CHAP. 50.—ANTAPHRODISIACS AND APHRODISIACS. THE HIPPOPOTAMUS: ONE REMEDY. THE CROCODILE: ONE REMEDY.
In the number of antaphrodisiacs, we have the echeneïs;[413] the skin from the left side of the forehead of the hippopotamus,[414] attached to the body in lamb-skin; and the gall of a live torpedo,[415] applied to the generative organs.
The following substances act as aphrodisiacs—the flesh of river-snails, preserved in salt and given to drink in wine; the erythinus[416] taken as food; the liver of the frog called “diopetes” or “calamites”[417] attached to the body in a small piece of crane’s skin; the eye-tooth of a crocodile, attached to the arm; the hippocampus;[418] and the sinews of a bramble-frog,[419] worn as an amulet upon the right arm. A bramble-frog, attached to the body in a piece of fresh sheep-skin, effectually puts an end to love.