SECT. XLVI.—ON IXIA.
Ixia, which is also called ulophonon, when drunk has some resemblance both in taste and smell to basil-royal. It brings on strong inflammation of the tongue, and disorder of the mind; it suppresses all the secretions, occasioning borborygmi and rumbling, with deliquium animi; but there are no alvine evacuations. After the greater part of the poison has been brought up by vomiting, or evacuated by the bowels, they will experience relief from drinking the decoction of wormwood, with much wine, vinegar, or oxymel, or the seed of wild rue, or the root of laserwort, and in the like manner the decoction of tragoriganum with some of the aforementioned, or with milk; or of turpentine, of nard, of castor, of laserwort, of each an obolus in wine. The fruit also of the walnut triturated with wine will be proper; or of rosin, of castor, and of rue, of each dr. j; and in like manner of mezereon, dr. ij; of the juice of thapsia, dr. ij, with honied water; and hot vinegar may be drunk by itself.
Commentary. Nicander’s description of the symptoms is very similar to that given by our author, and his treatment seems to have been conducted upon the same principles; namely, by administering emetics and purgatives at first, and, afterwards, discutient and detergent medicines, to overcome the viscid nature of the poison. Our author’s plan of treatment differs in no material respect from that recommended by Dioscorides, Aëtius, Actuarius, Avicenna, and Alsaharavius. Avicenna described it by the name of aldabach; Alsaharavius, by those of alfos, aldolia, i. e. arbor risi.
Apuleius make ixias, ulophonon, chamæleon, ocymoides, and various cardui synonymes (109.) The ixias, according to Gorræus, is a species of chamæleon, but what species cannot be determined. (See, also, Schneider’s note on Nicander.) Matthiolus calls it a glutinous substance, found in the root of the chamæleon, or carline thistle. Schulze is decided that it was a species of carlina (Toxicol. vet., 22.) See Harduin’s note on Pliny (H. N. xxii, 21.) After mature consideration, we have no difficulty in referring it to the carlina acaulis, or carline thistle.