IX. STYPTIC CHARMS 105 X. HEALING-SPELLS IN ANCIENT TIMES 111 XI. MEDICINAL RUNIC INSCRIPTIONS 135 XII. METALLO-THERAPY 139 XIII. ANIMAL MAGNETISM 143 XIV. ANCIENT MEDICAL PRESCRIPTIONS 155 XV. REMEDIAL VIRTUES ASCRIBED TO RELICS 165 XVI. THE HEALING INFLUENCE OF MUSIC 172 XVII. THE HEALING INFLUENCE OF MUSIC (_continued_) 185 XVIII. QUACKS AND QUACKERY 201 XIX. QUACKS AND QUACKERY (_continued_) 223 APPENDIX: SOME NOTED IRREGULAR PRACTITIONERS: PARACELSUS 243 HEINRICH CORNELIUS AGRIPPA VON NETTESHEIM 249 JEROME CARDAN 251 GIUSEPPE BALSAMO 253 VALENTINE GREATRAKES 255 JOHANN BAPTIST VAN HELMONT 260 ROBERT FLUDD 263 MICHEL DE NOTREDAME 265 WILLIAM LILLY 268 JOHANN JOSEPH GASSNER 271 INDEX 273 PRIMITIVE PSYCHO-THERAPY AND QUACKERY CHAPTER I MEDICAL AMULETS Among 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 inscribed 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. According 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, incantations, witchcrafts, and all morbific agencies whatever.[4:1] To the Oriental mind amulets symbolize the bond between a protective power and dependent 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]