PREFACE

ix

had had the intention to publish an account of the Dioscorian flora, but what with the abundance of its insoluble problems, and with pressure of other work, he was never able to find the time to go as fully into the matter as he considered necessary. Death has robbed Botany of an invaluable coadjutor.

A few words must also be added in acknowledgement of help received from the Librarians of Magdalen College and of the Royal College of Physicians for the continued loan of the Goodyer Manuscript and of Sprengel's edition of Dioscorides. Also our thanks to Mr. Sprague of Kew for the identification of three species of plants, and especially to Miss F. A. Boustead, who with great skill and patience has made the admirable copies of the drawings in the Vienna Codex, with which this book is illustrated, and without which it would not have been printed to-day.

The text of the book was set up at the University Press in Oxford, but, where the figures are numerous, was reproduced with them by the Replika process, executed by Messrs. Lund Humphries & Co. at Bradford. The scale by which the figures have been reduced may be estimated by the size of the accompanying captions: it varies with the space available on each page.

R. T. GUNTHER.

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649

in ye colour, which some call Milesium. But the fourth is like to
unwashed wool, hollow in many places, light. But the fifth
is like for ye fashion to a mushroom, & is both without smell
and rough, within somewhat like ye Pumistone, but without,
smooth, sharp. Much of it grows in Propontis about ye island
called Besbicum, which in that country they call ye foam of ye sea.
Of these the first and the second are taken into ye Smegmata of
women & for the Lentigines, & ye Lichenas, & leprosies, & ye
vitiligines, & blacknesses, and such spots as are upon the face and
the rest of ye body. But ye third is of fit use for ye Dysureticall,
and such as gather gravelly stuff in ye bladder, and for the
nephriticall, & for ye dropsy, & ye spleen; but being burnt, and
smeared on with wine, it thickens the Alopeciae. But ye last (kind)
is of force, to white ye teeth. And it is taken into other Smegmata,
and Psilothra, being mixed with salt. But if you would burn some
of these, cast it with salt into a raw earthen pot, and having
luted about ye mouth of it with clay, put it into a furnace; & when
ye earthen pot is baked enough, take it out, set it up and use it.
But it is washed as Cadmia.

137. ADARKES. Calcium Chloride and other salts

But that which is called Adarces grows in Galatia, & it is, as it were
a somewhat saltish concrete humor, coming out of moist and
marshy places in a time of drought, and sticking about ye reeds
and grass. But it is like in colour to ye flower of ye stone of Asia,
but in ye whole form, to Alcyonium, which is soft, and hollow in
many places, & is, as it were, Alcyonium palustre. It is of fit use
for ye excoriation of leprosies & of ye Ephelis, & of ye Lichenae, &
of ye Lentigines & of ye like. In brief, it is sharp, drawing humors
from ye depth & it is good for ye Sciaticall.

138. SPOGGOI. Sponges

Sponges. Some have called these, males when full of small holes,
and thick, of which they have named the hardest, Tragi; & ye
other (they called) females which are contrary affected to the afore-
said. But they have ye same burning that Alcyonium hath. The
empty & without fat, is both good for wounds, & represseth Oede-
mata, and conglutinateth new wounds with water or Posca, but
sodden with honey it conjoineth old concavities. But ye old is of
no use. [New sponges] open contracted ulcers & callums, being
bound with a thread & put in dry like tents; they dry up ye fluxing
undermining ulcers, and old ulcers, being laid on dry, new and
empty, & they restrain also a flux of blood. But being burnt, with

Uu

650

DIOSCORIDES, BK. V

vinegar they are good for dry lippitudes, and where there is need to cleanse, or bind anything. But they do better, when washed for eye-medicines; & being burnt with pitch they are good for a flux of Blood. But ye tenderest of them are whited in ye burning heat of summer when moistened with Spuma Salis standing upon the rocks, and sunned. But let him take heed that ye hollow side of them (stand) upward, & ye cut side under. But if it be a clear summer weather, they are set also under the moon, being moistened with spuma Salis, or sea-water. And such as these are ye whitest.

### 139. KORALLION. Isis nobilis

But Corall (which some have called Lithodendron) seems to be a sea plant, & to be hardened when it is drawn out of ye deep, being out of ye sea &, as it were, dipped into ye air flowing round about us. Great store of it is found in the Promontory which is called Pachynum, by Syracuse, but ye best is that which is red in colour, and like to Sandaracha in colour, or to Sandyx, of a deep dye, & in like sort easy to pound, & even through its whole concrescency, & withal having a mossy smell, & like to little seaweeds, and withal having many branches, & imitating Cinnamon in ye form of little shrubs. But that which is stony by concretion, and rough by colour, and hollow, and loose, is thought to be naught. But by its faculty, it binds and cools gently, & it represseth excrescencies, & it takes off ye Cicatrices that are in the eyes, & fills up concavities and chaps, and works effectually against spittings of blood, & it is good for ye dysureticall, & it abates ye spleen being drank with water.

### 140. ANTIPATHES. Antipathes formiculaceum

But that which is called Antipathes, is to be thought to be Corall, having a specificall difference, but it is by colour black; and this also is like a tree, but more branchy, & it hath ye same faculty to ye aforesaid.

### 141. PHRUGIOS LITHOS. Pumice with alum

The Phrygian stone, which ye Dyers in Phrygia use (whence also it is named) groweth in Cappadocia. That is ye best which is paler & indifferently heavy, not firm by ye compacture of ye body, having between partitions of white, like as Cadmia. But ye stone is burnt thus: having moistened it with the best wine, cover it with live coals & blow it continually; and if it change the colour being of a more deep yellow, taking it out, quench it with ye same wine, & putting it again into ye coals do ye same things, then burn it ye third time, looking to it crumble not, & vanish into

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659

177. PNIGITIS. Potter's clay

But ye earth called Pnigitis in colour resembles in a manner ye Eretrian earth, but it is thick crusted, cooling when touched by ye hands, & it very much cleaves to ye tongue, so that it hangs on it. And it hath ye same virtue that Cimolia hath, failing something of ye strength. Some sell this for Eretrian.

178. OSTRAKA. Tiles

But ye tiles of Furnaces that are much burnt, are encrustative whence being anointed on with vinegar they heal itchings, & ye breaking out of pustles, and they are good for ye podagricall, & being taken with Cerat they dissolve ye strumas.

179. GE KAMINON

And ye red earth of the Furnaces that is well burnt hath the same quality that ye shells have.

180. GE MELIA

But Melia as to its colour is also like to that of Eretrian earth which is of an ash colour, but is rough, & when rubbed with ye fingers (is noted) to send out a creaking noise like Pumicestone when it is grated; but it is like Allom in quality, but somewhat more remissely, which also appears by the taste. It drieth also ye tongue gently. Also it is of force to make ye body clean and well-coloured, & also it extenuates ye hair, and it wears off ye Alphos, & ye Lepras. And it is of good use also for painters for ye longer continuance of their colours & it co-operates in green plasters. Both of this, & commonly of all earth, that is to be chosen, which is without stones and new, and soft, and brittle & easily dissolved when it toucheth moisture.

181. GE AMPELITIS. A bituminous earth

But of ye earth Amphelitis which some call Pharmacitis growing in Seleucia which is by Syria, that which is black is to be chosen. It is like to small coals of ye Pitch tree, cleaving like a lath, and glistering equally; & moreover not melted slowly when a little oil is poured on it, when it is beaten small. But ye white, & ashy, & unmeltable is reckoned naught. It hath a dissolving and cooling faculty. And it is taken also for to make ye eyes-lids fair, & for ye dyeing of ye hair, and for ye anointing of ye vines at the time of their putting out, for it kills ye worms that breed in them.

660

DIOSCORIDES, BK. V

182. ASBOLE. Soot

Fuligo pictoria, which ye painters use, is taken of ye glass-makers for that is the best. But it hath a putrifying, sharp faculty, and with Ceratum Rosaceum, it cicatrizeth fractures.

183. MELAN. Black Ink

The ink wherewith we write, is prepared from ye soot gathered of torches, and there are mixed to one ounce of Gum, three ounces of soot. It is made also of the soot of Rosin & of ye aforesaid Fuligo pictoria. But you must take of ye Fuligo pictoria one pound, & of gum half a pound, of bulls-blue half an ounce, of Chalcanthum half an ounce. And it is good to put in to septicall medicines, & for ambustions being anointed on thick with water, & let alone till ye cicatrizing, for it falls off of its own accord, when ye ulcers are healed.

And so, O Most Loving Areius, to have stored up well near as much as we thought fitting, & to be of a large composure withall, & of store of Matter Medicinall, & helps, let this suffice.

An end of ye fifth, and last
book of medicinall matters.

31 Augusti 1654

Exam. 21 Feb. 1655.