Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 115-116. (Budapest, 19869

TANULMÁNYOK - Magyar, László: Öngyógyító állatok (angol nyelven)

GALY (mongoose or fox, perhaps the Greek galé) Aristotle describes about it what Albertus does about the Eptyethes bird, i.e. that it eats the herb of grace (péganon) before fighting with a snake.

45 This was also repeated by Albertus.

46 GRACULUS (daw) According to Pliny, it purges itself with laurel leaf.

47 GRUS (crane) At Pliny: it uses iuncum palustrem (some kind of marsh growth) as a purgative.

48 HIPPOPOTAMUS (hippopotamus) It is well known to be the inventor of the popular method of blood-letting. Being too fat even to move, or suffering from congestion, it will go among the reeds and will let its blood by the sharp-edged leaves. Then it will cover the wound by mud which is supposed to promote coagulation. This was also attested by Iuiius Solinus,

49 Pliny

50 and even by the scholar Prosper Alpinus, too.

51 The story must have originated from Egypt and from mythology. HIRUNDO (swallow) As described by Celsus

52 and Pliny

53

, it applies chelidonia herb, i. e. swallow-herb for improving its sight. IBEX (ibex) It removes the arrow shot by using pulegium cervinum or agreste,

54 and eats roots or certain herbs as emetics,

55 It shows particular aptitude in distinguishing between edible and poisonous plants.

56 IBIS (ibis) In the Egyptian hieroglyphs it is the sign and symbol of health. It is a partly identical bird with Troth,

57 being thereby partly the god of health and medicine. Formerly, it was commonplace to say that it invented the clyster, because it gave itself an enema with its beaks. Since it was widely known it wis told by everybody, so e. g. by Pliny, Galen and Albertus Magnus too.

58 It was also added by several authors that it injects salty water as an enema into itself.

59 Ovid devoted a separate poem to the bird (the most about this topic is found in his work). J. Baradlai, 43 Aristotle, (n. 9) Hist. An., 1. 6. 612b 29 46 Albertus Magnus, (n. 12) De animalibus, vol. 1, 8. 49 (mentioned as galy) 47 Pliny, (n. 2) H. N.

, 8. 28 48 Ibid. 49 I. Solinus, Polyhistor, Biponti, 1794, p. 129. (32. 31) 50 Pliny, (n. 2) H. N., 8. 28 51 P. Alpinus, De medicina Aegyptiorum, ed. J. B. Friedrich, Nordlingae, 1829, p. 14 52 Celsus Cornelius, De Medicina, 6. 6 53 Pliny, (n. 2.) H. N., 8. 28 54 Albertus Magnus, (n. 12) 8. 42 55 Albertus Magnus, (n. 12) 8. 43 56 Severus Sulpicius, Dialogi très, 1. 10 57 L. Kákosy, Fény és Khaosz (Light and Chaos), Akadémia, Budapest, 1984, pp. 166—-169 58 Pliny, (n. 2) H. N., 8. 27 — Galen, Ed. Kühn, 11. 168 — Albertus Magnus, (n. 12) De animalibus, vol. 2, 23. 121 59 Crollius, (n. 5), De signaturis, vol. 2, 148