Primitive Psycho-Therapy and Quackery

MEDICAL AMULETSAmong 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 Medicineas a science. And especially noteworthy among medical amulets are those in-scribed with mystic sentences, words, or characters, for by their examinationand study we may acquire some definite knowledge of the mental conditionof the people who made use of them.Satisfactorily to explain the derivation of the English word "amulet" hastaxed 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 verbhamala, meaning "to carry." The definitions usually given embody bothof these ideas; for amulets, in the ancient medical conception of the term,were any objects, ornamental or otherwise, worn on the bodies of men oranimals, and believed to neutralize the ill effects of noxious drugs, incanta-tions, witchcrafts, and all morbific agencies whatever.[4:1] To the Oriental3 ROBERT MEANS LAWRENCEmind 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, whosealleged magical potency is derived from the faith and imagination of thewearer.[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 tothe 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 presentingaspects both sad and comical. When, however, one reflects that amulets,in some one of their protean forms, have been invested with supernaturalpreventive and healing powers by the people of all lands and epochs, and thatthey have been worn not only by kings and princes, but by philosophers,prelates, and physicians of eminence as well, it is evident that the subjectdeserves more than a passing consideration.It would be vain to seek the origin of their employment, which lies hiddenbehind the misty veil of remote antiquity. The eastern nations of old, as iswell 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 popularamulets 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