BOOK XXI. civ. 176-CV. 179 



grease for scrofulous sores. For tertian agues the 

 Magi recommend us to gather it with the left hand 

 without looking back, while saying for whose sake 

 it is being gathered ; then a leaf of it should be 

 phiced under the tongue of the patient to be swal- 

 lowed presently in a cyathus of water. 



CV. Trychnos, spelt by some strychnos, I wish Trijchnot 

 the Egyptian florists did not use for their chaplets ; niqhix/fadr). 

 they are tempted to do so by the resemblance of the 

 leaves of both kinds to those of ivy. One of these 

 kinds, bearing in a seed-bag scarlet berries with a 

 stone in them, is called haUcacabos, by others callion, 

 and by our countrymen bladder-wort, because of its 

 usefuhiess in cases of stone and other complaints of 

 the bladder. It is a woody shrub rather than a 

 plant, with large, broad, conical seed-bags, with a 

 large stone inside, which ripens in November. A 

 third kind has the leaves of basil, and should receive 

 the briefest of descriptions from one who is dealing 

 with remedies, not poisons, for a very small amount 

 of the juice causes madness. Yet the Greek writers 

 have actually made a jest of this property. For 

 they have said that a dose of one drachma plays 

 tricks with the sense of shame," speaking of hallu- 

 cinations * and reaUstic visions ; that a double dose 

 causes downright insanity ; any addition moreover 

 to the dose bringing instant death. This is the 

 poison which in their innocence very imsophisticated 

 writers have caUed dorycnion '^ because spears before 

 battle had their points dipped in it, as it grows 

 everywhere. Those who censured it less severely 

 gave it the name manicon ; ^ those who from evil 

 motives tried to keep its nature secret caUed it 



' From Bopv = spear. ** I.e., maddening. 



287 



