In books XX-XXXIII of 'Natural History' Pliny records hundreds of remedies for all sorts of ailments, physical and mental. Garlic features prominently in cures for everything from leprosy to epilepsy, from toothache to animal bites, from ulcers to insanity. Roman medicine for the masses was largely in the realm of what Pliny describes as 'magicians' and he is not short to excoriate them and deprecate their popularity.
But he also records hundreds of remedies for ailments which seem equally bizarre to modern eyes. He has separate lists for those employing animal matter, vegetables and water.
For broken bones - the ashes of the jawbone of a boar or swine, or boiled lard, wrapped around the break. Goat dung soaked in stale wine.
For fevers - Deer flesh. The right eye of a wolf, salted and hung around the neck. Three drops of blood from the vein of an ass's ear swallowed in a pint of water. Cat dung and the toe of an owl attached to the body for seven days. The liver of a cat killed during a waning moon, salted, taken in wine. The patient should be smeared in the ashes of cow dung, mixed with boy's urine. The heart of a hare, attached to the hands.
For melancholy - Calf dung boiled in wine. The calluses from an ass's legs, steeped in vinegar and applied to the nostrils. The fumes of a goat's horns. Wolf's liver in wine. The lard of a sow that has been fed on grass. The smoke of dried cow dung, inhaled through a reed.
He also records some unusual superstitions. The spit of a fasting person will ward off snake bites, something he attests to by personal experience, for example. He also reveals that spitting could 'repel witchcraft and the danger in meeting a person lame in the right leg'.
Basically, just rub yourself in cow shit. Twice a day, after meals. Come and see me in a week if the insanity hasn’t got any better.
Unfortunately, it's never explained quite what the danger of meeting someone lame in the right leg actually is.
Hit the subscribe button for more potentially interesting facts about history that you can use to bore guests at dinner parties with.
A lot of uses of dung lol😂
But seriously- very fascinating and interesting!