On Medicine

that cucumis is a clumsy gloss for the following word cucurbita. And that conjecture is confirmed by codex 7028, where it was not cucumis but cucumeris written by the first hand, and deleted by the second. 69, 10 and 15—16 vel punicum; Absinthium, murices purpurae cochleae ...... pectines, murices, turtures, nuclei pinei or pomegranate; Wormwood, purple shellfish, snails ... scallops, murex, turtledoves, pine nuts, Med. I, Vat. VIII, 7028, which omits pinei. I have accepted the reading of Targa and the other editions. I believe, however, that in the prototype of our best manuscripts, nothing was inserted between punicum and uvae grapes (line 10), but after pectines this manuscript showed murices turtures, nuclei. To amend this faulty reading, someone unknown wrote in the margin: murices, purpurae cochleae. But the person who first transcribed this manuscript left the faulty reading in its place, and moved the emended version into the text in the wrong place. The word pinei pine, which is missing in codex 7028, came from some pedant who did not understand that the word nuclei or noclei was nothing other than the word cocleae snails corrupted, as they sound almost the same. 69, 15 cibi, potionesque vel frigidae vel ferventes; absinthium foods, and drinks either cold or hot; wormwood, Targa. — I have changed the word cibi foods, which is very suspicious to me, to cybium tunny fish. In Xenocrates (cf. Oribasius II, 58; Vol. I, p. 255, 7) it is read: "Tunny fish, the pelamyd after forty days returning from the Pontus to Lake Maeotis, is tasty, having good juice." Cf. Festus on the word Cybium. But what did Celsus intend by saying: foods cold or hot? — Targa orders the word absinthium (line 16) to be expunged, with which I cannot fully agree. Since the best manuscripts show it after punicum, but the more recent ones at the end of the chapter, it is possible that the name of this herb was written in the margin of the archetype manuscript, which scribes then moved into the text, some here, some there. It should be noted, however, that Oribasius's chapter (III, 19), in which he lists things suitable for the stomach in the same way, ends with the words: "as in medicines, wormwood." 69, 22 vel ex hordeo [oleum] radices or from barley [oil] roots, Targa. — Oleum oil is either a gloss for the word pinguia fatty things, or a corrupted reading of the word olerum of vegetables; it is at least missing in codex Vat. VIII; however, oleo with oil is written in 7028. 70, 6 conchiliis shellfish, Targa. — I have written conchyliis shellfish so that I might keep the laws of the Greek language. * 71, 27 grus, omnes aves quae magis currunt crane, all birds that run more, Targa. — grues cranes, Vat. VIII, 7028 (in it is read cranes, and all birds that, etc.); graves heavy in Med. I. That reading, which is not to be spurned, seems to be confirmed by the authority of Aristotle. Cf. Meyer, Aristotelis Thierkunde Aristotle's Zoology, p. 295. Nevertheless, the crane is listed by Celsus (II, 18, p. 64, 21) among the large birds which are of the strongest kind in which...