BOOK XIII. II. 6-9 



which has disappeared ; narcissus-scent has also 

 ceased to be made from the narcissus flower. 



The recipe for makinxr unffuents contains two Matermis 

 mgredients, tne juice and tne soiid part, the tormer or per/umes. 

 which usually consists of various sorts of oil and the 

 latter of scented substances, the oils being called 

 ' astringents ' and the scents ' sweetenings.' To- 

 gether with these there is a third factor that many 

 people neglect — that of colour, for the sake of which 

 cinnabar " and alkanet should be added. A sprinkle 

 of salt serves to preserve the properties of the oil, but 

 to scents containing an admixture of alkanet salt is 

 not added. Resin or gum are added to retain the 

 scent in the soHd part, as it evaporates and disappears 

 very quickly if these are not added. 



The unguent most quickly made and probably the Various 

 first invented was made of bryon and behen-oil, 52£^jS. 

 of which we have spoken above. Later the Mendes xii. 108. 

 scent came in, made of behen-oil, resin and myrrh, 

 and at the present day metopium is even more 

 popular ; this is an oil made in Egypt, pressed out 

 of bitter almonds, with the addition of omphacium,* 

 cardamom, rush, flag, lioney, wine, myrrh, seed of 

 balsam, galbanum and terebinth-resin. One of the 

 conmionest unguents indeed — and at the present 

 day it is consequently beheved also to be one of 

 the oldest — is one made of myrtle-oil, reed. cjpress, 

 cyprus, mastic-oil and pomegranate rind. But I 

 am incHned to beheve that the scents most widely 

 used are those made from the rose, which grows in 

 great abundance everywhere ; and so the simplest 

 compound was for a long time that of oil of roses, 

 though additional ingredients used are omphacium, 

 rose and saffron blossoms, cinnabar. reed, honey, 



103 



