Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder

by Pliny the Elder

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  CHAP. 49.

  LASER: THIRTY-NINE REMEDIES.

  Laser, a juice which distils from silphium, as we have already stated, and reckoned among the most precious gifts presented to us by Nature, is made use of in numerous medicinal preparations. Employed by itself, it warms and revives persons benumbed with cold, and, taken in drink, it alleviates affections of the sinews. It is given to females in wine, and is used with soft wool as a pessary to promote the menstrual discharge. Mixed with wax, it extracts corns on the feet, after they have been first loosened with the knife: a piece of it, the size of a chick-pea, melted in water, acts as a diuretic. Andreas assures us that, taken in considerable doses even, it is never productive of flatulency, and that it greatly promotes the digestion, both in aged people and females; he says, too, that it is better used in winter than in summer, and that even then, it is best suited for those whose beverage is water: but due care must be taken that there is no internal ulceration. Taken with the food, it is very refreshing for patients just recovering from an illness; indeed, if it is used at the proper time, it has all the virtues of a desiccatory, though it is more wholesome for persons who are in the habit of using it than for those who do not ordinarily employ it.

  As to external maladies, the undoubted virtues of this medicament are universally acknowledged: taken in drink, it has the effect, also, of neutralizing the venom of serpents and of poisoned weapons, and, applied with water, it is in general use for the cure of wounds. In combination with oil, it is only used as a liniment for the stings of scorpions, and with barley- meal or dried figs, for the cure of ulcers that have not come to a head. It is applied topically, also, to carbuncles, with rue or honey, or else by itself, with some viscous substance to make it adhere; for the bites of dogs, also, it is similarly em- ployed. A decoction of it in vinegar, with pomegranate rind, is used for excrescences of the fundament, and, mixed with nitre, for the corns commonly known as “morticini.” In cases of alopecy which have been first treated with nitre, it makes the hair grow again, applied with wine and saffron, or else pepper or mouse-dung and vinegar. For chilblains, fo- mentations are made of it with wine, or liniments with oil; as also for callosities and indurations. For corns on the feet, if pared first, it is particularly useful, as also as a preservative against the effects of bad water, and of unhealthy climates or weather. It is prescribed for cough, too, affections of the uvula, jaundice of long standing, dropsy, and hoarseness, having the effect of instantly clearing the throat and restoring the voice. Diluted in oxycrate, and applied with a sponge, it assuages the pains in gout.

  It is given also in broth to patients suffering from pleurisy, when about to take wine; and it is prescribed for convulsions and opisthotony, in pills about as large as a chick-pea coated with wax. For quinsy, it is used as a gargle, and to patients troubled with asthma or inveterate cough, it is given with leeks in vinegar; it is prescribed, also, with vinegar, after drinking butter-milk. It is recommended with wine for con- sumptive affections of the viscera and epilepsy, and with hy- dromel for paralysis of the tongue; with a decoction of honey, it forms a liniment for sciatica and lumbago.

  For my own part, I should not recommend, what some authors advise, to insert a pill of laser, covered with wax, in a hollow tooth, for tooth-ache; being warned to the contrary by a remarkable case of a man, who, after doing so, threw himself headlong from the top of a house. Besides, it is a well-known fact, that if it is rubbed on the muzzle of a bull, it irritates him to an extraordinary degree; and that if it is mixed with wine, it will cause serpents to burst — those reptiles being extremely fond of wine. In addition to this, I should not advise any one to rub the gums with Attic honey, although that practice is recommended by some.

  It would be an endless task to enumerate all the uses to which laser is put, in combination with other substances; and the more so, as it is only our object to treat of simple remedies, it being these in which Nature displays her resources. In the compound remedies, too, we often find our judgment deceived, and quite at fault, from our comparative inattention to the sympathy or antipathy which naturally exists between the ingredients employed — on this subject, however, we shall have to enlarge on a future occasion.

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  CHAP. 50. (24.)

  PROPOLIS: FIVE REMEDIES.

  Honey would be held in no less esteem than laser, were it not for the fact that nearly every country produces it. Laser is the production of Nature herself; but, for the formation of honey, she has created an insect, as already described. The uses to which honey is put are quite innumerable, if we only consider the vast number of compositions in which it forms an ingredient. First of all, there is the propolis, which we find in the hives, as already mentioned. This substance has the property of extracting stings and all foreign bodies from the flesh, dispersing tumours, ripening indurations, allaying pains of the sinews, and cicatrizing ulcers of the most obstinate nature.

  As to honey itself, it is of so peculiar a nature, that it pre- vents putrefaction from supervening, by reason of its sweet- ness solely, and not any inherent acridity, its natural properties being altogether different from those of salt. It is employed with the greatest success for affections of the throat and tonsils, for quinsy and all ailments of the mouth, as also in fever, when the tongue is parched. Decoctions of it are used also for peripneumony and pleurisy, for wounds inflicted by serpents, and for the poison of fungi. For paralysis, it is prescribed in honied wine, though that liquor also has its own peculiar virtues. Honey is used with rose-oil, as an injection for the ears; it has the effect also of exterminating nits and foul vermin of the head. It is the best plan always to skim it before using it.

  Still, however, honey has a tendency to inflate the stomach; it increases the bilious secretions also, produces qualmishness, and, according to some, if employed by itself, is injurious to the sight: though, on the other hand, there are persons who recommend ulcerations at the corners of the eyes to be touched with honey.

  As to the elementary principles of honey, the different varieties of it, the countries where it is found, and its characteristic features, we have enlarged upon them on previous occasions: first, when treating of the nature of bees, and secondly, when speaking of that of flowers; the plan of this work compelling us to separate subjects which ought properly to be united, if we would arrive at a thorough knowledge of the operations of Nature.

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  CHAP. 51.

  THE VARIOUS INFLUENCES OF DIFFERENT ALIMENTS UPON THE DISPOSITION.

  While speaking of the uses of honey, we ought also to treat of the properties of hydromel. There are two kinds of hydromel, one of which is prepared at the moment, and taken while fresh, the other being kept to ripen. The first, which is made of skimmed honey, is an extremely wholesome beverage for invalids who take nothing but a light diet, such as strained alica for instance: it reinvigorates the body, is soothing to the mouth and stomach, and by its refreshing properties allays feverish heats. I find it stated, too, by some authors, that to relax the bowels it should be taken cold, and that it is particularly well-suited for persons of a chilly temperament, or of a weak and pusillanimous constitution, such as the Greeks, for instance, call “micropsychi.”

  For there is a theory, remarkable for its extreme ingenuity, first established by Plato, according to which the primary atoms of bodies, as they happen to be smooth or rough, angular or round, are more or less adapted to the various temperaments of individuals: and hence it is, that the same substances are not universally sweet or bitter to all. So, when affected with lassitude or thirst, we are more prone to anger than at other times. These asperities, however, of the disposition, or rather I should say of the mind, are capable of being modified by the sweeter beverages; as they tend to lubricate the passages for the respiration, and to mollify the channels, the work of inhalation and exhalation being thereby unimpeded by any rigidities. Every person must be sen
sible of this experiment- ally, in his own cease: there is no one in whom anger, affection, sadness, and all the emotions of the mind may not, in some degree, be modified by diet. It will therefore be worth our while to observe what aliments they are which exercise a physical effect, not only upon the body, but the disposition as well.

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  CHAP. 52.

  HYDROMEL: EIGHTEEN REMEDIES.

  Hydromel is recommended, too, as very good for a cough: taken warm, it promotes vomiting. With the addition of oil it counteracts the poison of white lead; of henbane, also, and of the halicacabum, as already stated, if taken in milk, asses’ milk in particular. It is used as an injection for diseases of the ears, and in cases of fistula of the generative organs. With crumb of bread it is applied as a poultice to the uterus, as also to tumours suddenly formed, sprains, and all affections which require soothing applications. The more recent writers have condemned the use of fermented hydro- mel, as being not so harmless as water, and less strengthening than wine. After it has been kept a considerable time, it becomes transformed into a wine, which, it is universally agreed, is extremely prejudicial to the stomach, and injurious to the nerves.

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  CHAP. 53.

  HONIED WINE: SIX REMEDIES.

  As to honied wine, that is always the best which has been made with old wine: honey, too, incorporates with it very readily, which is never the case with sweet wine. When made with astringent wine, it does not clog the stomach, nor has it that effect when the honey has been boiled: in this last case, too, it causes less flatulency, an inconvenience generally incidental to this beverage. It acts as a stimulant also upon a failing appetite; taken cold it relaxes the bowels, but used warm it acts astringently, in most cases, at least. It has a tendency also to make flesh. Many persons have attained an extreme old age, by taking bread soaked in honied wine, and no other diet — the famous instance of Pollio Romilius, for example. This man was more than one hundred years old when the late Emperor Augustus, who was then his host, asked him by what means in particular he had retained such remarkable vigour of mind and body.— “Honied wine within, oil without,” was his answer. According to Varro, the jaun- dice has the name of “royal disease” given to it, because its cure is effected with honied wine.

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  CHAP. 54.

  MELITITES: THREE REMEDIES.

  We have already described how melitites is prepared, of must and honey, when speaking on the subject of wines. It is, I think, some ages, however, since this kind of beverage was made, so extremely productive as it was found to be of flatulency. It used, however, to be given in fever, to relieve inveterate costiveness of the bowels, as also for gout and affections of the sinews. It was prescribed also for females who were not in the habit of taking wine.

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  CHAP. 55.

  WAX: EIGHT REMEDIES.

  To an account of honey, that of wax is naturally appended, of the origin, qualities, and different kinds of which, we have previously made mention on the appropriate occasions. Every kind of wax is emollient and warming, and tends to the formation of new flesh; fresh wax is, however, the best. It is given in broth to persons troubled with dysentery, and the combs themselves are sometimes used in a pottage made of parched alica. Wax counteracts the bad effects of milk; and ten pills of wax, the size of a grain of millet, will pre- vent milk from coagulating in the stomach. For swellings in the groin, it is found beneficial to apply a plaster of white wax to the pubes.

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  CHAP. 56.

  REMARKS IN DISPARAGEMENT OF MEDICINAL COMPOSITIONS.

  As to the different uses to which wax is applied, in combination with other substances in medicine, we could no more make an enumeration of them than we could of all the other ingredients which form part of our medicinal compositions. These preparations, as we have already observed, are the results of human invention. Cerates, poultices, plasters, eyesalves, antidotes, — none of these have been formed by Nature, that parent and divine framer of the universe; they are merely the inventions of the laboratory, or rather, to say the truth, of human avarice. The works of Nature are brought into existence complete and perfect in every respect, her ingredients being but few in number, selected as they are from a due appreciation of cause and effect, and not from mere guesswork; thus, for instance, if a dry substance is wanted to assume a liquefied form, a liquid, of course, must be employed as a vehicle, while liquids, on the other hand, must be united with a dry substance to render them consistent. But as for man, when he pretends, with balance in hand, to unite and combine the various elementary substances, he employs himself not merely upon guesswork, but proves himself guilty of downright impudence.

  It is not my intention to touch upon the medicaments afforded by the drugs of India, or Arabia and other foreign climates: I have no liking for drugs that come from so great a distance; they are not produced for us, no, nor yet for the natives of those countries, or else they would not be so ready to sell them to us. Let people buy them if they please, as ingredients in perfumes, unguents, and other appliances of luxury; let them buy them as adjuncts to their superstitions even, if incense and costus we must have to propitiate the gods; but as to health, we can enjoy that blessing without their assistance, as we can easily prove — the greater reason then has luxury to blush at its excesses.

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  CHAP. 57.

  REMEDIES DERIVED FROM GRAIN. SILIGO: ONE REMEDY. WHEAT: ONE REMEDY. CHAFF: TWO REMEDIES. SPELT: ONE REMEDY. BRAN: ONE REMEDY. OLYRA, OR ARINCA: TWO REMEDIES.

  Having now described the remedies derived from flowers, both those which enter into the composition of garlands, and the ordinary garden ones, as well as from the vegetable productions, how could we possibly omit those which are derived from the cereals?

  (25.) It will be only proper then, to make some mention of these as well. In the first place, however, let us remark that it is a fact universally acknowledged, that it is the most intel- ligent of the animated beings that derive their subsistence from grain. The grain of siligo highly roasted and pounded in Aminean wine, applied to the eyes, heals defluxions of those organs; and the grain of wheat, parched on a plate of iron, is an instantaneous remedy for frost-bite in various parts of the body. Wheat-meal, boiled in vinegar, is good for contractions of the sinews, and bran, mixed with rose-oil, dried figs, and myxa plums boiled down together, forms an excel- lent gargle for the tonsillary glands and throat.

  Sextus Pomponius, who had a son prætor, and who was himself the first citizen of Nearer Spain, was on one occasion attacked with gout, while superintending the winnowing in his granaries; upon which, he immediately thrust his legs, to above the knees, in a heap of wheat. He found himself re- lieved, the swelling in the legs subsided in a most surprising degree, and from that time he always employed this remedy: indeed, the action of grain in masses is so extremely powerful as to cause the entire evaporation of the liquor in a cask. Men of experience in these matters recommend warm chaff of wheat or barley, as an application for hernia, and fomentations with the water in which it has been boiled. In the grain known as spelt, there is a small worm found, similar in appearance to the teredo: if this is put with wax into the hollow of carious teeth, they will come out, it is said, or, indeed, if the teeth are only rubbed with it. Another name given to olyra, as already mentioned, is “arinca:” with a decoction of it a medicament is made, known in Egypt as “athera,” and extremely good for infants. For adult persons it is employed in the form of a liniment.

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  CHAP. 58.

  THE VARIOUS KINDS OF MEAL: TWENTY-EIGHT REMEDIES.

  Barley-meal, raw or boiled, disperses, softens, or ripens gatherings and inflammatory tumours; and for other purposes a decoction of it is made in hydromel, or with dried figs. If required for pains in the liver, it must be boiled with oxycrate in wine. When it is a
matter of doubt whether an abscess should be made to suppurate or be dispersed, it is a better plan to boil the meal in vinegar, or lees of vinegar, or else with a decoction of quinces or pears. For the bite of the millepede, it is employed with honey, and for the stings of serpents, and to prevent suppurations, with vinegar. To promote suppuration, it should be used with oxycrate, with the addition of Gallic resin. For gatherings, also, that have come to a head, and ulcers of long standing, it must be employed in combination with resin, and for indurations, with pigeons’ dung, dried figs, or ashes. For inflammation of the tendons, or of the intestines and sides, or for pains in the male organs and denudations of the bones, it is used with poppies, or melilote; and for scrofulous sores, it is used with pitch and oil, mixed with the urine of a youth who has not reached the years of puberty. It is employed also with fenugreek for tumours of the thoracic organs, and in fevers, with honey, or stale grease.