|
A round concretion (a calculus) from the liver of the ox is described by Ibn Al-Beithar as being of a yellowish color and composed of successive superimposed layers. If secured at the time of the full moon it was believed to promote embonpoint, and was much prized by the Egyptian women for this virtue. The effect was to be attained by taking two grains of the pulverized concretion, either with the bath or directly after bathing, and thereupon a "fat hen" was to be eaten. The latter prescription, if regularly and frequently administered, might be thought to suffice without the powdered calculus.
From the second stomach of heifers was sometimes obtained a dark brown or blackish concretion of very light weight and as round as a ball. This was credited with great remedial virtues provided it had not fallen to the ground. There seems to have been a belief that the curative or talismanic properties of animal concretions, or of the teeth of animals, were weakened, or destroyed, if these objects came in contact with the earth. This belief was perhaps due to the idea that the mysterious power of the substance was originally derived from earth currents, or emanations, and that the active principle would return to the earth if the object came in contact with it.
The lapis carpionis or carp-stone, a triangular mass, was taken from the jaws of the carp. It was smaller or larger according to the size of the fish. The principal remedial use was against calculi, or for the cure of bilious diseases and colic. These are bony plates from the upper part of the mouth of the carp. Such so-called "stones" were also said to check bleeding of the nose, a quality they owed to their astringent properties, quite noticeable if anyone tasted the powder made from them. |
You are here:
JJKent Home >>
Precious Stones Guide Vol 8
>> About the Historical Value of Animal Stones for Medicinal Purposes
| <<History About Stones From Crabs and Lizards for Medicinal Use | Historical Superstitions About the Value of Animal Stones>> |