p h y s 
chemiftry fhotild alone follow pharmacy, and that they 
Ihould be indemnified for their expenfes by an exclufive 
trade. Thefe monopolifts alfo co.uld be kept under clofer 
infpedfion, by which the danger of their felling improper 
drugs or poifon was leffened or entirely removed. It 
would appear that no fufpicions were at firft entertained, 
that apothecaries could atnafs riches by their employment 
fo foon and fo eafily as they do at prefent; for they were 
allowed many other advantages, and particularly that of 
dealingin fweetmeats and confedtionary, which were then 
the greatell delicacies. In many places they were 
obliged on certain feftivals to give prefents of fuch dain¬ 
ties to the magiftrates, by way of acknowledgment; and 
hence probably has arifen the cuftotn of fending new 
years’ gifts of marchepanes and other things of the like 
kind. About the fourteenth century, therefore, we may 
confider the Phyfician to have been a perfonage entirely 
diftindf from the Apothecary : fee the latter article, 
vol. i. 
Saladinus of Afcoli, an author who wrote about the 
middle of the fifteenth century, while as yet there were 
no pharmacopoeias eftablilhed by any public authority, 
informs us, that the books with which the apothecaries 
were generally furnifned, were thefe : a book of Avicenna 
and another of Serapion, which treat on fimples ; Simon 
Januenfis de Synonymis; a treatife of an Arabian author 
under the name of Liber Servitoris, containing the pre¬ 
parations of fimples, and the chemical medicines then in 
ufe; likewife two Antidotaria, one of Johannes Damafce- 
nus, or Mejue, and another of Nicholaus de Salerno. 
r Some time after, Nicholaus Prsepofitus of Tours wrote a 
general difpenfatory, that might fupply the place of all 
thefe j in which the compofitions are almolt entirely taken 
from Mefue, and the forementioned more ancient Nicho¬ 
laus. The Thefaurus Aromatariorum written near the 
fame time, and the Lumen Apolhecariorum, confift alfo of 
fimilar extracts ; and in the Luminare Majus , published 
foon after, which contains a more extenfive colledtion, 
thefe two authors generally lead each head. The fame 
Antidotaria have alfo been made the general balls of the 
modern pharmacopoeias, though we know little more of 
their authors than that they were the favourites of thofe 
barbarous times in which they lived. 
It is probable that Mefue lived about the 12th century, 
which is all that we can afcertain refpedting a writer to 
whofe authority fuch implicit fubmilfion has been paid ; 
and even this circumftance has been difputed, for fome 
have confounded him with a much earlier writer of the 
fame name, who refided at the court of Bagdat. Of the 
other father of pharmacy, Nicholaus, little more is known. 
From his being ftyled of Salerno, we might imply that he 
refided in that fchool. Of his work, Saladin gives the 
following account : That there were two Antidotaria un¬ 
der filename of this Nicholaus, the one diftinguilhed by 
the title of Nicholaus Magnus , and the other by that of 
Nicholaus Parvus; that the latter was in moll frequent 
ufe, and was only an epitome of the former, containing 
but a part of the compofitions, and thofe reduced to lei's 
quantities. Among the colledtions of pieces often pub- 
lilhed together as a fupplement to Mefue, one is entitled 
Antidotarium Nicholai, and in this are contained the com¬ 
pofitions which were delivered by difpenfatory-writers 
under the name of Nicholaus. This is the fmaller An¬ 
tidotarium ; and there is alfo a copy of the greater, pub- 
lilhed under the name of Nicholaus Alexandrinus, as 
tranllated from the Greek by Nicholaus of Reggio, the 
firft tranllator of Galen. In this tranllation, as in the 
former Antidotarium, the compofitions are arranged in the 
order of the Latin alphabet; whereas, in the original, the 
Greek alphabetical order feems to have been followed. 
Here, befide a much greater number of articles than in 
the other Nicholaus, thofe which they have in common 
are in greater quantities. 
The firft Pharmacopoeia which was fet forth by public 
authority, was the Difpenfatorium of Valerius Cordus, 
publilhed in 154.2, under the fandfion of the fenate of Nil- 
I C I A N. 315 
remberg. Haller has remarked one older; but it is now 
known only from the title mentioned by Maittaire: 
“ Ricettario di Dottori dell’Arte e di Medicina dell Col- 
legio Florentine, all’inftantia del 1 i fignori confoli della 
univerfitci delli fpeciali ; Firenz. 1498. fol.” Cordus, 
however, appears to have firft ufed the word Difpenfato¬ 
rium for a colledfion of receipts,containing directions how 
to prepare the medicines moft in ufe. His book confifts 
almoft entirely of collections from the two authors above 
mentioned, with (liort notes in relation to fuch names of 
plants or drugs in the compofitions as were of doubtful 
fignification. Subfequent pharmacopoeias, however they 
might be rendered more copious by additions from other 
authors, alfo paid the like regard to Nicholaus and Mefue. 
This Pharmacopoeia of Cordus has been made more cele¬ 
brated from the comments made on it by Hoffman. In 
1561, Clufuis publilhed at Antwerp a Latin tranllation of 
the Florentine Antidotarium. In 1581 was publilhed at 
Bergamo, in Italy, the Pharmacopoeia Bcrgamenjis, which 
was followed by the Pharmacopoeia Augujlana, at Augf- 
burg in 1601 ; republilhed at Rotterdam, with notes by 
Zwelfer, in 1654, and again in 1666. The Pharmaco¬ 
poeia of the faculty at Paris firft appeared in 1637, and 
about the fame time there was publilhed at Paris a collec¬ 
tion of Arabian formulae, called the Perjian Pharmacopoeia. 
In the latter end of the 17th century, the incorporated 
phyficians of Sweden publilhed their Difpenfatory under 
the title of Pharmacopoeia Holmienjis, which was repub¬ 
lilhed in 1775 and 1784 by the title of Pharmacopoeia S'ue- 
cica. ThePrufiian Difpenfatory, Pharmacopoeia Borufjica, 
was firft publilhed in 1799. The Pharmacopoeia of Vienna 
was firft publilhed in 1729, and republilhed in 1765. The 
Difpenfatory of Wirtemburg, of which the firft edition is 
that of 1771. Pharmacopoeia Genevenjis, publilhed in 1780, 
republilhed in Italian in 1800. DifpenJ'atorium Lippiacum 
in 1792. Pharmacopoeia Bremenjis in 1792. Pharmaco¬ 
poeia Aujlriaco-provincialis, 1794. Pharmacopoeia Anjlri- 
aco-caflrenfis, 1795. Pharmacopoeia Iioffca, publilhed at 
St. Peterfburgh, firft in 1798, and again in 1803. The 
Codex Medicamentarius, five Pharmacopoeia Galiica, was 
publilhed at Paris fo lately as 1818. See the article Pa¬ 
thology, vol. xix. p. 47, 8. 
Of the Britijh Pharmacopoeias, the earlieft is that of the 
London College, which was firft publilhed in 1618. It 
was again publilhed either at the dole of the feventeenth 
or beginning of the eighteenth century in 181110. again in 
1746 in 4to. in 1788 and 1791 in 8vo. and, laftly, in 1809. 
But a new edition is now daily expected ; and the follow¬ 
ing Proclamation, enforcing ftridt attention to it on the 
part of all apothecaries and compounders of medicine, has 
juft been publilhed. 
At the Court at Brighton, the 19th of January, 1824; 
prefent, the King’s Moft Excellent Majelty in Council. 
Whereas there was this day read at the Board, the hum¬ 
ble Memorial of Sir Henry Halford, Bart. Phyfician to 
his Majefty, and Prefidentof the College or Commonalty 
of the Faculty of Phylic in London, letting forth that the 
laid Prefident and College have, with great care, pains, 
and induftry, revifed, corredted, and reformed, a book 
by them formerly publilhed, entitled “ Pharnfacopceia 
Collegii Regalis Medicorum Londinenfis ;” prefcribing 
and diredting the manner of preparing all forts of medi¬ 
cines therein contained, together with the true weights 
and meafures by which they ought to be made; which 
book is now perfected and ready to be publilhed, and it 
is conceived will contribute to the public good of his 
majefty’s fubjedfs, by preventing all deceits, differences, 
and uncertainties, in making or compounding of medi¬ 
cines, if for the future the manner and form prefcribed 
therein Ihould be pradfifed by apothecaries and others in 
their compofitions of medicines ; the Memorialift, there¬ 
fore, inoft humbly prays, that his majefty will be gracioufly 
pleafed to enforce the obfervance thereof, in fuch manner 
as to his majefty lhall feem meet: his majefty this day 
took the faid Memorial into his royal confideration; and, 
being defiro.us to provide in all cafes for the common 
good 
