Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
December,  19 17.  J 
of  Pharmacopoeia!  Standards. 
571 
take,  "take  thou"  and  "take  unto  thee"  and  the  custom  still  con- 
tinues in  medical  practice,  as  each  prescription  written  has  as  the 
initial  direction  the  symbol  I£,  an  abbreviation  of  the  Latin 
"  Recipe,"  or  "  take  thou." 
The  instruction  to  use  only  pure  myrth  and  pure  frankincense  and 
only  sweet  cinnamon  and  sweet  calamus  can  be  construed  only  as  an 
admonition  in  order  to  maintain  quality  and  indicates  that  even  in 
those  early  days  substandards  goods  were  on  the  market.  The 
specification  of  the  weights  and  measures  to  be  taken  shows,  like- 
wise, that  the  Israelites,  following  the  custom  of  other  nations,  had 
adopted  a  national  standard  system  of  weights  and  measures  and 
that  the  lawgiver  was  impressing  the  fact  that  adherence  to  these 
standards  was  essential  in  order  to  obtain  a  uniform  product. 
Moreover,  note  the  statement  "  after  the  art  of  the  apothecary." 
This  proves  that,  even  at  that  early  date,  pharmacy  was  recognized 
as  a  distinct  calling  and  the  apothecary  as  a  man  of  skill  and  learn- 
ing filling  a  responsible  position  in  society  and  that  his  special  knowl- 
edge and  art  was  necessary  for  the  proper  compounding  of  medi- 
cines. Further,  that  ointments  and  confections  were  well-known 
forms  in  which  his  products  were  exhibited  and  likewise  that  then 
as  now  not  infrequently  he  was  a  perfumer  as  well  as  an  apothecary. 
The  XIII  Chapter  of  Leviticus  gives  directions  for  the  diagnosis 
of  leprosy  and  the  method  of  differentiating  between  that  disease 
and  other  affections  of  the  skin  and  instructions  for  the  isolation 
of  the  unfortunate  leper. 
These  examples  serve  to  show  how  long  the  principles  of  sys- 
tematic study  and  of  standardizing  the  practice  of  medicine  by  the 
use  of  accepted  methods  and  formulas  have  governed  professional 
medicine.  In  fact,  this  is  the  very  basis  for  our  distinction  between 
ethical  medical  practices  and  empiricism  and  quackery. 
The  necessity  for  uniformity  in  medical  and  pharmaceutical  prac- 
tices has  caused  each  of  the  civilized  nations  to  prepare  a  pharma- 
copoeia the  standards  and  formulas  of  which  are  the  official  guides 
for  the  important  medicines  dispensed  within  the  political  bound- 
aries of  each  nation.  The  need  for  such  accepted  standards  be- 
comes a  recognized  necessity  in  the  early  history  and  independent 
autonomy  of  each  nation. 
The  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  Military  Hospital  of  the  United  States 
Army  published  in  Philadelphia  in  1778,  and  intended  to  supply  the 
needs  of  the  Military  Hospital  of  the  Colonial  Army  then  located 
