Chapter 540

1458Or else, “Magi.”

1459The “useful.”

1460“The all-powerful.”

1461The Cichorium luteum of C. Bauhin, the Leontodon palustre of Linnæus: known to us as the “dandelion,” or by a coarser name.

1462The kind known as garden endive, the Cichorium endivia of Linnæus.

1463“Anthologumena.”

1464See B. xix. c.41.

1465“Crispam.”

1466“Parsley-like.”

1467The 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.

1468De Re Rust. 157.

1469“Scintillationibus.”

1470See B. xix. c.15.

1471Or cancer.

1472Cato, De Re Rust., 156, 157.

1473See Note1301to c. 2 of this Book.

1474This 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.

1475Fée 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.”

1477The contrary is in reality the case, it being a diet only suitable to strong stomachs.

1478De Morb. Mulier. B. i. cc. 73 and 74. De Nat. Mulier. 29 and 31.

1479The jaundice.

1480Fée 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 onlysupposedto be so.

1481“Repuntinas caligines.”

1482“Sprout,” or “Brussels sprout.” See B. xix. c.41.

1483He is probably speaking of cabbage-water in general.

1484See B. xix. c.15.

1485This bitter or pungent cabbage, Fée suggests, did not, probably, belong to the genus Brassica.

1486De Re Rust. c. 157.

1487Fée 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.

1488Or “rock-cabbage,” a name given more properly to the Convolvulus soldanella.

1489See c.34, and B. xxiv. c. 1.

1490A description, really, of the Convolvulus soldanella.

1491See B. xix. c.41.

1492The Convolvulus soldanella of Linnæus, Fée thinks: not one of the Cruciferæ, but belonging to the Convolvulaceæ.

1493See B. xix. c.30.

1494The 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.

1495Theocritus 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.

1496As 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.

1497Supposing, 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.

1498Testium pituitas.

1499See B. xix. c.30. Athenæus, B. ii. c. 26, attributes a similar property to the bulbs of Megara.

1500See B. xi. cc. 24, 28.

1501The 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.

1503Dioscorides says, more correctly, a black outer coat or peeling.

1504Asparagus 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.

1505Asparagus seed is not used in modern pharmacy, and it is very doubtful if it possesses any virtues at all.

1506Fée says that there is no truth in this assertion.

1507See B. xix. c.42: the Asparagus tenuifolius of Linnæus, the wild asparagus, or Corruda of the South of France.

1508Fée 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.

1509Or 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.

1510Chrysippus 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.

1511This is not consistent with fact.

1512See 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.

1513This distinction, Fée says, cannot be admitted.

1514Or maggots.

1515This belief in its efficacy, Fée says, still exists.

1516See 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.

1517See B. xix. c.48.

1518Or “horse parsley.”

1519Or strangury. No medicinal use is made of this plant in modern times.

1520Or “mountain parsley,” see B. xix. c.48.

1521Or “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.

1523Or “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.

1524The 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.

1525See B. ix. c. 51.

1526“In Empericis.”

1527“Atramento sutorio.”

1528The Brassica eruca of Linnæus.

1529None 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.”

1531In B. xix. c. 44.

1532The Lepidium sativum of Linnæus, cresses or nose-smart.

1533This 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.

1534In B. xix. c. 44.

1535The 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.

1538The Lepidium Iberis of Linnæus, Fée thinks.

1539The 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.

1540It is not the rue that has this effect, so much as the salts of copper which are formed.

1541Fée thinks it not likely that the rue grown here was at all superior to that of other localities.

1542This word, omitted in the text, is supplied from Dioscorides.

1543Or 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.

1544See B. viii. c. 40.

1545See B. x. c. 86.

1546“Si vero sit cephalæa.”

1547Dioscorides says however, B. iii. c. 52, that it arrests incontinence of the urine. See below.

1548De Morb. Mul. B. i. c. 128.

1549De Diæta, B. ii. c. 26.

1550“Pituitæ eruptionibus.”

1551This prejudice, Fée says, still survives.

1552The Menta silvestris of Linnæus; though Clusius was of opinion that it is the Nepeta tuberosa of Linnæus.

1553“Silvestre puleium.”

1554Galen and Dioscorides say the same; but it is not the fact; the leaves being of no utility whatever.

1555Difficulty of breathing, unless the neck is kept in a straight position.

1556Fée is inclined to think exactly the contrary.

1557Its properties as a vermifuge are contested.

1558According 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.

1559Fée says that this passage alone would prove pretty clearly that Pliny had no idea of the existence of the gastric juices.

1560See B. xviii. c.17, and B. xxii. c.67.

1561It is only in this case and the next, Fée says, that modern experience agrees with our author as to the efficacy of mint.

1562The Menta pulegium of Linnæus.

1563Its 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.

1566Strong odours, as Fée remarks, are not generally beneficial for head-ache.

1567Dioscorides makes no such distinction, and botanically speaking, as Fée observes, this distinction is faulty.

1568See 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.”

1572It differs in no respect whatever from the cultivated kind, except that the leaves of the latter are somewhat larger.

1573Or origanum.

1574Whence our name “dittany.”

1575The “bleating plant;” fromβληχάομαι, “to bleat.” Dioscorides, B. ii. c. 36, says the same of cultivated pennyroyal.

1576“Pulmonum vitia exscreabilia facit.”

1577Or “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.”

1579Cummin 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.

1580Horace, B. i. Epist. 19, says the same; but in reality cummin produces no such effect.

1581M. 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 diedB.C.4.

1582The 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.

1584There 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.

1585Fée 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.”

1587The Ammi Copticum of modern botany.

1588The Æthiopian cummin, namely, which Pliny himself seems inclined to confound with ammi.

1589Or “horned” serpent. See B. viii. c. 35, and B. xi. c. 45.

1590In B. xiii. c. 44.

1591It 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.”

1592The Capparis spinosa, probably, on which the capers used in our sauces are grown.

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