A pharmacological appreciation of Shakespeare's Hamlet : on instillation of poisons into the ear / by David I. Macht.

  • Macht, David I.
Date:
[1918]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A pharmacological appreciation of Shakespeare's Hamlet : on instillation of poisons into the ear / by David I. Macht. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Concerning Hebenon and Henbane AVhereas the advocates of the yew-tree theory regard ths [167] reading hebenon of the Folios as a misprint for the earlier hebona, another set of critics hold the view that hebenon is the correct reading and that it is a synonym of the well-known henbane. There is a good deal of sonnd evidence that can be [168] adduced in favor of this view. In the first place, metathesis of consonants is not at all an unusual phonetic phenomenon. Secondly, the argument advanced by some that hebenon is spelled with an o while henbane has an a,^^ is not a valid one because, according to Hanbury and Fllickiger,^^ the writ¬ ing hennibone for henbane is found in a vocabulary of the thirteenth century. Thirdly, the poisonous properties of hyoscyamus or henbane were known from the remotest an¬ tiquity and, furthermore, henbane was a common drug in Shakespeare’s time. Fourthly, the poisonous properties of . henbane are not infrequently mentioned in old English litera¬ ture. Thus, Drayton in his Barons’ Wars, p. 51, speaks of “ The poisoning henbane and the mandrake dread,” And again “ Here Henbane, Poppy, Hemlock here Procuring deadly sleeping.” Again in The Philosopher’s Fourth Satire of Mars by Anton (1616), we find the following verse: “ The poison’d henbane whose cold juice doth kill.” Fifthly, henbane is an official drug mentioned in old English pharmacopeias and dispensatories such as those by Dale and Salmon and others, and has been used from ancient times in the form of ear drops. Lastly, but not least in importance, and indeed of great significance, is the fact that Pliny describes toxic symptoms following instillation of henbane oil into the •ear. “ Oleum fit ex semine quod ipsum auribus infusum temptat mentem.” ^ Which means that the oil of hyoscyamus seeds instilled into the cars produces madness. It is to be noted that the very popular ‘ Natural History, XXV, 17.