BOOK 8 OF THE COMPOSITION OF MEDICINES ACCORDING TO PLACES

...and they have a dispute over the decoction, as to which of them should properly be called siraeum siraeum: a concentrated syrup made by boiling down grape must or other sweet liquids, used as a base for medicines.. There is indeed this very substance called siraeum which is produced when fatty dried figs are boiled in water. It possesses a middle power, which we have named a cleansing quality that does not bite original: ῥυπτικὴν καὶ ἄδηκτον. Galen describes substances that can clean out mucus or blockages without causing a stinging sensation..

While boiled must original: γλεῦκος (gleukos), unfermented grape juice. is highly viscous and least irritating, the decoction of dried figs is more dispersive and better at cleansing. As I have stated previously, anyone who intends to create a compound medicine must accurately understand the powers of all simple medicines simples: individual medicinal ingredients, such as a single herb, fruit, or mineral, which are the building blocks of complex pharmaceutical recipes..

[527] Such a person will also know how to correctly use the compounds prepared by others, especially when the instructions are written without specific details, as is the case with most "arteriacs" arteriacae: a class of medicines specifically formulated to treat the "rough artery," known today as the windpipe or trachea..

It is obvious that this same physician will use those medicines that are written with clear distinctions even better. According to precise reasoning, as the condition of the ailment changes, the useful medicine for it must also be changed. Only the person who knows the power of each simple medicine will accurately achieve this, adding to the first medicine a small amount of the...

...they think it should be called, and they fight among themselves whether it is right to call it siraeum. It is indeed this very siraeum which is made from fatty dried figs boiled in water, having a middle faculty, which we have called a gentle detergent that lacks sharp bitterness.

Indeed, boiled must is a very mild medicine and most effective at coating the passages, but a decoction of dried figs discusses and wipes away more effectively. As I have said in the preceding sections, it is necessary for the one who is about to make a certain compound to have an exquisite knowledge of the powers of all simple medicines. Such a person will also rightly use the compounds made by others, especially when they have been written down indefinitely, just as many arteriacs are held to be.

It is clear that this same person will more rightly use those medicines that have been set forth with clear distinctions. For according to exact reasoning, in so far as the preparation for the condition is changed, so too one must change the medicine that is suitable for it. Only he who knows the power of each of the simple medicines will provide this exactly, adding to the first medicine a small...