Page 113 - My FlipBook

THE ROMANS llo ,

other than those which were so loose tliat an instiununt ot lead was
sufficientU' strong to extract rhcni.
When the looseness ot the teeth seems to depend upon the flaccidity
of the gums, Celius Aurelianus recommends astringent mouth washes:
decoctions of rind of pomegranate, of gall-nuts, of acacia, of quince, of
myrtle berries, etc. ; and besides these, lentiscine oil and asses' milk,
which latter was also believed to possess astringent virtues. Against
hemorrhages ot the gums, he advises the use ot very tine coral powder,
or of alum with honey.
Gnaeus Marcellus Empiricus, of Burdigala (Bordeaux), who lived
at the end of the fourth century and at the beginning of the fifth, wrote
a book, De ynedicamenti, which shows, more than an\thing else, the deca-
dence of the medical science in those da\s. Regarding the diseases ot
the teeth and their cure, Marcellus does not tell us an\ thing new. He
freeh' copies Scribonius Largus and other authors, not adding an\ thing
save a few methods of cure, which are exceedinglv strange and super-
stitious. To get rid of toothache, it is sufficient that the patient, when
the moon is waning, and in the days of Mars (Tuesda\') or of Jupiter
(Thursda\), repeat seven times the w^ords argtdam, margidatu, stiirgidaiu.
It is a great pit\- that a curative method so simple and easy be etficacious
in two da\s of the week alone, and even then on condition that the moon
be waning.
The following method is also a verv good one: Whilst in the open
country, one must take a frog by the head, open its mouth and spit into
it, then having begged the animal to take the toothache with it, must
replace it on the ground and let it free. To remove loose teeth easih
is necessarv to keep in reserve some juice of black ivv mixed with a
it
little green oil ; in case of necessitv, the nose of the patient must be
anointed with it, and after having drawn a deep inspiration, he must put
a little stone between his teeth, and stay with his mouth open, inclined a
little forw'ard, so as to let all the morbid humor flow out, which sometimes
flow^s verv abundantlv and even may reach to three hermin;e.' Having
atterw^ard rubbed the nose with pure oil, and washed the nK)uth with wine,
the teeth will be free from ever\ pain and ma\- be ver\' easih' pulled out.
If the root" of a tooth be rubbed with dried African sponge, the tooth
will fall out within three da\s; naturally, says the author, care must be
taken not to touch, whilst doing this, anv healthy tooth. He who desires
never to be subject to pain in the teeth, ma\- obtain this end bv the fol-
lowing method: When at the beginning of spring he sees the first swallow,
he must go in silence to some running water, take some of it in his mouth,
rub his teeth with the middle fingers of both his hands, and say: ''•Himndo,

' [About twenty-eight fluidounces.—E. C. K.]
" Under the name of root, the ancients meant also the neck of the tooth.