CUNILA BUBULA: FIVE REMEDIES

Latine · Mayhoff 1906

Cunilae praeter sativam plura sunt in medicina genera. quae bubula appellatur, semen pulei habet, utile ad vulnera commanducatum inpositum, ut quinto post die solvatur. et contra serpentes in vino bibitur ac tritum plagae inponitur. vulnera ab his facta perfricant, item testudines cum serpentibus pugnaturae; quidamque in hoc usu panaceam vocant. sedat et tumores et virilium mala sicca vel foliis tritis, in omni usu mire congruens vino.

Est alia cunila, gallinacea appellata nostris, Graecis origanum Heracleoticum. prodest oculis trita addito sale; tussim quoque emendat et iocinerum vitia, laterum dolores cum farina, oleo et aceto sorbitione temperata, praecipue vero serpentium morsus.

Tertium genus est eius, quae a Graecis mascula, a nostris cunilago vocatur, odoris foedi, radicis lignosae, folio aspero. vires eius vehementissimas in omnibus generibus earum tradunt; manipulo quoque eius abiecto omnes e tota domo blattas convenire ad earn, privatim adversus scorpiones ex posca pollere, foliis tribus ex oleo peruncto homine fugari serpentes.

E contrario quae mollis vocatur, pilosioribus ramis et aculeatis, trita mellis odorem habet, digitis tactu eius cohaerescentibus, altera turis, quam libanotida appellavimus. medetur utraque contra serpentes ex vino vel aceto, pulices etiam contritae cum aqua sparsae necant.

Sativa quoque suos usus habet. sucus eius cum rosaceo auriculas iuvat, ipsa ad ictus bibitur. fit ex ea montana, serpyllo similis, efficax contra serpentes. urinam movet, purgat a partu mulieres. concoctionem mire adiuvat et aviditatem ad cibos utraque vel in cruditate ieiunis in potione aspersa; luxatis quoque utilis, contra vesparum et similes ictus ex farina hordeacia et posca utilissima. libanotidis alia genera suis locis dicentur.

English · Bostock & Riley 1855–57

In addition to garden cunila, there are numerous other varieties of it employed in medicine. That known to us as “cunila bubula,” has a very similar seed to that of pennyroyal. This seed, chewed and applied topically, is good for wounds: the plaster, however, must not be taken off till the fifth day. For the stings of serpents, this plant is taken in wine, and the leaves of it are bruised and applied to the wound; which is also rubbed with them as a friction. The tortoise, when about to engage in combat with the serpent, employs this plant as a preservative against the effects of its sting; some persons, for this reason, have given it the name of “panacea.” It has the effect also of dispersing tumours and maladies of the male organs, the leaves being dried for the purpose, or else beaten up fresh and applied to the part affected. For every purpose for which it is employed it combines remarkably well with wine.

There is another variety, again, known to our people as “cunila gallinacea,” and to the Greeks as Heracleotic origanum. Beaten up with salt, this plant is good for the eyes; and it is a remedy for cough and affections of the liver. Mixed with meal, and taken as a broth, with oil and vinegar, it is good for pains in the side, and the stings of serpents in particular.

There is a third species, also, known to the Greeks as “male cunila,” and to us as “cunilago.” This plant has a fœtid smell, a ligneous root, and a rough leaf. Of all the varieties of cunila, this one, it is said, is possessed of the most active properties. If a handful of it is thrown anywhere, all the beetles in the house, they say, will be attracted to it; and, taken in vinegar and water, it is good for the stings of scorpions more particularly. It is stated, also, that if a person is rubbed with three leaves of it, steeped in oil, it will have the effect of keeping all serpents at a distance.

The variety, on the other hand, known as soft cunila, has a more velvety leaf, and branches covered with thorns; when rubbed it has just the smell of honey, and it adheres to the fingers when touched. There is another kind, again, known to us as “libanotis,” a name which it owes to the resemblance of its smell to that of frankincense. Both of these plants, taken in wine or vinegar, are antidotes for the stings of serpents. Beaten up in water, also, and sprinkled about a place, they kill fleas.

Cultivated cunila has also its medicinal uses. The juice of it, in combination with rose oil, is good for the ears; and the plant itself is taken in drink, to counteract the effects of violent blows.

A variety of this plant is the mountain cunila, similar to wild thyme in appearance, and particularly efficacious for the stings of serpents. This plant is diuretic, and promotes the lochial discharge: it aids the digestion, too, in a marvellous degree. Both varieties have a tendency to sharpen the appetite, even when persons are troubled with indigestion, if taken fasting in drink: they are good, too, for sprains, and, taken with barley-meal, and vinegar and water, they are extremely useful for stings inflicted by wasps and insects of a similar nature.

We shall have occasion to speak of other varieties of libanotis in their appropriate places.