XII
ROYAL AND NOBLE PHARMACISTS.
We know what Heaven or Hell may bring,
But no man knoweth the mind of a King.
Rudyard Kipling—"Ballad of the King's Jest."
In the "Myths of Pharmacy" it has been shown
that some of the most honoured of the deities of the
ancient world interested themselves in pharmacy. To
a greater or less extent many important personages in
the world's history since have occupied some of their
leisure in the endeavour to extract or compound some
new and effective remedies.
Classical Legends.
Chin-Nong, Emperor of China, who died 2699 B.C., is reckoned to have been the founder of pharmacy in the Far East. He studied plants and composed a Herbal used to this day. It is related of him that he discovered seventy poisonous plants and an equal number of antidotes to them. He describes how to make extracts and decoctions, what they are good for, and had some notions of analysis. Chin-Nong was the second of the nine sovereigns who preceded the
