Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder

by Pliny the Elder

  The root of the althæa is even more efficacious for all the purposes above enumerated, and for convulsions and ruptures more particularly. Boiled in water, it arrests looseness of the bowels; and taken in white wine, it is a cure for scrofulous sores, imposthumes of the parotid glands, and inflammations of the mamillæ. A decoction of the leaves in wine, applied as a liniment, disperses inflammatory tumours; and the leaves, first dried, and then boiled in milk, are a speedy cure for a cough, however inveterate. Hippocrates prescribes a decoction of the root to be drunk by persons wounded or thirsty from loss of blood, and the plant itself as an application to wounds, with honey and resin. He also recommends it to be employed in a similar manner for contusions, sprains, and tumours of the muscles, sinews, and joints, and prescribes it to be taken in wine for asthma and dysentery. It is a singular thing, that water in which this root has been put, thickens when exposed in the open air, and congeals like ice. The more recently, however, it has been taken up, the greater are the virtues of the root.

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  CHAP. 85.

  WILD LAPATHUM OR OXALIS, OTHERWISE CALLED LAPATHUM CANTHERINUM, OR RUMEX: ONE REMEDY. HYDROLAPATHUM: TWO REMEDIES. HIPPOLAPATHUM: SIX REMEDIES. OXYLAPATHUM: FOUR REMEDIES.

  Lapathum, too, has pretty nearly the same properties. There is a wild variety, known to some as “oxalis,” very similar in taste to the cultivated kind, with pointed leaves, a colour like that of white beet, and an extremely diminutive root: our people call it “rumex,” while others, again, give it the name of “lapathum cantherinum.” Mixed with axle-grease, this plant is very efficacious for scrofulous sores. There is another kind, again, hardly forming a distinct variety, known as “oxylapathon,” which resembles the cultivated kind even more than the last, though the leaves are more pointed and redder: it grows only in marshy spots. Some authors are found who speak of a “hydrolapathon,” which grows in the water, they say. There is also another variety, known as “hippolapathon,” larger than the cultivated kind, whiter, and more compact.

  The wild varieties of the lapathum are a cure for the stings of scorpions, and protect those who carry the plant on their person from being stung. A decoction of the root in vinegar, employed as a gargle, is beneficial to the teeth, and if drunk, is a cure for jaundice. The seed is curative of the most obstinate maladies of the stomach. The root of hippolapathum, in particular, has the property of bringing off malformed nails; and the seed, taken in wine, in doses of two drachmæ, is a cure for dysentery. The seed of oxylapathum, washed in rain-water, with the addition of a piece of gum acacia, about the size of a lentil, is good for patients troubled with spitting of blood. Most excellent lozenges are made of the leaves and root of this plant, with the addition of nitre and a little incense. When wanted for use, they are first steeped in vinegar.

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  CHAP. 86.

  CULTIVATED LAPATHUM: TWENTY-ONE REMEDIES. BULAPATHUM: ONE REMEDY.

  As to garden lapathum, it is good in liniments on the forehead for defluxions of the eyes. The root of it cures lichens and leprous sores, and a decoction of it in wine is remedial for scrofulous swellings, imposthumes of the parotid glands, and calculus of the bladder. Taken in wine it is a cure for affections of the spleen, and employed as a fomentation, it is equally good for cœliac affections, dysentery, and tenesmus. For all these purposes, the juice of lapathum is found to be even still more efficacious. It acts as a carminative and diuretic, and dispels films on the eyes: put into the bath, or else rubbed upon the body, without oil, before taking the bath, it effectually removes all itching sensations. The root of it, chewed, strengthens the teeth, and a decoction of it in wine arrests looseness of the stomach: the leaves, on the other hand, relax it.

  Not to omit any particulars, Solo has added to the above varieties a bulapathon, which differs only from the others in the length of the root. This root, taken in wine, is very beneficial for dysentery.

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  CHAP. 87. (22.)

  MUSTARD, THE THREE KINDS OF IT: FORTY-FOUR REMEDIES.

  Mustard, of which we have mentioned three different kinds, when speaking of the garden herbs, is ranked by Pythagoras among the very first of those plants the pungency of which mounts upwards; for there is none to be found more penetrating to the brain and nostrils.

  Pounded with vinegar, mustard is employed as a liniment for the stings of serpents and scorpions, and it effectually neutralizes the poisonous properties of fungi. To cure an immoderate secretion of phlegm it is kept in the mouth till it melts, or else it is mixed with hydromel, and employed as a gargle. Mustard is chewed for tooth-ache, and is taken as a gargle with oxymel for affections of the uvula; it is very beneficial, also, for all maladies of the stomach. Taken with the food, it facilitates expectoration from the lungs: it is given, too, for asthma and epileptic fits, in combination with cucumber seed. It has the effect of quickening the senses, and effectually clears the head by sneezing, relaxes the stomach, and promotes the menstrual discharge and the urinary secretions: beaten up with figs and cummin, in the proportion of one-third of each ingredient, it is used as an external application for dropsy.

  Mixed with vinegar, mustard resuscitates by its powerful odour persons who have swooned in fits of epilepsy or lethargy, as well as females suffering from hysterical suffocations. For the cure of lethargy tordylon is added-that being the name given to the seed of hartwort — and if the lethargic sleep should happen to be very profound, an application of it, with figs and vinegar, is made to the legs, or to the head even. Used as an external application, mustard is a cure for inveterate pains of the chest, loins, hips, shoulders, and, in general, for all deep-seated pains in any part of the body, raising blisters by its caustic properties. In cases of extreme indurations of the skin, the mustard is applied to the part without figs; and a cloth is employed doubled, where it is apprehended that it may burn too powerfully. It is used also, combined with red-earth, for alopecy, itch-scabs, leprosy, phthiriasis, tetanus, and opisthotony. They employ it also as a liniment with honey for styes on the eyelids and films on the eyes.

  The juices of mustard are extracted in three different ways, in earthen vessels in which it is left to dry gradually in the sun. From the thin stem of the plant there exudes also a milky juice, which when thus hardened is remedial for tooth-ache. The seed and root, after they have been left to steep in must, are beaten up together in a mortar; and a good handful of the mixture is taken to strengthen the throat, stomach, eyes, head, and all the senses. This mixture is extremely good, too, for fits of lassitude in females, being one of the most wholesome medicines in existence. Taken in vinegar, mustard disperses calculi in the bladder; and, in combination with honey and goose-grease, or else Cyprian wax, it is employed as a liniment for livid spots and bruises. From the seed, first steeped in olive-oil, and then subjected to pressure, an oil is extracted, which is employed for rigidity of the sinews, and chills and numbness in the loins and hips.

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  CHAP. 88.

  ADACA: FORTY-EIGHT REMEDIES.

  It is said that adarca, of which we have already made mention when speaking of the forest-trees, has a similar nature to that of mustard, and is productive of the same effects: it grows upon the outer coat of reeds, below the head.

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  CHAP. 89.

  MARRUBIUM OR PRASION, OTHERWISE LINOSTROPHON, PHILOPAIS, OR PHILOCHARES: TWENTY-NINE REMEDIES.

  Most medical writers have spoken in high terms of marru- bium, or horehound, as a plant of the very greatest utility. Among the Greeks, it is called “prasion” by some, by others “linostrophon,” and by others, again, “philopais” or “philochares:” it is a plant too well known to require any description. The leaves and seed beaten up, together, are good for the stings of serpents, pains of the chest and side, and inveterate coughs. The branches, too, boiled in water with panic, so as to modify its acridity, are remarkably useful for per
sons troubled with spitting of blood. Horehound is applied also, with grease, to scrofulous swellings. Some persons recommend for a cough, a pinch of the fresh seed with two fingers, boiled with a handful of spelt and a little oil and salt, the mixture to be taken fasting. Others, again, regard as quite incomparable for a similar purpose an extract of the juices of horehound and fennel. Taking three sextarii of the extract, they boil it down to two, and then add one sextarius of honey; after which they again boil it down to two, and administer one spoonful of the preparation daily, in one cyathus of water.

  Beaten up with honey, horehound is particularly beneficial for affections of the male organs; employed with vinegar, it cleanses lichens, and is very salutary for ruptures, convulsions, spasms, and contractions of the sinews. Taken in drink with salt and vinegar, it relaxes the bowels, promotes the menstrual discharge, and accelerates the after-birth. Dried, powdered, and taken with honey, it is extremely efficacious for a dry cough, as also for gangrenes and hang-nails. The juice, too, taken with honey, is good for the ears and nostrils: it is a remedy also for jaundice, and diminishes the bilious secretions. Among the few antidotes for poisons, it is one of the very best known.

  The plant itself, taken with iris and honey, purges the stomach and promotes expectorations: it acts, also, as a strong diuretic, though, at the same time, care must be taken not to use it when the bladder is ulcerated and the kidneys are affected. It is said, too, that the juice of horehound improves the eyesight. Castor speaks of two varieties of it, the black horehound and the white, which last he considers to be the best. He puts the juice of it into an empty eggshell, and then mixes the egg with it, together with honey, in equal pro- portions: this preparation used warm, he says, will bring abscesses to a head, and cleanse and heal them. Beaten up, too, with stale axle-grease and applied topically, he says, hore- hound is a cure for the bite of a dog.

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  CHAP. 90.

  WILD THYME: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.

  Wild thyme, it is said, borrows its name, “serpyllum,” from the fact that it is a creeping plant, a property peculiar to the wild kind, that which grows in rocky places more particularly. The cultivated thyme is not a creeping plant, but grows up- wards, as much a palm in height. That which springs up spontaneously, grows the most luxuriantly, its leaves and branches being whiter than those of the other kinds. Thyme is efficacious as a remedy for the stings of serpents, the cun- chris more particularly; also for the sting of the scolopendra, both sea and land, the leaves and branches being boiled for the purpose in wine. Burnt, it puts to flight all venomous crea- tures by its smell, and it is particularly beneficial as an antidote to the venom of marine animals.

  A decoction of it in vinegar is applied for head-ache, with rose oil, to the temples and forehead, as also for phrenitis and lethargy: it is given, too, in doses of four drachmæ, for gripings of the stomach, strangury, quinsy, and fits of vomiting. It is taken in water, also, for liver complaints. The leaves are given in doses of four oboli, in vinegar, for diseases of the spleen. Beaten up in two cyathi of oxymel, it is used for spitting of blood.

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  CHAP. 91.

  SISYMBRIUM OR THYMBRÆUM: TWENTY-THREE REMEDIES.

  Wild sisymbrium, by some persons called “thymbræum.” does not grow beyond a foot in height. The kind which grows in watery places, is similar to nasturtium, and they are both of them efficacious for the stings of certain insects, such as hornets and the like. That which grows in dry localities is odoriferous, and is employed for wreaths: the leaf of it is narrower than in the other kind. They both of them alleviate head-ache, and defluxions of the eyes, Philinus says. Some persons, however, employ bread in addition; while others, again, use a decoction of the plant by itself in wine It is a cure, also, for epinyctis, and removes spots on the face in females, by the end of four days; for which purpose, it is applied at night and taken off in the day-time. It arrests vomiting, hiccup, gripings, and fluxes of the stomach, whether taken with the food, or the juice extracted and given in drink.

  This plant, however, should never be eaten by pregnant women, except in cases where the fœtus is dead, for the very application of it is sufficient to produce abortion. Taken with wine, it is diuretic, and the wild variety expels calculi even. For persons necessitated to sit up awake, an infusion of it in vinegar is applied as a liniment to the head.

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  CHAP. 92.

  LINSEED: THIRTY REMEDIES.

  Linseed is not only used in combination with other substances, but, employed by itself, it disperses spots on the face in women: its juice, too, is very beneficial to the sight. Combined with incense and water, or else with myrrh and wine, it is a cure for defluxions of the eyes, and employed with honey, grease, or wax, for imposthumes of the parotid glands. Prepared like polenta, it is good for fluxes of the stomach; and a decoction of it in water and oil, applied topi- cally with anise, is prescribed for quinsy. It is sometimes used parched, also, to arrest looseness of the bowels, and ap- plications of it are used, with vinegar, for cœliac affections and dysentery. It is eaten with raisins, also, for pains in the liver, and excellent electuaries are made of it for the treatment of phthisis.

  Linseed-meal, with the addition of nitre, salt, or ashes, softens rigidities of the muscles, sinews, joints, and vertebræ, as well as of the membranous tissues of the brain. Employed with figs, linseed-meal ripens abscesses and brings them to a head: mixed with the root of wild cucumber, it extracts all foreign bodies from the flesh, as well as splinters of broken bones. A decoction of linseed-meal in wine prevents ulcers from spreading, and mixed with honey, it is remedial for pituitous eruptions. Used with nasturtium, in equal quantities, it rectifies malformed nails; mixed with resin and myrrh, it cures affections of the testes and hernia, and with water, gangrenous sores. A decoction of linseed-meal with fenugreek, in the proportion of one sextarius of each, in hydromel, is recommended for pains in the stomach; and employed as an injection, with oil or honey, it is beneficial for dangerous affections of the chest and intestines.

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  CHAP. 93.

  BLITE: SIX REMEDIES.

  Blite seems to be a plant of an inert nature, without flavour or any pungency whatever; hence it is that, in Menander, we find husbands giving this name to their wives, by way of reproach. It is prejudicial to the stomach, and disturbs the bowels to such a degree, as to cause cholera in some. It is stated, however, that, taken in wine, it is good for the stings of scorpions; and that it is sometimes used as a liniment for corns on the feet, and, with oil, for affections of the spleen and pains in the temples. Hippocrates is of opinion, that if taken with the food, it will arrest the menstrual discharge.

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  CHAP. 94. (23.)

  MEUM, AND MEUM ATHAMANTICUM: SEVEN REMEDIES.

  Meum is never cultivated in Italy except by medical men, and by very few of those. There are two varieties of it, the finer kind being known as “athamanticum,” because, according to some, it was first discovered by Athamas; or else because, as others think, that of the best quality is found upon Mount Athamas. The leaf of it is similar to that of dill, and the stem is sometimes as much as two cubits in length: the roots, which run obliquely, are numerous and mostly black, though sometimes white: it is not of so red a hue as the other kind.

  The root of this plant, pounded or boiled, and taken in water, is diuretic, and is marvellously efficacious for dispelling flatu- lency of the stomach. It is good, too, for gripings of the bowels and affections of the bladder: applied with honey to the region of the uterus, it acts as a diuretic; and used as a liniment with parsley, upon the lower regions of the abdomen in infants, it has a similar effect.

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  CHAP. 95.

  FENNEL: TWENTY-TWO REMEDIES.

  Fennel has been rendered famous by the serpent, which tastes it, as already stated, when it casts its old skin,
and sharpens its sight with the juice of this plant: a fact which has led to the conclusion that this juice must be beneficial, also, in a high degree to the human sight. Fennel-juice is gathered when the stem is swelling with the bud; after which it is dried in the sun and applied as an ointment with honey. This plant is to be found in all parts of the world. The most esteemed preparation from it, is that made in Iberia, from the tear-like drops which exude from the stalk and the seed fresh-ga- thered. The juice is extracted, also, from incisions made in the root at the first germination of the plant.