MrttM; T^V'^^ "Oo^ ■I! Cobunbia ^ntberjsttj) itttbtCitpofHetaJ9ork OInlUgr of {HfysirianB anil fturgfona ^tUr^nti ICtbrarg No. 9 IN THE PHYSICIANS' AND STUDENTS' READY EEFERENCE SEPJES. Medical Symbolism IN CONNECTION WITH HISTORICAL STUDIES IN THE ARTS OF HEALING AND HYGIENE. I3ULXJSTP5.jPlTE:3D. THOMAS S. SOZINTSKEY, M.D., Ph.D., AtJTHOR OF "THE CULTUEK OF BEAUTY," "THE CARE AXD CULTURE OF CHILDREN," ETC. Philadelphia a>-t) London' : F. A. DAVIS, PUBLISHER. 1891. ^^ Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1891, by EDWARD S. POWER, M.D., In the Of&oe of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C, U. S. A. 1^ \3 5 Philadelphia: The Medical Bulletin Printing House, 1231 Filbert Street. DEDICATION. The medical profession is often spoken of as non- progressive. As a practical member of it, the author is of a different opinion. He knows full-well not only that, to many, age does not tend to make anything medical more worthy of attention, but that the old is apt to be wilfully overlooked. He discovered some time ago that in the library of the College of Physi- cians of Philadelphia — the centre, probably, of medical learuing in the United States — Adams' edition of the works of Hippocrates had rested with the leaves uncut for over twenty years. New things are far too much in vogue. If Bacon were alive to-day he might still say, with too much truth, as he said three hundred years ago : " Let a man look into phj^sicians' prescripts and ministrations and he will find them but inconstancies and every-day devices, without any settled providence or project " (" Advancement of Learning "). The age is too much one of trial, of incoherency, to be either eminently scientific or highl}^ successful in practice. Be3^ond question, the medicine of the past is harmfully neglected ; for its literature few have a desirable taste, and fewer yet a sufficient knowledge. Deploring this state of things, the author would gladl}^ assist in bring- ing about a change. Hence, it affords him pleasure to dedicate this essay to his professional brethren. (iii) PREFACE. In this essay I have treated, as the title indicates, of medical symbolism in connection with studies, essen- tially historical, in the arts of healing and hygiene. Some parts of it bear only indirectly on the main subject ; but they serve to render the whole more com- plete and interesting. Doubtless the reader will not be inclined to find much fault with any of the apparent digressions. In the score of chapters into which the essay is divided, attention is invited to numerous more or lees remarkable matters pertaining to medicine, most of them of very ancient date, and some of practical im- portance. Medical mythology is treated of very fully ; and, on this, as indeed on all points, the results of the most recent archaeological and other investigations are given. All I have said is deserving, I believe, of the consideration of educated physicians.^ " The wise man will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients," says the author of " Ecclesiasticus," ^ one who had the tastes of a cultivated medical man. Although the essay is mainly on old things, I ven- ture to hold that it contains much which a fairly well- read physician will find fresh. The ground gone over has been little trodden before. It may be said, as Pliny did, by way of suggestion of difficulties to be overcome, 1 That scholarly old writer, Ashmole, well says: "What some light braines may esteem as foolish toyes, deeper judgments can and will value as sound and serious matter." Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum, 1652. * Ecclesiasticus, xxxix, 1. vi "Preface. when he sat down to write his sketch of the history of the art of medicine, " that no one iias hitherto treated of this subject."^ But just as Pliny overlooked what Celsus had done, and done well, so in this case, some worthy author ma}'' have been overlooked ; still, this is improbable. What is here presented, and in part co- herently, is gathered from manifold sources. I have limited my references as much as possible to works in the English language, or translations. The statements of authors are given in their own words ; but quotations of wearisome length have been avoided. The possibility of research in respect to the themes treated of, and allied ones, not being limited, the essay cannot be expected to be either perfect or complete. Whatever its merits or shortcomings may be, how- ever, it is an outcome of congenial studies pursued for their own sake. I believe it contains a fund of in- formation which deserves to be widely known. The perusal of it may, at least, serve to excite an interest in the ample literature and long and remarkable history of the benevolent and learned profession of medicine. T. S. S. * Natural History, xxi. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THOMAS S. SOZINSKEY, M.D., PH.D. Thomas S. Sozinskey, M.D., Ph.D., the author of this interesting little volume, was born in Count}^ Derry, Ireland, and died in the city of Philadelphia, April 18, 1889, in the thirty-seventh jesiY of his age. He came to this country when seventeen years of age, and settled in Philadelphia. Entering the University of Pennsjdvania some years later, he graduated from that institution, and afterward began the study of medicine, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine in the year 18t2. He also received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the same faculty. Dr. Sozinskey immediately entered upon his career as medical practitioner in Philadelphia, where he re- mained until his marriage to Miss Abby W. Johnson, a daughter of Luke Johnson, who was a descendant of one of the founders of Germantown. Shortly after his marriage Dr. Sozinskey decided to visit Kansas Cit}^, partly with the idea of locating there ; but after a sojourn of about one j^ear in the West he returned to Philadelphia, and began again the practice of his chosen profession, succeeding in a few years in building up a very extensive and lucrative practice in the northwestern section of the city. Dr. Sozinskey was a man highly intellectual, studious, and scholarly. He was a frequent contributor to a number of leading medical journals, as well as the author of several well-known works, among which may be men- (vii) viii Biographical Sketch of Thomas S. Sozinskey. tioiied " The Care and Culture of Children." Also, a little volume entitled " Personal Appearance and the Culture of Beauty." His last literary effort, " Medical Symbolism," which is a work showing a vast amount of research, was com- pleted just before his death. He was induced to under- take " Medical S3^mbolism " after the appearance of an article bearing this title in the Medical and Surgical BejDor^ter, which attracted considerable attention, both in this country and in Europe. He received so many letters from men prominent in the medical profession, suggesting that a book be written upon this subject, that the task was undertaken. By his untimely death three small children became orphans, the mother having died one year earlier, after a short illness. His readiness to attend the sick, regardless of com- pensation, greatly endeared him to a large number of the poor. Containing, as it does, so much that is unique, and in a field not often touched by previous writers, "Medical Sjnnbolism " is sure to find appreciative readers, not only among the fraternity to which Dr. Sozinskey be- longed, but among the scientific and literary generally ; and, from the encouragement already received, the pub- lishers feel confident of a large and wide-spread demand for this little volume. E. S. P. Philadelphia, October 27, 1890. COMMENDATORY LETTERS. Philadelphia, Jan, 24, 1884. Dr. T. S. Sozinskey: Dear Sir : — Please accept my thanks for your paper on "Medical Symbolism," received this morning. I have read it with great interest, more especially as it is in the direction of the higher education of phj^sicians. The preponderance of the so-called practical (empirical) in medical literature, which appeals strongly to the trade element in the profession, makes such a contribution all the more enjoyable. Yery truly yours, Frances Emily White. 1427 N. Sixteenth St. Dr. Sozinskey: Dear Doctor : — Many thanks. You ought to enlarge the article to a little book. It interested me greatly. In a has-relief of myself b}^ St. Gaudens, New York, he has set beside the head the caduceus and twin serpents as symbolical; at all events, the}^ will symbolize my relation to snakes. Yours truly, Weir Mitchell. 1524 Walxut St., Phila. (ix) X Commendatory Letters. Philadelphia, Jan. 23, 1884. Dr. T. S. Sozinskey : My Dear Doctor : — I write to thank you for a copy of your interesting and instructive paper on " Medical Sj-mbolism." In Fergusson, on " Tree and Serpent Worship," which you quote, you can readily trace the connection between the emblems of religion and medi- cine. I recognize that, as priest and physician were once the same person, medicine is yet justly termed "the divine art." It affords me much pleasure to see your studious interest in your profession. Yours truly, Henry H. Smith. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE Dedication, iii Preface, v Biographical Sketch of T. S. Sozinskey, M.D., Ph.D., vii Commendatory Letters, ix CHAPTER I. Remarks on the Meaning of Symbols, ... 1 CHAPTER II. The Serpentine God of Medicine at Rome, . . 5 CHAPTER III. The ^sculapian Serpent, 13 CHAPTER IV. The Epidaurian Oracle, 17 CHAPTER V. ASCLEPIA AND THE ASCLEPIADES, 23 CHAPTER VI. The Grecian God of Medicine, . . .. . .31 CHAPTER VII. The Image of ^sculapius, „ 45 CHAPTER VIII. The jEsculapian Staff and Serpent, ... 49 (xi) xii Table of Contents. CHAPTER IX. PAGE ^SCULAPIUS AND THE SeRPENT, 59 CHAPTER X. Various Attributes of .^sculapius, .... 83 CHAPTER XL Gods Analogous to ^sculapius, 89 CHAPTER XII. The Pine-Cone as an Attribute of ^sculapius, . Ill CHAPTER XIII. Dibbara, a God of Pestilence, 119 CHAPTER XIV. Hygeia, the Goddess of Health, .... 133 CHAPTER XV. Medical Talismans, 129 CHAPTER XVI. Medical Amulets, 137 CHAPTER XVII. Pharmacists' Symbols, .... . . 149 CHAPTER XVIII. Miscellaneous Medical Symbols, .... 155 CHAPTER XIX. Medical Symbolism in Practice, .... 161 CHAPTER XX. The Pentacle, 165 MEDICAL SYMBOLISM. CHAPTER I. REMARKS ON THE MEANING OF SYMBOLS. A SYMBOL is an illustration of a thing which, to use a poetic phrase, is " not what it seems." When a familiar object, or figure of any kind, from some cause or other, has attached to it a meaning different from the obvious and ordinary one, it is symbolic. Thus, if one take a popp3^-head to convey the idea of sleep, it is a sj-mbol ; one may regard it as symbolic of sleep, or, if he choose, of Hypnos (Somnus), the god of sleep. The illustration on the next page will afford a still more apt example. To the eye, it appears to be simply a partly coiled serpent resting on a pedestal. That is, in truth, what it is. But, regarded from the stand-point of the student of medical symbolism, it has another and very different signification. Before such a figure many a human being, diseased and suffering, has bowed in reverence and piously offered to it petitions for relief; to man};^ a noble Greek and haughty Roman, indeed, to generations of such, it was a god, the great god of " the divine art," as medicine was often beautifully called in ancient times. The serpent is the most important of medical symbols. In any composite figure the elements of it are spoken of as attiHbutes ; and of these some are essential and some conventional. The essential ones onl}^ are, strictly speaking, symbols. Thus, in a representation of the > A (1) 2 Medical Symbolism. Goddess of Libert}^, the cap is not a symbol ; it is a coiiA'entional attribute. Says the learned and distin- guished historian of ancient art, C. 0. Miiller, " The essence of the S3^mbol consists in the supposed real connections of the sign witli tiie thing signified."^ In some authoritative works, as, for instance, that of Fair- holt,^ the serpent in medical art is said not to be a symbol; but this is not true if it be taken to represent the god of medicine, which, as I have alread}'- stated, was done by both Greeks and Romans. Evidentl^'^, if taken as of this narrow meaning, there are not many comprehensive medical symbols. But I will take it in a wider sense ; I will take it to mean any mystic figure or any kind of at- tribute. In doing so I do no more than Fairholt holds should be done. Referring to the words symbol, image, and allegorical figure as well as at- tribute, he sa3^s, " Their shades of "^ difference are so slight that it would Fic}- !•— A Medical ]jq most convenient to reoard them all under the general term symboW^^ I may add these remarks of Tiele : " A symbol is a simple or complex thought clothed in a sensuous form. A myth is a phenomenon of nature represented as the act of a person. Usually symbols originate in myths, and in every case mythology is antecedent to symbolism."* There are many symbols, however, which never had anything to do with m3^ths, as will become evident later. * Introduction to a Scientific System of Mythologj', p. 197. London, 1844. ' A Dictionary of Terms in Art. liondon, 1854. * Ibid. Article, " Attribute." * History of the Egyptian licligion, p. 219, London, 1882. Remarks on the Meaning of Symbols. 3 In the wide sense in which I propose to nse it, symbol is almost or quite synon3^mous with emblem^ as popularly used. Mackenzie^ and other authorities, however, state that the word emblem is properly appli- cable only to a mystic object or figure of two or more parts. Thus, it is more correct to speak of " a skull and cross-bones " as emblematic than symbolic of a poison or of death. Again, while a serpent might properly be called a S3^mbol, one in connection with a staff is an emblem. In this restricted sense, emblem is closely allied in meaning to allegory. But in an allegorical representation most of the elements of it are apt to be symbolic, and beauty of the whole is a consideration. The great Epidaurian representation of JEsculapius is an example. A simple image or statue is essentially a symbol. I need hardly say that any figure may or may not be a symbol ; but a mere figure is simply a representation of any object regarded as void of any other than its ordinary meaning. A conventional representation of any idea may be nothing more than a figure. In this sense, it is sometimes called an ideograph. * Royal Masonic Cyclopaedia. London, 1877. CHAPTER 11. THE SERPENTINE GOD OF MEDICINE AT ROME. As I have alread}^ intimated, the god of medicine — that is, jEsculapius^ — was not only on familiar terms, so to speak, with the serpent, but at times given a serpen- tine form. Pausanias expressly informs us that he often appeared in such singular shape. ^ The visitor to imperial Kome about two thousand 3'ears ago saw this divinity in reptilian guise an object of high regard and worship. It is worth while to enter into a short study of the matter. Now, at the outset, I may observe that it is a note- worthy fact that in their regard for medical men the early Greeks and others contrasted remarkably with the Romans. The Greeks would seem to have duly prized the class. One has but to turn to Homer to find evi- dence of the fact. A passage suggested by Machaon's splendid exercise of his beneficent art, spoken by Idom- eneus when the " offspring of the healing god " was wounded by a dart fired by " the spouse of Helen " (Paris), and " trembling Greece for her physician fear'd," runs : — " A wise physician skill'd our wounds to heal, Is more than armies to the public weal." ^ Cowper translates this interesting couplet more literally than Pope : — " One so skill 'd in medicine and to free The inherent barb is worth a multitude." * The Greek form of the name is Asclepios or Asklepios, 'Acr/c?i,?77rf6f. The Latin form being the one in general use, I will adhere to it in this essay. ^ Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. iii, p. 23. ' Iliad, xi. (5) 6 Medical SymhoHsm. This is a very noble tribute to the physician ; in fact, I know of but few as good, among them being the one in " Ecclesiasticus " which reads : " Tiie skill of the physician shall lift up his head and in the sight of great men he shall be praised."^ The latter is Hebrseo-Egyp- tian in origin, and its date is about two hundred years before our era. The earl}^ Romans did not look on doctors with any such favor. ^ It is a well-known fact that the art of medicine was never very enthusiastically or successfully cultivated by the Romans. It was not until a comparatively late date that medical practitioners existed among tliem at all. Plin}^ has left us some interesting notes on the matter. After the statement that many nations have gotten along without ph3'sicians, lie says : " Such, for instance, was the Roman people for a period of more than six hun- dred years ; a people, too, which has never shown itself slow to adopt all useful arts, and which even welcomed the medical art with avidity until, after a fair experience of it, there was found good reason to condemn it."^ He himself was not a great friend of it. Cato, who died in the year of the city of Rome 605, said, authoritatively : " They (the Greeks) have con- spired among themselves to murder all barbarians with their medicine, a profession which the}- exercise for lucre, in order that they may win our confidence and de- spatch us all the more easily. I forbid you to have any- thing to do with physicians."* Notwithstanding this, the imperious old Roman had not a personal dislike to taking medicine ; " far from it, by Hercules," says Pliny, * Ch. xxxviii, v. 3. » Cicero would appenr to have duly prized the physician. I recall a passafje of his to the effect tliat in no way can man approach so near to the gods as by conferring health on his fellows. » Natural History, xxix, 7. * Ibid., xxix, 8. The Serpentine God of Medicine at Rome. 1 "for he subjoins an account of the medical prescriptions b}^ the aid of which he had ensured to himself and his wife a ripe old age." ^ It appears that the first ph3^sician who exercised his profession at Rome was " Archagathus, the son of Ly- sanias, who came over from Peloponnessus in the je&r of the city 335." He was kindly welcomed, and, from his special line of practice, was called " Yulnerarius ;" but, from cruelty displayed " in cutting and searing his patients, he brought the art and pli3\sicians into disre- pute. "^ It is this experience to which Pliny refers in the foregoing quotation. There is reason to believe that the Romans never re- garded medicine as an art appreciativelj^ They have transmitted to posterity little that is original and valua- ble. Besides what is found in Pliny's work, the pro- duction of Celsus ^ is about all that calls for special mention, and it is possible that the latter, as well as the former, was only a compiler. Pliny significant!}^ says : " The art of medicine at the present time even teaches us in numerous instances to have recourse to the oracles for aid." * He lived from 23 to 79 a.d. The Roman people had no special god of medicine until the 3'ear 292 B.C. In the preceding year, the prevalence of a pestilence caused much consternation. This led to a consultation of the Delphian Oracle, or, according to Livy (see page 9), the Sibylline Books, as to what should be done, and the command of " the Delphic Oracle, or of the Sibylline Books," to use the language of an authoritative work,^ was given, to send an embassy to procure the aid of the Grecian god of healing, JEsculapius. • iSTatural History, xxix, 8. * Ibid. » De ^Nledicina. ■* Natural History, xxix. l. * Smitli'g Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. 8 Medical Symbolism, The story of the bringing of JEsculapius to Rome, like that of the bringing of Cybele from Pessinus in Galatia, is an interesting one, and must be known if one would fully appreciate the fact of the god being given the serpentine form, the serpent being generally regarded as only an attribute of him at his chief seat, the great Epidaurian Asclepion, or Temple of Health. It is graphically told by Ovid. Ovid begins his poem^ with an invocation to the "melodious maids of Pindus;" and, addressing them, continues : — " Say, whence the isle which Tiber flows around, Its altars with a heavenly stranger grac'd. And in our shrines the God of Physic placed 2" We are then told that — '' A wasting plague infected Latium's skies. ********* In vain were human remedies apply'd. Weary 'd with death, they seek celestial aid, And visit Phoebus in his Delphic shade." The reply of the Oracle is this : — " Relief must be implor'd and succour won Not from Apollo, but Apollo's son. My son to Latium borne shall biing redress ; Go with good omens, and expect success." The Senate appointed an embassy to carry out the order : — *' Who sail to Epidaurus' neighbouring land." To it the god (^Esculapius) is represented as saying :~ " I come and leave my shrine. This serpent view, that with ambitious play My staff encircles, mark him every way ; His form, though larger, nobler, I'll assume, And, changed as gods should be, bring aid to Rome." » Metamorphosis, xv. Translation by Mr. Welsted. The Serpentine God of Medicine at Rome, 9 In due time '' the salutary serpent,^ the god, reached the Island of the Tiber and assumed " again his form divine " : — " And now no more the drooping city mourns; Joy is again restor'd and health returns." There is little or no reason to doubt that there was really a formal bringing of iEsculapius to Rome, a cos- mopolitan city which, indeed, as Gibbon states without much exaggeration, bestowed its freedom " on all the gods of m.ankind." ^ Livy, the historian, speaks of the matter as follows : — " The many prosperous events of the j^ear (459) were scarcely sufficient to afford consolation for one calamity, a pestilence, which afflicted both the city and country and caused a prodigious mortality. To dis- cover what end or what remedy was appointed by the gods for that calamit}^, the Books were consulted, and there it was found that ^sculapius must be brought to Rome from Epidaurus. However, as the Consuls had full employment in the wars, no farther steps were taken in that business during this year, except the performing of a supplication to ^sculapius of one day's conti- nence. "^ Elsewhere* he says that the god was brought the following year, — that is, a.u.c. 460, or 292 B.C. The Island of the Tiber {Insula Tiber ina^ worn Isola Tiberina), the " inter duos pontes " of the early centuries of our era,' where ^sculapius was worshipped, and which was sometimes called by his name {Insula jEsculapii), is within the limits of the cit}^ of Rome. According to * Although there is little evidence to show that serpent-worship was indigenous in Rome, Fergusson holds that " such an embassy being sent on the occasion in question indicates a degree of faith on the part of the people which could only have arisen from previous familiarity," Tree and Serpent "Worship, p. 19. ^ The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. ii. » Livy, X, 47. « Ibid., xxix, 11. 1* 10 Medical Symbolism. tradition, it originated from alluvial accumulations with- in the period of Roman history'. ^ It is rather remark- able that, excepting- the one at the mouth {Insula Sacra^ now Isola Sacr-a)^ there is no other along the whole course of the famous river. It is ship-shaped, and quite small in size, being onl}^ about a quarter of a mile in length, 2 and has been called " San Bartolomeo," from the church which has long occupied the site of the ancient Temple of Health.^ Mr. Davies speaks of it at length in his interesting book. After an account of the origin of the worship of JSsculapius on it, he says: — " It was in commemoration of this event that the islaud was fashioned in the form of a ship. Huge blocks of travertine and peperino still remain about the prow (pointing down the stream), imitating on a grand scale the forms of the planks, upon which are chiseled the figure of a serpent twined around a rod, and, farther down, the head of an ox. A temple was raised to ^sculapius, in which his statue was placed, which prob- ably stood in the fore part of the simulated vessel, hospitals for the sick occupying the sides, a tall column or obelisk rising in the midst to represent a mast. Temples were also dedicated to Jupiter and Faun us.* To these were added a prison in the days of Tiberius."^ * In his Life of Publicola, Plutarch gives an interesting account of its origin. The sacrifice of corn and trees on a field belonging to the Tarquins, in the Campus Martins, hadmuchto do with it. These being cast into the river, found lodgment at shallows where the island is, which favored alluvial accumulations. See also Livy, ii, 5. 2 It is stated by Sir George Head that it is twelve hundred feet in length and four hundred in breadth. Rome— A Tour of Many Days, vol. iii, p. 106. London. 1849. » A hospital established by Gregory XIII in 1581 and several resi- dences are also on the island. * God of fields and shepherds. The Temple of ^sculapius was the most ancient, having been dedicated A.u.c. 462. * Pilgrimage of the Tiber, p. 63. London, 1875. Tiberius ascended the throne, a.d. 14. Plutarch, writing half a century later, says of the island : The Serpentine God of Medicine at Rome. 11 Whether the establishment of the worship of the heal- ing divinity on the island at Rome was brought about by chance, or deliberately, is not very clear. Pliny would seem to think that it was elsewhere at first when he says, " The Temple of ^sculapius, even after he was received as a divinity, was built without the city and afterward on an island. "^ The abhorrence of the people for physicians is given as the reason for isolating the institution. The noble Romans had no love for a class that made a trade of curing the sick, enriching them- selves off the misfortunes of their fellow-men ; they were shocked, says Pliny, " more particularly^ that man should pay so dear for the enjo3'ment of life."^ There may have been other and better reasons. The Greeks themselves placed their asclepia in rural and often insular places. Thus, the great Epidaurian Asclepion was in a secluded vale, and two very celebrated ones, those of Cos and Rhodes, were, as the names indicate, on islands. It is needless to say that there are excellent sanitary reasons for placing sanatory institutions in the country, and especially on insular sites. It will be a long step in the right direction when we somewhat unwise moderns cease to have our medical institutions within the built- up parts of our cities and towns, and treat the sick, especially those affected with contagious diseases, at a distance from the well. Devotion to the serpentine healer appears to have lingered long in sunny Ital}^^ A bronze serpent in the '•It is now sacred to relig;ious uses." Life of Publicola. He states that several temples and porticoes had been built on it, but makes no reference to a prison, * Natural History, xxix, 8. ^ Ibid. 3 The Very Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Donovan states, in his learned work, that "the temple (of ^sculapius) being recorded bytheRegionaries must have existed in the fifth century." Rome, Ancient and Modern, and its Environs, vol. iv, p. 431. Rome, 1842. 12 Medical Symbolism. basilica of St. Ambrose was worshipped as late as the 3^ear 1001, but the precise import of it is not known. Referring to it, De Gubernatis says : " Some sa}^ that it was the serpent of ^sculapius, others that of Moses, others that it was an imao^e of Christ. For us it is enouo-h to remark here that it was a mytliical serpent before which Milanese mothers brought their children when they suffered from worms in order to relieve them, as we learn from the depositions of the visit of San Carlo Borromeo to this basilica."^ San Carlo suppressed the superstitious practice.'^ > Zoological Mythology, or Legends of Animals, vol. i, p. 416. London and New York, 1872. ^ It appears that the serpent has still devotees in Italy. It is said that what is called a snake festival is held once a year in a little mountain- church near Naples. Those attending carry snakes around their necks, arms, or waists. The purpose of the festival is to preserve the partici- pants from poison and sudden death, and to bring them good fortune. CHAPTER III. THE iESCULAPIAN SERPENT. It is not to be presumed that many in our day would seriously believe that JEsculaj^ius assumed the form of a large serpent, in the famous legendary voyage to Rome ; but it is hardly to be doubted, as I have already remarked, that there was actually a serpent brought from Epidaurus on the occasion. It is very probable that the Roman embassy deliberately brought one with them ; still, the coming of the reptile on board the ship may have been accidental. ^ The latter was the case, according to one tradition. At any rate, there was suflScient ground on which a superstitious people could easily construct a mj'thical superstructure to please their fancy. The assumption of the form of a serpent by the god of medicine was not an extraordinary thing, according to ancient beliefs. Plenty of instances might be cited. I may give one. Alexander the Great was believed by many to have been not the son of Philip, but of Jupiter Ammon, who appeared to Olympias in reptilian shape. Plutarch tells the story. It is amusingly related of Philip that" he lost one of his eyes as he applied it to the chinl^of the door, when he saw the god, in the form of a serpent, in his wife's embraces. "^ The ability to take on at pleasure any animal or other form was re- garded as one of the distinguishing prerogatives of divinity. * The port of Epidaurus not being within several miles of the grove of ^sculapius, it is very improbable that a serpent found its own way from the latter to the Roman ship. ' Lives of Illustrious Men. (13) 14 Medical Symbolism. Taking it for granted, then, that there was really a serpent transferred from Epidauriis to Rome, which was regarded as JEsculapius, the interesting question arises, of what species was it? A very conclusive answer maj^ be given. It is known that at the Epidaurian Asclepion a species of serpent existed in considerable numbers by permission. After stating that all serpents, " but par- ticularly those of a more yellow color, are considered as sacred to ^sculapius, and are gentle and harmless toward men," Pausanias says : " They are alone nour- ished in the land of the Epidaurians ; and I find that the same circumstance takes place in other regions."^ f^^^s. Here, then, is proof that there was a species of ser- pent which deserved to be characterized as ^scula- pian. Fig. 2.— The ^sculapian ser- It being reasonably cer- tain that only one kind of serpent " was nourished in the land of the Epidaurians," and regarded as sacred to ^sculapius, the following passage from Pliny is interesting : " The ^sculapian snake was first brought to Rome from Epidaurus, but at the present day it is very commonly reared, in our houses even ; so mucii so, indeed, that, if the breed were not kept down by the frequent conflagrations, it would be impossible to make head against the rapid increase of them. "2 It is evident from this statement that the serpent in question was not venomous, that its presence was prized, and that people would not wilfully kill it. Now, a pretty species of oviparous, non-venomous • Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 213. London, 1794. ^ Natural History, xxix, 23. The ^aculapian Serpent. 15 serpent, still common in Italy, is believed to be the " ^-Esculapian snake " of Pliny, called Paroas by Greek writers.^ I have examined a number of specimens. Several are to be seen in the museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. It has been de- scribed by Sliaw under the name of Coluber jEscuIapii, but it is now often called Elaphis j^sculapii. A cut of It is given in Brehm's great popular work,^ which is very good, except that it glides one the impression that the ani- mal is decidedly large. The iEsculapian serpent is com- paratively small, being from three to four and one-half feet in length, and about as thick as a stout walking-cane. It is orange-brown above, or, as Shaw puts it, " rufous colour on the upper parts, more or less deep in different in- dividuals. "^ Beneathit isof astrawcolor. The scales of the back are oval and carinated, and those of the sides are smooth. The tapering tail measures about nine inches. Movement takes place through vertical waves or swell- ings. It is very active and can climb trees with facility. When attacked it will defend itself; but it is by nature gentle and is easily tamed. In his brief description of it, Cuvier follows Shaw. He adds : " It is that which the ancients have repre- sented in their statues of JEsculapius ; and it is probable that the serpent of Epidaurus was of this species. (The Coluber ^scnlapii of Linnaeus* is of a totally different species, and belongs to America.)"^ The ^sculapian serpent is closely related to the ringed snake {NatiHx torquata), the only British member * As by Aristophanes in Plutus. In Liddell & Scott's Lexicon Udpuac is defined to be "a reddisb-brown snake sacred to ^sculapius." ^ Tbierleben. Grosse Auflage. DritteAbtbeilung. Erster Band. Seite 348. Leipzig, 1878. ' General Zoology, part 11, p. 452, London, 1802. * CoroneUa venustrissinia. * Animal Kingdom, vol. ix, p. 263. 16 Medical Symbolism. of the famil}^ ; and the common bhick snake (Coluber con- strictor') of America is of tlie same genus ; but it should not be classed, as was done by Linnaeus, with the de- cidedly venomous viperine serpent, the Viper communis^ or Pelias berus, of which Figuier says : " It is not improb- able that it is the echis {^X^^) ^^ Aristotle and the vipera of Yirgil, as it is the manasso of the Italians, the adder of the country-people of England and Scotland, and the vipere of France. It is found in all these countries and in Europe generally."^ In an article contributed to a medical journal^ I have said, in reference to the ^sculapian serpent, that it is the one " which should always be shown in medical sjanbolism." This would hardly be questioned by many ; yet I am disposed to think that the restriction is too exclusive. Another species of coluber, the urseus, or asp, has played a significant role, as a symbol of life and healing, especially in Egypt, as will be seen later. Our medical traditions, however, being mainly derived from the Greeks, it would therefore seem but right that we should confine ourselves very exclusively to the symbolism in use by them. * Reptiles and Birds, p. 92. New York, 1870. ^ The Medical and Surgical Reporter for January 5th and 12th, 1884. CHAPTER IV. THE EPIDAURIAN ORACLE. In speaking o£ the god of medicine at Rome, men- tion was made of Epidaurns, the original great seat of worship of ^sculapiiis. In the Pelopounesian place of that name, in the district of Argolis, on the western shore of the Saronic Gulf, I will now pause a while ; for here is a spot of earth of special interest, dearer than Salerno, or even Cos, to every lover of the annals, his- torical and legendar}--, of the healing art. Very different is Epidaurus now from what it was in other days ; there has been a change, and for the worse. Here was once the scene of teeming life ; the home of a people of culture and renown. It is not so at present. As with man}^ other parts of Greece, time has dealt harshly with Epidaurus. But for the ruins and the imperishable records we have of them, one could find very little there worthy of much attention. It is chiefly in the work of Pausanias, before men- tioned, that the great medical institution of Epidaurus, the ^sculapian Temple, with its auxiliaries, survives. This observing and inquisitiv^e old Greek traveler has left an interesting account of it. He lived in the second cen- tury of our era. The ruins have been carefully studied and described by Mr. Leake. ^ Under a commission from the Archaeological Society of Athens, Mr. P. Kavvadias, in 1881 and forward to the present time (1885), has been making exploratory * Travels in the Morea, vol. ii. London, 1830. A^ (17) 18 Medical Symbolism. excavations, for full accounts of which the " Proceedings of tlie Society " must be consulted. ^ Although the Asclepion was not within the town of Epidaurus, it was generally spoken of as part and parcel of the latter. Thus, Strabo says : " Epidaurus was a distinguished cit}^, remarkable particularly on account of the fame of jEsculapius, who was supposed to cure ever}" kind of disease, and wliose temple is crowded con- stantly with sick persons, and its walls covered with votive tablets, which are hung thereon and contain accounts of the cures in the same manner as is practiced at Cos and at Tricca."^ In the time of the Romans, the town was regarded as " little more than the harbor "^ of the ^sculapian Oracle. Still, at one time it was of considerable importance. Pausanias speaks favorably of it. In it there were statues of -^sculapius and his reputed wife, Epione, and of Diana, Yenus, and others. There were public accommodations for persons d3'ing and lying-in women. This was necessary, because births and deaths were not allowed to occur within the Sacred Grove. The exclusion was, according to Pausanias, " agreeable to a law which is established in the island of Delos."4 Epidaurus was open to intercourse with the Phoe- nicians and other peoples. Its citizens were enterprising. It is interesting to note that they colonized the island of Cos. * Mr. Thos. W. Ludlow, of Yonkers, N. Y., has two interesting letters on the subject in the New York Nation, September 28, 1882, and February 15, 1883. No comprehensive account has as yet appeared in either the Enor. lish, French, or German lanpjun^e. An interesting article on "-^Esculapia as Revealed by Inscriptions," by Prof. A. (\ Merriain, in Gaillard's Medical Journal for May, 188.5, partly meets the want. ' (ieography, viii. Translation in Bohn's Library. ' Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geop^raphy. * Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 212. The Epidauriaii Oracle. 19 Under the name of Pidliavro the ancient town re- mains in existence ; but it is a mere hamlet of a few dozen families, most of which are engaged in raising vegetables for the Athenian market. Proceeding in a southwesterl}^ direction from the site of Epidaurus, one comes, after a journey of about five Roman miles, to the location of the famous Epidaurian Oracle of ^sculapius. It is a little vale, bordered almost all around with shrubbery -clad hills, notable among which are Mounts Titthium, C3mortium, and Coryphaeus, the first and second to the north, and the third to the southeast. At a little distance down it, flowing westerly and emptying into the river of Lessa, is a rivulet formed b}^ two main branches, one of which springs from about Mount Coryphaeus and traverses the sacred 'A/lCog, or Grove. To the Sacred Grove, the name of Hierum, or, rather, Sto Hieron,! a synonym, is applied. It is less than a mile in circumference. Within it are found remains of most of the structures which it formerl^^ contained. In the centre stood the Temple, or Sanctuar^^of JEsculapius ; in the southeast, at the foot of Mount Coryphseus, the theatre, 2 which afforded accommodation for twelve thou- sand people, and which is one of the finest ruins of ancient Grecian buildings ; and southwest of the temple was the place devoted to athletic games, the Stadium, to the north of which were the Cistrum and the Tholus, or circular cell, about thirty feet in circumference, which contained paintings and other works of art, and probably served as a place of reunion of the officials of the sanctuary, ^ 'Eto 'lepov, sacred place. ^ Mr, Ludlow says, in one of his letters, and also informs me privately, that Mr. Kavvadias has found the theatre to be without the peribolus of the Sacred Grove. Following Pausanias, Mr. Leake states it to be within the enclosure. 20 Medical Symbolism, and for certain sacrifices and ceremonies. Water- pipes have been unearthed ; and there are remnants of the peribolus, or enclosure, which, according to Lealve, however, was present only on two sides, the steep hills answering the purpose on the others. The somewhat remarkable state of preservation of these ruins is largely due to the seclusion of the place. Of course, the most notable building within the sacred grounds was the Temple,^ This was the abode of the god ; here was his oracle. His statue was of great splendor and highlj'^ renowned. It was formed of ivory and gold — chryselephantine — and was by Thras^^- medes, of Parus. ^sculapius was represented as a man somewhat advanced in life, but of attractive pres- ence, seated on a throne. His hair and beard were given long, perhaps too long for an ideal physician. ^ In his left hand he held a staff, and the other he held over the head of a serpent. At his feet was the figure of a dog. On the throne were wrought illustrations of the works of the Argive heroes. Bellerophon was shown in the act of slaying the Chimsera, and Perseus cutting off the head of Medusa. Besides the temple, the theatre, gymnasium, and other buildings mentioned above, there were still others to meet the manifold needs of the numerous visitors. As those who came to consult the oracle remained a night or longer, there must have been an extensive dormitor}^ It is referred to by Pausanias.^ Those, however, who * There is reason to hope that Mr. Kawadias will make valuable dis- coveries in excavatinpc its ruins. ' Anytliing about a physician which might be the means of conveying disease from one to another is seriously objectionable. Woolen material is not the proper thing in the outside clothing, and one attending cases of contagious diseases should not wear gloves, unless he is wont to wash his hands well after each visit, • Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 213. The EjJidaurian Oracle. 21 approached the god, always, I believe, passed the night in the sanctuary. When at the height of its glory the Hiernm was surel}^ a place full of life. Being the most famous sana- torj' retreat, multitudes flocked to it from all parts of Greece and beyond. Many who came were, doubtless, invalids, but likely far more could not be classed as such. In fact, this ^sculapian Grove, although mainly a medical institution, a sort of hospital, might reason- ably be taken as a prototype of modern popular health resorts. The glor}^ of the Epidaurian Oracle was not short- lived. In the year 292 B.C., the time when the Roman embassy paid the historic visit, it was very great ; and five centuries later — that is, in the time of Pausanias — it had not passed away ; the worship of the serpentine divinity had not then ceased. With years the oracle accumulated riches, so that it became noted for its treasures. When, in the year 167 B.C., it was visited by L. ^milius Paulus, after his con- quest of Macedonia, it was rich in gifts presented by those who had obtained relief there from their afflic- tions. A century and a half later many of the valuable oflerings had disappeared. The visitors to the great oracle in search of health placed themselves under the care of the asclepiades, or disciples of the god. A special course of regimen (treatment) was followed. It is said that it was directed by JEsculapius, through dreams, — not necessarily a truth. The plan pursued was more or less scientific and free from superstition. Mr. Leake rather ungra- ciously remarks that the advisors, being " equally dex- terous as priests and physicians, provided themselves with resources in either capacit}^, which they could turn 22 Medical Symbolism. to the benefit of their patients' infirmities and their own profit." 1 The rules were decidedly strict. Records of patients were preserved, and the tablets on which they were placed were hung up in the temple and elsewhere. Some of those surviving from the stelae, mentioned by Pausanias,^ have been unearthed recently by Mr. Kav- vadias. They are mostly statements of miraculous cures. ^ Famous and immensely popular as the Epidaurian Oracle was, it cannot be said to have had notable natu- ral advantages in its favor. The site was not one of the best, being low and hill-bounded, — conditions closely re- lated to unhealthy states of humidity and heat of the atmosphere. The supply of water was not good, de- pendence having to be placed at times on cisterns. The locations of many other, but less noted, asclepia, were certainly far more sanatory. At Cos there was pure, mild sea-air; and, of those in the mountains or by fountains, each had one or more special natural attrac- tions. Indeed, there could seemingly be few much worse sites than this close little Epidaurian valley, with- out even a mineral spring, or, in fact, a good spring of ordinary water to recommend it. But, greater than an}'- one, or all climatic or other influences in power to at- tract the multitude, was the belief that at his birth-place and primary seat and oracle the influence of the god of medicine could be most efiectivel>' brought to bear to remove disease and restore health. As in this case, a pleasing superstition may work wonders. ' Travels in Morea, vol. ii, p. 428. The .ZE-;culapian priest is not repre- sented as an honest personage in the "Plutus" of Aristophanes. He stealthily gathers the cakes from the altars and "consecrates these into a sack." ' Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol. ii, p. 27. » See note in succeeding chapter. CHAPTER y. ASCLEPIA AND THE ASCLEPIADES. Many asclepia, or temples of health, were in time established throughout Greece and her colonies and else- where. A recent writer states that at least three hun- dred and twenty are known " to have existed in an- tiquit}^ ; so that every town of importance must have had its sanctuary. "1 In success and length of existence the}^, of course, varied greatly. The one at Epidaurus has been spoken of, and others of great celebrity were those of Tricca, Cnidus, and Cos, to say nothing of some only a little less deserving of mention, such as those at Rhodes, Pergamus, Carthage, Athens,^ and Rome. The asclepion at Tricca, in Thessaly, was probably started by the sons of ^sculapius, Machaon and Poda- lirius. At any rate, according to Homer, they were attendants there. This was enough to bring it into re- pute, but its situation in the mountains was much in its favor as a popular sanator^^ resort. The Coan and Cnidian asclepia were favorably located ; the former on the island of the name, which Pliny speaks of as " flourishing and powerful in the highest degree and consecrated to ^sculapius,"^ and the latter not far distant, on a site decidedl3^ maritime, in Asia Minor. These temples were both very distin- guished, and a degree of rivalry prevailed between them. * Professor A. C. Merriam, in Gaillard's Medical Journal, May, 1885. ^ Professor Merriam's article ; also L' Asclepieion d' Atbenes, by Paul Girard, Paris, 1882. An interesting little bool?, in wbich much may be learned about asclepia and the asclepiades. The Athenian asclejiion was quite famous, and existed until beyond the fifth centurj-. * Natural History, xxii, 2. (23) 24 Medical Symbolism. In them there was inidonbtedly much highly creditable medical knowledge in exercise. The same was prob- ably the case in most, or perhaps all, others, especially in later times ; but it is in respect to those only that we have indubitable evidence of the fact. Of the two schools, the adherents of the Cnidian paid special atten- tion to the symptoms of individual cases, and avoided, as much as possible, powerful cathartics, bleeding, and other active means of cure. Whatever may have been the success of the various asclepia, institutions which were finally blotted out in the early part of the fourth century by Constantine, the first Christian emperor, ^ that of Cos was destined to make the greatest impress on the medicine of the future. It was the good fortune of this institution to have in connection with it, at the acme of its career, a great author as well as physician. Hippocrates, a native of the island, rendered the fame of the Coan school im- perishable, and gave to his fellow-men throughout the world, in all time to come, a legacy of incalculable value. Through this early and great medical writer his alma mater has been made, in a manner, that of the medical man of all ages. From Cos sprang forth at the touch of a humble man, afterward called appreciatively "the divine old man," a mass of medical knowledge, wonderfully pure and good, which constitutes the main body of the real medical science of our own (\Ky. An asclepion^ consisted essentially of a building • In reference to the asclepia or asclepions, as he calls them, Draper says : " An edict of Constantine suppressed those establishments." And again : "The asclepion of Cnidus conthiued until the time of Constantine, when it was destroyed along with many other pagan establishments." History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, pp. 386 and 397. Revised edition. New York, 1876. * Asclepion is from Asclepios, the Greek form of the name of the god of medicine. In Greek it is acK?LTj7Tidov, meaning Temple of Asclepios. ./Esculapium is of similar meaning. Asclepia and the Asclepiades. 25 witli a more or less b3'gienical site, usuall}^ in the country and near a fountain,^ sometimes a mineral one, in which the arts of healing were practiced by priests or disciples of -^sculapius, called asclepiades. In all, the influence of the god was generally believed to be an essential factor; and hence in each an image of him was to be found. But the fully-equipped institution had many appliances, as has been shown in the account given of the one at Epidaurus. Arrangements for exercises, baths, and other means which were brought to bear to restore people to health were duly provided and were in many instances elaborate. The asclepiades claimed that they were descended directly from the god of whom they were the disciples. They were not, at any time, mere priests ; that is, min- isters of religion. Indeed, it has been asserted that " there is no sign in the Homeric poems of the subordi- nation of medicine to religion. "^ The asclepiades constituted a special class, and they were oath-bound to preserve the m3^steries of the art from the uuinitiated. The oath is preserved in the Hippocratic Collection,^ and is usually called by his name. It begins thus : " I swear by Apollo, the physi- cian, and ^sculapius, and Health, and All-Hcal,* and all the gods and goddesses that, according to my ability and judgment, I will keep this oath and this * Vitruvius, who flourished in the first century before our era, ex- presses the opinion that "natural consistency" suggests the selection of situations affording the advantages of "salubrious air and water" for "temples erected to ^aEsculapius, to the goddess of health, and such other divinities as possess the power of curing diseases." It materially helped the divinities. See second edition of his work on Architecture, p. 11, by Joseph Swift. London, 1860. * Encyclopaedia Britannica, ninth edition. ' See William Adams' edition of the Genuine Works of Hippocrates. Two volumes. London, 1849. * Hygeia and Panacea, both daughters of -Slsculapius. 2 B 26 Medical Symbolism. stipiibition." In it occurs this passage : " I will follow that S3^stem of regimen^ which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for tlie benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischiev- ous." Here is another: "With purity and with holi- ness I will pass my life and practice my art." Cutting for the stone is left to those who make a special business of it. What is learned about patients, in the exercise of the art, which should be kept secret is not to be divulged. Mr. Adams well saj^s that it is most honor- able to the profession that so ancient a document per- taining to it as this, "instead of displaying narrow- minded and exclusive selfishness, inculcates a generous line of conduct, and enjoins an observance of tlie rules of propriety and of the laws of domestic morality."^ It has been said, in a learned article^ on ancient medicine, that " the asclepiadse of Greece were the true originators " of scientific medicine. This claim might be questioned, but it is, doubtless, in the main just. Certainly all physicians were not connected with asclepia ; and in later times the asclepiades proper were avoided by the more intelligent and rational. Unfortunately^, the records of the practice of the asclei)iades have been almost entirely lost. This is to be regretted, and more especially because what is pre- served is of a decidedly high order of merit.* How- * Treatment. ' Op. cit., p. 777, ' In Smith's Dictionary of the Bible. * Most of the votive inscriptions which have been discovered by Mr. Kavvadias at the Epidaurian Asclepion do not fortify this opinion, but they do not serve to disi)rove it, because others of a different character may be found. Moreover, the practice there may have been less scientific than at Cnidus, Cos, and elsewhere. However, the inscriptions brought to light by Mr. Kavvadias are, generally speaking, poor enough. One runs thus: "Cures of Apollo and ^sculupius. Concerning Kleo, who was enceinte for five years. This woman, after being enceinte for five years, came as a suppliant to the god, and lay down to sleep in the sacred cham- Asclepia and the Asclepiades. 27 ever, it is probable that at least the creme of the whole has been handed down to ns by Hippocrates. It seems certain that in the first " Prorrhetics " and the " Praenotiones Coacae," which are transmitted to ns in the Hippocratic Collection, we have fragments and excerpts from the histories of diseases and cures which were formerly found on the votive tablets of the Coan Temple. From these records Hippocrates drew largely in composing his highly valuable " Book of Prog- nostics." In reference to the matter Adams saj^s : " It is as clear as the light of day that Hippocrates composed this work from them."^ It is more than probable that, except for a short time at first, the system of treatment pursued by the asclepiades varied within wide limits ; and it is equally certain that the superstitious element lessened as time passed. Between the principles of practice of JEscula- pius and those of Hippocrates^ there is a very wide difference. Tliose of the former will be given later ; but of those of the latter I may say here that they were essentially scientific.^ To Hippocrates every disease had a natural cause, and was to be cured by natural ber. As soon as she had gone forth from it and from the sanctuary, she gave hirth to a male cliild. When the baby was bom, he washed himself in the fountain and set to creeping around his mother." — See Yj^rjfieplg ' KpxacnXoyLKrj^ No. 4, 1883. * Genuine Works of Hippocrates (Adams), p. 229. 2 "The Father of Medicine" was, of course, one of the asclepiades. He was born, it is believed, in the year 460 B.C., and lived to be very old. His genealogy is preserved in his works. As given in Adams' edition, he is of the fifteenth generation, in a direct line, from -^Isculapius. He was of the Podalirius branch. In this connection I may remark that, if Hippoc- rates took the oath of the asclepiades, he must have given it a decidedly liberal interpretation, for it looks as if he divulged to the whole world all the mysteries of the healing art of great consequence then known. ^ It is improbable that Hippocrates was but a fair example of the asclepiades of his day. He has said himself: "Physicians are many in title, but very few in reality." (The Law.) 28 Medical Symbolism. means. He was wont " to consult Nature herself ahout Nature," as Bacon has somewhere wisely advised. He did not attribute any morbid condition to any spiritual power, good or bad, and hence in his practice did not resort to conjuration or any related means of cure. Even of epileps^y, the so-called '' sacred disease," he said : " It is thus with regard to the disease called sacred : It appears to me to be nowise more divine nor more sacred than other diseases, but has a natural cause from which it originates like other affections." And aoaiu : " Men regard its nature and cause as divine, from ignorance and wonder."^ As regards holding disease to be divinely inflicted, he very properly remarks : " I do not count it a worth}^ opinion to hold that the body of man is polluted by God."^ Not only in the principles of medicine, but in its practice, Hippocrates was wonderfully sound, even when judged from the stand-point of the art in our da}-. In truth, for extent and profundity of medical knowledge and philosophy, between him and what modern would one think of instituting a comparison? Sydenham has been likened to him ; but, although I am an admirer of the English physician, I do not hesitate to say that he was neither in breadth nor depth any such man as the Coan. As a writer on the prevention and cure of dis- ease, Hippocrates remains facile princeps. . Let it not be hastily supposed that my admiration for Hippocrates is unreasonably great. His works are truly a surprise to even the well-read modern. Very many of the so-called discoveries of recent times ma}' be learned b}^ turning to them. I speak advisedly. I will cite instances :— * On the Sacred Disease. ' Ibid. Asclepia and the Asclepiades. 29 Thus, of the treatment of open sores, he says : "In these cases no part is to be exposed to the air." Dress- ings of " wine and oil" and "pitched cerate^" are directed to be used. Again, in treating fractures, in connection with cer- tain splints, he advises that " a soft, consistent, and clean cerate should be rubbed into the folds of the bandage ;"2 and he says, " If you see that the bones are properly adjusted by the first dressing, and that there is no troublesome pruritus in the part, nor any reason to suspect ulceration, you may allow the arm to remain bandaged in the splints until after the lapse of more than twenty days."^ Still again, in regard to the reduction of a dislocation at the hip-joint, he says," In some the thigh is reduced with no preparation, with slight extension, directed by the hands, and with slight movement ; and in some the reduction is effected by bending the limb at the joint and making rotation."* In the three preceding paragraphs we have the prac- tical side of the germ theory of disease, the permanent dressing of fractures, and the reduction of dislocations by manipulation. I might go on and recount numerous other matters alleged to be new, and of which we hear much ; but it is not necessary. I may add, however, a few items of interest : — " Bleed," says the old Greek, " in the acute affections, if the disease appears strong, and if the patients be in the vigor of life, and if they have strength." Has any modern spoken more wisel}^ on the subject?^ Here is a statement worthy of the attention of un- » On Fractures. ^ latrum. ^ On Fractures. * On Articulations. * On Regimen in Acute Diseases. 30 Medical Symbolism, balanced theorists of our day: In fevers and pneumonia, heat "is not the sole cause of mischief."^ He gives directions for the use of effusions with "water of various temperatures" in ''cases of pneu- monia," of " ardent fevers," and of other diseases. This treatment, he thinks, " suits better with cases of pneu- monia than in ardent fevers." ^ In that inimitable book, his "Aphorisms," it is said: "In general, diseases are cured by their contraries." There is no exclusive allopathy or homoeopath}'-, or dogma of any kind, in that statement; it is the senti- ment of a scientific ph^^sician. Medicine was evidently far advanced in the days of Hippocrates ;3 and he was certainl}^ a learned and sen- sible practitioner of it, even the " Prince of Physicians," as Galen, I think, somewhere characterizes him, as well as one who did much to make it what he pronounced it himself to be, namely, " of all arts the most noble."* ' On Ancient Medicine. ' On Regimen in Acute Diseases. ' In the ftfth century B.C. * The Law. CHAPTER YI. THE GRECIAN GOD OF MEDICINE. During most of the earlier part of their history it is safe to say the Greeks regarded Apollo as their main god of medicine. Being possessed of the eminent qualities of a snn-god, replacing Helios as such, and both mighty and popular, this was to be expected. Nothing could be more natural than to accord to a deification of the orb of day a direct concern with matters pertaining to life and death. ^ Who so blind and stupid as not to see and know that all vital activit}'' is intimately connected with the presence and move- ments (apparent) of this great light- and heat- produc- ing heavenly body ! In an old Chaldean hj'mn the power of the sun over health and disease is recognized. He is petitioned to relieve a patient. The petitioner, after saying that " the great lord, Hea, had sent him," continues : — " Thou at thy coming, cure the race of man ; Cause a ray of health to shine upon him ; Cure his disease. "^ However, the reader of Homer is well aware that medical affairs were regarded by the Greeks as sulject to the will of Phoebus. The epidemic which affected the Grecian forces, spoken of in the beginning of his great work, was held to be caused by the god. Being moved to anger by the words of his daughter-robbed priest — ^ It is a beautiful Biblical passage (date about 400 B.C.) which reads " The sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings." Malachi, iv, 2. ^ See Chaldean Magic, p. 180. Francois Lenormant. London, 1877. (31) , 32 Medical Symbolism. " Latona's son a dire contagion spread And heap'd the camp with mountains of the dead."* Chryses, having received the maiden 2 back from her kingly abdnctor,^ then addressed Apollo again, saying, araong other thins^s : — ** If flr'd to vengeance at thy priest's request, Thy direful darts inflict the raging pest, Once more attend ! Avert the wasteful woe And smile propitious and unbend thy bow."* The praj'er was heard and answered as desired. Surgical as well as pureh^ medical aid was sought and received from Apollo. Thus, when the Lycian chief, Sarpedon, was killed, Glancus, himself sorely wounded and unable to protect his friend's remains, petitioned the " god of health," the " god of every heal- ing art," and " Apollo heard ; and suppliant as he stood, His heavenly hand restraiu'd the flux of blood; He drew the dolours from the wounded part, And breath'd a spirit in his rising heart. "^ One of the names often applied to Apollo,^ and subsequently to his son,'' was distinctly medical, viz., Paeon, or Paieon.^ Homer always uses it in referring to the pliysician of the Olympian gods, as where he speaks of the Pharian race as "from Pseon sprung."^ " Pseonian herbs "^^ is the phrase used by Virgil in his account of the restoration to life of Hippolytus. And this leads me to say that Apollo was believed to have a special knowledge of medicinal plants. By Ovid he is represented as saying : — ' Iliad, 1. * Chryseis. ' Ap:amemnon. * Op. cit., i. * Iliad, xvi. * It was doubtless from the idea of deliverance from suffering that the term Pa?on was applied to Tlianatos, or Death, as was sometimes done. '' -^sculapius. 8 Hat6)v or Hair/cjv, savior, healer, or physician. » Odyssey, iv. »<= ^ueid, vii. The Grecian God of Medicine. 33 *' What herbs and simples grow In fields, in forests, all their power I know."i It may be further said that Apollo alwaj^s continued to have healing powers accorded him. No more proof of this is wanting than the first clause of the Hippocratic oath — '' I swear by Apollo, the ph3^sician." It would seem to have been about the time of the Trojan war that the special god of medicine began to be Adewed as such by the Greeks. Strong reason for so believino; is found in tlie fact that Homer refers to JEsculapius as simpl}^ " a blameless doctor, "^ — a mortal, the adjective used never being applied to a god. A well-informed writer remarks that '"the kernel out of which the whole myth has grown is, perhaps, the account we read in Homer."^ This opinion is open to question. Even the title of Archegetes, or Primeval Divinity, was sometimes given to -.Esculapius, and, indeed, under that title he was worshipped by the Phocians in a temple sit- uated eighty stadia'* from Tithorea. This name was also given, it must be said, to Apollo, from whom probably it was received by the son. I may add here the sugges- tion of the Abbe Banier, tliat likely a distinguished plij^sician, called ^sculapius,^ of the age of Hercules and Jason, being highly honored, was in time confounded 1 Metamorphosis, i. - 'IrjTTjp afj-vfjiuv. ' Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. * The stadium equals 600 feet ; 625 Roman or 606% English feet make a stadium. * Cicero informs us that there were three distinguished physicians of the name. "The first ^sculapius," says he, "the god of Arcadia, who passes for the inventor of the probe and the manner of binding up wounds, is the son of Apollo. The second, who was slain by a thunder- bolt and interred at Cynosura (in Arcadia), is a brother to the second Mercury. The third, who found out the use of purgatives and the art of drawing teeth, is the son of Arsippus and Arsinoe. His tomb may be seen in Arcadia and the grove that is consecratedto him, pretty near the river Lusius." On the Nature of the Gods, iii. 2* 34 Medical Symbolism. with tlie old Phoenician and Egyptian god, Esrann ; " so tliat in process of time the worship of the latter came to be quite forgotten, and the new god substituted altogether in his room.''^ ondon, 1875. « Hymn to Apollo. Translation by C. C. Conwell, M.D. Philadelphia, 1830. ^aculapius and the Serpent. 60 afford a satisfactory solution of the matter under dis- cussion. The Agathodaemon is infinitel}" preferable to Tjphon as the prototype of the serpent of ^sculapius. It, indeed, was the reptile sacred to Apollo as well as Turn. A study of the origin of the association of the good serpent with Apollo and Ra-Tuni and other sun-gods is interesting. In the search for it one may get a clue to it in comparative mythology. The close resemblance to one another of Apollo, Ra, Baal-Samen of the Phoe- nicians, Shamas of the Assyrians, and other sun-gods, would lead one to think that there was an archetypal one ; and to find this original one the intelligent mind wonld naturall}^ look to the East, to the region about the lower waters of the Tigris and Euphrates, and with a reasonable expectation of discovering it there. ^ For among the Turanians, in that localit}^ the worship of the heavenly bodies undoubtedly first acquired promi- nence; and in the same localit}'', too, among the same people, the worship of serpents, according to Br3^ant,2 who has written learnedl}^ on the subject, began, and, as Fergusson sa3^s, not only originated but " spread thence, as from a centre, to every country or land of the old world in which a Turanian people settled,"^ becoming adopted to some extent also by Semites and Arj^ans. From Hea, one of the three great gods (Ana, Hea, and Bel) of the Accadio-Sumerians, and, later, of the people of Bab\donia, doubtless sprang some features of the Apollo myth, and possibly in part through Horus of the Egyptians. To Baal-Samen, the baal of the heavens, * No doubt the great home of the Inclo-Europeans furnishes a closely corresponding myth. But there is good reason to hold that the main features of the great astronomical mytlis antedated the Vedas. Grecian mythology was largely derived from Egypt and Phoenicia. 2 Mythology, vol. ii, p, 197. * Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 3. To Medical Symbolism, of the Phoenicians, Apollo had many points of re- semblance. It has been maintained, however, that Apollo was "a pure growth of the Greek mind.''^ He was so in part. Speaking of Hea, Lenormant says that it was he " that animated matter and rendered it fertile, that penetrated the universe and directed and inspired it with life."^ As Waaler was believed to be the vehicle of all life and the source of generation, he sprung from the ocean and was regarded as amphibious. Oannes^ was the name by which he was known by the Greeks. Like Dagon, of the Philistines, whose prototype he was, it was usual to give him the combined form of a fish and a man. One of the symbols of him, according to Rawlinson,* was a serpent, an illustration of which is repro- duced here. He was the god of life, and, significantly enough, the literal meaning of his name is serpent as well as life. Here, then, we have the serpent signifj'- ^^r'^'^\?Jf^' i»^ life. This is a very noteworthy BOIi OF MEA. ^ J J fact. In an interesting paper read in 1872 before the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain, by Mr. C. S. Wake, it is ver3^ properlj^ said: " It is probable that the association with the serpent of the idea of healing arose from the still earlier recogni- tion of that animal as a symbol of life."* It is not amiss to remark, in this connection, that it ' Murray's Mythology, p. 117. ' Chaldean Magic, p. 114. ' A graphic account of this mystic creature is given in an extant fragment of Berosus. He introduced all civilizing arts. See Cory's Ancient Fragments, p. 59. Hodges' edition. * Five Great Monarchies, vol. i, p. 122. * "The Origin of Serpent AVorship," in the Journal of the Victoria Institute, vol. ii, p. 373. JEsculajyius and the Serpent, 71 is a curious fact that the American Indians associated a serpent with the great sun-god, or, rather, the god of light, Manabozho,^ a healing divinit}^, tlie one that insti- tuted the sacred Medicine-Feast. It is observed by Miss Emerson that "Apollo, as a god of medicine, was originally worshipped under the form of a serpent,^ and men worshipped him as a helper; and we trace a similar idea among the Indians relative to Manabozho. And a farther association of ideas suggests the mystic god, Unk-ta-he, the god of waters, pictured as a serpent, who was believed to have power over diseases." ^ To this I may add that Hea sprang from the Persian Gulf, and was regarded as the god of waters as well as of life. A great deal has been written on serpent-worship, " the first vari- ation," sa3's Br3^ant, " from the purer Sabaism;"* and the number of suggested explanations of the curious cultus is almost legion. I hesitate about touching on the subject ; but some state- ments on it are called for, to render the treatment of the matter on hand reasonably complete. In a recent able work, Mr. C. F. Keary, of the British Museum, presents some interesting facts and inferences on the origin of the worship. He maintains that the tree, mountain, and river were the three great primitive fetich-gods, and forcibly argues that a serpent was the symbol of the last, which, it ma}^ be noted, is nearly 1 Dr. Brinton gives the name as Michabo, He gives an interesting account of this great Algonkin myth in his American Hero-Myths. Phila- delphia, 1882. 2 Partly true. =» Indian Mj'ths, p. 45. Boston, 1884. * Mythology, vol. ii, p. 458. Fig. 8.— Manabozho. 12 Medical Symbolism. alwa3'S a life-giving power, an early and substantial type of the fontaine de jouvence. Without pretendijig to ac- count for their original worship, he " takes it for certain that, at a very early time, rivers became through sym- bolism confounded with serpents."^ Remnants of the three fetich-gods of Mr. Keary are preserved in later and more abstract cults, and may be largely found in Indo-European mythologies. The Greeks and Romans appear to have regarded rivers and mount- ains with particular favor, while the Celts and Teutons were more especially devoted to trees. The wells of knowledge and of magic and the fountains of youth which are met with in myth and legend are simpl^^ the narrowing to particular instances of the magic, the sacred- ness, and the healing gifts which were once universally attributed to streams. The monstrous python which Apollo encountered and destroyed at Delphi was, accord- ing to Mr. Kear}^, a river, and a harmful one^ — the river of death. " The reptile was, we know," says he, " before all things, sacred to ^sculapius, and M^ns kept in his house, as, for example, in the great temple at Epidaurns. It would seem that the sun-god has the special mission of overcoming and absorbing unto himself this form of fetich. This is wh}^ Apollo slays the python, and why the snake is sacred to JEsculapius." ^ Mr. Kear}^ was by no means the first, I may sa}^, to emphasize the association of serpents with rivers. The fact has been dwelt on by Dr. Brinton. Sa3's tiiis dis- tinguished student of American archaeology : " The sinuous course of the serpent is like nothing so much as that of a winding river; which, therefore, we often call serpentine. So did the Indians. Kennebec, a stream in • Outlines of Primitive Belief, p. 75. London and New York, 1882. 9 Ibid., p. 77. j^sculaphis and the Serpent. 73 Maine, in the Algonkin, means snake, and Antietam, the creek in Maryland of tragic celebrit}^, in an Iroquois dialect, has the same significance. How easil}^ could savages, construing the figure literally, make the serpent a river- or water- god." ^ 1 believe, however, tljat it would be a mistake to hold that the serpent was at any time exclusively a sj^mbol of the river. Both Mr. Kearj' and Dr. Brinton say as much. In the old world, as well as in the new, it was widel}^ recognized as a symbol of lightning, and believed to Lave power over wind and rain. Some have turned to the heavens for an explanation of serpent-worship. Thus, Mr. Arthur Lillie, in an in- teresting little work, sa3^s: " Like all old religious ideas, the serpent-symbol was, probabl}', in the first instance, astronomical. 2 Two thousand eight hundred and thirtj^- six 3'ears before Christ, a large star was within one degree of the celestial pole. This was the ^ of Draco. "^ Much interest was taken in this star of Draco, formerl}^, as Mr. Proctor says, "the polar constellation"* in different countries,^ as, for instance, in Egypt. In their studies of the great pyramid Jizeh, both Proctor and Piazzi Sm3'th^ dwell on the sul)ject at length.'^ The passage from the north, which slants downward at an angle of ' Myths of the New World, p. 107. 2 It is interesting to observe that, according to Miss Emerson, "it is probable that the Indian derived the sacred symbols of his worship from the configuration of the constellations." Indian Myths, p. 316. 3 Buddha and Early Buddhism, p. 7. London, 1881. * The Great Pyramid, p. 100. London, 1883. ^ In an article on the "Astronomy and Astrology of the Babylonians," Mr. Sayce says : "Next to the planets in importance was the polar star, called Tir anna, or Gagan-same, or 'Judge of the Heaven,' to which a special treatise was devoted in Sargon's Library." See Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, vol. iii, p. 206. ^ Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid. ' The constellation of Draco lies near to and to the north of "the Dipper," or Great Bear, and is easily distinguished. 4 D 74 Medical St/mbolism. 26° 17' into the immense structure, would seem to have been constructed so thiit A of Draco shone down it. When this was the case, the star was 3° 42' from the pole, which was its position both about 2170 and 3850 B.C. " We conclude," says Proctor, "with considerable con- fidence, that it was about one of the two dates, 3350 and 2170 B.C., that the erection of the great pyramid began, and from the researches of p]gyptologists it has become all but certain that the earlier of these dates is very near the correct epoch." ^ Smyth takes 2170 B.C. as the cor- rect date, but his unscientific method of study renders him an unreliable authority. The question is highly interesting and important. However, the constellation of Draco was represented in ancient astronomy by a tortuous serpent, either alone or in connection with a tree. Those familiar with the description of the shield of Hercules, ^ attributed to Hesiod, and which, it is believed, was suggested by a Zodiac temple^ of the Chaldeans, imitations of which were to be found in Eg3q3t and elsewhere, will recall the reference to Draco,* as follows : — "The scaly terror of a dragon coil'd Full in the central field ; unspeakable; With eyes oblique, retorted, that aslant Shot gleaming flame ; his hollow jaw was fill'd. Dispersedly with jagged fangs of white, Grim, unapproachable." * It is hardly to be inferred from this description, I > Op. ciL, p. 101. * Homer's description of the shield of Achilles is shorter, and was probably suggested by the same thing. Iliad, xviii. 3 See pictures of such in Astronomical Myths, by Blake, London, 1877. Also, In Rawlinson's Five Great Monarchies. * It is believed that it is referred to in Job, in the verse reading, "His spirit hath adorned the heavens and his obstetric hand brought forth the winding seri)ent'' (xxvi, 18, Donai version). Tlie authorized is not literal. * The Shield of llei'cules. Translation by Elton. jEscalapiiis and the Serpent. 75 maj^ remark, that the worship of Draco would be one of love. Yet, Rawlinson says : " The stellar name of Hea was Kimmut ; and it is suspected that in this aspect he was identified with the constellation Draco, which is per- haps the Kimmah ^ of Scripture. "^ This is an interesting- statement when taken in connection with what has been already said about Hea. To the Accadians and others the north was a favorable point, being the source of cool, vivifjang breezes. But, whether from fear or not, Draco inspired wide- spread attention and worship. Lillie remarks that the serpent of the " three precious gems " of the Buddhist, the serpent, sun, and tree, the A. U. M., is Draco at the pole. The Tria Ratna, or three precious symbols of the faith, have, in the representation given, their earliest emblem, except, per- haps, the swastika,^ or cross, which was doubtless formed at one time of two s:ornpnf«; * Fig. 9. -The Buddhist oi two serpents. ^^^^ ratna. In the illustration, the serpent represents the male and the staff the female or negative principle. It has been asserted that we have in it the prototype of the caduceus of Hermes. The assumption of the serpent as a totem, ^ or sym.- bol, of a family or tribe has been held — as, for example, * Translated Pleiades. Job, ix, 9 ; xxxviii, 31 ; and Amos, v, 8. ^ Five Great Monarchies, vol. i, p. 122. See also liis edition of Hero- dotus, vol. i, p. 600. 3 Those interested in this symbol should consult Schliemann's Troy and its Remains. * The swastika was so formed by Indians, See illustration in Emer- son's Indian Myths, p. 10. ' Totem is an Algonkin word, signifying to have or possess. It repre- sented, among the Indians, the social unit or clan, the gens of the Romans. 76 Medical Symbolism. by Mr. McLennan ^ and Sir Jolm Lubbock^ — to afford an explanation of the origin and practice of serpent-worship. This honor was no doubt accorded the reptile at a very early period and in different parts of the world ; and it is still done by the Nagas of India and others. In speak- ing of Parium, a city of the Troad, Strabo saj^s : " It is here the story is related that the Ophiogeneis have some affinity with the serpent tribe. . . . According to fable the founder of the race of Ophiogeneis, a hero, was transformed from a serpent into a man. He was, per- haps, one of the African Psylli." The power of curing by touch persons bitten by serpents^ was claimed b}' this tribe. David would seem to have belonged to the ser- pent familj', as appears from the name of his ancestor, Naasson ; and it has been suggested that the brazen serpent found by Hezekiah, in the Temple of Solomon, was a symbol of it. The friendliness of David to the king of Ammon is thus explained.* Speaking of rattle- snakes, it is said, in Miss Emerson's work, " These crea- tures were so highly esteemed that to have a serpent as his totem elevated an Indian chief above his brothers. "5 The fact of the same word meaning both serpent and life has been believed to cast light on the origin of the worship of serpents. After stating that the reptile was always a symbol of life and health in Egypt and other countries, the Abbe Pluche gives as the reason," because among most of the Eastern nations, as the Phoenicians, Hebrews, Arabians, and others, with the language of which that of Egypt had an affinity, the word heve or hava equally signifies the life and the serpent. The * Fortnightly Review, vol. vi ami vii. N. S, « Tlie Origin of Civilization and the Primitive Condition of Man, 1870. » Strabo, xiii, 1. * 1 Chronicles, xix, 2. ^ Indian Myths, p. 44. ^sculapius and the Serpent. 77 name of Him ivho ^s, the great name of God, Jov or Jehova, thence draws its et3'mology. Heve^ or the name of the common mother of mankind, comes likewise from the same word. Life could not be painted, but it might be marked out by the figure of the animal which bears its name."^ According to Lenormant,^ one of the generic names in the Assyrian-Semitic tongue is havon, like the Arabian hiyah, both derived from the root hdvahj to live. From the same root came the Latin ave, a wish of good health, and also sevum, the life. The asp still bears the name of naja haje. It is interesting to observe that the American Indians, as well as Eastern peoples, made use of the serpent as a sj-mbol of life. The belief that the animal had power over the fertilizing summer showers was probably at the bottom of it, as well as its title to god of fruitfulness. Says Dr. Brinton : " Because the rattle- snake, the lightning symbol, is thus connected with the food of man, and itself seems never to die, but annually to renew its youth, the Algonkins called it 'grand- father,' and king of snakes. They feared to injure it. They believed it could grant prosperous breezes or raise disastrous tempests. Crowned with the lunar crescent, it was the constant symbol of life in their picture-writing."^ In the language of the Algonkins and of the Dakotas, the words manito and waken ^ which express divinity in its widest sense, also signify serpent. Mr. Wake entertains the opinion that the mainspring of serpent-worship was a belief that the animal was really the embodiment of a deceased human being ; or, * The History of the Heavens. Translated from the French by J. B. de Freval. Two volumes. London, 1741, vol. i, p. 42. The first volume is a very able and interesting mythological production. ^ Beginnings of History, p. 114. « Myths of the New World, p. 120. T8 Medical Symbolism. ill other words, that the worship was ancestral in character. He says : " The serpent has been viewed witli awe or veneration from primeval times and almost universally as a re-embodiment of a deceased human being ; and as such there were ascribed to it the attri- butes of life and wisdom and the power of healing."^ But little, however, in what has been said throws much light on the main point at issue, namely, why the serpent should be yielded worship. The cause must be souglit for, to some extent, in peculiarities of the animal itself. And it has peculiarities enough. Remarkable in form and in mode of locomotion, and in some species possessed of deadly venom, one might well regard it with admiration and awe. Then, its longevity and apparent power of renewing its age serve to make it a very extraordinary creature. The opinion lias been expressed^ that its power to glide along without limbs, like the lieavenly bodies, was the reason why it was held to be sacred. No doubt its remarkable power of motion in the absence of limbs forcibl}^ impressed the ancients. ^"^ Solomon himself said that one of the four things he could not understand was " the way of a serpent upon a rock.''* Herbert Spencer maintains that the first step toward the worship of serpents and other animals was the * "The Origin of Serpent Worship," in the Journal of the Anthropo- logical Institute, vol. ii, p. 373. 2 By Plutarch, in Isis and Osiris. 3 In an extant fragment from Sanchoniathon, after the statement that "Taautus first consecrated the basilisk and introduced the worship of the serpent tribe, in which he was followed by the Phoenicians and Egyptians," it is said of the animal that it is "the most inspired of all the reptiles and of afiery nature, inasmuch as it exhibits an incredible celerity, moving by its spirit without either hands or feet or any of those external organs by which other animals ettect their motion." See Cory's Ancient Fragments, p. 22. Edition by Hodges. * Proverbs, xxx, 19. j^sculapius and the Serpent. 79 naming or, rather, nicknaming of men after creatures to which they bore some points of resemblance. Thus, from having apparently, like Holmes's Elsie Yenner, some of the qualities of a snake, one might be compared with the animal, and so named after it. Then the descendants, out of reoard for their ancestor, ^ mi2:ht take the name, or, in other words, accept the snake as their totem. Although the ^sculapian serpent was innocent, it was mostly a harmful species which received worship. The asp of the Egj^ptians and the cobra of the East Indians are decidedly venomous. Under the name of uj'seiLS the asp was a sj^mbol of royalty in ancient Egypt. Ebers makes Rameses sa}^ : " M}^ predecessors chose the poisonous ureeus as the emblem of their authorit}', for we can cause death as quickly and as certainly as the venomous snake. "^ The American Indians were dcA'oted to the rattlesnake, which is extremel}' venomous. Thus, says Dr. Brinton : " The rattlesnake was the species almost exclusively honored hy the red race. It is slow to attack, but venomous in the extreme, and possesses the power of the basilisk to attract within its spring small birds and squirrels. "^ Evidently the worship of such reptiles must have been inspired, in a measure at least, by fear. Still, it appears certain, as the author just quoted believes, that, as emplo3^ed to express the divine element in atmospheric and other natural phenomena, it far more frequently t3'pified what was favorable and agreeable than tlie reverse. Ebers gives it as his opinion that '' mythological figures of ^ Mr. Spencer says : "The rudimentarj^ form of all religion is tbe pro- pitiation of dead ancestors, -who are supposed to be still existing and to be capable of working good or evil to their descendants." " Origin of Animal Worship, etc.," in Fortnightly Review, vol. vii, p. 586. N. S. 2 Uarda, vol. ii, p. 249. ^ Myths of the New World, p. 108. 80 Medical Symbolism. snakes have quite as often a benevolent as a malevolent signification. "1 A word must be said about the phallic explanation of the origin of serpent-worship. Mr. Cox, an excellent writer on mythology, is friendly to this theory. After speaking of the phallus as a symbol, he says : " When we add that from its physical characteristics the Aslie- rah, which the Greeks called the phallus, suggested the emblem of the serpent, we have the key to the tree- and serpent- worship. "^ Beyond question, a phallus-serpent comes frequently into view in studying mythology, but it would be very hard to prove that every serpent met with had its prototype in the phallus. It is to be re- garded as beneficent, a life-giving power. The Agatho- dsemon is frequently so represented. Probably the possibility of charming serpents has had something to do with the remarkable uses to which these animals have been put. A person who could handle without danger a venomous reptile, and control its actions at pleasure, might easily lead many to believe him to be possessed of some miraculous power. Aaron resorted to this artifice when he appeared before Pharaoh with his cataleptic serpent, in the form of a rod.^ The reason just given seems better than the one Plutarch gives for the association of the serpent with certain great men, when he says, in his "Life of Cleo- manes," that it was from a belief that after death evaporation of "the marrow"* produces serpents ;* that * Op. cit., vol. ii, p. 38. ^ Comparative Mythology and Folk-lore, p. 143. London, 1881. ' See Exodus, vii, 10-13. * The spinal marrow was believed by some in ancient times to be the seat of life. Plato entertained that view. See Timaeus, 74, 91. * In that hoary Egyptian work. The Book of the Dead (oh. 155), occurs this remarkable passage : "All creation is, when dead, turned into living reptiles." u^sculapius and the Seryent. 81 the ancients appropriated the serpent, rather than any other animal, to heroes. I believe it is vain to attempt to trace the origin of serpent-worship to one and the same source. This appears plain when it is remembered that some serpents represented good, while others stood for the opposite, evil. The Bible furnishes a marked instance of contrasts : in one place a serpent was used, as has been pointed out, as a s^^mbol of God, or Christ, while elsewhere one represents cunning, envy, lying, and even " the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. "^ In the nature of things, one would expect the same species of reptile to produce a yerj similar impression on primitive peoples everywhere. This, probably, accounts largely for the resemblance to one another of most serpent-legends. The different impressions produced hy different species would, to some extent, explain the unlike significance of serpent-sj^mbols among different peoples. The signifi- cation, however, was often of ver}^ fanciful origin, as, for example, where a serpent in the form of a circle symbolized eternity, or, rather, endless life. * Rev., xyi, 9. 4* CHAPTER X. VARIOUS ATTRIBUTES OF iESCULAPIUS. In this chapter I will speak briefly of various attri- butes, more or less generally accorded to ^sculapius. Some of them are decidedly significant, but none so much so as the staff and serpent of which I have fully treated. In many, indeed most, of the representations of ^sculapius, he is crowned with a wreath of laurel. This mark of merit, like rays of light which were given in some instances, has been commonly held to have been accorded him because he was the son of Apollo, to whom the tree was sacred. According to this view, one has in it a remnant of the oracular laurel at Delphi. Another way of accounting for it is, to use the words of Tooke, "because that tree is powerful in curing many diseases,"! an exaggerated claim. The ancients regarded it as effective against evil spirits. ^ A BUNCH OF HERBS was at timcs represented in one of the hands of the god. This was very appropriate. The district of Greece^ in which, according to the leoend, he studied under Chiron, was famous for its medicinal plants. A BOWL was occasionally shown in connection with figures of ^sculapius. It was indicative of the admin- istration by him of medicinal potions. A SCROLL was an attribute of some ^sculapian * Pantheon, p. 271. Am. edition. Baltimore, 1830. 2 For much of interest about the laurel, see Plant-lore Legends and Lyrics, p. 404, by Richard Folkard, Jr. London, 1884, » Thessaly. (83) 84 Medical Symbolism. figures. It is an admirable one for an ideal physician. In modern times it should certainly be regarded as an indispensable one. Medicine has been evolved from recorded experience, and its progress is dependent on the same. An unpublished discovery of any kind is, in a manner, none at all. Curiously enough the name of the Egyptian god of medicine, Imhotep, means, " I bring the offeriug," the ideograph for hotepy or ofiering, being a papyrus roll. I will now say a few words about a remarkable attri- bute of some representations of the god of medicine. I refer to telesphorus, EUEMERiON, or ACESius,^ a Small figure, a boy, but not a son, as is sometimes stated. As will be seen in the cut of him given, and which is copied from one given by Tooke,^ as seen in a statue in the Louvre, lie is wrapped in a mantle and is bare- footed. Figures of him, however, vary considerably in appearance. In him we Fig. 10— Teles- have, according to some, a sort of dsemon PHORus. ^^, familiar spirit, such as that which Socrates is said to have had. It is better, I think, to re- gard him as a genius,^ meant to symbolize the hidden sustaining vital force, the vis medicatrix naturae, or anima medica,\\\)0\\ which greatly depends the recovery of the sick. It has been suggested that the careful » The literal meaning of Telesphorus is " bringing to an end ;" of Eue- merion, "prosperous, or glorious;" and of Acesius, "health-giving." * Pantheon. 3 Tooke states that hy genius is generally meant "that spirit of nature which produces all things, from which generative power it has its name, . . . The images of the genii resembled, for the most part, the form of a serpent. Sometimes they were described like a boy, a girl, or an old man.'' Pantheon, p. 240. Various Attributes of JEsculapius. 85 wrapping may be intended to indicate the need of such protection during convalescence. The DOG was prominent in connection with the Epi- daurian and other statues of ^sculapius. The fidelity and watchfulness of this friendl}'^ animal render it a very tit attribute of the god. The part played with the goat, according to the legend, has been taken by some to afford an explanation of the connection. Another is furnished by the name, which, as will be pointed out in the next chapter, apparently means man-dog. The Parsis believed that dogs with four eyes could drive away the death-fiend ; but such not being procur- able, one " with two spots above the eyes " was used for the purpose. In their great sacred book,^ the animal is represented to be the special one of Ormazd. Herodotus states that the Magi do not hesitate to kill all animals, " excepting dogs and men."^ The Oriental Mardux, in whom was assimilated the more ancient Silik-mulu-khi, a healing divinitj^, was attended by dogs, as was Nimrod, the hunter, with whom he may have been identical.^ The COCK, as well as the dog, was a prominent attri- bute in many representations of -^sculapius. This alert bird, a bird watchful of the returning light, was very properly associated with a sun-god. It was a com- mon object of sacrifice to the god, b}^ patients who were grateful for relief or cure. Socrates has, through Plato, made this memorable. Said the dying sage, as he felt his limbs growing cold : " When the poison reaches the heart, that will be the end." Feeling his body gradually losing its vital heat, and realizing that relief from his troubles was at hand, he said, as he passed awaj^, " Crito, I 1 Zend Avesta. 2 Herodotus, i, 140. ^ See Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, vol. ii, p. 245. 86 Medical Symbolism. owe a cock to JEsculapius ; will you remember to pay the debt?" " The debt shall be paid," responded his friend.^ The practice of sacrificing^ a cock for the restora- tion of health was not exclusively practiced by the votaries of ^sculapius. In his " Life of Pyrrhus, King of Epirus," Plutarch says that "a white cock" was sacrificed generally by each of the patients he touched " for swelling of the spleen." The full quotation will be given in a succeeding chapter. The bird is still sacrificed in some parts of Scotland and other countries, for the removal of at least one disease, — epilepsy. Dr. Mitchell, of Edinburgh, states that the practice is very familiar to him. In the northern part of his native country, "on the spot," says he, " where the epileptic first falls, a black cock is buried alive, along with a lock of the patient's hair and some parings of his nails. "^ There is yet another animal associated with the god of medicine, — the goat. It was especially b}^ the Cyrenians that the connection was much emphasized. Pausanias remarks that "the Cyrenians sacrifice goats, although this rite was not delivered bj^ the Epidaurians."* Still, as already pointed out, on Epidaurian coins, JEsculapius was represented sucking a goat, — an illus- tration of the legend. Wh}^ the goat was connected in sacrifice with the god is explained by Tooke thus: "A goat is alwaj's in a fever, and, therefore, a goat's constitution is very con- trary to health."^ Shakespeare, in " King Lear," uses 1 Phaedo. 2 Grimm justly remarks that sacrifice was a common feature jf heathen medicine ; "great cures and the averting of pestilence," says he, "could only be effected by sacrifice." Teutonic Mythology (translation), p. 11.30. 3 The Past in the Present, p. 164. New York, 1881. * Itinerary of Greece (translation), vol, ii, p. 211. » Pantheon, p, 271. Various Attributes of JEsculapius. 8t the phrase " goatish disposition " in reference to a " whoremaster man." The fabled satyrs were in part goats in form. I am not aware that there was anything of the Biblical scape-goat principle^ about the sacrifice, a superstition similar to the one which prevailed " all over Egypt," as we are told by Herodotus, 2 of prajdng that evils impending over the people might fall on the head of the sacrificial victim, and then casting it into the Nile, if there was no Greek at hand to whom it could be sold. The great prominence of the goat in the ^sculapian rites in Cyrene may have been due, to some extent at least, to the proximity of Egypt, a country in which the animal played a prominent part. In the goat of Mendes,^ the incarnation of Khem or Min, was personified, says Lenormant, " in the most brutish manner the repro- ductive power." * Both the goat and the cock were often associated with the Egyptian Hermes. I may add that the cause of the association of the goat with ^sculapius has been referred to the name. The Abbe Banier states the case thus : " Es or ex, which begins the name of the god, signifies a goat in the language of the Phoenicians,^ and, with a little varia- tion, the same thing in Greek ;^ and this had given rise to the fable of -^sculapius being nursed by that animal."^ * See Levit., xvi et seq. «Ch. ii, 39. 3 Ammon, Knupliis, or Agathodaemon of later times. ■* Ancient History of the East, vol. i, p. 326. ^ The language of the Hebrews is essentially the same: es or ez means a goat, ' The Mythology and Fables of the Ancients Explained from History, vol. iii, p. 160. London, 1740, CHAPTER XL GODS ANALOGOUS TO ^SCULAPIUS. The great eminence acquired by the -^Esculapian ra^^th among the Grecians might reasonably lead to the belief that it was one entirely special to that imaginative people. Like many other gods, however, of both high and low degree, this one was only in part " to the manor born." There is good ground for believing that there was what might justly be called a prototype of the divinity of much repute in both Phoenicia and Egypt. Dr. Mayo does not hesitate to say that " ^sculapius was actually known in the Oriental countries before he was in Greece, whither his worship was brought from Phoenicia by the colony of Cadmus and from Egypt by that of Danaus."^ It is not improbable that the main conception of the healing god did really long antedate not only the Grecian but both the Phoenician and Egyptian embodiments of it. Evidence of this will be found later in the chapter. The EsMUN " the Eighth " of the Phoenicians, especially worshipped at Berytus,^ has been regarded^ as essentially the same as the Grecian JEsculapius. He was probably that and something more. Little definite is known of this personage, of whom the serpent was a sj^mbol, save what we are told of him in the fragment of an historical work by Sanchoniathon, preserved by Ensebius, an early Christian writer. " To Sydjiv, called * New System of Mythology, vol. iii, p. 456. Philadelphia, 1819. '^ Now called Beyrout. ' Damascius, in his Life of Isidorus, uses the phrase "Esmun, who is interpreted Asclepius." D' (89) 90 Medical Symbolism. the Just," it is said, "one of the Titauides^ bore Esmun."2 He is represented to have been the eighth and chief of those*spared b}^ the delnge, and also of the Cabiri, or Cabeiri,^ "the seven sons of S^'d^'k,"* the mighty ones, named, it has been said,^ after mountains in Phrj^gia, and divinities widel}^, but in general secretly, adored, in Phoenicia, Carthage,^ Egypt,' and else- where. The belief has been expressed that Noah and his family and the Cabiri were original!}^ the same.® Mr. Faber entertained this view, and it is full}^ set forth by bim in an interesting work, — one, b}^ the way, in which is abl}^ presented the so-called Arkite s^'^mbolism,^ which has excited considerable attention, but which Mr. Tylor, as well as many others, declares to be " arrant non- sense. "^^ In reference to JEsculapius he says : " This deity connects the first and second tables of the Phoe- nician genealogies, his father, Sydyk, occupying a conspicuous place in the one, while his mother, Titanis, * Daughters of Titan, by Astarte. ^ See Cory's Ancient Fragments, p. 14. Edition by Hodges. ' From the Semitic word Kabir, great. * Cory's Ancient Fragments, p. 19. * Chambers's Encyclopaedia. ^ Tlie temple of the god at Carthage was of great splendor and renown. See Dr. Davis's Carthage and its Remains, ch. xvii. London, 1861. Says the Doctor : "The Temple of -^sculapius was as prominent a feature of Carthage as the Capitoline hill was at Rome, or as St. Paul's is in London" (p. 369h It was on a rocky eminence (the Byrsa). Ruins of the staircase still remain. ■■ The city of Ilermopolis received also the name of Esmun. In the Book of the Dead (ch. cxiv) the deceased is represented as saying, while adoring Thoth, Amset, and Tum : "I have come as a prevailer, through knowing the spirits of Esmun." Thoth presided over this nome. * Bunsen maintains that the Cabiri were the seven archangels of the Jews, originally "the seven fundamental powers of the visible creation." Egypt's Place in Universal History, vol. iv, p. 256. ' See Prof. Lesley's interesting work, ]Man's Origin and Destinj', first edition. Philadelphia, 1868. For some reason the chapter on Arkite sym- bolism is not given in the second edition. '° Primitive Culture, vol. i, p. 218. London, 1871. Gods Analogous to jEsculapius. 91 is enumerated among the daughters of Cronus, in the other. I am much inclined to think that the imaginary god of health is in reality the very same person as his reputed father, Sj^dyk, both of them being equally the patriarch, Noah, worshipped in connection with the sun. Macrobius, accordingly, informs us that JEsculapius was one of the many names of the solar deity, and that he was usually adored along with Salus, or the Moon.^ Salus, however, was no less a personification of the ark than of the moon, those two objects of idolatrous venera- tion being allied to each other in consequence of the union of the Arkite and Sabian superstitions. Thus, while Noah was revered as the god of health and as one of the eight Cabiri, the vessel in which he was preserved was honored with the title of Salus, or Safety."^ Lenormant regards the Cabiri as the seven planets of the ancients ; that is, the Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Yenus, and Mercury. " Esmun," says he, " invisi- ble to mortal eyes, was supposed to be the connecting link of the seven others and the one approaching nearest to the primordial Baal.^ He presided over the whole sideral S3^stem, and was supposed to preside over the laws and harmonies of the universe, and in this respect was the same as Taaut."* Although secret, the worship of the Cabiri was par- ticipated in by persons of either sex and of all ages. In Lemnos and other places the fires were put out, sacrifices to the dead were made, and fire was brouo-ht from Delos in a sacred vessel and given to the people, who, with it, began a new and regenerated existence. » Saturnal, i, 20. 2 The Mysteries of the Cabiri, vol. i, p. 98. Oxford, 1803. 3 In Phoenicia he was the seven viewed collectively as " the soul of the world." Bunsen's Egypt's Place, etc., vol. iv, p. 229. * Ancient History of the East, vol. ii, p. 221. 92 Medical Symbolism. Phallic rites formed an inseparable part of the worship, which was indulged in at stated periods. As showing that ^scnlapius was of Phoenician origin, Mr. Faber lays emphasis on the fact that in the edition of Yirgll by Servius the line telling of the destruction of the god makes him a Phoenician : — ^^Fuhnine Poenigenam Stygias detrusit ad undas.'^'^ The usual and, doubtless, the right reading makes Poen ige nam, Ph oebige n am. The opinion that ^sculapius was essentially the same as Anubis among the early Egyptians has been advanced. Both were viewed as simply divine personi- fications of Sirlus, or Sothis, the dog-star.^ This view is well presented by M. Pluclie. A study of the name^ JEsculapius may or may not afford evidence in favor of the idea that there was originally a connection between the god and the dog- star. Although decidedly a Grecian god, Asklepios does not appear to be a Greek word. Keightly goes so far as to sa}^ "Of his name no satisfactory derivation has as yet been offered."* He ventures, however, to suggest that it may be from the root GxaXka, the original meaning of which may have been to cut, whence the Latin scaljjo and our own word scalpel. Mr. Keightly forgot that the name was not necessarily Greek ; for that, like nearly all others, was largely a derivative lan- guage. In the Greek as well as the Latin form, it may be Hebrew, or, what was essentially the same, Phoeni- cian. Taking it to be compounded of esh, aish, isch, ' ^neid, vii, line 773. ' Tiele takes such a view of Anubis. See Histoi-y of the Egyptian Religion, p. 65. » Nearly all ancient Hebrew, as well as Assyiian, proper names are expressive of something about tbe birth or life of the bearers. * Mythology of Ancient Greece and Rome. Third edition. London, 1854. Gods Analogous to ^sculapius, 93 or ish^'^ a man, and caleb^^ caleph^ or culap, a clog, the literal meaning of it is vir-caniSj or man-clog. But, as some remarks already made indicate, it may be inter- preted to mean goat-dog.^ Anubts, Anup, or Anupu, who in very early times was possibly the same as Thoth, was regarded as sym- bolic of that brightest of the fixed stars, Sirius, " the burning," whose first appearance in the morning was the signal of the advent of the warm season, and the Etesian or periodic wind from the north, as well as the beginning of the year,* The rising of this notable star heliacally — that is, with the sun^ — told the Egyptians to prepare at once for the overflow of the waters of the Nile. By many it was believed to be the cause of the flood. The watch-clog was evidently a A^ery appropriate symbol for this star of warning. Then, from the fact that Sirius gave warning of danger, and thus saved the lives of the people, to the symbols of it the serpent, the life- S3^mbol, was often and very properly attached. " On this account it was," says Pluche, "that Anubis and ^sculapius passed for the inventors of physic and tlie preservers of life."^ ^ The Hebrew word, like the Latin vir, means man in a distinguished sense (virile) , and may come from the EgjTptian ash, tree of life. ^ Caleb, or city of the dog, on the coast of Phoenicia, has been ac- corded the credit of the name of the god. See the Abbe Banier's My- thology and Fables of the Ancients, etc. (translation), vol. iii, p. 160. ^ Possibly the first syllable of -^sculapius, like the Hebrew ishi, salu- tary, and asa, to heal, may have been from the Egyptian usha, health- bringing, — doctor. See Gerald Massey's Book of Beginnings, vol. ii, p. 301. London, 1881. ■• Hence the name, Canicular Year. ' It does not now rise heliacally until the middle of August. But, 4000 years ago it rose so about the 20th of June, and just preceded the annual rising of the Nile. ^ History of the Heavens, vol. i, p. 185. Anubis had various functions which cannot be spoken of here. He bore the souls of men to the nether world, like Hermes, of the Greeks, and assisted Horus in weighing them. A passage in the Book of the Dead reads, "He is behind the bier which holds the bowels of Osiris." Evidently he might be regarded as the god of undertakers. 94 31edical Symbolism. Others besides the Egyptians regarded Sirius with favor ;^ as, for example, the Parsis, to whom it was " Tystria, the bright and glorious star."^ In Greece, however, it was not regarded as propitious. To it were attributed certain diseases. Thus, Homer, who calls it Orion's dog, sa3^s : — " His burning breath Taints the red air with fevers, plagues, and death. "3 Remembering the medical history of Sirius, it is worth while recalling that the "dog-days," those ex- tending from about the 22d of July to the 23d of August, are often spoken of as the physician's holiday. One very often hears that Thoth was to the Egyptians the god of medicine, just as iEsculapius was to the Greeks and Romans. Even the late Dr. Aitken Meigs, a scholarly physician, accepted this idea. In an ad- dress, to be referred to later, he says : " JEsculapius is, doubtless, the Egyptian Thoth, or Hermes Trismegistus, whose symbols, the staff and twining serpent, FiQ.ii.-ANUBis. g^ij.j^o^^,^ted with the mystic hawk of Horus-Ra and the solar urseus,^ appear in the ancient temple Pselcis, near Dakkeh, in Nubia." The Doctor is about as wide of the mark as Forbes Win slow, when he says that the Grecian " Apollo and Minerva answered * Typhon, or Set, was regarded, indeed, by the Egyptians as the god Sothis, or Sirius. See Bunsen's Egypt's IMace, etc., vol. i, p. 429. But Typhon was not, in early times, regarded as simply the personification of evil. See Kenrick's Ancient Egypt, vol. i, p. 350. ' Zend Avesta. Edition by James Darmesteter, in two parts, or vol- umes, in The Sacred Books of the East, edited by Max Miiller, vol. i, p. 83. Oxford, England, 1883. ^ Iliad, xxii. * Such a staff is, indeed, shown by Wilkinson, and is given by Cooper in his essay, already qnoted. From the presence of the hawk and uraius, one might more properly accord it to Horus. Gods Analogous to j^sculapius. 95 to the Isis and Osiris of tiie Eg3?^ptiaiis ; and Orplieus, the priest, poet, and physician, usurped the place of Thoth."! Hermes, Thoth, or Thot, the Tet or Taautes of the Phcenicians, was not the god of medicine among the Egyptians, any more than he was the god of any otlier special branch of knowledge. He was the patron god of all kinds of learning. Says Ebers : " The discovery of nearly ever}^ science is attributed to the ibis-headed god, Thoth, the writer or clerk of heaven, whom the Greeks compared to their god, Hermes."^ It is no doubt true, however, that Hermes was cred- ited with taking considerable interest in medical matters. He was said to have been the author of six books on the healing art, in which anatomy, pathology, and thera- peutics were treated of, together with diseases of the eye, — apart of the body which has always suffered much in Egypt. Ebers remarks that " the book on the use of medicine has been preserved to the present day in the * Papyrus-Ebers.' "^ Having referred to the " Pap3a*us-Ebers," it may be well to say a few words about it. It was discovered a few years ago by the learned and A^ersatile Eg3n^tologist, Herr Ebers, and is the best preserved of all the ancient Eg5^ptian manuscripts extant. It was written at Sals during the eighteenth dynasty ; that is, in the sixteenth century before our era. It consists of 110 pages. In it we have the hermetic medical work of the ancient Egyptians, with the contents of which the Alexandrian Greeks were familiar. The god Thoth is called in it "the Guide" of physicians, and the composition of it is * Physic and Physicians, vol. i, p. 6. London, 1839. " Princess, vol. i, p. 210. ' Ibid. 96 Medical Symbolism. attributed to him. Tiiis venerable document treats of many internal and external diseases of most parts of the bod3\ Special attention is given to the visual organs. Drugs belonging to all the kingdoms of nature are used, and with those prescribed are numbers according to which they are w^eighed with weights and measured with hollow vessels. Accompanying the prescriptions are noted the pious axioms to be repeated hy the physician while compounding and giving them to the patient. The German government has published the work in facsimile^ a copy of which I have examined. There is a copy of it, I think, in the Astor Library, New York. Medicine certainly consisted of more than charms and the like, at a very earl}- period, in Egypt. Indeed, in the remains of Manetho's history of the countrj', it is said of the successor of Menes, the first king of the first dynasty, which dates back to about 4000 j^ears before our era: "Athothis, his son, reigned 5t j^ears ; he built the palaces at Memphis, and left the anatomical books, for he was a physician. "^ The custom of embalm- ing the dead necessarily led to at least a rough knowl- edge of the anatomy of the body. Sesostris, or Sesortosis, the second king of the third dynasty, sometimes gets credit for being "the actual founder of medicine."^ Manetho says of him : " He is called Asclepius by the Egyptians, for his medical knowledge."^ According to Herodotus and Diodorus, medical prac- tice was carried on in a highly rational way at an early period in Egypt. Mr. Sayce ventures to say that in the period of the eighteenth d^^iast}^ medicine was in almost 1 See Cory's Ancient Fraf!;inents, p. 112. Edition by Hodges. ' Bunsen, in Egypt's Place in Universal History, vol. ii, p. 89. » See Cory's Ancient Fragments, p. 113. Gods Analogous to jEsculapius. 97 as advanced a state as in the age of Galen ; the various diseases known were careful!}^ distinguished from one another, and their symptoms were minutelj^ described, as well as their treatment. The prescrii)tions recom- mended in each case are made out in precisel3^ the same way as the prescriptions of a modern doctor. "^ Mr. Sa3^ce bases these statements on the " Papj^rus-Ebers." However, we are informed by Herodotus that specialists were common when he visited the country, which was about 450 3^ears before our era; but this must not be accepted as proof that medicine was necessarily in a very advanced state. Here is what the Grecian historian says : "Medicine is practiced among them on a plan of separation ; each ph^-sician treats a single disorder, and no more. Thus, the countrN' swarms with medical prac- titioners, some undertaking to cure diseases of the eye; others, of the head; others, again, of the teeth; others, of the intestines; and some, those which are not local. "2 As to their philosoph}^ of morbid condi- tions, he says: '• The}^ have a persuasion that every dis- ease to wliich men are liable is occasioned b}^ substances whereon they feed." This doctrine led them "to purge the body by means of emetics and clysters " for " three successive days in eacli month. "^ In respect to medical specialism in Egypt, I may further say that, according to Ebers,* as early as 1500 before our era, any one requiring a pliysician sent for him, not to his house, but to the temple. There a statement was obtained from the messenger concerning the complaint from which the sick person was suffering; and then it was left to the principal of the medical staff of the '■ Ancient Empires of the East, p. 76. ' Herodotus, ii, 84. Translation by Kawlinson, ' Ibid., ii, 77. * Princess, vol. i, p. 17. 5 £ 98 Medical Symbolism. sanctuary to select that master of the healing art whose special knowledge and experience qualified him to be best suited for the treatment of the case. No honorarium was expected from the patient. The fee was paid b}^ the State. According to Canon Rawlinson, it is an open ques- tion whether, as is often said, the physicians of ancient Egypt formed a special division of the sacerdotal order; " though, no doubt, some of the priests were required to study medicine. "1 It is interesting to connect with this the foUowino; statement from an authoritative work: " There is no sign in the Homeric poems of the subordi- nation of medicine to religion, which is seen in ancient Egypt and India. "^ It has been asserted that "medicine in Egypt was a mere art, or profession."^ That this assertion is ridicu- lousl}' untrue any one knows who is competent to form an opinion on medical subjects, and who has read the Pentateuch. Moses, whose learning was Egyptian, had a wonderful knowledge of h^^giene, — the most important ])art of medicine. The manner of dealing with contagious diseases described in the thirteenth and fourteenth chap- ters of Leviticus is far in advance of our practice to-day. So intent were the Eg3'ptians on knowing the nature of diseases that post-mortem examinations were, it is said b}^ Plin}^, resorted to for the purpose. Unlike the re- ligion of the Hebrews, theirs did not teach them to dread touching the dead. But one has the authority of Celsus for saying that the latter physicians, those of the Alex- andrian school, were not satisfied with the dissection of the dead ; they went so far as to make ante-mortem ex- » History of Ancient Ejrypt, vol. ii, p. 528. London, 1881. ' EncyclopaRflia Britannica, ninth ed. ' Smith's Dictionary of the Bible. Gods Analogous to j^sculapius. 99 aminations of criminals. In truth, Mr. Sayce properly observes that it was " in medicine that Egypt attained any real scientific eminence."^ Jeremiah, speaking of "the daughter of Egj'pt," says : " In vain shalt thou use many medicines ; for thou shalt not be cured. "^ This remark indicates that the skillful use of medicines by the Eg3^ptians was widely noised abroad over five centuries before our era. Both Cyrus and Darius sent to Egypt for ph3^sicians.^ Hip- pocrates, however, who lived nearly two centuries later than the prophet, gives no prominence to Egj'ptian medicine. But much earlier, indeed, than this time, it is evident from the works of Homer that it was in repute among the Greeks. Thus, to remove the grief and rage caused by the death of brave Antilochus, we are told that the famous Helen of Sparta, who takes on the occasion the role of une femme medecin, — "Mix'd a mirth-mspiringbowl, Temper'd with drugs of sovereign power t' assuage The boiling bosom of tumultuous rage. *********** These drugs so friendly to the joys of life Bright Helen learn'd from Thone's imperial wife, 4 Who sway'd the sceptre, where prolific Nile With various simples clothes the fatten'd soil.''^ Again, it is said of the Pharian or Egyptian race: — ' ' From Paeon sprung, their patron god imparts To all the Pharian race his healing arts."^ Such statements as those just made would seem to render it more than probable that not a little of Grecian * Ancient Empires of the East, p. 76. 2 Jer., xlvi, 11. = Herodotus, iii, 1, 129. * Polydamna. Helen's enforced sojourn in Egypt is fully described by Herodotus (ii, 113-116). Thone, Thon, or Thonls, the historian speaks of as the "warden of the Canopic mouth of the Nile." The town of Heracleura bore the name. ' Odyssey, iv. " Ibid. 100 Medical Symbolism. medicine was of Egyptian origin. Pliny, indeed, says that it was claimed that the study of medicine was begun in Egypt. ^ Blakie, however, ventures to affirm that " the knowledge of medicine came to the Greeks originally from Thessaly, one of the earliest seats of Hellenic civilization, as is evident from the pedigree of Coronis."^ At any rate, it is certain that, for some time before and after the beginning of the Ciiristian era, Alexandria was a great medical centre. There it was that Herophilus and Erasistratus lived and imperishably distinguished themselves two centuries or so B.C. But I must return to Hermes, from whom I have been wandering, perhaps, too far and too long. Al- though I am not disposed to give the medical position to him that some have questionabl}' done, I deem it Mise to say a few words especially about him. Lenormant believes that he was originally the angel of Baal, Malak-Baal, who, like him, assimilated with the Agatho- daemon.3 It is generally believed that he came to Egypt from Phoenicia.* He was usually represented* with the head of, not a hawk, but an ibis, a heart-shaped bird with the plumage white, except the pinions and tail, which are black, and with long legs and beak, the latter crooked. This bird was the symbol of him made use of in writing. Both it^ and a species' black in color are well described by Herodotus. Mummified specimens of it are to be seen in an excellent state of * Natural History, vii. ' Homer and the Iliad, vol. i. * Beginnings of History, p. 536. * Bunsen holds that Esmun and he were originally the same ; "as the snake god he must actually be Hermes, in Phoenician, Tet, Taautes." Egypt's Place, etc., vol. iv, p. 256. * In the cut he appears counting the years on a palm-branch — the ideograph for year. (Fig. 12, p. 101.) * Ibis religiosa, Hab of the Ancient Egyptians. ■■ Ibis falcinellus, the glossy ibis. Gods Analogous to ^sculapius. 101 preservation in museums, as, for instance, in that of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. I may observe in this connection that an Ibis Society would be the same as a Hermes Societ3\ Neither title is \ery suitable for a medical one. I have heard of an Ibex Society ; but, of course, the ibis and the ibex are entirely different creatures. HoRUS himself, whose " face is in the shape of the divine hawk," ^ and who, in some respects, resembles Apollo, was believed to possess medi- cal power.2 Murray even says, " Horus was reputed to have been deeply versed in the practice of medicine, and, ac- cordingh^, was compared with ^scu- laj^ius."^ Chonsu, or Chonsu-nefer-hotep,* the son of Amun and Mut, the third of the great Theban triad, was re- garded as a healing divinity. Says Tiele : " He was resorted to for the cure of all diseases, or for the exor- cism of all the evil spirits who inflict them."^ He resembled Thoth some- what. From the third century before our era forward Serapis was highly esteemed for his healing power.® He was in part a Grecian conception, being first promi- FiG. 12,— Thoth. • Book of the Dead, ch. Ixxviii. Translation by Birch, in vol. v of Bunsen's Egypt's Place, etc. The hawk is the usual symbol of Horus, just as the ibis is of Thoth. ^ Tiele pronounces Horus to be "the God of Light, the Token of Life." History of th'e Egyptian Religion, p. 5i. = Manual of Mythology, p. 346. London, 1873. * Often spoken of as the Hercules of the Egyptians. ' History of the Egyptian Religion, p. 154. ^ See Diodorus Siculus, i, 25 ; and Tacitus, xiv, 81. 102 Medical Symbolism. nent in Pontus, and his worship became popular in many sections of Greece and Rome ; but Alexandria was his chief seat, and his serapeum there was of great magnificence and renown. ^ He was represented in various wa^^s, often as a man encirled by a serpent. The special personage corresponding to ^sculapius, among the Egyptians, would seem to have been Imhotep, EiMOPTH, Imothph, Eimothph, or Emeph, a god whose shrine was first discovered by Salt,^ the Egyptologist, at Philae. A Greek inscription on the shrine reads : "-^sculapius, who is Imuthes, son of Vulcan." In accordance with the inscription. Sir Erasmus Wilson sa3^s : " Imhotep, the Imuthes of the Greeks, corre- sponded with their ^sculapius."^ Ebers, probably the best of authorities on the subject, says of Imhotep : " He was the son of Ptah, and named Asklepios by the Greeks. Memphis* was the chief city of his worship. He is usuall^^ represented with a cap on his head and a book on his knee. There are fine statues of him at Berlin, the Louvre, and other museums."^ It is said by Tiele that " he is a personification of the sacrificial fire," that " the texts designate him as the first of the Cher-hib, a class of priests who were at the same time choristers and ph3'sicians, for the sacred hj^mns were believed to have a magical power as remedies, and that his worship, although of ancient date, "does not seem ever to have taken a prominent place. "^ • Says Gibbon : " Alexandria, which claimed his peculiar protection, glorified in the name of the City of Serapis." The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. xxviii. *> See his Essay, p, 50. * Egypt of the Past, p. 15. London, 1881. * The capital of Lower Egypt. * Uarda, vol. i, p. 203. « History of the Egyptian Religion, p. 94. London, 1882. Tiele re- marks that Imhotep was not only called Asklepios by the Greeks, "but likewise the Eighth, thus showing that they regarded him as one of the Kabirs" (p. 95). I may add that the worship of the Kabirs, in the character Gods Analogous to JEsculapius. 103 Of Imliotep I may further sa}^, in the way of biog- raphy, that he was the son of Ptah and Sekhet, and was possibly a king of the sixth dynasty. In the Egyptian system of mythology, Ptah, " he who forms," the god of fire, was regarded as the father of the gods and the great artificer of the world. He bore a resemblance to Hephaestus,^ a god, indeed, who had the gift of healing. After all, it is necessary to say that there is but little evidence to establish the claim of Imhotep to the title of god of medicine. As Kenrick says, " He has no at- tribute which specially refers to the art of healing, and it may be an arbitrary interpretation of the Grreeks which gave him the name of ^sculapius, as some ap- plied the same to Serapis."^ Whether he was a medical worthy or not, it appears from quotations from his teachings given in a song, recentlj^ translated from a papyrus in the British Museum, that he was of decidedly epicurean views. " Fulfill," says he, " thy desire whilst thou livest ;" and again : " Feast in tranquility, seeing that there is no one who carries away his good things with him."^ However, as a matter of interest, I will give the name of the god in the Egyptian characters.* The double reed stands for a long 2, or ei, the owl for w,and the other three figures — the table, semicircle, and square — for h t p. As will be observed, the o and e of the ideographic combination, hotep,^ are not given. The of cosmic deities, was early established in the region where Memphis stood. Bunsen, indeed, identifies Ptah and his seven sons with the Kabirs. See Egypt's Place, etc., vol. iv, p. 217. ' Vulcan of the Romans, ^ Ancient Egypt, vol. i, p. 333. * Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, vol. iii, p. 386. * See Fig. 13, p. 104. The characters of this name are all phonetic ; but very many are pictorial or symbolic. Examples of symbolic characters will be given in the chapter on amulets. ' An offering ; food, peace, welcome. 104 Medical Symbolism. reason of this is, that in writing, the Egj-ptians, like the Hebrews and others, commonly omitted the vowels, ex- cept at tlie beginning and end of words. The meaning of the name is rendered by Bun sen, " I come with the offering. "1 An early Aryan divinity has been stated to be an analogue or even the prototype of JEsculapins. Mr. Faber refers to Captain Wilford as holding that the classical health and life restorer " is the Hindoo Aswi- CULAPA, or the chief of the race of the horse, and he further intimates that Aswiculapa was very nearly- re- lated to the two hero-gods wiio are evidently the same as Castor and Pollux. These were believed to be the children of the sun and the goddess Devi, the sun at the time of their intercourse having assumed the form of a horse and Devi tliat of a mare."^ He hardly presents the real opinion Fig. 13.-IMHOTEP. ^^^Pi'essed by the Captain, but, at any rate, what he has to say is not extremely important.^ The Aswi, Asvi, or Asvins were two, and were pos- sibl}' tlie prototj'pes of the Dioscuri,* Castor and Pollux. Thej^ were connected with the sun as horses. Taking them to be forms of the Dioscuri, they might be re- lated to the two sons of ^sculapins, Machaon and Poda- lirius, for these have been regarded as such, — " nothing more than a specific form of the Dioscuri," to use the words of De Gubernatis.^ The conception of Chiron may have been in part derived from the Asvins. * Egypt's Place in Universal History, vol. i, p. 400. * Mysteries of the Cabiri, vol. i, p. 99. ' See his work on Eg:ypt, etc., in Asiatic Researches, vol. iii, p. 392. * Cooper says that they were the two deities of the morning and evening twilight, and "were the origin of the Dioscuri of the Greeks." Archyeic Dictionary. London, 1876. » Zoological Mythologj', vol. i, p. 353. Gods Analogous to jEscidapius. ;105 Tlie Asvins were worshipped from an early period by the Hindus, reference to them being made in the oldest h3'mns. Cox says of them, "As ushering in the health- ful light^ of the sun, they are like Asclepios and his children, healers and physicians; and their power of restoring the aged to youth re-appears in Medeia, the daughter of the sun."^ In the " Rig-Yeda " they are characterized as "givers of happiness, "^ and are said "to be most ready to come to the aid of the destitute."* They were believed to be conversant with all medica- ments. Thrtta of the Parsis, the Trtta of the Hindus, is a remarkable healing, semi-divine personage, of whom a great deal is said in the " Zend Avesta" and other sacred books of Aryan peoples of the east. According to the " Zend Avesta," which is from a common source with the " Yedas," he is the curer of the diseases caused by the great evil spirit, Ahriman. In the " Yedas " he is said to extinguish illness in men as the gods extin- guished it in him, and he can grant long life. He drinks Soma, as did Indra, to acquire strength to kill the demon Yritra. In the Parsi sj^stem of religion, Thrita received from the supreme god, Ahura-Mazda,^ ten thousand healing- plants, which had been growing around the tree of life, the white Hora,^ the Soma of the Hindus. Thrita appears to have been one of the first priests of the personified source of life and health, — "the * Evil has always been associated with darkness. Harmful demons have always disliked light. ^ Mythology of the Aryans, vol. i, p. 391. » See Wilson's edition, vol. iii, p. 307. * Ibid., p. 103. * Ormazd, believed to have been originally identical with Varuna of the Vedas. ® Believed to be the Asclepias acida, or Sarcostemma viminalis, whose juice yields an intoxicating liquor. 5* 106 Medical Symbolism. enlivening, healing, fair, lordly, golden-e3^ed Haoma.''^ The destruction of a great serpent, Azi Dahaka, the most dreadful Drug, 2 created by Angra-Mainyu, himself a serpent, to which diseases were attributed, was one of his fabled feats. There is much that is interesting to the physician in the " Zend Avesta," but I cannot present it here. One interesting passage I ma}^ quote. Ahura-Mazda is ad- dressed thus : " O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One ! If a worshipper of Mazda want to practice the art of healing, on whom shall he first prove his skill ? On the worshippers of Mazda, or on the worshippers of the Daevas ?"^ The reply is : " On the worshippers of the Dffivas he shall first prove himself." If on these the Fig. 14.— SiiiiK-MULiU-KHi.* surgeon use the knife three times with success," then is he fit to practice the art of healing for ever and ever."* SiLiK-MULU-KHi, the SOU of Hca, was a remarkable divinity, of whom I feel it desirable to speak. In him we have one kindh^ disposed toward man, a special friend of humanit}', largely medical in character. What he was has been unveiled, mainly of late, through the decipherment of cuneiform inscriptions. The Bab3doni- ans prized him highl}-.^ He became assimilated with * Zend Avesta, vol. i, p. 141. " Demon. ' Evil Spirits. * The name is given in the cuneiform characters as found in Norris's Assyrian Dictionary, p. 853. It is spelled phonetically. The first three wedges are the sign or determinative of deities. ' Zend Avesta. Translation by Darmesteter, vol. ii, p. 92. ' The devotion of Nebuchadnezzar to him is indicated in the Bible (see 2 Chron.. xxxvi, 7, and Daniel, i, 2). The great king went so far as to say : "Merodach deposited my germ in my mother's womb." Records of the Past, vol, v, p. 113, Gods Analogous to jEseulapius. 10*7 Mardnx,^ or Marodacli, of the Babylono-Assyrians, and Bel, of later times. ^ Space forbids me to give a long account of him. Much can be learned about him passim in the admirable works of M, Fran9ois Lenormant,^ and in the " Records of the Past."* Silik-mulu-khi — that is, " He who distributes good among men"^ — was, as already stated, the son of Hea,to whom he remained subject. He overcame the dragon of the deep, and is spoken of as the Redeemer of mankind, the Restorer of life, and the Raiser from the dead. He took shape among the Accadio-Sumerians. Hea, or Ea,^ " the master of the eternal secrets," "the god who presides over theurgical action," revealed to Silik-mulu-khi "the mj^sterious rite, the formula, or the all-powerful hidden name which shall thwart the efforts of the most formidable powers of the Abyss. "'^ Like Apollo, he had special medical functions; indeed, Mr. Sa3^ce observes that " he was emphatically^ the god of healing, who had revealed medicine to mankind."® * In an article entitled "Nemrod et les Ecritures Cuneiformes," M. Joseph Grivel has occasion to speak of the names of the god. Amar-ud, which is apparently the same as Nimrod, is a synonym of Merodach. See Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, vol. iii, p. 136. ^ The older Bel was Elum, father of the gods. 3 Chaldean Magic, and the Beginnings of History. To M. Lenormant mainly belongs the credit of opening up the valuable stores of learning wi'apped in the Accadian and closely allied idioms. 4 A series of small volumes, twelve in number, issued a few years ago, in London. ' Silik-mulu-khi is rather a descriptive title than a name. It is the designation used in the magical and mythological texts of the Accadian inscriptions. ^ Of this serpentine god of life and revealer of knowledge, Sir Henry Rawlinson remarks that " there is verj' strong grounds for connecting Hea, or Hoa, with the serpent of Scripture and the paradisiacal traditions of the tree of life." See George Rawlinson's second edition of Herodotus, vol. i, p. 600. ' Chaldean Magic, p. 19. ' Assyria, its Princes, Priests, and People, p. 59. London, 1885. 108 Medical Symbolism. As the symbol of his office, Silik-mulu-khi carried a reed, which took the pln.ce of both the royal sceptre and magic wand, and which was transmitted to the Assyrian Mardux.i In a hymn it is said : — "Golden reed, great reed, tall reed of the marshes, sacred bed of the gods, ********* **** I am the messenger of Silik-mulu-khi, who causes all to grow young again. "2 Although Sililc-mulu-khi's functions were largel}'' medical, it is not to be supposed that he resorted much to the use of medicaments. For it has not yet been made very apparent that medicine, properly so called, was much esteemed by the early Babylono-Ass3'rian peoples. Not long ago Mr. H. F. Talbot, in an inter- esting article on Assyrian talismans and exorcisms, said : " Diseases were attributed to the influence of spirits. Exorcisms were used to drive away those tor- mentors ; and this seems to have been the sole remedy employed, for I believe that no mention has yet been found of medicine."^ This statement does not hold good now, as will be shown later.* * Another symbol of this god was the thunderbolt in the form of a sickle, with which he slew the dragon of the deep. 2 Chaldean Magic, p. 190. ^ Records of the Past, vol. iii, p. 139. * Herodotus, who visited the country, states that the Babylonians "have no physicians; but when a man is ill they lay him in the public square and the passers-by come up to him ; and if they ever had his disease themselves, or have known any one who has suffered from it, they give him advice, recommending him to do whatever they found good in their own case or in the case known to them ; and no one is allowed to pass the sick man in silence, without asking liim what his ailment is" (i, 197). From this it would seem that Herodotus might rather have said that the Babylonians were all doctors, or presumed to be. However, it is thought that Jeremiah refers to the practice in Lamentations, i, 12, when he says : *' Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by ? Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow." A similar plan was certainly practiced elsewhere than in Babylonia. Strabo says that the Egyptians resorted to it (xvi), and in St, Mark it is said that the people "laid the sick in the streets" (vi, 56) in order to be healed by Jesus as he passed along. Gods Analogous to ^sculapius. 109 111 the cure of diseases the Babylono-Assyrian prac- titioners first duly guarded the entrance to the patient's chamber. Images or guardian statues of Hea and Silik-mulu-khi were placed one to the right and the other to the left. Texts were put on the tlireshold and on the statues, after the manner spoken of in Deuter- onomy.^ These were also placed on the brow of the patient and about the room. In bad cases recourse was had to the " mamit," something which the evil spirits could not resist. Talbot gives the following prescription from an Accadian tablet : — "Take a white cloth. In it place the mamit in the sick man's right hand; And take a black cloth and wrap it round his left hand. Then all the evil spirits, and the sins which he has committed, Shall quit their hold of him and shall never return. "2 M. Lenormant gives a translation of an interesting magic tablet. Here is a passage from it which the con- jurer, the Shaman, is supposed to speak, ending with the usual adjuration : — " Disease of the bowels, the disease of the heart, The palpitation of the heart, Disease of the vision, disease of the head, Malignant dysentery The humor which swells. Ulceration of the veins, the micturition which wastes,* Cruel agony which never ceases. Nightmare, — Spirit of the Heavens,* conjure it ; Spirit of the Earth, 5 conjure it."^ What follows is part of an incantation against " the diseases of the head ": — * Deuteronomy, xi, 18. ' Records of the Past, vol. iii, p. 140. 3 Was this gonorrhoea or diabetes ? See Leviticus, xv. * Ana, * Hea. ' Chaldean Magic, p. 4. 110 Medical Symbolism. ** The diseases of the head, like doves to their dove-cots, like grass- hoppers into the sky. Like birds into space, — May they fly away ! May the invalid be replaced in the protecting hands of his god."* Here is the remedy for "diseases of the head," as given by Hea to Silik-miilu-khi : — *' Come my son, Silik-mulu-khi, Take a sieve : draw some water from the surface of the river. Place thy sublime lip upon the water ; Make it shine with purity from thy sublime breath, . . . Help the man, son of his god . . . Let the disease of his head depart ; May the disease of his head be dispersed like a nocturnal dew."^ I have already stated that Silikrmulii-khi became in time assimilated with the god possessing beauty or splendor, Mardux.^ Here are extracts from a li^^mn addressed to him after the change : — " Merciful one among the gods, Generator who brought back the dead to life, Silik-mulu-khi, king of heaven and of earth. ******■?:-** To thee is the lip of life ! To thee are death and life ! I have invoked thy name, I have invoked thy sublimity. *********** May the invalid be delivered from his disease ; Cure the plague, the fever, the ulcer."* » Chaldean Magric, p. 20. » Ibid., p. 22. 3 Lenormant remarks that the assimilation was probably made when Mardux had become emphatically the god of the planet Jupiter, "the great fortune" of the astrologers, which justified them in connecting with his other attributes the favorable and protecting office of Silik-mulu-khi. He was originally a solar deity. * Chaldean Magic, p. 190. CHAPTER XII. THE PINE-CONE AS AN ATTRIBUTE OF ^SCULAPIUS. The fruitful results of studies in oriental history, in- dustriously and intelligently pursued by able and learned men in recent times, are making more and more apparent the borrowed character of many features of the civili- zation of Greece and other western nations. Greek, Latin, German, Irish, and other languages of the Indo- European races, have been shown to be largely derived from Sanskrit, or a source similar to it, and the various mythologies have also been proved to be more or less evolutions. Of late, the Ass3a-ians, Babylonians, and Accadio- Sumerians, but especially the last, who were, as is said in the Bible, both " a mighty " and " an ancient na- tion,"^ have been accorded a greater influence than formerly on other peoples. There is little or no ground for doubt that the first forms of belief, as well as art, came from the East. It is certain that in the fertile region, about the lower waters of tlie Euphrates and Tigris, there was, at a very early period, a remarkable unfoldment of intellectual, social, and other elements of progress, from the savage state. The ideas brought with them three thousand years or more before our era, to the rich plains southward of Mesopotamia, and gath- ered there by the early inhabitants of the hills of Elam and their kin, the earlier inhabitants of Sumer,^ have been potent everywhere to the westward. * Jeremiah, v, 15. 3 Or Shinar. See Gen., xi, 2. Essentially Babylonia. (Ill) 112 Medical Symbolism. Tliese Turanians, a dark-complexioned people, were conquered by the Semites settled in parts to the west of Babylonia, by whom their culture and civilization were appropriated.^ The Accadio-Suraerians undoubtedly gave direction and shape to the religions of Babylonia, Assyria, Phoe- nicia, and other countries, including Egypt. This means a great deal, for in the earlier stages of civilization the religion, such as it may be, is a matter of the greatest possible significance, both in itself and its influence on everything else. The language of the Accadio-Sume- rians long served as the sacred one in Babylonia and Assyria, 2 and has been characterized by Mr. Sa^'ce as " the Sanskrit of the Turanian family." ^ In it are the important early cuneiform inscriptions, all the originals of which were written eighteen hundred 3^ears or so before our era. The medical ideas of the Accadio-Sumerian were closely related to his religion ; to liim the cause and cure of disease were, to a great extent, in fact essen- tially, supernatural affairs. And thus, indeed, it has been among all early peoples. Nor is it probable that it will ever be entirely otherwise anywhere. The same feelings which prompted the dweller in Elam, or in the plains to the westward, to formulate his religion and philosophy are still experienced by humanity. Even the myth-formers are not all dead. The spirit of all the * See Smith's Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 19. Revised edition, by Mr. Sayce, 1880. 2 The Semitic language, called Assyrian, as the one spoken by the Babylonians, including part of the Chaldeans, before the people of Assur (see Gen., x, 11) became a nation, which was later than the time of the great King Jargon (B.C. 2000) ; and here I may say that cuneiform inscrip- tions are largely Assyrian. I may add that Lenormant takes Assur to be Nimrod, and the latter Mardux, reduced to the position of a hero. ' Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, vol. iil, p. 466. The Pine- Cone as an Attribute of JEsculapius. 113 mythologies is yet filive. There are gods of fancy to- da}', as there were when Ana and Hea and Bel were in the ascendant. And they are not A^ery different. The nomen, the name, may vary much, but the numen, the thing, for the most part, does not. The science of the nineteenth century has not cleared away from the minds of a large majority, in even the most highly civilized nations, the belief that health and sickness are largel}^ subject to mj^sterious spiritual powers. They are matters of which the populace are still apt to entertain preposterous notions. Cullen well remarks somewhere that he had found even men with trained logical faculties, such as lawyers, satisfied with reasons of any kind, advanced to explain medical phe- nomena. And in truth the physician deals with matters not readily understood. In the very first paragraph of his book of books, has not Hippocrates himself said : " Experience is fallacious and Judgment difficult "? However, it is not to be denied that there are many who sincerely and firml}^ believe that both health and disease are entirelj^ dependent on the will of spiritual powers. Doubtless every physician has seen instances of perfect resignation, on the death of even a near relative, brought about by the notion that the be- reavement was "the will of God." An innocent child, cut off by diphtheria, or scarlet fever, or some other pestilential disease, which exists only b}^ tolerance, with a tearless mother bending over it, calm and full of the idea that it was the will of the Almighty to destroy it in the bud, as it were, is not an uncommon sight, and one which cannot fail to impress both deeply and sadly the intelligent observer. Impious and erroneous doc- trine, to be sure ; but, nevertheless, part and parcel of many, nay, most of the creeds of the day. 114 Medical Symbolism. My statements are not rashly made and baseless. I miaht almost ask in vain for a creed in which an abso- lute declaration of the life and death of mortals being entirely' in tlie hands of supra-mundane powers is not made. For example, in the chapter of the " Book of Common Prayer," on " the order for the visitation of the sick," it is said : " Dearly beloved, know this, that Almighty God is the Lord of life and death, and of all things to them pertaining, as youth, strength, health, age, weakness, and sickness. Wherefore, whatsoever your sickness be, know you certainly that it is God's visita- tion." For relief, the means is indicated in this petition : "0 Lord I look down from heaven, behold, visit, and relieve this thy servant." There is no doubt about the meaning of these passages ; and it is certain that the ideas contained in them are essentially those which were current among various peoples of remote antiquity. Of course, to one who sincerel}^ entei'tains such ideas there can be no such thing as a science and art of medicine. But we know that they rarely or never stand in the way of a due resort to rational medical treatment. Trul}^, the liuman mind is, in many instances, " many- sided." What has just been said will indicate that it is very improbable that the so-called religious literature of early times fairly represents the state of medical practice. Assuredly, one could form no idea of the state of the healing art at present from the perusal of a manual of orthodox religious literature. However, as I have intimated above, the prevalence of an ostensible belief in the cause and cure of diseases by supernatural powers does not stand in the way of the existence and practice of a more or less rational art of healing. The Pine- Cone as an Attribute of ^sculapius. 115 The Chaldean 1 looked to the gods for the removal of the evils which afflicted him ; and he had his set earthly ways by which to bring about the result desired. Supplication, sacrifice, and the like were practiced, but material means were not entirely ne2:lected. In the sacred book of the Parsis it is said : " If several healers offer themselves together, namely, one who heals with the knife, one who heals with herbs, and one who heals with the Holy Word, it is this one who will best drive away sickness from the bod}^ of the faithful. "^ In another place the " Hoh^ Word " is pronounced " the best healing of all remedies."^ Evidently, one might resort to other means, if he chose. And here I may remark, that in the practices of ^sculapius there was precisely the same threefold means of cure, as will be seen by referring to the chapter on the god. It may be affirmed with confidence that no people in either ancient or modern times has relied exclusively on the good offices of supernatural powers for the cure of diseases. According to Catlin, the Indian doctors first prescribed " roots and herbs, of which they have a great variety of species ; and when these have all failed, their last resort is to medicine."* A reverse plan was the more common. In that interesting book, " Ecclesi- asticus," written by one well informed, and even at a time when medicine was far advanced, the sick man is curiously advised to pray and sacrifice to God first, and then to give place to the physician."^ The old Hebrew conveys the idea that, when nothing else could be done, resort should be had to medical men. He thoughtfully * Kaldu, or Kaldi, was the name of a tribe of Accadio-Sumerians that r'>se to prominence about nine centuries before onr era. The title was subsequently given to the whole race. = Zend Avesta, vol. i, p. 85. ^ Ibid., vol. ii, p. 44, * North American Indians, vol. i, p. 75. ' Ecclesiasticus, xxxviii, 13. 116 Medical Symbolism. remarks that " there is a time when thou must fall into tlieir hands. "^ Now, as was to be expected, the Grecian god of medicine was viewed by some through a veil of super- stition brought from the East. In connection with statues of him were things the meaning of which would be entirely unintelligible without a previous knowledge of ideas entertained in Assyria and other countries. One of these, the special theme of this chapter, is very interestino; because of its historical connections. A stud}- of it brings to light much exceedingl}^ interesting information. The pine- or cedar- cone, or, as some have spoken of it, the pine-apple, was figured in the hand of the crys- elephantine statue of ^sculapius, made by Calamis for the temple at Sicyon, in Arcadia, as in representations of Mardux. What was the meaning of this peculiar object ? Some have taken it to have been a phallic sym- bol. The presence of it on the thyrsus of Dionysus, ^ brought by him from the East, would seem to support that view. It has also been regarded as a flame. ^ Whether the cedar-cone of the Sicyonian statue of ^sculapius was representative of the reproductive organ or of fire or not, it is certain that it was largely in use by the Babylonians, Assyrians, and others, to restore liealth as well as to overcome witchcraft and the like. One sees it in the hand of the winged, eagle-headed » Ecclesiasticus, xxxviii, 13. ' Bacchus. 3 Fire was dulj^ esteemed by the ancients. The worship was closely related to that of the sun. Atar of the Zend Avesta means fire, and a personification of it, spoken of as the son of Ahura-Mazda, is character- ized as "the god who is a full source of glory, the god who is a full source of healing" (vol. ii, p. 8). The Parsis and also the Hindus were forbidden to blow a fire lest the effete emanations from the system, present in the breath, m=ght contaminate the flame. Menstruating women were forbid- den even to look at it. The Pine-Co7ie as an Attribute of ^scidapius. 117 figure from Nimroiid, now in the British Museum, and a cut of the same is given here. Two similar genii or figures, very like the gryphon of Greek mythology con- nected with Apollo, are represented watching, like the cherubim at the gate of Eden, over the priests who at- tend about the sacred tree of life, — that apple-, fig-, palm-, or somo- tree, serpent-guarded, which yields fruit or ambrosia, in which, as De Gubernatis says," the life, the fortune, the glory, the strength, and the riches of the hero have their beginning, "i and which is so prominent in the sculptures and records of Oriental peoples. The object is often seen extended under the king's nose, apparently that he may inhale the vitalizing emana- tions from it, after the manner of the ancients' notion of the mode of reception of the " breath of life."^ It even ai)pears on the tree of life in some of its conven- tional forms. Thus, La3ard sa3\s : " The flowers at the end of the branches are frequently replaced in later Assyrian monuments and on cylinders by the fir- or pine- cone, and sometimes by a fruit or ornament resembling the pomegranate."^ In connection with what he has to say about the cones on the tree of life, George Smith expresses the opinion that " the Accadians brought the tradition of Fig. 15.— The Pine- or Cedar- Cone as 8een in THE Hand of a Winged Figure from Nimroud. • Zoological Mythology, vol. i, p. 410. ^ See Gen., ii, 7. Hippocrates appears to take pneuma, the breath, and the soul and vital principle to be the same. It is still a common thing to hear the breath spoken of as the divine and immortal element in man. 3 Ninevah and its Remains, vol. ii, p, 233. London, 1849. See Ex., xxviii, 33-34, and 1 Kings, vii, 41-42. 118 Medical Symbolism, the fir-cones with them from their original seat in the colder, mountainous land of Media, where the fir^ was plentiful." The use of the fir-cone in the cure of disease has been made evident by recent translations of cuneiform inscriptions. 2 It is said by Lenormant that in a " magic fragment as yet inedited the god Hea, the averrunciis par excellence, the vivifier and preserver of the human race which he has created, prescribes to his son Mar- duk, the mediator, a mysterious rite which will cure a man whose malady is caused by an attack of demons. " Take," says he, " to him the fruit of the cedar, and hold it in front of the sick person ; the cedar is the tree which gives the pure charm and repels the inimical demons, who lay snares."^ In the cedar-cone, then, in the hand of the figure of ^sculapius we have the symbol and instrument of "the life charm," of which the god Hea was the master and the son the dispenser ; and I may add (as Lenormant has suggested) that when fruits of this nature adorn the sacred plant they characterize it more emphatically than ever as the tree of life. Fig. 16.— The Tree OF Life. * Fir-trees were regarded with much favor in the East. Ezekiel likens the Assyrian nation to a great cedar, envied by "aU the trees of Eden," none being "like unto him in his beauty." Ez., xxxi, passim. * Medical virtues are inherent in fir-trees. Hence, there was a good foundation for the Accadian superstition. It is curious to observe that "among the Dakotah tribe of Indians the white cedar-tree is believed to have a supernatural power, and its leaves are burned as incense to pro- pitiate the gods." See Emerson's Indian Myths, p. 241. ' Beginnings of History, p. 90. CHAPTER XIII. DIBBARA,! A GOD OF PESTILENCE. There does not appear to be an exception to the rule, that every people has, to a greater or less extent, referred the causation of epidemic and other diseases to supernatural powers. ^ In Oriental countries evil spirits were believed to be accountable for it; and, indeed, in the West, the Red Indians entertained the same notion, as the reader of Mr. Dorman's interesting book^ is well aware. The uncultured mind cannot, it would seem, grasp the idea that things which the senses cannot readily perceive may, nevertheless, be entirely natural. The Babylono-Ass3^rians, like the American Indians, believed in the existence of innumerable bad as well as good spirits ; in fact, to them every object and force in nature was believed to have a zi^ or spirit, more or less subject to control.* The bad ones, of whom there were seven emphatically such, delighted in injuring man and afflicting him with diseases, often taking possession of him. Evidently this doctrine, when fully developed, — that is, when the bad spirits were almost or quite as free to act as the good ones, as among the Parsis, — afforded a simple and very satisfactory explanation of the existence of apparent good and evil in the world. The practice * Mr. Sayce gives the name as Lubara. 8ee Ancient Empires of the East, p. 157. 2 According to Mr. Black, disease and death have been referred by the unscientific to three great sources, namely: (1) the anger of an oif ended external spirit ; (2) the supernatural powers of a human enemy ; (3) the displeasure of the dead. See Folk-medicine, p. 4, published by the Folk-lore Society. London, 1883. ^ The Origin of Primitive Superstitions. Philadelphia, 1881. * See Sayce's Ancient Empires of the East, p. 146. (119) 120 Medical Symbolism. of medicine, based on such views, could, at best, be little better than mere Shamanism. I may here observe that the Chaldeans and others regarded imprecations as effective in causing diseases, as well as other evils. In a quotation from a tablet, given by Lenormant, it is said : — " The malevolent imprecation acts on man like a wicked demon ; The voice which curses has power over him." i I need hardly say that a very similar belief is still all but universal. It appears to be instructive. At any rate, it is practiced enormously. From the "damn you " of the street-urchin to tlie formal and solemn " anatliema" of the Pope of Rome, we are familiar with all grades of it. There has alwa3^s and everywhere been a tendency to accord great divinities power to dispense both evil and good. Men have made their chief gods like themselves, anthropomorphic, variable in their feelings and actions. Apollo could cause disease and he could remove it.^ Of the Hebrews' God the same is true. Offense at the " sins" of men in both cases inspires the infliction of pestilential and other diseases. The numbering of the people by David, although forbidden, leads to the occurrence of a destructive epidemic. ^ In " Ecclesiasticus " it is ex- plicitly said, " He that sinneth in the sight of his Maker shall fall into the hands of the physician."* Among those who clothed one evil spirit with impe- rial power, so to speak, that spirit has been mainly held accountable for the occurrence of disease. The Iranian, * Chaldean Map:ic, p. 64. » Says Tide : " The operation oi the sun is two-fold, beneficial and terril)le ; it quickens or it destroys life. The Greeks united both char- acteristics in Phcebus Apollo." History of the Egyptian Religion, p. 45. ' 2 Samuel, xxiv. ♦ Ecclesiasticus, xxxviii, 15. Dihhara, a God of Pestilence. 121 Angra-Mainyu, furnishes an example. And since the notion of the "devil" (our devil) began/ he has been often charged with the offense. Thus, we are told in the Bible that it was he that " smote Job with sores, from the sole of his foot unto his crown. "^ Still, in this case he was subject to orders, so to speak. Now, it would be strange if, among the evil spirits the exuberant fancy of uncultured man has called into existence, there were not a leading one with the special function of causing, at least, pestilential diseases. Such a one is not met with in the mytholog}^ of the Romans, Greeks, or even the Egyptians ;^ but a remarkable one is found in the Accadio-Sumerian, Dibbara, the leader of the plague-demons.* He was subject to the orders of Ana and Hea. In the Izdhubar legend of the flood it is said : " Let Dibbara appear, and let men be mown down." Our knowledge of Dibbara, or Lubara, is largely of modern date. Until the recent translations of cuneiform inscriptions were made, the records of him had almost faded out of sight. On his exploits there is an interesting chapter in George Smith's " Chaldean Account of Gene- sis."* His historj^ promises to throw considerable light on passages in the Bible and elsewhere. Thus, his title of " the darkening one" appears to have suggested to the Psalmist the phrase, " The pestilence that walketh in * It appears that the idea of the devil is flrst brought into clear relief in the Book of Wisdom, where it is said : " By the envy of the devil death came into the world" (ii, 25). The Hebrew demonology is usjially said to be of Iranian origin, but it may just as likely have sprung from a Turanian source, either directly or through their Semitic kin in Babylonia. ^ Job, ii, 7. ' Set, called Typhon by the Greeks, the embodiment of physical and moral evil, was regarded as the Egyptian god of death. Plagues were at- tributed to him. * The plague maiden of Teutonic folk-lore is somewhat like Dibbara. See Grimm's Teutonic Mythology (translation), p. 1185. ' Chaldean Account of Genesis, vol. viii. 6 F 122 Medical Symbolism. darkness."^ He was, probably, the prototype of the destroying " angel " spoken of in the Bible. ^ Dibbara, like many other personifications of evil, partook of the serpentine form. Not unlikely he was originally, to a great degree, similar to, if not identical with, the fabulous dragon combated b}^ Marduk. This was an embodiment of the chaos of the deep, the prin- ciple of chaos and darkness. He was the serpent of the night, and may have been primarily the darkness over- come by the sun. » Psalms, xci, 6. '^ 2 Sam., xxiv, 13 et seq., and 2 Kings, xix, 35. CHAPTER XIY. HYGEIA, THE GODDESS OF HEALTH. ') The need of a special divinity to preserve people m a state of health was widely felt, even in very eavly times. In Egypt, Ass3'ria, Greece, and elsewhere, this need found pronounced expression. Isis and Istar^ and Athene were each, in one way or another, accorded great power over bodily or mental health. But the Greeks, in their Hygeia, markedly emphasized and entirely specialized the conception. Here we have an exclusively health divinity, who had more or less of a counterpart in the Salus of the Romans, — a e'oddess highly es- fig. 17 .-serpent and ' ^^ & J BoWIi OF HYGEIA.2 teemed, worshipped on set days, and to whom a fine temple was devoted at the Eternal City, situated near the gate called from it Porta Salu- taris. From the preceding statements, the reader will observe that the divinities who were specially interested * The wife of Hea, the queen of the gods, Davkina, was a health goddess. In an inscription Marduk is sent to a dying man, and it is further said : — "Sprinkle holy water over him. He shall hear the voice of Hea. Davkina shall protect him ; And Marduk, eldest son of Heaven, shall find him a happy habitation." See Records of the Past, vol. iii, p. 142. She was invoked by women in labor. 2 This figure is copied from one given by W. R. Cooper in his essay on "Serpent Myths of Ancient Egypt." See Transactions of the Victoria Institute, vol. vi, p. 321. London, 1873. (123) 124 Medical Symbolism. in the preservation of health were all females. This is an exceedingly interesting fact. It is not an incongru- ons one, either. The ancients were keenly alive to the sense of fitness in things ; and hence it is hardly likely that they made a mistake in Hygeia, the health goddess. From the exercise of the great function of nurturing and caring for the young of the species, woman has sufficient claim to the distinction of being, par excellence, the guardian of health. Why the goddess should be a maid rather than a matron is not extremely clear. Likely tlie idea was to present in her a woman just mature and free from blemish, in a topically perfect state. However, we have in Hygeia, " daughter of Paeon, queen of every joy," to use the appropriate words with which Armstrong starts off in the invocation to her, at the beginning of his fine poem,^ a very interesting and beautiful conce[)tion. It is eas}^ to understand why this divinity became very popular. Goddess I if — "But for thee, Nature would sicken, nature soon would die," as the author just quoted declares, thy worship might well have become universal, for without health life is burdensome, a gift of doubtful value 1 Health and long life are things mortals have alwa^^s craved and always prized. In that interesting Hebrseo-Chaldean history, " Tobias," Sara, with her husband, gives utter- ance to a truly human prayer : " Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, and let us grow old both together in health. "^ "At heart," says Dr. Brinton, "all prayers are for preservation; the burden of all litanies is a begging for life."*' 1 The Art of Preserving Health. First published in 1744. One of the very few great medical poems. » Tobias, viii, 10. » American Hero-Myths, p. 19. 1882, Hygeia, the Goddess of Health. 125 The S3^mbolic representation of the myth of Hygeia afforded a fine subject for the sculptors and other artists. Extremely attractive figures of her were produced. One of them, at least, is doubtless familiar to the reader. I have reference to the one in which she is represented as a blooming girl with a serpent twined around her left armi ^nd feeding out of a patera or chalice held in her right hand. With this ideal in his mind, the late Dr. Aitken Meigs, in a remarkable address^ delivered in 18T9, pronounces " the high-born maid " to be " of beauty's types, the highest, best idea," and continues : — "Nor fragile she, nor pale, but ruddy, strong, And gladsome as a tuneful, joyous song; Her comely form, in swelling curves designed. Is perfect grace, with glowing strength combined; Crimson and white in her fair face contend. Upon her cheeks in sweet confusion blend ; Her rosy lips excel the coral's brightness, Brow, nose, and chin are fleecy ways of whiteness; Loose, flowing, falls her hair, a golden spray ; Forth from her lustrous eyes she scatters day. In one small hand a cup she deftly holds, Whilst round her soft, white arm, in many folds A serpent twines and from the chalice drinks. Low crouches sometimes, at her feet, a sphinx. From these strange emblems learn her character : How very cunning she, and how exact her Knowledge and profound ; how with wondrous skill Her youth renews, and is discreet and still." As will be observed, Dr. Meigs gives an explanation of the symbols usually connected with figures of Hygeia, » This arrangement of the serpent is seen in an Egyptian priestess, a picture of which is given in Cooper's essay, already referred to. ^ It has been published, I think, in pamphlet form, but the copy I have was issued in 1882 in connection with the March and April numbers of a monthly published in the interest of JefPerson Medical College and her alumni. The College and Clinical Record. There are a dozen octavo pages of it. 126 3Iedical Symbolism. whom he regarded as to the physician what tlie chosen maid was to the knight of old, — the patron saint. The view taken of the serpent is not satisfactor}'^, although better than that held by Cuvier, namel}^ that it is " to show that temperance is the source of lengthened life."^ And if one take the reptile to be s3'mbolic of the art of healing, wh}' it should be connected with the goddess of health is not clear. In this connection its presence might . imply that it is only through medicine that health can be preserved. Taking it as S3^m- bolic of life, one has little difficulty in understanding its appropriateness. Closely at- tached to her, and drawing nourishment from a chalice held in her hand, the meaning might be, that health and life are inti- mately related to each other, the former sustaining the lat- ter. Regarding it, however, as simply a bonus genius is not out of the way. The mode of rep- resenting it at Rome and else- F1G.I8-HYGKIA. (Asgiven where stroni2,lv supports this m Murray's Mythology.) ^ " ^^ view, namel}^, encircling the altar of the goddess, with the head extending over it.* In Teutonic mythology, "the white lady with the snake " was associated with medicinal springs. According to the mythological record, Hygeia^ was the daughter of the god of medicine, ^sculapiiis. Of * Animal KinKdom, vol. ix, p. 309. » See Tooke's Pantheon, p. 296. » See Grimm's Teutonic Mythology (translation), pp. 588, 1150. Eygeia^ the Goddess of Health. 127 her personal history one might almost say that it is a blank. Numerous representations of Hygeia were to be found in Greece, and later in Rome. One was usually placed by the side of each of JEsculapius. The worship of Hygeia began soon after that of ^sculapius and became wide-spread and popular. The Romans were quite as devoted in their attentions to her as the Greeks. 1 have said sufficient already to indicate that there was no divinity precisely similar to Hj^geia in Egypt, or any eastern country. Some of the great goddesses were believed to exercise functions akin to hers.^ In- deed, many of the prominent divinities, from the spouse of Hea down, had accorded to them more or less control over affairs of health and life. Dr. Meigs conveys a wrong impression when he says : — " Hygeia, daughter of Asclepios, Descended from Apollo Delios, Adored as Maut^ beside the mystic Nile, With Amen-Ra in Theban peristyle." 3 There is about as much reason to say chat Athene was Hygeia, as that Maut was, or Isis, although, as Ebers says, she was the divinity "to be called on to destroy the germs of disease."* Arguments could be advanced in favor of the idea that Hj^geia sprang into existence as a personification of the great serpent- accompanied virgin, river-mist, or cloud-goddess, Pallas Athene, in her capacity of health-preserver. The claim in regard to Isis is little or no better; and, in fact, one * For Cooper's view of her origm, see quotation, p. 93. 2 Maut, Mat, or Mut, is to Amen-Ra what Artemis was to Zeus, and Juno to Jupiter. She might he viewed as a form of the more familiar Isis, and from close relationship is often confounded wath Neith. ' From address referred to on page 125. * Princess, vol. ii, p. 296. 128 Medical Symbolism. form of Isis, called Neith, or Neit, the great mother of the sun-god, Ra, and the titular goddess of Sais, has always 1 been believed to correspond closely with Athene. The former was not only usually accompanied by a serpent, like the latter, but was often represented by one ; still, the same might be said of, perhaps, all the Egyptian goddesses. • See Plato's Timaeus. CHAPTER XY. MEDICAL TALISMANS. It is well at the start to form a definite conception of what a talisman means. It is a species of charm ; it differs from an amulet. Both are of the character of fetiches; that is, objects in nature, or of art, believed to possess magical power. If the object be ascribed con- sciousness and other mental attributes, it is, properly speaking, an idol. Unlike the amulet, the talisman, to be eflfective, need not be kept about the person. But the main characteristic feature of the talisman is astro- nomical, or, rather, astrological ; it is accorded virtue principally^ because made when two planets are in con- junction, or when a star has reached its culminating point. As one would expect, it has been customary to have something about the talisman to indicate that it is such ; but many engravings found on them have no astronomical import at all. The talisman 1 has a long history. To know when it came into use one must go back to the time when the study of the stars and their influence, real or supposed, on mundane affairs began. Although it has been as- serted ^ tliat Adam acquired a knowledge of astrology through inspiration, it is safe to hold that the Accadian^ star-gazers, inhabitants of the hills of Elam, first gave shape to this, in great part, pseudo-philosophy of nature, * The famous one brought from the East to Scotland and caUed the "Lee-Penny" has an interesting history. Sir Walter Scott speaks at length of it in his work, "The Talisman." Says the great novelist: "Its virtues are still applied to for stopping blood and in cases of canine mad- ness " (p. 287). '^ By Josephus. ^ rj.j^g name signifies highland. 6* (129) 130 3Iedical Symbolism. which was widely believed in by man}'- peoples, and still has numerous sincere adherents everywhere. Mr. Proc- tor ventures to declare that " the idea that the stars in their course rule the fate of men and nations "^ is a pre- dominant one of the race.^ In Babylonia, Assyria, Phoenicia, Egypt, and elsewhere, it received much attention ; indeed, it was part and parcel of the prevail- ing religions, most of the Oriental systems being largely astronomical in origin. And the Chaldean or, rather, Accadian astrolo2:er's work is obvious enouoh to this day ;3 it is seen in the division of time into the week of seven da3^s, with the seventh one of rest, the Sabbath,* and the mode of regulation of religious times and seasons,^ to say nothing of the signs of the zodiac, and so on. It is stated by Yitruvius ^ that astrology "^ was * The Great Pyramid, p. 159. ^ It stands out prominent in the first chapter of Genesis. Tlie whole host of heaven was created for earthly purposes. ' The reader of the Book of Daniel learns much of the repute of the Chaldeans as astrologers. The Romans were in the habit of calling all astrologers Chaldeans. That people, I may say, never gave the class legal countenance. * In an old Accadian tablet hearing on the observance of the Sabbath by the king, it is said, among other things: "INIedicine for his sickness of body he may not apply." See Smith's Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 89. * According to the Bible narrative, which Lenormant says is "a tra^ dition whose origin is lost in the night of the remotest ages and which all the great nations of Western Asia possessed in common, with some varia- tions" (Beginnings of History, p. xv), the luminaries were placed in the heavens " to divide the day from the night and to be signs for the time of festivals, the days and the years" (Gen., 1, 14), This is from the Elohist version, which, with the Jchovist, may be found in Lenormant's work. The ordinary version was drawn from the two. 6 Architecture, p. 219, 2d ed. By Joseph Swift. London, 1860. ' It is well to state that the astrologer was the forerunner of the as- tronomer. In his interesting book on The Astronomy of the Ancients, Sir J. Cornwall Lewes says : " The word a(Trpo?j)-yo^ signifies an astrono- mer in the Greek writers. The word astrologus has the same sense in the earlier Latin writers. In later times the distincti;ain. The Physician's Ring. — Among the ancients, rings were held in high esteem. The signet of Solomon, which had considerable to do with the building of the great temple, and tlie ring of Gyges, the shepherd of the king of Lydia, through wliich he could become invisible and see people at pleasure, are examples of the sur- prising powers often accorded to them. One was, until a period not far distant, an important item of the insig- nia of the medical man. It is spoken of in one of the spurious Hippocratic works. The seal variety was the orthodox one. Different stones were used, and on these were engraved various designs. As indicative of his position, a learned writer says that the doctor wore the rino- " on the third finder of the ris-lit hand."^ The physician's ring was viewed generally in the lioht of an amulet, or talisman. The eno-ravins; it bore had much to do with its supposed virtues ; and the stone also gave it special value. Aubrey thus refers to a sapphire ring : " The}^ say it preserves from infection and pestilential diseases. See Albertus Magnus de hoc. I warrant he has recited virtues enough of it."^ Red carnelian was believed to be curative of ha?morrha<>e, and coral of nervous affections. ' A Book about Doctors, vol. i, p. 11. ^ Finger-Ring Lore. Bj' William Jones, p. 191. London, 1877. * Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme, p. 210. CHAPTER XIX. MEDICAL SY>IBOLISM IN PRACTICE. It is hardly necessarj^ to sa}' to the reader who has followed me this far that the scope of medical symbolism is not ver}- restricted. In extent it is obviously not limited ; nor is it without variet}^ and the means of vari- ety enough. Yet how little use does one see made of it 1 How seldom do publishers take any advantage whatever of it, on the covers of their books or an}' where else ! And what little is here and there attempted is apt to be a trifle preposterous, on a par with the misuse of the serpent b}' the quack-medicine man, who confounds the most obvious religious (Christian) significance of it with the medical. Examples without limit of questionable medical sym- bols might be given. Here is a publisher who makes use of the caduceus of Hermes ; there is one who dis- plays the club of Hercules, with a rather venomous- looking serpent crawling down it from aloft ; and yonder one who exhibits a skull on a closed book, suggestive of a hopeless meditation on death, — the reverse of what the ph3'sician should indulge in. But, at a time when the absence of sj^mbols is almost the rule, perhaps one should try to be a little blind to the faults of those which are met with. Of a collection of medical sj-mbols on hand, few are notabl}' good. I mav instance a fair specimen. On the title-page of a journal edited b}" the late Dr. Dungiison, a learned and sensible man, The American Medical Intelligencer^ which had a brief existence in the latter G^ (161) 162 Medical Symbolism. lialf of the fourth decade of this century, appears the figure a copy of which is here given (Fig. 26). The idea is better than its execution. Ideas for symbolic designs of medical import are not scarce. The instruments and drugs used by the disci- ples of -^sculapius afford a host, if one does not wish to turn to mj'thology or anything allied. But, although the scientific ph3'sician might properl}'' hesitate about using, say, an emblem of St. Luke, the patron saint of ph3'sicians, there are mythological and related concep- tions, many of which might be utilized to good purpose. Thus, if it be desired to give an Egj'ptian design on the cover of a book, sa}^, on obstetrics, the main part of an admirable one may be found ready at hand on the wall of the great temple at Luxor. ^ It is the scene — and a sufficiently chaste one, too — of the maiden mother giving birth to the future king, Amunotoph III, for whom the temple or palace was erected about 1400 B.C. She is seated on the midwife's stool, as described in the Bible, ^ while two nurses have her by the hands, doing what they can to ease the pains of labor. Or, a representation of Pasht, Bubastis, or Sekhet, the sister of Horus and mother of Imhotep, — who generally appeared cat-headed because the cat, a most sacred animal, was consecrated to her, — would not be inappropriate; for, to use the words of Ebers, " she seems to have been honored as the deity who conferred the blessing of children and watched over their birth. "^ But, for a design of obstetrical import, there could Fig. 26.— a Medi- cal SYMBOIi. » See Sharpe's E}>:yptian Mythology, p. 19. " Exodus, i, 16. ' Priucess, vol. i, p. 37. Medical Symbolism in Practice. 163 probably be few better than one in which prominence were given to the good housewifery symbols, — the pes- tle, hatchet, and broom ; those, respectively, of Piliim- nus, a god of children ; Intercidona, the goddess who first taught the art of cutting firewood ; and Deverra, the goddess who invented the broom, that great instru- ment of cleanness and enemy of the Typhon, or, I may say, H3^dra, of many modern doctors, — the disease- germ : the deities that saved the pregnant woman from harm from her special enemies, the unclean sylvan gods. The broom ! Wise old Romans I Wiser than the un- steady enthusiasts of our time, with bottles of carbolic acid in their hands yesterday and of corrosive sublimate to-day. And with these symbols, especially if the de- sign were for a work by a female author, there might be given a figure of Juno Lucina, the special friend of women in labor, the type of the Eileithyiai, the hand- maids of Hera, of the Greeks. And here I may observe that, according to ancient custom, the goddess Juno Lucina should be represented with one hand empty and, as it were, ready to receive the coming infant, and with the other holding a lighted torch, a symbol of life. The torch should be erect, for when the flame is turned downward it signifies death. In the seal of the American Gynaecological Society, a woman, possibly meant for Juno, is represented with a torch in her right hand and in the other a sprig of ever- green, with a baby resting on the arm. This is of ob- stetric import. The members of the society, however, consider themselves something else than midwives. Judging from their title, they might be petits maitres. CHAPTER XX. THE PENTACLE. By way of conclusion, and at the risk of rimningtoo deep into occult learning, I will give some account of a remarkable magic figure, of interest to the physician, about which little appears to be generally known, but which is often referred to in certain out-of-the-way hues of study. I refer to the pentacle, or triple triangle, the peutalpha of Pythagoras, the formulator of a celebrated system of philosoph}^, the basal idea of which is that all things sprang from numbers. A representation of it in its simple form is given herewith. On in- spection, it will be observed that the figure has five arms, or points, five double triangles, with five fj^. 27.-The Pentacle. acute angles within and five ob- tuse ones without; so that, if five — a number made up of the first even (2) and the first^ odd one (3)— be possessed of the virtue which the occult philosophers have asserted, the pentacle must have much. It is^ in fact, the famous legendary key of Solomon, which has played a remarkable role in history. Tennyson, one of the few well-known authors by whom reference to it is made, speaks of it when he makes one of his characters (Katie) thoughtlessly draw (it can be done through one stroke) — "With her slender-pointed foot, Some figure like a wizard's pentagram. On garden gravel. "2 * One was not regarded as a number. "^ The Brook. (165) 166 Medical Symbolism. I have said that little is generally known about the pentacle. Here is some evidence : Ruskin defines it to be " a five-pointed star, or a double-triangle ornament, the symbol of the trinity "^ — a wrong definition, but not quite as bad as that given in Mollett's handsome work, to wit : "A fio-ure formed of two trianoles, intersected so as to form a six-pointed star."^ The opinion is ex- pressed by Ba3^ard Taylor that the magical powers attributed to it could be explained by the fact that, being made up of three triangles, it was a " triple S3mibol of the trinity."^ This may be true, but it was regarded as possessing mysterious powers long before Christianity originated. A common mistake — the one evidently made by Mollett — of even learned writers (as, for example, Oliver* and Fairholt'^) is to confound the pentacle with the seal of Solomon (called also the shield of David), which con- sists of two equilateral triangles so arranged as to form a six-pointed star. By the German writers on magic and kindred sub- jects, the pentacle is often called Drudenfiiss, — that is, wizard's foot, — a term which Mackey® takes to be a corruption of the word for Druid's foot, by which people it was in use, being often worn, as a symbol of deity, on their sandals. As Ba3^ard Taylor, however, sa3^s : ^^Drud, from the same root as Druid, was the old German word for wizard." In Mr. Blake's interesting book,^ a repre- sentation of a ver3^ old coin is given, on which the mystic figure appears. » Art Culture, p. 408. New York, 1874. » Dictionary of Words used in Art and Arcliaeology. Boston, 1882. 3 In his notes to Faust. * The Pythagorean Triangle. London, 1875. * Dictionary of Terms in Art. ^ Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry. Philadelphia, 1875. ' Astronomical Myths. London, 1877. The Pentacle. 161 The pentacle has been observed on a figure of Annbis, in Egypt. It is statecU that it was used on coins of Antiochus Epiphanes, and also^ of Lysimachus. I have seen it stated somewhere that it is one of the old sect marks of the Hindus ; but this is an error, I believe. By referring to Coleman's^ or Birdwood's'* w^ork, it will be found that it is Solomon's seal which has been so used. It was one of the totems of the American Indians. Dawson^ gives a picture of it as seen sculp- tured on the Roches Percees, a remarkable solitary mass of sandstone on the plains west of Manitoba. I have said that the pentacle has been observed on a figure of Anubis. It would appear to have been well known and highly prized by the early Egyptians, or rather, perhaps, I sliould say Egjqito-Chaldeans, if a recent writer, Mr. Robert Ballard, is to be believed. He declares that " it is the geometric emblem of extreme and mean ratio, and the symbol of the Egyptian pyramid, Cheops."^ Let a pentacle be formed within a circle. Around the interior pentagon of it describe a circle. Around this circle form a square. " Tlien will the square represent the base of Cheops." Again, draw two diameters to the outer circle, intersecting at right angles, and each parallel to a side of the square. " Then will the parts of those diameters, between the square and the outer circle, represent the four apothems of the four slant-sides of the pj^ramid." Still again, connect by lines the angles of the square with the outer circle at the four points indicated by the ends of the * Biougliton's Italy, vol. li. ^ Notes and Queries, vol. ix, p. 511, third series. 3 Mythology of the Hindus. London, 1832. * Indian Arts. London, 1880. * Fossil jNIen and their Modern Representatives, p. 272. London, 1880. « The Solution of the Pyramid Problem, p. 92. New York, 1882. 168 Medical Symbolism. diameters. Then " the star of the p3a-amid is formed, which, when closed as a solid, will be a correct model of Cheops." Mr. Ballard, it is to be feared, like Mr. Piazzi Smyth, has not the power to perceive coincidences and after- thonghts. His book, however, is decidedly original and interesting. I may observe that if the plan of the great pyramid was fashioned after the pentacle, and Mr. Proctor be right in saying that it is identical with " the ordinary square scheme of nativity," ^ the figure of the astrologers Fig. 28.— The Pentacle and the Great Pyramid. used in casting horoscopes, it follows that the pentacle furnishes also a ke}^ to the latter. Then, if it be a fact that the pyramid was designed b}^ and constructed under the superintendence of early Chaldeans, one has reason to infer that the j)entacle was of Oriental origin. Prob- ably it was at first a symbol of the sun, — a purpose for which it has been used by different bodies of m3'stics, and others. It is interesting to notice that the figure was one of the symbols of tlie great hero-myth, Quetzalcoatl, a « The Great Pyramid, p. 35. The Pentacle. 169 liglit-god according to some, but really, according to Reville,^ a god of the wind, who was generally repre- sented in the form of a feathered serpent. Thus Dr. Brinton says: " In one of the earliest m3'ths he is called Yahualli ehecatl, meaning ' the wheel of the winds,' the winds being portraj^ed in the picture-writing as a circle or wheel, with a figure with five angles inscribed upon it, the sacred pentagram. His image carried in the left hand this wheel, and in the right a sceptre with the end recurved. "2 The pentacle has been accorded great potenc}^, and used extensively to keep oft' witches and all sorts of evil influences, including the devil himself, and hence it has served purposes ver}^ similar to those to which the horseshoe has often been put. Aubrey says that it was formerly used by the Greek Christians, as the sign of the cross is now, " at the beginning of letters or books for good luck's sake,"^ — something which old John Eveljm was wont to do in his works, and as Southey placed the puzzling monogram,* meant, perhaps, to have similar significance on the title-page of his book, " The Doctor." One is found in the western window of the south aisle of Westminster Abbe}^ which, doubt- less, the black monks, as they chanted in the choir, often looked on with superstitious emotion. It may be seen on many a cradle and threshold at the present day in the Fatherland. The readers of Goethe's o-reat work will remember that Dr. Faust had one on his threshold, and that, when he began to perceive that there was something decidedly * The Native Religions of Mexico and Peru, p. 57. New York, 1884. ^ American Hero-Myths, p. 121. 3 Remaines of Gentili.-me and Judaisme, p. 51. * An eqvialateral trian^ile divided into three equal triangles by lines meeting from the three angles. 8 H 170 Medical Symbolism. suspicious about the character of the " poodle," he re- marked that " riir solche halbe Hollenbrut 1st Salomonis Schliissel gut." How Mephistopheles himself got in was afterward explained by his showing that one of the angles of the " Drudenfuss " was left open. Disciples of the Samian sage, cabalistic^ Jews and Arabians, and others, especially Gnostics, long viewed the pentacle as a symbol of health, and made use of it as Fig. 29.— Hygeia, a Symbol, of Health. an amulet, calling it H3^geia, the name of the goddess of health. It was so called, and to some extent, likely for a similar reason, regarded as a sacred sjnnbol of health, because it could be resolved, it was believed, into * Professors of the Cabbala, a mystic philosophy, believed that there was a secret meaning in Holy Writ and a higher meaning in the law, and pretended to be able to perform miracles by the use of names and incan- tations. Auerbach gives an interesting account of them in his novel, " Spinoza." He gives this as an instance of their mode of reasoning : "The Hebrew word for Messiah contains tlie same number as the Hebrew word for serpent, in which form Satan seduced Eve; the Messiah will, there- fore, bruise the head of the serpent aud banish sin and death from the world." The Pentacle. Itl the Greek letters which form the word H3^geia ; and these were placed one on each point of the figure. ^ It was accepted, in fact, as a sort of rebus of the name of the celebrated daughter of ^sculapius. The scholarly and ingenious reader may be able to trace, more or less definitely, this reputed similarity. It is an interesting feature of what is certainly a very remarkable figure. 1 The word Salus, the synonymous Latin name, was also used in the same way. In Mrs. Pelliser's work it is thus seen. It is there spoken of as a device used by Marguerite of France, wife of Henry IV and the last of the Valois. DUE DATE wt/; ^^■mi 5£PJo, f99l OCT 2 3 1991 API ? A I9Q^ ADO o C 4.^^^^— r%t 1 1 4 I77J AFK 2 5 lyy^ J iVS\WUiPGAl APR; 5 1993 W AY? 11993 '' Printed in USA T^NbS" ^. QT" COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 0023790709 *=ic,^ m>^-'-r":zi.'-vi. K ^-ffliliiiivJv^lllliiliiilif. •