Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, BOOK XXVII. A DESCRIPTION OF PLANTS, AND OF THE REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THEM., CHAP. 113.—THLASPI AND PERSICON NAPY: FOUR REMEDIES.

Home Collections/Texts Perseus Catalog Research Grants Open Source About Help

Hide browse bar Your current position in the text is marked in blue. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position:

This text is part of:

Greek and Roman Materials

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View text chunked by:

book : chapter

CHAP. 113.—THLASPI AND PERSICON NAPY: FOUR REMEDIES.

Of thlaspi there are two kinds; the first¹ of which has narrow leaves, about a finger in length and breadth, turned to wards the ground, and divided at the point. It has a slender stern, half a foot in length, and not wholly destitute of branches; the seed, enclosed in a crescent-shaped capsule,² is similar to a lentil in shape, except that it has a jagged appearance, to which, in fact, it owes its name;³ the flower is white, and the plant is found near footpaths and in hedges. The seed, which has an acrid flavour, carries off bile and pituitous secretions, by vomit and by alvine evacuation, the proper dose being one acetabulum. It is used, also, for sciatica, in the form of an injection, this treatment being persevered in until it has induced a discharge of blood: it acts also as an emmenagogue, but is fatal to the fœtus.

The other thlaspi, known by some as "Persicon napy,"⁴ has broad leaves and large roots, and is also very useful as an injection for sciatica. Both plants are very serviceable for inguinal complaints; it being recommended that the person who gathers them should mention that he is taking them for diseases of the groin, for abscesses of all kinds, and for wounds, and that he should pluck them with one hand only.

1 Fée identifies it with the Thlaspi campestre of Linnæus, the Wild bastard-grass; Littré with the Thlaspi bursa pastoris of Linnæus, Shepherd's purse, otherwise known as Capsella bursa pastoris. Desfontaines gives as the Thlaspi of Galen, the Cochlearia draba of Linnæus.

2 "Peltarum specie." The "pelta" was a small, light shield, of various forms, but most commonly, perhaps, that of a crescent.

3 From θλάω, "to break."

4 "Persian mustard." The Lunaria annua of Linnæus, the Annual moon-wort, honesty, or satin-flower, has been suggested by Sprengel, but its identity is very doubtful.

The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar:

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

This text is part of:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View text chunked by:

Table of Contents:

CHAP. 113.—THLASPI AND PERSICON NAPY: FOUR REMEDIES.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

This text is part of:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View text chunked by:

Table of Contents:

CHAP. 113.—THLASPI AND PERSICON NAPY: FOUR REMEDIES.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.