Asses. Part I

Of this animal there are two varieties described by naturalists -the wild and the domestic. The usual appellation by which this beast is distinguished in scripture, is CHEMOR, from a word which signifies to disturb or disorder, and it´s so called, probably, from its extraordinary turbulence when is excited. Asses are enumerated as constituting part of the riches of Abraham, Jacob, and Job,(Gen. XII.16; XXX.43; Job XLII.12); and Anah, a Horite prince, did not consider it beneath the dignity of his character to feed the asses belonging to his father Zibeon, Gen. XXXVI.24. In the reign of David, they were of so much importance that Jedheiah the Meronothite, a prince of Israel, was appointed to superintend the breed , 1 Chron. XXVII.30. To ride upon an ass was, in the days of the Judges, a mark distinction, to which it´s probable, the vulgar might not presume to aspire. This is evident from the brief notices which the inspired historian gives of the greatness and the riches of Jair, the Gileadite, one of the Judges; "He had thirty sons who rode on thirty ass colts; and they had thirty cities, which are called Havoth-Jair unto this day", Judges X. 3, 4. Abdon, the Pirathonite, another of the Judges, "had forty sons and thirty nephews, who rode on threescore and ten ass colts", Ch. XII. 13,14. In several of these passages, it should be observed, a particular kind of the domestic ass is spoken of ---the Aton--- whose value, if we may judge from the circumstances in which we generally find it placed, by far exceeded that the ordinary description.
It´s reasonable to suppose, that the manners and customs of the chosen tribes underwent a change when the government became monarchical, and the fascinating pleasures of a court began to exert their usual influence; still, however, the ass kept his place in the service of the great. Mephibosbeth, the grandson of Saul, rode on an ass; as did Ahithopel, the prime minister of David, and the greatest statesman of that age. Even so late as the reign of Jehoram the son of Ahab, the services of this animal were required by the wealthy Israelite; for the Shunamite, a person of high rank, saddled her ass, and rode to Carmel, the residence of Elisha, to announce the death of her son to the prophet, and to solicit his assistance, 2 Kings, IV. 8, 24. But as the number of horses increased in Judea, and people of rank and fashion became fonder of pomp and show, the movements of the nobles and statelier animal were preferred to the rapid but less dignified motions of the ass. This change, it´s reasonable to suppose, began to take place from the accession of Solomon to the throne of Israel; for that rich and splendid prince collected a very numerous stud of the finest horses that Egypt and Arabia could furnish. One thing is certain, viz. that after the Jews returned from their long captivity in Babylon, the great and fashionable, for the most part, rode the horse or the mule. The ass was resigned to the use of the lower orders, and it quickly became a mark of poverty and meanness to appear in public on that animal. It has been for want of attending to this change in the customs of the Jewish people, that some commentators of repute have ventured to oppose the obvious meaning of Matt. XXI. 4, 5, which describes our Saviour as riding into Jerusalem upon an ass; a circumstance which, both here and in the prophecy (Zech. IX. 9), is represented as a proof of his meek and lowly spirit. They, however, by refering to the usage in the early periods of the commonwealth, have considered the circumstance as reflecting, in the estimation of the people, high honor upon his character.


By Yussuf el maronite.

A la Fortuna. Jorge Manrique

Fortuna, no me amenazes
ni menos me muestres gesto
mucho duro,
que tus guerras y tus pazes
conosco bien y, por esto,
no me curo;
antes tomo más denuedo,
pues tanto almazén de males
has gastado,
aunque tú me pones miedo
diziendo que los mortales
has guardado.

¿Y qué más puede passar,
dolor mortal ni passión
de ningún arte,
que ferir y atravessar
por medio mi coraçón
de cada parte?
Pues una cosa diría
y entiendo que la jurasse
sin mentir:
que ningún golpe vernía
que por otro no acertasse
a me herir.

¿Piensas tú que no soy muerto
por no ser todas de muerte
mis heridas?.
Pues sabe que puede, cierto,
acabar lo menos fuerte
muchas vidas.
Mas está en mi fe mi vida,
y mi fe está en el bevir
de quien me pena,
assí que de mi herida
yo nunca puedo morir,
sino de agena.

Y pues esto visto tienes,
que jamás podrás conmigo
por herirme,
torna agora a darme bienes,
por que tengas por amigo
ombre tan firme.
Mas no es tal tu calidad
para que hagas mi ruego,
ni podrás,
que hay gran contrariedad:
porque tú te mudas luego,
yo, jamás.

Y pues ser buenos amigos
por tu mala condición
no podemos,
tornemos como enemigos
a esta nuestra quistión
y porfiemos,
en la qual, si no me veces,
yo quedo vencedor
conoscido.
Pues dígote que comiences,
y no devo aver temor,
pues te combido.

Que ya las armas prové
para mejor defenderme
y más guardarme,
y la fe sola hallé
que de ti puede valerme
y defensarme.
Mas esta sola sabrás
que no sólo me es defensa,
mas victoria;
assí que tú llevarás
deste debate la ofensa,
yo, la gloria.


Jorge Manrique

Chemistry

The word chemistry (χημεια, chemeia) first occurs in Suidas, a Greek writer, who is supposed to have lived in the eleventh century, and to have written his lexicon during the reign of Alexius Comnenus. Under the word χημεια in his dictionary we find the following passage:
"Chemistry, the preparation of silver and gold. The books on it were sounght out by Dioclecian and burnt, on account of the new attempts made by the Egyptians against him. He treated them with cruelty and harshness, as he sought out the books written by the ancients on the chemistry (Περι χημειας) of gold and silver, and burnt them. His object was to prevent the Egyptians from becoming rich by the knowledge of this art, lest, emboldened by abundance of wealth, they might be induced afterwards to resist the Roman". Under the word Δερας, deras (a skin), in the lexicon, occurs the following passage: "Δερας, the golden fleece, which Hason and the Argonauts (after a voyage through the Black Sea to Colchis) took, together with Medea, daughter of Ætes, the King. But this was not what the poets represent, but a treatise written on skins (δερμασι), teaching how gold might be prepared by chemistry. Probably, therefore, it was called by those who lived at that time, golden, on account of its great importance". The first meaning, then, of chemistry, was the art of making gold. And this art, in the opinion of Suidas, was understood at least as early as one thousand two hundred and twenty-five years before the Christian era. Though the lexicon of Suidas be the first printed book in which the word Chemistry occurs, yet it is said to be found in much earlier tracts, which still continue in manuscript. Thus Scaliger informs us that he perused a Greek manuscript of Zosimus, the Panopolite, written in the fifth century, and deposited in the King of France´s library. Olaus Borrichius mentions this manuscript. The litle is said to be "A faithful Description of the sacred and divine Art of making Gold and Silver, by Zosimus, the Panopolite". The following is a literal traslation of one curious passage: "The Sacred Scriptures informs that there exists a tribe of Genii, who make use of women.

Hermes mentions this circumstance in his Physiscs; and almost every writing (λογος), whether sacred (φαυερος) or apocryphal, states the same thing. The ancient and divine Scripture inform us, that the angel, captivated by women, taught them all the operations of nature. Offence being taken at this, they remained out of heaven, because they had taught man kind all manner of evil, and things which could not be advantageous to their souls. The Scriptures inform us that the giants sprang from these embrances. Chema is the first of their traditions respecting these art. The book itself they called Chema; hence the art is called Chemia".


By Yussuf el maronita

Division of War

When war is comenced by attacking a nation in peace, it is called offensive, and when undertaken to repel invasion, or the attacks of an enemy, it is called defensive. Besides this general division of war, military writers have made numerous other, such as:

*Wars of Intervention, in which one state interferes in favor of another: this intervention may either have respect to the internal of the external affairs of a nation. The interference of Russia in the affairs of Poland, of England in the goverment of India, are examples under the first head. The intervention of the Elector Maurice of Saxony against Charles V, of King William against Louis XIV, in 1688, of Russia and France in the Seven Years´War, of Russia again between France and Austria, in 1805, are examples under the second head.
*Wars of Insurrection to gain or to regain liberty; as was the case with the Americans in 1776.

*Wars of Independence from foreign dictation and control as the wars of Poland against Russia, of France against the several coalitions of the allied powers, of the Spanish against France, and of China and India against England.

*War of Opinion, like these which the Vedeans have sustained in support of the Bourbons, and those France has sustained against the allies, as also those of propagandism, waged against the smaller European states by the republican hordes of the French Revolution.

*Religious Wars, like those of Islamism.

*Wars of Conquest, like those of the Romans in Gaul, of the English in India, of the French in Egypt and Africa, and of the Russians in Circassia.

*National Wars, in which the great body of the people of a state stage, like those of the Swiss against Austria and the Duke of Burgundy, of the Americans against England, and of the Polish and Circassians against Russia.

*Civil Wars, where one portion of the state fights against the other, as the war of the Roses in England, of the league in France, of the Guelphs and Ghibelines in Italy.

*War of Reconquest, where an army initiates military campaigns to recover the territory usurped by the enemy, like Spanish Reconquest against the Muslims.



Obviously you also can contribute some examples more...

Ad Utrumque Paratus. Gate of the Lion. Alcazar of Seville VII.

The Gate of the León is the principal entry to visit the Royal Alcazar of Seville. In it there is a Latin inscription, motto of the Christians Kings used to reconquer the territory usurped by the Muslims, and that comes from the famous epic poem of the Romans, "The Aeneid" by Virgil. In the glazed tile, a lion takes a poster, in Gothic letters, who says to the King how there has to be: " Ad Utrumque Paratus " [Prepared for All (Aeneid 2, 61)]. This motto is also emblem of many battalions and divisions of the Spanish Army and the Spanish Navy.
Things that occasionally it is necessary to remember to those who are lacking in "memory"

La Puerta del León es la entrada principal para visitar los Reales Alcázares de Sevilla. En ella hay una inscripción latina, lema de los reyes cristianos usado para reconquistar el territorio usurpado por los musulmanes, y que procede del famoso poema épico de los romanos, "La Eneida" de Virgilio. En el azulejo vidriado, un león porta una cartela que dice al Rey cómo tiene que estar: «Ad Utrumque Paratus» [ Dispuesto a todo (Ened. 2, 61)]. Este lema es también emblema de muchos batallones y divisiones del Ejército Español y la Armada Española.
Cosas que de vez en cuando hay que recordar a los que están faltos de "memoria"

Simple Buphthalmos

The early classical writers such as Hippocrates, Celsus and Galen were acquainted with a congenital enlargement of the eye (buphthalmos) but they included under one umbrella all those conditions wherein the globe appeared to be of unusual size including exophthalmos as well as "hydrops" (hydrophthalmos) (Ambroise Paré, 1573; Saint-Yves, 1722; Mackenzie, 1830; and others). Although mention had been made of increased ocular tension in such cases by Berger (1744), the term thus covered a heterogeneous collection of conditions varying from high myopia to anterior megalophthalmos and anterior staphyloma until von Muralt (1869) established the classical type of buphthalmos within the family of glaucoma. Both he and phenomenon, but there after the opinion became generally accepted that the clinical picture with its rise of tension was due to a primary intra-ocular inflammation logical studies has detected congenital anomalies at the angle of the anterior chamber (Schiess-Gemuseus, 1863-84; Horner, 1880; Collins, 1896-99), or the absence of Schlemm´s canal (Dürr and Schlegtendal, 1889; Cross, 1896) anomalies which were confirmed by Hippel (1897), Parsons (1904), and Siegrist (1905). The exhaustive anatomical examinations of Reis (1905-11) and Seefelder (1906-20) then appeared which demonstrated that a number of different aberrations occurred at the angle of the anterior chamber and showed that inflammatory changes were generally secondary in nature. The early literature has been summarized in their monographs by E. L. Gros (1897) and Anderson (1939) and subsequent work of note has been contributed by many investigators (Barkan, 1936-55; L. and R. Wekeers, 1950; Kluyskens, 1950; Allen and his colleagues, 1955; Shaffer, 1955; Maumenee, 1959; Malbran and Dodds, 1960; and others). The superficially similar condition of anterior megalophthalmos (megalocornea) where in the primary fault is an over growth and not a distension of the globe, as was already suggeted by von Muralt (1869), was fully established by Kayser (1914), Seefelder (1916), Kestenbaum (1919), Reis (1920) and others.


By Yussuf el maronita

Tulips

The greater part of the flowers which adorn our gardens have been brought to us from the Levant. A few have been procured from other parts of the world; and some of our own indigenous plants, that grow wild, have, by care and cultivation, been so much improved as to merit a place in our parterres. Our ancerstors, perhaps, some centuries ago paid attention to flowers; but it appears that the Orientals, and particurlarly the Turks, who in other respects are not very susceptible of the inanimate beauties of nature, were the first people who cultivated a variety of them in their gardens for ornament and pleasure. From their gardens, therefore, have been procured the most of those which decorate ours; and amongst these is the tulip.
Few plants acquire through accident, weakness, or disease, so many tints, variegations, and figures, as the tulip. When uncultivated, and an its natural state, it´s almost of one colour, has large leaves, and an extraordinary long stem. When it has been weakened by culture, it becomes more agreeable in the eyes of the florist. The petals are then paler, more variegated, and smaller; the leaves assume a fainter or softer green colour: and this masterpiece of culture, the more beautiful it turns, grows so much the weaker; so that, with the most careful skill and attention, it can with difficulty be transplanted, and even scarcely kept alive.
That the tulip grows wild in the Levant, and was thence brought to us, may be proved by the testimony of many writers.Busbequius found it on the road between Adrianople and Constantinople*; Shaw found it in Syria, in the plains between Jaffa and Rama; and Chardin on the northern confines of Arabia.The early-blowing kinds, it appears, were brought to Constantinople from Cavala, and the late-blowing from Caffa; and on this account the former are called by the Turks Cavalá lalé, and the latter Café lalé. Caval is a town on the eastern coast of Macedonia, of which Paul Lucas gives some account; and Caffa is a town in the Crimea, or peninsula of Gazaria, as it was called, in the middle ages, from Gazares, a people very litle known*.Though florists have published numerous catalogues of the species of the tulip, botanists are acquainted only with two, or at most three, of which scarcely one is indigenous in Europe*.

1* "As we passed, we saw everywhere abundance of flowers, such as the narcissus, hyacinth, and those called by the Turks tulipan, not without great astonishment, on account of the time of the year, as it was then the middle of winter, a season unfriendly to flowers. Greece abounds with narcissuses and hyacinths, which have a remarkably frangant smell: it´s, indeed, so strong as to hurt those who are not accustomed to it. The tulipan, however, have little or no smell, but are admired for their beauty and variety of their colour. The Turks pay great attention to the cultivation of flowers; nor do they hesitate, though by no means extravagant, to expend several aspers for one that is beautiful. I received several presents of these flowers, which cost me not a little."---Busbequii Ep., Basiliae, 1740, 8vo, p. 36.

2* See some account of them in Memoriae populorum ad Danubium by Stritter.

3* The Tulipa sylvestris, Linn. grows wild in the southern parts of France.
Dodonaeus says, in his Florum coronariarum herbarum historia, Antverpiae 1569, 8vo, p. 204, "In Thracia et Cappadocia tulipa exit; Italiae et Belgio peregrinus est flos. Minores alicubi in Gallia Narbonenesi nasci feruntur."Linneaus reckons it among the Swedish plants, and Haller names it among those of Switzerland, but says, afterwards, I don´t believe it to be indigenous, though it´s found here and there in the meads.--- Hist. Stirp. II. p. 115. It appears that this species is earlier than the common Tulipa Gesneriana, though propagated from it.
The useless roots thrown perhaps from Gesner´s garden have grown up in a wild state, and become naturalized, as the European cattle have in America. See Miller´s Gardener´s Dictionary, iv. p. 518.

Glosa a lo Divino. S. Juan de la Cruz

Por toda la hermosura
nunca yo me perderé
sino por un no sé qué
que se alcança por ventura.

Sabor de bien que es finito
lo más que puede llegar
es cansar el apetito
y estragar el paladar
y assi por toda dulçura
nunca yo me perderé
sino que por un no sé qué
que se halla por ventura.

El coraçon generoso
nunca cura de parar
donde se puede passar
sino en más difficultoso
nada le causa hartura
y sube tanto su fee
que gusta de un no se qué
que se halla por ventura.

El que de amor adolesce
de el divino ser tocado
tiene el gusto tan trocado
que a los gustos desfallece
como el que con calentura
fastidia el manjar que ve
y apetece un no sé qué
que se halla por ventura.

No os maravilléis de aquesto
que el gusto se quede tal
porque es la causa del mal
ajena de todo el resto
y assi toda cristura
enajenada se vee
y gusta de un sé qué
que se halla por ventura.

Que estando la voluntad
de divinidad tocada
no puede quedar pagada
sino con divinidad
mas, por ser tal su hermosura
que sólo se vee por fee,
gústala en un no sé qué
que se halla por ventura.

San Juan de la Cruz

And Seville (Hispalis) dominated the Mauritania

The Mauritania was subjected to the province of the Baetica, in spite of the fact that it dislikes many people; the History cannot disappear it, though any of them like this that believe it. Plinio says that Zilis, city of the Tingitania, belonged to the Baetica [Zilis regun dictioni exemtpa et swears in Baetican petere fussa (I free 5 º, cap. 1)] and Tacit in his Historiae he affirms that Othon gave those cities to this province [ Provinciae Baeticae maurorum cibitates I donate dedit (Chapter 78, Edit. Berneqqeri)], [" ... and to the province of the Baetica the peoples of the Moors, that he gave under title of present. " (Historiae. Tacit; Edit. Akal)]; the same thing is read in Panciroto's commentaries on the news of the Empire of West (Notit. 4 and 23), in San Isidoro (Ethimol. lib. 14 cap 4 º) and in the Breviary of Sixth Rufo on the emperor Valente.
Another example they are the effects Dioclecian´s reorganization as the creation of the Diocese Hispaniarum, that was depending of the Galias Prefecture. The province of Mauritania Tingitana, in the north of Africa, was included also in the Diocese. Of everything which we can deduce that the memory of some is short enough and "selective"; it would come very well to remember it in the plan Baker for the strong Moroccan pressure against the Polisario, remembering providing that if it´s for protesting, the same right they have the Spanish that other peoples with the same argument, much more, since the brief step of these for Andalusia doesn´t demonstrate belonging in any of the cases.

La Mauritania estuvo sujeta a la provincia de la Baetica, a pesar de que disguste a muchos; la Historia no puede borrarse aunque algunos así lo crean. Plinio refiere que Zilis, ciudad de la Tingitania, pertenecía a la Bética [Zilis regun dictioni exemtpa et jura in Baetican petere fussa (libro 5º, cap. 1)] y Tácito en su Historiae afirma que Otón dió aquellas ciudades a esta provincia [Provinciae Baeticae maurorum cibitates dono dedit (Capítulo 78, Edit. Berneqqeri)], ["... y a la provincia de la Bética los pueblos de los moros, a título de regalo."(Historias. Tácito; Edit. Akal)]; lo mismo se lee en los comentarios de Panciroto sobre las noticias del Imperio de Occidente (Notit. 4 y 23), en San Isidoro (Ethimol. lib. 14 cap 4º) y en el Breviario de Sexto Rufo sobre el emperador Valente. Otro ejemplo son los efectos de la reorganización diocleciana es la creación de la Diocesis Hispaniarum, dependiente de la Prefectura de las Galias. La provincia de Mauritania Tingitana, en el norte de África, se incluye también en la Diócesis. De todo lo cual podemos deducir que la memoria de algunos es bastante corta y "selectiva".., vendría muy bien recordarlo en el plan Baker ante la presión marroquí con los del Polisario, teniendo siempre en cuenta que si es por reclamar, el mismo derecho tienen los españoles que otros pueblos con el mismo argumento, mucho más, ya que el breve paso de éstos por Andalucía no demuestra pertenencia en ninguno de los casos.

Sugar Bird & Bell Canto

This little bird, highly esteemed for its song, which is reared with so much care, particularly by the fair sex, and which affords an innocent amusement to those who are fond of the wild notes of nature, is a native of those islands from which it takes its name. As it was not known in Europe till the fifteenth century, no account of it is to be met with in any of the works of the old ornithologists. Bellon, who about the year 1555 described all the birds then known, does not so much as mention it. At that period it was brought from the Canary Islands. It was therefore so dear that it could be procured only by people of fortune, and those who purchased were even often imposed on.* It was called the sugar-bird, because it was said to be found of the sugar-cane, and that it could eat sugar in great abundance. This circumstance seems poison. Experiments have shown, that a pigeon to which a four drachms of sugar were given died in four hours, and that a duck which had swallowed five drachms didn´t live seven hours after. It´s certain, therefore, that the power of poison is relative.
The first figure of this bird is given by Aldrovandus, but it´s small and inaccurate. That naturalist reckons the Canary bird among the number of those which were scarce and expensive, as it was brought from a distant country with great care and attention. The first good figure of it´s to be found in Olina * : it has been copied by both Johnston and Willughby.In the middle of the seventeenth century these birds began to be bred in Europe, and to this the following circumstance, related by Olina, seems to have given occasion. A vessel, which, among other commodities, was carrying a number of Canary birds to Leghorn, was wrecked on the coast of Italy; and these birds, being thus set at liberty, flew to the nearest land, which was the Island of Elba, where they found the climate so favourable, that they multiplied, and perhaps would have become domesticated, had they not been caught snares; for it appears the the breed soon degenerated; but it´s probable that these Canary birds, which were perhaps all males, did at the Island of Elba what the European sailors do in India. By coupling with the birds of the island, they have producers mules. Such hybrids are described by Gesner and other naturalists.


1*Gesneri Historiae Animalium, liber tertius. Tiguri, 1555, fol. p. 234.
2*Uccelliera, overo Discorso della natura di diversi Uccelli. Roma, 1622, 4to.

Ora vorrei che un pizzico della tua meravigliosa magia la regalassi agli angeli che ti stanno volando intorno col sorriso chiedendoti di cantare per loro ma anche per noi. Resterai sempre nei nostri cuori.

All´alba vincerò!!.

Ya no es posible. Vicente Aleixandre

No digas tu nombre emitiendo tu música
como una yerta lumbre que se derrama,
como esa luna que en invierno reparte
su polvo pensativo sobre el hueso.

Deja que la noche estruje la ausencia de la carne,
la postrera desnudez que alguien pide;
deja que la luna ruede por las piedras del cielo
como un brazo ya muerto sin una rosa encendida.

Alguna luz ha tiempo olía flores.
Pero no huele a nada.
No digáis que la muerte no huele a nada,
que la ausencia del amor huele a nada,
que la ausencia del aire, de la sombra huelen a nada.

La luna desalojaba entonces, allá, remotamente, hace mucho, desalojaba sombras e inundaba de fulgurantes rosas
esa región donde un seno latía.

Pero la luna es un hueso pelado sin acento.
No es una voz, no es un grito celeste.
Es su dura oquedad, pared donde sonaban,
muros donde el rumor de los besos rompía.

Un hueso todavía por un cielo de piedra
quiere rodar,quiere vencer su quietud extinguida.
Quiere empuñar aún una rosa de fuego
y acercarla a unos labios de carne que la abrasen.


Vicente Aleixandre.

Eponymous

The habit of naming a syndrome eponymously is in many respects delighful; such names often serve as a shorthand for combinations that can only be otherwise expressed in short essays; moreover, like old tunes or experiencies of the past, they recall an author and endow him with inmortality; but it´s a practice that is overdone, particurlarly as the habit of multi-hyphenated eponyms grows. A syndrome is described by C and it´s then found that elements of the same combination have already been noted in the literature by A and B; hence the A-B-C syndrome. The Collins (1894) -von Hippel (1895) -Dindau (1927) syndrome is an example. National pride also enters into the matter. Thus the French call the retraction syndrome after Stilling (1887), the Italians after Türk (1896) and the Americans after Duane (1905), while the non-committed nations speak of the Stilling-Türk-Duane Syndrome. Confusion is further increased when the same author establishes more than one clinical combination: thus the name Torsten Sjögren is now firmly established in the literature as the Sjögren syndrome (1935) (congenital cataract and oligophrenia).

The Sjögren syndrome (1950) (congenital spinocerebellar ataxia, cataract and oligophrenia) and the Sjögren syndrome (1956) (congenital ichthyosis, macular degeneration, spastic paralysis of the lower limbs and oligophrenia); and the confusion is worse confounded when it´s recalled that a Henrich Sjögren´s syndrome also exists. These disadvantages, however, are a small price to pay for humanizing a complex subject, at any rate until the true significance of the various conditions is understood.

By Yussuf el maronita

La Órbita Ósea.

Los ojos se sitúan en dos cavidades óseas del cráneo situadas a ambos lados de la nariz, las órbitas (fossae orbitales). El término órbita fue introducido por Gerard de Cremona en su traducción al latín del Canon de Avicena.
Con respecto a este punto, el profesor M. Sánchez Salorio publicó una Carta al Director de la SEO expresando su opinión al respecto, para ello ha utilizado diversos diccionarios de Español. En el DRAE el término cavidad viene definido como “espacio hueco dentro de un hueco cualquiera”. El término “cavitas” proviene del latín tardío cavus con significado de hueco y del que se han desarrollado las palabras cavidad, caverna, cueva y cóncavo, de éstos se conserva la palabra cavo con el significado de huronera o madriguera, cavicornio para designar al rumiante de la familia de los bóvidos con los cuernos huecos. Con referencia al ojo, lo problemático proviene al considerarlo como algo hueco, lo que sería cierto si consideramos el esqueleto o la persona exanterada, pero que sería falso si consideramos las estructuras blandas que lo ocupan.
Nebrija documenta el término “cuenca de los ojos”, una expresión que no se utilizó en el latín, y aunque suene como cóncavo tiene un origen distinto. “Cuenca” proviene del Latín “concha, conca” y se utiliza para designar el caparazón de los bivalvos, y de “conca” derivará la palabra cuenca para designar la escudilla de madera que utilizan los mendigos y peregrinos para comer; el gallego aún conserva el término cunca para designar la taza donde beben el Ribeiro.
En la Nómina Anatómica clásica se designa como fossa, mientras que en alemán se designa como Augenhöle, el agujero de los ojos.
Visto todo lo anterior parece evidente que el término “cavidad” es el correcto.
El segundo término del Canon traducido por Gerardo es el de órbita; parece ser que Avicena utilizó el término persa “al nucratu” que significa hoyo, fosa o cavidad, sin embargo Gerardo utilizó el término órbita que no tiene nada que ver con el vacío. Orbis significa círculo y rueda, relacionándose con el aspecto circular de cualquier objeto o acción, por ello es razonable que Hyrlt calificase de absurda la definición ya que no hay nada de movimiento circular. El Profesor Sánchez Salorio se inclina por lo siguiente, J. J. Barcia Goyanes en su Onomatología Anatómica Nova, órbita sería el resultado final del adjetivo “orbus” que significa huérfano, privado de algo, de ahí el pasaje de Ovidio en Plinio: “quidem is Metellus orbam luminibus exegit senectam”, del mismo modo que Metelo pasó ciego su senectud; es decir huérfano de luz. Esta sería la explicación de Barcia para la elección de los términos utilizados por Gerardo.
En su forma general la órbita recuerda a una pera y el nervio óptico representa el rabito. En su cara anterior o facial, la cavidad sobresale por un margen óseo prominente, por detrás su base se ensancha tanto que la parte más ancha se encuentra casi 1 cm. por dentro. Aquí se aloja el globo ocular en el interior de una tosca pirámide cuadrangular de base anterior, hacia fuera y ligeramente hacia abajo; éste sería el eje de la órbita. Más hacia atrás la cavidad se estrecha hacia el vértice y se continua hacia dentro por detrás del globo para tomar la forma de una pirámide triangula donde se sitúa el nervio óptico y los músculos. El cambio de configuración de pirámide cuadrangular a triangular se debe al fallo del suelo orbitario, la más corta de sus paredes al alcanzar el vértice. Se discute la situación exacta del vértice; para algunos sería el foramen óptico, para otros la terminación medial de la fisura orbitaria superior, y otros la pequeña barra o puente óseo que separa el foramen de la fisura.

By Yussuf el maronita

History of the Saliva & V

"Si mulieris saliva, quae pueros, non puellas, ediderit, et abstinuerit se pridie vino, et cibis acrioribus, et imprimis si pura et nitida erit, angulos oculorum tetigeris, omnem acritudinem lippitudinis lenies, humoremque siccabis" (Marcellus, Empir., c. 8., p. 87.)

When Vespasian visited Alexandria, an inhabitant of the city besought him to spit upon his eyes for the restoration of sight: we are told that the remedy was successful. (Suetonius, in vita Vespasian), Tacitus (Historia, lib. IV., c. 81).
See also Marcell. Donat. (Epist. Medic., lib. III); Tackius (Triplic. Phas. Sophic. Chrysog. Animal.); Conrad. Johrenius (Dissert de Christo Medico, cap. I.)

In varios affections of the eyelids, as tubercle, stye, hydatid, and inflammation, the external use of saliva has beeen recommended by Verduccius (Suite de la Pathologie de Chirurgie, cap. V.); Doloeus (Encyclop. Chirur., lib. I.); Etmuller (Oper. Med., tom. I)
In cutaneous diseases its use has been advised by Galen (De Simpl. Med., Fac., lib. X.); Höfer (Hercul. Med., lib. V.); Valescus (Philon. Chirurg., cap. VIII.); Riedlinus (Linear, Medic., An. 1697); Gieswein (DE Mat. Med.); Munnick (Chirurg., lib. I., cap. XIX.)

To remove the pits of small-pox its employment has been suggested by Doloeus (Encyclope. Chirurg., lib. I.); Etmuller (Op. Med., tom.I.); Coschurz (Schroed., lib. V.); Laurent. (Scholz. Consil. Medicin.)

To dissipate mother-marks, Hoffmann (Disp. de Saliv. et ejus Morb., cap. IV.); Valentius (Prax. Med. Infallib., cap. I.)

To erradicate corns, Nuck. (Sialographia); Blancardus (Institut. Med., part III); Paullinus (Pharmacop. Stercor.)

To cure warts, Nuck. (Sialog.), Rhodius (Act. Hasmiens., vol. IV.)
To remove ganglia, Chalmeteus (Enchirid. Chirurg., lib. I., cap. XIII.); Brendel. (Corsil. Medic.); Wedelius (Exercit. Med. Philolog., Decad. 4., Exercit. 8.)

To heal ulcers and recent wounds, Muralt. (Script. Chirur., Obs. 177); Muys (Prax. Chirur. Rational., Decad. 4); Fabricius Acquapendente (Op. Chir., part II., lib. II., cap. XXXIV., ed. Francof.); Bartholin (Anat. Reform., lib. III.); and others.