Chap. 13.] THE MENSTBTTAL DISCHAEGE. :15l 



male is the only one that has the monthly discharge," and in 

 whose womh are found what we term "moles." These moles 

 consist of a shapeless mass of flesh, devoid of all life, and ca- 

 pable of resisting either the edge or the point of the knife ; 

 they are movable in the body, and obstruct the menstrual 

 discharge ; sometimes, too, they are productive of fatal conse- 

 quences to the woman, in the same manner as a real foetus j 

 while, at other times, they remain in the body until old age ; 

 in some cases, again, they are discharged, in consequence of an 

 increased action' of the bowels.** Something of a very similar 

 nature is produced iu the body of the male, which is called a 

 " schirrus ;"" this was the case with Oppius Capito, a man of 

 praetorian rank. 



It would indeed be a difficult matter to find anything which 

 is productive of more marvellous effects than the menstrual 

 discharge.'* On the approach of a woman in this state, 

 must win become sour, seeds which are touched by her 

 become sterile, grafts wither away, garden plants are parched 

 up, and the fruit will faU. from the tree beneath which she 

 sits. Her very look, even, will dim the brightness of mirrors, 

 blunt the edge of steel, and take away the polish from ivory. 

 A swarm of bees, if looked upon by her, will die immediately ; 



' ^ Some of the " simise " are subject to a periodical discharge, analogous 

 to that of the human female ; but, according to Cuvier, it is in smaller 

 quantity, and not at stated periods. The females of various other animals, 

 when in a state to receive the male, have a di^harge from the same parts, 

 but totally different in its properties, and the mode in which it makes its 

 appearance. Virgil, Geor. B. iii. 1. 280, et seq., refers to this subject. — B. 



** Pliny makes some further remarks on these substances in a subsequent 

 place, see B. x. c. 84 ; where he says they are produced without the inter- 

 course of the male ; this point has been much discussed, and is perhaps 

 scarcely yet decided. — B. 



*' Ttere is no actual resemblance between moles and schirri ; they are 

 produced by different causes, and exist in different parts of the body. Moles 

 are always formed in the womb, and probably have some connection with 

 the generative functions ; whUe schirri are morbid indurations, which make 

 their appearance in various parts of the body. Hippocrates gives some 

 account of moles, in his work on the Diseases of Women. They are also 

 noticed by Aristotle. — B. 



88 All the poisonous and noxious effects which were attributed hy the 

 ancients to the menstrual discharge, are without the slightest foundation. 

 The opinions entertained on this point by the Jews, may be collected from 

 Leviticus, c. xv. ver. 19, et aeq. Pliny enlarges upon.this subject in a sub- 

 sequent pla<!e. See B. xivui. c. 23. — B. 



