Page:The growth of medicine from the earliest times to about 1800.djvu/36

 cold shower baths; rubbing oil over the body; medicated clysters; the use of various salves; the use of secret remedies which were composed of various ingredients and which bore such names as "the Sun God's remedy," "the dog's tongue," "the skin of the yellow snake," "the medicine brought from the mountain of the human race," etc.

Some of the predictions made by the Babylonian astrologers are of sufficient interest to be placed on record. Here are a few examples:—

If the west wind is blowing when the new moon is first seen, there is likely to be an unusual amount of illness during that month.

If Venus approaches the constellation of Cancer, there will be respect for law and prosperity in the land; those who are ill will recover, and pregnant women will have easy confinements.

If Mercury makes its appearance on the fifteenth day of the month, there will be corpses in the land. And again, if the constellation of Cancer is obscured, a destructive demon will take possession of the land, and there will be corpses.

If Jupiter and the other planets stand opposite one another, some calamity will overtake the land. If Mars and Jupiter come into conjunction, there will be deaths among the cattle.

If an eclipse of the Sun take place on the twenty-eighth day of the month Ijar, the king will have a long reign; but, if it take place on the twenty-ninth day of the month, there will be corpses on the first day of the following month.

If there should be thunder during the month of Tisri, a spirit of enmity will prevail in the land; and if it should rain during that month, both men and cattle will fall ill.

Besides these predictions, which were based upon phenomena connected with the movements of the stars and the conditions of the weather, there were others which the people themselves were competent to make without the aid of the professional astrologer or the official priest. Such, for example, are the following "omens":—

If a woman gives birth to a child the right ear of which is lacking, long will be the reign of the prince of that land.

If a woman gives birth to a child both of whose ears are lacking,