Cesti (fragmenta) Index These things are in the <ζʹ> of Africanus' Cesti: 1. Concerning arming. -2. Concerning the destruction of enemies. -3. Agonist

 varied, having prepared their armament in common both against barbarians and against themselves a sign is <that> the faces of the combatants were fre

 Some anoint their arrows with poisons, so that every wound becomes fatal others place their strength in forests. Some, when fleeing, first destroy th

 fortified with food. These things do not bring a one-day death, nor do they immediately destroy the one who has used them, with the art of pestilence

 destruction, to avoid the plague I have anticipated the cure by setting it forth in the parchments before this. Themistocles, while commanding the nav

 Let the children of physicians heal a wound, with the one who is sick readily offering himself to their touch. 1.6 Taming of a horse Just as among men

 only believe him who says, they also see demons, and I know of many who have neighed at crossroads and have fallen and proclaimed the threat with the

 When the horses receive the smell of the evil thing, they go mad and snort fiercely and rear up in haste, as if fearing the exhalation from the ground

 and taking a very small amount of oil, then after moderately crushing it somewhat, pour the complete mixture through a horn into the left nostril of p

 the sides of the triangle are bisected.” For let ABΓ be a right-angled triangle, having the angle at B right. And let AB be bisected at Δ. And let ΔE

 lightest air, and they also abstain from everything hot and from salts, as these are causes of dull vision. So that they are never caught sleeping and

 you happen to be winged, I too get ahead of you with another wing. Thus are the nuptials of Pasithea to Hypnos. Eros indeed keeps watch the theft of

 to himself. And from this, a twofold advantage: for either in his pain he kills his own, consoling an incurable pain, or being unable to stand, he fal

 pinecones, about ten per chous of water having thrown these into the liquid, boil it just enough to warm it let the vessel be lacking 2 kotylai whi

 to shoot a third in succession and the others likewise, with the second always pausing the shot just long enough for the first's arrow to reach the ta

 Anoint with oil in which leeches have likewise been boiled down. <Πίναξ> '1 How one might, through wine, cause those who have drunk it to sleep for th

 This should be done from the beginning of spring until the end of autumn. And again, wormwood wine is drunk for the same purpose, not only before food

 for an elephantiasic horse of Africanus The liver of a land hedgehog, dried in the sun, heals elephantiasic horses. 3.2 Of Africanus for the eyes Th

 a dog's afterbirth, treated with myrrh and properly purified and tied on, becomes a cause of conception. So that the animal may conceive what you wish

 of figs and warts and acrochordons Warts are outgrowths of bodies resembling rough nails and they occur on many people in many places. They call the

 of coriander. And dung also works, when smeared with the juice of a fig tree with mulberry leaves or calamint or lentil smeared with oil. And the roo

 wounds. 3.33 Of Africanus: To prevent cattle from being harmed by a toad that lurks by night or in a dark place, by it puffing on them The toad is acc

 of equal weight to the Italian one which is called a “denarius,” for as a rule many now use the Italian weights. The Attic mina has 25 staters the It

 and tender maidens with the flower of new-grieved hearts and many wounded by bronze-tipped spears, men slain in battle, wearing blood-stained armor

 Put in 1 chous of bran, 4 choes of seaweed, having boiled it, put in the wool and leave it until late, and having taken it out, rinse it with sea-wate

 with slippings of veins, and something else that shines by night. It both kindles and extinguishes loves. And it blackens white hair, and whitens blac

fortified with food. These things do not bring a one-day death, nor do they immediately destroy the one who has used them, with the art of pestilence seizing both this man and the one who has not eaten; it is mixed with all and passes to the one sharing the same table; the plot migrates into a house, into a city, into an army, into a nation. Such a fate does an Erinys procure for them. These are just punishments for the feasts of barbarians, as a disease is poured out upon all and an inexorable calamity seizes the enemies. But if we are afraid that we might use such a preparation in vain, either because they will not use it out of suspicion, or because they have learned of this from deserters, after having feasted them, let us release among them either the malefactors or the prisoners of war; and those who have associated with them [the enemies] will immediately be plagued. I send a treacherous philanthropy to them. Let us give them to drink a similar toast of friendship. Three kinds of animals which lie in the second pentagon, at the signs of the hypate hypaton, an inverted gamma and an upright gamma, chop these up, so that they all become ichor, and having boiled them in much water until all the fat of the boiled things is consumed, pour it into the enemies’ water supply. The bodies of those who have drunk will swell, both their own and their beasts of burden, then a swelling with pain will come upon them, and someone seeing himself having become another person from what he was, not recognizing his present form, and slow both in flight and in death, awaiting his neighboring death, will pray for the swiftness of a military assault, so that he may cease being punished by the tension of inflammation, and being hated by himself on account of his hideousness, with the suit of armor forged for his former body not fitting the man he is now, <so that> it even takes away from him the pretense of being able to stand in his arms. And to corrupt the waters in other ways, by pouring dung and stones into <the> wells, and if the water supply should be abundant, by fish oil being poured into it and by sea purple, which for a long time make all water undrinkable. But a larger body of water or a lake, the myrtle-leaf spurge cast into it will harm; thus we will first hinder the enemies in their drink. But let no one think the barbarians of the east are ignorant of these things; they themselves also often do harm to those who attack them. [Poisoning of wine]. The Pharisees once boasted of having killed a phalanx of Romans by a pretense of flight. For they were feasting, supposedly, then withdrew as they were approaching, leaving the meal ready. But the wine was treacherous, having been poisoned by quenched lime. Wine is poisoned with soda, boxwood, hemlock, and by similar methods; for these things, when eaten, are sufficient to harm and terribly affect enemies. Since, therefore, we have taken food and drink as allies, come, let us also use the air and the wind against them; one is able to guard against the enemies by not eating, not drinking; how can one guard his breath, how can he shut out the air? Through these things I come against them. [Poisoning of the air]. The thrissos is a Thessalian snake, <reddish> in color, similar in length to a dragon-snake, [and this same one is also common in Asia; the Syrians call it “bathanerathan”] which is written next in the third pentagon whose signs are the parypate hypaton, an incomplete beta and a supine gamma; and the lion, another snake, is different; for it is both small and large; but the small one is rather to be taken for this purpose [and it too is born in great numbers in Syria]. Let both be shut up together in a very secure, tight vessel; and let the fiercest sun look upon the vessel. When, therefore, they have been destroyed by each other and by the heat and by time, let the container be placed and opened downwind, which is accustomed to blow continuously toward them, so that the stench from it goes to the adversaries, the breeze being conveyed to the breaths of those being plotted against. And the examples of its effect: a horse running by will fall, and a man near it, and a bird not flying over will come down from the air, slain, caught by a wind swifter than a fleeing wing. And if in some way also against us, either by the art of those from the plot, or it should happen also from one of the elements

τροφαῖς τετειχισμένου. Οὐ φέρει θάνατον ταῦτα μονήμερον, οὐδὲ τὸν χρησάμενον εὐθέως ἀναιρεῖ, λοιμοῦ τέχνῃ τοῦτον καὶ τὸν οὐ φαγόντα καταλαμβάνοντος· ἀνακίρναται πᾶσι καὶ εἰς τὸν ὁμοδίαιτον μέτεισιν· εἰς οἰκίαν, εἰς πόλιν, εἰς στράτευμα, εἰς ἔθνος ἡ ἐπιβουλὴ μετοικεῖ. Τοιοῦτον αὐτοῖς μόρον ἐρινὺς προξενεῖ. Ταῦτα δίκαια κατὰ βαρβάρων δεῖπνα ποινῶν, χεομένης ἐπὶ πάντα νόσου καὶ ἀπαραιτήτου καταλαμβανούσης τοὺς πολεμίους συμφορᾶς. Εἰ δὲ πεφοβήμεθα μὴ μάτην τοιαύτῃ χρησώμεθα παρασκευῇ, ἤτοι δι' ὑποψίαν οὐ χρησαμένων, ἢ ἐξ αὐτομόλων τοῦτο μεμαθηκότων, ἑστιάσαντες, παρ' αὐτούς, ἢ τοὺς κακούργους, ἢ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους ἀπολύσωμεν· οἱ δὲ ὁμιλήσαντες αὐτοῖς [οἱ πολέμιοι] εὐθὺ λοιμώξουσιν. Ἐπίβουλον αὐτοῖς φιλανθρωπίαν πέμπω. Ποτίσωμεν αὐτοὺς ὁμοίως τοιαύτῃ φιλοτησίᾳ. Τρισσὰ γένη ζῴων ἅπερ ἐν πενταγώνῳ δευτέρῳ κεῖται, πρὸς σημείοις ὑπάτης ὑπάτων, γάμμα ἀπεστραμμένον καὶ γάμμα ὀρθόν, ταῦτα σύγκοπτε, ὡς ἰχῶρα γενέσθαι τὰ πάντα, καὶ ὕδατι πλείστῳ ζέσας μέχρι τοῦ πᾶσαν ἀναλωθῆναι τὴν τῶν ἑψημένων πιμελήν, ἔγχεε τῶν πολεμίων ὑδρεύματι. Ὀγκωθήσεται τὰ σώματα τῶν πεπωκότων, αὐτῶν τε καὶ ὑποζυγίων, εἶτα οἴδησις μετ' ὀδύνης αὐτοῖς ἐπιστήσεται, καί τις ὁρῶν αὑτὸν ἄλλον ἐξ ἄλλου γεγενημένον, τὴν παροῦσαν μορφὴν οὐκ ἐπιγνούς, καὶ φυγῇ βραδὺς καὶ τελευτῇ, τὸν γειτνιῶντα θάνατον περιμένων, τάχος ἐφόδου πολεμικῆς εὔξεται, ἵνα παύσηται καὶ τάσει φλεγμονῆς κολαζόμενος, καὶ διὰ τὴν εἰδέχθειαν ὑφ' αὑτοῦ μισούμενος, μὴ χωρούσης τὸν νῦν ἄνθρωπον πανοπλίας τῆς τῷ πρώην σώματι πεπρησμένης, <ὡς> ἀφαιρεῖσθαι αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν ὑπόκρισιν τοῦ κἂν ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις στῆναι. Λυμαίνεσθαι δὲ καὶ ἄλλως τὰ ὕδατα, <τὰ> μὲν φρέατα κόπρῳ καὶ λίθοις ἐγχοῦντα, εἰ δ' ἀμφιλαφὲς εἴη τὸ ὕδωρ, τῷ ἰχθυΐνῳ ἐλαίῳ ἐγχεομένῳ εἰς αὐτὰ καὶ τῇ θαλαττίᾳ πορφύρᾳ, ἅπερ ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον ἅπαν ὕδωρ ἄποτον ποιεῖ. Μείζονα δὲ σύστασιν ὑδάτων ἢ λίμνην ὁ τιθύμαλλος ἐμβαλλόμενος μυρσινίτης δηλήσεται· οὕτως τοὺς πολεμίους πρῶτον κωλύσομεν τῷ ποτῷ. Μὴ ἀμαθεῖς δέ τις ἐς ταῦτα νομίσῃ τοὺς τῆς ἀνατολῆς βαρβάρους· καὶ αὐτοὶ πολλάκις τοὺς ἐπερχομένους κακουργοῦσιν. [Οἴνου φάρμαξις]. Ἐσεμνύναντο Φαρισαῖοί ποτε Ῥωμαίων ἀποκτείναντες φάλαγγα φυγῆς ὑποκρίσει. Εὐωχοῦντο γὰρ δῆθεν, εἶτ' ἀνεχώρησαν ἐπιόντων, ἕτοιμον καταλιπόντες τὸ ἄριστον. Ἐπίβουλος δὲ ὁ οἶνος ἦν, ἐναποσβεσθείσης τιτάνου πεφαρμαγμένος. Φαρμάσσεται δὲ οἶνος ἀφρονίτρῳ, πύξῳ, κωνείῳ, καὶ τοῖς ὁμοίοις τρόποις· ταῦτα γὰρ ἐσθιόμενα ἱκανὰ λυμήνασθαι καὶ δεινῶς διαθεῖναι πολεμίους. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν συμμάχους τροφάς τε καὶ ποτὰ παρειλήφαμεν, φέρε δὴ καὶ ἀέρι κατ' αὐτῶν καὶ ἀνέμῳ χρησώμεθα· δύναται φυλάξασθαί τις παρὰ πολεμίων μὴ φαγεῖν, μὴ πιεῖν· πῶς φυλάξηταί τις ἀναπνοήν, πῶς ἀποκλείσῃ ἀέρα; ∆ιὰ τούτων ἐπ' αὐτοὺς ἔρχομαι. [Ἀέρος φάρμαξις]. Θρίσσος ὄφις ἐστὶ Θετταλός, <πυρρὸς> χρόαν, δρακοντίδος παραπλήσιος μήκει, [ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀσίας πολὺς γίνεται· Σύροι καλοῦσιν αὐτὸν «βαθανηραθὰν»] ὃς ἑξῆς γέγραπται ἐν πενταγώνῳ τρίτῳ οὗ σημεῖά ἐστιν παρυπάτης ὑπάτων, βῆτα ἐλλιπὲς καὶ γάμμα ὕπτιον· καὶ λέων ὄφις ἄλλος, διάφορος· μικρός τε γὰρ ἔστι καὶ μέγας· ἀλλὰ γὰρ ὁ μικρὸς ἐς τοῦτο ληπτὸς μᾶλλον [πολὺς δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν Συρίᾳ γεννώμενος]. Συγκαθειργνύσθωσαν εἰς ἄγγος ἀμφότεροι ἀσφαλῶς μάλα στεγνόν· βλεπέτω δὲ τὸ ἄγγος ὁ δριμύτατος ἥλιος. Ἐπειδὰν οὖν διαφθαρῶσιν ὑπό τε ἀλλήλων καὶ τῆς ἕλης καὶ τοῦ χρόνου, κατ' ἄνεμον τὸν συνεχῶς εἰς ἐκείνους φέρειν συ νειθισμένον τὸ σκεῦος τεθὲν ἀνοιγνύσθω, ὡς τὴν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἀποφορὰν ἐς τοὺς ἀντιπάλους οἴχεσθαι, πορθμευομένης τῆς αὔρας εἰς τοὺς τῶν ἐπιβουλευομένων ἀναπνοάς. Τῆς δὲ ἐνεργείας τὰ παραδείγματα· ἵππος πεσεῖται παρατρέχων, καὶ γειτνιάσας ἄνθρωπος, καὶ ὄρνις οὐχ ὑπερπτὰς κάτεισιν ἐξ ἀέρος πεφονευμένος, καταληφθεὶς ἀνέμῳ φεύγοντος ὠκυτέρῳ πτεροῦ. Εἰ δέ πῃ καὶ καθ' ἡμᾶς, ἤτοι τέχνῃ τῶν ἐξ ἐπιβουλῆς, ἢ καὶ ἀπό τινος τῶν στοιχείων συμβαίη