CIMOLIA Terra, in natural history, a name by which
the ancients expressed a very valuable medicinal earth;
but which latter ages have supposed to be no other
than our tobacco-pipe clay and fuller's earth.
The cimolia terra of the ancients was found in sev-
eral of the islands of the Archipelago; particularly in
the island of Cimolus, from whence it had its name. It
was used with great success in the erysipelas, inflam-
mations, and the like, being applied by way of cata-
plasm to the part. They also used, as we do, what
we call cimolia, or fuller's earth, for the cleansing of
clothes. This earth of the ancients, though so long
disregarded, and by many supposed to be lost, is yet
very plentiful in Argentiere, (the ancient Cimolus,)
Sphanto, and many of those islands. It is a marl of
a lax and crumbly texture, and a pure bright white
colour, very soft to the touch. It adheres firmly to
the tongue; and, if thrown into water, raises a little
hissing and ebullition, and moulders to a fine powder.
It makes a considerable effervescence with acids, and
suffers no change of colour in the fire. These are the
characters of what the ancients called simply terra ci-
molia: but besides this they had, from the same place,
another earth which they called by the same general
name, but distinguished by the epithet purple, purpu-
rescens. This they described to be fatish, cold to the
touch, of a mixed purple colour, and nearly as hard
as a stone. And this was evidently the substance we
call steatites, or the soap-rock, common in Cornwall,
and also in the island of Argentiere, or Cimolus.