Apendix

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Apendix Plinius est spina sic dicta quoniam bacce puniceo colore in ea apendices vocantur que laxative sunt.


Apparatus:

quoniaʒ ACH | qm̃ B | quã e | ? f

bacce ACH | bacche f | bace B | blacte (-tt-?) e, {but the 'ḷ' has a dot under it, which can mean "erase". Would it be bacce after all?}

puniceo ABCH e | pirucheo? f

appendices H e | apendices AC f | apẽdites B {'c' misread as 't'}


Translation:

Apendix: Pliny says that there is a thorny plant, which is so named {i.e. appendix, from appendo meaning 'to hang sthg. upon sthg; suspend on'}, because the purple coloured berries hanging from it are called apendices, and these berries are laxative.


Commentary:

Simon is referring to Pliny, 24, 70, ed. Rackham (1938-63: VII.82): Spina est appendix appellate, quoniam bacce puniceo colore in ea appendices vocantur. Hae crudae per se et aridae in vino decoctae alvum citam ac tormina conpescunt …. Jones (1938-63: VII.83), translates: "There is also a thorn with the name of appendix, because the bright red berries hanging from it are called appendixes. These, either raw by themselves or dried or boiled down in wine, check looseness of the bowels and colic."

The last sentence in Pliny's statement Hae … alvum citam ac tormina conpescunt – "These {sc. berries} ... check looseness of the bowels and colic" is concentrated by Simon into laxative sunt - "they are laxatives".


Botanical identification:

André (1985: 21) and Lewis & Short (1879) identify the plant as Berberis vulgaris L. "barberrybush" [[1]], [[2]].

WilfGunther 13/10/2013

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