ought to
resemble the human body, was credited with human and superhuman powers.
Josephus mentions {147b} a plant 'not easily caught, which slips away
from them that wish to gather it, and never stands still' till certain
repulsive rites are performed. These rites cannot well be reported here,
but they are quite familiar to Red Indian and to Bushman magic. Another
way to dig the plant spoken of by Josephus is by aid of the dog, as in
the German superstition quoted from Grimm. AElian also recommends the
use of the dog to pluck the herb aglaophotis, which shines at night.
{147c} When the dog has dragged up the root, and died of terror, his
body is to be buried on the spot with religious honours and secret sacred
rites.

So much for mandragora, which, like the healing potato, has to be
acquired stealthily and with peril. Now let us examine the Homeric herb
moly. The plant is thus introduced by Homer: In the tenth book of the
'Odyssey,' Circe has turned Odysseus's men into swine. He sets forth to
rescue them, trusting only to his sword. The god Hermes meets him, and
offers him 'a charmed herb,' 'this herb of grace' ([Greek]) whereby he
may subdue the magic wiles of Circe.

The plant is described by Homer with some minuteness. 'It was black at
the root, but the flower was like to milk. "Moly," the gods call it, but
it is hard for mortal men to dig, howbeit with the gods all things are
possible.' The etymologies given of 'moly' are almost as numerous as the
etymologists. One derivation, from the old 'Turanian' tongue of Accadia,
will be examined later. The Scholiast offers the derivation '[Greek], to
make charms of no avail'; but this is exactly like Professor Blackie's
etymological discovery that Erinys is derived from [Greek]: 'he might as
well derive critic from criticise.' {148} The Scholiast adds that moly
caused death to the person who dragged it out of the ground. This
identification of moly with mandrake is probably based on Homer's remark
that moly is 'hard to dig.' The black root and white flower of moly are
quite unlike the yellow flower and white fleshy root ascribed by Pliny to
mandrake. Only confusion is caused by regarding the two magical herbs as
identical.

But why are any herbs or roots magical? While some scholars, like De
Gubernatis, seek an explanation in supposed myths about clouds and stars,
it is enough for our purpose to observe that herbs really have medicinal
properties, and tha