“The devil pull out both thine eyes,
And etihs in the holes likewise.”
“Spell the word backward and you shall see this charm.”—(“Discoverie of witchcraft,” London, 1651, p. 178.)
“For diphtheria, a poultice consisting of the fresh excrement of the hog, is worn about the neck for one night.” (Fayette County.)—(“Folk-Lore of the Penn’a Germans,” in “Journal of American Folk-Lore,” 1889, p. 29, W. J. Hoffman, M. D.)
For diseases in the kidneys, as an amulet χαραβραωθ, which means “viscera” in Hebrew: “In cubili canis urinam faciat qui urinam non potest continere, dicatque dum facit, ne in cubili suo urinam ut canis faciat.”—(“Saxon Leechdoms,” vol. i. p. 31. See also under Grand Lama, love-philters, mistletoe, witchcraft.)
Each and every one of the remedies inserted here under the title of “Witchcraft,” might with perfect propriety have been comprehended under the caption of “Pharmacy,” but the intention was to differentiate the two in the hope of attaining greater clearness in treatment. Under “Pharmacy,” therefore, have been retained all remedies for the alleviation of known disorders, while under “Witchcraft” are tabulated all that were to be administered or applied for the amelioration of ailments of an obscure type, the origin of which the ignorant sufferer would unhesitatingly seek in the malevolence of supernatural beings or in the machinations of human foes possessed of occult influences. Side by side with these, very properly go all such aids as were believed to insure better fortune in money-making, travelling, etc.
“A mixture of ape’s-dung and chameleon-dung was applied to the doors of one’s enemy.... He will, through its agency, become the object of universal hatred.”—(Pliny, lib. xxviii. c. 29.)
“The excrements (i. e. of the hyena) which have been voided by the animal at the moment when killed, are looked upon as counter-charms to magic spells.”—(Idem, c. 27.)
“For young girls they (i. e. the magicians) prescribe nine pellets of hare’s dung to ensure a durable firmness to the breasts.”—(Idem, c. 77.)
Doctor Dupouy believes that when the Druids “were forced to take refuge in dense forests far removed from the people, persecuted by the Romans, barbarians, and Christians, they progressively became magicians, enchanters, prophets, and charmers, condemned by the Councils and banished by the civil authority. It is at this epoch that evil spirits were noticed prowling around in the shadows of night and indulging in acts of obscene depravity.... In the seventh century Druidism disappeared, but the practice of magic, occult art, and the mysterious science of spirits were transmitted from generation to generation but lessened in losing the philosophical character of ancient times.”—(“Le Moyen Age Médical,” or its translation, “Physicians in the Middle Ages,” T. C. Minor, M. D., Cincinnati, Ohio, p. 38.)