Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder
Page 168
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CHAP. 46.
THE CYPRUS, AND THE OIL EXTRACTED FROM IT; SIXTEEN REMEDIES. GLEUCINUM: ONE REMEDY.
We have already enlarged upon the nature of the cyprus, and the method of preparing oil of cyprus. This oil is natu- rally warming, and relaxes the sinews. The leaves of the tree are used as an application to the stomach, and the juice of them is applied in a pessary for irritations of the uterus. Fresh gathered and chewed, the leaves are applied to running ulcers of the head, ulcerations of the mouth, gatherings, and condylomatous sores. A decoction of the leaves is very useful also for burns and sprains. Beaten up and applied with the juice of the strutheum, they turn the hair red. The blos- soms, applied to the head with vinegar, relieve head-ache, and the ashes of them, burnt in a pot of raw earth, are curative of corrosive sores and putrid ulcers, either employed by themselves, or in combination with honey. The odour exhaled by these blossoms induces sleep.
The oil called “gleucinum” has certain astringent and refreshing properties similar to those of oil of œnanthe.
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CHAP. 47.
OIL OF BALSAMUM: FIFTEEN REMEDIES.
The oil of balsamum is by far the most valuable of them all, as already stated by us, when treating of the unguents. It is extremely efficacious for the venom of all kinds of serpents, is very beneficial to the eyesight, disperses films upon the eyes, assuages hardness of breathing, and acts emolliently upon all kinds of gatherings and indurations. It has the effect, also, of preventing the blood from coagulating, acts as a detergent upon ulcers, and is remarkably beneficial for diseases of the ears, head-ache, trembling, spasms, and ruptures. Taken in milk, it is an antidote to the poison of aconite, and used as a liniment upon the access of the shivering fits in fevers, it modifies their violence. Still, however, it should be used but sparingly, as it is of a very caustic nature, and, if not employed in moderation, is apt to augment the malady.
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CHAP. 48.
MALOBATHRUM: FIVE REMEDIES.
We have already spoken, also, of the nature of malobathrum, and the various kinds of it. It acts as a diuretic, and, sprinkled in wine upon the eyes, it is used very advantageously for defluxions of those organs. It is applied also to the forehead, for the purpose of promoting sleep; but it acts with still greater efficacy, if the nostrils are rubbed with it, or if it is taken in water. The leaves, placed beneath the tongue, impart a sweetness to the mouth and breath, and put among clothes, they produce a similar effect.
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CHAP. 49.
OIL OF HENBANE: TWO REMEDIES. OIL OF LUPINES: ONE REMEDY. OIL OF NARCISSUS: ONE REMEDY. OIL OF RADISHES: FIVE REMEDIES. OIL OF SESAME: THREE REMEDIES. OIL OF LILIES: THREE REMEDIES. OIL OF SELGA: ONE REMEDY. OIL OF IGUVIUM: ONE REMEDY.
Oil of henbane is of an emollient nature, but it is bad for the nerves; taken in drink, it disturbs the brain. Thermal- num, or oil of lupines, is emollient, and very similar to oil of roses in its effects. As to oil of narcissus, we have already spoken of it when describing that flower. Oil of radishes cures phthiriasis contracted in a long illness, and removes roughness of the skin upon the face. Oil of sesame is curative of pains in the ears, spreading ulcers, and the cancer known as “cacoethes.” Oil of lilies, which we have previously mentioned as being called oil of Phaselis and oil of Syria, is extremely good for the kidneys and for promoting perspiration, as also as an emollient for the uterus, and as tending to bring internal tumours to a head. As to oil of Selga, we have already spoken of it as being strengthening to the tendons which is the case, also, with the herbaceous oil which the people of Iguvium sell, on the Flaminian Way.
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CHAP. 50.
ELÆOMELI: TWO REMEDIES. OIL OF PITCH: TWO REMEDIES.
Elæomeli, which, as we have already stated, exudes from the olive-trees of Syria, has a flavour like that of honey, but not without a certain nauseous taste. It relaxes the bowels, and carries off the bilious secretions more particularly, if taken in doses of two cyathi, in a semisextarius of water. After drinking it, the patient falls into a torpor, and requires to be aroused every now and then. Persons, when about to drink for a wager, are in the habit of taking a cyathus of it, by way of prelude. Oil of pitch is employed for the cure of cough, and of itch in cattle.
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CHAP. 51.
THE PALM: NINE REMEDIES.
Next in rank after the vine and the olive comes the palm. Dates fresh-gathered have an inebriating effect, and are productive of head-ache; when dried, they are not so injurious. It would appear, too, that they are not wholesome to the stomach; they have an irritating effect on coughs, but are very nourishing to the body. The ancients used to give a decoction of them to patients, as a substitute for hydromel, with the view of recruiting the strength and allaying thirst, the Thebaic date being held in preference for the purpose. Dates are very use- ful, too, for persons troubled with spitting of blood, when taken in the food more particularly. The dates called caryotæ, in combination with quinces, wax, and saffron, are applied topically for affections of the stomach, bladder, abdomen, and in- testines: they are good for bruises also. Date-stones, burnt in a new earthen vessel, produce an ash which, when rinsed, is employed as a substitute for spodium, and is used as an ingredient in eye-salves, and, with the addition of nard, in washes for the eye-brows.
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CHAP. 52. (5.)
THE PALM WHICH PRODUCES MYROBALANUM: THREE REMEDIES.
Of the palm which produces myrobalanum, the most esteemed kind is that grown in Egypt; the dates of which, unlike those of the other kinds, are without stones. Used with astringent wine, they arrest diarrhœa and the catamenia, and promote the cicatrization of wounds.
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CHAP. 53.
THE PALM CALLED ELATE: SIXTEEN REMEDIES.
The palm called “elate,” or “spathe,” furnishes its buds, leaves, and bark for medicinal purposes. The leaves are applied to the thoracic regions, stomach, and liver, and to spreading ulcers, but they are adverse to cicatrization. The bark of the tree, while tender, mixed with wax and resin, heals itch-scab in the course of twenty days: a decoction, also, is made of it for diseases of the testes. Used as a fumigation, it turns the hair black, and brings away the fœtus. It is given in drink, also, for diseases of the kidneys, bladder, and thoracic organs; but it acts injuriously upon the head and nerves. The decoction of this bark has the effect, also, of arresting fluxes of the uterus and the bowels: the ashes of it are used with white wine for griping pains in the stomach, and form a very efficacious remedy for affections of the uterus.
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CHAP. 54. (6.)
REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE BLOSSOMS, LEAVES, FRUIT, BRANCHES, BARK, JUICES, WOOD, ROOTS, AND ASHES OF VARIOUS KINDS OF TREES. SIX OBSERVATIONS UPON APPLES. TWENTY-TWO OBSERVATIONS UPON QUINCES. ONE OBSERVATION UPON STRUTHEA.
We next come to the medicinal properties of the various kinds of apples. The spring fruits of this nature are sour and unwholesome to the stomach, disturb the bowels, contract the bladder, and act injuriously upon the nerves; when cooked, however, they are of a more harmless nature. Quinces are more pleasant eating when cooked; still however, eaten raw, provided they are ripe, they are very useful for spitting of blood, dysentery, cholera, and cœliac affections; indeed, they are not of the same efficacy when cooked, as they then lose the astringent properties which belong to their juice. They are applied also to the breast in the burning attacks of fever, and, in spite of what has been stated above, they are occasionally boiled in rain-water for the various purposes before-mentioned. For pains in the stomach they are applied like a cerate, either raw or boiled. The down upon them heals carbuncles.
Boiled in wine, and applied with wax, they restore the hair, when it has been lost by alopecy. A conserve of raw quinces in honey
relaxes the bowels; and they add very materially to the sweetness of the honey, and render it more wholesome to the stomach. Boiled quinces preserved in honey are beaten up with a decoction of rose-leaves, and are taken as food by some for the cure of affections of the stomach. The juice of raw quinces is very good, also, for the spleen, hardness of breathing, dropsy, affections of the mamillæ, condylomata, and varicose veins. The blossoms, either fresh or dried, are useful for inflammations of the eyes, spitting of blood, and irregularities of the catamenia. By beating them up with sweet wine, a sooth- ing sirop is prepared, which, is very beneficial for cœliac affections and diseases of the liver: with a decoction of them a fomentation is made for procidence of the uterus and intestines.
From quinces an oil is also extracted, which we have spoken of under the name of “melinum:” in order to make it, the fruit must not have been grown in a damp soil; hence it is that the quinces which come from Sicily are so highly esteemed for the purpose; while, on the other hand, the strutheum, though of a kindred kind, is not so good.
A circle is traced round the root of this tree, and the root itself is then pulled up with the left hand, care being taken by the person who does so to state at the same moment the object for which it is so pulled up, and for whom. Worn as an amulet, this root is a cure for scrofula.
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CHAP. 55.
THE SWEET APPLES CALLED MELIMELA: SIX OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM. SOUR APPLES: FOUR OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM.
The apples known as “melimela,” and the other sweet apples, relax the stomach and bowels, but are productive of heat and thirst, though they do not act injuriously upon the nervous system. The orbiculata arrest diarrhœa and vomiting, and act as a diuretic. Wild apples resemble the sour apples of spring, and act astringently upon the bowels: indeed, for this purpose they should always be used before they are ripe.
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CHAP. 56.
CITRONS: FIVE OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM.
Citrons, either the pulp of them or the pips, are taken in wine as an antidote to poisons. A decoction of citrons, or the juice extracted from them, is used as a gargle to impart sweet- ness to the breath. The pips of this fruit are recommended for pregnant women to chew when affected with qualmish- ness. Citrons are good, also, for a weak stomach, but it is not easy to eat them except with vinegar.
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CHAP. 57.
PUNIC APPLES OR POMEGRANATES: TWENTY-SIX REMEDIES.
It would be a mere loss of time to recapitulate the nine different varieties of the pomegranate. The sweet pome- granates, or, in other words, those known by the name of “apyrna,” are generally considered to be injurious to the stomach; they are productive, also, of flatulency, and are bad for the teeth and gums. The kind which closely resembles the last in flavour, and which we have spoken of as the “vinous” pomegranate, has very diminutive pips, and is thought to be somewhat more wholesome than the others. They have an astringent effect upon the stomach and bowels, provided they are taken in moderation, and not to satiety; but even these, or, indeed, any other kind, should never be given in fevers, as neither the substance nor the juice of the fruit acts otherwise than injuriously under those circumstances. They should, also, be equally abstained from in cases of vomiting and bilious evacuations.
In this fruit Nature has revealed to us a grape, and, so to say, not must, but a wine ready made, both grape and wine being enclosed in a tougher skin. The rind of the sour pomegranate is employed for many purposes. It is in very common use with curriers for tanning leather, from which circumstance it has received the name of “malicorium.” Medical men assure us that the rind is diuretic, and that, boiled with nut-galls in vinegar, it strengthens loose teeth in the sockets. It is prescribed also for pregnant women when suf- fering from qualmishness, the flavour of it quickening the fœtus. A pomegranate is cut, and left to soak in rain-water for some three days; after which the infusion is given cold to persons suffering from cœliac affections and spitting of blood.
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CHAP. 58.
THE COMPOSITION CALLED STOMATICE: FOURTEEN REMEDIES.
With the sour pomegranate a medicament is made, which is known as “stomatice,” and is extremely good for affections of the mouth, nostrils, and ears, dimness of sight, films upon the eyes, diseases of the generative organs, corrosive sores called “nomæ,” and fleshy excrescences in ulcers; it is useful, also, as an antidote to the venom of the sea-hare. The following, is the method of making it: the rind is taken off the fruit, and the pips are pounded, after which the juice is boiled down to one-third, and then mixed with saffron, split alum, myrrh, and Attic honey, the proportions being half a pound of each.
Some persons have another way of making it: a number of sour pomegranates are pounded, after which the juice is boiled down in a new cauldron to the consistency of honey. This composition is used for various affections of the generative organs and fundament, and, indeed, all those diseases which are treated with lycium. It is employed, also, for the cure of purulent discharges from the ears, incipient defluxions of the eyes, and red spots upon the hands. Branches of the pomegranate have the effect of repelling the attacks of serpents. Pomegranate rind, boiled in wine and applied, is a cure for chilblains. A pomegranate, boiled down to onethird in three heminæ of wine, is a cure for griping pains in the bowels and for tape-worm. A pomegranate, put in anew earthen pot tightly covered and burnt in a furnace, and then pounded and taken in wine, arrests looseness of the bowels, and dispels griping pains in the stomach.
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CHAP. 59.
CYTINUS: EIGHT REMEDIES.
The Greeks have given the name of cytinus to the first germs of this tree when it is just beginning to blossom. These germs have a singular property, which has been re- marked by many. If a person, after taking off everything that is fastened upon the body, his girdle, for instance, shoes, and even his ring, plucks one of them with two fingers of the left hand, the thumb, namely, and the fourth finger, and, after rubbing it gently round his eyes, puts it into his mouth and swallows it without letting it touch his teeth, he will experience, it is said, no malady of the eyes throughout all the year. These germs, dried and pounded, check the growth of fleshy excrescences; they are good also for the gums and teeth; and if the teeth are loose a decoction of the germs will strengthen them.
The young pomegranates themselves are beaten up and applied as a liniment to spreading or putrid sores; they are used also for inflammations of the eyes and intestines, and nearly all the purposes for which pomegranate-rind is used. They are remedial also for the stings of scorpions.
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CHAP. 60.
BALAUSTIUM: TWELVE REMEDIES.
We cannot sufficiently admire the care and diligence displayed by the ancients, who, in their enquiries into every subject, have left nothing untried. Within the cytinus, before the pomegranate itself makes its appearance, there are dimi- nutive flowers, the name given to which, as already stated, is “balaustium.” These blossoms, even, have not escaped their enquiries; it having been ascertained by them that they are an excellent remedy for stings inflicted by the scorpion. Taken in drink, they arrest the catamenia, and are curative of ulcers of the mouth, tonsillary glands, and uvula, as also of spitting of blood, derangement of the stomach and bowels, diseases of the generative organs, and running sores in all parts of the body.
The ancients also dried these blossoms, to try their efficacy in that state, and made the discovery that, pulverized, they cure patients suffering from dysentery when at the very point of death even, and that they arrest looseness of the bowels. They have not disdained, too, to make trial of the pips of the pomegranate: parched and then pounded, these pips are good for the stomach, sprinkled in the food or drink. To arrest looseness of the bowels, they are taken in rain-water. A decoction of the juices of the root, in doses of one victoriatus, exterminates tape-wor
m; and the root itself, boiled down in water to a thick consistency, is employed for the same purposes as lycium.
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CHAP. 61.
THE WILD POMEGRANATE.
There is a tree, also, which is called the wild pomegranate, on account of its strong resemblance to the cultivated pomegranate. The roots of it have a red bark, which taken in wine in doses of one denarius, promotes sleep. The seed of it taken in drink is curative of dropsy. Gnats are kept at a distance by the smoke of burnt pomegranate rind.