Daf Ditty Eruvin 103: , Bandaging, Despair

The Soul has Bandaged moments

The Soul has Bandaged moments - When too appalled to stir - She feels some ghastly Fright come up And stop to look at her -

Salute her, with long fingers - Caress her freezing hair - Sip, Goblin, from the very lips The Lover - hovered - o'er - Unworthy, that a thought so mean Accost a Theme - so - fair -

The soul has moments of escape - When bursting all the doors - She dances like a Bomb, abroad, And swings opon the Hours,

As do the Bee - delirious borne - Long Dungeoned from his Rose - Touch Liberty - then know no more - But Noon, and Paradise

The Soul's retaken moments - When, Felon led along, With shackles on the plumed feet, And staples, in the song,

The Horror welcomes her, again, These, are not brayed of Tongue -

EMILY DICKINSON

1 Her bandaged prison of depression or despair is truly a hell from which no words can escape, whether a call for help, a poem, or a prayer.

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Rashi . שדקמ but not outside of the בש ת on שדקמה ב י ת may wrap a reed over his wound in the הכ ן A If he ימג יסמ - the ימג and, wound the heals פר ו הא תבשב ובש ת ה י א . ;explains, as the Gemara later says . אד ו ר י י את א י ס ו ר because it’s an , שדקמ in the סא ו ר is trying to draw out blood, it is even

MISHNA: With regard to a priest who was injured on his finger on Shabbat, he may temporarily wrap it with a reed so that his wound is not visible while he is serving in the Temple.

This leniency applies in the Temple, but not in the country, as it also heals the wound, and medical treatment is prohibited on Shabbat due to rabbinic decree.

If his intention is to draw blood from the wound or to absorb blood, it is prohibited in both places.

Jastrow

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RASHI

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GEMARA: Rav Yehuda, son of Rabbi Ḥiyya, said: They taught that only a reed is permitted. However, a small sash is prohibited, as it would be considered an extra garment, and it is prohibited for a priest to add to the priestly garments prescribed by the Torah.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They said that donning an extra garment is prohibited only if it is worn in a place on the priest’s body where the priestly garments are worn.

But in a place where those garments are not worn, e.g., on his hand or the like, a sash that is tied there is not considered an extra garment.

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The Gemara answers: Nothing can be proven from here, as a small sash is different, since it is significant, and it is therefore considered a garment even if it is less than three by three fingerbreadths.

Bandaging a Kohen’s Injury

Steinzaltz (OBM) writes:1

The Mishnayot on our daf continue with a discussion of activities that are permitted in the precincts of the Temple, even though they are forbidden by the Sages under ordinary circumstances.

With regard to a priest who was injured on his finger on Shabbat, he may temporarily wrap it with a reed so that his wound is not visible while he is serving in the Temple. This leniency

1 https://steinsaltz.org/daf/eiruvin103/

7 applies in the Temple, but not in the country, as it also heals the wound, and medical treatment is prohibited on Shabbat due to rabbinic decree.

The term gemi (reed) is, apparently, a general term that refers to the products derived from the papyrus plant – Cyperus papyrus L. This plant was used throughout the ages to produce a variety of manufactured goods.

From its hard, outer part, mats were woven; in and other countries, its inner parts were used for making paper. The soft inner parts also were used for producing strips with which things could be tied, and sometimes – as in our case – for bandages.

The Gemara specifies that only a gemi can be used, and not a small cloth. The small cloth would be a problem either because:

(a) it would be a hatzitza – a separation between the kohen and the utensil that he needs to hold, or else it involves

(b) yitur begadim – an extra item of clothing beyond the basic uniform of the kohen

While the Gemara makes it sound as though either of these could be the problem, there are significant differences between the two.

The problem of hatzitza is one of separation; thus, if the cloth is put on the left hand, for example, there would be no problem, since the Temple service was done only with the right hand. Yitur begadim is an independent problem, based on bal tosif – that it is forbidden to add to the commandments of the Torah – so once it is defined as a beged (garment), it would create problems no matter where it was placed on the kohen’s body.

Our daf discusses a case where a kohen has a piece of reed-grass tied around his finger to protect and treat a wound. Among the various issues related to this condition, the Gemara asks why the intervening object, and therefore be a/ צח י הצ covering to his finger should not be considered a disqualifying factor as far as the service is concerned.

The Gemara answers that the case is either where the wound is on the left hand of the kohen, which is not used directly in the service, or it is talking about a wound on the right hand, but not in a spot

8 on the hand where the kohen handles anything.The analyzes this inquiry and the response of the Gemara.

are among those whose guidelines are —they are based צח י הצ The laws of purely upon oral tradition from Moshe at Sinai.

a substance which is found ( בט י הל ) The rule is that in order to interfere with a proper immersion on one’s body is problematic only when it covers the majority of the body and the person cares .( דיפקמו ובור ) that it not be there

If either of these components is missing, the immersion is valid from a Torah standpoint, but disqualified due to rabbinic restriction. Here, the reed-grass is certainly covering only a small part of the body of the kohen. Even if the kohen cares to have it removed, the situation falls under the category of a rabbinic injunction, and this limitation is suspended in the Mikdash.

Why, then, is the Gemara concerned about the interposition of this make-shift bandage?

The first answer he gives is that, apparently, not all rabbinic injunctions were suspended in the Mikdash.

This one, concerning immersion interference, remained in effect. Another answer he gives is that the rule of disregarding a small interposition on the body is only true regarding immersion in a mikveh.

However, in the context of the kohen involved in the service in the Mikdash, no interference is allowed at all.

In fact, it is necessary for a kohen to be fitted so that the clothing not hang improperly. Even extra space under sagging fabric which fits poorly is unacceptable.

Therefore, a small bandage could ruin the service of this kohen if it interferes with his direct contact with the service items.

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R. Sari Laufer writes:2

I never actually watched Hands on a Hard Body, but the premise always fascinated me. The 1997 documentary film traces a yearly competition in Longview, Texas which pits 24 contestants against each other to see who can keep their hand on a pickup truck for the longest amount of time. Five minute breaks are issued every hour, and fifteen minute breaks every six hours, but other than that, one must be touching the truck at all times. Whoever endures the longest without leaning on the truck, squatting, or breaking contact wins the truck.

As a one time participant (and referee) for Northwestern University’s Dance Marathon several years running, I have seen this sort of endurance competition up close. Inherent in the competition is a delight in and fascination with continuity — one which also pervades today’s daf.

The question at hand is whether a bandage that has slipped off a wound can be replaced without being considered a new act of bandaging (which would be prohibited on Shabbat). The Gemara begins with a statement that is broadly permissive:

The sages taught: With regard to a bandage that became detached from a wound, one may return it to its place on Shabbat in all cases.

2 myjewishlearning.com

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But along comes Rabbi Yehuda to argue with this premise:

Rabbi Yehuda says: If it slipped downward, one may push it upward; if it slipped upward, one may push it downward. One may also uncover part of the bandage and clean the opening of the wound on one side, and then uncover another part of the bandage and clean the opening of the wound on that side.

Rabbi Yehuda effectively limits the permission to replace a bandage to cases in which the bandage slips a little — up, down, side-to-side — or is bent back partially. His statement implies that if the bandage is ripped off fully and intentionally, it cannot be replaced on Shabbat as this would constitute a new act of bandaging.

But, the rabbis want to know, what would happen if the bandage fell off completely? May it be replaced? Now it gets more complicated, especially since Rav Yehuda and Rabbi Yehuda are not the same person!

Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: The halakhah is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda. Rav Hisda said: The sages taught that it is permitted to restore the bandage to the wound only where it became detached and fell onto a utensil, in which case one may immediately pick it up and replace it. However, if it became detached and fell onto the ground, everyone agrees it is prohibited, as this is considered as though one were bandaging the wound for the first time.

The discussion continues. Ultimately, the Gemara, which opened in a permissive place, ends up there as well, with the halakhah landing on the idea that the bandage — regardless of how or where it fell — may be restored to the wound on Shabbat. Like the Texan competitors and their proscribed breaks, the halakhah makes space in Shabbat for inevitable human needs, like the need for a restroom break or a shift in position.

In case you’re wondering, the 1995 competition, captured in the documentary, lasted a lot longer than Shabbat: 77 continuous hours.

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Cyperus papyrus L.

Cyperaceae Papyrus3

Uses

Very important in ancient Egypt (as early as 2,400 BC), papyrus was used for food, , fiber and shelter. According to Tackholm and Drar (1973), Egyptians have used papyrus additionally for formal bouquets funeral garlands, boats, cordage, fans, sandals, mattings corkage, boxes, and paper. It was one of the most favorite plants of Ancient Egypt. The pith of papyrus was recommended for food, while the starchy rhizomes and lowermost parts of the stem were cut off and consumed raw, boiled or roasted. They were also chewn, sucked, and spit out, much as sugar cane is done today. Papyrus was also a favorite ornament in ancient art and craft. Umbel impressions were often used as handles for mirrors, fans, doors, chairs and various household

3 James A. Duke. 1983. Handbook of Energy Crops. unpublished.

12 furniture. Papyrus stems were used for caulking seams in wooden ships. Papyrus mats are used for making fences and huts. For paper, the ancients stripped the fibrous coverings off the stem, and slit the inner pith into waferlike strips. Laid side by side, with others placed crosswise on top, the strips were dampened, pressed, so the glue-like sap cemented them together, and dried into a sheet. (NAS, 1976)

Folk Medicine

Galen, Dioscorides and later Islamic pharmacologists, e.g. Ibn Gulgul and El Ghafiqi, included papyrus among medicinal plants. The pith was recommended for widening and drying of fistula. The main use, anyhow, seems to have been confined to burnt papyrus sheets, the ash of which was reputed to have the action of pulverised charcoal and used for certain eye diseases. Dioscorides (in 78 AD) writes that its ash checks malignant ulcers from spreading in the mouth or elsewhere. (129-200 AD) says that the plant is not used in a raw state but if macerated in vinegar and burnt, the ash heals wounds. Europeans also list this among their folk cancer cures.

Chemistry

Glucose, fructose, unreduced polysaccharides and xylan are (List and Horhammer, 1969-1979). A sample of the stems of papyrus representing the new growth of 1917 was forwarded to the Imperial Institute, London, by the Ministry of Agriculture next year. The Institute reported that the results of the investigation indicated that these stems only furnish a moderate yield of pulp of fair quality which contained a quantity of parenchyma and was rather difficult to bleach. Pulp suitable for brown paper was prepared from the stems by mild treatment, but only cream-colored paper could be produced by treating the stems under more drastic conditions similar to those employed technically for the manufacture of white paper.

Description

Tall, robust, leafless aquatic, up to 4 m high. Culms stout, smooth, trigonous, surrounded at base with coriaceous, large acuminate sheaths. Umbel-rays numerous, filiform, 10-45 cm long, each surrounded at base with a narrow, brown, cylindrical sheath, up to 3 cm long. Secondary umbels 3-5-rayed, supported by narrow, elongated bracts. Spike 1-2 cm long, 6-10 mm broad. Spikelets 6-10 mm long, 1 mm broad, 6-16-flowered.

Germplasm

The plant cultivated in Egypt belongs to the subsp. antiquorum (Willd.) Chiov. It differs from the type by its lax, shortly peduncled spikes, also by the connective which is not or hardly exserted above the anther halves (in type producing a point 1-3 times as long as the breadth of the anther). (2n = ca 102)

Distribution

The papyrus reeds form vast stands in swamps, in shallow lakes, and along stream banks throughout Africa. It is considered a weed in the Sudan, Dahomey and Egypt. Uganda has ca 6,500

13 km2 of permanent swamp or wetlands, much of it covered in papyrus. Occurs also in Sicily and Palestine. According to Baumann (1960) the plant grows over a wide area bounded roughly by the 38th and 26th parallels on the north and south, and by the 65th and 32nd on the east and west, but is virtually absent in the lower Nile marshes where it flourished in ancient times.

Ecology

Many African swamps known as the Sudd in Central Africa, are dominated by papyrus thickets, which totally block navigation. It is estimated that the Sudd areas of the White Nile, and the "Papyrus Swamps" around Lake Kioga and Victoria are responsible for the loss of 50% of that river's water through evaporation and plant transpiration. Engineers plan to shortcut the Sudd and hence increase Egypt's summer water supply. In Egypt the plant flowers throughout the year, except winter. Papyrus is estimated to range from Subtropical to Tropical Desert to Wet Forest Life Zones, tolerating annual precipitation of 1-42 dm, annual temperatures of 20-30°C, and pH of 6.0-8.5.

Cultivation

Propagation is done in Egypt by rootstock divisions any time in spring and summer. It is recorded, however, to produce fertile seeds under our climatic conditions. In Egypt, it is sufficient to keep seed pots under boxes covered with glass to obtain the required result. Seedlings can be raised from seed. No escape seedlings, however, have been found in Egypt, and it is said that under the most favorable conditions seeds do not germinate without the intervention of man. The rootstock should remain submerged under water, especially during summer, or at least, the soil must be kept sufficiently moist during the growing season to obtain a remunerative crop of fairly thick and long shoots. Plants grown in ordinary field beds are weaker than those grown in deeper channels at the same garden.

Yields and Economics

A C4 plant, this species has reported to produce above-ground biomass of 30-50 MT/ha/yr, highest of ten emergent species studied by Kresovich et al. (1981), and higher than the 15-33 MT they report for corn and sweet sorghum. They estimate, in 1979 dollars, the costs of cultivating such emergents as $70-580/ha for planting 138-297 for crop maintenance, 37-199 for harvesting, and 55-234/ha for drying and densification.

Energy

Since early this century, Egypt has devoted great effort to clear the swamp vegetation which could, of course, be converted to an energy resource. Cleared channels are blocked again with the vegetation. Still harvesting papyrus for commercial use is seldom seriously considered, Westlake (1963) reports standing DM biomass as high as 70 MT/ha.

14 References4

In Egypt, dense reed thickets flourished for millennia in the shallow freshwater marshes along the Nile River. These reeds were the famous papyrus plants which played an important role in ancient Egyptian civilization throughout its long history. The papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, is a triangular stemmed reed in the sedge family. Each plant often grew to a height of 6 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters) and was topped with a bushy cluster of fine green thread-like strands with small flowers at their ends. Cultivated and harvested, the papyrus plants had a multitude of uses. Their roots were a source of food, medicine, and perfume. Their stems were used to make baskets, floor mats, ropes, clothing, footwear, boats, assorted building materials, and the most important writing material in the ancient world.

4 Baumann, B.B. 1960. The botanical aspects of ancient Egyptian enbalming and burial. Econ. Bot. 14(1):84-104. Kresovich et al. (1981)List, P.H. and Horhammer, L. 1969-1979. Hager's handbuch der pharmazeutischen praxis. vols 2-6. Springer-Verlag, .N.A.S. 1976. Making aquatic weeds useful. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. Tackholm, V. and Drar, M. 1973. Flora of Egypt. vol. II. Otto Koeltz Antiquariat. Reprint. Originally published 1950.Westlake, D.F. 1963. Comparisons of plant productivity. Biol. Rev. 38:385-425.

15 The use of papyrus in making writing materials dates back to Predynastic times. Unfortunately, the ancient Egyptians left little evidence about the manufacturing process. There are no extant texts or wall paintings and archaeologists have failed to uncover any manufacturing centers. Most of our knowledge about the actual manufacturing process is derived from its description in Pliny the elder's Natural History and modern experimentation.

The harvested reeds were cut into manageable lengths and the tough dark outer rinds of their stems were removed to reveal the yellowish-white inner pith. The next step was to peel or slice apart the layers which made up the pith into thin strips. The strips would then cut into roughly equal lengths. To form a sheet, the strips would be laid side by side on a flat surface till they formed a rectangle. Next, a second layer of strips would be laid upon the first at right angles. Pressure was applied, either by the use of some type of weight or by a special hammer. It was important that the papyrus strips were moist (either freshly cut or soaked in water). This ensured their gummy sap would bond the layers together. The sheet, thus formed, was now allowed to dry in the sun with possibly additional pressings or pounding to remove any remaining moisture and ensure flatness. After drying, the sheets would be rubbed smooth with a piece of ivory or a smooth shell and any rough or uneven edges trimmed.

Owing to the method of manufacture, the fibers on one side of a papyrus sheet ran in a horizontal direction while those on the other side, ran vertically. The side with the horizontally running fibers is called recto and was the preferred side for writing upon. The side with the vertical fibers is called verso.

Finished sheets were not sold individually, but were assembled into rolls of twenty sheets. To make a roll, the individual sheets would be aligned recto to recto with the right edge of one sheet overlapping the left of the next. The only exception to this arrangement was the end sheets of the roll. These were attached in the reverse way. This ensured horizontally running fibers were on the outside ends of the roll and was intended to reduce the possibility of the fibers being pulled apart as the roll was handled. A flour paste glue was used to attach the sheets. In some cases, to eliminate the bulge where the join would be, the overlapping edge sections would consist of only a single layer of papyrus. The finished rolls would then be sold and their purchaser could either cut them into sections or attach additional rolls depending upon his or her needs. The production and distribution of papyrus was controlled and regulated by the state.

Just like there are many different kinds and qualities of paper today, the same was true for papyrus. Each type was used for a different purpose. Very cheaply made coarse papyrus was used by merchants to wrap items. The finest and most expensive varieties were reserved for religious or literary works. Quality depended upon a number of factors. Where the papyrus plants were grown, the age of the plants, the season when they were harvested, and most importantly, the layer of pith used in manufacture were all factors that affected the quality of the finished product. The finest papyrus was made using the innermost pith layers and was said to have come from the Delta region.

A typical roll was usually constructed of papyrus sheets of varying quality. The best sheets would be used for its ends, since they received the most wear and tear, and lesser quality sheets for its inner sections. To add additional strength and help prevent fraying, at the end margins, a strip of papyrus would be glued along the ends of the roll. In some cases, each end of the scroll would be

16 wound around a stick (called an umbicus) which had attached cords to keep the roll from unraveling.

The size of the finished sheets used to construct rolls varied greatly over time and according to their intended use. For rolls intended for use in writing, large sheets were preferred. Commonly, sheets 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 centimeters) wide were used. During early Pharonic times the sheets were about 5 to 6 inches (12 to 15 centimeters) in height. Later, sheets of 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 centimeters) in height became the norm.

The various varieties and sizes of papyrus were often named in honor of emperors or officials. This information, particularly during the Roman and Byzantine periods, was written on the first sheet of a roll and was called a protocol. Additionally, the protocol often included the date and place of manufacture of the papyrus. Generally, the protocol would be cut off before using the roll. However, for legal documents, this practice was forbidden by the Laws of Justinian. The practice of adding a protocol to a finished papyrus roll continued into Islamic times.

The use of papyrus as a writing material was not limited solely to Egypt. Papyrus was exported throughout the entire ancient Mediterranean world. The introduction of paper in the ninth century CE signaled the beginning of the end for papyrus as the most important writing material of the ancient world. However, papyrus would continue to be used in Egypt until, at least, the late eleventh century CE.

BIBLIOGRAPHY5

5 Baikie, James Egyptian Papyri and Papyrus-Hunting. London, The Religious Tract Society (1925).Bell, H. Idris Egypt from Alexander the Great to the Arab Conquest. Oxford, Clarenden Press (1948).Deuel, Leo Testaments of Time. New York, Alfred A. Knof (1965).Parkinson, Richard and Stephen Quirke Egyptian Bookshelf: Papyrus. Austin, University of Texas Press (1995).Prestman, P.W. The New Paprological Primer (5th edition). New York, E.J. Brill (1990).Thompson, Sir Edward Maunde An Introduction to Greek and Latin Palaeography. Oxford, Clareden Press (1912)

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Portrait of Edwin Smith painted 1847 byFrancesco Anelli,

Back to the roots – dermatology in ancient Egyptian medicine Anke Hartmann writes6

Although ancient Greek and Roman medicine is generally considered the origin of European medicine, there is evidence in ancient Egyptian texts suggesting a precursor role of ancient Egyptian medicine in this regard. What did Greek and Roman learn from their Egyptian counterparts? Of the medical papyri discovered to date, the largest and most significant – the and the Smith papyrus – originate from the beginning of the New Kingdom, however, they were – at least in part – already written during the Old Kingdom. Considering the times, the spectrum of diseases treated as well as the range of conservative and surgical treatment methods was truly astounding. Taking a medical history, performing a thorough manual examination, and assessing clinical findings constituted key components in establishing a diagnosis. Apart from hygienic aspects, skin and hair disorders, the treatment of acute and chronic wounds and injuries

6 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ddg.12947

18 as well as cosmetic procedures took on an important role. Even back then, physicians sought to assess inflammatory processes with respect to their cardinal features, implement graded wound therapy, and treat diseases with allopathic drugs. The ‘channel theory’ prevalent at that time, in which the unimpeded flow of bodily fluids was considered a fundamental prerequisite for health, may likely be regarded as precursor of ancient Greek humoral . The latter became the basis for the subsequently established theory of the four humors, and was thus essential for the entire field of medieval medicine. Introduction

Today, wound treatment and aesthetics are crucial pillars of dermatological therapy. After decades of innovative research in the area of cell grafting and tissue engineering, we have – seeking to regenerate and regigment skin – in large parts returned to the basics of conservative theory. Which clinical approaches have existed before, and how far removed from them are we today? Many physicians ponder this question in the course of their careers.

Ancient Greek and Roman medicine is generally considered the origin of European medicine. Medieval medical textbooks were based on Hippocratic writings and those of Dioscorides, Herophilos, Erasistratus, and others, which in turn were based on the theories of the philosophy of nature prevalent at the times. The names of Greek and Roman initiators of European are still known to us today:

• ▸ Hippocrates of Kos (460–370 BC), certainly the most famous of ancient times, regarded as the founder of medical sciences (Hippocratic Corpus). The Hippocratic theory of the four humors explains the equilibrium and the free flow of bodily fluids as a prerequisite for health. Their imbalance results in the development of diseases. • ▸ Herophilos of Chalcedon (c. 330–255 BC) established the theory of the diagnostic importance of taking the pulse. • ▸ Erasistratus (305–250 BC), according to his theory of “pneuma”, respiration caused vital air to fill the vessels. • ▸ Celsus (c. 25 BC – 50 AD), the first description of the four cardinal signs of local inflammation – rubor, calor, tumor, and dolor – is attributed to him. • ▸ Galen (c. 130 –200 AD), according to the Galenic corpus, diseases are to be treated with opposing (allopathic) drugs.

However, comparable theories had already existed much earlier. Following the analysis of ancient Egyptian medical texts, it has become obvious that Egypt played a leading role in medicine long before Hippocrates, and that Egyptian medicine represents the precursor of Coptic as well as Greek, and thus subsequently European medicine. What did the Greeks, who had settled in Egypt since the mid‐seventh century BC during the Ptolemaic period, know about Egyptian medicine?

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The medical profession and structure of healthcare in ancient Egypt

Similar to today, the profession of ancient Egyptian physicians was already subject to a markedly hierarchical order. There was the ordinary physician, above him the “provost of physicians”, the senior physician, the “senior physician of the palace”, the “head of the physicians of the palace”, up to the “chief court physician”. There were also women in leading positions (supervisor of female physicians)

The ancient Egyptian physician was a quasi civil servant, who received his salary from the Pharaoh, and was therefore, in a way, also dependent on him (accompanying the troops, medical care during the construction of the necropolises, and so on). In turn, this form of protection also represented a kind of superordinate health insurance; there is evidence from the Late Period that patients were “treated without reimbursement” because “physicians receive their salary from the state”. Even during the Old Kingdom (2700–2500 BC), there were already specialist physicians. Herodotus, the famous ancient Greek historian, reported around 450 BC that every physician was responsible for only one disease; physicians were everywhere, there were physicians for the eyes, the head, the teeth, the stomach, and for invisible diseases, referred to as “eye physician”, “tooth physician”, “physician of the stomach” and “shepherd of the anus”. They did not work at hospitals but in “houses of life”, which were adjacent to temples, musaeums, and sanatoriums, where the scrolls were stored and the training of the physicians took place then. The medical papyri

Of the medical papyri and fragments that have been found to date, the oldest texts originate from the Middle to the beginning of the New Kingdom around 1500 BC; however, they were – at least in part – written during the Old Kingdom. The two largest papyri, the Ebers and Smith papyri, are the most significant with respect to the field of dermatology. They were acquired by Georg Ebers (1837–1898) in Thebes (Luxor) in 1873.

20 The Smith papyrus7, the “book of wounds”, ranks among the oldest written documents on medical therapy in the field of wound treatment and . It is an educational text containing caption, examination, diagnosis, curative prospects, and therapy. It presents 48 cases of injuries and wounds from head to toe. The Ebers papyrus (stored at the University Library in , Germany), with a total length of 20 meters, currently represents the largest record of ancient Egyptian medicine.

7 The is an ancient Egyptian medical text, named after the dealer who bought it in 1862, and the oldest known surgical treatise on trauma. This document, which may have been a manual of military surgery, describes 48 cases of injuries, fractures, wounds, dislocations and tumors. It dates to Dynasties 16–17 of the Second Intermediate Period in ancient Egypt, c. 1600 BCE. The Edwin Smith papyrus is unique among the four principal medical papyri in existence that survive today. While other papyri, such as the Ebers Papyrus and , are medical texts based in magic, the Edwin Smith Papyrus presents a rational and scientific approach to medicine in ancient Egypt, in which medicine and magic do not conflict. Magic would be more prevalent had the cases of illness been mysterious, such as internal disease. In 1862 he came temporarily into possession of a medical papyrus which was sold by its Egyptian owner to Georg Ebers in 1873 and published by Ebers in 1875.[3] It was thus best known as the Ebers Papyrus.

In 1862 he also purchased the papyrus which came to bear his name, from a dealer called Mustapha Aga at Luxor.[4] Smith's knowledge ofhieratic was not sufficient to enable him to translate the papyrus, a task which was undertaken by James Henry Breasted, aided by Arno B. Luckhardt, a professor of physiology, and led to the publication of the translation in 1930.

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Ebers papyrus, University Library, Leipzig

Apart from formulations for diseases of the urinary, digestive, and internal organs, as well as cough and asthma, eye complaints, and gynecological disorders, the 879 chapters contain essays on the cardiovascular system as well as remedies for children's crying and contraception. There are also 168 texts dealing with the treatment of acute and chronic wounds, injuries, skin and hair disorders. Regarding the , it is interesting to see that even back then cosmetic procedures and hygienic aspects played a significant role.

What is striking about the descriptions in the Ebers and Smith papyri is the thorough inquiry about as well as the observation and analysis of symptoms, which, along with an initial systematic examination, ultimately lead to diagnosis and treatment. Remarkably, such a course of action was to become the central characteristic of the still empiric, symptom‐oriented, and predominantly non‐ anatomic Hippocratic doctrine

22 A physician would describe a patient as “the man who is under my fingers” 3. From first pulse measurements, doctors would draw conclusions about the patient's general state of health; for example, the severity of a head or spine injury was estimated; or the palpation of boils resulted in the assessment of their type and content.

The patient's prognosis was categorized as positive (“a disease I will treat”), uncertain (“a disease I will fight”), and negative (“a disease that cannot be treated”) Pathophysiological beliefs in ancient Egyptian medicine

The anatomic knowledge of ancient Egyptian physicians was not as advanced as that of later Greek schools. They did have, as can be gathered from the medical papyri, specific anatomic knowledge about certain body parts and osseous structures (skull, facial bones, root of the eye, intervertebral discs, vertebrae, and others). However, their knowledge seems to have been very limited with respect to the internal organs, especially the vascular system and the digestive tract; for example, it was believed that food was transported from the heart to the anus via internal duct systems (digestive tract). It is also striking that even later Hippocratic texts used the term “cardia” in reference to both the heart as well as the entrance to the stomach. It is a double meaning still used today, which, given its lack of anatomic correctness, must obviously have been passed on.

In ancient Egyptian medicine, the unimpeded flow of bodily fluids and the unimpaired digestion of foods were fundamental prerequisites for health. Air and water – as contents of vessels – represented the essential elements of life, whereas phlegm, blood, and pus were regarded as merely associated with wounds, injuries, and diseases. According to the beliefs at the time, a jam or congestion in the drainage system resulted in the transformation of bodily fluids and digestive residues into phlegmatic and pain‐causing substances, which were distributed within the body, able to cause diseases at any given site. Indeed, this already showed very striking parallels to the theory of the four humors subsequently proposed by Hippocrates and Galen.

These concepts also explain the recommendation for laxatives – considered health‐promoting in ancient Egypt – frequently found in formulations. The use of bloodletting, cupping glasses, and laxatives was regarded as an effective treatment method up to the Early Modern Age, and terms such as “purgation” and the modern term “detox” are indications for similar, still‐existing pathophysiological beliefs.

The heart was already recognized as the central organ and center of the body. It was (similar to later Hippocratic writings) viewed as the place of thought, mind, and soul, and had thus basically assumed the responsibilities of the brain. However, even today, we use expressions such as “she

23 feels with her heart”, or “you speak from my heart”; or considering the famous quote from “The Little Prince”: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly”. Furthermore, the heart was already recognized as the center of a duct system through which it supplied other organs and body sites with water and air (P. Ebers, 855, 856), hence, these were fundamentals of the theory of “pneuma” in which respiration (as vital principle) fills the vessels with air.

In various passages of the medical papyri, it is described that the “work of the heart can be felt at certain sites of the body”. Similar to taking the pulse, this was possible by using “the physician's examining finger to measure the work of the heart at various sites of the body, since there are vessels leading from it to the corresponding sites, and it talks in the vessels” (P. Ebers, 854). Thus, even in ancient Egyptian times, the physician drew conclusions about the patient's general health by palpating the pulse. Plants and drugs in ancient Egyptian medicine

Due to missing drawings and lack of identification, only few of the plants and drugs mentioned in the papyri can be matched today; however, it is safe to assume that many of those used had a proven effect.

Among the frequently mentioned plants and drugs, honey played a crucial role in wound treatment even then. Today, there is clinical and pharmacological evidence of its osmotic and thus decongestant effect, as well as its antiseptic and properties. Due to its dehydrating and astringent effect, natron – the Lower Egyptian salt – was not only used for mummification but also for exudative wounds and skin rashes.

Fresh meat was placed onto acute wounds. As was proven later, meat – given its high iron content – had a beneficial effect on coagulation; moreover, enzymatic properties and phagocytosis led to germ reduction. Moldy bread was used for purulent wounds and can, in a way, be regarded as the first kind of penicillin due to the antibiotic substances later found therein.

Similarly, onions were used for purulent wounds, boils, and inflammatory lesions; even today, an old – or rediscovered – household remedy. As recently as 50 years ago, it was shown that the active ingredients contained therein, alliin and allicin, have bactericidal and fungicidal effects. Today (as then), various oils and lipids are used in combination with various wound dressings in order to promote epithelialization and prevent scarring in the final phases of wound treatment.

The caster oil plant has an entire chapter dedicated to it in the Ebers papyrus. The roots were used for headaches; its seed oil, as a laxative in case of skin rashes and – rediscovered today – also as

24 hair growth medication. Incense – the gum resin from the olibanum tree– was used not only for ritual purposes but also as a remedy in wound treatment and for disorders of the respiratory and digestive tracts. Its essential oils contain Boswellic acids, which, as has in the meantime been discovered, have anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting prostaglandin and leukotriene synthesis, as well as astringent and disinfectant effects. In modern medicine, incense has shown some therapeutic success in chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and also has displayed antiproliferative effects on melanoma cells.

Olibanum (left side from Oman, right side from Eritrea) an air‐dried gum resin from the olibanum tree. A viscous and milky fluid, it leaks from the trunk and branches when cut. It is subsequently harvested after air‐drying.

The carob tree was also widely used. Primarily contained in the seeds, its ingredients such as gallic acid and polyphenols showed markedly ant arteriosclerotic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antidepressant effects in recent studies.

Frequently described in the papyri, the Egyptian willow was used in the treatment of inflammatory processes, wounds, and bone fractures. The substance salicin subsequently isolated from it is a derivative of salicylic acid. Based on its proven anti-inflammatory, anti-rheumatic, and analgesic properties, it ultimately led to the synthesis of present‐day Aspirin®.

25 Dermatological therapy in ancient Egyptian medicine Wound treatment and burns

In a way, wound treatment back then already included graded therapy. In uncomplicated, non‐ gaping wounds, the placement of fresh meat was recommended for the first day (today replaced by solutions containing iron sulfate and iron chloride, as well as wound dressings); subsequently, oils or lipids, honey, and fibers (usually woven linen) were used until the wound had healed.

Acute, gaping, and clean wounds were “approximated with a thread” (P. Smith, 10, 26, 47: “After you have sutured it [the wound] up, you shall dress it…”). Thus, the approximation of wound edges, later also propagated by Celsus. was a routine procedure even then.

An infected wound as cause of delayed wound healing was also already recognized as such. It was treated with cooling, desiccating remedies (willow and whitethorn leaves, a desiccating powder made from malachite, Lower Egyptian salt), and remained open (Smith papyrus, 47; Ebers papyrus, 520, 521). Associated complications of inflammation such as erythema, hyperthermia (“heat”), and fever were recognized as such (Smith papyrus, 28, 41, 47). In such cases, the wound was not dressed but treated with a firing bolt (“fire drill”) in terms of cauterization and for antiseptic purposes (Ebers papyrus, 876).

Thus, with respect to their cardinal features – rubor, calor, dolor, and tumor – inflammatory processes were already completely understood in Egyptian medicine, long before Celsus. The difference between circumscribed inflammation and the signs of general sepsis as well as the causality between wound infection and fever were obviously known. Despite the ancient model of wound healing, primary wound healing was already distinguished from secondary intention healing; consequently, wound treatment was implemented accordingly.

There is also detailed information on graded treatment of burn wounds according to the beliefs of the time (“beginning of burn remedies” … “what to do with burns on the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth day”). Following successful antisepsis, a dressing of cooked chufa (also known as earth almond or tiger nut), was recommended for “covering a wound with a skin cover” (Ebers papyrus, 482).

In case of “a burn with white spots”, various formulations offer herbal remedies for their “blackening” or repigmentation (P. Ebers, 501–509). Even though many authors of countless review articles on vitiligo and phototherapy always like to suggest and repeatedly quote that

26 vitiligo was already described and successfully treated in the Ebers papyrus 3500 years ago, this claim unfortunately does not hold up to recent translations of available sources from the time. Skin rashes, ulcers, tumors, and swellings

Skin rashes, skin inflammation, and blistering as “irregularities on the skin” were regarded as expressions of changes on the inside of the body – in terms of an accumulation of “pain‐causing substances in the abdomen” – and therefore not only treated externally but also with laxatives (Ebers papyrus, 90–120).

A whole chapter of texts in the Ebers papyrus is dedicated to ulcers, tumors, and swellings. They were usually treated surgically, such as “solitary or multiple tumors with the characteristic of a son”, which likely correspond to metastases today referred to as “daughter tumors” (Tochtergeschwülste) in the German language (Ebers papyrus, 868).

A particularly characteristic tumor is described as follows: “A purulent tumor that is sharply demarcated, spherical, and soft and whose head is raised. It contains something like plant mucus, and something like wax emerges form it. It forms a pocket that must be (surgically) completely removed. If anything remains in the pocket, it will recur” (Ebers papyrus, 869, 870) 3. What is described here very vividly is possibly an epidermoid cyst whose wall has to be removed for definitive healing (today excision according to Danna).

Even though a particularly characteristic tumor prone to injuries, mutilations, and scarring (Ebers papyrus, 874) has frequently been interpreted as leprosy, it was more likely tuberculosis. While previous studies on skeletons and mummies have only been able to prove the occurrence of leprosy – likely only introduced to Egypt (from India) in the wake of the expeditions of Alexander the Great – in the Coptic period. There is now plenty of DNA evidence confirming that tuberculosis already occurred during the Old Kingdom around 3000 BC. Hair disorders

While wigs were worn for solemn and ceremonial occasions, one's own scalp hair was considered very valuable. Two chapters, with a total of 29 recipes, dealing with the “beginnings of the remedies for the attachment of hair” and measures to prevent hair from turning gray highlight the great significance of scalp hair.

27

Women at a banquet scene with oil cones and lotus blossoms on their head; Theban tomb of Nakht, around 1400 BC, Theban necropolis

From the “caster oil book” of the Ebers papyrus, it is known that the fruit of the caster oil plant apparently promotes hair growth in women (Ebers papyrus, 251).There was also a recommendation in case the opposite was intended, namely that a rival would lose her hair. It proposed that a cooked worm, the carapace of a turtle, or fat from the lower leg of a hippopotamus – depending on the desired degree of baldness – should “very, very frequently be applied onto the head of the hated rival” (Ebers papyrus, 474).

According to available written sources, Egyptian medicine from the Old to the end of the Middle Kingdom was rather empirical and rational, as shown by the predominantly rational disease concept in the medical papyri. The Kahun, Ebers, and Smith papyri contained almost no magic spells, even though such spells likely accompanied any medical activity during that time: “Strong is the magic combined with the remedy, strong is the remedy combined with the magic” (Ebers papyrus, 3). Subsequently, the magic component became increasingly more important. By the end of the New Kingdom, magic played a prevalent role in disease concepts, and patron gods in the form of amulets were increasingly invoked. It was not before Ptolemaic and Roman times that

28 once again texts emerged that did not employ magic, likely due to the growing influence of the Greek philosophy of nature.

Ancient Egyptian amulets meant to protect from diseases (faience, private collection). From left to right: Thoth (oldest Egyptian god of healing, patron god of physicians, 26th–30th dynasty), Sekhmet (patron goddess of surgeons, 21st/22nd dynasty), Isis with Horus (protected patients [equivalent to the young god Horus] from snakebites and other risks, 26th dynasty), Taweret (patron goddess of pregnant women; 26th–30th dynasty).

Personal hygiene, cosmetics, and aesthetics

Personal hygiene, cosmetics, and aesthetics then played a crucial role. Daily body cleansing and mouthwashes were a given; baths with running water already existed. In the Ebers papyrus, there are instructions on how to make “mouth‐taste pills” as well as “remedies for the elimination of body odor” (Ebers papyrus, 708, 854)

29 Various oils as well as mixtures from incense, wax, ben oil, Cyperus, and other plant substances were used for signs of aging such as wrinkles and spots. They promised relief when applied daily: “Do it, you will witness success.” As a “remedy for restoring the skin”, the body was rubbed with an ointment of honey, red natron, Lower Egyptian salt, and alabaster flour (Ebers papyrus, 714).

A chapter on the “transformation of an old into a young person” described a formulation in which roughly two sacks of almonds were – over the course of several days – processed into a kind of oil made from almond bran (Smith papyrus, 21, 9–22, 10); these are ingredients still found in cosmetics today.

What was special about ancient Egyptian medicine was the already very precise description and analysis of visible changes and diseases, and the empirical therapeutic course of action. Even then, inflammatory processes were categorized with respect to their cardinal features. Moreover, it was attempted to employ graded wound therapy and treat diseases with similar or opposing drugs. There were schools teaching initial organizing principles and doctrines whose fundamentals are, in part, still used today.

Via Greek medicine, many aspects of ancient Egyptian medicine were expanded, modified, improved, and ultimately carried forward to occidental medicine. Regarding ancient Egyptian medicine not just as the origin of modern science‐based medicine in general but also as the origin of dermatology in particular, is therefore certainly justified.

Although the Ebers papyrus predominantly focused on wound treatment, skin and hair disorders as well as aesthetics, one specialty did not yet exist – despite an already high degree of specialization in ancient Egyptian medicine: the dermatologist.

Of course I cannot leave without a scientific re-appraisal of the papyrus from a clinical perspective…

30 The Edwin Smith papyrus: a clinical reappraisal of the oldest known document on spinal injuries

Joost J. van Middendorp, Gonzalo M. Sanchez, and Alwyn L. Burridge write:8

Dating from the seventeenth century B.C. the Edwin Smith papyrus is a unique treatise containing the oldest known descriptions of signs and symptoms of injuries of the spinal column and spinal cord. Based on a recent “medically based translation” of the Smith papyrus, its enclosed treasures in diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic reasoning are revisited.

Although patient demographics, diagnostic techniques and therapeutic options considerably changed over time, the documented rationale on spinal injuries can still be regarded as the state- of-the-art reasoning for modern clinical practice.

Dating from the seventeenth century B.C., the Edwin Smith papyrus is the oldest known surviving trauma text in history [1]. This ancient medical treatise is credited as containing the earliest known scientific writings on rational observations in medicine. A total of 48 cases are presented in the papyrus, of which six deal with injuries to the spine. The cases contain highly accurate descriptions of signs and symptoms of different types of spinal injuries. The objective of this review was to reappraise the clinical descriptions of the spinal injury cases documented in the Edwin Smith papyrus.

Whereas several previous reports focused on the translational details and controversies of the scroll [1–6], this study primarily aims to revisit its enclosed treasures in diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic reasoning.

Subsequently, these findings are placed in the context of the contemporary diagnostic work-up and classifications of spinal injuries.

8 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2989268/

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A brief summary of the history and translation of the papyrus After lying in a tomb in Thebes, Egypt, for over 3,000 years, the papyrus [7] was sold to the antiquities dealer Edwin Smith in 1862. Despite praiseworthy attempts, Smith did not manage to translate the scroll. After his death in 1906, the papyrus was donated to ‘The New York Historical Society’ by his daughter. It was not until 1920 the moment the papyrus was entrusted to the renowned Egyptologist James Henry Breasted for translation. After a long period of study and analysis Breasted accomplished the tremendous task of translating the papyrus and published a historic two-volume edition containing the English translation, commentary—along with medical notes prepared by the physician Arno Luckhardt—and hieroglyphic transcription of the original scroll in 1930 [1]. Based on his vast experience and extensive research, Breasted concluded that the papyrus must have been written during the sixteenth century B.C. Interestingly, since the hieroglyphics used in the text were more common in earlier times, around 3,000–2,500 B.C., he—and others—believed that the scroll must be a copy of an older text [1, 8]. This information led to further speculations

32 on the original authorship. Breasted suggested that the Egyptian physician , who served under the Third Dynasty of pharaoh Djoser (twentysixth century B.C.), could have been the author of the original text. A recent reappraisal summarized that the papyrus was most likely penned in the seventeenth century B.C. and probably is a copy of an older document. Nonetheless, the original authorship remains a controversial issue [9]. Although his translation of the Edwin Smith papyrus is still regarded as a masterpiece, Breasted encountered several problems in his interpretation of the text. After the publication of his translation in 1930, several other Egyptologists and physicians suggested alternative interpretations of a number of hieroglyphs and fragments written in the original text [10–16]. After thoroughly reinterpreting the original hieratic document, Sanchez and Burridge [9] are currently producing a novel “medically based translation” of the Edwin Smith papyrus. For the clinical appraisal of the spinal injury cases, this latter translation was used for the current review. Before going into detail on the spinal injury cases, it is important to appraise the style and perspective the papyrus was written in.

Spinal injuries reported in the papyrus Six of the cases documented in the papyrus primarily deal with injuries to the spine (cases 29–33 and 48), see Table 1.

33 Categorization of spinal injuries As mentioned, the papyrus excels by its topographic structure. The categorization of anatomical regions is also observed within the group of spinal injuries. Diagnoses of the cervical spine (cases 29–33) are clearly distinguished from diagnoses of the thoracic and/or lumbar spine (case 48). Furthermore, the cervical spinal injury cases can further be categorized in open (case 29) and closed (cases 30–33) wounds. Each of the four closed cervical spinal injury cases concerns a unique diagnosis of the injured spinal column. An additional explanation on the diagnosis is provided by the writer in each case (see Appendix). The modern diagnoses, as expressed in the case’s titles are

• Case 30: cervical sprain with disc injury;

• Case 31: cervical vertebral dislocation with spinal cord and head injury;

• Case 32: cervical vertebral compression fracture; and

• Case 33: cervical burst fracture with spinal cord injury and brain contusion.

Treatment of spinal injuries The statements on the treatability of the spinal injury cases are summarized in Table 1. Two of the six spinal injury cases are considered untreatable; cases 31 and 33, the only two cases with a documented spinal cord injury. The open cervical spinal injury documented in case 29 is followed by the verdict: “(This is) a medical condition I intend to fight with.” As the clinical signs and symptoms related to the spinal column are quite similar to those reported in case 32, the reticent verdict on the treatment of case 29 is probably based on the risk of a subsequent infection of the open wound. The writer considers the remaining three cases (cases: 30, 32 and 48) as treatable by non-operative means. Since the ancient Egyptian times, the number of effective treatment options for spinal column injuries improved considerably [40–42]. Whereas natural history and treatment outcomes are hardly documented in the papyrus, current spinal trauma literature is actually focused on treatment outcomes of both operatively and non-operatively treated patients. It is fascinating to see the shift of treatment goals over time. Whereas ancient Egyptian triage medicine considered the likelihood of survival as the most important outcome of interest, nowadays the quality of life and functional outcome measures are of primary interest [43, 44]. Despite all recent scientific efforts, a cure for spinal cord injury still does not exist. Nonetheless, the treatment verdict “(This is) a medical condition that cannot be healed.” lost terrain since the care of spinal cord injuries improved considerably during the last century.

34

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36 The Soul has Bandaged moments—

The Soul has Bandaged moments— When too appalled to stir— She feels some ghastly Fright come up And stop to look at her—

Salute her, with long fingers— Caress her freezing hair— Sip, Goblin, from the very lips The Lover—hovered—o'er— Unworthy, that a thought so mean Accost a Theme—so—fair—

The soul has moments of Escape— When bursting all the doors— She dances like a Bomb, abroad, And swings upon the Hours,

As do the Bee—delirious borne— Long Dungeoned from his Rose— Touch Liberty—then know no more, But Noon, and Paradise—

The Soul's retaken moments— When, Felon led along, With shackles on the plumed feet, And staples, in the Song,

The Horror welcomes her, again, These, are not brayed of Tongue— F360 (1862) 512

Susan Kornfeld writes:10

More should be made of Emily Dickinson as a Gothic poet. Writing here in the Gothic romantic mood she enjoyed in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (1847), Dickinson describes the dramatic and even perilous extremes to which the soul is subject. In the first stanza the Soul is introduced in a “Bandaged” moment when, constricted and paralyzed, “some ghastly Fright” stops to look at and caress her. Like in a nightmare when one is unable to move, the Soul is “too appalled to stir.”

45. (2003) Trends in aging—United States and worldwide. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 52(6):101–104, 106 [PubMed]

10 http://bloggingdickinson.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-soul-has-bandaged-moments.html

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Dickinson would have heard about and seen pictures of mummies--and the image seems to have rooted in her imagination

That first line, “The Soul has Bandaged moments,” is among my Dickinson favorites. The use of “bandage” as an adjective still sounds fresh since we are used to hearing the word only as a noun or verb. And while a bandaged soul is clearly a metaphor for the stifling constriction of depression, it also suggests protection. We bandage something wounded to protect it. The bandaging also recalls mummification—another Gothic image.

Victorian explorers had been bringing mummies out of Egypt for decades by Dickinson’s time and a couple of mummy books and stories had been published. In fact, within a few years of this poem, Louisa May Alcott, author of the beloved Little Women, wrote a short story called “Lost in a Pyramid; or, the Mummy’s Curse.” There were a few famous incidents prior to this poem, including one in Boston, of mummy unwrappings. Dickinson was explicitly tapping into a very current element of horror here.

As for the romance aspect, the very next stanza couples the frightening apparition and the mummified soul with the remembrance of a lover. Just as the Lover kissed the woman whose soul is bandaged, so the Fright hovers to “Sip” Goblin-like, from those very lips. That’s a vampire image, or even a succubus (which would be an interesting gender reversal as the succubus is a female demonic figure who drains the souls of men by having sex with them as they sleep). The “Theme—so—fair” is the lover; the “thought so mean” that accosts it is the frightful apparition. Could it be that in its depression the Soul converts the touch of the lover to the touch of the vampire dead or the soul-stealing succubus? Unlike Snow White who is revived by the life-giving kiss of her prince, the Soul of this poem seems to subliminally dread and fear it.

Thankfully, the soul “has moments of Escape” when it bursts out of its confinement to dance and swing all day and night. The word Dickinson chooses to describe this is “Bomb.” Talk about manic depressive—the poem takes us from catatonia to explosive delirium. She likens

38 herself in these moments to an imprisoned bee, miserable without the nectar of “his Rose.” When finally released from his dungeon, he becomes so lost in his flower that he is aware only of “Noon”—the fullness of day—and “Paradise.” If this sounds familiar, it’s because Dickinson wrote about this very bee in “Come slowly—Eden!”. In that poem, written the previous year, the “fainting Bee—”

Reaching late his flower, Round her chamber hums— Counts his nectars— Enters—and is lost in Balms.

It’s a beautiful and very sexual image. Yet, in tandem with the current poem, the flower might be read as dangerously passive. It is the bee who flies to her, hums around her, “counts his nectars,” and then enters to become lost in the flower’s luscious sweetness. The flower is no more able to escape the attentions of the bee than the bandaged Soul those of the demon lover. In some way, the poet has become both flower and bee in this poem. She knows what it is to fly in ecstasy to a loved object; she also knows what it means to be besieged.

The very excess of the Soul during its escape seems to lead to the awful and humiliating punishment that follows. “Retaken,” the Soul’s “plumed feet” are shackled, she is “led along”— and one imagines a prisoner cruelly dragged back to jail as the townspeople watch. The plumes suggest a bird, a common symbol for the Soul—one frequently used by Dickinson. But of course a shackled bird cannot fly. In perhaps the most horrifying image of the poem, the bird’s very song has been stapled. These wouldn’t be the dainty staples we use to fasten a few pieces of paper together. Those hadn’t yet been invented. These staples would have been heavy blacksmith-forged fasteners for holding carriage parts or large door latches together—not the ethereal beauty of birdsong or poetry.

A bird whose song was killed would be like a poet whose poems had been stilled. Is there a toll on the poet’s pleasures so that if she enjoys a lover’s kiss or a few hours of delirious joy (as in “He touched me, so I live to know”) she must pay for it by periods of incapacitating depression? The last two lines seem to imply as much. “The Horror” of the bandaged moments when the soul is helpless against the Fright, “welcomes her, again.” What a sad line! This is something she is used to. The very last line, “These, are not brayed of Tongue—,”a particularly ugly and awkward one, is worth unpacking.

“These” refers to all the frights and indignities that the soul is subjected to while unable to stir. The tongue does not bray about this. Donkeys, not poets, bray and it is not an attractive sound at all. To speak of the horrors would be like the grating noises of a farm animal known for stubbornness and lack of sense. And why does Dickinson twist normal sentence structure so that the poem ends in “not brayed of Tongue” instead of the more natural “the tongue does not bray”? Perhaps she wanted “Tongue” at the end as a slant rhyme with “again.” It is also a rather ugly word and that is the way, I think, she wanted to leave the poem. The harshness is what lives.

I also think that “brayed of Tongue” is too suggestive of the word “prayed” to be ignored. Whatever the poet is experiencing is not something that she either prays about or feels that prayer could

39 properly express. Her bandaged prison of depression or despair is truly a hell from which no words can escape, whether a call for help, a poem, or a prayer.

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