Apothecary 2020

their empirical experiences of successful remedies in
new ways. This certainly seems to have been the case for
Boghurst who stated in his preface: “I have writt
nothing from hearsay or from bookes or from the
testimony of others or my own conceit, but all and onely
from experience and triall.” This does not mean that
Boghurst, and others, wholly abandoned blood-letting,
blistering, purging or Hippocratic ideas of regimen and
diet, and a reliance on humoral theory seems to have
held sway. Thomas Sydenham wrote about how he
evaluated blood letting against inducing a diaphoresis
(intense sweating) or in Sydenham’s words “dissipation
of the Pestilential Ferment by sweat”. He compares the
Electuarium diascordium jar, from the Society's collection
Recipes for electuary of Teucrium scordium (water germander) can be
traced back to the works of Italian physician Girolamo Frascatoro in the 16 th
century. Recommended for treating the plague, its primary active ingredient
was opium. This elaborate delftware jar dates from the late 17 th century.
side-effects of blood letting, which weakens the patient,
against inducing a diaphoresis which he explained may
fail, particularly in young men, who may go on to have
a “Phrensy” or a febrile convulsion in our terms. On
balance, Sydenham considered that inducing a fever
was the better of the two treatments for plague, and
followed a Hippocratic practice of watching and aiding
the patient's body's natural crises.
The ancient remedies of mithridatium and theriac
were also called upon as both preventatives and
treatments, if you could afford their multiple costly
ingredients. Venice Treacle (theriac) was particularly
prized as was its cousin London Treacle which was
recommended in Directions for the Prevention and Cure of
the Plague Fitted for the Poorer Sort (1665) as it consisted of
cheaper ingredients than other medicinal treacles. It
should be mixed with white wine vinegar, juice of
wood-sorrel or juice of “orenges “[sic], plus salt of
wormwood, and “Plague water of Mattias.” The
directions suggested taking it with half a pint of white
wine or a posset drink, and lying in bed quietly to sweat
as long as the patient could bear it. This was continued
at 6 hour intervals, and interspersed with nourishing
meals such as gruel, caudle or chicken broth. The same
pamphlet recommended a wholesome diet, including
meat if you could afford it and salads served with a
mustard, vinegar and oil dressing. It warned against
cabbage, spinach, plums, cucumbers, grapes and
gooseberries and suggested that baked fruit was better
than raw in preventing infection.
Meanwhile physician Nathaniel Hodges (1629-1688),
author of Loimologia (first published in Latin in 1672)
was confident that there were no cures for the plague,
and discounted ancient remedies including
bloodletting, which he described as “fatal.” He also
dismissed the theriac staple of snake lozenges, and was
equally dismissive of bezoars, powder of toads, and
powdered unicorn horn which was recommended to
him as an antidote: “[it] never answered any good
Expectations, although I had several Dozes of it given
me by a Merchant, on purpose, to try its Virtues...[it]
had yet no Efficacy Against the pestilential Virulence.”
It is perennially difficult to establish the motivations
of people in the past. Did the apothecaries remain in
London because of a sense of duty, the commercial
possibilities or a more complex combination of both or
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