amomum, oz. j; of cassia, oz. vj; of ladanum, oz. j; of white pepper
grains, xl; of troglodytic myrrh, dr. j. These things being bruised and
sifted are to be again triturated in a mortar, with the addition of one
pound of oil of nard. To render the medicine darker, triturate the burnt
barks of walnuts in a mortar, and add; then mix of opobalsam, cochl. iij,
and use.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. The preparation of oils and ointments is fully treated of by
Dioscorides in the first book of his Materia Medica; and in like manner
by Pliny (H. N. xv, 7, and xiii, 2.) See also Avicenna (v, 1, 10, 11);
Serapion (vii, 25); Haly Abbas (Pract. x, 19); and Mesue (De Unguentis et
De Oleis.)
Notwithstanding the importance of these articles for medicinal and
pharmaceutical purposes, we think it unnecessary to treat of them more
at large, as our author’s account is sufficiently ample and accurate,
and few articles of any great consequence are omitted by him. It will be
remarked that most of the unguents and ointments here described are of a
fragrant nature.
SECT. XXI.—ON ŒNANTHARIA.
It is not because they contain the wild vine (œnanthe) that they are
called œnantharia, for some of them have no wild vine at all; but it
is from the wine and flower of the lilies that they have obtained this
appellation. The œnantharia are used by some solely for their fragrance,
and for luxury alone; these persons having them poured over their bodies
after coming out of the bath, and having their tables wiped with sponges
dipped in them. But to those who use them properly, they prove remedies
in cases of paralysis and syncope, if mixed with the tonic cataplasms,
for the stomach; and to convalescents more especially from febrile
diseases. They are to be poured upon the bodies of such persons, and
applied to their noses if they can still inhale. For they are drawn in
deeply, and strengthen the mental and vital spirits. They are useful,
likewise, as preservatives from pestilential diseases, when the state
of the atmosphere appears to be of this nature. The following is the
œnantharium of Posidonius, which he calls Mesopotamenum.
_The preparation of the œnantharium._ Of cassia, of myrrh, of
frankincense, of Indian leaf, of amomum, of mastich, of costus, of
carpobalsam, of opobalsam, of each, oz. iij; of fatty storax, oz. iv; of
fragrant Aminæan wine, x Italian sext. Having pounded and filtrated all
the things, divide the storax into small pieces, put into a vessel with
a broad mouth along with the leaves of lilies, dried the preceding day
and stripped of their nails, placing them alternately; let the lilies be
_ccc_ in number; then put in the wine and the opobalsam, which have been
mixed and stirred together before their addition, and having covered up
the mouth of the vessel, expose to the sun for forty days. Use after the
bath, as a restorative from disease, sprinkling the house and vessels
with it, or dipping sponges in it and applying to the face.
_Another, of our own invention._ Of costus, oz. iij; of spikenard, of
arnabo, of cloves, of each, oz. j; of amomum, oz. iij; of cassia, of wild
vine, of calamus, of each, oz. ix; of storax, of opobalsam, of each, oz.
iv; lilies, _ccc_; of Falernian wine, sext. x. Prepare after the same
manner.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. See also Aëtius (xii, 116) and Myrepsus (§ 37.) The
Œnantharia were fragrant preparations, made with wine and aromatics. The
prescriptions given by Aëtius and Myrepsus are so similar to our author’s
that we need not repeat them. We are not aware of the Arabian authors
having treated of them anywhere; at all events, they have not done so by
this name.
SECT. XXII.—ON PERFUMES AND CYPHI.
In materials the cyphi are intermediate between the trochisks which are
drunk and the antidotes. We use them sometimes in fumigations on account
of their fragrance, and so also the perfumes; sometimes we smell to them,
in order to concoct catarrhs and defluxions, and as deobstruents, and to
clear the parts about the brain, and as preservatives from pestilential
disorders; they are also taken by the mouth for these purposes, and to
concoct matters lodged in the chest, and for cold affections in the
liver: hence the ancients invented the antidotes called cyphoid. They are
mixed also with compound medicines, and more especially with epithemes
and antidotes.
_Suffimentum rosatum, rose perfume._ Of costus, of amomum, of myrrh, of
cassia, of each, oz. j; of Chian storax, of bdellium, of onyx, of moss,
of ladanum, of each, dr. ij; of pure roses, oz. xxix; of opobalsam, of
wine, q. s.
_Suffimentum liliaceum, the perfume from lilies._ Of lilies deprived of
their nails (i. e. the white parts of their flowers), lb. j; of primary
storax, oz. ix; of spikenard, oz. iij; of costus, of cloves, of amomum,
of mastich, of burnt onyches, of honey, of each, oz. iss; of opobalsam,
oz. v; of wine, q. s. Triturate and form trochisks.
_The cyphi magnum called the solar, consisting of thirty-six
ingredients._ Of storax, of myrrh, of bdellium, of ladanum, of rosewood,
of elecampane, of each, oz. vj; of Celtic nard, of Indian leaf, of
cypress-seed, of ammoniac perfume, of pine-nuts, of the moss of trees
(splanchnon), or, instead of it, of two large onyches, of carpobalsam,
of each, oz. iij; of cassia, of iris, of seseli, of sphagnon (muscus
arboreus?), of cyperus, of cardamom, of sweet-cane, of each, oz. v; of
dried roses, of saffron, of spikenard, of savin, of the root of kingspear
(but some use the juice), of each, oz. iv; of lacaphthus (it is the bark
of a pine or of some other tree), oz. ix; of costus, of the flower of
schœnanth, of each, oz. ij; forty large juniper-berries and fifty small;
of amomum, of turpentine, of pure palm-nuts, of each, lb. j; of dried
figs without their stones, of dried grapes without their stones, of each,
lb. ij; of scummed honey, lb. v. Posidonius adds, likewise, of fragrant
wine, sext. iij.
_Another cyphi, called the lunar, consisting of twenty-eight
ingredients._ Of bdellium, of elecampane, of each, oz. vij; of schœnanth,
oz. ij; of the moss of trees, oz. v; fifty small juniper-berries; of
cardamom, oz. v; of rose-wood, oz. vij; of cassia fistula, oz. v; of
spikenard, oz. ij; of cyperus, oz. v; of the root of kingspear, of savin,
of each, oz. iv; of cypress-seed, of Celtic nard, of malabathrum with the
leaves, of dried roses, of each, oz. iij; of costus, of saffron, of each,
oz. ij; of ladanum, of myrrh, of each, oz. vij; of fatty dried figs, of
grapes deprived of their stones, of each, lb. ij; of pine-nuts, oz. viij;
of turpentine, lb. j; of storax, oz. vij; of fatty palm-nuts, lb. j; of
honey, lb. v; of fragrant wine, q. s.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. See Aëtius (xiii, 37); Oribasius (Synopsis, iii); Myrepsus
(i, 299); Actuarius (Meth. Med. v, 6.) These are sweet-smelling
compositions which were used as restoratives, or in order to sooth. The
following _suffitus_ of Oribasius is soporific: Of storax, of amomum,
of costus, of ammoniac perfume, of Scythian bdellium, of the root of
mandrake, of the juice of poppy. The cyphoid antidotes of Myrepsus
are very multifarious compositions, consisting of a great variety of
aromatics, mixed up with honey and fragrant wines.
Similar preparations are described by the Arabians among the confections
and antidotes. See Avicenna, Serapion, and Haly Abbas.
SECT. XXIII.—THE PREPARATION OF MASUCHA, WHICH SOME CALL MASUAPHIUM.
Of melilots, oz. x; of the wood of balsamum, of rose-wood, of savin, of
myrrh, of amomum, of the schœnanth, of bay-leaves, of the fat of myrrh
(_stacte_), of storax, of calamus aromaticus, of sampsuchum, of each,
oz. ij; of iris, oz. v; of Indian leaf, of saffron, of each, oz. j; of
opobalsam, oz. ss; of gum, lb. j; of dried roses, oz. vj; of wine, q. s.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. See Aëtius (xiii, 118); Myrepsus (§ xxi, 14); Actuarius
(Meth. Med. v. 8.) The following is Myrepsus’s formula for the
suffimentum called _Masucha_: Of yellow aloes, of bay-leaves, of costus,
of amomum, of cardamom, of cassia, of carpobalsam, of ladanum, of each,
lb. iss; of myrrh, of iris, of melilot, of Indian leaf, of roses, of the
leaves of olive, of Celtic nard, of each, lb. ss oz. iij; of saffron, oz.
iij; of galbanum, oz. ss; of gum, lb. iss; of fragrant wine, q. s.
SECT. XXIV.—ON PESSARIES, FROM THE WORKS OF ANTYLLUS.
Pessaries are applied to the womb. There are three different kinds of
them; for some are emollient, some astringent, and some are anastomative,
i. e. they open the mouths of vessels. We use the emollient in
inflammations of the womb, in ulceration and coldness of it, in ascension
upwards, eversion and inflation thereof. They are prepared from Tuscan
wax, the oil of privet and of lilies, the fat of geese and of fowls,
unsalted butter, burnt rosin, stag’s marrow, fenugreek, and the like. The
anastomative, or those which open the mouths of vessels, are used when
we wish to recall the menstrual purgation that has been stopped, or to
correct the state of the womb when it is shut up or contracted. These are
prepared from honey, mugwort, dittany, the juice of cabbage, liquorice,
the juice of horehound, rue, scammony, or the like. The astringent
are used in cases the reverse of those for which the anastomative are
applied; for they restrain the female discharge, contract the womb when
it is open, and impel it upwards when prolapsed. The materials of the
astringent have been already pointed out in the chapter on Collyria and
Trochisks. The pessary is to be made of the thickness of bath sordes,
and a little thicker; and then some wool, like a narrow tent, is to be
doubled and dipped in the medicine, and applied to the mouth of the womb,
having a long thread attached to it to draw down the pessary readily
when it is thought proper.—The Saffron Pessary, for inflammations,
eversions, hardness, and inflation of the womb: Of white wax, of calf’s
marrow, of each, dr. xvj; of stag’s marrow, dr. xj; of the grease of
geese, dr. viij; of the grease of fowls, dr. viij; of mastich, dr. iv;
of the medicine œsypum, dr. iij; of honey, dr. ij; of saffron, dr. viij;
of rose oil, q. s. Triturate the saffron with the milk of a woman.—The
Golden Pessary, an excellent emollient: Of saffron, dr. j; of unwashed
wool (œsypum), dr. j; of stag’s marrow, dr. ij; of turpentine, of wax,
of the grease of geese, of each, dr. iij; the yelks of sixteen eggs
roasted; of oil, of iris, of roses, q. s.—The Libanian Pessary, being
emmenagogue, and agreeing excellently with affections of the womb: Of
nard ointment, oz. vj; of Tuscan wax, oz. v; of the ointment of lilies,
oz. iv; of fresh hog’s lard, oz. iij; of the grease of geese and of
domestic fowls, of stag’s marrow, and of the ointment of amaracus, of
each, oz. ij; of bull’s tallow, of turpentine, of œsypum, of each, oz. j.
It is dissolved in a double vessel, as are all the other pessaries.—The
Pessary Enneapharmacus: Of the ointment of roses, of that of ricinus,
of turpentine, of wax, of honey, of the grease of geese and of oxen, of
stag’s marrow, and of butter, equal parts.—The Titian emollient Pessary:
Of wax, oz. vj; of Colophonian rosin, oz. ivss; of bull’s tallow, oz.
iv; of ammoniac perfume, oz. iv. Triturate the ammoniac with water.—The
Egyptian Pessary: Of honey, of turpentine, of butter, of oil of roses or
of lilies, of saffron, of each, p. j; and when there is no inflammation
and the parts are foul, of verdigris, p. ss.—The Pessary called Genitura,
for conception: Of butter, oz. vj; of the medicine œsypum, of stag’s
marrow, of the grease of geese and of domestic fowls, of turpentine, of
aloes, of each, oz. iij; of Tuscan wax, oz. vj; of oil of roses, lb. ij;
of myrrh, of cassia, of each, oz. ij; of spikenard, oz. j; of honey, q.
s.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. The pessaries of the ancients bore no resemblance to the
instruments of box-wood and other solid materials now used to prevent
prolapsus of the uterus. Those of the ancients were medicated ointments
or liniments, which were generally applied to the natural parts upon
wool, most commonly for the purpose of correcting the menstrual
discharge. A modern authority describes them in the following terms:
“Pessaries are made like a finger, of medicines for the womb, taken
into a long linen bag, well-waxed, or incorporated with honey, ladanum,
galbanum, wax and juices. They are in shape like a suppository, but
longer and thicker.” Schröder (Chym. Dispensat. p. 134). They were also
frequently resorted to for the wicked purpose of producing abortion.
Hippocrates, in his Oath, obligates the medical apprentice not to give
such a pessary to a woman. Pessaries of this description consisted of
strong stimulants, such as cantharides, elaterium, colocynth, &c. The
emmenagogue pessaries were formed of such-like ingredients, weakened by
mixture with others of less activity.
Celsus gives a very distinct account of pessaries. He says of them:
“Sed alia quoque utilia sunt; ut ea, quæ fœminis subjiciuntur; πεσσους
Græci vocant. Eorum hæc proprietas est: medicamenta composita molli lana
excipiuntur, eaque lana naturalibus conditur.” (v, 21.) He gives formulæ
for seven pessaries. One, for expelling the dead fœtus, consists of
pomegranate rind pounded with water. (v, 21.)
Pessaries are treated of at great length by Oribasius, Aëtius, and
Actuarius, and preparations are described for every imaginable condition
of the uterus. Aëtius gives formulæ for pessaries to procure sterility,
the ingredients of which, for the most part, are powerful astringents
and bitters. But Myrepsus is the most copious writer on this subject,
for he describes the preparation of forty-five pessaries (§ 38). Their
ingredients, of course, are various, according to the purpose for which
they are to be applied. The Emmenagogue consist of cumin, ginger,
birthwort, the pulp of colocynth, castor, musk, rue, &c., mixed up with
wax, suet; or honey.
As there is nothing original in the views of the Arabians, we need only
say with regard to them that they prepared and applied pessaries on
the principles laid down by their Grecian masters. See, in particular,
Rhases (Cont. xxii); Avicenna (iii, 21, 2); Serapion (de Ægritudinibus
Matricis.)
SECT. XXV.—ON MEDICINES WHICH MAY BE SUBSTITUTED FOR ONE ANOTHER, FROM
THE WORKS OF GALEN.
In Alexandria, he says, wishing to obtain the campion (lychnis) for a
certain woman who was in danger, and not having got it, if I had not
found and used the seed of acanthium, the woman would have been soon
lost. Hence, having been requested by my companions, I made out a list
of the medicines which may be substituted for one another, in order,
beginning with this same article:
Instead of the seed of acanthium, campion (lychnis).
southern-wood (abrotonum), origany.
agallochus, sweet-cane (calamus aromaticus).
agaric, euphorbium.
Indian aloes, glaucium, lycium, or centaurium.
winter-cherry (halicacabus), the seed of strychnos.
asphaltum, the Bruttian liquid pitch.
aconite or wolfsbane, the root of the wild iris.
wormwood, southernwood.
opobalsam, myrtle-juice.
quicklime (calx-viva), adarce.
alkanet, hyacinth.
sal ammoniac, Cappadocian salts.
arsenic, sandarach.
starch, dried flour.
ammoniac perfume, bee-glue.
rose-wood (aspalathus), the fruit of heath, or the seed of
the chaste-tree.
aracus (a species of pulse), Indian corn.
bitter almonds, wormwood.
Armenian stone, Indian ink.
the elder, thorn.
prickly-poppy (argemone), seriphium.
kingspear, the juice of beet.
wall-pepper, the juice or leaves of lettuce.
maiden-hair, aphroselinum.
Ethiopian olive, two parts of the tears of acacia.
Asian stone, gagate stone, or sal ammoniac burnt.
fox’s grease, that of a bear.
shoots of the black poplar, sampsuchum.
buprestis, bugs (blattæ).
butter, cow’s milk coagulated.
the juice of balsam, the juice of myrrh.
bdellium, the aromatic moss of trees (sphagnus).
gentian root, aromatic parsley.
Samian earth, the Egyptian leucographis.
Eretrian earth, Thebaic lime.
turnip, the sun-flower.
liquorice juice, the juice of mulberry.
vulture’s dung, pigeon’s dung.
soft earth, plumbago.
dorycnium, the seed of henbane.
dittany, sage.
bay-berries, dried wild thyme.
carrot, the seed of water-parsnip.
diphryges, Phrygian stone.
dracunculus, wake-robin.
sage, calamint.
the tear of olive, the juice of hypocistis.
wild thyme, potamogeton.
the seed of rocket, the seed of hedge-mustard.
the juice of elaterium, the juice of the leek.
the seed of hedge-mustard, soapwort.
the fruit of heath, the gall omphacitis.
ebeny, the wood of the lotus.
the leaves of wild fig, the dung of ibis (?).
the root of butcher’s broom, the leaves of the mulberry (?).
black hellebore, the root of papyrus (?).
enneaphyllon, the potamogeton.
old oil, boil a double quantity of oil with old hog’s lard.
ginger, pellitory.
deadly carrot (thapsia), the juice of the black chamæleon.
thapsia, the seed of cresses or rocket.
sulphur vivum, red arsenic (sandarach).
the rust of iron (rubigo ferri), the squama ferri.
the mistletoe of the oak, that of black chamæleon.
Illyrian iris, the aromatic elecampane.
cinnamon, double the quantity of cassia.
cyperus, the large juniper.
cardamom, cyperus.
costus, juniper-berries.
juniper-berries, ladanum.
calamus aromaticus, the moss of trees.
saffron, crocomagma.
crocomagma, Indian aloes.
castor, laserwort (assafœtida).
calamine, the Egyptian leucographis.
the tallow of the crocodile, that of the sea-dog.
hemlock (conium), the seed of coriander.
cantharides, phalangia.
the seed of bastard saffron, the seed of chaste-tree.
the juice of ivy, that of peach.
the palma Christi, the sordes from the palestra.
the root of capers, the root of heath or tamarisk.
the dung of the turtle, pigeon’s dung.
ceraunium, leucographis.
coral, moly.
cat’s dung, that of the ichneumon.
dragon’s blood (cinnabaris), the rhodoides.
cumin, the seed of cabbage.
field basil (clinopodium), the sun-flower.
calamint, the wild mint.
colocynth, the seed of the palma Christi called croton.
navelwort (cotyledon), the onocardium.
Colophonian rosin, the pitch of ships.
cynosbatos, the seed of the winter cherry.
linseed, the juice of beans.
pumice stone, Cretan earth.
cyphi, burnt dried fig.
buccina, oysters.
cardamom, xylocarpasum.
wax, bruised beans boiled and pounded with bee-glue.
frankincense, the terra ampelitis.
lathyrides (a species of spurge), the granum Cnidium.
dittander (lepidium), madder.
the magnet, the Phrygian stone.
the Phrygian stone, the agerat.
the seed of lovage, the seed of carrot.
the stone pyrites, the stone pyrobolus.
the flower of the stock gilly-flower, soapwort.
the seed of the lotus, the seed of beet.
the root of dittander, the leaves of capers.
the sea-hare, the sea-shell(?).
the root of dock, the root of pellitory.
Indian leaf (malabathrum), cassia or Indian nard.
mandrake (mandragora), dorycnium.
myrtle oil, the juice of mulberry.
mastich, the juice of lentisk(?).
myrobalan, rue.
mallows, fenugreek.
honey, rob.
manna (of frankincense?), the bark of frankincense.
mice dung, an equal quantity of flies.
stag’s marrow, stag’s grease or the marrow of a calf.
quinces, melilots.
Cyprian misy, Cyprian ochre.
spignel, myrobalan.
the juice of mulberries, the leaves of brambles.
roasted misy, diphryges.
Syriac nard, the aromatic rush.
navew, turnip-seed (?).
xylobalsam, the root of stock gilly-flower.
poppy-juice, the juice of mandragora.
opoponax, the milk of mulberry.
Cyrenaic juice, Syriac juice.
juice of carpasum, the juice of myrtle.
juice of the fig, the juice of mulberry.
juice of the willow, the juice of the black ivy.
juice of the rose bay, the mistletoe of the oak.
juice of the œnanthe, that of the cultivated vine-tree.
all-good (horminum), linseed.
rice, barley-flour.
Italian wine, Mendesian wine.
Rhodian wine, austere wine.
the star of Bethlehem (ornithogallum), anthyllis.
the unripe olive, the gall omphacitis.
onocardium, the herb psyche.
juice of hog’s fennel, liquorice-juice.
bee-glue, ladanum.
canker-worm of the pine, the wasps on the unripe rosin.
pepper, ginger.
fern, the seed of cneoros.
polypody, the root of mezereon, or of the chamæleon.
vervain, ground poplar.
polytrichon, wormwood.
rosin of the fir-tree, turpentine rosin.
dried roses, the dried leaves of the peach-tree.
oil of radishes, the oil of ricinus (castor oil).
rhodoides, Sinopic ochre.
Colophonian rosin, the pitch of ships.
aromatic rush, cardamom.
Cyprian spodium, the ashes of olive-leaves.
troglodytic myrrh, the calamus aromaticus.
stag’s grease, the grease of geese.
grease of the hyena, the grease of foxes.
grease of the fox, the grease of the bear.
root of soapwort, the root of the black hellebore.
satyrium, the seed of rocket.
salamander, the green lizard.
aromatic moss of trees, the sweet-rush.
syricum (psoricum?), litharge.
dross of lead, the scoria argenti.
marjoram (sampsuchum), the dried culinary sumach.
mustard, cresses.
sagapen, dried pine rosin.
scammony, the internal parts of the seed of palma Christi.
pine-nuts, the seed of cucumber.
alum, fossile salt.
the skink, satyrium.
antimony, the squama æris.
sweet rush, the root of knot-grass.
dross of copper, the Egyptian melanteria.
water-cress, basil.
cultivated grape, the flesh of the Syrian palm.
Saunder’s herb, southernwood,
the shell of the cuttle-fish, pumice-stone.
orchis (serapias), the root of pœony.
squill, bolbus.
sesamoides, what remains after the filtration of amaranth.
Indian grain, linseed.
the seed of henbane, the seed of sweet briar.
juice of hypocistis, the juice of acacia.
liquid pitch, opoponax.
unscoured wool (œsypum), the marrow of a calf.
hyacinth, the flower of woad.
St. John’s wort, the seed of dill.
burnt lees of wine, sandarach.
sea-weed, alkanet.
valerian, the moss of trees.
the gall of the hyæna, the gall of partridge.
the gall of the viper, that of the ichneumon.
gall of the shrew-mouse, that of the camel.
gall of the camel, that of the swift.
galbanum, sagapen.
germander, the root of the wild dock.
chamomile, anthemis.
ceruse, the dross of lead (scoria plumbi).
fleawort, the marsh lentil (lens palustris).
basil (ocimum), water-cress (sisymbrium).
ocimoides, the wild mint.
* * * * *
COMMENTARY. This is taken from a work ascribed to Galen, the authenticity
of which, however, is very doubtful. Cornarius has attempted many
corrections of the text, and we have found ourselves compelled to make
other alterations.
SECT. XXVI.—ON WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
The weight is determined by the degree of heaviness; the measure by the
capacity of the vessel: but the vessel is the measure either of a dry or
of a liquid quantity. So then there are three differences of a measured
quantity: first, that of weight; second, that of a dry substance, and, as
it were, of such things as can be heaped; and third, that of a liquid.
There being many and almost infinite varieties of weights and measures
according to the practice of places, and of those who use them, we shall
treat only of those which are familiar to all.
_On the characters used by the Greeks for indicating weights and
measures._ But since some do not indicate these by whole letters, but by
characters, it will be better for us, in imitation of the ancients, to
explain these characters in the first place.
Transcriber’s Note: The symbols in this paragraph are included
as illustrations in the HTML version.