PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 



tiam, et calculosis prodesse cum passo potae. ocu- 

 lorum et vulnerum utilitatibus maxime conveniunt. 



107 LXV. Spina Arabica — spinae Aegyptiae ^ laudes in 

 odorum loco diximus — et ipsa stringit spissatque 

 destillationes omnes et sanguinis excreationes men- 

 suinque gibundantiam, etiamnum radice valentior. 



108 LX\T. Spinae albae semen contra scorpiones 

 auxiliatur. corona ex ea inposita capitis dolores 

 minuit. est huic similis quam Graeci acanthion 

 vocant, minoribus multo foliis, aculeatis per extremi- 

 tates et araneosa lanugine obductis, qua collecta 

 etiam vestes quaedam bombycinis similes fiunt in 

 oriente. ipsa folia vel radices ad remedia opistho- 

 toni bibuntur. 



109 LXVII. Et acacia e^ spina fit in Aegypto alba nigra- 

 que arbore, item viridi,^ sed longe meliore ^ prioribus. 

 fit et in Galatia deterrima spinosiore arbore. semen 



1 Spina Arabica — spinae Aegj'ptiae Mayhojf: spinae 

 Arabicae Urlichs, Detlefsen: spina (-ae) aegyptia(-ae) spinae 

 arabicae codd. 



2 acacia e Hard., Mayhojf : acaciae plerique codd., Detlefsen. 

 ^ viridi EX i-ulg., Mayhoff: viridis reliqni codd., Dellefsen. 

 * meliore Urlichs, Mayhoff: melior e aliquot codd., Sillig : 



melior Detlefsen. 



" Book XIII. § 63, where, however, Pliny makes no mention 

 of the Arabian thom. The text in § 107 is obviously corrupt 

 in the MSS. ; Mayhofi" (Appendix p. 484) calls it a locus des- 

 peratus. Either Pliny spoke of both thorns or he mentioned 

 only the Arabian, forgetting what he had said in XIII. 63. 

 A scribe was likely enough, if Pliny made this mistake, to add 

 a mention of the Egj^ptian thom ; but if Pliny had spoken only 

 of the Egvptian a scribe would not be likely to add the Arabian. 

 So we caneithertry to harmonize what issaid of the two thorns, 

 with Mayhoff, or omit all reference to the Egyptian thorn, with 

 Urlichs and Detlefsen. That Pliny is thinking of the spina 

 Arabica is shown by Dioscorides III. 13 : aTV(f>ovaa, Kal irpos 



78 



