ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IX. xvi. 5-6 



longer the time the more painful the death, since 

 the body then wastes away, while, if it acts at once, 

 death is quite painless. And it is said that no anti- 

 dote l which can counteract it has been discovered, 

 like the natural antidotes to other 2 poisonous herbs 

 of which we are told : though the country-folk 3 can 

 sometimes save a man with honey and wine and 

 such like things, only however occasionally and with 

 difficulty. 



(On the other hand they say that for meadow- 

 saffron 4 the antidote has been found : for that there is 

 another root which counteracts that herb : 5 and that 

 it 6 has a leaf like hellebore 7 or the madonna lily : 8 

 and that this 9 is generally known. Wherefore they 

 say that slaves often take meadow-saffron when 

 greatly provoked, and then themselves have recourse 10 

 to the antidote and effect a cure, seeing that the 

 poison does not cause a speedy and easy death, but n 

 one that is lingering and slow, unless indeed, 

 merely because the cure is so easy, 12 the antidote 

 has not been properly prepared. 13 At least they 

 say that though death may ensue at once, sometimes 

 it only occurs after a considerable interval, which in 

 some cases extends to a year, and that in these latter 

 cases the dose given has incurable effects : and that 



5 & s<f>T}fj.pov PH. ; 6 ^fjfjLfpaioi/ U ; 6 ec/>' rifj.fpo.1ov M ; 6 OVK 



<p-h/J.fpOV Aid. 



6 TOVTO oe Aid.; roV&e 8e xal U; ru>t>df 8e ical M. 



7 i.e. the 'black ': see Index. 



8 \eiplcp conj. Guilandinus from Diosc. 4. 84 (Kplvcf) ; alpiy 

 Ald.H. 9 TOVTO Aid.; TOVTO /j.fv UM. 



10 After opfjiSavTO. UM add Kal TOVS ot/cc'ros eVJ TOVTO dp/nav and 

 omit Kal yap . . . 6avaTTi<j>6pwv. n a\\a Aid. ; oiSe U*. 



12 evdepdirevTov Aid. ; aOepdirevTOV U*P. 



13 In which case apparently the slave outwits himself as 

 well as his master by ' dying on him.' 



301 



