probably other species of the _Rosa_, L. Dioscorides gives a careful
exposition of the particular uses of Roses in medicine. He says they are
cooling and astringent. In preparing the flowers for use, he directs the
nails or white portions to be clipped off with a pair of scissors, and
the remainder compressed and pounded in a shade in a mortar, until they
form into a ball. He recommends them in diseases of the eyes, headache,
affections of the ears, gums, anus, and womb, &c., also when sprinkled
in powder on intertrigo, and as an ingredient in the ointments called
_calliblephara_. (i, 130.) We need not devote time to the exposition
of what the other authorities have written on this subject. See Celsus
(pluries); Galen (De Simpl. viii, et alibi); Avicenna (ii, 2, 568);
Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i, 585); Serapion (De Simpl. 108). The Arabians say
of rose-water that it is stomachic and hepatic; and of rose-oil, that it
relieves inflammation of the stomach and loss of its tone. They recommend
rose-water further both in syncope and in hæmoptysis. Like the Greeks,
they make it an ingredient in their collyria to the eyes and eyelids.
Rhases and Avicenna give particular directions for preparing an ablution
with roses to remove fetid perspiration.
Ῥοδία ῥίζα,
Rosea radix, is heating in the second degree, and is attenuating and
discutient.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. The older commentators and herbalists are by no means
satisfied that it was the _Rhodiola Rosea_, or rosewood; but the later
authorities are pretty much agreed upon this point. See Sprengel (in
Dioscor. iv, 45) and Lindley (Veg. Kingd. 631). Dioscorides merely
recommends it along with valerian as an application to the forehead and
temple in cephalalgia. The other authorities, like Paulus, are content
with barely stating its general characters.
Ῥοιὰι,
Mala Punica, _Pomegranates_; the prevailing quality of all the species
of them is an astringent power, by which they act as refrigerants and
desiccants. But the sweet have this property in a less degree than the
others. The austere are more refrigerant, but are of a drier nature and
stomachic. Those which are acid are cooling in a greater degree, but have
also something incisive in their nature. The kernels are more astringent
and desiccative than the juice, but still more so the outer membrane or
rind called _Malicorium_. The flowers called _Cytini_ have similar powers.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. It is evidently the _Punica granatum_ L. Woodville says,
“Hippocrati arbor audit σίδη unde cortex fructus σίδιον.” They frequently
occur in the Hippocratic treatises. (De Diæta, ii, &c.) Cytini is
generally put for the flowers of the cultivated pomegranate, and
balaustia for those of the wild. The bark of the root called malicorium
by Celsus was much used. Pliny, like the medical authorities, speaks of
them all as being excellent astringents. He recommends them particularly
in cæliac affections and hæmoptysis. (H. N. xxiii, 57.) The most
interesting of the ancient authorities on this head is Dioscorides, who
says of the sweet pomegranate that it engenders heat and flatulence in
the stomach, and hence is unsuitable in fevers; and of the acid, that
it relieves ardor of the stomach, and is more astringent and diuretic,
being unsavoury and styptic; that the vinous has an intermediate
nature; that the kernel of the acid pomegranate, when dried in the
sun and sprinkled on food and boiled with it, restrains fluxes of the
stomach and bowels; that when macerated in rain-water and drunk, it is
beneficial in hæmoptysis, and in a hip-bath is suitable in dysentery
and other fluxes; and that the expressed juice of the kernels, when
boiled and mixed with honey, is suitable to ulcers in the mouth, on the
pudendum and anus; for pterygia on the fingers, spreading ulcers, fungus,
earache, and complaints in the nose, and more especially those of the
acid pomegranate. (i, 141.) He also treats separately of the flowers and
the bark, recommending the latter as an anthelminthic medicine. Galen
and the other Greek authorities treat of the pomegranate in nearly the
same words as Paulus. It would exceed our limits to give a notice of the
various cases in which Celsus prescribes this medicine. Suffice it to
say, that he calls it stomachic, cooling, and styptic, and recommends the
flowers, the bark, and the root for these and various other purposes. For
the Arabians see Avicenna (ii, 2, 109, 313); Serapion (De Simpl. 129);
Rhases (Contin. l. ult. i, 443); Averrhoes (Collig. v, 42); Ebn Baithar
(i, 499). One of Serapion’s authorities, Ruffus, recommends the acid
pomegranate in cardiac disease, and another, Aben Mesue, in cholera and
syncope, which attends it. All praise it as a stomachic, more especially
in the loss of appetite attending pregnancy, and in vomiting. Rhases and
Avicenna say that pomegranate wine relieves intoxication. Both the sweet
and the acid are held to be diuretic, but especially the latter. The
flesh of the sweet purges yellow bile and strengthens the stomach. They
all represent the rind as being anthelminthic. On this use of it, see
Book IV, 58, and Pereira (Mat. Med. 1101). It has been a question, by the
way, whether the malicorium _or_ σίδιον of the Greeks, was the rind of
the fruit or the bark of the root. We used to think it the former, but
the examination of a passage in Avicenna (l. c.) has satisfied us that
the latter was also sometimes included. In the modern Greek Pharmacopœia
both the bark of the root and the rind of the fruit are described, the
term σίδιον being restricted to the latter.
Ῥοῦς βυρσοδεψικὴ,
Rhus Coriaria, _Sumach_; the fruit and juice of it come principally to be
used by physicians, being considerably astringent and desiccative of the
third order, but detergent of the second.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. It is the _Rhus Coriaria_, or _Elm-leaved Sumach_. This
also was much used as an astringent. Pliny briefly says of it, “vim
habet astringendi refrigerandique.” The Arabian writers on husbandry
mention that in times of famine bread was sometimes made from sumach.
Dioscorides says of it that its leaves are astringent, being applicable
in the same cases as acacia. He recommends it in dysentery when given
by the mouth, in a lavement and hip-bath, as an injection in cases of
purulent discharges from the ears, and for many other practical purposes.
He concludes with mentioning that it bears a gum which is put into the
holes of carious teeth to relieve pain. (i, 147.) Celsus notices it but
once, and then as an application to aphthous ulcerations of the mouth.
(vi, 11.) It is mentioned as an astringent medicine and condiment in the
Hippocratic treatises. (De Mulieb. and de Liquid. usu.) Galen, and the
other Greek authorities after him, merely state its general properties as
a medicine. The Arabians treat of it under the name of sumach, which it
still retains. See Avicenna (ii, 2, 635); Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i. 695);
Serapion (De Simpl. 225); Ebn Baithar (ii, 46, 163.)
Ῥύπος,
The Sordes, from copper statues or vessels, in which a considerable
quantity of oil has been kept, having also some verdigris, is discutient,
moderately desiccative and emollient. It therefore discusses unconcocted
phymata. But the sordes in the palestra (which some call paton), has been
described under the head of sweat. The sordes in the ears is said to cure
whitlows.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. Sprengel gives a long dissertation on the sordes palestræ.
(Ad Dioscor. i, 36.) Suffice it to say in this place that it was
collected from the bodies of the wrestlers in the palestra, and consisted
of oil, sweat, dust, and any powder used for cleansing the skin.
Sprengel, from a passage in the works of Theophrastus (H. P. v, 9),
infers that the sordes gymnasiorum were collected from statues made of
cedar, but he appears to have overlooked the account of it given by our
author, from which it must be obvious that it was collected from statues
of copper, or rather of bronze. The sordes balneorum, which is treated of
by Dioscorides (i, 34), will be readily understood from the description
which we have given in another place (Vol. I, 68), of the preparatory
process which the bathers went through before going into the bath. It
must have consisted then of human sweat and other impurities extracted
from the skin, mixed up with soda, flour of beans, or any other substance
used in cleansing the skin by means of the comb (strigil.) Dioscorides
says it is heating, emollient, and discutient, and is used as a liniment
to fissures and condylomata. These articles are treated of by most of
the other authorities. On the sordes palestræ, see in particular Galen.
(T. ii, 136, ed. Basil.) For the Arabians see Avicenna (ii, 2, 648), and
Serapion (De Simpl. 169).
Σαγαπηνὸν,
Sagapenum, _Sagapen_, is the juice of a sort of ferula, being hot and
attenuate. It is also somewhat detergent, so as to agree with cicatrices
in the eyes and suffusions.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. It has never been disputed, as far as we are aware, that the
ancient sagapenum was the same substance as the modern. However, it is
not even yet well ascertained by what tree it is furnished, but it is
generally supposed to be either the _Ferula Persica_ or _F. Szowitsiana_.
See Lindley (Veg. Kingd. 776). We know no more about it, then, at the
present day than what was known of it by Dioscorides, who describes it
as being the juice of a plant resembling the ferula, having a smell
intermediate between the juice of silphium (assafœtida) and galbanum.
He recommends it for various medicinal purposes; for affections of the
chest, epilepsy, hysterical convulsions, for promoting menstruation, and
destroying the fœtus in utero; as an alexipharmic, and for discussing
films on the eyes, cataracts, &c. (iii, 85.) Galen, Aëtius, and Oribasius
give much the same account of it as our author. Galen says it is the
juice of a certain ferula resembling panax. (De Antid. i.) It occurs
in the works of Celsus as an ingredient in the famous antidote of
Mithridates, and also as an ingredient in one of his collyria. (vi, 6,
24.) For the Arabians see Averrhoes (Collig. v, 42); Avicenna (ii, 2,
629); Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i, 631); Serapion (192); Ebn Baithar (ii,
37.) They recommend it in a good many more cases than the Greeks do. For
example, they all say that it is a gentle laxative. Modern authorities,
however, have denied that it is possessed of this property. See Hill
(Mat. Med.) Rutty, notwithstanding, seems to agree with the ancients.
(Mat. Med. 447.)
Σαλαμάνδρα,
Salamandra, _Salamander_; when burnt its ashes are by some mixed with
corrosive medicines and remedies for lepra and scabies.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. It is the _Salamandra terrestris_. The story of the
salamander’s being proof against the operation of fire is mentioned by
Nicander, Aristotle, and Theophrastus; but the truth of it is questioned
by Dioscorides. Sprengel remarks that the real fact is, that the
salamander is a black ugly lizard, from whose body a cold viscid fluid is
secreted, which may be capable of extinguishing a small coal. Agricola
says, its body is as cold as ice, and therefore capable of extinguishing
a coal. M. l’Abbé Bonnaterre likewise states that the humour which it
secretes from its body prevents the operation of coals from affecting
it for a short time. (Encycl. Méthod.) Our author borrows his medicinal
character of the salamander from Dioscorides, who says it is possessed of
septic, ulcerative, and calefacient powers, like cantharides. (ii. 67.)
None of the other authorities give any additional information of much
interest under this head. The Arabians would appear not to have included
it in their Materia Medica.
Σάμψυχον,
Sampsuchum (a species of marjoram), is calefacient and desiccative in the
third degree. It also consists of subtile parts, and is discutient.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. Although Galen and our author distinguish the _Amaracus_
from the _Sampsuchus_, there seems no reason to doubt their identity.
See Needham (Ad Geopon. xi, 27); the Synonymes of Dioscor. (iii, 41);
and Sprengel (ibid.) Dioscorides describes it (_Origanum marjorana_)
minutely, and says its decoction is drunk with advantage in cases of
dropsy, dysuria, and tormina; that its dried leaves, in a cataplasm with
honey, remove suggillations; and that in a pessary it is emmenagogue.
He also recommends it as an external application to the stings of
scorpions, sprains, œdematous swellings, inflammations of the eyes, and
as a calefacient ingredient in acopa and malagmata. (Ibid.) Galen and the
other Greek authorities treat of it in general terms. For the Arabians,
see Avicenna (ii, 2, 466); Serapion (c. 286); Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i,
439). They recommend it in the same cases as the Greeks; and also in
hemicrania, vertigo, earache, in embrocations and injections. They also
speak well of the oil of it as an application in cases of paralysis.
The “Thymus Cyprius” of Celsus is set down by C. Bauhin as being the
_Thymus mastichius_; but whether it be any other than the marjoram seems
doubtful, although Celsus certainly mentions them as distinct substances.
(v, 11.) Compare our account of this article with what Quincy says of the
marjoram in the ‘Complete English Dispensatory’ (60.)
Σανδαράχη,
Sandaracha, _Red Arsenic_, is possessed of caustic powers like orpiment.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. That it was the sub-species of sulphuret of arsenic, called
realgar, namely, “the red orpiment” of Jameson, can admit of no question.
In our Appendix to this section, we shall have something to say relative
to the sandaracha of the Arabians. Dioscorides says it has the same
general powers as arsenic (yellow orpiment), and recommends it externally
in alopecia, leprosy, phthiriasis, hard boils, ulcers in the nose and
mouth, other exanthemata and condylomata; and also internally in cases
of empyema with mulse; in fumigations with resin in chronic cough, when
its steam is inhaled into the mouth by means of a syphon. He concludes
by saying of it, that in a linctus with honey it clears the voice, and
along with dry pitch makes an excellent pill for asthmatics. (v, 121.)
Galen, Aëtius, and Oribasius give but a very brief and general account of
it. Celsus places it in his lists of cleansing and corroding substances
(v, 5, 6), and often prescribes it as a septic and caustic application.
Avicenna treats of the white, the yellow, and the red arsenic in the same
chapter. What he says of the last, or realgar, is taken from Dioscorides.
(ii, 2, 48.) Serapion also treats of the yellow and red arsenic in the
same chapter, and merely gives extracts under this head from Dioscorides
and Galen. See further Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i, 610); Averrhoes (Collig.
v, 43); Haly Abbas (Pract. ii, 48, 503); Ebn Baithar (i, 527.) The last
of these gives an interesting description of three kinds of arsenic,
namely, the yellow, the red, and the white. The red of course is the
article now under consideration. He says of the yellow and red, that when
calcined they become white, and when melted with a certain red ore lose
their disagreeable smell. The white is said to be a mortal poison. The
yellow and the red he recommends in phagedænic sores of the mouth and
nose and elsewhere, and as an inhalation in asthma and orthopnœa.
Σάνδυξ,
Sandyx, or Siricon, consists of subtile parts, and has desiccative
powers, but not heating.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. Galen says that when ceruse is burnt, that is to say,
calcined, it becomes sandyx. (De Simpl. ix.) See also Pliny (H. N.
xxxv, 23.) He calls it burnt ceruse mixed with an equal proportion of
rubrica. See also Alston and Sprengel. Dioscorides treats of it under the
same head as ceruse, and describes the process by which the latter is
converted into sandyx. The Arabian authorities, in like manner, treat of
it along with ceruse. See Serapion (c. 378); Avicenna (ii, 2, 117.) From
what has been said, then, it will be readily seen that it was merely a
peculiar preparation of ceruse.
Σαπρότης ξύλων,
Caries lignorum, _Carious Wood_, and especially that of the elm, cleanses
and fills humid ulcers.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. Our author’s account of the _Caries_ or _Rot_ of wood is
taken from Dioscorides, who recommends it in the same cases as Carbo
ligni is now applied, namely, to ulcers, but more especially spreading
ulcers. (i, 143.) It is the Lignorum marcor of the Arabians, who
recommend it in the same cases as the Greeks. See Avicenna (ii, 2, 617);
Serapion (c. 48.)
Σάπων,
Sapo, _Soap_, is possessed of detergent powers.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. The first author, we believe, who makes mention of _Soap_ is
Pliny. He calls it an invention of the Gauls. It is made, he says, of
suet and ashes. (H. N. xxviii, 51.) Aretæus likewise calls it a Gallic
composition, prepared from soda, and used for cleansing clothes. He
recommends it as an application to the skin in elephantiasis. (De Curat.
Morb. Chron. ii, 13.) Serapion praises it as an application to abscesses.
The only Greek authority which he quotes under this head is Paulus.
(De Simpl. 368.) See also Avicenna (ii, 2, 650); Rhases (Cont. l. ult.
i, 609, ii, 628); and Ebn Baithar (ii, 119.) One of Baithar’s Arabian
authorities commends soap in leprosy and scabies; also in favus and the
cutaneous diseases of the scalp. Ebn Baithar further gives a very curious
account of the process of dyeing the beard by means of a mixture of
soap and sandyx. This was a very ancient use of soap, and is frequently
alluded to by the classical authors. (Ovid. Ars. Amand. iii, 163.) This
subject is treated of very ingeniously by Beckmann in his ‘History of
Inventions.’ The author, however, is mistaken in supposing that there
is no mention of soap in the works of Galen, with the exception of that
work ‘De Simplicibus,’ universally admitted to be spurious, whereas Galen
frequently makes mention of it in works about the authenticity of which
there has never been any question. As for example, (Meth. Med. viii); (De
Comp. med. sec. loc. T. ii, 225.) In the latter passage he makes distinct
mention of Gallic soap.
Σαρκοκόλλα,
Sarcocolla, is the tear of a Persian tree, being emplastic and
desiccative without pungency, and therefore it agglutinates wounds.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. There is not, we presume, the slightest reason to doubt
that the ancient Sarcocol was the same as the modern, namely, the gum
of the _Penæa Sarcocolla_. Dioscorides mentions only its external use
in agglutinating wounds and restraining defluxions on the eyes. (iii,
89.) The Greeks confined the use of it to external applications; but
the Arabians sometimes administered it internally as a purge. Thus
Serapion, Rhases, and Avicenna say that it purges crude humours and gross
phlegm, especially from the joints. They recommend it with honey as an
application in diseases of the ear. They say it corrodes putrid flesh,
and heals recent wounds, and restores parts that are distorted. See
Avicenna (ii, 2, 592); Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i, 617); Serapion (c. 15.)
Even as late as the time of Dr. Lewis the sarcocol was still retained in
our English Dispensatory with the characters assigned to it by the Greeks
and Arabians. Of late years it has been entirely omitted.
Σαρξιφαγὲς,
Saxifraga, _Saxifrage_, is diuretic and lithontriptic.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. There has been great diversity of opinion respecting it,
as Sprengel has shown in a very learned dissertation. (Ad Dioscor. iv,
15.) It is, therefore, by no means certain that it is the _Pimpinella
Saxifraga_, but we incline to this opinion. Apuleius says that it is
lithontriptic, and indeed it appears to have derived its name from
this real or supposed property. The chapter of Dioscorides on it is of
doubtful authenticity. It is not contained in Galen’s work on Simples. We
doubt also if it is to be found in the works of the Arabians. Not many
years ago the Burnet saxifrage held a place in the Dispensatory with
the character of possessing the virtues ascribed to this article by the
ancients. See Quincy (147.)
Σατύριον,
Satyrion, or Trifolium, is of a humid and hot temperament, and flatulent;
hence it is a provocative to venery. Some say that it cures opisthotonos
when drunk with austere wine; but Galen, in his treatise ‘De Theriaca,’
says, that the trifolium, which is like the hyacinth, when it becomes
pregnant with the spring, has a seed like the wild cnicus, and that when
the decoction of it is poured upon the bite of the phalangium or viper
it cures the same; but when applied to a sound part, he says, that it
induces an affection similar to that of those who have been bitten by one
of those creatures.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. It is very difficult to determine; and it would be useless
to mention the variety of conjectures which have been advanced
respecting it. Sprengel inclines to think that it was a species of
tulip, and suggests that it probably was the _Tulipa Gesneriana_. This
is the species which Dioscorides further distinguishes by the name
of _Trifolium_. The other named by him _Erythronium_ is probably the
_Erythronium Dens Canis_. What confirms this conjecture very much is, the
circumstance that the _Dens Canis_ is still reputed to be aphrodisiac,
as the _Erythronium_ is reported to be by Dioscorides. (iii, 134.) See
Lindley (Veg. Kingd. 204.) Galen gives nearly the same account of it as
our author. The Arabians scarcely appear to distinguish it properly from
the orchis, but otherwise they give the same characters of these plants
as the Greeks. See Avicenna (ii, 2, 706, 707); Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i,
7, 14.)
Σάυρα,
Lacerta, _the Lizard_; the liver and head have been treated of in their
proper places. When an entire one has been cut in pieces and applied, it
cures persons bitten by scorpions.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. It seems not unlikely that it may have been the _Lacerta
Gecko_. See the translation of Ebn Baithar by Sontheimer (ii, 3), where
the chapter of Dioscorides on the Saura, is arranged under this head,
along with another to the same effect from Avicenna. Dioscorides, and
indeed all the authorities who treat of it, recommend it for the bites of
scorpions. Pliny recommends it in complaints of the eyes. (H. N. xxix,
38.) The Arabians recommend it in the same cases as the Greeks, and also
say of it, that its liver soothes the pains of toothache, and that its
urine and blood are useful in the ruptures of children. See Avicenna (ii,
2, 639.) In the East it is still used medicinally. Ainslie (Mat. Ind. ii,
276.)
Σέλινον,
Apium, _Parsley_, is hot to such a degree that it promotes the urinary
and menstrual discharges. It is also carminative and especially the seed
of it.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. There seems little or no doubt that it is the Common
Parsley, namely, _Apium petroselinum_, which long held a place in our
Dispensatory, and retained in it its ancient characters. Dioscorides
recommends it in a great many cases; for inflammations of the eyes in
cataplasms; for heat of the stomach; as a diuretic and antidote to
venomous animals; and for various other medicinal purposes. (iii, 77.)
Galen and the other Greek authorities merely state its virtues in general
terms. The Arabians treat of it under Apium, not distinguishing it very
accurately from its congeners. See Avicenna (ii, 2, 55); Serapion (c.
290); Averrhoes (Collig. v, 42); Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i, 69.)
Σερὶς,
Seris, _Endive_, is a bitterish potherb, being considerably refrigerant
and diluent. It has also some astringency.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. It comprehends the _Cichorium Intybus_ and the _C. Endivia_.
It is now known by the names of the Endive, or Garden Succory. We have
treated of it as an article of food in the First Book, and as a medicine
it is not deserving of much notice, after what we have said of its
congener under the head of _Cichorium_. It was generally held to be a
good hepatic medicine. See Dioscorides (ii, 125); Galen (De Simpl.);
Avicenna (ii, 2, 229); Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i. 266.)
Σέριφον,
Seriphon, is heating in the second degree, but desiccative in the first,
being like wormwood, only it is less astringent and more calefacient than
it. It is also anthelminthic, and to a considerable degree bad for the
stomach.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. From Dioscorides’s description we may confidently refer it
to the _Artemisia maritima_, Angl., _Drooping-flowered Sea Wormwood_.
Dioscorides gives it exactly the same characters as our author, namely,
that of being bitterish, astringent, and a good vermifuge. (iii, 24.)
Galen says of it, that it is more powerfully anthelminthic than the
absinthium. The Arabians treat of it along with the absinthium. It is
not to be found in the works of Hippocrates and Celsus.
Σέσελι,
Seseli, _Hard Meadow Saxifrage_ (?) or _Hartwort_; the root, and more
especially the fruit, is considerably heating with tenuity of parts, and
is also diuretic. It agrees with epilepsy and orthopnœa.
* * * * *