SOME DISEASES MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE. 277 



all, or nearly all, forms of madness are alm.ost universally to-day 

 asserted by the people of Palestine to tlie work of demons, or 

 jinns. The very word used for lunacy being mejviln, meaning 

 literally "possessed by devils/' Among all classes, Christians, 

 Jews, and Moslems, this is the pathology of lunacy, and the 

 remedy always, unless the case speedily recovers spontaneously, 

 or while taking " franju " medicine, is exorcism in some form or 

 another. In some cases patients are left at sacred spots dedicated 

 to El KJmdr, i.e., " The Green," the Elijah of Jews and Moslems, 

 the St. Geoi'ge of Christians. Such places are usually underground 

 caves, as those at El Khudr (the Convent of St. George) near 

 Jerusalem, at the Convent of Elijah on Mount Carmel, and in the 

 Synagogue of Joba, near Damascus. In other cases more definite 

 exorcism is performed distinctly with the idea of drawing or 

 driving out the demon causing the disorder. It is a favourite 

 trick of these exercisers, who are usually Moslem sheiks, to 

 graphically describe to the patient how the devil is gradually 

 drawn downwards till finally he quits at one of the great toes. I 

 have had it gravely described to me that the toe from which the 

 devil was finally expelled became inflamed shortly afterwards, 

 showing clearly his malignant influence at the moment when he 

 had to abandon his victim. The Spanish Jews of Jerusalem have 

 an ancient and elaborate ritual called " Indulca," which is used 

 for such cases. It is manifestly a form of exorcism. The 

 inejnunln are, if harmless, treated with a considerable amount of 

 respect for fear of the demon, but if violent they are avoided as 

 much as possible. A violent maniac is not uncommonly chained 

 up and his food passed to him through a crack in a closed 

 door. 



Any European doctor curing a case of madness would certainly 

 be described by the ignorant fellahin, Eastern Jews {e.g., in 

 Damascus) and a large proportion of the ordinary townspeople, 

 as having turned out the devil from one "possessed." 



Fever and bloody fiux are so commonly associated along the 

 Mediterranean that there is little need to look for an interpretation, 

 such as must occur to a doctor practising only in England, of 

 typhoid with haemorrhage. A very large proportion of unlocated 

 cases of malarial fevers end in dysenteric symptoms, i.e., the 

 passage of blood and slime from the bowel, and before the days 

 of quinine this must have been still more common. 



