Folklore from the Southern Sporades. 165
For all common diseases and afflictions the wise woman has her charm, or her prescription, generally both. In Cos many of these folk-medicines are left out all night when there is a full moon and the stars are visible ; the charm is recited over them ; next day the concoction is taken, and the patient is cured {i(f)Tdy€Lvo<i) . The latter part of my magical MS. is full of charms for childbirth and the like, but unluckily the pages are all torn in half so that little can be made of them. One or two others, however, are com- plete. Here is one for the ague:^ "To cure the daily ague read this three times, and fasten upon the left hand a thread of cotton in three knots, and write it upon a little white root (?) ; wash it off with water, and make them drink it : Stand the sun in the east, and stand he away from the moon, and stand the ague afar from the servant of God, N. or M., Amen." This is followed by the same cross sign as given above (p. 157), and by a number of meaningless letters. Other charms for the ague follow. The tertian ague is cured by writing crosses and signs on the patient's cheek, together with those blessed words Phison, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates, or that passage which begins : " In the beginning was the Word," with an invocation of St. John the Forerunner; "Christ is born — flee away ague from the servant of God ; Christ was crucified — flee away ague from the servant of God ; Christ is risen — flee away ague from the servant of God, N. or M., Amen," - St. John is supposed to be especially potent against ague, because his
^ fnyos Kudi]/J.epiv6s. vie to biafiui^rjs Tpels (popts /cat t'ci bevr]s (TTO X^P'- ^^ y"'" jjafiTraKepri KKwari) rpels ko^ttovh, kol vb. to ypd\pi]s Kai a '4vav amrpo \written a(T7ro] piC,avaKi. ya ro Kvu}(n]s ue vepo va To'is to TroTiaija, art'iTOJ u ijXws tTjs uraToXfis, ctti'ito) khi ttjs aeXi'ivrfs, (tti'itu) kuI to plyos utto tov boiiXov tov deov o be'iya ujxliv. Crosses and letters. [Fol. 3.I
Reginald Scot has many charms against ague, consisting of scriptural words and crosses diversely used. Discovery, p. 270 foil. His charms specify all parts of the body in detail, as do those of my MS., see pp. 248, 263.
