Galen’s Simple Drugs 6, Chapter 2

Agnos (= “chaste”), or lugos, the shrubby plant, is hot and drying somewhere in the third degree; however, agnos or lugos is considerably fine-parted and tastes both acrid and at the same time is astringent. The lugoi [i.e., the branches themselves of the agnos bush] are useless as a medical treatment, but the leaves and seeds are dry and hot in capacity and fine-parted in substance; for this is evident from using the leaf, flower or fruit and by their taste which is acrid and at the same time somewhat astringent. The fruit is edible and clearly warms, in addition to inducing headache. If it is roasted, as it is also eaten this way with tragēmata [1], it affects the head less. Unroasted, it is aflatulent [2] in the stomach, and even more so when it has been roasted. Both the roasted and the unroasted fruit inhibit the desire for sex, and the leaves and the flowers of the shrub do this as well, so that not only have they been relied on to promote chastity when eaten and drunk, but also when used as bedding. Thus, the women in Athens spread the whole bush under themselves at the Thesmophoria, and hence its name.

From all of this it is clear, if you remember what I said in my comments above, that agnos is simultaneously warming, drying, and extremely aflatulent. Its capacity is an indication that it is genuinely composed of fine parts. For it is reasonable that it affects the head not by means of generating an abundance of vaporous pneuma, but rather by means of its heat and composition from fine parts. For if it were productive of a flatulent pneuma, it would inflate the belly and stimulate the sexual desire, just like arugula. Since however it not only does not stimulate sexual desire but in fact naturally restrains it, it should be the case that it is especially close to the capacity of rue in heating and drying, although not quite equal to it. For there is a slight deficiency in both, since rue is in fact more heating and more drying. It also differs in the combination of quality and capacity. For the seeds and shoots of agnos bring a certain moderate astringency, while rue, when it is dry, is genuinely bitter and acrid, and when wet, slightly bitter. It does not have any tartness or sourness additional to it, or if it should seem to someone that it does, I know that it will seem very faint and not at all equal to that of agnos. Thus, the seed of agnos rather than rue is suitable for the liver and spleen when they are hardening and obstructed.

However, [a discussion of] these matters belongs to the therapeutic method. It is impossible to assert that [this method] does not have any need of the capacity of drugs at all; to admit this quickly and get back to the task at hand would be the act of a prudent man. I will try to practice this even more on the drugs that follow, by which I mean I will infer (=ἐπιλογίζεσθαι) the general capacity from a few clear examples and not focus on individual actions. For it is sufficient for now to know that agnos is hot and dry, not moderately, but somewhere in the third degree, and it is considerably fine-parted. For knowing this, and then learning the therapeutic method in addition, one will discover how to use it to initiate menstruation, to disperse hardening parts of the body, and to prepare a relieving or warming ointment.

ἄγνος δὲ ἢ λύγος, τὸ θαμνῶδες φυτὸν, θερμὸς μέν ἐστι καὶ ξηραντικὸς κατὰ τὴν τρίτην που ἀπόστασιν, λεπτομερὴς δὲ ἱκανῶς καὶ γευόμενος δριμύς τε ἅμα καὶ στύφων ἄγνος, ἢ λύγος. αὐτὰς μὲν δὴ τὰς λύγους ἀχρήστους ἔχει πρὸς ἰατρείαν, τὰ δὲ φύλλα καὶ τὸ σπέρμα ξηρὰ καὶ θερμὰ τὴν δύναμίν ἐστι καὶ κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν λεπτομερῆ. καὶ γάρ χρωμένων οὕτω φαίνεται καὶ γευομένων δριμὺ τε ἅμα καὶ ὑποστῦφόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ φύλλον καὶ τὸ ἄνθος καὶ ὁ καρπός. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἐδώδιμος ὁ καρπὸς καὶ θερμαίνει σαφῶς μετὰ τοῦ κεφαλαλγὴς ὑπάρχειν. εἰ δὲ φρυχθείη, καὶ γάρ καὶ οὕτως ἐσθίεται μετὰ τραγημάτων, ἧττον ἅπτεται τῆς κεφαλῆς. ἄφυσος δὲ κατὰ γαστέρα καὶ ὁ ἄφρυκτος μὲν, ἐπὶ μᾶλλον δὲ πεφρυγμένος. ἐπέχει δὲ καὶ τὰς πρὸς ἀφροδίσια ὁρμὰς ὅ τε πεφρυγμένος καὶ ὁ ἄφρυκτος καρπὸς, καὶ τὰ φύλλα καὶ τὰ ἄνθη τοῦ θάμνου ταὐτὸ τοῦτο δύναται δρᾷν, ὥστε οὐ μόνον ἐσθιόμενα καὶ πινόμενα πρὸς ἁγνείαν πεπίστευται συντελεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑποστρωννύμενα. ταῦτ' ἄρα καὶ τοῖς Θεσμοφορίοις αἱ γυναῖκες Ἀθήνῃσιν ὑποστρωννύουσιν ἑαυταῖς ὅλον τὸν θάμνον, ἐντεῦθεν δὲ καὶ τοὔνομα αὐτῷ.

ἐξ ὧν ἁπάντων δῆλον, εἴ γε τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ὑπομνήμασιν εἰρημένων μεμνήμεθα, θερμαίνειν τε ἅμα καὶ ξηραίνειν καὶ ἀφυσότατον ὑπάρχειν ἄγνον. ὅτι δὲ λεπτομερὴς ἀκριβῶς ἐστιν ἡ δύναμις αὐτοῦ τεκμήριον. καὶ γάρ τὸ πρὸς κεφαλὴν ἅπτειν οὐ διὰ πλῆθος ἀτμώδους πνεύματος ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γεννωμένου μᾶλλον ἤπερ διὰ θερμότητα καὶ λεπτομέρειαν εὔλογον γίνεται. εἴ περ γάρ ἦν φυσώδους πνεύματος γεννητικὸν, ἐνεφύσησὲ τε ἂν τὴν γαστέρα καὶ τὰς πρὸς ἀφροδίσια παρώξυνεν ὁρμὰς ὥσπερ εὔζωμον. ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐ μόνον οὐ παροξύνει, ἀλλὰ καὶ καταστέλλειν πέφυκεν, εἴη ἂν κατὰ τὴν πηγάνου μάλιστα δύναμιν ἐν τῷ θερμαίνειν καὶ ξηραίνειν, οὐ μὴν ἶσόν γ' ἐστὶν αὐτῷ. βραχὺ γάρ ἀπολείπεται κατ' ἄμφω· καὶ γάρ θερμαντικώτερον αὐτοῦ καὶ ξηραντικώτερόν ἐστι τὸ πήγανον. διενήνοχε δὲ καὶ τῷ τῆς ποιότητος καὶ δυνάμεως ἐπιμίκτῳ. τὸ γάρ τοῦ ἄγνου σπέρμα καὶ οἱ βλαστοὶ στύψιν τινὰ μετρίαν ἐπεισφέρουσι. τὸ δὲ πήγανον ὅταν μὲν ξηρὸν ᾖ, πικρὸν ἀκριβῶς ἐστι καὶ δριμὺ, ὅταν δὲ ὑγρὸν, ὑπόπικρον. οὐ μὴν αὐστηρόν γε ἢ στρυφνόν τι πρόσεστιν αὐτῷ, ἢ εἰ καὶ προσεῖναὶ τῳ δόξειεν, ἀμυδρὸν παντάπασιν οἶδ' ὅτι δόξει, καὶ οὐδαμῶς ἶσον τῷ τοῦ ἄγνου. ταῦτ' ἄρα καὶ πρὸς ἧπαρ καὶ σπλῆνα σκληρούμενὰ τε καὶ ἐμφραττόμενα τὸ τοῦ ἄγνου σπέρμα μᾶλλον ἢ πήγανον ἁρμόττει.

τῆς θεραπευτικῆς δὲ ἐστιν ἤδη ταῦτα μεθόδου, ἧς τὸ μὲν μηδ' ὅλως προσάπτεσθαι φαρμάκων δυνάμεως ἀποφαινόμενον ἀδύνατόν ἐστι, τὸ δὲ ταχέως ἀπολείποντα πάλιν ἐπανέρχεσθαι πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον ἀνδρὸς ἔργον ἂν εἴη σώφρονος. ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τῶν ἑξῆς φαρμάκων αὐτὸ δὴ τοῦτο πρᾶξαι πειράσομαι, λέγω δὴ τὸ τὴν καθόλου δύναμιν ἔκ τινων ὀλίγων ἐναργῶν ἐπιλογισάμενος ἀποχωρεῖν τῶν κατὰ μέρος ἐνεργειῶν. ἀρκεῖ γάρ τοῦτο μόνον εἰς τὰ παρόντα γινώσκειν, ὡς θερμὸς μὲν καὶ ξηρὸς ἄγνος τὴν δύναμίν ἐστιν οὐ μετρίως, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν τρίτην που τῶν ἀποστάσεων, λεπτομερὴς δὲ ἱκανῶς. ὁ γάρ ταῦτα εἰδὼς, εἶτα προσμαθὼν τὴν θεραπευτικὴν μέθοδον, αὐτὸς ἐξευρήσει πῶς μὲν καταμήνια κινήσει δι' αὐτοῦ, πῶς δὲ τὰ σκληρυνόμενα μόρια διαφορήσει, πῶς δὲ ἄκοπον ἢ θερμαντικὸν ἄλειμμα δι' αὐτοῦ κατασκευάσει.

Galen, On the Capacities of Simple Drugs, VI.2, XI.807–810 K.

[1] τραγήματα: dried fruits eaten as a dessert according to LSJ. I haven’t looked into it more than this.

[2] ἄφυσος: unclear if this means gets rid of flatulence, e.g., by expelling it, or that it prevents it by causing it not to arise in the first place.