ANTIDOTES TO POISON IN ANCIENT TIMES
Judging from the earliest laws on record, criminal poisoning does not
appear to have been common amongst the ancient Egyptians or Hebrews.
The first recorded instance of a judicial trial for poisoning at Rome is
stated by Livy to have been in the year 329 B.C. In the time of
Justinian (A.D. 483–565) the aid of the physician was called in
specially during the investigation of crime. According to the institutes
or laws of that period, those who by odious arts, whether by poison or
by “magical whispers” (incantations), took away the life of another,
were punished with death. A contract for the sale of a poison was also
held to be void “on the analogy of the contracts of partnership and
agency which have no power to deal with improper matters.”
It seems appropriate that the first law to regulate the sale of poisons
should have been enacted in Italy. Thus as early as 1365 a statute was
passed in Siena rendering it illegal to sell red arsenic or corrosive
sublimate to any slave, freed or otherwise, or to any servant or person
under twenty years of age. These poisons could only be sold to an adult
who was well known to the apothecary. There was also a law in Perugia in
1378 which enacted that a person could not obtain a poison without the
express permission of a doctor, which permit should state the purpose
for which it was intended to be used. The statutes of Genoa (1488)
amongst other items demanded that in no medicament should substitution
be allowed, or as the statute reads “Ponere quid pro quo” without the
doctor’s express permission. The pharmacist was to be careful that honey
was not substituted for sugar, nor that the latter should serve as a
cover for the former, and that he should put neither rice nor starch in
anything composed of sugar, in whole or in part.
In ancient times there is little doubt that many people died from the
effects of poison without suspicion, although on the other hand many
more succumbed to the sudden effects of latent and unrecognized
diseases, such as aneurism, peritonitis and others of which practically
nothing was known, whose deaths were wrongfully attributed to poison.
Before the period of judicial post-mortem examination, the practice was
to expose the bodies for inspection to those who were believed to be
able to form a sufficiently accurate judgment for themselves as to the
cause of death.
It was believed that poisonous substances had a peculiar action on the
heart and were capable of altering its substance in such a manner that
it resisted the action of a funeral pyre and remained unconsumed. When
the heart resisted the pyre it was regarded as unmistakable evidence
that the person had perished by poison. If, in addition, the body from
any cause rapidly decomposed, such a sign was at once believed to be
conclusive of death from poison. This belief prevailed to a greater or
lesser extent down to the middle of the seventeenth century.
From the time man first discovered the effects of poisonous substances,
he no doubt began to consider some means of preventing their action if
taken internally by accident. He sought also to find protection against
the bites of venomous animals, reptiles and mad dogs. Homer (900 B.C.)
in the “Odyssey,” in the account of Ulysses’ men, alludes to a plant
which Hermes recommended him to take when he set out to rescue his
followers:—
“Then take the antidote the Gods provide
The plant I give through all the direful power
Shall guard thee and avert the evil hour.”
This is thought to refer to a herb called moli or molu which is often
mentioned by ancient writers. It is alluded to by Theophrastus, Ovid,
Pliny, Dioscorides and Galen and it was considered to be a species of
Allium. It is described by some as a plant having an onion or
squill-like odour, and was said to grow in Arcadia and Campania.
The Hindus, like other ancient peoples, also had an idea of a universal
antidote against poisons, as expressed by the word “agada.”
Apparently the ambition of the early Greek physicians was to discover a
universal antidote to all poisons, and many of them appear to have
devoted years and spent a great part of their lives in attempting to
find it. These antidotes were called by the Greeks Alexipharmics, or
Theriacs, the former word being derived from the Greek “Alexipharmakos,”
meaning that which keeps off a poison, and the noun “antipharmakon,” an
antidote.
One of the earliest writers on the subject was Nicander of Colophon
(185–135 B.C.), who was physician to Attalus, King of Bithynia, under
whom he is said to have secured special facilities for studying poisons,
being allowed to experiment upon condemned criminals. He was an
hereditary priest of Apollo at Clarus. He wrote a work in about a
thousand hexameters on
Theriaca, which deals with the bites of venomous animals and six
hundred hexameters on
Alexipharmica, which treats of poisonous substances when swallowed by
the mouth, and the use of emetics.
Theriaca became an actual substance and differed from the
_Alexipharmica_, which was more a method of treatment. This division was
afterwards adopted by all the subsequent early writers on the subject,
including Dioscorides, Galen, Aetius, Paulus Aegineta, Avicenna and
Rhazes.
From the first century theriaca was regarded as a very important
compound, and in the endeavour to secure the most effective combination
for the purpose, the most extraordinary formulæ containing a large
number of ingredients, were devised by various physicians. The general
treatment recommended by Nicander for the bites of all venomous animals
was sucking the wound, applying cupping vessels to it, cauteries and
leeches, and afterwards administering stimulant medicines.
Respecting the sucking of a wound, he gives an important injunction that
the person who sucks the wound should not be fasting, from which it may
be gathered that he was aware of the physiological fact that the vessels
absorb more readily when in an empty state.
Nicander’s particular remedies were such drugs as birthwort, alkanet,
and theriaca of vipers, which was prepared with a great many aromatic
roots and fruits, including ginger, cinnamon, myrrh, iris and gentian.
In his work he mentions twenty-two poisonous substances including:
Aconite (wolf’s bane), litharge (lead oxide), buprestis (a beetle
resembling cantharides), ceruse (white lead), conium (hemlock),
cantharides, hyoscyamus (henbane), ixias (probably a species of
chameleon), coagulated milk, sea-hare, poppy (opium), pharicum (probably
a composition of agaric), the red toad and marsh frog, the salamander,
bull’s blood, taxus (yew), and toxicum (an unknown poison). As antidotes
he recommends warm oil, warm water and mallow or linseed tea to excite
vomiting.
From this list we have some idea of the knowledge of poisons at that
period. Most of the substances enumerated are of vegetable or animal
origin, few of the soluble mineral poisons being known at that time.
Galen noticed that opium dissolved in a small quantity of wine produced
stronger effects than when given alone, and that when a larger draught
of wine was given, it proved an antidote by counteracting the narcotic
powers of the opium. He stated that he once cured a person reduced to
the last stage of coma by the administration of strong wine.
Dioscorides also dealt very largely with this subject, and, like
Nicander directs that “the person who sucks the poisoned wound be not
fasting and that he shall keep some oil in his mouth.” The wound is then
to be fomented with a sponge and scarified or cut out, a method on which
there is no improvement at the present time. Cauterization with fire is
another method which Dioscorides recommends, and for the bite of a
venomous serpent known to be fatal, he advises immediate amputation to
save life.
According to Pliny and Galen, the formula for the first theriaca against
the bites of all venomous animals was inscribed in verse on a stone in
the temple of Asklepios on the island of Cos. It contained wild thyme,
opoponax, aniseed, fennel, parsley, meum and ammi. These were to be
beaten up with meal of fitches (ervum ervilla), passed through a sieve,
kneaded with wine, cut into lozenges of the weight of half a denarius
(30 grammes), one to be placed in three cyathi (about five ounces) of
wine and swallowed.
The next theriaca in antiquity is that originated by Antiochus the
Third, King of Syria and Babylon, who flourished about 223 B.C. He is
said to have devised a compound that was proof against the bites of all
venomous animals and reptiles except the asp.
One of the most celebrated of the theriaca was that of Mithridates VI
(120–63 B.C.), King of Pontus in Asia Minor. From the constant
apprehension of being poisoned by his enemies, Mithridates is said to
have rendered himself immune from their effects by taking small doses of
poisonous substances daily in combination with the antidote he devised,
and thus believed himself poison-proof. For many years he carried on
warfare with the Romans, but was finally defeated by Pompey, and, not
wishing to fall into the hands of his enemies, he put an end to his
life. After the conquest Pompey is said to have captured the coveted
formula among the secret papers of the King.
This compound contained fifty-four ingredients, which were prepared in
the form of a conserve or electuary. Needless to say this elaborate
remedy would be quite useless as an antidote to any poisonous substance,
but judging from what Pliny tells us of some of the so-called poisons
known to Mithridates, such as “the blood of a duck found in a certain
district of Pontus” which was supposed to live on poisonous food, it is
no wonder he had a belief in its efficacy. Curiously enough, Mithridates
employed the duck’s blood as an ingredient in the later modifications of
his theriaca, and he tells us that he did so because he observed that
“these ducks fed on poisonous plants and suffered no harm.”
Another theriaca is attributed to Zopyros, a Greek physician of
Alexandria, about 80 B.C. He named his formula “Ambrosia,” and it
contained frankincense, galbanum, pepper and other aromatic substances,
made into a conserve with boiled honey. A piece the size of an Egyptian
bean was directed to be taken, washed down with a draught of wine.
Equally celebrated was the theriaca of Philon of Tarsus, who is said to
have lived in the early part of the first century and recorded his
formula in symbolic Greek verse. Galen mentions that it had a great
reputation for a long time and was one of the most famous compounds of
the kind. It contained such curious substances as “the red hair of a lad
whose blood had been shed on the fields of Mercury,” which was possibly
symbolic language for suffering, and certain drugs the names of which
are disguised in mystic language. The whole of the mixture was to be
made into a conserve with “the work of the Daughters of the Bull of
Athens” which is supposed to mean Attic honey.
The Theriaca Philonium survived over 1,700 years and has an interesting
history. It passed into many of the pharmacopœias of Europe, remaining
in the _London Pharmacopœia_ until 1746, when it was composed of opium,
pepper, ginger, caraway, syrup, honey and wine. Until 1746 it was called
“Philonium Romanum,” but was then changed to “Philonium Londonense,” and
syrup of poppies was substituted for the honey. It is probable that this
mixture was originally intended as a remedy for a peculiar form of colic
which became epidemic in Rome when Philon flourished there. Philon’s
formula formed the basis of what was afterwards known as Confection of
Opium and remained in the _London Pharmacopœia_ until 1867.
The Theriaca which eclipsed all others in fame and popularity was that
originated by Andromachus, physician to Nero (A.D. 37–68). So much did
the Emperor appreciate his physician’s efforts to devise a universal
antidote that he raised him to the dignity of Archiatrus. The Theriaca
of Andromachus was claimed to be an improvement on that of Mithridates,
until then the greatest antidote in Roman pharmacy. He added vipers to
the compound and called his theriaca “Galene.” Like other physicians of
his time Andromachus wrote his formula and described its virtues in
Greek verse, which he dedicated to Nero. He claimed that it would
“counteract all poisons and bites of venomous animals and that it would
also relieve all pain, weakness of the stomach, asthma, difficulty of
breathing, phthisis, colic, jaundice, dropsy, weakness of sight,
inflammation of the bladder and kidneys, and plague.” It was indeed a
panacea for all complaints.
Galen states that he tested this antidote by giving it to a number of
fowls to which he had first administered a poison. Those to which the
theriaca had been given survived, but all the others died. He says that
it resisted poison and venomous bites and cured a great many diseases.
The original formula contained no less than seventy-three ingredients,
including dried vipers. This remarkable preparation remained in popular
use throughout the Middle Ages and is still made and sold in the drug
bazaar of Constantinople and also in some parts of Italy.
About the year A.D. 50 the Theriaca of Democrates became famous. This
was similar to the compound of Andromachus, the formula for which
Democrates, a Greek physician then living in Rome, translated into
verse. Other formulæ were originated by Nicolaus of Salerno, Amando,
Arnauld and Abano, each of whom added something to the original formula.
These preparations may be said to have reached their zenith in the
sixteenth century when Pietro Andrea Matthiolus, the commentator of
Dioscorides, published another formula which contained no less than two
hundred and fifty separate substances, including dried vipers, pearls,
red coral and emeralds. This formula in a modified form was included in
the _London Pharmacopœia_ in 1618 and remained an official remedy until
1746.
Several cities became celebrated for the manufacture of Theriaca,
including Cairo, Florence, Genoa, Bologna and Venice. The Theriaca of
Venice or Treacle, as it was called, contained sixty-one ingredients,
had a reputation throughout Europe and was included in the _London
Pharmacopœia_ down to 1746. In Bologna the mixing of the Theriaca was
carried out with great ceremony in the courtyard of the ancient
Archiginnasio in the presence of the chief officials of the city. The
ingredients were mixed under the supervision of the medical professors
of the University to ensure of it being faithfully and properly
compounded. From the fourteenth to the seventeenth century it was
regarded as a remedy for plague and was used in great quantities.
Evelyn, in his Diary, March 23, 1646, thus alludes to the Theriaca of
Venice—
“Having packed up my purchases of books, pictures, casts, treacle, etc.
(the making and extraordinary ceremony whereof I had been curious to
observe, for it is extremely pompous and worth seeing) I departed from
Venice.”
The great consumption of this medicament in the sixteenth century is
evidenced by Morgan, Apothecary to Queen Elizabeth, who in a pamphlet
insists that a product that he had made had been compared with other
“theriacle” brought from Constantinople and Venice and had been
commended.
“It is very lamentable to consider,” he writes “that straungers doe
dayly send into England a false and naughty kinde of Mithridatium and
Threacle in great barrelles more than a thousand weight in a year, and
vtter ye same at a lowe price for 3_d._, and 4_d._ a pound, to ye great
hurt of Her Majesties subjects and no small gaine to straungers purses.”
In 1612, it is recorded that the Master and Wardens of the Grocers’
Company of London marked that “a filthy and unwholesome baggage
composition was being brought into this Realm as Tryacle of Genoa, made
only of the rotten garble and refuse outcast of all kinds of spices and
drugs, hand overhead with a little filthy molasses and tarre to worke it
up withal.” This was communicated to the College of Physicians, and they
set about not only to devise their own formula, but to superintend its
manufacture, which was then entrusted to William Besse, an apothecary in
the Poultry. Besse was made to take a “corporal oath” before the Lord
Mayor, and every year when he made the confection had to show the
ingredients and the product to the College of Physicians. His treacle
was sold at not above 2_s._ 8_d._ per lb. or 2_d._ per ounce.
The use, however, of this medicament in Great Britain goes back to a
much earlier period. It was recommended to Alfred the Great by Helia,
the Patriarch of Jerusalem, according to an Anglo-Saxon MS. of the
eleventh century. It is again mentioned by Foucher de Chartres in 1124,
who states it was used in the first Crusade. It is recorded in a Close
Roll of King John in 1208, and a “triacle box du pere apelle une Hakette
garniz d’or” is mentioned amongst the precious effects of Henry V.
Prosper Alpinus, the physician of Padua, who travelled in Egypt in 1591,
refers to the manufacture of Theriaca in Cairo and states that it was
only allowed to be made in public, and that the ceremony was performed
once a year in the Mosque of Morestan by the chief apothecary of the
city in the presence of all the physicians. He states that at that time
Italians, Germans, Poles, Flemings, Englishmen and Frenchmen came to
Cairo to purchase this true Theriaca.
Much more might be written describing the making of this ancient and
interesting medicament, which has a literature of its own, but it will
be sufficient to quote one more account from the Regulations and
Statutes of Montpellier, where the compounding was also carried out with
great ceremony.
According to a report by Laurens Catelan, Master Apothecary in Ordinary
to Monseigneur the Prince of Condé, it was required that the preparation
should be made in public in the presence of the very illustrious
professors of the famous Faculty of Medicine so that they might have the
opportunity of censuring or approving the ingredients and that the
public might therefore be sure of the virtue of these important
medicines.
It may well be asked what was the rationale of administering these
extraordinary compounds which survived for centuries. All that can be
said is, that these complex mixtures of gums, balsams and aromatic
substances would probably have some antiseptic action on the alimentary
and internal organs. They were generally directed to be given with wine
which would aid this effect and, at any rate, would have a reviving and
stimulating effect on the individual, but no real antidotal properties
can be ascribed to them.
The search for antidotes to poison was not confined entirely to the Old
World, for according to the _Carolina Gazette_ of May 9, 1750, the
General Assembly, the Governing Body of the Colony, authorized the
publication of “Nigger Caeser’s cure for poison.” The General Assembly
had purchased Nigger Caeser’s freedom, who was apparently a slave, and
granted him £100 a year for life as the price of his formula, which
consisted of roots of plantain and wild horehound, 3 oz. boiled together
in 2 quarts of water down to 1 quart and strained. Of this, one-third
was to be given every morning fasting for three consecutive mornings.
Certain dieting was also required, and it is stated that if in the three
days’ treatment no benefit had resulted, it was a sign that the patient
had either not been poisoned at all or had been by such poisons as
Caeser’s antidote would not remedy.