THE POWDER OF SYMPATHY 113 



sympathetic powder was that which cured by anointing the 

 weapon with its salve instead of the wound. I have been 

 long convinced that it was efficacious. The directions 

 were to keep the wound clean and cool, and to take care of 

 diet, rubbing the salve on the knife or sword. If we re- 

 member the dreadful notions upon drugs which prevailed, 

 both as to quantity and quality, we shall readily see that 

 any way of not dressing the wound, would have been use- 

 ful. If the physicians had taken the hint, had been careful 

 of diet, etc., and had poured the little barrels of medicine 

 down the throat of a practicable doll, they would have had 

 their magical cures as well as the surgeons. Matters are 

 much improved now ; the quantity of medicine given, even 

 by orthodox physicians, would have been called infinitesi- 

 mal by their professional ancestors. Accordingly, the 

 College of Physicians has a right to abandon its motto, 

 which is, Ars longa, vita brevis, meaning, Practice is long, 

 so life is short" 



As set forth by Digby and others, the use of the Powder 

 of Sympathy is free from all taint of witchcraft or magic, 

 but, in another form, it was wholly dependent upon incanta- 

 tions and other magical performances. This idea of sym- 

 pathetic action was even carried so far as to lead to attempts 

 to destroy or injure those whom the operator disliked. In 

 some cases this was done by moulding an image in wax 

 which, when formed under proper occult influences, was 

 supposed to have the power of transferring to the victim 

 any injuries inflicted on the image. Into such images pins 

 and knives were thrust in the hope that the living original 

 would suffer the same pains and mutilations that would be 

 inflicted if the knives or pins were thrust into him, and 

 sometimes the waxen form was held before the fire and 



