192 
Pliny's natural history. [BookXXYl. 
tain plant, a man has been enabled, in the sexual congress, to 
repeat his embraces as many as seventy times even ! The 
name and genus, however, of this plant, he has omitted to 
mention. 
CHAP. 64. — EEMEDIES FOR THE GOUT AND DISEASES OF THE 
Sideritis,^^ attached to the body as an amulet, reduces vari- 
cose veins, and effects a painless cure. Gout used to be an 
extremely rare disease, not in the times of our fathers and 
grandfathers only, but within my own memory even. Indeed, 
it may justly be considered a foreign complaint ; for if it had 
been formerly known in Italy, it would surely have found a 
Latin name. It should, however, by no means be looked 
upon as an incurable malady ; for before now> in many in- 
stances, it has quitted the patient all at once, and still more 
frequently, a cure has been effected by proper treatment. 
For the cure of gout, roots of panaces^^ are used, mixed with 
raisins ; juice of henbane, or the seed, combined with meal ; 
scordion,^^ taken in vinegar ; iberis, as already mentioned 
vervain, beaten up with axle-grease ; or root of cyclaminos,^^ 
a decoction of which is good also for chilblains. 
As cooling applications for gout, root of xiphion^* is used ; 
seed of psyllion hemlock, with litharge or axle-grease ; 
and, at the first symptoms of red gout, or, in other words, hot 
gout, the plant aizoiim.^^ For either kind of gout, erigeron,'^"'' 
with axle-grease, is very useful ; leaves of plantago, beaten up 
with a little salt ; or argemonia,^^ pounded with honey. An 
application of vervain is also remedial, and it is a good plan 
to soak the feet in a decoction of that plant in water, 
CHAP. 65. LAPP AGO OR MOLLUGO : ONE REMEDY. ASPERUGO : 
ONE REMEDY. 
Lappago^^ is employed also for this disease ; a plant 
similar to the anagallis,"" were it not that it is more branchy, 
19 See B. XXV. c. 19. 20 ggg ^xv. c. 11, et seq, 
21 See B. XXV. c. 27. 
22 In B. XXV. c. 49. None of these so-called remedies are now employed. 
FEET. 
23 See B. XXV. c. 67. 
25 See B. XXV. c. 90. 
27 See B. XXV. c. 106. 
2» See B. zziv. c. 116. 
24 See B. XXV. cc. 88, 89. 
•26 See B. XXV c. 102. 
23 See B. XXV. c. 66. 
30 See B. xxv. c. 92. 
