MEDICINE MONDAY: Today’s “remedy” could be useful for anyone who is tired of being criticized for smelling like garlic all the time.
THE TEXT: Garlic has great strength, and that is why is its enormously useful. It vigorously wards off every harmful condition to which humans beings are prey. By its smell alone it drives away snakes, scorpions, and other animals which lie in hiding. It heals the wounds which these animals inflict equally well whether it is applied to them, or taken in food or drink. When taken with honey, it heals the bite of a dog. Cooked in sweet vinegar, it kills tapeworms and other animals which infest the bowels and drives them out. Dried with its own leaves and mixed with oil, it treats all poisonous bites in an effective manner. Prepared in the same manner and used as an application, it soothes abrasions on the body and weeping ulcers of the head that have produced blisters. Travelers who eat garlic are not upset by changes of water or locale.
– Gargilius, 3rd Century AD
