Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder

by Pliny the Elder

  Massurius informs us, that the ancients set the highest’ value of all upon the fat of the wolf: and that it was for this reason that the newly-wedded bride used to anoint the doorposts of her husband’s house with it, in order that no noxious spells might find admittance.

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  CHAP. 38.

  SUET.

  Corresponding with the grease of the swine, is the suet that is found in the ruminating animals, a substance employed in other ways, but no less efficacious in its properties. The proper mode of preparing it, in all cases, is to take out the veins and to rinse it in sea or salt-water, after which it is beaten up in a mortar, with a sprinkling of sea-water in it. This done, it is boiled in several waters, until, in fact, it has lost all smell, and is then bleached by continual exposure to the sun; that of the most esteemed quality being the fat which grows about the kidneys. In case stale suet is required for any medicinal purpose, it is recommended to melt it first, and then to wash it in cold water several times; after which, it must again be melted with a sprinkling of the most aromatic wine that can be pro- cured, it being then boiled again and again, until the rank smell has totally disappeared.

  Many persons recommend that the fat of bulls, lions, panthers, and camels, in particular, should be thus prepared. As to the various uses to which these substances are applied, we shall mention them on the appropriate occasions.

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  CHAP. 39.

  MARROW.

  Common too, to all these animals, is marrow; a substance which in all cases is possessed of certain emollient, expletive, desiccative, and calorific properties. The most highly esteemed of all is deer’s marrow, the next best being that of the calf, and then that of the goat, both male and female. These substances are prepared before autumn, by washing them in a fresh state, and drying them in the shade; after which they are passed through a sieve, and then strained through linen, and put by in earthen pots for keeping, in a cool spot.

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  CHAP. 40.

  GALL.

  But among the substances which are furnished in common by the various animals, it is the gall, we may say, that is the most efficacious of all. The properties of this substance are of a calorific, pungent, resolvent, extractive, and dispersive nature. The gall of the smaller animals is looked upon as the most penetrating; for which reason it is that it is generally considered the most efficacious for the composition of eye-salves. Bull’s gall is possessed of a remarkable degree of potency, having the effect of imparting a golden tint to the surface of copper even and to vessels made of other metals. Gall in every case is prepared in the following manner: it is taken fresh, and the orifice of the vesicle in which it is contained being tied fast with a strong linen thread, it is left to steep for half an hour in boiling water; after which it is dried in the shade, and then put away for keeping, in honey.

  That of the horse is condemned, being reckoned among the poisons only. Hence it is that the Flamen of the Sacrifices is not allowed to touch a horse, notwithstanding that it is the custom to immolate one of these animals at the public sacrifices at Rome.

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  CHAP. 41.

  BLOOD.

  The blood, also, of the horse is possessed of certain corrosive properties; and so, too, is mare’s blood-except, indeed, where the animal has not been covered-it having the effect of cauterizing the margins of ulcers, and so enlarging them. Bull’s blood too, taken fresh, is reckoned among the poisons; except, indeed, at Ægira, at which place the priestess of the Earth, when about to foretell coming events, takes a draught of bull’s blood before she descends into the cavern: so powerful, in fact, is the agency of that sympathy so generally spoken of, that it may occasionally originate, we find, in feelings of religious awe, or in the peculiar nature of the locality.

  Drusus, the tribune of the people, drank goats’ blood, it is said; it being his object by his pallid looks to suggest that his enemy, Q. Cæpio, had given him poison, and so expose him to public hatred. So remarkably powerful is the blood of the hegoat, that there is nothing better in existence for sharpening iron implements, the rust produced by this blood giving them a better edge even than a file. Considering, however, that the blood of all animals cannot be reckoned as a remedy in common, will it not be advisable, in preference, to speak of the effects that are produced by that of each kind?

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  CHAP. 42.

  PECULIAR REMEDIES DERIVED FROM VARIOUS ANIMALS, AND CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE MALADIES. REMEDIES AGAINST THE POISON OF SERPENTS, DERIVED FROM THE STAG, THE FAWN, THE OPHION, THE SHE-GOAT, THE KID, AND THE ASS.

  We will therefore classify the various remedies, according to the maladies for which they are respectively used; and, first of all, those to which man has recourse for injuries inflicted by serpents. That deer are destructive to those reptiles no one is ignorant; as also of the fact that they drag them from their holes when they find them, and so devour them. And it is not only while alive and breathing that deer are thus fatal to serpents, but even when dead and separated limb from limb. The fumes of their horns, while burning, will drive away serpents, as already stated; but the bones, it is said, of the upper part of a stag’s throat, if burnt upon a fire, will bring those reptiles together. Persons may sleep upon a deer’s skin in perfect safety, and without any apprehension of attacks by serpents; its rennet too, taken with vinegar, is an effectual antidote to the stings of those reptiles; indeed, if it has been only touched by a person, he will be for that day effectually protected from them. The testes, dried, or the genitals of the male animal, are considered to be very wholesome, taken in wine, and so are the umbles, generally known as the “centipellio.” Persons having about them a deer’s tooth, or who have taken the precaution of rubbing the body with a deer or fawn’s marrow, will be sure to repel the attacks of all serpents.

  But the most effectual remedy of all is thought to be the rennet of a fawn that has been cut from the uterus of the dam, as already mentioned in another place. Deer’s blood, burnt upon a fire of lentisk wood, with dracontium, cunilago, and alkanet, will attract serpents, they say; while, on the other hand, if the blood is removed and pyrethrum substituted for it, they will take to flight.

  I find an animal mentioned by Greek writers, smaller than the stag, but resembling it in the hair, and to which they give the name of “ophion.” Sardinia, they say, is the only country that produces it; I am of opinion, however, that it is now extinct, and for that reason I shall not enlarge upon its medicinal properties.

  (10.) As a preservative against the attacks of serpents, the brains and blood of the wild boar are held in high esteem: the liver also, dried and taken in wine with rue; and the fat, used with honey and resin. Similar properties are attributed to the liver of the domesticated boar and the outer filaments, and those only, of the gall, these last being taken in doses of four denarii; the brains also, taken in wine, are equally ef- fectual. The fumes of the burning horns or hair of a she-goat will repel serpents, they say: the ashes, too, of the horns, used either internally or externally, are thought to be an antidote to their poison. A similar effect is attributed to goats’ milk, taken with Taminian grapes; to the urine of those animals, taken with squill vinegar; to goats’ milk cheese, applied with origanum; and to goat suet, used with wax.

  In addition to all this, as will be seen hereafter, there are a thousand other remedial properties attributed to this animal; a fact which surprises me all the more, seeing that the goat, it is said, is never free from fever. The wild animals of the same species, which are very numerous, as already stated, have a still greater efficacy attributed to them; but the hegoat has certain properties peculiar to itself, and Democritus attributes properties still more powerful to the animal when it has been the only one yeaned. It is recommended also to apply she-goat’s dung, boiled in vinegar, to injuries inflicted by serpents, as also the ashes of fresh dung mixed with wine
. As a general rule, persons who find that they are recovering but slowly from injuries inflicted by a serpent, will find their health more speedily re-established by frequenting the stalls where goats are kept. Those, however, whose object is a more assured remedy, attach immediately to the wound the paunch of a she-goat killed for the purpose, dung and all. Others, again, use the flesh of a kid just killed, and fumigate it with the singed hair, the smell of which has the effect of repelling serpents.

  For stings of serpents, as also for injuries inflicted by the scorpion and shrew-mouse, some employ the skin of a goat newly killed, as also the flesh and dung of a horse that has been out at pasture, or a hare’s rennet in vinegar. They say, too, that if a person has the body well rubbed with a hare’s rennet, he will never receive injury from venomous animals. When a person has been stung by a scorpion, she-goat’s dung, boiled with vinegar, is considered a most efficient remedy: in cases too, where a buprestis has been swallowed, bacon and the broth in which it has been boiled, are highly efficacious. Nay, what is even more than this, if a person applies his mouth to an ass’s ear, and says that he has been stung by a scorpion, the whole of the poison, they say, will immediately pass away from him and be transferred to the animal. All venomous creatures, it is said, are put to flight by a fumigation made by burning an ass’s lights. It is considered an excellent plan too, to fumigate persons, when stung by a scorpion, with the smoke of burnt calves’ dung.

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  CHAP. 43.

  REMEDIES FOR THE BITE OF THE MAD DOG. REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE CALF, THE HE-GOAT, AND VARIOUS OTHER ANIMALS.

  When a person has been bitten by a mad dog, it is the practice to make an incision round the wound to the quick, and then to apply raw veal to it, and to make the patient take either veal broth or hogs’ lard, mixed with lime internally. Some persons recommend a he-goat’s liver, and maintain that if it is applied to the wound the patient will never be attacked with hydrophobia. She-goat’s dung, too, is highly spoken of, applied with wine, as also the dung of the badger, cuckoo, and swallow, boiled and taken in drink.

  For bites inflicted by other animals, dried goats’ milk cheese is applied with origanum and taken with the drink; and for injuries caused by the human teeth, boiled beef is applied; veal, however, is still more efficacious for the purpose, provided it is not removed before the end of four days.

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  CHAP. 44.

  REMEDIES TO BE ADOPTED AGAINST ENCHANTMENTS.

  The dried muzzle of a wolf, they say, is an effectual preservative against the malpractices of magic; and it is for this reason that it is so commonly to be seen fastened to the doors of farm-houses. A similar degree of efficacy, it is thought, belongs to the skin of the neck, when taken whole from the animal. Indeed, so powerful is the influence of this animal, in addition to what we have already stated, that if a horse only treads in its track, it will be struck with torpor in consequence.

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  CHAP. 45.

  REMEDIES FOR POISONS.

  In case where persons have swallowed quicksilver, bacon is the proper remedy to be employed. Poisons are neutralized by taking asses’ milk; henbane more particularly, mistletoe, hemlock, the flesh of the sea-hare, opocarpathon, pharicon, and dorycnium: the same, too, where coagulated milk has been productive of bad effects, for the biestings, or first curdled milk, should be reckoned as nothing short of a poison. We shall have to mention many other uses to which asses’ milk is applied; but it should be remembered that in all cases it must be used fresh, or, if not, as new as possible, and warmed, for there is nothing that more speedily loses its virtue. The bones, too, of the ass are pounded and boiled, as an antidote to the poison of the sea-hare. The wild ass is possessed of similar properties in every respect, but in a much higher degree.

  Of the wild horse the Greek writers have made no mention, it not being a native of their country; we have every reason to believe, however, that it has the same properties as the animal in a tame state, but much more fully developed. Mares’ milk effectually neutralizes the venom of the sea-hare and all narcotic poisons. Nor had the Greeks any knowledge from experience of the urns and the bison, although in India the forests are filled with herds of wild oxen: it is only reasonable, however, to conclude that all their medicinal properties must be much more highly developed than in the animal as found among us. It is asserted also, that cows’ milk is a general counter-poison, in the cases above-mentioned, more particularly, as also where the poison of ephemeron has settled internally, or cantharides have been administered; it acting upon the poison by vomit. Broth, too, made from goats’ flesh, neutral- izes the effects of cantharides, in a similar manner, it is said. To counteract the corrosive poisons which destroy by ulceration, veal or beef-suet is resorted to; and in cases where a leech has been swallowed, butter is the usual remedy, with vinegar heated with a red-hot iron. Indeed, butter employed by itself is a good remedy for poisons, for where oil is not to be procured, it is an excellent substitute for it. Used with honey, butter heals injuries inflicted by millepedes. The broth of boiled tripe, it is thought, is an effectual repellent of the above-mentioned poisons, aconite and hemlock more particularly; veal-suet also has a similar repute.

  Fresh goats’ milk cheese is given to persons who have taken mistletoe, and goats’ milk itself is a remedy for cantharides. Taken with Taminian grapes, goats’ milk is an antidote to the effects of ephemeron. Goats’ blood, boiled down with the marrow, is used as a remedy for the narcotic poisons, and kids’ blood for the other poisons. Kid’s rennet is administered where per- sons have taken mistletoe, the juice of the white chamæleon, or bull’s blood: for which last, hare’s rennet in vinegar is also used by way of antidote. For injuries inflicted by the pastinaca, and the stings or bites of all kinds of marine animals, hare’s rennet, kid’s rennet, or lamb’s rennet is taken, in doses of one drachma, in wine. Hare’s rennet, too, generally forms an ingredient in the antidotes for poisons.

  The moth that is seen fluttering about the flame of a lamp is generally reckoned in the number of the noxious substances: its bad effects are neutralized by the agency of goat’s liver. Goat’s gall, too, is looked upon as an antidote to venomous preparations from the field weazel. But we will now return to the other remedies, classified according to the various diseases.

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  CHAP. 46. (11.)

  -REMEDIES FOR DIEASES OF THE HEAD, AND FOR ALOPECY.

  Bears’ grease, mixed with ladanum and the plant adiantum, prevents the hair from falling off; it is a cure also for alopecy and defects in the eyebrows, mixed with the fungus from the wick of a lamp, and the soot that is found in the nozzle. Used with wine, it is good for the cure of porrigo, a malady which is also treated with the ashes of deer’s horns in wine: this last substance also prevents the growth of vermin in the hair. For porrigo some persons employ goat’s gall, in combination with Cimolian chalk and vinegar, leaving the prepration to dry for a time on the head. Sow’s gall, too, mixed with bull’s urine, is employed for a similar purpose; and when old, it is an effectual cure, with the addition of sulphur, for furfuraceous eruptions. The ashes, it is thought, of an ass’s genitals, will make the hair grow more thickly, and prevent it from turning grey; the proper method of applying it being to shave the head and to pound the ashes in a leaden mortar with oil. Similar effects are attributed to the genitals of an ass’s foal, reduced to ashes and mixed with urine; some nard being added to render the mixture less offensive. In cases of alopecy the part affected is rubbed with bull’s gall, warmed with Egyptian alum. Running ulcers of the head are successfully treated with bull’s urine, or stale human urine, in combination with cyclaminos and sulphur: but the most effectual remedy is calf’s gall, a substance which, heated with vinegar, has also the effect of exterminating lice. Veal suet, pounded with salt and applied to ulcers of the head, is a very useful remedy: the fat, too, of the fox is highly spoken of, but the gr
eatest value is set upon cats’ dung, applied in a similar manner with mustard.

  Powdered goats’ horns, or the horns reduced to ashes, those of the he-goat in particular, with the addition of nitre, tamarisk-seed, butter, and oil, are remarkably effectual for preventing the hair from coming off, the head being first shaved for the purpose. So too, the ashes of burnt goats’ flesh, applied to the eye-brows with oil, impart to them a black tint. By using goats’ milk, they say, lice may be exterminated; and the dung of those animals, with honey, is thought to be a cure for alopecy: the ashes, too, of the hoofs, mixed with pitch, prevent the hair from coming off.

  The ashes of a burnt hare, mixed with oil of myrtle, alleviate head-ache, the patient drinking some water that has been left in the trough after an ox or ass has been drinking there. The male organs of a fox, worn as an amulet, are productive, if we choose to believe it, of a similar effect: the same, too, with the ashes of a burnt deer’s horn, applied with vinegar, rose oil, or oil of iris.

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  CHAP. 47.

  -REMEDIES FOR AFFECTIONS OF THE EYES.

  For defluxions of the eyes, beef suet, boiled with oil, is applied to the parts affected; and for eruptions of those organs, ashes of burnt deer’s horns are similarly employed, the tips of the horns being considered the most effectual for the purpose. For the cure of cataract, it is reckoned a good plan to apply a wolf’s excrements: the same substance, too, reduced to ashes, is used for the dispersion of films, in combination with Attic honey. Bear’s gall, too, is similarly employed; and for the cure of epinyctis, wild boar’s lard, mixed with oil of roses, is thought to be very useful. An ass’s hoof, reduced to ashes and applied with asses’ milk, is used for the removal of marks in the eyes and indurations of the crystalline humours. Beef marrow, from the right fore leg, beaten up with soot, is employed for affections of the eyebrows, and for diseases of the eyelids and corners of the eyes. For the same purpose, also, a sort of calliblepharon is prepared from soot, the best of all being that made from a wick of papyrus mixed with oil of sesame; the soot being removed with a feather and caught in a new vessel prepared for the purpose. This mixture, too, is very efficacious for preventing superfluous eyelashes from growing again when once pulled out.