Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
An Irish Materia Medica (Author: Tadhg Ó Cuinn)

subsection 80

80. Centauria: i.e. centaury; it is hot and dry in the third degree; it has the attractive and diuretic virtues; it is said to be of two sorts, the big sort and the small sort, and the small sort is the better for medical purposes; the top and the flower are most used for


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medical purposes; it is slightly laxative, and it has the ability to purge the choleric humour from the stomach and the intestines; it opens the oppilation of the liver and spleen; it serves well against the tertian fever that is caused by the choleric humour. Item, a powder can be made of this herb to put in electuaries, clysters, and compound medicines, and at other times this herb is used on its own in wine or ale. It should be collected when in flower; its efficacy lasts for everything we have said; a fomentation of this herb is good for pain of the nerves; if it be given to a pregnant woman, she will bring forth the dead foetus; if it be given to a woman who is not pregnant, it will provoke menstruation. If it be boiled in honey, it will soothe the digestion when taken; it serves well against pain of the bladder and of the kidneys, and against stranguria, if it be boiled in wine. Item, if the same herb be boiled well and mixed with wine and butter and put as a plaster over the spleen, it will help with its swelling and pain. When a live worm enters the ear, put the juice of this herb into it, and it will come out. Item, against cataract of the eye, if powder be made of pepper grains, and juice of centaury be put through it, it will loosen the cataract. Item, if it be desired to expel gross phlegmatic humour from the kidneys, and choleric humour, take centaury and dodder in equal amounts, and give it together with the whey of goat's milk twice in the week, and it will purge as we have said, and the same drink will preserve choleric humour in the summer time from becoming feverish. Item, make this syrup: roots of fennel, parsley, celery and centaury, boil them in water, strain them well, put sugar or honey through them, and this

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syrup is very powerful against oppilation of the liver, the kidneys, and the spleen.