Chapter XXXII: Book XXIII (8)

[2411] Probably the same writer that is mentioned at the end of B. iv.; or, possibly, a physician of that name, who was a disciple of Herophilus, and lived about the second century B.C.

[2412] A distinguished Peripatetic philosopher of Eresos in Lesbos, a disciple of Aristotle, and a contemporary of Theophrastus.

[2413] Of this writer, nothing whatever is known, beyond the mention made of him in c. 88 of this Book, and in B. xxii. c. 32.

[2414] Nothing whatever is known relative to this writer.

[2415] See end of B. vii.

[2416] See end of B. xx.

[2417] See end of B. xx.

[2418] See end of B. xx.

[2419] For Heraclides of Pontus, see end of B. iv. For Heraclides of Tarentum, see end of B. xii.

[2420] See end of B. xv.

[2421] See end of B. xii.

[2422] See end of B. xx.

[2423] See end of B. xx.

[2424] See end of B. xx.

[2425] See end of B. xx.

[2426] See end of B. xx.

[2427] See end of B. xx.

[2428] See end of B. xx.

[2429] See end of B. xx.

[2430] See end of B. vii.

[2431] See end of B. xx.

[2432] See end of B. xx.

[2433] See end of B. xii.

[2434] See end of B. xi.

[2435] See end of B. xii.

[2436] See end of B. xx.

[2437] See end of B. xii.

[2438] See end of B. xx.

[2439] See end of B. xx.

[2440] See end of B. vi.

[2441] See end of B. xx.

[2442] See end of B. xx.

[2443] See end of B. xx.

[2444] See end of B. xx.

[2445] See end of B. xii.

[2446] See end of B. xx.

[2447] See end of B. xx.

[2448] See end of B. xix.

[2449] See end of B. xx.

[2450] See end of B. xx.

[2451] See end of B. xx.

[2452] Fée remarks, that at the present day, in all savage nations in which tatooing is practised, the men display more taste and care in the operation than is shewn by the females. There is little doubt that it is the art of tatooing the body, or in other words, first puncturing it and then rubbing in various colours, that is here spoken of by Pliny.

[2453] “Inscribunt.” “Writing upon,” or “tatooing,” evidently.

[2454] Our “woad,” the Isatis tinctoria of Linnæus, which imparts a blue colour. The root of this Celtic woad is probably “glas,” “blue,” whence also our word “glass;” and it is not improbable that the name of glass was given to it from the blue tints which it presented. Julius Cæsar and Pomponius Mela translate this word “glastum,” by the Latin “vitrum,” “glass.”

[2455] “Conjuges nurusque.” Cæsar says that _all_ the people in Britain were in the habit of staining the body with woad, to add to the horror of their appearance in battle. Pomponius Mela expresses himself as uncertain for what purpose it was done, whether it was to add to their beauty, or for some other reasons to him unknown.

[2456] “Granis.” What the ancients took to be a vegetable substance, is now known to be an insect, the kermes of the Quercus coccifera.

[2457] See B. ix. c. 63.

[2458] “Paludamentis.” The “paludamentum” was the cloak worn by a Roman general when in command, his principal officers, and personal attendants. It was open in front, reached to the knees or thereabout, and hung over the shoulders, being fastened across the chest by a clasp. It was commonly white or purple.

[2459] For an account of all these colours see B. ix. cc. 60-65.

[2460] The vaccinium for instance. See B. xvi. c. 31.

[2461] Fée thinks that the art of dyeing with alkanet and madder may be here alluded to.

[2462] See B. xxxv. c. 1.

[2463] The “good,” “ingenuous,” or “liberal” arts were those which might be practised by free men without loss of dignity. Pliny is somewhat inconsistent here, for he makes no scruple at enlarging upon the art of medicine, which among the Romans was properly not a liberal, but a servile, art.

[2464] “Surdis.”

[2465] Festus says the “verbenæ,” or _pure_ herbs, were called “sagmina,” because they were taken from a sacred (sacer) place. It is more generally supposed that “sagmen” comes from “sancio,” “to render inviolable,” the person of the bearer being looked upon as inviolable.

[2466] “Clare.”

[2467] Or bearer of the “verbena.” See further on this subject in B. xxv. c. 59.

[2468] “Corona graminea.”

[2469] For a description of these various crowns, see B. xvi. c. 3.

[2470] Sometimes also, weeds, or wild flowers.

[2471] See Servius on the Æneid, B. viii. l. 128.

[2472] No doubt, the old English custom of delivering seisin by presenting a turf, originated in this.

[2473] See B. vii. c. 29.

[2474] See B. xvi. c. 5.

[2475] In the Samnite war. He died B.C. 340.

[2476] Titus Manlius Torquatus Imperiosus, consul A.U.C. 414. It was he who put his own son to death for engaging the enemy against orders.

[2477] Q. Fabius Maximus, surnamed Cunctator, for his skill in avoiding an engagement with Hannibal, and so wearing out the Carthaginian troops.

[2478] Q. Minutius, the Magister Equitum.

[2479] See Livy, B. xxii.

[2480] The primipilus was the first centurion of the first maniple of the triarii; also called “primus centurionum.”

[2481] “Ad tibicinem.”

[2482] A.U.C. 652.

[2483] The “Fortunate.”

[2484] A.U.C. 605.

[2485] 13th of September.

[2486] A.U.C. 723.

[2487] Hence we may conclude that the word “gramen” signified not only “grass,” but any plant in general.

[2488] By reason of the luxury and sensuality universally prevalent.

[2489] This is said in bitter irony.

[2490] Trusting to the good faith and research of the physician.

[2491] “Inseruisse.”

[2492] “Amplecti.”

[2493] In the Twentieth Book.

[2494] It has been thought by some that this is the Scolymus maculatus of Linnæus; the spotted yellow thistle. But the more general opinion is that it is the eringo, or Eryngium campestre of Linnæus. It derives its name from the Greek ἐρεύγειν, from its asserted property of dispelling flatulent eructations. It is possessed in reality of few medicinal properties, and is only used occasionally, at the present day, as a diuretic. See B. xxi. c. 56.

[2495] See B. xxvii. c. 2.

[2496] By the word “toxica,” Poinsinet would understand, not poisons in general, but the venom of the toad, which was called, he says, in the Celtic and Celto-Scythic languages, _toussac_ and _tossa_. Fée ridicules the notion.

[2497] Or rather, Fée says, deep blue. He identifies this with the Eryngium cyaneum of Linnæus, the eringo, with a blue flower.

[2498] This, as well as the next, is identical, probably, with the Eryngium maritimum of Linnæus; our sea-holly. The species found in Greece, in addition to the above, are the Eryngium tricuspidatum, multifidum, and parviflorum.

[2499] Pliny probably makes a mistake here, and reads σελίνον, “parsley,” for σκόλυμος, a “thistle.” Dalechamps is of this opinion, from an examination of the leaf; and Brotier adopts it.

[2500] Or “hundred heads,” the ordinary Eryngium campestre of Linnæus. It is still called panicaut a cent têtes, by the French.

[2501] It is no longer used for this purpose; but Fée is of opinion that it owes its French name of “panicaut,” from having been used in former times as a substitute for bread—_pain_.

[2502] It is not improbable that this plant is the same as the mandrake of _Genesis_, c. xxx. 14; which is said to have borne some resemblance to the human figure, and is spoken of by the commentators as male and female.

[2503] The root contains a small quantity of essential oil, with stimulating properties; and this fact, Fée thinks, would, to a certain extent, explain this story of Sappho. It is not improbable that it was for these properties that it was valued by the rival wives of Jacob.

[2504] White specks in the eye.

[2505] Sprengel identifies this with the Onopordum acanthium; but Fée thinks that if it belongs to the Onopordum at all, it is more likely to be the Onopordum acaulton, or the O. Græcum.

[2506] Or “sweet-root,” our liquorice; the Glycyrrhiza glabra of Linnæus. In reality, Fée remarks, there is no resemblance whatever between it and the Eryngium, no kind of liquorice being prickly.

[2507] “Echinatis;” literally, “like a hedge-hog.” Pliny, it is supposed, read here erroneously in the Greek text, (from which Dioscorides has also borrowed) ἐοικότα ἐχίνῳ “like a hedge-hog,” for ἐοικότα σχίνῳ “like those of the lentisk.”

[2508] “Pilularum.”

[2509] Or Pleiades.

[2510] Dioscorides compares the root, with less exactness, with that of gentian.

[2511] The same preparation that is known to us as Spanish liquorice or Spanish juice.

[2512] In B. xi. c. 119. It certainly has the effect of palling the appetite, but in many people it has the effect of creating thirst instead of allaying it. Fée thinks that from the fecula and sugar that it contains, it may possibly be nourishing, and he states that it is the basis of a favourite liquor in the great cities of France. Spanish liquorice water is used in England, but only by school-boys, as a matter of taste, and by patients as a matter of necessity.

[2513] The Greek for “without thirst.”

[2514] Or “mouth medicine.” Beyond being a bechic, or cough-medicine, it has no medicinal properties whatever.

[2515] “Pterygiis.” The word “pterygia” has been previously used as meaning a sort of hang-nail, or, perhaps, whitlow.

[2516] “Scabiem.”

[2517] Swellings of the anus more particularly.

[2518] It has in reality no such effect.

[2519] Probably the Fagonia Cretica and the Trapa natans of Linnæus. See B. xxi. c. 58. The first, Fée remarks, is a native of Candia, the ancient Crete, and a stranger to the climates of Greece and Italy. This may account for Pliny calling it a garden plant.

[2520] This is said. Fée remarks, in reference to the Trapa natans, the seed of which is rich in fecula, and very nutritious.

[2521] “Contrahat ventrem.” It would not act, Fée says, as an astringent, but would have the effect of imparting nutriment in a very high degree, without overloading the stomach.

[2522] A harmless, or, perhaps, beneficial, superstition.

[2523] The synonym of this plant is probably unknown. Dalechamps identifies it with the Sagittaria sagittifolia, C. Bauhin with the Centaurea calcitrapa, and Clusius, Belli, and Sprengel, with the Poterium spinosum. None of these plants, however, are prickly and aquatic, characteristics, according to Theophrastus, of the Stœbe: Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 11. Fée considers its identification next to impossible.

[2524] Probably the Hippophaës rhamnoides of Linnæus. This, however, Fée says, has no milky juice, but a dry, tough, ligneous root. Sprengel identifies it with the Euphorbia spinosa of Linnæus, on account of its milky juice; but that plant, as Fée remarks, does not bear berries, properly so called, and the fruit is yellow and prickly.

[2525] See B. xxvii. c. 66. It is identified by Fée with the Carduus stellatus or Centaurea calcitrapa of Linnæus, the common star-thistle.

[2526] As compounds of ἵππος, a “horse.” Hardouin, however, thinks that the names ἱπποφαὲς and ἱππόφαιστον have another origin, and that they are compounds of φάος, “lustre,”—from the brilliancy which they were said to impart to cloths—and ἵππος, in an augmentative sense, meaning “great lustre.”

[2527] See B. xxi. c. 55. Only two species of the nettle, Fée remarks, were known to the ancients, the Urtica urens and the U. dioica; and these have been confounded by Pliny and other writers.

[2528] In B. xv. c. 7. The Urtica urens has no oleaginous principles, and the oil of nettles, as Fée says, must have been a medicinal composition, the properties of which are more than hypothetical. The plant boiled, he remarks, can have no medicinal properties whatever, and it is with justice excluded from the modern Materia Medica. It is, however, still employed by some few practitioners, and the leaves are used, in some cases, to restore the vital action, by means of urtication.

[2529] “Cicutæ.”

[2530] Mercury, as already mentioned in a previous Note, is not poisonous.

[2531] “Testudinis.” He may, possibly, mean a turtle.

[2532] See B. x. c. 86.

[2533] The process of “urtication,” alluded to in Note [2528].

[2534] Fée considers this extremely doubtful.

[2535] An abominable refinement (if we may use the term) in gluttony, which would appear to have been practised among the Romans; though Fée thinks it possible that such a practice may have been considered advisable in the medical treatment of certain maladies. Be this as it may, the system of using vomits has prevailed to some extent in this country, and during the present century, too, among persons in the fashionable world, when expected to play their part at several entertainments in one evening.

[2536] “Sapa.” Grape-juice boiled down to one-third.

[2537] De Morb. Mul. text. 47.

[2538] See B. xviii. c. 13.

[2539] See B. xxi. c. 55.

[2540] See Hippocrates, Hippiatr.

[2541] In B. xxi. c. 55.

[2542] The Lamium maculatum of Linnæus: dead nettle, or archangel. The same as the Leuce, mentioned in B. xxvii. c. 77.

[2543] “Cum micâ salis.”

[2544] The Spartium scorpius of Linnæus, or the Scorpiurus sulcata of Linnæus: scorpion-grass, or scorpion-wort.

[2545] Its properties are entirely inert, and it has no such virtues as those here mentioned. As Fée remarks, we might be quite sure, however, from the form of the seeds, that this property would be ascribed to it in the Materia Medica of the ancients.

[2546] Supposed to be the Salsola tragus of Linnæus, kali, or glass-wort.

[2547] Not the Asparagus officinalis, Fée says, but the Asparagus acutifolius, the stem of which is somewhat prickly.

[2548] See B. xxi. cc. 56 and 104, in which last Chapter it is called “leucanthes.” Desfontaines suggests that it may be either the Carduus leucographus, or the Cnicum Casabonæ.

[2549] Literally, “many-cornered.” “Leucacantha” means “whitethorn,” and “Leucanthes” “white-flowered.”

[2550] Fée thinks this very improbable.

[2551] It must not be confounded, Fée says, with the Helxine, a tuberous root, mentioned in B. xxi. c. 56. He thinks also that Pliny is in error in giving it the name of “Perdicium,” which may possibly have been a synonym of the other Helxine. Fée comes to the conclusion that the Perdicium of B. xxi. c. 62, if not the same as the Helxine of c. 56, cannot be identified; that the Helxine of B. xxi. c. 56, is the Acarna gummifera; and that the Helxine here mentioned is identical with the Perdicium of this and the next Chapter, being the Parietaria officinalis of Linnæus, parietary or wall pellitory. The confusion has probably arisen from the similarity of the name of the ἰξίνη, the plant mentioned in B. xxi. c. 56, and the ἑλξίνη, the Helxine of the present Chapter.

[2552] “Perdices.” As stated in the last Note, the name has probably been given in error to the Helxine or pellitory.

[2553] Or horehound.

[2554] See B. xxi. c. 64.

[2555] From ἕλκω, to “drag.”

[2556] In c. 56. Properly the “Ixine.” See Note [2551] above.

[2557] Pellitory possesses no colouring properties whatever.

[2558] It has no medicinal virtues beyond acting, possibly, in some degree, as a diuretic.

[2559] The Parthenium of Celsus, mentioned by Pliny in B. xxi. 104, is not identical with this Perdicium (though there also he gives it that name), but is the Matricaria Parthenium of Linnæus, a different plant. See Notes to c. 19. B. xxii

[2560] In reference to what was said at the beginning of the preceding Chapter.

[2561] Or “pitcher plant.”

[2562] See c. 16 of this Book.

[2563] Plutarch, in his life of Pericles, tells the same story about the slave, but does not speak of the appearance of Minerva. He relates a story, however, of her appearance to Sylla, pointing out a spot near the Acropolis, where the Parthenium grew.

[2564] Or “Virgin” plant, Minerva being called “Parthenos,” the “virgin.”

[2565] One who “cooks entrails.” See B. xxxiv. cc. 19 and 31.

[2566] See B. xxi. c. 56. The white is identified with the Acarna gummifera of Linnæus, the dark or black with the Brotera corymbosa of Linnæus.

[2567] See B. xii. c. 33.

[2568] Viscus.

[2569] Olivier states (_Voyage dans l’Empire Ottoman_, i. 312) that the women in the isles of Naxos and Scio still chew this glutinous substance, in the same manner that mastich is used in other places.

[2570] Fée is inclined to doubt this, and thinks that, as it is a creeping plant, the name may have been derived from χαμαί, “on the ground.”

[2571] Theophrastus, Galen, and Dioscorides state to the same effect, and Fée thinks it possible it may possess a certain degree of activity.

[2572] Fée says that it possesses no such poisonous properties.

[2573] Rheum, or catarrhs.

[2574] From οὖλον φόνον, “dreadful death,” a name which, Fée observes, it does not merit, its properties not being poisonous.

[2575] From κυνὸς ὄζη “smell of a dog.” This is a more justifiable appellation, as the smell of it is very disagreeable.

[2576] The Cochlearia coronopus of Linnæus, crow’s-foot, or buck’s-horn plantain.

[2577] The Anchusa tinctoria of Linnæus, alkanet, orcanet, or dyers’ bugloss.

[2578] See B. xii. c. 46.

[2579] This plant is no longer used for medicinal purposes; but Fée thinks that, as the leaves in all probability contain nitrate of potash, they may have diuretic properties.

[2580] The Anchusa Italica of Linnæus, according to Fée, false alkanet, or wild bugloss. Though resembling the genuine plant in its external features, it has no colouring properties. Sprengel identifies it with the Lithospermum fruticosum of Linnæus, a plant, as Fée remarks, very different in its appearance from the genuine alkanet.

[2581] In erroneously giving it this name, Fée remarks that Pliny has confounded the pseudoanchusa with the ἔχιον of the Greeks, the Echium rubrum of Linnæus, and has attributed to it the characteristics of the latter plant.

[2582] Fée remarks, that all that Pliny says of the medicinal properties of this plant does not merit the honour of a discussion.

[2583] Fée identifies it with the Echium Creticum of Linnæus. Desfontaines takes it to be the Anchusa tinctoria of Linnæus. Fée is of opinion that the name really given to this plant was “enchrysa,” and not “anchusa.”

[2584] The Lithospermum fruticosum of Linnæus; cromill, or stone-crap.

[2585] Fée, adopting the opinion of Sibthorpe, thinks that under these names Pliny is speaking of _several_ varieties of the Anthemis, or camomile, and he identifies them as follows: the Leucanthemis, or white camomile, he considers to be the same as the Anthemis Chia of Linnæus; the Eranthemis to be the Anthemis rosea of Sibthorpe; the Melanthion to be the Anthemis tinctoria, or dyers’ camomile of Sibthorpe: and the Chamæmelon to be the Matricaria chamomilla of Linnæus, the common camomile. Sprengel differs from these opinions as to the identification of the several varieties.

[2586] “Spring flower.”

[2587] “Ground apple.”

[2588] “Black flower.”

[2589] “Malinis,” apple-colour.

[2590] See Note [2585].

[2591] “Fruticis.” The camomile is still extensively used in medicine for fomentations, and the decoction of it is highly esteemed, taken fasting, as a tonic.

[2592] Il. xiv. 347.

[2593] The Melilotus officinalis of Linnæus. See B. xiii. c. 32, and the Notes.

[2594] White specks in the black of the eye, with a red tinge.

[2595] Or “Mother of the Lotus;” the Nymphæa lotus of Linnæus. See B. xiii. c. 32. “Ex loto sata” may probably mean that it springs from the seed of the lotus, in which case, as Fée remarks, it must be identified with the Lotus.

[2596] B. xviii. c. 67, and B. xix. c. 58.

[2597] This apparent marvel is owing to the necessity of light to certain flowers for the purposes of fecundation, while those which open at night require more moisture than light for their reproduction.

[2598] Or “three-grained,” probably, Fée says, from the three cells in the capsule. He identifies this plant with the Croton tinctorium of Linnæus, the turnsole, or sun-flower.

[2599] Fée identifies it with the Heliotropium Europæum of Linnæus, the heliotrope, or verrucaria. The Heliotropium of Ovid and other poets, with a violet or blue flower, is, no doubt, a different plant, and is identified by Sprengel, Desfontaines, and Fée with the Hesperis matronalis of Linnæus, rocket or julian, or, as we not inaptly call it, from its pleasant smell, cherry-pie. Pliny speaks of his Heliotropium as having a “blue flower,” cœruleum. This is probably an error on his part, and it is supposed by commentators that he read in the Greek text ὑποπόρφυρον, “somewhat purple,” by mistake for ὑπόπυῤῥον, “somewhat red,” as we find it.

[2600] As known at the present day, they grow to a much greater height than this.

[2601] This, Fée remarks, cannot apply to either the Heliotropium Europæum or the Croton tinctorium. He thinks it not improbable that Pliny may have named one plant, and given a description of another.

[2602] The Heliotropium Europæum, Fée says, has no medicinal properties.

[2603] Midday, namely.

[2604] “Sic firmior.”

[2605] The “wart plant;” from “verruca,” a “wart.”

[2606] This notion arose probably, Fée thinks, from the clusters of its flowers resembling the tail of a scorpion in appearance.

[2607] Probably an inflammation of the membranes of the brain.

[2608] At the beginning of this Chapter.

[2609] “Scorpion’s tail.” Dioscorides gives this name to the Helioscopium, or great Heliotropium.

[2610] Fée is surprised that no mention is made of its colouring properties, it being extremely rich in the colouring principle, and having been much used in former times for dyeing purposes.

[2611] This notion, Fée says, was long attached to the Heliotropium Europæum, and to it, it is indebted for its present name of “verrucaria.”

[2612] “Cortex seminis.”

[2613] Fée identifies it with the Asplenium trichomanes of Linnæus, spleen-wort, or ceterach. The Adiantum of Hippocrates and other Greek writers, he takes to be the Adiantum capillus Veneris of Linnæus, Venus’ hair, or maiden hair. Though Pliny would seem not to have been acquainted with the latter plant, he ascribes to the first one many of its properties and characteristics, deriving his information, probably, from a writer who was acquainted with both. See B. xxi. c. 60.

[2614] From ἀ, “not,” and διαίνω, “to wet.” This is owing, Fée remarks, to the coat of waxen enamel or varnish with which the leaves are provided. The same is the case also with the leaf of the cabbage and other plants.

[2615] The Asplenium trichomanes, Fée says, would not admit of being clipped for ornamental gardening.

[2616] “Fine hair,” and “thick hair.” These names originated more probably in the appearance of the plant than in any effects it may have produced as a dye for the hair.

[2617] On the contrary, Fée says, the root is composed of numerous fibres.

[2618] “Stone-breaking.”

[2619] Fée is of opinion that they possess no such property.

[2620] Loss of the hair.

[2621] See B. xxi. c. 65. The Picris asplenioides of Linnæus, Fée thinks, though Sprengel identifies it with the Helminthia echioides of Linnæus; but the leaves of that plant are not round.

[2622] See B. xxi. c. 67.

[2623] See B. xxi. c. 68.

[2624] “Plant of the heroes.”

[2625] Mere varieties of the plant, so called with reference, probably, to the relative energy of their properties.

[2626] Regarded in a medicinal point of view the bulb of the asphodel possesses some emollient properties, and nothing more. As an application to sores and abscesses it may reduce the inflammation, and being rich in mucilage, the pulp may form a nourishing food. All the other statements as to its medicinal properties are, as Fée remarks, quite fabulous.

[2627] Theriaca, p. 39.

[2628] In B. xxi. c. 68.

[2629] This practice, as Fée remarks, was based on sound principles, the acrid properties of the bulbs being removed by boiling.

[2630] Most medicinal roots are gathered at this period, their properties being, as Pliny says, most fully developed in the autumn.

[2631] See B. xvi. c. 11.

[2632] Other readings are Diocles, Socles, and Socrates. If “Sophocles” is the correct reading, all memorials of this physician have perished, beyond the mention made of him by Cælius Aurelianus, Chron. c. i.

[2633] “Vitia.”

[2634] The Atriplex halimus of Linnæus, sea orach. Belon says that it is found in great abundance in Candia, the ancient Crete, where it is known as “halimatia,” and the tops of the stalks are used as food.

[2635] Hence its name, ἅλιμον, from ἅλς, the “sea,” and not, as Pliny says, from its salt taste.

[2636] “Mitius.” Fée says that if this word means “cultivated,” the plant mentioned cannot be the Atriplex halimus; in which case he is inclined to identify it with the Atriplex portulacoides of Linnæus; the leaves and young stalks of which, preserved in vinegar, have an agreeable taste.

[2637] Some other plant, probably, Fée thinks.

[2638] As to the Acanthus or thorn, in a more general sense, see B. xxiv. c. 66, and the Notes.

[2639] Pliny the Younger speaks of the Acanthus being used for a similar purpose, Epist. B. v. Ep. 6.

[2640] The Acanthus spinosus of Linnæus.

[2641] The Acanthus mollis of Linnæus; the brankursine.

[2642] “Lad’s love.”

[2643] “Black-leafed.” Fée thinks it probable that this name may have been given to the variety “niger,” of Miller, which grows in great abundance in Sicily and Italy.

[2644] “Bull’s side,” apparently. Fée says that the identification of this plant is quite uncertain; the Buplevrum rigidum of Linnæus, the Buplevrum Baldense of Willdenow, and the Ammi majus of Linnæus, having been suggested. The first, he thinks, could never have been used as a vegetable, and the second is only found on Mount Baldo in Carniola, and in Croatia. Though the Ammi majus is more than a cubit in height, and could never have been used as a vegetable, he looks upon it as the most likely of the three. The seeds of it were formerly used as a carminative.

[2645] Sprengel and Desfontaines consider it to be the Buplevrum rotundifolium: but Fée is of a contrary opinion, and thinks that it is impossible to identify it.

[2646] Though Hardouin attempts to defend him, it is more than probable that it is Pliny himself who is in error here; and that he has confounded the plant Buprestis with the insect of that name, which belongs to the class of Cantharides, and received its name (burn-cow) from its fatal effects when eaten by cattle.

[2647] See B. xxx. c. 10.

[2648] “Stag’s food.” Fée adopts the opinion of Sprengel and Sibthorpe, that this is the Pastinaca sativa of Linnæus, the cultivated parsnip. Desfontaines identifies it with the Sium sisarum; but, as Fée says, that plant is but rarely found in Greece.

[2649] See B. xx. c. 18. For the olusatrum, see B. xx. c. 46.

[2650] The parsnip is no longer employed for its medicinal properties; but for a long time, the seed was looked upon as a diuretic and febrifuge. The root contains a considerable quantity of saccharine matter.

[2651] Sprengel identifies it with the Chærophyllum sativum of Linnæus, the scandix cerifolium, our common chervil; but Fée considers it to be the same as the Scandix pecten Veneris of Linnæus, the Venus’ comb chervil. Pliny has mentioned a “scandix” also in B. xxi. c. 52, but erroneously, Fée thinks.

[2652] It is not used for any medicinal purposes at the present day.

[2653] Acharn. A. ii. sc. 4: “Get some scandix from your mother, and give it me.” The same joke also appears in the “Equites;” and A. Gellius, B. xv. c. 20, says that Theopompus speaks of the mother of Euripides as having been a greengrocer.

[2654] Fée identifies it with the Anthriscus odoratus of Linnæus, the cultivated chervil. See B. xxi. c. 52.

[2655] See B. xxi. c. 65.

[2656] See B. xxi. c. 52.

[2657] This is the Caucalis grandiflora of Linnæus, Fée thinks.

[2658] “Medicine for the heart.” All these statements as to its medicinal properties, are quite erroneous, Fée says.

[2659] “Pituitas.”

[2660] On Antidotes for the stings of serpents. See end of B. xix.

[2661] The Sium angustifolium has been named, but Fée prefers identifying it with the Sium latifolium of Linnæus, water-parsley.

[2662] Fée says that at the present day it is held in suspicion as an article of food, and that it is said to produce madness in ruminating animals. He thinks it not improbable that Pliny here attributes to it some of the properties which in reality belong to cresses.

[2663] See B. xxvi. c. 25. Sprengel identifies it with the Carduus marianus of Linnæus. Fée inclines, however, to the belief that it is the Sonchus palustris of Linnæus; the marsh sow-thistle.

[2664] Sprengel identifies it with the Scolymus maculatus of Linnæus, but Fée prefers the Scolymus Hispanicus of Linnæus, the Spanish thistle.

[2665] Fée says that the Scolymus grandiflorus is still eaten in Barbary.

[2666] The “meadow-plant.”

[2667] Works and Days, l. 582.

[2668] The Sonchus oleraceus of Linnæus, the common sow-thistle.

[2669] A poor old woman, who hospitably entertained Theseus when on his expedition for the purpose of slaying the Marathonian bull. Theseus instituted a sacrifice at Athens in honour of her. See Ovid, Remed. Am. l. 747, and Callim. Fragm. 40.

[2670] The Sonchus arvensis of Linnæus, the field sow-thistle.

[2671] The Sonchus oleraceus asper of Linnæus, the prickly-leafed sow-thistle. These plants are eaten as a salad in some countries. They possess but little energy in a medicinal point of view, but they are cooling and slightly laxative. The marvels here related by Pliny, Fée says, are entirely fabulous.

[2672] Sibthorpe thinks that this is the Chondrilla ramosissima of Linnæus; but Fée identifies it with the Chondrilla juncea of Linnæus. The Lactuca perennis has also been suggested. See B. xxi. cc. 52 and 65.

[2673] In the Isle of Lemnos, at the present day, a milky juice is extracted from the root of the Chondrilla juncea.

[2674] To keep the hairs in their proper place.

[2675] “Boleti.”

[2676] She having been put to death by him.

[2677] “Rimosa stria.”

[2678] This description would apply to many of the fungi known as toadstools at the present day.

[2679] A true description, Fée says, of the agaric oronge, or the laseras mushroom.

[2680] The true origin of fungi has not been discovered till a comparatively recent period, since the days of Linnæus even. It is now known that they are propagated by microscopic granules which are lodged in particular receptacles, or else by a dissolution and dispersion of their filamentous tissues.

[2681] “Clavus caligaris.” A nail of a caliga, or military boot. See B. vii. c. 44, and B. ix. c. 33.

[2682] The peasants, Fée says, who are in the habit of gathering them, may probably be better trusted than the most learned authors that have written on the subject. He thinks it the best plan, however, to avoid all risks, by confining ourselves to the use of the common field mushroom, the morel, and one or two other well-known kinds.

[2683] A prejudice entirely without foundation, Fée remarks.

[2684] Fée says that from this it is evident that Pliny understands only the stalk mushrooms under the name of “boleti;” the fungi which adhere to trees living more years, many of them, than Pliny mentions days.

[2685] “Ex pituita.” Fée thinks that under the name of “boleti,” Pliny means exclusively agaries or mushrooms of the division Amanites, which contains both the best and the most noxious kinds—the oronge for instance, and the false oronge.

[2686] The Agaricus campestris of Linnæus, Fée thinks, our common field mushroom, or, possibly, the Agaricus deliciosus of Linnæus.

[2687] The Agaricus procerus of Schœfer, probably, the tall columelle, Fée thinks.

[2688] A cap worn by the Flamen; or chief-priest, of a somewhat conical shape; very similar in form to the Russian helmet of the present day.

[2689] “Swine mushrooms.” Fée suggests that this may be the Boletus edulis of Bulliard.

[2690] A valued friend of the philosopher Seneca, as we learn from Tacitus, and Seneca’s Epistles, Ep. 63.

[2691] See Martial’s Epigrams, B. i. Ep. 21.

[2692] In B. xvi. c. 11. In that passage, however, the pine is mentioned, and not the beech.

[2693] In B. xx. c. 13, _et passim_.

[2694] Fée says that the fungi are but little used in modern medicine: the white bolet, he says, or larch bolet, is sometimes employed as a purgative, and some German writers have spoken in praise of the Boletus suaveolens of Bulliard as a remedy for pulmonary phthisis. The agaric known as amadue, or German tinder, is also employed in surgery. Fée remarks that all that Pliny says as to the medicinal properties of mushrooms and fungi is more or less hazardous.

[2695] Rheums, or catarrhs.

[2696] See B. xxxiv. c. 50.

[2697] “Sucinis novaculis.” This may possibly mean “knives of amber;” and it is not improbable that the use of amber may have been thought a means of detecting the poisonous qualities of fungi.

[2698] This, as Fée remarks, is the case. All kinds of fungi, too, it is said, may be eaten with impunity, if first boiled in salt water.

[2699] In reality, rain only facilitates their developement.

[2700] In B. xix. c. 15.

[2701] In B. xix. c. 15.

[2702] In B. xix. c. 15. Asafœtida, Fée says, if it bears any relation to the laser of the ancients, had till very recently the reputation of being an emmenagogue, a hydragogue, a vermifuge, and a purgative. Applied topically, too, it is emollient, and is used for the cure of corns and tumours. Whatever Laser may have been, there is little doubt that much that is here stated by Pliny is either fabulous or erroneous.

[2703] “Cauterium.”

[2704] What Pliny here says of Laser, Dioscorides, B. iii. c. 94, says of the root of Silphium.

[2705] “Dead” corns.

[2706] Or pottage—“In sorbitione.”

[2707] Probably to prevent it turning sour on the stomach.

[2708] Dioscorides, however, gives this advice, B. iii. c. 94.

[2709] In c. 56 of this Book.

[2710] It is this, in fact, combined with its utility, that ought to cause it to be so highly esteemed.

[2711] In B. xi. c. 4, _et seq._

[2712] Bee-bread, or bee-glue.

[2713] In B. xi. c. 6. It is a vegetable substance, Fée says, not elaborated by the bees. It is still employed in medicine, he says, for resolutive fumigations.

[2714] The Babylonians employed it for the purpose of embalming.

[2715] It is of an emollient nature, and is preferred to sugar for sweetening liquids, in a multitude of instances.

[2716] Fée denies this; but there is no doubt that honey has this tendency with some persons.

[2717] Fée says that this is not the case.

[2718] In B. xi. c. 13.

[2719] In B. xxi. c. 44.

[2720] “Aqua mulsa.” See B. xiv. c. 20, where it is described as Hydromeli, or Melicraton.

[2721] Fée says that this must have been a wholesome beverage, but that it would cease to be so after undergoing fermentation. In the description of its uses there are some errors, Fée says, combined with some rational observations.

[2722] See B. xviii. c. 29; also c. 61 of this Book.

[2723] This seems to be the meaning of “præparci” here, though it generally signifies “niggardly,” or “sordid.”

[2724] Fée combats this theory at considerable length; but there can be little doubt that the same substance has not the same taste to all individuals.

[2725] Seneca makes a similar observation, De Irâ, B. iii. c. 10.

[2726] “Animi seu potius animæ.”

[2727] It is the oil, Fée says, and not the hydromel, that combats the effects of the white lead, a subcarbonate of lead.

[2728] In B. xxi. c. 105.

[2729] Mead, or metheglin.

[2730] This is, perhaps, the meaning of “nervis” here, but it is very doubtful. See Note [312], in p. 77 of Vol. III.

[2731] “Mulsum.”

[2732] “Dulci.” Fée thinks, but erroneously, that by this word he means “must,” or grape-juice, and combats the assertion. Honied wine, he says, is used at the present day (in France, of course,) as a popular cure for recent wounds and inveterate ulcers. As a beverage, it was very highly esteemed by the ancients. See B. vii. c. 54.

[2733] “Hospes.” It may possibly mean his “guest,” but the other is more probable.

[2734] “Intus mulso, foris oleo.” The people of Corsica were famous for being long-lived, which was attributed to their extensive use of honey.

[2735] “Regius morbus.”

[2736] Honied wine being considered so noble a beverage, Celsus says, that “during its cure, the patient must be kept to his chamber, and the mind must be kept cheerful, with gaiety and pastimes, for which reason it is called the ‘royal disease,’” B. iii. c. 24. In the text Pliny calls it “arquatorum morbus,” the “disease of the bow-like,” if we may be allowed the term. The origin of this term, according to Scribonius Largus, is the word “arcus,” the rainbow, from a fancied resemblance of the colour of the skin, when affected with jaundice, to the green tints of the rainbow.

[2737] In B. xiv. c. 11.

[2738] In B. xi. c. 8, and B. xxi. c. 49.

[2739] When it curdles on the stomach.

[2740] In c. 49 of this Book.

[2741] “Malagmata.”

[2742] Fée, at some length, and with considerable justice, combats this assertion; though at the same time he remarks that Pliny is right in calling the attention of the medical world to the use of simple substances.

[2743] “Scripulatim”—“By scruples.”

[2744] He forgets that many of them could only be produced by the agency of an Eastern sun.

[2745] See B. xviii. c. 20.

[2746] See B. xiv. c. 5.

[2747] Fée says that it can have no such effect.

[2748] The bran of wheat, Fée says, is of a soothing nature, and that of barley slightly astringent.

[2749] See B. xv. c. 12, and B. xvii. c. 14.

[2750] The only truth in this statement, Fée says, is, that wheat bran makes a good gargle.

[2751] See B. xviii. c. 19.

[2752] See B. xvi. c. 80. This insect, or weevil, Fée says, is the Calandra granaria. It strongly resembles the worm or maggot found in nuts. It can be of no efficacy whatever for the removal of carious teeth.

[2753] In B. xviii. c. 20.

[2754] See B. xviii. c. 13.

[2755] Or multipede. For these purposes, as Fée says, it is of no use whatever.

[2756] It is no better, Fée says, than rye or barley-meal.

[2757] See B. xviii. cc. 19, 29.

[2758] In B. xviii. c. 29.

[2759] “Trimestris.” See B. xviii. c. 12.

[2760] Fée remarks, that this meal is still valued for its maturative properties.

[2761] Hair-grass, probably, or darnel. See B. xviii. c. 44.

[2762] In B. xviii. c. 14. Injections of meal are still employed, Fée says, for diarrhœa.

[2763] The flour of the grain called “far,” Fée thinks. See B. xviii. c. 10.

[2764] This statement is probably founded upon the notion that corn has the property of attracting liquids, even when enclosed in vessels.

[2765] A paste of this kind, if applied to a recent wound, would have the effect of preventing cicatrization, and giving free access to the flow of blood.

[2766] See B. xviii. c. 19.

[2767] Or “flour.” See B. xiii. c. 26.

[2768] Fée remarks, that the Greeks _were_ acquainted with alica, to which they gave the name of χόνδρος; indeed, Galen expressly states that it was well known in the days of Hippocrates, who says that it is more nourishing than ptisan. Festus says that alica is so called, “quod alit,” because it nourishes the body.—See B. xviii. c. 29.

[2769] In c. 55 of this Book.

[2770] See B. xviii. c. 24.

[2771] See B. xviii. c. 25.

[2772] “Mel frugum.”

[2773] See B. xviii. c. 22. It is still used in medicine in Egypt, and as a cosmetic.

[2774] Or “bad habit.”

[2775] In B. xv. c. 7. See also B. xxiii. c. 49. Fée thinks it not unlikely that oil of sesame might have this effect. The people of Egypt still look upon this grain as an antophthalmic, but, as Fée says, without any good reason.

[2776] “Like sesame.”

[2777] Sprengel has identified this plant, the “smaller” Sesamoides of Dioscorides, with the Astragalus sesameus of Linnæus, or else with the Reseda canescens. Other naturalists have mentioned the Catananche cærulea of Linnæus, the Passerina hirsuta of Linnæus, and the Passerina polygalæofolia of Lapeyrouse. Fée is of opinion that it has not been identified.

[2778] Altogether a different plant; Sprengel identifies it with the Reseda Mediterranea, but Fée dissents from that opinion, and is inclined to agree with the opinion of Dalechamps, that it is the Daphne Tartonraira of Linnæus, which is a strong purgative.

[2779] In B. xxv c. 106.

[2780] Fée remarks that this Chapter includes a number of gross prejudices which it is not worth while to examine or contradict.

[2781] “Hordeum murinum.” Anguillara, Matthioli, and Sprengel identify it with the Lolium perenne of Linnæus; but, as Fée says, it is clear that Pliny had in view the modern Hordeum murinum, mouse-barley.

[2782] See B. xviii. c. 15.

[2783] At the present day, as Fée says, oatmeal is preferred to barley-meal.

[2784] Being our “barley-water,” in fact.

[2785] Our “starch” probably. See B. xviii. c. 17.

[2786] A prejudice, Fée says, which is totally without foundation.

[2787] Bread, as made at the present day, is but little used in modern medicine, beyond being the basis of many kinds of poultices. A decoction of bread with laudanum, is known in medicine, Fée says, as the “white decoction.”

[2788] “Unseparated from the bran.”

[2789] Probably like the military bread, made of the coarsest meal, and unfermented.

[2790] See B. xviii. c. 12.

[2791] “Saccos.” See B. xiv. c. 28.

[2792] See B. xviii. c. 30. Bean meal is but little used in modern medicine, but most that Pliny here says is probably well founded; with the exception, however, of his statement as to its employment for diseases of the chest.

[2793] Most of the properties here ascribed to the lentil, Fée says, are quite illusory.

[2794] This, Fée remarks, is not the fact.

[2795] This statement, Fée thinks, is probably conformable with truth.

[2796] Fée remarks, that we must not confound the cholera of the ancients with the Indian cholera, our cholera morbus. Celsus describes the cholera with great exactness, B. iv. c. 11.

[2797] They would be of no benefit, Fée thinks, in such a case.

[2798] It bears no relation whatever to the lentil, not being a leguminous plant. Fée would include under this head the Lemna minor, the Lemna gibba, and the Lemna polyrrhiza of modern botany, all being found together in the same stagnant water.

[2799] Fée remarks, that Pliny is clearly speaking of two essentially different plants under this name; the first, he thinks, may very probably be the Ervum tetraspermum of Linnæus.

[2800] This, Fée thinks, is the Salvia officinalis of Linnæus, our common sage, which has no affinity whatever with the lentil.

[2801] Sprengel thinks that he is speaking here of the Salvia triloba of Linnæus.

[2802] The Trygon pastinaca of Linnæus.

[2803] “Sage,” the plant, no doubt, that he has been describing.

[2804] See B. xviii. c. 32. Fée thinks that the wild cicer is identical with our cultivated one, the Cicer rietinum.

[2805] See B. xviii. cc. 26 and 32.

[2806] Or “ram’s head” cicer; from its fancied resemblance to it: the name is still given to the cultivated plant.

[2807] Or “pigeon” cicer. See B. xviii. c. 32. Fée thinks it probable that this plant may be a variety of the Ervum.

[2808] In B. xviii. c. 38. The Ervum ervilia of Linnæus; it is no longer employed in medicine.

[2809] Fée says that this is the case, and that the use of it is said to produce a marked debility.

[2810] See B. xviii. c. 10.

[2811] Fée remarks that it is surprising to find the ancients setting so much value on the lupine, a plant that is bitter and almost nauseous, difficult to boil, and bad of digestion.

[2812] It must be the rue, Fée says, that acts as the vermifuge.

[2813] See c. 24 of this Book.

[2814] Lees of olive oil.

[2815] This is not the fact.

[2816] In B. xviii. c. 22. Racine, in his letters to Boileau, speaks of a chorister of Notre Dame, who recovered his voice by the aid of this plant.

[2817] It is still used, Fée says, for coughs.

[2818] In B. xviii. c. 22.

[2819] Dioscorides says, horehound. The Horminum, apparently, has not been identified.

[2820] See B. xviii. c. 44. Darnel acts upon the brain to such an extent as to produce symptoms like those of drunkenness; to which property it is indebted for its French name of _ivraie_. It is no longer used in medicine.

[2821] Georg. i. 153; “Infelix lolium, et steriles dominantur avenæ.”

[2822] Fée identifies this plant with the Cuscuta Europæa of Linnæus. Sprengel takes it to be the Panicum verticillatum of Linnæus.

[2823] The Avena sativa of Linnæus; the cultivated oat, and not the Greek oat of B. xviii. c. 42.

[2824] The term “locusta” has been borrowed by botanists to characterize the fructification of gramineous plants.

[2825] In B. xviii. c. 44. The present, Fée thinks, is a different plant from the Cuscuta Europæa, and he identifies it with the Orobanche caryophyllacea of Smith, or else the Orobanche ramosa of Linnæus. The Orobanche is so called from its choking (ἄγχει) the orobus or ervum. It is also found to be injurious to beans, trefoil, and hemp. In Italy, the stalks are eaten as a substitute for asparagus.

[2826] See B. viii. c. 43.

[2827] See B. x. c. 95, and B. xi. cc. 24, 28.

[2828] As to the beers of the ancients, see B. xiv. c. 29. Very few particulars are known of them; but we learn from the Talmud, where it is called _zeitham_, that zythum was an Egyptian beverage made of barley, wild saffron, and salt, in equal parts. In the Mishna, the Jews are enjoined not to use it during the Passover.

[2829] “Spuma;” literally, “foam.”

[2830] A physician who lived, probably, at the end of the second or the beginning of the first century B.C., as he was one of the tutors of Heraclides of Erythræ. His definition of the pulse has been preserved by Galen, De Differ. Puls. B. iv. c. 10, and an anecdote of him is mentioned by Sextus Empiricus.

[2831] See end of B. ii.

[2832] A native of Mytilene, in the island of Lesbos, the earliest of the Æolian lyric poets. He flourished at the latter end of the seventh century B.C. Of his Odes only a few fragments, with some Epigrams, have come down to us.

[2833] In contradistinction to the fruits which hang from trees.

[2834] See B. xvii. c. 18.

[2835] In B. xii. cc. 60 and 61.

[2836] All this passage is found in Dioscorides, B. v. c. 1, who probably borrowed it from the same sources as our author.

[2837] Fée remarks, that all the statements here made as to the medicinal properties of the vine are entirely unfounded, except that with reference to the bark of the vine: as it contains a small quantity of tannin, it might possibly, in certain cases, arrest hæmorrhage.

[2838] This cannot be the bryony, Fée says, but simply a variety of the grape vine with white fruit. See further in c. 5 of this Book.

[2839] “Impetigines.”

[2840] Alkaline ashes, which would differ but very little, Fée says, from those of other vegetable productions.

[2841] This statement as to the caustic properties of the ashes is based upon truth.

[2842] In B. xii. c. 60.

[2843] Saracenus, upon Dioscorides, B. v. c. 6, thinks that Pliny, in copying from the Greek, has made a mistake here, and that he has taken οὖλον, the “gums,” for οὐλὴ, a “cicatrix;” the corresponding passage in Dioscorides being οὖλα πλαδαρὰ, “flaccidity,” or “humidity of the gums.”

[2844] In B. xii. c. 61. See also B. xiii. c. 2, B. xiv. c. 18, and B. xv. c. 7. Œnanthe, or vine-blossom, possesses no active medicinal properties, and the statements made here by Pliny are in all probability unfounded.

[2845] Not the white vine, or Bryonia alba of modern botany, but probably some variety of the cultivated vine with white fruit. The flower of the bryony is inodorous, and would be of no utility in the composition of perfumes.

[2846] “Pterygia.”

[2847] See B. xii. c. 61. It was prepared from vine-blossoms gathered in Africa.

[2848] This remark is founded, in a great measure, upon fact. The skin of the black grape contains a colouring principle in considerable abundance, and a small proportion of tannin; that of the white grape possesses no colouring principle, but a considerable quantity of tannin. The white grape contains more saccharine matter than the black one, and they are both of them of a laxative nature.

[2849] Littré remarks, that under the name of “lethargus,” a febrile malady is probably meant, which belongs probably to the class of pseudo-continuous fevers.

[2850] Fée thinks that in reality there can be little or no difference in their effects, but that, being eaten in larger quantities at the vintage than afterwards, it stands to reason that the result will be different.

[2851] The fermentation, producing a certain amount of alcohol, would naturally produce this result.

[2852] “Sapa:” must boiled down to one-third.

[2853] This, as Fée remarks, is quite impossible; grapes put in rain-water would spoil immediately, and become totally unfit to eat.

[2854] By the transformation, namely, of the juices into alcohol.

[2855] See B. xiv. c. 3.

[2856] A notion quite unfounded, as Fée remarks. See B. xiv. c. 18.

[2857] A prejudice equally destitute of foundation.

[2858] Grape-stones have an astringent effect, and Fée states that in modern times an oil is extracted from them of an agreeable flavour, and applicable to many economical purposes. They are no longer used in medicine.

[2859] In B. xiv. c. 22.

[2860] Hence the name “theriaca,” from θὴρ, a “wild animal,” and ἀκέομαι, “to cure.”

[2861] By reason, probably, of their astringent properties.

[2862] Though no longer used medicinally, they are still considered to be good pectorals.

[2863] See B. xx. cc. 23 and 81.

[2864] “Ceria;” known in modern medicine as “favus.”

[2865] The Pastinaca opopanax of Linnæus. See B. xii. c. 57.

[2866] Identified with the Delphinium staphis agria of Linnæus.

[2867] “Taminian grape.”

[2868] Or wild vine.

[2869] The fruit is formed of three oblong capsules, containing a triangular seed of black brown colour, about the size of a kidney bean.

[2870] This is not the white vine or bryony, mentioned in c. 16 of this Book, but the Tamus communis of Linnæus.

[2871] The seeds, which are remarkably pungent and powerful in their effects, are only used, at the present day, in medicinal preparations for cattle.

[2872] This is still done at the present day; to which it is indebted for its French name _l’herbe pediculaire_, or louse-plant.

[2873] Pliny seems again to have fallen into the error of mistaking οὖλον, the “gums” for οὐλὴ, a “cicatrix;” the corresponding passage in Dioscorides, B. iv. c. 156, being “defluxions of the gums.”

[2874] They would be of no use whatever, Fée says, for such a purpose.

[2875] As tending to carry off “pituita,” or phlegm.

[2876] In B. xii. c. 61.

[2877] “Ampelos agria.” Fée observes, that this Chapter is full of errors, Pliny beginning by speaking of the wild vine, the variety Labrusca of the Vitis vinifera of Linnæus, and then proceeding to describe what is really the Bryonia dioica of modern botany, and applying its characteristics to the wild vine, or labrusca.

[2878] This is not the case with the wild vine.

[2879] The root of the wild vine is not of a purgative nature.

[2880] As already stated, this is not identical with the wild vine, but is the Tamus communis of Linnæus.

[2881] The Solanum dulcamara of modern botany has been suggested; though there is but little resemblance between the leaves of that variety of nightshade and those of the wild vine.

[2882] The Bryonia alba of Linnæus; the bryony, white vine, or white jalap.

[2883] This description, Fée says, is pretty correct, and the account of its properties sufficiently exact. It is a violent poison, and is no longer used in medicine.

[2884] It is still called by the French _navet du diable_, or devil’s turnip.

[2885] “Exulcerant corpus.” Our author, Fée says, may here be taxed with some exaggeration.

[2886] The fruit is no longer used for this purpose.

[2887] It is a matter of extreme doubt if there is any foundation for this statement.

[2888] It would be productive of no good effect in such case, nor, indeed, in most of the cases here mentioned.

[2889] “Purgat” is the reading given by Sillig; but, judging from the corresponding passage in Dioscorides, ὑποταράττει, “turbat,” or “conturbat,” is the proper reading.

[2890] “Pterygiis.”

[2891] This is in reality not the modern bryony, or white vine, but the Tamus communis of Linnæus, the black vine, or _taminier_ of the French, the uva taminia, probably, of Chapter 13.

[2892] In the last Chapter.