Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder

by Pliny the Elder

  The flesh, too, of river-snails, eaten either raw or boiled, is an excellent antidote to the venom of the scorpion, some persons keeping them salted for the purpose. These snails are applied, also, topically to the wound.

  The coracinus is a fish peculiar to the river Nilus, it is true, but the particulars we are here relating are for the benefit of all parts of the world: the flesh of it is most excellent as an application for the cure of wounds inflicted by scorpions. In the number of the poisonous fishes we ought to reckon the sea-pig, a fish which causes great suffering to those who have been pierced with the pointed fin upon its back: the proper remedy in such case is the slime taken from the other parts of the body of the fish.

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  CHAP. 20.

  THE SEA-CALF: TEN REMEDIES. THE MURÆNA: ONE REMEDY. THE HIPPOCAMPUS: NINE REMEDIES. THE SEA-URCHIN: ELEVEN REMEDIES.

  In cases of hydrophobia resulting from the bite of the mad dog, the practice is to rub the patient’s face with the fat of the sea-calf; an application rendered still more efficacious by the admixture of hyæna’s marrow, oil of mastich, and wax. Bites inflicted by the muræna are cured by an application of the head of that fish, reduced to ashes. The pastinaca, also, is remedial for its own bite, the ashes of the same fish, or of another of the same genus, being applied to the wound with vinegar. When this fish is intended for food, every portion of the back that is of a saffron colour should be removed, as well as the whole of the head: care, too, should be taken not to wash it over much; an observation equally applicable to all kinds of shell-fish, when intended for food, the flavour being deteriorated thereby.

  The hippocampus, taken in drink, neutralizes the poison of the sea-hare. As a counter-poison to dorycnium, sea-urchins are remarkably useful; as also in cases where persons have taken juice of carpathum internally; more particularly if the urchins are used with the liquor in which they are boiled. Boiled sea-crabs, too, are looked upon as highly efficacious in cases of poisoning by dorycnium; and as a neutralizer of the venom of the sea-hare they are particularly good.

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  CHAP. 21. (6.)

  THE VARIOUS KINDS OF OYSTERS: FIFTY-EIGHT REMEDIES AND OBSERVATIONS. PURPLES: NINE REMEDIES.

  Oysters, too, neutralize the venom of the sea-hare — and now that we are speaking of oysters, it may possibly be thought that I have not treated of this subject at sufficient length in the former part of my work, seeing that for this long time past the palm has been awarded to them at our tables as a most exquisite dish. Oysters love fresh water and spots where numerous rivers discharge themselves into the sea; hence it is that the pelagia are of such small size and so few in number. Still, however, we do find them breeding among rocks and in places far remote from the contact of fresh water, as in the neighbourhood of Grynium and of Myrina, for example. Generally speaking, they increase in size with the increase of the moon, as already stated by us when treating of the aquatic animals: but it is at the beginning of summer, more par- ticularly, and when the rays of the sun penetrate the shallow waters, that they are swollen with an abundance of milk. This, too, would appear to be the reason why they are so small when found out at sea; the opacity of the water tending to arrest their growth, and the moping consequent thereon producing a comparative indisposition for food.

  Oysters are of various colours; in Spain they are red, in Illyricum of a tawny hue, and at Circeii black, both in meat and shell. But in every country, those oysters are the most highly esteemed that are compact without being slimy from their secretions, and are remarkable more for their thickness than their breadth. They should never be taken in either muddy or sandy spots, but from a firm, hard bottom; the meat should be compressed, and not of a fleshy consistence; and the oyster should be free from fringed edges, and lying wholly in the cavity of the shell. Persons of experience in these matters add another characteristic; a fine purple thread, they say, should run round the margins of the beard, this being looked upon as a sign of superior quality, and obtaining for them their name of “calliblephara.”

  Oysters are all the better for travelling and being removed to new waters; thus, for example, the oysters of Brundisium, it is thought, when fed in the waters of Avernus, both retain their own native juices and acquire the flavour of those of Lake Lucrinus. Thus much with reference to the meat of the oyster; we will now turn to the various countries which produce it, so that no coast may be deprived of the honours which properly belong to it. But in giving this description we will speak in the language of another, using the words of a writer who has evinced more careful discernment in treating of this subject than any of the other authors of our day. These then are the words of Mucianus, in reference to the oyster:— “The oysters of Cyzicus are larger than those of Lake Lucrinus, fresher than those of the British coasts, sweeter than those of Medulæ, more tasty than those of Ephesus, more plump than those of Lucus, less slimy than those of Coryphas, more delicate than those of Istria, and whiter than those of Circeii.” For all this, however, it is a fact well ascertained that there are no oysters fresher or more delicate than those of Circeii, last mentioned.

  According to the historians of the expedition of Alexander, there were oysters found in the Indian Sea a foot in diameter: among ourselves, too, the nomenclature of some spendthrift and gourmand has found for certain oysters the name of “tridacna,” wishing it to be understood thereby, that they are so large as to require three bites in eating them. We will take the present opportunity of stating all the medicinal properties that are attributed to oysters. They are singularly refreshing to the stomach, and tend to restore the appetite. Luxury, too, has imparted to them an additional coolness by burying them in snow, thus making a medley of the produce of the tops of mountains and the bottom of the sea. Oysters are slightly laxative to the bowels; and boiled in honied wine, they relieve tenesmus, in cases where it is unattended with ulceration. They act detergently also upon ulcerations of the bladder. Boiled in their shells, unopened just as they come to hand, oysters are marvellously efficacious for rheumatic defluxions. Calcined oyster-shells, mixed with honey, allay affections of the uvula and of the tonsillary glands: they are similarly used for imposthumes of the parotid glands, inflamed tumours, and indurations of the mamillæ. Applied with water, these ashes are good for ulcerations of the head, and impart a plumpness to the skin in females. They are sprinkled, too, upon burns, and are highly esteemed as a dentifrice. Applied with vinegar, they are good for the removal of prurigo and of pituitous eruptions. Beaten up in a raw state, they are curative of scrofula and of chilblains upon the feet.

  Purples, too, are useful as a counterpoison.

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  CHAP. 22.

  SEA-WEED: TWO REMEDIES.

  According to Nicander, sea-weed is also a theriac. There are numerous varieties of it, as already stated; one, for instance, with an elongated leaf, another red, another again with a broader leaf, and another crisped. The most esteemed kind of all is that which grows off the shores of Crete, upon the rocks there, close to the ground: it being used also for dyeing wool, as it has the property of so fixing the colours as never to allow of their being washed out. Nicander recommends it to be taken with wine.

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  CHAP. 23. (7.)

  REMEDIES FOR ALOPECY, CHANGE OF COLOUR IN THE HAIR, AND ULCERATIONS OF THE HEAD. THE SEA-MOUSE: TWO REMEDIES. THE SEA-SCORPION: TWELVE REMEDIES. THE LEECH: SEVEN REMEDIES. THE MUREX: THIRTEEN REMEDIES. THE CONCHYLIUM: FIVE REMEDIES.

  Ashes of the hippocampus, mixed with nitre and hog’s lard, or else used solely with vinegar, are curative of alopecy; the skin being first prepared for the reception of the necessary medicaments by an application of powdered bone of sæpia. Alopecy is cured also with ashes of the sea-mouse, mixed with oil; ashes of the sea-urchin, burnt, flesh and all together; the gall of the sea-scorpion; or else ashes of three frogs burnt alive in an earthen pot, applied with honey, or what is still better, in co
mbination with tar. Leeches left to putrefy for forty days in red wine stain the hair black. Others, again, recommend one sextarius of leeches to be left to putrefy the same number of days in a leaden vessel, with two sextarii of vinegar, the hair to be well rubbed with the mixture in the sun. According to Sornatius, this preparation is naturally so penetrating, that if females, when they apply it, do not take the precaution of keeping some oil in the mouth, the teeth even will become blackened thereby. Ashes of burnt shells of the murex or purple are used as a liniment, with honey, for ulcerations of the head; the shells, too, of other shell-fish, powdered merely, and not calcined, are very useful for the same purpose, applied with water. For the cure of head-ache, castoreum is employed, in combination with peucedanum and oil of roses.

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  CHAP. 24.

  REMEDIES FOR DISEASES OF THE EYES AND EYE-LIDS. TWO REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE FAT OF FISHES. THE CALLIONYMUS: THREE REMEDIES. THE GALL OF THE CORACINUS: ONE REMEDY. THE SÆPIA: TWENTY-FOUR REMEDIES. ICHTHYOCOLLA: FIVE REMEDIES.

  The fat of all kinds of fish, both fresh-water as well as sea fish, melted in the sun and incorporated with honey, is an excellent improver of the eye-sight; the same, too, with castoreum, in combination with honey. The gall of the callionymus heals marks upon the eyes and cauterizes fleshy excrescences about those organs: indeed, there is no fish with a larger quantity of gall than this, an opinion expressed too by Menander in his Comedies. This fish is known also as the “uranoscopos,” from the eyes being situate in the upper part of the head. The gall, too, of the coracinus has the effect of sharpening the eyesight.

  The gall of the red sea-scorpion, used with stale oil or Attic honey, disperses incipient cataract; for which purpose, the application should be made three times, on alternate days. A similar method is also employed for removing indurations of the membrane of the eyes. The surmullet, used as a diet, weakens the eyesight, it is said. The sea-hare is poisonous itself, but the ashes of it are useful as an application for preventing superfluous hairs on the eyelids from growing again, when they have been once pulled out by the roots. For this purpose, however, the smaller the fish is, the better. Small scallops, too, are salted and beaten up with cedar resin for a similar purpose, or else the frogs known as “diopetes” and “calamitæ,” are used; the blood of them being applied with vine gum to the eyelids, after the hairs have been removed.

  Powdered shell of sæpia, applied with woman’s milk, allays swellings and inflammations of the eyes; employed by itself it removes eruptions of the eyelids. When this remedy is used, it is the practice to turn up the eyelids, and to leave the medicament there a few moments only; after which, the part is anointed with oil of roses, and the inflammation modified by the application of a bread-poultice. Powdered bone of sæpia is used also for the treatment of nyctalopy, being applied to the eyes with vinegar. Reduced to ashes, this substance removes scales upon the eyes: applied with honey, it effaces marks upon those organs: and used with salt and cadmia, one drachma of each, it disperses webs which impede the eyesight, as also albugo in the eyes of cattle. They say, too, that if the eyelids are rubbed with the small bone taken from this fish, a perfect cure will be experienced.

  Sea-urchins, applied with vinegar, cause epinyctis to disappear. According to what the magicians say, they should be burnt with vipers’ skins and frogs, and the ashes sprinkled in the drink; a great improvement of the eyesight being guaranteed as the sure result.

  “Ichthyocolla” is the name given to a fish with a glutinous skin; the glue made from which is also known by the same name, and is highly useful for the removal of epinyctis. Some persons, however, assert that it is from the belly of the fish, and not the skin — as in the case of bull glue — that the ichthyocolla is prepared. That of Pontus is highly esteemed: it is white, free from veins or scales, and dissolves with the greatest rapidity. The proper way of using it, is to cut it into small pieces, and then to leave it to soak in water or vinegar a night and a day, after which it should be pounded with sea-shore pebbles, to make it melt the more easily. It is generally asserted that this substance is good for pains in the head and for tetanus.

  The right eye of a frog, suspended from the neck in a piece of cloth made from wool of the natural colour, is a cure for ophthalmia in the right eye; and the left eye of a frog, similarly suspended, for ophthalmia in the left. If the eyes, too, of a frog are taken out at the time of the moon’s conjunction, and similarly worn by the patient, enclosed in an eggshell, they will effectually remove indurations of the membrane of the eyes. The rest of the flesh applied topically, removes all marks resulting from blows. The eyes, too, of a crab, worn attached to the neck, by way of amulet, are a cure for ophthalmia, it is said. There is a small frog which lives in reed-beds and among grass more particularly, never croaks, being quite destitute of voice, is of a green colour, and is apt to cause tympanitis in cattle, if they should happen to swallow it. The slimy moisture on this reptile’s body, scraped off with a spatula and applied to the eyes, greatly improves the sight, they say: the flesh, too, is employed as a topical application for the removal of pains in the eyes.

  Some persons take fifteen frogs, and after spitting them upon as many bulrushes, put them into a new earthen vessel: they then mix the juices which flow from them, with gum of the white vine, and use it as an application for the eye-lids; first pulling out such eye-lashes as are in the way, and then dropping the preparation with the point of a needle into the places from which the hairs have been removed. Meges used to prepare a depilatory for the eyelids, by killing frogs in vinegar, and leaving them to putrefy; for which purpose he employed the spotted frogs which make their appearance in vast numbers during the rains of autumn. Ashes of burnt leeches, it is thought, applied in vinegar, are productive of a similar effect; care must be taken, however, to burn them in a new earthen vessel. Dried liver, too, of the tunny, made up into an ointment, in the proportion of four denarii, with oil of cedar, and applied as a depilatory for nine months together, is considered to be highly effectual for this purpose.

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  CHAP. 25.

  REMEDIES FOR DISEASES OF THE EARS. THE BATIA: ONE REMEDY. THE BACCHUS OR MYXON: TWO REMEDIES. THE SEA-LOUSE: TWO REMEDIES.

  For diseases of the ears, fresh gall of the fish called “batia” is remarkably good; the same, too, when it has been kept in wine. The gall, also, of the bacchus, by some known as the “myxon,” is equally good; as also that of the callionymus, injected into the ears with oil of roses, or else castoreum, used with poppy-juice. There are certain animals too, known as “sea-lice,” which are recommended as an injection for the ears, beaten up with vinegar. Wool, too, that has been dyed with the juice of the murex, employed by itself, is highly useful for this purpose; some persons, however moisten it with vinegar and nitre.

  Others, again, more particularly recommend for all affections of the ears one cyathus of the best garum, with one cyathus and a half of honey, and one cyathus of vinegar, the whole gently boiled in a new pot over a slow fire, and skimmed with a feather every now and then: when it has become wholly free from scum, it is injected lukewarm into the ears. In cases where the ears are swollen, the same authorities recommend that the swellings should be first reduced with juice of coriander. The fat of frogs, injected into the ears, instantly removes all pains in these organs. The juice of river-crabs, kneaded up with barley-meal, is a most effectual remedy for wounds in the ears. Shells of the murex, reduced to ashes, and applied with honey, or the burnt shells of other shellfish, used with honied wine, are curative of imposthumes of the parotid glands.

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  CHAP. 26.

  REMEDIES FOR TOOTH-ACHE. THE DOG-FISH : FOUR REMEDIES. WHALE’S FLESH.

  Tooth-ache is alleviated by scarifying the gums with bones of the sea-dragon, or by rubbing the teeth once a year with the brains of a dog-fish boiled in oil, and kept for the purpose. It is a very good plan too, for the cure of tooth-ache, to l
ance the gums with the sting of the pastinaca in some cases. This sting, too, is pounded, and applied to the teeth with white hellebore, having the effect of extracting them without the slightest difficulty. Another of these remedies is, ashes of salted fish calcined in an earthen vessel, mixed with powdered marble. Stale cybium, rinsed in a new earthen vessel, and then pounded, is very useful for the cure of tooth-ache. Equally good, it is said, are the back-bones of all kinds of salt fish, pounded and applied in a liniment. A decoction is made of a single frog boiled in one hemina of vinegar, and the teeth are rinsed with it, the decoction being retained in the mouth. In cases where a repugnance existed to making use of this remedy, Sallustius Dionysius used to suspend frogs over boiling vinegar by the hind legs, so as to make them discharge their humours into the vinegar by the mouth, using considerable numbers of frogs for the purpose: to those, however, who had a stronger stomach, he prescribed the frogs themselves, eaten with their broth. It is generally thought, too, that this recipe applies more particularly to the double teeth, and that the vinegar prepared as above-mentioned, is remarkably useful for strengthening them when loose.