Chaps. 68-85.

Chap. 68.—The Asphodel, or Royal Spear. The Anthericus or Albucus.

Other plants of the bulbous kind differ in the leaf: that of the asphodel [The Asphodelus ramosus of Linnæus.] is long and narrow, that of the squill broad and supple, and the form of that of the gladiolus is bespoken by its name. [“Little sword.”] The asphodel is used as an article of food, the seed of it being parched, and the bulb roasted; [It is no longer employed as an article of food.] this last, however, should be cooked in hot ashes, and then eaten with salt and oil. It is beaten up also with figs, and forms, as Hesiod assures us, a very delicate dish. It is said, too, that the asphodel, planted before the doors of a farm-house, will act as a preservative against the effects of noxious spells.

Homer, [Od. xi. 539, and xxiv. 13.] too, makes mention of the asphodel. The bulbs of it are like moderately-sized turnips, and there is no plant the root of which has more of them, as many as eighty bulbs being often grouped together. Theophrastus, and nearly all the Greek writers, with Pythagoras at the head of them, have given the name of “anthericos” to its stem, which is one cubit, and often two, in length, the leaves being very similar to those of the wild leek; it is to the root, or in other words, the bulbs, that they have given the name of asphodel. The people of our country call this plant [It is difficult to say to what “illud” refers, if, indeed, it is the correct reading.] “albucus,” and they give the name of “royal [“Hastula regia.”] spear” to the asphodel the stem of which bears berries, [“Caulis acinosi.”] thus distinguishing two [See B. xxii. c..] varieties of it. The albucus has a stalk a cubit in length, large, naked, and smooth, in reference to which, Mago recommends that it should be cut at the end of March and the beginning of April, the period at which it blossoms, and before the seed has begun to swell; he says, too, that the stalks should be split, and exposed on the fourth day in the sun, after which, when dry, they should be made up into bundles.

The same author states, also, that the Greeks give the name of “pistana” to the aquatic plant known to us as the “sagitta;” [“Arrow.” The Sagittaria sagittifolia of Linnæus; our arrow-head, or adder’s tongue.] and he recommends that it should be stripped of its bark, and dried in a mild sun, between the ides of May [th of May.] and the end of October. He says, too, that it is usual to cut down to the root, throughout all the month of July, the variety of the gladiolus called “cypiros,” which is a marsh-plant also, and at the end of three days to dry it in the sun, until it turns white; but that care must be taken every day to carry it under cover before sunset, the night dews being very injurious to marsh plants when cut.

Chap. 69. (18.)—Six Varieties of the Rush: Four Remedies Derived from the Cypiros.

Mago has likewise given similar recommendations as to the rush known to us as the “mariscus,” [The Schœnus mariscus of Linnæus.] and which is so extensively employed for weaving mats. He says that it should be gathered in the month of June, up to the middle of July, and for drying it he gives the same precepts that have been already [Pliny is guilty of a lapsus memoriæ here, for he has nowhere given any such advice on the subject. Hardouin refers to B. xviii. c. 67, but erroneously, for there he is speaking of hay, not “ulva” or sedge.] mentioned, in the appropriate place, when speaking of sedge. He describes a second kind, also, which I find is generally called the “marine” rush, and is known to the Greeks as the “oxyschœnos.” [The “sharp rush.” The Juncus acutus of Linnæus; the pointed bulrush.]

Generally speaking, there are three varieties of this last rush: the pointed rush, which is barren, and by the Greeks is called the male rush and the “oxys:” [The “pointed” rush. The Schœnus mucronatus of Linnæus.] the female rush, [A variety, Fée says, of the Schœnus nigricans of Linnæus, the black bulrush.] which bears a black seed, and is called the “melancranis,” [The “black head.”] thicker and more bushy than the preceding one: and a third kind, called the “holoschœnus,” [The Scirpus holoschœnus of Linnæus, Fée thinks.] which is larger still. Of these varieties, the melancranis grows separately from the others, but the oxys and the holoschœnus will grow upon the self-same clod. The holoschœnus is the most useful for all kinds of basket-work, being of a particularly supple and fleshy nature; it bears a fruit, which resembles eggs attached to one another. The rush, again, which we have spoken of as the male rush, [None of the rushes, Fée remarks, are barren; and when the head is inserted in the ground, it is neither more nor less than a sowing of the seed. Hardouin remarks, however, that by the word “cacumine,” the bulbous root of the rush is meant, and not the point of the stem.] is reproduced from itself, the summit of it being bent down into the earth; the melancranis, however, is propagated from seed. Beyond this, the roots of all the varieties of the rush die every year.

The rush is in general use for making kipes [“Nassæ.” Baskets with a narrow mouth.] for sea-fishing, the more light and elegant kinds of basket-work, and the wicks of lamps, for which last purpose the pith is more particularly employed. [It has descended in our time to the more humble rushlight; and even that is fast “going out.”] In the vicinity of the maritime Alps, the rushes grow to such a vast size, that when split they measure nearly an inch in diameter; while in Egypt, on the other hand, they are so extremely fine, that the people there make sieves of them, for which, indeed, there can be nothing better.

Some authors, again, distinguish another kind of rush, of a triangular shape, to which they give the name of cyperos, [Fée identifies it with the Cyperus longus and Cyperus rotundus of Linnæus, the odoriferous or round souchet.] though many persons make no distinction between it and the “cypiros,” in consequence of the resemblance of the names; for our own part, however, we shall observe the distinction. The cypiros, as we have already [In c. 67 of this Book. The bulb, however, of the gladiolus is inodorous; for which reason Fée is inclined to think that Pliny, with all his care, is describing a cyperus, perhaps the Cyperus esculentus.] stated, is identical with the gladiolus, a plant with a bulbous root, the most esteemed being those grown in the Isle of Crete, the next best those of Naxos, and the next those of Phœnicia. The cypiros of Crete is white, with an odour strongly resembling that of nard; the produce of Naxos has a more pungent smell, that of Phœnicia but little odour of any kind, and that of Ægypt none at all; for it grows in that country as well.

This plant disperses hard tumours of the body—for we shall here begin to speak of the remedies derived from the various flowers and odoriferous plants, they being, all of them, of very considerable utility in medicine. As to the cypiros, then, I shall follow Apollodorus, who forbids it to be taken in drink, though at the same time he admits that it is extremely useful for calculi of the bladder, and recommends it in fomentations for the face. He entertains no doubt, however, that it is productive of abortion, and he mentions, as a remarkable fact, that the barbarians, [It would be curious to know who these barbarians were, who thus smoked cypirus as we do tobacco. Fée queries whether they were Germans or Gauls, people of Asia or of Africa.] by inhaling the fumes of this plant at the mouth, thereby diminish the volume of the spleen. They never go out of the house, he says, till they have inhaled these fumes, through the agency of which they daily become stronger and stronger, and more robust. He states, also, that the cypiros, employed as a liniment with oil, is an undoubted remedy for chafing of the skin, and offensive odours of the arm-pits.

Chap. 70.—The Cyperos: Fourteen Remedies. The Cyperis. The Cypira.

The cyperos, as we have just stated, is a rush of angular shape, white near the ground, and black and solid at the top. The lower leaves are more slender than those of the leek, and those at the top are small, with the seed of the plant lying between them. The root resembles a black olive, [This applies more particularly, Fée thinks, to the Cyperus rotundus of Linnæus.] and when it is of an oblong shape, the plant is known as the “cyperis,” [The Cyperus longus of Linnæus, Fée thinks.] being employed in medicine to a great extent. The cyperos most highly esteemed is that of the vicinity of the Temple of Jupiter Hammon, the next best being that of Rhodes, the next that of Theræ, and the worst of all that of Egypt, a circumstance which tends greatly to add to the misunderstanding on the subject, as that country produces the cypiros as well: but the cypiros which grows there is extremely hard, and has hardly any smell at all, while all the other [Sillig finds a difficulty here which does not seem to exist. It is pretty clear that “cæteris” refers to the other varieties of the cypiros, mentioned in the preceding Chapter.] varieties of it have an odour strongly resembling that of nard.

There is also an Indian plant, called the “cypira,” [It has not been identified.] of a totally different character, and similar to ginger in appearance; when chewed, it has exactly the flavour of saffron.

The cyperos, employed medicinally, is possessed of certain depilatory properties. It is used in liniments for hang-nails and ulcerous sores of the genitals and of all parts of the body which are of a humid nature, ulcers of the mouth, for instance. The root of it is a very efficacious remedy for the stings of serpents and scorpions. Taken in drink, it removes obstructions of the uterus, but if employed in too large doses, it is liable to cause prolapsus of that organ. It acts also as a diuretic, and expels calculi of the bladder; properties which render it extremely useful in dropsy. It is employed topically, also, for serpiginous ulcers, those of the throat more particularly, being usually applied with wine or vinegar.

Chap. 71.—The Holoschœnus.

The root of the rush, boiled down to one third in three heminæ of water, is a cure for cough; the seed of it, parched and taken in water, arrests looseness of the bowels and the menstrual discharge, though at the same time it causes headache. The name given to this rush is holoschœnus; the parts of it nearest the root are chewed, as a cure for the bites of spiders.

I find mention made, also, of one other kind of rush, the name of which is “euripice;” [Mentioned also by Dioscorides. It has not been identified.] the seed, they say, is narcotic, but the greatest care is necessary, not to throw the patient into a lethargy.

Chap. 72.—Ten Remedies Derived from the Sweet-scented Rush, or Teuchites.

We will also take this opportunity of mentioning the medicinal properties of the sweet-scented rush, which is found in Cœle-Syria, as already stated by us in the appropriate place. [B. xii. c. 48.] The most esteemed kind, however, is that which grows in the country of the Nabatæi, and is known as the “teuchites;” [Dioscorides says that it grows in Babylonia. It is a variety, no doubt, of the Andropogon schœnanthus.] the next best being the produce of Babylonia, and the very worst that of Africa, which is entirely destitute of smell. This rush is round, and when applied to the tongue, has a pungent, vinous flavour. The genuine kind, when rubbed, gives out an odour like that of the rose, and when broken asunder it is red within. It dispels flatulency, and hence it is very good for the stomach, and for persons when vomiting the bile or blood. It arrests hiccup also, promotes eructations, acts as a diuretic, and is curative of affections of the bladder. A decoction of it is used for female complaints; and in cases of opisthotony, it is applied in plasters with dry resin, these being highly valued for their warming properties.

Chap. 73.—Remedies Derived from the Flowers Before Mentioned: Thirty-two Remedies Derived from the Rose.

The rose is of an astringent and refreshing nature. For medicinal purposes the petals, the flowers, and the heads are used. Those portions of the petals which are quite white are known as the unglets. [“Ungues,” “nails;” in allusion to the white part of the finger-nails.] In the flower there is the seed, as distinguished from the filaments, and in the head there is the bud, [“Cortex.”] as well as the calyx. The petals are dried, or else the juice is extracted from them, by one of the three following methods: Either the leaves are employed whole for the purpose, the unglets not being removed—for these are the parts, in fact, that contain the most juice—or else the unglets are first taken off and the residue is then macerated with oil or wine, in glass vessels placed in the sun. Some persons add salt as well, and others alkanet, [“Anchusam.”] or else aspalathus or sweet-scented rush; as it is, when thus prepared, a very valuable remedy for diseases of the uterus and for dysentery. According to the third process, the unglets are removed from the petals, and pounded, after which they are subjected to pressure in a coarse linen cloth, the juice being received in a copper vessel; it is then boiled on a slow fire, until it has acquired the consistence of honey; for this purpose, however, the most odoriferous of the petals should be selected.

(19.) We have already stated, [In B. xiv. c. 19.] when speaking of the various kinds of wines, how rose wine is made. Rose juice is much used in injections for the ears, and as a gargle for ulcerations of the mouth, and for the gums and tonsils; it is employed also for the stomach, maladies of the uterus, diseases of the rectum, and for head-ache. In fevers, it is used, either by itself or in combination with vinegar, as a remedy for sleeplessness and nausea. The petals, charred, are used as a cosmetic for the eyebrows; [“In calliblepharum.”] and the thighs, when chafed, are rubbed with them dried; reduced to powder, too, they are soothing for defluxions of the eyes. The flower of the rose is soporific, and taken in oxycrate it arrests fluxes in females, the white flux in particular; also spitting of blood, and pains in the stomach, if taken in three cyathi of wine, in sufficient quantity to flavour it.

As to the seed of the rose, the best is that which is of a saffron colour, and not more than a year old; it should be dried, too, in the shade. The black seed is worthless. In cases of tooth-ache, the seed is employed in the form of a liniment; it acts also as a diuretic, and is used as a topical application for the stomach, as also in cases of erysipelas which are not inveterate: inhaled at the nostrils, it has the effect of clearing the brain. The heads of roses, taken in drink, arrest looseness of the bowels and hæmorrhage. The unglets of the rose are wholesome in cases of defluxion of the eyes; but the rose is very apt to taint all ulcerous sores of the eyes, if it is not applied at the very beginning of the defluxion, dried, and in combination with bread. The petals, too, taken internally, are extremely wholesome for gnawing pains of the stomach, and for maladies of the abdomen or intestines; as also for the thoracic organs, if applied externally even: they are preserved, too, for eating, in a similar manner to lapathum. Great care must be taken in drying rose-leaves, as they are apt to turn mouldy very quickly.

The petals, too, from which the juice has been extracted, may be put to some use when dried: powders, [“Diapasmata.”] for instance, may be made from them, for the purpose of checking the perspiration. These powders are sprinkled on the body, upon leaving the bath, and are left to dry on it, after which they are washed off with cold water. The little excrescences [“Pilulæ.” He alludes to the galls produced by an insect of the Cynips kind, and known as “bedeguar.” They are astringent, but no longer employed in medicine.] of the wild rose, mixed with bears’-grease, [The efficacy of bears’-grease for promoting the growth of the hair was believed in, we find, so early as Pliny’s time.] are a good remedy for alopecy.

Chap. 74.—Twenty-One Remedies Derived from the Lily.

The roots of the lily [See c. of this Book. The bulbs of the lily contain a mucilage, and roasted or boiled they are sometimes employed, Fée says, to bring inflammations to a head. Employed internally, he thinks that they would be of no use whatever, and there is nothing in their composition, he says which would induce one to think that they might be employed to advantage in most of the cases mentioned by Pliny.] ennoble that flower in manifold ways by their utility in a medicinal point of view. Taken in wine, they are good for the stings of serpents, and in cases of poisoning by fungi. For corns on the feet, they are applied boiled in wine, not being taken off before the end of three days. A decoction of them with grease or oil, has the effect of making the hair grow again upon burns. Taken with honied wine, they carry off corrupt blood by stool; they are good, also, for the spleen and for hernia, and act as an emmenagogue. Boiled in wine and applied with honey, they are curative of wounds of the sinews. They are good, too, for lichens, leprous sores, and scurf upon the face, and they efface wrinkles of the body.

The petals of the lily are boiled in vinegar, and applied, in combination with polium, [Or “Poley.” See c. of this Book.] to wounds; if it should happen, however, to be a wound of the testes, it is the best plan to apply the other ingredients with henbane and wheat-meal. Lily-seed is applied in cases of erysipelas, and the flowers and leaves are used as a cataplasm for inveterate ulcers. The juice which is extracted from the flower is called “honey” [“Mel.”] by some persons, and “syrium” by others; it is employed as an emollient for the uterus, and is also used for the purpose of promoting perspirations, and for bringing suppurations to a head.

Chap. 75.—Sixteen Remedies Derived from the Narcissus.

Two varieties of the narcissus are employed in medicine, the one with a purple [See c. of this Book.] flower, and the herbaceous narcissus. [The Narcissus pseudo-narcissus of Linnæus, the meadow narcissus, or daffodil. The epithet “herbaceous,” Fée says, applies, not to the flower, but to the leaves, which are larger and greener than in the other kinds.] This last is injurious to the stomach, and hence it is that it acts both as an emetic and as a purgative: it is prejudicial, also, to the sinews, and produces dull, heavy pains in the head: hence it is that it has received its name, from “narce,” [“Torpor,” or “lethargy.”] and not from the youth Narcissus, mentioned in fable. The roots of both kinds of narcissus have a flavour resembling that of wine mixed with honey. This plant is very useful, applied to burns with a little honey, as also to other kinds of wounds, and sprains. Applied topically, too, with honey and oatmeal, it is good for tumours, and it is similarly employed for the extraction of foreign substances from the body.

Beaten up in polenta and oil it effects the cure of contusions and blows inflicted by stones; and, mixed with meal, it effectually cleanses wounds, and speedily removes black morphews from the skin. Of this flower oil of narcissus is made, good for softening indurations of the skin, and for warming parts of the body that have been frost-bitten. It is very beneficial, also, for the ears, but is very apt to produce head-ache.

Chap. 76.—Seventeen Remedies Derived from the Violet.

There are both wild and cultivated violets. [See c. of this Book.] The purple violet is of a cooling nature: for inflammations they are applied to the stomach in the burning heats, and for pains in the head they are applied to the forehead. Violets, in particular, are used for defluxions of the eyes, prolapsus of the fundament and uterus, and suppurations. Worn in chaplets upon the head, or even smelt at, they dispel the fumes of wine and head-ache; and, taken in water, they are a cure for quinsy. The purple violet, taken in water, is a remedy for epilepsy, in children more particularly: violet seed is good for the stings of scorpions.

On the other hand, the flower of the white violet opens suppurations, and the plant itself disperses them. Both the white and the yellow violet check the menstrual discharge, and act as diuretics. When fresh gathered, they have less virtue, and hence it is that they are mostly used dry, after being kept a year. The yellow violet, taken in doses of half a cyathus to three cyathi of water, promotes the catamenia; and the roots of it, applied with vinegar, assuage affections of the spleen, as also the gout. Mixed with myrrh and saffron, they are good for inflammation of the eyes. The leaves, applied with honey, cleanse ulcerous sores of the head, and, combined with cerate, [An ointment made of wax and oil.] they are good for chaps of the fundament and other moist parts of the body. Employed with vinegar, they effect the cure of abscesses.

Chap. 77.—Seventeen Remedies Derived from the Bacchar. One Remedy Derived from the Combretum.

The bacchar that is used in medicine is by some of our writers called the “perpressa.” It is very useful for the stings of serpents, head-ache and burning heats in the head, and for defluxions of the eyes. It is applied topically for swellings of the mamillæ after delivery, as also incipient fistulas [“Ægilopiis.”] of the eyes, and erysipelas; the smell of it induces sleep. It is found very beneficial to administer a decoction of the root for spasms, falls with violence, convulsions, and asthma. For an inveterate cough, three or four roots of this plant are boiled down to one-third; this decoction acting also as a purgative for women after miscarriage, and removing stitch in the side, and calculi of the bladder. Drying powders [“Diapasmata.”] for perspiration are prepared also from this plant; and it is laid among garments for the smell. [This, as Fée remarks, can hardly apply to the Digitalis purpurea of Linnæus, with which he has identified it, the smell of which is disagreeable rather than otherwise.] The combretum which we have spoken [In c. 16 of this Book.] of as resembling the bacchar, beaten up with axle-grease, is a marvellous cure for wounds.

Chap. 78.—Eight Remedies Derived from Asarum.

It is generally stated that asarum [The Asarum Europæum of Linnæus; our foalfoot. See B. xii. c. 27.] is good for affections of the liver, taken in doses of one ounce to a semisextarius of honied wine mixed with water. It purges the bowels like hellebore, and is good for dropsy and affections of the thoracic organs and uterus, as also for jaundice. When mixed with must, it makes a wine with strongly diuretic qualities. It is taken up as soon as it begins to put forth its leaves, and is dried in the shade. It is apt however to turn mouldy very speedily.

Chap. 79. (20.)—Eight Remedies Derived from Gallic Nard.

Some authors, as we have already [In c. 16 of this Book.] stated, having given the name of “field nard” to the root of the bacchar, we will here mention the medicinal properties of Gallic nard, of which we have [In B. xii. c. 26.] already spoken, when treating of the foreign trees, deferring further notice of it till the present occasion. In doses of two drachmæ, taken in wine, it is good for the stings of serpents; and taken in water or in wine it is employed for inflations of the colon, maladies of the liver or kidneys, and suffusions of the gall. Employed by itself or in combination with wormwood it is good for dropsy. It has the property, also, of arresting excessive discharges of the catamenia.

Chap. 80.—Four Remedies Derived from the Plant Called “Phu.”

The root of the plant which we have mentioned in the same place under the name of “phu,” [B. xii. c. 26. Either the Valeriana Italica, Fée says, or the Valeriana Dioscoridis of Sibthorpe. The Valeriana phu and the Valeriana officinalis of Linnæus have been suggested by some commentators.] is given in drink, either bruised or boiled, in cases of hysterical suffocation, and for pains of the chest or sides. It acts as an emmenagogue, and is generally taken in wine.

Chap. 81.—Twenty Remedies Derived from Saffron.

Saffron does not blend well with honey, or, indeed, with any sweet substance, though very readily with wine or water: it is extremely useful in medicine, and is generally kept in horn boxes. Applied with egg it disperses all kinds of inflammation, those of the eyes in particular: it is employed also for hysterical suffocations, and for ulcerations of the stomach, chest, kidneys, liver, lungs, and bladder. It is particularly useful also in cases of inflammation of those parts, and for cough and pleurisy. It likewise removes itching [Or “prurigo.”] sensations, and acts as a diuretic. Persons who have used the precaution of first taking saffron in drink will never experience surfeit or head-ache, and will be proof against inebriation. Chaplets too, made of saffron, and worn on the head, tend to dispel the fumes of wine. The flower of it is employed topically with Cimolian [See B. xxxv. cc. 18 and 57.] chalk for erysipelas. It is used also in the composition of numerous other medicaments.

Chap. 82.—Syrian Crocomagna: Two Remedies.

There is also an eye-salve [“Collyrium.” Saffron is still the base of certain eye-salves.] which is indebted to this plant for its name. The lees [Formed, most probably, of all the insoluble substances contained in the oil employed in making the “unguentum crocinum.”] of the extract of saffron, employed in the saffron unguent known as “crocomagma,” have their own peculiar utility in cases of cataract and strangury. These lees are of a more warming nature than saffron itself; the best kind is that which, when put into the mouth, stains the teeth and saliva the colour of saffron.

Chap. 83.—Forty-One Remedies Derived from the Iris: Two Remedies Derived from the Saliunca.

The red iris is better than the white one. It is very beneficial to attach this plant to the bodies of infants more particularly when they are cutting their teeth, or are suffering from cough; it is equally good, too, to inject a few drops of it when children are suffering from tape-worm. The other properties of it differ but very little from those of honey. It cleanses ulcerous sores of the head, and inveterate abscesses more particularly. Taken in doses of two drachmæ with honey, it relaxes the bowels; and an infusion of it is good for cough, gripings of the stomach, and flatulency: taken with vinegar, too, it cures affections of the spleen. Mixed with oxycrate it is good for the bites of serpents and spiders, and, in doses of two drachmæ with bread or water, it is employed for the cure of the stings of scorpions. It is applied also topically with oil to the bites of dogs, and to parts that are excoriated: employed in a similar manner, too, it is good for pains in the sinews, and in combination with resin it is used as a liniment for lumbago and sciatica. The properties of this plant are of a warming nature. Inhaled at the nostrils, it produces sneezing and cleanses the brain, and in cases of head-ache it is applied topically in combination with the quince or the strutheum. [A small kind of quince. See B. xv. cc. 10 and 14.] It dispels the fumes of wine also, and difficulties of breathing [“Orthopnœa.”] and taken in doses of two oboli it acts as an emetic: applied as a plaster with honey, it extracts splinters of broken bones. Powdered iris is employed also for whitlows, and, mixed with wine, for corns and warts, in which case it is left for three days on the part affected.

Chewed, it is a corrective of bad breath and offensive exhalations of the arm-pits, and the juice of it softens all kinds of indurations of the body. This plant acts as a soporific, but it wastes the seminal fluids: it is used also for the treatment of chaps of the fundament and condylomata, and it heals all sorts of excrescences on the body.

Some persons give the name of “xyris” [The Iris fœtidissima of Linnæus. It grows near Constantinople, and the smell of it is so like that of roast meat, that it is commonly called, Fée says, the “leg of mutton iris.”] to the wild iris. This plant disperses scrofulous sores, as well as tumours and inguinal swellings; but it is generally recommended that when wanted for these purposes it should be pulled up with the left hand, the party gathering it mentioning the name of the patient and of the disease for which it is intended to be employed. While speaking of this subject, I will take the opportunity of disclosing the criminal practices of some herbalists—they keep back a portion of the iris, and of some other plants as well, the plantago for instance, and, if they think that they have not been sufficiently well paid and wish to be employed a second time, bury the part they have kept back in the same place; their object being, I suppose, [“Credo.” It does not exactly appear that Pliny puts faith in this superstition, as Fée and Desfontaines seem to think; but he merely hazards a supposition as to what are the intentions of these avaricious herbalists.] to revive the malady which has just been cured.

The root of the saliunca [See c. of this Book.] boiled in wine, arrests vomiting and strengthens the stomach.

Chap. 84.—Eighteen Remedies Derived from the Polium.

Those persons, according to Musæus and Hesiod, who are desirous of gaining honour and glory, should rub the body all over with polium, [See c. of this Book. Fée remarks, that in reality it possesses none of the qualities that are attributed to it.] and handle and cultivate it as much as possible. They say, too, that it should be kept about the person as an antidote to poison, and that to keep serpents away it should be strewed beneath the bed, burnt, or else carried on the person; decoctions of it in wine, either fresh-gathered or dried, should be used too as a liniment for the body. Medical men prescribe it in vinegar for affections of the spleen, and in wine for the jaundice; a decoction of it in wine is recommended also for incipient dropsy; and in this way too, it is employed as a liniment for wounds. This plant has the effect of bringing away the after-birth and the dead fœtus, and of dispelling pains in various parts of the body: it empties the bladder also, and is employed in liniments for defluxions of the eyes. Indeed, there is no plant known that better deserves to form an ingredient in the medicament known to us as the “alexipharmacon:” [The “protection against poisons.”] though there are some who say that it is injurious to the stomach and is apt to stuff the head, and that it produces abortion—assertions which [We have adopted Sillig’s emendation of this passage; the words “aiunt, quod alii” being evidently required by the context.] others, again, totally deny.

There is a superstitious observance also, to the effect that, for cataract, it ought to be attached to the neck the moment it is found, every precaution being taken not to let it touch the ground. The same persons state too that the leaves of it are similar to those of thyme, except that they are softer and more white and downy. Beaten up with wild rue in rain water, it is said to assuage the pain of the sting of the asp; it is quite as astringent too as the flower [“Cytinus” appears to be a preferable reading here to “cyanus,” the “blue-bell.”] of the pomegranate, and as efficacious for closing wounds and preventing them from spreading.

Chap. 85.—Three Remedies Derived from the Holochrysos. Six Remedies Derived from the Chrysocome.

The holochrysos, [See c. of this Book. Its medicinal properties, Fée says, are next to nothing.] taken in wine, is a cure for strangury, and it is employed in liniments for defluxions of the eyes. Mixed with burnt lees of wine and polenta, it is curative of lichens.

The root of the chrysocome [See c. of this Book. If it is the Chrysocoma linosyris, it has no peculiar medicinal properties, Fée says. All these statements are found in Dioscorides.] is warming and astringent; it is taken in drink for affections of the liver and lungs, and a decoction of it in hydromel is good for pains of the uterus. It acts as an emmenagogue also, and, administered raw, draws off the water in dropsy.