These kinds of hellebore, reduced to powder and taken alone, or else in combination with radicula, a plant used, as already mentioned,[617] for washing wool, act as a sternutatory, and are both of them productive of narcotic effects. The thinnest and shortest roots are selected, and among them the lower parts in particular, which have all the appearance of having been cut short;[618] for, as to the upper part, which is the thickest, and bears a resemblance to an onion, it is given to dogs only, as a purgative. The ancients used to select those roots the rind of which was the most fleshy, from an idea that the pith extracted therefrom was of a more refined[619] nature. This substance they covered with wet sponges, and, when it began to swell, used to split it longitudinally with a needle; which done, the filaments were dried in the shade, for future use. At the present day, however, the fibres[620] of the root with the thickest rind are selected, and given to the patient just as they are. The best hellebore is that which has an acrid, burning taste, and when broken, emits a sort of dust. It retains its efficacy, they say, so long as thirty years.
CHAP. 22.—TWENTY-FOUR REMEDIES DERIVED FROM BLACK HELLEBORE. HOW IT SHOULD BE TAKEN.
Black hellebore is administered for the cure of paralysis, insanity, dropsy—provided there is no fever—chronic gout, and diseases of the joints: it has the effect too, of carrying off the bilious secretions and morbid humours by stool. It is given also in water as a gentle aperient, the proportion being one drachma at the very utmost, and four oboli for a moderate dose. Some authorities have recommended mixing scammony with it, but salt is looked upon as more safe. If given in any considerable quantity in combination with a sweet substance, it is highly dangerous: used in the form of a fomentation, it disperses films upon the eyes; and hence it is that some medical men have pounded it and used it for an eye-salve. It ripens and acts detergently upon scrofulous sores, suppurations, and indurated tumours, as also upon fistulas, but in this latter case it must be removed at the end of a couple of days. In combination with copper filings[621] and sandarach, it removes warts; and it is applied to the abdominal regions, with barley-meal and wine, in cases of dropsy.
This plant is employed for the cure of pituitous defluxions in cattle and beasts of burden, a slip of it being passed[622] through the ear, and removed at the same hour on the following day. With frankincense also, wax, and pitch, or else pisselæon,[623] it is used for the cure of itch in quadrupeds.
CHAP. 23.—TWENTY-THREE REMEDIES DERIVED FROM WHITE HELLEBORE.
The best white hellebore is that which acts most speedily as a sternutatory; but it would seem to be a much more formidable[624] plant than the black kind; more particularly if we read in the ancient authors the precautions used by those about to take it, against cold shiverings, suffocation, unnatural drowsiness, continuous hiccup or sneezing, derangements of the stomach, and vomitings, either retarded or prolonged, too sparing or in excess. Indeed, it was generally the practice to administer other substances to promote vomiting, and to carry off the hellebore by the aid of purgatives or clysters, while bleeding even was frequently had recourse to. In addition to all this, however successful the results may prove, the symptoms by which it is attended are really most alarming, by reason of the various colours which the matter vomited presents: besides which, after the vomiting has subsided, the physician has to pay the greatest attention to the nature of the alvine evacuations, the due and proper use of the bath, and the general regimen adopted by the patient; all of them inconveniences in themselves, and preceded by the terrors naturally inspired by the character of the drug; for one story is, that it has the property of consuming flesh, if boiled with it.
The great error,[625] however, on the part of the ancients was, that in consequence of these fears, they used to give it too sparingly, the fact being, that the larger the dose, the more speedily it passes through the body. Themison used to give no more than two drachmæ, but at a later period as much as four drachmæ was administered; in conformity with the celebrated eulogium passed upon it by Herophilus,[626] who was in the habit of comparing hellebore to a valiant general, and saying, that after it has set in motion all within, it is the first to sally forth and show the way. In addition to these particulars, there has been a singular discovery made: the hellebore which, as we have already stated, has been cut with a small pair of scissors,[627] is passed through a sieve, upon which the pith makes its way through, while the outer coat remains behind. The latter acts as a purgative, while the former is used for the purpose of arresting vomiting when that evacuation is in excess.
CHAP. 24.—EIGHTY-EIGHT OBSERVATIONS UPON THE TWO KINDS OF HELLEBORE.
In order to secure a beneficial result, due precautions must be taken not to administer hellebore in cloudy weather; for if given at such a time, it is sure to be productive of excruciating agonies. Indeed there is no doubt that summer is a better time for giving it than winter: the body too, by an abstinence from wine, must be prepared for it seven days previously, emetics being taken on the fourth and third days before, and the patient going without his evening meal the previous day. White hellebore, too, is administered in a sweet[628] medium, though lentils or pottage are found to be the best for the purpose. There has been a plan also, lately discovered, of splitting a radish, and inserting the hellebore in it, after which the sections are pressed together; the object being that the strength of the hellebore may be incorporated with the radish, and modified thereby.
At the end of about four hours it generally begins to be brought up again; and within seven it has operated to the full extent. Administered in this manner, it is good for epilepsy, as already[629] stated, vertigo, melancholy, insanity, delirium, white elephantiasis, leprosy, tetanus, palsy, gout, dropsy, incipient tympanitis, stomachic affections, cynic spasms,[630] sciatica, quartan fevers which defy all other treatment, chronic coughs, flatulency, and recurrent gripings in the bowels.