Et alibi[1] ad suffusionem hoc admirabile esse ait, et [289] illico visum restituere. Muris sanguinem, et Galli fel, et muliebre lac aequis ponderibus misce, et bene subactis utere. Probatum est enim et magnifice profuit. Lusciosis, Plinio[2] teste, fimum quoque Gallinaceorum rubrum duntaxat illinendum monstrant. Alii stercus albi Galli cum melle, et aceto oculis iniectum eorum lac{h}rimas sistere volunt. Archigenes, referente Galeno[3], ad cruentos, et sugillatos oculos candidum ovi instillatum prodesse asserit, atque amplius pura lana exceptum et superne impositum. Et rursus[4], eodem teste, sugillata in oculis ovi vitellus impositus discutit. Sunt qui mel misceant. Et rursus: ad haemalopes, et hyposphagmata, id est, cruentos, et sugil<l>atos oculos, statim a principio tum ad inflammationem, tum ad dolorem compescendum prodest ovi assi luteum cum vino impositum.

And Galen in another passage says that the following remedy is marvelous against cataract and restores the sight in a flash. Mix the same weight of mouse blood, rooster bile and woman milk and use after you mixed them properly. For it has been proven and has been of extreme benefit. As Pliny testifies, to those people suffering of nyctalopia - or night blindness - they advise to smear also chicken’s dung but the red one. Others think that the dung of a white rooster applied to eyes with honey and vinegar is able to stop their tears. As Galen reports, Archigenes affirms that egg white instilled is useful for eyes bearing hemorrhages and bruises, and mostly if taken with pure wool and placed on. And again, always according to him, egg yolk applied on eyes drives away the bruises. Some are mixing honey with it. And again: for haemalopes and hyposphagmata, that is, for eyes with hemorrhages and bruises, immediately at their beginning is useful the roasted egg yolk applied with wine to restrain both inflammation and pain.

Marcellus[5] fellis Gallinacei, vel Vulturini, quod longe magis prodesse putat, scrupulum[6], et mellis optimi unciam bene trita coniungi iubet, atque in pyxide cuprea haberi, et opportune ad inungendum uti: hoc nihil potentius caliginem relevare. Serenus[7] vero in simplici lympha macerat: ait enim:

Fel quoque de Gallo mollitum simplice[8] lympha

Exacuit puros dempta caligine visus.

Marcellus Empiricus prescribes to join a scruple [1.13 g] of chicken’s or vulturine bile, the latter he thinks by far more efficacious, to one ounce [27.28 g] of excellent honey, well melted, and that they must be held in a copper jar and to use at proper time to do applications: nothing is more powerful than this preparation in lessening the dimming of sight. But Serenus Sammonicus soaks it in pure and simple water: in fact he says:

Also rooster’s bile softened with pure and simple water

Sharpens the sight of cleared eyes after their dimming has been removed.

In eodem felle, si Plinio[9] fidem adhibemus, alligato[10] vis est ad argema, et ad albugines ex aqua diluto: item ad suffusiones oculorum, maxime candidi Gallinacei: item alibi fimo similem fere vim ascribit, dum ait[11]: Fimum Gallinaceum duntaxat candidum oleo in vetere, corneisque pyxidibus adservant ad pupillarum albugines. Sanguinis Galli praeterea ad oculorum vitia usus est, quando, teste Constantino, eorum leucomata, et cicatrices cum aqua inunctus sanat. Sed Marcellus ad leucomata, et {hypophyses} <hypochyses>[12] Galli Gallinacei fel maxime albi ex aqua dilutum, et in unctione adhibitum laudat, et aciem oculorum confirmare testatur. Et alibi fimum Gallinaceum cum oleo veteri tenuissime tritum, et adpositum leucomata, et {hypophyses} <hypochyses> curare. Et Galenus[13] oculorum ulcera, et albugines felle Galli inungi iubet.

If we believe Pliny, in the bile itself diluted in water and applied with a bandaging there is an effectiveness against the white spots of the cornea and the leucomas likewise against cataracts, above all from a white rooster: similarly in another point he ascribes an almost similar effectiveness to the dung, when he says: The dung of chickens, and only the white one, they preserve it in old oil and in horny jars against pupillary leucomas. Moreover as Constantinus Africanus affirms the rooster’s blood is used against ocular affections since if applied with water it cures leucomas and their cicatrices. But Marcellus Empiricus against leucomas and cataracts praises the bile of a rooster, above all if white, diluted in water and used as eyewash, and he testifies that it strengthens sight's sharpness. And in another point he affirms that crushed chicken’s dung with old oil and locally applied cures leucomas and cataracts. Also Galen prescribes that ocular ulcerations and leucomas are to be locally treated with rooster's bile.

Sanguinem tamen contra oculorum vitia insigni vi pollere docemur Valerii Apri exemplo, cui sanguinis Gallinacei beneficio visus quondam restitutus dicitur: uti prae caeteris ex tabella marmorea[14] Romae in Aesculapii templo in insula Tiberina inventa, et usque ad hanc diem referente Hieronymo Mercuriali[15] medicorum nostri aevi celeberrimo, apud Maphaeos conservata intelligere licet, in qua inter alia Graece leguntur, quae latina facta sic sonant: Valerio Apro[16], militi caeco oraculum reddidit Deus, veniret, et acciperet sanguinem ex Gallo albo admiscens mel et collyrium conficeret, et tribus diebus uteretur {sopra} <supra> oculos: et vidit, et venit, et gratias egit publice Deo. Plinius cum fimum russum Gallinaceum lusciosis illini dixisset[17], mox etiam subdit[18]. Laudant et Gallinae fel, sed praecipue adipem contra pustulas in pupillis.

We are nevertheless informed by the example of Valerius Aper that the blood is endowed with a great effectiveness against ocular affections, and it is said that one day the sight was restored to him by the beneficial effect of rooster's blood: as it is possible to infer above all from a votive marble tablet found in the temple of Aesculapius in Rome on the Tiber island, and since up today Girolamo Mercuriale one of the most famous physicians of our time makes mention of it, preserved at the Maffei, in which among other things written in Greek are read those sounding as follows after a Latin translation: The god gave as response to Valerius Aper, a blind soldier, to present himself and to take blood from a white rooster mixing it with honey and to make an eyewash from it, and to use it for three days placing on eyes: and he regained the sight, and came to the temple, and publicly offered thanks to the god. Pliny, after he said to apply reddish chicken’s dung to those suffering of nyctalopia, straight afterwards also adds: They also praise hen's bile, but above all the fat against pupillary vesicles.

Verum haud minorem nobis hae alites in aurium affectibus utilitatem praestant idque adipe suo potissimum, si, teste Galeno[19], ex aqua recipiatur in usum. Quin im<m>o Marcellus liquefactum, et tepide instillatum quodlibet aurium vitium sanare testatur. Alibi etiam Galenus adipem Gallinaceum item et Anserinum plurimum prodesse ait, si aqua auditorium meatum intraverit, mediocriter calidum infusum. Si purulentae fuerint aures Plinius[20] Gallinae adipem calidum infundi utiliter existimat. Sunt qui eundem adipem instillatum tepidum adversus difficultatem auditus laudant. Apollonius apud Galenum[21] (uti etiam Rasis) dolentibus auribus instillari liquefactum iubet. Quo loco Galenus: Gallinaceus, inquit, et Anserinus adeps, siquidem evacuatum corpus invenerint et humorem qui inflammatam afflictionem excitat non amplius influentem, duabus rationibus tum mitigandi, tum curandi profuerint. Si vero influente adhuc causa adhibeantur, affectioni quidem nihil auxiliantur, leniunt tamen doloris accessionem sine symptoma<te> quemadmodum etiam, si ob humorum acredinem mordacitas contingat. Kiranides adipem Galli liquefactum cum nardo ad dolores aurium etiam commendat, et contra nervorum passiones.

In truth these birds offer to us a no less utility in ears affections and above all they do this thanks to their fat, if, as Galen testifies, it is used with water. But in fact Marcellus assures that melted and instilled when warmed up it cures whatever affection of ears. In another point Galen also says that chicken's fat as well as that of goose is very helpful when poured lukewarm if water entered the auditory duct. Pliny thinks that lukewarm hen’s fat is profitably poured if ears show pus. Some are praising this same lukewarm fat instilled against hearing difficulties. Apollonius Herophileius in Galen (as also Razi) prescribes that it is instilled melted in earaches. In this passage Galen says: The fat of chicken and goose, even if they are finding the area emptied and that the liquid stimulating the inflammation is not coming out any longer, they will be helpful for two reasons, both mitigating and recovering. For if they are used because of still flowing fluid, they don’t help the illness at all, nevertheless they dampen the pain to grow worse without giving trouble, as well as if because of irritating effect of fluids it happens to feel a sharp pain. Also Kiranides recommends liquefied rooster’s fat with matgrass against earaches and against neuralgias.

Sed ut obiter aliquid de huius adipis qualitate dicamus: scire licet medium esse inter Anserinum, et suillum, ut scriptum reliquit Galenus[22]: ait autem Anserinum ex his valentiorem esse, sed substitui aliquando Gallinaceum, Anserinum, suillum, caprinum adipem, quemvis in alterius absentis vicem: Gallinaceum tamen calidiorem, et sicciorem, quam suum, et teneriorem, et minimum terrestrem, idque magis etiam si e Gallinis {syvestribus} <silvestribus> fuerit, et tenuitatis ratione profundius penetrare. Eiusmodi adipes quomodo debeant curari, et reponi, docetur in vulgatis Nicolai Praepositi codicibus, his fere verbis: Animalium recens mactatorum adipes diligenter purga a pelliculis, et ollae novae figulinae impone, quae non supra dimidium impleatur: hanc opertam in aliud vas {calididimum} <calidissimum> (vel aqua fervida plenum, secundum alios) impone, et subinde quod liquatum fuerit, in aliud vas infunde, donec nihil amplius liquetur, et colatum in loco frigido repone. Sunt qui reposituri modicum salis adijciant.

But to say incidentally something about the features of this fat: we must to know that it is betwixt and between that of goose and pig, as Galen left written: for he says that fat of goose is the best among them, but that sometimes the fat of chicken, goose, pig and goat indifferently replace each other when one of them is not available: nevertheless that of chicken is warmer and drier than that of pig, and it is softer and very little earthen, and all the more if it comes from wild hens, and because of its scarce density penetrates more in depth. How we must take care and preserve these fats is explained in the codices of Nicolaus Praepositus roughly by these words: Carefully clean off from rinds the fat parts of recently slaughtered animals and put them in a new earthenware pot that must not be filled more than half: cover and put it in another very hot vessel (or full of boiling water according to others), and what has melted put subsequently in another jar so that doesn’t melt still further and after you strained it put in a cool place. Some when are about to lay it aside add a little salt.

Praeter vero adipem, Gallinaceus alia quoque subministrat, quibus auribus medearis. Nam Avicenna apostema in aure calidum ovi vitellum curare refert: sin abscessus dolorem vehementem efficiant, [290] oleum ovorum statim sedabit, eorumque concoctionem promovebit, eosque aperiet.

But besides the fat a chicken supplies also other things with which you can treat the ears. For Avicenna reports that the yolk of warm egg cures an ear abscess: but if the abscesses cause a heavy pain, oil obtained from eggs will soothe it immediately and will stimulate their maturation, and will open them.