SALERNUM. 
565 
is spoken in its greatest purity. The rajah, as usual in 
Malay principalities, monopolises the greater part of the 
trade, and is thus induced to afford protection to vessels 
coming up the river-of Salengore; so that their only danger 
is while lying in the roads, where they are constantly exposed 
to the attack of pirates. There are several rivers traversing 
the territory, and falling into the straits of Malacca ; parti¬ 
cularly one called Burnam, from which a great number of 
long rattans are brought. The only one, however, frequented 
by Europeans, is the river of Salengore itself, a short distance 
up which is the residence of the rajah. The merchant first 
waits on the shabundar, who introduces him to the sovereign, 
with whom his bargain is to be struck. The commodities 
fitted for exportation here, are tin, rattans, gold dust, ele¬ 
phants’ teeth, dragon’s blood, camphire, with some pepper, 
and other spices. These are given in exchange for opium, 
piece goods, gunpowder, cutlery, steel, copper, iron, and 
some woollens. The Chinese and the Birgis of Celebes 
carry on a good deal of trade at this port; but it is not ad¬ 
visable for the European merchant to enter into any dealings 
with them, this being considered by the king as an invasion 
of his monopoly, and resented accordingly. The customs 
are 2 in 30 ad valorem ; and considerable presents are ex¬ 
pected. Lat. 3.20. N. long. 101. 18. E. 
SALENTIA, or Sallenti^e, a town of Magna Grecia, 
in the country of the Messapians. Stcp/i. Byz. 
SALENTINA REGIO, a country of Magna Grecia, in 
which was the promontory called Japygium, and that called 
Salentinum promontorium, which terminated the peninsula 
of Japygiae; now called Cape St. Marie de Leuca. The in¬ 
habitants of this country were called Salentini. Ptolemy. 
SALEP, s. [Turkish.] The root of some species of orchis. 
The orchis mascula of Linnaeus is most valued, although the 
roots of some of the palmated sorts, particularly of the orchis 
latifolia, are found to answer almost equally well. For its 
mode of preparation, &c., see the article Orchis. 
SAFER MOLER, a considerable fortress of Hindostan, 
province of Khandeish. It was one of the numerous strong¬ 
holds of the Mahratta chief Sevagee ; but was taken after 
his death by the armies of Aurungzebe, in or about the year 
1689. It stands some miles south of the river Tapty, 
amongst a range of lofty hills. Lat. 20. 40. N. long. 74. 
15. E. 
SALERNES, a town in the south-east of France, in the 
department of the Var, on the Braqueseno, with 2300 in¬ 
habitants; 10 miles west of Draguignan. Lat. 43. 35. N. 
long. 6. 10. E. 
SALERNO, a city of Italy, in the west of the kingdom 
ofNaples, situated in a small plain, surrounded with a fine 
range of cultivated hills. It is the capital of the province of 
Principato Citra, and has a population of 10,000. Though 
delightfully situated, the town itself is not agreeable: the 
streets are paved with lava, but they are narrow and irregu¬ 
lar, and have a gloomy appearance, from the height of the 
houses. Salerno is an ancient city, and has in front of the 
cathedral 28 ancient granite columns, with Corinthian 
capitals, of good workmanship; but the church itself, though 
constructed of valuable materials, is a tasteless edifice. The 
town contains a number of other churches and convents. It 
is a sea-port, and gives name to the neighbouring gulf. Its 
harbour is good, and was much frequented before Naples 
engrossed the trade of those parts. It is protected against the 
wind and waves by a mole, and defended by a strong castle. 
Salerno is the see of an archbishop, and has a university , 
formerly of some note ; its medical school is still in repute; 
28 miles east-south-east of Naples. Lat. 40. 40. N. long. 
14.35. E. 
SALERNUM, Salerno, in Ancient Geography, a town 
of Italy, south-east of Neapolis, at the bottom of a small gulf, 
in the territory of the Picentini. It was situated on an emi¬ 
nence, at a small distance from the sea; and the Romans, in 
fortifying it against the Picentini, extended it to the coast, 
Under the consulate of P. Cornelius, Scipio Africanus, and 
Sempronius Longus, in 559, the Romans sent hither a colony. 
Vol. XXII; No. 1523. 
When the Normans, in the 11th century, obtained possession 
of this town, it had the title of a principality; and in the 13th 
century, the emperor Frederic founded an university, which 
was the first Christian university established in Europe. 
The principal writer of note, who flourished at the college 
of Salernum, was Constantine, the Africau, a native of 
Carthage, who had spent thirty years at Babylon and 
Bagdad, and had become fully acquainted with the Oriental 
languages and learning. He wrote many books, which he 
affirmed were in a great measure original; but which were, 
in fact, mere compilations and plagiarisms, especially his 
work entitled “ Loci communes,” which is an entire tran¬ 
scription from Haly Abbas, whose name he has not men¬ 
tioned. Constantine, however, held a high reputation ; was 
a great promoter of medical knowledge; and, by his influ¬ 
ence and interest with Robert, Duke of Normandy, the son 
of our William the Conqueror, obtained great patronage for 
the school. This duke, on his return from the crusade, re¬ 
mained some time in Apulia, and consulted the physicians 
of Salernum, respecting a wound in his arm, which had be¬ 
come fistulous, in consequence, it was supposed, of having 
been inflicted by a poisoned arrow. They recommended 
suction of the wound ; but the duke would not admit of it, 
lest the person who did it might be poisoned. But his wife, 
Sybil, a noble and accomplished lady, whom he had married 
in Sicily, taking the opportunity in the night, frequently 
sucked the sore, and it healed. About this time, namely in 
the year 1100, the Schola Salerhitana was compiled, which, 
from its high origin, made a great noise both then and in 
succeeding ages. It has been maintained, by a French wri¬ 
ter, Andry, in the Journal des Savans, that this work was 
composed by Tusa and Rebecca Guerna, two celebrated 
ladies, who distinguished themselves by several writings. It 
is not generally believed, however, to be the work of an old 
woman, but is ascribed to John Milan, and was dedicated, 
in the name of the whole college, to Duke Robert, in honour 
of whom a chapter was added, on the cure of fistulous sores. 
This work was written in Leonine verses, in compliment 
also, it is supposed, to the same noble patron ; as this sort 
of poetry was in great request among the Romans. The 
work contains an account of the six non-naturals, with a 
series of rules for the preservation of health. It had the ho¬ 
nour of being commented upon by Arnaldus de Villa Nova ; 
and of being imitated by AUgidius, an Athenian, and a Be¬ 
nedictine monk, about the end of the twelfth century, in a 
work on the virtues of medicine, of urine, and the pulse, in 
Latin hexameter verses, though without much regard to the 
quantity of the syllables. 
The school of Salernum continued to flourish for many 
ages. The historian Oadericus Vitalis, who died in 1141, 
affirms that, in his time, this college was renowned over 
all the world for its excellent skill in physic; and Benjamin, 
of Tudela, a Jew, on his return from his travels over the 
greatest part of the then known world, about 1165, com¬ 
mends it as the best seminary of medicine among the sons of 
Edom; for so he calls the western Christians. The study 
of medicine was greatly patronized in this city by several 
royal personages; especially Duke Roger, the first king of 
both the Sicilies, in 1130, and by his successors William 
the first and second, who followed his example. It had also 
some great privileges conferred upon it, about the year 1225, 
by the emperor Frederic II., particularly an exclusive power, 
(together with the college of Naples), of granting degrees 
and licenses to practice. The emperor was, in fact, a great 
judge as well as patron of learning, and was the principal 
promoter, at this time, of the translation of the works of 
the Arabians into Latin. Indeed, not only the original Ara¬ 
bians were translated, but their translations also of the writings 
of the Greek authors were put into that language; a circum¬ 
stance which, though it contributed partly perhaps to the 
neglect in which the Greek originals remained for some cen¬ 
turies, yet it prevented probably the Greek copies from being 
ultimately lost, (as Dr. Freind has observed,) by directing 
the attention of the learned to them. 
7 E 
SALERS, 
