The Complete Works of Claudius Galen, Vol. 13

Chartier Edition XIII. [528. 529.] Basel Edition II. (257.)

I have often remarked that anyone who wishes to understand these instructions must first be well-trained in the study of simple medicines. Without an exact and definite knowledge of the property dynamis: The inherent power or natural action of a substance on the human body. of each simple ingredient, it is impossible to understand a compounded medicine. One cannot determine which category of similar drugs it belongs to: whether it is the mildest, the most potent, the medium strength, or somewhere in between.

Thus, not far from the beginning of his book, where he provides the treatment for internal conditions of the body, Andromachus wrote down the first recipe for a "windpipe-medicine" arteriacam: Derived from the Greek "arteria" (trachea). These were medicines, often syrupy or resinous, designed to soothe the throat and lungs. in these very words:

A windpipe-medicine which I use.
Take 1 drachma of frankincense original: "libanou/thuris" (in another version, 4 drachmae);
1 drachma of myrrh original: "smyrnēs/myrrhae" (in another version, 4 drachmae);
1 drachma of saffron original: "krokou/croci" (in another version, 4 drachmae);
2 drachmae of squill original: "skillēs/scillae";
3 pints sextarios: A Roman unit of volume, approximately 546 milliliters or about one pint. of Cretan sweet wine.
The squill is boiled in the sweet wine until the liquid thickens. Then the squill is thrown away, and the remaining ingredients are sprinkled in.

[529] If this medicine did not contain the squill, it would be counted among the most mild of preparations. This is because only a very small amount of frankincense, myrrh, and saffron are added to three pints of Cretan sweet wine. The result is that the mixture remains almost entirely pure Cretan sweet wine. It is clear that the preparation called...