" In Physick dormice also have a place. Eating the flesh frees from dog-hunger; the fat provokes sleep if you anoint the soles of the feet therewith; the dung, druncke, breaks the stone; the same with vinegar and rosemary cures shedding the hair; the ashes cleare the eyesight." I stopped reading.
Who wrote that? asked Pliny. Was it me?
No, it wasn't you. It was Joannes Jonstonus, in 1678.
He was probably quoting me, said Pliny. I know those cures.
I bet they didn't work. And what's dog-hunger?
It is when you suffer from excessive hunger, as when you feel you could eat a dog.
Why wouldn't you just eat a dog?
A Roman would never eat a dog.
And have you ever tried anointing your feet with dormouse fat to help you sleep?
No, I never have any trouble sleeping. I work until I am so tired I drop off at once. But some of my relatives have tried it, I believe with some success.
I can't understand how it would work, Pliny. And surely it would make a dreadful mess of the sheets.
Not if you are sensible and put on some socks.
Then might it not be the socks that help you to sleep?
That may have something to do with it. But not everyone wears socks. Do you have any other questions? Surely you wish to know more about the dung drinking cure?
No Pliny, I don't.
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