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'HE bezoar stone, according to the usual belief, was taken from the intestines or the liver either of the goat
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or of the deer. The Arabs told a strange tale as to the generation of this stone.1
They said that at certain seasons the deer were wont to devour snakes
and other venomous creatures, whereupon they would straightway hasten
to the nearest pool and plunge into it until only their nostrils were
above the water. Here they remained until the feverish heat caused by
the poison they had swallowed was alleviated. During this time stones
were formed in the corners of their eyes; these dropped as the deer
left the pool, and were found on its banks. The stones were a sovereign
antidote for poisons of all kinds. When reduced to a powder and taken
internally, or when simply bound to the injured part, they effected a
cure by inducing a profuse perspiration. It is curious to note that
this tale foreshadows, in a fanciful way, the latest progress of
medical science; namely, the use of a substance generated in the body
of a diseased animal as an antidote for the disease from which the
animal suffered. We are also told that Abdallah Narach narrates the
case of the Moorish king of Cordoba, Miramamolin, as Monardes gives the
name, to whom a violent poison had been administered and who was cured
by means of a bezoar stone. The king, overcome with gratitude for the
preservation of his life, gave his royal palace to the man who had
brought him the stone. Monardes remarks : ' ' This certainly was a
royal gift, since we see that at this day the castle of Cordova is
1 Nicolo Monardes, " Delle cose que vengono portate dall'Indie occidentali," Yenetia, 1575, pp. 95-6.
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