Primitive Psycho-Therapy and Quackery

MEDICAL AMULETS

A

mong the various subjects which belong to the province of medical folk-

lore, one of the most interesting relates to amulets and protective charms,

which represent an important stage in the gradual development of Medicine

as a science. And especially noteworthy among medical amulets are those in-

scribed with mystic sentences, words, or characters, for by their examination

and study we may acquire some definite knowledge of the mental condition

of the people who made use of them.

Satisfactorily to explain the derivation of the English word "amulet" has

taxed the ingenuity of etymologists, and its origin is admittedly obscure. Ac-

cording to some authorities, the Latin amuletum was derived from amoliri,

to avert or repel; but the greater weight of evidence points to the Arabic verb

hamala, meaning "to carry." The definitions usually given embody both

of these ideas; for amulets, in the ancient medical conception of the term,

were any objects, ornamental or otherwise, worn on the bodies of men or

animals, and believed to neutralize the ill effects of noxious drugs, incanta-

tions, witchcrafts, and all morbific agencies whatever.[4:1] To the Oriental

3 ROBERT MEANS LAWRENCE

mind amulets symbolize the bond between a protective power and depen-

dent mundane creatures; they are prophylactics against the forces of evil,

and may be properly characterized as objects superstitiously worn, whose

alleged magical potency is derived from the faith and imagination of the

wearer.[4:2]

The use of amulets has been attributed to religious sentimentality or reli-

giosity. The latter word has been defined as "an excessive susceptibility to

the religious sentiments, especially wonder, awe, and reverence, unaccom-

panied by any correspondent loyalty to divine law in daily life."[4:3]

Any one desirous of moralizing on the subject may find a theme presenting

aspects both sad and comical. When, however, one reflects that amulets,

in some one of their protean forms, have been invested with supernatural

preventive and healing powers by the people of all lands and epochs, and that

they have been worn not only by kings and princes, but by philosophers,

prelates, and physicians of eminence as well, it is evident that the subject

deserves more than a passing consideration.

It would be vain to seek the origin of their employment, which lies hidden

behind the misty veil of remote antiquity. The eastern nations of old, as is

well known, were much addicted to the use of amulets; and from Chaldea,

Egypt, and Persia the practice was transmitted westward, and was thus ex-

tended throughout the civilized world. Among the great number of popular

amulets in ancient times, many were fashioned out of metals, ivory, stone,

and wood, to represent deities, animals, birds, and fishes; others were pre-

cious stones or cylinders inscribed with hieroglyphics; necklaces of shell or