CONCERNING ODOURS, 36-38 



perfume, as well as others, has medicinal properties. 

 And the explanation in all cases, to put it generally, 

 lies in the above-mentioned properties of astringency 

 and heating; for it is spices possessing these pro- 

 perties that are medicinal. However these matters 

 lie outside our subject of study. 



Of rules for the mixture of spices, and of the storing of various 

 perfumes. 



IX. There is no fixed rule for the combination 

 and mixture of spices in the sense that the same 

 components will always produce a satisfactory and a 

 uniform result : the result varies by reason of the 

 varying quality of the virtues found in the spices. 

 For this there are several reasons. One, which 

 applies also to fruits, is the character of the season ; 

 this causes the virtues to be sometimes much more 

 than ordinarily powerful, sometimes less so. Another 

 is to be found in the time of collection, according 

 as it is made before or after the spices are in their 

 prime. A third cause operates after the collection, 

 that is, in the case of those spices which need time 

 to come to their prime, as was said l : for here too 

 it is possible to be too soon or too late. 



Of these causes that which depends on the seasons 

 is not within our control, except so far as we can 

 discover which spices in a particular season have 

 powerful, and which weak virtues. 2 But we can 

 control those which depend on collecting them 

 when in their prime, or on keeping them after they 

 are collected, that is, if we know pretty well how to 

 hit the right moment. 



So much for the origin and composition of 

 perfumes. 



1 34. 2 i.e. and we can select accordingly. 



361 



