396 PLINY'S NATURAL HISTORY. [Book XXIX. 



water, for it will quite undo 21 the mischief, they say. The 

 ashes, also, of the viper, are considered very useful, employed as 

 a liniment for the wound. According to what Mgidius tells 

 us, serpents are compelled, by a sort of natural instinct, to 

 return to the person who has been stung by them. The people 

 of Scythia split the viper's head between the ears, in order to 

 extract a small stone, 22 which it swallows in its alarm, they 

 say : others, again, use the head entire. 



From the viper are prepared those tablets which are known 

 as " theriaci" 23 to the Greeks : for this purpose the animal is 

 cut away three fingers' length from both the head and the tail, 

 after which the intestines are removed and the livid vein ad- 

 hering to the back-bone. The rest of the body is then boiled 

 in a shallow pan, in water seasoned with dill, and the bones are 

 taken out, and fine wheaten flour added ; after which the 

 preparation is made up into tablets, 24 which are dried in the 

 shade and are employed as an ingredient in numerous medica- 

 ments. I should remark, however, that this preparation, it 

 would appear, can only be made from the viper. Some per- 

 sons, after cleansing the viper in manner above described, boil 

 down the fat, with one sextarius of olive oil, to one half. Of 

 this preparation, when needed, three drops are added to some 

 oil, with which mixture the body is rubbed, to repel the 

 approach of all kinds of noxious animals. 



CHAP. 22. REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE OTHER SERPENTS. 



In addition to these particulars, it is a well-known fact that 

 for all injuries inflicted by serpents, and those even of an 

 otherwise incurable nature, it is an excellent remedy to apply 

 the entrails of the serpent itself to the wound ; as also, that 

 persons who have once swallowed a viper's liver, boiled, will 

 never afterwards be attacked by serpents. The snake, too, 

 is not venomous, except, indeed, upon certain days of the 

 month when it is irritated by the action of the moon : it is a 

 very useful plan to take it alive, and pound it in water, the 

 wound inflicted by it being fomented with the preparation. 

 Indeed, it is generally supposed that this reptile is possessed of 



21 This is per/iaps the meaning of "prsecanere." Sillig suggests "re- 

 canere." 



22 Which was said to act as an antidote to the poison, applied to the 

 wound. 



M " Antidotes to serpents' poison." 2 * "Pastilli," 



