On Medical Matters

...the sick become difficult to treat. And this approach is for the sake of not being easily caught by being deceived. There is another method original: "ἀνυσιμωτέρα" which is more effective; those who suspect something of this kind must take something beforehand and render the drugs powerless; so that they may chew dried figs with walnuts, and the so-called citron fruits, and a weight of bunias note: a type of turnip seed with wine, or similarly the leaves of calamint, or of the red ochre called Lemnian seal note: a medicinal clay the same amount with wine; or leaves of rue and the inner part of walnuts; or let them take a grain of salt and two dried figs while fasting, and they will be harmed by no drug whatsoever. And antidotes taken with wine produce the same effect; among which are that which is made from the skink note: a type of lizard, and that from bloods, and that which is called Mithridatium.

Often, specific constitutions of bodies also react, the predispositions original: "προδιαθέσεις" due to some quality of foods or drinks—

13) Thus Aldus; Asulanus: "more useful"; Paulus: "stronger prophylactic." I have omitted "or some" between "and" and "is."
14) Common: "prodiatheses" [an error for "predispositions"].

...are less exposed to the injuries of the listeners. And this, indeed, is the method so that incautious men are not easily caught by the wiles of poisoners. But the other is more effective, so that the suspicious may take something beforehand that dulls and renders void the power of poisons: such as dried figs chewed with walnuts, and those things called citron fruits, and one drachma of bunias seed with wine; likewise the leaves of calamint, or red ochre, which is called Lemnian seal, in equal weight with wine: or the leaves of rue, the kernel of a walnut: or let a grain of salt and two dried figs be offered to them while fasting, which done, they will be offended by no kind of poison. Furthermore, antidotes taken from wine provide the same effect: from the number of which are that which is prepared from the skink, that which is tempered from bloods, and that which obtains the name Mithridatium.

Often, also, peculiar constitutions of bodies oppose this, namely predispositions, through the varied nature of foods or drinks...