Oxidortium

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Oxidortium fomentum acuens visum Cassius felix.


Apparatus:

Oxidortium AC | Oxidertium B j | Oxideritium f {'c' misread as 't'} | Oxiteriuʒ or –ceriuʒ ms. e | Oxiderciũ p | oxydercicon Cassius Felix
visum | virũ p
{Felix} etcetera add. j


Translation:

Oxidortium is a fomentation {i.e. a warm or soothing application} that sharpens the vision according to Cassius Felix.


Commentary:

Simon is referring to Cassius Felix’s De medicina: 29 , ed. Fraisse (2001: 57ff). Ad oculorum passiones {“On eye diseases”}, where the word oxydercicon is attested twice, i.e for an eye-salve, §21, p. 66; see Xerocollirium and - quoted in this entry - for a fomentation, § 23, p.67: – Fomentum oculis acuens visum, quod Graeci oxydercicon vocant - “A fomentation that sharpens the vision, which the Greeks call oxydercicon“. This text is also available online in the Rose edition (1879: 56ff) [[1]].
In this section Cassius describes how to make this fomentation from a decoction of feniculum {“fennel”}, centauria {“centaury”}, faenum graecum {“fenugreek”} and melilotus {“melilot”}.

Oxidortium:
The Greek compound adjective ὀξυδερκικός /oxyderkikós/ - itacist /oxiderkikós/ - and its variant form: ὀξυδορκικός /oxydorkikós/ - itacist /oxidorkikós/ - mean “making the sight sharp” (LSJ), consisting of ὀξυ- /oxy-/ {“sharp”} + -δορκ-/-δερκ- /-dork-/-derk-/ related to δέρκομαι /dérkomai/ “to see (clearly)” + -ικός /-ikós/ an adjectival ending, resulting in “having sharp vision”. Cassius’s form is a sg. neuter acc. ὀξυδερκικόν /oxyderkikón/ {sc. μάλαγμα /málagma/ “poultice”}.

The forms in Simon’s witnesses show considerable corruption, which at least in part may be due to Simon having had a corrupted copy as his source. Fraisse op.cit. p.66 and Rose have oxydercicon < /oxyderkikón/, but the mss. they consulted show a bewildering number of variants: Oxidorcion, exhoxidorcicon, exidocicon, xidocicon and oxidericon, oxidoricon, oxidorcion, this last variant being very close to the version found in Simon.


WilfGunther (talk) 15:01, 21 November 2016 (GMT)


For xerocollyrium: see Xerocollirium.


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