SECT. XIII.—DRY APPLICATIONS AND ABSTERGENTS (SMEGMATA.)
Of dry applications or powders, some suit with ulcers, and some are applied to the skin. Of those which suit with ulcers, some act as incarnants of hollow ulcers, and some restrain fungous flesh, and some are cicatrizing, some caustic and septic, and some styptic. The incarnative applications act either by cleansing foul ulcers, such as those from tares, birthwort, iris, all-heal, myrrh, frankincense, and aloes; or by drying the superabundant discharge, as those from copper, diphryges, squama æris, burnt paper, the bark of pine and thorn. But these promote cicatrization, either by blunting acrimony and pungency, such as those from pompholyx, starch, ceruse, sphecla (impure potass), the lapis specularis, burnt oysters, terra Samia, and the like, and the compositions from them possess similar powers. Of repressing medicines, some are mild, such as those from squama æris, those from misy and chalcitis, when burnt, and galls; but those from copperas, verdigris, misy, and chalcitis, not burnt, are stronger. The caustics and septics are prepared from quicklime, arsenic, sandarach, and sphecla, which is the burnt lees of wine. All these things when reduced to a fine powder and sprinkled upon ulcers, are less pungent. The coarser the powder to which they are reduced, the more pungent are they. Styptics restrain bleeding, either by astringing or cooling, or proving desiccative or obstruent by burning and forming an eschar; and the materials of them have been mentioned in the section on Trochisks. Of those which are applied to the skin, some cleanse and absterge, such as those from Cimolian earth, pumice, bean-meal, barley-leaven, the flesh of pompions, and the flower of salt; some are attenuant and discutient, such as those from hellebore, alcyonium, sulphur, stavesacre, mustard, pellitory, the seed of the rosemary, lemnitis, or adarce, and the shell of the cuttle-fish. But those having quicklime and arsenic added to them, with some liquid, become depilatory and abstergent. Some are applied to the head in order to dry up the discharge from it, such as those from natron, salts, galls, the rind of pomegranate, and the like. All the smegmata or abstergents should be applied to the skin when it is not anointed.
The dry cephalic application. Of tares, oz. v; of iris, oz. iss; of manna, oz. iss; of birthwort, of squama æris, of each, oz. iss.
Another. Of the bark of pine, dr. vj; of frankincense, dr. iv; of pumice-stone, dr. iv; of iris, dr. ij; of dry rosin, dr. vj; of birthwort, dr. ij.
From aloes. Of aloes, dr. vj; of tares, dr. viij; of manna, dr. iv; of galls, dr. iij; of fissile alum, dr. ij.
The dry application of Manetho from the burnt lees of wine. Of calamine, burnt and washed, oz. j; of terra aster, oz. j; of burnt lees of wine, oz. iv; of lapis specularis, oz. iv; of frankincense, oz. iv; some add, also, of starch, oz. iv.
The melitera of Oribasius. Of chalcitis, of squama æris, of galls, of the flowers of the wild pomegranate, of long birthwort, of each, oz. j; of pomegranate rind, of fissile alum, of each, oz. ss.
From oysters. Of calamine, of frankincense, of each, oz. j; of oysters burnt, oz. iij.
The powder from frankincense. Of litharge, of frankincense, of calamine, of ceruse, equal parts.
The powder called aphroditarium. Of frankincense, of squama æris, of rhœdarium (a preparation from sumach), of starch, of ceruse, equal parts.
The Rhodian styptic for spreading ulcers and fungous flesh. Of unripe galls, dr. vj; of galls burnt, and extinguished in wine and dried, dr. xij; of the black squama æris, or, if not, of the red, dr. viij; of copperas, dr. xxiv; of fissile alum, dr. xxvij; triturate for a sufficient number of days.
The powder called flavus. Of burnt chalcitis, dr. xl; of burnt copperas, dr. viij; of burnt misy, dr. x; of burnt copper, dr. v.
The powder called psarus. Of misy, oz. v; of galls, oz. iv; of chalcitis, oz. ij; of squama æris, oz. ij; of copperas, oz. j; of scraped verdigris, oz. ij.
The caustic powder called heliocaes. Of arsenic, lb. j; of calx viva, lb. ij. Triturate with water during the dog-days, then dry and use.
The florid powder. Of cyperus, dr. viij; of myrrh, dr. xij; of sandarach, dr. iij; of the flowers of roses, dr. ij; of saffron, dr. ij; of crocomagma, of fissile alum, of Illyrian iris, of each, dr. ij.
The powder from paper, principally for spreading ulcers of the mouth and those of the pudendum. Of squama æris, of burnt paper, of each, dr. viij; of arsenic, of sulphur vivum, of each, dr. xij; of burnt lead, dr. vj. For the more humid mortifications use it dry, but for such as are dry mix it with rose-oil, and sometimes with honey along with rose-oil.
The powder from butcher’s broom (oxymyrsine), for the same purposes. Of elm-leaved sumach, oz. ij; of the leaves of butcher’s broom, of sandarach, of each, dr. viij; of the dried leaves of willow, of pomegranate rind, of each, dr. vj; of fissile alum, of chrysocolla, of aloes, of crude chalcitis, of squama æris, of arsenic, of common salts, of each, dr. iv.
The powder of Massaliotes. Of roasted natron, of chrysocolla, of Asian stone, of sandarach, of misy, of chalcitis, of fissile alum, of diphryges, equal parts. Use dry.
The dry abstergent application (smegma) called the Æsculapian. Of bay berries, of Alexandrian natron, of roasted salt, of Cappadocian salt, of ammoniac perfume, of aphronitrum, of pumice-stone, of each, lb. j; of black hellebore, of fuller’s herb, of pellitory, of the burnt lees of wine, of stavesacre, of mustard, of cyperus, of fissile alum, of the schœnanth, of iris, of galls, of each, oz. vj; of sampsuchum (a species of marjoram), lb. j; of the seed of the chaste tree, of pennyroyal, of the flour of beans and of lupines, of each, oz. vj; of the black chamæleon, of sulphur, of gum, of frankincense, of pepper, of the root of the wild cucumber, of horehound, of Cimolian earth, of pæony, of the shell of the cuttle-fish, of the leaf of fenugreek, of costus, of cumin, of euphorbium, of spikenard, of each, oz. iij. But Alexander adds the following things: of bitter salts, of salts from nitrous fountains, of Tragesæan salt (“see Plin. xxxi, 61”), of each, lb. j; of adarce, oz. j; of liquid alum, of Celtic, of cnicus, of granum Cnidium, of dried grass, of dried bryony, of each, oz. iij.
The abstergent application from pompions (smegma peponaton). Of frankincense, of mastich, of ammoniac perfume, of each, oz. j; of tragacanth, oz. iss; of the juice of wild grape, oz. ix; of the fresh seed of pompion, oz. iij; of similago, sext. v; the whites of xxi eggs, of iris, oz. iv. Some also use of black hellebore, oz. ij.
Otherwise, that of Crito. Of bean meal, one modius; of similago, sext. iv; of trefoil, of nutben, of Illyrian iris, of each, lb. iv; of ammoniac perfume, lb. j; of costus, lb. j; the whites of seven eggs, of the flesh of pompions, sext. ij; of the juice of unripe grape, sext. ij. Mix, and having formed trochisks, dry, then having pounded and strained, use.
Otherwise. Of tragacanth, of frankincense, of mastich, of ammoniac perfume, of each, dr. x; of the juice of unripe grape, dr. v; of similago, sext. v; of the white of an egg, oz. j; of the flesh of pompions, oz. j. Prepare as above described.
A desiccative smegma for defluxions of the head. Of the tawny-coloured Alexandrian natron, oz. v; of common salts, roasted, oz. iss; of Cappadocian salts, oz. j. Having mixed these with the strongest vinegar, put into a linen bag, and burn in a furnace until it be reduced to cinders. Then having cooled it, rub with it triturated, adding a little wine in the bath.
The soap of Constantine. Of dried roses, of aloes, of galls, of pomegranate rind, of Indian leaf, of sarcocolla, of each, oz. iij; of the flowers of the wild pomegranate, of myrrh, of sandarach, of spikenard, of each, oz. ij; of costus, oz. j; of Gallic soap, lb. j. Mix with the decoction of lupines.
The depilatory powder for the gout. Of mastich, of male frankincense, of stavesacre, of white hellebore, of litharge, of each, oz. iij; of Indian leaf, of starch, of black hellebore, of the flower of Asian stone, of each, oz. j; of alcyonium, of roasted pumice-stone, of Cimolian earth, of sampsuch (marjoram), of each, oz. iij; of spikenard, oz. j; some also add of aloes, oz. j. Having pounded them, keep the powder in a vessel; and when going to use it, put the juice of rice and of ptisan in a pot, and after it boils add of the powder, oz. iss; of Gallic soap, oz. iss; of arsenic, of fissile alum, of each, oz. iss; of sandarach, oz. iss; of recent quicklime, lb. j. Use this unguent thrice a month, on the 9th day of the moon, the 19th, and the 29th, for a whole year, and afterwards once a month on the 29th day of the moon.
Commentary. The terms are thus explained by Blancard: “Diapasma. Plinio, medicamentum aridum ex siccis pulveribus conflatum inspersile, quod aut vestibus ad gratiam odoris, aut ulceri vulnerique variâ ratione, aut potui etiam ad luxum inspergitur, διάπασμα, κατάπασμα, κατάπαστον φάρμακον. Oribasius non malè discrimen inter has voces ex Antyllo ponere mihi videtur ut ἐμπάσματα sint, quæ sudoribus cohibendis, et commovendo pruritui adhibentur: quæ Sympasmata et aspergines Aurelianus nominat: καταπάσματα sunt quæ ulceribus superponuntur, ξήρια etiam dicta: διαπάσματα vero conciliandæ in vento fragrantiæ.” (Lexicon Medicum.) The different forms of medicines are thus characterized by Dr. Blomfield: “Quatuor sunt φαρμάκων genera, quorum principuè mentio fit apud auctores Græcos: φάρμακα χριστὰ, παστὰ, πλαστὰ, et πιστὰ vel πότιμα, quibus interdum additur quintum genus, τὰ βρώσίμα, et sextum ἐπωδὰι, prout eis ad unguendum, inspergendum, emplastro obtegendum, bibendum, edendum, vel incantandum utebantur.” (Glossarium ad Æschyli Prometh. l. 488.) Theocritus uses the word ἐπίπαστον in its medical sense. (Idyll. xi, 2.) He says, no medicine, either in the form of ointment or powder, is a remedy for love. Le Clerc thus explains the medicines of which we are treating: “Les poudres s’appelloient en Grec ξήρια ὀυ ξηρὰ c’est à dire, médicamens secs. On les appelloit Diapasmata, Catapasmata, Catapasta, Sympasmata.” He says of the Smegma: “On s’en servoit particulièrement pour nettoyer le peau, pour ôter le démangeaison, &c.” He adds: “Lorsque il s’agissoit de faire tomber le poil on prenoit des matières encore plus fortes et plus acres que celles qu’on a indiquées, comme de l’orpiment, de la sandaraque, de la chaux vive, et l’on les détrempoit avec les sucs. En ces cas on donnoit à cette composition le nom particulière de psilothrum ou dépilatoire.” (Hist. de la Méd.) On the meaning of the terms see, further, Eustathius (ap. Iliad, iv); Scholiast. Aristoph. (Plaat); and Gataker’s Antoninus (v, 9.)
Celsus gives the following general description of these medicines: “Quædam autem mixturæ medicamentorum sunt quibus aridis neque coactis utimur, sic ut inspergamus, aut cum aliquo liquido mixta illinamus.” The powder of gollas, if prepared according to his directions, would consist of potass, sulphur, quicklime, and orpiment. His ninth preparation of this class is a sternutatory, and the tenth is one for making a gargle. (v, 22.)
Most of our author’s formulæ are borrowed, with a few alterations, from Galen. (De Med. sec. gen. v.)
For a description of the Arabian Pulveres, see, in particular, Haly Abbas (Pract. x, 16,) and Mesue, (i, ix.) Many of Mesue’s compositions are internal medicines, consisting principally of aromatics. Thus, his first preparation, which is intended to dry humidity of the stomach, dispel flatulence, and assist digestion, consists of lignum aloes, oz. ss; of galls, dr. iss; and of white sugar, oz. iss.
Nicolaus Myrepsus, in his copious ‘Dispensatory,’ describes the composition of 50 smegmata and 143 pulveres. The far greater number of the former are intended as applications to the skin in diseases thereof, such as impetigo, leprosy, itch, and the like. The pulveres consist of applications to the skin, sternutatories, gargles, and injections. None of them, we believe, are to be taken inwardly.