The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony. 157 



external wounds. I have already briefly 

 described the preparations which are 

 most useful from a medical point of 

 view; I will next mention some other 

 preparations which will one day revolu- 

 tionize the Art of the surgeon. 



Young man, you who desire to know 

 the secret things of Nature, and to bring 

 to light her hidden mysteries, listen to 

 me, that you may be able to distinguish 

 day from night, and the clear from the 

 obscure. Take one part of Hungarian 

 Antimony, half a part of common salt, 

 six parts of unburned clay ; pound to- 

 gether and distil vehemently, without 

 intermission, till the oil passes upward ; 

 then remove its thickness by distillation, 

 so that a red dry powder remains at the 

 bottom of the cucurbit ; pulverize, dis- 

 solve on a slab of marble, and you have 

 a red, brilliant balm for wounds, which 

 far excels all other similar remedies. Its 

 utility is great in the case of wounds 

 which have been open for a long time.* 



* A prudent general so arrays his forces as to place the 

 good soldiers in the front ranks, the best in the rear, and 



