PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 



inlatae ab alite quam^ retulimus exiliret cuneus a 

 pastoribus arbori adactus. quae etiamsi fide carent, 

 admirationem tamen implent coguntque confiteri 



15 multum esse veri ^ quod supersit. inde et plerosque 

 ita video existimare nihil non herbarum vi effici posse, 

 sed plurimarum vires esse incognitas, quorum in 

 numero fuit Herophilus clarus medicina, a quo ferunt 

 dictum quasdam fortassis etiam calcatas prodesse. 

 observatum certe est inflammari ^ vulnera ac morbos 

 superventu eorum qui pedibus iter confecerint. 



16 VI. Haec erat antiqua medicina quae tota migrabat 

 in Graeciae hnguas. sed quare non plures noscantur 

 causa est quod eas agrestes Htterarumque ignari 

 experiuntur, ut qui soli inter illas vivant, praeterea 

 securitas quaerendi obvia * medicorum turba. multis 

 etiam inventis desunt nomina, sicut ilU quam retu- 

 limus in frugum cura scimusque defossam in angulis 

 segetis praestare ne qua ales intret. turpissima 



1 quam vulg., Mayhoff : qua Detlefsen : fortasse de qua. 

 ^ veri quod ego : quod vero codd. et edd. 

 ^ inflammari : codd. et edd. : vel sanari coni. Maijhoff : 

 iam sanari rel minus inflammari coni. W armington. 



* obvia Mayhoff : obvia in Detlefsen : obviam V. 



« See X. § 40. 



* It has been observcd (e.g. by Mayhoff, who saj^s contra 

 argumenti rationem, ut videtur) that this sentence does not fit 

 in with its context. After prodesse a sentence is expected to 

 the effect that a patient has become better after treading on a 

 certain plant (or plants). Instead of this we get a statement 

 that a patient has grown worse on the arrival of vLsitors who 

 have travelled on foot. As it may be just another example of 

 Pliny's slipshod way of reasoning, the sentence has been left 

 as it is in the MSS., but there is much to be said for Mayhoff's 

 " even cured." What perhaps Pliny ought to have said is 

 minus infiammari superventu vulnera : " on arrival the wounds 

 or iUnesses are better of those who have made a joumey on 



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