Of Medicine, in Eight BooksCelsus, Aulus Cornelius
History
Of Medicine, in Eight Books
Celsus, Aulus Cornelius
Medicine, Greek and Roman
Now on the first day of the distemper, it is proper to mix p. i. *. of
saffron, and p. ii. *. of the finest, whitest flour, with the white of
an egg to the consistence of honey; and to spread this upon a piece of
linen, and apply it to the forehead, that by compressing the veins,
it may restrain the violent flux of gum. If saffron cannot be had,
frankincense has the same effect. It makes no difference whether it be
spread upon a bit of linen, or wool. The eyes ought to be anointed with
the following composition: as much saffron as can be held with three
fingers, myrrh, the bigness of a bean, of poppy tears, the bigness of a
lentil, are rubbed down together with passum, and daubed over the eyes
with a probe. Another for the same purpose consists of myrrh, p. i. *.
mandrake juice p. ii. *. poppy tears p. ii. *. rose leaves, hemlock
seed, each p. iii. *. acacia p. iv. *. gum p. viii. *. And these are
applied in the day time; but in the night, for promoting rest, it is
not improper to lay on the crumb of white bread mixed up with wine. For
that both restrains the flux of gum, and if any tears are discharged,
it absorbs them, and does not suffer the eyes to be glued up.
If the pain of the eyes be so great as to make this application uneasy
and too hard, both the white and yolk of an egg must be dropped into a
cup, and a little mulse added to them, and these mixed with the finger;
when they are incorporated, soft wool combed, ought to be dipped in
it, and saturated with it, and applied over the eyes. This is light,
and by cooling restrains the gum; besides, it does not grow dry, nor
suffer the eye to be glued. Barley-meal also boiled and mixed with a
boiled quince is a proper application. And it is no absurd practice to
use rather a pencillum squeezed out of water, if the disorder be less
severe, if more so, out of vinegar and water. The former applications
are to be bound on with a roller, lest they fall off in the time of
sleep: but it is sufficient to lay the pencillum on the eyes; both
because it can be conveniently replaced by the patient himself, and
because, when it has grown dry, it must be moistened again. If the
disorder is so great as to prevent sleep for a long time, some of
the medicines are to be given, which the Greeks call anodyne: and
for a boy, the bigness of a vetch is a sufficient dose; for a man,
the bigness of a bean. On the first day, it is not fit to inject any
thing into the eye, unless the inflammation be very great: for the
gum is often rather invited than diminished by that means. But on the
second day, even in a severe lippitude, it is proper to relieve by
the injection of medicines, when either the patient has been bled, or
a clyster has been given; or it appears, that neither of these was
necessary.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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