ABSTRACT

THESumerian,AkkadianandEgyptianherbalists learnedataveryearlyperiodintheirhistorythe valueofvegetableoilsforthesoothingandthehealing ofthebodyandthefeedingofitstissues.Theyfound thatoilprotectedtheskinfromtheheatofthesun byday,andthatitenabledthemtoenduremore easilythebittercoldbynightinthedesertsofEgypt andtheSudanandinthebleakplainsofMesopotamia.InEgyptthevegetableoilswerethought tobeeffluxesfromthebodyofRa,theSun-god, whichhadtakentheformofcertaintrees,e.g.the olive,theacacia,thepalm,etc.Whetherthe Egyptiansthoughtthatthegodsandgoddesses neededoilsfortheirpersonaluseisnotclear,butit isquitecertainthatinallperiodsofferingsofpure oilandperfumedoilorscentedunguent(Metchet) weremadebyworshippers,andwereacceptedbythe gods.Winewasofferedatthesametimeastheoil, andfromtheantiquityofthecustom,whichwas widespread,wemayassumethatthegodswere supposedtogladdentheirheartswiththewineand refreshtheirbodiesbyanointingthemwiththeoil. Theprimitiveherbalistusedoilbothtokeepthe bodyinhealthandtonourishit,and,aswesee

Very soon, however, the anointing of the body came to have a ritual significance, and eventually Unction came to play a very important part in sacramental religion. The dead were anointed as well as the living, and the presence of the oil on their bodies was believed to assist their resurrection. Like water, oil was regarded as a thing of mystery, and a holy character was assigned to it. The HoLY OILS were seven in number and were called Seth-heb, Heknu, Sefth, Nemu, Tuaut, Ha-ash, Ha-ent-Thehennu. Examples of the anointing tablets on which the names of these oils are inscribed can be seen in the British Museum (Nos. 6122, 6123, 29421). They were used in the tombs of Egypt under the Old Kingdom (about B.c. 2500). At the presentation of each oil the KHER-HEB or priest recited a magical formula or spell, and sometimes he made motions with his professional rod or staff with the view of increasing the effect of the oil on the body. In the Ebers Papyrus several kinds of oil are mentioned, e.g. "white oil," "clear oil," "Aber oil," "tree oil," " olive oil" (Baq). A special oil was used in circumcision (Tsheps), and Tchet oil was an ingredient in the famous incense called "Kyphi." The primitive herbalist was the first to discover the value of oil as a medicine, and it was by acting upon his knowledge that the priest was able to turn the secular act into a religious ceremony. The anointed one became holy because a holy substance had been incorporated in him; among the Hebrews anointing was believed to endow the man chosen by them to be their king with the Divine Essence. And Jesus the "Messiah "

Another thing realized quickly by the primitive herbalist was that oil was a first-class vehicle in which to administer medicines to the sick ; in some of the prescriptions in the Ebers Papyrus we are told to boil all the ingredients together in honey and oil, or in oil alone. He also discovered that men and women were glad to anoint their bodies with perfumed oils, and thus originated the trade in ointments, salves, pomades and scented unguents which has assumed such great proportions in our own days. The Ebers Papyrus contains more than a dozen prescriptions for salves and ointments, and the preparation of scented as well as medicated oils and unguents was from the earliest times a very important branch of the herbalist's business.