BOOK XXIII

.

THE REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE CULTIVATED TREES.

CHAP. 1. (1.)—INTRODUCTION.

We have now set forth the various properties, medicinal or otherwise, as well of the cereals as of the other productions which lie upon[2833] the surface of the earth, for the purpose either of serving us for food, or for the gratification of our senses with their flowers or perfumes. In the trees, however, Pomona has entered the lists with them, and has imparted certain medicinal properties to the fruits as they hang. Not content with protecting and nourishing, under the shadow of the trees, the various plants which we have[2834] already described, she would even appear to be indignant, as it were, at the thought that we should derive more succour from those productions which are further removed from the canopy of heaven, and which have only come into use in times comparatively recent. For she bids man bear in mind that it was the fruits of the trees which formed his first nourishment, and that it was these which first led him to look upwards towards the heavens: and not only this, but she reminds him, too, that even still it is quite possible for him to derive his aliment from the trees, without being indebted to grain for his subsistence.

CHAP. 2.—THE VINE.

But, by Hercules! it is the vine more particularly to which she has accorded these medicinal properties, as though she were not contented with her generosity in providing it with such delicious flavours, and perfumes, and essences, in its omphacium, its œnanthe, and its massaris, preparations upon which we have already[2835] enlarged. “It is to me,” she says, “that man is indebted for the greater part of his enjoyments, it is I that produce for him the flowing wine and the trickling oil, it is I that ripen the date and other fruits in numbers so varied; and all this, not insisting, like the earth, on their purchase at the cost of fatigues and labours. No necessity do I create for ploughing with the aid of oxen, for beating out upon the threshing-floor, or for bruising under the millstone, and all in order that man may earn his food at some indefinite time by this vast expenditure of toil. As for me, all my gifts are presented to him ready prepared: for no anxieties or fatigues do they call, but, on the contrary, they offer themselves spontaneously, and even fall to the ground, if man should be too indolent to reach them as they hang.” Vying even with herself, Pomona has done still more for our practical advantage than for the mere gratification of our pleasures and caprices.

CHAP. 3.—THE LEAVES AND SHOOTS OF THE VINE: SEVEN REMEDIES.

[2836] The leaves and shoots of the vine, employed with polenta, allay head-ache and reduce inflammations:[2837] the leaves, too, applied by themselves with cold water, are good for burning pains in the stomach; and, used with barley-meal, are excellent applications for diseases of the joints. The shoots, beaten up and applied, have the property of drying up all kinds of running tumours, and the juice extracted from them is used as an injection for the cure of dysentery. The tears of the vine, which would appear to be a sort of gum, will heal leprous sores, lichens, and itch-scabs, if treated first with nitre: used with oil, and applied frequently to superfluous hairs, they act as a depilatory, those more particularly which exude from the vine when burnt in a green state: this last liquid has the effect, too, of removing warts. An infusion of the shoots in water, taken in drink, is good for persons troubled with spitting of blood, and for the fainting fits which sometimes ensue upon conception.

The bark of the vine and the dried leaves arrest the flowing of blood from wounds, and make the sores cicatrize more rapidly. The juice of the white vine,[2838] extracted from it while green, effectually removes cutaneous[2839] eruptions. The ashes[2840] of the cuttings of vines, and of the husks of the grapes, applied with vinegar, are curative of condylomata and diseases of the fundament; as also of sprains, burns, and swellings of the spleen, applied with rose-oil, rue, and vinegar. Used with wine, but without oil, they make a fomentation for erysipelas and parts of the body which are chafed; they act as a depilatory also.[2841] For affections of the spleen the ashes of vine-cuttings, moistened with vinegar, are administered in drink, being taken in doses of two cyathi in warm water; after which the patient must take due care to lie upon the side in which the spleen is situate.

The tendrils, too, which the vine throws out as it climbs, beaten up in water and drunk, have the effect of arresting habitual vomiting. The ashes of the vine, used with stale axle-grease, are good for tumours, act as a detergent upon fistulas, and speedily effect a radical cure; the same, too, with pains and contractions of the sinews, occasioned by cold. Applied with oil, they are useful for contusions, and with vinegar and nitre, for fleshy excrescences upon the bones: in combination with oil, they are good, too, for wounds inflicted by scorpions and dogs. The ashes of the bark, employed by themselves, restore the hair to such parts of the body as have suffered from the

## action of fire.

CHAP. 4.—OMPHACIUM EXTRACTED FROM THE VINE: FOURTEEN REMEDIES.

We have already[2842] mentioned, when speaking of the composition of unguents, how omphacium is made from the grape, when it is just beginning to form: we shall now proceed to speak of its medicinal properties. Omphacium heals ulcerations of the humid parts of the body, such as the mouth, tonsillary glands, and generative organs, for example; it is very good, too, for the sight, for rough spots upon the eyelids, ulcers at the corners of the eyes, films upon the eyes, running sores on all parts of the body, cicatrizations[2843] slow in forming, and purulent discharges from the ears. The powerful action of omphacium is modified by the admixture of honey or raisin wine. It is very useful, too, for dysentery, spitting of blood, and quinsy.

CHAP. 5.—ŒNANTHE: TWENTY-ONE REMEDIES.

Next to omphacium comes œnanthe, a product of the wild vine, described by us already[2844] when treating of the unguents. The most esteemed kind is that of Syria, the produce of the white vine[2845] in the vicinity of the mountains of Antiochia and Laodicea in particular. Being of a cooling, astringent nature, it is used for sprinkling upon sores, and is employed as a topical application for diseases of the stomach. It acts also as a diuretic, and is good for maladies of the liver, head-ache, dysentery, cœliac affections, and attacks of cholera: for nausea, it is taken in doses of one obolus in vinegar. It acts as a desiccative upon running eruptions of the head, and is extremely efficacious for maladies of the humid parts of the body; hence it is that it is employed, with honey and saffron, for ulcers of the mouth, and for diseases of the generative organs and the fundament. It arrests looseness of the bowels, and heals eruptions of the eyelids and runnings at the eyes: taken with wine, it cures derangements of the stomach, and with cold water, spitting of blood.

The ashes of œnanthe are highly esteemed as an ingredient in eye-salves, and as a detergent for ulcers, whitlows, and hang-nails;[2846] to obtain these ashes, it is put into an oven, and left there till the bread is thoroughly baked.

As to massaris,[2847] it is used as a perfume only. The renown attached to all these preparations is due solely to the innate greediness of mankind, which has racked its invention to gather the productions of the earth before they have arrived at maturity.

CHAP. 6.—GRAPES, FRESH GATHERED.

As to grapes when allowed to gain maturity, the black ones have more marked properties[2848] than the others; and hence it is, that the wine made from them is not so agreeable. The white grapes, on the other hand, are sweeter, for, being transparent, the air penetrates them with greater facility.

Grapes fresh gathered are productive of flatulency, and disturb the stomach and bowels; hence it is that they are avoided in fevers, in large quantities more particularly. Indeed, they are very apt to produce oppression of the head, and to bring on the malady known as lethargy.[2849] Grapes which have been gathered, and left to hang for some time, are much less[2850] injurious, the exposure to the air rendering them beneficial even to the stomach, and refreshing to the patient, as they are slightly cooling, and tend to remove nausea and qualmishness.

CHAP. 7.—VARIOUS KINDS OF PRESERVED GRAPES: ELEVEN REMEDIES.

Grapes which have been preserved in wine or in must are trying to the head. Next to the grapes which have been left to hang in the air, are those which have been kept in chaff; but as to those which have been preserved among grape husks, they are injurious[2851] to the head, the bladder, and the stomach, though at the same time they arrest looseness of the bowels, and are extremely good for patients troubled with spitting of blood. When preserved in must, they are worse even in their effects than when kept among husks; boiled[2852] must, too, renders them injurious to the stomach. It is the opinion of medical writers, that grapes kept[2853] in rain-water are the most wholesome of all, even though they are by no means agreeable eating; for the benefit of them is particularly experienced in burning pains of the stomach, biliousness arising from a disordered liver, vomiting of bile, and attacks of cholera, as also dropsy and burning fevers.

Grapes kept in earthen pots sharpen the taste, the stomach, and the appetite; it is thought, however, that they are rendered a little heavy[2854] by the exhalations from the husks with which they are covered.[2855] If vine-blossoms are given to poultry, mixed with their food, they will never touch the grapes.[2856]

CHAP. 8.—CUTTINGS OF THE VINE: ONE REMEDY.

Such cuttings of the vine as have borne grapes, have an astringent effect, when they are preserved in earthen[2857] pots, more

## particularly.

CHAP. 9.—GRAPE-STONES: SIX REMEDIES.

Grape-stones, also, have a similar[2858] property; it is through them that wine is so apt to produce head-ache. Parched and then pounded, they are beneficial for the stomach; and this powder is sprinkled, like polenta, in the beverage of patients suffering from dysentery, cœliac affections, and derangements of the stomach. A decoction of them is useful, also, as a fomentation for itch-scabs and prurigo.

CHAP. 10.—GRAPE-HUSKS: EIGHT REMEDIES.

Grape-husks, used by themselves, are less injurious to the head and bladder than grape-stones are: beaten up with salt, they form an excellent liniment for inflammations of the mamillæ. A decoction of them, taken in drink, or employed as a fomentation, is good for inveterate dysentery, and cœliac affections.

CHAP. 11.—THE GRAPES OF THE THERIACA: FOUR REMEDIES.

The grape of the theriaca, of which we have already made mention[2859] on the appropriate occasion, is eaten by way of antidote to the stings of serpents. It is recommended, too, to eat the young shoots of this tree, and to apply them topically. The wine and vinegar made from these grapes are productive of a similar salutary effect.[2860]

CHAP. 12.—RAISINS, OR ASTAPHIS: FOURTEEN REMEDIES.

Raisins, the name given to which is “astaphis,” would be injurious to the stomach, abdomen, and intestines, were it not for the stones within them, which act as a corrective.[2861] When the stones are removed, raisins, it is thought, are beneficial to the bladder, and good for cough:[2862] in the last case, the raisin of the white grape is considered the best. Raisins are good also for the trachea and the kidneys, and the wine made from them is particularly efficacious for the sting of the serpent called hæmorrhoïs.[2863] In combination with meal of cummin or coriander, they are employed topically for inflammations of the testes. For carbuncles and diseases of the joints, the stones are removed, and the raisins are pounded with rue; if used for ulcers, the sores must be first fomented with wine.

Used with the stones, raisins are a cure for epinyctis, honeycomb ulcers,[2864] and dysentery; and for gangrenes they are applied topically with radish rind and honey, being first boiled in oil. They are used with panax,[2865] for gout and loose nails; and they are sometimes eaten by themselves, in combination with pepper, for the purpose of cleansing the mouth and clearing the brain.

CHAP. 13.—THE ASTAPHISAGRIA, OTHERWISE CALLED STAPHIS OR TAMINIA: TWELVE REMEDIES.

The wild astaphis, otherwise called staphis,[2866] is by some persons erroneously called “uva taminia;”[2867] for it is altogether a distinct plant from the other. It has a black, upright stem, with leaves resembling those of the labrusca,[2868] and bears what we may call a pod,[2869] rather than a grape, green, similar to a chick-pea in appearance, and enclosing a kernel of triangular form. The fruit of it ripens with the vintage and turns black, while the berries of the taminia,[2870] as is well known, are red; this last, too, as we are aware, grows only in shaded spots, while the wild astaphis, on the other hand, loves a site that is exposed to the sun.

I would not recommend any one to use the kernels[2871] of the wild astaphis as a purgative, as it is very doubtful whether they might not choke the patient; nor would I advise them to be employed for the purpose of attenuating the phlegm, as they are extremely irritating to the throat. Beaten up, however, and applied topically, they kill vermin[2872] in the head and other parts of the body, more

## particularly if they are used with sandarach; they are very useful,

too, for itch-scabs and prurigo. A decoction of the kernels is made with vinegar, for the cure of tooth-ache, diseases of the ears, cicatrices[2873] that are slow in healing, and running sores.

The blossoms of the plant are beaten up and taken in wine for stings[2874] inflicted by serpents; but, as to the seed, I would strongly recommend its rejection, on account of its extremely pungent properties. Some persons give to this plant the name of “pituitaria,”[2875] and use it as a common application for stings inflicted by serpents.

CHAP. 14.—THE LABRUSCA, OR WILD VINE: TWELVE REMEDIES.

The labrusca, too, produces an œnanthe, which has been described at sufficient length already:[2876] by the Greeks the labrusca is known as the wild vine.[2877] The leaves of it are thick and of a whitish colour, the stem is jointed, and the bark full of fissures: it bears grapes of a scarlet[2878] hue, like the coccus, which are made use of by females for the purpose of improving the complexion, and removing spots upon the face. Pounded with the leaves and the juice extracted from the tree, these grapes are usefully employed for the treatment of lumbago and sciatica. A decoction of the root[2879] in water, taken in two cyathi of Coan wine, promotes an alvine evacuation of aqueous secretions; for which reason it is prescribed for dropsy.

I am inclined to think that this is the plant that is commonly known as the “uva taminia;”[2880] it is in great request as an amulet, and is employed, though as a gargle only, in cases of spitting blood; for which purpose, salt, thyme, and oxymel are added to it, care being taken not to swallow any of the mixture. It is generally looked upon as unsafe to employ it as a purgative.

CHAP. 15.—THE SALICASTRUM: TWELVE REMEDIES.

There is another plant,[2881] similar to the labrusca, but found growing in willow-beds; for which reason it is known by a distinct name, though the uses to which it is applied are just the same. The name given to it is “salicastrum;” beaten up with oxymel, it displays marvellous efficacy in the removal of itch-scab and prurigo in men and cattle.

CHAP. 16.—THE WHITE VINE, OTHERWISE CALLED AMPELOLEUCE, STAPHYLE, MELOTHRON, PSILOTRUM, ARCHEZOSTIS, CEDROSTIS, OR MADON: THIRTY-ONE REMEDIES.

The white vine[2882] is known to the Greeks by the various names of ampeloleuce, staphyle, melothron, psilotrum, archezostis, cedrostis, and madon. The twigs of this tree are jointed, thin, and climbing, with considerable interstices between the knots.[2883] The leaves, attached to the numerous shoots, and about the size of an ivy leaf, are jagged at the edges, like that of the vine. The root of it is large and white, and very like a radish[2884] at first; from it issue several stems, similar to asparagus in appearance. These stems, eaten boiled, are both purgative and diuretic. The leaves, too, as well as the stems, are possessed of caustic[2885] properties; for which reason they are employed topically with salt, for phagedænic sores, gangrenes, and putrid ulcers of the legs. The fruit of the tree is in the form of grapes thinly scattered, the juice of which is red at first, and afterwards of a saffron colour. This fruit[2886] is well known to curriers, who are in the habit of using it in preparing leather. It is employed also in the form of a liniment for itch-scabs and leprous spots; and a decoction of it with wheat, taken in drink, increases the milk in women when nursing. The root of this tree, so renowned for the numerous medicinal purposes to which it is applied, is pounded and taken in wine, in doses of two drachmæ, for the cure of stings inflicted by serpents:[2887] it has the effect, also, of removing spots upon the face, moles and freckles, as well as scars and bruises: a decoction of it in oil is productive of a similar effect. A decoction of it is given to drink for epilepsy,[2888] and to persons troubled with a disordered mind or suffering from vertigo, the dose being one drachma daily, for a whole year: taken in larger quantities, it is apt sometimes to disorder[2889] the senses. It is possessed, also, of one very remarkable property, applied with water in the same manner as bryonia, of extracting splintered bones, for which reason it is known to some persons by the name of white bryonia: the other kind, however, which is black, is found to answer the purpose better, in combination with honey and frankincense.

The white vine disperses incipient suppurations, ripens them when they are inveterate, and acts as a detergent: it operates also as an emmenagogue and diuretic. An electuary is prepared from it for asthma and pains in the sides, as also for convulsions and ruptures. Taken in drink for thirty days together, in doses of three oboli, it has the effect of reducing the spleen; and it is used, in combination with figs, for the cure of hangnails[2890] on the fingers. Applied with wine, it brings away the after-birth, and, taken in hydromel, in doses of one drachma, it carries off phlegm. The juice of the root should be extracted before the fruit ripens; applied either by itself or with meal of fitches, it imparts an improved complexion and a certain degree of suppleness to the skin: it has the effect also of repelling serpents. The root itself, too, beaten up with a pulpy fig, will remove wrinkles on the body, if the person using it takes care to walk a couple of stadia immediately after the application; otherwise it would leave marks upon the skin, unless, indeed, it were washed off immediately with cold water. The black vine, too, is better for this purpose than the white one, as the latter is very apt to be productive of itching.

CHAP. 17.—THE BLACK VINE, OTHERWISE CALLED BRYONA, CHIRONIA, GYNÆCANTHE, OR APRONIA: THIRTY-FIVE REMEDIES.

For there is also a black vine, properly known as the “bryonia,”[2891] though by some persons it is called the “chironia,” and by others the “gynæcanthe,” or “apronia.” It differs only from the one previously mentioned in its colour, which, as already stated,[2892] is black. The shoots of this tree, which resemble asparagus in appearance, are preferred by Diocles for eating to real asparagus,[2893] as a diuretic and for its property of reducing the spleen. It is found growing in shrubberies or reed-beds more particularly. The root of it, which is black outside, and of the colour of box within, is even more efficacious for the extraction of splintered bones than the plant last mentioned; in addition to which, it has the property of being a specific for excoriations of the neck in cattle. It is said, too, that if a person plants it around a farm, it will be sure to keep hawks away, and to preserve the poultry-yard[2894] in perfect safety. Attached to the ankles, it tends to disperse the blood, congested or otherwise, which may have settled in those parts of the body, whether in human beings or in beasts of burden.

Thus much with reference to the various species of vines.

CHAP. 18.—MUST: FIFTEEN REMEDIES.

The various kinds of must[2895] have different properties; some of them being black, some white, and others of intermediate shades of colour. There is a difference, too, between the kinds of must from which wine is made, and those from which raisin wine is prepared. The various degrees of care and attention on the part of the maker, render the differences that already exist, quite innumerable; we shall therefore content ourselves with taking a general view only of their medicinal uses.

Every kind of must is unwholesome to the stomach, but of a soothing nature to the venous system. Taken off at a draught, immediately after the bath, must is fatal[2896] in its effects. It acts as an antidote[2897] to cantharides and stings inflicted by serpents, those of the hæmorrhois and the salamandra[2898] in particular. It is productive of head-ache, and is prejudicial to the throat, but it is good for the kidneys, liver, and inner coat of the bladder, by reason of its lubricating properties. It is particularly effectual also in cases of injuries inflicted by the insect known as the “buprestis.”[2899]

Taken with oil as a vomit, it neutralizes the bad effects of opium,[2900] milk that has curdled upon the stomach, hemlock, dorycnium,[2901] and other poisons.[2902] For all these purposes, however, white must is not so efficacious, while must prepared from raisins of the sun has a more pleasant flavour, and is productive of a less degree of oppression to the head.

CHAP. 19.—PARTICULARS RELATIVE TO WINE.

We have already[2903] described the various kinds of wine, the numerous differences which exist between them, and most of the properties which each kind possesses. There is no subject that presents greater difficulties than this, or, indeed, a more varied field for discussion, it being extremely difficult to pronounce whether wine is more generally injurious in its effects, or beneficial. And then, in addition to this, how very uncertain is it, whether, the moment we have drunk it, it will be productive of salutary results, or turn out no better than so much poison! However, it is only with reference to its medicinal properties, that we are now about to speak of it.

Asclepiades has composed a whole treatise (which has thence received its name[2904]) on the proper methods of administering wine; and the number of commentators who have since written on this treatise, is almost innumerable. For my own part, with all that gravity which becomes a Roman, and one zealous for the furtherance of liberal pursuits, I shall enter into a careful examination of this subject, not, indeed, in the character of a physician, but as a careful investigator of the effects which wine is likely to produce upon the health of mankind. To treat, however, of the medicinal properties of each individual kind, would be a labour without end, and quite inexhaustible; the more so, as the opinions of medical men are so entirely at variance upon the subject.

CHAP. 20.—THE SURRENTINE WINES: THREE REMEDIES. THE ALBAN WINES: TWO REMEDIES. THE FALERNIAN WINES: SIX REMEDIES.

Our ancestors set the highest value upon the wines of Surrentum;[2905] but at a later period the preference was given to the Alban, or the Falernian wines. More recently, again, other varieties of wine have come into fashion, quite in accordance with that most unreasonable mode of proceeding, according to which, each person, as he finds a wine most to his taste, extols it as superior to all others. Suppose, now, that all persons were quite agreed as to the superiority of some

## particular kind of wine, how small a proportion of mankind would be

enabled to make use of it! As it is, even the rich never drink it in an unsophisticated state; the morals of the age being such, that it is the name only of a vintage that is sold, the wines being adulterated the very moment they enter the vat. Hence it is, by Hercules!—a thing truly astounding—that, in reality, a wine is more innoxious in its effects, in proportion as it enjoys a less extended renown. The three kinds, however, of which we have made mention, appear to have maintained, with the least diminution, their ancient repute.

The Falernian wine, if a person should be desirous to know the marked characteristics of wines according to age, is injurious to the health, either too new or too old; at fifteen years it begins to be of medium age. Falernian wine of this age, taken cold, is good for the stomach, but not when taken warm. For an inveterate cough and for quartan fevers, it is a good plan to drink it neat, fasting. There is no wine that quickens the action of the venous system so much as this; it acts astringently upon the bowels, and is feeding to the body. It has been thought, however, that this wine is productive of injury to the sight, and that it is far from beneficial to the nerves[2906] and the bladder.

The Alban wines are more salutary to the nervous system, but the sweet kinds are not so beneficial to the stomach. The rough wines of Alba are even better than those of Falernum, but they do not promote the digestion so well, and have a slight tendency to overload the stomach.

As to the Surrentine wines, they have no such effect upon the stomach, nor are they at all trying to the head; they have the property also of arresting defluxions of the stomach and intestines. The Cæcuban wines are no longer grown.

CHAP. 21.—THE SETINE WINES; ONE OBSERVATION UPON THEM. THE STATAN WINES; ONE OBSERVATION UPON THEM. THE SIGNIAN WINES; ONE REMEDY.

Among the wines, however, which still exist, those of Setia[2907] promote the digestion, having more strength than the Surrentine wines, and more roughness than those of Alba. The wines of Falernum are not so powerful. Those of Stata are but very little inferior in quality to the wines already mentioned. It is universally agreed that the wines of Signia are extremely beneficial in cases of derangement of the bowels.

CHAP. 22.—OTHER WINES: SIXTY-FOUR REMEDIES.

As to the other wines, they may be spoken of in general terms. By the use of wine, the human vigour, blood, and complexion are improved. It is wine that makes up for all the difference between the middle or temperate zone, and those which lie on either side of it, the juice of the vine conferring as much vigour and robustness upon the inhabitants of our part of the earth as the rigorousness[2908] of the climate does upon the people there. Milk, used as a beverage, strengthens, the bones, liquids extracted from the cereals nourish the sinews, and water imparts nutriment to the flesh: hence it is that persons who confine themselves to these several liquids as a beverage, are of a less ruddy complexion than the wine-drinker, less robust, and less able to endure fatigue. By the use of wine in moderation the sinews are strengthened, but taken in excess it proves injurious to them; the same, too, with the eyes. Wine refreshes the stomach, sharpens the appetite, takes off the keen edge of sorrows and anxieties, warms the body, acts beneficially as a diuretic, and invites sleep. In addition to these properties, it arrests vomiting, and we find that pledgets of wool, soaked in wine, and applied to abscesses, are extremely beneficial. According to Asclepiades, the virtues possessed by wine are hardly equalled by the majestic attributes of the gods themselves.

Old wine bears admixture with a larger quantity of water, and acts more powerfully as a diuretic, though at the same time it is less effectual for quenching thirst. Sweet wine, again, is less inebriating, but stays longer on the stomach, while rough wine is more easy of digestion. The wine that becomes mellow with the greatest rapidity is the lightest, and that which becomes sweeter the older it is, is not so injurious to the nerves. Wines that are rich and black,[2909] are not so beneficial to the stomach; but, at the same time, they are more feeding to the body. Thin-bodied rough wines are not so feeding, but are more wholesome to the stomach, and pass off more speedily by urine, though they are all the more liable to fly to the head; a remark which will apply, once for all, to liquids of every kind.

Wine that has been mellowed by the agency of smoke is extremely unwholesome—a fraudulent method of preparation that has been invented in the wine-lofts[2910] of the retail dealers. At the present day, however, this plan is adopted in private families even, when it is wished to give the appearance of maturity to wines that have become carious.[2911] Indeed, this term carious has been used very appositely by the ancients with reference to wines; for we find that in the case of wood even, smoke exercises a caustic effect upon the carious parts, and eats them away; and yet we, on the other hand, persuade ourselves that an adventitious age may be imparted to wines by the bitter twang derived from smoke![2912]

Those wines which are extremely pale, become more wholesome the older they are. The more generous[2913] a wine is, the thicker it becomes with age; while, at the same time, it contracts a bitter flavour, which is far from exercising a beneficial effect upon the health. To season another wine, that is not so old, with this, is nothing less than to make an unwholesome preparation. The more of its own natural flavour[2914] a wine possesses, the more wholesome it is; and the best age for a wine is that which naturally belongs to it, a medium age being the one that is the most generally esteemed.

CHAP. 23.—SIXTY-ONE OBSERVATIONS RELATIVE TO WINE.

Persons whose wish it is to make flesh, or to keep the bowels relaxed, will do well to drink while taking their food. Those, on the other hand, who wish to reduce themselves, or prevent the bowels from being relaxed, should abstain from drinking while taking their meals, and drink but a very little only when they have done eating. To drink wine fasting is a fashion of recent introduction[2915] only, and an extremely bad one for persons engaged in matters of importance, and requiring a continued application of the mental faculties. Wine, no doubt, was taken fasting in ancient times, but then it was as a preparative for sleep and repose from worldly cares; and it is for this reason that, in Homer,[2916] we find Helen presenting it to the guests before the repast. It is upon this fact, too, that the common proverb is founded, which says that “wisdom is obscured by wine.”[2917] It is to wine that we men are indebted for being the only animated beings that drink without being thirsty. When drinking wine, it is a very good plan to take a draught of water every now and then; and to take one long draught of it at the last, cold water taken internally having the effect of instantaneously dispelling inebriation.

It is strongly recommended by Hesiod[2918] to drink undiluted wine[2919] for twenty days before the rising of the Dog-star, and as many after. Pure wine, too, acts as an antidote to hemlock, coriander,[2920] henbane, mistletoe, opium, mercury, as also to stings inflicted by bees, wasps, hornets, the phalangium, serpents, and scorpions; all kinds of poison, in fact, which are of a cold nature, the venom of the hæmorrhois and the prester,[2921] in particular, and the noxious effects of fungi. Undiluted wine is good, too, in cases of flatulency, gnawing pains in the thoracic organs, excessive vomitings at the stomach, fluxes of the bowels and intestines, dysentery, excessive perspirations after prolonged fits of coughing, and defluxions of various kinds. In the cardiac[2922] disease, it is a good plan to apply a sponge soaked in neat wine to the left breast: in all these cases, however, old white wine is the best. A fomentation of hot wine applied to the genitals of beasts of burden is found to be very beneficial; and, introduced into the mouth, with the aid of a horn, it has the effect of removing all sensations of fatigue.[2923] It is asserted that in apes, and other quadrupeds with toes, the growth will be impeded if they are accustomed to drink undiluted wine.[2924]

CHAP. 24.—IN WHAT MALADIES WINE SHOULD BE ADMINISTERED; HOW IT SHOULD BE ADMINISTERED, AND AT WHAT TIMES.

We shall now proceed to speak of wine in relation to its medicinal uses. The wines of Campania[2925] which have the least body, are the most wholesome beverage for persons of rank and station; and for the lower classes[2926] the best kind of wine is that which is the most pleasant to the person who drinks it, provided he is in robust health. For persons of all ranks, however, the most serviceable wine is that the strength of which has been reduced by the strainer;[2927] for we must bear in mind that wine is nothing else but juice of grapes which has acquired strength by the process of fermentation. A mixture of numerous kinds of wine is universally bad, and the most wholesome wine of all is that to which no ingredient has been added when in a state of must; indeed, it is still better if the vessels even in which it is kept have never been pitched.[2928] As to wines which have been treated with marble, gypsum, or lime,[2929] where is the man, however robust he may be, that has not stood in dread of them?

Wines which have been prepared with sea-water[2930] are particularly injurious to the stomach, nerves, and bladder. Those which have been seasoned with resin are generally looked upon as beneficial to a cold stomach, but are considered unsuitable where there is a tendency to vomit: the same, too, with must, boiled grape-juice,[2931] and raisin wine. New wines seasoned with resin are good for no one, being productive of vertigo and head-ache: hence it is that the name of “crapula”[2932] has been given equally to new resined wines, and to the surfeit and head-ache which they produce.

The wines above mentioned[2933] by name, are good for cough and catarrh, as also for cœliac affections, dysentery, and the catamenia. Those wines of this sort which are red[2934] or black,[2935] are more astringent and more heating than the others. Wines which have been seasoned with pitch only, are not so injurious; but at the same time we must bear in mind that pitch is neither more nor less than resin liquefied[2936] by the action of fire. These pitched wines are of a heating nature, promote the digestion, and act as a purgative; they are good, also, for the chest and the bowels, for pains in the uterus, if there are no signs of fever, for inveterate fluxes, ulcerations, ruptures, spasms, suppurated abscesses, debility of the sinews, flatulency, cough, asthma, and sprains, in which last case they are applied in uncleansed wool. For all these purposes the wine is preferred which has naturally the flavour of pitch,[2937] and is thence known as “picatum:” it is generally agreed, however, that the produce of the vine called “helvennaca,”[2938] if taken in too large a quantity, is trying to the head.

In reference to the treatment of fever, it is well known that wine should never be given, unless the patient is an aged person, or the symptoms are beginning to abate. In cases of acute fever, wine must never be given, under any circumstance, except when there is an evident remission of the attack, and more particularly if this takes place in the night, for then the danger is diminished by one half, there being the probability of the patient sleeping off the effects of the wine. It is equally forbidden, also, to females just after delivery or a miscarriage, and to patients suffering from over-indulgence of the sexual passions; nor should it be given in cases of head-ache, of maladies in which the attacks are attended with chills at the extremities, of fever accompanied with cough, of tremulousness[2939] in the sinews, of pains in the fauces, or where the disease is found to concentrate itself in the iliac regions. Wine is strictly forbidden, too, in cases of induration of the thoracic organs, violent throbbings of the veins, opisthotony, tetanus, asthma, and hardness of breathing attended with fever.

Wine is far from beneficial for a patient, when the eyes are fixed and rigid, and when the eyelids are immoveable, or else relaxed and heavy; in cases, too, where, with an incessant nictation, the eyes are more than usually brilliant, or where the eyelids refuse to close—the same, too, if that symptom should occur in sleep—or where the eyes are suffused with blood, or congealed matter makes its appearance in the corners of those organs. The same rule should be observed, also, when the tongue is heavy and swollen, or when there is an impediment from time to time in the speech, when the urine is passed with difficulty, or when a person has been seized with a sudden fright, with spasms, or recurrent fits of torpor, or experiences seminal discharges during sleep.

CHAP. 25.—NINETY-ONE OBSERVATIONS WITH REFERENCE TO WINE.

It is a well-ascertained fact, that in the cardiac[2940] disease the only resource is wine. According to some authorities, however, wine should only be given when the attacks come on, while others, again, are of opinion, that it must only be administered between the attacks; it being the object with the former to arrest the profuse perspirations, while the latter base their practice on an impression that it may be given with more safety at a moment when the malady has diminished in intensity; and this I find is the opinion entertained by most people. In all cases, wine must only be administered just after taking food, never after sleep, and under no circumstances after any other kind of drink, or in other words, only when the patient is thirsty; in no case whatever should it be given, except at the very last extremity. Wine is better suited to males than to females, to aged people than to youths, to youths than to children, and to persons who are used to it than to those who are not in the habit of taking it; winter, too, is a better time for using it than summer. As to the quantity to be prescribed, and the proportion of water to be mixed with it, that depends entirely upon the strength of the wine; it is generally thought, however, that the best proportions are one cyathus of wine and two of water. If, however, there is a derangement of the stomach, and if the food does not pass downward, the wine must be given in a larger proportion.

CHAP. 26.—ARTIFICIAL WINES.

Among the artificial wines, the preparation of which we have[2941] described, [there are some which],[2942] I think, are no longer made; in addition to which, it would be a mere loss of time to enlarge upon their medicinal effects, having expatiated elsewhere upon the properties of the various elements of which they are composed. And then, besides, the conceits of the medical men in relation to these wines have really passed all bounds; they pretend, for instance, that a wine extracted from turnips[2943] is good for recruiting the exhausted strength, after exercises in arms or on horseback; and, not to speak of other preparations, they attribute a similar effect to wine of juniper.[2944] Who is there, too, that would think of looking, upon wormwood wine[2945] as superior in its effects to wormwood itself?

I shall pass in silence the rest of these preparations, and among them palm wine,[2946] which is injurious to the head, and is beneficial only as a laxative to the bowels, and as a cure for spitting of blood. We cannot, however, look upon the liquor which we have spoken of[2947] under the name of “bion,” as being an artificial wine; for the whole art of making it consists merely in the employment of grapes before they have arrived at maturity. This preparation is extremely good for a deranged stomach or an imperfect digestion, as also for pregnancy, fainting fits, paralysis, fits of trembling, vertigo, gripings of the bowels, and sciatica. It is said, too, that in times of pestilence, and for persons on a long journey, this liquid forms a beverage of remarkable efficacy.

CHAP. 27.—VINEGAR: TWENTY-EIGHT REMEDIES.

Wine, even when it has lost its vinous properties, still retains some medicinal virtues. Vinegar possesses cooling properties in the very highest degree, and is no less efficacious as a resolvent; it has the property, too, of effervescing,[2948] when poured upon the ground. We have frequently had occasion, and shall again have occasion, to mention the various medicinal compositions in which it forms an ingredient. Taken by itself, it dispels nausea and arrests hiccup, and if smelt at, it will prevent sneezing: retained in the mouth, it prevents a person from being inconvenienced by the heat[2949] of the bath. It is used as a beverage also, in combination with water,[2950] and employed as a gargle, it is found by many to be very wholesome to the stomach,

## particularly convalescents and persons suffering from sun-stroke; used

as a fomentation, too, this mixture is extremely beneficial to the eyes. Vinegar is used remedially when a leech has been swallowed;[2951] and it has the property of healing leprous sores,[2952] scorbutic eruptions, running ulcers, wounds inflicted by dogs, scorpions, and scolopendræ, and the bite of the shrew-mouse. It is good, too, as a preventive of the itching sensations produced by the venom of all stinging animals, and as an antidote to the bite of the millepede.

Applied warm in a sponge, in the proportion of three sextarii to two ounces of sulphur or a bunch of hyssop, vinegar is a remedy for maladies of the fundament. To arrest the hæmorrhage which ensues upon the operation[2953] of lithotomy, and, indeed, all other operations of a similar nature, it is usual to apply vinegar in a sponge, and at the same time to administer it internally in doses of two cyathi, the very strongest possible being employed. Vinegar has the effect also of dissolving coagulated blood; for the cure of lichens, it is used both internally and externally. Used as an injection, it arrests looseness of the bowels and fluxes of the intestines; it is similarly employed, too, for procidence of the rectum and uterus.

Vinegar acts as a cure for inveterate coughs, defluxions of the throat, hardness of breathing, and looseness of the teeth: but it acts injuriously upon the bladder and the sinews, when relaxed. Medical men were for a long time in ignorance how beneficial vinegar is for the sting of the asp; for it was only recently that a man, while carrying a bladder[2954] of vinegar, happening to be stung by an asp upon which he trod, found to his surprise that whenever he put down the bladder he felt the sting, but that when he took it up again, he seemed as though he had never been hurt; a circumstance which at once suggested to him the remedial properties of the vinegar, upon drinking some of which he experienced a cure. It is with vinegar, too, and nothing else, that persons rinse the mouth after sucking the poison from a wound. This liquid, in fact, exercises a predominance not only upon various articles of food, but upon many other substances as well. Poured upon rocks in considerable quantities, it has the effect of splitting[2955] them, when the action of fire alone has been unable to produce any effect thereon. As a seasoning, too, there is no kind that is more agreeable than vinegar, or that has a greater tendency to heighten the flavour of food. When it is employed for this purpose, its extreme tartness is modified with burnt bread or wine, or else it is heightened by the addition of pepper, and of laser;[2956] in all cases, too, salt modifies its strength.

While speaking of vinegar, we must not omit to mention a very remarkable case in connexion with it: in the latter years of his life, M. Agrippa was dreadfully afflicted with gout, so much so, in fact, that he was quite unable to endure the torments to which he was subjected. Upon this, guided by the ominous advice of one of his medical attendants, though unknown to Augustus, at the moment of an extremely severe attack he plunged his legs into hot vinegar, content to purchase exemption from such cruel torments as he suffered, if even at the price of all use and sensation in those limbs, * * * * *.[2957]

CHAP. 28. (2.)—SQUILL VINEGAR: SEVENTEEN REMEDIES.

Squill vinegar is the more esteemed, the older it is. In addition to the properties which we have already[2958] mentioned, it is useful in cases where the food turns sour upon the stomach, a mere taste of it being sufficient to act as a corrective. It is good, too, when persons are seized with vomiting, while fasting, having the effect of indurating the passages of the throat and stomach. It is a corrective, also, of bad breath, strengthens the teeth and gums, and improves the complexion.

Used as a gargle, squill vinegar remedies hardness of hearing, and opens the passages of the ears, while at the same time it tends to improve the sight. It is very good, too, for epilepsy, melancholy, vertigo, hysterical suffocations, blows, falls with violence, and extravasations of blood in consequence, as also for debility of the sinews, and diseases of the kidneys. In cases of internal ulceration, however, the use of it must be avoided.

CHAP. 29.—OXYMELI: SEVEN REMEDIES.

The following, as we learn from Dieuches, was the manner in which oxymeli[2959] was prepared by the ancients. In a cauldron they used to put ten minæ of honey, five heminæ of old vinegar, a pound and a quarter of sea-salt, and five sextarii of rain-water; the mixture was then boiled together till it had simmered some ten times, after which it was poured off, and put by for keeping. Asclepiades, however, condemned this preparation, and put an end to the use of it, though before his time it used to be given in fevers even. Still, however, it is generally admitted that it was useful for the cure of stings inflicted by the serpent known as the “seps”[2960] and that it acted as an antidote to opium[2961] and mistletoe. It was usefully employed also, warm, as a gargle for quinsy and maladies of the ears, and for affections of the mouth and throat; for all these purposes, however, at the present day, oxalme is employed, the best kind of which is made with salt and fresh vinegar.

CHAP. 30.—SAPA: SEVEN REMEDIES.

Sapa[2962] has a close affinity with wine, being nothing else but must boiled down to one third: that which is prepared from white must is the best. It is used medicinally in cases of injuries inflicted by cantharides, the buprestis,[2963] the pine caterpillars known as pityocampæ,[2964] salamanders, and all venomous bites and stings. Taken with onions it has the effect of bringing away the dead fœtus and the after-birth. According to Fabianus, it acts as a poison, if taken by a person fasting, immediately after the bath.[2965]

CHAP. 31.—LEES OF WINE: TWELVE REMEDIES.

Next in the natural order come the lees of these several liquids. The lees of[2966] wine are so extremely powerful as to prove fatal to persons on descending into the vats.[2967] The proper precaution for preventing this, is to let down a light first, which so long as it refuses to burn, is significant of danger. Wine-lees, in an unrinsed[2968] state, form an ingredient in several medicinal preparations: with an equal proportion of iris,[2969] a liniment is prepared from them for purulent eruptions; and, either moist or dried, they are used for stings inflicted by the phalangium, and for inflammations[2970] of the testes, mamillæ, or other parts of the body. A decoction of wine-lees is prepared, too, with barley-meal and powdered frankincense; after which it is first parched and then dried. The test of its being properly boiled, is its imparting, when cold, a burning sensation to the tongue. When left exposed to the air, wine-lees very rapidly lose their virtues; which, on the other hand, are greatly heightened by the action of fire.

Wine-lees are very useful, too, boiled with figs, for the cure of lichens and cutaneous eruptions; they are applied also in a similar manner to leprous sores and running ulcers. Taken in drink, they act as an antidote to the poison of fungi, and more particularly if they are undiluted; boiled and then rinsed, they are used in preparations for the eyes. They are employed also topically for diseases of the testes and generative organs, and are taken in wine for strangury. When wine-lees have lost their strength, they are still useful for cleansing the body and scouring clothes, in which case they act as a substitute for gum acacia.[2971]

CHAP. 32.—LEES OF VINEGAR: SEVENTEEN REMEDIES.

The lees of vinegar,[2972] as a matter of course, considering the material from which they are derived, are much more acrid than those of wine, and more caustic in their effects. This substance prevents the increase of suppuration, and, employed topically, is good for the stomach, intestines, and regions of the abdomen. It has the property also of arresting fluxes of those parts, and the catamenia when in excess; it disperses inflamed tumours which have not come to a head, and is a cure for quinsy. Applied with wax, it is curative of erysipelas. It reduces swellings of the mamillæ when gorged with milk, and removes malformed nails. Employed with polenta, it is very efficacious for the cure of stings inflicted by the serpent called cerastes;[2973] and in combination with melanthium,[2974] it heals bites inflicted by crocodiles and dogs.

Vinegar lees, too, by being subjected to the action of fire, acquire additional strength.[2975] Mixed in this state with oil of mastich, and applied to the hair, they turn[2976] it red in a single night. Applied with water in linen, as a pessary, they act as a detergent upon the uterus.

CHAP. 33.—LEES OF SAPA: FOUR REMEDIES.

The lees[2977] of sapa are used for the cure of burns, it being the best plan to employ with them the down that grows on the reed; a decoction too, of these lees, is good for the cure of an inveterate cough. They are boiled also in a saucepan with salt and grease as an ointment for tumours of the jaws and neck.

CHAP. 34. (3.)—THE LEAVES OF THE OLIVE: TWENTY-THREE REMEDIES.

The next rank, after the vine, clearly belongs to the olive. The leaves of the olive-tree are astringent,[2978] detergent, and binding in the highest degree. Chewed and applied to sores, they are of a healing nature; and applied topically with oil, they are good for head-ache. A decoction of them with honey makes a good liniment for such parts of the body as have been subjected to cauterization, as also for inflammations of the gums, whitlows, and foul and putrid ulcers: combined with honey, they arrest discharges of blood from the nervous[2979] parts of the a body. The juice of olive leaves is efficacious for carbuncular ulcers and pustules about the eyes, and for procidence of the pupil; hence it is much employed in the composition of eye-salves, having the additional property of healing inveterate runnings of the eyes, and ulcerations of the eyelids.

This juice is extracted by pouring wine and rain-water upon the leaves, and then pounding them; after which the pulp is dried and divided into lozenges. Used with wool, as a pessary, this preparation arrests menstruation when in excess, and is very useful for the treatment of purulent sores, condylomata, erysipelas, spreading ulcers, and epinyctis.

CHAP. 35.—THE BLOSSOM OF THE OLIVE: FOUR REMEDIES.

The blossom,[2980] too, of the olive-tree possesses similar properties. The young branches are burnt when just beginning to blossom, and of the ashes a substitute for spodium[2981] is made, upon which wine is poured, and it is then burnt afresh. To suppurations and inflamed tumours these ashes are applied, or else the leaves, beaten up with honey; for the eyes, they are used with polenta. The juice which exudes[2982] from the wood, when burnt in a green state, heals lichens, scaly eruptions, and running ulcers.

As to the juice[2983] which exudes naturally from the olive-tree, and more particularly that of Æthiopia, we cannot be sufficiently surprised that authors should have been found to recommend it as an application for tooth-ache, and to tell us at the same time that it is a poison, and even that we must have recourse to the wild olive for it. The bark of the roots of the olive, as young and tender a tree as possible being selected, scraped and taken every now and then in honey, is good[2984] for patients suffering from spitting of blood and purulent expectorations. The ashes of the tree itself, mixed with axle-grease, are useful for the cure of tumours, and heal fistulas by the extraction of the vicious humours which they contain.

CHAP. 36.—WHITE OLIVES: FOUR REMEDIES. BLACK OLIVES: THREE REMEDIES.

White olives are wholesome for the upper regions of the stomach, but not so good for the bowels. Eaten by themselves, habitually as a diet, quite fresh and before they are preserved, they are remarkably serviceable, having the effect of curing gravel,[2985] and of strengthening the teeth when worn or loosened by the use of meat.

Black olives, on the other hand, are not so wholesome for the upper regions of the stomach, but are better for the bowels; they are not good, however, for the head or for the eyes. Both kinds, pounded and applied topically, are good for the cure of burns, but the black olive is sometimes chewed first, and instantly applied to the sore, for the purpose of preventing blisters from forming. Colymbades[2986] act as a detergent for foul ulcers, but they are bad for persons suffering from strangury.

CHAP. 37.—AMURCA OF OLIVES: TWENTY-ONE REMEDIES.

As to the amurca of olives, we might appear to have said enough on the subject already,[2987] taking Cato as our guide; it remains, however, to speak of the medicinal uses of this substance. It is extremely serviceable as a strengthener of the gums,[2988] and for the cure of ulcers of the mouth; it has the effect, also, of strengthening loose teeth in the sockets, and an application of it is good for erysipelas and spreading ulcers. For chilblains, the amurca of the black olive is the best, as also as a fomentation for infants; that of the white olive is used, with wool, as a pessary for affections of the uterus. Of both kinds, however, the amurca is much more serviceable when boiled; this being done in a vessel of Cyprian copper, to the consistency of honey. Thus prepared, it is used, according to the necessities of the case, with either vinegar, old wine, or honied wine, for the treatment of maladies of the mouth, teeth, and ears, and for running ulcers,[2989] diseases of the generative organs, and chaps on various parts of the body. It is employed topically, for the cure of wounds, in a linen pledget, and for sprains, in wool: as a medicament, it is of great utility, more particularly when old, as in such case it effects the cure of fistula.[2990]

It is used as an injection for ulcerations of the fundament, the generative organs, and the uterus, and is employed topically for incipient gout and diseases of the joints. Boiled down again, with omphacium,[2991] to the consistency of honey, it extracts decayed teeth; and, in combination with a decoction of lupines and the plant chamæleon,[2992] it is a marvellous cure for itch in beasts of burden.[2993] Fomentations of amurca in a raw state[2994] are extremely good for gout.

CHAP. 38. (4.)—THE LEAVES OF THE WILD OLIVE: SIXTEEN REMEDIES.

The leaves of the wild olive are possessed of similar properties. The spodium[2995] that is made by burning the young branches is of remarkable efficacy for arresting fluxes; it allays inflammations of the eyes also, acts as a detergent upon ulcerous sores, makes the flesh grow on wounds from which it has been removed, and acts gently as a caustic upon fleshy excrescences, drying them up and making them cicatrize. The rest of its properties are similar to those of the cultivated olive. There is, however, one peculiarity in it; the leaves, boiled with honey, are given in doses of a spoonful for spitting of blood.[2996] The oil, too, of the wild olive is more acrid, and possesses greater energy than that of the cultivated olive; hence it is that it is usual to rinse the mouth with it for the purpose of strengthening the teeth.[2997]

The leaves, too, are applied topically, with wine, to whitlows, carbuncles, and all kinds of gatherings; and, with honey, to sores which require a detergent. Both a decoction of the leaves and the natural juices of the wild olive form ingredients in medicaments for the eyes; and the latter are found useful as an injection for the ears, in the case of purulent discharges even. From the blossom of the wild olive a liniment is prepared for condylomata and epinyctis: it is applied also to the abdomen, with barley-meal, for fluxes, and to the head, with oil, for head-ache. In cases where the scalp becomes detached from the cranium, the young branches, boiled and applied with honey, have a healing effect. These branches, too, when arrived at maturity, taken with the food, arrest diarrhœa: parched and beaten up with honey, they act as a detergent upon corroding sores, and bring carbuncles to a head and dispers them.

CHAP. 39.—OMPHACIUM: THREE REMEDIES.

As to olive oil, we have abundantly treated of its nature and elements already.[2998] It now remains to speak of the medicinal properties of the various kinds of oil. The most useful of all is omphacium,[2999] and next to that, green oil;[3000] in addition to which, we may remark that oil ought to be as fresh as possible, except in cases where old oil is absolutely required. For medicinal purposes, too, oil should be extremely fluid, have an agreeable smell, and be free from[3001] all taste, just the converse, in fact, of the property which we look for in food. Omphacium is good for the gums, and if kept from time to time in the mouth, there is nothing better as a preservative of the whiteness of the teeth. It checks profuse perspirations.

CHAP. 40.—OIL OF ŒNANTHE: TWENTY-EIGHT REMEDIES.

Oil of œnanthe[3002] has just the same properties as oil of roses. Like oil in general, it makes the body supple, and imparts to it strength and vigour; it is injurious to the stomach, promotes the increase of ulcers, irritates the fauces, and deadens the effect of all poisons, white-lead and gypsum in particular, if taken in hydromel or a decoction of dried figs. Taken with water, it is good as an antidote to the effects of opium, and to injuries inflicted by cantharides, the buprestis, the salamandra, and the pine caterpillar.[3003] Taken pure as an emetic, it is highly esteemed as an antidote in all the before-mentioned cases. It is also a refreshing remedy for extreme lassitude, and for fits of shivering from cold. Taken warm, in doses of six cyathi, and more particularly when boiled with rue,[3004] it relieves gripings of the stomach and expels intestinal worms, Taken in doses of one hemina with wine and warm water, or else with barley water,[3005] it acts as a purgative upon the bowels. It is useful, also, in the composition of plasters for wounds, and it cleanses the complexion of the face. Injected into the nostrils of oxen, till it produces eructation, it cures attacks of flatulency.

When old it is of a more warming nature than when new, and acts more energetically as a sudorific, and as a resolvent for indurations. It is very efficacious[3006] in cases of lethargy, and more particularly in the decline of the disease. Mixed with an equal proportion of honey which has not been smoked,[3007] it contributes in some degree to the improvement of the sight. It is a remedy, also for head-ache; and, in combination with water, for the burning attacks in fevers. If old oil should happen not to be at hand, the new oil is boiled to act as a substitute for it.

CHAP. 41.—CASTOR OIL: SIXTEEN REMEDIES.

Castor[3008] oil, taken with an equal quantity of warm water, acts as a purgative[3009] upon the bowels. It is said, too, that as a purgative this oil acts more particularly upon the regions of the diaphragm.[3010] It is very useful for diseases of the joints, all kinds of indurations, affections of the uterus and ears, and for burns: employed with the ashes of the murex,[3011] it heals itch-scabs and inflammations of the fundament. It improves the complexion also, and by its fertilizing tendencies promotes the growth of the hair. The cicus, or seed from which this oil is made, no animal will touch; and from these grape-like seeds[3012] wicks are made,[3013] which burn with a peculiar brilliancy; the light, however, that is produced by the oil is very dim, in consequence of its extreme thickness. The leaves are applied topically with vinegar for erysipelas, and fresh-gathered, they are used by themselves for diseases of the mamillæ and defluxions; a decoction of them in wine, with polenta and saffron, is good for inflammations of various kinds. Boiled by themselves, and applied to the face for three successive days, they improve the complexion.

CHAP. 42.—OIL OF ALMONDS: SIXTEEN REMEDIES.

Oil of almonds is of a purgative and emollient nature; it effaces wrinkles on the skin, improves the complexion, and, in combination with honey, removes spots on the face. A decoction of it with oil of roses, honey, and pomegranate rind, is good for the ears, and exterminates the small worms that breed there; it has the effect also, of dispelling hardness of hearing, recurrent tinglings and singing in the ears, and is curative of head-ache and pains in the eyes. Used with wax, it cures boils, and scorches by exposure to the sun;[3014] in combination with wine it heals running ulcers and scaly eruptions, and with melilote, condylomatous swellings. Applied by itself to the head, it invites sleep.[3015]

CHAP. 43.—OIL OF LAUREL: NINE REMEDIES.

As to oil of laurel,[3016] the fresher and greener it is, the more valuable are its properties. It is of a heating nature, and is consequently applied, warm, in a pomegranate rind, for paralysis, spasms, sciatica, bruises, head-ache, catarrhs of long standing, and diseases of the ears.

CHAP. 44.—OIL OF MYRTLE: TWENTY REMEDIES.

Oil of myrtle has similar properties.[3017] It is of an astringent and indurative nature; mixed with the scoria of copper, and wax, it cures diseases of the gums, tooth-ache, dysentery, ulcerations of the uterus, affections of the bladder, inveterate or running ulcers, eruptions, and burns. It exercises a healing effect also, upon excoriations, scaly eruptions, chaps, condylomata, and sprains, and it neutralizes offensive odours of the body. This oil is an antidote[3018] to cantharides, the buprestis, and other dangerous poisons of a corrosive nature.

CHAP. 45.—OIL OF CHAMÆMYRSINE OR OXYMYRSINE; OIL OF CYPRESS; OIL OF CITRUS; OIL OF WALNUTS; OIL OF CNIDIUM; OIL OF MASTICH; OIL OF BALANUS; VARIOUS REMEDIES.

Oil of chamæmyrsine, or oxymyrsine,[3019] possesses similar properties. Oil of cypress[3020] also, produces the same effects as oil of myrtle, and the same as to oil of citrus.[3021] Oil of walnuts, which we have previously mentioned[3022] as being called “caryinon,” is good for alopecy, and is injected into the ears for the cure of hardness of hearing. Used as a liniment, it relieves head-ache; but in other respects it is of an inert nature and disagreeable taste; indeed, if part only of one of the kernels should happen to be decayed, the whole making is spoilt. The oil extracted from the grain of Cnidos[3023] has similar properties to castor[3024] oil. Oil of mastich[3025] is very useful as an ingredient in the medicinal preparation known as “acopum;”[3026] indeed it would be fully as efficacious as oil of roses, were it not found to be somewhat too styptic in its effects. It is employed in cases of too profuse perspiration, and for the cure of pimples produced thereby. It is extremely efficacious also for itch in beasts of burden. Oil of balanus[3027] removes spots on the skin, boils, freckles, and maladies of the gums.[3028]

CHAP. 46.—THE CYPRUS, AND THE OIL EXTRACTED FROM IT; SIXTEEN REMEDIES. GLEUCINUM: ONE REMEDY.

We have already enlarged[3029] upon the nature of the cyprus, and the method of preparing oil of cyprus. This oil is naturally warming, and relaxes the sinews. The leaves of the tree are used as an application to the stomach,[3030] 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,[3031] they turn the hair red. The blossoms, 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[3032] exhaled by these blossoms induces sleep.

The oil called “gleucinum”[3033] has certain astringent and refreshing properties similar to those of oil of œnanthe.

CHAP. 47.—OIL OF BALSAMUM: FIFTEEN REMEDIES.

The oil of balsamum is by far the most valuable of them all, as already stated[3034] 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,[3035] 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.

CHAP. 48.—MALOBATHRUM: FIVE REMEDIES.

We have already[3036] 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.

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[3037] is of an emollient nature, but it is bad for the nerves; taken in drink, it disturbs the brain. Therminum,[3038] or oil of lupines, is emollient, and very similar to oil of roses in its effects. As to oil of narcissus, we have already[3039] spoken of it when describing that flower. Oil of radishes,[3040] cures phthiriasis[3041] 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[3042] known as “cacoethes.” Oil of lilies, which we have previously[3043] 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[3044] spoken of it as being strengthening to the tendons; which is the case, also, with the herbaceous[3045] oil which the people of Iguvium[3046] sell, on the Flaminian Way.

CHAP. 50.—ELÆOMELI: TWO REMEDIES. OIL OF PITCH: TWO REMEDIES.

Elæomeli, which, as we have already[3047] 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[3048] a cyathus of it, by way of prelude. Oil of pitch[3049] is employed for the cure of cough, and of itch in cattle.

CHAP. 51.—THE PALM: NINE REMEDIES.

Next in rank after the vine and the olive comes the palm. Dates fresh-gathered have an inebriating[3050] 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[3051] 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 Thebaïc date being held in preference for the purpose. Dates are very useful, too, for persons troubled with spitting of blood, when taken in the food more particularly. The dates called caryotæ,[3052] in combination with quinces, wax, and saffron, are applied topically for affections of the stomach, bladder, abdomen, and intestines: they are good for bruises also. Date-stones,[3053] burnt in a new earthen vessel, produce an ash which, when rinsed, is employed as a substitute for spodium,[3054] and is used as an ingredient in eye-salves, and, with the addition of nard, in washes for the eye-brows.[3055]

CHAP. 52. (5.)—THE PALM WHICH PRODUCES MYROBALANUM: THREE REMEDIES.

Of the palm which produces myrobalanum,[3056] the most esteemed kind is that grown in Egypt;[3057] the dates of which, unlike those of the other kinds, are without stones. Used with astringent wine, they arrest[3058] diarrhœa and the catamenia, and promote the cicatrization of wounds.

CHAP. 53.—THE PALM CALLED ELATE: SIXTEEN REMEDIES.

The palm called “elate,”[3059] 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[3060] 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.

CHAP. 54. (6.)—REMEDIES DERIVED PROM 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[3061] 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[3062] 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[3063] like a cerate, either raw or boiled. The down upon them heals[3064] 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 soothing 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:”[3065] 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,[3066] though of a kindred kind, is not so good.

A circle[3067] 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.

CHAP. 55.—THE SWEET APPLES CALLED MELIMELA: SIX OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM. SOUR APPLES: FOUR OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM.

The apples known as “melimela,”[3068] and the other sweet apples, relax the stomach and bowels, but are productive of heat and thirst,[3069] though they do not act injuriously upon the nervous system. The orbiculata[3070] 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.

CHAP. 56.—CITRONS: FIVE OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM.

Citrons,[3071] 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 sweetness to the breath.[3072] The pips of this fruit are recommended for pregnant women to chew when affected with qualmishness. Citrons are good, also, for a weak stomach, but it is not easy to eat them except with vinegar.[3073]

CHAP. 57.—PUNIC APPLES OR POMEGRANATES: TWENTY-SIX REMEDIES.

It would be a mere loss of time to recapitulate the nine[3074] different varieties of the pomegranate. The sweet pomegranates, or, in other words, those known by the name of “apyrena,”[3075] 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[3076] 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.[3077] The rind of the sour pomegranate is employed for many purposes. It is in very common use with curriers for tanning[3078] leather, from which circumstance it has received the name of “malicorium.”[3079] 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 suffering 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.

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,[3080] 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.[3081] 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,[3082] 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.[3083] 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.[3084] Pomegranate rind, boiled in wine and applied, is a cure for chilblains. A pomegranate, boiled down to one-third in three heminæ of wine, is a cure for griping pains in the bowels and for tape-worm.[3085] A pomegranate, put in a new 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.

CHAP. 59.—CYTINUS: EIGHT REMEDIES.

The Greeks have given the name of cytinus[3086] to the first germs of this tree when it is just beginning to blossom. These germs have a singular property, which has been remarked 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[3087] 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[3088] 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.

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 diminutive flowers, the name given to which, as already[3089] stated, is “balaustium.”[3090] 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,[3091] exterminates tape-worm;[3092] and the root itself, boiled down in water to a thick consistency, is employed for the same purposes as lycium.[3093]

CHAP. 61.—THE WILD POMEGRANATE.

There is a tree, also, which is called the wild pomegranate,[3094] 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.

CHAP. 62. (7.)—PEARS: TWELVE OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM.

All kinds of pears, as an aliment, are indigestible,[3095] to persons in robust health, even; but to invalids they are forbidden as rigidly as wine. Boiled, however, they are remarkably agreeable and wholesome, those of Crustumium[3096] in particular. All kinds of pears, too, boiled with honey, are wholesome to the stomach. Cataplasms of a resolvent nature are made with pears, and a decoction of them is used to disperse indurations. They are efficacious, also, in cases of poisoning[3097] by mushrooms and fungi, as much by reason of their heaviness, as by the neutralizing effects of their juice.

The wild pear ripens but very slowly. Cut in slices and hung in the air to dry, it arrests looseness of the bowels, an effect which is equally produced by a decoction of it taken in drink; in which case the leaves also are boiled up together with the fruit. The ashes of pear-tree wood are even more efficacious[3098] as an antidote to the poison of fungi.

A load of apples or pears, however small, is singularly fatiguing[3099] to beasts of burden; the best plan to counteract this, they say, is to give the animals some to eat, or at least to shew them the fruit before starting.

CHAP. 63.—FIGS: ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM.

The milky juice of the fig-tree possesses kindred properties with vinegar;[3100] hence it is, that, like rennet, it curdles milk. This juice is collected before the fruit ripens, and dried in the shade; being used with yolk of egg as a liniment, or else in drink, with amylum,[3101] to bring ulcers to a head and break them, and for the purposes of an emmenagogue. With meal of fenugreek and vinegar, it is applied topically for gout; it acts also as a depilatory,[3102] heals eruptions of the eyelids, lichens and itch-scabs, and relaxes the bowels. The milk of the fig-tree is naturally curative of the stings of hornets, wasps, and similar insects, and is remarkably useful for wounds inflicted by scorpions. Mixed with axle-grease it removes warts. With the leaves and figs still green an application is made for scrofulous[3103] and other sores of a nature which requires emollients or resolvents. The leaves, too, used by themselves, are productive of a similar effect. In addition to this, they are employed for other purposes, as a friction for lichens, for example, for alopecy, and other diseases which require caustic applications. The young shoots of the branches are used as an application to the skin in cases of bites inflicted by dogs. With honey they are applied to the ulcers known as honeycomb ulcers;[3104] mixed with the leaves of wild poppies they extract[3105] splinters of bones; and the leaves beaten up in vinegar are a cure for bites inflicted by dogs. The young white shoots of the black[3106] fig are applied topically, with wax, to boils, and bites inflicted by the shrew-mouse: and the ashes of their leaves are used for the cure of gangrenes and the reduction of fleshy excrescences.

Ripe figs are diuretic and laxative; they promote the perspiration, and bring out pimples; hence it is that they are unwholesome in autumn, the perspirations which they excite being always attended with shivering. They are injurious also to the stomach, though for a short time only; and it is generally thought that they spoil the voice. The figs which are the last to ripen are more wholesome than the first, but those which are drugged[3107] for the purpose of ripening them are never wholesome. This fruit invigorates the young, and improves the health of the aged and retards the formation of wrinkles; it allays thirst, and is of a cooling nature, for which reason it should never be declined in those fevers of an astringent tendency which are known as “stegnæ.”

Dried figs are injurious to the stomach,[3108] but are beneficial in a marvellous degree to the throat and fauces. They are of a warming nature, are productive of thirst, and relax the bowels, but are unwholesome in stomachic complaints and fluxes of the bowels. In all cases they are beneficial for the bladder, hardness of breathing, and asthma, as also for diseases of the liver, kidneys, and spleen. They are nourishing and invigorating, for which reason, the athletes in former times used them as food: Pythagoras, the gymnast, being the first who introduced among them a flesh diet.[3109] Figs are extremely useful for patients recovering from a long illness, and for persons suffering from epilepsy or dropsy. They are applied topically also in all cases where sores require to be brought to a head, or dispersed; and they are still more efficacious when mixed with lime or nitre. Boiled with hyssop they act as a purgative on the pectoral organs, carry off the phlegm, and cure inveterate coughs: boiled with wine they heal maladies of the fundament, and tumours of the jaws. A decoction of them is applied also to boils, inflamed tumours, and imposthumes of the parotid glands. This decoction, too, is found very useful as a fomentation for disorders incident to females.

Boiled with fenugreek,[3110] figs are very useful in cases of pleurisy and peripneumony. A decoction of them with rue is good for griping pains in the bowels; in combination with verdigris,[3111] they are used for ulcers of the legs and imposthumes of the parotid glands; with pomegranates, for hang-nails;[3112] and with wax, for burns and chilblains. Boiled in wine, with wormwood and barley-meal, they are employed for dropsy. Eaten with nitre, they relax the bowels; and beaten up with salt they are applied to stings inflicted by scorpions. Boiled in wine, and applied topically, they bring carbuncles to a head. In cases of carcinoma, unattended with ulceration, it is a singularly good plan to apply to the part the pulpiest fig that can be procured; the same, too, with phagedænic sores.

As to the ashes of the fig, those of no tree known are of a more acrid character,[3113] being of a detergent and astringent nature, and tending to make new flesh and to promote the cicatrization of wounds. They are also taken in drink, for the purpose of dissolving coagulated blood, as also for bruises, falls with violence, ruptures, convulsions * * * * in one cyathus respectively of water and oil. They are administered also for tetanus and spasms, and are used either in a potion, or as an injection for cœliac affections and dysentery. Employed as a liniment with oil, they have a warming effect; and kneaded into a paste with wax and rose-oil, they heal burns, leaving the slightest scar only. Applied in oil, as a liniment, they are a cure for weakness of sight, and are used as a dentifrice in diseases of the teeth.

It is said, too, that if a patient draws downward a branch of a fig-tree, and turns up his head and bites off some knot or other of it, without being seen by any one, and then wears it in a leather bag suspended by a string from his neck, it is a certain cure for scrofulous sores and imposthumes of the parotid glands. The bark of this tree, beaten up with oil, cures ulcerations of the abdomen. Green figs, applied raw, with the addition of nitre and meal, remove warts and wens.[3114]

The ashes of the suckers which spring from the roots are used as a substitute for spodium.[3115] Burnt over a second time and incorporated with white lead, they are divided into cakes which are used for the cure of ulcerations of the eyes and eruptions.

CHAP. 64.—THE WILD FIG: FORTY-TWO OBSERVATIONS UPON IT.

The wild fig, again, is even more efficacious in its properties than the cultivated one. It has not so large a proportion of milky juice as the other: a slip of it put into milk has the effect of curdling it and turning it into cheese. This juice, collected and indurated by being subjected to pressure, imparts a fine flavor[3116] to meat, being steeped in vinegar for the purpose, and then rubbed upon it. It is used also as an ingredient in blisters, and taken internally it relaxes the bowels. Used with amylum,[3117] it opens the passages of the uterus, and combined with the yolk of an egg it acts as an emmenagogue. Mixed with meal of fenugreek it is applied topically for gout, and is used for the dispersion of leprous sores, itch-scabs, lichens, and freckles: it is an antidote also to the stings of venomous animals, and to the bites of dogs. Applied to the teeth in wool, or introduced into the cavity of a carious tooth, this juice cures tooth-ache.[3118] The young shoots and the leaves, mixed with meal of fitches, act as an antidote to the poison of marine animals, wine being added to the preparation. In boiling beef a great saving of fire-wood may be effected, by putting some of these shoots in the pot.[3119]

The figs in a green state, applied topically, soften and disperse scrofulous sores and all kinds of gatherings, and the leaves, to a certain extent, have a similar effect. The softer leaves are applied with vinegar for the cure of running ulcers, epinyctis, and scaly eruptions. With the leaves, mixed with honey, honeycomb ulcers[3120] are treated, and wounds inflicted by dogs; the leaves are applied, too, fresh, with wine, to phagedænic sores. In combination with poppy-leaves, they extract splintered bones. Wild figs, in a green state, employed as a fumigation, dispel flatulency; and an infusion of them, used as a potion, combats the deleterious effects of bullocks’ blood, white-lead, and coagulated milk, taken internally. Boiled in water, and employed as a cataplasm, they cure imposthumes of the parotid glands. The shoots, or the green figs, gathered as young as possible, are taken in wine for stings inflicted by scorpions. The milky juice is also poured into the wound, and the leaves are applied to it: the bite of the shrew-mouse is treated in a similar manner. The ashes of the young branches are curative of relaxations of the uvula; and the ashes of the tree itself, mixed with honey, have the effect of healing chaps. A decoction of the root, boiled in wine, is good for tooth-ache. The winter wild fig, boiled in vinegar and pounded, is a cure for impetigo: the branches are first barked for the purpose and then scraped; these scrapings, which are as fine as sawdust, being applied topically to the parts affected.

There is also one medicinal property of a marvellous nature attributed to the wild fig: if a youth who has not arrived at puberty breaks off a branch, and then with his teeth tears off the bark swelling with the sap, the pith of this branch, we are assured, attached as an amulet to the person before sunrise, will prevent the formation of scrofulous sores. A branch of this tree, attached to the neck of a bull, however furious, exercises such a marvellous effect upon him as to restrain his ferocity,[3121] and render him quite immoveable.

CHAP. 65.—THE HERB ERINEON: THREE REMEDIES.

It will be as well to speak here, in consequence of the similarity of name,[3122] of the herb which is known to the Greeks as the “erineon.” This plant[3123] is a palm in height, and has mostly five small stems: in appearance it resembles ocimum, and bears a white flower, with a small, black, seed. Beaten up with Attic honey, it is a cure for defluxions of the eyes. In whatever way it is gathered, it yields a considerable abundance of sweet, milky, juice. With the addition of a little nitre, this plant is extremely useful for pains in the ears. The leaves of it have the property of neutralizing poisons.

CHAP. 66.—PLUMS: FOUR OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM.

The leaves[3124] of the plum, boiled in wine, are useful for the tonsillary glands, the gums, and the uvula, the mouth being rinsed with the decoction every now and then. As for the fruit itself, it is relaxing[3125] to the bowels; but it is not very wholesome to the stomach, though its bad effects are little more than momentary.

CHAP. 67.—PEACHES: TWO REMEDIES.

Peaches, again, are more wholesome than plums; and the same is the case with the juice of the fruit, extracted, and taken in either wine or vinegar. Indeed, what known fruit is there that is more wholesome as an aliment than this? There is none, in fact, that has a less powerful smell,[3126] or a greater abundance of juice, though it has a tendency to create thirst.[3127] The leaves of it, beaten up and applied topically, arrest hæmorrhage: the kernels, mixed with oil and vinegar, are used as a liniment for head-ache.[3128]

CHAP. 68.—WILD PLUMS: TWO REMEDIES.

The fruit of the wild plum, or the bark of the root,[3129] boiled down to one-third in one hemina of astringent wine, arrests looseness of the bowels and griping pains in the stomach: the proper dose of the decoction is one cyathus.

CHAP. 69.—THE LICHEN ON PLUM-TREES: TWO REMEDIES.

Upon the bark of the wild and cultivated plums we find an excrescence[3130] growing, known to the Greeks by the name of “lichen:” it is remarkably good for chaps and condylomatous swellings.

CHAP. 70.—MULBERRIES: THIRTY-NINE REMEDIES.

In Egypt and in the Isle of Cyprus there are, as already stated,[3131] mulberry-trees of a peculiar kind, being of a nature that is truly marvellous; for, if the outer bark is peeled off, they emit a great abundance of juice; but if a deeper incision is made, they are found to be quite dry.[3132] This juice is an antidote to the venom of serpents, is good for dysentery, disperses inflamed tumours and all kinds of gatherings, heals wounds, and allays both head-ache and ear-ache: it is taken in drink for affections of the spleen, and is used as a liniment for the same purpose, as also for fits of shivering. This juice, however, very soon breeds worms.

Among ourselves, too, the juice which exudes from the mulberry-tree is employed for an equal number of purposes: taken in wine, it neutralizes the noxious effects of aconite[3133] and the venom of spiders, relaxes the bowels, and expels tapeworm and other animals which breed in the intestines;[3134] the bark of the tree, pounded, has also a similar effect. The leaves, boiled in rain-water with the bark of the black fig and the vine, are used for dyeing the hair.

The juice of the fruit has a laxative effect immediately upon the bowels, though the fruit itself, for the moment, acts beneficially upon the stomach, being of a refreshing nature, but productive of thirst. If no other food is taken upon them, mulberries[3135] are of a swelling tendency. The juice of unripe mulberries acts astringently upon the bowels. The marvels which are presented by this tree, and of which we have made some mention[3136] when describing it, would almost appear to belong to a creature gifted with animation.

CHAP. 71.—THE MEDICAMENT CALLED STOMATICE, ARTERIACE, OR PANCHRESTOS: FOUR REMEDIES.

From the fruit of the mulberry a medicament is prepared, called “panchrestos,”[3137] “stomatice,” or “arteriace:” the following is the method employed. Three sextarii of the juice are reduced, at a slow heat, to the consistency of honey; two denarii of dried omphacium[3138] or one of myrrh, with one denarius of saffron, are then added, the whole being beaten up together and mixed with the decoction. There is no medicament known that is more soothing than this, for affections of the mouth, the trachea, the uvula, and the stomach. There is also another mode of preparing it: two sextarii of mulberry juice and one of Attic honey are boiled down in the manner above stated.

There are some other marvellous properties, also, which are mentioned in reference to this tree. When the tree is in bud, and before the appearance of the leaves, the germs of the fruit must be gathered with the left hand—the Greeks give them the name of “ricini.”[3139] These germs, worn as an amulet before they have touched the ground, have the effect of arresting hæmorrhage, whether proceeding from a wound, from the mouth, from the nostrils, or from piles; for which purposes they are, accordingly, put away and kept. Similar virtues are attributed to a branch just beginning to bear, broken off at full moon, provided also it has not touched the ground: this branch, it is said, attached to the arm, is peculiarly efficacious for the suppression of the catamenia when in excess. The same effect is produced, it is said, when the woman herself pulls it off, whatever time it may happen to be, care being taken not to let it touch the ground, and to wear it attached to the body. The leaves of the mulberry-tree beaten up fresh, or a decoction of them dried, are applied topically for stings inflicted by serpents: an infusion of them, taken in drink, is equally efficacious for that purpose. The juice extracted from the bark of the root, taken in wine or oxycrate, counteracts the venom of the scorpion.

We must also give some account of the method of preparing this medicament employed by the ancients: extracting the juice from the fruit, both ripe and unripe, they mixed it together, and then boiled it down in a copper vessel to the consistency of honey. Some persons were in the habit of adding myrrh and cypress, and then left it to harden in the sun, mixing it with a spatula three times a-day. Such was their receipt for the stomatice, which was also employed by them to promote the cicatrization of wounds. There was another method, also, of dealing with the juice of this fruit: extracting the juice, they used the dried fruit with various articles of food,[3140] as tending to heighten the flavour; and they were in the habit of employing it medicinally[3141] for corroding ulcers, pituitous expectorations, and all cases in which astringents were required for the viscera. They used it also for the purpose of cleaning[3142] the teeth. A third mode of employing the juices of this tree is to boil down the leaves and root, the decoction being used, with oil,[3143] as a liniment for the cure of burns. The leaves are also applied by themselves for the same purpose.

An incision made in the root at harvest-time, supplies a juice that is extremely useful for tooth-ache, gatherings, and suppurations; it acts, also, as a purgative upon the bowels. Mulberry-leaves, macerated in urine, remove the hair from hides.

CHAP. 72.—CHERRIES: FIVE OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM.

Cherries are relaxing to the bowels and unwholesome[3144] to the stomach; in a dried state, however, they are astringent and diuretic.[3145] I find it stated by some authors, that if cherries are taken early in the morning covered with dew, the kernels being eaten with them, the bowels will be so strongly acted upon as to effect a cure for gout in the feet.

CHAP. 73.—MEDLARS: TWO REMEDIES. SORBS: TWO REMEDIES.

Medlars, the setania[3146] excepted, which has pretty nearly the same properties as the apple, act astringently upon the stomach and arrest looseness of the bowels. The same is the case, too, with dried sorbs;[3147] but when eaten fresh, they are beneficial to the stomach, and are good for fluxes of the bowels.

CHAP. 74. (8.)—PINE-NUTS: THIRTEEN REMEDIES.

Pine-nuts,[3148] with the resin in them, are slightly bruised, and then boiled down in water to one-half, the proportion of water being one sextarius to each nut. This decoction, taken in doses of two cyathi, is used for the cure of spitting of blood. The bark of the tree, boiled in wine, is given for griping pains in the bowels. The kernels of the pine-nut allay thirst, and assuage acridities and gnawing pains in the stomach; they tend also to neutralize vicious humours in that region, recruit the strength, and are salutary to the kidneys and the bladder. They would seem, however, to exercise an irritating effect[3149] upon the fauces, and to increase cough. Taken in water, wine, raisin wine, or a decoction of dates, they carry off bile. For gnawing pains in the stomach of extreme violence, they are mixed with cucumber-seed and juice of purslain; they are employed, too, in a similar manner for ulcerations of the bladder and kidneys,[3150] having a diuretic effect.

CHAP. 75.—ALMONDS: TWENTY-NINE REMEDIES.

A decoction of the root of the bitter almond[3151] clears the complexion, and gives the face a brighter colour.[3152] Bitter almonds are provocative of sleep,[3153] and sharpen the appetite; they act, also, as a diuretic and as an emmenagogue. They are used topically for head-ache, when there is fever more particularly. Should the head-ache proceed from inebriation,[3154] they are applied with vinegar, rose-oil, and one sextarius of water. Used in combination with amylum[3155] and mint, they arrest hæmorrhage. They are useful, also, for lethargy and epilepsy, and the head is anointed with them for the cure of epinyctis. In combination with wine, they heal putrid ulcers of an inveterate nature, and, with honey, bites inflicted by dogs.[3156] They are employed, also, for the cure of scaly eruptions of the face, the parts affected being fomented first.

Taken in water, or, as is often done, in an electuary, with resin of terebinth,[3157] they remove pains in the liver and kidneys; used with raisin wine, they are good for calculus and strangury. Bruised in hydromel, they are useful for cleansing the skin; and taken in an electuary with the addition of a small proportion of elelisphacus,[3158] they are good for diseases of the liver, cough, and colic, a piece about the size of a hazel-nut being taken in honey. It is said that if five bitter almonds are taken by a person before sitting down to drink, he will be proof against inebriation;[3159] and that foxes, if they eat bitter almonds,[3160] will be sure to die immediately, if they cannot find water to lap.

As to sweet almonds, their remedial properties are not[3161] so extensive; still, however, they are of a purgative nature, and are diuretic. Eaten fresh, they are difficult[3162] of digestion.

CHAP. 76.—GREEK NUTS: ONE REMEDY.

Greek nuts,[3163] taken in vinegar with wormwood seed, are said to be a cure for jaundice. Used alone, they are employed topically for the treatment of diseases of the fundament, and condylomata in particular, as also cough and spitting of blood.

CHAP. 77.—WALNUTS: TWENTY-FOUR REMEDIES. THE MITHRIDATIC ANTIDOTE.

Walnuts[3164] have received their name in Greek from being oppressive[3165] to the head; for, in fact, the emanations[3166] from the tree itself and the leaves penetrate to the brain. The kernels, also, have a similar effect when eaten, though not in so marked a degree. When fresh gathered, they are most agreeable eating; for when dry, they are more oleaginous, unwholesome to the stomach, difficult of digestion, productive of head-ache, and bad for cough,[3167] or for a person when about to take an emetic fasting: they are good in cases of tenesmus only, as they carry off the pituitous humours of the body. Eaten beforehand, they deaden the effects of poison, and, employed with rue and oil, they are a cure for quinsy. They act as a corrective, also, to onions, and modify their flavour. They are applied to inflammations of the ears, with a little honey, and with rue they are used for affections of the mamillæ, and for sprains. With onions, salt, and honey, they are applied to bites inflicted by dogs or human beings. Walnut-shells are used for cauterizing[3168] carious teeth; and with these shells, burnt and then beaten up in oil or wine, the heads of infants are anointed, they having a tendency to make the hair grow; hence they are used in a similar manner for alopecy also. These nuts, eaten in considerable numbers, act as an expellent upon tapeworm.[3169] Walnuts, when very old, are[3170] curative of gangrenous sores and carbuncles, of bruises also. Green walnut-shells[3171] are employed for the cure of lichens and dysentery, and the leaves are beaten up with vinegar as an application for ear-ache.[3172]

After the defeat of that mighty monarch, Mithridates, Cneius Pompeius found in his private cabinet a recipe for an antidote in his own hand-writing; it was to the following effect:[3173]—Take two dried walnuts, two figs, and twenty leaves of rue; pound them all together, with the addition of a grain of salt; if a person takes this mixture fasting, he will be proof against all poisons for that day.[3174] Walnut kernels, chewed by a man fasting, and applied to the wound, effect an instantaneous cure, it is said, of bites inflicted by a mad dog.

CHAP. 78.—HAZEL-NUTS: THREE OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM. PISTACHIO-NUTS: EIGHT OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM. CHESNUTS: FIVE OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM.

Hazel-nuts[3175] are productive of head-ache, and flatulency of the stomach; they contribute, however, to the increase of flesh more than would be imagined. Parched, they are remedial for catarrhs, and beaten up and taken with hydromel,[3176] they are good for an inveterate cough. Some persons add grains of pepper,[3177] and others take them in raisin wine.

Pistachio-nuts[3178] have the same properties, and are productive of the same effects, as pine-nuts; in addition to which, they are used as an antidote to the venom[3179] of serpents, eaten or taken in drink.

Chesnuts[3180] have a powerful effect in arresting fluxes of the stomach and intestines, are relaxing to the bowels, are beneficial in cases of spitting of blood, and have a tendency to make flesh.[3181]

CHAP. 79.—CAROBS: FIVE OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM. THE CORNEL; ONE REMEDY. THE FRUIT OF THE ARBUTUS.

Fresh carobs[3182] are unwholesome to the stomach, and relaxing to the bowels;[3183] in a dried state, however, they are astringent, and are much more beneficial to the stomach; they are diuretic also. For pains in the stomach, persons boil three Syrian carobs[3184] with one sextarius of water, down to one-half, and drink the decoction.

The juices which exude from the branches of the cornel[3185] are received on a plate of red-hot iron[3186] without it touching the wood; the rust of which is applied for the cure of incipient lichens. The arbutus or unedo[3187] bears a fruit that is difficult of digestion, and injurious to the stomach.

CHAP. 80.—THE LAUREL; SIXTY-NINE OBSERVATIONS UPON IT.

All parts of the laurel, both the leaves, bark, and berries, are of a warming[3188] nature; and a decoction of them, the leaves in particular, is very useful for affections of the bladder and uterus.[3189] The leaves, applied topically, neutralize the poison of wasps, bees, and hornets, as also that of serpents, the seps,[3190] dipsas,[3191] and viper, in particular. Boiled in oil, they promote the catamenia; and the more tender of the leaves beaten up with polenta, are used for inflammations of the eyes, with rue for inflammations of the testes, and with rose-oil, or oil of iris,[3192] for head-ache. Three leaves, chewed and swallowed for three days in succession, are a cure for cough, and beaten up with honey, for asthma. The bark of the root is dangerous to pregnant women; the root itself disperses calculi, and taken in doses of three oboli in aromatic wine, it acts beneficially on the liver. The leaves, taken in drink, act as an emetic;[3193] and the berries, pounded and applied as a pessary, or else taken in drink, promote menstruation. Two of the berries with the skin removed, taken in wine, are a cure for inveterate cough and hardness of breathing; if, however, this is accompanied with fever, they are given in water, or else in an electuary with raisin wine, or boiled in hydromel. Employed in a similar manner, they are good for phthisis, and for all defluxions of the chest, as they have the effect of detaching the phlegm and bringing it off.

For stings inflicted by scorpions, four laurel-berries are taken in wine. Applied with oil, they are a cure for epinyctis, freckles, running sores, ulcers of the mouth, and scaly eruptions. The juice of the berries is curative of porrigo and phthiriasis; and for pains in the ears, or hardness of hearing, it is injected into those organs with old wine and oil of roses. All venomous creatures fly at the approach of persons who have been anointed with this juice: taken in drink, the juice of the small-leaved[3194] laurel in particular, it is good for stings inflicted by them. The berries,[3195] used with wine, neutralize the venom of serpents, scorpions, and spiders; they are applied also, topically, with oil and vinegar, in diseases of the spleen and liver, and with honey to gangrenous sores. In cases of lassitude and shivering fits, it is a very good plan to rub the body with juice of laurel-berries mixed with nitre. Some persons are of opinion that delivery is accelerated by taking laurel-root to the amount of one acetabulum, in water, and that, used fresh, it is better than dried. It is recommended by some authorities, to take ten of the berries in drink, for the sting of the scorpion; and in cases of relaxation of the uvula, to boil a quarter of a pound of the berries, or leaves, in three sextarii of water, down to one third, the decoction being used warm, as a gargle. For head-ache, also, it is recommended to bruise an uneven number of the berries in oil, the mixture being warmed for use.

The leaves of the Delphic laurel[3196] bruised and applied to the nostrils from time to time, are a preservative[3197] against contagion in pestilence, and more particularly if they are burnt. The oil of the[3198] Delphic laurel is employed in the preparation of cerates and the medicinal composition known as “acopum,”[3199] and is used for fits of shivering occasioned by cold, for the relaxation of the sinews, and for the cure of pains in the side and the cold attacks in fevers.[3200] Warmed in the rind of a pomegranate, it is applied topically for the cure of ear-ache. A decoction of the leaves boiled down in water to one third, used as a gargle, braces the uvula, and taken in drink allays pains in the bowels and intestines. The more tender leaves, bruised in wine and applied at night, are a cure for pimples and prurigo.

The other varieties of the laurel possess properties which are nearly analogous. The root of the laurel of Alexandria,[3201] or of Mount Ida,[3202] accelerates delivery, being administered in doses of three denarii to three cyathi of sweet wine; it acts also as an emmenagogue, and brings away the after-birth. Taken in drink in a similar manner, the wild laurel, known as “daphnoides” and by the other names which we have mentioned,[3203] is productive of beneficial effects. The leaves of it, either fresh or dried, taken in doses of three drachmæ, in hydromel with salt, act as a purgative[3204] upon the bowels. The wood, chewed, brings off phlegm, and the leaves act as an “emetic;” they are unwholesome, however, to the stomach. The berries, too, are sometimes taken, fifteen in number, as a purgative.

CHAP. 81.—MYRTLE; SIXTY OBSERVATIONS UPON IT.

The white[3205] cultivated myrtle is employed for fewer medicinal purposes than the black one.[3206] The berries[3207] of it are good for spitting of blood, and taken in wine, they neutralize the poison of fungi. They impart an agreeable smell[3208] to the breath, even when eaten the day before; thus, for instance, in Menander we find the Synaristosæ[3209] eating them. They are taken also for dysentery,[3210] in doses of one denarius, in wine: and they are employed lukewarm, in wine, for the cure of obstinate ulcers on the extremities. Mixed with polenta, they are employed topically in ophthalmia, and for the cardiac disease[3211] they are applied to the left breast. For stings inflicted by scorpions, diseases of the bladder, head-ache, and fistulas of the eye before suppuration, they are similarly employed; and for tumours and pituitous eruptions, the kernels are first removed and the berries are then pounded in old wine. The juice of the berries[3212] acts astringently upon the bowels, and is diuretic: mixed with cerate it is applied topically to blisters, pituitous eruptions, and wounds inflicted by the phalangium; it imparts a black tint,[3213] also, to the hair.

The oil of this myrtle is of a more soothing nature than the juice, and the wine[3214] which is extracted from it, and which possesses the property of never inebriating, is even more so. This wine, used when old, acts astringently upon the stomach and bowels, cures griping pains in those regions, and dispels nausea.

The dried leaves, powdered and sprinkled upon the body, check profuse perspirations, in fever even; they are good, too, used as a fomentation, for cœliac affections, procidence of the uterus, diseases of the fundament, running ulcers, erysipelas, loss of the hair, scaly and other eruptions, and burns. This powder is used as an ingredient, also, in the plasters known as “liparæ;”[3215] and for the same reason the oil of the leaves is used for a similar purpose, being extremely efficacious as an application to the humid parts of the body, the mouth and the uterus, for example.

The leaves themselves, beaten up with wine, neutralize[3216] the bad effects of fungi; and they are employed, in combination with wax, for diseases of the joints, and gatherings. A decoction of them, in wine, is taken for dysentery and dropsy. Dried and reduced to powder, they are sprinkled upon ulcers and hæmorrhages. They are useful, also, for the removal of freckles, and for the cure of hang-nails,[3217] whitlows, condylomata, affections of the testes, and sordid ulcers. In combination with cerate, they are used for burns.

For purulent discharges from the ears, the ashes of the leaves are employed, as well as the juice and the decoction: the ashes are also used in the composition of antidotes. For a similar purpose the blossoms are stripped from off the young branches, which are burnt in a furnace, and then pounded in wine. The ashes of the leaves, too, are used for the cure of burns. To prevent ulcerations from causing swellings in the inguinal glands, it will suffice for the patient to carry[3218] a sprig of myrtle about him which has never touched the ground or any implement of iron.

CHAP. 82.—MYRTIDANUM: THIRTEEN REMEDIES.

We have already described the manner in which myrtidanum[3219] is made. Applied in a pessary, or as a fomentation or liniment, it is good for affections of the uterus, being much more efficacious than the bark of the tree, or the leaves and seed. There is a juice also extracted from the more tender leaves, which are pounded in a mortar for the purpose, astringent wine, or, according to one method, rain-water, being poured upon them a little at a time. This extract is used for the cure of ulcers of the mouth, the fundament, the uterus, and the abdomen. It is employed, also, for dyeing the hair black, the suppression of exudations at the arm-pits,[3220] the removal of freckles, and other purposes in which astringents are required.

CHAP. 83.—THE WILD MYRTLE, OTHERWISE CALLED OXYMYRSINE, OR CHAMÆMYRSINE, AND THE RUSCUS: SIX REMEDIES.

The wild myrtle, oxymyrsine,[3221] or chamæmyrsine, differs from the cultivated myrtle in the redness of its berries and its diminutive height. The root of it is held in high esteem; a decoction of it, in wine, is taken for pains in the kidneys and strangury, more

## particularly when the urine is thick and fetid. Pounded in wine, it

is employed for the cure of jaundice, and as a purgative for the uterus. The same method is adopted, also, with the young shoots, which are sometimes roasted in hot ashes and eaten as a substitute for asparagus.[3222]

The berries, taken with wine, or oil and vinegar, break calculi[3223] of the bladder: beaten up with rose-oil and vinegar, they allay head-ache. Taken in drink, they are curative of jaundice. Castor calls the wild myrtle with prickly leaves, or oxymyrsine, from which brooms are made, by the name of “ruscus”[3224]—the medicinal properties of it are just the same.

Thus much, then, with reference to the medicinal properties of the cultivated trees; let us now pass on to the wild ones.

SUMMARY.—Remedies, narratives, and observations, nine hundred and eighteen.

ROMAN AUTHORS QUOTED.—C. Valgius,[3225] Pompeius Lenæus,[3226] Sextius Niger[3227] who wrote in Greek, Julius Bassus[3228] who wrote in Greek, Antonius Castor,[3229] M. Varro,[3230] Cornelius Celsus,[3231] Fabianus.[3232]

FOREIGN AUTHORS QUOTED.—Theophrastus,[3233] Democritus,[3234] Orpheus,[3235] Pythagoras,[3236] Mago,[3237] Menander[3238] who wrote the “Biochresta,” Nicander,[3239] Homer, Hesiod,[3240] Musæus,[3241] Sophocles,[3242] Anaxilaüs.[3243]

MEDICAL AUTHORS QUOTED.—Mnesitheus,[3244] Callimachus,[3245] Phanias[3246] the physician, Timaristus,[3247] Simus,[3248] Hippocrates,[3249] Chrysippus,[3250] Diocles,[3251] Ophelion,[3252] Heraclides,[3253] Hicesius,[3254] Dionysius,[3255] Apollodorus[3256] of Citium, Apollodorus[3257] of Tarentum, Plistonicus,[3258] Medius,[3259] Dieuches,[3260] Cleophantus,[3261] Philistion,[3262] Asclepiades,[3263] Crateuas,[3264] Petronius Diodotus,[3265] Iollas,[3266] Erasistratus,[3267] Diagoras,[3268] Andreas,[3269] Mnesides,[3270] Epicharmus,[3271] Damion,[3272] Dalion,[3273] Sosimenes,[3274] Tlepolemus,[3275] Metrodorus,[3276] Solo,[3277] Lycus,[3278] Olympias[3279] of Thebes, Philinus,[3280] Petrichus,[3281] Micton,[3282] Glaucias,[3283] Xenocrates.[3284]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] In B. ii. c. 63.

[2] Of course this is only mere declamation; it is not probable that the animals have any notion at all of _sharpening_ the weapons that nature has given; in addition to which, this mode of sharpening them against hard substances would only wear away the enamel, and ultimately destroy them. The acts of animals in a moment of rage or frenzy have evidently been mistaken here for the dictates of instinct, or even a superior intelligence.

[3] See B. xxv. c. 25, and B. xxvii. c. 76.

[4] In B. viii. c. 36. 41, 42. The works of the ancients, Fée remarks, are full of these puerilities.

[5] This sentiment is not at all akin to the melancholy view which our author takes of mankind at the beginning of B. vii. and in other parts of this work. It is not improbable that his censures here are levelled against some who had endeavoured to impede him in the progress of his work.

[6] “Arvorum sacerdotes,” the priests of the fields.

[7] Or foster-mother. It has been suggested that the Rogations of the Roman church may have possibly originated in the Ambarvalia, or ceremonial presided over by the Arval priesthood.

[8] Made of salt and the meal or flour of spelt. Salt was the emblem of wisdom, friendship, and other virtues.

[9] This, Fée observes, is not the case with any kind of wheat; with manioc, which has an acrid principle, the process may be necessary, in order to make it fit for food.

[10] Or Feast of the Furnace or Oven. See Ovid’s Fasti, B. ii. l. 5-25.

[11] Called the Terminalia. See Ovid’s Fasti, B. ii. l. 641, _et seq._

[12] Tertullian, De Spect. i. 16, calls this goddess by the name of Sessia.

[13] Cœlius Rhodiginus, Turnebus, and Vossius, conjecture that the name of this goddess, who might only be named in the field, was Tutelina. Hardouin thinks that it was Segesta, here mentioned.

[14] Four Roman feet in width, and 120 in length.

[15] Quartarius.

[16] “Faba,” a bean; “Lens,” a lentil; and “Cicer,” a chick-pea.

[17] A “bubus,” from “oxen.” Caius Junius Bubulcus was twice Consul, and once Master of the Horse.

[18] “Farreum” was a form of marriage, in which certain words were used, in presence of ten witnesses, and were accompanied by a certain religious ceremony, in which “panis farreus” was employed; hence this form of marriage was called “confarreatio.”

[19] Farreum.

[20] De Re Rust. Preface.

[21] See B. xxxiii. c. 13.

[22] St. Augustin, De Civ. Dei., mentions a goddess, Bubona, the tutelar divinity of oxen. Nothing seems to be known of these games.

[23] See B. xxxiii. c. 13. Macrobius says that it was Janus.

[24] Table vii. s. 2.

[25] On the “Nundinæ,” or ninth-day holiday: similar to our market-days. According to _our_ mode of reckoning, it was every _eighth_ day.

[26] From “ador,” the old name for “spelt:” because corn was the chief reward given to the conqueror, and his temples were graced with a wreath of corn.

[27] In the first place, it is difficult to see what there is in this passage to admire, or “wonder at,” if that is the meaning of “admiror;” and then, besides, it has no connection with the context. The text is probably in a defective state.

[28] See c. 69 of this Book.

[29] “Vagina.” The meaning of this word here has not been exactly ascertained. It has been suggested that the first period alludes to the appearance of the stalk from its sheath of leaves, and the second to the formation of the ear.

[30] A.U.C. 298.

[31] See B. xxxiv. c. 11. A.U.C. 317.

[32] Nundinis.

[33] On the road to Ostia. It was said to have received its name from the Horatii and Curiatii.

[34] A.U.C. 345.

[35] A.U.C. 550. He alludes to the introduction of Cybele, from Pessinus in Galatia, in the Second Punic war.

[36] A.U.C. 604. See B. viii. c. 6.

[37] Manius Curius Dentatus, Consul A.U.C. 464.

[38] A.U.C. 497.

[39] From “sero,” to sow. See the Æneid, B. vi. l. 844, where this circumstance is alluded to.

[40] “Prata Quintia.” Hardouin says that in his time this spot was still called _I Prati_: it lay beyond the Tiber, between the vineyard of the Medici and the castle of Sant Angelo.

[41] He alludes to the twofold meaning of the word “coli,” “to be tilled,” or “to receive homage from.”

[42] “Ergastulorum.” The “Ergastula” were places of punishment attached to the country houses of the wealthy, for the chastisement of refractory slaves, who were usually made to work in chains.

[43] In the First Book, as originally written. This list of writers is appended in the present Translation to each respective Book.

[44] This is probably written in humble imitation of the splendid exordium of the Georgics of Virgil.

[45] De Re Rust. Preface.

[46] Fée remarks, that we still recruit our armies mostly from the agricultural class.

[47] De Re Rust. c. 1.

[48] Quoted by Columella, De Re Rust. B. i. 4. The sad fate of Regulus is known to all readers of Roman history.

[49] From Columella, B. i. c. 3.

[50] De Re Rust. c. 1.

[51] It is still thought so in France, Fée says, and nothing has tended more than this notion to the depreciation of the prices of wine.

[52] Hence the usual Latin name, “prata.”

[53] “Si sat bene.” Cicero, De Officiis, B. ii. n. 88, gives this anecdote somewhat more at length.

[54] De Re Rust. c. 2.

[55] “Alienâ insaniâ frui.” We have a saying to a similar effect: “Fools build houses, and wise men buy them.”

[56] “Frons domini plus prodest quam occipitium.” See Cato, De Re Rust. c. 4; also Phædrus, B. iv. Fab. 19.

[57] Cato, c. 3. Varro and Columella give the same advice.

[58] See B. iii. c. 9.

[59] Sylla the Fortunate, the implacable enemy of Marius.

[60] Because, though the last comer, he had obtained the best site in the locality.

[61] Od. v. 469. If the river has a bed of sand and high banks, it is really advantageous than otherwise.

[62] In B. xvii. c. 3.

[63] Not to be found in his works which have come down to us.

[64] Prunus spinosa of Linnæus.

[65] See B. xix. c. 30; probably one of the genus Allium sphærocephalum of Linnæus.

[66] “Herba pratensis.” It is not known with certainty to what plant he alludes. Fée suggests that it may be the Poa pratensis, or else a phleum, alopecurus, or dactylis. All the plants here mentioned by Pliny will thrive in a calcareous soil, and their presence, as Fée remarks, is of bad augury.

[67] He alludes to the famous maxim in the Georgics, B. ii. l. 412:—

——Laudato ingentia rura, Exiguum colito——

“Praise a large farm, cultivate a small one.”

[68] By introducing slovenly cultivation.

[69] That small part of it known to the Romans. Hardouin says that the province of Zeugitana is alluded to, mentioned in B. v. c. 3.

[70] And reside on the farm.

[71] Villicus.

[72] De Re Rust. c. 5.

[73] A.U.C. 737.

[74] Probably because it entailed too great an expense. It may have been deeply mortgaged: otherwise it is not clear why the heir refused to take it, as he might have sold a part.

[75] He means to say that it is so much labour lost, as it will take care of itself; but this is hardly in accordance with his numerous directions given in B. xv. Virgil, Geor. B. ii. 421, _et seq._, speaks of the olive as requiring no attention when it has once taken root.

[76] See B. xvii. c. 3.

[77] In throwing away money and labour upon land that does not require it.

[78] Virgil, Georg. I. 268, _et seq._, speaks of the work that might be done on feast days—making hedges, for instance, irrigating land, catching birds, washing sheep, and burning weeds.

[79] “Ne familiæ male sit.”

[80] In B. xvii. c. 3.

[81] The Pteris aquilina, or female fern. No such juices drop from it as here mentioned by Pliny, Fée says.

[82] A superstition quite unworthy of our author; and the same with respect to that mentioned in the next line.

[83] Sub-soil drainage is now universally employed, with the agency of draining-tiles, made for the purpose.

[84] The flower of the lupine could not possibly produce any such effect; and the juice of cicuta, or hemlock, in only a very trifling degree.

[85] This word answers to the Latin “frumenta,” which indicates all those kinds of corn from which bread was prepared by the ancients.

[86] See c. 59 of this Book.

[87] Triticum hibernum of Linnæus, similar to the “siligo” mentioned in the sequel. Winter wheat was greatly cultivated in Apulia.

[88] “Far.” This name is often used in the classics, to signify corn in general; but in the more restricted sense in which it is here employed, it is “Triticum dicoccum,” the “Zea” of the Greeks. It consists of two varieties, the single grained, the Triticum monococcum of Linnæus, and the double-grained, the Triticum spelta of Linnæus, which is still called “farra” in Friuli.

[89] Hordeum sativum of Linnæus.

[90] See c. 66 of this Book.

[91] Panicum Italicum of Linnæus.

[92] Panicum miliaceum of Linnæus. This was probably one of the first grains from which bread was made.

[93] The Sesamum orientale of Linnæus. It is no longer cultivated in Europe, though formerly it was much used in Greece.

[94] It is very doubtful if this is the same as clary, the Salvia horminum of Linnæus, as that is one of the Labiatæ, whereas here, most probably, a leguminous plant is spoken of.

[95] It has been asserted that this is identical with the Sisymbrium polyceratium of Linnæus, rock-gentle, rock-gallant, or winter-cress. Fée, however, is strongly of opinion that it can only be looked for in the Sisymbrium irio of Linnæus.

[96] Ervum lens of Linnæus.

[97] The Cicer arietinum of naturalists, the Garbanzo of the Spaniards. It abounds in the south of Europe and in India.

[98] A variety of spelt was called by this name; but it was more generally applied to a kind of flummery, pottage or gruel.

[99] Hence our word “forage.”

[100] Lupinus hirsutus and pilosus of Linnæus.

[101] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. viii. c. 2.

[102] All this, of course, depends upon numerous circumstances.

[103] This is certainly the fact, as Fée says, but it is the same with all the graminea.

[104] A characteristic of the Panicum miliaceum in particular.

[105] Or porridge; “puls.”

[106] It has been suggested that this was maize, but that is indigenous to South America. Fée has little doubt that it is the Holcus sorgho of Linnæus, the “Indian millet,” that is meant.

[107] From the Greek φόβη. The stalk and husk of the sorgho is covered with a fine down. The reading “cornis” has been adopted.

[108] This is considered by Fée to be very improbable.

[109] In reality these vary, according to the rapidity of the growth.

[110] Strictly speaking, spelt has seven.

[111]This depends upon the time when it is sown, and numerous other circumstances.

[112] Strictly speaking, he is right; but still there is a swelling in the stalk, to be perceived at the points where the leaves take their rise.

[113] This is incorrect; they all of them throw out leaves from the root.

[114] The same as the “Ervum” probably, the fitch, orobus, or bitter vetch.

[115] Not so with the pea, as known to us.

[116] This is only true at the end of the season, and when the plant is dying.

[117] These annuals lose their leaves only that have articulations on the stem; otherwise they die outright at the fall of the leaf.

[118] If by “tunica” he means the husk of chaff, which surrounds the grain, the assertion is contrary to the fact, in relation to barley and the oat.

[119] Only another name, Fée thinks, for the Triticum hibernum, or winter-wheat. Spelt or zea has been suggested, as also the white barley of the south of Europe; see c. 20.

[120] Egyptian wheat, or rather what is called mummy-wheat, is bearded equally to barley.

[121] Siligo.

[122] Before grinding.

[123] Oats and rye excepted.

[124] Here the word “far” means “a meal,” or “flour,” a substitute for that of “far,” or “spelt.”

[125] Triticum monococcum, according to some. Fée identifies it with the Triticum spelta of Linnæus.

[126] A variety, probably, of the Triticum hibernum of Linnæus, with white grains; the white-wheat of the French, from which the ancient Gauls made their malt; hence the French word “brasser,” to “brew.”

[127] From Theophrastus, De Causis, B. iv.

[128] That of the Ukraine and its vicinity, which is still held in high esteem.

[129] Panis militaris.

[130] To the modius of wheat.

[131] He alludes to beer, or sweet-wort. See B. xiv. c. 29.

[132] He alludes to yeast. See B. xxii, c. 82.

[133] This assertion, from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. viii. c. 4, is not based on truth. It is possible that he may allude in reality to some other gramineous plant.

[134] Trimestre.

[135] Bimestre.

[136] Columella (B. ii. c. 6) does _not_ state to this effect; on the contrary, he speaks of the existence of a three months’ wheat; but he asserts, and with justice, that wheat sown in the autumn is better than that sown in March.

[137] If he alludes here to what Theophrastus says, his assertion is simply that, in Bactria, the grains are as large as an olive-stone.

[138] There is no wild barley in India at the present day.

[139] Porridge, or fermenty.

[140] Oryza sativa of Linnæus.

[141] Like our rice-milk, probably. See B. xxii. c. 26.

[142] They are not carnose or fleshy, but thin, and similar to those of the reed.

[143] On the contrary, it is tough and fibrous.

[144] The barley was, originally, the prize given to the victor in the Eleusinian games.

[145] Or “barley-fed.”

[146] The ἀλφίτον of the Greeks.

[147] This, as Fée observes, would tend to give it a very disagreeable flavour.

[148] “Acetabulum.”

[149] Similar to our pearl barley, probably.

[150] “Anguli.” Dalechamps interprets this as two rows of grain; but Fée thinks that it signifies angles, and points. The Polygonum fagopyrum of Linnæus, he says, buck-wheat, or black-wheat, has an angular grain, but he doubts whether that can possibly be the grain here alluded to.

[151] There is no barley without a beard; it is clearly a variety of wheat that is alluded to.

[152] Triticum spelta of Linnæus.

[153] “Semen,” the same as zea, or spelt.

[154] Siligo.

[155] Ἄμυλον.

[156] De Re Rust. c. 87. This “amylum” seems somewhat to resemble our starch.

[157] The Hordeum distichum of Linnæus.

[158] Hordeum hexastichum of Linnæus. The Hordeum vulgare, or common barley, has but four rows.

[159] These varieties are not known at the present day, and Fée questions if they ever existed. There is a black barley found in Germany, the Hordeum nigrum of Willdenow.

[160] A calcareous soil is the best adapted for barley.

[161] Nova Carthago, or New Carthage.

[162] This fallacious opinion is shared with Galen, De Facult. Anim. B. vi. c. 11.

[163] Siligo.

[164] Triticum.

[165] The Triticum dicoccum, or spelt.

[166] Probably rye. See the next Chapter.

[167] Semen.

[168] In c. 20, also in c. 29. This grain, which was in reality a kind of spelt, received its name probably from having been the first cultivated.

[169] Il. ii. c. 548: “the land that produces zea.”

[170] Not ἀπὸ τοῦ ζῆν, from “living.”

[171] Merely, as Fée says, from the faulty method employed in its preparation, as starch has, in all cases, the same physical appearance.

[172] In c. 17 of this Book.

[173] In c. 3 of this Book.

[174] “Puls,” like our porridge.

[175] Any food that was originally eaten with “puls,” and afterwards with bread, was so called, such as meat, vegetables, &c.

[176] “Offam.” This word, which in the later writers signifies a “cake,” originally meant a hardened lump of porridge.

[177] Pulte fritillâ.

[178] “Siligo.” There are numerous contradictions in Pliny with reference to this plant, but it is now pretty generally agreed that it is the Triticum hibernum of Linnæus: the “froment tousselle” of the French. It was formerly the more general opinion that it was identical with spelt; but that cannot be the case, as spelt is red, and siligo is described as white.

[179] “Sine virtute.” It is doubtful what is the meaning of this.

[180] Sine pondere.

[181] In other places he says, most unaccountably, that wheat “degenerates into siligo.”

[182] As to this practice, see c. 29.

[183] “Quam vocant castratam.”

[184] From this account, it would appear that there were twenty-four sextarii to the modius; but the account in general is very contradictory.

[185] Salt water is rarely used for this purpose in modern times. See this passage discussed in Beckmann on Inventions, _Bohn’s Ed._ vol. i. p. 164.

[186] “Artopticio.” See c. 27 of this Book.

[187] Without tin, probably; or the tin bread may have been baked before the fire, similar to the method adopted at the present day with the American ovens.

[188] “Similago.” Founders still use meal occasionally for making moulds; it is also employed in making paper.

[189] The mention of “hundreds” here is evidently faulty, unless the other part of the passage is corrupt. Fée suggests twenty-two and twenty-seven.

[190] But above we find him stating that “secundarius,” “seconds” flour, and “cibarius,” or “coarse,” meal, are the same thing. His contradictions cannot apparently be reconciled.

[191] The whole of this passage, as Brotier remarks, is evidently corrupt.

[192] Fée has no doubt that this was siligo, or winter-wheat, in a very high state of cultivation.

[193] Il. v. l. 195.

[194] There are still some varieties both of winter-wheat and spelt that have the beard.

[195] It is generally thought that this is the oat, the Avena sativa of Linnæus, while some have suggested rice. Fée thinks that by the name, some exotic gramineous plant is meant.

[196] Probably a variety of spelt, as Sprengel conjectures, from Galen and other writers. See c. 16 of this Book.

[197] Fée thinks that it is the grain of the Festuca fluitans of Linnæus that is here alluded to, and identifies it with the “ulva palustris” of Virgil, Geor. iii. 174.

[198] The Latin word “degener” cannot here mean “degenerate,” in our sense of the word, but must merely imply a change of nature in the plant.

[199] See B. xvii. c. 3.

[200] We know of no such fruitfulness as this in the wheat of Europe. Fifteen-fold, as Fée remarks, is the utmost amount of produce that can be anticipated.

[201] Fée mentions instances of 150, 92, and 63 stalks arising from a single grain; but all these fall far short of the marvels here mentioned by Pliny.

[202] The Triticum compositum of Linnæus; supposed to have originally come from Egypt or Barbary.

[203] “Centigranium.” Probably the same as the last.

[204] In c. 10 of this Book.

[205] See c. 10.

[206] Pinguius.

[207] Already mentioned in c. 10.

[208] See B. xix. c. 47; and B. xx. c. 57.

[209] This would rather _grate_ the grain than _pound_ it, as Beckmann observes. See his Hist. Inv., vol. i. pp. 147 and 164, _Bohn’s Ed._, where the meaning of this passage has been commented upon. Gesner, also, in his Lexicon Rusticum, has endeavoured to explain it.

[210] Ruido.

[211] It is surprising to find the Romans, not only kneading their bread with sea-water, but putting in it pounded bricks, chalk, and sand!

[212] Beard chaff; so called, probably, from the sharpness of the points, like needles (acus).

[213] See B. xxxiii. c. 3; where he says, that a fire lighted with this chaff, fuses gold more speedily than one made with maple wood.

[214] The Tartars still employ millet as one of their principal articles of food. They also extract a kind of wine from it.

[215] Virgil alludes to this, Georg. iii. 463.

[216] Panic is still employed more than any other grain in the south of France.

[217] Or grape-juice. This must have tended to affect the taste of the bread.

[218] Ervum.

[219] “Cicercula.” See B. xxii. c. 72.

[220] This remark is founded upon just notions.

[221] Ostrearius.

[222] From ἄρτος, and λάγανον, bread and cake.

[223] From σπεύδω, to hasten. A sort of crumpet, probably.

[224] Furnaceus.

[225] Artopticeus.

[226] “Clibanis.” The clibanus was a portable oven or mould, broader at the bottom than the top.

[227] Aquaticus.

[228] See cc. 10 and 29 of this Book.

[229] It would appear to be somewhat similar to our rusks.

[230] Which ended A.U.C. 586.

[231] A. ii. s. 9, l. 4. “Ego hinc artoptam ex proxumo utendam peto.” It is thought by some commentators, that the word used by Pliny here was, in reality, “Artoptasia,” a female baker; and that he alludes to a passage in the Aulularia, which has now perished.

[232] Which in Pliny’s time signified “baker.”

[233] The Stipa tenacissima of Linnæus, Fée says; or else the Lygeum spartum of Linnæus.

[234] As to the cereal so called, see c. 10 of this Book.

[235] Or perfumed oils.

[236] See B. iii. c. 9. A volcanic district.

[237] In c. 20 of this Book.

[238] Grain from which the husk is removed.

[239] A sub-carbonate of lime; it is still known in those parts of Campania, and is called “lumera.”

[240] Teneritatem.

[241] From the Greek, meaning “white earth.”

[242] Fée enquires, and with good reason, how the African mixture accommodated itself to the stomachs of those who ate it.

[243] Residue.

[244] Seconds.

[245] Sieve flour.

[246] A porridge or pap, made of ground grain. It is mentioned by Cato, c. 86.

[247] The Faba vulgaris of the modern naturalists. It is supposed to have originally come from Persia.

[248] It is said that this mixture is still employed in the Valais and in Savoy.

[249] Fabata.

[250] Beans were used in ancient times, in place of balls or pebbles, in voting by ballot. Hence it has been suggested that Pythagoras, in recommending his disciples to abstain from beans, meant to advise them to have nothing to do with politics.

[251] The sacrifices offered to the Manes or spirits of deceased relations. See Ovid’s Fasti, B. ii. l. 565.

[252] “Brought home.” The bean was offered up, to ensure good luck.

[253] Didymus, in the Geoponica, B. ii. c. 33, repeats this absurdity.

[254] Georg. i. 215.

[255] This notion still prevails, and the bean, while in blossom, is dug into the ground to manure it, both in England and France.

[256] It does not appear, however, that this was done with the view of digging in the beans.

[257] Or Bean Islands. See B. iv. c. 27.

[258] The Nymphæa nelumbo of Linnæus is alluded to, but it is no longer to be found in Egypt. Pliny is supposed to derive this from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 10, but his translation is not exactly correct.

[259] Pisum sativum of Linnæus.

[260] Meaning a wart or pimple on the face.

[261] Cicer arietinum of the botanists.

[262] “Gigni cum salsilagine.” It abounds in India, and while blossoming, it distils a corrosive acid, which corrodes the shoes of those who tread upon it.

[263] There are still the red and the white kinds, the large and the small.

[264] Cicercula: the Lathyrus sativus of Linnæus. It is difficult to cook and hard of digestion. See c. 26.

[265] This must be said in reference to some of the pease when in a dried state.

[266] A variety of the Phaseolus vulgaris of Linnæus: the “haricot” of the French. The French bean and the scarlet-runner are cooked in a similar manner among us.

[267] 15th of October.

[268] 1st of November.

[269] The Napo-brassica of Linnæus. The turnip cabbage, or rape-colewort.

[270] This taste, it is most probable, is nowhere in existence at the present day.

[271] This is not by any means an exaggeration.

[272] Acrimonia.

[273] These coloured varieties, Fée says, belong rather to the Brassica oleracea, than to the Brassica rapa. It is not improbable, from the structure of this passage, that Pliny means to say that the colours are artificially produced.

[274] In reality, belonging to the Crucifera, the rape is hermaphroditical.

[275] Wild horse-radish, which is divided into two varieties, the Raphanus raphanistrum of Linnæus, and the Cochlearia Armoracia, may possibly be meant, but their roots bear no resemblance to the radish.

[276] An enormous price, apparently.

[277] The Brassica napus of Linnæus.

[278] 1st of March.

[279] The Neptunalia and the Vulcanalia; 23rd of July and 23rd of August.

[280] In consequence of the brittleness of the pod.

[281] This is an exaggeration of certain phænomena observed in the leaves of all leguminous plants.

[282] In B. xvii. c. 6.

[283] “Ex areâ.” This reading is favoured by the text of Columella. B. ii. c. 10, who says the same. But “ex arvo,” from the field, _i. e._ the “moment it is gathered”—seems preferable, as being more consistent with the context,

[284] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. viii. c. 1. 11, &c.

[285] It is still thought that the lupine enriches the soil in which it grows.

[286] Marcellus Empiricus says, that boiled lupine meal, spread as a plaster, and laid on the abdomen, will destroy intestinal worms.

[287] Vicia sativa of Linnæus.

[288] Or orobus, the Ervum ervilia of Linnæus.

[289] It is thought by many that the ervum is unwholesome, being productive of muscular weakness. The blade of it is said to act as a poison on pigs. However, we find the farina, or meal, extolled by some persons for its medicinal qualities; and if we are to trust to the advertisements in the newspapers, it is rising rapidly in esteem. See B. xxii. c. 73.

[290] From Columella, B. ii. c. 11.

[291] Trigonella fœnum Græcum of Linnæus.

[292] “Scarificatio.”

[293] Probably the Secale cereale of Linnæus, cultivated rye.

[294] It is now held in high esteem in many parts of Europe.

[295] Rye has no bitterness, and this assertion has led some to doubt if it is identical with the “secale” of Pliny.

[296] Perhaps identical with the Vicia cracca of Linnæus.

[297] In c. 54 and 60, and elsewhere. See B. xvii. c. 35.

[298] Probably, fitches.

[299] Fée suggests that this may be the Avena sterilis, or else the Avena fatua of Linnæus.

[300] De Re Rust. B. i. c. 31.

[301] “Medica,” in Latin, a kind of clover, the Medicago sativa of Linnæus.

[302] Fée is inclined to doubt this.

[303] Pliny exaggerates here: Columella, B. ii. c. 11, says, only “ten:” a field, however, sown with it will last, with a fresh sowing, as long as twenty years.

[304] See B. xiii. c. 47.

[305] Columella, B. ii. c. 11, says April.

[306] By the aid of careful watering, as many as eight to fourteen cuttings are obtained in the year, in Italy and Spain. In the north of Europe there is but one crop.

[307] In B. xiii. c. 47.

[308] He borrows this notion of the oat being wheat in a diseased state, from Theophrastus. Singularly enough, it was adopted by the learned Buffon.

[309] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. viii. c. 10.

[310] This but rarely happens in our climates, as Fée remarks.

[311] The grains are sometimes, though rarely, found devoured on the stalk, by a kind of larvæ.

[312] Some coleopterous insect, probably, now unknown, and not the Cantharis vesicatoria, or “Spanish fly,” as some have imagined. Dioscorides and Athenæus state to the same effect as Pliny.

[313] The proper influence of the humidity of the earth would naturally be impeded by a coating of these substances.

[314] This plant has not been identified; but none of the gramineous plants are noxious to cattle, with the exception of the seed of darnel.

[315] Lolium temulentum of Linnæus.

[316] See B. xxi. c. 58.

[317] “Carduus.” A general term, probably including the genera Centaurea (the prickly kinds), Serratula, Carduus, and Cnicus. The Centaurea solstitialis is the thistle most commonly found in the south of Europe.

[318] Gallium Aparine of Linnæus.

[319] Barley, wheat, oats, and millet have, each its own “rubigo” or mildew, known to modern botany as uredo.

[320] The Erineum vitis of botanists.

[321] This rarely happens except through the violence of wind or rain.

[322] See c. 32 of this Book.

[323] The Cuscuta Europæa, probably, of Linnæus; one of the Convolvuli.

[324] “Æra.” It is generally considered to be the same with darnel, though Pliny probably looked upon them as different.

[325] The Ægilops ovata, probably, of Linnæus. Dalechamps and Hardouin identify it with the barren oat, the Avena sterilis of Linnæus.

[326] To the Greek πελέκυς, or battle-axe. It is probably the Biserrula pelecina of Linnæus, though the Astragalus hamosus and the Coronilla securidaca of Linnæus have been suggested.

[327] Pliny has here committed a singular error in translating from Theophrastus, de Causis, B. iv. c. 14, who only says that a cold wind in the vicinity of Philippi makes the beans difficult to cook or boil, ἀτεράμονες. From this word he has coined two imaginary plants, the “ateramon,” and the “teramon.” Hardouin defends Pliny, by suggesting that he has borrowed the passage from another source, while Fée doubts if he really understood the Greek language.

[328] More probably one of the Coleoptera. He borrows from Theophrastus, Hist. Anim. B. viii. c. 10.

[329] This will only prevent the young plants from becoming a prey to snails and slugs.

[330] This plan is attended with no good results.

[331] Georg. i. 193. It is generally said that if seed is steeped in a solution of nitre, and more particularly hydrochloric acid, it will germinate with accelerated rapidity; the produce, however, is no finer than at other times.

[332] “Fractæ.” Perhaps, more properly “crushed”

[333] The odour of cypress, or savin, Fée thinks, might possibly keep away noxious insects.

[334] The “always living,” or perennial plant, our “house-leek,” the Sedum acre of Linnæus. See B. xxv. c. 102.

[335] “Little finger,” from the shape of the leaves.

[336] He must have allowed himself to be imposed upon in this case.

[337] Fée thinks that this may possibly be efficacious against the attacks of rats, as the author of the Geoponica, B. x., states.

[338] Virgil, Georg, i. 111, recommends the same plan, and it is still followed by agriculturists. It is not without its inconveniences, however.

[339] This is not consistent with truth, for no fresh ear will assume its place.

[340] De Re Rust. c. 6.

[341] De Re Rust. c. 34.

[342] “Ador.” See c. 10 of this Book.

[343] From Varro; De Re Rust. i. 23.

[344] A.U.C. 553.

[345] There is nothing wonderful in a few grains of corn germinating in the cleft of a tree.

[346] In B. v. c. 10.

[347] First of April.

[348] _I. e._ Egypt Proper, the Delta, or Lower Egypt, Thebais being in Upper Egypt.

[349] The overflow of these rivers is by no means to be compared with that of the Nile.

[350] Fée remarks, that the plough here described differs but little from that used in some provinces of France.

[351] Resupinus.

[352] Gallia Togata. Rhætia is the modern country of the Grisons.

[353] According to Goropius Becanus, from _plograt_, the ancient Gallic for a plough-wheel. Hardouin thinks that it is from the Latin “plaustra rati;” and Poinsinet derives it from the Belgic _ploum_, a plough, and _rat_, or _radt_, a wheel.

[354] “Crates;” probably made of hurdles; see Virgil, Georg. i. 95.

[355] De Re Rust. c. 61.

[356] These rules are borrowed mostly from Varro, B. i. c. 19, and Columella, B. ii. c. 4.

[357] “Vere actum” “worked in spring.”

[358] Virgil says the same, Georg. i. 9.

[359] Crosswise, or horizontally.

[360] Zig-zag, apparently.

[361] A rude foreshadowing of the spade husbandry so highly spoken of at the present day.

[362] “Prevaricare,” “to make a balk,” as we call it, to make a tortuous furrow, diverging from the straight line.

[363] He probably means the heavy “rastrum,” or rake, mentioned by Virgil, Georg. i. 164. It is impossible to say what was the shape of this heavy rake, or how it was used. Light, or hand rakes were in common use as well.

[364] “A gong crooked;” hence its meaning of, folly, dotage, or madness.

[365] Georg. i. 47. Servius seems to understand it that the furrow should be untouched for two days and two nights before it is gone over again.

[366] Fée declines to give credit to this story.

[367] A.U.C. 830.

[368] “Semen,” “seed-wheat,” a variety only of spelt.

[369] In c. 65 of this Book.

[370] Runcatio.

[371] Crates.

[372] Georg. i. 71.

[373] In B. xvii. c. 7.

[374] See B. v. c. 3, and B. xvi. c. 50. It is also mentioned by Ptolemy and Procopius. It was situate evidently in an oasis.

[375] Or arm’s length from the elbow.

[376] He surely does not mention this as an extravagant price, more especially when he has so recently spoken (in c. 34) of rape selling at a sesterce per pound.

[377] How was this ascertained? Fée seems to think that it is the Festuca fluitans of Linnæus that is alluded to, it being eagerly sought by cattle.

[378] In B. xvii. c. 3.

[379] Tenerum.

[380] Adoreum.

[381] “Tertio” may possibly mean the “third time,” _i. e._ for every third crop.

[382] In B. xvii. c. 6.

[383] “Ares” seems to be a preferable reading to “arescat,” “before it dries.”

[384] Schneider, upon Columella, B. ii. c. 15, would reject these words, and they certainly appear out of place.

[385] Poinsinet would supply here “tricenis diebus,” “in thirty days,” from Columella, B. ii. c. 15.

[386] “Sterile.” This is not necessarily the case, as we know with reference to what is called mummy wheat, the seed of which has been recovered at different times from the Egyptian tombs.

[387] The threshing floor was made with an elevation in the middle, and the sides on an incline, to the bottom of which the largest grains would be the most likely to fall.

[388] “Far” or spelt is of a red hue in the exterior.

[389] This appearance is no longer to be observed, if, indeed, Pliny is correct: all kinds of corn are white in the interior of the grain.

[390] Hand-sowing is called by the French, “semer à la volée.”

[391] This occult or mysterious method of which Pliny speaks, consists solely of what we should call a “happy knack,” which some men have of sowing more evenly than others.

[392] Sors genialis atque fecunda est.

[393] This Chapter is mostly from Columella, B. ii. c. 9.

[394] In c. 19 of this Book.

[395] Probably the mixture called “farrago” in c. 10 and c. 41.

[396] Upon this point the modern agriculturists are by no means agreed.

[397] From Cato, De Re Rust. c. 5.

[398] “Segetem ne defrudes.” The former editions mostly read “defruges,” in which case the meaning would be, “don’t exhaust the land.”

[399] This passage of Attius is lost, but Hermann supposes his words to have run thus:—

——serere, cum est Luna in Ariete, Geminis, Leone, Libra, Aquario.

[400] In c. 8 of this Book.

[401] Georg. i. 208.

[402] Georg. i. 227.

[403] See c. 74 of this Book.

[404] Columella, B. ii. c. 8.

[405] Favonius. See B. ii. c. 47.

[406] The five days’ festival in honour of Minerva. It begins on the fourteenth before the calends of April, or on the nineteenth of March. Virgil, Georg. i. 208, says that flax and the poppy should be sown in autumn.

[407] Fifteenth of October.

[408] First of November.

[409] Georg. i. 204.

[410] “To be an early winter.”

[411] “To be a long winter.”

[412] Confectum sidus.

[413] In B. xvii. c. 2.

[414] Georg. i. 335.

[415] A.U.C. 830.

[416] Twenty-seventh of January.

[417] Ad solis cursum.

[418] Soon after the corrections made by order of Julius Cæsar, the Pontifices mistook the proper method of intercalation, by making it every third year instead of the fourth; the consequence of which was, that Augustus was obliged to correct the results of their error by omitting the intercalary day for twelve years.

[419] He most probably refers to the list of writers originally appended to the First Book; but which in the present Translation is distributed at the end of each Book. For the list of astronomical writers here referred to, see the end of the present Book.

[420] Or Ἀστρικὴ βίβλος. It is now lost.

[421] In his work mentioned at the end of this Book. It is now lost.

[422] _I. e._ Asia Minor.

[423] _I. e._ the north-west parts of Africa.

[424] See c. 39 of that Book.

[425] “Ratione solis.” This theory of the succession of changes every four years, was promulgated by Eudoxus. See B. ii. c. 48.

[426] See c. 69, as to Arcturus and Aquila.

[427] He speaks of Equinoctial hours, these being in all cases of the same length, in contradistinction to the Temporal, or Unequal hours, which with the Romans were a twelfth part of the Natural day, from sunrise to sunset, and of course were continually varying.

[428] Twenty-fifth of December.

[429] Fere.

[430] In this Translation, the names of the Constellations are given in English, except in the case of the signs of the Zodiac, which are universally known by their Latin appellations.

[431] He begins in c. 64, at the winter solstice, and omits the period between the eleventh of November and the winter solstice altogether, so far as the mention of individual days.

[432] “Cum sidus vehemens Orionis iisdem diebus longo decedat spatio.” This passage is apparently unintelligible, if considered, as Sillig reads it, as dependent on the preceding one.

[433] In his Œconomica.

[434] In B. ii. c. 47.

[435] “Vestis institor est.” This passage is probably imperfect.

[436] “Lacernarum.”

[437] “Puleium.” See B. ii. c. 41.

[438] De Re Rust. i. 34.

[439] The setting of the Vergiliæ.

[440] De Divinat. B. i. c. 15. They are a translation from Aratus.

[441] De Re Rust. c. 38. Pliny has said above, that flax and the poppy should be sown in the spring.

[442] The Papaver Rhœas of Linnæus is still used for affections of the throat.

[443] For the grape and the olive.

[444] First of November.

[445] In the more northern climates this is never done till the spring.

[446] This is merely imaginary.

[447] Or king-fisher. It was a general belief that this bird incubated on the surface of the ocean.

[448] Hence the expression, “Halcyon days.”

[449] Vadimonia.

[450] In B. xvi. c. 74.

[451] “Ridicas.”

[452] “Palos.”

[453] Thirtieth of December. According to the Roman reckoning, the _third_ day would be the day but one before.

[454] Fourth of January.

[455] Eighth of January.

[456] Seventeenth of January.

[457] Twenty-fifth of January.

[458] “Regia Stella.”

[459] Fourth of February.

[460] Or wine-vats; by the use of the word “laminas,” he seems to be speaking not of the ordinary earthen dolia, but the wooden ones used in Gaul and the north of Italy.

[461] Sixteenth of February.

[462] Twenty-second of February.

[463] Fifth of March.

[464] On the fifth of March, Ovid says, Fasti, iii. l. 407. Columella makes it rise on the sixth of the nones, or the second of March.

[465] Eighth of March.

[466] Or, more literally, the “Northern Fish.”

[467] Fifteenth of March, the day on which he was assassinated, in accordance, it is said, with the prophecy of a diviner, who had warned him to beware of the ides of March.

[468] Eighteenth of March.

[469] Twenty-first of March.

[470] In c. 46 and c. 47.

[471] Seventh of February.

[472] In B. xvii. c. 35.

[473] Fée approves of this method of weeding before the corn is in ear.

[474] In a day, probably.

[475] Georg. i. 63.

[476] De Re Rust. 40.

[477] See B. xvii. c. 8.

[478] Alluding to his quotation from Cicero in c. 61.

[479] Or mastich.

[480] See c. 7 of this Book.

[481] It is not known whence he derived this unfounded notion.

[482] Twenty-fifth of March.

[483] First of April.

[484] This passage is omitted in the original, but was probably left out by inadvertence.

[485] Third of April.

[486] Fifth of April.

[487] Eighth of April.

[488] Eighteenth of April.

[489] Sixteenth of April.

[490] Twentieth of April.

[491] Twenty-first of April. See B. xix. c. 24.

[492] From ὕειν, to rain.

[493] “Sus,” a pig.

[494] Twenty-fourth of April.

[495] Twenty-fifth of April.

[496] Twenty-sixth of April.

[497] Twenty-seventh of April.

[498] Twenty-eighth of April.

[499] Second of May.

[500] Eighth of May.

[501] Tenth of May.

[502] “Cuculus.” Sec B. x. c. 11.

[503] “Petulantiæ vales.” Perhaps “indecent,” or “wanton jokes:” at least, Hardouin thinks so.

[504] By causing quarrels, probably.

[505] See B. xi. c. 34.

[506] A quotation from some unknown poet, Sillig thinks.

[507] See B. xvi. c. 41.

[508] See Virgil, Ecl. iii. l. 111.

[509] Eleventh of May.

[510] Thirteenth of May.

[511] Twenty-first of May.

[512] Twenty-second of May.

[513] Second of June.

[514] Seventh of June.

[515] Tenth of June.

[516] Fifteenth of June.

[517] Twenty-first of June.

[518] Twenty-fourth of June.

[519] First of June.

[520] Columella, B. ii. c. 18.

[521] The varieties now known as Trifolium pratense, Trifolium rubens and Trifolium repens.

[522] “Gramen.” Under this head, as Fée says, he probably includes the gramineous plants, known as Alopecurus, Phleum, Poa, Festuca, &c.

[523] Probably the Lysimachia nummularia of Linnæus, which has a tendency to corrode the lips of the sheep that pasture on it.

[524] Known to us as “horse-tail;” varieties of which are the Equisetum fluviatile and the Equisetum palustre of Linnæus.

[525] De Re Rust. c. 53.

[526] See Virgil’s Georg. i. 289.

[527] As to whetstones, for further information, see B. xxvi. c. 47.

[528] The word “falx,” “sickle” or “scythe,” is used here as denoting an implement for mowing, and not reaping.

[529] Similar in shape to our sickle, or reaping hook, no doubt.

[530] “Majoris compendii.” Similar to our reaping-hook, also. Fée thinks that the former was similar to the “faux faucille,” or false sickle, the latter to the common sickle of the French.

[531] Fée says that this is the case in some parts of France.

[532] In c. 59 of this Book.

[533] Twenty-fourth of June. See the last Chapter.

[534] On this subject see B. xvi. c. 36. See also Varro, De Re Rust. B. i. c. 46, and Aulus Gellius, B. ix. c. 7.

[535] “Tenes Sidus.”

[536] Twenty-sixth of June.

[537] Fourth of July.

[538] There is some confusion, apparently, here. Canicula, Syrius, or the Dog-star, belongs to the Constellation Canis Major; while Canis Minor a Constellation which contains the star Procyon, (“the forerunner of the Dog,”) precedes it.

[539] Fourth of July.

[540] Fourteenth of July.

[541] Seventeenth of July.

[542] B. ii. c. 40, and B. xix. c. 25.

[543] Twentieth of July.

[544] Twenty-third of July.

[545] Thirtieth of July.

[546] Sixth of August.

[547] Eleventh of August.

[548] Eighth of August.

[549] See B. xvii. c. 37.

[550] Carbunculus.

[551] Cicero. De Div., B. ii. 201, Aristotle, Polit. B. i. c. 7, and Diogenes Laertius tell this story of Thales the philosopher; Pliny being the only one that applies it to Democritus.

[552] In the last Chapter. This passage is corrupt.

[553] Mentioned by Seneca, Ep. 59.

[554] It was reserved for the latter part of the last century to discover that mildew operated on vegetation through the medium of minute, parasitical fungi. It is mostly attributed to defects in the light or the atmosphere, or else humidity in excess. See c. 44 of this Book.

[555] In B. ii. c. 6, for instance.

[556] An onomatic prejudice, as Fée says, solely founded on the peculiarity of the name.

[557] In the preceding Chapter.

[558] In the preceding Chapter.

[559] In B. xvi. c. 42.

[560] Twentieth of December.

[561] Or festival in honour of Robigo, the Goddess of mildew, on the twenty-fifth of April. See Ovid’s Fasti, B. iv. l. 907, _et seq._

[562] Robigo.

[563] “Nineteen” is the proper number.

[564] “Et cui præoccidere caniculam necesse est.” The real meaning of this passage would seem to be,—“Before which, as a matter of course, Canicula must set.” But if so, Pliny is in error, for Canicula, or Procyon, sets heliacally _after_ the Dog-star, though it rises before it. Hardouin observes, that it is abundantly proved from the ancient writers that it was the custom to sacrifice a puppy to Sirius, or the Dog-star, at the Robigalia. As Littré justly remarks, it would almost appear that Pliny intended, by his ambiguous language, to lead his readers into error.

[565] Twenty-eighth of April. The festival of Flora.

[566] Twenty-third of April. This was the first, or Urban Vinalia: the second, or Rustic Vinalia, were held on the nineteenth of August.

[567] The same as the Greek Πιθοίγια, or “opening of the Casks.”

[568] Tenth of May.

[569] In B. xvi. c. 42, and in c. 66 of this Book.

[570] Second of June.

[571] Twenty-fourth of June.

[572] Fourth of July.

[573] Seventeenth of July.

[574] Twentieth of July.

[575] Twenty-third of July.

[576] Nineteenth of August.

[577] Eighth of August.

[578] See B. x. c. 45, and c. 50. The popinjay, lapwing, and tit-mouse have been suggested.

[579] Virio. See B. x. c. 45.

[580] Columella, De Arborib. c. 13, gives similar advice.

[581] This absurd practice is mentioned in the Geoponica, B. v. c. 31.

[582] As to this fish, see B. ix. c. 17.

[583] “Uva picta.” This absurdity does not seem to be found in any of Varro’s works that have come down to us.

[584] Nothing whatever is known of him or his works; and, as Fée says, apparently the loss is little to be regretted.

[585] Rubeta rana.

[586] De Re Rust. 129. Cato, however, does not mention chalk, but Virgil (Georg. i. 178) does. Poinsinet thinks that this is a “lapsus memoriæ” in Pliny, but Fée suggests that there may have been an omission by the copyists.

[587] See the last Note. He recommends that it should be turned up with the hand, rammed down with “tenacious chalk,” and levelled with a large roller.

[588] Both cow-dung and marc of olives are still employed in some parts of France, in preparing the threshing floor.

[589] Palladius gives a long description of this contrivance, which seems to have been pushed forward by the ox; the teeth, which were sharp at the edge and fine at the point, catching the ears and tearing them off. But, as Fée says, the use of it must have been very disadvantageous, in consequence of the unequal height of the stalks. The straw, too, was sacrificed by the employment of it.

[590] In contrarium juncto.

[591] “Merges.” Supposed to be the same as the “batillum” of Varro. Its form is unknown, and, indeed, the manner in which it was used. It is not improbable that it was a fork, sharp at the edge, and similar to an open pair of scissars, with which the heads of corn were driven off, as it were; this, however, is only a mere conjecture. By the use of “atque,” it would almost appear that the “merges” was employed after the sickle had been used; but it is more probable that he refers to two different methods of gathering the ears of corn.

[592] The roots and the stubble are, in reality, as good as a manure to the land.

[593] Called “tribulum;” a threshing-machine moved by oxen. Varro, De Re Rust. i. 52, gives a description of it. Fée says that it is still used in some parts of Europe.

[594] On the contrary, Fée says, the risk is greater from the depredations of birds, and the chance of the grain falling out in cutting, and gathering in. Spelt and rye may be left much longer than wheat or oats.

[595] Columella, B. ii. c. i., gives the same advice.

[596] “Palea” seems here to mean “chaff;” though Fée understands it as meaning straw.

[597] The chaff of millet, and not the straw, must evidently be intended here, for he says above that the straw—“culmus”—of millet is generally burnt.

[598] Muria dura.

[599] Georg. i. 84, _et seq._ Fée says that Virgil has good reason for his commendations, as it is a most excellent plan.

[600] Palladius, i. 19, says _two_ feet.

[601] On account of the damp. Columella, however, recommends a mixture of sand, lime, and marc of olives for the floor; B. i. c. 6.

[602] In B. xv. c. 8.

[603] This is still done in the Valais, and has the great merit of preserving the corn from house and field-mice.

[604] “Ventilare.” On the contrary, the weevil penetrates deep, and does not keep near the surface.

[605] De Re Rust. ii. 21.

[606] See B. ii. c. 48.

[607] Those keep the best, Fée says, which have a farinaceous perisperm. Millet has but one coat.

[608] This, in reality, would tend to make them turn rancid all the sooner.

[609] And so repel the attacks of insects.

[610] This would not only spoil the flavour, but absolutely injure the corn as well.

[611] This also, if practised to any extent, would infallibly spoil the grain.

[612] De Re Rust. i. 57.

[613] See B. xix. c. 15: also Columella, De Re Rust. B. ii. c. 10.

[614] Twelfth of August.

[615] Twenty-second of August.

[616] Twenty-eighth of August.

[617] Fifth of September.

[618] Ninth of September.

[619] Twelfth of September.

[620] See the Rudens of Plautus, Prol. l. 69.

[621] Sixteenth of September.

[622] Eighteenth of September.

[623] Twenty-first of September.

[624] Commissura.

[625] Twenty-fourth of September.

[626] Mentioned by Virgil, Eccl. iii. l. 38, and by Propertius, Eleg. iv. 1.

[627] Twenty-eighth of September.

[628] Twenty-ninth of September.

[629] Second of October.

[630] Third of October.

[631] Fourth of October.

[632] Eighth of October.

[633] Tenth of October.

[634] Fifteenth of October.

[635] Sixteenth of October.

[636] Or Hyades, see c. 66.

[637] Second of November.

[638] Ninth of November.

[639] Eleventh of November.

[640] In c. 35 of this Book.

[641] “Frondarias fiscinas.” These must have been baskets of a very large size. The leaves were used for fodder.

[642] This, Fée says, is diametrically opposite to the modern practice.

[643] The “culeus,” it is supposed, was of the same measure of capacity as the “dolium,” and held twenty amphoræ. The “pressura,” or “pressing,” was probably the utmost quantity that the pressing vat would hold at one time.

[644] “Lacus.”

[645] “Mali rugis per cocleas bullantibus.” The whole of this passage is full of difficulties.

[646] “Tympana:” literally, “drums.”

[647] Grape juice boiled down to one half; see B. xiv. c. 9.

[648] Virgil mentions this in the Georgics, B. i. 295. Of course, it is nothing but an absurd superstition.

[649] First of January.

[650] Piscinis.

[651] _I. e._ before getting in the next year’s crop. Of course, he alludes only to wines of an inferior class, used for domestic consumption.

[652] In B. xiv.

[653] In B. xv. c. 3.

[654] Georg. i. 276.

[655] In contradistinction to the two periods of full moon, and change of the moon, the only epochs in reference to it noticed by Pliny.

[656] In Chapters 6, 7, 8 and 11.

[657] Or “between moons.” The “change of the moon,” as we call it.

[658] 51-1/4 minutes.

[659] Many of his statements are drawn from Aristotle’s Treatise, “De Mundo.”

[660] Our mid-day.

[661] From due north to due south.

[662] Cardo.

[663] “Arbusta.” The trees on which the vines were trained.

[664] _I. e._ the north-west of Africa; the Roman province so called.

[665] In the next Chapter.

[666] Ventus Auster.

[667] In B. ii. c. 46.

[668] Incendia.

[669] See B. xvii. c. 2.

[670] See B. viii. c. 75.

[671] He seems to be in error here, as he has nowhere made mention of this.

[672] Aristotle, on the other hand, and Columella, B. vii. c. 3, say “males.” See also B. viii. c. 72, where males are mentioned in connection with the north-wind. Also the next Chapter in this Book.

[673] In the last Chapter.

[674] Very similar to our compass, but describing only eight points of the wind, instead of thirty-two.

[675] “Tympanum,” a drum, similar in shape to our tambourines or else kettle-drums.

[676] See B. ii. c. 46.

[677] Or the “summer” wind.

[678] Africus, or south-west.

[679] Or, according to our mode of expression, the “second,” or “next but one.”

[680] Or, as we say, the “third.”

[681] Georg. i. 313, _et seq._

“Sæpe ego, quum flavis messorem induceret arvis Agricola, et fragili jam stringeret hordea culmo, omnia ventorum concurrere prœlia vidi.”

[682] See the Treatise of Theophrastus on the Prognostics of the Weather.

[683] This, Fée observes, is confirmed by experience. Aratus, as translated by Avienus, states to a similar effect.

[684] So Virgil, Georg. i. 427.

[685] Coronam.

[686] See B. ii. c. 6 and c. 36.

[687] In c. 59 of this Book.

[688] “Densum.” Fée says that this is in general confirmed by experience.

[689] This results, Fée says, from the presence of thin, aqueous vapours, which portend a change in the atmosphere.

[690] Fée attributes this phænomenon to hydrosulphuric gas, ignited in the air by an electric spark. The notion that these meteors are stars, was prevalent to a very recent period.

[691] To which they proceed.

[692] This, Fée says, is confirmed by experience.

[693] Or “Little Asses.”

[694] Præsepia.

[695] This, as Fée remarks, is consistent with experience.

[696] This, Fée remarks, appears to be consistent with general experience.

[697] Theophrastus states to a similar effect, and it is confirmed by the experience of those who live in mountainous countries.

[698] We still hear of the “white squalls” of the Mediterranean.

[699] “‘Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand.’——And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.”—1 Kings, xviii. 44, 45.

[700] The truth of this, Fée says, he has personally experienced in the vallies of the Alps.

[701] Terreni ignes.

[702] This, and the other phænomena here mentioned, result, as Fée says, from the hygrometric state of the air. Virgil mentions this appearance on the wick of the lamp, Georg. i. 392.

[703] Fée thinks that this indicates fine weather rather than rain, as showing a pure state of the atmosphere.

[704] Sea “lungs.” See B. ix. c. 71.

[705] Ludentia.

[706] Virgil mentions these indications, Georg. i. 368-9.

[707] “Suus fragor.” The winds, Fée remarks, however violent they may be, make no noise unless they meet with an obstacle which arrests their onward progress.

[708] Theophrastus, Cicero, and Plutarch state to a similar effect; and it is corroborated by the experience of most mariners.

[709] The ink-fish; Sepia loligo of Linnæus. See B. ix. c. 21.

[710] Virgil says the same, Georg. i. 378.

[711] “Fulicæ.” See B. x. c. 61, and B. xi. c. 44.

[712] Virgil says the same of the diver, or didapper, Georg. i. 361; and Lucan Pharsalia, v. 553.

[713] Both Theophrastus and Ælian mention this.

[714] It is not known what bird is here alluded to, but Fée is probably right in suggesting a sort of sea-mew, or gull.

[715] This is still considered a prognostic of rain. Fée says that the swallow descends thus near to the surface to catch the insects on the wing which are now disabled from rising by the hygrometric state of the atmosphere.

[716] This is confirmed by experience.

[717] On the contrary, Lucan says (Pharsalia, B. v. l. 549), that on the approach of rain, the heron soars in the upper regions of the air; and Virgil says the same, Georg. i. 364.

[718] Indecorâ lasciviâ.

[719] Fée suggests that they probably do this to diminish the electric fluid with which the air is charged.

[720] Alienos sibi manipulos.

[721] This is confirmed by common experience.

[722] “Repositoriis.” See B. xix. c. 13, and B. xxx. c. 49.

[723] See end of B. vii.

[724] See end of B. xii.

[725] See end of B. iii.

[726] See end of B. ii.

[727] See end of B. vii.

[728] See end of B. iii.

[729] See end of B. xiv.

[730] See end of B. ii.

[731] See end of B. iii.

[732] See end of B. xi.

[733] See end of B. x.

[734] See end of B. xi.

[735] See end of B. iii.

[736] See end of B. vii.

[737] See end of B. vii.

[738] A native of Sulmo, in the country of the Peligni, and one of the greatest poets of the Augustan age. It is most probable that his “Fasti” was extensively consulted by Pliny in the compilation of the present Book. Six Books of the Fasti have come down to us, but the remaining six have perished, if, indeed, they were ever written, which has been doubted by many of the learned.

[739] See end of B. xiv.

[740] See end of B. viii.

[741] See end of B. ii. It is supposed that there were several writers of this name, but it is impossible to say with certainty which of them is the one here referred to. It is probable, however, that it is either L. Ælius Tubero, the friend of Cicero, or else Q. Ælius Tubero, his son, that is alluded to.

[742] L. Tarutius Firmianus, a mathematician and astronomer, and a friend and contemporary of Cicero and M. Varro. At the request of the latter, he took the horoscope of Romulus. It is generally supposed that he was of Etruscan descent.

[743] The founder of the imperial dignity at Rome. His Commentaries are the only work written by him that has come down to us. His treatise on the Stars, which Pliny frequently quotes throughout this Book, was probably written under the inspection of the astronomer, Sosigenes.

[744] See end of B. ii.

[745] Nothing is known of this writer. It has been suggested, however, that he may have been the same person as Papirius Fabianus, mentioned at the end of B. ii.

[746] See end of B. vii.

[747] See end of B. xvi.

[748] See end of B. iii.

[749] See end of B x.

[750] L. Accius, or Attius, an early Roman tragic poet, and the son of a freedman, born about B.C. 170. His tragedies were chiefly imitations from the Greek. He is highly praised by Cicero. The “Praxidica” here mentioned, is probably the same as the “Pragmatica” spoken of by Aulus Gellius, B. xx. c. 3. Only some fragments of his Tragedies are left.

[751] See end of B. vii.

[752] See end of B. iii.

[753] See end of B. ii.

[754] See end of B. ii.

[755] See end of B. viii.

[756] See end of B. viii.

[757] See end of B. viii.

[758] See end of B. viii.

[759] See end of B. iv.

[760] Sec end of B. viii.

[761] See end of B. ix.

[762] See end of B. viii.

[763] See end of B. viii.

[764] See end of B. viii.

[765] See end of B. viii.

[766] See end of B. viii.

[767] See end of B. viii.

[768] See end of B. viii.

[769] See end of B. vi.

[770] See end of B. viii.

[771] See end of B. xiv.

[772] See end of B. xv.

[773] See end of B. viii.

[774] See end of B. ii.

[775] See end of B. x.

[776] See end of B. viii.

[777] See end of B. viii.

[778] See end of B. viii.

[779] See end of B. viii.

[780] See end of B. xii.

[781] See end of B. viii.

[782] Of Miletus, the most ancient of the Greek philosophers, and the founder of the Ionian school of Philosophy. He is said to have written upon the Solstice and the Equinox, and a work on Astronomy, in verse, was also attributed to him. It is, however, more generally believed, that he left no written works behind him, and that those attributed to him were forgeries.

[783] See end of B. ii.

[784] An astronomer of Medama, or Medma, in Magna Græcia, and a disciple of Plato. He is said to have written a treatise on the winds, and Plutarch states that he demonstrated the figure of the moon.

[785] An astronomer of Cyzicus, and a friend of Aristotle, whom he assisted in completing the discoveries of Eudoxus. He invented the cycle of seventy-six years, called after him the Calippic.

[786] Of Colonus, a geometrician, to whom Archimedes dedicated his works on the sphere and cylinder, and on spirals.

[787] A grammarian, who is supposed to have written a commentary on Aratus. Varro, De Ling. Lat. x. 10, speaks of him as making the distinctive characteristics of words to be eight in number.

[788] A famous astronomer of Athens, to whom the discovery of the cycle of nineteen years has been attributed.

[789] There were several learned men of this name, but it appears impossible to say which of them is the one here alluded to; probably it is either the Pythagorean philosopher of Ægæ, who wrote on Predestination, or else the historian, a native of Pieria in Macedonia. There was also an astronomer of this name, a native of Naxos, and a friend of Eudoxus of Cnidos.

[790] A famous astronomer, a native of Chios. He is said to have claimed the discovery of the obliquity of the Ecliptic.

[791] Probably Zenon of Elea, one of the most famous philosophers of antiquity. All of his works had perished at a very early period.

[792] An Athenian astronomer, the friend and assistant of Meton, about 430 B.C.

[793] An astronomer mentioned by Censorinus, as having corrected the intercalation of Cleostratus. Nothing further appears to be known of him.

[794] For Hecatæus of Miletus, see B. iv. For Hecatæus of Abdera, see B. vi.

[795] See end of B. iv.

[796] See end of B. ii.

[797] See end of B. ii.

[798] A native of Soli, or else Tarsus, in Cilicia. He was the author of two Greek astronomical poems which have come down to us. He flourished about B.C. 270.

[799] Nothing can be said of him with any degree of historical certainty. By the Persians he was called Zerdusht, and was said to have been the founder of the Magian religion. There were several works in Greek bearing his name, but which, no doubt, were forgeries of a later age than that usually assigned to him.

[800] He is mentioned in c. 70 of this Book, as writing a letter to Antiochus, king of Syria; but nothing further seems to be known of him.

[801] More particularly in B. xvii. cc. 2 and 3, and B. xviii. cc. 57-75.

[802] The Linum usitatissimum of Linnæus.

[803] What would he have said to the application of the powers of steam, and the electric telegraph?

[804] Possibly Galerius Trachalus, Consul A.D. 68, a relation of Galeria Fundana, the wife of the Emperor Vitellius.

[805] Governor of Egypt in the reign of Nero, A.D. 55. He is mentioned by Seneca, Quæst. Nat. B. iv. c. 2, and is supposed to have written a work on Egypt and his journeys in that country.

[806] Or, as Sillig suggests, “after ill treatment such as this, that it arrives at the sea.” The passage is evidently defective.

[807] In B. vii. c. 57. He alludes to Dædalus.

[808] He probably has in view here the imprecation uttered by Horace:—

“Illi robur, et æs triplex Circa pectus erat, qui fragilem truci Commisit pelago ratem.”—_Odes_, i. 3.

At the present day hemp forms a material part in the manufacture of sails. In addition to flax, the ancients employed broom, rushes, leather, and various skins of animals for the purpose.

[809] In c. 76.

[810] On the contrary, as Fée observes, the cultivation of flax is attended with the greatest difficulties.

[811] See B. xvii. c. 7. Virgil says, Georg. i. 77, “Urit enim lini campum seges”—but in the sense, as Fée remarks, of _exhausting_, not _scorching_ the soil.

[812] A light soil, and well manured, is usually employed for the purpose. Columella, B. ii. c. 10, recommends a rich, moist soil. It is sown in March or April, and is gathered, according to the season, from June to September.

[813] Though rapid in its growth, there are many vegetable productions that grow more rapidly.

[814] This was the time for sowing it with the Romans, though in some countries, at the present day, it is sown so late as the autumn.

[815] In B. xviii. c. 72, he has spoken of this method of gathering vegetable productions as injurious to the soil, by withdrawing its natural juices.

[816] “Censentur hoc reditu?” There is little doubt that the Gauls, like their German neighbours, cultivated flax for the purposes of female dress, and not mainly for the manufacture of sails.

[817] “Quod vocant inane.” He implies that the boundless space of ocean on the Western coasts of Gaul was useless for any purposes of navigation.

[818] See B. iv. c. 33.

[819] See B. iv. c. 33.

[820] See B. xxxiv. c. 48.

[821] See B. iv. c. 31.

[822] A family of the Atilia gens.

[823] It was, and is still to some extent, a prevalent opinion, that the humidity of caves under-ground is favourable to the manufacture of tissues of hemp and flax.

[824] In Spain. Sec B. i. c. 1, and B. iii. c. 4.

[825] Cluvier takes this place to be the same with Litubium in Liguria, mentioned by Livy, B. xxxii.

[826] “Lanugo.” This is not generally looked upon as a merit in linen, at the present day.

[827] Now Tarragona. See B. iii. c. 4.

[828] “Carbasus.” This was probably the Spanish name originally for fine flax, and hence came to signify the cambrics, or fine linen tissues made of it. It seems, however, to have afterwards been extended to all kinds of linen tissues, as we find the name given indifferently to linen garments, sail-cloth, and awnings for the theatres.

[829] See B. iii. c. 4.

[830] “Sætas ceu per ferri aciem vincunt.” This passage is probably in a mutilated state.

[831] There must either be some corruption in the text, or else Pliny must have been mistaken. Nets such as these could have been of no possible use in taking a wild boar.

[832] See B. iv. c. 33. Now Querci, the chief town of which is Cahors.

[833] “Culcitæ.”

[834] “Tomenta.”

[835] Exactly corresponding to our “paillasse,” a “bed of straw.”

[836] This is doubtful, though at the same time it is a well-known fact that the Egyptian flax grows to the greatest size. Hasselquist speaks of it attaining a height of fifteen feet.

[837] Our cotton, the Gossypium arboreum of Linnæus. See B. xii. c. 21. The terms _xylon_, _byssus_, and _gossypium_, must be regarded as synonymous, being applied sometimes to the plant, sometimes to the raw cotton, and sometimes to the tissues made from it. _Gossypium_ was probably the barbarous name of the cotton tree, and _byssus_ perhaps a corruption of its Hebrew name.

[838] Probably the Arundo donax of modern botanists. See B. xvi. c. 66.

[839] Fée says, that the people of Pisa, at the present day, soak the stalks of broom, and extract therefrom a thread, of which cords and coarse stuffs are made.

[840] In B. xii. c. 21. He seems there to speak of the cotton-tree, though Fée suggests that he may possibly allude to the “Bombax pentandrum” of Linnæus.

[841] It is the mucilage of the perisperm that is so useful in medicine. As an article of food, the farina of linseed is held in no esteem whatever. In times of scarcity, attempts have been made to mix it with flour or meal, but the result has been found to be heavy and indigestible, and has caused, it is said, the death even of those who have eaten of it in considerable quantities.

[842] There are various other methods employed of dressing flax at the present day; but they are all of them long and tedious.

[843] And not feminine or servile.

[844] “Vivum.”

[845] He evidently considers asbestus, or amianthus, to be a vegetable, and not a mineral production. It is, in reality, a mineral, with long flexible filaments, of a silky appearance, and is composed of silica, magnesia, and lime. The wicks of the inextinguishable lamps of the middle ages, the existence of which was an article of general belief, were said to be made of asbestus. Paper and lace, even, have been made of it in modern times.

[846] “Nascitur.” In the year 1702 there was found near the Nævian Gate, at Rome, a funereal urn, in which there was a skull, calcined bones, and other ashes, enclosed in a cloth of asbestus, of a marvellous length. It is still preserved in the Vatican.

[847] On the contrary, it is found in the Higher Alps in the vicinity of the Glaciers, in Scotland, and in Siberia, even.

[848] Signifying “inextinguishable,” from ἀ, “not,” and σβέννυμι, “to extinguish.” See B. xxxvii. c. 54.

[849] See end of this Book.

[850] He evidently alludes to cotton fabrics under this name. See Note [837] to c. 2 of this Book.

[851] Pausanias, in his Eliaca, goes so far as to say, that byssus was found only in Elis, and nowhere else. Judging from the variable temperature of the climate, it is very doubtful, Fée says, if cotton was grown there _at all_. Arrian, Apollonius, and Philostratus say that the tree which produced the _byssus_ had the leaves of the willow, and the shape of the poplar, characteristics which certainly do not apply to the cotton-tree.

[852] Impure oxide of metals, collected from the chimneys of smelting-houses. Fée says that Pliny on this occasion is right.

[853] In B. xx. c. 79, he speaks of the “heraclion” poppy, supposed by some of the commentators to be identical with the one mentioned here.

[854] “Vestium insaniam.”

[855] “Postea.” Sillig would reject this word, as being a corruption, and not consistent with fact, Catulus having lived before the time of Cleopatra. He suggests that the reading should be “Populo Romano ea in theatris spectanti umbram fecere.” “Linen, too, has provided a shade for the Roman people, when viewing the spectacles of the theatre.” Lucretius, B. iv. l. 73, _et seq._, speaks of these awnings as being red, yellow, and iron grey.

[856] “Carbasina.” Cambric.

[857] The cavædium is generally supposed to have been the same as the “atrium,” the large inner apartment, roofed over, with the exception of an opening in the middle, which was called the “compluvium,” or “impluvium,” over which the awning here mentioned was stretched. Here the master of the house received his visitors and clients.

[858] White would be much preferable to red for this purpose.

[859] Il. ii. ll. 529 and 830.

[860] Il. viii. l. 63.

[861] Il. ii. l. 135. See B. xxiv. c. 40.

[862] The Stipa tenacissima of Linnæus; a kind of broom, called “Esparto” by the Spaniards.

[863] Although, as Fée says, this is still the fact, it is a plant which would readily admit of cultivation. Varro, however, De Re Rust. B. i. c. 23, speaks of it in conjunction with hemp, flax, and rushes, as being sown.

[864] This kind, Fée thinks, may possibly have been identical with the Spartum Lygeum of Linnæus, false esparto, or alvarde.

[865] At the present day it is only in the provinces on the Mediterranean that spartum is found; the other provinces producing nothing but alvarde.

[866] It is still used in the southern parts of Spain for the same purposes.

[867] The shoes now made of it are known as “espartenas” and “alpargatas.”

[868] It is not dangerous in itself, but is too tough to be a favourite article of food with cattle.

[869] Fifteenth of May and thirteenth of June.

[870] The same word, σχοῖνος, signifying both a “rush” and a “rope.”

[871] Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 13. Athenæus, B. ii., mentions it also.

[872] Fée is at a loss to identify this plant, but considers it quite clear that it is not the same with the Eriophorum augustifolium of Linnæus, a cyperaceous plant, of which the characteristics are totally different. Dodonæus, however, was inclined to consider them identical.

[873] On the contrary, Theophrastus _does_ mention it, in the Hist. Plant. B. i. c. 8, and speaks of it as having a bark composed of several tunics or membranes.

[874] In B. xiii. c. 13, and B. xv. c. 1.

[875] “Tuber.” The Tuber cibarium of Linnæus, the black truffle; and probably the grey truffle, the Tuber griseum.

[876] This callous secretion of the earth, or corticle, is, as Fée says, a sort of hymenium, formed of vesicles, which, as they develope themselves, are found to contain diminutive truffles. Pliny is wrong in saying that the truffle forms neither cleft nor protuberance, as the exact contrary is the fact.

[877] Haller speaks of truffles weighing as much as fourteen pounds. Valmont de Bomare speaks of a truffle commonly found in Savoy, which attains the weight of a pound.

[878] Those of Africa are in general similar to those found in Europe, but there is one peculiar to that country, possibly the same that is mentioned in the following Chapter under the name of “misy.”

[879] “Jura reddenti.”

[880] It is really propagated by spores, included in sinuous chambers in the interior; but, notwithstanding the attempts that have been made, it has never yet been cultivated with any degree of success. In c. 13, Pliny seems to recognize the possibility of its multiplication by germs, where he says that its formation is attributed by some to water.

[881] Fée takes this to be the Tuber niveum of Desfontaines, the snow-white truffle. It is globular and somewhat piriform, grows to the size of a walnut, and sometimes of an orange, and is said to be most delicate eating.

[882] These truffles or morels do not appear to have been identified.

[883] Juvenal alludes to this absurd notion, Sat. v. l. 116. “The long wished-for thunder will provide a more ample repast.”

[884] Theophrastus, as quoted by Athenæus, B. ii. speaks of this.

[885] “Peziza” was a name given by the ancients to a kind of cupuliform mushroom; in which, however, we cannot recognize the “pezica” of Pliny. Some writers think that this was the same as the lycoperdon and geastrum of botanists, our puff-ball: while others take it to be the morel, the Morchella esculenta, Sprengel in the number. Fée is inclined to be of opinion that an edible mushroom is meant, but is quite at a loss to identify it.

[886] Possibly the Ferula asafœtida of Linnæus; or, according to some, the Thapsia silphium of Viviani, _Flor. Lib._ It was a plant common, according to ancient writers, to Syria, Armenia, Media, and Libya; but it was the produce of this last country, probably, that afforded the juice or gum resin here mentioned as “laser,” and so highly esteemed by the ancients, as forming a component part of their perfumes. Fée is inclined to think that the Laserpitium here spoken of was the Thapsia silphium, and to reject the more general opinion that it is identical with the Ferula asafœtida. Pliny has probably caused some confusion by blending the description of other writers with that given by Theophrastus, each having in view a different plant. Indeed, whatever the Laserpitium or Silphium of other countries may have been, it is not improbable that the odoriferous plant of Cyrenaica was not identical with the Ferula asafœtida of Linnæus. The foliage of the Thapsia silphium is exactly similar to that of the Laserpitium as depicted on medals of Cyrenaica, still extant. We learn from Littré, that Dr. Guyon showed, in 1842, to the Académie des Sciences, a plant which the Arabs of Algeria employ as a purgative, and which they call _bonnefa_. It is the Thapsia Garganica of Desfontaines, and is considered by Guyon to be identical with the Silphium of the ancients.

[887] See B. xxii. c. 48. In the “Rudens” of Plautus, the scene of which is near Cyrene, frequent allusion is made to the growth of laserpitium there, and the preparation and export of the resin, as forming the staple article of commerce.

[888] Scribonius Largus, who lived in the time of Tiberius, speaks of using in a prescription laser of Cyrenaica, “if it can be met with;” “si poterit inveniri.”

[889] “In spem nascentis.”

[890] Fée remarks that Pliny has not found this absurd story in any of the works from which he has compiled his account, but that it is entirely his own.

[891] This was probably the Ferula asafœtida of Linnæus.

[892] See B. xx. c. 75.

[893] A.U.C. 661.

[894] Fée remarks, that if Pliny here alludes to Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 3, he has mistaken his meaning.

[895] This, as Fée says, could hardly apply to the Ferula asafœtida of Linnæus, the stalk of it being extremely acrid, and the juice fetid in the highest degree.

[896] “Vitia his omnibus.” The reading here is probably corrupt.

[897] “Root-juice,” and “stalk-juice.”

[898] Poinsinet fancies that this name means “staff of the Magi.”

[899] Or “laser,” these names being indifferently applied to the gum-resin.

[900] The whole of this paragraph has been borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. iii.

[901] Sprengel takes this to be the Laserpitium ferulaceum of Linnæus, but Fée thinks it is more than doubtful if the identity can be established.

[902] From Theophrastus. Dioscorides says, on the other hand, that it grows in Libya.

[903] From Littré we learn that M. Fraas has suggested that the Magydaris and Laserpitium are possibly the Ferula Tingitana, and the Ptychotis verticillata of Decandolle, which last he has found upon high mountains in the lower region of pines, on Mount Parnassus, among others.

[904] See B. xxii. cc. 48, 49.

[905] The Rubia tinctorum of Linnæus.

[906] Dioscorides speaks of the madder of Ravenna as being the most esteemed. It is much cultivated at the present day in the South of France, Holland, and the Levant. That of Lille enjoys a high reputation.

[907] It is covered with bristly hairs, or rather, fine, hooked teeth. There is, however, no resemblance whatever between it and ervilia or orobus, the fitch.

[908] B. xxiv. c. 56.

[909] Or “little root;” though, in reality, as Pliny says, it had a large root. Some writers have supposed, that by this name is meant the Reseda luteola of Linnæus, the “dyer’s weed” of the moderns; but neither Pliny nor any of the Greek writers mention the Radicula as being used for dyeing. Some, again, identify it with the Gypsophila struthium of Linnæus, without sufficient warranty, however, as Fée thinks.

[910] The Gypsophila struthium grows in Spain, and possibly, Fée says, in other countries. Linnæus has “pretended,” he says, that the Spaniards still employ the root and stalk of the Gypsophila for the same purposes as the ancients did the same parts of the Radicula. He himself, however, though long resident in Spain, had never observed such to be the fact.

[911] This description, Fée says, does not correspond with that of the Gypsophila struthium, the stalk of which does not at all resemble that of the ferulaceous plants, and the leaf is quite different in appearance from that of the olive.

[912] As Fée observes, by the word “hortus” the Romans understood solely the “vegetable” or “kitchen-garden;” the pleasure garden being generally denominated “horti.”

[913] See B. v. c. 1.

[914] A fabulous king of Phœnicia, probably, whose story was afterwards transferred, with considerable embellishments, to the Grecian mythology. Adonis is supposed to have been identical with the Thammuz of Scripture, mentioned by Ezekiel, viii. 14, where he speaks of the “women weeping for Thammuz.” Hardouin considers him to have been a Syrian deity, identical with the Moon.

[915] Celebrated by Homer, Od. B. vi. and xiii.

[916] “Alio volumine.” As no further mention is made by Pliny of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, it is most probable that he contemplated giving a description of them in another work, an intention which he did not live to realize.

[917] See further on this subject, c. 53 of the present Book.

[918] The reading, “quam rem,” seems preferable to “quam ob rem,” adopted by Sillig.

[919] “Effascinationes.” The effects of the evil eye.

[920] “Hortorum.” “Pleasure-gardens.”

[921] “Otii magister.”

[922] For the purpose of teaching philosophy there.

[923] “Hortus.” The “kitchen-garden.”

[924] Ironically said.

[925] He alludes to the pheasant. See B. x. c. 67.

[926] He alludes to Colchis, the country of Medea, the scene of the exploits of Jason and the Argonauts, and the land of prodigies and fable.

[927] See B. x. cc. 38 and 67. He alludes to “meleagrides,” or Guinea-fowls.

[928] See B. x. c. 37. He alludes to the birds called “Memnonides.”

[929] See B. xvii. c. 1.

[930] See B. xiv. c. 28.

[931] He alludes to the finest and most delicate kinds of wheaten flour. See B. xviii. c. 29.

[932] “Uno asse.”

[933] As “corruda,” or “wild asparagus.” The Brassica capitata alba of C. Bauhin, or white cabbage, sometimes attains a weight of ten or twelve pounds.

[934] This is an exaggeration, probably.

[935] He alludes to the artichoke, or Cinara cardunculus of the botanists, which bears some resemblance to the common thistle.

[936] Martial and Aulus Gellius speak of ice and snow drinks. The latter must have been very injurious to the stomach.

[937] See B. xxxi. c. 23.

[938] In this corrupt and otherwise unintelligible passage, we have adopted the proposed emendations of Sillig, who is of opinion that it bears reference to the abolition of the market-dues, or “portorium,” by Augustus Cæsar, and the substitution of a property tax of one twentieth of the land, a method of taxation which inflicted greater hardships than the former one, as it was assessed according to the _superficies_, not the _produce_ of the land. His proposed emendations of the text are as follows: “mox enim certe æquabit _eos pecunia_ quos pecunia separaverit. Itaque——ac minore fortunæ jure, _quam_ cum _hereditate datur_ pensio ea pauperum; _his_ in solo sponsor est,” &c.

[939] De Re Rust. cc. 156, 157. He speaks of it as being eaten either boiled or raw, but in the latter case with vinegar. Fée thinks that even then it would make a very acrid and indigestible diet.

[940] “Acetaria.” Salads.

[941] He alludes, no doubt, to the words of Virgil, in Georg. iv. l. 6.

“In tenui labor, at tenuis non Gloria——”

though in that instance the poet is speaking of bees.

[942] “Tollenonum haustu.” These would be used in the case of well-water; they are still to be seen occasionally in this country, and are very common on the continent. The wheel is also used for drawing well-water, and is frequently employed in Barbary and Spain.

[943] By the word “fructus” he no doubt means the edible parts solely, the leaf, stalk, or root, as the case may be.

[944] Fée is surprised to find elecampane figuring among the garden vegetables. It has a powerful odour, is bitter, and promotes expectoration. Though not used as a vegetable it is still used as a preserve, or sweetmeat, mixed with sugar. See further on it in c. 29 of this Book.

[945] See c. 28 of this Book.

[946] See c. 27 of this Book.

[947] Fée remarks that this juxtaposition of anise and mallows betokens the most complete ignorance of botany on the part of our author; there being few plants which differ more essentially. The field-mallow, or Malva silvestris of Linnæus, or perhaps several varieties of it, are here referred to. The anise will be further mentioned in c. 74 of this Book.

[948] Fée suggests that the plant here mentioned may have been an annual, probably the Lavatorea arborea of botanists, or some kindred species. In a few months it is known to attain a height of ten feet or more.

[949] In Fée’s opinion this tree cannot have belonged to the family of Malvaceæ; the Adansonia and some other exotics of the family, with which Pliny undoubtedly was not acquainted, being the only ones that attain these gigantic proportions.

[950] There is no resemblance between mallows and hemp, any more than there is between mallows and anise.

[951] “Carnosa.”

[952] Hardouin thinks that he alludes to the Conferva, or river sponge, again mentioned in B. xxvii. c. 45. Fée, however, dissents from that opinion.

[953] In B. xvi. cc. 11 and 13, and in cc. 12 and 14 of the present Book.

[954] In c. 11 of the present Book.

[955] The Cucumis sativus of Linnæus.

[956] “Lapis specularis.” See B. xxxvi. c. 45. Columella, De Re Rust. B. xi. c. 3, speaks of this mode of ripening cucumber, and the fondness of the Emperor Tiberius for them.

[957] Theophrastus and Columella say the same of the cucumber, and Palladius of the melon, but there is no ground, probably, for the belief. In very recent times, however, Fée says, it was the usage to steep the seeds of the melon in milk. This liquid, in common with any other, would have the effect of softening the exterior integuments, and thereby facilitating the germination, but no more.

[958] Still known as the “green” or “gherkin” cucumber, and much used, when young, for pickling.

[959] Probably in the sense of a very dark green, for _black_ cucumbers are a thing unheard of.

[960] He is evidently speaking of the pompion, or pumpkin, the Cucurbita pepo of Linnæus: quite distinct from the cucumber.

[961] Cucumbers are not difficult of digestion to the extent that Pliny would have us to believe.

[962] As Fée says, it is a loss of time to combat such absurd prejudices as these.

[963] This is conformable with modern experience.

[964] Fée says that this is the melon, the Cucumis melo of Linnæus.

[965] B. xi. c. 3. Columella professes to borrow it from the people of Mendes in Egypt.

[966] Theophrastus enumerates these varieties, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4.

[967] Theophrastus only says that the Laconian cucumber thrives better with watering than the others.

[968] It is impossible to identify this plant, as no ancient writer has given any description of it: it has been suggested, however, that it may have been the Plantago Psyllium, or else the Inula pulicaria of Linnæus. Of course there is no truth in the story here told of the effects of its juice upon the cucumber.

[969] This depth would probably have the effect of retarding, or else utterly impeding, the growth of the plant.

[970] See c. 44 of this Book. The Parilia was a festival celebrated on the nineteenth of April, the anniversary of the foundation of Rome.

[971] First of March.

[972] Seventh of March.

[973] See B. xviii. c. 56.

[974] The “camerarium,” and the “plebeium.” The former, Fée thinks, is the Cucurbita longior of Dodonæus and J. Bauhin, the long gourd, and other varieties probably of the calabash gourd, the Cucurbita leucantha of Duchesne. The latter is probably the Cucurbita pepo and its varieties. Fée thinks that the name “cucurbita,” as employed by Pliny, extends not only to the gourd, but the citrul or small pumpkin as well.

[975] As Fée says, he must be speaking of the fruit here, and not the plant, which attains a far greater length than nine feet.

[976] The young shoots of the gourd, Fée says, would afford an insipid food, with but little nutriment.

[977] The varieties thus employed, Fée says, must have been the Cucurbita lagenaria of Linnæus, and the Cucurbita latior of Dodonæus.

[978] This is not the fact. The seed produces fruit similar to that from which it was taken, and no more.

[979] The trumpet gourd, the Cucurbita longior of Dodonæeus, is still employed, Fée says, by gardeners for this purpose.

[980] See B. xx. c. 2.

[981] In B. xviii. c. 34.

[982] Though borrowed from Theophrastus and the Greek school, this distinction is absurd and unfounded.

[983] It is not the fact that the seed of the round kind, after repeated sowings, will produce long roots. Pliny, however, has probably miscopied Theophrastus, who says, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4, that this transformation takes place when the seed is sown very thick. This assertion, however, is no more founded on truth than that of Pliny.

[984] Also from Theophrastus, B. vii. c. 4, though that author is speaking of radishes, ῥαφανίδες, and not turnips.

[985] Properly _radish_.

[986] Properly _radish_.

[987] Radish.

[988] Properly _radish_.

[989] See B. xx. c. 49. Fée queries whether this radish may not be the Raphanus raphanistrum of botanists. See B. xviii. c. 34.

[990] See B. xviii. c. 35.

[991] “Nostratibus.” Poinsinet would render this, “Those of my native country,” _i. e._ the parts beyond the Padus. As Pliny resided at Rome during the latter part of his life, there can be little doubt but that he alludes to the vicinity of Rome.

[992] See B. xviii. c. 34.

[993] This property extends to most of the Cruciferæ.

[994] “Cibus illiberalis.”

[995] The variety Oleifera of the Raphanus sativus is still cultivated extensively in Egypt and Nubia for the extraction of the oil. The variety Oleifera of the Brassica napus is also greatly cultivated in Egypt. Fée suggests that Pliny may possibly confound these two plants under the one name of “raphanus.” It is worthy of remark, too, that the Colza oil, so much used in France and Belgium for burning in lamps, is expressed from the seed of the Brassica oleracea, a species of cabbage.

[996] The Raphanus sativus of Linnæus. This passage, however, down to “crisped leaf,” properly applies to the cabbage, and not the radish, Pliny having copied the Greek, and taken the word ῥάφανος, properly “cabbage,” to mean “radish;” which in the later Greek writers it sometimes does, though not in this instance.

[997] Mount Algidus was near Tusculum, fifteen miles from Rome. Its coldness contributed greatly to the goodness of its radishes.

[998] Or “wild.” Fée suggests that this is the Raphanus rusticanus of Lobellius, the Cochlearia Armoracia of Linnæus, the wild radish, or horse-radish.

[999] Or “white.” From the extreme whiteness of the roots.

[1000] Probably meaning, “radish of Armorica.”

[1001] Fée suggests that he is here speaking of the beet-root, in reality a native of the north of Europe.

[1002] Thirteenth of February.

[1003] The festival of Vulcan, beginning on the twenty-third of August, and lasting eight days.

[1004] A natural production, the carbonate of sodium of the chemists, known from time immemorial by the name of “natron.” See B. xxx. c. 46; from which passage it would appear that it was generally employed for watering the leguminous plants.

[1005] Dioscorides recommends these puerilities with the cabbage, and not the radish; though Celsus gives similar instructions with reference to the radish.

[1006] It was a general belief with the ancients that the phthiriasis, or morbus pediculosus, has its seat in the heart. It was supposed also that the juice of the radish was able, by reason of its supposed subtlety, to penetrate the coats of that organ.

[1007] This is said by other ancient authors, in reference to the _cabbage_ and the vine. See B. xxiv. c. i.

[1008] There is some doubt as to the identity of this plant, but Fée, after examining the question, comes to the conclusion that it is the Daucus Carota, or else Mauritanicus of Linnæus, the common carrot, or that of Mauritania. Sprengel takes it to be either this last or the Daucus guttatus, a plant commonly found in Greece.

[1009] The Pastinaca sativa of Linnæus, or common parsnip.

[1010] The marsh-mallow, probably, the Althæa officinalis of Linnæus.

[1011] The carrot. The Daucus Carota of Linnæus.

[1012] In B. xxv. c. 64.

[1013] “Siser.” The Sium sisarum of Linnæus. See also B. xx. c. 17. It is said to have been originally a native of China.

[1014] It is supposed that this is the same with Gelb, near Neuss, in Germany, mentioned by Tacitus, Hist. B. iv. cc. 26, 32.

[1015] The Inula Helenium of Linnæus. Its English name is derived from Inula campana, that under which it is so highly recommended in the precepts of the School of Health at Salerno. See also B. xx. c. 19. At the present day it is universally rejected as an article of food in any shape.

[1016] The School of Salerno says that it may be preserved by being pickled in brine, or else in the juice of rue, which, as Fée remarks, would produce neither more nor less than a veritable poison. The modern Pharmacopœias give the receipt of a conserve of elecampane, which, however, is no longer used.

[1017] “Defrutum.” Must, boiled down to one half.

[1018] The daughter of Augustus Cæsar.

[1019] The same account nearly is given in Columella, De Re Rust. B. xi. c. 3.

[1020] Under this general name were included, probably, garlic, scallions, chives, and some kinds of onions; but it is quite impossible to identify the ancient “bulbus” more closely than this.

[1021] It has been suggested that this was probably the onion, the Allium cepa of Linnæus.

[1022] The Scilla maritima of Linnæus, the sea-squill.

[1023] See B. xx. c. 39. He might have added that it renders vinegar both an emetic, and a violent purgative.

[1024] The leaves are in all cases green, and no other colour; but in one kind the squamæ, or bracted leaves, are white, and in another, red.

[1025] Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 11, gives it this name. As none of the sea-squills can be eaten with impunity, Fée is inclined to doubt if this really was a squill.

[1026] They still abound in those places. The Spanish coasts on the Mediterranean, Fée says, as well as the vicinity of Gibraltar, are covered with them.

[1027] In c. 39.

[1028] Fée thinks that this may be the Muscaria botryoïdes of Miller, _Dict. No. I._ See also B. xx. c. 41.

[1029] A variety, probably, of the common onion, the Allium cepa of Linnæus.

[1030] Some variety of the genus Allium, Fée thinks.

[1031] Fée queries whether this may not be some cyperaceous plant with a bulbous root.

[1032] A white bulb, if we may judge from the name. The whole of this passage is from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 11.

[1033] This has not been identified. The old reading was “ægilops,” a name now given to a kind of grass.

[1034] The Iris sisyrinchium of Linnæus.

[1035] The Arum colocasia of Linnæus, held in great esteem by the ancient Egyptians as a vegetable. The root is not a bulb, but tubercular, and the leaf bears no resemblance to that of the Lapathum, dock or sorrel. It was sometimes known by the name of “lotus.”

[1036] In Gaul. See B. iv. c. 31.

[1037] This passage, and indeed nearly the whole of the Chapter, is borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. i. c. 9.

[1038] Fée thinks that by the expression μονόῤῥιζα, Theophrastus means a root that strikes vertically, instead of spreading.

[1039] Gramen. See B. xviii. c. 67, and B. xxiv. c. 118.

[1040] Atriplex. See B. xx. c. 83.

[1041] See B. xx. c. 93.

[1042] Poinsinet suggests that this may mean the “mole-plant,” ἀσπάλαξ being the Greek for “mole.”

[1043] “Perdicium.” See B. xxii. cc. 19, 20.

[1044] “Crocus.” See B. xxi. c. 17, _et seq._

[1045] This is not the fact. All these assertions are from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 3.

[1046] Fée thinks that the ocimum of Pliny is not the basil of the moderns, the Ocimum basilicum of the naturalists. The account, however, here given would very well apply to basil.

[1047] The Heliotropium Europæum of botany. See B. xxii. c. 19.

[1048] These assertions, Fée says, are not consistent with modern experience.

[1049] See c. 45 of this Book.

[1050] “Gethyum.” The Allium schœnoprasum, probably, of botany, the ciboul or scallion.

[1051] The Allium cepa of Linnæus.

[1052] The inhabitants of Pelusium, more particularly, were devoted to the worship of the onion. They held it, in common with garlic, in great aversion as an article of food. At Pelusium there was a temple also in which the sea-squill was worshipped.

[1053] With some little variation, from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4.

[1054] Supposed to be identical with the Allium Ascalonicum of Linnæus, the chalotte. Pliny is the only writer who mentions the Alsidenian onion.

[1055] To the Ascalonian onion, the scallion, or ciboul, owes its English name.

[1056] Owing to the acetic acid which the bulb contains, and which acts on the membranes of the eye.

[1057] “Pinguitudinis.”

[1058] Fée queries whether the early white onion of Florence, the smallest now known among the cultivated kinds, may not possibly be identical with the setanian, or else the Tusculan, variety.

[1059] From σχίζω, to “divide” or “tear off.”

[1060] “Capitata.”

[1061] For this reason, Fée is inclined to regard it as a variety either of garlic, Allium sativum, or of the chalotte, Allium Ascalonicum of Linnæus.

[1062] The Allium porrum of Linnæus.

[1063] This prejudice in favour of the leek, as Fée remarks, still exists. It is doubtful, however, whether its mucilage has any beneficial effect upon the voice. See B. xx. c. 21.

[1064] Fée says, that it is a practice with many gardeners, more harmful than beneficial, to cut the leaves of the leek as it grows, their object being to increase the size of the stalk.

[1065] Martial, B. xiii. Epig. 19, mentions the leeks of Aricia.

[1066] Fée thinks that this may be the wild leek, which is commonly found as a weed in Spain.

[1067] M. Annæus Mela, the brother of L. Seneca the philosopher, and the father of the poet Lucan.

[1068] Though Pliny would seem inclined, as Fée says, to credit this story, the juice of the leek is in reality quite harmless.

[1069] The Allium sativum of Linnæus. It was much eaten by the Roman soldiers and sailors, and by the field labourers. It is in reference to this vegetable, “more noxious than hemlock,” that Horace exclaims—

“O dura messorum ilia!”

[1070] It was thought to have the property of neutralizing the venom of serpents; and though persons who had just eaten of it were not allowed to enter the Temple of the Mother of the Gods, it was prescribed to those who wished to be purified and absolved from crimes. It is still held in considerable esteem in the south of Europe, where, by the lower classes, great medicinal virtues are ascribed to it.

[1071] Theophrastus says, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4, that this is the largest of all the varieties of garlic.

[1072] Second of May.

[1073] Seventeenth of December.

[1074] The Allium oleraceum of Linnæus.

[1075] Fée refuses credence to this story.

[1076] “Ursinum.” The Allium ursinum of Linnæus. Instead, however, of having the comparatively mild smell of millet, its odour is powerful; so much so, as to impart a strong flavour to the milk of the cows that eat of it. It is very common, Fée says, in nearly every part of France.

[1077] The whole nearly of this Chapter is borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. cc. 1 and 2. It must be borne in mind that what the Romans called the “third” day would with us be the “second,” and so on; as in reckoning, they included the day reckoned _from_, as well as the day reckoned _to_.

[1078] Fée remarks, that most of the observations made in this Chapter are well founded.

[1079] This statement, Fée remarks, is entirely a fiction, it being impossible for seed to acquire, the second year, a faculty of germinating which it has not had in the first.

[1080] This is true, but, as Fée observes, the instances might be greatly extended.

[1081] Fée says that basil, the Ocimum basilicum of Linnæus, is not meant here, nor yet the leguminous plant that was known to the Romans by that name.

[1082] A singular superstition truly! Theophrastus says the same in relation to cummin seed.

[1083] This is not done at the present day.

[1084] This can hardly be our basil, the Ocimum basilicum, for that plant is an annual.

[1085] Fée suggests that Pliny may have intended here to except the Monocotyledons, for otherwise his assertion would be false.

[1086] This, Fée says, cannot be basil, for when cut it will not shoot again.

[1087] The radish is not mentioned in the parallel passage by Theophrastus.

[1088] The lettuce, as Fée remarks, will not shoot again when cut down.

[1089] This puerility, Fée observes, runs counter to the more moral adage, that “stolen goods never prosper.”

[1090] See B. xi. c. 15.

[1091] This variety, Fée says, is the Apium graveolens of Linnæus.

[1092] Or marsh-parsley.

[1093] Pliny has mistranslated, or rather misread, the passage of Theophrastus, who says, B. vii. c. 6, that this kind of parsley is μανόφυλλον, “thinly covered with leaves,” and not μονόφυλλον, “having a single leaf.” Palladius (_In Aprili._) translates it, “molli folio,” “with a soft leaf;” but, though Fée commends this version, it is not correct.

[1094] Or “horse-parsley.” Hardouin takes this to be Macedonian parsley, the Bubon Macedonicum of Linnæus. Fée, following C. Bauhin and Sprengel, is inclined to identify it with Macerona, the Smyrnium olusatrum of Linnæus.

[1095] Or “mountain-parsley.” Probably the Athamanta oreoselinum of Linnæus. Some commentators, however, take it to be the Laserpitium formosum of Wilidenow. Sprengel identifies it with the Selinum oreoselinum of Linnæus.

[1096] The Apium petroselinum, probably, of Linnæus.

[1097] The Lactuca sativa of Linnæus. This account of the Greek varieties is from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4.

[1098] This, no doubt, is fabulous, and on a par with the Greek tradition that Adonis concealed himself under the leaves of a lettuce, when he was attacked and killed by the wild boar. The Coss, or Roman, lettuce, as Fée remarks, is the largest of all, and that never exceeds fifteen to twenty inches in height, leaves, stalk and all.

[1099] This would seem not to be a distinct variety, as the rounded stalk is a characteristic of them all.

[1100] “Sessile.” A cabbage-lettuce, probably; though Hardouin dissents from that opinion.

[1101] Columella more particularly. There are still varieties known respectively as the black, brown, white, purple, red, and blood-red lettuce.

[1102] Martial, B. v. Epig. 79, gives to this lettuce the epithet of “vile.”

[1103] It has been suggested that this may have been wild endive, the Cichoreum intubus of botanists.

[1104] Or “poppy-lettuce.” See B. xx. c. 26. The Lactuca virosa, probably, of modern botany, the milky juice of which strongly resembles opium in its effects.

[1105] For its medicinal qualities, most probably.

[1106] “Lac.”

[1107] So called, Columella informs us, from Cæcilius Metellus, Consul A.U.C. 503.

[1108] Meaning “antaphrodisiac.” The other name has a kindred meaning.

[1109] A.U.C. 731.

[1110] Antonius Musa. For this service he received a large sum of money, and the permission to wear a gold ring, and a statue was erected by public subscription in honour of him, near that of Æsculapius. He is supposed to be the person described by Virgil in the Æneid, B, xii. l. 390, _et seq._, under the name of Iapis. See B. xxix. c. 5 of this work.

[1111] Vinegar and honey; a mixture very ill-adapted, as Fée observes, to preserve either the medicinal or alimentary properties of the lettuce.

[1112] “Caprina lactuca.” See B. xx. c. 24.

[1113] Endive, in fact, belongs to the same family as the lettuce.

[1114] This is not the case; unless, indeed, under the name “lactuca,” Pliny would include several plants, that in reality are not lettuces.

[1115] The stalk, in fact, is more intensely bitter than the leaves.

[1116] “Erraticum.” Wild endive.

[1117] From which comes the French “chicorée,” and our “chicory,” or “succory.”

[1118] In B. xx. c. 29, and B. xxi. c. 52.

[1119] The usual times for sowing the lettuce are before winter and after February.

[1120] An excess of manure is injurious to the lettuce.

[1121] As already stated in a previous Note (p. 179), lettuces when cut down will not grow again, with the exception of a few worthless lateral branches.

[1122] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4.

[1123] Not the Beta sicla of modern botany, Fée thinks. The black beet of the ancients would be one of the dark purple kinds.

[1124] It was only the leaf of beet, and not the root, that was eaten by the ancients. From Martial, B. xiii. Epig. 10, we learn that the leaves were preserved in a mixture of wine and pepper.

[1125] Though not positively unwholesome, the leaves would form an insipid dish, that would not agree with all stomachs. Galen says that it cannot be eaten in great quantities with impunity, but Diphilus the physician, as quoted by Athenæus, B. ix. c. 3, says the reverse. Some MSS. read here “innocentiorem,” “more harmless.”

[1126] Columella says the same, De Re Rust. B. xi. c. 3.

[1127] Fée would seem to render this, “when wine has been spoiled by cabbage leaves being mixed with it.”

[1128] De Re Rust. cc. 156, 157.

[1129] In B. xx. c. 33.

[1130] Or “parsley” cabbage, so called from its crisped leaves: the curled colewort, or Brassica viridis crispa of C. Bauhin.

[1131] The same as our Brussels sprouts. Columella, however, B. xi. c. 3, and B. xii. c. 7, speaks of the Brassica cyma as a distinct variety of cabbage.

[1132] See B. viii. c. 77.

[1133] The Brassica oleracea capitata of Lamarck, and its varieties.

[1134] The ordinary cabbage, or Brassica oleracea of Linnæus.

[1135] A variety, Fée thinks, of the Lacuturrian cabbage.

[1136] The Brassica oleracea botrytis of Linnæus, the cauliflower.

[1137] Or Calabrian cabbage: it has not been identified.

[1138] The Brassica oleracea Sabellica of Linnæus, or fringed cabbage.

[1139] Or “Lake-towers.” The turnip-cabbage or rape-colewort, the Brassica oleracea gongyloides of Linnæus.

[1140] Generally thought to be the Crambe maritima of botanists, sea-cabbage, or sea-kale. Some, however, take it to be the Convolvulus soldanella of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 38.

[1141] From ἅλς, the “sea.”

[1142] He alludes to the statement made by Columella, probably, De Re Rust. B. xi. c. 3.

[1143] Fée remarks, that probably we here find the first germs of the practice which resulted in the making of sour-krout (sauer-kraut). Dalechamps censures Pliny for the mention of trefoil here, the passage which he has translated speaking not of that plant, but of the trefoil or three-leaved cabbage.

[1144] The same as the “chara,” probably, mentioned by Cæsar, Bell. Civ. B. iii. Hardouin thinks that it is the common parsnip, while Clusius and Cuvier would identify it with the Crambe Tatarica of Hungary, the roots of which are eaten in time of scarcity at the present day. Fée suggests that it may belong to the Brassica napo-brassica of Linnæus, the rape-colewort. See B. xx. c. 37.

[1145] Or cabbage-sprout.

[1146] In B. xvi. c. 67. The Asparagus officinalis of Linnæus.

[1147] De Re Rust. c. 161.

[1148] Or wild sperage. See B. xvi. c. 67; also B. xx. c. 43.

[1149] “Spongiis.” Fée is at a loss to know why the name “spongia” should have been given to the roots of asparagus. Probably, as Facciolati says, from their growing close and matted together. See the end of this Chapter.

[1150] De Re Rust. c. 161.

[1151] See B. xvii. c. 47.

[1152] On the contrary, Martial says that the asparagus of Ravenna was no better than so much wild asparagus.

[1153] In B. xvi. c. 67. See also c. 19 of this Book.

[1154] Dioscorides mentions this absurdity, but refuses to credit it.

[1155] Probably the artichoke, the Cinara scolymus of Linnæus. See further on this subject, B. xx. c. 99.

[1156] About £24 sterling. “Sestertia” has been suggested, which would make the sum a thousand times as much.

[1157] The ass, of course, excepted, which is fond of thistles.

[1158] Seventh of March.

[1159] Thirteenth of November.

[1160] “Si Dîs placet.”

[1161] Oxymel.

[1162] This is evidently said contemptuously.

[1163] See further as to the identity of this plant, B. xx. c. 48.

[1164] Twenty-second of April.

[1165] Brassica eruca of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 49.

[1166] Cresses, or nosesmart, the Lepidium sativum of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 50.

[1167] “Quod nasum torqueat.”

[1168] The Ruta graveolens of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 51. This offensive herb, though looked upon by the Romans as a vegetable, is now only regarded as an active medicament of almost poisonous qualities.

[1169] A.U.C. 421.

[1170] It so happens that it thrives best on the same soil as the fig-tree.

[1171] This practice has no beneficial effect whatever.

[1172] This is not the fact; for its branches never come in contact with the ground.

[1173] Pliny has derived the greater part of this Chapter from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 5, and Columella, B. xi. c. 3.

[1174] For the purpose of separating the seeds, which are slightly joined together; and of disengaging a portion of the perisperm. At the present day this is not done, for fear of bursting the kernel of the seed.

[1175] See B. xx. c. 53.

[1176] Called by the Greeks καλαμίνθη, according to Apuleius.

[1177] Or “Mentha.”

[1178] “Sweet-smelling.”

[1179] “Sæpius.” See B. xviii. c. 60.

[1180] The Cuminum cyminum of botanists. See B. xx. c. 57.

[1181] See B. xx. c. 57.

[1182] In Hispania Tarraconensis. See B. iii. c. 4.

[1183] Or “black-herb:” the herb Alexander, the Smyrnium olusatrum of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 46.

[1184] “Horse-parsley.”

[1185] See B. xvii. c. 14, and B. xxi. c. 14.

[1186] Hist. Plant. B. ix. c. 1. This story originated, no doubt, in the fancied resemblance of its smell to that of myrrh.

[1187] The Capparis spinosa of Linnæus. See B. xiii. c. 44, also B. xx. c. 59.

[1188] In B. xiii. c. 44.

[1189] The Carum carvi of Linnæus.

[1190] Caria, in Asia Minor.

[1191] The Ligusticum levisticum of Linnæus.

[1192] “Ox cunila.” One of the Labiatæ, probably; but whether one of the Satureia or of the Thymbra is not known. See B. xx. cc. 60, 61.

[1193] See B. xxi. c. 32.

[1194] Scribonius Largus gives this name to savory, the Satureia hortensis of Linnæus. The whole of this passage is very confused, and its meaning is by no means clear.

[1195] The Lepidium sativum of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 70.

[1196] It is an annual, in fact.

[1197] Its leaf has no resemblance whatever to that of the laurel.

[1198] The Nigella sativa of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 71.

[1199] Or sagapenum. See B. xx. c. 75. It is mentioned also in B. xii. c. 56, as being used for adulterating galbanum. As to laser, see c. 15 of the present Book.

[1200] This practice, as Fée remarks, is not followed; and indeed, unless it is intended to transplant them, it would be attended with injurious results to the young plants.

[1201] As to the poppy, for further particulars see B. xx. c. 76 and the Note.

[1202] The variety Album of the Papaver somniferum of modern botanists.

[1203] The variety Nigrum of the Papaver somniferum. The white poppy has also a milky juice.

[1204] The Papaver rhœas of modern botanists, the corn-poppy, or wild poppy. The seed of the poppy does not partake of the qualities of its capsular envelope, and at the present day it is extensively employed in the South of Europe for sprinkling over pastry.

[1205] “Rhœas,” the “crimson,” or “pomegranate” poppy.

[1206] See B. xx. cc. 76-79.

[1207] See c. 17 of this Book, also Ovid’s Fasti, B. ii. l. 703, _et seq._

[1208] “Lad’s love.”

[1209] Black mustard, Fée thinks.

[1210] He can hardly mean a pottage made of boiled mustard-seed alone, as Fée seems to think. If so, however, Fée no doubt is right in thinking that it would be intolerable to a modern palate.

[1211] See B. xx. c. 87.

[1212] Perhaps a corruption of its Greek name, σίνηπι.

[1213] Hardouin suggests “thlaspi.”

[1214] Its bite being as sharp as the venom of the “saurus,” or lizard.

[1215] Hardouin, from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 7, suggests a reading, “whence the streams bring down branches of them torn off, and so plant them.”

[1216] The plants. Fée says, that we find in these localities, are nearly always ferns, or else Marchantia, or mosses of the genus Hypnum. Fée queries whether one of these may not have been the sisymbrium of Pliny. Water-cresses, again, have been suggested.

[1217] In B. viii. c. 41. The Anæthum fœniculum of Linnæus.

[1218] In B. xiii. c. 42.

[1219] The Cannabis sativa of Linnæus. See B. xx. c. 97.

[1220] Hemp-seed is never smoke-dried now.

[1221] See B. v. c. 29. The same hemp is mentioned as being used for making hunting-nets, by Gratius, in the Cynegeticon.

[1222] See B. v. c. 29.

[1223] See B. iii. c. 17, and B. xvii. c. 3.

[1224] This, as Fée says, is no doubt erroneous. It is seldom known to attain a couple of inches in circumference.

[1225] In B. xiii. c. 42.

[1226] These absurd notions are borrowed from Theophrastus, De Causis, c. 8.

[1227] See B. xx. c. 91.

[1228] Or, according to some readings, “limodorum,” a parasitical plant, probably the Lathræa phelypea of Sprengel. Fée suggests that this plant may be the Polygonum convolvulus of Linnæus, or else one of the Cuscutæ, or a variety of Orobanche.

[1229] “Scabies.” A fungous excrescence, Fée thinks, now known as “puccinia,” or “uredo.”

[1230] See B. xvii. c. 47. Fée says that he has met with persons, in their sound senses, who obstinately defend the notion here mentioned by Pliny.

[1231] See Theophrastus. Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 5. Many of these insects, however, do not breed upon the plants, but are only attracted to them.

[1232] “Book on Gardening.”

[1233] The Heliotropium Europæum of botanists. See B. xxii. c. 29.

[1234] This may possibly, Fée says, be efficacious against some insects.

[1235] See B. xviii. c. 45.

[1236] A mere puerility, of course, though it is very possible that the insects may collect in it, and so be more easily taken. Garden-pots, on sticks, are still employed for this purpose.

[1237] See B. xvi. c. 30.

[1238] “Culices,” including both flies and gnats, probably.

[1239] See B. xii. c. 56.

[1240] An almost literal translation of Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 6.

[1241] This is certainly not true with reference to the leguminous and gramineous plants. It is pretty generally known as a fact, that wheat has germinated after being buried in the earth two thousand years: mummy-wheat, at the present day, is almost universally known.

[1242] Rain-water, if collected in cisterns, and exposed to the heat of the sun, is the most beneficial of all; rain has the effect also of killing numerous insects which have bred in the previous drought.

[1243] From Theophrastus, B. vii. c. 5. Evening is generally preferred to morning for this purpose; the evaporation not being so quick, and the plant profiting more from the water.

[1244] It should, however, be of a middling temperature, and warmed to some extent by the rays of the sun.

[1245] These statements are consistent with modern experience.

[1246] See B. xx. c. 85.

[1247] He says this probably in reference partly to the large leaves which characterize the varieties of dock.

[1248] Dishes made of rice or barley. See B. xviii. c. 13.

[1249] See B. xx. c. 85.

[1250] He does not give the name of the poet, but, as Fée says, we do not experience any great loss thereby.

[1251] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 6.

[1252] See B. xv. c. 32.

[1253] “Absinthium.” See B. xxvii. c. 28.

[1254] See B. xxv. c. 30.

[1255] Fée remarks, that though rarely to be met with, the salt flavour is still to be found in the vegetable kingdom.

[1256] The “cicercula,” or Lathyrus sativus of Linnæus. See B. xviii. c. 32.

[1257] See B. xii. c. 57.

[1258] Or pepper-wort. See B. xx. c. 66.

[1259] See B. xx. c. 54.

[1260] The same, probably, as olusatrum. See cc. 37 and 48 of this Book, and B. xx. c. 46: also B. xxvii. c. 109.

[1261] In B. xii. c. 57.

[1262] See c. 48 of this Book.

[1263] Rosemary, or “sea-dew.”

[1264] See B. xx. c. 74.

[1265] Fée suggests, though apparently without any good reason, that this paragraph, to the end of the Book, is an interpolation of the copyists.

[1266] See end of B. xiv.

[1267] See end of B. ii.

[1268] See end of B. xiv.

[1269] See end of B. iii.

[1270] See end of B. iii.

[1271] See end of B. vii.

[1272] See end of B. ii.

[1273] See end of B. vii.

[1274] See end of B. viii.

[1275] See end of B. xvi.

[1276] See end of B. x.

[1277] Beyond the mention made of this writer in c. 57, nothing whatever is known of him.

[1278] C. Licinius Macer, a Roman annalist and orator, born about B.C. 110. Upon being impeached by Cicero, he committed suicide. He wrote a History or Annals of Rome, which are frequently referred to by Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus.

[1279] Nothing whatever appears to be known of this writer.

[1280] See end of B. xiv.

[1281] Nothing whatever is known relative to this writer on Horticulture.

[1282] Nothing certain is known of him; but it has been suggested that he may have been the father of the rhetorician Castritius, so often mentioned by Aulus Gellius, and who lived in the time of the Emperor Adrian.

[1283] Nothing whatever is known relative to this writer.

[1284] The author of a Greek poem on venomous serpents, mentioned in B. xx. c. 96, and B. xxii. c. 40, and by the Scholiast on the Theriaca of Nicander.

[1285] See end of B. ii.

[1286] See end of B. iii.

[1287] See end of B. ii.

[1288] See end of B. xi.

[1289] Nothing whatever is known of him. His Book seems to have been a compendium of “Things useful to life.”

[1290] A physician and Pythagorean philosopher, born at one of the cities called Larissa, but which, is now unknown. He was banished by the Emperor Augustus, B.C. 28, on the charge of practising magic, a charge probably based on his superior skill in natural philosophy. He is frequently mentioned by Pliny in the course of this work.

[1291] Fée remarks, that the commencement of this exordium is contrary to truth, and that Pliny appears to forget that in the Eighteenth Book he has treated, at very considerable length, of the various cereals, the art of preparing bread, pottages, ptisans, &c. He suggests, that the author may have originally intended to place the Eighteenth Book _after_ the present one, and that on changing his plan he may have neglected to alter the present passage. From his mention, however, of man’s “ignorance by what means lie exists,” it is not improbable that he may have considered that the nutritive qualities of plants are really based upon their medicinal virtues, a point of view little regarded by the majority of mankind in his time, but considered by Pliny to be the true key to a just appreciation of their utility.

[1292] “Quibus cuncta constant.” See B. xxiv. c. 1.

[1293] See B. xxxiv. c. 42.

[1294] The “theamedes.” See B. xxxvi. c. 25.

[1295] Pliny is the only author who makes mention of this singularly absurd notion.

[1296] In B. xix. c. 24: so, too, Dioscorides, B. iv. c. 154. The wild cucumber of Pliny, as Fée observes, is in reality not a cucumber, but a totally different plant, the Cucumis silvestris asininus of C. Bauhin, the Momordica elaterium of Linnæus, or squirting cucumber.

[1297] Elaterium, Fée says, is not extracted from the seed, but is the juice of the fruit itself, as Pliny, contradicting himself, elsewhere informs us. Theophrastus commits the same error, which Dioscorides does not; and it is not improbable that Pliny has copied from two sources the method of making it.

[1298] Meaning the juice and seed combined, probably. Fée thinks that it is to this the medicament owes its name, from ἐλαύνω, to “drive” or “impel.” It is much more probable, however, that the medicine was so called from its strong purgative powers; for, as Galen tells us, ἐλατήριον was a name given to purgative medicines in general.

[1299] Dioscorides, B. iv. c. 154, states to this effect. Fée remarks that, singularly enough, most of the antiophthalmics used by the ancients, were composed of acrid and almost corrosive medicaments, quite in opposition to the sounder notions entertained on the subject by the moderns.

[1300] Dioscorides says the same; and much the same statements are made by Celsus, Apuleius, Marcellus Empiricus, and Plinius Valerianus. The different parts of the plant, dried, have but very feeble properties, Fée says.

[1301] A sort of tetter or ring-worm. Celsus enumerates four varieties.

[1302] Itch-scab, probably.

[1303] A disease of the skin, in which the scab assumes the form almost of a lichen or moss.

[1304] “Panos.” “Panus” was the name given to a wide-spreading, but not deeply-seated, tumour, the surface of which presented a blistered appearance.

[1305] Fée says that this is not the fact, as it speedily deteriorates by keeping.

[1306] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. ix. c. 10.

[1307] Fée acknowledges the truth of this observation, that of a green colour containing feculent matter, and showing that the juice is not pure.

[1308] In reality there is no such resemblance whatever. See B. xxii. c. 29.

[1309] Fée says that this is an exaggerated account of the properties of the wild cucumber, as it would require a very considerable dose to cause death.

[1310] The Morbus pedicularis, or “lousy disease.”

[1311] This has been identified by some writers, Fée says, with the Cucumis flexuosus of Linnæus; but, as he observes, that plant comes originally from India, and it is more than probable that it was not known by the ancients; in addition to which, it is possessed of no medicinal properties whatever. He looks upon it as an indigenous plant not identified.

[1312] So Dioscorides, B. iv. c. 154.

[1313] “Morbus regius;” literally, the “royal disease.”

[1314] “Lentigo.”

[1315] See B. xix. c. 23. It is but little appreciated for its medicinal properties by the moderns. Emulsions are sometimes made of the seeds, which are of an oily nature. Fée says that the French ladies esteem pommade of cucumber as an excellent cosmetic; which is, however, an erroneous notion.

[1316] The combination of cummin with cucumber seed is in opposition, Fée remarks, with their medicinal properties, the one being soothing, and the other moderately exciting.

[1317] As to the several varieties of the pumpkin or gourd, known under this name, see B. xix. c. 24.

[1318] Dioscorides states to the same effect, and, as Fée thinks, with a probability of being correct.

[1319] “Smegmata.”

[1320] This assertion, Fée says, is utterly untrue.

[1321] From ἐπί, “upon,” and νὺξ, “night.” These are red or whitish pustules, accompanied with sharp pains, which appear on the skin at night, and disappear in the day-time. See c. 21.

[1322] Or “many-legs.” See B. xxix. c. 39. Probably one of our millepedes or centipedes: though Fée suggests that it may have been a large caterpillar.

[1323] From σηπεῖν, “to rot.”

[1324] This, Fée says, is untrue: but it is hard to say on what grounds he himself asserts that the smell of the cucumber is faint, and almost nauseous.

[1325] This, probably, is not conformable to modern notions on the subject.

[1326] From the Greek σομφὸς, porous, spongy, or hollow.

[1327] It is supposed by some naturalists that this gourd is the variety Pyxidaris of the Cucurbita pepo of Linnæus, the Colocynthis amara of C. Bauhin. Fée remarks, however, that this designation is arbitrary; as this plant never grows wild in Europe, and its pulp is so bitter, that instead of proving beneficial to the stomach, it would cause vomiting. From the fact of its comparison to the human finger, he doubts if it really was one of the Cucurbitæ at all.

[1328] The Cucumis colocynthus of Linnæus, or Coloquintida, so remarkable for its bitterness.

[1329] It is an extremely drastic, and indeed violent purgative.

[1330] Recurring at stated times. The absurdity of this statement does not require discussion.

[1331] The cultivated cucumber, Fée says.

[1332] Or “aposthumes,” a kind of abscess, probably.

[1333] “Ignis sacer,” literally “sacred fire.” It is sometimes called “St. Anthony’s fire.” Celsus, in describing it, distinguishes it, however, from erysipelas, and divides it into two kinds.

[1334] On the contrary, Fée says, the pulp of the gourd is tough and leathery, extremely insipid, and destitute of any salutary qualities.

[1335] A decoction of rape or turnips is still recommended for chilblains at the present day. Fée remarks that ground mustard is much preferable.

[1336] This, as Fée remarks, he says of nearly all the vegetable productions known.

[1337] It is only suited as an aliment to a strong stomach, and it is owing to the property here mentioned that the School of Salerno says,—

Ventum sæpe capis, si tu vis vivere rapis.

and

Rapa juvat stomachum, novit producere ventum.

[1338] Dioscorides and Galen say the same, but this property is not recognized in modern times.

[1339] “Eruca:” a plant itself of a very stimulating nature.

[1340] The Brassica napus, var. α of Linnæus, the Brassica asperifolia, var. α of Decandolles, the “navette” of the French. An oil is extracted from the seed, very similar to the Colza oil, extracted from the Brassica oleracea.

[1341] It is in reality of a blackish hue without, and white within.

[1342] See B. xxii. c. 73. Dioscorides speaks of the use of the wild rape for this purpose, B. ii. c. 135.

[1343] See B. xviii. c. 35, and B. xix. c. 25.

[1344] Dalechamps remarks that Pliny here confounds the bunion with the bunias; the first of which, as Fée says, is an umbellifera, either the Bunium bulbocastanum of Linnæus, or the Peucedanum silaus of Linnæus, and the second is the Brassica napo-brassica of Linnæus. Dioscorides says that the stalks of the bunion are quadrangular. M. Fraas thinks that the bunion is the Bunium pumilum of modern Botany, and says that the Bunium bulbocastanum, usually supposed to be the bunion of Dioscorides, is a stranger to Greece.

[1345] These properties, Fée says, are not to be found in the Bunium bulbocastanum of modern botanists.

[1346] Sillig is of opinion that there is an hiatus here in the text, and that the meaning is that a drachma of the juice is taken with something else: honey possibly, he suggests.

[1347] The Brassica napo-brassica of Linnæus.

[1348] See B. xix. c. 26.

[1349] The Cochlearia Armoracia of Linnæus.

[1350] In B. xix. c. 26.

[1351] Fée says that the medicinal properties recognized by the moderns in the several varieties of the Raphanus sativus are, that their action is slightly stimulating when eaten raw, and that boiled and eaten with sugar they are soothing, and act as a pectoral.

[1352] “Lagonoponon.” Nearly all these asserted virtues of the radish, Fée says, are illusory.

[1353] “Phlegmoni.” Stagnation of the blood, with heat, redness, swelling, and pain.

[1354] “Veternosi.” Fée says that, rigorously speaking, “veternus” was that state of somnolency which is the prelude to apoplexy.

[1355] The Coluber cerastes of Linnæus. See B. viii. c. 35.

[1356] Poinsinet warns us not to place too implicit faith in this assertion.

[1357] Dioscorides says the same, but the assertion is quite destitute of truth.

[1358] Nicander, in his “Alexipharmaca,” ll. 430 and 527, says that the cabbage, _not_ the radish, is good for poisoning by fungi and henbane; and in l. 300 he states that the cabbage is similarly beneficial against the effects of bullock’s blood. Pliny has probably fallen into the error by confounding ῥάφανος, the “cabbage,” with ῥαφανίς, the “radish.”

[1359] Themistocles is said to have killed himself by taking hot bullock’s blood. It is, however, very doubtful.

[1360] “Morbus comitialis”—literally the “comitial disease.” Epilepsy it is said, was so called because, if any person was seized with it at the “Comitia” or public assemblies of the Roman people, it was the custom to adjourn the meeting to another day.

[1361] From μέλας, “black,” and χολή, “bile.” Melancholy, or bad spirits, was so called from a notion that it was owing to a predominance of an imaginary secretion called by the ancients “black bile.”

[1362] The cœliac flux, Fée says, is symptomatic of chronic enteritis; and is a species of diarrhœa, in which the chyme is voided without undergoing any change in passing through the intestines.

[1363] “Præcordiorum.”

[1364] “Enterocele.”

[1365] De Morb. Mulier. B. ii. c. 67.

[1366] Eating or corroding ulcers.

[1367] Hippocrates, De Diætâ, B. ii. cc. 25, 26, says that radishes are of a cold, and hyssop of a warm, nature.

[1368] “Moloche agria.”

[1369] See B. xix. c. 27.

[1370] See B. viii. c. 73.

[1371] De Remed. B. iv. c. 24. The parsnip is a stimulating plant, and it is not without reason, Fée says, that Celsus recommends it for this purpose.

[1372] Or “wild.” See B. xix. c. 27.

[1373] This seed, Fée says, is an energetic excitant, and certainly would not be found suitable for any of the purposes here mentioned by Pliny; though equally recommended for them by Galen, Dioscorides, and in Athenæus.

[1374] Tetanus, or contraction of the muscles, in which the head is twisted round or stretched backwards.

[1375] “Axungia;” properly swine’s grease, with which the axle-trees of chariots were rubbed. See B. xxviii. c. 9.

[1376] Diphilus of Siphnos, as quoted in Athenæus, B. ix. c. 3, states that the ancients employed this plant as a philtre, for which reason it was called by some persons φίλτρον.

[1377] “Posca.” This was the ordinary drink of the lower classes at Rome, as also the soldiers when on service, and the slaves. “Oxycrate” is the scientific name sometimes given to vinegar and water.

[1378] Πολλὰ Σύρων λάχανα. Similar to our proverb, probably, “There is more corn in Egypt.”

[1379] The Daucus visnaga of Linnæus, the Daucus gingidium of Sprengel, the Visnagha, or Bisnagha of other botanists. It is also known as the “wild carrot,” or “French carrot.”

[1380] Or “erratic.”

[1381] See B. xix. c. 28.

[1382] The root and seed, Fée observes, really are stimulants: there is no perceptible difference between the wild and cultivated plants. For silphium, see B. xix. c. 15.

[1383] Fée thinks that it may be so in a slight degree.

[1384] Pliny often speaks of persons having swallowed quicksilver, but never lets us know under what circumstances. As Fée remarks, it could not be accidentally; nor yet, on the other hand, could it have been done purposely, with the object of committing suicide, it not being an

## active poison. He concludes that it must have been taken medicinally,

and that part of it becoming absorbed in the system, other remedies were resorted to, to counteract its noxious effects.

[1385] “Inutile,” and not “utile,” is evidently the correct reading here.

[1386] Σισάρον the “skirret,” and Σέσελι, Σέλι, or Σίλι, “hart-wort.”

[1387] The Seseli tortuosum of Linnæus.

[1388] Or Marseilles: the Seseli tortuosum. Fée says that there is great confusion relative to the supposed varieties of this plant. The Bupleurum fruticosum, or Seseli of Æthiopia, has leaves smaller than those of ivy, and resembling the leaves of honeysuckle. That of Peloponnesus, the Ligusticum austriacum, has a leaf similar to that of hemlock, but larger and thicker; and the Seseli of Crete, some species of the genus Tordylium, is a small plant which throws out shoots in large quantities. All these, he says, are so far different plants, that it is quite impossible to unite them with any degree of certainty under one concordance. Indeed, he thinks it very possible that they do not all belong to the genus Seseli of modern botanists.

[1389] It is clear that Pliny hesitates to believe this story, and it is hardly necessary to remark how utterly foreign this is to the habits of carnivorous birds.

[1390] See B. viii. c. 50. An absurd story.

[1391] The Inula Helenium of botanists. See B. xix. c. 29.

[1392] Modern notions, Fée says, do not agree with those of the ancients on the subject of elecampane. The root owes the energy of its

## action to the camphor which it contains.

[1393] This notion of the virtues of the onion is quite erroneous, though it still prevails to a considerable degree. Hippocrates, however, Dioscorides, and Galen, like Pliny, attribute this property to the onion.

[1394] This, Fée says, is not the fact.

[1395] A disease of the eye, by which the cornea contracts a whiteness.

[1396] A white speck within the black of the eye.

[1397] It is of no use whatever for such a purpose.

[1398] Fox evil, or scurf, or scaldhead: a disease which causes the hair to fall off the body. It derives its name from the Greek ἀλώπηξ, a “fox,” from the circumstance that they were supposed to be peculiarly affected with a similar disease.

[1399] Or millepedes. See c. 6 of this Book.

[1400] So the school of Salerno says—

Non modicum sanas Asclepius asserit illas, Præsertim stomacho, pulchrumque creare colorem.

[1401] This is not the case.

[1402] “Vermiculis.” Small worms or maggots.

[1403] “Porrum sectivum.” See B. xix. c. 33.

[1404] Fée thinks that boiled leeks may possibly, with some justice, be ranked among the pectorals.

[1405] This, as Pliny himself here remarks, is a different disease from that previously mentioned in c. 6 of this Book.

[1406] From the Greek συκὴ, “a fig.”

[1407] “Merum.”

[1408] They would be of no utility whatever.

[1409] This is an unfounded statement, Fée says.

[1410] See B. xix. c. 33. Aristotle, Sotion, and Dioscorides state to the same effect.

[1411] “Porrum capitatum.”

[1412] There is no difference now recognized between these two kinds of leeks, so far as their medicinal effects are concerned.

[1413] See B. xvi. c. 9.

[1414] _I. e._ gum arabic. For an account of the Acacia Nilotica, see B. xiii. c. 19.

[1415] De Morb. Mul. B. ii. c. 89, and De Steril. c. 13.

[1416] This is not the fact.

[1417] See B. xix. c. 34.

[1418] Fée says that the action of garlic is so powerful, that it is one of the most energetic vermifuges known; but at the same time it is so strong an excitant, that it is very liable to cause worse evils than the presence even of worms.

[1419] This serpent is described by Lucan, in the “Pharsalia,” B. ix. l. 708, _et seq._, where a fearful account is given of the effects of its sting. Nicander, in his “Theriaca,” informs us that those bitten by the hæmorrhoïs die with the blood flowing from the nose and ears, whence its name.

[1420] Pard or panther-strangle. See B. xxvii. c. 2. The juice of garlic has no such effect as here stated.

[1421] De Morb. Mul. B. i. c. 74.

[1422] See B. xxix. c. 39.

[1423] The Morbus pedicularis. From the frequent mention of it, Fée says, it would seem to have been very prevalent in ancient times; whereas now, it is but rarely known.

[1424] A disease of the skin; supposed by some to be the same as ringworm. The word is employed in modern medicine to signify skin diseases in general, such as itch, lichen, scaldhead, ringworm, &c.

[1425] Pintianus suggests “hirudines,” “leeches,” and not “arundines,” arrows. The latter reading is supported, however, by Plinius Valerianus and M. Empiricus.

[1426] An expensive kind of fish-sauce: for some further account of it see B. ix. c. 30.

[1427] See B. xix. c. 15.

[1428] See B. x. c. 78.

[1429] “Caprina.” See B. xxvi. c. 39.

[1430] Fée is of opinion that this in reality is not a lettuce, but that Pliny has been led, by the milky juice which it contains, to that conclusion. In B. xxvi. c. 39, he calls it “tithymalum.” Hardouin conjectures it to have been the spurge, or Euphorbia lathyris of Linnæus, the juice of which is a violent drastic; and Fée is of opinion that it must have been one of the Euphorbiaceæ. At the same time, he says, powerful as their properties are, we cannot believe that they exercise the destructive effects on fish here stated.

[1431] Fée thinks that this plant may be looked for among the varieties of the Sonchus or the Hieracium, which belong to the same family as the lettuce.

[1432] See B. xviii. c. 14.

[1433] Fée thinks that this is the Isatis tinctoria of Linnæus in a wild state, and Littré suggests that the one next mentioned is the same plant, cultivated. Fée says, however, that this plant, employed in dyeing wool, does not contain any milky juice, a fact which should have cautioned Pliny against classing it among the Lactucæ.

[1434] Of the lettuce, evidently. Fée says, who would recognise a lettuce, with its green leaves, and smooth stalk and leaves, under this description? Still, it is by no means an inaccurate description of the wild lettuce.

[1435] “Hawk-weed,” from the Greek ἱέραξ, “a hawk.” Under this name are included, Fée thinks, the varieties of the genus Crepis.

[1436] Apuleius, Metam. c. 30, says this of the eagle, when preparing to soar aloft.

[1437] This is in some degree true of the juices of the wild lettuces, in a medicinal point of view; but it must be remembered that he has enumerated the Isatis among them, which in reality has no milky juice at all.

[1438] “Lactucarium,” or the inspissated milky juice of the garden lettuce, is still used occasionally as a substitute for opium, having slightly anodyne properties, but, as Fée remarks, all that Pliny says here of its effects is erroneous.

[1439] “Adustiones;” “burns,” perhaps.

[1440] A kind of spider. See B. xi. cc. 24, 28, 29.

[1441] This is consistent with modern experience, as to the medicinal effects of the cultivated plants in general.

[1442] In B. xix. c. 38.

[1443] The lettuce is not a purgative, nor has it the property here ascribed to it, of making blood.

[1444] Sillig is probably correct in his belief that there is a lacuna here.

[1445] “Oxypori.”

[1446] “Ad intinctum aceti.”

[1447] In B. xix. c. 38; the “opium” or “poppy lettuce,” the Lactuca silvestris of modern botany, the soporific properties of which are superior to those of the cultivated kinds.

[1448] Or southern-wood. See B. xxi. c. 34.

[1449] See B. xxxi. cc. 11 and 12.

[1450] There are few plants, Fée says, which are so utterly destitute of all remedial properties as the beet. See B. xix. c. 40.

[1451] Fée says that the leaves of beet are not at all efficacious except as applications for inflammations of the body.

[1452] Dioscorides merely says that the leaves of the limonion are similar to those of beet, but he does not state that it _is_ a kind of wild beet.

[1453] Dioscorides says “ten or more.”

[1454] Fée is inclined to identify the “limonium,” or “meadow-plant,” with the Statice limonium of Linnæus; but looks upon its identification as very doubtful. Fuchs, Tragus, and Lonicerus, have identified it with the Pyrola rotundifolia; but that is not a meadow plant, it growing only in the woods. Others, again, have suggested the Senecio doria, or “water trefoil.”

[1455] Divided by naturalists into wild chicory or endive, the Cichorium intybus of Linnæus, and cultivated endive, the Cichorium endivia of Linnæus. The name “endive” comes from the Arabian “hindeb;” but whether that was derived from the Latin “intubum,” or vice versâ, is uncertain. The two kinds above mentioned, are subdivided, Fée says, into two varieties, the cultivated and the wild. See B. xix. c. 39.

[1456] The foundation of the Greek name, κιχώριον, and the Arabic “Schikhrieh.”

[1457] The medicinal properties of endive vary, according as it is employed wild or cultivated, and according to the part employed. The leaves are more bitter than the stalk, but not so much so as the root. The juice of all the varieties is very similar, probably, to that of the lettuce; but, as Fée says, little use has been made of it in modern times.

[1458] Or else, “Magi.”

[1459] The “useful.”

[1460] “The all-powerful.”

[1461] The Cichorium luteum of C. Bauhin, the Leontodon palustre of Linnæus: known to us as the “dandelion,” or by a coarser name.

[1462] The kind known as garden endive, the Cichorium endivia of Linnæus.

[1463] “Anthologumena.”

[1464] See B. xix. c. 41.

[1465] “Crispam.”

[1466] “Parsley-like.”

[1467] The only use now made of the cabbage, in a medicinal point of view, is the extraction from the red cabbage, which is rich in saccharine matter, of a pectoral, and the employment of the round cabbage, in the form of sour-krout, as an antiscorbutic. The great majority of the statements as to the virtues of the cabbage, though supported by Cato, and in a great measure by Hippocrates, are utterly fallacious.

[1468] De Re Rust. 157.

[1469] “Scintillationibus.”

[1470] See B. xix. c. 15.

[1471] Or cancer.

[1472] Cato, De Re Rust., 156, 157.

[1473] See Note [1301] to c. 2 of this Book.

[1474] This absurd notion of antipathy is carried so far by the author of the Geoponica, B. v. c. 11, that he states that if wine is thrown on cabbage while on the fire, it will never be thoroughly boiled.

[1475] Fée remarks, that this fact would surely have engaged the attention of the moderns, if there had been any truth in the statement.

[1476] “Crapulam discuti.” “Crapula” was that state, after drinking, colloquially known at the present day as “seediness.”

[1477] The contrary is in reality the case, it being a diet only suitable to strong stomachs.

[1478] De Morb. Mulier. B. i. cc. 73 and 74. De Nat. Mulier. 29 and 31.

[1479] The jaundice.

[1480] Fée is inclined to account for the numerous antidotes and remedies mentioned for the stings of serpents, by supposing that the stings themselves of many of them were not really venomous, but only _supposed_ to be so.

[1481] “Repuntinas caligines.”

[1482] “Sprout,” or “Brussels sprout.” See B. xix. c. 41.

[1483] He is probably speaking of cabbage-water in general.

[1484] See B. xix. c. 15.

[1485] This bitter or pungent cabbage, Fée suggests, did not, probably, belong to the genus Brassica.

[1486] De Re Rust. c. 157.

[1487] Fée is of opinion that Pliny has here confused the description of two different plants; and that, intending to describe the Brassica arvensis of modern botany, he has superadded a description of the “Crambe agria,” mentioned by Dioscorides, which appears to be identical with the Crambe maritima, or Brassica marina, the “sea-cabbage” of the ancients (see c. 38.), the Convolvulus soldanella of modern botany.

[1488] Or “rock-cabbage,” a name given more properly to the Convolvulus soldanella.

[1489] See c. 34, and B. xxiv. c. 1.

[1490] A description, really, of the Convolvulus soldanella.

[1491] See B. xix. c. 41.

[1492] The Convolvulus soldanella of Linnæus, Fée thinks: not one of the Cruciferæ, but belonging to the Convolvulaceæ.

[1493] See B. xix. c. 30.

[1494] The squill is still regarded in medicine as one of the most energetic of all the vegetable productions, as a diuretic, an expectorant, and, in large doses, an emetic. Squill vinegar is still the form in which it is usually administered. Columella gives a somewhat different account of the mode of preparing it.

[1495] Theocritus says that the squill effectually protects statues and tombs from outrages being committed upon them; and it was so customary to plant them about the graves, that it became a proverbial saying, “He is frantic enough to pluck squills from a grave.” Theophrastus states that squills were employed in certain expiatory ceremonials.

[1496] As to the identification of the “bulbs,” see B. xix. c. 30. The wild bulbs, Fée is of opinion, are probably the Nigrum allium or Moly of modern Botany; and the Allium schœnoprasum belongs, in his opinion, to the cultivated bulbs.

[1497] Supposing, Fée says, that the Bulbi of the ancients belonged to the genus Allium or garlic of modern Botany, we may conclude that in a medicinal point of view, they were of an exciting nature, powerful vermifuges, and slightly blistering when applied topically. The other statements here made, as to their medicinal qualities, are not consistent with modern experience.

[1498] Testium pituitas.

[1499] See B. xix. c. 30. Athenæus, B. ii. c. 26, attributes a similar property to the bulbs of Megara.

[1500] See B. xi. cc. 24, 28.

[1501] The Hyacinthus botryoides of Linnæus, most probably.

[1502] “Bulbus vomitorius.” The Narcissus jonquilla of Linnæus, the “emetic jonquil.” The bulb of the Spanish jonquil acts as a strong emetic.

[1503] Dioscorides says, more correctly, a black outer coat or peeling.

[1504] Asparagus is recognized in modern times, as exercising a strong

## action on the kidneys. Fée says, that according to Dr. Broussais, it

is a sedative to palpitations of the heart, an assertion, the truth of which, he says, his own experience has confirmed. The root is also looked upon as diuretic.

[1505] Asparagus seed is not used in modern pharmacy, and it is very doubtful if it possesses any virtues at all.

[1506] Fée says that there is no truth in this assertion.

[1507] See B. xix. c. 42: the Asparagus tenuifolius of Linnæus, the wild asparagus, or Corruda of the South of France.

[1508] Fée says that in the South of Europe there is a kind, known to botanists as white asparagus, with a prickly stem: he suggests that it may possibly be the same as that here spoken of.

[1509] Or fennel. Fée says that, till very recently, the roots of asparagus and of fennel were combined in medicine, forming part of the five “major aperitive” roots. The sirop of the five aperitive roots is still used, he says, in medicine.

[1510] Chrysippus and Dioscorides were of opinion, that a decoction of asparagus root causes sterility in women; a false notion, which, as Fée remarks, prevailed very generally in Greece.

[1511] This is not consistent with fact.

[1512] See B. xix. c. 37. Parsley, though possessed of marked properties, is but little employed in medicine. What Pliny here states respecting it, Fée says, is a tissue of fables: but it is still used for the cure of sores, and even as an ophthalmic.

[1513] This distinction, Fée says, cannot be admitted.

[1514] Or maggots.

[1515] This belief in its efficacy, Fée says, still exists.

[1516] See B. xxi. c. 86: this is the Melissa officinalis of Linnæus, or balm-gentle, from which the bees gather honey, quite a different plant to apiastrum or wild parsley. The Sardinian plant here mentioned, is probably the same as the Ranunculus, mentioned in B. xxv. c. 109, where its identification will be further discussed.

[1517] See B. xix. c. 48.

[1518] Or “horse parsley.”

[1519] Or strangury. No medicinal use is made of this plant in modern times.

[1520] Or “mountain parsley,” see B. xix. c. 48.

[1521] Or “marsh-parsley,” see B. xix. c. 37. It is possessed of certain energetic properties, more appreciated by the ancient physicians than in modern pharmacy.

[1522] “Rock-parsley:” from this name comes our word “parsley.” It is not clearly known to what variety of parsley he refers under this name.

[1523] Or “ox-parsley.” C. Bauhin identifies this with the Petroselinum Creticum or Agriopastinaca of Crete; but, as Fée remarks, it is not clear to which of the Umbelliferæ he refers under that name.

[1524] The Ocimum basilicum of Linnæus, according to most commentators: though Fée is not of that opinion, it being originally from India, and never found in a wild state. From what Varro says, De Re Rust. B. i. c. 31, he thinks that it must be sought among the leguminous plants, the genus Hedysarum, Lathyrus, or Medicago. He remarks also, that Pliny is the more to be censured for the absurdities contained in this Chapter, as the preceding writers had only mentioned them to ridicule them.

[1525] See B. ix. c. 51.

[1526] “In Empericis.”

[1527] “Atramento sutorio.”

[1528] The Brassica eruca of Linnæus.

[1529] None of the numerous remedies mentioned by Pliny for removing spots on the skin, are at all efficacious, in Fée’s opinion.

[1530] “Good for sauces.”

[1531] In B. xix. c. 44.

[1532] The Lepidium sativum of Linnæus, cresses or nose-smart.

[1533] This opinion is corroborated by Dioscorides, B. ii. c. 185, and confirmed by the author of the Geoponica, B. xii. c. 27. Fée inclines to the opinion of Dioscorides, and states that is highly antiscorbutic.

[1534] In B. xix. c. 44.

[1535] The two varieties, the white and the black, are no longer distinguished. The only variety now recognized, Fée says, is that with crisped leaves.

[1536] “Furunculos.” Gangrenous sores, probably.

[1537] “Unguibus scabris,” _i. e._ for the removal of malformed nails, with the view to the improvement of their appearance.

[1538] The Lepidium Iberis of Linnæus, Fée thinks.

[1539] The Ruta graveolens of Linnæus. The Romans, singularly enough, valued this offensive plant as a condiment for their dishes, and a seasoning for their wines.—See B. xiv. c. 19: and at the present day even, it is admired for its smell, Fée says, by the ladies of Naples. The Italians use it also for their salads. Its smell is thought to prevent infection, for which reason it is still used, in country-places, at funerals, and is placed before prisoners when tried criminally, for the prevention, it is said, of gaol fever.

[1540] It is not the rue that has this effect, so much as the salts of copper which are formed.

[1541] Fée thinks it not likely that the rue grown here was at all superior to that of other localities.

[1542] This word, omitted in the text, is supplied from Dioscorides.

[1543] Or aconite. There is no truth whatever in these assertions, that rue has the effect of neutralizing the effects of hemlock, henbane, or poisonous fungi. Boerrhave says that he employed rue successfully in cases of hysteria and epilepsy; and it is an opinion which originated with Hippocrates, and is still pretty generally entertained, that it promotes the catamenia.

[1544] See B. viii. c. 40.

[1545] See B. x. c. 86.

[1546] “Si vero sit cephalæa.”

[1547] Dioscorides says however, B. iii. c. 52, that it arrests incontinence of the urine. See below.

[1548] De Morb. Mul. B. i. c. 128.

[1549] De Diæta, B. ii. c. 26.

[1550] “Pituitæ eruptionibus.”

[1551] This prejudice, Fée says, still survives.

[1552] The Menta silvestris of Linnæus; though Clusius was of opinion that it is the Nepeta tuberosa of Linnæus.

[1553] “Silvestre puleium.”

[1554] Galen and Dioscorides say the same; but it is not the fact; the leaves being of no utility whatever.

[1555] Difficulty of breathing, unless the neck is kept in a straight position.

[1556] Fée is inclined to think exactly the contrary.

[1557] Its properties as a vermifuge are contested.

[1558] According to ancient fable, Mintha, the daughter of Cocytus, and beloved by Pluto, was changed by Proserpine into this plant: it was generally employed also in the mysteries of the Greeks. It is the Mentha sativa of Linnæus.

[1559] Fée says that this passage alone would prove pretty clearly that Pliny had no idea of the existence of the gastric juices.

[1560] See B. xviii. c. 17, and B. xxii. c. 67.

[1561] It is only in this case and the next, Fée says, that modern experience agrees with our author as to the efficacy of mint.

[1562] The Menta pulegium of Linnæus.

[1563] Its medicinal properties are similar to those of mint; which is a good stomachic, and is useful for hysterical and hypochondriac affections, as well as head-ache. We may therefore know how far to appreciate the medicinal virtues ascribed by Pliny to these plants.

[1564] “Ampullas.”

[1565] “Cubiculis:” “sleeping-chambers.” It was very generally the practice among the ancients to keep odoriferous plants in their bed-rooms; a dangerous practice, now held in pretty general disesteem.

[1566] Strong odours, as Fée remarks, are not generally beneficial for head-ache.

[1567] Dioscorides makes no such distinction, and botanically speaking, as Fée observes, this distinction is faulty.

[1568] See B. xiv. c. 5.

[1569] “Defunctos partus” is certainly a better reading than “defunctis partus” though the latter is the one adopted by Sillig.

[1570] “Salsitudines.” Hardouin is probably right in his conjecture, that the correct reading is “lassitudines,” “lassitude.”

[1571] “Pulices.” It is to this belief, no doubt, that it owes its Latin name “pulegium,” and its English appellation, “flea-bane.”

[1572] It differs in no respect whatever from the cultivated kind, except that the leaves of the latter are somewhat larger.

[1573] Or origanum.

[1574] Whence our name “dittany.”

[1575] The “bleating plant;” from βληχάομαι, “to bleat.” Dioscorides, B. ii. c. 36, says the same of cultivated pennyroyal.

[1576] “Pulmonum vitia exscreabilia facit.”

[1577] Or “catmint;” the variety “longifolia,” Fée thinks, of the Menta silvestris of Linnæus; or else the Melissa altissima of Sibthorp. Sprengel identifies it with the Thymus Barrelieri, the Melissa Cretica of Linnæus. Dioscorides, B. iii. c. 42, identifies the “Calamintha” of the Greeks with the Nepeta of the Romans. The medicinal properties of Nep, or catmint, are the same as those of the other mints.

[1578] “Ægilopiis.”

[1579] Cummin is the Cuminum cyminum of Linnæus. The seed only is used, and that but rarely, for medicinal purposes, being a strong excitant and a carminative. In Germany, and Turkey, and other parts of the East, cummin-seed is esteemed as a condiment.

[1580] Horace, B. i. Epist. 19, says the same; but in reality cummin produces no such effect.

[1581] M. Porcius Latro, a celebrated rhetorician of the reign of Augustus, a Spaniard by birth, and a friend and contemporary of the elder Seneca. His school was one of the most frequented at Rome, and he numbered among his scholars the poet Ovid. He died B.C. 4.

[1582] The son of a Roman senator, but descended from a noble family in Aquitanian Gaul. When proprætor of Gallia Celtica, he headed a revolt against Nero; but being opposed by Virginius Rufus, he slew himself at the town of Vesontio, now Besançon.

[1583] “Captationi” is suggested by Sillig as a preferable reading to “captatione,” which last would imply that it was Vindex himself who sought a place by this artifice, in the wills of others.

[1584] There would be but little difference, Fée observes, between this and the cummin of other countries, as it is a plant in which little change is effected by cultivation. Dioscorides, B. iii. c. 79, says that the cummin of Æthiopia (by Hippocrates called “royal cummin”) has a sweeter smell than the other kinds.

[1585] Fée is inclined to identify wild cummin, from the description of it given by Dioscorides, with the Delphinium consolida of Linnæus; but at the same time, he says, it is impossible to speak positively on the subject.

[1586] “Penicillis.”

[1587] The Ammi Copticum of modern botany.

[1588] The Æthiopian cummin, namely, which Pliny himself seems inclined to confound with ammi.

[1589] Or “horned” serpent. See B. viii. c. 35, and B. xi. c. 45.

[1590] In B. xiii. c. 44.

[1591] It is not improbable that under this name he alludes to the carpels of some kind of Euphorbiacea, which bear a resemblance to the fruit of the caper. Indeed, there is one variety of the Euphorbia with an acrid juice, known in this country by the name of the “caper-plant.”

[1592] The Capparis spinosa, probably, on which the capers used in our sauces are grown.

[1593] Until recently, the bark was employed in the Materia Medica, as a diuretic: it is now no longer used.

[1594] Or Lovage. See B. xix. c. 50.

[1595] In B. xix. c. 50, where he states that Crateuas has given to the wild Ligusticum the name of Cunila bubula, or “ox cunila.”

[1596] See B. xix. c. 50.

[1597] See B. viii. cc. 41 and 44.

[1598] Universal remedy, or “all-heal.”

[1599] Or “Poultry cunila:” the Origanum Heracleoticum of Linnæus.

[1600] See B. xxv. c. 12.

[1601] An Umbellifera, Fée says, of the modern genus Conyza. See B. xxi. c. 32.

[1602] Fée is of opinion that Pliny has here confounded “cunila” with “conyza,” and that he means the κόνυζα μικρά of Dioscorides, B. iii. c. 136, the κόνυζα θῆλυς of Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 2, supposed to be the Inula pulicaria of Linnæus. See B. xxi. c. 32.

[1603] A variety of Conyza. See B. xxi. c. 32.

[1604] Dioscorides, B. iii. c. 136, says the same of the κόνυζα μικρά, or “small conyza.”

[1605] The Satureia thymbra of Linnæus. See B. xix. c. 50.

[1606] “Ictus,” possibly “stings.”

[1607] See the preceding Chapter: also B. xix. c. 62, and B. xxi. c. 32.

[1608] Perhaps Indian pepper, the Capsicum annuum of Botany. See B. xix. c. 62.

[1609] For some account of Castor, the botanist, see the end of this Book.

[1610] Or Wild Marjoram. See B. xix. c. 50.

[1611] So called, Nicander says, from being sought with avidity by the ass, ὄνος. It is the Origanum onites of Linnæus.

[1612] The Prasion, or “green plant,” mentioned by Hippocrates and Theophrastus, is _not_ identical, Fée says, with the Origanum onitis, it being the Marrubium Creticum, or peregrinum of modern botanists. To add to the confusion of these names, we find Pliny stating, in c. 69, that the name of “prasion” was given also by the Greeks to his second species of Heraclium, and that of “onitis” to the Heraclium Heracleoticum.

[1613] Or “Goat’s origanum:” the Thymus tragoriganum of Linnæus. Dioscorides mentions two kinds of tragoriganum, one of which has been supposed by Clusius to be the Thymus mastichina of Linnæus, and the other the Stachys glutinosa of Linnæus; Zanoni being the first author who promulgated this opinion; from which Fée, however, dissents.

[1614] Or Heracleotic origanum: see c. 62 of this Book. Pliny here confounds several distinct plants, and, as Fée observes, the whole account is in hopeless confusion.

[1615] Probably the Origanum Heracleoticum of Linnæus, mentioned in c. 62.

[1616] The Marrubium Creticum, or peregrinum, probably, a variety of horehound. See c. 67.

[1617] See B. xiii. c. 2, and B. xv. c. 7.

[1618] The Origanum onites of Linnæus, probably. See c. 67.

[1619] Fée says that a strong infusion of pepperwort has been used in France for the itch, with successful results.

[1620] Sulphate of lime, which, as Fée remarks, though insoluble, does not act as a poison, but causes a derangement of the digestive functions. The wines of the Romans were extensively treated with this substance, and we have seen in B. xviii. that it was used as an ingredient in their bread.

[1621] Dittander, or pepperwort: the Lepidium latifolium of Linnæus.

[1622] Or fennel-flower: the Nigella sativa of Linnæus. Fée suggests that its name, “gith,” is from the ancient Egyptian.

[1623] “Black flower.”

[1624] “Black seed.”

[1625] It is no longer used in medicine, but it is esteemed as a seasoning in the East. All that Pliny states as to its medicinal properties, Fée considers to be erroneous. The action of the seed is irritating, and reduced to powder, it causes sneezing.

[1626] See B. xxv. c. 17.

[1627] See B. xix. c. 52.

[1628] The Pimpinella anisum of Linnæus.

[1629] It is still used in some countries as a seasoning with which bread and pastry are powdered.

[1630] See B. xiv. c. 28.

[1631] See B. xix. cc. 48 and 62: also B. xxvii. c. 97.

[1632] This and the next statement are utterly fabulous.

[1633] “Unconquerable,” from the Greek ἀ, “not,” and νικάω, “to conquer.” Fée thinks that the word is a diminutive of “anisum,” which, according to some persons, is a derivative from “_anysun_,” the Arabic name of the plant. Dioscorides gives the name “anicetum” to dill, and not to anise.

[1634] A mere fable, as Fée remarks.

[1635] A fiction, without any foundation in truth.

[1636] See B. viii. c. 47, and B. xxxii. cc. 13, 23, 24, and 28.

[1637] Fée evidently mistakes the meaning of this passage, and censures Pliny for speaking of anise as an emetic. On the contrary, he here prescribes it to counteract vomiting, and he has previously stated, in this Chapter, that it _arrests_ vomiting.

[1638] The Anethum graveolens of Linnæus: originally a native of the hot climates. Its properties are very similar to those of anise.

[1639] Or Sagapenum. This is a fetid gum-resin, imported from Persia and Alexandria, and supposed, though without sufficient proof, Fée says, to be the produce of the Ferula Persica. It is occasionally used in medicine as a stimulating expectorant. In odour it somewhat resembles assafœtida, only it is much weaker. Galen speaks of it as the produce of a Ferula. It acts also as a purgative and a vermifuge.

[1640] See B. xii. c. 56, and B. xix. c. 52. Some writers have supposed, but apparently without any sufficient authority, that this is the Ferula communis of Linnæus. Fée is of opinion that one of the Umbelliferæ is meant.

[1641] In B. xix. c. 53.

[1642] It is probable, Fée says, that Pliny does not intend here to speak of the _calyx_ as understood by modern botanists, but the _corolla_ of the plant. The calyx disappears immediately after the plant has blossomed; and is never employed by medical men at the present day, who confine themselves to the heads or capsules.

[1643] The variety Album of the Papaver somniferum. See B. xix. c. 53.

[1644] The variety A. nigrum of the Papaver somniferum of Decandolle.

[1645] The incisions are made in the capsules, and towards the upper part of the peduncle. The account given by Pliny, Fée remarks, differs but little from that by Kæmpfer, in the early part of last century.

[1646] Nine in the morning.

[1647] This plan, Fée thinks, would not be attended with advantage.

[1648] A name, probably, of Eastern origin, and now universally employed.

[1649] “Bilbilis” has been suggested.

[1650] Syrop of white poppies was, till recently, known as sirop of diacodium. Opium is now universally regarded as one of the most important ingredients of the Materia Medica.

[1651] Poppy-seed, in reality, is not possessed of any soporific qualities whatever. This discovery, however, was only made in the latter part of the last century, by the French chemist, Rosier.

[1652] “Collyriis.”

[1653] “Lexipyretos,” “pepticas,” and “cœliacas”—Greek appellations.

[1654] The type of the cultivated poppy is the Papaver somniferum of Linnæus.

[1655] This, Fée says, is a matter of doubt.

[1656] From μήκων, a “poppy.” Tournefort has described this kind of opium obtained by decoction; it is held in little esteem.

[1657] Fée remarks, that this account of the tests of opium is correct in the extreme.

[1658] In B. xix. c. 53. The Papaver rhœas of Linnæus: the field poppy, corn poppy, or corn rose.

[1659] Theophrastus says that it has just the taste of wild endive. Fée remarks that the peasants of Treves eat the leaves of this poppy while young.

[1660] The Glaucium Corniculatum of Persoon; the horned poppy, or glaucium. This, Fée remarks, is not a poppy in reality, but a species of the genus Chelidonium. The juice is an irritating poison, and the seed is said to act as an emetic.

[1661] “Argema.”

[1662] “By the sea-shore.”

[1663] Not a poppy, but the Euphorbia esula of Linnæus, a spurge. The milky juice found in the stalk and leaves have caused it to be classed among the poppies, as other varieties of Euphorbiaceæ appear to have been, among the wild lettuces.

[1664] Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. ix. c. 31, compares this plant with the Struthium—(see B. xix. c. 18). Pliny, or his scribes, have supposed him to be speaking of the στρούθος, or “sparrow”—hence the present mistake. The Struthium itself has received that name from the resemblance which its flower bears to a bird with the wings expanded.

[1665] Hence its name, “aphron.”

[1666] See B. xix. c. 4. Pliny has here mistaken a passage of Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. ix. c. 31; where he attributes this quality to the Struthium, and not the Heraclium.

[1667] See c. 76 of this Book. It is difficult to conjecture how one of the Euphorbiaceæ, a powerful drastic, could enter into the composition of a soothing preparation, such as the diacodion is said to have been.

[1668] “Capitibus.” As Fée remarks, the capsules of Euphorbia bear no resemblance whatever to the heads of the poppy. Dioscorides, B. iv. c. 67, similarly confounds these two plants.

[1669] See B. xxvi. c. 31.

[1670] See B. xxvi. c. 41. Probably the Euphorbia paralias of Linnæus, or Sea euphorbia. Its medicinal properties are similar to those of the Euphorbia esula above mentioned.

[1671] The fructiferous heads of the Euphorbiaceæ, thus employed, would, as Fée remarks, be productive of most disastrous results.

[1672] The Euphorbia peplis of Linnæus.

[1673] See B. xiii. c. 40. By Dioscorides, B. iv. c. 165, all these virtues are attributed exclusively to the cultivated purslain. Indeed, there is no analogy between the properties of the two plants; though neither of them is possessed of the wonderful virtues as antidotes here mentioned, and they would only increase the sufferings of asthmatic patients.

[1674] As to this serpent, see Lucan’s Pharsalia, B. ix. l. 722, _et seq._

[1675] A kind of spreading tumour, which, according to Scribonius Largus, would appear as if about to force the eye out of the socket. Fée remarks, that this malady is no longer known.

[1676] See B. xxxv. c. 57.

[1677] “Acetariis.”

[1678] “Sapa.” Grape-juice, boiled down to one third.

[1679] Ἐπιτομὴν ῥιζοτουμένων.

[1680] The Coriandrum sativum of Linnæus. At the present day, wild coriander is commonly found in Italy, on uncultivated soils. It may have been naturalized, however, Fée thinks, since the time of Pliny.

[1681] Nicander says also, that it is a cure for the stings of serpents and scorpions, but there is no truth in the assertion.

[1682] See B. viii. c. 35.

[1683] The Atriplex hortensis of Linnæus. Fée thinks that the wild atriplex of Pliny is some kind of Chenopodium, which it is now impossible to identify. Orage is more of an aliment than a medicament. Applied externally, it is soothing and emollient.

[1684] De Morb. Mulier. B. ii. c. 57.

[1685] It would not have this effect. The statements here given relative to the virtues of orage are, in general, considered to be correct.

[1686] See B. xix. c. 22.

[1687] The Malva silvestris of Linnæus, or wild mallow.

[1688] The Malva rotundifolia of Linnæus, or round-leaved mallow.

[1689] From μαλάσσω, to “soften,” or “relax.”

[1690] These wild varieties are the same in every respect as the cultivated kinds; their essential characteristics not being changed by cultivation. See further as to the Althæa or marsh mallow, at the latter end of this Chapter.

[1691] The meaning of this name appears to be unknown. “Pistolochia” is a not uncommon reading.

[1692] Mallows were commonly used as a vegetable by the ancients; and are so in China and the south of France, at the present day. The mucilaginous principle which they contain renders them emollient and pectoral; they are also slightly laxative.

[1693] The only benefit resulting from the application of mallows would be the reduction of the inflammation; the plant having no efficacy whatever in neutralizing the venom.

[1694] Sub-carbonate of lead. The mallow would have little or no effect in such a case.

[1695] See B. ix. c. 72, and B. xxxii. c. 3.

[1696] The same was said in the middle ages, of the virtues of sage, and in more recent times of the Panax quinquefolium, the Ginseng of the Chinese.

[1697] Q. Serenus Sammonicus speaks of the accumulation of dandriff in the hair to such a degree as to form a noxious malady. He also mentions the present remedy for it.

[1698] Some commentators have supposed this to be the Alcea rosa of Linnæus; but Fée considers this opinion to be quite unfounded.

[1699] It would be of no use whatever in such cases, Fée says.

[1700] Without any good results, Fée says.

[1701] “Permeatus suaves facit.” We can only make a vague guess at the meaning; as the passage is, most probably, corrupt.

[1702] The Althæa officinalis of Linnæus, or marsh-mallow. The medicinal properties are similar to those of the other varieties of the mallow.

[1703] It is the fact, that water, in which mallows are steeped, owing to the mucilage of the root, assumes the appearance of milk.

[1704] Fée says that this milky appearance of the water does not depend on the freshness of the root; as it is only the aqueous particles that are dried up, the mucilage preserving its chemical properties in their original integrity.

[1705] The Rumex acetosella of Linnæus, or small sorrel.

[1706] See B. xix. c. 60.

[1707] “Horse Lapathum.”

[1708] Or “Lapathum with pointed leaves;” the Rumex acutus of Linnæus.

[1709] Or “water lapathum;” the Rumex aquaticus of Linnæus.

[1710] Or “horse lapathum;” the Rumex patientia of Linnæus: or dock, as Fée thinks: though, according to Sprengel, the cultivated lapathum was identical with that plant.

[1711] The medicinal properties of the lapathum vary according to the parts of the plant employed. The leaves and stalks of the acid kinds of Rumex are refreshing, and slightly diuretic and laxative. The action of those which are not acid is sudorific, antiherpetic, and depurative.

[1712] Fée says that it would be of no benefit whatever for tooth-ache.

[1713] It is not possessed of any stomachic properties, Fée remarks.

[1714] It would be of no utility in such a case, Fée says.

[1715] Supposed by Fée to be the same as the wild lapathum of the last Chapter, the Rumex acetosella of Linnæus; small sorrel.

[1716] Fée remarks that no part of lapathum is naturally astringent.

[1717] Or “ox lapathum.” Fée considers this to be identical with the “hippolapathon” of the last Chapter.

[1718] In B. xix. c. 54. Fée identifies these three varieties of mustard as follows; the slender-stemmed mustard of Pliny he identifies with the Sinapis alba of Linnæus, mustard with white seeds. The mustard mentioned as having the leaves of rape he considers to be the same as the Sinapis nigra of Linnæus, mustard with black seed; and that with the leaf of the rocket he identifies with the Sinapis erucoïdes of Linnæus, the Eruca silvestris of Gessner, or rocket-leaved mustard.

[1719] In reality, mustard is injurious for all affections of the chest and throat.

[1720] “Seseli.”

[1721] A sinapism applied to the head, Fée remarks, in cases of cerebral congestion, would very soon cause death.

[1722] Mustard poultices are used extensively at the present day for blisters on the chest.

[1723] “Rubrica.”

[1724] “Scabras genas.”

[1725] This is not the fact; no juice flows from the stem which is capable of becoming concrete.

[1726] As a tonic, mustard-seed is commonly taken whole at the present day.

[1727] In B. xvi. c. 66. In B. xxxii. c. 52, we shall find Pliny speaking of this substance under the name of “Calamochnus.” Dioscorides, B. v. c. 137, speaks of adarca as growing in Cappadocia, and as being a salt substance which adheres to reeds in time of drought.

[1728] This, Fée says, cannot possibly be the fact, whatever adarca may really have been.

[1729] The “grass-green” plant.

[1730] The “twisted flax” plant.

[1731] “Lad’s-love.”

[1732] “Love and grace,” apparently.

[1733] There are two kinds of prasion mentioned by Dioscorides, and by Pliny at the end of the present Chapter, one of which Fée is inclined to identify with the Ballota nigra of Linnæus, the fetid ballota; and the other with the Marrubium vulgare of Linnæus, the white horehound. Bochart conjectures that the word “marrubium” had a Punic origin, but Linnæus thinks that it comes from “Maria urbs,” the “City of the Marshes,” situate on Lake Fucinus, in Italy.

[1734] Though much used in ancient times, horehound is but little employed in medicine at the present day: though its medicinal value, Fée thinks, is very considerable. Candied horehound is employed to some extent in this country, as a pectoral.

[1735] See B. xviii. c. 25.

[1736] Its medicinal properties, as recognized in modern times, are in most respects dissimilar to those mentioned by Pliny.

[1737] “Far.”

[1738] “Pterygia.” “Pterygium” is also a peculiar disease of the eye.

[1739] “Inter pauca.” He has mentioned, however, a _vast number_ of so-called antidotes or remedies. It is just possible that he may mean, “There are few antidotes like it for efficacy.”

[1740] “A serpendo:” the Thymus serpyllum of Linnæus.

[1741] The Thymus zygis of Linnæus: the Serpyllum folio thymi of C. Bauhin. Dioscorides says that it is the _cultivated_ thyme that is a creeping plant.

[1742] See Lucan’s Pharsalia, B. ix. l. 712, _et seq._

[1743] The Sisymbrion menta of Gerard; the Menta hirsuta of Decandolle, prickly mint. Sprengel, however, takes it to be the Menta silvestris of modern Botany.

[1744] The Sisymbrion nasturtium of Linnæus.

[1745] Apparently the Sisymbrium just mentioned, and the Nasturtium.

[1746] Ovid, Fasti, B. iv. l. 869, speaks of Sisymbrium as being esteemed by the Roman ladies for its agreeable smell.

[1747] See B. xix. c. 1. The rich mucilage of linseed makes it extremely valuable, in a medicinal point of view, for poultices. This mucilage is found in the perisperm more particularly; the kernel containing a fixed oil, which is extremely valuable for numerous purposes. The account given by Pliny and the other ancient writers of the medicinal uses of linseed, is, in general, correct.

[1748] “Inspersum,” sprinkled with boiling water; like oatmeal for porridge, probably.

[1749] It would be of no use whatever for such a purpose, Fée says.

[1750] “Emendat.” By bringing them off, probably.

[1751] It would be of no utility for hernia, Fée says, or for the cure of gangrenous sores.

[1752] The Blitum capitatum of Linnæus.

[1753] Hence, too, the Latin word “bliteus,” meaning “insipid,” “senseless,” or “worthless.”

[1754] This is not the case, it being as innocuous as it is insipid. Applied topically, the leaves are emollient.

[1755] There is no foundation, Fée says, for this opinion.

[1756] The Æthusa meum of Linnæus; our Spignel, or Baldmoney, the Athamanta Matthioli of Wulf. By some authorities it is called Feniculum Alpinum perenne. It is possessed of exciting properties, and is no longer used in medicine.

[1757] See B. iv. c. 8.

[1758] See B. viii. c. 41. This plant is the Anethum feniculum of Linnæus. The seed and roots are still used in medicine, being sudorific, diuretic, and aperitive.

[1759] This resinous juice of fennel is no longer employed, or indeed known, Fée says, to the curious.

[1760] “Horse marathrum:” the Cachrys Libanotis of Linnæus, probably.

[1761] The Seseli tortuosum of Linnæus, probably.

[1762] It is sometimes used at the present day for condiments, as a substitute for anise. Pliny’s account of its medicinal virtues, Fée says, is replete with errors.

[1763] “Oxyporis:” perhaps “salad-dressings.”

[1764] See B. xviii. c. 13.

[1765] Their properties, Fée says, are very similar.

[1766] “Ophiaca.”

[1767] “Rhizotomumena.”

[1768] Theriaca, l. 596. _et seq._

[1769] The wild hemp of Pliny is the Althæa cannabina of Linnæus: the hemp marsh-mallow.

[1770] The cultivated hemp is the Cannabis sativa of Linnæus.

[1771] He is speaking of the hemp marsh-mallow here, and not the real hemp; though at the same time he mingles with his statement several facts which are stated by Dioscorides with reference to the genuine hemp. See B. xix. c. 56.

[1772] This is evidently stated in reference to the hemp-mallow.

[1773] For an account of the Ferula, see B. xiii. c. 42.

[1774] An accidental circumstance, Fée says, and no distinctive mark of sex or species.

[1775] Fée thinks that Pliny’s meaning is, that it is eaten as a confection, similar to those of angelica and parsley stalks at the present day. That, however, would hardly appear to be the sense of the passage. In B. xix. c. 56, he speaks of it being dried and used as a seasoning.

[1776] Fennel-giant is considered to be a good stomachic.

[1777] This, Fée thinks, is probably the fact.

[1778] The pith, in reality, of the Umbelliferæ, is insipid and inert.

[1779] In B. xix. c. 43.

[1780] This, Fée considers to be the Cinara carduncellus of Linnæus, artichoke thistle, or Cardonette of Provence.

[1781] The Cinara scolymus of Linnæus probably, our artichoke, which the ancients do not appear to have eaten. Both the thistle and the artichoke are now no longer employed in medicine.

[1782] Galen gives these lines, sixteen in number, in his work De Antidot. B. ii. c. 14; the proportions, however, differ from those given by Pliny.

[1783] Half a denarius; the weight being so called from the coin which was stamped with the image of the Goddess of Victory. See B. xxxiii. c. 13.

[1784] Antiochus II., the father of Antiochus Epiphanes.

[1785] Or “antidote.” In this term has originated our word “treacle,” in the Elizabethan age spelt “triacle.” The medicinal virtues of this composition were believed in, Fée remarks, so recently as the latter half of the last century. The most celebrated, however, of all the “theriacæ” of the ancients, was the “Theriaca Andromachi,” invented by Andromachus, the physician of the Emperor Nero, and very similar to that composed by Mithridates, king of Pontus, and by means of which he was rendered proof, it is said, against all poisons. See a very learned and interesting account of the Theriacæ of the ancients, by Dr. Greenhill, in Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. His articles “Pharmaceutica,” and “Therapeutica,” will also be found well worth attention by the reader of Pliny.

[1786] See end of B. iii.

[1787] See end of B. ii.

[1788] See end of B. xiv.

[1789] He is also mentioned in B. xxv. c. 2, as having commenced a treatise on Medicinal Plants, which he did not live to complete. It is not improbable that he is the same Valgius that is mentioned in high terms by Horace, B. i. Sat. 10.

[1790] See end of B. iii.

[1791] See end of B. xii.

[1792] Supposed by some to be the same with the Bassus Tullius mentioned by ancient writers as the friend of Niger, possibly the Sextius Niger here mentioned.

[1793] See end of B. vii.

[1794] He lived at Rome, in the first century of the Christian era, and possessed a botanical garden, probably the earliest mentioned. He lived more than a hundred years, in perfect health both of body and mind. See B. xxv. c. 5.

[1795] See end of B. ii.

[1796] See end of B. iii.

[1797] A mystic personage of the early Grecian Mythology, under whose name many spurious works were circulated. Pliny says. B. xxv. c. 2, that he was the first who wrote with any degree of attention on the subject of Plants.

[1798] See end of B. xix.

[1799] See end of B. ii.

[1800] See end of B. viii.

[1801] Probably Chrysippus of Cnidos, a pupil of Eudoxus and Philistion, father of Chrysippus, the physician to Ptolemy Soter, and tutor to Erasistratus. Others, again, think that the work “on the Cabbage,” mentioned by Pliny in c. 33, was written by another Chrysippus, a pupil of Erasistratus, in the third century B.C.

[1802] A native of Carystus, in Eubœa, who lived in the fourth century B.C. He belonged to the medical sect of the Dogmatici, and wrote several medical works, of which the titles only and a few fragments remain.

[1803] Of this writer nothing whatever is known.

[1804] For Heraclides of Heraclea, see end of B. xii.; for Heraclides of Pontus, see end of B. iv.; and for Heraclides of Tarentum, see end of B. xii. They were all physicians.

[1805] See end of B. xv.

[1806] See end of B. xii.

[1807] It was probably this personage, or the one next mentioned, who wrote to Ptolemy, one of the kings of Egypt, giving him directions as to what wines he should drink. See B. xiv. c. 9. A person of this name wrote a work on Ointments and Chaplets, quoted by Athenæus, and another on Venomous Animals, quoted by the same author. This last is probably the work referred to by Pliny, B. xxi. cc. 15, 29, &c. It has been suggested also, that the proper reading here is “Apollonius” of Citium, a pupil of Zopyrus, a physician of Alexandria.

[1808] See the preceding Note.

[1809] A celebrated physician, a native of the island of Cos. He belonged to the medical sect of the Dogmatici, and flourished probably in the fourth century B.C. He was more particularly celebrated for his comparatively accurate knowledge of anatomy. The titles only and a few fragments of his works survive.

[1810] A pupil of Praxagoras. He appears to have written a work on Anatomy, quoted more than once by Galen.

[1811] A pupil of Chrysippus of Cnidos, and who lived probably in the fourth and third centuries B.C. Galen speaks of him as being held in great repute among the Greeks.

[1812] He flourished in the fourth century B.C., and belonged to the medical sect of the Dogmatici. He wrote some medical works, of which nothing but a few fragments remain.

[1813] He lived probably about the beginning of the third century B.C., as he was the tutor of Antigenes and Mnemon. He seems to have been famous for his medicinal prescriptions of wine, and the quantities of cold water which he gave to his patients.

[1814] Born either in Sicily or at Locri Epizephyrii, in Italy. He is supposed to have lived in the fourth century B.C. By some persons he was thought to have been one of the founders of the sect of the Empirici. He wrote works on Materia Medica and Cookery, and is several times quoted by Pliny and Galen.

[1815] See end of B. vii.

[1816] A Greek herbalist, who lived about the beginning of the first century B.C. He is mentioned by Galen as one of the most eminent writers on Materia Medica. Another physician of the same name is supposed to have lived in the time of Hippocrates.

[1817] A Greek physician, supposed to have lived in or before the first century B.C. Dioscorides and Saint Epiphanius speak of Petronius _and_ Diodotus, making them different persons; and it is not improbable that the true reading in c. 32 of this Book, is “Petronius _et_ Diodotus.”

[1818] See end of B. xii.

[1819] See end of B. xi.

[1820] See end of B. xii.

[1821] It is probable that there were several Greek physicians of this name; but the only one of whom anything certain is known is the physician to Ptolemy Philopater, king of Egypt, in whose tent he was killed by Theodotus, the Ætolian, B.C. 217. He was probably the first writer on hydrophobia. Eratosthenes is said to have accused him of plagiarism.

[1822] See end of B. xii.

[1823] It is doubtful if the person of this name to whom Pliny attributes a work on the Cabbage, in cc. 34 and 36 of this Book, was the same individual as Epicharmus of Cos, the Comic poet, born B.C. 540. It has been suggested that the botanical writer was a different personage, the brother of the Comic poet Demologus.

[1824] Possibly the same person as the Damon mentioned at the end of B. vii. He is mentioned in c. 40 of this Book, and in B. xxiv. c. 120, and wrote a work on the Onion.

[1825] See end of B. vi.

[1826] Beyond the mention made of him in c. 73 of this Book, nothing whatever is known relative to this writer.

[1827] Beyond the mention made of him in c. 73, nothing is known of him. Some read “Theopolemus.”

[1828] Probably Metrodorus of Chïos, a philosopher, who flourished about B.C. 330, and professed the doctrine of the Sceptics. Cicero, Acad. ii. 23, § 73, gives a translation of the first sentence of his work “On Nature.”

[1829] A physician of Smyrna. He is called Solon the Dietetic, by Galen; but nothing further seems to be known of his history.

[1830] See end of B. xii.

[1831] A Theban authoress, who wrote on Medicine; mentioned also by Plinius Valerianus, the physician, and Pollux.

[1832] A Greek physician, a native of Cos, the reputed founder of the sect of the Empirici. He probably lived in the third century B.C. From Athenæus we learn that he wrote a work on Botany. A parallel has been drawn between Philinus and the late Dr. Hahnemann, by F. F. Brisken, Berlin, 1834.

[1833] See end of B. xix.

[1834] The Scholiast on Nicander mentions a treatise on Botany written by a person of this name: and a work of his on Medicine is mentioned by Labbe as existing in manuscript in the Library at Florence.

[1835] A Greek physician of this name belonging to the sect of the Empirici, lived probably in the third or second century B.C. Galen mentions him as one of the earliest commentators on the works of Hippocrates. It is uncertain, however, whether he is the person so often quoted by Pliny.

[1836] A physician of Aphrodisias, in Cilicia, who lived in the reign of Tiberius. He wrote some pharmaceutical works, and is censured by Galen for his disgusting remedies, such as human brains, flesh, urine, liver, excrements, &c. There is a short essay by him still in existence, on the Aliments derived from the Aquatic Animals.

[1837] See B. xxii. c. 1.

[1838] “Sive privatis generum funiculis in orbem, in obliquum, in ambitum; quædam coronæ per coronas currunt.” As we know but little of the forms of the garlands and chaplets of the ancients, the exact translation of this passage is very doubtful.

[1839] According to Boettiger, the word “struppus” means a string arranged as a fillet or diadem.

[1840] Fée makes the word “vocabulum” apply to “corona,” and not to “struppus;” but the passage will hardly admit of that rendering.

[1841] “To bind” or “join together.”

[1842] A “connected line,” from the verb “sero.”

[1843] By “quod,” Hardouin takes Pliny to mean, the use of the word σπαρτὸν, among the Greeks, corresponding with the Latin word “sertum.”

[1844] These chaplets, we learn from Festus, were called “pancarpiæ.” The olive, oak, laurel, and myrtle, were the trees first used for chaplets.

[1845] See B. xxxv. c. 40.

[1846] The “Chaplet-weaver.” See B. xxxv. c. 40.

[1847] B.C. 380.

[1848] From Athenæus, B. xv. c. 2, _et seq._, we learn that the Egyptian chaplets were made of ivy, narcissus, pomegranate blossoms, &c.

[1849] “Corolla,” being the diminutive of “corona.”

[1850] Or tinsel.

[1851] The “Rich.”

[1852] Ribbons or streamers.

[1853] “Puri.”

[1854] Consul, A.U.C. 570.

[1855] Or “engrave,” “cælare.” He is probably speaking here of golden lemnisci.

[1856] “Philyræ.” This was properly the inner bark of the linden-tree; but it is not improbable that thin plates of metal were also so called, from the resemblance. The passage, however, admits of various modes of explanation.

[1857] “Pecuniâ.” Fée compares this usage with the employment of jockies at horse-races in England and France.

[1858] “Intus positus esset.”

[1859] “Foris ferretur.”

[1860] Or “money-changer,” “argentarius.”

[1861] “E pergulâ suâ.” Scaliger thinks that the “pergula” was a part of a house built out into the street, while, according to Ernesti, it was a little room in the upper part of a house. In B. xxxv. c. 36, it clearly means a room on the ground-floor.

[1862] In the Fora of ancient cities there was frequently a statue of this mythological personage, with one hand erect, in token, Servius says (on B. iv. l. 58 of the Æneid), of the freedom of the state, Marsyas having been the minister of Bacchus, the god of liberty. His statue in the Forum of Rome was the place of assembly for the courtesans of that city, who used to crown it with chaplets of flowers. See also Horace i. Sat. 6. l. 120; Juvenal, Sat. 9. l. 1 and 2; and Martial, ii. Ep. 64. l. 7.

[1863] Cujacius thinks that Pliny has in view here Polemon of Athens, who when a young man, in his drunken revelry, burst into the school of Xenocrates, the philosopher, with his fellow-revellers, wearing his festive garland on his head. Being arrested, however, by the discourse, he stopped to listen, and at length, tearing off the garland, determined to enter on a more abstemious course of life. Becoming an ardent disciple of Xenocrates, he ultimately succeeded him at the head of the school. The passage as given in the text, from its apparent incompleteness, would appear to be in a mutilated state.

[1864] Julia. See B. vii. c. 46.

[1865] Thus acknowledging herself to be no better than a common courtesan.

[1866] “Illius dei.”

[1867] See B. vii. c. 10.

[1868] “Funus elocavit.”

[1869] “E prospectu omni.” “From every look-out:” _i. e._ from the roofs, doors, and windows.

[1870] This usage is still observed in the _immortelles_, laid on the tombs of departed friends, in Catholic countries on the continent. Tibullus alludes to it, B. ii. El. 4:

“Atque aliquis senior veteres veneratus amores, Annua constructo serta dabit tumulo.”

[1871] At the conclusion of the festival of Mars on the 1st of March, and for several successive days. These entertainments were celebrated in the Temple of that god, and were proverbial for their excellence.

[1872] It is a well-known fact, as Fée remarks, that the smell of flowers is productive, in some persons, of head-ache, nausea, and vertigo. He states also that persons have been known to meet their death from sleeping all night in the midst of odoriferous flowers.

[1873] “Ipsaque capiti imposita.” Holland and Ajasson render this as though Cleopatra placed the garland on Antony’s head, and not her own. Littré agrees with the translation here adopted.

[1874] Fée remarks that we know of no poisons, hydrocyanic or prussic acid excepted, so instantaneous in their effects as this; and that it is very doubtful if they were acquainted with that poison.

[1875] Hist. Plant. B. vi. cc. 6, 7.

[1876] “Persecutus est.”

[1877] A characteristic, it would appear, of the greater part of the information already given in this Book.

[1878] He alludes to the wild rose or eglantine. See B. xvi. c. 71.

[1879] “Granoso cortice.”

[1880] Boxes of a pyramidal shape. See B. ix. c. 56.

[1881] Still, even for that purpose the rose was very extensively used. One ancient author states that, even in the middle of winter, the more luxurious Romans were not satisfied without roses swimming in their Falernian wine; and we find Horace repeatedly alluding to the chaplets of roses worn by the guests at banquets. Hence probably arose the expression, “Under the rose.” Fée is evidently mistaken in thinking that Pliny implies here, that it was but rarely used in chaplets.

[1882] Il. xxiii. l. 186.

[1883] B. xiii. c. 2.

[1884] “Collyriis.”

[1885] Clusius was of opinion that this was the Provence rose, the Rosa Gallica of Linnæus.

[1886] The same rose, probably, of which Virgil says, Georg. B. iv. l. 119, “Biferique rosaria Pæsti”—“And the rose-beds of Pæstum, that bear twice in the year.” It has been suggested that it is identical with the Rosa alba vulgaris major of Bauhin, the Rosa alba of Decandolle: but, as Fée says, it is very questionable if this is correct, this white rose blossoming but once a year.

[1887] A simple variety of the Rosa Gallica of Linnæus, Fée thinks.

[1888] See B. iv. c. 14. According to J. Bauhin, this is the pale, flesh-coloured rose, called the “rose of France,”—the “Rosa rubello flore, majore, pleno, incarnata vulgo.” Others, again, take it to be the Damascus rose.

[1889] See B. v. c. 29. A variety of the white rose, Fée thinks, the determination of which must be sought among the Eglantines.

[1890] “Spiniola.” A variety belonging to or approaching the Eglantine in all probability. Fée makes mention here of a kind called the Rosa myriacantha by Decandolle (the “thousand-thorn rose”), which is found in great abundance in the south of Europe, and other parts of it.

[1891] Fée remarks on this passage, that the beauty of the flower and the number of the petals are always in an inverse proportion to the number of thorns, which disappear successively the more carefully the plant is cultivated.

[1892] This is most probably the meaning of “Asperitate, levore.”

[1893] Still known as the “Rosa centifolia.” Its petals sometimes exceed _three_ hundred in number; and it is the most esteemed of all for its fragrant smell.

[1894] “Non suæ terræ proventu.”

[1895] This rose is mentioned also by Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 6. From the description that Pliny gives of it, Fée is inclined to think that it is some variety of the Rosa rubrifolia, which is often found in mountainous localities.

[1896] This assertion is borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 6. Fée remarks that there is no truth in it. It is not improbable, however, that the word “cortex” here may mean, not the calyx, but the bark of the stem, in reference to its exemption from thorns. The τραχὺ τὸ κάτω of Theophrastus would seem to admit of that rendering. See Note [1891] above.

[1897] “Extremas velut ad cardines.”

[1898] This is not the case with the Rosa centifolia of modern botany. See Note [1893] above. It is not improbable, however, that the reading is “probabilis,” and that this passage belongs to the next sentence.

[1899] The Lychnis, Fée remarks, is erroneously classed by Pliny among the roses. It is generally agreed among naturalists that it is the garden flower, the Agrostemma coronaria of Linnæus; which, however, does not grow in humid soils, but in steep, rocky places.

[1900] Or “small Greek” rose. Some commentators have identified it with the Rosa silvestris, odorata, flore albo of C. Bauhin, a wild white rose.

[1901] Sillig thinks that this may mean the “Macedonian” rose. Another reading is “moscheuton.” Fée says that it is not a rose at all, but one of the Malvaceæ belonging to the genus Alcæa; one variety of which is called the Alcæa rosa.

[1902] Or “little chaplet.” Possibly a variety of the Eglantine, the Rosa canina or dog-rose, Fée suggests.

[1903] The Eglantine.

[1904] This seems to be the meaning of “tot modis adulteratur:” the roses without smell appearing to him to be not _genuine_ roses.

[1905] The Rosa Damascena of Miller, Fée thinks, our Damascus rose.

[1906] The earliest rose in France and Spain, Fée says, is the “pompon,” the variety Pomponæa of the Rosa centifolia.

[1907] This is consistent with modern experience.

[1908] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 6. The rose is but very rarely reproduced from seed.

[1909] See B. xvi. c. 67, and B. xvii. c. 33.

[1910] Previously mentioned in this Chapter. The meaning of this passage, however, is extremely doubtful. “Unum genus inseritur pallidæ, spinosæ, longissimis virgis, quinquifoliæ, quæ Græcis altera est.”

[1911] If the water was only lukewarm, Fée says, it would be of no use, and if hotter, the speedy death of the tree would be the result.

[1912] “Quâdam cognatione.” He alludes to a maceration of the petals of the rose and lily in oil. The aroma of the lily, Fée says, has not been fixed by any method yet found.

[1913] See B. xiii. c. 2.

[1914] The Lilium candidum of Linnæus. Fée remarks that the “Lilium” of the Romans and the λείριον of the Greeks is evidently derived from the _laleh_ of the Persians.

[1915] “Calathi.” The “calathus” was a work-basket of tapering shape; it was also used for carrying fruits and flowers, Ovid, Art. Am. ii. 264. Cups, too, for wine were called by this name, Virg. Ecl. v. 71.

[1916] As this passage has been somewhat amplified in the translation, it will perhaps be as well to insert it: “Resupinis per ambitum labris, tenuique pilo et staminum stantibus in medio crocis.”

[1917] The Convolvulus sæpium of modern botany; the only resemblance in which to the lily is in the colour, it being totally different in every other respect.

[1918] “Rudimentum.” She must have set to work in a very roundabout way, Fée thinks, and one in which it would be quite impossible for a naturalist to follow her.

[1919] The white lily is reproduced from the offsets of the bulbs; and, as Fée justly remarks, it is highly absurd to compare the mode of cultivation with that of the rose, which is propagated from slips.

[1920] This absurd notion is derived from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. ii. c. 2, and B. vi. c. 6.

[1921] See B. xix. c. 48.

[1922] The root really consists of certain fine fibres, to which the bulbs, or rather cloves or offsets, are attached.

[1923] Judging from what Theocritus says, in his 35th Idyl, the “crinon” would appear to have been a white lily. Sprengel, however, takes the red lily of Pliny to be the scarlet lily, the Lilium Chalcedonicum of Linnæus.

[1924] Or “dog-rose:” name now given to one of the wild roses.

[1925] See B. xiii. c. 9.

[1926] Fée remarks, that it is singular that Pliny, as also Virgil, Ecl. v. l. 38, should have given the epithet “purpureus” to the Narcissus. It is owing, Fée says, to the red nectary of the flower, which is also bordered with a very bright red.

[1927] Into cloves or offsets.

[1928] The Narcissus poeticus of Linnæus. Pliny gives the origin of its name in c. 75 of this Book.

[1929] Though supported by Theophrastus, this assertion is quite erroneous. In France, even, Fée says, the Narcissus poeticus blossoms at the end of April, and sooner, probably, in the climates of Greece and Italy.

[1930] See B. xviii. c. 76. It is just possible that Pliny and Theophrastus may be speaking of the Narcissus scrotinus of Linnæus, which is found in great abundance in the southern provinces of Naples, and is undoubtedly the flower alluded to by Virgil in the words, “Nec sera comantem Narcissum,” Georg. iv. ll. 122, 123.

[1931] Fée remarks, that the extravagant proceeding here described by Pliny with a seriousness that is perfectly ridiculous, does not merit any discussion.

[1932] When detached from the bulb, the stem of the lily will infallibly die.

[1933] “Nudantibus se nodulis.” There are no such knots in the lily, as Fée remarks.

[1934] The Viola odorata of Linnæus.

[1935] The Greek name.

[1936] “Ianthina vestis,” violet-coloured.

[1937] Desfontaines identifies this with the Cheiranthus Cheiri; but Fée says that there is little doubt that it belongs to the Viola tricolor herbensis (pansy, or heart’s-ease), in the petals of which the yellow predominates, and the type of which is the field violet, or Viola arvensis, the flowers of which are extremely small, and entirely yellow.

[1938] This has been identified with the Cheiranthus incanus, the Cheiranthus tricuspidatus of the shores of the Mediterranean, the Hesperis maritima of Linnæus; also, by some commentators, with the Campanula Medium of Linnæus.

[1939] So called, according to Pintianus and Salmasius, from Calatia, a town of Italy. Fée adopts the reading “Calathiana,” and considers it to have received that name from its resemblance to the Caltha mentioned in the next Chapter. Dalechamps identifies it with the Digitalis purpurea; Gessner, Dodonæus, and Thalius, with the Gentiana pneumonanthe, others with the Gentiana ciliata and Pannonica, and Sprengel with the Gentiana verna of Linnæus. Fée admits himself totally at a loss on the subject.

[1940] “Concolori amplitudine.” Gronovius, with considerable justice, expresses himself at a loss as to the exact meaning of these words. If Sprengel and Salmasius are right in their conjectures that the Caltha of Pliny and Virgil is the marigold, our Calendula officinalis, the passage cannot mean that the flower of it is of the same size and colour with any variety of the violet mentioned in the preceding Chapter. From the description given of it by Dioscorides, it is more than probable that the Caltha of the ancients is not the marigold, and Hardouin is probably right in his conjecture that Pliny intends to describe a variety of the violet under the name. Fée is at a loss as to its identification.

[1941] Or “royal broom.” Sprengel thinks that this is the Chenopodium scoparia, a plant common in Greece and Italy; and Fée is inclined to coincide with that opinion, though, as he says, there are numerous other plants with odoriferous leaves and pliant shoots, as its name, broom, would seem to imply. Other writers would identify it with a Sideritis, and others, again, with an Achillæa.

[1942] See B. xii. c. 26. Fée is inclined to coincide with Ruellius, and to identify this with the Digitalis purpurea, clown’s spikenard, or our Lady’s gloves. The only strong objection to this is the fact that the root of the digitalis has a very faint but disagreeable smell, and not at all like that of cinnamon. But then, as Fée says, we have no positive proof that the “cinnamomum” of the ancients is identical with our cinnamon. See Vol. iii. p. 138. Sprengel takes the “bacchar” of Virgil to be the Valeriana Celtica, and the “baccharis” of the Greeks to be the Gnaphalium sanguineum, a plant of Egypt and Palestine. The bacchar has been also identified with the Asperula odorata of Linnæus, the Geum urbanum of Linnæus (the root of which has the smell of cloves), the Inula Vaillantii, the Salvia Sclarea, and many other plants.

[1943] “Barbaricam.” Everything that was not indigenous to the territory of Rome, was “barbarum,” or “barbaricum.”

[1944] Cæsalpinus says that this is a rushy plant, called, in Tuscany, Herba luziola; but Fée is quite at a loss for its identification.

[1945] Sillig is most probably right in his surmise that there is an hiatus here.

[1946] In B. xii. c. 27. Asarum Europæum, or foal-foot.

[1947] Probably meaning that it comes from ἀ, “not,” and σαίρω, “to adorn.”

[1948] Or Crocus, the Crocus sativus of Linnæus, from the prepared stigmata of which the saffron of commerce is made. It is still found growing wild on the mountains in the vicinity of Athens, and is extensively cultivated in many parts of Europe.

[1949] “Degenerans ubique.” Judging from what he states below, he may possibly mean, if grown repeatedly on the same soil.

[1950] He may allude either to the city of Phlegra of Macedonia, or to the Phlegræan Plains in Campania, which were remarkable for their fertility. Virgil speaks of the saffron of Mount Tmolus in Cilicia.

[1951] It is very extensively adulterated with the petals of the marigold, as also the Carthamus tinctorius, safflower, or bastard saffron.

[1952] This is the case; for when it is brittle it shows that it has not been adulterated with water, to add to its weight.

[1953] Perhaps the reading here, “Cum sit in medio candidum,” is preferable; “because it is white in the middle.”

[1954] “White throughout.”

[1955] He contradicts himself here; for in c. 79 of this Book, he says that chaplets of saffron are good for dispelling the fumes of wine.

[1956] “Ad theatra replenda.” It was the custom to discharge saffron-water over the theatres with pipes, and sometimes the saffron was mixed with wine for the purpose. It was discharged through pipes of very minute bore, so that it fell upon the spectators in the form of the finest dust. See Lucretius, B. ii. l. 416; Lucan, Phars. ix. l. 808-810; and Seneca, Epist. 92.

[1957] It flowers so rapidly, in fact, that it is difficult to avoid the loss of a part of the harvest.

[1958] The whole of this passage is from Theophrastus, De Odorib.

[1959] This statement, though borrowed from Theophrastus, is not consistent with fact. The root of saffron is not more long-lived than any other bulbs of the Liliaceæ.

[1960] Because, Dalechamps says, all the juices are thereby thrown back into the root, which consequently bears a stronger flower the next year.

[1961] Il. xiv. l. 348.

[1962] see B. xiii. c. 32.

[1963] All these statements as to the odours of various substances, are from Theophrastus, De Causis, B. vi. c. 22.

[1964] He does _not_ say, however, that it is but rarely that a bitter substance is not odoriferous; a sense in which Fée seems to have understood him, as he says, “This assertion is not true in general, and there are numerous exceptions; for instance, quassia wood, which is inodorous and yet intensely bitter.” The essential oil, he remarks, elaborated in the tissue of the corolla, is the ordinary source of the emanations of the flower.

[1965] Fée remarks that cultivation gives to plants a softer and more aqueous consistency, which is consequently injurious to the developement of the essential oil.

[1966] Theophrastus, from whom this is borrowed, might have said with more justice, Fée remarks, that certain roses have more odour when dried than when fresh gathered. Such is the case, he says, with the Provence rose. Fresh roses, however, have a more pronounced smell, the nearer they are to the olfactory organs.

[1967] This is by no means invariably the case: in fact, the smell of most odoriferous plants is most powerful in summer.

[1968] Because the essential oils evaporate more rapidly.

[1969] With Littré, we adopt the reading “ætate,” “mid-age,” and not “æstate,” “midsummer,” for although the assertion would be in general correct, Pliny would contradict the statement just made, that all plants have a more penetrating odour in spring. This reading is supported also by the text of Theophrastus.

[1970] Or saffron.

[1971] This is a just observation, but the instances might be greatly extended, as Fée says.

[1972] See B. xviii. c. 39.

[1973] The white lily and the red lily. See c. 11 of this Book.

[1974] As to the Abrotonum, see B. xiii. c. 2, and c. 34 of this Book.

[1975] See c. 35 of this Book.

[1976] Or in other words, the interior of the petals has a more bitter flavour than that of the exterior surface.

[1977] Pliny makes a mistake here, in copying from Theophrastus. De Causis, B. vi. c. 25. That author is speaking not of the flower, but of the rainbow, under the name of “iris.” Pliny has himself made a similar statement as to the rainbow, in B. xii. c. 52, which he would appear here to have forgotten.

[1978] The Cheiranthus tristis of Linnæus, or sad gilliflower, Fée thinks.

[1979] See B. viii. c. 23. Pliny did not know of the existence of the musk-deer, the Muschus moschiferus of Eastern Asia: and he seems not to have thought of the civet, (if, indeed, it was known to him) the fox, the weasel, and the polecat, the exhalations from which have a peculiar smell. The same, too, with the urine of the panther and other animals of the genus Felis.

[1980] For some superstitious reason, in all probability. Pliny mentions below, the formalities with which this plant ought to be gathered.

[1981] See B. xiii. c. 2. The ancient type of this plant, our iris, sword-lily, or flower-de-luce, was probably the Iris Florentina or Florentine iris of modern botany.

[1982] At the present day, too, it is the root of the plant that is the most important part of it.

[1983] The Iris Florentina, probably, of Linnæus.

[1984] Mentioned by Nicander, Theriaca, l. 43.

[1985] Probably a variety only of the preceding kind.

[1986] The most common varieties in Africa are the Iris alata of Lamarck, I. Mauritanica of Clusius, I. juncea, and I. stylosa of Desfontaines.

[1987] “Raphanus.” C. Bauhin identifies the Rhaphanitis with the Iris biflora, and the Rhizotomus with the Iris angustifolia prunum redolens.

[1988] See c. 38 of this Book.

[1989] No kind of iris, Fée says, fresh or dried, whole or powdered, is productive of this effect.

[1990] Very similar, probably, to that of Illyria.

[1991] All these superstitions are from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. ix. c. 9.

[1992] This, Fée says, is quite consistent with modern experience.

[1993] “Irinum.” See B. xiii. c. 2.

[1994] Probably the Valeriana Celtica of Linnæus. See B. xii. c. 27, where it is mentioned as Gallic nard.

[1995] “Cæspes.”

[1996] See B. iii. c. 21.

[1997] Probably the Teucrium polium of Linnæus; the herb poley, or poley-mountain.

[1998] By those who carry it on their person.

[1999] This marvel is related by Dioscorides in reference to the Tripolium, and not the Polium.

[2000] The Teucrium montanum, probably, of Linnæus.

[2001] This name belongs, properly, to the wild or mountain Polium.

[2002] “Principales.” The meaning of this term is explained at the end of this Chapter. Red, yellow, and blue—or else, red, green, and violet, are probably the _primary_ colours of light.

[2003] See B. ix. c. 65, and B. xvi. c. 12. He alludes to the Coccus ilicis of Linnæus.

[2004] See B. xxxvii. c. 40, as to the meaning of the word “Suspectus.” This passage, however, as Sillig remarks, is hopelessly corrupt.

[2005] See B. ix. cc. 60, 63.

[2006] “Doubly-dyed,” or “twice dipped,” in purple. See B. ix. c. 63. Littré remarks here that, according to Doctor Bizio, it was the Murex brandaris that produced the Tyrian purple, and the Murex trunculus the amethystine purple.

[2007] Or “violet-colour.” See B. xxxvii. c. 40.

[2008] For further information on these tints, see B. ix. cc. 64, 65.

[2009] Belonging, probably, Fée thinks, to the Cruciferæ of the genera Hesperis and Cheiranthus.

[2010] “Flammeis” The “flammeum,” or flame-coloured veil of the bride, was of a bright yellow, or rather orange-colour, perhaps.

[2011] The Celosia cristata of Linnæus.

[2012] “Spica.” The moderns have been enabled to equal the velvety appearance of the amaranth in the tints imparted by them to their velvets. The Italians call it the “velvet-flower.”

[2013] The real fact is, that the amaranth, being naturally a dry flower, and having little humidity to lose, keeps better than most others.

[2014] From the Greek ἀ, “not,” and [μαραίνεσθαι], “to fade.”

[2015] Being the Greek for “blue” or “azure.”

[2016] The Centaurea cyanus of Linnæus; our blue-bell.

[2017] Meaning “all gold.” It has been identified with the Gnaphalium stœchas of Linnæus, the _immortelle_ of the French, which forms the ingredient for their funereal chaplets.

[2018] Sprengel says that this is the Geum rivale of Linnæus; but then the Geum is a spring, and not an autumn flower, its blossoms bear no resemblance to those of the eglantine, and its seeds are not yellow.

[2019] Generally supposed to be the Chrysanthemum segetum, or golden daisy.

[2020] “Pastillicantibus quinquagenis quinis barbulis coronatur.” Pliny is unusually verbose here.

[2021] “Golden locks,” or “gold plant;” probably the Chrysocoma linosyris of Linnæus; though the name appears to have been given to numerous plants.

[2022] See B. xvi. c. 69, B. xviii. c. 65, B. xix. c. 2, B. xxiv. c. 40; also c. 42 of the present Book.

[2023] The Nerium oleander of Linnæus. See B. xvi. c. 33, and B. xxiv. cc. 47, 49.

[2024] As to the Zizyphum, or jujube, see B. xv. c. 14. The flower, as Pliny says, is not unlike that of the olive; but Fée remarks, that it may at the present day as justly be called the tree of Provence or of Italy, as in ancient times “the tree of Cappadocia.”

[2025] B. xxv. c. 67.

[2026] See B. v. c. 41.

[2027] See B. xvi. cc. 62 and 63, and B. xxiv. cc. 47 and 49.

[2028] Or Vitis alba, “white vine,” the Bryonia dioica of modern botany. See B. xxiii. c. 16.

[2029] The Spiræa salicifolia of Linnæus, or meadowsweet.

[2030] See B. xx. c. 67, and c. 30 of this Book.

[2031] The Daphne Cnidium of Linnæus. See B. xxiii. c. 35; also B. xii. c. 43. It is altogether different from the Laurus cassia, or genuine cassia.

[2032] See B. xx. c. 63.

[2033] See B. xx. c. 45.

[2034] “Sertula Camapana.”

[2035] Most probably, Fée thinks, the Trifolium Melilotus officinalis, a clover, or trefoil.

[2036] The Psoranthea bituminosa of Linnæus. It is found on declivities near the sea-coast, in the south of Europe.

[2037] “Pointed trefoil.” Pliny has probably committed an error here, as Dioscorides makes oxyphyllum, minyanthes, and asphaltium to be different names of the same variety. Sprengel, however, identifies this pointed trefoil with the Trifolium Italicum of Linnæus.

[2038] The Anethum fæniculum of Linnæus. See B. viii. c. 41, B. xx. c. 95, and B. xxx. c. 9.

[2039] See B. xx. c. 96.

[2040] The “mouse-killer.” Probably the Aconitum napellus of Linnæus. See B. xxvii. c. 2.

[2041] See B. xvi. c. 62.

[2042] Fée remarks, that there is no such ivy in existence; he agrees with Dalechamps in the opinion that Pliny has confounded κίσσος, “ivy,” with κίστος, the “rock-rose.” See B. xvi. c. 62.

[2043] The Daphne Cnidium and the Daphne Cneorum of Linnæus. See B. xxiii. c. 35, and B. xv. c. 7.

[2044] In reality, they blossom in April and May, and mostly a second time in autumn as well, the Daphne Cneorum in particular.

[2045] See B. xx. c. 69.

[2046] Under the head “Thymus,” Fée thinks that both the Satureia capitata of Linnæus, headed savory, and the Thymus vulgaris, and Thymus zygis of Linnæus (varieties of thyme), should be included.

[2047] Fée thinks that in the expression “nigricans,” he may allude to the deep red of the stalk of some kinds of thyme, more particularly at the end of summer. It is the Thymus zigis that has a white, downy stem.

[2048] From Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 2, and De Causis, B. i. c. 5. Fée suggests, that the seed, lying at the bottom of the calyx, may have escaped notice, and that in reality, when the ancients imagined they were sowing the blossoms, they were putting the seed in the earth. That, in fact, seems to agree with the view which Pliny takes of the matter.

[2049] Which lies in the interior of the Peloponnesus.

[2050] See B. xv. c. 1.

[2051] “Lapidei Campi.” See B. iii. c. 5.

[2052] Similar to our practice of depasturing sheep on Dartmoor and other favourite moors and downs.

[2053] Fée takes this to be the Inula viscosa of Desfontaines, and identifies the other kind with the Inula pulicaria of Linnæus. See B. xx. cc. 63, 64.

[2054] B. xx. c. 64.

[2055] Supposed to be the same as the Agrostemma coronaria of Linnæus.

[2056] Sprengel identifies it with the Pancratium maritimum of Linnæus. As described by Dioscorides, however, Fée takes it to be the Lilium Martagon, or Turk’s-cap lily. See c. 90 of this Book.

[2057] This is different from the Helenium of the Greeks, the Inula Helenium of Linnæus, mentioned in B. xv. c. 7. Sprengel identifies it with the Teucrium Creticum of Linnæus, the Cretan germander.

[2058] See B. xx. c. 91.

[2059] “Flame.” Sprengel identifies it with the Agrostemma coronaria of Linnæus, making the flower of Jove to be the Agrostemma flos Jovis.

[2060] Fée remarks, that if this is our Thymus serpyllum, this exception is inexact.

[2061] For two islands of this name, see B. iv. c. 20, and c. 23.

[2062] The female Abrotonum is identified with the Santolina chamæcyparissus of Linnæus: the little-cypress Santoline. The male is the Artemisia abrotonum of Linnæus, our southern-wood.

[2063] Pliny has probably committed an error here in transcribing from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 7, who, when speaking of the abrotonum, says, “It is transplanted in earthen pots, in the way employed for the gardens of Adonis,” these gardens being moveable parterres, laid out in pots or vases. We cannot agree with Hardouin, who looks upon the Adonium as a variety of the Abrotonum, and censures Salmasius for accusing Pliny of committing an error here.

[2064] The “White flower.” See B. xxii. c. 26.

[2065] See B. xiii. c. 2. The sampsuchum, or amaracus, is generally thought to be the sweet marjoram, or Origanum marjorana of Linnæus. But Fée identifies it with the Origanum majoranoides of Willdenow, our organy, wild or false marjoram.

[2066] The “night-watcher.” According to Sprengel, this is the Cæsalpina pulcherrima of Linnæus. But, as Fée says, that is entirely an Indian plant, and has only been introduced but very recently into Europe. Hardouin identifies it with a plant called “lunaria” by the naturalists of his day, which shines, he says, with the moon at night.

[2067] The Cæsalpina pulcherrima is not to be found in or near Gedrosia (in ancient Persia), but solely on the shores of the Bay of Bengal.

[2068] From χῆνες “geese” and μύχος a “corner;” because geese run into a corner on seeing it.

[2069] As to the meaning of this word, see B. xxviii. c. 47.

[2070] See c. 29 of this Book.

[2071] This has been thought to be the Cheiranthus incanus, Cheiranthus annus, and Leucoium vernum of modern botany; but Fée is of opinion that it is next to impossible to identify it. See c. 14 of this Book.

[2072] See c. 33 of this Book.

[2073] See B. xxv. c. 67.

[2074] In c. 11 of this Book. There is no late variety of the lily known at the present day.

[2075] Or “wind flower:” the Anemone coronaria of Linnæus.

[2076] A ranunculus. See c. 94 of this Book.

[2077] Or “vine-blossom.” See c. 95 of this Book.

[2078] Or “black violet,” mentioned by Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 7. Pliny may probably mean the purple violet, mentioned by him in c. 14 of this Book. “Melanthium” is another reading.

[2079] Not improbably the same as the “holochrysos,” mentioned in c. 24 of this Book.

[2080] “Meadow” anemone.

[2081] “The little sword.” See c. 67 of this Book.

[2082] There have been conflicting opinions as to the identification of the hyacinth of the ancients. Linnæus identifies it with the Delphinium Ajacis: Sprengel and Salmasius with the Gladiolus communis: Sibthorp with the Gladiolus communis triphyllos: Dodonæus and Porta the Lilium bulbiferum: and Martyn and Fée the Lilium Martagon of Linnæus, the Turk’s-cap lily. From what Pliny says in cc. 39 and 97 of this Book, and in B. xxv. c. 80, it is pretty clear that under the name of hyacinth he has confused the characteristics of two different plants. The hyacinth, too, of Dioscorides, B. iii. c. 5, is a different plant, Fée remarks, being the Hyacinthus comosus of modern botanists.

[2083] The Greek ΑΙ, “Alas!” which the ancients fancied they saw impressed on the leaves.

[2084] See Ovid’s Met. B. x. l. 162-220.

[2085] See Ovid’s Met. B. xiii. l. 397, _et seq._

[2086] “Unsullied by fire.”

[2087] Or “light” flower: the Agrostemma coronaria of Linnæus.

[2088] Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 7, mentions the “cerinthus” next after the flower of Jove: Pliny seems to have taken it for a kind of lily. This flower has not been identified.

[2089] Sprengel takes this to be the Lavandula spica, or Lavender.

[2090] Hardouin identifies this with the Lychnis Chalcedonica, or Cross of Jerusalem, with which opinion Fée seems inclined to coincide. Other commentators incline to the opinion that it is the Jasminum fruticans, a plant in which, beyond its smell, there is nothing at all remarkable. The exotic monocotyledon, known as the “Pothos,” has no connection with the plant here mentioned.

[2091] This, according to some, is the Lychnis Chalcedonica, the next being the Jasminum fruticans.

[2092] As known to us, all the varieties of the iris blossom in spring.

[2093] The purple lily, Fée thinks.

[2094] If this is the correct reading, which is very doubtful, this plant is unknown. M. Jan has suggested that Pliny, in copying from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 7, has read ὀρσινὸς by mistake for ὀρεινός, “mountainous,” the original meaning being, “Two varieties of saffron, one of them growing on the mountains, the other cultivated;” and this last word being rendered by Pliny “hebes,” translated above as meaning “inodorous.”

[2095] The Acanthus, probably. See B. xxii. c. 34, and B. xxiv. c. 66.

[2096] Forskhal speaks of an acanthus in Arabia, the leaves of which are eaten raw. Fée thinks, that these shoots might be eaten without any inconvenience, but doubts if they would make such a tempting morsel as Pliny describes.

[2097] Or blue-bell.

[2098] Linnæus and other authorities identify this with the Clematis of Dioscorides, the Vinca major and minor of modern botany, our periwinkle. Fée, however, is inclined to identify it with the Chamædaphne, or ground-laurel of B. xv. c. 39, the Ruscus racemosus of Linnæus.

[2099] See c. 38 of this Book.

[2100] This method of cultivation, also mentioned by Theophrastus, is never employed in modern horticulture.

[2101] In c. 10 of this Book.

[2102] See B. xix. c. 50.

[2103] “Honey-leaf.” The Melissa officinalis of Linnæus: our balm-gentle. It is the same as the “apiastrum,” though Pliny has erroneously made them distinct plants.

[2104] “Wax-flower.” The Cerinthe major of Linnæus: the greater honeywort.

[2105] See B. xi. c. 8. On the contrary, Virgil says, Georg. iv. l. 20, that a wild olive-tree should be planted near the hives, to protect them with its shade. Varro says also, De Re Rust. iii. 16, that the bee extracts honey from the olive-tree; but according to Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. ix. c. 64, it is from the leaf, and not the flower of that tree that the honey is extracted.

[2106] See B. xv. c. 31. Fée is inclined to doubt the correctness of the assertion here made by Pliny.

[2107] See B. xiv. c. 5. The remedies for the diseases of bees in modern times are of a very similar nature, but attention is equally paid to the proper ventilation of the hives.

[2108] This plan is still adopted on the river Po, the ancient Padus, as also at Beauce, in the south of France, where the hives are carried from place to place upon carts. In the north of England it is the practice to carry the hives to the moors in autumn.

[2109] This has been doubted by Spielmann, but it is nevertheless the truth; the nature of the sugar secreted by the glands of the nectary, being analogous to that of the plant which furnishes it. The honey gathered from aconite in Switzerland has been known to produce vertigo and even delirium. Dr. Barton also gives a similar account of the effects of the poisonous honey collected from the Kalmia latifolia in Pennsylvania; and Geoffroi Saint Hilaire says that, having eaten in Brazil some honey prepared by a wasp called “lecheguana,” his life was put in very considerable danger thereby. Xenophon also speaks of the effects of the intoxicating or maddening honey upon some of the Ten Thousand in their retreat.

[2110] The rhododendrons and rose laurels, Fée says, which are so numerous in these parts, render the fact here stated extremely probable.

[2111] “Goats’ death.” Fée says that this is the Rhododendron Ponticum of Linnæus. Desfontaines identifies it with the Azalea Pontica of modern botany.

[2112] In reality, there are no visible signs by which to detect that the honey is poisonous.

[2113] B. xxix. c. 31.

[2114] See B. xii. c. 25.

[2115] Μαινόμενον, “maddening.”

[2116] The ægolethron of the preceding Chapter, Fée thinks. If so, the word rhododendron, he says, would apply to two plants, the Nerion oleander or rose laurel (see B. xvi. c. 33), and the Rhododendron Ponticum.

[2117] Fée refuses to credit this: but still such a thing might accidentally happen.

[2118] These asserted remedies would be of no use whatever, Fée says.

[2119] See B. vii. c. 2.

[2120] Fée seems to take it for granted that Pliny is speaking here of honey made by other insects than bees; but such does not appear to be the case.

[2121] Fée remarks here that Pliny is right, and that Columella and Palladius are wrong, who would have the hives to look due north.

[2122] Lapis specularis: a sort of talc, probably. See B. iii. c. 4. B. ix. c. 56. B. xv. c. 1. B. xix. c. 23, and B. xxxvi. c. 45.

[2123] In B. ix. c. 16, he mentions hives made of horn for this purpose. Glass hives are now made for the purpose, but the moisture which adheres to the interior of the glass prevents the operations of the bees from being watched with any degree of nicety.

[2124] “Cognatum hoc.” He probably alludes to the notion entertained by the ancients that bees might be reproduced from the putrefied entrails of an ox, as wasps from those of a horse. See the story of Aristæus in B. iv. of Virgil’s Georgics.

[2125] Or butterflies—“papiliones.”

[2126] “Teredines.”

[2127] Honeycombs and rough wax are placed in the hive, when the bees are in want of aliment; also honey and sugar-sirop.

[2128] “Defrutum:” grape-juice boiled down to one-half.

[2129] Fée is at a loss to know how this could be of any service as an aliment to bees.

[2130] A mere puerility, Fée says.

[2131] But extremely weak, no doubt; for after boiling, the hydromel must be subjected, first to vinous, and then to acetous, fermentation.

[2132] The method here described differs but little from that employed at the present day.

[2133] “Sporta.”

[2134] Or Carthaginian.

[2135] In reality, the wax has properties totally different from those of the honey, and it is not always gathered from the same plants.

[2136] A kind of bee-glue. See B. xi. c. 6.

[2137] Neither the nitre nor the salt, Fée says, would be of the slightest utility.

[2138] By causing the aqueous particles that may remain in it, to evaporate.

[2139] Or “likenesses”—“similitudines.” Waxen profiles seem to have been the favourite likenesses with the Romans: See the Asinaria of Plautus, A. iv. sc. i. l. 19, in which one of these portraits is clearly alluded to. Also Ovid, Heroid. xiii. l. 152, and Remed. Amor. l. 723. The “imagines” also, or busts of their ancestors, which were kept in their “atria,” were made of wax.

[2140] To protect the paintings, probably, with which the walls were decorated.

[2141] In B. xi.

[2142] See B. xv. c. 28.

[2143] See B. xxiii. c. 17. According to some authorities, it is supposed to be the Delphinium staphis agria of Linnæus; but Fée and Desfontaines identify it with the Tamus communis of Linnæus, Our Lady’s seal.

[2144] The Ruscus aculeatus of Linnæus. See B. xxiii. c. 83.

[2145] In B. xxii. c. 33, this plant is called “halimon.” Some authors identify it with the Atriplex halymus, and others, again, with the Crithmum maritimum of Linnæus. See also B. xxvi. c. 50.

[2146] Identified by some commentators with the Portulaca sativa or Portulaca oleracea of Linnæus.

[2147] “Pastinaca pratensis.” Fée and Desfontaines are undecided whether this is the Daucus carota of Linnæus, the common carrot, or the Pastinaca sativa, the cultivated parsnip.

[2148] “Lupus salictarius,” the “willow wolf,” literally; the Humulus lupulus of Linnæus. It probably took its Latin name from the tenacity with which it clung to willows and osiers.

[2149] The Arum colocasia of Linnæus.

[2150] The “bean.” Not, however, the Egyptian bean, which is the Nymphæa nelumbo of Linnæus, the Nelumbum speciosum of Willdenow.

[2151] These filaments are mentioned also by Martial, Epig., B. viii. Ep. 33, and B. xiii. Ep. 57. But according to Desfontaines, this description applies to the stalks of the Nymphæa lotos, and not of the Arum colocasia.

[2152] “Thyrsus.”

[2153] Desfontaines has identified this with the Arctium lappa of botanists; but that is a land plant, and this, Pliny says, grows in the rivers, if the reading here is correct, it cannot be the plant of the same name mentioned in B. xxv. c. 58.

[2154] This applies, Desfontaines says, to the Nymphæa nelumbo.

[2155] Here he returns, according to Desfontaines, to the Arum colocasia.

[2156] See B. xx. c. 29.

[2157] “Intubum erraticum.”

[2158] The Cyperus Esculentus of Linnæus.

[2159] Theophrastus, B. iv. c. 10, says that it grows in the sandy soil in the vicinity of the river.

[2160] It is similar in appearance to the papyrus, and its tubercles are oblong, or round and fleshy, with an agreeable flavour.

[2161] The Arachis hypogæa of Linnæus, the earth pistachio.

[2162] The root is not large; but the fruit is so close to the earth that Pliny may have confounded it with the real root of the plant.

[2163] Sprengel identifies this with the Lathyrus amphicarpos, and the aracos with the Lathyrus tuberosus, varieties of the chicheling vetch. Columna thinks that this last was the arachidna. Fée says that the data are altogether insufficient to enable us to form an opinion.

[2164] The Chondrylla juncea of Linnæus, according to Fée; but Desfontaines identifies it with the Lactuca perennis.

[2165] Desfontaines identifies it with the Hyoseris lucida. Fée says that the opinion is equally as difficult to combat as to support.

[2166] Fée identifies it with the Caucalis grandiflora of Linnæus, a native of Greece. Desfontaines mentions the Caucalis Orientalis, an Eastern plant.

[2167] For this and the Scandix, see B. xxii. c. 38.

[2168] A chicoraceous plant: the Tragopogon crocifolius of Linnæus.

[2169] See c. 104 of this Book.

[2170] See cc. 35 and 105 of this Book.

[2171] The Corchorus olitorius of Linnæus: still cultivated in Egypt.

[2172] Identified by some, but it is doubtful if with any good reason, with the Leontodon taraxacum of Linnæus: our dandelion.

[2173] The reading is doubtful, and it does not appear to have been identified.

[2174] Or “stone-plant:” identified with the Sedum anacampseros of Linnæus: a variety of house-leek.

[2175] On the contrary, it has a purple flower.

[2176] It is this, probably, that has caused it to be identified with the Leontodon taraxacum.

[2177] The Carthamus tinctorius of Linnæus, or bastard saffron. The seed of it is a powerful purgative to man, but has no effect on birds: it is much used for feeding parrots, hence one of its names, “parrot-seed.”

[2178] Identified by Fée with the Atractylis of Dioscorides, the Carthamus mitissimus of Linnæus; the Carduncellus mitissimus of Decandolle.

[2179] From ἄτρακτος, “a distaff.”

[2180] The Centaurea lanata of Decandolle, the Centaurea benedicta of Linnæus.

[2181] The Asparagus aphylla of Linnæus: the leafless asparagus.

[2182] The Spartium scorpius of Linnæus: scorpion-grass, or scorpion-wort.

[2183] See B. xxii. c. 8.

[2184] See B. xxii. c. 11. The “sweet-root;” our liquorice. The Glycyrrhiza echinata of Linnæus bears a prickly fruit; it is of this, Fée thinks, that Pliny speaks here.

[2185] Fée remarks, that though the leaf of the nettle is furnished with numerous stings, or rather prickly hairs, it is quite wrong to look upon them as thorns, which Pliny, in the present instance, (though not in the next Chapter) appears to do. Genuine thorns, he remarks, are abortive branches, which, of course, cannot be said of the fine hairs springing from the nerves of the leaf. See B. xxii. c. 15.

[2186] Supposed to be the Tribulus terrestris of Linnæeus, a species of thistle: the leaves of this plant, however, are not provided, Fée remarks, with thorns at their base, the fruit alone being spinous. See c. 58 of this Book.

[2187] See c. 58 of this Book.

[2188] The Poterium spinosum of botanists. See B. xxii. c. 13.

[2189] See B. xxii. c. 13. Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. vi. c. 5, identifies this plant with the Stœbe just mentioned.

[2190] “Acetabulis.” Fée complains of the use of this term (meaning a “small cup”) in relation to the calyces of the nettle; such not being in reality their form.

[2191] Probably in allusion to the Urtica dioica, which grows to a greater height than the Urtica urens. See B. xxii. c. 15.

[2192] “Canina.” A variety, probably, of the Urtica urens, the nettle, with the exception of the Urtica pilifera, which has the most stinging properties of all those found in Europe, and the leaves of which are the most deeply indented.

[2193] This has not been identified. They are all of them either inodorous, or else possessed of a faint, disagreeable smell.

[2194] This “lanugo,” or down, as he calls it, consists of a fine elongated tube of cellular tissue, seated upon a gland of similar tissue. In this gland a poisonous fluid is secreted, and when any pressure is made upon the gland, the fluid passes upwards in the tube. The nettle of the East, known as the Devil’s Leaf, is of so poisonous a quality as to produce death.

[2195] In some parts of the north of England and of Scotland the young plant of the Urtica dioica is eaten as greens, and is far from a disagreeable dish, strongly resembling spinach. It is also reckoned a very wholesome diet, and is taken habitually in the spring, under the impression that it purifies the blood. This notion, we see from the context, is as old as the time of the Romans.

[2196] Dalechamps speaks of it as the custom in his time to wrap up fish and game in nettles, under the impression that they would keep the longer for it.

[2197] The dead nettle, or blind nettle. See B. xxii. c. 16.

[2198] See B. xxii. c. 17.

[2199] He probably means the thistle, but possibly the artichoke, under this name. See B. xix. cc. 19 and 43, and B. xx. c. 99.

[2200] This is probably the same with the second variety of the “Cnecos,” mentioned above in c. 53, the Centaurea lanata, or benedicta.

[2201] Probably the Carduus leucographus of Linnæus.

[2202] According to Dalechamps, this is the Echinops ritro of modern botany.

[2203] See c. 93 of this Book.

[2204] “Many thorns.” According to Dalechamps, this is the Carduus spinosissimus angustifolius vulgaris of C. Bauhin, the Cirsium spinosissimum of Linnæus.

[2205] Identified by Dalechamps with the Onopordon Illyricum, or Acanthium of modern botany.

[2206] The Acarna gummifera of modern botanists, the flowers of which yield a kind of gum with an agreeable smell. It is quite a different plant from Wall pellitory, mentioned in B. xxii. c. 19, under this name.

[2207] See B. xx. c. 99, and B. xxii. c. 43.

[2208] The black chamæleon is identified by Fée with the Brotera corymbosa of Willdenow: the white variety, mentioned in B. xxii. c. 21, with the Acarna gummifera of Willdenow, the Helxine above mentioned. Desfontaines identifies it with the Carlina acaulis.

[2209] See B. xxii. c. 8.

[2210] The Greek for “blood” or “slaughter.”

[2211] “Carduus.”

[2212] “Thorn mastich,” or “resin.”

[2213] This is not the Cactus of modern botany, a plant mentioned in the sequel under the name of “Opuntia,” but probably the Cinara carduncellus. See B. xx. c. 99.

[2214] Theophrastus says, that when peeled they have a somewhat bitter flavour, and are kept pickled in brine.

[2215] This name is now given by naturalists to the calyx of Compositæ, which exists in the rudimentary condition of a membranous coronet, or of downy hairs, like silk.

[2216] “Cortex.”

[2217] The Trapa natans of Linnæus, or water chesnut, a prickly marsh plant of Europe and Asia. Hence our word “caltrop.”

[2218] “Dira res alibi.”

[2219] These two plants have no affinity whatever with the one just mentioned. The first of these so-called varieties is the Tribulus terrestris of Linnæus; and the second is identified by Fée, though with some doubt, with the Fagonia Cretica of Linnæus.

[2220] The Ononis antiquorum of Linnæus, the Cammock, or rest-harrow.

[2221] The Cochlearia coronopus. See B. xxii. c. 22.

[2222] The Anchusa tinctoria, probably, or dyers’ alkanet. See B. xxii. c. 23.

[2223] See B. xxii. c. 26.

[2224] It has not been identified with any degree of certainty: the Centaurea nigra and the Campanula rapunculus have been named.

[2225] See B. xxvii. c. 21: also c. 52 of this Book. The name appears to have been given to both the Leontodon taraxacum and the Lathyras aphaca of modern botany.

[2226] Theophrastus has Picris in the parallel passage, Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 9, the Helminthia echioides of Linnæus. If “Crepis” is the correct reading, that plant has not been identified.

[2227] The herbaceous kinds are no doubt those alluded to.

[2228] See B. xix. cc. 31, 36, and 44; and B. xx. c. 48. The ocimum of the Greeks has been identified by some with the Ocimum basilicum of Linnæus, our basil. That of the Romans seems to have been a name given to one or more varieties of leguminous plants of the vetch kind.

[2229] The Heliotropium Europæum. See B. xxii. c. 29.

[2230] This plant has not been identified, but Fée is inclined, from what Dioscorides says, B. iv. c. 24, to identify it with either the Lithospermum fruticosum, or else the Anchusa Italica of Linnæus.

[2231] This is not the case, if this plant is identical with the Heliotropium Europæum, that being an annual.

[2232] The Adiantum Capillus Veneris of Linnæus, or the Asplenium trichomanes of Linnæus. “Venus hair, or coriander maiden hair; others name it to be well fern.”—T. Cooper. The leaves of these plants last the whole of their lives.

[2233] The Teuerium polium of Linnæeus, our poley; the leaves of which are remarkably long-lived.

[2234] “Spicatæ.”

[2235] Fée is in doubt whether to identify it with the Plantago cynops of the south of Europe, and the banks of the Rhine.

[2236] “Foxtail.” According to Dalechamps, it is the Saccharum cylindricum, the Lagurus of Linnæus; but Fée expresses his doubts as to their identity.

[2237] Fée inclines to think that it may be the Secale villosum of Linnæus; though the more recent commentators identify it with the Plantago angustifolia. The Saccharum Ravennæ has been suggested.

[2238] Or “quail.”

[2239] In B. xxv. c. 39.

[2240] Hardouin takes this to be our pimpernel, the Sanguisorba officinalis of Linnæeus. Sprengel inclines to the Verbascum lychnitis of Linnæus.

[2241] “Proxuma.”

[2242] See B. xviii. c. 66.

[2243] Supposed by most commentators to be the Parietaria officinalis of Linnæus; Wall pellitory or parietary. Some, however, have suggested the Polygonum maritimum, or the Polygonum divaricatum of Linnæus. Fée expresses doubts as to its identity, but remarks that the modern Greek name of pellitory is “perdikaki.” See c. 104 of this Book, and B. xxii. c. 20.

[2244] “Perdix,” the Greek name.

[2245] Probably the Ornithogalum umbellatum of Linnæus. Sprengel identifies it with the Ornithogalum natans: but that variety is not found in Greece, while the other is.

[2246] “Puls”

[2247] Probably the Melilotus cœrulea of Linnæus, Fée says. Desfontaines mentions the Melilotus Cretica or Italica.

[2248] The Avena fatua or sterilis; the barren oat. See B. xviii. c. 44.

[2249] See B. xxii. c. 26.

[2250] The Gallium aparine of Linnæus. See B. xviii. c. 44.

[2251] The Opuntia. The Cactus Opuntia of Linnæus; the cactus, or Indian fig.

[2252] Perhaps the Convolvulus sepium of Linnæus; though Fée dissents from that opinion. See B. xxii. c. 39.

[2253] See c. 52 of this Book.

[2254] See B. xxii. c. 31.

[2255] From the Greek πικρὸς.

[2256] In B. xviii. c. 65.

[2257] “Little sword:” the Gladiolus communis of Linnæus. See the remarks on the hyacinthus of the ancients in the Notes to c. 38 of this Book.

[2258] Sprengel says that it is the Thesium linophyllum of modern botany; an opinion at which Fée expresses his surprise. See B. xxii. c. 31.

[2259] The Asphodelus ramosus of Linnæus.

[2260] “Little sword.”

[2261] It is no longer employed as an article of food.

[2262] Od. xi. 539, and xxiv. 13.

[2263] It is difficult to say to what “illud” refers, if, indeed, it is the correct reading.

[2264] “Hastula regia.”

[2265] “Caulis acinosi.”

[2266] See B. xxii. c. 32.

[2267] “Arrow.” The Sagittaria sagittifolia of Linnæus; our arrow-head, or adder’s tongue.

[2268] 15th of May.

[2269] The Schœnus mariscus of Linnæus.

[2270] Pliny is guilty of a lapsus memoriæ here, for he has nowhere given any such advice on the subject. Hardouin refers to B. xviii. c. 67, but erroneously, for there he is speaking of hay, not “ulva” or sedge.

[2271] The “sharp rush.” The Juncus acutus of Linnæus; the pointed bulrush.

[2272] The “pointed” rush. The Schœnus mucronatus of Linnæus.

[2273] A variety, Fée says, of the Schœnus nigricans of Linnæus, the black bulrush.

[2274] The “black head.”

[2275] The Scirpus holoschœnus of Linnæus, Fée thinks.

[2276] None of the rushes, Fée remarks, are barren; and when the head is inserted in the ground, it is neither more nor less than a sowing of the seed. Hardouin remarks, however, that by the word “cacumine,” the bulbous root of the rush is meant, and not the point of the stem.

[2277] “Nassæ.” Baskets with a narrow mouth.

[2278] It has descended in our time to the more humble rushlight; and even that is fast “going out.”

[2279] Fée identifies it with the Cyperus longus and Cyperus rotundus of Linnæus, the odoriferous or round souchet.

[2280] In c. 67 of this Book. The bulb, however, of the gladiolus is inodorous; for which reason Fée is inclined to think that Pliny, with all his care, is describing a cyperus, perhaps the Cyperus esculentus.

[2281] It would be curious to know who these barbarians were, who thus _smoked_ cypirus as we do tobacco. Fée queries whether they were Germans or Gauls, people of Asia or of Africa.

[2282] This applies more particularly, Fée thinks, to the Cyperus rotundus of Linnæus.

[2283] The Cyperus longus of Linnæus, Fée thinks.

[2284] Sillig finds a difficulty here which does not seem to exist. It is pretty clear that “cæteris” refers to the other varieties of the cypiros, mentioned in the preceding Chapter.

[2285] It has not been identified.

[2286] Mentioned also by Dioscorides. It has not been identified.

[2287] B. xii. c. 48.

[2288] Dioscorides says that it grows in Babylonia. It is a variety, no doubt, of the Andropogon schœnanthus.

[2289] “Ungues,” “nails;” in allusion to the white part of the finger-nails.

[2290] “Cortex.”

[2291] “Anchusam.”

[2292] In B. xiv. c. 19.

[2293] “In calliblepharum.”

[2294] “Diapasmata.”

[2295] “Pilulæ.” He alludes to the galls produced by an insect of the Cynips kind, and known as “bedeguar.” They are astringent, but no longer employed in medicine.

[2296] The efficacy of bears’-grease for promoting the growth of the hair was believed in, we find, so early as Pliny’s time.

[2297] See c. 11 of this Book. The bulbs of the lily contain a mucilage, and roasted or boiled they are sometimes employed, Fée says, to bring inflammations to a head. Employed internally, he thinks that they would be of no use whatever, and there is nothing in their composition, he says which would induce one to think that they might be employed to advantage in most of the cases mentioned by Pliny.

[2298] Or “Poley.” See c. 21 of this Book.

[2299] “Mel.”

[2300] See c. 12 of this Book.

[2301] The Narcissus pseudo-narcissus of Linnæus, the meadow narcissus, or daffodil. The epithet “herbaceous,” Fée says, applies, not to the flower, but to the leaves, which are larger and greener than in the other kinds.

[2302] “Torpor,” or “lethargy.”

[2303] See c. 14 of this Book.

[2304] An ointment made of wax and oil.

[2305] “Ægilopiis.”

[2306] “Diapasmata.”

[2307] This, as Fée remarks, can hardly apply to the Digitalis purpurea of Linnæus, with which he has identified it, the smell of which is disagreeable rather than otherwise.

[2308] In c. 16 of this Book.

[2309] The Asarum Europæum of Linnæus; our foalfoot. See B. xii. c. 27.

[2310] In c. 16 of this Book.

[2311] In B. xii. c. 26.

[2312] B. xii. c. 26. Either the Valeriana Italica, Fée says, or the Valeriana Dioscoridis of Sibthorpe. The Valeriana phu and the Valeriana officinalis of Linnæus have been suggested by some commentators.

[2313] Or “prurigo.”

[2314] See B. xxxv. cc. 18 and 57.

[2315] “Collyrium.” Saffron is still the base of certain eye-salves.

[2316] Formed, most probably, of all the insoluble substances contained in the oil employed in making the “unguentum crocinum.”

[2317] A small kind of quince. See B. xv. cc. 10 and 14.

[2318] “Orthopnœa.”

[2319] The Iris fœtidissima of Linnæus. It grows near Constantinople, and the smell of it is so like that of roast meat, that it is commonly called, Fée says, the “leg of mutton iris.”

[2320] “Credo.” It does not exactly appear that Pliny puts faith in this superstition, as Fée and Desfontaines seem to think; but he merely hazards a supposition as to what are the intentions of these avaricious herbalists.

[2321] See c. 20 of this Book.

[2322] See c. 21 of this Book. Fée remarks, that in reality it possesses none of the qualities that are attributed to it.

[2323] The “protection against poisons.”

[2324] We have adopted Sillig’s emendation of this passage; the words “aiunt, quod alii” being evidently required by the context.

[2325] “Cytinus” appears to be a preferable reading here to “cyanus,” the “blue-bell.”

[2326] See c. 24 of this Book. Its medicinal properties, Fée says, are next to nothing.

[2327] See c. 26 of this Book. If it is the Chrysocoma linosyris, it has no peculiar medicinal properties, Fée says. All these statements are found in Dioscorides.

[2328] Sec B. xx. c. 45, and c. 41 of this Book. It is a plant of somewhat stimulating properties, and may possibly be useful, Fée thinks, for nervous affections.

[2329] “Scopis.” He may possibly mean small brooms made of the sprigs of the plant.

[2330] See c. 29 of this Book. The melilote is possessed of no peculiar energy, but decoctions of it are sometimes employed as a lotion.

[2331] Sores “resembling a honey-comb.”

[2332] See c. 30 of this Book.

[2333] In c. 30 of this Book.

[2334] See c. 31 of this Book. Thyme yields an essential oil, possessed of stimulating properties. Most of the assertions here made as to its virtues are quite unfounded.

[2335] See c. 33 of this Book. The Pancratium maritimum, if that plant is identical with it, is but little used, but has a marked action, Fée says, upon the human frame.

[2336] In c. 33 of this Book.

[2337] Od. iv. l. 221. This has been supposed by many commentators to have been opium. The origin of the word is νή, “not,” and πένθος, “grief;” and, as Fée says, it would seem to indicate rather a composition than a plant. Saffron, mandragore, nightshade, and even tea and coffee, have been suggested by the active imaginations of various writers. Fée is of opinion that it is impossible to come to any satisfactory conclusion, but inclines to the belief that either the poppy or a preparation from it, is meant. In confirmation of this opinion, it is a singular fact, that, as Dr. Paris remarks (in his Pharmacologia), the Nepenthes of Homer was obtained from Thebes in Egypt, and that tincture of opium, or laudanum, has received the name of “Thebaic tincture.” Gorræus, in his “Definitiones Medicæ,” thinks that the herb alluded to is the Inula Campania, or Elecampane, which was also said to have derived its name of “Helenium” from Helen. Dr. Greenhill, in Smith’s Dictionary of Antiquities, inclines to the opinion that it was opium. See the article “Pharmaceutica.”

[2338] See c. 34 of this Book. Both of the plants mentioned share the medicinal properties of wormwood, being stimulants, tonics, anthelmintics, and febrifuges. It would be dangerous, however, Fée says, to administer them in most of the cases mentioned by Pliny, nor would they be good for strangury, or affections of the chest.

[2339] “Nervis.” Pliny had no knowledge, probably, of the nervous system; but Fée seems to think that such is his meaning here. See B. xi. c. 88.

[2340] See B. xi. cc. 24, 28, and 29.

[2341] See c. 34 of this Book; also B. xxii. c. 26.

[2342] See c. 35 of this Book.

[2343] In c. 38 of this Book.

[2344] The Anemone coronaria of Linnæus, Fée thinks.

[2345] Probably the Adonis æstivalis of Linnæus, a ranunculus. These plants are of an acrid, irritating nature, and rank at the present day among the vegetable poisons.

[2346] The “wind-flower,” from the Greek ἄνεμος, “wind.”

[2347] See B. xxv. c. 26.

[2348] In B. xix. c. 53.

[2349] As Fée remarks, it would be very dangerous to use it.

[2350] “Cuique animalium.”

[2351] The Œnanthe pimpinellifolia of Linnæus. If taken internally, Fée says, it would tend to aggravate the disease so treated, in a very high degree.

[2352] See c. 38. Also B. xxvi. c. 55.

[2353] See c. 38 of this Book; also B. xvi. c. 31.

[2354] From the herb “hysge,” used for dyeing a deep red. See B. ix. c. 65, and B. xxi. c. 36. No such colour, Fée says, can be obtained from the petals of either the Lilium Martagon or the Gladiolus communis, with which it has been identified.

[2355] It has no such effect; and the slave-dealers certainly lost their pains in cosmetizing their slaves with it, their object being to make them look younger than they really were, and not older, as Hardouin seems to think.

[2356] See c. 10 of this Book.

[2357] White specks in the pupil of the eye, or whiteness of the cornea.

[2358] See c. 39 of this Book.

[2359] “Ground-laurel.”

[2360] See c. 50, and B. xxiii. c. 83. The medicinal properties of this plant are not developed to any great extent; but it was thought till lately, Fée says, to be an excellent diuretic.

[2361] See c. 49 and B. xxvi. c. 50.

[2362] The Thymus acinos of Linnæus.

[2363] See c. 51 of this Book. It is an alimentary plant, but eaten raw, it is possessed of some acridity.

[2364] The Cyperus esculentus of Linnæus, the esculent souchet.

[2365] The two varieties are identified with the Cressa Cretica and the Teucrium iva of Linnæus. The latter plant is said to be a sudorific.

[2366] See B. xxvi. c. 53.

[2367] The Matricaria parthenium of Linnæus. See c. 52.

[2368] De Re Med. ii. 33. It must not be confounded with the plant of that name mentioned in c. 62 of this Book.

[2369] The Solanum nigrum of Linnæus, or black night-shade. See B. xxi. c. 108.

[2370] The Physalis alkekengi of Linnæus; red night-shade, alkekengi, or winter cherry. Fée remarks, that the varieties of this plant in Egypt are very numerous, and that in many places, till very recently, it was employed as an article of food.

[2371] “Vesica.”

[2372] The Solanum villosum of Lamarck.

[2373] From δορὺ, a “spear.”

[2374] “Apertius,” as suggested by Sillig, is a preferable reading to “parcius.”

[2375] From μάνια, “madness.”

[2376] The Physalis somnifera of Linnæus, the somniferous nightshade.

[2377] The Solanum melongena of Linnæus.

[2378] The Corchorus olitorius of Linnæus. See B. xxv. c. 92.

[2379] Theriaca, p. 44.

[2380] See c. 53 of this Book.

[2381] It has not been identified. Dalechamps, without any proof, identifies it with the Tussilago petasites of modern botany.

[2382] See the Introduction to Vol. III.

[2383] See end of B. iii.

[2384] See end of B. ii.

[2385] See end of B. ii.

[2386] A writer on flowers and chaplets, in the time of Tiberius. Nothing whatever beyond this seems to be known of him.

[2387] C. Julius Atticus Vestinus, or, according to some authorities, M. Atticus Vestinus. He was consul A.D. 65; and, though innocent, was put to death by Nero’s order, for alleged participation in the conspiracy of Piso.

[2388] See end of B. xiv.

[2389] See end of B. iii.

[2390] See end of B. iii.

[2391] See end of B. xiv.

[2392] See end of B. vii.

[2393] See end of B. xvi.

[2394] See end of B. xx.

[2395] See end of B. xix.

[2396] See end of B. xii.

[2397] See end of B. xx.

[2398] See end of B. xx. See also B. xxv. c. 5.

[2399] See end of B. iii.

[2400] See end of B. ii.

[2401] See end of B. xx.

[2402] See end of B. ii.

[2403] See end of B. viii.

[2404] See end of B. xix.

[2405] See end of B. viii.

[2406] See end of B. vii.

[2407] An alleged disciple of Orpheus, and probably as fabulous a personage. Many works, now lost, passed under his name.

[2408] One of the most celebrated of the Greek tragic writers; born B.C. 495. Of his 127 tragedies, only seven have come down to us.

[2409] A Pythagorean philosopher, a native of one of the cities called Larissa. Being accused of magical practices, he was banished from the city of Rome by the Emperor Augustus. The explanation of these charges is, that he probably possessed a superior knowledge of natural philosophy. See B. xxv. c. 95. B. xxviii. c. 49. B. xxxii. c. 52, and B. xxxv. c. 50.

[2410] A physician, a native of Athens in the fourth century B.C. He is supposed to have belonged to the sect of the Dogmatici, and was greatly celebrated for his classification of diseases. He wrote on diet and drink, among other subjects.

[2411] Probably the same writer that is mentioned at the end of B. iv.; or, possibly, a physician of that name, who was a disciple of Herophilus, and lived about the second century B.C.

[2412] A distinguished Peripatetic philosopher of Eresos in Lesbos, a disciple of Aristotle, and a contemporary of Theophrastus.

[2413] Of this writer, nothing whatever is known, beyond the mention made of him in c. 88 of this Book, and in B. xxii. c. 32.

[2414] Nothing whatever is known relative to this writer.

[2415] See end of B. vii.

[2416] See end of B. xx.

[2417] See end of B. xx.

[2418] See end of B. xx.

[2419] For Heraclides of Pontus, see end of B. iv. For Heraclides of Tarentum, see end of B. xii.

[2420] See end of B. xv.

[2421] See end of B. xii.

[2422] See end of B. xx.

[2423] See end of B. xx.

[2424] See end of B. xx.

[2425] See end of B. xx.

[2426] See end of B. xx.

[2427] See end of B. xx.

[2428] See end of B. xx.

[2429] See end of B. xx.

[2430] See end of B. vii.

[2431] See end of B. xx.

[2432] See end of B. xx.

[2433] See end of B. xii.

[2434] See end of B. xi.

[2435] See end of B. xii.

[2436] See end of B. xx.

[2437] See end of B. xii.

[2438] See end of B. xx.

[2439] See end of B. xx.

[2440] See end of B. vi.

[2441] See end of B. xx.

[2442] See end of B. xx.

[2443] See end of B. xx.

[2444] See end of B. xx.

[2445] See end of B. xii.

[2446] See end of B. xx.

[2447] See end of B. xx.

[2448] See end of B. xix.

[2449] See end of B. xx.

[2450] See end of B. xx.

[2451] See end of B. xx.

[2452] Fée remarks, that at the present day, in all savage nations in which tatooing is practised, the men display more taste and care in the operation than is shewn by the females. There is little doubt that it is the art of tatooing the body, or in other words, first puncturing it and then rubbing in various colours, that is here spoken of by Pliny.

[2453] “Inscribunt.” “Writing upon,” or “tatooing,” evidently.

[2454] Our “woad,” the Isatis tinctoria of Linnæus, which imparts a blue colour. The root of this Celtic woad is probably “glas,” “blue,” whence also our word “glass;” and it is not improbable that the name of glass was given to it from the blue tints which it presented. Julius Cæsar and Pomponius Mela translate this word “glastum,” by the Latin “vitrum,” “glass.”

[2455] “Conjuges nurusque.” Cæsar says that _all_ the people in Britain were in the habit of staining the body with woad, to add to the horror of their appearance in battle. Pomponius Mela expresses himself as uncertain for what purpose it was done, whether it was to add to their beauty, or for some other reasons to him unknown.

[2456] “Granis.” What the ancients took to be a vegetable substance, is now known to be an insect, the kermes of the Quercus coccifera.

[2457] See B. ix. c. 63.

[2458] “Paludamentis.” The “paludamentum” was the cloak worn by a Roman general when in command, his principal officers, and personal attendants. It was open in front, reached to the knees or thereabout, and hung over the shoulders, being fastened across the chest by a clasp. It was commonly white or purple.

[2459] For an account of all these colours see B. ix. cc. 60-65.

[2460] The vaccinium for instance. See B. xvi. c. 31.

[2461] Fée thinks that the art of dyeing with alkanet and madder may be here alluded to.

[2462] See B. xxxv. c. 1.

[2463] The “good,” “ingenuous,” or “liberal” arts were those which might be practised by free men without loss of dignity. Pliny is somewhat inconsistent here, for he makes no scruple at enlarging upon the art of medicine, which among the Romans was properly not a liberal, but a servile, art.

[2464] “Surdis.”

[2465] Festus says the “verbenæ,” or _pure_ herbs, were called “sagmina,” because they were taken from a sacred (sacer) place. It is more generally supposed that “sagmen” comes from “sancio,” “to render inviolable,” the person of the bearer being looked upon as inviolable.

[2466] “Clare.”

[2467] Or bearer of the “verbena.” See further on this subject in B. xxv. c. 59.

[2468] “Corona graminea.”

[2469] For a description of these various crowns, see B. xvi. c. 3.

[2470] Sometimes also, weeds, or wild flowers.

[2471] See Servius on the Æneid, B. viii. l. 128.

[2472] No doubt, the old English custom of delivering seisin by presenting a turf, originated in this.

[2473] See B. vii. c. 29.

[2474] See B. xvi. c. 5.

[2475] In the Samnite war. He died B.C. 340.

[2476] Titus Manlius Torquatus Imperiosus, consul A.U.C. 414. It was he who put his own son to death for engaging the enemy against orders.

[2477] Q. Fabius Maximus, surnamed Cunctator, for his skill in avoiding an engagement with Hannibal, and so wearing out the Carthaginian troops.

[2478] Q. Minutius, the Magister Equitum.

[2479] See Livy, B. xxii.

[2480] The primipilus was the first centurion of the first maniple of the triarii; also called “primus centurionum.”

[2481] “Ad tibicinem.”

[2482] A.U.C. 652.

[2483] The “Fortunate.”

[2484] A.U.C. 605.

[2485] 13th of September.

[2486] A.U.C. 723.

[2487] Hence we may conclude that the word “gramen” signified not only “grass,” but any plant in general.

[2488] By reason of the luxury and sensuality universally prevalent.

[2489] This is said in bitter irony.

[2490] Trusting to the good faith and research of the physician.

[2491] “Inseruisse.”

[2492] “Amplecti.”

[2493] In the Twentieth Book.

[2494] It has been thought by some that this is the Scolymus maculatus of Linnæus; the spotted yellow thistle. But the more general opinion is that it is the eringo, or Eryngium campestre of Linnæus. It derives its name from the Greek ἐρεύγειν, from its asserted property of dispelling flatulent eructations. It is possessed in reality of few medicinal properties, and is only used occasionally, at the present day, as a diuretic. See B. xxi. c. 56.

[2495] See B. xxvii. c. 2.

[2496] By the word “toxica,” Poinsinet would understand, not poisons in general, but the venom of the toad, which was called, he says, in the Celtic and Celto-Scythic languages, _toussac_ and _tossa_. Fée ridicules the notion.

[2497] Or rather, Fée says, deep blue. He identifies this with the Eryngium cyaneum of Linnæus, the eringo, with a blue flower.

[2498] This, as well as the next, is identical, probably, with the Eryngium maritimum of Linnæus; our sea-holly. The species found in Greece, in addition to the above, are the Eryngium tricuspidatum, multifidum, and parviflorum.

[2499] Pliny probably makes a mistake here, and reads σελίνον, “parsley,” for σκόλυμος, a “thistle.” Dalechamps is of this opinion, from an examination of the leaf; and Brotier adopts it.

[2500] Or “hundred heads,” the ordinary Eryngium campestre of Linnæus. It is still called panicaut a cent têtes, by the French.

[2501] It is no longer used for this purpose; but Fée is of opinion that it owes its French name of “panicaut,” from having been used in former times as a substitute for bread—_pain_.

[2502] It is not improbable that this plant is the same as the mandrake of _Genesis_, c. xxx. 14; which is said to have borne some resemblance to the human figure, and is spoken of by the commentators as male and female.

[2503] The root contains a small quantity of essential oil, with stimulating properties; and this fact, Fée thinks, would, to a certain extent, explain this story of Sappho. It is not improbable that it was for these properties that it was valued by the rival wives of Jacob.

[2504] White specks in the eye.

[2505] Sprengel identifies this with the Onopordum acanthium; but Fée thinks that if it belongs to the Onopordum at all, it is more likely to be the Onopordum acaulton, or the O. Græcum.

[2506] Or “sweet-root,” our liquorice; the Glycyrrhiza glabra of Linnæus. In reality, Fée remarks, there is no resemblance whatever between it and the Eryngium, no kind of liquorice being prickly.

[2507] “Echinatis;” literally, “like a hedge-hog.” Pliny, it is supposed, read here erroneously in the Greek text, (from which Dioscorides has also borrowed) ἐοικότα ἐχίνῳ “like a hedge-hog,” for ἐοικότα σχίνῳ “like those of the lentisk.”

[2508] “Pilularum.”

[2509] Or Pleiades.

[2510] Dioscorides compares the root, with less exactness, with that of gentian.

[2511] The same preparation that is known to us as Spanish liquorice or Spanish juice.

[2512] In B. xi. c. 119. It certainly has the effect of palling the appetite, but in many people it has the effect of creating thirst instead of allaying it. Fée thinks that from the fecula and sugar that it contains, it may possibly be nourishing, and he states that it is the basis of a favourite liquor in the great cities of France. Spanish liquorice water is used in England, but only by school-boys, as a matter of taste, and by patients as a matter of necessity.

[2513] The Greek for “without thirst.”

[2514] Or “mouth medicine.” Beyond being a bechic, or cough-medicine, it has no medicinal properties whatever.

[2515] “Pterygiis.” The word “pterygia” has been previously used as meaning a sort of hang-nail, or, perhaps, whitlow.

[2516] “Scabiem.”

[2517] Swellings of the anus more particularly.

[2518] It has in reality no such effect.

[2519] Probably the Fagonia Cretica and the Trapa natans of Linnæus. See B. xxi. c. 58. The first, Fée remarks, is a native of Candia, the ancient Crete, and a stranger to the climates of Greece and Italy. This may account for Pliny calling it a garden plant.

[2520] This is said. Fée remarks, in reference to the Trapa natans, the seed of which is rich in fecula, and very nutritious.

[2521] “Contrahat ventrem.” It would not act, Fée says, as an astringent, but would have the effect of imparting nutriment in a very high degree, without overloading the stomach.

[2522] A harmless, or, perhaps, beneficial, superstition.

[2523] The synonym of this plant is probably unknown. Dalechamps identifies it with the Sagittaria sagittifolia, C. Bauhin with the Centaurea calcitrapa, and Clusius, Belli, and Sprengel, with the Poterium spinosum. None of these plants, however, are prickly and aquatic, characteristics, according to Theophrastus, of the Stœbe: Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 11. Fée considers its identification next to impossible.

[2524] Probably the Hippophaës rhamnoides of Linnæus. This, however, Fée says, has no milky juice, but a dry, tough, ligneous root. Sprengel identifies it with the Euphorbia spinosa of Linnæus, on account of its milky juice; but that plant, as Fée remarks, does not bear berries, properly so called, and the fruit is yellow and prickly.

[2525] See B. xxvii. c. 66. It is identified by Fée with the Carduus stellatus or Centaurea calcitrapa of Linnæus, the common star-thistle.

[2526] As compounds of ἵππος, a “horse.” Hardouin, however, thinks that the names ἱπποφαὲς and ἱππόφαιστον have another origin, and that they are compounds of φάος, “lustre,”—from the brilliancy which they were said to impart to cloths—and ἵππος, in an augmentative sense, meaning “great lustre.”

[2527] See B. xxi. c. 55. Only two species of the nettle, Fée remarks, were known to the ancients, the Urtica urens and the U. dioica; and these have been confounded by Pliny and other writers.

[2528] In B. xv. c. 7. The Urtica urens has no oleaginous principles, and the oil of nettles, as Fée says, must have been a medicinal composition, the properties of which are more than hypothetical. The plant boiled, he remarks, can have no medicinal properties whatever, and it is with justice excluded from the modern Materia Medica. It is, however, still employed by some few practitioners, and the leaves are used, in some cases, to restore the vital action, by means of urtication.

[2529] “Cicutæ.”

[2530] Mercury, as already mentioned in a previous Note, is not poisonous.

[2531] “Testudinis.” He may, possibly, mean a turtle.

[2532] See B. x. c. 86.

[2533] The process of “urtication,” alluded to in Note [2528].

[2534] Fée considers this extremely doubtful.

[2535] An abominable refinement (if we may use the term) in gluttony, which would appear to have been practised among the Romans; though Fée thinks it possible that such a practice may have been considered advisable in the medical treatment of certain maladies. Be this as it may, the system of using vomits has prevailed to some extent in this country, and during the present century, too, among persons in the fashionable world, when expected to play their part at several entertainments in one evening.

[2536] “Sapa.” Grape-juice boiled down to one-third.

[2537] De Morb. Mul. text. 47.

[2538] See B. xviii. c. 13.

[2539] See B. xxi. c. 55.

[2540] See Hippocrates, Hippiatr.

[2541] In B. xxi. c. 55.

[2542] The Lamium maculatum of Linnæus: dead nettle, or archangel. The same as the Leuce, mentioned in B. xxvii. c. 77.

[2543] “Cum micâ salis.”

[2544] The Spartium scorpius of Linnæus, or the Scorpiurus sulcata of Linnæus: scorpion-grass, or scorpion-wort.

[2545] Its properties are entirely inert, and it has no such virtues as those here mentioned. As Fée remarks, we might be quite sure, however, from the form of the seeds, that this property would be ascribed to it in the Materia Medica of the ancients.

[2546] Supposed to be the Salsola tragus of Linnæus, kali, or glass-wort.

[2547] Not the Asparagus officinalis, Fée says, but the Asparagus acutifolius, the stem of which is somewhat prickly.

[2548] See B. xxi. cc. 56 and 104, in which last Chapter it is called “leucanthes.” Desfontaines suggests that it may be either the Carduus leucographus, or the Cnicum Casabonæ.

[2549] Literally, “many-cornered.” “Leucacantha” means “whitethorn,” and “Leucanthes” “white-flowered.”

[2550] Fée thinks this very improbable.

[2551] It must not be confounded, Fée says, with the Helxine, a tuberous root, mentioned in B. xxi. c. 56. He thinks also that Pliny is in error in giving it the name of “Perdicium,” which may possibly have been a synonym of the other Helxine. Fée comes to the conclusion that the Perdicium of B. xxi. c. 62, if not the same as the Helxine of c. 56, cannot be identified; that the Helxine of B. xxi. c. 56, is the Acarna gummifera; and that the Helxine here mentioned is identical with the Perdicium of this and the next Chapter, being the Parietaria officinalis of Linnæus, parietary or wall pellitory. The confusion has probably arisen from the similarity of the name of the ἰξίνη, the plant mentioned in B. xxi. c. 56, and the ἑλξίνη, the Helxine of the present Chapter.

[2552] “Perdices.” As stated in the last Note, the name has probably been given in error to the Helxine or pellitory.

[2553] Or horehound.

[2554] See B. xxi. c. 64.

[2555] From ἕλκω, to “drag.”

[2556] In c. 56. Properly the “Ixine.” See Note [2551] above.

[2557] Pellitory possesses no colouring properties whatever.

[2558] It has no medicinal virtues beyond acting, possibly, in some degree, as a diuretic.

[2559] The Parthenium of Celsus, mentioned by Pliny in B. xxi. 104, is not identical with this Perdicium (though there also he gives it that name), but is the Matricaria Parthenium of Linnæus, a different plant. See Notes to c. 19. B. xxii

[2560] In reference to what was said at the beginning of the preceding Chapter.

[2561] Or “pitcher plant.”

[2562] See c. 16 of this Book.

[2563] Plutarch, in his life of Pericles, tells the same story about the slave, but does not speak of the appearance of Minerva. He relates a story, however, of her appearance to Sylla, pointing out a spot near the Acropolis, where the Parthenium grew.

[2564] Or “Virgin” plant, Minerva being called “Parthenos,” the “virgin.”

[2565] One who “cooks entrails.” See B. xxxiv. cc. 19 and 31.

[2566] See B. xxi. c. 56. The white is identified with the Acarna gummifera of Linnæus, the dark or black with the Brotera corymbosa of Linnæus.

[2567] See B. xii. c. 33.

[2568] Viscus.

[2569] Olivier states (_Voyage dans l’Empire Ottoman_, i. 312) that the women in the isles of Naxos and Scio still chew this glutinous substance, in the same manner that mastich is used in other places.

[2570] Fée is inclined to doubt this, and thinks that, as it is a creeping plant, the name may have been derived from χαμαί, “on the ground.”

[2571] Theophrastus, Galen, and Dioscorides state to the same effect, and Fée thinks it possible it may possess a certain degree of activity.

[2572] Fée says that it possesses no such poisonous properties.

[2573] Rheum, or catarrhs.

[2574] From οὖλον φόνον, “dreadful death,” a name which, Fée observes, it does not merit, its properties not being poisonous.

[2575] From κυνὸς ὄζη “smell of a dog.” This is a more justifiable appellation, as the smell of it is very disagreeable.

[2576] The Cochlearia coronopus of Linnæus, crow’s-foot, or buck’s-horn plantain.

[2577] The Anchusa tinctoria of Linnæus, alkanet, orcanet, or dyers’ bugloss.

[2578] See B. xii. c. 46.

[2579] This plant is no longer used for medicinal purposes; but Fée thinks that, as the leaves in all probability contain nitrate of potash, they may have diuretic properties.

[2580] The Anchusa Italica of Linnæus, according to Fée, false alkanet, or wild bugloss. Though resembling the genuine plant in its external features, it has no colouring properties. Sprengel identifies it with the Lithospermum fruticosum of Linnæus, a plant, as Fée remarks, very different in its appearance from the genuine alkanet.

[2581] In erroneously giving it this name, Fée remarks that Pliny has confounded the pseudoanchusa with the ἔχιον of the Greeks, the Echium rubrum of Linnæus, and has attributed to it the characteristics of the latter plant.

[2582] Fée remarks, that all that Pliny says of the medicinal properties of this plant does not merit the honour of a discussion.

[2583] Fée identifies it with the Echium Creticum of Linnæus. Desfontaines takes it to be the Anchusa tinctoria of Linnæus. Fée is of opinion that the name really given to this plant was “enchrysa,” and not “anchusa.”

[2584] The Lithospermum fruticosum of Linnæus; cromill, or stone-crap.

[2585] Fée, adopting the opinion of Sibthorpe, thinks that under these names Pliny is speaking of _several_ varieties of the Anthemis, or camomile, and he identifies them as follows: the Leucanthemis, or white camomile, he considers to be the same as the Anthemis Chia of Linnæus; the Eranthemis to be the Anthemis rosea of Sibthorpe; the Melanthion to be the Anthemis tinctoria, or dyers’ camomile of Sibthorpe: and the Chamæmelon to be the Matricaria chamomilla of Linnæus, the common camomile. Sprengel differs from these opinions as to the identification of the several varieties.

[2586] “Spring flower.”

[2587] “Ground apple.”

[2588] “Black flower.”

[2589] “Malinis,” apple-colour.

[2590] See Note [2585].

[2591] “Fruticis.” The camomile is still extensively used in medicine for fomentations, and the decoction of it is highly esteemed, taken fasting, as a tonic.

[2592] Il. xiv. 347.

[2593] The Melilotus officinalis of Linnæus. See B. xiii. c. 32, and the Notes.

[2594] White specks in the black of the eye, with a red tinge.

[2595] Or “Mother of the Lotus;” the Nymphæa lotus of Linnæus. See B. xiii. c. 32. “Ex loto sata” may probably mean that it springs from the seed of the lotus, in which case, as Fée remarks, it must be identified with the Lotus.

[2596] B. xviii. c. 67, and B. xix. c. 58.

[2597] This apparent marvel is owing to the necessity of light to certain flowers for the purposes of fecundation, while those which open at night require more moisture than light for their reproduction.

[2598] Or “three-grained,” probably, Fée says, from the three cells in the capsule. He identifies this plant with the Croton tinctorium of Linnæus, the turnsole, or sun-flower.

[2599] Fée identifies it with the Heliotropium Europæum of Linnæus, the heliotrope, or verrucaria. The Heliotropium of Ovid and other poets, with a violet or blue flower, is, no doubt, a different plant, and is identified by Sprengel, Desfontaines, and Fée with the Hesperis matronalis of Linnæus, rocket or julian, or, as we not inaptly call it, from its pleasant smell, cherry-pie. Pliny speaks of his Heliotropium as having a “blue flower,” cœruleum. This is probably an error on his part, and it is supposed by commentators that he read in the Greek text ὑποπόρφυρον, “somewhat purple,” by mistake for ὑπόπυῤῥον, “somewhat red,” as we find it.

[2600] As known at the present day, they grow to a much greater height than this.

[2601] This, Fée remarks, cannot apply to either the Heliotropium Europæum or the Croton tinctorium. He thinks it not improbable that Pliny may have named one plant, and given a description of another.

[2602] The Heliotropium Europæum, Fée says, has no medicinal properties.

[2603] Midday, namely.

[2604] “Sic firmior.”

[2605] The “wart plant;” from “verruca,” a “wart.”

[2606] This notion arose probably, Fée thinks, from the clusters of its flowers resembling the tail of a scorpion in appearance.

[2607] Probably an inflammation of the membranes of the brain.

[2608] At the beginning of this Chapter.

[2609] “Scorpion’s tail.” Dioscorides gives this name to the Helioscopium, or great Heliotropium.

[2610] Fée is surprised that no mention is made of its colouring properties, it being extremely rich in the colouring principle, and having been much used in former times for dyeing purposes.

[2611] This notion, Fée says, was long attached to the Heliotropium Europæum, and to it, it is indebted for its present name of “verrucaria.”

[2612] “Cortex seminis.”

[2613] Fée identifies it with the Asplenium trichomanes of Linnæus, spleen-wort, or ceterach. The Adiantum of Hippocrates and other Greek writers, he takes to be the Adiantum capillus Veneris of Linnæus, Venus’ hair, or maiden hair. Though Pliny would seem not to have been acquainted with the latter plant, he ascribes to the first one many of its properties and characteristics, deriving his information, probably, from a writer who was acquainted with both. See B. xxi. c. 60.

[2614] From ἀ, “not,” and διαίνω, “to wet.” This is owing, Fée remarks, to the coat of waxen enamel or varnish with which the leaves are provided. The same is the case also with the leaf of the cabbage and other plants.

[2615] The Asplenium trichomanes, Fée says, would not admit of being clipped for ornamental gardening.

[2616] “Fine hair,” and “thick hair.” These names originated more probably in the appearance of the plant than in any effects it may have produced as a dye for the hair.

[2617] On the contrary, Fée says, the root is composed of numerous fibres.

[2618] “Stone-breaking.”

[2619] Fée is of opinion that they possess no such property.

[2620] Loss of the hair.

[2621] See B. xxi. c. 65. The Picris asplenioides of Linnæus, Fée thinks, though Sprengel identifies it with the Helminthia echioides of Linnæus; but the leaves of that plant are not round.

[2622] See B. xxi. c. 67.

[2623] See B. xxi. c. 68.

[2624] “Plant of the heroes.”

[2625] Mere varieties of the plant, so called with reference, probably, to the relative energy of their properties.

[2626] Regarded in a medicinal point of view the bulb of the asphodel possesses some emollient properties, and nothing more. As an application to sores and abscesses it may reduce the inflammation, and being rich in mucilage, the pulp may form a nourishing food. All the other statements as to its medicinal properties are, as Fée remarks, quite fabulous.

[2627] Theriaca, p. 39.

[2628] In B. xxi. c. 68.

[2629] This practice, as Fée remarks, was based on sound principles, the acrid properties of the bulbs being removed by boiling.

[2630] Most medicinal roots are gathered at this period, their properties being, as Pliny says, most fully developed in the autumn.

[2631] See B. xvi. c. 11.

[2632] Other readings are Diocles, Socles, and Socrates. If “Sophocles” is the correct reading, all memorials of this physician have perished, beyond the mention made of him by Cælius Aurelianus, Chron. c. i.

[2633] “Vitia.”

[2634] The Atriplex halimus of Linnæus, sea orach. Belon says that it is found in great abundance in Candia, the ancient Crete, where it is known as “halimatia,” and the tops of the stalks are used as food.

[2635] Hence its name, ἅλιμον, from ἅλς, the “sea,” and not, as Pliny says, from its salt taste.

[2636] “Mitius.” Fée says that if this word means “cultivated,” the plant mentioned cannot be the Atriplex halimus; in which case he is inclined to identify it with the Atriplex portulacoides of Linnæus; the leaves and young stalks of which, preserved in vinegar, have an agreeable taste.

[2637] Some other plant, probably, Fée thinks.

[2638] As to the Acanthus or thorn, in a more general sense, see B. xxiv. c. 66, and the Notes.

[2639] Pliny the Younger speaks of the Acanthus being used for a similar purpose, Epist. B. v. Ep. 6.

[2640] The Acanthus spinosus of Linnæus.

[2641] The Acanthus mollis of Linnæus; the brankursine.

[2642] “Lad’s love.”

[2643] “Black-leafed.” Fée thinks it probable that this name may have been given to the variety “niger,” of Miller, which grows in great abundance in Sicily and Italy.

[2644] “Bull’s side,” apparently. Fée says that the identification of this plant is quite uncertain; the Buplevrum rigidum of Linnæus, the Buplevrum Baldense of Willdenow, and the Ammi majus of Linnæus, having been suggested. The first, he thinks, could never have been used as a vegetable, and the second is only found on Mount Baldo in Carniola, and in Croatia. Though the Ammi majus is more than a cubit in height, and could never have been used as a vegetable, he looks upon it as the most likely of the three. The seeds of it were formerly used as a carminative.

[2645] Sprengel and Desfontaines consider it to be the Buplevrum rotundifolium: but Fée is of a contrary opinion, and thinks that it is impossible to identify it.

[2646] Though Hardouin attempts to defend him, it is more than probable that it is Pliny himself who is in error here; and that he has confounded the plant Buprestis with the insect of that name, which belongs to the class of Cantharides, and received its name (burn-cow) from its fatal effects when eaten by cattle.

[2647] See B. xxx. c. 10.

[2648] “Stag’s food.” Fée adopts the opinion of Sprengel and Sibthorpe, that this is the Pastinaca sativa of Linnæus, the cultivated parsnip. Desfontaines identifies it with the Sium sisarum; but, as Fée says, that plant is but rarely found in Greece.

[2649] See B. xx. c. 18. For the olusatrum, see B. xx. c. 46.

[2650] The parsnip is no longer employed for its medicinal properties; but for a long time, the seed was looked upon as a diuretic and febrifuge. The root contains a considerable quantity of saccharine matter.

[2651] Sprengel identifies it with the Chærophyllum sativum of Linnæus, the scandix cerifolium, our common chervil; but Fée considers it to be the same as the Scandix pecten Veneris of Linnæus, the Venus’ comb chervil. Pliny has mentioned a “scandix” also in B. xxi. c. 52, but erroneously, Fée thinks.

[2652] It is not used for any medicinal purposes at the present day.

[2653] Acharn. A. ii. sc. 4: “Get some scandix from your mother, and give it me.” The same joke also appears in the “Equites;” and A. Gellius, B. xv. c. 20, says that Theopompus speaks of the mother of Euripides as having been a greengrocer.

[2654] Fée identifies it with the Anthriscus odoratus of Linnæus, the cultivated chervil. See B. xxi. c. 52.

[2655] See B. xxi. c. 65.

[2656] See B. xxi. c. 52.

[2657] This is the Caucalis grandiflora of Linnæus, Fée thinks.

[2658] “Medicine for the heart.” All these statements as to its medicinal properties, are quite erroneous, Fée says.

[2659] “Pituitas.”

[2660] On Antidotes for the stings of serpents. See end of B. xix.

[2661] The Sium angustifolium has been named, but Fée prefers identifying it with the Sium latifolium of Linnæus, water-parsley.

[2662] Fée says that at the present day it is held in suspicion as an article of food, and that it is said to produce madness in ruminating animals. He thinks it not improbable that Pliny here attributes to it some of the properties which in reality belong to cresses.

[2663] See B. xxvi. c. 25. Sprengel identifies it with the Carduus marianus of Linnæus. Fée inclines, however, to the belief that it is the Sonchus palustris of Linnæus; the marsh sow-thistle.

[2664] Sprengel identifies it with the Scolymus maculatus of Linnæus, but Fée prefers the Scolymus Hispanicus of Linnæus, the Spanish thistle.

[2665] Fée says that the Scolymus grandiflorus is still eaten in Barbary.

[2666] The “meadow-plant.”

[2667] Works and Days, l. 582.

[2668] The Sonchus oleraceus of Linnæus, the common sow-thistle.

[2669] A poor old woman, who hospitably entertained Theseus when on his expedition for the purpose of slaying the Marathonian bull. Theseus instituted a sacrifice at Athens in honour of her. See Ovid, Remed. Am. l. 747, and Callim. Fragm. 40.

[2670] The Sonchus arvensis of Linnæus, the field sow-thistle.

[2671] The Sonchus oleraceus asper of Linnæus, the prickly-leafed sow-thistle. These plants are eaten as a salad in some countries. They possess but little energy in a medicinal point of view, but they are cooling and slightly laxative. The marvels here related by Pliny, Fée says, are entirely fabulous.

[2672] Sibthorpe thinks that this is the Chondrilla ramosissima of Linnæus; but Fée identifies it with the Chondrilla juncea of Linnæus. The Lactuca perennis has also been suggested. See B. xxi. cc. 52 and 65.

[2673] In the Isle of Lemnos, at the present day, a milky juice is extracted from the root of the Chondrilla juncea.

[2674] To keep the hairs in their proper place.

[2675] “Boleti.”

[2676] She having been put to death by him.

[2677] “Rimosa stria.”

[2678] This description would apply to many of the fungi known as toadstools at the present day.

[2679] A true description, Fée says, of the agaric oronge, or the laseras mushroom.

[2680] The true origin of fungi has not been discovered till a comparatively recent period, since the days of Linnæus even. It is now known that they are propagated by microscopic granules which are lodged in particular receptacles, or else by a dissolution and dispersion of their filamentous tissues.

[2681] “Clavus caligaris.” A nail of a caliga, or military boot. See B. vii. c. 44, and B. ix. c. 33.

[2682] The peasants, Fée says, who are in the habit of gathering them, may probably be better trusted than the most learned authors that have written on the subject. He thinks it the best plan, however, to avoid all risks, by confining ourselves to the use of the common field mushroom, the morel, and one or two other well-known kinds.

[2683] A prejudice entirely without foundation, Fée remarks.

[2684] Fée says that from this it is evident that Pliny understands only the stalk mushrooms under the name of “boleti;” the fungi which adhere to trees living more years, many of them, than Pliny mentions days.

[2685] “Ex pituita.” Fée thinks that under the name of “boleti,” Pliny means exclusively agaries or mushrooms of the division Amanites, which contains both the best and the most noxious kinds—the oronge for instance, and the false oronge.

[2686] The Agaricus campestris of Linnæus, Fée thinks, our common field mushroom, or, possibly, the Agaricus deliciosus of Linnæus.

[2687] The Agaricus procerus of Schœfer, probably, the tall columelle, Fée thinks.

[2688] A cap worn by the Flamen; or chief-priest, of a somewhat conical shape; very similar in form to the Russian helmet of the present day.

[2689] “Swine mushrooms.” Fée suggests that this may be the Boletus edulis of Bulliard.

[2690] A valued friend of the philosopher Seneca, as we learn from Tacitus, and Seneca’s Epistles, Ep. 63.

[2691] See Martial’s Epigrams, B. i. Ep. 21.

[2692] In B. xvi. c. 11. In that passage, however, the pine is mentioned, and not the beech.

[2693] In B. xx. c. 13, _et passim_.

[2694] Fée says that the fungi are but little used in modern medicine: the white bolet, he says, or larch bolet, is sometimes employed as a purgative, and some German writers have spoken in praise of the Boletus suaveolens of Bulliard as a remedy for pulmonary phthisis. The agaric known as amadue, or German tinder, is also employed in surgery. Fée remarks that all that Pliny says as to the medicinal properties of mushrooms and fungi is more or less hazardous.

[2695] Rheums, or catarrhs.

[2696] See B. xxxiv. c. 50.

[2697] “Sucinis novaculis.” This may possibly mean “knives of amber;” and it is not improbable that the use of amber may have been thought a means of detecting the poisonous qualities of fungi.

[2698] This, as Fée remarks, is the case. All kinds of fungi, too, it is said, may be eaten with impunity, if first boiled in salt water.

[2699] In reality, rain only facilitates their developement.

[2700] In B. xix. c. 15.

[2701] In B. xix. c. 15.

[2702] In B. xix. c. 15. Asafœtida, Fée says, if it bears any relation to the laser of the ancients, had till very recently the reputation of being an emmenagogue, a hydragogue, a vermifuge, and a purgative. Applied topically, too, it is emollient, and is used for the cure of corns and tumours. Whatever Laser may have been, there is little doubt that much that is here stated by Pliny is either fabulous or erroneous.

[2703] “Cauterium.”

[2704] What Pliny here says of Laser, Dioscorides, B. iii. c. 94, says of the root of Silphium.

[2705] “Dead” corns.

[2706] Or pottage—“In sorbitione.”

[2707] Probably to prevent it turning sour on the stomach.

[2708] Dioscorides, however, gives this advice, B. iii. c. 94.

[2709] In c. 56 of this Book.

[2710] It is this, in fact, combined with its utility, that ought to cause it to be so highly esteemed.

[2711] In B. xi. c. 4, _et seq._

[2712] Bee-bread, or bee-glue.

[2713] In B. xi. c. 6. It is a vegetable substance, Fée says, not elaborated by the bees. It is still employed in medicine, he says, for resolutive fumigations.

[2714] The Babylonians employed it for the purpose of embalming.

[2715] It is of an emollient nature, and is preferred to sugar for sweetening liquids, in a multitude of instances.

[2716] Fée denies this; but there is no doubt that honey has this tendency with some persons.

[2717] Fée says that this is not the case.

[2718] In B. xi. c. 13.

[2719] In B. xxi. c. 44.

[2720] “Aqua mulsa.” See B. xiv. c. 20, where it is described as Hydromeli, or Melicraton.

[2721] Fée says that this must have been a wholesome beverage, but that it would cease to be so after undergoing fermentation. In the description of its uses there are some errors, Fée says, combined with some rational observations.

[2722] See B. xviii. c. 29; also c. 61 of this Book.

[2723] This seems to be the meaning of “præparci” here, though it generally signifies “niggardly,” or “sordid.”

[2724] Fée combats this theory at considerable length; but there can be little doubt that the same substance has not the same taste to all individuals.

[2725] Seneca makes a similar observation, De Irâ, B. iii. c. 10.

[2726] “Animi seu potius animæ.”

[2727] It is the oil, Fée says, and not the hydromel, that combats the effects of the white lead, a subcarbonate of lead.

[2728] In B. xxi. c. 105.

[2729] Mead, or metheglin.

[2730] This is, perhaps, the meaning of “nervis” here, but it is very doubtful. See Note [312], in p. 77 of Vol. III.

[2731] “Mulsum.”

[2732] “Dulci.” Fée thinks, but erroneously, that by this word he means “must,” or grape-juice, and combats the assertion. Honied wine, he says, is used at the present day (in France, of course,) as a popular cure for recent wounds and inveterate ulcers. As a beverage, it was very highly esteemed by the ancients. See B. vii. c. 54.

[2733] “Hospes.” It may possibly mean his “guest,” but the other is more probable.

[2734] “Intus mulso, foris oleo.” The people of Corsica were famous for being long-lived, which was attributed to their extensive use of honey.

[2735] “Regius morbus.”

[2736] Honied wine being considered so noble a beverage, Celsus says, that “during its cure, the patient must be kept to his chamber, and the mind must be kept cheerful, with gaiety and pastimes, for which reason it is called the ‘royal disease,’” B. iii. c. 24. In the text Pliny calls it “arquatorum morbus,” the “disease of the bow-like,” if we may be allowed the term. The origin of this term, according to Scribonius Largus, is the word “arcus,” the rainbow, from a fancied resemblance of the colour of the skin, when affected with jaundice, to the green tints of the rainbow.

[2737] In B. xiv. c. 11.

[2738] In B. xi. c. 8, and B. xxi. c. 49.

[2739] When it curdles on the stomach.

[2740] In c. 49 of this Book.

[2741] “Malagmata.”

[2742] Fée, at some length, and with considerable justice, combats this assertion; though at the same time he remarks that Pliny is right in calling the attention of the medical world to the use of simple substances.

[2743] “Scripulatim”—“By scruples.”

[2744] He forgets that many of them could only be produced by the agency of an Eastern sun.

[2745] See B. xviii. c. 20.

[2746] See B. xiv. c. 5.

[2747] Fée says that it can have no such effect.

[2748] The bran of wheat, Fée says, is of a soothing nature, and that of barley slightly astringent.

[2749] See B. xv. c. 12, and B. xvii. c. 14.

[2750] The only truth in this statement, Fée says, is, that wheat bran makes a good gargle.

[2751] See B. xviii. c. 19.

[2752] See B. xvi. c. 80. This insect, or weevil, Fée says, is the Calandra granaria. It strongly resembles the worm or maggot found in nuts. It can be of no efficacy whatever for the removal of carious teeth.

[2753] In B. xviii. c. 20.

[2754] See B. xviii. c. 13.

[2755] Or multipede. For these purposes, as Fée says, it is of no use whatever.

[2756] It is no better, Fée says, than rye or barley-meal.

[2757] See B. xviii. cc. 19, 29.

[2758] In B. xviii. c. 29.

[2759] “Trimestris.” See B. xviii. c. 12.

[2760] Fée remarks, that this meal is still valued for its maturative properties.

[2761] Hair-grass, probably, or darnel. See B. xviii. c. 44.

[2762] In B. xviii. c. 14. Injections of meal are still employed, Fée says, for diarrhœa.

[2763] The flour of the grain called “far,” Fée thinks. See B. xviii. c. 10.

[2764] This statement is probably founded upon the notion that corn has the property of attracting liquids, even when enclosed in vessels.

[2765] A paste of this kind, if applied to a recent wound, would have the effect of preventing cicatrization, and giving free access to the flow of blood.

[2766] See B. xviii. c. 19.

[2767] Or “flour.” See B. xiii. c. 26.

[2768] Fée remarks, that the Greeks _were_ acquainted with alica, to which they gave the name of χόνδρος; indeed, Galen expressly states that it was well known in the days of Hippocrates, who says that it is more nourishing than ptisan. Festus says that alica is so called, “quod alit,” because it nourishes the body.—See B. xviii. c. 29.

[2769] In c. 55 of this Book.

[2770] See B. xviii. c. 24.

[2771] See B. xviii. c. 25.

[2772] “Mel frugum.”

[2773] See B. xviii. c. 22. It is still used in medicine in Egypt, and as a cosmetic.

[2774] Or “bad habit.”

[2775] In B. xv. c. 7. See also B. xxiii. c. 49. Fée thinks it not unlikely that oil of sesame might have this effect. The people of Egypt still look upon this grain as an antophthalmic, but, as Fée says, without any good reason.

[2776] “Like sesame.”

[2777] Sprengel has identified this plant, the “smaller” Sesamoides of Dioscorides, with the Astragalus sesameus of Linnæus, or else with the Reseda canescens. Other naturalists have mentioned the Catananche cærulea of Linnæus, the Passerina hirsuta of Linnæus, and the Passerina polygalæofolia of Lapeyrouse. Fée is of opinion that it has not been identified.

[2778] Altogether a different plant; Sprengel identifies it with the Reseda Mediterranea, but Fée dissents from that opinion, and is inclined to agree with the opinion of Dalechamps, that it is the Daphne Tartonraira of Linnæus, which is a strong purgative.

[2779] In B. xxv c. 106.

[2780] Fée remarks that this Chapter includes a number of gross prejudices which it is not worth while to examine or contradict.

[2781] “Hordeum murinum.” Anguillara, Matthioli, and Sprengel identify it with the Lolium perenne of Linnæus; but, as Fée says, it is clear that Pliny had in view the modern Hordeum murinum, mouse-barley.

[2782] See B. xviii. c. 15.

[2783] At the present day, as Fée says, oatmeal is preferred to barley-meal.

[2784] Being our “barley-water,” in fact.

[2785] Our “starch” probably. See B. xviii. c. 17.

[2786] A prejudice, Fée says, which is totally without foundation.

[2787] Bread, as made at the present day, is but little used in modern medicine, beyond being the basis of many kinds of poultices. A decoction of bread with laudanum, is known in medicine, Fée says, as the “white decoction.”

[2788] “Unseparated from the bran.”

[2789] Probably like the military bread, made of the coarsest meal, and unfermented.

[2790] See B. xviii. c. 12.

[2791] “Saccos.” See B. xiv. c. 28.

[2792] See B. xviii. c. 30. Bean meal is but little used in modern medicine, but most that Pliny here says is probably well founded; with the exception, however, of his statement as to its employment for diseases of the chest.

[2793] Most of the properties here ascribed to the lentil, Fée says, are quite illusory.

[2794] This, Fée remarks, is not the fact.

[2795] This statement, Fée thinks, is probably conformable with truth.

[2796] Fée remarks, that we must not confound the cholera of the ancients with the Indian cholera, our cholera morbus. Celsus describes the cholera with great exactness, B. iv. c. 11.

[2797] They would be of no benefit, Fée thinks, in such a case.

[2798] It bears no relation whatever to the lentil, not being a leguminous plant. Fée would include under this head the Lemna minor, the Lemna gibba, and the Lemna polyrrhiza of modern botany, all being found together in the same stagnant water.

[2799] Fée remarks, that Pliny is clearly speaking of two essentially different plants under this name; the first, he thinks, may very probably be the Ervum tetraspermum of Linnæus.

[2800] This, Fée thinks, is the Salvia officinalis of Linnæus, our common sage, which has no affinity whatever with the lentil.

[2801] Sprengel thinks that he is speaking here of the Salvia triloba of Linnæus.

[2802] The Trygon pastinaca of Linnæus.

[2803] “Sage,” the plant, no doubt, that he has been describing.

[2804] See B. xviii. c. 32. Fée thinks that the wild cicer is identical with our cultivated one, the Cicer rietinum.

[2805] See B. xviii. cc. 26 and 32.

[2806] Or “ram’s head” cicer; from its fancied resemblance to it: the name is still given to the cultivated plant.

[2807] Or “pigeon” cicer. See B. xviii. c. 32. Fée thinks it probable that this plant may be a variety of the Ervum.

[2808] In B. xviii. c. 38. The Ervum ervilia of Linnæus; it is no longer employed in medicine.

[2809] Fée says that this is the case, and that the use of it is said to produce a marked debility.

[2810] See B. xviii. c. 10.

[2811] Fée remarks that it is surprising to find the ancients setting so much value on the lupine, a plant that is bitter and almost nauseous, difficult to boil, and bad of digestion.

[2812] It must be the rue, Fée says, that acts as the vermifuge.

[2813] See c. 24 of this Book.

[2814] Lees of olive oil.

[2815] This is not the fact.

[2816] In B. xviii. c. 22. Racine, in his letters to Boileau, speaks of a chorister of Notre Dame, who recovered his voice by the aid of this plant.

[2817] It is still used, Fée says, for coughs.

[2818] In B. xviii. c. 22.

[2819] Dioscorides says, horehound. The Horminum, apparently, has not been identified.

[2820] See B. xviii. c. 44. Darnel acts upon the brain to such an extent as to produce symptoms like those of drunkenness; to which property it is indebted for its French name of _ivraie_. It is no longer used in medicine.

[2821] Georg. i. 153; “Infelix lolium, et steriles dominantur avenæ.”

[2822] Fée identifies this plant with the Cuscuta Europæa of Linnæus. Sprengel takes it to be the Panicum verticillatum of Linnæus.

[2823] The Avena sativa of Linnæus; the cultivated oat, and not the Greek oat of B. xviii. c. 42.

[2824] The term “locusta” has been borrowed by botanists to characterize the fructification of gramineous plants.

[2825] In B. xviii. c. 44. The present, Fée thinks, is a different plant from the Cuscuta Europæa, and he identifies it with the Orobanche caryophyllacea of Smith, or else the Orobanche ramosa of Linnæus. The Orobanche is so called from its choking (ἄγχει) the orobus or ervum. It is also found to be injurious to beans, trefoil, and hemp. In Italy, the stalks are eaten as a substitute for asparagus.

[2826] See B. viii. c. 43.

[2827] See B. x. c. 95, and B. xi. cc. 24, 28.

[2828] As to the beers of the ancients, see B. xiv. c. 29. Very few

## particulars are known of them; but we learn from the Talmud, where

it is called _zeitham_, that zythum was an Egyptian beverage made of barley, wild saffron, and salt, in equal parts. In the Mishna, the Jews are enjoined not to use it during the Passover.

[2829] “Spuma;” literally, “foam.”

[2830] A physician who lived, probably, at the end of the second or the beginning of the first century B.C., as he was one of the tutors of Heraclides of Erythræ. His definition of the pulse has been preserved by Galen, De Differ. Puls. B. iv. c. 10, and an anecdote of him is mentioned by Sextus Empiricus.

[2831] See end of B. ii.

[2832] A native of Mytilene, in the island of Lesbos, the earliest of the Æolian lyric poets. He flourished at the latter end of the seventh century B.C. Of his Odes only a few fragments, with some Epigrams, have come down to us.

[2833] In contradistinction to the fruits which hang from trees.

[2834] See B. xvii. c. 18.

[2835] In B. xii. cc. 60 and 61.

[2836] All this passage is found in Dioscorides, B. v. c. 1, who probably borrowed it from the same sources as our author.

[2837] Fée remarks, that all the statements here made as to the medicinal properties of the vine are entirely unfounded, except that with reference to the bark of the vine: as it contains a small quantity of tannin, it might possibly, in certain cases, arrest hæmorrhage.

[2838] This cannot be the bryony, Fée says, but simply a variety of the grape vine with white fruit. See further in c. 5 of this Book.

[2839] “Impetigines.”

[2840] Alkaline ashes, which would differ but very little, Fée says, from those of other vegetable productions.

[2841] This statement as to the caustic properties of the ashes is based upon truth.

[2842] In B. xii. c. 60.

[2843] Saracenus, upon Dioscorides, B. v. c. 6, thinks that Pliny, in copying from the Greek, has made a mistake here, and that he has taken οὖλον, the “gums,” for οὐλὴ, a “cicatrix;” the corresponding passage in Dioscorides being οὖλα πλαδαρὰ, “flaccidity,” or “humidity of the gums.”

[2844] In B. xii. c. 61. See also B. xiii. c. 2, B. xiv. c. 18, and B. xv. c. 7. Œnanthe, or vine-blossom, possesses no active medicinal properties, and the statements made here by Pliny are in all probability unfounded.

[2845] Not the white vine, or Bryonia alba of modern botany, but probably some variety of the cultivated vine with white fruit. The flower of the bryony is inodorous, and would be of no utility in the composition of perfumes.

[2846] “Pterygia.”

[2847] See B. xii. c. 61. It was prepared from vine-blossoms gathered in Africa.

[2848] This remark is founded, in a great measure, upon fact. The skin of the black grape contains a colouring principle in considerable abundance, and a small proportion of tannin; that of the white grape possesses no colouring principle, but a considerable quantity of tannin. The white grape contains more saccharine matter than the black one, and they are both of them of a laxative nature.

[2849] Littré remarks, that under the name of “lethargus,” a febrile malady is probably meant, which belongs probably to the class of pseudo-continuous fevers.

[2850] Fée thinks that in reality there can be little or no difference in their effects, but that, being eaten in larger quantities at the vintage than afterwards, it stands to reason that the result will be different.

[2851] The fermentation, producing a certain amount of alcohol, would naturally produce this result.

[2852] “Sapa:” must boiled down to one-third.

[2853] This, as Fée remarks, is quite impossible; grapes put in rain-water would spoil immediately, and become totally unfit to eat.

[2854] By the transformation, namely, of the juices into alcohol.

[2855] See B. xiv. c. 3.

[2856] A notion quite unfounded, as Fée remarks. See B. xiv. c. 18.

[2857] A prejudice equally destitute of foundation.

[2858] Grape-stones have an astringent effect, and Fée states that in modern times an oil is extracted from them of an agreeable flavour, and applicable to many economical purposes. They are no longer used in medicine.

[2859] In B. xiv. c. 22.

[2860] Hence the name “theriaca,” from θὴρ, a “wild animal,” and ἀκέομαι, “to cure.”

[2861] By reason, probably, of their astringent properties.

[2862] Though no longer used medicinally, they are still considered to be good pectorals.

[2863] See B. xx. cc. 23 and 81.

[2864] “Ceria;” known in modern medicine as “favus.”

[2865] The Pastinaca opopanax of Linnæus. See B. xii. c. 57.

[2866] Identified with the Delphinium staphis agria of Linnæus.

[2867] “Taminian grape.”

[2868] Or wild vine.

[2869] The fruit is formed of three oblong capsules, containing a triangular seed of black brown colour, about the size of a kidney bean.

[2870] This is not the white vine or bryony, mentioned in c. 16 of this Book, but the Tamus communis of Linnæus.

[2871] The seeds, which are remarkably pungent and powerful in their effects, are only used, at the present day, in medicinal preparations for cattle.

[2872] This is still done at the present day; to which it is indebted for its French name _l’herbe pediculaire_, or louse-plant.

[2873] Pliny seems again to have fallen into the error of mistaking οὖλον, the “gums” for οὐλὴ, a “cicatrix;” the corresponding passage in Dioscorides, B. iv. c. 156, being “defluxions of the gums.”

[2874] They would be of no use whatever, Fée says, for such a purpose.

[2875] As tending to carry off “pituita,” or phlegm.

[2876] In B. xii. c. 61.

[2877] “Ampelos agria.” Fée observes, that this Chapter is full of errors, Pliny beginning by speaking of the wild vine, the variety Labrusca of the Vitis vinifera of Linnæus, and then proceeding to describe what is really the Bryonia dioica of modern botany, and applying its characteristics to the wild vine, or labrusca.

[2878] This is not the case with the wild vine.

[2879] The root of the wild vine is not of a purgative nature.

[2880] As already stated, this is not identical with the wild vine, but is the Tamus communis of Linnæus.

[2881] The Solanum dulcamara of modern botany has been suggested; though there is but little resemblance between the leaves of that variety of nightshade and those of the wild vine.

[2882] The Bryonia alba of Linnæus; the bryony, white vine, or white jalap.

[2883] This description, Fée says, is pretty correct, and the account of its properties sufficiently exact. It is a violent poison, and is no longer used in medicine.

[2884] It is still called by the French _navet du diable_, or devil’s turnip.

[2885] “Exulcerant corpus.” Our author, Fée says, may here be taxed with some exaggeration.

[2886] The fruit is no longer used for this purpose.

[2887] It is a matter of extreme doubt if there is any foundation for this statement.

[2888] It would be productive of no good effect in such case, nor, indeed, in most of the cases here mentioned.

[2889] “Purgat” is the reading given by Sillig; but, judging from the corresponding passage in Dioscorides, ὑποταράττει, “turbat,” or “conturbat,” is the proper reading.

[2890] “Pterygiis.”

[2891] This is in reality not the modern bryony, or white vine, but the Tamus communis of Linnæus, the black vine, or _taminier_ of the French, the uva taminia, probably, of Chapter 13.

[2892] In the last Chapter.

[2893] The shoots of the Tamus communis are still eaten in Tuscany as a substitute for asparagus, to which, however, they are inferior in quality. It is there known by the name of _tamaro_.

[2894] An absurdity, as Fée remarks, not worthy of discussion. The same, too, as to the next assertion.

[2895] Of course there are as many varieties of must, or grape-juice, as there are of wines. Must is of a purgative and emollient nature, but is no longer employed in medicine.

[2896] See c. 30 of this Book. Of course there is little or no truth in this assertion.

[2897] In reality it has no such effect.

[2898] See B. x. c. 86.

[2899] See B. xxii. c. 36, and B. xxx. c. 10.

[2900] In cases of poisoning by opium or hemlock, the use of it, Fée says, would be prejudicial.

[2901] See B. xxi. c. 105.

[2902] “Toxica.”

[2903] In B. xiv. cc. 8, 9, 10. It is impossible, with any degree of accuracy, to discuss the properties of these various wines, as they no longer exist.

[2904] “Cognominatum” appears to be a better reading than “cognominatus,” which Sillig has adopted; as it is much more probable that the work received its name from the subject than that the writer did.

[2905] All these wines are described in B. xiv.

[2906] “Nervis.” As to the meaning of this word, see B. xi. c. 88.

[2907] These wines also are described in B. xiv.

[2908] “Feritas.”

[2909] The colour of our Port.

[2910] “Apothecis.”

[2911] “Cariem trahunt.”

[2912] While the ancients thought that the cariousness or results of old age were removed by the agency of smoke.

[2913] See B. xiv. c. 6.

[2914] “Saliva.”

[2915] In the time of the Emperor Tiberius. See B. xiv. c. 28.

[2916] Odyssey, B. iv. l. 219, _et seq._

[2917] “Sapientiam vino obumbrari.”

[2918] Works and Days, l. 594.

[2919] “Merum.”

[2920] It is surprising, as Fée says, to find coriander enumerated among the poisons. Mistletoe, too, and mercury are neither of them poisons. As to hemlock, see B. xiv. c. 7.

[2921] See Lucan’s Pharsalia, B. ix. ll. 722, 791.

[2922] See B. xi. c. 71.

[2923] This method is still employed with race-horses. See B. xiv. c. 28.

[2924] It is still a very prevalent notion that the growth of dogs is stunted by giving them raw spirits.

[2925] The wines of Surrentum and Stata were Campanian wines.

[2926] “Volgo.”

[2927] “Sacco.” A strainer of linen cloth. See B. xiv. c. 28, and B. xix. c. 19. While it diminished the strength, however, it was considered to injure the flavour.

[2928] In that case, Fée says, they would differ but little from the wines of the present day. See B. xiv. c. 25.

[2929] See B. xiv. c. 24.

[2930] See B. xiv. cc. 9, 10.

[2931] “Sapa.”

[2932] See B. xiv. c. 25.

[2933] Surrentine, Alban, Falernian, &c.

[2934] The colour of Tent and Burgundy.

[2935] The colour of Port.

[2936] See B. xiv. c. 25.

[2937] See B. xiv. cc. 3, 4.

[2938] See B. xiv. c. 4: Vol. III. p. 227.

[2939] “Tremore nervorum;” perhaps “nervousness.”

[2940] See B. xi. c. 71. There is little doubt that generous wine promotes the rapid circulation of the blood.

[2941] In B. xiv. cc. 18, 19, 20.

[2942] In accordance with the suggestion of Sillig, we insert “sunt quæ,” otherwise the passage is defective.

[2943] This would be a vigorous liquor, Fée thinks, and a good tonic; similar, in fact, to the modern antiscorbutic wines.

[2944] Fée queries whether this was made from the fermented berries, or from an infusion of them in wine. In the former case it would bear some slight resemblance to our gin.

[2945] “Apsinthites.” See B. xiv. c. 19.

[2946] See B. xiii. c. 9.

[2947] In B. xiv. c. 10.

[2948] The vinegar of the present day does not appear to have any such property.

[2949] Celsus says the same thing, B. i. c. 3.

[2950] “Posca,” or vinegar and water, sometimes mixed with eggs, was the common drink of the lower classes at Rome, and of the soldiers when on service.

[2951] There is little doubt that it would be advantageous to employ vinegar in such a case; the animal would be compelled to withdraw its hold, and vomiting would be facilitated. Strong salt and water, Fée thinks, would be still more efficacious.

[2952] It would be of no use whatever, Fée thinks, in any of these cases.

[2953] An operation which, though known to the Greeks and Romans, appears to have been completely lost sight of in the middle ages.

[2954] Or leather bag, “utrem.”

[2955] See B. xxx. c. 21. From Livy and Plutarch we learn that Hannibal employed this method of splitting the rocks when making his way across the Alps. Fée, at considerable length, disputes the credibility of this account, and thinks it only a wonderful story invented by the Romans to account for their defeat by Hannibal.

[2956] See B. xix. c. 5.

[2957] Sillig has little doubt that this passage is incomplete, and that the end of it should be to the effect, “the result of which was, that he was effectually cured.” A very similar story is related of Servius Clodius, a Roman knight, in B. xxv. c. 7.

[2958] In B. xx. c. 39. It is still employed in medicine; but the statements here made, as Fée says, do not merit a serious discussion.

[2959] See B. xiv. c. 21. The modern oxymel, as Fée remarks, consists of honey dissolved in white vinegar, and bears no resemblance to the monstrous composition here described, and which no stomach, he says, could possibly support.

[2960] See Lucan’s Pharsalia, B. ix. ll. 723, 776.

[2961] Fée thinks that there may be some foundation for this statement, as vinegar acts efficaciously as a remedy to the effects of narcotic poisons. Mistletoe, as already stated, is not a poison.

[2962] Grape-juice boiled down to one-third. See B. xiv. c. 11.

[2963] See c. 18 of this Book. The account here given of the medicinal properties of sapa is altogether unfounded.

[2964] A worm that grows in the pine-tree, the Phalæna bombyx pityocampa of Linnæus.

[2965] A mere absurdity, of course. See c. 18 of this Book.

[2966] The lees of wine are charged with sub-tartarate of potash, a quantity of colouring matter more or less, and a small proportion of wine. They are no longer used in medicine. Under the term “fæx vini,” Pliny includes the pulp or husks of grapes after the must has been expressed.

[2967] In consequence of the carbonic gas disengaged before the fermentation is finished, asphyxia being the result.

[2968] By the use of this term he evidently means grape husks.

[2969] Or flower-de-luce. See B. xxi. cc. 19, 83.

[2970] Wine-lees would only have the effect of increasing the inflammation.

[2971] See B. xxiv. c. 67.

[2972] Their properties are similar to those of wine-lees, but they are no longer used in medicine. The statements here made by our author, Fée remarks, are entirely fabulous.

[2973] Or horned serpent. See B. xi. c. 45.

[2974] See B. xx. c. 71.

[2975] This, as Fée observes, is probably the case.

[2976] It must be remembered that red hair was greatly admired by the Romans.

[2977] The thicker parts of boiled grape-juice. These lees have no affinity with those of wine or vinegar.

[2978] They are rich in tannin and gallic acid, and Fée states that they have been proposed as a substitute for quinine. The statements here made by Pliny, he says, in reference to their properties, are hypothetical.

[2979] “Nervosis.”

[2980] No medicinal use is now made of it, but its properties would be very similar to those of the leaves.

[2981] Impure metallic oxide. See B. xix. c. 4, and B. xxxiv. c. 52. The ashes of the branches would be an impure sub-carbonate of potass, which would act, Fée says, as a powerful irritant.

[2982] A sort of pyroligneous acid, which would have the noxious effect of throwing inward the eruptions.

[2983] This juice or tear (lacrima) Fée thinks to be the same with the Enhæmon, mentioned in B. xii. c. 38; the properties of which are quite inactive, though Dioscorides, B. i. c. 139, speaks of it as a poison.

[2984] Probably in consequence of the tannin and gallic acid, which it contains in great abundance.

[2985] Fée says that all these statements as to the medicinal properties of olives are false.

[2986] Or preserved olives. See B. xv. c. 4.

[2987] B. xv. c. 8.

[2988] Fée thinks that it would exercise quite a contrary effect. Marc of olives is no longer used in medicine.

[2989] It would produce no good effect in the treatment of ulcers.

[2990] Fée remarks that it would have no such effect.

[2991] See B. xii. c. 60.

[2992] See B. xxii. c. 21.

[2993] Fée thinks that it might prove useful in this case.

[2994] Unboiled.

[2995] See c. 35. There is no analogy, Fée says, between marc of olives and the leaves of the wild olive.

[2996] This is hardly a peculiarity, for he has said already that the cultivated olive is employed with honey to arrest the flow of blood.

[2997] The tannin which it contains in great abundance may possibly have this effect.

[2998] In B. xv. c. 2.

[2999] See B. xii. c. 60.

[3000] See B. xii. c. 60. An inferior kind of omphacium.

[3001] “Non mordeat.” Probably in the sense of “have no pungency.”

[3002] Or “Œnanthinum.” See B. xii. c. 61, and B. xv. c. 7.

[3003] See c. 30 of this Book.

[3004] Fée remarks, that a modern physician would dread to administer such a dose, rue being a very dangerous plant in its effects. He also remarks that it is doubtful whether Pliny is speaking throughout this Chapter of olive oil or of oil of œnanthe; and such is the fact, though most probably the latter is intended to be spoken of.

[3005] “Ptisanæ succo.”

[3006] Fée thinks that it can have no such efficacy, whether it be olive oil or oil of œnanthe that is the subject of discussion.

[3007] “Acapni.” See B. xi. c. 15.

[3008] “Oleum cicinum.” See B. xv. c. 7.

[3009] It is still used in medicine for the same purpose.

[3010] “Præcordia;” either the diaphragm, or the parts above it, such as the heart and chest.

[3011] See B. ix. c. 52.

[3012] See B. xv. c. 7.

[3013] Fée is at a loss to know how these wicks could have been made: most probably, however, the seeds were beaten up into a pulp for the purpose. The oil is still used for lamps in some countries, though, as Pliny says, in consequence of its extreme thickness, the light it gives is not good.

[3014] “A sole ustis.” Not _coup de soleil_, or “sun-stroke,” as Littré renders it. Oil of almonds is still a favourite ingredient in cosmetics.

[3015] There is no truth, Fée says, in this assertion.

[3016] Fixed oil of laurel contains a certain proportion of volatile oil, to which it is indebted for the excellence of its smell. It is still used as a liniment for rheumatic pains and other affections.

[3017] As prepared by the ancients, it has no analogous properties with oil of laurel. Myrtle oil is no longer used in medicine.

[3018] Such is not the case.

[3019] The wild myrtle, or little holly. See B. xv. c. 7. The oil would be inodorous, and not possessed, as Pliny says, of properties similar to those of oil of myrtle.

[3020] See B. xv. c. 7. Fée thinks that it may have possibly been prepared from a decoction of leaves of cypress.

[3021] See B. xiii. cc. 1. 29, and B. xv. c. 7.

[3022] See B. xv. c. 7. Oil of walnuts is used but little in medicine at the present day, but it is employed for numerous other purposes.

[3023] “Granum Cnidium.” See B. xv. c. 7.

[3024] It would only resemble castor oil in its drastic properties; the latter is a fixed natural oil, the former an artificial one.

[3025] See B. xv. c. 7. An oil is still extracted in Italy from the fruit of the Pistacia lentiscus; but it is no longer used in medicine.

[3026] From the Greek ἄκοπος, “relieving weariness.”

[3027] Or “ben.” See B. xii c. 46, and B. xv. c. 7. Oil of ben is still made, but it has no such effects as those mentioned by our author.

[3028] Pliny appears to have made the same error here in compiling from the Greek, as he has done in Chapters 4 and 13, in mistaking the Greek word signifying “scars,” for that meaning “gums.”

[3029] In B. xii. c. 51, and B. xv. c. 7.

[3030] The cyprus, or henna, is but little known in Europe: but it is employed for many purposes in the East. The leaves, which have a powerful smell, are used for the purpose of dyeing and staining various parts of the body.

[3031] Pliny has most probably committed an error here in mentioning the “strutheum,” or sparrow-quince; for the corresponding passage in Dioscorides, B. i. c. 124, speaks of the “struthion,” the Gypsophila struthium of Linnæus, or possibly, as Littré thinks, the Saponaria officinalis. See B. xix. c. 18.

[3032] This, Fée thinks, may probably be the case.

[3033] See B. xv. c. 7.

[3034] In B. xii. c. 54. Balm of Mecca, Fée says, possesses properties little different from the turpentines extracted from the Coniferæ.

[3035] “Tremulis.”

[3036] In B. xii. c. 59. Whatever malobathrum may have been, this was an artificial oil, no doubt.

[3037] “Hyoscyaminum.” A fixed oil with narcotic properties, and most probably, highly dangerous in its effects.

[3038] From the Greek θέρμος, a lupine.

[3039] In B. xxi. c. 75.

[3040] A fixed oil, charged with a small proportion of essential oil.

[3041] Fée is of opinion that applied to the body it would exterminate vermin.

[3042] Malignant cancer.

[3043] In B. xxi. c. 11.

[3044] In B. xv. c. 7.

[3045] Similar, probably, to the narcotic oil, or _baume tranquille_ of the French.

[3046] See B. xv. c. 7.

[3047] In B. xv. c. 7.

[3048] Probably because its oleaginous properties would tend to prevent imbibition and absorption, while its narcotic qualities would in some degree neutralize the strength of the wine. Almonds have a somewhat similar effect.

[3049] “Pissinum.” See B. xv. c. 7.

[3050] This is not the fact.

[3051] On the contrary, they are used at the present day as a pectoral; and many so-called pectoral sirops are prepared from them.

[3052] See B. vi. c. 37, and B. xiii. c. 9.

[3053] They have no properties, when burnt, to distinguish them from the ashes of other vegetables.

[3054] Impure metallic oxide.

[3055] “Calliblephara.”

[3056] See B. xii. cc. 46, 47.

[3057] Fée is of opinion that this is not the “myrobalanum” of B. xii. c. 46, the behen or ben nut, but the phœnicobalanus of c. 47 in that Book; and, indeed, there can be little doubt that Pliny has committed an error here in substituting one for the other.

[3058] “Ciet,” “promote,” is the reading adopted by Sillig, but “sistit” is supported by the parallel passage in Dioscorides.

[3059] See B. xii. c. 62, and the Note, in reference to the mistake which Pliny appears to have committed in reference to this term.

[3060] In reality, it is quite inert.

[3061] In consequence of the malic and tartaric acid which they contain.

[3062] Quinces are of an astringent nature; and an astringent sirop, Fée says, is still prepared from them.

[3063] They are no longer used for this purpose.

[3064] Fée observes that it has no such effect.

[3065] B. xiii. c. 2.

[3066] Or “sparrow-quince.” See B. xv. c. 10.

[3067] He states this so gravely, that he would almost appear to believe it.

[3068] “Honey apples.” See B. xv. c. 15, where this apple is also called the “musteum.”

[3069] A purgative sirop of apples, causing thirst, was made by the ancients, the receipt for which was attributed to King Sapor.

[3070] Or “round” apples. See B. xv. c. 15.

[3071] See B. xii. c. 7.

[3072] See B. xi. c. 15, and B. xii. c. 7.

[3073] As Fée says, this observation is quite unaccountable. He queries whether a sweet fruit may not possibly be meant, the sweet lime, for instance, the flavour of which is very sickly, and would require to be heightened by the assistance of an acid.

[3074] See B. xiii. c. 34; where, however, he has only distinguished them according to their flavour, sweet, vinous, &c.

[3075] “Without pips.” See B. xiii. c. 34.

[3076] This and the previous precaution given, Fée considers to be mere puerilities.

[3077] Than that of the ordinary grape, probably.

[3078] See B. xiii. c. 34.

[3079] The “leather apple,” apparently. It is more probable, as Hardouin says, that it was so called from the toughness of the rind.

[3080] “Pterygiis.”

[3081] See B. ix. c. 72, and B. xxxii. c. 3.

[3082] “Alumen scissum.” See B. xxxi. c. 39, and B. xxxv. c. 52.

[3083] See B. xii. c. 15, and B. xxiv. c. 77.

[3084] An absurd notion, without any apparent foundation.

[3085] All vegetable productions rich in tannin are thought to possess the property of acting as a vermifuge.

[3086] The calyx of the blossom of the pomegranate. Its properties are remarkably astringent.

[3087] This would be nearly an impossibility, as the calyx is hard and coriaceous, and of considerable size. Nothing, however, is allowed to stand in the way of superstition.

[3088] “Ipsa corpuscula.” The _exact_ meaning of this expression is somewhat doubtful: Hardouin takes it to be the lower part of the cytinus.

[3089] In B. xiii. c. 34.

[3090] The corolla of the flower. Dioscorides, B. i. c. 152, makes the “balaustium” to be the blossom of the wild pomegranate, and the “cytinus” to be that of the cultivated fruit. Theophrastus, however, and Galen, give the same account of the cytinus as Pliny. Holland has this quaint marginal Note on the passage: “Here is Pliny out of the way;” not improbably in reference to the statement of Dioscorides.

[3091] Or Quinarius. See Introduction to Vol. III.

[3092] These statements, Fée says, are quite unfounded.

[3093] See B. xii. c. 15, and B. xxiv. c. 77.

[3094] Fée thinks that there is no doubt that this was really the pomegranate, left to grow wild. Dalechamps and Fée suggest that, misled by the resemblance of the Greek names, Pliny has here attributed to the wild pomegranate the properties attributed to the red poppy, or corn poppy. Hardouin, however, is not of that opinion, and thinks that the mention of the _roots_ of the plant proves that Pliny has not committed any error here; as in B. xx. c. 77, he has attributed the narcotic effects of the poppy to the head only.

[3095] This depends considerably, as Fée says, upon the kind of pear.

[3096] See B. xv. c. 16.

[3097] There is no truth whatever in this statement.

[3098] They are equally inefficacious for the purpose,

[3099] See B. xxiv. c. 1. An absurdity, upon which Fée has uselessly expended a dozen lines of indignation.

[3100] In reality it has no affinity with vinegar or any other acid, and the fact that it curdles milk is no proof whatever that such is the case.

[3101] See B. xviii. c. 17.

[3102] Being of a caustic nature, it might have this effect, Fée thinks. It is, however, no longer employed in medicine. He is also of opinion that the juice of the fig-tree might be useful in making cheese.

[3103] Here, also, the caustic nature of their juices might render them useful.

[3104] “Ceria:” now known in surgery as “favus.”

[3105] This and the next statement are equally untrue.

[3106] See B. xv. c. 19.

[3107] “Medicatæ.” See B. xvi. c. 51.

[3108] They produce heart-burn and flatulency.

[3109] “Ad carnes eos transtulit.” Dalechamps takes this to mean “showed them that the flesh was increased by eating figs.” This Pythagoras was probably the Samian pugilist who gained a victory in Ol. 48.

[3110] This herb is rich in mucilage, and of a soothing nature.

[3111] “Æris flore.”

[3112] “Pterygiis.”

[3113] This is the case, as they are remarkably rich in alkaline salts. The assertion, however, as to their properties, is, as Fée says, hypothetical.

[3114] “Thymos.”

[3115] Metallic ashes, or dross. See B. xxxiv. c. 52.

[3116] “Suavitatem.” Fée is justly at a loss to understand how this could be. It is doubtful whether Pliny does not mean that by the use of this substance meat was _kept fresh_.

[3117] See B. xviii. c. 17.

[3118] Fée thinks that, owing to its acridity, it may possibly have this effect.

[3119] There is probably no foundation for this statement.

[3120] Favus.

[3121] Plutarch, Sympos. ii. 7, tells the same absurd story.

[3122] To “erineon,” the Greek for wild fig.

[3123] Supposed to be the Campanula rapunculus of Linnæus, the rampion; though Fée expresses some doubts. Guilandin has suggested the Hieracium Sabaudum of Linnæus, an opinion which Fée thinks not altogether destitute of probability.

[3124] The leaves of this tree contain a large proportion of tannin, to which they owe their astringent properties.

[3125] Prunes, the produce of the plum-tree, called the plum of Saint Julien, are still used as a purgative.

[3126] A most singular assertion, as Fée says, and one that universal experience proves to be unfounded.

[3127] On the contrary, it quenches thirst.

[3128] Fée thinks that, owing to the hydro-cyanic acid which the kernels contain, there may possibly be some foundation for this statement of their curative effects.

[3129] Both the root and the fruit are of an astringent nature. From this fruit an extract is prepared, Fée says, rich in tannin, and called in France Acacia nostras, from its resemblance to the juice of the Egyptian Acacia.

[3130] “Limus.” Fée thinks that this may possibly be the Evernia prunastri of modern botany. It has been suggested, however, that Pliny has committed an error here, and that in copying from the Greek source he has mistaken the author’s mention of the cure of lichens by the gum of the plum-tree, for an account of a lichen which grows on the tree. Such, in fact, is the statement of Dioscorides in B. i. c. 174, though he does not mention chaps and condylomata.

[3131] In B. xiii. cc, 14, 15, where he calls it a fig-tree. He alludes to the sycamore.

[3132] See B. xvi. c. 72.

[3133] This statement is entirely unfounded.

[3134] Considering that the leaves and bark are rich in tannin and gallic acid, it might be worth while to ascertain if there is any truth in this assertion.

[3135] But Horace says, Sat. B. ii. s. 4, l. 22, that mulberries are remarkably wholesome as a dessert.

[3136] In B. xvi. c. 41.

[3137] “All-healing,” “mouth-medicine,” and “medicine for the trachea.”

[3138] See B. xii. c. 60. A rob, or sirop of mulberries is prepared for much the same purposes at the present day, but without the omphacium, myrrh, or saffron. An “arteriace” is also mentioned in B. xx. c. 79.

[3139] Hermolaüs Barbarus is possibly right in suggesting “cytini,” which name has been previously mentioned in connection with the calyx of the pomegranate.

[3140] From the account given by Dioscorides, B. i. c. 181, this appears to he the meaning of the passage, which is very elliptically expressed, if, indeed, it is not imperfect.

[3141] In a powdered state, probably, as mentioned by Dioscorides.

[3142] The use of the word “conluebant” would almost make it appear that he is speaking of a liquid.

[3143] The juice (if, indeed, Pliny intends to specify it as an ingredient) will not, as Fée remarks, combine with oil. Dioscorides says, B. i. c. 180, that the _leaves_ are bruised and applied with oil to burns.

[3144] Black cherries, Fée says, bigaroons, and others, with a firm flesh, are the most unwholesome. See B. xv. c. 30.

[3145] This property. Fée says, is attributed by some, in modern times, not to the flesh, or pericarpus of the cherry, but to the stalks of the fruit.

[3146] See B. xv. c. 22.

[3147] See B. xv. c. 23.

[3148] They are no longer used in medicine, Fée says, but the buds of the pine and fir, the properties of which are analogous, are still used, though not in cases of hæmoptysis.

[3149] In a rancid state particularly, they would have this effect.

[3150] Fée thinks that the mixture might be useful in these cases.

[3151] See B. xv. c. 24.

[3152] “Hilariorem.” At the present day it is not a decoction of the root, but the fixed oil of the kernels, that is used as a cosmetic; for which purpose it is used with oil of sweet almonds and wax.

[3153] Their narcotic effect is owing to the prussic, or hydro-cyanic, acid which they contain.

[3154] Almonds were a favourite food with the monks in the middle ages; not improbably because they tended to dispel the fumes of wine. Almond milk, similar to our custard, was a standing dish at their “charities” and anniversaries.

[3155] See B. xviii. c. 17.

[3156] They would be of no use whatever in these cases.

[3157] Otherwise turpentine.

[3158] See B. xxii. c. 71.

[3159] See Note [3154] above. Plutarch tells us that Drusus, the brother of Tiberius, one of the greatest drinkers of his time, used almonds for this purpose. Fée will not believe that they have any such preventive effect.

[3160] Almonds will kill small animals, birds, for instance.

[3161] They are much more used in modern medicine than bitter almonds.

[3162] There is some ground, Fée says, for this assertion.

[3163] See B. xv. c. 24, where Pliny expresses himself at a loss as to their identification.

[3164] See B. xv. c. 24.

[3165] Κάρυα, from κάρος, “heaviness,” or κάρη, the “head.” See Vol. III. p. 316.

[3166] A mere prejudice, no doubt.

[3167] The rancidity of the oil which they contain, renders them irritating to the throat and stomach.

[3168] Fée remarks, that it is difficult to see how this could be done.

[3169] This statement, as Fée remarks, is quite unfounded.

[3170] This assertion is also entirely imaginary.

[3171] “Cortex juglandium.” Fée says that by this term is meant, not the green outer shell, husk, or pericarpus of the walnut, but the bark of the tree.

[3172] This asserted use of them has not been verified by modern experience.

[3173] The various receipts for the preparation of this Mithridate or antidote differ very widely; and, indeed, the probability is, as Dr. Heberden says, that Mithridates was as much a stranger to his own antidote, as modern physicians have since been to the medicines daily advertised under their names. Mithridates is said to have so fortified himself against all noxious drugs and poisons, that none would produce any effect when he attempted to destroy himself—a mere fable, no doubt.

[3174] This, we are told by Galen, was regularly done by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, De Antid. B. i. c. i.

[3175] See B. xv. c. 24.

[3176] An emulsion of them fresh, with honey, might be useful, Fée thinks, in such a case.

[3177] Either of these additions would certainly neutralize the good effects of the emulsion. The addition of raisin wine, however, is recommended by Dioscorides.

[3178] See B. xiii. c. 10.

[3179] They are of no efficacy whatever for such a purpose.

[3180] See B. xv. c. 25. They are no longer used in medicine, and, as Fée says, it is extremely doubtful if they possess any of the properties here attributed to them.

[3181] They are still looked upon as very nourishing, as, indeed, is the case with all the feculent fruits.

[3182] See B. xv. c. 26.

[3183] They are productive of colic and diarrhœa.

[3184] See B. xiii. c. 16.

[3185] See B. xv. c. 31.

[3186] The juice of the sap would, to all appearance, produce an acetate or oxide of iron.

[3187] See B. xv. c. 28.

[3188] All parts of the laurel, the berries in particular, are impregnated with an essential oil with a powerful odour and of an exciting nature. Upon this volatile principle, and nothing else, the whole of its medicinal properties are based.

[3189] This assertion, Fée says, is no better than fabulous.

[3190] See Lucan’s Pharsalia, B. ix. ll. 723, 776.

[3191] See the Pharsalia, B. ix. l. 719.

[3192] “Irino.” See B. xiii. c. 2.

[3193] This assertion, Fée says, is untrue.

[3194] See B. xv. c. 39.

[3195] All these statements as to the properties of the berries, Fée says, are hypothetical and more than doubtful.

[3196] The Laurus nobilis of modern botany.

[3197] A statement, Fée says, that is altogether illusory.

[3198] Of the berries, Fée thinks.

[3199] See c. 45 of this Book; also B. xxvii. c. 13.

[3200] Fée thinks that this oil, in conjunction with adipose substances, might be useful for the treatment of rheumatic affections.

[3201] The Ruscus hypophyllum of Linnæus. It is quite inodorous, Fée says, and has no analogous properties whatever with the next-mentioned plant.

[3202] See B. xv. c. 39.

[3203] In B. xv. c. 39.

[3204] The peasantry of France, Fée says, still use as a purgative the berries of the Daphne mezereum, and of the Daphne laureola; and in Aragon and Catalonia, the leaves of the Thymelea are used for a similar purpose. The employment of them, however, is not unattended with danger.

[3205] A variety with white berries, but which variety it appears impossible to say.

[3206] See B. xv. c. 37.

[3207] The leaves and berries are bitter, and rich in volatile oil.

[3208] This is consistent with fact.

[3209] A work of some kind, (perhaps a play, if the comic writer, Menander, is the person alluded to) the title of which means “the Women Dining together.” Hardouin, with justice, ridicules the notion of Ortelius that this is the name of some place or town.

[3210] The astringency communicated by the tannin which they contain would probably make them useful for dysentery; if at the same time, as Fée says, they are not too exciting, by reason of their essential oil.

[3211] See B. xi. c. 71.

[3212] “Succus seminis.” Sillig has “succus feminis,” apparently a misprint—the only one that has been met with thus far in his elaborate edition.

[3213] It might change the colour of the hair, but for a short time only.

[3214] See B. xv. c. 37.

[3215] Cerates, or adipose or oleaginous plasters.

[3216] In reality they have no such effect.

[3217] “Pterygia.”

[3218] Fée says here—“Pliny terminates, by a credulity quite unworthy of him, a Chapter, full of false or exaggerated assertions, relative to the properties of the myrtle.”

[3219] Or “myrtle-wine.” See B. xiv. c. 19; also B. xv. c. 35.

[3220] “Alarum perfusiones.”

[3221] See B. xv. cc. 7, 37: the Ruscus aculeatus of Linnæus, or little holly of the French, belonging to the Asparagea, and not the myrtles.

[3222] Being of the same family, of course there is a great resemblance.

[3223] In reality they have no such lithotriptic nature, Fée says.

[3224] A kindred plant with the one already mentioned by our author: it is still used for making brooms in some parts of Europe.

[3225] See end of B. xx.

[3226] See end of B. xiv.

[3227] See end of B. xii.

[3228] See end of B. xx.

[3229] See end of B. xx.

[3230] See end of B. ii.

[3231] See end of B. vii.

[3232] For Fabianus Papirius, see end of B. ii; for Fabianus Sabinus, see end of B. xviii.

[3233] See end of B. iii.

[3234] See end of B. ii.

[3235] See end of B. xx.

[3236] See end of B. ii.

[3237] See end of B. viii.

[3238] See end of B. xix.

[3239] See end of B. viii.

[3240] See end of B. vii.

[3241] See end of B. xxi.

[3242] See end of B. xxi.

[3243] See end of B. xxi.

[3244] See end of B. xxi.

[3245] See end of B. iv.

[3246] See end of B. xxi.

[3247] See end of B. xxi.

[3248] See end of B. xxi.

[3249] See end of B. vii.

[3250] See end of B. xx.

[3251] See end of B. xx.

[3252] See end of B. xx.

[3253] See end of B. xii.

[3254] See end of B. xv.

[3255] See end of B. xii.

[3256] See end of B. xx.

[3257] See end of B. xx.

[3258] See end of B. xx.

[3259] See end of B. xx.

[3260] See end of B. xx.

[3261] See end of B. xx.

[3262] See end of B. xx.

[3263] See end of B. vii.

[3264] See end of B. xx.

[3265] See end of B. xx.

[3266] See end of B. xii.

[3267] See end of B. xi.

[3268] See end of B. xii.

[3269] See end of B. xx.

[3270] See end of B. xii.

[3271] See end of B. xx.

[3272] See end of B. xx.

[3273] See end of B. vi.

[3274] See end of B. xx.

[3275] See end of B. xx.

[3276] See end of B. xx.

[3277] See end of B. xx.

[3278] See end of B. xii.

[3279] See end of B. xx.

[3280] See end of B. xx.

[3281] See end of B. xix.

[3282] See end of B. xx.

[3283] See end of B. xx.

[3284] See end of B. xx.

END OF VOL. IV.

J. BILLING, PRINTER AND STEREOTYPER, WOKING, SURREY.

Transcriber’s Notes:—

The spelling, hyphenation, punctuation and accentuation are as the original, except for apparent typographical errors which have been silently corrected.

The footnotes for each of the six volumes have been renumbered, the references to notes in other volumes have been changed accordingly.

Footnote [2369] in the original incorrectly reads:— The Solanum nigrum of Linnæus, or black night-shade. See B. xxiii. c. 108. This has been changed to:— The Solanum nigrum of Linnæus, or black night-shade. See B. xxi. c. 108.