On Medical Material is the work of Pedanius Dioscorides of Anazarbus in Cilicia, written in Greek in the first century CE. In five books he describes the plants, animal products, wines and minerals used in remedies, giving for each its appearance, where it is found, how it is prepared and what it is given for, and, where it matters, how to detect adulteration. In the preface, addressed to Areius, he faults earlier writers on drugs, among them Crateuas, Andreas and Niger, for gaps and errors, and says he arranged the material so that things of like powers stand together rather than in alphabetical order, from what he had seen for himself on his travels and in a soldier's life.
Book I treats aromatics, oils and perfumed ointments, and trees with their gums, resins and fruits. Book II opens with animals and their products, honey, milk and fats, then cereals, pulses and garden plants. Books III and IV take roots, juices, herbs and seeds. Book V turns from the vine to the kinds of wine and the drinks made from them, then earths, stones and metals, and closes with a farewell to Areius.
The work survives complete in medieval manuscripts, some of them rearranged alphabetically, and was translated into Latin and Arabic.
Dioscorides of Anazarbus On Medical Material: summary and contents (PDF)
Dioscorides of Anazarbus On Medical Material: summary and contents (Markdown)
Contents
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Αʹ Book I
Dioscorides opens his work with a preface to Areius, faulting earlier writers on drugs, among them Crateuas, Andreas and Niger, for gaps and errors and setting out his own method. Book 1 then treats aromatics, oils and perfumed ointments, and trees with their gums, resins and fruits, frankincense among them, with how each is found, tested for adulteration and used, and ends with lye and the Egyptian persea.
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Βʹ Book II
Remedies from animals open Book 2, from the sea urchin, the sea horse and the purple shell to parts and products of land animals, followed by honey, milk and fats. Dioscorides then turns to cereals and pulses, such as the chickpea, and to garden vegetables, adding the pungent plants, garlic, onion and mustard, so that like powers stay together, and closes with herbs such as telephion.
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Γʹ Book III
Roots, juices, herbs and seeds are the matter of Book 3, as Dioscorides tells Areius at its start. It begins with agaric from Sarmatia and runs through many roots and herbs, among them plants that bear an umbel like dill's and pyrethrum, whose burning root, boiled in vinegar, is rinsed round the mouth for toothache. For each plant he gives its appearance, where it grows, how it is prepared and what it treats, ending with three kinds of ground pine.
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Δʹ Book IV
Herbs and roots not covered in Book 3 complete the plant material in Book 4, which opens with betony, given for the bites of venomous creatures, for poisons, for epilepsy and for the liver. Among the many plants described are the kinds of mullein, white and black, and the book closes with the heliotropes, used against fevers and worms, and the small plant whose seeds look like a scorpion's tail.
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Εʹ Book V
The last book of Dioscorides' work turns from the vine to wines and then to minerals. It covers the cultivated and wild vine, the kinds of wine and the drinks made from them, then earths, stones, metals and their products, with recipes such as the making of verdigris and of writing ink from soot and gum, and closes with a farewell to Areius.