Chap. 38.] KEMEDIES rOE DISEASES OF THE EYES. 413 



gall of the boa^^ is highly vaunted for the cure of albugo, cata- 

 ract, and films upon the eyes, and the fat is thought to improve 

 the sight. 



The gall of the eagle, which tests its young, as already 

 stated, ^^ by making them look upon the sun, forms, with Attic 

 honey, an eye-salve which is very good for the cure of webs, 

 films, and cataracts of the eye. A vulture's gall, too, mixed 

 with leek-juice and a little honey, is possessed of similar pro- 

 perties ; and the gall of a cock, dissolved in water, is employed 

 for the cure of argema and albugo : the gall, too, of a white 

 cock, in particular, is recommended for cataract. For short- 

 sighted persons, the dung of poultry is recommended as a lini- 

 ment, care being taken to use that of a reddish colour only. 

 A hen's gall, too, is highly spoken of, and the fat in particular, 

 for the cure of pustules upon the pupils, a purpose for which 

 hens are expressly* fattened. This last substance is marvel- 

 lously useful for ruptures of the coats of the eyes, incorporated 

 with the stones known as schistos^'' and haematites. Hens' 

 dung, too, but only the white part of it, is kept with old oil 

 in boxes made of horn, for the cure of white specks upon the 

 pupil of the eye. While mentioning this subject, it is worthy 

 of remark, that peacocks^^ swallow their dung, it is said, as 

 though they envied man the various uses of it. A hawk, 

 boiled in oil of roses, is considered extremely efficacious as a lini- 

 ment for all affections of the eyes, and so are the ashes of its 

 dung, mixed with Attic honey. A kite's liver, too, is highly 

 esteemed ; and pigeons' dung, diluted with vinegar, is used as 

 an application for fistulas of the eye, as also for albugo and 

 marks upon that organ. Goose gall and duck's blood are very 

 useful for contusions of the eyes, care being taken, immediately 

 after the application, to anoint them with a mixture of wool- 

 grease and honey. In similar cases, too, gall of partridges is 

 used, with an equal quantity of honey ; but where it is only 

 wanted to improve the sight, the gall is used alone. It is 

 generally thought, too, upon the authority of Hippocrates,®' 



5^ See B. viii. c. 14. Xot the Boa constrictor of modern XaturalHistory. 



96 In B X. c. 3. 



9^ See B. xxxiii. c. 25, and B. xxxvi. cc. 37, 38. 



5^ The tongues of peacocks and larks are recommended for epilepsy, by 

 Lampriditis, m his Life of the Emperor Elagabalus. The statement in the 

 toxt ib, of Course, a fiction. ^^ The reading here is doubtful. 



