RHUBARB. 113 



have authentic accounts of its use prior to 

 the birth of Christ, as Dioscorides, who was 

 physician to Antony and Cleopatra, wrote 

 on its qualities, and recommended it against 

 weaknesses of the stomach, diseases of the 

 liver, infirmities of the chest, &c. : as an ex- 

 ternal remedy, he mentions it as a cure for 

 ringworms, if it be mixed with vinegar and 

 the place anointed with it. Galen recom- 

 mends this root for complaints of the liver, 

 having an opening quality with an astringent 

 pow r er ; from this remark, rhubarb has often 

 been termed the life of the liver. 



Some authors are of opinion, that the 

 Rheum of the ancients is not the same as the 

 rhubarb now in use. 



Paulus yEgineta, who is said to have been 

 the first man that practised as a midwife, 

 seems also to have first used rhubarb as an 

 opening medicine. We are told, the Ara- 

 bians followed this plan, and brought the root 

 into esteem, as a cleanser of choler. The re- 

 commendations of this plant by later practi- 

 tioners would fill many volumes ; as an arti- 

 cle of commerce, it has been of considerable 

 importance for many centuries. It was for- 

 merly brought from China by Tartary, to 

 Aleppo, Damascus, and Alexandria ; and 



VOL. II. I 



