Roman oculists' medicine stamps and collyria / [C.J.S. Thompson].

  • Thompson, C. J. S. (Charles John Samuel), 1862-1943
Date:
[1920?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Roman oculists' medicine stamps and collyria / [C.J.S. Thompson]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    143/150 (page 29)
    in a helmet : white alum, *storax, “ Akkadian Salt,” fat, cornflour,* 1 nigella, “ gum of copper,” separately 2 3 thou shalt bray : thou shalt take equal parts (of them), put them together ; pour (them) into the helmet (in) which thou hast squeezed (the tamarisk) ; in curd and swms-mineral thou shalt knead (it), (and) open his eyelids with a finger (and) put it in his eyes. (While) his eyes contain dimness, his eyes thou shalt smear, and for nine days thou shalt do this. 38. If ditto, myrrh, *storax, “ Akkadian Salt ” through a bronze tube y into his eyes thou shalt blow. 39. If a man ditto, “ gum of copper ” (and) *storax thou shalt bray, through a bronze tube into his eyes thou shalt blow. 40. If a man ditto, *mint and *storax thou shalt bray, through a bronze lube into his eyes thou shalt blow. 41. Charm. 0 clear eye, 0 doubly clear eye, 0 eye of clear sight ! 0 darkened eye, 0 doubly darkened eye, 0 eye of darkened sight ! 0 eye of sleepy (?) sight, 0 eye of . . . 4 sight, 0 eye of evil sight! 0 failing 5 eyes, 0 painful6 eyes, . . . eyes, like the slaughter of a sheep . . . [like ?] hay (?) 1 ktj ka-a. Also 80, 7, 7 (Rm. ii, 162), E. (xiii, 18) leaving it untranslated, the remedy thus made being a kind of gruel with alcohol, doubtless to produce a healthy perspiration. It must surely be “ flour of ku ”, as in Hrozny (Getr. 64, quoting King, Magic, 12, 30) banu seam u Jci-e “ creating corn and ki ”, the latter obviously parallel to “ corn ”. 2 A-hi-nu-u, a-hi-en-na-a. Various drugs a-hi-en-na-a . . . (43, 1, 9) : “ red wool and white wool a-hi-en-na-a m.nu separately thou shalt spin” (10, 1, iii, 15). Various drugs ahinu eat “ separately thou shalt bray ” (9, 1, 34) : also cf. 49, 1, ii, 6 ; 8, 3, 2. Del. HWB. 40, and E. (xiii, 8 “ gleichmassig ”) are certainly wrong ; it has been correctly derived from ahu “ side ”, but how it can mean “ gleichmassig ” I am at a loss to understand. Clearly the adverbial use from “ side ” must be “ aside ” : the very quotations in HWB. show this, mata ahi-enna nizuz (V B. 1, 126) “ we will divide the land into separate portions, apart ” (not “ unter uns ”) : the god Nusku repeats the word of his master to Ea ahi-enna “ aside, apart ” (not “ biniiber ”). The passage about spinning the wool separately (contrasted with 11, 1, 1, estenis), the red and the white bound on separately to each eye, is conclusive. 3 mud : cf. E. xiii, 17, mud.a.bae = appu abaru a tube of abaru. 4 DA.A. 5 Abu, apu, applied to eyes : 10, 1, iii, 9, 21 ; 11, 1, 33 ; 12, 9, 6 ; ip-pa-a, 14, 1, 5 ; tab-ba-a, 10, 1, iii, 10 ; referable to Syr. defecit, caruit, exstinctus est. 6 Asu, referable to Arab. , ^.^,1 “ be afflicted ”. Jastrow (Trans. Coll. Phys. Philad. 1913, 375) suggested the correct meaning, but without a Semitic comparison. It is applied to head¬ ache, asu ei . ei (26, 1, 6) (i.e. muhhusu or sumkutu) “ throbbing pain ” : cf. 6, 9, 11 ; 19, 4, 3, 6 ; to eyes (9, 1, 42 ; 10, 1, iii, 9, 22 ; 11, 1, 17, 33 ; 16, 1, 17, etc.). It can seize on a man (16, 4, 8 ; 55, 8, 4). It is applied as a description to numerous plants (CT. xiv, 29, K. 4566 passim), sumach, *calendula, root of arnoglosson, licorice-juice, **ricinus-seed (berries), mustard, hyoscyamus, *galbanum, carduus marianus, fir-gum, pine-gum, etc., i.e. “ drugs for pain”.* In AM. 16, 3, 13, misu uasi in a receipt, probably = “ some anodyne.” 16, 4, 2 : . . . vasi parasi(si), “ a drug for stopping pain.”