Galen, De simplicium medicamentorum temperamentis ac facultatibus I-VI

Προοίμιον. Περὶ τῆς τῶν ἁπλῶν φαρμάκων ἰδέας καὶ δυνάμεως ἐγχειρήσαντες γράφειν, ἐν μὲν τοῖς πρώτοις δύο βιβλίοις ἐπιδεῖξαι προειλόμεθα τοὺς μοχθηροὺς τρόπους τῶν ἐπιχειρημάτων, οἷς πλεῖστοι τῶν νεωτέρων ἰατρῶν χρώμενοι σφάλλονται μέγιστα. κατὰ δὲ τὸ τρίτον οἷον στοιχείωσίν τινα τῆς συμπάσης ἐποιησάμεθα διδασκαλίας, εἶτα ἑξῆς κατὰ τὸ τέταρτον ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν χυμῶν φύσεως ἐζητήσαμεν, ἐξευρεῖν σπουδάσαντες ἅπαν ὅσον οἷόν τ’ ἐστὶν ἐξ αὐτῶν εἰς τὴν τῶν δυνάμεων γνῶσιν ὠφεληθῆναι. διελέχθημεν δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς τελευτῆς τοῦ βιβλίου καὶ περὶ τῶν πρὸς τὴν ὄσφρησιν ἐν τοῖς ἁπλοῖς φαρμάκοις ποιοτήτων. ἐν δὲ τῷ πέμπτῳ μεταβάντες ἐπὶ τὸ λοιπὸν γένος τῶν δυνάμεων, ὃ παρονομάζεται ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν ἃ πεφύκασι δρᾷν, ἐπεδείξαμεν κᾀνταῦθα ἑκάστου τὴν φύσιν καὶ οὐσίαν. οἱ μὲν δὴ καθόλου λόγοι πάντες ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν ἁπλῶν δυνάμεως ἐοίκασιν ἤδη τέλος ἔχειν· ἐπὶ δὲ τοὺς κατὰ μέρος ἢ κατ’ εἶδος, ἢ ὅπως ἄν τις ὀνομάζειν ἐθέλοι, μετιέναι καιρός. εἶεν δ’ ἂν οὗτοι καθ’ ἕκαστον φάρμακον ἰδίᾳ περαινόμενοι, καθάπερ καὶ κατ’ ἀρχὰς εὐθὺς ἐποιήσαμεν, ἐν μὲν τῷ πρώτῳ τῶνδε τῶν ὑπομνημάτων ὑπὲρ ὕδατός τε καὶ ὄξους ἐπισκεψάμενοι, κατὰ δὲ τὸ δεύτερον ὑπὲρ ἐλαίου καὶ ῥοδίνου, πλὴν ἐν ἐκείνοις μὲν ἐπὶ παραδειγμάτων ὁ λόγος ἡμῖν ἐγίγνετο πρὸς τοὺς οὐκ ὀρθῶς ὑπὲρ τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτῶν ἀποφηναμένους· ἐνταῦθα δὲ διὰ βραχέων ὑπὲρ ἑκάστου δίειμι μηκέτι φροντίζων, εἴ τις μὴ καλῶς ἀπεφήνατο περί τινος αὐτῶν, ἀλλ’ ὅπερ ἀληθέστατόν μοι φαί νεται γράφων, ἄνευ τῆς πρὸς τοὺς διαμαρτάνοντας ἀντιλογίας. ὅτι δὲ οὐ μόνον ἀσαφὴς ὁ λόγος ἔσται τοῖς ἐπιλανθανομένοις τῶν ἔμπροσθεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀποδείξεως πιστὸν οὐχ ἕξει, δῆλον μὲν οἶμαι κᾂν ἐγὼ μὴ λέγω, κάλλιον δ’ ἐστὶν ἴσως ἀναμνῆσαι κᾀμὲ, πρῶτον μὲν ὡς ἐπὶ τῆς εὐκρατοτάτης φύσεως τὴν πεῖραν χρὴ ποιεῖσθαι τῆς τῶν φαρμάκων δυνάμεως, εἶθ’ ἑξῆς ὡς ἐπὶ τῶν ἁπλῶν νοσημάτων. εἰ δὲ δὴ κᾀκ τῶν πρὸς τὴν γεῦσιν ποιοτήτων ἐθέλοι τις ἐνδεικτικῶς τεκμαίρεσθαι περὶ τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτῆς, ἐδείξαμεν ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ καὶ τὴν ἐν τούτοις μέθοδον. ἐὰν οὖν τις ἤτοι ῥᾳθύμως ἀναγνοὺς τὰ πρόσθεν ἢ καὶ μηδ’ ὅλως ἀναγνοὺς ἐπὶ τουτὶ τὸ βιβλίον εὐθέως ἀφίκηται, σπεύδων ὅτι τάχιστα ἐπιστήμων γενέσθαι τῆς τῶν φαρμάκων δυνάμεως, οὐχ ἕξει βεβαίαν τὴν γνῶσιν αὐτῶν. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὰ φάρμακα πάντα τὰ μέν ἐστι μόρια ζώων ἢ φυτῶν ἢ καρπῶν ἤ τινες ὀποὶ τούτων ἢ χυλοὶ, τὰ δὲ ἐκ τῶν μετάλλων λαμβάνεται, κάλλιον ἔδοξέ μοι περὶ τῶν φυτῶν πρῶτον διελθεῖν, ὅτι τε πλεῖστον αὐτῶν ἐστι τὸ γένος ἰσχυρότα τόν τε καὶ τὴν δύναμιν, εἶθ’ ἑξῆς περὶ τῶν μεταλλευόντων εἰπεῖν, ἔπειθ’ οὕτως ἐπὶ τὰ τῶν ζώων ἀφικέσθαι μόρια. καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὴν τάξιν αὐτῶν τῆς γραφῆς ἔγνων χρῆναι κατὰ στοιχεῖον ποιήσασθαι, πρῶτα μὲν ἐκεῖνα γράψας τῶν φυτῶν ὧν αἱ προσηγορίαι τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔχουσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄλφα στοιχείου, δεύτερα δὲ ὅσα ἀπὸ τοῦ β, καὶ οὕτως ἤδη τρίτα τε καὶ τέταρτα καὶ πέμπτα καὶ τἄλλα ἐφεξῆς ἅπαντα κατὰ τὴν τῶν γραμμάτων τάξιν. οὕτω δὴ καὶ Πάμφιλος ἐποιήσατο τὴν περὶ τῶν βοτανῶν πραγματείαν. ἀλλ’ ἐκεῖνος μὲν εἴς τε μύθους γραῶν τινας ἐξετράπετο καί τινας γοητείας Αἰγυπτίας ληρώδεις ἅμα τισὶν ἐπῳδαῖς, ἃς ἀναιρούμενοι τὰς βοτάνας ἐπιλέγουσι. καὶ δὴ κέχρηται πρὸς περίαπτα καὶ ἄλλας μαγγανείας οὐ περιέργους μόνον, οὐδ’ ἔξω τῆς ἰατρικῆς τέχνης, ἀλλὰ καὶ ψευδεῖς ἁπάσας. ἡμεῖς δὲ οὔτε τούτων οὐδὲν οὔτε τὰς τούτων ἔτι ληρώδεις μεταμορφώσεις ἐροῦμεν. οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῖς μικροῖς παισὶ κομιδῇ χρησίμους ὑπολαμβάνομεν εἶναι τοὺς τοιούτους μύθους, μήτι γε δὴ τοῖς μετιέναι σπεύδουσι τὰ τῆς ἰατρικῆς ἔργα. καί μοι δοκεῖ πρὸς Ἱπποκράτους εὐθέως ἐν ἀρχῇ τῶν ἀφορισμῶν εἰρῆσθαι ὁ βίος βραχὺς, ἡ δὲ τέχνη μακρὰ χάριν τοῦ μὴ καταναλίσκειν τοὺς χρόνους εἰς ἄχρηστα, σπεύδειν δὲ ὡς οἷόν τε τὴν ἐπιτομωτάτην ἰέναι δι’ αὐτῶν τῶν χρησιμωτάτων τῆς τέχνης. καὶ μὲν δὴ καὶ τὰ πολλὰ τῶν βοτανῶν ὀνόματα ταῦτα Αἰγυπτιακὰ καὶ Βαβυλώνια, καὶ ὅσα τινὲς ἰδίως ἢ συμβολικῶς ἐπ’ αὐταῖς ἔθεντο, περιττὸν ἔδοξέ μοι προσγράφειν ἐνταῦθα. κάλλιον γὰρ, εἴ τις ἐθέλοι καὶ ταῦτα πολυπραγμονεῖν, ἰδίᾳ καὶ καθ’ ἑαυτὸν ἀναγινώσκειν τὰς τῶν ἀντιφραζόντων βίβλους. οὕτως γὰρ καί αὐτὰς ἐπιγράφουσιν οἱ συντιθέντες αὐτὰς, καθάπερ καὶ Ξενοκράτης ὁ Ἀφροδισιεὺς ἐποίησεν, ἄνθρωπος τἄλλα περίεργος ἱκανῶς καὶ γοητείας οὐκ ἀπηλλαγμένος. ὁ δέ γε Πάμφιλος ὁ τὰ περὶ τῶν βοτανῶν συνθεὶς εὔδηλός ἐστιν κᾀξ αὐτῶν ὧν γράφει γραμματικὸς ὢν καὶ μήθ’ ἑωρακὼς τὰς βοτάνας ὑπὲρ ὧν διηγεῖται μήτε τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτῶν πεπειραμένος, ἀλλὰ τοῖς πρὸ αὐτοῦ γεγραφόσιν ἅπασιν ἄνευ βασάνου πεπιστευκώς. οὗτος μὲν ἐξέγραψε βιβλία, πλῆθος ὀνομάτων ἐφ’ ἑκάστῃ βοτάνῃ μάτην προστιθεὶς, εἶθ’ ἑξῆς εἴ τις αὐτῶν ἐξ ἀνθρώπου μετεμορφώθη διηγούμενος, εἶτα ἐπῳδὰς καὶ σπονδὰς δή τινας καὶ θυμιάματα ταῖς ἐπὶ τούτων ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἀναιρέσεσι προσγράφων, ἑτέρας τε γοητείας τοιαύτας ληρώδεις. ὁ δὲ Ἀναζαρβεὺς Διοσκουρίδης ἐν πέντε βιβλίοις τὴν χρήσιμον ἅπασιν ὕλην ἔγραψεν οὐ βοτανῶν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ δένδρων καὶ καρπῶν καὶ χυλῶν καὶ ὀπῶν, ἔτι τε τῶν μεταλλευομένων ἁπάντων καὶ τῶν ἐν τοῖς ζώοις μορίων μνημονεύσας. καί μοι δοκεῖ τελεώτατα πάντων οὗτος τὴν περὶ τῆς ὕλης τῶν φαρμάκων πραγματείαν ποιήσασθαι. πολλὰ μὲν γὰρ καὶ τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν γέγραπται καλῶς, ἀλλ’ ὑπὲρ ἁπάντων οὕτως οὐδενὶ, πλὴν εἰ Τάνιτρόν τις ἐπαινοίη τοῦ Ἀσκληπιάδου. καὶ γὰρ καὶ τούτῳ τἄλλα τε καλῶς εἴρηται, χωρὶς τῶν κατὰ τὰς αἰτίας λογισμῶν. ταῦτά τε οὖν ἀναγινώσκειν χρὴ τὸν ἔμπειρον γενέσθαι ὕλης βουλόμενον, ἔτι τε πρὸς τούτοις τά θ’ Ἡρακλείδου τοῦ Ταραντίνου καὶ Κρατεύα καὶ Μαντίου. γέγραπται δὲ οὐχ ὁμοίως οὕτως ἐκείνοις, οὐδ’ εἰς ἓν ἤθροισται πάντα, καθάπερ τῷ Διοσκουρίδῃ, περὶ ὕλης γε ἐπιγράψαντι τὰς πέντε βίβλους, ἀλλ’ ἰδίᾳ μὲν, εἰ οὕτως ἔτυχε, περὶ σκευασίας τε καὶ δοκιμασίας φαρμάκων ἔγραψαν, ὥσπερ Ἡρακλείδης ὁ Ταραντῖνος, ἰδίως δὲ περὶ καθαρτικῆς ἢ προποτισμῶν ἢ κλυσμῶν, ὥσπερ ὁ Μαντίας ἐποίησεν. ἰδίᾳ δ’ εὐπορίστων βοηθημάτων, ὡς Ἀπολλώνιος, ἢ τῶν κατὰ τόπους, ὡς Μαντίας. ἡ δὲ πλείστη τῶν φαρμάκων χρῆσις ἐν αὐταῖς ταῖς θεραπευτικαῖς πραγματείαις ὑπό τε τῶν παλαιῶν γέγραπται καὶ προσέτι τῶν νεωτέρων ἁπάντων σχεδόν· καὶ γὰρ πρὸς Ἱπποκράτους εἴρηται πολλὰ καὶ πρὸς Εύρυφῶντος καὶ Διεύχους καὶ Διοκλέους καὶ Πλειστονίκου καὶ Πραξαγόρου καὶ Ἡροφίλου, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδεὶς ἀνὴρ παλαιὸς ὃς οὐ συνεβάλλετό τι τῇ τέχνῃ μεῖζον ἢ μεῖον εἰς ἐπιστήμην φαρμάκων, ἄνευ γοητείας τε καὶ ἀλαζονείας, ἣν ὕστερον Ἀνδρέας ἐπεδείξατο, ὥσθ’ ὅτῳ σχολὴ χρησίμοις ὁμιλεῖν βιβλίοις περὶ φαρμάκων γεγραμμένοις, ἔχει πολλὰ καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν μὲν, ὡς εἴρηται, καὶ τῶν νεωτέρων δὲ, οὐκ ὀλίγα μέχρι καὶ τῶν περὶ Πάμφιλόν τε καὶ Ἀριχιγένην. καὶ μὲν δὴ καὶ Ῥούφῳ τῷ Ἐφεσίῳ πολλὰ μὲν κᾀν τοῖς θεραπευτικοῖς βιβλίοις γέγραπται φάρμακα, καὶ περὶ βοτανῶν δὲ δι’ ἑξαμέτρων ἐπῶν σύγκειται τέτταρα, καὶ οὐδεὶς φόβος ἐπιλείπειν χρήσιμα βιβλία, κᾂν ἐν ἅπαντι τῷ βίῳ βούληταί τις ἄλλο μηδὲν ἢ περὶ φαρμάκων ἀναγινώσκειν. Ἀνδρέου δὲ καὶ τῶν ὁμοίως ἀλαζόνων ἀφίστασθαι χρὴ, καὶ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἔτι Παμφίλου τοῦ μηδ’ ὄναρ ἑωρακότος ποτὲ τὰς βοτάνας, ὧν τὰς ἰδέας ἐπιχειρεῖ γράφειν. οἱ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ὁ Ταραντῖνος Ἡρακλείδης εἴκαζεν αὐτοὺς, ὁμοιότατοι τοῖς κήρυξίν εἰσιν, ὅσοι τὰ τῆς ἰδέας γνωρίσματα κηρύττουσιν ἀποδεδρακότος ἀνδραπόδου, αὐτοὶ μηδεπώποτε θεασάμενοι. λαμβάνουσι μὲν γὰρ τὰ γνωρίσματα παρὰ τῶν εἰδότων, λέγουσι δὲ ὡς ἐπῳδὴν αὐτὰ, ἃ μηδὲ εἰ παρεστὼς ὁ κηρυττόμενος τύχῃ, διαγνῶναι δυνάμενοι. ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἐμεμφόμην τοῖς πρώτως γράψασι τὰς ἰδέας τῶν βοτανῶν, ἄμεινον ἡγούμενος αὐτόπτην γενέσθαι παρ’ αὐτῷ τῷ διδάσκοντι τὸν μανθάνοντα καὶ μὴ τοῖς ἐκ τοῦ βιβλίου κυβερνήταις ὁμοιωθῆναι. καὶ γὰρ ἀληθέστερον οὕτω καὶ σαφέστερον ἡ διδασκαλία περαίνοι ἂν ὑπὸ διδασκάλων οὐ βοτανῶν μόνων ἢ θάμνων ἢ δένδρων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων φαρμάκων. εἰ δὲ ἄρα καὶ δέοιτο τοῦ βιβλίου, τίς οὕτως ἄθλιος ὡς παρελθεῖν τὰ Διοσκουρδίου καὶ Νίγρου καὶ Ἡρακλείδου καὶ Κρατεύα καὶ ἄλλων μυρίων ἐν τῇ τέχνῃ καταγηρασάντων, βιβλία γραμματικὰ γράφοντος ἐπῳδὰς καὶ μεταμορφώσεις καὶ δεκανῶν καὶ δαιμόνων ἱερὰς βοτάνας ἀνάσχοιτ’ ἄν; ὅτι γὰρ γόητες ἄνθρωποι ἐκπλήττειν τὸν πολὺν ὄχλον ἔργον πεποιημένοι τὰ τοιαῦτα συνέθεσαν ἐξ αὐτῶν ἔνεστί σοι γνῶναι τοῦ Παμφίλου βιβλίων, ὃς πρῶτον μὲν ἐν ταῖς βοτάναις ἔγραψεν ἀβρότονον, ἅπασιν ἡμῖν γνώριμον τυγχάνουσαν, εἶθ’ ἑξῆς ἄγνον ἱκανῶς καὶ τοῦτο γνώριμον θάμνον, εἶτ’ ἄγρωστιν οὐδὲ τοῖς ἰδιώταις ἄγνωστον πόαν, εἶτ’ ἄγχουσαν ἣν οὐδὲ αὐτὴν ἀγνοεῖ τις, ὥσπερ οὖν οὐδὲ τὸ ἀδίαντον ἐφεξῆς αὐτῇ γεγραμμένον. ἐν μὲν δὴ τούτοις οὐδὲν ὧν ἴσμεν περιττότερον γράφει· μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα βοτάνης μέμνηται καλουμένης, ὡς αὐτός φησιν, ἀετοῦ, περὶ ἧς ὁμολογεῖ μηδένα τῶν Ἑλλήνων εἰρηκέναι μηδὲν, ἀλλ’ ἔν τινι τῶν εἰς Ἑρμῆν τὸν Αἰγύπτιον ἀναφερομένων βιβλίων ἐγγεγράφθαι, περιέχοντι τὰς λστ΄ τῶν ὡροσκόπων ἱερὰς βοτάνας, αἵ εὔδηλον ὅτι πᾶσαι λῆρός εἰσι καὶ πλάσματα τοῦ συνθέντος, ὁμοιότατα τοῖς ὀφιονίκοις τοῖς Κόγχλας. οὔτε γὰρ ὅλως ἐγίνετό τις Κόγχλας, ἀλλ’ εἰς γέλωτα σύγκειται τοὔνομα, καθάπερ καὶ τἄλλα πάντα τὰ κατὰ τὸ βιβλίον αὐτοῦ γεγραμμένα. καὶ αἱ λστ΄ αὗται βοτάναι μέχρι τῶν ὀνομάτων προέρχονται, μηδενὸς αὐταῖς ὑποκειμένου πράγματος. ἀλλὰ Πάμφιλος μὲν ὥσπερ ἄλλοι πολλοὶ σχολὴν ἴσως ἦγεν ἀχρήστους μύθους ἐγγράφειν βιβλίοις· ἡμεῖς δὲ καὶ νῦν ἡγούμεθα τὸν χρόνον ἀπολλύναι μνημονεύοντες αὐτῶν ἐπιπλέον. ἀρξώμεθα οὖν ἤδη τῶν χρησίμων.

Preface. Having undertaken to write on the character and power of simple drugs, in the first two books we chose to expose the faulty methods of argument by which most of the more recent physicians go very greatly astray. In the third we made a kind of elementary introduction to the whole teaching; then next, in the fourth, we inquired into the nature of flavours, striving to discover everything that it is possible to gain from them towards the knowledge of the powers. At the end of that book we also discussed the qualities in simple drugs that relate to smell. In the fifth, passing on to the remaining class of powers, which takes its name from the effects they naturally produce, there too we demonstrated the nature and substance of each. All the general accounts of the power of simples, then, seem now to be complete; it is time to move on to the particular ones, or those by species, or however one may wish to name them. These would be worked out for each drug separately, as we also did right at the start, examining water and vinegar in the first of these treatises and oil and rose oil in the second; except that there our discussion proceeded by way of examples, against those who had pronounced incorrectly about their power, whereas here I shall go through each briefly, no longer concerned whether anyone has pronounced badly about any of them, but writing what seems to me most true, without controversy against those who are mistaken. That the account will not only be unclear to those who forget what came before, but will also lack the credibility of demonstration, is clear, I think, even if I do not say it; but it is perhaps better that I too should remind [the reader], first, that the test of the power of drugs must be made on the best-tempered constitution, and next, on simple diseases. And if anyone should wish to draw inferences by way of indication about the power itself from the qualities of taste as well, we showed the method for these too in the fourth [book]. So if anyone, having read the earlier books carelessly, or not having read them at all, comes straight to this book, in a hurry to gain knowledge of the power of drugs as quickly as possible, he will not have a secure knowledge of them. Since of all drugs some are parts of animals or plants or fruits, or certain saps or juices of these, while others are taken from mines, it seemed better to me to go through plants first, because their class is both the largest and the strongest in power, then next to speak of the mined substances, and then in this way to come to the parts of animals. And indeed I decided that the order of writing about them should also be made by letters, writing first about those plants whose names begin with the letter alpha, second those that begin with beta, and so on to the third, fourth, fifth and all the rest in succession according to the order of the letters. This is how Pamphilus too composed his treatise on herbs. But he turned aside into certain old wives' tales and some silly Egyptian sorceries, together with certain incantations which people pronounce over the herbs as they gather them. And indeed he has used [them] for amulets and other trickeries which are not only idle curiosities, nor merely outside the art of medicine, but are also all false. We, however, shall mention none of these things, nor, further, their silly metamorphoses. For we do not suppose such tales to be useful even to very small children, let alone to those eager to pursue the works of medicine. And it seems to me that 'life is short, the art long' was said by Hippocrates right at the beginning of the Aphorisms so that we should not use up our time on useless things, but should hasten, as far as we can, to take the shortest route through the most useful parts of the art themselves. Moreover, it seemed to me superfluous to add here these many Egyptian and Babylonian names of the herbs, and all those that some people have given them privately or symbolically. For it is better, if anyone wishes to busy himself with these too, to read on his own and by himself the books of synonyms [lists of alternative names]. For that is how those who compile them title them, as Xenocrates of Aphrodisias also did, a man in other respects much given to curious lore and not free of sorcery. As for Pamphilus, who composed the work on herbs, it is plain from what he writes himself that he is a grammarian who has neither seen the herbs he describes nor tested their power, but has trusted all who wrote before him without scrutiny. He copied out books, pointlessly adding a mass of names for each herb, then next relating whether any of them had been transformed from a human being, then adding incantations and certain libations and fumigations for taking them up out of the earth, and other silly sorceries of that kind. But Dioscorides of Anazarbus wrote in five books on the material useful for everything, recording not only herbs but also trees, fruits, juices and saps, and further all the mined substances and the parts of animals. And he seems to me to have produced the most complete treatise of all on the material of drugs. For much was well written about them by earlier writers too, but by no one in this way about all of them, unless one were to praise Tanitros, the [follower] of Asclepiades; for by him too other things are said well, except for his reasonings about causes. Whoever wishes to become experienced in materia medica should read these, and in addition the works of Heraclides of Tarentum, Crateuas and Mantias. But these men did not write in the same way, nor is everything gathered into one, as with Dioscorides, who titled his five books On Material; rather they wrote separately, as it happened, on the preparation and testing of drugs, as Heraclides of Tarentum did, and separately on purgation, or preliminary draughts, or clysters, as Mantias did; and separately on easily obtained remedies, like Apollonius, or on remedies by [bodily] region, like Mantias. Most of the use of drugs, however, has been written up in the therapeutic treatises themselves, both by the ancients and also by nearly all the more recent writers; for much was said by Hippocrates, and by Euryphon, Dieuches, Diocles, Pleistonicus, Praxagoras and Herophilus, and there is no ancient man who did not contribute something to the art, more or less, towards the knowledge of drugs, without the sorcery and imposture that Andreas later displayed; so that whoever has leisure to spend time with useful books written about drugs has many from the ancients, as has been said, and not a few from the more recent writers, down to the circle of Pamphilus and Archigenes. Moreover, Rufus of Ephesus also wrote of many drugs in his therapeutic books, and four [books] on herbs in hexameter verse were composed by him; and there is no fear of useful books running out, even if someone wishes to read nothing else all his life but [books] about drugs. One should, however, keep away from Andreas and those who are similar impostors, and much more still from Pamphilus, who has never seen, even in a dream, the herbs whose forms he attempts to describe. For people of this kind, as indeed Heraclides of Tarentum likened them, are most like the criers who announce the marks of appearance of a runaway slave without ever having seen him themselves. For they get the marks from those who know, and recite them like an incantation, though they could not recognise them even if the man being cried happened to be standing beside them. For my part, I used to find fault with those who first wrote descriptions of the forms of herbs, thinking it better for the learner to become an eyewitness at the side of the teacher himself, and not to become like the helmsmen [who learn] from a book. For in this way the teaching would be carried out more truly and more clearly by teachers, not of herbs only, or shrubs or trees, but of all other drugs as well. But if one does after all need a book, who is so wretched as to pass over those of Dioscorides, Niger, Heraclides, Crateuas and countless others who grew old in the art, and put up with the grammarian's books of a man writing incantations and metamorphoses and the sacred herbs of decans and demons? That sorcerers, men who have made it their business to astound the great crowd, put such things together, you can learn from the books of Pamphilus themselves, who first wrote up among the herbs southernwood, which happens to be familiar to all of us, then next the chaste tree, this too a quite familiar shrub, then agrōstis [couch grass], a plant not unknown even to laymen, then alkanet, of which no one is ignorant either, as indeed no one is of maidenhair, written next after it. In these, then, he writes nothing beyond what we know; but after these he mentions a herb called, as he says himself, 'eagle', about which he admits that none of the Greeks has said anything, but that it is written in one of the books attributed to Hermes the Egyptian, which contains the thirty-six sacred herbs of the horoscopes; these are all plainly nonsense and fictions of the compiler, very like the Ophionika ['Snake-Victories'] of Konchlas. For there never was any Konchlas at all; the name was put together as a joke, as was everything else written in his book. And these thirty-six herbs go no further than their names, with no real thing underlying them. But Pamphilus, like many others, perhaps had leisure to write useless tales into books; we, even now, consider that we are wasting our time by mentioning them any further. Let us begin, then, at once on the useful things.

[ι΄. Περὶ γλυκυσίδης.] Γλυκυσίδην, ἣν καὶ πεντόροβον ὀνομάζουσι καὶ παιονίαν, ῥίζαν ἀτρέμα στύφουσαν ἔχει μετά τινος γλυκύτητος, ἐπὶ πλέον δὲ μασωμένη καὶ δριμύτητος ὑποπίκρου. ταῦτ’ ἄρα καταμήνιά τε κινεῖ, μέγεθος ἀμυγδάλου σὺν μελικράτῳ πινομένη· κόπτειν δὲ δηλονότι χρὴ καὶ διαττᾷν αὐτὴν καὶ οὕτως ἐπιπάττειν. ἐκκαθαίρει δὲ καὶ ἧπαρ ἐμπεφραγμένον καὶ νεφρούς. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ᾗ δριμεῖά τέ ἐστι καὶ ὑπόπικρος ἐργάζεσθαι πέφυκεν, ᾗ δ’ ἔχει τι καὶ στυπτικὸν, ἵστησι τὰ κατὰ τὴν γαστέρα ῥεύματα. χρὴ δ’ αὐτὴν ἐν οἴνῳ τηνικαῦτα τῶν αὐστηρῶν τινι καθεψήσαντα πίνειν. ὅλως δὲ ξηραντικὴ τὴν δύναμίν ἐστιν ἰσχυρῶς, ὥστ’ οὐκ ἂν ἀπελπίσαιμι καὶ περιαπτομένην αὐτὴν εὐλόγως πεπιστεῦσθαι παιδίων ἐπιληψίας ἰᾶσθαι. καὶ οἶδά γέ ποτε παιδίον ὀκτὼ μησὶ μηδ’ ὅλως ἐπιληφθὲν ἐξ ὅτου τῆς ῥίζης ἐφόρει, ὡς δ’ ἀπεῤῥύη πως ἀπὸ τοῦ τραχήλου τὸ περιάπτον, εὐθὺς ἐπελήφθη, καὶ αὖθίς τε περιαφθέντος ἑτέρου πάλιν ἀμέμπτως εἶχεν. ἔδοξε δέ μοι κάλλιον εἶναι καὶ αὖθις ἀφελεῖν αὐτὸ πείρας ἕνεκα, καὶ οὕτω πράξαντες, ἐπειδὴ πάλιν ἐσπάσθη, μέγα τε καὶ πρόσφατον μέρος τῆς ῥίζης ἐξηρτήσαμεν αὐτοῦ τοῦ τραχήλου, κᾀντεῦθεν ἤδη τοῦ λοιποῦ τελέως ὑγιὴς ἐγένετο ὁ παῖς καὶ οὐκέτ’ ἐπελήφθη. εὔλογον οὖν ἦν ἢ ἀποῤῥέοντά τινα τῆς ῥίζης μόρια, κᾄπειτα διὰ τῆς εἰσπνοῆς ἑλκόμενα, θεραπεύειν οὕτω τοὺς πεπονθότας τόπους ἢ καὶ τοῦ ἀέρος αὐτοῦ τρεπομένου καὶ ἀλλοιουμένου πρὸς τῆς ῥίζης. οὕτω γάρ τοι καὶ ὁ Κυρηναῖος ὀπὸς ὀνίνησι γαργαρεῶνα φλεγμαίνοντα καὶ τὸ πεφρυγμένον μελάνθιον ἐναργῶς ξηραίνει κατάῤῥους καὶ κορύζας, εἴ τις δήσας αὐτὸ θερμὸν εἰς ὀθόνιον ἀραιὸν ἐπισπῷτο συνεχῶς τὴν ἐξ αὐτοῦ θερμότητα διὰ τῆς κατὰ τὰς ῥῖνας εἰσπνοῆς. καὶ μὲν δὴ εἰ λίνα πλείονα, καὶ μάλιστα ἀπὸ θαλασσίας πορφύρας, περιβαλὼν ἐχίδνης τραχήλῳ πνίξειας αὐτοῖς τὴν ἔχιδναν, εἶτα περιάπτοις ἕκαστον τῶν λίνων τῷ τραχήλῳ, θαυμαστῶς ὀνίνησι παρίσθμιά τε καὶ ὅσα περὶ τράχηλον ἐκβλαστάνει. περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν τοιούτων κᾂν ἰδίᾳ ποτὲ διέλθοιμι. τῆς δὲ παιονίας τὴν κρᾶσιν ἰστέον εἶναι λεπτομερῆ τε καὶ ξηραντικὴν, οὐ μὴν ἐπιφανῶς γε θερμὴν, ἀλλ’ ἤτοι σύμμετρον ἢ βραχεῖ τινι θερμοτέραν.

[10. On glykysidē.] Glykysidē [peony], which people also call pentorobos and paionia, has a root that is gently astringent with a certain sweetness, and, when chewed for longer, also a somewhat bitter sharpness. For this reason it moves the menses when drunk with honey-water in the amount of an almond; one must, of course, pound it and sift it and sprinkle it in that way. It also clears out an obstructed liver, and the kidneys. But these effects it naturally produces insofar as it is sharp and somewhat bitter; insofar as it also has something astringent, it stops fluxes of the belly. In that case one should boil it down in one of the harsh wines and drink it. On the whole it is strongly drying in its power, so that I would not rule out that it has with good reason been believed to cure the epilepsy of young children even when hung on [them] as an amulet. And indeed I once knew a child who for eight months was not seized at all from the time he wore some of the root; but when the amulet somehow slipped off his neck, he was seized at once, and when another was hung on him again he was once more perfectly well. It seemed better to me to remove it yet again for the sake of a test; and when we had done so and he was convulsed once more, we hung a large, fresh piece of the root from his neck, and from then on the boy became completely healthy for the rest of the time and was never seized again. It was reasonable, then, [to suppose] either that certain particles flowing off the root, and then drawn in through breathing, treat the affected places in this way, or else that the air itself is turned and altered by the root. For in this way too the Cyrenaic sap [silphium] benefits an inflamed uvula, and roasted nigella visibly dries up catarrhs and head-colds, if one ties it up hot in a loosely woven linen cloth and continually draws in the heat from it by breathing through the nostrils. Moreover, if you put several threads, especially [ones dyed] with sea-purple, around a viper's neck and strangle the viper with them, and then tie each of the threads round the neck [of a patient], it is wonderfully beneficial for swollen tonsils and for whatever breaks out about the neck. But about such things I may perhaps go through them separately some time. As for the temperament of peony, one must understand that it is fine-particled and drying, yet not noticeably hot, but either balanced or slightly hotter.

Οὐδὲν τῶν νῦν λεχθησομένων τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς πραγματείας ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις πέντε βιβλίοις εἰρημένα μεγάλην ὠφέλειαν οἴσει, τινὰ δ’ ἴσως καὶ βλάψει τὸν χρησόμενον τοῖς ἐν αὐτῷ γεγραμμένοις φαρμάκοις, οὐκ ἔχοντα μέθοδον. ὡς οὖν ἐκεῖνα μεμαθηκότι σοι διαλέξομαι, τὸ κεφάλαιον ἀναμνήσας ὅλης τῆς πραγματείας. ἐδείχθη τὰ φάρμακα κατὰ μὲν τὰς δραστικὰς ὀνομαζομένας ποιότητας ἐνεργοῦντα θερμότητα καὶ ψυχρότητα καὶ ξηρότητα καὶ ὑγρότητα, τῇ δὲ τούτων κράσει στρυφνὰ καὶ αὐστηρὰ καὶ ἁλμυρὰ καὶ ἁλυκὰ καὶ πικρὰ καὶ δριμέα καὶ γλυκέα γιγνόμενα, καὶ τὰ μὲν ῥυπτικὰ, τὰ δὲ ἀποκρουστικὰ, τὰ δὲ ἑλκτικὰ, τὰ δὲ μαλακτικὰ, τὰ δὲ καυστικὰ, τὰ δὲ σηπτικὰ, τὰ δὲ ἐσχαρωτικὰ, καὶ πρός γε τούτοις ἔτι κατ’ ἄλλας ἰδικωτέρας ἐνεργείας, σαρκωτικά τε καὶ συνουλωτικὰ καὶ κολλητικὰ συρίγγων ἢ ἑλκῶν, ἢ καθαιρετικὰ τῶν ὑπεραυξανόμενον σαρκῶν. ἐδείχθη δὲ καὶ ὡς ἡ καθόλου δύναμις ἐκ πείρας μιᾶς ἐνδεικτικῶς εὑρίσκοιτο, καὶ οὐ τῆς τυχούσης γε πείρας, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τῶν εἰρημένων διορισμῶν γιγνομένης· εὑρεθείσης δ’ ἅπαξ τῆς καθόλου δυνάμεως οὐδεμιᾶς ἔτι πείρας εἶναι χρείαν εἴς γε τὰς κατὰ μέρος ἐνεργείας, ὅτι μὴ πρὸς βεβαίωσιν μόνην ὧν ὁ λόγος εὗρεν. οὕτως οὖν καὶ νῦν ποιησαίμεθα τὴν κρίσιν τῆς προκειμένης ὕλης, αὕτη δ’ ἐστὶν ἡ ἐκ τῶν ζώων. ἐν μὲν γὰρ τοῖς μετὰ τὸ πέμπτον ἐφεξῆς τρισὶ βιβλίοις, ἕκτω καὶ ἑβδόμῳ καὶ ὀγδόω, τὴν περὶ τὰ φυτὰ διήλθομεν ὕλην, οὐ πᾶσαν δηλονότι τὴν καθ’ ὅλην τὴν οἰκουμένην, ἀλλ’ ὅσης ἡμεῖς ἔχομεν πεῖραν. ἐν δὲ τῷ πρὸ τοῦδε, τῆς δ’ ὅλης πραγματείας ἐννάτῳ, τὴν περὶ τὰ γεώδη τε καὶ λιθώδη σώματα. λείπεται δ’ ἡμῖν ἔτι τὴν περὶ τὰ ζῶα διελεῖν ὕλην· εἶτ’ ἔτι τῶν ἐν θαλάττῃ καὶ λίμναις ἢ ὅλως ἐν ὕδατι γεννωμένων ἐστὶν ὑπόλοιπον, ἃ μήτε φυτὰ μήτε γῆ μήτε λίθος ἐστὶ μήτε ζῶον. ὀλίγιστα δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα παντάπασίν ἐστι καὶ γεγράψεται τελευταῖα, μετὰ τὸ διελθεῖν ἡμᾶς τὰ κατὰ τὰ σώματα τῶν ζώων. ἔσται δὲ καὶ τούτων ἡ τάξις τῆς διδασκαλίας κατὰ τὴν τῶν πρώτων γραμμάτων τάξιν ἐν ταῖς προσηγορίαις αὐτῶν. ὥσπερ δ’ ἐν τῇ τῶν φυτῶν ὕλῃ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐξ αὐτῶν γινομένων χυμῶν τὸν λόγον ἐποιησάμην, οὕτως καὶ νῦν οὐ μόνον τῶν στερεῶν μορίων ἐν τοῖς ζώοις ἡ διδασκαλία τῆς δυνάμεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς περιεχομένων ἔσται, φλέγματος, χολῆς, αἵματος, οὔρου, κόπρου καὶ τῶν ὁμοίων. ἐν μὲν οὖν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν εἰρημένοις οὐ πολλὰ τῶν κατὰ μέρος ἐν ταῖς ὑπὸ τῶν ἰατρῶν γεγραμμέναις ὕλαις ἄγνωστά μοι γέγονεν, ἀλλ’ αὐτὸς ἐσπούδασα διὰ τῆς πείρας γνῶναι τὰς δυνάμεις αὐτῶν, εἴ τινος δ’ οὐκ ἔγνων, οὐδ’ ἔγραψα περὶ τούτου τὴν ἀρχὴν, οὐκ ἀξιῶν ἄλλοις πιστεύειν οὐδὲ περὶ ἑνὸς τοιούτου, διὰ τὸ καταμαθεῖν ἐνίους πολλὰ ψευδομένους. ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς νῦν προκειμένης ὕλης οὐχ οὕτως ἔχει. πάμπολλα ὁμολογῶ μορίων τε καὶ ὑγρῶν ἐν τοῖς τῶν ζώων σώμασι περιεχομένων, ὧν οὐδεμίαν αὐτὸς ἔσχηκα τοιαύτην πεῖραν, ὁποίαν ἔγραψάν τινες· ἔνια μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν ἀσελγῆ τέ ἐστι καὶ βδελυρὰ, τινὰ δὲ καὶ πρὸς τῶν νόμων ἀπηγορευμένα, περὶ ὧν οὐκ οἶδα πῶς ἔγραψεν ὁ Ξενοκράτης, ἄνθρωπος οὐ πάλαι γεγονὼς, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τοὺς πάππους ἡμῶν, τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς βασιλείας ἀπηγορευκυίας ἀνθρώπους ἐσθίειν, ἀλλ’ ἐκεῖνός γε ὡς αὐτὸς πεπειραμένος ἀξιοπίστως πάνυ γράφει τίνα πάθη θεραπεύειν πέφυκεν ἐγκέφαλος ἐσθιόμενος ἢ σάρκες ἢ ἧπαρ ἀνθρώπου, τίνα δὲ τὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἢ κνήμης ἢ δακτύλων ὀστᾶ τὰ μὲν καυθέντα, τὰ δ’ ἄκαυστα πινόμενα, τίνα δ’ αὐτὸ τὸ αἷμα. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν εἰ καὶ παρὰ τοὺς νόμους, ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἀσελγῆ γε. πόσις δ’ ἱδρῶτός τε καὶ οὔρου καὶ καταμηνίου γυναικὸς ἀσελγῆ καὶ βδελυρὰ, καὶ τούτων οὐδὲν ἧττον ἡ κόπρος, ἣν διαχριομένην τε τοῖς κατὰ τὸ στόμα καὶ τὴν φάρυγγα μορίοις εἴς τε τὴν γαστέρα καταπινομένην ἔγραψεν ὁ Ξενοκράτης ὅ τί ποτε ποιεῖν δύναται· γέγραφε δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ κατὰ τὰ ὦτα ῥύπου καταπινομένου. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν οὐδὲ τοῦτον ἂν ὑπέμεινα καταπιεῖν, ἐφ’ ᾧ γε μηδέποτε νοσῆσαι. πολὺ δ’ αὐτοῦ βδελυρώτερον ἡγοῦμαι τὴν κόπρον εἶναι. καὶ μεῖζόν γε ὄνειδός ἐστιν ἀνθρώπῳ σωφρονοῦντι κοπροφάγον ἀκούειν ἢ αἰσχρουργὸν ἢ κίναιδον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν αἰσχρουργῶν μᾶλλον βδελυττόμεθα τοὺς φοινικίζοντας τῶν λεσβιαζόντων, ᾧ φαίνεταί μοι παραπλήσιόν τι πάσχειν ὁ καὶ καταμηνίου πίνων. οὔτ’ οὖν τούτων ὑπομείναι τις ἂν εἰς πεῖραν ἐλθεῖν ἄνθρωπος κατὰ φύσιν ἔχων οὔθ’ ὅσα μετριώτερα μὲν τούτων, ἔτι δ’ ἀσελγῆ, κόπρῳ καταχρίεσθαί τι τοῦ σώματος μέρος, ἕνεκα τοῦ κατ’ αὐτὸ πάθους, ἢ ἀνθρώπου σπέρματος. γόνον δὲ αὐτὸ καλεῖν  εἴωθεν ὁ Ξενοκράτης, καὶ διορίζεταί γε μετὰ πάσης ἐπιμελείας τίνα μὲν αὐτὸς ὁ γόνος μόνος ὠφελεῖν πέφυκε καταχριόμενος, τίνα δὲ μετὰ τὴν ὁμιλίαν ἀνδρὸς καὶ γυναικὸς, ὅταν ἐκπέσῃ τοῦ γυναικείου κόλπου. μεγάλην γάρ τινα δεῖ γενέσθαι βοηθημάτων πενίαν, ἵνα τις χίμεθλα θεραπεύσῃ ὑπερεχούσας ἀνδρὸς σπέρμα μὴ μεῖναν ἔνδον, ἀλλ’ ἐκρυὲν τῆς γυναικὸς ἐπὶ τῇ συνουσίᾳ. πολὺ μὲν δὴ καὶ τὸ τοιοῦτο τῆς ὕλης εἶδός ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς περὶ τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν ζώων ὠφελείας ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ γεγραμμένοις. οὐ γὰρ ἀνθρώπου δηλονότι, τίνα δύναμιν ἔχει πινόμενον οὖρον ἢ καταπινομένοις τε καὶ διαχριομένοις τοῖς ἐν τὸ στόματι μέρεσι κόπρος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ζώων ἑκάστου διηγεῖται, πολὺ δ’ ἄλλο τῶν δυσπορίστων, οἷον ὅταν ἐλέφαντος ἢ ἵππου Νειλώου μνημονεύῃ. βασιλίσκον μὲν γὰρ τὸ θηρίον οὐδὲ εἶδον οὐδέποτε, καὶ εἰ ἀληθῆ τὰ λεγόμενα περὶ αὐτοῦ, κινδυνῶδές ἐστι καὶ τὸ πλησίον ἀφικέσθαι τῷ ζώῳ τούτῳ. παραπλήσια δὲ τῷ Ξενακράτει καὶ ἄλλοι τινὲς ἔγραψαν περὶ ζώων, ἐξ ὧν καὶ αὐ τὸς ὁ Ξενοκράτης ἐξεγράψατο τὰ πλεῖστα. πόθεν γὰρ ἂν ηὐπόρησε τοσούτων τε καὶ τοιούτων πραγμάτων αὐτὸς πειραθῆναι; ὁ γοῦν ἡμέτερος γενόμενός ποτε βασιλεὺς Ἄτταλος ἐλάττονα φαίνεται γράφων, καίτοι φιλοτιμότατα σχὼν περὶ τὴν τῶν τοιούτων πεῖραν. ἐπαινῶν δέ τις Ἀτευρίστου τὴν αὐτὴν πραγματείαν, ἔδωκέ μοι καὶ αὐτὴν διελθεῖν, ὥς γε ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, χωρὶς αὐτοψίας ἰδίας τοῦ γράψαντος αὐτὴν γεγονυῖαν. ἐγὼ τοίνυν οὔτε βασιλίσκων οὔτε ἐλεφάντων οὔθ’ ἵππων Νειλώων οὔτ’ ἄλλου τινὸς οὗ μὴ πεῖραν αὐτὸς ἔχω μνημονεύσω, τῶν δὲ καλουμένων φίλτρων, ἀγωγίμων, ὀνειροπομπῶν τε καὶ μισήτρων, αὐτοῖς γὰρ τοῖς ἐκείνων ὀνόμασιν ἐξεπίτηδες χρῶμαι, τὴν ἀρχὴν ἂν, οὐδ’ εἰ πεῖραν ἱκανὴν εἶχον, ἐμνημόνευσα διὰ γραμμάτων, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τῶν θανασίμων φαρμάκων ἢ τῶν ὡς αὐτοὶ καλοῦσιν παθοποιῶν. ἐκεῖνα μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν καὶ γελοῖα, καταδῆσαι τοὺς ἀντιδίκους, ὡς μηδὲν ἐπὶ τοῦ δικανικοῦ δυνηθῆναι φθέγξασθαι, ἢ ἐκτρῶσαι ποιῆσαι τὴν κύουσαν, ἢ μηδέποτε συλλαβεῖν, ὅσα τ’ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα. τὰ μέν γε πλεῖστα εἶναι τούτων ἐστὶ καὶ πρὸς τῆς πείρας ἀδύνατα ὑπάρχειν, ἔνια δὲ εἰ καὶ δυνατὰ, βλαβερὰ γοῦν γ’ ἐστὶ τῷ βίῳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὥστ’ ἐγὼ νὴ τοὺς θεοὺς θαυμάζω κατὰ τίνα τὴν ἔννοιαν ἧκον ἐπὶ τὸ γράφειν αὐτά τινες. ἃ γὰρ καὶ τοῖς ζῶσιν ἀδοξίαν φέρει γνωσθέντα, πῶς ταῦτα μετὰ θάνατον εὐδοξίαν οἴσειν αὑτοῖς ἤλπισαν; εἰ μὲν οὖν βασιλεῖς ὄντες ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐπὶ θανάτῳ κατακεκριμένοις ἐποιήσαντο τὴν πεῖραν αὐτῶν, οὐδὲν ἔπραξαν δεινόν. ἐπεὶ δ’ ἰδιῶται τοιαύτης ἐξουσίας ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ βίῳ γεγονότες ἐπὶ τὸ γράφειν ἧκον αὐτὰ, δυοῖν θάτερον, ἢ μὴ πειραθέντες αὐτοὶ γράφουσιν ὑπὲρ ὧν οὐκ ἴσασιν, ἢ εἴπερ ἐπειράθησαν, ἀσεβέστατοι πάντων ἀνθρώπων εἰσὶν, ἕνεκα πείρας ὀλέθρια δόντες φάρμακα τοῖς οὐδὲν ἠδικηκόσιν, ἐνίοτε δὲ καὶ καλοῖς τε καὶ ἀγαθοῖς ἀνδράσιν. ἰατροὺς γοῦν τις ἑστῶτας ἐπὶ ῥωποπώλαις θεασάμενος δύο, προσεκόμισεν αὐτοῖς μέλι πιπράσκων δῆθεν. οἱ δὲ ἐγεύσαντό τε καὶ περὶ τῆς τιμῆς διελέγοντο καὶ ὡς ὀλίγον αὐτῶν διδόντων, ὁ μὲν σπεύσας ἐχωρήθη, τῶν δ’ ἰατρῶν οὐδέτερος ἐσώθη. τὰ τοιαῦτ’ οὖν ἅπαντα τῶν πραξάντων τοὺς γράψαντας οὐχ ἧττον, ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον ἄξιον μισεῖν, ὅσῳ καὶ μεῖόν ἐστιν ἀδίκημα μόνον τι ποιῆσαι κακὸν ἢ μετὰ πολλῶν. καὶ τῷ μὲν πράξαντι συναπέθανεν ἡ τῶν κακῶν θεωρημάτων ἐμπειρία, τῶν δὲ γραψάντων πάντων ἀθάνατός ἐστιν τοῖς πονηροῖς ὅπλα τῆς κακουργίας παρασκευάζουσα. λέγωμεν οὖν ἡμεῖς ἤδη περὶ τῶν χρησίμων ἀνθρώποις πραγμάτων, ὅσων πεῖραν ἔχομεν.

None of what is now going to be said will be of much benefit to those who do not know what was said at the outset of this treatise, in the first five books; and some of it may perhaps even harm anyone who uses the drugs written about in it [this book] without having a method. I shall therefore speak to you as one who has learned those things, after reminding you of the main point of the whole treatise. It was shown that drugs, by the so-called active qualities, exert heat and cold and dryness and moisture, and that through the mixture of these they become astringent and harsh, salty and briny, bitter, pungent and sweet; and that some are cleansing, others repelling, others drawing, others softening, others burning, others putrefying, others crust-forming; and besides these, further, according to other more specific actions, flesh-forming and scar-forming and gluing together fistulas or wounds, or reducing overgrown flesh. It was also shown that the general power is discovered by way of indication from a single trial, and not just any chance trial, but one made with the distinctions that were stated; and that once the general power has been discovered, there is no longer any need of trial for the particular actions, except only to confirm what reason has found. Let us, then, now too make our assessment of the material before us in this way; and this is the material from animals. For in the three books following the fifth, the sixth, seventh and eighth, we went through the material from plants: not, obviously, all of it throughout the whole inhabited world, but as much as we have experience of; and in the book before this one, the ninth of the whole treatise, the material from earthy and stony bodies. It still remains for us to deal with the material from animals; and after that there is still left [the material] of things produced in the sea and in lakes, or in water generally, which are neither plants nor earth nor stone nor animal. Such things are very few altogether, and they will be written about last, after we have gone through what concerns the bodies of animals. The order of instruction for these too will follow the order of the first letters of their names. And just as, with the material from plants, I also gave an account of the juices that come from them, so now too the instruction about power will cover not only the solid parts in animals but also what is contained in them: phlegm, bile, blood, urine, dung and the like. Now in what was said earlier, not many of the individual items in the materials recorded by physicians remained unknown to me; I was eager to learn their powers myself through trial, and if there was any I did not know, I did not write about it at all, not thinking it right to trust others even about a single such thing, because I had found that some tell many lies. With the material now before us, it is not so. I admit that there are a great many of the parts, and of the fluids contained in the bodies of animals, of which I myself have had no trial of the kind that some have written about. For some of them are indecent and disgusting, and some are even forbidden by the laws. About these I do not know how Xenocrates came to write, a man who lived not long ago but in our grandfathers’ time, when Roman rule had forbidden the eating of human beings; but he at any rate, as though he had tried them himself, writes quite convincingly what conditions a human brain naturally cures when eaten, or human flesh or liver; and what the bones of the head or shin or fingers [cure] when drunk, some burnt and some unburnt; and what the blood itself [cures]. These things, then, even if against the laws, are at least not indecent. But the drinking of sweat and urine and a woman’s menstrual blood is indecent and disgusting, and no less so than these is dung, about which Xenocrates wrote what in the world it can do when smeared on the parts of the mouth and throat and when swallowed into the stomach; he has also written about ear-wax when swallowed. I for my part would not have brought myself to swallow even that, even on condition of never falling ill. And I consider dung far more disgusting than it. Indeed, it is a greater reproach for a decent man to be called a dung-eater than a doer of obscenities or a catamite; and even among those who do obscenities, we loathe those who ‘play the Phoenician’ more than those who ‘play the Lesbian’; and the man who drinks menstrual blood seems to me to undergo something close to that. So no man in his natural senses would bring himself to make trial of these things, nor of those that are more moderate than these but still indecent: having some part of the body smeared with dung for the sake of a condition in it, or with human semen. Xenocrates is accustomed to call this gonos [seed], and he distinguishes with all care which [conditions] the seed alone by itself naturally benefits when smeared on, and which [it benefits] after the intercourse of a man and a woman, when it has fallen out of the woman’s passage. There would have to be a great dearth of remedies for anyone to treat chilblains with a man’s semen that has not stayed inside but has flowed out of the woman after intercourse. There is a great deal of this kind of material too in what he wrote on the benefit [to be had] from animals. For he describes not only, of course, what power human urine has when drunk, or dung when swallowed and smeared on the parts in the mouth, but also [that] of each of the other animals, and much else that is hard to obtain, as when he mentions [the parts] of an elephant or a hippopotamus. The basilisk, that beast, I have never even seen; and if what is said about it is true, it is dangerous even to come near this animal. Certain others too have written about animals much as Xenocrates did, and Xenocrates himself copied most of his material from them. For how could he himself have had the means to make trial of so many things of such a kind? Attalus, for instance, who was once our king, evidently writes of fewer, although he applied himself most ambitiously to testing such things. And someone who praised Ateuristus’ treatise on the same subject gave it to me as well to go through; it was, as it seems to me at least, composed without any first-hand observation by its writer. I, then, will mention neither basilisks nor elephants nor hippopotamuses, nor anything else of which I have no experience myself; and the so-called love-potions, attraction spells, dream-senders and hate-charms (for I use their very names on purpose) I would not have mentioned in writing at all, not even if I had had sufficient experience of them, just as [I would not mention] deadly drugs either, or those which they themselves call ‘affliction-makers’. For some of their claims are actually ridiculous: binding one’s opponents in a lawsuit so that they cannot utter a word in court, or making a pregnant woman miscarry, or never conceive, and all the other things of that kind. Most of these are, by the evidence of trial as well, impossible; and some, even if possible, are at any rate harmful to human life, so that I wonder, by the gods, with what intention some people came to write them down. For things that bring disgrace even on the living once they are known, how did they hope that these would bring them good repute after death? Now if they were kings and made trial of them on men condemned to death, they did nothing terrible. But since men who had no such power in their whole lives came to write them down, it is one of two things: either they write about what they do not know, without having tried it themselves, or, if they did try, they are the most impious of all men, having given deadly drugs, for the sake of a trial, to people who had done no wrong, and sometimes even to fine and good men. Someone, for instance, seeing two physicians standing by the stalls of the dealers in small wares, brought them honey, supposedly to sell it. They tasted it and haggled over the price, and when they offered him little, he hurried away; and neither of the physicians survived. In all such cases, then, it is right to hate those who wrote them down no less than those who committed them, but even more, inasmuch as it is a lesser wrong to do some evil alone than [to do it] with many. And with the one who committed it, his experience of the evil lore died too; but that of all who wrote it down is immortal, furnishing the wicked with weapons for their crimes. Let us, then, now speak about the things that are useful to human beings, of which we have experience.

[ιστ΄. Περὶ σιέλου.] Σίελον, εἴτε σίαλον, εἴτε πτύελον ὀνομάζειν θέλει τις, οὔ μοι διαφέρει. γινώσκειν δὲ αὐτοῦ χρὴ τὴν δύναμιν εἶναι διάφορον ἔν τε τοῖς ζώων εἴδεσι καὶ καθ’ ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ὑγιαῖνον ἢ νοσοῦν ἐδηδοκότος ἢ πεπωκότος ἢ ἀπότου τε καὶ νενηστευκότος. ὡς γὰρ τὰ οὖρα καὶ αἱ χολαὶ καὶ ὁ ἱδρὼς, οὕτως καὶ τὸ πτύελον ἀσθενὲς μὲν ἐδηδοκότων ἐστὶν, ἰσχυρὸν δὲ καὶ δριμὺ τὸ τῶν ὑπερδιψάντων καὶ ὑπερπεινησάντων. ἐν τῷ μέσῳ δ’ ἀμφοῖν ἐστιν τὸ τῶν εὐπεπτηκότων μὲν, οὐδέπω δ’ ἐδηδοκότων ἢ πεπωκότων. τούτῳ τοιγαροῦν τῷ σιέλῳ καὶ αἱ τροφαὶ τῶν παίδων τοὺς λειχῆνας ἰῶνται, βρέχουσαι τὸν μικρὸν δάκτυλον, εἶτα ἀνατρίβουσαι τὸ πεπονθὸς δέρμα. καὶ τοῦτο ποιοῦσι πολλάκις, ὡς διασώζεσθαι κατὰ τὸν μεταξὺ τῶν χρήσεων χρόνον ἐν τῷ λειχῆνι τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ σιέλου δύναμιν. ἀλλὰ καὶ πυροὺς μασώμενοι πολλοὶ τῶν ἀγροίκων δοθιῆσιν ἐπιτιθέασιν. διαφορεῖ τε γὰρ αὐτοὺς καὶ πέττει ταχέως. καίτοι γε εἰ δι’ ὕδατος δευθεῖεν, οὐχ ὁμοίως ὠφελοῦσιν. εὔδηλον οὖν ὅτι τὸ σίαλον αὐτὸ τὴν ἰσχὺν τῆς ὠφελείας παρέχει. κατὰ δὲ τῶν μαλακῶν καὶ παιδικῶν σωμάτων ἄρτον, οὐ πυροὺς ἐπιτιθέασι μασωμένους. διαφορεῖ δὲ πάντα τὰ οὕτω μασηθέντα καὶ ὑπώπια καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἐκχυμώματα, καὶ μᾶλλον ὅταν ὁ ἄρτος ἅμα βραχείᾳ ῥαφανῖδι μασηθείη. καθ’ ὅλην δὲ τὴν οὐσίαν τὸ πτύελον ἐναντιώτατόν ἐστι τοῖς ἀναιροῦσιν ἀνθρώπους θηρίοις, ὥς που καὶ Νίκανδρος ὁ ποιητὴς λέγει. καί μοί τις ἐπαγγειλάμενος ἐπῳδὴν ἀναιροῦσαν σκορπίους ἐπιδείξειν, ἅπαξ εἰπὼν αὐτὴν ἐπέπτυσε τῷ σκορπίῳ, κἄπειθ’ ἑξῆς δεύτερον εἰπὼν αὖθις ἐπέπτυσεν, εἶτα καὶ τὸ τρίτον εἰπόντος τε καὶ καταπτύσαντος ἀπέθανεν ὁ σκορπίος. ὕστερον δ’ ἐγὼ χωρὶς τῆς ἐπῳδῆς ἐθεασάμην ἐπὶ τῷ σιάλῳ μόνῳ τὸν σκορπίον ἀποθανόντα καὶ τοῦτ’ αὐτὸ πάσχοντα ταχέως μὲν ἐπὶ τοῦ  τῶν πεινώντων τε καὶ διψώντων πτυέλου, βραδέως δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐμπεπλησμένων ἐδεσμάτων τε καὶ πομάτων, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἀνάλογον.

[16. On saliva.] Saliva: whether one wishes to call it sielon, sialon or ptyelon makes no difference to me. But one must recognise that its power differs both among the kinds of animals and, within each of them, according to whether the animal is healthy or sick, has eaten or drunk, or is without drink and fasting. For as with urine, bile and sweat, so too the saliva of those who have eaten is weak, while that of people who have gone very thirsty and very hungry is strong and sharp. Midway between the two is that of people who have digested well but have not yet eaten or drunk. It is with this saliva, accordingly, that children's nurses cure lichens, wetting the little finger and then rubbing the affected skin. And they do this often, so that the power from the saliva is preserved in the lichen during the time between applications. Many country people, too, chew wheat grains and put them on boils; for it disperses them and ripens them quickly. Yet if the grains were moistened with water, they do not help in the same way. It is quite clear, then, that the saliva itself supplies the strength of the benefit. On soft bodies and those of children they put chewed bread, not wheat grains. Everything chewed in this way disperses both black eyes and other bruises, and more so when the bread is chewed together with a little radish. In its whole substance saliva is most opposed to the creatures that kill human beings, as Nicander the poet also says somewhere. And a man who promised to show me a spell that kills scorpions said it once and spat on the scorpion, then next said it a second time and spat again, and when he had said it a third time and spat down on it, the scorpion died. Later I myself saw, without the spell, a scorpion die from saliva alone, and suffer this very thing quickly from the saliva of the hungry and thirsty, slowly from that of people filled with food and drink, and proportionately from that of others.

[κα΄. Περὶ λυκείας κόπρου.] Τὴν δὲ τῶν λύκων ἐπότιζέ τις κωλικοὺς οὐ μόνον ἐν τοῖς παροξυσμοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς διαλείμμασιν, ὅσοι γε χωρὶς φλεγμονῆς ἔπασχον. εἶδον δέ τινας αὐτῶν οὐκέθ’ ἁλόντας τῷ παθήματι καὶ τοὺς ἁλόντας οὐκέτ’ οὐδέποτ’ αὖθις ἰσχυρῶς παθόντας, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ μετ’ ὀλίγον χρόνον. ἐλάμβανε δὲ κᾀκεῖνος τὴν λευκοτέραν κόπρον τῶν λύκων μᾶλλον, ἥτις ὀστᾶ φαγόντων αὐτῶν ἀποκρίνεται. ἐθαύμασα δ’ ἐπ’ αὐτῷ, ὅτι καὶ περιαπτόμενον πολλάκις ἐναργῶς ὠφέλησεν. ἐλάμβανεν οὖν οὗτος τὴν κόπρον οὐδὲ πεπτωκυῖαν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, οὐ χαλεπῶς δὲ γίνεται τοῦτο. φύσιν γὰρ ἔχει ἐκεῖνο τὸ ζῶον, καθάπερ ὁ κύων, ἐπαίρων τὸ ἕτερον τῶν ὀπισθίων σκελῶν ἐνουρεῖν καὶ ἀποπατεῖν πρὸς τι τῶν ἐξεχόντων τῆς γῆς. ἐπ’ ἀκάνθαις τε οὖν πολλάκις εὑρίσκεται θέρους ἐν ὥρᾳ λυκεία κόπρος ἐπί τε θάμνοις τισὶ καὶ κλείθροις καὶ βοτάναις εὐαυξέσιν. εὑρίσκεται δὲ ἐν ταῖς κόπροις αὐτῶν καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν ὀστῶν τι τοῦ καταβεβρωμένου ζώου διαπεφευγότος, ὥσπερ τὴν μάσησιν, οὕτω καὶ τὴν πέψιν, ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ κόπτων καὶ λειῶν ἐδίδου πίνειν τοῖς κωλικοῖς. καὶ εἰ καθαρότητος ἄνθρωπος εἴη καὶ ἁλῶν καὶ πεπέρεως ἤ τινος τῶν τοιούτων, ἐμίγνυεν. ἐδίδου δὲ τοὐπίπαν μὲν δι’ οἴνου λεπτοῦ κατὰ τὴν σύστασιν, ἔστι δ’ ὅτε καὶ δι’ ὕδατος. τὸ δ’ οὖν περιαπτόμενον τῆς κόπρου ταῖς λαγόσι τοῦ πάσχοντος ἐκέλευσεν ἔχειν ἄρτημα, μάλιστα μὲν ἐξ ἐρίου γεγονὸς οὐ τοῦ τυχόντος προβάτου. πολὺ γὰρ εἶναι βέλτιον ὑπὸ τοῦ λύκου διεσπασμένου ἐπὶ τὸ πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην χρείαν ἐπιτήδειον ἐσόμενον. εἰ δὲ μὴ παρείη τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔριον, ἐκ δέρματος ἐλαφείου τὸν ἱμάντα τὸν περιελιττόμενον ταῖς λαγόσι καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ περιέξον τὴν κόπρον ἐκέλευσεν εἶναι. ἡμεῖς δὲ καὶ εἰς χυτρίδιον τηλικοῦτον, ἡλίκος ἐστὶν ὁ μέγιστος κύαμος, ἐμβάλλοντες τῆς κόπρου περιήψαμεν ἐνίοις ἕνεκα πείρας, ἐθαυμάσαμέν τε φανερῶς ὠφεληθέντας ἰδόντες τοὺς πλείστους αὐτῶν. ἐποιοῦμεν δὲ τῷ χυτριδίῳ δύο τινὰ καθάπερ ὦτα, δι’ ὧν ὅ ἱμὰς διεβάλετο. τοῦτο μὲν δὴ κατὰ τὸ πάρεργον, εἰ μέλλει τις καὶ τοῖς οὕτω περιαπτομένοις πιστεύειν, λέγω δ’ οὕτως, ὥστ’ οὐσίαν εἶναι τὴν περιαπτομένην, οὐκ ὀνόματα βάρβαρα, καθάπερ εἰώθασιν ἔνιοι τῶν γοήτων, ἐπείτοι καὶ ἄλλων οὐσιῶν ἐπειράθην ὁμοίως ἐνεργουσῶν ἐπ’ ἄλλων παθῶν. ἀλλ’ οὐ νῦν καιρὸς ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν λέγειν, ἴωμεν οὖν αὖθις ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον.

[21. On wolf dung.] A certain man used to give wolves' [dung] to colic sufferers to drink, not only during the attacks but also in the intervals, at least to those who suffered without inflammation. I saw some of them no longer caught by the condition, and those who were caught never again suffering severely, nor even [being caught again] after a short time. That man too preferred to take the whiter dung of wolves, which they excrete when they have eaten bones. I was amazed at it, because even when hung on as an amulet it often clearly helped. This man, then, took dung that had not even fallen to the ground; and this is not hard to do. For that animal is by nature disposed, like the dog, to lift one of its hind legs and urinate and defecate against something that sticks up from the ground. So in the summer season wolf dung is often found on thorn-bushes, and on certain shrubs and fences and on lush herbs. In their dung there is also found some part of the very bones of the animal devoured, which has escaped digestion just as it escaped chewing; this too he used to pound and grind fine and give to colic sufferers to drink. And if the person was fastidious, he mixed in salt and pepper or something of that kind. He gave it for the most part in a wine thin in consistency, but sometimes also in water. As for the dung hung on the patient's flanks, he directed that it should have a fastening, preferably made of wool, and not from any chance sheep; for wool from one torn apart by the wolf would be far better suited to such a use. If such wool was not at hand, he directed that the strap wound around the flanks, and the very thing that would hold the dung, should be of deerskin. We, for our part, put some of the dung into a little pot as big as the largest bean and hung it on some people for the sake of a test, and were amazed to see most of them plainly helped. We made two things like ears on the little pot, through which the strap was passed. This, then, is by the way, if anyone means to trust things hung on in this way: I mean in such a way that what is hung on is a substance, not foreign names, as some of the sorcerers are accustomed [to do]; since I have also tested other substances that act similarly in other conditions. But now is not the time to speak about them; let us go back, then, to the matter in hand.