Pliny the Elder

Imbribus proveniunt omnia haec, imbre et silphium venit primo, ut dictum est. ex Syria nunc hoc maxime inportatur, deterius Parthico, sed Medico melius, extincto omni Cyrenaico, ut diximus. usus silphii in medicamenta foliorum ad purgandas vulvas pellendosque emortuos partus; decocuntur in vino albo et odorato, ut bibatur mensura acetabuli a balineis. radix prodest arteriis exasperatis, collectionibus sanguinis inlinitur. sed in cibis concoquitur aegre, inflationes facit et ructus. urinae quoque noxia est, suggillatis cum vino et oleo amicissima et cum cera strumis. verrucae sedis crebriore eius suffitu cadunt.

Laser e silphio profluens quo diximus modo inter eximia naturae dona numeratum plurimis compositionibus inseritur, per se autem algores excalfacit, potum nervorum vitia extenuat. feminis datur in vino et lanis mollibus admovetur vulvae ad menses ciendos. pedum clavos circumscariphatos ferro mixtum cerae extrahit. urinam ciet ciceris magnitudine dilutum.

All these plants come with rain, and silphium too first appeared after rain, as I have said. Now it is chiefly imported from Syria; it is poorer than the Parthian product but better than the Median, since all the Cyrenaic has disappeared¹, as noted earlier. The leaves of silphium are used in remedies to purge the womb and expel a dead fetus: they are boiled in fragrant white wine and an acetabulum measure is drunk after a bath. The root helps a roughened throat and is applied to collections of blood. As food it is hard to digest and causes flatulence and belching. It is also harmful to the urinary tract, but with wine and oil it is useful on bruises and with wax on swellings. Frequent fumigation with it removes anal warts.

Laser, the resin flowing from silphium in the way already described, is counted among nature's exceptional gifts and enters many preparations. By itself it warms those who are chilled; drunk, it eases disorders of the nerves. It is given to women in wine and applied to the womb on soft wool to bring on menstruation. Mixed with wax, it draws out corns on the feet after they have been scored with iron. A chickpea-sized amount diluted in water promotes urination.