In a curious and lengthy dialogue in Fernando de Rojas' Celestina, Pármeno offers his love-struck master an extensive list of herbs, minerals, animal parts and sundry concoctions that the go-between Celestina stores or manufactures in her dilapidated shack by the river (Rojas 34–9). While Celestina knocks on Calisto's door, a concerned Pármeno inventories more than one hundred substances and alludes to the fact that there are thousands more on Celestina's shelves. Some of these are common and seemingly benign, such as perfumes, oils and ointments made from jasmine, lemons and rosemary; others are notably arcane, such as a viper's tongue, stones from an eagle's nest, a quantity of quail heads and a hangman's rope. Within the diegesis, Pármeno's objective is twofold; he wants to prove that he has firsthand knowledge of Celestina's illicit practices, and by extension, he hopes to dissuade Calisto from employing Celestina as mediator for his pathologized amorous desire. The strategy, however, fails to convince Calisto, who quickly dismisses Pármeno's objections and orders his servant to let the aging bawd enter.

Pármeno's lengthy disclosure of the materials in Celestina's laboratory not only fails to discourage his master, but also may have unwittingly captured Calisto's imagination by insinuating that Celestina, with her enormous, wellstocked laboratory, is ideally suited to concoct tangible remedies for his condition. The late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries are a period of expanding interest in the discovery, creation and dissemination of new pharmaceutical remedies.