PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 



crates tradat, itemque tres radices iuxta adalligatas. 

 tenesmo, dysintericis utilissime infundi, item sedis 

 vitiis, vel si foveantur. melancholicis quoque sucus 

 datur cyathis ternis tepidus, et insanientibus qua- 



228 ternis, decoctae comitiaUbus heminae suci. hic et 

 calculosis et inflatione et torminibus aut opisthotonico 

 laborantibus tepidus inlinitur. et sacris ignibus et 

 ambustis decocta in oleum ^ folia inponuntur, et ad 

 vulnerum impetus cruda cum pane. sucus decoctae 

 nervis prodest et vesicae et intestinorimi rosionibus. 

 vulvas et cibo et infusione emollit oleimn, sucus 



229 decoctae permeatus suaves facit. althaeae in om- 

 nibus supra dictis efficacior radix, praecipue convulsis 

 ruptisque. cocta in aqua alvimi sistit, ex vino albo 



^ in oleum. Ab his verbis usque ad facit Deilefsen sequor, 

 qui codd. sequi videtur. Sensus difficillimus est. Mayhoff 

 in oleo con,i. et alvo pro oleum; comina post rosionibus et 

 punctum post emollit ponit, sed comma ante sucus delet. 



" The reading and sense are more than doubtful. Besides 

 the oddness of veneri nascuntur and adspersum curationi, one 

 might well ask : does feminarum depend oo curationi or on 

 aviditates, and if the latter, is it objective or subjective ? 

 Genitali for curationi would be a great improvement to the 

 sense, but, if it be correct, how did curationis arise ? 



Perhaps the MSS. venere should be emended to <tn> venerem, 

 or venerem (^excitantesy, and curatio may represent depaneLa 

 in its sense of " courting." Cf. Xenophon Cyrop. I. 5, 18, 

 depaTTeveiv yvvaiKa. 



This difficult passage becomes a little more intelligible if 

 we suppose that Pliny, or Pliny's authority, used slightly 

 veiled expressions on this occasion. Perhaps such dehcacy 

 was shown by Xenocrates that Pliny found difficulty Lq 

 translating him. If this be so, it would account for the 

 vagueness oi curationi feminarum avidilates augere ad infinitum, 

 strange enough in any case. The same delicacy may perhaps 

 be seen in permeatus suaves facit (§ 228), which may refer to 

 the passing of urine and faeces. 



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