570 
Possibility  of  Unification 
f  Am.  Tour.  Pharm. 
<-    December,  191 7. 
"  He  who  ascends  the  mountain  tops  shall  find 
The  loftiest  peaks  most  wrapt  in  clouds  and  snow; 
He  who  surpasses  or  subdues  mankind, 
Must  look  down  on  the  hate  of  those  below." 
The  physician  or  pharmacist  who  delves  into  the  history  of  his 
profession,  and  especially  that  of  materia  medica,  discovers  how 
many  of  the  practices  of  this  day  and  generation  are  but  the  reflec- 
tions of  very  ancient  usages.  The  prescription  and  the  formula  are 
only  some  of  the  means  that  were  adopted  to  systematize  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  by  the  application  of  standards,  definite  instructions 
and  rules  of  procedure.  Early  Egyptian  inscriptions  show  that  the 
priests  of  Isis  were  the  pharmacists  to  whom  the  physician  priests 
sent  their  prescriptions  to  be  compounded.  Papyrus  records  con- 
taining directions  for  such  prescriptions  have  been  traced  back  to 
dates  ranging  from  1550  to  3300  B.C. 
Biblical  history,  likewise,  furnishes  some  interesting  information 
as  to  the  ancient  practices  and  the  uses  of  drugs  among  the  Israelites, 
In  Exodus  we  find  a  detailed  account  of  the  ceremonies  adopted  for 
the  dedication  of  the  temple  and  the  consecration  of  the  priests.  In 
Chapter  XXX  is  given  this  exact  formula  for  the  preparation  of 
the  holy  anointing  oil : 
"  Take  thou  also  unto  thee  principal  spices,  of  pure  myrrh  five  hundred 
shekels,  and  of  sweet  cinnamon  half  so  much,  even  two  hundred  and  fifty 
shekels,  and  of  sweet  calamus  two  hundred  and  fifty  shekels,  and  of  cassia 
five  hundred  shekels,  after  the  shekel  of  the  sanctuary,  and  of  olive  oil  an  hin ; 
And  thou  shalt  make  it  an  oil  of  hoi}*  ointment,  an  ointment  compounded 
after  the  art  of  the  apothecary:  it  shall  be  an  holy  anointing  oil." 
Again  in  verses  34  and  35  of  the  same  chapter  note  the  formula 
for  the  holy  perfume  or  incense : 
"  Take  thou  unto  thee  sweet  spices,  stacte,  and  onycha,  and  galbanum ; 
these  sweet  spices  with  pure  frankincense:  of  each  shall  there  be  a  like 
weight : 
And  thou  shalt  make  it  a  perfume,  a  confection  after  the  art  of  the 
apothecary,  tempered  together,  pure  and  holy." 
Although  these  formulas  date  back  to  about  1500  B.C.,  it  is  note- 
worthy how  typical  they  are  of  the  modern  prescription,  not  only 
in  the  form  and  language  used  •but  also  as  to  the  drugs  and  spices 
named.  An  analysis  of  the  wording  brings  out  more  forcefully 
this  similarity.    These  mosaic  formulas  both  start  with  the  word 
