786 
Notes  on  Ancient  Medicine. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
i       Nov.,  1921. 
speck  in  the  eye,"  which  condition  was  supposed  to  be  cured  by  the 
plant.    It  belongs  to  the  rose  family  and  is  a  bitter  astringent. 
Dodder  is  a  parasitical  plant  of  the  genus  Cuscuta  and  lives  by 
attaching  itself  to  clover,  flax,  thyme,  and  other  plants. 
Borage  is  identified  as  B or ago  officinalis,  the  stems  of  which  con- 
tain potassium  nitrate  and  some  other  salts. 
Bugloss  appears  to  be  Anchusa  officinalis,  the  root,  leaves,  and 
flowers  of  which  were  at  one  time  recognized  in  our  United  States 
Pharmacopoeia.  They  are  practically  devoid  of  medicinal  prop- 
erties. 
Bawm  is  identified  as  the  leaves  and  tops  of  Melissa  officinalis, 
and  is  without  medicinal  value,  though  a  highly  flavored  essential 
oil  is  contained. 
Black  hellebore,  which  was  formerly  official,  we  recognize  as  a 
drastic,  hydragogue  cathartic.  It  was  first  discovered  (so  the  story 
goes)  by  a  shepherd  named  Melonpodius,  who  noted  the  behavior  of 
his  goats  after  they  had  eaten  it,  and  applied  the  rhizome  (some  say 
the  milk  from  female  goats  which  had  eaten  of  the  plant)  to  the 
treatment  of  illness  in  Elige  and  Calene,  daughters  of  King  Pro- 
teus. 
The  ancients  used  so  many  drugs  which  today  we  find  inert  and 
practically  useless,  it  must  appear  that  the  apothecaries  of  those  days 
had  more  ability  in  compounding  medicines,  or  else  the  vehicles 
commonly  used  were  potent  and  had  therapeutic  value.  Here  is  a 
testimonial  to  the  value  of  wine  of  bugloss,  which  reads  not  unlike 
some  of  our  recently  popular  patent  medicines : 
"An  excellent  cordiall,  and  therefore  worthily  reckoned  up 
amongst  those  herbs  which  expell  melancholy  and  exhilirate  the 
heart  *  *  *  If  taken  steept  in  wine,  if  wife  and  children,  father 
and  mother,  brother  and  sister,  and  all  thy  dearest  friends  should 
die  before  thy  face,  thou  couldst  not  grieve  or  shed  a  tear  for 
them." 
Concerning  a  compound  wine  containing  bugloss,  borage,  cin- 
namon, etc.,  it  is  stated,  "It  drives  away  leprosy,  scabs,  cleers  the 
blood,  recreates  the  spirits,  exhilirates  the  mind,  purgeth  the  brain 
of  those  anxious,  black,  melancholy  fumes,  and  cleanseth  the  whole 
body  of  that  black  humour  by  urine.  To  which  I  add  (saith  Vil- 
lanovanus)  that  it  will  bring  mad  men  such  as  are  raging  bedlams, 
as  are  tied  in  chains,  to  the  use  of  their  reason  again."  The  fourth 
ingredient  appears  to  have  added  character  to  this  compound. 
