Of Medicine, in Eight Books

by Aulus Cornelius Celsus

From the frame of the body we must proceed to the bowels; and first of all to the lungs. Whence a violent and acute distemper arises, which the Greeks call peripneumonia[ CU ]. The nature of it is this. The whole lungs are affected. And their disorder is followed by a cough bringing up bile, or pus, a weight of the præcordia and the whole breast, difficulty of breathing, violent fevers, continual watching, prostration of appetite, and a consumption. This kind of distemper is attended with more danger than pain.

It is fit, if the strength will admit of it, to let blood: if not, to make use of dry cupping to the præcordia; and if the patient can endure it, by gestation to dissipate; if he cannot bear that, to move him gently within the house; to give him in drink hyssop boiled with a dry fig; or a decoction of hyssop or rue in hydromel; to use friction longest upon the shoulders, a little shorter on the arms, and feet, and legs, gentle over the lungs, and to do this twice every day.

As to diet, he ought never to have salt things, nor acrid, nor bitters, nor astringents; but what is of the milder kind. Therefore at the beginning is to be given gruel either of ptisan, or alica, or rice, in which recent fat has been boiled; along with it a sorbile egg, pine-nuts, bread with honey, or washed alica with hydromel. After that, not only pure water must be allowed to drink, but hydromel too egelid; or if it be the summer time, even cold; unless there be some particular reason against it. It is sufficient to give these every other day, when the distemper is increasing.

When it ceases to increase, as much as the circumstances will allow, he must abstain from every thing, except egelid water. If the strength fails, it must be supported by hydromel. And against the pains the application of hot fomentations is good, or such things as both repel and soften. It does good also to lay salt ground fine upon the breast, mixed with cerat; because it corrodes the skin gently, and thus diverts the course of the matter, which oppresses the lungs. Some malagmas too of such things as make a derivation are useful. And it is not improper, during the violence of the distemper, to keep the windows close upon the patient: when it has a little abated, three or four times a day to open them a little and let in fresh air. Then when he begins to recover, for several days to abstain from wine: to use gestation and friction; to add to the gruels and former diet, amongst the pot-herbs leeks; of flesh, the heels, and trotters; and small fish; so that for a long time nothing else be taken, but what is soft and mild.

CHAP. VIII. OF THE DISEASE OF THE LIVER, AND ITS CURE.

The distemper of another bowel, that is the liver, in like manner happens to be sometimes long and sometimes acute. The Greeks call it hepaticus[ CV ]. There is a violent pain to the right below the præcordia; and the same reaches to the right side, and to the clavicle, and the shoulder of the same side: sometimes also the right hand is benumbed, and there is a strong shuddering. When it is severe, bile is vomited; sometimes the hiccough almost suffocates. And these are its symptoms, when it is acute. But it is chronical, when there is a suppuration in the liver; and the pain sometimes ceases, at other times increases; on the right side the præcordia are hard and swelled; after eating, the difficulty of breathing is increased. There is also a sort of paralytic relaxation of the jaws. When the disorder has continued long, the belly, and legs, and feet swell; the breast, and arms, and the parts about both clavicles are emaciated.

In the beginning, the best thing is to let blood: then the belly must be opened; if that cannot be done otherwise, by means of black hellebore. Cataplasms are to be applied externally; first such as may repel, then hot ones, which can discuss; to these it is proper to add iris, or wormwood; after them a malagma. The diet should be gruels, and all the food should be warm, not very nourishing, and generally such as is proper in a peripneumony; and those besides that are diuretic, and such drink as will promote the same end. Thyme is good in this distemper, savory, hyssop, catmint, sweet marjoram, sesamum[(21)], bay-berries, pine-flowers, blood herb, mint, the pulp of a quince, the fresh and raw liver of a pigeon. Of these some may be eaten alone, and others added to the gruel, or the drinks, but in small quantities; and it is not improper to swallow every day a catapotium composed of powdered wormwood, honey, and pepper. But all cold things must be refrained, for nothing hurts the liver more. The extremities must be rubbed. All labour and violent motion avoided: even the breath must not be long kept in. Anger, flutter, lifting any thing weighty, throwing, running are hurtful. Pouring water plentifully upon the body does good, if it be the winter time, hot; if the summer, tepid; also plentiful unction, and sweating in the bath.

If the liver is oppressed with a vomica, the same method must be followed as in other internal suppurations. Some even make an incision over it[(22)], and cauterize the vomica itself.

CHAP. IX. OF THE DISORDER OF THE SPLEEN, AND ITS CURE.

But when the spleen is affected, it swells, and together with it the left side, which is both hard and resists pressure; and the belly is tense: there is some swelling also in the legs. Ulcers either do not heal at all, or at least scarcely cicatrize. In walking briskly or running, there is a pain, and some difficulty.