8,canon40 ,he spent the later years of his life at ,ispahan1 where he was in great favour with the ,caliph ,ola-,oddaula1 and he died at ,hamdan in #ajch in the fifty-eighth year of his age4 ,he had led an irregular life1 and it was said of him that all his philosophy failed to make him moral1 and all his knowledge of medicine left him unable to take care of his own health4 ,competent critics who have studied the medical teaching of ,avicenna have not been able to discover wherein its merits have justified the high esteem to which it attained4 ,the explanation appears to be that what ,avicenna lacked in originality he made up in method4 ,the main body of his 8,canon0 is a judicious selection from the ,greek and ,latin physicians1 and from ,rhazes and other of his ,arabic predecessors4 ,he wrote a great deal on drugs and remedies1 but it has been found impossible to identify many of the substances of his ,materia ,medica1 as in many cases the names he gives evidently do not apply to those given by ,serapion1 ,rhazes1 and other writers4 ,he often prescribed camphor1 and alluded to several different kinds2 a solution of manna was a favourite medicine with him2 he regarded corrosive sublimate as the most deadly of all poisons1 but used it externally2 iron he had three names for1 probably different compounds2 he had great faith in gold1 silver1 and precious stones2 it was probably he who introduced the silvering and gilding of pills1 but his object was not to make them more pleasant to take1 but to add to their medicinal effect4 ,serapion the younger1 and ,mesu the younger1 who both lived soon after the time of ,avicenna1 were principally writers on ,materia ,medica1 from whose works later authors borrowed freely4 ,the subsequent ,arab authorities of particular note came from among the ,western ,saracens4 ,albucasis of ,cordova1 ,avenzoar of ,seville1 and ,averrhoes of ,cordova1 who are all believed to have flourished in the twelfth century1 were the most celebrated4 ,albucasis was a great surgeon and describes the operations of his period with wonderful clearness and intelligence4 ,avenzoar was a physician who interested himself largely in pharmacy4 ,he was reputed to have lived to the age of #ace and to have accumulated experience from his #bjth year to the day of his death4 ,averrhoes knew ,avenzoar personally1 but was younger4 ,he was a philosopher and somewhat of a freethinker who interested himself in medical matters4 ,we are naturally more concerned with ,avenzoar than with the others4 ,it is evident from the books left by ,avenzoar1 whose full name was ,abdel-,malek-,abou-,merwan-,ebn-,zohr1 that in his time the practices of medicine1 surgery1 and pharmacy were quite distinct in ,spain1 and he apologises to the higher branch of the profession for his interest in those practices which were usually left to their servants4 ,but he states that from his youth he took delight in studying how to make syrups and electuaries1 and a strong desire to know the operation of medicines and how to combine them and to extract their virtues4 ,he writes about poisons and antidotes2 has a chapter on the oil alquimesci1 which ,freind renders oil of eggs1 and ,sprengel calls oil of dates4 ,avenzoar says his father brought it from the ,east1 and that it was a marvellous lithontryptic4 ,he tells how mastic corrects scammony1 and sweet almonds colocynth4 ,he is the earliest writer to refer to the medicinal virtues of the bezoar stones4 ,he gives a different account of the origin of these stones from that of other authors4 ,the best1 he says1 comes from the ,east and is got from the eyes of stags4 ,the stags eat serpents to make them strong1 and at once to prevent any injury their instinct impels them to run into streams and stand in the water up to their necks4 ,they do not drink any water4 ,if they did they would die immediately2 but standing in the stream gradually reduces the force of the poison1 and then a liquor exudes by the eyelids which coagulates and forms a stone which may grow to the size of a chestnut1 which ultimately falls off4 ,according to another ,arab author1 ,abdalanarack1 the bezoar stone acquired such a celebrity in ,spain that a palace in ,cordova was given in exchange for one4 ,moses ,maimonides1 the most famous ,jewish scholar and theologian of the middle ages1 must be mentioned among the exponents of ,arab pharmacy4 ,he was born at ,cordova in #aaci1 and studied medicine under ,averrhoes1 but when he was twenty-five the then ,mohammedan ruler of ,spain required him to be converted or quit the kingdom4 ,maimonides therefore went to ,cairo1 and became physician to ,saladin1 the well-known hero of ,crusade wars1 who was then ,sultan of ,egypt4 ,among his duties he had to superintend the preparation of theriaca and mithridatium for the ,court4 ,the drugs for these compounds1 ,maimonides says1 had to be brought from the ,east and the ,west at great expenditure of time and money4 ,consequently1 8the illustrious ,kadi ,fakhil10 7who was apparently one of ,saladin's ministers71 8whose days may ,god prolong1 ordered the most humble of his servants in #eie 7,a4,d4 #aaih7 to compose a treatise1 small1 and showing what ought to be done immediately for a person bitten by a venomous animal40 ,the treatise which ,maimonides composed1 in obedience to this order1 he called 8,fakhiliteh40 ,this small popular manual reflects in general the pharmacy of ,spain and is of no particular interest4 ,the author considers that for all kinds of poisons and venoms the most efficacious antidote is an emerald1 laid on the stomach or held in the mouth2 and he notes the virtues of theriaca1 mithridatium1 and of bezoar4 ,but the ,kadi was thinking of poor people1 and therefore more ordinary remedies were also named4 ,a pigeon killed and cut in two pieces might be applied to painful wounds1 but if this was not available warm vinegar with flour and olive oil might be substituted4 ,vomiting must be excited1 and to destroy the virus a mixture of asaftida1 sulphur1 salt1 onions1 mint1 orange-pips1 and the excrement of pigeons1 ducks1 or goats1 compounded with honey and taken in wine1 was recommended4 ,the wisdom of ,rhazes1 of ,avenzoar1 and of other great authorities was also drawn from4 ,,vii ,,from ,,the ,,arabs ,,to ,,the ,,europeans 8,mediciners1 like the medicines which they employ1 are often useful1 though the one were by birth and manners the vilest of humanity1 as the others are in many cases extracted from the basest materials4 ,men may use the assistance of pagans and infidels in their need1 and there is reason to think that one cause of their being permitted to remain on earth is that they might minister to the convenience of true ,christians40--,the ,archbishop of ,tyre in ,sir ,walter ,scott's ,talisman4 ,it would require a very long chapter and would be outside the scope of this work to attempt to trace in any detail the manner in which the ancient wisdom and science of the ,greek and ,latin authors1 which was so marvellously preserved by the iconoclastic ,arabs1 was transferred1 when their passion for study and research began to fail1 to ,european nations4 ,it has been alleged that the ,crusades served to bring the attainments of the ,eastern ,saracens to the knowledge of the ,west through learning picked up by the physicians and others who accompanied the ,christian armies against the ,mohammedans4 ,but there is no evidence and not much probability that ,europeans acquired any ,eastern science of value through the ,crusades4 ,indirectly medicine ultimately profited greatly by the commerce which these marvellous wars opened up between the ,east and the ,west1 and the diseases which were spread as the consequence of the intimate association of the unwholesome hordes from all the nations concerned1 resulted in the establishment of thousands of hospitals all over ,europe4 ,the provision of homes for the sick was far more common among the ,mohammedans than among the ,christians of that period4 ,activity of thought was stimulated1 and medical science must have shared in the effects of spirit of inquiry4 ,some historians have supposed that the infusion of astrological superstitions into the teaching and practice of medicine was largely traceable to the communion with the ,east in these ,holy ,wars3 but this idea is not supported by anything that we know of the ,arab doctors4 8,i have not found the union of astrology with medicine taught by any writer of that nation10 says ,sprengel2 and his authority is very great4 ,on the other hand the philosophers and theologians of that age were only too eager to seize upon anything mystic1 and plenty of materials for their speculations were found in the ,greek and ,latin manuscripts handed down to them4 ,superstitions entered into the mental furniture of the age much more directly from ,rome and ,alexandria than from ,bagdad4 ,that the ,arabs of the ,east could have taught their ,christian foes much useful knowledge cannot be doubted4 ,the letter from the ,patriarch of ,jerusalem to ,alfred the ,great 7see page #aca71 for example1 is proof of the pharmaceutical superiority of the ,syrians over the ,saxons at that time4 ,m4 ,berthelot has shown by abundant evidence in his 8,history of ,alchemy0 that the ,latin works dealing with chemistry of the thirteenth1 fourteenth1 and fifteenth centuries which were very numerous in ,christendom1 were almost exclusively drawn from ,arabic sources4 ,such chemical learning as the ,arabs had collected from ,greek writers1 as well as that which they had added from their own investigations1 in this way found its way back to the heirs of the original owners as they may be called4 ,we read likewise of ,constantine the ,african1 who1 about the year #ajej1 came to ,salerno after a long residence in the ,east1 and gave to the medical school of that city the translations he had made from ,arab authors4 ,but1 notwithstanding these evidences of ,eastern culture1 it is certain that the actual introduction of pharmacy into the ,northern ,european countries is much more largely due to the ,spanish ,mohammedans4 ,in the ,middle ,ages poor ,arabs and ,jews who had studied medicine in the schools of ,cordova and ,seville tramped through ,france and ,germany1 selling their remedies1 and teaching many things to the monks and priests who1 in spite of repeated papal edicts forbidding them to sell medicines1 did in fact cultivate all branches of the art of healing1 including many superstitions4 ,the edicts themselves are evidence that they sold their services to those who could afford to pay for them4 ,the ,medical ,school of ,salerno1 already mentioned1 was the principal link between the later ,greek physicians and the teaching institutions which remain with us to this day1 as1 for instance1 the universities of ,paris1 ,naples1 ,oxford1 ,padua1 ,vienna1 and others of later fame4 ,the origin of the school of ,salerno is unknown1 but it was certainly in existence in the ninth century4 ,it was long supposed to have developed from a monastic institution1 but it is now generally believed to have been always a secular school4 ,its historian1 ,mazza of ,naples1 #afha1 quotes an ancient chronicle which names ,rabbi ,elinus 7a ,jew71 ,pontus 7a ,greek71 ,adala 7a ,saracen71 and ,salernus 7a ,roman7 as its founders1 but there is no evidence of the epoch to which this refers4 ,although other subjects were taught at ,salerno1 it became specially noted for its medical school1 and in the ninth century it had assumed the title of ,civitas ,hippocratica4 ,william of ,normandy resorted to ,salerno prior to his conquest of ,england1 and a dietetic treatise in verse exists dedicated to his son ,robert4 ,it has been claimed that the works of ,hippocrates and ,galen were studied at ,salerno from its earliest days1 but so far as this was the case it was by the intermediary of ,jewish doctors1 who themselves derived their knowledge from ,arab sources1 that these were available4 ,the original texts of the ,greek and ,latin authors were not in the hands of ,european scholars till ,aldus of ,venice began to reproduce them early in the sixteenth century4 ,the pharmaceutical knowledge to which the famous school attained may be judged by the reputation which attended the ,antidotary of ,nicolas ,prepositus1 who was director of the school in the first half of the twelfth century4 ,in this ,antidotary are found the absurd formulas pretending to have been invented or used by the ,apostle ,paul and others4 8,sal ,sacerdotale quo utebantur sacerdotales tempore ,heliae prophetae0 is among these4 ,in the course of the next century or two medical students from ,england1 ,germany1 ,italy1 and ,france went to ,cordova1 ,toledo1 and ,seville1 and there wrote translations of the medical works used in those schools4 ,these translations by the end of the thirteenth century were so universally accepted as to eclipse ,salerno1 which from then began to decline in fame1 ,bologna1 ,montpellier1 ,padua1 and ,leyden gradually partitioning among themselves its old reputation4 ,but the medical school of ,salerno actually existed until #ahaa1 when it was dissolved by a decree of ,napoleon ,i4 ,as evidence of the monopoly of ,avicenna in the medical schools of ,europe at the beginning of the sixteenth century1 and doubtless for a long period previously1 the following from the preface to a ,latin translation of the works of ,paulus ,egineta is quoted by ,leclerc3-- ,avicenna1 who is regarded as the ,prince and most excellent of all physicians1 is read and expounded in all the schools2 and the ninth book of ,rhazes1 physician to the ,caliph ,almansor1 is similarly read and commented on4 ,these are believed to teach the whole art of healing4 ,a few later writers1 such as ,betruchius1 ,gatinaria1 ,guaynerius1 and ,valescus1 are occasionally cited1 and now and then ,hippocrates1 ,galen1 and ,dioscorides are quoted1 but all the other ,greek writers are unknown4 ,the ,latin translations of a few of the books of ,galen and ,hippocrates which are in use are very corrupt and barbarous1 and are only admitted at the pleasure of the ,arabian ,princes1 and this favour is but rarely conceded4 ,the most notable event in the history of pharmacy after the earlier ,crusades was an edict regulating the practice of both medicine and pharmacy issued by ,frederick ,,ii1 the ,holy ,roman ,emperor and ,king of ,sicily4 ,this monarch1 probably the ablest ruler in the ,middle ,ages1 who died in #abej1 had great esteem for ,arab learning4 ,mohammedans and ,jews were encouraged to come to ,naples during his reign1 and he facilitated by all means in his power the introduction of such innovations as had been acquired from ,cordova and ,bagdad4 ,the edict referred to mentions 8apotheca10 meaning thereby only the warehouses where prepared medicines were stored4 ,those who compounded the medicines were termed 8confectionarii10 the places or shops where they were sold were called 8stationes10 and the persons who supplied them1 8stationarii40 ,it is not quite clear whether the confectionarii and the stationarii were the same persons4 ,probably they were sometimes1 but not necessarily always4 ,apparently the stationarii were generally the drug importers and dealers1 and the confectionarii were the compounders4 ,both had to be licensed by the ,medical ,school of ,salerno2 and among the duties imposed upon the physician1 one was to inform the authorities if he came to discover that any 8confectionarius0 had falsified medicines4 ,longfellow alludes to this provision in the 8,golden ,legend0-- ,to report if any confectionarius ,mingles his drugs with matters various4 ,the physician was strictly forbidden to enter into any arrangement with a druggist whereby he would derive any profit by the sale of medicaments1 and he was not permitted himself to conduct a pharmacy4 ,the 8confectioners0 were required to take an oath to prepare all medicines according to the ,antidotary of the ,salernian ,school4 ,their profits were limited and graduated1 less being allowed on those of frequent consumption than on those which they had to keep for more than a year4 ,pharmacies were only allowed in the principal cities1 and in each such city two notable master-apothecaries were appointed to supervise them4 ,the 8confectioners0 had to make their syrups and electuaries and other compounds in the presence of these two inspectors1 and if they were detected in any attempt at fraud their property was subject to confiscation4 ,if one of the inspectors was found to have been a party to the fraud his punishment was death4 8,it is well known10 says ,beckmann in 8,ancient ,inventions10 8that almost all political institutions on this side the ,alps1 and particularly everything that concerned education1 were copied from ,italian models4 ,these were the only patterns then to be found2 and the monks despatched from the papal court saw they could lay no better foundation for the ,pontiff's power and their own aggrandizement than by inducing other ,states to follow the examples set them in ,italy4 ,medical establishments were formed1 therefore1 everywhere at first according to the plan of that at ,salerno4 ,particular places for vending medicines were more necessary in other countries than in ,italy4 ,the physicians of that period used no other drugs than those recommended by the ancients2 and as these had to be procured from the ,levant1 ,greece1 ,arabia1 and ,india1 it was necessary to send thither for them4 ,besides1 herbs1 to be confided in1 could only be gathered when the sun and planets were in certain constellations1 and certificates of their being so were necessary to give them reputation4 ,all this was impossible without a distinct employment1 and it was found convenient to suffer dealers in drugs gradually to acquire monopolies4 ,the preparation of medicines was becoming more difficult and expensive4 ,the invention of distillation1 sublimation1 and other chemical processes necessitated laboratories1 furnaces1 and costly apparatus2 so that it was thought proper that those who devoted themselves to pharmacy should be indemnified by an exclusive trade2 and monopolists could be kept under closer inspection so that the danger of their selling improper drugs or poisons was lessened or entirely removed4 ,they were also allowed to deal in sweetmeats and confectionery1 which were then great luxuries2 and in some places they were required to give presents of these delicacies to the magistrates on certain festivals40 ,this extract shows how the ,german provision of protected pharmacy originated4 ,in many of the chief cities the apothecaries' shops were established by1 and belonged to1 the ,king or ,queen1 or the municipality4 ,sometimes1 as at ,stuttgart1 there was a contract between the ruler and the apothecary1 the former agreeing to provide a certain quantity of wine1 barley1 and rye2 while the apothecary in return was to supply the ,court with its necessary confectionery4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,reproduction ,,of ,a ,,sixteenth ,,century ,,pharmacy ,,in ,,the ,,germanic ,,museum ,,at ,,nuremberg4 ,beckmann gives much minute information concerning the establishment of apothecaries' shops in the chief cities of ,germany4#a ,he mentions a conjecture that there was a pharmacy at ,augsburg in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries1 but exact dates begin with the fifteenth century4 ,there was a female apothecary established at ,augsburg in #adde1 and the city paid her a salary4 ,at ,stuttgart1 in #adeh1 ,count ,ulric authorised one ,glatz to open a pharmacy4 ,there was one existing at ,frankfort in #adgb4 ,the police regulations of ,basle in #addj mention the public physician and his duty1 adding that 8what costly things people may wish to have from the apothecary's shop they must pay for40 ,the magistrates of ,berlin1 in #adhh1 granted to one ,hans ,zebender a free house1 a certain provision of rye1 no taxes1 and the assurance that no other apothecary should reside in the city4 ,but the ,elector ,joachim granted a new patent to another apothecary in #adii4 ,at ,halle there was only one apothecary4 ,in that year the ,archbishop1 with the confirmation of the ,chapter1 granted to his physician1 von ,wyke1 the privilege of opening another1 but gave at the same time the assurance that no more should be permitted in the city 8to eternity40 ,in ,france apothecaries were in business as such certainly before #abej4 ,a charter of the church of ,cahors1 dated #aagh1 describes the retail shopkeepers of the town as 8apothecarii10 the term being used evidently as 8boutiquiers0 is now1 and signifying nothing more than shopkeepers4 ,the meaning1 however1 soon became restricted to dealers in drugs and spices4 ,in the middle of the next century ,john of ,garlande alludes to 8appotecarii10 who sold confections and electuaries1 roots and herbs1 ginger1 pepper1 cumin1 and other spices1 wax1 sugar1 and licorice4 ,officially1 however1 these tradesmen were classed at that time among the 8espiciers40 ,the two guilds1 indeed1 continued in formal association until #aggg1 but royal ordinances of #adhd and #aead clearly established the distinction between them4 ,even in #abga the ,faculty of ,medicine of ,paris forbade 8herborists and apothecaries0 to practise medicine4 ,special responsibilities1 duties1 and privileges were expressly provided for the apothecaries1 and in the ordinance of #aead it is specifically declared that though the apothecary is always a grocer1 the grocer is not necessarily an apothecary4 78,qui est espicier n'est pas apothicaire1 et qui est apothicaire est espicier407 ,in the fourteenth century the apothecaries of ,paris were required to subscribe to a formal oath before they were permitted to practise4 ,they swore to live and die in the ,christian faith1 to speak no evil of their teachers or masters1 to do all in their power for the honour1 glory1 ornament1 and majesty of medicine1 to give no remedy or purge without the authority of a physician1 to supply no drugs to procure abortion1 to prepare exactly physicians' prescriptions1 neither adding1 subtracting1 nor substituting anything without the express permission of the physician1 to avoid the practices of charlatans as they would the plague1 and to keep no bad or old drug in their stocks4 ,an ordinance of #acei provides that no one shall be granted the title of master-apothecary unless he can show that he can read recipes4 ,the edict of #adhd1 issued during the minority of ,charles ,,viii1 sets forth that1 8,we1 of our certain science1 especial grace1 full power1 and royal authority1 do say1 declare1 statuate1 and ordain0 the curriculum to be observed by those who desire to learn the trade of an apothecary4 ,a four years' apprenticeship was essential1 and the aspirant had to dispense prescriptions1 recognise drugs1 and prepare 8chefs d'uvres0 in wax and confectionery in the presence of appointed master-apothecaries4 ,latin was added to the examination in #aecf1 and ten years' experience after the apprenticeship was also insisted upon ultimately before the candidate could be admitted as a master-apothecary4 ,one of the ordinances of the sixteenth century gave to the apothecaries the monopoly in the manufacture and sale of gingerbread4 ,these edicts all related particularly to the apothecaries of ,paris4 ,there were similar ones in the provinces1 with some peculiarities4 ,at ,dijon1 for example1 it was provided that no apothecary could receive a legacy from one of his clients4 ,en revanche he had the first claim on the estate of a deceased debtor for the payment of his account4 ,in #afbi the ,hotel de ,ville of ,paris granted to the apothecaries of that city a banner and blazon1 the latter1 which ,i do not venture to translate1 being thus described3--8,coupp d'azur et d'or1 et sur l'or deux nefs de gueulle flottantes aux bannieres de ,france1 accompagns de deux estoiles a cinq poincts de gueulle avec la devise #8,lances et pondera servant1' et telles qu'elles sont cy-dessous empreinctes40 ,in #afhb1 under ,louis ,,xv1 after the ,brinvilliers panic1 the poison register was introduced1 and regulations were framed forbidding apothecaries to sell any arsenic1 sublimate1 or drug reputed to be a poison except to persons known to them1 and who signed the register stating what use they intended to make of their purchase4 ,earlier in the same reign the practice of pharmacy was strictly forbidden to persons professing the reformed religion4 ,the last of the royal edicts applying to pharmacy was issued in #aggg by ,louis ,,xvi1 and1 as already stated1 this was the authority which finally separated the apothecaries from the grocers4 ,then came the ,revolution1 and in #agia all restrictions on trades or professions1 including pharmacy1 were abolished4 ,some accidents having occurred1 the ,assembly passed an ordinance on ,april #ad1 #agia1 declaring that the old laws1 statutes1 and regulations governing the teaching and practice of pharmacy should remain in force until a new code should be framed4 ,this did not appear until ,april1 #ahjc1 under ,napoleon's ,consulate1 and the law1 which is still in force1 is to this day cited in legal proceedings as the law of ,germinal1 year ,,xi4 ,,viii ,,pharmacy ,,in ,,great ,,britain4 ,for none but a clever dialectician ,can hope to become a great physician3 ,that has been settled long ago4 ,logic makes an important part ,of the mystery of the healing art2 ,for without it how could you hope to show ,that nobody knows so much as you know4 --,,longfellow3 8,golden ,legend40 ,,british ,,pharmacy ,,in ,,saxon ,,england4 ,the condition of medicine and pharmacy in ,saxon times has been carefully portrayed in three volumes published1 in #ahfd1 under the authority of the ,master of the ,rolls at the expense of the ,treasury4 ,these were edited by the ,rev4 ,oswald ,cockayne1 ,m4,a41 and appeared under the title of 8,leechdoms1 ,wortcunning1 and ,starcraft40 ,many old documents were translated and explained1 and from these the ideas of medicine in these islands a thousand years ago were made manifest4 ,mr4 ,cockayne gave at length a ,saxon ,herbarium1 written1 he supposed1 about the year #ajjj1 and professing to be a translation from ,apuleius1 a ,roman physician of the second century1 with additions from ,dioscorides1 and some from native science4 ,a few specimens will suffice to show the character of the herb treatment in ,england before the ,conquest4 ,,cress1 ,,watercress 7,nasturtium officinale74 #a4 ,this wort is not sown1 but it is produced of itself in wylls 7springs71 and in brooks1 also it is written that in some lands it will grow against walls4 #b4 ,in the case that a man's hair fall off take juice of the wort which one nameth nasturtium1 and by another name cress2 put it on the nose2 the hair shall wax 7grow74 #c4 ,for sore of head1 that is for scurf and for itch1 take seed of this same wort and goose grease4 ,pound together4 ,it draws from the head the whiteness of the scurf4 #d4 ,for soreness of the body 7the ,latin word is ad cruditatem1 indigestion7 take this same wort nasturtium1 and pennyroyal2 seethe them in water1 give to drink2 then amendest thou the soreness of the body1 and the evil departs4 #e4 ,against swellings1 take this same wort1 and pound it with oil2 lay over the swellings2 then take leaves of the same wort1 and lay them thereto4 #f4 ,against warts1 take this same wort and yeast1 pound together1 lay thereto1 they be soon taken away4 ,,maythe 7,anthemis nobilis74 ,for sore of eyes1 let a man take ere the upgoing of the sun1 the wort which is called ,chamaimelon1 and by another name ,maythe1 and when a man taketh it let him say that he will take it against white specks1 and against soreness of the eyes2 let him next take the ooze1 and smear the eyes therewith4 ,,poppy 7,papaver somniferum74 #a4 ,for sore of eyes1 that is what we denominate blearedness1 take the ooze of this wort1 which the ,greeks name ,makona and the ,romans ,papaver album1 and the ,engles call white poppy1 or the stalk with the fruit2 lay it to the eyes4 #b4 ,for sore of temples or of the head1 take ooze of this same wort1 pound with vinegar1 and lay upon the sore2 it alleviates the sore4 #c4 ,for sleeplessness1 take ooze of this same wort1 smear the man with it1 and soon thou sendest the sleep on him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,many of the herbs named in the ,herbarium were employed for other purposes than those for which they were used in later practice4 ,comfrey is recommended for one 8bursten within40 ,it was to be roasted in hot ashes and mixed with honey2 then to be taken fasting4 ,but nothing is said of its bone-setting property4 ,mullein1 subsequently famous as a pectoral medicine1 is recommended in the ,herbarium as an external application in gout1 and to carry about to prevent the attacks of wild beasts4 ,dill is prescribed as a remedy against local itching2 fennel in cough and sore bladder2 and madder for broken legs1 which it would cure in three days4 ,to prevent sea-sickness the traveller had to smear himself with a mixture of pennyroyal and wormwood in oil and vinegar4 ,peony laid over a lunatic would soon cause him to upheave himself whole2 and vervain or verbena if carried on the person would ensure a man from being barked at by dogs4 ,a ,,professed ,,translation4 ,the next document presented is the ,medicina de ,quadrupedibus of ,sextus ,placitus1 an unknown personage1 who adds to the interest of his narrative by pretending that 8a king of the ,egyptians1 ,idpartus he was highten10 sent this treatise to the ,emperor ,octavius ,csar1 8for10 he said1 8,i wist thee worthy of this40 ,probably this manuscript was not a translation at all2 if it was1 the pretended authors were almost certainly fictitious4 ,most of the instructions here given relate to the medicinal uses of animals4 ,the idea that foxes' lungs will strengthen ours is hardly dead yet4 ,here it is in this old ,saxon document3-- 8,for oppressive hard drawn breathing1 a fox's lung sodden and put into sweetened wine1 and administered1 is wonderfully healthy40 ,the fox had many other uses4 ,foxes' grease would heal many kinds of sores4 ,his sinews soaked in honey would cure a sore throat2 his 8naturam0 wrapped round the head would banish headache2 his 8coillon0 rubbed on warts would break them up and remove them2 and dimness of sight could be relieved by his gall mingled with honey4 ,the worst recipe is3 ,for disease of joints4 ,take a living fox and seethe him till the bones alone are left4 ,let the man go down therein frequently1 and into another bath4 ,let him do so very oft4 ,wonderfully it healeth4 ,there are scores of cures from parts of animals1 some of them very disgusting4 ,a few more specimens of decent ones must suffice4 ,for oversleeping1 a hare's brain in wine is given for a drink4 ,wonderfully it amendeth4 ,to get sleep a goat's horn laid under the head turneth waking into sleep4 ,for sleep lay a wolf's head under the pillow2 the unhealthy shall sleep4 ,let those who suffer apparitions eat lion's flesh2 they will not after that suffer any apparition4 ,for any fracture1 take a hound's brain laid upon wool and bind upon the broken place for fourteen days2 then will it be firmly amended1 and there shall be a need for a firmer binding up4 ,if thou frequently smearest and touchest children's gums with bitches' milk1 the teeth wax without sore4 ,,various ,,leechdoms4 ,some 8,fly-,leaf ,leechdoms0 of unknown authorship follow4 ,in these information concerning the four humours is given1 hot and cold1 moist and dry remedies are distinguished1 and we are told of the forty-five dies caniculares 8in which no leech can properly give aid to any sick man40 ,it is carefully noted that the same disorder may occur from different causes1 and quite scientifically the practitioner is advised to vary his treatment accordingly4 ,thus1 for example1 dealing with 8host0 7cough7 we are told that 8it hath a manifold access1 as the spittles are various4 ,whilom it cometh of immoderate heat1 whilom of immoderate cold1 whilom of immoderate dryness40 ,the remedies must depend on the causes of the complaint4 ,the 8tokens0 of 8a diseased maw0 of 8a half head's ache0 7megrims7 and of other distempers are set forth with graphic simplicity1 and often sensible advice as to diet and medicine is given4 ,but not infrequently the remedy may not be an easily procurable one4 ,for instance 8,if one drink a creeping thing in water1 let him cut open a sheep instantly and drink the sheep's blood hot02 and 8if a man will eat rind which cometh out of ,paradise no venom will damage him40 ,the writer considerately adds that such rind is 8hard gotten40 ,the following is apparently adapted from ,alexander of ,tralles1 or some other of the later classical authors4 8,against gout and against the wristdrop2 take the wort hermodactylus1 by another name titulosa1 that is in our own language the great crow leek2 take this leek's heads and dry them thoroughly1 and take thereof by weight of two and a half pennies1 and pyrethrum and ,roman rinds1 and cummin1 and a fourth part of laurel berries1 and of the other worts1 of by weight of a halfpenny1 and six pepper corns1 unweighed1 and grind all to dust1 and add wine two egg-shells full2 this is a true leechcraft4 ,give it to the man to drink till that he be hole40 ,a few other recipes in the ,leechbooks may be quoted3-- ,for headache take a vessel full of leaves of green rue1 and a spoonful of mustard seed1 rub together1 add the white of an egg1 a spoonful1 that the salve may be thick4 ,smear with a feather on the side which is not sore4 ,for ache of half the head 7megrim7 take the red nettle of one stalk1 bruise it1 mingle with vinegar and the white of an egg1 put all together1 anoint therewith4 ,for mistiness of the eyes take juice of fennel and of rose and of rue1 and of dumbledores' honey2 7the dumbledore is apis bombinatrix72 and kid's gall1 mixed together4 ,smear the eyes with this4 ,again1 take live periwinkles burnt to ashes2 and let him mix the ashes with dumbledores' honey4 ,for sore and ache of ears take juice of henbane1 make it lukewarm1 and then drip it on the ear2 then the sore stilleth4 ,or1 take garlic and onion and goose fat1 melt them together1 squeeze them on the ear4 ,or1 take emmets' eggs1 crush them1 squeeze them on the ear4 ,for the upper tooth ache3--,take leaves of withewind 7convolvulus71 wring them on the nose4 ,for the nether tooth ache1 slit with the tenaculum till they bleed4 ,for coughs1 mugwort1 marrubium1 yarrow1 red nettle1 and other herbs are recommended generally boiled in ale1 sometimes in milk4 ,pock disease 7small-pox7 is dealt with1 but not very seriously4 ,it is of interest because the classical writers do not mention it4 ,the ,arab ,rhazes wrote a treatise on it about ,a4,d4 #ibc4 ,a few herb drinks are prescribed in the ,leechbooks1 and to prevent the pitting 8one must delve away each pock with a thorn1 then drip wine or alder drink within them1 then they will not be seen40 ,against lice3--,one pennyweight of quicksilver and two of old butter4 ,against itch3--,take ship tar1 and ivy tar1 and oil1 rub together1 add a third part of salt2 smear with that4 ,in case a man should overdrink himself1 let him drink betony in water before his other drink4 ,for mickle travelling over land1 lest he tire1 let him take mugwort to him in hand or put it in his shoe1 lest he should weary1 and when he will pluck it1 before the upgoing of the sun1 let him say these words1 8,i will take thee1 artemisia1 lest ,i be weary on the way40 ,sign it with the sign of the cross when thou pullest it up4 ,,helias ,,to ,,alfred4 ,in one of the ,leechbooks translated by ,mr4 ,cockayne is found a letter on medicines from ,helias1 ,patriarch of ,jerusalem1 to ,king ,alfred the ,great4 ,mr4 ,cockayne believes it to be authentic4 ,there was a patriarch of that name at ,jerusalem contemporary with ,alfred1 and the medicines he recommends are such as were obtainable in the ,syrian drug shops at that date4 ,it is to be presumed that the information was given in reply to a request for some recipes from the king4 ,helias recommends scammony1 ammoniacum1 gum dragon1 aloes1 galbanum1 balsam1 petroleum1 triacle1 and alabaster4 ,of petroleum he writes3-- 8,it is good to drink simple for inward tenderness1 and to smear on outwardly on a winter's day1 since it hath very much heat2 hence one shall drink it in winter2 and it is good if for anyone his speech faileth1 then let him take it2 and make the mark of ,christ under his tongue1 and swallow a little of it4 ,also if a man become out of his wits1 then let him take part of it1 and make ,christ's mark on every limb1 except the cross on the forehead1 that shall be of balsam1 and the other on the top of his head40 ,the patriarch had strong faith in ,theriaca1 and the directions he gives for its administration are minute1 and would be explicit if he had only explained how much he meant by 8a little bit40 8,theriaca10 he says1 8is a good drink for all inward tenderness1 and the man who so behaves himself as is here said1 he may much help himself4 ,on the day on which he will drink ,triacle he shall fast until midday1 and not let wind blow on him that day2 then let him go to the bath1 let him sit there till he sweat2 then let him take a cup1 put a little warm water in it1 then let him take a little bit of the triacle1 and mingle with the water1 and drain through some thin raiment1 then drink it1 and let him then go to his bed and wrap himself up warm1 and so lie till he sweat well2 then let him arise and sit up and clothe himself1 and then take his meat at noon 7three hours after midday71 and protect himself earnestly against the wind that day2 then ,i believe to ,god it will help the man much40 ,,early ,,english ,,medical ,,practice4 ,in the thirteenth century ,roger ,bacon1 the great man of science1 wrote on medicine1 alchemy1 magic1 and astrology1 as well as most other sciences4 ,he believed that a universal remedy was attainable1 and urged ,pope ,clement ,,iv to give his powerful aid to its discovery4 ,nothing particular remains of his medical studies4 ,gilbert ,anglicanus1 who was a contemporary of ,bacon1 and wrote a ,compendium of ,medicine1 a tedious collection of the most fantastic theories of disease1 was more advanced in pharmacy than in the treatment of disease4 ,he describes at considerable length the manner of extinguishing mercury to make an ointment1 recommending particularly the addition of some mustard seed to facilitate the process4 ,he gives particulars of the preparation of the oil of tartar per deliquium1 and proposes a solution of acetate of ammonia in anticipation of ,mindererus four hundred years later4 ,gilbert's formula is thus expressed3-- 8,conteratur sal armoniacum minutim1 et superinfundatur frequenter et paullatim acetum1 et cooperiatur et moveatur1 ut evanescet sal40 ,ant's eggs1 oil of scorpions1 and lion's flesh is his prescription for apoplexy1 but he does not explain how the last ingredient was to be obtained in ,england4 ,several of his formulas are quoted in the first ,london ,pharmacopia4 ,for the expulsion of calculi he prescribes the blood of a young goat which has been fed on diuretic herbs such as persil and saxifrage4 ,chaucer1 whose writings belong to the latter half of the fourteenth century1 has left on record a graphic picture of the 8,doctour of ,phisike0 of his day1 and the old poet is as gently sarcastic about his pilgrim's 8science0 as a writer of five hundred years later might have been4 8,he was grounded in astronomy10 we are told1 and-- ,well could he fortune the ascendant ,of his images for his patient ,he knew the cause of every malady ,were it of cold1 or hot1 or moist1 or dry1 ,and where engendered and of what humour4 ,he was a very perfect practisour4 ,his library was a wonderful one considering the rarity of books at that time4 ,well knew he the olde ,esculapius ,and ,dioscorides1 and eek ,rufus ,old ,ypocras1 ,haly1 and ,galien1 ,serapyon1 ,razis1 and ,avicen1 ,averrois1 ,damascien1 and ,constantyn1 ,bernard1 and ,gatesden1 and ,gilbertyn4 ,the doctor was careful about his food1 8his study was but little on the ,bible10 he dressed well1 but was inclined to save in his expenses4 ,he kept that he won in the pestilence4 ,for gold in phisike is a cordialle ,there fore he loved gold in special4 ,the original of ,chaucer's 8,doctour of ,phisike0 has been sometimes supposed to have been the well-known ,john of ,gaddesden1 physician to ,edward ,,ii1 ,professor of ,medicine at ,merton ,college1 ,oxford1 a ,prebendary of the ,church1 and the author of 8,rosa ,anglicana40 ,this work1 although full of absurdities and crude ideas of medicine and pharmacy1 became the popular medical treatise in ,england1 was translated into several ,european languages1 and reprinted many times in this country during the two hundred years which followed its first appearance4 ,the author named it the ,rose1 he says1 because1 as the rose has five sepals1 his book is divided into five parts2 and as the rose excels all other flowers1 so his book is superior to all other treatises on medicine4 ,it was probably published between #acaj and #acbj4 ,john of ,gaddesden's work well illustrates the pharmacy of the period1 for he was great on drugs4 ,he taught that aqua vit 7brandy7 was a polychrest1 or complete remedy2 that swines' excrement was a sovereign cure for hmorrhage2 that a sponge steeped in a mixture of vinegar1 roses1 wormwood1 and rain-water1 and laid on the stomach1 would check vomiting and purging2 that toothache and other pains might be cured by saying a ,paternoster and an ,ave for the souls of the father and mother of ,st4 ,phillip2 a boar's bladder1 taken when full of urine and dried in an oven1 is recommended as a cure for epilepsy2 a wine of fennel and parsley for blindness2 and a mixture of whatever herbs came into his mind--for example1 8apium1 petroselinum1 endive1 scolopendron1 chicory1 liver-wort1 scariola1 lettuce1 maidenhair1 plantain1 ivory shavings1 sandal wood1 violets1 and vinegar0--is ordered as a digestive drink4 ,add to such senseless recipes as these a number of equally unintelligent charms1 and a fair idea of the condition of medical science in ,england in the fourteenth century is obtained4 ,it does not compare at all favourably with the condition to which the ,arabs in ,spain had elevated the art two and three hundred years before4 ,bernard of ,gordon1 who wrote from ,montpellier1 but is believed to have been a ,scotchman1 was the author of the 8,lilium ,medicin10 published about #acjg or #acji4 ,the work was known to ,john of ,gaddesden1 for he quotes from it4 ,perhaps he had it in his mind when he observed that the rose excels all other flowers4 ,mainly it was a compilation from ,arabic writers with the addition of many scholastic subtleties and astrological reveries4 ,it is noticeable in this author and in ,john of ,gaddesden how careful both are to distinguish between the treatment of the rich and the poor4 ,the latter1 for example1 states that dropsy can be cured by spikenard1 but he advises practitioners never to give this costly medicine without first receiving pay for it4 ,gordon recommends for a poor person's cough that he should be ordered to hold his breath frequently during the day for as long as possible1 and if that does not cure he is to breathe fire4 ,john ,mirfield also wrote his 8,breviarium ,bartholomei0 in the latter part of the fourteenth century4 ,dr4 ,norman ,moore in his 8,history of the ,study of ,medicine0 has freely quoted from this old work1 and gives several facsimile pages from some of the earliest manuscript copies of it4 ,dr4 ,moore regards the ,breviarium with special interest as it is the first book on medicine in any way connected with his hospital1 the oldest in ,london4 ,mirfield1 relating some of the cures performed by his master1 mentions that a woman came to him having lost her speech4 ,the master rubbed her palate with some 8theodoricon emperisticon0 and with a little 8diacostorium40 ,she soon recovered4 ,an apothecary brought a youth to the hospital with a carbuncle on his face1 and his throat and neck swollen beyond belief4 ,the master said the youth must go home to die4 8,is there then no remedy80 asked the apothecary4 ,the physician replied1 8,i believe most truly that if thou wert to give tyriacum in a large dose1 there would be a chance that he might live40 ,the apothecary gave two doses of ij4 each1 which caused a profuse perspiration1 and in due course the youth recovered4 ,he advises smelling and swallowing musk1 aloes wood1 storax1 calamita1 and amber to prevent infection in cold weather1 and in warm weather sandal wood1 roses1 camphor1 acetositas citri1 sour milk1 and vinegar1 taking syrup of vinegar in the morning and syrup of violets at midday4 ,for gout he prescribes an ointment the principal constituent of which is goose grease4 ,the preparation of this remedy is explained metrically4 ,the verses begin thus3-- ,anser sumatur1 ,veteranus qui videatur1 ,post deplumetur1 ,intralibus evacuetur4 ,rheumatism was to be treated with olive oil1 and the pharmacist is directed to warm it while he repeats the ,psalm 8,quare fremerunt gentes0 as far as 8,postula a me et dabo tibi gentes hereditatem tuam10 then the ,gloria and two prayers4 ,this recitation was to be repeated seven times4 ,there were no clocks available at that time1 and this therefore was the method of prescribing the length of an operation4 ,dr4 ,moore says he finds this direction would cover about a quarter of an hour4 ,medical treatises in verse were frequent and popular in ,england in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries4 ,there are several in the ,british ,museum4 ,a curious specimen is preserved in the ,royal ,library at ,stockholm1 and it is reproduced in readable ,english in 8,archeologia10 ,vol4 ,,xxx1 with notes by the translator1 ,mr4 ,george ,stephens1 and by ,dr4 ,pettigrew4 ,they both believe it was written in the fourteenth century4 ,it consists of #adhe lines4 ,of these it will suffice to give the first four1 and one specimen of its sections4 ,it begins thus3-- ,in foure parties of am ,be gynneth ye sekenesse yt yie han ,in heed1 in wombe1 or i ye splene ,or i bleddyr1 yese iiij ,i mene4 ,the following is entitled in the margin 8,hed werk40 ,amedicyn ,i hawe i ,myde ,for hedwerk to telle as ,i fynde ,to taken eysyl pulyole ryale ,and camamyle to sethe wt all2 ,and wt ye jous anoyte yi nosthryll well ,a make aplaister of ye toyerdel2 ,and do it in a good grete clowte ,and wynde yi heed yer wt abowte2 ,as soon as it be leyde yeron ,all yi hedwerk xal away gon4 ,two other specimens of these early poetical recipes from other authors may be quoted3-- ffor defhed of ye hed4 ,for defhed of hed for dullerynge ,i fynde wrete dyuers thynge ,take oporcyon 7a portion7 of boiys vryne ,and mege it wt honey good fyne ,and i ye ere late it caste ,ye herynge schal amede in haste4 ffor to slepe well ,qwo so may not slepe wel ,take egrimonye afayre del ,and ley it vnder his heed on nyth ,and it schall hym do slepe aryth ,for of his slepe schal he not wakyn ,tyll it be fro vnder his heed takyn4 ,,the ,,early ,,english ,,drug ,,trade4 ,the development of pharmacy as a separate organisation was later in ,england than on the ,continent1 and was very gradual4 ,in the ,norman period the retail trade in drugs and spices and most other commodities was in the hands of the mercers4 ,these were1 in fact1 general shopkeepers1 deriving their designation from merx1 merchandise4 ,they attended fairs and markets1 and in the few large towns had permanent booths4 ,under the ,plantagenets a part of the south side of 8,chepe0 roughly extending from where is now ,bow ,church to ,friday ,street was occupied by their stores1 and was known as the ,mercery4 ,behind these booths were the meadows of ,crownsild1 sloping down to what it may be hoped was then the silvery ,thames4 ,probably sheep and cattle fed on the pastures which ,cannon ,street and ,upper ,thames ,street have since usurped4 ,but ,english traders were beginning to feel their feet1 and other guilds were pushing forward4 ,the ,easterlings 7,east ,germans from the ,baltic coasts and the ,hanse towns7 brought goods from the ,east and placed them on the ,english market1 and the ,pepperers and ,spicers distributed them to the public4 ,the ,easterlings1 it may be mentioned1 have left us the word sterling to commemorate their sojourn among us4 ,the ,mercers meanwhile were getting above the shop4 ,they were becoming merchant adventurers1 and had no desire to contest the trade in small things with the ,pepperers of ,sopers' ,lane1 or the ,spicers of ,chepe4 ,their other small wares fell into the hands of the ,haberdashers4 ,there is evidence of a guild of ,pepperers in ,london as early as #aahj4 ,as a company they appear to have been ruined by the demands of ,edward ,,iii for subsidies for his ,french and ,scottish campaigns4 ,from their ashes1 including those of the ,spicerers1 arose the ,grocers1 the sellers 8en gros40 ,they are heard of in the fourteenth century1 and were apparently incorporated by letters patent from ,edward ,,iii in #acde1 but their first known charter was granted by ,henry ,,vi in #adbi1 while in #adec that ,king conferred on them the charge of the ,king's beam1 by which all imported merchandise was weighed1 a charge of #a;d4 per #bj lbs4 being authorised for the service4 ,in #adeg they were given the exclusive power of garbling 7cleansing and separating7 drugs1 spices1 and other imported merchandise1 and they also had the duty of examining the drugs and medicinal wares sold by the apothecaries4 ,the law requiring certain drugs to be officially 8garbled0 before they could be sold was repealed by an ,act passed in the sixth year of ,queen ,anne's reign4 ,the earliest record of the exercise of their authority over apothecaries is found in #adef1 when the minutes of the ,company show that they imposed a fine on ,john ,ashfield 8for making untrue powder of ginger1 cinnamon1 and saunders40 ,other similar items appear from time to time4 ,in #afab ,mr4 ,lownes1 apothecary to ,prince ,charles1 complained to the ,company that ,michael ,easen1 a grocer-apothecary1 8had supplied him with divers defective apothecaries' wares10 and the offender was committed to the ,poultry ,comptoir4 ,,bucklersbury4 ,bucklersbury was the centre and headquarters of the ,london drug trade1 at least from the ,tudor to the ,hanoverian periods4 ,shakespeare in 8,the ,merry ,wives of ,windsor0 makes ,falstaff refer to 8the lisping hawthorn buds that come like women in men's apparel1 and smell like ,bucklersbury in sample time40 ,stow 7#aeih7 says of this thoroughfare that 8,this whole street on both sides throughout is possessed of grocers and apothecaries40 ,ben ,jonson calls it 8,apothecarie ,street40 ,this dramatist in 8,westward ,ho60 makes ,mrs4 ,tenderhook say 8,go into ,bucklersbury and fetch me two ounces of preserved melons2 look there be no tobacco taken in the shop when he weighs it40 ,later in a self-asserting poem to his bookseller1 ,ben ,jonson says of one of his books1 objecting to vulgar advertising methods1 ,if without these vile arts it will not sell1 ,send it to ,bucklersbury1 there 'twill well4 ,in ,charles ,,ii's reign ,mouffet speaks of ,bucklersbury being replete with physic1 drugs1 and spicery1 and says it was so perfumed at the time of the plague with the pounding of spices1 melting of gums1 and making of perfumes1 that it escaped that great plague4 ,a quotation from ,pennant in ,cassell's 8,old and ,new ,london0 shows that in the reign of ,william ,,iii ,bucklersbury was the resort of ladies of fashion to purchase teas1 furs1 and other ,indian goods2 and the king is said to have been angry with the queen for visiting these shops1 which appear from some lines of ,prior to have been sometimes perverted to places of intrigue4 ,the street acquired its name from a family called the ,bokerells or ,buckerells1 who lived there in the thirteenth century4 ,stow gives a different account4 ,he states that there was a tower in the street named ,carnet's ,tower1 and that a grocery named ,buckle who had acquired it was assisting in pulling it down1 intending to erect a goodly frame of timber in its place1 when a part fell on him1 which so sore bruised him that it shortened his life4 ,a ,,chemist',s ,,advertisement ,,in ,,the ,,seventeenth ,,century4 ,a ,london chemist's advertisement 7about #afhj-afij7 runs thus3-- 8,ambrose ,godfrey ,hanckwitz1 chemist in ,london1 ,southampton ,street1 ,covent ,garden1 continues faithfully to prepare all sorts of remedies1 chemical and galenical4 ,he hopes that his friends will continue their favours4 ,good cordials can be procured at his establishment1 as well as ,royal ,english drops1 and other articles such as ,powders of ,kent1 ,zell1 and ,contrajerva1 ,cordial red powder1 ,gaskoins powder1 with and without bezoar1 ,english smelling salts1 true ,glauber's salt1 ,epsom salt1 and volatile salt of ammonia1 stronger than the former4 ,human skull and hartshorn1 essence of ,ambergris1 volatile essence of lavender1 musk and citron1 essence of viper1 essence for the hair1 vulnerary balsam1 commendeur1 balsam for apoplexy1 red spirit of purgative cochliaria1 spirit of white cochliaria1 and others4 ,honey water1 lavender water of two kinds1 ,queen of ,hungary water1 orange flower water1 arquebusade4 8,for the information of the curious1 he is the only one in ,london who makes inflammable phosphorus1 which can be preserved in water4 ,phosphorus of ,bolognian stone1 flowers of phosphorus1 black phosphorus1 and that made with acid oil1 and other varieties4 ,all unadulterated4 ,every description of good drugs he sells1 wholesale and retail4 8,solid phosphorus1 wholesale1 #ejs4 an ounce1 and retail1 #c sterling1 the ounce40 ,,the ,,english ,,apothecaries4 ,although the ,grocers were the recognised drug dealers of this country1 apothecaries who were associated in their ,guild were also recognised4 ,some authorities name ,richard ,fitznigel as apothecary to ,henry ,,ii before he was made ,bishop of ,london4 ,but this evidence cannot be trusted4 ,the first definite allusion to an apothecary in ,england occurs in #acde1 when ,edward ,,iii granted a pension of sixpence a day for life to ,coursus de ,gangeland1 an apothecary of ,london1 in recognition of his services in attending on the king during his illness in ,scotland4 ,the record of this grant is found in ,rymer's 8,foedera10 which was not published until #agjd1 but ,rymer was historiographer royal1 appointed by ,william ,,iii1 and his work was a compilation from official archives4 ,an earlier mention of an apothecary is found in the ,scottish ,exchequer ,rolls wherein it appears that on the death of ,robert the ,bruce1 in #acbi1 payments were made to ,john the ,apothecary1 presumably for materials for embalming the king's body4 ,dr4 ,j4 ,mason ,good1 who wrote a 8,history of ,medicine1 so far as it relates to the ,profession of the ,apothecary10 in #agie1 mentions1 on the authority of ,regner1 that ,j4 de ,falcand de ,luca publicly vended medicines in ,london in #aceg1 while ,freind 78,history of ,medicine10 #agbe7 states that ,pierre de ,montpellier was appointed ,apothecary to ,edward ,,iii in #acfj4 ,it is clear1 therefore1 that the apothecary was a familiar professional personage in ,england five hundred years ago4 ,conclusive evidence of his practice is given by ,chaucer1 who1 in the ,prologue to the 8,canterbury ,tales0 7written in the last quarter of the fourteenth century71 describing a 8,doctour of ,phisike0 says-- ,ful reddy hadde he his apothecaries ,to send him dragges and his lettuaries ,for eche of hem made other for to ,winne4 ,the satirical suggestion of the mutual obligations of physicians and apothecaries has been familiar for all these centuries4 ,it seems certain that in ,henry ,,viii's reign the apothecaries were doing a considerable amount of medical practice1 besides selling drugs4 ,the ,act of #aeaa incorporating the ,college of ,physicians and giving them the exclusive right to practise physic in ,london and for seven miles round1 was largely used1 if not intended1 against apothecaries4 ,in #aedb1 however1 an ,act was passed which rather modified the severe restrictions of the original statute1 and under the new law apothecaries became more aggressive4 ,in ,mary's reign the ,physicians again got the legislative advantage1 and there is a record in the archives of the ,college of ,physicians 7preserved by ,dr4 ,goodall1 who wrote 8,a ,history of the ,proceedings of the ,college against ,empiricks10 in #afhd7 stating that in ,queen ,elizabeth's reign the ,president and ,censors of the ,college summoned the ,wardens of the ,grocers' ,company and all the apothecaries of ,london and the suburbs to appear before them1 8and enjoyned them that when they made a dispensation of medicine they should expose their several ingredients 7of which they were composed7 to open view in their shops for six or eight days that so the physicians passing by might judge of the goodness of them1 and prevent their buying or selling any corrupt or decayed medicines40 ,the grocers and apothecaries do not appear to have raised any objection to this decree4 ,whether they obeyed it or not is not stated4 ,,incorporation ,,of ,,the ,,apothecaries4 ,the first ,charter of ,incorporation was granted to the apothecaries by ,james ,i in #afjf1 but this did not separate them from their old foes1 the grocers4 ,they continued their efforts1 however1 and with the aid of friends at ,court they obtained a new ,charter in #afag1 which gave them an entirely independent existence as a ,city ,guild under the title of the ,society of the ,apothecaries4 ,this is the only ,london guild which has from its incorporation to the present time admitted only actual apothecaries to its fraternity4 ,another peculiarity claimed by one of the ,company's historians 7,dr4 ,j4 ,corfe3 8,the ,apothecary07 is that the ,guild of ,apothecaries is the only ,city ,company which is called a ,society4 ,he believes that this may be attributed to the supposed fact that the corporation was modelled on a similar association founded at ,naples in #aedj under the name of ,societa ,scientifica4 ,illustration3 ,,sir ,,theodore ,,mayerne4 ,the original painting by ,rubens1 of which the above is a copy1 was in the collection of ,dr4 ,mead1 and was sold in #aged for #aae4 ,it passed into the possession of the ,earl of ,bessborough and the ,marquis of ,lansdowne1 and then through the hands of some dealers1 and in #ahdh was bought by the ,royal ,college of ,physicians for #cc #abs4 ,sir ,theodore de ,mayerne1 the ,king's first physician1 and ,gideon de ,laune1 pharmacien or apothecary to the ,queen1 ,anne of ,denmark1 were the supporters of the apothecaries in rescuing them from the control of the grocers4 ,both of these men deserve honourable mention in the chronicles of ,british pharmacy4 ,it happens that both were of foreign origin and of the ,protestant faith1 two of that eminent crowd of immigrants of high principle and distinguished ability who served ,england so well in the seventeenth century when they found themselves 8not wanted0 in ,france4 ,mayerne was a ,swiss by birth1 but a ,frenchman by education and adoption1 and had been physician to ,henri ,,iv4 ,but he incurred the bitter animosity of the ,paris ,faculty1 led by the fanatic ,gui ,patin1 partly on account of his religious heresy1 and partly because he prescribed chemical medicines4 ,by a unanimous vote the ,paris ,college of ,physicians resolved in #afjc that he must not be met by any of its members in consultation4 ,he continued1 however1 to practise in ,paris until an ,english peer whom he had treated took him to ,london and introduced him to ,james ,i1 who made him physician to the ,queen4 ,mayerne1 however1 soon returned to ,paris1 but in #afaa he settled in ,london on the invitation of the ,king1 who made him his first physician4 ,he had a great deal to do with the compilation of the first ,london ,pharmacopia1 and is reputed to have introduced calomel and black wash into medical practice4 ,subsequently he was appointed physician to ,charles ,i and ,queen ,henriette1 but after the execution of the ,king he retired into private life1 and though nominally physician to ,charles ,,ii he never practised at that ,court4 ,he died at ,chelsea in #affe4 ,gideon de ,laune was also a man of considerable influence4 ,dr4 ,corfe regards him as almost the founder of the ,society of ,apothecaries1 but ,mr4 ,barrett1 who recently wrote a history of that ,society1 suggests that he could not have been so much thought of by his contemporaries1 as he was only elected to the ,mastership some years after the ,charter had been granted1 and then only after a contest4 ,at any rate the apothecaries must have largely owed the ,charter to his influence4 ,he lived in ,blackfriars and called himself a 8,pharmacopius10 but we also read of him as an importer of drugs1 and it is probable that he traded as a merchant4 ,that he was a man of position is evident from the fact that on one occasion he fetched the ,queen1 ,anne of ,denmark1 from ,norway4 ,gideon de ,laune was born at ,rheims in #aefe1 and was brought to ,england as a boy by his father1 who was a ,protestant pastor4 ,a ,nonconformist writer of the same surname who got into trouble in the reigns of ,charles ,,ii and ,james ,,ii1 and was befriended by ,de ,foe1 referring to ,gideon as a relative1 says of him that when he died at the age of #ig he had near as many thousands of pounds as he had years2 that he had thirty-seven children by one wife2 and that his funeral was attended by sixty grandchildren4 ,it has been ascertained1 however1 that his children only numbered seventeen1 and that he died at the age of #id2 so that the later ,de ,laune who wrote in #afha cannot be implicitly relied upon when figures are concerned4 ,another thing he tells us of ,gideon is that 8his famous pill is in great request to this day notwithstanding the swarms of pretenders to pill-making40 ,the ,grocers' ,company warmly resented the secession of the apothecaries who had been their subordinate partners so long1 but their formal petition of complaint called forth a cruel snub from the ,king4 ,grocers were but merchants1 said ,james1 the business of the apothecaries was a mystery2 8,wherefore ,i think it fitting they should be a corporation of themselves40 ,the grocers1 however1 got some of their own back a few years later when ,james demanded a subsidy from the city for the relief of the ,palatinate4 ,the grocers and the apothecaries were assessed at #ejj between them4 ,towards this the apothecaries1 pleading poverty1 offered #bj4 ,the grocers ridiculed this offer1 and having paid #cjj as their share1 left their old associates to find the other #bjj1 which they had to do somehow4 ,about the same time the new corporation vigorously opposed an application for a ,charter made by the distillers of ,london4 ,the grocers supported the distillers1 and the apothecaries failed in their opposition4 ,sir ,theodore ,mayerne told them that their monopoly of distillation was only intended to extend to the distillation of medicinal spirits and waters4 ,mr4 ,barrett quotes from the old records another curious instance of the contest for monopolies which was characteristic of the period4 ,in #afbj1 one ,john ,woolf ,rumbler having obtained from the ,king a concession of the sole right of making 8mercuric sublimate10 applied to the ,court of ,apothecaries that he might enjoy the same without their contradiction4 ,this 8upon advised consideration10 the ,court refused to grant4 ,it is not stated whether the will of the ,king or that of the apothecaries prevailed in the end4 ,the story of the jealousies which arose between the physicians and the apothecaries is a long and tedious one2 innumerable pamphlets were written on both sides of the controversy1 and the dispute figures in ,english literature of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries4 ,pope very neatly expressed the views of the physicians in the familiar verse in the 8,essay on ,criticism0 in which1 comparing the old critics of ,greece who 8fanned the poet's fire1 ,and taught the world with reason to admire10 with those of his own day who ,against the poets their own arms they turned ,sure to hate most the men from whom they learn'd1 illustrated the position by introducing the ,modern pothecaries1 taught the art ,by doctors' bills to play the doctors' part1 ,bold in the practice of mistaken rules1 ,prescribe1 apply1 and call their masters fools4 ,this was written in #agji4 ,the apothecaries strengthened their position as medical practitioners in the public esteem by remaining at their posts during the ,great ,plague in ,london in #affe when most of the physicians fled from the stricken city4 ,between this date and the end of the seventeenth century the quarrel between the two sections of the profession constantly grew in bitterness4 ,some of the allegations of extortion made against the apothecaries are almost incredible4 ,in ,dr4 ,goodall's 8,historical ,account of the ,proceedings of the ,royal ,college of ,physicians against ,empiricks and ,unlicensed ,practisers0 7#afhd71 it is reported that ,george ,buller who gave the college some trouble in #afcc had charged #cjs4 each for #be pills2 #cg #ajs4 for the boxful4 ,three were given to a ,mrs4 ,style for a sore leg1 and she died the same night4 ,a ,dr4 ,tenant prosecuted by the college in ,james ,i's reign 8was so impudent and unconscionable in the rating of his medicines that he charged #f for one pill and the same for an apozeme40 ,dr4 ,r4 ,pitt1 ,f4,r4,s41 in 8,crafts and ,frauds of ,physic ,exposed10 #agjc 7a book written expressly to defend the establishment of dispensaries by the ,physicians71 states that apothecaries had been known to make #aej out of a single case1 and that in a recent instance 7which had apparently come before the law courts7 the apothecary had made #cbj4 ,in every bill of #ajj ,dr4 ,pitt says the charges were #ij more than the shop prices for the medicine4 ,in ,jacob ,bell's 8,historical ,sketch of the ,progress of ,pharmacy in ,great ,britain0 an apothecary's bill for medicines for one day1 supplied to a ,mr4 ,dalby of ,ludgate ,hill1 is quoted from a pamphlet called 8,the ,wisdom of the ,nation is ,foolishness40 ,it is as follows3 ,an ,emulsion1 #ds4 #f;d4 ,a ,mucilage1 #cs4 #d;d4 ,gelly of ,hartshorn1 #ds4 ,plaster to dress ,blister1 #as4 ,an ,emollient ,glister1 #bs4 #f;d4 ,an ivory pipe1 armed #as4 ,a ,cordial ,bolus1 #bs4 #f;d4 ,the same again1 #bs4 #f;d4 ,a cordial draught1 #bs4 #d;d4 ,the same again1 #bs4 #d;d4 ,another bolus1 #bs4 #f;d4 ,another draught1 #bs4 #d;d4 ,a glass of cordial spirits1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,blistering plaster to the arm1 #es4 ,the same to the wrists1 #es4 ,two boluses again1 #es4 ,two draughts again1 #ds4 #h;d4 ,another emulsion1 #ds4 #f;d4 ,another pearl julep1 #ds4 #f;d4 ,mr4 ,dalby's bill for five days came to #ag #bs4 #aj;d41 and this was declared to be not an isolated case but illustrative of the practice of apothecaries when attending patients of the higher classes4 ,,contest ,,between ,,the ,,physicians ,,and ,,apothecaries4 ,in #afhg the ,college of ,physicians adopted a resolution binding all ,fellows1 ,candidates1 and ,licentiates of the ,college to give advice gratis to their neighbouring sick poor when desired within the city of ,london or seven miles round4 ,but in view of the gross extortions of the apothecaries it was asked1 ,what was the use of the physicians' charity if the cost of compounding the medicines was to be prohibitory8 ,the apothecaries1 of course1 denied that the examples of their charges which were quoted were at all general1 and probably they were not4 ,it was not to the interest of the apothecaries to destroy free prescribing4 ,indeed a proposal was made to the physicians on behalf of a numerous body of ,london apothecaries to accept a tariff for medicines dispensed for the poor to be fixed by the physicians themselves4 ,the relations of the two bodies had become1 however1 so strained that arrangement was no longer possible4 ,the apothecaries had in fact obtained the upper hand4 ,they treated many cases themselves1 and calling in the physician was largely within their discretion4 ,at this time 7about #agjj7 the ordinary fee paid to a physician was #ajs4 ,university graduates expected more1 but they too1 in the majority of cases1 were only too glad to take the half sovereign1 and it was alleged that they would sometimes pay the apothecary who called them a percentage off this4 ,such was the condition of affairs when in #afif an influential section of the physicians1 fifty-three of them1 associated themselves in the establishment of ,dispensaries1 where medicines should be compounded and supplied to the poor at cost price4 ,the fifty-three subscribed ten pounds each1 and ,dispensaries were opened at the ,college premises in ,warwick ,lane1 in ,st4 ,martin's ,lane1 and ,st4 ,peter's ,alley1 ,cornhill4 ,needless to say1 the war now waxed fiercer than ever4 ,the physicians were divided among themselves1 and the anti-dispensarians refused to meet the dispensarians in consultation4 ,the apothecaries naturally recommended the anti-dispensarians to their patients1 and consequently it was only the independent ones who could afford to maintain the struggle4 ,scurrilous pamphlets were written on both sides1 and one long poem1 ,garth's ,dispensary1 which was less venomous than most of the literature on the subject1 but which as a poem had no merits which could justify the reputation it attained1 complicated the struggle from the physicians' point of view4 ,johnson says that in addition to its intrinsic merit it 8co-operated with passions and prejudices then prevalent40 ,his sympathies are indicated by his remark that 8it was on the side of charity against the intrigues of interest1 and of regular learning against licentious usurpation of medical authority40 ,one line in the book 7the last in the passage quoted below7 has attained currency in the ,english language4 ,expressing satirically the complaints of the apothecaries1 ,garth says3 ,our manufactures now the doctors sell1 ,and their intrinsic value meanly tell2 ,nay1 they discover too 7their spite is such7 ,that health1 than crowns more valued1 costs not much2 ,whilst we must shape our conduct by these rules1 ,to cheat as tradesmen or to fail as fools4 ,,the ,,apothecaries ,,win4 ,notwithstanding the sympathy of ,dr4 ,johnson1 ,pope1 and many other famous contemporaries1 the quarrel ended in the comparative triumph of the apothecaries4 ,the physicians1 though reluctant to enforce what they believed to be their statutory powers1 were goaded into law1 and at last brought an action against a ,london apothecary named ,william ,rose1 who they alleged had infringed the ,act passed in the reign of ,henry ,,viii4 ,rose had attended a butcher in ,st4 ,martin's-in-the-,fields named ,seale1 and had administered 8proper medicines0 to him4 ,he had no licence from the ,faculty1 and in his treatment of ,seale had not acted under the direction of any physician4 ,he had neither taken nor demanded any fee for his advice4 ,those were the facts found by the jury who first heard the case4 ,the ,college claimed a penalty of five pounds per month for the period during which ,rose had thus practised4 ,the ,charter granted to the physicians in the tenth year of ,henry ,,viii1 and confirmed by an ,act of ,parliament passed in the fourteenth and fifteenth year of that reign1 contained a clause forbidding any person not admitted by the ,college to practise the faculty of medicine in ,london or within seven miles thereof under a penalty of one hundred solidi for every month during which he should thus infringe the law4 ,the jury having found the facts already quoted1 referred to the ,court of ,queen's ,bench the legal question whether the acts performed constituted the practice of medicine within the meaning of the ,act4 ,the case was argued three times in the ,court of ,queen's ,bench--7so it is stated in the report of the proceedings in the ,house of ,lords71--and ultimately the judges decided unanimously in favour of the contention of the ,college4 ,thereupon1 on behalf of ,rose a writ of error was moved for in the ,house of ,lords demanding a reversal of the judgment4 ,the counsel who argued the appeal were ,s4 ,dodd for ,rose1 and ,f4 ,brown for the ,college4 ,the case was heard on the #aeth of ,march1 #agjc4 ,in support of the appeal it was argued that if the judgment were allowed to stand it would ruin not only ,rose but all other apothecaries4 ,that the ,act was a very old one1 and that the constant usage and practice ought to be taken into account4 ,that if this judgment were right the apothecary would not dare to sell a few lozenges or a little electuary to any person asking for a remedy for a cold1 or in other common cases where a medicine had a known and certain effect4 ,that to give a monopoly in the treatment of disease to physicians would have most mischievous consequences2 both rich and poor would be seriously taxed1 and in the case of sudden accidents or illnesses in the night when apothecaries were so frequently sent for1 the danger of not permitting them to supply the necessary medicine might often be most serious4 ,to these contentions the counsel for the ,college replied that by several orders physicians had bound themselves to attend the poor free1 either at their own offices1 or1 if sent for1 at the patient's house4 ,that out of consideration for the poor they had gone further by establishing ,dispensaries where the medicines they prescribed could be obtained at not more than one-third of the price which the apothecaries had been in the habit of charging4 ,that in sudden emergencies an apothecary or anyone else was justified in doing his best to relieve his neighbours1 but that in ,london1 at least1 a skilled physician was as available as an apothecary1 and that this emergency argument ought not to be used to permit apothecaries to undertake all sorts of serious diseases at their leisure4 ,that there was nothing to prevent apothecaries selling whatever medicines they were asked for1 but that to permit them to treat cases however slight involved both danger and expense1 because a mistake made at the beginning of a distemper might lead to a long illness1 and in any case the apothecary would charge for much more medicine than was necessary4 ,after hearing the arguments 8it was ordered and adjudged that the judgment given in the ,court of ,queen's ,bench be reversed40 ,,the ,,apothecaries ,,and ,,the ,,chemists ,,and ,,druggists4 ,from this period the apothecaries became recognised medical practitioners1 the ,society granted medical diplomas1 and a hundred years later 7#ahae7 they obtained an ,act which gave them powers against other persons similar to those which the physicians thought they possessed against them4 ,persons not qualified by them were forbidden to 8act or practise as apothecaries0 under a penalty of #bj2 and the courts have held that to practise as an apothecary is to judge of internal disease by symptoms1 and to supply medicine to cure that disease4 ,the chemists and druggists who had largely succeeded to the old business of the apothecaries opposed this provision1 and the apothecaries1 to buy off their opposition1 offered to insert a clause in their ,act which would allow all persons who should at that time or thereafter carry on that business to do so 8as fully and amply to all intents and purposes as they might have done in case this ,act had not been made40 ,the chemists were not content with this provision1 and drafted another which defined their business as consisting in the 8buying1 preparing1 compounding1 dispensing and vending drugs1 and medicinal compounds1 wholesale and retail40 ,the apothecaries accepted this alteration1 and subsequently obtained penalties from chemists who had prescribed remedies for customers4 ,such prescribing would have been legal if the druggists had accepted the provision proposed by the apothecaries2 but they had limited themselves out of it4 ,in the actions which the ,society of ,apothecaries have brought against chemists the apothecaries have often reproduced with scrupulous fidelity the arguments used against themselves by the physicians in ,rose's case4 ,the ,dispensaries established by the physicians were not long maintained1 but apparently they provided the material of the modern chemist and druggist4 8,we have reason to believe10 writes ,jacob ,bell in his ,historical ,sketch of the ,progress of ,pharmacy in ,great ,britain1 8that the ,assistants employed and instructed by the ,physicians at these institutions became dispensing chemists on their own account2 and that some of the apothecaries who found their craft in danger followed the example1 from which source we may date the origin of the chemists and druggists40 ,in the course of the eighteenth century chemists and druggists had to a large extent replaced apothecaries as keepers of shops where medicines were sold and dispensed1 and even when the businesses were owned by apothecaries1 they usually styled themselves chemists and druggists4 ,in the year #ahda an attempt was made to get a ,bill through ,parliament which would have made it penal to recommend any medicine for the sake of gain4 ,the ,bill was introduced by a ,mr4 ,hawes1 and the chemists and druggists of ,london opposed it with such vigour that it was ultimately withdrawn4 ,in order to be prepared against future attacks the victorious chemists and druggists then formed the ,pharmaceutical ,society of ,great ,britain1 which was incorporated by ,royal ,charter in #ahdb4 ,an ,act protecting the title of pharmaceutical chemist was passed in #aheb1 and in #ahfh another ,act1 requiring all future chemists and druggists to pass examinations and be registered1 and restricting to them the sale of poisons1 became law4 ,,ix ,,magic ,,and ,,medicine 8,amulets and things to be borne about ,i find prescribed1 taxed by some1 approved by others4 ,look for them in ,mizaldus1 ,porta1 ,albertus1 etc4 ,a ring made with the hoof of an ass's right forefoot1 carried about1 etc4 ,i say1 with ,renodeus1 they are not altogether to be rejected4 ,piony doth help epilepsies4 ,pretious stones most diseases4 ,a wolf's dung carried about helps the cholick4 ,a spider an ague1 etc4 ,such medicines are to be exploded that consist of words1 characters1 spells1 and charms1 which can do no good at all1 but out of a strong conceit1 as ,pomponatious proves1 or the devil's policy1 that is the first founder and teacher of them40 ,,burton3 8,anatomy of ,melancholy40 ,charms1 enchantments1 amulets1 incantations1 talismans1 phylacteries1 and all the armoury of witchcraft and magic have been intimately mixed up with pharmacy and medicine in all countries and in all ages4 ,the degradation of the ,greek term pharmakeia from its original meaning of the art of preparing medicine to sorcery and poisoning is evidence of the prevalence of debasing superstitions in the practice of medicine among the cultivated ,greeks4 ,hermes the ,egyptian1 ,zoroaster the ,persian1 and ,solomon the ,hebrew were famous among the early practitioners and teachers of magic4 ,these names served to conjure with4 ,those who bore them were probably wise men above the average who were above such tricks as were attributed to them4 ,but it suited the purpose or the business of those who made their living out of the superstitions of the people to pretend to trace their practices to universally revered heroes of a dim past4 ,not that the whole of the magical rites associated with the art of healing were based on conscious fraud4 ,the beliefs of savage or untutored races in demons which cause diseases is natural1 it may almost be said reasonable4 ,what more natural when they see one of their tribe seized with an epileptic fit than to assume the presence of an invisible foe8 ,or if a contagious plague or small-pox or fever attacks their village1 is it not an inevitable conclusion that angry spirits have attacked the tribe1 perhaps for some unknown offence8 ,from such a basis the idea of sacrifice to the avenging fiend follows obviously4 ,in some parts of ,china if a person accidentally kicks a stone and soon afterwards falls ill the relatives go to that stone and offer fruit1 wine1 or other treasures1 and it may be that the patient recovers4 ,in that case the efficacy of the treatment is demonstrated1 and only those who do not desire to believe will question it2 if the patient should die the proof is not less conclusive of the demon's malignity4 ,in some primitive peoples1 among the ,new ,zealand natives1 for example1 it is believed that a separate demon exists for each distinct disease2 one for ague1 one for epilepsy1 one for toothache1 and so forth4 ,this too1 seems reasonable4 ,each of those demons has something which will please or frighten him4 ,so amulets1 talismans1 charms come into use4 ,the ,north ,american ,indians1 however1 generally attribute all disease to one evil spirit only4 ,consequently1 their treatment of all complaints is the same4 ,,egyptian1 ,,jewish1 ,,and ,,arabic ,,magic4 ,the ,egyptians1 according to ,celsus1 believed that there were thirty-six demons or divinities in the air1 to each of whom was attributed a separate part or organ of the human body4 ,in the event of disease affecting one of these parts the priest-physician invoked the demon1 calling him by his name1 and requiring him in a special form of words to cure the afflicted part4 ,solomon was credited among many ,eastern people with having discovered many of the secrets of controlling diseases by magical processes4 ,according to ,josephus he composed and bequeathed to posterity a book of these magical secrets4 ,hezekiah is said to have suppressed this work because it was leading the people to pray to other powers than ,jehovah4 ,but some of the secrets of ,solomon were handed down in certain families by tradition4 ,josephus relates that a certain ,jew named ,eleazor drew a demon from the nose of a possessed person in the presence of the ,emperor ,vespasian and a number of ,roman officers1 by the aid of a magic ring and a form of invocation4 ,in order to prove that the demon thus expelled had a real separate existence1 he ordered it to upset a vessel of water which stood on the floor4 ,this was done4 ,books professing to give ,solomon's secrets were not uncommon among ,christians as well as ,jews4 ,goethe alluded to such a treatise in 8,faust0 in the line ,fr solche halbe ,hllenbrut1 ,ist ,salomoni's ,schlssel gut4 ,throughout their history the ,jewish people have studied and practised magic as a means of healing4 ,according to the ,book of ,enoch the daughters of men were instructed in 8incantations1 exorcisms1 and the cutting of roots0 by the sons of ,god who came to earth and associated with them4 ,the ,greeks and ,romans always held ,jewish sorcery in the highest esteem1 and the ,arabs accepted their teaching with implicit confidence4 ,the ,talmud is full of magical formulas1 and the ,kaballah1 a mystic theosophy which combined ,israelitish traditions with ,alexandrian philosophy1 and began to be known about the tenth century1 was unquestionably the foundation of the sophistry of ,paracelsus and his followers4 ,in the ,middle ,ages1 and in some communities until quite recent times1 belief in the occult powers of ,jews1 which they had themselves inculcated1 was firm and universal1 and became the reason1 or at least the excuse1 for much of the persecution they had to suffer4 ,for the punishment of sorcery and witchcraft was not based on a belief that fraud had been practised1 but resulted from a conviction of the terrible truth of the claims which had been put forward4 ,the ,jews of ,western ,europe have lost or abandoned many of the traditional practices which have been associated with their popular medicines from time immemorial4 ,but in the ,east1 especially in ,turkey and ,syria1 quaint prayers and antiquated materia medica are still associated as they were in the days of the ,babylonian captivity4 ,dogs' livers1 earthworms1 hares' feet1 live ants1 human bones1 doves' dung1 wolves' entrails1 and powdered mummy still rank high as remedies1 while for patients who can afford it such precious products as dew from ,mount ,carmel are prescribed4 ,invocations1 prayers1 and superstitious practices form the stock in trade of the 8,gabbetes10 generally elderly persons who attend on the sick4 ,they have a multitude of infallible cures in their repertoires4 ,powdered1 freshly roasted earthworms in wine1 or live grasshoppers in water1 are given by them for biliousness4 ,for bronchial complaints they write some ,hebrew letters on a new plate1 wash it off with wine1 add three grains of a citron which has been used at the ,tabernacle festival1 and give this as a draught4 ,dogs' excrements made up with honey form a poultice for sore eyes1 mummy or human bones ground up with honey is a precious tonic1 and wolves' liver is a cure for fits4 ,but the administration of these remedies must be accompanied by the necessary invocation1 generally to the names of patriarchs1 angels1 or prophets1 but often mere gibberish1 such as 8,adar1 gar1 vedar1 gar10 which is the formula for use with a toothache remedy4 ,the phylacteries still worn by modern ,jews at certain parts of their services1 now perhaps by most of them only in accordance with inveterate custom1 have been in all ages esteemed by them as protecting them against evil and demoniac influences4 ,they are leathern receptacles1 which they bind on their left arms and on their foreheads in literal obedience to the ,mosaic instructions in the passages transcribed1 and contained in the cases1 from ,exodus c4 #ac1 v4 #a-aj1 and c4 #ac1 v4 #aa-af1 ,deuteronomy c4 #f1 v4 #d-i1 and c4 #i1 v4 #ac-ba4 ,to a modern reader these passages appear to protest against superstitions and heathenish beliefs and practices1 but the rabbis and scribes taught that these and the mesuza1 the similar passages affixed to the doorposts1 would avert physical and spiritual dangers1 and they invented minute instructions for the preparation of the inscriptions4 ,a scribe1 for example1 who had commenced to write one of the passages1 was not to allow himself to be interrupted by any human distraction1 not even if the king asked him a question4 ,all the eastern nations trusted largely to amulets of various kinds for the prevention and treatment of disease4 ,galen quotes from ,nechepsus1 an ,egyptian king1 who lived about #fcj ,b4,c41 who wrote that a green jasper cut in the form of a dragon surrounded by rays1 applied externally would cure indigestion and strengthen the stomach4 ,among the books attributed to ,hermes was one entitled 8,the ,thirty-six ,herbs ,sacred to ,horoscopes40 ,of this book ,galen says it is only a waste of time to read it4 ,the title1 however1 as ,leclerc has pointed out1 rather curiously confirms the statement attributed to ,celsus which is found in ,origen's treatise1 8,contra ,celsum10 to which allusion has already been made4 ,amulets are still in general use in the ,east4 ,bertherand in 8,medicine of the ,arabs0 says the uneducated ,arab of to-day when he has anything the matter with him goes to his priest and pays him a fee for which the priest gives him a little paper about two inches square on which certain phrases are written4 ,this is put up in a leathern case1 and worn as near the affected part as is possible4 ,the richer ,arab women wear silver cases with texts from the ,koran in them4 ,but it is essential that the paper must have been written on a ,friday1 a little before sunset1 and with ink in which myrrh and saffron have been dissolved4 ,in the ,third ,report of the ,wellcome ,research ,laboratories at the ,gordon ,memorial ,college1 ,khartoum 7,london3 ,baillire1 ,tindall1 ,cox1 #aijh71 ,dr4 ,r4 ,g4 ,anderson writes an interesting chapter on the medical superstitions of the people of ,kordofan1 and gives a number of illustrations of amulets and written charms actually in use by the ,arabs of that country4 8,to the native10 says ,dr4 ,anderson1 8no process is too absurd for belief1 and often1 within his limits1 no price too high to accomplish a cure40 ,most of them wear talismans of some kind4 ,some of them spend a great part of their scanty earnings on charms to cure some chronic disease1 stone in the bladder1 for example4 ,the son of the late ,mahdi presented to ,dr4 ,anderson a charm which his father wore round the arm above the elbow1 designed against evil spirits and the evil eye4 ,it consisted of a square case containing a written charm1 and a bag filled with a preparation of roots4 ,the charms worn by the natives generally consist of quotations from the ,koran1 often repeated many times and with signs of the great prophets interspersed4 ,the principal of these signs are the following3-- ,illustration3 ,solomon4 ,illustration3 ,enoch4 ,illustration3 ,david4 ,illustration3 ,lot4 ,illustration3 ,seth4 ,illustration3 8,,lohn0 7,,or ,,writing ,,board74 ,the annexed illustration has been kindly lent by ,mr4 ,wellcome 7on behalf of the ,gordon ,memorial ,college7 from the ,report mentioned above4 ,it represents a 8,lohn10 or writing board on which ,koranic phrases or mystic inscriptions have been written by ,fikis 7holy men74 ,when the writing is dry it is washed off and the fluid is taken internally or applied externally4 ,,the ,,abracadabra ,,mystery4 ,abracadabra was the most famous of the ancient charms or talismans employed in medicine4 ,its mystic meaning has been the subject of much ingenious investigation1 but even its derivation has not been agreed upon4 ,the first mention of the term is found in the poem 8,de ,medicina ,praecepta ,saluberrima10 by ,quintus ,serenus ,samonicus4 ,samonicus was a noted physician in ,rome in the second and third centuries4 ,he was a favourite with the ,emperor ,severus1 and accompanied him in his expedition to ,britain ,a4,d4 #bjh4 ,severus died at ,york in ,a4,d4 #baa1 and in the following year his son ,caracalla had his brother ,geta1 and #bj1jjj other people supposed to be favourable to ,geta's claims1 assassinated4 ,among the victims was ,serenus ,samonicus4 ,the poem1 which is the only existing work of ,serenus1 consists of #a1aae hexameter lines which illustrate the medical practice and superstitions of the period when it was written4 ,the lines in which the word 8,abracadabra10 and the way to employ it are introduced are these3-- ,inscribis chartae1 quod dicitur ,abracadabra1 ,saepius3 et subter repetas1 sed detrahe summae1 ,et magis atque magis desint elementa figuris ,singula1 quae semper rapies et coetera figes1 ,donec in angustam redigatur litera conum4 ,his lino nexis collum redimire memento4 ,in a paper on ,serenus ,samonicus by ,dr4 ,barnes of ,carlisle1 contributed to the ,st4 ,louis ,medical ,review1 the following translation of the above passage is given4 ,a semitertian fever of a particular character is the disease under discussion4 8,write several times on a piece of paper the word #8,abracadabra1' and repeat the word in the lines below1 but take away letters from the complete word and let the letters fall away one at a time in each succeeding line4 ,take these away ever1 but keep the rest until the writing is reduced to a narrow cone4 ,remember to tie these papers with flax and bind them round the neck40 ,the charm was written in several ways all in conformity with the instructions4 ,dr4 ,barnes gives these specimens3 ,a ,b ,r ,a ,c ,a ,d ,a ,b ,r ,a a b r a c a d a b r a ,a ,b ,r ,a ,c ,a ,d ,a ,b ,r a b r a c a d a b r ,a ,b ,r ,a ,c ,a ,d ,a ,b a b r a c a d a b ,a ,b ,r ,a ,c ,a ,d ,a a b r a c a d a ,a ,b ,r ,a ,c ,a ,d a b r a c a d ,a ,b ,r ,a ,c ,a a b r a c a ,,abracadabra ,a ,b ,r ,a ,c a b r a c ,,bracadabr ,a ,b ,r ,a a b r a ,,racadab ,a ,b ,r a b r ,,acada ,a ,b a b ,,cad ,a a ,a ,after wearing the charm for nine days it had to be thrown over the shoulder into a stream running eastwards4 ,in cases which resisted this talisman ,serenus recommended the application of lion's fat1 or yellow coral with green emeralds tied to the skin of a cat and worn round the neck4 ,serenus ,samonicus is believed to have been a disciple of a notorious ,christian heretic named ,basilides1 who lived in the early part of the second century1 and was himself the founder of a sect branching out of the gnostics4 ,basilides had added to their beliefs some fanciful notions based on the teachings of ,pythagoras and ,apollonius of ,tyre1 especially in regard to names and numbers4 ,to him is attributed the invention of the mystic word 8abraxas10 which in ,greek numeration represents the total #cfe1 thus3--a--#a1 b--#b1 r--#ajj1 a--#a1 x--#fj1 a--#a1 s--#bjj4 ,this word is supposed to have been a numeric representation of the ,persian sungod1 or if it was invented by ,basilides1 more likely indicated the #cfe emanations of the infinite ,deity4 ,it has been generally supposed that abracadabra was derived from abraxas4 ,there are1 however1 other interpretations4 ,littr associates it with the ,hebrew words1 ,ab1 ,ruach1 ,dabar2 ,father1 ,holy ,ghost1 ,word4 ,dr4 ,king1 an authority on the curious gnostic gems well-known to antiquarians1 regards this explanation as purely fanciful and suggests that ,abracadabra is a modification of the term ,ablathanabla1 a word frequently met with on the gems alluded to1 and meaning ,our ,father1 ,thou art ,our ,father4 ,others hold that ,ablathanabla is a corruption of ,abracadabra4 ,an ingenious correspondent of ,notes and ,queries thinks that a more likely ,hebrew origin of the term than the one favoured by ,littr would be ,abrai seda brai1 which would signify ,out1 bad spirit1 out4 ,it is agreed that the word should be pronounced ,abrasadabra4 ,another likely origin1 suggested by ,colonel ,c4 ,r4 ,conder in 8,the ,rise of ,man0 7#aijh71 p4 #cad1 is ,abrak-ha-dabra1 a ,hebrew phrase meaning 8,i bless the deed40 ,the triangular form of the charm was no doubt significant of the ,trinity in ,unity4 ,,greek ,,and ,,roman ,,magic4 ,pythagoras taught that holding dill in the left hand would prevent epilepsy4 ,serapion of ,alexandria 7,b4,c4 #bgh7 prescribed for epilepsy the warty excrescences on the forelegs of animals1 camel's brain and gall1 rennet of seal1 dung of crocodile1 blood of turtle1 and other animal products4 ,pliny alludes to a tradition1 that a root of autumnal nettle would cure a tertian fever1 provided that when it is dug the patient's name and his parent's names are pronounced aloud2 that the longest tooth of a black dog worn as an amulet would cure quartan fever2 that the snout and tips of the ears of a mouse1 the animal itself to run free1 wrapped in a rose coloured patch1 also worn as an amulet1 would similarly cure the same disease2 the right eye of a living lizard wrapped in a piece of goat's skin2 and a herb picked from the head of a statue and tied up with red thread1 are other specimens of the amulets popular in his time4 ,but ,pliny appears to doubt if all these treatments can be trusted4 ,he mentions one1 that is that the heart of a hen placed on a woman's left breast while she is asleep will make her tell all her secrets1 and this he characterizes as a portentous lie4 ,mr4 ,cockayne quoting this1 remarks dryly1 8,perhaps he had tried it40 ,alexander of ,tralles recommends a number of amulets1 some of which he mentions he has proved4 ,thus for colic he names the dung of a wolf with some bits of bone in it in a closed tube worn on the right arm or thigh2 an octagonal iron ring on which are engraved the words 8,flee1 flee1 ho1 ho1 ,bile1 the lark was searching0 good for bilious disorders2 for gout1 gather henbane when the moon is in ,aquarius or ,pisces before sunset with the thumb and third finger of the left hand1 saying at the time an invocation inviting the holy herb to come to the house of blank and cure ,m4 or ,n42 with a lot more4 ,the ,greeks named the ,furies ,eumenides1 good people1 evidently with the idea of propitiating them4 ,for a similar reason fairies were known as good folk by our ancestors4 ,,english ,,folk-,,lore ,,superstitions4 ,it would be as tedious as it would be useless to relate at any length the multitude of silly superstitions which make up the medicinal folk-lore of this and other countries4 ,methods of curing warts1 toothache1 ague1 worms1 and other common complaints are familiar to everyone4 ,the idea that toothache is caused by tiny worms which can be expelled by henbane1 is very ancient and still exists4 ,a process from one of the ,anglo-,saxon ,leechdoms converted into modern ,english by the ,rev4 ,oswald ,cockayne may be quoted as a sample3-- 8,for tooth worms take acorn meal and henbane seed and wax1 of all equally much1 mingle them together1 work into a wax candle and burn it1 let it reek into the mouth1 put a black cloth under1 and the worms will fall on it40 ,marcellus1 a late ,latin medical author whose work was translated into ,saxon1 gave a simpler remedy4 ,it was to say 8,argidam1 ,margidum1 ,sturdigum10 thrice1 then spit into a frog's mouth and set him free1 requesting him at the same time to carry off the toothache4 ,another popular cure for toothache in early ,england was to wear a piece of parchment on which the following charm was written3--8,as ,st4 ,peter sat at the gate of ,jerusalem our ,blessed ,lord and ,saviour1 ,jesus ,christ1 passed by and said1 ,what aileth thee8 ,he said ,lord1 my teeth ache4 ,he said1 ,arise and follow me and thy teeth shall never ache any more40 ,sir ,kenelm ,digby's method was less tempting4 ,he directed that the patient should scratch his gum with an iron nail until he made it bleed1 and should then drive the nail with the blood upon it into a wooden beam4 ,he will never have toothache again1 says this sage4 ,for warts the cures are innumerable4 ,they are all more or less like this3 ,steal a piece of meat from a butcher's stall or basket1 bury it secretly at a gateway where four lanes meet4 ,as the meat decays the warts will die away4 ,an apple cut into slices and rubbed on the warts and buried is equally efficacious4 ,so is a snail which after being rubbed on the warts is impaled on a thorn and left to die4 ,a room hung with red cloth was esteemed in many countries to be effective against certain diseases1 small-pox especially4 ,john of ,gaddesden relates how he cured ,edward ,,ii's son by this device4 ,the prejudice in favour of red flannel which still exists1 for tying a piece of it round sore throats is probably a remnant of the fancy that red was specially obnoxious to evil spirits4 ,the ,romans hung red coral round the necks of their infants to protect them from the evil eye4 ,this practice1 too1 has come down to our day4 ,illustration ,among other charms and incantations quoted by ,mr4 ,cockayne in his account of ,saxon ,leechdoms we find that for a baby's recovery 8some would creep through a hole in the ground and stop it up behind them with thorns10 8if cattle have a disease of the lungs1 burn 7something undeciphered7 on midsummer's day2 add holy water1 and pour it into their mouths on midsummer's morrow2 and sing over them3 ,ps4 #ea1 ,ps4 #ag1 and the ,athanasian ,creed40 8,if anything has been stolen from you write a copy of the annexed diagram and put it into thy left shoe under the heel4 ,then thou shalt soon hear of it40 ,,transferring ,,diseases4 ,it was widely believed that disease could be transferred by means of certain silly formalities4 ,this was a very ancient notion4 ,pliny explains how pains in the stomach could be transferred to a duck or a puppy4 ,a prescription of about two hundred years ago for the cure of convulsions was to take parings of the sick man's nails1 some hair from his eyebrows1 and a halfpenny1 and wrap them all in a clout which had been round his head4 ,this package must be laid in a gateway where four lanes meet1 and the first person who opened it would take the sickness and relieve the patient of it4 ,a certain ,john ,dougall was prosecuted in ,edinburgh in #afie for prescribing this treatment4 ,a more gruesome but less unjust proceeding was to transfer the disease to the dead4 ,an example is the treatment of boils quoted from ,mr4 ,w4 ,g4 ,black's 8,folk ,medicine40 ,the boil was to be poulticed three days and nights1 after which the poultices and cloths employed were to be placed in the coffin with a dead person and buried with the corpse4 ,in ,lancashire warts could be transferred by rubbing each with a cinder which must be wrapped in paper and laid where four roads meet4 ,as before1 the person who opens this parcel will take the warts from the present owner4 ,in ,devonshire a child could be cured of whooping cough by putting one of its hairs between slices of bread and butter and giving these to a dog4 ,if the dog coughed1 as was probable1 the whooping cough was transferred4 ,,witches' ,,powers4 ,the powers of witches were extensive but at the same time curiously restricted4 ,when ,agnes ,simpson was tried in ,scotland in #aeij she confessed that to compass the death of ,james ,,vi she had hung up a black toad for nine days and caught the juice which dropped from it4 ,if she could have obtained a piece of linen which the king had worn she could have killed him by applying to it some of this venom1 which would have caused him such pain as if he had lain on sharp thorns or needles4 ,another means they had of inflicting torture was to make an effigy in wax or clay of their victim and then to stick pins into it or beat it4 ,this would cause the person represented the pain which it was desired to inflict4 ,,the ,,universal ,,tendency4 ,it would merely try the patience of the reader to enumerate even a tithe of the absurd things which have been and are being used by people1 civilised and savage1 as charms1 talismans1 and amulets4 ,the teraphim which ,rachel stole from her father ,laban1 the magic knots of the ,chaldeans1 the gold and stone ornaments of the ,egyptians1 which they not only wore themselves but often attached to their mummies--a multitude of these going back as far as the flint amulets of the predynastic period1 are to be seen in the ,british ,museum--the precious stones whose virtues were discovered by ,orpheus1 the infinite variety of gold and silver ornaments adopted by the ,romans with superstitious notions1 the fish1 ichthys1 being the initials of the ,greek words for ,jesus ,christ1 the ,lord1 our ,saviour1 engraved on stones and worn by the early ,christians1 the ,gnostic gems1 the coral necklaces1 the bezoar stones1 the toad ashes1 the strands of the ropes used for hanging criminals1 the magnets of the middle ages and of modern times1 and a thousand other things1 credited with magical curative properties1 might be cited4 ,besides these there are myriads of forms of words written or spoken1 some pious1 some gibberish1 which have been used and recommended both with and without drugs4 ,schelenz in 8,geschichte der ,pharmacie0 7#aijd7 quotes from ,jakob ,mrlant of ,bruges1 8the ,father of ,flemish science0 7born about #abce7 the recommendation of an 8,amulettring0 on the stone of which the figure of ,mercury was engraved1 and which would make the wearer healthy1 8die mct sinen traghere ghesont40 7,see ,cramp ,rings1 p4 #cje47 ,how widespread has been the belief in the power of amulets and charms may be gathered from a few instances of such superstitions among famous persons4 ,lord ,bacon was convinced that warts could be cured by rubbing lard on them and transferring the lard to a post4 ,the warts would die when the lard dried4 ,robert ,boyle attributed the cure of a hmorrhage to wearing some moss from a dead man's skull4 ,the father of ,sir ,christopher ,wren relates that ,lord ,burghley1 the ,lord ,treasurer of ,england in ,queen ,elizabeth's reign1 kept off the gout by always wearing a blue ribbon studded with a particular kind of snail shells round his leg4 ,whenever he left it off the pain returned violently4 ,burton in the 8,anatomy of ,melancholy0 7#afba7 says ,st4 ,john's ,wort gathered on a ,friday in the horn of ,jupiter1 when it comes to his effectual operation 7that is about full moon in ,july71 hung about the neck will mightily help melancholy and drive away fantastical spirits4 ,pepys writing on ,may #bh1 #affg1 says1 8,my wife went down with ,jane and ,w4 ,hewer to ,woolwich in order to get a little ayre1 and to lie there to-night and so to gather ,may ,dew to-morrow morning1 which ,mrs4 ,turner hath taught her is the only thing to wash her face with2 and ,i am content with it40 ,but ,mrs4 ,turner ought to have explained to ,mrs4 ,pepys that to preserve beauty it was necessary to collect the ,may ,dew on the first of the month4 ,catherine de ,medici wore a piece of an infant's skin as a charm1 and ,lord ,bryon presented an amulet of this nature to ,prince ,metternich4 ,pascal died with some undecipherable inscription sewn into his clothes4 ,charles ,v always wore a sachet of dried silkworms to protect him from vertigo4 ,the ,emperor ,augustus wore a piece of the skin of a sea calf to keep the lightning from injuring him1 and the ,emperor ,tiberius wore laurel round his neck for the same reason when a thunderstorm seemed to be approaching4 ,thyreus reports that in #aefh the ,prince of ,orange condemned a ,spaniard to be shot1 but that the soldiers could not hit him4 ,they undressed him and found he was wearing an amulet bearing certain mysterious figures4 ,they took this from him1 and then killed him without further difficulty4 ,the famous ,german physician1 ,frederick ,hoffman1 tells seriously of a gouty subject he knew who could tell when an attack was approaching by a stone in a ring which he wore changing colour4 ,x ,,dogmas ,,and ,,delusions4 ,see skulking ,truth to her old cavern fled1 ,mountains of casuistry heap'd o'er her head2 ,philosophy that lean'd on ,heav'n before ,shrinks to her ,second ,cause and is no more4 ,physic of ,metaphysic begs defence1 ,and ,metaphysic calls for aid on ,sense4 ,see ,mystery to ,mathematics fly2 ,in vain6 they gaze1 turn giddy1 rave1 and die4 ,,pope--8,the ,dunciad0 7#fda-fdh74 ,,elements ,,and ,,phlogiston4 ,the ancient idea that earth1 air1 fire1 and water were the elements of ,nature was held by chemists in the #ahth century4 ,empedocles appears to have been the author of this theory1 which was adopted by ,aristotle4 ,some speculative philosophers1 however1 taught that all of these were derived from one original first principle2 some held that this was water1 some earth1 some fire1 and others air4 ,paracelsus1 who does not seem to have objected to this idea1 contributed another fantastic one to accompany it4 ,according to him everything was composed of sulphur1 salt1 and mercury2 but he did not mean by these the material sulphur1 salt1 and mercury as we know them1 but some sort of refined essence of these4 ,these three essentials came to be tabulated thus3-- ,,salt4 ,,sulphur4 ,,mercury4 ,unpleasant and bitter4 ,sweet4 ,acid4 ,body4 ,soul4 ,spirit4 ,matter4 ,form4 ,idea4 ,patient4 ,agent4 ,informant or movent4 ,art4 ,nature4 ,intelligence4 ,sense4 ,judgment4 ,intellect4 ,material4 ,spiritual4 ,glorious4 ,this is taken from ,beguin1 who explains that the mercury1 sulphur1 and salt of this classification are not those 8mixt and concrete bodies such as are vulgarly sold by merchants4 ,mercury1 which combines the elements of air and water1 ,sulphur represents ,fire1 and ,salt1 ,earth40 8,but the said principles1 to speak properly1 are neither bodies2 because they are plainly spiritual1 by reason of the influx of celestial seeds1 with which they are impregnated3 nor spirits1 because corporeal1 but they participate of either nature2 and have been insignized by ,phylosophers with various names1 or at the least unto them they have alluded these40 ,instances of the combination of these principles are given4 ,if you burn green woods1 you first have a wateriness1 mercury2 then there goes forth an oleaginous substance easily inflammable1 sulphur2 lastly1 a dry and terrestrial substance remains1 salt4 ,milk contains a sulphurous buttery substance2 mercurial1 whey2 saline1 cheese4 ,eggs3 white1 mercury1 yolk1 sulphur1 shell1 salt4 ,antimony regulus1 mercury1 red sulphur conceiving flame2 a salt which is vomitive4 ,illustration3 ,,george ,,ernest ,,stahl4 ,born at ,anspach1 #affj2 died at ,berlin1 #agcd4 ,stahl was the originator of the 8phlogiston theory0 which generally prevailed in chemistry until ,lavoisier disproved it in the last quarter of the #ahth century4 ,nowhere do you get these principles pure4 ,mercury 7the metal7 contains both sulphur and salt2 so with the others4 ,becker1 the predecessor of ,stahl1 was not quite satisfied with the orthodox opinion1 and improved upon it by limiting the elements to water and earth2 but he recognised three earths1 vitrifiable1 inflammable1 and mercurial4 ,the last yielded the metals4 ,stahl was inclined to go back to the four elements again1 but he had his doubts about their really elementary character4 ,he1 however1 concentrated his attention on fire1 out of which he evolved his well-known phlogiston theory4 ,this substance1 if it was a substance1 was conceived as floating about all through the atmosphere1 but only revealing itself by its effects when it came into contact with material bodies4 ,there was some doubt whether it possessed the attribute of weight at all2 but its properties were supposed to be quiescent when it became united with a substance which thereby became phlogisticated4 ,it needed to be excited in some special way before it could be brought again into activity4 ,when combined it was in a passive condition4 ,the amusing features of the phlogiston theory only developed when it came to be realised that when the phlogiston was driven out of a body1 as in the case of the calcination of a metal1 the calx remaining was heavier than the metal with the phlogiston had been4 ,the first explanation of this phenomenon was that phlogiston not only possessed no heaviness1 but was actually endowed with a faculty of lightness4 ,this hypothesis was1 however1 a little too far-fetched for even the seventeenth century4 ,boerhaave thereupon discovered that as the phlogiston escaped it attacked the vessel in which the metal was calcined1 and combined some of that with the metal4 ,this notion would not stand experiment1 but ,baume's explanation of what happened was singularly ingenious4 ,he insisted that phlogiston was appreciably ponderable4 ,but1 he said1 when it is absorbed into a metal or other substance it does not combine with that substance1 but is constantly in motion in the interstices of the molecules4 ,so that as a bird in a cage does not add to the weight of the cage so long as it is flying about1 no more does phlogiston add to the weight of the metal in which it is similarly flying about4 ,but when the calcination takes place the dead phlogiston1 as it may be called1 does actually combine with the metal1 and thus the increase of weight is accounted for4 ,,humours ,,and ,,degrees4 ,the doctrine of the 8humours10 or humoral pathology1 as it is generally termed1 is usually traced to ,hippocrates4 ,it is set forth in his book on the ,nature of ,man1 which ,galen regarded as a genuine treatise of the ,physician of ,cos1 but which other critics have supposed to have been written by one or more of his disciples or successors4 ,at any rate1 it is believed to represent his views4 ,plato elaborated the theory1 and ,galen gave it dogmatic form4 ,the human body was composed not exactly of the four elements1 earth1 air1 fire1 and water1 but of the essences of these elements4 ,the fluid parts1 the blood1 the phlegm1 the bile1 and the black bile1 were the four humours4 ,there were also three kinds of spirits1 natural1 vital1 and animal1 which put the humours in motion4 ,the blood was the humour which nourished the various parts of the body1 and was the source of animal heat4 ,the bile kept the passages of the body open1 and served to promote the digestion of the food4 ,the phlegm kept the nerves1 the muscles1 the cartilages1 the tongue1 and other organs supple1 thus facilitating their movements4 ,the black bile 7the melancholy1 ,hippocrates termed it7 was a link between the other humours and sustained them4 ,the proportion of these humours occasioned the temperaments1 and it is hardly necessary to remark that this fancy still prevails in our language2 the sanguine1 the bilious1 the phlegmatic1 and the atrabilious or melancholy natures being familiar descriptions to this day4 ,the humours had different characters4 ,the blood was naturally hot and humid1 the phlegm cold and humid1 the bile hot and dry1 and the black bile cold and dry4 ,alterations of the humours would cause diseased conditions2 distempers was the appropriate term4 ,there might be a too abundant provision of one or more of the humours4 ,a plethora of blood would cause drowsiness1 difficulty of breathing1 fatty degeneration4 ,a plethora of either of the other humours would have the effect of causing corruption of the blood2 plethora of bile1 for example1 would result in a jaundiced condition1 bad breath1 a bitter taste in the mouth1 and other familiar symptoms4 ,hmorrhoids1 leprosy1 and cancer might result from a plethora of the melancholic humour2 colds1 catarrhs1 rheumatisms were occasioned by a superabundance of the phlegm4 ,it must not be supposed that ,galen or any other authority pretended that the humours were the sole causes of disease4 ,ancient pathology was a most complicated structure which cannot be even outlined here4 ,the theory of the humours is only indicated in order to show how these explained the action of drugs4 ,to these were attributed hot1 humid1 cold1 and dry qualities to a larger or less extent4 ,galen classifies them in four degrees--that is to say1 a drug might be hot1 humid1 cold1 or dry in the first1 second1 third1 or fourth degree4 ,consequently the physician had to estimate first which humour was predominant1 and in what degree1 and then he had to select the drug which would counteract the disproportionate heat1 cold1 humidity1 or dryness4 ,of course he had his manuals to guide him4 ,thus ,culpepper tells us that horehound1 for example1 is 8hot in the second degree1 and dry in the third02 herb ,trinity1 or pansies1 on the other hand1 8are cold and moist1 both herbs and flowers02 and so forth4 ,medicines which applied to the skin would raise a blister1 mustard1 for example1 are hot in the fourth degree2 those which provoke sweat abundantly1 and thus 8cut tough and compacted humours0 7,culpepper7 are hot in the third degree4 ,opium was cold in the fourth degree1 and therefore should only be given alone to mitigate violent pain4 ,in ordinary cases it is wise to moderate the coldness of the opium by combining something of the first degree of cold or heat with it4 ,an amusing illustration of the reverence which this doctrine of the temperatures inspired is furnished by ,sprengel in the second volume of his ,history of ,medicine4 ,dealing with the ,arab period1 he tells us that ,jacob-,ebn-,izhak-,alkhendi1 one of the most celebrated authors of his nation1 who lived in the ninth century1 and cultivated mathematics1 philosophy1 and astrology as well as medicine1 wrote a book on the subject before us1 extending ,galen's theory to compound medicines1 explaining their action in accordance with the principles of harmony in music4 ,the degrees he explains progress in geometric ratio1 so that the fourth degree counts as #af compared with unity4 ,he sets out his proposition thus3 x bn-#a;a2 a being the first1 b the last1 x the exponent1 and n the number of the terms4 ,sprengel has pity on those of us who are not familiar with mathematical manipulations1 and gives an example to make the formula clear4 ,medicament4 ,weight4 ,hot4 ,cold4 ,humid4 ,dry4 ,cardamoms i #a #a ,sugar ii #b #a #a #b ,indigo i #a #a ,myrobalans ii #a #b #a #b --- ----- ----- --- --- vi #d #d #c #f ,this preparation therefore forms a mixture exactly balanced in hot and cold properties1 but twice as dry as it is humid2 the mixture is therefore dry in the first degree4 ,if the total had shown twelve of the dry to three of the humid qualities1 it would have been dry in the second degree4 ,when it is remembered that in addition to these calculations the physician had to realise that drugs adapted for one part of the body might be of no use for another1 it will be perceived that the art of prescribing was a serious business under the sway of the old dogmas4 ,,the ,,rosicrucians4 ,it has never been pretended1 so far as ,i am aware1 that the ,rosicrucian mystics of the middle ages did anything for the advancement of pharmacy4 ,they are only mentioned here because they claimed the power of curing disease1 and also because it happens that the fiction which created the legends concerning them was almost contemporaneous with the not unsimilar one 7if the latter be a fiction7 which made a historical figure of ,basil ,valentine4 ,between #afad and #afaf three works were published professing to reveal the history of the brethren of the ,rosy ,cross4 ,the first was known as ,fama ,fraternitatis1 the second was the ,confessio ,fraternitatis1 and the third and most important was the 8,chymical ,marriage of ,christian ,rosencreutz40 ,the treatises are written in a mystic jargon1 and have been interpreted as alchemical or religious parables1 though vast numbers of learned men adopted the records as statements of facts4 ,it was asserted that ,christian ,rosencreutz1 a ,german1 born in #acgh1 had travelled in the ,east1 and from the wise men of ,arabia and other countries had learnt the secrets of their knowledge1 religious1 necromantic1 and alchemical4 ,on his return to ,germany he and seven other persons formed this fraternity1 which was to be kept secret for a hundred years4 ,the brethren1 it is suggested1 communicated to each other their discoveries and the knowledge which had been transmitted to them to communicate with each other4 ,they were to treat the sick poor free1 were to wear no distinctive dress1 but they used the letters ,c4,r4 ,they knew how to make gold1 but this was not of much value to them1 for they did not seek wealth4 ,they were to meet once a year1 and each one appointed his own successor1 but there were to be no tombstones or other memorials4 ,christian ,rosencreutz himself is reported to have died at the age of #ajf1 and long afterwards his skeleton was found in a house1 a wall having been built over him4 ,their chief business being to heal the sick poor1 they must have known much about medicine1 but the books do not reveal anything of any use4 ,they acquired their knowledge1 not by study1 but by the direct illumination of ,god4 ,the theories--such as they were--were ,paracelsian1 and the fraternity1 though mystic1 was ,protestant4 ,the most curious feature of the story is that the almost obviously fictitious character of the documents which announced it should have been so widely believed4 ,very soon after their publication ,german students were fiercely disputing concerning the authenticity of the revelations1 and the controversy continued for two hundred years4 ,much learned investigation into the origin of the first treatises has been made1 and the most usual conclusion has been that they were written by a ,german theologian1 ,johann ,valentin ,andreas1 of ,wrttemberg1 b4 #aehf1 d4 #afed4 ,he is said to have declared before his death that he wrote the alleged history expressly as a work of fiction4 ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of ,,signatures was at least intelligible4 ,it associated itself1 too1 with the pious utterances so frequent among the medival teachers and practitioners of medicine4 ,the theory was that the ,creator in providing herbs for the service of man had stamped on them1 at least in many instances1 an indication of their special remedial value4 ,the adoption of ginseng root by the ,chinese as a remedy for impotence1 and of mandrake by the ,hebrews and ,greeks in the treatment of sterility1 those roots often resembling the male form1 have been often cited as evidence of the antiquity of the general dogma4444 ,but isolated instances of that kind are very far from proving the existence of systematic belief4 ,hippocrates states that diseases are sometimes cured by the use of 8like0 remedies2 but he was not the founder of homopathy4 ,it is likely that the belief in a special indication of the virtues of remedies grew up slowly in the monasteries1 and was originated1 perhaps1 by noticing some curious coincidences4 ,it found wide acceptation in the sixteenth century1 largely owing to the confident belief in the doctrine expressed in the writings of ,paracelsus4 ,oswald ,crollius and ,giovanni ,batista ,porta1 both mystical medical authors1 taught the idea with enthusiasm4 ,but it can hardly be said that it maintained its influence to any appreciable extent beyond the seventeenth century4 ,dr4 ,paris describes the doctrine of signatures as 8the most absurd and preposterous hypothesis that has disgraced the annals of medicine02 but except that it may have led to experiments with a few valueless herbs1 it is difficult to see sufficient reason for this extravagant condemnation of a poetic fancy4 ,the signatures of some drugs were no doubt observed after their virtues had been discovered4 ,poppy1 for instance1 under the doctrine was appropriated to brain disorders1 on account of its shape like a head4 ,but its reputation as a brain soother was much more ancient than the inference4 ,it is only necessary to give a few specimens of the inductive reasoning involved in the doctrine of signatures as revealed by the authors of the old herbals4 ,the saxifrages were supposed to break up rocks2 their medicinal value in stone in the bladder was therefore manifest4 ,roses were recommended in blood disorders1 rhubarb and saffron in bilious complaints1 turmeric in jaundice1 all on account of their colour4 ,trefoil 8defendeth the heart against the noisome vapour of the spleen10 says ,william ,coles in his 8,art of ,simpling10 8not only because the leaf is triangular like the heart of a man1 but because each leaf contains the perfect icon of a heart and in the proper flesh colour40 ,aristolochia ,clematitis was called birthwort1 and from the shape of its corolla was believed to be useful in parturition4 ,physalis alkekengi1 bladder wort1 owed its reputation as a cleanser of the bladder and urinary passages to its inflated calyx4 ,tormentilla officinalis1 blood root1 has a red root1 and would therefore cure bloody fluxes4 ,scrophularia nodosa1 kernel wort1 has kernels or tubers attached to its roots1 and was consequently predestined for the treatment of scrofulous glands of the neck4 ,canterbury bells1 from their long throats1 were allocated to the cure of sore throats4 ,thistles1 because of their prickles1 would cure a stitch in the side4 ,scorpion grass1 the old name of the forget-me-not1 has a spike which was likened to the tail of a scorpion1 and was therefore a remedy for the sting of a scorpion4 ,the name forget-me-not was applied in ,england1 until about a century ago1 to the ,ground ,pine 7,ajuga ,champitys71 for the unpoetical reason that it left a nauseous taste in the mouth4 ,oswald ,crollius1 who describes himself as ,medicus et ,philosophus ,hermeticus1 in his 8,tractatus de ,signatures10 writes a long and very pious preface explaining the importance of the knowledge of signatures4 ,it is the most useful part of botany1 he observes1 and yet not a tenth part of living physicians have fitted themselves to practise from this study to the satisfaction of their patients4 ,his inferences from the plants and animals he mentions are often very far-fetched1 but he gives his conclusions as if they had been mathematically demonstrated4 ,never once does he intimate that a signature is capable of two interpretations4 ,a few illustrations not mentioned above may be selected from his treatise4 ,walnuts have the complete signature of the head4 ,from the shell1 therefore1 a salt can be made of special use for wounds of the pericranium4 ,the inner part of the shell will make a decoction for injuries to the skull2 the pellicle surrounding the kernel makes a medicine for inflammation of the membrane of the brain2 and the kernel itself nourishes and strengthens the brain4 ,the down on the quince shows that a decoction of that fruit will prevent the hair falling out4 ,so will the moss that grows on trees4 ,the asarum has the signature of the ears4 ,a conserve of its flowers will therefore help the hearing and the memory4 ,herb ,paris1 euphrasia1 chamomile1 hieracium1 and many other herbs yield preparations for the eyes4 ,potentilla flowers bear the pupil of the eye1 and may similarly be employed4 ,the seed receptacle of the henbane resembles the formation of the jaw4 ,that is why these seeds are good for toothache4 ,the lemon indicates the heart1 ginger the belly1 cassia fistula the bowels1 aristolochia the womb1 plantago the nerves and veins1 palma ,christi and fig leaves the hands4 ,the signatures sometimes simulate the diseases themselves4 ,lily of the valley has a flower hanging like a drop2 it is good for apoplexy4 ,the date1 according to ,paracelsus1 cures cancer2 dock seeds1 red colcothar1 and acorus palustris will cure erysipelas2 red santal1 geraniums1 coral1 blood stones1 and tormentilla1 are indicated in hmorrhage2 rhubarb in yellow bile2 wolves' livers in liver complaints1 foxes' lungs in pulmonary affections1 and dried worms powdered in goats' milk to expel worms4 ,the fame of vipers as a remedy was largely due to the theory of the renewal of their youth4 ,tartarus1 or salt of man's urine1 is good against tartar and calculi4 ,colour was a very usual signature4 ,red hangings were strongly advocated in medical books for the beds of patients with small-pox4 ,john of ,gaddesden1 physician to ,edward ,,ii1 says1 8,when ,i saw the son of the renowned ,king of ,england lying sick of the small-pox ,i took care that everything round the bed should be of a red colour1 which succeeded so completely that the ,prince was restored to perfect health without the vestige of a pustule40 ,,metals ,,and ,,precious ,,stones4 ,it will be noticed that parts of animals are credited in the examples just quoted with remedial properties4 ,this was a natural extension of the doctrine4 ,metals1 too1 were credited with medicinal virtues corresponding with their names or with the deities and planets with which they had been so long associated4 ,the sun ruled the heart1 gold was the sun's metal1 therefore gold was especially a cordial4 ,the moon1 silver1 and the head were similarly associated4 ,iron was a tonic because ,mars was strong4 8,have a care10 says ,culpepper1 8you use not such medicines to one part of your body which are appropriated to another2 for if your brain be overheated and you use such medicines as cool the heart or liver you may make mad work40 ,but it was not quite so simple a thing as it may seem to be to select the proper remedy1 because there were conditions which made it necessary to follow an antipathetical treatment4 ,for instance1 ,saturn ruling the bones caused toothache2 but if ,jupiter happened to be in the ascendant1 the proper drug to employ was one in the service of the opposing planet4 ,modern astronomy has removed the heavenly bodies so far from us that we have ceased to regard them in the friendly way which once characterised our relations with them4 ,to quote ,culpepper again3 8,it will seem strange to none but madmen and fools that the stars should have influence upon the body of man1 considering he being an epitomy of the ,creation must needs have a celestial world within himself2 for 444 if there be an unity in the ,godhead there must needs be an unity in all ,his works1 and a dependency between them1 and not that ,god made the ,creation to hang together like a rope of sand40 ,,sympathetic ,,remedies4 ,among the strange theories which have found acceptance in medical history1 mainly it would seem by reason of their utter baselessness and absurdity1 none is more unaccountable than the belief in the so-called sympathetic remedies4 ,there is abundant material for a long chapter on this particular manifestation of faith in the impossible1 but a few prominent instances of the remarkable method of treatment comprised in the designation will suffice to prove that it was seriously adopted by men capable of thinking intelligently4 ,the germ of the idea goes back to very early ages4 ,dr4 ,j4 ,g4 ,frazer1 the famous authority on primitive beliefs1 traces the commandment in the ,pentateuch1 8,thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk10 to an ancient prejudice against the boiling of milk in any circumstances1 on the ground that this would cause suffering to the animal which yielded the milk4 ,if the suffering could be thus conveyed1 it was logical to believe that healing was similarly capable of transference4 ,pliny 7quoted by ,cornelius ,agrippa7 says3 8,if any person shall be sorry for a blow he has given another1 afar off or near at hand1 if he shall presently spit into the middle of the hand with which he gave the blow1 the party that was smitten shall presently be free from pain40 ,paracelsus developed the notion with the confidence which he was wont to bestow on theories which involved far-fetched explanations4 ,this was his formula for 8,unguentum ,sympatheticum03-- ,take #d oz4 each of boar's and bear's fat1 boil slowly for half an hour1 then pour on cold water4 ,skim off the floating bit1 rejecting that which sinks4 7,the older the animals yielding the fat1 the better47 ,take of powdered burnt worms1 of dried boar's brain1 of red sandal wood1 of mummy1 of bloodstone1 #a oz4 of each4 ,then collect #a drachm of the moss from the skull of a man who died a violent death1 one who had been hanged1 preferably1 and had not been buried4 ,this should be collected at the rising of the moon1 and under ,venus if possible1 but certainly not under ,mars or ,saturn4 ,with all these ingredients make an ointment1 which keep in a closed glass vessel4 ,if it becomes dry on keeping it can be softened with a little fresh lard or virgin honey4 ,the ointment must be prepared in the autumn4 ,paracelsus describes the methods of applying this ointment1 the precautions to be taken1 and the manner in which it exerts its influence4 ,it was the weapon which inflicted the wound which was to be anointed1 and it would be effective no matter how far away the wounded person might be4 ,it would not answer if an artery had been severed1 or if the heart1 the brain1 or the liver had suffered the lesion4 ,the wound was to be kept properly bandaged1 and the bandages were to be first wetted with the patient's urine4 ,the anointment of the weapon was to be repeated every day in the case of a serious wound1 or every second or third day when the wound was not so severe1 and the weapon was to be wrapped after anointment in a clean linen cloth1 and kept free from dust and draughts1 or the patient would experience much pain4 ,the anointment of the weapon acted on the wound by a magnetic current through the air direct to the healing balsam which exists in every living body1 just as the heat of the sun passes through the air4 ,paracelsus also prescribed the leaves of the ,polygonum persicaria to be applied to sores and ulcers1 and then buried4 ,one of his disciples explains that the object of burying the leaves was that they attracted the evil spirits like a magnet1 and thus drew these spirits from the patient to the earth4 ,the sympathetic egg was another device to cheat diseases1 attributed to the same inventive genius4 ,an empty chicken's egg was to be filled with warm blood from a healthy person1 carefully sealed and placed under a brooding hen for a week or two1 so that its vitality should not be impaired4 ,it was then heated in an oven for some hours at a temperature sufficient to bake bread4 ,to cure a case this egg was placed in contact with the affected part and then buried4 ,it was assumed that it would inevitably take the disease with it1 as healthy and concentrated blood must have a stronger affinity for disease than a weaker sort4 ,robert ,fludd1 ,m4,d41 the ,rosicrucian1 who fell under the displeasure of the ,college of ,physicians on account of his unsound views from a ,galenical standpoint1 was a warm advocate of the ,paracelsian ,weapon ,salve4 ,in reply to a contemporary doctor who had ridiculed the theory he waxes earnest1 and at times sarcastic4 ,he explains that 8an ointment composed of the moss of human bones1 mummy 7which is the human body combined with balm71 human fat1 and added to these the blood1 which is the beginning and food of them all1 must have a spiritual power1 for with the blood the bright soul doth abide and operateth after a hidden manner4 ,then as there is a spiritual line protracted or extended in the ,ayre between the wounded person and the ,box of ,ointment like the beam of the ,sun from the ,sun1 so this animal beam is the faithful conductor of the ,healing nature from the box of the balsam to the wounded body4 ,and if it were not for that line which conveys the wholesome and salutiferous spirit1 the value of the ointment would evaporate or sluce out this way or that way and so would bring no benefit to the wounded persons40 ,van ,helmont1 ,descartes1 ,batista ,porta1 and other leaders of science1 in the seventeenth century1 espoused the theory cordially enough4 ,van ,helmont's contribution to the evidence on which it was founded is hard to beat4 ,in his 8,de ,magnetica ,vulnerum ,curatione10 written about #afdd1 he relates that a citizen of ,brussels having lost his nose in a combat in ,italy1 repaired to a surgeon of ,bologna named ,tagliacozzi1 who provided him with another1 taking the required strip of flesh from the arm of a servant4 ,this answered admirably1 and the ,brussels man returned home4 ,but thirteen months later he found his nose was getting cold2 and then it began to putrefy4 ,the explanation1 of course1 was that the servant from whom the flesh had been borrowed had died4 ,van ,helmont adds1 8,superstites sunt horum testes oculati ,bruxellae02 there are still eye-witnesses of this case at ,brussels4 ,moss from a dead man's skull is a principal ingredient in all the sympathetic ointments1 and the condition that the dead man should have died a violent death is generally insisted on4 ,but ,van ,helmont1 quoting from one ,goclenius1 adds another condition still more absurd4 ,it is that the dead man's name should only have three letters4 ,thus1 for example1 ,dod would do1 but not ,dodd4 ,sir ,gilbert ,talbot 7in the time of ,charles ,,ii7 communicated to the ,royal ,society particulars of a cure he had made with ,sympathetic ,powder4 ,an ,english mariner was stabbed in four places at ,venice1 and bled for three days without intermission4 ,sir ,gilbert1 who happened to be at ,venice at the same time1 was told of this disaster4 ,he sent for some of the man's blood and mixed ,sympathetic ,powder with it4 ,at the same time he sent a man to bind up the patient's wounds with clean linen4 ,soon after he visited the mariner and found all the wounds closed1 and the man much comforted4 ,three days later the poor fellow was able to call on ,sir ,gilbert to thank him1 but even then 8he appeared like a ghost with noe blood left in his body40 ,illustration3 ,,marquise ,,de ,s,,vign4 ,born #afbf1 died #afif1 whose famous 8letters0 are of great historical importance1 frequently introduces references to the medicine of the period1 and was herself a faithful disciple of many of its quackeries4 ,madame de ,svign1 an experienced amateur in medical matters1 provides interesting evidence of the popularity of the powder of sympathy4 ,writing to her daughter on ,january #bhth1 #afhe1 she tells her that 8a little wound which was believed to have been healed had shown signs of revolt2 but it is only for the honour of being cured by your powder of sympathy4 ,the ,baume ,tranquille is of no account now2 your powder of sympathy is a perfectly divine remedy4 ,my sore has changed its appearance and is now half dried and cured40 ,on ,february #gth1 #afhe1 she writes again3--8,i am afraid the powder of sympathy is only suitable for old standing wounds4 ,it has only cured the least troublesome of mine4 ,i am now using the black ointment1 which is admirable40 ,even the black ointment proved unfaithful1 for in ,june of the same year the marchioness writes that she has gone to the ,capucins of the ,louvre4 ,they did not believe in the powder of sympathy2 they had something much better4 ,they gave her certain herbs which were to be applied to the affected part and removed twice a day4 ,those removed are to be buried2 8and laugh if you like1 as they decay so will the wound heal1 and thus by a gentle and imperceptible transpiration ,i shall cure the most ill-treated leg in the world40 ,illustration3 ,,sir ,,kenelm ,,digby4 7,from a painting by ,vandyke in the ,bodleian ,gallery1 ,oxford47 ,the name of ,sir ,kenelm ,digby is more closely associated with the 8powder of sympathy0 than that of any other person1 and indeed he is often credited with the invention of the idea2 but this was not the case4 ,he was an extraordinary man who played a rather prominent part in the stirring days of the ,stuarts4 ,his father1 ,sir ,everard ,digby1 was implicated in the ,gunpowder ,plot1 and was duly executed4 ,kenelm must have been gifted with unusual attractions or plausibility to have overcome this unfortunate stain on his pedigree1 but he managed it1 and history introduces him to us at the court of that suspicious monarch1 ,james ,i41 while he was quite a young man4 ,he had inherited an income of #c1jjj a year1 and seems to have been popular with the ,king and with his fellow courtiers4 ,but he was not contented to lead an idle life1 so he pressed ,james to give him a commission to go forth and steal some ,spanish galleons1 which was the gentlemanly thing to do in those days4 ,james consented1 but at the last moment it was discovered that the commission would not be in order unless it was countersigned by the ,lord ,high ,admiral1 who was away from ,england at the time4 ,james therefore simply granted the buccaneer a licence to undertake a voyage 8for the increase of his knowledge40 ,digby scoured the ,mediterranean for a year or two1 captured some ,french1 ,spanish1 and ,flemish ships1 and won a rather severe engagement with ,french and ,venetian vessels at ,scanderoon in the ,levant4 ,this exploit was celebrated by ,digby's friend1 ,ben ,jonson1 in verse1 which can only be termed deathless on account of its particularly imbecile ending3-- ,witness his action done at ,scanderoon ,upon his birthday1 the eleventh of ,june4 ,the writer of ,digby's epitaph plagiarised the essence of this brilliant strophe in the following lines3-- ,born on the day he died1 the eleventh of ,june1 ,and that day bravely fought at ,scanderoon4 ,it's rare that one and the same day should be ,his day of birth and death and victory4 ,on his return home after thus distinguishing himself1 ,digby was knighted1 changed his religion occasionally1 was imprisoned and banished at intervals1 and dabbled in science between times1 or shone in society in ,london1 ,paris1 or ,rome1 visiting the two last-named cities frequently on real or pretended diplomatic missions4 ,during his residence in ,france1 in #afeh1 he lectured to the ,university of ,montpellier on his sympathetic powder1 and the fame of this miraculous compound soon reached ,england4 ,when he came back he professed to be shy of using it lest he should be accused of wizardry4 ,but an occasion soon occurred when he was compelled to take the risk for the sake of a friend4 ,thomas ,howel1 the ,duke of ,buckingham's secretary1 was seriously wounded in trying to prevent a duel between two friends of his1 and the doctors prognosticated gangrene and probably death4 ,the friends of the wounded man appealed to ,sir ,kenelm1 who generously consented to do his best4 ,he told the attendants to bring him a rag on which was some of the sufferer's blood4 ,they brought the garter which had been used as a bandage and which was still thick with blood4 ,he soaked this in a basin of water in which he had dissolved a handful of his sympathetic powder4 ,an hour later the patient said he felt an agreeable coolness4 ,the fever and pain rapidly abated1 and in a few days the cure was complete4 ,it was reported that the ,duke of ,buckingham testified to the genuineness of the cure and that the king had taken a keen interest in the treatment4 ,digby asserted that the secret of the powder was imparted to him by a ,carmelite monk whom he met at ,florence4 ,his laboratory assistant1 ,george ,hartman1 published a 8,book of ,chymicall ,secrets10 in #afhb1 after ,sir ,kenelm's death1 and therein explained that the ,powder of ,sympathy1 which was then made by himself 7,hartman71 and 8sold by a bookseller in ,cornhill named ,brookes0 was prepared 8by dissolving good ,english vitriol in as little warm water as will suffice1 filter1 evaporate1 and set aside until fair1 large1 green crystals are formed4 ,spread these in the sun until they whiten4 ,then crush them coarsely and again dry in the sun40 ,other recipes say it should be dried in the sun gently 7a ,french formula says 8amoureusement07 for #cfe days4 ,sir ,kenelm's scientific explanation of the action of his sympathetic powder is on the same lines as the others ,i have quoted4 ,briefly it was that the rays of the sun extracted from the blood and the vitriol associated with it the spirit of each in minute atoms4 ,at the same time the inflamed wound was exhaling hot atoms and making way for a current of air4 ,the air charged with the atoms of blood and vitriol were attracted to it1 and acted curatively4 ,in a letter written by ,straus to ,sir ,kenelm1 it is related that ,lord ,gilborne had followed the system1 but his method was described as 8the dry way40 ,a carpenter had cut himself severely with an axe4 ,the offending axe still bespattered with blood was smeared with the proper ointment and hung up in a cupboard4 ,the wound was going on well1 but one day it suddenly became violently painful again4 ,on investigation it was found that the axe had fallen from the nail on which it was hung4 ,inscribed on the plate attached to the portrait of ,sir ,kenelm ,digby in the ,national ,portrait ,gallery1 it is stated that 8,his character has been summed up as a prodigy of learning1 credulity1 valour1 and romance40 ,although this appreciation is quoted the author is not named4 ,other testimonials to his character and reliability are to be found in contemporary literature4 ,evelyn alludes to him as 8a teller of a strange things40 ,clarendon describes him as 8a person very eminent and notorious throughout the whole course of his life from his cradle to his grave4 ,a man of very extraordinary person and presence2 a wonderful graceful behaviour1 a flowing courtesy1 and such a volubility of language as surprised and delighted40 ,lady ,fanshawe met him at ,calais with the ,earl of ,strafford and others and says1 8much excellent discourse passed2 but1 as was reason1 most share was ,sir ,kenelm ,digby's who had enlarged somewhat more in extraordinary stories than might be averred40 ,at last he told the company about the barnacle goose he had seen in ,jersey2 a barnacle which changes to a bird1 and at this they all laughed incredulously4 ,but ,lady ,fanshawe says this 8was the only thing true he had declaimed with them4 ,this was his infirmity1 though otherwise of most excellent parts1 and a very fine-bred gentleman40 ,in ,john ,aubrey's 8,brief ,lives0 78set down between #affi and #afif07 ,digby is described as 8such a goodly person1 gigantique and great voice1 and had so graceful elocution and noble address1 etc41 that had he been drop't out of the clowdes in any part of the world he would have made himself respected40 ,it may be of interest to add that a daughter of ,sir ,kenelm ,digby's second son married a ,sir ,john ,conway1 of ,flintshire4 ,her granddaughter1 ,honora1 married a ,sir ,john ,glynne whose great-grandson1 ,sir ,stephen ,glynne1 was the father of the late ,mrs4 ,w4 ,e4 ,gladstone4 ,in #afij1 ,lemery had the courage to express some doubts about this powder of sympathy1 and in #aggc ,baum declared its pretensions to be absolutely illusory4 ,to conclude the account of this curious delusion1 a few quotations from ,english literature may be added4 ,there are several allusions to sympathetic cures in ,hudibras4 ,for instance1 ,for by his side a pouch he wore ,replete with strange hermetick powder ,that wounds nine miles point blank would solder1 ,by skilful chemist at great cost ,extracted from a rotten post4 ,and again1 ',tis true a scorpion's oil is said ,to cure the wounds the vermin made2 ,and weapons dress'd with salves restore ,and heal the wounds they made before4 ,in ,dryden's ,tempest1 the sympathetic treatment is referred to4 ,hippolito has been wounded by ,fernando1 and ,miranda instructed by ,ariel1 visits him4 ,ariel says1 8,anoint the sword which pierced him with this weapon salve1 and wrap it close from air40 ,the following is the next scene between ,hippolito and ,miranda4 ,hip4 ,oh6 my wound pains me4 ,mir4 ,i am come to ease you4 ,unwrapping the sword4 ,hip4 ,alas6 ,i feel the cold air come to me4 ,my wound shoots worse than ever4 ,miranda wipes and anoints the sword4 ,mir4 ,does it still grieve you8 ,hip4 ,now1 methinks1 there's something laid just upon it4 ,mir4 ,do you find no ease8 ,hip4 ,yes1 yes2 upon the sudden all the pain ,is leaving me2 ,sweet heaven1 how ,i am eased4 ,lastly1 in the ,lay of the ,last ,minstrel1 ,scott alludes to this same superstition in the lines ,but she has ta'en the broken lance ,and washed it from the clotted gore ,and salved the splinter o'er and o'er4 ,it would appear from the explanations already given that by washing the gore away she destroyed the communication between the wound and the remedy4 ,,animal ,,magnetism4 ,the first allusion to the application of the magnet as a cure for disease is found in the works of ,aetius1 who wrote in the early part of the sixth century4 ,he mentions that holding a magnet in the hand is said to give relief in gout4 ,he does not profess to have tested this treatment himself4 ,writers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries recommend it strongly for toothache1 headache1 convulsions1 and nerve disorders4 ,about the end of the seventeenth century magnetic tooth-picks and earpicks were sold4 ,to these were attributed the virtues of preventing and healing pains in those organs4 ,paracelsus originated the theory of animal magnetism4 ,the mysterious properties possessed by the loadstone and transferable from that body to iron1 were according to ,paracelsus an influence drawn directly from the stars and possessed by all animate beings4 ,it was a fluid which he called ,magnale4 ,by it he explained the movements of certain plants which follow the course of the sun1 and it was on the basis of this hypothesis that he composed his sympathetic ointment and explained the action of talismans4 ,paracelsus applied the magnet in epilepsy1 and also prepared a magisterium magnetis4 ,glauber professed to have a secret magnet which would draw only the essence or tincture from iron1 leaving the gross body behind4 ,with this he made a tincture of ,mars and ,venus1 thus 8robbing the dragon of the golden fleece which it guards40 ,this is understood to mean that he dissolved iron and copper in aqua fortis4 ,and as ,jason restored his aged father to youth again1 so would this tincture prove a wonderful restorative4 ,he commenced to test it on one occasion and very soon black curly hair began to grow on his bald head4 ,but he had not enough of the tincture to permit him to carry on the experiment1 and though he had a great longing to make some more1 he apparently put off doing so until it was too late4 ,van ,helmont1 ,fludd1 and other physicians of mystic instincts1 were among the protagonists of animal magnetism1 and physicians administered pulverised magnet in salves1 plasters1 pills and potions4 ,but in #affj ,dr4 ,gilbert1 of ,colchester1 noted that1 when powdered1 the loadstone no longer possessed magnetic properties4 ,ultimately1 therefore1 it was understood that the powder of magnet was not capable of producing any other effects than any other ferruginous substance4 ,but the belief in magnets applied to the body was by no means dissipated4 ,the theory was exploited by various practitioners1 but notably towards the latter part of the eighteenth century1 when the ,viennese doctor1 ,f4 ,a4 ,mesmer1 excited such a vogue in ,paris that the ,court1 the ,government1 the ,academy of ,sciences1 and aristocratic society generally were ranged in pro-and anti-,mesmer sections4 ,franklin stated that at one time ,mesmer was taking more money in fees than all the regular physicians of ,paris put together4 ,and yet ,mesmer's explanations of the phenomena attending his performances were only an amplification of the doctrines which ,paracelsus had first imagined4 ,the excitement did not spread to ,england to any great extent1 but about the same time an ,american named ,perkins created a great deal of stir with his metallic tractors1 which sent the nation tractor-mad for the time4 ,dr4 ,haygarth1 of ,bath1 contributed to the failure of this delusion by a series of experiments on patients with pieces of wood painted to resemble the tractors from which equally wonderful relief was felt1 proving that the cures such as they were1 could only have been the consequence of faith4 ,,the ,,treatment ,,of ,,itch4 ,the history of the treatment of itch is such a curious instance of the blind acceptance of authority through many centuries1 in the course of which the true explanation lay close at hand1 that it is worth narrating briefly4 ,it is stated in some histories that the disease was known to the ,chinese some thousands of years ago1 and the name they gave it1 ,tchong-kiai1 which means pustules formed by a worm1 indicates that at least when that term was adopted they had some acquaintance with the character of the disease4 ,some writers have supposed that certain of the uncleannesses alluded to in the ,book of ,leviticus have reference to this complaint2 and it is quite possible that in old times it acquired a much more severe character than it ever has now1 owing to neglect or improper treatment4 ,psora1 in ,greek1 and the equivalent term ,scabies1 in ,latin1 are supposed to have at least included the itch1 though in all probability those words comprehended a number of skin diseases which are now more exactly distinguished4 ,hippocrates mentions psora1 and apparently treated it solely by the internal administration of diluents and purgatives4 ,aristotle mentions not only the disease but the insects found1 he said1 in the blisters4 ,celsus advocated the application of ointments composed of a miscellaneous lot of drugs1 such as verdigris1 myrrh1 nitre1 white lead1 and sulphur4 ,galen hints at the danger of external applications which might drive the disease inwards4 ,in ,cicero1 ,horace1 ,juvenal1 and other of the classical writers1 the word scabies is used to indicate something unnatural2 showing that it had come to be adopted metaphorically4 ,the ,arab writers are much more explicit4 ,rhazes1 ,haly ,abbas1 and ,avicenna are very definite in their descriptions of the nature of the complaint1 and how it is transmitted from one person to another2 but ,avicenna's mode of treatment was directed to the expulsion of the supposed vicious humours from the body by bleeding and purgatives1 especially by a purgative called ,hamech4 ,at the same time he advised that the constitution should be reinforced by suitable diet and astringent medicines4 ,avenzoar of ,seville1 a remarkable observer1 who lived in the twelfth century1 alludes to a malady of the skin1 common among the people1 and known as ,soab4 ,this1 he says1 is caused by a tiny insect1 so small that it can scarcely be seen1 which1 hidden beneath the epidermis1 escapes when a puncture has been made4 ,one would have supposed that the doctors were at that time on the eve of understanding the itch correctly1 and in fact the writers of the next few centuries were at least quite clear about the acarus4 ,ambrose ,par1 for example1 who lived through the greater part of the sixteenth century1 uses this language3--8,les cirons sont petits animaux cachs dans le cuir1 sous lequel ils se trainent1 rampent1 et rongent petit par petit1 excitant une facheuse demangeaison et gratelle20 and elsewhere 8,ces cirons doivent se tirer avec espingles ou aiguilles40 ,all this time1 however1 the complaint was regarded as a disturbance of the humours which had to be treated by suitable internal medicines4 ,in a standard work1 ,de ,morbis ,cutaneis1 by ,mercuriali1 published at ,venice in #afja1 the author attributes the disease to perverted humours1 and says it is contagious because the liquid containing the contagious principle is deposited on or in the skin4 ,this view1 or something like it1 continued to be the orthodox opinion at least up to the seventeenth century4 ,van ,helmont's personal experience of the itch is referred to in dealing with that eccentric genius who was converted from ,galenism to ,paracelsianism as a consequence of his cure2 but he never got beyond the idea that the cause of the complaint was a specific ferment4 ,the earliest really scientific contribution to the study of this disorder may be credited to ,thomas ,mouffet1 of ,london1 who1 in a treatise published in #afcd1 entitled ,insectorum sive ,minimorum ,animalium ,theatrum1 showed not only that the animalcul were constantly associated with the complaint1 but made it clear that they were not to be found in the vesicles1 but in the tunnels connected with these4 ,for this was the stumbling block of most of the investigators4 ,it had been so often stated that the parasites were to be found in the vesicles1 that when they were not there the theory failed4 ,mouffet's exposition ought to have led to a correct understanding of the cause of the complaint1 but it was practically ignored4 ,about this time the microscope was invented1 and in #afeg a ,german naturalist named ,hauptmann published a rough drawing of the insect magnified4 ,a better1 but still imperfect1 representation of it was given a few years later by ,etmuller4 ,in #afhg a pharmacist of ,leghorn1 named ,cestoni1 induced a ,dr4 ,bonomo of that city to join him in making a series of experiments to prove that the acarus was the cause of itch4 ,they had both observed the women of the city extracting the insects from the hands of their children by the aid of needles1 and the result of their research was a treatise in which the parasitic nature of the complaint was maintained1 and the uselessness of internal remedies was insisted on4 ,these intelligent ,italians recommended sulphur or mercury ointment as the essential application4 ,even with this evidence before them the doctors went on faithful to their theory of humours4 ,linnus supported the view of ,bonomo and ,cestoni1 but made the mistake of identifying the itch parasite with the cheese mite4 ,the great medical authorities of the eighteenth century1 such as ,hoffmann and ,boerhaave1 still recommended general treatment1 and a long list of drugs might be compiled which were supposed to be suitable in the treatment of itch4 ,among these1 luckily1 some parasiticides were included1 and1 consequently1 the disease did get cured by these1 but the wrong things got the credit4 ,about the end of the eighteenth century ,hahnemann promulgated the theory that the 8psoric miasm0 of which the itch eruption was the symptomatic manifestation1 was the cause of a large proportion of chronic diseases4 ,some observers thought there were two kinds of itch1 one caused by the acarus1 the other independent of it4 ,bolder theorists held that the insect was the product of the disease4 ,the dispute continued until #ahcd1 in which year ,francois ,renucci1 a native of ,corsica1 and at the time assistant to the eminent surgeon d',alibert at the ,hpital ,st4 ,louis1 ,paris1 undertook to extract the acarus in any genuine case of itch4 ,as a boy he had seen the poor women extract it in ,corsica1 as ,bonomo and ,cestoni had seen others do it at ,leghorn1 though his learned master at the hospital remained sceptical for some years4 ,it was near the middle of the nineteenth century before the parasitic character of itch was universally acknowledged4 ,,xi ,,masters ,,in ,,pharmacy ,we are guilty1 we hope1 of no irreverence towards those great nations to which the human race owes art1 science1 taste1 civil and intellectual freedom1 when we say that the stock bequeathed by them to us has been so carefully improved that the accumulated interest now exceeds the principal4 ,,macaulay3 8,essay on ,lord ,bacon0 7#ahcg74 ,,dioscorides4 ,it has been a subject of lively dispute whether ,dioscorides lived before or after ,pliny4 ,it seems certain that one of these authors copied from the other on particular matters1 and in neither case is credit given4 ,pliny was born ,a4,d4 #bc and died ,a4,d4 #gi1 and would therefore have lived under the ,emperors ,tiberius1 ,caligula1 ,claudius1 ,nero1 ,galba1 ,otho1 ,vitellius1 and ,vespasian4 ,suidas1 the historian1 who probably wrote in the tenth century1 dates ,dioscorides as contemporary with ,antony and ,cleopatra1 about ,b4,c4 #dj1 and some ,arab authorities say he wrote at the time of ,ptolemy ,,vii1 which would be still a hundred years earlier4 ,but ,dioscorides dedicates his great work on materia medica to ,areus ,asclepiades1 who is otherwise unknown1 but mentions as a friend of his patron the consul ,licinius ,bassus4 ,there was a consul ,lecanius ,bassus in the reign of ,nero1 and it is therefore generally supposed that ,dioscorides was in his prime at that period1 and would consequently be a contemporary of ,pliny's4 ,it is possible that both authors drew from another common source4 ,dioscorides was a native of ,anazarbus in ,cilicia1 a province where the ,greek spoken and written was proverbially provincial4 ,our word solecism is believed to have been derived from the town of ,soloe in the same district4 ,the ,greek of ,dioscorides is alleged to have been far from classical4 ,he himself apologises for it in his preface1 and ,galen remarks upon it4 ,nevertheless ,dioscorides maintained for at least sixteen centuries the premier position among authorities on materia medica4 ,galen complains that he was sometimes too indefinite in his description of plants1 that he does not indicate exactly enough the diseases in which they are useful1 and that he does not explain the degrees of heat1 cold1 dryness1 and humidity which characterise them4 ,he will often content himself with saying that a herb is hot or cold1 as the case may be4 ,as an illustration of one of his other criticisms ,galen mentions the ,polygonum1 of which he notes that ,dioscorides says 8it is useful for those who urinate with difficulty40 ,but ,galen adds that he does not particularise precisely the cases of which this is a symptom and which the ,polygonum is good for4 ,but these defects notwithstanding1 ,galen recognises that ,dioscorides is the best authority on the subject of the materials of medicine4 ,it is generally stated that ,dioscorides was a physician2 but of this there is no certain evidence4 ,according to his own account he was devoted to the study and observation of plants and medical substances generally1 and in order to see them in their native lands he accompanied the ,roman armies through ,greece1 ,italy1 and ,asia ,minor4 ,this was the easiest method of visiting foreign countries in those days4 ,it is not unlikely that he went as assistant to a physician1 perhaps to the one to whom he dedicated his book4 ,that is to say1 he may have been an army compounder4 ,suidas says of him that he was nicknamed ,phocas1 because his face was covered with stains of the shape of lentils4 ,in his treatise on materia medica1 8,peri ,ules ,iatrikes10 or1 according to ,photius1 originally 8,peri ,ules10 ,on ,matter1 only1 he describes some six hundred plants1 limiting himself to those which had or were supposed to have medicinal virtues4 ,he mentions1 besides1 the therapeutic properties of many animal substances4 ,among these are roasted grasshoppers1 for bladder disorders2 the liver of an ass for epilepsy2 seven bugs enclosed in the skin of a bean to be taken in intermittent fever2 and a spider applied to the temples for headache4 ,dioscorides also gives a formula for the ,sal ,viperum1 which was a noted remedy in his time and for long afterwards4 ,his process was to roast a viper alive in a new earthen pot with some figs1 common salt1 and honey1 reducing the whole to ashes4 ,a little spikenard was added to the ashes4 ,pliny only adds fennel and frankincense to the viper1 but ,galen and later authors make the salt a much more complicated mixture4 ,his botany is very defective4 ,he classifies plants in the crudest way2 often only by a similarity of names4 ,of many his only description is that it is 8well-known10 a habit which has got him into much trouble with modern investigators who have looked into his work for historical evidence verifying the records of herbs named in other works4 ,hyssop is an example4 ,as stated in the section entitled 8,the ,pharmacy of the ,bible10 it has not been found possible to identify the several references to hyssop in the ,bible4 ,dioscorides contents himself by saying that it is a well-known plant1 and then gives its medicinal qualities4 ,but that his hyssop was not the plant known to us by that name is evident from the fact that in the same chapter he describes the 8,chrysocome10 and says of it that it flowers in racemes like the hyssop4 ,he also speaks of an origanum which has leaves arranged like an umbel1 similar to that of the hyssop4 ,it is evident1 therefore1 that his hyssop and ours are not the same plant4 ,the mineral medicines in use in his time are also included in the treatise of ,dioscorides4 ,he mentions argentum vivum1 cinnabar1 verdigris1 the calces of lead and antimony1 flowers of brass1 rust of iron1 litharge1 pompholix1 several earths1 sal ammoniac1 nitre1 and other substances4 ,other treatises1 one on poisons and the bites of venomous animals1 and another on medicines easy to prepare1 have been attributed to ,dioscorides1 but it is not generally accepted that he was the author4 ,the best known translation of ,dioscorides into ,latin was made by ,matthiolus of ,sienna in the sixteenth century4 ,the ,,ms4 from which ,matthiolus worked is still preserved at ,vienna and is believed to have been written in the sixth century4 ,the very competent authority ,kurt ,sprengel1 while recognising the defects in the ,materia ,medica of ,dioscorides1 credits him with the record of many valuable observations4 ,his descriptions of myrrh1 bdellium1 laudanum1 asafoetida1 gum ammoniacum1 opium1 and squill are selected as particularly useful2 the accounts he gives of treatments since abandoned 7some of which are mentioned above1 but to these ,sprengel adds the application of wool fat to wounds which has been revived since he wrote71 are of special interest2 and the ,german historian further justly points out that many remedies re-discovered in modern times were referred to by ,dioscorides4 ,among these are castor oil1 though ,dioscorides only alludes to the external application of this substance2 male fern against tape worms2 elm bark for eruptions2 horehound in phthisis2 and aloes for ulcers4 ,he describes many chemical processes very intelligently1 and was the first to indicate means of discovering the adulterations of drugs4 ,,galen4 ,no writer of either ancient or modern times can compare with ,claudius ,galenus probably in the abundance of his output1 but certainly in the influence he exercised over the generations that followed him4 ,for fifteen hundred years the doctrines he formulated1 the compound medicines he either introduced or endorsed1 and the treatments he recommended commanded almost universal submission among medical practitioners4 ,in ,dr4 ,monk's ,roll of the ,college of ,physicians1 mention is made of a ,dr4 ,geynes who was admitted to the ,fellowship of the ,college in #aefj1 8but not until he had signed a recantation of his error in having impugned the infallibility of ,galen40#b ,this was at the time when to deny ,galen meant to follow ,paracelsus1 and the contest was fiercer just then than at any time before or since4 ,illustration3 ,there is of course no authentic likeness of ,galen in existence4 ,the ,royal ,college of ,physicians possesses an unquestionably antique bust1 copied in ,pettigrew's ,medical ,portraits 7and illustrated in the margin71 which is traditionally credited with being a representation of the ,physician of ,pergamos4 ,it was presented to the ,college by ,lord ,ashburton1 to whom it was presented by ,alexander ,adair1 who had acquired it from his relative ,robert ,adair1 principal surgeon to the ,british forces at the siege of ,quebec4 ,this ,robert ,adair was a man of considerable eminence in his profession1 and is described as a man of character and a scholar4 ,beyond this very slight evidence there is no authority for the presumption that the bust was intended for ,galen4 ,the other portrait is copied from the diploma of the ,pharmaceutical ,society1 but this is not said to have any history4 ,with these may be compared the portrait given on the title page of the first ,london ,pharmacopia4 ,the conclusion will probably be reached that we have no idea what manner of man the eminent physician was4 ,galen was born at ,pergamos1 in ,asia ,minor1 ,a4,d4 #aca1 and died in the same city between ,a4,d4 #bjj and #baj4 ,his father was an architect of considerable fortune1 and the son was at first destined to be a philosopher1 but while he was going through his courses of logic1 ,nicon 7the father7 was advised in a dream to direct the youth's studies in the direction of medicine4 ,it will be seen directly that ,galen's career was a good deal influenced by dreams4 ,nothing was spared to obtain for the youth the best education available1 though his father died when he was #ba4 ,after exhausting the ,pergamos teachers1 ,galen studied at ,smyrna1 ,corinth1 and ,alexandria4 ,then he travelled for some years through ,cilicia1 ,phnicia1 ,palestine1 ,scyros1 and the ,isles of ,crete and ,cyprus4 ,he commenced practice at ,pergamos when he was #bi and was appointed ,physician to the ,school of ,gladiators in that city4 ,at #cc he removed to ,rome and soon acquired the confidence and friendship of many distinguished persons1 among them ,septimus ,severus1 the ,consul and afterwards ,emperor1 ,sergius ,paulus1 the ,prtor1 the uncle of the reigning ,emperor1 ,lucius ,verus1 many of whom he cured of various illnesses4 ,his success caused bitter jealousy among the other ,greek physicians then practising in ,rome4 ,they called him ,paradoxologos1 and ,logiatros1 which meant that he was a boaster and a master of phrases4 ,it appears that he was able to hold his own in this wordy warfare4 ,some of his opponents he described as ,asses of ,thessaly1 and he also made allegations against their competence and probity4 ,however1 he quitted ,rome in the year #afg1 and as at a later time he left ,aquilea1 both movings being coincident with the occurrence of serious plagues1 his reputation for courage has suffered4 ,it was at this period of his life that he visited ,palestine to see the shrub which yielded ,balm of ,gilead1 and then proceeded to ,armenia to satisfy himself in regard to the preparation of the ,terra ,sigillata4 ,he was able to report that the general belief that blood was used in the process was incorrect4 ,it was to ,aquilea that ,galen was sent for by the ,emperor ,marcus ,aurelius1 who was there preparing a campaign against the ,marcomans1 a ,germanic nation dwelling in what is now called ,bohemia4 ,marcus ,aurelius was in the habit of taking ,theriaca1 and would have none but that which had been prepared by ,galen4 ,he urged ,galen to accompany him on his expedition1 but the physician declined the honour and the danger1 alleging that sculapius had appeared to him in a dream1 and had forbidden him to take the journey4 ,the ,emperor therefore sent him to ,rome and charged him with the medical care of his son ,commodus1 then #aa years of age4 ,galen is said to have done the world the ill-service of saving the life of this monster4 ,galen retained the favour of ,marcus ,aurelius till the death of the ,emperor1 and continued to make ,theriaca for his successors1 ,commodus1 ,pertinax1 and ,septimus ,severus4 ,he died during the reign of the last named ,emperor4 ,galen is sometimes said to have kept a pharmacy in the ,via d',acra at ,rome1 but his 8apotheca0 there appears to have been a house where his writings were kept and where other physicians came to consult them4 ,this house was afterwards burned1 and it is supposed that a number of the physician's manuscripts were destroyed in that fire4 ,his medical fame began to develop soon after his death4 ,in about a hundred years ,eusebius1 ,bishop of ,csarea1 reproaches the world with treating ,galen almost as a divinity4 ,nearly all the later ,roman medical writers drew freely from his works1 and some seemed to depend entirely on them4 ,arabic medicine was largely based on ,galen's teaching1 and it was the ,arabic manuscripts translated into ,latin which furnished the base of the medical teaching of ,europe from the eleventh and twelfth centuries to the eighteenth4 ,galen aimed to create a perfect system of physiology1 pathology1 and treatment4 ,he is alleged to have written #ejj treatises on medicine1 and #bej on other subjects1 philosophy1 laws1 grammar4 ,nothing like this number remains1 and the so-called 8books0 are often what we should call articles4 ,his known and accepted medical works number eighty-five4 ,all his writings were originally in ,greek4 ,,oribasius4 ,oribasius1 like ,galen1 was a native of ,pergamos1 and was physician to and friend of the ,emperor ,julian4 ,he is noted for having compiled seventy-two books in which he collected all the medical science of preceding writers4 ,this was undertaken at the instance of ,julian4 ,only seventeen of these books have been preserved to modern times4 ,oribasius adds to his compilation many original observations of his own1 and in these often shows remarkable good sense4 ,he was the originator of the necklace method of treatment1 for he recommends a necklace of beads made of peony wood to be worn in epilepsy1 but does not rely on this means alone4 ,,aetius4 ,aetius1 who lived either in the fifth or sixth century1 was also a compiler1 but he was besides a great authority on plasters1 which he discusses and describes at enormous length4 ,he was a ,christian1 and gives formulas of words to be said when making medicinal compounds1 such as 8,o ,god of ,abraham1 of ,isaac1 and of ,jacob1 give to this remedy the virtues necessary for it40 ,in the works of ,aetius1 mention is made of several nostrums famous in his time for which fabulous prices were charged4 ,the ,collyrium of ,danaus was sold in ,constantinople for #abj numismata4 ,if this means the nummus aureus of ,roman money it would be equal to nearly #ajj of our money4 ,at this price1 ,aetius says1 the ,collyrium could only be had with difficulty4 ,he also mentions a ,colical ,antidote of ,nicostratus called very presumptuously ,isotheos 7equal to ,god71 which sold for two talents4 ,the remedy devised by ,aetius for gout was called ,antidotos ex duobus ,centaureae generibus1 and was the same as the compound which became popular in this country under the title of ,duke of ,portland's ,powder4 7,see page #cji74 ,aetius prescribed a regimen along with his medicine extending over a year4 ,in ,september the patient was to take milk2 in ,october1 garlic2 in ,november to abstain from baths2 ,december1 no cabbage2 in ,january to take a glass of pure wine every morning2 in ,february to eat no beet2 in ,march to be allowed sweets in both food and drink2 in ,april1 no horse radish2 in ,may1 no ,polypus 7a favourite dish72 in ,june1 to drink cold water in the morning2 in ,july1 no venery2 in ,august1 no mallows4 ,,alexander ,,of ,,tralles4 ,this writer1 who acquired considerable celebrity as a medical authority1 lived a little later than ,aetius1 towards the end of the sixth century4 ,he was a native of ,tralles1 in ,lydia1 and is much esteemed by the principal medical historians1 ,sprengel1 ,leclerc1 ,freind1 and others who have studied his writings4 ,especially notable is his independence of opinion2 he does not hesitate occasionally to criticise even ,galen4 ,he impresses strongly on his readers the danger of becoming bound to a particular system of treatment4 ,the causes of each disease are to be found1 and the practitioner is not to be guided exclusively by symptoms4 ,among his favourite drugs were castorum1 which he gave in fevers and many other maladies2 he had known several persons snatched from the jaws of death by its use in lethargy 7apoplexy72 bole ,armeniac1 in epilepsy and melancholia2 grapes and other ripe fruits instead of astringents in dysentery2 rhubarb appeared as a medicine for the first time in his writings1 but only as an astringent2 and he was the first to use cantharides for blisters in gout instead of soothing applications4 ,his treatment of gout by internal remedies and regimen recalls that of ,aetius and is worth quoting4 ,he prescribed an electuary composed of myrrh1 coral1 cloves1 rue1 peony1 and aristolochia4 ,this was to be taken regularly every day for a hundred days4 ,then it was to be discontinued for fifteen days4 ,after that it was to be recommenced and continued during #dfj days1 but only taking a dose every other day2 then after another interval thirty-five more doses were to be taken on alternate days1 making #cfe doses altogether in the course of nearly two years4 ,meanwhile the diet was strictly regulated1 and it may well be that ,alexander only provided the medicine to amuse his patient while he cured the gout by a calculated reduction of his luxuries4 ,alexander of ,tralles was the author who recommended hermodactyls1 supposed to be a kind of colchicum in gout2 a remedy which was forgotten until its use was revived in a ,french proprietary medicine4 ,his prescription compounded hermodactyls1 ginger1 pepper1 cummin seeds1 anise seeds1 and scammony4 ,he says it will enable sufferers who take it to walk immediately4 ,he is supposed to have been the first to advocate the administration of iron for the removal of obstructions4 ,,mesu ,,and ,,serapion4 ,these names are often met with in old medical and pharmaceutical books1 and there is an 8elder0 and a 8younger0 of each of them1 so that it may be desirable to explain who they all were4 ,the elder and the younger of each are sometimes confused4 ,serapion the ,elder1 or ,serapion of ,alexandria1 as he is more frequently named in medical history1 lived in the ,egyptian city about #bjj ,b4,c41 and was the recognised leader of the sect of the ,empirics in medicine4 ,he is credited with the formula that medicine rested on the three bases1 ,observation1 ,history1 and ,analogy4 ,no work of his has survived1 but he is alleged to have violently attacked the theories of ,hippocrates1 and to have made great use of such animal products as castorum1 the brain of the camel1 the excrements of the crocodile1 the blood of the tortoise1 and the testicles of the boar4 ,serapion the ,younger was an ,arabian physician who lived towards the end of the tenth century and wrote a work on materia medica which was much used for some five or six hundred years4 ,mesu the ,elder was first physician at the court of ,haroun-al-,raschid in the ninth century4 ,he was born at ,khouz1 near ,nineveh1 in #ggf1 and died at ,bagdad in #hee4 ,under his superintendence the ,school of ,medicine of ,bagdad was founded by ,haroun4 ,although a ,nestorian ,christian1 ,mesu retained his position as first physician to five ,caliphs after ,haroun4 ,to his teaching the introduction of the milder purgatives1 such as senna1 tamarinds1 and certain fruits is supposed to be due4 ,his ,arabic name was ,jahiah-,ebn-,masawaih4 ,mesu the ,younger is the authority generally meant when formulas under his name1 sometimes quaintly called ,dr4 ,mesu in old ,english books1 are quoted4 ,he lived at ,cairo about the year #ajjj4 ,he was a ,christian1 like his earlier namesake1 and is believed to have been a pupil or perhaps a companion of ,avicenna2 at all events1 when the latter got into disgrace it is alleged that both he and ,mesu took refuge in ,damascus4 ,at ,damascus ,mesu wrote his great work known in ,latin as ,receptarium ,antidotarii4 ,from the time of the invention of printing down to the middle of the seventeenth century1 when pharmacopias became general1 more than seventy editions of this work1 mostly in ,latin1 but a few in ,italian1 have been counted4 ,in some of the ,latin translations he is described as 8,john1 the son of ,mesu1 the son of ,hamech1 the son of ,abdel1 king of ,damascus40 ,this dignity has been traced to a confusion of the ,arabic names1 one of which was very similar to the word meaning king4 ,nearly half of the formul in the first ,london ,pharmacopia were quoted from him4 ,,nicolas ,,myrepsus4 ,for several centuries before the era of modern pharmacopias the ,antidotary of ,nicolas ,myrepsus was the standard formulary1 and from this the early dispensatories were largely compiled4 ,this ,nicolas1 who was not the ,nicolas ,praepositus of ,salerno1 is sometimes named ,nicolas ,alexandrinus4 ,he appears to have been a practising physician at ,constantinople1 and as he bore the title of ,actuarius1 it is supposed that he was physician to the ,emperor4 ,he is believed to have lived in the thirteenth century4 ,myrepsus1 which means ointment maker1 was a name which he assumed or which was applied to him1 probably in allusion to his ,antidotary4 ,this was the largest and most catholic of all the collections of medical formulas which had then appeared4 ,galen and the ,greek physicians1 the ,arabs1 ,jews1 and ,christians who had written on medicine1 were all drawn upon4 ,a ,latin translation by ,leonard ,fuchs1 published at ,nuremberg in #afeh1 contains #b1fef prescriptions1 every possible illness being thus provided against4 ,the title page declares the work to be 8,useful as well for the medical profession and for the seplasarii40 ,the original is said to have been written in barbarous ,greek4 ,sprengel1 who has hardly patience to devote a single page to this famous ,antidotary1 tells us that the compiler was grossly ignorant and superstitious4 ,he gives an instance of his reproduction of some ,arab formul4 ,one is the use of arsenic as a spice to counteract the deadly effects of poisons4 ,this advice was copied1 he says1 down to the seventeenth century4 ,it was ,nicolas's rendering of the ,arabic word ,darsini1 which meant cannella1 and which they so named because it was brought from ,china4 ,the compounds collected in this ,antidotary are of the familiar complicated character of which so many specimens are given in this volume4 ,many of the titles are curious and probably reminiscent of the pious credulity of the period when ,myrepsus lived4 ,there is1 for example1 the ,salt of the ,holy ,apostles1 which taken morning and evening with meals1 would preserve the sight1 prevent the hair from falling out1 relieve difficulty of breathing1 and keep the breath sweet4 ,it was obtained by grinding together a mixture of herbs and seeds 7hyssop1 wild carrot1 cummin1 pennyroyal1 and pepper7 with common salt4 ,the ,salt of ,st4 ,luke was similar but contained a few more ingredients4 ,a ,sal ,purgatorius prescribed for the ,pope ,nicholas consisted of sal ammoniac1 #c oz41 scammony1 #c drachms1 poppy seeds1 #b drachms1 orris root1 #c drachms1 pepper1 #ac grains1 one date1 pine nut #be grains1 and squill #b drachms4 ,this might be made into an electuary with honey4 ,antidotus ,acharistos1 which means unthanked antidote1 is stated to be so named because it cured so quickly that patients were not sufficiently grateful4 ,they did not realise how bad they might have been without it4 ,an electuary said to have been prescribed for ,king ,david for his melancholy was composed of aloes1 opium1 saffron1 lign-aloes1 myrrh1 and some other spices1 made up with honey4 ,a ,sal ,sacerdotale 7salt combined with a few spices7 stated to have been used by the prophets in the time of ,elijah had come down to this ,antidotary through ,st4 ,paul4 ,,raymond ,,lully4 ,the life of ,raymond ,lully is so romantic that it is worth telling1 though it only touches pharmaceutical history occasionally4 ,born at ,palma1 in the island of ,majorca1 in #abce1 in a good position of life1 he married at the age of twenty-two1 and had two sons and a daughter4 ,but home life was not what he desired1 and he continued to live the life of a gallant1 serenading young girls1 writing verses to them1 and giving balls and banquets1 to the serious derangement of his fortune4 ,ultimately he conceived a violent passion for a beautiful and virtuous married woman named ,ambrosia de ,castello who was living at ,majorca with her husband4 ,she1 to check this libertine's ardour1 showed him her breast1 ravaged by cancer4 ,this so afflicted him that he set himself to study medicine with the object of discovering a cure for the cruel disease4 ,with the study of medicine and of alchemy he now associated an insatiable longing for the deliverance of the world from ,mohammedan error4 ,he renounced the world1 including it would seem his wife and children 7though it is recorded that he first shared his possessions with his wife71 and went to live on a mountain in a hut which he built with his own hands4 ,this career1 however1 did not promise an early enough extirpation of infidels1 so before long ,lully is found travelling1 and residing at ,paris1 ,rome1 ,vienna1 ,genoa1 ,tunis1 and in other cities1 preaching new crusades1 importuning the ,pope to establish new orders of missionary ,christians1 and at intervals writing books on medicine4 ,he had invented a sort of mathematical scheme which in his opinion absolutely proved the truth of ,christianity1 and by the use of diagrams he hoped to convert the ,saracens4 ,his ideas are set forth1 if not explained1 in his ,ars ,magna4 ,in the course of his strange life he visited ,palestine and ,cyprus1 and at ,naples in #abic he made the acquaintance of ,arnold de ,villanova4 ,this learned man taught ,lully much1 and found a fervent discipline in him4 ,he was more than seventy when1 according to tradition1 he travelled to ,london with the object of urging on ,edward ,,iii a new war against the ,saracens4 ,edward alleged his want of means1 but ,lully was prepared to meet the difficulty1 and some of the historians of the science of the period assert that he coined a lot of gold for the purpose of the new crusade4 ,edward promptly used this money for the war with ,france1 in which he was more interested4 ,disappointed and disgusted1 ,lully left ,england1 and some time after1 at the age of seventy-eight1 set out to visit ,jerusalem4 ,having accomplished that journey he visited several of the cities of ,north ,africa on his way back1 and at ,bougia1 after preaching with his usual vehemence against the ,mohammedan heresy1 he was stoned by the ,moors and left for dead4 ,some friendly merchants took his body on their ship bound for his native ,majorca4 ,he revived1 but died on the voyage in his eightieth year1 ,a4,d4 #adae4 ,his tomb is still shown in the church of ,san ,francisco in the ,city of ,palma4 ,illustration3 ,,raymond ,,lully4 7,from a portrait in the ,royal ,court and ,state ,library1 ,munich47 ,raymond ,lully is particularly famous in pharmaceutical history for the general use of the aqua vitae or aqua ardens which he introduced4 ,he had learned the process of distilling it from wine from ,arnold of ,villanova1 who had himself probably acquired it from the ,arab chemists of ,spain1 but ,lully discovered the art of concentrating the spirit by means of carbonate of potash4 ,of the aqua vitae which he made he declared that 8the taste of it exceedeth all other tastes1 and the smell of it all other smells40 ,,frascator4 ,hieronymo ,frascatoro1 generally known as ,jerome ,frascator1 was a physician and poet of high repute in the early part of the sixteenth century4 ,frascator was born at ,verona in #adhc and died near that city in #aeec4 ,as a physician he aided the ,pope1 ,paul ,,iii1 to get the ,council of ,trent removed from ,germany to ,italy by alarming the delegates into believing that they were in imminent danger of an epidemic4 ,they therefore adjourned to ,bologna4 ,frascator especially studied infectious diseases1 and his celebrated ,diascordium1 which is described in the section entitled 8,the ,four ,officinal ,capitals10 was invented as a remedy for the ,plague4 ,his great literary fame depended principally on a ,latin poem he wrote with the now repellent title of 8,syphillides1 sive ,morbi ,gallici10 in three books4 ,this was published in #aecj4 ,the author did not accept the view that this disease had been imported from ,america4 ,he held that it had been known in ancient times1 and that it was caused by a peculiar corruption of the air4 ,his hero1 ,syphilis1 had given offence to ,apollo1 who1 in revenge1 had poisoned the air he breathed4 ,syphilis is cured by plunging three times in a subterraneous stream of quicksilver4 ,the best classical scholars of the age regarded the poem as the finest ,latin work written since the days when that language was in its full life1 and they compared it appreciatively with the poems of ,virgil4 ,the following lines will serve as a specimen3-- 444 nam saepius ipsi ,carne sua exutos artus1 squallentia ossa ,vidimes1 et foedo rosa era dehiscere hiatu ,ora1 atque exiles renentia guttura voces4 ,the name of the disease was acquired from this poem1 and though it has a ,greek form and appearance1 no ancient derivative for it can be suggested4 ,frascator also wrote a poem on hydrophobia4 ,,basil ,,valentine4 ,the name and works of ,basil ,valentine are inseparably associated with the medical use of antimony4 ,his 8,currus ,triumphalis ,antimonii0 7the ,triumphal ,chariot of ,antimony7 is stated in all text-books to have been the earliest description of the virtues of this important remedy1 and of the forms in which it might be prescribed4 ,and very wonderful indeed is the chemical knowledge displayed in this and other of ,valentine's writings4 ,illustration3 ,,basil ,,valentine4 7,from the ,collection of ,etchings in the ,royal ,gallery1 ,munich47 ,basil ,valentine explains the process of fusing iron with this stibium and obtaining thereby 8by a particular manipulation a curious star which the wise men before me called the signet star of philosophy40 ,he commences the treatise already mentioned by explaining that he is a monk of the ,order of ,st4 ,benedict1 which 7,i quote from an ,english translation by ,theodore ,kirkringius1 ,m4,d41 published at ,london in #afgh7 8requires another manner of ,spirit of ,holiness than the common state of mortals exercised in the profane business of this ,world40 ,after thus introducing himself he proceeds to mingle chemistry1 piety1 and abuse of the physicians and apothecaries of his day with much repetition though with considerable shrewdness for about fifty pages4 ,at last1 after many false starts1 he expounds the origin and nature of antimony1 thus3-- 8,antimony is a mineral made of the vapour of the ,earth changed into water1 which spiritual syderal ,transmutation is the true ,astrum of ,antimony2 which water1 by the stars first1 afterwards by the ,element of ,fire which resides in the ,element of ,air1 is extracted from the ,elementary ,earth1 and by coagulation formally changed into a tangible essence1 in which tangible essence is found very much of ,sulphur predominating1 of ,mercury not so much1 and of ,salt the least of the three4 ,yet it assumes so much ,salt as it thence acquires an hard and unmalleable ,mass4 ,the principal quality of it is dry and hot1 or rather burning2 of cold and humidity it hath very little in it1 as there is in common ,mercury2 in corporal ,gold also is more heat than cold4 ,these may suffice to be spoken of the matter1 and three fundamental principles of ,antimony1 how by the ,archeus in the ,element of ,earth it is brought to perfection40 ,it needs some practice in reading alchemical writings to make out the drift of this rhapsody1 and no profit would be gained by a clear interpretation of the mysticism4 ,it may1 however1 be noted that the ,archeus was a sort of friendly demon who worked at the formation of metals in the bowels of the earth2 that all metals were supposed to be compounds of sulphur1 mercury1 and salt in varying proportions1 the sulphur and the salt1 however1 being refined spiritual essences of the substances we know by these names2 and that it was a necessary compliment to pay to any product which it was intended to honour to trace its ancestry to the four elements4 ,as the author goes on to deal with the various compounds or derivatives from antimony1 it is abundantly clear that he writes from practical experience4 ,he describes the ,regulus of ,antimony 7the metal71 the glass 7an oxy-sulphide71 a tincture made from the glass1 an oil1 an elixir1 the flowers1 the liver1 the white calx1 a balsam1 and others4 ,basil ,valentine's scathing contempt for contemporary medical practitioners calls for quotation4 8,the doctor10 he says1 8knows not what medicines he prescribes to the sick2 whether the colour of them be white1 black1 grey1 or blew1 he cannot tell2 nor doth this wretched man know whether the medicament he gives be dry or hot1 cold or humid4444 ,their furnaces stand in the ,apothecaries' shops to which they seldom or never come4 ,a paper scroll in which their usual ,recipe is written serves their purpose to the full1 which ,bill being by some ,apothecary's boy or servant received1 he with great noise thumps out of his mortar every medicine1 and all the health of the sick40 ,valentine concludes his 8,triumphal ,chariot0 by thus apostrophising contemporary practitioners3--8,ah1 you poor miserable people1 physicians without experience1 pretended teachers who write long prescriptions on large sheets of paper2 you apothecaries with your vast marmites1 as large as may be seen in the kitchens of great lords where they feed hundreds of people2 all you so very blind1 rub your eyes and refresh your sight that you may be cured of your blindness40 ,in the same treatise ,basil ,valentine describes spirit of salt which he had obtained by the action of oil of vitriol on marine salt2 brandy1 distilled from wine2 and how to get copper from pyrites by first obtaining a sulphate1 then precipitating the metal by plunging into the solution a blade of iron4 ,this operation was a favourite evidence with later alchemists of the transmutation of iron into copper4 ,according to some of his biographers ,basil ,valentine was born in #acic2 others are judiciously vague and variously suggest the twelfth1 thirteenth1 or fourteenth century4 ,that he was a ,benedictine monk1 he tells us himself1 and several monasteries of the order have been named where he is supposed to have lived and laboured4 ,many medical historians have doubted whether such a person as ,basil ,valentine ever existed4 ,his writings are said to have been circulated in manuscript1 but no one has ever pretended to have seen one of those manuscripts1 and the earliest known edition of any of ,basil ,valentine's works was published about #afja1 by ,johann ,thlde1 a chemist1 and part owner of salt works at ,frankenhausen in ,thuringia4 ,it is rather a large claim on our credulity1 or incredulity1 to assume that ,thlde was himself the author of the works attributed to the old monk1 and that he devised the entire fiction of the alleged discoveries1 chemistry and all4 ,it was not an uncommon thing among the alchemists and other writers of the middle ages to represent their books as the works of someone of acknowledged fame1 just as the more ancient theologians were wont to credit one of the apostles or venerated fathers with their inventions4 ,but it was not common for a discoverer to hide himself behind a fictitious sage whose existence he had himself invented4 ,this theory is1 however1 held by some chemical critics4 ,it is certain that the real ,basil ,valentine could not have been so ancient as he was generally believed to be4 ,syphilis is referred to in the 8,triumphal ,chariot0 as the new malady of soldiers 7,neue ,krankheit der ,kriegsleute71 as morbus ,gallicus1 and lues ,gallica4 ,it was not known by these names until the invasion of ,naples by the ,french in #adie4 ,another allusion in the same treatise is to the use of antimony in the manufacture of type metal1 which was certainly not adopted at any time at which ,basil ,valentine could have lived4 ,another reason for questioning his actual existence is that the most diligent search has failed to discover his name either on the provincial list or on the general roll of the ,benedictine monks preserved in the archives of the order at ,rome4 ,boerhaave asserted that the ,benedictines had no monastery at ,erfurt1 which was generally assigned as the home of ,valentine4 ,a curious item of evidence bearing on the allegation that ,thlde was the fabricator of ,basil ,valentine's works1 or at least of part of them1 has been indicated by ,dr4 ,ferguson1 of ,glasgow1 in his notes on ,dr4 ,young's collection of alchemical works4 ,thlde1 it appears1 had written a book in his own name entitled 8,haliographia40 ,this is divided into four sections1 namely3 #a4 ,various kinds of ,salts4 #b4 ,extraction of ,salts4 #c4 ,salt ,springs4 #d4 ,salts obtained from metals1 minerals1 animals1 and vegetables4 ,this ,part #d of the work was subsequently published by ,thlde among ,basil ,valentine's writings4 ,one of two things therefore is obvious4 ,either ,thlde adopted a work by ,valentine and issued it as his own1 or one at least of the pieces alleged to have been by ,valentine was really by ,thlde4 ,basil ,valentine1 meaning the valiant king1 has assuredly an alchemical ring about it4 ,it is exactly such a name as might be invented by one of the scientific fictionists of the middle ages4 ,it is impossible1 too1 to read the 8,triumphal ,chariot10 at least when suspicion has been awakened1 without feeling that the character of the pious monk is a little overdone4 ,a really devout monk would hardly be proclaiming his piety on every page with so much vehemence4 ,then there is the legend which accounts for the long lost manuscripts4 ,it is explained that they were revealed to someone1 unnamed1 when a pillar in a church at ,erfurt was struck and split open by lightning1 the manuscripts having been buried in that pillar4 ,when this happened is not recorded4 ,in ,kopp's 8,beitrage zur ,geschichte der ,chemie0 the learned author argued that ,thlde could only be regarded as an editor of ,basil ,valentine's works1 because when they were published they gave so many new chemical facts and observations that it was impossible to think that ,thlde would have denied himself the credit of the discoveries if they had been his in fact4 ,that book was published in #ahge4 ,in 8,die ,alchemie10 which ,kopp published in #ahhf1 he refers to ,basil ,valentine1 and says that there is reason to think that the works attributed to him were an intentional literary deception perpetrated by ,thlde4 ,,paracelsus3 ,,his ,,career4 ,no one man in history exercised such a revolutionary influence on medicine and pharmacy as the erratic genius ,philipus ,aureolus ,theophrastus ,bombast von ,hohenheim4 ,the name ,paracelsus is believed to have been coined by himself1 probably with the intention of somewhat ,latinising his patronymic1 von ,hohenheim1 and also perhaps as claiming to rank with the famous ,roman physician and medical writer1 ,celsus4 ,the family of ,bombast was an old and honourable one from ,wrttemberg1 but the father of the founder of the iatro-chemists was a physician who had settled at ,maria-,einsiedeln1 a small town in ,switzerland1 not far from ,zurich4 ,he 7the father7 died at ,villach1 in ,carinthia1 in #aecd1 aged #ga4 ,theophrastus was an only child4 ,he was born in #adij or #adia1 and owed to his father the first inclination of his mind towards medicine and alchemy4 ,later he was taught classics at a convent school1 and at #af went to the ,university of ,basel4 ,apparently he did not stay there long4 ,classical studies1 and the reverence of authorities1 which the ,universities taught1 never attracted him4 ,he is found next at ,wurzburg1 in the laboratory of ,trithemius1 an abbot of that city1 and a famous adept in alchemy1 astrology1 and magic generally4 ,he must have acquired much chemical skill in that laboratory1 and1 doubtless1 many of his mystic views began to shape themselves under the instruction of the learned abbot4 ,but ,paracelsus was not content with the artificial ideas of the alchemists4 ,by some means he became acquainted with the wealthy ,sigismund ,fugger1 a mine owner in the ,tyrol1 and either as assistant or friend he joined him4 ,the ,fuggers were the ,rothschilds of ,germany at that time1 and one of them entertained ,charles ,v at ,augsburg1 when the famous diet at which the ,emperor was to crush the ,reformation was held in that city4 ,on that occasion the wealthy merchant made a cinnamon fire for the ,emperor1 and lighted it with a bond representing a large sum which ,charles owed him4 ,in the ,tyrolese mines ,paracelsus learned much about minerals1 about diseases1 and about men4 ,then he travelled through various parts of ,europe1 paying his way by his medical and surgical skill1 or1 as his enemies said1 by conjuring and necromancy4 ,he states that he was in the wars in ,venice1 ,denmark1 and the ,netherlands2 it is supposed as an army surgeon1 for he afterwards declared that he then learned to cure forty diseases of the body4 ,he boasted that he learned from gypsies1 physicians1 barbers1 executioners1 and from all kinds of people4 ,he claims also to have been in ,tartary1 and to have accompanied the ,khan's son to ,constantinople4 ,van ,helmont tells us that it was in this city that he met an adept who gave him the philosopher's stone4 ,other chroniclers relate that this adept was a certain ,solomon ,trismensinus1 who also possessed the elixir of life1 and had been met with some two hundred years later4 ,although ,paracelsus in his writings appears to hold the current belief in the transmutation of metals1 and in the possibility of producing medicines capable of indefinitely prolonging life1 he wasted no energy in dreaming about these1 as the alchemists generally did4 ,the production of gold does not seem to have interested him1 and his aims in medicine were always eminently practical4 ,it is true that he named his compounds catholicons1 elixirs1 and panaceas1 but they were all real remedies for specific complaints2 and in the treatment of these he must have been marvellously successful4 ,whether he ever went to ,tartary or not1 and whether he served in any wars or not1 may be doubtful4 ,his critics find no evidence of acquaintance with foreign languages or customs in his works1 and they do find indications of very elementary notions of geography4 ,but it is certain that for ten years he was peregrinating somewhere2 if his travels were confined to ,germany the effect was the same4 ,germany was big enough to teach him4 ,passionately eager to wrest from ,nature all her secrets1 gifted with extraordinary powers of observation and imagination1 with unbounded confidence in himself1 and bold even to recklessness as an experimenter1 this was a man who could not be suppressed4 ,armed with his new and powerful drugs1 and not afraid to administer them1 cures were inevitable2 other consequences also1 in all probability4 ,when1 therefore1 ,paracelsus arrived at ,basel1 in the year #aebe1 in the thirty-second year of his age1 his fame had preceded him4 ,probably he was backed by high influence4 ,according to his own account he had cured eighteen princes during his travels1 and some of these may have recommended him to the ,university authorities4 ,it is to the credit of ,paracelsus that he was warmly supported by the saintly priest colampadius 7,hausschein71 who subsequently threw in his lot with the reformers4 ,besides being appointed to the chair of medicine and surgery1 ,paracelsus was made city physician4 ,his lectures were such as had never been heard before at a university4 ,he began his course by burning the works of ,galen and ,avicenna in a chafing dish1 and denouncing the slavish reliance on authority which at that time characterised medical teaching and practice4 ,he taught from his own experience1 and he gave his lectures in ,german4 ,many quotations of his boastful utterance have been handed down to us1 and they match well with what we know of him from his recognised writings4 ,all the universities had less experience than he1 and the very down on his neck was more learned than all the authors4 ,he likened himself to ,hippocrates1 the one ancient whom he esteemed4 ,he contrasted himself with the doctors in white gloves who feared to soil their fingers in the laboratory4 8,follow me10 he cried2 8not ,i you1 ,avicenna1 ,galen1 ,rhazes1 ,montagnana1 ,mesu1 and ye others4 ,ye of ,paris1 of ,montpellier1 of ,swabia1 of ,cologne1 of ,vienna2 from the banks of the ,danube1 of the ,rhine1 from the islands of the seas1 from ,italy1 ,dalmatia1 ,sarmatia1 and ,athens1 ,greeks1 ,arabs1 ,israelites4 ,i shall be the monarch1 and mine shall be the monarchy40 ,in his capacity as city physician he naturally created many enemies among his fellow practitioners4 ,his friends said he cured the cases which they found hopeless2 they said he only gave temporary relief at the best1 and that his remedies often killed the patients4 ,he fell foul1 too1 of the apothecaries4 ,he denounced their drugs and their ignorance4 ,the three years he spent in ,basel must have been lively both for him and his opponents4 8,in the beginning10 he says1 8,i threw myself with fervent zeal on the teachers4 ,but when ,i saw that nothing resulted from their practice but killing1 laming1 and distorting2 that they deemed most complaints incurable2 and that they administered scarcely anything but syrups1 laxatives1 purgatives1 and oatmeal gruel1 with everlasting clysters1 ,i determined to abandon such a miserable art and seek truth elsewhere40 ,again he says3 8,the apothecaries are my enemies because ,i will not empty their boxes4 ,my recipes are simple and do not call for forty or fifty ingredients4 ,i seek to cure the sick1 not to enrich the apothecaries40 ,his career at ,basel was brought to a close by a dispute with a prebendary of the cathedral named ,lichtenfels1 whom he had treated4 ,the canon1 in pain1 had promised him #bjj florins if he would cure him4 ,the cure was not disputed1 but as ,paracelsus had only given him a few little pills1 the clergyman relied on the legal tariff4 ,paracelsus sued him1 and the court awarded the legal fee1 which was six florins4 ,the doctor published his comments on the case1 and it can readily be supposed that they were of such a character as to amount to contempt of court4 ,he found it advisable to leave ,basel hurriedly4 ,between #aebh and #aece he lived and practised at ,colmar1 ,esslingen1 ,nuremberg1 ,noerdlingen1 ,munich1 ,regensburg1 ,amberg1 ,meran1 ,st4 ,gall1 and ,zurich4 ,from ,switzerland he again set forth1 and records of him are to be traced in ,carinthia and ,hungary4 ,lastly1 the ,prince ,palatine1 ,duke ,ernst of ,bavaria1 took him under his protection1 and settled him at ,salzburg4 ,there a few months afterwards he died4 ,from dissipation and exhaustion1 say his enemies2 by assassination1 say his friends4 ,a ,german surgeon who examined his skull when the body was exhumed thirty years after death1 found in it a fracture of the temporal bone1 which1 he declared1 could only have been produced during life1 because the bones of a solid but desiccated skull could not have separated as was the case here4 ,it was suggested that some hirelings of the local doctors whose prospects were endangered by this formidable invader had 8accidentally0 pushed him down some rocks1 and that it was then that the fracture was caused4 ,a monument to this great medical revolutionist is still to be seen by the chapel of ,st4 ,philip ,neri1 at ,salzburg4 ,it is a broken pyramid of white marble1 with a cavity in which is his portrait1 and a ,latin inscription which commemorates his cures of diseases1 and his generosity to the poor in the following terms3-- 8,conditur hic ,philippus ,theophrastus1 insignis ,medicin ,doctor1 qui dira illa vulnera1 lepram1 podagram1 hydroposim1 aliaque insanabilia contagia mirificu arte sustulit2 ac bona sua in pauperes distribuenda collocandaque honoravit4 ,anno #aeda1 die #bd ,septembr4 vitam cum morte mutavit40 78,here lies ,philippus ,theophrastus1 the famous ,doctor of ,medicine1 who by his wonderful art cured the worst wounds1 leprosy1 gout1 dropsy1 and other diseases deemed incurable and to his honour1 shared his possessions with the poor407 ,among the contemporaries of ,paracelsus were ,luther1 ,columbus1 and ,copernicus4 ,their names alone are sufficient to show how the long-suppressed energy of the human intellect was at that period bursting forth4 ,these four men were perhaps the greatest emancipators of the human race from the chains of slavish obedience to authority in the past thousand years4 ,paracelsus was not1 so far as is known1 a ,lutheran ,protestant4 ,but he could not help sympathising with his heroic countryman4 8,the enemies of ,luther10 he wrote1 8are to a great extent fanatics1 knaves1 bigots1 and rogues4 ,you call me a medical ,luther1 but you do not intend to honour me by giving me that name4 ,the enemies of ,luther are those whose kitchen prospects are interfered with by his reforms4 ,i leave ,luther to defend what he says1 as ,i will defend what ,i say4 ,that which you wish for ,luther you wish for me2 you wish us both to the fire40 ,there was1 indeed1 much in common between these two independent souls4 ,columbus landed in the ,western world the year before ,paracelsus was born4 ,luther burnt the ,pope's ,bull at ,wittenberg in #aebj1 and it was this action of his which at the time at least thrilled the ,german nation more than any other event in the history of the ,reformation4 ,it is evident that ,paracelsus1 in imitating the conduct of his famous contemporary1 was only demonstrating his conviction that scientific1 no less than religious1 thought needed to free itself from the shackles of tyrannic tradition4 ,,his ,,character4 ,such details of the personality of ,paracelsus as have come down to us were written by his enemies4 ,erastus1 a theologian as well as a physician1 who may have met ,paracelsus1 and who fiercely attacked his system1 depreciates him on hearsay4 ,but ,operinus1 a disciple who had such reverence for him that when ,paracelsus left ,basel1 he accompanied him and was with him night and day for two years1 wrote a letter about him after his death to which it is impossible not to attach great importance4 ,in this letter ,operinus expresses the most unbounded admiration of ,paracelsus's medical skill2 of the certainty and promptitude of his cures2 and especially of the 8miracles0 he performed in the treatment of malignant ulcers4 ,but1 adds ,operinus1 8,i never discovered in him any piety or erudition40 ,he had never seen him pray4 ,he was as contemptuous of ,luther as he was of the ,pope4 ,said no one had discovered the true meaning or got at the kernel of the ,scriptures4 ,during the two years he lived with him1 ,operinus declares ,paracelsus was almost constantly drunk4 ,he was scarcely sober two hours at a time4 ,he would go to taverns and challenge the peasantry to drink against him4 ,when he had taken a quantity of wine1 he would put his finger in his throat and vomit4 ,then he could start again4 ,and yet ,operinus also reports how perpetually he worked in his laboratory4 ,the fire there was always burning1 and something was being prepared1 8some sublimate or arsenic1 some safran of iron1 or his marvellous opodeldoch40 ,moreover1 however drunk he might be he could always dictate1 and ,operinus says 8his ideas were as clear and consecutive as those of the most sober could be40 ,according to this same letter ,paracelsus had been an abstainer until he was #be4 ,he cared nothing for women4 ,operinus had never known him undress4 ,he would lie down with his sword by his side1 and in the night would sometimes spring up and slash at the walls and ceiling4 ,when his clothes got too dirty he would take them off and give them to the first passer1 and buy new ones4 ,how he got his money ,operinus did not know4 ,at night he often had not an obolus2 in the morning he would have a new purse filled with gold4 ,it is not easy to form a fair judgment of ,paracelsus from this sketch4 ,many writers conclude that ,operinus was spiteful because ,paracelsus would not tell him his secrets4 ,more likely ,operinus left his master because his religious sentiments were shocked by him4 ,paracelsus was evidently a born mocker1 and it may be that he took a malicious delight in making his disciple's flesh creep4 ,operinus gives an instance of the levity with which his master treated serious subjects4 ,he was sent for one day to see a poor person who was very ill4 ,his first question was whether the patient had taken anything4 8,he has taken the holy sacrament10 was the reply4 8,oh1 very well10 said ,paracelsus1 8if he has another physician he has no need of me40 ,i think ,operinus wrote in good faith1 but the stories of the doctor's drunkenness must have been exaggerated4 ,it is inconceivable that he could have been so constantly drunk1 and yet always at work4 ,operinus1 it may be added1 returned to ,basel and set up as a printer1 but failed and died in poverty4 ,robert ,browning's dramatic poem of 8,paracelsus0 has been much praised by the admirers of the poet4 ,it was written when ,browning was #bc1 and represents in dramatic form the ambitious aspirations of a youth of genius who believes he has if mission in life2 has intellectual confidence in his own powers2 and the assurance that it is the ,deity who calls him to the work4 ,in some time1 ,his good time1 ,i shall arrive2 ,he guides me4 ,his bitter disappointment with his professorship at ,basel1 and his contempt for those who brought about his fall there1 are depicted1 and the effect which the realisation that his aims had proved impossible had on his habits and character is suggested2 and at last1 on his death-bed in a cell in the ,hospital of ,st4 ,sebastian at ,salzburg1 he tells his faithful friend1 ,festus1 who has all his life sought to restrain the ambitions which have possessed him-- ,you know the obstacles which taught me tricks ,so foreign to my nature1 envy1 hate1 ,blind opposition1 brutal prejudice1 ,bald ignorance--what wonder if ,i sank ,to humour men the way they most approved4 8,a study of intellectual egotism10 this poem has been called4 ,paracelsus was an egotist1 without doubt4 ,indeed1 egotism seems a ludicrously insignificant term to apply to his gorgeous self-appreciation4 ,but it is1 perhaps1 a little difficult to recognise the wild untameable energy of this astonishing medical reformer in the prolix preacher represented in the poem4 ,butler's verse 7in 8,hudibras07 may be taken to represent the popular view held about ,paracelsus after the first enthusiasm of his followers had cooled down ,bombastus kept a ,devil's bird1 ,shut in the pommel of his sword1 ,that taught him all the cunning pranks ,of past and future mountebanks4 ,german studies of ,paracelsus have been very numerous during the past fifty years1 and the general tendency has been greatly to enhance his fame4 ,after the death of ,paracelsus1 the ,archbishop of ,cologne desired to collect his works1 many of which were in manuscript and scattered all over ,germany4 ,by this time there were many treatises attributed to him which he never wrote4 ,it was a paying business to discover a new document by the famous doctor4 ,it is believed that the fraudulent publications were far more numerous than the genuine ones1 and it is quite possible that injustice has been done to his memory by the association with his name of some other peoples' absurdities4 ,,his ,,mysticism4 ,the mystic views of ,paracelsus1 or those attributed to him1 are curious rather than useful4 ,he seemed to have had as much capacity for belief as he had disbelief in other philosophers' speculations4 ,he believed in gnomes in the interior of the earth1 undines in the seas1 sylphs in the air1 and salamanders in fire4 ,these were the ,elementals1 beings composed of soul-substance1 but not necessarily influencing our lives4 ,the ,elementals know only the mysteries of the particular element in which they live4 ,there is life in all matter4 ,every mineral1 vegetable1 and animal has its astral body4 ,that of the minerals is called ,stannar or ,trughat2 of the vegetable kingdom1 ,leffas2 while the astral bodies of animals are their ,evestra4 ,the ,evestrum may travel about apart from its body2 it may live long after the death of the body4 ,ghosts are1 in fact1 the ,evestra of the departed4 ,if you commit suicide the ,evestrum does not recognise the act2 it goes on as if the body were going on also until its appointed time4 ,man is a microcosm2 the universe is the macrocosm4 ,not that they are comparable to each other2 they are one in reality1 divided only by form4 ,if you are not spiritually enlightened you may not be able to perceive this4 ,each plant on earth has its star4 ,there is a stella absinthii1 a stella rorismarini4 ,if we could compile a complete 8herbarium spirituale sidereum0 we should be fully equipped to treat disease4 ,star influences also form our soul-essences4 ,this accounts for our varying temperaments and talents4 ,the material part of man1 the living body1 is the ,mumia4 ,this is managed by the ,archus1 which rules over everybody2 it is the vital principle4 ,it provides the internal balsam which heals wounds or diseases1 and controls the action of the various organs4 ,his theories of mercury1 sulphur1 and salt1 as the constituents of all things1 seem at first likely to lead to something conceivable if not credible4 ,but before we grasp the idea we are switched off into the spiritual world again4 ,it is the sidereal mercury1 sulphur1 and salt1 spirit1 soul1 and body1 to which he is alluding4 ,,his ,,chemical ,,and ,,pharmaceutical ,,innovations4 ,these fantastic notions permeate all the medical treatises of ,paracelsus4 ,but every now and then there are indications of keen insight which go some way towards explaining his success as a physician2 for it cannot be doubted that he did effect many remarkable cures4 ,his ,european fame was not won by mere boasting4 ,his treatise1 ,de ,morbis ex ,tartare oriundus1 is admittedly full of sound sense4 ,some of his chemical observations are startling for their anticipations of later discoveries4 ,if there were no air1 he says1 all living beings would die4 ,there must be air for wood to burn4 ,tin1 calcined1 increases in weight2 some air is fixed on the metal4 ,when water and sulphuric acid attack a metal there is effervescence2 that is due to the escape of some air from the water4 ,he calls metals that have rusted1 dead4 ,saffron of ,mars 7the peroxide7 is dead iron4 ,verdigris is dead copper4 ,red oxide of mercury is dead mercury4 ,but1 he adds1 these dead metals can be revivified1 8reduced to the metallic state10 are his exact words 7and it is to be noted that he was the first chemist to employ the term 8reduce0 in this sense71 by means of coal4 ,elsewhere he describes digestion as a solution of food2 putrefaction as a transmutation4 ,he knew how to separate gold from silver by nitric acid4 ,it is quite certain that the writer of ,paracelsus's works was a singularly observant and intelligent chemist4 ,he had 8a wolfish hunger after knowledge10 says ,browning4 8,have you heard10 wrote ,gui ,patin to a friend a hundred years after the death of the famous revolutionary1 8that #8,paracelsus' is being printed at ,geneva in four volumes in folio8 ,what a shame that so wicked a book should find presses and printers which cannot be found for better things4 ,i would rather see the ,koran printed4 ,it would not deceive so many people4 ,chemistry is the false money of our profession40 ,,his ,,pharmacy4 ,the composition of ,paracelsus's laudanum1 the name of which he no doubt invented1 has never been satisfactorily ascertained4 ,paracelsus himself made a great secret of it1 and probably used the term for several medicines4 ,it was generally1 at least1 a preparation of opium1 sometimes opium itself4 ,he is believed to have carried opium in the pommel of his sword1 and this he called the 8stone of immortality40 ,next to opium he believed in mercury1 and was largely influential in popularising this metal and its preparations for the treatment of syphilis4 ,it was principally employed externally before his time4 ,he mocked at 8the wooden doctors with their guaiacum decoctions10 and at the 8waggon grease with which they smeared their patients40 ,he used turpith mineral 7the yellow sulphate71 and alembroth salt 7ammonio-chloride71 though he did not invent these names1 and it is possible that he did not mean by them the same substances as the alchemists did4 ,operinus states that he always gave precipitated mercury 7red precipitate1 apparently7 as a purgative4 ,he gave it in pills with a little theriaca or cherry juice4 ,this he also appears to have designated laudanum4 ,it is certain that he gave other purgatives besides4 ,it must be admitted that if ,basil ,valentine is a mythical character1 the reputation of ,paracelsus is greatly enhanced4 ,nowhere does the latter claim to have been the first to introduce antimony into medical practice1 but it is certain that it could not have been used to any great extent before his time4 ,if we suppose that the works attributed to ,basil ,valentine were fictitious1 so far1 that is1 as their authorship is concerned1 they were compiled about fifty years after the death of ,paracelsus1 and at the time when his fame was at its zenith4 ,many of the allusions to antimony contained in those treatises might have been collected from the traditions of the master's conversations and writings1 much from his immediate disciples1 and the whole skilfully blended by a literary artist4 ,paracelsus praises highly his magistery of antimony1 the essence1 the arcanum1 the virtue of antimony4 ,of this1 he says1 you will find no account in your books of medicine4 ,this is how to prepare it4 ,take care at the outset that nothing corrupts the antimony2 but keep it entire without any change of form4 ,for under this form the arcanum lies concealed4 ,no deadhead must remain1 but it must be reduced by a third cohobation into a third nature4 ,then the arcanum is yielded4 ,dose1 #d grains taken with quintessence of melissa4 ,his 8,lilium10 or tinctura metallorum1 given as an alterative and for many complaints1 was formulated in a very elaborate way by his disciples1 but simplified it consisted of antimony1 #d1 tin #a1 copper #a1 melted together in a crucible1 the alloy powdered1 and combined 7in the crucible7 with nitre #f1 and cream of tartar #f1 added gradually4 ,the mixture while still hot was transferred to a matrass containing strong alcohol #cb1 digested1 and filtered4 ,besides mercury and antimony1 of which he made great use1 iron1 lead1 copper1 and arsenic were among the mineral medicines prescribed by him4 ,he made an arseniate of potash by heating arsenic with saltpetre4 ,he had great faith in vitriol1 and the spirit which he extracted from it by distillation4 ,this 8spirit0 he again distilled with alcohol and thereby produced an ethereal solution4 ,his 8specificum purgans0 was afterwards said to be sulphate of potash4 ,he recommended sublimed sulphur in inflammatory maladies1 saffron of ,mars in dysentery1 and salts of tin against worms4 ,whether his formulas were purposely obscure in so many cases1 or whether mystery is due to the carelessness or ignorance of the copyists cannot be known4 ,much of his chemical and pharmaceutical advice is clear enough4 ,honey he extols as a liquor rather divine than human1 inasmuch as it falls from heaven upon the herbs4 ,to get its quintessence you are to distil from it in a capacious retort a liquid1 red like blood4 ,this is distilled over and over again in a bain mari until you get a liquid of the colour of gold and of such pleasant odour that the like cannot be found in the world4 ,this quintessence is itself good for many things1 but from it the precious potable gold may be made4 ,the juice of a lemon with this quintessence will dissolve leaf gold in warm ashes in forty-eight hours4 ,with this ,paracelsus says he has effected many wonderful cures which people thought he accomplished by enchantment4 ,elsewhere he speaks of an arcanum drawn from vitriol which is so excellent that he prefers it to that drawn from gold4 ,he refers with great respect to alchemy and the true alchemists1 but with considerable shrewdness in regard to their professions of transmuting other metals into gold4 ,he considered it remarkable that a man should be able to convert one substance into another in a few short days or weeks1 while ,nature requires years to bring about a similar result2 but he will not deny the possibility4 ,what he insists on1 however1 is that from metals and fire most valuable remedies can be obtained2 and the apothecary who does not understand the right way of producing these is but a servant in the kitchen1 and not a master cook4 ,hellebore was an important medicine with ,paracelsus4 ,the white1 he said1 was suitable for persons under #ej1 the black for persons over #ej4 ,physicians ought to understand that ,nature provides different medicines for old and for young persons1 for men and for women4 ,the ancient physicians1 although they did not know how to get the essence of the hellebore1 had discovered its value for old persons4 ,they found that people who took it after #ej became younger and more vigorous4 ,their method was to gather the hellebore when the moon was in one of the signs of conservation1 to dry it in an east wind1 to powder it and mix with it its own weight of sugar4 ,the dose of this powder was as much as could be taken up with three fingers night and morning4 ,the vaunted essence was simply a spirituous tincture4 ,it was more effective if mistletoe1 pellitory and peony seeds were combined with it4 ,it was a great remedy for epilepsy1 gout1 palsy and dropsy4 ,in the first it not merely purges out the humours1 but drives away the epileptic body itself4 ,the root must be gathered in the waning of the moon1 when it is in the sign ,libra1 and on a ,friday4 ,illustration3 ,,paracelsus 7,a74 ,paracelsus made balsam from herbs by digesting them in their own moisture until they putrefied1 and then distilling the putrefied material4 ,he obtained a number of essential oils and used them freely as quintessences4 ,he defines quintessences thus3--,every substance is a compound of various elements1 among which there is one which dominates the others1 and impresses its own character on the compound4 ,this dominating element1 disengaged1 is the quintessence4 ,this term he obtained from ,aristotle4 ,his oil of eggs was obtained by boiling the eggs very hard1 then powdering them1 and distilling until an oil rose to the surface4 ,this he recommended against scalds and burns4 ,oil of aniseed he prescribed in colds to be put in the nostrils and applied to the temples on going to bed4 ,oil of tartar rectified in a sand-bath until it acquires a golden colour will cure ulcers and stone4 ,coral would quicken fancy1 but drive away vain visions1 spectres1 and melancholy4 ,oil of a man's excrements1 twice distilled1 is good to apply in fistulas1 and also in baldness4 ,oil of a man's skull which had never been buried got by distillation was given in #c grain doses for epilepsy4 ,illustration3 ,,paracelsus 7,b74 ,he had abundant faith in animal remedies4 ,his 8,confectio ,anti-,epileptica10 formulated by his interpreter1 ,oswald ,crollius1 is as follows3--,first get three human skulls from men who have died a violent death and have not been buried4 ,dry in the air and coarsely crush4 ,then place in a retort and apply a gradually increasing heat4 ,the liquor that passed over was to be distilled three times over the same fces4 ,eight ounces of this liquor were to be slowly distilled with #c drachms each of species of diamusk1 castorum1 and anacardine honey4 ,to the distilled liquor #d scruples of liquor of pearls and one scruple of oil of vitriol were to be added4 ,of the resulting medicine one teaspoonful was to be taken in the morning1 fasting1 by epileptic subjects1 for nine days consecutively4 ,illustration3 ,,paracelsus 7,c74 ,an ,arcanum ,corallinum of ,paracelsus which was included in some of the earlier ,london ,pharmacopias1 was simply red precipitate prepared in a special manner4 ,the ,committee of the ,college of ,physicians which sat in #agde to revise that work rejected this product with the remark that an arcanum was not a secret known only to some adept1 but was simply a medicine which produces its effect by some hidden property4 7,this might be said of many medicines now as well as then47 ,they recognised1 however1 that 8,paracelsus1 whose supercilious ignorance merits our scorn and indignation10 did use the term in the sense of a secret remedy4 ,the ,pharmacy of ,paracelsus is so frequently referred to in other sections of this book that it is not necessary to deal with it here at greater length4 ,it is evident1 however1 that some of the formulas he devised1 some of the names he coined1 and some of the theories he advanced have entered into our daily practice2 and even the dogmas now obsolete which are sometimes quoted to show how superior is our knowledge to his1 served to quicken thought and speculation4 ,,portraits ,,of ,,paracelsus4 ,the portraits of ,paracelsus to be found in old books1 as well as some celebrated paintings1 are curiously various as likenesses4 ,the oldest and by far the most frequent representation of him on title pages of his works is more or less similar to the portrait marked ,a1 p4 #bdg4 ,this particular drawing was copied from one in the print room of the ,british ,museum4 ,portrait ,b is copied from a painting attributed to ,rubens which was for a long time in the ,duke of ,marlborough's collection at ,blenheim4 ,it was sold publicly in #ahhf in ,london for #abe and is now in the 8,collection ,kums0 at ,antwerp4 ,there is a similar painting1 believed to be a copy of this one1 in the ,bodleian ,library at ,oxford4 ,in the year #ahge1 at an exhibition of historical paintings held at ,nancy 7,france71 a painting 8attributed to ,albert ,drer10 and bearing his name in a cartouche1 was exhibited and described as 8,portrait presum de ,paracelse40 ,it was not a copy but was unmistakably the same person as the one shown in the painting of ,rubens4 ,it came from a private collection and was sold to a local dealer for #b1jjj francs1 and afterwards disposed of to an unknown stranger for #c1jjj francs4 ,it has not been traced since4 ,drer died in #aebh 7thirteen years before the date of the death of ,paracelsus74 ,there is no mention of this likeness in any of his letters4 ,it may have been the work of one of his pupils4 ,the third portrait 7,c7 which is unlike either of the others professes to have been painted from life 78,tintoretto ad vivum pinxit07 by ,jacope ,robusti1 more commonly known as ,tintoretto4 ,the original has not been found1 and the earliest print from it was a copper-plate engraving in a collection issued by ,bitiskius of ,geneva in #afeh4 ,the picture here given is a reduced copy of that engraving from a phototype made by ,messrs4 ,angerer and ,gschl1 of ,vienna1 and published in a valuable work by the late ,dr4 ,carl ,aberle in #ahij entitled 8,grabdenkmal1 ,schadel1 und ,abbildungen des ,theophrastus ,paracelsus40 ,the publisher of that book1 ,mr4 ,heinrich ,dieter1 has kindly permitted me to use this picture4 ,tintoretto scarcely left ,venice all his life1 and it has been supposed that he may have become acquainted with ,paracelsus when the latter was1 as he said he was1 an army surgeon in the ,venetian army in the years #aeba-aebe4 ,dr4 ,aberle points out that if ,tintoretto was born in #aeah1 as is generally supposed1 the painting from life was impossible2 even if he was born in #aeab1 as has also been asserted1 it was unlikely4 ,moreover1 the gentle-looking person represented1 whose amiable 8bedside manner0 is obviously depicted in the portrait1 could not possibly have been the untamable ,paracelsus if any reliance can be placed on the art of physiognomy4 ,,nicholas ,,culpepper4 ,this well-known writer1 whose 8,herbal0 has been familiar to many past generations as a family medicine book1 deserves a place among our ,masters in ,pharmacy for the freedom1 and occasional acuteness with which he criticised the first and second editions of the ,london ,pharmacopia4 ,one specimen of his sarcastic style must suffice4 ,the official formula for ,mel ,helleboratum was to infuse #c lbs4 of white hellebore in #ad lbs4 of water for three days2 then boil it to half its bulk2 strain2 add #c lbs4 of honey and boil to the consistence of honey4 ,this is ,culpepper's comment 7in his 8,physicians' ,library073-- 8,what a monstrum horrendum1 horrible1 terrible recipe have we got here3--,a pound of white hellebore boiled in #ad lbs4 of water to seven4 ,i would ask the ,college whether the hellebore will not lose its virtue in the twentieth part of this infusion and decoction 7for it must be infused1 forsooth1 three days to a minute7 if a man may make so bold as to tell them the truth4 ,a ,taylor's ,goose being boiled that time would make a decoction near as strong as the hellebore1 but this they will not believe4 ,well1 then1 be it so4 ,imagine the hellebore still remaining in its vigour after being so long tired out with a tedious boiling 7for less boiling would boil an ox71 what should the medicine do8 ,purge melancholy1 say they4 ,but from whom8 ,from men or beasts8 ,the devil would not take it unless it were poured down his throat with a horn4 ,i will not say they intended to kill men1 cum privilegio2 that's too gross4 ,i charitably judge them4 ,either the virtue of the hellebore will fly away in such a martyrdom1 or else it will remain in the decoction4 ,if it evaporate away1 then is the medicine good for nothing2 if it remain in it is enough to spoil the strongest man living4 7#a47 ,because it is too strong4 7#b47 ,because it is not corrected in the least4 ,and because they have not corrected that1 ,i take leave to correct them40 ,illustration3 ,,culpepper4 7,from an old book of his47 ,this passage is not selected as a favourable specimen of ,culpepper's pharmaceutical skill1 but as a sample of the manner in which he often rates 8the ,college40 ,his own opinions are open to quite as severe criticism4 ,a large part of his lore is astrological2 and he is very confident about the doctrine of signatures4 ,but he knew herbs well1 and his general advice is sound4 ,perhaps many of those who have studied his works have formed the idea that he was a bent old man with a long grey beard1 who busied himself with the collection of simples4 ,he was1 in fact1 a soldier1 and died at the early age of #ch4 ,his portraits and the descriptions of him by his astrological friends represent him as a smart1 brisk young ,londoner1 fluent in speech and animated in gesture1 gay in company1 but with frequent fits of melancholy1 an extraordinarily good conceit of himself1 and plenty of reason for it4 ,illustration3 ,,culpepper',s ,,house4 7,from an old book of his47 ,culpepper lived in the stirring times of the ,civil ,war1 and fought on one side or the other1 it is not certain which4 ,most likely1 judging from the frequent pious expressions in his works1 he was a ,parliamentarian4 ,he was severely wounded in the chest in one of the battles1 but it is not known in which4 ,it is probable that it was this wound which caused the lung disease from which he died4 ,such information as we have of ,culpepper's career is gathered from his own works1 and from some brutal attacks on him in certain public prints4 ,he describes himself on the title-pages of some of his big books as 8,m4,d410 but there is no evidence that he ever graduated4 ,he lived1 at least during his married life1 at ,red ,lion ,street1 ,spitalfields1 and there he carried on his medical practice4 ,probably it was a large one1 for he evidently understood the art of advertising himself4 ,he claims to have been the only doctor in ,london at the time who gave advice gratis to the poor1 and his frequent comments on the cost of the pharmacopia preparations suggest that the majority of his patients were not of the fashionable class4 ,nicholas ,culpepper was apprenticed to an apothecary in ,great ,st4 ,helen's1 ,bishopsgate1 and at the same time a certain ,marchmont ,nedham was a solicitor's clerk in ,jewry ,street4 ,nedham became the most notorious journalist in ,england1 and founded and edited in turn the ,mercurius ,britannicus1 an anti-royalist paper1 the ,mercurius ,pragmaticus1 violently anti-,commonwealth1 and the ,mercurius ,politicus1 subsidised by ,cromwell's government1 and supervised by ,mr4 ,john ,milton4 ,this publication1 amalgamated with the ,public ,intelligencer1 its principal rival1 has descended to us as the ,london ,gazette4 ,probably ,nedham and ,culpepper were friends in their early days1 and they may have been comrades in arms when the war broke out4 ,but evidently they became fierce enemies later4 ,in ,mercurius ,pragmaticus ,nedham1 pretending to review ,culpepper's translation of the official ,dispensatory1 takes the opportunity of pouring on him a tirade of scurrilous abuse4 ,the translation1 he says1 8is filthily done10 which was certainly not true4 ,this is the only piece of criticism in the article4 ,the rest deals with the author personally4 ,nedham informs his readers that ,culpepper was the son of a ,surrey parson1 8one of those who deceive men in matters belonging to their most precious souls40 ,that meant that he was a ,nonconformist4 ,nicholas himself1 according to ,nedham1 had been an ,independent1 a ,brownist1 an ,anabaptist1 a ,seeker1 and a ,manifestationist1 but had ultimately become an ,atheist4 ,during his apprenticeship 8he ran away from his master upon his lewd debauchery02 afterwards he became a compositor1 then a 8figure-flinger10 and lived about ,moorfields on cozenage4 ,after making vile insinuations about his wife1 ,nedham states that by two years' drunken labour ,culpepper had 8gallimawfred the ,apothecaries' ,book into nonsense02 that he wore an old black coat lined with plush which his stationer 7publisher7 had got for him in ,long ,lane to hide his knavery1 having been till then a most despicable ragged fellow2 8looks as if he had been stued in a tanpit2 a frowzy headed coxcomb40 ,he was aiming to 8monopolise to himself all the knavery and cozenage that ever an apothecary's shop was capable of40 ,culpepper's works answer this spiteful caricature1 for at any rate he must have been a man of considerable attainments1 and of immense industry4 ,that his writings acquired no little popularity is best proved by the fact that after his death it was good business to forge others somewhat resembling them and pass them off as his4 ,,turquet ,,de ,,mayerne4 ,sir ,theodore ,turquet de ,mayerne1 ,baron ,aulbone of ,france1 was born at ,geneva in #aegc1 of a ,calvinistic family and studied for the medical profession first at ,heidelberg and afterwards at ,montpellier4 ,moving to ,paris he acquired popularity as a lecturer on anatomy to surgeons1 and on pharmacy to apothecaries4 ,his inclination towards chemical remedies brought him to the notice of ,rivierus1 the first physician to ,henri ,,iv1 and he was appointed one of the king's physicians4 ,but his medical heterodoxy offended the faculty1 and his ,protestantism raised enemies for him at court4 ,the king1 who valued ,turquet1 did his best to persuade him to conform to the ,church of ,rome as he himself had done1 and to moderate the rancour of his professional foes4 ,but he was unsuccessful in both efforts4 ,still ,henri tried to keep him1 ignoring his heresies1 and perhaps rather sympathising with them4 ,but the queen1 ,marie de ,medici1 insisted on ,turquet's dismissal1 and the ,faculty of ,paris was no whit behind the queen in intolerance4 ,coupling him with a quack named ,pierre ,pena1 a foreigner then practising medicine illicitly at ,paris1 they issued a decree forbidding all physicians who acknowledged their control to consult with ,de ,turquer1 and exhorting practitioners of all nations to avoid him and all similar pests1 and to persevere in the doctrines of ,hippocrates and ,galen4 ,turquet de ,mayerne came to ,england evidently with a high reputation1 for he was soon appointed first physician to the king 7,james ,i7 and queen1 and held the same position under ,charles ,i and ,charles ,,ii4 ,he seems to have kept in retirement during the ,commonwealth1 though in #afbh it appears from his manuscript records 78,ephemerides ,anglic10 he called them7 that he was consulted by a 8,mons4 ,cromwell0 whom he describes as 8,valde melancholicus40 ,he died at ,chelsea in #afee at the age of #hb4 ,it was in ,england that he used the name of ,mayerne4 ,de ,mayerne exercised a considerable influence on ,english pharmacy4 ,the ,society of ,apothecaries owed to him their separate incorporation1 and the first ,london ,pharmacopia was compiled and authorised probably to some extent at his instigation4 ,he certainly wrote the preface to it4 ,paris quotes him as prescribing among absurd and disgusting remedies 8the secundines of a woman in her first labour of a male child1 the bowels of a mole cut open alive1 and the mummy made of the lungs of a man who had died a violent death40 ,but such remedies were common to all practitioners in ,england and ,france at the time4 ,the principal ingredient in a gout powder which he composed was the raspings of an unburied human skull4 ,he devised an ointment for hypochondria which was called the ,balsam of ,bats4 ,it contained adders1 bats1 sucking whelps1 earthworms1 hog's grease1 marrow of a stag1 and the thigh bone of an ox4 ,on the other hand1 ,mayerne is credited with the introduction of calomel and black wash into medical practice4 ,,van ,,helmont4 ,jean ,baptiste ,van ,helmont1 born at ,brussels in #aegg1 and died at ,vilvorde near that city in #afdd1 was an erratic genius whose writings and experiments sometimes astonish us by their lucidity and insight1 and again baffle us by their mysticism and puerility4 ,van ,helmont was of aristocratic ,flemish descent1 and possessed some wealth4 ,he was a voracious student and a brilliant lecturer4 ,at the ,university of ,louvain1 however1 where he spent several years1 he refused to take any degree because he believed that such academic distinctions only ministered to pride4 ,he resolved at the same time to devote his life to the service of the poor1 and with this in view he made over his property to his sister1 and set himself to study medicine4 ,his gift of exposition was so great that the authorities of the ,university insisted on his acceptance of the chair of ,surgery1 though that was the branch of medical practice he knew least about1 and though it was contrary to the statutes of the faculty to appoint a person as ,professor not formally qualified4 ,illustration3 ,j4 ,b4 ,,van ,,helmont4 #aegg-afdd4 7,from an engraving in the ,bibliothque ,nationale1 ,paris47 ,for a time things went well1 but ,van ,helmont got tired of medical teaching before the ,university became tired of him4 ,the particular occasion which disgusted him with medical science was that he contracted the itch1 and though he consulted many eminent physicians could not get cured of it4 ,he came to the conclusion that the pretended art of healing was a fraud1 and he consequently resolved to shake the dust of it from his feet1 after he had recovered from the weakening effects of the purgatives which had been prescribed for his complaint4 ,then he set forth on his travels1 and in the course of them he met with a quack who cured him of his itch by means of sulphur and mercury4 ,after this he became a violent anti-,galenist4 ,he studied the works of ,paracelsus1 and after some years came back to his native country full of ideas and phantasies4 ,by marrying a wealthy woman ,van ,helmont became independent1 and his scientific career now commenced4 ,he erected and fitted a laboratory at ,vilvorde1 and devoted his time and skill to the study of chemistry1 medicine1 and philosophy4 ,he described himself as 8,medicus per ,ignem10 and was one of the most earnest believers in the possibility of discovering the philosopher's stone1 and the elixir of life4 ,indeed he claimed that he had actually transmuted mercury into gold1 and by his medical compounds it is alleged that he performed such miraculous cures that the ,jesuits actually brought him before the ,inquisition4 ,the advance in chemistry for which he is most famous was the discovery of carbonic acid gas1 and the first steps in the recognition of the various kinds of gases4 ,previous to his discovery chemists had no clear perception of a distinction between the various gases2 they reckoned them all as air4 ,geber and other predecessors of ,van ,helmont had observed that certain vapours were incorporated in material bodies1 and they regarded these as the spirits1 or souls1 of those bodies4 ,van ,helmont was the first actually to separate and examine one of these vapours4 ,he tracked this gas through many of the compounds in which it is combined or formed3 he got it from limestone1 from potashes1 from burning coal1 from certain natural mineral waters1 and from the fermentation of bread1 wine1 and beer4 ,he found that it could be compressed in wines and thus yield the sparkling beverages we know so well4 ,he also observed that it extinguished flame1 and asphyxiated animals4 ,he alludes to other kinds of vapour1 but does not precisely define them4 ,the carbon dioxide he named 8gas sylvestre40 ,this was the first use of the term gas4 8,hunc spiritum1 hactenus ignotum1 novo nomine gas voco40 7,i call this spirit1 heretofore unknown1 by the new name gas47 ,what suggested this name to him is not certain4 ,some have supposed that it was a modification of the ,flemish1 geest1 spirit2 by others it is traced to the verb gaschen1 to boil1 or ferment2 and by many its derivation from chaos is assumed4 ,his physiology was a modification of that of ,paracelsus4 ,an ,archeus within ruled the organism with the assistance of sub-archei for different parts of the body4 ,ferments stirred these archei into activity4 ,in this way the processes of digestion were accounted for4 ,the vital spirit1 a kind of gas1 causes the pulsation of the arteries4 ,the ,soul of ,man he assigned to the stomach4 ,the exact locality of this important adjunct was a subject of keen discussion among the philosophers of that age4 ,van ,helmont's conclusive argument for the stomach as its habitation was the undoubted fact that trouble or bad news had the effect of destroying the appetite4 ,,glauber ,john ,rudolph ,glauber1 who was born at ,carlstadt1 in ,germany1 in #afjc1 contributed largely to pharmaceutical knowledge1 and deserves to be remembered by his many investigations1 and perhaps even more for the clear common sense which he brought to bear on his chemical work4 ,for though he retained a confident belief in the dreams of alchemy1 he does not appear to have let that belief interfere with his practical labour2 and some of his processes were so well devised that they have hardly been altered from his day to ours4 ,not much is known of his history except what he himself wrote or what was related of him by his contemporaries4 ,according to his own account he took to chemistry when as a young man he got cured of a troublesome stomach complaint by drinking some mineral waters4 ,eager to discover what was the essential chemical in those waters to which he owed his health he set to work on his experiments4 ,the result was the discovery of sulphate of soda1 which he called 8,sal mirabile10 but which all subsequent generations have known as ,glauber's ,salts4 ,this1 it happens1 was the one of his discoveries of which he was not particularly vain1 for he supposed that he had only obtained from another source ,paracelsus's sal enixon1 which was in fact sulphate of potash4 ,his own account of this discovery is necessarily of pharmaceutical interest4 ,he gives it in his work ,de ,natura ,salium1 as follows3-- ,in the course of my youthful travels ,i was attacked at ,vienna with a violent fever known there as the ,hungarian disease1 to which strangers are especially liable4 ,my enfeebled stomach rejected all food4 ,on the advice of several friends ,i dragged myself to a certain spring situated about a league from ,newstadt4 ,i had brought with me a loaf of bread1 but with no hope of being able to eat it4 ,arrived at the spring ,i took the loaf from my pocket and made a hole in it so that ,i could use it as a cup4 ,as ,i drank the water my appetite returned1 and ,i ended by eating the improvised cup in its turn4 ,i made several visits to the spring and was soon miraculously cured of my illness4 ,i asked what was the nature of the water and was told it was 8salpeter-wasser40 ,glauber was twenty-one at that time1 and knew nothing of chemistry4 ,later he analysed the water and got from it1 after evaporation1 long crystals1 which1 he says1 a superficial observer might confuse with saltpetre2 but he soon satisfied himself that it was something quite different4 ,subsequently he obtained an identical salt from the residue in his retort after distilling marine salt and vitriol to obtain spirit of salt4 ,as already stated1 he believed he had produced the 8sal enixon0 of ,paracelsus4 ,but in memory of the benefit he had himself experienced from its use he gave it the title of 8sal mirabile40 ,illustration3 ,in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the sign of 8,glauber's ,head0 appears to have been used in this country by some chemical manufacturers4 ,the picture annexed is from one of these signs which was used more than a hundred years ago by ,slinger and ,son1 of ,york1 and is now in the possession of ,messrs4 ,raimes and ,co41 of that city1 who have kindly given me a photograph of it4 ,it is a wooden bust which was once gilded1 and presumably presents the traditional likeness of the famous ,german chemist4 ,this distillation of sulphuric acid with sea-salt1 which yielded spirit of salt1 or as it is now called hydrochloric acid1 was probably ,glauber's principal contribution to the development of chemistry4 ,he observed the gas given off from the salt1 and it is a wonder that with his acuteness he did not isolate and describe the element chlorine4 ,he called it the spirit of rectified salt1 and described it as a spirit of the colour of fire1 which passed into the receiver1 and which would dissolve metals and most minerals4 ,he noted that if digested with dephlegmated 7concentrated7 spirit of wine his spirit of salt formed a layer of oily substance1 which was the oil of wine1 8an excellent cordial and very agreeable40 ,he distilled ammonia from bones1 and showed how to make sal ammoniac by the addition of sea salt4 ,his sulphate of ammonia1 now so largely used as a fertiliser and in the production of other ammonia salts1 was known for a long time as 8,sal ammoniacum secretum ,glauberi40 ,he made sulphate of copper1 and his investigation of the acetum lignorum1 now called pyroligneous acid1 though he did not claim to have discovered this substance1 was of the greatest value4 ,he produced artificial gems1 made chlorides of arsenic and zinc1 and added considerably to the chemistry of wine and spirit-making4 ,glauber worked at many subjects for manufacturers1 and sold his secrets in many cases4 ,his enemies asserted that he sold the same secret several times1 and that he not unfrequently sold secrets which would not work4 ,it is impossible now to test the truth of these accusations4 ,probably some of the allegations made against him were due to the fact that those who bought his processes were not as skilful as he was4 ,one secret which he claimed to have discovered he would neither sell nor publish4 ,it was that of the ,alkahest1 or universal solvent4 ,to make this known might1 he feared1 8encourage the luxury1 pride1 and godlessness of poor humanity40 ,oliver ,cromwell wrote in an old volume of ,glauber's ,alchemy3 8,this ,glauber is an errant knave4 ,i doe bethinke me he speaketh of wonders which cannot be accomplished2 but it is lawful for man too the endeavour40 ,glauber complained that he was not appreciated1 which was probably true4 8,i grieve over the ignorance of my contemporaries10 he wrote1 8and the ingratitude of men4 ,men are always envious1 wicked1 ungrateful4 ,for myself1 faithful to the maxim1 ,ora et ,labora1 ,i fulfil my career1 do what ,i can1 and await my reward40 ,elsewhere he writes1 8,if ,i have not done all the good in the world that ,i should have desired1 it has been the perversity of men that has hindered me40 ,his employees1 he says1 were unfaithful4 ,having learned his processes1 they became inflated with pride1 and left him4 ,apparently there was a good business to be done in chemical secrets at that time4 ,but ,glauber did not give away all he knew1 and he found it best to do all his important work himself4 8,i have learnt by expensive experience10 he wrote1 8the truth of the proverb1 #8,wer seine ,sachen will gethan haben recht1 ,muss selbsten seyn ,herr und ,knecht4'0 ,although all ,glauber's books appeared with ,latin titles they were written in ,german4 ,,goulard4 ,thomas ,goulard was a surgeon of ,montpellier with rather more than a local reputation4 ,he was counsellor to the king1 perpetual mayor of the town of ,alet1 lecturer and demonstrator royal in surgery1 demonstrator royal of anatomy in the ,college of ,physicians1 fellow of the ,royal ,academies of ,sciences in ,montpellier1 ,toulouse1 ,lyons1 and ,nancy1 pensioner of the king and of the province of ,languedoc for lithotomy1 and surgeon to the ,military ,hospital of ,montpellier4 ,his treatise on 8,the ,extract of ,saturn0 was published about the middle of the eighteenth century1 and his name and the preparations he devised were soon spread all over ,europe4 ,white lead and sugar of lead1 and litharge as the basis of plasters had been familiar in medical practice for centuries2 and ,galen and other great authorities had highly commended lead preparations for eye diseases and for general lotions4 ,the preparation of sugar of lead is indicated in the works attributed to ,basil ,valentine4 ,goulard's special merit consisted in the care which he gave to the production of his 8,extract of ,saturn10 and in his intelligent experiments with it1 and its various preparations in the treatment of external complaints4 ,goulard made his extract of ,saturn by boiling together golden litharge and strong ,french wine vinegar at a moderate heat for about an hour1 stirring all the while1 and after cooling drawing off for use the clear supernatant liquor4 ,diluting this extract by adding #ajj drops to a quart of river water with four teaspoonfuls of brandy1 made what he called his ,vegeto-,mineral ,water1 which he used for lotions4 ,his cerate of ,saturn was made by melting #d oz4 of wax in #aa oz4 of olive oil1 and incorporating with this #f lbs4 of vegeto-mineral water 7containing #d oz4 of extract of ,saturn74 ,a cataplasm was made by gently boiling the vegeto-mineral water with crumb of bread4 ,a pomatum was prepared by combining #d oz4 of the extract with a cerate composed of #h oz4 of wax in #ah oz4 of rose ointment4 ,this was made stronger or milder as the case might need4 ,there was another pomatum made with the extract of ,saturn1 sulphur1 and alum1 for the treatment of itch2 and several plasters for rheumatic complaints4 ,goulard gave full details of the various uses of these applications in inflammations1 bruises1 wounds1 abscesses1 erysipelas1 ophthalmia1 ulcers1 cancers1 whitlows1 tetters1 piles1 itch1 and other complaints4 ,his own experience was supported by that of other practitioners4 ,in giving the results of his experience thus freely and completely1 ,goulard was aware of the sacrifice he was making4 8,i flatter myself10 he says1 8that the world is in some measure indebted to me for publishing this medicine1 which1 if concealed in my own breast1 might have turned out much more to my private emolument02 at the same time he did not object to reap some profit from his investigations1 if this could be done4 ,at the end of the ,english translation of his book1 a copy of a document is printed addressed to his fellow student of fifty years before1 ,mr4 ,g4 ,arnaud1 practising as a surgeon in ,london1 engaging to supply to him1 and to him only1 a sufficient quantity of extract of ,saturn made by himself1 to be distributed by the said ,mr4 ,arnaud1 or by those commissioned by him1 over all the dominions of his ,british ,majesty4 ,,scheele4 ,karl ,wilhelm ,scheele is the most famous of pharmacists1 and has few equals in scientific history4 ,he was the seventh child of a merchant at ,stralsund1 then in the possession of ,sweden1 and was born on ,december #ith1 #agdb4 ,he had a fair education and at school was diligent and apt in acquiring knowledge4 ,if he was born with a gift1 if his genius was anything more than an immense capacity for taking pains1 this aptness was the faculty which distinguished ,scheele from other men4 ,he made thousands of experiments and never forgot what he had learned from any one of them2 he read such scientific books as he could get1 and never needed to refer to them again4 ,his friend ,retsius1 a pharmacist like himself as a young man1 but subsequently ,director of the ,museum of ,lund1 has recorded ,scheele's remarkable power in this respect4 8,when he was at ,malm10 he writes 7this was when ,scheele was about twenty-four years of age71 8he bought as many books as his small pay enabled him to procure4 ,he would read these once or twice1 and would then remember all that interested him1 and never consulted them again40 ,illustration3 ,,karl ,,wilhelm ,,scheele4 ,an elder brother of ,karl had been apprenticed to an apothecary at ,gothenburg1 but had died during his apprenticeship4 ,karl went to this apothecary1 a ,mr4 ,bauch1 as apprentice at the age of fourteen1 and remained there till ,bauch sold his business in #agfe4 ,then he went to another apothecary named ,kjellstrm at ,malm4 ,three years later he was chief assistant to a ,mr4 ,scharenberg at ,stockholm4 ,his next move was to ,upsala with a ,mr4 ,lokk1 who appreciated his assistant and gave him plenty of time for his scientific work4 ,lastly1 he took the management of a pharmacy at ,kping for a widow who owned it1 and after an anxious time in clearing the business from debt1 he bought the business in #aggf and for the rest of his short life was in fairly comfortable circumstances4 ,ill-health then pursued him1 rheumatism and attacks of melancholy4 ,in the spring of #aghf1 in the forty-fourth year of his age1 after suffering for two months from a slow fever1 he died4 ,two days before his death he married the widow of his predecessor1 whose business he had rescued from ruin1 so that she might repossess it4 ,a few months later she married again4 ,that was ,scheele's life as a pharmacist2 patient1 plodding1 conscientious1 only moderately successful1 and shadowed by many disappointments4 ,the work he accomplished as a scientific chemist would have been marvellous if he had had all his time to do it in2 under the actual circumstances in which it was performed it is simply incomprehensible4 ,a bare catalogue of his achievements is all that can be noted here1 but it must be remembered that he never announced any discovery until he had checked his first conclusions by repeated and varied tests4 ,illustration3 ,,scheele',s ,,pharmacy ,,at ,k,,ping4 ,an account of an investigation of cream of tartar resulting in the isolation of tartaric acid was his first published paper4 ,he next made an examination of fluor-spar from which resulted the separation of fluoric acid4 ,from this on the suggestion of ,bergmann he proceeded to a series of experiments on black oxide of manganese which besides showing the many important combinations of the metal led the chemist direct to his wonderful discoveries of oxygen1 chlorine1 and barytes4 ,this work put him on the track of the observations set forth in his famous work on 8,air and ,fire40 ,in this he explained the composition of the atmosphere1 which1 he said1 consisted of two gases1 one of which he named 8empyreal0 or 8fire-air10 the same as he had obtained from black oxide of manganese1 and other substances4 ,he realised and described with much acuteness the part this gas played in nature1 and the rest of the book contained many remarkable observations which showed how nearly ,scheele approached the new ideas which ,lavoisier was to formulate only a few years later4 8,air and ,fire0 was not issued till #aggg1 three years after ,priestley had demonstrated the separate existence and characteristics of what he termed 8dephlogisticated air40 ,but it is well known that the long delay of ,scheele's printer in completing his work was one of the disappointments of his life1 and there is evidence that his discovery of oxygen was actually made in #aggc1 a year before ,priestley had isolated the same element4 ,both of these great experimenters missed the full significance of their observations through the confusing influence of the phlogiston theory1 which neither of them questioned1 and which was so soon to be destroyed as the direct result of their labours4 ,among the other investigations which ,scheele carried out were his proof that plumbago was a form of carbon1 his invention of a new process for the manufacture of calomel1 his discovery of lactic1 malic1 oxalic1 citric1 and gallic acids1 of glycerin1 and his exposition of the chemical process which yielded ,prussian blue1 with his incidental isolation of prussic acid1 a substance which he described minutely though he gives no hint whatever to show that he knew anything of its poisonous nature4 ,the subjects mentioned by no means exhaust the mere titles of the work which ,scheele accomplished2 they are only the more popular of his results4 ,the value of his scientific accomplishments was appreciated in his lifetime1 but not fully until the advance of chemistry set them out in their true perspective4 ,then it was realised how completely and accurately he had finished the many inquiries which he had taken in hand4 ,a ,,pharmaceutical ,,pantheon4 ,the ,school of ,pharmacy of ,paris1 built in #ahhj1 honours a number of pharmacists of historic fame by placing a series of medallions on the faade of the building1 as well as statues of two specially eminent representatives of the profession in the ,court of ,honour4 ,these two are ,vauquelin and ,parmentier4 ,illustration3 ,,cole ,,de ,,pharmacie1 ,,paris4 7,from photo sold at ,school47 ,louis ,nicolas ,vauquelin was director of the ,school from its foundation in #ahjc until his death in #ahbi4 ,he also held professorships at the ,school of ,mines1 at the ,polytechnic ,school1 and with the ,faculty of ,medicine4 ,he began his career as a boy in the laboratory of a pharmacist at ,rouen1 and later got a situation with ,m4 ,cheradame1 a pharmacist in ,paris4 ,cheradame was related to ,fourcroy1 to whom he introduced his pupil4 ,fourcroy paid him #ab a year with board and lodging1 but he proved such an indefatigable worker that in no long time he became the colleague1 the friend1 and the indispensable substitute of his master in his analyses as well as in his lectures4 ,he is cited as the discoverer of chromium1 of glucinium1 and of several animal products2 but his most important work was a series of chemical investigations on belladonna1 cinchona1 ipecacuanha1 and other drugs1 which it is recognised opened the way for the definite separation of some of the most valuable of the alkaloids accomplished afterwards by ,pelletier1 ,caventou1 ,robiquet1 and others4 ,vauquelin published more than #bej scientific articles4 ,illustration ,,vauquelin4 7,origin unknown47 ,antoine ,augustin ,parmentier 7born #agcg1 died #ahac71 after serving an apprenticeship with a pharmacist at ,montpellier1 joined the pharmaceutical service in the army1 and distinguished himself in the war in ,germany1 especially in the course of an epidemic by which the ,french soldiers suffered seriously4 ,he was taken prisoner five times1 and at one period had to support himself almost entirely on potatoes4 ,on the last occasion he obtained employment with a ,frankfort chemist named ,meyer1 who would have gladly kept him with him4 ,but ,parmentier preferred to return to his own country1 and obtained an appointment in the pharmacy of the ,hotel des ,invalides1 rising to the post of chief apothecary there in a few years4 ,a prize offered by the ,academy of ,besanon for the best means of averting the calamities of famine was won by him in #agga1 his ,german experience being utilised in his advocacy of the cultivation of potatoes4 ,these tubers1 though they had been widely cultivated in ,france in the sixteenth century1 had gone entirely out of favour1 and were at that time only given to cattle4 ,the people had come to believe that they occasioned leprosy and various fevers4 ,parmentier worked with rare perseverance to combat this prejudice4 ,he cultivated potatoes on an apparently hopeless piece of land which the ,government placed at his disposal1 and when the flowers appeared he made a bouquet of them and presented it to ,louis ,,xvi1 who wore the blossoms in his button-hole4 ,his triumph was complete1 for very soon the potato was again cultivated all through ,france4 ,the royalist favour that he had enjoyed put him in some danger during the ,revolution2 but in the latter days of the ,convention1 which had deprived him of his official position and salary1 he was employed to organise the pharmaceutical service of the army4 ,he also invented a syrup of grapes which he proposed to the ,minister of ,war as a substitute for sugar during the continental blockade4 ,the medallions1 in the order in which they appear on the faade of the cole de ,pharmacie1 represent the following ,french and foreign pharmacists3-- ,antoine ,jerome ,balard1 the discoverer of bromine 7born #ahjb1 died #ahgf71 was a native of ,montpellier1 where he qualified as a pharmacist and commenced business4 ,as a student he had worked with the salts deposited from a salt marsh in the neighbourhood1 and had been struck with a coloration which certain tests gave with a solution of sulphate of soda obtained from the marsh4 ,pursuing his experiments1 he arrived at the discovery of bromine1 the element which formed the link between chlorine and iodine4 ,this early success won for him a medal from the ,royal ,society of ,london and a professorship of chemistry at ,montpellier1 and subsequently raised him to high scientific positions in ,paris4 ,balard did much more scientific work1 among which was the elaboration of a process for the production of potash salts from salt marshes4 ,he had worked at this for some twenty years1 and had taken patents for his methods1 when the announcement of the discovery of the potash deposits at ,stassfurt effectually destroyed all his hope of commercial success4 ,joseph ,bienaim ,caventou 7born at ,st4 ,omer #agie1 died #ahgg7 carried on for many years an important pharmaceutical business in ,paris4 ,his fame rests on his association with ,pelletier in the discovery of quinine in #ahbj4 ,joseph ,pelletier 7born #aghh1 died #ahdb7 was the son of a ,paris pharmacist1 and was one of the most brilliant workers in pharmacy known to us4 ,he is best known for his isolation of quinine4 ,either alone1 or in association with others1 he investigated the nature of ipecacuanha1 nux vomica1 colchicum1 cevadilla1 hellebore1 pepper1 opium1 and other drugs1 and a long series of alkaloids is credited to him4 ,he also contributed valuable researches on cochineal1 santal1 turmeric1 and other colouring materials4 ,to him and his associate1 ,caventou1 the ,institute awarded the ,prix ,monthyon of #aj1jjj francs for their discovery of quinine1 and this was the only reward they obtained for their cinchona researches1 for they took out no patents4 ,illustration3 ,,joseph ,,pelletier4 #aghh-ahdb4 7,discoverer--with ,caventou--of ,quinine47 ,pierre ,robiquet 7born at ,rennes in #aghj1 died at ,paris1 #ahdj7 served his apprenticeship to pharmacy at ,lorient1 and afterwards studied under ,fourcroy and ,vauquelin at ,paris4 ,his studies were interrupted by the conscription1 which compelled him to serve under ,napoleon in the ,army of ,italy4 ,returning to pharmacy after ,marengo1 he ultimately became the proprietor of a pharmacy1 and to that business he added the manufacture of certain fine chemicals4 ,his first scientific work was the separation of asparagin1 accomplished in association with ,vauquelin1 in #ahje4 ,his later studies were in connection with opium 7from which he extracted codeine71 on liquorice1 cantharides1 barytes1 and nickel4 ,andr ,constant ,dumeril 7born at ,amiens1 #aggd1 died #ahfj7 was a physician1 but distinguished himself as a naturalist and anatomist4 ,he had been associated with ,cuvier in early life4 ,latterly he was consulting physician to ,louis ,philippe4 ,antoine ,louis ,brongniart 7born #agdb1 died #ahjd7 was the son of a pharmacist of ,paris1 and became himself pharmacien to ,louis ,,xvi4 ,he also served the ,convention as a military pharmacist1 and was placed on the ,council of ,health of the ,army4 ,in association with ,hassenfratz who was one of the organisers of the insurrection of ,august #ajth1 #agib1 and himself a professor at the ,school of ,mines1 ,brongniart edited a 8,journal des ,sciences1 ,arts1 et ,metiers0 during the ,revolution4 ,the next medallion memorialises ,scheele1 the great ,swedish pharmacist and chemist1 of whose career details have already been given4 ,pierre ,bayen 7born at ,chalons s_/,marne1 #agbe1 died #agih7 was an army pharmacist for about half of his life1 and to him was largely due the organisation of that service4 ,he was with the ,french ,army in ,germany all through the ,seven ,years' ,war1 #ageg-agfc4 ,among his scientific works were examinations of many of the natural mineral waters of ,france1 and a careful investigation into the alleged danger of tin vessels used for cooking4 ,two ,german chemists1 ,margraff and ,henkel1 had reported the presence of arsenic in tin utensils generally1 and the knowledge of this fact had produced a panic among housekeepers4 ,bayen went into the subject thoroughly and was able to publish a reassuring report4 ,to him1 too1 belongs the glory of having been one of the chemists before ,lavoisier to prove that metals gain and do not lose weight on calcination in the air4 ,pierre ,joseph ,macquer1 ,master of ,pharmacy and ,doctor of ,medicine 7born #agah1 died #aghd71 came of a noble ,scotch family who had settled in ,france on account of their adherence to the ,catholic faith1 made some notable chemical discoveries1 and became director of the royal porcelain factory at ,svres4 ,he worked on kaolin1 magnesia1 arsenic1 gold1 platinum1 and the diamond4 ,the bi-arseniate of arsenic was for a long time known as ,macquer's arsenical salt4 ,macquer was not quite satisfied with ,stahl's phlogiston theory1 and tried to modify it2 but he would not accept the doctrines of ,lavoisier4 ,he proposed to substitute light for phlogiston1 and regarded light as precipitated from the air in certain conditions4 ,these notions attracted no support4 ,guillaume ,franois ,rouelle 7born near ,caen1 #agjc1 died #aggj7 was in youth an enthusiastic student of chemistry1 the rudiments of which he taught himself in the village smithy4 ,going to ,paris he obtained a situation in the pharmacy which had been ,lemery's1 and subsequently established one of his own in the ,rue ,jacob4 ,there he commenced courses of private lectures which were characterised by such intimate knowledge1 and flavoured with such earnestness and1 as appears from the stories given by pupils1 by a good deal of eccentricity1 that they became the popular resort of chemical students4 ,lavoisier is believed to have attended them4 ,commencing his lectures in full professional costume1 he would soon become animated and absorbed in his subject1 and throwing off his gown1 cap1 wig and cravat1 delighted his hearers with his vigour4 ,rouelle was offered the position of apothecary to the king1 but declined the honour as it would have involved the abandonment of his lectures4 ,his chief published work was the classification of salts into neutral1 acid1 and basic4 ,he also closely investigated medicinal plants1 and got so near to the discovery of alkaloids as the separation of what he called the immediate principles1 making a number of vegetable extracts4 ,etienne ,franois ,geoffrey 7born #afgb1 died #agca71 the son of a ,paris apothecary1 himself of high reputation1 for it was at his house that the first meetings were held which resulted in the formation of the ,academy of ,sciences1 studied pharmacy at ,montpellier1 and qualified there4 ,returning to ,paris he went through the medical course and submitted for his doctorate three theses which show the bent of his mind4 ,the first examined whether all diseases have one origin and can be cured by one remedy1 the second aimed to prove that the philosophic physician must also be an operative chemist1 and the third dealt with the inquiry whether man had developed from a worm4 ,geoffrey was attached as physician to the ,english embassy for some time and was elected to the ,royal ,society of ,london4 ,afterwards he became professor of medicine and pharmacy at the ,college of ,france4 ,his chief works were pharmacological researches on iron1 on vitriol1 on fermentation1 and on some mineral waters4 ,he wrote a notable treatise on ,materia ,medica4 ,albert ,seba was an apothecary of ,amsterdam1 who spent some part of his early life in the ,dutch ,indies4 ,he was born in #affh and died in #agcf4 ,he was particularly noted for a great collection illustrating all the branches of natural history1 finer than any other then known in ,europe4 ,peter the ,great having seen this collection bought it for a large sum and presented it to the ,academy of ,sciences of ,st4 ,petersburg1 where it is still preserved4 ,anxious to pay due honour to the distinguished pharmacists of other nations1 the authorities of the ,school of ,pharmacy introduce the medallions of ,dante and ,sir ,isaac ,newton4 ,the ,italian poet's connection with pharmacy was the entirely nominal inscription of his name in the guild of apothecaries of the city of ,florence2 there are almost slighter grounds to the right of claiming the ,english philosopher among pharmacists1 his immediate association with the business having been that as a schoolboy he lodged at ,grantham with an apothecary of the name of ,clark4 ,in his later years he worked with ,boyle on ether4 ,moses ,charas figures between these two4 ,living between the years #afah and #afih1 ,charas attained ,european celebrity4 ,he was the first ,french pharmacist to prepare the famous ,theriaca4 ,this he did in the presence of a number of magistrates and physicians4 ,he also wrote a treatise on the compound4 ,for nine years he was demonstrator of chemistry at the ,king's ,garden at ,paris1 but he was a ,protestant1 and the ,revocation of the ,edict of ,nantes in #afhe drove him from ,france4 ,charles ,,ii received him cordially in ,london1 and made him a doctor4 ,afterwards he went to ,holland1 and from there the ,king of ,spain sent for him to attend on him in a serious illness4 ,while at ,toledo he got into trouble with the ecclesiastics in a singular manner4 ,an archbishop of ,toledo being canonised1 his successor announced that snakes in that archbishopric should henceforth lose their venom4 ,this was a special temptation to ,moses ,charas4 ,he was strong on vipers4 ,he had made medicine of many of them1 he had written a book about them1 and he knew all there was to know about them4 ,he knew something about archbishops too1 which ought to have prevented him from publicly demonstrating the vanity of the proclamation4 ,but he must needs show to some influential friends a local viper he had caught and make it bite two chickens1 both of which died promptly4 ,this demonstration got talked about1 and ,charas was prosecuted on a charge of attempting to overthrow an established belief4 ,he was imprisoned by the ,inquisition1 but after four months he abjured ,protestantism1 and was set free4 ,it must be remembered that he was #gb years of age4 ,on his return to ,france ,louis ,,xiv received him kindly1 and had him elected to the ,academy of ,sciences4 ,charas's chief work was a ,pharmacopia1 which was in great vogue1 and was translated into all the principal modern languages1 even into ,chinese4 ,nicolas ,lemery 7born at ,rouen1 #afde1 died #agae71 a self-taught chemist and pharmacist1 exercised an enormous influence in science and medicine4 ,he opened a pharmacy in the ,rue ,galande1 ,paris1 and there taught chemistry orally and practically4 ,his course was an immense success4 ,fashionable people thronged to his lectures1 and students came from all countries to get the advantage of his teaching4 ,he1 too1 was a ,protestant1 and was struck by the storm of religious animosity4 ,charles ,,ii had the opportunity of showing him hospitality in ,london1 and seems to have manifested towards him much friendliness4 ,the ,university of ,berlin likewise made him tempting proposals1 but ,lemery could only feel at home in ,france4 ,things seemed quieter and he returned1 only to find in a short time that the condition was worse for ,protestants than ever4 ,the ,revocation of the ,edict of ,nantes prevented him from following either of his professions1 pharmacy or medicine2 and for their sake he adopted the ,catholic faith4 ,his 8,universal ,pharmacopia0 and his 8,dictionary of ,simple ,drugs0 were published after these troubles1 and they are the works by which he won his lasting reputation4 ,gilles ,franois ,boulduc 7#afge-agdb7 was for many years first apothecary to ,louis ,,xiv1 and an authority on pharmaceutical matters in his time4 ,by his essays he helped to popularise ,epsom1 ,glauber's1 and ,seignette's salts in ,france4 ,antoine ,baum 7born at ,senlis1 #agbh1 died #ahjd71 the son of an innkeeper1 after an imperfect education in the provinces1 got into the famous establishment of ,geoffrey at ,paris and made such good use of his opportunities that he became ,professor of ,chemistry at the ,college of ,france when he was #be4 ,a practical and extraordinarily industrious chemist1 he wrote much1 invented the areometer which bears his name1 founded a factory of sal ammoniac1 and bleaching works for silk by a process which he devised4 ,baum did good service1 too1 in dispelling many of the traditional superstitions of pharmacy1 such as the complicated formulas and disgusting ingredients which were so common in his time4 ,he was never content to accept any views on trust4 ,the three medallions which follow are those of ,lavoisier1 ,berthollet1 and ,chaptal2 great chemists whose right to be represented cannot be challenged1 but whose works were not specially associated with pharmacy4 ,these three all lived at the time of the ,revolution4 ,lavoisier was one of its most distinguished victims1 ,berthollet became the companion and adviser of ,napoleon in ,egypt1 and ,chaptal was the chemist commissioned by the ,convention to provide gunpowder for its ragged troops4 ,he became one of ,napoleon's ,ministers under the ,consulate4 ,andr ,laugier 7#aggj-ahcb71 who comes next1 was a relative and pupil of ,fourcroy1 and became an ,army pharmacist1 serving through ,bonaparte's ,egyptian campaign4 ,his works were mostly on mineralogical subjects4 ,georges ,simon ,serullas 7#aggd-ahcb7 was another military pharmacist who served in the ,napoleonic wars4 ,he was1 later1 chief pharmacist at the military hospital of ,val de ,grace1 where he devoted much study to many medicinal chemicals1 such as cyanic acid1 iodides1 bromides1 and chlorides of cyanogen1 hydrobromic ether1 etc4 ,thnard 7#aggg-aheg71 the eminent chemist1 follows4 ,he was very poor when he asked ,vauquelin to receive him as a pupil without pay4 ,he only secured the benefit he asked for because the chemist's sister happened to want a boy at the time to help her in the kitchen4 ,he became a peer of ,france in #ahcb4 ,to him we owe peroxide of hydrogen4 ,nicolas ,j4 ,b4 ,guibourt 7#agij-ahfg71 ,professor of ,materia ,medica at the ,school of ,pharmacy1 was author of a well-known 8,history of ,simple ,drugs10 and other works4 ,he is often quoted in 8,pharmacographia40 ,achille ,valenciennes 7#agid-ahfe7 was noted as a naturalist1 and especially as a zoologist4 ,he was ,cuvier's most trusted assistant in the preparation of certain of his works4 ,for many years ,valenciennes was ,professor of ,zoology at the ,school of ,pharmacy1 ,paris4 ,baron ,liebig 7#ahjc-ahgc71 was placed in a pharmacy at ,heppenheim as a youth1 but remained there only ten months4 ,his chemical works are well known4 ,illustration3 ,,baron ,,liebig4 ,charles ,frederick ,gerhardt 7#ahaf-ahef71 born at ,strasburg 7then a ,french city71 one of ,liebig's most brilliant pupils1 was for some years ,professor of ,chemistry at ,montpellier in succession to ,balard4 ,later1 he founded a laboratory at ,paris1 and finally accepted the ,chair of ,chemistry at ,strasburg4 ,he was one of the founders of modern organic chemistry1 and the originator of the type theory4 ,theophile ,jules ,pelouze 7#ahjg-ahfg7 held a position in the pharmaceutical service of the ,salptrire ,hospital at ,paris1 when1 one day in the country1 he was overtaken by a torrential storm4 ,a carriage passing1 the pedestrian appealed to the driver to take him inside4 ,no notice was taken of his request1 so the indignant young pharmacist ran after the vehicle and seized the reins4 ,having stopped the horse1 he delivered a severe lecture to the driver on his lack of courtesy and humanity4 ,the passenger in the carriage invited him to enter and share the shelter4 ,this gentleman was ,m4 ,gay-,lussac1 the most eminent chemist in ,paris at the time4 ,the acquaintance thus curiously commenced resulted in ,pelouze becoming ,gay-,lussac's laboratory assistant4 ,he ultimately succeeded his employer at the ,polytechnic ,school and1 later still1 was promoted to the ,chair which ,thnard had occupied at the ,college of ,france4 ,pelouze was a voluminous writer1 and did useful work on the production of native sugar4 ,in conjunction with ,liebig he discovered nanthic ether4 ,sir ,humphry ,davy served an apprenticeship with a ,mr4 ,borlase1 an apothecary of ,penzance1 but afterwards exchanged physic for science4 ,he died at ,geneva in #ahbi at the age of #ea1 after a life crowded with scientific triumphs4 ,illustration3 ,,sir ,,humphry ,,davy4 ,antoine ,jussieu was the eldest of the three sons of ,laurent ,jussieu1 a master in pharmacy at ,lyons4 ,antoine was born in #afhf1 and began to collect plants from his childhood4 ,his two brothers1 ,bernard and ,joseph1 followed in his steps1 and they1 and ,bernard's son1 ,antoine ,laurent1 constitute the famous ,jussieu dynasty1 from whom we have received the natural system of botanical classification4 ,the story is a long and interesting one1 but it is outside the scope of these notes4 ,it must be remarked1 however1 that to ,antoine ,jussieu is due the credit of the introduction of the coffee plant into the western hemisphere4 ,the island of ,martinique was where the first coffee shrub was planted4 ,fourcroy1 another chemist of the ,revolutionary period1 comes next and is followed by ,nicolas ,houel 7#aebj-aehd71 who was the founder of the ,school of ,pharmacy of ,paris4 ,he was an apothecary1 and out of the ample fortune which he had made from his profession1 endowed a 8,house of ,christian ,charity40 ,he stipulated that it was to be a school for young orphans born of legal marriages1 there to be instructed to serve and honour ,god1 to acquire good literary instruction1 and to learn the art of the apothecary4 ,he also provided that the establishment should furnish medicines to the sick poor1 who did not wish to go to the hospital1 gratuitously4 ,the institution consisted of a chapel1 a school1 a complete pharmacy1 a garden of simples1 and a hospital4 ,the charity was duly authorised by ,henri ,,iii and ,queen ,loise of ,lorraine1 but this did not prevent ,henri ,,iv taking possession of it in #aeif1 and using it as a home for his wounded soldiers4 ,that was the origin of the ,hotel des ,invalides4 ,louis ,,xiii transferred the ,invalides to the ,chteau of ,bictre1 and gave the school to the ,sisters of ,st4 ,lazare4 ,in #afbb1 however1 the ,parliament of ,paris took the matter in hand and restored the property to the corporation of ,apothecaries on condition that they would carry out the bequest of ,houel4 ,in #aggg ,louis ,,xvi made it the ,college of ,pharmacy1 and after the ,convention the ,directory declared it to be the ,free ,school of ,pharmacy4 ,when pharmacy was reorganised in ,france during ,napoleon's consulate1 the institution became the ,paris ,school of ,pharmacy4 ,jan ,swammerdam1 a famous ,dutch anatomist 7#afcg-afhj71 comes next1 and after him1 ,claude ,bernard1 the physiologist 7#ahac-ahgh71 who began his career in a poor little pharmacy at ,lyons4 ,jean ,baptiste ,dumas1 born #ahjj1 and living when the medallion was placed1 also commenced his career in a small pharmacy at ,alais 7,gard71 his native town4 ,dumas was one of the greatest chemists of the century4 ,the doctrine of substitution of radicles in chemical compounds was suggested by him4 ,he died ,april #aa1 #ahhd1 at ,cannes4 ,,xii ,,royal ,,and ,,noble ,,pharmacists4 ,we know what ,heaven or ,hell may bring1 ,but no man knoweth the mind of a ,king4 ,,rudyard ,,kipling--8,ballad of the ,king's ,jest40 ,in the 8,myths of ,pharmacy0 it has been shown that some of the most honoured of the deities of the ancient world interested themselves in pharmacy4 ,to a greater or less extent many important personages in the world's history since have occupied some of their leisure in the endeavour to extract or compound some new and effective remedies4 ,,classical ,,legends4 ,chin-,nong1 ,emperor of ,china1 who died #bfii ,b4,c41 is reckoned to have been the founder of pharmacy in the ,far ,east4 ,he studied plants and composed a ,herbal used to this day4 ,it is related of him that he discovered seventy poisonous plants and an equal number of antidotes to them4 ,he describes how to make extracts and decoctions1 what they are good for1 and had some notions of analysis4 ,chin-,nong was the second of the nine sovereigns who preceded the establishment of the ,chinese dynasties4 ,to him is also attributed the invention of the plough4 ,the ,emperor ,adrian1 whose curiosity and literary tastes led him to the study of astrology1 magic1 and medicine1 composed an antidote which was known as ,adrianum1 and which consisted of more than forty ingredients1 of which opium1 henbane1 and euphorbium were the principal4 ,attalus ,,iii1 the last king of ,pergamos in ,asia ,minor1 who died about #acd ,b4,c41 bequeathing his kingdom to the ,romans who already controlled it1 was a worthless and cruel prince1 but of some reputation in pharmacy4 ,having poisoned his uncle1 the reigning king1 ,attalus soon wearied of public affairs1 and devoted his time to gardening1 and especially to the cultivation of poisonous and medicinal plants4 ,plutarch expressly mentions henbane1 hellebore1 hemlock1 and lotus as among the herbs which he studied1 and ,justin reports that he amused himself by sending to his friends presents of fruits1 mixing poisonous ones with the others4 ,he is credited with the invention of our white lead ointment and ,celsus and ,galen mention a plaster and an antidote as among his achievements4 ,marcellus has preserved a prescription which he says ,attalus devised for diseases of the liver and spleen1 for dropsy1 and for improving a lurid complexion4 ,it consisted of saffron1 ,indian nard1 cassia1 cinnamon1 myrrh1 schnanthus1 and costus1 made into an electuary with honey1 and kept in a silver box4 ,gentius1 ,king of ,illyria1 discovered the medicinal value of the gentian and introduced it into medical practice4 ,the plant is supposed to have acquired its name from this king4 ,gentius was induced by ,perseus1 ,king of ,macedon1 to declare war against the ,romans1 ,perseus promising to support him with money and other aid4 ,this he failed to do and ,gentius was defeated and taken prisoner by ,anicius after a war which lasted only thirty days4 ,,mithridatium4 ,mithridates ,,vi1 commonly called 8the ,great10 ,king of ,pontus in ,asia ,minor1 was born #acd ,b4,c41 and succeeded his father on the throne at the age of twelve4 ,next to ,hannibal he was the most troublesome foe the ,roman ,republic had to deal with4 ,his several wars with that power occupied twenty-six years of his life4 ,sylla1 ,lucullus1 and ,pompey1 in succession1 led ,roman armies against him1 and gained battles again and again1 but he was only at last completely conquered by the last-named general after long and costly efforts4 ,mithridates was a valiant soldier and a skilful general1 but a monster of cruelty4 ,he was apparently a learned man1 or at least one who took interest in learning4 ,the fable of his medicinal secrets took possession of the imagination of the ,romans4 ,they were especially attracted by the stories of his famous antidote4 ,according to some he invented this himself2 others say the secret was communicated to him by a ,persian physician named ,zopyrus4 ,celsus states that a physician of this name gave a similar secret to one of the ,egyptian ,ptolemies4 ,this may have been the same ,zopyrus1 for ,mithridates lived in the time of the ,ptolemies4 ,the ,egyptian antidote was handed down to us under the name of ,ambrosia4 ,when ,pompey had finally defeated ,mithridates he took possession of a quantity of the tyrant's papers at ,nicopolis1 and it was reported that among these were his medicinal formulas4 ,mithridates meanwhile was seeking help to prosecute the war4 ,but his allies1 his own son1 and his soldiers were all tired of him4 ,in his despair he poisoned his wife and daughters1 and then took poison himself4 ,but according to the legend1 propagated perhaps by some clever advertising quacks in ,rome1 he had so successfully immunised his body to the effects of all poisons that they would now take no effect4 ,consequently he had to call in the assistance of a ,gallic soldier1 who despatched his chief with a spear4 ,the story of his defeat and death are historic2 the poison story is legend which1 however it was originated1 was no doubt good value in the drug stores of ,rome1 where the confection of ,mithridates was soon sold4 ,as will be stated immediately there is abundant reason to believe that the alleged formula which ,pompey was said to have discovered and to have had translated was devised at home4 ,in #agde when a new ,london ,pharmacopia was nearly ready for issue1 a scholarly exposure of the absurdity of the compound which still occupied space in that and in all other official formularies1 along with its equally egregious companion1 ,theriaca1 was published by ,dr4 ,william ,heberden1 a leading physician of the day1 and though it was too late to cause the deletion of the formulas in the edition of #agdf1 that was the last time they appeared in the ,pharmacopia1 though they had been given in all the issues of that work from #afah onwards4 ,no better completion of the history of this preparation can be given than that which ,dr4 ,heberden wrote #afe years ago4 ,the ,king of ,pontus1 he assumed1 like many other ancient royalties1 was pleased to affect special skill in the production of medicines1 and it is not surprising that his courtiers should have flattered him on this accomplishment4 ,thus the opinion prevailed among his enemies as well as in his own kingdom that his achievements in pharmacy approached the miraculous4 ,his conqueror1 ,pompey1 apparently shared the popular belief1 and took uncommon care in the ransack of his effects1 after ,mithridates had been compelled to fly from the field1 to secure for himself his medical writings4 ,according to ,quintus ,serenus ,samonicus1 however1 the ,roman general was amused at his own credulity when1 instead of a vast and precious arcana he found himself in possession of only a few trifling and worthless receipts4 ,illustration3 ,,dr4 ,,william ,,heberden4 #agaj-ahja4 7,from a mezzotint in the ,british ,museum47 ,the anticipation of some marvellous secrets was so universal1 and the ,roman publishers so well disposed to cater for this1 that it is not to be wondered at that a confection of ,mithridates and stories of its miraculous power soon found their way into literature4 ,a pompous formula1 which it was professed had been discovered among the papers of ,mithridates captured by ,pompey came to be known under the title of ,antidotum ,mithridatium4 ,it is noteworthy that ,plutarch1 who in his life of ,pompey mentions that certain love letters and documents helping to interpret dreams were among these papers1 makes no allusion to the medical recipe2 while ,samonicus states explicitly that1 notwithstanding the many formul which had got into circulation pretending to be that of the genuine confection1 the only one found in the cabinet of ,mithridates was a trivial one for a compound of #bj leaves of rue1 #a grain of salt1 #b nuts1 and #b dried figs4 ,so that1 ,dr4 ,heberden remarks1 the ,king of ,pontus may have been as much a stranger to the medicine to which his name was attached as many eminent physicians of this day are to medicines associated with their names4 ,the compound1 made from the probably spurious formula1 however1 acquired an immense fame4 ,some of the ,roman emperors are declared to have compounded it with their own hands4 ,galen says that whoever took a proper dose in the morning was ensured against poison throughout that day4 ,great physicians studied it with a view of making it1 if possible1 more perfect4 ,the most important modification of the formula was made by ,andromachus1 ,nero's physician1 who omitted the scink1 added vipers1 and increased the proportion of opium4 ,he changed the name to ,galene1 but this was not retained1 and in ,trajan's time the name of ,theriaca was the accepted designation1 a title which has lasted throughout the subsequent centuries4 ,dr4 ,heberden's criticism of the composition is as effective now as when he wrote1 but it should be remembered that in his day there was a ,theriacal party in medicine2 to us the comments seem obvious4 ,he points out that in the formula as it then appeared in the ,pharmacopia no regard was had to the known virtues of the simples1 nor to the rules of artful composition4 ,there was no foundation for the wonderful stories told concerning it1 and the utmost that could then be said of it was that it was a diaphoretic1 8which is commonly the virtue of a medicine which has none40 ,but even if undesigning chance did happen to hit upon a mixture which possessed such marvellous virtues1 what foundation was there1 he asked1 for believing that any other fortuitous concourse of ingredients would be similarly successful8 ,this preparation had scarcely continued the same for a hundred years at a time4 ,according to ,celsus1 who first described it1 it consisted of thirty-eight simples4 ,before the time of ,nero five of these had been struck out and twenty new ones added4 ,andromachus omitted six and added twenty-eight2 leaving seventy-five net4 ,aetius in the fifth century1 and ,myrepsus in the twelfth gave very different accounts of it1 and since then the formulas had been constantly fluctuating4 ,some of the original ingredients were1 ,dr4 ,heberden said1 utterly unknown in his time2 others could only be guessed at4 ,about a century previously a dispute about ,balm of ,gilead1 which was one of the constituents1 had been referred to the ,pope1 who1 however1 prudently declined to exercise his infallibility on this subject4 ,authorities were not agreed whether it was better old or new4 ,galen said the virtue of the opium was mitigated by keeping2 ,juncker said it fermented1 and by fermentation the power of the opium was exalted three or fourfold4 ,a ,,pharmaceutical ,,pope4 ,peter of ,spain1 a native of ,lisbon1 was a physician who became ,pope under the title of ,john ,,xxi4 ,he died in #abgg4 ,he wrote a treatise on medicine1 or rather made a collection of formulas1 including most of the absurd ones then current and adding a few of his own4 ,one was to carry about a parchment on which were written the names of ,gaspard1 ,balthasar1 and ,melchior1 the three wise men of the ,east1 as a sure preservative from epilepsy4 ,another was a method of curing a diarrha by filling a human bone with the excrements of a patient1 and throwing it into a river4 ,the diarrha would cease when the bone was emptied of its contents4 ,,henry ,,viii 7,,of ,,england7 was fond of dabbling with medicine4 ,in ,brewer's history of his reign1 referring to the years #aeaf-ah1 we are told3-- 8,the amusements of court were diversified by hunting and out-door sports in the morning2 in the afternoon by ,memo's music1 by the consecration and distribution of cramp rings1 or the invention of plasters and compounding of medicines1 an occupation in which the ,king took unusual pleasure40 ,in the ,british ,museum among the ,sloane ,,mss4 there is one numbered #ajdg1 entitled ,dr4 ,butt's ,diary1 which records many of these pharmaceutical achievements of the monarch4 ,dr4 ,butt was the ,king's physician and was no doubt his guide in these experiments4 ,dr4 ,butt1 or ,butts1 is referred to in ,strype's 8,life of ,cranmer0 and in ,shakespeare's 8,henry ,,viii40 ,many of the liniments and cataplasms formulated are for excoriations or ulcers in the legs1 a disease1 as ,dr4 ,brewer notes1 8common in those days1 and from which the ,king himself suffered40 ,among the contents of the ,diary are 8,the ,king's ,majesty's own ,plaster40 ,it is described as a plaster devised by the king to heal ulcers without pain4 ,it was a compound of pearls and guaiacum wood4 ,there are in the manuscript formulas for other plasters 8devised by the ,king at ,greenwich and made at ,westminster0 to heal excoriations1 to heal swellings in the ankles1 one for my lady ,anne of ,cleves 8to mollify and resolve1 comfort and cease pain of cold and windy causes02 and an ointment to cool and 8let0 7prevent7 inflammations1 and take away itch4 ,other formulas by ,dr4 ,butt himself1 and by other contemporary doctors1 are comprised in this ,diary4 ,sir ,h4 ,halford1 in an article 8,on the ,deaths of ,some ,eminent ,persons10 printed in #ahce1 says of ,henry ,,viii1 who died of dropsy at the age of #ef1 that he was 8a great dabbler in physic1 and offered medical advice on all occasions which presented themselves1 and also made up the medicines40 ,,queen ,,elizabeth ,,of ,,england appears to have been an amateur prescriber4 ,etmuller states that she sent a formula for a 8cephalica-cardiac medicine0 to the ,holy ,roman ,emperor1 ,rudolf ,,ii1 himself a dabbler in various scientific quackeries4 ,it consisted of amber1 musk1 and civet1 dissolved in spirit of roses4 ,it is further on record that the ,english queen selected doctors and pharmacists for ,ivan the ,terrible of ,russia4 ,in ,wadd's ,memorabilia1 one of her ,majesty's quarter's bills from her apothecary1 ,hugo ,morgan1 is quoted4 ,it amounted to #hc #gs4 #h;d41 and included the following items3--,a confection made like manus ,christi with bezoar stone and unicorn's horn1 #aas42 a royal sweetmeat with incised rhubarb1 #as4 #d;d42 rose water for the king of ,navarre's ambassador1 #as42 a conserve of barberries with preserved damascene plums1 and other things for ,mr4 ,ralegh1 #fs42 sweet scent to be used at the christening of ,sir ,richard ,knightley's son1 #bs4 ,,the ,,queen ,,of ,,hungary',s ,,water4 ,rosemary has at times enjoyed a high reputation among medicinal herbs4 ,arnold of ,villa ,nova affirms that he had often seen cancers1 gangrenes1 and fistulas1 which would yield to no other medicine1 dry up and become perfectly cured by frequently bathing them with a spirituous infusion of rosemary4 ,his disciple1 ,raymond ,lully1 extracted the essential oil by distillation4 ,the name probably assisted the fame of the plant4 ,in the middle ages it was believed to be associated with the ,virgin4 ,it was in fact derived from ,ros and ,maris1 meaning ,dew of the ,sea2 probably because it grew near the shores of the ,mediterranean4 8,here's rosemary for you2 that's for remembrance40 ,so says ,ophelia in ,hamlet2 and many other poets and chroniclers relate how the plant was used at funerals and weddings as a symbol of constancy4 ,it is supposed that this signification arose from the medicinal employment of rosemary to improve the memory4 ,it may easily have happened1 however1 that the medicinal use followed the emblematical idea4 ,old books and some modern ones tell the legend of the ,queen of ,hungary and her rosemary remedy4 ,it is alleged in pharmaceutical treatises published in the nineteenth century that a document is preserved in the ,imperial ,library at ,vienna1 dated #abce1 and written by ,queen ,elisabeth of ,hungary1 thus expressed3-- 8,i1 ,elisabeth1 ,queen of ,hungary1 being very infirm and much troubled with gout1 in the seventy-second year of my age1 used for a year this recipe given to me by an ancient hermit1 whom ,i never saw before nor since2 and was not only cured but recovered my strength1 and appeared to all so remarkably beautiful that the ,king of ,poland asked me in marriage1 he being a widower and ,i a widow4 ,i1 however1 refused him for the love of my ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 from one of whose angels ,i believe ,i received the remedy40 ,the royal formula is as follows3--8,take aqua vitae1 four times distilled1 #c parts2 the tops and flowers of rosemary1 #b parts2 put these together in a closed vessel1 let them stand in a gentle heat fifty hours1 and then distil them4 ,take one teaspoonful of this in the morning once every week1 and let your face and diseased limb be washed with it every morning40 ,beckmann investigated this story and came to the conclusion that the name 8,eau de ,la ,reine d',hongrie0 had been adopted by some vendors of a spirit of rosemary 8in order to give greater consequence and credit to their commodity02 in other words1 he suggests that the interesting narrative was only a clever advertisement4 ,the only ,queen ,elisabeth of ,hungary was the wife of ,king ,charles ,robert1 and daughter of ,ladislaus1 ,king of ,poland4 ,she died in #achj1 and for more than ten years before that date either her brother1 ,casimir ,,ii1 or her son ,louis1 was the reigning sovereign in ,poland1 and neither of these can be supposed to have been her suitor4 ,the alleged date of the document quoted would better suit ,st4 ,elisabeth of ,hungary1 and some old writers attribute the formula and the story to her4 ,but she was never queen of ,hungary1 and moreover she died in #abca at the age of #be4 ,beckmann also denies the statement that the document pretended to be in ,queen ,elisabeth's writing is preserved in the ,imperial ,library at ,vienna4 ,the whole narrative is traced to a ,german named ,hoyer1 in #agaf1 and he apparently copied it from a ,french medical writer named ,prevot1 who published it in #afei4 ,prevot attributes the story to 8,st4 ,elisabeth1 ,queen of ,hungary10 and says he copied both the history and the formula from an old breviary in the possession of his friend1 ,francis ,podacather1 a ,cyprus nobleman1 who had inherited it from his ancestors4 ,this is the one little possibility of truth in the record1 for it appears that ,queen ,elisabeth of ,hungary did mention two breviaries in her will1 and it may have been that one of these was the one which the ,cyprus nobleman possessed4 ,,the ,,royal ,,touch4--,,the ,,king',s ,,evil4 ,there are several instances in ancient history illustrating the healing virtue residing or alleged to reside in the person of a king4 ,pyrrhus1 ,king of ,epirus1 according to ,plutarch1 cured colics and affections of the spleen by laying patients on their backs and passing his great toe over their bodies4 ,suelin relates that when the ,emperor ,vespasian was at ,alexandria a poor blind man came to him saying that the god ,serapis had revealed to him that if he1 the ,emperor1 would touch his eyes with his spittle1 his sight would be restored4 ,vespasian was angry and would have driven the man away1 but some of those around him urged him to exercise his power1 and at last he consented and cured the poor man of his blindness and some others of lameness4 ,clius ,spartianus declares that the ,emperor ,adrian cured dropsy by touching patients with the tips of his fingers4 ,the ,eddas tell how ,king ,olaf healed the wounds of ,egill1 the ,icelandic hero1 by laying on of hands and singing proverbs4 ,a legend of the counts of ,hapsburg declares that at one time they could cure a sick person by kissing him4 ,the superstition crystallised itself in the practice of the ,english and ,french kings of touching for the cure of scrofula1 or king's evil as the disease consequently came to be named4 ,the term scrofula is itself one of the curiosities of etymology4 ,scrofula is the diminutive of scrota1 a sow1 and means a little pig4 ,it is conjectured that the name was adopted from the idea of pigs burrowing under the surface of straw and likening to that the pig's back sort of shape of the ulcers characteristic of the disease4 ,the first ,english king who undertook this treatment1 so far as is known1 was ,edward the ,confessor1 who reigned from #ajdb to #ajff4 ,but there is evidence that the ,french kings had practised it earlier4 ,robert the ,pious 7#igj-ajca71 son of ,hughes ,capet1 is said to have exercised the miraculous power1 and ,church legend goes back five hundred years before this1 attributing the origin of the gift to the date of the conversion of ,clovis1 ,a4,d4 #dif4 ,on that occasion the holy oil for the coronation of the ,conqueror was brought direct from heaven in a phial carried by a dove1 and the healing faculty was conferred at the same time4 ,most of the ,french kings down to ,louis ,,xv continued to touch1 and it was even suggested that the practice should be resumed by ,louis ,,xviii after the ,restoration in #ahae1 but that monarch's advisers prudently resolved that it would not do to risk the ridicule of modern ,france4 ,the records of ,edward the ,confessor's miraculous feats of healing are obtained from ,william of ,malmesbury1 who wrote his ,chronicles in the first half of the #abth century1 about a hundred years after the ,confessor's reign4 ,the earliest printed edition of the ,chronicles appeared in #aegg1 and ,shakespeare undoubtedly drew from it the description of the ceremony which is given in ,macbeth 7,act iv1 ,sc4 #c74 ,malcolm and ,macduff are represented as being in ,england 8in a room of the ,king's palace0 7,edward the ,confessor's74 ,the doctor tells them ,there are a crew of wretched souls ,that stay his cure3 their malady convinces ,the great assay of art2 but at his touch-- ,such sanctity hath heaven given his hand-- ,they presently amend4 ,asked about the nature of the disease the doctor says 8',tis called the evil10 and he adds ,how he solicits ,heaven ,himself best knows3 but strangely visited people1 ,all swoln and ulcerous1 pitiful to the eye1 ,the mere despair of surgery1 he cures1 ,hanging a golden stamp about their necks1 ,put on with holy prayers3 and 'tis spoken1 ,to the succeeding royalty he leaves ,the healing benediction4 ,there is no evidence that any of the ,norman kings performed the rite1 but it is on record that ,henry ,,ii performed cures by touching1 and allusions to the practice by ,edward ,,ii1 ,edward ,,iii1 ,richard ,,ii1 and ,henry ,,iv have been found in old manuscripts4 ,it is probable1 too1 that the other kings preceding the ,tudors followed the fashion when the interval between their wars gave them the necessary leisure4 ,from ,henry ,,vii to ,queen ,anne all our rulers except ,cromwell 8touched40 ,oliver1 not being able to claim the virtue by reason of his descent1 would certainly not have been trusted1 and ,dutch ,william had no sympathy with the superstition4 ,it is recorded of him that once he yielded to importunity and went through the form of touching4 8,god gave thee better health and more sense0 was the unsentimental benediction he pronounced4 ,queen ,anne1 as is well known1 8touched0 ,dr4 ,johnson in his childhood1 but it is recorded that in this case no cure was effected4 ,boswell says that ,johnson's mother in taking the child 7who was then between two and three years old7 to ,london for the ceremony was acting on the advice of ,sir ,john ,floyer1 who was at that time a noted physician at ,lichfield4 ,the 8touch-piece0 presented by ,queen ,anne to ,dr4 ,johnson is preserved in the ,british ,museum4 ,the ,pretender1 ,charles ,edward1 touched someone at ,holyrood ,house1 ,edinburgh1 and his partisans said a cure was effected in three weeks4 ,which proved his right to the throne of ,england4 ,the story told by ,william of ,malmesbury about ,edward the ,confessor is that 8a young woman that had a husband about the same age as herself1 but no child1 was afflicted with overflowing of humours in her neck1 which broke out in great nobbs1 was commanded in a dream to apply to the ,king to wash it4 ,to court she goes1 and the ,king being at his ,devotions all alone dip'd his fingers in water and dabbel'd the woman's neck1 and he had no sooner taken away his hand than she found herself better40 ,william goes on to tell that within a week she was well1 and that within a year she was brought to bed of twins4 ,modern doctors have forgotten and despised the strange story of this royal touch1 but two and three centuries ago they very seriously discussed it4 ,reports of marvellous and numerous cures were confidently related1 and the writers who had no faith in the virtue of the performance admitted the genuineness of many of the cases4 ,sergeant-,surgeon ,dickens1 ,queen ,anne's surgeon1 narrated the most curious instance4 ,at the request of one young woman he brought her to the ,queen to be touched4 ,after the performance he impressed upon her the importance of never parting with the gold medal which was given to all patients2 for it appears that he had reason to expect that she was likely to sell it4 ,she promised always to retain it1 and in due course she was cured4 ,in time1 thinking all risk had passed1 she disposed of the touch-piece2 the disease returned2 she confessed her fault penitently to ,dr4 ,dickens1 and by his aid was touched again1 and once more cured4 ,surgeon ,wiseman1 chief surgeon in ,charles ,i's army1 and afterwards ,sergeant-,surgeon in ,charles ,,ii's household1 described the cures effected by that monarch4 ,he had been an eye-witness of hundreds of cures1 he says4 ,many other testimonies of the same kind might be quoted1 but it is as well to remark that a habit grew up of describing the touching itself as a cure4 ,careful and intelligent inquiries into the alleged success of the practice by investigators who were by no means believers in any actual royal virtue1 but who yet admitted unhesitatingly the reality of many of the claimed cures1 are on record4 ,among treatises of this character may be mentioned 8,a ,free and ,impartial ,inquiry into the ,antiquity and ,efficacy of ,touching for the ,king's ,evil10 by ,william ,beckett1 ,f4,r4,s41 a well known surgeon1 #agbb1 and 8,criterion1 or ,miracles ,examined10 by ,dr4 ,douglas1 ,bishop of ,salisbury1 #aged4 ,both of these writers admit that cures did result from the ,king's touch2 the ,bishop says that he personally knew a man who had been healed4 ,mr4 ,beckett deals with these cures with much judgment4 ,he points out how likely it was that the excitement of the visit to the court1 both in anticipation and in realisation1 and the impressive ceremony there conducted1 would in many instances so affect the constitution1 causing the blood to course through the veins more quickly1 as to effect a cure4 ,mr4 ,beckett also gives extremely good reasons for doubting whether ,edward the ,confessor ever did 8touch0 for scrofula4 ,the gift is not mentioned in the ,bull of ,pope ,alexander ,,iii by which the ,confessor was canonised1 nor by several earlier writers than ,william of ,malmesbury1 monks only too eager to glorify their benefactor4 ,henry ,,vii was the first to surround the ceremony of touching with an imposing religious service1 and to give a touch-piece to the patient4 ,henry ,,viii does not seem to have followed the practice of his father to any great extent1 and there was some disturbance about it in the next few reigns4 ,the ,catholics denied that ,queen ,elizabeth could possess the healing virtue1 and when actual cures were cited to them one of their bishops declared that these were due1 not to the royal virtue1 but to the virtue of the sign of the cross4 ,all the ,stuart kings1 ,charles ,,ii particularly1 exercised their hereditary powers most diligently4 ,macaulay states that ,charles ,,ii touched nearly one hundred thousand persons during his reign4 ,in his record year1 #afhb1 he performed the rite eight thousand five hundred times4 ,evelyn gives the following account of the performance1 which1 as will be seen1 was no light duty4 ,he describes it thus3 8,sitting under his state in the ,banqueting ,house1 the chirurgeons cause the sick to be brought or led up to the throne1 where1 they kneeling1 ye ,king strokes their faces and cheeks with both his hands at once1 at which instant a chaplaine in his formalities says3--#8,he put his hands upon them and healed them4' ,this he said to every one in particular4 ,when they have been all touched1 they come up again in the same order2 and the other chaplaine kneeling1 and having an angel of gold strung on white ribbon on his arms delivers them one by one to ,his ,majestie1 who puts them about the necks of the touched as they passe1 while the first chaplaine repeats #8,that is ye true light which came into ye world4' ,then follows an epistle 7as at first a gospel7 with the liturgy1 prayers for the sick1 with some alteration1 and then the ,lord ,chamberlain and the ,comptroller of the ,household bring a basin1 ewer1 and towel1 for his ,majesty to wash40 ,in #afhd ,thomas ,rosewell1 evidently an unrepentant ,puritan1 was tried before ,judge ,jeffries on a charge of high treason1 the indictment alleging that he had said 8the people made a flocking to the king upon pretence of being healed of the king's evil1 which he could not do40 ,rosewell had further declared that he and others1 being priests and prophets1 could do as much as the king4 ,and ,rosewell had told how ,jeroboam's hand had dried up when he would have seized the man of ,god who had prophesied against him1 and how the king's hand had been restored on the prayer of the prophet4 ,in his defence ,rosewell had sneered at the ,latin of the indictment1 which spoke of the 8,morbus ,regni ,anglici10 which1 as he said1 would mean the disease of the ,english kingdom1 not the king's evil4 ,jeffries1 having taunted the prisoner and his witnesses with being 8snivelling saints10 insisted on a verdict of guilty1 and would no doubt have had the mocker's ears cut off2 but it is satisfactory to know that ,charles ,,ii1 who probably had not more faith in his healing power than the accused1 ordered him to be pardoned4 ,the ,english prayer-book contained a form of service for this ceremony up to the year #agai4 ,queen ,anne was the last ruler in ,england to touch4 ,there is no record of any of the ,georges attempting the miracle1 but the young ,pretender1 ,charles ,edward1 when claiming to be ,prince of ,wales1 touched a female child at ,holyrood ,house in #agde1 and is said to have effected a cure1 and after his death in #aghj his brother1 ,cardinal ,york1 still touched at ,rome4 ,louis ,,xv was the last ,king of ,france who touched4 ,louis ,,xiv fulfilled the duty on a larger scale1 and doubtless with the utmost confidence in his royal virtue4 ,the formula used by the kings of ,france when they had touched a patient was 8,le roi te touche1 ,dieu te guerisse0 78,the king touches thee2 may ,god heal thee074 ,it is said that ,henri of ,navarre1 when in the thick of the fight at ,ivry 7#aeij71 as he laid about him with his sword right and left1 gaily shouted this familiar expression4 ,,cramp ,,rings4 ,faith in 8cramp rings0 corresponds in many respects with the reverential confidence in the royal touch as a cure for scrofula4 ,the former1 however1 appears to have been of entirely ,english origin4 ,legend attributes the first cramp ring to ,edward the ,confessor4 ,st4 ,edward on his death-bed is alleged to have given a ring from his finger to the ,abbot of ,westminster with the explanation that it had been brought to him not long before by a pilgrim from ,jerusalem to whom it had been given by a mysterious stranger1 presumably a visitant from the world of spirits1 who had bidden him give the ring to the king with the message that his end was near4 ,the ring was preserved as a relic at ,westminster for some time1 and was found to possess miraculous efficacy for the cure of epilepsy and cramp4 ,it was next heard of at ,havering in ,essex1 the very name of which place1 according to ,camden1 furnished evidence of the accuracy of the tradition4 ,havering was obviously a contraction of 8have the ring40 ,so at least thought the old etymologists4 ,when the relic disappeared is not recorded2 but the ,tudor kings were in the habit of contributing a certain amount of gold and silver as an offering to the ,cross every ,good ,friday1 and the metal being made into rings was consecrated by them1 in accordance with a form of service which was included in old ,english prayer books 7see ,burnett's ,history of the ,reformation1 ,part #b1 ,book #b1 ,no4 #be74 ,this was actually used until the reign of ,queen ,anne4 ,andrew ,boorde1 in his 8,breviary of ,health10 #aeeg1 says3 8,the kynges of ,england doth halow every yere cramp rynges ye which rynges worn on one's finger doth helpe them whyche hath ye cramp40 ,they seem to have been regarded especially as a protection against epilepsy1 and courtiers were much importuned to obtain some for persons afflicted4 ,the process of hallowing the rings is described in ,brand's 8,popular ,antiquities40 ,a crucifix was laid on a cushion in the royal chapel1 and a piece of carpet was spread in front of it4 ,the king entered in state1 and when he came to the carpet crept on it to the crucifix4 ,there the rings were brought to him in a silver dish1 and he blessed them4 ,in the ,harleian ,manuscripts 7#bie f#aai7 a letter is preserved dated the xxi4 daie of ,june1 #aeah1 from ,lord ,berners 7the translator of ,froissart71 then ambassador to the ,emperor ,charles ,v4 ,he writes from ,saragoza 8to my ,lord ,cardinall's grace0 7,wolsey71 8,if your grace remember me with some crampe rynges ye shall doo a thing muche looked for2 and ,i trust to bestowe thaym well with ,goddes grace1 who evermor preserve and encrease your most reverent astate40 ,it does not appear certain that the royal consecration of these rings was continued after the reign of ,queen ,mary2 but cramp rings continued in esteem almost until our own time in some parts of the country4 ,in ,brand's book1 and in several numbers of ,notes and ,queries references to superstitions in connection with these1 their production and the wearing of them particularly against epilepsy1 are recorded4 ,sometimes1 to be effective1 the rings must have been made from coffin handles1 or coffin nails1 the coffins from which they have been taken having been buried2 or rings of silver or gold1 manufactured while the story of the ,passion of the ,saviour was being read1 would possess curative power4 ,so would a ring made from silver collected at a ,communion service1 preferably on ,easter ,sunday4 ,in ,berkshire1 a ring made from five sixpences collected from five bachelors1 none of whom must know the purpose of the collection1 and formed by a bachelor smith into a ring was believed in2 and in ,suffolk1 not very long since1 nine bachelors contributed a crooked sixpence each to make a ring for a young woman in the village to wear for the cure of epileptic fits to which she was subject4 ,,the ,,earl ,,of ,,warwick',s ,,powder4 ,the ,earl of ,warwick's ,powder is named in many old ,english1 and more frequently still in foreign dispensatories and pharmacopias1 appearing generally under the title of 8,pulvis ,comitis de ,warwick1 or ,pulvis ,warwiciensis10 sometimes also as 8,pulvis ,cornacchini40 ,it is the original of our ,pulv4 ,scammon ,co1 and was given in the ,p4,l4 #agba in its pristine form1 thus3-- ,scammony1 prepared with the fumes of sulphur1 #b ounces4 ,diaphoretic antimony1 #a ounce4 ,cream of tartar1 ounce4 ,in the ,p4,l4 #agdf the pulvis e scammonio compositus1 made from four parts of scammony and three parts of burnt hartshorn1 was substituted for the above1 but neither this nor the modern compound scammony powder1 consisting of scammony1 jalap1 and ginger1 can be regarded as representing the original ,earl of ,warwick's powder4 ,the ,earl of ,warwick from whom the powder acquired its name was ,robert ,dudley1 son of the famous ,earl of ,leicester1 ,queen ,elizabeth's favourite1 and of ,kenilworth notoriety4 ,his mother was the widow of ,lord ,sheffield1 and there was much dispute about the legitimacy of the child1 but the evidence goes to show that ,leicester married her two days before the birth of the boy4 ,he afterwards abandoned her1 but he left his estates to the boy4 ,young ,robert ,dudley grew up a singularly handsome and popular youth4 ,he led an adventurous life1 voyaging1 exploring1 and fighting ,spanish ships4 ,he failed to establish his claims to his titles and estates in ,england1 and ultimately settled at ,florence1 where he became a ,catholic1 and distinguished himself as an engineer and architect4 ,he won the favour of ,ferdinand ,,ii1 ,emperor of ,austria1 who created him ,earl of ,warwick and ,duke of ,northumberland1 and the ,pope recognised his nobility4 ,he died in ,italy in #afdi4 ,the chroniclers of the time refer to a book he is said to have written under the title of ,catholicon1 which was 8in good esteem among physicians40 ,if it existed it was probably a collection of medical formul1 but it is not unlikely that this supposed book has been confused with one written by a ,dr4 ,cornacchini1 of ,pisa1 and dedicated to ,dudley4 ,in that work1 which is known1 the powder is described1 and its invention is attributed to the ,earl4 ,it is alleged to have possessed marvellous medicinal virtues4 ,,duke ,,of ,,portland',s ,,gout ,,powder4 ,under this title a powder had a great reputation about the middle of the eighteenth century1 and well on into the nineteenth century4 ,the powder was composed of aristolochia rotunda 7birthwort root71 gentian root1 and the tops and leaves of germander1 ground pine1 and centaury1 of each equal parts4 ,one drachm was to be taken every morning1 fasting1 for three months1 and then drachm for the rest of the year4 ,particular directions in regard to diet were given with the formula4 ,the compound was evidently only a slight modification of several to be found in the works of the later ,latin authors1 ,aetius1 ,alexander of ,trailles1 and ,paul of ,egineta4 ,these were entitled ,tetrapharmacum1 ,antidotus ,podagrica ex duobus centauriae generibus1 ,diatesseron1 and other names4 ,the 8duobus0 remedy was an electuary prescribed by ,aetius1 and a piece the size of a hazel nut had to be taken every morning for a year4 ,hence it was called medicamentum ad annum4 ,this1 or something very like it1 was in use in ,italy for centuries under the name of ,pulvis ,principis ,mirandol1 and spread from there to the neighbouring countries4 ,an ,englishman long resident in ,switzerland had compiled a manuscript collection of medical formul1 and his son1 who became acquainted with the ,duke of ,portland of the period1 persuaded him to give this gout remedy a trial4 ,the result was so satisfactory that the ,duke had the formula and the diet directions printed on leaflets1 and these were given to anyone who asked for them4 ,,sir ,,walter ,,raleigh',s ,,great ,,cordial4 ,during his twelve years' imprisonment in the ,tower in the earlier part of the reign of ,james ,i1 ,sir ,walter ,raleigh was allowed a room in which he fitted up a laboratory1 and divided his time between chemical experiments and literary labours4 ,it was believed that ,raleigh had brought with him from ,guiana some wonderful curative balsam1 and this opinion1 combined with the knowledge that he dabbled largely with retorts and alembics in the ,tower1 ensured a lively public interest in his 8,great ,cordial0 when it was available4 ,the ,queen1 ,anne of ,denmark1 and ,prince ,henry1 were both warm partisans of ,raleigh1 and did their best to get him released4 ,the ,queen was convinced that the 8,great ,cordial0 had saved her life in a serious illness1 and ,prince ,henry took a particular interest in ,raleigh's experiments4 ,when the ,prince was on his death-bed ,raleigh sent him some of the cordial1 declaring1 it was reported1 that it would certainly cure him provided he had not been poisoned4 ,this unwise suggestion coming to ,james's ears greatly incensed him1 and darkened ,raleigh's prospects of life and freedom considerably4 ,illustration3 ,,sir ,,walter ,,raleigh4 7,from a mezzotint in the ,british ,museum47 ,no known authentic formula of the cordial exists1 but ,charles ,,ii was curious about it1 and his ,french apothecary1 ,le ,febre1 on the king's command1 prepared some of the compound from data then available1 and wrote a treatise on it which was afterwards translated into ,english by ,peter ,lebon4 ,evelyn records in his diary the demonstration of the composition given by ,le ,febre to the ,court on ,september #bj1 #affb4 ,the cordial then consisted of forty roots1 seeds1 herbs1 etc41 macerated in spirit of wine1 and distilled4 ,with the distillate were combined bezoar stones1 pearls1 coral1 deer's horn1 amber1 musk1 antimony1 various earths1 sugar1 and much besides4 ,vipers' flesh1 with the heart and liver1 and 8mineral unicorn0 were added later on the suggestion of ,sir ,kenelm ,digby4 ,the official history of this strange concoction is appended4 ,confectio ,raleighana was first official in the ,london ,pharmacopia of #agba4 ,the formula was-- ,rasurae ,c4 ,cervi lb4 i4 ,carnis viperarum c4 cordibus et hepatibus1 #f oz4 ,flor4 ,borag41 rosmar41 calendulae1 roris solis1 rosarum rub41 sambuci1 ana lb4 ss4 ,herb4 scordii1 cardui benedicti1 meliss1 dictamni cretici1 menth1 majoran1 betonic1 ana manipules duodecim4 ,succi ,kermis1 ,sem4 card4 maj41 cubebarum1 ,bacc4 junip41 macis1 nuc4 mosch41 caryoph41 croci1 ana #b oz4 ,cinnam4 opt41 cort4 lign4 sassaf41 cort4 flav4 malorum citriorum1 aurantiorum1 ana #c oz4 ,lign4 aloes1 sassafras1 ana #f oz4 ,rad4 angelic41 valerian1 sylvest41 fraxinell1 seu dictamni alb41 serpentar4 ,virginian1 ,zedoari1 tormentill bistort1 ,aristoloch4 long41 ,aristoloch4 rotund41 gentian1 imperatori1 ana #a oz4 ,these were to be cut up or crushed1 and a tincture made from them with rectified spirit4 ,the tincture was to be evaporated in a sand-bath1 the expressed magma was then to be burned1 and the ashes1 lixiviated in water1 were to be added to the extract4 ,then the following powders were to be added to this liquid to form a confection3--,bezoar stone1 ,eastern and western1 of each #a oz42 ,eastern pearls1 #b oz42 red coral1 #c oz42 ,eastern ,bole1 ,terra ,sigillata1 calcined hartshorn1 ambergris1 of each #a oz42 musk1 #a drachms2 powdered sugar1 #b lb4 ,in the ,p4,l4 #agdf ,confectio ,raleighana appears as ,confectio ,cardiaca4 ,it is expressly stated that this new name is substituted for the old one4 ,the formula is simplified1 but the resemblance to the original can be traced4 ,it runs thus3--,summitatum ,rorismar1 recent41 ,bacc1 ,junip41 ana lb4 i2 ,sem4 card41 min4 decort41 ,zedoari1 ,croci4 ana lb4 ss4 ,make a tincture with these with about #a gallons of diluted spirit1 and afterwards reduce it to #b lb4 by evaporating at a gentle heat2 then add the following1 all in the finest powder3--,compound powder of crabs' shells1 #af oz4 ,this was prepared powder of crab shells1 #a lb42 pearls and red coral1 of each #c oz42 cinnamon and nutmegs1 of each #b oz42 cloves1 #a oz42 sugar1 #b lb4 ,to make a confection4 ,in the ,p4,l4 #aghh the compound is still further simplified1 and acquires the name of ,confectio ,aromatica4 ,the index of that work gives 8,confectio ,aromatica vice ,confectio ,cardiaca40 ,the formula now runs thus3--,zedoaria1 coarsely powdered1 saffron1 of each1 lb42 water1 #c lb4 ,macerate for #bd hours1 express and strain4 ,evaporate the strained liquor to #a lb41 and add the following1 all in fine powder3--compound powder of crabs' shells1 #af oz42 cinnamon1 nutmeg1 of each #b oz42 cloves1 #h oz42 cardamom seeds1 oz42 sugar1 #b lb4 ,make a confection4 ,in the #ahji ,p4,l4 the zedoary is abandoned1 the quantity of saffron is reduced to #b ounces1 the pulv4 chelis cancrorum co4 is described as testarum prp41 and there is no maceration of any of the ingredients4 ,the powders are simply mixed1 and the water added little by little until the proper consistence is attained4 ,this formula is retained in the ,pharmacopias of #ahbd and #ahcf1 but in that of #ahea the powdered shells became prepared chalk4 ,in the ,edinburgh ,pharmacopia of #ahda1 and in that of ,dublin of #ahej1 the confection was made from aromatic powders of similar composition1 made into confections in ,p4,e4 with syrup of orange peel1 and in ,p4,d4 with simple syrup and clarified honey4 ,all that remains of this historic remedy is ,pulvis ,cret ,aromaticus ,b4,p41 and from this the saffron has been entirely removed4 ,raleigh's ,cordial occasionally turns up in histories4 ,in ,aubrey's 8,brief ,lives10 it is stated that 8,sir ,walter ,raleigh was a great chymist1 and amongst some ,,mss4 receipts ,i have seen some secrets from him4 ,he made an excellent cordiall1 good in feavers4 ,mr4 ,robert ,boyle has the recipe and does great cures by it40 ,in ,strickland's 8,lives of the ,queens of ,england0 7,vol4 ,,viii1 p4 #abb7 we are told that1 according to the newspapers of the day1 ,william ,,iii1 in his last illness was kept alive all through his last night by the use of ,sir ,walter ,raleigh's ,cordial4 ,in ,lord ,john ,hervey's 8,memoirs of the ,reign of ,george ,,ii0 7,vol4 ,,iii1 p4 #bid71 the details of the last illness of ,queen ,caroline1 who died in #agcg1 are narrated4 ,snake root and ,sir ,walter ,raleigh's ,cordial were prescribed for her4 ,as the latter took some time to prepare1 ,ransby1 house surgeon to the ,king1 said one cordial was as good as another1 and gave her ,usquebaugh4 ,she1 however1 took the other mixture when it came4 ,afterwards ,daffy's ,elixir and mint water were administered4 ,,tar ,,water ,,as ,a ,,panacea4 ,george ,berkeley was born in #afhe in ,kilkenny county1 ,ireland1 but claimed to be of ,english extraction4 ,he graduated at ,trinity ,college1 ,dublin1 and became a ,fellow of that ,college4 ,his metaphysical speculations made him famous4 ,he was the originator of the view that the actual existence of matter was not capable of proof4 ,having been appointed ,dean of ,derry he was well provided for1 but just then he became enthusiastically desirous to convert and civilise the ,north ,american ,indians4 ,with this object in view he proposed to establish a ,university at ,bermuda to train students for the work4 ,he got some college friends to join him1 collected about #e1jjj from wealthy supporters1 and after long negotiations persuaded the ,house of ,commons to recommend ,george ,i4 to grant him a contribution of #bj1jjj which never came4 ,it was during that time that he learned of the medicinal efficacy of tar water from some of the ,indian tribes whom he visited4 ,some time after his return he was made ,bishop of ,cloyne1 and worked indefatigably in his diocese4 ,a terrible winter in #agci-dj caused great distress and was followed by an epidemic of small-pox4 ,it was then that the ,bishop remembered his ,american experiences4 ,he gave tar water as a remedy and tar water as a prophylactic1 with the result1 as he reported1 that those who took the disease had it very mildly if they had taken tar water4 ,convinced of its value he gave it in other illnesses with such success that with characteristic enthusiasm he came to believe that he had discovered a panacea4 ,some reports of this treatment had been published in certain magazines1 but in the spring of #agdd a little book by the ,bishop appeared giving a full account of his experiences4 ,it was entitled 8,a ,chain of ,philosophical ,reflections and ,enquiries concerning the virtues of ,tar ,water1 and divers other subjects connected together and arising one from another40 ,the treatise was eagerly read and discussed both in ,ireland and ,england4 ,a second edition was required in a few weeks1 and to this the author gave the short title 8,siris0 7,greek for chain74 ,illustration3 ,,berkeley4 7,from the ,british ,museum47 ,the ,bishop's theory was an attractive one4 ,the pine trees he argued1 had accumulated from the sunlight and the air a large proportion of the vital element of the universe1 and condensed it in the tar which they yielded4 ,the vital element could be drawn off by water and conveyed to the human organism4 ,it is not necessary here to follow out his chain of reasoning from the vital element in tar up to the ,supreme ,mind from which that vital principle emanated4 ,on the way the author quoted freely and effectively from ,plato and ,pythagoras1 from ,theophrastus and ,pliny1 from ,boerhaave and ,boyle1 and from many other authorities4 ,he showed how the balsams and resins of the ancient world were of the same nature as tar4 ,van ,helmont said1 8,whoever can make myrrh soluble by the human body has the secret of prolonging his days10 and ,boerhaave had recognised that there was truth in this remark on account of the anti-putrefactive power of the myrrh4 ,this was the power which tar possessed in so large a degree4 ,homberg had made gold by introducing the vital element in the form of light into the pores of mercury4 ,the process was too expensive to make the production of gold by this means profitable1 but the fact showed an analogy with the concentration of the same element in the tar4 ,berkeley's process for making the tar water was simply to pour #a gallon of cold water on a quart of tar2 stir it with a wooden ladle for five or six minutes1 and then set the vessel aside for three days and nights to let the tar subside4 ,the water was then to be drawn off and kept in well-stoppered bottles4 ,ordinarily half a pint might be taken fasting morning and night1 but to cure disease much larger doses might be given4 ,it had proved of extraordinary value not only in small-pox1 but also in eruptions and ulcers1 ulceration of the bowels and of the lungs1 consumptive cough1 pleurisy1 dropsy1 and gravel4 ,it greatly aided digestion1 and consequently prevented gout4 ,it was a remedy in all inflammatory disorders and fevers4 ,it was a cordial which cheered1 warmed1 and comforted1 with no injurious effects4 ,the nation went wild over this discovery4 8,the ,bishop of ,cloyne has made tar water as fashionable as ,vauxhall or ,ranelagh10 wrote ,duncombe4 ,the ,bishop's book was translated into most of the ,european languages1 and tar water attained some degree of popularity on the ,continent4 ,it owed no little of its success in this country to the opposition it met with from medical writers4 ,the public at once concluded that they were very anxious about their 8kitchen prospects10 to use the symbolism of ,paracelsus4 ,every attack on tar water called forth several replies4 ,berkeley himself responded to some of the criticisms by very poor verses1 which he got a friend to send to the journals with strict injunctions to keep his name secret4 ,paris in 8,pharmacologia0 refers to the tar water mania1 asking 8,what but the spell of authority could have inspired a general belief that the sooty washings of rosin would act as a universal remedy80 ,it need hardly be pointed out that the general belief was rather a revolt against authority than an acceptance of it4 ,dr4 ,young1 the author of 8,night ,thoughts10 wrote3 8,they who have experienced the wonderful effects of tar water reveal its excellences to others4 ,i say reveal1 because they are beyond what any can conceive by reason or natural light4 ,but others disbelieve them though the revelation is attested past all scruple1 because to them such excellences are incomprehensible4 ,now give me leave to say that this infidelity may possibly be as fatal to morbid bodies as other infidelity is to morbid souls4 ,i say this in honest zeal for your welfare4 ,i am confident if you persist you'll be greatly benefited by it4 ,in old obstinate1 chronical complaints1 it probably will not show its virtue under three months2 though secretly it is doing good all the time40 ,,kings ,,buy ,,secret ,,remedies4 ,in past times it was not unusual for monarchs to purchase from the inventors of panaceas the secrets of their composition for publication for the benefit of their subjects4 ,several instances are mentioned in other chapters of this book4 ,among these may be noted ,goddard's ,drops1 bought by ,charles ,,ii41 ,glauber's ,kermes ,mineral or ,poudre des ,chartres1 ,talbor's ,tincture of ,bark1 and ,helvetius's ,ipecacuanha1 the secrets of which were obtained by ,louis ,,xiv for fancy prices4 ,in ,louis ,,xiv's reign the ,french ,government purchased from the ,prieur de ,cabrier an arcanum to cure rupture without bandages or operations4 ,the recipe1 which was made public1 was that a few drops of spirit of salt were to be taken in red wine frequently during the day4 ,mr4 ,stephens's ,cure for the ,stone was transferred to the public by a payment authorised by ,act of ,parliament4 ,the ,emperor ,joseph ,,ii of ,austria paid #a1ejj florins somewhere about the year #aghe for the formula for a secret febrifuge which was at that time enjoying extreme popularity4 ,it proved to be simply an alcoholic tincture of box bark 7,buxus sempervirens74 ,the remedy lost its prestige as soon as the secret was gone4 ,nouffer's ,tapeworm ,cure4 ,louis ,,xvi gave #ah1jjj livres 7about #gjj7 to a ,madame ,nouffer or ,nuffer for a noted cure for tapeworm1 which she had inherited from her deceased husband4 ,as the result of the king's purchase1 a little book was published in #agge explaining fully the treatment4 ,nouffer was a surgeon living at ,morat1 in ,switzerland4 ,he had practised his special worm cure treatment for many years1 and by it he had acquired a considerable local fame4 ,after his death his widow1 who knew all about the secret1 continued to receive patients4 ,among those who came to her was a ,russian1 ,prince ,baryantinski1 who was staying in the neighbourhood and had heard of the cure4 ,he had been troubled for years with tapeworm1 and ,madame ,nouffer's remedy cured him4 ,the ,prince reported the facts to his regular physician at ,paris1 and consequently cases were sent from that city to the ,swiss lady4 ,she was so successful that the king was induced to give her the sum named for the revelation of her method1 which was briefly as follows3-- ,for a day or two the patient was fed on buttered toast only4 ,meanwhile enemas of mallow and marshmallow with a little salt and olive oil were administered4 ,then1 early in the morning1 #c drachms of powder of male fern in a teacupful of water was taken4 ,candied lemon was chewed after the dose to relieve the nauseousness1 and the mouth was washed out with an aromatic water4 ,if the patient vomited the medicine another dose was given4 ,two hours after the male fern a bolus containing #ab grains each of calomel and resin of scammony1 with #e grains of gamboge1 and with confection of hyacinth as the excipient1 had to be taken4 ,a cup of warm tea was recommended shortly after the bolus4 ,the doses quoted were regarded as average ones4 ,they might be modified according to the strength of the patient4 ,generally the treatment narrated sufficed to expel the worm4 ,if it did not1 the whole proceeding was repeated4 ,male fern was a remedy mentioned by ,dioscorides and other ancient writers1 but it had been forgotten for centuries until ,madame ,nouffer's system brought it to the recollection of medical practitioners4 ,it again fell out of use1 but a ,french physician named ,jobert revived its popularity in #ahfi4 ,he was assisted in the preparation of the remedy by ,mr4 ,hepp1 pharmacien of the ,civil ,hospital of ,strasburg4 ,bestucheff's ,tincture and ,la ,mothe's ,golden ,drops4 ,alexis ,petrovitch ,bestoujeff-,rumine1 commonly called ,count von ,bestoujeff or ,bestucheff1 was in the service of the ,elector ,george of ,hanover when that ,prince was called to reign over ,great ,britain4 ,he thereupon became ,george's ambassador at ,st4 ,petersburg4 ,on the death of ,peter the ,great ,bestucheff withdrew from the ,british diplomatic service1 and commenced a varied and stormy political career1 under the three ,empresses ,anna1 ,elizabeth1 and ,catherine ,,ii1 who1 with brief intervals1 succeeded each other on the ,russian throne4 ,he was ,foreign ,minister under the first1 ,grand ,chancellor and then a disgraced exile under the second1 recalled and highly honoured by ,catherine4 ,during his banishment he interested himself in a remedy which became enormously popular at that epoch1 known in ,france as the ,golden ,drops of ,general ,la ,mothe1 and in ,germany and ,russia as ,bestucheff's ,tincture4 ,la ,mothe had been in the service of ,leopold ,ragotzky1 ,prince of ,transylvania1 but retiring from the ,army he went to live at ,paris and took these golden drops with him4 ,they were a tincture of perchloride of iron with spirit of ether1 but the public believed them to be a solution of gold4 ,they were recommended as a marvellous restorative medicine1 and sold 7in ,paris7 at #be livres 7nearly #a7 for the half-ounce bottle4 ,so famous were they that ,louis ,,xv sent #bjj bottles to the ,pope as a particularly precious gift4 ,subsequently ,louis gave ,la ,mothe a pension of #d1jjj livres a year for the right of making the drops for his ,hotel des ,invalides1 ,la ,mothe and his widow after him retaining the right to sell to the public4 ,bestucheff sold his recipe to the ,empress ,catherine for #c1jjj roubles1 and by her orders it was passed on to the ,college of ,medicine of ,st4 ,petersburg1 which published it under the title of the ,tinctura ,tonica ,nervina ,bestucheffi4 ,the formula at first published was chemically absurd1 but ,klaproth corrected it1 and the prestige of the quack medicine was destroyed4 ,but an ethereal tincture of perchloride of iron was adopted in most of the ,continental pharmacopias4 ,it is not clear whether ,bestucheff and ,la ,mothe were in association at any time1 but their preparations were similar if not identical4 ,under the rule of ,napoleon ,i the ,french ,government bought several formulas of secret remedies for about #ajj each4 ,none of them either had or has since acquired any popular reputation4 ,the formulas were published in the medical and pharmaceutical journals of the time4 ,,xiii ,,chemical ,,contributions ,,to ,,pharmacy ,chymistry4 8,an art whereby sensible bodies contained in vessels1 or capable of being contained therein1 are so changed by means of certain instruments1 and principally fire1 that their several powers and virtues are thereby discovered1 with a view to philosophy or medicine40--,,boerhaave4 ,quoted as a definition in ,johnson's ,dictionary1 #agee4 ,,acids1 ,,alkalies1 ,,and ,,salts4 ,under the above title almost the entire history of chemistry might be easily comprehended4 ,the gradual growth of definite meanings attached to these terms has been coincident with the attainment of accurate notions concerning the composition of bodies4 ,to the ancient philosophers sour wine1 acetum vin1 or acetum as it is still called1 was the only acid definitely known4 ,when the alchemists became busy trying to extract the virtue out of all substances they produced several acids by distillation4 ,these they called1 for example1 spirit of vitriol1 spirit of nitre1 spirit of salt1 meaning our sulphuric1 nitric1 and hydrochloric acids respectively4 ,they regarded everything obtained by distillation as a spirit4 ,when the theorists came forward1 ,becher1 ,stahl1 and their followers1 they treated these acids as original constituents of the substances from which they were obtained4 ,thus1 when sulphur was burned phlogiston was set free1 and acid remained4 ,lavoisier believed that the acidifying principle had been discovered in oxygen1 and it was on this theory that he gave that element its name4 ,but this idea broke down when ,davy proved that there was no oxygen in the so-called muriatic1 or oxy-muriatic acid4 ,it was the subsequent recognition of the law of substitution which made it clear that the acids are1 in fact1 salts of hydrogen or of some metal substituted for the hydrogen4 ,the history of alkalies is as varied as is that of acids4 ,the distinction between caustic alkalies and mild alkalies was a problem as far back as ,dioscorides4 ,by burning limestone caustic lime is produced4 ,it was not an unreasonable presumption that the fire had created this causticity1 and this theory was held with regard to all the alkalies until it was proved by ,joseph ,black1 in #agef1 that the caustic alkali was the result of a gas1 fixed air1 he named it1 being driven off from the mild alkali4 ,the ancient ,jews prepared what they called ,borith 7translated 8soap0 in ,jeremiah1 ii1 #bb1 and ,malachi1 iii1 #b7 by filtering water through vegetable ashes4 ,borith was therefore an impure carbonate of potash4 ,it is probable that the salt-wort was generally employed for this purpose1 and some of the old versions of the ,old ,testament give the herb 8,borith0 as the proper sense of the passages referred to above4 ,in any case the alkaline solution produced from vegetable ashes was used for bleaching and cleansing purposes4 ,the ,roman 8lixivium0 was similarly prepared1 and the process is still followed in some countries where there are dense forests4 ,the ,arabic word 8al-kali0 was apparently applied to the product from the word 8qaly10 which meant 8to roast40 ,the earliest known use of the term is1 however1 found in the works of ,albertus ,magnus1 early in the thirteenth century4 ,a process of making caustic potash by filtering water through vegetable ashes with quicklime is described in the works attributed to ,geber1 but this is in a treatise now known to have been written in the thirteenth or fourteenth century4 ,it was only in #agcf that the three alkalies1 soda1 potash1 and ammonia1 were definitely distinguished by ,duhamel as mineral1 vegetable1 and animal or volatile alkalies4 ,a formula for a solution of caustic potash was given in the ,p4,l41 #agdf1 under the title of ,lixivium ,saponarium4 ,equal parts of ,russian potashes and quicklime were mixed1 wetted until the lime was slaked1 water afterwards added freely1 and after agitation the solution poured off4 ,this was ten years before ,black's classic investigation already referred to4 ,before ,black1 and for some time afterwards1 there were several theories in explanation of the action of the lime on the potashes4 ,the lime had been tamed1 but the potash had become more virulent4 ,one popular suggestion was that the lime had withdrawn a kind of mucilage from the potashes2 another that it had the effect of developing the power of the potashes by a mechanical process of comminution4 ,a ,german chemist named ,meyer1 who vigorously opposed ,black's conclusions1 maintained that the lime contained a certain ,acidum ,causticum or ,acidum ,pingue1 which potashes extracted from it4 ,in the ,p4,l41 #aghh1 the process was altered by increasing the proportion of the lime1 and the product was described as ,aqua ,kali ,puri4 ,subsequently the proportion of the lime employed was reduced4 ,the word 8salt0 is traced back to the ,greek 8hals10 the sea1 from which was formed the adjective 8salos10 fluctuating 7like the waves71 and subsequently the ,latin 8sal40 ,marine salt was therefore the original salt1 and salts in chemistry were substances more or less resembling sea-salt4 ,generally1 the term was limited to solids which had a taste and were soluble in water1 but the notion was developed that salt was a constituent of everything1 and this salt was extracted1 and was liable to get a new name each time4 ,salt of wormwood1 for instance1 is one of the names which has survived as a synonym for salt of tartar1 or carbonate of potash4 ,paracelsus insisted that all the metals were composed of salt1 sulphur1 and mercury1 but these substances were idealised in his jargon and corresponded with the body1 soul1 and spirit1 respectively4 ,lavoisier was the first chemist who sought to define salts scientifically4 ,he regarded them as a combination of an acid with a basic oxide4 ,but when the true nature of chlorine was discovered it was found that this definition would exclude salt itself4 ,this led to the adoption of the terms 8haloid0 and 8amphide0 salts1 the former being compounds of two elements 7now the combination of chlorine1 bromine1 iodine1 cyanogen1 or fluorine with a metal71 and the latter being compounds of two oxides4 ,the names were invented by ,berzelius4 ,since then salts have been the subjects of various modern theories1 electric and other1 but they are always substances in which hydrogen or a metal substituted for it is combined with a radical4 ,in a wide sense the acids are also salts4 ,,alcohol4 ,al-koh'l was an ,arabic word indicating the sulphide of antimony so generally used by ,eastern women to darken their eyebrows1 eyelashes1 and the eyes themselves4 ,similar words are found in other ancient languages4 ,cohal in ,chaldee is related to the ,hebrew kakhal used in ,ezekiel1 xxiii1 #dj1 in the sense of to paint or stain4 ,the primary meaning of alcohol therefore is a stain4 ,being used especially in reference to the finely levigated sulphide of antimony1 the meaning was gradually extended to other impalpable powders1 and in alchemical writings the alcohol of ,mars1 a reduced iron1 the alcohol of sulphur1 flowers of brimstone1 and similar expressions are common4 ,as late as #aggc ,baum1 in his 8,chymie ,experimentale10 gives 8powders of the finest tenuity0 as the first definition1 and 8spirit of wine rectified to the utmost degree0 as the second explanation of the term alcohol4 ,as certain of the finest powders were obtained by sublimation the transfer of the word to a fluid produced by a similar method is intelligible1 and thus came the alcohol of wine1 which has supplanted all the other alcohols4 ,distillation is a very ancient process4 ,evidence exists of its use by the ,chinese in the most remote period of their history1 and possibly they distilled wine4 ,but so far as can be traced spirit was not produced from wine previous to the thirteenth century4 ,berthelot investigated some alleged early references to it and came to the conclusion indicated4 ,aristotle alludes to the possibility of rendering sea water potable by vaporising it1 and he also notes elsewhere that wine gives off an exhalation which emits a flame4 ,theophrastus mentions that wine poured on a fire as in libations can produce a flame4 ,pliny indicates a particular locality which produced a wine of ,falerno1 which was the only wine that could be inflamed by contact with fire4 ,at ,alexandria1 in the first century of the ,christian era1 condensing apparatus was invented1 and descriptions of the apparatus used are known1 but no allusion to the distillation of wine occurs in any existing reference to the chemistry of that period4 ,rhazes1 who died in ,a4,d4 #ibe1 is alleged to have mentioned a spirit distilled from wine1 but ,berthelot shows that this is a misunderstanding of a passage relating to false or artificial wines4 ,water distilled from roses is mentioned by ,nicander1 about #adj ,b4,c41 and the same author employs the term ambix for the pot or apparatus from which this water was obtained4 ,the ,arabs adopted this word1 and prefixing to it their article1 al1 made it into alembic4 ,this in ,english appeared for some centuries in the abbreviated form of limbeck4 ,the ,greek ambix was a cup-shaped vessel which was set on or in a fire1 as a crucible was used4 ,pissaeleum was a peculiar form of distillation practised by the ,romans4 ,it was an oil of pitch made by hanging a fleece of wool over a vessel in which pitch was being boiled4 ,the vapour which collected was pressed out and used4 ,distilled waters from roses and aromatic herbs figured prominently in the pharmacy of the ,arabs1 and ,geber1 perhaps in the eighth century1 describes the process1 and may have used it for other than pharmaceutical purposes4 ,avicenna likens the body of man to a still1 the stomach being the kettle1 the head the cap1 and the nostrils the cooling tube from which the distillate drips4 ,m4 ,berthelot gives the following from the ,book of ,fires of ,marcus ,grecas1 which he says could not be earlier than #acjj1 as the first definite indication of a method of producing what was called aqua ardens4 8,take a black wine1 thick and old4 ,to lb4 of this add #b scruples of sulphur vivum in very fine powder1 and #b scruples of common salt in coarse fragments1 and #a or #b lbs4 of tartar extracted from a good white wine4 ,place all in a copper alembic and distil off the aqua ardens40 ,the addition of the salt and sulphur1 ,m4 ,berthelot explains1 was to counteract the supposed humidity4 ,albucasis1 a ,spanish ,arab of the eleventh century1 is supposed from some obscure expressions in his writings to have known how to make a spirit from wine2 but ,arnold of ,villa ,nova1 who wrote in the latter part of the thirteenth century1 is the first explicitly to refer to it4 ,he does not intimate that he had discovered it himself1 but he appears to treat it as something comparatively new4 ,aqua vini is what he calls it1 but some name it1 he says1 aqua vit1 or water which preserves itself always1 and golden water4 ,it is well called water of life1 he says1 because it strengthens the body and prolongs life4 ,he distilled herbs with it such as rosemary and sage1 and highly commended the medicinal virtue of these tinctures4 ,it is worth remarking that when ,henry ,,ii invaded and conquered ,ireland in the twelfth century the inhabitants were making and drinking a product which they termed uisge-beatha1 now abbreviated into whisky1 the exact meaning of the name being water of life4 ,raymond ,lully1 who acquired much of his chemical lore from ,arnold of ,villa ,nova1 was even more enthusiastic in praise of the aqua vit than his teacher4 8,the taste of it exceedeth all other tastes1 and the smell all other smells10 he wrote4 ,elsewhere he describes it as 8of marveylous use and commoditie a little before the joyning of battle to styre and encourage the soldiers' minds40 ,he believed it to be the panacea so long sought1 and regarded its discovery as evidence that the end of the world was near4 ,the process for making the aqua vit as described by ,lully was to digest limpid and well-flavoured red or white wine for twenty days in a closed vessel in fermenting horse-dung4 ,it was then to be distilled drop by drop from a gentle fire in a sand-bath4 ,the chemical constitution of alcohol was speculated upon rather wildly by the chemists who experimented on it before ,lavoisier4 ,it was held to be a combination of phlogiston with water1 but the phlogiston-philosophers disagreed on the question whether it contained an oil4 ,stahl1 however1 later supported by ,macquer1 found that an oil was actually separated from it if mixed with water and allowed to evaporate slowly in the open air1 after treating it with an acid4 ,lavoisier1 in #agha1 carefully analysed spirit of wine and found that #a lb4 yielded #d oz4 #d drms4 #cg grains of carbon1 #a oz4 #b drms4 #e grains of inflammable gas 7hydrogen71 and #aj oz4 #a drm4 #bi grains of water4 ,it was de ,saussure who later1 following ,lavoisier's methods of investigation1 but with an absolute alcohol which had been recently produced by ,lowitz1 a ,russian chemist1 showed that oxygen was a constituent of alcohol4 ,berthelot succeeded in making alcohol synthetically in #ahed4 ,his process was to shake olefiant gas 7,c#b;,h#d7 vigorously with sulphuric acid1 dilute the mixture with eight to ten parts of water1 and distil4 ,meldola1 however 78,the ,chemical ,synthesis of ,vital ,products10 #aijd71 insists that an ,english chemist1 ,henry ,hennell1 anticipated ,berthelot in this discovery4 ,,alum4 ,alum is a substance which considerably mystified the ancient chemists1 who knew the salt but did not understand its composition4 ,ancient writers like ,pliny and ,dioscorides were acquainted with a product which the former called alumen and which is evidently the same as had been described by ,dioscorides under the name of ,stypteria4 ,pliny says there were several varieties of this mineral used in dyeing1 and it is clear from his account that his alumen was sometimes sulphate of iron and sometimes a mixture of sulphate of iron with an aluminous earth4 ,it is the fact that where the various vitriols are found they are generally associated with aluminous earth4 ,alum as we know it was first prepared in the ,east and used for dyeing purposes4 ,alum works were in existence some time subsequent to the twelfth century at a place named ,rocca in ,syria1 which may have been a town of that name on the ,euphrates1 or more probably was ,edessa1 which was originally known as ,roccha4 ,it has been supposed that it was the manufacture of alum at this place which bequeathed to us the name of ,rock or ,rocha alum1 but the ,historical ,english ,dictionary says this derivation is 8evidently unfounded40 ,the alchemists were familiar with alum and knew it to be a combination of sulphuric acid with an unknown earth4 ,van ,helmont was the first to employ alum as a styptic in uterine hmorrhage1 and ,helvetius made a great reputation for a styptic he recommended for similar cases4 ,his pills were composed of alum #aj parts1 dragon's blood #c parts1 honey of roses q4s41 made into #d grain pills1 of which six were to be taken daily4 ,alum and nutmeg equal parts were given in agues4 ,paris says the addition of nutmeg to alum corrects its tendency to disturb the bowels4 ,it has also been advocated in cancer and typhoid1 but these internal uses have been generally abandoned4 ,spirit of ,alum is occasionally met with in alchemical writings4 ,it was water charged with sulphuric acid obtained by the distillation of alum over a naked fire4 ,until the fifteenth century the only alum factories from which ,europe was supplied were at ,constantinople1 ,smyrna1 and ,trebizonde4 ,beckman relates that an alum factory was founded in the ,isle of ,ischia1 on the coast of ,tuscany1 by a ,genoese merchant named ,bartholomew ,perdix1 who had learnt the art at ,rocca4 ,very soon afterwards ,john de ,castro1 a ,paduan who had been engaged in cloth dyeing at ,constantinople but had lost all his property when that city was captured by ,mahomet ,,ii in #adec1 was appointed to an office in the ,treasury of the ,apostolic ,chamber1 and in the course of his duties found what he believed to be an aluminous rock at ,tolfa1 near ,civita ,vecchia4 ,he asked the ,pope1 ,pius ,,ii1 to allow him to experiment1 but it was some years before the necessary permission was granted4 ,when at last the truth of ,castro's surmise was established the ,pope was greatly interested4 ,he looked upon the discovery as a great ,christian victory over the ,turks1 and handsomely rewarded de ,castro1 to whom1 besides1 a monument was erected in ,padua inscribed 8,joanni de ,castro1 ,aluminis inventor40 ,the factory brought in a splendid revenue to the ,apostolic exchequer1 and the ,pope did his utmost to retain the monopoly1 for when in consequence of the extravagant prices to which the ,tolfa alum was raised merchants began again to buy the ,eastern product his ,holiness issued a decree prohibiting ,christians from purchasing from the infidels under pain of excommunication4 ,later1 when1 in ,charles ,i's reign1 ,sir ,thomas ,challoner discovered an aluminous deposit near his home at ,guisborough in ,yorkshire1 and persuaded some of the ,pope's workmen to come there to work the schist1 he and those whom he had tempted away were solemnly and most vigorously 8cursed40 ,meanwhile the nature of the earth with which the sulphuric acid was combined remained unknown to chemists4 ,stahl worked at the problem and came to the conclusion that it was lime4 ,the younger ,geoffroy1 a famous pharmacist of ,paris1 ascertained 7#agbh7 that the earth of alum was identical with that of argillaceous earth and ,alumina was for some time called ,argile4 ,marggraf observed that he could not get alum crystals from a combination of argile and sulphuric acid1 but noting that in the old factories it had been the custom to add putrid urine to the solution1 for which carbonate of potash was subsequently substituted1 went so far as to make the salt1 but did not appreciate that it was actually a double salt4 ,the name alumina which the earth now bears was given to it by ,morveau4 ,it was ,vauquelin 7another pharmacist7 who clearly proved the composition of alum1 and ,lavoisier first suggested that alumina was the oxide of a metal4 ,sir ,humphry ,davy agreed with this view but failed to isolate the metal4 ,oersted was the first to actually extract aluminium from the oxide1 but his process was an impracticable one1 but in #ahbh ,woehler1 and in #aheh ,deville1 found means of producing the metal in sufficient abundance to make it a valuable article of industry4 ,,ammonia4 ,the chemical history of ammonia commences in ,egypt with ,sal ,ammoniac4 ,this is mentioned by ,pliny under the name of ,hammoniacus sal4 ,dioscorides also alludes to it2 but in neither case does the description given fit in satisfactorily with the product known to us4 ,dioscorides1 for instance1 states that sal ammoniac is particularly prized if it can lie easily split up into rectangular fragments4 ,it has been conjectured that what was called sal ammoniac by the ancient writers was1 at least sometimes1 rock salt4 ,the name is generally supposed to have been derived from that of the ,egyptian deity1 ,amn or ,amen1 or ,ammon as the ,greeks called him1 and in the belief that he was the same god as ,jupiter he is referred to in classical literature as ,zeus-,ammon or ,jupiter-,ammon4 ,the principal temple of this god was situated in an oasis of the ,libyan desert which was then known as ,ammonia 7now ,siwah71 and if1 as is supposed1 the salt was found or produced in that locality its name is thus accounted for4 ,gum ammoniacum was likewise so called in the belief that it was obtained in that district1 though the gum with which we are familiar and which comes from ,india and ,persia1 is quite a different article from the ,african gum the name of which it has usurped4 ,pliny derives the name of the salt from the ,greek 8ammos10 sand1 as it was found in the sand of the desert2 an explanation which overlooks the fact that the stuff was called by a similar name in a country where the sand was not called ammos4 ,in old ,latin1 ,french1 and ,english writings 8armoniac0 is often met with4 ,this was not inaccurate spelling2 it was suggested by the opinion that the word was connected with ,greek1 armonia1 a fastening or joining1 from the use of sal ammoniac in soldering metals4 ,that ,pliny did sometimes meet with the genuine sal ammoniac is conjectured by his allusion to the 8vehement odour0 arising when lime was mixed with natrum4 ,probably this natrum was sal ammoniac4 ,among the ,arabs the term sal ammoniac often means rock salt2 but in the writings attributed to ,geber1 some of which may be as late as the twelfth or thirteenth century1 our sal ammoniac is distinctly described4 ,it is also exactly described by ,albertus ,magnus in the thirteenth century1 who mentions an artificial as well as a natural product1 but does not indicate how the former was made4 ,from this time sal ammoniac became a common and much-prized substance in alchemical investigations1 as from it chlorides were obtained4 ,the 8volatile spirit of sal ammoniac0 was made by distilling a solution of sal ammoniac with quicklime1 and of course the same product was obtained in other ways1 especially by distilling harts' horns1 and this was always regarded as having peculiarly valuable properties4 ,a 8sal ammoniacum fixum0 was known to the alchemists of the fifteenth century4 ,it was obtained as a residue after sal ammoniac and quicklime had been sublimed4 ,it was simply chloride of calcium4 ,the so-called natural sal ammoniac was for centuries brought from ,egypt1 and was supposed to have been mined in the earth or sand of that country4 ,in #agaf the younger ,geoffroy came to the conclusion that it must be a product of sublimation1 and he read a paper to the ,french ,academy giving his reasons for this opinion4 ,homberg and ,lemery opposed this view with so much bitterness1 however1 that the paper was not printed4 ,in #agai ,m4 ,lemaire1 ,french ,consul at ,cairo1 sent to the ,academy an account of the method by which sal ammoniac was produced in ,egypt1 and this report definitely confirmed the opinion which ,geoffroy had formed4 ,it was1 said ,m4 ,lemaire1 simply a salt sublimed from soot4 ,the fuel used in ,egypt was exclusively the dung of camels and other animals which had been dried by the sun4 ,it consisted largely of sal ammoniac1 and this was retained in the soot4 ,for a long time an artificial sal ammoniac had been manufactured at ,venice1 and a commoner sort also came from ,holland4 ,these were reputed to be made from human or animal urine4 ,the manufacture of sal ammoniac was commenced in ,london early in the eighteenth century by a ,mr4 ,goodwin4 ,a formula for ,sal ,ammoniacum ,factitium in ,quincy's ,dispensatory 7#agbd7 is as follows3--,take of ,urine lb4 x42 of ,sea-salt lb4 ii42 of ,wood soot lb4 i42 boil these together in a mass1 then put them in a subliming pot with a proper head1 and there will rise up what forms these cakes4 ,dr4 ,james 7#agfd7 states that at ,newcastle one gallon of the bittern or liquor which drains from common salt whilst making1 was mixed with #c gallons of urine4 ,the mixture was set aside for #dh hours to effervesce and subside4 ,afterwards the clear liquor was drawn off and evaporated in leaden vessels to crystallisation4 ,the crystals were sublimed4 ,a sal ammoniacum volatile was made by subliming sal ammoniac and salt of tartar 7or lime or chalk7 together4 ,sometimes some spices were put into the retort4 ,this salt was used for smelling-bottles4 ,aqua regia was made by distilling sal ammoniac and saltpetre together4 ,sal ,volatile ,oleosum was introduced by ,sylvius 7de la ,boe7 about the year #afej4 ,it became a medicated stimulant of the utmost popularity1 and there were many formulas for it4 ,one of the most famous was ,goddard's ,drop4 7,see page #cai74 ,ammonia in gaseous form was first obtained by ,priestley in #aggd4 ,he called it alkaline air4 ,scheele soon after established that it contained nitrogen and ,berthollet proved its chemical composition in #aghe4 ,,spiritus ,,ammoni ,,aromaticus was first inserted in the ,p4,l4 #agba1 under the title of 8,spiritus ,salis ,volatilis ,oleosus40 ,cinnamon1 mace1 cloves1 citron1 sal ammoniac1 and salts of tartar were distilled with spirit of wine4 ,in #agdf the process was altered1 sal ammoniac and fixed alkali being first distilled with proof spirit to yield 8spiritus salis anmioniaci dulcis10 to which essential oils of lemon1 nutmeg1 and cloves were added1 and the mixture was then re-distilled4 ,in #aghh the spirit became spiritus ammoni compositus1 and the redistillation when the oils had been added was omitted4 ,the name spiritus ammoni aromaticus was first adopted in the ,p4,l4 #ahji1 and has been retained ever since1 though the process of making it has been frequently varied4 ,that title was first given to it in the ,dublin ,pharmacopia of #ahjg4 ,spiritus ,salinus ,aromaticus was the first title adopted in the ,edinburgh ,pharmacopia4 ,it was a preparation similar to that of the ,p4,l41 but angelica1 marjoram1 galangal1 anthos flowers1 orange1 and lemon were additional flavours4 ,quincy 7#agbd7 credits ,sylvius with the invention of this spirit1 which he refers to as 8mightily now in use10 and as 8a most noble cephalic and cordial40 ,it had 8almost excluded the use of spirit of hartshorn40 ,this preparation1 invented by ,sylvius1 was called the ,carminative ,spirit of ,sylvius4 ,mindererus's ,spirit1 made from distilled vinegar and the volatile spirit of hartshorn1 is believed by many competent authorities to have possessed virtues which are not contained in the modern liquor ammonii acetati4 ,the late ,professor ,redwood was one of these4 ,he believed that the old preparation contained a trace of cyanic ether4 ,the new liquor1 he said1 made from strong caustic solution of ammonia and strong acetic acid1 8is but the ghost of the old preparation4 ,it is as unlike the true ,mindererus's ,spirit as a glass of vapid distilled water is unlike the sparkling crystal water as it springs from a gushing fountain0 7,pharm4 ,jnl41 ,vol4 ,v41 ,n4,s4 p4 #djh74 ,mindererus was a physician of ,augsburg who died in #afba4 ,it was ,boerhaave in #agcb who advocated the use of ,mindererus's ,spirit and made it popular4 ,eau de ,luce1 which was official in the ,p4,l4 #ahbd1 under the title of ,spiritus ,ammoni ,succinatus1 was an ammonia compound which became popular in ,france1 and1 in some degree all over ,europe1 about the middle of the eighteenth century1 and was apparently first sold for removing grease from cloth and other fabrics4 ,it is said that one of the pupils of ,bernard ,jussieu1 having been bitten by a viper1 applied some of the preparation1 and was cured by it4 ,it thence acquired a medical fame1 which it still retains4 ,the ,p4,l4 formula ordered #c drachms of mastic1 #d minims of oil of amber1 and #ad minims of oil of lavender to be dissolved in #i fluid drachms of rectified spirit1 and mixed with #aj fluid ounces of solution of ammonia4 ,in some of the ,continental pharmacopias a much larger proportion of oil of amber is prescribed1 and sometimes only that and spirit of ammonia4 ,in some soap is ordered4 ,in the ,p4,l41 #ahea1 the oil of amber was omitted4 ,it has been recommended for external application in rheumatism and paralysis4 ,it has been generally asserted that this preparation was devised by a pharmacist of ,lille 7some say of ,amsterdam71 of the name of ,luce4 ,it is also asserted that a ,paris pharmacist named ,dubalen originated it1 and that he and his successor ,juliot made it popular2 that ,luce of ,lille imitated it1 but that not being able to get it purely white added some copper and gave it a blue tint which came to be a mark of its genuineness4 ,among the names applied to it have been ,aqua ,luccana1 ,aqua ,sancti ,luci1 ,aqua ,lucii1 and ,eau de ,lusse4 ,,bromine4 ,bromine1 isolated by ,balard in #ahbf1 was named by the discoverer ,muride1 from ,muria1 brine4 ,its actual name was suggested by ,gay ,lussac from ,bromos1 a stench4 ,schultzenberger relates1 on the authority of ,stas1 that some years before the discovery of bromine by ,balard1 a bottle of nearly pure bromine was sent to ,liebig by a ,german company of manufacturers of salt1 with the request that he would examine it4 ,somewhat carelessly the great chemist tested the product and assumed that it was chloride of iodine4 ,but he put away the bottle1 probably with the intention of investigating it more closely when he had more leisure4 ,when he heard of ,balard's discovery he turned to this bottle and realised what he had missed4 ,schultzenberger says he kept it in a special cupboard labelled 8,cupboard of ,mistakes10 and would sometimes show it to his friends as an example of the danger of coming to a conclusion too promptly4 ,,collodion4 ,pyroxylin was discovered by ,schnbein in #ahdg1 and the next year an ,american medical student at ,boston1 ,massachussets1 described in the ,american ,journal of the ,medical ,sciences his experiments showing the use that could be made of this substance in surgery when dissolved in ether and alcohol4 ,by painting it on a band of leather one inch wide and attaching this to the hand1 he caused the band to adhere so firmly that it could not be detached by a weight of twenty pounds4 ,,epsom ,,salts4 ,the medicinal value of the ,epsom springs was discovered1 it is believed1 towards the end of the sixteenth century1 in the reign of ,queen ,elizabeth4 ,according to a local tradition the particular spring which became so famous was not used for any purpose until one very dry summer1 when the farmer on whose land it existed bethought him to dig the ground round about the spring1 so as to make a pond for his cattle to drink from4 ,having done this he found that the animals would not touch the water1 and on tasting it himself he appreciated their objection to it4 ,the peculiar merits of the water becoming known1 certain ,london physicians sent patients to ,epsom to drink it1 and it proved especially useful in the cases of some who suffered with old ulcers4 ,apparently the sores were washed with it4 ,the name of the farmer who contributed this important item to medical history was ,henry ,wicker or ,wickes4 ,in #afba the owner of the estate where the spring had been found walled in the well1 and erected a shed for the convenience of the sick visitors1 who were then resorting to ,epsom in increasing numbers4 ,by #afdj the ,epsom ,spa had become famous4 ,the third ,lord ,north1 who published a book called the ,forest of ,varieties in #afde1 claimed to have been the first to have made known the virtues of both the ,epsom and the ,tonbridge waters to the ,king's sick subjects1 8the journey to the ,german ,spa being too expensive and inconvenient to sick persons1 and great sums of money being thereby carried out of the kingdom40 ,after the ,restoration ,epsom became a fashionable watering-place4 ,before #agjj a ball-room had been built1 and a promenade laid out2 a number of new inns and boarding-houses had been opened2 sedan-chairs and hackney coaches crowded the streets2 and sports and play of all kinds were provided4 ,pepys mentions visits to ,epsom more than once in his ,diary1 and ,charles ,,ii and some of his favourites were there occasionally4 ,the town reached its zenith of gaiety in the reign of ,queen ,anne1 who with her husband1 ,prince ,george of ,denmark1 frequently drove from ,windsor to ,epsom to drink the waters4 ,an apothecary living at ,epsom in those times1 and who had prospered abundantly from the influx of visitors1 is alleged to have done much to check the hopeful prospects of the ,surrey village4 ,much wanted more1 and ,mr4 ,levingstern1 the practitioner referred to1 thought he saw his way to a large fortune4 ,he found another spring about half a mile from the ,old ,wells1 bought the land on which it was situated1 built on it a large assembly room for music1 dancing1 and gambling1 and provided a multitude of attractions1 including games1 fashion shops1 and other luxuries4 ,at first he drew the crowds away from the ,old ,wells4 ,but his ,epsom water did not give satisfaction4 ,for some reason it brought the remedial fame of the springs generally into disrepute4 ,then ,levingstern bought the lease of the ,old ,wells1 and1 unwisely it may be thought1 shut them up altogether4 ,the glory of ,epsom had departed1 and though several efforts were made subsequently to tempt society back to it1 they were invariably unsuccessful4 ,the building at the ,old ,wells was pulled down in #ahjb1 and a private house built on the site4 ,this house is called ,the ,wells1 and the original well is still to be seen in the garden4 ,the very site of ,mr4 ,levingstern's 8,new ,wells0 is now doubtful4 ,he died in #ahbg4 ,in #afie ,nehemiah ,grew1 physician1 and secretary of the ,royal ,society1 wrote a treatise 8,on the ,bitter ,cathartic ,salt in the ,epsom ,water40 ,dr4 ,grew names #afbj as about the date when the medicinal spring was discovered at ,epsom by a countryman1 and he says that for about ten years the countrypeople only used it to wash external ulcers4 ,he relates that it was ,lord ,dudley ,north1 who apparently lived near by1 who first began to take it as a medicine4 ,he had been in the habit of visiting the ,german spas1 as he 8laboured under a melancholy disposition40 ,he used it1 we are told1 with abundant success1 and regarded it as a medicine sent from heaven4 ,among those whom he induced to take the ,epsom waters were ,maria de ,medicis1 the mother of the wife of ,charles ,i1 ,lord ,goring1 the ,earl of ,norwich1 and many other persons of quality4 ,these having shown the way1 the physicians of ,london began to recommend the waters1 and then1 ,dr4 ,grew tells us1 the place got crowded1 as many as #b1jjj persons having taken the water in a single day4 ,illustration3 ,,dr4 ,,nehemiah ,,grew4 ,born1 #afbh2 died1 #agaa4 7,from an engraving by ,r4 ,white1 from life47 ,dr4 ,grew was for many years secretary of the ,royal ,society and editor of the ,philosophical ,transactions4 ,he was one of the pioneers of the science of structural botany and author of ,the ,anatomy of ,plants4 ,it was ,dr4 ,grew who first extracted the salt from the ,epsom water1 and his treatise deals principally with that4 ,he describes the effect of adding all sorts of chemicals1 oil of vitriol1 salt of tartar1 nitre1 galls1 syrup of violets1 and other substances to the solution2 explains how it differs from the sal mirabilis 7sulphate of soda72 and writes of its delicate bitter taste as if he were commenting on a new wine4 ,it most resembles the crystals of silver1 he says1 in the similitude of taste4 ,as to the medicinal value of this salt ,dr4 ,grew says it is free from the malignant quality of most cathartics1 never violently agitates the humours1 nor causes sickness1 faintings1 or pains in the bowels4 ,he recommends it for digestive disorders1 heartburn1 loss of appetite1 and colic2 in hypochondriacal distemper1 in stone1 diabetes1 jaundice1 vertigo1 and 7to quote the ,english translation7 8in wandering gout1 vulgarly but erroneously called the rheumatism40 ,it will exterminate worms in children in doses of #a to #b drachms1 if given after #a1 #b1 or #c grains of mercurius dulcis1 according to age4 ,epsom salts were not to be given in dropsy1 intermittent fevers1 chlorosis1 blood-spitting1 to paralytics1 or to women with child4 8,i generally prescribe10 writes the doctor1 8one1 two1 or three pints of water1 aromatised with a little mace1 to which ,i add oz4 or #a oz41 or a greater dose of the salt40 ,he gives a specimen prescription which orders #a oz4 or #aj drachms of the salt in #b quarts of spring water1 with #a drachm of mace4 ,this dose 7#b quarts1 remember7 was to be taken in the morning in the course of two hours1 generally warm1 and taking a little exercise meanwhile4 ,this was what was called an apozem4 ,you might add to the apozem1 if thought desirable1 #c drachms of senna and #a oz4 or #b oz4 of flaky manna4 ,mr4 ,francis ,moult1 ,chymist1 at the sign of the ,glauber's ,head1 ,watling ,street1 ,london1 translated ,dr4 ,grew's treatise into ,english1 and gave a copy to buyers of the ,bitter ,purging ,salts4 ,probably he was the 8furnace philosopher0 referred to by ,quincy 7see below71 though it is difficult to see what there was to object to in his action4 ,george and ,francis ,moult 7the latter was1 no doubt1 the chymist who kept the shop in ,watling ,street7 in about the year #agjj found a more abundant supply of the popular salt in a spring at ,shooter's ,hill1 where it is recorded they boiled down as much as #bjj barrels of the water in a week1 obtaining some #b cwt4 of salt from these4 ,some time after1 a ,dr4 ,hoy discovered a new method of producing an artificial salt which corresponded in all respects with the cathartic salts obtained from ,epsom water1 and which by reason of the price soon drove the latter out of the market1 and caused the ,shooter's ,hill works to be closed4 ,it was known that ,hoy's salt was made from sea water1 and at first it was alleged to be the sal mirabilis of ,glauber1 sulphate of soda4 ,but this was disproved1 and experiments were carried on at the salt works belonging to ,lady ,carrington at ,portsmouth1 and later at ,lymington1 where the manufacture settled for many years1 the source being the residue after salt had been made1 called the bittern--salts of magnesium1 in fact4 ,this was the principal source of supply1 though it was made in many places and under various patents until in #ahaf ,dr4 ,henry1 of ,manchester1 took out a patent for the production of sulphate of magnesia from dolomite4 ,it should be mentioned that it was by the examination of ,epsom salts that ,black was led to his epoch-making discovery of the distinction between the alkaline earths1 and also of fixed air1 in #aged4 ,in ,quincy's 8,dispensatory0 7#agbd71 medicinal waters like those of ,epsom are described as ,aqu ,aluminos4 ,it is stated that there are many in ,england1 scarce a county without them4 ,the principal ones about ,london are at ,epsom1 ,acton1 ,dulwich1 and ,north-hall4 ,they all 8abound with a salt of an aluminous and nitrous nature10 and 8greatly deterge the stomach and bowels40 ,but it is easy to take them too frequently1 so that 8the salts will too much get into the blood1 which by their grossness will gradually be collected in the capillaries and glands to obstruct them and occasion fevers40 ,after some more advice ,quincy adds-- 8,it is difficult to pass this article without setting a mark upon that abominable cheat which is now sold by the name of ,epsom waters4 ,dr4 ,grew1 who was a most worthy physician and an industrious experimenter1 made trial how much salt these waters would leave upon evaporation1 and found that a gallon left about two drams1 or near1 according to my best remembrance1 for ,i have not his writings by me4 ,he likewise found the salt thus procured answered the virtues of the water in its cathartic qualities4 ,of this an account was given before the ,royal ,society in a ,latin dissertation4 ,but the avaricious craft of a certain furnace-philosopher could not let this useful discovery in natural knowledge rest under the improvement and proper use of persons of integrity2 but he pretended to make a great quantity for sale2 and to recommend his salt translated the ,doctor's ,lecture into ,english to give away as a quack-bill40 ,quincy proceeds to tell us how other competitors came in1 and how the price was so reduced that what was first sold at one shilling an ounce1 and could not honestly be made under 7,quincy apparently refers to the salt made by evaporation71 came down in a short time to thirty shillings per hundredweight4 ,,ether4 ,the action of sulphuric acid on spirit of wine is alluded to in the works of ,raymond ,lully in the thirteenth century1 and in those attributed to ,basil ,valentine1 by whom the product is described as 8an agreeable essence and of good odour40 ,valerius ,cordus1 in #aeag1 described a liquor which he called ,oleum ,vitrioli ,dulce in his 8,chemical ,pharmacopia40 ,this was intended to represent the ,spiritus ,vitrioli ,antepilepticus ,paracelsi4 ,it was prepared by distilling a mixture of equal parts of sulphuric acid and spirit of wine1 after this mixture had been digested in hot ashes for two months4 ,probably the product obtained by ,cordus was what came to be called later the sweet oil of wine1 and not what we know as sulphuric ether4 ,the first ether made for medicinal purposes was manufactured in the laboratory directed by ,robert ,boyle1 and it is said that he and ,sir ,isaac ,newton made some experiments with it at the time4 ,a paper describing his ether investigations was published by ,newton in the 8,philosophical ,transactions0 for ,may1 #agjj4 ,in #agjj a paper on ether was published by ,dr4 ,frobenius in the 8,philosophical ,transactions10 and in the same publication in #agda a further paper appeared giving the process by which ,frobenius had prepared his 8,spiritus ,vini ,ethereus40 ,equal parts of oil of vitriol and highly rectified spirit of wine by weight were distilled until a dense liquid began to pass2 the retort was then cooled1 half the original weight of spirit was added1 and the distillation again renewed4 ,this process was repeated as long as ether was produced4 ,frobenius had been associated with ,ambrose ,godfrey in ,boyle's laboratory1 and ,godfrey had been supplying ether for some years1 but he does not seem to have published his process4 ,it was in ,frobenius's first paper1 published in #agcj1 that the name of ether was first proposed for the product1 which had been previously known as ,aqua ,lulliana1 ,aqua ,temperata1 ,oleum ,dulce ,paracelsi1 and such-like fancy titles4 ,frobenius1 it was understood1 was a nom de plume4 ,ambrose ,godfrey ,hanckwitz1 ,boyle's chemist1 sharply criticised ,frobenius's article1 said it was a rhapsody in the style of the alchemists1 and that the experiments indicated had been already described by ,boyle4 ,godfrey was1 in fact1 at that time making and selling this interesting substance4 ,in ,france1 the ,duke of ,orleans1 a clever chemist1 who was suspected to have had some association with the famous poisonings of his time1 and whose laboratory was at the ,abbaye ,ste4 ,genevieve1 was the first to produce ether in quantities of a pint at a time4 ,hoffmann's 8,mineral ,anodyne ,liquor10 the original of our ,spiritus theris ,co41 was a semi-secret preparation much prescribed by the famous inventor4 ,he said it was composed of the dulcified spirit of vitriol and the aromatic oil which came over after it4 ,but he did not state in what proportion he mixed these1 nor the exact process he followed4 ,the chemical nature of sulphuric ether was long in doubt4 ,macquer1 who considered that ether was alcohol deprived of its aqueous principle1 was the most accurate of the early investigators4 ,scheele held that ether was dephlogisticated alcohol4 ,pelletier described it as alcohol oxygenised at the expense of the sulphuric acid4 ,de ,saussure1 ,gay-,lussac1 and ,liebig studied the substance1 but it was ,dumas and ,boullay in #ahcg1 and ,williamson in #ahed1 who cleared up the chemistry of ethers4 ,ether is alcohol1 two molecules deprived of ,h#b,o alcohol1 ,c#b;,h#e,o ,,ho2 ether1 7,c#b;,h#e7b,o4 ,distilling spirit of wine and sulphuric acid together1 it seemed obvious that the sulphuric acid should possess itself of the ,h#b,o1 and leave the ether4 ,but on this theory it was not possible to explain the invariable formation of sulphovinic acid 7a sulphate of ethyl7 in the process1 nor the simultaneous distillation of water with the ether4 ,williamson proved that the acid first combined with the alcohol molecule1 setting the water free1 and that then an excess of alcohol decomposed the sulphovinic acid thus formed into free sulphuric acid and ether1 this circuit proceeding continuously4 ,,spirit ,,of ,,nitrous ,,ether4 ,this popular medicine has been traced back to ,raymond ,lully in the thirteenth century1 and to ,basil ,valentine4 ,but the doctor who brought it into general use was ,sylvius 7de la ,boe7 of ,leyden1 for whom it was sold as a lithontryptic at a very high price4 ,it first appeared in the ,p4,l41 #agdf1 as ,spiritus ,nitri dulcis4 ,in ,english this was for a long time called 8dulcified spirit of nitre10 and in the form of sweet spirit of nitre still remains on our labels4 ,in the ,p4,l41 #aghh1 the title was changed to ,spiritus theris nitrosi1 and in that of #ahji to ,spiritus theris nitrici4 ,the process ordered in the first official formula was to distil #f oz4 7apoth4 weight7 of nitric acid of #ae specific gravity1 with #cb fluid oz4 of rectified spirit4 ,successive reductions were made in the proportion and strength of the acid in the pharmacopias of #ahji1 #ahbd1 and #ahea1 to #c fluid ounces of nitric acid1 sp4 gr4 #adb1 with #dj fluid ounces of rectified spirit1 and a product of #bh fluid ounces4 ,the object of these several modifications was to avoid the violent reaction which affected the nature of the product4 ,,ethiops4 thiops or ,ethiops originally meant a negro or something black4 ,the word is alleged to have been derived from aithein1 to burn1 and ops1 the face1 but this etymology was probably devised to fit the facts4 ,there is no historical evidence in its favour4 ,most likely the word was a native ,african one of unknown meaning4 ,it became a popular pharmaceutical term two or three hundred years ago1 but is now almost obsolete1 at least in this country4 ,in ,france several mercurial preparations are still known by the name of ,ethiops4 ,there are1 for instance1 the ,ethiops magnesium1 the ,ethiops saccharine1 and the ,ethiops gommeux2 combinations of mercury with magnesia1 sugar1 and gum acacia respectively4 ,these designations echo the mysteries of alchemy4 ,ethiops alone meant ,ethiops ,mineral4 ,this was a combination of mercury and sulphur1 generally equal parts1 rubbed together until all the mercury was killed4 ,it was a very uncertain preparation1 but was believed to be specially good for worms4 8,infallible against the itch10 says ,quincy1 #agbd4 ,its chemical composition varied from a mere mixture of the two substances to a mixture of sulphur and bisulphide of mercury1 according to the conditions in which it was kept4 ,it was formerly known as the hypnotic powder of ,jacobi4 ,ethiops ,martial was the black oxide of iron4 ,it was a mixture of protoxide and sesquioxide of iron4 ,lemery's process was the one usually recommended1 but perhaps not always followed4 ,it was to keep iron filings always covered with water and frequently stirred for several months until the oxide was a smooth black powder4 ,lemery's ,crocus ,martis was a similar preparation but contained more of the sesquioxide4 ,the ,edinburgh and ,dublin ,pharmacopias of #ahbf ordered simply scales of iron collected from a blacksmith's anvil1 purified by applying a magnet1 and reduced to a fine powder4 ,this was a favourite preparation of iron with ,sydenham4 ,made into pills with extract of wormwood1 the ,ethiops ,martial constituted the pilula ferri of ,swediaur4 ,ethiopic pills were similar to ,plummer's pills 7pil4 calomel4 co474 ,guy's ethiopic powder was once a well-known remedy for worms4 ,it was composed of equal parts of pure rasped tin1 mercury1 and sulphur4 ,vegetable ethiops was the ashes of fucus vesiculosus which were given in scrofulous complaints and in goitre before iodine was discovered4 ,the ashes contain a small proportion of iodine4 ,dr4 ,runel 78,dissertation on the ,use of ,sea ,water10 #agei7 says it far exceeds burnt sponge in virtue4 ,huxham recommended an ,aethiops ,antimoniale1 composed of two parts of sulphide of antimony and one part of flowers of sulphur4 ,the older ,aethiops ,antimoniale was a combination of antimony chloride with mercury1 and was given in venereal and scrofulous complaints4 ,mercury with chalk was sometimes called absorbent ethiops1 or alkalised ethiops4 ,,iodine was discovered by ,bernard ,courtois in #ahaa4 ,courtois1 who was born at ,dijon in #aggg1 was apprenticed to a pharmacist at ,auxerre named ,fremy1 grandfather of the noted chemist of that name1 and was afterwards associated as assistant with ,seguin1 ,thnard1 and ,fourcroy4 ,he had worked with the first-named of these in the isolation of the active principle of opium1 whereby ,seguin so nearly secured the glory of the discovery of the alkaloids4 ,in #ahaa ,courtois was manufacturing artificial nitre1 and experimenting on the extraction of alkali from seaweed4 ,he had crystallised soda from some of the mother liquor until it would yield no more crystals1 and then he warmed the liquor in a vessel to which a little sulphuric acid had been accidentally added4 ,he was surprised to see beautiful violet vapours disengaged1 and from these scales of a grayish-black colour and of metallic lustre were deposited4 ,courtois was too busy at the time to follow up his discovery1 but he brought it to the notice of a chemist friend named ,clement4 ,the latter presented a report of his experiments to the ,academy of ,sciences on ,november #bjth1 #ahac1 two years after ,courtois's first observation4 ,no suggestion was made by ,courtois or ,clement of the new substance being an element4 ,this deduction became the occasion of an acrimonious dispute between ,gay-,lussac and ,humphry ,davy4 ,the ,english chemist happened to be in ,paris 7by special favour of ,napoleon7 at the time when ,clement read his paper4 ,he immediately commenced experimenting1 and was apparently the first to suspect the elementary nature of iodine4 ,his claim was confirmed by a communication he made to ,cuvier4 ,but ,gay-,lussac forestalled his announcement in a paper he read at the ,academy on ,december #fth1 #ahac4 ,davy complained of the trick ,gay-,lussac played him1 and ,hofer1 who investigated the circumstances1 came to the conclusion that ,davy was certainly the first to recognise iodine as a simple body1 and to give it its name from the ,greek1 ,ion1 violet4 ,ion was originally ,fion1 but had lost its initial4 ,the ,latin viola was derived from the original word4 ,jean ,francois ,coindet1 of ,geneva 7an ,edinburgh graduate71 suspected that iodine was the active constituent of burnt sponge1 which had long been empirically employed in goitre and scrofula1 and having proved that this was the case1 was the first physician to use iodine as a remedy4 ,the pharmaceutical forms and the medical uses of iodine have been very numerous during the century which has almost elapsed since its introduction1 but it would be impossible even to detail them here4 ,iodoform was first prepared by ,serullas about #ahbh1 and its chemical composition was elucidated by ,dumas soon after4 ,it was first used in medicine by ,bouchardat in #ahcf1 and then dropped out of practice for about twenty years1 when it again appeared in ,french treatises1 and its use soon became general as an antiseptic application4 ,bernard ,courtois was awarded #f1jjj francs by the ,academy of ,sciences in #ahcb1 but he died in ,paris in #ahch in poverty4 ,he had been ruined in #ahae by the competition of ,east ,indian saltpetre with the artificial nitre which he was manufacturing4 ,in that year the prohibitive duty on the native product was removed4 ,when the ,academy awarded #f1jjj francs to ,courtois it also voted #c1jjj francs to ,coindet1 who had so promptly made medical use of ,courtois' discovery4 ,,lithium4 ,lithium1 the oxide of which was discovered in #ahjg by ,arfwedson1 was first suggested as a remedy for gout by ,dr4 ,ure in #ahdc4 ,he based his proposal on an observation by ,lipowitz of the singular power of lithium in dissolving uric acid4 ,dr4 ,garrod popularised the employment of the carbonate of lithium in medicine4 ,most of the natural mineral waters which had acquired a reputation in gouty affections have been found to contain lithium4 ,,magnesia4 ,the first use of carbonate of magnesia medicinally was in the form of a secret medicine which must have acquired much popularity in the beginning of the eighteenth century4 ,it was prepared1 says ,bergmann1 by a regular canon at ,rome1 sold under the title of the powder of the ,count of ,palma1 and credited with almost universal virtues4 ,the method of preparation was rigidly concealed1 but it evidently attracted the attention of chemists and physicians1 for it appears that in #agjg ,valentini published a process by which a similar product could be obtained from the mother liquor of 8nitre0 7soda7 by calcination4 ,in #agji ,slevogt obtained a powder exactly resembling it by precipitating magnesia from a solution of the sulphate by potash4 ,lancisi reported on it in #agag1 and in #agbb ,hoffmann went near to explaining the distinction between the several earthy salts1 which in his time were all regarded as calcareous4 ,hoffmann's process to obtain the powder was to add a solution of carbonate of potash to the mother liquor from which rough nitre had been obtained 7solution of chloride of magnesium71 and collect the precipitate4 ,this being yielded by two clear solutions gave to the carbonate of magnesia precipitated the name of ,miraculum ,chemicum4 ,magnesia was the name of a district in ,thessaly1 and of two cities in ,asia ,minor4 ,the ,greek 8magnesia lithos10 magnesian stone1 has been frequently applied to the lodestone1 but this can hardly have been correct1 as the magnesian stone was described as white and shining like silver4 ,liddell and ,scott think talc was more probably the substance4 ,the alchemists sometimes mention a magnesia1 but the name seems to have been a very elastic one with them4 ,the ,historical ,english ,dictionary quotes the following reference to the word from 8,norton ,ord4 ,alch410 #adgg3--8;,another stone you must have 444 a stone glittering with perspicuitie 444 the price of an ounce conveniently is ,twenty ,shillings4 ,her name is ,magnetia4 ,few people her knows40 ,paracelsus uses the term in the sense of an amalgam4 ,he writes of the ,magnesia of ,gold4 ,in ,pomet's 8,history of ,drugs10 #agab1 magnesia meant manganese4 ,hoffmann1 #agbb1 first applied the name to oxide of magnesia1 adapting it from the medical ,latin term1 magnes carneus1 flesh magnet1 because it adheres so strongly to the lips1 the fancy being that it attracts the flesh as the lodestone attracts iron4 ,hoffmann's observations on magnesia and its salts1 which were published in the first quarter of the eighteenth century1 were very intelligent1 and undoubtedly it was he who first distinguished magnesia from chalk4 ,he says 8,a number of springs1 among which ,i may mention ,eger1 ,elster1 ,schwalbach1 and ,wilding1 contain a neutral salt which has not yet received a name1 and which is almost unknown4 ,i have also found it in the waters of ,hornhausen which owe to this salt their aperient and diuretic properties4 ,authors commonly call it nitre2 but it has nothing in common with nitre4 ,it is not inflammable1 its crystallising form is entirely different1 and it does not yield aqua fortis4 ,it is a neutral salt similar to the arcanum duplicatum 7sulphate of potash71 bitter in taste1 and producing on the tongue a sensation of cold40 ,he further states that the salt in question appears to proceed from the combination of sulphuric acid with a calcareous earth of alkaline nature4 ,the combination 8is effected in the bosom of the earth40 ,in another of his works ,hoffmann distinguishes the magnesian salt from one of lime1 showing particularly that the latter was but slightly soluble and had scarcely any taste4 ,crabs' eyes and egg shells he notes combine with sulphuric acid and form salts with no taste4 ,the sulphate of this earth 7,epsom salt7 he found had a strong bitter taste4 ,the true character of magnesia and its salts was not clearly understood until ,joseph ,black unravelled the complications of the alkaline salts by his historic investigation1 which became one of the most noted epochs of chemistry by its incidental revelation of the combination of the caustic alkalies with what ,black termed 8fixed air10 subsequently named carbonic acid gas by ,lavoisier in #aghd4 ,when ,black was studying medicine at ,edinburgh a lively controversy was in progress in medical circles on the mode of action of the lithontriptic medicines which had lately been introduced4 ,drs4 ,whytt and ,aston1 both university professors1 were the leaders in this dispute4 ,whytt held that lime water made from oyster shells was more effective for dissolving calculi in the bladder than lime water prepared from ordinary calcareous stone4 ,alston insisted that the latter was preferable4 ,black was interested1 and his experiments convinced him of the scientific importance of his discoveries4 ,he postponed taking his degree for some time in order to be sure of his facts4 ,his graduation thesis1 which was dated ,june #aa1 #aged1 was entitled 8,de humore acide cibis orto et magnesia alba40 ,his full treatise1 8,experiments upon magnesia alba1 quicklime1 and some other alkaline substances10 was published in #agef4 ,it had been previously believed that the process of calcining certain alkaline salts whereby caustic alkalies were produced was explained by the combination with the salt of an acrid principle derived from the fire4 ,now it was shown that something was lost in the process2 that the calcined alkali weighed less than the salt experimented with4 ,the something expelled ,black proved was an air1 and an air different from that of the atmosphere1 which was generally supposed to be the one air of the universe4 ,he identified it with the 8gas sylvestre0 of ,van ,helmont1 and named it 8fixed air40 ,magnesia alba first appeared in the ,london ,pharmacopia of #aghg under that name4 ,illustration3 ,,joseph ,,black ,,lecturing 7,,after ,,john ,,ray7 7,from a print in the ,british ,museum47 ,the oxide of magnesia was believed to be an elementary substance until ,sir ,humphry ,davy separated the metal from the earth by his electrolytic method in the presence of mercury4 ,by this means he obtained an amalgam1 and by oxidising this he reproduced magnesia and left the mercury free1 thus proving that the earth was an oxide of a metal4 ,in #ahcj ,bussy isolated the magnesium by heating in a glass tube some potassium covered with fragments of chloride of magnesium1 and washing away the chloride of potassium formed4 ,magnesium in small globules was left in the tube4 ,the metal is now prepared on an industrial scale either by electrolysis1 or by fusing fluor-spar with sodium4 ,at present the uses of magnesium and of its derivatives are infinitesimal in comparison with the vast quantities available in deposits1 as in dolomite1 and in the sea4 ,,nitre among the ancient ,greeks and ,romans generally meant carbonate of soda1 sometimes carbonate of potash4 ,the ,arab chemists1 however1 clearly described nitrate of potash4 ,in the works attributed to ,geber and ,marcus ,grcus1 especially1 its characters are represented4 ,raymond ,lully1 in the thirteenth century1 mentions sal nitri1 and evidently alludes to saltpetre1 and ,roger ,bacon always meant nitrate of potash when he wrote of nitre4 ,it was not1 however1 until the seventeenth century that the term acquired the definite meaning which we attach to it4 ,at the beginning of that century there was much discussion as to the formation of nitre1 as it had been held that the acid which combined with the alkali was ready formed in the atmosphere4 ,glauber was the first to argue that vegetables formed saltpetre from the soil4 ,stahl taught that the acid constituent of nitre was vitriolic acid combined with phlogiston emanating from putrefying vegetable matter4 ,after gunpowder had become a prime necessity of life1 saltpetre bounded upwards in the estimation of kings and statesmen4 ,in ,france in #aedj an ,edict was issued commissioning officials called 8salptriers0 in all districts who were authorised to seek for saltpetre in cellars1 stables1 dovecotes1 and other places where it was formed naturally4 ,no one was permitted to pull down a building of any sort without first giving due notice to the salptriers4 ,the 8,salptrire0 ,asylum in ,paris recalls one of the national factories of nitre4 ,during the ,french ,revolution citizens were 8invited0 to lixiviate the soil and ceilings of their cellars1 stables1 etc41 and to supply the ,republic with saltpetre for gunpowder4 ,the ,government paid #bd sous1 #as41 a pound for the nitre thus procured1 though1 as this was no doubt paid in assignats1 it was cheap enough4 ,it was estimated that #af1jjj1jjj lbs4 a year were thus provided4 ,,petroleum4 ,under the name of naphtha and other designations petroleum has been known and used from the earliest times4 ,the ,persians were the first1 as far as is known1 to employ it for lighting1 and also for cooking4 ,they likewise made use of it as a liniment for rheumatism4 ,so in this country1 a kind of petroleum was sold as a liniment under the name of ,british oil2 and in ,america1 long before the great oil industry had been thought of1 petroleum was popular as a liniment for rheumatism under the name of ,seneca ,oil4 ,asphalt1 or ,bitumen of ,juda1 was used by the ,egyptians for embalming4 ,probably they reduced its solidity by naphtha4 ,naphtha was employed by ,medea to render the robe which she presented to her rival ,glauca inflammable1 and this legend is given to account for the name of ,oil of ,medea1 by which petroleum was anciently known4 ,it was no doubt the principal ingredient in the ,greek ,fire of the middle ages4 ,petroleum has been called by many other names4 ,oil of ,peter or ,petre was a common one1 meaning1 like petroleum1 simply rock oil4 ,myrepsus1 in the thirteenth century1 refers to it as ,allicola4 ,the monks called it sometimes oil of ,st4 ,barbarus1 and oil of ,st4 ,catherine4 ,dioscorides said naphtha was useful as an application in dimness of sight4 ,two centuries ago it was occasionally given in doses of a few drops for worms1 and was frequently applied in toothache4 ,petroleum ,barbadense1 ,barbadoes tar1 had some reputation in pectoral complaints in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries1 and was admitted into the ,p4,l4 as the menstruum for sulphur in the balsamum sulphuris ,barbadense4 ,,phosphorus4 ,phosphorus1 or its ,latin equivalent1 ,lucifer1 was the name given by the ancient astronomers to the planet ,venus when it appeared as a morning star4 ,when it shone as an evening star they called it ,hesperus4 ,do we invent such seductive names now1 or do they only seem attractive to us because they are ancient or foreign8 ,the phosphorescent properties of certain earths had been occasionally noticed by naturalists1 but no observation of the kind has been traced in ancient writings4 ,the earliest allusion to a 8fire-stone0 known occurs in the work of a gossipy ,french historian named ,de ,thou4 ,in a history of his own times this writer relates that in #aeej1 when ,henri ,,ii made his state entry into ,boulogne on the occasion of its restoration to ,france by the ,english1 a stranger in foreign costume presented the king with a fire-stone which1 he said1 had been brought from ,india4 ,de ,thou narrates that this wonderful stone glowed with inconceivable splendour1 was so hot that it could not be touched without danger1 and that if confined in a close space it would spring with force into the air4 ,sometime early in the seventeenth century1 a shoemaker of ,bologna1 one ,vincent ,cascariolo1 who1 in addition to his ordinary business dabbled in alchemy1 discovered a stone in the neighbourhood of his city which was luminous in the dark4 ,the stone1 which is now known to have been a sulphate of barium1 and which the shoemaker calcined1 ground1 and formed into little round discs about the size of a shilling1 and sold for a fancy price1 was called the sun-stone4 ,the discs1 exposed to a strong light for a few minutes and then withdrawn into a dark room1 gave out the incandescent light which we know so well4 ,the discovery excited keen interest among scientific men all over ,europe4 ,illustration3 ,,johann ,,kunckel4 7,from the ,collection of ,etchings in the ,royal ,gallery at ,berlin47 ,about #affh two alchemists named ,bauduin and ,frueben1 who lived at ,grossenhayn in ,saxony1 conceived the idea of extracting by chemical processes the spirit of the world 7,spiritus ,mundi74 ,their notion was to combine earth1 air1 fire1 and water in their alembic1 and to obtain the essences of all of these in one distillate4 ,they dissolved lime in nitric acid1 evaporated to dryness1 exposed the residue to the air1 and let it absorb humidity4 ,they then distilled this substance and obtained the humidity in a pure form4 ,history does not tell us what questions they put to their spirit of the world when they had thus caught it4 ,it appears1 however1 that the stuff attained a great sale4 ,it was supplied at #ab groschen the loth1 equal to about #as4 #f;d4 per ounce1 and lords and peasants came after it eagerly4 ,rain-water would have been just as good1 ,kunckel1 who tells the story1 remarks4 ,but one day ,bauduin broke one of the vessels in which was contained some of the calcined nitrate of lime1 and he observed that this1 like the ,bologna stone1 was luminous in the dark after exposure to sunlight4 ,bauduin appreciated the importance of his discovery1 and1 taking some of his earth to ,dresden1 talked about it there4 ,kunckel1 who was then the ,elector's pharmacist1 and keenly interested in new discoveries1 heard about this curious substance1 and was very curious to find out all he could4 ,he visited ,bauduin and tried to draw from him the details of his process4 ,but ,bauduin was very shy of ,kunckel1 and the latter has left an amusing account of an evening he spent with his quarry4 ,kunckel tried to talk chemistry1 but ,bauduin would only take interest in music4 ,at last1 however1 ,kunckel induced ,bauduin to go out of the room to fetch a concave mirror to see if with that the precious phosphorus 7for ,bauduin had already appropriated this name to the stuff7 would absorb the light4 ,while ,bauduin was gone ,kunckel managed to nip a morsel with his finger-nail4 ,with this1 aided by the fragments of information he had been able to steal from ,bauduin's conversation1 he commenced to experiment by treating chalk with nitric acid1 and ultimately succeeded in producing the coveted luminous earth4 ,he sent a little lump of it to ,bauduin as an acknowledgment of the pleasant musical evening the latter had given him4 ,it was now #affi4 ,kunckel was visiting ,hamburg1 and there he showed to a scientific friend a piece of his 8phosphorus40 ,to his surprise the friend was not at all astonished at it1 but told ,kunckel that an old doctor in ,hamburg had produced something much more wonderful4 ,brandt was the name of the local alchemist4 ,he had been in business1 had failed1 and was now practising medicine enough to keep him1 but was devoting his heart and soul and all his spare time to the discovery of the philosopher's stone4 ,the two friends visited ,brandt1 who showed them the real 8phosphor0 which he had produced1 to which1 of course1 the other substances compared as dip candles might to the electric light1 but nothing would induce the old gentleman to disclose any details of his process4 ,kunckel wrote to a scientific friend happily named ,krafft at ,dresden about the new 8phosphor40 ,honour seems to have been cheap among scientific friends at that time1 for ,krafft posted off to ,hamburg1 without saying anything to ,kunckel about his intention1 caught ,brandt in a different humour1 or perhaps specially hard-up1 and bought his secret for #bjj thalers4 ,according to another story1 the ,german chemist ,homberg also succeeded in securing ,brandt's secret by taking to him as a present one of those weather prognosticators in which a figure of a man and another of a woman come out of doors or go in when it is going to be wet or fine1 as the case may be2 a toy which had just then been invented4 ,stimulated perhaps by ,brandt's obstinacy and ,krafft's treachery1 ,kunckel set to work and in time succeeded in manufacturing phosphorus4 ,it may be taken as certain that he had picked old ,brandt's brains a little1 and his own skill and shrewdness enabled him to fill up the gaps in his knowledge4 ,however he acquired the art1 he soon became the first practical manufacturer of phosphorus4 ,brandt discovered phosphorus because he had arrived at the conviction that the philosopher's stone was to be got from urine4 ,in the course of his experiments with that liquid1 phosphorus came out unexpectedly from the process of distilling urine with sand and lime4 ,the new substance excited great curiosity in scientific circles all over ,europe1 but the ,german chemists who knew anything about it kept their information secret1 and only misleading stories of its origin were published4 ,robert ,boyle1 however1 who was travelling on the ,continent when the interest in the discovery was keenest1 got a hint of the method of manufacture1 and on his return to ,england proceeded to experiment4 ,his operator and assistant in these investigations was ,ambrose ,godfrey ,hanckwitz1 who became the founder of a ,london pharmaceutical business which still exists4 ,ultimately ,boyle and ,hanckwitz were completely successful1 and for many years the 8,english phosphorus0 supplied by ,hanckwitz from his laboratory in ,southampton ,street1 ,strand1 monopolised the ,european market4 ,according to a pamphlet published by him1 entitled 8,historia ,phosphori et ,fama10 the continental phosphorus was an 8unctuous1 dawbing oyliness10 while his was the 8right glacial0 kind4 ,in #afhj ,boyle deposited with the ,royal ,society1 of which he was then president1 a sealed packet containing an account of his experiments and of his process for the production of the 8,icy ,noctiluca10 as he called his phosphorus4 ,it is related in the ,memoirs of the ,academy of ,sciences of ,paris for #agcg that in that year a stranger appeared in ,paris and offered for a stipulated reward to communicate the process of making phosphorus to the ,french ,government4 ,a committee of the ,academy1 with ,hellot as its president1 was appointed to witness the stranger's manipulation4 ,according to the report of this committee1 the experiment was completely successful4 ,it only remains to add1 to complete the history1 that in #agfi1 ,gahn1 a ,swedish mine owner1 discovered phosphorus in bones1 and that working from this observation ,scheele in #agge devised the process for the manufacture of phosphorus which is still followed4 ,such a remarkable substance as phosphorus1 extracted as it had been from the human body1 was evidently marked out for medical uses4 ,experiments were soon commenced with it4 ,kunckel's 8luminous pills0 were the first in the field1 so far as is known4 ,his report was published in the 8,chemische ,anmerkungen0 in #agba4 ,he gave it in three-grain doses1 and reported that it had a calmative effect6 ,subsequently it was tried in various diseases by continental practitioners4 ,mentz commended it in colic1 ,langensalz in asthenic fevers1 ,bonneken in tetanus1 ,wetkard in apoplexy1 and ,trampel in gout4 ,in #agfi ,alphonse ,leroy1 of ,paris1 reported a curious experience4 ,he was sent for to a patient apparently on the point of death from phthisis4 ,seeing that the case was hopeless1 he prepared and administered a placebo of sugared water4 ,calling the next day1 ,leroy found his patient somewhat revived1 and on examining the sugar which he had used for his solution1 he found that some phosphorus had been kept in it for a long time4 ,the patient was much too far gone to recover1 but she survived for fifteen days1 and ,leroy attributed this amelioration to the phosphorised water which he had accidentally given her4 ,gahn discovered phosphorus in the bones in #agfh1 and in #aggi another ,german chemist named ,hensing ascertained its presence in a fatty matter which he extracted from the brain4 ,medical theories were naturally based on these observations4 ,couerbe1 a ,french chemist quoted by ,dr4 ,churchill1 wrote thus in #ahcj3 8,the want of phosphorus in the brain would reduce man to the sad condition of the brute2 an excess of this element irritates the nervous system1 excites the individual1 and throws him into that terrible state of disturbance called madness1 or mental alienation2 a moderate proportion gives rise to the sublimest ideas1 and produces that admirable harmony which spiritualists call the soul40 ,british practitioners took but very little notice of phosphorus as a remedy in the first century of its career1 although it remained for a large part of that period an ,english product4 ,it is rather curious1 too1 that neither in this country nor on the ,continent did it get into the hands of the empirics1 as mercury1 antimony1 and other dangerous drugs did4 ,it may be supposed that it was not so much the danger that checked them as the pharmaceutical difficulties in the way of preparing suitable medicines4 ,the earliest preparations of phosphorus1 such as ,kunckel's pills1 were a combination of it in a free state with conserve of roses4 ,this method was gradually abandoned on account of the difficulty of subdividing the phosphorus so perfectly that the dose could be measured accurately4 ,but as ,dr4 ,ashburton ,thompson remarks1#c 8although it is not so specifically mentioned1 the uncertainty of action which imperfectly divided phosphorus exhibits0 had something to do with the rejection of the old formulas4 ,that is putting it very gently4 ,the three-grain doses must have killed more people than they cured4 ,the author just quoted says that in the early days 8the dose employed seldom fell below #c grains1 while it occasionally rose as high as #ab grains40 ,even ,leroy1 he adds1 instituted his experiments by taking a bolus of #c grains1 and he did not seriously suffer from it4 ,the recommended dose has been regularly declining4 ,in #ahee ,dr4 ,hughes ,bennett gave it at one-fortieth to one-eighth of a grain4 ,the ,pharmacopia now prescribes one-hundredth to one-twentieth of a grain4 ,,the ,,hypophosphites4 ,the hypophosphites in the form of syrup were introduced by ,dr4 ,j4 ,f4 ,churchill1 of ,paris1 as specifics in consumptive diseases about #aheg4 ,his preference of these salts over the phosphates was based on the theory that the deficiency in the system in a phthisical condition was not of phosphates1 which had been completely oxidised1 but of a phosphide in an oxidisable condition1 and this requirement was fulfilled by the hypophosphites4 ,the latter he compared to wood or coal1 the phosphates to ashes1 so far as active energy was concerned4 ,dr4 ,churchill's interest in a special manufacture of the hypophosphite syrups prejudiced the medical profession against his theories1 and it is not certain that he got a fair hearing in consequence4 ,the general verdict was that his results were not obtained by other experimenters1 but for a good many years past syrups of the hypophosphites have been among the most popular of our general tonics4 ,phosphorus is soluble in alcohol1 ether1 chloroform1 bisulphide of carbon1 and to a very small extent in water4 99 99 99 99 99 ,phosphor paste as a vermin killer was ordered by the ,prussian ,government to be substituted for arsenical compounds in #ahdc1 and it is probable that to some degree the alteration has been successful1 though in ,france it was found that phosphorus in this form became a popular agent for suicide and criminal poisoning4 ,,sal ,,prunella was at one time in high esteem1 as it was believed that by the process adopted for making it the nitre was specially purified4 ,purified nitre was melted in an iron pot and a little flowers of sulphur 7#a oz4 to #b lb47 was sprinkled on it1 a little at a time4 ,the sulphur deflagrating was supposed to exercise the purifying influence on the nitre4 ,the actual effect was to convert a small part of the nitrate of potash into sulphate4 ,it was first called ,sal ,prunella in ,germany from the belief that it was a specific against a certain plum-coloured quinsy of an epidemic character4 ,boerhaave advised the omission of the sulphur1 but believed that melting the pure nitre and moulding it was of medicinal value by evaporating aqueous moisture4 ,nitre and flowers of sulphur were deflagrated together before the ,sal ,prunella theory was invented1 equal quantities being employed4 ,the resulting combination1 which was of course sulphate of potash1 was known as ,sal ,polychrestum1 the ,salt of ,many ,virtues4 ,,sal ,,gemm4 ,sal ,gemm or ,sal ,fossile was the name given to rock salt1 particularly to the transparent and the tinted varieties4 ,it was believed to be more penetrating than the salt derived from sea water1 and this property ,lemery ascribed to the circumstance that it had never been dissolved in water1 and therefore retained all its native keenness4 ,,spirit ,,of ,,salt4 ,spiritus ,salis ,marini ,glauberi was one of the products discovered by ,glauber1 to whom we owe the name of spirit of salt4 ,he was a keen observer and remarked on the suffocating vapour yielded as soon as oil of vitriol was poured on sea-salt4 ,it is astonishing to his biographers that he just missed discovering chlorine4 ,the spirit of salt was highly recommended for many medicinal uses2 for exciting the appetite1 correcting the bile1 curing gangrene1 and dissolving stone4 ,its remarkable property of assisting nitric acid to dissolve gold was soon observed and was attributed to its penetrating power4 ,,tartar4 ,tartarus was the mythological hell where the gods imprisoned and punished those who had offended them4 ,virgil represents it as surrounded by three walls and the river ,phlegethon1 whose waters were sulphur and pitch4 ,its entrance was protected by a tower wrapped in a cloud three times as black as the darkest night1 a gate which the gods themselves could not break1 and guarded by ,cerberus4 ,there is nothing to associate this dismal place with the tartar of chemistry1 except that in old books it is said that ,paracelsus so named the product because it 8produces oil1 water1 tincture1 and salt1 which burn the patient as ,tartarus does40 ,paracelsus did not invent the name of tartar2 it is found in many alchemical books long before his time4 ,the earliest found use of it is in an alchemical work by ,hortulcuus1 an ,english alchemist of the eleventh century4 ,paracelsus was writing about 8tartarous diseases0 78,de ,morbis ,tartareis071 those1 that is1 which resulted from the deposit of concretions4 ,stone1 gravel1 and gout were among these diseases of tartar1 and evidently it was this morbid tartar which he associated with the legendary ,tartarus4 ,the word tartar1 applied to the deposit from wine1 is sometimes supposed to have descended from an ,egyptian term1 dardarot1 meaning an eternal habitation1 and etymologists generally prefer it as the origin of the name4 ,if it was1 the sense development of the term as applied to the chemical is not clear4 ,the ,greek word tartarizein1 meaning to shiver with cold1 does not help much in tracing the history of the word4 ,another frequently advocated derivation is the ,arab1 durd1 dregs1 sediment1 which it is said was actually applied to the tartar of wine4 ,it appears1 too1 that the ,arabs used this term also as we do to represent the deposit on teeth2 they also had a word1 dirad1 to mean a shedding of teeth1 and by darda they signified a toothless old woman4 ,some etymologists consider1 however1 that the transition from durd to tartar would be most unlikely4 ,when the alchemists began to experiment with tartar their first process would be to distil it4 ,the residue left in their retorts they called the salt of tartar4 ,they knew this substance under other names1 salt of wormwood1 for instance1 but they did not recognise the identity4 ,by treating tartar with vinegar they produced acetate of potash1 which they called regenerated tartar4 ,oswald ,crollius1 the compiler of the first ,european pharmacopia1 gave the name of vitriolated tartar to what we now know as sulphate of potash4 ,the iatro-chemists of the next century1 who obtained it by various methods1 gave to sulphate of potash distinct names which show in what esteem it was held4 ,among other designations it appears as ,specificum purgans1 ,arcanum duplicatum1 ,nitrum fixum1 ,panacea holsatica1 and ,sel de duobus4 ,glaser1 who produced it from sulphur1 saltpetre1 and urine distilled together1 sold it as ,sal ,polychrest of ,glaser4 ,cream of tartar was known to the ancients under the name of ,fx ,vini1 which is the designation for it used by ,dioscorides4 ,the tartar of wine was found to be only soluble in water with difficulty2 but if boiled in water a turbid liquor was yielded which in the boiled condition continually threw up a sort of skin or scum4 ,this was taken off with a skimmer and dried2 it was naturally called ,cream of ,tartar4 ,paracelsus and other chemists distilled this cream and got an oil from it which they called oil or spirit of tartar4 ,it was chiefly a pyro-tartaric acid with some empyreumatic constituents4 ,it was a thin1 light yellow1 bitter tasting but rather tart1 and pleasant smelling oil1 and was credited with remarkable penetrating powers4 ,it was used in disorders of the ligaments1 membranes1 and tendons4 ,particularly surprising to them was the fact that the residue of a distinctly acid substance was a strong alkali4 ,this 8salt of tartar0 was found to yield another oil called oleum tartari per deliquium1 or lixivium tartari1 which was the name by which it was called in the ,pharmacopia4 ,salt of tartar and cream of tartar together yielded the tartarum tartarisatus4 ,it was when making this that ,seignette produced by accident his double tartrate of potash and soda1 now familiarly known as ,rochelle salt4 ,,vitriol4 ,visitando ,interiora ,terr ,rectificando ,invenies ,occultum ,lapidem ,veram ,medicinam4 7,visiting the interior of the earth you may find1 by rectifying the occult stone1 the true medicine47 ,this acrostic is first found in the works attributed to ,basil ,valentine4 ,the vitriols enjoyed an enormous reputation in medicine1 at least until their chemical composition was definitely explained by ,geoffrey in #agbh4 ,it was certainly known that the green vitriols contained iron1 and they were sometimes named vitriol of ,mars2 that the blue vitriols contained copper1 which obtained for them the designation of vitriol of ,venus2 and the white was understood to be associated with calamine1 though by some it was supposed to be only green vitriol which had been calcined4 ,the name of vitriol cannot be traced further back than to ,albertus ,magnus in the thirteenth century4 ,he expressly applies the term to atramentum viride1 the ,latin name for sulphate of iron4 ,presumably it was given to the salt on account of its glassy appearance4 ,the alchemists1 on distilling these vitriols found that they always yielded a spirit or oil1 to which they naturally gave the name of spirit or oil of vitriol4 ,in ,greek the vitriols were called chalcanthon1 as they were extracted from brass2 the common name in ,latin was atramentum sutorium1 because they were employed for making leather black4 ,dioscorides states that this substance is a valuable emetic1 should be taken after eating poisonous fungi1 and will expel worms4 ,pliny recommends it for the cure of ulcers1 and ,galen used it as a collyrium4 ,there was a good deal of confusion between the vitriols and the alums1 and the ,greek stypteria and the ,latin alumens were often an aluminous earth combined with some vitriol4 ,pliny gives a test for the purity of what he calls alum1 which consists in dropping on it some pomegranate juice1 when1 he says1 it should turn black if it is pure4 ,evidently his alum contained sulphate of iron4 ,paracelsus declared that1 with proper chemical management1 vitriol was capable of furnishing the fourth part of all necessary medicine4 ,it contained in itself the power of curing jaundice1 gravel1 stone1 fevers1 worms1 and epilepsy4 ,mayerne was another strong advocate of the medicinal virtues of vitriol4 ,according to him it possessed the most diverse properties4 ,it was hot and cold1 attenuative and incressant1 aperitive and astringent1 coagulative and dissolvant1 corroborative1 purgative1 and sudorific4 ,a multitude of medicines were made from the vitriols4 ,a vitriolum camphoratum was included in the ,p4,l4 of #agba by distilling spirit of camphor from calcined vitriol2 but ,quincy remarks3--8,its intention ,i am not acquainted with1 nor have ever met with it in prescription40 ,in ,dr4 ,walter ,harris's 8,pharmacopia ,anti-,empirica10 #afhc1 allusion is made to a remedy made by one ,bovius1 which consisted of spirit of vitriol1 and was designed to lie a universal remedy4 ,added to an infusion of balm1 marjoram1 and bugloss1 it would cure headache and vertigo2 with rose water1 fevers2 with fumitory water1 itch2 with fennel water it would restore decayed memory2 with plantain water it was a remedy against diarrha2 and with lettuce water it became a narcotic4 8,a rare fellow10 quaintly comments the doctor4 ,homberg's narcotic salt of vitriol was a combination of green vitriol and borax made after a very complicated process4 ,the ,gilla ,vitrioli was a purified white vitriol used as an emetic4 ,spiritus ,vitrioli dulcis was an imitation of ,hoffmann's ,anodyne4 ,this distilled with hartshorn made the ,diaphoretic ,vitriol4 ,one of the precious secrets of the alchemists1 occasionally sold to kings and wealthy amateurs1 was that of converting iron into copper by means of blue vitriol4 ,a strong solution of the salt was prepared1 and an iron blade1 or any iron instrument1 was immersed in it for a certain time4 ,when taken out it appeared to be a blade or instrument of copper4 ,kunckel was the first chemist to explain the fallacy4 ,elixir of ,vitriol was devised by ,adrian ,mynsicht1 a famous ,german physician1 in the early part of the seventeenth century4 ,he published an ,armamentarium ,medico-,chymicum which became very popular4 ,his ,elixir 7under the name of ,elixir ,vitrioli ,mynsichti7 was first given in the ,p4,l4 of #agba as follows3--cinnamon1 ginger1 cloves1 of each #c drachms3 calamus aromaticus1 #a oz42 galangal root1 #a oz42 sage1 mint1 of each oz42 cubebs1 nutmegs1 of each #b oz42 lign4 aloes1 lemon peel1 of each #a drachm2 candied sugar1 #c oz4 ,digest in spirit of wine1 #a lb41 and oil of vitriol #a lb4 for twenty days4 ,then filter4 ,in the ,p4,l4 #agdf the formula was simplified by mixing #d oz4 of oil of vitriol with #a lb4 of ,aromatic ,tincture1 and the title was changed to ,elixir ,vitrioli ,acidum4 ,in the ,p4,l4 #aggh there was no ,elixir of ,vitriol1 dilute sulphuric acid taking its place4 ,this was then called ,acidum ,vitriolicum ,dilutum4 ,under the name of ,acidum ,sulphuricum ,aromaticum1 however1 an acidulated tincture1 flavoured with ginger and cinnamon1 was retained1 and this1 with the synonym of ,elixir of ,vitriol1 is still in the ,b4,p4 ,quincy 7#agbd7 states that this medicine had lately come greatly in practice1 and deservedly4 8,it mightily strengthens the stomach10 he says1 8and does good service in relaxations from debauches and overfeeding40 ,the alga 8nostoch10 so-called by ,paracelsus1 who also described it as flos clorum1 acquired the name of vegetable vitriol1 and sometimes spittle of the stars1 because it appeared after rains in places where it had not been seen before4 ,,xiv ,,medicines ,,from ,,the ,,metals ,metals are all identical in their essence2 they only differ by their form4 ,the form depends on accidental causes which the artist must seek to discover4 ,the accidents interfere with the regular combinations of sulphur and mercury2 for every metal is a combination of these two substances4 ,when pure sulphur meets pure mercury1 gold results sooner or later by the action of nature4 ,species are immutable and cannot be transformed from one into the other2 but lead1 copper1 iron1 silver1 c41 are not species4 ,they only appear to be from their diverse forms4 ,,albertus ,,magnus3--8,de ,alchemia40 7,about #abej47 ,,antimony4 ,some of the old writers insisted that antimony 7the native sulphide7 was used as a medicine by ,hippocrates who called it ,tetragonon1 which simply meant four-cornered1 and of which we also know that it was made up with the milk of a woman4 ,the reason which the iatro-chemists gave for believing that this compound was made from antimony was worthy of the age when it was the practice to apply enigmatic names to medicinal substances1 a practice1 however1 quite foreign to ,hippocrates4 ,they understood the term to imply four natures or virtues1 and they said antimony had four virtues1 namely1 sudorific1 emetic1 purgative1 and cordial2 therefore tetragonon meant antimony4 ,,the ,,etymology ,,of ,,antimony4 ,the name of this metal is one of the curiosities of philology4 ,the old legend was that ,basil ,valentine1 testing his medicine on some of his brother monks1 killed a few of them4 8,those who have ears for etymological sounds10 says ,paris in 8,pharmacologia10 8will instantly recognise the origin of the word antimonachos1 or monks-bane40 ,another version of the monk story is to the effect that after ,basil ,valentine had been experimenting with antimony in his laboratory he threw some of his compounds out of the window1 and pigs came and ate them4 ,he noticed that after the purgative action had passed off the pigs fattened4 ,on this hint he administered the same antimonial preparation to certain monks who were emaciated by long fasts1 and they died through the violence of the remedy4 ,these stories were probably the invention of some ,french punster1 who worked them into shape out of the ,french name of the substance1 antimoine1 which1 without the change of a letter1 might mean bad for the monk4 ,littr entirely demolished any possibility of their truth by discovering the name in the writings of the ,salernitan physician1 ,constantine1 the ,african1 who lived at the end of the eleventh century1 three or four hundred years before the earliest dates suggested for ,basil ,valentine4 ,other suggested derivations have been anti-monos1 for the reason that the sulphide was never found alone2 anti-menein1 in reference to its tonic properties2 and anti-minium1 because it was used as an eye paint in the place of red lead4 ,these are all guesses unsupported by evidence4 ,the modern philological theory is that the early ,latin stibium and the late ,latin antimonium have the same etymological origin4 ,stibium was the ,latinised form of the ,greek stimmi4 ,stimmi declined as stimmid--and this may have found its way into the ,arabic through a conjectural isthimmid to the known ,arabic name uthmud1 which via athmud and athmoud became ,latinised again into antimonium4 ,,al-,,kohol4 ,the antimony known to the ancients as stibium or stimuli was the native sulphide which ,eastern women used for darkening their eyelashes4 ,probably it was used by ,jezebel when1 expecting ,jehu at ,samaria1 8she painted her eyes and tired her head40 ,the ,hebrew expression is 8she put her eyes in paint10 and the ,hebrew word for the paint is ,phuph2 7#b ,kings1 c4 #i1 v4 #cj74 ,in ,ezekiel1 c4 #bc1 v4 #dj1 a debauched woman is described who painted her eyes1 and in this case the ,hebrew word employed is ,kohol4 ,the ,septuagint translated both ,phuph and ,kohol by stimmi4 ,the method is still used by ,arabic women4 ,they have a little silver or ivory rod which they damp and dip into a finely levigated powder called ismed1 and draw this between the eyelids4 ,karrenhappuch1 one of ,job's daughters1 meant a vessel of antimony4 ,the writer of the ,book of ,enoch says that the angel ,azazel taught the practice to women before the ,flood4 ,he 8taught men to make swords1 and knives1 and shields1 and coats of mail1 and made known to them metals1 and the art of working them2 bracelets1 and ornaments1 and the use of antimony1 and the beautifying of the eyebrows1 and the most costly and choicest stones1 and all colouring tinctures1 so that the world was changed40 ,some of the early ,christian fathers condemned the vanity4 8,inunge oculos non stibio diaboli1 sed collyrio ,christi10 writes ,tertullian4 ,,alchemical ,,hopes ,,of ,,antimony4 ,the alchemists and the early chemical physicians had great hopes of antimony4 8,they tormented it in every possible manner10 says ,fourcroy1 8in the hope of getting from it a universal remedy40 ,with it1 too1 they were convinced that they were coming near to the transmutation of other metals into gold4 ,noticing how readily it formed alloys with other metals they named it ,lupus ,metallorum1 the ,wolf of ,metals4 ,their process for getting the ,powder of ,projection1 as well as can be gathered from their mystic jargon was to first fuse the crude antimony1 the sulphide1 with iron which withdrew the sulphur from the antimony4 ,the metal thus obtained they called the ,martial ,regulus of ,antimony4 ,regulus1 or little king1 implied an impure gold4 ,combining this with corrosive sublimate and silver1 and subliming the mixture they got the lunar butter of antimony4 ,the sublimation had to be repeated eight or ten times1 the residue1 or fces1 being added to the sublimate every time4 ,at last the sublimed butter of antimony was transferred to an oval glass vessel capable of containing twelve times its quantity1 and hermetically sealed4 ,the ,philosophic ,egg1 as the vessel with its contents was called1 was then placed in a sand-bath and kept at a moderate heat for several months4 ,when it had become converted into a red powder1 the operation was finished4 ,this powder was the ,powder of ,projection4 ,it was sprinkled on other metals in a state of fusion1 mercury being an ingredient of the fused mass1 and yellow gold was produced4 ,,antimonial ,,compounds4 ,by other processes the early experimenters obtained various other products4 ,by simply heating crude antimony in a crucible they would sometimes get a vitreous substance in consequence of some of the silica of the crucible combining with the antimony4 ,that was their glass of antimony1 which was generally an oxide with some sulphide4 ,in other cases the so-called liver of antimony resulted1 a compound containing a larger proportion of the sulphide4 ,this they also called crocus metallorum or saffron of the metals1 and one or other of these products was originally the basis of antimonial wine4 ,it was digested with ,rhine wine1 and the tartar of the wine formed a tartrate of antimony1 but1 as may be supposed1 the composition of the wine was very variable4 ,emetic tartar was subsequently substituted for the liver4 ,the crystalline protoxide of antimony obtained by inflaming1 volatilising1 and condensing the regulus was known as argentine flowers of antimony4 ,the regulus heated with nitric acid yielded a compound of metal with antimonious acid1 and was called mineral bezoar2 a compound1 really a suboxide1 got by fusing sulphide of antimony and nitre was called diaphoretic antimony2 the chloride1 first made by distilling crude antimony 7the native sulphide7 with corrosive sublimate1 yielded the thick soft butter of antimony2 the addition of water to this chemical caused the precipitation of a white oxychloride which was long known as ,algaroth's powder1 or mercury of life4 ,it contained no mercury1 but was the most popular emetic before the introduction of the tartrate4 ,victor ,algarotti1 who introduced it1 was a physician1 of ,verona1 who died in #afjc4 ,it was alleged that he was poisoned by his local rivals in consequence of the success of his remedy4 ,he was also the inventor of a quintessence of gold4 ,the regulus of antimony in alloy with some tin was used to make the antimony cups from which antimonial wine originated4 ,it was also made into the pilul perpetu1 or everlasting pills1 which1 passing through the body almost unchanged1 were kept as a family remedy and taken again and again4 ,it is probable that the surface of these pills became slightly oxidised1 and consequently acquired a medicinal effect4 ,,kermes ,,mineral4 ,one of the most famous of the antimony compounds was the kermes mineral1 which it is understood was invented by ,glauber about #afea4 ,he made it by treating a solution of the oxide of antimony with cream of tartar1 and then passing a current of sulphuretted hydrogen through the solution4 ,an orange-red powder was obtained1 and famous cures were effected by it4 ,glauber kept his process secret1 but a ,dr4 de ,chastenay learnt it after ,glauber's death from one of his pupils and confided it to a surgeon named ,la ,ligerie1 who in his turn communicated it to ,brother ,simon1 a ,carthusian monk1 who at once commenced successfully to treat his brother monks with it1 and soon after the ,poudre des ,chartres was one of the most popular remedies in ,france for many serious diseases1 small-pox1 ague1 dropsy1 syphilis1 and many others4 ,in #agbj ,louis ,,xiv bought the formula for its preparation for a considerable sum from ,la ,ligerie4 ,it has been agreed by chemists1 ,berzelius and others1 who have studied ,kermes ,mineral1 that it is a mixture of about #dj per cent4 or less of oxide of antimony with a hydrated sulphide of the metal1 and a small proportion of sulphide of sodium or potassium 7according to the method of preparation74 ,it is still official in the ,pharmacopias of the ,united ,states and of many ,continental countries4 ,from the solution from which the ,kermes had been deposited a further precipitate was obtained by the addition of hydrochloric acid4 ,this1 too1 was a mixture1 consisting of protosulphide and persulphide of antimony with some sulphur4 ,it was the golden sulphuret which in association with calomel became so noted in the form of ,plummer's powder and ,plummer's pills4 ,the powder was at first known as ,plummer's thiops ,medicinalis4 ,it would be tedious to go through the multitude of antimonial compounds which have become official1 and it would be impossible in any reasonable space even to enumerate the quack medicines with an antimonial base which were so recklessly sold in this and other countries1 especially in the earlier half of the seventeenth century4 ,the most important of all the antimonial compounds1 or1 at least1 the one which has maintained the favour of the medical profession in all countries1 is1 of course1 the tartrate of antimony and potassium1 emetic tartar4 ,,emetic ,,tartar4 ,adrian ,mynsicht1 physician to the ,duke of ,mecklenburg in the early part of the seventeenth century1 is generally credited with the invention of emetic tartar4 ,certainly the earliest known description of it is found in his 8,thesaurus ,medico-,chymicum10 published in #afca4 ,but ,hofer has pointed out that the mixture known as the ,earl of ,warwick's ,powder1 which consisted of scammony1 diaphoretic antimony 7a binantimoniate of potash7 and cream of tartar1 which ,cornachinus of ,pisa described in #afbj1 was really its forerunner1 and he considers that the salt was recognised in medicine before ,mynsicht published his description4 ,glauber1 in #afdh1 described the process of making ,mynsicht's emetic tartar from cream of tartar and argentine flowers of antimony4 ,,antimony ,,controversy4 ,no medicine has been more violently attacked or so enthusiastically praised as antimony4 ,the virulent antagonism to it manifested by the ,faculty of ,physicians of ,paris was unquestionably the exciting cause of much of the fame to which it attained4 ,it is generally stated that on the instigation of the ,faculty the ,parliament of ,paris decreed that it should not be employed in medicines at all4 ,this1 however1 has been proved to be incorrect4 ,certainly the ,faculty in #aeff did1 in fact1 forbid its own licentiates to use it1 and actually expelled one of their most able associates1 ,turquet de ,mayerne1 because he had disobeyed their injunction4 ,but ,m4 ,teallier has shown by documentary evidence that the decree of the ,parliament did not go beyond requiring that antimony should not be supplied for medicinal use except on the order of a qualified physician4 ,the action of the ,faculty1 although approved for a time1 was later almost disregarded1 and when the court physicians cured the young king1 ,louis ,,xiv1 in #afeg1 by the administration of antimony1 the defeat of the anti-antimonists was completed4 ,the repeal of the decree against antimonials was dated #afff1 just a century after its promulgation4 ,louis ,,xiv was taken dangerously ill at ,calais1 in #afeg1 when he was #ai years of age4 ,a physician 7,voltaire says a quack7 of ,abbeville had the audacity to treat him by the administration of emetic tartar1 and the ,king himself and his ,court were convinced that he owed his life to this remedy4 ,the opponents of antimony were silenced1 though they did not yield in their opinion4 ,gui ,patin1 who had termed the new medicine 8tartre stygi0 7its usual ,french name was tartre stibi71 protested against the attempt to canonise this poison1 and asserted that the cure of the king was due to his own excellent constitution4 ,to illustrate the earnestness1 not to say the ferocity1 of medical controversy at the beginning of the seventeenth century1 the record of the expulsion of ,turquet de ,mayerne from the ,college of ,physicians of ,paris1 in #afjc1 quoted from the minutes of the ,college and translated by ,nedham1 may be given4 ,it should be remembered that ,turquet was the favourite physician of ,henri ,,iv1 and1 nominally1 his offence was that he had published a defence of his friend1 ,quercetanus1 who had prescribed mercurial and antimonial medicines4 ,the minute is in the following terms3-- ,the ,college of ,physicians in the ,university of ,paris1 being lawfully congregated1 having heard the ,report made by the ,censor to whom the business of examining the ,apology published under the name of ,turquet de ,mayerne1 was committed1 do with unanimous consent condemn the same as an infamous libel1 stuffed with lying reproaches and impudent calumnies1 which could not have proceeded from any but an unlearned1 impudent1 drunken1 mad fellow3 ,and do judge the said ,turquet to be unworthy to practise physick in any place because of his rashness1 impudence1 and ignorance of true physick3 ,but do exhort all physicians which practise ,physick in any nations or places whatsoever that they will drive the said ,turquet and such like monsters of men and opinions out of their company and coasts2 and that they will constantly continue in the doctrine of ,hippocrates and ,galen4 ,moreover1 they forbid all men that are of the ,society of the ,physicians of ,paris1 that they do not admit a consultation with ,turquet or such like person4 ,whosoever shall presume to act contrary shall be deprived of all honours1 emoluments1 and privileges of the ,university and be expunged out of the regent ,physicians4 ,dated ,december #e1 #afjc4 ,illustration3 ,,antimony ,,cup4 7,from an illustration to a note by ,professor ,redwood in the ,pharmaceutical ,journal1 ,july #a1 #aheh47 ,,antimony ,,cups 7,,pocula ,,emetica7 were in use in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries1 more perhaps in ,germany than in this country4 ,the one illustrated is in the ,museum of ,practical ,geology1 ,jermyn ,street4 ,it was bought for a shilling at a sale at ,christies' in #aheh1 and was described in the catalogue as 8,an old metal cup1 with ,german inscription and coronet1 gilt1 in woodcase40 ,the cups are said to have been made of an alloy of tin and antimony1 and wine standing for a time in one of them would become slightly impregnated with emetic tartar1 the tartar of the wine acting on the film of oxide of antimony which would form on the inner surface of the cup4 ,how far these cups were used in families does not appear1 but it is said they were common in monasteries1 and that monks who took too much wine were punished by having to drink some more which had been standing in the poculum emeticum4 ,dr4 ,walter ,harris1 in 8,pharmacopia ,anti-,empirica0 7#afhc7 refers to the cups1 and says1 8their day is pretty well over4 ,it is rare to meet with one now40 ,it was supposed by the early chemical physicians that antimony imparted emetic properties to wine without any loss of weight4 ,angelo ,sala tells of a ,german who attained some fame in his time by letting out a piece of glass of antimony on hire4 ,the patient was instructed to immerse this in a cup of wine for three1 four1 or five hours 7according to the strength of the person prescribed for71 and then to drink the wine4 ,the practitioner charged a fee of a dozen fresh eggs for the use of his stone1 and1 as he had hundreds of clients1 patients had to wait their turn for their emetic4 ,,bismuth4 ,bismuth1 the metal1 was not known to the ancients nor to the ,arabs4 ,it was first mentioned under that name by ,agricola1 in #aedf1 in 8,de ,natura ,fossilium10 and was not then regarded as a distinct body4 ,agricola considered it to be a form of lead1 and other mining chemists believed that it gradually changed into silver4 ,the ,magistery 7trisnitrate or oxynitrate7 was the secret blanc de fard which ,lemery sold in large quantities as a cosmetic4 ,he bought the secret from an unknown chemist and made a large fortune out of it4 ,his process was to dissolve one ounce of the metal in two ounces of nitric acid and to pour on the solution five or six pints of water in which one ounce of sea-salt had been dissolved4 ,the sea-salt would yield a proportion of bismuth oxychloride in the precipitate4 ,lemery made a pomatum1 i to the ounce1 and a lotion1 i to iv of lily water4 ,until the latter part of the eighteenth century bismuth salts were regarded as poisonous and were scarcely used in medicine by way of internal administration4 ,even ,odier1 of ,geneva1 to whom we owe the introduction of this medicine in dyspepsia and diarrha1 prescribed it in #a grain doses with #aj grains each of magnesia and sugar4 ,lemery says the bismuth of his time was a compound made in ,england from the gross and impure tin found in the ,english mines4 8,the workmen mix this tin with equal parts of tartar and saltpetre4 ,this mixture they throw by degrees into crucibles made red hot in a large fire4 ,when this is melted they pour it into greased iron mortars and let it cool4 ,afterwards they separate the regulus at the bottom from the scori and wash it well4 ,this is the tin-glass1 which may be called the regulus of tin40 ,pomet says much the same about the composition4 ,he adds1 8,it is so true that tin-glass is artificial that ,i have made it myself1 and am ready to show it to those who won't believe me40 ,those writers belonged to the first quarter of the eighteenth century4 ,a quarter of a century later ,quincy is telling us that the metal called ,bismuth 8is composed of tin1 tartar1 and arsenic1 made in the northern parts of ,germany1 and from thence brought to ,england40 ,meanwhile ,stahl and ,dufay had been studying bismuth and had established its character and elementary nature4 ,liquor ,bismuthi et ,ammonii ,citratis was introduced into the ,b4,p4 #ahfg1 as an imitation of the proprietary ,liquor ,bismuthi1 which ,mr4 ,g4 ,f4 ,schacht1 pharmaceutical chemist1 of ,clifton1 had invented a few years previously4 ,it was found that the official preparation differed from the proprietary one in taste and action principally because no attempt had been made to free it from the nitric acid used to dissolve the bismuth4 ,this was corrected in #ahhe by a liquor prepared from citrate of bismuth dissolved by solution of ammonia4 ,this method has been further elaborated4 ,continental physicians have not favoured a solution of bismuth4 ,they consider that the remedial value of bismuth depends on its insolubility2 this view now obtains in ,england also4 ,trochisci ,bismuthi ,compositi of the ,b4,p4 #ahfd1 were believed to be intended to imitate the 8,heartburn ,tablets10 made by ,dr4 ,burt1 an eminent medical practitioner of ,edinburgh in the early part of the nineteenth century1 and sold for him at a guinea a pound4 ,notwithstanding the price1 perhaps because of it1 these tablets attained to considerable popularity4 ,it was said that ,dr4 ,burt and his apprentices made all he supplied in his kitchen4 ,some said that his tablets contained no bismuth1 the antacid properties being due entirely to chalk4 ,in #ahfg rose-flavour was substituted for cinnamon in the official lozenges1 and in #ahih the oxynitrate of bismuth gave place to oxycarbonate4 ,,gold4 ,for gold in physick is a cordiall1 ,therefore he loved gold in special4 ,chaucer's ,doctour of ,phisike4 ,the employment of gold as a remedy is but rarely mentioned in ancient medical literature4 ,gold leaf was probably used by the ,egyptians to cover abrasions of the skin4 ,pieces of it have been found on mummies apparently so applied4 ,some of the ,arab alchemists1 ,geber among them1 are believed to have made some kind of elixir of life from gold1 but their writings are too enigmatical to be trusted4 ,avicenna mentions gold among blood purifiers1 and the gilding of pills originated with the ,eastern pharmacists4 ,probably it was believed that the gold added to the efficacy of the pills4 ,it was not1 however1 until the period of chemical medicine in ,europe that gold attained its special fame4 ,arnold of ,villa ,nova1 and ,raymond ,lully were among the advocates of the medicinal virtues of gold2 but in the century before ,paracelsus appeared1 ,brassavolus1 ,fallopius1 and other writers questioned its virtues4 ,with ,paracelsus1 ,quercetanus1 ,libavius1 ,crollius1 and others of that age1 however1 gold entered fully into its kingdom4 ,they could hardly exalt it too highly4 ,but it is difficult to ascertain from the writings of this period what the chemical physicians understood by gold4 ,paracelsus says it needs much preparation before it can be administered4 ,to make their aurum potabile some of the alchemists professed to separate the salt from the fixed sulphur1 which they held was the real principle of gold1 its seed1 as some of them called it1 and to obtain this in such a form that it could be taken in any liquor4 ,the seed of gold was with many of them the universal medicine which would cure all diseases1 and prolong life indefinitely4 ,it was the sulphur of the sun with which that body revivifies nature4 ,paracelsus prescribed gold for purifying blood1 and intimates that it is useful as an antidote in cases of poisoning1 and will prevent miscarriages in women4 ,he considered it not so cordial as emeralds1 but more so than silver4 ,he also states that if put into the mouth of a newly-born babe it will prevent the devil from acquiring power over the child4 ,the ,archidoxa ,medicin of ,paracelsus1 his famous ,elixir of ,long ,life1 is believed to have been a compound of gold and corrosive sublimate4 ,he recommended gold especially in diseases connected with the heart1 the organ which the sun was supposed to rule4 ,among the earlier ,paracelsians ,angelo ,sala wrote a treatise on gold1 entitled 8,chrysologia1 seu ,examen ,auri ,chymicum10 ,hamburg1 #afbb4 ,sachsens prepared a ,tinctura ,solis secundem secretiorem ,paracelsi ,mentem preparata4 ,but ,thurneyssen1 who carried on his quackeries on the largest scale1 did the most to push the gold business4 ,his ,magistery of the ,sun attained to great popularity in ,germany1 and these and his other preparations1 together with the astrological almanacks and talismans which he sold1 enabled him to live in great splendour at ,frankfort1 where he is said to have employed #bjj persons in his laboratory4 ,his fame departed1 however1 and he died in poverty at ,cologne1 in #aeie4 ,,aurum ,,potabile4 ,roger ,bacon is said to have held that potable gold was the true elixir of life4 ,he told ,pope ,nicholas ,,iv that an old man in ,sicily1 ploughing1 found one day a golden phial containing a yellow liquid4 ,he thought it was dew1 drank in off1 and was immediately transformed into a hale1 robust1 handsome1 and highly accomplished youth4 ,he entered into the service of the ,king of ,sicily1 and remained at court for the next eighty years4 ,francis ,anthony was a famous quack in the reigns of ,queen ,elizabeth and ,james ,i4 ,the ,college of ,physicians took proceedings against him several times1 fined him and imprisoned him1 but aristocratic influences were exerted on his behalf and ultimately the ,college found it prudent to let him alone4 ,his panacea 8,aurum potabile0 professed to be a solution of gold1 and the wealthy classes of the period had unbounded belief in its wonderful remedial virtues4 ,some years after the death of ,anthony the famous ,honourable ,robert ,boyle 7the 8,father of philosophy and brother of the ,earl of ,cork07 in the 8,sceptical ,chymist0 wrote that though he was prejudiced against all such compositions1 he had known 7and he describes7 some such wonderful cures resulting from this aurum potabile that he was compelled to bear testimony to its efficacy4 ,boyle also states that he had seen in part the preparation of this nostrum4 ,he rather enigmatically reports that there was but a single ingredient associated with the gold1 that this came from above1 and was reputed to be one of the simplest substances in nature4 99 99 99 99 99 ,anthony claimed that his product would cure most diseases2 vomitings1 fluxes1 stoppages1 fevers1 plague1 and palsies were included among the evils which it overcame4 ,several of the well-known physicians of the time wrote angry pamphlets denouncing ,anthony's pretensions4 ,dr4 ,matthew ,gwynne's 8,aurum non aurum10 and ,dr4 ,cotta's 8,cotta contra ,antonium0 were two of the most noted4 ,of course these gave ,anthony opportunities of reply1 and largely promoted the business4 ,in one of his later publications ,anthony boldly offered to exhibit his process to a committee of proper and unbiassed witnesses with the object of proving that the compound was truly a solution of gold4 ,the challenge appears to have been accepted1 and the ,master of the ,mint1 ,baron ,thomas ,knivet1 and other experts were present when the test was made4 ,according to ,gwynne the result was failure1 but ,i do not find any unprejudiced report of the experiment4 ,the writer of the life of ,anthony in the old 8,biographia ,britannica10 who is his warm partisan1 gives what he declares to have been the genuine formula for the aurum potabile4 ,it had long been in the possession of ,anthony's descendants1 he says1 and was given to him 7the author of the biography7 by an eminent chemist4 ,if this is true it is evident that a solution of gold would not have resulted from the process4 ,this is what the alleged ,anthony's manuscript prescribes3--,the object1 ,anthony says1 is to so far open the gold that its sulphur may become active4 ,to open it a liquor and a salt are required1 these together forming the menstruum4 ,the liquor was #c pints of red wine vinegar distilled from a gallon2 the salt was block tin burnt to ashes in an iron pan2 these to be mixed and distilled again and again4 ,take one ounce of filed gold1 and heat it in a crucible with white salt2 take it out and grind the mixture2 heat again2 wash with water until no taste of salt is left2 mix this with the menstruum1 one ounce to the pint1 digest1 and evaporate to the consistence of honey4 ,the ,aurum ,potabile was made by dissolving this in spirit of wine4 ,whatever may have been the opinion of the experts who watched ,anthony make his ,aurum ,potabile1 the sale of the panacea was not destroyed1 perhaps not injured by the result4 ,anthony made a handsome fortune out of it and continued to sell it largely until his death in #afbc1 and according to the authority already quoted1 his son ,john ,anthony1 who qualified as an ,m4,d4 and held the licence of the ,college1 derived a considerable income from the sale of the remedy4 ,dr4 ,munk1 however1 in the 8,roll of the ,college of ,physicians0 intimates that this gentleman was free from the hereditary stain4 8,he succeeded to the more reputable part of his father's practice10 is the pleasant way in which ,dr4 ,munk describes ,john ,anthony1 ,m4,d4 ,john1 however1 wrote the following epitaph on his father3 ,though poisonous ,envy ever sought to blame ,or hide the fruits of thy ,intention2 ,yet shall all they commend that high design ,of purest gold to make a ,medicine ,that feel thy ,help by that thy rare ,invention4 ,glauber 7#afej7 expounds 8the true method of making ,aurum ,potabile10 knowledge of which1 he says1 was bestowed on him from the highest4 8,haply there will be some10 he remarks at the beginning of his treatise on this subject1 who will deny 8that gold is the ,son of the ,sun1 or a metallic body1 fixed and perfect1 proceeding from the rays of the ,sun2 asking how the ,solary immaterial rays can be made material and corporeal80 ,but this only shows how ignorant they are of the generation of metals and minerals4 ,disposing of such incredulity by a few comments1 and referring the sceptics to his treatise ,de ,generatione ,metallorum1 he deals with several other irrelevant matters1 and at last describes his process in prolix and unintelligible terms4 8 of living gold one part1 and three parts of quick mercury1 not of the vulgar1 but the philosophical everywhere to be found without charges or labour40 ,he recommends1 but not as essential1 the addition to the gold of an equal part of silver4 8,the mixture of male and female will yield a greater variety of colours1 and who knoweth the power of the cordial union of gold and silver80 ,these metals being mixed in a philosophical vessel will be dissolved by the mercury in a quarter of an hour1 acquiring a purple colour4 ,heating for half an hour1 this will be changed to a green4 ,the compound is to be dissolved in water of dew1 the solution filtered and abstracted in a glass alembic three times until the greenness turns to a black like ink1 8stinking like a carcase40 ,after standing for forty hours the blackness and stink will depart1 leaving a milky white solution4 ,this is to be dried to a white mass1 which will change into divers colours1 ultimately becoming a finer green than formerly4 ,that green gold is to be dissolved in spirit of wine1 to which it will impart a quintessence1 red as blood1 which is the quickening tincture1 a superfluous ashy body being left4 ,after some more distillations and abstractions a strong red solution will be obtained which is capable of being diluted with any liquid and may be kept as a panacea for the most desperate diseases4 ,next to 8the stone0 this is the best of all medicines4 ,the author cautions his readers against the yellow or red waters sold by distillers of wine at a great price as potable gold4 ,further he explains that the solution of gold made with aqua regia or spirit of salt is of little or no medicinal value1 because the ,archeus cannot digest it1 but can only separate the gold and discharge it in the excrements4 ,in the 8,secrets of ,alexis0 7,john ,wight's translation7 a recipe for a potable liquor of gold is given which 8conserveth the youth and health of man1 and will heal every disease that is thought incurable in the space of seven doses at the furthest40 ,gold leaf1 lemon juice1 honey1 common salt1 and spirit of wine were to be frequently distilled4 8,the oftener it is distilled the better it be40 ,kenelm ,digby made a tincture of gold thus3--,gold calcined with three salts and ground with flowers of sulphur2 burnt in a reverberatory furnace twelve times1 and then digested with spirit of wine4 ,lemery gives a formula for potable gold1 or tincture of gold1 or diaphoretic sulphur of gold3--,dissolve any quantity of gold you like in aqua regia2 evaporate to dryness1 and make a paste of the residue with essence of cannella4 ,then digest it in spirit4 ,he adds1 sarcastically ,i suppose1 8,this tincture is a good cordial because of the essence of cannella and the spirit of wine40 ,about #aedj ,antoine ,lecoque1 a physician of ,paris1 acquired considerable reputation for his cures of syphilis by gold4 ,fallopius1 ,hoffmann1 and ,dr4 ,pitcairn1 of ,edinburgh1 more or less fully adopted his treatment1 but the theory gradually dropped out of medical practice4 ,it was revived early in the nineteenth century by ,dr4 ,chrestien1 of ,montpellier1 a physician of considerable reputation1 and his ardent advocacy had for a time considerable effect4 ,but subsequent trials in the ,french hospitals gave negative results4 ,there were1 no doubt1 many honest attempts to make aurum potabile1 and certainly there were a multitude of frauds palmed off on to a public who had come to believe in the miraculous remedial powers of the precious metal4 ,the following is one of the simplest formulas for extracting the virtue of gold4 ,it is given in 8,lewis's ,dispensatory10 #aghe1 but not with any suggestion of its medicinal value3--,one drachm of fine gold was dissolved in #b ounces of aqua regia4 ,to the solution #a ounce of essential oil of rosemary was added1 and the mixture well shaken4 ,the yellow colour of the acid solution was transferred to the oil1 which was decanted off1 and diluted with #e ounces of spirit of wine4 ,the mixture was digested for a month1 and then acquired a purple colour4 ,lewis explains that the oil takes up some of the gold1 which1 however1 is deposited on the sides of the glass1 or floats on the surface in the form of a slight film4 ,,aurum ,,fulminans was described in the works attributed to ,basil ,valentine1 and later by ,oswald ,crollius4 ,it is sometimes termed ,volatile ,gold4 ,valentine explains very clearly the process of making it1 that is1 by dissolving gold leaf in aqua regia and precipitating the fulminating gold by salt of tartar4 ,by treatment with vinegar or sulphur its explosive properties were to be reduced4 ,it was supposed to possess the medicinal value of gold in a special degree1 and was particularly recommended as a diaphoretic4 ,it appears from reports that it occasioned violent diarrhas1 and was1 no doubt1 often fatal4 ,the so-called ,mosaic ,gold1 which was given as a remedy for convulsions in children1 was an amalgam of mercury with tin1 ground with sulphur and sal ammoniac4 ,hahnemann insisted that gold had great curative powers1 and several homopathic physicians of our time have highly extolled it4 ,dr4 ,j4 ,c4 ,burnett1 in 8,gold as a ,remedy10 recommended triturations of gold leaf1 one in a million1 as a marvellous heart tonic1 especially in cases of difficult breathing in old age4 ,,iron4 ,iron was not regarded as of special medicinal value by the ancients4 ,the alleged administration of the rust of iron by ,melampus was apparently looked upon as a miracle1 and though this instance is often quoted as the earliest record of ferruginous treatment1 it does not appear to have been copied4 ,classical allusions1 such as that of the rust of the spear of ,telephus being employed to heal the wounds which the weapon had inflicted1 which is referred to by ,homer1 can hardly be treated as evidences of the surgical skill of that period4 ,iron is not mentioned as a remedial agent by ,hippocrates1 but ,dioscorides refers to its astringent property1 and on this account recommends it in uterine hmorrhage4 ,he states that it will prevent conception2 it subsequently acquired the opposite reputation4 ,the same authority1 as well as ,celsus1 ,pliny1 and others1 allude to a practice of quenching a red-hot iron in wine or water in order to produce a remedy for dysentery1 weak stomachs1 or enlargement of the spleen4 ,the later ,latin physicians made very little use of iron or its compounds4 ,oribasius and ,aetius write of the uses of its oxide outwardly in the treatment of ulcers1 and ,alexander of ,tralles prescribes both an infusion and the metal in substance for a scirrhus of the spleen4 ,he was probably the earliest physician who discovered its value as a deobstruent4 ,rhazes1 the ,arab1 gave it in substance1 and in several combined forms1 but ,avicenna regarded iron as a dangerous drug1 and suggested that1 if any had been accidentally taken1 some loadstone should be administered to counteract any evil consequences4 ,vitriol 7sulphate of iron and sulphate of copper7 was the iron medicine most in use up to the sixteenth century2 but it was not given with the special intention of giving iron4 ,paracelsus had great faith in the ,arcanum ,vitrioli1 which1 indeed1 appears to have been sulphur4 ,he also introduced the use of the magnet1 but only externally4 ,it was in the century after him that the salts of ,mars came into general medical use4 ,in the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the preparations of iron became very numerous4 ,iron filings brought into an alcohol1 that is very finely powdered1 were much employed1 sometimes alone and sometimes saccharated1 or combined with sugar candy4 ,crocus martis was the sesquioxide1 thiops martial was the black oxide1 and flores martis1 made by subliming iron filings and sal ammoniac1 yielding an ammoniated chloride of iron1 was included in the several ,british pharmacopias of the eighteenth century4 ,the association of iron with ,mars probably influenced the early chemical physicians in their adoption of iron salts in anmic complaints1 and as general tonics4 ,the undoubted effect of iron remedies in chlorotic disease was naturally observed1 and the reputation of the metal was established for the treatment of this condition long before it was discovered that iron is an invariable constituent of the human body4 ,when this physiological fact came to be recognised it was supposed that the action of iron salts was explained2 but1 in fact1 the investigations of the last century have only tended to make this theory doubtful4 ,it is known that in health the proportion of iron in the body is fairly constant4 ,an average man's blood contains about #ch grains1 almost all of which is contained in the hmoglobin4 ,he requires from one to two grains every day to make up for waste1 and this he gets in the meat and vegetable food which he absorbs4 ,the vegetables obtain iron from the soil1 and animals acquire it from the corn1 roots1 or grasses which they eat4 ,so far as is known it is from these sources only that human beings assimilate the iron they require4 ,it is very doubtful whether a particle of the iron administered in any of the multitudinous forms which pharmacy provides is retained4 ,a noted modern physiologist1 ,kletzinsky1 says 8,from all the hundredweights of iron given to anmics and chlorotics during centuries not a single blood corpuscle has been formed40 ,for all that there is no medical practitioner of any considerable experience who has not found directly beneficial results follow the administration of these medicines in such cases4 ,to ,sydenham and ,willis1 two of the most famous physicians of the seventeenth century1 the general employment of iron as a medicine may be traced4 ,sydenham1 in his treatise on hysteric diseases1 which1 he says1 are occasioned by the animal spirits being not rightly disposed1 and not as some supposed by the corruption of the blood with the menstrual fluid1 points out that the treatment must be directed to the strengthening of the blood1 for that is the fountain and origin of the spirits4 ,in cachexies1 loss of appetite1 chlorosis1 and in all diseases which we describe as anmic1 he recommends that if the patient is strong enough recourse should be had first to bleeding1 this to be followed by a thirty days' course of chalybeate medicine4 ,then he describes1 much the same as modern treatises do1 how rapidly iron quickens the pulses1 and freshens the pale countenances4 ,in his experience he has found that it is better to give it in substance than in any of the preparations1 8for busy chemists make this as well as other excellent medicines worse rather than better by their perverse and over officious diligence0 7,pechey's translation74 ,he advises #h grains of steel filings made into two pills with extract of wormwood to be taken early in the morning and at #e p4m4 for thirty days2 a draught of wormwood wine to follow each dose4 8,next to the steel in substance10 he adds1 8,i choose the syrup of it prepared with filings of steel or iron infused in cold ,rhenish wine till the wine is sufficiently impregnated1 and afterwards strained and boiled to the consistence of a syrup with a sufficient quantity of sugar40 ,illustration3 ,,dr4 ,,thomas ,,sydenham4 #afbd-afhi4 7,originator of ,sydenham's ,laudanum47 ,dr4 ,willis had a secret preparation of iron of which ,dr4 ,walter ,harris1 physician in ordinary to ,charles ,,ii1 in 8,pharmacologia ,anti-,empirica0 7#afhc71 writes3--8,the best preparation of any that iron can yield us is a secret of ,dr4 ,willis4 ,it has hitherto been a great secret and sold at a great price4 ,it was known as ,dr4 ,willis's ,preparation of ,steel40 ,dr4 ,harris thinks it will not be an unacceptable service to the public to communicate this masterpiece of that eminent and ever famous man4 8,it was no strained stately magistery1 no sublimation or salification1 no calcined crocus1 and no chemical mystery2 but an easy and a natural way of opening this hard body that it may open ours40 ,it was given particularly for the removal of obstructions4 ,the formula was equal parts of iron filings and crude tartar powdered and mixed with water in a damp mass in a glazed earthen vessel4 ,this was to be dried over a slow fire or in the sun2 wetted and dried again2 and this process repeated four or five times4 ,it might be given in white wine1 or made into a syrup1 or into pills1 electuary1 or lozenges4 ,dr4 ,willis preferred the crude tartar because the cream of tartar sold by the druggists was generally a cheat1 often combined with alum4 ,the crude could be bought at #f;d4 to #h;d4 per lb4 ,in the apothecaries' shops cream of tartar was sold at #cs4 to #cs4 #f;d4 per lb4 ,illustration3 ,,thomas ,,willis1 ,m4,d4 #afba-afge4 ,quincy 7#agbd71 who frequently offers explanations of the exact way in which medicines exercise their remedial power1 thus scientifically describes the action of iron in removing obstructions3--8,mechanics teach nothing more plainly than that the momenta of all percussions are as the rectangles under the gravities and celerities of the moving bodies4 ,by how much more gravity then a metalline particle has more than any other particle in the ,blood1 if their celerities are equal1 by so much the greater will the stroke of the metalline particle be against everything that stands in its way than of any other not so heavy2 and therefore will any ,obstruction in the ,glands and ,capillaries be sooner removed by such particles than by those which are lighter4 ,this is a way of reasoning that is plain to the meanest ,capacity40 ,tartarised iron has always been a favourite form for its administration4 ,the ,balls of ,mars 7boules de ,mars1 or boules de ,nancy71 still a popular medicine in ,france1 are a tartarised iron prepared by a complicated process4 ,first1 a decoction of vulnerary species is made from #ab parts of water and #b of the species4 ,this is strained and poured on #ab parts of pure iron filings in powder4 ,the mixture is evaporated to dryness and powdered4 ,on this powder another decoction1 #ah of water and #c of species1 is poured1 and #ab parts of red tartar added4 ,this compound is evaporated to the consistence of a firm paste1 and a third decoction1 #ce water and #e species1 is added to #be of the paste and #be of red tartar4 ,this is evaporated to the proper consistence to make balls1 which are usually about #a oz4 or #b oz4 in weight4 ,they are kept to dry and then wrapped in wrapper4 ,they are taken in doses of #d to #e grains much as ,blaud's pills are taken here4 ,sometimes the balls are dipped in water until a brown colour is imparted to the liquid4 ,this water is also used as an application to bruises4 ,mistura ,ferri ,composita was adopted in the ,p4,l41 #ahji1 from the formula of his anti-hectic mixture which ,dr4 ,moses ,griffith1 of ,colchester1 had published thirty or forty years previously4 ,paris quotes it as a successful instance of a medical combination which could not receive the sanction of chemical law2 and he testifies to the opposition offered on that ground to its official acceptance1 but adds that subsequent inquiry had proved that the chemical decompositions which constituted the objections to its use were in fact the causes of its utility4 ,it yields a protocarbonate of iron in suspension1 and a sulphate of potash in solution4 ,the compound of iron is in the state in which it is most active4 ,as evidence of the faith in ferruginous waters as tonics of the generative system1 ,phillips quotes from the thesis of ,dr4 ,jacques1 of ,paris1 a curious marriage contract said to have been common at one time among the burghers of ,frankfort to the effect that their wives should not visit the iron springs of ,schwalbach more than twice in their lives for fear of being too fruitful4 ,the story looks suspiciously like an advertisement of ,schwalbach4 ,tincture of perchloride of iron acquired its reputation in the #ahth century from the secret medicines known as ,la ,mothe's 8gouttes d'or10 and ,bestucheff's ,nerve ,tincture 7see page #cba74 ,the formula of the latter1 published by the ,academy of ,medicine of ,st4 ,petersburg1 was corrected by ,klaproth1 and under various names and in different forms found its way into all the pharmacopias4 ,klaproth's process was to dissolve powdered iron in a mixture of muriatic acid #c1 and nitric acid #a2 evaporate to dryness1 and then leave the mass to deliquesce to a brown liquor4 ,mix this with twice its weight of sulphuric ether4 ,the saturated ethereal solution to be mixed with twice its volume of spirit of wine1 and kept in small bottles exposed to light until the liquid acquired the proper golden tint4 ,a similar preparation is retained in the ,french ,codex under the title of ethereal-alcoholic tincture of muriate of iron4 ,reduced ,iron1 or ,iron reduced by hydrogen1 was first prepared by ,theodore ,quevenne1 chief pharmacist of the ,hpital de la ,charit1 about the year #ahed4 ,pharmacological experiments were made with it by himself in association with ,dr4 ,miquelard4 ,it was believed at first that the metallic iron obtained by the process described1 which was to heat the hydrated oxide of iron in a porcelain tube to dull red1 and then to pass a current of hydrogen through the tube1 was absolutely pure1 and from experiments on dogs they came to the conclusion that the metal in this form was more assimilable than any of its salts4 ,it had besides the advantage of being almost tasteless4 ,quevenne's treatise describing the process and the experiments was published in #ahed under the title of 8,action physiologique et therapeutique des ferrugineux40 ,later investigations1 while supporting the original opinion to a great extent as to the assimilability of the reduced iron1 established that the product is not and cannot be pure4 ,dusart showed in #ahhd that the proportion of actual iron could not exceed #hg per cent41 and was not likely to be more than #hd per cent4 ,oxides1 and carbonates of iron were inevitable1 while sulphur1 arsenic1 phosphorus1 and silicon were probable contaminations from the gas4 ,citrate of ,iron in scales was introduced by ,beral1 of ,paris1 in #ahca4 ,his formula is given in the ,pharm4 ,jnl41 vol4 ,i1 p4 #eid4 ,syrup of ,phosphate of ,iron was introduced in a paper read to the ,medical ,society of ,london in #ahea by ,dr4 ,routh1 and ,mr4 ,greenish subsequently described to the ,pharmaceutical ,society the process by which it was prepared4 ,the formula was afterwards improved by ,mr4 ,gale1 and his process was adopted in the ,b4,p4 ,it has since been modified4 ,a solution of iodide of iron was first employed in medicine in this country by ,dr4 ,a4 ,t4 ,thomson some time in the '#cj's of the nineteenth century4 ,it was introduced into the ,london and ,edinburgh ,pharmacopias in the form of a solid salt1 and in the latter also in the form of a solution4 ,neither of those preparations could be preserved from decomposition1 and the first suggestion of a syrup appears to have been made in ,buchner's ,repertorium in #ahci1 and soon after by other experimenters4 ,dr4 ,thomson gave a formula for a syrup of iodide of iron to one of the earliest meetings of the ,pharmaceutical ,society in #ahda1 reported in the first volume of the ,pharm4 ,jnl4 ,,lead4 ,lead is one of the ancient metals and was associated in classical writings with ,saturn4 ,the lead compounds used by the ancients in medicine were white lead or ceruse 7carbonate and hydrate71 and litharge 7oxide74 ,ceruse is supposed to owe its name to cera1 and to mean waxy2 litharge is from ,greek1 and means silver stone2 it was regarded as the scum of silver4 ,red lead or minium was also used to some extent in the form of an ointment4 ,although not much used now as a medicine for internal administration1 lead in various forms has been tried and advocated by doctors1 usually as a sedative4 ,the ,pil4 ,plumbi c4 ,opio is what remains in our ,pharmacopia of these recommendations4 ,galen mentions lead as a remedy in leprosy and plague1 and little bullets of lead were at one time given in cases of twisted bowels4 ,the sedative property of lead salts has caused them to be prescribed for neuralgia1 hysteria1 and convulsive coughs2 ,goulard1 recognising the anticatarrhal and astringent effects of the acetate1 recommended it in urethritis2 and on the theory that lead poisoning and phthisis were incompatible ,french practitioners at one time hoped to find in lead a remedy for tuberculosis4 ,litharge was the basis of most of the popular plasters1 and a century or two ago there were about a hundred of these either official or in demand4 ,litharge was called lithargyrum auri or lithargyrum argenti1 according to its colour2 but the deeper tint was only the result of a stronger fire in preparing the oxide4 ,white lead was an ingredient in several well-known old ointments1 the unguentum tripharmacum of ,mesu1 which was the ceratum lithargyri of ,galen1 the unguentum nutritum1 the unguentum diapomphologos1 in which it was associated with pompholyx or oxide of zinc1 and others4 ,to a large extent these ointments were superseded after ,goulard's time by the unguentum ,saturninum which he introduced4 ,the ointment of ,rhazes was composed of white lead1 wax1 and camphor dissolved in oil of roses4 ,he also ordered the addition of the white of an egg to every half-pound1 but this came to be omitted as it caused the ointment to become odorous4 ,the ,mother's ,ointment 7onguent de la ,mre7 has long been a favourite ointment in ,france for promoting suppuration1 and it is included in the ,codex4 ,it was made empirically by a nun at the ,hotel ,dieu1 named ,la ,mre ,thecle1 and as it became much sought after she furnished the formula4 ,it is made by heating together mutton suet1 lard1 and butter1 and when vapours are being exhaled1 finely powdered litharge is sifted into the fats1 causing a violent effervescence4 ,some wax and pure black pitch are afterwards added4 ,the process has been studied by several pharmacists1 and the conclusion come to is that the fats are decomposed and a number of fatty acids with some acroleine are produced4 ,the operation is a rather dangerous one1 especially if there is any naked light in the vicinity4 ,magistery of ,saturn was a white lead precipitated from a solution of the acetate by carbonate of potash4 ,this was the principal ingredient in the ,powder of ,saturn devised by ,mynsicht4 ,the other components of this powder1 which was recommended in phthisis and asthma especially1 were magistery of sulphur 7lac sulphuris71 squine root1 flowers of sulphur1 pearls1 coral1 oatmeal1 ,armenian bole1 flowers of benzoin1 olibanum1 sugar candy1 saffron1 and cassia4 ,the chief apostle of lead in medical practice was ,goulard1 whose name has become inseparably associated with the solution of the acetate4 ,some account of the bearer of this familiar name1 and of his medicinal preparations of lead will be found in the section on ,masters in ,pharmacy4 ,,quicksilver is first alluded to in ,greek writings by ,theophrastus1 about #cae ,b4,c41 but it was certainly known and used medicinally by the ,chinese and in ,india long before4 ,apparently1 too1 it was known by the ,egyptians4 ,dioscorides invented the name hydrargyrum1 or fluid silver1 for it4 ,pliny treats it as a dangerous poison4 ,galen adopted the opinion that the metal is poisonous1 but states that he had no personal knowledge of its effects4 ,with these authors argentum vivum was the term generally used to mean the native quicksilver1 while hydrargyrum was more usually employed to describe the quicksilver obtained from the sulphide1 cinnabar4 ,ancient writers appear to have regarded the two substances as distinct4 ,dioscorides points out that cinnabar was often confused with minium 7red lead74 ,the name ,mercury1 and the association of the metal 7or demi-metal1 as it was often regarded7 with the planet and with its sign1 formerly associated with tin1 dates from the middle ages4 ,it is mentioned first in this connection in a list of metals by ,stephanus of ,alexandria1 in the seventh century4 ,illustration ,,arabs ,,used ,,mercury ,,medicinally4 ,the ,arabs1 who inherited the medical lore of the ,greeks1 and probably added to this in the case of mercury knowledge acquired from ,india1 were much interested in mercury4 ,in the chemical works attributed to ,geber not only the metal itself1 but its compounds1 red precipitate and corrosive sublimate1 are described4 ,much use of mercury was made by the ,arabs in the form of ointments for skin diseases1 for which ,mesu recommended it1 and ,avicenna was probably the first physician to express doubt in regard to the poisonous nature of the metal4 ,he observed that many persons had swallowed it without any bad effect1 and he noted that it passed through the body unchanged4 ,,mercury ,,prescribed ,,internally4 ,fallopius 7#aebc-aefb7 remarks that in his time shepherds gave quicksilver to sheep and cattle to kill worms1 and ,brassavolus 7#aejj-aeed7 states that he had given it to children in doses of from #b to #bj grains1 and had expelled worms by that means4 ,matthiolus 7died #aegg7 relates that he had known women take a pound of it at a dose with the object of procuring abortion1 and says it had not produced any bad result4 ,,frictions ,,and ,,fumigations4 ,sprengel fixes the year #adig as that in which mercury was first employed externally for the cure of syphilis4 ,frictions1 fumigations1 and plasters were the earliest forms in which it was employed4 ,berenger de ,carpi1 a famous surgeon and anatomist of ,bologna1 who practised in the early part of the sixteenth century1 is said to have made an immense fortune by inventing and prescribing frictions with mercurial ointment for syphilis4 ,john de ,vigo was a strong partisan of fumigations in obstinate cases4 ,his fumigations were made from cinnabar and storax4 ,it is not quite clear whether this physician gave red precipitate internally in syphilis4 ,he expressly indicates its internal use in plague4 ,,mercury ,a ,,remedy ,,for ,,syphilis4 ,peter ,andrew ,matthiolus1 born at ,sienna in #aejj1 died at ,trent in #aegg1 latterly the first physician to the ,archduke ,ferdinand of ,austria1 a botanist and author of 8,commentaries on ,dioscorides10 was1 according to ,sprengel1 the first who is known for certain to have administered mercury internally4 ,paracelsus1 however1 was without doubt the practitioner who popularised its use4 ,he gave red precipitate1 corrosive sublimate1 and nitrate of mercury1 and describes how each of these was made4 ,sprengel credits him also with acquaintance with calomel1 but other authors do not recognise this in any of his writings4 ,,vigo',s ,,plaster4 ,the ,emplastrum ,vigonium was a highly complicated compound1 which was held in great veneration and is the subject of innumerable comments in the pharmaceutical writings of the sixteenth1 seventeenth1 and eighteenth centuries4 ,charas1 ,lemery1 ,baum1 and others modified and simplified it4 ,john de ,vigo was a native of ,naples1 where he was born about #adfj1 and he became the first physician of ,pope ,julius ,,ii4 ,his plaster still figures in the ,french ,codex1 and contains #fjj parts of mercury by weight in #c1eej parts4 ,this made into a liquid with olive oil and spread on calico makes the sparadrap of ,vigo1 in which form it is most frequently used1 as an application to syphilitic eruptions4 ,ambrose ,par gives the earliest formula for ,vigo's plaster1 which was then called ,emplastrum ,vigonium seu de ,ranis4 ,it was looked upon as a masterpiece of combination4 ,first #c oz4 of earthworms were washed in water1 and afterwards in wine4 ,then they and twenty-six live frogs were macerated in #b lb4 of odoriferous wine1 and the whole was boiled down to two-thirds of its volume4 ,a decoction of camel's hay 7andropogon schnanthus71 ,french lavender1 and matricaria 7chamomilla7 was then mixed with this wine4 ,meanwhile #a lb4 of golden litharge had been 8nourished0 for twelve hours with oils of chamomile1 dill1 lilies1 and saffron2 these were melted down with #a lb4 each of the fat of the pig1 calf1 and viper4 ,human fat might be used instead of that of vipers4 ,juices of elder root and of elecampane with euphorbium1 frankincense1 and oil of spike were then worked in and the whole melted with white wax4 ,lastly1 quicksilver extinguished by turpentine1 styrax1 oil of bitter almonds1 and oil of bay1 were added4 ,in ,lemery's time the minimum proportion of mercury was #a drachm to #a oz4 of the plaster4 ,there was also a simple ,vigo's plaster made without mercury4 ,in the ,codex formula the worms1 the frogs1 the fats1 the herbs1 roots1 and oils have all gone1 but some more aromatic resins are added4 ,,the ,,first ,,mercurial ,,pills4 ,the first formula for mercurial pills was one which ,barbarossa ,,ii1 a famous pirate and king of ,algiers1 and admiral of the ,turkish ,fleet under ,soliman1 ,sultan of ,turkey1 sent to ,francis ,i1 king of ,france1 some time in the second quarter of the sixteenth century4 ,the recipe was published 7says ,dr4 ,etienne ,michelon1 of ,tours1 in his 8,histoire ,pharmacotechnique de ,mercure07 in #aecg by ,petrus de ,bayro1 physician to the ,duke of ,savoy4 ,he does not give the exact formula1 but ,lemery quotes it as follows3-- 8,best aloes1 and quicksilver extinguished by rose juice1 aa #f drachms2 8,trochises of agaric1 oz42 selected rhubarb1 #b drachms2 8,canella1 myrrh1 mastic1 aa #a drachm2 musk1 amber1 aa #a scruple2 8,make a mass with ,venice turpentine40 ,lemery says you cannot kill the mercury with rose juice1 but must use some of the ,venice turpentine4 ,these pills were largely used in syphilis1 but they were practically superseded later by the pills of ,belloste1 which are still official in the ,french ,codex4 ,these were very similar4 ,belloste was a ,french ,army surgeon1 and his formula was devised about the year #agjj4 ,a formula for them was published in the ,pharmacopia of ,renaudot during ,belloste's lifetime1 but after the death of ,belloste in #agcj his son tried to make a mystery of the pills and sold them as a proprietary product1 which probably had the effect of making them popular4 ,the formula of ,renaudot1 which is also that of the ,codex1 was3 ,mercury1 #bd 7killed with honey72 aloes1 #bd2 rhubarb1 #ab2 scammony1 #h2 black pepper1 #d4 ,made into pills1 each of which should contain #e centigrams of mercury4 ,,the ,,treatment ,,of ,,syphilis4 ,it was at the close of the fifteenth century that syphilis began to spread through ,europe4 ,there are doubtful evidences of its existence in both ,europe and ,asia long previously1 but the theory is generally accepted that it was brought from ,america by the sailors of the earliest expeditions1 while its rapid spread throughout the old world in the decade from #adij to #aejj has often been attributed to the ,spanish ,jews in the first place1 and also particularly to the siege of ,naples by the ,french in #adie4 ,that large numbers of the ,french soldiers then engaged contracted it in the course of that war is undoubted1 and as they were largely instrumental in spreading the contagion the disease soon came to be known as the ,french disease1 or morbus ,gallicus1 though it has been questioned whether the adjective was not originally a reference to the skin diseases known under the name of 8gale0 or 8itch40 ,the opinion that syphilis came from the west is not universally adopted4 ,it has been pointed out that ,columbus only reached ,lisbon on ,march #f1 #adic1 on his return from his first voyage of discovery2 and there are several more or less authentic allusions to the ,french disease before that date4 ,the rapidity with which this epidemic seized on all the countries of ,europe1 and the virulence of its symptoms1 alarmed all classes and staggered the medical men of the day4 ,special hospitals were opened and ,parliamentary edicts were promulgated in some of the ,french and ,german cities1 ordering all persons contaminated to at once leave the neighbourhoods4 ,mercury was one of the first remedies to suggest itself to practitioners4 ,it had been employed by the ,arabs in the form of ointments and fumigations for skin diseases1 and quacks and alchemists had long experimented with it in the hope of extracting a panacea from it4 ,before ,paracelsus had begun to administer it1 ,torrella1 physician to the ,borgias1 had prescribed mercurial lotions made from corrosive sublimate1 and ,jean de ,vigo1 of ,naples1 had compounded his mercurial plaster1 and mercurial ointment1 and had even given red precipitate in pills4 ,at the time when syphilis was causing excitement through ,europe sarsaparilla and guaiacum were much praised as sudorifics1 and wonderful cures of syphilis by them were reported4 ,the poet and reformer ,ulrich von ,hutten wrote a book1 ,de ,morbo ,gallico1 in which he related his own years of suffering from the disease1 and his complete cure by means of guaiacum in #cj days4 8,you may swallow these woods up to the tomb10 said ,paracelsus4 ,he had not much more respect for fumigations with cinnabar1 which he regarded as a quack treatment by which it was impossible to measure the dose of the mercury1 though he recognised that it cured sometimes4 ,red precipitate with theriacum made into pills with cherry juice was his favourite remedy1 and was one of his laudanums4 ,his ,catholicon1 or universal panacea1 was a preparation of gold and corrosive sublimate1 which was largely used by his followers under the name of ,aurum ,vit4 ,corrosive sublimate was the great quack remedy for syphilis for more than a century1 and the so-called vegetable remedies1 syrups and decoctions of guaiacum1 sarsaparilla1 and sassafras1 maintained their reputation largely in consequence of the perchloride of mercury1 which was so often added to them4 ,aqua ,phagadnica1 #a drachm of corrosive sublimate in #a pint of lime water1 was a very noted lotion for venereal ulcers4 ,it began from a formula by ,jean ,fernel1 a ,paris medical professor and ,galenist 7#adig-aeeh71 who dissolved #f grains of sublimate in #c oz4 of plaintain water4 ,this was known as the ,eau ,divine de ,fernel4 ,by the time when ,moses ,charas published his ,pharmacopia this lotion had acquired the name by which it was so long known1 and was made from oz4 of sublimate in #c lb4 of lime water1 and lb4 of spirit of wine4 ,it yielded a precipitate which varied in colour from yellow to red4 ,a curious controversy prevailed for a long time among the chemical and medical authorities in ,france in regard to a popular proprietary remedy for syphilis known as ,rob ,boyveau-,laffecteur4 ,it was sold as a non-mercurial compound4 ,it was first prepared or advertised in #aghj by a war office official named ,laffecteur1 whose position enabled him to get it largely used in the army4 ,subsequently a ,paris doctor named ,boyveau bought a share in the business1 but in time the partners separated1 and both sold the ,rob4 ,boyveau wrote a bulky volume on the treatment of syphilis1 and in that he strongly praised the ,rob4 ,after the deaths of ,laffecteur and ,boyveau the business came into the hands of a ,dr4 ,giraudeau1 of ,st4 ,gervais4 ,this was about the year #ahbi4 ,in #aghj the ,academie de ,medicine had examined this preparation1 and had apparently1 though not formally1 tolerated its sale4 ,their chemist1 ,bucquet1 had been instructed specially to examine the syrup for sublimate4 ,he reported that he could not find any1 but he was by no means sure that there was none there1 for he stated that he had himself added #b grains to a bottle1 and could not afterwards detect its presence4 ,between that time and #ahbi several chemists studied the subject1 and came to the conclusion that if corrosive sublimate had been added to the syrup the vegetable extractive or the molasses with which it was made so concealed it or decomposed it into calomel that it could not be detected4 ,in #ahbi ,giraudeau was prosecuted for selling secret medicines1 and for this offence was fined #fjj francs4 ,but the interesting feature of this trial was the testimony of ,pelletier1 ,chevallier1 and ,orfila that the ,rob contained no mercurial4 ,they reported that the formula given by the maker might be the correct one1 but that in that case the mixture would contain too small a quantity of active substances to possess the energetic properties claimed for it4 ,guaiacum and sarsaparilla were the principal ingredients1 but there were also lobelia1 astragalus root1 several other herbs1 and a little opium4 ,the history of this discussion is related at some length in ,dr4 ,michelon's 8,histoire ,pharmacotechnique et ,pharmacologique du ,mercure0 7#aijh74 ,,red ,,precipitate4 ,red precipitate was one of the first preparations of mercury known4 ,it is traced to ,geber1 but when the works attributed to that chemist were written is doubtful4 ,avicenna in the tenth century was acquainted with it4 ,in his writings he says of the metal mercury that 8warmed in a closed vessel it loses its humidity1 that is to say its liquid state1 and is changed into the nature of fire and becomes vermilion40 ,being obtained direct from mercury acted on by the air1 it became known to the early chemical experimenters as 8precipitatus per se40 ,paracelsus obtained it by acting on mercury with aqua regia and heating the solution until he got the red precipitate4 ,then he reduced it to the necessary mildness for medicinal purposes by distilling spirit of wine from it six or seven times4 ,charas described a method of obtaining the precipitate by nitric acid but by a complicated process1 and to the product he gave the name of arcana corallina4 ,boyle obtained the red oxide by boiling mercury in a bottle fitted with a stopper which was provided with a narrow tube by which air was admitted4 ,the product was called ,boyle's ,hell1 because it was believed that it caused the metal to suffer extreme agonies4 ,,other ,,mercurial ,,precipitates4 ,the multitude of experiments with mercury yielded many products1 and often the same product by a different process which acquired a distinct name4 ,turbith mineral was a secret preparation with ,oswald ,crollius who gave it this name1 probably1 it is supposed1 on account of its resemblance in colour to the ,turbethum 7,convolvulus7 roots which were in his time much used in medicine4 ,it is a subsulphate1 made by treating mercury with oil of vitriol and precipitating with water4 ,the precipitation of mercury by sal ammoniac was first described by ,beguin in #afcb4 ,for a time it was given as a purgative and in venereal diseases4 ,a double chloride of mercury and ammonium was also made by the alchemists and was highly esteemed by them1 especially as it was soluble4 ,it was called ,sal ,alembroth and also ,sal ,sapienti4 ,the origin of the first name is unknown1 but it has been alleged to be of ,chaldean birth and to signify the key of knowledge4 ,a green precipitate was obtained by dissolving mercury and copper in nitric acid1 and precipitating by vinegar4 ,this was also used in syphilis4 ,homberg put a little mercury into a bottle and attached it to the wheel of a mill4 ,the metal was thereby transformed into a black powder 7the protoxide47 ,by a careful and very gradual precipitation of a solution of nitrate of mercury by ammonia ,hahnemann obtained what he called soluble mercury4 ,soubeiran proved that this precipitate was a mixture in variable proportions of sub-nitrate and ammonio-proto-nitrate of mercury4 ,,calomel4 ,calomel was introduced into practice by ,sir ,theodore ,turquet de ,mayerne about the year #afjh4 ,it has been said that he was the inventor of the product1 but as it was described and1 perhaps1 to some extent used by other medical authorities1 ,crollius among these1 who lived and died before ,turquet was born1 this was evidently impossible4 ,theodore ,turquet de ,mayerne had been a favourite physician to ,henri ,,iv1 but he had been compelled to leave ,paris on account of the jealousies of his medical contemporaries4 ,his employment of mineral medicines1 antimony and mercury especially1 was the occasion of bitter attacks1 but his professional heresy was perhaps actually less heinous than his firm ,protestantism4 ,both ,james ,i and ,charles ,i accepted his services and placed great confidence in his skill4 ,he was instrumental1 as explained in another section1 in the independent incorporation of the apothecaries1 and was also one of the most active promoters of the publication of the 8,london ,pharmacopia40 ,it appears likely that ,turquet invented the name by which this milder form of mercurial has come to be most usually known4 ,the alchemical writers of the time called it ,aquila ,alba or ,draco ,mitigatus4 ,a notorious ,paracelsian of ,paris1 ,joseph ,duchesne1 but better known by his ,latinised surname of ,quercetanus1 who shared with ,turquet the animosity of ,gui ,patin and his medical confederates1 and for similar reasons1 also made calomel and administered it1 probably sold it1 under the designation of the mineral ,panchymagogon1 purger of all humours4 ,panacea mercurialis1 manna metallorum1 and sublimatum dulce1 were among the other fanciful names given4 ,it was believed by the old medical chemists that the more frequently it was resublimed the more dulcified it became4 ,in fact1 resublimation was likely to decompose it1 and thus to produce corrosive sublimate4 ,what the name 8calomel0 was derived from has been the subject of much conjecture4 8,kalos melas10 beautiful black1 is the obvious-looking source1 but it does not seem possible to fit any sense to this suggested origin4 ,a fanciful story of a black servant in the employ of de ,mayerne manufacturing a beautiful white medicine is told by ,pereira with the introduction of 8as some say40 ,a good remedy for black bile is another far-fetched etymology1 and another conceives the metal and the sublimate in the crucible as blackish becoming a fair white4 ,some thirty years ago1 in a correspondence published in the 8,chemist and ,druggist10 ,mr4 ,t4 ,b4 ,groves1 of ,weymouth1 and 8,w4 ,r40 of ,maidstone1 both independently broached the idea that 8kalos0 and 8meli0 7honey7 were the constituents of the word1 forming a sort of rough translation of the recognised term1 dulcified mercury2 a not unreasonable supposition1 though this leaves the 8kalos0 not very well accounted for4 ,in ,hooper's 8,medical ,dictionary0 it is plausibly guessed that the name may have been originally applied to ,ethiops ,mineral1 and got transferred to the white product2 and ,paris quotes from ,mr4 ,gray the opinion that a mixture of calomel and scammony which was called the calomel of ,rivierus may have been the first application of the term1 meaning a mixture of a white and dark substance4 ,beguin 7#afjh7 is generally credited with having been the first ,european writer to describe calomel4 ,he gave it the name of 8,draco mitigatus0 7corrosive sublimate being the dragon74 ,but ,berthelot1 in his 8,chemistry of the ,middle ,ages10 has shown that the protochloride of mercury was prepared as far back as ,democritus1 and that it is described in certain ,arab chemical writings4 ,it is also alleged to have been prepared in ,china1 ,thibet1 and ,india many centuries before it became known in ,europe4 ,,quicksilver ,,girdles1 made by applying to a cotton girdle mercury which had been beaten up with the white of egg1 were used in the treatment of itch before the true character of that complaint was understood4 ,,basilic ,,powder was the old ,earl of ,warwick's powder or ,cornachino's powder 7equal parts of scammony1 diaphoretic antimony1 and cream of tartar71 to which calomel1 equal in weight to each of the other ingredients1 was added4 ,but ,i have not succeeded in tracing why or when the name of basilic 7royal7 was given to the compound4 ,,corrosive ,,sublimate4 ,van ,swieten's solution of corrosive sublimate was introduced in the middle of the eighteenth century as a remedy for syphilis1 and for a long time was highly esteemed4 ,its author1 ,baron von ,swieten1 was of ,dutch birth1 and was a pupil of ,boerhaave4 ,he was invited to ,vienna by the ,empress ,maria ,theresa1 and exercised an almost despotic authority in medical treatment4 ,his original formula was #bd grains of corrosive sublimate dissolved in two quarts of whisky1 a tablespoonful to be taken night and morning1 followed by a long draught of barley-water4 ,corrosive sublimate was the recognised cure for syphilis1 at least in ,vienna1 at that time4 ,maximilian ,locher1 another noted physician of the same school1 claimed to have cured #d1hhj cases in eight years with the drug4 ,this was in #agfb4 ,,cinnabar4 ,the bisulphide of mercury 7cinnabar7 was also used in many nostrums4 ,paris says it was the active ingredient in ,chamberlain's restorative pills1 8the most certain cure for the scrophula1 king's evil1 fistula1 scurvy1 and all impurities of the blood40 8,,killing0 ,,mercury4 ,the art of extinguishing or 8killing0 mercury has been discussed and experimented on from the fifteenth century until the present day4 ,the modern use of steam machinery in the manufacture of mercurial ointment1 mercurial pills1 and mercury with chalk has put a check on the ingenuity of patient pharmacists1 who were constantly discovering some new method for accelerating the long labour of triturating1 which many operators still living can remember4 ,venice turpentine1 or oil of turpentine1 various essential oils1 sulphur1 the saliva of a person fasting1 and rancid fat were among the earlier expedients adopted and subsequently discarded4 ,the turpentines made the ointment irritating1 the sulphur formed a compound1 and the rancid fat was found to be worse than the turpentines4 ,nitrate of potash1 sulphate of potash1 stearic acid1 oil of almonds and balsam of ,peru1 the precipitation of the mercury from its solution in nitric acid1 spermaceti1 glycerin1 and oleate of mercury have been more modern aids4 ,it would be outside the purpose of this sketch to deal with the questions which the numerous processes suggested have raised4 ,apparently it is not completely settled now whether the pill1 the powder1 and the ointment depend for their efficiency on any chemical action such as the oxidation of the metal in the cases of the two former1 or on a solution in the fat in the case of the ointment4 ,these theories have been held1 and do not seem unlikely2 but there also seems good reason to believe that mercury in a state of minute division has definite physiological effects by itself4 ,at any rate1 it is well established that the more perfectly the quicksilver is 8killed0 the more efficient is the resulting compound4 ,,silver4 ,the moon was universally admitted under the theory of the macrocosm and the microcosm to rule the head1 and as silver was the recognised representative of ,luna among the metals the deduction was obvious that silver was the suitable remedy for all diseases affecting the brain1 as apoplexy1 epilepsy1 melancholia1 vertigo1 and failure of memory4 ,tachenius relates that a certain silversmith had the gift of being able to repeat word for word anything that he heard1 and this power he attributed to his absorption of particles of silver in the course of his work4 ,it does not appear1 however1 that all silversmiths were similarly endowed4 ,the ,greek and ,latin doctors make no allusion to silver as a medicine1 and the earliest evidence of its actual employment as a remedy is found in the writings of ,avicenna1 who gave it in the metallic state 8in tremore cordis1 in ftore oris40 ,he is also believed to have introduced the practice of silvering pills with the intention of thereby adding to their efficacy4 ,to ,john ,damascenus1 a ,christian saint who lived among the ,arabs before ,avicenna1 is attributed the remark concerning silver1 8,remedium adhibitum est1 et in omnibus itaque capitis morbis1 ob ,lun1 ,argenti1 et ,cerebri sympathicam trinitatem40 ,this association of the moon1 silver1 and the brain was believed in firmly by the chemical doctors of the sixteenth century1 and for a long time a tincture of the moon1 tinctura ,lun1 was the most famous remedy in epilepsy and melancholia4 ,a great many high authorities1 among them ,boyle1 ,boerhaave1 and ,hoffmann in the eighteenth century1 continued to prescribe this tincture or the lunar pills1 but silver gradually dropped out of fashion4 ,a great number of medical investigators since have from time to time recommended the nitrate or the chloride of silver in various diseases1 but without succeeding in securing for silver a permanent reputation as an internal medicine4 ,the ,pilul ,lunares were generally composed of nitrate of silver combined with opium1 musk1 and camphor4 ,nitrate of silver was given in doses varying from a twentieth to a tenth of a grain4 ,the tincture of the moon was a solution of nitrate of silver with some copper1 which gave it a blue tint and probably was the active medicinal ingredient4 ,fused nitrate of silver or lunar caustic seems to have succeeded to the reputation of fused caustic potash as a cautery1 and also to have acquired the name of lapis infernalis 7sometimes translated 8hell-stone0 in old books7 originally applied to the fused potash4 ,the only reason assigned for this title is the keen pain caused by the application of the caustic1 though probably it was first adopted to contrast it with the lapis divinus1 which was a combination of sulphate of copper and alum used as an application to the eyes4 ,christopher ,glaser1 pharmacien at the court of ,louis ,,xiv1 who subsequently had to leave ,france on suspicion of being implicated in the ,brinvilliers poisonings1 was the first to make nitrate of silver in sticks4 ,,tin4 ,tin came into medical use in the middle ages1 and acquired its position particularly as a vermifuge4 ,for this purpose tin had a reputation only second to mercury4 ,several compounds of this metal were popular as medicines both official and as nostrums in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries1 and tin did not drop out of medicinal employment until early in the nineteenth century4 ,the beautiful mosaic gold 7aurum musivum71 a pet product with many alchemists1 was probably the first tin compound to be used in medicine4 ,it was made by first combining tin and mercury into an amalgam1 and then distilling this substance with sulphur and sal ammoniac4 ,it is now known to be a bisulphide of tin4 ,the mercury only facilitates the combination of the tin and the sulphur1 and the sal ammoniac has the effect of regularising the temperature in the process4 ,the product is a beautiful golden metal of crystalline structure and brilliant lustre4 ,it was given in doses of from #d to #bj grains2 was sudorific and purgative2 and was recommended in fevers1 hysterical complaints1 and venereal disorders4 ,the subsequent preparations of tin which came to be used principally as vermifuges were the ,calx ,jovis 7the binoxide71 the sal ,jovis 7sometimes the nitrate and sometimes the chloride71 and the ,amalgama ,jovis4 ,these1 however1 were all ultimately superseded by the simple powder of tin given either with chalk1 sugar1 crabs' eyes1 or combined with honey or some conserve4 ,the dose was very various with different practitioners4 ,some prescribed only a few grains1 others gave up to a drachm1 and ,dr4 ,alston1 an eminent ,edinburgh physician in the eighteenth century1 said its success depended on being administered in much larger doses4 ,he recommended an ounce with #d ounces of treacle to be given on an empty stomach4 ,to be followed next day with oz41 and another oz4 the day after2 the course to be wound up by a cathartic4 ,the ,anti-hecticum ,poterii was a combination of tin with iron and antimony1 to which nitrate of potash was added4 ,it was sudorific and was thought to be especially useful in the sweats of consumption and blood spitting4 ,flake's ,anti-hmorrhoidal ,ointment was an amalgam of tin made into an ointment with rose ointment1 to which some red precipitate was added4 ,brugnatelli's ,poudre ,vermifuge was a sulphide of tin4 ,spielman's ,vermifuge ,electuary was simply tin filings and honey4 ,oxide of tin is the basis of certain applications for the finger nails4 ,as supplied by perfumers the pure oxide is coloured with carmine and perfumed with lavender4 ,piesse says pure oxide of tin is similarly used to polish tortoiseshell4 ,,zinc4 ,the earliest known description of zinc as a metal is found in the treatise on minerals by ,paracelsus1 and it is he who first designates the metal by the name familiar to us4 ,paracelsus says3 8,there is another metal1 zinc1 which is in general unknown4 ,it is a distinct metal of a different origin1 though adulterated with many other metals4 ,it can be melted1 for it consists of three fluid principles1 but it is not malleable4 ,in its colour it is unlike all others1 and does not grow in the same manner2 but with its ultima materia ,i am as yet unacquainted1 for it is almost as strange in its properties as argentum vivum40 ,the alloy of zinc with copper which we call brass was known and much prized by the ,roman metal workers1 and they also knew the zinc earth1 calamine1 and used this in the production of brass4 ,who first separated the metal from the earth is unknown2 so too is the original inventor of white vitriol 7sulphate of zinc74 ,beckmann quotes authorities who ascribe this to ,julius1 ,duke of ,brunswick1 about #aegj4 ,beckmann says white vitriol was at first known as erzalaum1 brass-alum1 and later as gallitzenstein1 a name which he thinks may have been derived from galls1 as the vitriol and galls were for a long time the principal articles used for making ink and for dyeing4 ,green vitriol1 he adds1 was called green gallitzenstein4 ,the true nature of several vitriols was not understood until #agbh1 when ,geoffrey studied and explained them4 ,the ideas entertained of zinc by the chemists who studied it were curious4 ,albertus ,magnus held that it was a compound with iron2 ,paracelsus leaned to the idea that it was copper in an altered form2 ,kunckel fancied it was congealed mercury2 ,schluttn thought it was tin rendered fragile by combination with some sulphur2 ,lemery supposed it was a form of bismuth2 ,stahl held that brass was a combination of copper with an earth and phlogiston2 ,libavius 7#aeig7 described zinc as a peculiar kind of tin4 ,the metal he examined came from ,india4 ,the white oxide of zinc was originally known as pompholyx1 which is ,greek for a bubble or blister1 nihil album1 lana philosophica1 and flores zinci4 ,the unguentum diapompholygos1 which was found in the pharmacopias of the eighteenth century1 and was a legacy from ,myrepsus1 was a compound of white lead and oxide of zinc in an ointment which contained also the juice of nightshade berries and frankincense4 ,it was deemed to be a valuable application for malignant ulcers4 ,oxide of zinc as an internal medicine was introduced by ,gaubius1 who was ,professor of ,medicine at ,amsterdam about the middle of the eighteenth century4 ,it had been known and used under the name of flowers of zinc from ,glauber's time4 ,a shoemaker at ,amsterdam1 named ,ludemann1 sold a medicine for epilepsy which he called ,luna fixata1 for which he acquired some fame4 ,gaubius was interested in it and analysed it4 ,he found it to be simply oxide of zinc1 and though he did not endorse the particular medical claim put forward on its behalf he found it useful for spasms and to promote digestion4 ,,end ,,of ,,vol4 ,i ,r4 ,,clay ,,and ,,sons1 ,,ltd41 ,,bread ,,st4 ,,hill1 ,e4,c41 ,,and ,,bungay1 ,,suffolk4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,schelenz in 8,geschichte der ,pharmacie10 #aijd1 has collected a remarkable number of facts and documents illustrative of the development of pharmacy in ,germany4 ,he quotes a ,nuremberg ordinance of #acej which forbids physicians to be interested in the business of an apothecary1 and requires apothecaries to be satisfied with moderate profits4 #b ,dr4 ,monk gives a copy of the ,latin minute in the books of the ,college referring to this curious recantation4 ,the actual words which ,geynes signed were these3--8,ego1 ,johannes ,geynes1 fateor ,galenum in iis1 quae proposui contra eum1 non errasse40 #c 8,free ,phosphorus in ,medicine10 #ahgd4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 #a4 ,obvious spelling1 punctuation and printers' errors have been silently corrected4 #b4 ,where appropriate1 original spelling has been retained4 #c4 ,some hyphenated and non-hyphenated words have been kept as in the original4 #d4 ,superscripts are represented using the caret character1 e4g4 ,dr4