Chapter X: Book XXIV (2)

CHAP. 47.—THE SEVERAL VARIETIES OF THE IVY: THIRTY-NINE REMEDIES.

We have already[198] enumerated some twenty varieties of the ivy. The medicinal properties of them all are of a doubtful nature; taken in considerable quantities they disturb the mental faculties and purge the brain. Taken internally they are injurious to the sinews,[199] but applied topically they are beneficial to those parts of the body. Ivy possesses properties similar[200] to those of vinegar. All the varieties of the ivy are of a refrigerative nature, and taken in drink they are diuretic. The softer leaves, applied to the head, allay head-ache, acting more particularly upon the brain and the membrane which envelopes that organ. For this purpose the leaves are bruised with vinegar and oil of roses and then boiled, after which some more rose-oil is added. The leaves too are applied to the forehead and the mouth is fomented with a decoction of them, with which the head is rubbed as well. They are useful also for the spleen, the leaves being applied topically, or an infusion of them taken in drink. A decoction of them is used for cold shiverings in fevers, and for pituitous eruptions; or else they are beaten up in wine for the purpose. The umbels too taken in drink or applied externally, are good for affections of the spleen, and an application of them is useful for the liver; employed as a pessary, they act as an emmenagogue.

The juice of the ivy, the white cultivated kind more particularly, cures diseases of the nostrils and removes habitually offensive smells. Injected into the nostrils it purges the head, and with the addition of nitre it is still more efficacious for that purpose. In combination with oil, the juice is injected for suppurations or pains in the ears. It is a corrective also of the deformities of scars. The juice of white ivy, heated with the aid of iron, is still more efficacious for affections of the spleen; it will be found sufficient, however, to take six of the berries in two cyathi of wine. Three berries of the white ivy, taken in oxymel, expel tape-worm, and in the treatment of such cases it is a good plan to apply them to the abdomen as well. Erasistratus prescribes twenty of the golden-coloured berries of the ivy which we have mentioned as the “chrysocarpos,”[201] to be beaten up in one sextarius of wine, and he says that if three cyathi of this preparation are taken for dropsy, it will carry off by urine the water that has been secreted beneath the skin. For cases of tooth-ache he recommends five berries of the chrysocarpos to be beaten up in oil of roses, and warmed in a pomegranate-rind, and then injected into the ear opposite the side affected. The berries which yield a juice of a saffron, colour, taken beforehand in drink, are a preservative against crapulence; they are curative also of spitting of blood and of griping pains in the bowels. The whiter umbels of the black ivy, taken in drink, are productive of sterility, in males even. A decoction in wine of any kind of ivy is useful as a liniment for all sorts of ulcers, those even of the malignant kind known as “cacoethes.” The tears[202] which distil from the ivy are used as a depilatory, and for the cure of phthiriasis. The blossoms too, of all the varieties, taken twice a day in astringent wine, a pinch in three fingers at a time, are curative of dysentery and looseness of the bowels: they are very useful also, applied to burns with wax. The umbels stain the hair black. The juice extracted from the root is taken in vinegar for the cure of wounds inflicted by the phalangium. I find it stated too, that patients suffering from affections of the spleen are cured by drinking from vessels made of the wood of the ivy. The berries are bruised also, and then burnt, and a liniment is prepared from them for burns, the parts being fomented with warm water first.

Incisions are sometimes made in the ivy to obtain the juice, which is used for carious teeth, it having the effect of breaking them, it is said; the adjoining teeth being fortified with wax against the powerful action of the juice. A kind of gum even is said to be found in the ivy, which, it is asserted, is extremely useful, mixed with vinegar, for the teeth.

CHAP. 48.—THE CISTHOS: FIVE REMEDIES.

The Greeks give the name of “cisthos”—a word very similar to “cissos,” the Greek name of the ivy—to a plant which is somewhat larger than thyme, and has a leaf like that of ocimum. There are two varieties of this plant; the male,[203] which has a rose-coloured blossom, and the female,[204] with a white one. The blossom of either kind, taken in astringent wine, a pinch in three fingers at a time, is good for dysentery and looseness of the bowels. Taken in a similar manner twice a day, it is curative of inveterate ulcers: used with wax, it heals burns, and employed by itself it cures ulcerations of the mouth. It is beneath these plants more particularly that the hypocisthis grows, of which we shall have occasion[205] to speak when treating of the herbs.

CHAP. 49.—THE CISSOS ERYTHRANOS: TWO REMEDIES. THE CHAMÆCISSOS: TWO REMEDIES. THE SMILAX: THREE REMEDIES. THE CLEMATIS: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.

The plant called “cissos erythranos”[206] by the Greeks, is similar to the ivy: taken in wine, it is good for sciatica and lumbago. The berries, it is said, are of so powerful a nature as to produce bloody urine. “Chamæcissos”[207] also is a name given by them to a creeping ivy which never rises from the surface of the ground: bruised in wine, in doses of one acetabulum, it is curative of affections of the spleen, the leaves of it being applied topically with axle-grease to burns.

The smilax[208] also, otherwise known as the “anthophoros,”[209] has a strong resemblance to ivy, but the leaves of it are smaller. A chaplet, they say, made of an uneven number of the leaves, is an effectual cure for head-ache. Some writers mention two kinds of smilax, one of which is all but perennial, and is found climbing the trees in umbrageous valleys, the berries hanging in clusters. These berries, they say, are remarkably efficacious for all kinds of poisons; so much so indeed, that infants to whom the juice of them has been habitually administered, are rendered proof against all poisons for the rest of their life. The other kind, it is said, manifests a predilection for cultivated localities, and is often found growing there; but as for medicinal properties, it has none. The former kind, they say, is the smilax, the wood of which we have mentioned[210] as emitting a sound, if held close to the ear.

Another plant, similar to this, they call by the name of “clematis:”[211] it is found adhering to trees, and has a jointed stem. The leaves of it cleanse leprous[212] sores, and the seed acts as an aperient, taken in doses of one acetabulum, in one hemina of water, or in hydromel. A decoction of it is prescribed also for a similar purpose.

CHAP. 50. (11.)—THE REED: NINETEEN REMEDIES.

We have already[213] treated of twenty-nine varieties of the reed, and there is none of her productions in which that mighty power of Nature,[214] which in our successive Books we have described, is more fully displayed than in this. The root of the reed, pounded and applied to the part affected, extracts the prickles of fern from the body, the root of the fern having a similar effect upon splinters of the reed. Among the numerous varieties which we have described, the scented reed[215] which is grown in Judæa and Syria as an ingredient in our unguents, boiled with hay-grass or parsley-seed, has a diuretic effect: employed as a pessary, it acts as an emmenagogue. Taken in drink, in doses of two oboli, it is curative of convulsions, diseases of the liver and kidneys, and dropsy. Used as a fumigation, and with resin, more particularly, it is good for coughs, and a decoction of it with myrrh is useful for scaly eruptions and running ulcers. A juice, too, is collected from it which has similar properties to those of elaterium.[216]

In every kind of reed the part that is the most efficacious is that which lies nearest the root; the joints also are efficacious in a high degree. The ashes of the Cyprian reed known as the “donax,”[217] are curative of alopecy and putrid ulcers. The leaves of it are also used for the extraction[218] of pointed bodies from the flesh, and for erysipelas and all kinds of gatherings. The common reed, beaten up quite fresh, has also considerable extractive powers, and not in the root only, for the stem, it is said, has a similar property. The root is used also in vinegar as a topical application for sprains and for pains in the spine; and beaten up fresh and taken in wine it acts as an aphrodisiac. The down that grows on reeds, put into the ears, deadens the hearing.[219]

CHAP. 51.—THE PAPYRUS, AND THE PAPER MADE FROM IT: THREE REMEDIES.

Of a kindred nature with the reed is the papyrus[220] of Egypt; a plant that is remarkably useful, in a dried state, for dilating and drying up fistulas, and, by its expansive powers, opening an entrance for the necessary medicaments. The ashes[221] of paper prepared from the papyrus are reckoned among the caustics: those of the plant, taken in wine, have a narcotic effect. The plant, applied topically in water, removes callosities of the skin.

CHAP. 52.—THE EBONY: FIVE REMEDIES.

The ebony-tree[222] does not grow in Egypt even, as we have already stated, and it is not our intention to speak here of the medicinal properties of the vegetable productions of foreign climates. Still, however, the ebony must not be omitted, on account of the marvels related of it. The saw-dust of this wood, it is said, is a sovereign remedy for diseases of the eyes, and the pulp of the wood, rubbed upon a whetstone moistened with raisin wine, dispels all films which impede the sight. The root too, they say, applied with water, is curative of white specks in the eyes, and, with the addition of root of dracunculus,[223] in equal proportions, and of honey, of cough. Medical men reckon ebony also in the number of the caustics.[224]

CHAP. 53.—THE RHODODENDRON: ONE REMEDY.

The rhododendron[225] has not so much as found a Latin name among us, its other names being “rhododaphne”[226] and “nerium.” It is a marvellous fact, but the leaves[227] of this plant are poisonous to quadrupeds; while for man, if taken in wine with rue, they are an effectual preservative against the venom of serpents. Sheep too, and goats, it is said, if they drink water in which the leaves have been steeped, will die immediately.

CHAP. 54.—THE RHUS OR SUMACH-TREE; TWO VARIETIES OF IT: EIGHT REMEDIES. STOMATICE.

Nor yet has the tree called “rhus”[228] any Latin name, although it is employed in numerous ways. Under this name are comprehended a wild plant,[229] with leaves like those of myrtle, and a short stem, which is good as an expellent of tapeworm; and the shrub[230] which is known as the “currier’s plant,” of a reddish colour, a cubit in height, and about the thickness of one’s finger, the leaves of which are dried and used, like pomegranate rind, for curing leather.

Medical men also employ the leaves of these plants for the treatment of contusions, and for the cure of cœliac affections, and of ulcers of the rectum and phagedænic sores; for all which, purposes they are pounded with honey and applied with vinegar. A decoction of them is injected for suppurations of the ears. With the branches, boiled, a stomatice[231] is also made, which is used for the same purposes as that prepared from mulberries;[232] it is more efficacious, however, mixed with alum. This preparation is applied also to reduce the swelling in dropsy.

CHAP. 55.—RHUS ERYTHROS: NINE REMEDIES.

Rhus[233] erythros is the name given to the seed of this shrub. It possesses properties of an astringent and cooling nature, and is used as a seasoning[234] for provisions, in place of salt. It has a laxative effect, and, used in conjunction with silphium, it gives a finer flavour to meat of all kinds. Mixed with honey, it is curative of running ulcers, pimples on the tongue,[235] contusions, bruises, and excoriations. It causes ulcers of the head to cicatrize with the greatest rapidity; and taken with the food, it arrests excessive menstruation.

CHAP. 56.—THE ERYTHRODANUS: ELEVEN REMEDIES.

The erythrodanus,[236] by some called “ereuthodanus,” and in Latin “rubia,” is quite a different plant. It is used for dyeing wool, and skins for leather are prepared with it. Used medicinally, it is a diuretic, and, employed with hydromel, it is curative of jaundice.[237] Employed topically with vinegar, it heals lichens; and a potion is prepared from it for sciatica and paralysis, the patient while using it taking a bath daily. The root of it and the seed are effectual as an emmenagogue; they act astringently upon the bowels, and disperse gatherings. The branches, together with the leaves, are applied to wounds inflicted by serpents; the leaves too have the property of staining the hair.[238] I find it stated by some writers that this shrub is curative of jaundice, even if worn as an amulet only, and looked at every now and then.

CHAP. 57.—THE ALYSSON: TWO REMEDIES.

The plant known as the “alysson”[239] differs only from the preceding one in the leaves and branches, which are more diminutive. It receives its name from the fact, that, taken in vinegar and worn as an amulet, it prevents persons bitten by dogs from becoming rabid. It is a marvellous fact too, that is added, to the effect that the person bitten has only to look at this shrub, and the flow of corrupt matter from the wound will be staunched immediately.

CHAP. 58.—THE RADICULA OR STRUTHION: THIRTEEN REMEDIES. THE APOCYNUM: TWO OBSERVATIONS UPON IT.

The radicula, which we have already[240] mentioned as being called “struthion” by the Greeks, is used by dyers for preparing wool. A decoction of it, taken internally, is curative of jaundice and diseases of the chest. It is diuretic also, and laxative, and acts as a detergent upon the uterus, for which reasons medical men have given it the name of the “golden beverage.”[241] Taken with honey, it is a sovereign remedy for cough; and it is used for hardness of breathing, in doses of a spoonful. Applied with polenta and vinegar to the parts affected, it removes leprous sores. Used with panax and root of the caper-plant, it breaks and expels calculi, and a decoction of it in wine with barley-meal disperses inflamed tumours. It is used as an ingredient in emollient plasters and eye-salves for the sight, and is found to be one of the most useful sternutories known; it is good too for the liver and the spleen. Taken in hydromel, in doses of one denarius, it effects the cure of asthma, as also of pleurisy and all pains in the sides.

The apocynum[242] is a shrub with leaves like those of ivy, but softer, and not so long in the stalk, and the seed of it is pointed and downy, with a division running down it, and a very powerful smell. Given in their food with water, the seed is poisonous[243] to dogs and all other quadrupeds.

CHAP. 59.—ROSEMARY: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.

There are two kinds of rosemary; one of which is barren, and the other has a stem with a resinous seed, known as “cachrys.” The leaves have the odour of frankincense.[244] The root, applied fresh, effects the cure of wounds, prolapsus of the rectum, condylomata, and piles. The juice of the plant, as well as of the root, is curative of jaundice, and such diseases as require detergents; it is useful also for the sight. The seed is given in drink for inveterate diseases of the chest, and, with wine and pepper, for affections of the uterus; it acts also as an emmenagogue, and is used with meal of darnel as a liniment for gout. It acts also as a detergent upon freckles, and is used as an application in diseases which require calorifics or sudorifics, and for convulsions. The plant itself, or else the root, taken in wine, increases the milk, and the leaves and stem of the plant are applied with vinegar to scrofulous sores; used with honey, they are very useful for cough.

CHAP. 60.—THE SEED CALLED CACHRYS.

As already[245] stated, there are several kinds of cachrys;[246] but that which is produced by rosemary above-mentioned, when rubbed, is found to be of a resinous nature. It neutralizes poisons and the venom of animals, that of serpents excepted. It acts also as a sudorific, dispels griping pains in the bowels, and increases the milk in nursing women.

CHAP. 61.—THE HERB SAVIN: SEVEN REMEDIES.

Of the herb savin, known as “brathy” by the Greeks,[247] there are two varieties, one of them[248] with a leaf like that of the tamarix, the other[249] with that of the cypress; for which reason some persons have called this last the Cretan cypress. It is used by many for fumigations, as a substitute for frankincense;[250] employed in medicine, it is said to have the same effect as cinnamon, if taken in doses twice as large. It reduces gatherings, disperses corrosive sores, acts as a detergent upon ulcers, and, used as a pessary and as a fumigation, brings away the dead fœtus.[251] It is employed as a topical application for erysipelas and carbuncles, and, taken with honey in wine, is curative of jaundice.

The smoke of this plant, they say, cures the pip in all kinds of poultry.[252]

CHAP. 62.—SELAGO: TWO REMEDIES.

Similar to savin is the herb known as “selago.”[253] Care is taken to gather it without the use of iron, the right hand being passed for the purpose through the left sleeve of the tunic, as though the gatherer were in the act of committing a theft.[254] The clothing too must be white, the feet bare and washed clean, and a sacrifice of bread and wine must be made before gathering it: it is carried also in a new napkin. The Druids of Gaul have pretended that this plant should be carried about the person as a preservative against accidents of all kinds, and that the smoke of it is extremely good for all maladies of the eyes.

CHAP. 63.—SAMOLUS: TWO REMEDIES.

The Druids, also, have given the name of “samolus”[255] to a certain plant which grows in humid localities. This too, they say, must be gathered fasting with the left hand, as a preservative against the maladies to which swine and cattle are subject. The person, too, who gathers it must be careful not to look behind him, nor must it be laid anywhere but in the troughs from which the cattle drink.

CHAP. 64.—GUM: ELEVEN REMEDIES.

We have already[256] spoken of the different kinds of gum; the better sort of each kind will be found the most effective. Gum is bad for the teeth; it tends to make the blood coagulate, and is consequently good for discharges[257] of blood from the mouth. It is useful for burns,[258] but is bad for diseases of the trachea. It exercises a diuretic effect, and tends to neutralize all acridities, being astringent in other respects. The gum of the bitter-almond tree, which has the most[259] astringent properties of them all, is calorific also in its effects. Still, however, the gum of the plum, cherry, and vine is greatly preferred: all which kinds, applied topically, are productive of astringent and desiccative effects, and, used with vinegar, heal lichens upon infants. Taken in must, in doses of four oboli, they are good for inveterate coughs.

It is generally thought that gum, taken in raisin wine, improves the complexion,[260] sharpens the appetite, and is good for calculi[261] in the bladder. It is particularly useful too for wounds and affections of the eyes.

CHAP. 65. (12.)—THE EGYPTIAN OR ARABIAN THORN: FOUR REMEDIES.

When speaking[262] of the perfumes, we have descanted upon the merits of the Egyptian or Arabian thorn. This, too, is of an astringent nature, and acts as a desiccative upon fluxes of all kinds, discharges of blood from the mouth, and excessive menstruation; for all which purposes the root is still more efficacious.

CHAP. 66.—THE WHITE THORN: TWO REMEDIES. THE ACANTHION; ONE REMEDY.

The seed of the white thorn is useful as a remedy for the stings of scorpions, and a chaplet made of it, is good for headache. Similar to this plant is that known to the Greeks as the “acanthion;”[263] though it is much smaller in the leaf, which is pointed at the extremity, and covered with a down like a cobweb in appearance. This downy substance is gathered in the East, and certain textures are made of it similar to those of silk. An infusion of the leaves or root of this plant is taken for the cure of opisthotony.

CHAP. 67.—GUM ACACIA: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.

Gum acacia is produced also from the white and black[264] thorns of Egypt, and from a green thorn as well; the produce, however, of the former trees is by far the best. There is also a similar gum found in Galatia, but of very inferior quality, the produce of a more thorny tree[265] than those last mentioned. The seed of all these trees resembles[266] the lentil in appearance, only that it is smaller, as well as the pod which contains it: it is gathered in autumn, before which period it would be too powerful in its effects. The juice is left to thicken in the pods, which are steeped in rain-water for the purpose, and then pounded in a mortar; after which, the juice is extracted by means of presses. It is then dried in the mortars in the sun, and when dry is divided into tablets. A similar juice is extracted from the leaves, but it is by no means[267] so useful as the other. The seed is used also, as a substitute for nut-galls in curing leather.[268]

The juice extracted from the leaves, as also the extremely black juice of the Galatian[269] acacia, is held in no esteem. The same too with that of a deep red colour. The gum which is of a purple, or of an ashy, grey colour, and which dissolves with the greatest rapidity, possesses the most astringent and cooling qualities of them all, and is more particularly useful as an ingredient in compositions for the eyes. When required for these purposes, the tablets are steeped in water by some, while some again scorch them, and others reduce them to ashes. They are useful for dyeing the hair, and for the cure of erysipelas, serpiginous sores, ulcerations of the humid parts of the body, gatherings, contusions of the joints, chilblains, and hangnails. They are good also for cases of excessive menstruation, procidence of the uterus and rectum, affections of the eyes, and ulcerations of the generative organs[270] and mouth.

CHAP. 68. (13.)—ASPALATHOS: ONE REMEDY.

The common[271] thorn too, with which the fulling coppers are filled is employed for the same purposes as the radicula.[272] In the provinces of Spain it is commonly employed as an ingredient in perfumes and unguents, under the name of “aspalathos.” There is no doubt, however, that there is also a wild thorn of the same name in the East, as already mentioned,[273] of a white colour, and the size of an ordinary tree.

CHAP. 69.—THE ERYSISCEPTRUM, ADIPSATHEON, OR DIAXYLON: EIGHT REMEDIES.

There is also found in the islands of Nisyros and of Rhodes, a shrub of smaller size, but full as thorny, known by some as the erysisceptrum,[274] by others as the adipsatheon, and by the Syrians as the diaxylon. The best kind is that which is the least[275] ferulaceous in the stem, and which is of a red colour, or inclining to purple, when the bark is removed. It is found growing in many places, but is not everywhere odoriferous. We have already[276] stated, how remarkably sweet the odour of it is, when the rainbow has been extended over it.

This plant cures fetid ulcers of the mouth, polypus[277] of the nose, ulcerations or carbuncles of the generative organs, and chaps; taken in drink it acts as a carminative, and is curative of strangury. The bark is good for patients troubled with discharges of blood, and a decoction of it acts astringently on the bowels. It is generally thought that the wild plant is productive of the same effects.

CHAP. 70.—THE THORN CALLED APPENDIX: TWO REMEDIES. THE PYRACANTHA: ONE REMEDY.

There is a thorn also known as the appendix;[278] that name being given to the red berries which hang from its branches. These berries eaten by themselves, raw, or else dried and boiled in wine, arrest looseness of the bowels and dispel griping pains in the stomach. The berries of the pyracantha[279] are taken in drink for wounds inflicted by serpents.

CHAP. 71.—THE PALIURUS: TEN REMEDIES.

The paliurus,[280] too, is a kind of thorn. The seed of it, known by the people of Africa as “zura,” is extremely efficacious for the sting of the scorpion, as also for urinary calculi and cough. The leaves are of an astringent nature, and the root disperses inflamed tumours, gatherings, and abscesses; taken in drink it is diuretic in its effects. A decoction of it in wine arrests diarrhœa, and neutralizes the venom of serpents: the root more particularly is administered in wine.

CHAP. 72.—THE AGRIFOLIA. THE AQUIFOLIA: ONE REMEDY. THE YEW: ONE PROPERTY BELONGING TO IT.

The agrifolia,[281] pounded, with the addition of salt, is good for diseases of the joints, and the berries are used in cases of excessive menstruation, cœliac affections, dysentery, and cholera; taken in wine, they act astringently upon the bowels. A decoction of the root, applied externally, extracts foreign bodies from the flesh, and is remarkably useful for sprains and tumours.

The tree called “aquifolia,” planted[282] in a town or country-house is a preservative against sorceries and spells. The blossom of it, according to Pythagoras, congeals[283] water, and a staff[284] made of the wood, if, when thrown at any animal, from want of strength in the party throwing it, it falls short of the mark will roll back again[285] towards the thrower, of its own accord—so remarkable are the properties of this tree. The smoke of the yew kills[286] rats and mice.

CHAP. 73. THE BRAMBLE: FIFTY-ONE REMEDIES.

Nor yet has Nature destined the bramble[287] to be only an annoyance to mankind, for she has bestowed upon it mulberries of its own,[288] or, in other words, a nutritive aliment even for mankind. These berries are of a desiccative, astringent, nature,[289] and are extremely useful for maladies of the gums, tonsillary glands, and generative organs. They neutralize also the venom of those most deadly of serpents, the hæmorrhoïs[290] and the prester;[291] and the flowers or fruit will heal wounds inflicted by scorpions, without any danger of abscesses forming. The shoots of the bramble have a diuretic effect: and the more tender ones are pounded; and the juice extracted and then dried in the sun till it has attained the consistency of honey, being considered a most excellent remedy, taken in drink or applied externally, for maladies of the mouth and eyes, discharges of blood from the mouth, quinzy, affections of the uterus, diseases of the rectum, and cœliac affections. The leaves, chewed, are good for diseases of the mouth, and a topical application is made of them for running ulcers and other maladies of the head. In the cardiac disease they are similarly applied to the left breast by themselves. They are applied topically also for pains in the stomach and for procidence of the eyes. The juice of them is used as an injection for the ears, and, in combination with cerate of roses, it heals condylomata.

A decoction of the young shoots in wine is an instantaneous remedy for diseases of the uvula; and eaten by themselves like cymæ,[292] or boiled in astringent wine, they strengthen loose teeth. They arrest fluxes of the bowels also, and discharges of blood, and are very useful for dysentery. Dried in the shade and then burnt, the ashes of them are curative of procidence of the uvula. The leaves too, dried and pounded, are very useful, it is said, for ulcers upon beasts of burden. The berries produced by this plant would seem to furnish a stomatice[293] superior even to that prepared from the cultivated mulberry. Under this form, or else only with hypocisthis[294] and honey, the berries are administered for cholera, the cardiac disease, and wounds inflicted by spiders.[295]

Among the medicaments known as “styptics,”[296] there is none that is more efficacious than a decoction of the root of the bramble in wine, boiled down to one third. Ulcerations of the mouth and rectum are bathed with it, and fomentations of it are used for a similar purpose; indeed, it is so remarkably powerful in its effects, that the very sponges which are used become as hard as a stone.[297]

CHAP. 74. THE CYNOSBATOS: THREE REMEDIES.

There is another kind of bramble also,[298] which bears a rose. It produces a round excrescence,[299] similar to a chesnut in appearance, which is remarkably valuable as a remedy for calculus. This is quite a different production from the “cynorrhoda,” which we shall have occasion to speak of in the succeeding Book.[300]

(14.) The cynosbatos[301] is by some called “cynapanxis,”[302] and by others “neurospastos;”[303] the leaf resembles the human footstep in shape. It bears also a black grape, in the berries of which there is a nerve, to which it is indebted for its name of “neurospastos.” It is quite a different plant from the capparis[304] or caper, to which medical men have also given the name of “cynosbatos.” The clusters[305] of it, pickled in vinegar, are eaten as a remedy for diseases of the spleen, and flatulency: and the string found in the berries, chewed with Chian mastich, cleanses the mouth.

The rose[306] of the bramble, mixed with axle-grease, is curative of alopecy: and the bramble-berries themselves, combined with oil of omphacium,[307] stain[308] the hair. The blossom of the bramble is gathered at harvest, and the white blossom, taken in wine, is an excellent remedy for pleurisy and cœliac affections. The root, boiled down to one third, arrests looseness of the bowels and hæmorrhage, and a decoction of it, used as a gargle, is good for the teeth: the juice too is employed as a fomentation for ulcers of the rectum and generative organs. The ashes of the root are curative of relaxations of the uvula.

CHAP. 75.—THE IDÆAN BRAMBLE.

The Idæan bramble[309] is so called from the fact that it is the only plant of the kind found growing upon Mount Ida. It is of a more delicate nature than the others, and smaller; the canes too are thinner, and not[310] so prickly: it mostly grows beneath the shade of trees. The blossom of it, mixed with honey, is applied topically for defluxions of the eyes, and is administered in water for erysipelas and affections of the stomach.[311] In other respects, it has properties similar to those of the plants[312] already mentioned.

CHAP. 76.—THE RHAMNOS; TWO VARIETIES OF IT: FIVE REMEDIES.

Among the several kinds[313] of bramble is reckoned the plant called “rhamnos” by the Greeks. One variety of it is whiter[314] than the other, and has a more shrublike appearance, throwing out branches armed with straight thorns, and not hooked, like those of the other kinds; the leaves too are larger. The other kind,[315] which is found growing wild, is of a more swarthy hue, in some measure inclining to red; it bears too a sort[316] of pod. With the root of it boiled in water a medicament is made, known as “lycium:”[317] the seed of it is useful for bringing away the after-birth. The white kind, however, is of a more astringent and cooling nature, and better adapted for the treatment of gatherings and wounds. The leaves of both kinds, either raw or boiled, are employed topically with oil.

CHAP. 77.—LYCIUM: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.

The best lycium,[318] they say, is that prepared from the thorn of that name, known also as the “Chironian pyxacanthus,”[319] and mentioned by us when speaking of the trees of India, the lycium of those regions being generally looked upon as by far the best. The branches and roots, which are intensely bitter,[320] are first pounded and then boiled for three days in a copper vessel, after which the woody parts are removed, and the decoction is boiled again, till it has attained the consistency of honey. It is adulterated with various bitter extracts,[321] as also with amurca of olive oil and ox-gall. The froth or flower[322] of this decoction is used as an ingredient in compositions for the eyes: and the other part of it is employed as a cosmetic for the face, and for the cure of itch-scabs, corroding sores in the corners of the eyes, inveterate fluxes, and suppurations of the ears. It is useful too for diseases of the tonsillary glands and gums, for coughs, and for discharges of blood from the mouth, being generally taken in pieces the size of a bean. For the cure of discharges from wounds, it is applied to the part affected; and it is similarly used for chaps, ulcerations of the genitals, excoriations, ulcers, whether putrid, serpiginous, or of recent date, hard excrescences[323] of the nostrils, and suppurations. It is taken also by females, in milk, for the purpose of arresting the catamenia when in excess.

The Indian lycium is distinguished from the other kinds by its colour, the lumps being black outside, and, when broken, red within, though they turn black very quickly.[324] It is bitter and remarkably astringent, and is employed for all the purposes above mentioned, diseases of the generative organs in particular.

CHAP. 78.—SARCOCOLLA: TWO REMEDIES.

Some authors are of opinion that sarcocolla[325] is a tearlike gum which exudes from a kind of thorn;[326] it is similar to powdered incense in appearance, has a sweet flavour with a slight degree of bitter, and is of the consistency of gum. Pounded in wine, it arrests defluxions, and is used as a topical application for infants more particularly. This substance too becomes black[327] when old; the whiter it is, the more highly it is esteemed.

CHAP. 79.—OPORICE: TWO REMEDIES.

We are indebted too to the medicinal properties of trees for one very celebrated medicament, known as “oporice.”[328] This preparation is used for dysentery and various affections of the stomach; the following being the method of preparing it. Five quinces, seeds and all, with the same number of pomegranates, one sextarius of sorbs, a similar quantity of Syrian rhus,[329] and half an ounce of saffron, are boiled in one congius of white grape-juice at a slow heat, till the whole mixture is reduced to the consistency of honey.

CHAP. 80.—THE TRIXAGO, CHAMÆDRYS, CHAMÆDROPS, OR TEUCRIA: SIXTEEN REMEDIES.

We shall now add to these plants, certain vegetable productions to which the Greeks have given names belonging to trees, so that it would be doubtful whether they themselves are not trees as well.

(15.) The chamædrys[330] is the same plant that in Latin is called “trixago;” some persons, however, call it “chamædrops,” and others “teucria.” The leaves of it are the size of those of mint, but in their colour and indentations they resemble those of the oak. According to some, the leaves are serrated, and it was these, they say, that first suggested the idea of the saw:[331] the flower of it borders closely upon purple. This plant is gathered in rough craggy localities, when it is replete with juice; and, whether taken[332] internally or applied topically, it is extremely efficacious for the stings of venomous serpents, diseases of the stomach, inveterate coughs, collections of phlegm in the throat, ruptures, convulsions, and pains in the sides. It diminishes the volume of the spleen, and acts as a diuretic and emmenagogue; for which reasons it is very useful in incipient dropsy, the usual dose being a handful of the sprigs boiled down to one third in three heminæ of water. Lozenges too are made of it for the above-named purposes, by bruising it in water. In combination with honey, it heals abscesses and inveterate or sordid ulcers: a wine[333] too is prepared from it for diseases of the chest. The juice of the leaves, mixed with oil, disperses films on the eyes; it is taken also, in vinegar, for diseases of the spleen; employed as a friction, it is of a warming nature.

CHAP. 81.—THE CHAMÆDAPHNE: FIVE REMEDIES.

The chamædaphne[334] consists of a single diminutive stem, about a cubit in height, the limbs of it being smaller than those of the laurel. These leaves * * * The seed, which is of a red colour, and attached to the leaves, is applied fresh for head-ache, is of a cooling nature for burning heats, and is taken for griping pains in the bowels, with wine. The juice of this plant, taken in wine, acts as an emmenagogue and diuretic; and applied as a pessary in wool, it facilitates laborious deliveries.

CHAP. 82.—THE CHAMELÆA: SIX REMEDIES.

The leaves of the chamelæa[335] resemble those of the olive; they are bitter, however, and odoriferous. This plant is found growing in craggy localities, and never exceeds a palm in height. It is of a purgative[336] nature, and carries off phlegm and bile; for which purposes, the leaves are boiled with twice the quantity of wormwood, and the decoction taken with honey. The leaves, applied to ulcers, have a detergent effect. It is said, that if a person gathers it before sunrise, taking care to mention that he is gathering it for the cure of white specks[337] in the eyes, and then wears it as an amulet, it will effect a cure: as also that, gathered in any way, it is beneficial for the eyes of beasts of burden and cattle.

CHAP. 83.—THE CHAMÆSYCE: EIGHT REMEDIES.

The chamæsyce[338] has leaves similar to those of the lentil, and lying close to the ground; it is found growing in dry, rocky, localities. A decoction of it in wine is remarkably useful as a liniment for improving[339] the sight, and for dispersing cataract, cicatrizations, films, and cloudiness of the eyes. Applied in a pledget of linen, as a pessary, it allays pains in the uterus; and used topically[340] it removes warts and excrescences of all kinds. It is very useful also for hardness of breathing.

CHAP. 84.—THE CHAMÆCISSOS: ONE REMEDY.

The chamæcissos[341] has ears like[342] those of wheat, with numerous leaves, and small branches, about five in number. When in blossom it might almost be taken for the white violet: the root of it is diminutive. For sciatica, the leaves of it are taken, seven days consecutively, in doses of three oboli, in two cyathi of wine: this is a very bitter potion, however.

CHAP. 85.—THE CHAMÆLEUCE, FARFARUM, OR FARFUGIUM: ONE REMEDY.

The chamæleuce[343] is known among us as the “farfarum” or “farfugium:” it grows on the banks of rivers, and has a leaf like that of the poplar, only larger. The root of it is burnt upon cypress charcoal, and, by the aid of a funnel,[344] the smoke inhaled, in cases of inveterate cough.

CHAP. 86.—THE CHAMÆPEUCE: FIVE REMEDIES. THE CHAMÆCYPARISSOS: TWO REMEDIES. THE AMPELOPRASON; SIX REMEDIES. THE STACHYS: ONE REMEDY.

The chamæpeuce[345] has a leaf which resembles that of the larch, and is useful more particularly for lumbago and pains in the back. The chamæcyparissos[346] is a herb which, taken in wine, counteracts the venom of serpents of all kinds, and of scorpions.

The ampeloprason[347] is found growing in vineyards; it has leaves like those of the leek, and produces offensive eructations. It is highly efficacious for the stings of serpents, and acts as an emmenagogue and diuretic. Taken in drink or applied externally, it arrests discharges of blood from the generative organs. It is prescribed also for females after delivery, and is used for bites inflicted by dogs.

The plant known as “stachys” bears a strong resemblance also to a leek,[348] but the leaves of it are longer and more numerous. It has an agreeable smell, and in colour inclines to yellow. It promotes menstruation.

CHAP. 87.—THE CLINOPODION, CLEONICION, ZOPYRON, OR OCIMOÏDES: THREE REMEDIES.

The clinopodion,[349] cleonicion, zopyron, or ocimoïdes, resembles wild thyme in appearance. The stem of it is tough and ligneous, and it is a palm in height. It grows in stony soils, and the leaves are trained regularly around the stem,[350] which resembles a bed-post in appearance. This plant is taken in drink, for convulsions, ruptures, strangury, and wounds inflicted by serpents: a decoction is also made of it, and the juice is similarly employed.

CHAP. 88.—THE CLEMATIS CENTUNCULUS; THREE REMEDIES.

We shall now have to annex some plants, of a marvellous nature no doubt, but not so well known, reserving those of a higher reputation for the succeeding Books.

Our people give the name of “centunculus,”[351] to a creeping plant that grows in the fields, the leaves of which bear a strong resemblance to the hoods attached to our cloaks. By the Greeks it is known as the “clematis.” Taken in astringent wine it is wonderfully effectual for arresting[352] diarrhœa: beaten up, in doses of one denarius, in five cyathi of oxymel or of warm water, it arrests hæmorrhage, and facilitates the after-birth.

CHAP. 89.—THE CLEMATIS ECHITES, OR LAGINE.

The Greeks have other varieties also of the clematis, one of which is known as “echites”[353] or “lagine,” and by some as the “little scammony.” Its stems are about two feet in height, and covered with leaves: in general appearance it is not unlike scammony, were it not that the leaves are darker and more diminutive; it is found growing in vineyards and cultivated soils. It is eaten as a vegetable, with oil and salt, and acts as a laxative upon the bowels. It is taken[354] also for dysentery, with linseed, in astringent wine. The leaves of this plant are applied with polenta for defluxions of the eyes, the part affected being first covered with a pledget of wet linen. Applied to scrofulous sores, they cause them to suppurate, and if some axle-grease is then applied, a perfect cure will be effected. They are applied also to piles, with green oil, and are good for phthisis, in combination with honey. Taken with the food, they increase the milk in nursing women, and, rubbed upon the heads of infants, they promote the rapid growth of the hair. Eaten with vinegar, they act as an aphrodisiac.

CHAP. 90.—THE EGYPTIAN CLEMATIS, DAPHNOÏDES, OR POLYGONOÏDES: TWO REMEDIES.

There is another kind also, known as the “Egyptian”[355] clematis, otherwise as “daphnoïdes”[356] or “polygonoïdes:” it has a leaf like that of the laurel, and is long and slender. Taken in vinegar, it is very useful for the stings of serpents, that of the asp in particular.

CHAP. 91. (16.)—DIFFERENT OPINIONS ON THE DRACONTIUM.

It is Egypt more particularly that produces the clematis known as the “aron,” of which we have already[357] made some mention when speaking of the bulbs. Respecting this plant and the dracontium, there have been considerable differences of opinion. Some writers, indeed, have maintained that they are identical, and Glaucias has made the only distinction between them in reference to the place of their growth, assuming that the dracontium is nothing else than the aron in a wild state. Some persons, again, have called the root “aron,” and the stem of the plant “dracontium:” but if the dracontium is the same as the one known to us as the “dracunculus,”[358] it is a different plant altogether; for while the aron has a broad, black, rounded root, and considerably larger,—large enough, indeed, to fill the hand,—the dracunculus has a reddish root of a serpentine form, to which, in fact, it owes its name.[359]

CHAP. 92.—THE ARON: THIRTEEN REMEDIES.

The Greeks themselves, in fact, have established an immense difference between these two plants, in attributing to the seed of the dracunculus certain hot, pungent properties, and a fetid odour[360] so remarkably powerful as to be productive of abortion,[361] while upon the aron, on the other hand, they have bestowed marvellous encomiums. As an article of food, however, they give the preference to the female plant, the male plant being of a harder nature, and more difficult to cook. It carries off,[362] they say, all vicious humours from the chest, and powdered and taken in the form either of a potion or of an electuary, it acts as a diuretic and emmenagogue. Powdered and taken in oxymel, it is good for the stomach; and we find it stated that it is administered in ewe’s milk for ulcerations of the intestines, and is sometimes cooked on hot ashes and given in oil for a cough. Some persons, again, are in the habit of boiling it in milk and administering the decoction; and it has been used also in a boiled state as a topical application for defluxions of the eyes, contusions, and affections of the tonsillary glands. * * * *[363] prescribes it with oil, as an injection for piles, and recommends it as a liniment, with honey, for freckles.

Cleophantus has greatly extolled this plant as an antidote for poisons, and for the treatment of pleurisy and peripneumony, prepared the same way as for coughs. The seed too, pounded with olive oil or oil of roses, is used as an injection for pains in the ears. Dieuches prescribes it, mixed in bread[364] with meal, for the cure of coughs, asthma, hardness of breathing, and purulent expectorations. Diodotus recommends it, in combination with honey, as an electuary for phthisis and diseases of the lungs, and as a topical application even for fractured bones. Applied to the sexual parts, it facilitates delivery in all kinds of animals; and the juice extracted from the root, in combination with Attic honey, disperses films upon the eyes, and diseases of the stomach. A decoction of it with honey is curative of cough; and the juice is a marvellous remedy for ulcers of every description, whether phagedænic, carcinomatous, or serpiginous, and for polypus of the nostrils. The leaves, boiled in wine and oil, are good for burns, and, taken with salt and vinegar, are strongly purgative; boiled with honey, they are useful also for sprains, and used either fresh or dried, with salt, for gout in the joints.

Hippocrates has prescribed the leaves, either fresh or dried, with honey, as a topical application for abscesses. Two drachmæ of the seed or root, in two cyathi of wine, are a sufficient dose to act as an emmenagogue, and a similar quantity will have the effect of bringing away the after-birth, in cases where it is retarded.[365] Hippocrates used to apply the root also, for the purpose. They say too, that in times of pestilence the employment of aron as an article of food is very beneficial. It dispels the fumes of wine; and the smoke of it burnt drives away serpents,[366] the asp in particular, or else stupefies them to such a degree as to reduce them to a state of torpor. These reptiles also will fly at the approach of persons whose bodies have been rubbed with a preparation of aron with oil of laurel: hence it is generally thought a good plan to administer it in red wine to persons who have been stung by serpents. Cheese, it is said, keeps remarkably well, wrapped in leaves of this plant.

CHAP. 93.—THE DRACUNCULUS; TWO REMEDIES.

The plant which I have spoken of[367] as the dracunculus, is taken out of the ground just when the barley is ripening, and at the moon’s increase. It is quite sufficient to have this plant about one, to be safe from all serpents; and it is said, that an infusion of the larger kind taken in drink, is very useful for persons who have been stung by those reptiles: it is stated also that it arrests the catamenia when in excess, due care being taken not to let iron touch it. The juice of it too is very useful for pains in the ears.

As to the plant known to the Greeks by the name of “dracontion,” I have[368] had it pointed out to me under three different forms; the first[369] having the leaves of the beet, with a certain proportion of stem, and a purple flower, and bearing a strong resemblance to the aron. Other persons, again, have described it as a plant[370] with a long root, embossed to all appearance and full of knots, and consisting of three stems in all; the same parties have recommended a decoction of the leaves in vinegar, as curative of stings inflicted by serpents. The third[371] plant that has been pointed out to me has a leaf larger than that of the cornel, and a root resembling that of the reed. This root, I have been assured, has as many knots on it as the plant is years old, the leaves, too, being as many in number. The plant is recommended also for the stings of serpents, administered either in wine or in water.

CHAP. 94.—THE ARISAROS: THREE REMEDIES.

There is a plant also called the “arisaros,”[372] which grows in Egypt, and is similar to the aron in appearance, only that it is more diminutive, and has smaller leaves; the root too is smaller, though fully as large as a good-sized olive. The white arisaros throws out two stems, the other kind only one. They are curative, both of them, of running ulcers and burns, and are used as an injection for fistulas. The leaves, boiled in water, and then beaten up with the addition of oil of roses, arrest the growth of corrosive ulcers. But there is one very marvellous fact connected with this plant—it is quite sufficient to touch the sexual parts of any female animal with it to cause its instantaneous death.

CHAP. 95.—THE MILLEFOLIUM OR MYRIOPHYLLON; SEVEN REMEDIES.

The myriophyllon,[373] by our people known as the “millefolium” has a tender stem, somewhat similar to fennel-giant in appearance, with vast numbers of leaves, to which circumstance it is indebted for its name. It grows in marshy localities, and is remarkably useful for the treatment of wounds. It is taken in vinegar for strangury, affections of the bladder, asthma, and falls with violence; it is extremely efficacious also for tooth-ache.

In Etruria, the same name is given to a small meadow-plant,[374] provided with leaves at the sides, like hairs, and particularly useful for wounds. The people of that country say that, applied with axle-grease, it will knit together and unite the tendons of oxen, when they have been accidentally severed by the plough-share.[375]

CHAP. 96.—THE PSEUDOBUNION: FOUR REMEDIES.

The pseudobunion[376] has the leaves of the turnip, and grows in a shrub-like form, about a palm in height; the most esteemed being that of Crete. For gripings of the bowels, strangury, and pains of the thoracic organs, some five or six sprigs of it are administered in drink.

CHAP. 97.—THE MYRRHIS, MYRIZA, OR MYRRHA: SEVEN REMEDIES.

The myrrhis,[377] otherwise known as the myriza or myrrha, bears a strong resemblance to hemlock in the stem, leaves, and blossom, only that it is smaller and more slender: it is by no means unpleasant to the palate. Taken with wine, it acts as an emmenagogue, and facilitates parturition: they say too that in times of pestilence it is very wholesome, taken in drink. It is very useful also for phthisis, administered in broth. It sharpens the appetite, and neutralizes the venom of the phalangium. The juice of this plant, after it has been macerated some three days in water, is curative of ulcers of the face and head.

CHAP. 98.—THE ONOBRYCHIS: THREE REMEDIES.

The onobrychis[378] has leaves like those of the lentil, only somewhat[379] longer; the blossom is red, and the root small and slender. It is found growing in the vicinity of springs. Dried and reduced to powder, and sprinkled in white wine, it is curative of strangury, and arrests looseness of the bowels. The juice of it, used as a friction with oil, acts as a sudorific.

CHAP. 99. (17.)—CORACESTA AND CALLICIA.

While I am treating of plants of a marvellous nature, I am induced to make some mention of certain magical plants—for what, in fact, can there be more marvellous than they? The first who descanted upon this subject in our part of the world were Pythagoras and Democritus, who have adopted the accounts given by the Magi. Coracesta[380] and callicia, according to Pythagoras, are plants which congeal[381] water. I find no mention made of them, however, by any other author, and he himself gives no further particulars relative to them.

CHAP. 100.—THE MINSAS OR CORINTHIA: ONE REMEDY.

Pythagoras gives the name of minsas[382] too, or corinthia, to another plant; a decoction of which, used as a fomentation, will effect an instantaneous cure of stings inflicted by serpents, according to him. He adds too, that if this decoction is poured upon the grass, and a person happens to tread upon it, or if the body should chance to be sprinkled with it, the result is fatal beyond all remedy; so monstrously malignant are the venomous proporties of this plant, except as neutralizing other kinds of poison.

CHAP. 101.—THE APROXIS: SIX REMEDIES.