First off, he bought a few pearls and finely ground them. He then mixed that with sugar from rosehips and gave it to someone weakened after the illness of the pestilence. According to Christofer, this remedy returned strength. The ill man’s strength really did return, just as strength returned to other surviving patients. The role of the ground pearl in the matter remained unexplained for Arseny. All Arseny could say with certainty was that the pearl had not harmed the patient.
Arseny also bought a marvelous emerald stone, the sort brought from Britain. Those who often look at emeralds, Christofer had said, will strengthen their vision. Ground emerald that is dissolved in water helps treat lethal poisons. Arseny had never once used it as an antidote but looking at an emerald truly was pleasant.
He also tried out oils the likes of which he had never before seen. Arseny applied turpentine oil to heal up fresh wounds and it seemed efficacious to him. For joint pain, he rubbed the black oil petroleum on bothersome places. Patients felt better from Arseny’s touch. When all was said and done, it did not matter to them what oil Arseny rubbed in. It was important to them that it was Arseny himself who did it because when they rubbed on the petroleum themselves, the curative effect seemed considerably weaker. They did not, however, deny the positive effect of the petroleum.
Arseny was content after trying out remedies previously unavailable to him. It cannot be said he completely lost faith in them, if only because he had faith in Christofer. Arseny, though, took into consideration the fact that even Christofer formed opinions of many medicines without personal experience. This enabled him to subject them to testing and reach his own opinions. Over all, Arseny felt ever more strongly about his long-time supposition that, when all is said and done, medicines are of secondary significance. The primary role belongs to the physician and his doctoring power.
Meanwhile, the short northern summer was already coming to an end. The evening coziness of stoves and the light of splinter lamps had returned. There were even frosts at night. Arseny would stay up late at Silvester and Kseniya’s, reading Christofer’s manuscripts to them.
Vasily the Great sayde: virtue that is in old age is not virtue, but infirmitie in acting on luste of the flesh. Alexander, upon seeing a certain person with his same name, a horrifying creature, sayde, Yonge man, change either thy name or thy morals. When a certain bald man insulted Diogenes, Diogenes said: I will not render insult for insult but I will praise the hairs of your head because they ran off after seeing its madness. Some young man at the market, proud, said he was wise because he had conversed with many wise people, but Democritus answered him: Well, I have conversed with many rich people but that did not make me rich. When Diogenes was asked how to live with the truth, he answered: Do as with fyre: do not go so exceadyngely close that it will burn, but do not go so farre away or the colde will reache you.
Meanwhile, cold weather was already close. The wind was tearing leaves from Belozersk’s trees and flinging them into the lake. Gusts of wind were growing ever stronger, and the leaves’ connection to the branches was already extremely tenuous. Leaves that had flown off into the river seemed to resemble flocks of small birds that were hurrying north for some reason.
Arseny continued treating patients, but not all were residents of Belozersk. Drawn by news of the Doctor, people from the entire Belozersk princedom now streamed to Arseny. At first he seated them in an entry room. When there was not enough space in the entry room, he ordered that several benches be placed in the yard. When the visitors no longer fit there, either, Arseny began limiting times he would see patients. He only took those who managed to find space on the benches. The rest, however, did not leave. They wandered the yard and patiently awaited the Doctor’s kindness. They knew he would examine them anyway if they waited it out.
There were many patients, and they were very highly varied.
People with broken bones were brought to him. Arseny aligned their bones and stretched pieces of linen and a medicinal ointment over the injured places, to cover them. This was the flower mallow, which had been boiled in wine from another land. He gave them blackthorn juice with ground cornflowers to drink. These ailing people patiently wore their dressings and drank the remedy every morning for eight days. And their bones knitted together.
People burned in fires and scalded by boiling water were brought to him. Arseny applied linen with ground cabbage and egg white to the burns. He sprinkled the burns with cinnabar when changing the dressings. He gave an infusion of the magical herb known as ephiliya to those with burns. Their burns began to heal over and scar after a short time.
People tormented by worms came. For them, he prescribed wild radish ground with pure honey. He prescribed almond nuts. And young nettles, boiled in vinegar with salt. If a person still had any sort of worms after all this, Arseny gave him a pinch of vitriol on a full stomach, so the worms would leave for good. There were many worms in the Middle Ages.
Arseny also treated those suffering from hemorrhoids. He ordered them to dust the painful places with ground dill seed or antimony. People with itchy chests came to him. He prescribed that they obtain herring, an ocean fish, from merchants—it was well known that herring goes around in schools and its eyes glow in the dark. The herring should be cut lengthwise and applied to the chest. People with sore gums came to Arseny, too. He advised them to firm up their gums by frequently holding an almond in the mouth.
As before, Silvester came for Arseny and brought him to his mother. Knowing that Arseny was busy with patients all day, the boy would appear late in the evening. Without noticing it himself, Arseny would begin hurrying toward the end of the day, doing all he could to be free before Silvester’s arrival. Arseny’s patients noticed this and tried not to come in the evening. Arseny finally noticed this himself, too. His heart sank the day he made this discovery. He was silent until sunset and did not take out the manuscripts to read that evening.
Arseny began wavering when Silvester arrived. The boy looked at him, wordless, and Arseny could not withstand that look.
Shall we go, O Silvester?
They did not speak along the way. The boy could feel some changes had taken place within Arseny’s soul but was afraid to ask. Kseniya already had everything on the table. Arseny did not want to eat; he ate so as not to offend Kseniya. He did not have any manuscripts from Christofer with him and the conversation did not go well. When Silvester disappeared into the entry room, Arseny said:
I should not be here, O Kseniya.
Kseniya’s expression did not change. She had been waiting for those words and was prepared for them. Those words inflicted suffering on her.
I know that you are faithful to Ustina, said Kseniya, and I love you for that. But I am not seeking Ustina’s place.
It makes me joyful and happy to be with you, said Arseny. But Ustina is my eternal bride.
If it makes you joyful to be with me, be my brother. Let us live together under a perfect love. Just to be with you, O Arseny.