138 The Evolution of Medical Science. 



Christian countries, is somewhat appalling. Medical Sci- 

 ence was held by it as in an iron vice. Escape was impos- 

 sible. To be brought face to face with the crass ignorance, 

 and horrible medical superstitions, then indulged in, is 

 well, frankly, it is nauseating, and very apt to seriously 

 disturb delicate stomachs. Nor need we go back much over 

 a century to find it, since the awakening is of very recent 

 occurrence. For instance, take "Helmont's Amulet for the 

 Plague," which sober, sensible yes, sensible, as sensibility 

 went in those days medical men of good standing en- 

 dorsed, declaring that it had " proven its efficacy in many 

 instances" (I am quoting their own words), "particularly 

 during the war between the Imperialists and Regulars in 

 Hungary, where the plague raged in a terrible manner. It 

 gained such a reputation throughout the country that all 

 barbers and blear-eyed witches are already acquainted with 

 its virtues." * The recipe was so highly esteemed among 

 the leading medical men of the times that it occupied a 

 prominent place in a Pharmacopoeia of 1731, and was 

 endorsed by the College of Physicians of the Kingdom of 

 Prussia. Here is the delectable recipe : " Large, old frogs, 

 caught in the month of June, are hung up by their hind 

 legs over a dish covered with wax, which has been placed 

 over a moderate fire. After a few days, the frogs discharge 

 horrible fumes and slaver, which attract every kind of 

 worms and flies. These stick to the wax and add their own 

 drivel to the mess. When the frogs are dead, roast and 

 mix them with the carefully preserved mixture of wax and 

 drivel, and shape this compound into small rolls, or imitate 

 the shapes of frogs. One of these is sewn into a cloth, 

 and worn in the region of the heart, suspended by a silk 

 thread around the neck. The longer one wears these, the 

 more certainly will he be protected from the ravages of the 

 plague." t 



In 1G63, Bechler's "Parnassus Medicinalis Illustratus" 

 contained, among other equally quaint yet loathsome ther- 

 apeutics, the following: "Powdered human bone in red 

 wine will cure dysentery. The marrow and oil distilled 

 from bone is good for rheumatism. Prepared human skull 

 is a sure cure for the falling sickness. Moss grown on a skull 

 is a haemostatic. ]\rummy dissolves coagulated blood, ro- 



*New KntrUmd Druggist, March, 1889. p. 12. 



t I'eters' Pictorial History- of Ancient I'luinnacy, pp. 1'2, ILX.i; New England 

 Druggist, March, 18'J, pp. 12, l.J. 



