INTRODUCTION 



feel with regard to the arts of the Masji. He speaks 

 of their vanitas and fraudes, but nevertheless gives 

 details of their prescriptions and amulets, over sixty 

 of them, in contexts dealing with everyday remedies 

 and medicines. Perhaps the most interesting 

 example of this uncertain attitude occurs in XXVIII. 

 § 85. id quoque convenit, quo niliil equidem hbentius 

 crediderim, tactis omnijio metistruo postibus inritas^eri 

 Magorum artes, generis vanissimi. Pliny vvould " like 

 to believe " that by merely smearing the door-posts 

 the arts of the Magi, " those arrant quacks," would 

 be " made of no eflTect." The Magi were a genus 

 vanissimum, and yet it would be a good thing to 

 render their ar-tes harmless ! An ars which is not 

 inrita, but must be made so, can scarcely be vanissima. 

 In several other passages PUny expresses his strong 

 disapproval of Magism, which he thus dishkes, 

 distrusts, and yet fears. 



Dry Measures. 



Uncia, Y2 of a libra or pondus, about 28 grammes. 

 Denarius or drachma, \ of an uncia, 4 grammes. 

 Scripulum, ^i of an uncia, 1-16 gramme. 

 Obolus, ^ of a denarius, 0-66 gramme. 



LiQuiD Measures. 



Sextarius, about | htre or 500 c.cra. 

 Hemina, J Utre or 250 c.cm. 

 Acetabulum, \ sextarius, 63 c.cm. 

 Cyathus, y2 sextarius, 42 c.cm. 



PUny, while often giving the size of a dose, very 

 rarely tell us the number of the doses or the interval 

 between each. 



xxiii 



