{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_44744/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_44744","id":"gutenberg_44744","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44744","summary":null,"tags":["Astrology","Category: Health & Medicine","Category: History - Other","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Medical misconceptions","Medicine -- History"],"text":"SUPERSTITION\n  IN MEDICINE\n\n\n\n\n  SUPERSTITION\n  IN MEDICINE\n\n  BY\n  PROF. DR. HUGO MAGNUS\n\n  AUTHORIZED TRANSLATION FROM\n  THE GERMAN, EDITED BY\n  DR. JULIUS L. SALINGER\n\n  _Late Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Jefferson Medical\n  College; Physician to the Philadelphia General Hospital, etc._\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY\n  NEW YORK AND LONDON\n  1908\n\n\n\n\n  COPYRIGHT, 1905, BY\n  FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY\n  [_Printed in the United States of America_]\n  Published, April, 1905\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nThe history of medicine is closely interlinked with the development\nof theology. The errors of one are for the most part reflected in\nthe mistakes of the other. No matter how obscure and dark the origin\nof either, whether derived from ignorance and superstition or not,\nthe ultimate achievement alone must be taken into consideration. We\ndo not reject chemistry because it originated in alchemy, we do not\ndisregard astronomy because its roots are entwined with the teachings\nof astrology, and so in theology and medicine we look to the final\nissue. The statements set forth in this book should not be construed\nas reflecting the development of theology or medicine at the time, but\nas the belief of the people existing in these periods. Philosophy may\nhave been pure, but if the mind of man was faulty the responsibility\nmust not be laid at the door of science. It is the function of the\nhistorian truthfully to depict the thought and spirit of the time of\nwhich he writes. This has been attempted in the present work. It is not\na criticism of a system, but a criticism of man. There can be no doubt\nthat absurd superstitions are still existent for which the twentieth\ncentury will be severely criticized in time to come. Thus the words of\nour martyred President may well be used as a motto for this book: \u201cWith\nmalice towards none, with charity for all.\u201d\n\nThe last chapter of this book has been added by the translator, as it\nseemed necessary for the full discussion of the subject.\n\n    JULIUS L. SALINGER.\n\n  PHILADELPHIA, Pa.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                           PAGE\n    I. WHAT IS MEDICAL SUPERSTITION?                          1\n\n   II. THEISM IN ITS RELATION TO MEDICINE AND IN ITS\n       STRUGGLE WITH THE PHYSICO-MECHANICAL THEORY OF LIFE    7\n\n  III. RELIGION THE SUPPORT OF MEDICAL SUPERSTITION          23\n\n   IV. THE INFLUENCE OF PHILOSOPHY UPON THE FORM AND\n       ORIGIN OF MEDICAL SUPERSTITION                        89\n\n    V. THE RELATIONS OF NATURAL SCIENCE TO MEDICAL\n       SUPERSTITION                                         128\n\n   VI. INFLUENCE EXERTED UPON THE DEVELOPMENT OF\n       SUPERSTITION BY MEDICINE ITSELF                      185\n\n  VII. MEDICAL SUPERSTITION AND INSANITY                    191\n\n       BIBLIOGRAPHY                                         201\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n                                                           PAGE\n  CIRCLE OF PETOSIRIS                                       141\n\n  CIRCLE OF PETOSIRIS                                       143\n\n  THE TABLE OF DEMOCRITUS                                   145\n\n  THE RELATION OF THE PARTS OF THE HUMAN BODY TO THE SIGNS\n  OF THE ZODIAC                                             159\n\n  VENESECTION IN ITS ASTRONOMICAL CONNECTION                175\n\n\n\n\nI\n\nWHAT IS MEDICAL SUPERSTITION?\n\n\nFaith and superstition are twin brothers. Altho the former leads\nhumanity to its sublimest ideals and the latter only presents us with\na caricature of human knowledge, both are children of the same family.\nBoth originate in a sense of the inadequacy of human science in regard\nto natural phenomena. The fact that the most important processes of\norganic life can not be traced to their ultimate origin, but that their\ninvestigation will soon lead to a point of irresistible opposition to\nfurther analysis, has always called forth a feeling of impotency and\ndependence in the human mind. This consciousness of being dependent\nupon factors which are entirely beyond human understanding has thus\ngiven rise to the metaphysical need of reflecting upon these mysterious\nfactors, and bringing them within reach of human comprehension.\nHumanity, in attempting to satisfy such a metaphysical requirement\nfrom an ethical standpoint, created faith, which subsequently found\nexpression in the various forms of religion. It is not within the\nscope of this essay to consider how far Divine revelations have\nbeen vouchsafed on this subject. Superstition undoubtedly entered\nthe scene when, simultaneously with these, endeavors were made to\nconsider and to explain physical processes from the standpoint of\nsuch metaphysical requirements. It is true that this did not, at\nfirst, lead to a marked contrast between faith and superstition;\nfor a period existed in which faith and superstition\u2014_i.e._, the\nmetaphysical consideration of ethical values and the metaphysical\nconsideration of the entire phenomena of life\u2014were not only equivalent,\nbut even merged into one conception. This occurred in an age in which\nmankind considered all terrestrial processes, whether they were of\na psychical or of a material nature, as immediately caused by the\nsteady interference of supernatural powers\u2014a period during which the\ndeity was held responsible for all terrestrial phenomena. During\nthis period faith became superstition, and superstition, faith. A\nseparation did not take place until some especially enlightened minds\nbegan to evolve the idea that it would be more reasonable to explain\nnatural phenomena\u2014temporal becoming, being, and passing away\u2014by\nnatural rather than by supernatural causes. The reaction against\nthis better interpretation, the tenacious adherence to the original\nassociation of terrestrial manifestations with metaphysical factors,\ncreated the superstition of the natural sciences. The birth of\nsuperstition in the Greek world must be placed about the seventh\ncentury, B.C., the period during which Thales of Miletus came forward\nwith his endeavor to explain natural processes in a natural manner.\nThis attempt of the Milesian is the initiation of a rational scientific\nconception of natural manifestations, and the ancient theistic\nconsideration of nature became superstition only in opposition to\nsuch a view. It follows, then, that what holds good with regard to\nthe interpretation of natural manifestations in general holds good in\nmedicine especially. Here, also, superstition came into question only\nwhen, besides the original theistic conception of the functions of the\nbody and besides the metaphysical treatment of the sick, a valuation\nof the normal as well as of the morbid phenomena of the human organism\ncame into vogue which took into account terrestrial causes. Not until\nthis stage was reached did theism and theurgy lose their title and\nbecome superstition; until then they could claim fullest acceptance in\nmedicine as thoroughly logical consequences of the prevailing theory\nof life. This took place, so far as Greek medicine was concerned,\nat about the end of the sixth century, B.C. The Corpus Hippocraticum\nalready shows us Greek medicine as being purified from all theistic\nsophistications and only reckoning with natural causes. When this\nseparation must have taken place for pre-Greek, Indian, Assyrian, and\nEgyptian culture can not be at present determined with certainty. For\nthe Egyptian and Babylonico-Assyrian manuscripts, so far known, show\nan intimate admixture of true observation of nature with theistic\nspeculations\u2014_i.e._, a treatment of medicine which, altho it took\naccount of physico-natural manifestations, was still deeply tinctured\nwith superstition.\n\nAccording to what we have stated, medical superstition might be defined\nas follows: \u201cBelief that the normal as well as the pathological\nmanifestations of organic life may be explained and eventually\ntreated, without consideration of their physical nature, by means of\nsupernatural agencies.\u201d\n\nMedical superstition varies according to the kind and the origin of\nthese supernatural causes, and therefore appears in the greatest\nvariety of forms. If these causes were looked for in celestial regions,\nmedical superstition became vested with the religious garb, and its\nsource was in the religious cult; but if the belief prevailed that\nGod shared the domination of the world with other mysterious elements,\nsuch as were embodied in different forms in accordance with the various\nphilosophical systems, medical superstition bore a philosophical and\nmystical stamp whose origin is revealed in the history of philosophy.\nBut if certain mysterious powers hidden in the womb of nature or active\nabove the earth were considered to influence human life, medical\nsuperstition assumed a physical character. However, it frequently\nfollowed that the above three factors acted simultaneously or in\nvarying combinations, or certain other elements which were inherent\nin human nature cooperated. For this reason it is sometimes not quite\neasy to decide as to the source from which this or that form of\nmedical superstition principally derived its persistent currency. But,\nnevertheless, it is our intention to divide our subject in accordance\nwith the sources from which the several forms of medical superstition\nspring, as it is absolutely impossible to obtain a satisfactory view\nof the extensive material without first attempting a systematic\narrangement of the data at hand.\n\nBut before attempting to inquire why the purest and most valuable\nfountains of all human knowledge\u2014religion, philosophy, and natural\nscience\u2014have at the same time become sources of medical superstition,\nit will be advisable to explain the character which medical science had\nassumed under the exclusive domination of theism, and how conditions\nshaped themselves when physico-mechanical philosophy appeared and began\nto do battle with the theistic conception of life. These conditions\nplayed such a special part in the development of medico-physical\nsuperstition that it becomes necessary first to examine their power and\ntendency before attempting to contemplate medical superstition proper.\n\n\n\n\nII\n\n  THEISM IN ITS RELATION TO MEDICINE AND IN ITS STRUGGLE WITH\n    THE PHYSICO-MECHANICAL THEORY OF LIFE\n\n\nAs we explained in Chapter I., the development of all peoples has\npassed through a period during which medico-physical knowledge found\nexpression exclusively in the teachings of religion. By theism we\nmean the system which endeavors to explain natural phenomena by\nsupernatural causes. However, this view of nature, with its tinge\nof religion, did not as yet show any trace of superstition. It was\nrather the only justifiable conception of nature and thoroughly in\nkeeping with the power of comprehension of man, until it began to\ndawn upon the mind that natural phenomena might be due to natural\ncauses. This was the period of which we stated, in the beginning of\nthis investigation, that faith became superstition and superstition\nbecame faith. It was during this time that the powers above were held\naccountable for all bodily ailments of mankind. It was their task most\ncarefully to observe the functional processes of the human body in\nall its phases, and to protect their undisturbed continuance. But as\nthe inhabitants of heaven, like the inhabitants of the earth, were\nsubject to whims, it happened very often, unfortunately, that they\nattended to their task of protecting the undisturbed development of\nthe vegetative as well as the animal functions of the body in a very\nunsatisfactory manner, sometimes, in fact, even purposely neglecting\nit. Thus disturbances occurred in the regular course of organic life,\nand this brought diseases into the world. If, therefore, the gods were\ndirectly responsible for the appearance of disease, it was palpably\ntheir duty to effect its elimination. Thus it came about that pathology\nand therapy were exclusively attended to by the gods. But in what light\nthey regarded these medical duties of theirs, and how they performed\nthem, were matters subject to very varying considerations, as expounded\nby the different religions of antiquity. The Babylonian considered the\ngreat god Marduk the expeller of all maladies, whereas Urugal, Namtor,\nand Nergal were recognized gods of pestilence.\n\nSimilar ideas prevailed among the Egyptians. The cat-headed goddess\nBubastis was believed to deal out to mothers the blessings of\nfertility. Ibis showed an especial interest in those human beings who\nwere troubled with disturbances of digestion, and this interest found\nbenevolent expression in the invention of the clyster.\n\nWith the Greeks also the gods rendered services to diseased humanity.\nThus Apollo invented the art of healing, and if his time permitted he\noccasionally lent a hand when difficulties beset the entrance into this\nworld of a young mortal. But, as a rule, it was the duty of Aphrodite\nto attend to such cases, just as, in fact, she was responsible for\neverything that referred to love, no matter whether it was a question\nof the esthetic or the pathological part of that passion. Athene was\nthe specialist in ophthalmology, and it seems that she did not fare\nbadly with this occupation. A temple was dedicated to her by Lycurgus,\nwhom, as it appears, she healed of a sympathetic affection of the\neyes; and, besides, she won by her ophthalmological activity various\nornamental epithets, such, for instance, as \u1f40\u03c6\u03b8\u03b1\u03bb\u03bc\u03af\u03c4\u03b9\u03c2, etc.\n\nIt was quite natural, in view of the exclusively theistic conception\nwhich in those times preoccupied the human mind, that the priests were\nthe sole possessors of physico-medical knowledge; and naturally so.\nFor when we consider the theory of life that prevailed at that period,\nwho could have been better qualified to give information to men\nregarding their own body as well as regarding nature in general, than\nthe priest, the mortal representative of immortal gods? And who better\nqualified than the priest to invoke the aid of the heavenly powers\nin all bodily ailments? Thus it was the unavoidable consequence of\nthe theistic theory of life that the priest was the physician as well\nas the representative of physical knowledge and also the helper and\nadviser in all mundane exigencies. Whether bodily or psychic troubles\nafflicted individuals, whether an entire population groaned under\nheavy chastisements like pestilence, aid and deliverance were always\nsought in the sanctuary of the gods, from the infallible priest. And\nthe priests were always equal to the occasion; they have always, in a\nmasterly manner, known the art of satisfying the medico-physical needs\nof their suppliants. For the religions of all civilized peoples\u2014and\nChristianity by no means occupies an exceptional position in this\nrespect\u2014have always endeavored most strenuously to keep physical as\nwell as medical thought in strictest dependence upon their doctrines\nand dogmas. To attain this end various ceremonies, customs, and dogmas\nwere relied upon to keep the priests in a position to secure the\nassistance of the gods for humanity harassed by pain and affliction.\nThese sacred observances were strange, and varied with the various\nreligious systems. According to the primeval cult of Zoroaster, all\nevils, consequently also all diseases, were derived from the principle\nof darkness which was embodied in the person of Ahriman, and only the\nsacerdotal caste of the magicians who sprung from a special Median\ntribe was able to heal them. But it was by no means easy to become a\nmember of this caste and to acquire the magic powers pertaining to\nit alone. It was necessary before gaining mastery over the powers\nof nature to become initiated into the mysteries of Mitra. However,\nafter priestly consecration had once been bestowed, the individual\nthus honored bore the proud title \u201cConqueror of Evil,\u201d and was able to\npractise medicine. As the most essential constituent of every medical\ntreatment, the divine word was applied in the form of mysterious\nexorcisms, sacred hymns, and certain words which were considered\nspecially curative in effect, particularly the word \u201cOrmuzd,\u201d the name\nof the highest god, in whose all-embracing power of healing great\nconfidence was placed.\n\nThe Sumerians, the precursors of Babylonico-Assyrian culture, ascribed\na considerable and important r\u00f4le to dreams. They were considered to\nbring direct medical advice from the gods, and it became the office\nof the sacerdotal physician to interpret the dream in such a way as to\nalleviate the sufferings of the dreamer.\n\nThe ancient Greek culture also conceded a conspicuous medical\nsignificance to dreams, and even arranged a system of its own, that of\nthe temple sleep, in order always to obtain prophesying dreams from\nthe gods. The patient, after the obligatory offering, was required to\nremain a night in the temple, and his dream during this night was the\nmedical advice of the divinity in its most direct form. But only the\npriest was able to interpret a dream obtained in such a manner, and to\nextract medical efficacy from it. But as it occasionally happened that\na too prosaic and phlegmatic patient did not dream at all, the priest\nwas benevolent enough to intercede. He was always promptly favored by\nthe gods with a suggestive dream.\n\nThe medical function of the priests had reached a peculiar development\nduring the first centuries of Rome. This was manifest especially in\nthe time of public calamities, such as pestilence, war, etc. When\nsuch events reached dimensions which threatened the existence of the\nrepublic, attempts were made to gain the favor of the gods by most\ncurious ceremonies. The celestials were simply invited to take part\nin an opulent banquet. The first divine feast of such a character\nwas celebrated in Rome in the sixth century, B.C., on account of a\ngreat epidemic. Apollo, Latona, Diana, Hercules, Mercury, and Neptune\nwere most ceremoniously invited to take part in a religious banquet\nwhich lasted for eight days. The images of the gods were placed upon\nmagnificently cushioned couches, and the tables were loaded with\ndainties. Not only the gods, but the entire population, were invited;\nevery one kept open house, and whoever wished to do so could feast\nat the richly prepared boards of the wealthy. Even the pronounced\nenemies of the house were allowed to enter and to enjoy the dainties\nwithout fear of hostile remarks; indeed, it was deemed advisable in the\ninterests of public hygiene to unchain the prisoners and to liberate\nthem. But if the gods, in spite of the most opulent entertainments,\ndid not have any consideration, and if pestilence, military disaster,\nfailure of crops, or whatever was the immediate cause of popular\nanxiety, continued to persist with unabated fury, endeavors were made\nby theatrical performances to provide as much as possible for the\namusement of the gods. Such plays, at first, consisted only in graceful\ndances, with flute accompaniments, and from these simple beginnings,\naccording to Livy, Book 7, Chapter II., the drama is said to have\ndeveloped all those variations which characterized the scenic art of\nantiquity. There can be no doubt that even the stage of modern times is\nof religio-sanitary origin\u2014a peculiar fact which modern patrons of the\ntheater scarcely ever dream of.\n\nAn attempt was eventually made to increase the delight of the gods in\nsuch amusements by a number of novel devices. For instance, it was\nstipulated that the performances instituted to ward off the invasion of\nHannibal were to cost 333,333\u2153 copper asses. But if, nevertheless,\nthe gods were not sufficiently propitiated by banquets, dances, and\nplaying of the flute, and if they could not be prevailed upon by such\npastimes to remove the pestilence or other calamity, a dictator was\nnamed who, if possible, on September 13th, drove a nail into the temple\nof Jupiter to appease divine indignation. It appears that this was\na primeval custom of the Etruscans; at least, it is reported by the\nRoman author, Cincius, that such nails could be seen in the temple of\nthe Etruscan goddess Nortia. This nail therapy was resorted to by the\nRomans, for instance, during the terrible plague which raged in the\nfifth century, B.C., and of which the celebrated Furius Camillus died.\n\nWonderful as all the described procedures seem to us, and closely\nas they may conform to the modern conception of superstition, at the\ntime they originated they were considered as quite removed from that\nsuperstition with which we so closely identify them to-day. For the\nperiod which saw the above events was an era of exclusive theism, and\nfor that reason divine sleep, divine feasts, the sacred performances,\nand all the other peculiar means which were employed to secure medical\naid of the gods, were well-established features of religious worship.\nThe stigma of superstition was not set upon them as yet. And this state\nof things naturally persisted so long as the theistic theory of life\nstood unchallenged.\n\nThis absolute reign of theistic theory dominating human life through\nthe above-described therapeutic ideas was followed by an epoch in which\ntheism was forced to divide its authority with a powerful rival\u2014namely,\nthe physico-mechanical theory of life. The struggle between both these\nsystems was ushered in, for the Hellenic as well as for the Occidental\nworld of civilization, by the appearance of Ionian philosophy. Even in\nour own day this struggle is still going on in many minds. This much,\nat least, is certain: that superstition has always been especially\nactive in medicine in areas of civilization where the theistic idea\nhas gained the ascendency.\n\nThe deadly struggle between theistic and physico-mechanical theories of\nlife in the realm of medicine has found no place in the experience of\nHellenic and Roman antiquity. The change in opinion was rather wrought\nby a gradual recession from the idea that the gods interfered with the\nproper course of man\u2019s bodily functions. This conviction resulted from\na progressive growth of his physico-mechanical knowledge, and became\nestablished at least as far as the thoughts and the opinions of the\nphysicians were concerned. That the other classes, in particular the\nrepresentatives of religion, did not so peaceably acquiesce in this\nmechanical conception of life we shall soon explain in Chapter III.\nIt was different, however, with the art of healing itself. Even the\nCorpus Hippocraticum reveals to us a medicine which had been purified\nfrom all theistic admixtures, and from the publication of this work\n(_i.e._, from about the fifth century, B.C., up to the overthrow of the\nancient period\u2014_i.e._, until about the fifth or sixth century, A.D.)\nno further attempt to refer the cause of disease and the treatment of\ndisease to the gods of the ancient heavens is noticed in medical works.\nOn the contrary, that great efforts were made to look for the nature\nof disease in the mechanical conditions of the body is proven by a\nnumber of the most various medical doctrines. The extensive work of\nGalen, that antique canon of medicine, which dates back to the second\ncentury, A.D., disavows all theism and all theurgy, and relies solely\nupon physico-mechanical methods: observation, experiment, dissection.\nAntique religion and antique medicine had effected a reconciliation\u2014a\nreconciliation, however, in which neither party was to acknowledge\na complete defeat; but the result was an amicable settlement, in\nwhich their just dues were given both to the theistic and to the\nphysico-mechanical theories of life. The point of agreement upon which\nthis settlement, or, to express it better, compromise, was made was\nteleology.\n\nBy teleology we understand the conception that all earthly existence\nis created by a supreme power in accordance with a preconceived plan,\nand that, accordingly, all organic life, in form and action, is most\nperfectly adapted to the task prescribed for it by this power. This\nconception was absolutely indispensable to antique medicine; for it\nallowed the adherents of the theistic theory without hesitation to\nconsider man as a product of the creator, which was distinguished in\nall directions and which bore witness of the wisdom of God, a position\nwhich precluded the assumption, which was impossible according to the\nantecedent medical observations, that disease came from God. For it\nseemed quite plausible, according to the physico-mechanical theory of\nlife, that disease might be a product of a number of adverse, purely\nearthly conditions, an assumption not involving the slightest doubt of\nthe wisdom and creative power of the gods. This teleological doctrine,\nwhich runs like a red thread through all ancient philosophy, becomes\nconspicuously prominent in Galen. Every section of the powerful work\nof Galen\u2014anatomy, as well as physiology, pathology, and therapy\u2014bear\nwitness to the most confident teleological conception, a conception\nwhich in the end culminates in the verdict (\u201cUse of the Parts,\u201d Book\n11, Chapter XIV.): \u201cThe creator of nature has disclosed his benevolence\nby wise care for all his creatures, in that he has bestowed upon each\none what is truly of service to it.\u201d\n\nThis teleological idea of all earthly becoming, being, and passing away\nwas henceforth destined to be a permanent factor in human speculation.\nChristianity received it as a possession from antique civilization, and\nonly the philosophy and natural science of modern times have been able\nto threaten its permanence. Biology, as of modern creation, teaches\nus that all natural phenomena owe their existence to natural causes,\nthat the natural world is subject to natural laws. And, accordingly,\nteleology, as we encounter it in the works of the heathen Galen and\nin the writings of the Christian Church Fathers, has turned out to\nbe superstition, which, however, must by no means be classed with\nthe vagaries of mere medico-physical superstition. In coming to this\ndecision, however, we must beware of rash generalization. In this\nconnection we refer only to that kind of teleology which dominated the\nworld previous to the teachings of Descartes and Spinoza, and previous\nto the advent of modern natural science, with its biological methods.\nWhether, after all, a theory of life might be possible which, while\navoiding the reproach of superstition, might be traced to teleological\nprepossessions, is a question we can not here discuss. It is admittedly\ntrue that the deeper we penetrate into the secrets of nature the more\nenergetically the existence of a marvelous, intelligent will manifests\nitself as permeating all domains of nature. However, if this fact is\nnot denied on principle, as modern materialism denies it, and proper\nallowance is made for it, a rehabilitation of teleology as a necessary\nfactor of our theory of life would be the logical consequence. Of\ncourse, this teleology would bear a stamp entirely different from\nthat of antiquity and of the middle ages, which is recognized to be\nsuperstition. It should not pretend to include the consideration of the\nentire organic world, but confine its conclusions to the last links\nin the chain of experience and argument which science has forged from\nnatural phenomena. Now this could be accomplished, in our opinion, even\nwithout apprehension of interfering with the indispensable requirements\nof modern naturalists: \u201cThe terrestrial world in its forms and\nprocesses is governed solely by terrestrial laws.\u201d What the appearance\nof such a teleology should be is expressed by William Hartpole Lecky in\nthe following:\n\n\u201cThis conception, which exhibits the universe rather as an organism\nthan a mechanism, and regards the complexities and adaptations it\ndisplays rather as the results of gradual development from within\nthan of an interference from without, is so novel, and at first sight\nso startling, that many are now shrinking from it in alarm, under\nthe impression that it destroys the argument from design, and almost\namounts to the negation of a Supreme Intelligence. But there can,\nI think, be little doubt that such fears are, for the most part,\nunfounded. That matter is governed by mind, that the contrivances\nand elaborations of the universe are the products of intelligence,\nare propositions which are quite unshaken, whether we regard these\ncontrivances as the result of a single momentary exercise of will,\nor of a slow, consistent, and regulated evolution. The proofs of a\npervading and developing intelligence, and the proofs of a coordinating\nand combining intelligence, are both untouched, nor can any conceivable\nprogress of science in this direction destroy them. If the famous\nsuggestion, that all animal and vegetable life results from a single\nvital germ, and that all the different animals and plants now existent\nwere developed by a natural process of evolution from that germ, were\na demonstrated truth, we should still be able to point to the evidence\nof intelligence displayed in the measured and progressive development,\nin those exquisite forms so different from what blind chance could\nproduce, and in the manifest adaptation of surrounding circumstances\nto the living creature, and of the living creature to surrounding\ncircumstances. The argument from design would indeed be changed; it\nwould require to be stated in a new form, but it would be fully as\ncogent as before. Indeed, it is, perhaps, not too much to say that the\nmore fully this conception of universal evolution is grasped, the more\nfirmly a scientific doctrine of Providence will be established, and the\nstronger will be the presumption of a future progress.\u201d[1]\n\n      [1] \u201cHistory of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of\n      Rationalism in Europe,\u201d Vol. I., Chapter III., pages 294-295.\n      Compare also Magnus, \u201cMedicine and Religion,\u201d page 24, _sqq._\n\nIn such a manner, despite the fact that in teleology the point of\nagreement between theistic and physico-mechanical medical thought has\nbeen now found, theism, in the course of the history of our science,\ncontinually attempted new attacks upon the physical tendency in\nmedicine; and with each assault superstition in medicine, as well as in\nthe natural sciences, was most palpably exposed.\n\nAfter having satisfied ourselves in this second chapter regarding\ntheism and its attitude with reference to the physico-mechanical theory\nof life, we shall now enter upon the consideration of the various\nforms of medical superstition, and it is our intention, as stated in\nthe first chapter, so to arrange the enormous material at hand as to\ndiscuss medical superstition according to the sources from which it has\nsprung. We shall begin by pointing out the intimate relations which\nhave prevailed between the teachings of religion and superstition.\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\nRELIGION THE SUPPORT OF MEDICAL SUPERSTITION\n\n\nReligion undoubtedly plays the most conspicuous part in the history\nof medical superstition. Religious teaching, of whatever character,\nhas fostered medical superstition more than any other factor of\ncivilization. Not only has religion called forth and nourished medical\nsuperstition, but it has also defended it with all the influence at its\ndisposal. Indeed, it has not infrequently happened that those who were\nreluctant to believe in the blessings of a medical theory ridiculously\nperverted by religion were exposed to persecution by fire and sword.\nAnd this not only from one or other religious denomination, for all\nreligious believers, without exception, had proved to be the most\nassiduous promotors of medical superstition; so that we are probably\nnot wrong in designating priesthoods in general, whatever their creed,\nas the most prominent embodiment of medical superstition during certain\nperiods of the world\u2019s history. But the details will be learned from\nthe following paragraphs:\n\n\u00a7 1. =Priesthood the Support of Medical Superstition.=\u2014The principal\nreason for a not quite reputable activity in the chosen representative\nof a deity is probably the fact that, with the appearance of a\nphysico-mechanical contemplation of the world, the theistic theory of\nlife, which until then had exclusive sway, was forced into a pitched\nbattle with a newly formulated definition of nature. This struggle was\ncarried on principally by the priesthood, who, as a matter of fact,\nhad most to lose from the ascendency of a new theory of life which\nonly reckoned with natural factors. They indeed had been the means,\nuntil then, of procuring for the people the assistance of the gods\nin all bodily ailments, as they had been the exclusive depositories\nof physical knowledge. And it could scarcely be expected that the\npriesthood would at once willingly relinquish the extensive supremacy\nhitherto exercised by it as the oracle of divine guidance in all\nmedico-physical questions; for humanity has always considered the\npossession of authority much more delightful than submission, and the\nruler has always objected most energetically to any attempt which\ndisputes his rule. This was precisely what was done by priests of all\ncreeds when the mechanico-physical theory of life began to supersede\nthe obsolete dreams of theistic medicine. Fair-minded persons will\nsurely allow that such action was natural. But they can not approve of\nthe methods resorted to, unless they belong to those who feel bound\nalways to discern nothing but what is sacred in every action of a\nservant of heaven.\n\nIn order to wage war most effectively against the physico-mechanical\ntheory of life, the priesthood at once claimed for themselves the power\nof completely controlling nature. They made the people believe that\nthe celestials had bestowed upon them the faculty of dominating nature\nin the interests of the sick, and that all powers of the universe, the\nobvious ones as well as those mysteriously hidden in the depths of\nnature, were obedient to sacerdotal suggestions. The servant of heaven\nprofessed that he could regulate the eternal processes of matter, with\nits becoming, being, and passing away, quite as irresistibly as his eye\nwas able to survey the course of time in the past, present, and future.\n\nEquipped with these extensive powers, a priest necessarily appeared\nto the people not only as physician, but also as a miraculous being\ncrowned with the halo of the supernatural. And this was the r\u00f4le he\nactually played in many ancient religions. With the peoples of Italy\nthe priest appeared\u2014at a period, indeed, which was previous to the\nbeginning of Rome\u2014as physician, prophet, interpreter of dreams,\nraiser of tempests, etc. He held exactly the same offices among the\nCeltic tribes in Gaul and Britain. His position was the same in the\nOriental world, and by the Medians and the Persians especially were\npriests considered to be persons endowed with supernatural powers.\nWe may notice that members of a certain Median tribe formed the\nsacerdotal caste, and bore the name of \u201cMagi.\u201d However, this name,\nwhich originally was confined to the priestly order, obtained, in the\ncourse of time, a distinctly secular meaning. Very soon many cunning\nfellows arrived at the conclusion that the trade of a sacerdotal\nphysician and conjurer might bring a profitable livelihood to its\nprofessor, even if this professor were not a priest but a layman. Thus\nthere arose a special profession of sorcerers, miracle workers, and\nmedicine-men, who protested with solemn emphasis that they were able\nto cure all physical as well as psychical ailments of their fellow\nmen as thoroughly as the priests had done. But in order to bestow\nthe required consecration upon this art, these gentlemen usurped the\nvenerable name of the above-mentioned Median sacerdotal caste and\ncalled themselves \u201cMagi.\u201d Thus it happened that the name \u201cMagus\u201d\n(magician), which originally served to designate a distinct sacerdotal\ncaste, deteriorated into a designation of charlatans and swindlers.\nThis could never have occurred unless the priests had prostituted their\nsublime profession and degraded it to various kinds of discreditable\nmedico-physical deceptions. This alone is why priesthood is responsible\nfor the rise of the magicians, of these worthless fakirs. But if Pliny\n(Book 30, Chapter I., \u00a7 2) attempts to rank magic as an offshoot of\nmedicine, he is justified in doing so only in so far as the priest,\nduring the theistic period, was also the physician, as is well known.\nOnly from this point of view is it possible to trace a genetic relation\nbetween medicine and magic. But medicine in itself has not taken\nthe slightest part in the promotion of magic and the success of its\nunsavory reputation. Indeed, our science has suffered too much through\nthe practise of magic to burden itself with the paternity of this\ndisreputable child of civilization.\n\nIt appears that the name of the Celtic priests (\u201cdruids\u201d) had become\nsubject to the same abuse as the name of the Median priests of\nsacerdotal caste. Thus we learn of female fortune-tellers of the\nthird century, A.D., who call themselves \u201cdruidesses.\u201d But it seems\nthat this application of the word \u201cdruid\u201d has remained a local\none and strictly limited, whereas the expression \u201cmagician,\u201d quite\ngenerally employed, became, in the course of time, the designation of\ncharlatans and medical impostors. For these swindlers, who carried on\nmedico-physical hocuspocus, and who claimed to exercise supernatural\npowers, were called \u201cmagicians\u201d during the entire period of classic\nantiquity, and we find the same use of the word in the middle ages, and\nsometimes also in more modern times.\n\nBut this profession of magician, which sprang from priesthood, has\nlargely promoted superstition in medicine, and was particularly\ninstrumental in bringing it into extraordinary repute. It is our\nintention to concern ourselves a little more minutely with magicians\nand magic.\n\n\u00a72. =The Spread of the Word \u201cMagic.\u201d=\u2014How and when magic was\ntransplanted from its Oriental home to the Occident can not be\ndetermined with certainty; for the Greeks, as well as all antique\npeoples, probably all nations, had a belief in ghosts and demons, in\nfortune-telling, and in sorcery. But it appears, nevertheless, that\nthe ancient civilized peoples of the Orient, and particularly the\nPersians, cultivated the magic arts with especial devotion, and it\nis more than probable that it was from the East that the prevailing\ncult of magic had been imported into the West. Pliny, for one, tells\nus (Book 30, Chapter I., \u00a7 8) that magic was brought to Europe by\na certain Osthanes, who accompanied King Xerxes on his military\nexpedition against Greece. This man Osthanes, as Pliny reports further,\nis said to have disseminated the seeds of this supernatural art (_velut\nsemina artis portentos\u00e6 insparsit_) wherever he went, and with such\nsuccess that the Hellenic peoples were actually mad after it, and\nprominent men traveled through parts of the Orient, there to acquire\npersonally and thoroughly these magic arts, thus, as was the case with\nPythagoras, Empedocles, Democritus, and Plato. In fact, it is said of\nDemocritus that he opened the tomb of a celebrated magician\u2014Dardanus of\nPh\u0153nicia\u2014that he might restore to publicity the mysterious writings of\nthe latter. It appears, moreover, that Alexander the Great entertained\nan implicit belief in magic\u2014at least, Pliny reports that during his\nwars he was always accompanied by a celebrated magician.\n\nMagic arts were likewise in favor among the Romans. Even Nero attempted\nto master the secrets of magic, altho unsuccessfully (Pliny, Book 30,\nChapter II., \u00a7 5). A particular impetus was given to magic toward the\nend of the last century before Christ and during the first century\nof the Christian era, when the rise of many fantastic philosophical\nsystems greatly promoted and supported the belief in the supernatural\npowers of magic. Subsequently, in the middle ages, magic experienced an\naccepted and systematic development. These conditions, however, will be\nmore explicitly referred to later on.\n\nThe treatment of the sick through supernatural agencies assumed\nquite astonishing dimensions under the Roman emperors. The belief\nin magicians was so generally disseminated that even the emperors\nthemselves and the imperial authorities were almost completely devoted\nto it. Thus, for instance, the emperor Hadrian (117-138, A.D.) caused\nhimself to be treated by physicians who claimed miraculous powers,\nand he is said to have written a book on theurgy. In fact, Suidas (62\nJulianus) reports that Hadrian, on account of a severe outbreak of\npestilence in Rome, sent for the son of the Chaldean, Julian, who,\nsimply by the power of his miracles, arrested the progress of the\ndisease. Under Antoninus Pius official proclamations were made in the\nforum, directing the attention of the people to the importance of\nmagicians (Philostratus, 43), and the emperor Marcus Aurelius even\nrelates that, when in Caieta, the gods in a dream prescribed a remedy\nfor the hemorrhagic cough and vertigo from which he was suffering\n(\u201cMarcus Aurelius,\u201d Chapter I., \u00a7 17, page 11).\n\nBut it appears that the magicians finally went too far with their\ntricks, and endangered human life by their treatment; so that several\nemperors decided upon adopting more rigorous measures against their\nknaveries. The emperor Septimius Severus (193-211), altho himself\noriginally devoted to magic, prohibited, when on a visit in Egypt,\nall books which taught curious arts (Aelius Spartianus, \u201cHadrianus,\u201d\nChapter XV., \u00a7 5, page 146). Later the emperor Diocletian took\nenergetic steps toward abating the mischief done by magical treatment\nof the sick, and the magicians were permitted to carry on such arts\nonly so far as would not be detrimental to the health of the people.\nHowever, this order did not check the magicians any more than it\nbenefited those who were still tortured and brought to the point\nof death by magic quackery. Neither did medical science derive any\nadvantage whatever from this well-meant but completely abortive effort\nof the emperor, for the magic physicians persisted in carrying on\ntheir hocuspocus, and unconcernedly debased the pharmacop\u0153ia by the\nintroduction of nonsensical and loathsome substances. Let us examine\nmore in detail this department of medical practise among the magicians.\n\n\u00a7 3. =The Medical Practise of the Magicians.=\u2014The magicians adopted\nvarious modes of procedure in the treatment of the sick: they either\nattempted, as do our modern quacks, to create the impression, by\nadministering medicine, that they were actually able to direct the\ntreatment of the ailing in a rational manner, or they restricted\nthemselves to various kinds of magical observances.\n\nThe drug therapy of the magicians actually utilized everything under\nthe sun as a remedy. The more out of the way and the less suitable\nfor a remedy a substance seemed to be, the more likely it was to be\nchosen by the magician intent upon healing. For it was always the\nmain object of these practising quacks to make their treatment as\nsensational as possible. In this they succeeded best by employing\nthe most extraordinary substances as remedies. Thus they made use of\ngold, silver, precious stones and pearls, just because these, owing to\ntheir value, were held in great esteem, and their medical application,\ntherefore, was bound to create a sensation. But the most loathsome\nsubstances were quite as readily employed, for here, too, the most\ngeneral attention was bound to be attracted by their application.\nHuman feces, urine, and menstrual blood were introduced into the\nmateria medica in such a manner. The awe with which parts of corpses\nusually inspired the non-medical part of the public was relied upon by\nthe magicians to advertise their cures. Thus these quacks administered\npowders of human bones to the ailing.\n\nBut inasmuch as what is conspicuous and unusual has always enjoyed\nan especial esteem with humanity, the incredible remedies of the\nmagicians naturally found everywhere an abundance of believers; and\nas particularly the most nonsensical theory is most tenacious of\nlife, provided it has been presented in apparent combination with the\nmiraculous, the medical armamentarium rapidly took on a very peculiar\naspect. Until the present more modern times medicine was condemned\nto the encumbrance of this rubbish, this list of odd and loathsome\nremedies, whose admission to the pharmacop\u0153ia was only due to the whim\nof a human mind that constantly hankers after the extraordinary and the\nmiraculous.\n\nFinally the magic observances to which the magicians resorted in the\ntreatment of the sick, have shown a remarkable vitality, for they\nare in vogue even in modern times, and many sections of our people\neven to-day swear unconditionally by the curative efficacy of various\nagencies which demonstratively have been derived from the medicine of\nthe magicians. But now such agencies are no longer ascribed to magic or\nsorcery, but they are called \u201ccures by means of sympathy.\u201d And as many\nmodern people believe that various incomprehensible mystic performances\ncause certain mysterious powers, otherwise absolutely unknown, to\nexert a curative influence upon certain diseases, so did the ancients\nbelieve exactly the same. This was the origin of exorcism as a remedy\nfor disease. Exorcism played a conspicuous part in the middle ages as\na means of stopping hemorrhages, and even in these modern times, as is\nwell-known, this method of cure finds many adherents.\n\nThis magic treatment was believed to be especially efficacious if the\nexorcisms had been written or engraved upon paper, gold, precious\nstones, etc., in which case they were suspended around the neck of\nthe patient. Countless talismans (from the Arabic _tilsam_, magic\nimage) and amulets (from the Arabic _hamalet_, trinket) were thus\nmanufactured, and even to our own time there are survivals of this\nmedical superstition. Altho these mystic observances are performed in\nvarious ways, and their modifications are practically innumerable, yet\ncertain radical resemblances are continually appearing among the magic\nrites of the most diverse races, and some of these practises have even\npersisted up to the present time. Thus the rope of the hung criminal\nplays a conspicuous part in antique magic as well as in modern sympathy\ntreatment; the same importance is attributed to shooting-stars, to\nthe moon, to crossroads, to certain numerals, such as 3, 7, 9, etc.\nIt is a highly interesting fact that such conceptions, as remarkable\nfor their therapeutical associations as for their crass superstition,\nare possessed of a vitality which persists for centuries. Peoples,\nreligions, philosophical systems, political revolutions have risen\nand vanished, but the belief in the curative action of the rope of a\nhung criminal or the therapeutic significance of the crossroad has\nsurvived. The mystic influence which is exerted by the numerals 3, 7,\n9, and still more so by the dreadful 13, upon the life and health of\nman, haunts the minds of the multitude in this century of physical\nenlightenment exactly as it did in remote antiquity. But we can not\nhere enter into the reason for these interesting facts, and we must\nrefer those who desire more detailed information on this subject to the\nvoluminous literature of superstition.\n\nFurthermore, the belief in magic cures was not more prevalent among\nthe ancient professors of medicine than among the laity, and even the\nmost prominent practitioners were not able to emancipate themselves\nfrom this belief. Galen, for instance, who, as is well-known, mastered\nthe entire literature of antique medicine as none before or after him\nhas ever done, openly avows his belief in the efficacy of magic cures,\nand, what is more remarkable, Galen in this respect has changed from a\nSaul to a Paul. He ruefully recalled, later, the condemnatory decree\nwhich he had originally promulgated regarding the magic treatment of\nthe sick. Let us call to mind how he expresses himself in his essay\non medical treatment in Homer: \u201cMany, as I have done for a long time,\nbelieve that conjurations resemble the fairy tales of old women. But\ngradually, and from the observation of obvious facts, I have come to\nthe conclusion that power is exercised by them; for I have learned\nto know their advantages in stings of scorpions, and also in bones\nwhich became lodged in the throat, and which were at once coughed\nup as a result of conjuration. Many remedies are excellent in every\nrespect, and magic formul\u00e6 answer their purpose\u201d (\u201cAlexander of\nTralles,\u201d Book 11, Chapter I., Vol. II., page 477). One of the most\nprominent post-Galenian physicians also, Alexander of Tralles, openly\navows, with reference to this utterance of Galen, that he himself is\na believer in magic cures, and he says: \u201cIf the great Galen, as well\nas many other physicians of ancient times, bear witness to this fact\n(the efficacy of magic treatment of the sick), why shall we not impart\nto you what we have learned from our own experience and what we have\nheard from trustworthy friends?\u201d (\u201cAlexander of Tralles,\u201d _ibid._).\nAccordingly, his \u0392\u03b9\u03b2\u03bb\u03af\u03b1 \u1f38\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03b9\u03ba\u03ac was filled with enumerations of the\nmost various magical cures. But, now, if the classics of antique\nmedicine have proven themselves to be so friendly to the medical\nscience of magicians, what was the condition of the mind, then, of\nthe average physician of ancient times? Is it astonishing if young\nand old, high and low, without distinction, were blind adherents of\nmagical medicine? Thus medical literature of the last century, B.C.,\nand especially that of the centuries from the Christian era until\nlate in the middle ages, was an actual treasury of conjuration and\nother mummeries. This description applies specifically to the \u201cMateria\nMedica\u201d of Quintus Serenus Samonicus, written in hexameters. It is\ntrue, the magical sequel to this book entailed painful consequences on\nthe writer, for the emperor Caracalla had the poor author executed\n(Ael. Spartian., \u201cCaracalla,\u201d Chapter IV., \u00a7 4) merely, as it is\nreported, because he dared to advise in his works as a remedy against\nintermittent fever the wearing of amulets, a medical expedient which\nhad been prohibited by the emperor himself.\n\nThe work of Sextus Placitus Papyriensis, who lived in the fourth\ncentury, which treats of remedies derived from the animal kingdom,\nteems with magic nonsense.\n\nBut an actually inexhaustible stock of medical conjurations was\ncontained in the work of a layman, Marcellus Empiricus. This gentleman,\nwho had been foreign minister under the emperors Theodosius the first\nand the second, had written a thick folio volume on medicaments.\nThis literary performance, which, according to our ideas, appears to\nbe very odd for a minister of state, was by no means remarkable in\nthe fifth century, for the study of medical subjects was, so to say,\nfashionable among the laity of that period; in fact, even prelates and\nbishops did not think it beneath their dignity to busy themselves with\nvarious medical questions and to write medico-physical books. Thus the\nlaurels of medical renown haunted our good Marcellus and would not\nlet him sleep, so that he abridged his hours of official duty to such\nan extent that he was able to compile a Materia Medica of thirty-six\napparently never-ending chapters. But if the statesmanship of Marcellus\nwas on a par with his medical book-making, the two Theodosii could not\nhave missed the time their cabinet minister stole from them, for his\nmedical scribbling is an utterly worthless compilation. Not only did\nMarcellus copy from medical authors of the most discordant opinion,\nbut he particularly busied himself in collecting indiscriminately all\nthe magical nonsense of the ancient times; in fact, it seems that he\nwas very eager to obtain all this magical rigmarole direct from the\nmouth of the people, for he says that he collected his remedies \u201c_ab\nagrestibus et plebeiis_.\u201d Accordingly his book is as worthless and\ninsipid to the physician as it is valuable to the historian, especially\nthe historian of civilization. Here are a few examples of this medicine\nof the magicians:\n\n_Remedy against warts and corns_ (Pliny, Book 28, Chapter IV., \u00a7 12,\npage 268): \u201cLie on your back along a boundary line on the twentieth\nday of the moon, and extend the hands over the head. With whatever\nthing you grasp when so doing, rub the warts, and they will disappear\nimmediately.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhoever, when he sees a shooting-star, soon afterward pours a little\nvinegar upon the hinge of a door, is sure to be rid of his corns.\u201d\n\n_Remedy against headache_ (Pliny, _ibid._): \u201cTie the rope of a hung\ncriminal around the forehead.\u201d\n\n_Remedy against bellyache_ (Priscian, physician of the fourth century,\nBook 1, Chapter XIV., and Sprengel, Vol. II., page 248): \u201cIf any\none suffer from colicky pains he may sit down on a chair and say to\nhimself: \u2018_Per te diacholon, diacholon, diacholon_.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cA person who has an attack of colic may take the feces of a wolf,\nwhich, if possible, should contain small particles of bone, enclose\nthem in a small tube, and wear this amulet on the right arm, thigh, or\nhip.\u201d\u2014_Alexander of Tralles_, Book 8, Chapter II., page 374.\n\n\u201cTake the heart from the living lark and wear it as an amulet at the\nleft thigh.\u201d\u2014_Alexander of Tralles, ibid._\n\n_Remedy against epilepsy_ (advised by the physician, Moschion\nDiorthotes. \u201cAlexander of Tralles,\u201d Book 1, Chapter XV., page 570):\n\u201cThe forehead of an ass is tied to the skin of the patient and worn.\u201d\n\n\u201cGather iris, peonies, and nightshade when the moon is on the wane,\npack them into linen and wear as an amulet.\u201d Advised by the magician\nOsthanes.\u2014_Alexander of Tralles_, Book 1, Chapter XV., page 566.\n\n\u201cTake a nail from a cross and suspend it from an arm of the patient.\u201d\nGiven by a physician of the second century, A.D., by the name of\nArchigenes.\u2014_Alexander of Tralles_, Book 1, Chapter XV., page 566.\n\n\u201cWear on the finger a jasper of bluish-gray luster.\u201d\u2014Advised by\n_Dioscorides_, Book 5, 159.\n\n_Remedy against podagra_ [gout] (\u201cAlexander of Tralles,\u201d Book 12, page\n582): \u201cTake a gold leaf and write upon it when the moon is on the\nwane: mei, threu, mor, for, teux, za, zon, the, lu, chri, ge, ze, on.\nAs the sun becomes firm in this name and daily renews itself, so does\nthis formation also make firm as conditions were previously. Quickly,\nquickly, rapidly, rapidly. For behold! I call the great name in which\nbecomes firm again what was destined to die: Jas, azyf, zyon, threux,\ndain, chook. Make this formation firm as it has been, quickly, quickly,\nrapidly, rapidly. This document must be covered with the tendon of a\ncrane, enclosed in a capsule, and worn by the patient at his heel.\u201d\n\n_Remedy against diseases of the eye_ (advised by Sextus Placitus\nPapyriensis. Magnus, \u201cOphthalmology of the Ancients,\u201d page 597): \u201cIf\nthe right eye becomes afflicted with glaucoma, rub it with the right\neye of the wolf, and, similarly, the left eye with the left eye of the\nwolf.\u201d\n\nIn photophobia (fear of light) \u201cWear as an amulet an eye which\nwas taken from a live crab.\u201d\u2014_Quintus Serenus Samonicus._ Magnus,\n\u201cOphthalmology of the Ancients,\u201d page 595.\n\nWith pains of the eye the patient must, with a copper needle, put out\nthe eyes of a green lizard caught on a Jupiter day, during a moon that\nis on the wane, in the month of September. The eyes must be worn in a\ngolden capsule, as an amulet around the neck (_Marcellus Empiricus_.\nMagnus, \u201cOphthalmology of the Ancients,\u201d page 602.)\n\nThe above illustrations are surely sufficient to give the reader an\nidea of the medicine of the magicians. At the same time they show the\ngreat similarity which exists between these ancient magic cures and the\nsympathetic cures of our people at the present day.\n\n\u00a7 4. =Ancient Medicine and Magic.=\u2014But how is it possible that the\nancient physicians, and even the most enlightened minds among them,\nshould not only have tolerated such a crass medical superstition as the\nabove examples have shown us, but should even have incorporated them in\ntheir works? Incomprehensible, however, as this fact may appear to the\nmodern practitioner, it becomes conceivable if the condition of antique\nmedicine and of the medical profession of ancient times is considered.\n\nIn the first place, ancient medical science adopted an entirely\ndifferent mode of diagnostico-theoretical method than that employed\nby professors of medicine in modern times. Ancient natural science\n(compare also Chapter V. of this work), as well as ancient medicine,\nobtained their scientific views exclusively by deduction\u2014_i.e._, they\ndeduced individual results from general presumptions, or, rather, they\nconstrued, by reason of some general presumption, the physico-medical\nconsequences which were to follow from such a general supposition. If\nthis attempt to obtain an insight into physical processes is extremely\nhazardous, it becomes still more precarious when the manner and means\nin which these general presumptions were arrived at were primarily of\nan entirely hypothetical nature. It is true, no fundamental objection\ncan be raised to this method, as even modern natural science and\nmedicine, despite the fact that their methods of investigation in a\ndiagnostico-theoretical respect scarcely admit of material objections,\ncan not do without hypothesis. But hypothesis is not always mere\nhypothesis. It is well known that there are hypotheses which, even in\nthe minds of the most conscientious investigators, are not inferior to\nthat knowledge which is obtained by experiment and observation, whereas\nother hypotheses again present the distinct stamp of insufficiency and\nmakeshift. The trustworthiness and the heuristic value of an hypothesis\ndepend upon the quality of the diagnostico-theoretical process by means\nof which it was obtained. If this process has been such as physical\ninvestigation is bound to insist upon, the hypothesis thus arrived\nat is fully justified to supply the still absent data with regard\nto the phenomena in question. This, however, can be accomplished by\nhypothesis only when the latter is not set forth until it plainly\nappears that, in spite of a conscientious and orderly arrangement of\nobservation after observation, of experiment upon experiment, without\nthe admission of logical loopholes, full data in regard to the nature\nof the phenomena is not forthcoming. In such a case we may consider\nas actually proven by hypothesis what observation and systematic\nexperiment, continuous and logical, were intended to prove, and\nfailed. However, this inductive hypothesis is alone entitled to be\nconsidered in medicine. Naturally, such an inductive hypothesis was not\nthought of by the ancients, as the inductive method of investigation\nwas generally quite unknown to them. The process by which ancient\nmedicine usually attempted to find its hypothesis was by an argument\nfrom analogy. Each and every point of resemblance, however superficial,\nbetween two phenomena was considered sufficient by the ancient\nnaturalists to warrant the assumption that analogous phenomena in the\nmost various domains were most certainly proven to possess similar\npoints of resemblance. And upon the basis of such an insecure method\nof deduction\u2014which, moreover, was selected entirely at the option of\nthe observer\u2014the ancient investigator erected the boldest hypotheses.\nThus, for instance, the atomic theory of Leucippus and Democritus is\nan hypothesis which rests upon the basis of a conclusion from analogy.\nThe motes which appear in the rays of the sun led these two ancient\ninvestigators to the conception that, like the particles of dust\nsporting in the air, the primary component parts of everything that\nexists in the entire universe consisted of similar particles.[2]\n\n      [2] Lucretius, Book 2, Verse 113, _sqq._\n\nIt appears that Epicurus arrived at his theory of light (according to\nwhich, as is well known, images of things were brought to the senses by\ndelicate but absolutely objective small pictures which were detached\nfrom the surface of things in a continuous current) by the fact\nthat many animals\u2014for instance, snakes\u2014shed their skins. The theory\nof humoral pathology, one of the most important advances in medical\nscience, was based on a conclusion from analogy and arrived at by the\ndeductive method.\n\nThe diagnostico-theoretical lines in which antique medicine moved\nwere bound\u2014and this is the point of importance in this case\u2014to exert\na determining influence upon medical criticism. For medico-physical\ncriticism can only appear in closest connection with the prevailing\ncondition of the respective sciences, being really nothing else but\na precipitate from them. Thus the ancient physicians were compelled\nto take an entirely different position toward magical medicine than\nwe moderns, educated in the school of inductive methods, have always\ntaken. The probable and similar, the supposable and possible, in which\ndeductive medicine found its data, working on the lines of argument\nfrom analogy, were necessarily bound to find expression also in the\ncharacter of medical critique, and it was impossible, therefore,\nfor the ancient physician to detect anything absurd or contrary to\nexperience in hypotheses which the practitioner of to-day at once\nbrands as nonsensical and superstitious.\n\nWe are not in the least justified, therefore, in speaking disparagingly\nof Galen and Alexander of Tralles because they believed in magical\nmedicine and applied it in their practise. As no human being can\njump out of his skin, so is he unable to get beyond the intellectual\nadvancement of his time. As the ancient physicians were also unable to\ndo this, accordingly they were believers in the magical medicine.\n\nBut there is still a second point which explains the remarkable\nposition taken by ancient physicians in relation to magical\nmedicine\u2014namely, the fact that the conception of miracle and magic\nwere essentially different in the ancient world from what they are at\npresent. The belief in the interference of spirits and supernatural\nbeings in terrestrial matters, and the manifestations of their\ninfluence exerted in manifold ways\u2014sometimes for good, sometimes\nfor evil\u2014had been widely disseminated from the earliest times, and\nwe encounter them in all periods of classic antiquity. This belief\nin demons had become incorporated in the systems of many leading\nphilosophers of antiquity. Now if the world were filled with demons the\nnatural consequence was that their activity would manifest itself in\nvarious ways. It was necessary, therefore, that man should always be\nprepared to experience manifestations which more or less violated the\ncustomary order of terrestrial happenings, and for this reason nothing\nthat could be styled a miracle really existed for him. A miracle could\nnot be conceived in its full modern sense until it was realized that\nthe course of all natural phenomena was nothing but the expression of\neternal and changeless laws. However, it was not until comparatively\nlate that this conception became generally disseminated; thus, for\ninstance, it was considered as self-evident, even in the latest periods\nof the middle ages and during the first beginnings of modern times,\nthat divine influence could always, and actually did always, cause an\nalteration in the course of the functions of the body. In fact, there\nis an amazingly large number of people even in our time who believe\nthis, and for whom, therefore, the conception of miracles, especially\nof miraculous healing, is to-day on about the same level as that on\nwhich it stood in the time of Galen and Alexander of Tralles.\n\nThus we must admit that the ancient physicians were by no means below\nthe standard of civilization and culture attained during their period\nif they believed in the possibility of extraordinary cures effected\nby means extraneous and unscientific in their treatment of the sick,\nand, accordingly, they supported such methods. However, this belief\nin miraculous medicines on the part of the ancient physician was\nalways restricted to certain limits. It is true, the conception was\nalways adhered to that this or that magical agency, or this or that\nmagical action, might exert an influence upon the disease; but such\na belief never led them to omit any strictly medical measures of a\nsurgical or gynecological nature. On the contrary, the intelligent\nphysicians of antiquity firmly insisted that the actions of the surgeon\nand of the gynecologist were not to be hampered by any metaphysical\nconsiderations; thus, for instance, Soranus demanded most energetically\nthat the midwife should be \u201c\u1f00\u03b4\u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03af\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd\u201d (without fear of any\ndemon)\u2014_i.e._, she was not to be superstitious, but free from any\nimputation which would render her curative interposition objectionable.\n\nThe profession of the magicians, due to the persecutions to which they\nbecame subject under the Christian emperors Valens, Valentinian, and\nTheodosius, became considerably less prominent during the predominance\nof Christianity, but the ideas upon which it had been erected in\nancient times still survived; in fact, these ideas were even to a\ncertain extent systematically elaborated during the middle ages, and at\nthis time a distinction was made between higher and lower, or white\nand black, magic. The white magic busied itself with good spirits, the\nblack magic with the bad ones. Magicians, therefore, who operated by\nthe aid of the devil, and even in medicine called in the assistance of\nthe devil, were called \u201cnecromancers.\u201d For the first time magic became\namalgamated with certain philosophical speculations and also with\nChristian-dogmatic constituents. The methods adopted by magic medicine\nunder these conditions are so peculiar and are so close to the boundary\nlines between philosophy and religion that we are really not quite\ncertain whether to relegate it to the domain of one or of the other.\nBut as the fundamental parts of these methods were actually supplied by\nphilosophy, we propose to defer this discussion for the present, and\nto take up here another form of medical superstition which was derived\nexclusively from religion\u2014namely, \u201csleep in the temple.\u201d\n\n\u00a7 5. =Sleep in the Temple.=\u2014One of the generally practised methods\nof medical science during the period of Hellenic civilization which\nwas still fully under the influence of theism\u2014_i.e._, for at least\ntwo or three centuries before the Hippocratic era\u2014was what was known\nas \u201ctemple sleep.\u201d In fact, this method must be considered a sign\nof a faith distinctly deep and sincere, a faith naive and childlike\nindeed; but as a sign of such a faith this method is actually pathetic.\nNo taint of superstition could be found in it at the early period\nreferred to. It was still the pure and unadulterated expression of the\ngenerally prevailing conception that human art is to no purpose in any\ncase of disease, and aid must be found with the gods\u2014with those gods\nwho regulate and personally execute all terrestrial phenomena down to\nthe minutest details. Temple sleep was not degraded into superstition\nuntil medicine had come to the conclusion that the phenomena of disease\nwere not evidence of an interference by supernatural power in the\nfunctions of the body, but disturbances of the function of the body\ncaused exclusively by natural causes. In accordance with this view,\nwhich first found its fullest and clearest exposition in the _corpus\nhippocraticum_, it would seem absolutely necessary for temple sleep to\nlose all recognition from the art of healing. However, this not being\nthe case, it was bound to deteriorate into an act of superstitious\nmummery, and the principal blame for this sad decadence is to be laid\nprimarily upon the priests. It was their duty especially to lead into\nthe path of truth the patients who persisted in crowding into the\ntemples in the spirit of naive and childlike piety. They sealed their\nown condemnation as fosterers of superstition when they failed to\ndo this duty, and endeavored rather, by every means in their power,\nto confirm the multitude in their ancient belief that the gods were\npractising medicine. Non-Christian as well as Christian priests played\nthis r\u00f4le for many centuries with equal ability and equal perseverance,\nas will be seen from the following brief history of temple sleep.\n\nThe belief in the efficacy of temple sleep had already been thoroughly\nshaken during the time of the great Hippocrates; therefore, in\nthe sixth century, B.C., the laughing philosopher of Hellenism,\nAristophanes, the satirical contemporary of Hippocrates, in Act II.,\nverses 654 to 750, of his comedy \u03a0\u03bb\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2, severely criticizes the\nmanner and method in which temple sleep was employed. Let us listen\nto the words in which the poet describes what happened in the temple\nduring the observance of this rite.\n\nThe god \u00c6sculapius, accompanied by his daughter Panakeia, appears in\nthe temple to examine in person the patients gathered there. The first\none he meets is a poor wretch, Neokleides, who, being blear-eyed,\nexpects cure from the god. The medically skilled \u00c6sculapius smears\nupon the inverted lids of this patient a salve which causes such pain\nthat the poor fellow will probably never seek his help again. The\nsecond patient met by the god is the blind god, \u03a0\u03bb\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 (_i.e._,\nWealth Personified). Here the conduct of \u00c6sculapius is entirely\ndifferent from that which he adopted when treating poor Neokleides.\nNow he carefully strokes the head of the patient, then produces a\nlinen cloth and carefully touches the lids with it. He then calls\nhis daughter Panakeia, who winds a red cloth round the head of blind\nWealth. Now \u00c6sculapius whistles, and two mighty serpents appear, glide\nunder the purple cloth, and lick the eyes of the patient. Shortly\nafterward the god regains his sight.\n\nThis passage is a cutting satire on practises which undoubtedly\nprevailed in the Greek temples as early as the sixth century, B.C.\nBut, nevertheless, it took a long time before the patients lost\ntheir belief in the miraculous efficacy of temple sleep, and the\npriesthood continually strove to revive, by the mysterious stories\nof various kinds they recounted to doubters, the belief in temple\nsleep. The sixth of the marble votive tablets which were found in\nthe temple of \u00c6sculapius at Epidaurus shows the kind of miraculous\nreports invented by the priests. The latter were in the habit of\ninscribing upon these tablets reports of cures that had occurred in\ntheir sanctuary, for the benefit of the visitors of the temple and for\nthe still greater benefit of the medical historians; but it is quite\nprobable that the priesthood, intent upon curing, were encouraged in\ntheir medico-literary attempts only by the silent hope of creating\nan abundant supply of patients by such miraculous reports. The above\ntablet, No. 6\u2014which probably dates from the third century, B.C.\u2014tells\nus that a blind man by the name of Hermon, a native of Thasos, had\nrecovered his sight by sleeping in the Epidaurean temple of \u00c6sculapius.\nHowever, it appears that this man Hermon had been a miserable wretch,\nfor he disappeared without having expressed his thanks in hard cash.\nNaturally such ingratitude provoked the god, and summarily he blinded\nthe thankless individual again. It required a second temple sleep\nbefore the god condescended to become helpful once more. But our tablet\ndoes not mention anything about the amount of the remuneration paid by\nour friend Hermon who had been twice cured of blindness; neither is\nthis at all necessary. The miraculous tablet, even without stating the\nprice, doubtless made sufficient impression upon the minds even of the\nmost parsimonious of future patients.\n\nAltho, therefore, the more enlightened among the Greeks recognized,\nas early as in the sixth century, B.C., the futility of temple sleep\nas a means of healing, the ancient world never relinquished it\nentirely. We encounter it again in the later periods of antiquity.\nThus, for instance, Suetonius and other ancient authors tell us that\ntwo patients, one blind, the other lame, one day approached the\nemperor Vespasian, who happened to be in Alexandria, asking him to\nspit into the eyes of the one and to stroke the paralyzed limbs of\nthe other; for they had been notified in temple sleep that they would\nbe restored to health if only the emperor would deign to perform the\nabove-mentioned manipulations. But Vespasian was an enlightened ruler\nwho, in spite of his imperial dignity, did not have much confidence in\nthe medical qualities of his saliva and of his hands, and accordingly\nunceremoniously dismissed both supplicants. This caused great terror\namong the priests of Serapis and among the courtiers, for obviously\nthey had interpreted this affair solely as intended _in majorem\nVespasiani gloriam_. The emperor was importuned, therefore, kindly to\naid the unfortunate, but he persisted in his refusal. Probably he was\nright in fearing the loss of his prestige should the imperial medical\npowers prove unequal to the task of curing disease. Not until the\npriests solemnly vouched for the truthfulness of the dream-sending god\nSerapis, and declared a failure of the imperial cure to be impossible,\ndid Vespasian\u2019s stubbornness relent. Now he spat, and rubbed the\nparalyzed limbs, and the blind saw, and the paralytic arose and walked.\n\n\u00a76. =Church Sleep.=\u2014When, subsequently, the ancient religions died out,\nand had left the world as an heritage to Christianity, temple sleep had\nby no means died out also. On the contrary, after the lapse of three\ncenturies, it again came into favor with the Christian priests. And the\nuse of it now was scarcely less in favor than it had been a thousand\nyears previous in the world of the ancient Greeks. Let us mention a few\nexamples. The first four stories are taken from the works of Gregory of\nTours.\n\nMummolus, who came to the court of Justinian (527 to 565) as the\nambassador of King Theudebert, suffered greatly from calculi of the\nurinary bladder, and during this journey he became subject to an attack\nof renal colic. Things went badly with poor Mummolus, and he was in\na great hurry to make his will. Whereupon he was advised to pass one\nnight sleeping in St. Andrew\u2019s Church, at Pateras, for St. Andrew had\nperformed many miraculous cures in this place. No sooner said than\ndone. Mummolus, greatly tormented by pain and fever, and despairing\nof life, had himself placed upon the stone flags of the sanctuary,\nand waited there for the things that were to happen. Suddenly, toward\nmidnight, the patient awoke with a violent desire to urinate, and\ndischarged in a natural manner a calculus which, as St. Gregory assures\nus, was so enormous that it fell with a loud clatter into the vessel.\nFrom that hour Mummolus was hale and hearty, and joyfully started on\nhis journey homeward.\n\nIn Brioude, the capital of the present department Haute-Loire, there\nwas a woman named Fedamia, who had been paralyzed for years. In\naddition to this, she was penniless, and her relatives, therefore,\nbrought her to the Church of St. Julian, who enjoyed a great reputation\nin Brioude, in order that, even if she did not become cured, she might\nat least make some money by begging at the church door. For eighteen\nyears she had lived thus when, one Sunday night, while she slept in\nthe colonnade adjoining the church, a man appeared who took her by the\nhand and led her toward the grave of St. Julian. On arriving there she\nuttered a fervent prayer, and in a moment felt as if a load of actual\nchains fell from her limbs. All this, it is true, happened in a dream,\nbut when the patient awoke she was hale and hearty, and was able, to\nthe amazement of the assembled multitude, to walk, with loud prayers,\nto the grave of the saint.\n\nA certain man, deaf, dumb, and blind, known by the name of Amagildus,\nalso tried the sleep in the Church of St. Julian, at Brioude. But it\nappears that this saint was not always quite accessible to the wishes\nof the sick. It is true, Amagildus was not obliged, like Fedamia of\nthe previous narrative, to pass eighteen years in the basilica, but,\nnevertheless, he had to sleep for a full year in the colonnade of the\nchurch before the curative power of the holy martyr delivered him from\nhis ailment.\n\nVeranus, the slave of one of the clergy under Gregory, was so violently\nattacked by gout that he was absolutely unable to move for an entire\nyear. Thereupon his master pledged himself to advance the afflicted\nslave to the priesthood if St. Martin would be willing to cure him. To\naccomplish this cure the slave was carried to the church, and there\nplaced at the feet of the saint. The poor wretch had to remain there\nfor five long days, and it seemed as tho St. Martin had forgotten all\nabout him. Finally, on the sixth day, the patient was visited by a man\nwho seized his foot and drew it out straight. The slave rose to his\nfeet in terror, and perceived that he was cured. For many years he\nserved St. Martin as a priest.\n\nBut the most wonderful cure was that of the German emperor Henry II.,\ncalled \u201cThe Saint\u201d (1002 to 1024). This emperor, who was of Bavarian\nstock, suffered greatly from the stone, and had retired to the Italian\ncloister Monte Cassino, inasmuch as this cloister during that period\njustly enjoyed an extraordinary medical reputation. But whether the\nmonks of Monte Cassino, altho well versed in medical art, did not have\nsufficient confidence in their ability to treat an emperor, or whether\nthey were induced by some other reason, is not known; however, instead\nof submitting the imperial patient to the operations of terrestrial\nmedicine, they surrendered him to the providence of heaven, and\nmore particularly to the sympathy of St. Benedict. This saint fully\njustified the confidence that was placed in him, for, during an acute\nperiod in the patient\u2019s sufferings, he appeared in his own holy person,\nand with his own holy hands he performed the necessary operation, and,\nafter having pressed the stone that he had removed from the bladder\ninto the hand of the sleeping emperor, he retired heavenward. But he\ntook care from his heavenly residence to attend to the prompt healing\nof the operation wound, and this was surely very good of St. Benedict.\nIn fact, his entire behavior during this case was extremely proper and\nlaudable; for is it not much more fitting that the imperial bladder\nshould be delivered from its disagreeable visitor, the stone, at the\nhands of a saint than by those of mortal beings, even if those mortal\nbeings were the pious and medically skilled monks of Monte Cassino?[3]\n\nThe form in which we encounter the Christian temple sleep in the above\nstories is as like as two peas to that practised in the Hellenic\ntemples. They are distinguished merely by the fact that the Greek gods\ngenerally hastened to the assistance of the patients after the latter\nhad spent one night in the temple, whereas the Christian saints often\nallowed years to pass before the patient, who was crying for aid,\nsecured relief.\n\n      [3] Compare Leibnitz, Script. Brunsvic, Vol. I., page 525.\n      Sprengel, Vol. II., page 91.\n\nChristianity has, however, created one variation of the temple sleep,\nand this is the sleep which is taken, altho outside of the church, at\nany place whatever, but with invocation of the saints. This sleep was\nsaid to be exactly as efficacious as that taken in the church itself,\nprovided the patient had fervently prayed before falling asleep, and\nhad particularly remembered the saint whose assistance he required.\nThe two following narratives, which are also taken from the works of\nGregory of Tours, may serve as significant examples of this variety of\ntemple sleep.\n\nAlpinus, Count of Tours, was so tormented for years by a pain in his\nfoot that life had no further joys for him, so that, sleepless and\nwithout appetite, he took to his bed. Again and again had he, in\nsecret prayer, appealed to St. Martin for relief. So one day the Count\nsuddenly falls into a deep sleep, during which St. Martin appears to\nhim, making the sign of the cross over the diseased foot. Thereupon the\npain suddenly left him, and Alpinus was able to leave his couch, fully\ncured. In this case the saint showed himself extremely considerate\ntoward the sick count, in that he was attired in a smart uniform when\npaying his visit. It was his intention, obviously, in choosing this\ncostume to gratify the martial tastes of the nobleman; for St. Martin,\nwhen visiting patients, by no means always affected this warlike array,\nas will be seen from the following story.\n\nA certain woman was so severely afflicted with campsis of the fingers\nthat she completely lost the use of her hands. Even a visit to the\nchurch which was consecrated to St. Martin in Tours had brought her no\nrelief. The patient was obliged to leave the sanctuary with her fingers\nstill diseased. But it seems that this patient was actually of a very\ncontented disposition; for when, upon her return, away from Tours, she\nlay down to her first night\u2019s rest, she thanked God that at least her\nlife was spared, and that she had been permitted to see the grave of\nSt. Martin. Affected by so much modesty, St. Martin appeared to her in\nher sleep, and, like to St. Benedict in the case of the emperor Henry,\nwith his own holy hands he performed somewhat of an operation upon the\npatient, in that he stretched her bent fingers in such a manner that\nthe tense tendons were evidently torn; for Gregory tells us that, under\nthe treatment described, blood flowed from the straightened fingers of\nthe woman. But St. Martin had entirely discarded his martial attire\nupon this visit. Evidently such a garb did not seem to him appropriate\nwhen visiting a female patient; he therefore appeared before the\npatient in a purple cloak with a cross in his hand.\n\nHowever, the medical activity of the saints was by no means restricted\nto cases of church slumber, but was manifested in the most various\nforms.\n\n\u00a7 7. =Medical Saints.=\u2014Some saints had a decided predilection for\nmedical specialties, and for that reason paid a particular attention to\ncertain varieties of disease. Thus, St. Anna espoused ophthalmology;\nSt. Jude cured coughs; St. Valentine, epilepsy; St. Catherine of Siena,\nthe plague. Not even our domestic animals were forgotten by the saints.\nThus, St. Roch of Montpellier distinguished himself especially by his\nskill as a veterinarian.\n\nVarious were the ways of obtaining the medical aid of this or that\nsaint. The most simple was probably that the patient attended mass in\nthe church of his town, and, at the same time, made an offering to\nthe saints. More difficult was it to undertake a pilgrimage to one\nor the other of the saints who enjoyed a medical reputation; this\nwas generally done on the birthday of the celestial physician. It\nseems that the saint was especially inclined on this day to practise\nmedicine; at least, the chroniclers report that great numbers of the\nmost difficult cases were successfully treated on such days.\n\nA very efficacious method of securing medical treatment from saints was\nconsidered to be the placing of the patient in the church during the\nday in the space between the altar and the grave of the saint. The bed\nof the mortally sick, fever-racked patient was placed there, and for\ndays was compelled to remain here wrestling with death. This was done,\nfor instance, with the dying Countess Eborin. In case severe epidemics\nwere prevalent, it is likely that the churches very often resembled\nactual hospitals. Then dozens of beds with their patients were set up\nin the churches, and many a one who was in good health when he entered\nthe church to say his prayers probably returned home with the germ of a\npestilence acquired in the sanctuary.\n\nBut the saints, as we have seen, were by no means always so anxious\nor in such a hurry to manifest their medical skill. They often made\nthe patient wait for years for their aid. The church, therefore, made\npractical arrangements to meet every requirement. Larger buildings were\nerected close to the church intended for the reception of patients.\nHere those who were hoping to find help could obtain shelter and food,\nand were, therefore, able to rest quietly, and to await the moment when\nheavenly aid might appear. This arrangement proved to be extremely\npractical, especially because a good many individuals felt themselves\ncured only so long as they remained in the proximity of the saint, but\nbecame reafflicted as before when they returned to their homes.\n\nBut as the slumber and the protracted sojourn in the ecclesiastical\nhostelries was, nevertheless, rather uncomfortable, especially in\nconsideration of the difficulties and dangers which were involved in\ntraveling during the middle ages, it was absolutely necessary to invent\na means of administering the medical aid of the saints in such a way as\nwas always accessible to the patient. This was managed by the use of\nrelics.\n\n\u00a78. =Cult of Relics.=\u2014It was believed that God had endowed the bodies\nof martyrs who died for the Christian faith, or of saints distinguished\nby extraordinary piety, with a miraculous power of extraordinary\nefficacy, and not only the mortal relics of the martyrs and saints were\nwonder-working, but actually all objects which had come in contact with\nthe persons of saints during their life as well as after their death.\nAll such objects were possessed of curative power. Let us listen to\nwhat Gregory of Tours says under this head: \u201cThe miracles which our\nLord God deigned to bring about through St. Martin, his servant, once a\npilgrim in the flesh, he causes to be repeated daily, to strengthen the\nconfidence of the faithful; for now he endows his tomb with precisely\nthe same wonder-working power as was exhibited by the saint himself\nwhile still among us. Who will now persist in doubting the former\nmiracles when he observes their continuation in the present day, when\nhe sees the lame walk, the blind receive their sight, devils cast\nout, and every variety of disease cured by the help of the saint?\u201d\n(\u201cBernoulli,\u201d page 287).\n\nThe statement of such a luminary of the Church as Gregory of Tours has\nundoubtedly gained ecclestiastical credence for the medical efficacy\nnot only of the tomb of St. Martin, but of all the relics relating to\nthat saint. It remained only to distribute the superior medical power\nwhich was contained in the holy tombs and relics in such a form as\nwould enable all patients, wherever they happened to be, to make use of\nthem. This task, apparently most difficult, was settled very easily.\nIt was discovered that everything which came in contact with a relic\nactually absorbed a sacred and miraculous power contained in the same,\nand what had been absorbed was by no means imponderable. Quite the\ncontrary. Something of material substance, and, therefore, physically\ndemonstrable, passed from the relic into the objects surrounding it.\nIt was indeed a celestial fluid, but, nevertheless, of so terrestrial\na nature that the priests were able to demonstrate its transference\nby means of a common pair of scales. Thus it was customary that the\nsilk shreds which were deposited by the pilgrims upon the tomb of the\napostle Peter were weighed before they were placed there and weighed\nagain after their removal. This weighing always and without exception\nindicated a considerable increase in their weight. The pilgrim then\ncould travel homeward and be thoroughly consoled, as the scale had\ndemonstrated to him the amount of miraculous power contained in his\nsilk rag. It was really astonishing, under some circumstances, what\nan enormous amount of curative fluid could flow from such a holy tomb\ninto a single terrestrial object. This was what happened to a king of\nthe Suavians. He had a sick son, for whose cure every remedy had proved\nunavailing. He at last sent an embassy to Tours to obtain a relic of\nSt. Martin, but this relic was destined to be manufactured with the\nassistance of the embassy. The priests were quite willing to comply\nwith the desire of their royal petitioner, and thus a piece of silk,\nduly weighed beforehand, was placed upon the tomb of St. Martin. After\nthis silk had remained for one night upon the holy sepulchre, and the\nembassy had knelt beside praying fervently, the silk absorbed so much\ncurative power that the register of the scale was raised to its highest\npossible notch.\n\nKnowing, then, that any desired object could be saturated with the\nmiraculous power contained in a relic, they used to apply this\ncelestial power through medicaments, and to accomplish this a number\nof methods were in use. The most popular was to scrape the tombstones\non the graves of the saints as thoroughly as possible. The powder\nthus obtained was then put into water or wine, and thus a medicine\nwas acquired which possessed an astonishing curative power. It was\nefficacious even in the severest ailments of the body. Let us listen to\nwhat Gregory of Tours has reported concerning the medicinal virtues of\nsuch tombstone potions.\n\nHe says: \u201cOh, indescribable mixture, incomparable elixir, antidote\nbeyond all praise! Celestial purgative (if I may be permitted to\nuse the expression), which throws into the shade every medical\nprescription, which surpasses in fragrance every earthly aroma, and\nis more powerful than all essences; which purges the body like the\njuice of scammony, clears the lungs like hyssop, and the head like\nsneezewort; which not only cures the ailing limbs, but also, and this\nis much more valuable, washes off the stains from the conscience!\u201d\n\nAccording to this extensive power of the tombstone powder, it is by no\nmeans astonishing that Gregory of Tours, when traveling, always carried\na box of this miraculous powder with him, so that he was able at once\nto heal the patients that surrounded him. I was not able to obtain\nfrom the literary sources at my disposal any data as to whether the\ndirect licking off of the tombstones might not have been still more\nefficacious than the all-healing extract. Gregory does, however, report\nthat he was cured of a tumor of the tongue and lips by merely licking\nthe railing of the tomb of St. Martin and kissing the curtain of the\ntemple.\n\nAnother very efficacious remedy was the charred wick of the wax candles\nwhich had burned in the church. This wick was pulverized, and in this\nmanner a very powerful curative powder was obtained which, when taken,\nacted in a manner similar to that of the watery or vinous tombstone\ninfusion.\n\nThe wax which dripped from candles that were placed near the holy\nsepulchre was also credited with many medicinal virtues, but it seems\nthat it was employed more as an external than an internal remedy.\n\nThe water which had been used before Easter to clean the altar of\nthe saints was also considered to be a famous remedy. If such water\nwas employed in washing a patient he recovered at once, and this was\nthe happy experience of Countess Eborin. This exhalted patient was\nsuffering so severely that she believed her hour had come. She was then\nquickly removed to the church of St. Martin, and thoroughly washed\nwith the water that had been used in washing the altar. And, behold!\nthe disease disappeared, and let us hope that the overjoyed countess\nafterward enjoyed many years of life.\n\nOil from lamps hung in holy places was also a favorite remedy, but it\nappears that it was principally used for anointing. However, when mixed\nwith holy water, it furnished a remedy which could be administered to\ndiseased cattle with a prospect of positive cure.\n\nWater which was obtained by boiling the covers in which the relics were\nwrapped also yielded a very efficacious medicine. Thus, for instance,\nGregory of Tours caused a silk cover, in which a piece of the cross\nof Christ had been wrapped, to be thoroughly boiled, and he then\nadministered this decoction to patients; the curtains which were used\nas ornaments over holy graves also displayed an extremely beneficent\neffect upon the sick. If an individual suffering from headache touched,\nfor instance, the carpet which was placed over the resting-place of St.\nJulian, the pain ceased. But if a patient was afflicted with abdominal\npains, all that was necessary to relieve him at once was to pull a\nthread from this, the above-named carpet, and to apply it to his\nrebellious digestive apparatus.\n\nHowever, it was not necessary for the priests, under some\ncircumstances, personally to take the trouble of manufacturing\nmiraculous medicines from relics. There existed some holy graves which\nwere so accommodating that they furnished, of their own accord, the\nholy material that was required for the treatment of the sick. Thus\nthe chronicler records that the grave of the evangelist John exuded a\nsort of white manna, which, owing to its wonder-working curative power,\nwas distributed all over the world. A similar product was yielded by\nthe grave of the Apostle Andrew on the festival day of that saint. A\nprecious oil scented like nectar also sprang from the resting-place of\nthis man of God.\n\nWe see, therefore, that the sacred pharmacop\u0153ia teemed with remedies,\nand that they were quite extensively employed is shown sufficiently by\nthe history of the saints and, above all, by the works of Gregory of\nTours. The latter, in particular, offer an actually inexhaustible mine\nof information concerning the medical activity of Christian saints.\n\nIt does not, however, appear that this medical activity enjoyed the\nconfidence of priests or of laymen to such an extent that the services\nof a professional physician were entirely discarded. It is true,\nGregory of Tours expresses himself in reference to the terrestrial\nphysicians in a manner which is by no means complimentary, for he says:\n\n\u201cWhat are they (the physicians) able to accomplish with their\ninstruments? Their office is rather to cause pain than to alleviate\nit; if they open the eye and cut into it with pointed lancets, they\nsurely cause the agony of death to come in sight before assisting in\nthe recovery of vision, and if all precautionary measures are not\nthoroughly carried out the power of sight is lost forever. Our beloved\nsaint, however, has only one instrument of steel, and that is his will,\nand only one salve, and that is his curative power.\u201d\n\nBut in spite of this want of confidence in physicians, Gregory of Tours\ndid not hesitate eventually to interfere quite extensively with the\npractise of the saints by the employment of ordinary medicine.\n\nAt least, he frequently did so when he felt sick himself. Thus, one\nday, when he was afflicted with severe bellyache, he employed warm\npoultices and baths, and only when the refractory abdomen gave him no\nrest, after a continuance of this treatment for six days, did Gregory\napply to St. Martin. When, at another time, Gregory was affected\nwith so severe an attack that his death was believed to be imminent,\nhe caused himself at first to be treated according to all the rules\nof medical science, and not until improvement failed to appear, did\nhe think of the aid of the saints. Then he spoke to his physician as\nfollows: \u201cWell, you have exhausted all remedies of your art, you have\nused up all your powers and juices, but the remedies of this world do\nnot help him who is destined to die. Only one thing remains for me to\ndo. I shall tell you the great remedy: take some stone powder from the\ngrave of St. Martin and prepare it for me.\u201d\n\nThe healing of the sick by the power of the saints and through relics\nwas in favor throughout the middle ages, and even in the sixteenth\ncentury it was so generally in vogue that a physician by the name\nof Wyer (1515 to 1588) considered it expedient to demonstrate the\nincredibility of such heavenly interference.\n\nIt is by no means my intention to hold solely dogmatic Christendom of\nthe middle ages and the Christian priest responsible for the monstrous\nsuperstition into which, according to the above description, Christian\nreligion had degenerated in the domain of medicine. This superstition\nresulted from the cooperation of quite incongruous factors; but we\ncan by no means exempt the Christian priest entirely from blame, in\nthat he assisted very materially in furthering it. For we must bear in\nmind that the Christian cloister of the middle ages was not only the\nlast refuge of humanistic culture, but the science of medicine found\nan asylum of preeminent importance within its precincts. Medicine had\ntaken refuge in the cloister from the storms and tribulations which\nfollowed the political collapse of antiquity and from the excitement of\nnational migrations, and had here attained a high degree of perfection.\nIn fact, we may contend, without exaggeration, that at certain periods\nof the middle ages the Christian monastery had the importance as a\nmedical school which was later on claimed by the university; for the\nChristian monks not only nursed the sick and practised medicine,\nbut also took an interest in its scientific development. They were\nwell acquainted with the medical classics of ancient times, such as\nHippocrates, Herophilus, Dioscorides, Galen, Paul of \u00c6gina, and others,\nas well as with the ancient medical celebrities of second and third\nrank. Briefly, medical knowledge in its entirety was contained in\nthe cloisters of the middle ages; the cloisters, indeed, furnished a\nconsiderably larger quota of the medical profession than the laity. In\nsuch a state of affairs it might have been expected that the monks and\npriests should have applied their extensive medical knowledge to combat\nthe terrible abuses which had invaded medicine in connection with the\nnames and the bones of the saints. But this they never did, neither\nduring the middle ages or later on. Priesthood has never seriously\nattempted to promote medical enlightenment. On the contrary, plenty of\nwritings exist in which the crassest superstition in medico-physical\naffairs was defended by the clergy, who quite frequently exhibit the\nsame spirit while practising medicine. Medical relief obtained by\nentirely terrestrial remedies they speedily placed to the credit of the\nsaints, as was done, for instance, by the monks of Monte Cassino, when\n(as we have seen above) they persuaded the emperor Henry II. that not\nthe temporal hands of the friar physicians had performed an operation\nfor stone upon him, but that St. Benedict in person had, with his own\nholy hands, extracted the stone from the imperial bladder.\n\nBy leading the laity, in numerous cases and against their better\nknowledge and conscience, to believe that the aid of the saints, and\nof the relics originating from them, was far superior to medical\nservices, the Christian priests of the middle ages have on their part\ncontributed quite a considerable share to the horrors of medical\nsuperstition. It is true, we must not overlook the fact that monks\nand priests of the middle ages were the product of their time, in the\nsame manner as we of modern times are the product of our period. And\nas the middle ages formed an era of miracles, of demons, devils, and\nwitches, numerous members of the clergy, as children of their time,\nsurely had an essentially different opinion of the belief in miracles\nand demons from that which we have. The conception of miracles was\nentirely different during the middle ages from what it is in modern\ntimes; for the sincere and firm belief in the omnipotence of the one\nGod, which with Christianity had taken possession of the world, had\nfirmly fixed in the Christian mind of that period the idea that God\nwas able at any moment to manifest his omnipotence by changing the\ncourse of terrestrial phenomena, and actually did manifest it. Thus to\na Christian of the middle ages it did not appear miraculous that an\nalteration in the course of natural law should occur. It was considered\nquite conceivable that the same natural phenomena should spring from\none cause to-day and from a different one to-morrow, according to\nthe pleasure of God; it would have been just as inconceivable to the\nearly Christians, and to their later coreligionists of the middle\nages, that all natural processes are carried into effect according to\neternally unalterable laws, beyond the interference of divinity, as\nit is incomprehensible to us to conceive that God would at any time\nchange a law of nature in favor of one or the other mortal being.\nThe conception of miracle during the first sixteen centuries of the\nChristian era was entirely different from that of the subsequent era.\nWe must not, therefore, gauge the ideas of priests and laymen of those\ncenturies who believed in medical miracles by the same standard as\nthat by which we judge those who to-day still persist in admitting the\nexistence of medico-physical wonder or miracle. It is highly probable\nthat, under conditions as described above, many Christian monks and\npriests vacillated between the requirements of faith and the results of\ntheir own medical knowledge. The medieval scholar\u2019s feeling drew him to\none side, his intelligence to the other, and thus he became destitute\nof a firm hold\u2014the intellectual sport of his period and of his\nenvironment. That prominent lights of the Church could become subject\nto such vacillations we learn from Gregory of Tours, who attempted to\ncure bodily ailments at one time with the medicaments of professional\nmedicine, at other times with the saving means of the celestial\ndrug-store; who at one time deprecated the art of temporal physicians\nin favor of medically skilled saints, at other times fled to human\nmedicine for refuge.\n\nFinally the position of the medically learned monk and priest with\nreference to the general public, during the middle ages, was by no\nmeans an easy or an agreeable one. The people clung with invincible\ntenacity to the belief in demons and miracles. Ancient as well as\nChristian philosophy was firmly pledged to a belief in demons, whose\nexistence was supported by the sacred testimony of the Gospel. It is\nnot astonishing, therefore, that the people should cling to their\nbelief in various forms of supernatural interference with the functions\nof organic beings, and thus it may frequently have happened that a\nmedically enlightened priest, fearing the opposition of a people eager\nafter celestial medicine, sacrificed his scientific convictions to the\ncaprices of a mistaken faith. Unfortunately, only a few had in them the\nmaking of a scientific martyr, and the history of Christianity teaches\nus that it is much easier to be a martyr of faith than a martyr of\nscience.\n\nBut what has been stated thus far will by no means acquit the Christian\npriest of blame which he incurred by favoring medical superstition;\nsuch acquittal would be radically futile. But we mean to show that the\nconduct of the servants of our faith, altho not pardonable, is quite\nexplicable. The historian, in order to present to his readers the\nrelation which had gradually formed between Christianity and medical\nsuperstition, must show himself prosecutor and defendant at the same\ntime.\n\nEqually with dogma and priesthood, theistic belief also has been a\npowerful instrument in the furthering of medical superstition, and this\npoint we shall next consider.\n\n\u00a79. =Theistic Thought as the Fosterer of Medical Superstition.=\u2014Altho\nthe theist, by accepting a physico-mechanical interpretation of natural\nphenomena, abandoned his main position, yet the theistic belief by no\nmeans became obsolete\u2014_i.e._, the belief that God, unrestricted by\nnatural laws, personally directed terrestrial manifestations still\nheld its ground. This belief remained dominant in many minds, in spite\nof all that philosophers and naturalists said in regard to the forms\nand life of organic structures. The vitality which this belief has\nshown during the development of our race is actually astonishing. In\nspite of the wide acceptance of the physico-mechanical theory of life,\nthe belief that God, without regard to natural laws, unceasingly\ninterfered with the course of natural events, and, consequently,\nalso with the conditions of the human body, has not only remained\nactive, but has even succeeded in recovering an extensive part of its\nlost ground. We shall soon see that this is a repetition of what has\noccurred during all periods of human development. Even to-day, when the\nmechanical theory of life has won its greatest triumphs, and more than\ntwenty centuries have passed since the great Hippocrates preached a\ntheory of medicine, purified from all theistic and theurgic accretions,\nindividuals are still met with who presuppose the therapeutic activity\nof God in all cases of disease as a self-evident fact. Such a condition\nof opinion, history teaches us, always prevails at periods, during\nwhich a craving for religious excitement becomes excessively acute.\nIt is either a new form of religion which so preoccupies the public\nmind and the intelligence that all phenomena are conceived of as in\nclosest relationship with God, or else some individual appears who,\ncarried away by religious enthusiasm, teaches that the existence of\nnature independent of God is not admissible, and succeeds in enlisting\nnumerous followers under his banner. Under similar conditions theistic\nbelief had occasionally succeeded in regaining its supremacy in\nthe domain of medicine. In taking up the consideration of some such\ninstances we can only treat them briefly, as an exhaustive handling of\nthis most interesting material would carry us too far away from our\npresent subject.\n\nThe belief that God was the best physician, not only of the soul but\nof the body also, was deepened by the dissemination of Christianity.\nThe sincerity of faith among the Christians of the first century was so\nintense that a great number of them believed that their bodily welfare\ncould not be watched over more carefully than when it was commended\nexclusively to the care of God in all cases of sickness. Accordingly,\nthey entirely neglected medical aid and treated all diseases only\nby prayers, by anointing, and by laying on of hands. This mode of\ntreatment corresponds to what is contained in the epistle of James\nv : 14-16\u2014\n\n\u201cIs any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and\nlet them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:\n\n\u201cAnd the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise\nhim up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.\n\n\u201cConfess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that\nye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man\navaileth much.\u201d\n\nThe extent of this treatment by prayer is shown by the fact that even\nprominent fathers of the Church\u2014for instance, St. Benedict (died\n543)\u2014were addicted to it.\n\nMoreover, an attempt was made to increase the therapeutic value of\nprayer by various accessories and aids. Thus the Gospel was placed upon\nthe affected part of the body, or clothing of a particularly pious man\nwas spread over the patient. It appears that the sudarium and the coat\nof the apostle Paul were held to possess such healing power, and were,\ntherefore, frequently employed as instruments of healing. Thus we read\nin the Act of the Apostles xix : 12\u2014\u201cSo that from his body were brought\nunto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from\nthem, and the evil spirits went out of them.\u201d\n\nIn fact, medical superstition went so far that it divined a potent\ncurative virtue even in the shadow of the apostle Peter. Thus, Acts\nv : 15\u2014\u201cInsomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets,\nand laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter\npassing by might overshadow some of them.\u201d\n\nProbably we shall not be wrong in regarding this procedure as the\norigin of that relic cult which was destined to attain such astonishing\ndimensions in medical practise.\n\nThe mode of treatment by means of prayer was, perhaps, intimately\nconnected with the idea that bodily ailments were divinely ordained to\nmake the wrath of God distinctly perceptible by man. This conception of\npathological processes was a very ancient one. We meet with it among\nthe Egyptians, and we read in the book of Exodus that God visited upon\nPharaoh and his people various bodily afflictions, such as pestilence,\nblack smallpox, death, as in the case of the first-born. Afterward\nChristianity adopted this view of sickness as providential, and the\nbelief assumed very peculiar forms and dimensions in the middle\nages. In those times any disease occurring epidemically was actually\nconsidered to be an act of retribution on the part of the divine\nbeing, a scourge with which God punished sinful Christians. Thus,\nfor instance, syphilis, which originated in Naples in 1495, during\nthe struggle between the reigning house of Aragon and the French,\nwas instantly declared to be the chastisement of God. The emperor\nMaximilian declares, in an edict issued August 7, 1495, at Worms:\n\u201c_Quod novus ille et gravissimus hominum morbus nostris diebus exortus,\nquem vulgo malum Francicum vocant, post hominum memoriam inauditus\ns\u00e6pe grassetur, qu\u00e6 nos justissim\u00e6 Dei ir\u00e6 merita debent admonere_\u201d\n(Gregorovius VII., 386, foot-note 1).\n\nBut it is very astonishing to observe the causes which aroused the\nwrath of God so mightily that countless numbers of men were swept\naway. Thus, for instance, the pious Bishop of Zeeland, Peter Paladius,\nassures us that miliary fever, that terrible disease which devastated\nEurope five times from 1486 to 1551, was sent by God, who was angry at\nthe excessive passion for finery which prevailed at that time. Medical\nscience, as founded on theism, assumed menacing forms, where, in the\nmiddle ages, it associated itself with magic, but as we shall more\nexhaustively enlarge upon this point in Chapter IV. we need merely\nrefer here to that part of our work.\n\nIt is indeed surprising that the above-mentioned manifestations all\noccurred in periods in which medicine had already acknowledged the\nphysico-mechanical interpretation of all organic processes; but the\nstrangeness of this fact is enhanced by the consideration that, even\nin recent times, and even at the present moment, there have been, and\nare, individuals who not only preach the doctrine that medicine is\nbound to be subordinate to Christian faith, but also find adherents to\ntheir dogmas, and find them in surprising numbers. Recently we have\nlearned from two exceedingly instructive examples to what extremes the\nsentiment of fanatical religion may lead men so soon as they shake off\nthe steadying influence of physico-mechanical ideas in their theory of\nlife. Then Theocracy strives for an exclusive ascendancy in the domain\nof medicine, as is distinctly shown by the position taken by Mrs. Eddy,\nwith her \u201cChristian Science,\u201d and Rev. John Alexander Dowie, with his\n\u201cChristian Catholic Church of Zion.\u201d\n\nIf we first of all examine the system of Mrs. Eddy, we find it an\nabsurd farrago of undigested philosophical odds and ends, illogical\nmedical aphorisms, and shallow investigation, which reaches its pitch\nof folly in the belief that disease has no real foundation in the\nmaterial tissues of the body, but should be explained as arising\nexclusively from certain conditions of the mind. In accordance with\nthis conception, which has been borrowed from a natural philosophy long\nsince relegated to oblivion, the services both of physician and physic\nare to be rejected, and the treatment of the sick is to be carried on\nin such a manner that the patient, under supervision of an individual\nexpert in such affairs, is merely to fix his mind on the spiritual, or\ndivine, principle inherent in himself.\n\nWe are by no means astonished that a person to whom the laws of\nthought are entirely unfamiliar, and who is not very much burdened\nwith knowledge of any other kind, should advance such confused and\npreposterous theories as those of Mrs. Eddy. History teaches us that\nhuman beings have arisen at all periods, in all ranks of life, and in\ncold blood have given currency to the wildest of theories. But the most\ninteresting point is that at this day when, as we might believe, the\nadvances in physical science have enlightened to some extent even the\nmost unintellectual, Mrs. Eddy is able to find adherents, especially\namong the best classes of society, and to find them in such numbers\nthat the authorities have been compelled to interfere in repressing the\npractises of this medical superstition. I purposely say interesting,\nand not \u201castonishing\u201d or \u201cwonderful,\u201d because the historian, whatever\ndomain he undertakes to investigate, will always discover that\nstupidity has at all times been a power superior to all the influences\nof culture and learning. Mrs. Eddy, with her Christian Science, proves\nto us that even in this era of scientific enlightenment, this truth\nremains incontrovertible.\n\nRev. John Alexander Dowie, with his Christian Catholic Church of Zion,\nmust be judged from an entirely different view-point than Mrs. Eddy.\nIt is true, this latter-day saint arrives at exactly the same end as\nMrs. Eddy\u2014namely, at the absolute rejection of professional treatment,\nmedical as well as surgical. But he arrives at this theory, which\nso closely concerns both his own health and that of his adherents,\nby an entirely different way from that taken by the Eddy woman. An\nunquestioning belief, which in its na\u00efvet\u00e9 is almost touching, leads\nhim to hold that all utterances of the Old as well as of the New\nTestament are direct revelations of God. The further consequence\nof this constancy of faith is the desire to believe and to follow\neverything that is contained in the Bible, to the widest extent and\nwith the closest adherence to the wording of the book. And as the book\nof Exodus, xv : 26, states, \u201cI am the Lord that healeth thee,\u201d and in\nthe Epistle to James, v : 14-16, prayer is recommended as the best\nremedy in diseases, Dowie concludes that prayer must be resorted to as\nthe sole means of treating and curing all forms of disease. Prayer is\ndeclared by him to be much more efficacious, in surgical cases, than\nthe skill of the most experienced operator.\n\nDowie, therefore, occupies exactly the same standpoint as the\nChristians of the first centuries after Christ, who also believed\nthat prayer would render the best assistance in all ailments of the\nbody. Twenty centuries, therefore, with all their immense advance in\nthe training of thought and in the recognition of nature, have not\nbeen able to rid humanity of the conception that the omnipotence of\nGod, among many other manifestations, is to busy itself in the daily\nregulation of the human body with all its numerous functions. Wherever\nthis conception obtains a firm foothold superstition, with its acts of\nmiraculous healing, never fails to follow. Accordingly, all historic\nperiods of our cultural development, in which the theocratic belief has\nbeen on the ascendant, are characterized by an excessive development of\nmedical superstition.\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\n  THE INFLUENCE OF PHILOSOPHY UPON THE FORM AND ORIGIN OF MEDICAL\n    SUPERSTITION\n\n\nThe idea that philosophy has exerted any material influence upon\nsuperstition in medicine may appear strange to many. For how can\nit be possible that the science which teaches the laws of thought,\nwhich regulates our entire mental activity and guides it in the right\ndirection, which points out to us the intricate path of medical\ntheory and diagnosis\u2014how is it possible that just this science should\neither take or have taken part in misleading or obscuring our medical\nperception? We do not by any means intend to impute any such effect to\nphilosophy. Quite the contrary! We are thoroughly aware of the great\ninfluence which philosophy is entitled to claim in all sciences without\nexception, and for this reason we believe that modern representatives\nof medical science would be much better off if they were a little less\nat variance with philosophy than they actually are.\n\nIn the wide realm of philosophy there are only certain points where\nwe can detect a tendency to promote the development of medical\nsuperstition. This tendency appears in all endeavors which are made to\nexplain natural phenomena solely in a speculative manner, or to build a\ntheory of life upon a base of pure assumptions. Whenever such attempts\nwere made manifest, and impressed philosophy into their service under\nthe name of natural philosophy, it resulted in the wide predominance of\nmedical superstition.\n\nIt is well known that all prae-Socratic philosophy aimed at the\ndiscovery of a single principle as underlying and explaining all the\nphenomena of nature. But in spite of this very apparent tendency,\nit can scarcely be accused of promoting medical superstition; for\nprae-Socratic philosophy busied itself in speculations concerning\nterrestrial phenomena. Earth and air, fire and water, cold and heat,\ncoming into being and passing away, are the things in which it\nendeavored to find the elemental basis of nature with its multiform\nphenomena. But upon the study of medicine these endeavors exercised,\nfor the time being, a liberalizing influence. They emancipated it\nfrom the repressive grasp of theism, and opened up the way for an\nexclusively natural explanation of all processes of the body, in\nhealth as well as in sickness. Unfortunately the apparatus, or organon,\nwhich philosophy furnished to science in its terrestrial phenomena was\na very questionable one, investigation of the conclusion from analogy\nand the deductive method being of extremely little value, either in\nmedical diagnosis or the pursuit of natural science. For this reason\nmedicine was bound to be encumbered with countless badly founded\nhypotheses. But other monstrous guesses at truth could not fail to\nbecome current. Let us consider, for instance, the absurd theory which\nHeraclitus of Ephesus (500 B.C.) has propounded as to the relations\nbetween wine and the human soul. As the soul, according to this\nphilosopher, naturally was a fiery vapor, and the drier and the more\nfiery it remained the better, the excessive use of alcohol would not\nbe advisable, in that the abundant infusion of fluids causes the soul\nto become wet, which would be harmful to its fiery nature, as fire and\nmoisture are always incompatible. Who will venture to deny that it was\nfrom his opinion regarding the use of wine that Heraclitus acquired his\nsobriquet of \u201cWhining Philosopher\u201d?\n\nBut curious as were all the hypotheses with which Hellenic natural\nphilosophy foisted upon medicine, they should by no means be confounded\nwith superstition, for even a baseless hypothesis is far removed\nfrom superstition. Otherwise, medicine and superstition would be\nalmost identical conceptions, for baseless hypotheses have at no time\nbeen wanting in our science. Superstition, so far as its sources are\nfound in philosophy, did not enter medical science until philosophy\nsought for an explanation of the various processes of life not only\nin material but also in immaterial forces. And as Indian as well as\nPersian philosophy, in the earliest period of its existence known to\nus, had already found in demons the immaterial elements which to a\ngreat extent control the processes of life in man, it will be seen that\nthe relations between philosophy and medical superstition are quite\nold. The Hellenic poets and philosophers, Homer, Hesiod, Empedocles,\nDemocritus, and Plato, elaborated this immemorial doctrine of demons\nand introduced it into Greece. But the recognition of immaterial,\nsupernatural curative factors did not attain any considerable and\ndetermining influence in ancient medicine until the year 150 B.C.,\nwhen, under the eager advocacy of Alexandrian Jews, Oriental and\nOccidental doctrines became amalgamated to a coherent system of\ntheosophic and medical mysticism. Medicine suffered greatly for\ncenturies from this mysticism, which prevailed late in the middle\nages and even up to more recent times. The center of all the various\nforms under which speculations in the philosophical and theosophical\ndomain made their appearance was Alexandria, the great central point\nof culture in which the civilization of the Orient and the Occident\nwere united in the evolution of a new theory of life. But that the\nbirthplace of developments so momentous for the future of medicine\nshould be Alexandria almost suggests the thought that the writers of\nhistory were indulging in a satire upon medical science; for it is well\nknown that Alexandria was the very place where medical enlightenment\nand the progress of ancient medicine won their greatest triumphs under\nthe renowned anatomists, Herophilus and Erasistratus.\n\nSuch speculations in theosophical and medical domains at first were\nmost eagerly entered upon by the Jewish sects of the Essenians, or\nEssenes, and Therapeut\u00e6. According to the description which Josephus\n(Book 2, Chapter II., page 13) has left us of these two sects,\nthey were theosophical communists. We, as physicians, however, are\nprincipally interested in the position they took with regard to our\nprofession, and that was one of indifference. They believed that they\nshould not obtain their knowledge of the body, either in health or in\ndisease, by observation, on which physicians relied. They believed\nthey could actually learn the art of healing from a study of their old\nSacred Scriptures. For that reason they especially applied themselves\nto make a diligent examination of these Holy Scriptures. They believed\nthat they were able, by various allegorical interpretations of\ndifferent letters and words, as well as by subtle explanations of this\nor that sentence, to acquire the knowledge necessary for the treatment\nof their patients. Those, however, who had become imbued with this\nwisdom of dotage in an especial degree, claimed the possession of\nnumerous miraculous powers\u2014for instance, that of prediction. But as\nthey also believed in the existence of beings who, while they were\nlower than God, at the same time were higher than man, they had, ready\nat hand, the rarest resources to draw upon for the practise of their\njuggling feats of miraculous medicine. The belief in these mystical\ndoctrines took the most extravagant forms. Thus, for instance, it was\nbelieved that a man by the evacuation of feces offered an insult to\ndivinity (\u03c4\u1f70\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f50\u03b3\u1f70\u03c2 \u1f51\u03b2\u03c1\u03af\u03b6\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03b8\u03b5\u03bf\u1fe6, says Josephus, lib. 2,\nChapter VIII., No. 9, \u00a7 15). For that reason nobody might dare, on the\nSabbath, to comply with such demands of nature. But whether the call of\nnature always yielded to these rather far-reaching requirements of the\nlaw, or how the believer helped himself when the extremely disagreeable\ndissension between nature and faith caused too much uneasiness, is not\nreported either by Josephus or by Porphyrius. Besides, the Essenians\nhad their troubles even on week-days in attending to final phases of\nthe digestive process, in that it was incumbent upon them to conceal\nthe termination of the act of digestion from the view of the Supreme\nBeing by covering themselves with a cloak.\n\nSubsequently, during the first century of the Christian era, appeared\nNeo-Pythagorism, an attempt to combine monotheism with the ancient\nfantastic cult of subordinate gods and demons. Then followed a period\nof momentous importance for medicine; for the attempt to displace the\nphysico-mechanical conception of corporeal phenomena by various ideas\nof theosophic caprice, and to bring therapeutics once more under the\ndomination of the metaphysic methods, prevalent in the days when the\ntheistic theory of life held undisputed sway in medicine and natural\nsciences, became more and more apparent. The Neo-Pythagoreans acted\nupon the principle that the practise of medicine was absolutely\nindispensable to the true philosopher, and that every one, therefore,\nprovided he had attained the required fitness by his intercourse with\ndemons, was able to act as a physician. It is quite obvious that such\nideas were bound to pave the way for the most abominable abuse and\nsuperstitions, and, naturally, what the Neo-Pythagoreans offered as the\nart of healing to the patients was nothing but a mixture of mysterious\ncustoms, conjurations, and witchcraft. On the other hand, the followers\nof this school of philosophy did much to promote the bodily welfare of\ntheir fellow men, in that they urged them to lead a pure and temperate\nlife, while they themselves appear to have adhered strictly to this\nr\u00e9gime.\n\nThe chief representative of Neo-Pythagorism was Apollonius, of\nTyana, in Cappodocia, probably one of the most fantastic personages\nof all Greek and Roman antiquity. Venerated as a god by some of his\ncontemporaries, such as Damis and Philostratus, his biographers, on\naccount of his wisdom and of his extraordinary works, he is considered\nby others, on the other hand, as a magician engaged, like a common\ncharlatan, in conjuring tricks. The opinions which posterity, down to\nmodern times, has passed on Apollonius are of a similar nature. There\nare some who consider the Tyanian to be a crafty magician, whereas\nothers declare that he is an important personality in the history of\nreligion. Among these latter is Baur, who attempts to explain the life\nand the deeds of the wonder-working Neo-Pythagorean by citing as a\nparallel the impression created by Christianity upon some enlightened\nminds.\n\nPersonally, I consider this high estimate of a trickster to be\nperfectly absurd. Apollonius, as we meet him in the celebrated\ndescription of Philostratus, is a purely poetical idealization,\nprompted by a desire to delay the downfall of ancient religion,\npointing to the reform which has been instituted in its moral\ntendencies (Gregorovius, page 413).\n\nApollonius flourished in the first Christian century, during the\nreigns of Nero and of the succeeding emperors up to Nerva, who\nappears to have been in very close relations with him. The accounts\nof Philostratus regarding the adventures of our hero, based as they\nare upon the early authorities accessible to him, absolutely create\nthe impression that heathen antiquity meant in Apollonius to set a\ncounterpart of Christ. According to ancient reports, a supernatural\napparition visited his mother, apprizing her that she would bear a god,\nand after his death Apollonius appeared to his disciples to announce\nto them the immortality of the soul. The time between the birth and\ndeath of the Tyanian was spent by him in restless wanderings over\nthe then known world. Wherever he went he conversed on the deepest\nsubjects with priests and cultured laymen, and upon request he also\nperformed miracles of various kinds. Naturally, we are only interested\nin the medical performances of the wandering philosopher, and of these\nhe is credited with a considerable number. He cured the lame simply\nby stroking the affected limbs; with equal facility he gave sight to\nthe blind\u2014in fact, he even attended to obstetrical cases without fear\nand trepidation. For instance, when the husband of a woman who had\nborne seven children, but always with the greatest difficulty, came\nto Apollonius, sadly telling him that his wife was again in labor and\nnobody was able to help her, the man of miracles told him to be of good\ncheer. Without even examining the woman for a possible narrow pelvis,\nor for some other obstacle to birth, he simply advised the husband to\nprocure, as soon as possible, a living hare, and, with this hare in his\narms, to walk round and round the woman in labor, and then allow the\nhare to run away. This one sample of his medical activity is sufficient\nto characterize Apollonius as a charlatan of the most contemptible\nclass. When we learn, further, that he raised the dead without any\ndifficulty, nobody will probably accuse us of an unjust opinion if we\npronounce this philosopher, who was revered as a god by the heathen, a\nmagician of the worst kind.\n\nIn order duly to enhance his authority Apollonius arrogated to himself\ncertain mysterious powers. Thus, he pretended that he was able to\nspeak all languages without having ever learned them; in fact, this\nphilological talent even extended to the languages of the animals,\nwhich he undertook to master. We are scarcely surprised to learn, when\nwe consider the powers bestowed upon him, that he knew the future, and\nwas thoroughly aware of what happened at the same time at the most\ndistant parts of the world. He also endeavored to bear witness to his\nvocation as a man of God by his manner of living and of dressing. Thus\nhe was always attired in white linen garments, and walked about with\nlong, flowing hair, followed by his disciples. He never ate meat, never\npartook of wine, and disdained love. It would seem, however, that in\nthe last particular he was not quite consistent\u2014at least, various\nerotic adventures are related of him.\n\nThe manner in which Apollonius cast out a demon in India is extremely\namusing. A woman came, lamenting and crying, to the medical miracle\nworker, and asked him to deliver her sixteen-year-old son from an evil\nspirit. Apollonius at once gave her a letter directed to the evil\nspirit which contained, as Philostratus emphasizes particularly, the\nmost terrible threats against the good-for-nothing tormentor. But the\nbiographer does not tell us whether the reading of this letter caused\nthe demon to desist from his improper behavior.\n\nBut as even in a man of miracles the hour-glass of life finally is\nemptied, so also a time came when Apollonius realized that he must pay\nhis last debt to nature. But the Tyanian knew how to surround even the\nact of dying with a halo of the extraordinary. As a matter or fact,\nhe did not die; but one day\u2014if it is permissible to employ a trivial\nexpression in speaking of a demi-god\u2014he evaporated without anybody\nknowing what had become of him. This evaporation occurred in the\nfollowing manner. There was in Crete a temple of Dictynna so securely\nguarded by vicious dogs that no one dared to approach. This temple was\nentered by Apollonius, whom the furious dogs left unmolested; but,\nafter the doors of the sanctuary had closed behind the Pythagorean,\nsuddenly there resounded female voices singing from the depth of the\ntemple: \u201cLeave the earth! Go heavenward!\u201d With these sounds and\nwords Apollonius disappeared forever. Thus his last medical act was a\nsleight-of-hand performance, in that he even snapped his fingers at\ndeath.\n\nThe grateful heathen world of antiquity rendered divine honors to\nApollonius. In his birth-place, Tyana, a temple was erected in his\nhonor at imperial expense, and the priests everywhere erected statues\nto a philosopher who had left this world without dying; in fact, even\nthe Emperor Alexander Severus set up an image of Apollonius in his\n_lararium_, or domestic chapel. And thus to medical superstition was\naccorded a triumph which no legitimate practitioner of any age has ever\nenjoyed.\n\nThese theosophic vagaries reached their climax in Neo-Platonism, which\nwas founded toward the end of the second century of the Christian era\nby the Alexandrian porter, Ammonius (175 to 242), and was further\nelaborated by Plotinus (204 to 269). This religious, philosophical\nsystem is of very particular interest in the history of medicine\nin that, in the first place, it stands in direct opposition to the\nphysico-mechanical conception of disease, and, explaining sickness from\na theistic standpoint as a logical consequence, rejects the treatment\nof disease by professional physicians.\n\nNow this theistic conception of disease was based primarily upon the\nassumption that the universe is filled with countless demons, spirits\nwhich, altho essentially superior to man, are inferior to God. Such\na demon was supposed to be the \u201cspiritus rector\u201d of all terrestrial\noccurrences, especially all evil events were attributed to him. \u1f42\u03c4\u03b9\n\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03bf\u1f76 \u03b1\u1f33\u03c4\u03b9\u03bf\u03b9 \u03b3\u03b9\u03b3\u03bd\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u03a0\u03b5\u03c1\u1f76 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u03b3\u1fc6\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03b7\u03bc\u03ac\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd, \u03bf\u1f37\u03bf\u03bd \u03bb\u03bf\u03b9\u03bc\u1ff6\u03bd,\n\u1f00\u03a6\u03bf\u03c1\u03b9\u1ff6\u03bd, \u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u1ff6\u03bd, \u03b1\u1f50\u03c7\u03bc\u1ff6\u03bd \u039a\u03b1\u1f33 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u1f41\u03bc\u03bf\u03af\u03c9\u03bd (Porphyrius de Abst., lib.\n2, 40). As the demons played havoc with the condition of the human\nbody, protection against them could not be expected from a professional\nphysician, but only from some one well versed in all their tricks and\ndevices, and, therefore, alone able to punish them thoroughly for their\nmischievous behavior. This taming of the demon could be accomplished\nin various ways. Porphyrius enumerates three methods of gaining an\ninfluence over the host of demons.\n\nThe first and principal method (theosophy) attempted to attain the\nmost intimate union with God. Prayer, abstraction of all thought from\nthings earthly, and absorption in God were supposed to be the means of\nparticipation in certain divine powers. An individual thus favored was\nenabled in a trice to restore health to incurable patients, such as the\nblind, the deaf, and the lame, and even the power of raising the dead\nwas conferred upon him. However, the acquisition of such extraordinary\npowers demanded certain qualifications of a rather exacting and\nterrestrial character. It was incumbent upon such an applicant for\nthese special gifts to abstain from the use of meat, and, above all,\nfrom the society of women. How many were deterred by these fastidious\nrequirements from choosing the career of a famous man of miracles we\ndo not know. Nothing is reported on this subject by the pillars of\nNeo-Platonism (as, Plotinus, Porphyrius, Damascius, Jamblichus), nor do\nthey state whether they themselves absolutely abstained from meat and\nfrom the society of women.\n\nTheurgy was the second method of counteracting the evil influence of\ndemons. In this way good demons were urged by prayer and offerings to\nward off disease or other misfortune.\n\nBy the third method (goety) attempts were made to dispel the evil\ndemons by conjurations and various kinds of mystical mummery. These\nmysterious accessories consisted mostly in muttering any number of\nwords as meaningless as possible. The more meaningless and the more\nunintelligible were these words the more efficacious\u2014according to the\nassurance of Jamblichus\u2014they would prove, especially when they were\ntaken from Oriental languages. For, as Jamblichus says, the Oriental\nlanguages are the most ancient\u2014therefore, the most agreeable to the\ngods. In such a manner words utterly nonsensical were drawled out at\nthe bedside, and, for greater security, written on tablets to be hung\nround the neck of the patient. The magic word \u201cabracadabra\u201d enjoyed\nespecial respect. To render its power certain it was written as many\ntimes as it has letters, omitting the last letter each time until only\none remained, and placing the words in such a succession as to form\nan equilateral triangle. A tablet thus inscribed was worn around the\nneck of the sufferer as an amulet. It may be that this wonder-working\nword has arisen from the word \u201cabraxas,\u201d with which the gnostic\nBasilides meant to designate the aggregate of the three hundred and\nsixty-five forms of revelation of divinity which he assumed to exist.\nNumerous other explanations are in vogue, however, with regard to\nthis medical, magic term (compare H\u00e4ser, Vol. I., page 433). Very\nancient magic words which had originated in the earliest periods of\nHellenism were revived. Thus, to banish disease, certain words were\nemployed which were said to be derived from the temple of Artemis\nin Ephesus, and which read: \u03b1\u03c3\u03c7\u03b9, \u039a\u03b1\u03c4\u03ac\u03c3\u03c7\u03b9, \u03bb\u03af\u03b5, \u03c4\u03b5\u03c4\u03c1\u03ac\u03b5, \u03b4\u03b1\u03bc\u03bd\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03cd\u03c2,\n\u03b1\u1f32\u03c3\u03c3\u03bf\u03bd. The meaning of these words, according to the explanation of the\nPythagorean, Androcydes, was: darkness, light, earth, air, sun, truth.\nBesides, the attempt was made to obtain directly from the demons such\nmagic words as were endowed with curative power. For such purposes\nsmall children were employed, in whom it was supposed that the demons\npreferred to be present, and expressed themselves through their mouths.\nSuch children, therefore, played a similar part as does a medium with\nmodern spiritualists. The senseless stuff babbled by such a child was\nconsidered the immediate manifestation of a demon, and was accordingly\nutilized to banish the demons which brought on disease. Moreover,\nthe nonsensical practise which was carried on by the Neo-Platonists\nby letter and word was to a certain extent accepted by professional\nphysicians. It had become a very common custom with physicians to\napply various kinds of bombastic names to all their various plasters\nand ointments, powders, and pills. It is necessary only to cast a\nglance upon the ancient pharmacop\u0153ia to find the most curious names.\nGalen mentions disapprovingly the fact that Egyptian and Babylonian\nexpressions were preferred in the nomenclature of medicine (De Simpl.\nMedicamentorum Facult. Lib. Sic. Preface).\n\nSuch were the methods with which the Neo-Platonists did not hesitate\nto treat the sick; and not only minor practitioners, but even the\nleaders of the entire movement, preferred banishing disease by means\nof various kinds of magic formul\u00e6 to all other specially medical\nmethods of treatment. Thus, for instance, Eunapius of Sardis (about\n400) recounts how Plotinus, one of the most gifted of the Neo-Platonic\nschool, repeatedly proved himself to be a medical miracle-worker, most\nconspicuously during the sickness of Porphyrius. When the latter, a\nfavorite disciple of Plotinus, was traveling through Sicily he became\ndangerously ill\u2014in fact, according to the description of Eunapius,\nhe was actually breathing his last. Then Plotinus appeared, and by\nmagic words cured the dying man instantly. It appears, moreover,\nthat Plotinus did not only operate with wonder-working words, but he\nemployed still other agencies\u2014as, for instance, mysterious figures\n(\u1f41\u03c7\u03ae\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1. Villoison, Anecd. gr\u00e6ca, Vol. II., page 231). Plotinus was\neven said to possess his own demon, who was at his disposal alone, and\nby the aid of whom he performed other wonders\u2014as, for instance, that of\nprophesying.\n\nPorphyrius, probably the most notable disciple of the Neo-Platonic\nschool after Plotinus, claimed even that the demons personally taught\nhim to expel, with certainty and despatch, those pathogenic demons.\nIt was claimed by him that Chaldean and Hebrew words and songs were\nthe promptest means of turning out all these evil spirits; in fact,\nthe philosopher, Alexander of Abonoteichos, in Paphlagonia, was of the\nopinion that a pestilence, which was devastating Italy, could not be\nchecked by any better means than that of affixing to the doors of the\ninfected towns and villages the sentence: \u201cPh\u0153bus, the hair unshorn,\ndispels the clouds of disease.\u201d\n\nThus the last great system into which the ancient philosophy developed\nwas attended by the unfortunate result of a very material increase\nof superstition in the healing art. This recrudescence of medical\nsuperstition was by no means a transitory one, but proved exceedingly\npersistent; in fact, we may unhesitatingly maintain that from that\ntime superstition never again disappeared from our science. This is\nprincipally the fault of the position which Christianity took with\nregard to demonology and the other fantastic ideas of Neo-Platonism.\n\nEarly Christianity, from the outset, was subjected to the influence\nof ancient false ideas on the subject of demons. Without making any\nmodifications whatever, it had appropriated this false doctrine, and\nhad deduced from it the same medical notions as paganism had done.\nThe New Testament exhibits numerous examples of a prevailing belief\nthat supernatural beings\u2014_i.e._, demons\u2014were frequently the cause of\nbodily ailments; and as Christ and His disciples had often cured such\npatients, it follows that the belief in demons and their relations to\npathology must have been widely disseminated among the Christians of\nthat period. The Church Fathers also bear witness to this fact, as\nthey, in their writings, acknowledge, in plain terms, the belief in\ndemons as causes of disease. Justin Martyr, Tatian, Tertullian, Origen,\nAugustin, all mention demons and their power over the human body\n(compare Harnack, Chapter V., page 68, etc., where these conditions\nare most lucidly depicted). Thus, for instance, St. Augustine says:\n\u201c_Accipiunt (scilicet d\u00e6mones) enim s\u00e6pe potestatem et morbos immittere\net ipsum aerem vitiando morbidum reddere._\u201d\n\nAnd, indeed, early Christianity not only accepted pagan demonology\nunchanged, it even increased the therapeutic aspect of this delusion in\na most regrettable manner. This belief in demons, under the influence\nof Christian doctrines, developed into an epidemic of insanity which\nprevailed unrestrictedly for two or three centuries, and which was\nagain awakened in the late middle ages, to grow at last into one of the\nmost terrible aberrations of the human mind\u2014into the belief in witches.\n\nThis epidemic derangement of the mind, to which the belief in demons\ntended, under the influence of Christian doctrines, culminated in the\npatient\u2019s manifest idea that he was possessed of a demon. The mental\ndisturbance set in with wild, spasmodic attacks of excitement, and, as\nit occurred not only in individual cases, but was also contagious, we\nmust not hesitate to designate this belief of the first three centuries\nin demoniac possession an epidemic disease. It was an affection,\nthe mental substratum of which consisted in a mixture of overheated\nreligious sentiment and unrestrained medical superstition. The extent\nto which this belief in demoniac possession was disseminated during the\nfirst centuries of the Christian era is shown by the fact that a number\nof persons busied themselves with the cure of this affection. In the\nfirst place, most Christian communities owned an exorcist, or official\ncaster-out of demons. It seems that this profession of exorcists formed\na clerical order of its own; for, as all pagans, according to the\nChristian conception, were in the power of evil spirits, these demons\nwere to be thoroughly driven out before each baptism, and thus the\ninstitution of a special church officer, whose duty it was to drive out\ndemons, became absolutely necessary, especially after exorcism had also\nbeen introduced, during the fourth century, in the baptism of children.\nIt may be stated, incidentally, that Catholic clergy of the third minor\norder are even to-day called \u201cexorcists.\u201d\n\nThe Christian exorcists, in conjuring, only made use of prayer and of\nthe name of Christ; these two factors were considered sufficient to\ncure the patient of his delusions, and they actually did so. Why they\naccomplished a cure has been explained very strikingly by Harnack. He\nsays: \u201cIt is not the prayer that cures, but the praying person; not the\nformula, but the spirit; not exorcism, but the exorcist. Only in those\ncases in which the disease, as in numerous cases of the second century,\nhad become epidemic and almost common, did ordinary and conventional\nmeans avail. The exorcist became a mesmerizer, possibly a deceived\ndeceiver. But when strong individuality is deceived concerning its own\npersonality by the demon of terror, and the soul is actually shaken by\nthe power of darkness which possesses it, and from which it purposes to\nescape, a powerful and holy will alone can interfere from the outside\nworld to deliver the shackled will. In some cases we find traces of a\nphenomenon which in modern times, for want of some better name, has\nbeen called \u2018suggestion\u2019; but the prophet suggests in a different\nmanner than does the professional exorcist.\u201d\n\nBesides these official Christian exorcists, a great multitude of other\npersons carried on the trade of conjurer of demons. The sorcerers and\nmagicians who plied their nefarious trade for the cure of the possessed\nand for those suffering from other diseases, worked with various kinds\nof mystic signs and ceremonies, and they certainly did an excellent\nbusiness, for he who humors the superstition and the stupidity of man\nalways prospers. Modern quackery illustrates this most strikingly.\nBut, besides these healers, there existed numerous other conjurers of\ndemons and medical wonder-workers who plied their trade not for the\nsake of contemptible mammon, but solely for ethical reasons. These were\nthe members of the various theosophico-philosophical sects, who were\nactive during the first Christian centuries and have been exhaustively\ndescribed on the previous pages.\n\nAltho Christians were eager to exalt their exorcists, who worked only\nwith prayer and the invocation of Christ, above all practises of\nsorcery, they were not able, in the long run, to prevent Christian\ndogmas from being confounded with and corrupted by those of philosophy.\nUnder the influence of Saturninus, Basilides, and Carpocrates, the\nvarious philosophical vagaries concerning accessory, intermediary, and\ninferior gods, and their influences upon the fate of man, corrupted\nthe pure and simple teachings of Christ. That error against which Paul\nhad so impressively cautioned the early Christian communities in his\nEpistle to the Colossians, Chapter II., verse 8 (\u201cBeware lest any man\nspoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of\nmen, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ\u201d), had,\nnevertheless, made its appearance at last, and the adulteration of\npure Gospel by philosophical speculations and fantastic views began to\ngrow more complete from the third century on. This was the foundation\nof the religio-mystic system which, during the middle ages, and even\nbeyond the period of the Renaissance, oppressed humanity like a\nsuffocating nightmare, and not only checked progress, but also filled\neach branch of human knowledge with the most frightful superstition and\nthe crassest mysticism. This was the case also in medicine; in fact,\nthis branch of science has probably suffered most from the alliance of\nChristianity with the fantastic doctrines of philosophical schools.\n\nThe ancient doctrine of demons passed under the influence of Christian\nmysticism through certain changes and transitions, especially in its\nrelation to the bodily condition of individuals. The variations in this\ndoctrine were naturally most plainly evidenced in the medical views of\nthe day. It was believed that every human being from birth was allotted\na good and an evil demon. The good spirit held his hand protectingly\nover his human charge, whereas the evil demon only waited his chance to\ninflict injury upon man, forming especially the determining principle\nin the etiology of disease. It is true, the evil spirits apparently\nwere no longer allowed to have such full sway over the health of\nhumanity as they formerly had. God now utilized them principally as\nexecutors of punishments which he intended for mankind as a retribution\nfor various forms of delinquency. Thus the Church Father, Anastasius\n(Sprengel, Vol. II., page 210), tells us that the reason why so many\nlepers and cripples were found among Christians was that God, enraged\nat the luxury of the members of the community, had sent the evil demon\nof disease among them. The wrath of God from that time until late in\nmodern times has been considered a fully efficacious principle of\npathology; in fact, there are numbers of people even to-day who believe\nthat not natural, but supernatural and unearthly, factors are active in\nthe bodily ailments of mankind.\n\nThe idea of good and evil demons, however, now assumed a specifically\nChristian character which, it is true, greatly resembled the ancient\nBabylonian notion, excepting that the good demons were replaced by\nangels and saints, whereas the evil spirits were embodied in the devil.\nBoth, saints as well as devils, were thenceforth destined to play a\npart in the domain of medicine. It is true, the general recognition\nwhich they enjoyed during the middle ages and a considerable period\nof modern times has probably now passed away, but there still exist\nnumerous classes of our people in whom the medical r\u00f4le of saints as\nwell as devils is most willingly acknowledged.\n\nWe have referred elsewhere to the therapeutic accomplishments of\nthe saints during the middle ages. We will here only dwell upon the\ninfluence which the devil, the Christian successor of the ancient\nevil spirit, has exerted upon the medical views of all classes of the\npeople. This influence was very great. The devil and his subordinate\ninfernal spirits were considered the \u201cdisturbers of peace\u201d in the\nhealth of humanity. Disease in its various forms was their work;\nthey resolved to inflict it either from inherent villainy or as\nincited by various magical arts of evil men. It was especially the\nlatter form of diabolical activity that, during the entire middle\nages and during a considerable part of modern times, was accepted\nas uncontestedly authentic, and the imagination of mankind at that\nperiod was inexhaustible in inventing the greatest variety of infamous\nactions which the devil was able to perform either of his own accord\nor as summoned by incantations. Any one desiring to acquaint himself\nthoroughly with these delusive ideas should read the work of the Friar\nC\u00e6sarius, who lived about 1225, in the Rhenish-Cistercian monastery\nof Heisterbach. Naturally, we are only interested in the medical acts\nwhich the devil was always ready to perform. According to the history\nof medical superstition, the devil, who was invoked by various spells\nor appeared of his own volition, was able to influence each individual\nbodily organ in a manner most disagreeable to the possessor of the\nsame. Neither were the Prince of Hell and his hosts always satisfied\nto tease and to plague an individual being, but very frequently they\ncarried on this business wholesale. They threw themselves upon the\nentire population of a country, and caused sickness in all who crossed\ntheir path. The great epidemic of St. Vitus\u2019s dance of the fourteenth\ncentury, for instance, was considered to be the work of the devil, and\nthe clergy busied themselves in driving out this devil\u2019s pest by means\nof sprinkling holy water and by the utterance of conjuring formulas.\n\nThe sexual life of men as well as of women offered an especially\nfruitful field for the activity of the devil and of his infernal\ncompanions. Thus, it was a favorite trick of the ruler of hell and of\nhis subordinate demons to assume the shape of the husband or lover\nof this or that female, and, under this mask, to assume rights which\nshould be permitted only to the husband. The infernal spirit that\nplayed this r\u00f4le was called Incubus. Thus, for instance, Hinkmer tells\nus of a nun who was mischievously claimed by such an infernal paramour,\nand who could be relieved of him only by priestly aid. But hell also\ncontained female constituents who played the same r\u00f4le for the male\nas did Incubus for women. Such a wanton woman of hell was called\nStriga or Lamia (compare Hansen, pages 14 and 72). These amorous female\nfriends of hell did not even stop when they met eminent saints. In the\nconvent of St. Benedetto, near the Italian town of Subiaco, a rose-bush\nis shown even to-day into which the naked St. Benedict threw himself in\norder to resist the unholy temptation. And every one is sufficiently\nacquainted with the troubles which St. Anthony of Padua had with these\ninfernal women. However, we physicians know well enough the cause\nof these temptations. They may surely and actually have approached\nthe nun of whom Hinkmer reports, also St. Benedict and St. Anthony;\nhowever, they were not the devil\u2019s prostitutes, but the expressions of\nsuppressed and disregarded impulses of nature which, in the form of\nvoluptuous imaginations, appeared before the eyes of persons removed\nfrom terrestrial gratifications; for nature does not even exempt a\nsaint, and the ancient saying, \u201c_Naturam expellas furc\u00e2, tamen usque\nrecurret_,\u201d applies to them as well as to any other mortal.\n\nFinally these liberties which the devil and his infernal host were said\nto take as regards matters pertaining to love, assumed general and\nquite serious forms; in fact, they gave rise to delicately contrived\nlegal questions. Namely, the idea had suggested itself that the\ndevil was able not only to call forth promiscuous love between men\nand women, but that sometimes he derived a particular enjoyment if he\ncould manage to prevent a marriage that had already been consummated\nby rendering the husband impotent. _Maleficium_ was the technical term\nfor such an event, equally saddening to husband as to wife, and the\ntheologians, philosophers, and jurists of the middle ages have written\nthe most learned commentaries regarding the legal consequences of this\n_impotentia ex maleficio_. It was disputed whether or not this form of\nimpotence would constitute a legal cause for dissolution of marriage\nwhich, after all, was a divine institution; the reasons also why God\npermitted the devil to play such a reprehensible game were investigated\nin a most serious and profound manner. Any one interested in this\nquestion of _impotentia ex maleficio_ may read the most excellent\ndescription of this subject by Hansen (Chapter III.).\n\nThis _impotentia ex maleficio_\u2014_i.e._, one of the most extravagant\noutgrowths of medical superstition\u2014occasionally also gave rise to\nscandalous lawsuits. This was the case in the disgraceful divorce suit\nwhich took place about the year 860 between King Lothaire II. and his\nspouse Teutberga. Lothaire was said to have lost his procreative power\ncompletely, owing to infernal artifices of his concubine, Waldrada. The\nreason why a concubine should undertake such a step, which, after all,\nwas bound to discredit her title and office in the eyes of her lover,\nis not quite evident. However, at that period it was not difficult to\nfind an explanation for this remarkable fact. It was stated, _e.g._,\nthat Waldrada was instigated to this act solely by jealousy and\nselfishness, in order to divorce the king from his consort. This first\nstep once taken, the courtesan, by removing the spells cast by her,\nwould take good care that the king should soon be delivered from the\nodious condition of impotence. However, Waldrada had reckoned without\nher host\u2014_i.e._, in this case, without Hinkmar, Archbishop of Rheims;\nfor this latter gentleman, exceedingly well versed in all matters\necclesiastic, politic, and diabolic, a genuine clerical fighting-cock,\nvery soon closely investigated the impotence of his royal master. In\nan extensive memorial he considered the royal impotence according to\nits legal, theologic, philosophic, moral, and various other aspects.\nMedical superstition, accordingly, had acquired such power that the\nsovereign of the holy Roman and German empires had to submit his\n_potestas in venere_ to the test of public discussion.\n\nBut conditions were to become much worse. When, about the thirteenth\ncentury, scholasticism had usurped full control of human reason,\nand all sciences were permitted to be pursued only in a scholastic\nsense, medicine was entirely divorced from the actual conditions of\nlife. It was completely detached from nature, its great teacher, and\nirretrievably entangled in the subtleties of an uncertain philosophy.\nIts activity now depended exclusively upon the study of the ancients\u2014by\nno means, however, upon that study in which an attempt was made to\nmaster the intellectual spirit of ancient medicine, but which consisted\nin a slavish adherence to the letter. Every decision of the ancients,\nwithout any regard to nature, was made a dogma, and he was the best\nphysician who was most familiar with these dogmas, who understood\nbest how to interpret them most keenly. Mankind had entirely lost the\nconception that the ancients had attained worth and importance only\nin that they measured things by the standard of unbiased experience,\nand tested their conclusions according to the phenomena of nature as\ndescribed from accurate observation of the sick.\n\nIt is quite obvious that superstition met with a well-prepared soil in\na system of medicine that was overburdened with dogmas and degraded\ninto utter subserviency to a vainglorious philosophy. The natural\nresult was that the medical art of a period of the middle ages, steeped\nin scholasticism, was nothing but a chaos of the most despicable\nsuperstition and folly. The most shocking result of these conditions\nwas the belief in witches, and, with this, medical superstition entered\nupon a new stage. Whereas until then it had possessed a restricted,\nmere local vitality, and entailed danger only upon those who, from\nthoughtlessness, lent a willing ear to it, now it degenerated into a\nmental epidemic which threatened equally all classes of the people.\nThe unspeakable misery which this variety of medical superstition has\nbrought to the Western world is well known, so that we may refrain from\nentering into details, referring our readers to the excellent work of\nHansen on this subject.\n\nPhysico-medical thought was so thoroughly destroyed by the\nabove-described conditions that, even when humanity commenced to\nshake off the scholastic yoke, during the period of Renaissance,\nmedicine was only able, in part, to follow this lead. Altho, under the\ninspiration of the ancients, it returned to nature, it was not able to\nrid itself of the superstitious idea of the continuous interference of\nsupernatural powers with the performance of the most common functions\nof the body. The Church still persisted in the implicit belief in such\nviews, and still dominated men\u2019s minds so thoroughly that even many\nphysicians, who in other respects were entirely unbiased, remained on\nthis point dutiful children of the Church; in fact, even those who were\nfully aware of the shortcomings of the Christian Church unhesitatingly\nadhered to the belief in demons as developed from antique conceptions\nby the Church Fathers. Thus, for instance, Dr. Martin Luther was a\nstrict believer in the doctrine which taught men to hold the devil\nresponsible for the origin of all diseases. He thus expressed himself,\nfor instance: \u201cNo disease comes from God, who is good and does good to\neverybody; but it is brought on by the devil, who causes and performs\nall mischief, who interferes with all play and all arts, who brings\ninto existence pestilence, Frenchmen, fever, etc.\u201d He accordingly\nbelieved that he himself was compelled to scuffle with the devil when\nhis physical condition was out of order. Thus, when suffering from\nviolent headache, he wrote to the Elector, John of Saxony: \u201cMy head\nis still slightly subject to him who is the enemy of health and of\nall that is good; he sometimes rides through my brain, so that I am\nnot able to read or to write,\u201d and upon another occasion he said, in\nregard to his health: \u201cI believe that my diseases are by no means due\nto natural causes, but that \u2018Younker Satan\u2019 plays his pranks with me by\nsorcery.\u201d\n\nThe devil was also held responsible for the appearance of monsters; it\nwas believed that the ruler of hell helped young girls against their\nwill to enjoy the delights of motherhood. However, these delights were\nsaid to be of a peculiar kind, in that intercourse with the devil\nwas always bound to be followed by the birth of the most frightful\nmonsters. The devil then unloaded these most remarkable monsters into\nrespectable people\u2019s houses. Even Luther was not able to free himself\nfrom this most astonishing delusion. On the contrary, he was devoted\nto it with such conviction that, when once in Dessau, he heard of a\nmonster (according to medical opinion, it was a question of a rhachitic\nchild) that had grown to be twelve years of age, he advised, in all\nseriousness, that this sinful product of devilish intercourse be thrown\ninto the river Mulde (compare M\u00f6hsen, Vol. II., page 506, etc., on \u201cThe\nRelations of Luther to the Devil\u201d).\n\nIf it was very improper of the devil to visit even clerical gentlemen,\nhe crowned his wickedness, in that he very unceremoniously honored even\nministers in the pulpit with his visit. Such an occurrence took place\nin Friedeberg, Neumark, in 1593, in which otherwise harmless town the\ndevil commenced suddenly to create an unheard-of commotion. He harassed\nabout one hundred and fifty people, and even in church he gave so\nlittle rest to those he possessed, that they raised various kinds of\nmischief in this holy place. When, thereupon, the preacher, Heinrich\nLemrich, thundered against these deviltries from the pulpit, the devil\nbecame so incensed that immediately he promenaded into the Reverend\nLemrich himself, so that the good minister raged in the pulpit exactly\nas did the members of his congregation down below in the nave.\n\nHowever, this variety of medical superstition finally spread to such an\nextent that, as medical aid was powerless against the devil, the aid of\nGod, by order of the consistory, was invoked from all pulpits of the\nMargravate against the above-described misdeeds of hell\u2019s ruler.\n\nBut the clergy adopted still another plan to checkmate the devil. In\nvarious publications they enumerated the villainies which Satan might\nvisit on mankind, so that each and every one would be enabled to\nprotect himself against the aggressions of the devil, in whatever form\nhe might make his appearance. The first publication of this character\nwas issued in 1555 by the General Superintendent of the Electorate of\nBrandenburg, Professor of the University of Frankfort, Herr Musculus;\nit bore the very appropriate title, _The Pantaloon Devil_. In fact, as\nearly as 1575 a compilation was published in Frankfort-on-the-Main,\nin which twenty-four different forms, which the devil might assume\nin visiting humanity, were discussed most conscientiously and with\nbecoming diffuseness of style (compare M\u00f6hsen, Vol. II., page 426,\netc.).\n\nFrom that time it was impossible for mankind to shake off the belief in\ndevil and demons. The thought of being possessed played a conspicuous\npart even in the first half of the nineteenth century, thanks to the\nactivity of Justinus Kerner, and even medicine felt called upon to busy\nitself more thoroughly with this newly resurrected belief. This was\ndone, for instance, by Dr. Klencke, who, in 1840, published a little\nbook exclusively for the purpose of disproving the existence of spirits.\n\nWe have so far shown the potent influence exerted upon medical\nsuperstition by antique as well as by medieval philosophy. But the\nnewer philosophy greatly influenced the destiny of medicine, even\nat the end of the eighteenth and at the beginning of the nineteenth\ncenturies. The natural philosophy based upon the doctrines of\nSchelling once more submerged the art of healing in mysticism, and thus\nnecessarily abetted superstition. The physician no longer conceived\ndisease as the effect of disturbances in the life of the bodily\norgans, but held various forms of inconceivable powers responsible\nfor the incidence of a malady. The soul wrapped in sin had power\nto lead the life of the body from the normal into the pathological\ncondition, and, accordingly, prayer and the belief in Christian\ndogmas again became active as curative factors. It was especially\nthe Munich clinician, Nepomuk von Ringseis, who placed such theories\nbefore his pupils, and who, in his \u201cSystem of Medicine,\u201d published in\n1840, made them generally known. Ringseis states in this book: \u201cAs\ndisease is originally the consequence of sin, it is, altho not always\nindispensable, yet according to experience, incomparably more safe\nthat physician as well as patient should obtain absolution before any\nattempt at healing be made.\u201d Another passage reads: \u201cChrist is the\nall-restorer, and as such He cooperates in every corporeal cure.\u201d In\nthis sense Ringseis calls the sacraments \u201cthe talismans coming from the\nPhysician of all physicians, and, therefore, the most excellent of all\nphysical, stimulating, and alterative remedies.\u201d\n\nThus, after almost three thousand years, medicine had returned to the\nstage at which it originated\u2014namely, to the view that incorporeal,\nsupernatural factors were to play a determining part in pathology\nand therapy. However, that there are plenty of individuals even in\nour time who are at any moment ready again to sacrifice wantonly\nall enlightenment and all progress to this varied superstition,\nis demonstrated by the cases of Mrs. Eddy and the Reverend Dowie,\nthose modern representatives of medical superstition. There is only\none protection against these relapses, against these atavistic\ntendencies, and that is education in natural science. The more it\nbecomes disseminated among the people the less danger there will be\nthat the heresies of a false philosophy, or of an overheated religious\nsentiment, may again conjure up medical superstition to the detriment\nof humanity.\n\n\n\n\nV\n\nTHE RELATIONS OF NATURAL SCIENCE TO MEDICAL SUPERSTITION\n\n\nThe point of view from which man has regarded nature for thousands of\nyears up to modern times has been such as to promote most effectually\nthe development of superstition; for the idea that a satisfactory\ninsight into the character of natural phenomena can be obtained only\nby means of adequate experiments, and of observation perfected by the\nemployment of the inductive reasoning and ingenious instruments, is\ncomparatively recent. Natural science applying such means is scarcely\ntwo hundred years old. Fit instruments for the observation of nature\nexisted only to a limited extent up to the eighteenth century, and,\nbesides, their complete efficiency left much to be desired. The\nattempts to wrest from Nature her secrets by means of experiment were\nbut feeble and unsuccessful. Altho the ancients, as is shown by the\nwritings of Hippocrates, Galen, and others, had some knowledge of\nvivisection, they had practised it to a most limited extent. During\nthe middle ages and the period of the Renaissance comparatively few\nphysical experiments were made. Whatever researches in natural science\nwere then undertaken were intended much less for the investigation of\nnature than for fantastic and superstitious purposes\u2014as, for instance,\nthe investigations of alchemy and astrology.\n\nIt is quite obvious that, under such circumstances, a number of\nsuperficial, imperfect, and distorted observations crept into the\ntheoretic system of natural science.\n\nHowever, this was not all; the diagnostico-theoretical method, by\nmeans of which antiquity, the middle ages, and even the greatest part\nof more modern times, had seen the natural sciences treated, was\nradically wrong. Man did not feel his way carefully from experiment\nto experiment, from observation to observation, until the general\nprinciple was found which inductively comprised a number of phenomena\nunder one uniform principle of law, but the principle which was at\nthe bottom of phenomena was fixed upon a speculative basis, and in\naccordance with this principle the phenomena were interpreted\u2014as was\ndone, for instance, in medicine in the case of humoral pathology. And\nas this speculatively constructed principle was obtained exclusively by\na method dangerous to the cognition of natural sciences, by conclusion\nfrom analogy, naturally the most fantastic and adventurous conceptions\nsoon became accepted in the realm of natural philosophy. But natural\nphilosophy once lost in such a labyrinth, an aberration of the\nperceptive powers can not fail to follow\u2014at least, in certain domains\nof nature. As a matter of fact, this fallacious perception promptly\nmade its appearance, and has proved the stumbling-block of science\nfrom its earliest days up to the present times. Occultism, mysticism,\nor whatever the names may be of the various forms of superstition,\nhave sprung from these erroneous conceptions of natural science. It\nmay even be contended that no variety of superstition exists which is\nnot somehow connected with a distorted observation or explanation of\nnature. However interesting these considerations may be, we can not\nhere pursue them any further.\n\nSuch investigations belong to the history of superstition in general,\nand any one who desires more detailed information is referred to the\nenormous literature of the subject. We can here consider only those\nrelations which prevail, or have prevailed, between superstition and\nnatural science, and principally the influence which was thus exerted\nupon the art of healing by astronomy.\n\nAstronomy and medicine became most intimately connected during the\nearliest periods of human civilization. The literature of cuneiform\ninscriptions shows us that the attempt to bring the stars into\nconnection with human destinies is primeval, and reaches back to the\nancient Babylonian age, even to the Sumero-Accadic period (Sudhoff,\n_Med. Woche._ 1901, No. 41). How primeval peoples came to connect\ntheir destinies with the heavenly bodies and their orbits is explained\nso lucidly by Troels-Lund (page 28, etc.) that we shall cite his\ndescriptions, even if they are rather long for quotation. He says: \u201cThe\nChaldean history of creation is inscribed upon seven clay tablets. On\nthe fifth tablet we read: \u2018The seventh day He instituted as a holy day,\nand ordained that man should rest from all labor.\u2019 Why just seven?\nBecause the holy number seven of the planets imperceptibly shone\nthrough the work of creation, and was imperceptibly impressed upon the\nentire order of thought. We are here at the decisive epoch at which\nthe planets for the first time gave an impetus to human conception,\nthe effects of which were to persist for thousands of years. This was\nrepeated a second time when Copernicus, in dealing especially with the\norbit of the planets, founded the still-prevailing conception of the\nuniverse.\n\n\u201cFor the theory of creation could be reconciled with the phenomenon of\nsun and moon moving in their regular courses. They were in this case\nno longer, as had been assumed until then, individual living beings\nand divinities, but lights kindled by a mighty God, and intended to\nmove day and night, in an established order, under the dome of heaven.\nBut the other five planets! It was unnecessary to be a Chaldean on the\nBabylonian Tower in order to feel amazement at these. Every one who\nhad ever followed with his eye their courses for a few nights during a\ncaravan journey, every one who, lying awake, had occasionally attempted\nto read the time from the only clock of the night\u2014the star-covered\ncanopy of heaven\u2014was bound to have noticed their peculiarities as\nto light and course. They did not shine uniformly, but sometimes\nintensely, at other times faintly, and entirely different was their\nradiance from that of other stars\u2014reddish, greenish, bluish. And their\ncourse was at one time rapid, at other times slow; then backward or\noblique; sometimes they disappeared entirely. Necessarily they appeared\ninexplicable not only to the inexperienced observer, but to a still\nhigher grade of intellect\u2014that of the most experienced Chaldean;\nfor, altho their periods could possibly be calculated, their courses\nbeggared all geometrical figures. These confused paths could be\nexplained only in one manner\u2014namely, as the expression of an arbitrary\nwill, the manifestations of an independent life. The courses of the\nplanets furnished the astronomic proof that the heavenly bodies were\nanimated. The universe was more than created, it was godhead itself in\nliving activity.\n\n\u201cHow this point of view broadened and cleared everything! The world\nassumed the shape of an enormous hall upon which divine power, divine\nwill, continuously acted from above. Farthest down was the world of\nthe elements. In boundless distances above it moved the moon and the\nsix other planets, each one in its transparent heaven. In the highest\nheight, finally, revolved the canopy of impervious heaven, into which\nconstellations were ranged in shapes that resembled animals (Tablet\nV., verse 2). Apparently these rotations did not have anything in\ncommon with each other; a power which passed through them from above\nmoved these elemental worlds. Did not daily experience of their rising\ndetermine winter, storm, drought, etc.? Thus the processes on earth\nonly reflected and repeated the course of these divine and heavenly\nbodies; yea, divine will itself. But their order of movement varied.\nSun and moon with their regular courses spin, as it were, the firm\nwarps and woofs; the other five are instrumental in producing what is\nchangeable and apparently accidental. Unitedly in their course through\nheaven the seven weave the threads of fate. Silently they weave the\ndesign of terrestrial life. Upon them depend not only summer and\nwinter, rain and drought, but also the life and death of every living\nbeing; as determined by the constellation of their birth, such is each\nman, so will he live. Never do the heavenly bodies repeat precisely the\nsame relative positions, and, therefore, never are two years, two days,\ntwo human beings, two leaves, completely identical.\u201d\n\nSo far Troels-Lund.\n\nMuch as we agree with what Troels-Lund says, yet we believe that the\ndecisive motive which led humanity to bring their bodily welfare into\nclosest connection with the starry canopy of heaven was suggested by\nthe powerful influence which the sun exerts upon the bodily welfare\nof all life. As this life-giving power of the sun had a conspicuous\nshare in the origin of primeval sabianism, so also it exerted a similar\ninfluence upon the development of astrology; for it must have been\nobvious to even the most stupid observer that his well-being depended\nto a great extent upon the action of the sun. From this perception\nto the idea that other heavenly bodies were also intended to exert a\ndecisive influence upon things terrestrial was only a short step for\nthe ancient civilized peoples; for here the conclusion from analogy was\nactually so closely and so enticingly under every one\u2019s nose that all\nhe had to do was but to pitch upon the powers which rule all earthly\nlife and neatly box them up in a well-constructed system. But as the\nconclusion from analogy was always considered in the ancient world\nas the most certain, never-failing path to knowledge, it was readily\nfollowed in this connection also. And thus astrology, like the greater\npart of medico-physical knowledge, was based, we think, upon the\ntreacherous ground of a conclusion _per analogiam_.\n\nBesides, our opinion that the warming and vitalizing power of the sun\nformed one of the most important factors in the origin of astrology\nis confirmed by the utterances of astrologists themselves. Thus, for\ninstance, Ptolemy points to the sun and moon as the sources of life to\nmankind, and Hermes and Almansor repeat the dictum. This is furthermore\nproved by the unparalleled popularity which astrology has enjoyed in\nall phases of civilization. There is no civilized people, either\nof ancient or of modern times, which has not adhered to astrologic\ndoctrines with the fullest confidence and most unswerving faith.\nBabylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Germans, Romanians\u2014in short,\nall nations\u2014have professed their belief in astrology. Such a conformity\nof opinion would, however, be inexplicable amid such a dissimilarity of\nreligious and cultural ideas as characterized the different peoples,\nunless a common principle had decisively influenced all nations in the\nsame manner. This principle was acknowledged in the influence of the\nsun. Every human being was bound to observe the animating power of the\nsun on his own bodily sense and from his own observation, and would be\nat once led to the conclusion that a similar power resided also in the\nother celestial bodies.\n\nThis conception, which to a great extent was brought about by\nconclusions from analogy, provided a method of inference concerning\nvarious other phenomena. Man meditated, speculated, concluded, until\nthe required sidereal relation of each organ and each function of the\nhuman body was determined. Thus astrology may serve as one of the\nmost telling examples of scientific delusions to which the ancient\ndiagnostico-theoretical methods were bound to lead, with their\nconclusions from analogy and their deductive modes of procedure.\n\nThe above survey indicates, altho only in very general outlines,\nthe origin of astrology. We shall now consider more in detail the\nacquisition for which the art of medicine is especially indebted to\nastrology.\n\nBabylonico-Assyrian civilization possessed in its earliest ages a\nwell-developed system of astrologic medicine, as is evident from\nwritings bequeathed to us from antiquity. Campbell-Thompson has\nrecently published, from the great stock of cuneiform tablets in the\ncollection of the British Museum, 276 inscriptions of an astrological\nnature belonging to the so-called Kouyunjik collection. Sudhoff has\ncompiled them, so far as they refer to medicine, and has subjected them\nto critical analysis. We take the liberty of repeating certain extracts\nfrom these cuneiform tablets, which appear to be the reports which\nAssyrian and Babylonian court astrologists made to the king.\n\nTablet 69_a_ says: \u201cIf the wind comes from the west upon appearance of\nthe moon, disease will prevail during this month.\u201d\n\nTablet 207: \u201cIf Venus approaches the constellation of Cancer, obedience\nand prosperity will be in the land ... the sick of the land will\nrecover. Pregnant women will carry their confinements to a favorable\ntermination.\u201d\n\nTablet 163: \u201cIf Mercury rises on the fifteenth day of the month, there\nwill be many deaths. If the constellation of Cancer becomes obscured, a\nfatal demon will possess the land and many deaths will occur.\u201d\n\nTablet 232: \u201cIf Mercury comes in conjunction with Mars, there will\nfollow fatalities among horses.\u201d\n\nTablet 175: \u201cIf a planet becomes pale in opposition to the moon, or if\nit enters into conjunction with it, many lions will die.\u201d\n\nTablet 195: \u201cIf Mars and Jupiter come in conjunction, many cattle will\ndie.\u201d\n\nTablet 117: \u201cIf the greater halo surrounds the moon, ruin will be\nvisited upon mankind.\u201d\n\nTablet 269: \u201cIf an eclipse of the sun occurs on the twenty-ninth day of\nthe month of Jypar, there will be many deaths on the first day.\u201d\n\nTablet 271: \u201cAn eclipse at the morning watch causes disease.... If an\neclipse takes place during the morning watch, and lasts throughout the\nwatch, while the wind blows from the north, the sick in Akkad will\nrecover.\u201d\n\nTablet 79: \u201cIf a halo surrounds the moon and if Regulus stands within,\nwomen will bear male children.\u201d\n\nTablet 94: \u201cIf sun and moon ... on the fifteenth day \u2018answer my prayer\u2019\nshall he say ... Let him nestle close to his wife, she shall conceive a\nson.\u201d\n\nThese few extracts show us the close relations into which\nAssyrico-Babylonian culture brought the becoming and passing away of\nall animal life with the stellar movement; in fact, as we note from\nTablet 94, the astrologists of this period did not hesitate to intrude\ninto the most intimate occurrences of married life. It is quite obvious\nthat, under such circumstances, the Babylonian physician was compelled\nto consider very carefully the utterances of the astrologists in\ncarrying on his practise. It may be possible that we shall obtain still\nfurther information regarding the quality of sidereal therapy from the\nnumerously discovered cuneiform tablets. We know positively that a\nphysician was forbidden to perform any surgical operations on certain\ndays of each month. Thus, for instance, the 7th, 14th, 19th, 21st, and\n28th of the month Schall-Elul were unfavorable days for such operations\n(Oefele). These directions were especially stringent in regard to\nvenesection, to which act we shall again refer in greater detail.\n\nWhen civilization, later on, continued to thrive upon the shores of\nthe Nile, astrology still found a fertile soil there, and it appears\nthat here also the name \u1f38\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1\u03b8\u03b7\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9\u03ba\u03bf\u03af has originated, which,\nsubsequently, was a favorite designation of adherents to the sidereal\nart of healing. The astrological prognoses made by the professional\nastrologist, Petosiris, for the king Nechepso of Sais are well known.\nHowever, it appears, according to the latest investigations (compare\nthe excellent work of Sudhoff, page 4, etc.), that these prognoses have\nnothing at all to do with that king Nechepso who reigned in the seventh\ncentury, B.C. It seems more probable that some cunning Alexandrian\nastrologist of the second century, B.C., fraudulently used the name\nof the king as a cover for his work. But however this may be, these\nprognoses of Petosiris have considerable value, in that they give us an\ninsight into the manufacture of such medical prophesies.\n\nThe object of these prognoses was primarily to discover the termination\nof a disease, whether the patient would die or recover, either soon\nor only after the lapse of a certain time\u2014for instance, after seven\ndays. This was all that Petosiris undertook to predict. All details\nregarding treatment, complications, and diagnosis of a case are still\nentirely wanting. Petosiris, in making such a prognosis, by no means\nrelied solely upon the conjunction of certain celestial bodies, but he\nemployed a rather intricate method, in which mystic numbers, onomancy,\nand astrology were important elements. To prognosticate medically\naccording to this system a circle of numerals was required in the first\nplace. There existed two different kinds of such circles\u2014one simple,\nthe other more complicated. Berthelot has furnished us with examples of\nboth as used by Petosiris.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 1\u2014CIRCLE OF PETOSIRIS\n\n(After Bouch\u00e9-Leclercq, p. 539)]\n\nThe more simple formula (Fig. 1) consisted of two concentric circles,\nthe smaller of which was divided into four quadrants. Between both\nconcentric circles and within the horizontal diameters were inscribed\nthe words: \u03bc\u03ad\u03bf\u03bd \u03b6\u03c9\u03ae; to the right of this: \u1f21 \u03bc\u03b9\u03ba\u03c1\u1f70 \u03b6\u03c9\u03ae; to the left\nof the vertical line: \u1f21 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b1\u03bb\u03b7 \u03b6\u03c9\u03ae. Under the vertical line was\ninscribed: \u03bc\u03ad\u03c3\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b8\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2; to the right of this: \u03bc\u03b9\u03ba\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2 \u03b8\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2;\nand to the left of the vertical line: \u1f41 \u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b8\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2. Only words\nwhich point to the longer or shorter duration of life, or to the\ndeath-struggle, were therefore employed. The four quadrants of the\nenclosed circle, as well as the vertical diameter, contained the\nnumerals from 1 to 29 in a mystical order, representing the duration of\nthe moon\u2019s phases. The above (Fig. 1) shows us this astrological circle\nof Petosiris.\n\nThe second\u2014essentially more complicated\u2014formula consists of three\nconcentric circles. Various words are inscribed between the first and\nsecond circles, as in Fig. 1. Between the second and third circles, and\nin the verticals, the numerals from 1 to 30 are disposed in a mystical\narrangement. Furthermore, these circles are not, as in Fig. 1, divided\ninto four quadrants, but into eight equal sections. At these points\nin which the radii forming the sectors intersect the periphery of the\noutermost of the three concentric circles, arched enclosures are raised\nwhich also contain various words.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 2\u2014CIRCLE OF PETOSIRIS\n\n(After Bouch\u00e9-Leclercq, p. 540)]\n\nWhen it was sought, by means of the above-described figures, to\ndetermine the medical future or the life and death of an individual,\nthis could be accomplished with the aid of the diagram represented in\nFig. 1 in such a manner that the duration of the disease in days, the\nnumerical value of the name of the patient, and the phases of the moon\nwere added, and the sum divided by 29. The result thus obtained was\ninterpreted by referring to the diagram. If this figure happened to be,\nfor instance, in the right upper quadrant, the patient, altho he would\nrecover from his illness, would live only for a very short period;\nif this number was found in the vertical line, below the horizontal\ndiameter, the patient was destined to die after a short struggle.\n\nMuch more intricate was the use of the astrological apparatus\nillustrated in Fig 2. Here the number of the moon\u2019s day, and the\nnumerical values of the name of the patient were not added, but each\nof these figures was separately looked for in the diagram. If the moon\nfigure was found in the lower, the figure for the name in the upper,\nends of the verticals\u2014_i.e._, where \u03b4\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2 \u1f51\u03c0\u03cc\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2, setting, and\n\u1f00\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u1f74 \u1f51\u03c0\u03ad\u03c1\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2, rising, stand\u2014the individual concerned, altho in\ndanger, finally recovered. If, on the other hand, the moon figure was\ndiscovered in the upper, and the figure for the name in the lower, ends\nof the verticals, nothing but evil was in store for the questioner, but\nthe misfortune appeared under the guise of fortune. If both numbers,\nhowever, were at the upper ends of the verticals, the prospects were\nfavorable, but bad if both figures occurred below the horizontal line.\n\nA method which is similar to the simple apparatus of Petosiris is\nrevealed to us in the so-called \u03bf\u03c6\u03b1\u1fd6\u03c1\u03b1 \u0394\u03b7\u03bc\u03bf\u03ba\u03c1\u03af\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5. It is contained in\nthe _Papyrus Magica Musei Lugdunensis Batavia_, published by Dietrich.\nFig. 3 shows the illustration belonging to this method, and also\nthe Greek directions for use, as given in the papyrus. It will be\nnoticed that in the method of Democritus recourse is made to a table\nof numerals divided by a cross-line into the upper and larger, and a\nlower and smaller, section. The upper part contains in three vertical\ncolumns 18, in the lower, 12 figures. To use the table, the day when\nthe disease began, the numerical value of the name, and the days of the\nmoon were added, and the sum thus obtained divided by 30. This quotient\nwas then looked for in the table of numbers. If it was found above the\ncross-line, the patient recovered; if below, he succumbed.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 3\u2014THE TABLE OF DEMOCRITUS]\n\nThere existed a great many other methods besides those described above;\nfor instance, the system of the 12 places, the circle of Manilius, the\nmethod of the mysterious Hermes Trismegistus, the circle of Ptolemy,\netc. However, we can not here enter into a more detailed description of\nthese forms, and refer those that wish more exhaustive information to\nBerthelot, and, above all, to Bouch\u00e9-Leclercq. Astrology, and, with it,\nsidereal medicine, subsequently traveled from its Oriental home into\nall civilized countries of the then known world.\n\nAs regards Greek and Roman antiquity, astrology in all its forms won a\nhigh reputation both in Greece and Italy. Even the most eminent ancient\nphysicians, altho they did not unreservedly adopt sidereal medicine,\nrefrained from disavowing it. Thus we find in the Corpus Hippocraticum,\nthe chief work of early Greek medicine, passages which betray more\nthan a friendly feeling toward the astral art of healing. It is true,\nexpressions are not wanting which sound like a direct disowning of\nastrology.\n\nLet us consider for a few moments the attitude of Hippocratic medicine\ntoward astrology.\n\nAs to the rejection of astrologic medicine by the followers of\nHippocrates, we read (\u201cAncient Medicine,\u201d Chapter I.; in the\ntranslation of Fuchs, Vol. I., page 19): \u201cFor this reason I believe\nthat it [medical art] requires no basis of vain presumption, such as\nthe existence of invisible and doubtful factors, the discussion of\nwhich, if it should be attempted, necessitates a hypothetic science\nof supernatural or of subterrestrial nature; for, if any one should\ncontend that he knew anything about such a matter, neither he, the\nlecturer, nor his hearers would clearly understand whether his\nstatements were true or not, because nothing exists to which reference\ncould be had for purposes of verification.\u201d\n\nThis surely is a refutation as definite as can be desired of a medicine\nwhich depends upon witchcraft or astrologic vagaries. However, various\nother passages of the Corpus Hippocraticum take an exactly contrary\nposition. For example, we find the following statement (on \u201cAir,\nWater, and Locality,\u201d Chapter XVII., in the translation of Fuchs,\nVol. I., page 390): \u201cAttention must be paid to the rise of the stars,\nespecially to that of Sirius,[4] as well as to the rise of Arcturus,\nand, further, to the setting of the Pleiades, for most diseases reach a\ncrisis during such periods, some of them abating in these days, others\nceasing entirely, or developing into other symptoms and different\nconditions.\u201d These words indicate a distinct intention of bringing\nprognosis and course of diseases into the closest relations with the\nmotions of the celestial bodies. In the second chapter of the same book\nsimilar expressions occur: \u201cHe who knows how the change of seasons and\nthe rising and setting of stars take place will also be able to foresee\nhow the year is going to be. Therefore, any one who investigates these\nsubjects and predicts coming events will be thoroughly informed as to\neach detail of the future; he will enjoy the best of health, and take\nas much as possible the right road in art. However, if any one should\nbe of the opinion that these questions belong solely in the realm of\nastronomy, he will soon change his opinion as he learns that astronomy\nis not of slight, but of a very essential, importance in medical art.\u201d\nStars and diseases are also brought into mutual relations in the letter\nto King Ptolemy (Emerins, page 293).\n\n      [4] This star, in particular, played a r\u00f4le in the astrologic\n      prognosis of the Egyptians; in fact, in various systems it was\n      made the starting-point of medical predictions; for instance,\n      in the method of Hermes Trismegistus.\n\nThe above quotations refer exclusively to the course of diseases in\nrelation to the stars, but we find in other passages also distinct\nreferences are made to therapeutic methods; for instance, in\n\u201cAphorisms,\u201d \u00a7 4, paragraph 5, we read: \u201cPurging is very difficult\nduring or before the dog-days.\u201d\n\nIt would, indeed, be most remarkable if no astrologic remarks of any\nkind were found in the Corpus Hippocraticum, as the idea of close\nrelation between the celestial bodies and matters terrestrial had\ncommon currency during the Hippocratic period. The songs of Stesichorus\nand of Pindar show, for instance (as is also stated by Pliny, Book 3,\nChapter XII., Vol. I., page 118), that eclipses of certain stars were\nconsidered to be pregnant with mischief. This superstitious conception\nhas, in some cases, actually caused severe general calamities. Thus,\nfor instance, the Sicilian campaign ended unfortunately for the\nAthenians only because their general, Nicias, under a superstitious\napprehension concerning an eclipse, failed to put to sea. And as this\ncampaign was the cause to Athens of a partial loss of Greek hegemony,\nwe may safely say that astrology had a decisive share in the fall of\nAthens (Pliny, Book 2, Chapter XXIII.).\n\nThe appearance of comets, like eclipses of the sun and the moon, were\nalso reputed to be ominous among the ancients. Comets were considered\nheavenly mischief-makers of the worst kind, and almost every sort\nof calamity was ascribed to them. A calamity was supposed to assume\nvarious aspects, according to the position and form of the comet.\nUnder some circumstances, however, they were said to prognosticate\nmany events advantageous to mankind (Pliny, Book 2, Chapter XXIV.).\nThus Augustus considered a comet, which was seen for an entire week at\nthe northern quarter of the heavens at the onset of his rule, during\nperformances which were given in honor of Venus genetrix, to be his\nlucky star.\n\nHowever, not only such extraordinary appearances in the sky as comets,\neclipses of the sun and the moon, played a conspicuous part in medical\nsuperstitions of the ancients. Even those celestial phenomena which\noccur with a regularity fixed by natural law, such as the revolution\nof the sun and the moon, were considered highly important events in\ntherapeutic art. Thus, affections of the eye in man and beast were said\nto increase and to decrease with the moon (Pliny, Book 2, Chapter XLI.).\n\nAll acute diseases were believed to be controlled by the moon, whereas\nchronic affections were thought to be under the influence of the sun.\nIn fact, everything that happened to man was brought in immediate\nrelationship with appearances in the canopy of heaven. Thus, for\ninstance, it is stated by Marcus Manilius, the well-known author of an\nastronomical didactic poem dedicated to the Emperor Augustus:\n\n    \u201cOmnis cum coelo fortun\u00e6 pendeat ordo.\u201d\n\nIn the thirteenth chapter of the second book the poet maintains that\neach part of the human body is subordinate to a distinct sign of the\nzodiac. Thus, for instance, the head to Aries, etc.\n\nAltho the further development of Occidental as well as Oriental\nastrology drew its resources from the primeval Assyrian, Babylonian,\nand Egyptian doctrines, yet from the second century, A.D., the\nastronomic work of Ptolemy and the exhaustive description of antique\nmedicine by Galen derive their inspiration from _Medicina Astrologica_.\nWhatever these two great masters were able to report of the dependence\nof the functions of the body upon celestial bodies was from then on,\nwithout further inspection and examination, acknowledged to be true\nby the great majority of physicians. Only occasionally this or that\npractitioner is bold enough to oppose the intrusion of astrologic\nvagaries into the art of healing; among these radicals was the\nphilosophically trained physician, Sextus Empiricus, who lived about\nthe year 193, A.D. However, this protest of brave Sextus, as well as\nall subsequent ones, scarcely had any influence upon the astrological\ndevelopment of medicine. Astrology could not be arrested on its road\nto the domination of the world, and until the seventeenth century it\ncontrolled the thought of physicians with the same invincible sway that\nit exercised over the mental life of all other professions and classes.\nMedico-astrological superstition had become legalized, and this in\nspite of the fact that Galen himself at last expressed his distrust of\nthe _Medicina Astrologica_, and at least endeavored to extenuate his\npart in its dissemination.\n\nLet us now scrutinize more minutely the condition of _Medicina\nAstrologica_ in the second century, A.D. The works of Ptolemy, the\n\u201cIatromathematica\u201d of the mysterious Hermes Trismegistus, and the third\nbook of Galen\u2019s writing on the \u201ccritical days\u201d furnish sufficient\nmaterial for outlining the medico-astrological system of that period.\n\nIn the first place, the method by which the authors of that\nperiod instilled their astrologic dotage into the minds of their\ncontemporaries varied considerably. Either astrological remarks were\nhere and there interspersed in a work on medical or on astronomical\nsubjects, as was the case, for instance, in the \u201cOpus Quadripartitum\u201d\nof Ptolemy and also in Galen\u2019s book on the \u201ccritical days,\u201d or\nastrology was treated as a special science in the form of a connected\nsystem, as is done, for instance, in the \u201cIatromathematica\u201d of Hermes\nTrismegistus. Such textbooks of astrology obtained publicity in large\nnumbers from about the fourteenth century on. Whoever may be inclined\nto cast a glance into the learned work of Sudhoff will be astonished to\nobserve the extent to which iathromathematics flourished in the second\nhalf of the middle ages and at the turning-point of the Renaissance.\nStill another form was to impart to the public their astrological\ndoctrines in the form of short sentences. We find nothing in such works\nregarding the intricate calculations and methods by which endeavors\nwere made to fathom the language of the stars, but astrological results\nwere communicated in concise, aphoristic sentences. This was done in\nthe \u201cCentiloquium\u201d of Ptolemy, a work which in a hundred brief sayings\nbrings an epitome of astrological wisdom to market. The work enjoyed\nthe highest esteem in the middle ages. Such a book, therefore, would\ncorrespond to that form of modern literary production, which, under\nthe title \u201cMethod of acquiring this or that accomplishment within a\nshort period,\u201d is advertised to us modern people in the daily press.\nMoreover, the \u201cCentiloquium\u201d of Ptolemy had many imitators. Such\na work is found, for instance, in Arabic literature, and contains\nastrologic wisdom condensed into 150 brief sentences by the astrologer\nAlmansor, who furnished the handbook upon request of his ruler; the\nArabian, Bethem, has produced a similar work. We find analogous works\nappearing later in the middle ages. Eventually, the doctrines of\nastrology were put into neat rhymes; thus, for instance, Heinrich von\nRantzau, who departed this life 1598 as governor of Schleswig-Holstein,\ncelebrates in 100 well-turned verses the significance of the planets\nin relation to the physical and mental welfare of humanity. We shall\nagain refer to this subject when considering astrology of the middle\nages. The iatromathematic passages in the above-mentioned writings\nof Ptolemy, Hermes, and Galen furnished the foundation for all later\nastrologico-medical theories. For what the middle ages believed\nregarding the medical importance of the sidereal world, especially of\nthe planets and the zodiac, was nothing but the immediate continuation,\nor elaboration, of the astrologic teachings of Ptolemy and other\nauthors of the first Christian centuries.\n\nIn the first place, every portion of the human frame was placed under\nthe influence of a certain celestial body.\n\nThe five planets already known to the ancients, as well as sun and\nmoon, governed, according to Hermes, the following parts of the body:\n\n    The sun, the right eye.\n    The moon, the left eye.\n    Saturn, hearing.\n    Jupiter, the brain.\n    Mars, the blood.\n    Venus, taste and smell.\n    Mercury, tongue and gullet.\n\nHowever, the influence which sun, moon, and the planets exercised\nupon the human body gradually became more intricate. It was no longer\nsatisfactory to enumerate relations between the bodies of heaven and\nthe human organs of such a general nature as given by the above table\nof Hermes. All parts and functions of the body were to be brought\ninto the closest relations with the planets. Thus, for instance, the\ncelebrated humanist, Marsilius Ficinus, the friend of the Medici (1433\nto 1499), depicts most minutely in a book \u201cOn Life,\u201d which was much\nread in its time, the relations between the body and the planets. This\nwas also done by Heinrich von Rantzau, in his \u201cTractus Astrologicus,\u201d\nwhich in its time was very celebrated. There we read regarding these\nconditions as follows:\n\n  SATURN governs the spleen, the bladder, the bones, the teeth, and,\n    in part, the circulating juices of the body; causes the color of\n    the skin of man to be dark yellowish; impedes or promotes growth;\n    causes the eyes to be small, and prevents the growth of the beard.\n\n  JUPITER governs the lungs, the ribs, cartilages, the liver,\n    arteries, the pulse, and the development of human semen; causes\n    the white color of the skin, and gives a good figure.\n\n  MARS governs the bile, kidneys, veins, and sexual organs, and of\n    these especially the testicles; makes hair red and the temper\n    irascible, and inclined to outrages of various kinds.\n\n  VENUS governs the uterus, the breasts, the sexual organs, the\n    spermatic tubes, the loins, and the buttocks; endows man with\n    physical beauty, furnishes him with long hair, round eyes, and a\n    well-formed face; but it is inexcusable on the part of this star\n    that it presented mankind with gonorrhea.\n\n  MERCURY governs all mental processes\u2014memory, imagination, the brain\n    with its nerves, the hands, feet, and legs, the bones and the\n    bile; causes man to be light-fingered.\n\n  THE SUN governs the brain, nerves, urine, the right eye of the male\n    and the left one of the female, the optic nerves, and the entire\n    right half of the body; gives a good complexion to man.\n\n  THE MOON governs the brain, mouth, belly, intestines, bladder,\n    taste, the organs of reproduction, the left eye of the male, the\n    right eye of the female, and the feminine liver, and the entire\n    left half of the body.\n\nThe signs of the zodiac, like the planets, exert full control over\nthe various parts of the body. Honest Bartisch, of K\u00f6nigsbr\u00fcck (1535\nto 1606), has given us in his \u201cEye-Service\u201d an illustration of these\nrelations. Fig. 4 is a reproduction of this plate of Bartisch.\n\nThe sun, moon, planets, and zodiac regulated not only the life of the\nvarious limbs of living man placed under their special care, but their\nactivity commenced at that moment when the foundation was just about\nto be laid for the future bodily existence of a mortal\u2014_i.e._, at the\nmoment of conception. If, during this critical process, the respective\nbodies of the heavens were in an unfortunate conjunction, the members\nof the future being, the most primitive forms of which had just been\nfounded, were bound to suffer. Naturally, however, only those parts of\nthe body were affected by this destiny which were in the care of stars\nthat happened to be in unpropitious conjunction at the time.\n\nIf the act of conception had passed without evil influence on those\nthat were actively and passively participating in it, the product of\nthat hour could by no means be sure that this or that planet would not\nmaliciously thwart the ease and tranquillity of its embryonic and fetal\nlife. For sun, moon, and the seven planets each governed one month of\nintra-uterine life, as is explained by Jacobus Forliviensis. Saturn\nreigns during the first month of pregnancy, Jupiter in the second,\nMars in the third, the sun in the fourth, Venus in the fifth, Mercury\nin the sixth, the moon in the seventh; the eighth month is ruled again\nby Saturn, and this latter planet now shows itself to be so malicious\nthat it immediately destroys all life born in the eighth month. Jupiter\nagain takes control during the ninth month, and, as this star is fond\nof warmth and humidity, and, therefore, a friend of life in any form,\nno danger is to be feared for a fetus entering the world during this\nmonth. However, after the nine months of pregnancy have passed without\nevil interference by the planets, Mars once more is in command, and his\ninfluence helps in accomplishing a normal birth.\n\nAfter the fetus had successfully passed all dangers which the planets\ncould cause during the nine months of intra-uterine life, and after\nit had successfully matured, the hour of birth might, after all, be\naccompanied with other quite severe sidereal complications. For if\nany planet was in an unfavorable sign, or if the relations between\nthe signs of the zodiac and the sun or the moon were not quite in\ntheir regular order, those members which were presided over by the\nrespective stars were made to suffer. The correct casting of the\nmedical horoscope, therefore, required the most accurate knowledge\nof the minute of birth, with simultaneous occurrences in the canopy\nof heaven. Provident fathers, accordingly, were mindful of having\nan astrologer, during the hour of birth, in the room in which the\nconfinement was to take place, so that he might be able to ascertain as\naccurately as possible the celestial occurrences which would determine\nthe bodily welfare of the new-born, and to arrange them for the\nhoroscope.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 4\u2014THE RELATION OF THE PARTS OF THE HUMAN BODY TO\nTHE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC]\n\nAfter the young mortal had safely arrived, and if a fortunate destiny\nhad placed in his cradle a favorable medical horoscope, both for the\nhour during which the first material foundation had been laid for\nhis life and also for the hour of his birth, he had overcome only a\nsmall part of the troubles which the starry world might be able to\ninflict on his bodily welfare. If the various signs of heaven appeared\nin unfavorable conjunction, or if the moon entered into any fatal\nrelations with the signs of the zodiac, members of the body which were\nunder the influence of the respective celestial bodies were still\nimperiled. These dangers might threaten not only one individual, but\nthey were capable, eventually, even of calling down epidemics and\npestilence upon all humanity. After any form of disease had taken hold\nof a person its course, treatment, and termination could be clearly\nread in the stars of heaven. It was necessary, above all, to ascertain\nthe day, hour, and minute when the disease appeared. Unfortunately,\nthis must have been quite difficult at times; for many diseases begin\nso insidiously that the moment of the attack is completely beyond\nprecise definition. In such a case one did the best that could be done,\nand probably took as the moment of attack the first complaints of the\npatient regarding his disorder. After the appearance of the disease was\ndated in such a manner, the heavenly body, in the ascendant at this\nperiod, was then ascertained; thus, the position and the course and the\nphases of the moon, the relations of sun and moon to the twelve signs\nof the zodiac, and the planets would be noted. It was necessary to\nobserve whether the moon was in opposition, quadrature, or conjunction\nto the planets while she stood in the sign of this or that figure of\nthe zodiac. From these observations clear conclusions were first drawn\nregarding the general condition, the character, the duration, and the\nprognosis of the affection. These conclusions, however, were by no\nmeans satisfactory as yet. An attempt was therefore made to obtain a\nmuch more detailed insight into the causes, complications, and therapy\nof the case in question by means of astrology, and such information was\nabundantly provided in the _Medicina Astrologica_.\n\nIn the first place, the fact that sun, moon, planets, and the signs\nof the zodiac shared the rule over the various organs of the body,\nand furnished positive intimations regarding the cause of the disease\nin question, made it unnecessary for the physician to trouble himself\nat all with an examination of the patient in order to ascertain cause\nand localization of the affection. One glance at the conjunctions of\nthe stars was sufficient to show which organ of the patient happened\nto be endangered by the celestial constellation. If an individual\ncomplained, for instance, of disturbed digestion, and if the heavenly\nbody that presided over the liver presented any remarkable phenomena,\nnaturally only the liver was responsible for the case in question,\nand the diagnosis was made. Complications were to be expected if the\nstars which controlled the circulation of blood and mucus showed\nunfavorable signs. It was even possible for the physician well versed\nin astrology to determine in advance the period of time at which the\noccurrence of such humoral complications might be expected, as he had\nlearned that the various hours of the day and of the night were to\nexert a powerful influence upon the juices of the body. For instance,\nAlmanzor explains that the first three hours of day and of night are\nin closest relation to the blood, whereas the second quarters of day\nand of night hold sway over the yellow, the third over the black\n(bile), and the last quarters, finally, over the mucus. However, not\nonly were the various hours of great importance to the course of the\ndisease, but certain days of the disease\u2014so-called critical days\u2014were\nof still greater significance. It is true, the doctrine of these\ncritical days was by no means the property of _Medicina Astrologica_,\nbut the Corpus Hippocraticum already contained a book \u03a0\u03b5\u03c1\u1f76\n\u03c7\u03c1\u03af\u03b7\u03c3\u1f76\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd. But the followers of Hippocrates had developed this\ntheory only from humoro-pathological premises, and Galen, in his work\n\u03c7\u03c1\u03ae\u1f31\u03c3\u03b9\u03bc\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21\u03bc\u03ad\u03c1\u03b1\u03b9, had only included astrology in order to explain\nand to prove the entire doctrine of crises (compare also Sudhoff). He\ncalculated in accordance with moon weeks and months, and in such a\nmanner that a week counted six days and seventeen and one-half hours,\nand the month of the moon only twenty-six days and twenty-two hours.\nThe seventh, fourteenth, twentieth, and twenty-seventh days were to\nbe considered critical days of the first order. \u201cContemplate,\u201d says\nGalen, \u201cthe critical days in the course of the moon in the angles of\na geometrical figure of sixteen sides; if you find these angles in a\nfavorable constellation, the patient will fare well; badly, however,\nif evil signs prevail.\u201d But not only were certain hours and certain\ndays of the week said to exert an important astrological influence upon\nthe human body, such an influence was ascribed also to certain years.\nSuch years were called \u201c_Anni Scansiles_\u201d\u2014that is, \u201cclimacteric.\u201d The\nexpression \u201c_Anni Climacterici_\u201d was also used, but this designation\nhas nothing in common with the modern conception of the climacteric.\nIt was believed that the condition of the body underwent a thorough\nrevolution during these climacteric years, and that a new stage, as it\nwere, of organic life was reached. Heinrich von Rantzau, the astronomic\naristocrat and statesman, accordingly defines the climacteric years\nas \u201c_anni, in quibus ad sequentis temporis constitutionem sese vertat\n\u00e6tas et inflectat_.\u201d Therefore, such years should in themselves harbor\ndangers for corporeal existence, and offer no favorable prospect for\nthe course of diseases.\n\nTwo kinds of such climacteric years were distinguished. One kind was\nbrought about by multiplication with the figure 7, and they were\ncalled _anni hebdomatici_, or _climacterici (stricte sic dicta)_.\nAccordingly, these were the years 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63.\nThese nine years formed the _climactericus parvus_, whereas the years\n77, 84, 91, 98, 105, 112, 119, 126 were called the _climactericus\nmagnus_. A multiplication which extended further, to 171, reached\nthe _climactericus maximus_. The other kind of climacteric years was\nobtained by multiplication with 9, and such years were called _anni\nenneatici_, or _decretorii_. These were the years 9, 18, 27, 36, 45,\n54, 63, 72, 81, 90, 99, 108, etc.\n\nHowever, these climacteric years did not all present the same dangers,\nbut the peril inherent in them varied considerably. It was determined\nby the multiplicator, and here especially the 3 and the 7 played a\nvery fatal r\u00f4le. The 21st year of life (3 \u00d7 7), and the 27th (3 \u00d7 9),\nwere one grade higher in the scale of dangers than those obtained by\nother multiplicators. Still more dangerous were those years arrived at\nby ascending in spaces of three hebdomads; therefore, the 21st year\nof life\u2014_i.e._, the period of three hebdomads\u2014namely, 3 \u00d7 7; the 42d\nyear, as a period of 2 \u00d7 3 hebdomads\u2014_i.e._, 2 \u00d7 21; the 63d year of\nlife, as a period of 3 hebdomads\u2014_i.e._, 3 \u00d7 21; 84 = to 4 \u00d7 21; 105\n= 5 \u00d7 21, etc. The 49th year of life and the 56th year of life were\nsaid to be still more dangerous than these years obtained from the\nperiod of three hebdomads. It is true, the cause of the danger is quite\nobvious in the case of the 49th year; it was the ominous 7 \u00d7 7 which\nhere gave rise to forebodings. And it was not quite comprehensible what\ncaused the bad reputation of innocent 56; Rantzau fails to give us a\nsufficient explanation.\n\nBut the most dangerous climacteric year was the 63d, for this was made\nup of 7 \u00d7 9. It was, therefore, an _annus hebdomaticus_ and, at the\nsame time, also an _annus enneaticus_, for it belonged both to the\nclass of those climacteric years which were formed by the multiplier 7,\nas also to that which were obtained by the multiplier 9. It was most\nnatural, therefore, that a period of life which from two sides was\nfraught with danger, like the unfortunate 63d year of life, was bound\nto appear equally suspicious to the healthy and to the sick. It is\nprobable that this year was, therefore, called _androdas_, because, as\nRantzau believes, it debilitates and breaks vitality.\n\nIt would appear, moreover, that the climacteric years enjoyed general\nconsideration in ancient times as well as in the middle ages, for\nRantzau names a number of celebrated men who were said to have\nexpressed themselves regarding the significance of these years, such as\nPlato, Censorinus, Gellius, Philo Jud\u00e6us, Macrobius, Cicero, Bo\u00ebtius,\nSt. Ambrose, St. Augustine, Bede, Georgius Valla, and others. Not\nsatisfied with this statement, Rantzau also mentions in his catalog\na multitude of prominent men who all departed this life in their 63d\nyear, and thus, as he believes, had established the dangerousness of\nthis year by their death.\n\nIt is probable, therefore, that the 63d birthday was celebrated with\ngreat apprehension during the entire middle ages, and the respective\nindividual did not draw an easy breath until after the ominous year had\nbeen successfully passed.\n\nHowever, the stars knew not only how to tell particulars regarding\nthe probable course and possible complications of diseases, but they\nalso gave information regarding very special forms of affections. It\nwas possible, thus, to learn from them at what time diseases of the\neye were to be feared, when mental diseases were threatening, when\nhemorrhages were to be expected, etc. The astrologically trained\nphysician was able to obtain prompt information from the stars\nregarding contingent surgical accidents; for there existed various\nconjunctions of the celestial bodies, according to Ptolemy, which\nsurely pointed to wounds, fractures of bones, burns, concussions, and\nother lesions. In fact, it was possible to see in advance, from the\ncelestial phenomena, what limbs would be exposed to forcible injury;\nthus, certain conjunctions of the planets were said to prognosticate\nwith certainty wounds of the head; others, of the face; others, again,\nof the hands and feet, of the fingers and toes, of the arms and legs,\nof the trunk and neck. Astrology, moreover, was not satisfied with the\nprognostic and diagnostic activity which we have just mentioned, but it\nalso interfered in therapy, internal as well as external.\n\nRegarding, in the first place, internal medicinal treatment, the\nastrologer knew how to give positive information about the same; for\nall terrestrial beings, of an organic as well as of an inorganic\nnature, were under the influence of the sun, the moon, of the planets,\nand of the signs of the zodiac. The stars imparted certain powers to\nthe planets, to animals, and to all structures of the inorganic world.\nIf, therefore, it were known what stars happened to appear in the\nvault of heaven at the beginning of the disease or of its treatment,\nit was only necessary seriously to consider the organic and inorganic\nstructures under their supervision, and the remedies required for a\nsuccessful control of the disease were presently at hand. But if the\nhealer wished to be absolutely certain what medicaments to choose, the\nphases of the moon and the condition of the sun were also to be taken\ninto consideration. Some remedies could be administered only when the\nmoon was in a particular relation to certain planets or stars of the\nzodiac. These remedies were principally emetics and purges.\n\nSimilarly to the internal clinician, so also in surgery, the healer\nwas entirely dependent upon the conjunction of the stars. The primeval\nBabylonian directed that the body must not be touched with iron during\ncertain conjunctions of the stars, and this was also prescribed in\nall cases of _Astrologica Medica_. It appears, however, that this\ndirection obtained less general surgical recognition, but referred\nprincipally to blood-letting. Even to this limited extent it implied\na high-handed interference with the art of the ancient as well as of\nthe medieval physician; for venesection occupied an entirely different\nposition among therapeutic measures during that period than it does\nto-day. Whereas modern medicine does not consider blood-letting\nnecessary, except in the rarest cases, ancient as well as medieval\nprofessors of medicine believed that they could under no circumstances\ndispense with it; in fact, it is probable that until the seventeenth\ncentury there was scarcely any form of disease the treatment of which\nwould have been possible without withdrawal of blood. An actual\nsystem of blood-letting had been elaborated under the influence of\nhumoro-pathological opinions. Every vein that could be reached with\nthe lancet was acted upon, and the school of medicine of the period\nwas punctiliously careful in teaching which vessel presented the most\nsuitable point of attack for the hand of the physician in this or that\nform of disease. The therapeutic subtleties which were thus brought to\nlight are beyond description. Thus, a withdrawal of blood from veins on\nthe right side of the body was said to yield an essentially different\neffect from left-sided venesection, and each individual vein of the\nbody promised a special advantage which was peculiar to this one vein.\nThe physician of that period surely had enough to do to bear in mind\nall the numerous therapeutic effects which he was to achieve by the\nopening of the various veins. To facilitate this difficult art to a\ncertain degree special figures were designed\u2014so-called venesection\nmanikins, in which the numerous points for bleeding were most carefully\nannotated. Fig. 5 (page 175) shows such a picture. It indicates no less\nthan 53 different localities for venesection, and as each and every\none of them again implied four or five, or possibly even more, methods\nof blood-letting, we may consider that there were many hundreds of\ndifferent possibilities for phlebotomy. If it was easy to become lost\nin the labyrinth of this blood-thirsty therapy, the difficulty of a\nmethodical application of venesection was very materially increased by\nastrology; for astrology differentiated between, first, favorable, then\ndoubtful, and, finally, unfavorable days for venesection, basing this\nopinion upon certain positions between sun, moon, and planets. Then the\nvarious ages of life had also different days for venesection; days, for\ninstance, which promised to be exceptionally successful for venesection\nin the young, offered very unfavorable prospects to the aged. Thus,\nfor instance, the period from the first quadrature of the moon to\nthe opposition was said to be excellent for bleeding in adolescence,\nwhereas this period was by no means inviting for phlebotomy in those\nwho had reached the senile period. The chances for venesection became\nrather intricate in their different aspects. Thus, for instance,\nSt\u00f6ffler taught:\n\n                  {the sun prohibits venesection two\n                  {days before and one day after.\n  Conjunction of  {\n  the moon with   {        }prohibits venesection one\n                  {Saturn  }day before and one day\n                  {Mars    }after.\n\n  Quadrature of   {Sun     }prohibits venesection\n  the moon with   {Saturn  }twelve hours before and\n                  {Mars    }twelve hours after.\n\n  Opposition of   {Sun     }prohibits venesection one\n  the moon with   {Saturn  }day before and one day\n                  {Mars    }after.\n\nWe see, therefore, that the physician of that time was compelled to\nbe well-versed in astronomy unless he meant to commit grave mistakes\nagainst the doctrines of _Medicina Astrologica_. Such sins could\neventually become rather dangerous to the physician, for the code of\nHammurabi (about 2200, B.C., ruler of Babylon) threatens the operator,\nfor not quite unobjectionable surgical procedures, with the loss of his\nhands (Winckler, page 33, \u00a7 218).\n\nIn order to satisfy the astrological requirement of the physician most\nthoroughly, there arose in the middle ages a very peculiar literature.\nUnder the name of an almanac or calendarium, thick folio volumes\nappeared, which enumerated, in long tables, the various positions of\nthe planets and of the signs of the zodiac, so that the astrologer was\nenabled to note the fate of mankind rapidly and easily. The contents\nof such calendaria are beyond description. Apart from remarks which\nreferred to all occurrences of civil life, was stated the exact period\nwhen to have the hair cut, when venesection was to be performed, when\nto draw teeth, when to take a bath, etc. Even the proper time for\nprayer was indicated by such a calendarium. According to the experience\nof Peter of Abano, the conjunction of the moon with Jupiter in the\nDragon was sure to effect an answer to prayer. Hieronymus Cardanus\nhad discovered, with the aid of astrology, that a request was sure to\nbe complied with if a prayer was offered to the Virgin Mary on the\nfirst day of April, at 8 A.M. (M\u00f6hsen, Vol. II., page 423). Physicians\nexcelled in the compilation of such calendaria, especially during the\nfifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Professors, forensic physicians,\nsurgeons\u2014in fact, all representatives of medical art\u2014were equally\nintent upon instructing the public by calendaria in regard to the most\nvarious branches of _Medicina Astrologica_; thus, for instance, David\nHerliz, physician at Prenzlau, supplied Pomerania, Mecklenburg, and\nthe Margravate of Brandenburg with calendars for fifty years, from the\nyear 1584. The Marburg professor of medicine, Victorinus Sch\u00f6nfelder,\nplayed a similar r\u00f4le during the same period for western Germany. The\nphysician, as almanac-maker, is probably one of the most wonderful\nresults of medical superstition, and this aberration of medicine clung\nso firmly to the people that, even in the eighteenth and nineteenth\ncenturies, certain days of the year were considered as especially\nfavorable for venesection, and the calendars took particular pains to\ncall the attention of the public most emphatically to good days for\nblood-letting.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 5\u2014VENESECTION IN ITS ASTRONOMICAL CONNECTION]\n\n=Explanation of Fig. 5=\n\n  _A._ The astronomic signs which are noted on the different parts\n  of the body indicate the signs of the zodiac, under the special\n  influence of which the respective members of the body are said to\n  be.\n\n  _B._ The numerals which are found at the most varied parts of the\n  body refer to indications for venesection, as stated below. In\n  these localities, which are characterized by figures, blood was\n  drawn for the most various affections, namely in:\n\n   1. Pains of the eyes and head; affections of the face,\n        including eruptions.\n\n   2. Affections of the head; mental disturbances.\n\n   3. Affections of the eye of various kinds.\n\n   4 and 5. Pains in the ears; lachrymation.\n\n   6 and 7. Tinnitus aurium; tremor of the head.\n\n   8. Disturbances of hearing.\n\n   9. Heaviness of the head; flow from the eyes. Venesection here\n        also renders memory more acute, as well as the activity of\n        the brain in general.\n\n  10. Heaviness of the head.\n\n  11. Ulcers of the lips and of the gums.\n\n  12. The veins of the palate are to be opened in eruptions in\n        the face, in toothache, in affections of the palate and of\n        the mouth, heaviness of the head.\n\n  13. Neuralgia and toothache.\n\n  14. Headaches, mental disturbances.\n\n  15. To render the memory more acute.\n\n  16. In all affections of the mouth or of the chest.\n\n  17. Fetid breath.\n\n  18. Pains in the jaws; f\u0153tor e naso; eruptions of the face.\n\n   19. Neuralgia of the head; eruptions.\n\n  20. Disturbances in the chest of various kinds.\n\n  21. Flow from the eyes; headache; epilepsy.\n\n  22. Diseases of the chest of various kinds, including dyspnea;\n        headache; stitches in the side.\n\n  23. Diseases of the liver, injuries to the right side of the\n        body; nosebleed.\n\n  24. Affections of the head and the eyes; pains in the\n        shoulder-blades; coryza.\n\n  25. Pains in the heart, in the sides, and in the mouth.\n\n  26. Spasms in the fingers; pains in the spleen and in the\n        limbs; epistaxis; stitches in the liver.\n\n  27. Pains of the central parts of the body.\n\n  28. Affections of the lower portions of the body.\n\n  29. Heart-disease.\n\n  30. To render vision more acute, and to strengthen the\n        dexterity of the body.\n\n  31. Headache, fever, various kinds of cataract, glaucoma, etc.;\n        cloudiness of the sclera; inflammations of the tongue and\n        of the pharynx.\n\n  32. Pains of the head, lungs, spleen.\n\n  33. Diseases of the blood; chlorosis; jaundice; affections of\n        the head; stitches in the right side. Blood-letting in this\n        locality purifies liver, spleen, breast.\n\n  34. Same as 32.\n\n  36. Affections of the spleen, meningeal inflammation;\n        hemorrhoids; stitches in the left side; renal affections;\n        dysmenorrhea.\n\n  37. Affections of the spleen and of the bladder.\n\n  38. Dropsy; disturbances of digestion; ulcers of long standing.\n\n  39. Melancholia; venesection in this locality strengthens\n        the kidneys.\n\n  40. Hemorrhoids; strangury; disturbances of digestion;\n        affections of the bladder and of the sexual organs.\n\n  41. Venesection here acts upon the proper condition of the body\n        in general.\n\n  42. Diseases of the kidney, bladder, stone, testicles.\n\n  43. Venesection here strengthens the gait.\n\n  44. All kinds of pains of the lower extremities, such as\n        arthritis, gout; also in dysmenorrhea.\n\n  45. Affections of the sexual organs; diseases of the kidney and\n        bladder.\n\n  46. Diseases of the testicles.\n\n  47. Disturbances of menstruation; sterility of women;\n        affections of the bladder and spleen.\n\n  48. Various kinds of diseases of the feet.\n\n  49. Dysmenorrhea; eruptions in the face and on the legs.\n\n  50. Apoplexy; paralysis.\n\n  51. Ophthalmia; skin diseases; cough; oppression of the chest.\n\n  52. Dysmenorrhea; affections of the testicles; costal pains.\n\n  53. Ophthalmia; dysmenorrhea; amenorrhea; skin eruptions.\n\nSuch therapy, detached entirely from the actual requirements of the\ncase and based only upon observation of the sky, was bound to be\nattended with the most unfortunate results. The suffering public was\nfrequently but little cheered by the assistance of its physicians, and\noften felt the desire to find out what another physician could do. It\nappears that such a condition occurred quite frequently, for Ptolemy,\nin number 57 of his \u201cCentiloquium,\u201d gives special directions under\nwhat astral conditions such a change of physician could take place. He\nsays: \u201c_Cum septimum locum atque ejus dominum in \u00e6gritudine afflictum\nvideris, medicum mutato._\u201d It appears certain, accordingly, that a\ngeneral change of physicians was inaugurated by the public so soon as\nthe above conjunction was noted in the sky.\n\nThose who desired to be very careful in the choice of their physician\ndid not change only when the conjunction of the stars recommended it as\nadvisable, but they also attempted to ascertain the horoscope of the\nnewly chosen medical adviser, for medical wisdom was found in greatest\nabundance in a man whose aspects showed a certain form. \u201c_Perfectus\nmedicus erit, cui Mars et Venus fuerint in sexta_,\u201d says Almansor.\n\nThis condition of _Astrologia Medica_ was such as to weigh like\nan oppressive nightmare upon mankind, not only for centuries but\nfor thousands of years, and in this way medical superstition has\nslaughtered more human beings than the most bloody wars ever did.\n\nHowever, astrology has not always ruled our kind with equal strength.\nThere were periods during which belief in the fate-determining power of\nthe stars was more dominant, and others in which it was feebler. The\nancient world, which was blindly devoted to all kinds of superstition,\nhad also cherished and fostered astrology. But when the ancient theory\nof life was demolished later on, and the Christian God of love had\ntaken possession of the world, the belief in the fate-determining power\nof the stars was shaken, and centuries, followed during which _Medicina\nAstrologica_, altho it did not by any means disappear entirely, was\nforced more or less to the rear. Astrology did not become resurrected\nuntil scholasticism and dogmatism had held back the activity of\nthe mind from independent investigation, thus bringing about the\nintellectual darkness which for centuries prevailed. This use of\nastrology truly forms one of the most wonderful pages in the history of\nthe development of our race, for an actual _furor astrologicus_ seized\nupon the world in the course of the thirteenth century. The movement\noriginated at the court of Emperor Frederick II. The great Ghibelline\nwas so positive and so enthusiastic an adherent of all astrologic\ndoctrines that he did not decide upon any undertaking until he had\nfirst learned the opinion of the stars regarding his enterprise. It was\nhis firm belief that the stars prophesied for him a political r\u00f4le\nwhich was to shake the entire world, and of his astrological prediction\nhe apprised his adversary, the pope, in the following words:\n\n    Fata volunt, stellaeque docent, animumque volatus,\n    Quod Fridericus ego malleus orbis ero.\n\nBut if a ruler of high mental gifts is always destined to exert a\npowerful influence upon his epoch, how much more telling is this\ninfluence when the contemporaries of such a monarch lead a mental\nlife, fettered by so many religious, philosophical, and physical\nprejudices as undeniably dominated mankind during the reign of\nthe great Hohenstaufen. If these conditions were of the greatest\nadvantage to astrology in general, circumstances shaped themselves\nmost favorably for _Medicina Astrologica_ in particular. Very soon\nafter the death of the star-learned Hohenstaufen emperor, two highly\ntalented physicians bound themselves body and soul to astrology\u2014namely,\nArnald Bachuone, called also, after his birthplace, Villanueva,\nArnaldus Villanovanus or Arnald of Villanova (1235-1312), and Petrus,\ncalled also, after his birthplace, Abano near Padua, Petrus de Apono\nor Petrus Aponensis (1250-1315). From that time until the seventeenth\ncentury the most eminent representatives of all the sciences and\nprofessions devoted themselves to the doctrines of astrology. In the\nexcellent work of Sudhoff is cited a notable number of physicians\u2014by\nno means the most unskilful of their day\u2014who confessed themselves to\nbe iatromathematicians (_i.e._, _medici astrologici_). Astrology,\nand with it _Medicina Astrologica_, reigned supreme at most of the\nprincely courts from the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries. The\nHohenstaufen, Frederick II., was, as we have seen, an implicit adherent\nto astrologic doctrines; likewise the Visconti in Milan. The royal\ncourt of Aragon in Palermo offered a sheltering asylum to astronomy\nand to astrology. Alfonso X. of Castile was so enthusiastic a friend\nof scientific astronomy that he ordered the planet-tables of Ptolemy\nto be restored, with an outlay of enormous costs, by fifty astronomers\ncalled by him to Toledo. German princes, such as Elector Joachim of\nBrandenburg, Albrecht, Elector of Mayence, Landgrave William of Hesse,\nDuke Albrecht of Prussia, not only adhered to the predictions of the\nstars, but they also subscribed to the statements of astrological\nmedicine. Thus, for instance, Thomas Erastus (died 1583) the well-known\nopponent of Paracelsus, tells us that, as body-physician to the\nreigning count of Henneberg, he was not permitted to begin a course\nof treatment until he had consulted the stars. The German emperor,\nCharles V., was quite as constant a friend of the astrologists; he\nwas instructed in astrology by his teacher, the subsequent pope,\nHadrian VI. The court of Denmark was the center of astrological\nteachings under Frederick II., as no less a personage than Tycho de\nBrahe was active there. But not only rulers favored astrology, it met\nwith implicit belief from highly enlightened scholars, statesmen, and\nnaturalists. Thus, Melanchthon was so convinced an adherent of all\nastrological doctrines that he was incessantly active in their favor by\nmouth and by pen. And when fatal disease had finally seized upon him,\nhe was soon satisfied as to the issue, in that Mars and Saturn happened\nto be in conjunction (M\u00f6hsen, Vol. II., page 416).\n\nHowever, men were not wanting who courageously took up the battle\nagainst astrological delusions. Thus, for instance, the friend of\nLorenzo of Medici, the learned Count Pico of Mirandola (1463-1494);\nalso Girolamo Fracastori (1483-1553), who is known by his didactic poem\non syphilis, opposed astrology.\n\nIf we now ask how it was possible that a superstition like astrology\ncould for centuries dominate Occidental medicine, and was even able\nto influence the best minds in its favor, an answer to this question\nwill not be as difficult as might appear at first glance. The very\nbest and the most enlightened minds are always particularly affected\nby what is enigmatical and mysterious in the phenomena of life. They\nperceive the narrow limits set to our cognition of nature much more\nacutely and deeply than the average mind. This consciousness of the\ninsufficiency of our own knowledge, joined with an ardent desire after\na broadening of our understanding, tends to turn the mind in strange\ndirections. The result of clearer self-knowledge in this modern epoch\nof ours is an adverseness to any form of romantic fancy, and is likely\nto end in a sad resignation that may result in pessimism. But the\nmiddle ages, with their exuberant confidence and faith, their belief in\nwonders, and their romantic ideas, did not suffer to any great extent\nfrom scientific apathy. A sharply defined, mystic tendency helped to\novercome what was inadequate in the cognition of nature. And for this\nreason do we find this mystic tendency prominent, especially in those\nrepresentatives of that period who, owing to their mental capacity,\nwere bound to perceive their defective insight into the manifestations\nof life much more intensely than this was felt by the average persons\nof narrower intellect.\n\nThe conditions thus described, as well as the diagnostico-theoretical\nprinciples on which medicine and natural sciences were based in\nantiquity and in the middle ages, until late in the eighteenth century\nled many mentally gifted men to consider astrology rather a refuge from\nthe current defective conception of natural phenomena than a false\ndoctrine.\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\nINFLUENCE EXERTED UPON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERSTITION BY MEDICINE\nITSELF\n\n\nAs ancient, medieval, and some more modern theories of medicine have\ntraveled over the same diagnostico-theoretical roads as did the natural\nscience of those periods, they were naturally subject to the same\nerrors and aberrations. But the consequences of their errors differed\nmaterially. Whereas natural science, in the early and middle ages,\nwith its faulty diagnostico-theoretical method, too frequently had\nrecourse to supernatural factors to explain terrestrial phenomena, and\nthus created superstition instead of elucidation, the pathology of\nancient as well as of medieval medicine avoided as much as possible\nany recourse to miraculous agencies in explaining the pathological\nphenomena of the body. This it was forced to do for the sake of\nself-preservation. For what would have become of the physicians with\ntheir art, which was of a purely material kind, working as it did with\ndrug and knife, if they themselves had traced disease to supernatural\ncauses? No one, under such conditions, would have had any dealings\nwith mundane medical science. It is true, there have been times when\nsuch a state of things actually existed. The physician, with his\nearthly appliances, was always led astray as soon as metaphysical ideas\nhad victoriously entered pathology. History affords numerous examples\nof this. The cult of relics, the belief in astrology during half of the\nmiddle ages, show plainly to what a degrading position the physician\nwas reduced as soon as a pathology reckoning with earthly factors was\nreplaced by a metaphysical theory of disease. Then the physician was\neither completely thrust aside\u2014\u1f00\u03bb\u03bb\u2019 \u1f60\u03b8\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bc\u1f72\u03bd \u1f12\u03be\u03c9 \u03bd\u03bf\u03c3\u03bf\u1fe6\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f41\n\u1f30\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03cc\u03c2, as says Plutarch (\u201cSuperstition,\u201d Vol. I., page 412)\u2014or he\nwas forced to submit to a disgraceful interference. All schools of\nmedicine, therefore, from the humoral pathology of the followers of\nHippocrates to the so-called parasitism of the nineteenth century,\nhave avoided as much as possible the acknowledgment that supernatural\ninfluences were active as pathological factors. Various as the\nprinciples of the countless medical schools may have been, they were\nall united in assuming as the starting-point of their speculations some\nmaterial process of the body itself, in accordance with which they\napplied their therapeutic agencies.\n\nSometimes, it is true, it would seem as tho medicine, under some\ncircumstances, had recourse to supernatural factors in explaining\nvarious phenomena of physiological as well as pathological conditions;\nas, for instance, in the primeval pneuma-doctrine, or in those\nconceptions which attribute to a mental or psychical principle a\nfar-reaching influence upon the performance of all bodily functions.\nUpon closer investigation, however, we shall find that the pneuma,\nor spirit, the soul, or whatever else the mysterious mainspring\nof all phenomena of life may be called, was by no means conceived\nof by medicine as immaterial or supernatural. On the contrary!\nMedicine, as often as it required a spiritual something to explain\nthe manifestations of the body, has always regarded this unknown\nquantity as thoroughly substantial. It has not, indeed, been possible\nto determine more precisely the material nature of this great unknown,\naltho such attempts are by no means wanting in Democritus, Galen, and\nothers; still it was always considered a corporeal thing. Supernatural\nqualities were ascribed to it only after death, but so long as the soul\nanimated the body, united with the latter, it was a terrestrial being,\nand as such obeyed the laws of terrestrial substance. It was possible\nfor medical science, therefore, to reckon with it in the explanation\nof pathological processes without necessarily expecting a reproach that\nsupernatural agencies were called in for assistance.\n\nMedicine, therefore, altho it has traveled the same\ndiagnostico-theoretical road as natural science, has not, like the\nlatter, directly produced superstition. It is true, it has called\nforth innumerable erroneous hypotheses. But a wrong hypothesis, altho\nit may be nonsensical to the utmost and give rise to the most serious\npractical consequences, is by no means superstition; for both error\nand superstition\u2014so far as it is a question of medical matters\u2014are two\nradically different conceptions, because the former concerns itself\nonly with natural, the latter with supernatural factors.\n\nYet it is quite conceivable that the dissemination of an intellectual\nprinciple can be furthered and promoted without overt advocacy of the\nprinciple itself, and this was the relation that existed for thousands\nof years between medicine and superstition; for we learn from this\ninvestigation that the representatives of medicine were too often ready\nto admit all kinds of superstitious views into medicine. Whenever\nreligion, philosophy, and natural science have seriously attempted to\ninfluence medicine in a manner promoting superstition, medical science\nyielded to these attempts, and this is the only reproach which can be\njustly laid at the door of our science.\n\nHowever, this reproach is mitigated if we consider that medicine did\nnot accord a home to superstition of its own free will, or even from\na predilection for the heresies of other disciples, but it did so\nunder compulsion; for the religious, the philosophical, the physical\nviews which forced the entrance of superstition into medical science\nwere almost always the views of a formidable party. It is a fact\nsufficiently demonstrated by history that powerful and far-reaching\npredilections of the popular mind resistlessly hurry along whatever is\nin their path. Such mental currents are the products of their period;\nthey are the immediate result of the general sentiment and feeling\nof their time, and for this very reason they successfully overcome\nresistance. The opinion of a single individual may raise a protest\nagainst the spirit of the age, but this resistance is always bound to\nbe in vain. The opinion of a single individual, even if it actually\nrepresents the truth, is absolutely powerless to resist the spirit of\nthe age which, with elemental force, compels obedience. Therefore, the\ncourageous, truth-seeking resistance which was offered to the heresies\nof _Medicina Astrologica_ by Pico of Mirandola and Girolamo Fracastori\nwas bound to be futile, because astrology was a genuine child of its\ntime, and therefore held irresistible sway over thought and sentiment.\n\nIf religion and philosophy so often interfered with the development of\nmedicine, this was only possible because the general tendency of the\ncontemporary mind was thoroughly absorbed in this or that religious or\nphilosophical idea. For each domain of human activity must needs be a\nmere reflection of the tendency which guides the mind of its period.\nThis is a law which, with iron force, dominates the development of\nculture. Superstition in medicine, therefore, was bound to flourish and\nthrive whenever it harmonized with the spirit of the age.\n\nThis law, tho it may have checked the development of our science,\nnevertheless holds out the certain promise of a period, the\nintellectual power of which will thoroughly clear away all relics of\nsuperstition, which, still persisting in the minds of the many, drives\nthem to the faith-curist and to the quack.\n\n\n\n\nVII\n\nMEDICAL SUPERSTITION AND INSANITY\n\n\nThe history of medicine is conjoined with the evolution of theology\nto an extent which makes them almost inseparable, and this may\nbest be seen from a study of the management of the insane, which\nis a continuous record of cruelty based upon medico-theological\nsuperstition. Perhaps the most heartrending chapter of unphilosophical\ntheology teems with the narration of thousands of unfortunate\nbeings murdered, tortured, and mishandled by the finesse in the\ninterpretation of Biblical texts. The greatest triumph of modern\nmedicine has consisted in unfettering the views of effete centuries,\nborn of superstition and misconception, and in placing the treatment\nof the insane upon a humane, often even a curative, plane. As other\nafflictions of humanity were attributed to the agency of evil spirits,\nthis was particularly the case with insanity; for if the evil one found\nit an easy task to control the corporeal acts of humanity, his power\nover the mental functions of the person afflicted was even greater.\nHence, it was not the person who acted, but the evil spirit in him.\nThus, the devil and his minions were the specific pathogenic agents.\n\nThis conception was not universal, for history shows us that clear\nthinkers, far in advance of their times, had an almost correct view\nof the nature of insanity\u2014namely, that it was due to an affection of\nthe mind. Among such men were Hippocrates, Aret\u00e6us, Soranus, Galen,\nAurelianus, etc., and some of the Mohammedan physicians. These apostles\nof science taught that insanity was a disease of the brain, and the\nmost efficient remedy, mild, palliative treatment.\n\nThe belief which had flourished in most of the Oriental religions from\nremote antiquity, that the power of evil demons was the active cause\nof disease, particularly that lunacy was due to diabolic possession,\nbecame rooted in the early Christian Church and flourished for eighteen\ncenturies, each leaf of this malignant plant representing countless\nunfortunates sacrificed to superstition. Later it was thought that the\nmoon had a direct influence upon perturbation of the mind; hence, the\nterm \u201clunacy\u201d developed.\n\nThese doctrines gained special credence in the first centuries after\nChrist by the dissemination under the Church Fathers of the story\nof the miracles which they claimed had been performed by Jesus of\nNazareth. Did not the Savior cast out devils? Did He not cure madness?\nThe very word \u201cepilepsy\u201d shows by its derivation, \u1f10\u03c0\u03af\u03bb\u03b7\u03c8\u03b9\u03c2 (to seize\nupon), that possession was the presumable nature of the malady.\n\nThe noble work accomplished by the \u201cpagan\u201d pioneer alienists was\ndiscredited or forgotten, and the Church originated a process by which\nthe possessed were to be treated. This method of treatment was derived\npurely from theologic sources, tempered with sufficient dogma. At first\nthe treatment was gentle, in accordance with the spirit of the great\nphysicians of antiquity, and if the afflicted one was not violent he\nwas permitted to attend public worship. Sacred salves and holy water,\nthe breath or the spittle of the officiating priest, the touching of\nrelics, or a visit to holy places, were the principal therapeutic\nagents employed. These methods, even if they did no good (sometimes\nmerely the consolation of a kind word from the priest had a beneficial\neffect), certainly did no harm, even tho such practises were factors in\nthe spread of superstition.\n\nThis mild form of treatment did not, however, long continue. Soon\nmeasures were directed toward driving out the evil spirit from the\npossessed. This was attempted in various ways; first, by exorcism, in\nthe period of Justin Martyr, and continued up to almost recent times\n(see Lecky, \u201cHistory of European Morals\u201d). \u201cFrom the time of Justin\nMartyr for about two centuries, there is, I believe, not a single\nChristian writer who does not solemnly and explicitly assert the\nreality and frequent employment of this power.\u201d\n\nOne of the chief attributes of the devil was pride, therefore attempts\nwere made by exorcism to pierce this vulnerable point in the armor of\nthe evil one, and the foulest, vilest epithets were used to attain this\nend. It is impossible to-day to print these expressions, even in a work\nof scientific character, and it is better, perhaps, to refer such as\nare especially interested in them to the _Manuale Benedictionum_, by\nthe Bishop of Passau, published in 1849, and similar works. Adjuvants\nto this form of treatment consisted in \u201cfrightening\u201d the devil by\nlong words, difficult to pronounce, commonly derived from Oriental\nlanguages, by the administration of malodorous and filthy \u201cdrugs,\u201d and\nsimilar practises.\n\nIt was claimed that many devils were thus driven out, and the annals of\nthe Church contain numerous records of persons cured in this manner.\n\u201cThe Jesuit Fathers at Vienna, in 1583, glorified in the fact that\nin such a contest they had cast out twelve thousand, six hundred and\nfifty-two living devils\u201d (White). The prevalence of these ideas to\nsuch a degree in the minds of the people may be noted from the fact\nthat, in the churches themselves, such scenes are carved in stone and\ndepicted on canvas. Medieval drama teemed with similar conceptions,\nand this condition of affairs prevailed for over one thousand years,\nunfortunately not in this harmless manner, but supplemented by great\ncruelty, which forms, perhaps, the most terrible chapter in the history\nof medical superstition.\n\nThe subtleties of theologic interpretation soon evolved a more\ncomprehensive method of dealing with the \u201cpossessor\u201d and the possessed.\nAs an appeal to pride was ineffectual and noxious drugs unavailing,\nit was found necessary to whip the devil out, or the unfortunate\nindividuals were imprisoned, and as a refinement of this treatment they\nwere even tortured. Thus the jailer for a long time played the part\nof a specialist in lunacy, with the clergy in consultation. Places in\nwhich the insane were confined were known as \u201cfool towers\u201d and \u201cwitch\ntowers.\u201d\n\nThis state of things was not altered with the dawn of the Reformation.\nThe writings of Luther conclusively show his ideas in regard to\npossession and witchcraft, and these views under Calvin reached\nenormous development. Even Cotton Mather, in many respects far in\nadvance of his times, and who himself had known persecution, was not\nemancipated from these delusions, and Salem has many a story to tell of\npossession and witch-baiting. It is true we may quite properly consider\nthese views as the thought of the times, but, in many other respects,\nLuther, Calvin, and Mather were in advance of their period, and,\ntherefore, a justification for their actions is not quite apparent.\nMarcus Aurelius also was much superior to his age, yet was grateful to\nhis teachers that they taught him to disregard superstition in all its\nvarious forms.\n\nIt is not unlikely that conditions of this kind frequently led to\nepidemics\u2014if not of actual insanity, at least to hysteria\u2014which not\nrarely developed in cities, nunneries, and monasteries; thus the\nepidemics in Erfurt in 1237, in the Rhine countries in 1374, and many\nothers (see Hirsch).\n\nIt is rather remarkable that while such views and practises prevailed\nin the Christian Church, the followers of Mohammed not only held\ndifferent views, but adopted a mode of treatment of the insane which\nlaid the foundation of modern therapeutics in diseases of the mind.\nIn the twelfth century, in Bagdad, a palace called the \u201cHome of Mercy\u201d\nwas built, in which the insane were confined, examined every month, and\nreleased as soon as they had recovered. An asylum in Cairo was founded\nin 1304, while the first Christian asylum expressly for the mad is\nnoted in 1409 (Lecky).\n\nBut science fought its way through the barriers of ignorance,\nmisdirected zeal, and superstition. Altho there were physicians and\n\u201cmagicians,\u201d who conformed to the views of the Church, the seed sown by\nthe earlier schools of medicine slowly but surely began to put forth\nshoots, and the result was a tree of knowledge, the fruit of which\nmay be observed in every modern insane asylum of the world, where\nthe unfortunate sufferer is treated with kindness and skill, which,\nfortunately, often results in cure.\n\nScientific reason frequently rebelled against the \u201cinsane\nsuperstition,\u201d at first mildly, but constantly increasing in strength,\nuntil an effectual protest was finally raised by John Weir, of Cleves,\nwho was soon followed by Michel de Montaigne. And now a battle royal\nwas waged between the adherents of theology and the disciples of the\n\u201cresurrected\u201d truth, and once more in the history of the world was\ndemonstrated the correctness of the saying, that \u201ctruth crushed to\nearth shall rise again.\u201d All over the world the warfare was carried,\nand at the end of the eighteenth century new champions arose\u2014Jean\nBaptiste Pinel in France, and William Tuke in England. Their followers\nare legion, and in the book of life, in letters of gold, many a name\nhas been written of those who trod in the footsteps of these pioneers.\nTheology no longer interferes in the treatment of the insane; in fact,\nit would be manifestly unjust not to mention that many Christian\ntheologians subsequently joined in the noble work of lunacy reform, and\naided progress greatly.\n\nHow great this progress in the treatment of the insane can best be\nappreciated by some of the older physicians in practise to-day. Who\ndoes not remember the chains, the strait-jacket, the dark locked cells\nof the insane asylum? These conditions existed not very many years ago,\nand altho the novels of Charles Reade are no doubt greatly exaggerated\nin regard to the conditions he portrayed in insane asylums, yet _more\nthan a grain of truth_ is probably contained in them. The books did\nmuch to bring about reforms in England and elsewhere.\n\nModern alienists have wrought wonders; their successful operations\nare not published in the daily press, but any visitor who knows what\nan insane asylum was fifty years ago, and who spends a few hours in\na modern hospital for the treatment of lunatics, will observe what\nappears but little short of the miraculous. Imagine two thousand\nor more insane persons dining in a large hall, upon the table a\ntablecloth, and the insane using knife and fork in a decorous manner,\nand when the visitor is told that the \u201cviolent ward\u201d is also present,\nand is asked to single these out from among the many, and fails (as\nhe invariably does), the results attained by science, above all other\nmeasures, are strikingly apparent.\n\n\n\n\nBIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n\n  \u00c6lius Spartianus. De Vita Hadriani. Caracalla. In Peter: Scriptores\n    Histori\u00e6 August\u00e6. Lipsi\u00e6, 1884.\n\n  Alexander von Tralles. Original Text und Uebersetzung von\n    Puschmann. Wien, 1878-79.\n\n  Almansoris. Astrologi\u00e6 propositiones ad Saracenorum regem. Basile\u00e6,\n    1551.\n\n  Aristophanis Comoedi\u00e6. Ed. Bergh. Lipsi\u00e6, 1878-78.\n\n  Aureli Augustini. De divinatione daemomum. Corpus scriptorum\n    ecclesiasticorum latinorum. Ed. Zycha. 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Jahrhundert.\n    Abhandl. zur Geschichte der Medicin. Herausgegeben von Magnus,\n    Neuburger, Sudhoff. Heft II. Breslau, 1902.\n\n  Suidas, Lexicon. Ed. Bekker. Berlin, 1854.\n\n  Villoison. Anecdota gr\u00e6ca. Venetiis, 1781.\n\n  Wierus. De d\u00e6monum pr\u00e6stigiis et incantationibus libri VI. Basile\u00e6,\n    1566 und 1577. Amstelodami, 1664.\n\n  Winckler. Die Gesetze Hammurabis, K\u00f6nigs von Babylon. In: Der alte\n    Orient. Jahrgang 4, Heft 4. Leipzig, 1902.\n\n  Windelband. Geschichte der alten Philosophie. Handbuch der\n    klassischen Alterthums-Wissenschaft. Herausg. von J. von M\u00fcller.\n    Band V., Abth. 1. M\u00fcnchen, 1894.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s note\n\n\nWords in italics were surrounded with _underscores_ and words in small\ncapitals with all capitals.\n\nThe following corrections were made, on page\n\n   18 \u201cconspiculously\u201d changed to \u201cconspicuously\u201d (becomes\n      conspicuously prominent)\n   30 \u201cexplicity\u201d changed to \u201cexplicitly\u201d (will be more explicitly\n      referred to)\n   57 \u201cJulien\u201d changed to \u201cJulian\u201d (led her toward the grave of\n      St. Julian)\n   77 \u201cguage\u201d changed to \u201cgauge\u201d (gauge the ideas of priests)\n   91 \u201cEphesus(500\u201d changed to \u201cEphesus (500\u201d (the absurd theory which\n      Heraclitus of Ephesus (500 B.C.) has propounded)\n  116 \u201cinvidual\u201d changed to \u201cindividual\u201d (to plague an individual\n      being)\n  192 \u201cperson the\u201d changed to \u201cthe person\u201d (it was not the person who\n      acted)\n  196 \u201cmanasteries\u201d changed to \u201cmonasteries\u201d (nunneries, and\n      monasteries)\n  203 \u201cautorisirte\u201d changed to \u201cautorisierte\u201d (Deutsche autorisierte\n      Ausgabe).\n\nOtherwise the original was preserved, including inconsistent\nhyphenation and possible errors in languages other than English,\nfor example the capitalisation in Greek sentences.","title":"Superstition in Medicine","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":41542}