It is generally thought that gum, taken in raisin wine, improves the complexion, sharpens the appetite, and is good for calculi in the bladder. It is particularly useful too for wounds and affections of the eyes.
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CHAP. 65. (12.)
THE EGYPTIAN OR ARABIAN THORN: FOUR REMEDIES.
When speaking 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.
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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;” 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.
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CHAP. 67.
GUM ACACIA: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.
Gum acacia is produced also from the white and black 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 than those last mentioned. The seed of all these trees resembles 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 so useful as the other. The seed is used also, as a substitute for nut-galls in curing leather.
The juice extracted from the leaves, as also the extremely black juice of the Galatian 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 and mouth.
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CHAP. 68. (13.)
ASPALATHOS: ONE REMEDY.
The common thorn too, with which the fulling coppers are filled, is employed for the same purposes as the radicula. 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, of a white colour, and the size of an ordinary tree.
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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 fill as thorny, known by some as the erysisceptrum, by others as the adipsatheon, and by the Syrians as the diaxylon. The best kind is that which is the least 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 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 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.
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CHAP. 70.
THE THORN CALLED APPENDIX: TWO REMEDIES. THE PYRACANTHA: ONE REMEDY.
There is a thorn also known as the appendix; 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 are taken in drink for wounds inflicted by serpents.
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CHAP. 71.
THE PALIURUS: TEN REMEDIES.
The paliurus, 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 diarrhea, and neutralizes the venom of serpents: the root more particularly is administered in wine.
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CHAP. 72.
THE AGRIFOLIA. THE AQUIFOLIA: ONE REMEDY. THE YEW: ONE PROPERTY BELONGING TO IT.
The agrifolia, 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 in a town or country- house, is a preservative against sorceries and spells. The blossom of it, according to Pythagoras, congeals water, and a staff 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 towards the thrower, of its own accord — so remarkable are the properties of this tree. The smoke of the yew kills rats and mice.
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CHAP. 73.
THE BRAMBLE: FIFTY-ONE REMEDIES.
Nor yet has Nature destined the bramble to be only an annoyance to mankind, for she has bestowed upon it mulberries of its own, or, in other words, a nutritive aliment even for mankind. These berries are of a desiccative, astringent, nature, 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 hæmorrhoiss and the prester; 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 celiac affections. The leaves, chewed, are good for diseases of the mouth, and a topical ap- plication 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, 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 superior even to that prepared from the cultivated mulberry. Under this form, or else only with hypocisthis and honey, the berries are administered for cholera, the cardiac disease, and wounds inflicted by spiders.
Among the medicaments known as “styptics,” 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.
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CHAP. 74.
HE CYNOSBATOS: THREE REMEDIES.
There is another kind of bramble also, which bears a rose. It produces a round excrescence, 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.
(14.) The cynosbatos is by some called “cynapanxis,” and by others “neurospastos;” 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 or caper, to which medical men have also given the name of “cynosbatos.” The clusters 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 of the bramble, mixed with axle-grease, is curative of alopecy: and the bramble-berries themselves, combined with oil of omphacium, stain 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 hemorrhage, 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.
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CHAP. 75.
THE IDÆAN BRAMBLE.
The Idæan bramble 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 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. In other respects, it has properties similar to those of the plants already mentioned.
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CHAP. 76.
THE RHAMNOS; TWO VARIETIES OF IT: FIVE REMEDIES.
Among the several kinds of bramble is reckoned the plant called “rhamnos” by the Greeks. One variety of it is whiter 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, which is found growing wild, is of a more swarthy hue, in some measure inclining to red; it bears too a sort of pod. With the root of it boiled in water a medicament is made, known as “lycium:” 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.
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CHAP. 77.
LYCIIUM: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.
The best lycium, they say, is that prepared from the thorn of that name, known also as the “Chironian pyxacanthus,” 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, 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, as also with amurca of olive oil and ox-gall. The froth or flower 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 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. It is bitter and remarkably astringent, and is employed for all the purposes above mentioned, diseases of the generative organs in particular.
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CHAP. 78.
SARCOCOLLA: TWO REMEDIES.
Some authors are of opinion that sarcocolla is a tearlike gum which exudes from a kind of thorn; 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 when old; the whiter it is, the more highly it is esteemed.
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CHAP. 79.
OPORICE: TWO REMEDIES.
We are indebted too to the medicinal properties of trees for one very celebrated medicament, known as “oporice.” 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, 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.
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CHAP. 80.
THE TRIXAGO, CHAMÆDRYS, CHAMÆDROPS, OR TECRIA: 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 is the same plant that in Latin is called “trixago;” some persons, however, call it “chamæ- drops,” 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: 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 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 ul
cers: a wine 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.
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CHAP. 81.
THE CHAMÆDAPHNE: FIVE REMEDIES.
The chamædaphne 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.
Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder Page 175