Book III OF SVPHILIS 285

for this disease. It is used in the following way: Cut the
roots transversely into thin round chips; put 1 oz. of these to
12 Ibs. of water in an earthenware pot holding 16 Ibs.; let this
cook over a slow fire till it is reduced by one third; 1 Ib. of the
decoction is given to the patient to drink in the early morning;
the rest is kept to be drunk instead of wine. 'This decoction
is made every day. 'The patient should remain in bed two or
three hours and sweat; afterwards he can get up, if it seems wise.
But it is better not to expose him to the open air till after the
seventh day. For the complete treatment .about twenty—five
days are needed, so that 25 oz. of the root are used for the whole
treatment. Meanwhile he must avoid sexual intercourse, and
all food that is acid and hard to digest. But if you cannot
obtain this root, you may use instead the root of our native
canna, to which add aromatic calamus. NKou can also decoct
the root of personatia'9* which has a wonderful power of in—
ducing sweat, and you will do well to add to it iris or xiris, acor—
us,'97 aromatic calamus and schinanth. Give this decoction
for several days. Another decoction that will meet all inten—
tions may be made as follows: Roots of gentian, bulapathus
(patience?) or bistorta, costus, aristolochia, iris, cassia—bark,
scordium, Cretan dictamon, of each q. s.; make an infusion and
decoct as described above. 'These, then, are the milder and
safer remedies which you may try, if, after due purgations,
the malady does not abate.

I will now proceed with the drastic methods which, in former
times, were employed at the outset, and were first discovered
by the empirics. One was inunction, the other, fumigations.
"Though they were discovered empirically, because of the resem—
blance (noted above) of this disease to scabies, nevertheless they
have, in this case, a rational application, because they are made
up of agents that burn out the germs, dry, deterge and liquefy
the whole substance, and convert it into sweat.  They are made
of substances that have a caustic potency, or are allied to caus—
ties, to which are added whatever is in each case most suitable.
Of those employed as an unguent, some are caustic in potency;
I do not mean such causties as chalcanthus and what is called
arsenie, and sublimate, but such as quicksilver, which is prae—
tically the substance of this medicament.'*8 Its potency is
caustic, because it is composed of very fine, fiery particles, as its
sublimate shows. Hence, when those particles have penetrat—