BOOK XXII. Lxxv. 158-LXXV11. 160 



to be like sesame, and to be called by the Greeks 

 erysimon. The Gauls call it vela. It is a bushy 

 plant, with leaves hke those of rocket, but a httle 

 narrower, and with a seed hke that of cress, being 

 with honey very good for coughs and for expectora- 

 tion of pus. It is also given for jaundice and for 

 afFections of the loins, for pleurisy, cohc and coehac 

 troubles. It is apphed moreover to parotid abscesses 

 and to cancerous sores, in water or sometimes with 

 honey to inflamed testicles, and is also very good for 

 babies. With honey and figs it is used for com- 

 plaints of the anus and for diseases of the joints, 

 besides being when taken in drink efficacious against 

 poisons. It also cures asthma, and fistulas also if 

 mixed with old axle-grease, but care must be taken 

 not to let the apphcation touch the interior. 



LXXVI. Horminum (clary) has a seed hke cum- <^''a»-y. 

 min, as I have already " said, but in other respects 

 it is hke the leek. Nine inches high it is of two 

 kinds : one has a darker seed which is oblong, being 

 used as an aphrodisiac and for white spots and films 

 on the eyes ; the other has a paler and a rounder 

 seed. Both when pounded draw thorns from the 

 flesh, if apphed by themselves ^ in water ; the leaves 

 apphed by themselves or with honey dispei-se super- 

 ficial abscesses, as also boils before they come to a 

 head, and all acrid humours. 



LXXVII. Moreover, the very pests of the crops Damei. 

 are of use. Virgil called darnel " unfruitful," <= and 

 yet when ground and boiled in vinegar it cures 

 impetigo, the quicker the more often the apphcation 

 is changed. It is also used with oxymel for gouty 

 and other pains. The foUowing is the prescription : 

 in one sextarius of vinegar are melted two ounces 



407 



