CHAP. 29.—OXYMELI: SEVEN REMEDIES.
The following, as we learn from Dieuches, was the manner
in which oxymeli [Note] was prepared by the ancients. In a cauldron they used to put ten minæ of honey, five heminæ of old
vinegar, a pound and a quarter of sea-salt, and five sextarii
of rain-water; the mixture was then boiled together till it
had simmered some ten times, after which it was poured off,
and put by for keeping. Asclepiades, however, condemned
this preparation, and put an end to the use of it, though before his time it used to be given in fevers even. Still, however, it is generally admitted that it was useful for the cure
of stings inflicted by the serpent known as the "seps," [Note] and
that it acted as an antidote to opium [Note] and mistletoe. It was
usefully employed also, warm, as a gargle for quinsy and
maladies of the ears, and for affections of the mouth and
throat; for all these purposes, however, at the present day,
oxalme is employed, the best kind of which is made with
salt and fresh vinegar.
