Chaps. 7-19.

Chap. 7.—Properties of the Human Spittle.

But it is the fasting spittle of a human being, that is, as already [In B. vii. c. 2.] stated by us, the sovereign preservative against the poison of serpents; while, at the same time, our daily experience may recognize its efficacy and utility, [It certainly does seem to be possessed of some efficacy for the removal of spots and stains, but for no other purpose probably.] in many other respects. We are in the habit of spitting, [In some parts of France, the peasants spit in the hand when in terror of spectres at night. In our country, prize-fighters spit in the hand before beginning the combat, and costermongers spit on their morning’s handsel, or first earned money, for good luck.] for instance, as a preservative from epilepsy, or in other words, we repel contagion thereby: in a similar manner, too, we repel fascinations, and the evil presages attendant upon meeting a person who is lame in the right leg. We ask pardon of the gods, by spitting in [“In sinum.”] the lap, for entertaining some too presumptuous hope or expectation. [See Juvenal, Sat. v. l. 112.] On the same principle, it is the practice in all cases where medicine is employed, to spit three times on the ground, and to conjure the malady as often; the object being to aid the operation of the remedy employed. It is usual, too, to mark a boil when it first makes its appearance, three times with fasting [Ajasson remarks that the human spittle contains hydrochlorate of soda and potash; the remedial virtues of which, however, would be infinitely small.] spittle. What we are going to say is marvellous, but it may easily be tested [A quibble, Ajasson remarks. Did Pliny ever test it himself? He would seem to imply it.] by experiment: if a person repents of a blow given to another, either by hand or with a missile, he has nothing to do but to spit at once into the palm of the hand which has inflicted the blow, and all feelings [“Levatur illico in percusso culpa.”] of resentment will be instantly alleviated in the person struck. This, too, is often verified in the case of a beast of burden, when brought on its haunches with blows; for upon this remedy being adopted, the animal will immediately step out and mend its pace. Some persons, however, before making an effort, spit into the hand in manner above stated, in order to make the blow more heavy. [This is still the case with pugilists, and persons requiring to use strong exertion. It is based, however, on a mere superstition, as Ajasson remarks.]

We may well believe, then, that lichens and leprous spots may be removed by a constant application of fasting spittle; that ophthalmia may be cured by anointing, as it were, the eyes every morning with fasting spittle; that carcinomata may be effectually treated, by kneading the root of the plant known as “apple of the earth,” [“Malum terræ.” See B. xxv. c. 54, and B. xxvi. c. 56. Littré translates “malum,” “apple,” in the former passage; but here he calls it “curse of the earth.”] with human spittle; that crick in the neck may be got rid of by carrying fasting spittle to the right knee with the right hand, and to the left knee with the left; and that when an insect has got into the ear, it is quite sufficient to spit into that organ, to make it come out. Among the counter-charms too, are reckoned, the practice of spitting into the urine the moment it is voided, of spitting into the shoe of the right foot before putting it on, and of spitting while a person is passing a place in which he has incurred any kind of peril.

Marcion of Smyrna, who has written a work on the virtues of simples, informs us that the sea scolopendra will burst asunder if spit upon; and that the same is the case with bramble-frogs, [“Rubetas.” See B. viii. c. 48, B. xi. cc. 19, 76, and 116, and B. xxv. c. 76.] and other kinds of frogs. Opilius says that serpents will do the same, if a person spits into their open mouth; and Salpe tells us, that when any part of the body is asleep, the numbness may be got rid of by the person spitting into his lap, or touching the upper eyelid with his spittle. If we are ready to give faith to such statements as these, we must believe also in the efficacy of the following practices: upon the entrance of a stranger, or when a person looks at an infant while asleep, it is usual for the nurse to spit three times upon the ground; and this, although infants are under the especial guardianship of the god Fascinus, [This divinity was identical with Mutinus or Tutinus, and was worshipped under the form of a phallus, the male generative organ. As the guardian of infants, his peculiar form is still unconsciously represented in the shape of the coral bauble with which infants are aided in cutting their teeth.] the protector, not of infants only, but of generals as well, and a divinity whose worship is entrusted to the Vestal virgins, and forms part of the Roman rites. It is the image of this divinity that is attached beneath the triumphant car of the victorious general, protecting him, like some attendant physician, against the effects of envy; [Hence the expression “præfiscini,” “Be it said without envy,” supposed to avert the effects of the envious eye, fascination, or enchantment.] while, at the same time, equally salutary is the advice of the tongue, which warns him to be wise in time, [“Resipiscere” seems to be a preferable reading to “respicere,” adopted by Sillig. This passage is evidently in a very corrupt state; but it is most probable that reference is made to the attendant who stood behind the general in his triumph, and reminded him that he was a man—or, according to Tzetzes, bade him look behind him. Pliny speaks of a servant attending the triumphant general, with a golden crown, in B. xxxiii. c. 4. Hardouin attempts another explanation, but a very confused and improbable one.] that so Fortune may be prevailed upon by his prayers, not to follow, as the destroyer of his glory, close upon his back.

Chap. 8.—Remedies Derived from the Wax of the Human Ear.

The human bite is also looked upon as one of the most dangerous of all. The proper remedy for it is human ear-wax; a thing that we must not be surprised at, seeing that, if applied immediately, it is a cure for the stings of scorpions even, and serpents. The best, however, for this purpose, is that taken from the ears of the wounded person. Agnails, too, it is said, may be cured in a similar manner. A human tooth, reduced to powder, is a cure, they say, for the sting of a serpent.

Chap. 9.—Remedies Derived from the Human Hair, Teeth, Etc.

The first hair, it is said, that is cut from an infant’s head, and, in fact, the hair of all persons that have not reached the age of puberty, attached to the limbs, will modify the attacks of gout. A man’s hair, applied with vinegar, is a cure for the bite of a dog, and, used with oil or wine, for wounds on the head. It is said, too, if we choose to believe it, that the hair of a man torn down from the cross, is good for quartan fevers. Ashes, too, of burnt human hair are curative of carcinomata. If a woman takes the first tooth that a child has shed, provided it has not touched the ground, and has it set in a bracelet, and wears it constantly upon her arm, it will preserve her from all pains in the uterus and adjacent parts. If the great toe is tied fast to the one next to it, it will reduce tumours in the groin; and if the two middle fingers of the right hand are slightly bound together with a linen thread, it will act as a preservative against catarrhs and ophthalmia. A stone, it is said, that has been voided by a patient suffering from calculi, if attached to the body above the pubes, will alleviate the pains of others similarly afflicted, as well as pains in the liver; it will have the effect, also, of facilitating delivery. Granius [See end of the present Book.] adds, however, that for this last purpose, the stone will be more efficacious if it has been extracted with the knife. Delivery, when near at hand, will be accelerated, if the man by whom the woman has conceived, unties his girdle, and, after tying it round her, unties it, adding at the same time this formula, “I have tied it, and I will untie it,” and then taking his departure.

Chap. 10.—Remedies Derived from the Human Blood, the Sexual Congress, Etc.

The blood of the human body, come from what part it may, is most efficacious, according to Orpheus and Archelaüs, as an application for quinzy: they say, too, that if it is applied to the mouth of a person who has fallen down in a fit of epilepsy, he will come to himself immediately. Some say that, for epilepsy, the great toes should be pricked, and the drops of blood that exude therefrom applied to the face; or else, that a virgin should touch the patient with her right thumb—a circumstance that has led to the belief that persons suffering from epilepsy should eat the flesh of animals in a virgin state. Æschines of Athens used to cure quinzy, carcinoma, and affections of the tonsillary glands and uvula, with the ashes of burnt excrements, a medicament to which he gave the name of “botryon.” [Properly meaning “a cluster of grapes.”]

There are many kinds of diseases which disappear entirely after the first sexual congress, [Ajasson remarks that there is a considerable degree of truth in this assertion. He gives a long list of French works on the subject.] or, in the ease of females, at the first appearance of menstruation; indeed, if such is not the case, they are apt to become chronic, epilepsy in particular. Even more than this—a man, it is said, who has been stung by a serpent or scorpion, experiences relief from the sexual congress; but the woman, on the other hand, is sensible of detriment. We are assured, too, that if persons, when washing their feet, touch the eyes three times with the water, they will never be subject to ophthalmia or other diseases of the eyes.

Chap. 11.—Remedies Derived from the Dead.

Scrofula, imposthumes of the parotid glands, and throat diseases, they say, may be cured by the contact of the hand of a person who has been carried off by an early death: indeed there are some who assert that any dead body will produce the same effect, provided it is of the same sex as the patient, and that the part affected is touched with the back of the left hand. [This superstition still exists among the lower classes of this country, with reference to the beneficial effects of stroking neck diseases with the hand of a man who has been hanged.] To bite off a piece from wood that has been stuck by lightning, the hands being held behind the back, and then to apply it to the tooth, is a sure remedy, they say, for tooth-ache. Some persons recommend the tooth to be fumigated with the smoke of a burnt tooth, which has belonged to another person of the same sex; or else to attach to the person a dog-tooth, as it is called, which has been extracted from a body before burial. Earth, they say, taken from out of a human skull, acts as a depilatory to the eyelashes; it is asserted, also, that any plant which may happen to have grown there, if chewed, will cause the teeth to come out; and that if a circle is traced round an ulcer with a human bone, it will be effectually prevented from spreading.

Some persons, again, mix water in equal proportions from three different wells, and, after making a libation with part of it in a new earthen vessel, administer the rest to patients suffering from tertian fever, when the paroxysms come on. So, too, in cases of quartan fever, they take a fragment of a nail from a cross, or else a piece of a halter [Made of “spartum.” See B. xix. cc. 6, 7.] that has been used for crucifixion, and, after wrapping it in wool, attach it to the patient’s neck; taking care, the moment he has recovered, to conceal it in some hole to which the light of the sun cannot penetrate.

Chap. 12.—Various Reveries and Devices of the Magicians.

The following are some of the reveries of magic. [Of which the Persian Magi were the most noted professors.] A whetstone upon which iron tools have been frequently sharpened, if put, without his being aware of it, beneath the pillow of a person sinking under the effects of poison, will make him give evidence and declare what poison has been administered, and at what time and place, though at the same time he will not disclose the author of the crime. When a person has been struck by lightning, if the body is turned upon the side which has sustained the injury, he will instantly recover the power of speech—that is quite certain. [The “constat” here, whether it belongs to the magicians, or to Pliny himself, is highly amusing, as Ajasson remarks.] For the cure of inguinal tumours, some persons take the thrum of an old web, and after tying seven or nine knots in it, mentioning at each knot the name of some widow woman or other, attach it to the part affected. To assuage the pain of a wound, they recommend the party to take a nail or any other substance that has been trodden under foot, and to wear it, attached to the body with the thrum of a web. To get rid of warts, some lie in a footpath with the face upwards, when the moon is twenty days old at least, and after fixing their gaze upon it, extend their arms above the head, and rub themselves with anything within their reach. If a person is extracting a corn at the moment that a star shoots, he will experience an immediate cure, [Sillig appears to be right in his conjecture that the “vel” here should be omitted.] they say. By pouring vinegar upon the hinges of a door, a thick liniment is formed, which, applied to the forehead, will alleviate headache: an effect equally produced, we are told, by binding the temples with a halter with which a man has been hanged. When a fish-bone happens to stick in the throat, it will go down immediately, if the person plunges his feet into cold water; but where the accident has happened with any other kind of bone, the proper remedy is to apply to the head some fragments of bones taken from the same dish. In cases where bread has stuck in the throat, the best plan is to take some of the same bread, and insert it in both ears.

Chap. 13.—Remedies Derived from the Human Excretions.

In Greece, where everything is turned to account, the owners of the gymnasia have introduced the very excretions [See B. xv. c. 5.] even of the human body among the most efficient remedies; so much so, indeed, that the scrapings from the bodies of the athletes are looked upon as possessed of certain properties of an emollient, calorific, resolvent, and expletive nature, resulting from the compound of human sweat and oil. These scrapings are used, in the form of a pessary, for inflammations and contractions of the uterus: similarly employed, they act as an emmenagogue, and are useful for reducing condylomata and inflammations of the rectum, as also for assuaging pains in the sinews, sprains, and nodosities of the joints. The scrapings obtained from the baths are still more efficacious for these purposes, and hence it is that they form an ingredient in maturative preparations. Such scrapings as are impregnated with wrestlers’ oil, [“Ceroma.” A mixture of oil and wax.] used in combination with mud, have a mollifying effect upon the joints, and are more particularly efficacious as a calorific and resolvent; but in other respects their properties are not so strongly developed.

The shameless and disgusting researches that have been made will quite transcend all belief, when we find authors of the very highest repute proclaiming aloud that the male seminal fluid is a sovereign remedy for the sting of the scorpion! In the case too, of women afflicted with sterility, they recommend the application of a pessary, made of the first excrement that is voided by an infant at the moment of its birth; the name they give it is “meconium.” [Properly, “poppy juice.”] They have even gone so far, too, as to scrape the very filth from off the walls of the gymnasia, and to assert that this is also possessed of certain calorific properties. These scrapings are used as a resolvent for inflamed tumours, and are applied topically to ulcers upon aged people and children, and to excoriations and burns.

Chap. 14.—Remedies Depending Upon the Human Will.

It would be the less becoming then for me to omit all mention of the remedies which depend upon the human will. Total abstinence from food or drink, or from wine only, from flesh, or from the use of the bath, in cases where the health requires any of these expedients, is looked upon as one of the most effectual modes of treating diseases. To this class of remedies must be added bodily exercise, exertion of the voice, [Or “clara lectio,” “reading aloud,” as Celsus calls it, recommending it for persons of slow digestion.] anointings, and frictions according to a prescribed method: for powerful friction, it should be remembered, has a binding effect upon the body, while gentle friction, on the other hand, acts as a laxative; so too, repeated friction reduces the body, while used in moderation it has a tendency to make flesh. But the most beneficial practice of all is to take walking or carriage [“Gestatio.” Exercise on horseback, in a carriage drawn by horses, or in a litter. See B. xxvi. c. 7.] exercise; this last being performed in various ways. Exercise on horseback is extremely good for affections of the stomach and hips, a voyage for phthisis, [See B. xxxi. c. 33. A sea voyage, to Madeira, for instance, is still recommended for consumptive patients.] and a change of locality [Change of locality is still recommended for diseases of the spleen, as they are called.] for diseases of long standing. So, too, a cure may sometimes be effected by sleep, by a recumbent position in bed, or by the use of emetics in moderation. To lie upon the back is beneficial to the sight, to lie with the face downwards is good for a cough, and to lie on the side is recommended for patients suffering from catarrh.

According to Aristotle and Fabianus, it is towards spring and autumn that we are most apt to dream; and they tell us that persons are most liable to do so when lying on the back, but never when lying with the face downwards. Theophrastus assures us that the digestion is accelerated by lying on the right side; while, on the other hand, it is retarded by lying with the face upwards. The most powerful, however, of all remedies, and one which is always at a person’s own command, is the sun: violent friction, too, is useful by the agency of linen towels and body-scrapers. [“Strigilium.”] To pour warm water on the head before taking the vapour-bath, and cold water after it, is looked upon as a most beneficial practice; so, too, is the habit of taking cold water before food, of drinking it every now and then while eating, of taking it just before going to sleep, and, if practicable, of waking every now and then, and taking a draught. It is worthy also of remark, that there is no living creature but man [Except monkeys and some domesticated animals, Ajasson remarks.] that is fond of hot drinks, a proof that they are contrary to nature. It has been ascertained by experiment, that it is a good plan to rinse the mouth with undiluted wine, before going to sleep, for the purpose of sweetening the breath; to rinse the mouth with cold water an odd number of times every morning, as a preservative against tooth-ache; and to wash the eyes with oxycrate, as a preventive of ophthalmia. It has been remarked also, that the general health is improved by a varying regimen, subject to no fixed rules.

(5.) Hippocrates informs us that the viscera of persons who do not take the morning meal [“Non prandentium.”] become prematurely aged and feeble; but then he has pronounced this aphorism, it must be remembered, by way of suggesting a healthful regimen, and not to promote gluttony; for moderation in diet is, after all, the thing most conducive to health. L. Lucullus gave charge to one of his slaves to overlook him in this respect; and, a thing that reflected the highest discredit on him, when, now an aged man and laden with triumphs, he was feasting in the Capitol even his hand had to be removed from the dish to which he was about to help himself. Surely it was a disgrace for a man to be governed by his own slave [Callistenes the physician is the person supposed to be alluded to. Lucullus did not seem to be of opinion that a man “must be a fool or a physician at forty.”] more easily than by himself!

Chap. 15. (6.)—Remedies Derived from Sneezing.

Sneezing, provoked by a feather, relieves heaviness in the head; it is said too, that to touch the nostrils of a mule with the lips, will arrest sneezing and hiccup. For this last purpose, Varro recommends us to scratch the palm, first of one hand and then of the other; while many say that it is a good plan to shift the ring from off the left hand to the longest finger of the right, and then to plunge the hands into hot water. Theophrastus says, that aged persons sneeze with greater difficulty than others.

Chap. 16.—Remedies Derived from the Sexual Congress.

Democritus spoke in condemnation of the sexual congress, as [“Ut in quâ homo alius exsiliret ex homine.” The true meaning of this it seems impossible, with certainty, to ascertain: though a more indelicate one than that give might be easily suggested.] being merely an act through which one human being springs from another; and really, by Hercules! the more rarely it is used the better. Still however, athletes, we find, when they become dull and heavy, are re-established by it: the voice, too, is restored by it, when from being perfectly clear, it has degenerated into hoarseness. The congress of the sexes is a cure also for pains in the loins, dimness of the eyesight, [On the contrary, some authorities say it is apt to cause dimness of sight.] alienation of the mental difficulties, and melancholy.

Chap. 17.—Various Other Remedies.

To sit by a pregnant woman, or by a person to whom any remedy is being administered, with the fingers of one hand inserted between those of the other, acts as a magic spell; a discovery that was made, it is said, when Alcmena [See Ovid, Met. ix. 273, et seq.] was delivered of Hercules. If the fingers are thus joined, clasping one or both knees, or if the ham of one leg is first put upon the knee of the other, and then changed about, the omen is of still worse signification. Hence it is, that in councils held by generals and persons in authority, our ancestors forbade these postures, as being an impediment to all business. [Much more probably, because they were considered to be significant of anything but seriousness and attention.] They have given a similar prohibition also with reference to sacrifices and the offering of public vows; but as to the usage of uncovering the head in presence of the magistrates, that has been enjoined, Varro says, not as a mark of respect, but with a view to health, the head being strengthened [Exemplified in the case of the Egyptians, Herodotus says.] by the practice of keeping it uncovered.

When anything has got into the eye, it is a good plan to close the other; and when water has got into the right ear, the person should hop about on the left foot, with the head reclining upon the right shoulder, the reverse being done when the same has happened to the left ear. If the secretion of the phlegm produces coughing, the best way of stopping it is for another person to blow in the party’s face. When the uvula is relaxed, another person should take the patient with his teeth by the crown, [The remedy would seem to be worse than the evil.] and lift him from the ground; while for pains in the neck, the hams should be rubbed, and for pains in the hams the neck. If a person is seized in bed with cramp in the sinews of the legs or thighs, he should set his feet upon the ground: so, too, if he has cramp on the left side, he should take hold of the great toe of the left foot with the right hand, and if on the right side, the great toe of the right foot with the left hand. For cold shiverings or for excessive bleeding at the nostrils, the extremities of the body should be well rubbed with sheep’s wool. To arrest incontinence of urine, the extremities of the generative organs should be tied with a thread of linen or papyrus, and a binding passed round the middle of the thigh. For derangement of the stomach, it is a good plan to press the feet together, or to plunge the hands into hot water.

In addition to all this, in many cases it is found highly beneficial to speak but little; thus, for instance, Mæcenas Melissus, [See end of B. vii.] we are told, enjoined silence on himself for three years, in consequence of spitting blood after a convulsive fit. When a person is thrown from a carriage, or when, while mounting an elevation or lying extended at full length, he is menaced with any accident, or if he receives a blow, it is singularly beneficial to hold the breath; a discovery for which we are indebted to an animal, as already [In B. viii. c. 58.] stated.

To thrust an iron nail into the spot where a person’s head lay at the moment he was seized with a fit of epilepsy, is said to have the effect of curing him of that disease. For pains in the kidneys, loins, or bladder, it is considered highly soothing to void the urine lying on the face at full length in a reclining bath. It is quite surprising how much more speedily wounds will heal if they are bound up and tied with a Hercules’ knot: [A knot tied very hard, and in which no ends were to be seen.] indeed, it is said, that if the girdle which we wear every day is tied with a knot of this description, it will be productive of certain beneficial effects, Hercules having been the first to discover the fact.

Demetrius, in the treatise which he has compiled upon the number Four, alleges certain reasons why drink should never be taken in proportions of four cyathi or sextarii. As a preventive of ophthalmia, it is a good plan to rub the parts behind the ears, and, as a cure for watery eyes, to rub the forehead. As to the presages which are derived from man himself, there is one to the effect that so long as a person is able to see himself reflected in the pupil of the patient’s eye, there need be no apprehension of a fatal termination to the malady.

Chap. 18.—Remedies Derived from the Urine.

The urine, [This excretion was, till lately, thought of great importance, as indicative of the health of the patient.] too, has been the subject not only of numerous theories with authors, but of various religious observances as well, its properties being classified under several distinctive heads: thus, for instance, the urine of eunuchs, they say, is highly beneficial as a promoter of fruitfulness in females. But to turn to those remedies which we may be allowed to name without impropriety—the urine of children who have not arrived at puberty is a sovereign remedy for the poisonous secretions of the asp known as the “ptyas,” [From the Greek πτύω, “to spit.”] from the fact that it spits its venom into the eyes of human beings. It is good, too, for the cure of albugo, films and marks upon the eyes, white specks [“Argema.”] upon the pupils, and maladies of the eyelids. In combination with meal of fitches, it is used for the cure of burns, and, with a head of bulbed leek, it is boiled down to one half, in a new earthen vessel, for the treatment of suppurations of the ears, or the extermination of worms breeding in those organs: the vapour, too, of this decoction acts as an emmenagogue. Salpe recommends that the eyes should be fomented with it, as a means of strengthening the sight; and that it should be used as a liniment for sun scorches, in combination with white of egg, that of the ostrich being the most effectual, the application being kept on for a couple of hours.

Urine is also used for taking out ink spots. Male urine cures gout, witness the fullers for instance, [Who had to use lant, or stale urine, in their business.] who, for this reason, it is said, are never troubled with that disease. With stale urine some mix ashes of calcined oyster-shells, for the cure of eruptions on the bodies of infants, and all kinds of running ulcers: it is used, too, as a liniment for corrosive sores, burns, diseases of the rectum, chaps upon the body, and stings inflicted by scorpions. The most celebrated midwives have pronounced that there is no lotion which removes itching sensations more effectually; and, with the addition of nitre, [At a future period we shall have to discuss the identity of the “nitrum” of Pliny. See B. xxxi. c. 46.] they prescribe it for the cure of ulcers of the head, porrigo, and cancerous sores, those of the generative organs in particular. But the fact is, and there is no impropriety in saying so, that every person’s own urine is the best for his own case, due care being taken to apply it immediately, and unmixed with anything else; in such cases as the bite of a dog, for instance, or the quill of a hedge-hog entering the flesh, a sponge or some wool being the vehicle in which it is applied. Kneaded up with ashes, it is good for the bite of a mad dog, and for the cure of stings inflicted by serpents. As to the bite of the scolopendra, the effects of urine are said to be quite marvellous—the person who has been injured has only to touch the crown of his head with a drop of his own urine, and he will experience an instantaneous cure.

Chap. 19.—Indications of Health Derived from the Urine.

Certain indications of the health are furnished by the urine. Thus, for example, if it is white at first in the morning and afterwards high-coloured, the first signifies that the digestion is going on, the last that it is completed. When the urine is red, it is a bad sign; but when it is swarthy, it is the worst sign of all. So, too, when it is thick or full of bubbles, it is a bad sign; and when a white sediment forms, it is a symptom of pains in the region of the viscera or in the joints. A green-coloured urine is indicative of disease of the viscera, a pale urine of biliousness, and a red urine of some distemper in the blood. The urine is in a bad state, too, when certain objects form in it, like bran or fine clouds in appearance. A thin, white, urine also is in a diseased state; but when it is thick and possessed of an offensive smell, it is significant of approaching death: so, too, when with children it is thin and watery.

The adepts in magic expressly forbid a person, when about to make water, to uncover the body in the face of the sun [This was also one of the Pythagorean precepts.] or moon, or to sprinkle with his urine the shadow of any object whatsoever. Hesiod [Works and Days, l. 727, et seq.] gives a precept, recommending persons to make water against an object standing full before them, that no divinity may be offended by their nakedness being uncovered. Osthanes maintains that every one who drops some urine upon his foot in the morning will be proof against all noxious medicaments.