Such patients must be purged by clysters; the hair of their head clipped close to the skin, and the head rubbed for a long time every day fasting. They must diligently practise walking, and other exercises; gargle with a decoction of catmint and a mellow fig in mulse; foment the head often in the bath with plenty of warm water; avoid acrid food; use good milk and wine, and also drink more freely than they eat. Medicines too are to be given internally, of a mild nature, that they may not generate any acrid gum; and others externally applied to kill the lice, and prevent the production of more. For this purpose, of aphronitre p. i. *. sandarach p. i. *. stavesacre p. i. *. are powdered together, and then equal quantities of old oil and vinegar are added, till the whole come to the consistence of honey.
Thus much of those distempers of the eyes, which are cured by mild medicines. There are besides these, other kinds, which require a different treatment, commonly proceeding from inflammations, but continuing even after they
Collyrium of Andreas.
are gone. And in the first place, a flux of thin gum continues in some. To such patients clysters should be given, and their quantity of food diminished. Neither is it improper to anoint the forehead with the composition of Andreas: which consists of gum p. i. *. ceruss, antimony, each p. ii. *. litharge boiled and washed p. iv. *. the litharge is boiled in rain water; and the dry medicines are rubbed with the juice of myrtle. These being spread upon the forehead, a cataplasm of meal is also to be applied over it, made into a paste with cold water, and with the addition either of acacia juice or cypress. It is proper also to make an incision on the top of the head, and apply a cupping vessel there; or to bleed at the temples. The eye ought to be anointed with that composition, which contains of copper scales, poppy tears, each p. *. hartshorn calcined and washed, washed lead, gum, each p. iv. *. frankincense p. xii. *. Now this collyrium, because horn is one of the ingredients, is called diaceratos[ GA ]. As often as I do not subjoin what kind of moisture is to be added, I would be understood to intend water.
The memigmenon of Euelpides.
For the same purpose is that of Euelpides, which he called memigmenon[ GB ]. In it there are poppy tears and white pepper, of each an ounce, gum a pound, calcined copper p. i. *. During this course, with some intervals, the bath and wine are serviceable. And as extenuating food must be avoided by all that labour under a lippitude; so particularly by those that have for a long time a flux of thin humour. But if they be surfeited with such food as generates a thicker phlegm, as is most common in this kind of diet, they must have recourse to that, which because it binds the belly, constringes the body too.
But ulcers, that do not go off with the inflammation, generally either grow fungous, or foul, or at least inveterate. Their excrescences are best suppressed by the collyrium called memigmenon. The foul ones are deterged both by the same, and by that, which is called smilion.
Smilion.