1 ( I ROYAL TOUCH PIECES. SUPERSTITIOTsS CONXECTEIt WITH MEDICINE AND SUUGEEY. 1 " But I am over-tedious in these toyes, which howsoever in some men's too severe censures they may be held absurd and ridiculous, I am the bolder to as- sert, as not borrowed from circumforanean rogues and gipsies, but out of the writings of worthy philosophers and physicians. Burton. ON SUPEESTITIONS CONNECTED WITH THE HISTORY AND PRACTICE MEDICINE AND SURGEKY. Br THOMAS JOSEPH PETTIGREW, F.R.S.,F.S.A., DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY OF THE UNIVERSITY OP GOTTINGEN, SORGEON TO H. R. H. THE DDCHESS OP KENT, TO THE ASYLUM FOR FEMALE ORPHANS, ETC., ETC., ETC. PHILADELPHIA: ED. BARRINGTON AND GEO. D. HASWELL. 1844. i DEDICATION TO HUDSON GURNEY, ESQ., F.R.S., V.P.S.A., etc., etc., etc. My dear Sir, I eagerly embrace the opportunity afforded me by the publication of these pages on the Superstitions connected \vith the History of Medicine and Surgery, to inscribe them to one, whose varied information and powerful intellect qualify him to form so able a judgment on the subject. Had I not, however, equal assurance of the benevolent disposition of your mind as of your ability, I should fear the result of my boldness. Whatever may be the opinion your knowledge of History and Antiquities may lead you to form of my little pro- duction, written amidst the interruptions of a professional life, it is extremely gratifying to me to have the opportunity of pub- licly recording with what regard and esteem, I have the honour to be, Your most faithful and obliged servant, T. J. PETTIGREW. Saville Row, Oct. 28, 1843. CONTENTS PAGJ? Introduction : — Value of Health — Veneration for Physicians — F.mpiyinJQna^ — Paracelsus ; his cha- racter — The' Six tollies of Science' — Specula- tive Conceits of Learned Men . . . 13-17 Alchymy : — Origin of Chemistry — Geber — Alchy- my of Egyptian origin ; evidence of it afforded by the Enchorial Manuscripts ; propagated by the Arabians — Objects of the Alchymists — The most celebrated — Royal Alchymists — Elias Ashmole ; his ' Theatrurn Chemicum Bri- tannicum' — Philosopher's Stone — Mineral Stone — Vegetable Stone — IMagical or Prospec- tive Stone — Angelical Stone — Secresy of the Alchymists — Eminent Men chargeable with the folly — Girtanner's Prophecy . . . 18-31 Astrology : — Origin of Talismans — Doctrine of Signatures — Planetary Influence — Sol-Lunar Influence upon Diseases — Colours of Sub- n stances — Gathering of Plants . . . 32-40 Early Medicine and Surgery : — Ridiculous Speculations — Surgical Instruments — Com- bined Duties of Physician and Surgeon ; when separated — First Surgical Operation — Royal Egyptian Physician wrote on Anatomy — Prac- tice of Medicine with the Priesthood — Supposed Celestial Influence in the production of Diseases — Theological Anatomy — Appropriation of parts of the Body to various Deities — Zodiacal Constellation — Hippocrates the first physician to relieve Medicine from the trammels of super- stition — Egyptian iEsculapius — Magic and Di- 10 CONTENTS. PAGE 1 Pi vination — Prohibition of Priests to practice Me- I ^ dicine and Surgery — Various Decrees of Coun- I jj cils to efiect the same — Miraculous Cures by "■■ (] the Interposition of Saints — Particular Saints ij for special diseases — Holy Cures — Holy Wells and Fountains — Relics of Saints . . . 41-61 Talisma>-s : — Cabalistical Characters — Astronomi- cal — Maa;ical — Mixed — Siyilla Planetarum — Hebrew Names and Characters — Phylacteries — Characts ...... 62-65 Amulets : — Eastern oriiiin — Various kinds — Gri- gris — Odd Numbers — Abraxas — Abracadabra 66-76 Charjis : — OrifTin of the term-^— Charm for Luxa- tion ; for Protection against Diseases in gene- ral ; against Accidents ; against Malignant In- fluences — Evil Eye — Epilepsy — Convulsions and Fits — Hysteria' — St. Vitus's Dance — Mad- ness — Palsy — Sciatica — Lameness — Headach — Toothach — Pla'Uie — Fevers — As;ue — Hec- tic rever and Consumption — Glacach — Hoop- ing-cough — Gout — Scrofula — Rickets — Sore Eyes — iMarasmus — Calculus — Cholera — Jaun- dice — Worms — Venomous Bites — Tarantula — Erysipelas— Burns — Thorns — Warts — Small- pox — Hemorrhage and Hemorrhoids — Sterility —Childbirth— Child's Caul— Cramp— Incubus 77-118 On the I>'FLUE?fCE OF THE JNllJN'D VVOS THE BoDY : — Power of the Imagination — Effects of Terror upon the Colour of the Hair ; in dissipating Pain ; in curing Diseases — Anger — Grief — Fear — Joy — Sudden Death — Sympathies — Passions productive of Diseases — Effects of Imagination — Metallic Tractors — Medical Faith — Religious Feelinij — Prince Hohenlohe's Cases — Importance of attending to the mental Condition of the Sick ..... 119-152 I'ovAL Gift of Healing : — A practice of English growth — commenced with Edward the Confes- sor and continued to the time of Queen Anne — French kings practised it — Historical evi- dences — Error of Dr. Plot — Presentation of a U iv. CONTENTS. 11 PAGE Piece of Gold — Origin of English Gold Coin- age — Touch-pieces of Charles II, James II, Anne, and the Pretender — Medical Authorities : Gilbertus Anglicus ; John of Gaddesden — Cle- rical and Legal Authorities ; Peter de Blois ; Archbishop Bradwardine ; Sir John Fortescue — Henry VII establishes a particular ceremony at the Healings — its variations in the time of Charles II and Queen Anne — Proclamations preserved in the State Paper Office relating to the Cure of the King's Evil — most extensively practised by Charles II — Browne's Adeno- choiradelogia — Trial of Thomas Rosewell for denying the power of Charles to heal — prac- tised by the Pretenders — Carte deprived of the subscription of the City of London to his His- tory, for giving countenance to the power of the Stuarts — Cessation of the practice upon the accession of the House of Brunswick . . 153-198 VA.LErfTiNE Greatrakes' Cures : — His character — Attestations to his practice — John Lcverett's Manual Exercise 199-200 Sympathetical Cures : — Sir Kenelm Digby ; his Discourse at Montpellier — Mr. Howell's case — Attempted explanation — The doctrine of an- cient origin — Weapon Salve; Dryden's notice ot it in the ' Tempest' — Real explanation of Sympathetical Cures — Advancement of Sur- gery — Doctrine of Adhesion — Restoration of parts — Remarkable instances of the Union of severed parts, the Nose, the Ear, Fingers, &c. 201-213 Hi If E n ri SUPEESTITIONS CONNECTED WITK MEDICINE AND SURGERY. INTRODUCTION. " Man is a dupeable animal. Quacks in medicine, quacks in religion, and quacks in politics know this, and act upon that knowledge. There is scarcely any one who may not, like a trout, be taken by tickling." SOUTHEY. / When we consider that health has ever been ' looked upon as the first of all blessings, we can- not be surprised at the regard, esteem, and even veneration which have been paid to those who have successfully devoted themselves to the re- moval or relief of disease. " Homines ad Decs nulla, re proprius accedunt, quam salutem ho- rninibus dando,"* is the expressed opinion of the * [Men resemble the Gods in nothing so much as in giving health to their fellow men.] 2 14 INTRODUCTION. celebrated Roman orator. Medicine, however, has been, and still continues to be, an art so conjectural and uncertain, that our astonish- ment at the anxiety with which empirics have been sought after and followed is much dimi- nished. Regular professional men are too sensi- ble of the deiiciencies, and too keenly alive to the uncertainty of the power of medicines over dis- ease, to venture to speak boldly and decisively so as to gain the entire confidence of their pa- tients, whose natural irritability is perhaps, under the influence of disease, much excited, increased, and aggravated. The bold and un- blushing assertion of the empiric of a never- failing remedy,* constantly reiterated, inspires confidence in the invalid, and not unfrequently tends by its operation oij the mind to assist in the eradication of disorder. Few people possess either leisure or inclination in large and popu- lous places, -where alone the quack sets upon his work of deception and not unfrequently de- struction, to examine into and detect the impo- sition. Human credulity is too strong to resist the bold and unblushing assertions of the em- piric, and to his hands is readily committed the care of the most precious gift of Heaven. It has not inaptly been observed, f that ''in the true infancy of science, philosophers were * Death is the cure of all diseases. There is no calholicon or universal remedy I know, but this, which though nauseous to queasy sf-omachs. yet to prepanid appetites is nectar, and a pleasant potion of immortality." (Browne's Religio Medici.) t D'Israeli's Curiosities of Literature, second series, vol. iii., 1). 1. INTRODUCTION. 15 as iiiiHginative a race as poets." No discovery, ill sliort, was promulgated but iu combination with the marvellous. Hence the 'Admirable Secrets' of Albertus Magnus; the 'Natural Magic' of Baptista Porta ; the ' Demones of Cornelius Agrippa: the ' Elixir of Life' of Van Helmont; and the 'Fairy' of Paracelsus. It w^ould be no easy task to assign the earliest age of quackery in medicine. It is, perhaps, coeval with the introduction of chemistrv, but the first renowned quack is probably to be found in Pa- racelsus. He boasted his power of making man. immortal, yet he died at the early age of 48 years, in the hospital of St. Sebastian, at Saltz- buro; in Germany, in the year 1541, liavins^ fol- lowed a life of great indulgence and dissipation. It is not a little singular that the family name of this " strange and paradoxical genius" should have heenBombasius, which he changed, as was a common practice of the times in which he lived, to another, and assumed that of Paracel- sus. His zeal and application were extraordi- nary. He derived his knowledge from travel- ling in various parts of the \\orld, and consult- ing monks, conjurors, barber-surgeons, old women, and all persons said to be gifted with the knowledge of secret arts, remedies, &c. He was professor of medicine at Basle, but be- came renowned by a nostrum called azoth, which he vaunted as tVie philosopher's stone — the medical panacea — the tincture of life. He styled himself the " monarch of physicians," and arrogantly exclaimed that the hair on the back of his head knew more than all authors; 16 INTRODUCTION. that the clasps of his shoes were more learned than Galen or Avicenna ; and that his beard possessed more experience than all the academy of Basle : " Stultissimus pilus occipitis mei plus scit, qnani omnes vestri doctores, et calceorum meorum annuli doctiores sunt quam vester Ga- lenus et Avicenna, barba mea plus experta est quam vestrce omnes Academise." Extravagant as all this may appear, it yet had the effect of dissipating a too excessive admiration of the an- cients, at that time prevalent in the schools. His boldness was such, that at his first lecture upon his appointment to the professorship in the University, he, before his pupils, publicl}" burnt the writinsfs of Galen and Avicenna ! His edu- cation, however, was very imperfect, and he "wasifrnorant even of his own vernacular tong:ue. Thomas Erastus, one of his pupils, wrote a book to detect his impostures. He was nevertheless a m.an of great abilitj^ and did much towards the advancement of chemical knowledf^e, parti- cularly in its application to the purposes of me- dicine. Armed with opium, antimony, and mercury, he effected many extraordinarj^, cures. The quadrature of the circle ; the multiplica- tion of the cube ; the perpetual motion ; the phi- losophical stone ; magic ; and judicial astrology have been aptly denominated "The Six Follies of Science." However vain has been the study, and however futile the results, the indulgence of the vanity and the pains of the research have not been unattended with benefit to mankind ; inasmuch as they have been the cause of many discoveries of much importance. The errors in INTRODUCTION. 17 medicine have usually originated in the specu- lative conceits of men of superior capacities. " The blunders of the weak are short lived, but a false theory, with a semblance of nature, struck in the mint of genius, often deceives the learned, and passes current through the world." ALCHYMY. *' Trust to this doctrine, set herein your desiers, And now lerne the regiment of your fiers." NoRTOA. The study of alchymy gave birth to chemis- try ; its principal object was the transmutation of the baser metals into gold and silver. Suidas, whose Greek Lexicon was composed in the twelfth century, has defined chemistry "the preparation of silver and gold :" this is a distinct identification of chemistry with alchymy. A better etymology of the word is to be found, per- haps, in the fact that the country of Egypt was called Khame, Chemia, Chamia, or Cham, the meaning of which in hieroglyphics is black, — an allusion, probably, to the dark soil thrown up b}'' the river Nile ; and in this country chemis- try may be looked upon to have originated. Chemistry now happily constitutes a science of great practical benefit to mankind, embraces ob- jects of vast extent and utility, gives to us an intimate knowledge of the nature of bodies, and no longer tempts either the superstitious or the avaricious to the attainment of improper, un- natural, or inordinate gains. Dr. Thomson* is * History of Chemistry, p. 14. ' ALCHY.MY. 19 disposed to believe that cliemi.stry or alchymy — ■understanding by these terms the art of raalung o-old and silver — orio-inated with the Ara- bians alter the establishment of the caliphs, and that its appHcation was then first directed to the purposes of medicine, Geber, who lived in the seventh century, he observes, makes no allusion to the transmutation of metals; and he hence concludes that the practice dates its origin pos- terior to his time. It must, however, be remark- ed that Geber expressly mentions the philoso- pher's stone, and professes to give the mode of preparing it, and I know not iiow to separate this art from that of converting or altering the nature of different substances. Dr. Thomson reijards Geber's work as the earliest chemical treatise in existence ; and he describes it as written with so much plainness that we can understand the nature of the substances which he employed, the processes which he followed, and the greater number of the products he ob- tained. The chemical facts observable in his work he thinks entitle him to the appellation of " The father and founder of chemistry." Yet Dr. Johnson regarded his language as so prover- bially obscure, that he presumed the word gib- berish or geberish to have arisen from the style of his writings. The language of the alchy mists was enigmatical and obscure, their science and all its processes were mysterious, and directed to be conducted with great privacy. The me- tals were personified — gold was the only pure and healthy man, the others were as "lepers" or diseased ones. 20 ALCHYMY. Alchvmv cannot be reoarded as of Arabian origin, however much it may have been culti- vated and extended in that country. It flourish- ed at a very early period in Egypt, and the late discoveries in that " laud of marvels" have shown an extended acquaintance with various arts and sciences as exercised in the different manufac- tures, of which representations are to be found in the tombs and excavations of a very early date. Without some knowledge of chemistry the Egyptians could never have excelled, as they have done, in the making of glass, of linen, in dyeing, in the use of mordaunts, &c. Their manufacture of metals, particularly of gold — the whole process of which is represented in the tombs of Beni Hassan and at Thebes — into various ornaments; their gold wire, their gild- ing, &c., exhibit great ability, and could not have been effected without some knowledge of metallurgy. Their embalmings also display an acquaintance with chemistry. The Egyptian manuscripts hitherto discovered have not af- forded any particular light into the extent of their knowledge; but several papyri have been found to contain certain formulae; and one, a bi- lingual manuscript (being Enchorial and Greek) was examined by my late friend, Professor Reu- vens, the conservator of the Museum of Antiqui- ties at Leyden, and was found to treat of magical operations, and to contain upwards of one hun- dred chemical and alchymical formulae. It has been usual to ascribe the introduction of alchymy to Pythagoras, to Solomon, or rather to Hermes, and it has not unfrequently been ALCHYMY. 21 called the hermetical science. Gibbon has shown that the Greeks were inattentive either to the use or the abuse of chemistry, and that the immense collection of Pliny contains no in- stance of, or reference to, the transmutation of metals. He states the persecution of Diocletian to be the first authentic event in the history of alchymy. After the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs it spread over the globe. The objects of the alchymists were to convert other metals into gold and silver, to remedy all diseases, and to prolong human life to an indefi- nite period. " A perfect medicine for bodies that be sick Of all infirmities to be relieved ; This heleth nature and prolongeth lyfe eke." To attain such objects it is not surprising there should have been many aspirants; the credulity of man was speedily excited by the benefits held forth, and for a very long time an almost universal belief in the truth of the pro- positions was entertained. The most celebrated ancient alchymists were Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon, Raymund Lul- ly, Arnold us de Villa Nova, John Isaac Hol- land us, Basil Valentine, Paracelsus, and Van Helmont. The importance of chemical investigations and processes, as applicable to medicine, was first shown by Paracelsus; metals being ex- posed by him to the action of different acids, various preparations were made, and are em^ 22 ALCHYMY. ployed in medicine with benefit, to the present day. Tinctures, essences, and extracts have from his time superseded the useless syrups and decoctioHS previously employed. The desire of transmuliiig base metals into gold has called into exercise the worst passions of mankind — " To seech by alkimy greate ryches to winn." (Norton's Ordinull, p. 6.) Thus a love of riches sprang out of the pursuit of chemical science; and, considering the ex- traordinary o})erations connected with the study and the decompositions that have been effected, it is perhaps scarcely surprising that so many men of considerable talent should have become so infatuated. Many, doubtless, like Peter Hopkins,* studied alchymyfor the pure love of speculation and curious inquiry, not with the slightest intention of ever pursuing it for the desire of riches. Many liked it because it was mysterious. There have also been royal alchy- mists, driven probably to the entertainment of a vain hope by the extravagancies and profligacy of their lives. Henry VI., according to Evelyn, f endeavoured to recruit his empty coffers by re- course to alchymy. Henry IV., had enacted a statute prohibiting the craft of multiplication. None were permitted to multif)ly gold or silver under pain of felony. Henry VI. repealed this * Doctor, vol. iii., p. 102. t Numismata. Also, D'lsraeli, Curios, of Lit., vol. i., p. 498. ALCIIYMY. 23 statute and published a patent authoritate Par- liamenti, wliich lias been given by Prynne in his ' Aurum Reginse,' and in which the monarch tells his subjects that the happy hour was draw- ing nigh, wiien, by the discovery of the philo- sopher's stone, he should be enabled to pay all the debts of the nation in real gold and silver. Elias Ashmole, who styles himself Mercurio- philus Anglicus, has collected together in his ' Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum' (Lond. 1652, 4to.), many curious poetical*- pieces on alchymy. He states that his adopted father, Backhouse, an astrologer, bequeathed to him, in syllables, the true matter of the })hilosopher's stone as a legacy; by which, as D'Israeli says, " we learn that a miserable wretch knew the art of making gold, yet always lived a beggar; and that Ashmole really imagined he was in pos- session of the syllables of a secret ;" thus verify- ing Ben Jonson's lines addressed to the alchy- mists. " If all you boast of your great art be true, Sure, willing poverty lives most in you." The work of Ashmole to which I have alluded is perhaps the most curious record we have of the history of the follies, vain conceits, and in- credible belief of the alchy mists. He speaks with great caution of the philosopher's stone, * His reason for selecting poetical pieces is thus given : " To prefer prose before poetry is no other or better than to let a rough-hewen clowne take the wall of a rich-clad lady of honour, or to hang a presence chamber with tarpalin instead of tapestry." 24 ALCHYMY. ** knowinsf enonah to hold his tongue, but not 'o — ""O' enough to speake." Of its powers, however, he gives a particular account — as, he says, " a philosophical account of that eminent secret treasured up in the bosome of nature, which hath been sought for of many, but found by few." He describes also the mineral stone, the vegetable stone, the magical stone, and the an- gelicall stone ; and prior to his description he solemnly tells us, " Incredulity is given to the world as a punishment." The mineral stone hath the power of trans- muting any imperfect earthy matter into its ut- most degree of perfection ; that is, to convert the basest of metals into perfect gold* and sil- ver ; flints into ail manner of precious stones, as rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, &c. The vegetable stone, by which Abraham, Moses, and Solomon wrought many wonders. The nature of man, beasts, fowls, fishes, all kinds of trees, plants, flowers, &c., may by this stone be made to grow, flourish, and bear fruit, — increase in colour, smell, &c., when and where and at whatever season of the year its possessor may please. The magical or perspective stone makes a strict inquisition, discovers any person in any part of the world whatever, and enables you to under- stand the language of birds, beasts, &c. The angelicall stone can neither be felt, seen, or weighed, but it can be tasted. It will lodge * " Gold, I confesse, is a delicious object, a goodly light, Hhichwe admire and gaze upon n^ 7;?