Medicine, Magic and Witchcraft by M. Donovan, Esq. 1869
Honorary Member of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.
The origin of the mysteries of the Cabbala has been differently represented by different inquirers. By some it has been said that the Cabbala (Kabbalah) was revealed to Adam by an angel, who brought him a book containing it; but the book being lost at the period of the Fall of Man, To restored at the earnest prayer of Adam; and being again lost, during the wickedness of mankind before the flood, it was restored to Abraham. This, at least, is the account given by Maimonides who flourished in the twelfth century, a man of the highest acquirements, a learned physician and Rabbi, who epitomised the doctrines of the Jews in thirteen articles of faith.
The secrets thus preserved, constitute the Cabbala; and were deemed by those who participated in them, the most sublime of all sciences: yet these traditions, so prixed and tenaciously adhered to, are said to have retarded the progress of improvement amongst the Jews, and to have obstructed their intellectual advancement.
Not the least important of the mysteries of the Cabbala were those belonging to the healing art. By transpositions and new combinations of the letters constituting sacred names in scripture, those skiled in the pursuit pretended that words could be formed which possess the virtue of healing wounds; and of producing effects far more wonderful. A Jewish physician, well skilled in the cabbalistic department of his art, having been detected in adultery, was condemned to the stake, but at the place of execution he so bewildered the officials that they mistook a horse for the doctor, and burned the poor animal in his stead. This statement is given on the authority of a learned Rabbi.
No doubt the medical mysteries of the Cabbala assisted in introducing various superstitions which disfigured medicine for many centuries. Mystery would be promoted by the sordid, while mankind, ever ready to lend assistance to those who are skilful enough to cheat them dexterously, would assist in deceiving themselves. That interested motives did cause a coalition of medicine and superstition is apparent in the history of the dark ages when the treatment of disease, to a great extent, fell into the hands of the monkish orders, and in the cloister suffered its worst degradation. Astrology, alchemy, magic, and medicine were confounded together and practised by the monks, with great profit to themselves, but little benefit to their patients, until Royal edicts restrained them from interfering with the sick further than for the benefit of their souls. Of the kind of knowledge of medicines possessed by the monks, and the character which it nevertheless supported, an instance is given by Otto Tachenius, — "a certain dull friar (he says) hearing sal prunella to be recommended by chemists, came by night to a skilful apothecary and demanded of him whether this sal prunella was extracted out of sloes or garden plums (for the friar knew that prunes meant either): yet these are the men who would be accounted by vulgar idiots and silly women the only medial practitioners." Tachenius, although he sneers at the ignorance of others, gives a tolerable proof of his own, when he informs us that "salt of tartar digested with any metal turns it into running mercury." His commentaries on Zwelfer's "Hippocrates chimicus" evinces more malice than knowledge, and displays much of his own character.
Honorary Member of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.
The origin of the mysteries of the Cabbala has been differently represented by different inquirers. By some it has been said that the Cabbala (Kabbalah) was revealed to Adam by an angel, who brought him a book containing it; but the book being lost at the period of the Fall of Man, To restored at the earnest prayer of Adam; and being again lost, during the wickedness of mankind before the flood, it was restored to Abraham. This, at least, is the account given by Maimonides who flourished in the twelfth century, a man of the highest acquirements, a learned physician and Rabbi, who epitomised the doctrines of the Jews in thirteen articles of faith.
The secrets thus preserved, constitute the Cabbala; and were deemed by those who participated in them, the most sublime of all sciences: yet these traditions, so prixed and tenaciously adhered to, are said to have retarded the progress of improvement amongst the Jews, and to have obstructed their intellectual advancement.
Not the least important of the mysteries of the Cabbala were those belonging to the healing art. By transpositions and new combinations of the letters constituting sacred names in scripture, those skiled in the pursuit pretended that words could be formed which possess the virtue of healing wounds; and of producing effects far more wonderful. A Jewish physician, well skilled in the cabbalistic department of his art, having been detected in adultery, was condemned to the stake, but at the place of execution he so bewildered the officials that they mistook a horse for the doctor, and burned the poor animal in his stead. This statement is given on the authority of a learned Rabbi.
No doubt the medical mysteries of the Cabbala assisted in introducing various superstitions which disfigured medicine for many centuries. Mystery would be promoted by the sordid, while mankind, ever ready to lend assistance to those who are skilful enough to cheat them dexterously, would assist in deceiving themselves. That interested motives did cause a coalition of medicine and superstition is apparent in the history of the dark ages when the treatment of disease, to a great extent, fell into the hands of the monkish orders, and in the cloister suffered its worst degradation. Astrology, alchemy, magic, and medicine were confounded together and practised by the monks, with great profit to themselves, but little benefit to their patients, until Royal edicts restrained them from interfering with the sick further than for the benefit of their souls. Of the kind of knowledge of medicines possessed by the monks, and the character which it nevertheless supported, an instance is given by Otto Tachenius, — "a certain dull friar (he says) hearing sal prunella to be recommended by chemists, came by night to a skilful apothecary and demanded of him whether this sal prunella was extracted out of sloes or garden plums (for the friar knew that prunes meant either): yet these are the men who would be accounted by vulgar idiots and silly women the only medial practitioners." Tachenius, although he sneers at the ignorance of others, gives a tolerable proof of his own, when he informs us that "salt of tartar digested with any metal turns it into running mercury." His commentaries on Zwelfer's "Hippocrates chimicus" evinces more malice than knowledge, and displays much of his own character.
To control the powers of darkness by incantation was, in the early ages, the province of those who professed a knowledge of medicine. Lucan has immortalized the Thessalian sorceress Erictho, who was celebrated for her knowledge of magic, medicine, and poisonous herbs. Sextus, son of Pompey the Great, induced her to raise a spirit by her incantations by whom he might be informed as to the results of the war waged between Caesar and his father. The story at least proves the antiquity of the connexion between medicine and magic, and we find that the latter was, long after, made use of as a means of assisting the former.
Orpheus, whose music caused even mountains to approach, was in the Argonautic expedition along with Esculapius the surgeon to the fleet. Orpheus, besides music and poetry, cultivated medicine, and according to Galen wrote a book on the art of compounding poisons. Along with such accomplishments, he is pronounced by Pausanias to have been an expert magician. Esculapius himself is said to have dealt a little in charms and enchantments, and to have occasionally cured by music.
Origen shows that magic constituted part of the medicine of the Egyptians, their doctrine being that the human body consists of thirty-six parts, that these parts are under the superintendence of thirty-six devils, one for each part, the names of which were familiar to the Egyptian priest, and being separately invoked by these names, the part affected was healed by its superintendent demon. The division of the kingdom itself was similar; Sesostris divided Egypt into thirty-six names or provinces, and assigned a governor to each.
The first four antediluvian kings of Egypt recorded by the oriental writers named Nakraus, Natras, Mesram, and Aicam, in whose reign Enoch was translated, are represented as having been fearful magicians; and Daluka, Queen of Egypt, who succeeded to the throne after Pharaoh was drowned in the Red sea, was the most accomplished magician of her age. S. Epiphanius declares that magic listed in the time of Jared, a descendant of Seth.
According to Josephus, King Solomon was well skilled in composing medicines for the sick; and, notwithstanding his wisdom and piety, is said to have used enchantments for delivering persons possessed with devils. So high an opinion had the Jews of the extensive acquirements of Solomon, that they believed Aristotle borrowed most of his knowledge from this wise monarch's writings. But if we rely on the apocryphal book "the wisdom of Solomon" we must disbelieve that a prince remarkable for piety would pollute himself by the practice of an art which he deprecated and contemned (Wisdom ch. xxii. 7). "As for the illusions of art and magic, they were put down, and their vaunting in wisdom was reproved with disgrace."
King Solomon, as we learn from scripture, was wiser than all men. He spoke of trees, from the cedar to hyssop, also of beasts, fowl, and creeping things and of fishes. Josephus adds that he made extensive inquiries about them, and "described them all like a philosopher, and demonstrated his exquisite knowledge of their several properties." He adds, "God also enabled him to learn that skill which expels demons, which is a science useful and sanative to men. He composed incantations also by which distempers are alleviated. And he left behind him the manner of using exorcisms, by which they draw away demons, so that they never return, and this method of cure is of great force unto this day; for, (says Josephus) I have seen a man of my own country releasing people that were demoniacal, in the presence of "Vespasian." He describes the method. The Rabbis affirm that the writings of Solomon which treated of incantations, were destroyed by Hezekiah; but this statement seems contradicted by Josephus; at least the knowledge of them descended to the first century.
Nechepsus, King of Egypt, wrote on astrology, magic, and medicine; so also did Pharoah, grandfather to Psarameticus. Petosiris, a mathematician of the same country, wrote on these subjects, and explained some departments of medicine on astrological principles; he was of great authority in medicine amongst the Romans. A celebrated Egyptian physician, named Iachen, wrote on enchantments and amulets, and used them with such effect, it is said, that he could arrest the progress of the plague or moderate the ardours of the dog-days. Medicinal spells and charms were in high repute amongst the ancient Egyptians, and indeed the employment of such seems to have spread pretty generally over the world. Aetius, a Mesopotamian physician who studied at Alexandria, and flourished about the end of the fifth century, gives an account of a charm or spell, which possessed the admirable property of extracting a bone when stuck fast in the throat. The Lydian physician and philosopher, Alexander Trallianus, who lived in the sixth century, and on account of his high reputation was called Alexander the Physician, nevertheless resorted to charms and amulets for the cure of agues, calculi, and gout. That spell which could charm a stone out of the bladder must have been indeed a potent one, and only to be compared with the incantation transmitted to posterity by Cato the censor, which possessed the virtue of reducing a dislocation.
Amongst the Jews, it was believed that internal diseases are manifestations of God's anger, and are inflicted by evil spirits as ministers of His vengeance. Hence the religious did not apply to physicians for relief, but to God or his prophets; and the wicked sought the aid of magicians and idols. Thus, Asa was exceedingly diseased in his feet, "yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians." Naaman, the captain of the Syrian host, was cured of leprosy by Elisha; and the same prophet cured Hezekiah, who was sick unto death, by an application of figs to the boil. But Ahazrah, King of Samaria, hurt by a fall through a lattice, sent to inquire of Baalzebub to know if he should recover.
With regard to the invention of the ridiculous, but wickedly intended, art of magic, there are several opinions. Some have attributed it to Solomon, others to Kelkeli, a King of Egypt, who lived previously to Abraham; but Pliny declares that Moses, Jamne, and Jotapha, were the heads and founders of magic; the two last said to be the sons of Balaam. About the fifth century a treatise on magic existed, which was supposed to have been written by Ham, the son of Noah. According to Justin, the famine of Egypt was predicted by Joseph through his knowledge of magic.
Concerning the practices of the ancient magicians little information has descended to us. In more modern times there were two kinds of magic, black and white; the former was exercised under a compact with Satan that he should execute the will of the person for a certain time, on condition of receiving the soul and body of the magician at its termination, and the deed of surrender was signed with the persons blood. White magic was practised by means of an intercourse with fairies or aerial spirits, who, without any compact for the surrender of the soul, gave information on subjects proposed, and enabled their votary either to inflict withering diseases or to perform wonderful cures. It was in this way that physicians who professed magic were sought after by those wiseacres who relied more on supernatural cures than those effected in the ordinary course of nature.
One of the offices of the medical magician was the cure of persons suffering under any wasting disorder, for such were supposed to pine under the influence of witchcraft. The process by which an obnoxious person was pretended to be wasted was to place a waxen image, supposed to personify the victim, before a slow fire, and by gradual melting to allow the wax to trickle away in drops. To counteract the much dreaded effects of this ridiculous process, the physician would employ the combined effects of medicine and magic.
Another department of the medical art was the relief of those who, being monomaniacs, imagined themselves possessed by demons, or affected to be so possessed, in order to obtain a transient notoriety. In these times it was believed that adepts in witchcraft might, under a symbol and compact, cause a demon to enter the body of any person against whom ill-will was entertained. They also professed the power of curing diseases by witchcraft, and were commonly called to the bedside of the sick. These impostors brought on themselves their punishment by pretending to cure diseases with remedies directed by familiar spirits with whom they affected to hold communication; and it is surprising what numbers endeavoured to avail themselves of this impious mode of relief.
One of the provinces of the reputed witch was to cure diseases by remedies disclosed during dreams—a mode of medical treatment which had its origin with personages of the highest authority in their time. Galen, on several occasions, dreamed of methods of cure which he put in practice, and which ultimately proved successful; once he even opened an artery on the strength of a dream; yet he complains that his patients more often relied on their own dreams than on the utmost efforts of his skill. The Egyptians give credit to Isis for disclosing modes of cure through the dreams of the sick. Pliny mentions the case of a man bitten by a mad dog, who escaped hydrophobia by using the roots of a wild rose sent him by his mother, who dreamt that she was ordered to send them to him. These drowsy revelations were regarded by the ancient Egyptians with the greatest reverence.
The belief in magic and witchcraft, in an ignorant and superstitious age, is less surprising when we consider the performances of some expert practitioners of our own times. One of the least intelligible exploits in that way is, perhaps, that of the African magician witnessed by Mr. Lane at Cairo; he took burning charcoal from a chafing dish, put it into his mouth piece by piece, in a state of ignition, until his mouth was full, and chewed it, occasionally opening his mouth to show the fiery contents, and swallowed the whole.
Medicine is not yet emancipated from superstition; mesmerism is the latest opprobrium. There are, or lately have been, clairvoyants who not only saw the organ diseased, but the remedy; and there have been patients who employed them.
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