GALEN ON ANTIDOTES

Charterius Edition Vol. XIII [866. 867.]

Basel Edition Vol. II (421.)

Sometimes most of the medicinal ingredients are weak, either because of their age or because of their natural kind. In these cases, people have mixed very strong substances with them. For example, someone once added a very potent juice original: ὀπὸν (opon); likely referring to opium, which was famously produced in Egyptian Thebes. brought from Egyptian Thebes. By doing this, he produced an antidote original: ἀντίδοτον (antidoton) that was very similar to the Philonium original: Φιλωνείῳ (Philonio); a well-known sedative and analgesic medicine named after Philon of Tarsus. medicine in both its taste and its medicinal power.

On another occasion, someone added myrrh original: σμύρναν (smyrnan). Although it was a very strong sample, because it was mixed with many other weak ingredients, he caused the whole antidote to be overwhelmed by the myrrh. Another person made the same mistake with [867] saffron original: κρόκῳ (krokō), while another did so with sagapenum original: σαγαπηνῷ (sagapēnō); a yellow-brown gum resin derived from a plant in the fennel family.. Similarly, others have erred with bitumen original: ἀσφάλτῳ (asphaltō); a naturally occurring mineral pitch. and galbanum original: χαλβάνῃ (chalbanē); an aromatic gum resin used for its anti-spasmodic properties.. Some people even mix two or three of these very strong substances with other weak ones. In doing so, they create an antidote that is dominated by those specific ingredients.

A sharp person can easily learn the actual preparation method after seeing it only once. However, the recognition and the ability to distinguish the quality of the ingredients themselves requires more than seeing them once, twice, or three times. This skill must be practiced very frequently. One can only truly learn what the best quality looks like if it is demonstrated accurately by an expert who provides a detailed explanation. If a person lacks such a guide and relies only on reading from a book, as in the works of Hera...