Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder

by Pliny the Elder

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  CHAP. 67.

  THE CYPIROS. THE THESION.

  Some authors reckon among the bulbs the root of the cypiros, or gladiolus; it is a pleasant food, and when boiled and kneaded up with bread, makes it more agreeable to the taste, and at the same time more weighty. Not unlike it in appear- ance is the plant known to us as the “thesion,” but it is of an acrid flavour.

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  CHAP. 68.

  THE ASPHODEL, OR ROYAL SPEAR. THE ANTHERICUS OR ALBUCUS.

  Other plants of the bulbous kind differ in the leaf: that of the asphodel is long and narrow, that of the squill broad and supple, and the form of that of the gladiolus is bespoken by its name. The asphodel is used as an article of food, the seed of it being parched, and the bulb roasted; this last, however, should be cooked in hot ashes, and then eaten with salt and oil. It is beaten up also with figs, and forms, as Hesiod assures us, a very delicate dish. It is said, too, that the asphodel, planted before the doors of a farm-house, will act as a preservative against the effects of noxious spells.

  Homer, too, makes mention of the asphodel. The bulbs of it are like moderately-sized turnips, and there is no plant the root of which has more of them, as many as eighty bulbs being often grouped together. Theophrastus, and nearly all the Greek writers, with Pythagoras at the head of them, have given the name of “anthericos” to its stem, which is one cubit, and often two, in length, the leaves being very similar to those of the wild leek; it is to the root, or in other words, the bulbs, that they have given the name of asphodel. The people of our country call this plant “albucus,” and they give the name of “royal spear” to the asphodel the stem of which bears berries, thus distinguishing two varieties of it. The albucus has a stalk a cubit in length, large, naked, and smooth, in reference to which, Mago recommends that it should be cut at the end of March and the beginning of April, the period at which it blossoms, and before the seed has begun to swell; he says, too, that the stalks should be split, and exposed on the fourth day in the sun, after which, when dry, they should be made up into bundles.

  The same author states, also, that the Greeks give the name of “pistana” to the aquatic plant known to us as the “sagitta;” and he recommends that it should be stripped of its bark, and dried in a mild sun, between the ides of May and the end of October. He says, too, that it is usual to cut down to the root, throughout all the month of July, the variety of the gladiolus called “cypiros,” which is a marsh-plant also, and at the end of three days to dry it in the sun, until it turns white; but that care must be taken every day to carry it under cover before sunset, the night dews being very injurious to marsh plants when cut.

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  CHAP. 69. (18.)

  SIX VARIETIES OF THE RUSH: FOUR REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE CYPIROS.

  Mago has likewise given similar recommendations as to the rush known to us as the “mariscus,” and which is so extensively employed for weaving mats. He says that it should be gathered in the month of June, up to the middle of July, and for drying it he gives the same precepts that have been already mentioned, in the appropriate place, when speaking of sedge. He describes a second kind, also, which I find is generally called the “marine” rush, and is known to the Greeks as the “oxyschœnos.”

  Generally speaking, there are three varieties of this last rush: the pointed rush, which is barren, and by the Greeks is called the male rush and the “oxys:” the female rush, which bears a black seed, and is called the “melancranis,” thicker and more bushy than the preceding one: and a third kind, called the “holoschœbnus,” which is larger still. Of these varieties, the melancranis grows separately from the others, but the oxys and the holoschœnus will grow upon the self-same clod. The holoschœnus is the most useful for all kinds of basket-work, being of a particularly supple and fleshy nature; it bears a fruit, which resembles eggs attached to one another. The rush, again, which we have spoken of as the male rush, is reproduced from itself, the summit of it being bent down into the earth; the melancranis, however, is propagated from seed. Beyond this, the roots of all the varieties of the rush die every year.

  The rush is in general use for making kipes for sea-fishing, the more light and elegant kinds of basket-work, and the wicks of lamps, for which last purpose the pith is more particularly employed. In the vicinity of the maritime Alps, the rushes grow to such a vast size, that when split they measure nearly an inch in diameter; while in Egypt, on the other hand, they are so extremely fine, that the people there make sieves of them, for which, indeed, there can be nothing better.

  Some authors, again, distinguish another kind of rush, of a triangular shape, to which they give the name of cyperos, though many persons make no distinction between it and the “cypiros,” in consequence of the resemblance of the names; for our own part, however, we shall observe the distinction. The cypiros, as we have already stated, is identical with the gladiolus, a plant with a bulbous root, the most esteemed being those grown in the Isle of Crete, the next best those of Naxos, and the next those of Phœnicia. The cypiros of Crete is white, with an odour strongly resembling that of nard; the produce of Naxos has a more pungent smell, that of Phœnicia but little odour of any kind, and that of Ægypt none at all for it grows in that country as well.

  This plant disperses hard tumours of the body — for we shall here begin to speak of the remedies derived from the various flowers and odoriferous plants, they being, all of them, of very considerable utility in medicine. As to the cypiros, then, I shall follow Apollodorus, who forbids it to be taken in drink, though at the same time he admits that it is extremely useful for calculi of the bladder, and recommends it in fomentations for the face. He entertains no doubt, however, that it is pro- ductive of abortion, and he mentions, as a remarkable fact, that the barbarians, by inhaling the fumes of this plant at the mouth, thereby diminish the volume of the spleen. They never go out of the house, he says, till they have inhaled these fumes, through the agency of which they daily become stronger and stronger, and more robust. He states, also, that the cypiros, employed as a liniment with oil, is an undoubted remedy for chafing of the skin, and offensive odours of the arm-pits.

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  CHAP. 70.

  THE CYPEROS: FOURTEEN REMEDIES. THE CYPERIS. THE CYPIRA.

  The cyperos, as we have just stated, is a rush of angular shape, white near the ground, and black and solid at the top. The lower leaves are more slender than those of the leek, and those at the top are small, with the seed of the plant lying between them. The root resembles a black olive, and when it is of an oblong shape, the plant is known as the “cyperis,” being employed in medicine to a great extent. The cyperos most highly esteemed is that of the vicinity of the Temple of Jupiter Hammon, the next best being that of Rhodes, the next that of Thrsæ, and the worst of all that of Egypt, a circumstance which tends greatly to add to the misunderstanding on the subject, as that country produces the cypiros as well: but the cypiros which grows there is extremely hard, and has hardly any smell at all, while all the other varieties of it have an odour strongly resembling that of nard.

  There is also an Indian plant, called the “cypira,” of a totally different character, and similar to ginger in appearance; when chewed, it has exactly the flavour of saffron.

  The cyperos, employed medicinally, is possessed of certain depilatory properties. It is used in liniments for hang-nails and ulcerous sores of the genitals and of all parts of the body which are of a humid nature, ulcers of the mouth, for instance. The root of it is a very efficacious remedy for the stings of serpents and scorpions. Taken in drink, it removes obstructions of the uterus, but if employed in too large doses, it is liable to cause prolapsus of that organ. It acts also as a diuretic, and expels calculi of the bladder; properties which render it extremely useful in dropsy. It is employed topically, also, for serpiginous ulcers, those of the throat more particularly, being usually applied with w
ine or vinegar.

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  CHAP. 71.

  THE HOLOSCHŒNUS.

  The root of the rush, boiled down to one third in three heminæ of water, is a cure for cough; the seed of it, parched and taken in water, arrests looseness of the bowels and the menstrual discharge, though at the same time it causes headache. The name given to this rush is holoschœnus; the parts of it nearest the root are chewed, as a cure for the bites of spiders.

  I find mention made, also, of one other kind of rush, the name of which is “euripice;” the seed, they say, is narcotic, but the greatest care is necessary, not to throw the patient into a lethargy.

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  CHAP. 72.

  TEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE SWEET-SCENTED RUSH, OR TEUCHITES.

  We will also take this opportunity of mentioning the medicinal properties of the sweet-scented rush, which is found in Cœle-Syria, as already stated by us in the appropriate place The most esteemed kind, however, is that which grows in the country of the Nabatæi, and is known as the “teuchites;” the next best being the produce of Babylonia, and the very worst that of Africa, which is entirely destitute of smell. This rush is round, and when applied to the tongue, has a pungent, vinous flavour. The genuine kind, when rubbed, gives out an odour like that of the rose, and when broken asunder it is red within. It dispels flatulency, and hence it is very good for the stomach, and for persons when vomiting the bile or blood. It arrests hiccup also, promotes eructations, acts as a diuretic, and is curative of affections of the bladder. A decoction of it is used for female complaints; and in cases of opisthotony, it is applied in plasters with dry resin, these being highly valued for their warming properties.

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  CHAP. 73.

  REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE FLOWERS BEFORE MEN- TIONED: THIRTY-TWO REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE ROSE.

  The rose is of an astringent and refreshing nature. For medicinal purposes the petals, the flowers, and the heads are used. Those portions of the petals which are quite white are known as the unglets. In the flower there is the seed, as distinguished from the filaments, and in the head there is the bud, as well as the calyx. The petals are dried, or else the juice is extracted from them, by one of the three following methods: Either the leaves are employed whole for the purpose, the unglets not being removed — for these are the parts, in fact, that contain the most juice — or else the unglets are first taken off and the residue is then macerated with oil or wine, in glass vessels placed in the sun. Some persons add salt as well, and others alkanet, or else aspalathus or sweetscented rush; as it is, when thus prepared, a very valuable remedy for diseases of the uterus and for dysentery. According to the third process, the unglets are removed from the petals, and pounded, after which they are subjected to pressure in a coarse linen cloth, the juice being received in a copper vessel; it is then boiled on a slow fire, until it has acquired the consistence of honey; for this purpose, however, the most odoriferous of the petals should be selected.

  (19.) We have already stated, when speaking of the various kinds of wines, how rose wine is made. Rose juice is much used in injections for the ears, and as a gargle for ulcerations of the mouth, and for the gums and tonsils; it is employed also for the stomach, maladies of the uterus, diseases of the rectum, and for head-ache. In fevers, it is used, either by itself or in combination with vinegar, as a remedy for sleeplessness and nausea. The petals, charred, are used as a cosmetic for the eyebrows; and the thighs, when chafed, are rubbed with them dried; reduced to powder, too, they are soothing for defluxions of the eyes. The flower of the rose is soporific, and taken in oxycrate it arrests fluxes in females, the white flux in particular; also spitting of blood, and pains in the stomach, if taken in three cyathi of wine, in sufficient quantity to flavour it.

  As to the seed of the rose, the best is that which is of a saffron colour, and not more than a year old; it should be dried, too, in the shade. The black seed is worthless. In cases of tooth-ache, the seed is employed in the form of a liniment; it acts also as a diuretic, and is used as a topical application for the stomach, as also in cases of erysipelas which are not inveterate: inhaled at the nostrils, it has the effect of clearing, the brain. The heads of roses, taken in drink, arrest looseness of the bowels and hæmorrhage. The unglets of the rose are wholesome in cases of defluxion of the eyes; but the rose is very apt to taint all ulcerous sores of the eyes, if it is not applied at the very beginning of the defluxion, dried, and in combination with bread. The petals, too, taken internally, aro extremely wholesome for gnawing pains of the stomach, and for maladies of the abdomen or intestines; as also for the thoracic organs, if applied externally even: they are preserved, too, for eating, in a similar manner to apathum. Great care must be taken in drying rose-leaves, as they are apt to turn mouldy very quickly.

  The petals, too, from which the juice has been extracted, may be put to some use when dried: powders, for instance, may be made from them, for the purpose of checking the perspiration. These powders are sprinkled on the body, upon leaving the bath, and are left to dry on it, after which they are washed off with cold water. The little excrescences of the wild rose, mixed with bears’-grease, are a good remedy for alopecy.

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  CHAP. 74.

  TWENTY-ONE REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE LILY.

  The roots of the lily ennoble that flower in manifold ways by their utility in a medicinal point of view. Taken in wine, they are good for the stings of serpents, and in cases of poisoning by fungi. For corns on the feet, they are applied boiled in wine, not being taken off before the end of three days. A decoction of them with grease or oil, has the effect of making the hair grow again upon burns. Taken with honied wine, they carry off corrupt blood by stool; they are good, also, for the spleen and for hernia, and act as an emmenagogue. Boiled in wine and applied with honey, they are curative of wounds of the sinews. They are good, too, for lichens, leprous sores, and scurf upon the face, and they efface wrinkles of the body.

  The petals of the lily are boiled in vinegar, and applied, in combination with polium, to wounds; if it should happen, however, to be a wound of the testes, it is the best plan to apply the other ingredients with henbane and wheat-meal. Lily-seed is applied in cases of erysipelas, and the flowers and leaves are used as a cataplasm for inveterate ulcers. The juice which is extracted from the flower is called “honey” by some persons, and “syrium” by others; it is employed as an emollient for the uterus, and is also used for the purpose of promoting perspirations, and for bringing suppurations to a head.

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  CHAP. 75.

  SIXTEEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE NARCISSUS.

  Two varieties of the narcissus are employed in medicine, the one with a purple flower, and the herbaceous narcissus. This last is injurious to the stomach, and hence it is that it acts both as an emetic and as a purgative: it is prejudicial, also, to the sinews, and produces dull, heavy pains in the head: hence it is that it has received its name, from “narce,” and not from the youth Narcissus, mentioned in fable. The roots of both kinds of narcissus have a flavour resembling that of wine mixed with honey. This plant is very useful, applied to burns with a little honey, as also to other kinds of wounds, and sprains. Applied topically, too, with honey and oatmeal, it is good for tumours, and it is similarly employed for the extraction of foreign substances from the body.

  Beaten up in polenta and oil it effects the cure of contusions and blows inflicted by stones; and, mixed with meal, it effectually cleanses wounds, and speedily removes black morphews from the skin. Of this flower oil of narcissus is made, good for softening indurations of the skin, and for warming parts of the body that have been frost-bitten. It is very beneficial, also, for the ears, but is very apt to produce head-ache.

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  CHAP. 76.

  SEVENTEEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE VIOLET.

  There are both wi
ld and cultivated violets. The purple violet is of a cooling nature: for inflammations they are applied to the stomach in the burning heats, and for pains in the head they are applied to the forehead. Violets, in particular, are used for defluxions of the eyes, prolapsus of the fundament and uterus, and suppurations. Worn in chaplets upon the head, or even smelt at, they dispel the fumes of wine and headache; and, taken in water, they are a cure for quinsy. The purple violet, taken in water, is a remedy for epilcpsy, in children more particularly: violet seed is good for the stings of scorpions.

  On the other hand, the flower of the white violet opens suppurations, and the plant itself disperses them. Both the white and the yellow violet check the menstrual discharge, and act as diuretics. When fresh gathered, they have less virtue, and hence it is that they are mostly used dry, after being kept a year. The yellow violet, taken in doses of half a cyathus to three cyathi of water, promotes the eatamenia; and the roots of it, applied with vinegar, assuage affections of the spleen, as also the gout. Mixed with myrrh and saffron, they are good for inflammation of the eyes. The leaves, applied with honey, cleanse ulcerous sores of the head, and, combined with cerate, they are good for chaps of the fundament and other moist parts of the body. Employed with vinegar, they effect the cure of abscesses.