Eleas drachi
Eleas drachi in libro qui titulatur Galienus ad Paternia gummi olivarum.
Apparatus:
Eleas drachi AC | Eleas. Drachi B | Elcasdrachi f | Elcas drakj ms. e | Eleas dacrua Gal. ad Pat.
titulatur (-t~ A f) AC f | intitult~ B | intell ĩtitulatur ms. e
Paternia AC | paternianũ ms. e | parimanũ B e | p͡imanu f
gũmi AC e | gumi B f
Translation:
In the book entitled Galienus ad Paternia, Eleas drachi is the word used for Latin gummi olivarum {"olive gum"}.
Commentary:
Simon is alluding to Galienus ad Patern(ian)um, also: Alphabetum Galieni, 96, ed. Everett (2012: 218): Eleas dacrua.
ἐλαίας δάκρυα /elaías dákrya/ - (lit.) "the tears of the olive (tree)".
There has been some discussion as to what substance olive gum is, but the most likely explanation is that is the olive tree’s gummy exudation.
The London Medical Repository and Review (1816: V.429) [[1]], states:
"The olive gum of the ancients was procured from both the wild and the cultivated olive-tree, as it exudes from their trunks, in warm countries. At least this is probable, from the testimony of different authors...
This gum is obtained in the form of tears, and sometimes in rather large masses. It is of a reddish-brown colour, the appearance of amygdaloid benzoin. It is translucid at the edges, and almost diaphanous throughout in the purest pieces. It is brittle, has a resinous fracture and a fatty appearance; it is conchoidal, sometimes with small, and sometimes with large cavities. Heated by friction, it exhales a peculiar odour, and becomes electrified so as to attract light substances. Thrown upon hot iron, it melts, swells, and exhales the agreeable smell of vanilla.. "
Cf. also N. Everett’s (2012: 219) comments, Ps. Galen.
