BOOK XXIIl. xx.w. 72-xxxvii. 74 



olive, one cannot but be surprised that some have 

 been found to recomniend its use as an application 

 for tooth-ache, while yet declaring that it is a poison, 

 who even bid us procure it from thc wild olive. The 

 bark of olivc root, taken from a tree as young as may 

 be, scraped into honey and taken in frequent small 

 doses, cures spitting of blood and purulent 

 expectoration. The ash of the tree itself mixed with 

 axle-grease cures tumours, withdraws morbid matter 

 from fistulas and heals the fistuhis themselves. 



XXX\T. VVhite olives are more useful ° to the iivu/f oiiw 

 stoinach, less so to the belly. Fresh and eaten by 

 themselves as food before they are preserved, they 

 are of excellentuse,curing gravel and improving teeth 

 that have been worn or loosened by chevving meat. 

 The dark olive is less useful to the stomach, better 

 for the belly, but of no use to the head and eyes. 

 Both sorts, applied after pounding, are good for 

 burns ; the dark, however, is chewed up, and if 

 applied at once from the mouth to the affected part 

 prevents the formation of pustules. Olives preserved 

 in brine cleanse foul ulcers, but are bad for strangury. 



XXXVII. About lees of oil I might seem to have Lees oj on. 

 said enough,^ as I have followed Cato, but their 

 medicinal value must be dealt with.'^ They are 

 excellent for the gums, for sores in the mouth, for 

 strengthening loose teeth, and, poured over the part 

 affected, for erysipelas and spreading sores. For 

 chilblains lees from the dark olive are the more useful, 

 as well as for the fomentation of babies ; but those 

 from the white olive are used for a wool pessary. All 

 lees of oil, however, are more beneficial after being 



*■ The omission of rafio is strange, and perhaps it should be 

 restored as in the vulgate text. 



463 



