1916 Tavenner Studies in Magic

STUDIES IN MAGIC
FROM LATIN LITERATURE
BY
EUGENE TAVENNER, PH.D .
.:::::
COLUMBIA UNIVERSizy PRESS

1916
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Copyright, 1916
BY COLUMBIA UNIVJDBSITY PBmse
Printed from type, October, 1916
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NOTE
Thi8 monograph has been approved by the Department of Cl.a8-
mal Philology of Columbia University as a contribution to
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CLARENCE H. YOUNG.
Chairman.
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PREFACE
Although references to magic are found in almost .every
Latin author, there is not available in English any general
treatment of the subject of Magic in Latin Literature. We
have, it is true, excellent chapters by Fowler,1 Dill,2 Cumont,•
and others, touching upon Roman magic ; but these scholars
treat the subject rather because of its important relation to
some other field of investigation than for its own sake.
This dissertation will attempt, therefore, first, to furnish
a general introduction to Roman magic, especially as reflected
in Latin literature ; and then, to add, as a specimen of de-
tailed study, a chapter on Roman prophylactic magic. To
this beginning I hope to add, later, chapters on various phases
of the same subject, such as, Magic and Curative Medicine,
The Number Three in Magic, and Spitting as an Act of Magic.
By way of further delimitation it may be added that Greek
literature has been drawn upon only where it bears directly
upon our discussion, and that no exhaustive collection of the
material of Latin literature itself has been attempted beyond
the third century of our era.4 I have been compelled, also,
through lack of space and time, to ignore practically all epi-
graphical and archaeological material.
1 The Religious Ex-perienu of the Roman People, Chapters 2 and 3.
1 Roman Society from Nero to MarCUB Aureliua, 443-483.
1 Oriental Religiona in Roman Paganism, the chapter entitled Astrology
and Magic, 162-195.

' To this one important exception has been made in the case of
Marcellus Empiricus.
Digitized by Goog Ie I
CONTENTS
CBAPl'lDJl PA.Oil
I. lNTBoDUCTION TO THE 8TuDY OP Ro14AN MAGIC 1-60
The Meaning of Mci")'os, MC1L")'elC1L, Magu,a and Magicua 1
Definition of Magic 5
Magic Distinguished from Science . 8
Magic Distinguished from Astrology 10
Magic Distinguished from Superstition 11
Magic Distinguished from Religion 11
The Legal Aspect of Magic and Religion 12
Formal Latin Treatises upon Occult Subjects . 17
The Source, Antiquity, and Prevalence of Italian Magic 19
The Attitude of Latin Authors toward Magic . 25
Agricultural Writers 26
Dramatic Writers . 28
Writers on Philosophy 29
The Lyric and Elegiac Poets 33
The Satirists . 37
The Writers of Prose Romances 40
The Historians 45
The Encyclopaedists . 54
Conclusion . 60
II. MAGIC AND THE PREVENTION OP DISEASE 61-123
Medical Magic and Religion . 61
The Gods as Workers of Magic 61
Deification of Diseases 67
Medical Magic Versus Scientific Medicine . 70
Medical Magic Universal among the Early Romans 70
Early Magic Cures not Entirely Displaced by Greek
Scientific Medicine . 73
Preventive or Prophylactic Magic . 76
A. The Amulet . 76
Definition of an Amulet 77
Names Given to Amulets by Latin Authors 79
Antiquity and Continued Use of Amulets in Italy 80
Diseases Prevented by the Use of Amulets 84
ix
x CONTENTS
II. MAGIC AND THE PREVENTION OP DISEASE - Continued. PAGE

Materials of Amulets . 96
Inscriptions on Medical Amulets . 100
Other Details in the Preparation of Medical Amulets . 101
Where were Medical Amulets Worn? . 102
Amulet Containers 103
B. Propeylactic Magic by Means other than
Amulets 105
Diseases Prevented 106
Materials used in Magic Prophylaxis apart from the
Use of Amulets 110
C. Sym'[J<Jthia the Basis of Prophylactic Magic 113
Sym'[J<Jthia Essential to Amulets . 113
Based on Various Associations of Ideas 113
BmLIOGRAPBY 125
INDEX RERUK 129
lm>n LocoRUK • 141
STUDIES IN MAGIC
STUDIES IN MAGIC
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF ROMAN MAGIC
I. THE MEANING OF Mci'Ycn, Mci'YElci, KA.Gus, AND KAGICUS
Neither µ.ci'Ycn nor µ.ci'YElci is found in Homer,1 though refer-

ences to magic are numerous.t Apparently the first reference
in Greek literature to the µ.ci'Yo' a occurs in Herodotus, who
tells us that they were a Median tribe.' They formed a priestly
caste,6 resembling that of the Jewish Levites, were the leaders
in wisdom and in the education of the royal household,• and
1 Cf. August Gehring, lnde:c Hmnmcua (Leipzig, 1891), s. vv. pa')'Os
and pa:ytla.
1 Cf. Pliny, N. H. 30, 5; Iliad 7, 193-196, with Leaf's excellent note:
11, 740-741: 12, 254-255: 13, 434-435 : 15, 321-322: 24, 343-345 (magic
strokes used by the gods): 14, 214-221 (magic girdles): 16, 235: 23,
135-136; Od. 10, ~fl.; infra, 19, n. 97.
• For the derivation of the word cf. A. VaniC!ek, FremdtDl>rter im
GrieclriacJim und Lamni8cl&en, s. v. pa'YO'; Leo Meyer, Handbuch der
GrieclriacJim Etymologie, 4, 318, s. v. 1'4'Yos; Emile Boiaacq, Dictionnaire
4tymologique de la langue grecque, s. v. pa'Y°'·
' Herodotus, 1, 101. The word is found somewhat earlier in Persian.
The great inscription of BehiatOn contains seven instances of the nomina-
tive magua, and five instances of the accusative.
• Cf. Strabo, 16, 762; Lucian, MGKp6/!ko& 4; Xenophon, Cyrop. 8, 1, 23;
Clitarchus, apud Diog. Laert., Vit. Phil., Proem. 6; Heaychius, s. v.
pa-yos; Apuleius, Apol. 25.
• Cf. Apuleius, De Plat. 1, 3; Plato, Ale. 121E-122A; Cicero, Div. 1,
46; 90-91: Fin. 5, 87: Leg. 2, 26; Valerius Maximus, 8, 7, Ext. 2.
2 STUDIES IN MAGIC FROM LATIN LITERATURE
were expert in divination 7 and astrology; 8 but were not at

all acquainted with what the Greeks called 'YOf1TELa, or what
is now generally known as magic. 9
These µ6.'Yo,, under the leadership of a certain Osthanes,
accompanied the army of Xerxes into Greece,10 where their
unhallowed association with the invader, together with their
knowledge of the occult ·influences of the stars, reduced them
in the esteem of fifth century Greeks from the position of most
influential religious and educational advisers to that of cheats,
rascals, and tricksters.11
But Euripides is familiar with the word µ6.'Yo' also as applied
to those who possess preternatural control. over natural phe-
nomena, since he mentions a disappearance that was eft'ected
~o' #/>apµlucoicTLv ;; µ6.'Y"'" TEXJlaLow ;; 8e&v KMrciis. 12 By Plato's
time the word µ6.'Yos had become so common in the meaning
of 'a controller of natural phenomena' that Plato dares to
use it in a metaphorical sense, calling certain desires 'those
dire magicians and tyrant-makers.' 11 Finally, Lucian uses
the word freely of a sorcerer or sorceress. 1' There seems there-
, Cf. Clitarchus, apud Diog. Laert., Vit. Phil., Proem. 6; Cicero, Div. l,
4&-47; Velleius Paterculus, 2, 24, 3; Pliny, N. H. 24, 164; Varro, apud
Augustinum, C. D. 7, 35.
• Cf. Valerius Maximus, 8, 7, Ext. 2; Suidas, s. v. 'YOIJ'f'tL•.
• Aristotelis Frag., apud Diog. Laert., Vit. Phil., Proem. 1 (ed. Rose
[Leipzig 18861 44) T1)P elf 'YOIJ'f'U:1)P J.&l&'YtW GM' h-u, wU. .ApurrMi°M/f
8' Tcjl J.&l&')'U:cjl JCcU 13.et-P 8' Tfj 11'~1M'JI TCIP 'IOTopWP.
11 Cf. Pliny, N. H. 30, 8; Alfred Maury, Magie, 61 and references there
given. For Osthanes cf. infra, 20 and n. 99.
11 Cf. Sophocles, Oed. Tyr. 387 bct>tls J.&6.'Y011 TCH6"'1t, J.&'IXIUIOPP'*"1 ••• ;
Aeschines, In Ctes. 137 •A>..>..' olµiu oil-rt \JJp~"""s oil-rt EflpbfJ•ros oll-r'
4>..>.os oMtls rwrMt ,.;;,., ra>.iu 11'01"1/pCIP Tocowos µ6.-yos «cU 'Y6tis l-y9ffo.
It Orest. 1497 ff.
11 Repub. 9, 572E 67-u &' V..rlcrllXT"' ol 8t'1'0l J.&6.'Y« Tt JCcU Tllpl&PP011'ocol
oiW« µ1) 11>..N.is ,.~., "io" «a8~w• •••
" Lucian, Luc. sive As., 4 µ6.'Yos 'Y"-P wn CIW'~. . • . Cf. Demonax
23 'A>..>..cl «cU µ6.')'0ll ""'6s et..iu >..1-yonos «c&! k(flllcls lxew lcrx11p6.s, t:is Va-' """;;,"
11r..,,.•s """rtLBt"' "c&! raplx"" """" w"'1• {Jo{J>..niu, M 1) e""""'re, 14n7.
INTRODUCTION TO THE S'fUDY OF ROMAN MAGIC 3
fore to have been a natural transition in the meaning of the
word among the Greeks from that of priest to that of trickster,
and then to that of one who controls natural phenomena; or,
in other words, to our· conception of a magician in the darker
meaning of the English word. We may be reasonably certain
also that in popular usage the word p.o:yos had come to mean
'magician' rather than 'Magian' before the literary usage
makes such a development apparent. 16
We turn now to the word p.a."YEla.. It is certain that Plato
used it in the sense of 'the Magian philosophy and religion.' 18
Aristotle, however, by using the words "Y07/T&Kt} JJ.O."YEla., clearly
indicates that, by his time, the words "Y07/TEla. and p.a."YEla. had
approached each other in meaning so closely that "Y07/TEla. was
considered a species of p.a."YEla..17 The development in meaning
is apparently carried one step further by Theophrastus, the
successor of Aristotle, who uses the word J.1.4"YEla. without any
limiting adjective in the sense of "Y07/TEla.. 18 That a leading
Greek philosopher in the early part of the third century B.c.
used the word p.a."YEla. in the sense of 'magic ' is a further proof
that the word p.6."Yos had also by his time come to mean a
'magician.'
A distinction seems to have been made, however, by the
philosophers, after the time of Socrates, between p.a."YEla. and
"Y07/TEla., upon the assumption that, whereas both p.a."YEla. and
u The meaning 'Magian' seems entirely to have disappeared from

popular Greek usage by the fourth century of our era. In Hesychiua,
e. v. p./&"'(os, JUl."Y"" • TOv 6.Te&T-4 • ~a.pµ41CeVTl,11. TOii 9to<Tf/Jf;, a:e&l 9eo'),jyy011,
a:cil JepR, ol Il~cu ollT"" M'yOU0"&11, • • • the Greek and the Persian meanings
are contrasted.
11 Alcib. 122A •a.. o ,,u JU!."'ftlv Te wu- Tt)11 'IMpoAnflOIJ Toii 'Opop.O.rou.
n Cf. the fragment quoted inn. 9.
11 Hist. Plant. 9, 15, 7 (he is speaking of the herb moly): XPfiricu ~
alrrli Tp/ls Tt TA ~11/>6.PJUl.H a:e&l Tcks µci"'(ele&s. This is the only citation for
JUl."YM given in Wimmer's l'lllla to Theophraatua (Paris, 1866), notwith-
standing the 'etc.' of L. and S. s. v. JUl."Ytlci.
-y071rELa employed 6aLµovES, or subservient minor divinities, the

former employed only good 6aLµovES to accomplish good deeds,
whereas the latter employed evil 6aLµovEs to accomplish evil
deeds, through the evocation of spirits. 19 Such a finely drawn
distinction should of course not be looked for in popular usage.
The development of meaning in the Greek word p.0.-yos is
duplicated in that of the Latin word magus. The earlier
meaning of the Latin word, i.e. in its application to the re-
ligious system of the Persian Magi, is, however, found only
in Latin religio-philosophical writings, or in passing remarks
of a quasi-historical character.20 In contrast to this we find
in the Latin authors countless instances of magus with the
meaning 'magician,' not 'Magian.' 21 It is worthy of note
also that there is not a single instance in Latin literature, so
19 Cf. Plato, Sympos. 202E &cl Tobro11 a:ul it µanu:it Tier« X<11pei (ec.
"Epc.w, 6alµop,) "'" u,,-.,,,
it ,.12,, T4Xl'tl TW1' Tf Tepl Tels 9wrlcis ••• Hl ,.it,,
µUTeLu Ti<ru a:ul "fottTeLu; Apuleius, De Deo Socrat. 6, 133 Per hos eosdem
(i.e. 6cilµo,,11s), ut Plato in Symposio ·autumat, cuncta denuntiata et ma-
gorum varia miracula •.• reguntur. (This pa.asage is commented upon
by St. Augustine, C. D. 8, 16). Cf. also Apuleius, Apol. 26, quoted infra, 5.
Suidas, s. v. µ11-yet11, has: wta:X'JO'Ls m' 61U,.h1"'1,, 6.-ya801"0W" 11'/K>s 6."(aDoO
Til!OS o-fxrTMU11 Ws ,.4 ToO •AToXN.irloll TOD T11U"'7r 9I0'11'WJ.&l&T4 • "(OftTElci &•
wla:X'IO'LS WT'i 6~,, ICl&IC011'acCJr 11'epl ToVs Tlu/Kwr "(UIO~. See also Suidas,
s. v. "fottTtL11.
°
1 Cf., e.g., Apuleius, Apol. 25-26. This pa88age contains a clear presen-
tation of the philosophic, as distinguished from the popular, conception of
a magu8. Cf. id., De Plat. 1, 3; Cicero, Div. 1, 46; 9<H>l: Fin. 5, 87: Leg.
2, 26: Tusc. Diep. 1, 108: Nat. Deor. 1, 43; Valerius Maxi.mus, 8, 7, Ext.
2; Velleius Paterculus, 2, 24, 3; Lucan, 3, 223-224: 8, 220; Varro, apud
August., C. D. 7, 35.
11 See, for example, Horace, Carm. 1, 27, 22; Ovid, Med. Fae. 36;
Lucan, 6, 431; 440; 450; 577; 767; Pliny, N. H. (instances are too
numerous to cite; but cf. Ian's index to Pliny, s. v. magi); Tacitus, Ann.
2, 27; 32: 6, 29: 12, 22; Apuleius, De Deo Socrat. 6: Met. 2, 5: 6, 16;
Scriptores Historiae Augustae, Did. Iul. 7; Augustinus, De Divers.
Quaest. 79, 4; Pseudo-Vergilius, Ciris 374; Pseudo-Quintilian, Deel.
Maior. 10, passim. Cf. also the use of magus as an adjective, Ovid, Amor.
1, 8, 5; Seneca, Herc. Oet. 467.
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF ROMAN MAGIC 5
far as I have been able to discover, of the use of the word magia
with reference to the Persian Magian system of religion and
philosophy.22 Of the very numerous instances of the adjective
magicus, only one is even possibly to be referred to the Magi.28
It is quite apparent, therefore, that to the average Roman magus
meant 'magician,' magia meant 'rnagic' (noun), and magicua
meant 'magic' (adjective); though some few learned writers
persisted at all times in using the first of these terms in its
earlier and historically correct sense of 'Magian.' In fact, this
popular conception of magic is expressly stated by Apuleius 24 to
have been in strong contrast with the proper conception of the
priestly Magi.
II. DEFINITION OF MAGIC
Since it is with this popular conception of the terms magus,

magia, and magicus among the Romans that we are concerned,
we shall first turn to the Latin authors themselves for their
definition of magic. Pliny the Elder, who is our most impor-
tant source of information upon Roman magic, says: 25
Auctoritatem ei (i.e. arti magicae fraudulentisaimae) maximam
fuisae nemo miretur, quandoquidem sola artium tres alias imperiosis-
simas humanae mentis complexa in unam se redegit. Natam primum
e medicina nemo dubitabit ac specie salutari inrepsisae velut altiorem
sanctioremque medicinam, ita blandisaimis desideratisaimisque pro-
missis addidisae vires religionis, ad quas maxime etiam nunc caligat
humanum genus, atque, ut hoc quoque successerit, miscuisse artes
mathematicas, nullo non avido futura de sese sciendi atque ea e caelo
verissime peti credente.
Apuleius writes: 26
Sin vero more vulgari eum isti proprie magum existimant, qui com-
munione loquendi cum deis immortalibus ad omnia quae velit incredi-
bilia quadam vi cantaminum polleat. . • •
n Cf. Apuleius, Apol. passim: Met. 6, 26; Augustinus, C. D. 10, 9.
11Justinus, 36, 2, 7. • N. H. 30, 1-2.
u Apol. 26, quoted infra. • Apol. 26.
Pseudo-Quintilian, in describing a magician, uses these

words: 27
Advocatur homo cuius ars est ire contra naturam. Qui, simul ore
squalido barbarum murmur intonuit, favere superos, audire inferos,
tremere terras, ut experimentis loquentium fama est, constitit iuxta
tumi.dum miserrimi iuvenis more certior.
And again: 28
At tu, cuius in leges di superi manesque torquentur, qui nocturno
terribilis ululatu profundum specus et ima terrarum moves, modo
serventium revocator animarum. . • .
The attitude of the Christian Fathers is similar; compare, e.g.,
St. Augustine: 19
Quapropter aliter magi faciunt miracula, aliter boni Christiani.
• . . Magi per privatos contractus, boni Christiani per publicam
iustitiam. . . .
From the foregoing passages one may obtain a composite
but satisfactory idea of the Roman conception of magic.
'It is,' says Pliny, 'a very deceptive, and yet very powerful
art, compounded of elements drawn from medicine, religion,
and astrology.' The religious element, according to the more
specific definition of Apuleius, is the most important source
of the magician's power. It is the result of a communio be-
. tween him and· the gods, established by means of magic spells,
and through this communio the magician obtains whatever
he may wish. Still more definitely we learn from Pseudo-
Quintilian that through the medium of this communio the
magician has the power of compelling the gods to do his will,
17Declam. Maior. 10, 15.
,. Declam. Maior. 10, 19.
" De Divers. Quaest. 79, 4. See also Minucius Felix, Octav. 26, 10:
Magi quoque non tantum sciunt daemonas, sed etiam, quicquid miraculi
ludunt, per daemonas faciunt: illis adspirantibus et infundentibus prae-
stigias edunt, vel quae non sunt videri, vel quae sunt non videri.
and that, in addition, he controls the earth, stars, rivers, and
the spirits of the dead by his incantations. This power of
control is caUed 'going against nature,' or exerting a supremacy
over natural forces and phenomena. Such a control of nature
differs, however, from Christian miracles, according to St.
Augustine, in that magicians act through a private agreement
with demons for personal gain, whereas good Christians per-
form miracles from a love of right in general. We may there-
fore say that a cultured Roman would have defined magic
as an art based on medicine, astrology, and religion, whereby
man attempts to control the gods and thereby to control
natural phenomena in accordance with his own selfish desires. ao
This definition, deduced from the Latin authors themselves,
does not differ materially from that of other modern students
of magic. Fowler,31 for instance, defines magic as "the exer-
cise of a mysterious mechanical power by an individual on
man, spirit, or deity, to enforce a certain result." Another
definition runs: 32 "(Magic is) the art, or pretended art, of
controlling occult forces and of producing effects contrary to
the known order of nature.'' Westermarck aa appears to define
io I am not unaware that it may seem illogical to derive a definition
from so many different sources; but, when we consider that we are deal-
ing with folk belief and practice, a phase of human mental life that shows
very little variation as a result either of time or of place, neither the few
centurie8 that separate Pliny the Elder from St. Augustine nor the change
from paganism to Christianity can be thought to have had great effect
upon the Roman attitude toward magic. In fact, even to-day the mental
life of Italy is singularly bound up with magic belief and practice. Cf.
Leland, Etruscan Roman Remaim in Popular Tradition, passim, but
especially 4; 13; 171; 197-198; 256-298; 303-305; Elworthy, E1'il Eye,
1-28; 1~155; 204-211; 257-262; 311; 321; 355-364; 403-404; 429;
Story, Castle St. Angelo and the E1'il Eye, 147-238 (the pages here indicated
treat of the evil eye, and were originally published as a chapter of Story's
work, RolJa di Roma).
11 Rel. Ex'[Jef'. 47.
a New International Encyclopedia•, s. v. Magic.
11 Origi,n and Derelopment of Moral Idea&, 2, 584.
magic as the exercise of "supernatural mechanical power . . .,

without making any appeal at all to the will of a supernatural
being, in the interest of the operator." All students of magic
are, therefore, agreed with our ancient authorities that the
purpose of magic is to control natural phenomena by preter-
natural means.
III. MAGIC DISTINGUISHED FROM SCIENCE
We quoted above 34 the statement of Pliny that magic sprang

from medicine and received added strength from religion.
Whether we accept this view or not, we must concede that
magic is closely connected with both medicine" (i.e. science)
and religion, and that we should carefully mark the bound-
aries between the three. We are still much in doubt whether
magic grew out of religion or religion out of magic, 38 but we
may be sure that magic always antedates medicine and other
sciences.37 In fact, magic is the result of unorganized scientific
instinct before the principles of the natural working of cause and
effect are thoroughly understood. The magician studies plants,18
" Page 5. • Cf. A. Lang, Mag. and Rel. 47 ff.
11 Cf. infra, 8-10.
rr Cf. A. Lang, Mag. and Rel. 3-4; Frazer, G. B. 1, 1, 220-222; Tylor,
P. C.1 (Am.) 1, 112-137.
11 Both Medea and Circe based their magical skill largely upon their
knowledge of herbs. Cf. Daremberg et Saglio, Dictionnaire de& antiquuu,

s. v. magia. For Circe, cf. Odyss. 10, 213; 276; Ovid, Met. 14, 14-22;
34; 43; 56; 266-270: Rem. Am. 263; Hyginus, Fab. 125; Horace,
Epist. 1, 2, 23-26; Cicero, In Caec. 57; Tibullus, 2, 4, 55-56: 3, 7, 61~3;
Propertius, 2, 1, 53: 3, 12, 27; Apuleius, Apol. 31 : De Deo Socrat. 24;
Pliny, 25, 10-11. For Medea cf. Welcker, Kleine Schrijten, 3, 20-26; Ovid,
Her. 6, 93: Met. 7, 98; 149; 224-233; 264-265; Horace, Epod. 3, 12: 5,
67~; Pliny, N. H. 25, 10-11; Elegiae in Maecenatem 110; 112; Tibullus,
1, 2, 51: 2, 4, 55-56; Propertius, 2, 1, 54: 2, 4, 7; Lucan, 4, 555-556:
6, 441-442; Seneca, Med. 269-270; Valerius Flaccus, 6, 441-442: 7,
355-370. Similar references to magic herbs are very numerous in Latin
authors.
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF ROMAN MAGIC ' 9
animals,19 and stones,•0 as carefully as does the scientist,
but with a very different method of handling the material.
Science seeks, by patient observation, experimentation, and
reason, to arrive at probable facts and theories in regard to
natural phenomena; whereas magic seeks the secret bond of
sympathia in the world of nature - the unusual, the marvellous.
The magician is a keen observer of the world around him whose
sense of cause and effect has been warped by his mystical trend
of mind or by his ignorance of the true scientific method of
investigation. In particular he is influenced to a very large
extent by the feeling that like affects like, similia similibus.41
There is a peculiar bond in nature, he believes, which exercises
great power. For example, since the word ari8ta means both
a beard of grain and a hair, it follows that (arista holci) circa
caput alligata vel circa lacertum educit e corpore aristas.42
In the same manner, a wax image of a person may be treated
19 Animals favorable to magic are the hyena (Pliny, N. H. 8, 106: 28,
102-106; 115; Marcellus Empiricus, 36, 27; Lucan, 6, 672; Scribonius

Largus, 172; Columella, 2, 9, 9); the bat (Pliny, N. H. 29, 83: 30, 64; 144;
Varro, Sat. Menip., Agatho, Fr. 8; Marcellus Empiricus, 28, 45); the weasel
(Pliny, N.H. 28, 106: 29, 99; 131); and the bubo (Ovid, Met. 5, 549-550: 6,
432-434: 10, 452-453: 15, 791; Columella, 10, 349-350; Seneca, Med. 733;
Lucan, 5, 396; Pliny, N. H . 28, ~229 : 29, 81-82; Statius, Theb. 3, 510-
512; Apuleius, Met. 3, 21; Palladius, R. R. 1, 35, 1-2). Similar lists could
be given for almost every conceivable animal; especially for those of re-
pulsive appearance or unusual. The chameleon, frog, mole, and lizard are
favorite animals among Roman magicians.
•° Cf. Camb. Comp. 581 ff., and the references there given. See also
Hyginus, Fab. 22. Pliny makes the following references to magic stones:
N. H.10, 12: 36, 141; 142; 151: 37, 142; 143; 144; 153; 155; 156; and the
following to magic gems : 37, 54; 118; 124; 135; 144; 145; 147; 156;
160; 162; 164; 165; 168; 169; 172; 176; 185; 192. See also Valentin
Rose, Damigeron de Lapidibus, in Hermes, 9, 471-491.
u Cf. Frazer, G. B. 1, 1, 52-219; R. Heim, Incantamenta Magica Graeca
Latina, in Neue Jahrbiicher fur ClasBische Philologie, Supplementband 19
(1893), 484-491; Theodor Weidlich, DU Sympathie in der Antiken Lit-
eratur (in Programm des Karl.8-Gymnasiums in Stuttgart [1894]), 1-76;
Tylor, P. C.' (Am.) 1, 112-159. •2 Pliny, N. H. 27, 90
in any way the magician desires, in the full belief that

the person represented by the image will undergo identical
experiences."
To the popular mind the practices of magic and of science
are often identical. The uninstructed are likely to conclude,
for example, that those who know how and when eclipses
and other phenomena occur are also able to control them ;
and so it comes about that the natural philosophers are often
called magi, quasi facere etiam sciant quae sciant fieri. 44 In
the case of co~flicting explanations of natural phenomena, the
explanation that involves magic usually wins with the populace
over the scientific ; and Pliny deprecatingly remarks: 45
Inventa iam pridem ratio est praenuntians hora.s - non modo dies
ac noctes - solis lunaeque defectuum; durat tamen tradita per-
suasio in magna parte vulgi, veneficiis et herbis id cogi eamque unam
femina.rum scientiam praevalere.
Magic, then, might be called the science of primitive man,
before he learns to apply to bis thinking a proper consideration
of cause and effect ; it therefore remains powerful among those
elements of a population which have least emerged from primi-
tive mental conditions. ·
IV. MAGIC DISTINGUISHED FROM ASTROLOGY
If we are correct in declaring that magic seeks to control

natural phenomena by preternatural means, it at once becomes
apparent that astrology is not magic. For the astrologer seeks
merely to foretell future events by bis knowledge of the stars.
a Instances of this practice in Latin authors are Horace, Sat. 1, 8,
30-33; 43-44: Epod. 17, 76; Ovid, Her. 6, 91-93: Amor. 3, 7, 29; Vergil,
Eel. 8, 74-75; SO-Sl (cf. Theocritus, 2, 21; 28-29). Instances of similar
practices in all parts of the world will be found in Frazer, G. B. 1, 1, 55-79;
A. Lang, Mag. and Re/,. 3; Tylor, P. C. 1 (Am.) 1, 112 ff.
" Apuleius, Apol. 27. " N. H. 25, 10.
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF BOMAN MAGIC 11
He does not at all attempt to control either the stars or the
events, except in so far as his powers of suggestion may influ-
ence the minds of his dupes. It may often have happened
at Rome, as elsewhere, that astrologers also pretended to a
knowledge of magic, in order to gain greater profit ; but in
so doing they undoubtedly went beyond the field of astrology.
With the latter it is not my purpose to deal.
V. MAGIC DISTINGUISHED FROM SUPERSTITION
The definition we have given of magic makes clear also the

difference between magic and superstition. It seems best to
consider magic as the active practice of controlling natural
phenomena by preternatural means, and superstition as the
passive belief in the possibility of such wonderful deeds."
Like magic, superstition is, of course, "frequently a survival
of _formerly accepted beliefs, since disowned by the majority
of the more enlightened."
VI. MAGIC DISTINGUISHED FROM RELIGION
With religion, too, magic is often closely associated, as Pliny

has intimated in the definition quoted above; 47 yet magic
differs from religion in its attitude toward both gods and men.
" In Plutarch, De Superstitione, passim, 'superstition' is exceaaive
religious belief, often leading to mental torture.. Cicero, too (De Invent.
2, 165), speaks of superstitio, quae religioni propinqua est. In Nat. Deor.
2, 72 he is more explicit: Nam qui totos dies precabantur et immolabant,
ut sibi sui liberi auperstites esaent, auperstitioai aunt appellati, quod nomen
patuit poatea latiua; qui autem omnia, quae ad cultum deorum pertinerent,
diligenter retractarent et tamquam relegerent, aunt dicti religiosi. . . .
Ita factum est in auperstitioso et religioso alterum viti nomen, alterum
laudis. Arthur Palmer's view, set forth in his note on Plautus, Amph. 1,
1, 169, that superatitioau8 means one who believes in ghosts, one who is
conversant with ghosts, one who can raise a ghost, a necromancer, a
diviner, seems to stress the active side of the word too much. (But cf.
Mayor, on Cicero, De Nat. Deor. 2, 72.) n Page 5.
12 · STUDIES IN MAGIC FROM'. LATIN LITERATURE
Religion offers its prayers in a spirit of humility, leaving the

final decision with the gods. AB Cicero says: 48 ( Religio est,
quae superioris cuiusdam naturae, quam divinam vocant,
curam caerimoniamque adfertf Magic, on the contrary, as-
sumes to control the gods. Its invocations are imperious, as
the following passages will make clear. The first is from the
celebrated magic scene in Lucan: 49
Una per aetherios exit vox ilia recessus,
verbaque ad invitum perfert cogentia numen,
quod non cura poli caelique volubilis umquam
avocat. Infandum tetigit cum sidera murmur,
tum, Babylon Persea licet secretaque Memphis
omne vetustorum solvat penetrale Magorum,
abducit superos alienis Thessalis aris.
The second passage is from Apuleius: 60/ iam scie8 erae meae
miranda secreta, quibus obaudiunt manes, turbantur sidera,
coguntur numina, serviunt element&./ Threats are uttered in
order to compel the obedience of the gods,61 and this power of
compulsion was' considered so real that Nero attempted to
become the master of the gods through magic.62
VII. THE LEGAL ASPECT OF MAGIC AND RELIGION
It should be noted that among the Romans magic was

always secret and illegal, while religion was open and legal.
AB Apuleius tells us: "
" De Invent. 2, 161. Cf. Nat. Deor. 2, 72, quoted in n. 46.
" 6, 445-451.
• 0 Met. 3, 15. For other instances cf. Lucan, 6, 492-499; 527-528;
598-601; 605-007; Valerius Flaccus, 7, 498-499; Pseudo-Quintilian,
Deel. Maior. 10, 15; 19; Seneca, Med. 271. In Varro, Res Divin., apud
Augustin., C. D. 6, 9, three men are said to control a god, but the men
themselves are representatives of other gods. •1 Lucan, 6, 730-749.
u Pliny, N. H. 30, 14; Suetonius, Nero 34, 4.
11 Apol. 47. Cf. Ovid, Met. 7, 255-257: Fasti 6, 164; Pliny, N. H.
24, 170: 29, 91; and especially, Augustinus, C. D. 8, 19: Porro adversus
Magia ista, quantum ego audio,· res est legibus delegata, iam inde
antiquitus duodecim tabulis propter incredundas frugum inlecebras
interdict&. Igitur est occults non minus quam tetra et horribilis,
plerumque noctibus vigilata et tenebris abstrusa et arbitris solitaria
et carminibus murmurata. . . .
We are soon 66· to discover, in discussing the history of Roman

magic, that religious conservatism retained in Roman religion
a considerable amount of outgrown magic practice ; and yet,
. from the time when the Laws of the Twelve Tables were given
(451-450 B.c.), throughout the whole history of Roman law,
magic is always condemned, while religion is always fostered.
Servius tells us: 66 cum multa sacra Romani susciperent, semper
magi.ca damnarunt, probrosa enim ars habita est. . . .
To enumerate the laws passed at Rome against magicians
is but to show how determined the lawmakers were to stamp
out magic practices, and how impossible was their task. The
Laws of the Twelve Tables expressly forbade anyone, on
punishment of death, to entice his neighbor's crops, by magic
rites, into his own fields, 66 or to chant a :i:nagic incanta-
magicas artes, de quibus quoedam nimis infelices et nimis impios etiam
gloriari libet, nonne ipsam publicam lucem testem citabo? Cur enim
tam graviter ista plectuntur severitate legum, si opera sunt numinum
colendorum? w Cf. infra, 24-25.
66 Ad Aen. 4, 493. Cf. Augustinus, C. D. 8, 19, quoted above in n. 53.
14 Cf. C. G. Bruns, Fonte& Juris Roman{Antiqui 1 , 30, Crag. 8, a and b.
The fragments read: (a) qui fruges excantassit, and (b) neve alienam
segetem pellexeris. . . . On (a) cf. Pliny, N. H. 28, 18: Non et legum
ipsarum in duodecim tabulis verba sunt : "qui fruges excantassit," et
alibi: "qui malum carmen incantassit"?; Seneca, Nat. Quaest. 4, 7, 2:
Et apud nos in XII tabulis cavetur, "ne quis alienos fructu11 excantassit."
On (b) cf. Servius, on Vergil, Eel. 8, 99: Atque satas alio vidi traducere
messes: Magicis quibusdam artibus hoc fiebat, unde est in XII tabulis:
"neve alienam segetem pellexeris"; Augustinus, C. D. 8, 19 quod hac
pestifera scelerataque doctrina fructus alieni in alias terras transferri
perhibentur; nonne in XII tabulis. . . Cicero commemorat esse con-
scriptum et ei, qui hoc fecerit, supplicium constjtutum?; Apuleius, Apol.
47, quoted above.
tion. 57 An actual trial for alleged violation of these laws was

held before the curule aedile, Spurius Albinus, in 157 B.c. 58 It
· is not unlikely that the order issued to the aediles of 428 B.c.
to restore the old gods to their former honors and to stamp
out the new and foreign rit;es was aimed in part against magic .
practices.59 Likewise, the praetor's edict of 212 B.c., ordering
that all books on foreign cults be burned and that all new
rites be suppressed, 80 as well as the famous Senatus ConsuUum
de Bacchanalibus 81 of 186 B.c., was probably necessitated,
at least in part, by an increase in magic practices. It is prob-
able, too, that the edict of the praetor, Cornelius Hispallus,
expelling the Chaldaean astrologers from Rome, in 139 B.c.,
included all who practiced occult arts. 82 Additional light is
thrown upon early Roman magic practice by a senatus consultum
of 97 B.c., forbidding human sacrifice, a practice which Pliny,
at least, considered as likely to have been common in times
gone by, in connection with magic. 88 Astrologers and magicians
a.re mentioned explicitly together as having been driven from
Rome by Agrippa in 33 B.c. 84 Generally speaking, we may
17 Bruns, Fontu, 28; Pliny, N. H. 28, 18, quoted inn. 56; P. Huvelin,
Lu tablette& magiqueB et le droit romain, 4 (in Annales du congru inter-
MtWnal d'hilltoire compark [Paris, 1902], 2, 15-81). This ancient law
is quoted by Cicero as follows (De Re Pub., apud Augustinum, C. D. 2, 9):
XII tabulae cum perpaucas res capite sanxissent, in his hanc quoque
sanciendam putaverunt: si quis occentavisset sive carmen condidis!!et,
quod infamiam faceret flagitiumve alteri. If Huvelin is correct (see La
notion de l"'injuria" dam le tru ancien droit romain [Annales de l'uni-
tle1'~ de Lyons, 1903], 407-412) in interpreting occentamsset of this pas-
sage as incanta!Ms~, then the Twelve Tables directed that certain magic
practices be punished by death. Occentare certainly has such a meaning
in Julius Paulus, Sent. Recepta.e 5, 23, 15, but the bulk of the evidence
(cf. Bruns, loc. cit.) seems to be against such an interpretation.
H Pliny, N. H. 18, 41-43. ao Livy, 25, 1, 6-12.
19 Livy, 4, 30, 9-11. 81 Livy, 39, 16.
a Valerius Ma.ximus, 1, 3, 3. Cf. Cicero, Div. 2, 87-99; Dill, Roman

Society from Nero to M. Aurelius, 446.
11 Pliny, N. H. 30, 12. " Cassius Dio, 49, 43, 5.
INTRODUCTtON TO THE STUDY OF BOMAN MAGIC 15
assume that Chaldaean astrologers practiced magic, and that
magicians used astrology as an aid. In other words, both
classes were trying to reap the greatest possible reward from
Roman credulity, and would in all probability use every means
to accomplish that end.
But all measures of suppression were in vain; for when,
twenty years later, Augustus, as Pontifex Maximus, ordered
all books upon occult subjects to be burned, the number col-
lected for the fire reached two thousand. 86 Again, in 16 A.D.,
the magicians and the astrologers were expelled from Italy. 88
But they came back in such numbers that it became necessary
to pass a very severe senatus C-OnSUltum in 52 A.D. expelling
all 'IJ'Ulthematici from Italy, 67 and it is very likely that the
magicians also shared in the rigors of this expulsion. 88 Similar
edicts against astrologers were issued by the Emperors in
69 A.D. 89 and in 89 A.D. 70
Up to this point in Roman history there is no evidence that
any except those actively engaged in the practice of magic
were punished under the various laws; but during Caracalla's
reign we find even passive believers in magic condemned and
executed, 71 a practice which was crystallized into law a short
while thereafter. 72 Under laws to be found in the Codez
Theodosianus, 73 countless persons were put to death for be-
lieving in or having recourse to magic practices. 7'
16 Suetonius, Aug. 31. " Tacitus, Ann. 2, 32. 17 llnd. 12, 52.
18 For a similar confusion of magic and astrology cf. Julius Capitolinus,
Marc. Aur. 19, 3. ., Suetonius, Vitel. 14, 4.
70 Hieronymus, Ann. Abr. 2105 - 89 A.D.
n Spartianus, Carac. 5, 7.
71 Julius Paulus, Sent. Receptae 5, 23, 15; 17-18.
71 Lib. 5, tit. 16, numbers 3; 5; 6; 7; 8; 12.
7' For the whole matter of the expulsion of astrologers from Rome
cf. A. BoucM-Leclercq, Hwmre de la divination dam l'antiqu~, 4, 325-339;

A. Maury, La ma¢e el l'a:ttrologie dam l' antiqu~ el au moyen dge, Chapters
4 and 6; Mommsen, Strafrecht, 635-643.
16 STUDIES IN . MAGIC FROM LATIN LITERATURE
The reason for this persistent opposition of Roman lawmakers

to magic is easy to understand. With religion, as "the effect-
ive desire to be in right relation to the Power manifesting
itself in the universe," 76 Roman thought and Roman law
were always in complete accord. Such an attitude of spirit
produced citizens imbued with a proper regard both for the
gods and for their neighbors. Magic, on the other hand, pur-
ported to give to a limited number of skilled practitioners
supreme control of gods, men, and property in accord with
their own selfish de8ires. 74 Persons thus endowed would there-
fore become superior to all legal restraints and dangerous to
the common welfare. Accordingly, the practices of magic
were always necessarily secret and illegal. 77
There was, however, at all times in Italy a harmless kind
of magic, which sought to control nature in the interests of the
population as a whole, and with which the Roman law con-
cerned itself but little. I refer to the magic that was charac-
teristic of the rural districts. It taught the men of the farms
how to avert hail storms, how to keep pests from the crops,
how to cure disease in man and beast, and a thousand other
useful things. It had no professional practitioners as a rule,
for everybody knew its precepts~ It flourished most vigorously
in Italy, as it flourishes most vigorously everywhere, in locali-
ties least affected by the rationalizing influences of the cities. 78
It was, therefore, not an imported product ; it did not come
first to the cities, and find its way thence gradually into the
71 For this excellent definition of religion I am indebted to Fowler.
Rel. Exper. 8, who in turn quotes it from Ira W. Howerth, International
Journal of Eth~, 1903, page 205.
71 Cf. Aug\Istinus, De Divers. Quaest. 79, 4 Illi (i.e. magi) faciunt
(miracula) quaerentes gloriam suam, isti (i.e. Christiani) quaerentes
gloriam Dei. ... Cf. supra, 6-7.
77 Cf. Apuleius, Apol. 47, quoted supra, 12, and n. 53.
71 It is not surprising, therefore, that Marcellus Empiricus obtained
many of his magical cures ab agrutibus et plebei8 (De Medic., Introd. 2).
more remote districts. Though apparently neglected by those
who trace Italian magic to Persia., 79 or begin the history of
Italian magic with the advent of Greek influence, 80 it was cer-
tainly of much greater importance in the daily life of the
Italian peninsula than all the later magic from the East. The
magic of the Italian country people was and is the universal
magic on which the anthropologists have written volumes.
It represents a survival of prescientific times, 81 and accordingly
' it finds some response in the minds and hearts of all who will
make honest confession, whether they are Romans or Ameri-
cans. It is this kind of magic which has survived to the present
day in parts of Italy as la fJecchia religione, 'the old religion,'
that to many peasants is much more powerful than the priests
and the saints. 82 It is this kind of magic which persists in the
inner consciousness of many Latin authors, and often shows
itself, though they do not intend to display it, and though
they believe themselves altogether superior to belief in magic.
Even those who, like Pliny, bitterly oppose magic and magicians,
often exhibit an unusual love for repeating popular beliefs and
stories of magic.
VIII. FolUUL. LATIN TREATISES UPON OccULT SUBJECTS

Formal treatises upon occult subjects were not lacking among
the Romans. P. Nigidius Figulus, a contemporary of Varro
and second only to him. in breadth of learning, had a strong
bent toward the occult. His works upon omens,sa dreams,"
" Pliny, N. H. 30, 3 ff.; Varro, apud Augustinum, C. D. 7, 35.
ao Daremberg et Saglio, Diet. du antiq., a. v. magia.
11 Cf. supra, 8 ff.
a Cf. C. G. Leland, Etruac. Rum. Rem. 1-17, and passim.
11 Gellius, 16, 6, 12 P. autem Nigidius in libro quem de extis composuit;
7, 6, 10 Nigidius Figulus in libro I augurii privati .•••
M Ioannes Laurentius Lydus, De Ostentis 45 ~ N&'YLl&Ot ~.. "8 no """""'"
hwichjtet.. • • •
and divination from thunder,81 together with the magical

trend of many items in his work on natural science, 81 gave
him the reputation of a magus 87 and astrologus. 88 His works
are known to us only in the quotations of Pliny, Apuleius,
Gellius, Augustine, and Ioannes Laurentius Lydus.89 A con-
temporary of his, Appius Claudius Pulcher (consul 54 B.c.),
wrote upon augury, necromancy, and other occult subjects; 90
but his work, too, has perished. Other writers of this same
period busied themselves with Etruscan divination, 91 but not
all of them from the viewpoint of the believer, as we may
judge from the skeptical tone of Cicero's De Dimnatione.
L. Tarutius Firmanus, a friend of Cicero, devoted himself to
astrology ; 92 Columella, the pleasing writer on agriculture,
composed a work Adver8'U8 Astrologos. 98 Later, in the battle
between Christianity and paganism, Minucius Felix is ~d
to have written Contra Mathematicos, 94 while, in the fourth
century of our era, Julius Firmicus Ma.temus defended as-
" Ioannes Laurentius Lydus, De Ostentis 27 i<l>f/JUPOS {JpoYrtxTt<o7r"1. • •. •

t<cn·4 T'OI' 'Pwµa1ov ~l-yovXov . •••
• Pliny, N. H. 10, 106: 11, 97: 29, 138: 30, 84.
17 Hieronymus, ad Euseb. Chron. a. Abr. 1972 - 45 B.c.: Nigidius Figu-
lus Pythagoricus et magus in exilio moritur. Cf. Apuleius, Apol. 42
ltemque Fabium, cum quingentos denarium perdidisset, ad Nigidium
consultum venisse; ab eo pueros carmine instinctos indicavisse, ubi
locorum defossa esset crumina. . . . ·
" Augustinus, C. D. 5, 3; Suetonius, Aug. 94, 5; Cassius Dio, 45,
1, 3-5; Lucan, 1, 639 ff. ... See supra, nn. 83-88.
to Cicero, Tusc. Disp. 1, 37 ea quae meus amicus Appius vuuoµanE1a
faciebat; Div. 1, 132 psychomantia, quibus Appius . . . uti solebat.
From the latter passage it appears that he put his theories into practice.
• 1 Cf. Teuffel, ROm. Lit.• § 199; G. Schmeisser, Quae&tionum De
Etrwtca Di&eiplina Particula (a dissertation [Breslau, 1872]).
" Cicero, Div. 2, 98; Plutarch, Rom. 12; Ioannes Laurentius Lydus,
De Mens. 1, 14; Pliny, Index Auctorum to Book 18.
" Columella, 11, 1, 31 in iis librie, quos adversus astrologos composueram.
" Of doubtful authorship, according to Hieronymus, De Virie lllus-
tribus 58 (ed. Richardson).
trology against Christianity." Of these writings only Cicero's
De Di1'inatione and the work of Julius Firmicus Ma.ternus
have survived.
The only two works in extant La.tin literature which a.t all
resemble a. treatise on magic a.re the Apologia of Apuleius of
Mada.ura., his defence against the charge of being a. magician ;
and parts of Pliny's Natural History, especially the first thirteen
paragraphs of book thirty. With these latter paragraphs a.s
our ma.in dependence, we shall now consider briefly the source,
the antiquity, and the prevalence of Italian magic.
IX. THE SOURCE, ANTIQUITY' AND PREVALENCE OF

ITALIAN MAGIC
Pliny informs us in the pa.ssa.ge above mentioned that Zc:r

roaster 96 founded magic a.bout six thousand yea.rs before the
death of Plato, and that his successors had left behind them
nothing more than their names. Strangely enough, con-
tinues he, the Iliad is comparatively free from magic, 97 whereas
116 TeutTel, R/Jm. Lit.•, 406. It is pleasing to note that he was later
converted, and became an ardent defender of Christianity. Cf. Lynn
Thorndike, A Roman Astrologer IJ8 a Historical Source: Julius Firmicua
Maternm, in Classical Philology, 8 (1913), 415-435.
11 For the time of Zoroaster cf. New Internal. Encyclop. 1 , a. v. Zoroa&ter,
and authorities cited there. Pliny cites him as an authority for Books 18
and 37, and quotes him in 18, 200: 37, 133; 150; 157; 159. But the works
attributed to him, llfpl A/8w11 T,,.1.w,,, llfpl 4>bo-EWS, Abyu•, etc. are doubtless
apocryphal. Cf. also Apuleius, Flor. 15; Justinus, 1, 1, 9.
" But cf. II. 7, 193-196 for secret names of the gods as taboo. In 11,
740-741 •A"'(o.p"1MI is probably to be taken as the Homeric name for
~edea. See also 12, 254-255: 13, 5~; 434-435: 15, 321-322; 594:
24, 343-345 for the use of the magic wand by gods. In 14, 214-221 Hera
seeks from Aphrodite, among other endearing charms, a magic girdle.
In 16, 235 Achilles, invoking Zeus, speaks of Dodona, where vol •a.low'
brort>~o.' 4,,,n61roffs xo.po.uwo.i; compare with this the fact that the much
tabooed Flamen Dialis also slept on a bed the feet of which must be
smeared with fine mud (Frazer, Class. RerJ. 2, 322; G. B. 2, 14). Accord-
20 STUDIES IN MAGIC FROM LA.TIN LITERATURE
the Odyssey is built almost wholly upon magic episodes. No

one has ever explained how magic came to Telmessus or to
Thessaly. 98
The first author on magic whose works are extant, continues
Pliny, 99 is Osthanes, a Persian who accompanied Xerxes into
Greece, and introduced a veritable rage for the art. Great
philosophers like Pythagoras, 100 Empedocles, Democritus,101
ing to Leaf, on Iliad 18, 418, the animated handmaidens of gold there
described "are a relic of the tradition which everywhere attributes magical
powers to the mythical founders of metallurgy. . . ." When the com-
panions of Patroclus carry his body to burial, they cover it with their
shorn hair, as representative of their own bodies (II. 24, 710-712. Cf.
Tylor, P. C. 2, 401; Rohde, P8Yche 1, 16-17; Frazer, Pauaan. 4, 136).
11 For magic in Thessaly cf. Plautus, Amph. 1043; Horace, Epod. 5,45:
Carm. 1, 27, 21-22: Epist. 2, 2, 208-209; Ovid, Am. 1, 14, 39-40: 3, 1,

27-28: Ars. Amat. 2, 99-100: Rem. Am. 249; Seneca, Phaed. 42o-422;
791: Med. 79o-792: Herc. Oet. 465-466; 525; Lucan, 6, 430-820, but
especially 434-491; Valerius Flaccus, 1, 736-738: 6, 448: 7, 198-199;
325-326; Statius, Theb. 3, 14o-146; 557-559: 4, 504; Martial, 9, 29, 9;
Juvenal, 6, 61o-612; Apuleius, Met. 2, 1.
" 30, 8. For Osthanes see above, page 2, and cf. Pliny, N. H. 28, 6;
69; Minucius Felix, 26, 11 (Hostanes); Apuleius, Apol. 90 (Ostanes);
Amobius, Adv. Gent. 1, 52 (Ostanes); Pap. Paris. 2006 {Jo.tTLMi 'Ocr,-u,
ll£T11r xalpt"'; Synesius, Epist. ad Diosc. (in Fabric. Bibliotheca Graeca,
8, 233); A. Dieterich, Papyru8 Magica Muaei Lugdunen. Batalli (Leip-
zig, 1888), 751-752; A. Maury, Magie, 61 and n. 2.
10° For Pythagoras's study of mo.gic lore cf. Apuleius, Flor. 15; Pliny,
N. H. 24, 160. For his adoption of magic cures, see Pliny, N. H. 24, 156-
158. For his belief in mystic numbers cf. Apuleius, Met. 11, 1. In general,
for the wonder tales that were fathered upon Pythagoras cf. Frazer, G. B. 1,
1, 213; Zeller, Philoaophie der Griechen •, 285 and n. 2; K. Kiesewetter,
Der Occultiamm des Altertuma, 471-472.
101 For the works of Democritus cf. Columella, 11, 3, 64; Pliny, N. H.
24, 160: 25, 13: 26, 19; Vitruvius, De Arch. 9, proem. 14. The frag-
ments of Democritus's De Sympathiia et Antipathiia are contained in
Fabricius's Bibliotheca Graeca, libri IV, pars altera 333-338. For their
genuineness, however, cf. Theodor Weidlich, Sympath. 13 ff. Democritus
is severely arraigned by Pliny for magical teaching (N. H. 28, 112-118 and
elaewhere), but is warmly defended against such a charge by A. Gellius
(N. A. 10, 12, 1-8).
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY o-, BOMAN MAGIC 21
and Pia.to, 1111 he continues, endured unusual hardships in order
to learn of it, and gained great fa.me by publishing its doctrines.
Of these, Democritus especially popularized these attract-
ive chima.eras in the Greek world at a.bout the period of the
Peloponnesia.n War.
Jewish magic, represented by Moses, 1oa Ja.nnes, and Lota.pea,
is many thousand years posterior to that of Zoroaster, says
Pliny (§ 11), and is followed in its tum by the much more
recent Cyprian magic. La.st of all there were Macedonian
additions during the time of Alexander the Great.
Roman magic is then treated by Pliny with disappointing
brevity in five and one-half lines of Teubner text (30, 12) :
Extant certe et apud Its.las gentes vestigia eius in XII tabulis
nostris aliisque argumentis, quae priore volumine exposui. DCLVII
demum e.nno urbis Cn. Cornelio Lentulo P. Licinio Crasso cos. senatus
consultum factum est, ne homo immolaretur, palamque fit, in tempus
illut sacra 'prodigiosa celebrate..
All else that he might have said is condensed into the words
a.liisque a.rgumentis, qua.e priore volumine exposui. UK The
passage referred to by these words is N. H. 28, 10-21, where
a number of ancient Roman beliefs a.re gathered together ; as,
for example, the belief in which, notwithstanding the skepti-
cism of the cultured, the populace persisted, that certain words
may have great magic power, as one sees in the story of the
Vesta.l Tuccia., who, by the power of a. certain formula., carried
water in a. sieve; 106 and the fact that the Vesta.ls, as a body,
possessed a. powerful charm by which they could stop a. run-
away slave, provided he had not yet gone beyond the city
1111 Cf. Apuleius, De Platone 1, 3.
ioa Cf. Apuleius, Apol. 90.
1°' The reason for this brevity seems to have been the author's assumed
superiority to such beliefs. He apparently was ashamed of many of the

popular beliefs of his day, and did not wish to give them any undue
prominence. 11• N. H. 28, 12.
limits.to• The experience of Tullus Hostilius proves, we are

further informed, to7 the fatal consequences of handling magic
words with insufficient understanding. For words have power
to transfer crops from one field to another and to injure one's
enemy, if one is to believe the Twelve Tables. They can also
evoke the gods of hostile cities, bewitch, bind in the bonds of
love, control serpents, avert fire, cure wounds and disease,
and secure safety.toa The Roma.ns also have to-day, Pliny
concludes, many superstitious and magic practices, concerning
which each may judge for himself.toe
Pliny's belief, then, seems to have been that magic gradually
worked its way from the East to the West, beginning with the
Persian, Zoroaster; no that in some unknown way it reac~ed
Thessa1y; 111 and that finally it was introduced into Greece by
Osthanes. He seems also to believe that Italian, GaJlic, and
British magic came over the sea. from Persia through Greece.tu
We now know that such a view is untenable, and indeed Pliny
himself can be shown to contradict such a theory. The passage
in the Twelve Tables to which he refers 113 must reflect a usage
not merely contemporaneous with the date of the adoption
of that code, 114 but anterior to that date. Now, if Persian magic
was introduced into Greece in 480 B.c., only thirty years
intervened between the date of that introduction and the
1• N. H. 28, 13. 107 Ibid. 28, 14. m Ibid. 28, 18-21.

109Ibid. 28, 22-29.
11° For Zoroaster as the founder of magic cf. A. Maury, Magie, 35
and n. 3.
111 For magic in Thessaly cf. supra, 20, n. 98.
m Cf. N. H. 30, 13 Sed quid ego haec commemorem in arte oceanum

quoque transgressa et ad naturae inane pervecta? Britannia hodieque
eam adtonita celebrat tantis caerimoniis, ut dedisse Persis videri poesit.
The intimation is indeed clear here that the pupil, Britain, was ~ow able
to teach the teacher, Persia.
111 N. H. 28, 17-18. Cf. supra, 13, and n. 56.
114 Circa 450 B.c.
time when the Italian farmers had become 80 expert at enticing
their neighbors' crops into their own fields by means of magic
that a rigid prohibitory law had to be enacted. We are asked
to believe that within this short time Persian magic obtained
a firm hold in Greece, made its way thence to the cities of Italy,
and thence to the country districts. We are asked also to
overlook the fact that the Twelve Tables have nothing at all
to say about magic in the cities, where Greek influences were
naturally strongest, but are very explicit regarding certain
practices in the country, where Greek influences were scarcely
felt. The facts are all against Pliny's theory, and we are
forced to conclude that this magic of the Italian country dis-
tricts was a native growth, entirely uninfluenced by Persian
or Greek magic. Like all magic, it held its own in the rural
sections long after the more sophisticated inhabitants of the
cities had abandoned such beliefs. Furthermore, all the Latin
authors who refer to this law in the Twelve Tables do so with
the superior air of men who have outgrown an early belief
which was native and characteristic of their crude ancestors.m
If there had been the least suspicion that such a usage was
a foreign importation, it is scarcely likely that these defenders
of Rome's more advanced thought would have failed to say
80. The passage in the Twelve Tables must therefore be counted
as strong evidence for the existence of an early, native Italian
magic.
Early tradition also makes Italy the home of magic. Circe,
116 So Pliny (N. H. 28, 13) to the passage in which he quotes among
other ancient matters the iaw of the Twelve Tables prefixes the words,
Prisci quidem nostri perpetuo talia credidere. He closes the passage with
the words (§ 29), Quapropter de iis ut cuique libitum fuerit opinetur.
Seneca (Nat. Quaest. 4b, 7, 2-3) says, in connection with magic control
of the weather, Et apud nos in XII tabulis cavetur, ne quis alienos
fructus excantas:ilt. Rudis adhuc antiquitas credebat et attrahi cantibus
imbres et repelli, quorum nihil posse fieri tam palain est, ut huius rei causa
nullius philosophi schola intranda sit.
whose power lay in her knowledge of magic herbs, 118 is in

Homer a dweller on the island of Aeaea.117 Nor did Roman
writers disown her as a fellow Italian. 118 It was the universal
acceptance of this tradition and probably some first-hand
knowledge that led Aeschylus to speak of refertam ltaliam
herbarum potentia. m
That Roman magic was at once very ancient and of native
origin is clearly shown by the survival of many magic rites
in Roman religion.120 Vergil, for example, who w~ in heart
and feeling a genuine Italian, made his early Man:uvian 121
and Massylian 122 priests, like Livy's Attus Navius, 123 adepts in
11• Cf. Od. 10, 213; 235-240; 276; 29(}-292; 317; 326-328; Pacuvius,
Frag. ex Incert. Fab. 39 (Ribbeck); Cicero, Div. in Ca.ec. 57; Tibullus,

2, 4, 55-56: 3, 7, 61-63; Propertius, 2, 1, 53: 3, 12, 27; Hyginus, Fab.
125; Vergil, Aen. 7, 19-20; 190-191; Horace, Epist. 1, 2, 23; Ovid,'
Met. 14, 14; 21; 34; 42-58; 266tJ.; 346--348; 355-360; 403: Rem.
Amor. 263; Pliny, N. H. 25, 11; Apuleius, Apol. 31: De Deo Boers.tis 24;
Nemesis.nus, Cyn. 44; Rutilius Na.ms.tis.nus, 1, 525; Symmachus, Epist.
1, 47, 1. For the herb named after her cf. Pliny, N. H. 25, 147: 27, 60;
Dioscorides, De Mat. Med. 3, 124. 117 Od. 10, 135-136.
111 Pliny calls her ltala Circe, and places her abode in the territory of
Circei (N. H. 25, 10-11). Hyginus places her home either in Aeaea (Fab.
127) or in Aenaria. (Fab. 125). (For the location of these two places in
ancient geography cf. Pomponius Mela, 2, 120; 121.) Ovid locates her
dwelling in Circaea art1a (Met. 14, 346-348), wherever they may be. Her
son, Telegonus, was said to have built the Circaean walls of Tusculum
(Horace, Epod. 1, 29-30); her descendants, the Marsi, through their
inherited knowledge of magic drugs, possessed a remarkable power over
serpents (Pliny, N. H. 7, 15: 25, 11; A. Gellius, 16, 11, 1-2). She was
scrupulously worshiped by the inhabitants of Circei in Cicero's time and
later (Cicero, Nat. Deor. 3, 48; Strabo, 5, 234; Wissowa, ReUgion und
Kultua, 49, n. 6, and 542, n. 5). ·
119 Pliny, N. H. 25, 11. The statement does not occur in any extant
work of Aeschylus; but cf. Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. 19, 15, 1.

12° For an excellent discussion of thia subject, see W. Warde Fowler,
Rel. Exp. 24-67. Cf. Wissowa, Religion und Kultua, 409.

121 Aen. 7, 700..758. 122 Ibid. 4, 483-493; 509-516.
w Livy, 1, 36. Cf. Valerius Maximus, 1, 4, 1 (exc. Par. and exc. Nep.);
Apuleius, De Deo Boers.tis 7; Dionysius, Ant. Rom. 3, 71; Cicero, Div.
1, 32; Pliny, N. H. 15, 77.
magic. The taboos surrounding the person of the Flamen.
I>iali8, ™ the strange rite used in pacifying the Lemures,m
the tradition concerning Cunina, the averter of the evil eye,1"
the magic powers popularly attributed to the Vestal Virgins, uT
all point to a remote time when unadulterated Italian religion
was closely interwoven with magic. That this magic survival
represented a part of the religious bone and sinew of the ancient
Italian is the real reason why an essential belief in magi~ has
survived the overlaid stratum of Greek religion, and the more
recently overlaid stratum of Christianity. 128 That is the real
reason, too, why Pliny's fellow Romans preferred to explain
natural phenomena by sympathetic magic 129 rather than by
science, and why the old Italian of Cato's day scorned Greek
medicine, but clung to magic cures 110 and amulets, especially
the bulla. 181
Indeed Pliny's Natural History alone furnishes abundant
proof, even to the casual reader,w that the Roman populace,
at least, firmly believed in magic.
X. THE ATTITUDE OF LATIN AUTHORS TOWARD MAGIC
With literary men and the cultured classes the case, however,
was different. Here, the rage for everything Greek was by
1u A. Gellius, N. A. 10, 15. Cf. infra., 54-55; Wissowa., Religion und
Kultua, 34 and n. 1.
m Ovid, Fasti 5, 429-444, quoted infra., 37, n. 195; Varro, a.pud No-
nium Ma.rcellum, 197 (ed. Lindsay).
ut Cf. infra., 4~. m Pliny, N. H. 28, 12-13. Cf. infra., 58, n. 350.
11 • Cf. supra., 16-17. m N. H. 25, 10, quoted supra., 10.
110 Ca.to, R.R. 70; 71; 83; 159; 160; Varro, R.R. 1, 2, 27.
111 Cf. Jahn, Uber den Aberglauben de8 b<lsen Blicks bei den Alten, in
Berichte Uber die V erhandlungen der kfmiglich-s4chsischen Gesellschajt der

Wissenschajten tu Leipzig, Phil.-Hist. Cla88e (1855), 28-110, and especially
the appended illustrations. Fowler, Rel. Exp. 59-61. For amulets in
preventive medicine, see infra., 76ff.
11t Cf., e. g., Ian's index to the N. H., s. v. magi.
no means confined to literature. Greek medicine and Greek

religion were superimposed upon the native beliefs and prac-
tices, and to a great extent displaced them. Greek philosophy
had ended by producing an almost universal skepticism,
either real or affected, among the upper classes, upon which
was overlaid, during the first century of our era, a very wide-
spread belief in astrology. 133 Nevertheless the Roman remained
essentially Roman. AB the sermo pl.ebeius makes its appear-
ance in Roman literature wherever and whenever the artificial
restraints of literary training and tradition are removed, so
also many Latin authors unconsciously display an essential
belief in the old magic, which antedates Greek influence,
though not a few of them, like Pliny, formally disclaim such
belief. Indeed, we shall be able to show that there was at
Rome a numerous class of cultured men and women who
publicly proclaimed themselves superior to popular belief,
though in reality they were unable to free themselves from
their inherited magic and superstition. 134 This fact can best be
shown by a rapid examination of the Latin authors themselves.
(1) Agricultural Writers

Of the agricultural writers, Cato not only gives remedies of
a more or less magic character for the cure of both man and
beast, 136 apparently in the best of faith, but he adds to the
collection an incantation of very great interest, but, unfor-
Cf. Dill, Rom. Soc. 443-483.
111
So, e.g., Columella, though in 11, 1, 31 he declares that he had written
1ac
a book AdtJer8U8 Astrologos, still, in 11, 3, 64, quotes, apparently with
approval, the following from Democritus: has ip888 bestiola.s enecari, si
muller quae in menstruis est, solutis crinibus et nudo pede una.mqua.mque
a.ream ter circumeat; post hoc enim decidere omnes vermiculos, et ita
emori. We may note that the superstitions of Julius Caesar and Augustus
are well attested, not to speak of those of the later Emperors. See infra,
47-48. 111 Cf. R. R. 70; 71; 83; 159.
tuna.tely, of very great difficulty of interpretation.™ He
appears to believe in native magic practices, notwithstanding
the fa.ct that he ridicules divination, probably because the
latter was not a. native Roman belief, 'Qut had been imported
from Etruria.. 137
Va.rro, on the other hand, though allowing one of the speakers
in his De Re Rustica to recite a. purely magic cure for a. certain
disease of the feet, disclaims belief in such practices. 133 Yet
even he seems to believe that the waxing or the waning of the
moon has a. sympathetic effect upon the growth of crops, and
otherwise. 139
Columella.'s work on agriculture is very sane and in the ma.in
free from magic tinge. He wrote, a.s we have said, 140 a. work,
Adversus Astrologos, and in general was a. man of good ha.rd
sense. Yet he bows to the popular belief regarding the effect
of the moon's phases upon crops and other matters. 141
From this presentation of the attitude of the agricultural
writers toward magic it is apparent that Cato, who lived on
most intimate terms with the people and was lea.st affected
by Greek polish, is most frank in declaring his assent to farm
practice that smacks of magic. The other two writers give
ue R.R. 160. For the text cf. infra, 71-72 and n. 38.
m Cf. Memorabilia Dicta (no. 65, p. 109 ed. Jordan) apud Ciceronem,
Div. 2, 51.
11 • R.R. 1, 2, 27. For the text cf. infra, 72.
111 Cf. R. R. 1, 37, especially this rem'a rk (§2): Ego istaec, inquit
Agrasius, non solwn in ovibus tondendis, sed in meo capillo a patre ac-
ceptum servo, ni decresente luna tondens calvos fiam. The viewa of
the speaker apparently coincide with those of the aut.hor. In his formal
opinions, however, regarding magic, Varro seems to have been a ration-
alist. Cf. infra, 45-47.
"° 26, and n. 134; 18, and n. 93.
HJ. For the moon's influence upon crops cf. R.R. 2, 5, 1; 10, 10; 10,
12; 15, 9; 16, l; 18, 2: 5, 11, 2: 6, 26, 2: 8, 5, 9; 7, 4: 11, 2, 11; 2, 52;
2, 85; 3, 22: 12, 16, 1; 19, 3; 43, 2; 43, 9; 53, 3; De Arboribus 15; 26, 2;
29, 1. For menstruation in magic cf. R. R. 10, 360: 11, 3, 38; 3, 50.
evidence of having believed in the efficacy of such practices

more than they are willing to admit.
It may be noted that the Georgics and the Eclogues of Vergil
are remarkably free from references to rural magic. 1a The
Aeneid, however, with its wealth of religious mysticism and
story, finds place for a greater amount of magic. The 'golden
bough,' made famous as the starting point of Frazer's brilliant
anthropological investigations,141 the power of Circe, 144 the
Marruvian magician-priest,146 the powerful magician-priestess
from the Massylii, 144 and the fire-walking Hirpini of Soracte 147
form an interesting element of his long tale. They are, how-
ever, in every instance part of the story and do not of neces-
sity indicate Vergil's personal belief in magic ; they show rather
his knowledge of the ancient Italian's acceptance of such be-
liefs. It is possible also that the poet's deep religious feeling
led him purposely to avoid any more frequent reference to
that outlawed ars magica, so dear to his fell ow countrymen.
(2) Dramatic Writers

Turning to the dramatic writers, we find a marked contrast
between Plautus, who was close to the people, and Terence,
Ht In the Georgics I have noted such reference only in 3, 280-283, a
passage relating to hippooianes as a philter. In the Eclogues, if we except
the eighth, which is so largely borrowed from Theocritus, I have found
only one magic reference, a countercharm against the evil eye, 7, 25-28.
Ha The atiireus ramus, Aen. 6, 136-155; 405-410, gave entrance to the
under world to him who, by permission of the fates, should pluck it. The
explanation of this legend and of the beliefs underlying it furnishes the
starting point of Frazer's elaborate work, The Golden Bough.
Ht Aen. 7, 10-24; 189-191; 282-283.
HI Ibid. 7, 75Q-758. HI Ibid. 41 483-493; 509-516.
147 Ibid. 11, 785-788. The comment of Servius upon 787 is: 'Freti pie-
tate': iste quidem hoc dicit, sed Varro ubique expugnator religionis ait,
cum quoddam medicamentum describeret, 'Ut solent Hirpini qui am-
bulaturi per ignes medicamento plantas tingunt.' For a refutation of
Varro's rationalizing explanation cf. Andrew Lang, Magic and Religion,
270 ff. Cf. Solinus, 2, 26.
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY . OF ROMAN MAGIC 29
who was not. The former refers to magic more than twenty
times,148 while the latter is absolutely silent on the subject. 1"
(3) The Popular t1ersus the Philosophic Attitude

In general it may be said that those authors who wrote
for a limited cultured few condemn magic practices, while
those whose works were intended to reach a wider reading
public, including the populace, often show a. conscious or un-
conscious love of magic. Thus, the champions of religion and
the champions of philosophy necessarily scorned magic, the
former, because it claimed to control the gods rather than to
adore them, 160 the latter, because it could not be defended
by any proper consideration of logical cause and effect. A
brief consideration of the attitude of the Roman philosophers
toward magic will prove the truth of this latter statement.
Lucretius, the Epicurean, nowhere expressly states his views
regarding magic. He does, however, give a. rationalizing
explanation of the popular belief that the cock had a. peculiar
antipathetic power over the lion; 161 he la.ughs to scorn the
141 Many of these references are quite slight, and some of them were
no doubt in the original Greek versions. Yet our knowledge of Plautus's
Romanism and of his exuberant originality leads us to believe that such
references were inserted, or retained, because they found a ready response
in the hearts of his Roman audience. Cf. Amph. 323; 605; 777; ib.
act 4, fragment& 7 and 10; ib. frag. incert. 47 (p. 169 Ox. text, ed. Lind-
say) : Rudens 1139. Cf. Cure. 397 for super&titio8'U8 as a 'wizard.' For
the frequent mention of metamorphoses as though of common occurrence,
cf. Amph. 455-458; 845-846: Mil. Glor. 430-432. For prae&tigiatrice&,
etc., cf. Amph. 782-783: Poen. .1125-1126.
149 He does indeed give us one interesting instance of superstition and
belief in omens, Phormio 705-710; but even this is put in the mouth of
~slave.
110 We have already noted the antagonism of magic and religion, supra,
12-13, 16-17. Cf. also Minucius Felix, Octav. 26, 10-11; 27; Augustinus,
De Divers. Quaest. 79, 4.
m 4, 708-719. For the more prevalent belief cf. Pliny, N. H . 8, 52.
possibility of any such mythical beast as the Chimaera.161

The whole Etruscan system of divination, in his opinion, is
foolish and unscientific ; 163 the fear of ghosts must yield to a
rational explanation. 1" In the light of these passages we may
feel assured that the only reason Lucretius did not condemn
magic was either because it did not come within the scope of
his subject, or else because he scorned the mention of so un-
scientific a body of belief.
Cicero, the representative of the New Academy, is no more
favorable to the occult. Although he accepts the Stoic doc-
trine that there is a certain contagi-0 or <TVp.wa.8ELa. in nature, 166
he is a rationalist. He refuses to believe in ghosts, 164 and recom-
mends a reasonable explanation as the best means of allaying
the popular fear of eclipses. 167 He ridicules and condemns the
growing belief in astrologers. 168 In fact, he considers all sooth-
sayers, necromancers, augurs, astrologers, and dream seers
worthless. 169
How far the Stoic doctrine of sympathia drew the Roman
followers of that school toward a belief in sympathetic magic
we cannot tell with exactness. 18° Certain we are, however,
that Seneca, the most celebrated Roman Stoic whose writings
we possess, was strongly opposed to belief in magic. It is true
that he introduces much magic into his tragedies, m even
W 5, 901-921. IN 6, 379 ff. IN 1, 127-135.
Div. 2, 33 Ut enim iam sit aliqua in natura rerum contagio, quam
116
esse concedo (multa. enim Stoici colligunt; . . .) ••. qua.m tTVp:rolel.u
Graeci appella.nt, . . .
IN Tusc. 1, 37.
m De Re PQb. 1, 23-26.
m Tusc. 1, 95: Div. 2, 87-99: De Fa.to 15.
IH Div. 1, 132: 2, 50; 84.
ieo Theo. Weidlich, Sym'J'Glh. 4-11, is of the opinion that the Stoics
pushed their belief in the sym'J'Glhia of nature into the realm of the super-
natural to a very considerable extent.
111 Herc. Oet. 452--472; 523-533; 566: Med. 465-476; 575-578;
670-739; 752-811; 817-842: Oed. 559-573: Phaed. 420-421; 791>-792.
overdoing the magic element at times; 182 but in all these
instances, the magic is in accord with the character in the play,
and does not represent the opinion of the author. Seneca's
real personal belief can best be seen in his remarks concerning
the magic hail averters of Cleonae: 183
Illud incredibile, Cleonis fuisse publice praepositos chalazophylacas,
speculatores venturae grandinis. Hi cum signum dedissent adesse
iam grandinem, quid expectas? ut homines ad paenulas discurrerent
aut ad scorteas? Immo pro se quisque alius agnum immolabat,
alius pullum: protinus illae nubes alio declinabant, cum a.liquid gu.s-
tassent sanguinis. Hoc rides? Accipe quod magis rideas: si quis
nee agnum nee pullum habebat, quo sine damno fieri poterat, manus
sibi afferebat, et, ne tu avidas aut crudeles existimes nubes, digitum
suum bene acuto graphio pungebat et hoc sanguine lits.bat; nee minus
ab huius agello grando se vertebat quam ab illo, in quo maioribus
hostiis exorata erat.
Rationem huius rei quaerunt. Alteri, ut homines sapientissimos
decet, negant pOBBe fieri, ut cum grandine aliquis paciscatur et tem-
pestates munusculis redimat, quamvis munera et deos vincant. Alteri
suspicari ipsos aiunt eBBe in ipso sanguine vim quandam potentem
avertendae nubis ac repellendae. Sed quomodo in tam exiguo sanguine
potest esse vis tanta, ut in altum penetret et illam sentiant nubes?
Quanto expeditius erat dicere: mendacium et fabula est. . . . Rudis
adhuc antiquitas credebat et attrahi cantibus imbres et repelli, quorum
nihil posse fieri tam pa.lam est, ut huius rei causa nullius philosophi
schola intranda sit.
The same attitude is somewhat perceptible in Seneca's

nephew, Lucan. Notwithstanding his elaborate magic scene
in the sixth book of the Pharsalia, 1" we are not sure of his
10 This is especially true of the Medea.
111 Nat. Quaest. 4b, 6-7. Cf. 1, 1, 3-4 for a similar disbelief in meteors
as '[JTodigia. Again, in 7, 1, 2, he calls the popular fear of eclipses a super-
stitio rona. He wrote a work De Superstitione, which is now, unfortunately,
lost; but his general attitude of mind may be gathered from the foregoing
passages.
lM 43()-830.

belief or disbelief in magic. 116 He himself asks why it is that

magic is superior to the gods, compelling the latter to do the
magician's will, 118 but offers no direct answer to his question.
He does say, however, that the forces of nature obey the witch,
Erictho, as a result of compulsion rather than through the
power of religion, for she does not acknowledge religious rites.m
On the contrary, she strikes fear into the hearts even of the
gods: Omne nefas superi prima iam voce precantis
eoncedunt carmenque tim.ent aud.ire secundum.148
Yet Lucan, in this same passage, 189 speaks of magic as a tianm
8aetnt8que fur<W. He seems indeed to delight in this magic
scene, and to appreciate its dramatic possibilities ; but whether
he really extended the Stoic belief in divination to the point
of making it include magic and necromancy we cannot tell. 170
Does he really believe magic to be a tianm 8aetnt8que furqr,
or is he one of those who accepted more of the popular belief
in magic than we are accustomed to think? I am inclined to
hold that, like his uncle, Seneca, Lucan really scorned magic,
but could not forego the opportunity to introduce the long
witch scene into Book 6 because of its very great dramatic
possibilities.
Apuleius, too, in making his defence against the charge of
having practiced magic, adopts the usual philosophic attitude
of opposition. m
111 Cf. Ludovicus Fahz, De Poetarum Latinorum Doctrina Magica
(Giessen, 1904), Chapter 3, especially 148-167, where the author seeks to

prove that the magic details of Book 6 are taken from a Greek manual of
magic. * 6, 492-499. m 6, 523-525. m 6, 527-528. '" 434.
i 70 An interesting paragraph concerning the belief of the Stoics in
divination and similar matters, together with a complete list of passages

from the Pharsalia bearing upon the subject, is given by W. E. Heitland
in his Introduction (p. xiv) to Haskins's edition of the Pharllalia (Lon-
don, 1887). Cf. supra, n. 160; H. J. Rose, in Trana. and Proc. of Am.
Phil. Aun., 44, pp. 1-lii; supra, n. 165.
m Cf. Apol. 47 (quoted supra, 13).
(4) The Lyric and E'legiac Poet8 and Magic

The lyric and elegiac poets, on account of the nature of their
themes, and also on account of their great indebtedness to
Greek originals, both for subject matter and for treatment,
are too far removed from Roman daily life to be of very great
value to our survey. Yet even in this field of literature we
shall not fail to find interesting material.
Catullus, for instance, repeats what appears to have been
a popular tradition to the effect that a magm must be the off-
spring of a mother and her own son: 172
Nam magus ex matre et gnato gignatur oportet,
si vera est Persarum impia religio,
gratus ut e.ecepto veneretur carmine divos. . . .
It seems likely that the foregoing passage does not reflect a
native Italian belief; but certain recipes, given for averting
the evil eye, surely have all the flavor of a native belief, for
they are spoken in the heat of a passionate love, when the
lover is altogether himself, that is, a thorough Italian: 171
dein, cum milia multa (basia) fecerimus,
conturbabimus·illa, ne sciamus,
aut ne quis malus invidere possit,
cum tantum sciat esse basiorum.
and again: m '
(basia) quae nee pemumerare curiosi
possint nee ma.la fascinare lingua..
and finally: 176
Ille pulveris Africi
siderumque micantium
subducat numerum prius,
qui vestri numera.re vult
multa milia ludi.
171 90, :Hl. This tradition, Diogenes Laertius tells us (1, 6 or Proem. 6
[Cobet]), was quoted from Sotion.
171 5, 10-13. 174 7, 11-12. m 61, 206-210.
34 STUDIES IN MA"GIC FROM LATIN LITERATURE
It is these passages that caused Pliny to say 174 that Catullus

wrote an incantamentorum ama.Wria imitatw. In view of these
passages I am led to believe that, though Catullus openly and
specifically condemns the magi, he quite as naturally betrays
in his poems of intense personal revelation his own unconscious
acceptance of the naive magic beliefs of his fellow Italians. 177
In Tibullus the magic element is more pronounced. The poet
lover represents himself as having had recourse to a practicing
maga, of whose power he says: 178
Nee ta.men huic credet coniunx tuus, ut mihi verax
pollicita. est magico saga ministerio.
Hane ego de caelo ducentem sidera vidi,
ftuminis haec rapidi carmine vertit iter,
haec cantu finditque solum manesque sepulcris
elicit et tepido devocat ossa rogo. . . .
There are three other passages in which the poet seems to indi-
cate his personal belief in magic. In the first, 179 Tibullus
represents himself as actually participating in a bit of counter-
magic ; in the second, 180 he describes his mistress as being under
the spell of a kna who is skilled in magic, and begs her to break
away from this baleful influence ; in the third, 181 he expresses
the belief that perhaps he has been bewitched by some old
woman. But in close proximity to all of the foregoing passages
are others which indicate that the priet is inclined to speak
metaphorically of the magic of love. Thus, for instance, in
m N. H. 28, 19 Hine (i.e. e diris precationibus) Theocriti apud Graecoe,
Catulli apud nos proximeque Vergilii incantamentorum amatoria inlita-
tio. In this passage the word imitatio does not imply that Catullus inli-
tated any other author, as the genitive Theocriti shows, but rather that the
playful spirit of the love lyric merely inlitated the dire incantamentum of
the darker side of life.
m See, in addition to the passages already cited, his references to the
popular belief in the good omen of sneezing (45, 8-9; 17-18).
171 1, 2, 41-64. 180 1, 5, 41-60.
17t 1, 5, 9-14, especially 11-12. 111 1, 8, 17-24.
one passage 182 the charge that his mistress has bewitched
him he answers by saying that she has indeed bewitched him,
but by her beauty rather than by the usual magic means. In
another passage 183 he speaks of himself as having his arms
bound by the magic bonds of love. This tendency to speak
metaphorically of the magic of love leads us to suspect that
Tibullus was following a sort of poetic tradition regarding magic
in love, without necessarily indicating his personal views.
A study of Propertius leads me to the same conclusion. He
does at times, indeed, seem to strike a genuine Italian note,
as when he attributes the estrangement of lovers to the evil
eye,184 or to some magic drug, or indicates a general popular
belief in the efficacy of rhombuses and other instruments of
magic. 186 Popular beliefs are also probably reflected when he
describes a Zena as having been a powerful sorceress, 188 and
mentions the magic power of saliva 187 and of certain herbs. 188
But, like Tibullus, Propertius shows a tendency to speak
metaphorically of love's magic. He informs us 189 that, in
accordance with Calliope's injunction, his function will be to
compose verses by means of which the lover shall charm his
mistress from her austere husband ; it is very apparent that
this magic of a well composed love song is quite different from
the common black magic with which we are concerned. At
other times his references to magic are of the purely literary
and traditional type. 190
111 1, 5, 41-44. Cf. also 1, 8, 23-24. 181 1, 8, 5-6.
1" 1, 12, 9-10. But even in this passage the poet seems to think
that the intiidia comes from the gods.
186 3, 6, 25-34: 2, 28b, 35-38.
1ae 4, 5, 1-18. Professor Kirby F. Smith maintains (Studie& in Honor
of B. L . Gaderileere [Baltimore, 1902], 287; id. Am. Jou.m. of Phil. 28, 3)

that the lenae as a class were quite generally believed to have magic power.
There seems to be much evidence in support of this view. Cf., e.g.,
Martial, 9, 29, 9-10; Tibullus, 1, 5, 48. m 4, 7, 37.
1 " 4, 7, 72. m 3, 3, 47-50. 110 As in 2, 1, 51-56; 4, 7-8.
36 STUDIES IN llrlAGIC FROM LATIN LITERATURE
It is worthy of note that neither Tibullus nor Propertius

anywhere uses a derogatory epithet in connection with magic ;
but this bit of negative evidence need not be considered of
great value. With the erotic poets it seems, indeed, to have
become a fad to appeal to magic in the furtherance of love.
How much of this was due to literary convention or to foreign
borrowing, and how much to genuine conviction we cannot
tell. 191 It seems certain, however, that such a convention
could not have come into existence unless there had been a
substantial body of popular or even personal belief behind it.
Pliny's remark, too, 192 that Catullus wrote an incantamentorum
amatoria imitatw, if taken in connection with his accompany-
ing discussion of early Roman magic, indicates that to him at
least such passages in the poets were not altogether the result ·
of convention.
Horace, in his Odes, does not seem to have followed his erotic
contemporaries, for he furnishes only one passing reference to
magic.lea
Ovid, though he amused the literary set at Rome with his
countless stories of metamorphoses and other marvels, m~tly
from the Greek, more nearly expresses his own views when
he says of the old legends: 1"
Prodigiosa loquor veterum mendaeia vatum;

nee tulit haee umquam nee feret ulla dies.
111 Ludovicus Fahz, in his dissertation entitled De Poetarum Romanorum
Doctrina Magica (Giessen, 1904), Chapter 3, seeks to show that the

Roman poets in such matters were to a great extent following Greek
magic papyri.
in Cf. supra, 34, n. 176.
ltl 1, 27, 21-22
Quae saga, quis te solvere Thessalis
magus venenis, quis poterit deus?
It is noteworthy that the magus is here placed on a par with the deus.
lN Am. 3, 6, 17-18.
Yet even he yields half-assent when the practices of magic are

veiled under the guise of religion. 1•
The epigrams of Martial are practically free from references
to magic. 191
(5) The Satirists and Magic
In the Batura, on the other hand, we have the right to expect
a more complete reflection of popular ideas. The Batura is a
type of poetic composition which, with its mma pedeater,
should give us some idea of Roman magic as it was actually
practiced. In Lucilius, however, the first great satirist, there
are only four passages 197 at all relating to magic, and of these
196 In Fasti 5, 429-444 we have a description of the means whereby
the Roman householder sought to drive the lemurea from his home by a
religio-magic ceremony. In spite of certain verbal indications that the
poet is here reporting popular beliefs and practices, he does not seem to
be wholly out of sympathy with the ancient custom. The passage runs
as follows:
Nox ubi iam media est, somnoque silentia praebet
et canis et variae conticuistis aves,
ille memor veteris ritus timidusque deorum
surgit; habent gemini vincula nulla pedes:
signaque dat digitis medio cum pollice iunctis,
occurrat tacito ne levis umbra sibi.
Cumque manus puras fontana perluit unda,
vertitur, et nigrn.s accipit ante fabas,
aversusque iacit. Seel dum iacit, "Haec ego mitto,
his" inquit "redimo meque meosque fabis."
Hoc novies dicit, nee respicit. Umbra putatur
colligere et nullo terga vidente sequi.
Rursus aquam tangit, Temesaeaque concrepa.t aera,
et rogat, ut tectis exeat umbra suis.
Cum dixit novies "Manes exite paterni ",
respicit, et pure sacra peracta putat.
'" He does indeed tell us (9, 29, 9-10) of a certain old woman who had
during her life been a powerful sorceress, and that sleep at Rome waa
much disturbed by the noisy efforts of magicians to call down the moon
(12, 57, 15-17); but these are only passing references.
m These are (ed. Marx) vss. 62-63, 575-576, 1201-1202, and the
passage quoted in the following note.
only one 198 has sufficient context to enable us to draw con-·

clusions regarding the author's views. He seems to have con-
sidered himself superior to popular belief, which is exactly
what one would expect of Lucilius, the eques Romanus.
Horace, on the other hand, in his Epodes and Satires paints
many a true picture of the daily practices of the masses at
Rome. Thus, in the fifth Epode we meet four witches who are
busily engaged in burying a boy alive, in order that from the
marrow of one who has died of starvation, with an accompany-
ing intense desire for food set just beyond his grasp, a philter
may be made which should fill the absent lover with a similar
intense desire for his mistress. The usual magical details are
introduced profusely. 199 We meet two of these same sorceresses
ltl 484-489
Terriculas, Lamias, Fauni quas Pompiliique
instituere Numae, tremit has, hie omnia ponit.
Ut pueri infantes credunt signa omnia aena
vivere et esse homines, sic isti somnia ficta
vera putant, credunt signis cor inesse in aenis.
Pergula fictorum veri nihil, omnia ficta.
191 Magic details are: purity of victim, impube corpus, 13; hair un-
loosed, incomptum caput, 16 (cf. also 27); gruesome details, 17-18; frog
as magic animal, 19; owl, 20; magic plants, 17, 21-22, 67~; water
from Lake Avemus, 26. The usual feats of magic, such as controllilig
stars and moon, are mentioned, 45-46; night and Diana are addressed,
49-54; etc. It is not unlikely that such murders of children actually
occurred. C. H. Moore, in his edition of the Odes and Epodes, page 415,
quotes Cicero, In Vat. 14 cum inaudita ac nefaria sacra susceperis, cum
inferorum animas elicere, cum puerorum extis deos manes mactare soleas, ·
etc., and C. I. L. 6, 19, 747 lucundus Liviae Drusi Caesaris f(ilius) Gryphi
et Vitalis.
In quartum surgens comprensus deprimor annum,
cum pOl!Sem matri dulcis et e.'ISe patri.
Eripuit me saga manus crudelis ubique,
cum manet in terris et nocet arte sua.
Vos vestros natos concustodite, parentes,
ni dolor in toto pectore fixsus eat.
There can be no doubt that the Roman populace believed implicitly in
such magic practices.
. in the abandoned cemetery of the F.squiline,200 attempting,
by means of sympathetic magic, involving a waxen and a
woolen image, to subdue an obdurate lover; again all the cus-
tomary magic details are employed. 201 That Horace is deriding
magic in both of these poems seems to me apparent from his
mock palinode, Epode seventeen.202 And yet, notwithstanding
his skepticism regarding magic and marvels, 2oa he exhibits a
fondness for wandering among the fakers of the circus. 211'
Even in his later, more sophisticated prime, he does not en-
tirely deny the power of divination 206 and he mentions sorcer-
esses in the same breath with gods. 208 There are charms, he
tells us, to dispel avarice, as well as a manual of magic con-
taining cures for vanity ot spirit.207 The evil eye is still to him.
a possible source of danger,208 though he may smile at those
who are the slaves of dreams, magic terrors, omens, witches,
hobgoblins, and Thessalian portents.tot
Persius heaps scorn upon popular magic beliefs,210 yet he
100 Sat. 1, 8, 17-50. Cf. supra, 9-10, and n. 43.
101 Magic details are: the gruesome in magic compounds, 22, 26-29;
magic herbs, 22, 49; black as a magic color, 23, 27: nudity in magic, 24;
hair unloosed, 24; sympathia or similia similibus, 30-33; wolf's beard and
serpent's tooth in magic, 42; licium or magic thread, 49-50. Hecate and
Tisiphone are invoked, 33-34.
ios This conclusion is sound, I think, even if we agree with E. H. Sturte-
vant (Clmis. Re'D. 26 [1912], 19-21) that Canidia was a reality. For &
similar slighting attitude toward divination, cf. Sat. 1, 9, 29-34. For
Horace's general attitude toward marvellous tales, see A1'B Poet. 338-340.
ioa Cf. Sat. 1, 5, 99-101. 1°' Ibid. 1, 6, 113-114.
106 Carm. 1, 11, 1-3.
108 Ibid~· 1, 27, 21-22. The playful spirit of this and the preceding
passage need not cause us to change our estimate of Horace's attitude

toward magic.
107 Epist. 1, 1, 32-36. This manual may be nothing more than a sound
philosophical treatise of such a character as to correct a vain disposition.

Or it may be, on the other hand, that Horace is here merely indulging in
a little fun. m Ibid. 1, 14, 37-38. m Ibid. 2, 2, 208-209.
11 0 Sat. 2, 31-34. For similar scorn for eastern religions as practiced
at Rome, cf. Sat. 5, 179-188.
leaves the impression that such beliefs were very common

among all but philosophers. Juvenal gives only passing refer-
. ences to magic practices, but they are all very slighting in
tone.211 It is apparent from his writings that both rich and poor
believed implicitly in all kinds of magic practices.
Of the writers of Saturae Menippeae Varro presents nothing
worthy of note in the extant fragments, 212 whereas Petronius
contains much interesting material. This brings us to our best
division, the writers of prose romances.
(6) The Writer8 of Pro8e Romancea and Magic

.At Trimalchio's dinner one of the guests commends the good
Qld religio-magic custom in accordance with which the matrons
used to march up the Cli1JU8 Capitolinus with hair unloosed
and feet bare to pray to Jupiter for rain; 218 another regales
the company with the story of a werwolf, in which he himself
111 In 6, 133-134 he mentions hippomanes and carmen as ingredients
of a philter; in 6, 61~11 we read: hie magicos adfert cantus, hie Thes-
sala vendit philtra. . . . In 6, 443 he tells of a woman who could assist
the moon in overcoming an eclipse. According to one inte.rpretation, a
boasting lawyer spits on his breast to avoid the evil effect of his boasting,
7, 112. On the other hand Juvenal flays unsparingly in much more ex-
tended paasages the prevailing rage for astrology and fortune telling:
6, 553-564; 569-691: 7, 194-196; 199-200: 9, 33. He depicts the Em-
peror Tiberius at Capri cum grege Chaldaeo (10, 94), but portrays the good
old Roman as saying motus aatrorum ignuro (3, 4?r43).
111 I used Buechler's text, bound with his fifth edition of Petronii
Satirae (Berlin, 1912). Fragments 284, 285, 490 seem to refer to magic.
111 Sat. 44. The loosing of hair and the baring of feet are well known
magic acts. Frazer, G. B. 1, 1, 309, quotes for similar magic acts among
the Greeks and the Romans in order to produce rain, Pausaniaa, 2, 25, 10;
Marcus Antoninus, 5, 7; Tertullian, Apol. 40; P. Cauer, Delectua lmcrip-
tionum Graecarum•, No. 162; H. Collitz und F. Bechtel, Sammlung der
griechuchen Dialekt-Imchriften, No. 3718; Ch. Michel, Recueil d'imcrip-
tiom grec<[IJU, No. 1004; 0. Ludera, Die dionymchen Kumtler (Berlin,
1873), 26 f. Cf. especially M. H. Morgan, Rain Goda and Rain Charma,
in Tram. of Am. Phil. Aam. 32 (1901), 83-109.
was a principal actor; 214 whereupon the host launches upon a
tale of personal experiences with 8trigae. 216 Both stories are
accepted in good faith by the assembled guests as being matters
of fairly common occurrence.214 Later in the Satirae mention
is made of sorceresses who know how to draw down the moon,217
excite desire, 218 and even control all the forces of nature. 21a
We are not here concerned with the small details about good
luck days,220 the auspicious right foot, 221 how to win a fortune
by snatching an incubo's cap,222 astrology,223 and tlie efficacy
of spitting upon one's breast to appease Adrasteia; 224 all these
things, however, lend to the entertaining work of Petronius the
true flavor of real life among the Roman populace. In the·
whole work there is not a suggestion that any of the charactera
disbelieves a single miraculous tale. It is true that the nar-
rator, who probably represents the author's views, does display
throughout an amused superiority to all that is going on around
him ; but in no instance does Petronius utter a word 'against
magic. He was either not altogether free from beli~f in such
tales as the above, or else he had the good judgment not to.
mar his excellent picture of social life among the vulgar rich
11' 62. For a full discussion of the werwolf cf. Kirby Flower Smith,
in Pub. of the Mod. Lang. Aasn. of America, 9 (1894), 1-42; S. Baring-
Gould, The Book of W ere-wolttea (London, 1865); and especially Wilhelm
Hertz, Der Werwolf (Stuttgart, 1862). Friedlaender, in his edition of the
Cena Trimalchionis1 (Leipzig, 1906), 317, refers also to J. Grimm, Deu.Uche
Mythologie (Berlin, 1877), 915 ff.; Keller, Tiere de8 kla8siachen AUertums,
165 ff.; and particularly Pischel, on Petroniua, Sat. 62 (Abhand. f. M.
Hertz (1888], 70).
1 11 63. For a similar story compare Ovid, Fast. 6, 141-168; quoted in
part infra, 64. For a definition of striga cf. Festus (ed. Lindsay), p. 414.
111 When the first story is completed, Trims.lchio (63) attests his be--
lief with the words, "scio Niceronem nihil nugarum narrare," and, at the
conclusion of the second story, the general attitude is expressed (64) by
"Miramur nos et pariter credimus, osculatique mensam rogamus Noc-
tumas, ut suis sedibus se teneant, dum redimus a cena."
117 129. 119 134. 121 30. 123 39; 126.
111 131. no 30. m 38. 124 74.
of Nero's reign by injecting into it any of the skepticism affected

by the upper classes.
The entertaining Satirae of Petronius almost inevitably
suggest the equally entertaining Metamorpho8u of Apuleius,
a tale so fantastic that it had much to do with fastening .upon
its author in future centuries the reputation of a magus. 226
The story deals with
figuras fortunasque hominum in alias imagines conversas et in se
rur8um mutuo nexu refectas;n•
but, preceding the main story of the transformation, and inter-
woven with it, are lesser tales of Bagae, who are 1;1.ble
caelum deponere, terram suspendere, fontes durare, montes diluere,
manes sublimare, dooe infimare, sider& extinguere, Tartarum ipeum
inluminare.117
The action of the main story takes place in Thessaly, the
home of magic.228 The hero, Lucius, having seen his hostess,
Pamphile, transform herself into mi owl and fly away,229 begs
the latter's maidservant to grant him the privilege of doing
likewise. Unwillingly consenting, the young woman orders
him to undress and anoint himself with the ointment which
she gives him. Unfortunately, the wrong ointment is used
and Lucius ruefully finds himself changed not into a bird, as
he desired, but into an ass. 280 The rest of the tale concerns
116 Upon the reputation of Apuleius as a magician TeufJel, Rom. Lit.
§ 366. 3, quotes Augustinus, Ep. 2, Quaest. 6 (2, p. 42&, ed. Gaume, Paris,
1838); Epist. 136, 1; Ep. 138, 18; Laetantius, Inst. 5, 3, 7; Monceaux,
Apulk magicien, in Re11. de dew: mondu, 1 (1888), 572. Yet Augustinus,
at least, shows (C. D. 8, 19) his acquaintance with the Apologia and Apu-
leius's formal condemnation of magic therein contained. 111 1, 1.
n 7 1, 8. The incidental magic tales are found in Met. 1, 9-20: 2, 21-30:

3, l&-18: 9, 29-31. na 2, 1. nt 3, 21.
sao 3, 24-25. Cf. H. T. Peck, Trimalchio'a Dinner (New York, 1899),
Introd. 41. Professor Peck's statement that Lucius "accidentally swal-
lowed a magic potion which turned him into an ass" is not in accord
with the words of Apuleius (I. c.), cuncta wrporia mei membra perfricui.
the fortunes of this human ass and bis final restoration to bis
original form, not through magic, but through the intervention
of Isis. 281
We have noted above 282 that, when Trimalchio's guests
told their wonderful, weird stories, no one in the company dis-
believed. We may now go one step further in stating that
Apuleius himself apparently believed in the magic stories
which he relates. He is very likely speaking for himself when
he makes one of bis characters say at the conclusion of a magic
story: 211
Ego vero . . . nihil impossibile arbitror, sed utcumque fata SM
decreverint ita cuncta mortalibus provenire: nam et mihi et tibi
et cunctis hominibus multa usu venire mira et paene infects, quae
tamen ignaro relata fidem perdant. Sed ego huic . . . credo. . . •
Of his mysticism in general there is abundant evidence in the

whole eleventh book of the Metamorphoses, where he turns
what had started out as a magic tale into a highly mystical
conclusion, in which Isis plays the leading part.
Certain it is that of the two sole extant specimens of Roman
prose fiction, 236 one introduces a number of magic stories, while
the other is characterized throughout by a "brooding sense
of magic" 284 and mysticism. The magic element is in Apuleius
no longer incidental ; it has become the principal element in
the composition ; and we must see in this growth, I think,
111 Met. 11, 6; 12-13. Cf. Purser, The Story of Cupid and Payche
aa related by Apuleiua (London, 1910), Introd. xix-xxi.
m Supra, 41. 111 Met. 1, 20.
114 The context forbids us to interpret fata in this passage as opposed
to the magic control of nature; for the two witches of the story preceding
this pa.a.sage had given ample proof of their control over natural forces.
The fates, then, in this instance seem merely to have decreed that the two
women of the story should have these magic powers.
m Cf. H. T. Peek, Trimalchi-O's Dinner, 1-44, for an interesting account
of prose fiction among the Greeks and the Romans. Pages 40-44 especially
concern us here. 111 Cf. Mackall, Latin Literature, 241-242.
the line of development of popular taste among the Romans

during the century that separates Petronius and Apuleius.
It is just because the mystic Apuleius had gained such a grip
upon the reading public of a later day that the Christian
fathers classed him with ApoJJonius of Tyana as the magician
rival of Jesus Christ.237
Nor was Apuleius's reputation as a ma.gus entirely posthu-
mous ; for a few years, perhaps, after the publication of the
Metamorpho8e8, 238 his marriage to a rich widow of Oea gave
occasion for a lawsuit, in which it was alleged by the relatives
of the bride that she had been won by magic arts. 239 His de-
117 Teuffel, RfJm.• Lit. § 366. 3, gives the following p888ages to sub-
stantiate this point: Augustinus, Ep. 2, Quaest. 6 Si hoc quod de Iona

scrip tum est Apuleius Madaurensis vel Apollonius Tyaneus fecisse diceretur,
quorum multa mira nullo fideli auctore iactitant . . . ; Epist. 136, 1
Apollonium siquidem suum nobis et Apuleium aliosque magicae artis
homines in medium proferunt, quorum maiora contendunt extitisse
miracula ... ; Ep. 138, 18 Apollonium et Apuleium ceterosque magicarum
artium peritissimos conferre Christo vel etiam praeferre conantur; Lac-
tantius, Inst. 5, 3, 7 Apuleium, cuius solent et multa et mira memorari.
See P. Monceaux, ApuUe magicien, in Rev. de deux mondes, 1 (1888), 572.
11 • Whether or not the Metamorphoses was published before the de-
livery of the Apologia we cannot say certainly. Cf. Teuffel, IUJm. Lit.•
§ 367. 1. Purser, however, in the Introduction to his work, The Story of
Cupid and Psyche aa Related by Apuleius (London, 1910), pp. xv-xxiv,
gives what appear to me good reasons for believing that the Metamorphoses
was published anonymously at Rome some years before the Apologia. He
further attempts to show that the book probably had no great success
at the time of publication, and that it had not, at the time the Apologia
was delivered, become known in Africa. This would account for the
fact that the enemies of Apuleius did not use it as evidence that Apuleius
was an adept in magic. Finally, he maintains that the work was never
acknowledged by Apuleius as his, for the reason that in his after years
as a fashionable teacher of philosophy he was not proud of his earlier
effort. W. E. Foster, in a Columbia University dissertation (New York,
1912), Studie& in Archai&m in At.dm Gellim, 10, inclines to the opinion
that the Metamorphoses is a youthful work of Apuleius. See also Helm,
in the Praefatio to hi'.! edition of the Florida, x f.
11• Apol., Chapters 27, 41, 66, 71, 90, 102.
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF ROllrlAN MAGIC 45
fence, extant under the title of Apologia, brilliantly ridicules
the charge, from which he was no doubt acquitted. 240 As a
matter of fact, in his defence Apuleius even seems to condemn
magic as illegal and as dangerous to the best interests of the
community,241 though in another place he expressly states his
belief in the existence of magi.242 From all the evidence at
our command it seems fair to conclude that Apuleius, as a
mystic dabbler in literature, science, and philosophy, was
intimately acquainted with all the magic lore of his day, be-
. lieved in it to some extent, and knew thoroughly how to utilize
it in his popular writings ; but that his later reputation as a
practicing magus is not based upon any substantial evidence.
He is the victim of the popular fallacy that they who know
about magic practice it themselves.248
(7) The Historians and Magic

The Roman historians also show traces of a belief in magic.
Of the Origines of Cato the extant fragments contain no magic
passages.244 The fragments of Varro's Antiquitates Rerum
DifJinarum, a work which must originally have contained a
mine of information upon our subject, are more fruitful. It is
Mo That the presiding judge, the proconsul Claudius Maximus (cf.
Teuffel, Riim. Lit.• § 358. 4) was a Stoic philosopher, and hence probably
tinged with mysticism, may have made his task easier.
Ml Apol. 47, quoted supra, 13.
w Ibid. 43 quanquam Platoni (Sympos. 202E) credam, inter deos
atque homines natura et loco medias quasda.m divorum potestates intersi-
tas, easque divinationes cunctas et magorum miracula gubemare. From
such passages we may surmise that Apuleius's Liber Naturalium Quaes-
tionum, of which he speaks rather grandiloquently in Apolog. 36, may not
have been without a mystical element.
sa Apuleius, Apol. 27 eos vero vulgo magos nominent, quasi facere
etiam sciant quae sciant fieri, ut olim fuere Ipimenides. . . . Cf. also
supra, 10.
'" For the fragments cf. H. Peter, Hiatoricorum Romarwrum Frag-
menta (Leipzig, 1883), 43-65.
very likely that the following passages concerning Cunina., the

goddess of the cradle, a.re from this work: Adest oculum
gravem ad ca.vendum snmministra.tque quietem Cunina.; 241
and a.gain, Colitur et Cunina, quae ... fa.scinum submovet.248
H this be true, the great antiquarian attributed to Cunina. the
power to protect children from the evil eye ; though he need
not be supposed personally to have shared this popular belief.247
In like manner he speaks of the popular method of expelling
lemures from the home,MB and speculates in a. popular manner
a.bout the magic number seven.249 The source of the magic
stories quoted from Varro by Apuleius 260 can not be determined,
nor is there any means of deciding whether the scholarly writer
of the original believed his own tales or not. Perhaps Varro's
real attitude toward such stories is best given in his celebrated
werwolf tale, quoted by Augustine,261 who intimates that the
w Quoted by Tertullian, Ad No.t. 2, 11, in a discussion of the multi-
plicity of Roman gods.
w Lactantius, Inst. Div. 1, 20, 36. These two passages are attributed
to Varro by R. Agahd, M. Terenti Varronis Antiquitatum Rerum Ditlinarum
Libri (Leipzig, 1898), p. 170, fragmenta 23A and 23B.
167 The power of the evil eye could also be averted from fields by a
similar use of the f a8dnum or membrum uirile employed as an amulet.

This is shown by Augustine's quotation from Varro's Antiq. Rer. Div.
(16, 42 ed. Agahd), found in his C. D. 7, 21 Cui membro inhonesto matrem
familias honestissimam palam coronam necesse erat inponere. Sic vide-
licet Liber deus placandus fuerat pro eventibus seminum, sic ab agris
fascinatio repellenda, . . .
141 Cf. Nonius Marcellus, p. 197 (ed. Lindsay) Lemures, larvae noc-
tumae et terrificationes imaginum et beatiarum; Varro De Vita Populi

Romani lib. I 'quibus temporibus in sacris fabam iactant noctu ac dicunt
se Lemurios domo extra ianuam eicere.' Cf. Ovid, Fasti 5, 421 ti., quoted
in part supra, 37, n. 195. ·
"' Imaginum lib. I, apud A. Gellium, N. A. 3, 10.
16 0 Apolog. 42.
161 C. D. 18, 17, taken probably from the De Gente Populi Romani, BB
Peter thinks (HiBtor. Rom. Frag. pp. 233-234) Nee idem propt.er aliud
arbitratur historicus in Arcadia tale nomen adfictum Pani Lycaeo et
Iovi Lycaeo nisi propter hanc in lupos hominum mutationem, quod eam
great polymath was more interested in the anthropological and
philological aspect of the story than in the popular and the
superstitious. Va.rro's researches in the history of certain kinds
of magic a.re also a.ttested,w and we a.re informed that he at-
tempted a rational explanation of such phenomena.. In fa.ct
there is no evidence whatever that he was not rationalistic
throughout, at lea.st when expressing his formal opinions,
regarding magic.
Turning now to the Roman historians whose works have
survived either in their entirety or to a large extent, we shall
find that, though Tacitus a.lone has given us a rather clear
indication of his views upon magic, 261 most of the historians •
have given some evidence of their beliefs concerning the sub-
ject. In general they impress us as men whose intellectual
advancement compelled them to contemn popular superstition
and magic, though their early training and unveneered natures
yielded unconscious assent, at lea.st in pa.rt, to those very be-
liefs and practices. It was this mixture of ra.tiona.Iism and
magic practice which led Caesar to secure a sa.fe carriage ride
by means of a thrice repeated cha.rm,264 though he did not hesi-
tate to a.Ilow his personal ambitions to outweigh popular belief
whenever occasion demanded. 266 Nor did he fa.il to interpret
nisi vi divina fieri non putarent. . . . Romanos etiam Lupercos ex illorum
mysteriorum veluti semine dicit exortos. For a similar rationalizing
tendency cf. Lingua Latina 7, 44; 97 (edd. Goetz und Schoell, Leipzig,
1910), where the origin of the argei and the bulla is discussed. Cf. also
Servius on Vergil, Aen. 11, 787, quoted supra, 28, n. 147.
•t Cf. Augustinus, C. D. 7, 35 Quod genus divinationis (i.e. necroman-
tiae) idem Varro a Persis dicit albtum .•.• Quid mihi ergo Varro illorum
sacrorum alias neecio quas causas velut physicas interpretatur?
163 See infra, 50-51.
164 Pliny, N. H. 28, 21 Caesarem dictatorem post unum ancipitem vehi·
cull casum ferunt semper, ut primum consedisset, id quod plerosque nunc

facere scimus, carmine ter repetito securitatem itinerum aucupari solitum.
116 Suetonius, Caes. 59 Ne religione quidem ulla a quoquam incepto
absterritus umquam vel retardatus eat. Cum immolanti aufugisset hostia, , .. ·
to his personal advantage any ominous occurrence.261 In like

manner, though he appears to have believed in prodigies,267
he was quick to take advantage of the superstitious beliefs of
others.168 In a word, he appears superior to popular magic
and superstition in genera.I and skeptical concerning them,
though cherishing his own persona.I beliefs and practices.
Of Sallust's attitude toward magic there is not enough evi-
dence to justify an opinion. 26'
Livy nowhere expresses his personal opinion about magic.
The great number of prodigia 240 contained in his work is
doubtless an inheritance from the Annalists whom he followed,
• and perhaps a concession to popular belief. Moreover, since
prodigies are sent by the gods to warn men, they belong to
the field of religion rather than to magic. Livy does, however,
repeat many stories that combine magic with religion, apparently
without recognizing the magic element. Numa, for instance,
according to one of his stories, draws Jupiter from heaven by
magic,281 and Tullus Hostilius attempts unsucc~fully to imi-
profectionem adversus Scipionem et Iubam non distulit. Prolapsus etiam

in egressu navis verso ad melius omine, "Teneo te," inquit, "Africll."
The same story with slight variations is told by Frontinus, Strat. 1, 12,
2 C. Caesar, cum forte conscendens navem lapsus esset, "Teneo te, terra
mater," inquit, qua interpretatione effecit, ut repetiturus illas a quibus
proficiscebatur terras videretur. tM Cf. Suetonius, Caes. 32.
117 Bellum Civ. 3, 105 Item constabat Elide in templo Minervae ...
simulacrum Victoriae ... ad valvas se templi limenque convertisse.
•• Frontinus, Strat. 2, 1, 16 C. Caesar in Gallia, quia compererat
Ariovisto . . . institutum et quasi legem esse non pugnandi decrescente
luna, tum potissimum acie commissa impeditos religione hostes vicit.
Cf. Bell. Gall. 1, 50 for the same facts.
1H The only reference in point is Bell. Cat. 47, 2, where, as in Cicero,
Cat. 3, 9, Lentulus affirms that he is fated to rule over Rome, because he

is the third Cornelian to arrive at supreme power.
Mo Cf. Weissenborn's ed., vol. 6, Index, 11. v. prodigia.
Ml 1, 20, 7. Cf. J. Ennemoser, Histmy of Magic (Eng. transl., London, .
• 1893), 1, 420. The antiquity of this practice is questioned by Fowler,
: Relig. Ex7Jer. of the Rom. People, 51 f.
tate bim.212 Attus Navius cleaves a whetstone with a ra.zor,2 a
the protecting divinities are evoked from the cities of the enemy
by means suggesting magic, 284 sacred places are not to be spat
upon,266 and pestilences a.re controlled by driving the sacred
nail. 288 In all these passages the magic element had apparently
become fossilized before Livy's day, and was unrecognized as
such by him. On the other hand, he must have recognized
as magic the custom of beating on metal in order to assist the
moon from an eclipse ; 287 in this case, however, the absence
of any adverse comment cannot be interpreted as approval.
It is probable, I think, that Livy believed somewhat in the
religio-magic stories of early Rome, though to him the magic
element had become entirely submerged in the religious
overgrowth. 268
Though Velleius Paterculus seems to have believed in astrol-
ogy m and omens,270 his formal conclusion about such matters
is represented by the following words: 271 Sed profecto ineluc-
tabilis fatorum vis cuiuscumque fortuna.m mute.re constituit
consilia corrumpit. A similar fatalistic. belief is characteristic
of Curtius Rufus also, 272 who, though delighting to tell marvel-
lous stories to a public which wanted them, dealing out omens
second-hand under the label dicuntur, 278 and frankly admitting
- 1, 31, 5-8. "' 5, 21, 3-5; 22, 3-6.
In 1, 36, 4. 116 5, 40, 8.
* 7, 3, 3-9: 8, 18, 4-13: 9, 28, 6; 34, 12. Cf. Cambridge Companion
to Latin Studiu, § 147; Fowler, Roman Futirol.8, 234-235.
111 26, 5, 9. The Campanian multitude is described as beating upon
brazen vessels: qualis in defectu lunae silenti nocte cieri solet, edidit
clamorem, ut averteret etiam pugnantium animos.
11 • It may be, of course, that the inclusion of prodigies, marvels, and
fossifued religio-magic customs to so large a degree in his history was in

direct response to the wish of Augustus, and in the interest of the latter's
deliberately planned religious revival.
10 Cf. 2, 24, 3. no Cf. 2, 46, 3; 57, 1-3; 59, 6. 111 2, 57, 3.
171 Cf. 4, 6, 17 inellitabile utfatum. See also Teuffel, Riim. Lit.1 § 292. 3,
at end. 171 8; 9, 33.
Digitized by Google
that he is reporting more than he believes,274 speaks of the

magic art as ronissimi cuiusque ludibrium. 276 He speaks dis-
paragingly aJso of superstition 276 and of astrology.211
The atti~ude of Tacitus toward magic and astrology can
scarcely be doubted. He believed in astrology but despised
astrologers. 278 He is uncertain what should be the historian's
attitude toward portents, 279 but as a rule omits them. That he
believed in magic is, I think, certain, for the following reason:
he has very many occasions to recount the accusation of magic
brought against specific individuals in court, as though such
practices were matters of everyday occurrence,280 yet in no
instance does he speak of the charge as absurd or groundless.
Moreover, the very number of such accusations shows that the
classes as well as the masses looked seriously upon them.
When, however, Tacitus has occasion to give a more detailed
account of magic acts, we do not feel so certain of his belief.
For instance, in recounting the wonderful cures wrought by
Vespasian at Alexandria., though he appears to give full credence
m 9, 1, 34 Equidem plura transcribo quam credo; nam nee adfirmare
sustineo de quibus dubito, nee subducere quae accepi.
175 7, 4, 8. It should be noted in passing, however, that the magi
mentioned in 3, 3, 10 and 5, 1, 22 are 'magians,' not 'magicians.'
171 4, 3, 23; 6, 12; 7, 26; 7, 29; 10, 7: 7, 7, 8.
177 8, 9, 33: 10, 4.
17• In Ann. 4, 58 he narrates how the facts revealed by astrology came
true, but the interpretation put upon those facts by the astrologers was
false: Mox patuit breve confinium artis (i.e. astrologiae) et falsi, veraque
quam obscuris tegerentur. Cf. especially Ann. 6, 22 Ceterum plurimis
mortalium non eximitur, quin primo cuiusque ortu ventura destinentur;
sed quaedam secus, quam dicta sint, cadere fallaciis ignara dicentium:
ita corrumpi fidem artis, cuius clara documenta-et antiqua aetas et nosira
tulerit. Cf. also Hist. 1, 22: 2, 78; Ann. 2, 27; 32: 3, 22: 6, 20-21:
12, 22; 52; 68: 14, 9 for further references to astrology.
179 Hist. 2, 50 Ut conquirere fabulosa et fictis oblectare legentium animos
procul gravitate coepti operis crediderim, ita volgatis traditisque demere

fidem non ausim. ·
no Ann. 2, 27-28; 69: 3, 13: 4, 22; 52: 6, 29: 12, 22; 65: 16, 31.
to the facts narrated,281 he yet seems to believe that the Em-
peror acts merely as the a.venue through which the numen of
the god operates. In his more mature years, as represented in
the Annales, when he has to describe the magic details sur-
rounding the death of Germa.nicus, he carefully inserts the
non-committal word creditur.282 He speaks respectfully, how-
ever, of the magorum sacra when he writes of the expulsion of
the magi from Italy. 288 He is, of course, superior to the popular
magic beliefs connected with eclipses of the moon, 2 " as was
every other cultivated Roman of his day.
We may conclude, therefore, from his a.vowed belief in as-
trology, and his failure to express any disbelief in the possi-
bility of magic, though he possessed so many opportunities
for doing so, that he really believed in magic, at least in a.
modified manner. 286
Suetonius is careful not to express a personal opinion
regarding the many details of omens,284 superstition,287
m Hist. 4, 81. This passage relates how, at the admonition of Serapis,

a lame man and a blind man of Alexandria besought Vespasian to cure
them by magic means. It concludes thus: Igitur Vesp11Bianus cuncta
fortunae suae patere ratus nee quicquam ultra incredibile, . . • erecta
quae adstabat multitudine, iussa exsequitur. Statim conversa ad usum
manus, at caeco reluxit dies. Utrumque qui interfuere nunc quoque
memorant, postquam nullum mendacio pretium. Teuffel (ROm. Lit.1
§ 333. 9) seems to conclude from the last sentence of the above quoted
passage that Tacitus regarded the whole story as n mendacium. To me,
however, Tacitus seems to say that even at the time of writing, when all
hope of reward for falsehood had disappeared, eye-witnesses continue to
vouch for the story, and thus its veracity seems proved to his mind.
Ht Ann. 2, 69 et reperiebantur solo ac parietibus erutae humanorum
corporum relixuiae, carmina et devotiones et nomen Germanici plumbeis
tabulis insculptum, semusti cineres ac tabo obliti aliaque malefica, quis
creditur animas numinibus infemis sacrari. Such a use of creditur is at
best merely non-committal. na Ibid. 2, 27-32. tu Ibid. 1, 28.
1 • Cf.supra,nn.281,282.
1 • Aug. 92; 94: Caes. 59; 81: Calig. 57: Claud. 1, 2; 22; 29, 3; 46:
Tiber. 72; etc. 117 Aug. 6; 92: Caes. 88: Nero 56.
52 STUDIES IN 114AGIC FROM LATIN LITERATURE
astrology,288 amulets, 289 and magic,290 of which he writes. But

we may judge from his avowed superstition,291 and from the
very frequency with which he refers to the occult without
unfavorable comment, that he was fond of such details, and
probably believed in magic. Nor will his occasional apparent
superiority to popular beliefs 2n cause us to change our opinion
of him. He is not the first, as we have shown, whose intellect
bade him scorn popular belief in magic, while his heart still
clung to it.
The Scriptures Historiae Augustae contain very little regard-
ing magic, though they have their quota of references to as-
trology,298 omens,294 and sortes.296 Spartianus does indeed call
magic amentia,296 and apparently approves of the punishment
of such persons as were proved guilty of wearing amulets
281 Aug. 94, 5: Calig. 57, 2: Domit. 14, 1: Nero 36: Otho 4, 1; 6, 1;
Tiber. 69; Vitel. 14, 4.

18' Nero 6, 4.
110 Aug. 90: Nero 34, 4: Vespas. 7: Vitel. 2, 4.
m Cf. Pliny, Epist. 1, 18 addressed to Suetonius: Scribis te perter-
ritum somnio vereri, ne quid adversi in actione patiaris, . . .
192 As in Nero 36 Stella crinita, quae summis potestatibus exitium por-
tendere vulgo putatur. . . . ·

191 Spartianus, Geta 2, 6; 3, 1: Severus 2, 8-9; 4, 3; 15, 5: Hadrianus
2, 4; 16, 10: Pescennius Niger 9, 5-6; Julius Capitolinils, Marc. Anton.

19, 3: Helv. Pert. 1, 3: Gord. Tres 20, 1; Aelius Lampridius, Heliog. 9, 1:
Diad. Anton. 5, 4: Alex. Sever. 27, 5; 44, 4.
IN Spartianus, Did. Jul. 7, 1: Sever. 1, 6ff.; 3, 4: Geta 3, 2ff.; Aelius
Lampridius, Diad. Anton. 4, 1 ff.: Alex. Sever. 13, 1 ff.; 60, 3 ff.; Julius
Capitolinus, Anton. Pius 3, 1: Marc. Anton. Phil. 4, 3: Max. Duo 30,
1 ff.; Flavius Vopiscus, Aurel. 5, 1 ff.: Tac. 17, 1 ff.
116 Cf. Scriptorea Hi8t. Aug., ed. Peter, vol. 2, Index, s. v. 8ortea.
1 " Did. Jul. 7, 9-10 Fuit praeterea in Iuliano haec amentia, ut per
magos pleraque .faceret, quibus putaret vel odium populi deleniri vel
militum arma compesci. Nam et quasdam non convenientee Romanis
sacris hostias immolaverunt et carmina profana incantaverunt et ea, quae
ad speculum dicunt fieri, in quo pueri praeligatis oculie incantato vertice
reepicere dicuntur, Iulianus fecit. Tuncque puer vidisee dicltur et ad-
ventum Severi et Iuliani deceseionem.

in order to cure tertian and quartan fever. 297 Lampridius
mentions the most horrible magic rite with very mild dis-
approval. 298 The general state of public opinion during the
latter part of the second and the early part of the third cen-
turies of our era may be inferred from the fact that two Em-
perors,299 at least, of this period actually practiced magic.
During the next century, when the Christian Emperors were
exerting their utmost strength against all non-Christian influ-
ences, it is not surprising to find countless prosecutions on the
charge of magic, concerning which one may read in the pages
of Ammianus Marcellinus.800 At this period not only the
active practitioners of magic, but passive believers as well,
were spied out by delatores and punished.801 Throughout his
work, Ammianus, as a heathen eye-witness of this struggle,
appears to be at least tolerant of the much prosecuted magic
and opposed to the base devices of the delatores.
Along with the historians may be mentioned Frontinus, who
in his Strategemata not only shows himself to be a rationalist,
but also represents nearly all his heroes as equally above popular
m Anton. Carac. 5, 7 damnatis et qui remedia quartanis tertianisque
collo adnexa gestarunt.
m Anton. Heliogab. 8, 2 Omne denique magorum genus aderat illi
operabaturque cottidie hortante illo et gratias dis agente, quod amicos
eorum invenisset, cum inspiceret exta puerilia et excruciaret hostias ad
ritum gentilem suum. Cf. also 9, 1. m Cf. nn. 296, 298.
aoo Cf. Rer. Gest. Lib. 16, 8, 2: 19, 12, 14: 29, 2, 28.
101 Ammianus Marcellinus, Rer. Gest. Lib. 29, 2, 2-3, describes the con-
duct of a certain official named Palladius: Nanctus enim copiam nominandi
sine fortunarum distantia quos voluieset ut artibus interdictis imbutos, ita
ut ferarum occulta vestigia doctus observare venator, multos inter casses
lugubres includebat, quosdam veneficiorum notitia pollutos, alios ut ad·
petitoribus inminuendae conscios maiestatis. Et ne vel coniugibus mari-
torum vacaret miserias fl.ere, inmittebantur confestim qui signatis domibus
inter scrutinia suppellectilis poenis addicti, incantamenta quaedam anilia
vel ludibriosa subderent amatoria, ad insontium perniciem concinnata:
quibus in iudicio recitatis • • . indefensi • . . ad supplicia sellis gestatoriis
ducebantur.
superstitions and magic, though at the same time able to use

such beliefs to their personal advantage.•0t
(8) The Encycl<rpaedists and Magic

It is among the Latin authors who wrote works of an ency-
clopaedic or miscellaneous character, however, that we should
more naturally look for statements throwing light upon Roman
magic; and in this number we should place Varro, Nigidius
Figulus, Valerius Ma.ximus, Aulus Gellius, and Pliny the Elder.
The attitude of Varro and Nigidius toward magic has already
been discussed.'°' Valerius Ma.ximus contains no clear refer-
ence to magic.'°' Though he condemns astrology severely,•06
and is superior to the popular superstition regarding eclipses,aoe
he accepts without comment Livy's miraculous tale of Attus
Navius, unaware of its magic quality; ao7 apparently believes
in the wonderful tales, omens, and prodigies which he himself
repeats ; 308 and shares in the folk belief regarding the ill luck
of stumbling.309 He would therefore appear to resemble
Suetonius and others in possessing a mental superiority to
belief in magic, coupled with an actual acceptance of some,
at least, of its practices.
Aulus Gellius also presents a similar mixture of formal superi-
ority to magic ·and actual belief in magic. First we have to
note that he has preserved for us a very valuable list of the
1111Cf. Strat. 1, 11, 12-14;. 12, 1-8: 2, 1, 16.
1• For Varro cf. supra, 45-47; for Nigidius Figulus cf. supra, 17-18.
aoi This is disappointing, especially since the headings of Book I seem
ao promising. These headings are: (1) De Religione, (2) De Simulata
Religione, (3) De Superstitionibus, (4) De Auspicio, (5) De Ominibus,
(6) De Prodigiis, (7) De Somniis, (8) De Miraculis.
106 1, 3, 3 Excerpt. Par.
IOI 8, 11, }. 107 1, 4, 1.
10 • Cf. 1, 1, 7; 1, Excerpt. Par. and Nep. 5; 4, Excerpt. Par. and Nep.
5-6; 6, 1-5: 5, 6, 2-3.
101 1, 4, 2 Excerpt. Par.
ta.boos surrounding the person of the Fla.men Dia.lis ; •10 but,
since to him these curious details were caerimonia,311 and inter-
esting only to the curious scholar, we cannot draw from this
important passage any conclusion as to his personal views
concerning magic. He does, however, speak of magic prac-
tices in another passage 312 as deridicula 11anitas and f allax
inlece'bra, and seeks to justify the inclusion of such matters
in his work. In the same spirit of mental superiority he
apologizes for repeating stories about the evil eye and similar
marvels: 313
Haec atque alia istiusmodi plura legimus; sed, cum ea scriberemus,
tenuit nos non idoneae scripturae taedium nihil ad ornandum iuvan-
dumque usum vitae pertinentis.
Again, he vigorously defends the philosopher Democritus
against the charge ma.de by Pliny that he was a devotee of
magic and an authority upon the subject.314
But, notwithstanding his formal disapproval of magic, he
appears to share the popular belief regarding the magic charms
of the Marsi and the Psylli,316 the possibility of change of
110 10, 15 entire. This chapter, so important to the history of Roman

magic and religion, Gellius tells us (10, 15, 1), is taken from the sacerdotal
manuals and Fabius Pictor.
Ill 10, 15, 1.
' 11 10, 12, 4 Item aliud, quod hercle an ponerem dubitavi- ita est
deridiculae vanitatis -, nisi idcirco plane posui, quod oportuit nos dicere,
quid de istiusmodi admirationum fallaci inlecebra sentiremus, qua ple-
rumque capiuntur et ad perniciem elabuntur ingenia ma:xime sollertia
eaque potis.,imum, quae discendi cupidiora sunt.
Ill 9, 4, 11-12.
11' 10, 12, 6-8. See also his apparent approval of the elaborate argu-
ment of Favorinus against astrology (14, 1 entire).
116 16, 11, 1-3 Gens in Italia Marsorum orta fertur a Circae filio. Prop-
terea Marais hominibus . . • vi quadam genitali datum, ut et serpentium

virulentorum domitores sint et incentionibus herbarumque sucis faciant
medelarum miracula. Hae eadem vi praeditos esse quosdam videmus,
qui Psylli vocantur.
56 STUDIES IN MAGIC FROM LATIN LITERA.TURJD
sex,318 and the frequently fatal effect of the sixty-third year of

a man's life.817 One may suspect, therefore, that he really
believed in these 11anitates more than he himself was aware.
We have already said 318 that Pliny the Elder, while appear-
ing to condemn magic most severely, really believed in the de-
tested art much more than he thought.119 To prove this asser-
tion we shall be compelled to content ourselves with only a.
small proportion. of the vast amount of material at our com-
mand. It is true that he denounces magicae 11anitates 120 in
no uncertain terms, and especially Democritus, as the great
teacher of the art.121 Asclepiades, the physician, is taken to
task for mingling too much magic with his medicine.122 The
aia In 9, 4, 14-15 he quotes with approval a story of Pliny in which the
latter vouches personally for a marvellous change of sex: Verba igitur
haec . . . ipsius aunt, . . . quae profecto faciunt, ut neque respuenda
neque ridenda sit notissima illa vetenim poetarum de Caenide et Caeneo
cantilena.
117 15, 7, 1-3. This year, called the 1CALJ.&G1CTftpuc6v, was probably thought
of as 3x3x7, thus involving both of the sacred or magic numbers, and one
of them, 3, in its square. A thorough consideration of the number three
as a magic number in Latin literature is worthy of a special paper, which
the author hopes soon to be able to publish.
111 Supra, 17.
119 For an excellent treatment of Pliny's attitude toward magic cf.
L. Thorndike, The Place of Magi,c in the Intellectual History of Euro'[>6
(Columbia University dissertation, New York, 1905), 37-55.
no This is his usual expression for the magic art. Cf. N. H. 30, 1
Magicas vanitates saepius quidem antecedente operis parte, ubicumque
causae locusque poscebant, coarguimus detegemusque etiamnum. Then
follow paragraphs 1-28, the most elaborate discussion of magic in Latin
literature (used above, 19-21). Other passages in which he speaks of
magicae ronitates are : 22, 20: 26, 18: 27, 57: 28, 85 : 29, 81-82: 37, 118;
164. Cf. also 37, 169 for magorum insidiae. Other uncomplimentray
terms might be cited.
ni Cf. 24, 160: 25, 13-14: 26, 19: 30, 9-10: 32, 49. Against such a
view of Democritus cf. A. Gellius, N. A. 10, 12 entire. Cf. supra 55, and
n. 314.
m Cf. 26, 18-20 Super omnia adiuvere eum (i.e. Asclepiadem) magicae
vanitates in tantum evectae, ut abrogare herbis fidem cunctis possent. . • •
magi are very often held up to scom,121 though at other times
he speaks of their beliefs and practices apparently with com-
plete approval. 324 To be more specific, he discredits the belief
in such powerful magic animals as the werwolf,326 the sf:rix,32&
and the bubo.827 He does not believe in the magic control of
lightning,328 hail,829 crops,330 or health.331 He derides the belief
in magic plants,382 gems,aaa and amulets, 384 and regarding popular
superstitions of various sorts bids ea.ch of his readers ut cuique
libitum fuerit opinetur.336 Prodigies too, he maintains, are,
within the interpretative control of each individual.338
On the other hand, he appears to believe in the evil eye,137'
fire-walking, 338 power to vanish,339 and power to change one's
sex.uo He also believes in the influence of the moon's phases
Then follows a list of wonderful herbs and the powers attributed to them
by Asclepiades, all of which Pliny ridicules: Ubinam istae fuere, cum
Cimbri Teutonique terribili Marte ulularent aut cum Lucullus tot reges
Magorum paucis legionibus sterneret? etc. For a more detailed discus-
sion of magic in its relation to the prevention of disease cf. infra., 61-123.
w 24, 160: 26, 19-20: 28, 85-86; 89-90; 92-106; 188 (cf. 30, 16): 29.
53; 68; 76: 30, 1-28: 32, 49: 37, 155-156; 165; 169; 192.
IM 25, 129: 28, 69: 29, 59; 66; 138: 37, 133; 135; 142; 144.
at6 8, 80-82.
m 11, 232. For a discussion of the atrix in ancient literature, cf. Samuel
Grant Oliphant, The Story of the Strix: Ancient, in Transact. of Am. Philol.
Aun. 44 (1913), 133-149; ib. 45 (1914), 49-63.
117 29, 81-82. aao 18, 41-43. Yet cf. 28, 17-18.
au 2, 140-141: 28, 14. 511 17, 267: 26, 18-20: 28, 7.
au 17, 267: 28, 29; 77. m 25, 10-11; 25: 26, 18-20.
111 37, 118; 155-156; 164-165; 169; 192.
au 37, 118; 169. • 28, 29.

Al 28, 17 Haec satis sint, exemplis ut appareat, oetentorum vires et
in nostra potestate esse ac, prout quaeque accepta sint, ita valere.
u 7 7, 16-18: 28, 22.
aae 7, 19. For a detailed discussion of the magic practice of walking
on red-hot stones, see Andrew Lang, Magic and ReligWn (London, 1901),
270-294; and supra, 28, and n. 147.
At 7, 32. But in 33, 8 the story of Midas's wonderful ring is called
fabulolru8. uo 7, 36.
upon various phenomena of nature,141 the wonderful magic

effect of menstrual blood,au and probably in that pagana lez
which forba.de women to twist their spindles as they walked
along the country roads, quoniam adtJersetur id omnium spei,
praecipue frugum.su These beliefs a.re all based upon sym-
pathetic magic, and there are not lacking abundant additional
examples of Pliny's belief in such a 81Jinpathia or antipathia in
nature.'" There is luck, he believes, in odd numbers,146 es-
pecially the number three ; 861 the magic circle is effective ; 867
iron is ta.boo; 148 and the magic effect of spitting is recognized."'
The magic power of certain words and formulae is especially
availing.360 Notwithstanding contrary statements ma.de else-
Ml 16, 193-194: 24, 149: 29, 59.
Ml 7, 64~: 17, 266. Cf., however, 28, 77-80, where he expresses
disbelief. aa 28, 28.
'" 18, 160-161; 197: 22, 20: 24, 172: 28, 30-33; 263-267: 29, 67:
30, 143: 37, 142. "' 10, 151: 28, 23.
NI 24, 172: 25, l48j 167: 28, 36. Mf 21, 42: 25, 50.
"' 24, 149. But in 36, 100 he attempts to rationalize this belief.
"' 28, 35-39 Omnium vero in primis ieinua.ms aliv~ contra serpentes
praesidio ease doouimus, sed et alios efficaces eius usus recognoscat
vita. Despuimus comitiales morbos, hoc est contagia regerimus. Simili
modo et fascinationes repercutimus dextraeque clauditatis occursum.
Veniam quoque a deis spei alicuius audacioris petimus in sinum spuendo,
et iam eadem ratione terna despuere precatione in omni mediciru!. mos
est atque ita effectus adiuvare, incipientes furunculos ter praesignare
ieiuna saliva. The passage continues in similar vein through § 39. Cf.
also 10, 69: 24, 172: 25, 167: 30, 17; 108: 32, 92.
aao 28, 1()-14 Ex homine remediorum primum maximae quaestionis
et semper incertae est, polleantne aliquid verba et incantamenta carminum.
Quod si verum est, homini acceptum fieri oportere conveniat, sed viritim
sapientissimi cuiusque respuit fides, in universum vero omnibus horis
credit vita nee sentit. Yet, in the face of this statement of disbelief in
magic words, Pliny states that the history of Rome supplies various
instances of effective magic carmina. In 28, 12 we read: extat Tucciae
Vestalis incesti deprecatio, qua usa aquam in cribro tUlit.... And again,
Cuius sacri precationem, qua solet praeire XV virum collegii magister,
si quis legat, profecto vim carminum fateatur. In § 13 he continues:
Vestales nostras hodie credimus nondum egressa urbe mancipia fugitiva
where by him, 361 Pliny admits that there a.re effective magic
plants,151 gems,• anima.ls,aw and 8Jllulets.166 He even suggests
countercharms to his detested magic, which are themselves
magic.au
In view of this conflicting evidence we must agree with Dr.
Thorndike li7 that "in regard to magic in particular Pliny
seems to have flattered himself that his position was quite
different from what it actually was," and, to quote that scholar
further, 168 that "it hardly seems paradoxical to say that he
hated the magi but liked their doctrines," just as Tacitus 119
believed in astrology but despised astrologers.
If, therefore, we are justified in assuming that Pliny was a
representative man of science and learning among·the Romans,
and that he was even superior to the average man of letters in
his tendencies toward a rational view of the phenomena. of
nature and human coil.duct, the evidence in his case can but
strengthen the conclusion, already frequently drawn, that
· Roman · authors, as a rule, when expressing the sober verdict
of their reason, unequivocally and honestly condemn all magic
practices; but in their hearts they cherish, and in their writings
unwittingly display the magic heritage of the Italian ra.ce.880
retinere in loco precatione. . . . It is true that these users of magic are

priests and priestesses; but the power attributed to them is magic, never-
theless.
161 Cf. supra, 57. 161 37, 135; 142; et passim.
161 25, 50; 127; 129. 164 17, 265.
166 29, 67; 77: 32, 24; 44; 74; 114, etc. For aumlets in preventive
medicine cf. infra, 76-105.
111 Cf. 28, 85 Id quoque convenit, quo nihil equidem libentius cre-
diderim, tactis omnino menstruo postibus inritas fieri Magorum artes,

generis vanissimi, ut aestima.re licet. Cf. also 25, 127: 32, 33. ·
an Mag. in Intell. Hist. of Eu.rope, 41.
au Mag. in Intell. Hist. of Eu.rope, 45.
16t Cf. supra, 50, and n. 278.
•o Cf. the conclusions reached regarding Columella, supra; 27; Cato,
26-27; Varro, 27; 45-47; the writers on philosophy, 29-32; Catullus, 33-34;
A discussion of the attitude of Roman medical writers is

reserved for the succeeding chapter. It is sufficient here to
say that none of the purely Roman medical writers is free from
a tendency toward magic.
In the foregoing pages I have attempted to show that among

the Romans the conception of magic was essentially what it
is among us. Furthermore, it is apparent from a consideration
of Roman law, religion, science, folk belief, and literature,
that magic was peculiarly prevalent among the Romans from
the earliest times, and was not primarily an imported Greek
or Oriental product, important as additions from those sources
undoubtedly were. Finally, the ~ttempt of cultivated Romans
to assume an air of superiority to these earlier beliefs does not
convince us of their genuine advance beyond a real belief in
such matters ; and it is not difficult in many cases to remove
the cover and expose the real Roman with his inherited belief
in magic showing itself through the veneer of Greek polish.
This literary attitude exerted practically no effect upon pop-
ular belief in magic, which retained its influence throughout
the Republic and the Empire, even into the Christian Italy of
to-day.au
Tibullus and Propertius, 34-36; Ovid, 36-37; Horace, 38-39; Petronius,
40-42; Apuleius, 42-45; Caesar, 47-48; Livy, 48-49; Tacitus, 50-51;
Suetonius, 51-52; Ammianus Marcellinus, 53; Valerius Maximus, 54;
A. Gellius, 54-56.
111 These facts can be presented with greater detail and convincingness
in the succeeding chapter.
f
CHAPTER II
MAGIC AND THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE
On account of the universal and continuous importance of

magic in ancient Italy it will be manifestly impossible to treat
the subject in its entirety in an essay of the present compass.
There were, however, some problems of life that to the early
Italian appeared beyond ordinary human solution, and that
offered, accordingly, a peculiarly inviting field for the employ-
ment of magic. Of these none was more important than the
problem of preventing or curing human physical ills. It is
the purpose of the present chapter, therefore, to show that the
Romans of all periods resorted to magic as a supplement to
medicine in general, and to make a detailed study of their use
of prophylactic magic. 1 This end can be satisfactorily attained
by a consideration of (1) the relation of medical magic to
religion ; (2) the relation of medical magic to scientific medi-
cine; (3) prophylactic magic among the Romans.
I. MEDICAL MAGIC AND RELIGION
(1) The Gods as Workers of Maqic. -The proof we have

already offered 2 that the earliest Roman religion contained
many magic elements will be strengthened by a closer study
of the medical magic of Italy.
Concerning the advent of religion among primitive peoples
there is much that is in dispute. It seems probable, however,
1 The Romans made use of magic in curative and causative as well
as in preventive medicine. The limitations of space, however, will not

permit the treatment of these important divisions of our subject in this
dissertation. t Supra, 24-25.
that in the early history of any people magic is older than

religion, a and that the transition from magic to religion is
marked by the belief that the gods themselves are magicians.'
Latin literature furnishes considerable proof in support of the
latter part of this theory, for literary tradition clearly indi-
cates that the earliest Romans of whom we have a record
were in a state of civilization where they had gods, it is true,
in addition to magic; but those gods :themselves practiced
medical as well as other magic, and were approached by their
devotees with rites which contained many magic elements.
The following stories from Ovid will show the use of magic
by early Roman gods. In the first story Juno is depicted as
preventing for a time the birth of Hercules :6
Utque meos audit gemitus, subsedit in illa
ante fores ara, dextroque a poplite laevum
pressa genu et digitis inter se pectine iunctis
sustinuit partus. Tacita quoque carmina voce
dixit, et incoeptos tenuerunt carmina partus.
Una ministrarum, media de plebe, Galanthis,

flava comas, aderat, faciendis strenua iussis,
officiis dilecta suis. Ea sensit iniqua
nescio quid Iunone geri: dumque exit et intrat
saepe fores, divam residentem vidit in ara
bracchiaque in genibus digitis conexa tenentem,
et "Quaecumque es," ait, "dominae gratare. Levata est
Argolis Alcmene, potiturque puerpera voto."
Exsiluit, iunctasque manus pavefacta remisit
diva potens uteri: vinclis levor ipsa remissis.
1 This theory, advanced by Frazer (G. B. 1, 1, 220-243), seems to me
on the whole to be more reasonable than any other that has yet been
proposad. Vigorous opponents of Frazer's view are, however, not lacking
(see, e. g., Lang, Mag. and Rel. 46-75). Mr. F. B. Jevons (Hiat. of Rel.
24-40) has suggested another view, which regards neither magic nor
religion as of necessarily earlier occurrence.
' Cf. Frazer, G. B. 1, 1, 24o-242. 1 Met. 9, 297-315.
MAGIC AND THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE 63
In the foregoing passage Juno not only uses silent charms to
accomplish her purpose, but crosses her knees and interlocks
her fingers, 0 with the expectation that by such action she will
lock up or prevent the birth of the child. It naturally follows,
therefore, that, when the goddess is induced through a stratagem
to unlock her fingers and uncross her knees, the magic power
vanishes.
That this story contains genuine Italian elements seems clear
from the following passage in Pliny : 7
Adsidere gravidis vel cum remedia alicui adhibeantur digitis pec-
tinatim inter se implexis veneficium est, idque compertum tradunt
Alcmena Herculem pariente; peius, si circa unum ambove genua;
item poplites alternis genibus inponi. Ideo haec in consiliis ducum
potestatiumve fieri vetuere maiores velut omnem actum inpedientia;
vetuere vero et sacris votisve simili modo interesse.
From this it would appear not only that Juno used magic to
accomplish her ends; but also that the ancient Roman law-
makers, Pliny's maiores, considered magic acts like hers more
powerful than either worldly powers or religion.
The second story of Ovid represents as a magician the ancient
Italian goddess, Carna, whose function it was to protect in-
fants frdm the assaults of striges. 8 In writing of an infant who
has been attacked by these creatures, the poet says :
1 For similar uses of the interlace in preventive magic, see, besides
the passage from Pliny, quoted below, Leland, Etruac. Rom. Rem. 165-172.
Closely related to the interlace is the taboo on knots in general, of which
Frazer has given some interesting examples (G. B. 2, 293 ff.). Cf. also
infra, 100.
7 N. H. 28, 59.
1 Fasti 6, 147-168. For strigea cf. supra, 57, n. 326. Carna seems to
have been the protectress of the heart, liver, viscera, etc. Hence her
protective acts in this case are easily understood. Cf. Wiseowa, Religion
und Kultus, 236. For the antiquity of the goddess and her cult cf. Fowler,
R. F. 130-133; Roecher, Lez. 1, 854-855.
Territa voce sui nutrix accurrit alumni,

et rigido sectas invenit ungue genas.
Quid faceret? Color oris erat, qui frondibus olim
ease solet seris, quas nova laesit hiems.
Pervenit ad Cranaen, et rem docet. Illa "Timorem
pone! Tuus sospes," dixit, "alumnus erit."
Venerat ad cunas : flebant materque paterque:
"Sistite vos lacrimas: ipsa medeborl" ait.
Protinus arbutea postes ter 9 in ordine tangit
fronde, ter arbutea limina 10 fronde notat,
spargit aquis aditus - et aquae medicamen habebant -
extaque de porca cruda bimenstre tenet,
atque ita "Noctis aves, extis puerilibus," inquit,
''parcite : pro parvo victima parva cadit.
Cor pro corde, precor, pro fibris sumite fibras.
Hane animam vobis pro meliore damus." 11
Sic ubi libavit, prosecta sub aethera ponit,
quique adsint sacris respicere illa vetat: 12
virgaque Ianalis de spina ponitur alba, 11
qua lumen thalamis parva fenestra dabat.
Post illud nee aves cunas violasse feruntur,
et rediit puero, qui fuit ante, color.
Here we have a goddess whom, were it not for Ovid's explicit

statement of her divine origin (1. 101), any casual reader would
' For the use of the number three in Roman magic cf. infra, 119, n. 283.
1 °
For other instances of the threshold in Roman medical magic cf.
Columella, 7, 5, 17; Pliny, N. H. 29, 83: 30, 82: 34, 151; Marcellus
Empiricus, 1, 65: 2, 4: 4, 27: 14, 66: 16, 21: 23, 35; 50: 25, 35; and
especially M. B. Ogle, The House-Door in Greek and Roman Religion and
Folk-Lore (Am. Journ. of Phil. 42 [1911], 251-271).
11 The principle upon which this substitution is based is known as
aimilia aimilibus (cf. supra, 9, n. 41).
11 A similar prohibition is characteristic of the ancient rites of the
Lemuralia (cf. supra, 37, n. 195). That those who were engaged in magic
cures were likewise enjoined not to look behind them is made clear by
Pliny, N. H. 21, 176: 24, 104: 29, 91; Marcellus Empiricus, 1, 54: 8, 52:
25, 11. .
11 Of the whitethorn as a countercharm I have been unable to find
other instances, except, of course, lines 129-130 of this passage.
consider a mere magician. The frightened nurse runs to her,
as to an earthly friend, for aid, which the goddess gives in
person. Like any mortal magician she touches the door-posts
and the threshold of the nursery three times with the arbutus
twig, sprinkles the entrance with holy water, and practices
a perfect bit of sympathetic magic by sacrificing a pig of two
months, with the accompanying conjuration that the strigea
shall accept this substitute and return the entrails of the infant
to their proper place. The entrails of the pig are then placed
in the open air, probably in order that the strigea may have
easy access to them, unmolested by any backward glances of
mortals. Finally, the window is made impassable for striges
by means of a twig of the mystic whitethorn, the home is
freed from the possibility of further unwelcome visits of these
creatures, and the color of health returns to the cheek of the
stricken infant.
Ceres, 14 Diana,16 and even Aesculapius 18 also resorted to
medical magic, but their acts are connected with Greek myth 17
rather than with Roman folk lore. Of strictly Italian flavor,
however, is the tradition that the miraculous medical .powers
of the Marsi were given only to those of the tribe whose descent
from the magician-goddess, Circe, was uncontaminated by
alien blood. 18 From this we may be permitted to conclude that
14 Ovid, Fasti 4, 549-554. 16 IWJ.. 6, 746-754.

11 Hyginus, Astron. 2, 14. On incubation, as practiced in the temples
of Aesculapius, cf. Magnus, Superst. in Med. ~56. Thid temple sleep,
as a means of curing disease, seems to have been based on genuine religious
feeling rather than on magic.
17 That the Homeric gods indulged freely in magic we have already
shown (supra, 19, n. 97).

11 In A. Gellius, N. A. 16, 11, 1-2 we read: Gens in Italia Marsorum
orta fertur a Circae filio. Propterea Marsis hominibus, quorum dumtaxat
familiae cum externis cognationibus nondum etiam permixtae corruptaeque
aunt, vi quadam genitali datum, ut et serpentium virulentorum domitoree
sint et incentionibus herbarumque sucis faciant medelarum miracula.
Circe herself leed her magic drugs not only to effect transform~
tions, but also to produce cures.19
If the tradition, as represented in the passages quoted above,
is correct in attributing medic~magic functions to the early
Italian gods, we should expect to find the priests who served
those gods equally versed in curative magic. Such a union of
the priestly office with that of the medical magician is indeed
represented by Vergil 10 as characteristic of Italy at the time
of the arrival of Aeneas. In those early days popular and
ev~n state customs exhibit a mixture of medical magic with
religion. 21 The g<>sis were besought for medical aid with a.
combination of prayer and spell,22 and pestilence was thought
to be controlled by the ancient custom of driving a nail "into
the wall of the cella of Minerva in the Capitoline temple." 28
11 Her more obscure sister, Angitia, says Solinue (2, 29), was famous
for her healing art. Such traditions would make it much easier to explain
the continued worship of Circe at Circeii as Circe sancti&Bima (cf. Wiseowa,
Reli,giqn und Kultus, 542, n. 5).
10 Aen. 7, 750-758. Cf. supra 24.
21 Augustine (C. D. 6, 9) has preserved for us the details of a religious
custom which shows how closely early Italian religion was allied to magic:
mulieri fetae poet partum tree deoe custodes commemorat (ec. Varro)
adhiberi, ne Silvanus deus per noctem ingrediatur et vexet, eorumque
custodum eignificandorum causa tree hominee noctu circuire limina
domus et primo limen eecuri ferire, poetea pilo, tertio deverrere scopis, ut
his datis culturae eignis deus Silvanus prohibeatur intrare, quod neque
arbores caeduntur ac putantur sine ferro, . . .
a Cf. Ovid, Fasti 3, 255-258:
Dicite "Tu nobis lucem, Lucina, dedisti I"
Dicite "Tu voto parturientis adeel"
Si qua tamen gravida est, reeoluto crine precetur,
ut eolvat partus molliter ilia suos.
11 Cf. Fowler, R. F. 234. In describing the revival of this custom
A. U. C. 390, Livy says (7, 3, 3-5): cum piaculorum magie conquisitio
animoe quam corpora morbi adficerent, repetitum ex eeniorum memoria
dicitur, peetilentiam quondam clavo a dictatore fixo sedatam. Ea re-
ligione adductus eenatus dictatorem clavi figendi causa dici iUBBit. This
passage, taken with Livy, 8, 18 and 9, 28, 6, makes it quite certain that
Digitized by Google
(2) Dei.fimtion of Disea.8e8. - Of similar nature and of
equally early origin was the Roman custom of deifying the
diseases themselves. Of these the numen 24 of the dread fevers
which annually exacted such heavy toll from the Romans
seems to have been especially revered. In ridicule of what
appears to have been a very general belief in the divine attri-
butes of various diseases, Pliny exclaims : 26
numina . . . innumerabilia invenimus, inferis quoque in genera
discriptis morbisque et multis etiam pestibus, dum esse placataa
trepido metu cupimus. ldeoque etiam publice Febris fanum in
Palatio dicatum est... ,11
It is quite apparent from the words of Pliny that not only was
the numen of fever especially revered by the Roman populace,
but that there were many other diseases also of which the
numina were held in like respect. Just what diseases were
the purpose of driving the nail was corrective and curative. Epilepsy ~as
cured in a si.mila.r way (cf. Pliny, N. H. 28, 63). For the superstitions
connected with nails in general, including the archaeological evidence,
cf. Jahn, BDa. Blick 106ff.; Marquardt, ROm. Staata". 3, 106-107.
" For the word numen as used in Roman religion cf. Fowler, Rel. Exper.
118-119. • N. H. 2, 15-16.
• There were at le&Rt three such temples in Rome in the first century
of our era, according to Valerius Maxinius, 2, 5, 6: Febrem autem ad
minus nocendum templis colebant, quorum adhuc unum in Palatio, alterum
in area Marianorum monumentorum, tertium in summa parte vici longi
extat, in eaque remedia, quae corporibus aegrorum adnexa fuerant, defere-
bantur. But only the first of these is mentioned elsewhere (cf. Cicero,
De Leg. 2, 28: Nat. Deor. 3, 63 [Pliny, N. H. 2, 15-16, quoted above];
Aelian, V. H. 12, 11). Other passages which mention a temple to Febris
without specifying the location (such as Augustinus, C. D. 3, 25: 4, 15;
Seneca, Apoc. 6; Theodorus Priscianus Physicus, 3 [p. 250 Rose]) prob- ·
ably refer to the Palatine temple. For epigraphical evidence of the cult
Wissowa (Religion und Kultua, 246) quotes inscriptions dedicated to dea
Terti4na (C. I. L. 7, 999) and Quartana (C. I. L. 12, 3129). It should be
noted that Valerius Maximus, in the passage quoted above, is speaking
of numerous temples to disease erected by anliquorum simplicitaa, of
which number the three that were existent in his own day comprised
probably only a small proportion. Cf. also Roscher, Ia., s. v. Febria.
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thus deified we are ~nable to state with any degree of

certa.inty.27
The statements that the temple of Fe"bris stood upon the
Palatine probably point to an early date as the time of its
construction.29 In this and similar temples, we may infer,
the Roman populace prayed to be relieved from the attacks
of the specific disease to whose temple they had come for a.id.
Such petitions, we may be sure, differed little from the purely
magical evocationes morborum which a.re extant in considerable
numbers.29 The deification of disease and the offering of
17 In the Cambridge Companion to Latin Studies (§ 1075) we find the

following statement: "We hear also of a Dea Mefiti8 (for malaria), Dea
Angerona (for angina, chx~. or inflammation of the throat); and even,
it is said, Dea Scabies (for the itch)." The evidence for this statement is,
however, not convincing. The Dea Mefiti8, 80 far as our evidence goes,
seems to have been nothing more than a goddess of noxious gases (cf.
ROBcher, Lex., s. v. Mefiti8; Heim, Incant. Mag. 476). That Angerona
was a goddess of quinsy is very doubtful. The truth seems to be that her
cult had become 80 obscure even to Roman antiquarians that they were
unable to agree either upon the etymology of the name or the function
of the deity. The idea thlit she was the goddess of quinsy rests only
upon Julius Modestus (apud Macrobium, 1, 10, 9) and Festus, 16 (ed.
Lindsay). Many Roman antiquarians gave her an entirely different
function (cf. the Thesaurus, s. v. Angerona, for an exhaustive group of
citations concerning Angerona; Roscher, Lex., s. v. Angerona). A full
statement of our ignorance regarding Angerona will be found in Fowler,
R. F. 274-275. The evidence for Scabies as a deity seems even less sub-
stantial. It consists of a single passage (Prudentius, Hamartigenia 220);
unless, indeed, we understand a deified itch in Horace, Ara Poet. 417, a
passage which Heim (Incant. Mag. 512) has elucidated. More specific
is the evidence for Pallor, Pavor (Livy, 1, 27, 7; Lactantius, 1, 20, 11),
Parentia (Tertullianus, Ad Nat. 2, 11; Augustinus, C. D. 4, 11), and
Met'U8 (Vergil, Aen. 6, 276; Claudius Claudianus, 1, 77; Apuleius, Met.
10, 31; Seneca, Herc. Fur. 693; Dieterich, Abraxaa 92, n. 5; Roscher,
Lex. 3, 1341-1343), if one may consider such emotions, when carried to
the extreme, in the class with diseases.
n Cicero (De Leg. 2, 28) calls it ara '1Jet'U8ta.
" An excellent collection of such e1JOCationes will be found in Heim,
Incant. Mag. 476-479.
prayer to such deities seems, in fact, but a step in advance of
the belief that man could control disease by purely magical
means. This conception of disease as a deity seems to supply
a connecting link between the purely magical idea of direct·
control of nature, and the religious idea of gods, who will
relieve trouble if they are placated by prayer and sacrifice.
We are thus enabled to catch a glimpse of the early Roman as
he tried by preternatural means to gain control over natural
phenomena. Whether this eft'ort took the form of a prayer
or a spell must have depended, at least during the period of
transition from magic to religion, upon the disposition of the
individual who sought relief; and we may be allowed to sur-
mise that during this period there was only the slightest dif-
ference between prayer and spell, between priest and magician.30
As the priestly class grew stronger, and as the more intellectual
classes, including the lawmakers, gradually deserted magic for
religion, legal worship among the Romans succeeded in freeing
itself from all active magic ; 31 but it is probable that the or-
dinary Roman, even of the most enlightened era, as he stood
in the temple of Fems and similar temples, uttered a prayer
that closely resembled a magic spell.32
10 Marett (Threah. of Rel. 29-72) has an interesting chapter entitled

From Spell to Prayer. It is also instructive to note that as Judaism and
Christianity spread through Italy there became manifest a disposition to
mingle scriptural names and seasons in much the same manner with
magic incantations. For this cf. Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 29: 23, 29: 25,
13: 29, 23; Anecdotum Latinum (ed. Piechotta) 77; 199; 200; Helm-
reich's edition of Marcellus Empiricus, Index Nominum Propriorum, s. vv.
Chriatm, Jacob, and Sabaoth.
11 In spite of this desire to be free from outgrown magic belief, many
fossilized elements from that source remained in Roman ritual. Cf.

supra, 24-25.
n That neither the ancient Roman state religion nor Christianity has
succeeded in freeing the Italian from his original belief in medical and
other magic is abundantly proved by Leland in his Ef.r'U8can Roman Re-
maina.
II. MEDICAL MAGIC VERSUS SclENTIFIC MEDICINE
The history of Roman medicine resembles that of Roman

religion. It began with the universal employment of magic
cures, together with simple household remedies, and ended
with the adoption bodily of Greek scientific medicine, at least
among the upper classes.aa
(1) Medical Magic Universal am<mg the Early Romans. -
We know that early Greek medicine was not free from magic ;
for we read " that, when Odysseus had been wounded by a
boar, the blood was stanched not by the usual means, but by
an incantation. Among the early Romans, also, belief in
medical magic was universal.86 As time went on, however,
the more intellectual classes gradually abandoned magic cures
for scientific medicine, though the populace continued to a
great extent to believe in the older method of controlling
disease.ae
11 For a brief discussion of Roman medicine, together with a bibliog-

raphy of the subject, cf. Camb. Comp. to Lat. Stud. 715-727.
" Od. 19, 457-458, cited somewhat inaccurately by Pliny (N. H . 28, 21).
Apuleius also (Apol. 40) cites this Homeric passage as evidence of magic
in early Greek medicine: Veteres quidem medici etiam carmina remedia
vulnerum norant, ut omnis vetustatis certissimus auctor Homerus docet,
qui facit Ulixi de vulnere sanguinem profluentem sisti cantamine. Welcker
(Kleine Schriften, 3, 64ff.) attempts rather unsuccessfully to deny to
the Homeric heroes the use of magic cures. His views are vigorously
opposed by Heim (Incant. Mag. 466). Other references to magic cures
among the Greeks are Pindar, Pyth. 3, 51; Aeschylus, Agam. 1020-1021:
Eum. 648-650; Aelian, De Nat. An. 2, 18.
16 Pliny (N. H. 28, 13), after discussing some ancient Roman customs
in connection with incantamenta as remedia, adds: Prisci quidem nostri

perpetuo talia credidere. The evidence which we have given in our treat-
ment of Medical Magic and Religion (supra, 61-69) corroborates the state-
ment of Pliny.
18 Cf. Pliny, N. H. 28, 10: Ex homine remediorum primum maximae
quaestionis et semper incertae est, polleantne &liquid verba et incanta-

menta carminum. Quod si verum est, homini acceptum fieri oportere
Many early cures indicate this popular mixture of magic
with medicine. Epilepsy, for instance, was thought to be
cured, or at least alleviated, by spitting upon the afflicted
person. Plautus furnishes the earliest literary reference to
such a custom. In the Captivi (550-555) we read:
Ty. et illic isti qui sputatur morbus interdum venit.
Proin tu ab istoc procul recedas. He. Ultro istum a me.
Ar. Ain, verbero?
Me rabiosum atque insectatum ease hastis meum memoras patrem,
et eum morbum mi ease, ut qui med opus sit insputarier?
He. Ne verere: multos iste morbus homines macerat,
quibus insputari saluti fuit atque is profuit.17
A very primitive method of setting dislocated or broken

limbs by the aid of magic is given us by Cato 38 in the following
words:
Luxum si quod est, hac cantione sanum fiet. Harundinem prende
tibi viridem p. IIII aut V longam. Mediam diffinde et duo homines
teneant ad coxendices. Incipe cantare: motas vaeta daries dardares
conveniat, sed viritim sapientissimi cuiusque respuit fides, in universum

vero omnibus horis credit vita nee sentit.
17 I have followed Elmer (Captiri, 122 [Boston, 1900]) in my interpre-
tation of line 553. It may be noted, however, that both the text and the
interpretation of these lines are somewhat in doubt. Cf. Elmer's critical
note, pp. 167-168, and Fay's article in The Clauical Reoiew, 8, 391. That
the custom of spitting upon epileptics persisted at Rome until the first
century of our era is attested by Pliny (N. H . 28, 35, quoted infra, 108),
though this passage would seem to indicate that in Pliny's day the a.ct
was intended to protect the spitter rather than to cure the epileptic.
We may infer from the silence of Greek authors (Theophrastus, Charact.,
De Superstit., fin., furnishes the only reference to the subject in Greek
literature) that the practice was of native Italian growth. A good treat-
ment of The Saliva Superstition in Classical Lit,erature is given by Frank W.
Nicolson in the Harvard Studies, 8 (1897), 23 ff., though the author's
promise to give all the literary references is scarcely fulfilled. For the
universal custom of spitting in magic, cf. Elworthy, Eril Eye, 412 ff.
18 R . R . 160 (cf. Pliny, N. H . 28, 21). For the text and a thorough dis-
cussion of this incantation see Heim, Incant. Mag. 533-535; 565-566; Keil,
astata.ries dissunapiter, usque dum eoeant, ferrum insuper iactato.

Ubi eoierint et alters. altera.m tetigerint, id manu prehende et dextra
sinistra pra.eeide. Ad luxum aut ad fraetura.m alliga: sanum fiet, et
ta.men eotidie cants.to et luxato.
In like manner Varro quotes from one of the Sasemae a

magic remedy for pain in the feet : 39
Cum homini pedes dolere eoepissent, qui tui meminisset, ei mederi
posse. Ego tui memini: medere meis pedibus. Terra pestem teneto.
Salus hie maneto (se. in meis pedibus). Hoe ter novies cants.re iubet,
·terra.m tangere, despuere, ieiunum cants.re.
We read also in this passage •0 that not only did the Sasemae
include many such marvels in their agricultural works, 41 but
that other early agricultural writers embodied similar items
-of medical magic in their farmers' guides.
There can scarcely be any doubt that the magic cures men-
tioned by Plautus, Cato, and :Varro represent ancient Italian
folk belief. The same is true, also, of the large number of
traditional popular cures of a magic character given by Pliny
and other Latin writers. That these remedies are of ancient
origin is further shown by the fact that in their preparation
the use of iron is frequently for bidden. This circumstance
Catoni8 De Agri CuUura, 106. The original text was probably as I have
given it, though it has suffered much from subsequent interpolations.
That this remedy was not of Greek origin we may infer both from our
knowledge of Cato's hostility to Greek medicine (cf. Pliny, N. H. 29, 14)
and from the general nature of the remedy itself.
" R.R. 1, 2, 27.
•o R. R. 1, 2, 28 Multa, inquam, item alia miracula apud Sasernas
invenies, quae omnia sunt diversa ab agricultura, et ideo repudianda.
Quasi vero; inquam, non apud ceteros quoque scriptores talia reperiantur.
41 For a probable instance of such magic in the works of the Sasernae
cf. Varro, R.R. 1, 2, 26: Tam hercle quam hoc, si quem glabrum facere
velis, quod iubet ranam luridam conicere in aquam, usque quo ad tertiam
partem decoxeris, eoque unguere corpus. (Here the hairless frog is prob-
ably thought to have a sympathetic effect in producing a hairless head.)
seems clearly to indicate that such magic<rmedical remedies
were in common use before the iron age.42
(2) Early Magic Cures not Entirely Di8placed by Gruk
Scientific Medicine. - Even after the introduction of Greek
scientific medicine, the common people of Rome and Italy
continued to use magic cures. The popular opposition to the
more advanced medical theories of the Greeks is probabJy
well reflected in Cato's advice to his son to avoid Greek physi-
cians and to cling to the old Italian folk medicine. 41 This
popular system of magic cures shows itself at times even in
the writings of the foremost champions of the Greek school
of medicine at Rome. If we may trust the prejudiced report
of Pliny," AscJepiades, the great Greek physician, resorted to
magic in his practice of medicine; nor does Celsus disdain
to quote, 46 for what it may be worth, a magic cure derived
exclusively from auctores ex populo.
• For the prohibition of the use of iron in medical magic cf. Celsus,
4, 8; Pliny, N. H. 15, 124: 23, 163: 24, 12; 68; 103; 172; 176: 30, 102;
Marcellus Empiricus, 19, 52: 20, 106: 23, 35: 25, 13; 14: 26, 25; Pela.-
gonius, 7, 39; Serenus Sammonicus, 41Hlli Pseudo-Pliny, 2, 21 (ed.
Rose). Similar in intent are those passages where the magic remedy is
to be prepared with implements of wood (Cato, R.R. 70: 71; Scribonius
Largus, 152; Marcellus Empiricus, 28, 40; Serenus Sammonicus, 306) or
of bronze (Columella, 6, 5, 4; Scribonius Largus, 16; Pliny, N. H. 28,
198: 29, 109: 32, 41; Marcellus Empiricus, 29, 45). It is interesting to
note that after the taboo on iron had somewhat subsided the strange new
metal was actually considered efficacious in certain kinds of magic (cf.
Pliny, N. H. 25, 167: 28, 42; 63: 29, 130: 30, 106: 34, 151; Marcellus
Empiricus, 8, 49: 27, 87). Cf. also Kroll, Anliker Aberglaube, 6-8; Frazer,
G. B. 2, 225 ff.; and for a like prohibition in Roman religion cf. Wissowa,
Religion und Kultm, 34.
0 Pliny, N. H. 29, 14 hoc puta vatem dixisse: quandoque ista gens
(sc. Graeca) suas litteras dabit, omnia conrumpet, tum etiam magis, si
medicos suos hoc mittet. . . . Interdixi tibi de medicis.
" N. H. 26, 18-20.
46 Med. 4, 7 Vulgo audio, si quis pullum hirundinis ederit, angina toto
anno non periclitari; . . . Id quum idoneos auctores ex populo habeat,

neque habere quidquam periculi possit, quamvis in monumentis medi-
To what extent the more intellectual Romans of the Empire

still believed in the old magic folk remedies will be shown by
a brief consideration of some statements of Pliny the Elder.
We have already shown 48 that Pliny, the typical representa-
tive of Roman scientific inquiry, was not so free from belief
in magic as he himself thought. In the special field of medical
magic he was equally self-deceived. It is true that at times
he speaks in ridicule of the M agorum commenta as unworthy
of acceptance ; ' 7 but these commenta of the Magi are of exactly
the same character as his own approved Italian remedies. As
a matter of fact, cures that depend upon sympathetic magic for
their efficacy are borrowed frankly and approvingly by Pliny
from these same Magi ; " and, when scientific medicine proved
powerless to cure a given disease, Pliny was willing enough to
resort to the cures of the Magi. We read, for instance : 0
In quartanis medicina clinice propemodum nihil pollet. Quam ob
rem plura eorum (i.e. Magorum) remedia ponemus primumque ea
quae adalligari iubent.
At other times Pliny appears to believe in popular Italian
remedies of a magic nature, 50 even going so far as to assert
corum non legerim, tamen inserendum huic operi meo credidi. Cf. also
ibid. 4, 8.
41 Supra, 56-59.
n N. H. 28, 47-49. The passage begins with the words, Magorum haec
commenta sunt, but one is at a loss throughout to determine where the
Magorum commenta end and popular Italian beliefs begin.
" Cf., e.g., N. H. 28, 232.
" N. H. 30, 98.
60 N. H. 28, 35-46. It is true that throughout this passage Pliny indi-
cates that he is quoting from popular beliefs (cf. the words quidam •••
adgraoont [37], dicitur [41; 42], tradunt [43; 46]); but nowhere does he
give convincing evidence of personal disbelief in what he is relating. Upon
this point cf. Thorndike, Place of Mag. 44 ff. How widely Pliny had
culled from books on medical magic is shown by the fact that he cites
no fewer than twenty-five authors for items on magic cures. These are:
Apollonius (28, 7); Archelaus (28, 34); Artemon (28, 7); Asclepiades
that the magic act of spitting thrice as one utters a charm is
a helpful custom in all medicine.11 In the light of such evi-
dence, we must conclude, I think, that Pliny depended upon
scientific medicine wherever it had proved its efficacy in curing
specific diseases, but recognized the possibility that an even
greater power resided in magic cures, which he did not hesi-
tate to recommend in cases where scientific medicine had
failed. It is this more or less unconscious acknowledgment of
the superior power of medical magic which proves that among
the intellectual classes, no less than among the masses, there
still survived an implicit belief in the old Italian folk remedies,
which could never be entirely supplanted by Greek science.n
With the decline of classical Latin literature the gulf be-
tween the cultivated classes and the superstitious masses of
Rome gradually decreased in width, so that in the later Em-
pire there appears a growing tendency among Latin authors
to identify themselves in thought as well as in style with the
daily life of Rome and Italy. Accordingly, we find in the later
literature of Rome, just as in her earlier literature, a fuller
and franker indication of a very general belief in medical
(26, 18-20); Bithus Durrachinus (28, 82); Caecilius (29, 85); Cato (28,
21); Chrysippus philosophus (30, 103); Dallon (28, 262); Democritus
(24, 156-158: 26, 19-20: 28, 7; 113-118); Deotimus (28, 83); Granius
(28, 42); Icatidas medicus (28, 83); Lais (28, 82); Marcion Zmyrnaeus
(28, 38); Meletos (28, 7); Metrodorus (37, 178); Ofilius (28, 38); Orpheus
(28, 34); Osthanes (28, 5-6; 256; 261); Pythagoras (24, 156-158); Salpe
(28, 38; 82; 262); Sotira obstetrix (28, 83); Theophrastus (28, 21); Varro
(28, 21). There are also numerous references to the works of the Magi
as a class.
• 1 N. H. 28, 36 'We beg the pardon of the gods,' he says, 'for a too
ambitious hope by spitting upon the breast,' et iam eadem ratione terna
despuere precatione in omni medicina mos est atque ita effectus adiuvare,
incipientes furunculos ter praesignare ieiuna saliva.
0 How readily the Roman mind associated trickery and magic with
Greek medicine may possibly be indicated by Juvenal's description of a

versatile Greek (3, 77): Augur, schoenobates, medicus, magus, omnia
novit I Graeculus esuriens.•••
.76 STUDIES IN MAGIC FROM LATIN LITERATURE
magic.• The works of Q. Serenus Sammonicus,64 Spartianus,11

Ammianus Ma.rcellinus,68 Pseudo-Pliny,67 Pseudo-Apuleius,"
Sextus Placitus Papyriensis,69 and Marcellus Empiricus eo
give ample evidence of the continuous and universal nature
of this belief.
III. PREVENTIVE OR PROPHYLACTIC MAGIC
A. THE AMULET
Up to the present point we have directed our attention more

particularly to the curative phase of medical magic among the
Romans. Prophylactic magic was, however, of equal importance
in the life of ancient Italy. The chief means through which
the aid of prophylactic magic was sought was the amulet.
11 This statement applies equally well to all magic, 88 I have shown,
supra, 25-26. I have tried there, also, to indicate the reasons underlying
the phenomenon.
14 The extant Liber Medicinalis of Serenus S&IXllilonicus is full of super·
stition and folk medicine (cf. lines 41o-411; 439-443; 482-484; 609-
612; 651-655; 907; 916-918; and especially the celebrated description
of the amulet known 88 the abracadabra [935-946]), notwithstanding the
author's affected superiority to such beliefs (cf. lines 828-830; 925-931;
1003-1005). The most available text is probably that of Baehrens, Poet.
Lat. Min. 3, 103 ff.
16 Hadrian 25, 1-4: Caracalla 5, 8.
11 Cf. 16, 8, 2: 19, 12, 14. In the former of these passages we have the
statement that fourth century medicine openly embraced magic cures:
si quis super occentu soricis vel occursu mustelae vel similis signi gratia
consuluisset quemquam peritum, aut anile incantamentum ad leniendum
adhibuiBSet dolorem - quod medicinae quoque admittit auctoritas -
reus . . . delatus. . . . ·
57 The usual text is that of Rose (Leipzig, 1875). In the same MS with
the Pseudo-Pliny (Cod. St. Galli, 752) are found very many other passages
giving magic cures, for which cf. Rose in Hermu, 8, 48 ff.
11 De Med. Herb. 19, 4: 24, 1: 91, 2 (ed. Ackermann, Ntlrnberg, 1788) •
.. 17, 12; 19.
eo This author is a veritable storehouse of late Roman folk medicine.
Reference will be made to his work very frequently in the succeeding
pages.
It is to this interesting subject, therefore, that we shall now
turn our discussion. ei
(1) Definition of an Amulet. - The etymology of the word
amuletum is doubtful. a This, however, is of small importance
to our discussion, since most of the amulets mentioned by
La.tin authors a.re not called amuleta by name, though they
are such in fact. It is essential, however, to the prosecution
of our study, that we arrive at a satisfactory definition of
what an amulet is. F. B. Jevons ea defines it thus:
Charms or amulets are material objects, in which no spirit resides

either permanently or occasionally, but which are associated with
something, be it blood, or babe, or corpse, or good spirit or bad, which
is taboo. They therefore catch the taboo-infection and become charged
with the properties of the thing taboo. They may serve, therefore,
to do injury to others, by communicating the taboo-contagion; or,
by their dangerous character and the fear they inspire, they may pro- ·
tect the owner from both human and superhuman foes; or they may,
from some association or other of ideas, be lucky."
11 So far as I know, the only work that purports to give a complete
history of amulets is A Hiatory of Amulet&, by Martin Frederick Blumler
(Halle, 1710; Eng. trans. by 8. H., Gent., Edinburgh, 188i). This work
is interesting, but not thoroughly reliable. The best treatment of the
use of amulets among the Romans and the Greeks is a dissertation en-
titled De· Amuletorum apud Antiquoa Usu Capita Duo, by Gerhardus
Kropatscheck (Gryphiae, 1907).
• In Charisius, 1, 105, 9, we read: ~vXurl/puw quod Graeci appellant,
amuletum Latine dicimus. Nam et Varro Divinarum XIII ita dixit sive
a molliendo, id est infringendo vim mali. sive ab aemulatione. The word
amuletum seems to be related to the verb amolior, and to denote something
that ward& off evil. (Cf. Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encyclop., s. v. amuletum;
Thuaurua, s. v. amuletum.) The derivation of the word from the Arabic
hamalet, though formerly quite generally accepted, is not probable. Cf.
also Walde, Lat. Etym. Wl}rt.1, s. v. amuletum.
11 Hilt. of Rel. 178.
" Marquardt (.Ri>m. Staata-o. 3, 107) states that in the early days of
Rome the wearer of amulets was thought to put himself under the pro-
teetion of ancient divinities such as Cunina, just as the Romans of the
Empire impressed the image of Serapis upon amulets in order to obtain
Restricting the foregoing definition to the limits of our present

discussion, we may say that amulets are material objects in
which no spirit resides, but which, through a specific associa-
tion of ideas, become endowed with the power of taboo, 11
and, by reason of this power, may protect their owners from
disease.
It will be noted that the above definition does not restrict
the meaning of the word amulet to objects that can be hung
a.bout the neck or other parts of the body. Indeed, the Ro-
mans themselves did not· so restrict the meaning of the word.
A bat, for instance, if carried a.round a house three times and
then hung head downward over the window, was considered
an amulet. 88 In a similar manner the gall bladder of a male
black dog when used as a fumigant served as an amulet to
protect the home from all magic. Or, if one preferred, the
same result might be obtained by sprinkling the blood of such
a dog upon the walls of the house, or by burying his membrum
mrik under the threshold. 87 In fact, Pliny, at least, seems to
extend the meaning of the word amuktum to make it include
any means of protection against any physical ill or misfor-
tune. 88 Yet it should be added that the great majority of the
medical amulets which a.re mentioned by La.tin authors were,
as a matter of fa.ct, worn a.bout the neck, upon the a.rm, upon
the protection or that god (cf. Jahn, Bos. Blick, 45-47). It seems hardly
likely, however, that the spirit of the god was actually thought or as
dwelling in the amulet; but rather, that the image or the god, or some
other reminder of the divine power contained in the amulet, posseMed
a peculiar power due to an association of ideas.
" If this definition is to stand, we shall have to define taboo not as "a
system of abstinences based on the avoidance of certain calculated . • .
evil consequences," but as "negative mana,'' that is, negative "super-
natural wonder-working power." (Cf. Marett, Thruh. of Rel. 73-74.)
ea Pliny, N. H . 29, 83. 17 Pliny, N. H. 30, 82.
" Cf., e.g., N. H. 28, 38 Inter amuleta est editae quemque urinae
inspuere, similiter in calciamentum dextri pedis, priusquam induatur,
item cum quis transeat locum, in quo aliquod periculum adierit.
the finger, or upon the part of the body that was to be protected
from disease. ee
(2) NameB Giren to Amulets by Latin Authors. - Various
names are applied to amulets by Latin authors. N aevius 70
called them '[17"aebia, and this seems to have been the old Latin
name for them. 71 We have seen 72 that Varro was familiar
with the word amuletum, as was Pliny also. 73 By the time of
Marcellus Empiricus the words phylacterium 74 and '[17"ae-
ligamen 76 seem to have taken the place of amul.etum. In by
far the greater number of cases, however, the Latin authors
are content to indicate in numerous ways 78 the use of amulets
without giving any particular name to the object by means
of which the desired end is accomplished.
19 Cf. infra, 102-103.
70 Varro (L. L. 7, 107), in speaking of the origin of certain words, re-
marks: ih Stigmatia (a comedy of Naevius) 'praebia' a praebendo, ut sit
tutus, quod sint remedia in collo pueris.
71 Cf. Festus, s. v. praebia (p. 276, ed. Lindsay): Praebia rursus Ver-
rius vocari ait ea remedia, quae Gaia Caecilia, uxor Tarquini Prisci, in-
venisse existimatur, et inmiscuisse zonae suae, .•. Ea vocari ait praebia,
quod mala prolubeant.
71 Cf. supra, 77, n. 62. From this passage it is apparent that the spelling
in Varro's day varied between amoletum and amuletum. Varro also calls
amulets scaetJOlae (L. L. 7, 97).
71 Cf. N. H. 23, 20: 25, 115: 28, 38: 29, 66; 83: 30, 82; 138: 37, 50;
118. The MSS of Pliny consistently give the spelling amuletum.

7' Cf. Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 27: 14, 30; 68: 21, 8.
76 Cf. Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 57; 58; 59: 29, 26: 31, 33. Other
names for the amulet were: when considered from the standpoint of
material, lamina litterata, bretHJ, anulus; from the standpoint of the in-
scription thereon, character; from the manner in which it was carried or
worn, ligamen, obligamentum, ligatura, suballigatura, ll'U8pen8io coUi; from
its function, seTMtorium, amolitum (amoletum), amolimentum, fascinus,
praefiscinus (so W. Froehner, Sur une amulette basilidienne imdite du
musk N apolb:m I II [Caen, 1867], p. 10. Cf. with this a similar list in
Del Rio, Disquisit. Mag., Lib. I, Cap. IV, Quaestio IV, De Amuletis et
Periaptis).
71 This is most commonly done by the use of the verbs aUigare, adaUi-
gare, BUBpendere, etc.
(3) Antiquity and Continued Use of Amul.ets in Italy. -The

invention of the amulet was attributed by Roman tradition
to Gaia Caecilia, the wife of Tarquinius Priscus. 77 Such a
tradition certainly indicates that the use of amulets in Italy
goes back beyond the point where Roman history begins. The
antiquity of the practice may also be judged from the ancient
Roman custom of suspending the amulet called the bulla 78
from the neck of a child upon his natal day 79 in order to pro-
tect the tender wearer from all physical ills, especially the malign
influence of the evil eye. 80 The buUa consisted of a locket,
usually of gold, 81 within which was conceaJed the real amulet.
This latter was sometimes a lizard,82 or the representation of
a heart, 88 but most frequently the figure of a membrum viril.e. 114
Tradition tells us that the bulla was first bestowed by Tar-
quinius Priscus upon his son, who, while still in his toga prae-
texta, had slain a public enemy; and that it was thereafter
a badge of noble youths. 86 On this account it was commonly
n Cf. supra, 79, n. 71.
78 For the lndla cf. 0. Jahn, BiJ8. Blick, 44; Marquardt, RiJm. StaatBtJ. 3,
106-108; Pauly-Wissowa, Rea/,-Encyclcp., 8. v. lndla; Thuaurua, 8. v.
lndla; Walde, Etymol. Wilrt. 1 , 8. v. lndla.
n See Plautus, Rud. 1171.
ao See Macrobius, Sat. 1, 619 inclusis intra eam (i.e. bullam) remediis
quae crederent adversus invidiam valentissima. . . .
11 Cf. Porphyrio on Horace, Sat. 1, 5, 65 generosis pueris, qui bullam
auream egressi pueritiae annos apud Lares solent 8uspendere; P8eudo-
Asconius, Verr. p. 199 (ed. Baiter) 8imul cum praetexta etiam bulla
suspendi in collo infantibus ingenuis solet aurea, libertinis 8COrtea. . . .
• See Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 50 Lacerti viridis ..• oculos erues . . •
et intra bullam vel lupinum aureum claudes colloque suspendes. . . .
• See Macrobius, Sat. 1, 6, 17 cordis figuram in bulla ante pectus
adnecterent.
" See Pliny, N. H. 28, 39 Quamquam religione eum (8c. infantem}
tutatur et fascinus .. . ; Fowler, Rel. E:i:per. 60; and especially Varro,
L. L. 7, 97 (ed. Goetz and Schoell) Poteet vel ab eo quod pueris turpicula
res in collo quaedam 8uspenditur, ne quid obsit. . . .
11 See Pliny, N. H. 33, 10 Sed a Prisco Tarquinio omnium primo
filium, cum in praetextae annis occidisset hostem, bulla aurea donatum
believed by the Romans to have been introduced from Etruria ; st
but it is more probably of purely Roman origin,87 since the
use of such amulets is of universal occurrence. 88
The buUa was not, however, the only form of alnulet used
by the early Italians. Many of the taboos which were placed
upon the person of the Flamen Dialis 89 may be referred to a.
very ancient belief in amulets. Among other protective meas-
ures we ma.y, for instance, mention the fact that the ring worn
by him must be broken ; this latter precaution was ta.ken, no
doubt, for fear that "the powerful spirit embodied in him
might be trammelled and hampered in its goings-out and
comings-in by such corporeal and spiritual fetters . . . ." 10
Though the amulets we have just mentioned came into use
at a remote period in the life of the Romans, they by no means
stood alone. In fact, the Romans of the historical period not
only retained the buUa and the taboos surrounding the Flamen
Dialis, but added greatly to the number of amulets. We have
already shown 91 that the dramatic writers of the third cen-
tury B.c. made casual mention of the protective power of the
bulla as though it were a matter of common experience to their
audiences; as, indeed, it must have been. It would seem that
there was never a time when the Roman populace was free
constat, unde mos bullae duravit, ut eorum, qui equo meruissent, filii
insigne id haberent, ceteri lorum. . . .
11 See Juvenal, 5, 164.
• 7 A bit of evidence that points strongly to Roman origin is the fact
that, when the Roman boy assumed the toga flirilia, he dedicated his buUa
not to any of the newer gods, but to the Lares, the most ancient of the
native gods. Pseudo-Aero, on Horace, Sat. 1, 5, 65, says: solebant pueri,
postquam pueritiam excedebant, eis Laribus bullas suas consecrare. Cf.,
also, Persius, 5, 31; Petronius, Sat. 60; Roscher, Lez. 2, 1877, 38-53.
" Fowler, Rel. Erper. 60.
" A. Gellius, N. A. 10, 15 (cf. supra, 54-55).
10 Frazer, G. B. 2, 315 f. (cf. ib. 13-14).
91 Supra, 79, n. 70; cf. Plautus, Epid. 639f.: Rud. 1171; Jahn, B61.
Blick, 42, n. 48.
from a belief in such means of prophylactic magic. This use

of amulets seems, however, to have reached greater propor-
tions during the first century of our era. 92 The common people
of that period are said, for instance, to have used the wild
grape as an amulet against disease, 83 and the cyclamen against
all mala m.edicamenta.94 Amber, too, was popularly supposed
to be a powerful amulet to ward off children's diseases and
other ailments. 96
Nor were the cultivated men of the first Christian century
free from the taint of superstition. M. Servilius Nonianus, a
historian of the reign of Claudius, used an amulet to protect
himself from lippitudo; his example was followed by C. Licinius
Mucianus, a man of sufficient dignity to have held the consul-
ship three times. 98 Even the physicians of that century in-
cluded the use of amulets in their practice of medicine ; 97
while the Magi, if one may judge from the number of times
they are slightingly mentioned by Pliny the Elder, must have
influenced the popular medicine of this period very consider-
ably. ea Finally, Pliny himself openly recommends 99 the use
of amulets in the treatment of quartan fevers.
11 At least it then, for the first time, becomes the subject of literary
discUBBions such as those contained in Pliny's Natural History.

91 Pliny, N. H. 23, 20 Utuntur ea (i.e. oenanthe} pro amuleto et ad
expuitionem sanguinis quoque adhibent. . . .

" Pliny, N. H. 25, 115 A nostris tuber terrae vocatur, in omnibus
serenda domibus, ei verum est, ubi sata sit, nihil nocere mala medica-
menta; amuletum vocant.
• Pliny, N. H. 37, 50-51 Infantibus adalligari amuleti ratione prodest.
Callistratus prodesse etiam cuicumque aetati contra lymphationes tradit
et urinae difficultatibus potum adalligatumque. For a detailed account
of amulets in preventive medicine see infra, 84-105.
" Pliny, N. H. 28, 29 (infra, 86).
97 Such were Grannius (Pliny, N. H. 28, 42), Caecilius (Pliny, N. H.
29, 85, quoted infra, 90, and n. 121), Callistratus (Pliny, N. H. 37, 51),
and Scribonius Largus (Comp. 171). Cf. also supra, 73.
98 See N. H. 28, 228-229: 29, 81-83: 30, 64.
et Cf. supra, 74.
This recommendation the populace was evidently disposed

to follow, for a century and a half later we find the people
resorting so universally to the use of amulets for the prevention
of quartan fever that the Emperor Caracalla threatened with
death all who should be detected wearing amulets against this
scourge.100 Such violent measures, however, had, so far as we
may judge, very slight effect ; for in the succeeding generation
we find Q. Serenus Sammonicus, himself a physician, recom-
mending amulets as a legitimate adjunct in both preventive and
curative medicine.101
The adoption of Christianity as the state religion, though it
had very little immediate effect upon popular beliefs, resulted
in making those who believed in medical amulets the victims
of the imperial Christian zeal. Accordingly, we find in the
fourth century of our era renewed punishments inflicted upon
those who resorted to prophylactic amulets.1<l'l The common
people, however, clung to their amulets in spite of the imperial
disapproval, and, if one may judge from the astonishingly
plentiful evidence presented in the interesting manual of
popular medicine compiled by Marcellus of Bordeaux (about
410 A.D.), became even more devoted to magical means in
preventive medicine.
100 See Spartianus, Carac. 5, 7 (quoted supra, 53, n. 297).
101 See, e.g., lines 927-931 in which the author gives a remedy for daily
recurrent fever:
Nee non ossa iuvant saeptis inventa domorum:
convenit haec tereti pendentia subdere collo.
Multaque praeterea verborum monstra silebo;
nam febrem vario depelli carmine posse ·
vana superstitio credit tremulaeque parentes.
The air of superiority 888umed by Sammonicus in the last three lines of
this passage is not at all in accord with his actual belief in such magic.
1111 See Ammianus Marcellinus, 19, 12, 14 nam si qui remedia quar-
tanae vel doloris alterius collo gestaret . . . pronuntiatus reus capitis
interibat. For the general attitude of Christianity to magic, see Maury,
Mag. et l'a&trol., Chapter 6.
(4) Amuleta U8ed in Preventive Medicine. -Amulets were,

in fact, used by the Romans at one time or another to prev~nt .
almost all kinds of disease. It is my purpose to present in the
succeeding pages of this chapter the passages in Latin literature
that have to do with the prevention of disease either (a) by
means of amulets, or (b) by other magic means; to make some
general classification of medical amulets; and to discover the
fundamental principle upon which Roman prophylactic magic
rests.
Amulets were used to prevent,
1. Headache. - Marcellus Empiricus (1, 41) furnishes our
only amulet for the prevention of headache: 1oa
Lirnaci calculurn, quern in capite habet, tolle; .•. quern lapidern
quamdiu tecum habueris, numquarn ullum dolorern capitis nee senties
nee patieris.
2. Di8eaaea of the Eye. - Pains in the eyes might be avoided

by means of various amulets. Thus Marcellus Empiricus
(8, 27) tells us:
Dolorem oculorum ut anno integro non patiaris . . . de tribus

cerasiis lapillos pertundes et Gaditano lino inserto pro phylacterio
uteris, voto prius facto contra solern orientem quod eo anno cerasia
non sis manducaturus.104
Stones found in the swallow's stomach were said to have the

same beneficent effect, but for a longer period, if we may
credit the ,same authority (8, 45):
Hirundinis ventriculo scisso albi ac nigri lapisculi inveniuntur, qui
si lupino aureo includantur et collo suspendantur, ornnem dolorem
oculorum perpetuo avertent.
101 Many other amulets to be found in Marcellus Empiricus are for the
cure of headache rather than for its prevention. Such, for instance,
are those mentioned in 1, 85: 2, 7.
ICM See infra, 121-122.
The green lizard, also, could be worn as a powerful means of
preventing pains in the eyes, according to Marcellus (8, 50) :
Lacerti viridis quem ceperis die Iovis luna vetere mense Septembri
aut etiam quocumque alio oculos erues acu cuprea 106 et intra bullam
vel lupinum aureum claudes colloque suspendes: quod remedium
quamdiu tecum habueris, oculos non dolebis.
Another type of amulet, used to protect the wearer from all

eye troubles, consisted of an inscribed piece of virgin parch-
ment. To this Marcellus Empiricus testifies (8, 58) :
Hoc etiam remedium indubitate impetus oculorum, si praevenias,
prohibebit, scriptum in chart& virgine:
povf3~ pVO'll'flfJ4'>
~(Aw<; &.. rc(VT"' lcpopV, Ka2 rc(vT• lrcu:owt:
quod ad collum dolentis 108 licio suspendi debet.
Lippitu,d,o was a very .common eye trouble among the Ro-

mans. Hence we find a number of amulets recommended for
preventing this troublesome affliction. The green lizard is
again prominent. See Marcellus Empiricus (8, 49) :
Laceitam viridem excaecatam acu cuprea 107 in vas vitreum mitt.es
cum anulis aureis, argenteis, ferreis, et electrinis, si fuerint, aut etiam
cupreis, deinde vas gypsabis aut claudes diligenter atque signabis
et post quintum vel septimum diem aperies, lacertam sanis luminibus
invenies, quam vivam dimittes, anulis contra lippitudinem ita uteris,
ut non solum digito gestentur, sed etiam oculis crebrius adplicentur,
106 Such references to copper, gold, tin, reed, etc., are probably to be
interpreted as a prohibition of iron (cf. supra, 73 and n. 42). There seems
to be evidence, however, that gold in itself po88essed some magic power
(see Fowler, Rel. Exper. 60).
1118 It is, of course, inconsistent for the author to use the words Bi prae-
tJeniaa, prohibebit, and dolentis of the same act; but one should not expect
to be able to draw too strict a line of distinction between amulets to pro-
tect against future disease, and amulets to cure present ailments.
107 Cf. supra, n. 105.
it& ut per foramen anuli visus transmittatur ••.. observandum

etiam ut luna vetere . . . die Iovis Septembri mense capiatur lacerta
atque it& remedium fiat, sed ab homine maxime puro atque casto.101
The head of the dragon and the tongue of the fox possessed
similar power. Of the former Pliny says (N. H. 29, 128):
negatur annis multis continuis lippiturus . . . qui draconis
caput habeat. Of the latter the same author tells us (N. H. 28,
172) : vulpinam linguam habentee in armilla lippituros negant.
The fly, also, could be used as an amulet to avert lippitudo. 1oe
Of the woodland sorrel we are told (Marcellus Empiricus,
8, 41): quamdiu earn tecum habueris, non lippies.
That amulets of inscribed parchment were useful in this
field of preventive magic we see from Pliny (N. H. 28, 29):
M. Servilius Nonianus princeps civitatis non pridem in metu lippi-
tudinis, priusquam ipse earn nominaret aliusve ei praediceret, duabus
litteris Graecis PA chartam inscriptam circumligatam lino subnectebat
collo, Mucianus ter consul eadem observatione viventem muscam
in linteolo albo, his remediis carere ipsos lippitudine praedicantes.
The use of a golden lamella for the same purpose is mentioned

by Marcellus Empiric.us (8, 59) :
In lamella aurea acu cuprea scribes opv"' ov,,,,,&r, et dabis vel suspen-
des ex licio collo gestandum praeligamen ei qui lippiet, quod potenter
et diu valebit, si observata castitate die lunae illud facias et ponas.
The strangest of all the means of protection against lippitudo

is, perhaps, the one given by Pliny (N. H. 28, 42) : in manu
toe I have given this long paasage practically entire in order to exhibit
a fair sample of the elaborate precaution often enjoined regarding details
in the preparation of an amulet. It is not definitely stated in this paasage
whether the amulet is to be used to avert or to cure lippitudo. The former
interpretation seems, however, more probable, since the amulet men-
tioned in the paasage immediately following (8, 50, quoted supra, 85) is
said to avert pains in the eye.
101 Pliny, N. H. 28, 29, quoted infra.
dextera II medii {sc. digiti) lino leviter colligati destillationes
atque lippitudines arcent. 110
3. Toothache. - I have found only one case of the preven-
tion of toothache by means of an amulet. It is in Pliny (N. H.
27, 89):
In hoc {i.e. quadam parte gallidragae) crescente aestate vermiculos
nasci tradit, quos pyxide conditos adalligari cum pane bracchio ab
ea parte, qua dens doleat, mireque ilico dolorem tolli. Valere non
diutius anno et ita, si terram non adtigerint.111
4. Diseases of the Throat. - Of throat afflictions two were
thought preventable by means of amulets. Goitre, we are
told (Marcellus Empiricus, 15, 67), may be prevented in the
following manner : Caput viperae linteolo conligatum colloque
suspensum tolles . . . prohibet inn'aSci. Equally efficacious
was the following method of preventing 8. cough (Pseudo-
Pliny, 1, 17): 112 scribes in charta virgine hoc nomen Ial-
dabra.e 113 et de spongia nova tollis lapillum, alligabis tibi et
suspendes ad collum.
5. Diseases of the Stomach and Bowels. - The amulet most
effective in protecting one from abdominal pains in general
seems to have been the ankJe bone of a ha.re. 114 We read in
110 The tying together of the fingers was doubtless thought' to bind up
the excretions characteristic of these diseases.

111 We shall find in the course of our study numerous cases where it is
enjoined that the object possessing the magic' power must not touch the
earth. For an explanation of this prohibition see infra, 120, n. 292.
112 P. 206, I. 1 of Codex St. Galli 751. Cf. Heim, Incant. Mag. 557.
111 For meaningless words, 'Eq.~ia "fp6.µµa:ra., on amulets cf. infra, 100.
114 The facts regarding European superstitions concerning the hare
will be found in Hazlitt, Faith& and Folklme, 1, 305. The custom of carry-
ing in one's pocket or about one's person a 'rabbit foot' is so common in
the United States, or at least in the Southern States, that I think no proof
of the custom is necessary. Such amulets are especially prized by negroes
and small boys as a means of protection against various physical ills and
to secure good luck. The foot of the hare was much used by the Romans
as an amulet in the cure of physical ailments (cf. Pliny, N. H. 28, 220;
Marcellus Empiricus, 28, 21: 29, 35: 36, 26-28).
Pliny (N. H. 28, 199): Ventris quidem dolore temptari negant

talum. leporis habentes. This amulet must have been very
popular, for we find it mentioned twice by Marcellus Empiricus.
In 28, 48 he says : Si quis talum. leporis secum habuerit, in-
munis a dolore ventris et periculo huiusmodi perpetuo per-
manebit. Again, we find (27, 84) : sed qui talum. leporis
secum habuerit, huiusmodi ca.sum, id est subitum dolorem
ventris, numquam incurret. Of a different kind is the amulet
mentioned by Marcellus (34, 34) : Observabis, ut quodcum.que
de corpore f uerit eiectum licio alligatum. candelabro suspendas
aut uncta oleo lanula involutum. in ventrali gestes; dolorem
non patieris eius loci, de quo fuerit a.liquid eductum.
Amulets intended specifically for colic are also found. Here
we may cite Pliny (N. H. 30~ 63) : huius (sc. ossifragi intes-
tini) partem extremam adalligatam prodesse contra colum
consta.t ; Marcellus Empiricus (29, 13) : Coli dolorem avertes,
si de lacertarum. caudis sumitatem tuleris et auro incluseris
et ligaveris circa umbilicum. aut si de reste ventrem circum.-
cinxeris, de qua quis laqueo vitam finierit. Cf. id. 28, 45.
6. Urinary Diseases. -Here we may cite Pseudo-Pliny
(2, 38) : 115 Item (ad) vesicae dolorem scribes in vesica procina,
mascula de masculo, femina de femina et ad um.billcum sus-
pendes, et eius nomen scribes cui facis : 'abaraba.rbaricabor-
boncabradubrabarasaba.' m
7. Diseases of the Groin. - To protect the groin from swelling
ulcers Pliny recommends the following amulet (N. H. 23, 163):
Inguen ne intumescat ex ulcere, satis est surculum tantum. myrti
habere secum nee ferro nee terra contactum. 117 That this
P. 239, Cod. St. Galli 751. Cf. Heim, Incant. Mag. 559.
116
It seems better to refer such passages as Pliny, N. H. 37, 51; Pseudo-

118
Pliny, 2, 18 (p. 62, ed. Rose): 2, 45 (p. 247, l. 13 Cod. St. Galli 751, quoted
by Heim, l. c.); and Marcellus Empiricus, 26, 129-130 to curative rather
than to preventive medicine.
111 Repeated in Pseudo-Pliny, 2, 21 (p. 64, ed. Rose). The injunction
that the amulet be not allowed to touch the earth is quite common. Cf.
supra, 87, n. 111 and infra, 120, n. 292.
amulet was popular seems to be shown by the fact that Pliny

himself repeats it with slight change (N. H. 26, 91): Alii
adiciunt et puleium, quod ieiunus quis legerit : si post se alliget,
inguinis dolores prohibet. . . . These passages are in turn
repeated in substance by Marcellus Empiricus (32, 18): Ne
inguen ex ulcere aliquo aut vulnere intumesca.t, surculum
anethi in cingulo a.ut in fascia. ha.beto liga.tum ; and again
(32, 20) : Surculum quoque ex myrto terrs. non tactum si
quis gerat, ab inguinibus tutus erit.
Of a very different type is the amulet mentioned by Pliny
(N. H. 28, 48): Inguinibus medentur aliqui liceum telae
detractum a.lligantes novenis septenisve nodis, ad singulos
nominantes viduam aliquam atque ita inguini adalligantes. 118
This passage of Pliny is also repeated with some changes by
Marcellus (32, 19) :
In sparto vel quocumque vinculo, quo bolus aut obsonium fuerit
innexum, septem nodos facies et per singulos nectens nominabis
singulas anus viduas et singulas feras et in crure vel bracchio, cuius
pars vulnerata fuerit, alligabis. Quae ei prius facias, antequam nas-
cantur inguina, omnem inguinum vel glandularum molestiam pro-
hibebis. . . .11•
8. Female Troubles. - Many of the physical ills peculiar

to women were thought to be preventable by medical amulets.
Among these were
(a) Female Compl,aints in General. -To this class belongs
an amulet described by Pliny (N. H. 28, 41):
Pueri qui primus ceciderit dens, ut terram non attingat, inclusus
in armillam et adsidue in bracchio habitus muliebrium locorum dolores
prohibet.
na Repeated with some changes by Pseudo-Pliny, 2, 21 (p. 64, ed.

Rose).
119 Cf. also Marcellus Empirieus, 32, 21. The same amulet is suggested
by Theodorue Priscianus, 4, 313 for the cure of headache.
1K) STUDIES IN MAGIC FROM LATIN LITERATURE
(b) Menstrual Irregularities. - For this compare Marcellus

Empiricus (10, 35) :
Item ca.rmen boo utile profluvio muliebri: Stupidus in monte
ibat, stupidus stupuit; adiuro te, matrix, ne boo iracunda suscipias; 1t11
pari ratione scriptum ligabis.
(c) Conception. -This, too, was often considered a physical
ill, for the prevention of which medical amulets could be used.
:Pliny tells us (N. H. 29, 85) :
·vermiculi duo (sc. in capite pbalangi reperti) adalligati mulieribus
·pelle cervina ante solis ortum praestare ne concipiant, ut Caecilius 121
Jn commentariis reliquit.
{d) Miscarriage. -Here, again, Pliny is our authority.
In N. H. 28, 98 we read:
Mulieri candid& a pectore byaenae caro et pill septeni et genitale
cervi, si inligentur dorcadis pelle e collo suspensa, continere partus
promittuntur. . . •
Compare with this N. H . 28, 246-247:
Tradunt cervas, cum senserint se gravidas, lapillum devorare
quem in excrementis repertum aut in vulva . . • custodire partus
adalligatum. Inveniuntur et ossicula .in corde et in vulva perquam
utilia gravidis parturientibusque.
To these passages may be added Pliny, N. H. 30, 125: 36, 151;
Solinus, 37, 15.
m Jacob Grimm (Kleinere Schriften, 2, 129, § 22) gives the following
metrical arrangement of this incantamentum:
Stupidus in monte ibat,
stupidus stupuit,
adiuro te, matrix,
ne hoc iracunda BUSCipias.
For a further discUSBion of this amulet cf. Grimm, op. cit. 146ff.; Heim,
Incant. Mag. 498.
w Cf. supra, 82, n. 97. This Caecilius is called Caeciliua mediclu in
the indez auctorum to book twenty-nine of the N. H.
(e) Painful Deli-oery. - Here we may cite Pliny (N. H. 28,
114): eundem (i.e. chamaeleonem) salutarem esse parturi-
entibus, si sit domi, si vero inferatur, perniciosissimum.
9. Galling of the Skin. - The pertinent passages here are
Pliny (N. H. 26, 91): Intertrigines negat fieri Cato absinthium
Ponticum secum habentibus; (24, 47) : Virgam populi in
manu tenentibus intertrigo non metuitur; and (24, 63).:
Virgam (sc. viticis) qui in manu habeant aut in cinctu,
negantur intertriginem sentire.
10'. Tumor8. - The most general means of protection
against all tumors (8trumae) is that mentioned by Marcellus
Empiricus (15, 52) :
Contra omnes strum&B et feminis et maribus utilissimum est, si
cor lacertae viridis lupino argenteo clausum in collo suspensum semper
habeant.
Another interesting amulet for the prevention of the same
disease is given by Pliny (N. H. 23, 130):
Corticem eius (i.e. caprifici) intumescentem puer impubis si de-
fracto ramo detrabat dentibus, medullam ipsam adalligatam ante
solis ortum prohibere strum88.
Finally, we find one and the same substance used first as a cure
for 8trumae, and then as an amulet to prevent the return of
the affiiction. The whole passage, found in Pliny (N. H. 26, 24),
throws an unusually clear light upon the folk lore of the times :
Sideritis latifolia clavo sinistra manu circumfossa adalligatur,
custodienda sanatis ne rursus sata taedium herbariorum scelere . . •
rebellet, quod et in iis, quos Artemisia sanaverit, praedici reperio,
tern in iis, quos plantago.
Such a substance can, of course, be classed as an amulet only
in the broad sense that it protects its owner from physical ills. m
m That the Romans extended the meaning of the word amulet so as
to include such means of protection I have shown, supra, 78. The nega-
tive principle which underlies the practice here mentioned is apparent also
92 STUDIES IN MAGIC FROM LA.TIN LITERATURE
11. lnfant8' Di8easu. - (a) In General. -Here, in what

seems the natural field of household remedies, we expect a
rich store of preventive medical magic, nor are we disappointed.
We find, for instance, coral, amber, and malachite used as
amulets to ward off children's ills in general. Compare Pliny
(N. H. 32, 24) : Surculi (sc. coralii) 128 infantiae adalligati
tutelam habere creduntur; (37, 50): Infantibus adalligari
(sc. sucinum) amuleti ratione prodest; (37, 114; quoted by
Solinus, 33, 20) : laudata (sc. molochitis) . . . infanti um
custodia quodamque innato contra pericula medicamine; The
scarab rn was used in much the same way, as we see from
Pliny (N. H. 11, 97): infantium etiam remediie ex cervice (sc.
scarabaei) suspenduntur.. . .
(b) Trouhles of Teething. -The troubles of teething were
prevented by the use of the wolf's tooth as an amulet. This
valuable and suggestive charm was also credited, it . may be
noted, with power to drive from the mind of a child all fears
of the darkneBB. See Pliny (N. H. 28, 257): Dens lupi adalliga-
tus infantium pavores prohibet dentiendique morbos, quod et
pellis lupina praestat. 126 A similar sympathetic amulet is
provided by the milk teeth of colts, according to Serenus Sam-
monicus (1031-1032):
Collo igitur molli dentee nectentur equini,
qui primi fuerint pullo crescente caduci.
12. Nig1tt Fears. -The exceBBive fear which some persons

experience in the dark is little short of a disease. That the
in the various customs of concealing nail parings, hair cuttings, and similar
objects. Cf. Frazer, G. B. 2, 267 ff.
m For other instances of coral as an amulet cf. Pliny, N. H. 37, 145;
Gratius, Cyn. 399-407; Serenus Sammonicus, 942.
iu For beetles as amulets in general cf. Pliny, N. H. 30, 100.
w One might think that the wolf tooth was intended merely as a hard
substance upon which to cut the teeth, were it not for other items in the
passage which are not susceptible of such an explanation.
Romans thought it possible to prevent such fears by means
. of amulets is clear from Pliny (N. H. 28, 98) : Contra nocturnos
pavores umbrarumque terrorem unus ex magnis dentibus (sc.
hyaenae) li.Jio alligatus succurrere narratur. Other parts also
of the hyena were credited with this same power; compare
Pliny (N. H. 28, 115): Pedem (sc. hyaenae) e prioribus dex-
trum pelle hyaenae adalligatum sinistro bracchio contra la-
trocinia terroresque noctumos pollere, item dextram mamillam
contra formidines pavoresque. . . . The tooth of even so
companionable an animal as the dolphin was believed to possess
a similar power to drive away fears, according to Pliny (N. H.
32, 137) : Adalligatus idem (i.e. dens delphini) pavores re-
pentinos tollit. Idem effectus et caniculae dentis.
13. E'[J'Uepsy. - I have found in Latin literature only one
instance of the use of amulets to prevent epilepsy, namely,
Pliny (N. H. 30, 91) :
Magis placet draconis cauda in pelle dorcadis adalligata cervinis
nervis vel lapilli e ventre hirundinum pullorum sinistro lacerto adnexi.
. . . Quin et e nido earum lapillus . . • dicitur . . . adalligatus in
perpetuum tueri (sc. a morbo comitiali).
14. Fe:oe:rs. -Amulets for the prevention of fevers, par-

ticularly tertian and quartan fevers, seem to have been quite
commonly employed.121 Among these we may mention amulets
used to prevent
(a) Continuous Fe:oe:rs. - See Pliny (N. H. 28, 107): canini
dentes febris statas arcent ture repleti . . . ita ne diebus V ab
aegro cematur qui adalligaverit.
(b) Nightly or Daily Recurrent Fevers. - Mentioned by
Pliny (N. H. 29, 64): adalligatos (sc. cimices) laevo bracchio
binos lana subrepta 127 pastoribus resistere nocturnis febribus
prodiderunt, diurnis in russeo panno. We have cited above 128
ae Cf. Pliny, N. H . 30, 98 (quoted supra, 74).
m Cf. infra, 104-105. aa Cf. supra, 83, n. 101.
the amulet mentioned by Serenus Sammonicus as a means of

averting daily recurrent fever.
(c) Tertian Fever8. -To what extent the Roman populace
employed amulets to protect themselves from tertian fever
is shown by the statement of Spartianus 129 that during the
third century of our era many persons were severely punished
for using such prophylactic magic. That such practices were
very prevalent at that time may also be gathered from Serenus
Sammonicus (916-918) :
Ut possis igitur talem prohibere furorem (i.e. febrem tertianam),
involves cera sine caudis grana cumini
Puniceaeque indes pelli colloque ligabis.
That the Romans of the first .century of our era also possessed
amulets for warding off tertian fever we know from Pliny
(N. H. 24, 170):
Herbs. quaecumque e rivis aut ftuminibus ante solis ortum collecta
ita ut nemo colligentem videat, adalligata laevo bracchio ita ut aeger
quid sit illud ignoret, tertianas arcere traditur.130
(d) Quartan Feoer8. - We have shown above 181 that Roman
medicine was totally unable to cope with this type of malarial
fever, and that even Pliny was willing to recommend a trial
of amulets in the lack of a better method of treatment. In
addition to the passage already cited we may quote from
Pliny the following passages: N. H. 28, 111 Cor (sc. crocodili)
adnexum in lana ovis nigrae, cui nullus alius colos incursaverit,
et primo partu genitae quartanas abigere dicitur; N. H. 28,
114 cor (sc. hyaenae) adversus quartanas inligatam lana
nigra primae tonsurae (sc. pollere Democritus narrat) ; and
N. H. 28, 228 Quartanis Magi excrements. felis cum digito
bubonis adalligari iubent et, ne recidant, non removeri septeno
circumitu.
1u Cf. supra, 53, n. 297. m Cf. also Pliny, N. H. 30, 104.
111 Pliny, N. H. 30, 98 (supra, 74).
15. Bites of Poisonom Animal8. -To protect themselves
from the bites of serpents and other poisonous animals the
Romans made free use of amulets. Most of the objects thus
used, however, emit such an odor that one might perhaps
maintain that they had a real efficacy arising from natural
causes, were it not for certain accompanying details that are
clearly magical in character. When Scribonius Largus, for
instance, tells us 132 that either-hiera botane or trifolium acutum,
if bound to the person, will protect the wearer from the bite
of serpents, and in the same connection states that both plants
odorem gra?Jem emillunt, we are tempted immediately to con-
clude that the serpents were supposed to flee on account of the
disagreeable odor of the plant. But Scribonius adds :
Sed utrasque superius dictas herbas cum inveneris, pridie notare
oportet et circumscribere sinistra manu fruges aliquas ponentem atque
postero die ante solis ortum sinistra manu vellere (et) ita inligatas
habere.
Clearly a plant plucked with so much ceremony was thought
to possess protecting qualities other than its pungent odor.
A similar doubt attaches to the use of shrew mice as amulets.
The bite of this animal was considered dangerous to cattle.
Accordingly, we find the following measure of protection sug-
gested by Columella (6, 17, 6): Solet etiam ipsum animal vivum
creta figulari circumdari; quae cum siccata est, collo boum
suspenditur. Ea res innoxium pecus a morsu muris aranei
praebet. One might maintain, of course, that the dead shrew
mouse concealed within the ball of potter's earth by emitting
a characteristic odor acted as a warning to the other shrew
mice ; but it seems much more likely that behind this custom
lay some magic principle based upon antipathia.
The same argument might be advanced to show that those
who carried parsnips about their persons in order to avoid
m Comp. 163. Cf. Pliny, N. H. 20, 133-134.

snake-bite did so, not because they depended upon the power of
the vegetable as an amulet, but because serpents were supposed
especially to dislike and to shun the odor of the parsnip. Yet
such an explanation would scarcely suffice in the case of the
man who, instead of carrying the parsnip in his clothes, ate
it; iaa for he was equally protected. Upon the whole I think
that such measures of protection are to be regarded as
amulets.
(5) Materials of Amulets. -The foregoing passages make
it clear that the Romans practiced prophylactic magic by
means of amulets made of mineral, vegetable, and animal
materials. By arranging these amulets in groups according
to the material of which each is composed we shall be able to
determine not only the relative importance of the three princi-
pal sources of amulets, but also the general nature of medical
amulet.s themselves.
(a) Minerals. - We are told that rings of gold, silver, copper,
or iron are equally efficacious as amulets in preventing lippi-
tudo, 134 a disease from which one might also be protected by
wearing about one's neck an inscribed golden lamella.136 Precious
stones and similar materials were used, especially for warding
off the various diseases of infants. We find malachite,m
coral,117 and amber 118 thus employed. The last named sub-
stance was also used to prevent lippitudo. 189 There were cer-
tain small stones, also, which seem to have derived their power
as amulets, in part at least, from the sources from which they
m Gargilius Martialis, Med. 33 Negant feriri a serpentibus qui pasti-
nacam secum ferant vel ante gustarint. Cf. Pliny, N. H. 20, 31; 69; 133;
223; 232: 22, 52; 60: 25, 163; Ps.-Apuleius, De Med. Herb. 4, 7.
iu Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 49 (supra, 85).
116 Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 59 (supra, 86).
ae Pliny, N. H. 37, 114 (supra, 92).
U7 Pliny, N. H. 32, 24 (supra, 92).
111 Pliny, N. H. 37, 50 (supra, 92).
were obtained. We read, 140 for instance, that a stone found in
the head of a snail could free the person who wore it from all
fear of headache. A similar stone, found in the stomach of a
swallow, if worn as an amulet, was thought to protect the
wearer from all pains in the eyes, 141 and from epilepsy.142 Still
another stone, found in the womb of the hind, was commonly
thought to prevent miscarriage. 141 Finally, it was believed
among the populace that one might avert a cough by
swearing about one's person a stone taken from a new
sponge.144 ,
(b) Vegetable Materials. - The vegetable kingdom also con-
tributed to the number of prophylactic amulets. Woodland
sorrel, according to one authority, 146 protected the wearer from
the danger of lip'[Jitudo, while the myrtle twig offered a like pro-
tection against ulcers of the groin. 1" Wormwood, poplar, or
vitex twigs, if worn about the person, were thought to protect
the wearer from skin galls. 147 Tumors, we read, could be pre-
vented by wearing about one the bark of the wild fig tree 148
or ironwort. 149 Tertian fever, too, might be avoided · by the
simple means of wearing upon one's person grains of cummin
prepared according to certain directions; 160 and snake-bite
need never be feared by him who had with him hiera botane,
trifolium acutum, 161 or a parsnip.162
uo Marcellus Empiricus, 1, 41 (supra, 84).
Hl Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 45 (supra, 84).
ut Pliny, N. H. 30, 91 (supra, 93).
la Pliny, N. H. 28, 246 (supra, 90).
H• Pseudo-Pliny, 1, 17 (206, 1 Cod. St. Galli 751; supra, 87) .
la Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 41 (supra, 86).
Hs Pliny, N. H. 23, 163 (supra, 88).
147 Pliny, N. H. 24, 47; 63: 26, 91 (supra, 91).
m Pliny, N. H. 23, 130 (supra, 91).

m Pliny, N. H. 26, 24 (supra, 91).
11 0 Serenus Sammonicus, 916-918 (supra, 94).
111 Scribonius Largus, 163 (supra, 95).
162 Gargilius Martialis, Med. 33 (supra, 95-96).
(c) Animal Materia'ls. -The greatest number of medical

amulets, however, was supplied by the animal kingdom. The
eye of the lizard, for instance, was considered efficacious in
averting pains in the eyes, 1113 while the tail of that animal was
thought to be an equally e:ffective amulet in preventing colic. 1"
In like manner it was believed that whoever had a dragon's
head about him was freed from all fear of lippitudo, 156 and that
the tail of the dragon would protect anyone who had it on his
person from morbus comitialis. 16/J The head of the viper, accord-
ing to popular belief, if worn as an amulet, would prevent
goitre, m while the readily changeable chameleon would insure
an easy childbirth. us
More insignificant animals, too, had the power to prevent
disease. Thus, the fly, shut up alive in a capsule, was thought
to prevent lippitudo; 169 while the shrew mouse, similarly en-
closed in a ball of clay and suspended from the neck of cattle,
was believed to keep other shrew mice from biting the cattle. 161>
Worms were imagined to prevent toothache 161 and conception. 162
The scarab was hung from the necks of children as a general
prophylactic agent. 163
The teeth of various animals were especially adapted to use
as amulets. To Roman parents it seemed quite a natural
deduction that the tooth of the courageous wolf should protect
the infant who wore it from childish fears and teething
troubles; 164 and even to the first-dropped tooth of a colt
w Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 50 (supra, 85).
iw Marcellus Empiricus, 29, 13 (supra, 88).
1111Pliny, N. H. 29, 128 (supra, 86).
IM Pliny, N. H. 30, 91 (supra, 93).
m Marcellus Empiricus, 15, 67 (supra, 87).
168 Pliny, N. H. 28, 114 (supra, 91).
169 Pliny, N. H. 28, 29 (supra, 86).
18° Columella, 6, 17, 6 (supra, 95). 1112 Pliny, N. H. 29, 85 (supra, 90).
181 Pliny, N. H. 27, 89 (supra, 87). 1113 Pliny, N. H. 11, 97 (supra, 92).
iu Pliny, N. H. 28, 257 (supra, !l2).
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the same mystic power was accorded. 186 By a similar course

of reasoning it was argued that the first milk tooth lost by a
boy, if worn in a woman's bracelet, would prevent pain in
the female organs, m and that the tooth of the hyena would
prevent night fears.1s1
Such fears might also be prevented by wearing upon one's
person the right nipple or the right fore-foot of the hyena. 188
This last named amulet recalls the use of the 'rabbit foot' as
an amulet, 169 a custom for which Roman parallels are not
lacking. The ancient' Romans believed, for instance, that
one who kept about his person the knuckle bone of a hare
would never suffer a pain in the stomach. 170 Other amulets
of animal origin were the tongue of a fox, used to prevent
lippitudo; 171 an inscribed hog bladder, to prevent human
bladder troubles; 172 wolf skin, to prevent teething trouble
and infants' fears; 173 bones found imbedded in the wall of a
house, to prevent daily recurrent fever; 174 and excreta, bound
on the abdomen, to prevent pain in that region. 176
Of animal origin, too, were the bits of inscribed virgin parch-
ment which we find used as medical amulets,171 though in
165 Serenus Sammonicus, 1031-1032 (supra, 92).
111 Pliny, N. H. 28, 41 (supra, 89).
m Pliny, N. H. 28, 98 (supra, 93).
10 Pliny, N. H. 28, 115 (supra, 93).
m Cf. supra, 87 and n. 114.
no Pliny, N. H. 28, 199 (supra, 88). The popularity and tenacity of
this belief are atteste<l by· the fact that Marcellus Empiricus thrice (27,
84: 28, 21; 48) repeats the words of Pliny almost verbatim.
m Pliny, N. H. 28, 172 (supra., 86).
m Pseudo-Pliny 2, 38 (supra., 88). Cf. also Pliny, N. H. 30, 63 (supra,
88) for a. similar use of the osprey's intestine.
m Pliny, N. H. 28, 257 (supra, 92).
m Serenus Sammonicus, 927-928 (supra., 83, n. 101).
111 Marcellus Empiricus, 34, 34 (supra., 88).
m Pliny, N. H. 28, 29 (supra., 86); Pseudo-Pliny, 1, 17 (supra., 87);
Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 85 (supra., 85); cf. with these Marcellus Empiricus,
10, 35 (supra., 90).
1()() STUDIES IN MAGIC FROM LATIN LITERATURE
such cases we should probably attribute as much virtue to

the incantamenta inscribed thereon as to the material of which
the amulet was made.177
(d) Miscellaneoua Mat.erials. -In this group may be men-
tioned the tying of the two middle fingers of the right hand
together in order to prevent lippitudo or cata.rrh. 178 We may
add the popular belief that one who feared disease in the groin
might render himself immune from such afflictions if he took
a thread from the loom, tied it into an odd number of knots,
at the same time naming each knot for a different widow, and
finally bound the knotted thread around the groin. m In like
manner a piece of rope with which a person had committed
suicide might be used as an amulet to prevent colic.180
(6) Inscriptions on Medical Amulets. -Many medical amu-
lets seem to have derived their power from certain unintel-
ligible words that were inscribed upon them. 181 Most of these
words probably had no meaning originally. At any rate they
have lost all meaning for us, and it is likely that they meant
nothing to the Romans who used them. Any attempt, there-
fore, to get a meaning from such words is almost useless. 181
Besides, it is altogether probable that the average Roman
111 Cf. below, n. 181.

m Pliny, N. H. 28, 42 (supra, 86-87).
m Pliny, N. H. 28, 48 (supra, 89).
1ao Marcellus Empiricus, 29, 13 (supra, 88).
111 These inscriptions were usually made up, in part or as a whole, of
'E<f>&nci -yp6.µµci.,.ci, or unintelligible words. Instances of such inscriptions
have been given above (Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 58 [supra, 85]; 8, 59
[supra, 86]; Pliny, N. H. 28, 29 [supra, 86]; Pseudo-Pliny, 1, 17 [supra,
87]; 2, 38 [supra, 88]). An excellent treatment of 'Ec(>&TLci -yp6.µµci'Tci will
be found in Heim, Incant. Mag. 525 ff.
~ 181 Just how useless such an attempt may be is shown by Bergk's
elaborate effort (Philol. 21, 481 f. - Kleine Schriften, 1, 556 f.) to explain
the incantamentum of Cato, De Agr. 160. Concerning his interpretation
another thorough German scholar (Heim, Incant. Mag. 534) remarks:
hariolatt18 eat.
who practiced magic, like his modern counterpart, attributed
greater power to unintelligible than to intelligible words.181
Certain other medical amulets were ma.de more effective by
incantamenta or fJOta pronounced in connection with their
use.1" It is a noteworthy fact that one of our amulets 186
bears an inscription which, we a.re told, may be used as an
incantamentum, or may serve equally well in its inscribed
form as a powerful element of the amulet. On this account
we should probably consider inscriptions occurring upon
amulets as incantamenta perpetua rel muta.
(7) Other Details in the Preparation of Medical Amulets. -
Into the preparation of prophylactic amulets there often
entered many additional elements which were thought to
increase the virtue of the amulet proper. It was popularly
believed, for instance, that certain days, or certain times of
the day, were peculiarly suitable for ma.king amulets; that
odd numbers, especially the number three, increased t)le
efficacy of an amulet in various ways ; and that all persons
concerned in the preparation, application, or use of an amulet
should be pure. Since, however, these ideas are not restricted
to that branch of prophylactic magic which employs amulets,
and since they a.re all based upon the notion of sympathia, it
181 This seems to be indicated by Ovid's words concerning Circe (Met.
14, 365-366):
Concipit ilia preces, et verba venefica dicit
ignotosque deos ignoto carmine adorat. • • •
The evidence of Lucan (6, 686-687) points in the same direction:
confudit murmura primum
dissona et humanae multum discordia linguae .•••
See also Pliny, N. H. 28, 20 Neque est facile dictu, externa verba atque
ineft'abilia abrogent fidem validius an Latina et inopinata, quae inridicula
videri cogit animus semper aliquid inmensum exspectans ac dignum deo
movendo, intmo vero quod numini imperet.
184 See Pliny, N. H. 28, 48 (supra, 89); Marcellus Empiricus, 32, 19
(supra, 89). 181 Marcellus Empiricus, 10, 35 (supra, 90).
seems better to postpone a discussion of them until the whole

subject of sympathi,a is taken up. u1a
(8) Where were Medical Amulets Wornt-Medical amulets,
like other amulets, were worn by the Romans on various parts
of the body, or even, occasionally, not on the body at all. In
the case of amulets worn on the person it happened that certain
parts of the body offered more natural advantages for attach-
ing pendants than others did. Accordingly, we find the great-
est number of amulets hung around the neck,187 though many
were attached to the arm, preferably the Jeft arm. 188 Fre-
quently, too, the amulet was worn on or near the part of the
body for which protection was sought. In fact, many of the
amulets that were worn suspended at the neck were so placed
not only because that was the most convenient point of attach-
ment, but because the amulet was being used to avert diseases
of the head, throat, and neighboring parts. 189 Other parts
of the body, especially the abdomen, were protected in the
119 See infra, 113 ff.
117 I have quoted above (84-95) thirteen instances of amulets worn at
the neck. They are Columella, 6, 17, 6 (supra, 95); Pliny, N. H. 11, 97
(supra, 92): 28, 29 (supra, 86); Serenus Sammonicus, 916-918 (supra, 94);
927-928 (supra, 84, n. 101); 1031-1032 (supra, 92); Pseudo-Pliny, 1, 17
(supra, 87); Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 45 (supra, 84); 50 (supra, 85); 58
(supra, 85); 59 (supra, 86): 15, 67 (supra, 87). ·
118 Of amulets worn on the arm I have found seven instances. They
are (cf. supra, 84-95) Pliny, N. H. 27, 89 (supra, 87): 28, 41 (supra, 89);
115 (supra, 93); 172 (supra, 86): 29, 64 (supra, 93): 30, 63 (supra 88);
91 (supra, 93). In three of these passages (Pliny, N. H. 28, 115: 29, 64:
30, 91) the left arm is specified. In three passages (N. H. 28, 41; 172:
30, 63) neither arm is specified; but in one case (N. H. 27, 89), where the
amulet is to be worn to avert toothache, it is to be attached to the arm
corresponding to the side of the jaw on which trouble is anticipated. It
would thus appear that the left arm was favored above the right, a notion
quite in accord with Roman ideas of luck in divination.
189 The following instances will make this point clear: Pliny, N. H.
28, 29 (supra, 86) concerns amulets for averting lip'j)i,tudo; Serenus Sam-
monicus, 1031-1032 (supra, 92) bas to do with a means of warding off
teething troubles; the amulet mentioned in Pseudo-Pliny, 1, 17 (supra, 87)
same manner.190 Sometimes we are not told where the amulet

was to be attached.191 Finally, the amulet need not be worn
on the body at all, but could be suspended from a candela-
brum 192 or simply kept in the home of the person who was
to be protected.193 Amulets were usually attached to the body
of the wearer by means of a thread (licium or linum), 194 though
in one instance it is specifically enjoined that the amulet be
attached with the tendon of a deer.195
(9) Amulet Cont,ainers. - Roman medical amulets were
enclosed in containers of various kinds. The most pretentious
were in the form of golden lockets 196 or bracelets.197 Occa-
was intended to protect the wearer from a cough; that mentioned by
Marcellus Empirieus (1, 41 [quoted supra, 84]) was used to avert head-
ache; those spoken of by Marcellus Empiricus (8, 45; 50; 58; 59 [supra,
84-86]) have to do with pains and diseases of the eye; and the amulet
given by the same author (15, 67) is for averting goitre.
no Amulets were attached to the abdomen in order to protect the
wearers from colic (Marcellus Empiricus, 29, 13: 34, 34 [supra, 88]).
bladder trouble (Pseudo-Pliny, 2, 38 [supra, 88]); disease of the groin
(Pliny, N. H. 28, 48), and probably, to prevent excessive menstrual flow
(Marcellus Empirieus, 10, 35 [supra, 90]), and conception (Pliny, N. H.
29, 85 [supra, 90]); though it is not definitely stated in the last two pas-
sages where the amulet is to be worn.
m This is true of Seribonius Largus, 163 (supra, 95); Pliny, N. H. 23,
130 (supra, 91); 163 (supra, 88): 26, 91 (supra, 91): 28, 98 (supra, 93);
111 (supra, 94); 114 (supra, 91); 199 (supra, 88); 257 (supra, 92): 29,
128 (supra, 86): 137 (supra, 93); 32, 24 (supra, 92): 37, 50; 114 (supra,
92); Gargilius Martialis, Med. 33 (supra, 96, n. 133); Marcellus Em-
piricus, 8, 41 (supra, 86): 27, 84 (supra, 88): 28, 48 (supra, 88).
1n Cf. Marcellus Einpirieus, 34, 34 (supra, 88).
1ta Cf. Pliny, N. H. 28, 114 (supra, 91).
1" Cf. Pliny, N. H. 28, 29 (supra, 86); 98 (supra, 93); Marcellus
Empirieus, 8, 58 (supra, 85): 34, 34 (supra, 88); and, perhaps, Pliny, N. H.
27, 89 (supra, 87); and Serenus Sammonicus, 927-928 (supra, 83, n. 101);
though in the last two passages the thread is not specifieally mentioned.
1" Pliny, N. H. 30, 91 (supra, 93).
111 Marcellus Empirieus, 8, 45 (supra, 84); 50 (supra, 85): 29, 13
(supra, 88). The golden bulla was also believed to have prophylactic
power (cf. the reference to Marcellus just given and infra, 104, n. 206).
111 Pliny, N. H. 28, 41 (supra, 89).
sionally the amulet was enclosed in a small box • (pyxis) •198

Soft materials, such as a linen cloth 199 or a lock of wool,too
w~re also used as containers. The skins of the hyena,201 the
deer,202 and the gazelle 208 were also recommended for this use,
and in one instance it is specifically stated that the piece of
skin should be red. 2°' Finally, a ball of hardened clay might
serve as a fitting receptacle for the amulet. 206 To what extent
the material of the container was believed to posse'3S magic
power we can not be certain. We do know, however, that
gold " had some potency as a charm.,, 20s
Color8 of Amulet Container8. - The color of the case or con-
tainer in which the medical amulet was enclosed seems to
have been a matter of considerable importance. For instance,
the amulet that was to be used to avert lippitudo should be
enclosed in a white linen cloth.207 More interesting, perhaps,
from the standpoint of sympathetic magic, is the use of red
and of black amulet containers for specific purposes. Thus,
an amulet to avert diurnal fever was fittingly enclosed in a
container of red cloth, while an amulet to avert nocturnal
fever was concealed in a lock of wool that had been stolen
at night.2os In this case the red container apparently symbolizes
m Pliny, N. H. 27, 89 (supra, 87).

m Pliny, N. H. 28, 29 (supra, 86); Marcellus Empiricus, 1, 85: 15,
67 (supra, 87).
100 Pliny, N. H. 28, 111; 114 (supra, 94) : 29, 64 (supra, 93); Marcellus
Empiricus, 34, 34 (supra, 88).

201 Pliny, N. H. 28, 115 (supra, 93).
1ot Pliny, N. H. 29, 85 (supra, 90).
1111 Pliny, N. H. 30, 91 (supra, 93).
1°' Serenus Sammonicus, 916-918 (supra, 94).
106 Columella, 6, 17, 6 (supra, 95).
108 See Fowler, Rel. Exper. 60, n. 41; . Frazer, G. B. 1; 1, 80. For the
requirement of gold in magic, see Pliny, N. H. 20, 29: 28, 259: 29, 130:
33, 84; Marcellus Empiricus, 29, 23; 26.
201 Pliny, N. H. 28, 29 (supra, 86).
101 Pliny, N. H. 29, 64 (supra, 93).
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the light of the sun under whose eye the diurnal fever operatee,209
while the stolen container of wool symbolizes the stealthy
approach of the nocturnal fever. In like manner amulets in-
tended to avert tertian fever were encased in red conta.iners,210
while those used against qua.rta.n fever were encased in bla.ck.m
We should be very careful, however, not to draw too general
a conclusion from these fa.cts. 212 It seems wiser to limit our-
selves to the statement that Roman prophylactic magic prac-
tice recommended specific colors as peculiarly suitable for the
containers of specific amulets, and that these colors are prob-
ably to be explained upon the basis of sympathia. More than
that we can not say.
B. PROPHYLACTIC MAGIC BY MEANS OTHER THAN

AMULETS
In the foregoing pages of this chapter we have considered
only the amulet as a means of preventing disease. The amulet
was not, however, the only means of prophylactic magic em-
ployed by the Romans. Numerous diseases of the head, throat,
abdomen, and skin, as well as fevers, were considered pre-
ventable by means of magic not involving the use of amulets.
It is to this class of beliefs that we shall now devote our
attention.
209 For the sun BB the all-seeing god in connection with medical amulets
cf. Marcellus Empiricue, 8, 58 (supra, 85).

11 0 Serenue Sammonicue, 916-918 (supra, 94).
111 Pliny, N. H. 28, 111; 114 (supra, 94). The former reference hSB
the words lana o1'i8 nigrae, cui nullua aliua coloa incuraatlerit. . . . We may
gather, therefore, that the color of the amulet container wBB not an unim-
portant matter.
111 As a matter of fact, among the amulets used for curing rather than
for preventing quartan fever we find the colors of the containers reversed,
the red container being recommended (Pliny, N. H . 30, 99).
(1) Di8ea8e8 Prevented

1. Diseases of the Eye. - (a) The two remedies which follow
were thought to avert all eye troubles. Pliny, N. H. 23, 110:
Si quis unum ex his (i.e. cytinis m.alorum Punicorum), solutus
vinculo omni cinctus et ca.lcia.tus a.tque etia.m a.null, decerpserit II
digitis, pollice et quarto, sinistra.e ma.nus a.tque ita. lustre.tis levi ta.ctu
oculis in os a.dditum devora.verit, ne dente contingat, a.dfirma.tur
nulla.m oculorum inbecillita.tem pa.ssurus eodem a.nno;
28, 73:
Eum, qui simul ma.tris filia.eque la.cte inunctus sit, libera.ri omni
oculorum metu in tota.m vita.m a.dfirma.nt.
(b) Lippitudo. - In addition to such general measures for
the prevention of all eye troubles there are also found specific
measures of protection against lippitudo. 213 Pliny (N. H. 28, 44)
is our authority for the following bit of popular belief: Oculorum
vitia fieri negant nee lippire eos, qui, cum pedes lavent, aqua
inde ter oculos tangant. To this we may add Pliny's statement
regarding an Egyptian custom (N. H. 27, 105): Tradunt
Aegypti, mensis, quem Thoti vocant, die XXVIII fere in
Augustum mensem incurrente si quis huius herbae (i.e. my-
osotae) suco inungatur mane, priusquam loquatur, non lippi-
turum eo anno. Saliva, too, furnished a simple means of
preventing lippitudo (Pliny, N. H. 28, 37): Credamus ...
lippitudines matutina cottidie velut inunctione (sc. salivae
arceri). 214 Easily available was the following method also
(Pliny, N. H. 29, 128): Ciconiae pullum qui ederit, negatur
annis multis continuis lippiturus. Of a different character
was the popular belief preserved for us by Marcellus Empiricus
(8, 55): Ut omnino non lippias, cum stellam cadere vel trans-
Cf. supra, 85-87.
111
Cf. supra, 71, n. 37. Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 29 and 30 seem to

116
me to reflect popular religion rather than pure magic beliefs.
currere videris, numera, et celeriter numera, donec se condat;
tot enim annis, quot numeraveris, non lippies.
2. Toothache. - For the prevention of toothache Pliny
mentions two popular practices, both of them based upon the
belief in the magic power of odd numbers, more especially of
the number three. We are told (N. H. 28, 56): frigida (sc.
aqua) matutinis inpari numero (sc. colluere ora) ad cavendos
dentium dolores . . . certum experimentum est. And again
we read (N. H. 32, 37): Quod si dentes ter annis colluantur
testudinum sanguine, immunes a dolore fiant. A much more
elaborate method of preventing toothache is given by Marcellus
Empiricus (12, 46) in the following words :
Cum primum hirundinem videris, tacebis et a.d aqua.m nitidam
accedes atque inde in os tuum mittes; deinde digito obscoeno, id est
medio, tam manus dextrae quam sinistrae dentes fricabis et dices:
'Hirundo, tibi dico, quomodo hoc (i.e. aqua) in rostro iterum non
erit, sic mihi dentes non doleant toto anno.' Iterum alium annum et
deinceps sequentibus similiter facies, si volueris remedii huius quotannis
manere beneficium.
3. Quinsy. -Concerning this disease we read in Celsus

(Med. 4, 7): Vulgo audio, si quis pullum hirundinis ederit,
angina toto anno non periclitari.216 This bit of preventive
medicine persisted among the common people, for some years
later Pliny says (N. H. 30, 33): Multi cuiuscumque hirundinis
pullum edendum censent, ut toto anno non metuatur id malum
(i.e. angina). That the vegetable world furnished a similar
protective substance we learn also from Pliny (N. H. 24, 174):
Mirum traditur, numquam eo niorbo (i.e. angina) temptari
qui (sc. herbam impiam) gustaverint. . . .
4. Uvular Complaints. - The fact that the word uva meant
both a grape and the uvula is responsible for the following
bit of sympathetic preventive medicine, from Marcellus Em-
111 For the full text cf. supra, 73, n. 45.
piricus (14, 52): Uvam toto anno non dolebit, qui, cum
primum uvam viderit procedentem, sinistra manu digito medi-
cinali et pollice granum vulsum sic tra.nsglutierit, ut dentibus
non contingat.
5. Pains in the N eek were believed to be prevented by the
use of saliva, as Pliny tells us (N. H. 28, 37): Credamus ..•
cervicis dolores (sc. arceri) saliva ieiuni dextra manu ad dextrum
poplitem relata, laeva ad sinistrum.21•
6. Epilepsy. - For the prevention of epilepsy the Magi,
according to Pliny (N. H. 28, 259), used the following means :
Cerebrum caprae Magi per anulum 217 aureum 218 traiectum,
priusquam lac detur, infantibus instillant contra comitiales
ceterosque infantium morbos. With this we may compare
the custom prevalent among the Romans of averting epilepsy
from one's self by spitting upon the epileptic. We read in
Pliny (N. H. 28, 35): Despuimus comitiales morbos, hoc est
contagia regerimus.21 0
7. Skin Diseases. - Under this head I have included all
diseases that are apparent on the skin, even though they may
be more deeply seated.
(a) Tetter, Leprosy, and Cancer. - For the prevention of all
of these the saliva of a fasting person seems to have been the
popular means. Upon this point we may quote Pliny (N. H.
28, 37) : Credamus ergo et lichenas leprasque ieiunae (sc.
salivae) inlitu adsiduo arceri; item . . . carcinomata malo
terrae subacto. . . .220
111 Cf. supra, 71, n. 37.
m Cf. Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 49 (supra, 85).

111cf. supra, 104 and n. 206.
11• Cf. supra, 71, n. 37.
no I should hesitate to classify these remedies under the head of pro-
phylactic magic were it not for the context in which they are found. Since,
however, paragraphs 35-39 of this book of Pliny are entirely devoted to a
discussion of the magic qualities of spittle, we must consider as magic
that which is quoted above.
(b) Wrinkle8. -Here we may cite Pliny (N. H. 22, 65):
Virus folii (i.e. heliotropii) in urina pueri inpubis tritum quidem
cum aphronitro et inlitum ventri mulierum, ne rugosus fiat,
praestare dicitur.221
(c) Varico8e Veins. - Pliny informs us (N. H. 30, 76) that
this trouble may be prevented in the following manner : Varices
ne nascantur, lacertae m sanguine pueris crura ieiunis a ieiuno
inlinuntur. This recipe is repeated with some additional details
by Marcellus Empiricus (34, 8): Varices ne nascantur, lacertae
sanguine crura puero ieiunus inline; in totum carebit hac
foeditate. From these two passages it is quite 8.fParent that
the fasting 228 of him who was to be protected and of .him who
applied the ointment was an essential element.
8. Al4tninal Diuase8. - In speaking of the good old days .
of simple fare Ovid remarks (Fasti 6, 180-182):
Terra fabas tantum duraque farra dabat
quae duo mixta ei.mul sextis quicumque Kalendis
ederit, buic laedi viscera posse negant.
In this passage the poet seems to be repeating an actual

ancient Italian belief.
There were certain wonderful external applications also
which were believed to have the power of protecting the ab-
domen from disease. Thus, we read in Pliny (N. H. 30, 64) :
Magi quidem vespertilionis sanguine contacto ventre in totum
annum caveri tradunt. This passage is repeated with a slight
addition by Marcellus Empiricus (28, 45) : Quotiens dolor
et contractio intestinorum ventris orietur, vespertilionis san-
guine ventre manu perfricato et ad praesens subvenies et in
totum annum medebere.
m Cf. infra, 115.
m We have already pointed out (supra, 85, 86, 88, 98) the impor-
tance of the lizard in connection with prophylactic amulets.
111 Cf. Pliny, N. H. 28, 35; 37 (supra, 108).
9. Feoers. - I have found only one instance of the pre-

vention of fevers by prophylactic magic without the use of
amulets. It occurs in Pliny (N. H. 25, 106): Magi utique
circa bane (i.e. hieran botanen) insaniunt: ha.c perunctos im-
petra.re qua.e velint, febres abigere, a.micitia.s concilia.re nullique
non morbo mederi.m
(2) Materials Used in Magic Prophylaxis Apart from the Use

of Amulets
In the list of materials, other than amulets, which the Romans
used to w.i off disease we find somewhat the same variety as
we discovered in our discussion of amulets.226 There is, how-
ever, th~ very natural difference that, whereas the materials
for amulets were found to consist normally of gotd, stones,
bits of parchment and the like, which were peculiarly adapted
to such uses, prophylactic materials of the kind we a.re now
considering consisted of substances such as blood, spittle, water,
and milk, the use of which as amulets was impossible. Such
means of preventing disease were almost exclusively of animal
or vegetable origin, and they were either applied as an oint-
ment 228 or were ea.ten.221
"' In the paragraph im,mediately following the one quoted above
Pliny indicates with what careful attention to magical detail such plants
must be collected: Colligi debere circa canis ortum ita, ne luna aut sol
conspiciat, favis ante et melle terrae ad piamentum datis; circumscriptam
ferro effodi sinistra manu et in sublime tolli. . . .
116 Cf. supra, 96-100. J.
"' Cf. Pliny, N. H. 25, 106 (supra, 110): 27, 105 (supra, 106): 28,
37 (supra, 106, 108); 44 (supra, 106); 73 (supra, 106) : 30, 64 (supra, 109);
76 (supra, 109); Marcellus Empiricus, 12, 46 (supra, 107): 28, 45 (supra,
109): 34, 8 (supra, 109). Of a similar character are Pliny, N. H. 28, 56
(supra, 107): 32, 37 (supra, 107), where the liquid is used as a wash;
N. H. and 28, 259 (supra, 108), where the liquid is dropped upon the head
of the person who is to be protected.
117 Cf. Celsus, Med. 4, 7 (supra, 107); Ovid, Fasti 6, 180-182 (supra,
109); Pliny, N. H. 23, 110 (supra, 106): 24, 174 (supra, 107) : 29, 128
(supra, 106): 30, 33 (supra, 107); Marcellus Empiricus, 14, 52 (supra, 108).
(a) Animal Material.8. -Of the animal creation the swallow,

bat, lizard, she-goat, stork, and tortoise ma.de important con-
tributions to the materia medica of prophylactic magic. It was
thought possible, for instance, by ea.ting a young swallow to
ward off quinsy for a yea.r.228 Again, if, upon seeing the first
swallow of the sea.son, a person went silently to a brook, took
water in his mouth, and pronounced a certain formu1a., he via.a
thought to be freed from all fear of toothache for a year.229
Likewise one could be freed from abdominal pa.ins for a year
by touching that region with the blood of a ba.t.230 The blood
of the lizard, too, was considered efficacious in preventing vari-
cose veins, if it was rubbed upon the parts likely to be thus
afBicted; 231 while the she-goat's brain, drawn through a gold
ring and dropped upon the head of an infant, was said to be
a preventive of epilepsy. 232 It was also beliaved that if one
should eat the young of the stork, one need not fear lippitudo, 218
and that he who washed his teeth three times a year with the
blood of a tortoise was freed from all possibility of tootha.che.IM
Not only were the parts of various animals greatly valued
as a means of preventing disease, but certain animal excreta
and products also were held in high esteem. Thus, the urine of
a puer impubis 235 was used as the medium in which to mix an
ointment to prevent wrinkles upon the abdomen. Spittle, par-
ticularly that of a fa.sting person, was believed to prevent lip-
pitudo, pa.in in the neck, tetter, leprosy, cancer, and epilepsy.238
118 Cf. Celsus, Med. 4, 7 (supra., 107); Pliny, N. H. 30, 33 (supra., 107).
119 Marcellus Empiricus, 12, 46 (supra., 107).
uo Pliny, N. H. 30, 64 (supra., 109); Marcellus Empiricus, 28, 45
(supra., 109).
:111 Pliny, N. H. 30, 76 (supra., 109); Marcellus Empiricus, 34, 8
(supra., 109).
m Pliny, N. H. 28, 259 (supra., 108).
111 Pliny, N. H. 29, 128 (supra., 106).
114 Pliny, N. H. 32, 37 (supra., 107).
:116 Pliny, N. H. 22, 65 (supra., 109).

sae Pliny, N. H. 28, 35 (supra., 108); 37 (supra., 106; 108).
We are told, also, that, if one were fortunate enough to obtain

as an ointment human milk from both mother and daughter
at the same time, this wonderful combination would forever
free from all eye diseases anyone who was anointed with it.237
This last beneficent effect might also be produced by thrice
touching the eyes with the water which was left over after
washing one's feet.288
Vegetable substances possessing magic prophylactic qualities
were sometimes eaten, sometimes used as ointments. Thus,
a part of the pomegranate was eaten in order to ward off
diseases of the eyes ; 239 grapes were eaten to avert diseases
of the uvula ; 240 herba impia, to prevent quinsy ; ro spelt and
beans, to free one from all future bowel troubles; w and parsnip,
to avert snake-bite.248 Heliotrope, when reduced to the form
of an ointment, .according to popular belief, was a preventive
of abdominal wrinkles ; 244 hiera botane could avert the possi-
bility of fevers; 246 and the plant called mouse ear (myosota)
was used to prevent lippitwJ,o.246
Some of the means whereby magic prophylaxis was insured
were incorporeal, as when one counted as rapidly as possible
while watching the course of a shooting star, in the belief that
his own eyes would retain the bright gleam of health for exactly
as many years as he succeeded in counting before the bright
gleam of the shooting star faded in the dark sky.24 7
• 7 Pliny, N. H. 28, 73 (supra, 106).
•• Pliny, N. H. 28, 44 (supra, 106).
• 0 Pliny, N. H. 23, 110 (supra, 106).
:Mt Pliny, N. H. 24, 174 (supra, 107).

141 Ovid, Fasti, 6, 180-182 (supra, 109).
141 Cf. supra, 96 and n. 133.
'" Pliny, N. H. 22, 65 (supra, 109).

141 Pliny, N. H. 25, 106-107 (supra, 110).
m Pliny, N. H. 27, 105 (supra, 106).

14 7 Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 55 (supra, 106-107).
C SYMPATHIA THE BASIS OF PROPHYLACTIC MAGIC
A careful consideration of the facts presented in the fore-

going pages on Roman prophylactic magic leads me to the
conclusion that the basis of nearly all such beliefs was sym'[Ja-
thia. It is my purpose to present in the remaining pages
of this dissertation the evidence for this conclusion.
(1) Sympathia Essential to Amulets. - In our definition of an
amulet 248 we said that the power of taboo which was inherent
in the amulet was the result of a specific association of ideas.
It should be stated, however, at once that, though in many
cases the associated ideas are quite apparent, in many other
cases we are somewhat in doubt ; and in still others we have lost
entirely the thread of thought which, in times gone by and under
different conditions, led men to attribute to certain amulets
a sympathetic control over certain diseases. We may reason-
ably assume, however, that, if we were better acquainted with
the mental and spiritual life of the common people of Italy
during the classical era, we should be able to explain upon the
basis of sympathia the power of many medical amulets, the
secret of which is no longer clear.
Given the fundamental thought that like aft'ects like, we
have introduced a principle of magic action, the application of
which in the field of medical amulets is almost limitless. This
sympathetic power may arise from the source of the amulet,
its appearance, its natural qualities in its native state, its
action while functioning as an amulet, the sympathetic position
of its component parts, or from accompanying incantamenta.
(a) The Source of the Amulet as the Basis of the Sympathia. -
A very common type of amulet is that which is obtained from
various parts of animals in order to protect from disease similar
parts of those who wear the amulet. Thus, the stone found in
141 Supra, 77-78.
the head of a snail was worn as an amulet to avert headache.Mi•

Certain amulets used to prevent lippitudo are even more
definitely sympathetic. We read, for instance, in Marcellus
Empiricus 260 that if the eye of a green lizard is put out and the
animal placed in a glass jar along with certain rings, the sight
will be restored to the blinded eye. If the lizard is then released,
it goes away, talring with it, apparently, all present or prospec-
tive human eye diseases. The rings, on the other hand, were
thought, through contact with the lizard, to have become power-
ful amulets for averting lippitudo. Sometimes the blinded
lizard itself was enclosed in a bulla in order to avert pains in
the eye, or even a drop of blood from it.s blinded eye might
serve the same purpose. 261 Doubtless the keen, prominent eye
of the lizard was responsible for these beliefs. To the same
cause we may attribute the belief that one who kept about his
person the head of a dragon would never suffer from bleareye.262
The physical peculiarity of the asp gave rise to an interesting
bit of 81Jmpathia. The neck of this serpent has a loose skin
which at times is inflated so that it suggests a goitre or wen.
On this account it was commonly believed that the neck of
the asp, if hung as an amulet around a man's neck, would avert
goitre. 241 The same process of reasoning led the Roman popu-
lace to believe that the inscribed bladder of a male hog, if
placed upon a man's abdomen, would protect the wearer from
bladder troubles, and that the same organ of a female hog would
perform a similar service for women.264 Likewise, the tooth of
the fearless wolf was quite naturally used as an amulet to allay
" 9 Marcellus Empiricus, 1, 41 (supra, 84). According to the same
author (1, 85), the whole snail, worn in a bag as an amulet, had the power
of curing headache.
•o 8, 49 (supra, 85).
•1 Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 50 (supra, 85).
su Pliny, N. H. 29, 128 (supra, 86) .
.. Marcellus Empiricus, 15, 67 (supra, 87).
a. Pseudo-Pliny, 2, 38 (supra, 88).
childish fears and to assist in teething.266 Upon the basis of

association of ideas it is equally easy to explain why the white
flesh from a female hyena's breast together with seven of her
hairs and the genitals of a deer wrapped together in the skin
of a gazelle were thought to prevent miscarriage. 268 So, too, it
was believed in some quarters that the wonderfully efficacious
intestine of the osprey, if worn as an amulet, could prevent
colic.267 Cattle also could be protected from the bite of the
shrew mouse by having suspended from their necks an amulet
containing a shrew mouse.268
The same principle of 81Jmpathia operated in the field of
prophylactic magic by means other than amulets. The Roman
populace argued, for instance, that, because the skin of a boy's
abdomen was free from wrinkles, it naturally followed that
a certain ointment, mixed in the urine of a boy, and spread
upon the abdomen of a woman, would keep the latter from
becoming wrinkled.269 In like manner the brain of a she-goat
was used to prevent epilepsy in children.Ho
(b) The Appearance of the Amul.et as the Basis of Sympathia. -
Very important, also, is the 81Jmpathia due to the appearance
of the material used for an amulet. The cherry seed, for
instance, looks somewhat like an eyeball, especially if a hole
is bored through the seed to represent the pupil. Hence,
bored cherry seeds were considered, under certain conditions,
an effective amulet for preventing pains in the eyes.261 Simi-
larity of appearance was responsible also for the belief that
the swelling bark of the wild fig tree could prevent the growth
265 Pliny, N. H. 28, 257 (supra, 92). Cf. Serenus Sammonicus, 1031-
1032 (supra, 92).
* Pliny, N. H. 28, 98 (supra, 00).
•1 Pliny, N. H. 30, 63 (supra, 88).
"' Columella, 6, 17, 6 (supra, 95).
"' Pliny, N. H. 22, 65 (supra, 109).
teo Pliny, N. H. 28, 259 (supra, 108).
• 1 Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 27 (supra, 84); cf. infra, 121.
of the tumor known as struma.2112 Certain inscriptions, too,

which appear on amulets, seem to be based upon a sym:pathia
of appearance and function. Thus, on an amulet used to ward
off diseases of the human eye, the inscription makes mention
of the all-seeing eye of the sun. 288 Even the colors of amulet
conta.iner8 were chosen with a view to their sympathetic power.2"
Finally, the accidental identity of words was made the basis
of sympathia.286
(c) The Natural Qualities of the Amulet Material as the Basis
of Sympathia. - Many objects were used as amulets because
in their native condition they possessed certain qualities which
the wearer of the amulet wished to reproduce in himself. For
example, since the tooth of a colt is cut without apparent pa.in
and is well developed, it followed that the first-dropped tooth
of a colt, worn as an amulet, would avert teethfug troubles.298
In the same way the fact that the hyena prowls by night and
devours corpses may be shown to be responsible for the belief
that the tooth of this beast was an effective amulet for ward-
ing off night fears, especially the fear of ghosts.287 A similar
power was attributed to the right foot of the hyena, if it was
enclosed in the skin of the same animal.288 The mystic feeling
that like affects like lay also at the base of the belief that the
presence of the smoothly gliding, changeable chameleon in
the home would guarantee an easy childbirth,289 and that
knots tied in a string had a sympathetic restraining effect,
tying up, so to speak, certain parts, so that they could not
m Pliny, N. H. 23, 130 (supra, 91).
"' Cf. supra, 104-105.

le6 Cf. supra, 107-108.
211 Serenus Sammonicus, 1031-1032 (supra, 92). For the use of the
tooth of the wolf as an amulet cf. supra, 114-115.
tn Pliny, N. H . 28, 98 (supra, 93).
na Pliny, N. H. 28, 115 (supra, 93).
•• Pliny, N. H. 28, 114 (supra, 91).
swell with disease. 270 A like inhibiting effect is apparent in

the use of a crocodile's heart as an amulet to ward off fever.171
For it seems reasonable to suppose that the heart of a cold-
blooded animal would be a natural protective agency against
the heat of fever. The thought of negation is also prominent
in the use of the first lost milk tooth of a boy to prevent pains
in the female organs; 272 the wearer of this amulet probably
reasoned that in the future she would be as free from female
pains as was the original possessor of the tooth.
(d) Growth and Withering of the Amulet as the Basis of Sym-
pathia. - Sometimes the growth or withering of a vegetable
amulet furnished the basis of 871""pathia. It was believed, we
are informed by Pliny,273 that persons who had been cured of a
tumor by the use of a plant called 8ideriti8 latijolia or by
artemi8ia or even by plantain should carefully preserve that
particular plant, lest wicked and hostile herbarii should plant
it, and with the second growth of the plant the disease should
take on a second growth. Here we have a disease that was
made to decrease with the withering plant and to come back
again with the reanimation of the plant. Under such circum-
stances the withered plant becomes a kind of negative amulet,
capable of preventing disease as long as it remains under the
control of its original owner/m
(e) Certain Acts or Po8ition8 as a B~ of Sympathia. -There
were certain acts, too, of a sympathetic nature, which played
a part in the prevention of disease. I have cited above 176
170 Pliny, N. H. 28, 48 (supra, 89). tn Pliny, N. H. 28, 41(supra,89).
171 Pliny, N; H. 28, 111 (supra, 94). na Pliny, N. H. 26, 24 (supra, 91).
17' Of similar nature, perhaps, was the belief that one might be pro-
tected from toothache for the space of a year (Pliny, N. H. 27, 89: cf.
supra, 87) by enclosing a certain worm in bread, and the latter, in turn,
in an amulet case. It seems likely that the bread was supposed to keep
the worm alive for a year, and that when the worm died and decayed, the
tooth was believed to do likewise.
ll8 STUDIES IN MAGIC FROM LATIN LITERATURE
a very interesting method of preventing toothache which

involves mimetic and dramatic features. Sometimes the
person who sought protection from disease loosened from about
his body all objects that could possibly bind his person, in
order that nothing might hinder the free play of the protecting
agency.276 At other times the secret of the sympathi,a lay in
the relative position of certain parts of the body, as when the
two middle fingers of the right hand were bound together in
order to prevent catarrh or lippitudo.211
(f) Sympathia of Seasons. - Certain seasons of the year
were thought to enhance the sympathetic power of various
prophylactic substances. In the days of Pliny it was thought
best to gather the vervain, a plant which was used to avert
fevers, at about the rising of the dog star, when neither sun
nor moon might behold the act. 278 The same author tells
us 279 that the Egyptians considered the twenty-eighth day
of the month Thoti the only day upon which one should be
anointed with the juice of the plant called mouse ear in order
to avert lippitudo. In much the same spirit the Romans be-
lieved that if you ate beans and spelt on the first day of June,
your digestion would be guaranteed for the year. 280 In the
later centuries, as we gather from Marcellus Empiricus, 281
the Roman populace esteemed the Ides of each month, es-
pecially the Ides of September, the most suitable time for
271 Cf. Pliny, N. H. 23, 110 (supra, 106). Cf. also the broken ring of the
Flamen Dialis (supra, 81).

177 Cf. Pliny, N. H. 28, 42 (supra, 86~7). Such magic, as we have shown
above (62-63), was of very early occurrence among the Romans.
m Pliny, N. H. 25, 107 (supra, 110, n. 224).
m N. H. 27, 105 (supra, 106).
180 Ovid, Fasti 6, 180-182 (supra, 109). For beans in ancient Italian
ritual see Fowler, R. F. 130-133.

281 Cf. 8, 49 (supra, 85-86); 50 (supra, 85) for the Ides of September.
Other references to the Ides, without specification of the month, are 14,
68: 29, 23.
preparing medical amulets. The time of the day seems also

to have had an importance due to sympathia, as we know from
the fact that believers in magic were enjoined to gather certain
vegetable ingredients of amulets before sunrise.282
(g) Sympathia of Odd Numbers. -The Rbmans, like many
other peoples, believed in the superior magic power of odd
numbers, particularly the number three and its multiples.288
We are not surprised, therefore, to find such numbers especially
recommended in the composition of medical amulets and other
means of prophylactic magic. Sometimes the sympathia of
numbers is quite apparent, as in the case of the man who counted
182 Scribonius Largus, 163 (supra, 95). Cf. Pliny, N. H . 24, 170 (supra
94): 25, 107 (supra, 110, n. 224). That certain medical amulets were ap-
plied to the person before sunrise we know from Pliny, N. H. 23, 130
(supra, 91): 29, 85 (supra, 90). For numerous magical acts to be per-
formed before sunrise cf. Pliny, N. H. 20, 29; 217: 24, 133: 25, 145:
28, 78: 32, 115; Pseudo-Pliny, 2, 54 (p. 252, l. 29 Cod. St. Galli 751;
cf. Heim, Incant. Mag. 560); Marcellus Empiricus, 14, 65: 15, 101:
26, 41.
281 H. Usener, in an article entitled Dreiheit (Rheinisches Museum, 58
[1903], 1-47; 161-208; 321-362), deals admirably with the r6le played
by the number three in Roman religion. Of its important r6le in Roman
magic, however, he does not treat at all. For the number three and its
multiples in Roman magic the important literary references are Cato, R . R.
70; Varro, R.R. 1, 2, 27; Cicero, Cat. 3, 9; Vergil, Eel. 8, 73-78; Pseudo-
Vergil, Ciris 36~377; Tibullus, 1, 2, 53-56; Livy, 27, 37: 31, 12, 5--9;
Ovid, Fasti 2, 571-582: 4, 54~554; 727: 6, 155--156; 753-754: Met.
7, 152-156; 188-198; 261 ff.: 14, 58; 387; Seneca, Med. 771-772; Pliny,
N. H. 8, 106: 20, 171 : 21, 42: 22, 135: 24, 172: 25, 148; 167: 26, 93:
27,131: 28,21: 29,100: 30,35; 51; 101; 108: 34,151.
Among the Romans all odd numbers were considered of better omen
than even numbers, and hence more efficacious in medicine. Cf. Mommsen,
Hist. of Rome (Eng. Trans.), 1, 271 and n. 1; Fowler, R. F. 3; Varro,
R. R. 3, 9, 4; 12; Pseudo-Vergil, Ciris 36~377; Scribonius Largus, 16;
Columella, 8, 5, 8; Pliny, N. H. 23, 156: 24, 82: 28, 23; 33; 56: 30, 44;
108; Gellius, 15, 7, 1; 3; Marcellus Empiricus, 1, 50; 78; 100: 7, 7 :
8, 49: 9, 2: 15, 9: 16, 26; 32; 40; 64; 86: 20, 35: 25, 21: 27, 42; 47;
52: 34, 67. Cf. C. P. Clark, Numerical PhratSeology in Vergil (Princeton
University DiSBertation, Princeton, 1913).

as rapidly, as possible while he witnessed the fa11 of a meteor.'"

At other times we feel the misterious sympathetic power of
the number three without being able to trace clearly the asso-
ciation of ideas which underlay the popular belief. It was not
without some reason of this kind that persons were enjoined
to touch their eyes three times with the water left over after
washing their feet in order to avert all eye diseases.28' It is
difficult, also, to explain why toothache was thought to be
prevented by washing one's teeth thrice annually with tortoise
blood; 288 or why three cherry stones should be used as a medical
amulet, 287 unless there was believed to exist some indefinable
sympathia between the number three and the prevention of
disease. Nor are other odd numbers without a similar magic
power; for we read of the wonderful prophylactic powers of
a thread that is tied in seven or nine knots,288 and of a certain
medical amulet that is to be perfected in five or seven days.m
(h) Sympathia of Purity. - Greater power, according to
Roman popular belief, resided in an amulet that was prepared
by pure hands.290 It was doubtless on this account that oertain
amulets had to be made or applied by pueri impubes. 291 To a
similar desire of avoiding contamination may be attributed,
perhaps, the often repeated injunction that neither the amulet
nor its constituent parts should touch the earth.2112 It is a fair
11M Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 55 (supra, 106-107).
216 Pliny, N. H. 28, 44 (supra, 106). 181 Pliny, N. H. 32, 37(supra,107) •.
m Pliny, N. H. 28, 48 (supra, 89).
290 Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 49 (supra, 85); 58 (supra, 85); 59
(supra, 86).
; m Pliny, N. H . 23, 130 (supra, 91). That boys, on account of their
purity, were considered of great service in magic we may conclude from
Apuleius, Apol. 42; Spartianus, Did. Iul. 7, 10; Pliny, N. H. 28, 41.
1111 Pliny, N. H. 23, 163 (supra, 88): 27, 89 (supra, 87): 28, 41 (supra,
89). This injunction is very common in other fields of magic also. That
the earth was looked upon as a contaminating substance seems clear
01gitized by Google
inference, also, that the direction to prepare amulets with
implements of reed,2111 copper, or glass 294 was but another way
of forbidding the polluting touch of iron.
(i) Sympathetic Incantamenta. -Finally, the element of
sympathia may at times appear in the incantamenta which
frequently accompany the use of amulets in preventive medi-
cine. We have shown,296 for instance, how swellings in the
groin were believed to be prevented by the inhibiting. power of
a knotted string, each knot of which was tied in the name of a
certain widow. We can ·readily understand how the knots in
the string were supposed to hold in check any tendency toward
swelling in the groin, but we should be at a loss to know why
each knot must have pronounced over it the name of a widow,
were it not for a passage in Marcellus Empiricus. The latter
author tells us,m that the widows whose names were thus used
in the incantamentum, while the knots were being tied in the
string, must be anm fliduae. In other words, the incanta-
mentum was to be composed of the names of those whose
abdomens would never again be swollen in pregnancy, in order
to insure that the abdomen of him who wore the amulet would
not swell with disease. Likewise, in using bored cherry stones
as an amulet 297 to prevent pains in the eyes, the wearer of the
amulet must utter a vow not to eat any cherries during the
year within which the amulet was to be effective ; because,
from Marcellus Empiricus, 29, 35. There we are told that a certain cura-
tive amulet is to come into contact neither with the earth nor with any
woman. The well established fact of the ceremonial impurity of women
may be taken as proof that the earth is to be placed in the same category.
111 Marce'llus Empiricus, 1, 85.
1 " Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 49-50 (supra, 85). In this instance the
main operation employs glass and copper, but the use of iron is allowed
in a detail of secondary importance. For the taboo on iron in Roman
medical magic, see supra, 73, n. 42.
IN Pliny, N. H. 28, 48 (supra, 89).
1N 32, 19 (supra, 89).
forsooth, to eat cherries would be equivaJent to eating his own

eyes, and in this way the sympathetic power of the amulet would
be destroyed.298
(j) The Source of the Sympathia often Obscure. - The asso-
ciation of ideas involved in sympathia is often obscure. We
feel reasonably sure, for example, when we read of a remedy for
Jippitudo, of which the principal ingredient is a powder made
irom the heads of young swallows, whose eyes have been put
-out during the full moon, and whose sight has subsequently
:returned, that we are dealing with a purely sympathetic cure.
Accordingly, when we read in the same paragraph 299 that
-one who has eaten a young stork, or has a dragon about his
person will be protected from the same disease for many years
thereafter, we cannot escape the conclusion that there must
be some kind of sympathia between young storks and dragons,
and diseases of the eye. Probably storks and dragons were
credited with unusually keen sight and eyes free from disease.
We may speculate in like manner over the belief that one could
be protected from quinsy for a year by the simple precaution
of eating the young of a swallow.300 Just what the association
of ideas was in the latter case we can not surely say ; but it
seems likely that the deeply cleft bill of the swallow, and its
comparatively large throat, so useful in the capture of insects,
led to the belief that it was free from all throat affections, and
that consequently it was useful as a preventive of quinsy.
In fact, when we consider that the person who to-day resorts
to sympathetic magic in the cure or prevention of disease is
usually entirely unaware of the association of ideas underlying
his act, we may be quite certain that the average Roman who
m Certain inscriptions that appear on amulets are not essentially dif-
ferent from sympathetic incantamenta; cf. Marcellus Empiricus, 8, 58
(supra, 85).
m Pliny, N. H. 29, 128 (supra, 86; 106).
1 00 Celsus, Med. 4, 7; Pliny, N. H. 30, 33 (supra, 107).
practiced similar acts was equally unaware of the fundamental
ideas underlying his acts. It is, then, not difficult to under-
stand why, after the lapse of centuries and the various changes
in the modes of civilized thought, it has become almost im-
possible to arrive at a complete understanding of the principle
of sympathia as it operated among the ancient Italians in the
field of prophylactic magic.801 It seems reasonable to conclude,
however, from the preponderating importance of the idea of
sympathia in all the cases where we can trace the association
of ideas, that practically all the prophylactic magic of the
Romans was based upon this principle.•02
'°' Much valuable light could doubtless be thrown upon this subject
by one who had the leisure to live with Italian peasants for a number of
years, and the knack of eliciting from them their secret thoughts regard-
ing such matters. Such a work has been done for Etruria by Leland
(Etru&c. Rom. Rem.), and the result is both in~ting and profitable.
aoa The author regrets that the necessary limits placed upon the length
of a doctoral dissertation force him to end the discUBBion of Roman magic
at this point. He hopes soon to be able to publish additional chapters
upon curative and causative medical magic among the Romans, together
with other chapters upon Roman magic which seem to him to be of unusual
interest not only to the classical scholar, but to the anthropologist, and
to the large number of people who are interested in the strange beliefs
and practices of a bygone age.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INDEX 1
BARINa-GouLD, S. The Book of Were-Wolvea (London, 1865).
BLUKLER, MARTIN FREDERICK. A HiBtory of Amtdeta (Halle, 1710.
English translation by S. H., Gent., privately printed, Edinburgh,
1887).
BducllE-LECLERCQ, A. Histoire de la divination dana l'antiquite
(Paris, 1879).
BRUNS, CAROLUS GEORGIUS. FonteB Juris Romani Antiqui'
(TUbingen, 1909).
Companion to Latin Studie82 (edited by Sir John Edwin Sandye,
Cambridge, 1913).
CU¥oNT, F'RANz. Oriental Religiona in Roman Paganism (Chicago,
1911).
DEL Rio, MARTINus. DiBquisitionum Magicaru.m Libri Sex (Coloniae
Agrippinae, MDCLXXIX).
DIETERICH, ALBRECHT. Abraxaa (Leipzig, 1891).
- - Papyrua Magica Mmei Lugdunenais Batavi (Leipzig, 1888).
DILL, SillUEL. Roman Society from Nero to M arcm A urelim (London,
. 1905).
ELWORTHY, FREDERICK TBoMAs. The Evil Eye (London, 1895).
ENNEMOSER, JOSEPH. The History of Magic (English translation,
London, 1893).
FAHZ, LuDoVIcus. De Poetarum Romanorum Doctrina Magica (dis-
sertation, Giessen, 1904).
FosTER, WALTER EUGENE. StudieB in Archaism in Aulm GelliUB
(Columbia University dissertation, New York, 1912).
FOWLER, W. WARDE. The Religiom Experience of the Roman People
from the Earliest Times to the Age of AugmtUB (London, 1911).
- The Roman Festivala of the Period of the Republic (London, 1908).
1 Books and articles to which reference has been made only once or
twice in this dissertation have not been included in this index. In all
such cases, however, the full title of the book or article will be found in
the footnote to the citation.
FlizER, J. G. The Go'lden BO'U{Jh1 (London, 1913-1914).

FmEDLAENDER, LUDWIG. Petronii Cena Trimalchioni82 (Leipzig,
1906).
Grumt:, JACOB. Kleinere Schriften: Abhandlungen zur Mythologie
und Sittenkunde (Berlin, 1865).
IIAzLITT, W. CAREW. Faiths and Folklore: a Dictionary of National
Beliefs, Superstitions, and Popular Customs, etc. (London, 1905).
HEn.t:, R.IcARDus. Incantamenta Magica Graeca La/,ina (Jahrbo.cher
fur Classische Philologie, neunzehnter Supplementband, 463-576
[Leipzig, 1893]).
HERTZ, WILHELM. Der Werwolf (Stuttgart, 1862).
HUVELIN, P. La notion de l' "injuria" dam le trea ancien droit romain
(in Annales de l'universite de Lyons [1903], 407-412).
- - Les Tablettes magiques et le droit ramain (in Annales du congres
international d'histoire comparee [Paris, 1902], 2, 15-81).
JAHN, OTTo. Uber den Aberglauben des bOsen Blicka bei den Alten
(in Berichte uber die Verhandlungen der koniglich-Sii.chsischen
Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig; Philologisch-His-
torische Classe [Leipzig, 1855], 28-110).
JEVONS, F. B. An Introduction to the History of Religion (London,
1910).
KIESEWETTER, KARL. Der Occultismus des Altertums (Leipzig, 1896).
KROLL, WILHELM. Antiker Aberglaube (Hamburg, 1897).
KRoPATSCBECK, GERHARDUS. De Amuletorum apud Antiquos UBU
Capita Duo (dissertation, Gryphiae, 1907).
LANG, ANDREW. Magic and Religion (London, 1901).
LELAND, CHARLES GODFREY. Etruscan Roman Remaim in Popular
Tradition (London, 1892).
MAGNUS, HuGo. Superstition in Medicine (English translation by
Dr. Julius L. Salinger, New York, 1905).
MARQUARDT, JoAcmM. R0miache Staatsverwaltung2 (edited by Georg
Wissowa, Leipzig, 1885).
MARETT, R.R. The Threshold of Religion2 (London, 1914).
MAURY, ALFRED. La magie et l'astrologie dam l'antiquite et au moyen
4ge' (Paris, 1877).
NICOLSON, FRANK W. The Saliva Superstition in Classical Literature
(Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 8 [1897], 23-40).
OGLE, M. B. The House-Door in Greek and Roman Religion and Folk-
Lore (A. J. P. 42 [1911], 251-271).

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INDEX 127
OLIPHANT, SAMUEL GRANT. The Story of the Strix: Ancient (Transac-
tions of the American Philological Association, 44 [1913], 133-149.
45 [1914J, 49-63).
PECK, JLumy TmrasTON. Trimalchio'a Dinner (New York, 1899).
PxECHOTTA, JOHANNES. Ein Anecdotum Latinum (Jahresbericht des
koniglichen katholischen Gymnasiums zu LeobschUtz, Uber daa
Schuljahr 1886-1887, I-XIII).
PURSER, L. C. The Story of Cupid and P81Jche as Related by Apuleius
(London, 1910).
REINACH, SALOMON. Orpheus: A General History of Religions (English
translation by Florence Simmonds, New York, 1909).
RoscuER, W. H. A uafuhrlicheB Lexikoo der Griechischen und Rihniachen
Mythologie (Leipzig, 1884- ).
Scmo:I88ER1 G. Quaeationum de Etruaca Disciplina Particula (dis-
sertation, Breslau, 1872).
SMITH, KIRBY FLOWER. An Historical Study of The Werwolf in
Literature (Publications of the Modem Language Association of
America, 9, 1, 1-42 [Baltimore, 1894]).
STORY, WILLIAM WETMORE. Castle St. Angelo and the Evil Eye (Lon·
don, 1877).
TEuFFEL, W. S. Geschichteder R0mischenLiteratur 8 (Leipzig,1910- ).
Thesaurua Unguae Latinae (Leipzig, 1904- ).
THORNDIKE, LYNN. The Pl.ace of Magic in the Intellectual History of
Europe (Columbia University dissertation, New York, 1905).
--A Roman Astrologer as a Historical Source: Juliua FirmicUB
Maternua (Classical Philology, 8 [1913], 415-435).
TYLOR, EDWARD B. Primitive Culture (third American edition,
New York, 1889).
WEIDLICH, THEODOR. Die Sympathie in der Antiken Utteratur (Pro-
gramm des Karls-Gymnasiums in Stuttgart [1894J).
WELCKER, F. G. Kleine Schriften ru den Alterthumern der Heilkunde
bei den Griechen, Griechische I nschriften, zur alten K unstgeschichte
(Bonn, 1850).
WIBBOWA, GEORG. Rel.igion und Kultua der ROmeJC (MUnchen, 1912.
Vol. V, part IV of Muller's Handbuch der Klassischen Altertums-
wissenschaft).
INDEX RERUM
Abdomen, amulets attached to, pomanes, Hog, Hyena, Lizard,
102-103. Oaprey, Shreto MOU88, Snail,
Absinth as an amulet, 91. Stork, Swallow, TorUliM, Viper,
Adver8U8 Aatrologoa, work of Colu- Wolf, and Worm).
mella, 18. Anise, twig of, as amulet, 89.•
Aeaea, home of Circe, 24. Antipatlria, 95 (cf. Sympathia).
Aesculapius resorts to magic, 65. Apollonius of Tyana, 44.
Agricultural writers, attitude of, Apuleius, Apologia of, the most
toward magic, 26-28. complete Latin treatise on magic,
Agrippa expels magicians and as- 19; 44-45: attitude of, toward
trologers from Rome, 14. magic, 32; 42-45: Metamorphoaea
Amber as an amulet, 92. of, dominated by magic, 42--44:
Ammianus Marcellinus, attitude of, publication date of Metamor-
toward magic, 53; 76. ph0888 of, 44, n. 238: mysticism
Amulets, 52; 53; 57; 59; 76-105: of, 43-44: reputation of, as a
antiquity and continued use of, magus, 42; 44-45.
80-83: colors of containers, 104- Arbutus, twig of, used in magic,
105; 116: not confined to objects 64; 65.
suspended from the neck, 78: Artemisia used as an amulet, 91;
definition of, 77-78: details in 117.
preparation of, 101 (cf. Daya, Asclepiades, the physician, uses
Odd numbera, Purity, Sunriae, magic, 56; 73.
Three aa a magic number): ety- Asp, head of, as amulet, 87; 114.
mology of the Latin word amu- Astrologers, 8BB&iled by Columella,
letum, 77: inscriptions on, 100- 18: by Minucius Felix, 18: de- .
101: invention of, 80: materials fended by Julius Firmicus Mater-
of, 96-100; 103-104: names given nus, 18-19: ~elled from Italy,
to, 79 and n. 75: used by phy- 15: from Rome, 14: Nigidius
sicians, 82: where worn, 102-103. Figulus, reputed an astrologer,
Angerona as a dea, 68, n. 27. 17-18.
Angitia, sister of Circe, 66, n. 19. Astrology, adds strength to magic,
Animals, use of, in magic (see Asp, 5: attitude of Cicero toward, 30:
Bat, Bonu, Bubo, Bug, Cat, of Curtius Rufus, 50: of Favori-
Chameleon, CoU, Croccdile, Deer, nus (apud A. GeUium), 55, n. 314:
Doe, Dog, Dolphin, Dragon, Fly, of Julius Capitolinus, Lampri-
Foz, Gazelle, Goat, Hare, Hip- dius, Spartianus, 52, n. 293: of
130 INDEX BERUM
Suetonius, 51-52: of Tacitus, Carna resorts to magic, 63-65.

50-51: of Valerius Ma.ximus, 54: Carriage ride made safe by magic,
confused with magic, 15, n. 68: 47.
distinguished from magic, H~11: Cat, excrement of, as amulet, 94.
practiced along with magic, 11; Cato, attitude of, toward magic,
14-15: widespread belief in, 26. 26-27: prefers Italian folk medi-
Attus Navius, 24; 49; 54. cine to Greek science, 73.
Augury condemned by Cicero, 30. Catullus, attitude of, toward magic,
Augustus orders occult books 33-34.
burned, 15. Celsus endorses medical magic, 73.
Cemeteries as places of magic, 39.
Babylon prominent in magic, 12. Ceres resorts to magic, 65.
Baldness produced by magic, 72, Chalazophylace8 (hail guards) at
n. 41. Cleonae, 31.
Bat, as an amulet, 78: as a magic Chameleon used as an amulet, 91;
ointment, 109; 111. 116.
Beans, use of, in magic, 37, n. 195; Cherry seeds used as an amulet, 84;
46, n. 248; 109; 112; 118. 115; 120; 121-122.
Behistdn, inscription of, speaks of Christian Emperors, prosecutions
magi, 1, n. 4. for magic under, 53; 83.
Bibliographical Index, 125-127. Christian miracles distinguished
Black as a magic color, 37, n. 195; from magic tricks, 6-7.
39, n. 201; 94; 104-105. Christus, name used in spells, 69,
Blood, use of, in magic, 31; 110; n. 30.
111 (cf. Menstrual blood). Cicero, attitude of, toward magic,
Bones, set by magic, 71-72: used 30: skeptical of divination, 18;
as amulets, 83, n. 101. 24, n. 123.
Boy, entrails of, in magic, 53, n. Circaea arro, 24, n. 118.
298: tooth of, in magic, 89; 117: Circe, herb named after, 24, n. 116:
urine of, in magic, 109; 115: inhabits Italy, 24; 28: power of,
used as mediums in magic, 52, n. based on knowledge of herbs, 8,
296; 91; 109; 120, n. 291. n. 38; 24, n. 116: practices medi-
Britain, magic in, 22. cal magic, 65-66: progenitrix of
Bubo, 57; 94. Marsi, 24, n. 118; worshiped at
Bug, as amulet, 93. Ciroeii, 24, n. 118; 66, n. 19.
Bulla, 25; 80-81. \ Circle effective in magic, 58.
Circumscription in preparation of
Caesar, attitude of, toward magic, amulets, 95.
47-48. Cleonae, hail averters of, 31.
Cancer prevented by magic, 108. Climacteric frequently fatal, 56, n.
Caracalla punishes believers in 317.
magic, 83. Colic prevented by amulets, 88;
Carmen (see Incantamenta). 115.
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INDEX RERUM 131
Colt, milk teeth of, as amulet, 92; Democritus a student of magic, 20
116. • and n. 101; 21; 56.
Columella, attitude of, toward Derotio, 51, n. 282.
magic, 27-'-28. Diana addressed in magic, 38, n.
Communio, 6. 199: resorts to magic, 65.
Contagio, 30. Didius Julie.nus, belief of, in magic,
Contra Mathematico8, work by 52, n. 296.
Minucius Felix, 18. Digitm medicinaliB used in prophy-
Coral used as an amulet, 92. lactic magic, 108.
Cornelius Hispallus expels astrolo- Digitm obscoenus, 107.
gers from Rome, 14. Disease, prevention of, by magic,
Cough prevented by amulet, 87. 61-123.
Counterche.rm, 59. Diseases, deification of, 67-69.
Crocodile, heart of, used as amulet, Diurnal fever prevented by use of
94; 117. . amulet, 104-105.
Crops, control of, by magic, 57: Divination ridiculed, 27; 30.
growth of, influenced by the Doe, stone found in excreta, heart,
moon, 27: protected by magic, or womb of, used as an amulet,
16: transferred by magic, 13-14. 90.
Crossing of knees in magic, 6~ Dog, gall bladder of male, used as
(cf. lnterlccking of fingers). an amulet, 78: tooth of, so used,
Cummin used as an amulet, 94. 93.
Cunina, averter of the evil eye, 25; Dolphin, tooth of, used as amulet,
46. 93.
Curtius Rufus, attitude of, toward Dragon, head of, used as amulet,
magic, 49-50. 86; 114; 122: tail of, so used, 93.
Cyclamen used as an amulet, 82. Dramatic writers, attitude of,
Cyprian magic, 21. toward magic, 28-29.
Dream seers condemned, 30.
'1aLpo116 invoked in 'YOf/TELa and
µa-(E£a1 3-4; 6, n. 29; 7. Earth not to be touched in prepar-
Darkness, fear of, prevented by ing amulets, 87; 88; 89; 120, n.
amulets, 92-93; 116. 292.
Days, certain ones, favorable to Eclipses explained rationally, 30.
magic, 85; 86; 106; 109; 118- Egypt prominent in magic, 12.
119. Empedocles, a student of magic, 20.
Deer, genitals of, used as amulet, Emperors, two, practice magic, 53.
90: skin of, used as amulet con- Encyclope.edists, attitude of, toward
te.ine~, 90: tendons of, used to , magic, 54-59.
attach amulet, 93. '&f>&r,a -yp6.µµa.-a (unintelligible
Delatores spy out magic, 53. words) in magic incantations,
Delivery, painful, prevented by 71-72; 85; 86; 87; 88; 100 and
use of amulet, 91; 116. n. 181.
Digitized by Google
132 INDEX RERUM
Epilepsy, cured by spitting on A. Gellius, attitude of, toward

afHicted person, 71: prevented by magic, 54-56.
magic, 58, n. 349; 93; 108; 115. Gems in magic, 57; 59.
Evil eye, averted, 33; 35; 46 and Germanicus believed to have been
n. 247; 58, n. 349; 80: believed killed by means of ma.gfc, .51.
in, 33; 57: feared, 39: stories of, Ghosts, not believed in by Cicero,
apologized for by A. Gellius, 55. 30: fear of, prevented by amulet,
Evocation of spirits (see Spi.rita 93; 116.
controlled). Goat, brain of, used in prophylac-
EflOCatione& morborum, 68. tic magic, 108; 111; 115.
Excreta, of cat, used as amulet, 94: Gods, aid of, used in magic, 5:
human, so used, 88 (cf. Doe) . controlled by magic, 6-7; 12;
Eye, diseases of, prevented by amu- 42: evoked by magicfrom hostile
lets, 84-87; 116: by other cities, 49: as workers of magic,
magic means, 106-107; 120. 61~.
Eye, pains in, prevented by use of r°'IT~Cl distinguished from p.11-yeLA,
amulets, 84-85; 115; 121. 3-4.
Goitre prevented by amulets, 87;
FIJ8Cinum, or membrum mrile used 114.
as amulet, 46, n. 247. Gold, efficacy of, in magic, 85, n.
Fasting in medical magic, 89; 109. 105; 104; 108.
Feet, pain in the, cured by magic, Golden Bqugh, the, 28.
72. Good luck days, 41.
Female troubles prevented by Grape used in prophylactic magic,
magic, 89-91. 108; 112.
Fever, shrines set up to, 67 and n. Greece, reputed source of Italian
26: numen of, revered, 67. magic, 17.
Fevers prevented by use of amulets, Greeks, medical magic among the
93-94; 117: by other magic early, 70.
means, 110; 118. Groin, di.seases of the, prevented
Fingers, bound together as an by use of amulets, 88-89; 116-
amulet, 86-87; 118: interlocked 117; 121.
in magic, 6~.
Fire-walking, 28, n. 147; 57, n. 338. Hail averted, 31; 57 (cf. NatUTe
Flamen Dialis, taboos surrounding, controlled).
25; 54-55; 81. Hare, ankle bone of, used as amu-
Fly used as amulet, 86. let in preventive medicine, 87-88:
Fox, tongue of, used as amulet, 86. foot of, used as amulet in curative
Frontinus, attitude of, toward medicine, 87, n. 114.
magic, 53--54. Headache prevented by amulets,
84; 113-114.
Gazelle, skin of, used as amulet Heart, representation of, inside the
container, 90; 93., bulla, 80.

INDEX BERUM 133
Hecate addreeaed in magic, 39, n. Incubo, cap of, snatched for good
201. luck, 41.
Heliotrope in magic prophylaxis, Indigestion prevented by magic,
109; 112. 109; 118.
Her"ba impia eaten to prevent Infants' .diseases prevented by use
quinsy, 107; 112. of amulets, 92: by other magic
Hercules, birth of, prevented by means, 108.
magic, 62-63. Inscriptions on medical amulets,
Hiera botane used 88 amulet, 95: 100-101; 116; 122, n. 298.
88 a magic ointment, 110; 112. lnterloc\tlng of fingers in magic,
Hi'P'JXJTTUJneB 88 an ingredient of a 62-63.
philter, 40, n. 211. Iron, taboo on, 58; 72-73; 85, n.
Hirpini, fire-walkers, 28. 105; 88; 120-1%1.
Historians, attitude of, toward Is'is participates in countermagic,
magic, 45-54. 43.
Hog, bladder of, used as amulet, 88;
114. Jacob, name used in incantamenta,
Horace, attitude of, toward magic, 69, n. 30.
36; 38-39. Jannes, a typical Jewish magician,
Human beings buried alive in magic, 21.
38, n.199. Jesus, Apuleius the magician rival
Human corpses, parts of, in magic, of, 44.
51, n. 282; 53, n. 298. Jewish magic, 21.
Human sacrifice, a part of Roman Juno resorts to magic, 62-63.
magic, 14; 21; 38; 52, n. 296. Jupiter drawn from heaven by
Hyena, flesh and hairs of, 88 amulet, magic, 48.
90: heart of, 88 amulet, 94: left Juvenal, attitude of, toward magic,
forefoot, right breast, and tooth 40.
of, 88 amulet, 93.
Knees croBSed in magic, 62-63.
Iliad comparatively free from magic, Knots 88 amulets, 89; 116-117;
19. 120; 121.
Images used in magic, 9-10 ~d n.
43; 38-39. Lake Avernus, water from, in
Incantament.a, 6; 12; 13-14; 22; magic, 38, n. 199.
26-27; 31; 34; 36; 37, n. 195; Lamb sacrificed to avert hail, 31.
39; 40, n. 211; 47; 51, n. 282; Lamella of gold, inscribed, as
52, n. 296; 53, n. 301; 55, n. amulet, 86.
315; 58 and n. 350; 62-63; 70; Lampridius, attitude of, toward
71-72; 76, n. 56; 84; 89; 90; magic, 53.
101; 107 (cf. 'E<f>&ru1 "YPAµµa.-ra.): Lare8, bulla dedicated to, 81, n. 87.
sympathetic incantament.a, 121- Latin authors, attitude of, toward
122. magic, 25-00.
134 INDEX BERUM
Left arm, amulets attached to, 93; Lucretius, attitude of, toward magic,
94; 102 and n. 188. 29-30.
Left hand specified in preparation Lyric and elegiac poets, attitude of,
of amulets, 91; 95: in prepara- toward magic, 33-37.
tion of other means of prophy-
laxis, 106; 108. . Macedonian magic, 21.
Legal aspect of magic and religion,· Ma-yel• distinguished from 'YOfJT"el•,
12-17. 3-4: meaning of word, 3-4: not
Lem.urea expelled by strange rites, found in Homer, 1.
25; 37, n. 195; 46. Magia never used of Magian phi-
Lenae, as a class, skilled in magic, losophy, but of magic, 4-5.
34; 35 and n. 186. Magic, borrows strength from astrol-
Leprosy prevented by magic, 108. ogy, 5-7: confused with astrol-
C. Licinius Mucianus, a believer in ogy, 15, n. 68: distinguished
amulets, 82. from astrology, 10-11: practiced
Licium in magic, 39, n. 201; 85; along with astrology, 14-15:
89; 103. belief in, characteristic of many
Lightning controlled by magic, 57 Latin authors, 17 (see in this
(cf. Nature oontrolled). Index the names of the vari-
Lippitudo, amulet used to prevent, ous Latin authors for their re-
82; 85-87; 104; 114; 118: other spective attitudes toward magic):
means of preventing, 106-107; and curative medicine, Pref.;
122. 16; 49; S0-51; 52-53; 55, n.
Livy, attitude of, toward magic, 315; 56; 57; 58, n. 349: defi-
48-49: prodigia in, 48. nition of, 5-8: distinguished from
Lizard, as amulet, 85; 88; 91; 114: Christian miracles, 6-7: extant
inside of bulla, 80; 114: used in Latin treatises on, 19: forbidden
prophylactic magic apart from by the Twelve Tables (cf. Magic
amulets, 109; 111. illegal): gods controlled by, 12:
Looking behind one forbidden in theory of Greek origin of Ital-
magic, 37, n. 195; 64 and n. 12; ian, untenable, 22-23: growth
65. of, as an element in Latin litera-
Loom, thread from, in amulets, ture, 43-44: gruesome details in,
89. 38, n. 199; 39, n. 201: harmless
Lotapes, a typical Jewish magician, kind of, not condemned, but
21. popular, 16-17: illegal, 12-16:
Love charms spoken of metaphori- sprung from medicine, 5-7: native
cally, 34-35. to Italy, 16-17; 22-25: passive
Love controlled, 33; 34; 35. believers in, executed, 15: theory
Lucan, attitude of, toward magic, of Persian origin of Italian,
31-32. untenable, 22-23: prophylactic,
Lucilius, attitude of, toward magic, among the Romans, Pref.; 61-123,
37-38. especially 76-123: purity in, 38,
-~=-~-~
INDEX BERUM 135
n. 199: and religion, 5; 11-17: offspring of mother and son, 33:
distinguished from religion, 11- philosophic versus popular use of
12: legal aspect of magic and word, 5: reputation of Apuleius
religion, 12-17: mingled with 8B a magua, 42; 44-45.
religion, 31; 51; 54; 58, nn. Malachite used as amulet, 92.
349, 350; 66: more powerful Marcellus Empiricus, attitude of,
than religion, 17; 32; 63: op- toward magic, 76.
posed by religion, 12; 15; 17; Marruvian priest, in Aeneid, an
29: prior to religion, 61-62: adept in magic, 28.
survival of, in religion, 24-25; Marsi, descendants of Circe, 24,
37 and n. 195; 40; 46 and nn. n. 118: magic powers of, 55; 65.
247, 248, 251; 48-49 (cf. Medical Martial, attitude of, toward magic,
magic and religWn): antedates 37.
science, 8; 10; 17: distinguished M8811Ylii, priestess of, an adept in
from science, 8-10: more popular magic, 28.
than science, 10; 25: secret, Mathematici. (see Astrologers).
12-13; 16: source, antiquity, and Medea, power of, based upon
prevalence of Italian, 19-25: knowledge of herbs, 8, n. 38.
stories of, generally accepted, 41; Medical magic, endorsed by Pliny,
43: distinguished from super- 74-75: more powerful than scien-
stition, 11. tific medicine, 75: not displaced
Magicians, confused with natural by Greek medicine, 73-76: prac-
philosophers, 10; 45, n. 243: ticed by early Greeks, 70: by
expelled from Italy, 15; 51: physicians at Rome, 73; 76, n.
from Rome, 14. 56: and religion, 61-69: uni-
M agicu8 seldom used of Magian versal among early Romans, 70-
philosophy, but of magic, 5. 73: versus scientific medicine,
Ma.,.°', become known as trick- 70-76.
sters and sorcerers, 2-3: deri- Medical writers, attitude of, toward
vation of word, 1: expert in magic, 60.
astrology, 2: and divination, 2: Medicine, the source of magic, 5:
word first found in Herodotus, later than magic, 8.
1: µ6."Y"'i ignorant of ")'Of1Tel11, 2: M ejUi8 as a dea, 68, n. 27.
introduction of, into Greece, 2: Membrum flirile, of dog, as amulet,
leaders in royal education, 1 : 78: of man, representation of,
meaning of word, 1-3: not inside bulla, 80. (Cf. F<Ueinum).
found in Homer, 1: originally a Menstrual blood in magic, 58.
priestly caste, 1. Metamorphoses, 42 (see also Apu.-
M agua, name applied both to Magi leius; W erwolf).
and to magicians, 4-5; 50, n. Midnight the time of magic, 37,
275: magorum commmta, 74-75: n. 195.
of great influence in popular Milk of mother and daughter as
medicine, 82; 108; 109; 110: magic ointment, 106; 110; 112.
136 INDEX BERUM
Minucius Felix, attitude of, toward Occentare equivalent to incantare,

magic, 18. 14, n. 57.
Mirrors in magic, 52, n. 296. Occult, books on, destroyed by
Miscarriage prevented, 90; 115. Augustus, 15.
Months, certain, favorable to Odd numbers in magic, 58; 85;
magic, 85; 86; 106; 118-119. 89; 94; 107; 119 and n. 283;
Moon, control of, by magic, 37, n. 120.
196; 38, n. 199; 40, n. 211 (cf. Odyaaeus, wound of, stanched by
Nature controlled): phases of, in incantation, 70.
magic, 27; 48, n. 258; 57-58; Odyaaey built on magic episodes,
86. 20.
Moses, a typical Jewish magician, Ointments in magic, 42; 110.
21. Old women in magic, 34; 38-39;
Mouse ear used 88 magic ointment, 89.
106; 112; 118. Osprey, intestine of, used 88 amu-
Myrtle, twig of, 88 amulet, 88; 89. let, 88; 115.
Mysticism, growth of, in Roman Osthanes, author of earliest work
popular taste, 43-44. on magic, 20: introduces magic
into Greece, 2; 20; 22.
Nail driven to control pestilence, Ovid, attitude of, toward magic,
49; 66. 36-37.
Natural philosophers often called
magi, 10; 45, n. 243. Parchment, inscribed virgin, used
Nature controlled by magic, 6-7; 88 amulet, 85; 86; 87.
12; 16; 32; 34; 41 (cf. Hail Parsnip, used 88 amulet, 95-96:
atlerled, Li,gh/,ning, Moon, Rain, eaten in prophylactic magic, 96;
and Stara). 112.
Neck, amulets suspended from, 102: Pennyroyal used 88 amulet, 89.
pains in, prevented by magic Persia, the reputed source of Italian
ointment, 108. magic, 17.
Necromancy condemned, 30. Persius, attitude of, toward magic,
Nero attempts to control the gods 39-40.
by magic, 12. Petronius, attitude of, toward
Night addreseed in magic, 38, n. magic, 40-42.
199. Philosophers, attitude of the, to-
P. Nigidius Figulus, attitude of, ward magic, 29-32.
toward magic, 17-18. Philters, 38; 40, n. 211.
Nocturnal fever prevented by use Phylacterium, a term applied to
of amulet, 104-105. amulets, 79.
Nudity in magic, 39, n. 201; 40. Physicians use amulets, 82; 83.
Numa, Jupiter drawn from heaven Sextus Placitus Papyriensis, atti-
by, through magic, 48. tude of, toward magic, 76.
Plantain used 88 amulet, 91; 117.
Digitized by GoogIe
INDEX BERUM 137
Plants used in magic, 8 and n. 38; Pseudo-Apuleius, attitude of, to-
24, n. 116; 38, n. 199; 39, n. 201; ward magic, 76.
57; 59 (cf. AbBinth, Arbutus, Pseudo-Pliny, attitude of, toward
Art.emi8ia, Cherry &eed8, Cummin, magic, 76.
Cyclamen, Gra'[J6, Heliotro'[J6, Her· Psylli endowed with magic power,
ba impia, Hiera botane, Par&nip, 55.
Pennyroyal, Plantain, Pomegran- Puer impubi&, urine of, used in
ate, Poplar, Sideriti& latifolia, Tri- magic ointment, 109; 111; 115:
f olium acutum, Verooin, Vitez, used 88 agent in preparing amu-
Whitethorn, Wild fig tree, Wild let, 91; 120. .
gra'[J6, Woodland &orrel). Purity in magic, 38, n. 199; 86;
Plato, a student of magic, 21. 120-121 (cf. Parchment, in&eribed
Plautus, attitude of, toward magic, mrgin, used a& amulet: Puer im-
28-29. pubi&).
Pliny the Elder, attitude of, toward Pythagora&, student of magic,
magic, 17; 21-22; 56-59; 74-75: 20.
extant treatise or, on Roman
magic, 19. Quartan fever, cured by magic, 52-
Poisonous animals, bites of, pre- 53; 74; 82-83: prevented by
vented by use of amulets, 95-96. use of amulets, 94: Roman
Pomegranate, part of, eaten in medicine unable to cure, 94.
magic prophylaxis, 106; 112. Quinsy prevented by magic, 107;
Poplar, twig of, used 88 amulet, 122.
91.
Popular conception of a magus, 5. Rain controlled by magic, 40 (cf.
Praebia, name given to amulets, 79. Nature controlled).
Prayer and spell mingled, 66; 68- Red, use of, in magic, 93; 94; 104-
69. 105.
Preventive or prophylactic magic, Religion, adds strength to magic,
76-123. 5: defined by Cicero, 12: de-
Priests, early Italian, versed in fined in modern terms, 16:
medical magic, 66; 69. distinguished from magic, 11-12:
Prodi,gia, in Livy, 48: in Tacitus, fostered by Roman thought and
50: in Valerius Maximus, 54: law, 12-13; 16 (cf. Magic and
within the interpretative control religion).
of each individual, 57. Rhombus, use of, 35.
Propertius, attitude of, toward Right foot, auspicious, 41.
magic, 35-36. Rings 88 amulets, 81; 85; 114: in
Prophylactic magic among the other medical magic, 108.
Romans, Pref.; 61-123, espe- Rural districts, home of Roman
cially 76-123. magic, 16-17; 22-23.
Prose romance, attitude of writers
of, toward magic, 40-45. · Sabaoth, used in spells, 69, n. 30.
Digitized by Google
138 INDEX BERUM
Saga, with meaning of witch, 34; Slaves, runaway, restrained by

38, n. 199; 42. magic, 21-22; 58, n. 350.
Sallust, attitude of, toward magic, Snail, stone found in head of,
48. used as amulet, 84; 113-114.
Satirists, attitude of, toward magic, Snake-bite prevented by magic, 58,
37-40. n. 349; 95-96.
Scabiea as a dea, 68, n. 27. Soothsayers condemned, 30.
Scarab· used as an amulet, 92. Spartianus, attitude of, toward
Scientific medicine displaces early magic, 52-53; 76.
Roman magic, 70. Spirits controlled by magic, 3-4;
ScriptMe& Hiatoriae Augmtae, atti- 6-7; 12; 34; 37, n. 195; 42;
tude of, toward magic, 52-53. 51, n. 282.
Secrecy, of magic (cf. Magic aecret): Spitting as an act of magic, PPef.;
in preparation and application 35; 40, n. 211; 41,_; 58; 71; 75;
of amulets, 94. 108.
Senatua COIUl'Ultum de Bacchanalibua, Spittle as a prophylaetic ointment,
relation of, to magic, 14: Senatua 106; 108; 110; 111.
COIUl'Ultum of 97 B.c., relation Sponge, stone taken from, used as
of, to magic, 14. amulet, 87.
Seneca, attitude of, toward magic, Spurius Albinus, conducts trial on
30-31. charge of m&gic, 14.
Q. Serenus Sammonicus, attitude Stars, control of, by magic, 38, n.
of, toward magic, 76; 83. 199; 42 (cf. Nature controlled).
M. Servilius Nonianus, a believer Stoics, attitude of, toward magic,
in amulets, 82. 3o-32.
Seven as a magic number, 46 (cf. Stomach and bowels, diseases of,
Odd numbera in magic). prevented by use of amulets,
Sex changed by magic, 55-56; 5i. 87-88.
Sexual desire controlled by magic, Stones studied by magicians, 9 and
41. n.40.
Shooting star in the prevention of Stork, young of, eaten in magic
Zip-pitudo, 106-107; 112; 119. prophylaxis, 106; 111; 122.
Shiew mouse used as amulet, 95; Strigae, tales of, 41.
115. Strix, assault of, 63-65: belief in,
SideritiB latijoZia used as amulet, 91; discredited, 57 and n. 326.
117. Stumbling, ill luck of, 54.
Sieve, water carried in, by magic, Suetonius, attitude of, toward magic,
58, n. 350. 51-52.
SimiZia BimiZibua, 9-lO; 39 and n. Suicide;s rope, part of, used as
201; 58; 64 and n. 11; 65; 78; amulet, 88.
113-123. Sunrise, magic actions to be per-
Skin, galling of, prevented by use formed before, 90; 91; 94; 95;
of amulets, 91. 119.
INDEX BERUM 139
Superstition · distinguished from 78; 84; 106; 107; 119, n. 283;
magic, 11. 120.
Swallow in medical magic, 84; 93; Threshold in magic, 64 and n. 10;
107; 111; 122. 78.
81/fnpathia, based on acts and Throat, diseases of, prevented by
positions, 117-118: on appear- amulets, 87.
ance of the amulet, 115-116: Throwing behind cine in magic, 37,
on growth and withering of the n. 195; 46, n. 248.
amulet, 117: on incant.amenta, Tibullus, attitude of, toward magic,
121-122: on natural qualities of 34-35.
the amulet material, 116-117: Tisiphone addressed in magic, 39,
obscure, 122-123: based on odd n. 201.
numbers, 119-120: on purity, Toothache prevented by amulets,
120-121: on seasons, 118-119: on 87: by other magic means, 107;
source of the amulet, 113-115: US.; 120.
basis of prophylactic magic, 9; Tortoise, blood of, used in magic
· 113-123: Cicero's belief in, 30: prophylaxis, 107; 111; 120.
essential to amulets, 78; 101- Treatises, formal Latin, upon occult
102; 105; 107-108; 113-123: subjects, 17-19.
Pliny's belief in, 58: Stoic belief Trifolium acutum used 88 amulet,
in, 30. 95.
Tuccia carries water in a sieve, 21.
Taboo, in amul~, 77; .113: defi- Tullus Hostilius, victim of attempt
·nition of, 78, n. 65. at magic, 22; 48-49.
Tacitus, attitude of, toward magic, Tumors prevented by amulets, 91;
50-51. 115-116; 117.
Tartarus lighted up by magic, 42. Twelve Tables, Laws of, forbid
Teeth not to be touched, 106; 108. magic (cf. Magic illegal): prove
Teething, troubles of, prevented by existence of early Roman magic,
use of amulets, 92; 114-115; 21-23.
116.
Telmessus, a center of magic, 20. Unloosing in magic, 37, n. 195; 38,
Temple sleep, 65, n. 16. n. 199; 39, n. 201; 40; 106; 118.
Terence, attitude of, toward magic, Urinary diseases prevented by amu-
28-29. lets, 88; 114.
Tertian fever, cured by magic, Uvular complaints prevented by
52-53: prevented by amulets, 94. magic, 107-108.
Tetter prevented by magic, 108.
Thessaly prominent in magic, 12; Valerius Maximus, attitude of,
20 and n. 98; 22; 36, n. 193; 42. toward magic, 54.
Three 88 a magio number, Pref.; Vanish, power to, 57.
37, n. 195; 47; 48, n. 259; 56, Varicose veins prevented by magic,
n. 317; 58 and n. 349; 64; 65; 109.
140 INDEX RERUM
Varro, attitude of, toward magic, Whitethom in magic, 64; 65.

27-28; 45-47. Widows, names of, used in incan-
La recchia religione, signifies magic tamenta, 89; 121.
in modem Tuscany, 17. Wild fig tree, use of, as amulet, 91;
Velleius Paterculus, attitude of, 115.
toward magic, 49. Wild grape used .as amulet, 82:
Vergil, attitude of, toward magic, Woll, tooth of, used as amulet, 92;
28. 114-115.
Vervain used as amulet, 110, n. Women, ceremonial impurity of,
224; 118. 121, n. 292.
Vespasian, magic cures wrought by, Woodland sorrel used as amulet,
50-51. 86.
Vestal Virgins, magic power of, 21; Wool, black, in magic, 94: of first
25; 58, n. 350. clipping, 94: images of, 39:
Viper, head of, used as amulet, 87. stolen, 93.
Vitex, twig of, used as amulet, 91. Words, accidental identity of, as
basis of 1J11m'P<Jlhia, 116 (cf.
Water, hands washed in pure, 37, I ncantamenta).
n. 195: in which one's feet have Worm used as amulet, 87; 90; 117,
been washed used as a magic oint- n. 274.
ment, 106; 112; 120: sprinkled Wrapping cord used in amulets,
in magic, 64; 65: used as magic 89 (cf. Loom, thread fr<Ym, in
wash for teeth, 107; 110. magic).
Wax images used in magic, 9-10 Wrinkles prevented by magic, 109;
and n. 43; 39. 115.
WerwoH, belief in, discredited, 57:
stories of, 40-41 and n. 214. Zoroaster, founder of magic, 19; 22.
White as a magic color, 86.
INDEX LOCORUM
Aelian Met. 1, 1 42
De Nat. An. 2, 18 70, n. 34 1, 9-20 42, n. 227
V. H.12, 11 67, n. 26 1, 20 43
Aeschines 2, 1 20, n. 98; 42
In Ctes. 137 2, n.11 2,5 4, n. 21
Aeschylus 2,21-30 42,n.227
Agam. 1021-1022 70, n. 34 3, 15 12
Eumen. 648-650 70, n. 34 3, 16--18 42,n.m
Op. Incert. 24 3,21 9, n. 39; 42
Ammianus Marcellinus 3, 24-25 42
16, 8, 2 53; 76 6, 16 4, n. 21
19, 12, 14 53, n. 300; 76 6,26 5,n.22
83, n. 102 9, 29-31 42, n. 227
29,2,2-3 53 10, 31 68,n.27
29, 2, 28 53,n.300 11, 1 20, n. 100
Anecdotum Latinum 11, 6; 12, 13 43
77; 199; 200 69,n.30 De Plat.1, 3 1, n. 6; 4, n. 20;
Apuleius 21,n.102
Apol. 25-26 1, n. 6; 4, n. 20; 5 Aristotle
27 10; 44; 45, n. 243 apud Diogenem Laertium,
31 8, n. 38; 24, n. 116 Vit. Phil., Proem. 1 2, n. 9; 3
36 45, n. 242 Arnobius
40 70,n.34 Adv. Gent. 1, 52 20,n.99
41 44,n.239 Augustine
42 18, n. 87; 46; 120, n. 291 De Civ. Dei 3, 25 67,n.26
43 45 4, 11 68,n.27
47 12-13 4, 15 67,n.26
66 44, n. 239 5,3 18, n. 88
71 44, n. 239 6, 9 66, n. 21
00 20,n.99;21,n.103; 7, 21 46, n. 247
44,n.239 7,35 47,n.252
102 44,n.239 8, 16 4, n.19
De Deo Socrat. 6 4 and n. 21 8, 19 12, n. 53; 13, n. 56;
7 24, n. 123 42,n. 225
24 8, n. 38; 24, n. 116 10, 9 5,n.22
Flor.15 19, n. 96; 20, n. 100 18, 17 46
142 INDEX LOCORUM
De Divers. Quaest. De Div.1, 46-47 1, n. 6;

79, 4 4, D, 21; 6; 16, D. 76; 2, n. 7; 4, n. 20
29, n. 100 1, 9<>-91 1, n. 6; 4, n. 20
Ep.2, 6 42,n.225;44,n.237 1, 132 18, n. 90; 30
136, 1 42,n.225;44,n.237 2, 33; 00; 84 30, n. 159
138, 18 42,n.225;44,n.237 2,87-99 14,n.62;30,n. 158
2, 98 18
Baring-Gould, S. 41, n. 214 De Fato 15 30, n. 158
Blumner, M. F. 77, n. 61 De Fin. 5, 87 1, n. 6; 4, n. 20
Boisacq, E. . 1, n. 3 De Invent. 2, 161 12
Bouch~Leclercq, A. 15, n. 74 2, .165 11, n. 46
Bruns, C. G. 13, n. 56; 14, n. 57 De Leg. 2, 26 1, n. 6; 4, n. 20
2, 28 67, n. 26; 68, n. 28
Caecilius Medicus 90 and n. 121 De Nat. Deor. 1, 43 4, n. 20
Caesar 2, 72 11,n.46
Bell.Civ.3, 105 48,n.257 3, 48 24, n. 118
Bell. Gall. 1, 00 48, n. 258 3,63 67,n.26
Cassius Dio De Re Pub.
45, 1, 3-5 18, n. 88 apud Augustinum, C. D.
49,43,5 14 1, 23-26 30
Cato 2, 9 14, n. 57
Mem. Dicta 65 27 Tusc. Disp. 1, 37 18, n. 90; 30
apud Plin., N. H. 26, 91 91 1, 95 30
29, 14 73 1, 108 4,n.20
R.R.70 25;. 26; 73, n. 42; In Vat. 14 38, n. 199
119, n. 283 Claudius Claudianus 1, 77 68, n. 27
71 25; 26; 73, n. 42 Appius, Claudius Pulcher 18
83 25; 26 Clitarchus apud Diogenem
159 25; 26 Laertium, Vit. Phil.,
160 25; 27; 71-72 Proem., 6 1, n. 5; 2, n. 7
Catullus Collitz, H. and Bechtel, F.
5, 10-13: 7, 11-12 33 40,n.213
45, 8-9; 17-18 34, n. 177 Columella
61, 206-210: 90,3-6 33 De Arbor. 15: 26, 2:
Cauer, P. 40, n. 213 29, 1 27, n. 141
Celsus R.R.2,5,1 27, n.141
Med. 4, 7 73; 107; 122 2, 9, 9 9,n.39
4,8 73,.n. 42 2, 10, 10; 10, 12;
Charisius 1, 105, 9 77, n. 62 15, 9 27, n. 141
Cicero 2, 16, 1; 18, 2,: 5, 11, 2
In Caec. 57 8, n. 38; 24, n. 116 27, n. 141
InCat.3, 9 48,n.259; 6, 5, 4 73, D. 42
119,n.283 6, 17, 6 95
INDEX LOCORUK 143
6, 26, :I 27, n. 141 Elegiae in Maecenatem
7, 5, 17 64, n. 10 110; 112 8,n.38
8, 5, 8 119, n. 283 Elmer, H. C. 71, n. 37
8, 5, 9; 7, 4 27, n. 141 Elworthy, F. T. 7,n.30;71,n.37
10,349-350 9, n.39 Ennemoeer, J. 48, n. 261
10, 360 27, n. 141 Euripides
11, 1, 31 18; 26, n. 134 Orest. 1497 ff. 2
11, 2, 11; 2, 52; 2, 85; 3, 22
27, n. 141 Fabricius 20, n. 101
11, 3, 38; 3, 50 27, n. 141 Fahz, L. 32, n. 165; 36, n. 191
12, 16, 1; 19, 3; 43, 2; Fay,E. W. 71,n.37
43, 9; 53, 3 27, n. 141 Festus
Companion to Lat. Studies 9, n. A ngerona 68, n. 27
40; 49, n. 266; 68, n. 27; praeb&a 79, n. 71
70, n. 33 striga 41, n. 215
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum Julius Firmicus Maternus 18-19
6, 19, 747 38, n. 199 Foster, W. E. 44, n. 238
7, 999: 12, 3129 67, n. 26 Fowler, W. Warde 7; 16, n. 75;
Cumont, F. Pref. 24, n. 120; 25, n. 131; 48,
Curtius Rufus 3, 3, 10 50, n. 275 n. 261; 49, n. 266; 63, n. 8;
4, 3, 23; 6, 12 50, n. 276 66; 67, n. 24; 68, n. 27;
4, 6, 17 49 80, n. 84; 81, n. 88; 85, n.
4, 7, 26; 7, 29; 10, 7 50 n. 105; 119, n. 283
276 Frazer, J. G. 8, n. 37; 9, n. 41;
5, 1, 22 50, n. 275 10, n. 43; 19, n. 97; 20, n.
7, 4, 8; 7, 8 50 100; 28, n. 143; 40, n. 213;
8,9,33 49; 50 62, n. 3; 63, n. 6; 73, n. 42;
8, 10, 4: 9, 1, 34 50, nn. 274, 81; 92, n. 122
277 Friedlaender, L. 41, n. 214
Froehner, W. 79, n. 75
Damigeron Frontinus
De Lapidibus 9, n. 40 Strat. 1, 11, 12-14 54
Daremberg et Saglio 1, 12, 1-8 54
8, n. 38; 17, n. 80 1, 12, 2 48,n.255
Del Rio, M. • 79, n. 75 2, 1, 16 48; 54
Dieterich, A. 20, n. 99; 68, n. 27
Dill, S. Pref.; 14, n. 62; 26, n.133 Gargilius Martialis
Diogenes Laertius 1, 6 33, n. 17:1 Med. 33 96
Dionysius Gehring, A. 1, n. 1
Ant. Rom. 3, 71 24, n. 123 A. Gellius
Dioscorides N. A. 7, 6, 10 17, n. 83
Da Mat. Med. 3, 124 24, n. 116 9, 4, 11-12. 55
9, 4, 14-15 56
•
144 INDEX LOCORUM
A. Gellius (cMlinued) Horace

10, 12, 1-8 20, n. 101; 55; Ars 'Poet. 338-340 39, n. 202
56, n. 321 417 68, n. ?:l
10, 15 25, n. 124; 55; 81 Carm. 1, 11, 1-3 39
14, 1 55, n. 314 1, 27, 21-22 4, n. 21; 20, n.
15, 7, 1-3 56; 119, n. 283 98; 36 and n. 193; 39
16, 6, 12 17, n. 83 Epist. 1, 1,32-36 39
16, 11, 1-3 24, n. 118; 55; 1,2,23-26 8,n.38
65, D. 18 1, 14, 37-38 39
Gratius 2, 2, 208-209 20, D. 98; 39
Cyn. 399-407 92 n. 123 Epod. 1,29--30 24,n. 118
Grimm, J. 41, n. 214; 90, n. 120 3, 12 8,n.38
5 38
Hazlitt, W. C. 87, n. 114 5,45 20,n. 98
Heim, R . 9, n. 41; 68, nn. 27, 29; 5, 67-68 8, D. 38
70, n. 34; 71, n. 38; 87, n. 112; Sat. 1, 5, 99-101 39, n. 203
90, n. 120; 100, n. 181 ; 119, 1, 6, 113-114; 8, 15-70 39
n. 282 1, 8, 30-33; 8, 43-44 10,
Heitland, W. E. 32, n. 170 n.43
Helm, R. 44,n.238 1, 9, 29-34 39,n.202
Herodotus 1, 101 1, n. 4 Howerth, I. W. 16, n. 75
Hertz, W. 41, n. 214 Huvelin, P. 14, D. 57
Hesychius Hyginus
s. v. M4-yos 1, n. 5; 3, n. 15 Astron.2, 14 65,n.16
Homer Fab.22 9,n.40
n. 1, 193-196: 11, 740-741: 125 8,n.38;24,nn. 116, 118
12, 254-255 1, n. 2; 19, 127 24, n. 118
n.97
13,59-60 19,n. 97 Ian, L. 25,n. 132
13, 434-435: 14, 214-221 :
15, 321-323 1, n. 2; 19, Jahn, 0. 25, n. 131; 67, n. 23;
n. 97 77-78,
15, 594 19, n. 97 n. 64; SQ, n. 78; 81, n. 91
16, 235 1, n. 2; 19, n. 97 Jerome
18, 418 19, n. 97 Chron., Ann. Abr. 1972 18, n. 87
23, 135-136 1, n. 2 " " 2105 15, n. 70
24, 343-345 1, n. 2; 19, n. 97 De Vir. Illustr. 58 18, n. 94
Od. 10,213 8,n. 38;24,n. 116 Jevons, F. B. 62, n. 3; 77
10, 235-240 1, n. 2; 24, n. 116 Julius Capitolinus
10,276 8,n.38;24,n. 116 Ant. Pius 3, 1 52, n. 294
10, 290-292; 317; 326-328 Gord. Tres 20, 1 52, n. 293
24, n. 116 Helv. Pert. 1, 3: Marc.
19, 457-458 70 Anton. 19, 3 52, n. 293

INDEX LOCORUM 145
Marc. Anton. Phil. 4, 3 52, n. Laurentius Lydus, loannes
294 De Mens. 1, 14 18, n. 92
Mare. Aur. 19, 3 15, n. 68 De Ostent. 27 18, n. 85
Max. Duo 30, 1 ff. 52,n.294 45 17,n.84
Julius Modestus Leland, C. G. 17, n.
apud Maerobium 1, 10, 9 68, 82; 63, n. 6; 7, n. 30;
n. 27 69, n. 32; 123, n. 301
Julius Paulus Livy
Sent. Reeept. 5, 23, 5 14, n. 57; 1, 20, 7 48
15, n. 72 1,27, 7 68,n.27
5, 23, 15-18 15, n. 72 1, 31, 5-8 48-49
Justinus 1, 1, 9 19, n. 96 1, 36, 4 24; 49
36, 2, 7 5 5, 21, 3-5; 22, 3-6; 40, 8 49
Juvenal 3, 42-43 40, n. 211 7, 3, 3-9 49; 66, n. 23
3, 77 75, n. 52 8, 18, 4-13: 9, 28, 6
5, 164 81,n.86 49; 66, n.23
6, 133-134 40 9, 34, 12 49, n. 266
6, 443; 553-554; 569-591 25, 1, 6-12 14
40, n. 211 26,5,9 49
6, 61<>-612 20, n. 98; 27, 37: 31, 12, 5-9 119, n ..283
40, n, 211 39, 16 14
7, 112; 194-196; 199-200 Lucan
40, n. 211 1, 639 ff. 18, n. 88
9, 33: 10, 94 40, n. 211 3, 223-224 4, n. 20
4,555-556 8,n.38
Keil, H. 71, n. 38 5, 396 9, n. 39
Kiesewetter, K. 20, n. 100 6,430-830 20,n.98; 31
Kroll, w. 73, n. 42 6, 431 4, n. 21
Kropatseheek, G. 77, n. 61 6, 434 32
6, 440 4, n. 21
Laetantius 6, 441-442 8, n. 38
Inst. Div. 1, 20, 11 68, n. 27 6, 445-451 12
1, 20, 36 46 6, 450 4, n. 21
5, 3, 7 42, n. 225; 44, n. 237 6, 492-499 12, n. 50; 32
Lampridius 6, 523-525 32
Alex. Sever. 27, 5: 44, 4 6, 527-528 12, n. 50; 32
52, n. 293 6, 577 4, n. 21
Diad. Anton. 5, 4 52, n. 293 6, 59S-001; 605-607 12, n. 50
Heliog. 8, 2 53 6, 672 9, n. 39
9, 1 52,n.293 6,~7 101, n. 183
Lang, A. 8, n. 37; 10, n. 43; 6, 730-749 12
28, n. 147; 57, n. 338; 62, n. 3 6, 767 4, n. 21
8, 220 4, n. 20
146 INDEX LOCOBUM
Lucian 12,46 107

Demonax 23: Luc. sive As. 4 2 14, 30 79,n.74
Makrob.4 1,n.5 14, 52 108
Lucilius 14, 65 119, n. 282
6~ 37 14, 66 64, n. 10
484-489 38 14, 68 79, n. 74
575-576; 1201-1202 37 15, 9 119, n. 283
Lucretius 15, 52 91
1, 127-135 30 15,67 87
4, 708-719 29 15, 101 119, n. 282
5, 90Hl21: 6, 379 ff. 30 16, 21 64, n. 10
Luders, 0. 40, n. 213 16, 26; 32; 40; 64; 86
119, n. 283
Mackail, J. W. 43 19, 52 73, n. 42
Macrobius 20, 35 119, n. 283
Sat. 1, 6, 17; 6; 19 80 20, 106 73,n. 42
1, 10, 9 68,n.27 21, 8 79,n. 74
Magnus, H. 65, n. 16 23,29 69, n.30
Marcellus Empiricus 23, 35 64, n. 10; 73, n. 42
Introd. 2 16, n. 78 23, 50 64, n. 10
1, 41 84 25, 11 64, n. 12
1, 50 119, n. 283 25, 13-14 69, n. 30; 73, n. 42
1, 54 64, n. 12 25, 21 119,n.283
1, 65 64, n. 10 25, 35 64,n. 10
1, 78 119, n. 283 26, 25 73, n. 42
1, 85 84, n. 103; 121 26,41 119,n. 282
1, 100 119, n. 283 26, 129-130 88, n. 116
2,4 64,n. 10 27,42;47;52 119,n. 283
2, 7 84, n. 103 27, 84 88
4, 27 64, n. 10 27, 87 73, n. 42
7, 7 119, n. 283 28,21 87,n. 114
8,27 79; 84 28, 40 73, n. 42
8, 29 . 69,n.30 28, 45 9, n. 39; 88; 109
8, 41 86 28, 48: 29, 13 88
8,45 84 29,23 69,n.30
8, 49 73,n. 42; 85; 119,n.283 29,26 79,n. 75
8,50 80, n. 82; 85 29, 35 87, n. 114; 120, n. 292
8, 52 64, n. 12 29,45 73, n.42
8,57 79, n. 75 31, 33 79, n. 75
8,58 79, n. 75; 85 32, 18; 19; 20 89
8,59 79,n.75 32, 21 89, n. 119
9,2 119, n. 283 34, 8 109
10,35 90 34,34 88
INDEX LOCOBUM 147
34, 67 119, n. 283 Ars.Amat.2,99-100 20,n.98
36, 26-28 9, n. 39; 87, n. 114 Fasti 2, 571-582 119, n. 283
Marcus Antoninus, 5, 7 40, n. 213 3,255-258 66,n.22
Marett, R. R. 69, n. 30; 78, n. 65 4, 549-554 65; 119, n. 283
Marquardt, J. 67, n. 23; 77, 4, 727 119,n.283
n. 64; 80, n. 78 5,429-444 25; 37,n.195
Martial 9, 29, 9-10 20, n. 98; 35, 6, 141-168 12, n. 53; 41, n.
n. 186; 37, n. 196 215; ~; 119, n. 283
12, 57, 15-17 37, n. 196 6, 180-182 109
Maury, A. 2, n. 10; 15, n. 74; 20, 6, 746-754 65; 119, n. 283
n. 99; 22, n. 110; 83, n. 102 Heroidee
Mayor, J. B. 11, n. 46 6, 91-93 8, n. 38; 10, n. 43
Meyer, L. 1, n. 3 Med. Fae. 36 4,n.21
Michel, C. 40, n. 213 Met. 5, 549-550 e, n. 39
Minucius Felix 6, 432-434 9,n.39
Oetav. 7, 98; 149 8, n. 38
26, 10-11 6, n. 29; 20, n. 99; 7, 152-156; 188-198 119, n.
2g, n. 150 283
27, 29 29, n.150 7, 224-233 8,n. 38
Mommsen, Th. 7, 255-257 12, n. 53
15, n. 74; 119, .n. 283 7, 261 ff. 119, n. 283
Monceaux, P. 7, 264-265 8, n. 38
42,n.225; 44,n.237 9, 297-315 62
Moore, C. H. 38, n. 199 10,452-543 9,n.39
Morgan, M. H. 40, n. 213 14, 14-22; 34 8, n. 38;
24, n. 116
14, 42-58 8, n. 38; 24, n. 116;
Naevius
119, n. 283
apud Varronem, L. L. 7, 107 79
14, 266-270 8, n. 38; 24, n.116
Nemesianus, Cyn. 44 24, n. 116
14, 346-348 24, n. 116;
New International
24, n. 118
Encyclopaedia 7; 19, n. 96 14, 355-360 24, n. 116
Nicolson, F. W. 71, n. 37 14, 365-366 101, n. 183
Nonius Marcellus 46, n. 248 14, 387 119, n. 283
14, 403 24, n. 116
Ogle, M. B. 64, n. 10 15, 791 9, n. 39
Oliphant, 8. G. 57, n. 326 Rem.Amor.249 20,n.98
Ovid 263 8, n. 38; 24, n. 116
Amor. l, 8, 5 4, n. 21
1, 14, 39-40 20, n. 98
3, 6, 17-18 36 Pacuvius
3, 7, 27-28 20,n.98 Frag. ex incert. fab. 39
3,7,29 10, n. 43 24, n. 116
148 INDEX LOCOBUM
Palladius Rud. 1171 80, n. 79; 81, n. 91

R. R. 1, 35, 1-2 9,n.39 Pliny the Elder
Palmer, A. 11, n. 46 N. H.
Papyrus Pariaiensis 2006 20,n. 99 2, 15-16 67 and n. 26
Pauly-Wissowa 77, n. 62; 80, n. 78 2, 140-141 57
Pausanias 7, 15 24, n.118
2, 25, 10 40, n. 213 7, 16-18; 19; 32; 36 57
Peck, H. T. 42,n.230;43,n.235 7,64-65 58
Pelagonius 8, 52 29, n. 151
7, 39 73, n. 42 8,80-82 57
Persius 8, 106 9, n. 39; 119, n. 283
2, 31-34 39 10, 12 9,n. 40
5, 31 81, n. 87 10, 69 58, n.349
5, 179-188 39, n. 210 10, 106 18, n. 86
Peter, H. 46,n. 251 10, 151 58
Petronius 11, 97 18, n . 86; 92
30; 38; 39 41 11, 232 57
44 40 15, 77 24, n. 123
60 81, n. 87 15, 124 73, n. 42
62 40-41 16, 193-194 58
63; 64; 126 41 17, 265 59
Pindar 17, 266 58, n. 342
Pyth. 3, 51 70, n. 34 17, 267 57
Bextus Placitus Papyriensis 18, 41-43 14; 57
17, 12; 19 76 18, 160-161; 197 58, n.344
Plato 18, 200; index auct. 19, n. 96
Ale. 121E-122A 1, n. 6; 3 20, 29 119, n. 282
Repub. 572E 2 20, 31; 69 96, n. 133
45,n. 242 20, 133-134 95, n. 132
Sympoe. 202E 4, n. 19; 20, 171 119, n. 283
Plautus 20,217 119, n. 282
Amphit. 323; 455-458; 605; 20, 223; 232 96, n. 133
777; 782-783; 845-846 29, n. 21, 42 58; 119, n. 283
148 21, 176 64, n. 12
Act. 4, fragg. 7, 10; 22,20 56, n. 320; 58, n. 344
frag. incert. 47 29, n. 148 22, 52; 60 96, n. 133
1043 20,n. 98 22, 65 109
Capt. 550-555 71 22, 135 119, n. 283
Cure. 397 29, n. 148 23,20 79, n. 73; 82, n. 93
Epid. 639-640 81, n. 91 23, 110 106
Mil. Glor. 430-432; Poen. 23, 130 91
1125-1126; Rud. 1139 29, n. 23, 156 119, n. 283
148 23, 163 73, n. 42; 88
INDEX LOCORUM 149
24, 12 73, n. 42 27, 57 56, n. 320
24, 47; 63 91 27, 60 24, n. 116
24,68 73, n. 42 27,89 87
24, 82 119, n. 283 27, 90 9
24, 103 73,n.42 27, 105 106
24, 104 64, n. 12 27, 131 119, n. 283
24, 133 119, n. 282 28,6 20, n. 99
24, 149 58 and n. 341 28, 7 57, n. 331; 74-75, n. 50
24, 156-158 20, n. 100; 28, 10 70, n. 36
75, n. 50 28, 10-14 56
24, 160 20, nn. 100, 101 28, 10-29 21-23
24, 164 2,n.7 28, 12-13 25, n. 127
24, 170 12, n. 53; 94 28, 13 23, n. 115; 70, n. 35
24, 172 58 and nn. 344, 349; 28, 14 57, n. 328
119, n. 283 28, 17 57
24, 172-176 73,n.42 28, 18 13, n. 56
24, 174 107 28, 19 34
25, 10-11 8, n. 38; 10; 24, 28,20 101, n. 183
nn. 116, 118; 25; 57 28, 21 47; 70, n. 34; 71, n.
25, 13-14 20, n. 101; 38; 74-75, n. 50;
56, n. 321 119, n. 283
25, 25 57, n. 332 28, 22 57, n. 337
25, 50 58, n. 347; 59 28, 23 58, n. 345; 119, n. 283
25, 106 110 28,28 58
25, 107 110, n. 224 28, 29 23, n. 115; 57, n. 329;
25, 115 79, n. 73; 82, n. 94 82; 86
25, 126 96, n. 133 28, 3o-33 58, n. 344
25, 127 59, n. 352 28, 33 119, n. 283
25, 129 57; 59, n. 352 28, 34 74-75, n. 50
25, 145 119, n. 282 28, 35 71, n. 37; 108
25, 147 24, n. 116 28, 35-39 58
25, 148 58, n. 346; 28, 35-46 74 and n. 50
119, n. 283 28,36 581 n. 346; 75
25, 163 96, n. 133 28, 37 106; 108
25, 167 58, nn. 346, 349; 73, 28, 38 74-75, n. 50; 78, n. 68;
n. 42; 119, n. 283 79, n. 73
26, 18 56, n. 320 28,39 80,n.84
26, 18-20 56; 57, nn. 323, 28, 41 89; 120, n. 291
331, 332; 73; 75, n. 50 28, 42 73, n. 42; 74-75, n.
26, 19 20, n. 101; 56, n. 321 50; 82, n. 97; 86-87
26, 24 91 28, 44 106
26, 91 89; 91 28,47-49 74
26,93 119, n. 283 28, 48 89
150 INDEX LOCORUM
Pliny the Elder (conlinwd) 29, 81-82 9, n. 39; 56, n.

28, 56 107; 119, n. 283 320; 57
28,59 63 29,81-83 82,n.98
28,63 67,n.23; 73,n.42 29, 83 9, n. 39; 64, n. 10; 78;
28, 69 20, n. 99; 57, n. 324 79, n. 73
28, 73 106 29, 85 75, n. 50; 90
28, 77 57,n.329 29, 91 12, n. 53; 64, n. 12
28, 77-80 58,n.342 29, 99 9,n.39
28, 78 119,n.282 29, 100 119, n. 283
28,82; 83 74-75,n.50 29, 109 73,n.42
28,85 56,n.320 29, 128 86; 106
28, 85-86; 89-90; 92-106 29, 130 73, n. 42
57, n. 323 29, 131 . 9, n.39
28,98 90; 93 29, 138 18, n. 86; 57, n. 324
28, 102-106 9,n.39 30, 1 56,n.320
28, 107 93 30, 1-2 5
28, 111 94; 105, n. 211 30, 1-28 56, n. 320; 57, n. 323
281 112-118 20, D. 101 30, 3 ff. 17, n. 79
28, 113-118 74-75, n. 50 30,5 1, n. 2
28, 114 91; 94; 105, n. 211 30,8 2, n.10
28, 115 9, n. 39; 93 30, 9-10 56,n.320
28, 172 86 30, 12 14; 21
28, 188 57,n.323 30, 13 22
28, 198 73,n.42 30, 14 12
28, 199 88 30, 17 58, n. 349.
28,220 87,n. 114 30, 33 107
28,228 94 30, 35; 44; 51 119, n. 283
28, 228-229 9, n. 39; 82 30,63 88
28, 232 74 30, 64 9, D . 39; 82, D; 98; 109
28,~247 90 30, 76 109
28, 256 74-75, n. 50 30,82 64i n. 10; 78
28, 257 92 30, 83 79, n. 73
28, 259 108 30, 84 18, n. 86
28, 261; 262 74-75, n. 50 30,91 93
28,263-267 58,n.344 30,98 74; 93, n. 126
29, 14 72, n. 38; 73, n. 43 30, 100 92, n.124
29,53 57,n.323 30, 101 119, n. 283
29, 59 57, n. 324; 58, n. 341 30, 102 73, n. 42
29,64 93 30, 103 75, n. 50
29, 66 57, n. 324; 79, n. 73 30, 104 94, n.130
29, 67 58, n. 344; 59 30, 106 73,n. 42
29, 68; 76 57, n. 323 30, 108 58,n.349; 119,n.283
29, 77 59, n.355 30, 125 90
INDEX LOCORUM 151
30, 138 79, n. 73 37, 165 9, n. 40; 57, n. 323
30, 143 58, n. 344 37, 168 9,n.40
30, 144 9,n.39 37, 169 9, n. 40; 56, n. 320;
32, 24 59, n. 355; 92 57, nn. 323, 333, 334
32, 37 107 37, 172; 176 9, n. 40
32, 41 73, n. 42 37, 178 75, n. 50
32, 44 59, n. 355 37, 185 9, n. 40
32, 49 56, n. 321; 57, n. 323 37, 19'2 9, n. 40;
32, 74 59, n. 355 57, nn. 323, 333
32, 9'2 58, n. 349 37, index auctorum 19, n. 96
32, 115 119, n. 282 Pliny the Younger
32, 137 93 Epist. 1, 18 52, n. 291
33, 8 57, n. 339 Plutarch
33, 10 80, n. 85 Rom.12 18, n. 92
34, 151 64, n. 10; 73, n. 42; De Superst. paarim 11, n. 46
119, n. 283 Pomponius Mela
36, 100 58,n.348 2, 120; 121 24, n. 118
36, 141; 142 9,n.40 Porphyrio
36, 151 9, n. 40; 90 on Horace, Sat. 1, 5, 65 80, n . 81
37,50 79, n. 73; 92 Propertius
37, 50-51 82 1, 12, 9-10 35
37, 51 88, n. 116 2, 1, 51-56 35
37, 54 9,n.40 2, 1, 53; 1, 54; 4, 7 8, n. 38;
37, 114 92 24, n. 116
37, 118 9, n. 40; 56, n. 320; 2,4, 7-8 35,n. 190
57; 79, n. 73 2, 28b, 35-38 35, n. 185
37, 124 9, n.40 3, 3, 47-50; 6, 25-34 35
37, 133 19, n. 96; 57, n. 324 3, 12, 27 8,n. 38
37, 135 9, n. 40; 57, n. 324; 59 4, 5, 1- 18; 7, 37; 7, 72 35
37, 142 9, n. 40; 57, n. 324; Prudentius
58, n. 344; 59, n. 353 Hamart. 220 68,n.27
37, 143 9, n.40 Pseudo-Aero
37, 144 9, n. 40; 57, n. 324 on Horace, Sat. 1, 5, 65 81,n.87
37, 145 9, n. 40; 9'2 n. 123 Pseudo-Apuleius
37, 147 9, n. 40 De Med. Herb. 4, 7 96,n. 133
37, 150 19, n.96 19, 4; 24, l; 91, 2 76
37, 153; 155 9, n. 40 Pseudo-Asoonius
37, 155-156 57,nn.323, 333 Verr. p. 199 80, n. 81
37, 156 9, n. 40 Pseudo-Pliny
37, 157; 159 19, n. 96 1, 17 87
37, 160; 162 9, n. 40 2, 18 88, n. 116
37, 164 9, n. 40; 56, n. 320 2, 21 73, n. 42; 88, n. 117; 89,
37, 164-165 57, n. 333 n.118
152 INDEX LOCORUM
Pseudo-Pliny (conlinued) Medea

2,38 88 269-270 8, n. 38
2,45 88, n. 116 271 12, n. 50
2,54 119, n . 282 465-476; 575-578; 670-739
Pseudo-Quintilian 30,n. 161
10, 15; 19 6; 12, n. 50 733 9, n. 39
lOpamm 4, n. 21 752-811 30, n. 161
Pseudo-Vergil 771-772 119, n. 283
Ciris 369-377 119, n. 283 79o-792 20,n. 98
374 4, n. 21 817-842 30, n . 161
Purser, L. C. 43, n. 231; 44, n. Nat. Quaest.
238 1, 1, 34 31, n. 163
4, 7, 2 13, n. 56
Rohde, E. 20, n. 97 4b, 6-7 31
Roecher, W. H. 63, n. 8; 67, n. 26; 4b, 7,2-3 23, n. 115
68, n. 27; 81, n. 87 7, 1, 2 31, n. 163
Rose, H.J. 32, n. 170 Oed.
Rose, V. 76, n. 57 559-573 30, n. 161
Rutilius Namatianus Phaed.
1, 525 24, n. 116 42o-421 30, n.161
42o-422 20, n. 98
Sallust 79o-792 30, n . 161
Bell. Cat. 47, 2 48, n. 259 791 20,n.98
Saserna De Superet. 31, n. 163
apud Varronem, R. R. Serenus Sammonicus
1, 2, 27 72 Lib. Med.
Schmeisser, G. 18, n. 91 306 73,n.42
Scribonius Largus 4lo-411 73, n. 42; 76, n. 54
16 73, n. 42; 119, n. 283 439-443; 482-484 j 609-
152 73, n. 42 612; 651-655; 907; 916-
163 95 918; 925-931 76, n. 54
171 82, n. 97 927-931 83, n. 101
172 9, n. 39 935-946 76, n. 54
Seneca 942 92, n. 123
Apoc. 6 67, n. 26 1003-1005 76, D . 54
Herc. Fur. 693 68,n. 27 1031-1032 92
Herc. Oet Servius
452-472 30 adAen.4,493 13
465-466 20,n.98 11, 787 28, n. 147; 47, n.
467 4, n. 21 251
523-533 30,n. 161 ad Eel. 8, 99 13, n. 56
525 20,n. 98 Smith, K. F. 35, n. 186;
566 30, n. 161 41, n. 214
INDEX LOCORUM 153
Solinus 59 47; 51, n. 286
2, 26 28, n. 147 81 51, n. 286
2,29 66, n. 19 88 51, n. 287
33, 20 92 Cal. 57 51, n. 286
37, 15 90 57,2 52, n. 288
Sophocles Claud.
Oed. Tyran. 387 2, n. 11 1, 2; 22; 29, 3; 46 51, n. 286
Sotion Domit. 14, 1 52, n. 288
apud Diogenem Laertium, Nero 6, 4 52
1, 6, Proem. 6 33, n. 172 34, 4 12, n. 52; 52, n. 290
Spartianus 36 52, n.288
Carac. 5, 7 15; 52-53; 83 56 51,n.287; 52,n. 292
5, 8 76, n. 55 Otho 4, 1; 6, 1 52, n. 288
Did. Jul. 7, 1 52, n. 294; Tiber. 69 52, n. 288
4, n. 21 72 51, n. 286
7,9-10 52 Vespas. 7 52, n. 290
7, 10 120, n. 291 Vitel2,4 52,n.290
Geta 2, 6; 3, 1 52, n. 293 . 14, 4 15; 52, D . 288
3, 2 ff. 52,n.294 Suidas
Hadrian 2, 4; 16, 10 52, n. 293 s. vv. 'YOTl'"dc& and µe1'Yde1 2, n. 8;
25, 1-4 76 4, n.19
Pescen. Nig. 9, 5-6 52, n. 293 Symmachus
Sever. 1, 6 ff. 52, n. 294 Epist. 1, 47, 1 24, n. 116
2,8-9 52, n. 293 Synesius
3,4 52,n. 294 Epist. ad Diosc. 20,n.99
4, 3; 15, 5 52, n. 293
Statius,
Theb. 3, 140-146 20,n.98 Tacitus
3, 510-512 9,n. 39 Ann. 1, 28 51
3, 557- 559: 4, 504 20,n. 98 2, 27 4, n. 21; 50, n. 278
Story, W.W. 7,n.30 2, 27-28 50
Strabo 2, 27-32 51
5,234 24, n. 118 2, 32 4, n. 21; 15; 50, n. 278
16, 762 1, n. 5 2,69 50,n.280;57
Sturtevant, E. H. 39, n. 202 3, 13 50,n. 280
Suetonius 3,22 50,n.278
Aug.6 51 4, 22; 52 50, n. 280
31 15 4, 58: 6, 2o-21; 22 50, n. 278
90 52 6, 29 4, n. 21; 50, n. 280
92 51 and n. 287 12, 22 4, n. 21; 50, nn.
94 51, n. 286 278, 280
94,5 18, n. 88; 52 12, 52 15; 50, n. 278
Caes. 32 48 12, 65 50,n.280
154 INDEX LOCORUM
Tacitus (conlinued) 1, 8, 17-24 34

12, 68: 14, 9 50,n.278 1, 8, 23-24 35, n. 182
16, 31 50,n.280 2,4,55-56 8, n. 38; 24, n. 116
Hist. 1, 22 50, n. 278 3, 7, 61-63 8, n. 38; 24, n. 116
2,50 50 Twelve Tables 21-23
2, 78 50, n. 278 Tylor, E. B. 8, n. 37; 9, n. 41;
4, 81 51 10, n. 43; 20, n. 97
L. Tarutius Firmanus 18
Terence Usener, H. 119, n. 283
Phorm.705-710 29,n. 149
Tertullian Valerius Flaccus
Apol. 40 40, n. 213 1, 736-738 20,n.98
Ad Nat. 2, 11 46, n.245; 68,n. 27 6, 441-442 8,n.38
Teuft'el, W. S. 18, n. 91; 19, n. 95; 6, 448: 7, 198-199;
42, n. 225; 44, n. 237; 44, n. 325-326 20, n. 98
238; 49, n. 272; 51, n. 281 7, 355-370 8, n.38
Theocritus 7, 498-499 12, n. 50
2, 21; 28-29 10, n. 43 Valerius Maximus
Theodorus Priscianus Physicus 1, headings, 54, n. 304
3,p.250 67,n.26 1, 1, 7 54
4, p. 313 89, n. 119 1, 1, exec. Par. and Nep. 5
Theodosian Code 54, n. 308
lib. 5, tit. 16, 1, 3, 3 14
nos. 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12 15 1, 3, 3 exc. Par. M
Theophrastus 1, 4, 1 54
Charact., De Superst., fin. 71, 1, 4, 1 exec. Par. and Nep.
n. 37 24, n. 123
Hist. Plant 1, 4, 2 exc. Par. 54
9, 15, 7 3, n. 18 1, 4, exec. Par. and Nep. 5-6
19, 15, 1 24, n. 119 54, n. 308
Thesaurus Linguae Latinae 1, 6, 1-5 54,n.308
s. v. Angerona 68, n. 27 2,5,6 67,n.26
s.v.bulla 80,n. 78 5, 6, 2-3 54, n. 308
Thorndike, L. 19, n. 95; 56, n. 8, 7, exc. 2 1, n. 6; 2; 4, n. 20
319; 59; 74, n. 50 8, 11, 1 54
Tibullus Vanicek, A. 1, n. 3
1, 2, 41-64 34 Varro
1, 2, 51 8, n. 38 L. L. 7, 44 47, n. 251
1, 2, 53-56 119, n. 283 7, 97 47, n. 251; 80, n. 84
1, 5, 9-14 34 7, 107 79, n. 70
1, 5, 41-44 35 R.R.
1, 5, 41-60 34 1, 2, 27 25, n. 130; 27; 72;
1, 8, 5-6 35 119, n. 283
INDEX LOCORUM 155
1, 2, 28 72 7, 10-24 28
1, 37 27 7, 19-20 24, n.116
2, 9, 4; 3, 9, 12 119, n. 283 7, 189-191 28, n. 144
Sat. Men. 7, 19o-191 24, n. 116
Agatho, fr. 8 9, n. 39 7,282-283 28, n. 144
fragg. 284; 285; 490 40, n. 212 7, 750-758 24; 28; 66
apud Augustinum, C. D. 6. 9 11, 785-788 28
12, D. 50 Eel. 7, 25-28 28, n 142
C. D. 7, 21 46, n. 247 8, 73-78 119, n. 283
7,35 2,n.7;4,n.20;17,n.79 8, 74-75; SO-Sl 10,n.43
18, 17 46 8, panim 28, n.142
apud Charisium 1, 105, 9 Georg.
77, n. 62 3,28o-283 28 and n. 242
apud A. Gellium, 3, 10 46, n. 249 Vitruvius
apud Lactantium De Arch. 9, Proem., 14 20,
lnstit. Div. 1,20,36 46 n.101
apud Nonium Marcellum, Vopiscus
p. 197 25, n. 125; 46, n. 248 Aurel 5, 1 ff.; Tac. 17, 1 ff.
apud Servium 52, n. 294
adAen. 11, 787 28,n. 147
apud Tertullianum Walde, A. 77, n. 62; 80, n. 78
Ad Nat. 2, 11 46, n. 245 Weidlich, T. 9, n. 41; 20, n. 101;
Velleius Paterculus 30,n.160
2, 24, 3 2, n. 7; 4, n. 20; 49 Welcker, F. G. 8, n. 38; 70, n. 34
2, 46, 3 49 Westermarck, E. 7-8
2, 57, 1-3 . 49, n. 270 Wimmer, F. 3, n. 18
2, 57, 3 49 Wissowa, G. 24, nn. 118, 120;
2, 59,6 49,n.270 25, n. 124; 63, n. 8; 66, n.
Vergil 19; 67, n. 26; 73, n. 42
Aen. 4, 483-493 24; 28
4, 509-516 24, n. 122; Xenophon
28, n. 146 Cyrop.8, 1,23 1, n. 5
6, 136-155 28,n. 143
6, 276 68, n. 27 Zeller, E. 20, n. 100
6,405-410 28, n. 143
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STUDIES IN MAGIC

FROM LATIN LITERATURE

COLUMBIA UNIVERSizy PRESS

Printed from type, October, 1916

rn9 1tized by Google

and Magic, 162-195.

II. MAGIC AND THE PREVENTION OP DISEASE - Continued. PAGE

I. THE MEANING OF Mci'Ycn, Mci'YElci, KA.Gus, AND KAGICUS

Neither µ.ci'Ycn nor µ.ci'YElci is found in Homer,1 though refer-

were expert in divination 7 and astrology; 8 but were not at

u The meaning 'Magian' seems entirely to have disappeared from

-y071rELa employed 6aLµovES, or subservient minor divinities, the

Since it is with this popular conception of the terms magus,

Pseudo-Quintilian, in describing a magician, uses these

magic as the exercise of "supernatural mechanical power . . .,

III. MAGIC DISTINGUISHED FROM SCIENCE

We quoted above 34 the statement of Pliny that magic sprang

knowledge of herbs. Cf. Daremberg et Saglio, Dictionnaire de& antiquuu,

102-106; 115; Marcellus Empiricus, 36, 27; Lucan, 6, 672; Scribonius

in any way the magician desires, in the full belief that

IV. MAGIC DISTINGUISHED FROM ASTROLOGY

If we are correct in declaring that magic seeks to control

V. MAGIC DISTINGUISHED FROM SUPERSTITION

The definition we have given of magic makes clear also the

VI. MAGIC DISTINGUISHED FROM RELIGION

With religion, too, magic is often closely associated, as Pliny

Religion offers its prayers in a spirit of humility, leaving the

VII. THE LEGAL ASPECT OF MAGIC AND RELIGION

It should be noted that among the Romans magic was

We are soon 66· to discover, in discussing the history of Roman

14 Cf. C. G. Bruns, Fonte& Juris Roman{Antiqui 1 , 30, Crag. 8, a and b.

tion. 57 An actual trial for alleged violation of these laws was

a Valerius Ma.ximus, 1, 3, 3. Cf. Cicero, Div. 2, 87-99; Dill, Roman

cf. A. BoucM-Leclercq, Hwmre de la divination dam l'antiqu~, 4, 325-339;

The reason for this persistent opposition of Roman lawmakers

VIII. FolUUL. LATIN TREATISES UPON OccULT SUBJECTS

and divination from thunder,81 together with the magical

" Ioannes Laurentius Lydus, De Ostentis 27 i<l>f/JUPOS {JpoYrtxTt<o7r"1. • •. •

IX. THE SOURCE, ANTIQUITY' AND PREVALENCE OF

Pliny informs us in the pa.ssa.ge above mentioned that Zc:r

the Odyssey is built almost wholly upon magic episodes. No

Carm. 1, 27, 21-22: Epist. 2, 2, 208-209; Ovid, Am. 1, 14, 39-40: 3, 1,

superiority to such beliefs. He apparently was ashamed of many of the

limits.to• The experience of Tullus Hostilius proves, we are

1• N. H. 28, 13. 107 Ibid. 28, 14. m Ibid. 28, 18-21.

m Cf. N. H. 30, 13 Sed quid ego haec commemorem in arte oceanum

whose power lay in her knowledge of magic herbs, 118 is in

Frag. ex Incert. Fab. 39 (Ribbeck); Cicero, Div. in Ca.ec. 57; Tibullus,

work of Aeschylus; but cf. Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. 19, 15, 1.

Rel. Exp. 24-67. Cf. Wissowa, Religion und Kultua, 409.

X. THE ATTITUDE OF LATIN AUTHORS TOWARD MAGIC

Berichte Uber die V erhandlungen der kfmiglich-s4chsischen Gesellschajt der

no means confined to literature. Greek medicine and Greek

(1) Agricultural Writers

evidence of having believed in the efficacy of such practices

(2) Dramatic Writers

(3) The Popular t1ersus the Philosophic Attitude

possibility of any such mythical beast as the Chimaera.161

The same attitude is somewhat perceptible in Seneca's

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belief or disbelief in magic. 116 He himself asks why it is that

(Giessen, 1904), Chapter 3, especially 148-167, where the author seeks to

divination and similar matters, together with a complete list of passages