412 pliny's natueal history. [Book XXIX. 



films upon the eyes. The cast- off ^^ slough of the asp, with 

 the fat of that reptile, forms an excellent ointment for im- 

 proving the sight in beasts of burden. To burn a viper alive 

 in a new earthen vessel, with one cyathus of fennel juice, 

 and a single grain of frankincense, and then to anoint the eyes 

 with the mixture, is remarkably good for cataract and films 

 upon the. eyes ; the preparation being generally known as 

 *' echeon."®^* An eye-salve, too, is prepared, by leaving a 

 viper to putrefy in an earthen pot, and bruising the maggots 

 that breed in it with saffron. A viper, too, is burnt in a 

 vessel with salt, and the preparation is applied to the tip of 

 the tongue, to improve the eyesight, and to act generally as a 

 corrective of the stomach and other parts of the body. This 

 salt is given also to sheep, to preserve them in health, and is 

 used as an ingredient in antidotes to the venom of serpents. 



Some persons, again, use vipers as an article of food : when 

 this is done, it is recommended, the moment they are killed, 

 to put some salt in the mouth and let it melt there ; after 

 which, the body must be cut away to the length of four fingers 

 at each extremity, and, the intestines being first removed, the 

 remainder boiled in a mixture of water, oil, salt, and dill. 

 When thus prepared, they are either eaten at once, or else 

 kneaded in a loaf, and taken from time to time as wanted. 

 In addition to the above-mentioned properties, viper-broth 

 cleanses all parts of the body of lice,^^ and removes itching 

 sensations as well upon the surface of the skin. The ashes, 

 also, of a viper's head, used by themselves, are evidently pro- 

 ductive of considerable effects ; they are employed very advan- 

 tageously in the form of a liniment for the eyes ; and so, too, is 

 viper's fat. I would not make so bold as to advise what is 

 strongly recommended by some, the use, namely, of vipers' 

 gall ; for that, as already stated ^^ on a more appropriate occa- 

 sion, is nothing else but the venom of the serpent. The fat of 

 snakes, mixed with verdi grease,®* heals ruptures of the cuticle 

 of the eyes ; and the skin or slough that is cast off" in spring, 

 employed as a friction for the ejes, improves the sight. The 



^^ " Exuta vere," as suggested by Sillig, would appear a better reading 

 than " ex utero," which can have no meaning here. 

 91* " Viper mixture." 



52 See c. 35 of this Book. 93 In B. xi. c. 62. 



s* As Ajasson remarks, this would be very likely to gangrene the wound. 



