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 Athens and Sparta

‘…an exciting introduction to Greek history for the new student… It is

thoroughly to be recommended for its intelligence and openness.’
D.R.Nightingale, Annual Bulletin of Historical Literature
‘…a major step forward in the teaching of Greek history…’
Paul Cartledge, Classical Review
‘…eminently readable…Both students with little knowledge of ancient
Greece and seasoned scholars will find much of value here…’
Mabel L.Lang, Classical World
‘…the book fulfils its aim of being accessible to beginners but also taking
them beyond the standard outline survey. Professional historians will
also find much of interest…Powell’s perceptive analysis of Spartan life is
now the best single-chapter discussion of her social institutions…’
Stephen Hodkinson, Journal of Hellenic Studies
‘What is distinctive about the book is its explicitness about the ways in
which we have to think…There are particularly interesting sections on
the Parthenon and on Spartan foreign policy…’
P.J.Rhodes, Greece and Rome
‘…consistently evidences a sophisticated subtlety of method…The
chapter on Athenian women can stand on its own as a comprehensive
introduction to the subject.’
Nicholas F.Jones, Journal of Social History
Athens and Sparta is an essential handbook to the study of fifth-century
Greek history and society. It encourages the reader to engage critically
with the evidence, presenting a wide selection of ancient source material
along with clear analysis and narrative.
This fully revised and updated second edition contains a new
appendix on the controversy over the truthfulness of Thucydides, and
fresh material on the representation of Athenian women in vase painting.
Anton Powell is Director of the University of Wales Institute of Classics.
He is the author of numerous books and articles on the history and
society of ancient Greece.
 Athens and Sparta
Constructing Greek Political and
Social History from 478 BC

Second Edition

Anton Powell

London and New York

First published 1988
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London, EC4P 4EE

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada

by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

Second edition first published 2001

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003.

Disclaimer: For copyright reasons, some images in the original version of this
book are not available for inclusion in the eBook.

© 1988, 2001 C.A.Powell

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or

reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalog record for this book has been requested

ISBN 0-203-40163-8 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-70987-X (Adobe eReader Format)

ISBN 0-415-26280-1 (Print Edition)
 Contents

Abbreviations vi
Introduction xii

1. The Delian League: Its Origins and Early History 1

2. From Delian League to Athenian Empire 35

3. The Athenian Empire 60

4. Sparta: Her Problems and Her Ingenuity, 478–431 97

5. The Peloponnesian War, 431–404 138

6. Life within Sparta 218

7. Athenian Demokratia 271

8. Citizen Women of Athens 348

9. Religious Prophecy at Athens 404

Appendix: Did Thucydides write “pure fiction”?

Ancient history and modern passion 436

Index 449

v
 Abbreviations

AE R.Meiggs, The Athenian empire

ATL B.D.Meritt, H.T.Wade-Gery, M.F.McGregor,

The Athenian tribute lists

BCH Bulletin de correspondance hellénique

CAH The Cambridge Ancient History

CQ Classical Quarterly

FGH F.Jacoby, Die Fragmente der griechischen

Historiker

HCT A.W.Gomme, A.Andrewes and K.J.Dover, A

historical commentary on Thucydides (vols 1–3
by Gomme; vol. 4 by Gomme, Andrewes and
Dover; vol. 5 by Andrewes)

JHS Journal of Hellenic Studies

JRS Journal of Roman Studies

Meiggs-Lewis R.Meiggs and D.M.Lewis, A selection of Greek

historical inscriptions to the end of the fifth
century BC

Origins G.E.M. de Ste. Croix, The origins of the

Peloponnesian War

vi
 Abbreviations

P. Oxy. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri

RE Pauly-Wissowa-Kroll, Real-Encyclopädie der

classischen Altertumswissenschaft

REG Revue des études grecques

SIG Dittenberger, Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum

vii
These maps are adapted from maps in Talbert (ed.) Atlas of
Classical History, (Croom Helm, London, 1985). Spellings of
place names are in many cases romanised: so, for example,
Boiotia, Iasos, Kerkyra, Korinth, Sollion appear in the maps as
Boeotia, Iasus, Corcyra, Corinth and Sollium.
 Introduction

This work is intended as a handbook for the bright student

beginning Greek history. It deals with method as well as with
fact. It attempts to present an unusually large selection of the
ancient evidence, and to provide clear analysis and narrative. We
seek to highlight problems and to demonstrate explicitly some of
the more important techniques of criticism and construction used
by professional historians. It is hoped to suggest something of the
contribution which Greek history can make to a liberal education,
and to communicate the enjoyment to be had from careful
exploitation of the Greek sources.
The shape of the book has been determined by the supply of
good ancient literary evidence. Political history is studied in most
detail for the period 478–411 BC, for which we have the evidence
of Thucydides; the last years of the Peloponnesian War, from 410
to 404 BC, are treated in outline. Our review of social history
covers the fourth century as well as the fifth. Important
inscriptional evidence is dealt with. But, since the book presumes
no knowledge of Greek in the reader, there is no attempt to treat
the reconstruction of epigraphic fragments.
The playwright Tom Stoppard has a character say that
journalists do not write for the public; they write for other
journalists. The warning implied in this useful overstatement is
one which historians, too, should keep in mind when we write
textbooks. In selecting and arranging material for the present
work, the author has tried to apply his own experience of the
needs of students new to the subject. For example, a teacher
should probably begin a course of Greek history by stressing that
in this subject the required (and enlightened) procedure is, not to
repeat or synthesise the arguments of modern writers, but to look
at what ancient sources say and to use independent judgement in

xii
 Introduction

constructing from that base. So, when a course begins with the
Delian League, a student often turns, as instructed, to the Greek
writers and, finding that Plutarch has far more to say on the
subject than Thucydides, is tempted to draw on the former almost
to the exclusion of the latter. Accordingly our first chapter, on the
Delian League, tries to communicate the primacy of Thucydides
as a source and to make clear some of the limitations of Plutarch.
Although Thucydides is by far the most important source for the
political section of this book, discussion of his characteristics is
not confined to a single chapter. We have tried to apply the
observation that great blocks of prolegomena are offputting to
the student (and not only to the student). Discussion of
Thucydides has been distributed, for the sake of digestibility. So
has bibliography.
From the point of view of a liberal educator, one of the most
valuable elements of Greek history, as normally studied, is the
critical method applied to sources. Long after a student may have
ceased to recall much detail of Greek matters, habits survive
which were learned in the study of the Greeks: habits of
scepticism, construction and imputation of motive. And once
acquired, such habits are of course applicable far beyond Greek
history. This is partly why we have laid much stress on method.
For example, we introduce briefly but explicitly the standard
logical device known as Occam’s Razor; argument from silence
is pointedly introduced; we also show how to test the significance
of an explanation by asking whether in certain circumstances it
might have served as a prediction.
Much of the book is concerned with psychology. Aristotle
writes sensibly that the very young can excel at mathematics, as
an exercise of pure logic, whereas the mastery of political theory
requires experience. This raises the question of where the modern
student is to acquire a knowledge of political and social
psychology to apply to ancient Greece. Criticism of a Greek
source requires not merely a study of its internal coherence and
of its compatibility with other sources. In practice, successful
study is informed by a knowledge of psychology derived in part
from non-Greek cultures. The comparison of ancient and modern
is dangerous, leading when wrongly performed to anachronism
and conflation. This is precisely why the subject has to be
addressed clearly and explicitly. In particular the last chapter of
this book, on Athenian use of divination, is meant as a
contribution to this subject.

xiii
 Introduction

We have tried often to make psychological principles explicit,

in the hope of making them easier to evaluate and, where
appropriate, to remember. Our emphasis on method and
psychology may also serve as a small step towards increasing the
attention paid to these matters by advanced students. In this area
historians have usually proceeded intuitively, when greater
explicitness and caution might have helped. How many scholars,
for example, could readily present evidence on the power of long-
term memory (memory of the kind on which our ancient sources
often depended)? Are we always clearly aware whether the
historical explanations which we daily advance should be taken
as involving necessary cause, sufficient cause, or some other kind
of cause? Occam’s Razor dictates that entities should not be
postulated beyond what is necessary: how clearly do we identify
the differing nature of necessity in differing situations?
We have tried to inoculate our readers against a recurrent fault
in the presentation of our subject, which consists in encouraging
a patronising attitude towards the ancient Greeks. Considering
the pedestal on which the general public assumes the Greeks to
be placed by educators, it is remarkable how low an opinion of
Greek practical intelligence has been communicated by many
specialists, particularly in the twentieth century. In our view, it is
a mistake to encourage derision even of such strange practices as
the Spartan way of voting or the Athenian use of a painted rope
to corral assemblymen. The attitude of superiority is highly
contagious among beginners. It appeals not merely to normal
human vanity and to the easy presumption that modern is best,
but also to the insecurity of the student in the face of a strange
culture. An assumption that the motive for this or that Greek
action may well be silly is likely to inhibit the search for
rationality. And yet in the case of our two societies, Athens and
Sparta, so high is the level of achievement—in their own terms—
that rationality must have been the norm. This book may at times
seem to go too far in ascribing reasonable motives to the Greeks.
We have stressed the rational in the belief that the prior
assumption of reasonableness is more conducive than its opposite
to reflection and discovery in this field.
By tradition teachers of Greek history have encouraged their
students to identify political enthusiasm and bias on the part of
our ancient informants, and to make allowances accordingly. One
anonymous Greek source has even been named after his bias—
the Old Oligarch. But the constant (and desirable) attention to

xiv
 Introduction

the bias of a source may in some circumstances have an

unfortunate effect. If combined with the polite convention that
we do not refer to political bias in modern scholars, it may suggest
a belief that we, unlike the Greeks, have achieved objectivity.
Such a belief would be wrong, and by degrading the Greeks it
might to some extent discourage students from seeking to discover
rationality in Greek theory and behaviour. Occasionally,
therefore, when political enthusiasm seems to have affected the
approach of a modern scholar, we have noted as much briefly but
explicitly—as scholars anyway tend to do in private. This is not
to censure. Political and moral enthusiasm has helped to produce
some of the most important studies of the Greeks. We may think
of George Grote, whose general history, still unsurpassed, was
conceived in the early nineteenth century as a massive Utilitarian
tract, hostile to traditional religion, warmly supportive of an
extended franchise. An additional benefit of openness about
modern bias might be to increase awareness in students of their
own biases—one or two of which are also addressed explicitly in
this book. Perhaps every author on a political subject should
follow the example of George Orwell by warning the reader in
advance of the writer’s bias. The present writer therefore identifies
certain personal convictions which he has tried not to indulge in
this book—his belief in almost complete freedom of political
information, in the wide and even spreading of wealth and of
access to power.
As to style: I have tried to imitate two virtues of oral
presentations at academic conferences—the short sentence and
occasional humour. In syntax and vocabulary I have usually
attempted to follow classicists’ mandarin, but have sometimes
used British demotic where that added to precision. The number
of footnotes is very large, a necessity if the reader is to be given
the fullest possible material for construction independent of the
theories of others (including my own).
Finally, my acknowledgements. To Mr R.M.Lupton, my former
teacher at Wyggeston Grammar School, Leicester, I owe my
introduction to the criticism of Greek sources at the age of sixteen.
With my early writing on Greek history I received generous
personal help from Geoffrey de Ste. Croix. I was able to watch
the inspiring effect of his great study, The origins of the
Peloponnesian War, on students at the Working Men’s College in
London. Many of those students provided me with valuable ideas
and criticism for my teaching, among them Kate Davies, Lesley

xv
 Introduction

Hannigan, Colin Harris, Ian Lambert, Ling Man Cheong, Ann

Morris, Deborah Murrell, Moira Ashcroft, Gill Ray and David
Smith. Steve Hodkinson read my typescript and saved me from
many faults. Paul Cartledge has been most generous in
volunteering corrections. I am indebted to my editor, Richard
Stoneman, without whose prompt and gratifying support this
book very likely would not have been written.
The work is dedicated to my father and mother.

Note for Second Edition

I have taken the opportunity of adding references to many new

studies which have appeared in the fourteen years since the First
Edition went to press. Two new sections have also been added: in
the chapter on Athenian citizen women, there is now an
introduction to the use of vase-painting as evidence; and in an
Appendix, I deal with an influential recent challenge to the
honesty of Thucydides.
In making these changes for the Second Edition, I have received
valuable advice from colleagues in the University of Wales
Institute of Classics and Ancient History: Nick Fisher, Sian Lewis,
Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Stephen Mitchell, Daniel Ogden. I am
most grateful to them.

xvi
 1
The Delian League:
Its Origins and Early History

Introduction

In 479 BC the city of Athens was in ruins. The invading forces of

the Persian king, Xerxes, had forced it to be abandoned in 480.
The greater part of its defensive wall and most of its houses were
subsequently destroyed.1 The Athenian sailors who, with other
Greeks and under Spartan leadership, defeated Xerxes’ fleet in
480 at nearby Salamis, were men without a city.2 In 479 two
further Greek victories, at Plataia in Central Greece and at Mykale
on the western coast of Asia Minor, spelled the end of the Persian
invasion. The Athenians could reoccupy the site of their city,
rebuild its perimeter wall and fortify the city’s new port,
Peiraieus.3 Allied with eastern Greeks who now rebelled from the
king of Persia, Athenian forces went onto the offensive.
Sparta’s attempts to keep command of the naval alliance
against Persia were not wholehearted. Following up their success
at Mykale, the Greeks sailed to assault the Persian force
controlling Sestos, on the northern shore of the Dardanelles.
However, the Spartan commander, King Leotykhidas, returned
home: an Athenian, Xanthippos, led the campaign.4 Another
Spartan, the regent Pausanias, did lead the Greek fleet with some
success against Cyprus (defiantly close to the bases of Xerxes’
best non-Greek sailors, the Phoenicians) and Byzantion
(strategically placed to control the importing of corn from the
Black Sea territories to mainland Greece)—campaigns probably
of 478.5 But Sparta acquiesced when, not long afterwards, the
eastern Greeks and the Athenians rejected the leadership of
Pausanias and his Spartan successors.6 With the enthusiastic
approval of the eastern Greeks, command of the naval war against
Persia was formally given to Athens.7

1
 The Delian League

The naval alliance under this changed leadership is called by

scholars “the Delian League”; its treasury and meetings
(“synods”) were located on the symbolic mid-Aegean island of
Delos.8 By stages the League was transformed into an Athenian
empire. The wealth it generated, and channelled to Athens, helped
the spectacular rebuilding of the city: the construction, for
example, of the Parthenon and of the gateway building of the
Akropolis, the Propylaia, which to contemporary Greeks was
perhaps even more remarkable.9 In its later stages the Delian
League seems to have promoted demokratia, the control of cities’
internal affairs by and for their own (male) citizen poor;10 the
subsequent Athenian Empire certainly did.11 But aristocratic and
wealthy Athenians profited especially from the League and
Empire.12 The funding by rich Athenians of artistic activities,
including the production of tragic and comic drama, was made
possible or facilitated by the proceeds of Athenian domination.
The Thracian goldmines, exploitation of which probably did
much for the education and leisure of the historian Thucydides,
may have been acquired through the activities of the Delian
League and later were protected, at least indirectly, by the power
of Athens’ imperial navy.13 Also, we may suspect that a fertile
sense of their own importance arose in Athenian thinkers (even
those opposed to demokratia and Athenian imperialism) from
contemplating the extent of Athenian power and the
understandable principles on which open demokratia proceeded.
It is well known that the influence of these thinkers on later
civilisations has been profound: in studying the origins of
Athenian rule we are examining the material base of much of
European culture.
*
Reconstructing the history of the Delian League should involve
an exercise in self-restraint. We should not claim to have a
satisfactory knowledge of the period; for one thing, it contains
several years to which we cannot confidently assign a single
recorded event. Our most important source of information,
Thucydides, set out to describe a later episode, the war which
began in 431 between the Athenians and the Peloponnesian
alliance.14 He was taking notes as an adult from that year,15 had
sufficient seniority to be a general of Athens in 42416 and survived
until at least 404.17 His account of events before 432 is, with
important exceptions, brief. At the start of his history he states
that events of the pre-war period and earlier were “impossible to

2
 The Delian League

discover with certainty because of the passage of so much time”.18

He adds that certain trustworthy inferences were, on the other
hand, possible. The context of these remarks makes clear that
Thucydides’ concern here was particularly with the scale of
events. But, as it stands, his statement about the obscurity of
events embraces more than their scale. Also, it seems to apply
to—among other periods—the time of the Delian League: that is,
from 477 to c.450.
In his often-authoritative commentary on Thucydides, A.W.
Gomme states that the historian’s words on unknowable events
“must mean, both in language and logic, ‘Greek history before
the Peloponnesian War’, the whole of it”: they must, that is,
include the events of the Delian League.19 Now this is a somewhat
depressing conclusion for the professional historian, and Gomme
is unwilling to accept that Thucydides himself did mean this.
Gomme argues that the unknowable events for Thucydides
belonged to an earlier period, before c.510. He implies that if
Thucydides had meant that the period of the Delian League was
obscure, he would have indicated as much when dealing in detail
with the period between the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars.20
Gomme, with other scholars, suggests that some of Thucydides’
original words, which would have drastically changed the
meaning of the text here, have been lost in the manuscript
tradition. 21 But our manuscripts have no obvious sign of
corruption at this point. Sound method requires that we work
from the text which survives, failing strong evidence of corruption
(such as the existence of conflicting versions of a text in different
manuscripts, or of a text which yields absurdity or nonsense).
Doing so in this case, we should conclude that Thucydides placed
conspicuously at the start of his work a warning about the
obscurity of events before the Peloponnesian War.
This conclusion is strengthened by a remark of Thucydides
shortly afterwards (I 20 1): “Such I found the events of long ago
to be, though it is difficult to depend on all the inferences made
here about them.” These “events of long ago”, in the description
of which imperfect inference rather than knowledge is involved,
include some which belong to 480 and later, as the preceding
chapters (18 and 19) show.22 It seems, then, that Gomme is wrong
to exclude events after c.510 from consideration here. That
Thucydides did not repeat his caveat about the obscurity of
events, when he dealt in detail with the decades from 479, should
not trouble us. Having made the point conspicuously and

3
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Nicotianæ;[577] which are made by digesting with a gentle heat, one
part of the subject in two parts of olive oil.[578]

OLEUM AMYGDALARUM. L.E.D.

Oil of Almonds.
This fixed oil, whether procured from the sweet or bitter almond,
has the same properties, for the bitter principle resides exclusively in
combination with a peculiar volatile oil attached to the mucilage;[579]
that from the latter keeps longer without rancidity. It is sometimes
made from old Jordan almonds, by heat, in which case it very soon
grows fetid. Nut oil, Oleum nucum Coryli, has been proposed as a
substitute for that of almonds; in China it is drunk with tea, instead
of cream. Medical Uses. For forming emulsions, in coughs, and other
pulmonary complaints. Forms of Exhibition. It may be formed into an
emulsion by the intermedium of mucilage, the yelk of an egg, or by
that of an alkali.
1. By Mucilage. This is in general a more convenient medium than
the yelk of an egg; one part of gum, made into mucilage, will be
sufficient for the diffusion of four parts of oil, (see Mucilago Acaciæ)
the oil and mucilage must be carefully triturated together, and the
water then gradually added; the emulsion thus formed is permanent,
and the addition of a moderate quantity of acid, spirit, or tincture,
will not produce decomposition. See Form. 73.
2. By Alkalies. This oil, by uniting with alkalies and water, forms an
elegant and grateful mixture, for which purpose the following
proportions are to be observed, every fʒj of oil requires ♏︎viij of
liquor potassæ, and f℥iss of distilled water. Incompatible Substances.
Acids; oxymel; syrups of poppies and squills; tartrate and super-
tartrate of potass; super-sulphate of potass; oxy-muriate of mercury;
resins; hard water. See Form. 166, 167.

OLEUM AMYGDALÆ AMARÆ VOLATILE.

 Qualities. Colour, pale yellow; Odour, fragrant and pungent,
having the characteristic smell of prussic acid. Taste, pungent, bitter,
and peculiar. Solubility. Like other essential oils, its sensible
properties and medicinal effects are imparted to water; in alcohol it
is very soluble.[580] Chemical Composition. A peculiar oil, combined with
hydro-cyanic acid. M. Vogel of Munich has lately succeeded in
separating these constituents, by agitating the whole in a
concentrated solution of potass, and distilling to dryness; the oil
volatilized together with water, while the residuum in the retort was
found to contain Cyanide of Potassium. The volatile oil, thus purified,
is without odour, and heavier than water. Its taste is extremely acrid
and burning; by contact with air it crystallizes rapidly; it dissolves
easily in alcohol and æther, but only in a very small proportion in
water. The flame of its combustion is very brilliant, and accompanied
with much smoke. In order to discover whether this oil, when freed
from its hydro-cyanic acid, is still poisonous, M. Vogel put a drop of it
on the tongue of a sparrow; when it died, after violent convulsions,
in a few seconds; he also poisoned a dog, two months old, with four
drops of it; whence he concludes that the volatile oil, divested of its
hydro-cyanic acid, is still a poison, although less energetic than the
oil that has not undergone such a change. Med: Uses. It has all the
characteristic effects of prussic acid, but is so powerful and
dangerous as to preclude its application. It is principally sold to
perfumers and confectioners.
It is generally obtained by distilling the expressed cake of bitter
almonds; the operation however requires considerable
pharmaceutical address, and is, moreover, attended with unpleasant
consequences.[581]

OLEUM OLIVÆ. L.E.D. Olive Oil.

Qualities. Colour, pale yellow, somewhat inclining to green; Taste,
bland; Odour, none; it ought to congeal at 38° Fah. With the
exception of the oil of Almonds, it is the lightest of the fat oils, its
specific gravity being only ·915. According to the recent observations
of Dr. Clarke of Cambridge, this oil crystallizes in rectangular four-
sided prisms with square bases. Uses. Although much less laxative
than Castor oil, it is a useful aperient. It was long regarded, but
erroneously, as possessing antidotal powers against the bites of
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recommended, in the form of liniment, as a remedy against the
Plague. Officinal Preparations. Linimentum Ammoniæ Fortius. L.
Adulterations. It is not unfrequently mixed with the oil of poppy
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discovered by exposing a sample to the freezing temperature, when
the olive oil will congeal, while that of poppies will remain fluid; and
since those oils which freeze with most difficulty are most
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of Olives, with the Pernitrate of Mercury, offer a distinguishing
character, by which the adulteration of the oil may be satisfactorily
detected; for if the pernitrate, made by dissolving 6 parts of the
metal in 7·5 of nitric acid, of sp. grav. 1·36, at a common
temperature, be mixed with olive oil, the mixture, if kept cold, will in
the course of a few hours become solid, whereas if it has any
admixture of the oil of grains, it will not undergo such a change. The
contamination derived from lead, which is frequently immersed in
the oil for the purpose of removing its rancidity, may be detected by
shaking one part of the suspected sample with three parts of water,
impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, in a stopped phial.

OLIBANUM. L.D.

Juniperus Lycia. Gummi-resina.

Olibanum.[582]
Qualities. Form, fragments of a translucent, whitish yellow, and
generally powdered with a whitish dust, occasioned by the friction of
the pieces against each other; Odour, when burning is fragrant;
Taste, bitterish and acrid. Solubility. When triturated with water, a
milky solution results, which after some time deposits the resinous
part, and retains not more than three-eighths dissolved. Alcohol
dissolves three-fourths of it, and forms a solution perfectly
transparent. Æther dissolves more than half, leaving a white opaque
residuum soluble in water. Chemical Composition. The latest analysis of
this substance is by Braconnot, who found in 100 parts of it, of
volatile oil 8, resin 56, gum 39, and of an anomalous principle
resembling gum, but insoluble in water and alcohol, 5·2 parts. The
oil, in colour and smell, very strongly resembled that of lemons. Med.
Uses. It is now less used than formerly; it is however stimulant and
diaphoretic. Pulverized it enters into several popular electuaries for
gleets, fluor albus, &c. and very probably acts by finding a passage
into the urine, without undergoing any change or decomposition.

OPIUM. L.E.D. (Papaver Somniferum.) Capsularum immaturarum

Succus concretus. (Turcicus.)

Turkey Opium.[583]
Two kinds are found in commerce, distinguished by the name of
Turkey and East India Opium.
Qualities. Form, Turkey opium occurs in flat pieces, of a solid
compact texture, and possessing considerable tenacity; Sp. gr.
1·336, so that, when compared with the condensed juices of other
plants, it is heavy, being exceeded only in this respect by opoponax
and gum-arabic. By long exposure to the air it becomes hard, breaks
with a glimmering fracture, owing to the presence of a few saline
particles, and affords a yellowish powder. It is opaque, tenacious,
plastic, adherent to the fingers. Colour, a reddish-brown, or fawn.
Odour, peculiar, heavy, and narcotic. Taste, at first a nauseous bitter,
which soon becomes acrid with some degree of warmth. It is
inflammable, but yields no narcotic odour on burning. Solubility. It is
partially soluble in water, alcohol, æther, wine, vinegar, and lemon
juice; when triturated with hot water, five parts in twelve are
dissolved, six suspended, and one part remains perfectly insoluble
and resembles gluten. By long boiling, its soporific powers are
impaired and ultimately destroyed: the alcoholic is more highly
charged with its narcotic principle than the aqueous solution; but
spirit, rather below proof, is its best menstruum. The watery solution
when filtered is transparent, and reddens the colour of litmus; it
undergoes no change on the addition of alcohol, but precipitates
occur from pure ammonia and from the carbonates of fixed alkalies;
from the solutions of oxy-muriate of mercury, nitrate of silver, sub-
acetate and acetate of lead, the sulphates of copper, zinc, and iron,
and from an infusion of galls. Chemical Composition. Resin, gum, bitter
extractive, sulphate of lime, gluten, Narcotine (see note) and a
peculiar alkaline body, to which the soporific virtues of opium are
owing, and to which the appropriate name of Morphia has been
assigned; and it appears moreover that this new alkaline body exists
in combination with an unknown acid, which has therefore been
denominated the Meconic Acid; so that the narcotic principle of
opium is Morphia in the state of a meconiate, or perhaps of a super-
meconiate.
For these important facts we are indebted to the successive
labours of Derosne,[584] Seguin,[585] Sertuerner,[586] and Robiquet. And
the French codex contains, in its appendix, formulæ for the
preparation of morphia[587] according to the directions of these two
latter chemists: viz. Robiquet’s process. Three hundred parts of pure
opium are to be macerated during five days, in one thousand parts
of common water; to the filtered solution, fifteen parts of perfectly
pure magnesia (carefully avoiding the carbonate,) are to be added;
boil this mixture for ten minutes, and separate the sediment by a
filter, washing it with cold water until the water passes off clear;
after which, treat it alternately with hot and cold alcohol, (12, 22,
Bé.) as long as the menstruum takes up any colouring matter; the
residue is then to be treated with boiling alcohol (22, 32, Bé.) for a
few minutes. The solution, on cooling, will deposit crystals of
Morphia.
Rationale of the Process. A soluble Meconiate of Magnesia is
formed, whilst the sediment consists of Morphia in the state of
mixture, with the excess of magnesia; the boiling alcohol with which
this residuum is treated, exerts no action upon the magnesia, but
dissolves the Morphia, and on cooling surrenders it in a crystalline
form. A repetition of the treatment with boiling alcohol will procure a
fresh crop of crystals, and the process should be continued until they
cease to appear.
Sertuerner’s method. It differs from the preceding, in substituting
ammonia for magnesia, and in adding to the sediment, separated as
before mentioned, as much sulphuric acid as is sufficient to convert
the Morphia into a sulphate, which is subsequently decomposed by a
farther addition of ammonia; the precipitate thus produced is then
dissolved in boiling alcohol, which on cooling surrenders the Morphia
in a state of crystalline purity. It appears however that the Morphia
produced by this latter method, is less abundant and more impure
and coloured, than that which is furnished by the process of
Robiquet.
Characters of Morphia. When pure, it crystallizes in very fine,
transparent, truncated pyramids, the bases of which are either
squares or rectangles, occasionally united base to base, and thereby
forming octohedra. It is sparingly soluble in boiling water, but
dissolves abundantly in heated alcohol; and the solution is intensely
bitter; in æther it is far less soluble. It has all the characters of an
alkali; affecting test papers, tinged with turmeric or violets; uniting
with acids, and forming neutral salts, and decomposing the
compounds of acids with metallic oxides. It unites with sulphur by
means of heat, but the combination is decomposed at the same
instant; it is incapable of forming soap with an oxidized oil. It fuses
at a moderate temperature, when it resembles melted sulphur, and
like that substance, crystallizes on cooling; it is decomposed by
distillation, yielding carbonate of ammonia, oil, and a black resinous
residue, with a peculiar smell; when heated in contact with air, it
inflames rapidly; the voltaic pile exerts but little action upon it, yet,
when mixed with a globule of mercury, the latter appears to become
increased in bulk, and to change consistence. When analyzed by
means of the deutoxide of copper, it yields carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen; and if ammonia has been employed, as a precipitant in its
preparation, we shall also obtain some nitrogen, but not if prepared
according to the improved process of Robiquet. Its habitudes with
different bodies have not hitherto been sufficiently investigated, but
they are highly important, in as much as they will explain the
operation of those various medicinal compounds, into which opium
enters as a principal ingredient. Sertuerner has given us an account
of the effect of the alcoholic solution of Morphia on himself and
three of his pupils; he found, that repeated small doses of half a
grain produced at first decided excitation; then weakness,
numbness, and tendency to fainting; after swallowing vinegar while
in this condition, violent vomiting was excited, profound sleep
intervened in one delicate individual, and next day he suffered from
nausea, vomiting, head-ache, anorexia, constipation, and heaviness
(Ann. de Chim. et de Phys. T. v.) This case is sufficient to shew that
although Morphia possesses the characteristic powers of opium, its
strength is by no means commensurate with its supposed
concentration. When uncombined it exerts little or no action in
consequence of its insolubility. The following history of its saline
compounds may be useful.
The Carbonate crystallizes in short prisms.
The Acetate in needles, very soluble, and extremely active.
The Sulphate, in arborescent crystals, very soluble.
The Muriate, in plumose crystals, much less soluble; when
evaporated, it concretes into a shining white plumose mass on
cooling.
The Nitrates, in prisms grouped together.
The Meconiate, in oblique prisms, sparingly soluble.
The Tartrate, in prisms.
Morphia is separated from the above combinations by ammonia.
Morphia is very soluble in olive oil, and according to the
experiments of M. Majendie, the compound acts with great intensity;
with extractive matter, it forms a compound which is almost
insoluble in water, but very soluble in acids.
 The solubility of Morphia in acids explains why the administration
of vinegar increases the powers of opium, (see page 135.) M.
Majendie considers Morphia to produce a more purely soporose
effect than opium, and that it is moreover exempt from the
consecutive operation which so generally renders opium
objectionable. This opinion, however, has not been confirmed by the
trials made in this country; equally gratuitous is the assertion of the
same physiologist, that by ringing changes on the salts of Morphia,
its hypnotic effects may be kept up without increasing its dose.
As M. Majendie considers the after effects of opium to be
independent of Morphia, it was necessary for him to point out the
particular principle from which these noxious consequences arose,
and he accordingly ascribed them to the Salt of Derosne, now more
usually denominated Narcotine, and which may be entirely removed
from the extract of opium by macerating it in sulphuric æther; and in
this way, it is said, a preparation is obtained, which, like Morphia, is
exempt from the occasional bad consequences of the common drug;
but no satisfactory trials have as yet been made with it.
The Meconic acid, when separated from the residuum of the
magnesian salt, as described above, does not appear to possess any
medicinal activity. Its distinguishing chemical character is, that it
produces an intensely red colour in solutions of iron oxidized ad
maximum.
East India Opium is an inferior species;[588] it differs from Turkey
Opium, in its texture being less compact, and much softer; its colour
darker; its narcotic odour fainter, but combined with a strong
empyreuma, and in its taste being more bitter, but less acrimonious.
According to the experiments of Mr. A. T. Thomson, Turkey Opium
contains three times more morphia than the East Indian variety. This
latter, when triturated with water, is taken up without any residuum;
hence it contains no gluten, but the sulphate of lime is more
abundant, as appears from the relative proportion of precipitate
produced by oxalic acid. The solution of the acetate of barytes,
whilst it occasions no disturbance in the solutions of the Turkey
variety, produces a copious precipitate with the East Indian.
 Med. Uses. Are so well known that a few practical remarks will
suffice.[589]
Chemistry, it appears, has developed the principle of its activity,
and accumulated experience has established the value and
importance of its medicinal applications, but Physiology is still unable
to demonstrate the manner in which it produces its effects. It must
be admitted that its primary operation is that of a powerful and
diffusible stimulant, but it is immediately followed by narcotic and
sedative effects, which are far greater than could have been inferred
from the degree of previous excitement, and hence much keen
controversy has arisen in the schools concerning its modus operandi,
(see page 76.) In large doses, the primary excitement is scarcely
apparent, but the powers of life are instantly depressed, drowsiness
and stupor succeed, and when the dose is excessive, these are
followed by delirium, stertorous breathing, cold sweats, convulsions,
and apoplectic death. Its stimulant effects are apparent only in small
doses, by which the energy of the mind,[590] the strength of the
pulse, and the heat of the body, are considerably increased, but all
the secretions and excretions, except the cuticular[591] discharge, are
diminished; for example, the fæces of persons, after the use of
opium, are not unfrequently clay-coloured, from the suspension of
the biliary secretion; this circumstance suggests some important
precautions with respect to its exhibition. Opium, when properly
directed, is capable of fulfilling two great indications; 1st, of
supporting the powers of life, and 2nd, of allaying spasm, pain, and
irritation, and of blunting that morbid susceptibility of impression,
which so frequently attends fever. Its use is contra-indicated in all
cases where inflammatory action prevails, as in pulmonary
affections, attended with an accelerated circulation and a dry hard
cough.[592] It is employed by some of the oriental nations for the
same purposes that we take spirituous potations: by the Turks
especially, to whom our more generous beverages are prohibited by
religious prejudice, opium is solicited to inspire courage, or to
invigorate fortitude;—to soothe sorrow;—or to dissipate the
remembrance of misfortune;—to awaken the fancy to more brilliant
exertions; or to create that mild composure and serenity of feeling,
which is desirable after the cares and solicitudes of an active,
perplexing, and arduous scene: like spirituous liquors among other
people, it is, in short, the support of the coward,—the solace of the
wretched,—and the daily source of intoxication to the debauchee.
Notwithstanding all this, spirit and opium are by no means parallel
medicines; on the contrary, the latter substance offers the best
remedy for the Mania a Potu, and in cases of habitual drunkenness
from alcohol, where our wish is to abstract the spirit, but are for
obvious reasons unable so to do, we may frequently alternate its use
with that of opium, with considerable advantage. Many of the
beneficial effects of this remedy are to be referred to its power of
allaying irritability; Sir G. Blane has remarked, that in ill-conditioned
ulcers in the West Indies, opium was found superior to all other
internal medicines for producing a disposition to heal. Under the free
use of it, such ulcers would in place of a sanious discharge produce
a healthy puss succeeded by granulations and cicatrization. It
appears to do this by suspending irritation, and perhaps by
promoting absorption.
In combination, the medical powers of opium are wonderfully
extended, so that there is scarcely a disease in which it may not,
during some of its stages, be rendered useful. By diminishing the
sensibility of the stomach and bowels, it becomes a valuable and
efficacious corrigent to many important medicines, and thus
frequently favours their absorption and introduction into the system,
as for instance, in the exhibition of mercurial alteratives, (Form.
141,) and in certain diuretic combinations, (Form. 100, 106, 107,
110,) in combination with antimonials, and with ipecacuan, its
narcotic powers are obviated, and sudorific results are obtained. See
Pulv. Ipecac. co. (Form. 117, 119, 124, 125, 127, 130.) Forms of
Exhibition. In substance, or under the form of tincture. When we
wish to continue the operation of opium, and not to obtain its full
effect at once, it may be advantageously combined with some
substance capable of retarding its solution in the stomach, as gum
resins. See Pilulæ and Form. 10, 11, 12, 13. A watery infusion, made
by infusing powdered opium in boiling water, will often operate
without producing that distressing nausea and head-ache which so
frequently follow the use of this substance. With respect, however,
to the best modes of correcting the operation of this remedy, see
pages 160 and 162. Dr. Porter of Bristol has introduced to our notice
a solution of opium in citric acid; his formula[593] for its preparation is
subjoined, because I am of opinion that it merits the attention of the
practitioner; I have lately submitted it to the test of experience, and
it certainly possesses the merit of a powerful anodyne, operating
with less disturbance than the more ordinary forms of this
substance. I also take this opportunity of stating, that the
pyroligneous acid manufactured by Beaufoy was used as a
menstruum, and the effect of the solution was similar to that of Dr.
Porter. When the stomach rejects altogether the internal exhibition
of opium it may be successfully applied along the spine, by friction,
with the camphor liniment; a piece of solid opium introduced into
the rectum, or dissolved in some appropriate solvent, and injected
as an enema, affords also considerable relief in spasmodic affections
of the bowels, and in painful diseases of the prostate gland, or
bladder, (Form. 9.) When thus introduced into the rectum, it cannot
undergo that change which the digestive organs produce upon it,
and consequently it is more uniform in its action than when
presented to the stomach. Opium appears to be readily absorbed
into the system, when applied to the surfaces of sores; considerable
relief has been thus afforded to irritable stumps, after amputation,
on which occasions, all the characteristic effects of opium have been
produced upon the system, such as costiveness, head-ache, nausea,
&c. Incompatible Substances. Oxy-muriate of mercury; acetate of lead;
alkalies; infusions of galls, and of yellow cinchona. Orfila states that
the decoction of Coffee is less energetic as an antidote, than the
infusion. When we intend the opium to act as a sedative, we should
not combine it with stimulants. The Edinburgh College certainly
erred in this respect, when they made pepper an ingredient in their
Pilulæ Opiatæ. In combination with vegetable acids, its narcotic
powers are increased, in consequence of the formation of soluble
salts with morphia.[594] When the opium however has passed out of
the primæ viæ, vinegar and acids are then the best remedies for
counteracting its effects; (see page 136.) Dose, must be varied
according to the intention of the prescriber, the constitution of the
patient, and the nature of the disease. A quarter of a grain,
frequently repeated, will keep up its exhilarating influence; (Form.
15) from gr. j to ij acts as a narcotic; its power on the system soon
becomes weaker; and from habitual use it is so much impaired that
very large doses are required to produce its usual effects. Russell
observes that the effects of opium on those addicted to its use, are
at first obstinate costiveness, succeeded by diarrhœa and flatulence,
with loss of appetite and a sottish appearance; the teeth decay, the
memory fails, and the unhappy sufferer prematurely sinks into the
grave. Officinal Prep. Gr. j of opium is contained in Confect. Opii. L.
grs. 36. Elect. Opii. E. grs. 43. Elect. Catechu. E. grs. 193. (F.) Elect.
Catechu. comp. D. grs. 199. (F.) Pil. Saponis cum opio. L. grs. 5. Pil.
Opiat. E. grs. 10. Pil. e Styrace. D. grs. 5. Pulv. Corn. ust. cum Opio.
L. grs. 10. Pulv. Cret. comp, cum Opio. L. grs. 40. Pulv. Ipecac.
comp. L.E. grs. 10. (H.) Pulv. Kino. comp. L. grs. 20. (F.) Tinct. Opii.
L. ♏︎19. Tinct. Camphor. comp. L. f℥ss. Tinct. Opii ammon. E. fʒj.
Troch. Glycyrr. cum Opio. E. ʒj. Vinum Opii. L. ♏︎17. The Medicinal
Dynameter will at once shew the quantity of opium in any proportion
of the above preparations. Adulterations. The Turkey Opium, when
good, is covered with leaves, and the reddish capsules of some
species of rumex; the inferior kinds have none of these capsules
adhering to them. It is frequently adulterated with the extract of
liquorice; it should be regarded as bad when it is very soft and
friable, of an intensely black colour, or mixed with many impurities,
when it has a sweetish taste, or marks paper with a brown
continuous streak when drawn across it, or when it melts like wax,
and makes a yellow solution in water. It frequently happens that in
cutting a mass of opium, bullets and stones have been found
imbedded in it, a fraud which is committed by the Turks, from which
the retailer alone suffers. It is also adulterated with the extract of
poppy capsules, or of the whole plant; with that of chelidonium
majus, with gum arabic or tragacanth, with the oil of linseed, and
even with the dung of oxen.

OVUM. L. (Phasianus Gallus. Ovum.)

The Egg of the Domestic Fowl.

Vitellus, The Yolk or Yelk, is principally employed in
pharmaceutical operations, for rendering oils and balsams miscible
with water. It is gently laxative.
Oleum e vitellis, Oil of Eggs. Obtained by boiling the yelks, and
then submitting them to pressure; fifty eggs yield about 5 oz. of oil.
It is introduced into the Paris Pharmacopœia, being much employed
on the Continent for killing mercury.
Albumen. Used principally for clarifying turbid liquors.
Testa. Similar to other absorbents.

OXYMEL SIMPLEX. L.D. Mel Acetatum. P.L. 1787.

Simple Oxymel.[595]
This composition of honey and acetic acid has been long valued
on account of its detergent qualities, and has accordingly been much
used as the basis of gargles, and expectorant remedies.

OXYMEL SCILLÆ. L. D. Oxymel Scilliticum. P.L. 1720. 1745.

Oxymel of Squills.
This preparation certainly possesses considerable powers as an
expectorant; especially if allowed to pass slowly over the fauces, as
when applied in the form of a linctus, (Form: 135,) which by
stimulating the top of the trachea may possibly act, by a kind of
“contiguous sympathy,” upon the pulmonary structure,[596] and
thereby increase the activity of the exhalant vessels, and so dilute
the mucus contained in the follicles as to cause it to be poured out
in a less viscid form, and consequently in a state to be more easily
brought up by expectoration. Its action will also admit of another
explanation, but for this see page 102. Dose from fʒss to fʒij. In
larger doses it is given for the purpose of exciting vomiting,
especially in hooping cough.

PAPAVERIS CAPSULÆ. L.E.D.

(Papaver Somniferum. Capsulæ Maturæ.)

Poppy Capsules, or Poppy heads.

These capsules are employed in medicine for the purpose of
affording a decoction, to be applied as an anodyne fomentation, see
Decoctum Papaveris, and as a syrup of hypnotic qualities, see
Syrupus Papaveris.
The seeds of the poppy capsules are not directly used for any
medicinal purposes, but they yield a fixed oil which is daily met with
in the market, and is frequently used to adulterate Olive Oil, which
see. As an article of trade it is considered very inferior to the other
fixed oils; it burns very badly, and yields a great quantity of smoke.
To the pharmaceutic chemist it is an article of interest from the
controversies to which it has given origin.[597]

PILULÆ L.E.D. Pills.

For general instructions respecting the formation and
administration of pills, the practitioner must refer to the first part of
this work, page 193.

Officinal Pills.
Pilulæ Aloes Compositæ. L. Extract of Aloes, two parts, extract of
gentian, (G) one part, with oil of carraway; (E) to which syrup is
unnecessarily added. It is a useful pill in habitual costiveness. Dose,
grs. x to ℈j.
Pilulæ Aloes et Assafœtidæ. E. Powdered aloes, assafœtida (G) and
soap, (L) equal parts. Anodyne and cathartic; a very useful
combination in dyspepsia attended with flatulence. Dose, grs. x.
Pilulæ Aloes cum Myrrha. L. Pilulæ Rufi. P.L. 1745. Extract of Aloë,
two parts, saffron and myrrh, (E) one part, syrup, q. s. This is a very
ancient form of preparation, and is described by Rhazes. It is
stimulant and cathartic. (Form: 11, 81, 98, 99.) Dose, grs. x to ℈j.
[598]

Pilulæ Aloes cum Colocynthide. E. This pill is known by the popular

name of Pil. Cocciæ, κοκκὶον signifies a seed, and the term was first
applied to this preparation by Rhazes. It consists of eight parts of
aloes and scammony; four of colocynth; and one part of oil of
cloves, (E) and of sulphate of potass with sulphur, olim Sal Polycrest.
It is more powerful in its operation than the simple aloetic pills.
Pilulæ Cambogiæ Compositæ. L. Gamboge, extract of aloe, and
compound powder of cinnamon one part; soap two parts; see page
172, and Form: 88.
Pilulæ Ferri Compositæ. L. This combination is analogous to that of
Griffith’s mixture. Dose, gr. x to ℈j. Form: 99. They become
extremely hard by keeping. If the practitioner consult the Medicinal
Dynameter, he will observe that in order to give the same quantity of
Proto-carbonate of Iron as is contained in f℥iss of Mist: Ferri comp:
he must direct ℈j of this pill mass; which quantities will be seen to
contain, respectively, a grain and seven tenths of this of the proto-
carbonate, or, one grain of Protoxide, which is equivalent. It is
doubtful whether the former preparation will not prove more active,
in consequence of the saponaceous vehicle formed by the Myrrh and
alkali in a state of solution.
Pilulæ Galbani Compositæ. L. Pil. Gummosæ, P.L. 1745. We are here
presented with a combination of fœtid gums, in which assafœtida is
the most potent article. Antispasmodic, and emmenagogue. Dose,
grs. x to ℈j. See Form: 10, 27, 98.
 Pilulæ Hydrargyri. L.E.D. Pil. Mercuriales. P.L. 1745, vulgo, The
Blue Pill. The mercury in this preparation, is not, as it was formerly
considered, in a state of mere mechanical division, but in that of a
black oxide, upon which its activity as a remedy undoubtedly
depends; for mercury in its metallic state is entirely inert with regard
to the living system. Various substances have at different times been
triturated with the mercury, for the purpose of extinguishing or
killing it, by effecting the mechanical division and subsequent
oxidation of its particles, as manna, melasses, &c. Conserve of Roses
is now generally preferred for this purpose, although Swediaur
suspects that the astringent principle of this conserve invalidates the
effects of the mercury, “I have,” says he, “given these pills to several
patients for a long time, without any symptom of salivation.” Mr.
Abernethy observes in his surgical works, that the Pilulæ Hydrargyri
are uncertain in their effects; and that some of the students at the
hospital on examining them, and different parcels of the conserve of
roses, say that the sulphuric acid may be discovered in each. Nor is
it improbable that in making the conserve for sale, some of this acid
may be added to brighten the colour; and if so, the mercurial pill
which is made from it may contain in varying proportions, some of
that highly deleterious compound, the sub-sulphate of mercury.
When any of the gums are employed for killing the metal, the pills
soon become hard and brittle, and after some time the mercury is
liable to run into its metallic state. The pill-mass, when rendered
thinner by the addition of a little water, and extended on a piece of
paper, ought not to exhibit any metallic globules; in this
examination, however, we must be careful not to be betrayed by the
fallacious appearance which is frequently presented by small crystals
of saccharine matter. The relative proportion of mercury contained in
the mass can be ascertained only by its weight. The blue pill is made
at Apothecaries’ Hall by a very ingenious machine actuated by
steam, and which rubs as well as rolls the materials, and it is said
the pill thus made is more active than that produced in the ordinary
way. Med. Uses. It is by far the best form for the internal exhibition of
mercury; where it is intended to act upon the system as an
alterative, it should be administered in doses of from grs. iv to vj; if
it occasion any action on the bowels, it may be conjoined with
opium; sometimes a few grains of rhubarb, exhibited every morning,
will impart such a tone to the intestines, as to enable them to resist
the mercurial irritation. In cases where the form of pill is
objectionable, it may be readily suspended by the aid of mucilage, in
some aqueous vehicle; when exhibited in doses of grs. x to ℈j, it
acts as a mild but efficient purgative. Form: 79, 106. One grain of
mercury is contained in three grains of the mass; the proportion of
metal, or oxide, in any other given quantity, is shewn at once by the
Dynameter. For the specific effects of mercury, see Ung. Hydrarg.
Pilulæ Hydrargyri Sub-muriatis Compositæ. L.E. Olim Plummer’s Pills.
They consist of one part of calomel and precipitated sulphuret of
antimony (H) and two parts of guaiac (E) made into form with spirit.
It is a very useful alterative, especially in cutaneous eruptions and in
secondary syphilitic symptoms, particularly when affecting the skin.
Dose, grs. v to x. Should their exhibition affect the bowels, the
addition of a small proportion of Opium may be added.
Pilulæ Opiatæ. E. Opium one part; extract of liquorice, seven parts;
Jamaica pepper, two parts. It is however a compound of
questionable propriety.
Pilulæ Rhei Compositæ. E. Rhubarb, Aloes, and myrrh, with oil of
peppermint. When such a combination is indicated, it is better to
prescribe it extemporaneously: for the mass, by being kept, will
become less efficacious.
Pilulæ Saponis cum Opio. L. Pil. Opii. P.L. 1787. By substituting soap
for extract of liquorice, these pills are now rendered more soluble in
the stomach, and are consequently more efficient. Five grains
contain one of opium.
Pilulæ Scillæ Compositæ. L. A stimulating expectorant: but as squill
is always impaired by keeping, it ought to be considered as an
extemporaneous combination. It is surely injudicious thus to multiply
our officinal formulæ, but it is difficult, on such occasions, to run
counter to popular opinion. Form: 104.
 PIMENTÆ BACCÆ. L.E. Pimento. D.

Myrtus Pymenta. Baccæ.

Pimenta Berries. Jamaica Pepper. All-spice.

Qualities. Odour, aromatic and agreeable, combining that of
cinnamon, cloves, and nutmegs; hence the term all-spice. Taste,
warm and pungent, resembling that of cloves. These qualities reside
principally in the cortical part of the berry. Chemical Comp: It contains
a volatile oil, very like that of cloves, resin, extractive, tannin, and
gallic acid. Solubility. Water, alcohol, and æther, extract its virtues.
Med. Uses. Principally to cover the disagreeable taste of other
remedies; it is also a very useful adjunct to dyspeptic medicines.
Officinal Prep. Aq. Piment. L.E.D. Ol. Piment. L.E.D. Pil. Opiat. E.
Syrup. Rhamni. L. (E)

PIPERIS LONGI BACCÆ. L.E.D.

Long Pepper.
The chemical and medicinal properties of this substance are
similar to those of black pepper; which see. The varieties in the
market are distinguished by the names short long pepper, and long
long pepper. The native practitioners of India prescribe it in infusion,
mixed with a little honey, as a remedy in catarrhal affections, when
the chest is loaded with phlegm.

PIPERIS NIGRI BACCÆ. L.E.D.

Black Pepper.
Chemical Composition. An oily matter, fecula, and extractive; the
acrid principle of Pepper has been separated by Oersted in an
alkaline form. The following was the process by which it was
procured. The pepper having been digested in alcohol, muriatic acid
and afterwards water were added to the tincture, by which the resin
was precipitated, while a muriate of Pipera remained in solution. The
solution was then, after having been submitted to a certain
evaporation, decomposed by pure potass, when a precipitation of
Pipera took place. This salifiable base is nearly insoluble in cold, and
only very slightly soluble in boiling water. It dissolves in alcohol, and
the solution has a greenish-yellow colour, which by the addition of
nitric acid is rendered green. The capacity of the base for saturation
appears very small. Solubility. The virtues of pepper are entirely
extracted by æther and alcohol; and partially by water, 550 pints
being required to extract all the sapidity of ℔j of pepper. Med. Uses.
It appears to be a more general and permanent stimulus than other
species of equal pungency on the palate; it may be combined with
bitters, and exhibited in nausea, dyspepsia, retrocedent gout, or as a
stimulant in paralysis; it is also a valuable coadjutor to bark, in
obstinate intermittents. An infusion made with black pepper that has
been toasted, is often prescribed by the natives of India in cases of
cholera morbus; and I have known it, says Dr. Ainslie, put a stop to
the vomiting when many other remedies had failed. Dose, grs. v to
℈j, or more. Officinal Preparations. Emplast. Meloes vesicat. comp. E.
Unguent. piper. nig. D. White pepper is made by separating the first
skin of the berry, by soaking it in salt and water. Adulterations. The
powdered husk of the mustard seed is universally mixed with
powdered pepper, and is regularly sold for this purpose by the
mustard manufacturer, under the technical title of P.D. (Pepper
Dust;) there are besides other admixtures less innocent.—Whole
Pepper is also frequently factitious; artificial pepper-corns, composed
of peas-meal, both white and black, are mixed with real pepper-
corns, and sold as genuine pepper; the method of detecting the
fraud is very simple; throw a suspected sample into water; those
that are artificial will fall to powder, or be partially dissolved, while
the true pepper-corns will remain whole.

PIX ABIETINA.[599] L. (Pinus Abies. Resina Præparata.)

Pix Burgundica. E.D. Burgundy Pitch.

 This substance is procured by making incisions through the bark
of the Norway Spruce fir, and afterwards boiling the flakes so
obtained in water, and then straining the resin through coarse cloths
under a press; whereas frankincense (Abietis resina) is a
spontaneous exudation from it. It is now entirely confined to
external use, as a rubefacient spread on leather; it is very adhesive.
Emplast: Picis comp. L. Emplast: Picis Burgund. D. Adulterations. A
factitious sort, manufactured in England, is often met with; it is to be
distinguished by its friability, and its want of viscidity and unctuosity,
and by the absence of that peculiar odour which characterises the
genuine specimens.

PIX LIQUIDA. L.E.D. (Pinus Sylvestris.) Tar.

This fluid is formed from the decomposition of the resinous juice
of the pine, during the slow and smothered combustion of its
branches, and as a summary definition of the substance, that by
Pliny cannot be surpassed, “Pix nihil aliud quam combustæ resinæ
fluxus.” Lib. 23. c. 1. Chemical Composition. It is found to consist of
empyreumatic oil, resin, acetic acid, and some salts. Solubility. Water
readily dissolves a portion of Tar, and forms a solution of the colour
of Madeira wine, with a sharp empyreumatic taste. Med. Uses. Tar
water, under the auspices of Bishop Berkley, was formerly considered
a remedy of extraordinary powers;[600] this opinion however has at
length passed away, (see page 27.) and Tar is now particularly
indebted for a place in the Materia Medica, to an essay by Sir
Alexander Crichton, entitled, “An Account of some Experiments
made with the Vapour of boiling Tar,[601] in the cure of Pulmonary
Consumption.” At the request of Sir Alexander, I was induced to
make a trial of its effects, and I do not feel any hesitation in stating
that the result has led me to believe that it may, in some cases, be
attended with benefit. In the application of the remedy several
precautions are necessary for its success. The Tar employed should
be that used in the cordage of ships; to every pound of which half
an ounce of sub-carbonate of potass must be added, in order to
neutralize the pyroligneous acid generally found mixed with the tar,
the presence of which will necessarily excite coughing; the tar thus
prepared is to be placed in a suitable vessel over a lamp, and to be
kept slowly boiling in the chamber during the night as well as the
day; the vessel however ought to be cleaned and replenished every
twenty-four hours, otherwise the residuum may be burnt and
decomposed, a circumstance which will occasion increased cough
and oppression on the chest. The ancients entertained a high
opinion of the efficacy of Tar in pulmonary diseases, when internally
administered; supposing it to promote expectoration, relieve
dyspnæa, and check spitting of blood; Dioscorides particularly
speaks of its utility in such cases; he also recommends it to be
applied to ulcers, which he says it fills up and heals, whether they be
situated on the surface of the body, or in the ears, throat, and other
internal parts. See the chapter on “Inhalations,” page 202. Officinal
Prep. Unguent. Picis Liquidæ. L.

PLUMBI SUB-CARBONAS. L.

Carbonas Plumbi, vulgo Cerussa. E.

Cerussa, Sub-acetas Plumbi. D.

Cerusse, or White Lead.

Chemical Composition. The composition of this substance has not
until lately been well understood, and hence the different
appellations bestowed upon it by the different colleges. Solubility. It
is insoluble in water, but soluble in pure potass. Uses. It is only
employed externally, by sprinkling on excoriated parts; the safety of
such a practice however is questionable. Officinal Prep. Unguent.
Ceruss. D. Plumbi Acetas L.E.D. (K) Adulterations. Chalk may be
detected by assaying its solution in cold acetic acid with oxalate of
ammonia; Carbonate of barytes, by adding to a portion of the same
solution, sulphate of soda very largely diluted with distilled water;
and Sulphate of barytes, or Sulphate of lead, by the insolubility of
the white lead in boiling distilled vinegar.

PLUMBI OXYDUM SEMI-VITREUM. L.E.

Lithargyrum. D. Litharge.[602]
It is a yellow protoxide of lead, which has been melted and left to
crystallize by cooling. It is only employed in pharmacy for forming
other preparations of lead, and the following officinal plasters,
Emplast. Plumbi, L. E.D. Ceratum Saponis. L. It is added to wines to
remove their acidity; for the detection of which, evaporate the
suspected liquor to a thick fluid, add charcoal, and calcine in a
crucible: in the space of an hour metallic points will be obtained,
consisting of lead surrounded by a quantity of yellow protoxide.

PLUMBI ACETAS. L.

Cerussa Acetata. P. L. 1787. Saccharum Saturni. 1745.

Acetas Plumbi. E. Acetas Plumbi. D.

vulgo, Sugar of Lead.

Qualities. Form, irregular masses resembling lumps of sugar, being
an aggregation of acicular four-sided prisms terminated by dihedral
summits, which are slightly efflorescent; by careful crystallization, it
may be obtained in quadrangular prisms. Taste, sweet and
astringent. Chemical Composition. Although it has been termed a
Super-acetate, it appears to be a neutral salt, and that its power of
reddening valuable blues is attributable to a partial decomposition;
for when dissolved in water containing the least portion of carbonic
acid, a white carbonate of lead is precipitated, and a corresponding
portion of acetic acid is necessarily disengaged. The College have
therefore now designated it as an acetate. According to the
experiments of Berzelius, this salt, in its anhydrous state, consists of
one proportional of acetic acid, and one proportional of oxide of
lead; so that the proportion of the metallic base is one-third of that
in the sub-acetate. Solubility. It is dissolved in 25 parts of water, hot
or cold; it is also soluble in alcohol. When common water is
employed the solution is quite turbid, unless a small proportion of
acetic acid be previously added. Incompatible Substances. The alkalies,
alkaline earths and their carbonates; most of the acids; alum; borax;
the sulphates, and muriates; soaps; all sulphurets; ammoniated, and
tartarized iron; tartarized antimony; undistilled water. The solution
of acetate of ammonia decomposes that of this salt, in consequence
of the carbonic acid which is generally diffused through it. It has
lately been discovered that Gallic acid and Tannin are capable of
combining with lead in solution, and of forming a perfectly insoluble
substance, which falls to the bottom of the vessel; hence all
vegetable astringents must be considered as incompatible with this
medicine. On this account, liquors which have been kept in oak
casks,[603] for a certain time, must be freed from lead. This explains a
fact, with respect to the effect of new rum in the West Indies, of
some importance. This spirit, when newly distilled, is found to
contain traces of lead, derived from the leaden rims of the coppers,
and the leaden worm, used for its condensation; but, by being kept
about twelve months in oaken casks, it loses its deleterious
properties, and no longer exhibits any traces of this metal.[604]
Certain bodies appear likewise to be incompatible with the
compounds of lead, not from the chemical changes they induce, but
from the contrary effects they produce upon the body; thus mercury
appears to invalidate their powers and to counteract their effects, as
we may have observed in treating saturnine cholic. I suspect also
that antimony operates in the same manner; M. Merat relates the
case of an apothecary who was cured of a desperate saturnine
cholic, after having taken, in the course of eight days, eighty grains
of tartarized antimony. Med. Uses. I feel no hesitation in pronouncing
this salt of lead to be one of the most valuable resources of physic;
from the results of numerous cases, I state with confidence that it is
more efficient in stopping pulmonary and uterine hemorrhage, than
any other known remedy—“nil simile, nec secundum,”—and that its
application is equally safe and manageable; but it must not be
combined with substances capable of decomposing it, nor must it be
simultaneously administered with the medicines which are frequently
prescribed in conjunction with it, as an Infusion of Roses, Sulphate
of Magnesia, &c. Alum has also been in some cases added to it, with
the intention of increasing its astringency. It is evident that under
such circumstances an insoluble and inert Sulphate of Lead will be
produced. The experiments of Orfila confirm the truth of these
views, and shew that such substances act as counter-poisons for the
salts of lead. According to my experience, those vegetable acids
which decompose the acetate of lead, and form insoluble salts with
its base, are not medically incompatible, when administered
simultaneously with it, although no scientific physician would
prescribe such a mixture; this fact is shewn by the circumstance of
potations, containing malic and tartaric[605] acids, not having been
found to invalidate the efficacy of this salt. Whether the stomach in
the first instance prevents the decomposition, and its necessary
results, or allows the operation of the usual affinities, and then
subsequently decomposes the insoluble compound which results
from them, by the abstraction and digestion of its vegetable
constituent, are questions for future inquiry, when the laws of gastric
chemistry shall be better understood, and more justly appreciated. I
have also seen much benefit accrue from this medicine in protracted
diarrhœa, when it has checked the bowels more effectually even
than opium. M. Gaspard has communicated to the public, through
the medium of Majendie’s Journal de Physiologie, (3 numéro Juillet,
1821,) a paper upon the operation of Acetate of Lead, entitled
“Experiences Physiologiques et Medicales sur L’Acetate de Plomb,” in
which he asserts that this metallic salt cannot be administered
without risk in any dose, unless indeed it be given in vehicles which
decompose it, and which, he adds, appears generally to have
happened in the prescriptions of those who have given it extensively.
He observes, that “it produces a slow and peculiar inflammation of
the bowels, as well as of the lungs; and that it, moreover, occasions
Cholica Pictonum.” No one, I apprehend, will deny the poisonous
quality of acetate of lead, any more than that of arsenic; and yet
both may, by proper management, be rendered therapeutical agents
of value and safety. Forms of Exhibition. In that of pill, guarded by
opium; it will be prudent to recommend an abstinence from all
potation, except that of cold water, or draughts, composed of diluted
acetic acid, for at least an hour after the ingestion of the pill.[606]
Dose, gr. ½ to gr. j. Form. 57. Officinal Prep. Cerat. Plumb. acetat. L.
[607]

PODOPHYLLUM PELTATUM.

May Apple. Radix.

[This plant is found in almost every part of the United States in
low and moist situations. It flowers in May and June, and the root is
the only part used in medicine. By analysis this is found to contain
resin, bitter extractive, fœcula, and a slight proportion of a gummy
substance. The root of the May Apple is an excellent active cathartic,
operating in a manner very similar to the common Julap. It is given
in powder, in doses of about grs. xx. The proper period for collecting
the root for medicinal purposes is the autumn, when the leaves of
the plant have turned yellow. It should be carefully dried and then
pulverized.]

POTASSA CUM CALCE. L.E.

Kali Causticum cum Calce. D.

The addition of lime to potass renders it less deliquescent, and
more manageable, as an escharotic.

POTASSA FUSA. L.

Potassa. E. Kali Causticum. D.

Lapis infernalis. P.L. 1720.

 Qualities. Form, a white brittle substance, extremely caustic and
deliquescent, and possessing in an eminent degree all the properties
denominated alkaline. Solubility. f℥j of water dissolves ʒvij; it is also
soluble in alcohol. Chemical Composition. This preparation,
independent of its impurities, is the hydrated protoxide of potassium,
although in the state in which it is cast into sticks it generally
contains a little Peroxide,[608] and therefore evolves oxygen when
dissolved in water. Med. Uses. It is a most powerful caustic
(causticum commune acerrimum), and is frequently employed to
establish an ulcer; or, instead of incision, to open a tumour. It has
the advantage of other caustics, from the circumstance of our being
able to neutralize its powers by touching it with vinegar, and thus to
arrest its progress in an instant; it is however more liable to produce
a large eschar than nitrate of silver, in consequence of the chemical
action of the alkali upon the skin. Within the last few years,
surgeons have greatly preferred the use of this caustic to that of
nitrate of silver, in cases of organic stricture of the urethra, as acting
more powerfully, and yet occasioning less irritation than the latter
substance; it is also said that the part which it destroys is sooner
detached and more easily eliminated. Its disposition, however, to
extend its sphere of action has occasioned such a destruction of the
membrane as to allow the urine to pass into the cellular substance,
by which very serious effects have been produced. For this reason
there are cases in which the nitrate of silver is still to be preferred.
As an internal remedy it is only employed in solution. See Liquor
Potassæ.[609]

POTASSÆ ACETAS. L. Acetas Potassæ. E.

Acetas Kali. D. Kali Acetatum. P.L. 1787.—Sal diureticus. P.L. 1745.
—Terra foliata Tartari.—Sal Sennerti.—Magisterium Purgans Tartari.—
Sal Essentiale vini. Oleum Tartari Sennerti.—Sal digestivus Sylvii, &c.
Qualities. Form, masses of a foliated, laminar texture, extremely
deliquescent; Odour, slight and peculiar; Taste, sharp and pungent.
Solubility. f℥j of distilled water at 60° dissolves 404 grains, or 100
parts of it are soluble in 105 parts of water; the solution soon
undergoes spontaneous decomposition; it is soluble in four times its
weight of alcohol.—Chemical Composition. It consists of one
proportional of each of its components, or 48 potass and 50 acetic
acid. Incompatible Substances. It is decomposed by tamarinds and most
sub-acid fruits; by almost every acid, as well as every variety of
neutral salt, whether alkaline, acid, or metallic. Med. Uses. In small
doses, diuretic; in larger ones, mildly cathartic. Dose, ℈j to ʒj to
produce the former, ʒij to ʒiij to excite the latter of these effects.
Forms of Exhibition. On account of its deliquescent property it is not
admissible in powders or pills, but should be always exhibited in
solution. (Form. 108, 110, 111.) In the former editions of this work,
I introduced under the present article, those views regarding the
operation of saline bodies upon the kidneys, and their decomposition
by the digestive organs, which I considered as capable of throwing
some light upon the medicinal operation of these bodies. Having,
however, in the present edition of my work devoted a chapter to the
consideration of Diuretics, I have necessarily removed all my general
observations upon this subject to that part of the work; I therefore
entreat the reader to refer to the first part, page 93. Alibert, in
speaking of the diuretic virtues of this salt, says that it is so well
suited to the sensibility of the Absorbents that its administration is
frequently followed by very salutary effects. (Elémens de
Thérapeutique, vol. i. p. 327.)
Adulterations. Tartrate of potass is discovered by adding a solution
of tartaric acid, which will occasion with it a copious precipitate; the
sulphates, by their forming with acetate of lead, or muriate of
baryta, precipitates insoluble in acetic or muriatic acid. The brown
tinge which it frequently exhibits depends upon the same cause as
that which usually imparts colour to the Liquor. Ammon. Acet. This
salt is also sometimes contaminated with lead, which arises from its
having been prepared by decomposing the acetate of lead by means
of carbonate of potass.

POTASSÆ CARBONAS. L.E.

 Carbonate of Potass.
Qualities. Form, crystals which are four-sided prisms with dihedral
summits, permanent in the air; Taste, slightly alkaline without
acrimony. Chemical Composition. It is a bi-carbonate, consisting of two
proportionals of carbonic acid and one proportional of potass; and in
its crystalline form, it also contains water equal to one proportional.
Solubility. It is soluble in 4 parts of cold, and in ⅚ths of its weight of
boiling water, in which it is partially decomposed, carbonic acid being
emitted during the solution; it is quite insoluble in alcohol. Med. Uses.
In cases where an alkali is indicated, this preparation offers an
agreeable and efficient remedy; and experience has shewn that its
additional proportion of carbonic acid does not in the least invalidate
its alkaline agency. In disordered states of the digestive functions,
alkalies frequently act with surprising effect; in calculous affections
their value has been already noticed (see Liquor Potassæ), and the
stomach appears to bear the protracted exhibition of the carbonate
of potass or soda, with more temper than it does that of any other
alkaline combination; and on account of the increased quantity of
carbonic acid which this salt contains, it is preferable for effervescing
draughts. (See Acid. Citric. and Form. 123, 168.) Incompatible
Substances. Acids and acidulous salts; borax; muriate of ammonia;
acetate of ammonia; alum; sulphate of magnesia; lime water; nitrate
of silver; ammoniated copper; muriate of iron; sub-muriate and oxy-
muriate of mercury; acetate of lead; tartarized antimony; tartarized
iron; the sulphates of zinc, copper, iron, &c. Dose, grs. x to ʒss.

POTASSÆ NITRAS. L.E. Nitrum. D.

Nitre or Salt Petre.

Qualities. Form, crystals which are six-sided prisms usually
terminated by dihedral summits. Taste, bitter and sharp with a
sensation of cold. Chemical Composition. It consists of one proportional
of nitric acid, and one proportional of potass. Solubility. It dissolves
in seven parts of water at 60°, and in its own weight at 212°. Its
solubility is considerably increased by adding muriate of soda to the
water; its solution is attended with a great reduction of temperature;
it is quite insoluble in alcohol. Incompatible Substances. Alum; sulphate
of magnesia; sulphuric acid; the sulphates of zinc, copper, and iron;
according to the usual laws of affinity, it should be also decomposed
by sulphate of soda; this however only takes place at the
temperature of 32°, and then but partially. Med. Uses. Refrigerant, in
which case the draught should be swallowed immediately after the
solution of the salt is complete, for if it be allowed to stand for some
time, its effect with regard to cooling is not nearly so evident (see
Form. 138, 144); as a diuretic, its powers are too inconsiderable to
be employed, except in combination (Form. 102, 109, 115, 170); a
solution of ʒj to f℥vj of rose water forms a good detergent gargle,
and a small portion allowed to dissolve slowly in the mouth, will
frequently remove an incipient inflammation of the tonsils: for its
modus operandi as a diuretic, see Potassæ Acetas. Dose, grs. x to xv,
as a diuretic or refrigerant; grs. xxv to xl are aperient, and in large
doses it excites vomiting, bloody stools, convulsions, and even
death. The best antidotes are opium and aromatics. Impurities. As it
occurs from the hand of nature it is far from pure, and even by art it
is freed with difficulty from sea salt; the presence and quantity of
which in any specimen, may be learnt by adding nitrate of silver to
its solution as long as any precipitate is produced.

POTASSÆ SUB-CARBONAS. L.E.

Sub-Carbonas Kali. E.

Kali Præparatum, P.L. 1787. Sal Absinthii.

Sal Tartari. 1745.

Before the nature of this salt was well understood, it received
various appellations according to the different methods by which it
was procured, and it was supposed to possess as many different
virtues, as Salt of Wormwood, Salt of Tartar, Salt of Bean Stalks, &c.
 Qualities. Form, coarse white grains, so deliquescent, that by
exposure to air they form a dense solution, (Oleum Tartari per
deliquium, P.L. 1720.) Taste, alkaline and urinous.[610] Chemical
Composition. This salt, although far from being pure, is sufficiently so
for every pharmaceutical purpose. It consists of one proportional of
acid and one proportional of potass, with variable quantities of
sulphate of potass, muriate of potass, siliceous earth, alumina,
together with the oxides of iron, and manganese. Solubility. It is
dissolved by twice its weight of water; the residue, if any, may be
considered as impurity; it is insoluble in alcohol; with oils it
combines, and forms soaps. Incompatible Substances. They are
enumerated under Potassæ Carbonas. Med. Uses. Antacid, and
diuretic, (Form. 101, 107, 129), but it is far less pleasant than the
carbonate; it is principally used for making saline draughts, see Acid.
Citric. and Form. 107. Dose, grs. x to ʒss. Officinal Prep. Potassæ
Acetas, L.E.D. (I) Liquor Potassæ L.E.D. (K) Potassæ Sulphuretum
(I) L.E.D. Potassæ Tart. L.E.D. (I) Liquor Arsenicalis (I.L.)
Adulterations. Its degree of purity may be estimated by the quantity
of nitric acid, of a given density, requisite for the saturation of a
given weight. The purest sub-carbonate is that obtained by
incinerating cream of tartar, since most of the impurities are
decomposed by the heat during the process, (Sub-carbonas Potassæ
Purissimus. E.); it however generally contains lime.

POTASSÆ SULPHAS. L.E. Sulphas Kali. D.

Kali Vitriolatum, P.L. 1787.

Tartarum Vitriolatum, 1745, and 1720.

Sal de duobus, &c.

Qualities. Form, crystals which are right rectangular (but not
square) prisms, modified on the edges and angles; or double six-
sided pyramids with short intervening prisms, which are macles, or
hemitrope crystals; they are slightly efflorescent, and when heated