Chapter XXV: Appendix: To the Third Section (6)

Moses Charras gives the following account of trochisks: “They are also called pastils, rolls, cakes, and lozenges. Trochisks were invented as well to preserve a long time the virtue of certain medicaments as to unite together the virtue of several. To which purpose having finely powdered the ingredients, which are to be powdered, they are to be incorporated with some juice, syrup, or other viscous liquor, to make therewith a solid paste, out of which are formed little trochisks, flat, round, triangular, square, long, or otherwise, which being spread upon paper, and dried out of the sun, and at a distance from the fire, to the end they may be dried in all parts alike, may be put up in boxes or pots for use.” (Royal Phar. ii, 21.)

Troches are pharmaceutical preparations still frequently used. According to the directions in the ‘Edinburgh Dispensatory,’ “they are composed of powders made up with glutinous substances into small cakes, and afterwards dried.” There is this difference, however, between the troches of the moderns and the trochisci of the ancients, that all the former are given internally, whereas many of the ancient trochisci were used as external applications. Of this description are five out of the six pastilli described by Celsus. Le Clerc says of them: “Ils differoient des emplâtres, et des collyres, en ce qu’il n’entroit aucune matière huileuse dans les trochisques et qu’ils servoient pour le dedans aussi bien que pour le dehors.” (Hist. de la Méd.)

SECT. XIII.—DRY APPLICATIONS AND ABSTERGENTS (SMEGMATA.)

Of dry applications or powders, some suit with ulcers, and some are applied to the skin. Of those which suit with ulcers, some act as incarnants of hollow ulcers, and some restrain fungous flesh, and some are cicatrizing, some caustic and septic, and some styptic. The incarnative applications act either by cleansing foul ulcers, such as those from tares, birthwort, iris, all-heal, myrrh, frankincense, and aloes; or by drying the superabundant discharge, as those from copper, diphryges, squama æris, burnt paper, the bark of pine and thorn. But these promote cicatrization, either by blunting acrimony and pungency, such as those from pompholyx, starch, ceruse, sphecla (impure potass), the lapis specularis, burnt oysters, terra Samia, and the like, and the compositions from them possess similar powers. Of repressing medicines, some are mild, such as those from squama æris, those from misy and chalcitis, when burnt, and galls; but those from copperas, verdigris, misy, and chalcitis, not burnt, are stronger. The caustics and septics are prepared from quicklime, arsenic, sandarach, and sphecla, which is the burnt lees of wine. All these things when reduced to a fine powder and sprinkled upon ulcers, are less pungent. The coarser the powder to which they are reduced, the more pungent are they. Styptics restrain bleeding, either by astringing or cooling, or proving desiccative or obstruent by burning and forming an eschar; and the materials of them have been mentioned in the section on Trochisks. Of those which are applied to the skin, some cleanse and absterge, such as those from Cimolian earth, pumice, bean-meal, barley-leaven, the flesh of pompions, and the flower of salt; some are attenuant and discutient, such as those from hellebore, alcyonium, sulphur, stavesacre, mustard, pellitory, the seed of the rosemary, lemnitis, or adarce, and the shell of the cuttle-fish. But those having quicklime and arsenic added to them, with some liquid, become depilatory and abstergent. Some are applied to the head in order to dry up the discharge from it, such as those from natron, salts, galls, the rind of pomegranate, and the like. All the smegmata _or_ abstergents should be applied to the skin when it is not anointed.

_The dry cephalic application._ Of tares, oz. v; of iris, oz. iss; of manna, oz. iss; of birthwort, of squama æris, of each, oz. iss.

_Another._ Of the bark of pine, dr. vj; of frankincense, dr. iv; of pumice-stone, dr. iv; of iris, dr. ij; of dry rosin, dr. vj; of birthwort, dr. ij.

_From aloes._ Of aloes, dr. vj; of tares, dr. viij; of manna, dr. iv; of galls, dr. iij; of fissile alum, dr. ij.

_The dry application of Manetho from the burnt lees of wine._ Of calamine, burnt and washed, oz. j; of terra aster, oz. j; of burnt lees of wine, oz. iv; of lapis specularis, oz. iv; of frankincense, oz. iv; some add, also, of starch, oz. iv.

_The melitera of Oribasius._ Of chalcitis, of squama æris, of galls, of the flowers of the wild pomegranate, of long birthwort, of each, oz. j; of pomegranate rind, of fissile alum, of each, oz. ss.

_From oysters._ Of calamine, of frankincense, of each, oz. j; of oysters burnt, oz. iij.

_The powder from frankincense._ Of litharge, of frankincense, of calamine, of ceruse, equal parts.

_The powder called aphroditarium._ Of frankincense, of squama æris, of rhœdarium (a preparation from sumach), of starch, of ceruse, equal parts.

_The Rhodian styptic for spreading ulcers and fungous flesh._ Of unripe galls, dr. vj; of galls burnt, and extinguished in wine and dried, dr. xij; of the black squama æris, or, if not, of the red, dr. viij; of copperas, dr. xxiv; of fissile alum, dr. xxvij; triturate for a sufficient number of days.

_The powder called flavus._ Of burnt chalcitis, dr. xl; of burnt copperas, dr. viij; of burnt misy, dr. x; of burnt copper, dr. v.

_The powder called psarus._ Of misy, oz. v; of galls, oz. iv; of chalcitis, oz. ij; of squama æris, oz. ij; of copperas, oz. j; of scraped verdigris, oz. ij.

_The caustic powder called heliocaes._ Of arsenic, lb. j; of calx viva, lb. ij. Triturate with water during the dog-days, then dry and use.

_The florid powder._ Of cyperus, dr. viij; of myrrh, dr. xij; of sandarach, dr. iij; of the flowers of roses, dr. ij; of saffron, dr. ij; of crocomagma, of fissile alum, of Illyrian iris, of each, dr. ij.

_The powder from paper, principally for spreading ulcers of the mouth and those of the pudendum._ Of squama æris, of burnt paper, of each, dr. viij; of arsenic, of sulphur vivum, of each, dr. xij; of burnt lead, dr. vj. For the more humid mortifications use it dry, but for such as are dry mix it with rose-oil, and sometimes with honey along with rose-oil.

_The powder from butcher’s broom (oxymyrsine), for the same purposes._ Of elm-leaved sumach, oz. ij; of the leaves of butcher’s broom, of sandarach, of each, dr. viij; of the dried leaves of willow, of pomegranate rind, of each, dr. vj; of fissile alum, of chrysocolla, of aloes, of crude chalcitis, of squama æris, of arsenic, of common salts, of each, dr. iv.

_The powder of Massaliotes._ Of roasted natron, of chrysocolla, of Asian stone, of sandarach, of misy, of chalcitis, of fissile alum, of diphryges, equal parts. Use dry.

_The dry abstergent application (smegma) called the Æsculapian._ Of bay berries, of Alexandrian natron, of roasted salt, of Cappadocian salt, of ammoniac perfume, of aphronitrum, of pumice-stone, of each, lb. j; of black hellebore, of fuller’s herb, of pellitory, of the burnt lees of wine, of stavesacre, of mustard, of cyperus, of fissile alum, of the schœnanth, of iris, of galls, of each, oz. vj; of sampsuchum (a species of marjoram), lb. j; of the seed of the chaste tree, of pennyroyal, of the flour of beans and of lupines, of each, oz. vj; of the black chamæleon, of sulphur, of gum, of frankincense, of pepper, of the root of the wild cucumber, of horehound, of Cimolian earth, of pæony, of the shell of the cuttle-fish, of the leaf of fenugreek, of costus, of cumin, of euphorbium, of spikenard, of each, oz. iij. But Alexander adds the following things: of bitter salts, of salts from nitrous fountains, of Tragesæan salt (“see Plin. xxxi, 61”), of each, lb. j; of adarce, oz. j; of liquid alum, of Celtic, of cnicus, of granum Cnidium, of dried grass, of dried bryony, of each, oz. iij.

_The abstergent application from pompions_ (_smegma peponaton_). Of frankincense, of mastich, of ammoniac perfume, of each, oz. j; of tragacanth, oz. iss; of the juice of wild grape, oz. ix; of the fresh seed of pompion, oz. iij; of similago, sext. v; the whites of xxi eggs, of iris, oz. iv. Some also use of black hellebore, oz. ij.

_Otherwise, that of Crito._ Of bean meal, one modius; of similago, sext. iv; of trefoil, of nutben, of Illyrian iris, of each, lb. iv; of ammoniac perfume, lb. j; of costus, lb. j; the whites of seven eggs, of the flesh of pompions, sext. ij; of the juice of unripe grape, sext. ij. Mix, and having formed trochisks, dry, then having pounded and strained, use.

_Otherwise._ Of tragacanth, of frankincense, of mastich, of ammoniac perfume, of each, dr. x; of the juice of unripe grape, dr. v; of similago, sext. v; of the white of an egg, oz. j; of the flesh of pompions, oz. j. Prepare as above described.

_A desiccative smegma for defluxions of the head._ Of the tawny-coloured Alexandrian natron, oz. v; of common salts, roasted, oz. iss; of Cappadocian salts, oz. j. Having mixed these with the strongest vinegar, put into a linen bag, and burn in a furnace until it be reduced to cinders. Then having cooled it, rub with it triturated, adding a little wine in the bath.

_The soap of Constantine._ Of dried roses, of aloes, of galls, of pomegranate rind, of Indian leaf, of sarcocolla, of each, oz. iij; of the flowers of the wild pomegranate, of myrrh, of sandarach, of spikenard, of each, oz. ij; of costus, oz. j; of Gallic soap, lb. j. Mix with the decoction of lupines.

_The depilatory powder for the gout._ Of mastich, of male frankincense, of stavesacre, of white hellebore, of litharge, of each, oz. iij; of Indian leaf, of starch, of black hellebore, of the flower of Asian stone, of each, oz. j; of alcyonium, of roasted pumice-stone, of Cimolian earth, of sampsuch (marjoram), of each, oz. iij; of spikenard, oz. j; some also add of aloes, oz. j. Having pounded them, keep the powder in a vessel; and when going to use it, put the juice of rice and of ptisan in a pot, and after it boils add of the powder, oz. iss; of Gallic soap, oz. iss; of arsenic, of fissile alum, of each, oz. iss; of sandarach, oz. iss; of recent quicklime, lb. j. Use this unguent thrice a month, on the 9th day of the moon, the 19th, and the 29th, for a whole year, and afterwards once a month on the 29th day of the moon.

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COMMENTARY. The terms are thus explained by Blancard: “_Diapasma._ Plinio, medicamentum aridum ex siccis pulveribus conflatum inspersile, quod aut vestibus ad gratiam odoris, aut ulceri vulnerique variâ ratione, aut potui etiam ad luxum inspergitur, διάπασμα, κατάπασμα, κατάπαστον φάρμακον. Oribasius non malè discrimen inter has voces ex Antyllo ponere mihi videtur ut ἐμπάσματα sint, quæ sudoribus cohibendis, et commovendo pruritui adhibentur: quæ _Sympasmata et aspergines_ Aurelianus nominat: καταπάσματα sunt quæ ulceribus superponuntur, ξήρια etiam dicta: διαπάσματα vero conciliandæ in vento fragrantiæ.” (Lexicon Medicum.) The different forms of medicines are thus characterized by Dr. Blomfield: “Quatuor sunt φαρμάκων genera, quorum principuè mentio fit apud auctores Græcos: φάρμακα χριστὰ, παστὰ, πλαστὰ, et πιστὰ vel πότιμα, quibus interdum additur quintum genus, τὰ βρώσίμα, et sextum ἐπωδὰι, prout eis ad _unguendum_, _inspergendum_, _emplastro obtegendum_, _bibendum_, _edendum_, vel _incantandum_ utebantur.” (Glossarium ad Æschyli Prometh. l. 488.) Theocritus uses the word ἐπίπαστον in its medical sense. (Idyll. xi, 2.) He says, no medicine, either in the form of ointment or powder, is a remedy for love. Le Clerc thus explains the medicines of which we are treating: “Les _poudres_ s’appelloient en Grec ξήρια ὀυ ξηρὰ c’est à dire, _médicamens secs_. On les appelloit _Diapasmata_, _Catapasmata_, _Catapasta_, _Sympasmata_.” He says of the Smegma: “On s’en servoit particulièrement pour nettoyer le peau, pour ôter le démangeaison, &c.” He adds: “Lorsque il s’agissoit de faire tomber le poil on prenoit des matières encore plus fortes et plus acres que celles qu’on a indiquées, comme de l’orpiment, de la sandaraque, de la chaux vive, et l’on les détrempoit avec les sucs. En ces cas on donnoit à cette composition le nom particulière de _psilothrum_ ou _dépilatoire_.” (Hist. de la Méd.) On the meaning of the terms see, further, Eustathius (ap. Iliad, iv); Scholiast. Aristoph. (Plaat); and Gataker’s Antoninus (v, 9.)

Celsus gives the following general description of these medicines: “Quædam autem mixturæ medicamentorum sunt quibus aridis neque coactis utimur, sic ut inspergamus, aut cum aliquo liquido mixta illinamus.” The powder of gollas, if prepared according to his directions, would consist of potass, sulphur, quicklime, and orpiment. His ninth preparation of this class is a sternutatory, and the tenth is one for making a gargle. (v, 22.)

Most of our author’s formulæ are borrowed, with a few alterations, from Galen. (De Med. sec. gen. v.)

For a description of the Arabian _Pulveres_, see, in particular, Haly Abbas (Pract. x, 16,) and Mesue, (i, ix.) Many of Mesue’s compositions are internal medicines, consisting principally of aromatics. Thus, his first preparation, which is intended to dry humidity of the stomach, dispel flatulence, and assist digestion, consists of lignum aloes, oz. ss; of galls, dr. iss; and of white sugar, oz. iss.

Nicolaus Myrepsus, in his copious ‘Dispensatory,’ describes the composition of 50 smegmata and 143 pulveres. The far greater number of the former are intended as applications to the skin in diseases thereof, such as impetigo, leprosy, itch, and the like. The pulveres consist of applications to the skin, sternutatories, gargles, and injections. None of them, we believe, are to be taken inwardly.

SECT. XIV.—ON LINIMENTS TO THE MOUTH AND THROAT.

As much as the coat which lines the mouth is finer and softer than the skin, such a difference must there be with regard to the applications made to the mouth. At the commencement, therefore, of inflammation, medicines for repelling the defluxion are required, such as the dry applications, namely, omphacium, the gall omphacitis, the juice of sumach and of hypocistis, and alum, the bark of pine and of the frankincense-tree, and the flowers of the wild pomegranate tree; and, in a word, all the astringents, with the exception of those which are unsavoury and deleterious; and the liquid applications, such as the juice of the blackberries, both of the brambles and those called mulberries: also the juice of the bark of green walnuts and of pomegranates, more especially such as are acid, and of quinces and Aminean must. Honey is mixed at the commencement solely for the preservation of the medicines. But when the humour lodges in the part, digestive and moderately-repellent articles are to be mixed, such as saffron, myrrh, and the juice of liquorice. And during the whole time that intervenes between the acme and decline, a compound of both kinds is to be used, I mean, the repellent and discutient; and at first the repellent are to be the prevailing ingredients, but afterwards the discutient. In the decline we must use discutients, which have no astringency, such as natron, aphronitrum, origany, hyssop, thyme, calamint, iris, besasa and the like. The liquid application then should be rob, that from boiled must, that from dried figs and palm-nuts, and the sweet must itself with honey. When but a little of the inflammation remains, we are to mix also some sulphur vivum. We must first boil the juice with honey, to the consistence of the more liquid honey, and then sprinkle the powders finely levigated, and afterwards boil moderately until the whole are properly united, and then it is to be laid up in vessels of glass.

_The simple liniment to the mouth from mulberries._ Of the juice of mulberries, sext. iij; boil until a third part be consumed, add of honey, sext. j, and boil to the consistence of honey.

_The compound one from mulberries._ Of the juice of mulberries, hemin. vj; boil to the consistence of the sordes in baths, then mix, well triturated, of saffron, dr. j; of myrrh, dr. ij; of the juice of unripe grape, dr. j; of fissile alum, three oboli; of honey, one hemina; and boil to a proper thickness.

_Of the bramble-berries._ The composition from bramble-berries is prepared in like manner, being more astringent.

_The simple one from walnuts._ Of the juice of the pounded bark of green walnuts, hemin. v; of honey, hemin. j; it is boiled like that from mulberries.

_The compound one from walnuts._ In the commencement, and at the acme of inflammations in the mouth, mix of saffron and of alum, of each, oz. j; of myrrh, dr. ij; and in the decline add, as a discutient, of natron, dr. j; of sulphur, dr. j, to the aforementioned proportions of the juice and of honey.

_The preparation from the juice of pomegranates._ Of the juice of sweet pomegranates, without their kernels, sext. iv; of the juice of acid pomegranates, sext. ij; of honey, sext. j; of the Minnæan myrrh, dr. viij; of crocomagma, of galls, of each, dr. viij; of fissile alum, dr. iv; of Illyrian iris and of omphacium, of each, dr. viij. Prepare like that from mulberries.

_The same otherwise._ Of the juice of sweet pomegranate bruised with their kernels, sext. vj; of fine honey, sext. j; of fissile alum, oz. j; of myrrh, oz. ss.

_The preparation from must._ Of must, sext. vj; of galls, of fissile alum, of each dr. ij; of saffron, of myrrh, of each, dr. j. If you mean it for a demulcent, let the must be sweet, but if as a repellent, austere. The middle state has intermediate properties.

_The Egyptian stomachic._ Of honey, lb. j; of oil, oz. viij; of turpentine, oz. ij; of saffron, dr. iv. They are melted in a double vessel.

_The stomachic medicine, from besasa._ Of anise seed, of parsley seed, of the schœnanth, of the seed of bishop’s weed, of fissile alum, of Illyrian iris, of besasa (which some call harmala, it is the wild rue), of cinnamon, of troglodytic myrrh, of saffron, of gall, of each, oz. j; of long birthwort, of cassia, of crocomagma, of dried roses, of each, oz. j; of costus, of the fresh ashes of pigeons, oz. iij; of Indian nard, of amomum, of each, oz. ss; of honey, q. s.

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COMMENTARY. Celsus thus sums up the general properties of these preparations: “Gargarizationes autem aut lævandi causa fiunt, aut reprimendi, aut evocandi. Lævant, lac, cremor vel ptisanæ, vel furfurum: reprimit aqua, in qua vel lenticula, vel rosa, vel rubus, vel cotoneum malum, vel palmulæ decoctæ sunt: evocant, sinapi, piper.” (v, 22.)

Galen treats of these compositions very systematically, and at great length, in the sixth book of his work, ‘De Comp. Med. sec. loc.’ The far greater number of our author’s prescriptions are copied from it. Myrepsus likewise gives a long list of such like compositions (§ ix.) See also Aëtius (viii.)

SECT. XV.—ON DELICIOUS AND OFFICINAL POTIONS.

Of delicious officinal potions, some are composed of wine, having certain articles added to it, such as pepper, wormwood, sowbread, and many other things, from which they sometimes receive their appellation, sometimes having honey mixed with them and sometimes not; and some are composed from water in which have been boiled apples or roses, with certain juices, such as those of unripe grapes, pomegranates, and myrtles.

On this account the finest scummed honey is mixed with them for the sake of preservation, sweetness, and sometimes of utility. The austere and vinous hydromel brought from Cebyra in small vessels is an exception; for I have known it formed without honey, as the apomel is made from honey alone and water, without any other substance. But those things which are prepared from wine, which are called propotions (or “whets”?) receive sext. j of scummed honey to four of wine and are made without being boiled. Those which are prepared from water and juices, if boiled, receive one part of honey to three of the liquor, about two parts of which are consumed in the boiling; but if they are not boiled they receive one part of honey to two of the liquor. Those things which are not boiled are to be isolated for a sufficient time, and particularly the omphacomel. Those from water require to be boiled, because from their weakness they are readily changed. They are all to be laid up in small pitched earthen vessels, which are to be carefully covered up and deposited in situations above ground until they are concocted. They are to be used as attenuants, and well mixed with water. But the omphacomel after being boiled like must, and settling, is to be covered up. Those composed from wine we use principally in cases which are free from fever, or for the relish only (with the exception of those which are prepared from scammony, the granum Cnidium, or the like purgatives); or in such affections as when we would use the medicines which are the ingredients of them by the mouth. Those prepared from water, or the juices we use in febrile cases, or as sweeteners, when the disease does not admit the use of wines, and sometimes as agreeing with the affections, as apomel for a sialogogue, diuretic, laxative of the bowels, or attenuant of humours; and hydromelon and hydrorosaton in cases of thirst, ardent fevers, resolutions, and derangements of the stomach; and omphacomel, myrteton, rhodostacton, and rhoita, in cæliac and dysenteric cases, and for vomitings and other defluxions. They are frequently used as washes in affections of the mouth.

_The hydromelum from the juice of apples._ Of the juice of clean quinces bruised, sext. ij; of honey, sext. iij; of water, sext. vj. Boil, scumming it until it be reduced to a third part. _Another._—Of clean quinces cut into pieces, lb. v. Boil in sext. j of well-water until they become soft. Then removing them from the fire, after they become cold, strain, and having filtrated the apples throw them away. Having measured the water, mix with it half the quantity of honey, and boil again, scumming it until the eighth part be consumed. Some compose the hydromelum in like manner from sweet apples.

_The composition of the hydrorosatum._ Of roses deprived of their nails (the white parts of the leaves), lb. iv; of water, sext. v; of honey, sext. ij.

_The preparation of the Rhodomelum._ Of the juice of quinces, sext. j; of roses, lb. iij; of honey, sext. iij; of water, sext. v. But since the apples are not found at the same season with the roses, these are to be added to honey at the proper season, and when the apples appear, the composition is to be completed.

_The preparation of the omphacomel._ Of the juice of unripe grapes, sext. iij; of honey, sext. j. Having mixed, expose it to the sun for forty days, or boil.

_The preparation of Myrteta._ Of the juice of myrtles, sext. iij; of honey, sext. j. Boil till the third is consumed.

_Apomel from the works of Phalagrius._ Of white honeycombs filled with honey, lb. j; of spring water, lb. iiiss; having broken down the comb and united them, boil the water with the honey until the scum of it and the waxy part swim on the top and is separated, then cool and cover it up carefully.

_The composition of rhodostactum._ Of the juice of roses without their nails, sext. ij; of honey, sext. j. Boil, scumming it, until the fourth part be consumed.

_The preparation of rhætes._ Of the juice of pomegranate, sext. iij; of honey, sext. j. Boil to a third part.

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COMMENTARY. We shall in the first place give some account of the Propoma. It was a draught generally containing wine, which was taken at the commencement of the supper, or principal meal of the ancients. Horace alludes to it in the following lines:

“Anfidius forti miscebat mella Falerno,
Mendose: quoniam vacuis committere venis
Nil nisi lene decet: leni præcordia mulso
_Prolueris_ melius.”—(Lib. ii, Sat. 4.)

Catius here condemns the practice of using strong wine for the composition of the Propoma. Old Falernian wine was thought the best. Thus Macrobius says of it: “Mulsum quo probe temperes, miscendum esse novo Hymetto et Falerno vetulo.” (Saturn. vii, 12.) “To the Propoma,” says Athenæus, “were added pepper, Indian leaf, myrrh, cyperus, and Egyptian ointment.” (Deip. ii, 25.) A long list of receipts for Propomata is given by Myrepsus (§ 38.) Most of them contain wine, honey, and aromatics. See a learned Dissertation on the Propoma by Casaubon (in Athen. Deipnos. ii, 17); also Lister (in Apicii Op. i, 1.)

It will be proper here to give some account of the medicated wines, or, as we would now call them, the _Vinous Tinctures_, of the ancients. Dioscorides details the composition of them very fully in the fifth book of his ‘Materia Medica.’ The following is his prescription for the _wine of squills_: Take a mina of squills, and having pounded it, sift, and bind it in a thin piece of linen; then put it into 20 sextarii of good fresh must, and allow it to macerate for three months; afterwards strain the wine into another vessel, and cover it up carefully. The _wine of quinces_ is to be prepared by putting 12 minæ of quinces, deprived of their seeds, into a cadus of must, and allowing it to remain for thirty days. Wines from other kinds of apples, such as medlars, services, and pears, may be prepared in like manner. He afterwards gives similar directions for preparing the following medicated wines:

Wine of wild vine.
pomegranate.
roses.
myrtles.
lentisk.
turpentine.
palms.
figs.
sycamores.
resin.
cone of the pine.
cedar _or_ juniper.
cedar-rosin.
pitch.
wormwood.
hyssop.
germander.
cassidony.
betony.
tragoriganum.
bunium.
dittany.
horehound.
thyme.
savoury.
marjoram.
calamint.
fleabane.
aromatics.
myrrh, pepper, and iris.
elicampane.
spikenard.
asarabacca.
wild nard _or_ valerian.
carrot.
sage.
panacea.
sweet-flag.
parsley.
fennel and dill.
hellebore, wild cucumber, or scammony, for procuring abortions.
spurge-flax.
mezerion.
ground-pine.
mandrake.
hellebore.
scammony.

The preparation of these factitious wines is also described by Pliny. (H. N. xiv, 19.) To this class we may refer the _Vina condita_ of Apicius. (Cap. i.) See also in particular Aëtius (iii); Myrepsus (§ 27); Haly Abbas (Pract. x, 21); Serapion (vii, 35); Actuarius (Meth. Med. v, 7.) Actuarius gives the following prescription for preparing a _vinous tincture of poppies_, which he recommends for coughs, cholera, and such like complaints: Of poppy-heads, c; of liquorice-root, lb. j; of sodden must, lb. c.

SECT. XVI.—ON COLLYRIA AND AGGLUTINATIVE APPLICATIONS.

The materials from which ophthalmic medicines are composed are various. For inspissated and liquid, seeds, fruits, the parts of herbs, and metals are ingredients in them. Of these, some sooth acrimonies, and are, as it were, obstruents, such as pompholyx, spodium, starch, lead, Samian aster, calamine, all washed substances, and the white of an egg. These are to be used after evacuation of the head, for if there should be plethora of it, there will be danger of the coats of the eyes being ruptured by distension. The opposite class of collyria being of an acrid nature, are deobstruents and evacuants of the humours permanently lodged there; such as the Cyrenaic and Median juices, sagapen, euphorbium, and the like. Some are detergents of foul ulcers, such as the squama æris, copper, chalcitis, misy, sori, the flowers of copper, and antimony burnt. Allied to these are those called abstergents, such as arsenic, sandarach, the flower of Asian stone. Some are astringent, and of these such as are moderately astringent are of extensive use for ophthalmies, ulcers, and defluxions, as the leaves, fruit, and flowers of roses, spikenard, Indian leaf, saffron, glaucium, and hypocistis. Those possessed of a stronger astringency are mixed with those remedies which are used for sharpening the sight, such as omphacium, acacia, the flowers of the wild and of the cultivated pomegranate, and galls. Some are concoctive and discutient, such as myrrh, saffron, castor, rosemary, and the juice of fenugreek. Of compound ophthalmic medicines, some are simply called plasta, some xerocollyria, and some hygrocollyria. The first class admit of all the materials formerly mentioned, and agree with all states. They are to be prepared most commonly in spring, for in summer their strength is apt to evaporate, and in winter the articles being constricted do not mix properly. They are to be rubbed with the addition of a fluid, but not in great quantity that the metallic parts may not subside, nor the aromatic float on the surface, but in small quantities, so that it may be rubbed until it is like the sordes of baths. Rain-water should be used, because it is finer and moderately astringent. But if not, those things are to be levigated and triturated with wine or some juice; the metallic substances for a longer time, and the juicy substances for a shorter. At last, after sufficient trituration, we must add the gum, and having formed them, lay them up in copper vessels especially, or in glass. Those prepared from juices are to be used immediately, but the metallic improve by keeping. Of the xerocollyria, some melt down, and absterge callus, sycosis, pterygium, and scabious affections, being composed of chalcitis, verdigris, and misy. Some occasion a discharge of tears, agreeing with obstructions and dimness of sight, and are composed of these things, pepper and spikenard. Some are prophylactics for preventing influxes, such as those from Phrygian stone, sarcocolla, glaucium, aloes, calamine, antimony, and saffron. All these medicines are to be applied to the eyes in a state of the finest powder. But the hygrocollyria are prepared from Attic honey, opobalsam, oil of the most subtile kind from age, the juice of fennel, the galls of different animals, the Cyrenaic juice, and many other things. Those things which are attenuant, calefacient, and purgative are useful for dimness of sight, and incipient suffusions. These and all acrid things are to be used when the head is free from plethora, and when the atmosphere is serene and pure, and the wind is northerly, and not very hot nor very cold. Those preparations called agglutinants are made from such things as are obstruent, agglutinative, constringent, refrigerant, styptic, or desiccative, such as pollen, manna, Samian earth, myrrh, shells, acacia, opium, with the white of an egg. They are glued to the forehead when the humour is not under the scalp, but external to it.

_The collyrium monemeron for incipient and old ophthalmies._ Of acacia, dr. xxxvj; of gum, dr. xxxij; of calamine, dr. xxiv; of burnt and washed copper, dr. viij; of opium, dr. j. Triturate in austere wine. It is discutient and desiccative.

_The collyrium chiacum._ Of sinopic vermilion, of the immature gall, of saffron, of the flower of fresh roses deprived of their nails (which we call the pouch), of gum, of each, oz. iv; of opium, oz. j. Triturate with Aminæan, Falernian, or Chian austere wine. But the wine must not contain salt water.

_The collyrian cygnarium._ Of calamine, burnt and washed, oz. vj; of washed ceruse, oz. iv; of pompholyx, oz. iv; of starch, oz. ij; of tragacanth, of roasted opium, of gum, of each, oz. ij. Triturate with rain-water.

_The pale-coloured cygnus._ Of calamine, burnt and washed, oz. ij; of terra aster, oz. ij; of ceruse, oz. iv; of pompholyx, oz. viij; of starch, oz. ij; of opium, oz. ij; of acacia, of tragacanth, of each, oz. j; of gum, oz. iv. Triturate with rain-water.

_The white cygnus._ Of calamine, oz. xv; of ceruse, oz. xvij; of opium, dr. viij; of frankincense, dr. vij; of starch, oz. vij; of gum, oz. xiij. Triturate with rain-water.

_The collyrium pelarion for ulcers._ Of calamine, of ceruse, of each, dr. xxiv; of acacia, of opium, of each, dr. xviij; of gum, of tragacanth, of starch, of each, dr. ix; of myrrh, dr. iij; of copper, of saffron, of each, dr. iss. Triturate with water.

_The brown collyrium, for hypopium and great affections._ Of tender calamine, dr. xxiv; of ceruse, dr. xvj; of scraped verdigris, dr. xij; of antimony, dr. viij; of fissile alum, dr. iij; of burnt chalcitis, dr. iij; of Indian nard, dr. iv; of the oil of unripe olives, dr. ij; of copper, dr. ij; of squama æris, dr. viij; of the fruit of heath, dr. xiij; of the juice of poppy, dr. xxiv; of saffron, dr. iv; of castor, dr. iij; of myrrh, dr. vj; of Indian buckthorn, of acacia, of gum, of each, dr. iv; of fresh roses, dr. iiss. Triturate with Falernian, Surentine, Aminæan, or Chian austere wine. It is rubbed in three times a day, in a watery state, being diluted with the juice of fenugreek, then the white of an egg or milk, and at last, with water, thicker.

_The collyrium severianum._ Of calamine, oz. vj; of ceruse, oz. xij; of tragacanth, oz. iij. Triturate with the juice of fenugreek. Having burnt the calamine, dissolve it in milk and then wash.

_The collyrium from decoctions._ Of calamine, oz. xvj; of ceruse, oz. viij; of starch, of opium, of tragacanth, of acacia, of each, oz. ij; of gum, oz. vj. Triturate with the decoction of dried roses, of melilots, of poppy, of poppy-heads, of liquorice, in equal parts.

_The repellent collyrium, from hydria or water vessels._ Of the sand found in copper vessels used for heating water, lb. iij; of calamine burnt and washed, lb. j; of washed ceruse, of washed pompholyx, of washed terra aster, of each, oz. vj; of frankincense, oz. j; of myrrh, oz. j; of the juice of linseed, of fleawort, of ptisan, of fenugreek, of each, lb. j; of tragacanth, oz. vj; of gum, lb. j.

_The collyrium of Nilamon._ Of calamine, oz. viij; of pompholyx, oz. iv: of ceruse, lb. j; of tragacanth, of gum, of opium, of each, oz. iv. Rain-water.

_The collyrium spodiacon, for inflammations, defluxions, and chemoses._ Of frankincense, of antimony, of each, dr. c; of calamine, of ceruse, of each, dr. xxiv; of Samian earth, of the juice of poppy, of each, dr. iij; of gum, dr. xv. Triturate with the juice of fresh olive leaves. Prepare the juice thus: having pounded in a mortar the more tender leaves of olive, washed, add a moderate quantity of water, and filtrate through a piece of linen rag.

_The tender collyrium from olive leaves._ Of frankincense, dr. iv; of antimony, dr. xv; of calamine, dr. xxviij; of ceruse, dr. xlix; of Samian earth, dr. xviij; of opium, dr. vj; of gum, dr. j; of lead, burnt and washed, dr. viij. Mix with the juice of green olive leaves.

_The yellow collyrium from green olive leaves._ Of burnt copper, dr. xij; of sandyx, oz. xxiv; of olive leaves, oz. ij; of opium, oz. ij; of gum, oz. x. Mix with palm wine, or Aminæan.

_The Claudiac collyrium from myrrh._ Of glaucium, of sarcocolla, of each, dr. xlviij; of saffron, dr. xxiv; of opium, of myrrh, of bloodstone, of each, dr. vi; of tragacanth, dr. xlviij; of gum, dr. xvj. Mix with Italian wine. To be used with an egg.

_Another collyrium from myrrh, for fistula lachrymalis._ Of calamine washed, of bloodstone washed, of each, dr. xxviij; of myrrh, of Cyprian spodium, of each, dr. xxiv; of opium, dr. viij; of saffron, dr. iv (but some use dr. viij); of white pepper, grs. xxx; of gum, dr. xvj. Mix with Italian wine. To be used with an egg, and in recent cases diluted with water.

_The stacticon of Prosechius._ Of calamine, of gum, of each, dr. xx; of antimony, of copperas, of each, dr. viij; of opium, dr. xiv; of scraped verdigris, dr. x; of white pepper, dr. vj; of saffron, dr. viij; of raw misy, dr. viij; of opobalsam, dr. iv. Water.

_The hygidium of Ammonius._ Of calamine, of copper, of each, dr. xvj; of ceruse, of castor, of aloes, of saffron, of each, dr. iv; of squama (æris?), dr. v; of the flower of roses, of burnt lead, of each, dr. viij; of buckthorn, dr. iij; of the stone schistos, dr. iv; of opium, dr. x; of acacia, dr. xj; of gum, dr. xlviij. Water.

_The collyrium Olympus_, or _Olympiacum_. Of acacia, of spikenard, of frankincence, of each, dr. viij; of copper, burnt and washed, of antimony, burnt and washed, of ceruse, burnt and washed, of calamine, of each, dr. xij; of myrrh, of roasted opium, of each, dr. iv; of saffron, dr. v; of scraped verdigris, dr. iij; of the stone schistos, of the red squama, of Indian buckthorn, of the oil of unripe grapes, of each, dr. j; of castor, of the flower of roses, of each, dr. ij; of palm-nuts, dr. iv; in like manner the bones of burnt palms, to the number of v; of gum, oz. v. Rain-water. Let there be soaked in water for three nights and days, of the aromatic reed, of the seed of henbane, of dried roses, of each, dr. iv; of Indian leaf, dr. j.

_The collyrium of nard._ Of calamine, of saffron, of gum, of each, dr. xxxvj; of burnt copper, dr. xviij; of antimony, of acacia, of each, dr. xxx; of Syriac nard, dr. xij; of opium, of myrrh, of each, dr. xvj. With water.

_The small Theodotian collyrium._ Of antimony, of acacia, of each, dr. xx; of burnt copper, dr. viij; of ceruse, dr. iv; of myrrh, dr. iv; of verdigris, dr. ij; of aloes, of meconium, of buckthorn, of each, dr. j. Rain-water.

_The collyrium rhinarion._ Of bloodstone, of the stone schistos, of each, dr. xvj; of burnt copper, of calamine, of verdigris, of each, dr. viij; of opium, dr. v; of chalcitis, dr. ij; of gum, dr. viij. In wine.

_The collyrium xyster._ Of burnt pumice-stone, of burnt misy, of burnt shells, of each, oz. vj; of calamine, of opium, of burnt chalcitis, of saffron, of hepatic aloes, of castor, of Indian leaf, of each, dr. ij; of antimony, of acacia, of each, oz. j; of burnt copper, oz. iv; of troglodytic myrrh, dr. iv; of spikenard, dr. j; of ceruse, dr. viij; of gum, dr. iv. Rain-water. Some also mix wine.

_The hecatomb collyrium for thick cicatrices._ Of calamine, burnt and washed, of copper, burnt and washed, of each, dr. viij; of antimony burnt, of the yellow acacia, of gum, of each, dr. xv; of aloes, of galls, of ærugo vermiculata, of castor, of buckthorn, of spikenard, of saffron, of opium, of myrrh, of ceruse, of the shavings of ebony, of chalcitis, of each, dr. j; of roses, dr. lx. Rain-water.

_The collyrium from horn, of Galen._ Of burnt lead, of burnt hartshorn, of each, oz. ij; of ceruse, of squama æris, of starch, of frankincense, of cuttle-fish, of burnt shell, of verdigris, of myrrh, of gum, of each, oz. j. Rain-water.

_The collyrium from frankincense._ Of frankincense, oz. vj; of calamine, of pompholyx, of terra aster, of starch, of gum, of each, oz. iij; of ceruse, oz. vj; of squama æris, oz. iv; of tragacanth, oz. iij; of opium, oz. vj. Rain-water.

_The Libanian collyrium._ Of washed calamine, of starch, of each, dr. xij; of ceruse, dr. xij; of spodium, of pompholyx, of terra aster, of lead, burnt and washed, of tragacanth, of each, dr. viij; of opium, dr. xij; of gum, dr. iv. Rain-water and the whites of twenty eggs. Some add also of myrrh, dr. iv.

_The collyrium called the aster of Magnus._ Of pompholyx, of calamine, of ceruse, of each, dr. xvj; of lead, dr. viij; of starch, dr. xviij; of frankincense, dr. x; of terra aster, dr. xij; of myrrh, dr. ij; of tragacanth, of gum, of each, dr. viij. Water.

_The collyrium Uranium._ Of terra aster, washed, oz. iij; of spodium, washed, oz. j; of gum, oz. iv; of antimony, burnt and washed, oz. ij; of squama æris, washed, oz. j; of opium, dr. vj; of calamine, burnt and washed, dr. ij. Rain-water. It is an incarnant and repellent.

_The collyrium from the juice of fenugreek._ Of calamine, of tragacanth, of each, oz. viij; of ceruse, oz. xxx; of starch, oz. xxx; of opium, oz. j. Triturate with the juice of fenugreek.

_The collyrium of Cleon._ Of pompholyx, of lead, of each, oz. v; of saffron, oz. iss; of the squama stomomatis, oz. j; of gum, oz. ij. Rain-water. Inject diluted.

_The collyrium containing lxxii ounces of roses._ Of green roses, oz. lxxii, of calamine, burnt and washed, dr. xxiv; of scraped verdigris, dr. ij; of spikenard, dr. j; of squama æris, washed, dr. ij; of antimony, burnt and washed, of opium, of myrrh, of each, dr. iij; of saffron, dr. viij; of starch, dr. ij; of gum, dr. xxiv. Rain-water.

_The white collyrium from roses._ Of calamine, burnt and washed, of ceruse, washed, of each, lb. j; of starch, of opium, of tragacanth, of each, oz. iij; of aloes, oz. iss; of gum, oz. iij; of saffron, oz. iss; of roses without their nails, oz. vj. Water.

_The collyrium from aloes._ Of calamine, of ceruse, of aloes, of each, oz. x; of green roses, oz. vj; of starch, oz. iij; of opium, oz. j; of tragacanth, oz. ij; of gum, oz. iij. Rain-water.

_The saffron collyrium from roses._ Of spikenard, of dried roses, of aloes, of each, dr. ij; of the white henbane, dr. iss; of saffron, dr. ivss; of glaucium, oz. vj; of sarcocolla, oz. vj; of opium, dr. ij; of tragacanth, oz. j. Rain-water.

_The collyrium from roses, of Nilus._ Of tender roses, dr. iv; of saffron, dr. ij; of poppy, obol. j; of gum, dr. iv. Rain-water.

_The collyrium lynceus for sharpening the sight._ Of calamine, of burnt copper, of ammoniac perfume, of each, dr. xij; of myrrh, of bloodstone, of Thebaic opium, of each, dr. vj; of hepatic aloes, of the gall of bulls, of galbanum, of sagapen, of each, dr. iv; of scraped verdigris, of opoponax, of sal ammoniac, of each, dr. j; of gum, dr. vj. Rain-water.

_The collyrium Proteus, for the same purposes, and it also attenuates cicatrices._ Of calamine, of ceruse, of crude chalcitis, of each, dr. xl; of pepper, dr. iss; of Cyrenaic juice, dr. viij; of saffron, dr. xij; of Thebaic opium, dr. x; of sagapen, dr. xij; of Ethiopian olive, dr. xij; of arsenic, of fissile alum, of each, dr. viij; of myrrh, dr. xij; of ammoniac perfume, dr. xx; of opoponax, dr. xvj; of opobalsam, dr. x; of gum, dr. xx. In rain-water.

_The collyrium from the juice of fennel._ Of calamine, dr. xvij; of Indian ink, dr. xvj; of long pepper, dr. xiij, and of white, dr. xij; of Cyrenaic juice, dr. viij; of opobalsam, dr. vj; of spikenard, dr. vj; of sagapen, of opoponax, of each, dr. v; of opium, dr. iv; of euphorbium, dr. j; of gum, dr. j. Triturate with the juice of fennel.

_The collyrium from opobalsam._ Of calamine, of ceruse, of each, dr. viij; of the oil of unripe olives, dr. iv; of white pepper, dr. xvj; of opium, dr. iv; of opobalsam, of gum, of each, dr. xvj. Rain-water.

_The collyrium called thalasseros._ Of calamine, oz. viij; of verdigris, oz. ij; of Indian ink, oz. viij; of white pepper, oz. iv; of Median juice (assafœtida?) oz. j; of opobalsam, oz. ij; of gum, oz. vj. Water.

_The collyrium harmation._ Of ammoniac perfume, of burnt copper, of the bark of frankincense, of each. dr. iv; of verdigris, dr. j; of gum, dr. iv. Rain-water.

_The collyrium malabathrinum, called also isotheon._ Of calamine, dr. xvj; of copper, burnt and washed, dr. xiv; of opium, of Indian buckthorn, of Indian leaf, of Indian nard, of saffron, of aloes, of each, dr. ij; of ceruse, dr. viij; of castor, dr. ij; of myrrh, dr. iv; of acacia, of antimony, of each, dr. xl. With water. To be used with an egg.

_The thicker collyrium from wine._ Of calamine, of the lapis hæmatitis, and schistos, of each, dr. xl; of burnt copper, dr. xxx; of chalcitis, dr. xxxij; of the seed of poppy, dr. xiij. Having boiled the poppies in water, and strained the juice, add and triturate with palm wine or Aminæan.

_Another from wine._ Of burnt copper, of the calamine called placitis, of each oz. ix; of bloodstone, washed, oz. vj; of saffron, of myrrh, of aloes, of ammoniac perfume, of each, oz. iij; of Indian buckthorn, of spikenard, of each, oz. j; of white pepper, gr. cl; of the yellow acacia, oz. ix; of gum, oz. iij. Triturate with Falernian or Aminæan wine.

_The collyrium from two stones for asperities._ Of lapis hæmatitis and schistos, of cassia, of each, dr. xviij; of copper, of calamine, of opium, of scraped verdigris, of each, dr. ix; of gum, dr. ix; of burnt chalcitis, dr. vj. Water.

_Xerocollyria. The prophylactic of Galen._ Of Asian stone cut into small pieces and burnt in a pot, until it become red-hot and extinguished in butter not old, and then again burnt and extinguished in Falernian wine; and a third time burnt and extinguished in honey, and dried, lb. j; of burnt copper, of white pepper, of Indian leaf, of each, oz. j; of antimony, oz. iss: and when all the things are levigated, and you wish to lay up the medicine, add of the juice of balsam, not thick (for this prevents the preparation from getting dry) but of the most transparent, oz. j. Apply it to the eyelids only, not allowing the pencil to touch the coats, but so that it may only reach the eyelids when opened. They are to be anointed, not once, but often before food and after it, and more especially if a sense of ophthalmy be present. It preserves in a wonderful manner, before every other medicine.

_The dry collyrium from saffron._ Of sarcocolla, dr. viij; of saffron, dr. iv; of glaucium, dr. iv. Anoint often in the day. Some also add aloes.

_Another dry collyrium for xerophthalmy, sycosis, mortifications, and hypersarcoma._ Of calamine, dr. x; of chalcitis, dr. xx; of pepper, gr. xv; of Celtic nard, dr. j; triturate the calamine and chalcitis with wine, and when dried add the other things and reduce to a fine powder.

_The liquid collyrium from wild carrot._ Of the juice of wild carrot, of germander, of cresses, and sometimes of othonna, equal parts. The othonna is the great celandine.

_Another, for sycosis, encanthis, and sarcoma._ Of roasted misy, dr. vj; of copperas, dr. iv; of Attic honey, sext. j.

_The liquid collyrium panchrestus of Erasistratus_, having wonderful efficacy, in complaints of the eyes, tonsils, pudenda, and suppurated ears. Of copper, dr. vj; of roasted misy, of myrrh, of each, dr. iij; of saffron, dr. iss; of pepper, dr. j; of Chian wine, and of Cretan must, of each, hemin. iss. Having triturated all the things in the wine until dry, pour in the must and boil to the consistence of honey.

_Agglutinants for defluxions of the eyes._ Of Samian earth, of manna, of frankincense, of myrrh, equal parts. Adding to it the white of an egg, apply to the forehead spread upon linen.

_Another._—Of the seed of henbane, dr. j; of opium, dr. j; of myrrh, dr. ij; of saffron, dr. j; of pollen, dr. iv; the yelks of two roasted eggs. Mix with the white of an egg.

* * * * *

COMMENTARY. Gorræus derives the word collyrium from κολοβὴ ὀυρὰ, i. e. _cauda trunca_, being expressive of their conical shape. (Defin. Med.) Blancard prefers the derivation from κωλύω and ῥοῦς. (Lexicon Medicum.)

Oribasius states that collyria were applied—to the eye, to the uterus, and to fistulous ulcers. (Med. Coll. x, 23.) It is obvious, therefore, that the ancients used the word in a more general signification than the moderns do. Le Clerc gives the following description of the ancient collyria: “Les uns, qui étoient composés de matières sèches, eurent le nom de ξηροκολλούρια, _collyres secs_. Les autres, où il n’entroit que des matières liquides, s’appellèrent ὑγροκολλούρια, _collyres humides_ ou _liquides_. Les ingrediens des premières, qui étoient les mêmes que ceux des collyres _entières_, étoient des poudres _métalliques_, de _ceruse_, de _pompholyx_, _d’antimoine brulé_, de _vert-de-gris_, de _chalcitis_, de _cadmia_, et autres semblables. Il y entroit aussi des poudres tirées des plantes, quelques sucs d’herbes, et quelques gommes, comme du _saffran_, des _roses_, du suc de _chelidoine_, et de _fenouil_, de _l’aloes_, de la _myrrh_, de _l’opium_. On mêloit tous ces ingrédiens et on en formoit des masses que l’on faisait sécher, et dont on faisait de la poudre lorsqu’on vouloit s’en servir. Les collyres liquides étoient seulement composés de matières liquides. On prenoit, par exemple, du _miel d’Attique_, qui étoit estimé le meilleur, de _l’opobalsamum_, avec du _fiel de vipre_, de _perdrix_, ou de quelque autre animal, et du _suc de fenouil_. On faisait de cela un mélange, dont on laissoit tomber quelques gouttes dans les yeux de ceux qui avoient la vue foible, ou quelque suffusion commençant.” (Hist. de la Méd. iii, ii, 1.)

The Ophthalmic Collyria are treated of with extraordinary accuracy and minuteness of detail in books iv and v of Galen’s work ‘De comp. med. sec. locos.’ Notwithstanding the success with which the surgery of the eye has been cultivated of late, we are confident that the oculists of the present day might derive still further improvement from an attentive study of these books. It is to be remarked that several of his collyria, as well as those of Celsus, contain opium, so that the use of the _vinum opii_ in modern practice is not an original invention. Many of them contain very powerful escharotics, such as copper and arsenic, which indicates a great degree of boldness in ancient practice. Why is arsenic never used now for the cure of complaints of the eye? Our author’s account of them, which is mostly taken from Galen, is very accurate and deserving of consideration.

All the collyria of Celsus are ocular remedies. As he states, they consist principally of soothing and refreshing medicines variously mixed.

Scribonius Largus describes fully the composition of collyria, which he divides into the soothing and the acrid. The former consist of saffron, gum, tragacanth, calamine, antimony, opium and the like. The latter contain such ingredients as these, burnt copper, verdigris, chalcitis, misy, alum, ammoniac, and galls.

Myrepsus gives prescriptions for 87 ocular collyria, of every possible variety of character.

For the Arabian collyria, see particularly Serapion. (De Antidot. vii, 34.) Camphor is an ingredient in many of them.

SECT. XVII.—ON PLASTERS, AND THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE ADDED TO THE BOILING OF THEM, FROM THE WORKS OF ANTYLUS, AND,

_On the proportion of wax to oil._ Of those medicines which are the ingredients of plasters, some are terrene, as the metals, and some are kinds of stones and earth, as lees, ashes, and shells; some are oily, some tears, some soluble, some inspissated juices, some liquid juices; also a few admit seeds, herbs, and roots. Of plasters themselves, some are vulnerary, and are called bloody, agglutinative, and plasters for fractures, which must be composed of desiccants, not in the extreme, but in the second order complete, and the commencement of the third. Such are willow, oak, cypress, the barks of pine and pitch-tree, myrrh, rosemary, bitumen, aloes, birthwort, the ashes of the wood of vine, ceruse, litharge, and the most of the metals. They are boiled until they do not stain. The cicatrizing plasters are also composed of desiccants, but more so than the agglutinants. Such are, burnt copper, the squama æris and ferri, verdigris, chalcitis, the flower of burnt copper, alum, gall, molybdæna, calamine, pumice-stone, and the shells. The discutient are formed from the calefacient and moderately desiccative, such as birthwort, thapsia, old oil, and the oil of radishes, honey, opobalsam, pitch, turpentine, galbanum, burnt salts, and the flower of salt. The emollient are formed from litharge, fats, marrow, old oil, bee-glue, ammoniac, storax, galbanum, bdellium, mastich, turpentine, the root of marsh-mallows, and of the wild cucumber. The desiccative are made of sulphur, natron, salts, ashes, bitumen. The epispastic are formed from salts, natron, bee-glue, verdigris, leaven, dung, sulphur, turpentine. The digestive are composed of wax, ladanum, dried grape, amomum, saffron, frankincense, pitch, Egyptian mastich, storax, myrrh, galbanum, butter, œsypum, fats, verdigris. The suppurative are formed from water and oil, pollen, wheaten bread, chondrus, butter, the fat of swine and of calves, frankincense, pitch, rosin. The paregoric are made of litharge, ceruse, oil, dill, camomile, starch, white wax. The bloody-plasters (as they are called) are to be applied when the wounds and fractures are recent, and to co-operate with them, sponges soaked in oxycrate are to be bound on, above the pledgets, and are to be loosened on the third day, and the same pledgets and not others, again applied. The emollient, epispastic, discutient, and suppurative are applied after the use of cataplasms and cerates. But the suppurative agree best at the commencement and in cases of extreme pain. Of the boiling of them we will speak afterwards.

_The plaster tetrapharmacon, basilicon._ Of wax, of Colophonian rosin, of pitch, of bull’s suet, equal parts.

_The plaster from the juice of linseed for discussing and breaking._ Of old oil, lb. ij; of wax, oz. xx; of Colophonian rosin, of axunge, of each, lb. iss; of litharge, lb. j; of ceruse, oz. vj; of the juice of linseed, oz. vj; of pollen, oz. j; of frankincense, oz. iv.

_The plaster from honey._ Of litharge, of wax, of oil, of each, lb. iv; of turpentine, lb. ij; of honey, of axunge, of each, lb. j. Another. Of litharge, lb. vj; of oil, lb. vss; of Colophonian rosin, lb. viiss; of wax, lb. iiiss; of honey, lb. iij.