Latin Texts & Translations

Sotacus, one of the most ancient writers, says, that there are five kinds of hæmatites, in addition to the magnet ^[Note] so called. He gives the preference among them to that of Æthiopia, ^[Note] a very useful ingredient in ophthalmic preparations and the compositions which he calls "panchresta," ^[Note] and good for the cure of burns. The second, he says, is called "androdamas," ^[Note] of a black ^[Note] colour, remarkable for its weight and hardness, to which it owes its name, in fact, and found in Africa more particularly. It attracts silver, he says, copper, and iron, and is tested with a touchstone made of basanites. ^[Note] It yields a liquid the colour of blood, and is an excellent remedy for diseases of the liver. The third kind that he mentions is the hæmatites ^[Note] of Arabia, a mineral of equal hardness, and which with difficulty yields, upon the water-whetstone, a liquid sometimes approaching the tint of saffron. The fourth ^[Note] kind, he says, is known as "hepa-

tites," ^[Note] while raw, and as "miltites" ^[Note] when calcined; a substance good for burns, and more efficacious than rubrica ^[Note] for all the purposes for which that mineral is employed. The fifth ^[Note] variety is schistos; a substance which, taken internally, arrests hæmorrhoidal discharges. Upon the same authority, it is recommended to take any kind of hæmatites, fasting, in doses of three drachmæ, triturated in oil, for affections of the blood. ^[Note]

The same author mentions also a kind of schistos which has no affinity to hæmatites, and to which he gives the name of "anthracites," ^[Note] It is a native of Africa, he says, and is of a black colour. When rubbed upon a water-whetstone, it yields a black colour on the side which has adhered to the earth, and, on the opposite side, a saffron tint. He states also that it is a useful ingredient in ophthalmic preparations.