Book XXVI…

Book XXVI

A CONTINUATION OF THE REMEDIES DERIVED FROM PLANTS, CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO PARTICULAR DISEASES.

CHAP. 1. (1.)—NEW FORMS OF DISEASE.

The face of man has recently been sensible of new forms of disease, unknown[1010] in ancient times, not only to Italy, but to almost the whole of Europe. Still, however, they have not as yet extended to the whole of Italy, nor have they made any very great inroads in Illyricum, Gaul, or Spain, or indeed any other parts, to so great an extent as in Rome and its environs. Though unattended with pain, and not dangerous to life, these diseases are of so loathsome a nature, that any form of death would be preferable to them.

CHAP. 2.—THE NATURE OF LICHEN.

The most insupportable of all these diseases is the one which, after its Greek appellation, is known to us as “lichen.”[1010] In consequence, however, of its generally making its first appearance at the chin, the Latins, by way of joke, originally—so prone are mankind to make a jest of the misfortunes of others—gave it the name of “mentagra;”[1011] an appellation which has since become established in general use. In many cases, however, this disease spreads over the interior of the mouth, and takes possession of the whole face, with the sole exception of the eyes; after which, it passes downwards to the neck, breast, and hands, covering them with foul furfuraceous eruptions.

CHAP. 3.—AT WHAT PERIOD LICHEN FIRST MADE ITS APPEARANCE IN ITALY.

This curse was unknown to the ancients,[1012] and in the times of our fathers even, having first entered Italy in the middle of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius[1013] Claudius Cæsar; where it was introduced from Asia,[1014] in which country it had lately made[1015] its appearance, by a member of the equestrian order at Rome, a native of Perusium, secretary to the quæstor. The disease, however, did not attack either females or slaves,[1016] nor yet the lower orders, or, indeed, the middle classes, but only the nobles, being communicated even by the momentary contact requisite for the act of salutation.[1017] Many of those who persevered in undergoing a course of remedial treatment, though cured of the disease, retained scars upon the body more hideous even than the malady itself; it being treated with cauteries, as it was certain to break out afresh, unless means were adopted for burning it out of the body by cauterizing to the very bone.

Upon this occasion several physicians repaired to Rome from Egypt, that fruitful parent of maladies of this nature, men who devoted themselves solely to this branch of medical practice; and very considerable were the profits they made. At all events, it is a well-known fact that Manilius Cornutus, a personage of prætorian rank, and legatus of the province of Aquitania, expended no less a sum than two hundred thousand[1018] sesterces upon his cure.

It is much more frequently, on the other hand, that we hear of new forms of diseases attacking the lower orders; a singular fact, and one quite unequalled for the marvellous phænomena which sometimes attend these outbreaks. Thus, for instance, we find an epidemic suddenly making its appearance in a certain country, and then confining itself, as though it had made its election so to do, to certain parts of the body, certain ages, and even certain pursuits in life. In the same way, too, while one class of diseases attacks the young, another confines itself to adults; while one malady extends itself only to the higher classes, another is felt exclusively by the poor.

CHAP. 4.—CARBUNCLE.

We find it stated in the Annals, that it was in the censorship[1019] of L. Paulus and Q. Marcius that carbuncle[1020] was first introduced into Italy, a malady which till then had confined itself solely to the province of Gallia Narbonensis. In the year in which I am writing these lines, two persons of consular rank have died of this disease, Julius Rufus[1021] and Q. Lecanius Bassus;[1022] the former in consequence of an incision unskilfully made by his medical attendants, the latter through a wound upon the thumb of the left hand by pricking a carbuncle with a needle, a wound so small originally as to be hardly perceptible.

This disease makes its appearance in the more hidden[1023] parts of the human body, and mostly beneath the tongue. It originally has the form of a hard, red, pimple, with a blackish head mostly, though sometimes of a livid colour. It produces tension of the flesh, but unattended with swelling, pain, or any itching sensation; indeed, the only symptom that accompanies it is a confirmed drowsiness, which overpowers the patient, and carries him off in the course of three days. Sometimes, however, it is accompanied with shuddering, and small pustules about the sore; and occasionally, though but rarely, with fever. When these symptoms extend to the fauces and œsophagus, death ensues with the greatest rapidity.

CHAP. 5.—ELEPHANTIASIS.

We have already[1024] stated that elephantiasis[1025] was unknown in Italy before the time of Pompeius Magnus. This malady, too, like those already mentioned, mostly makes its first appearance in the face. In its primary form it bears a considerable resemblance to a small lentil upon the nose; the skin gradually dries up all over the body, is marked with spots of various colours, and presents an unequal surface, being thick in one place, thin in another, indurated every here and there, and covered with a sort of rough scab. At a later period, the skin assumes a black hue, and compresses the flesh upon the bones, the fingers and toes becoming swollen.

This disease was originally peculiar to Egypt. Whenever it attacked the kings of that country, it was attended with peculiarly fatal effects to the people, it being the practice to temper their sitting-baths with human blood, for the treatment of the disease. As for Italy, however, its career was very soon cut short: the same was the case, too, with the disease known as “gemursa”[1026] to the ancients, a malady which made its appearance between the toes, and the very name of which is now buried in oblivion.

CHAP. 6.—COLIC.

It is a remarkable fact that some diseases should disappear from among us, while others, again, should continue to prevail, colic[1027] for example. It was only in the reign of Tiberius Cæsar that this malady made its appearance in Italy, the emperor himself being the first to be attacked by it; a circumstance which produced considerable mystification throughout the City, when it read the edict issued by that prince excusing his inattention to public business, on the ground of his being laid up with a disease, the very name of which was till then unknown. To what cause are we to attribute these various diseases, or how is it that we have thus incurred the anger of the gods? Was it deemed too little for man to be exposed to fixed and determinate classes of maladies, already more than three hundred in number, that he must have new forms of disease to alarm him as well? And then, in addition to all these, not less in number are the troubles and misfortunes which man brings upon himself!

The remedies which I am here describing, are those which were universally employed in ancient times, Nature herself, so to say, making up the medicines: indeed, for a long time these were the only medicines employed.

(2.) Hippocrates,[1028] it is well known, was the first to compile a code of medical precepts, a thing which he did with the greatest perspicuity, as his treatises, we find, are replete with information upon the various plants. No less is the information which we gain from the works of Diocles[1029] of Carystus, second only in reputation, as well as date, to Hippocrates. The same, too, with reference to the works of Praxagoras, Chrysippus, and, at a later period, Erasistratus[1030] of Cos. Herophilus[1031] too, though himself the founder of a more refined system of medicine, was extremely profuse of his commendations of the use of simples. At a later period, however, experience, our most efficient instructor in all things, medicine in particular, gradually began to be lost sight of in mere words and verbiage: it being found, in fact, much more agreeable to sit in schools, and to listen to the talk of a professor, than to go a simpling in the deserts, and to be searching for this plant or that at all the various seasons of the year.

CHAP. 7. (3.)—THE NEW SYSTEM OF MEDICINE: ASCLEPIADES THE PHYSICIAN.

Still, however, the ancient theories remained unshaken, based as they were upon the still existing grounds of universally acknowledged experience; until, in the time of Pompeius Magnus, Asclepiades,[1032] a professor of rhetoric, who considered himself not sufficiently repaid by that pursuit, and whose readiness and sagacity rendered him better adapted for any other than forensic practice, suddenly turned his attention to the medical art. Having never practised medicine, and being totally unacquainted with the nature of remedies—a knowledge only to be acquired by personal examination and actual experience—as a matter of course, he was obliged to renounce all previously-established theories, and to trust rather to his flowing periods and his well-studied discourses, for gaining an influence upon the minds of his audience.

Reducing the whole art of medicine to an estimation solely of primary causes, he made it nothing but a merely conjectural art, and established it as his creed, that there are five great principles of treatment for all diseases in common; diet, use or non-use of wine, frictions, exercise on foot, and exercise[1033] in a carriage or on horseback. As every one perceived that each of these methods of treatment lay quite within his own reach, all, of course, with the greatest readiness gave their assent, willing as they were to believe that to be true which was so easy of acquisition; and hence it was that he attracted nearly all the world about him, as though he had been sent among mankind on a special mission from heaven.

CHAP. 8.—THE CHANGES EFFECTED BY ASCLEPIADES IN THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE.

In addition to this, he had a wonderful tact in gaining the full confidence of his patients: sometimes he would make them a promise of wine, and then seize the opportune moment for administering it, while on other occasions, again, he would prescribe cold water: indeed, as Herophilus, among the ancients, had been the first to enquire into the primary causes of disease, and Cleophantus had brought into notice the treatment of diseases by wine, so did Asclepiades, as we learn from M. Varro, prefer to be indebted for his surname and repute to the extensive use made by him of cold water as a remedy. He employed also various other soothing remedies for his patients; thus, for instance, it was he that introduced swinging beds, the motion of which might either lull the malady, or induce sleep, as deemed desirable. It was he, too, that brought baths into such general use,—a method of treatment that was adopted with the greatest avidity—in addition to numerous other modes of treatment of a pleasant and soothing nature. By these means he acquired a great professional reputation, and a no less extended fame; which was very considerably enhanced by the following incident: meeting the funeral procession of a person unknown to him, he ordered the body to be removed from the funeral pile[1034] and carried home, and was thus the means of saving his life. This circumstance I am the more desirous to mention, that it may not be imagined that it was on slight grounds only that so extensive a revolution was effected in the medical art.

There is, however, one thing, and one thing only, at which we have any ground for indignation,—the fact, that a single individual, and he belonging to the most frivolous nation[1035] in the world, a man born in utter indigence, should all on a sudden, and that, too, for the sole purpose of increasing his income, give a new code of medical laws to mankind; laws, however, be it remembered, which have been annulled by numerous authorities since his day. The success of Asclepiades was considerably promoted by many of the usages of ancient medicine, repulsive in their nature, and attended with far too much anxiety: thus, for instance, it was the practice to cover up the patient with vast numbers of clothes, and to adopt every possible method of promoting the perspiration; to order the body to be roasted before a fire; or else to be continually sending the patient on a search for sunshine, a thing hardly to be found in a showery climate like that of this city of ours; or rather, so to say, of the whole of Italy, so prolific[1036] as it is of fogs and rain.[1037] It was to remedy these inconveniences, that he introduced the use of hanging baths,[1038] an invention that was found grateful to invalids in the very highest degree.

In addition to this, he modified the tortures which had hitherto attended the treatment of certain maladies; as in quinzy for instance, the cure of which before his time had been usually effected by the introduction of an instrument[1039] into the throat. He condemned, and with good reason, the indiscriminate use of emetics, which till then had been resorted to in a most extraordinary degree. He disapproved also of the practice of administering internally potions that are naturally injurious to the stomach, a thing that may truthfully be pronounced of the greater part of them. Indeed it will be as well to take an early opportunity of stating what are the medicaments which act beneficially upon the stomach.

CHAP. 9. (4.)—REMARKS IN DISPRAISE OF THE PRACTICES OF MAGIC.

But above all things, it was the follies of magic more particularly that contributed so essentially to his success—follies which had been carried to such a pitch as to destroy all confidence in the remedial virtues of plants. Thus, for instance, it was stoutly maintained that by the agency of the plant æthiopis[1040] rivers and standing waters could be dried up, and that by the very touch[1041] * * * * all bars and doors might be opened: that if the plant achæmenis[1042] were thrown into the ranks of the enemy it would be certain to create a panic and put them to flight: that latace[1043] was given by the Persian kings to their ambassadors, to ensure them an abundant supply of everything wherever they might happen to be: with numerous other reveries of a similar nature. Where, I should like to know, were all these plants, when the Cimbri and Teutones brought upon us the horrors of warfare with their terrific yells? or when Lucullus defeated, with a few legions, so many kings who ruled over the Magi?[1044] Why is it too that the Roman generals have always made it their first care in warfare to make provision for the victualling of their troops? And how was it that at Pharsalia the troops of Cæsar were suffering from famine, if an abundance of everything could have been ensured by the fortunate possession of a single plant? Would it not have been better too for Scipio Æmilianus to have opened the gates of Carthage by touching them with a herb, than to have taken so many years to batter down its bulwarks with his engines of war?

Turning to the present moment, let them, by the agency of the herb meroïs,[1045] dry up the Pomptine[1046] Marshes, if they can, and by these means restore so much territory to the regions of Italy in the neighbourhood of our city. In the works, too, of Democritus, already mentioned,[1047] we find a recipe for the composition of a medicament which will ensure the procreation of issue, both sure to be good and fortunate.—What king of Persia, pray, ever obtained that blessing? It really would be a marvellous fact that human credulity, taking its rise originally in the very soundest of notions, should have ultimately arrived at such a pitch as this, if the mind of man understood, under any circumstances, how to keep within the bounds of moderation; and if the very system of medicine thus introduced by Asclepiades, had not been carried to a greater pitch of extravagance than the follies of magic even, an assertion which I shall prove on a more appropriate occasion.[1048]

Such, however, is the natural constitution of the human mind, that, be the circumstances what they may, commencing with what is necessary it speedily arrives at the point of launching out in excess.

We will now resume our account of the medicinal properties of the plants mentioned in the preceding Book, adding to our description such others as the necessities of the case may seem to require.

CHAP. 10.—LICHEN: FIVE REMEDIES.

As to the treatment of lichen, so noisome a disease as it is, we shall here give a number of additional remedies for it, gathered from all quarters, although those already described are by no means few in number. For the cure of lichen plantago is used, pounded, cinquefoil also, root of albucus[1049] in combination with vinegar, the young shoots of the fig-tree boiled in vinegar, or roots of marsh-mallow boiled down to one-fourth with glue and vinegar. The sores are rubbed also with pumice, and then fomented with root of rumex[1050] bruised in vinegar, or with scum of viscus[1051] kneaded up with lime. A decoction, too, of tithymalos[1052] with resin is highly esteemed for the same purpose.

But to all these remedies the plant known as “lichen,” from its efficacy as a cure, is held in preference. It is found growing among rocks, and has a single broad leaf[1053] near the root, and a single long stem, with small leaves hanging from it. This plant has the property also of effacing brand marks, being beaten up with honey for that purpose. There is another kind[1054] of lichen also, which adheres entirely to rocks, like moss, and which is equally used as a topical application. The juice of it, dropt into wounds, or applied to abscesses, has the property of arresting hæmorrhage: mixed with honey, it is curative of jaundice, the face and tongue being rubbed with it. Under this mode of treatment, the patient is recommended to wash in salt water, to anoint himself with oil of almonds, and to abstain from garden vegetables. For the cure of lichen, root of thapsia[1055] is also used, bruised in honey.

CHAP. 11.—QUINZY.

For the treatment of quinzy, we find argemonia[1056] recommended, in wine; a decoction of hyssop, boiled with figs, used as a gargle; peucedanum,[1057] with an equal proportion of sea-calf’s rennet; proserpinaca,[1058] beaten up in the pickle of the mæna[1059] and oil, or else placed beneath the tongue; as also juice of cinquefoil, taken in doses of three cyathi. Used as a gargle, juice of cinquefoil is good for the cure of all affections of the fauces: verbascum,[1060] too, taken in wine, is particularly useful for diseases of the tonsillary glands.

CHAP. 12. (5.)—SCROFULA.

For the cure of scrofula[1061] plantago is employed, chelidonia[1062] mixed with honey and axle-grease, cinquefoil, and root of persolata[1063]—this last being applied topically, and covered with the leaf of the plant—artemisia,[1064] also, and an infusion of the root of mandragora[1065] in water. The large-leaved sideritis,[1066] cleft by the left hand with a nail, is worn attached as an amulet: but after the cure has been effected, due care must be taken to preserve the plant, in order that it may not be set again, to promote the wicked designs of the herbalists and so cause the disease to break out afresh; as sometimes happens in the cases already mentioned,[1067] and others which I find stated, in reference to persons cured by the agency of artemisia or plantago.

Damasonion,[1068] also known as alcea, is gathered at the summer solstice, and applied with rain-water, the leaves being beaten up, or the root pounded, with axle-grease, so as to admit, when applied, of being covered with a leaf of the plant. The same plan is adopted also for the cure of all pains in the neck, and tumours on all parts of the body.

CHAP. 13.—THE PLANT CALLED BELLIS: TWO REMEDIES.

Bellis[1069] is the name of a plant that grows in the fields, with a white flower somewhat inclining to red; if this is applied with artemisia,[1070] it is said, the remedy is still more efficacious.

CHAP. 14.—THE CONDURDUM.

The condurdum,[1071] too, is a plant with a red blossom, which flowers at the summer solstice. Suspended from the neck, it arrests scrofula, they say: the same being the case also with vervain, in combination with plantago. For the cure of all diseases of the fingers, hangnails in particular, cinquefoil is used.

CHAP. 15.—COUGH.

Of all diseases of the chest, cough is the one that is the most oppressive. For the cure of this malady, root of panaces[1072] in sweet wine is used, and in cases where it is attended with spitting of blood, juice of henbane. Henbane, too, used as a fumigation, is good for cough; and the same with scordotis,[1073] mixed with nasturtium and dry resin, beaten up with honey: employed by itself also, scordotis facilitates expectoration, a property which is equally possessed by the greater centaury, even where the patient is troubled with spitting of blood; for which last juice of plantago is very beneficial. Betony, taken in doses of three oboli in water, is useful for purulent or bloody expectorations: root also of persolata,[1074] in doses of one drachma, taken with eleven pine-nuts; and juice of peucedanum.[1075]

For pains in the chest, acoron[1076] is remarkably useful; hence it is that it is so much used an ingredient in antidotes. For cough, daucus[1077] and the plant scythice[1078] are much employed, this last being good, in fact, for all affections of the chest, coughs, and purulent expectorations, taken in doses of three oboli, with the same proportion of raisin wine. The verbascum[1079] too, with a flower like gold, is similarly employed.

(6.) This last-named plant is so remarkably energetic, that an infusion of it, administered in their drink, will relieve beasts of burden, not only when troubled with cough, but when broken-winded even—a property which I find attributed to gentian also. Root of cacalia[1080] chewed, or steeped in wine, is good for cough as well as all affections of the throat. Five sprigs of hyssop, with two of rue and three figs, act detergently upon the thoracic organs and allay cough.

CHAP. 16.—BECHION, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ARCION, CHAMÆLEUCE OR TUSSILAGO: THREE REMEDIES.

Bechion[1081] is known also as tussilago: there are two kinds of it. Wherever it is found growing wild, it is generally thought that there is a spring of water below, and it is looked upon as a sure sign that such is the case, by persons in search[1082] of water. The leaves are somewhat larger than those of ivy, and are some five or seven in number, of a whitish hue beneath, and a pale green on the upper surface. The plant is destitute of stem, blossom, and seed, and the root is very diminutive. Some persons are of opinion that this bechion is identical with the arcion, known also as the “chamæleuce.”[1083] The smoke[1084] of this plant in a dry state, inhaled by the aid of a reed and swallowed, is curative, they say, of chronic cough; it is necessary, however, at each inhalation to take a draught of raisin wine.

CHAP. 17.—THE BECHION, KNOWN ALSO AS SALVIA: FOUR REMEDIES.

There is another bechion[1085] also, known to some persons as “salvia,”[1086] and bearing a strong resemblance to verbascum. This plant is triturated, and the juice strained off and taken warm for cough and for pains in the side: it is considered very beneficial also for the stings of scorpions and sea-dragons.[1087] It is a good plan, too, to rub the body with this juice, mixed with oil, as a preservative against the stings of serpents. A bunch of hyssop is sometimes boiled down with a quarter of a pound of honey, for the cure of cough.

CHAP. 18. (7.)—AFFECTIONS OF THE SIDE, CHEST, AND STOMACH.

For the cure of pains in the side and chest, verbascum[1088] is used in water, with rue; powdered betony is also taken in warm water. Juice of scordotis[1089] is used as a stomachic, centaury also, gentian taken in water, and plantago, either eaten with the food, or mixed with lentils or a pottage of alica.[1090] Betony, which is in general prejudicial to the stomach, is remedial for some stomachic affections, taken in drink or chewed, the leaves being used for the purpose. In a similar manner too, aristolochia[1091] is taken in drink, or dried agaric is chewed, a draught of undiluted wine being taken every now and then. Nymphæa heraclia[1092] is also applied topically in these cases, and juice of peucedanum.[1093] For burning pains in the stomach psyllion[1094] is applied, or else cotyledon[1095] beaten up with polenta, or aizoüm.[1096]

CHAP. 19.—MOLON OR SYRON. AMOMUM.

Molon[1097] is a plant with a striated stem, a soft diminutive leaf, and a root four fingers in length, at the extremity of which there is a head like that of garlic; by some persons it is known as “syron.” Taken in wine, it is curative of affections of the stomach, and of hardness of breathing. For similar purposes the greater centaury is used, in an electuary; juice also of plantago, or else the plant itself, eaten with the food; pounded betony, in the proportion of one pound to half an ounce of Attic honey, taken daily in warm water; and aristolochia[1098] or agaric, taken in doses of three oboli, in warm water or asses’ milk.

For hardness of breathing an infusion of cissanthemos[1099] is taken in drink, and for the same complaint, as also for asthma, hyssop. For pains in the liver, chest, and side, if unattended with fever, juice of peucedanum is used. For spitting of blood agaric is employed, in doses of one victoriatus,[1100] bruised and administered in five cyathi of honied wine: amomum,[1101] too, is equally useful for that purpose. For liver diseases in particular, teucria[1102] is taken fresh, in doses of four drachmæ to one hemina of oxycrate; or else betony, in the proportion of one drachma to three cyathi of warm water. For diseases of the heart, betony is recommended, in doses of one drachma to two cyathi of cold water. Juice of cinquefoil is remedial for diseases of the liver and lungs, and for spitting of blood as well as all internal affections of the blood. The two varieties of anagallis[1103] are wonderfully efficacious for liver complaints. Patients who eat the plant called “capnos”[1104] discharge the bile by urine. Acoron[1105] is also remedial for diseases of the liver, and daucus[1106] is useful for the thorax and the pectoral organs.

CHAP. 20.—THE EPHEDRA OR ANABASIS: THREE REMEDIES.

The ephedra,[1107] by some persons called “anabasis,” mostly grows in localities exposed to the wind. It climbs the trunks of trees, and hangs down from the branches, is destitute of leaves, but has numerous suckers, jointed like a bulrush; the root is of a pale colour. This plant is given, pounded, in astringent red wine, for cough, asthma, and gripings in the bowels. It is administered also in the form of a pottage, to which some wine should be added. For these complaints, gentian is also used, being steeped in water the day before, and then pounded and given in doses of one denarius, in three cyathi of wine.

CHAP. 21.—GEUM: THREE REMEDIES.

Geum[1108] is a plant with thin, diminutive roots, black, and aromatic.[1109] It is curative not only of pains in the chest and sides, but is useful also for dispelling crudities, owing to its agreeable flavour. Vervain, too, is good for all affections of the viscera, and for diseases of the sides, lungs, liver, and thorax. But one invaluable remedy for diseases of the lungs, and for cases of incipient phthisis, is the root of consiligo, a plant only very recently discovered, as already[1110] mentioned. It is a most efficient remedy also for pulmonary diseases in swine and cattle, even though only passed through the ear of the animal. When used, it should be taken in water, and kept for a considerable time in the mouth, beneath the tongue. Whether the part of this plant which grows above ground is useful or not for any purpose, is at present unknown. Plantago, eaten with the food, betony taken in drink, and agaric taken in the way prescribed for cough, are useful, all of them, for diseases of the kidneys.

CHAP. 22.—TRIPOLIUM: THREE REMEDIES.

Tripolium[1111] is a plant found growing upon cliffs on the sea-shore against which the waves break, springing up, so to say, neither upon dry land nor in the sea. The leaves are like those of isatis,[1112] only thicker; the stem is a palm in height and divided at the extremity, and the root white, thick, and odoriferous, with a warm flavour; it is recommended for diseases of the liver, boiled with spelt. This plant is thought by some to be identical with polium, of which we have already spoken in the appropriate place.[1113]

CHAP. 23.—THE GROMPHÆNA.

Gromphæna[1114] is the name of a plant, the stem of which is covered with leaves of a green and rose colour, arranged alternately. The leaves of it are administered in oxycrate, in cases of spitting of blood.

CHAP. 24.—THE MALUNDRUM: TWO REMEDIES.

For diseases of the liver the malundrum[1115] is prescribed, a plant which grows in meadows and corn-fields, with a white odoriferous flower. The stem is diminutive, and is beaten up in old wine.

CHAP. 25.—CHALCETUM; TWO REMEDIES. MOLEMONIUM; ONE REMEDY.

Chalcetum[1116] also is the name of a plant, which is pounded with grape husks and applied topically, for the cure of liver complaints. Root of betony acts as a gentle emetic, taken in the same way as hellebore, in doses of four drachmæ in raisin wine or honied wine. Hyssop, too, is beaten up with honey for similar purposes; but it is more efficacious if nasturtium or irio[1117] is taken first.

Molemonium[1118] is used as an emetic, being taken in doses of one denarius; the same, too, with sillybum.[1119] Both of these plants have a milky juice, which thickens like gum, and is taken with honey in the proportions above-mentioned, being particularly good for carrying off bile. On the other hand, vomiting is arrested by the use of wild cummin or powdered betony, taken in water. Crudities and distaste for food are dispelled, and the digestion promoted by employing daucus,[1120] powdered betony[1121] taken in hydromel, or else plantago boiled like greens. Hiccup is arrested by taking hemionium[1122] or aristolochia,[1123] and asthma by the use of clymenus.[1124] For pleurisy and peripneumony, the greater centaury is used, or else hyssop, taken in drink. Juice of peucedanum[1125] is also good for pleurisy.

CHAP. 26.—HALUS OR COTONEA: FIVE REMEDIES.

The plant halus,[1126] by the people of Gaul called “sil,” and by the Veneti “cotonea,” is curative of pains in the side, affections of the kidneys, ruptures, and convulsions. It resembles cunila bubula[1127] in appearance, and the tops of it are like those of thyme. It is of a sweet flavour, and allays thirst; the roots of it are sometimes white, sometimes black.

CHAP. 27.—THE CHAMÆROPS: ONE REMEDY. THE STŒCHAS: ONE REMEDY.

The chamærops,[1128] also, is similarly efficacious for pains in the side. It is a plant with leaves like those of myrtle, arranged in pairs around the stem, the heads of it resembling those of the Greek rose: it is taken in wine. Agaric, administered in drink, in the same manner[1129] as for cough, assuages sciatica and pains in the vertebræ: the same, too, with powdered stœchas[1130] or betony, taken in hydromel.

CHAP. 28. (8.)—REMEDIES FOR DISEASES OF THE BELLY.

But it is the belly, for the gratification of which the greater part of mankind exist, that causes the most suffering to man. Thus, for instance, at one time it will not allow the aliments to pass, while at another it is unable to retain them. Sometimes, again, it either cannot receive the food, or, if it can, cannot digest it; indeed, such are the excesses practised at the present day, that it is through his aliment, more than anything else, that man hastens his end. This receptacle,[1131] more troublesome to us than any other part of the body, is ever craving, like some importunate creditor, and makes its calls repeatedly in the day. It is for its sake, more particularly, that avarice is so insatiate, for its sake that luxury is so refined,[1132] for its sake that men voyage to the shores even of the Phasis, for its sake that the very depths of the ocean are ransacked. And yet, with all this, no one ever gives a thought how abject is the condition of this part of our body, how disgusting the results of its action upon what it has received! No wonder then, that the belly should have to be indebted to the aid of medicine in the very highest degree!

Scordotis,[1133] fresh-gathered and beaten up, in doses of one drachma, with wine, arrests flux of the bowels; an effect equally produced by a decoction of it taken in drink. Polemonia,[1134] too, is given in wine for dysentery, or two fingers’ length of root of verbascum,[1135] in water; seed of nymphæa heraclia,[1136] in wine; the upper root of xiphion,[1137] in doses of one drachma, in vinegar; seed of plantago, beaten, up in wine; plantago itself boiled in vinegar, or else a pottage of alica[1138] mixed with the juice of the plant; plantago boiled with lentils; plantago dried and powdered, and sprinkled in drink, with parched poppies pounded; juice of plantago, used as an injection, or taken in drink; or betony taken in wine heated with a red-hot iron. For cœliac affections, betony is taken in astringent wine, or iberis is applied topically, as already[1139] stated. For tenesmus, root of nymphæa heraclia is taken in wine, or else psyllion[1140] in water, or a decoction of root of acoron.[1141] Juice of aizoüm[1142] arrests diarrhœa and dysentery, and expels round tape-worm. Root of symphytum,[1143] taken in wine, arrests diarrhœa and dysentery, and daucus[1144] has a similar effect. Leaves of aizoüm[1145] beaten up in wine, and dried alcea[1146] powdered and taken in wine, are curative of griping pains in the bowels.

CHAP. 29.—THE ASTRAGALUS: SIX REMEDIES.

Astragalus[1147] is the name of a plant which has long leaves, with numerous incisions, and running aslant near the root. The stems are three or four in number, and covered with leaves: the flower is like that of the hyacinth, and the roots are red, hairy, matted, and remarkably hard. It grows on stony localities, equally exposed to the sun and to falls of snow, those in the vicinity of Pheneus in Arcadia, for instance. Its properties are highly astringent; the root of it, taken in wine, arrests looseness of the bowels, having the additional effect of throwing downward the aqueous humours, and so acting as a diuretic; a property, in fact, which, belongs to most substances which act astringently upon the bowels.

Bruised in red[1148] wine, this plant is curative of dysentery; it is only bruised, however, with the greatest difficulty. It is extremely useful, also, as a fomentation for gum-boils. The end of autumn is the time for gathering it, after the leaves are off; it being then left to dry in the shade.

CHAP. 30.—LADANUM: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.

Diarrhœa may be also arrested by the use of either kind of ladanum.[1149] The kind which, is found in corn-fields is pounded for this purpose, and then passed through a sieve, being taken either in hydromel, or in wine of the highest quality. “Ledon” is the name of the plant from which ladanum[1150] is obtained in Cyprus, it being found adhering to the beard of the goats there; the most esteemed, however, is that of Arabia.[1151] At the present day, it is prepared in Syria and Africa also, being known as “toxicum,” from the circumstance that in gathering it, they pass over the plant a bow,[1152] with the string stretched, and covered with wool, to which the dewlike flocks of ladanum adhere. We have described it at further length, when treating of the perfumes.[1153]

This substance has a very powerful odour, and is hard in the extreme; for, in fact, there is a considerable quantity of earth adhering to it: it is most esteemed when in a pure state, aromatic, soft, green, and resinous. It is of an emollient, desiccative, and ripening nature, and acts as a narcotic: it prevents the hair from falling off, and preserves its dark colour. In combination with hydromel or oil of roses, it is used as an injection for the ears; with the addition of salt, it is employed for the cure of furfuraceous eruptions of the skin, and for running ulcers. Taken with storax, it is good for chronic cough; it is also extremely efficacious as a carminative.

CHAP. 31.—CHONDRIS OR PSEUDODICTAMNON: ONE REMEDY. HYPOCISTHIS OR OROBETHRON; TWO VARIETIES: EIGHT REMEDIES.

Chondris, too, or pseudodictamnon,[1154] acts astringently on the bowels. Hypocisthis,[1155] by some known also as “orobethron,” is similar to an unripe pomegranate in appearance; it grows, as already stated,[1156] beneath the cisthus, whence its name. Dried in the shade, and taken in astringent, red wine, these plants arrest diarrhœa—for there are two kinds of hypocisthis, it must be remembered, the white and the red. It is the juice of the plant that is used, being of an astringent, desiccative, nature: that of the red kind, however, is the best for fluxes of the stomach. Taken in drink, in doses of three oboli, with amylum,[1157] it arrests spitting of blood; and, employed either as a potion or as an injection, it is useful for dysentery. Vervain, too, is good for similar complaints, either taken in water, or, when there are no symptoms of fever, in Aminean[1158] wine, the proportion being five spoonfuls to three cyathi of wine.

CHAP. 32.—LAVER OR SION: TWO REMEDIES.

Laver,[1159] too, a plant which grows in streams, preserved and boiled, is curative of griping pains in the bowels.

CHAP. 33.—POTAMOGITON: EIGHT REMEDIES. THE STATICE: THREE REMEDIES.

Potamogiton,[1160] too, taken in wine, is useful for dysentery and cœliac affections: it is a plant similar to beet in the leaves, but smaller and more hairy, and rising but little above the surface of the water. It is the leaves that are used, being of a refreshing, astringent nature, and particularly good for diseases of the legs, and, with honey or vinegar, for corrosive ulcers.

Castor has given a different description of this plant. According to him, it has a smaller leaf,[1161] like horse-hair,[1162] with a long, smooth, stem, and grows in watery localities. With the root of it he used to treat scrofulous sores and indurations. Potamogiton neutralizes the effects of the bite of the crocodile; hence it is that those who go in pursuit of that animal, are in the habit of carrying it about them.

Achillea[1163] also arrests looseness of the bowels; an effect equally produced by the statice,[1164] a plant with seven heads, like those of the rose, upon as many stems.

CHAP. 34.—THE CERATIA: TWO REMEDIES. LEONTOPODION, LEUCEORON, DORIPETRON, OR THORYBETHRON. LAGOPUS: THREE REMEDIES.

The ceratia[1165] is a plant with a single[1166] leaf, and a large knotted root: taken with the food, it is curative of coeliac affections and dysentery.

Leontopodion,[1167] a plant known also as “leuceoron,” “doripetron,” or “thorybethron,” has a root which acts astringently upon the bowels and carries off bile, being taken in doses of two denarii in hydromel. It grows in champaign localities with a poor soil: the seed, taken in drink, produces night-mare,[1168] it is said, in the sleep.

Lagopus[1169] arrests diarrhœa, taken in wine, or, if there are symptoms of fever, in water. This plant is attached to the groin, for tumours in that part of the body: it grows in cornfields. Many persons recommend, in preference to anything else, for desperate cases of dysentery, a decoction of roots of cinquefoil in milk, or else aristolochia,[1170] in the proportion of one victoriatus[1171] to three cyathi of wine. In the case of the preparations above-mentioned, which are recommended to be taken warm, it will be the best plan to heat them with a red-hot iron.

On the other hand, again, the juice of the smaller centaury acts as a purgative upon the bowels, and carries off bile, taken, in doses of one drachma, in one hemina of water with a little salt and vinegar. The greater centaury is curative of griping pains in the bowels. Betony, also, has a laxative effect, taken in the proportion of four drachmæ to nine cyathi of hydromel: the same, too, with euphorbia[1172] or agaric, taken, in doses of two drachmæ, with a little salt, in water, or else in three oboli of honied wine. Cyclaminos,[1173] also, is a purgative, either taken in water or used as a suppository; the same, too, with chamæcissos,[1174] employed as a suppository. A handful of hyssop, boiled down to one third with salt, or beaten up with oxymel and salt, and applied to the abdomen, promotes pituitous evacuations, and expels intestinal worms. Root also of peucedanum[1175] carries off pituitous humours and bile.

CHAP. 35.—EPITHYMON OR HIPPOPHEOS: EIGHT REMEDIES.

The two kinds of anagallis, taken in hydromel, are purgative; the same, too, with epithymon,[1176] which is the blossom of a sort[1177] of thyme similar to savory; the only difference being that the flower of this plant is nearer grass green, while that of the other thyme is white. Some persons call it “hippopheos.”[1178] This plant is by no means wholesome to the stomach, as it is apt to cause vomiting, but at the same time it disperses flatulency and gripings of the bowels. It is taken also, in the form of an electuary, for affections of the chest, with honey, or in some cases, with iris.[1179] Taken in doses of from four to six drachmæ, with honey and a little salt and vinegar, it relaxes the bowels.

Some persons, again, give a different description of epithymon: according to them, it is a plant without[1180] a root, diminutive, and bearing a flower resembling a small hood, and of a red colour. They tell us, too, that it is dried in the shade and taken in water, in doses of half an acetabulum; and that it has a slightly laxative effect upon the bowels, and carries off the pituitous humours and bile. Nymphæa[1181] is taken for similar purposes, in astringent wine.

CHAP. 36.—PYCNOCOMON; FOUR REMEDIES.

Pycnocomon,[1182] too, is a purgative. It is a plant with leaves like those of rocket, only thicker and more acrid; the root is round, of a yellow colour, and with an earthy smell. The stem is quadrangular, of a moderate length, thin, and surmounted with a flower like that of ocimum.[1183] It is found growing in rough stony soils. The root, taken in doses of two denarii in hydromel, acts as a purgative upon the bowels, and effectually carries off bile and pituitous humours. The seed, taken in doses of one drachma in wine, is productive of dreams and restlessness. Capnos,[1184] too, carries off bile by the urine.

CHAP. 37.—POLYPODION: THREE REMEDIES.

Polypodion,[1185] known to us by the name of “filicula,” bears some resemblance to fern. The root of it is used medicinally; being fibrous, and of a grass green colour within, about the thickness of the little finger, and covered with cavernous suckers like those on the arms of the polypus. This plant is of a sweetish[1186] taste, and is found growing among rocks and under trees. The root is steeped in water, and the juice extracted; sometimes, too, it is cut in small pieces and sprinkled upon cabbage, beet, mallows, or salt meat; or else it is boiled with pap,[1187] as a gentle aperient for the bowels, in cases of fever even. It carries off bile also and the pituitous humours, but acts injuriously upon the stomach. Dried and powdered and applied to the nostrils, it cauterizes polypus[1188] of the nose. It has neither seed[1189] nor flower.

CHAP. 38.—SCAMMONY; EIGHT REMEDIES.

Scammony,[1190] also, is productive of derangement of the stomach. It carries off bile, and acts strongly as a purgative upon the bowels; unless, indeed, aloes are added, in the proportion of two drachmæ of aloes to two oboli of scammony. The drug thus called is the juice of a plant that is branchy from the root, and has unctuous, white, triangular, leaves, with a solid, moist root, of a nauseous flavour: it grows in rich white soils. About the period of the rising of the Dog-star, an excavation is made about the root, to let the juice collect: which done, it is dried in the sun and divided into tablets. The root itself, too, or the outer coat of it, is sometimes dried. The scammony most esteemed is that of Colophon, Mysia, and Priene. In appearance it ought to be smooth and shiny, and as much like bull glue as possible: it should present a fungous surface also, covered with minute holes; should melt with the greatest rapidity, have a powerful smell, and be sticky like gum. When touched with the tongue, it should give out a white milky liquid; it ought also to be extremely light, and to turn white when melted.

This last feature is recognized in the spurious scammony also, a compound of meal of fitches and juice of marine tithymalos,[1191] which is mostly imported from Judea, and is very apt to choke those who use it. The difference may be easily detected, however, by the taste, as tithymalos imparts a burning sensation to the tongue. To be fully efficacious, scammony should be two[1192] years old; before or after that age it is useless. It has been prescribed to be taken by itself also, in doses of four oboli, with hydromel and salt: but the most advantageous mode of using it is in combination with aloes, care being taken to drink honied wine the moment it begins to operate. The root, too, is boiled down in vinegar to the consistency of honey, and the decoction used as a liniment for leprosy. The head is also rubbed with this decoction, mixed with oil, for head-ache.

CHAP. 39.—THE TITHYMALOS CHARACIAS.

The tithymalos is called by our people the “milk plant,”[1193] and by some persons the “goat lettuce.”[1194] They say, that if characters are traced upon the body with the milky juice of this plant, and powdered with ashes, when dry, the letters will be perfectly visible; an expedient which has been adopted before now by intriguers, for the purpose of communicating with their mistresses, in preference to a correspondence by letter. There are numerous varieties of this plant.[1195] The first kind has the additional name of “characias,”[1196] and is generally looked upon as the male plant. Its branches are about a finger in thickness, red and full of juice, five or six in number, and a cubit in length. The leaves near the root are almost exactly those of the olive, and the extremity of the stem is surmounted with a tuft like that of the bulrush: it is found growing in rugged localities near the sea-shore. The seed is gathered in autumn, together with the tufts, and after being dried in the sun, is beaten out and put by for keeping. As to the juice, the moment the down begins to appear upon, the fruit, the branches are broken off and the juice of them is received upon either meal of fitches or else figs, and left to dry therewith. Five drops are as much as each fig ought to receive; and the story is, that if a dropsical patient eats one of these figs he will have as many motions as the fig has received drops. While the juice is being collected, due care must be taken not to let it touch the eyes. From the leaves, pounded, a juice is also extracted, but not of so useful a nature as the other kind: a decoction, too, is made from the branches.

The seed also is used, being boiled with honey and made up, into purgative[1197] pills. These seeds are sometimes inserted in hollow teeth with wax: the teeth are rinsed too, with a decoction of the root in wine or oil. The juice is used externally for lichens, and is taken internally both as an emetic and to promote alvine evacuation: in other respects, it is prejudicial to the stomach. Taken in drink, with the addition of salt, it carries off pituitous humours; and in combination with saltpetre,[1198] removes bile. In cases where it is desirable that it should purge by stool, it is taken with oxycrate, but where it is wanted to act as an emetic, with raisin wine or hydromel; three oboli being a middling dose. The best method, however, of using it, is to eat the prepared figs above-mentioned, just after taking food. In taste, it is slightly burning to the throat; indeed it is of so heating a nature, that, applied externally by itself, it raises blisters on the flesh, like those caused by the action of fire. Hence it is that it is sometimes employed as a cautery.

CHAP. 40.—THE TITHYMALOS MYRTITES, OR CARYITES; TWENTY-ONE REMEDIES.

A second kind of tithymalos is called “myrtites”[1199] by some persons, and “caryites” by others. It has leaves like those of myrtle, pointed and prickly, but with a softer surface, and grows, like the one already mentioned, in rugged soils. The tufted heads of it are gathered just, as barley is beginning to swell in the ear, and, after being left for nine days in the shade, are thoroughly dried in the sun. The fruit does not ripen all at once, some, indeed, not till the ensuing year. The name given to this fruit is the “nut,” whence the Greek appellation “caryites.”[1200] It is gathered at harvest, and is washed and dried, being given with twice the quantity of black poppy, in doses of one acetabulum in all.

As an emetic, this kind is not so efficacious as the preceding one, and, indeed, the same may be said of all the others. Some physicians recommend the leaf to be taken in the manner already mentioned, but say that the nut should either be taken in honied wine or raisin wine, or else with sesame. It carries off pituitous humours and bile by stool, and is curative of ulcerations of the mouth. For corrosive sores of the mouth, the leaf is eaten with honey.

CHAP. 41.—THE TITHYMALOS PARALIOS, OR TITHYMALIS: FOUR REMEDIES.

A third kind of tithymalos is known by the additional name of “paralios,”[1201] or else as “tithymalis.”[1202] The leaf is round, the stem a palm in height, the branches red, and the seed white. This seed is gathered just as the grape is beginning to form, and is dried and pounded; being taken as a purgative, in doses of one acetabulum.

CHAP. 42.—THE TITHYMALOS HELIOSCOPIOS: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.

A fourth kind of tithymalos[1203] is known by the additional name of “helioscopios.”[1204] It has leaves like those of purslain,[1205] and some four or five small branches standing out from the root, of a red colour, half a foot in height, and full of juice. This plant grows in the vicinity of towns: the seed is white, and pigeons[1206] are remarkably fond of it. It receives its additional name of “helioscopios” from the fact that the heads of it turn[1207] with the sun. Taken in doses of half an acetabulum, in oxymel, it carries off bile by stool: in other respects it has the same properties as the characias, above-mentioned.

CHAP. 43.—THE TITHYMALOS CYPARISSIAS: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.

In the fifth place we have the tithymalos known as “cyparissias,”[1208] from the resemblance of its leaves to those of the cypress. It has a double or triple stem, and grows in champaign localities. Its properties are exactly similar to those of the helioscopios and characias.

CHAP. 44.—THE TITHYMALOS PLATYPHYLLOS, CORYMBITES, OR AMYGDALITES: THREE REMEDIES.

The sixth kind is called “platyphyllos”[1209] by some, and “corymbites” or “amygdalites” by others, from its resemblance to the almond-tree. The leaves of this kind are the largest of all: it has a fatal effect upon fish. An infusion of the root or leaves, or the juice, taken in doses of four drachmæ, in honied wine, or hydromel, acts as a purgative. It is particularly useful also for carrying off the aqueous humours.

CHAP. 45.—THE TITHYMALOS DENDROÏDES, COBIOS, OR LEPTOPHYLLOS: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.

The seventh kind has the additional name of “dendroïdes,”[1210] and is known by some persons as “cobios,” and by others as “leptophyllos.”[1211] It grows among rocks, and is by far the most shrubby of all the varieties of the tithymalos. The stems of it are small and red, and the seed is remarkably abundant. Its properties are the same as those of the characias.[1212]

CHAP. 46.—THE APIOS ISCHAS, OR RAPHANOS AGRIA: TWO REMEDIES.

The apios ischas or raphanos agria,[1213] throws out two or three rush-like branches of a red colour, creeping upon the ground, and bearing leaves like those of rue. The root resembles that of an onion, only that it is larger, for which reason some have called it the “wild radish.” The interior of this root is composed of a mammose substance, containing a white juice: the outer coat is black. It grows in rugged, mountainous spots, and sometimes in pasture lands. It is taken up in spring, and pounded and put into an earthen vessel, that portion of it being removed which floats upon the surface. The part which remains acts purgatively, taken in doses of an obolus and a half in hydromel, both as an emetic and by stool. This juice is administered also, in doses of one acetabulum, for dropsy.

The root of this plant is dried and powdered, and taken in drink: the upper part of it, they say, carries off bile by acting as an emetic, the lower part, by promoting alvine evacuation.

CHAP. 47.—REMEDIES FOR GRIPING PAINS IN THE BOWELS.

Every kind of panaces[1214] is curative of gripings in the bowels; as also betony, except in those cases where they arise from indigestion. Juice of peucedanum[1215] is good for flatulency, acting powerfully as a carminative: the same is the case, also, with root of acoron[1216] and with daucus,[1217] eaten like lettuce as a salad. Ladanum[1218] of Cyprus, taken in drink, is curative of intestinal affections; and a similar effect is produced by powdered gentian, taken in warm water, in quantities about as large as a bean. For the same purpose, plantago[1219] is taken in the morning, in doses of two spoonfuls, with one spoonful of poppy in four cyathi of wine, due care being taken that it is not old wine. It is given, too, at the last moment before going to sleep, and with the addition of nitre or polenta,[1220] if a considerable time has elapsed since the last meal. For colic, an injection of the juice is used, one hemina at a time, even in cases where fever has supervened.

CHAP. 48.—REMEDIES FOR DISEASES OF THE SPLEEN.

Agaric, taken in doses of three oboli in one cyathus of old wine, is curative of diseases of the spleen. The same, too, with the root of every kind of panaces,[1221] taken in honied wine: teucria,[1222] also, is particularly useful for the same purpose, taken in a dry state, or boiled down in the proportion of one handful to three heminæ of vinegar. Teucria, too, is applied with vinegar to wounds of the spleen, or, if the patient cannot bear the application of vinegar, with figs or water. Polemonia[1223] is taken in wine, and betony, in doses of one drachma, in three cyathi of oxymel: aristolochia, too, is used in the same manner as for injuries inflicted by serpents.[1224] Argemonia,[1225] it is said, taken with the food for seven consecutive days, diminishes the volume of the spleen; and a similar effect is attributed to agaric, taken in doses of two oboli, in oxymel. Root, too, of nymphæa heraclia,[1226] taken in wine, or by itself, diminishes the spleen.

Cissanthemos,[1227] taken twice a day, in doses of one drachma in two cyathi of white wine, for forty consecutive days, gradually carries off the spleen, it is said, by urine. Hyssop, boiled with figs, is very useful for the same purpose: root of lonchitis,[1228] also, boiled before it has shed its seed. A decoction of root of peucedanum[1229] is good for the spleen and kidneys. Acoron,[1230] taken in drink, diminishes the spleen; and the roots of it are very beneficial for the viscera and iliac regions. For similar purposes, seed of clymenus[1231] is taken, for thirty consecutive days, in doses of one denarius, in white wine. Powdered betony is also used, taken in a potion with honey and squill vinegar; root too of lonchitis is taken in water. Teucrium[1232] is used externally for diseases of the spleen; scordium,[1233] also, in combination with wax; and agaric, mixed with powdered, fenugreek.

CHAP. 49.—REMEDIES FOR CALCULI AND DISEASES OF THE BLADDER.

For diseases of the bladder and calculi (affections which, as already observed,[1234] produce the most excruciating torments), polemonia[1235] is highly efficacious, taken in wine; agaric also, and leaves or root of plantago, taken in raisin wine. Betony, too, is very good, as already observed, when speaking[1236] of diseases of the liver. This last plant is used also for hernia, applied topically or taken in drink: it is remarkably efficacious too for strangury. For calculi some persons recommend betony, vervain, and milfoil, in equal proportions in water, as a sovereign remedy. It is universally agreed that dittany is curative of strangury, and that the same is the case with cinquefoil, boiled down to one third in wine: this last plant is very useful, too, taken internally and applied topically, for rupture of the groin.

The upper part of the root of xiphion[1237] has a diuretic effect upon infants; it is administered also in water for rupture of the groin, and is applied topically for diseases of the bladder. Juice of peucedanum[1238] is employed for hernia in infants, and psyllion[1239] is used as an application in cases of umbilical hernia. The two kinds of anagallis[1240] are diuretic, and a similar effect is produced by a decoction of root of acoron,[1241] or the plant itself bruised and taken in drink; this last is good too for all affections of the bladder. Both the stem and root of cotyledon[1242] are used for the cure of calculi; and for all inflammations of the genitals, myrrh is mixed in equal proportions with the stem and seed. The more tender leaves of ebulum,[1243] beaten up and taken with wine, expel calculi of the bladder, and an application of them is curative of diseases of the testes. Erigeron,[1244] with powdered frankincense and sweet wine, is curative of inflammation of the testes; and root of symphytum,[1245] applied topically, reduces rupture of the groin. The white hypocisthis[1246] is curative of corroding ulcers of the genitals. Artemisia[1247] is prescribed also in sweet wine for the cure of calculi and of strangury; and root of nymphæa heraclia,[1248] taken in wine, allays pains in the bladder.

CHAP. 50.—CRETHMOS: ELEVEN REMEDIES. CACHRY.

A similar property belongs also to crethmos,[1249] a plant highly praised by Hippocrates.[1250] This is one of the wild plants that are commonly eaten—at all events, we find Callimachus mentioning it as one of the viands set on table by the peasant Hecale.[1251] It is a species of garden batis,[1252] with a stem a palm in height, and a hot seed, odoriferous like that of libanotis,[1253] and round. When dried, the seed bursts asunder, and discloses in the interior a white kernel, known as “cachry” to some. The leaf is unctuous and of a whitish colour, like that of the olive, only thicker and of a saltish taste. The roots are three or four in number, and about a finger in thickness: the plant grows in rocky localities, upon the sea-shore. It is eaten raw or else boiled with cabbage, and has a pleasant, aromatic flavour; it is preserved also in brine.

This plant is particularly useful for strangury, the leaves, stem, or root being taken in wine. It improves the complexion of the skin also, but if taken in excess is very apt to produce flatulency. Used in the form of a decoction it relaxes the bowels, has a diuretic effect, and carries off the humours from the kidneys. The same is the case also with alcea:[1254] dried and powdered and taken in wine, it removes strangury, and, with the addition of daucus,[1255] is still more efficacious: it is good too for the spleen, and is taken in drink as an antidote to the venom of serpents. Mixed with their barley it is remarkably beneficial for beasts of burden, when suffering from pituitous defluxions or strangury.

CHAP. 51.—THE ANTHYLLION; TWO REMEDIES. THE ANTHYLLIS: TWO REMEDIES.

The anthyllion[1256] is a plant very like the lentil. Taken in wine, it is remedial for diseases of the bladder, and arrests hæmorrhage, Another variety of it is the anthyllis, a plant resembling the chamæpitys,[1257] with a purple flower, a powerful smell, and a root like that of endive.

CHAP. 52.—CEPÆA: ONE REMEDY.

The plant known as “cepæa”[1258] is even more efficacious. It resembles purslain in appearance, but has a darker root, that is never used: it grows upon the sands of the sea-shore, and has a bitter taste. Taken in wine with root of asparagus, it is remarkably useful for diseases of the bladder.

CHAP. 53.—HYPERICON, CHAMÆPITYS, OR CORISON: NINE REMEDIES.

Hypericon,[1259] otherwise known as the “chamæpitys”[1260] or “corison,”[1261] is possessed of similar properties. It is a plant[1262] with a stem like that[1263] of a garden vegetable, thin, red, and a cubit in length. The leaf is similar to that of rue, and has an acrid smell: the seed is enclosed in a swarthy pod, and ripens at the same time as barley. This seed is of an astringent nature, arrests diarrhœa, and acts as a diuretic: it is taken also for diseases of the bladder, in wine.

CHAP. 54.—CAROS OR HYPERICON: TEN REMEDIES.

There is another hypericon also, known as “caros”[1264] by some. The leaves of it resemble those of the tamarix,[1265] beneath[1266] which it grows, but are more unctuous[1267] and not so red. It is an odoriferous plant, somewhat more than a palm[1268] in height, of a sweet flavour, and slightly pungent. The seed is of a warming nature, and is consequently productive of eructations; it is not, however, injurious to the stomach. This plant is particularly useful for strangury, provided the bladder be not ulcerated; taken in wine, it is curative of pleurisy also.

CHAP. 55.—THE CALLITHRIX: ONE REMEDY. THE PERPRESSA: ONE REMEDY. THE CHRYSANTHEMUM: ONE REMEDY. THE ANTHEMIS: ONE REMEDY.

Callithrix,[1269] beaten up with cummin seed, and administered in white wine, is useful also for diseases of the bladder. Leaves of vervain, boiled down to one third, or root of vervain, in warm honied wine, expel calculi of the bladder.

Perpressa,[1270] a plant which grows in the vicinity of Arretium and in Illyricum, is boiled down to one third in three heminæ of water, and the decoction taken in drink: the same too with trefoil,[1271] which is administered in wine; and the same with the chrysanthemum.[1272] The anthemis[1273] also is an expellent of calculi. It is a plant with five small leaves running from the root, two long stems, and a flower like a rose. The roots of it are pounded and administered alone, in the same way as raw laver.[1274]

CHAP. 56.—SILAUS: ONE REMEDY.

Silaus[1275] is a plant which grows in running streams with a gravelly bed. It bears some resemblance to parsley, and is a cubit in height. It is cooked in the same manner as the acid vegetables,[1276] and is of great utility for affections of the bladder. In cases where that organ is affected with eruptions,[1277] it is used in combination with root of panaces,[1278] a plant which is otherwise bad for the bladder. The erratic apple,[1279] too, is an expellent of calculi. For this purpose, a pound of the root is boiled down to one half in a congius of wine, and one hemina of the decoction is taken for three consecutive days, the remainder being taken in wine with sium.[1280] Sea-nettle[1281] is employed too for the same purpose, daucus,[1282] and seed of plantago in wine.

CHAP. 57.—THE PLANT OF FULVIUS.

The plant of Fulvius[1283] too—so called from the first discoverer of it, and well known[1284] to herbalists—bruised in wine, acts as a diuretic.

CHAP. 58.—REMEDIES FOR DISEASES OF THE TESTES AND OF THE FUNDAMENT.

Scordion[1285] reduces swellings of the testes. Henbane is curative of diseases of the generative organs. Strangury is cured by juice of peucedanum,[1286] taken with honey; as also by the seed of that plant. Agaric is also used for the same purpose, taken in doses of three oboli in one cyathus of old wine; root of trefoil, in doses of two drachmæ in wine; and root or seed of daucus,[1287] in doses of one drachma. For the cure of sciatica, the seed and leaves of erythrodanum[1288] are used, pounded; panaces,[1289] taken in drink; polemonia,[1290] employed as a friction; and leaves of aristolochia,[1291] in the form of a decoction. Agaric, taken in doses of three oboli in one cyathus of old wine, is curative of affections of the tendon known as “platys”[1292] and of pains in the shoulders. Cinquefoil is either taken in drink or applied topically for the cure of sciatica; a decoction of scammony is used also, with barley meal; and the seed of either kind of hypericon[1293] is taken in wine.

For diseases of the fundament and for excoriations plantago is remarkably efficacious; for condylomata, cinquefoil; and for procidence of the rectum, root of cyclaminos,[1294] applied in vinegar. The blue anagallis[1295] reduces procidence of the rectum, while, on the contrary, that with a red flower has a tendency to bear it down. Cotyledon[1296] is a marvellous cure for condylomatous affections and piles; and root of acoron,[1297] boiled in wine and beaten up, is a good application for swelling of the testes. According to what Cato[1298] says, those who carry about them Pontic[1299] wormwood, will never experience chafing between the thighs.

(9.) Some persons add pennyroyal to the number of these plants: gathered fasting, they say, and attached to the hinder part of the body, it will be an effectual preservative against all pains in the groin, and will allay them in cases where they already exist.

CHAP. 59.—INGUINALIS OR ARGEMO.

Inguinalis[1300] again, or, as some persons call it, “argemo,” a plant commonly found growing in bushes and thickets, needs only to be held in the hand to be productive of beneficial effects upon the groin.

CHAP. 60.—REMEDIES FOR INFLAMED TUMOURS. CHRYSIPPIOS: ONE REMEDY.

Panaces,[1301] applied with honey, heals inflammatory tumours; an effect which is equally produced by plantago applied with salt, cinquefoil, root of persolata[1302] used in the same way as for scrofula; damasonium[1303] also, and verbascum[1304] pounded with the root, and then sprinkled with wine, and wrapped in a leaf warmed upon ashes, and applied hot. Persons of experience in these matters have asserted that it is of primary importance that the application should be made by a maiden, as also that she must be naked at the time, and fasting. The patient must be fasting too, and the damsel must say, touching him with the back of her hand,[1305] “Apollo forbids that a disease shall increase which a naked virgin restrains.” So saying, she must withdraw her hand, and repeat to the above effect three times, both of them spitting upon the ground each time.

Root, too, of mandragora[1306] is used for this purpose, with water; a decoction of root of scammony with honey; sideritis[1307] beaten up with stale grease; horehound with stale axle-grease; or chrysippios,[1308] a plant which owes its name to its discoverer—with pulpy figs.

CHAP. 61. (10.)—APHRODISIACS AND ANTAPHRODISIACS.

Nymphæa heraclia, used as already stated,[1309] acts most powerfully as an antaphrodisiac; the same too if taken once every forty days in drink. Taken in drink fasting, or eaten with the food, it effectually prevents the recurrence of libidinous dreams. The root too, used in the form of a liniment and applied to the generative organs, not only represses all prurient desires, but arrests the seminal secretions as well; for which reason, it is said to have a tendency to make flesh and to improve the voice.[1310]

The upper part of the root of xiphion,[1311] taken in wine, acts as an aphrodisiac. The same is the case too with the wild crethmos,[1312] or agrios as it is called, and with horminum,[1313] beaten up with polenta.[1314]

CHAP. 62.—THE ORCHIS OR SERAPIAS: FIVE MEDICINAL PROPERTIES. SATYRION.

But there are few plants of so marvellous a nature as the orchis[1315] or serapias, a vegetable production with leaves like those of the leek, a stem a palm in height, a purple flower, and a twofold root, formed of tuberosities which resemble the testes in appearance. The larger of these tuberosities, or, as some say, the harder of the two, taken in water, is provocative of lust; while the smaller, or, in other words, the softer one, taken in goat’s milk, acts as an antaphrodisiac. Some persons describe this plant as having a leaf like that of the squill, only smoother and softer, and a prickly stem. The roots heal liberations of the mouth, and are curative of pituitous discharges from the chest; taken in wine they act astringently upon the bowels.

Satyrion is also a powerful stimulant. There are two kinds of it: the first[1316] has leaves like those of the olive, but longer, a stem four fingers in length, a purple flower, and a double root, resembling the human testes in shape. This root swells and increases in volume one year, and resumes its original size the next. The other kind is known as the “satyrios orchis,”[1317] and is supposed to be the female plant. It is distinguished from the former one by the distance between its joints, and its more branchy and shrublike form. The root is employed in philtres: it is mostly found growing near the sea. Beaten up and applied with polenta,[1318] or by itself, it heals tumours and various other affections of the generative organs. The root of the first kind, administered in the milk of a colonic[1319] sheep, causes tentigo; taken in water it produces a contrary effect.

CHAP. 63.—SATYRION: THREE MEDICINAL PROPERTIES. SATYRION ERYTHRAÏCON: FOUR MEDICINAL PROPERTIES.

The Greeks give the name of “satyrion”[1320] to a plant with red leaves like those of the lily, but smaller, not more than three of them making their appearance above ground. The stem, they say, is smooth and bare and a cubit in length, and the root double; the lower part, which is also the larger, promoting the conception of male issue, the upper or smaller part, that of female.

They distinguish also another kind of satyrion, by the name of “erythraïcon:”[1321] it has seed like that of the vitex,[1322] only larger, smooth, and hard; the root, they say, is covered with a red rind, and is white within and of a sweetish taste: it is mostly found in mountainous districts. The root, we are told, if only held in the hand, acts as a powerful aphrodisiac, and even more so, if it is taken in rough, astringent wine. It is administered in drink, they say, to rams and he-goats when inactive and sluggish; and the people of Sarmatia are in the habit of giving it to their stallions when fatigued with covering, a defect to which they give the name of “prosedamum.” The effects of this plant are neutralized by the use of hydromel or lettuces.[1323]

The Greeks, however, give the general name of “satyrion” to all substances of a stimulating tendency, to the cratægis[1324] for example, the thelygonon,[1325] and the arrenogonon, plants, the seed of which bears a resemblance to the testes.[1326] Persons who carry the pith of branches of tithymalos[1327] about them, are rendered more amorous thereby, it is said. The statements are really incredible, which Theophrastus,[1328] in most cases an author of high authority, makes in relation to this subject; thus, for instance, he says that by the contact only of a certain plant, a man has been enabled, in the sexual congress, to repeat his embraces as many as seventy times even! The name and genus, however, of this plant, he has omitted to mention.

CHAP. 64.—REMEDIES FOR THE GOUT AND DISEASES OF THE FEET.

Sideritis,[1329] attached to the body as an amulet, reduces varicose veins, and effects a painless cure. Gout used to be an extremely rare disease, not in the times of our fathers and grandfathers only, but within my own memory even. Indeed, it may justly be considered a foreign complaint; for if it had been formerly known in Italy, it would surely have found a Latin name. It should, however, by no means be looked upon as an incurable malady; for before now, in many instances, it has quitted the patient all at once, and still more frequently, a cure has been effected by proper treatment.

For the cure of gout, roots of panaces[1330] are used, mixed with raisins; juice of henbane, or the seed, combined with meal; scordion,[1331] taken in vinegar; iberis, as already mentioned;[1332] vervain, beaten up with axle-grease; or root of cyclaminos,[1333] a decoction of which is good also for chilblains.

As cooling applications for gout, root of xiphion[1334] is used; seed of psyllion;[1335] hemlock, with litharge or axle-grease; and, at the first symptoms of red gout, or, in other words, hot gout, the plant aizoüm.[1336] For either kind of gout, erigeron,[1337] with axle-grease, is very useful; leaves of plantago, beaten up with a little salt; or argemonia,[1338] pounded with honey. An application of vervain is also remedial, and it is a good plan to soak the feet in a decoction of that plant in water.

CHAP. 65. LAPPAGO OR MOLLUGO: ONE REMEDY. ASPERUGO: ONE REMEDY.

Lappago[1339] is employed also for this disease; a plant similar to the anagallis,[1340] were it not that it is more branchy, bristling with a greater number of leaves, covered with rugosities, full of a more acrid juice, and possessed of a powerful smell. The kind that resembles anagallis most closely, is known as mollugo.[1341] Asperugo[1342] is a similar plant, only with a more prickly leaf. The juice of the first is taken daily, in doses of one denarius, in two cyathi of wine.

CHAP. 66.—PHYCOS THALASSION OR SEA-WEED: THREE VARIETIES OF IT. LAPPA BOARIA.

But it is the phycos thalassion, or sea-weed,[1343] more particularly, that is so excellent a remedy for the gout. It resembles the lettuce in appearance, and is used as the basis in dyeing tissues with the purple of the murex.[1344] Used before it becomes dry, it is efficacious as a topical application not only for gout, but for all diseases of the joints. There are three kinds of it; one with a broad leaf, another with a longer leaf of a reddish hue, and a third with a crisped leaf, and used in Crete for dyeing cloths.[1345] All these kinds have similar properties; and we find Nicander prescribing them in wine as an antidote to the venom of serpents even. The seed also of the plant which we have spoken of as “psyllion,”[1346] is useful for the cure of gout: it is first steeped in water, and one hemina of the seed is then mixed with two spoonfuls of resin of Colophon, and one spoonful of frankincense. Leaves of mandragora,[1347] too, are highly esteemed for this purpose, beaten up with polenta.

(11.) For swellings of the ankles, slime,[1348] kneaded up with oil, is wonderfully useful, and for swellings of the joints the juice of the smaller centaury; this last being remarkably good also for diseases of the sinews. Centauris,[1349] too, is very useful; and for pains in the sinews of the shoulder-blades, shoulders, vertebræ, and loins, an infusion of betony is taken in drink in the same way as for diseases of the liver.[1350] Cinquefoil is applied topically to the joints, and a similar use is made of the leaves of mandragora, mixed with polenta,[1351] or else the root, beaten up fresh with wild cucumber[1352] or boiled in water. For chaps upon the toes, root of polypodion[1353] is used; and for diseases of the joints, juice of henbane with axle-grease; amomum,[1354] with a decoction of the plant; centunculus,[1355] boiled; or fresh moss steeped in water, and attached to the part till it is quite dry.

The root, too, of lappa boaria,[1356] taken in wine, is productive of similar effects. A decoction of cyclaminos[1357] in water, is curative of chilblains, and all other affections resulting from cold. For chilblains, cotyledon[1358] is also employed with axle-grease, leaves of batrachion,[1359] and juice of epithymum.[1360] Ladanum,[1361] mixed with castoreum,[1361] and vervain applied with wine, extract corns from the feet.

CHAP. 67.—MALADIES WHICH ATTACK THE WHOLE OF THE BODY.

Having now finished the detail of the diseases which are perceptible in individual parts of the body, we shall proceed to speak of those which attack the whole of the body. The following I find mentioned as general remedies: in preference to anything else, an infusion of dodecatheos,[1362] a plant already described, should be taken in drink, and then the roots of the several kinds[1363] of panaces, in maladies of long standing more particularly: seed, too, of panaces should be used for intestinal complaints. For all painful affections of the body we find juice of scordium[1364] recommended, as also that of betony: this last, taken in a potion, is particularly excellent for removing a wan and leaden hue of the skin, and for improving its general appearance.

CHAP. 68.—THE GERANION, MYRRILIS, OR MYRTIS; THREE VARIETIES OF IT: SIX REMEDIES.

The plant geranion has the additional names of “myrrhis”[1365] and “myrtis.” It is similar to hemlock in appearance, but has a smaller leaf and a shorter stem, rounded, and of a pleasant taste and odour. Such, at all events, is the description given of it by our herbalists; but the Greeks speak of it as bearing leaves a little whiter than those of the mallow, thin downy stems, and branches at intervals some two palms in length, with small heads at their extremities, in the midst of the leaves, resembling the bill[1366] of a crane.[1367] There is also another[1368] variety of this plant, with leaves like those of the anemone, but with deeper incisions, and a root rounded like an apple, sweet, and extremely useful and refreshing[1369] for invalids when recovering their strength; this last would almost seem to be the true geranion.

For phthisis this plant is taken, in the proportion of one drachma to three cyathi of wine, twice a day; as also for flatulency. Eaten raw, it is productive of similar effects. The juice of the root is remedial for diseases of the ear; and for opisthotony the seed is taken in drink, in doses of four drachmæ, with pepper and myrrh. Juice of plantago,[1370] taken in drink, is curative of phthisis, and a decoction of it is equally good for the purpose. Plantago taken as a food with oil and salt, immediately after rising in the morning, is extremely refreshing; it is prescribed, too, in cases of atrophy, on alternate days. Betony is given with honey, in the form of an electuary, for phthisis, in pieces the size of a bean; agaric, too, is taken in doses of two oboli in raisin wine, or else daucus[1371] with the greater centaury in wine. For the cure of phagedæna, a name given in common to bulimia[1372] and to a corrosive kind of ulcer, tithymalos[1373] is taken in combination with sesame.

CHAP. 69.—THE ONOTHERAS OR ONEAR: THREE REMEDIES.

Among the various evils by which the whole of the body in common is afflicted, that of wakefulness is the most common. Among the remedies for it we find panaces[1374] mentioned, clymenus,[1375] and aristolochia,[1376] the odour of the plant being inhaled and the head rubbed with it. Aizoüm, or houseleek, is beneficial, wrapped in black cloth and placed beneath the pillow, without the patient being aware of it. The onotheras[1377] too, or onear, taken in wine, has certain exhilarating properties; it has leaves like those of the almond tree, a rose-coloured flower, numerous branches, and a long root, with a vinous smell when dried: an infusion of this root has a soothing effect upon wild beasts even.

For fits of indigestion[1378] attended with nausea, betony is taken in drink: used similarly after the evening meal, it facilitates the digestion. Taken in the proportion of one drachma to three cyathi of oxymel, it dispels crapulence. The same is the case, too, with agaric, taken in warm water after eating. Betony is curative of paralysis, it is said; the same, too, with iberis, as already stated.[1379] This last is good, too, for numbness of the limbs; the same being the case with argemonia,[1380] a plant which disperses those affections which might otherwise necessitate the application of the knife.

CHAP. 70.—REMEDIES FOR EPILEPSY.

Epilepsy is cured by the root of the panaces which we have spoken[1381] of as the “heraclion,” taken in drink with sea-calf’s rennet, the proportions being three parts of panaces and one of rennet. For the same purpose an infusion of plantago[1382] is taken, or else betony or agaric, with oxymel, the former in doses of one drachma, the latter in doses of three oboli; leaves of cinquefoil are taken, also, in water. Archezostis[1383] is also curative of epilepsy, but it must be taken constantly for a year; root of bacchar,[1384] too, dried and powdered, and taken in warm water, in the proportion of three cyathi to one cyathus of coriander; centunculus[1385] also, bruised in vinegar, warm water, or honey; vervain, taken in wine; hyssop[1386] berries, three in number, pounded and taken in water, for sixteen days consecutively; peucedanum,[1387] taken in drink with sea-calf’s rennet, in equal proportions; leaves of cinquefoil, bruised in wine and taken for thirty days; powdered betony, in doses of three denarii, with one cyathus of squill vinegar and an ounce of Attic honey; as also scammony, in the proportion of two oboli to four drachmæ of castoreum.

CHAP. 71.—REMEDIES FOR FEVERS.

Agaric, taken in warm water, alleviates cold fevers: sideritis, in combination with oil, is good for tertian fevers; bruised ladanum[1388] also, which is found in corn fields; plantago,[1389] taken in doses of two drachmæ, in hydromel, a couple of hours before the paroxysms come on; juice of the root of plantago made warm or subjected to pressure; or else the root itself beaten up in water made warm with a hot iron. Some medical men prescribe three roots of plantago, in three cyathi of water; and in a similar manner, four roots for quartan fevers. When buglossos[1390] is beginning to wither, if a person takes the pith out of the stem, and says while so doing, that it is for the cure of such and such a person suffering from fever, and then attaches seven leaves to the patient, just before the paroxysms come on, he will experience a cure, they say.

Fevers too, those which are attended with recurrent cold shiverings more particularly, are cured by administering one drachma of betony, or else agaric, in three cyathi of hydromel. Some medical men recommend three leaves of cinquefoil for tertian, four for quartan, and an increased number for other fevers; while others again prescribe in all cases three oboli of cinquefoil, with pepper, in hydromel.

Vervain, administered in water, is curative of fever, in beasts of burden even; but care must be taken, in cases of tertian fever, to cut the plant at the third joint, and of quartan fever at the fourth. The seed of either kind of hypericon[1391] is taken also for quartan fevers and cold shiverings. Powdered betony modifies these fits, and panaces[1392] is of so warming a nature that persons when about to travel amid the snow are recommended to drink an infusion of it, and to rub the body all over with the plant. Aristolochia[1393] also arrests shivering produced by cold.

CHAP. 72.—REMEDIES FOR PHRENITIS, LETHARGY, AND CARBUNCLES.

Phrenitis is cured by sleep induced by the agency of an infusion of peucedanum[1394] in vinegar, poured upon the head, or else by the juice of either kind of anagallis.[1395] On the other hand, when patients are suffering from lethargy, it is with the greatest difficulty that they are aroused; a result which may be effected, they say, by touching the nostrils with juice of peucedanum in vinegar. For the cure of insanity, betony is administered in drink. Panaces[1396] brings carbuncles to a head, and makes them break; and they are equally cured by powdered betony applied in water, or else cabbage leaves mixed with frankincense in warm water, and taken in considerable quantities. For a similar purpose, a red-hot coal is extinguished in the patient’s presence, and the ashes are taken up with the finger and applied to the sore. Bruised plantago[1397] is also used for the cure of carbuncles.

CHAP. 73.—REMEDIES FOR DROPSY. ACTE OR EBULUM. CHAMÆACTE.

For the cure of dropsy, tithymalos characias[1398] is employed; panaces[1399] also; plantago,[1400] used as a diet, dry bread being eaten first, without any drink; betony, taken in doses of two drachmæ in two cyathi of ordinary wine or honied wine; agaric or seed of lonchitis,[1401] in doses of two spoonfuls, in water; psyllion,[1402] taken in wine; juice of either anagallis;[1403] root of cotyledon[1404] in honied wine; root of ebulum,[1405] fresh gathered, with the mould shaken off, but not washed in water, a pinch in two fingers being taken in one hemina of old wine mulled; root of trefoil, taken in doses of two drachmæ in wine; the tithymalos[1406] known as “platyphyllos;” seed of the hypericon,[1407] otherwise known as “caros;” the plant called “acte”—the same thing as ebulum[1408] according to some—the root of it being pounded in three cyathi of wine, if there are no symptoms of fever, or the seed of it being administered in red wine; a good handful of vervain also, boiled down in water to one half. But of all the remedies for this disease, juice of chamæacte[1409] is looked upon as by far the most efficacious.

Morbid or pituitous eruptions are cured by the agency of plantago, or else root of cyclaminos[1410] with honey. Leaves of ebulum,[1411] bruised in old wine and applied topically, are curative of the disease called “boa,” which makes its appearance in the form of red pimples. Juice of strychnos,[1412] applied as a liniment, is curative of prurigo.

CHAP. 74.—REMEDIES FOR ERYSIPELAS.

For the cure of erysipelas, aizoüm[1413] is used, or else pounded leaves of hemlock, or root of mandragora;[1414] this last being cut into round slices like cucumber and suspended over must,[1415] after which it is hung up in the smoke, and then pounded in wine or vinegar. It is a good plan too to use fomentations with myrtle wine: two ounces of mint beaten up in vinegar with one ounce of live sulphur, form a mixture sometimes employed; as also soot mixed with vinegar.

There are several kinds of erysipelas, one in particular which attacks the middle of the body, and is known as “zoster:”[1416] should it entirely surround the body, its effects are fatal. For this disease, plantago[1417] is remedial, mixed with Cimolian[1418] chalk; vervain, used by itself; or root of persolata.[1419] For other kinds of erysipelas of a spreading nature, root of cotyledon[1420] is used, mixed with honied wine; aizoüm also,[1421] or juice of linozostis,[1422] in combination with vinegar.

CHAP. 75. (12.)—REMEDIES FOR SPRAINS.

For the cure of sprains, root of polypodion[1423] is used, in the form, of a liniment: the pain and swelling are modified also by using seed of psyllion;[1424] leaves of plantago[1425] beaten up with a little salt; seed of verbascum,[1426] boiled in wine and pounded; or hemlock with axle-grease. Leaves of ephemeron[1427] are applied topically to tumours and tuberosities, so long as they are capable of being dispersed.

CHAP. 76.—REMEDIES FOR JAUNDICE.

It is upon the eyes in particular that jaundice is productive of so remarkable an effect; the bile penetrating between the membranes, so extremely delicate as they are and so closely united. Hippocrates[1428] tells us that the appearance of jaundice on or after the seventh day in fevers is a fatal symptom; but I am acquainted with some instances in which, the patients survived after having been reduced to this apparently hopeless state. We may remark also, that jaundice sometimes comes on without fever supervening. It is combated by taking the greater centaury,[1429] as already mentioned, in drink; agaric, in doses of three oboli in old wine; or leaves of vervain, in doses of three oboli, taken for four consecutive days in one hemina of mulled wine. But the most speedy cure of all is effected by using juice of cinquefoil, in doses of three cyathi, with salt and honey. Root of cyclaminos[1430] is also taken in drink in doses of three drachmæ, the patient sitting in a warm room free from all cold and draughts, the infusion expelling the bile by its action as a sudorific.

Leaves of tussilago[1431] are also used in water for this purpose; the seed of either kind of linozostis,[1432] sprinkled in the drink, or made into a decoction with chick-pease or wormwood: hyssop berries taken in water; the plant lichen,[1433] all other vegetables being carefully abstained from while it is being used; polythrix,[1434] taken in wine; and struthion,[1435] in honied wine.

CHAP. 77.—REMEDIES FOR BOILS.

There are boils also, known as “furunculi,”[1436] which make their appearance indiscriminately on all parts of the body, and are productive of the greatest inconvenience: sometimes indeed, when the constitution is exhausted, they are fatal in their effects. For their cure, leaves of pycnocomon[1437] are employed, beaten up with polenta,[1438] if the boil has not come to a head. They are dispersed also by an application of leaves of ephedron.[1439]

CHAP. 78.—REMEDIES FOR FISTULA.

Fistulas, too, insidiously attack all parts of the body, owing to unskilfulness on the part of medical men in the use of the knife. The smaller centaury[1440] is used for their cure, with the addition of lotions[1441] and boiled honey: juice of plantago[1442] is also employed, as an injection; cinquefoil, mixed with salt and honey; ladanum,[1443] combined with castoreum;[1444] cotyledon,[1445] applied hot with stag’s marrow; pith of the root of verbascum[1446] reduced to a liquid state in the shape of a lotion, and injected; root of aristolochia;[1447] or juice of tithymalos.[1448]

CHAP. 79.—REMEDIES FOR ABSCESSES AND HARD TUMOURS.

Abscesses and inflammations are cured by an application of leaves of argemonia.[1449] For indurations and gatherings of all descriptions a decoction of vervain or cinquefoil in vinegar is used; leaves or root of verbascum;[1450] a liniment made of wine and hyssop; root of acoron,[1451] a decoction of it being used as a fomentation; or else aizoüm.[1452] Contusions also, hard tumours, and fistulous abscesses are treated with, illecebra.[1453]

All kinds of foreign substances which have pierced the flesh are extracted by using leaves of tussilago,[1454] daueus,[1455] or seed of leontopodium[1456] pounded in water with polenta.[1457] To suppurations, leaves of pycnocomon[1458] are applied, beaten up with polenta, or else the seed of that plant, or orchis.[1459] An application of root of satyrion[1460] is said to be a most efficacious remedy for deep-seated diseases of the bones. Corrosive ulcers and all kinds of gatherings are treated with sea-weed,[1461] used before it has dried. Root, too, of alcima[1462] disperses gatherings.

CHAP. 80.—REMEDIES FOB BURNS.

Burns are cured by the agency of plantago,[1463] or of arction,[1464] so effectually indeed as to leave no scar. The leaves of this last plant are boiled in water, beaten up, and applied to the sore. Boots of cyclaminos[1465] are used, in combination with aizoüm;[1466] the kind of hypericon also, which we have mentioned as being called “corissum.”[1467]

CHAP. 81. REMEDIES FOR DISEASES OF THE SINEWS AND JOINTS.

For diseases of the sinews and joints, plantago,[1468] beaten up with salt, is a very useful remedy, or else argemonia,[1469] pounded with honey. Patients affected with spasms or tetanus are rubbed with juice of peucedanum.[1470] For indurations of the sinews, juice of ægilops[1471] is employed, and for pains in those parts of the body erigeron[1472] or epithymum,[1473] used as a liniment, with vinegar. In cases of spasms and opisthotony, it is an excellent plan to rub the part affected with seed of the hypericon known as “caros,”[1474] and to take the seed in drink. Phrynion,[1475] it is said, will effect a cure even when the sinews have been severed, if applied instantaneously, bruised or chewed. For spasmodic affections, fits of trembling, and opisthotony, root of alcima[1476] is administered in hydromel; used in this manner, if has a warming effect when the limbs are benumbed with cold.

CHAP. 82.—REMEDIES FOR HÆMORRHAGE.

The red seed of the plant called “pæonia”[1477] arrests hæmorrhage; the root also is possessed of similar properties. But it is clymenus[1478] that should be employed, when there are discharges of blood at the mouth or nostrils, from the bowels, or from the uterus. In such cases, lysimachia[1479] also is taken in drink, applied topically, or introduced into the nostrils; or else seed of plantago,[1480] or cinquefoil, is taken in drink, or employed in the form of a liniment. Hemlock seed is introduced into the nostrils, for discharges of blood there, or else it is pounded and applied in water; aizoüm.[1481] also, and root of astragalus.[1482] Ischæmon[1483] and achillea[1484] likewise arrest hæmorrhage.

CHAP. 83. (13.)—HIPPURIS, OTHERWISE CALLED EPHEDRON, ANABASIS, OB EQUISÆTUM; THREE KINDS OF IT: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.

Equisætum, a plant called “hippuris” by the Greeks, and which we have mentioned in terms of condemnation, when treating of meadow lands[1485]—it being, in fact, a sort of hair of the earth, similar in appearance to horse-hair[1486]—is used by runners for the purpose of diminishing[1487] the spleen. For this purpose it is boiled down in a new earthen vessel to one third, the vessel being filled to the brim, and the decoction taken in doses of one hemina for three successive days. It is strictly forbidden, however, to eat any food of a greasy nature the day before taking it.

Among the Greeks there are various opinions in relation to this plant. According to some, who give it the same name of “hippuris,” it has leaves like those of the pine tree, and of a swarthy hue; and, if we are to believe them, it is possessed of virtues of such a marvellous nature, that if touched by the patient only, it will arrest hæmorrhage. Some authorities call it “hippuris,” others, again, “ephedron,” and others “anabasis;” and they tell us that it grows near trees, the trunks of which it ascends, and hangs down therefrom in numerous tufts of black, rush-like hair, much like a horse’s tail in appearance. The branches, we are told, are thin and articulated, and the leaves, few in number, small, and thin, the seed round, and similar to coriander in appearance, and the root ligneous: it grows, they say, in plantations more particularly.

This plant is possessed of astringent properties. The juice of it, kept in the nostrils, arrests bleeding therefrom, and it acts astringently upon the bowels. Taken in doses of three cyathi, in sweet wine, it is a cure for dysentery, is an efficient diuretic, and is curative of cough, hardness of breathing, ruptures, and serpiginous affections. For diseases of the intestines and bladder, the leaves are taken in drink; it has the property, also, of reducing ruptures of the groin.

The Greek writers describe another[1488] hippuris, also, with shorter tufts, softer and whiter. This last, they say, is remarkably good for sciatica, and, applied with vinegar, for wounds, it having the property of stanching the blood. Bruised nymphæa[1489] is also applied to wounds. Peucedanum[1490] is taken in drink with cypress seed, for discharges of blood at the mouth or by the lower passages. Sideritis[1491] is possessed of such remarkable virtues, that applied to the wound of a gladiator just inflicted, it will stop the flow of blood; an effect which is equally produced by an application of charred fennel-giant, or of the ashes of that plant. For a similar purpose, also, the fungus that is found growing near the root of fennel-giant is still more efficacious.

CHAP. 84.—STEPHANOMELIS.

For bleeding at the nostrils, seed of hemlock, pounded in water is considered efficacious, as also stephanomelis,[1492] applied with water. Powdered betony, taken with goat’s milk, or bruised plantago,[1493] arrests discharges of blood from the mamillæ. Juice of plantago is administered to patients when vomiting blood. For local discharges of blood, an application of root of persolata[1494] with stale axle-grease is highly spoken of.

CHAP. 85.—REMEDIES FOR RUPTURES AND CONVULSIONS. ERYSITHALES: ONE REMEDY.

For ruptures, convulsions, and falls with violence, the greater centaury[1495] is used; root of gentian pounded or boiled; juice of betony—this last being employed also for ruptures produced by straining the vocal organs or sides—panaces;[1496] scordium;[1497] or aristolochia[1498] taken in drink. For contusions and falls, agaric is taken, in doses of two oboli, in three cyathi of honied wine, or if there are symptoms of fever, hydromel; the verbascum,[1499] also, with a golden flower; root of acoron;[1500] the several varieties of aizoüm,[1501] the juice of the larger kind being particularly efficacious; juice of symphytum,[1502] or a decoction of the root of that plant; daucus,[1503] unboiled; erysithales,[1504] a plant with a yellow flower and a leaf like that of acanthus, taken in wine; chamærops;[1505] irio,[1506] taken in pottage; plantago[1507] taken any way, as also * * * *

CHAP. 86.—REMEDIES FOR PHTHIRIASIS.

Phthiriasis is a disease which proved fatal to the Dictator Sylla,[1508] and which developes itself by the production of insects in the blood, which ultimately consume the body. It is combated by using the juice of Taminian grapes[1509] or of hellebore, the body being rubbed all over with it, in combination with oil. A decoction of Taminian grapes in vinegar, has the effect, also, of ridding the clothes of these vermin.

CHAP. 87. (14.)—REMEDIES FOR ULCERS AND WOUNDS.

Of ulcers there are numerous kinds, which are treated in various ways. The root of all the varieties of panaces[1510] is used as an application for running ulcers, in warm wine.

That which we have spoken of as the “chironion”[1511] is particularly good as a desiccative: bruised with honey, it opens tumours, and is useful for serpiginous ulcers, the cure of which appears more than doubtful; in which case it is amalgamated with flower[1512] of copper tempered with wine, either the seed, flower, or root, being employed for the purpose. Mixed with polenta[1513] it is good for old wounds. The following are also good detergents for wounds: heraclion siderion,[1514] apollinaris,[1515] psyllion,[1516] tragacantha,[1517] and scordotis[1518] mixed with honey. Powdered scordotis, applied by itself, consumes fleshy excrescences on the body. Polemonia[1519] is curative of the malignant ulcer known as “cacoëthes.” The greater centaury,[1520] sprinkled in powder, or applied in the form of a liniment, or the leaves of the smaller[1521] centaury, boiled or pounded, act as a detergent upon inveterate ulcers, and effect a cure. To recent wounds, the follicules of the clymenus[1522] are applied. Gentian is applied to serpiginous ulcers, the root being bruised or else boiled down in water to the consistency of honey; the juice also of the plant is employed. For wounds, a kind of lycium[1523] is prepared from gentian.

Lysimachia[1524] is curative of recent wounds, and plantago[1525] of all kinds of liberations, those on females, infants, and aged persons more particularly. This plant, when softened by the action of fire, is better still: in combination with cerate it acts as a detergent upon ulcers with indurated edges, and arrests the progress of corrosive sores: when applied bruised, it should be covered with its own leaves. Chelidonia[1526] also acts as a desiccative upon suppurations, abscesses, and fistulous ulcers; indeed, it is so remarkably useful for the cure of wounds, as to be employed as a substitute for spodium[1527] even. In cases where the cure is almost hopeless, it is applied with axle-grease. Dittany,[1528] taken internally, causes arrows to fall from the flesh; used as a liniment, it has the effect of extracting other kinds of pointed weapons: the leaves are taken in the proportion of one obolus to one cyathus of water. Nearly equal in its efficacy is pseudo-dictamnon:[1529] they are both of them useful, also, for dispersing suppurations.

Aristolochia[1530] cauterizes putrid sores, and, applied with honey, acts as a detergent upon sordid ulcers. At the same time also, it removes maggots, and extracts hard cores, and all foreign bodies adhering to the flesh, arrows more particularly, and, applied with resin, splintered bones. Used by itself, it fills the cavities made by ulcers with new flesh, and, employed with iris,[1531] in vinegar, it closes recent wounds. Vervain, or cinquefoil with salt and honey, is remedial for ulcers of long standing. Roots of persolata[1532] are applied to recent wounds inflicted with iron, but for old wounds, it is the leaves that are employed: in both cases, in combination with axle-grease, the sore being then covered with the leaves of the plant. Damasonium[1533] is used for wounds the same way as for scrofula,[1534] and leaves of verbascum[1535] are employed with vinegar or wine.

Vervain is useful for all kinds of callosities or putrid sores; root of nymphæa heraclia[1536] is curative of running ulcers; and the same is the case with root of cyclaminos,[1537] either used by itself, or in combination with vinegar or honey. This last root is useful also for the cure of steatomatous tumours, and hyssop for that of running ulcers; an effect equally produced by peucedanum,[1538] a plant which exercises so powerful an influence upon fresh wounds, as to cause exfoliation even of the bones. The two varieties of anagallis[1539] are possessed of similar properties, and act as a check upon the corrosive sores known as “nomæ” and upon defluxions; they are useful also in cases of recent wounds, those of aged people in particular. Fresh leaves of mandragora,[1540] applied with cerate, are curative of apostemes and sordid ulcers: the root too is used, with honey or oil, for wounds.

Hemlock, incorporated with flour of winter wheat[1541] by the agency of wine—as also the plant aizoüm[1542]—is curative of herpetic eruptions, and corrosive or putrid sores. Erigeron[1543] is employed for ulcers which breed maggots. Root of astragalus[1544] is used for the cure of recent wounds or of ulcers of long standing; and upon these last either kind of hypocisthis[1545] acts as a detergent. Seed of leontopodium,[1546] bruised in water and applied with polenta,[1547] extracts pointed weapons from the flesh: a result equally produced by using seed of pycnocomon.[1548] The tithyinalos characias[1549] supplies its juice for the cure of gangrenes, phagedænic sores, and putrid ulcers; or else a decoction is made of the branches with polenta and oil. Boots of orchis[1550] have a similar effect; in addition to which, applied, either dry or fresh gathered, with honey and vinegar, they are curative of the ulcer known as “cacoëthes.” Onothera[1551] also, used by itself, is curative of ulcers when rapidly gaining head.

The people of Scythia employ scythice[1552] for the treatment of wounds. For carcinoma, argemonia,[1553] applied with honey, is extremely efficacious. For sores that have prematurely closed, root of asphodel is boiled, in manner already[1554] stated and then beaten up with polenta,[1555] and applied. For all kinds of wounds apollinaris[1556] is very useful. Root of astragalus,[1557] reduced to powder, is good for running ulcers; the same, too, with callithrix,[1558] boiled in water. For blisters, more particularly when caused by the shoes, vervain is used, as also pounded lysimachia,[1559] or nymphæa[1560] dried and powdered; but when they have assumed the form of inveterate ulcers, polythrix[1561] will be found more serviceable.

CHAP. 88.—POLYCNEMON: ONE REMEDY.

Polycnemon[1562] is a plant which resembles cunila bubula;[1563] it has a seed like that of pennyroyal, a ligneous stem with numerous articulations, and odoriferous umbels, with a pleasant though pungent smell. This plant is chewed and applied to wounds inflicted with iron, the application being removed at the end of four days. Symphyton[1564] causes sores to cicatrize with the greatest rapidity; the same, too, with sideritis,[1565] which is applied in combination with honey. The seed and leaves of verbascum,[1566] boiled in wine and pounded, are used for the extraction of all foreign substances adhering to the body; and a similar use is made of leaves of mandragora[1567] mixed with polenta,[1568] and roots of cyclaminos[1569] with honey. Leaves of trixago,[1570] bruised in oil, are used for ulcers of a serpiginous nature more particularly, as also sea-weed bruised with honey. Betony, with the addition of salt, is employed for the cure of carcinomatous sores and inveterate blisters on the neck.

CHAP. 89.—REMEDIES FOB WARTS, AND APPLICATIONS FOR THE REMOVAL OF SCARS.

Argemonia[1571] with vinegar, or root of batrachion,[1572] removes warts; this last having the effect also of bringing off malformed nails. The juice or the leaves, applied topically, of either kind of linozostis,[1573] remove warts. All the varieties of tithymalos[1574] are efficacious for the removal of every kind of wart, as also of hangnails[1575] and wens. Ladanum[1576] imparts a fresh colour and seemly appearance to scars.

(15.) The traveller who carries artemisia[1577] attached to his person, or elelisphacus,[1578] will never be sensible of lassitude, it is said.

CHAP. 90.—REMEDIES FOR FEMALE DISEASES.

One great remedy for all female diseases in common, is the black seed of the herbaceous plant pæonia,[1579] taken in hydromel: the root also is an effectual emmenagogue. Seed of panaces,[1580] mixed with wormwood, acts as an emmenagogue and as a sudorific: the same, too, with scordotis,[1581] taken internally or applied topically. Betony, in doses of one drachma to three cyathi of wine, is taken for various affections of the uterus, as also directly after child-birth. Excessive menstruation is arrested by a pessary of achillea,[1582] or else a sitting-bath composed of a decoction of that plant. Seed of henbane in wine is used as a liniment for diseases of the mamillæ, and the root is employed in the form of a plaster for uterine affections; chelidonia,[1583] too, is applied to the mamillæ.

Roots of panaces,[1584] applied as a pessary, bring away the after-birth and the dead fœtus, and the plant itself, taken in wine, or used as a pessary with honey, acts as a detergent upon the uterus. Polemonia,[1585] taken in wine, brings away the after-birth; used as a fumigation, it is good for suffocations of the uterus. Juice of the smaller centaury,[1586] taken in drink, or employed as a fomentation, acts as an emmenagogue. The root also of the larger centaury, similarly used, is good for pains in the uterus; scraped and used as a pessary, it expels the dead fœtus. For pains of the uterus, plantago[1587] is applied as a pessary, in wool, and for hysterical suffocations, it is taken in drink. But it is dittany that is of the greatest efficacy in cases of this description; it acts as an emmenagogue, and is an expellent of the fœtus when dead or lying transversely in the uterus. In these cases the leaves of it are taken, in doses of one obolus, in water: indeed so active is it in its effects that ordinarily it is forbidden to be introduced into the chamber of a woman lying-in. Not only is it thus efficacious when taken in drink, but even when applied topically or used as a fumigation. Pseudodictamnum[1588] possesses pretty nearly the same virtues, but it acts as an emmenagogue also, boiled in doses of one denarius in unmixed wine. Aristolochia,[1589] however, is employed for a greater number of purposes: in combination with myrrh and pepper, either taken in drink or used as a pessary, it acts as a powerful emmenagogue, and brings away the dead fœtus and the after-birth. This plant, the smaller kind in particular, used either as a fomentation, fumigation, or pessary, acts as a preventive of procidence of the uterus.

Hysterical suffocations and irregularities of the catamenia are treated with agaric, taken in doses of three oboli, in one cyathus of old wine: vervain is used also in similar cases, as a pessary, with fresh hog’s lard; or else antirrhinum,[1590] with rose, oil and honey. Root of Thessalian nymphæa,[1591] used as a pessary, is curative of pains in the uterus; taken in red wine, it arrests uterine discharges. Root of cyclaminos,[1592] on the other hand, taken in drink and employed as a pessary, acts as an emmenagogue: a decoction of it, used as a sitting-bath, cures affections of the bladder. Cissanthemos,[1593] taken in drink, brings away the after-birth, and is curative of diseases of the uterus. The upper part of the root of xiphion,[1594] taken in doses of one drachma, in vinegar, promotes menstruation. A fumigation of burnt peucedanum[1595] has a soothing effect in cases of hysterical suffocation. Psyllion,[1596] taken in the proportion of one drachma to three cyathi of hydromel, is particularly good for promoting the lochial discharge. Seed of mandragora,[1597] taken in drink, acts as a detergent upon the uterus; the juice, employed in a pessary, promotes menstruation and expels the dead fœtus. The seed of this plant, used with live sulphur,[1598] arrests menstruation when in excess; while batrachion,[1599] on the other hand, acts as an emmenagogue. This last plant is either used as an article of food, or is taken in drink: in a raw state, as already stated,[1600] it has a burning flavour; but when cooked, the taste of it is greatly improved by the addition of salt, oil, and cummin. Daucus,[1601] taken in drink, promotes the catamenia, and is an expellent of the after-birth in a very high degree. Ladanum,[1602] used as a fumigation, acts as a corrective upon the uterus, and is employed topically for pains and ulcerations of that organ.

Scammony, taken in drink or used as a pessary, is an expellent of the dead fœtus. Either kind of hypericon,[1603] used as a pessary, promotes menstruation: but for this purpose it is crethmos,[1604] according to Hippocrates, that is the most efficacious, the seed or root of it being taken in wine.[1605] * * * of the outer coat brings away the after-birth. This plant, taken in water, is good for hysterical suffocations; root of geranion[1606] also, which is peculiarly useful for the after-birth, and for inflation of the uterus. Hippuris,[1607] taken in drink or applied as a pessary, acts as a detergent upon the uterus: polygonos,[1608] taken in drink, promotes menstruation; and the same with root of alcima.[1609] Leaves of plantago,[1610] and agaric in hydromel, have a similar effect. Artemisia,[1611] bruised and applied as a pessary, with oil of iris,[1612] figs, or myrrh, is curative of diseases of the uterus; the root, too, of this plant, taken in drink, is so strongly purgative as to expel the dead fœtus even. A decoction of the branches, used as a sitting-bath, promotes menstruation and brings away the after-birth; the same too, with the leaves, taken in doses of one drachma in drink. The leaves, if applied to the lower regions of the abdomen with barley-meal, will prove equally efficacious.

Acoron[1613] is very useful for internal complaints of females; as also the two varieties of conyza,[1614] and crethmos.[1615] Either kind of anthyllis,[1616] taken in wine, is remarkably good for uterine affections, griping pains in that organ, and retardations of the after-birth. Callithrix,[1617] applied as a fomentation, is curative of affections of the vagina: it removes scaly eruptions[1618] also of the head, and, beaten up in oil, it stains the hair. Geranion,[1619] taken in white wine, or hypocisthis[1620] in red, arrests all uterine discharges. Hyssop modifies hysterical suffocations. Root of vervain, taken in water, is a most excellent remedy for all accidents incident to, or consequent upon, delivery. Some persons mix bruised cypress seed with peucedanum[1621] in red wine. Seed, too, of psyllion,[1622] boiled in water and taken warm, has a soothing effect upon all defluxions of the uterus. Symphyton,[1623] bruised in wine, promotes menstruation. Juice of scordotis,[1624] in the proportion of one drachma to four cyathi of hydromel, accelerates delivery. Leaves of dittany are given for the same purpose, in water, with remarkable success. It is a well-known fact, too, that these leaves, to the extent of a single obolus even, will bring away the fœtus instantaneously, even when dead, without the slightest inconvenience to the patient. Pseudodictamnum[1625] is productive of a somewhat similar effect, but not in so marked a degree: cyclaminos,[1626] too, attached as an amulet; cissanthemos,[1627] taken in drink; and powdered betony, in hydromel.

CHAP. 91.—ARSENOGONON: ONE MEDICINAL PROPERTY. THELYGONON: ONE MEDICINAL PROPERTY.

Arsenogonon[1628] and thelygonon are plants, both of them, with clusters resembling the blossoms of the olive, but paler, and a white seed like that of the poppy. By taking thelygonon in drink, they say, the conception of female issue is ensured. Arsenogonon differs from it in the seed, which resembles that of the olive, but in no other respect. By taking this last plant in drink, male issue may be ensured—that is, if we choose to believe it. Some persons, however, assert that both plants resemble ocimum,[1629] but that the seed of arsenogonon is double, and resembles the testes in appearance.

CHAP. 92.—MASTOS: ONE REMEDY.

Aizoüm, which we have spoken of under the name of digitellus,[1630] is the great specific for diseases of the mamillæ. The milk is increased by taking erigeron[1631] in raisin wine, or else sonchos[1632] boiled with spelt. The plant known as “mastos,”[1633] applied topically, removes the hairs from the mamillæ,[1634] which make their appearance after child-birth: it has the effect also of dispersing scaly crusts[1635] upon the face, and other cutaneous affections. Gentian also, nymphæa heraclia[1636] employed in a liniment, and root of cyclaminos,[1637] remove all blemishes of the skin. Seeds of cacalia,[1638] mixed with melted wax, plump out the skin of the face and make wrinkles disappear. Root of acoron,[1639] also, removes all spots upon the skin.

CHAP. 93.—APPLICATIONS FOR THE HAIR. LYSIMACHIA. OPHRYS.

Lysimachia[1640] imparts a blonde tint[1641] to the hair, and the hypericon,[1642] otherwise called “corisson,” makes it black. The same too, with ophrys,[1643] a plant with indentations, which resembles the cabbage, but has only two leaves. Polemonia,[1644] too, boiled in oil, imparts blackness to the hair.

As for depilatories, I reckon them in the number of cosmetics, fit for women only, though men use them now-a-days. For this purpose archezostis[1645] is looked upon as highly efficacious, as also juice of tithymalos,[1646] applied with oil every now and then in the sun, or after pulling out the hairs. Hyssop, applied with oil, heals itch-scab in beasts, and sideritis[1647] is particularly useful for quinzy in swine.

But let us now turn to the remaining plants of which we have to speak.

SUMMARY.—Remedies, narratives, and observations, one thousand and nineteen.

ROMAN AUTHORS QUOTED.—M. Varro,[1648] C. Valgius,[1649] Pompeius Lenæus,[1650] Sextius Niger[1651] who wrote in Greek, Julius Bassus[1652] who wrote in Greek, Antonius Castor,[1653] Cornelius Celsus.[1654]

FOREIGN AUTHORS QUOTED.—Theophrastus,[1655] Democritus,[1656] Juba,[1657] Orpheus,[1658] Pythagoras,[1659] Mago,[1660] Menander[1661] who wrote the “Biochresta,” Nicander,[1662] Homer, Hesiod,[1663] Musæus,[1664] Sophocles,[1665] Xanthus,[1666] Anaxilaüs.[1667]

MEDICAL AUTHORS QUOTED.—Mnesitheus,[1668] Callimachus,[1669] Phanias[1670] the physician, Timaristus,[1671] Simus,[1672] Hippocrates,[1673] Chrysippus,[1674] Diocles,[1675] Ophelion,[1676] Heraclides,[1677] Hicesius,[1678] Dionysius,[1679] Apollodorus[1680] of Citium, Apollodorus[1681] of Tarentum, Praxagoras[1682] Plistonieus,[1683] Medius,[1684] Dieuches,[1685] Cleophantus,[1686] Philistion,[1687] Asclepiades,[1688] Crateuas,[1689] Petronius Diadotus,[1690] Iollas,[1691] Erasistratus,[1692] Diagoras,[1693] Andreas,[1694] Mnesides,[1695] Epicharmus[1696] Damion,[1697] Tlepolemus,[1698] Metrodorus,[1699] Solo,[1700] Lycus,[1701] Olympias[1702] of Thebes, Philinus,[1703] Petrichus,[1704] Micton,[1705] Glaucias,[1706] Xenocrates.[1707]

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Book XXVII

A DESCRIPTION OF PLANTS, AND OF THE REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THEM.

CHAP. 1. (1.)—RESEARCHES OF THE ANCIENTS UPON THIS SUBJECT.

The further I proceed in this work, the more I am impressed with admiration of the ancients; and the greater the number of plants that remain to be described, the more I am induced to venerate the zeal displayed by the men of former times in their researches, and the kindly spirit manifested by them in transmitting to us the results thereof. Indeed their bounteousness in this respect would almost seem to have surpassed the munificent disposition even of Nature herself, if our knowledge of plants had depended solely upon man’s spirit of discovery: but as it is, it is evident beyond all doubt that this knowledge has emanated from the gods themselves, or, at all events, has been the result of divine inspiration, even in those cases where man has been instrumental in communicating it to us. In other words, if we must confess the truth—a marvel surpassed by nothing in our daily experience—Nature herself, that common parent of all things, has at once produced them, and has discovered to us their properties.

Wondrous indeed is it, that a Scythian[1708] plant should be brought from the shores of the Palus Mæotis, and the euphorbia[1709] from Mount Atlas and the regions beyond the Pillars of Hercules, localities where the operations of Nature have reached their utmost limit! That in another direction, the plant britannica[1710] should be conveyed to us from isles of the Ocean situate beyond the confines of the earth![1711] That the æthiopis[1712] should reach us from a climate scorched by the luminaries of heaven! And then, in addition to all this, that there should be a perpetual interchange going on between all parts of the earth, of productions so instrumental to the welfare of mankind! Results, all of them, ensured to us by the peace that reigns under the majestic sway of the Roman power, a peace which brings in presence of each other, not individuals only, belonging to lands and nations far separate, but mountains even, and heights towering above the clouds, their plants and their various productions! That this great bounteousness of the gods may know no end, is my prayer, a bounteousness which seems to have granted the Roman sway as a second luminary for the benefit of mankind.

CHAP. 2. (2.)—ACONITE, OTHERWISE CALLED THELYPHONON, CAMMARON, PARDALIANCHES, OR SCORPIO; FOUR REMEDIES.

But who, I say, can sufficiently venerate the zeal and spirit of research displayed by the ancients? It is they who have shown us that aconite is the most prompt of all poisons in its effects—so much so indeed, that female animals, if the sexual parts[1713] are but touched with it, will not survive a single day. With this poison it was that M. Cæcilius[1714] accused Calpurnius Bestia of killing his wives in their sleep, and this it was that gave rise to that fearful peroration of his, denouncing the murderous finger of the accused.[1715] According to the fables of mythology, this plant was originally produced from the foam of the dog Cerberus, when dragged by Hercules from the Infernal[1716] Regions; for which reason, it is said, it is still so remarkably abundant in the vicinity of Heraclea in Pontus, a spot where the entrance is still pointed out to the shades below.

And yet, noxious as it is, the ancients have shown us how to employ aconite for the benefit of mankind, and have taught us as the result of their experience, that, taken in mulled wine, it neutralizes the venom of the scorpion: indeed such is the nature of this deadly plant, that it kills man, unless it can find in man something else to kill. When such is the case, as though it had discovered in the body a fit rival to contend with, that substance is the sole object of its attack; finding another poison in the viscera, to it alone it confines its onslaught; and thus, a truly marvellous thing! two poisons, each of them of a deadly nature, destroy one another within the body, and the man survives. Even more than this, the ancients have handed down to us remedies employed by the animals themselves, and have shown how that venomous creatures even effect their own cure. By the contact of aconite the scorpion is struck with torpor,[1717] is quite benumbed, assumes a pallid hue, and so confesses itself vanquished. When this is the case, white hellebore is its great auxiliary: the very touch of it dispels its torpor, and the aconite is forced to yield before two foes, its own enemy[1718] and the common[1719] enemy of all.

Now, after this, if any one should be of opinion that man could, by any chance or possibility, make such discoveries as these, he must surely be guilty of ingratitude in thus appreciating the beneficence of the gods! In countries frequented by the panther, they rub meat with aconite, and if one of those animals should but taste it, its effects are fatal: indeed were not these means adopted, the country would soon be over-run by them. It is for this reason, too, that some persons have given to hellebore the name of “pardalianches.”[1720] It has been well ascertained, however, that the panther instantaneously recovers if it can find the opportunity of eating human ordure.[1721] So far as these animals are concerned, who can entertain a doubt that it was chance only that first led them to this discovery; and that as often as this happens the discovery is only a mere repetition of the accident, there being neither reason nor an appreciation of experience to ensure its transmission among them?

(3.) It is chance,[1722] yes, it is chance that is the Deity who has made to us these numerous revelations for our practical benefit;[1723] always understanding that under this name we mean Nature, that great parent and mistress of all things: and this is evident, whether we come to the conclusion, that these wild beasts make the discovery from day to day, or that they are gifted from the first with these powers of perception. Regarded in another point of view, it really is a disgrace that all animated beings should have an exact knowledge of what is beneficial to them, with the exception of man!

The ancients, openly professing their belief that there is no evil without some admixture of good, have asserted that aconite is a remarkably useful ingredient in compositions for the eyes. It may therefore be permitted me, though I have hitherto omitted a description of the poisonous plants, to point out the characteristics of aconite, if only that it may be the more easily detected. Aconite[1724] has leaves like those of cyclaminos[1725] or of the cucumber, never more than four in number, slightly hairy, and rising from near the root. This root, which is of moderate size, resembles the sea-fish known as the “cammarus,”[1726] a circumstance owing to which the plant has received the name of “cammaron” from some; while others, for the reason already[1727] mentioned, have called it “thelyphonon.”[1728] The root is slightly curved, like a scorpion’s tail, for which reason some persons have given it the name of “scorpio.” Others, again, have preferred giving it the name of “myoctonon,”[1729] from the fact that the odour of it kills mice at a considerable distance even.

This plant is found growing upon the naked rocks known as “aconæ;”[1730] and hence it is, according to some authorities, that it is called “aconitum,” there being not so much as dust even about it to conduce to its nutriment. Such is the reason given for its name by some: but according to others, it receives this appellation from the fact that it fatally exercises the same effects upon the body that the whetstone[1731] does upon the edge of iron, being no sooner employed than its effects are felt.

CHAP. 3. (4.)—ÆTHIOPIS: FOUR REMEDIES.

Æthiopis[1732] is a plant with leaves resembling those of phlomos,[1733] large, numerous, hairy, and springing from the root. The stem is square, rough, similar to that of arction[1734] in appearance, and with numerous axillary concavities. The seed resembles that of the fitch, being white and twofold; the roots are several in number, long, fleshy, soft, and of a viscous taste; when dry they turn black and hard, and might easily be taken for horns. In addition to Æthiopia, this plant grows upon Mount Ida in Troas, and in Messenia. The roots are gathered in autumn, and left to dry for some days in the sun, to prevent them from turning mouldy. Taken in white wine they are curative of affections of the uterus, and a decoction of them is administered for sciatica, pleurisy, and eruptions of the throat. The kind, however, which comes from Æthiopia, is by far the best, and gives instantaneous relief.

CHAP. 4.—AGERATON: FOUR REMEDIES.

Ageraton[1735] is a ferulaceous plant, a couple of palms in height, similar to origanum[1736] in appearance, and bearing flowers like balls of gold. Used as a fumigation, this plant acts as a diuretic; and as a detergent upon the uterus, when used in a sitting bath more particularly. Its name has been given to it, from the circumstance that it keeps a very long time without fading.

CHAP. 5.—THE ALOE; TWENTY-NINE REMEDIES.

The aloe[1737] bears a resemblance to the squill, except that it is larger, and has more substantial leaves, with streaks running obliquely. The stem is tender, red in the middle, and not unlike that of the anthericus.[1738] It has a single root, which runs straight downwards, like a stake driven into the ground; its smell is powerful, and it has a bitter taste. The most esteemed aloes are those imported from India, but it grows in the Asiatic provinces[1739] as well. This last kind, however, is never used, except that the leaves are applied fresh to wounds; indeed, these leaves, as well as the juice, are glutinous to a marvellous degree, and it is for this property that it is grown in vessels of a conical form, in the same way as the greater aizoüm.[1740] Some persons make incisions in the stem to obtain the juice, before the seed is ripe, while others, again, make them in the leaves as well. Tearlike drops are also found adhering to it, which exude spontaneously: hence it is that some recommend that the place should be paved where it is grown, to prevent this juice from being absorbed.

Some authors have stated, that there is found in Judæa, beyond Hierosolyma, a mineral[1741] aloe, but that it is inferior to the other kinds, being of a darker colour and more humid than any of the rest. Aloes[1742] of the finest quality should be unctuous and shining, of a red colour, brittle, compact, like the substance of liver, and easily liquefied. That which is hard and black should be rejected; the same, too, when it is mixed with sand or adulterated with gum and acacia, a fraud which, may be easily detected by the taste.

This plant is of an astringent nature, binding, and slightly calorific. It is employed for numerous purposes, but principally as a purgative,[1743] it being almost the only one of all the medicaments which produce that effect, that is at the same time a good stomachic, and does not exercise the slightest noxious influence upon the stomach. It is taken in doses of one drachma, and, in cases of derangement of the stomach, it is administered two or three times a day, in the proportion of one spoonful to two cyathi of warm or cold water, at intervals, according to the nature of the emergency. As a purgative it is mostly taken in doses of three drachmæ; and it operates still more efficaciously, if food is eaten directly afterwards. Used with astringent wine, it prevents[1744] the hair from falling off, the head being rubbed with it the contrary way of the hair, in the sun. Applied to the temples and forehead, with rose oil and vinegar, or used as an infusion, in a more diluted form, it allays head-ache. It is generally agreed that it is remedial for all diseases[1745] of the eyes, but more particularly for prurigo and scaly eruptions of the eye-lids; as also for marks and bruises, applied in combination with honey, Pontic honey in particular.

It is employed, also, for affections of the tonsillary glands and gums, for all ulcerations of the mouth, and for spitting of blood, if not in excess—the proper dose being one drachma, taken in water or else vinegar. Used by itself, or in combination, with vinegar, it arrests hæmorrhage, whether proceeding from wounds or from other causes. In addition to these properties, it is extremely efficacious for the cure of wounds, producing cicatrization very rapidly: it is sprinkled also upon ulcerations of the male organs, and is applied to condylomata and chaps of the fundament, either in common wine, raisin wine, or by itself in a dry state, according as a mollifying or restrictive treatment is required. It has the effect, also, of gently arresting hæmorrhoidal bleeding, when in excess. In cases of dysentery, it is used as an injection, and where the digestion is imperfect it is taken shortly after the evening meal. For jaundice, it is administered in doses of three oboli, in water. As a purgative for the bowels, it is taken in pills, with boiled honey or turpentine. It is good also for the removal of hangnails. When employed in ophthalmic preparations, it is first washed, that the more gravelly portions of it may subside; or else it is put over the fire in a pipkin, and stirred with a feather from time to time, that the whole of it may be equally warmed.

CHAP. 6.—ALCEA: ONE REMEDY.

Alcea[1746] is a plant with leaves, resembling those of vervain,[1747] known also as “peristereon,” some three or four stems covered with leaves, a flower like that of the rose, and white roots, at most six in number, a cubit in length, and running obliquely. It grows in a soil that is rich without being dry. The root is given in wine or water, for dysentery, diarrhœa, ruptures, and convulsions.

CHAP. 7.—THE ALYPON: ONE REMEDY.

The alypon[1748] has a small stem, with a soft head, and is not unlike beet in appearance. It has an acrid, viscous taste, extremely pungent and burning. Taken in hydromel, with a little salt, it acts as a purgative. The smallest dose is two drachmæ, a moderate dose, four, and the largest, six. When used as a purgative, it is taken in chicken broth.

CHAP. 8.—ALSINE, A PLANT USED FOR THE SAME PURPOSES AS HELXINE: FIVE REMEDIES.

Alsine,[1749] a plant known as “myosoton”[1750] to some, grows in the woods, to which fact it is indebted for its name of “alsine.”[1751] It begins to make its appearance at mid-winter, and withers in the middle of summer. When it first puts forth, the leaves bear a strong resemblance to the ears of mice. We shall have occasion,[1752] however, to speak of another plant which may, with much more justice, be called “myosotis.” As for alsine, it would be the same thing as helxine,[1753] were it not that it is smaller and not so hairy. It grows in[1754] gardens and upon walls more particularly: when rubbed, it emits a smell like that of cucumber. It is used for abscesses, inflammations, and all those purposes for which helxine is employed; its properties, however, are not so active. It is applied topically, also, to defluxions of the eyes, and to sores upon the generative organs, and ulcerations, with barley meal. The juice is used as an injection for the ears.

CHAP. 9.—THE ANDROSACES: SIX REMEDIES.

The androsaces[1755] is a white plant, bitter, without leaves, and bearing arms surmounted with follicules, containing the seed. It grows in the maritime parts of Syria, more particularly. This plant is administered for dropsy, in doses of two drachmæ, pounded or boiled, in either water, wine, or vinegar: it acts most powerfully as a diuretic. It is used also for gout, either taken internally or used as a liniment. The seed is possessed of similar properties.

CHAP. 10.—ANDROSÆMON OR ASCYRON: SIX REMEDIES.

Androsæmon[1756] or, as some persons call it, “ascyron,” is not unlike hypericon, a plant of which we have spoken already:[1757] the stems, however, are larger, redder, and lie more closely together. The leaves are of a white colour, and like those of rue in shape; the seed resembles that of the black poppy, and the upper branches, when bruised, emit a red juice the colour of blood: these branches have also a resinous smell.

This plant grows in vineyards, and it is usually in the middle of autumn that it is taken up and hung to dry. Used as a purgative, it is bruised with the seed, and taken in the morning or just after the evening meal, in doses of two drachmæ, in hydromel, wine, or pure water, the draught amounting to one sextarius in all. It carries off bile, and is particularly good for sciatica; but in this last case, caper root must be taken with resin the day after, the dose being one drachma, to be repeated every four days: after being purged, it is the practice for the patient, if in robust health, to take wine, but if in a weak state of body, water. It is employed topically, also, for gout, burns, and wounds, as it tends to arrest the flow of blood.

CHAP. 11.—AMBROSIA, BOTRYS, OR ARTEMISIA: THREE REMEDIES.

Ambrosia is a vague name, which has fluctuated between various plants: there is one,[1758] however, which has been more particularly designated by this appellation, a branchy, shrub-like plant, with a thin stem, some three palms in height; the root of it is one third shorter, and the leaves, towards the lower part of the stem, resemble those of rue. Its diminutive branches bear a seed which hangs down in clusters, and has a vinous smell: hence it is that by some persons the plant is called “botrys,”[1759] while to others it is known as “artemisia.” The people of Cappadocia use it for garlands. It is employed in medicine as a resolvent.

CHAP. 12.—THE ANONIS OR ONONIS: FIVE REMEDIES.

The anonis,[1760] by some called “ononis” in preference, is a branchy plant, and similar to fenugreek in appearance, except that it is more shrub-like and more hairy. It has an agreeable smell, and becomes prickly after spring. It is pickled in brine for eating. Applied fresh to ulcers, it cauterizes the margins of them. For the cure of tooth-ache, the root is boiled in oxycrate: taken in drink, with honey, the root expels urinary calculi. For epilepsy, it is administered in oxymel, boiled down to one half.

CHAP. 13.—THE ANAGYROS OR ACOPON: THREE REMEDIES.

The anagyros, known to some by the name of “acopon,”[1761] is a shrub-like plant, with an offensive smell, and a blossom like that of the cabbage. The seed grows in small hornlike pods of considerable length and resembles a kidney in shape; it hardens about the time of harvest. The leaves of this plant are applied to gatherings, and are attached to the person in cases of difficult parturition, care being taken to remove them the moment after delivery. In cases where the extraction of the dead fœtus is attended with difficulty, or where the after-birth or catamenia are retarded, the leaves are taken, in doses of one drachma, in raisin wine. The leaves are administered in the same manner for asthma: they are prescribed also in old wine, for injuries inflicted by the phalangium.[1762] The root is employed medicinally as a resolvent and maturative: the seed, chewed, acts as an emetic.

CHAP. 14.—THE ANONYMOS: TWO REMEDIES.

The anonymos,[1763] through not having a name, has at last found one.[1764] It is brought from Scythia, and has been highly extolled by Hicesius, a physician of no small repute, as also by Aristogiton. Bruised in water and applied, it is remarkably useful for wounds, and taken in drink it is good for blows upon the chest or mamillæ, as also for spitting of blood: it has been thought, too, that it might be advantageously taken in a potion for wounds. I am of opinion that the additional statement, to the effect that, burnt fresh, it acts as a solder to iron or copper, is wholly fabulous.

CHAP. 15. (5.)—APARINE, OMPHALOCARPOS, OR PHILANTHROPOS: THREE REMEDIES.

Aparine,[1765] otherwise called “omphalocarpos”[1766] or “philanthropos,”[1767] is a ramose, hairy, plant, with five or six leaves at regular intervals, arranged circularly around the branches. The seed is round, hard, concave, and of a sweetish taste. It grows in cornfields, gardens, and meadows, and, by the aid of its prickly points, adheres to the clothes. The seed is employed to neutralize the venom of serpents, being taken in doses of one drachma, in wine: it is useful also for the bite of the phalangium.[1768] The leaves, applied topically, arrest hæmorrhage from wounds. The juice is used as an injection for the ears.

CHAP. 16.—THE ARCTION OR ARCTURUM: FIVE REMEDIES.

The arction[1769] is by some called “arcturum” in preference: the leaves of it are like those of verbascum,[1770] except that they are more hairy; the stem is long and soft, and the seed resembles that of cummin. It grows in rocky localities, and has a tender root, white and sweet. A decoction of it is made with wine for tooth-ache, being retained for that purpose in the mouth. The plant is taken in drink for sciatica and strangury, and is applied with wine to burns and chilblains, which are fomented also with the root and seed bruised in wine.

CHAP. 17.—THE ASPLENON OR HEMIONION: TWO REMEDIES.

Some persons call the asplenon[1771] by the name of “hemionion.”[1772] It has numerous leaves, a third of a foot in length, and a slimy root, pierced with holes like that of fern, white, and hairy. It is destitute of stem, flower, and seed,[1773] and is found growing upon rocks or sheltered damp walls. The most approved kind is that of Crete. A decoction of the leaves in vinegar, taken in drink for a period of thirty days, will consume the spleen, it is said, the leaves being applied simultaneously. The leaves give relief also in hiccup. This plant should never be given to females, being productive of sterility.

CHAP. 18.—THE ASCLEPIAS: TWO REMEDIES.

The asclepias[1774] has leaves like those of ivy,[1775] long branches, and numerous roots, thin, and odoriferous. The flower has a strong offensive smell, and the seed is like that of securidaca:[1776] it is found growing in mountainous districts. The roots are used for the cure of griping pains in the bowels, and of stings inflicted by serpents, either taken in drink or applied topically.

CHAP. 19.—THE ASTER OR BUBONION: THREE REMEDIES.

The aster[1777] is called “bubonion” by some, from the circumstance of its being a sovereign remedy for diseases of the groin. It has a diminutive stem with oblong leaves, two or three in number; and at the summit it is surmounted with small radiated heads, like stars. This plant is taken also in drink as an antidote to the venom of serpents: but if required for the cure of inguinal complaints, it is recommended that it should be gathered with the left hand, and attached to the body near the girdle. It is of great service also, worn as an amulet, for sciatica.

CHAP. 20.—ASCYRON AND ASCYROÏDES: THREE REMEDIES.

Ascyron[1778] and ascyroïdes are plants similar to one another, and to hypericon[1779] as well, except that the plant known as “ascyroïdes”[1780] has larger branches, ferulaceous, red all over, and bearing small yellow heads. The seed, enclosed in small calyces, is diminutive, black, and resinous. The tops of the branches, when bruised, stain like blood; for which reason some persons have given it the name of “androsæmon.”[1781] The seed is used for the cure of sciatica, being taken in doses of two drachmæ, in one sextarius of hydromel. It relaxes the bowels, and carries off bile: it is applied also to burns.

CHAP. 21.—THE APHACA: THREE REMEDIES.

The aphaca[1782] has remarkably diminutive leaves, and is but little taller than the lentil. The pods are of a larger size, and enclose some three or four seeds, of a darker colour, moister, and more diminutive than those of the lentil: it grows in cultivated fields. It is naturally more astringent than the lentil, but in other respects is applied to much the same purposes. The seed, used in a decoction, arrests fluxes of the stomach and bowels.

CHAP. 22.—ALCIBIUM: ONE REMEDY.

I have not found it stated by authors what kind of plant alcibium[1783] is; but the root, I find, and the leaves, are pounded and employed, both externally and internally, for injuries inflicted by serpents. When the leaves are used, a handful of them is bruised in three cyathi of undiluted wine: the root is employed in the proportion of three drachmæ to the same quantity of wine.

CHAP. 23.—ALECTOROSLOPHOS OR CRISTA: TWO REMEDIES.

Alectoroslophos,[1784] or crista,[1785] as we call it, has numerous leaves resembling a cock’s comb, a thin stem, and a black seed enclosed in pods. Boiled with broken beans and honey, it is useful for cough and for films upon the eyes. The seed, too, is sprinkled whole into the eyes, and so far is it from injuring them, that it attracts and collects the filmy matter. When thus used, it changes colour, and from black becomes white, gradually swells, and comes out of itself.

CHAP. 24. (6.)—ALUM, ALSO CALLED SYMPHYTON PETRÆON: FOURTEEN REMEDIES.

The plant which we call “alum,”[1786] and which is known to the Greeks as “symphyton[1787] petræon,” is similar to cunila bubula[1788] in appearance, having a diminutive leaf and three or four branches springing from the root, with tops like those of thyme. It is a ligneous plant, odoriferous, of a sweet flavour, and provocative of saliva: the root of it is long and red. It grows upon rocks, to which circumstance it is indebted for its additional name of “petræon;” and is extremely useful[1789] for affections of the sides and kidneys, griping pains in the bowels, diseases of the chest and lungs, spitting of blood, and eruptions of the fauces. The root is pounded and taken in drink, or else a decoction is made of it in wine; sometimes, also, it is applied externally. Chewed, it allays thirst, and is particularly refreshing to the pulmonary organs. It is employed topically for sprains and contusions, and has a soothing effect upon the intestines.

Cooked upon hot ashes, with the follicules removed, and then beaten up with nine peppercorns and taken in water, it acts astringently upon the bowels. For the cure of wounds it is remarkably efficacious, being possessed of agglutinating[1790] properties to such a remarkable degree as to solder pieces of meat together with which it is boiled; to which, in fact, it is indebted for its Greek name.[1791] It is used also for the cure of fractured bones.

CHAP. 25. (7.)—ALGA RUFA OR RED SEA-WEED: ONE REMEDY.

Red sea-weed[1792] is useful as an application for the sting of the scorpion.

CHAP. 26.—ACTÆA: ONE REMEDY.

Actæa[1793] has leaves with a powerful smell, rough knotted stems, a black seed like that of ivy, and soft berries. It grows in umbrageous, rugged, watery localities; and is used, in doses of one full acetabulum, for female complaints.

CHAP. 27.—THE AMPELOS AGRIA, OR WILD VINE: FOUR REMEDIES.

Ampelos agria, or wild vine, is the name of a plant with leaves of an ashy colour, as already[1794] stated in our description of the cultivated plants, and long, tough twigs of a red hue, like that of the flower which we have mentioned,[1795] when speaking of violets, under the name of “flame of Jove.” It bears a seed which resembles the grains of the pomegranate. The root, boiled in three cyathi of water, with the addition of two cyathi of Coan wine, is slightly laxative to the bowels, and is consequently given for dropsy. It is curative also of uterine affections, and of spots upon the face in females. It is found a good plan for patients afflicted with sciatica to use the juice of this plant, bruised, applied topically, with the leaves.

CHAP. 28.—ABSINTHIUM OR WORMWOOD; FOUR VARIETIES: FORTY-EIGHT REMEDIES.

There are numerous kinds of absinthium; the Santonic,[1796] for instance, so called from a city in Gaul, and the Pontic,[1797] which comes from Pontus, where the cattle are fattened upon it—a diet which causes them to be destitute of gall.[1798] The Pontic wormwood, we may remark, is of the finest quality, superior to that of Italy,[1799] and much more bitter; the pith, however, of the Pontic wormwood is sweet. As to its general utility, a plant so commonly found and applied to such numerous uses, people are universally agreed; but with the Romans more particularly it has been always held in the highest esteem, from the fact of its being employed in their religious ceremonials. Thus, for instance, upon the Latin[1800] Festival, it is the custom to have a race of four-horsed chariots in the Capital, and for the conqueror to be presented with a draught of wormwood; from the circumstance, no doubt, that our forefathers were of opinion that good health was the most valuable reward they could bestow upon his skill.

This plant is very strengthening to the stomach, and hence it is that wines are flavoured with it, as already[1801] stated. A decoction of it in water is also taken, the following being the method employed in preparing it. Six drachmæ of the leaves are boiled, with the branches, in three sextarii of rain water, and the preparation is then left to cool in the open air a day and a night. Salt, too, should be added to it. When old, it is utterly useless. A dilution of wormwood steeped in water is also used, such being the name[1802] given to this method of preparing it. This dilution is made by leaving the vessel covered up for three days, any kind of water being used. Pounded wormwood is but rarely employed, and the same with the extracted juice of the seed.[1803] In cases, however, where it is extracted, the seed is subjected to pressure as soon as it begins to swell, after which it is soaked for three days in water, if used fresh, and seven, if dry. It is then boiled in a copper vessel, in the proportion of ten heminæ to forty-five sextarii of water, after which it is strained off and boiled gently to the consistency of honey, in the same way as the juice is extracted from the smaller centaury. The juice, however, of wormwood, thus extracted, is bad for the head and stomach; whereas the decoction, on the other hand, is wholesome in the highest degree, as it acts astringently upon the stomach, carries off bile, is a powerful diuretic, has a soothing effect upon the bowels, and assuages pains in the intestines. With the addition of sile,[1804] Gallic nard, and a little vinegar, it dispels nausea and flatulency, and expels intestinal worms. It removes qualmishness, promotes the digestion, and, with the addition of rue, pepper, and salt, disperses crudities of the stomach.

The ancients were in the habit of giving wormwood as a purgative, the dose being six drachmæ of the seed with three of salt and one cyathus of honey, in one sextarius of sea water kept for some time. This preparation, however, is rendered more efficacious by doubling the proportion of salt; the seed, too, must be bruised with the greatest care, as there is considerable difficulty in pounding it. Some authorities have prescribed the dose above mentioned to be given in polenta,[1805] with the addition of pennyroyal; while others recommend the leaves to be given to children in a dried fig, to disguise their bitterness. Taken with iris,[1806] wormwood acts as a detergent upon the thoracic organs: for jaundice it is used raw, with parsley or adiantum.[1807] In cases of flatulency, it is sipped every now and then, warmed in water; for liver complaints it is taken with Gallic nard, and for diseases of the spleen, with vinegar, pap,[1808] or figs. Taken in vinegar it neutralizes the bad effects of fungi and of viscus:[1809] in wine it is an antidote to the poison of hemlock, and to the bite of the shrew-mouse, and is curative of wounds inflicted by the sea-dragon[1810] and the scorpion. It contributes also very greatly to the improvement of the sight, and is used as an external application, with raisin wine, for defluxions of the eyes, and with honey, for bruises.

The steam of a decoction of wormwood is curative of affections of the ears; and when they are attacked with running sores, a liniment of wormwood bruised with honey is applied. Three or four sprigs of wormwood, with one root of Gallic nard, taken in six cyathi of water, act as a diuretic and as an emmenagogue; indeed, if taken with honey, or employed as a pessary with wool, it has especial virtues as an emmenagogue. In combination with honey and nitre it is useful for quinzy, and an infusion of it in water is good for epinyctis. A topical application is made of it for recent wounds, provided always they have not been touched with water: it is employed also for ulcers upon the head. In combination with Cyprian wax or figs, it is highly recommended as a plaster for the iliac regions: it is curative also of prurigo, but it must never be administered in fevers. Taken in drink, it is a preventive of sea sickness; and, worn attached to the body, beneath an apron, it arrests inguinal swellings. The smell of it[1811] induces sleep, a similar effect being produced by placing it under the pillow unknown to the party. Kept among clothes it preserves them from worms, and used as a liniment, with oil, or burnt as a fumigation, it has the effect of driving away gnats.

Writing ink, mixed with an infusion of wormwood, effectually protects the writings from the attacks of mice. Ashes of wormwood, mixed with rose unguent, stain the hair black.

CHAP. 29.—ABSINTHIUM MARINUM OR SERIPHUM.

There is a sea wormwood[1812] also, known as “seriphum” by some, the most esteemed being that of Taposiris in Egypt. Those initiated in the mysteries of Isis carry a branch of it in the hand. It has a narrower leaf than the preceding plant, and is not so bitter; it is injurious to the stomach, has a laxative effect upon the bowels, and expels intestinal worms. It is taken in drink with oil and salt; or else an infusion of it is taken in a pottage made of meal of three-month wheat. When employed as a decoction, a handful is used to one sextarius of water, the mixture being boiled down to one half.

CHAP. 30. (8.)—THE BALLOTES, MELAMPRASION, OR BLACK LEEK: THREE REMEDIES.

The Greeks give to the ballotes[1813] the other name of “melamprasion,” meaning “black leek.”[1814] It is a branchy plant, with black angular stems, covered with hairy leaves, larger and darker than those of the leek,[1815] and possessed of a powerful smell. The leaves, bruised and applied with salt, are highly efficacious for bites inflicted by dogs: cooked upon hot ashes and applied in a cabbage leaf, they are curative of condylomata. Mixed with honey, this plant acts as a detergent upon sordid ulcers.

CHAP. 31.—BOTRYS, AMBROSIA, OR ARTEMISIA: ONE REMEDY.

Botrys[1816] is a shrublike plant, which has small yellow branches, with the seed growing all round them, and leaves resembling[1817] those of endive. It is found upon the banks of running streams, and is used for the cure of hardness of breathing. The people of Cappadocia call this plant “ambrosia,” others again, “artemisia.”

CHAP. 32.—THE BRABYLA: ONE REMEDY.

The brabyla[1818] is possessed of astringent properties like those of the quince, but beyond this, authors give no particulars relative to it.

CHAP. 33.—BRYON MARITIMUM: FIVE REMEDIES.

Sea bryon[1819] is a plant, no doubt,[1820] with leaves like those of the lettuce, of a wrinkled, pursed appearance, and destitute of stem, the leaves arising from a single root: it grows upon rocks more particularly, and shells sunk in the sand. It has desiccative[1821] and astringent qualities in a very high degree, properties which render it useful for reducing all kinds of abscesses and inflammations, those attendant upon gout in particular. It is good also for all affections which stand in need of cooling applications.

CHAP. 34.—THE BUPLEURON: ONE REMEDY.

I find it stated that seed of bupleuron[1822] is given for injuries inflicted by serpents; and that the wound is fomented with a decoction of the plant, in combination with leaves of the mulberry or of origanum.[1823]

CHAP. 35.—THE CATANANCE; ONE OBSERVATION UPON IT. THE CEMOS: ONE OBSERVATION UPON IT.

The catanance[1824] is a Thessalian plant, which it would be a mere loss of time to describe, seeing that it is only used as an ingredient in philtres. In order, however, to expose the follies of the magical art, it may not be out of place to remark that this plant has been selected for the above-named purpose, from the fact that, as it withers, it gradually contracts and assumes the shape of the claws of a dead kite.[1825]

For a similar reason we shall give no description of the plant called “cemos.”[1826]

CHAP. 36.—THE CALYX: THREE REMEDIES.

Of the calyx[1827] there are two kinds. One of these resembles arum, and is found growing in ploughed soils; the proper time for gathering it being before it begins to wither. It is employed for the same purposes as arum;[1828] and an infusion of the root is taken as a purgative and as an emmenagogue. The stalks, boiled with the leaves and some pulse, are curative of tenesmus.

CHAP. 37.—THE CALYX, KNOWN ALSO AS ANCHUSA OK ONOCLÏA: TWO REMEDIES.

The other[1829] kind of calyx is known by some persons as “anchusa,” and by others as “onoclia.” The leaves are like those of the lettuce, but longer, and with a downy surface. The root is red, and is employed topically, in combination with fine polenta,[1830] for the cure of erysipelas: taken internally with white wine, it is good for affections of the liver.

CHAP. 38.—THE CIRCÆA: THREE REMEDIES.

The circæa[1831] resembles the cultivated trychnon[1832] in appearance. It has a small swarthy flower, a diminutive seed, like millet, growing in small horn-shaped pods, and a root half a foot in length, generally triple or fourfold, white, odoriferous, and hot in the mouth. It is found growing upon rocks exposed to the sun. An infusion of it is prepared with wine, and administered for pains and affections of the uterus: to make it, three ounces of the pounded root should be steeped in three sextarii of wine a day and a night. This potion is effectual also for bringing away the after-birth. The seed of this plant, taken in wine or hydromel, diminishes the milk in nursing women.

CHAP. 39.—THE CIRSION: ONE REMEDY.

The cirsion[1833] is a plant consisting of a diminutive and delicate stem, two cubits in height, of a triangular form, and covered with prickly leaves. The prickles on the leaves are downy, and the leaves themselves resemble those of buglossos[1834] in shape, but are smaller, and of a whitish colour. At the summit of the plant there are small purple heads, which fall off in the shape of down. This plant or the root of it, worn as an amulet, it is said, is curative of the pains attendant upon varicose veins.

CHAP. 40.—THE CRATÆGONON; TWO KINDS OF IT: EIGHT REMEDIES.

The cratægonon[1835] is similar to an ear of corn in appearance. It is formed of numerous shoots, springing from a single root, and full of joints. It grows in umbrageous localities, and has a seed like that of millet, with a remarkably acrid taste. If a man and woman, before the evening meal, take three oboli of this seed in three cyathi of water, for forty days consecutively, before the conception of their issue, it will be sure to be of the male[1836] sex, they say.

There is another cratægonon, known also as “thelygonos,”[1837] and distinguished from the last mentioned plant by the mildness of the taste. Some persons assert that females, if they take the blossom of this plant in drink, will be sure to conceive before the end of forty days. These plants, used in combination with honey, are curative of black ulcers of a chronic nature; they also fill the concavities made by fistulous ulcers with new flesh, and restore such parts of the body as are wasted by atrophy. They act as a detergent upon purulent sores, disperse inflammatory tumours, and alleviate gout and all kind of abscesses, those of the mamillæ in particular.

Under the name of “cratægos”[1838] or “cratægon,” Theophrastus[1839] speaks of the tree known in Italy as the “aquifolia.”

CHAP. 41.—THE CROCODILEON: TWO REMEDIES.

The crocodileon[1840] resembles the black chamæleon[1841] in shape: the root is long, of an uniform thickness, and possessed of a pungent smell. It is found growing in sandy soils. Taken in drink, it causes a copious discharge of coagulated blood at the nostrils, and in this way, it is said, diminishes the volume of the spleen.

CHAP. 42.—THE CYNOSORCHIS OR ORCHIS: FOUR REMEDIES.

The cynosorchis,[1842] by some called “orchis,” has leaves like[1843] those of the olive, soft, three in number, half a foot in length, and lying upon the ground. The root is bulbous, oblong, and divided into two portions,[1844] the upper one hard, and the lower one soft. These roots are eaten boiled, like bulbs,[1845] and are mostly found growing in vineyards. If males eat the upper part, they will be parents of male issue, they say, and females, if they eat the lower part, of female. In Thessaly, the men take the soft portion in goats’ milk as an aphrodisiac, and the hard part as an antaphrodisiac. Of these parts, the one effectually neutralizes the action of the other.[1846]

CHAP. 43.—THE CHRYSOLACHANUM; TWO VARIETIES OF IT: THREE REMEDIES. COAGULUM TERRÆ: TWO REMEDIES.

The chrysolachanum[1847] grows in pine plantations, and is similar to the lettuce in appearance. It heals wounds of the sinews, if applied without delay. There is another kind[1848] of chrysolachanum mentioned, with a golden flower, and a leaf like that of the cabbage: it is boiled and eaten as a laxative vegetable. This plant, worn as an amulet by a patient suffering from jaundice, provided it be always kept in sight, is a cure for that disease, it is said. I am not certain whether this is all that might be said about the chrysolachanum, but, at all events, it is all that I have found respecting it; for it is a very general fault on the part of our more recent herbalists, to confine their account of plants to the mere name, with a very meagre description of the peculiar features of the plant,—just as though, forsooth, they were universally known. Thus, they tell us, for instance, that a plant known as “coagulum[1849] terræ,” acts astringently upon the bowels, and that it dispels strangury, taken in water or in wine.

CHAP. 44.—THE CUCUBALUS, STRUMUS, OR STRYCHNON: SIX REMEDIES.

The leaves of the cucubalus,[1850] they tell us, bruised with vinegar, are curative of the stings of serpents and of scorpions. Some persons call this plant by the name of “strumus,”[1851] while others give it the Greek name of “strychnon:” its berries are black. The juice of these berries, administered in doses of one cyathus, in two cyathi of honied wine, is curative of lumbago; an infusion of them with rose oil is used for headache, and they are employed as an application for scrofulous sores.

CHAP. 45.—THE CONFERVA: TWO REMEDIES.

The conferva[1852] is peculiar to running streams, those of the Alpine regions more particularly; receiving its name from “conferrumino,”[1853] to solder together. Properly speaking, it is rather a fresh-water sponge than a moss or a plant, being a dense, porous mass of filaments. I know an instance where a man, who fell to the ground while lopping a tree of considerable height, and broke nearly every bone of his body, was cured by the agency of this plant. The patient’s body was covered all over with conferva, the application being continually sprinkled with water the moment it began to dry, and only removed for the purpose of changing it when the plant gave signs of losing its virtues.[1854] It is hardly credible with what rapidity he recovered.

CHAP. 46. (9.)—THE COCCUS CNIDIUS, OR GRAIN OF CNIDOS: TWO REMEDIES.

The Cnidian grain[1855] has just the colour of the kermes berry.[1856] It is larger than a peppercorn, and has very heating properties: hence it is that when used, it is taken in crumb of bread, that it may not burn the throat in passing downwards. It is a sovereign remedy for hemlock, and arrests[1857] looseness of the bowels.

CHAP. 47.—THE DIPSACOS: TWO REMEDIES.

The dipsacos[1858] has leaves like those of the lettuce, with prickly tubercles on the middle of the back. The stem of it, two cubits in length, is bristling all over with prickles of a similar nature. The joints of the stem are closely covered with two leaves, which form a concave axil in which a saltish dew-like liquid collects.[1859] At the summit of the stem there are small heads covered with prickles: it grows in watery localities.

This plant is used for the cure of chaps of the fundament and of fistula; in which latter case the root is boiled down in wine to the consistency of wax, to allow of its being introduced into the fistula in the form of a salve.[1860] It is employed too, for the cure of all kinds of warts: as a liniment for which, the juice collected in the axils, as above mentioned, is also used by some.

CHAP. 48.—THE DRYOPTERIS: TWO REMEDIES.

The dryopteris,[1861] which resembles fern in appearance, is found growing upon trees; the leaves are of a somewhat sweetish[1862] flavour and marked with slight indentations, and the root is hairy. This plant is possessed of caustic properties,[1863] and hence the root is pounded and used as a depilatory. In using it the skin is rubbed with it till perspiration is excited, the operation being repeated a second and a third time, care being taken not to remove the perspiration.

CHAP. 49.—THE DRYOPHONON.

The dryophonon[1864] is a similar plant, with thin stems a cubit in length, and surrounded on either side with leaves about as large as the thumb and like those of the oxymyrsine[1865] in appearance, only whiter and softer: the blossom is white, and similar to that of the elder. The shoots of it are eaten boiled, and the seed is used as a substitute for pepper.

CHAP. 50.—THE ELATINE: TWO REMEDIES.

The elatine[1866] has leaves like those of the helxine,[1867] diminutive, round, and hairy; its branches are small, half a foot in length, five or six in number, and covered with leaves from the root upwards. It grows in corn-fields, and has a rough flavour: hence it is found very useful for defluxions of the eyes, the leaves being beaten up and applied with polenta[1868] in a linen pledget. A decoction of this plant with linseed, taken in pottage, is good for dysentery.

CHAP. 51.—EMPETROS, BY OUR PEOPLE CALLED CALCIFRAGA: FOUR REMEDIES.

Empetros,[1869] by the people of our country called “calcifraga,”[1870] grows on mountains near the sea, and is generally found upon rocks: the nearer it grows to the sea the salter it is, acting as an evacuant of bile and pituitous secretions. That, on the other hand, which grows at a greater distance and more inland, is of a more bitter flavour. It carries off the aqueous humours of the body, being taken for that purpose in broth of some kind, or else hydromel. When old, it loses its strength; but used fresh, either boiled in water or pounded, it acts as a diuretic, and disperses urinary calculi. Authorities who wish full credence to be given to this asserted property, assure us that pebbles boiled with it will split asunder.

CHAP. 52.—THE EPIPACTIS OR ELLEBORINE: TWO REMEDIES.

The epipactis,[1871] called “elleborine” by some, is a diminutive plant with small leaves. Taken in drink, it is extremely useful for diseases of the liver, and as an antidote to poisons.

CHAP. 53.—THE EPIMEDION: THREE REMEDIES.

The epimedion[1872] consists of a stem of moderate size, with ten or twelve leaves like those of ivy: it never flowers, and has a thin, black root, with a powerful smell. It grows in humid soils. This plant also has certain astringent and cooling properties, but females must be on their guard[1873] against it. The leaves, beaten up in wine, prevent the bosom from growing too large in young girls.

CHAP. 54.—THE ENNEAPHYLLON: TWO REMEDIES.

The enneaphyllon[1874] has nine long leaves, and is of a caustic nature. It is employed topically, but when used it is wrapped in wool to prevent it from cauterising further than desirable, for it blisters immediately. For lumbago and sciatica it is of the greatest utility.

CHAP. 55.—TWO VARIETIES OF FILIX OR FERN, KNOWN TO THE GREEKS AS PTERIS, OR BLACHNON, AND AS THELYPTERIS, OR NYMPHÆ PTERIS: ELEVEN REMEDIES.

Of fern there are two varieties, equally destitute of blossom and of seed.[1875] The Greeks give the name of “pteris,” and sometimes “blachnon,” to the kind[1876] in which numerous shoots take their rise from a single root, exceeding two cubits even in length, and with a not unpleasant smell:[1877] this plant is thought to be the male fern.

The other kind is known to the Greeks as “thelypteris,”[1878] and sometimes, “nymphæa pteris:” it has a single stem only, with comparatively few branches, is shorter, softer, and more tufted than the other, and has channelled leaves growing near the root. Swine are fattened upon the roots of either kind. The leaves of both kinds are arranged on either side in the form of wings, whence the Greek name “pteris.” The roots are long, run obliquely, and are of a swarthy colour, more particularly when dried: when wanted for use, they should be dried in the sun. These plants are found growing everywhere, but in cold soils more particularly; they should be taken up, too, at the setting of the Vergiliæ.[1879] The root is only used at the end of three years, neither before that period nor after. They act as an expellent of intestinal worms; for tapeworm[1880] honey is taken with them, but in other cases sweet wine, for three days.

They are, both of them, extremely detrimental to the stomach, but are laxative to the bowels, carrying off first the bile and then the aqueous humours of the body. When used for tapeworm, it is the best plan to take scammony with them, in equal proportions. For rheumatic defluxions, the root is taken in doses of two oboli, in water, after a day’s abstinence from food, a little honey being taken first. Neither kind must ever be given to females; for in pregnancy they are productive of abortion, and in other cases entail sterility. Powdered fern is sprinkled upon sordid ulcers, as also upon the necks of beasts of burden, when chafed. Fern-leaves kill bugs, and serpents will never harbour among them: hence it is a good plan to strew them in places where the presence of those reptiles is suspected. The very smell, too, of burnt fern will put serpents to flight. Medical men have made this distinction as to ferns; that of Macedonia, they say, is the best, and that of Cassiope the next.

CHAP. 56.—FEMUR BUBULUM, OR OX THIGH.

The name of femur bubulum[1881] is given to a plant which is good for the sinews, applied fresh, and beaten up with salt and vinegar.

CHAP. 57.—GALEOPSIS, GALEOBDOLON, OR GALION: SIX REMEDIES.

Galeopsis,[1882] or as some call it, “galeobdolon” or “galion,” is a plant with a stem and leaves like those of the nettle, only smaller; and which, when bruised, emit a powerful smell. The flower is purple, and the plant is found growing everywhere, about hedges and foot-paths. The leaves and stems, bruised in vinegar, and applied topically, are curative of indurations, carcinomata, and scrofulous sores. They disperse also inflammatory tumours and imposthumes of the parotid glands, and it is found a useful plan to foment the parts affected with a decoction of them. Applied with salt, this plant is curative of putrid ulcers and gangrenous sores.

CHAP. 58.—THE GLAUX: ONE REMEDY.

The glaux[1883] was known in ancient times as the “eugalacton.”[1884] In the leaves it resembles the cytisus and the lentil, only that they are whiter beneath. The branches, five or six in number, are extremely thin, and, springing from the root, creep upon the ground, with small purple blossoms upon them. This plant is found in localities near the sea. It is boiled in a pottage made of similago,[1885] to increase the milk: females, however, after taking it, must immediately use the bath.

CHAP. 59. (10.)—GLAUCION: THREE REMEDIES. DIAGLAUCIA: TWO REMEDIES.

Glaucion[1886] grows in Syria and Parthia; it is a plant of stunted growth, and thickly covered with leaves, like those of the poppy in appearance, only smaller and of a more repulsive aspect: it has an offensive smell, and a bitter, astringent taste. The seed, which is of a saffron colour, is put into a vessel coated with potter’s clay, and heated in an oven; when taken out, a juice[1887] is extracted, which is known by the same name as the plant. This juice and the leaves, bruised, are used for defluxions of the eyes, which disappear in an instant, under this treatment: an eye-salve, too, is prepared from the juice, known as “diaglaucia,” to medical men. The milk, when the secretion of it is stopped, is restored by the agency of this plant, for which purpose it is taken in water.

CHAP. 60.—THE GLYCYSIDE, PÆONIA, OR PENTOBOROS: TWENTY REMEDIES.

The glycyside,[1888] by some called “pæonia” or “pentorobos,” has a stem two cubits in length, accompanied by two or three others, and of a reddish colour, with a bark like that of the laurel. The leaves are similar to those of isatis,[1889] but more unctuous, rounder, and more diminutive; the seed is enclosed in capsules, some being red and some black, there being two varieties of the plant. The female plant is generally thought to be the one to the root of which some six or eight bulbs are attached, of an elongated form; those of the male plant[1890] being more in number, as it throws out more roots than one, a palm in length, and of a white colour: it has also an astringent taste. The leaves of the female plant smell like myrrh,[1891] and lie closer together than those of the male.

Both plants grow in the woods, and they should always be taken up at night,[1892] it is said; as it would be dangerous to do so in the day-time, the woodpecker of Mars being sure to attack the eyes[1893] of the person so engaged. It is stated also that the person, while taking up the root, runs great risk of being attacked with procidence of the anus: all this, however, I take to be so much fiction, most frivolously invented to puff off their supposed marvellous properties. Both plants are used[1894] for various purposes: the red seed, taken in red wine, about fifteen in number, arrest menstruation; while the black seed, taken in the same proportion, in either raisin or other wine, are curative of diseases of the uterus. The root, taken in wine, allays all kinds of pains in the bowels, and acts as a purgative; it cures opisthotony also, jaundice, nephritic diseases, and affections of the bladder. Boiled in wine, it is used for diseases of the trachea and stomach, and acts astringently upon the bowels. It is eaten also by beasts of burden, but when wanted for remedial purposes, four drachmæ are sufficient.

The black seed is useful as a preventive of night-mare,[1895] being taken in wine, in number above stated: it is very good, too, to eat this seed, and to apply it externally, for gnawing pains of the stomach. Suppurations are also dispersed, when recent, with the black seed, and when of long standing, with the red: both kinds are very useful, too, for wounds inflicted by serpents, and in cases where children are troubled with calculi, being employed at the crisis when strangury first makes its appearance.

CHAP. 61.—GNAPHALIUM OR CHAMÆZELON: SIX REMEDIES.

Gnaphalium[1896] is called “chamæzelon” by some: its white, soft, leaves are used as flock, and, indeed, there is no perceptible difference. This plant is administered in astringent wine, for dysentery: it arrests looseness of the bowels and the catamenia, and is used as an injection for tenesmus. It is employed topically for putrid sores.

CHAP. 62.—THE GALLIDRAGA: ONE REMEDY.

Xenocrates gives the name of “gallidraga”[1897] to a plant which resembles the leucacanthus,[1898] and grows in the marshes. It is a prickly plant, with a tall, ferulaceous stem, surmounted with a head somewhat similar to an egg in appearance. When this head is growing, in summer, small worms,[1899] he says, are generated, which are put away in a box for keeping, and are attached as an amulet, with bread, to the arm on the side on which tooth-ache is felt; indeed it is quite wonderful, he says, how soon the pain is removed. These worms, however, are of no use after the end of a year, or in cases where they have been allowed to touch the ground.

CHAP. 63.—HOLCUS OR ARISTIS.

Holcus[1900] is a plant that grows in arid, stony, spots: it has an ear at the end of a fine stem, and looks like barley that has put forth again when cut. Attached to the head or around the arm, it extracts[1901] spikes of corn adhering to the flesh; for which reason, some persons give it the name of “aristis.”

CHAP. 64.—HYOSERIS: ONE REMEDY.

Hyoseris[1902] resembles endive in appearance, but is a smaller plant, and rougher to the touch: pounded and applied to wounds, it heals them with remarkable rapidity.

CHAP. 65.—THE HOLOSTEON: THREE REMEDIES.

The holosteon,[1903] so called by the Greeks by way of antiphrasis,[1904] (in the same way that they give the name of “sweet”[1905] to the gall,) is a plant destitute of all hardness, of such extreme fineness as to resemble hairs in appearance, four fingers in length, and very similar to hay-grass. The leaves of it are narrow, and it has a rough flavour: it grows upon elevated spots composed of humus. Taken in wine, it is used for ruptures and convulsions. It has the property, also, of closing wounds; indeed, if applied to pieces of meat it will solder them together.

CHAP. 66.—THE HIPPOPHÆSTON: EIGHT REMEDIES.

The hippophæston is one of those prickly plants which fullers[1906] use in their coppers; it has neither stem nor flower, but only diminutive, empty heads, numerous small leaves of a grass-green colour, and small, soft, white roots. From these roots a juice is extracted in summer, which, taken in doses of three oboli, acts as a purgative; being used for this purpose in cases of epilepsy, fits of trembling, dropsy, vertigo, hardness of breathing, and incipient paralysis.

CHAP. 67. (11.)—THE HYPOGLOSSA: ONE REMEDY.

The hypoglossa[1907] is a plant with leaves like those of the wild myrtle, of a concave form, prickly, and presenting another small leaf within, resembling a tongue in shape. A wreath made of these leaves, placed upon the head, alleviates headache.

CHAP. 68.—HYPECOÖN.

Hypecoön[1908] is a plant found growing in corn-fields, with leaves like those of rue. Its properties are similar to those of juice of poppies.

CHAP. 69.—THE IDÆA HERBA, OR PLANT OF IDA: FOUR REMEDIES.

The Idæan[1909] plant has leaves like those of the oxymyrsine;[1910] to which leaves a sort of tendril adheres, that bears a flower. This plant arrests diarrhœa, the catamenia, when in excess, and all kinds of hæmorrhage. It is of an astringent and repercussive nature.

CHAP. 70.—THE ISOPYRON OR PHASIOLON: TWO REMEDIES.

The isopyron[1911] is called “phasiolon” by some, from the circumstance that the leaf of it, which resembles that of anise, assumes a spiral form like the tendrils of the phasiolus.[1912] At the summit of the stem, it bears small heads full of a seed like that of melanthium.[1913] These heads, taken with honey or hydromel, are good for cough and other affections of the chest; they are extremely useful also for liver complaints.

CHAP. 71.—THE LATHYRIS: TWO REMEDIES.

The lathyris[1914] has numerous leaves like those of the lettuce,[1915] with numbers of small buds, in which the seed is contained, enclosed in envelopes like that of the caper. When these buds are dry, the seeds, about the size of a peppercorn, are taken out: they are white, sweet, and easily cleansed from the husk. Twenty of them, taken in pure water or in hydromel, are curative of dropsy, and carry off bile. Persons who require a stronger purgative, take them with the husks on. They are apt, however, to be injurious to the stomach; for which reason a plan has been adopted of taking them with fish or else chicken broth.

CHAP. 72.—THE LEONTOPETALON OR PARDALION: TWO REMEDIES.

The leontopetalon[1916] is called “pardalion” by some: it has a leaf like that of the cabbage, and a stem half a foot in height, with numerous lateral branches, and a seed at the extremities of them, enclosed in pods like those of the chick-pea. The root resembles that of rape, and is large and black: it grows in plough lands. The root, taken in wine, neutralizes the venom of all kinds of serpents; indeed, there is nothing known that is more speedily efficacious for that purpose. It is given also for sciatica.

CHAP. 73.—THE LYCAPSOS: TWO REMEDIES.

The lycapsos[1917] has longer and thicker leaves than those of the lettuce,[1918] and a long, hairy stem, with numerous offshoots a cubit in length; the flower is diminutive, and of a purple colour; it grows in champaign localities. In combination with barley-meal, it is used as an application for erysipelas: the juice of it, mixed with warm water, is employed as a sudorific, in fevers.

CHAP. 74.—THE LITHOSPERMUM, EXONYCHON, DIOSPYRON, OR HERACLEOS: TWO REMEDIES.

Among all the plants, however, there is none of a more marvellous nature than the lithospermum,[1919] sometimes called “exonychon,” “diospyron,”[1920] or “heracleos.” It is about five inches in height, with leaves twice the size of those of rue, and small ligneous branches, about the thickness of a rush. It bears close to the leaves a sort of fine beard or spike, standing by itself, on the extremity of which there are small white stones, as round as a pearl, about the size of a chick-pea, and as hard as a pebble. These stones,[1921] at the part where they adhere to the stalk, have a small cavity, and contain a seed within.

This plant is found in Italy, no doubt, but that of Crete is the most esteemed. Among all the plants, there is none that I ever contemplated with greater admiration than this; so beauteous is the conformation, that it might be fancied that the hand of an artist[1922] had arranged a row of lustrous pearls alternately among the leaves; so exquisite too the nicety in thus making a stone to grow upon a plant! The authorities say that this is a creeping plant, and that it lies upon the ground; but for my own part, I have only seen it when plucked, and not while growing. It is well known that these small stones, taken in doses of one drachma, in white wine, break and expel urinary calculi,[1923] and are curative of strangury. Indeed, there is no plant that so instantaneously proclaims, at the mere sight of it, the medicinal purposes for which it was originally intended; the appearance of it, too, is such, that it can be immediately recognized, without the necessity of having recourse to any botanical authority.

CHAP. 75.—LAPIDIS MUSCUS, OR STONE MOSS: ONE REMEDY.

There grows near running streams, a dry, white moss,[1924] upon ordinary stones. One of these stones, with the addition of human saliva, is rubbed against another; after which the first stone is used for touching impetigo,[1925] the party so doing uttering these words:—

Φεύγετε κανθαρίδες, λύκος ἄγριος αἷμα διώκει

“Cantharides[1926] begone, a wild wolf seeks your blood.”[1927]

CHAP. 76.—THE LIMEUM: ONE REMEDY.

Limeum[1928] is the name given by the Gauls to a plant, in a preparation of which, known to them as “deer’s[1929] poison,” they dip their arrows[1930] when hunting. To three modii of salivating mixture[1931] they put as much of the plant as is used for poisoning a single arrow; and a mess of it is passed down the throat, in cases where oxen are suffering from disease, due care being taken to keep them fastened to the manger till they have been purged, as they are generally rendered frantic by the dose. In case perspiration supervenes, they are drenched all over with cold water.

CHAP. 77.—THE LEUCE, MESOLEUCON, OR LEUCAS: THREE REMEDIES.

Leuce,[1932] a plant resembling mercurialis,[1933] has received its name[1934] from the circumstance that a white line runs through the middle of the leaf; for which reason also, some give it the name of “mesoleucon.”[1935] The juice of this plant is curative of fistula, and the plant itself, bruised, is good for carcinomata. It is probably the same plant as that called “leucas,” so remarkably efficacious for the venom of all kinds of marine animals. Authors have not given a description of it, beyond telling us that the wild leucas has larger leaves than the other, and has properties more strongly developed: they state also that the seed of the cultivated kind is the more acrid of the two.

CHAP. 78.—THE LEUCOGRAPHIS: FIVE REMEDIES.

I have not found a description given by any writer of the leucographis;[1936] a thing I am the more surprised at, as they tell us that it is good for the cure of spitting of blood, taken in doses of three oboli with saffron; as also that it is useful for cœliac affections, applied beaten up in water, and in cases of excessive menstruation. They state also that it enters into the composition of ophthalmic preparations, and that it fills up ulcers on the more tender parts of the body with new flesh.

CHAP. 79. (12.)—THE MEDION: THREE REMEDIES.

The medion[1937] has leaves like those of the cultivated seris,[1938] a stem three feet in length, and a large, round, purple flower, at its extremity. The seed is diminutive, and the root half a foot in length: it grows upon umbrageous, sheltered rocks. The root, taken in doses of two drachmæ with honey, arrests the catamenia, the electuary being used for some days. The seed, too, is administered in wine for a similar purpose.

CHAP. 80.—THE MYOSOTA OR MYOSOTIS: THREE REMEDIES.

The myosota[1939] or myosotis is a smooth plant, throwing out from a single root numerous hollowed stems, of a somewhat reddish colour; and bearing at the lower extremities swarthy, narrow, oblong leaves, sharp on the back, arranged in pairs at regular distances, and springing from delicate branches attached with axils to the main stems. The flower is blue, and the root, a finger in length, is provided with numerous filaments like hairs. This plant possesses certain septic and ulcerating properties, and hence is used for the cure of fistula of the eye. The Egyptians say that if upon the morning of the twenty-eight day of their month Thoth, a day which generally falls in our month of August, a person rubs himself with the juice of this plant before speaking to any one, he will be sure to have no diseases of the eyes all that year.

CHAP. 81.—THE MYAGROS: ONE REMEDY.

The myagros[1940] is a ferulaceous plant, with leaves like those of madder: the seed is of an oily nature—indeed, an oil is extracted from it. Ulcerations of the mouth are cured by rubbing them with the juice of this plant.

CHAP. 82.—THE NYMA: ONE REMEDY.

The plant called “nyma”[1941] bears three long leaves, like those of endive: applied to scars, it restores the skin to its natural colour.

CHAP. 83.—THE NATRIX: ONE REMEDY.

“Natrix”[1942] is the name of a plant, the root of which, when taken out of the ground, has just the rank smell of the he-goat. It is used in Picenum for the purpose of keeping away from females what with a singular credulity they call by the name of “Fatui.”[1943] For my own part, however, I should think that persons requiring to be treated with such medicaments as these, must be labouring under a sort of mental hallucination.

CHAP. 84.—ODONTITIS: ONE REMEDY.

Odontitis[1944] is a sort of hay-grass,[1945] which throws out from a single root numerous, small, jointed stems, of a triangular form and of a swarthy hue. At the joints there are small leaves, somewhat longer than those of the polygonos;[1946] and in the axils formed by these leaves is the seed, similar to barley in appearance. It has a purple, diminutive flower, and is found growing in meadows.[1947] A handful of the stems, boiled in astringent wine, is used for the cure of tooth-ache,[1948] the decoction being retained for some time in the mouth.

CHAP. 85.—THE OTHONNA: ONE REMEDY.

The othonna[1949] is a Syrian plant, resembling rocket in appearance; its leaves are pierced with numerous holes, and its flower resembles that of saffron, for which reason some persons have given it the name of “anemone.” The juice of this plant is employed in ophthalmic preparations; it is slightly pungent, of a warming nature, and astringent as it dries. It acts as a detergent upon cicatrizations, films on the eyes, and all impediments of the sight. Some say that the plant is washed and dried, and then divided into lozenges.

CHAP. 86.—THE ONOSMA: ONE PROPERTY.

The onosma[1950] has leaves some four fingers in length, lying upon the ground, and indented like those of the anchusa:[1951] it has neither[1952] stem, blossom, nor seed. A pregnant woman, they say, if she eats of this plant, or even walks over it, will be sure to miscarry.

CHAP. 87.—THE ONOPORDON: FIVE REMEDIES.

The onopordon,[1953] it is said, has strongly carminative effects upon asses, when they eat of it. It acts as a diuretic and as an emmenagogue, arrests diarrhœa, and disperses abscesses and suppurations.

CHAP. 88.—THE OSYRIS: FOUR REMEDIES.

The osyris[1954] bears small, swarthy, flexible branches, covered with dark leaves like those of flax. The seed, which grows upon the branches, is black at first, but afterwards changes its colour and turns red. Cosmetics[1955] for females are prepared from these branches. A decoction of the roots, taken in drink, is curative of jaundice. The roots, cut in pieces before the seed ripens, and dried in the sun, act astringently upon the bowels: gathered after the seed has ripened, and boiled in pottage, they are curative of defluxions of the abdomen: they are taken also by themselves, bruised in rain water.

CHAP. 89.—THE OXYS: TWO REMEDIES.

The oxys[1956] is a plant with three leaves; it is given for derangement of the stomach, and patients eat it who are suffering from intestinal hernia.[1957]

CHAP. 90.—THE POLYANTHEMUM OR RATRACHION: THREE REMEDIES.

The polyanthemum,[1958] by some persons called “batrachion,”[1959] by virtue of its caustic properties has an excoriating effect upon scars, and restores the skin to its proper colour. It heals white morphew[1960] also.

CHAP. 91.—THE POLYGONOS, POLYGONATOS, TEUTHALIS, CARCINETHRON, CLEMA, OR MYRTOPETALOS, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS SANGUINARIA OR ORIOS: FOUR VARIETIES OF IT: FORTY REMEDIES.

The Greeks give the name of “polygonos”[1961] to the plant known to us as “sanguinaria.”[1962] It is but little elevated above the ground, has leaves like those of rue, and resembles grass in appearance. The juice of it, injected into the nostrils, arrests hæmorrhage: taken with wine, it has a similar effect upon bleeding at any other part of the body, as also spitting of blood. Those who distinguish several kinds of polygonos, make this to be the male[1963] plant, and say that it is so called from the large number of seeds, or else from its numerous branches. Some call it “polygonatos,”[1964] from the number of its joints, others, again, “teuthalis,” and others, “carcinethron,” “clema,” or “myrtopetalos.”

There are some authorities to be found, however, who say that this is the female plant, and that the male is more diminutive, less swarthy, and more jointed, with a seed protruding beneath all the leaves. However this may be, these plants are of an astringent, cooling nature. The seed is laxative, and, taken in large doses, acts as a diuretic, and arrests defluxions; indeed, if there is no defluxion, it is of no use taking it. For burning heats of the stomach, the leaves are applied topically; and they are used, in the form of a liniment, for pains in the bladder, and for erysipelas. The juice is used as an injection for suppurations of the ears, and by itself, for pains in the eyes. It is administered, also, in fevers, tertian and quartan fevers more particularly, in doses of two cyathi, just before the paroxysms come on; as also in cases of cholera, dysentery, and derangement of the stomach.

There is a third kind, which grows on the mountains, and is known as “orios,”[1965] similar to a delicate reed in appearance, and having but a single stem, with numerous joints running into one another; the leaves of it are similar to those of the pitch-tree, and the root is never used. This variety, however, is not so efficacious as those already mentioned, and, indeed, is used exclusively for sciatica. A fourth kind is known as the wild[1966] polygonos: it is a shrub, almost a tree in fact, with a ligneous root, a red trunk like that of the cedar, and branches resembling those of spartum,[1967] a couple of palms in length, and with three or four dark-coloured, knotted joints. This kind, also, is of an astringent nature, and has a flavour like that of the quince. It is either boiled down in water to one third, or else dried and powdered for sprinkling upon ulcerations of the mouth and excoriations: it is chewed, also, for affections of the gums. It arrests the progress of corrosive ulcers and of all sores of a serpiginous nature, or which cicatrize with difficulty, and is particularly useful for ulcerations caused by snow. Herbalists employ it also for quinzy, and use it as a chaplet for head-ache; for defluxions of the eyes, they put it round the neck.

In cases of tertian fever, some persons pull it up with the left hand, and attach it as an amulet to the body; the same, too, in cases of hæmorrhage. There is no plant that is more generally kept by them in a dry state than the polygonos.

CHAP. 92.—THE PANCRATIUM: TWELVE REMEDIES.

The pancratium is called by some the “little squill,”[1968] in preference: it has leaves like those of the white lily, but longer and thicker, and a root composed of a large, red, bulb. The juice of it, taken with meal of fitches, relaxes the bowels, and acts as a detergent upon ulcers: for dropsy, and diseases of the spleen, it is administered with honey. Some persons boil it till the water becomes sweet; the water is then poured off, and the root is pounded and divided into tablets, which are dried in the sun and used for ulcerations of the head, and other affections which require detergents. It is sometimes given for cough, a pinch in three fingers in wine, and, in the form of an electuary, for pains in the side or peripneumony.

It is administered, also, in wine, for sciatica, griping pains in the bowels, and retardations of the catamenia.

CHAP. 93.—THE PEPLIS, SYCE, MECONION, OR MECON APHRODES: THREE REMEDIES.

The peplis,[1969] known by the various names of “syce,”[1970] “meconion,” and “mecon aphrodes,” is a shrub-like plant, springing from a single, diminutive, root. The leaves of it resemble those of rue, but are a little larger; the seed, which lies beneath the leaves, is round, and smaller than that of the white poppy. It is ordinarily gathered in vineyards, at harvest-time, and is dried with the seed on, receivers being placed beneath to catch it as it falls. This seed, taken in drink, purges the bowels, and carries off bile and pituitous secretions: one acetabulum, taken in three heminæ of hydromel, is a middling dose. It is sprinkled also upon meat and other articles of food, as a laxative medicine.

CHAP. 94.—THE PERICLYMENOS: FIVE REMEDIES.

The periclymenos[1971] is also a shrub-like plant, with two whitish, soft, leaves, arranged at intervals. At the extremity, among the leaves, is the seed, hard, and very difficult to pluck. It grows in ploughed fields and hedges, entwining around every object from which it can gain support. The seed is dried in the shade, pounded, and divided into lozenges. These lozenges are left to dissolve, in three cyathi of white wine, for a period of thirty days, and are given for diseases of the spleen; the volume of which is gradually diminished either by discharges of bloody urine, or else by alvine evacuation, the effects of the medicament being perceptible at the end of ten days. The leaves, boiled, act as a diuretic, and are useful for hardness of breathing. Taken in drink, in manner above-mentioned, they facilitate delivery, and bring away the afterbirth.

CHAP. 95.—PELECINON: ONE REMEDY.

We have already[1972] spoken of pelecinon as growing in corn-fields, a plant which throws out a number of shoots from thin stems, and has leaves like those of the chick-pea. The seed, which is contained in pods of a curved shape, like diminutive horns and three or four in number, is similar to gith[1973] in appearance, bitter, and an excellent stomachic. It is used as an ingredient in antidotes.[1974]

CHAP. 96.—POLYGALA: ONE REMEDY.

Polygala[1975] is a palm in height, with leaves like those of the lentil at the extremity of the stem. It has an astringent taste; taken in drink, it increases the milk in nursing women.

CHAP. 97.—POTERION, PHRYNION, OR NEURAS: FOUR REMEDIES.

Poterion,[1976] or, as some call it, “phrynion” or “neuras,”[1977] throws out numerous branches, is shrivelled and prickly, and covered with a thick down. The leaves of it are small and round; the branches long, soft, thin, and flexible; and the blossom elongated, and of a grass-green colour. The seed is never used, but it has a pungent flavour and a powerful smell: the plant is found growing upon moist, watery, elevations. The roots are two or three in number, some two cubits in length, sinewy, white, and firm. It is dug up in autumn, and the stem yields a juice like gum, when cut. The root is said to be of wonderful efficacy as an application for the cure of wounds, more particularly of the sinews, even when severed. A decoction of it is also taken, with honey, for relaxations of the sinews, and for weakness or wounds of those parts.

CHAP. 98.—THE PHALANGITIS, PHALANGION, OR LEUCACANTHA: FOUR REMEDIES.

The phalangitis[1978] is by some called “phalangion,” and by others “leucanthemum,”[1979] or, as I find it written in some copies, “leucacantha.”[1980] Its branches are diminutive, never less than two in number, and running in contrary directions: the blossom is white, and similar to the flower of the red lily; the seed dark and broad, resembling the half of a lentil, but much thinner; and the root slender and of a grass-green colour. The leaves, blossoms, or seed of this plant are employed for the cure of wounds inflicted by scorpions, serpents, and the phalangium,[1981] and for the removal of griping pains in the bowels.

CHAP. 99.—THE PHYTEUMA: ONE PROPERTY.

As for the phyteuma,[1982] I think it a mere loss of time to describe it, it being only used as an ingredient in philtres.

CHAP. 100.—THE PHYLLON: ONE PROPERTY.

The Greeks give the name of “phyllon”[1983] to a plant which grows among the rocks, in mountainous spots. The female plant is of a more grass-green colour than the other, with a thin stem, a diminutive root, and a round seed, like that of the poppy. This last kind ensures the conception of issue of the same sex; while the male plant, differing only in the seed, which resembles the olive at its first appearance, ensures the conception of male issue. They are both taken in wine.

CHAP. 101.—THE PHELLANDRION: TWO REMEDIES.

The phellandrion[1984] grows in marshy spots, and has a leaf like that of parsley: the seed of it is taken in drink for calculi and affections of the bladder.

CHAP. 102. THE PHALARIS: TWO REMEDIES.

The phalaris[1985] has a long thin stem, like a reed, with a drooping flower at the extremity; the seed is like that of sesame.[1986] This plant, too, taken with milk and honey, in wine or vinegar, breaks urinary calculi, and is curative of diseases of the bladder.

CHAP. 103.—THE POLYRRHIZON: FIVE REMEDIES.

The polyrrhizon[1987] has leaves like those of myrtle, and numerous roots. These roots are pounded and administered in wine, for injuries inflicted by serpents: they are useful, also, for cattle.

CHAP. 104.—THE PROSERPINACA: FIVE REMEDIES.

The proserpinaca,[1988] a common plant enough, is an excellent remedy for the sting of the scorpion. Powdered and mixed with brine and oil, in which the mæna[1989] has been preserved, it is an excellent cure, they say, for quinzy.[1990] It is also stated that, however fatigued a person may be, to the extent even of losing his voice, he will be sure to be refreshed, by putting this plant beneath his tongue; and that if it is eaten, a vomit will be the result, productive of good effects.

CHAP. 105.—RHACOMA: THIRTY-SIX REMEDIES.

Rhacoma[1991] is imported from the regions situate beyond Pontus.[1992] The root of it is similar to black costus,[1993] but smaller and somewhat redder, inodorous, and of a hot, astringent flavour; when pounded, it yields a colour like that of wine,[1994] but inclining to saffron. Applied topically, it reduces abscesses and inflammations, and heals wounds: used with raisin wine, it allays defluxions of the eyes; with honey, ecchymosis; and with vinegar, livid marks upon the skin. Reduced to powder, it is sprinkled upon malignant ulcers, and is given internally for spitting of blood, in doses of one drachma, in water. For dysentery and cœliac affections, if unattended with fever, it is administered in wine; but if there is fever, in water. It is pounded more easily when it has been steeped in water the night before. A decoction of it is given, in doses of two drachmæ, for ruptures, convulsions, contusions, and falls with violence.

In cases of pains in the chest, a little pepper and myrrh is added. When the stomach is deranged, it is taken in cold water; and the same in cases of chronic cough, purulent expectorations, liver complaint, affections of the spleen, sciatica, diseases of the kidneys, asthma, and hardness of breathing. Pounded and taken in doses of three oboli, in raisin wine, or used in the form of a decoction, it cures irritations of the trachea: applied with vinegar, it acts as a detergent upon lichens. It is taken in drink, also, for flatulency, cold shiverings, chilly fevers, hiccup, gripings of the bowels, herpetic ulcerations, oppressions of the head, vertigo attended with melancholy, lassitude accompanied with pain, and convulsions.

CHAP. 106.—THE RESEDA: TWO REMEDIES.

In the vicinity of Ariminum, there is a well-known plant called “reseda:”[1995] it disperses abscesses and all kinds of inflammations. Those who employ it for these purposes, add the following words: “Reseda,[1996] allay this disease! knowest thou not, knowest thou not, what chick it is that has torn up these roots? Let it have nor head nor feet!”[1997] This formula is repeated thrice, the party spitting on the ground each time.

CHAP. 107.—THE STŒCHAS: THREE REMEDIES.

The stœchas[1998] grows only in the islands of that name.[1999] It is an odoriferous plant, with leaves like those of hyssop, and of a bitter taste. Taken in drink, it promotes menstruation, and allays pains in the chest. It forms an ingredient, also, in antidotes.

CHAP. 108.—THE SOLANUM, BY THE GREEKS CALLED STRYCHNON: TWO REMEDIAL PROPERTIES.

The solanum,[2000] according to Cornelius Celsus,[2001] is called “strychnon” by the Greeks; it is possessed of repercussive and refrigerative properties.

CHAP. 109.—SMYRNION: THIRTY-TWO REMEDIES. SINON: TWO REMEDIES.

Smyrnion[2002] has a stem like that of parsley, but larger leaves, and growing principally about the young shoots, which are numerous. From the midst of these shoots the leaves make their appearance, unctuous, and bending towards the ground. This plant has a medicinal smell, penetrating to a certain degree, and agreeable: the colour of it is a pale yellow, and the stems bear rounded umbels like those of dill,[2003] with a round, black seed, which dries at the beginning of summer. The root, also, is odoriferous, of an acrid, pungent flavour, soft and juicy, black on the outer coat and pale within. The smell of it partakes very much of the nature of that of myrrh, to which, in fact, it owes its name: it grows in localities of a stony nature, or covered with humus. Its medicinal properties are warming and resolvent.

The leaves and root are used as a diuretic and as an emmenagogue; the seed arrests diarrhœa; and the root, applied topically, disperses abscesses and suppurations, provided they are not inveterate, and reduces indurated tumours. It is useful, also, for injuries inflicted by the phalangium and by serpents, taken in wine, with the addition of cachrys,[2004] polium,[2005] or melissophyllum;[2006] the dose, however, must be taken a little at a time only, for otherwise it acts as an emetic, a reason for which it is sometimes administered with rue. The seed or root is curative of cough, hardness of breathing, and diseases of the thoracic organs, spleen, kidneys, and bladder; the root, too, is used for ruptures and convulsions. This plant facilitates delivery, and brings away the afterbirth; it is also given, in combination with crethmos,[2007] in wine, for sciatica. It acts as a sudorific and carminative, for which reason it is used to disperse flatulency of the stomach; it promotes, also, the cicatrization of wounds.

A juice is extracted from the root, which is very useful for female complaints, and for affections of the thoracic organs and viscera, possessing, as it does, certain calorific, digestive, and detergent properties. The seed, in particular, is given in drink for dropsy, external applications being made of the juice, and emollient poultices applied of the dried rind of the root. It is used, also, as a seasoning for food, boiled meat in particular, with the addition of honied wine, oil, and garum.[2008]

Sinon,[2009] a plant with a flavour very like that of pepper, promotes the digestion, and is highly efficacious for pains in the stomach.

CHAP. 110.—TELEPHION: FOUR REMEDIES.

Telephion[2010] resembles purslain in the stem and leaves. From the root of it there spring seven or eight small branches, covered with thick, fleshy leaves; it grows in cultivated spots, and among vines in particular. It is used as an application for freckles, being removed as soon as dry; it is employed, also, for white morphew,[2011] being applied some six hours each night or day, and the treatment continued for about three months: after removing it, barley-meal should be applied. Telephion is healing, also, for wounds and fistulas.

CHAP. 111.—THE TRICHOMANES. FIVE REMEDIES.

The trichomanes[2012] is a plant that resembles the adiantum,[2013] except that it is more slender and of a darker colour; the leaves of it, which are similar to those of the lentil, lie close together, on opposite sides, and have a bitter taste. A decoction of this plant, taken in white wine, with the addition of wild cummin, is curative of strangury. Bruised and applied to the head, it prevents the hair from falling off, and, where it has come off, restores it: pounded and applied with oil, it effects the cure of alopecy. The mere taste of it is provocative of sneezing.

CHAP. 112.—THE THALICTRUM: ONE REMEDY.

The thalictrum[2014] has leaves like those of coriander, only somewhat more unctuous, and a stem resembling that of the poppy.[2015] It is found growing everywhere, in champaign localities more particularly. The leaves, applied with honey, heal ulcers.

CHAP. 113.—THLASPI AND PERSICON NAPY: FOUR REMEDIES.

Of thlaspi there are two kinds; the first[2016] of which has narrow leaves, about a finger in length and breadth, turned towards the ground, and divided at the point. It has a slender stem, half a foot in length, and not wholly destitute of branches; the seed, enclosed in a crescent-shaped capsule,[2017] is similar to a lentil in shape, except that it has a jagged appearance, to which, in fact, it owes its name;[2018] the flower is white, and the plant is found near footpaths and in hedges. The seed, which has an acrid flavour, carries off bile and pituitous secretions, by vomit and by alvine evacuation, the proper dose being one acetabulum. It is used, also, for sciatica, in the form of an injection, this treatment being persevered in until it has induced a discharge of blood: it acts also as an emmenagogue, but is fatal to the fœtus.

The other thlaspi, known by some as “Persicon napy,”[2019] has broad leaves and large roots, and is also very useful as an injection for sciatica. Both plants are very serviceable for inguinal complaints; it being recommended that the person who gathers them should mention that he is taking them for diseases of the groin, for abscesses of all kinds, and for wounds, and that he should pluck them with one hand only.

CHAP. 114.—THE TRACHINIA: ONE PROPERTY.

What sort of plant the trachinia[2020] is, the authorities do not state. I think that the assurance given by Democritus must be false: for it would be nothing less than a prodigy, for a plant, attached as an amulet, to consume the spleen in so short a time as three days.

CHAP. 115.—THE TRAGONIS OR TRAGION: FOUR REMEDIES.

The tragonis,[2021] or tragion, grows nowhere but in the maritime districts of the Isle of Crete; it resembles the juniper in the seed, leaf, and branches. Its milky juice, which thickens in the form of a gum, or its seed, taken in drink, expels pointed weapons from the flesh. The plant, too, is pounded fresh and applied as a liniment with wine, or, dried and powdered, with honey. It increases the milk in nursing women, and is a sovereign remedy for diseases of the mamillæ.

CHAP. 116.—THE TRAGOS OR SCORPION: FOUR REMEDIES.

There is another plant also, called “tragos,”[2022] or “scorpion” by some, half a foot in height, branchy, destitute of leaves, and bearing diminutive red clusters, with a seed like that of wheat, but pointed at the extremity: this too grows in maritime localities. Ten or twelve tops of the branches, bruised and taken in wine, are remedial in cases of cœliac affections, dysentery, spitting of blood, and excessive menstruation.

CHAP. 117.—THE TRAGOPOGON OR COME.

There is the tragopogon,[2023] also, by some called “come;” a plant with a small stem, leaves like those of saffron, an elongated, sweet, root, and a large, swarthy calyx at the extremity of the stem. It grows in rugged soils, and is never used.

CHAP. 118.—THE AGES OF PLANTS.

Such, then, is all that I have hitherto been enabled to learn or discover, worthy of mention, relative to plants. At the close, of this subject, it seems to me that it will not be out of place to remind the reader, that the properties of plants vary according to their age. It is elaterium, as already stated,[2024] that preserves its properties the longest of all. The black chamæleon[2025] retains its virtues forty years, centaury not more than twelve, peucedanum[2026] and aristolochia[2027] six, and the wild vine one year—that is to say, if they are kept in the shade. I would remark, also, that beyond those animals which breed within the plants, there are none that attack the roots of any of those which have been mentioned by me; with the exception, indeed, of the sphondyle,[2028] a kind of creeping insect,[2029] which infests them all.

CHAP. 119.—HOW THE GREATEST EFFICACY IN PLANTS MAY BE ENSURED.

It is also an undoubted truth, that the virtues and properties of all roots are more feebly developed, when the fruit has been allowed to ripen; and that it is the same with the seed, when incisions have been previously made in the root, for the extraction of the juice. The efficacy, too, of all plants is impaired by making habitual use of them; and these substances, if employed daily, lose equally their good or bad properties, when required to be effectual. All plants, too, have more powerful properties, when grown in soils that are cold and exposed to the north-eastern blasts, or in dry localities.

CHAP. 120.—MALADIES PECULIAR TO VARIOUS NATIONS.

There are certain differences, also, by no means inconsiderable, in the predispositions of the various nations of the earth. I have been informed, for instance, that the people of Egypt, Arabia, Syria, and Cilicia, are subject to tapeworm and maw-worm, while those of Thracia and Phrygia, on the other hand, are totally exempt from them. This, however, is less surprising than the fact that, although Attica and Bœotia are adjoining territories, the Thebans are troubled with these inflictions, while among the people of Athens they are unknown.

Considerations of this description lead me now to turn my attention to the nature of the animated beings themselves, and the medicinal properties which are inborn in them, the most assured remedies, perhaps, for all diseases.

For Nature, in fact, that parent of all things, has produced no animated being for the purpose solely of eating; she has willed that it should be born to satisfy the wants of others, and in its very vitals has implanted medicaments conducive to health. While she has implanted them in mute[2030] and inanimate objects even, she has equally willed that these, the most invaluable aids of life, should be also derived from the life of another—a subject for contemplation, marvellous in the highest degree![2031]

SUMMARY.—Remedies, narratives, and observations, six hundred and two.

ROMAN AUTHORS QUOTED.—Caius Valgius,[2032] Pompeius Lenæus,[2033] Sextius Niger[2034] who wrote in Greek, Julius Bassus[2035] who wrote in Greek, Antonius Castor,[2036] Cornelius Celsus.[2037]

FOREIGN AUTHORS QUOTED.—Theophrastus,[2038] Apollodorus,[2039] Democritus,[2040] Aristogiton,[2041] Orpheus,[2042] Pythagoras,[2043] Mago,[2044] Menander[2045] who wrote the “Biochresta,” Nicander.[2046]

MEDICAL AUTHORS QUOTED.—Mnesitheus,[2047] Timaristus,[2048] Simus,[2049] Hippocrates,[2050] Chrysippus,[2051] Diocles,[2052] Ophelion,[2053] Heraclides,[2054] Hicesius,[2055] Dionysius,[2056] Apollodorus[2057] of Citium, Apollodorus[2058] of Tarentum, Praxagoras,[2059] Plistonicus,[2060] Medius,[2061] Dieuches,[2062] Cleophantus,[2063] Philistion,[2064] Asclepiades,[2065] Crateuas,[2066] Petronius Diodotus,[2067] Iollas,[2068] Erasistratus,[2069] Diagoras,[2070] Andreas,[2071] Mnesides,[2072] Epicharmus,[2073] Damion,[2074] Tlepolemus,[2075] Metrodorus,[2076] Solo,[2077] Lycus,[2078] Olympias[2079] of Thebes, Philinus,[2080] Petrichus,[2081] Micton,[2082] Glaucias,[2083] Xenocrates.[2084]

⁂ Before quitting the Botanical Books of Pliny, it is a duty both to our author and to the reader, to call attention to the illustrations of a few passages in this work, which will be found in the Textrinum Antiquorum, by Dr. James Yates, F.R.S., a book characterized by learning, equally profound and extensive, and the most indefatigable research: it being but recently, we are sorry to say, that we have been made acquainted with its valuable contents.

The following are selected as among the most useful and interesting results of his enquiries.

B. vi. c. 20 [V. ii. p. 36]. Dr. Yates is of opinion that Pliny has here mistranslated a passage of Aristotle, Hist. Anim. v. 19 and that he has mistaken the word βομβύκια, “cocoons,” for webs, similar to those of the spider, attached to the leaves of trees. Not understanding the original, he would seem to have given a distorted account of the simple operation of winding the threads from off the cocoons of the silkworm upon bobbins, by the hands of females; the threads upon which bobbins would be afterwards unwound for the manufacture of silken fabrics. See Notes 303 and 304 on the passage in question; also B. xi. c. 26.

B. viii. c. 74 [V. ii. p. 336]. For the word “Sororiculata,” Dr. Yates proposes to read “Soriculata,” and he suggests that the cloth thus called may have been a velvet or plush, which received its name from its resemblance to the coat of the field-mouse, “sorex,” the diminutive of which would be “soricula.”

B. xix. c. 2 [V. iv. p. 133] and c. 6 [p. 138], Dr. Yates expresses it as his opinion that the words “Carbasus” and “Carbasa” are derived from the oriental word Carpos, signifying “cotton,” and thinks that Pliny, in B. xix. c. 2, may have used the word by Catachresis, as meaning linen, in the same manner as the Latin poets repeatedly use the word “carbasa,” as signifying various kinds of woven textures. If this view be correct, the word “Carbasina” in B. xix. c. 6, will probably mean “awnings of woven material” generally, and not of fine linen, or cambric, as suggested in Note 856.

B. xix. c. 2 [V. iv. p. 134]. The genuineness of the passage which makes mention of the “Gossypium,” is questioned by Dr. Yates, who thinks it possible that it is an interpolation: such, however, if we may judge from the result of Sillig’s researches, does not appear to have been the case. If, on the other hand, the passage is genuine, Dr. Yates is of opinion that the statement is incorrect, and that cotton was not grown in Egypt. It seems just possible, however, that Pliny may have had in view the trees mentioned by him in B. xiv. c. 28.

B. xix. c. 4 [V. iv. p. 137, also p. 134, Note 837]. Dr. Yates has adduced a number of convincing arguments to prove that the “Byssus” of the ancients cannot have been cotton, but that in all probability it was a texture of fine flax. The passages of Pausanias, (B. v. c. 25, and B. vi. c. 26) in which “Byssus” is mentioned, would certainly seem to apply to flax, a product which is still cultivated near the mouth of the river Peneus, in ancient Elis. There is no doubt, however, that Philostratus, though perhaps erroneously, has used the word “Byssus” as meaning cotton.

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