For further information regarding the emplastra of the ancients, see also Haly Abbas (Pract. x, 18); Mesue (De Unguentis); and Myrepsus (§ x.) Myrepsus, as usual, is most copious: he gives formulæ for 199 plasters.
The diachylon plaster is described by Galen and Mesue, but as the ingredients of theirs are nearly the same as in that of our author, we need not give their formulæ.
The Ægyptiacum, which is still celebrated as a remedy in certain cases is thus described by Mesue: “Take of verdigris, dr. v; of honey, dr. xiv; of very acrid vinegar, dr. vij: boil to a proper consistence. Some also add dr. iiss of triturated frankincense.”
The following is an itch ointment by Mesue: “Take of ceruse, of litharge, of aloes, of saffron, of calamine, of mercury extinguished, equal parts; make into an ointment, with oil of oleander and vinegar, q. s.”
An itch ointment of Myrepsus consists of the fresh leaves of the bay-tree boiled with oil, and having wax and sulphur added to it. We can say, from ample experience, that such an ointment is a most effectual remedy for scabies.
The preparation of the basilicon, as directed by Avicenna, is a nearer approach to the modern ointment of that name than our author’s: “Of rosin, of pitch, and of wax, equal parts, prepare with olive oil.”
SECT. XVIII.—ON EMOLLIENT PLASTERS AND EPITHEMES.
Of those applications called emollient plasters, or malagmata, some are applied to the middle parts of the body when in a state of chronic inflammation, or indurated, or in a hot or cold state, or affected with defluxions; and some to the extremities when infarcted, or to the nerves when affected with cold; or they are serviceable to the other parts when scirrhous. These have been treated of in the section on Plasters, and will be treated of in that on Acopa. Of those which agree with the middle parts of the body (which are properly called epithemes), those applied for the stomach and liver, of whatever kind they are, must require a strengthening power from astringents; for without these there will be danger to the life, the functional operations of these parts being extensive; and, therefore, they are principally composed of aromatics. When the stomach then is affected with dyspepsia, atony, or inflation, those from seeds, and from melilots, aloes, and wormwood, from sampsuchum (marjoram), nard, and mastich are to be applied. To the liver, those from nutben, ammoniac, fats, and chamomile ointment; and to the spleen, those from quicklime, arsenic, capers, willows, cardamom, verdigris, ammoniac, and vinegar are to be applied. For defluxions about the belly, those from wild vine, alum, apple ointment, and other astringents are to be used. And these by a misnomer are called by the general name of malagmata or emollient plasters, although their power be the reverse of softening. When the viscera are in a hot state, as in ardent fevers, those from saffron, oil of roses, the juice of linseed, endive, knot-grass, hog’s lard, or litharge are to be applied; but when in a cold state those from opobalsam, Indian leaf, sowbread (cassamum), and pepper. In expectorations of blood, astringent and desiccative applications, composed from alum, willow, and bitumen, are to be applied to the breast; and in consumptions, those from bay berries, horehound, cardamom, and lye.
The malagma from melilots. Of saffron, of Celtic nard, of cyperus, of cardamom, of iris, of myrrh, of each, oz. ij; of melilots, lb. j; of ammoniac perfume, lb. j; of wax, lb. iij; of turpentine, lb. j; of oil of privet, lb. iij; of gleucinum, lb. ij; of bdellium, oz. vj. Some add also of cyphi, oz. ij; of wine, q. s.
The malagma Polyarchium, from Galen’s work, ‘according to the parts.’ Of wax, of turpentine, of bdellium, of ammoniac perfume, of cardamom, of cyperus, of each, one mina; of melilot, of amomum, of Indian nard, of saffron, of myrrh, of frankincense, of the wood of cinnamon, of each, dr. xxv; of oil of privet, hemina j; of Italian wine, q. s. Prepare and use sometimes unmixed and sometimes diluted with the cerate of privet.