Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, BOOK XXXI. REMEDIES DERIVED FROM THE AQUATIC PRODUCTION, CHAP. 8.

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CHAP. 8.—WATERS WHICH REMOVE MORPHEW.

The waters of Lake Alphius remove white morphew,¹ Varro tells us; who also mentions the fact that one Titius,² a personage who had held the prætorship, had a face to all appearance like that of a marble statue, in consequence of this disease. The waters of the river Cydnus,³ in Cilicia, are curative of gout, as would appear from a letter addressed by Cassius⁴ of Parma to Marcus Antonius. At Trœzen, on the contrary, all the inhabitants are subject to diseases of the feet, owing to the bad quality of the water there. The state of the Tungri,⁵ in Gaul, has a spring of great renown, which sparkles as it bursts forth with bubbles innumerable, and has a certain ferruginous taste, only to be perceived after it has been drunk. This water is strongly purgative, is curative of tertian fevers, and disperses urinary calculi: upon the application of fire it assumes a turbid appearance, and finally turns red. The springs⁶ of Leucogæa, between Puteoli and Neapolis, are curative of eye diseases and of wounds. Cicero, in his work entitled "Admiranda,"⁷ has remarked that it is only by the waters of the marshes of Reate⁸ that the hoofs of beasts of burden are hardened.

1 ῎αλφος; from which the lake probably derived its name. It has been suggested that the source of the river Anigrus in Elis is meant. Its waters had an offensive smell, and its fish were not eatable; and near it were caverns sacred to the Nymphs Anigrides, where persons with cutaneous diseases were cured. The water of these caverns is impregnated with sulphur.

2 Possibly the M. Titius who was proscribed by the Triumvirs, B.C. 43, and escaped to Sex. Pompeius in Sicily.

3 See B. v. c. 22.

4 "Cassius Parmensis." See the end of this Book.

5 According to some authorities, he alludes to the still famous water of Spa; but it is more probable that he alludes to the spring still in existence at the adjacent town of Tongres, which was evidently well known to the Romans, and is still called the "Fountain of Pliny."

6 The springs on the present Monte Posilippo.

7 This work is lost. Chifflet suggests that "Varro" should be read. See, however, B. vii. c. 2, L. xxix. c. 16 and c. 28 of this Book. It was a common-place book, probably, of curious facts.

8 See B. ii. c. 106, where a growing rock in the marsh of Reate is mentioned.

The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.

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Cross-references to this page (5):
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), ANTI´POLIS
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), CARTHA´GO NOVA
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), FORUM JULII
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), SCOMBRA´RIA
- Smith's Bio, Ca'ssius Parmensis
Cross-references in notes to this page (1):
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), CARTHA´GO NOVA
Cross-references in general dictionaries to this page (6):
- Lewis & Short, Rōma
- Lewis & Short, Sĭnŭessa
- Lewis & Short, ăcădēmī^a
- Lewis & Short, castīmōnĭa
- Lewis & Short, languĭdus
- Lewis & Short, rĕ-păro

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Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

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CHAP. 8.—WATERS WHICH REMOVE MORPHEW.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

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Table of Contents:

CHAP. 8.—WATERS WHICH REMOVE MORPHEW.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.