Introductory material

Roman measures of capacity for things liquid, reduced to english wine measure, the wine pint holding 287/8 solid inches.

No. I.

Pints Sol. in. dec.

Ligula 0, 1/48 0,117 5/12

4 Cyathus 0, 1/12 0,469 2/3

6 1 Acetabulum 0, 1/8 0,704 1/2

12 3 2 Quartarius 0, 1/4 1,409

24 6 4 2 Hemina 0, 1/2 2,818

48 12 8 4 2 Sextarius 1 5,636

Possibly No. I. may be better understood in the following form.

No. II.

Eng. wi. Solid

Ligulæ. Cyathi. Acetab. Quart. Hem. Sext. pint. inch.

48 or 12 or 8 or 4 or 2 == 1 == 1. and 5.636

24 or 6 or 4 or 2 == 1 — - == 0. 17.255 1/2

12 or 3 or 2 == 1 — - — - == 0. 8.627 3/4

6 or 1 1/2 == 1 — - — - — - == 0. 4.313 7/8

4 == 1 — - — - — - — - == 0. 2.875 11/12

1 — - — - — - — - — - == 0. 0.718 47/48

Roman measures of capacity for things dry, reduced to english corn measure, the english corn pint holding 33 3/5 inches.

No. III.

Pints Sol. in. dec.

Ligula 0, 1/48 0,01

4 Cyathus 0, 1/12 0,04

6 1 1/2 Acetabulum 0, 1/8 0,06

24 6 4 Hemina 0, 1/2 0,24

48 12 8 2 Sextarius 1 0,48

The same table in another form.

No. IV.

Eng. corn Solid

Ligulæ. Cyathi. Acetab. Heminæ. Sextarius. pint. inches

48 or 12 or 8 or 2 == 1 == 1. and 0.48

24 or 6 or 4 == 1 — — == 0. 17.04

6 or 1 1/2 == 1 — — — — == 0. 4.26

4 == 1 — — — — — — == 0. 2.84

1 — — — — — — — — == 0. 0.71

Note, The tables, No. I. and No. III. are exactly copied from Dr Arbuthnot, No. XII. and XIII. I have here gone no higher than the sextarius, as that is the greatest measure mentioned by Celsus; it has its name from making the sixth part of the Roman congius.

I would have taken the table of weights from Dr Arbuthnot also, if he had given one accommodated to Celsus; but as he has not, I have composed the following, No. VI. according to the division of Celsus himself, who tells us[ U ], that he divides the uncia, or ounce, into seven denarii, and the denarius into six sextantes.

Besides these, in several compositions our author uses semuncia and sescuncia, that is half an ounce and ounce and half; and to save the reader the trouble of reduction, I have given them also a place in the table.

The accurate Mr Greaves[ V ], from repeated experiments, concluded the Roman denarius to contain 62 grains English Troy weight, from which the proportions of the other weights are determined.

No. V.

Grains. Scruples. Drachms. Ounces. Pound Troy.

gr. ℈ Ʒ ℥ ℔

5760 or 288 or 96 or 12 == 1

480 or 24 or 8 == 1

60 or 3 == 1

20 == 1

1

Celsus’s weights compared with apothecaries’ weights.

No. VI.

Grains of Sextan- Dena- Semun- Ses- Li- Apothecaries’.

Troy wt. tes. rii. ciæ. Unciæ. cun. bra. ℥ Ʒ ℈ gr.

5208 or 504 or 84 or 24 or 12 or 8 == 1 == 10 : 6 : 2 : 8

651 or 63 or 10 1/2 or 3 or 1 1/2 == 1 — — == 1 : 2 : 2 : 11

434 or 42 or 7 or 2 == 1 — — — — == 0 : 7 : 0 : 14

217 or 21 or 3 1/2 == 1 — — — — — — == 0 : 3 : 1 : 17

62 or 6 == 1 — — — — — — — — == 0 : 1 : 0 : 2

10 1/3 == 1 — — — — — — — — — — == 0 : 0 : 0 : 10 1/2

1 — — — — — — — — — — — — == 0 : 0 : 0 : 1

Note 1st. The Romans divided all integers, as they did their as, into twelve equal parts called unciæ. Thus the sextans was the sixth part of the as, containing two of these unciæ, quadrans one fourth, or three unciæ, triens the third part, or four unciæ, semis one half, or six unciæ, bes or bessis two-thirds, or eight unciæ, dodrans three-fourths being nine unciæ. The weight of these then differs, as the integer is the libra, the uncia, or denarius, which the attentive reader will easily reduce, if he is disposed to calculate the quantities, observing that they are not to be taken for aliquot parts of the denarius, but when they follow the mark of the denarius. The integer preceding, and the nature of the composition will be the best explication.

Note 2. The denarius mark was X or 𐆖, as containing originally ten small asses. This by the copiers has been often confounded with X, denoting the number of ten denarii; so that after all the pains of critics and commentators, the proportions of the ingredients in several compositions seem to be irrecoverably lost. For this reason, I suppose the later editors have thought fit to change it for the common asterisk.

Note 3. The characters for quantities are variously marked in different authors, and the same note has several values. There is one of this uncertainty in Celsus, that is Z, which we are told expresses the libra, the sescuncia, the sextans of a pound, the denarius and the sextans of a denarius[ W ]. Which of these different values it bears in any particular place must be determined by the connection. When it follows the mark of the denarius, it can mean no more than the sextans of a denarius.

Note 4. p. stands for pondo, which is an indeclinable word, and when joined with numbers, signifies libra or a pound; when with other weights, it stands for no more than pondus or weight in general.

For an example of the reduction of Celsus’s weights to ours, the following may serve.

Lib. v. cap. 19. no. 7. Philotas’s plaister contains,

Of Eretrian earth ℥ Ʒ ℈ gr.

— chalcitis, each p. iv.*. == 1/2 : 0 : 0 : 8 viz. Ʒi. gr. ii. multiplied by 4 —and so all the rest.

— myrrh

— calcined copper, each p. x.*. == 1 : 2 : 1 : 0

— isinglass p. vi. *. == 0 : 6 : 0 : 12

— rasile verdigrease

— round allum

— crude misy

— birthwort, of each p. viii.*. == 1 : 0 : 0 : 16

— copper scales p. xx.* == 21/2 : 0 : 2 : 0

— male frankincense, p. ii.*. == 0 : 2 : 0 : 4

— oil of roses

— Bitter oil, of each three cyathi, or 1 quartarius = between 1/4 and 1/3 of an English pint.

— vinegar, a sufficient quantity.

ERRATA, IN THE TEXT.

Page 110 line 9 for substances, read medicines.

—— 189 —— 26 for flour read flower.

—— 240 —— 22 for warm ingremedies read warming remedies.

—— 249 —— 14 for comes read come.

—— 257 —— 30 for verjuice read omphacium.

—— 271 —— 16 for wines read wine.

—— 323 —— 31 for straight read strait.

—— 350 —— 18 dele also.

A. CORNELIUS CELSUS

OF

MEDICINE.