110 LABTATJ^. 



physicians as the equivalent of the ^vfj^os of Dioscorides, a plant 



F 



concerning the identity of which there is much doubt: some 

 supposing it to be the Satureia capitata of Linneus, and others 

 the Thymus vulgaris or T. Zygis of the same botanist. Ibn Sina 

 in his description of Hasha quotes what Dioscorides says con- 

 cerning Bi^os, and does not notice the ^pTrvXkos of the same author 

 usually identified with T serpyllum. Haji Zein el-Attar follows 

 Ibn Sina in identifying Hasha with the Siy^^^ of the Greeks, 

 and describes it as a kind of mountain mint with very numerous 

 small flowers of a purplish colour, slender stems, and leaves like 

 the Jadeh. His description of its medicinal properties hardly 

 differs from that of Pliny (21, 89), which is as follows :—'* Thyme 

 is considered to be very beneficial to the sight, whether 

 used as an article of food or as a naedicament, and to be good 

 for inveterate coughs. Used as an electuary with vinegar and 

 salt, it facilitates expectoration^ and taken with honey prevents 

 the blood from coagulating. Applied externally with mustard, 

 it dispels chronic fluxes of the fauces, as Avell as various 

 afEections of the^ stomach and bowels ; still, however, it must 

 be used in moderation, as it \h of a heating nature, and acts 

 as an astringent on the bowels. In cases of ulceration of the 

 intestines, the dose should be one denarius of thyme to one 

 gextarius of oxymel ; the same proportions, too, should be taken 

 for pains in the sides, between the shoulder-blades, or in the 

 thoracic organs. Taken with oxymel, it is used for the cure of 

 intestinal diseases, and is administered in cases of alienation of 

 the senses and melancholy. Thyme is given also for epilepsy, 

 when the fits come on, the smell of it reviving the patient ^ 

 it is said, too, that epileptic persons should sleep upon soft 

 thjTue. It is good also for hardness of breathing, and for 

 asthma and obstructions of the catamenia. A decoction of 

 thyme water, boiled down to one-third, brings away the dead 



in 



with oxymel, as a remedy 



of palus in tlie bladder. Applied with wine, it removes tumours 



and fluxes, 

 warts. Mixed 



