Page 265 - ירושלים: גיליון רפואי

– as was presumably customary at the time among the Italian monks in his order. When he
reached Jerusalem and was appointed chief pharmacist and physician, it was Fr. Antonio’s task
to treat both his brother monks and the general public, irrespective of religion, sex, and age,
and to be always available to the public. The position could be very burdensome, and there
were liable to be angry complaints and occasional signs of persecution when he did not have
sufficient skill or was thought to have lapsed: In Eastern mentality, recovery was considered to
depend largely on the goodwill of the doctor. However, despite the pressures there was also
great consolation in the spiritual pleasure of relieving suffering and the baptism of infants
and the elderly in their final hours, bringing them into the shelter of the true faith. His work
also enabled him to visit the room of the Last Supper, where he was required to cure a sick
Muslim cleric; usually, any Christian entering the place faced the death penalty. According to
the Venetian priest Bartolomeo Angeli, “The sensible head of the clinic tried his best to evade
this task, both because he understood how difficult it was to cure the disease, and because
he realized that it would place his life in jeopardy. In fact, had the patient died under his care,
Menzani would have been accused of his death. Nevertheless, he could not evade their request
in any way and he had to visit the man on his sickbed. Fortunately, he managed to restore the
man’s health.”

Fr. Antonio is famous for setting an example to both believers and non-believers by his
unceasing work in the field of medicine. He expanded the monastery’s infirmary, developed the
pharmacy beyond recognition, and stocked it with a huge range of ingredients and medicines.
He loved the pharmacy and spent all his time in it, concocting substances or ordering materials
or equipment. He made its work methods more efficient, and turned it into a famous and much-
appreciated institution thanks to the Jerusalem Balsam he developed. For twenty-four years,
he worked on perfecting the Jerusalem Balsam, and when he finally succeeded – using four
different ingredients, some of which were unknown to pharmacists of the time – it became
renowned for the treatment of a variety of different ailments and symptoms, from wounds to
stomach aches, and was even believed to prevent the plague. It is easy to understand how the
treatment gained such rapid popularity, in light of the ineffectiveness of previous medicines; it
is difficult to know if it did in fact have any medical value. Fr. Antonio Menzani passed away at
his place of work in 1729; the pharmacy continued functioning until its closure at the beginning
of the twentieth century, and Jerusalem Balsam is no longer obtainable.

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