GALEN ON ANTIDOTES

BOOK 1

Edition Chartier Vol. 13 [868. 869.]

Edition Basel Vol. 2 (425.)

...quality. Rhodian honey original: τὸ Ῥόδιον / Rhodio undergoes a similar change. For this reason, when someone added this honey to Theriac theriake: a complex "universal" antidote containing dozens of ingredients, including viper flesh and opium and then, after three years, found that it had developed a wine like quality original: οἰνίζουσαν / vinum resipientem, he showed it to me. It was evident not only by the taste, but also by the smell.

I examined it and told him that this had happened because of the honey he had included. The man began to marvel at me. I further asked him if he had boiled and skimmed the froth original: ἀπήφρισεν / despumasset. Despumation was the process of heating honey to remove impurities, which Galen suggests can alter its preservation properties if overdone. more than was necessary. He admitted he had done these things. He marveled as if he had heard something wise from me, yet he condemned his own recklessness for attempting to prepare a medicine based solely on a written recipe original: γραφῆς / scriptura. Galen emphasizes that practical experience is superior to just following a text..

Another man showed me some Theriac he had prepared that had turned sour like vinegar original: ὀξώδη / acidam, asking me for the cause. He heard from me that he had poured in more wine than was required, and that this wine was neither of the best quality nor aged. I also suggested that perhaps more bread than was suitable had been mixed with the viper flesh, and that the bread itself had not been well prepared Viper flesh was often dried and mixed with bread crumbs to form small cakes or "troches" before being added to the final Theriac mixture.. He admitted this was the case and condemned his own recklessness.

Chapter 3. [What kind of wine should be put into antidotes.]