Chapter xv Concerning Medicines which Provoke Abortion

Know, O Vizir (God be good to you!) that the medicines which will bring on abortion¹, and the ejection of the foetus, are innumerable. But I shall speak of those to you which I have proved, and therefore acknowledge as good, so that everybody may learn what may benefit and what may do harm.

I shall in the first place speak of the madder-root184 A small quantity of this substance freshly gathered, or even dried, but in the latter case bruised² and moistened at the time when it is to be used, vitiates the virile³ sperm⁴ or kills the foetus, bringing abortion on and provoking the menstruation when introduced in the woman’s vagina. The same end may be obtained by means of a decoction of the same plant taken fasting by the woman, and used at the same time by an external application to moisten the vagina.

Fumigation⁵ with the smoke of burnt cabbage seeds cause abortion, if the woman introduces the vapour into her vagina by means of a tube or reed.

I now come to alum. This substance, powdered, and introduced into the vagina, or sprinkled on the verge⁶ before coition, prevents the woman from conceiving by obstructing⁷ the arrival of the sperm in the uterus; for it has the property of drying up and contracting the vagina. But the too frequent use of it will make the woman barren and annihilate⁸ all her capability⁹ of conception.

The man who at the moment of copulation coats his member with tar185 deprives his sperm of its generative faculty¹⁰. This is the most powerful of all applications, and if a woman during her pregnancy¹¹ introduces some of the substance repeatedly into her vagina, she will be sterile¹², and the child will be born dead.

The woman who drinks the weight of a mitskal of laurel water, with a little pepper, will cause her courses to flow again, and clear her uterus from the clots¹³ of blood which sometimes lodge¹⁴ there. If she makes use of this medicine when she is already pregnant, the embryo¹⁵ will be expelled; and taken after confinement¹⁶, this medicine has the property of causing the expulsion from the matrix of all deleterious matter and of the after-birth.

The woman who drinks an infusion¹⁷ of coarse cinnamon186 mixed with red myrth, and then introduces into her vagina a plug of wool saturated¹⁸ with the mixture, kills the foetus and provokes its expulsion, with the will of God the Highest!

If the foetus dies in the womb, a decoction of yellow wall-flowers in water will cause the expulsion of the same, with the will of God the Highest!

All the above enumerated¹⁹ medicines are efficacious and their effect is certain.

1 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

2 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

3 virile   

adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的

参考例句：

• She loved the virile young swimmer.她爱上了那个有男子气概的年轻游泳运动员。
• He wanted his sons to become strong,virile,and athletic like himself.他希望他的儿子们能长得像他一样强壮、阳刚而又健美。

4 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

5 fumigation   

n.烟熏，熏蒸；忿恨

参考例句：

• We think that the fumigation can be done in a large, round metal container. 我们觉得熏蒸过程可以在一个大圆金属容器内进行。 来自辞典例句
• In the northern states fumigation is needed only after insect outbreaks occur. 在北部各州，只在虫害发生后才进行熏蒸。 来自辞典例句

6 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

7 obstructing   

阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车，你挡住了我家的车道。
• He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。

8 annihilate   

v.使无效；毁灭；取消

参考例句：

• Archer crumpled up the yellow sheet as if the gesture could annihilate the news it contained.阿切尔把这张黄纸揉皱，好象用这个动作就会抹掉里面的消息似的。
• We should bear in mind that we have to annihilate the enemy.我们要把歼敌的重任时刻记在心上。

9 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

10 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

11 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

12 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

13 clots   

n.凝块( clot的名词复数 )；血块；蠢人；傻瓜v.凝固( clot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• When you cut yourself, blood clots and forms a scab. 你割破了，血会凝固、结痂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Milk clots when it turns sour. 奶变酸就凝块。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

15 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

16 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

17 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

18 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

19 enumerated   

v.列举，枚举，数( enumerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A spokesperson enumerated the strikers' demands. 发言人列数罢工者的要求。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enumerated the capitals of the 50 states. 他列举了50个州的首府。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》