M A ( 301 ) M A 
it , and to provoke the 
Courfes. Some cut the 
Wood in fmall pieces, and 
boil it, and take off the 
Fat which fwims at top,, 
and fell it for true Oyl : 
And this is foid by fome 
Apothecaries for Liquid- 
Storax. 
M. 
C0, in Latin Macis, 
Tis the Covering of 
the Nutmeg, and is very 
Aromatick, and full ol 
much Spirituous Heat, and 
is therefore good for cole 
Difeales, ’Tis much of the 
fame Virtue with the Nut- 
meg; but becaufe its Parts 
are finer, it works more 
powerfully , and is more 
penetrative. 
, in Latin 
Mandr agora. ’Tis Male 
and Female. It grows 
fpontaneoufly in hot Coun- 
tries, as Spain and Italy, 
and the like, in Woods, 
and fliady Places. Man- 
drakes are reckon’d a- 
mongft Narcotick Medi 
cines. Some have que- 
ltion’d whether the Apple 
of it were wholefome. or 
no. But Faber Lynceus , 
Botanick Profeffor at Rome, 
a very learned Man, and 
of good Reputation, fays, 
that both the Pulp and the 
Seed may be fafely eaten. 
Now, feeing the Apples of 
the Mandrake are fit to be 
eaten, and fmell well, why 
(hould we feek for any o~ 
ther Interpretation for the 
Hebrew W ord Dudaim , 
which Reuben brought to 
his Mother Leah ? And fee- 
ing it was the Opinion of 
the Ancients, that the Seeds 
of the Mandrakes purged 
the Womb, ’tis very pro- 
bable that Rachel, knowing 
this Virtue of them, defir’d 
the Mandrakes , that her 
Womb being purg’d, Ihe 
might be render’d capable 
to conceive, and to bear 
Children , as well as her 
Sifter Leah, and her Maid 
XJlpha. The Bark of the 
Root, which is brought to 
us from abroad, efpecially 
from Italy, is Narcotick 5 
but it is feldom ufed in- 
wardly. ’Tis outwardly 
ufed for Rednefs and Pains 
of the Eyes, for an Erifipe- 
las, hard Tumors, and the 
King’s-Fvil. 
