Commentary. It is quite certain that the Ἀκρὶς of the Greeks, and the Locusta of the Romans was a species of locust or grasshopper. See Harduin (ad Plin. H. N. xi, 35.) Without doubt, then, it was the Gryllus migratorius L. The wingless locusta mentioned by our author is the insect in its larvous state. Our author copies from, and abridges, Dioscorides (ii, 56); and Avicenna does the same (ii, 2, 388.) Celsus treats of the locusta only as an article of food (ii, 28.) In this way, as is well known, the locusts were much used by the ancients. They are not noticed, however, either as an article of food or of medicine in the modern Greek Pharmacopœia.
Ἄκτη μεγάλη,
Sambucus, the Elder-tree, and Χαμαιάκτη, Sambucus humilis vel Ebulus, Dwarf-elder, are possessed of desiccative, moderately discutient and agglutinative powers. When eaten or drunk they occasion a discharge of water from the bowels.
Commentary. The two species of elder, namely, the Sambucus nigra and Ebulus, are much commended by the ancients for the cure of dropsy. As Dioscorides states, the elder is hydragogue, but disagrees with the stomach. He further recommends a hip-bath made of water in which elder has been boiled, for obstructions and hardness of the uterus (iv, 161.) Galen and the other Greek authorities treat of it in general terms like Paulus. The Arabians in treating of it generally borrow from Dioscorides and Galen. See particularly Serapion (c. 284.) It appears to be the acte of Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i, 23); and is the aktha of Ebn Baithar, according to his German translator, Dr. Sontheimer, in which opinion we fully agree with him. The Sambucus of Avicenna (ii, 2, 611) is not the elder, but the jasmine. We have not been able to detect the other in his Book on the Mat. Med., but can scarcely suppose that he has entirely overlooked it.
Ἅλες,
Sales, Salts, have desiccant and astringent powers. Wherefore they consume whatever humours are in the body, and also contract by their astringency. Whence they form pickles, and preserve substances from putrefaction. Roasted salts are more discutient.
Commentary. For an account of the factitious salts of the ancients, see in particular Pliny (H. N. xxxi, 39.) Sprengel remarks that the ἅλος ἄχνη, or spuma maris, is merely the skum or down of salt, which sticks to rocks in such situations as salt is usually formed in. The ἅλος ἂνθος, or flos salis, he adds, is a very different substance, being a native, impure carbonate of soda; containing also magnesia, lime, and some terrene admixture, to which it owes its colour. When deprived of its carbonic acid it becomes caustic, and was then called ἄφρος νίτρου by the ancients (v. ἀφρόνιτρον.) The sal ammoniac of the Greeks was a native fossil salt, and considerably different from ours. Geoffroy seems to agree with Salmasius, that it was the sal gem. Dr. Hill also maintains that it was only a peculiar form of the sal gem. See also Jameson’s ‘Mineral.’ (iii, 15.) In fact, from Dioscorides’ description of the ammoniac salt, nobody can avoid seeing that it was merely a variety of the common fossil salt. He treats of the medicinal faculties of the salts at so great length that we dare not venture to copy his account of them. It is literally translated by Pliny (xxxi, 45.) He recommends them internally by the mouth and in clysters, and externally in fomentations, baths, and fumigations. Serapion quotes the whole of Dioscorides’ chapter on Salts without supplying much additional information of his own. He describes minutely the process of roasting salts in an earthen vessel, and covering them up with coals, and thus applying heat to them. The sal ammoniac he describes, from Arabian authorities, as being a white red salt, extracted from hard clear stones, and being saltish, with much pungency (c. 409.) We never could altogether satisfy ourselves whether or not this be the same as the sal ammoniac of the Greeks. Rhases (Cont. l. ult. 600) and Avicenna (ii, 2, 608) are brief and indistinct in describing the sal ammoniac, but probably refer to the true sal ammoniac. Ebn Baithar minutely describes several kinds of it. Pliny also has a description of a factitious salt, which it would appear could be nothing else than our sal ammoniac. (N. H. xxxvi, 45.) Still, however, we need have no hesitation in setting down the ammoniac salt of the Greek medical authors as being a variety of the sal gem. This is the conclusion which Beckmann arrives at regarding it: he holds, however, that Geber and Avicenna were certainly acquainted with our ammoniac salt. (History of Inventions.)
Ἀλθάια ἢ Ἐβίσκος,
Althæa or Ebiscus, Marsh-mallows, is a species of wild mallows. It is discutient, relaxant, anti-inflammatory, soothing, and ripens tumours (phymata). But the root and seed have all the other properties in a more intense degree, and are also detergent of alphos. The seed is lithontriptic.
Commentary. This must either be the Lavatera arborea or Althæa officinalis. Dioscorides is much fuller than our author in enumerating its properties, but upon the whole they agree very well as to its general character. Besides the cases in which our author recommends it, Dioscorides speaks highly of the decoction of it when drunk with wine in dysuria, the grievous pains of calculus, dysentery, and other acute affections. He also advises the mouth to be rinsed with it in cases of toothache (iii, 153.) It would be useless to go over the other authorities, who supply no new views. Even our modern herbalists all agree in repeating the praises of the marsh-mallow as delivered by Dioscorides. For the Arabians, see Avicenna (ii, 2, 72); Serapion (c. 76); Rhases (Cont. l. ult. i, 26); Averrhoes (Collig. v, 42.) This genus of the Malvaceæ does not seem to be noticed either by Hippocrates or Celsus. The Althæa officinalis occurs in the modern Greek Pharmacopœia, published at Athens in 1837.