Medicina Plinii

Medicina Plinii is a collection of medical remedies and treatment requirements, the beginning of the 4th century AD, an unknown author who is known as Pliny Secundus Junior, has created in Latin. A personal connection to the author Pliny the Elder and his nephew Pliny the Younger does not exist.

Swell

The author relates his material mainly from volumes 20-32 of the Naturalis Historia (= NH ) of the elder Pliny. Since these are largely ordered by remedies that Medicina Plinii but after diseases are often compiled into a recipe more NH locations. As with Pliny missing quantities and the preparation is described only briefly.

For some recipes no such sites were found in Pliny, as for 1, 3, 4-5 ( vlceribvs in capite ). There are both quantitative data as well as production rules. The fabrics used spuma argenti, cerussa, cera are typical of the emplastra of Scribonius Largus in his Compositiones that may have been used here.

Also in 1, 26 ( vomicae ) there is a typical Scribonius Largus Compilation: opium, incense, saffron.

Also from the frame drops the recipe 2, 2 ( syntexis ) with remedies of methodologists, such as exact dietary requirements, bathing in sea water that could be taken from the treatment of the Caelius Aurelianus. The author has therefore relied largely on the NH, but also uses other sources.

Content

The text is divided into an introduction and three books in which medicines and treatments are enumerated according discomfort. These are defined in paragraph 1 and 2 according to the usual scheme ' from head to toe ', from headache to corn arranged. After complaints that affect the entire body, such as fever, skin diseases, toxins and animal bites follow.

The preface

The book is addressed to the layman who thus - especially when traveling - should be independent of the doctors. The scolding of the greed and incompetence of the doctors reminiscent of similar constructions NH 29/11.

The diseases

Symptoms such as cough ( 1, 24 ), diseases such as tuberculosis (2, 1 ), parasites and cosmetic recipes such as black dye hair ( 1, 5) are juxtaposed disordered. The terms are partly Greek (eg 1, 8 Epiphoris ), partly in Latin (eg, 1, 6 Avricvlis ). The disease is frequently not defined or described.

The remedies and methods

The remedies include herbal, animal and mineral substances from the medicine and folk medicine, substances from the pharmacy dirt and elements of magical medicine.

Of the 1153 listed substances fall 53.7 % to the folk medicine, 12.0% to the rational medicine, 23% to the magical medicine and 8% on the dirty pharmacy.

Rational medicine and folk medicine

Medications and regulations are regarded as rational, which correspond to the understanding of today's medicine, so in rash of Council to avoid skin contact with the patients and a sulfur-containing paste. Folk medicine ranges from materials such as cantharides and Bryonia, which are still used by the medical practitioner, up to hedgehog ash in oil, etc. that have come from the use of (1, 18).

Magical Medicine

The magical rules range from practices such as ' pluck with the left hand ' (3, 23) to massive practices (3, 21):

The entire magical medicine comes from the NH of Pliny. But Pliny Secundus Junior shifts the emphasis the fact that he often uses these magical agent unreasonably. Moreover, Pliny recommends these funds often do not but it leads only to. Sometimes he distances himself also. He commented a magic recipe, you should try it, " as a measure of hope in misery joy granted " (NH 30, 104). Pliny Secundus Junior, however, recommends his recipe without reservation.

Dirt pharmacy

The Medicina Plinii contains numerous substances of dirt pharmacy, the urine of various animals, including humans, animal droppings, dung, ear dirt, etc. The fabrics are already listed in the NH of Pliny.

Further use and textual tradition

Marcellus Empiricus took over the beginning of the fifth century about 400 recipes almost verbatim in his work De Medicamentis. The writing is preserved in numerous manuscripts from the 8th to the 12th century. The oldest is the Codex Sangallensis 751 ( 9th century ).

Parts of the Medicina Plinii are included in the Physica Plinii, a later compilation medical and pharmaceutical texts. Also this is preserved in numerous manuscripts and was first published in 1509 by Tommaso Pighinucci in a printed version. The Medicina Plinii however, was only published in 1875 by Valentin Rose. In 1964 the richly annotated edition of Alf Önnerfors.

Text edition and translation

• Pliny Secundus Junior: De medicina libri tres, edidit Alf Önnerfors, Berlin, 1964.
• Hans Gertler: The text of the Medicina Plinii in German translation according to the new edition Önnerfors 1964: On the meaning of " Medicina Plinii Secundi Junioris " Habilitationsschrift Erfurt 1966.