FIFTEEN REMEDIES DERIVED FROM LEAD

Latine · Mayhoff 1906

In medicina per se plumbi usus cicatrices reprimere adalligatisque lumborum et renium parti lamnis frigidiore natura inhibere inpetus venerisvisaque in quiete veneria sponte naturae erumpentia usque in genus morbi. his lamnis Calvus orator cohibuisse se traditur viresque corporis studiorum labori custodisse. Nero, quoniam ita placuit diis, princeps, lamna pectori inposita sub ea cantica exclamans alendis vocibus demonstravit rationem. coquitur ad medicinae usus patinis fictilibus substrato sulpure minuto, lamnis inpositis tenuibus opertisque sulpure et ferro mixtis. cum coquatur, munienda in eo opere foramina spiritus convenit; alioqui plumbi fornacium halitus noxius sentitur. et pestilens est, canibus ocissime, omnium vero metallorum muscis et culicibus, quam ob rem non sunt ea taedia in metallis. quidam in coquendo scobem plumbi lima quaesitam sulpuri miscent, alii cerussam potius quam sulpur. fit et lotura plumbi usus in medicina. cum se ipso teritur in mortariis plumbeis addita aqua caelesti, done crassescat; postea supernatans aqua tollitur spongeis; quod crassissimum fuit, siccatum dividitur in pastillos. quidam limatum plumbum sic terunt, quidam et plumbaginem admiscent, alii vero acetum, alii vinum, alii adipem, alii rosam. quidam in lapideo mortario et maxime Thebaico plumbeum pistillum terere malunt, candidiusque ita fit medicamentum. id autem quod ustum est plumbum lavatur ut stibis et cadmea. potest adstringere, sistere, contrahere cicatrices; usu est eodem et in oculorum medicamentis, maxime contra procidentiam eorum et inanitates ulcerum excrescentiave rimasque sedis aut haemorroidas et condylomata. ad haec maxime lotura plumbi facit, cinis autem usti ad serpentia ulcera aut sordida, eademque quae chartis ratio profectus. uritur autem in patinis per lamnas minutas cum sulpure, versatum rudibus ferreis aut ferulaceis, donec liquor mutetur in cinerem; dein refrigeratum teritur in farinam. alii elimatam scobem in fictili crudo cocunt in caminis, donec percoquatur figlinum. aliqui cerussam admiscent pari mensura aut hordeum teruntque ut in crudo dictum est, et praeferunt sic plumbum spodio Cyprio.

Scoria quoque plumbi in usu est. optima quae maxime ad luteum colorem accedit, sine plumbi reliquiis aut sulpuris specie et terra carens. lavatur haec in mortariis minutim fracta, done aqua luteum colorem trahat, et transfunditur in vas purum, idque saepius, usque dum subsidat quod utilissimum est. effectus habet eosdem quos plumbum, sed acriores. mirarique succurrit experiential vitae, ne faece quidem rerum excrementorumque foeditate intemptata tot modis.

Fit et spodium ex plumbo eodem modo quo ex Cyprio aere; lavatur in linteis raris aqua caelesti separaturque terrenum transfusione; cribratum teritur. quidam pulverem eum pinnis digerere malunt ac terere in vino odorato.

Est et molybdaena, quam alio loco galenam appellavimus, vena argenti plumbique communis. Melior haec, quanto magis aurei colors quantoque minus plumbosa, friabilis et modice gravis. cocta cum oleo iocineris colorem trahit. adhaerescit et auri argentique fornacibus; hanc metallicam vocant. laudatissima quae in Zephyrio fiat; probantur minime terrenae minimeque lapidosae. coquuntur lavanturque scoriae modo. usus in lipara ad lenienda ac refrigeranda ulcera et emplastris, quae non inligantur, sed inlita ad cicatricem perducunt in teneris corporibus mollissimisque partibus. compositio eius e libris III et cerae libra, olei III heminis, quod in senili corpore cum fracibus additur. temperatur cum spuma argenti et scoria plumbi ad dysenteriam et tenesmum fovenda calida.

Psimithium quoque, hoc est cerussam, plumbariae dant officinae, laudatissimam in Rhodo. fit autem ramentis plumbi tenuissimis super vas aceti asperrimi inpositis atque ita destillantibus. quod ex eo cecidit in ipsum acetum, arefactum molitur et cribratur iterumque aceto admixto in pastillos dividitur et in sole siccatur aestate. fit et alio modo, addito in urceos aceti plumbo opturatos per dies X derasoque ceu situ ac rursus reiecto, donec deficiat materia. quod derasum est, teritur et cribratur et coquitur in patinis misceturque rudiculis, done rufescat et simile sandaracae fiat. dein lavatur dulci aqua, donec nubeculae omnes eluantur. siccatur postea similiter et in pastillos dividitur. vis eius eadem quae supra dictis, lenissima tantum ex omnibus, praeterque ad candorem feminarum. est autem letalis potu sicut spuma argenti. postea cerussa ipsa, si coquatur, rufescit.

Sandaracae quoque propemodum dicta natura est. invenitur autem et in aurariis et in argentariis metallis, melior quo magis rufa quoque magis virus sulpuris redolens ac pura friabilisque. valet purgare, sistere, excalfacere, erodere, summa eius dote septica. explet alopecias ex aceto inlita; additur oculorum medicamentis; fauces purgat cum melle sumpta vocemque limpidam et canoram facit; suspiriosis et tussientibus iucunde medetur cum resina terebinthina in cibo sumpta, suffita quoque cum cedro ipso nidore isdem medetur.

Et arrhenicum ex eadem est materia. quod optimum, coloris etiam in auro excellentis; quod vero pallidius aut sandaracae simile est, deterius iudicatur. est et tertium genus, quo miscetur aureus color sandaracae. utraque haec squamosa, illud vero siccum purumque, gracili venarum discursu fissile. vis eadem quae supra, sed acrior. itaque et causticis additur et psilotris. tollit et pterygia digitorum carnesque narium et condylomata et quidquid excrescit. torretur, ut valdius prosit, in nova testa, donec mutet colorem.

English · Bostock & Riley 1855–57

Lead is used in medicine, without any addition, for the removal of scars; if it is applied, too, in plates, to the region of the loins and kidneys, in consequence of its cold nature it will restrain the venereal passions, and put an end to libidinous dreams at night, attended with spontaneous emissions, and assuming all the form of a disease. The orator Calvus, it is said, effected a cure for himself by means of these plates, and so preserved his bodily energies for labour and study. The Emperor Nero—for so the gods willed it—could never sing to the full pitch of his voice, unless he had a plate of lead upon his chest; thus showing us one method of preserving the voice. For medicinal purposes the lead is melted in earthen vessels; a layer of finely powdered sulphur being placed beneath, very thin plates of lead are laid upon it, and are then covered with a mixture of sulphur and iron. While it is being melted, all the apertures in the vessel should be closed, otherwise a noxious vapour is discharged from the furnace, of a deadly nature, to dogs in particular. Indeed, the vapours from all metals destroy flies and gnats; and hence it is that in mines there are none of those annoyances. Some persons, during the process, mix lead-filings with the sulphur, while others substitute ceruse for sulphur. By washing, a preparation is made from lead, that is much employed in medicine: for this purpose, a leaden mortar, containing rain water, is beaten with a pestle of lead, until the water has assumed a thick consistency; which done, the water that floats on the surface is removed with a sponge, and the thicker part of the sediment is left to dry, and is then divided into tablets. Some persons triturate lead-filings in this way, and some mix with it lead ore, or else vinegar, wine, grease, or rose-leaves. Others, again, prefer triturating the lead in a stone mortar, one of Thebaic stone more particularly, with a pestle of lead; by which process a whiter preparation is obtained.

As to calcined lead, it is washed, like stibi and cadmia. Its action is astringent and repressive, and it is promotive of cicatrization. The same substance is also employed in preparations for the eyes, cases of procidence of those organs more particularly; also for filling up the cavities left by ulcers, and for removing excrescences and fissures of the anus, as well as hæmorrhoidal and condylomatous tumours. For all these purposes the lotion of lead is particularly useful; but for serpiginous or sordid ulcers it is the ashes of calcined lead that are used, these producing the same advantageous effects as ashes of burnt papyrus.

The lead is calcined in thin plates, laid with sulphur in shallow vessels, the mixture being stirred with iron rods or stalks of fennel-giant, until the melted metal becomes calcined; when cold, it is pulverized. Some persons calcine lead-filings in a vessel of raw earth, which they leave in the furnace, until the earthenware is completely baked. Others, again, mix with it an equal quantity of ceruse or of barley, and triturate it in the way mentioned for raw lead; indeed, the lead which has been prepared this way is preferred to the spodium of Cyprus.

The scoria of lead is also made use of; the best kind being that which approaches nearest to a yellow colour, without any vestiges of lead, or which has the appearance of sulphur without any terreous particles. It is broken into small pieces and washed in a mortar, until the mortar assumes a yellow colour; after which, it is poured off into a clean vessel, the process being repeated until it deposits a sediment, which is a substance of the greatest utility. It possesses the same properties as lead, but of a more active nature. How truly wonderful is the knowledge which we gain by experiment, when even the very dregs and foul residues of substances have in so many ways been tested by mankind!

A spodium of lead is also prepared in the same manner as that extracted from Cyprian copper. It is washed with rain water, in linen of a loose texture, and the earthy parts are separated by pouring it off; after which it is sifted, and then pounded. Some prefer removing the fine powder with a feather, and then triturating it with aromatic wine.

Molybdæna, which in another place I have called “galena,” is a mineral compounded of silver and lead. It is considered better in quality the nearer it approaches to a golden colour and the less lead it contains; it is also friable, and of moderate weight. When it is melted with oil, it acquires the colour of liver. It is found adhering also to the furnaces in which gold and silver have been smelted; and in this case it is called “metallic.” The most esteemed kind is that prepared at Zephyrium. Those kinds, too, are considered the best that are the least earthy and the least stony. It is used in preparing liparæ, as also for soothing or cooling ulcers, and as an ingredient in plasters, which are applied without ligatures, but are used only as a liniment for producing cicatrization on the bodies of delicate persons and the more tender parts. The composition is made of three pounds of molybdæna, one pound of wax, and three heminæ of oil; to which are added lees of olives, in the case of aged persons. Combined with scum of silver and scoria of lead, it is employed warm in fomentations for dysentery and tenesmus.

Psimithium, which is also known as ceruse, is another production of the lead-works. The most esteemed comes from Rhodes. It is made from very fine shavings of lead, placed over a vessel filled with the strongest vinegar; by which means the shavings become dissolved. That which falls into the vinegar is first dried, and then pounded and sifted, after which it is again mixed with vinegar, and is then divided into tablets and dried in the sun, during summer. It is also made in another way; the lead is thrown into jars filled with vinegar, which are kept closed for ten days; the sort of mould that forms upon the surface is then scraped off, and the lead is again put into the vinegar, until the whole of the metal is consumed. The part that has been scraped off is triturated and sifted, and then melted in shallow vessels, being stirred with ladles, until the substance becomes red, and assumes the appearance of sandarach. It is then washed with fresh water, until all the cloudy impurities have disappeared, after which it is dried as before, and divided into tablets.

Its properties are the same as those of the substances above mentioned. It is, however, the mildest of all the preparations of lead; in addition to which, it is also used by females to whiten the complexion. It is, however, like scum of silver, a deadly poison. Melted a second time, ceruse becomes red.

We have already mentioned nearly all the properties of sandarach. It is found both in gold-mines and in silver-mines. The redder it is, the more pure and friable, and the more powerful its odour, the better it is in quality. It is detergent, astringent, heating, and corrosive, but is most remarkable for its septic properties. Applied topically with vinegar, it is curative of alopecy. It is also employed as an ingredient in ophthalmic preparations. Used with honey, it cleanses the fauces and makes the voice more clear and harmonious. Taken with the food, in combination with turpentine, it is a pleasant cure for cough and asthma. In the form of a fumigation also, with cedar, it has a remedial effect upon those complaints.

Arrhenicum, too, is procured from the same sources. The best in quality is of the colour of the finest gold; that which is of a paler hue, or resembling sandarach, being less esteemed. There is a third kind also, the colour of which is a mixture of that of gold and of sandarach. The last two kinds are both of them scaly, but the other is dry and pure, and divides into delicate long veins. This substance has the same virtues as the one last mentioned, but is more active in its effects. Hence it is that it enters into the composition of cauteries and depilatory preparations. It is also used for the removal of hangnails, polypi of the nostrils, condylomatous tumours, and other kinds of excrescences. For the purpose of increasing its energies, it is heated in a new earthen vessel, until it changes its colour.