BOOK XXIII. xvni. 29-xix. 32 



It causes headache, and is injurious to the throat, 

 but good for kidneys, liver, intestines and bladder, 

 for it makes these organs smooth. It is particularly 

 efficacious against the buprestis," opium, curdled 

 milk, hemlock, poisons and dorycnium '^ ; it should 

 be taken in oil and brought up again by vomitings. 

 For all purposes white must is the weaker ; raisin 

 must is more pleasant, besides causing less headache. 



XIX. The varieties of wine, their very many The uses 01 

 differences, and most of the properties of each I have "^*"^*- 

 already described.'' There is no topic more difficult 

 to handle, or more fuU of detail, seeing that it is hard 

 to say whether wine does good to more people or 

 harms them. Besides, a draught is fraught with great 

 risk, it being uncertain whether it will immediately 

 turn out to be a help or a poison. And indeed I shall 

 confine my present remarks to the properties of wine 

 as a medicine. Asclepiades composed one volume 

 on its administration, a circumstance which gave 

 him a nickname ^ ; but his commentators on it 

 afterwards composed an endless number of them. I, 

 with Roman seriousness and with my appetite for the 

 Hberal arts, will carefuUy discuss the separate details,'' 

 not as a physician, but to point out their effect on 

 human health. But to treat of the various kinds of 

 wine one by one is a vast and baffling task. because 

 medical opinion is very divided. 



XXIV. 31. This is strong evidence in favour of cognominatus. 

 The plural cognominatis seems to be an emendation of one who 

 did not see that innumera is governed, not by dissenrere, but 

 by condidere understood from condidil. 



' Ista distingiiemas. The connection of thought seems to 

 be : "I hope to keep these dctails distinct, and to discuss 

 wines seriously (though not as a physician), because their 

 making and use ia a fine art." 



435 



