מכתב: ENA NS I.14

תיאור

Letter from Abū Manṣūr to his father Yaʿaqov. In Judaeo-Arabic. He complains about his terrible misfortunes this year ("everything that I had is buried," perhaps meaning "I lost everything"). "I have reached a point in my distress that no one else has ever reached... what I really need is monitor lizard oil (dahn al-waral) to anoint myself... pay whatever it takes... and make sure to get it when the sun is in Aries, because otherwise it will not help me... after that time, the oil solidifies and cannot be used." The sole reference to monitor lizard oil in al-Rāzī's Al-Ḥāwī fī l-Ṭibb is for obtaining an erection. It is still produced and marketed in the 21st century, but mainly as a topical for hemorrhoids. ASE