PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 



vacua. semen dysintericis in vino potum auxiliatur 

 unice. 



66 XXX. Centaurio curatus dicitur Chiron, cum 

 Herculis excepti hospitio pertractanti arma sagitta 

 excidisset ei in pedem, quare ahqui chironion vocant. 

 folia sunt lata et oblonga, serrato ambitu, densi ^ 

 ab radice caules temum cubitorum geniculati. in 

 his capita ceu papaverum. radix vasta, rubescens, 

 tenera fragihsque, ad bina cubita, madida suco, 



67 amara cum quadam dulcedine. nascitur in colHbus 

 pingui solo, laudatissima in Arcadia, EHde, Messenia, 

 Pholoe, Lycaeo, et in Alpibus vero plurimisque ahis 

 locis. in Lycia quidem et ex ea Ivcium faciunt. 

 vis in vulneribus tanta est ut cohaerescere etiam 

 cames tradant, si coquantur simul. in usu radix, 

 tantum duabus drachmis bibenda quibus dicetur. 

 si febris sit, in aqua trita, ceteris in vino medetur. 

 et ovium ^ morbis decoctae sucus. 



68 XXXI. Est alterum centaurium cognomine lepton, 

 minutis foHis, quod aHqui Hbadion vocant, quoniam 



^ densi e Dioscoride, Mayhoff : densa codd. et Detlefsen. 



^ o\"iuin vvlg. : obvius d T Detlefsen : febrium Jlayhoff, 

 qui VIII § 119, XXIII 48 confert : omnium Barbarus : 

 iisdem Hard. : volvarum lanus : obvium VRE. 



° For the meaning of curare and its cognates see XXIV. 

 § 74 note c. 



* See XXIII. § 109 note d. Here a juice that served the 

 same purpose as lycium proper, which was an astringent. 

 See W. G. Speneer's Celsu.s, vol. II, pp. xl and xli. 



' A very difficult sentence because of the uncertainty of 

 the reading. Three of the chief MS.S. give obvium and t-wo 

 cbvius. If ovium was changed to obvium the further change 

 to obvius -nould be inevitable because of sucus. Detlefsen 

 retains obvius, but I can find no clear instance of its use ivith 



184 



