134 ERYTHEA. 



descriptions. For whatever plants are referred to Hepa- 

 tica by Serapio and others, all these Dioscorides ascribes to 

 Lichen." Then follow the descriptions of Dioscorides and 

 Serapio, essentially as already given, with the addition of 

 the supposed medical qualities, in which no reference is 

 made to the liver unless Serapio's statement that the herb in 

 question is good for ''jaundice" may be so interpreted. "It 

 is already sufficiently evident/' he continues, "that the 

 Lichen of the ancients differs in no respect from the Hepa- 

 tica of the moderns. What some of the younger generation 

 ■^rite — that this plant is called Hepatica because it is espe- 

 cially good for the liver — is false. In which category is Pla- 

 tearius, who expresses his opinion as follows: 'Hepatica is 

 an herb growing in wet and stony places, and having minute 

 leaves adhering to the earth and stones. It is called Hepa- 

 tica because it is particularly a helper of the liver.' Pandec- 

 tarius, following the authority of Galenus and Serapio, as he 

 would have it seem, also teaches that this herb prevails 

 against obstructions of the liver and spleen and against every 

 disease of the liver, yet these effects are nowhere attributed 

 to Lichen either by Galenus or Serapio, as is evident from 

 the words of Serapio quoted a little above. That Galenus 

 taught nothing of the kind is indicated by his words concern- 

 ing Lichen, Lib. Simp. Med- 7, cap. 70, where he speaks 

 thus: 'Lichen — that which grows on rocks, which some call 

 Muscits. It is named thus [Lichen] because it cures the 

 tetter. Its power is to cleanse and cool and to dry. The 

 power of cleansing and drying it has from the rock and the 

 power of cooling from the moisture, for moist rocks are its 

 habitat. Pliny, moreover, Book 26, chap. 4, describing 

 Lichen, relates nothing concerning it which harmonizes with 

 this opinion of the moderns. There are, indeed, these words 

 of his: *There is another kind of Lichen, adhering wholly to 

 rocks, like a moss, which also is applied as an ointment. 

 This, dropped into wounds, stays the flow of blood, and, 

 smeared on, allays inflammation. It also cures King's Evil 

 when applied as an ointment with honey to the mouth and 



