Examination of Officinal Medicines

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For example, in the treatment of scurvy original: "scorbuti"; a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency, common in the early modern period, one may find remedies no less noble than others to be mixed with food, which everyone may take frequently and in large amounts without nausea. If the Myrobalans Astringent fruit from India used as a purgative are worth anything—namely the Chebulic, Citrine, Belleric, Indian, and Emblic varieties—they act like purging plums. However, this effect is slight unless they are stimulated with honey, the juice of sweet apples, or even stronger agents. Far more powerful are our local wax-plums and donkey-plums, as we are certain that they move the bowels. Indeed, for this very reason, the local magistrate issues a public edict every year prohibiting anyone from putting them out for sale, since it has been discovered that dysentery is not infrequently born from their immoderate use. Such excess is difficult to avoid, since for only a coin or two, one can buy more than the stomach can bear without harm to health. Therefore, I wonder why these are not received into the apothecaries' shops in place of Myrobalans; for in this way, a just dose could be defined, and hypercatharsis excessive purging or bowel movement could be most easily avoided.

But if those stale items, being deprived of their strength, cannot be tolerated, what shall become of the fourth category: Perishables, or those things which in a short space of time contract rancidity, mold, or some other intolerable defect? I warned in section 3 that this happens to fatty substances; this should be understood not only of butter, marrow, and fats, but also of oily seeds and expressed oils. Let pine nuts and almonds (already mentioned) serve as examples, to which we may now add common oil and spermaceti original: "spermaceti"; a waxy substance found in the head cavities of the sperm whale, used in ointments as it is commonly called, along with all compositions made from them. Such compositions include the Powder of Haly against Consumption original: "Pulvis Haly contra Phthisim"; a traditional remedy for tuberculosis, the Augsburg Powder against the Stone, and the red and green drinkable ointments. But regarding the defects of mixtures, I shall say more later; here I will be content with simple ingredients. And among these, fruits seem more liable to corruption than others: Figs, Dates, and Carobs original: "Ceratonia" breed worms very easily. The fruits of bitter and sweet oranges, citrons, lemons, and pomegranates rot rather quickly. Indeed, whatever diligence you apply in preserving their juices—whether by treating the flasks with sulfur, or by...