If the prescription-mark be a thing of astrological origin, it is a remnant of an extensive body of facts and theories, long highly prized. Shakspere makes King Lear, in an interesting passage, characterize the reference of man’s destiny “to the sun, the moon, and the stars,” as “the excellent foppery of the world;”[471] but no doubt innumerable hosts of believers in the system were thoroughly sincere. From the days when the Accadians became distinguished for their observations of the heavens, down to very recent times, medical astrology occupied a position in popular thought and esteem which almost exceeds the power of credence of the modern scientific physician. Not only in administering medicines, but in gathering medicinal herbs, the position of the planets had to be considered; for it was believed that the herbs got their virtues from them. Without the benign influence of the “host of heaven,” no good could be expected from the physician, or his remedies.
The belief in the power of the different constellations of the zodiac over special parts of the body and their diseases is still indicated by the curious figure often seen in almanacs.
Abraxas-stones are largely medical in character—medical talismans.[472] Much might be said of them. Fort remarks: “These gems, endowed with omnipotent curative and talismanic power, quickly acquired a celebrity undiminished for ages, and whose possible interpretation even yet attracts erudite attention.”[473]
Each of these remarkable objects consisted of a piece of glass, paste, or other mineral substance, occasionally a metallic one, on which was usually some figure, often a serpent, or inscription, together with the word “abraxas,” which constituted their distinctive feature.
The Greek letters of the mystical word, “abraxas,” equaled in numerical value 365,[474] the number of days in the year. After speaking of the serpent of evil on one, Sharpe says: “Underneath it is written the magical word Abrasa, hurt me not, an Egyptian word, which the Greeks made use of, as believing that the evil spirits were better acquainted with the Egyptian language than with the Greek.”[475] Not a few, however, believe that the word is not such at all.
Fig. 21.—Abraxas-stone. (From De Wilde.)
The abraxas-stones are believed to have originated with the Basilidian Gnostics, a sect which Basilides, a Syrian by birth, who lived under Trajan and his successor, in the latter half of the first century, was instrumental in originating. Whether they were intended at first to be simply a means of recognition is an undecided question. Those given to magic adopted them largely. The opinion has been expressed that doubtless the greater part of the stones were made in the middle ages.[476]