Chap. 2.] UNGUENTS. 165 



cinnamon is quite enormous ; to cinnamon there is added oil 

 of balanus, xylobalsamum, calamus, sweet-rush, seeds of 

 balsamum, myrrh, and perfumed honey : it is the thickest in 

 consistency of all the unguents ; the price at which it sells 

 ranges from thirty-five to three hundred denarii per pound. 

 Unguent of nard, 66 or foliatum, is composed of omphacium or 

 else oil of balanus, sweet-rush, costus, 67 nard, amomum, 68 

 myrrh, and balsamum. 



While speaking on this subject, it will be as well to bear in 

 mind that there are nine different kinds of plants of a similar 

 kind, of which we have already made mention 69 as being em- 

 ployed for the purpose of imitating Indian nard ; so abun- 

 dant are the materials that are afforded for adulteration. All 

 these perfumes are rendered still more pungent by the addi- 

 tion of costus and amomum, which have a particularly power- 

 ful effect on the olfactory organs ; while myrrh gives them 

 greater consistency and additional sweetness, and saffron makes 

 them better adapted for medicinal purposes. They are most 

 pungent, however, when mixed with amomum alone, which 

 will often produce head-ache even. There are some persons who 

 content themselves with sprinkling the more precious ingre- 

 dients upon the others after boiling them down, for the pur- 

 pose of economy ; but the strength of the unguent is not so 

 great as when the ingredients have been boiled together. 

 Myrrh used by itself, and without the mixture of oil, forms 

 an unguent, but it is stacte 70 only that must be used, for other- 

 wise it will be productive of too great bitterness. Unguent of 

 Cyprus turns other unguents green, while lily unguent 71 makes 

 them more unctuous : the unguent of Mendes turns them 

 black, rose unguent makes them white, and that of myrrh 

 of a pallid hue. 



Such are the particulars of the ancient inventions, and the 

 various falsifications of the shops in later times ; we will now 

 pass on to make mention of what is the very height of refine- 

 ment in these articles of luxury, indeed, I may say, the beau 

 ideal 72 of them all. 



65 Nardinum. 



66 Or leaf unguent, so called from being made of leaves of nard. See 

 B. x.ii. c. 27. 



« See B. xii. c. 25. 68 See B. xii. c. 28. 



69 See B. xii. c. 26, 27, where the list is given. 



70 See B. xii. c. 35. ,l Susiuum. See p. 1G3. 

 72 Summa auetoritus rei. 



