Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 1.djvu/109

 12 S. I. FEB. 5,1916.]

NOTES AND QUERIES.

103

centuries it may be seen that extraordinary strides were made, both in the philosophy of medicine, and in the methods of determining disease.

Side by side with a remarkable progress in surgery and in pathological knowledge a curious but by no means inexplicable state of things persisted. Folk-lore, legendary traditions, and family nostrums among the populace were responsible for all the prevail- ing backwardness in medical discovery, both before and after the period aforesaid. Magic, witchcraft, charms, amulets, incantations, &c., took precedence over medicine proper in many spheres of society in the East, where the plague and other forms of disease raged most furiously, and for long periods these superstitions successfully resisted the slow but irrevocable advance of science.

Old and new ideas in homoeopathy and science move, as it were, along parallel lines through those wonderful pages, the riches of which cannot be reduced to system and order. We begin with setting down a list of some of the plants, herbs, shrubs, and seeds to be found in the Talmud, including with them oils, unguents, perfumes, spices, and the like.

1. Pakuous (gourds), oil of pakuous, ob- tained by crushing its seedlings. The Rabbins allowed Parnassim (wardens) to light syna- gogues with this when oils extracted from sesame, nuts, or olives were unobtainable. The seeds of this plant yielded an unguent for pharmaceutical purposes also.

2. Garlic or onions (bloospin and kloofsin) in Ned. 49. Some writers consider balpassin were figs or dates, which young unmarried women (ibid., 50) were forbidden to eat.

3. Kikauyoun (gourd), believed to be sesame, the croton of the Greeks. The famous " oil of Kik " was obtained from this shrub for lighting the Neir Tamid (perpetual lamp) in the Temple.

4. Kopher (camphor), according to Celsius, h a botanical product used by the Hebrews.

5. Karshinnin (rye) is identified as the Kussaymess of Ex. ix. 32 by Maimonides.

6. Malluchim (common mallows).

7. Morouris termed dandelion, but modern Hebrews apply the name to horse-radish, which is one of the special herbs eaten at the Seder services on Passover.

8. Charub (ceratia) was objected to by the Rabbins on account of its indigestibility.

9. Though galbanum or chelbenna had a very unpleasant odour (Kerissous, 6), it was one of the elements in the Temple incense (ibid., 6 a, the locus cldssicus for this fasci- nating study).

10. Caraway is mentioned also.

11. Dudueem (mandrakes) occur at Eru- bin, 2 1. The fruit of this plant was regarded by the vulgar as promoting fertility (see Gen. xxx. 14). The Arabs named it " the devil's apple," tufah-al-sheitan.

12. Pishtan (flax) was rejected because it was supposed to induce spasms and vapours (Megillah).

13. Zanvilla or ginger (Yoma, 81 b ; Shobbos, 65 a; Pesachim, 42 b).

14. Boris, or seaweed, yielded the Hebrew doctors their potash.

15. Botnim are pistachios or terebinth.

16. Chazayress, lettuce.

17. Ulshin, endives.

18. Tamcha, tansy.

19. Charbona, nettle. To extract their- aromatic essences the five just mentioned were boiled in fat, and formed useful un- guents for various complaints.

20. Balm (bousem) was regarded by the. faculty as stimulating gestation. Women who lived witjhin the vicinity of the plains of Jericho, which was only ten parasangs from Jerusalem, were supposed to be greatly favoured in that respect (Yoma, 3 9 b ). On the other hand, women residing, say, in Galilee, who took the statutory trips to the Temple three times a year, were spared the evil effects accruing from the incidental bad odours of the place through the redeeming qualities of the incense (ibid., 21 a).

21. Aviyounous (capers).

22. Adoshim (lentils).

23. Shum (sumach), quoted Berachoth, 51.. The disagreeable pungency imputed to it makes one think garlic was intended (San- hedrin).

24. Kaphrissin (capers), in Kerissous, 5, have caused a difference of opinion among the Rabbins, some finding in the phrase " Yein Kaphrissin" its place of origin, viz.,, Cyprus ; others contending that its name was due to the aromatic quality of the herb.

25. Mustard (cherdal) in Berachoth, 40,. was recommended for heart affections.

26. Kaytsach (black cummin), recom- mended for the blood.

27. Pakrissin (mushrooms), associated with Deut. xxxii. 13.

28. Kemoheen (cress), Berachoth, 40 b.

29. Kar count (saffron).

30. Dekolim (palm-trees) in Baba Bathra,, 36 a.

31. The Rabbins gave hyssop (eizouv or shoomshook) for kidney disorders (Sabbath,- 109 b).

32. Doses of shum (sumach) were pre- scribed for cleansing the complexion and the intestines (Baba Kama).