The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 5 (of 6)Pliny, the Elder
History
The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 5 (of 6)
Pliny, the Elder
Natural history -- Pre-Linnean works
He states also that the right fore-paw, attached to the left arm in the
skin of the hyæna, is a most effectual preservative against robberies
and alarms at night; that the pap on the right side is a preventive
of fright and panics; that the left foot is sometimes burnt in a
furnace with the plant which also has the name of “chamæleon,”[2246]
and is then made up, with some unguent, into lozenges; and that these
lozenges, kept in a wooden vessel, have the effect, if we choose
to believe him, of making their owner invisible to others; that the
possession, also, of the right shoulder of this animal will ensure
victory over all adversaries or enemies, provided always the party
throws the sinews of the shoulder upon the ground and treads them under
foot. As to the left shoulder of the chamæleon, I should be quite
ashamed to say to what monstrous purposes Democritus devotes it; how
that dreams may be produced by the agency thereof, and transferred to
any person we may think proper; how that these dreams may be dispelled
by the employment of the right foot; and how that lethargy, which has
been produced by the right foot of this animal, may be removed by the
agency of the left side.
So, too, head-ache, he tells us, may be cured by sprinkling wine upon
the head, in which either flank of a chamæleon has been macerated.
If the feet are rubbed with the ashes of the left thigh or foot,
mixed with sow’s milk, gout, he says, will be the result. It is
pretty generally believed, however, that cataract and diseases of the
crystalline humours of the eyes may be cured by anointing those organs
with the gall for three consecutive days; that serpents may be put
to flight by dropping some of it into the fire; that weasels may be
attracted by water into which it has been thrown; and that, applied to
the body, it acts as a depilatory. The liver, they say, applied with
the lungs of a bramble-frog, is productive of a similar effect: in
addition to which, we are told that the liver counteracts the effects
of philtres; that persons are cured of melancholy by drinking from the
warm skin of a chamæleon the juice of the plant known by that name; and
that if the intestines of the animal and their contents—we should bear
in mind that in reality the animal lives without food[2247]—are mixed
with apes’ urine, and the doors of an enemy are besmeared with the
mixture, he will, through its agency, become the object of universal
hatred.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account