Simple oxymel. Of the most acrid white vinegar, sextar. j; of water, sextar. ij; of honey, sextar. j; boil to the consistence of the most liquid honey, despumating the honey.
The vinegar of squills. Of white squills cut into pieces, dried in the shade for forty days, and again cleaned, one mina; of good vinegar, sextar. xij. Put them into a vessel, cover it up, and allow to remain in the sun for sixty days; after which the squill is to be expressed and thrown away, and the strained vinegar laid up in a vessel. Some add one mina of squills to sextar. vj; others add the same quantity of green squills to the vinegar, and allow them to remain in the vessel six months; and it becomes more penetrative. It is applicable for defluxions of the mouth, as a gargle, and when drunk, for many internal affections, excepting when there is ulceration, and for many other purposes.
The oxymel of squills. Of the internal tender parts of squills, lb. ij; of strong white vinegar, sext. xv; of pepper, of Macedonian stone-parsley, of each, dr. ij; of Cretan carrot, of bishop’s weed, of anise, of Celtic nard, of lovage, of asarabacca, of cardamom, of spikenard, of amomum, of rha Ponticum, of each, oz. ss; of the seed of fennel, of cumin, of laserwort, of ginger, of pellitory, of Cretan hyssop, of costus, of pennyroyal, of each, oz. j; of green mint, one fasciculus; of green rue, five branches; of Attic honey, one sextarius; of rob, sext. ij; of green parsley, one fasciculus. Put the white inner parts of the squills bruised into the vinegar, and allow it to macerate seven days during the heat of the dog-days: then taking out the squills, which, if dried, are to be pounded, but if green, not pounded, add to the vinegar, and again, after seven days, having strained all, add the honey and rob to the vinegar, and having boiled to a proper consistence, lay them up in a glass vessel. This remedy is to be taken as a potion before food, or along with food for a sauce. It is much used.
Galen’s medicine from squills, answering particularly with epileptics. Having broken down squills with your hands into small pieces, put into a vessel used for containing honey, and having covered it up properly, put it in a place exposed to the midday during the heat of the dog-star; forty days after the rising of the dog-star loose it, and you will find that the body of the squill is melted down. Taking, then, its juice, sweeten it with some very fine honey, and give every day a spoonful of it, if to children, a small one, but if to adults, a large one. But triturate the body of the squill itself with honey and give a spoonful of it. It is inferior in power to the juice.
The antidote of Philo. Of white pepper, dr. xx; of hyoscyamus, dr. xx; of the juice of poppies, dr. x; of saffron, dr. v; of pellitory, of euphorbium, of spikenard, of each dr. j; of Attic or any other fine, well-boiled honey, q. s. Give to adults the size of a filbert, to smaller persons, that of a bean, and to children, the size of a chick-pea. It is an excellent anodyne and soporific medicine.
The Athanasian anodyne and pleuritic antidote, from Oribasius. Of cassia, dr. viij; of spikenard, of amomum, of saffron, of opium, of storax, of myrrh, of costus, of each, dr. iv; of despumated honey, q. s. The dose the same as that of the antidote of Philo.
The antidote from two peppers of similar powers. Of cardamom, of castor, of opium, of each, dr. iij; of myrrh, of costus, of white and of long pepper, of galbanum, of each, dr. iij; of saffron, dr. iij. Mix with well-boiled honey, and give to the size of a bean.
The antidote from poppy-heads and rob. Having macerated, in a sextarius of rob, eight or ten green, but not watery heads of poppy the day after they are gathered, and an ounce of liquorice for one day, boil until they are dissolved; and after they have acquired a moderate consistence, take from the fire, and put into a vessel, and use in the case of watchfulness, accompanied with fever, and when there is a thin defluxion from the head upon the chest.
The antidote from poppy-heads and honey. Boil the poppy-heads, as mentioned above, and the ounce of liquorice in oz. j of rain-water or spring-water until dissolved; and having squeezed it out, add to the decoction half a sextarius of honey and boil until it acquire consistence. Give it in those cases which, along with a mitigation of pain and the production of sleep, require purgative and detergent medicines, for the parts within the thorax, or about the lungs and kidneys.
The compound antidote from poppy-heads. Take of the water in which poppy-heads have been boiled, according to the above-mentioned proportion, sext. j; of sweet wine, two heminæ; of honey, lb. j; of saffron, of the juice of hypocistis, of each, dr. iv; boil to a proper consistence. That which is prepared from honey, poppy-heads, and quinces is more grateful to the stomach. It becomes more efficacious if along with the poppy-heads some melilot and liquorice be also boiled in the water.