CHAPTER XXVI

PSEUDO-LITERATURE IN NATURAL SCIENCE OF THE EARLY
MIDDLE AGES
General character — Medicine of Pliny — Herbarium of Apuleius — Specimens of its occult science — A "Precantation of all herbs" — Other treatises accompanying the Herbarium — Cosmography of Aethicus — Its medieval influence — Character of the work — Its attitude to marvels — The Geoponica — Magic and astrology therein — Dioscorides — Textual history of the De materia medica — Alterations made in the Greek text — Dioscorides little known to Latins before the middle ages — Partial versions in Latin — De herbis femininis — The fuller Latin versions — Peter of Abano's account of the medieval versions — Pseudo-Dioscorides on stones — Conclusions from the textual history of Dioscorides — Macer on herbs; its great currency — Problem of date and author — Virtues ascribed to herbs — Experiments of Macer.
General A CLASS of writings which seems to have been very char- character, ^(^tej-jsi-jc Qf ^i^g waning culture of the decHning Roman
Empire and the scanty erudition of the early medieval period were the brief epitomes of, or disorderly collections of frag- ments from, the writers of the classical period. Such works often passed under the name of some famous author of the previous period and sometimes are more or less based upon his writings. Most of the works in the field of nat- ural science are of such derivative or pseudo-authorship : the Medicine of the Pseudo-Pliny, the Herbarium of the Pseudo- Apuleius, the geographical work ascribed to Aethicus, the Geoponica, the treatises on herbs attributed to Macer and Dioscorides. Indeed, the whole textual history of the lat- ter's De nmteria medica is so full of vicissitudes and un- certainties that I have postponed its treatment until this chapter. The names of the actual compilers or abbreviators of these works are usually unknown and it is also usually impossible to date them with any approach to accuracy.
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CHAP. XXVI PSEUDO-LITERATURE IN SCIENCE 595
Roughly speaking of them as a whole, they may be said to have gradually taken on their present form at almost any time between the third and tenth centuries. In the case of these works of natural science at least, it is not quite fair to class them all as brief epitomes or disorderly collections. In some we see an obvious attempt to rearrange the old materials in a form more convenient for present use. In others to the stage of abbreviation from ancient authors has succeeded another stage of later additions from other sources.
The Medicina, or Art of Medicine, of the Pseudo-Pliny ^ Medicine consists of three books in which medical passages, drawn °' ^^^' from Pliny's Natural History, are rearranged according to diseases instead of, as in the genuine Pliny, by simples. The first two books deal with diseases of the human body in descending order from top to toe and from headache to gout, a favorite arrangement throughout the course of medieval medicine. The last book then considers afflictions which are not necessarily connected with any particular part of the body, such as wounds and fevers. Thus this com- pilation attests Pliny's medieval influence and the practical use made of his work, while it of course continues much of his medical magic and superstition. The compiler's re- arrangement is an essential one, if the medical recommenda- tions of the Natural History were to be made available for ready reference. In this case, therefore, the epitomizer has rather improved upon than disordered the arrangement of the original. This compilation is believed to have been used by Marcellus Empiricus, and a Letter of Pliniiis Secundus to his friends about medicine, which Marcellus gives along with other medical epistles, is thought to be the preface of the abbreviator, who in that case depicts himself as com- posing his volume so that his friends and himself when traveling may avoid the payment of exorbitant fees asked by strange physicians. If we can regard everything in the
* PKnii Secundi lunioris de me- Medicina Plinii," in Hermes, dicina lihri ires, ed. V. Rose, I«ip- VIII (1874) 19-66. siae, 1875. V. Rose, "Ueber die
596 MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
work of Marcellus as we have it as having been written by 400, the Medicine of Pliny must have been written during the declining Roman Empire. The manuscripts used by Rose in his edition were of the tenth and twelfth centuries. There is also a later version of the Medicine of Pliny in five books/ of which the two last are entirely new additions, the fifth being an extract from the old Latin translation of Alexander of Tralles. And in the first three books the earlier Pseudo-Pliny has been worked over with additions. The Pseudo-Pliny is also embodied with alterations and accompanied by some prayers and incantations in a tenth century manuscript at St. Gall.^ The Her- Several works besides the six commonly regarded as
Apuleius. genuine ^ were attributed to Apuleius in the middle ages, grammatical * and rhetorical ^ treatises, the Hermetic Asclepius,^ a treatise on physiognomy,"^ and the very widespread Sphere of Life and Death, of which we shall treat in another chapter.^ We shall now consider the Herbarium of Apuleius,^ the one of his spurious works, which has most to do with the world of nature, and, with the exception of the brief Sphere, the one which occurs most often in the manuscripts. The Herbarium was first printed about 1480 by the physician of Pope Sixtus IV
*C. Plinii Secundi Medicina, ^ See Schanz (1905), 139-40,
ed. Thomas Pighinuccius, Rome, * See below p. 683. Schanz fails
1509. to mention it among the apocryphal
^ Codex St. Gall 751; described works of Apuleius.
by V. Rose, Hermes, VIII, 48-55 ; * H. Kobert, De Pseudo-Apulei
Anecdota II, 106. herbarum medicaminibus, Bay-
^ For the list of his six genuine reuth, 1888. Schanz (1905) 138,
works see above p. 222. mentions only continental MSS,
* De nota aspirationis and De although there are numerous MSS diphthongis, ed. Osann, Darm- of it in the British Museum and stadt, 1826, with De orthographia, Bodleian libraries, some of which a forgery by a sixteenth century have been used and others de- humanist. _ _ scribed by O. Cockayne in his
° neptepyu'7>'«ias, sometimes printed edition of the Herbarium and the
as the third book of the De other treatises accompanying it
dogniate Platonis. Some scholars, in his Leechdoms, Wortcunning,
however, regard it as genuine, and and Starcraft of Early England,
there are a number of MSS of Vol. I (1864) in RS XXXV.
it from the 9th, loth, and nth cen- Nor does Schanz note Cockayne's
turies. See Schanz (1905), 127-8. book.
' See above p. 290.
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PSEUDO-LITERATURE IN SCIENCE
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from a manuscript at Monte Cassino, and then, after vari- ous other editions, was included in 1547 in the collection of ancient Latin medical writers issued by the Aldine Press. We are told, however, that with the close of the fifteenth century the Apuleius began to be superseded by German herbals. The medieval manuscripts of the Herharimn are often noteworthy for their illuminations of the herbs in vivid colors. Those of the mandragora root are especially interesting, showing it as a man standing on the back of a dog or a human form with leaves growing on the head and led by a dog chained to his waist, ^ The oldest manu- scripts are of the sixth century, and there are some in Anglo-Saxon, but as one would expect, the work underwent many additions and alterations, and different manuscripts of it vary considerably. The author is usually spoken of as Apuleius the Platonist and is sometimes said to have re- ceived his work from the centaur Chiron, the master of Achilles, and from Esculapius.^
In the Herbarium the plants are listed and described Specimens and their virtues, especially medicinal, stated. Usually the occult names for each herb in several languages or regions are science, given — Latin, Greek, Punic, Biblical (by the Prophets),
^ See Sloane 1975, a vellum MS of the I2th or early 13th century written in fine large letters and beautifully illuminated; Ashmole 1431, end of nth century, and 1462, 13th century, fol. 45r. Har- leian 4986, Apuleii Platonici de medicamentis cum figuris pictis, is another early illuminated English MS. Cockayne I, Ixxxii, does not date it, but the MSS catalogue lists it as tenth century. In CU Trinity 1152, 14th century, James (III, 162-3) estimates the number of colored drawings as between 800 and 1000 ; he describes only a few. Singer (1921) reproduces a number of such illuminations from MSS of the Herbarium and of Dioscorides.
* Lucca 236, 9-ioth centu-ry, "Herbarium Apuleii Platonici quem accepit a Chironi magistro
Achillis et ab Escolapio explicit feliciter." In Cotton Vitellius C-III, early nth century, in Anglo-Saxon, although the title reads, "The Herbarium of Apu- leius the Platonist which he re- ceived from Esculapius and Chi- ron the centaur, the master of Achilles," a full page painting shows Plato and Chiron receiv- ing the volume from Aesculapius (Cockayne, I, Ixxxviii). And Sloane 1975 and Harleian 1585 speak of the Herbarium as "Li- ber Platonis Apoliensis." In a 15th century MS (Rawlinson C- 328, fol. 113V-, Incipit de herbis Galieni Apolei et Ciceronis) Ga- len and Cicero, who perhaps re- place Chiron and Aesculapius, are associated with Apuleius as authors.
598 MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
Egyptian, Syrian, Gallic, Dacian, Spanish, Phrygian, Tuscan. By no means all of these are listed in every case, however. The virtues of the herbs, often operate in an occult manner, or procedure suggestive of magic is in- volved in collecting or applying them. Often diseases are cured merely by holding an herb in the hand, wearing it with a string about the neck, or placing it behind one ear, or wearing it in a ring. Lunatics, for example, are treated by binding an herb about the neck with red cloth when the moon is waxing in the sign of the bull or the first part of the scorpion. Not only does observance of astrology assist the medicinal application of herbs; plants are in turn of assistance in the pursuit of astrology. To learn under the rule of what star you are, be in a state of purity, pluck the herb Montaster, keep it in a bit of clean linen until you find a whole grain of wheat in a loaf of bread, then place this with the herb under your pillow and pray to the seven planets to reveal your guardian star to you in your sleep. Indeed prayers and incantations are frequently employed and in one case must be repeated nine times. Sometimes the herb itself is addressed, as in the conjuration, "Herb Erystion, I implore you to aid me and cheerfully afford me all your virtues and cure and make whole all those ills which Aesculapius and Chiron the centaur, masters of medicine, healed by means of you." Sometimes the earth is conjured as in the prayer beginning, "Holy goddess Earth." Such prayers are scarcely consonant with Chris- tianity and in some manuscripts have been omitted and re- placed by the Lord's Prayer or other Christian forms, or left in with their wording shghtly ahered to avoid pagan- ism.^ Personal purity and clean clothing are often en-
*Daremberg (1853), 11-12, said century hand has added a pas- that the pagan incantations were sage in Latin which may be trans- preserved intact in a number of lated : "In the name of Christ, MSS at Oxford and Cambridge. Amen. I conjure you, herb, that Conjurations of herbs are not lim- I may conquer by lord Peter etc. ited to the Pseudo-Apuleius in by moon and stars etc. and may medieval MSS but sometimes oc- you conquer all my enemies, pon- cur singly as in Perugia 736, 13th tiff and priests and all layrncn century, where at fol. 267 a 14th and all women and all lawyers
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PSEUDO-LITERATURE IN SCIENCE
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joined upon those gathering the herbs and such instruc- tions are added as to mark the circle about the plant with gold, silver, ivory, the tooth of a wild boar, and the horn of a bull, or to fill the hole with honeyed fruits. Some herbs protect their bearers from all serpents or even from all evils. Others, like asparagus if you use a dry root of it to sprinkle the patient with spring water, break the spell of witchcraft. Asparagus is also beneficial for toothache and wonderfully relieves a tumor or bladder trouble, if it is boiled in water and drunk by the patient fasting for seven days and also used in bathing for a number of days. But one must be careful not to go out in the cold during this time nor to take cold drinks.^
In some manuscripts a "Precantation of all herbs" is placed at the beginning of the treatise.^ It prescribes such procedure as holding a mirror over the herb before plucking it before sunrise under a waning moon. The person pluck- ing the herb and uttering the incantation must be barefoot, ungirded, chaste, and wear no ring. The plant is adjured not only "by the living God" and "the holy name of God, Sabaoth," but also by Seia, the Roman goddess of sowing, and by "GS," which presumably stands for Gaia Seia, an expression which is once written out in full. Some mean- ingless words are also repeated.
The Herbarium is often accompanied in the manu- scripts by other treatises on herbs ascribed to Dioscorides and Macer, of which we shall speak presently; by a work on the medicinal properties of animals, or more particularly of quadrupeds, by Sextus Papirius Placidus ^ Actor * — an
who are against me etc." In Sloane 1571, 15th century, fols. 1-6, at the close of fragments of a Latin-English dictionary of herbs is a Latin prayer entitled, Benedictio omnium herbarum.
* The above passages are from Sloane 1975 and the edition of 1547.
'Ashmole 1431, nth century, fol. 3r, "In nomine domini incipit herboralium apuleii platonis quod
accepit ascolapio et chirone cen- tauro magistro. Lege feliciter. Precantatio omnium herbarum ad singulas curas." CU Trinity 1152, 14th century, fol. i. Gonville and Caius 345, 14th century, fol. Sgv.
' Or Papyriensis Placitus.
* Perhaps merely for "auctor." ed. Fabricius, Bibl. Graec. XIII, 395-423, Sexti Placiti liber de me- dicina ex animalibus.
A "Pre- cantation of All Herbs."
Other treatises accom- panying the Her' barium.
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MAGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE chap.
Cosmog- raphy of Aethicus.
Otherwise quite unknown personage ; ^ by a "letter concern- ing a little beast" from the king of Egypt or Aesculapius to the emperor Octavian Augustus ; " and by introductory let- ters, such as we find prefaced to the De medicamentis of Marcellus Empiricus, of "Hippocrates to his Moecenas" ^ and "Antonius Musus to Moecenas Agrippa." The epistle of the Egyptian king or Aesculapius to Augustus, however, really forms the introduction or opening chapter to the treatise of Sextus Papirius Placidus on the medicinal prop- erties of animals, and after the little beast or quadruped called mela or taxo * follow fast the stag, serpent, fox, hare, scorpion, and so forth. As for the taxo, Augustus is told that by means of it he can protect himself from sorcerers, avoid defections in his army, and preserve his troops from the pestilence which the barbarians bring, and the city of Rome from both pestilences and fires. To this end a lus- tration should be performed with its flesh, and it should then be buried at the city gates. One way to appropriate its virtue is to extract its large teeth, repeating a jargon of strange words the while.
Another characteristic product of declining antique learning and of early medieval effort is found in the field of geography in the Cosmography of Aethicus Istricus, translated into Latin by the priest Jerome (Hieronymus Presbyter). The oldest manuscript is one of the eighth
^In Montpellier 277, 15th cen- tury, "Liber Sesti platonis de ani- malibus," perhaps because the Apuleius of the Herbarium is called a Platonist. In Digby 43, late 14th century, fol. 15, "Liber Septiplanti Papiensis de bestiis et avibus medicinalis." In Raw- linson C-328, 15th century, fol. 128, "Incipit liber Papiriensis ex animalibus ex avibus." The work is sometimes found in juxtaposi- tion with a somewhat similar "Liber medicinalis de secretis Ga- lieni," concerning which see below,