Chaps. 45-56.

Chap. 45.—Fourteen Remedies Derived from Rust.

Rust itself, too, is classed among the remedial substances; for it was by means of it that Achilles cured Telephus, it is said, whether it was an iron weapon or a brazen one that he used for the purpose. So it is, however, that he is represented in paintings detaching the rust with his sword. [There are two versions of this story. In B. xxv. c. 19, Pliny says that Achilles cured Telephus by the application of a plant, which from him received its name. According to the other account, the oracle had declared, that the wound of Telephus, which had been inflicted by Achilles, could only be cured by means of the same weapon which had caused it.—B.] The rust of iron is usually obtained for these purposes by scraping old nails with a piece of moistened iron. It has the effect of uniting wounds, and is possessed of certain desiccative and astringent properties. Applied in the form of a liniment, it is curative of alopecy. Mixed with wax and myrtle-oil, it is applied to granulations of the eyelids, and pustules in all parts of the body; with vinegar it is used for the cure of erysipelas; and, applied with lint, it is curative of itch, whitlows on the fingers, and hang-nails. Used as a pessary with wool, it arrests female discharges. Diluted in wine, and kneaded with myrrh, it is applied to recent wounds, and, with vinegar, to condylomatous swellings. Employed in the form of a liniment, it alleviates gout. [All the statements in this Chapter are to be found in Dioscorides, B. v. c. 93.—B.]

Chap. 46.—Seventeen Remedies Derived from the Scales of Iron. Hygremplastrum.

The scales of iron, [The scaly excrescences beaten from iron in the forges, Hardouin says.—B.] which are procured from a fine point or a sharp edge, are also made use of, being very similar in effect to rust, but more active; for which reason they are employed for defluxions of the eyes. They arrest bleeding, also, more particularly from wounds inflicted with iron; and they act as a check upon female discharges. They are applied, too, for diseases of the spleen, and they arrest hæmorrhoidal swellings and serpiginous ulcers. They are useful also for affections of the eyelids, gradually applied in the form of a fine powder. But their chief recommendation is, their great utility in the form of a hygremplastrum [From the Greek ὕγρον πλαστρὸν.—B.] or wet plaster, for cleansing wounds and fistulous sores, consuming all kinds of callosities, and making new flesh on bones that are denuded. The following are the ingredients: of pitch, six oboli, of Cimolian chalk, [See B. xxxv. c..—B.] six drachmæ, two drachmæ of pounded copper, the same quantity of scales of iron, six drachmæ of wax, and one sextarius of oil. To these is added some cerate, when it is wanted to cleanse or fill up wounds.

Chap. 47. (16.)—The Ores of Lead.

The nature of lead next comes to be considered. There are two kinds of it, the black and the white. [It is most probable that the “black lead” of Pliny was our lead, and the “white lead” our tin. Beckmann has considered these Chapters at great length, Vol. II. p. 209, et seq. Bohn’s Edition.] The white is the most valuable: it was called by the Greeks “cassiteros,” [Supposed to have been derived from the Oriental word Kastîra.] and there is a fabulous story told of their going in quest of it to the islands of the Atlantic, and of its being brought in barks made of osiers, covered with hides. [What is here adduced as a fabulous narrative is not very remote from the truth; the Scilly Isles and Cornwall being the principal sources of the tin now employed in Europe. Small boats, corresponding to the description here given, were very lately still in use among the inhabitants of some parts of the south-west coast of England [and on the Severn]. Pliny has already spoken of these boats in B. vii. c. 57.—B. See also B. iv. c. 30, as to the coracles of the ancient Britons.] It is now known that it is a production of Lusitania and Gallæcia. [The ores of tin are known to exist in Gallicia; but the mines in that country are very scanty compared to those of Cornwall.—B.] It is a sand found on the surface of the earth, and of a black colour, and is only to be detected by its weight. It is mingled with small pebbles, particularly in the dried beds of rivers. The miners wash this sand, and calcine the deposit in the furnace. It is also found in the gold mines that are known as “alutiæ,” [“Talutium” is mentioned in B. xxxiii. c..] the stream of water which is passed through them detaching certain black pebbles, mottled with small white spots and of the same weight [Tin ore is among the heaviest of minerals, though the specific gravity of the metal is small. M. Hæfer is of opinion that these pebbles contained platinum.] as gold. Hence it is that they remain with the gold in the baskets in which it is collected; and being separated in the furnace, are then melted, and become converted into white lead. [Or tin. The greater fusibility of the tin producing this separation.—B.]

Black lead is not procured in Gallæcia, although it is so greatly abundant in the neighbouring province of Cantabria; nor is silver procured from white lead, although it is from black. [We may conclude that the “plumbum nigrum,” or “black lead” of Pliny is the Galena or sulphuret of lead of the moderns; it is frequently what is termed argentiferous, i.e. united with an ore of silver, and this in such quantity as to cause it to be worked for the purpose of procuring the silver.—B. See Beckmann, Vol. II. p. 210.] Pieces of black lead cannot be soldered without the intervention of white lead, nor can this be done without employing oil; [“Instead of oil, workmen use at present ‘colophonium,’ or some other resin.”—Beckmann, Vol. II. p. 223. See also B. xxxiii. c..] nor can white lead, on the other hand, be united without the aid of black lead. White lead was held in estimation in the days even of the Trojan War, a fact that is attested by Homer, who calls it “cassiteros.” [Iliad, xi. 25, and xxiii. 561.—B.] There are two different sources of black lead: it being procured either from its own native ore, where it is produced without the intermixture of any other substance, or else from an ore which contains it in common with silver, the two metals being fused together. The metal which first becomes liquid in the furnace, is called “stannum;” [Ajasson considers this to be Bismuth; but it is more probable that Beckmann is right in his conclusion, supported by Agricola, Entzel, Fallopius, Savot, Bernia, and Jung, that it was a compound metal, the Werk of the German smelting-houses: a metal not much unlike our pewter, probably. See Beckmann, Hist. Inv. Vol. II. pp. 209, 212, 224. Bohn’s Edition.] the next that melts is silver; and the metal that remains behind is galena, [See B. xxxiii. c., and c. of this Book.] the third constituent part of the mineral. On this last being again submitted to fusion black lead is produced, with a deduction of two-ninths.

Chap. 48. (17.)—Stannum. Argentarium.

When copper vessels are coated with stannum, [A compound metal, probably, somewhat like pewter. See Note above. He evidently alludes to the process of “tinning.”] they produce a less disagreeable flavour, and the formation of verdigris is prevented; it is also remarkable, that the weight of the vessel is not increased. As already mentioned, [In B. xxxiii. c.: where he says that the best mirrors were formerly made of a mixture of stannum and copper.—B. See Beckmann, Hist. Inv. Vol. II. pp. 60-62, 72.] the finest mirrors were formerly prepared from it at Brundisium, until everybody, our maid-servants even, began to use silver ones. At the present day a counterfeit stannum is made, by adding one-third of white copper to two-thirds of white lead. [Or tin.] It is also counterfeited in another way, by mixing together equal parts of white lead and black lead; this last being what is called “argentarium.” [“Silver mixture.”] There is also a composition called “tertiarium,” a mixture of two parts of black lead and one of white: its price is twenty denarii per pound, and it is used for soldering pipes. Persons still more dishonest mix together [Such a mixture as this would in reality become more valuable than “argentarium,” as the proportion would be two-thirds of tin and one of lead. How then could the workmen merit the title of dishonest? Beckmann suggests that the tinning ought to have been done with pure tin, but that unprincipled artists employed tin mixed with lead. It is most probable, however, that Pliny himself has made a mistake, and that we should read “equal parts of black lead” (our lead); in which case the mixture passed off as “argentarium,” instead of containing equal parts of tin and lead, would contain five-sixths of lead. See Beckmann, Hist. Inv. Vol. II. p. 221. Bohn’s Edition.] equal parts of tertiarium and white lead, and, calling the compound “argentarium,” coat articles with it melted. This last sells at sixty denarii per ten pounds, the price of the pure unmixed white lead being eighty denarii, and of the black seven. [All these readings are doubtful in the extreme.]

White lead is naturally more dry; while the black, on the contrary, is always moist; consequently the white, without being mixed with another metal, is of no use [As being too brittle, probably; the reason suggested by Beckmann, Vol. II. p. 221.] for anything. Silver too, cannot be soldered with it, because the silver becomes fused before the white lead. It is confidently stated, also, that if too small a proportion of black lead is mixed with the white, this last will corrode the silver. It was in the Gallic provinces that the method was discovered of coating articles of copper with white lead, so as to be scarcely distinguishable from silver: articles thus plated are known as “incoctilia.” [Literally, “inboiled,” being coated by immersion in the molten tin.] At a later period, the people of the town of Alesia [Supposed by Hardouin to have been the town of Alise, in Auxois.] began to use a similar process for plating articles with silver, more particularly ornaments for horses, beasts of burden, and yokes of oxen: the merit, however, of this invention belongs to the Bituriges. [See B. iv. c. 33.] After this, they began to ornament their esseda, colisata, and petorita [The names of various kinds of carriages, the form of which is now unknown.] in a similar manner; and luxury has at last arrived at such a pitch, that not only are their decorations made of silver, but of gold even, and what was formerly a marvel to behold on a cup, is now subjected to the wear and tear of a carriage, and this in obedience to what they call fashion!

White lead is tested, by pouring it, melted, [Both tin and lead can be fused in paper, when it is closely wrapped around them.] upon paper, which ought to have the appearance of being torn rather by the weight than by the heat of the metal. India has neither copper nor lead, [In reality India did and does possess them both; but it is possible that in those days it was not considered worth while to search for them.] but she procures them in exchange for her precious stones and pearls.

Chap. 49.—Black Lead.

Black lead [The “lead” of the moderns.] is used in the form of pipes and sheets: it is extracted with great labour in Spain, and throughout all the Gallic provinces; but in Britannia [Mr. T. Wright, the eminent antiquarian, is of opinion that the extensive Roman lead mines at Shelve, in Shropshire, are here alluded to. See the Illustrated London News, Oct. 4, 1856.] it is found in the upper stratum of the earth, in such abundance, that a law has been spontaneously made, prohibiting any one from working more than a certain quantity of it. The various kinds of black lead are known by the following names—the Ovetanian, [Probably from Ovetum, the modern Oviedo.—B.] the Caprariensian, [So called from the island of Capraria. See B. iii. cc. 11, 12, and B. vi. c. 37.] and the Oleastrensian. [See B. iii. c. 12.] There is no difference whatever in them, when the scoria has been carefully removed by calcination. It is a marvellous fact, that these mines, and these only, when they have been abandoned for some time, become replenished, and are more prolific than before. This would appear to be effected by the air, infusing itself at liberty through the open orifices, just as some women become more prolific after abortion. This was lately found to be the case with the Santarensian mine in Bætica; [Not in Bætica, as Brotero remarks, but in Lusitania, or Portugal; the modern Santarem.—B.] which, after being farmed at an annual rental of two hundred thousand denarii, and then abandoned, is now rented at two hundred and fifty-five thousand per annum. In the same manner, the Antonian mine in the same province has had the rent raised to four hundred thousand sesterces per annum.

It is a remarkable fact, that if we pour water into a vessel of lead, it will not melt; but that if we throw into the water a pebble or a copper quadrans, [See Introduction to Vol. III.] the vessel will be penetrated by the fire.

Chap. 50. (18.)—Fifteen Remedies Derived from Lead.

Lead is used in medicine, without any addition, for the removal of scars; if it is applied, too, in plates, to the region of the loins and kidneys, in consequence of its cold nature it will restrain the venereal passions, and put an end to libidinous dreams at night, attended with spontaneous emissions, and assuming all the form of a disease. The orator Calvus, it is said, effected a cure for himself by means of these plates, and so preserved his bodily energies for labour and study. The Emperor Nero—for so the gods willed it—could never sing to the full pitch of his voice, unless he had a plate of lead upon his chest; thus showing us one method of preserving the voice. [This circumstance is mentioned by Suetonius, c. 20.—B.] For medicinal purposes the lead is melted in earthen vessels; a layer of finely powdered sulphur being placed beneath, very thin plates of lead are laid upon it, and are then covered with a mixture of sulphur and iron. While it is being melted, all the apertures in the vessel should be closed, otherwise a noxious vapour is discharged from the furnace, of a deadly nature, to dogs in particular. Indeed, the vapours from all metals destroy flies and gnats; and hence it is that in mines there are none of those annoyances. [Hardouin observes, that these insects are never met with in mines; but probably this may depend more upon other causes, than upon the vapours which are supposed to proceed from the metals.—B.] Some persons, during the process, mix lead-filings with the sulphur, while others substitute ceruse for sulphur. By washing, a preparation is made from lead, that is much employed in medicine: for this purpose, a leaden mortar, containing rain water, is beaten with a pestle of lead, until the water has assumed a thick consistency; which done, the water that floats on the surface is removed with a sponge, and the thicker part of the sediment is left to dry, and is then divided into tablets. Some persons triturate lead-filings in this way, and some mix with it lead ore, or else vinegar, wine, grease, or rose-leaves. Others, again, prefer triturating the lead in a stone mortar, one of Thebaic stone more particularly, with a pestle of lead; by which process a whiter preparation is obtained.

As to calcined lead, it is washed, like stibi [See B. xxxiii. cc.,.] and cadmia. Its action is astringent and repressive, and it is promotive of cicatrization. The same substance is also employed in preparations for the eyes, cases of procidence [See B. xx. c. 81, and B. xxiv. c. 73.] of those organs more particularly; also for filling up the cavities left by ulcers, and for removing excrescences and fissures of the anus, as well as hæmorrhoidal and condylomatous tumours. For all these purposes the lotion of lead is particularly useful; but for serpiginous or sordid ulcers it is the ashes of calcined lead that are used, these producing the same advantageous effects as ashes of burnt papyrus. [“Charta.” See B. xxiv. c. 51.]

The lead is calcined in thin plates, laid with sulphur in shallow vessels, the mixture being stirred with iron rods or stalks of fennel-giant, until the melted metal becomes calcined; when cold, it is pulverized. Some persons calcine lead-filings in a vessel of raw earth, which they leave in the furnace, until the earthenware is completely baked. Others, again, mix with it an equal quantity of ceruse or of barley, and triturate it in the way mentioned for raw lead; indeed, the lead which has been prepared this way is preferred to the spodium of Cyprus.

Chap. 51.—Fifteen Remedies Derived from the Scoria of Lead.

The scoria [This, according to Ajasson, is the protoxide, or probably, in some cases, the arseniate of lead.—B.] of lead is also made use of; the best kind being that which approaches nearest to a yellow colour, without any vestiges of lead, or which has the appearance of sulphur without any terreous particles. It is broken into small pieces and washed in a mortar, until the mortar assumes a yellow colour; after which, it is poured off into a clean vessel, the process being repeated until it deposits a sediment, which is a substance of the greatest utility. It possesses the same properties as lead, but of a more active nature. How truly wonderful is the knowledge which we gain by experiment, when even the very dregs and foul residues of substances have in so many ways been tested by mankind!

Chap. 52.—Spodium of Lead.

A spodium [From σποδὸς, “ashes.”—B.] of lead is also prepared in the same manner as that extracted from Cyprian copper. [See Chapter of this Book.—B.] It is washed with rain water, in linen of a loose texture, and the earthy parts are separated by pouring it off; after which it is sifted, and then pounded. Some prefer removing the fine powder with a feather, and then triturating it with aromatic wine.

Chap. 53.—Molybdæna: Fifteen Remedies.

Molybdæna, [This was probably lead ore in its primary state, when only separated from the stannum, and before it was subjected to fusion for the purpose of obtaining pure lead.—See Beckmann’s Hist. Inv. Vol. II. p. 211. Bohn’s Edition. Ajasson identifies it with litharge, or fused oxide of lead, known as gold and silver litharge, from its colour.] which in another place I have called “galena,” [See B. xxxiii. c., and Chapter of this Book.—B.] is a mineral compounded of silver and lead. It is considered better in quality the nearer it approaches to a golden colour and the less lead it contains; it is also friable, and of moderate weight. When it is melted with oil, it acquires the colour of liver. It is found adhering also to the furnaces in which gold and silver have been smelted; and in this case it is called “metallic.” The most esteemed kind is that prepared at Zephyrium. [In Cilicia: see B. v. c. 22. He is speaking, no doubt, of the “metallic,” or artificial kind.] Those kinds, too, are considered the best that are the least earthy and the least stony. It is used in preparing liparæ, [A kind of ointment. See B. xxiii. c. 81, and B. xxxiii. c..] as also for soothing or cooling ulcers, and as an ingredient in plasters, which are applied without ligatures, but are used only as a liniment for producing cicatrization on the bodies of delicate persons and the more tender parts. The composition is made of three pounds of molybdæna, one pound of wax, and three heminæ of oil; to which are added lees of olives, in the case of aged persons. Combined with scum of silver [Our Litharge. See B. xxxiii. c..] and scoria of lead, it is employed warm in fomentations for dysentery and tenesmus.

Chap. 54.—Psimithium, or Ceruse; Six Remedies.

Psimithium, [According to Ajasson, this substance is properly a sub-carbonate of lead, commonly called white lead.—B.] which is also known as ceruse, is another production of the lead-works. The most esteemed comes from Rhodes. It is made from very fine shavings of lead, placed over a vessel filled with the strongest vinegar; by which means the shavings become dissolved. That which falls into the vinegar is first dried, and then pounded and sifted, after which it is again mixed with vinegar, and is then divided into tablets and dried in the sun, during summer. It is also made in another way; the lead is thrown into jars filled with vinegar, which are kept closed for ten days; the sort of mould that forms upon the surface is then scraped off, and the lead is again put into the vinegar, until the whole of the metal is consumed. The part that has been scraped off is triturated and sifted, and then melted in shallow vessels, being stirred with ladles, until the substance becomes red, and assumes the appearance of sandarach. It is then washed with fresh water, until all the cloudy impurities have disappeared, after which it is dried as before, and divided into tablets.

Its properties are the same as those of the substances above mentioned. [Scoria of lead and molybdæna.—B.] It is, however, the mildest of all the preparations of lead; in addition to which, it is also used by females to whiten the complexion. [Preparations of lead are still used in cosmetics for whitening the complexion.] It is, however, like scum of silver, a deadly poison. Melted a second time, ceruse becomes red.

Chap. 55.—Sandarach; Eleven Remedies.

We have already mentioned nearly all the properties of sandarach. [The Realgar of the moderns, red orpiment, or red sulphuret of arsenic. Pliny has in numerous places spoken of it as a remedy for certain morbid states both of animals and vegetables, B. xvii. c. 47, B. xxiii. c. 13, B. xxv. c. 22, and B. xxviii. c. 62, but he has not previously given any account of its origin and composition.—B.] It is found both in gold-mines and in silver-mines. The redder it is, the more pure and friable, and the more powerful its odour, the better it is in quality. It is detergent, astringent, heating, and corrosive, but is most remarkable for its septic properties. Applied topically with vinegar, it is curative of alopecy. It is also employed as an ingredient in ophthalmic preparations. Used with honey, it cleanses the fauces and makes the voice more clear and harmonious. Taken with the food, in combination with turpentine, it is a pleasant cure for cough and asthma. In the form of a fumigation also, with cedar, it has a remedial effect upon those complaints. [Dioscorides, B. v. c. 122, informs us, with respect to this effect of sandarach, that it was burned in combination with resin, and that the smoke was inhaled through a tube.—B.]

Chap. 56.—Arrhenicum.

Arrhenicum, [The substance here mentioned, though its name is the foundation of our word “arsenic,” is not the arsenic of modern commerce, but probably a sulphuret of arsenic containing a less proportion of sulphur than the Sandarach of the last Chapter.—B.] too, is procured from the same sources. The best in quality is of the colour of the finest gold; that which is of a paler hue, or resembling sandarach, being less esteemed. There is a third kind also, the colour of which is a mixture of that of gold and of sandarach. The last two kinds are both of them scaly, but the other is dry and pure, and divides into delicate long veins. [The other two mentioned species naturally divide into laminæ, while this kind is disposed to separate into fine fibres.—B.] This substance has the same virtues as the one last mentioned, but is more active in its effects. Hence it is that it enters into the composition of cauteries and depilatory preparations. It is also used for the removal of hangnails, polypi of the nostrils, condylomatous tumours, and other kinds of excrescences. For the purpose of increasing its energies, it is heated in a new earthen vessel, until it changes its colour. [By this process a considerable portion of the sulphur is expelled, so as to cause the orpiment to approximate to the state of arsenic.—B.]

Summary. —Remedies, one hundred and fifty-eight. Facts, narratives, and observations, nine hundred and fifteen.

Roman Authors quoted. —L. Piso, [See end of B. ii.] Antias, [See end of B. ii.] Verrius, [See end of B. iii.] M. Varro, [See end of B. ii.] Cornelius Nepos, [See end of B. ii.] Messala, [A different person from the Messala mentioned at the end of B. ix. He is mentioned in B. xxxiii. c., B. xxxv. c., and in Chapter of this Book; but nothing further seems to be known of him.] Rufus, [See end of B. vii. and Note 1315 to B. vii. c. 53.] the Poet Marsus, [Domitius Marsus, a poet of the Augustan age, of whom few particulars are known, except that he wrote an epitaph on the poet Tibullus, who died B.C. 18. He is mentioned by Ovid and Martial, from the latter of whom we learn that his epigrams were distinguished for their wit, licentiousness, and satire.] Bocchus, [See end of B. xvi.] Julius Bassus [See end of B. xx.] who wrote in Greek on Medicine, Sextus Niger [See end of B. xii.] who did the same, Fabius Vestalis. [See end of B. vii.]

Foreign Authors quoted. —Democritus, [See end of B. ii.] Metrodorus [See end of B. iii.] of Scepsis, Menæchmus [See end of B. iv.] who wrote on the Toreutic art, Xenocrates [See c. 19 of this Book, Note, page 184.] who did the same, Antigonus [See end of B..] who did the same, Duris [See end of B. vii.] who did the same, Heliodorus [See end of B..] who wrote on the Votive Offerings of the Athenians, Pasiteles [See end of B..] who wrote on Wonderful Works, Timæus [See end of B..] who wrote on the Medicines derived from Metals, Nymphodorus, [See end of B. iii.] Iollas, [See end of B. xii.] Apollodorus, [See end of Books iv., viii., xi., and xx.] Andreas, [See end of B. xx.] Heraclides, [See end of Books iv., and xii.] Diagoras, [See end of B. xii.] Botrys, [See end of B. xiii.] Archidemus, [See end of B. xii.] Dionysius, [See end of B. xii.] Aristogenes, [See end of B. xxix.] Democles, [See end of B. xii.] Mnesides, [See end of B. xii.] Xenocrates [See end of B..] the son of Zeno, Theomnestus. [See end of B..]