412 
pliny's natueal history. 
[Book XXIX. 
films upon the eyes. The cast-oif slough of the asp, with 
the fat of that reptile, forms an excellent ointment for im- 
proving the sight in heasts of burden. To burn a viper alive 
in a new earthen vessel, with one cyathus of fennel juice, 
and a single grain of frankincense, and then to anoint the eyes 
with the mixture, is remarkably good for cataract and films 
upon the eyes ; the preparation being generally known as 
echeon."^^* An eye-salve, too, is prepared, by leaving a 
viper to putrefy in an earthen pot, and bruising the maggots 
that breed in it with saffron. A viper, too, is burnt in a 
vessel with salt, and the preparation is applied to the tip of 
the tongue, to improve the eyesight, and to act generally as a 
corrective of the stomach and other parts of the body. This 
salt is given also to sheep, to preserve them in health, and is 
used as an ingredient in antidotes to the venom of serpents. 
Some persons, again, use vipers as an article of food : when 
this is done, it is recommended, the moment they are killed, 
to put some salt in the mouth and let it melt there ; after 
which, the body must be cut away to the length of four fingers 
at each extremity, and, the intestines being first removed, the 
remainder boiled in a mixture of water, oil, salt, and dill. 
When thus prepared, they are either eaten at once, or else 
kneaded in a loaf, and taken from time to time as wanted. 
In addition to the above-mentioned properties, viper-broth 
cleanses all parts of the body of lice,^^ and removes itching 
sensations as well upon the surface of the skin. The ashes, 
also, of a viper's head, used by themselves, are evidently pro- 
ductive of considerable effects ; they are employed very advan- 
tageously in the form of a liniment for the eyes ; and so, too, is 
viper's fat. I would not make so bold as to advise what is 
strongly recommended by some, the use, namely, of vipers' 
gall ; for that, as already stated on a more appropriate occa- 
sion, is nothing else but the venom of the serpent. The fat of 
snakes, mixed with verdigrease,^^ heals ruptures of the cuticle 
of the eyes ; and the skin or slough that is cast off in spring, 
employed as a friction for the eyes, improves the sight. The 
^1 " Exuta vere/' as suggested by Sillig, would appear a better reading 
tban " ex utero," wbich caa have no meaning here. 
91* a Yiper mixture.'' 
92 See c. 35 of this Book. 93 In B. xi. c. 62. 
3^ As Ajasson remarks, this would be very likely to gangrene the wound. 
