244 PLINY'S NATURAL HISTORY. [Book XXVII. 



live, round, and hairy ; its branches are small, half a foot in 

 length, five or six in number, and covered with leaves from 

 the root upwards. It grows in corn-fields, and has a rough 

 flavour : hence it is found very useful for defluxions of the 

 eyes, the leaves being beaten up and applied with polenta 59 in 

 a linen pledget. A decoction of this plant with linseed, taken 

 in pottage, is good for dysentery. 



CHAP. 51. EMPETROS, BY OTJR PEOPLE CALLED CALCIFRAGA I FOUR 



REMEDIES. 



Empetros, 60 by the people of our country called "calci- 

 fraga," 61 grows on mountains near the sea, and is generally 

 found upon rocks : the nearer it grows to the sea the salter it 

 is, acting as an evacuant of bile and pituitous secretions. That, 

 on the other hand, which grows at a greater distance and more 

 inland, is of a more bitter flavour. It carries off the aqueous 

 humours of the body, being taken for that purpose in broth of 

 some kind, or else hydromel. When old, it loses its strength ; 

 but used fresh, either boiled in water or pounded, it acts as a 

 diuretic, and disperses urinary calculi. Authorities who wish 

 full credence to be given to this asserted property, assure us 

 that pebbles boiled with it will split asunder. 



CHAP. 52. THE EPIPACTI8 OR ELLEB ORIFE I TWO REMEDIES. 



The epipactis, 62 called " elleborine " by some, is a diminutive 

 plant with small leaves. Taken in drink, it is extremely use- 

 ful for diseases of the liver, and as an antidote to poisons. 



CHAP. 53. THE EPLMEDION I THREE REMEDIES. 



The epimedion 63 consists of a stem of moderate size, with 

 ten or twelve leaves like those of ivy : it never flowers, and 



69 See B. xviii. c. 14. 



60 Fee, with Sprengel, identifies it with the Salsola polychlonos of Lin- 

 Tiseus, Branchy saltwort or glasswort ; Bauhin with the Passerina poly- 

 galifolia. The Crithmum maritinmm of Linnaeus, Sea samphire, has 

 been suggested by Desfontaines. Littre gives the Frankenia pulverulenta 

 of Linnaeus. Holland suggests Saxifrage. 



61 " Calculus-breaking." 62 See B. xiii. c. 35. 



63 Sprengel suggests the Marsilea quadrifolia of Linnaeus; Columna 

 the Botrychium lunaria of LinnaBUs ; C. Bauhin the Ornithogalum Nar- 

 bonense of Linnaeus, Narbonese star of Bethlehem ; and Talius the Caltha 

 palustris of Linnseus, the Marsh marigold. Fee considers its identification 



