On Poisons and the Protection Against Lethal Drugs

Kitāb al-sumūm wa-’l-mutaḥarriz min al-adwiya al-qitāla

1199

About This Entry

Moses Maimonides’ On Poisons and the Protection against Lethal Drugs (Kitāb al-sumūm wa-’l-mutaḥarriz min al-adwiya al-qitāla) was written for Saladin’s vizier, al-Qaḍī al-Fāḍil (1135–1200) and concerns poisons, including bites from poisonous animals. The opening of this work, presented below, heaps praise on al-Fāḍil, who was Maimonides’ patron. As the author states, this work is largely dependent on Galenic and even pre-Galenic medical traditions. Maimonides explains how al-Fāḍil imported medicinal treatments from throughout Egypt and beyond and subsequently addresses the treatment of bites, including those from scorpions, snakes, and other wild animals, and maladies such as rabies. This work survives in two medieval Hebrew translations and one medieval Latin translation.

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate:

Oh, God, make [my task] easy by Your grace

(1) Says Mūsā b. ‘Ubayd Allāh from Cordoba: The conduct of our Master, the most honorable and eminent Judge—may God grant him a long time—is well known in our time and in our country and even in some other countries. Equally [well known] is his endeavor in this world to share any good that God has bestowed on him with all people in general, to keep them from harm, and to constantly provide them with benefits, through his wealth, his rank, his [wise] words, and his consideration [of a certain matter]. With his charity he satisfies the needs of the poor and indigent, raises orphans and redeems prisoners, builds houses of study in the cities, and increases [the number] of scholars and students. He uses his high position—may God elevate it even more—to satisfy the needs of people of eminent position and rank and to provide sustenance to heads of families and to protect men of honor against disgrace. [ . . . ]

(3) For our Master—may God preserve his power—in putting his noble thoughts to the welfare of the people, ordered the physicians in Egypt to prepare the great theriac and Mithridates’ electuary. The preparation of these two [electuaries] in the city of Cairo was extremely difficult since none of the herbs used for [the preparation of] the theriac grows in this land, except for the poppy [Papaver somniferum and var.]. As a result of the execution of your order, these ingredients were brought from the most distant [lands] in the West and East. Then the two electuaries were prepared and were made available to anyone who might benefit from them, according to the opinion of the physicians, for these two [remedies] cannot be found in the treasury of most kings, let alone in the [public] markets. And whenever the supply of these two [electuaries] was exhausted or nearly so, you would take care that more was prepared. All this is done quickly, thanks to the interest you always take in everything that is right and beneficial for human beings.

(4) But in this time, in the glorious month of Ramadan of the year 595 [1199], you said to your most humble servant: It occurred to me yesterday that someone could be bitten [by a poisonous animal] and that the poison would spread through his body before he could reach us and take the theriac, and so he would die, especially if he was bitten during the night and could only reach us in the morning. [ . . . ]

(5) I hastened to comply with your command—which I cannot but obey—and composed this treatise and called it “Treatise for Fāḍil.” [ . . . ]

The First Chapter of the First Part

Concerning the regimen of someone bitten in general

(8) When someone is bitten, one should hasten to immediately tie the spot above the bite as tightly as possible so that the poison does not travel and spread throughout the body. While the site of the bite is being tied, someone else should make an incision in the site of the bite and suck it with his mouth as hard as he can and spit out all that he sucks. But he should first rinse his mouth with olive oil, or with wine and olive oil, and then suck. He may also smear his lips with violet [Viola odorata] oil, if available, or with olive oil. The person who is sucking should take care that he is not suffering from any illness in his mouth or from decayed teeth. Some physicians stipulate that the sucking person should be fasting, whereas others stipulate that he should not be fasting but should eat something and then suck. It seems to me that it is more beneficial for the bitten person if the sucking person is fasting, but that it is more dangerous for the latter. [ . . . ] If sucking is impossible, one should hasten to apply cupping glasses, with or without fire. The ones with fire are stronger and more effective because they combine attraction [of the poison] and cauterization [of the wound]. [ . . . ]

(54) Mad dogs: The physicians have mentioned many symptoms of mad dogs; all these are correct and there is no need to mention them at length in this treatise, because a human being instinctively flees from them when he sees them, just as he flees from a scorpion and a viper. Even [healthy] dogs flee from them. One always sees them walking alone, stumbling and staying close to walls, without barking. There is no doubt that people everywhere hasten to kill them when they recognize their condition. But sometimes [a mad dog] bites before being recognized. And sometimes someone is bitten in the dark by a dog and cannot tell if it was a mad [dog] or not. Every remedy that we find mentioned for the bite of a mad dog is only beneficial if it is applied before hydrophobia sets in. If it is applied after the [onset of] hydrophobia, no one has ever been seen to survive. A person bitten by a mad dog does not suffer greater pain than the pain of the bite of any other dog. Rather, the serious symptoms which indicate rabies only begin to appear in most cases after eight days, and sometimes only appear after a [long] period. Therefore, anyone bitten by a mad dog or by a dog whose condition is unknown should promptly receive the general treatment that I mentioned: ligature, incision, suction, copious bleeding from the site [of the bite] by means of cupping glasses, emesis, and ingestion of the theriac. [ . . . ]

As for the widespread belief among the people that every bite victim should only eat unleavened bread, I do not know any basis for it, neither rational nor traditional.

Translated by Gerrit Bos.

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Notes

Words in brackets appear in the original translation.

Credits

Moses Maimonides, from On Poisons and the Protection against Lethal Drugs, ed. and trans. Gerrit Bos (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2009), 1–6, 9–10, 35–36, 42. Used with permission of the publisher.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.