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or (Botanical.com, A Modern Herbal, Mrs. M. Grieve)
(See: Jean Bodin)
"...A certain Frenchman in his book called "Daemonomania" ( terms me a Magician, a Conjurer, and thinks this book of mine, long since printed, should be burned, because I have written of the "Fairies Ointment," which I set forth only in detestation of the frauds of devils and witches..."
Daffodil - A plant of the genus Narcissus, of several species. These have a bulbous root, and beautiful flowers of various colors, white, yellow and purple.
See: Asphodils, Navews, Round-heads
"... Pliny, the Daffodil is eaten with the seed and head terrified. But this roasted in the embers as Hesiod affirms, is eaten with oil also braised with figs, it is eaten with great pleasure. These round-heads are like to Navews of moderate bigness..."
"...Moreover, if you put the root of Daffodils into Wine, and pour this often on the head, being shaved, it will make the hair curl the more, as the same author says ( Pliny)..."
Daisy - A plant of the genus Bellis, of several varieties. The blue daisy belongs to the genus Globularia, as does the globe daisy; the greater or ox-eye daisy belongs to the genus Chrysanthemum; and the middle daisy, to the Doronicum.
"...By this means, it is thought that Daisies of diverse kinds were first brought forth, such as are to be seen with golden leaves, reddish about the edge, nay, some of them are so meddled with diverse colors, that they resemble little shreds of silk patched together..."
"...Athenaus in his ninth Book of Dipnosophist (Dalachampius translates it more elegantly) saying; There was a Hog brought to us, that was half of it well roasted, and half of it was soft boiled in water..."
"... The Hog was killed, as Dalachampas translates it, with a small wound under his shoulder..."
Dam - A female parent; used of beasts, particularly of quadrupeds.
"...And among the rest, the Wolf often meets and couples with her, and from them is generated the beast Thoes, which resembles the Dam in the spots of his skin, but in his looks he resembles the sire..."
"...But Aristotle says that bird Eggs and Eggs of forefooted beasts are ripened by the incubation of the Dam..."
"...Damascen reports, that a certain young woman brought forth a child that was all hairy, and searching out the reason thereof, he found the hairy image of John the Baptist in her chamber, which she was wont to look upon..."
Damask - To adorn steel-work with figures. Damask-steel, is a fine steel from the Levant, chiefly from Damascus, used for sword and cutlas blades.
"...Now while I set down these operations very pleasant, namely, how Damask Knives may be made to recover their marks that are worn out, and how the same marks may be made upon other knives..."
Damask Rose - A species of rose which is red, and another which is white.
See: Rose
"...Take three pounds of Damask Roses, as much of Musk and red Roses, two of the flowers of Orange, as many of Myrtle, half a pound of Garden claver, an ounce and a half of Cloves, three Nutmegs, ten Lilies..."
"...a Nut without a shell may be produced, as Damageron teaches..."
"...Oil of Turpentine ...As Damageron teaches. The fruit of Turpentine is ground in a mill, as the olives are, and pressed out, and so it sends forth oil. The Kernels within serve to feed Hogs and to burn..."
"...were excellent Magicians: as, amongst the Persians, Zoroastres the son of Orimafius, whom we spoke of before, amongst the Romans, Numa Pompilius; Thespion, amongst the Gymnosophists; Zamolxis, amongst the Thracians: Abbarais, amongst the Hyperboreans; Hermes, amongst the Egyptians and Budda among the Babylonians. Besides these, Apuleius reckons up Carinondas, Damigeron, Hifmoses, Apollonius, and Dardanus, who all followed Zoroastres and Osthanes. .."
Damon - a legendary Sicilian who pledges his life for his condemned friend Pythias.
"...Damon relates of a Poison in Ethiopia, whose sweat would bring a Consumption in all bodies it touched. And it is manifest, that all women which have two pupils in one eye, can Bewitch with it. Cicero writes of them..."
"...While the Damosin trees were very tender and dainty, we fastened two of them together, which were planted near to each other, as sailors plat and tie their cables..."
"... I have often engrafted it upon that kind of Damosin tree which bears a Plum like a Goat's stone both in shape and greatness, (it may be it is our Scag tree) and by this means I procured great Apricots..."
Daphnis - A Sicilian shepherd and son of Hermes who was famed as a musician and reputed to be the inventor of pastoral poetry.
"...If you hang those in moonlight, that were killed in the night, they will grow more tender by boiling. For the moon has great virtue to make flesh tender, for it is but a kind of corruption. Therefore wood, cut by moonlight, will sooner grow rotten, and fruit sooner grow ripe. Daphnis the Physition in Athenaus..."
Dardanus - The founder of Troy.
"...were excellent Magicians: as, amongst the Persians, Zoroastres the son of Orimafius, whom we spoke of before, amongst the Romans, Numa Pompilius; Thespion, amongst the Gymnosophists; Zamolxis, amongst the Thracians: Abbarais, amongst the Hyperboreans; Hermes, amongst the Egyptians and Budda among the Babylonians. Besides these, Apuleius reckons up Carinondas, Damigeron, Hifmoses, Apollonius, and Dardanus, who all followed Zoroastres and Osthanes. .."
Darius - Several kings of ancient PERSIA. Darius I (the Great), d. 486 B.C. (r.521-486 B.C.), was one of the most able of the ACHAEMENIDS. He perfected a highly efficient system of administration. Around 500 B.C., when the Ionian cities rebelled against Persian rule, Darius put down the rebels and set out to punish the Greek city-states that had aided the insurrection. He met defeat in the memorable battle of MARATHON (490 B.C.); however, he consolidated Persian power in the East. He also continued Cyrus the Great's policy of restoring the Jewish state.
"... Herodotus mentions it from Hestiaus, who was the author of it. He being born in Asia, when of noble place, when Darius ruled, when he was with the King in Persia, ans would privately write to Aristagoras to fall from him..."
Dart - A pointed missile weapon to be thrown by the hand; a short lance.
"...When the Hart is wounded by the Cretians, they seek out the Herb Dittany, and presently the Darts fallout of their bodies..."
"... But in compositions for Arrows and Darts, that they might burn the more vehemently,they put melted Vernish, Printer's Oil, Petroleum, Turpentine, made up with the sharpest Vinegar, pressed close, and dried at the Sun, and wrapped over with Tow, and with sharp Irons to defend it, wrought together like to a bottom of Yarn. .."
Date - The fruit of the great palm-tree, or date-tree, the Phoenix dactylifera. This fruit is somewhat in the shape of an acorn, composed of a thin light glossy membrane, somewhat pellucid and yellowish, containing a soft pulpy fruit, firm and sweet, esculent and wholesome, and in this is inclosed a hard kernel.
"...the Palm, or Date tree, and the Damosin tree will grow to be of a larger and better size..."
"...If you preserve and lay up an Dates or Palms, says he (Theophrastus), you must make choice of those which grow in sandy grounds, as in that country which is called Syria..."
"...The weight Davic, with Serpents fat, and juice of metals, given one to drink, will make him mad, and make him run out of his house, country and nation. And this it does by exaggeration of black Melancholy..."
See: Jackdaw
Daw - A fowl of the genus Corvus,thievish and mischievous to the farmer.
"...And then they bind the tree about with a kind of Broom Withes, that the Daws or Crows, or other kinds of birds may not come at the fruit to gnaw it..."
"...a four-footed bird, which live and fly about till noon, but pine away as the sun dreaws downward, and die at the sun-setting, and because they live but one day, they are called Homerobion, a Daysbird..."
(Book by Aristotle)
"...And I shall set down my own, founded upon some experiments. Yet I shall not pass by the opinion of Anaxagoras, set down by Aristotle in his Book De Anima, who by a similitude calls it a living stone, and that therefore it draws iron, and for some other peculiar forces, which might be properly said to proceed from the soul, as you shall see..."
"...Theopohrastus gives the reason why they turn round, in his books, De Causis Plantarum. Moreover we read in Dioscorides, that a reed with Vinegar, applied to the Huclebones will cure the Luxation of the loins, without words of superstition..."
Declination - The arc of the horizon, contained between the vertical plane and the prime vertical circle, if reckoned from the east or west, or between the meridian and the plane, reckoned from the north or south.
"...And sailing under the Equator, we do observe the chief motions of the Needle. And theDeclinations of it..."
Decoction: The operation of boiling certain ingredients in a fluid, for the purpose of extracting the parts soluble at that temperature. Decoction also means the product of this operation.
"...A certain sign of perfect Decoction, and of the juice being consumed, will be, if a drop of it, being cast upon a plate of Iron red-hot, does not hiss..."
"...The Ancients used the Decoction of the Lote Tree rasp, which we call Melo Fiocco. And so they made their hair red..."
"...Nature brought forth but one kind of pear tree. Now so many men's names are honored by it, that one is called Decumana, another Dolabelliana, and another is named from Decumius and Dolabella..."
"...Athenaus reports out of Aristotle's book de Ebrietate, that elephants will be drunk with wine. .."
Deer - A quadruped of the genus Cervus, of several species, as the stag, the fallow deer, the roe-buck, the rane or rane-deer, &c.
"...Then beat them in a Marble Mortar. Afterwards, take the lesser Dragon, two ounces, Deer Suet and Honey, of each as much. Mingle them all in an earthen pot with a large mouth..."
"... Partridge love Deer exceedingly, and are Cozened by their skin..."
"...Oil of Herns is excellent to allay and remove all cold aches. The Gout, Sciatica, Griefs of the sinews, Convulsions, pain in the joints, cold Defluctions, and other diseases of moisture and cold..."
Degenerate - Having become worse than one's kind, or one's former state; having declined in worth; having lost in goodness; deteriorated; degraded; unworthy; base; low.
"...For these likewise Degenerate, as the same Theophrastus reports to have seen in Antandrus, for the Myrtle is not sown by seed, but planted by a Grafting..."
"...The Almond Degenerates likewise both in taste, and also in feeling, for of a soft one comes a harder..."
"... Augustine de civitate Dei, speaking of this wonder, said, We know the Loadstone will wonderfully draw Iron, which when I first saw, I trembled at exceedingly..."
"... The Needle in the Mariners Compass will move above, as if there were no body between them. St. August ne Lib. de civitate Dei, knew this experiment..."
"...There is a stone also brought out of the West Indies, called in Spanish, Della Hijada. Much like an Emerald. Which being worn in Silver, upon the arm, is accounted a preservative against this disease... (Pleurisie)..."
"...But Suetonius Tranquillas, in his book, De Ludicra Historia, says, that in winter some strings are struck, and others sound..."
Democritus, c.460-c.370 BC, a Greek philosopher, developed and systematized classical Atomism, a theory credited to his teacher Leucippus. The theory postulated a world made up of hard, indivisible (hence atomic, from Greek atoma, "uncuttable") particles of matter moving through empty space. The atoms had shape, mass, and motion, but no other qualities, such as color or flavor. These latter were supplied by the observer and were subjective. Democritus described them as existing by convention or by custom (nomos), as opposed to existing by nature (physis). The atoms had various shapes, Democritus thought, for "why should they have one shape rather than another?" All change was to be explained by reference to the transfer of momentum as the atoms collided. Democritus suggested that our cosmos was formed by a spinning vortex of such atoms and that there were an infinite number of worlds formed in the same way.
"...The most noble Philosophers that ever were, Pythagorus, Empedocles, Democritus, and Plato, forsook their own countries, and lived abroad as exiles and banished men, rather than as strangers; and all to search out and to attain this knowledge; and when they came home again, this was the science which they professed, and this they esteemed a profound mystery..."
"...And therefore Democritus counsels, and Visruvius is also of the same mind, to cut or lop trees in the waning of the moon, that being cut in season, they may last long without rottenness..."
"...for Aristonymus Ephesius, the son of Demonstratus, could not away with a woman's company, but made choice of an ass to lie with; and she brought him forth after a certain time, a very comely maiden, and was exceeding beautiful. She was called Onoscelis, that is to say, one having ass's thighs..."
Demosthenes - 384-322 B.C., Greek orator. His reputation as the greatest of the Greek orators rests mainly on his orations arousing ATHENS against PHILIP II of Macedon-three Philippics (351-341 B.C.) and three Olynthiacs (349). Philip triumphed (338), and Demosthenes' cause was lost
"...Demosthenes, intending to express those who are bitten as it were by a sleepy Dragon, and are slothful, and so deprived of senses that they cannot be awakened, says, they seem like men who have drunk Mandrake ..."
Dentifrice - A powder or other substance to be used in cleaning the teeth. Burnt shells and charcoal pulverized make an excellent dentifrice.
"...Dentifrices are used among things to beautify women. For there is nothing held more ugly then for a woman to laugh or speak, and thereby to show their rugged, rusty, and spotted teeth. For they all almost, by using Mercury Sublimate, have their teeth black or yellow..."
"water of Depart"
"...And upon this they sprinkle water of Depart and powder of Tripolis. And by rubbing it diligently, you shall see it take a perfect glass. Thus are your great Lenticulars, and Spectacles made at Venice..."
Depilatory - Any application which is used to take off the hair of an animal body; such as lime and orpiment.
"...A common Depilatory...Which men use commonly in baths. It consists of Quicklime, four parts made into powder, Orpiment one part..."
"...Provide a Descendatory out of the bath, (the making of which, I will show hereafter)..."
"... Geber defines it thus, Distillation is the elevation of moist vapors in a proper vessel. But we will declare the true definition of it elsewhere. He makes three sorts of it, by Ascent, by Descent, and by Filtration..."
Detergent - A medicine that has the power of cleansing the vessels or skin from offending matter.
"...How spots may be taken from the face...Often fair women are disgraced by spots in on their faces. But the remedy for it, is this. To use Abstergents and Detergents in whiting of their faces..."
"...And a Lixivium made of them burned, is very Detergent and cleansing..."
Deucalion - a survivor with his wife Pyrrha of a great flood by which Zeus destroys the rest of the human race.
"...I remeber in Plutarch's works, what is worth relating that I read there, that by the Pigeon sent forth of the Ark, in Deucalions flood, was shown, that the waters were sunk down, and the storms past...."
Devil - In the Christian theology, an evil spirit or being; a fallen angel, expelled from heaven for rebellion against God; the chief of the apostate angels; the implacable enemy and tempter of the human race. In the New Testament, the word is frequently and erroneously used for demon.
"...Camel's froth, drunk with water by a drunken man, will make him mad, as possessed with a Devil..."
"...No man but will think this to be done by the Devil, yet this proceeds from no other cause, but because in the end of the revolution, the longer remains, and the last from whence it rises stays behind..."
Diamond - A mineral, gem or precious stone, of the most valuable kind, remarkable for its hardness, as it scratches all other minerals. When pure, the diamond is usually clear and transparent, but it is sometimes colored. In its rough state, it is commonly in the form of a roundish pebble, or of octahedral crystals. It consists of carbon, and when heated to 14 degrees Wedgewood, and exposed to a current of air, it is gradually, but completely combustible.
"...To turn a Saphire into a Diamond ...This stone, as all others, being put in the fire, loses his color. for the force of the fire makes the color fade. Many do it several ways. For some melt Gold, and put the Saphire in the middle of it..."
"...For, say some, there is so much discord between the qualities of the Loadstone and the Diamond, and they are so hateful one against the other, and secret enemies, that if the Diamond be put to the Loadstone, it presently faints and loses all its forces. Pliny..."
Diana - The daughter of Jupiter and Latona; a virgin goddess who presided over hunting, chastity, and marriage; -- identified with the Greek goddess Artemis.
"...Plutarch, in the life of Pompilius, says, the fire that burned in Diana's Temple, was lighted by this glass. That is, by instruments that are made of the side of a right triangle, whose sides are equal..."
Dice - A small cube, marked on its faces with numbers from one to six, used in gaming, by being thrown from a box. Plural of die; also, a game with dice.
"...Others do it with Regulus of Antimony. But Cinnaber as big as Dice, into a long Linen bag, hanging equally from the pot sides..."
Dido - a legendary queen of Carthage in Virgil's Aeneid who kills herself when Aeneas leaves her.
"...Virgil makes mention of such a matter, when he says, that Dido admired certain trees which she saw, that bare new kinds of leaves, and Apples that naturally were not their own..."
"...Didymus, in his works called Geoponica, reports, that in certain mountains in India, Boars and Camels feed together, and so fall to copulation, and gender a Camel..."
"...as Didymus shows us. You must bore the Cherry tree stock through with a Wimble, and, your Vine growing by it, you must take one of the next and best branches from it, and put it into the Auger hole, but you must not cut it off from the Vine..."
Diffuse - To pour out and spread, as a fluid; to cause to flow and spread.
"...Many Diffuse the Sawdust of the Poplar, or Fir tree, among their fruit for their preservation..."
"The common Dill groweth up with seldom more than one Stalk, neither so high nor so great usually as Fennel, being round and with fewer Joynts theron, whose Leavs are sadder, and somwhat long, and so like Fennel that it deceiveth many; but harder in handling and somwhat thicker, and of a stronger unpleasanter set: The tops of the Stalks have four Branches and smaller Umbels of yellow Flowers, which turn into smal Seed somwhat flatter and thinner than Fennel Seed. The Root is small and woody, perishing every year after it hath born Seed; and is also unprofitable, being never put to any use."--The English Physitian", Culpeper, Nicholas, 1616-1654.
"...And to be short, in the same manner are extracted the oils out of the seeds of Carrot, Angelica, Marjoram, Rue, Rosemary, Parsley, Smallage and Dill, and suchlike..."
Greek - "The Earth"
"....And all the ancients supposing all things to be produced out of the earth, called it the mother of all, the Greeks called it Dimitera...."
"... Dinocrates the Architect began to vault the Temple of Arsinoe with Loadstone, that therein her image of Iron might seem to hang in the air. Both he and Ptolomy died, who commanded this to be made for his sister..."
"...Thales, as soon as he saw it, told Periander, that he did not esteem it as a strange and monstrous thing, which the gods had sent to protend and betoken the sedition's and commotion's likely to ensue, as Diocese thought of it, but rather as a natural thing..."
"...So that it was very well done of Dioclesian the Emperor, and it was high time for him so to do, to establish a decree, that all such lying books that were written concerning that matter, should be cast into the fire and burnt to ashes..."
See Diodorus Siculus
"...Diodorus, and many other good philosophers hold, that all living creatures did arise of putrefaction..."
"...But Diodorus Siculus and Strabo, say that Sopithes a King, gave Alexander an hundred and fifty of these Dogs, all very huge and strong, and usually coupling with tygres..."
Diogenes was a Greek philosopher of the 5th century BC. An eclectic, he is remembered for his synthesis of two pre-Socratic philosophers, Anaximenes and Anaxgoras. In his Peri physeos (On Nature), he suggested that all things come from air, and that air is an intelligent god ensuring order in the universe. He made extensive biological studies to support this idea, showing that air is the essential ingredient of life.
"...as Diogenes writes; "the Indians call them Brackmans (Brahmans), in their own tongue; but in Greek they call them Gymnosophists, as much to say as naked philosophers..."
"...We rehearsed the opinion of Diogenes before, who held that plants are generated of water putrified in itself, and a little earth tempered therewith..."
"... Musaus will have the eyes to lay the foundation of Love, and to the the chief allurement of it. And Diogenianus says, that Love is begotton by looks, affirming that it is impossible for a man to fall in Love unawares..."
"...She (wife of Polycretes) desired Diogentus, general of the Erythrei, that she might send some Junkets to her brothers..."
"...And so burned their ships and men at sea, as Dion reports that Archimedes did formerly to the Romans besieging Syracuse..."
"...Diophanes shows that the Olive being Grafting into the Vine, brings forth a a fruit called Elaeo-staphylon, that is to say, an Olive-grape..."
"...Engraff them (red Apples) upon a Plane tree, and the fruit will be red, as Diophanes, Didymus, and Palladius affirm..."
The regent DION OF SYRACUSE invited the philosopher Plato to Sicily in order to instruct his young son Dionysius the Younger. The experiment was a failure: Dionysius the Younger was a weak and ineffectual ruler.
"...As Plato said, to Dionysius, "They seem to make philosophy ridiculous, who endeavor to prostitute Her excellence to profane and illiterate men."..."
"...But that the force is almost lost may be restored, it must be washed in Goat blood. Rhennius the interpreter of Dionysius..."
Pedanius Dioscorides, b. AD c.20, d. AD 70, a Greek physician, wrote the oldest surviving text on drugs and their uses, De Materia medica. In this treatise of five books, which was used until the late Renaissance, Dioscorides described drugs of plant, animal, and mineral origin and gave information on drug dosage, administration, and specific uses.
"...Dioscorides says, that the drugs which grow in steep places, cold and dry, and open to the wind, are most forcible, but they that grow in dark, and waterish, and calm places, are less operative..."
"...We read in Dioscorides of the herb Alkanet, which is very efficacious against the Poison of Serpents..."
"...Athenaus in his ninth Book of Dipnosophist (Dalachampius translates it more elegantly) saying; There was a Hog brought to us, that was half of it well roasted, and half of it was soft boiled in water..."
Dissolve - . To convert into a liquid by means of heat, moisture, etc.,; to melt; to liquefy; to soften.
"...When they are Dissolved in sharp juices, and soaked in rotten Dung, till they send forth a clear Oil, that is the best thing to beautify the face, as I shall write elsewhere..."
"...Though I shall speak in a work, on purpose, more at large, how Talk may be Dissolved into water or Oil..."
Distaff - The staff of a spinning-wheel, to which a bunch of flax or tow is tied, and from which the thread is drawn.
"... Ammianus Marcellinus described Firedarts, a kind of weapon made after such a fashion. It is an arrow of Cane, joined with many irons between the shaft and the head, and they are make hollow after the fashion of a womans Distaff..."
Distemper - A morbid state of the animal system; indisposition; malady; disorder; at present chiefly applied to diseases of brutes; as, a distemper in dogs; the horse distemper; the horn distemper in cattle.
"...For being a Distemper in the blood, it will cast him into a continual fever. Whereas, if it had been a Distemper of Choler or Flegm, it would have afflicted him by intervals..."
"...Neither can anyone deny, but that the diseases of the mind do Distemper the body..."
Distil /
Distill /
Distillation
Distillation: The separation of different substances in a solution by boiling off those of a lower boiling point first. For example, water can be distilled and the steam condensed back into a liquid that is almost pure water. The impurities (minerals) remain in the concentrated residue. In waste treatment, distillation consists of heating the effluent and then removing the vapor or steam. When the steam is returned to a liquid, it is almost pure (distilled) water. The pollutants remain in the concentrated residue.
"...I have procured Mellons to smell like Musk by opening that part whereby the seed sprouts out, and steeping them in Rosewater wherein some Musk is Distilled also..."
"...After all this, you must , put it into a vessel that shall be almost full of Vinegar, and the Vinegar must cover all the Tin and swim about three or four inches above it. There you must Distil it..."
"...Whether the art of Distillation were known to the learned ancients, or no, I will not undertake to dispute, yet there is another kind of art to be read in Dioscorides, then what we use. .."
Dittany is a name commonly given three herbaceous plants: Crete dittany--Origanum dictamnus--a marjoramlike herb used in the Mediterranean region as a food seasoning; American dittany, stonemint, a sweet horsemint--Cunila origanoides--a native North American plant that was once prized as a remedy for fever and snakebite; and European dittany--Dictamnus albus--known commonly as gas plant burning bush, or fraxinella, because it emits a volatile oil that can be ignited. Both the Crete and American dittanies belong to the mint family, and their dried leaves have been used for making tea.
"...When the harts are wounded by the Cretians, they seek out the herb Dittany, and presently the darts fallout of their bodies..."
"...In the month of July, take three ounces of the seed, stamp it gently, and steep it in two glasses of the best white Wine, with Gentian, Tormentil, white Dittany, Zedoary, and Carline gathered in August..."
Divination - The act of divining; a foretelling future events, or discovering things secret or obscure, by the aid of superior beings, or by other than human means. The ancient heathen philosophers divided divination into two kinds, natural and artificial. Natural divination was supposed to be effected by a kind of inspiration or divine afflatus; artificial divination was effected by certain rites, experiments or observations, as by sacrifices, cakes, flour, wine, observation of entrails, flight of birds, lots, verses, omens, position of the stars, &c.
Book by Marcus Tullius Cicero ("Tully")
"...Tully, in his book of Divination, says, that in the Persian language, a Magician is nothing else but one that expounds and studies divine things; and it is the general name of wise-men in that country..."
Divus - attached to a proper name, does not mean divine, but simply deceased or canonised; excellently translated in Notes and Queries (May 21st, 1892, p. 421), "of blessed memory." Thus, Divus Augustus means Augustus of blessed memory, not divine Augustus. Of course, the noun "divus" opposite to a proper noun = a god, as in Horace, 3 Odes v. 2, "Praesens divus habebitur Augustus. " While living, Augustus will be accounted a god. Virgil (Ecl. i. 6) says, "Deus nobis hæc otia fecit; " the "deus" was Augustus.
"...And there is extant a decree of Divus Augustus, wherein he commanded to pay them at Naples yearly 20000 Sestertia out of his treasury, drawing his colony to Capua, and he assigns the cause, by reason that they of Campania affirmed that Spelt-meal could not be made without that stone..."
Doe - A she deer; the female of the fallow-deer. The male is called a buck.
"...Goats and Does are never Purblind, because they eat certain Herbs..."
"...Oppianus bids us to keep hunting Dogs from sucking any ordinary bitches, or Goats, or Sheep, for this, says he, will make them too lazy and weak, but they must suck a tame Lioness, or Hart, or Doe, for so they will become swift and strong, like to their nurses that give them suck..."
Dock - A genus of plants, the Rumex, of several species. Its root resembles a carrot. The name Dock is applied to a widespread tribe of broad-leaved wayside weeds, having roots possessing astringent qualities united in some with a cathartic principle, rendering them valuable as substitutes for Rhubarb, a plant of the same family. Although now, in common with the Sorrels, assigned to the genus Rumex, the Docks were formerly ranked as members of the genus Lapathum, this name being derived from the Greek word, lapazein (to cleanse), an allusion to the medicinal virtues of these plants as purgatives, the word still surviving in the name of one of the species, Rumex Hydrolapathum.
"...All kinds of Docks, though they be dry and juiceless, will do it, that all flesh will grow tender, and become fit to eat. .."
Dog - A species of quadrupeds, belonging to the genus Canis, of many varieties, as the mastiff, the hound, the spaniel, the shepherds dog, the terrier, the harrier, the bloodhound, &c.
"...as Theophrastus says, the wine whereof causes untimely births, and if the Dogs eat the grapes, they will bring forth abortives..."
"...A Dog and a Wolf, a Lion and a Panther, an Ass and a Horse, a Partridge and a Hen, are of one bigness, and therefore may couple together, but a Horse and a Dog, or a Mare and an Elephant, or a Hen and a Sparrow cannot..."
Dogday - One of the days when Sirius or the dogstar rises and sets with the sun. The dogdays commence the latter part of July, and end the beginning of September.
"...There is a kind of these fishes, called Mullet-Groundlings, which is generated of mud and sand, as has been tried in many marsh places, among the rest in Hindus, where in the Dog-days, the lakes, being dried up, so that the mud was hard, as soon as ever they began to be full of rain water again, were generated little fishes, a kind of Mullet, about the bigness of little Cackrels, which had neither seed nor egg in them..."
Dog-Fish /
Dogfish
Dogfish - A name given to several species of shark, as the spotted shark or greater dogfish, the piked dogfish, &c.
"...Because the Julides are a bait almost for all fish, or your groundlings or little Sea-squils, therefore they are part of all baits. Or, take the Liver of the Tuny Fish, four drachms, Sea-squils, eight drachms, Seasame seed, four drachms, beans ground, eight drachms, of raw Dog fish, two drachms. Pound all these, and make them up with new wine distilled into balls, for good baits..."
See: Fox-dogs
"...And surely the best and swiftest hunting Dogs, as greyhounds, are long-headed, and sharp-snouted, as foxes are. Hefychius and Varinus call them Dog-foxes..."
Dog Star /
Dogstar
Dogstar - Sirius, a star of the first magnitude, whose rising and setting with the sun gives name to the dogdays.
"...So that they ordained a dog to be offered in sacrifice to it, as Columella says, that this star is pacified with the blood and entrails of a sucking whelp, and Ovid likewise says, that a dog bred on the earth, is sacrificed to the Dog-Star in heaven..."
"... Paxamus says, wine either grows sour or dead about the Soltices, and when the seven stars set, or when the Dog Star causes heat, and when it is extreme cold, or hot, or rainy, or windy, or when it thunders..."
(See: Pardalianches)
"...So there is one plant, called Dogs Bane. Chrysippus says, that Dogs are killed with it, if the shoots of it are given to them with water. Dogs Cole, or Wild Cole, if it be given with flesh, so the fumes of lead..."
"...So there is one plant, called Dogs Bane. Chrysippus says, that Dogs are killed with it, if the shoots of it are given to them with water. Dogs Cole, or Wild Cole, if it be given with flesh, so the fumes of lead..."
(See: Nux vomica)
"... Nux vomica, which from the effect is called Dogs Nut, if it be filed, and the thin filings thereof be given with butter or some fat thing to a dog to swallow, it will kill him in three hours space..."
"...They saw that such fruits as have in the the hardest stones, do grow upon such trees as have in them the hardest Pith. As the Dog-tree, the Olive tree, the Damosin tree, the Myrtle tree, and the like..."
"...Nature brought forth but one kind of pear tree. Now so many men's names are honored by it, that one is called Decumana, another Dolabelliana, and another is named from Decumius and Dolabella..."
"... For Salt and the white of an Egg will make the thick liquors clear, but as many Dolia or such measures as there are in the vessel, so many whites of Eggs must you have, to be mingled again with so many ounces of Salt, but you must stir the mixture with a stick, and in four days it will grow clear..."
Dolphin - A genus of cetaceous fish, with teeth in both jaws, and a pipe in the head, comprehending the dolphin, the porpoise, the grampus and the beluga. But the fish to which seamen give this name, is the Coryphaena hippuris of Linne. It has a flat roundish snout and a tapering body, with a fin running along the back from the head to the tail, consisting of a coriaceous membrane with soft spines.
In ancient Greece, a machine suspended over the sea, to be dropped on any vessel passing under it.
"...Hence Herodotus first, and others from him, report, that Arion was carried to Tenarus on a Dolphin's back..."
"... Arion the harper made friends of the Dolphins that want reason, and they carried him safe to the shore, when he was cast into the sea..."
"...Pliny writes, that in the year of Caius Lalius and Lucius Domitus Consulship, there was born a maid-child that had two heads, four hands, and was of double nature in all respects..."
"...Hence, by the reciprocal reflection of the glasses, you shall see so many pillars, bases, and varieties, keeping the right order of architecture, that nothing can be more pleasant, or more wonderful to behold. Let the perspective be the Dorick and Corinthian, adorned with gold, silver, pearls, jewels, images, pictures, and such like..."
"...the Dorick melody caused prudence, chastity, and learning..."
Dormative - A medicine to promote sleep; a soporific; an opiate.
"...Plutarch, in Simpos, says, that sleep is caused by cold, and therefore Dormitives have a cooling quality. .."
"... Fuschius his Stramonium, and the herb commonly called Belladonna whose qualities are wonderfully Dormitive..."
Doronicum, genus Doronicum -- (genus of Eurasian perennial tuberous or rhizomatous herbs: leopard's bane) Member of : Compositae, family Compositae, Asteraceae, family Asteraceae, aster family -- (plants with heads composed of many florets: aster; daisy; dandelion; goldenrod; marigold; lettuces; ragweed; sunflower; thistle; zinnia)
"...Take the flowers of Sage, Origanum,...Rose of Jerusalem, Doronicum, Ammoniac, Opoponax, Spodium, Schaeinanthus, Bdellium, Mummy..."
"... Lentiles, onions, garlick, leeks, Weedbine, Dorycnium, Picnocomum, new red Wine, these infuse dreams, wherein the phantasms are broken, crooked, angry, troubled..."
Dove - The oenas, or domestic pigeon, a species of Columba. Its color is a deep bluish ash color; the breast is dashed with a fine changeable green and purple; the sides of the neck, with a copper color. In a wild state, it builds its nest in holes of rocks or in hollow trees, but it is easily domesticated, and forms one of the luxuries of the table.
"...The Doves, for a preservative against enchantments, first gather some little Bay tree boughs, and then lay them upon their nests, to preserve their young, so do the Kites use White Brambles, the turtles Swordgrass, the Crows Withy, the Lapwings Venus-hair, the Ravens Ivy, the hens Carrot, the Partridges Reed-leaves, the Blackbirds Myrtle, the larks grass, the Swans Park-leaves, the Eagle uses Maidenhair, or the stone Etites for the same purpose..."
"...The Pigeon loves the the Kastrel so well, that she loves the Dove-house much the better, where a dead Kastrel is..."
Drachm (fluid Br) = 1/8 fluid Br ounce, 60 minims, 3.5515 cubic centimeters.
"... Dioscorides says, that a Drachm of Morion will make one foolish..."
"...There is scarce one Drachm drawn out of a pound..."
"...Oil is made of the seed of Cameline. It is made for lights, but those of Lomardy make great plenty of a golden colored Oil of a seed like to this, called Dradella..."
Dragon - A kind of winged serpent, much celebrated in the romances of the middle ages. A genus of animals, the Draco. They have four legs, a cylindrical tail, and membranaceous wings, radiated like the fins of a flying-fish.
(See Dragon-herbs)
"...Demosthenes, intending to express those who are bitten as it were by a sleepy Dragon, and are slothful, and so deprived of senses that they cannot be awakened, says, they seem like men who have drunk Mandrake ..."
"...Likewise the breath of Elephants draws the Serpent out of their dens, and they fight with Dragons; and therefore the members of Elephants, burned, drives away the Serpent..."
Dragon's
blood / Dragons-blood
Dragons-blood - A resinous substance, or red juice, extracted from the Dracaena draco, and other trees of a similar nature. It comes from the East Indies, in small flat cakes or round balls, or in oval drops, wrapped in leaves, and knotted like a chaplet. It has no sensible smell or taste. It has been considered as an astringent medicine, but is now little used for medicinal purposes. A solution of it in spirit of wine is used for staining marble, to which it gives a red tinge.
"...Take Dragon's blood, Bole-Armeniac, Pomegranate shells, white of an Egg, Mastick, Galls, of each one ounce. Powder them, and make them all up with hot water. Put some of this confection into the hole that goes into the Matrix..."
"...Or thus may you restrain that part of common Whores, with Galls, Gums, whites of Eggs, Dragon's blood, Acacia, Plantain, Hypocistis, Balanstia, Mastick, Cypress nuts, Grape skins, Acorn cups. Or in that hollow part where the Glans breaks forth, and gaping, shows the Nucleus, with Mastick and Terra Lemnia..."
"...The Dragon-fish being cut and opened, and laid to the place which he has stung, is a present remedy against his sting, as Aetius writes. The Viper itself..."
Dragon Herb (Head) - A plant of several species of the genus Dracocephalum. They are perennial herbs closely allied to the common catnip. (b) (Astron.) The ascending node of a planet, indicated, chiefly in almanacs, by the symbol . The deviation from the ecliptic made by a planet in passing from one node to the other seems, according to the fancy of some, to make a figure like that of a dragon, whose belly is where there is the greatest latitude; the intersections representing the head and tail; -- from which resemblance the denomination arises.
(Tarragon) - (Artemisia
dracunculus)
also known as Dragon-Wart, or Dragon's Mugwart. Was used for rheumatism and
arthritis.
"...And I myself have often compounded a preservative against poison, of Dragon-herbs, the Dragon-fish, Vipers, and the stone Ophites, being led therein by the likeness of things..."
"...It is a received opinion among gardeners, that if you take a Hemp seed or Line seed, and Engraff it into an ordinary Onion, or else into a Sea Onion as it grows near the sea, or else into a Radish root, then will grow the herb Dragon, which is a notable and famous salad herb..."
"...Water to whiten, plan, and beautify the face...take equal parts of the root of Solomon's Seal, greater Dragon and lesser, Sparagrass, Briony, and white Lillies, as much as you please..."
Dragon-wort /
Dragons-wort
Dragons-wort - A plant, a species of Artemisia.
(See Dragon-herbs)
"...The herb Dragon-wort, both the greater and smaller, have a stalk full of sundry-colored specks any man eat their root, or rub his hands with their leaves, the Viper cannot hurt him..."
Dram - Among druggists and physicians, a weight of the eighth part of an ounce, or sixty grains. In avoirdupois weight, the sixteenth part of an ounce. A small quantity; as no dram of judgment. As much spirituous liquor as is drank at once; as a dram of brandy. Drams are the slow poison of life. Spirit; distilled liquor.
"...In the month of July, take three ounces of the seed, stamp it gently, and steep it in two glasses of the best white Wine, with Gentian, Tormentil, white Dittany, Zedoary, and Carline gathered in August. Red Sanders, long Aristolochie, of each two Drams. ..."
Drought - Dryness; want of rain or of water; especially, such dryness of the weather as affects the earth, and prevents the growth of plants; aridity.
"...In Ethiopia it (Date) is crumbled (so great is the Draught) and like meal it is made into Bread..."
Dregs - The sediment of liquors; lees; grounds; feculence; any foreign matter of liquors that subsides to the bottom of a vessel.
"...Then put them into Wicker baskets, and there let them lie in Salt thirty days together, that the Lees or Dregs may be still dropping forth..."
"...Then strain from it the Dregs, and the Essence will be imbibed into the Oil. From which you may separate it in this manner..."
Drone - The male of the honey bee. It is smaller than the queen bee, but larger than the working bee. The drones make no honey, but after living a few weeks, they are killed or driven from the hive. Hence, An idler; a sluggard; one who earns nothing by industry.
"...And the Drone is called Fucus quafi Fagos, because he eats that which he never labored for. But others hold that the Locusts, and not Drones, are generated of Mule's flesh.."
Dropsies /
Dropsy
Dropsy - [L, Gr., water; the face. Formerly written hydropisy; whence by contraction, dropsy.] In medicine, an unnatural collection of water, in an part of the body, proceeding from a greater effusion of serum by the exhalant arteries, than the absorbents take up. It occurs most frequently in persons of lax habits, or in bodies debilitated by disease. The dropsy takes different names, according to the part affected; as ascites, or dropsy of the abdomen; hydrocephalus, or water in the head; anasarca, or a watery swelling over the whole body; &c.
"... Galen says, it has purging faculties. And therefore it is given to drink for the Dropsies. And it will draw forth all the water of the belly. Lastly, I shall not pass by the error of Hadrian, concerning the Loadstone. For he says, that the Iron by its weight makes the Loadstone never the heavier..."
Dross - The recrement or despumation of metals; the scum or extraneous matter of metals, thrown off in the process of melting. Rust; crust of metals; an incrustation formed on metals by oxydation. Waste matter; refuse; any worthless matter separated from the better part; impure matter.
"...After you have so done, break the vessel into pieces, and take away the scum and Dross of the metal..."
"...First, you must clense and purge your Iron of the Dross and refuse that is in it. And of that poisoned corruption of Rust that it is generally infected with..."
"...Plutarch relates, that there was a physitian with Drufus, who when he had first eaten five or six bitter Almonds, he always conquered at the duel of Drunkenness. .."
Druggist - One who deals in drugs; properly, one whose occupation is merely to but and sell drugs, without compounding or preparation.
"... Stibium that Druggists call Antimony, is ground small in Handmills..."
"...If you wrap up filings of Iron in a paper, as Druggists do, like a Pyramis. And put a Loadstone near it. All the filings together will receive the same force, as a long piece of Iron does..."
Druid /
Druids
Druid - A priest or minister of religion, among the ancient Celtic nations in Gaul, Britain and Germany. The Druids possessed some knowledge of geometry, natural philosophy, &c., superintended the affairs of religion and morality, and performed the office of judges.
"...and those are called Magicians, whom the latines call Wise-men, ...The Celts in France call them Druids, Bards, and Semnothites; The Egyptians call them Priests; and the Cabalists call them Prophets..."
Drum - A martial instrument of music, in form of a hollow cylinder, and covered at the ends with vellum, which is stretched or slackened at pleasure.
"... Drums found in the wars to provoke those that are slow to fight..."
"... Strabo says, the Elephants are allured with Drums..."
Drunk - Intoxicated; inebriated; overwhelmed or overpowered by spirituous liquor; stupefied or inflamed by the action of spirit on the stomach and brain. Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess.
"...By the example of which experiment, Androcides found out a remedy against Wine. Namely, that Colworts are good against Drunkenness..."
"... Athenaus says, that Dogs and Crows are mad Drunk with an herb called Aenutra..."
Ducat - A coin of several countries in Europe, struck in the dominions of a duke. It is of silver or gold. The silver ducat is generally of the value of four shillings and sixpence sterling, equal to an American dollar, or to a French crown, and the gold ducat of twice the value.
"... Gold called Zechini in the air weights 17 carats, under water 16 Carats. Turkish Ducat Gold weighs in the air 34, under water 32..."
Duel - A combat between two persons, fought with deadly weapons, by agreement. It usually arises from an injury done or an affront given by one to the other.
"...Plutarch relates, that there was a Physician with Drufus, who when he had first eaten five or six bitter Almonds, he always conquered at the Duel of Drunkenness. .."
Duck - A water fowl, so called from its plunging. There are many species or varieties of the duck, some wild, others tame.
"...A Toad is likewise generated of a Duck that has lain rotting under the mud, as the verse shows which is ascribed to the Duck , "When I am rotten in the earth, I bring forth Toads. Happily because they and I both, are moist and foul creatures..."
"...For I have seen Hens sit on Geese, Ducks, and Peacock Eggs. And Pigeons sit on Hen Eggs, and a Cuckow to sit upon any of them..."
"... Duck's grease is very prevalent in fireworks, and physicians praise it extremely, that it is most subtle, penetrating and hot, it makes other things penetrate, and as it is most subtle and hot, so it takes fire vehemently, and burns..."
Dulcimer - An instrument of music played by striking brass wires with little sticks.
"...when the wind is very tempestuous set your instruments just against it as Harps, Flutes, Dulcimers, Pipes. The wind will run violently into them, and play low upon them, and will run into the holes of the Reeds..."
Dulcify - To sweeten; to free from acidity, saltness or acrimony.
"...After this manner it (Bread) may be made of Tares and Vetches, and the favour of them is Dulcified with water and mingling Meal with them. .."
Dulcis - Apium dulce Miller. adj. sweet to the taste; agreeable, charming.
See: Hippace
"...The Scythian Hippace is sweet also, and some call it Dulcis. It grows by Maeotis..."
Dung - The excrement of animals.
"... Let there be clay with straw under it, made up with Dung, that the Table being turned about, it may receive a concave form exactly..."
"...If you take, says he, a Truttle of Goats Dung , and bore it through, and make it hollow cunningly with a Bodkin, and then fill it up with the seed of Lettuce, Cresses, Basil, Rotchet, and Radish, and when you have so done, lap them up in more of the same Dung..."
"...Plutarch in his Symposiacis, gives the reason, why the sacrifices of cocks hung to a fig tree did presently grow tender and short, when the Cook of Aristian, among other meats, offered to Hercules a tender Dunghill Cock, newly slain, that was extremely short..."
"...That Dung-hill Cocks may fight the better..."
"...Dydimus says you may effect it by covering the Rose bush with earth, a foot above the root of it, and there pour in warm water upon it, when the slip begins to shoot up, and before any blossom appears..."
"...Dydimus says, that if Rams, or any other beasts, feed up the herb Milk-wort, they will become both eager to lust, and stronger for the act of copulation..."
Dystentery - A flux in which the stools consist chiefly of blood and mucus or other morbid matter, accompanied with griping of the bowels, and followed by tenesmus.
"... It is certain, that those who live upon
that are never troubled with
Dysentery,
Tenasmus, or any
diseases of the belly..."
"D"
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