Abracadabra was the most famous of the ancient charms or talismans
employed in medicine. Its mystic meaning has been the subject of much
ingenious investigation, but even its derivation has not been agreed
upon. The first mention of the term is found in the poem “De Medicina
Praecepta Saluberrima,” by Quintus Serenus Samonicus. Samonicus was
a noted physician in Rome in the second and third centuries. He was
a favourite with the Emperor Severus, and accompanied him in his
expedition to Britain A.D. 208. Severus died at York in A.D. 211,
and in the following year his son Caracalla had his brother Geta,
and 20,000 other people supposed to be favourable to Geta’s claims,
assassinated. Among the victims was Serenus Samonicus. The poem, which
is the only existing work of Serenus, consists of 1,115 hexameter lines
which illustrate the medical practice and superstitions of the period
when it was written. The lines in which the word “Abracadabra,” and the
way to employ it are introduced are these:--
Inscribis chartae, quod dicitur Abracadabra,
Saepius: et subter repetas, sed detrahe summae,
Et magis atque magis desint elementa figuris
Singula, quae semper rapies et coetera figes,
Donec in angustam redigatur litera conum.
His lino nexis collum redimire memento.
In a paper on Serenus Samonicus by Dr. Barnes of Carlisle, contributed
to the _St. Louis Medical Review_, the following translation of the
above passage is given. A semitertian fever of a particular character
is the disease under discussion.
“Write several times on a piece of paper the word ‘Abracadabra,’ and
repeat the word in the lines below, but take away letters from the
complete word and let the letters fall away one at a time in each
succeeding line. Take these away ever, but keep the rest until the
writing is reduced to a narrow cone. Remember to tie these papers with
flax and bind them round the neck.”
The charm was written in several ways all in conformity with the
instructions. Dr. Barnes gives these specimens:
A B R A C A D A B R A a b r a c a d a b r a
A B R A C A D A B R a b r a c a d a b r
A B R A C A D A B a b r a c a d a b
A B R A C A D A a b r a c a d a
A B R A C A D a b r a c a d
A B R A C A a b r a c a ABRACADABRA
A B R A C a b r a c BRACADABR
A B R A a b r a RACADAB
A B R a b r ACADA
A B a b CAD
A a A
After wearing the charm for nine days it had to be thrown over the
shoulder into a stream running eastwards. In cases which resisted this
talisman Serenus recommended the application of lion’s fat, or yellow
coral with green emeralds tied to the skin of a cat and worn round the
neck.
Serenus Samonicus is believed to have been a disciple of a notorious
Christian heretic named Basilides, who lived in the early part of the
second century, and was himself the founder of a sect branching out
of the gnostics. Basilides had added to their beliefs some fanciful
notions based on the teachings of Pythagoras and Apollonius of Tyre,
especially in regard to names and numbers. To him is attributed the
invention of the mystic word “abraxas,” which in Greek numeration
represents the total 365, thus:--a--1, b--2, r--100, a--1,
x--60, a--1, s--200. This word is supposed to have been a numeric
representation of the Persian sungod, or if it was invented by
Basilides, more likely indicated the 365 emanations of the infinite
Deity. It has been generally supposed that abracadabra was derived from
abraxas.
There are, however, other interpretations. Littré associates it
with the Hebrew words, Ab, Ruach, Dabar; Father, Holy Ghost, Word.
Dr. King, an authority on the curious gnostic gems well-known to
antiquarians, regards this explanation as purely fanciful and suggests
that Abracadabra is a modification of the term Ablathanabla, a word
frequently met with on the gems alluded to, and meaning Our Father,
Thou art Our Father. Others hold that Ablathanabla is a corruption of
Abracadabra. An ingenious correspondent of _Notes and Queries_ thinks
that a more likely Hebrew origin of the term than the one favoured by
Littré would be Abrai seda brai, which would signify Out, bad spirit,
out. It is agreed that the word should be pronounced Abrasadabra.
Another likely origin, suggested by Colonel C. R. Conder in “The Rise
of Man” (1908), p. 314, is Abrak-ha-dabra, a Hebrew phrase meaning
“I bless the deed.” The triangular form of the charm was no doubt
significant of the Trinity in Unity.