There are catapotia of various kinds, and composed for different intentions. They call those anodyna[ EN ], which mitigate pain by sleep: which it is not fit to use, unless there be a very great necessity. For they consist of medicines strong and ungrateful to the stomach. Yet that even promotes concoction, which contains poppy tears, galbanum, of each p. i. *. myrrh, castor, pepper, each p. ii. Of these it is sufficient to swallow the bigness of a vetch.

Another, which is more powerful to promote sleep, but worse for the stomach, consists of the following ingredients. Of mandrake p. *. z. seeds of smallage and henbane, each p. iv. *. which are rubbed down with wine. The same quantity of this, as was directed of the other, is a plentiful dose.

If there be pains of the head, or ulcers, or a lippitude, or tooth-ach, or difficulty of breathing, or pains of the intestines, or inflammation of the womb, or the hip, or a pain in the liver, spleen, or side, or if a woman falls into hysterick fits, and loses her speech, a catapotium of the following kind removes the pain by sleep. Sil(63), acorum, seed of wild rue, each p. ii. *. castor, cinnamon, each p. ii. *. poppy-tears, root of panaces, dry mandrake fruit, flower of round cyperus, of each p. ii. *. pepper lvi. grains. These being powdered separately, are again all rubbed together, dropping in now and then passum, till they acquire the consistence of sordes. A little of this is either swallowed, or diluted in water, and given to drink.

Moreover a handful of wild poppy, when it is just ripe for gathering the tear, is put into a vessel, and upon it is infused a sufficient quantity of water to cover it, and thus it is boiled. When this handful has been well boiled, let it be squeezed and thrown away; and with the liquor let an equal quantity of passum be mixed, and let them boil together, till it be as thick as sordes. When it has cooled, it is made into catapotia of the bigness of our bean, which have an extensive use. For they both procure sleep, either taken alone, or given in water, and with the addition of a little juice of rue and passum mitigate ear-aches: and dissolved in wine they stop a dysentery: and mixed with cerate made of rose oil, to which a little saffron is added, they restrain an inflammation of the womb. And spread upon the forehead with water, they stop the flux of gum to the eyes.

Again, if a pain of the womb prevent sleep, a mixture is made of saffron p. ii. *. anise, myrrh, each p. i. *. poppy tears p. iv. *. hemlock seed p. viii. *. and these incorporated with old wine, and the bigness of a lupin is diluted with three cyathi of water. But this is dangerous to give in a fever.

For healing the liver, of nitre p. *. z. saffron, myrrh, Gallican nard, each p. i. *. are mixed with honey, and the bigness of an Egyptian bean serves for a dose.

For removing pains of the sides, equal parts of pepper, birthwort, nard, and myrrh are mixed together.

For pains of the thorax, of nard p. i. *. frankincense, cassia, each p. iii. *. myrrh, cinnamon, each p. vi. *. saffron p. viii. turpentine resin a quadrans, honey three heminæ.

For a cough is that of Athenio: of myrrh, pepper, each p. i. *. castor, poppy tears, each p. i. *. which are bruised separately, and afterwards mixed, and two catapotia of the bulk of our bean are given in the morning, and two, when the patient is going to sleep at night.

But if a cough prevents sleep, that of Heraclides the Tarentine is calculated for both disorders: of saffron p. i. *. cinnamon, castor, poppy tears, each p. i. *. myrrh, long pepper, costus, galbanum, each p. *. z.

But if ulcers in the fauces of patients labouring under a cough require to be cleansed, of panaces, myrrh, turpentine resin, each p. v. *. galbanum p. *. z. hyssop p. *. z. are to be rubbed together, and to these a hemina of honey is added, and as much as can be taken upon the finger must be swallowed.

The colice of Cassius consists of the following ingredients: of saffron, anise, castor, each p. iii. *. parsley p. iv. *. pepper both long and round, each p. v. *. poppy-tears, round cyperus, myrrh, nard, each p. vi. *. which are incorporated with honey. And this may be both swallowed alone, and taken in warm water.

A draught of water mixed with sal ammoniac p. i. *. or dittany of Crete p. i. *. expels a dead fœtus or the secundines.

To women in labour hedge mustard ought to be given in tepid wine, when they are fasting.

The voice is assisted by p. i. *. of frankincense given in two cyathi of wine.

Against a difficulty of urine: of long pepper, castor, myrrh, galbanum, poppy tears, saffron, costus, each one ounce, storax, turpentine resin, of each a sextans, wormwood, honey, a cyathus. Of these the bigness of an Egyptian bean ought to be given in the morning, and after supper.

Arteriace is made in this manner: of cassia, iris, cinnamon, nard, myrrh, frankincense, each p. i. *. saffron, p. i. *. pepper thirty grains, are boiled in three sextarii of passum, till they acquire the consistence of honey. Or saffron, myrrh, frankincense, of each p. i. *. are mixed with the same quantity of passum, and boiled in the same manner. Or three heminæ of the same passum are boiled, till a drop of it grows hard; and p. i. *. of powdered cassia is added to it.