The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-12-16
ANCIENT MEDICINE.
A Few of the Extraordinary
Nostrums Which Our
Forefathers Used.

If modern science can boast Of any
thing, it can of the way in which 1t mas
rescued medicine from the realms or
ina gination. The wonderful prescrip-
tions of the Magi, as narrated by the
Roman historian Pliny. are examples
of what the earliest doctors were, while
even the "salves" of our own Eliza
bethans seem, at first sight, not much
of an improvement upon those OF the
Chaldean NJ. DIS. Let us take few
examples of Magian healing from
Latin author, of which, perhaps, the
most useful is the following-one that
in modern parlance would run thus:
"A receipt to make women disclose their
secrets. Take one hen, and having
carefully extracted its heart, place the
same on the mouth of the patient during
sleep. You will ascertain her exact age
the next morning" To do the old Ro-
man justice. he stigmatizes this state
ment as "Dortentous lie." (No doubt
he had tried it, .
OTHERS AS GROTESQUE.,
Others are quite as grotesque. Few
er-few, when used incidentally, had to
be plucked by the left hand, after the
patients name had been spoken over
1t, the herbalist taking good care not to
look behind him. A love charm could
be easily obtained from hyena caught
when the moon was in Gemini. Sport
ing prophets who wish to excel In divin-
alton should change their customary
chop for few mOles' hearts. 1t Is
stipulated that these be fresh. The
Romans themselves, although no mean
surgeons-they made use Of the probe
and nippers and instruments for tre-
not less given to prodig-
les than the people whose veracity
they doubted. They believed that eat
ing hare was a cure for insomnia and
even the skeptic Pliny imagined that
there must be something in the super
stition that people who had done so
were good looking for nine days after
ward. A veritable nine days wonder!
He recommended also as cure for
quartan fever that the dust in which a
hawk had rolled should be put into q
bag and the latter tied round the neck
with piece of red thread. Other cures
for the same We're the longest tooth
of black dog, in the same position,
and wasp caught in the left hand
and then pressed against the fore
head. Alexander Of Tralles, a physi-
clan of the middle ages, made use of a
no doubt potent cure for the after ef-
fects of unripe apples and such like.
The sufferer wore on his finger an oc-
tagonal iron ring, upon which was in
scribed the following: Flee, flee, no.
no, bile, the lark is searching" A re-
mark which, If we may slightly alter
Gilbert, mo doubt, was very clever,
but l do not understand it."
SAXON IDEAS OF DENTISTRY.
Leaving the Roman and Orientals,
We in vain turn to our own forefath-
ers for a little more common sense.
The Saxon leeches, having no knowl-
edge of instruments or Indian drugs,
fell back on weeds, which they digni-
fled by the picturesque name Of
"worts," charms and incantations, and
portions of multilated beasts. To spit
in frogs mouth and request him to
make off with the toothache was their
idea of dentistry. Notes in the eye
were very easily durable. The unaf-
fiicted member was shut and the
"veXed" one touched with the ring fling
er and thumb. while the following was
repeated solemnly three times: II buss
the Gorgon's mouth" By bussing the
Gorgon's mouth nine times you could
get bone from your throat. A potent
charm. An eXcrescence on the eye
known as hOrdeolum (probably a cyst
was removed by means of nine barley
corns. First the whole nine were held
to the eye. then two were dropped and
seven held; and so with five. and three,
and one, while at each application the
self-healer repeated the words: Flee,
flee, barley thee chaseth.' Blood was
stanched by another and highly unin-
al
mountain went; stupid stupid was"
Though who was stupid, and why he
was so, perhaps the Anglo Saxon who
tumbled down a mountain was alone
able to determine. Brutality was no
deterrent to a man who was in pain.
The prescription for cataract was one
in which a fox was caught alive, his
tongue was cut out and the animal
let got; after which the severed organ
was put in red rag and suspended,
until 1t died. round the neck of the
human sufferer. For all who are SUBJ
ject to kernels behind the ears quote
the following: IF shrew mouse die
in a rut, there, by natural fate, he
perishes. So wrap him up in a clay,
and with him go three times round
kernels behind the ears. Wondrously
quickly wilt thou heal them"
1t will be interesting to note for what
diseases some of the more common of
our wild plants were once made use of.
Poppy, as may well be supposed, was
the cure for sleeplessness, though an
application was external, and, to say
the least. lengthy process. One had
to take ooZe Of the wort and smear the
man with it. Soon you sent soundest
sleep on him." Toothache was got rid
of with yarrow (Achilea). a herb
which the Saxon leech tells us was CIV
en- by Achilles to Telephos and others.
in order to cure their wounds. 1t had
to be eaten fasting. 1t might be sup
posed that the hardy warriors of the
time in question did not suffer as mod
erns do. from the disagreement of
badness. The leech books of the peri
cd, however, are full of recipes for this
i'll. Loose hair was remedied by the
common water weed Callicriche. IF
mans hair fall off. take the wort, pound
1t with oil. Smear the hair Herewith.
1t soon becometh fast" The desperate
man, if he has any belief in antiquity,
might do well in trying this.
REMEDIES FOR GoUT.
Gout appears to have been as fire.
Quent among our ancestors as 1t Is to-
day. and to have been by no means in
troduced by the heavy drinkers that are
just becoming. extinct. however much
1t was necessary by them. The leech
books give many remedies, from marsh
mallows pounded in old lard to a COM
pound of honey and hymele (better
known as hop). "a wort which," as our
informs us. ''is so excellent
that It Is mingled in ordinary drinks"
The strawberry had a virtue which
must no doubt have endeared 1t to the
English soldiers Of the day, inasmuch
as IL was an antidote to Inconvenience
due to an overdose of any of the afore-
said compounds of hymele. Juice Of the
strawberry wort mingled with honey
along with pepper benefited much
when drunk" E The mullen. or high
taper, a handsome plant with broad
leaves and a spike of yellow flowers,
had q use which must have sorely tried
the credulity Of those for whom 1t was
prescribed. A twig of it, carried in a
mans hand, prevented him from being
terrified with awe: neither would any
wild beast haunt him. nor any evil