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Introduction

Medical prescription for stomach disease (P. Laur. IV 151). The rectangular fragment was written on verso against the fibers. Its conservation status only allows for general remarks on the text: after the heading of the prescription, the patient is required to fast and the medicaments, mostly lost, are indicated. Palaeographical dating is uncertain: in the edition R. Pintaudi proposed 2nd-3rd century AD based on comparison with P.Oxy. III 425 , but L. Del Corso recently suggested 4th AD (CD-ROM Papiri letterari della Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana ).

(This papyrus has been digitally edited by Federica Nicolardi as part of the Project "DIGMEDTEXT - Online Humanities Scholarship: A Digital Medical Library based on Ancient Texts" (ERC-AdG-2013, Grant Agreement no. 339828) funded by the European Research Council at the University of Parma (Principal Investigator: Prof. Isabella Andorlini). The digital edition is mostly based on the previous edition (R. Pintaudi, P.Laur. IV 151). Revised by Nicola Reggiani in the framework of the PRIN 2017 Project "Greek and Latin Literary Papyri from Graeco-Roman and Late Antique Fayum (4th BC – 7th AD): Texts, Contexts, Readers" funded by the Italian Ministry of Research (P.I. Prof. Lucio Del Corso, University of Cassino; Local Research Unit at the University of Parma, coordinator: Prof. Nicola Reggiani).)

Notes

• 1.

  Reading π̣ρ̣ό̣ς is difficult, but the expression is quite common (e.g. P.Ryl. III 531 r.2.12, 3rd-2nd BC; PSI X 1180 passim, 2nd AD). Cf. Gazza 1955 , 102, 104-5.

• 2.

  In spite of reading difficulties, verb and form are undoubted. Κακοστομαχέω occurs in Sextus Empiricus (P. 3.186, 6-12; M. 11.212), while κακοστομαχία and κακοστόμαχος are widely attested in medical texts.

• 3.

  υ seems very probable and a form of λειόω could be fine (cf. PSI VI 718 .4, 8, 4th-5th AD), but there is a trace before λ. Alternative proposition for the lacuna is [φ]λε[γμαίν]ο̣ντος (L.C. Youtie).

• 4.

  φοι[ surely pertains to a case of the word φοῖνιξ, "date", used in order to prepare ointments and cataplasmata (Dsc. I 109, Gal. XII 151 K.). After the principal ingredient there may have been an excipient or a verb like κατάπλασσε, σκεύαζε, χρῶ, etc.