the Elder Pliny

“ For my own part, with all that gravity which becomes a Roman, and one zealous for the furtherance of liberal pursuits, I shall enter into a careful examination of this subject, not, indeed, in the character of a physician, but as a careful investigator of the effects which wine is likely to produce upon the health of mankind. To treat, however, of the medicinal properties of each individual kind, would be a labour without end, and quite inexhaustible; the more so, as the opinions of medical men are so entirely at variance upon the subject. ”

“ There is this peculiar advantage, too, in the careful observation of these effects, that they are sure to be perceptible throughout the whole earth, while at the same time they have certain features which are peculiar to each individual locality.—A person may perhaps be surprised at this, who does not bear in mind that the herb pennyroyal,437 which is hung up in our larders, always blossoms on the day of the winter solstice; so firmly resolved is Nature that nothing shall remain concealed from us, and in that spirit has given us the fall of the leaf as the signal for sowing. ”

“ They have not there to seek the murex at the bottom of the sea, or to expose themselves to be the prey of the monsters of the deep, while tearing it from their jaws, nor have they to go searching in depths to which no anchor has penetrated—and all this for the purpose of finding the means whereby some mother of a family may appear more charming in the eyes of her paramour, or the seducer may make himself more captivating to the wife of another man. ”

“ It is in our high esteem for men such as these, and the commendations they bestow, that we shall be content to leave the others, like so many brakes and brambles, to the devouring flames of their own bad passions, and to persist in promoting the welfare of the human race; and this, with all the more energy and perseverance, from the circumstance that it has been our object throughout, rather to produce a work of lasting utility than to ensure ourselves a widely-spread renown. ”

“ And let no one, misled by the apparent triviality of the names which we shall have to employ, regard this subject as one that is frivolous or contemptible: for we shall here have to set forth the state of peace or of war which exists between the various departments of Nature, the hatreds or friendships which are maintained by objects dumb and destitute of sense, and all, too, created—a wonderful subject for our contemplation!—for the sake of man alone. ”

“ Of all the seeds that are sown, there is not one of a more marvellous nature than this, or more favoured by the earth. First of all, it turns every day with the sun,281 and shows the hour to the husbandman, even though the weather should happen to be cloudy and overcast. It blossoms, too, no less than three times, and so attached is it to the earth, that it does not require to be covered with the soil; indeed, this is the only seed that does not require the earth to be turned up for sowing it. ”

“ Beet is a vegetable with twofold characteristics, partaking of the nature of the cabbage in its leaves and resembling a bulb in the root; that which grows to the greatest breadth being the most highly esteemed. This plant, like the lettuce, is made to grow to head by putting a light weight upon it the moment it begins to assume its proper colour. ”

“ The wheat of Cyprus is swarthy, and produces a dark bread; for which reason it is generally mixed with the white wheat of Alexandria; the mixture yielding twenty-five pounds of bread to the modius of grain. The wheat of Thebais, in Egypt, when made into bread, yields twenty-six pounds to the modius. To knead the meal with sea-water, as is mostly done in the maritime districts, for the purpose of saving the salt, is extremely pernicious; there is nothing, in fact, that will more readily predispose the human body to disease. ”

“ Many persons have dispersed films on the eyes by rubbing them with a mixture of the juice of rue with Attic honey, or the milk of a woman just delivered of a male child: the same result has been produced also by touching the corners of the eyes with the pure juice of the plant. Applied topically, with polenta, rue carries off defluxions of the eyes; and, taken with wine, or applied topically with vinegar and rose oil, it is a cure for head-ache. If, however, the pain attacks the whole of the head,1546 the rue should be applied with barley-meal and vinegar. ”

“ Among the garden plants, the most odoriferous are the dry ones, such as rue, mint, and parsley, as also those which grow on dry soils. Some fruits become more odoriferous the older they are, the quince, for example, which has also a stronger smell when gathered than while upon the tree. Some plants, again, have no smell but when broken asunder, or when bruised, and others only when they are stripped of their bark. Certain vegetable substances, too, only give out a smell when subjected to the action of fire, such as frankincense and myrrh, for example. ”

“ The ancients were in the habit of placing a stone or potsherd upon the leek, to make the head grow all the larger, and the same with the bulbs as well; but at the present day it is the usual practice to move the fibrous roots gently with the weeding-hook, so that by being bent they may nourish the plant, and not withdraw the juices from it.
It is a remarkable fact, that, though the leek stands in need of manure and a rich soil, it has a particular aversion to water; and yet its nature depends very much upon the natural properties of the soil. ”

“ Applied as a liniment to scrofulous sores, with bean-meal, and then covered with a cabbage-leaf, it is a most excellent remedy. The other kind, which is darker than the first, has the effect of carrying off vicious humours of the head, and sharpening the sight: taken in vinegar it calms the troubled spirits, and, drunk with wine or taken in a fig, it is good for affections of the spleen; taken in honey, too, fasting daily, it is good for a cough. The seed of it, taken in wine, expels all kinds of intestinal worms, and with the addition of wild mint, it acts more efficaciously still. ”

“ As it is, even the rich never drink it in an unsophisticated state; the morals of the age being such, that it is the name only of a vintage that is sold, the wines being adulterated the very moment they enter the vat. Hence it is, by Hercules!—a thing truly astounding—that, in reality, a wine is more innoxious in its effects, in proportion as it enjoys a less extended renown. ”

“ Where it is a rich earth, those plants should be grown which require a greater proportion of nutriment, coleworts for instance, wheat, winter-wheat, and flax. The result, then, will be, that a light soil will be given to barley—the root of that grain standing in need of less nutriment—while a more dense, though easily-worked soil, will be assigned to wheat. In humid localities spelt should be sown in preference to wheat; but where the soil is of moderate temperature, either wheat or barley may be grown. Declivities produce a stronger growth of wheat, but in smaller quantities. ”

“ Old wine bears admixture with a larger quantity of water, and acts more powerfully as a diuretic, though at the same time it is less effectual for quenching thirst. Sweet wine, again, is less inebriating, but stays longer on the stomach, while rough wine is more easy of digestion. The wine that becomes mellow with the greatest rapidity is the lightest, and that which becomes sweeter the older it is, is not so injurious to the nerves. Wines that are rich and black,2909 are not so beneficial to the stomach; but, at the same time, they are more feeding to the body. ”

“ By the use of wine in moderation the sinews are strengthened, but taken in excess it proves injurious to them; the same, too, with the eyes. Wine refreshes the stomach, sharpens the appetite, takes off the keen edge of sorrows and anxieties, warms the body, acts beneficially as a diuretic, and invites sleep. In addition to these properties, it arrests vomiting, and we find that pledgets of wool, soaked in wine, and applied to abscesses, are extremely beneficial. According to Asclepiades, the virtues possessed by wine are hardly equalled by the majestic attributes of the gods themselves. ”

“ We have already stated2101 that the nature of the soil is of the very greatest importance; for in Egypt, we find, all these plants are perfectly inodorous, and it is only the myrtle that has any particular smell. In some countries, too, the germination of all the plants precedes that in other parts of the world by so long a period as two months even. The rose-beds should be well spaded immediately after the west winds begin to prevail, and, a second time, at the summer solstice: every care, however, should be paid, between these two periods, to keeping the ground well raked and cleaned. ”

“ The Ascalonian onion is of a peculiar nature, being barren in some measure in the root; hence it is that the Greeks have recommended it to be reproduced from seed, and not from roots: the transplanting, too, they say, should be done later in the spring, at the time the plant germinates, the result being that it bulbs with all the greater rapidity, and hastens, as it were, to make up for lost time; great dispatch, however, is requisite in taking it up, for when ripe it rots with the greatest rapidity. If propagated from roots, it throws out a long stalk, runs rapidly to seed, and dies. ”

“ Still, however, it must suffice for me to say that the steward ought to be a man nearly as clever as his master, though without appearing to know it. It is the very worst plan of all, to have land tilled by slaves let loose from the houses of correction, as, indeed, is the case with all work entrusted to men who live without hope. I may possibly appear guilty of some degree of rashness in making mention of a maxim of the ancients, which will very probably be looked upon as quite incredible—“That nothing is so disadvantageous as to cultivate land in the highest style of perfection.” ”

“ Applied to the eyes with honey, which must also be fomented from time to time with a warm decoction of it, it has a most marvellous efficacy in cases of defluxion of those organs or of other parts of the body; as also when beaten up and applied by itself, or in combination with bread or with polenta. Fish, too, when found to be in an ailing state in the preserves, are greatly refreshed by giving them green parsley. As to the opinions entertained upon it among the learned, there is not a single production dug out of the earth in reference to which a greater diversity exists. ”

“ If, at the full moon, one half of her disk is clear, it is indicative of fine weather, but if it is red, of wind, and if black, of rain. If a darkness comes over the face of the moon, covered with clouds, in whatever quarter it breaks, from that quarter wind may be expected. If a twofold circle surrounds the moon, the storm will be more violent, and even more so still, if there are three circles, or if they are black, broken, and disjointed. If the new moon at her rising has the upper horn obscured, there will be a prevalence of rainy weather, when she is on the wane ”

“ As we have here made a beginning of treating of the marvels of Nature, we shall proceed to examine them in detail; and among them the very greatest of all, beyond a doubt, is the fact that any plant should spring up and grow without a root. Such, for instance, is the vegetable production known as the truffle;875 surrounded on every side by earth, it is connected with it by no fibres, not so much as a single thread even, while the spot in which it grows, presents neither protuberance nor cleft to the view. ”

“ The white lettuce is the best adapted for standing the rigours of the winter.
All the garden plants are fond of moisture; lettuces thrive, more particularly, when well manured, and endive even more so. Indeed, it is found an excellent plan to plant them out with the roots covered up in manure, and to keep up the supply, the earth being cleared away for that purpose. ”

“ When the blossom is off in corn, the stalk gradually thickens, and it ripens within forty days at the most. The same is the case, too, with the bean, but the chick-pea takes a much shorter time to ripen; indeed, it is fit for gathering within forty days from the time that it is sown. Millet, panic, sesame, and all the summer grains are ripe within forty days after blossoming, with considerable variations, of course, in reference to soil and weather. Thus, in Egypt, we find barley cut at the end of six months, and wheat at the end of seven, from the time of sowing. ”

“ If we are to regard as a glorious and a hallowed reward the civic crown, presented for preserving the life of a single citizen, and him, perhaps, of the very humblest rank, what, pray, ought to be thought of a whole army being saved, and indebted for its preservation to the valour of a single individual? ”

“ In order, too, that we might not have to apprehend these injuries to vegetation in all the months, Nature has so ordained that the times of the moon’s conjunction in summer, and of the full moon in winter, with the exception of two days only at those respective periods, are well ascertained, and that there is no danger to be apprehended on any but the nights of summer, and those nights the shortest of all; in the day-time, on the other hand, there is nothing to fear. ”