PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 



bibitur et in difficili partu fabae magnitudine in cyatho 

 vini, vulvasque conversas corrigit, cum murra autem 

 et vino mortuos partus extrahit. adversatur et 

 venenis, maxime toxicis, cum murra et vino. ser- 

 pentes oleo et spondylio mixto tactu necat. nocere 

 urinae existimatur. 



23 XIV. Similis hammoniaci natura atque lacrimae, 

 probandae ut diximus. moUit, calefacit, discutit, 

 dissolvit. claritati visus in collyriis convenit, pruritum, 

 cicatrices, albugines oculorum tollit, dentium dolores 

 sedat, efficacius accensum. prodest dyspnoicis, 

 pleuriticis, pulmonibus, vesicis, urinae cruentae, 

 lieni, ischiadicis potum — sic et alvum solvit — articulis 

 et podagrae cum pari pondere picis aut cerae et 

 rosaceo coctum. maturat panos, extrahit clavos cum 

 melle — sic et duritias emollit — lieni cum aceto et cera 

 Cypria vel rosaceo efficacissime inponitur. lassitu- 

 dines perungui cum aceto et oleo exiguoque nitro 

 utile. 



24 XV. Et styracis naturam in peregrinis arboribus 

 exposuimus. placet praeter illa quae diximus 

 maxime pinguis, purus, albicantibus fragmentis. 

 medetur tussi, faucibus, pectoris vitiis, vulvae 



" Toxicum can be a mere synonym of venenum, but here it 

 obviously refers to a special kind of poison. Cf. XVI. § 51, 

 sunt qui et taxica hinc appellala dicant venena — quae nunc toxica 

 dicimus — quibus sagittae tinguantur. See p. 8 note c. 



" Book XII. § 107. 



' The older editions punctuate so as to limit efficacius to 

 sedat. This is probably right, for accensum must mean 

 " alight," not " burnt," (as Bostock and Riley). So the 

 meaning is, that a piece of the gum ammoniac is set alight and 

 applied to the aching tooth. This is strange, not to say heroic 

 treatment, and one wonders whether the text is corrupt, but 

 there are no variants. 



■* Mayhoif suggests inlitum, " applied." 



