Chaps. 45-47.

Chap. 45. (9.)—The Nature of Salt.

Salt, regarded by itself, is naturally igneous, and yet it manifests an antipathy to fire, and flies [He alludes to its decrepitation in flame.] from it. It consumes everything, and yet upon living bodies it has an astringent, desiccative, and binding effect, while the dead it preserves from putrefaction, [Pharnaces caused the body of his father Mithridates to be deposited in brine, in order to transmit it to Pompey.] and makes them last for ages even. In respect, however, of its medicinal properties, it is of a mordent, burning, detergent, attenuating, and resolvent nature; it is, however, injurious to the stomach, except that it acts as a stimulant to the appetite, For the cure of injuries inflicted by serpents, it is used with origanum, honey, and hyssop; and for the sting of the cerastes, with origanum, cedar-resin, pitch, or honey. Taken internally with vinegar, it is good for injuries caused by the scolopendra; and, applied topically, with an equal proportion of linseed, in oil or vinegar, for stings inflicted by scorpions. For stings of hornets, wasps, and insects of a similar description, it is applied with vinegar; and, for the cure of hemicrania, ulcers on the head, blisters, pimples, and incipient warts, with veal-suet. It is used also among the remedies for the eyes, and for the removal of fleshy excrescences upon those organs, as also of hangnails [He uses the word “pterygia” here, as applied to the whole of the body—“totius corporis”—in its two distinct senses, a hangnail or excrescence on the fingers, and a web or film on the eyes.] upon the fingers or toes. For webs that form upon the eyes it is peculiarly useful, and hence it is that it is so commonly employed as an ingredient in eye-salves, as well as plasters. For all these last-mentioned purposes, the salt of Tatta or of Caunus is more particularly in request.

In cases where there is ecchymosis of the eyes, or a bruise from the effects of a blow, salt is applied, with an equal quantity of myrrh and honey, or with hyssop in warm water, the eyes being also fomented with salsugo. For this last-mentioned purpose, the Spanish salt is preferred; and when wanted for the treatment of cataract, it is ground upon small whetstones, with milk. For bruises it is particularly useful, wrapped in a linen pledget and renewed from time to time, being first dipped in boiling water. For the cure of running ulcers of the mouth, it is applied with lint; gum-boils are also rubbed with it; and, broken to pieces and powdered fine, it removes granulations on the tongue. The teeth, it is said, will never become carious or corroded, if a person every morning puts some salt beneath his tongue, fasting, and leaves it there till it has melted. Salt effects the cure also of leprosy, boils, lichens, and itch-scabs; for all which purposes it is applied with raisins—the stones being first removed—beef-suet, origanum, and leaven, or else bread. In such cases it is the salt from Thebaïs that is mostly used; the same salt being considered preferable for the treatment of prurigo, and being highly esteemed for affections of the uvula and tonsillary glands, in combination with honey.

Every kind of salt is useful for the cure of quinzy; but, in addition to this, it is necessary to make external applications simultaneously with oil, vinegar, and tar. Mixed with wine, it is a gentle aperient to the bowels, and, taken in a similar manner, it acts as an expellent of all kinds of intestinal worms. Placed beneath the tongue, it enables convalescents to support the heat [In c. 23, he has said much the same of cold water.] of the bath. Burnt more than once upon a plate at a white heat, and then enclosed in a bag, it alleviates pains in the sinews, about the shoulders and kidneys more particularly. Taken internally, and similarly burnt at a white heat and applied in bags, it is curative of colic, griping pains in the bowels, and sciatica. Beaten up in wine and honey, with meal, it is a remedy for gout; a malady for the especial behoof of which the observation should be borne in mind, that there is nothing better for all parts of the body than sun and salt: [“Sale et sole.”] hence [This passage would come more naturally after the succeeding one.] it is that we see the bodies of fishermen as hard as horn—gout, however, is the principal disease for the benefit of which this maxim should be remembered.

Salt is useful for the removal of corns upon the feet, and of chilblains: for the cure of burns also, it is applied with oil, or else chewed. It acts as a check also upon blisters, and, in cases of erysipelas and serpiginous ulcers, it is applied topically with vinegar or with hyssop. For the cure of carcinoma it is employed in combination with Taminian [See B. xxiii. c. 13.] grapes; and for phagedænic ulcers it is used parched with barley-meal, a linen pledget steeped in wine being laid upon it. In cases of jaundice, it is employed as a friction before the fire, with oil and vinegar, till the patient is made to perspire, for the purpose of preventing the itching sensations attendant upon that disease. When persons are exhausted with fatigue, it is usual to rub them with salt and oil. Many have treated dropsy with salt, have used external applications of salt and oil for the burning heats of fever, and have cured chronic coughs by laying salt upon the patient’s tongue. Salt has been used, also, as an injection for sciatica, and has been applied to ulcers of a fungous or putrid nature.

To bites inflicted by the crocodile, salt is applied, the sores being tightly bandaged with linen cloths, first dipped [“Ita ut batuerentur ante.” From the corresponding passage in Dioscorides, where the expression Βαπτόμενοι εἰς ὄξος is used, it would appear that the proper word here is “baptizarentur;” or possibly, a lost Græco-Latin word, “bapterentur.” Littré suggests “hebetarentur,” “the part being first numbed” by the aid of a bandage.] in vinegar. It is taken internally, with hydromel, to neutralize the effects of opium, and is applied topically, with meal and honey, to sprains and fleshy excrescences. In cases of tooth-ache, it is used as a collutory with vinegar, and is very useful, applied externally, with resin. For all these purposes, however, froth of salt [“Spuma salis.” Collected from the foam on the sea-shore.] is found to be more agreeable and still more efficacious. Still, however, every kind of salt is good as an ingredient in acopa, [See Note 36, above, p. 507.] when warming properties are required: the same, too, in the case of detersive applications, when required for plumping out and giving a smooth surface to the skin. Employed topically, salt is curative of itch-scab in sheep and cattle, for which disease it is given them to lick. It is injected, also, with the spittle, into the eyes of beasts of burden. Thus much with reference to salt.

Chap. 46. (10.)—The Various Kinds of Nitrum, the Methods of Preparing It, and the Remedies Derived from It: Two Hundred and Twenty-one Observations Thereon.

And here we must no longer defer giving an account of nitrum; [Beckmann, who devotes several pages to a consideration of the “nitrum” of the ancients, considers it not to be our “nitre” or “saltpetre,” but a general name for impure alkaline salts. See his Hist. Inv. Vol. II. pp. 490-503, Bohn’s Ed. Ajasson, without hesitation, pronounces it to be nitrate of potash, neither more or less than our saltpetre, and quotes a statement from Andreossy, that it is still to be found in great quantities at Mount Ptou-Ampihosem, near the city of Pihosem, called Nitria by St. Jerome.] which in its properties does not greatly differ from salt, and deserves all the more to be attentively considered, from the evident fact that the medical men who have written upon it were ignorant of its nature; of all which authors Theophrastus is the one that has given the greatest attention to the point. It is found in small quantities in Media, in certain valleys there that are white with heat and drought; the name given to it being “halmyrax.” [“Salt bursting from the earth.”] In Thracia, too, near Philippi, it is found, but in smaller quantities, and deteriorated with earthy substances, being known there as “agrion.” [“Wild.”] As to that prepared from the burnt wood of the quercus, [See c. 40 of this Book. He is evidently speaking of a vegetable alkali here. See Beckmann, Vol. II. pp. 492-3, Bohn’s Ed.] it never was made to any very great extent, and the manufacture of it has been long since totally abandoned. Nitrous [Beckmann thinks that these kinds of water were in reality only impure and not potable, from their nauseous taste, and that hence they were considered as nitrous. Nitrous water, he remarks, or water containing saltpetre, in all probability, does not exist. Vol. II. pp. 498-9. Bohn’s Edition.] waters are also found in numerous places, but not sufficiently impregnated to admit of condensation. [Or in other words, crystallization. Beckmann remarks that, in reference to alkaline water, this is undoubtedly true. Vol. II. p. 499.]

The best and most abundant supply is found at Litæ, in Macedonia, where it is known as “Chalastricum:” [From the adjacent town of Chalastra, on the Thermæan Gulf. The site is probably occupied by the modern Kulakia.] it is white and pure, and closely resembles salt. In the middle of a certain nitrous lake there, a spring of fresh water issues forth. In this lake the nitrum [Carbonate of soda is found in the mineral waters of Seltzer and Carlsbad, and in the volcanic springs of Iceland, the Geysers more particularly.] forms for nine days, about the rising of the Dog-star, and then ceases for the same period, after which it again floats upon the surface, and then again ceases: facts which abundantly prove that it is the peculiar nature of the soil which generates the nitrum, it being very evident that, when the formation is there interrupted, neither the heat of the sun nor the fall of rain is productive of the slightest effect. It is also a truly marvellous fact, that though the spring of fresh water is always uninterruptedly flowing, the waters of the lake never increase or overflow. If it happens to rain on the days during which the nitrum is forming, the result is, that it is rendered additionally salt thereby: the prevalence of north-east winds, too, still more deteriorates its quality, as they have a tendency to stir up the mud at the bottom. Such is the formation of native nitrum.

In Egypt, again, it is made artificially, and in much greater abundance, but of inferior quality, being tawny and full of stones. It is prepared in pretty nearly the same manner [Ajasson remarks, that from this we may conclude that the fabrication of nitrate of potash, or saltpetre, was in its infancy. It is by no means improbable that the artificial nitrum, here mentioned by Pliny, really was artificial saltpetre, more or less impure; the native nitrum, on the other hand, being, as Beckmann suggests, a general term for impure alkaline mineral salts, in common with native saltpetre. Pliny’s account, however, is confused in the highest degree, and in some passages far from intelligible.] as salt, except that in the salt-pans it is sea-water that is introduced, whereas in the nitre-beds it is the water of the river Nilus; a water which, upon the subsidence of the river, is impregnated with nitrum for forty days together, and not, as in Macedonia, at intermittent periods only. On occasions when there has been a fall of rain, a smaller proportion of river-water is employed. As soon, too, as any quantity of nitrum has formed, it is immediately removed, in order that it may not melt in the beds. This substance, also, contains a certain proportion of oil, [Of a bituminous nature, probably. See c. 42 of this Book.] which is very useful for the cure of scab in animals. Piled up in large heaps, it keeps for a very considerable time. It is a marvellous fact, that, in Lake Ascanius [See B. v. c. 40. An alkaline water, Beckmann thinks. See Vol. II, pp. 96-7. Bohn’s Ed.] and in certain springs in the vicinity of Chalcis, the water is fresh and potable on the surface, and nitrous below. The lightest part of nitrum is always considered the best, and hence it is that the froth of it is so much preferred. Still, however, when in an impure state, it is very useful for some purposes, colouring purple [He may possibly mean bleaching the material before dyeing.] cloth, for instance, and, indeed, all kinds of dyeing. It is employed, also, very extensively in the manufacture of glass, as we shall more fully mention on the appropriate occasion. [See B. xxxvi. c. 65. This certainly goes far towards proving that under the name “nitrum,” alkaline salts were included.]

The only nitre-works in Egypt were formerly those in the vicinity of Naucratis and Memphis; those near Memphis being inferior to the others, the piles of nitrum there prepared being as hard as stone, and many of the heaps having become changed into rocks. When in this state, vessels are made of it, and very frequently they melt it with sulphur [“Faciunt ex his vasa, necnon frequenter liquatum cum sulphure, coquentes in carbonibus.” This passage Beckmann pronounces to be one of the darkest parts in the history of nitrum. See Vol. II. p. 502. He is of opinion that not improbably the result here obtained would be, liver of sulphur, which when it cools is hard, but soon becomes moist when exposed to the air. Dalechamps, it would appear, explains the whole of this passage as applicable to glazing; but in such case, as Beckmann observes, the nitrum could serve only as a flux. Michaelis suggests that the vessels here mentioned, were cut, not for real use, but merely for ornament, in the same manner as they are still made, occasionally, from rock-salt.] on a charcoal fire. [The mention of nitrum, sulphur, and charcoal, probably the three ingredients of gunpowder, in such close proximity, is somewhat curious.] When substances [“Quæ” seems a preferable reading to “quos.”] are wanted to keep, they employ this last kind of nitrum. In Egypt there are also nitre-beds, the produce of which is red, owing to the colour of the earth in the same locality. Froth of nitrum, [“Spuma nitri.” An accidental property, Beckmann says, of the same salt that has been previously called “Chalastricum,” “Halmyrax,” “Aphronitrum,” and “Agrion.” In his opinion, “the ancients were acquainted with no other than native nitrum, which they called artificial, only when it required a little more trouble and art to obtain it.”— Hist. Inv. Vol. II. p. 502. Bohn’s Ed.] a substance held in very high esteem, could only be made, according to the ancients, when dews had fallen; the pits being at the moment saturated with nitrum, but not having arrived at the point of yielding it. On the other hand, again, when the pits were in full activity, no froth would form, it was said, even though dews should fall. Others, again, have attributed the formation of this last substance to the fermentation of the heaps of nitrum. In a succeeding age, the medical men, speaking of it under the name of “aphronitrum,” [“Froth of nitre.” Ajasson identifies this with hydro-carbonate of soda.] have stated that it was collected in Asia, where it was to be found oozing from the soft sides of certain mines—the name given to which was “colyces” [Supposed by Hardouin to be derived from the Greek κόλικας, “round cakes;” owing to the peculiar form of the pieces of rock by which the aphronitrum was produced. The reading, however, is very doubtful. Sillig, from Photius, suggests that it should be “scolecas.”] —and that it was then dried in the sun. The very best is thought to be that which comes from Lydia; the test of its genuineness being its extreme lightness, its friability, and its colour, which should be almost a full purple. This last is imported in tablets, while that of Egypt comes enclosed in vessels pitched within, to prevent its melting, [One proof, Beckmann thinks, that Soda is meant. See Vol. II. p. 491.] the vessels being previously prepared by being thoroughly dried in the sun. [“Whether Pliny means that the vessels were not burnt, but only baked in the sun, or that before they were filled, they were completely dried in the sun, has been determined by no commentator. To me the latter is probable.”—Beckmann, Hist. Inv. Vol. II. p. 491.]

To be good, nitrum should be very fine, and extremely spongy and porous. In Egypt, it is sophisticated with lime, an adulteration easily detected [Beckmann thinks that this mode of adulteration, with lime, is an additional proof that the “nitrum” of our author was only soda. See Vol. II. p. 492.] by tasting it; for when pure, it liquefies immediately, while that which has been adulterated, remains undissolved sufficiently long to leave a pungent taste [That, namely, of the lime. Quick-lime, certainly, would have a pungent taste, in comparison with that of soda, but not in comparison with that of saltpetre.] in the mouth. It is burnt in a close earthen vessel, as otherwise it would decrepitate: [Another proof, Beckmann thinks, that it was native soda, impregnated with common salt. Vol. II. p. 492.] except in this last case, however, the action of fire does not cause it to decrepitate. This substance neither produces nor nourishes anything; while, in the salt-pans, on the other hand, we see plants growing, and the sea, we know, produces immense numbers of animated beings, though, as to plants, sea-weed only. It is evident, too, that the acridity [This would hardly apply to soda.] of nitrum must be much greater than that of salt, not only from the fact last mentioned, but from the circumstance also, that at the nitre-beds the shoes wear out with the greatest rapidity; localities which are otherwise very healthy, and remarkably beneficial for the eye-sight. At the nitre-works ophthalmia is a thing unknown: persons, too, that come there with ulcers upon them experience a rapid cure; though ulcerations formed upon the spot are but slow in healing. Used as a friction with oil, nitrum is a sudorific, and acts emolliently upon the body. That of Chalastra is used as a substitute for salt, in making bread, [Probably to promote its rising, as Beckmann observes, Vol. II. p. 496; a circumstance which goes a great way towards proving that “Soda” was included, at least, under the name of “nitrum.” Carbonate of soda is extensively used for this purpose at the present day.] and the Egyptian nitrum is eaten [And to correct the acridity of the radishes, possibly. A somewhat analogous fact is mentioned by Drury, in his “Journal in Madagascar.” He says that the sourest tamarinds, “mixed with wood ashes, become sweet and eatable.” See p. 316.—We are not unaware that many look upon this work and its statements as a work of fiction.] with radishes, [See B. xix. c. 26.] it having the effect of making them more tender; though as to other edibles it turns them white and spoils them. To vegetables it imparts an additional greenness. [Carbonate of soda is added to pickles and boiling vegetables for this purpose.]

Viewed medicinally, nitrum is calorific, attenuant, mordent, astringent, desiccative, and ulcerating: it is good, too, in all cases where certain humours require to be drawn out or dispersed, or where gentle mordents or attenuants are required, as in the case of pustules and pimples, for example. Some persons ignite it for this purpose, and, after quenching it in astringent wine, bruise and use it, without oil, at the bath. Applied with dried iris powdered, and green olive oil, it checks immoderate perspiration. Applied topically with a fig, or boiled down to one half in raisin wine, it removes marks upon the eyes and granulations of the eyelids. It is used, also, for the removal of argema, boiled in a pomegranate rind with raisin wine. Used as an ointment, in combination with honey, it improves the eye-sight. It is very useful, also, for tooth-ache, taken as a collutory with wine and pepper, or boiled with a leek. Burnt, and employed as a dentifrice, it restores teeth [Vegetable ashes, and tobacco-ashes in particular, have the same effect.] to their original colour that have turned black; and an application of it, with Samian earth and oil, kills nits and other vermin of the head. Dissolved in wine, it is used as an injection for suppurations of the ears, and, applied with vinegar, it consumes filth that has accumulated there. Introduced dry into the ears, it disperses singings and tinglings in those organs.

Applied topically, in the sun, with an equal quantity of Cimolian [See B. xxxv. c. 57.] chalk dissolved in vinegar, it removes white morphew; and a mixture of it with resin, or with white raisins—the stones being beaten up as well—is an excellent cure for boils. It is useful, also, for inflammations of the testes; and, in combination with axle-grease, for pituitous eruptions on all parts of the body. For the cure of bites inflicted by dogs, it is used with resin, the application being made at first with vinegar. With lime and vinegar, it is used as a liniment for stings inflicted by serpents, as, also, for ulcerations, whether phagedænic, putrid, or serpiginous; in cases, too, of dropsy, it is employed both internally and externally, beaten up with figs. Taken internally as a decoction, in doses of one drachma, with rue, dill, or cummin, it effectually removes griping pains in the bowels. An external application of it, with oil and vinegar, is highly refreshing to persons exhausted with fatigue; and it is equally beneficial for shudderings and cold shiverings, the feet and hands of the patient being well rubbed with it, mixed with oil. It allays the itching sensations attendant upon jaundice, more particularly when it is administered to the patient while perspiring, with vinegar. Taken internally in oxycrate, it is an antidote to the poison of fungi; and, taken with water, it acts beneficially, as an emetic, in cases where the buprestis has been swallowed.

To persons who have taken bull’s blood, [Viewed by the ancients as a poison, when taken warm; but erroneously, as we have more than once remarked.] nitrum is administered, in combination with laser. [See B. xix. c. 15.] Mixed with honey and cow’s milk, it is curative of ulcers upon the face. For the cure of burns, it is applied pounded, being first parched till it turns black. For pains in the bowels and kidneys, and for rigidities of the limbs and pains in the sinews, it is used in the form of an injection. For the cure of paralysis of the tongue, it is applied to that organ with bread, and to asthmatic patients it is administered in a ptisan. Flower of nitrum, used in combination with equal proportions of galbanum and turpentine respectively, is curative of chronic coughs; the mixture being taken in pieces the size of a bean. Nitrum [Nitre balls are still given to the patient to suck, in cases of sore throat.] itself, boiled and melted with tar, is given to patients to swallow, for quinzy.

Flower of nitrum, mixed with oil of cyprus, [See B. xii. c. 51.] and applied in the sun, is a soothing liniment for pains in the joints. Taken internally with wine, it is curative of jaundice. It acts as a carminative also; and it arrests bleeding at the nose, the vapour of it in boiling water being inhaled by the patient. Mixed with alum, it removes porrigo; and, used daily with water, as a fomentation, it removes offensive odours of the armpits. Used in combination with wax, it heals ulcers produced by pituitous secretions, and, similarly employed, it is very useful for affections of the sinews. For the cure of the cœliac flux, it is used in the form of an injection. Many authorities recommend the use of it, with oil, as a friction when cold shiverings are just coming on; as also, for the removal of leprous spots and freckles. It is a good plan also, to use a sitting-bath made with an infusion of nitrum, for the cure of gout, atrophy, opisthotony, and tetanus.

Both salt and nitre, boiled with sulphur, [Beckmann considers that this statement throws some light on the obscure passage, commented on in Note 3198, p. 514. See Hist. Inv. Vol. II. p. 503. Bohn’s Ed.] become petrified.

Chap. 47. (11.)—Sponges, and the Remedies Derived from Them: Ninety-two Observations Thereon.

We have already, [In B. ix. c. 69.] when speaking of the marine productions, described the various kinds of sponge. Some authorities make the following distinctions: they regard as males [No such distinction, of course, really exists; sponge being in reality a fibrous tissue formed by minute animals.] those sponges which are pierced with more diminutive holes, are more compact in form and more ready to imbibe, and are stained, to satisfy luxurious tastes, in various colours, sometimes purple even: those, on the other hand, which have holes, larger and running into one another, they consider to be females. Among the male sponges, too, there is one kind, harder than the others, the name given to which is “tragi,” [“Goats,” literally.] and the holes of which are extremely small and numerous. Sponges are made white artificially; the softest being chosen for the purpose, and after they have been steeped the whole summer through with the foam of the sea. They are then exposed to the action of the moon and hoar-frosts, being turned upside down, or, in other words, with that part upwards by which they formerly adhered to the rocks, the object being that they may become white throughout.

That sponges are animated beings, we have already stated; and not only this, but they have a coat of blood [See B. ix. c. 69. He probably alludes to the semifluid thin coat of animal jelly which covers the sponge in its recent state, and is susceptible of a slight contraction on being touched.] even, adhering to them. Some say that they regulate their movements by the sense of hearing, and that at the slightest noise they contract themselves, and emit an abundant moisture: when such is the case, it is said, it is impossible to tear them away from the rocks, and consequently they must be cut, an operation during which they emit a sanious secretion. Those sponges, too, are preferred to all others, which are grown on spots with a north-east aspect, the physicians assuring us that these retain the breath of life the longest of all; a circumstance which renders them additionally useful to the human body, from the union which is thereby effected of their vital principle with our own. [A fanciful notion, certainly.] It is for this reason, too, that they are preferred as fresh as possible, and in a moist state rather than dry. They are not so useful, however, if applied with hot water, [Hot water renders them greasy, so to say; an inconvenience which may be remedied by steeping them in an alkaline solution, or in urine.] and still less so if they are oiled, or applied to the body when just anointed. The compact sponges, it is thought, have less adhesive power than the others.

The softest kind of sponge are those employed for tents. [“Penicilli.”] Applied with honied wine, sponges reduce swellings of the eyes, and are extremely useful for the removal of rheum from those organs, the very finest and softest being of necessity selected for the purpose. Sponges are applied, also, with oxycrate, to defluxions of the eyes, and, with warm vinegar, for head-ache. In addition to these properties, fresh sponges are resolvent, emollient, and soothing; but when old, they lose their healing properties for wounds. They are employed, also, in medicine, for cleansing sores, and for either fomenting or covering the parts fomented, till some other application is made. Applied topically, they have a healing effect upon running ulcers, and upon sores on the bodies of aged persons. Fractures, too, and wounds are most effectually fomented with sponge; and when surgical operations are performed, it instantly absorbs the blood, so as to allow the incision to be seen. Sponges are applied, also, as a bandage, to inflamed wounds, sometimes dry, and, in some cases, moistened with vinegar, wine, or cold water. Soaked in rain-water, and applied to the incision, they prevent cuts recently inflicted from swelling. They are used as an application for such parts of the body, though apparently uninjured, as are threatened with occult humours which require to be dispersed; as also for reducing the tumours known to us as “apostemes,” the parts being first fomented with a decoction of honey. Sponges are employed, also, for affections of the joints, steeped in vinegar and salt, or in oxycrate: in cases, however, where the attack is attended with fever, water alone is used with the sponge. Soaked in salt and water, sponges are applied to callosities; and, with vinegar, they are used for stings inflicted by scorpions.

In the treatment of wounds, sponges are sometimes used as a substitute for greasy wool, either with wine and oil, or with salt and water; the only difference being, that wool acts emolliently upon sores, whereas sponge has an astringent action, and absorbs the vitiated humours. To dropsical patients, bandages of sponge are applied, either dry or steeped in warm water or oxycrate, according as there is a necessity for soothing the skin, or for covering it up and drying it. Sponges are applied, also, in all those diseases where warmth is required, being first soaked in boiling water and then squeezed out between a couple of boards. Employed in this manner, too, they are very useful for affections of the stomach and for the excessive heats attendant upon fever. Steeped in oxycrate, they are good for diseases of the spleen, and in vinegar for erysipelas; nothing, in fact, being equally efficacious. Sponge, when thus used, should always be so applied as amply to cover the adjacent parts that are not affected.

Employed with vinegar or cold water, sponge arrests hæmorrhage; soaked in warm salt and water, and frequently renewed, it removes the lividity which results from a recent blow. Used with oxycrate, it disperses pains and swellings in the testes. To bites inflicted by dogs, it is a good plan to apply sponge, from time to time, cut fine, and moistened with vinegar, cold water, or honey. Ashes of African [See B. ix. c. 69.] sponge, with juice of cut-leek and a mixture of salt and cold water, are good, taken internally, for patients suffering from discharges of blood: applied topically to the forehead, with oil or vinegar, they are curative of tertian fevers. The sponge of Africa, more particularly, soaked in oxycrate, disperses tumours. Ashes of any kind of sponge burnt with pitch, arrest the discharge of blood from wounds; though some recommend, for this purpose, the sponge with large pores only, burnt with pitch. For affections of the eyes; sponge is burnt in vessels of unbaked earthenware; the ashes being found highly efficacious for granulations of the eyelids, fleshy excrescences, and all diseases of those parts which require detergents, astringents, or expletives. For all these purposes, however, it is the best plan first to rinse the ashes. When the body is in a diseased state, sponge acts as a substitute for body-scrapers and linen towels, and it protects the head most efficiently against the action of the sun.

Medical men, in their ignorance, comprehend all sponges under two names; African sponge, the substance of which is tougher and firmer; and Rhodian sponge, which is softer and better adapted for fomentations. At the present day, however, the softest sponges of all are those found about the walls of the city of Antiphellos. [See B. v. c. 28.] Trogus informs us that the softest tent sponges are found out at sea, off the coast of Lycia, upon spots from which the sponge has been previously removed: we learn, too, from Polybius, that these fine sponges, suspended over a patient’s bed, will ensure him additional repose at night. [An absurdity, of course.]

We will now turn to the remedies derived from the marine and aquatic animals.

Summary. —Remedies, narratives, and observations, nine hundred and twenty-four.

Roman authors quoted. —M. Varro, [See end of B. ii.] Cassius [Called C. Cassius Severus Parmensis, according to some authorities. He was one of the murderers of Cæsar, and perished, the last of them by a violent end, about B.C. 30. He is supposed to have written tragedies, epigrams, and other works. See Horace, Epist. B. i. Ep. 4, l. 3.] of Parma, Cicero, [See end of B. vii.] Mucianus, [See end of B. ii.] Cælius, [Cælius Antipater. See end of B. ii.] Celsus, [See end of B. vii.] Trogus, [See end of B. vii.] Ovid, [See end of B. xviii.] Polybius, [See end of B. iv.] Sornatius. [This personage is entirely unknown. It may possibly be a corruption for Soranus, a poet of that name (Q. Valerius Soranus) who flourished about 100 B.C. See also B. xxxii. c. 23.]

Foreign authors quoted. —Callimachus, [See end of B. iv.] Ctesias, [See end of B. ii.] Eudicus, [Beyond the mention made of him in c. 9 of this Book, nothing whatever is known of him.] Theophrastus, [See end of B. iii.] Eudoxus, [See end of B. ii., and end of B. vi.] Theopompus, [See end of B. ii.] Polycritus, [See end of B. xii.] Juba, [See end of B. v.] Lycus, [See end of B. xii.] Apion, [See end of B. xxx.] Epigenes, [See end of B. ii.] Pelops, [He is also mentioned in B. xxxii. c. 16, but beyond that, nothing whatever appears to be known of him. He must not be confounded with Pelops of Smyrna, one of Galen’s preceptors, who flourished in the second century after Christ.] Apelles, [See end of B. xxviii.] Democritus, [See end of B. ii.] Thrasyllus, [See end of B. ii.] Nicander, [See end of B. viii.] Menander [A celebrated Comic poet, a disciple of Theophrastus, and the inventor of the New Comedy at Athens. Only a few fragments of his works survive.] the Comic writer, Attalus, [See end of B. viii.] Sallustius Dionysius, [A physician, of whom, beyond the mention made of him in B. xxxii. c. 26, no further particulars appear to be known.] Andreas, [See end of B. xx.] Niceratus, [A Greek writer on plants, and a follower of Asclepiades of Bithynia. He is supposed to have flourished in the latter half of the first century B.C. His medical formulæ are several times quoted by Galen. See c. 31 of the succeeding Book.] Hippocrates, [See end of B. vii.] Anaxilaüs. [See end of B. xxi.]