Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
An Irish Materia Medica (Author: Tadhg Ó Cuinn)
subsection 165
165. Lapis magnetis: i.e. a stone; hot and dry in the third degree; the reason why it is called magnet is that magnetes in Greek means
p.567
‘blood’ in Irish, because it staunches all blood. If this stone be rubbed on a whetstone, with the juice of shepherd's purse between them, and a linen cloth be dipped in it and applied to the bleeding, this will staunch every bleeding. It is the proper nature of this stone to staunch every bleeding; according to Alexander, it has the attractive virtue; it is obtained on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea; any ship or boat in which there are iron nails and which sails on this sea, it draws them to it, and they are sunk. If powder of this stone together with juice of fennel be given, it will help with dropsy.