Chap. 12 ] CEDIUDES. 9 



beings, and imparting a sort of life, as it were, to the dead I 

 It injures clothing also and destroys^* animal life. It is for 

 this reason that I cannot recommend it to be taken internally for 

 the cure of quinzy and indigestion, though there are some who 

 advise it : I should be greatly in dread too, to rinse the teeth 

 with it, in combination with vinegar, for tooth-ache, or to use 

 it as an injection for the ears in cases of hardness of hearing, or 

 for worms in those organs. There is one very marvellous story 

 told about it — if the male organs, thej'- say, are rubbed with it 

 just before the sexual congress, it will effectually prevent im- 

 pregnation.*^ 



Still, however, I should not hesitate to employ it as a fric- 

 tion for phthiriasis or porrigo. It is strongly recommended 

 also, in raisin wine, as an antidote to the poison of the sea- 

 hare,^'' but I should be more ready to use it as a liniment for 

 elephantiasis. Some authors have prescribed it as an oint- 

 ment for foul ulcers and the fleshy excrescences which grow 

 in them, as also for spots and films on the eyes ; and have re- 

 commended it to be taken, in doses of one cyathus, for ulcera- 

 tions of the lungs, and for tapeworm. 



There is an oil extracted from this pitch, known as ^* pis- 

 selapon,"^' the properties of which are of increased activity 

 for all the purposes before-mentioned. It is a well-known 

 fact that the saw-dust of cedar will put serpents to flight, 

 and that a similar effect is produced by anointing the body 

 with the berries^^ bruised in oil. 



CHAP. 12. CEDEIDES: TEN REMEDIES. 



Cedrides, or in other words, the fruit of the cedar, ^^ is 

 curative of coughs, acts as a diuretic, and arrests looseness of 

 the bowels. It is good also for ruptures, convulsions, 

 spasms, and strangury, and is employed, as a pessary, for 

 affections of the uterus. It is used also to neutralize the 



^ If he implies that it is poisonous, such in reality is not the case. 



^^ A mere absurdity, of course. . 



^^ It would be of no use whatever for the cure of injuries inflicted by 

 the Aplysia vulgaris or Aplysia depilans of Linnseus. See B. ix. c. 72, and 

 B. xxxii. c. 3. 



s'^ See B. XV. c. 7, and B. xxv. c. 22. " Pitch oil," a volatile oil. 



58 This mention of the berries clearly proves, Fee thinks, that the Cedre- 

 lates of Pliny belongs in reality to the genus juniperus, 



^'•' Or of the juniper, Fee thinks. 



