PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 



oculorum quoque medicamentis aconitum misceri 

 saluberrime promulgavere aperta professione malum 

 quidem nullum ^ esse sine aliquo bono. fas ergo 

 nobis erit qui nulla diximus venena monstrare quale 

 sit aconitum, vel deprehendendi gratia. folia habet 

 cyclamini aut cucumeris non plura quattuor, ab 

 radice, leniter hirsuta, radicem modicam cammaro 

 similem marino, quare quidam cammaron appella- 

 vere, ahi thelyphonon, ex qua diximus causa. cauda ^ 

 radicis incurvatur paulum scorpionum modo, quare et 

 scorpion aUqui vocavere. nec defuere qui myoctonon 

 appellare mallent, quoniam procul et e longinquo 



10 odore mures necat. nascitur in nudis cautibus quas 

 aconas nominant, et ideo aconitum aliqui dixere, 

 nullo iuxta ne pulvere quidem nutriente. hanc 

 aUqui rationem nominis adtulere, aUi, quoniam vis 

 eadem esset in morte quae cotibus in ferri acie 

 deterenda, statimque admota velocitas sentiretur. 



11 III. Aethiopis foUa habet phlomo simiUa, magna 

 ac multa et hirsuta ab radice, caulem quadriangulum, 



- malum quidem nullum d(?) vulg., Detlefsen : ne malum 

 quidem ullum Mayhoff. 



' eauda V, Mayhoff : arida E: cauda arida Detlefsen: 

 radix sitie cauda radicis d, v^ulg.,fortasse recte. 



" There is perhaps little to choose between the two readings. 

 Mayhoff 's ne is quite as likely as the vulgate text. 



" I.e. " mouse-killer." 



* I.e. k6vi9 dust and a privative. 



^ A whetstone is in Greek aKovr). 



' It is interesting to compare Plinys account of aconite with 

 Dioscorides IV 76 (WeUmann). In the latter is given the effect 

 of aconite on scorpions with its antidote in the touch of white 

 hellebore. The preceding sentence is : pV^a oiioLa oKopmov 

 ovpa, arlX^ovaa aXa^aoTpofLBws. For this last Pliny has only : 



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