Primitive Psycho Therapy And Quackery

Satisfactorily to explain the derivation of the English word “amulet” has taxed the
ingenuity of etymologists, and its origin is admittedly obscure. According to some
authorities, the Latin amuletum was derived from amoliri, to avert or repel; but the
greater weight of evidence points to the Arabic verb hamala, meaning “to carry.” The
definitions usually given embody both of these ideas; for amulets, in the ancient medical
conception of the term, were any objects, ornamental or otherwise, worn on the bodies of
men or animals, and believed to neutralize the ill effects of noxious drugs, incantations,
witchcrafts, and all morbific agencies whatever.[4:1] To the Oriental mind amulets
symbolize the bond between a protective power and dependent mundane creatures; they
are prophylactics against the forces of evil, and may be properly characterized as objects
superstitiously worn, whose alleged magical potency is derived from the faith and
imagination of the wearer.[4:2]
The use of amulets has been attributed to religious sentimentality or religiosity. The latter
word has been defined as “an excessive susceptibility to the religious sentiments,
especially wonder, awe, and reverence, unaccompanied by any correspondent loyalty to
divine law in daily life.”[4:3]