The Anatomy of Melancholy

When that proud Menacrates, “Zeus,” wrote an arrogant letter to Philip of Macedon, Philip sent back only this reply: “I advise you to go to Anticyra.” He meant that Menacrates was out of his mind “and needed hellebore”: he badly needed a good purge. Lilius Giraldus says that Hercules, after all his mad assaults upon his wife and children, was completely cured by a purge of hellebore administered by a man of Anticyra.

People of sound mind commonly took it to sharpen their wits—as Ennius did long ago, “who never sprang to sing of arms unless he had been drinking,” and as our poets drink sack to improve their invention. I find it so recorded by Aulus Gellius, book 17, chapter 15. Carneades the Academic, when preparing to write against Zeno the Stoic, first purged himself with hellebore; Petronius attributes this to Chrysippus.

It remained highly esteemed for many ages, until Mesue and some other Arabian writers began to reject and condemn it. On their authority, for many succeeding periods of years it was hotly disputed and fell entirely out of favour, being regarded as poison rather than medicine. Crato and some more recent physicians still oppose it today.

Their reasons are that Aristotle, On Plants, book 1, chapter 3, called henbane and hellebore poisons; and Alexander of Aphrodisias, in the preface to his Problems, said, speaking of hellebore, that “quails feed on what is poisonous to men.” Galen, Epidemics, book 6, commentary 5, text 35, confirms this. Emperor Constantine, in his Geoponics, attributes no other virtue to it than killing mice, rats, flies and moles; Mizaldus does the same. Nicander in antiquity, and Gervinus, Skenkius and other recent writers on poisons, give hellebore a prominent place.

Nicholas Leonicus tells a story of Solon who, while besieging I do not know what city, steeped hellebore in a spring whose water was piped into the town’s centre. In this way he either poisoned the inhabitants or weakened them so much through purging that they could no longer bear arms.

Despite all these cavils and objections, most recent writers strongly approve of it: Gariopontus, book 1, chapter 13; Codronchus’ Commentary on Hellebore; Fallopius, On Simple Purgative Medicines, chapter 69; Trincavelli, consultation 15; Montanus, 239; Frisemelica, consultation 14; and Hercules de Saxonia, provided it is given at the right time. Jacobus de Dondis, Aggregator; Amatus Lusitanus, century 66; Godefridus Stegius, chapter 13; Hollerius and all our herbalists concur.