Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder

by Pliny the Elder

  CHAP. 41.

  THE VARIOUS PROPERTIES OF SALT: ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY HISTORICAL REMARKS RELATIVE THERETO.

  Of the various kinds of sea-salt, the most esteemed is that of Salamis, in Cyprus; and of the lake-salts, that of Tarentum, and the salt known as Tattæan salt, which comes from Phrygia: these last two are also good for the eyes. That of Capadocia, which is imported in small cubes, imparts a fine colour, it is said, to the skin; but, for effacing wrinkles, that which we have already spoken of as the salt of Citium is the best: hence it is that, in combination with gith, it is used by females as a liniment for the abdomen after childbirth. The drier the salt, the stronger it is in taste; but the most agreeable of all, and the whitest known, is that of Tarentun. In addition to these particulars, we would remark also, that the whiter salt is, the more friable it is. Rain-water deadens every kind of salt, but dew-water makes it more deicate in flavour. North-easterly winds render the formation of salt more abundant, but, while south winds prevail, it never increases. It is only while north-easterly winds prevail, that flower of salt is formed. Neither the salt of Trgasa, nor the Acanthian salt — so called from the town where it is found — will decrepitate or crackle in the fire; nor will the froth of salt do so, or the outside scrapings, or refined salt. The salt of Agrigentum resists fire, but decrepitates in water.

  There are differences, too, in the colour of salt: at Memphis it is deep red, russet-coloured in the vicinity of the Oxus, purple at Centuripa, and so remarkably bright at Gela, situate also in Sicily, as to reflect the image of objects. In Cappadocia there is a saffron-coloured fossil salt, transparent and remarkably odoriferous. For medicinal purposes, the ancients esteemed the salt of Tarentum in particular, and next to that all the marine salts, those collected from sea-foam more especially. For maladies of the eyes in cattle and beasts of burden, the salt of Tragasa and that of Bætica are employed. For made dishes and ordinary food, the more easily a salt liquefies and the moister it is, the more highly it is esteemed; there being less bitterness in salt of this description, that of Attica and of Eubœa, for example. For keeping meat, a pungent, dry, salt, like that of Megara, is best. A conserve of salt is also made, with the addition of various odoriferous substances, which answers all the purpose of a choice sauce, sharpening the appetite, and imparting a relish to all kinds of food: indeed, among the innumerable condiments which we use, the flavour of salt is always distinctly perceptible; and when we take garum with our food, it is its salt flavour that is considered so exquisite. And not only this, but sheep even, cattle, and beasts of burden, are induced to graze all the better by giving them salt; it having the effect, also, of considerably augmenting the milk, and imparting a superior flavour to the cheese.

  We may conclude, then, by Hercules! that the higher enjoyments of life could not exist without the use of salt: indeed, so highly necessary is this substance to mankind, that the pleasures of the mind, even, can be expressed by no better term than the word “salt,” such being the name given to all effusions of wit. All the amenities, in fact, of life, supreme hilarity, and relaxation from toil, can find no word in our language to characterize them better than this. Even in the very honours, too, that are bestowed upon successful warfare, salt plays its part, and from it, our word “salarium” is derived. That salt was held in high esteem by the ancients, is evident from the Salarian Way, so named from the fact that, by agreement, the Sabini carried all their salt by that road. King Ancus Martius gave six hundred modii of salt as a largess to the people, and was the first to establish salt-works. Varro also informs us, that the ancients used salt by way of a relishing sauce; and we know, from an old proverb, that it was the practice with them to eat salt with their bread. But it is in our sacred rites more particularly, that its high importance is to be recognized, no offering ever being made unaccompanied by the salted cake.

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  CHAP. 42.

  FLOWER OF SALT: TWENTY REMEDIES. SALSUGO: TWO REMEDIES.

  That which mainly distinguishes the produce of salt-works, in respect of its purity, is a sort of efflorescence, which forms the lightest and whitest part of salt. The name “flower of salt” is given, also, to a substance of an entirely different character, more humid by nature, and of a red or saffron colour; a kind of “rust of salt,” as it were, with an unpleasant smell like that of garum, and differing therein not only from froth of salt, but from salt itself. This substance is found in Egypt, and, as it would appear, is conveyed thither by the waters of the Nilus; though it is to be found floating upon the surface of certain springs as well. The best kind is that which yields a certain fatty substance, like oil — for salt even, a thing that is quite marvellous to think of, is not without a degree of unctuousness.

  This substance is sophisticated, and coloured with red earth, or, in most instances, with powdered potsherds; an adulteration to be detected by the agency of water, which washes off the fictitious colour, the natural colour being only removable by the agency of oil. Indeed, it is for its colour that perfumers more particularly make such extensive use of this drug. When seen in the vessels, the surface of it is white, but that which lies in the middle is moister, as already stated. It is of an acrid nature, calorific, and bad for the stomach. It acts also as a sudorific, and, taken with wine and water, has a purgative effect upon the bowels. It is very useful, also, as an ingredient in acopa and in detersive compositions, and is remarkably efficacious for the removal of hairs from the eye-lids. It is the practice to shake up the sediment, in order to renovate the saffron colour of the drug.

  In addition to these substances, there is another, known in the salt-works by the name of “salsugo,” or “salsilago:” it is quite liquid, salter in taste than sea-water, but inferior to it in its properties.

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  CHAP. 43.

  GARUM: FIFTEEN REMEDIES.

  Another liquid, too, of a very exquisite nature, is that known as “garuim:” it is prepared from the intestines of fish and various parts which would otherwise be thrown away, macerated in salt; so that it is, in fact, the result of their putrefaction. Garum was formerly prepared from a fish, called “garos” by the Greeks; who assert, also, that a fumigation made with its head has the effect of bringing away the afterbirth.

  (8.) At the present day, however, the most esteemed kind of garum is that prepared from the scomber, in the fisheries of Carthago Spartaria: it is known as “garumn of the allies,” and for a couple of congii we have to pay but little less than one thousand sesterces. Indeed, there is no liquid hardly, with the exception of the unguents, that has sold at higher prices of late; so much so, that the nations which produce it have become quite ennobled thereby. There are fisheries, too, of the scomber on the coasts of Mauretania and at Carteia in Bætica, near the Straits which lie at the entrance to the Ocean; this being the only use that is made of the fish. For the production of garum, Clazomenæ is also famed, Pompeii, too, and Leptis; while for their muria, Antipolis, Thurii, and of late, Dalmatia, enjoy a high reputation.

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  CHAP. 44.

  ALEX: EIGHT REMEDIES.

  Alex, which is the refuse of garum, properly consists of the dregs of it, when imperfectly strained: but of late they have begun to prepare it separately, from a small fish that is otherwise good for nothing, the apua of the Latins, or aphua of the Greeks, so called from the fact of its being engendered from rain. The people of Forum Julii make their garum from a fish to which they give the name of “lupus.” In process of time, alex has become quite an object of luxury, and the various kinds that are now made are infinite in number. The same, too, with garum, which is now prepared in imitation of the colour of old honied wine, and so pleasantly flavoured as to admit of being taken as a drink. Another kind, again, is dedicated to those superstitious observances which enjoin strict chastity, and that prepared from fish without scales, to the sacred rites of the Jews. In the same way, too, alex has come to be manufactured fr
om oysters, sea-urchins, sea-nettles, cammari, and the liver of the surmullet; and a thousand different methods have been devised of late for ensuring the putrefaction of salt in such a way as to secure the flavours most relished by the palate.

  Thus much, by the way, with reference to the tastes of the present day; though at the same time, it must be remembered, these substances are by no means without their uses in medicine. Alex, for instance, is curative of scab in sheep, incisions being made in the skin, and the liquor poured therein. It is useful, also, for the cure of wounds inflicted by dogs or by the sea-dragon, the application being made with lint. Recent burns, too, are healed by the agency of garum, due care being taken to apply it without mentioning it by name. It is useful, too, for bites inflicted by dogs, and for that of the crocodile in particular; as also for the treatment of serpiginous or sordid ulcers. For ulcerations, and painful affections of the mouth and ears, it is a marvellously useful remedy.

  Muria, also, as well as the salsugo which we have mentioned, has certain astringent, mordent, and discussive properties, and is highly useful for the cure of dysentery, even when ulceration has attacked the intestines. Injections are also made of it for sciatica, and for cœliac fluxes of an inveterate nature. In spots which lie at a distance in the interior, it is used as a fo- mentation, by way of substitute for sea-water.

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  CHAP. 45. (9.)

  THE NATURE OF SALT.

  Salt, regarded by itself, is naturally igneous, and yet it manifests an antipathy to fire, and flies from it. It consumers everything, and yet upon living bodies it has an astringent, desiccative, and binding effect, while the dead it preserves from putrefaction, and makes them last for ages even. In respect, however, of its medicinal properties, it is of a mordent, burning, detergent, attenuating, and resolvent nature; it is, however, injurious to the stomach, except that it acts as a stimulant to the appetite, For the cure of injuries inflicted by serpents, it is used with origanum, honey, and hyssop; and for the sting of the cerastes, with origanum, cedar-resin, pitch, or honey. Taken internally with vinegar, it is good for injuries caused by the scolopendra; and, applied topically, with an equal proportion of linseed, in oil or vinegar, for stings inflicted by scorpions. For stings of hornets, wasps, and insects of a similar description, it is applied with vinegar; and, for the cure of hemicrania, ulcers on the head, blisters, pimples, and incipient warts, with veal-suet. It is used also among the remedies for the eyes, and for the removal of fleshy exrescences upon those organs, as also of hangnails upon the fingers or toes. For webs that form upon the eyes it is peculiarly useful, and hence it is that it is so commonly employed as an ingredient in eye-salves, as well as plasters. For all these last-mentioned purposes, the salt of Tatta or of Caunus is more particularly in request.

  In cases where there is ecchymosis of the eyes, or a bruise from the effects of a blow, salt is applied, with an equal quantity of myrrh and honey, or with hyssop in warm water, the eyes being also fomented with salsugo. For this last-mentioned purpose, the Spanish salt is preferred; and when wanted for the treatment of cataract, it is ground upon small whet- stones, with milk. For bruises it is particularly useful, wrapped in a linen pledget and renewed from time to time, being first dipped in boiling water. For the cure of running ulcers of the mouth, it is applied with lint; gum-boils are also rubbed with it; and, broken to pieces and powdered fine, it removes granulations on the tongue. The teeth, it is said, will never become carious or corroded, if a person every morin- ing puts some salt beneath his tongue, fasting, and leaves it there till it has melted. Salt effects the cure also of leprosy, boils, lichens, and itch-scabs; for all which purposes it is ap- plied with raisins — the stones being first removed — beef-suet, origanum, and leaven, or else bread. In such cases it is the salt from Thebaïs that is mostly used; the same salt being considered preferable for the treatment of prurigo, and being highly esteemed for affections of the uvula and tonsillary glands, in combination with honey.

  Every kind of salt is useful for the cure of quinzy; but, in addition to this, it is necessary to make external applications simultaneously with oil, vinegar, and tar. Mixed with wine, it is a gentle aperient to the bowels, and, taken in a similar manner, it acts as an expellent of all kinds of intestinal worms. Placed beneath the tongue, it enables convalescents to support the heat of the bath. Burnt more than once upon a plate at a white heat, and then enclosed in a bag, it alleviates pains in the sinews, about the shoulders and kidneys more particularly. Taken internally, and similarly burnt at a white heat and applied in bags, it is curative of colic, griping pains in the bowels, and sciatica. Beaten up in wine and honey, with meal, it is a remedy for gout; a malady for the especial behoof of which the observation should be borne in mind, that there is nothing better for all parts of the body than sun and salt: hence it is that we see the bodies of fishermen as hard as horn — gout, however, is the principal disease for the benefit of which this maxim should be remembered.

  Salt is useful for the removal of corns upon the feet, and of chilblains: for the cure of burns also, it is applied with oil, or else chewed. It acts as a check also upon blisters, and, in cases of erysipelas and serpiginous ulcers, it is applied topically with vinegar or with hyssop. For the cure of carcinoma it is employed in combination with Taminian grapes; and for phagedænic ulcers it is used parched with barley-meal, a linen pledget steeped in wine being laid upon it. In cases of jaundice, it is employed as a friction before the fire, with oil and vinegar, till the patient is made to perspire, for the purpose of preventing the itching sensations attendant upon that dis- ease. When persons are exhausted with fatigue, it is usual to rub them with salt and oil. Many have treated dropsy with salt, have used external applications of salt and oil for the burning heats of fever, and have cured chronic coughs by laying salt upon the patient’s tongue. Salt has been used, also, as an injection for sciatica, and has been applied to ulcers of a fungous or putrid nature.

  To bites inflicted by the crocodile, salt is applied, the sores being tightly bandaged with linen cloths, first dipped in vinegar. It is taken internally, with hydromel, to neutralize the effects of opium, and is applied topically, with meal and honey, to sprains and fleshy excrescences. In cases of toothache, it is used as a collutory with vinegar, and is very useful, applied externally, with resin. For all these purposes, however, froth of salt is found to be more agreeable and still more efficacious. Still, however, every kind of salt is good as an ingredient in acopa, when warming properties are required: the same, too, in the case of detersive applications, when required for plumping out and giving a smooth surface to the skin. Employed topically, salt is curative of itch-scab in sheep and cattle, for which disease it is given them to lick. It is injected, also, with the spittle, into the eyes of beasts of burden. Thus much with reference to salt.

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  CHAP. 46. (10.)

  THE VARIOUS KINDS OF NITRUM, THE METHODS OF PREPARING IT, AND THE REMEDIES DERIVED FROM IT: TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-ONE OBSERVATIONS THEREON.

  And here we must no longer defer giving an account of nitrum; which in its properties does not greatly differ from salt, and deserves all the more to be attentively considered, from the evident fact that the medical men who have written upon it were ignorant of its nature; of all which authors Theophrastus is the one that has given the greatest attention to the point. It is found in small quantities in Media, in certain valleys there that are white with heat and drought; the name given to it being “halmyrax.” In Thracia, too, near Philipli, it is found, but in smaller quantities, and deteriorated with earthy substances, being known there as “agrion.” As to that prepared from the burnt wood of the quercus, it never was made to any very great extent, and the manufacture of it has been long since totally abandoned. Nitrous waters are also found in numerous places, but not sufficiently impregnated to admit of condensation.

  The best and most abundant supply is found at Litæ, in Macedonia, where it is kn
own as “Chalastricum:” it is white and pure, and closely resembles salt. In the middle of a certain nitrous lake there, a spring of fresh water issues forth. In this lake the nitrum forms for nine days, about the rising of the Dog-star, and then ceases for the same period, after which it again floats upon the surface, and then again ceases: facts which abundantly prove that it is the peculiar nature of the soil which generates the nitrum, it being very evident that, when the formation is there interrupted, neither the heat of the sun nor the fall of rain is productive of the slightest effect. It is also a truly marvellous fact, that though the spring of fresh water is always uninterruptedly flowing, the waters of the lake never increase or overflow. If it happens to rain on the days during which the nitrum is forming, the result is, that it is rendered additionally salt thereby: the prevalence of northeast winds, too, still more deteriorates its quality, as they have a tendency to stir up the mud at the bottom. Such is the formation of native nitrum.

  In Egypt, again, it is made artificially, and in much greater abundance, but of inferior quality, being tawny and full of stones. It is prepared in pretty nearly the same manner as salt, except that in the salt-pans it is sea-water that is introduced, whereas in the nitre-beds it is the water of the river Nilus; a water which, upon the subsidence of the river, is impregnated with nitrum for forty days together, and not, as in Macedonia, at intermittent periods only. On occasions when there has been a fall of rain, a smaller proportion of river water is employed. As soon, too, as any quantity of nitrum has formed, it is immediately removed, in order that it may not melt in the beds. This substance, also, contains a certain proportion of oil, which is very useful for the cure of scab in animals. Piled up in large heaps, it keeps for a very considerable time. It is a marvellous fact, that, in Lake Ascanius and in certain springs in the vicinity of Chalcis, the water is fresh and potable on the surface, and nitrous below. The lightest part of nitrum is always considered the best, and hence it is that the froth of it is so much preferred. Still, however, when in an impure state, it is very useful for some purposes, colouring purple cloth, for instance, and, indeed, all kinds of dyeing. It is employed, also, very extensively in the manufacture of glass, as we shall more fully mention on the appropriate occasion.