Anaesthesia, hospitalism, hermaphroditism, and a proposal to stamp out small-pox and other contagious diseases / Ed. by Sir W.G. Simpson, bart.

  • Simpson, James Young, 1811-1870.
Date:
1872
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Anaesthesia, hospitalism, hermaphroditism, and a proposal to stamp out small-pox and other contagious diseases / Ed. by Sir W.G. Simpson, bart. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    by a practitioner by name Hoa-tho, as early as the third century, that is about 1500 years ago. In this manuscript, which is called Koukin-i-ting, we find the following passage :— He (Hoa-tho) gave to the patient a prepara- tion of hemp (Ma-yo), and at the end of some instants he became as insensible as if he had been drunk, or deprived of life ; and a little farther on it is remarked that, after a certain number of days the patient found himself re-established, without having experienced the slightest pain during the operation. AVe can trace the use of Indian hemp still farther back, for some divines maintain that the draught offered to our Saviour on the cross was some preparation of Indian hemp. A preparation of the same drug is probably referred to by the prophet Amos, 700 years before Christ, as the wine of the con- demned.2 The effect of the inhalation of the vapour of burning hemp is mentioned by Herodotus, who also tells us of its use by the Mas- sagetoe and by the Scythians to produce excitement. Thus, talking of the Massageta?, he says that they have discovered other trees that produce fruit of a peculiar kind, which the inhabitants, when they meet together in companies, and have lit a fire, throw on the fire as they sit round in a circle ; and that, by inhaling the fumes of the burning fruit that has been thrown on, they become intoxi- cated by the odour, just as the Greeks do by wine ; and that the more fruit is thrown on the more intoxicated they become, until they rise up to dance, and betake themselves to singing.3 Again, when describing another tribe of the Scythians, he informs us that they have a sort of hemp growing in this country, very like flax, except in thickness and height; in this respect the hemp is far superior ;' and a little farther on he informs us that, when therefore the Scythians have taken some seed of this hemp, they creep under the cloths, and then put the seed on the red-hot stones ; but this being put on, smokes, and produces such a steam that no Grecian vapour-bath would surpass it. The Scythians, transported with the vapour, shout aloud ; and this serves them instead of washing, for they never bathe the body in water. Homer also gives us an account of the effect on Ulysses and his companions of drinking some preparation, which he called Nepen- the, and the phenomena he describes are so like those produced 1 Mark xv. 36. - Amos ii. 8. 3 Cary's Herodotus, i. 202. 4 Cary's Herodotus, iv. 74.