[19]. The Plague of London was supposed to have arisen from such a cause, as we learn from the writers of that period. I shall quote a passage from a pamphlet by W. Kemp, M. A. dedicated to Charles the Second. ‘One cause of breeding the pestilence is that corruption of the air, which is occasioned by the influence of the Stars, by the aspects, conjunctions, and oppositions of the Planets, by the eclipses of the Sun and Moon, and by the consequences of Comets.’ ‘Astra regunt homines, sed regit astra Deus.’ Hippocrates advises his son Thessalus to study numbers and geometry, (‘Epist. ad Thessalum.’) because, says he, the rising and setting of the Stars have a great effect upon Distempers. Citois, the historian of the celebrated Colic of Poitou (Colica Pictonum), which raged with such epidemic fury in that province during the Sixteenth century, drops a hint, apparently with a view to account for the origin of the disease, viz. that to the great astonishment of Astrologers, ‘a new Star had, in the same year made its appearance in the constellation of Cassiopeia’.—(Diatriba de novo et populari, apud Pictones, dolore colico bilioso.)
[20]. The precious stones were, at first, only used as Amulets, or external charms, but like many other articles of the Materia Medica, they passed, by a mistake in the mode of their application, from the outside to the inside of the body, and they were accordingly powdered and administered as specifics. An analogous case of the perverted administration of a popular remedy is afforded in the history of the Tench; which Sennertus describes as a remedy capable of curing the Jaundice, which he allows is effected ‘by secret attraction, and the power of Amulets.’ In the course of time, it became a reputed food in the cure of that disease, and Tench broth was prescribed upon all such occasions.
[21]. Mystery is the very soul of Empiricism; withdraw the veil, and the confidence of the patient instantly languishes; thus Pliny, ‘Minus credunt quæ ad suam salutem pertinent, si intelligunt.’
[22]. It was this historian who said, that Medicine was invented by Apollo, improved by Esculapius, and brought to perfection by the physician of Cos.
[23]. Paracelsus exclaims, ‘Stellas terrenes esse Plantas, quæ celestes plantas, i. e. Stellas, respiciant, ita ut quævis planta suam habeat stellam specificam.’
The Druids of Gaul and Britain, who were both priests and physicians, gathered and cut the Missletoe with a golden knife, only when the Moon was six days old, and being afterwards consecrated by certain forms, it was considered as an antidote to poisons, and a preventive of sterility. Plinii. Lib. xvi, c. 44.
The Vervain, (Verbena Officinalis,) after libations of honey, was to be gathered at the rising of the dog-star, when neither sun nor moon shone, with the left hand only; when thus prepared, it was said to vanquish fevers, and other distempers, was an antidote to the bite of serpents, and a charm to conciliate friendship. Plin. Lib. xxv. c. 9. I shall however hereafter shew that the medicinal reputation of this herb derived its origin from a source more ancient even than that of Druidism. Magnenus (Exercitat. de Tabaco,) has given us the following precept,—‘Tabacum seratur luna crescente, colligatur autem decrescente luna.’
[24]. In later times these heathen symbols were dropped, and others were adopted to propitiate the favour and assistance of heaven; for this purpose the Alchemists stamped the figure of the cross upon the vessel in which they were to obtain their long sought for prize; a superstitious practice, from which the term crucible derived its origin. I am well aware that another explanation has been given, and that the word has been derived from Crucio, since in the language of the Alchemists, the crucible was the vessel in which the metals were tortured to force them to assume the form of gold.
[25]. Mr. Boyle was pre-eminently credulous with respect to specifics, and contributed very greatly to the encouragement and diffusion of empiricism, by publishing many prescriptions as affording infallible remedies, which were communicated to him by a variety of persons, who either from ignorance or design vouched for their efficacy.
[26]. The Soothsayers attributed many mystic properties to the Coral, and it was believed to be capable of giving protection against the influence of ‘Evil Eyes;’ it was even supposed that Coral would drive away Devils and Evil Spirits; hence arose the custom of wearing amulets composed of it, around the neck, and of making crowns of it. Pliny and Dioscorides are very loud in their praises of the medicinal properties of this substance, and Paracelsus says that it should be worn around the necks of infants as an admirable preservative against fits, sorcery, charms, and even against poison. It is a curious circumstance, that the same superstitious belief should exist among the Negroes of the West Indies, who affirm that the colour of Coral is always affected by the state of health of the wearer, it becoming paler in disease. In Sicily it is also commonly worn as an amulet.