BOOK XXIII. xxxviiT. 77-xL. 80 



vvith wine are applied to whitlows, to carbuncles, and 

 to reduce any kind of gathering ; with honey, how- 

 ever, to those that require cleansing. A decoction 

 too of the leaves, with the juice of the wild oHve, is 

 used as an ingredient in remedie;: for the eyes. It is 

 beneficial to inject it with honey into the ears, even 

 though there is a discharge of pus. Flowers of the 

 wild olive are appHed to condylomata and to 

 epinyctis," with barley meal to the belly for catarrhs, 

 and with oil to the head for headache. When the skin 

 on the head detaches itself from the bone, the young 

 branches, boiled down and applied with honey, bring 

 them together again. These branches, when fully 

 grown, taken in food check looseness of the bowels, 

 and when parched and beaten up with honey, they 

 cleanse corroding sores and make carbuncles burst. 



XXXIX. Of the nature and usefuhiess * of olive onve on. 

 oil I have ah-eady '^ spoken at length. Here are the 

 kinds that contribute to medicine : the most useful 

 is omphacium, next comes green oil ; moreover, it 

 should l)e as fresh as possible (unless there is special 

 need for the oldest oil), thin, with a pleasant odour 

 and no pungent taste — in fact the reverse of what 

 we look for when it is used in food. Omphacium '^ 

 is good for the gums. If it be retained in the mouth 

 it keeps the teeth white and strengthens loose ones. 

 It checks perspirations.*^ 



XL. Oil of oenanthe has the same qualities as rose niini 

 oil, though all oil makes the body supple, giving it "^"'"^''^- 

 vigour and strength. It is injurious to the stomach 



the critical note, whieh fixes the meaning of conlineatur, but 

 leaves vague and uncertain the way in which oil was used to 

 check excessive sweating. 



467 



