Chapter XV: Book XX: Remedies Derived From the Garden Plants (1)

CHAP. 1.—INTRODUCTION.

We are now about to enter upon an examination of the greatest of all the operations of Nature—we are about to discourse to man upon his aliments,[1291] and to compel him to admit that he is ignorant by what means he exists. And let no one, misled by the apparent triviality of the names which we shall have to employ, regard this subject as one that is frivolous or contemptible: for we shall here have to set forth the state of peace or of war which exists between the various departments of Nature, the hatreds or friendships which are maintained by objects dumb and destitute of sense, and all, too, created—a wonderful subject for our contemplation!—for the sake of man alone. To these states, known to the Greeks by the respective appellations “sympathia” and “antipathia,” we are indebted for the first principles[1292] of all things; for hence it is that water has the property of extinguishing fire, that the sun absorbs water, that the moon produces it, and that each of those heavenly bodies is from time to time eclipsed by the other.

Hence it is, too, descending from the contemplation of a loftier sphere, that the loadstone[1293] possesses the property of attracting iron, and another stone,[1294] again, that of repelling it; and that the diamond, that pride of luxury and opulence, though infrangible by every other object, and presenting a resistance that cannot be overcome, is broken asunder by a he-goat’s blood[1295]—in addition to numerous other marvels of which we shall have to speak on more appropriate occasions, equal to this or still more wonderful even. My only request is that pardon may be accorded me for beginning with objects of a more humble nature, though still so greatly conducive to our health—I mean the garden plants, of which I shall now proceed to speak.

CHAP. 2. (1.)—THE WILD CUCUMBER; TWENTY-SIX REMEDIES.

We have already stated[1296] that there is a wild cucumber, considerably smaller than the cultivated one. From this cucumber the medicament known as “elaterium” is prepared, being the juice extracted from the seed.[1297] To obtain this juice the fruit is cut before it is ripe—indeed, if this precaution is not taken at an early period, the seed is apt to spirt[1298] out and be productive of danger to the eyes. After it is gathered, the fruit is kept whole for a night, and on the following day an incision is made in it with a reed. The seed, too, is generally sprinkled with ashes, with the view of retaining in it as large a quantity of the juice as possible. When the juice is extracted, it is received in rain water, where it falls to the bottom; after which it is thickened in the sun, and then divided into lozenges, which are of singular utility to mankind for healing dimness[1299] of sight, diseases of the eyes, and ulcerations of the eyelids. It is said that if the roots of a vine are touched with this juice, the grapes of it will be sure never to be attacked by birds.

The root,[1300] too, of the wild cucumber, boiled in vinegar, is employed in fomentations for the gout, and the juice of it is used as a remedy for tooth-ache. Dried and mixed with resin, the root is a cure for impetigo[1301] and the skin diseases known as “psora”[1302] and “lichen:”[1303] it is good, too, for imposthumes of the parotid glands and inflammatory tumours,[1304] and restores the natural colour to the skin when a cicatrix has formed.—The juice of the leaves, mixed with vinegar, is used as an injection for the ears, in cases of deafness.

CHAP. 3.—ELATERIUM; TWENTY-SEVEN REMEDIES.

The proper season for making elaterium is the autumn; and there is no medicament known that will keep longer than this.[1305] It begins to be fit for use when three years old; but if it is found desirable to make use of it at an earlier period than this, the acridity of the lozenges may be modified by putting them with vinegar upon a slow fire, in a new earthen pot. The older it is the better, and before now, as we learn from Theophrastus, it has been known to keep[1305] so long as two hundred years. Even after it has been kept so long as fifty[1306] years, it retains its property of extinguishing a light; indeed, it is the proper way of testing the genuineness of the drug to hold it to the flame and make it scintillate above and below, before finally extinguishing it. The elaterium which is pale, smooth, and slightly bitter, is superior[1307] to that which has a grass-green appearance and is rough to the touch.

It is generally thought that the seed of this plant will facilitate conception if a woman carries it attached to her person, before it has touched the ground; and that it has the effect of aiding parturition, if it is first wrapped in ram’s wool, and then tied round the woman’s loins, without her knowing it, care being taken to carry it out of the house the instant she is delivered.

Those persons who magnify the praises of the wild cucumber say that the very best is that of Arabia, the next being that of Arcadia, and then that of Cyrenæ: it bears a resemblance to the heliotropium,[1308] they say, and the fruit, about the size of a walnut, grows between the leaves and branches. The seed, it is said, is very similar in appearance to the tail of a scorpion thrown back, but is of a whitish hue. Indeed, there are some persons who give to this cucumber the name of “scorpionium,” and say that its seed, as well as the elaterium, is remarkably efficacious as a cure for the sting of the scorpion. As a purgative, the proper dose of either is from half an obolus to an obolus, according to the strength of the patient, a larger dose than this being fatal.[1309] It is in the same proportions, too, that it is taken in drink for phthiriasis[1310] and dropsy; applied externally with honey or old olive oil, it is used for the cure of quinsy and affections of the trachea.

CHAP. 4. (2.)—THE ANGUINE OR ERRATIC CUCUMBER: FIVE REMEDIES.

Many authors are of opinion that the wild cucumber is identical with the plant known among us as the “anguine,” and by some persons as the “erratic”[1311] cucumber. Objects sprinkled with a decoction of this plant will never be touched by mice. The same authors[1312] say, too, that a decoction of it in vinegar, externally applied, gives instantaneous relief in cases of gout and diseases of the joints. As a remedy, too, for lumbago, the seed of it is dried in the sun and pounded, being given in doses of twenty denarii to half a sextarius of water. Mixed with woman’s milk and applied as a liniment, it is a cure for tumours which have suddenly formed.

Elaterium promotes the menstrual discharge; but if taken by females when pregnant, it is productive of abortion. It is good, also, for asthma, and, injected into the nostrils, for the jaundice.[1313] Rubbed upon the face in the sun, it removes freckles[1314] and spots upon the skin.

CHAP. 5.—THE CULTIVATED CUCUMBER: NINE REMEDIES.

Many persons attribute all these properties to the cultivated cucumber[1315] as well, a plant which even without them would be of very considerable importance, in a medicinal point of view. A pinch of the seed, for instance, in three fingers, beaten up with cummin and taken in wine, is extremely beneficial for a cough: for phrenitis, also, doses of it are administered in woman’s milk, and doses of one acetabulum for dysentery. As a remedy for purulent expectorations, it is taken with an equal quantity of cummin;[1316] and it is used with hydromel for diseases of the liver. Taken in sweet wine, it is a diuretic; and, in combination with cummin,[1316] it is used as an injection for affections of the kidneys.

CHAP. 6.—PEPONES: ELEVEN REMEDIES.

The fruit known as pepones[1317] are a cool and refreshing diet, and are slightly relaxing to the stomach. Applications are used of the pulpy flesh in defluxions or pains of the eyes. The root, too, of this plant cures the hard ulcers known to us as “ceria,” from their resemblance to a honeycomb, and it acts as an emetic.[1318] Dried and reduced to a powder, it is given in doses of four oboli in hydromel, the patient, immediately after taking it, being made to walk half a mile. This powder is employed also in cosmetics[1319] for smoothing the skin. The rind, too, has the effect[1320] of promoting vomiting, and, when applied to the face, of clearing the skin; a result which is equally produced by an external application of the leaves of all the cultivated cucumbers. These leaves, mixed with honey, are employed for the cure of the pustules known as “epinyctis;”[1321] steeped in wine, they are good, too, for the bites of dogs and of multipedes,[1322] insects known to the Greeks by the name of “seps,”[1323] of an elongated form, with hairy legs, and noxious to cattle more particularly; the sting being followed by swelling, and the wound rapidly putrifying.

The smell of the cucumber itself is a restorative[1324] in fainting fits. It is a well-known fact, that if cucumbers are peeled and then boiled in oil, vinegar, and honey, they are all the more pleasant eating[1325] for it.

CHAP. 7. (3.)—THE GOURD: SEVENTEEN REMEDIES. THE SOMPHUS: ONE REMEDY.

There is found also a wild gourd, called “somphos” by the Greeks, empty within (to which circumstance it owes its name),[1326] and long and thick in shape, like the finger: it grows nowhere except upon stony spots. The juice of this gourd, when chewed, is very beneficial to the stomach.[1327]

CHAP. 8.—THE COLOCYNTHIS: TEN REMEDIES.

There is another variety of the wild gourd, known as the “colocynthis:”[1328] this kind is full of seeds, but not so large as the cultivated one. The pale colocynthis is better than those of a grass-green colour. Employed by itself when dried, it acts as a very powerful[1329] purgative; used as an injection, it is a remedy for all diseases of the intestines, the kidneys, and the loins, as well as for paralysis. The seed being first removed, it is boiled down in hydromel to one half; after which it is used as an injection, with perfect safety, in doses of four oboli. It is good, too, for the stomach, taken in pills composed of the dried powder and boiled honey. In jaundice seven seeds of it may be taken with beneficial effects, with a draught of hydromel immediately after.

The pulp of this fruit, taken with wormwood and salt, is a remedy for toothache, and the juice of it, warmed with vinegar, has the effect of strengthening loose teeth. Rubbed in with oil, it removes pains of the spine, loins, and hips: in addition to which, really a marvellous thing to speak of! the seeds of it, in even numbers, attached to the body in a linen cloth, will cure, it is said, the fevers to which the Greeks have given the name of “periodic.”[1330] The juice, too, of the cultivated gourd[1331] shred in pieces, applied warm, is good for ear-ache, and the flesh of the inside, used without the seed, for corns on the feet and the suppurations known to the Greeks as “apostemata.”[1332] When the pulp and seeds are boiled together, the decoction is good for strengthening loose teeth, and for preventing toothache; wine, too, boiled with this plant, is curative of defluxions of the eyes. The leaves of it, bruised with fresh cypress-leaves, or the leaves alone, boiled in a vessel of potters’ clay and beaten up with goose-grease, and then applied to the part affected, are an excellent cure for wounds. Fresh shavings of the rind are used as a cooling application for gout, and burning pains in the head, in infants more particularly; they are good, too, for erysipelas,[1333] whether it is the shavings of the rind or the seeds of the plant that are applied to the part affected. The juice of the scrapings, employed as a liniment with rose-oil and vinegar, moderates the burning heats of fevers; and the ashes of the dried fruit applied to burns are efficacious in a most remarkable degree.

Chrysippus, the physician, condemned the use of the gourd as a food: it is generally agreed, however, that it is extremely good[1334] for the stomach, and for ulcerations of the intestines and of the bladder.

CHAP. 9.—RAPE; NINE REMEDIES.

Rape, too, has its medicinal properties. Warmed, it is used as an application for the cure of chilblains,[1335] in addition to which, it has the effect of protecting the feet from cold. A hot decoction of rape is employed for the cure of cold gout; and raw rape, beaten up with salt, is good for all maladies of the feet. Rape-seed, used as a liniment, and taken in drink, with wine, is said to have a salutary effect[1336] against the stings of serpents, and various narcotic poisons; and there are many persons who attribute to it the properties of an antidote, when taken with wine and oil.

Democritus has entirely repudiated the use of rape as an article of food, in consequence of the flatulence[1337] which it produces; while Diocles, on the other hand, has greatly extolled it, and has even gone so far as to say that it acts as an aphrodisiac.[1338] Dionysius, too, says the same of rape, and more particularly if it is seasoned with rocket;[1339] he adds, also, that roasted, and then applied with grease, it is excellent for pains in the joints.

CHAP. 10.—WILD RAPE: ONE REMEDY.

Wild rape[1340] is mostly found growing in the fields; it has a tufted top, with a white[1341] seed, twice as large as that of the poppy. This plant is often employed for smoothing the skin of the face and the body generally, meal of fitches,[1342] barley, wheat, and lupines, being mixed with it in equal proportions.

The root of the wild rape is applied to no useful purpose whatever.

CHAP. 11. (4.)—TURNIPS; THOSE KNOWN AS BUNION AND BUNIAS: FIVE REMEDIES.

The Greeks distinguish two kinds of turnips,[1343] also, as employed in medicine. The turnip with angular stalks and a flower like that of anise, and known by them as “bunion,”[1344] is good for promoting the menstrual discharge in females and for affections[1345] of the bladder; it acts, also, as a diuretic. For these purposes, a decoction of it is taken with hydromel, or else one drachma of the juice of the plant.[1346] The seed, parched, and then beaten up, and taken in warm water, in doses of four cyathi, is a good remedy for dysentery; it will stop the passage of the urine, however, if linseed is not taken with it.

The other kind of turnip is known by the name of “bunias,”[1347] and bears a considerable resemblance to the radish and the rape united, the seed of it enjoying the reputation of being a remedy for poisons; hence it is that we find it employed in antidotes.

CHAP. 12.—THE WILD RADISH, OR ARMORACIA: ONE REMEDY.

We have already said,[1348] that there is also a wild radish.[1349] The most esteemed is that of Arcadia, though it is also found growing in other countries as well. It is only efficacious as a diuretic, being in other respects of a heating nature. In Italy, it is known also by the name of “armoracia.”

CHAP. 13.—THE CULTIVATED RADISH: FORTY-THREE REMEDIES.

The cultivated radish, too, in addition to what we have already said[1350] of it, purges the stomach, attenuates the phlegm, acts as a diuretic, and detaches the bilious secretions. A decoction of the rind of radishes in wine, taken in the morning in doses of three cyathi, has the effect of breaking and expelling calculi of the bladder. A decoction, too, of this rind in vinegar and water, is employed as a liniment for the stings of serpents. Taken fasting in the morning with honey, radishes are good[1351] for a cough. Parched radish-seed, as well as radishes themselves, chewed, is useful for pains in the sides.[1352] A decoction of the leaves, taken in drink, or else the juice of the plant taken in doses of two cyathi, is an excellent remedy for phthiriasis. Pounded radishes, too, are employed as a liniment for inflammations[1353] under the skin, and the rind, mixed with honey, for bruises of recent date. Lethargic persons[1354] are recommended to eat them as hot as possible, and the seed, parched and then pounded with honey, will give relief to asthmatic patients.

Radishes, too, are useful as a remedy for poisons, and are employed to counteract the effects of the sting of the cerastes[1355] and the scorpion: indeed, after having rubbed the hands with radishes or radish-seed, we may handle[1356] those reptiles with impunity. If a radish is placed upon a scorpion, it will cause its death. Radishes are useful, too, in cases of poisoning by fungi[1357] or henbane; and according to Nicander,[1358] they are salutary against the effects of bullock’s blood,[1359] when drunk. The two physicians of the name of Apollodorus, prescribe radishes to be given in cases of poisoning by mistletoe; but whereas Apollodorus of Citium recommends radish-seed pounded in water, Apollodorus of Tarentum speaks of the juice. Radishes diminish the volume of the spleen, and are beneficial for maladies of the liver and pains in the loins: taken, too, with vinegar or mustard, they are good for dropsy and lethargy, as well as epilepsy[1360] and melancholy.[1361] Praxagoras recommends that radishes should be given for the iliac passion, and Plistonicus for the cœliac[1362] disease.

Radishes are good, too, for curing ulcerations of the intestines and suppurations of the thoracic organs,[1363] if eaten with honey. Some persons say, however, that for this purpose they should be boiled in earth and water; a decoction which, according to them, promotes the menstrual discharge. Taken with vinegar or honey, radishes expel worms from the intestines; and a decoction of them boiled down to one-third, taken in wine, is good for intestinal hernia.[1364] Employed in this way, too, they have the effect of drawing off the superfluous blood. Medius recommends them to be given boiled to persons troubled with spitting of blood, and to women who are suckling, for the purpose of increasing the milk. Hippocrates[1365] recommends females whose hair falls off, to rub the head with radishes, and he says that for pains of the uterus, they should be applied to the navel.

Radishes have the effect, too, of restoring the skin, when scarred, to its proper colour; and the seed, steeped in water, and applied topically, arrests the progress of ulcers known as phagedænic.[1366] Democritus regards them, taken with the food, as an aphrodisiac; and it is for this reason, perhaps, that some persons have spoken of them as being injurious to the voice. The leaves, but only those of the long radish, are said to have the effect of improving the eye-sight.

When radishes, employed as a remedy, act too powerfully, it is recommended that hyssop should be given immediately; there being an antipathy[1367] between these two plants. For dulness of hearing, too, radish-juice is injected into the ear. To promote vomiting, it is extremely beneficial to eat radishes fasting.

CHAP. 14.—THE PARSNIP: FIVE REMEDIES. THE HIBISCUM, WILD MALLOW, OR PLISTOLOCHIA: ELEVEN REMEDIES.

The hibiscum, by some persons known as the wild mallow,[1368] and by others as the “plistolochia,” bears a strong resemblance to the parsnip;[1369] it is good for ulcerations of the cartilages, and is employed for the cure of fractured bones. The leaves of it, taken in water, relax the stomach; they have the effect, also, of keeping away serpents, and, employed as a liniment, are a cure for the stings of bees, wasps, and hornets. The root, pulled up before sunrise, and wrapped in wool of the colour known as “native,”[1370] taken from a sheep which has just dropped a ewe lamb, is employed as a bandage for scrofulous swellings, even after they have suppurated. Some persons are of opinion, that for this purpose the root should be dug up with an implement of gold, and that care should be taken not to let it touch the ground.

Celsus,[1371] too, recommends this root to be boiled in wine, and applied in cases of gout unattended with swelling.

CHAP. 15. (5.)—THE STAPHYLINOS, OR WILD PARSNIP: TWENTY-TWO REMEDIES.

The staphylinos, or, as some persons call it, “erratic[1372] parsnip,” is another kind. The seed[1373] of this plant, pounded and taken in wine, reduces swelling of the abdomen, and alleviates hysterical suffocations and pains, to such a degree as to restore the uterus to its natural condition. Used as a liniment, also, with raisin wine, it is good for pains of the bowels in females; for men, too, beaten up with an equal proportion of bread, and taken in wine, it may be found beneficial for similar pains. It is a diuretic also, and it will arrest the progress of phagedænic ulcers, if applied fresh with honey, or else dried and sprinkled on them with meal.

Dieuches recommends the root of it to be given, with hydromel, for affections of the liver and spleen, as also the sides, loins, and kidneys; and Cleophantus prescribes it for dysentery of long standing. Philistio says that it should be boiled in milk, and for strangury he prescribes four ounces of the root. Taken in water, he recommends it for dropsy, as well as in cases of opisthotony,[1374] pleurisy, and epilepsy. Persons, it is said, who carry this plant about them, will never be stung by serpents, and those who have just eaten of it will receive no hurt from them. Mixed with axle-grease,[1375] it is applied to parts of the body stung by reptiles; and the leaves of it are eaten as a remedy for indigestion.

Orpheus has stated that the staphylinos acts as a philtre,[1376] most probably because, a very-well-established fact, when employed as a food, it is an aphrodisiac; a circumstance which has led some persons to state that it promotes conception. In other respects the cultivated parsnip has similar properties; though the wild kind is more powerful in its operation, and that which grows in stony soils more particularly. The seed, too, of the cultivated parsnip, taken in wine, or vinegar and water,[1377] is salutary for stings inflicted by scorpions. By rubbing the teeth with the root of this plant, tooth-ache is removed.

CHAP. 16.—GINGIDION: ONE REMEDY.

The Syrians devote themselves particularly to the cultivation of the garden, a circumstance to which we owe the Greek proverb, “There is plenty of vegetables in Syria.”[1378]

Among other vegetables, that country produces one very similar to the staphylinos, and known to some persons as “gingidion,”[1379] only that it is smaller than the staphylinos and more bitter, though it has just the same properties. Eaten either raw or boiled, it is very beneficial to the stomach, as it entirely absorbs all humours with which it may happen to be surcharged.

CHAP. 17.—THE SKIRRET: ELEVEN REMEDIES.

The wild[1380] skirret, too, is very similar to the cultivated kind,[1381] and is productive of similar effects. It sharpens[1382] the stomach, and, taken with vinegar flavoured with silphium, or with pepper and hydromel, or else with garum, it promotes the appetite. According to Opion, it is a diuretic, and acts as an aphrodisiac.[1383] Diocles is also of the same opinion; in addition to which, he says that it possesses cordial virtues for convalescents, and is extremely beneficial after frequent vomitings.

Heraclides has prescribed it against the effects of mercury,[1384] and for occasional impotence, as also generally for patients when convalescent. Hicesius says that skirrets would appear to be prejudicial[1385] to the stomach, because no one is able to eat three of them following; still, however, he looks upon them as beneficial to patients who are just resuming the use of wine. The juice of the cultivated skirret, taken in goats’-milk, arrests looseness of the stomach.

CHAP. 18.—SILE, OR HARTWORT: TWELVE REMEDIES.

As the similitude which exists between their Greek names[1386] has caused most persons to mistake the one for the other, we have thought it as well to give some account here of sile or hartwort,[1387] though it is a plant which is very generally known. The best hartwort is that of Massilia,[1388] the seed of it being broad and yellow; and the next best is that of Æthiopia, the seed of which is of a darker hue. The Cretan hartwort is the most odoriferous of the several kinds. The root of this plant has a pleasant smell; the seed of it is eaten by vultures, it is said.[1389] Hartwort is useful to man for inveterate coughs, ruptures, and convulsions, being usually taken in white wine; it is employed also in cases of opisthotony, and for diseases of the liver, as well as for griping pains in the bowels and for strangury, in doses of two or three spoonfuls at a time.

The leaves of this plant are useful also, and have the effect of aiding parturition—in animals even: indeed, it is generally said that roes,[1390] when about to bring forth, are in the habit of eating these leaves in particular. They are topically applied, also, in erysipelas; and either the leaves or the seed, taken fasting in the morning, are very beneficial to the digestion. Hartwort has the effect, too, of arresting looseness in cattle, either bruised and put into their drink, or else eaten by them after it has been chewed with salt. When oxen are in a diseased state, it is beaten up and poured into their food.

CHAP. 19.—ELECAMPANE: ELEVEN REMEDIES.

Elecampane,[1391] too, chewed fasting, has the effect of strengthening the teeth, if, from the moment that it is plucked, it is not allowed to touch the ground: a confection of it is a cure for cough. The juice of the root boiled is an expellent of intestinal tapeworm; and dried in the shade and reduced to powder, the root[1392] is curative in cases of cough, convulsions, flatulency, and affections of the trachea. It is useful too, for the bites of venomous animals; and the leaves steeped in wine are applied topically for pains in the loins.

CHAP. 20.—ONIONS: TWENTY-SEVEN REMEDIES.

There are no such things in existence as wild onions. The cultivated onion is employed for the cure of dimness[1393] of sight, the patient being made to smell at it till tears come into the eyes: it is still better even if the eyes are rubbed with the juice. It is said, too, that onions are soporific,[1394] and that they are a cure for ulcerations of the mouth, if chewed with bread. Fresh onions in vinegar, applied topically, or dried onions with wine and honey, are good for the bites of dogs, care being taken not to remove the bandage till the end of a couple of days. Applied, too, in the same way, they are good for healing excoriations. Roasted in hot ashes, many persons have applied them topically, with barley meal, for defluxions of the eyes and ulcerations of the genitals. The juice, too, is employed as an ointment for sores of the eyes, albugo,[1395] and argema.[1396] Mixed with honey, it is used as a liniment for the stings[1397] of serpents and all kinds of ulcerous sores. In combination with woman’s milk, it is employed for affections of the ears; and in cases of singing in the ears and hardness of hearing, it is injected into those organs with goose-grease or honey. In cases where persons have been suddenly struck dumb, it has been administered to them to drink, mixed with water. In cases, too, of toothache, it is sometimes introduced into the mouth as a gargle for the teeth; it is an excellent remedy also for all kinds of wounds made by animals, scorpions more particularly.

In cases of alopecy[1398] and itch-scab, bruised onions are rubbed on the parts affected: they are also given boiled to persons afflicted with dysentery or lumbago. Onion peelings, burnt to ashes and mixed with vinegar, are employed topically for stings of serpents and multipedes.[1399]

In other respects, there are remarkable differences of opinion among medical men. The more modern writers have stated that onions are good for the thoracic organs and the digestion, but that they are productive of flatulency and thirst. The school of Asclepiades maintains that, used as an aliment, onions impart a florid[1400] colour to the complexion, and that, taken fasting every day, they are promoters of robustness and health; that as a diet, too, they are good for the stomach by acting upon the spirits, and have the effect of relaxing the bowels. He says, too, that, employed as a suppository, onions disperse piles, and that the juice of them, taken in combination with juice of fennel, is wonderfully beneficial in cases of incipient dropsy. It is said, too, that the juice, taken with rue and honey, is good for quinsy, and has the effect of dispelling lethargy.[1401] Varro assures us that onions, pounded with salt and vinegar and then dried, will never be attacked by worms.[1402]

CHAP. 21. (6.)—CUTLEEK: THIRTY-TWO REMEDIES.

Cutleek[1403] has the effect of stanching bleeding at the nose, the nostrils being plugged with the plant, pounded, or else mixed with nut-galls or mint. The juice of it, taken with woman’s milk, arrests floodings after a miscarriage; and it is remedial in cases even of inveterate cough, and of affections of the chest[1404] and lungs. The leaves, applied topically, are employed for the cure of pimples, burns, and epinyctis[1405]—this last being the name given to an ulcer, known also as “syce,”[1406] situate in the corner of the eye, from which there is a continual running: some persons, however, give this name to livid pustules, which cause great restlessness in the night. Other kinds of ulcers, too, are treated with leeks beaten up with honey: used with vinegar, they are extensively employed also for the bites of wild beasts, as well as of serpents and other venomous creatures. Mixed with goats’ gall, or else honied wine in equal proportions, they are used for affections of the ears, and, combined with woman’s milk, for singing in the ears. In cases of head-ache, the juice is injected into the nostrils, or else into the ear at bed-time, two spoonfuls of juice to one of honey.

This juice is taken too with pure wine,[1407] for the stings of serpents and scorpions, and, mixed with a semi-sextarius of wine, for lumbago. The juice, or the leek itself, eaten as a food, is very beneficial to persons troubled with spitting of blood, phthisis, or inveterate catarrhs; in cases also of jaundice or dropsy, and for nephretic pains, it is taken in barley-water, in doses of one acetabulum of juice. The same dose, too, mixed with honey, effectually purges the uterus. Leeks are eaten, too, in cases of poisoning by fungi,[1408] and are applied topically to wounds: they act also as an aphrodisiac,[1409] allay thirst, and dispel the effects of drunkenness; but they have the effect of weakening the sight and causing flatulency, it is said, though, at the same time, they are not injurious to the stomach, and act as an aperient. Leeks impart a remarkable clearness to the voice.[1410]

CHAP. 22.—BULBED LEEK: THIRTY-NINE REMEDIES.

Bulbed leek[1411] produces the same effects as cut-leek,[1412] but in a more powerful degree. To persons troubled with spitting of blood, the juice of it is given, with powdered nut-galls[1413] or frankincense, or else gum acacia.[1414] Hippocrates,[1415] however, prescribes it without being mixed with anything else, and expressed himself of opinion that it has the property of opening the uterus when contracted, and that taken as an aliment by females, it is a great promoter of fecundity. Beaten up and mixed with honey, it cleanses ulcerous sores. It is good for the cure of coughs, catarrhs, and all affections of the lungs and of the trachea, whether given in the form of a ptisan, or eaten raw, the head excepted: it must be taken, however, without bread, and upon alternate days, and this even if there should be purulent expectorations.

Taken in this form, it greatly improves the voice, and acts as an aphrodisiac, and as a promoter of sleep. The heads, boiled in a couple of waters, arrest looseness of the bowels, and fluxes of long standing; and a decoction of the outer coat acts as a dye upon grey hair.[1416]

CHAP. 23.—GARLIC: SIXTY-ONE REMEDIES.

Garlic[1417] has very powerful[1418] properties, and is of great utility to persons on changes of water or locality. The very smell of it drives away serpents and scorpions, and, according to what some persons say, it is a cure for wounds made by every kind of wild beast, whether taken with the drink or food, or applied topically. Taken in wine, it is a remedy for the sting of the hæmorrhoïs[1419] more particularly, acting as an emetic. We shall not be surprised too, that it acts as a powerful remedy for the bite of the shrew-mouse, when we find that it has the property of neutralizing aconite, otherwise known as “pardalianches.”[1420] It neutralizes henbane, also, and cures the bites of dogs, when applied with honey to the wound. It is taken in drink also for the stings of serpents; and of its leaves, mixed with oil, a most valuable liniment is made for bruises on the body, even when they have swelled and formed blisters.

Hippocrates[1421] is of opinion also, that fumigations made with garlic have the effect of bringing away the after-birth; and he used to employ the ashes of garlic, mixed with oil, for the cure of running ulcers of the head. Some persons have prescribed boiled garlic for asthmatic patients; while others, again, have given it raw. Diocles prescribes it, in combination with centaury, for dropsy, and to be taken in a split fig, to promote the alvine evacuations: taken fresh, however, in unmixed wine, with coriander, it is still more efficacious for that purpose. Some persons have given it, beaten up in milk, for asthma. Praxagoras used to prescribe garlic, mixed with wine, for jaundice, and with oil and pottage for the iliac passion: he employed it also in a similar form, as a liniment for scrofulous swellings of the neck.

The ancients used to give raw garlic in cases of madness, and Diocles administered it boiled for phrenitis. Beaten up, and taken in vinegar and water, it is very useful as a gargle for quinsy. Three heads of garlic, beaten up in vinegar, give relief in toothache: and a similar result is obtained by rinsing the mouth with a decoction of garlic, and inserting pieces of it in the hollow teeth. Juice of garlic is sometimes injected into the ears with goose-grease,[1422] and, taken in drink, or similarly injected, in combination with vinegar and nitre, it arrests phthiriasis[1423] and porrigo.[1424] Boiled with milk, or else beaten up and mixed with soft cheese, it is a cure for catarrhs. Employed in a similar manner, and taken with pease or beans, it is good for hoarseness, but in general it is found to be more serviceable cooked than raw, and boiled than roasted: in this last state, however, it is more beneficial to the voice. Boiled in oxymel, it has the effect of expelling tape-worm and other intestinal worms; and a pottage made of it is a cure for tenesmus. A decoction of garlic is applied topically for pains in the temples; and first boiled and then beaten up with honey, it is good for blisters. A decoction of it, with stale grease, or milk, is excellent for a cough; and where persons are troubled with spitting of blood or purulent matter, it may be roasted in hot ashes, and taken with honey in equal proportions. For convulsions and ruptures it is administered in combination with salt and oil; and, mixed with grease, it is employed for the cure of suspected tumours.

Mixed with sulphur and resin, garlic draws out the humours from fistulous sores, and employed with pitch, it will extract an arrow even[1425] from the wound. In cases of leprosy, lichen, and eruptions of the skin, it acts as a detergent, and effects a cure, in combination with wild marjoram, or else reduced to ashes, and applied as a liniment with oil and garum.[1426] It is employed in a similar manner, too, for erysipelas; and, reduced to ashes, and mixed with honey, it restores contused or livid spots on the skin to their proper colour. It is generally believed, too, that taken in the food and drink, garlic is a cure for epilepsy, and that a clove of it, taken in astringent wine, with an obolus’ weight of silphium,[1427] will have the effect of dispelling quartan fever. Garlic cures coughs also, and suppurations of the chest, however violent they may be; to obtain which result, another method is followed, it being boiled with broken beans, and employed as a diet till the cure is fully effected. It is a soporific also, and in general imparts to the body an additional ruddiness of colour.

Garlic acts as an aphrodisiac, beaten up with fresh coriander, and taken in pure wine. The inconveniences which result from the use of it, are dimness of the sight and flatulency; and if taken in too large quantities, it does injury to the stomach, and creates thirst. In addition to these particulars, mixed with spelt flour, and given to poultry in their food, it preserves them from attacks of the pip.[1428] Beasts of burden, it is said, will void their urine all the more easily, and without any pain, if the genitals are rubbed with garlic.

CHAP. 24.—THE LETTUCE: FORTY-TWO REMEDIES. THE GOAT-LETTUCE: FOUR REMEDIES.

The first kind of lettuce which grows spontaneously, is the one that is generally known as “goat[1429]-lettuce;” thrown into the sea, this vegetable has the property of instantaneously killing all the fish that come into its vicinity. The milky juice of this lettuce,[1430] left to thicken and then put into vinegar, is given in doses of two oboli, with the addition of one cyathus of water, to patients for dropsy. The stalk and leaves, bruised and sprinkled with salt, are used for the cure of wounds of the sinews. Pounded with vinegar, and employed as a gargle in the morning twice a month, they act as a preventive of tooth-ache.

CHAP. 25.—CÆSAPON: ONE REMEDY. ISATIS: ONE REMEDY. THE WILD LETTUCE: SEVEN REMEDIES.

There is a second kind of wild lettuce, known by the Greeks is “cæsapon.”[1431] The leaves of this lettuce, applied as a liniment with polenta,[1432] are used for the cure of ulcerous sores. This plant is found growing in the fields. A third kind, again, grows in the woods; the name given to it is “isatis.”[1433] The leaves of this last, beaten up and applied with polenta, are very useful for the cure of wounds. A fourth kind is used by dyers of wool; in the leaves it would resemble wild lapathum, were it not that they are more numerous and darker. This lettuce has the property of stanching blood, and of healing phagedænic sores and putrid spreading ulcers, as well as tumours before suppuration. Both the root as well as the leaves are good, too, for erysipelas; and a decoction of it is drunk for affections of the spleen. Such are the properties peculiar to each of these varieties.

CHAP. 26.—HAWK-WEED: SEVENTEEN REMEDIES.

The properties which are common to all the wild varieties[1434] are whiteness, a stem sometimes as much as a cubit in length, and a roughness upon the stalk and leaves. Among these plants there is one with round, short leaves, known to some persons as “hieracion;”[1435] from the circumstance that the hawk tears it open and sprinkles[1436] its eyes with the juice, and so dispels any dimness of sight of which it is apprehensive. The juice of all these plants is white, and in its properties resembles that of the poppy.[1437] It is collected at harvest-time, by making incisions in the stalk, and is kept in new earthen vessels, being renowned as a remedy for numerous maladies.[1438] Mixed with woman’s milk, it is a cure for all diseases of the eyes, such as argema for instance, films on the eyes, scars and inflammations[1439] of all kinds, and dimness of the sight more particularly. It is applied to the eyes, too, in wool, as a remedy for defluxions of those organs.

This juice also purges the bowels, taken in doses of two oboli in vinegar and water. Drunk in wine it is a cure for the stings of serpents, and the leaves and stalk of the plant are pounded and taken in vinegar. They are employed also as a liniment for wounds, the sting of the scorpion more particularly; combined, too, with oil and vinegar, they are similarly applied for the bite of the phalangium.[1440] They have the effect, also, of neutralizing other poisons, with the exception of those which kill by suffocation or by attacking the bladder, as also with the exception of white lead. Steeped in oxymel, they are applied to the abdomen for the purpose of drawing out vicious humours of the intestines. The juice is found good, also, in cases of retention of the urine. Crateuas prescribes it to be given to dropsical patients, in doses of two oboli, with vinegar and one cyathus of wine.

Some persons collect the juice of the cultivated lettuce as well, but it is not so efficacious[1441] as the other. We have already made mention,[1442] to some extent, of the peculiar properties of the cultivated lettuce, such as promoting sleep, allaying the sexual passions, cooling the body when heated, purging[1443] the stomach, and making blood. In addition to these, it possesses no few properties besides; for it has the effect of removing flatulency, and of dispelling eructations, while at the same time it promotes the digestion, without ever being indigestible itself. Indeed, there is no article of diet known that is a greater stimulant to the appetite, or which tends in a greater degree to modify it; it being the extent, either way, to which it is eaten that promotes these opposite results. In the same way, too, lettuces eaten in too large quantities are laxative, but taken in moderation they are binding. They have the effect, also, of attenuating the tough, viscous, phlegm, and, according to what some persons say, of sharpening the senses. They are extremely serviceable, too, to debilitated stomachs; for which purpose * *[1444] oboli of sour sauce[1445] is added to them, the sharpness of which is modified by the application of sweet wine, to make it of the same strength as vinegar-sauce.[1446] If, again, the phlegm with which the patient is troubled is extremely tough and viscous, wine of squills or of wormwood is employed; and if there is any cough perceptible, hyssop wine is mixed as well.

Lettuces are given with wild endive for cœliac affections, and for obstructions of the thoracic organs. White lettuces, too, are prescribed in large quantities for melancholy and affections of the bladder. Praxagoras recommends them for dysentery. Lettuces are good, also, for recent burns, before blisters have made their appearance: in such cases they are applied with salt. They arrest spreading ulcers, being applied at first with saltpetre, and afterwards with wine. Beaten up, they are applied topically for erysipelas; and the stalks, beaten up with polenta, and applied with cold water, are soothing for luxations of the limbs and spasmodic contractions; used, too, with wine and polenta, they are good for pimples and eruptions. For cholera lettuces have been given, cooked in the saucepan, in which case it is those with the largest stalk and bitter that are the best: some persons administer them, also, as an injection, in milk. These stalks boiled, are remarkably good, it is said, for the stomach: the summer lettuce, too, more particularly, and the bitter, milky lettuce, of which we have already[1447] made mention as the “meconis,” have a soporific effect. This juice, in combination with woman’s milk, is said to be extremely beneficial to the eyesight, if applied to the head in good time; it is a remedy, too, for such maladies of the eyes as result from the action of cold.

I find other marvellous praises lavished upon the lettuce, such, for instance, as that, mixed with Attic honey, it is no less beneficial for affections of the chest than abrotonum;[1448] that the menstrual discharge is promoted in females by using it as a diet; that the seed, too, Of the cultivated lettuce is administered as a remedy for the stings of scorpions, and that pounded, and taken in wine, it arrests all libidinous dreams and imaginations during sleep; that water, too, which affects[1449] the brain will have no injurious effects upon those who eat lettuce. Some persons have stated, however, that if lettuces are eaten too frequently they will prove injurious to the eyesight.

CHAP. 27. (8.)—BEET: TWENTY-FOUR REMEDIES.

Nor are the two varieties of the beet without their remedial properties.[1450] The root of either white or black beet, if hung by a string, fresh-gathered, and softened with water, is said to be efficacious for the stings of serpents. White beet, boiled and eaten with raw garlic, is taken for tapeworm; the root, too, of the black kind, similarly boiled in water, removes porrigo; indeed, it is generally stated, that the black beet is the more efficacious[1451] of the two. The juice of black beet is good for inveterate head-aches and vertigo, and injected into the ears, it stops singing in those organs. It is a diuretic, also, and employed in injections is a cure for dysentery and jaundice.

This juice, used as a liniment, allays tooth-ache, and is good for the stings of serpents; but due care must be taken that it is extracted from this root only. A decoction, too, of beet-root is a remedy for chilblains.

A liniment of white beet-root applied to the forehead, arrests defluxions of the eyes, and mixed with a little alum it is an excellent remedy for erysipelas. Beaten up, and applied without oil, it is a cure for excoriations. In the same way, too, it is good for pimples and eruptions. Boiled, it is applied topically to spreading ulcers, and in a raw state it is employed in cases of alopecy, and running ulcers of the head. The juice, injected with honey into the nostrils, has the effect of clearing the head. Beet-root is boiled with lentils and vinegar, for the purpose of relaxing the bowels; if it is boiled, however, some time longer, it will have the effect of arresting fluxes of the stomach and bowels.

CHAP. 28.—LIMONION, OR NEUROIDES: THREE REMEDIES.

There is a wild beet, too, known by some persons as “limonion,”[1452] and by others as “neuroides;” it has leaves much smaller and thinner than the cultivated kind, and lying closer together. These leaves amount often to eleven[1453] in number, the stalk resembling that of the lily.[1454] The leaves of this plant are very useful for burns, and have an astringent taste in the mouth: the seed, taken in doses of one acetabulum, is good for dysentery. It is said that a decoction of beet with the root has the property of taking stains out of cloths and parchment.

CHAP. 29.—ENDIVE: THREE REMEDIES.

Endive,[1455] too, is not without its medicinal uses. The juice of it, employed with rose oil and vinegar, has the effect of allaying headache; and taken with wine, it is good for pains in the liver and bladder: it is used, also, topically, for defluxions of the eyes. The spreading endive has received from some persons among us the name of “ambula.” In Egypt, the wild endive is known as “cichorium,”[1456] the cultivated kind being called “seris.” This last is smaller than the other, and the leaves of it more full of veins.

CHAP. 30.—CICHORIUM OR CHRESTON, OTHERWISE CALLED PANCRATION, OR AMBULA: TWELVE REMEDIES.

Wild endive or cichorium has certain refreshing qualities,[1457] used as an aliment. Applied by way of liniment, it disperses abscesses, and a decoction of it loosens the bowels. It is also very beneficial to the liver, kidneys, and stomach. A decoction of it in vinegar has the effect of dispelling the pains of strangury; and, taken in honied wine, it is a cure for the jaundice, if unattended with fever. It is beneficial, also, to the bladder, and a decoction of it in water promotes the menstrual discharge to such an extent as to bring away the dead fœtus even.

In addition to these qualities, the magicians[1458] state that persons who rub themselves with the juice of the entire plant, mixed with oil, are sure to find more favour with others, and to obtain with greater facility anything they may desire. This plant, in consequence of its numerous salutary virtues, has been called by some persons “chreston,”[1459] and “pancration”[1460] by others.

CHAP. 31.—HEDYPNOÏS: FOUR REMEDIES.

There is a sort of wild endive, too, with a broader leaf, known to some persons as “hedypnoïs.”[1461] Boiled, it acts as an astringent upon a relaxed stomach, and eaten raw, it is productive of constipation. It is good, too, for dysentery, when eaten with lentils more particularly. This variety, as well as the preceding one, is useful for ruptures and spasmodic contractions, and relieves persons who are suffering from spermatorrhœa.

CHAP. 32.—SERIS, THREE VARIETIES OF IT: SEVEN REMEDIES BORROWED FROM IT.

The vegetable, too, called “seris,”[1462] which bears a considerable resemblance to the lettuce, consists of two kinds. The wild, which is of a swarthy colour, and grows in summer, is the best of the two; the winter kind, which is whiter than the other, being inferior. They are both of them bitter, but are extremely beneficial to the stomach, when distressed by humours more particularly. Used as food with vinegar, they are cooling, and, employed as a liniment, they dispel other humours besides those of the stomach. The roots of the wild variety are eaten with polenta for the stomach: and in cardiac diseases they are applied topically above the left breast. Boiled in vinegar, all these vegetables are good for the gout, and for patients troubled with spitting of blood or spermatorrhœa; the decoction being taken on alternate days.

Petronius Diodotus, who has written a medical Anthology,[1463] utterly condemns seris, and employs a multitude of arguments to support his views: this opinion of his is opposed, however, to that of all other writers on the subject.

CHAP. 33. (9).—THE CABBAGE: EIGHTY-SEVEN REMEDIES. RECIPES MENTIONED BY CATO.

It would be too lengthy a task to enumerate all the praises of the cabbage, more particularly as the physician Chrysippus has devoted a whole volume to the subject, in which its virtues are described in reference to each individual part of the human body. Dieuches has done the same, and Pythagoras too, in particular. Cato, too, has not been more sparing in its praises than the others; and it will be only right to examine the opinions which he expresses in relation to it, if for no other purpose than to learn what medicines the Roman people made use of for six hundred years.

The most ancient Greek writers have distinguished three[1464] varieties of the cabbage: the curly[1465] cabbage, to which they have given the name of “selinoïdes,”[1466] from the resemblance of its leaf to that of parsley, beneficial to the stomach, and moderately relaxing to the bowels; the “helia,” with broad leaves running out from the stalk—a circumstance, owing to which some persons have given it the name of “caulodes”—of no use whatever in a medicinal point of view; and a third, the name of which is properly “crambe,” with thinner leaves, of simple form, and closely packed, more bitter than the others, but extremely efficacious in medicine.[1467]