AN
                                _ESSAY_
                               TOWARDS A
                            NATURAL HISTORY
                                   OF
                              _SERPENTS_:
                             IN TWO PARTS.

I. The First exhibits a general View of SERPENTS, in their various
  Aspects; such as their Kinds, Bulk, Food, Motion, Propagation,
  Coverture, Colours. In which is inserted a short Account of Vegetable,
  Mineral, and Animal Poison, particularly that of the SERPENT; and its
  Cure in various Nations; where also the SERPENT is used as Food and
  Physick.


II. The Second gives a View of most SERPENTS that are known in the
  several Parts of the World; described by their various Names,
  different Countries, and Qualities.

      Illustrated with COPPER-PLATES, Engraved by the BEST HANDS.

III. To which is added a Third Part; containing Six DISSERTATIONS upon
  the following Articles, as collateral to the Subject.

    1. Upon the PRIMEVAL SERPENT in PARADISE.
    2. The FIERY SERPENTS that infested the Camp of ISRAEL.
    3. The BRAZEN SERPENT erected by MOSES.
    4. The DIVINE WORSHIP given to SERPENTS by the NATIONS.
    5. The ORIGIN and REASON of that MONSTROUS WORSHIP.
    6. Upon the ADORATION of different Kinds of BEASTS by the EGYPTIANS,
       with divers Instances of the same Stupidity in other Nations.

     The whole intermix’d with Variety of ENTERTAINING DIGRESSIONS,
                     PHILOSOPHICAL and HISTORICAL.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------

                         By CHARLES OWEN_ D. D.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------

                               _LONDON:_
                        Printed for the AUTHOR.
     Sold by JOHN GRAY, at the _Cross-Keys_ in the _Poultry_, near
                              _Cheapside_.
                              M.DCC.XLII.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration]


                                  _TO_
                        Sir _Hans Sloane_ Bar^t.

_SIR_,

The Serpent [_Subject_ of the following Sheets,] being one part of your
celebrated and expensive Collection of Rarities, naturally leads me to
beg the Honour of your Name to grace its Entrance into the publick
World.

I can’t enter into the vanity of thinking, that the Book can be any
improvement to one who has been so long and laborious an Enquirer after
Truth, and penetrated so far into the Empire of Nature: but as in
Divinity, a willing Mind; so in Learning, the best Endeavour will be
accepted. And tho’ the Book cannot recommend it self to you, your Name
may recommend it to others.

Happy are the Times, when Knowledge is the study of those who have
superior Abilities for it: Happy therefore is the present Age, that has
you, among many other Learned, so eminent an Encourager of it.

Tho’ elevated Minds direct all their concern to what they _should be_,
and not to any Applause for what they _really are_; yet, if to delineate
their Excellency be offensive to Modesty, the Sincerity with which it is
done, will, it is hoped, secure their Pardon.

Now, what is it that makes the great Character, but Knowledge in all its
diversity, a Sollicitousness for the Spread of Arts and Sciences,
excelling in one’s particular Station of Life, and being divinely
forward to all the high Offices of Humanity? This is the Picture of real
Worth, and what can forbid to say, that Sir HANS SLOANE is the Life?

That you may long continue the Restorer of Health, the Ornament of the
Day, and in triumph over all the deadly Power of the _Old Serpent_, at
last possess eternal Health, are the most sincere Wishes of him, who
with a just Sense of Obligation, and the greatest Regards, is,

          _SIR_,

            _Your most humble_,

              _and devoted Servant_,

    WARRINGTON,
    _March 1, 1741-2_.

                  Cha. Owen.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration]




                                _TO THE_
                               _READER_.

_The Divine Wisdom so variously displayed in the Works of Nature, even
the lowest Order of them, entertains the human Eye with Prospects
exquisitely beautiful and pleasurable: As our Knowledge is defective, we
are at a loss how to account perfectly for the particular Ends of their
Formation, and Manner of their Subserviency to the Whole of the Eternal
Design._

_However, by Observation and Improvements in Natural Philosophy, we are
assured thus far; that as the Almighty Creator made nothing in vain, so
all his Works are good, and admirably fitted to answer the Purposes of
his Will, and that his Wisdom, like his tender Mercies, shines through
all the Systems of his Creatures._

_That there is not a wise Purpose in every thing that is made, because
we do not understand it, is as absurd as for a Man to say, there is no
such thing as Light, because he is blind, and has no Eyes to see it._

_For the Illustration of this, we may take a short View of Creatures, in
vulgar account too diminutive and despicable a Species, to deserve a
close Attention: And among these, if we consider the Noxious, we shall
find, if not an Argument why they should be made, yet we shall be able
to discern no Reason why they should not, because their Noxiousness is
not so unavoidable, but that we may, and almost every one does avoid
it._

_General Histories of these Kinds we have been furnished with in the
Writings of the Learned: Here I apply myself to the Discussion of one_
particular Species, _viz._ the Serpent: _in which I don’t pretend to new
Discoveries, but only to collect, and bring into one View, what has been
said by different Persons, which is not to be found by any without_ many
Books, _and_ much Time; _and which, without the present_ English _Dress,
would not be understood by others at all_.

_In accounting for some things relative to the Subject, I have always
chosen the Words of the Learned in the Physical Profession._ _The
Subject being like_ Dust, _the_ Food of the Serpent, very dry, _I have
endeavoured to give it some Agreeableness, by a Variety of Passages from
History, and Reflections of many kinds; which, though they may not
always naturally arise from the Subject, yet being intended for the
Reader’s Entertainment and Instruction (as he goes along in the
principal Design of the Book) I hope they will find a favourable
Judgment_.

_Give me leave, upon this occasion, to adopt Sir_ William Temple’_s
Words_, viz. “It is not perhaps amiss, _says he_, to relieve or enliven
a busy Scene sometimes with such _Digressions_, whether to the Purpose
or no.”[1]

Footnote 1:

  _Temple_’s Memoirs from 1672 to 1679. _Second Edit^n. p._ 57, 58, 59.

_I shall only add, that in cultivating this Subject, I have attempted to
give a short Display of the Divine Perfections, which, as they appear
eminent in the System of the Creation in general, so in the Serpent they
may be seen in particular; and if it produces in the Reader a more
exquisite Perception of God in all his Works, I have my End; who am_

                          Your Humble Servant.


[Illustration]


------------------------------------------------------------------------


          Directions for the Binder, where to put the Plates,

                         Plate I.   after p.
                                    54.

                         Plate II.  after p.
                                    70.

                         Plate III. after p.
                                    78.

                         Plate IV.  after p.
                                    86.

                         Plate V.   after p.
                                    94.

                         Plate VI.  after p.
                                    142.

                         Plate VII. after p.
                                    152.




------------------------------------------------------------------------




         Pag.         ERRATA[TN].

         25           Read _Bocca_, instead of _Baca_.

         25           Four Lines from bottom, after _honor_,
                        r. _other_.

         34           Line 2. r. _tho’ the Venom may_.

         53           After _Dauphiny_, r. _and instead of
                        or_.

         58           Quotation, r. _Natural History of
                        Lancashire_.

         74 L. 14.    instead of _Amphisbænick Animals_, r.
                        _Whether there be two-headed Serpents
                        or not_.

         76 L. 14.    from bottom, for _Tython_, r. _Python_.

         95 L, 5. r.  _made_, for _move_.

         109 L. 3.    for _could_, r. _would_.

         112 L. 1. r. _Quinquennian._

         114 L 17.    for _emits_, r. _emit_.

         115 L. 2.    for _if they_, r. _the wounded_.

         122 Head     r. _Americina_.
         LXXXIV.

         132 Head     r. _Agnasen_.
         CXI.

         134 —— CXIV. r. _Attaligatus_.

         141 Head     for _Navigation_, r. _Natation_.
         CXXVI.

         147 ——       r. _Reptiles and Insects_.
         CXXXIV.

         148 Head     for _it_, r. _them_.
         IId.

         162          Instead of _Dæmon_, r. _Damon_. L. 4.
                        from bottom, in Quotation, r. _ποιημα_

         171 L. 9.    r. _their other Faculties were_.

         195          r. _Verdegrease_.

         196          r. _Nehushtans_.

         211          r. _Gades_.

         231          Dele 3.

         237          L. 14. a Comma should be after _adore_.

_N. B._ In the Story of the Elephant, pag. 86. it is a mistake, to place
the Action at _Newcastle_; the Scene of it being in the _East-Indies_,
according to a Book called _Hamilton’s Travels_.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration]


                                   A


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          U.

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    ──────────
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[Illustration]

------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration]


                                   A

                            NATURAL HISTORY

                                  _OF_

                               _SERPENTS_

    ----------------------------------------------------------------




                                PART I.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------


                               SECTION I.

I begin with the Division of Serpents, which I distribute into
_Terrestrial_, that live upon Land only; _Aquatick_, that live in Water;
and _Amphibious_, that inhabit both Elements. Under these I comprehend
all the Relatives to the venomous Tribe. But how can Land-Serpents live
in Water? I answer, their Bodies are equally formed for both Places.

Among Animals, some breathe by _Lungs_, and others by _Gills_, as all
sanguineous Fish, (excepting the _Whale_.) By _Gills_, I mean those
membranous cartilaginous Parts on both sides the Head, whereby they hear
and respire: What we call _Gills_ in Fish, are properly their _Lungs_.
Respiration (which is an involuntary Motion of the Breast, whereby Air
is alternately taken in and thrown out) is as necessary to Fish as to
Land-Animals: In Water, is a great Quantity of Air inclosed, and it is
that Air they respire, and by their _Gills_ they separate the Air from
the Water, and present it to the _Blood_, after the same manner as ’tis
presented to the Lungs of Land-Animals.

The _Gills_ of Fish have an alternate Motion of Dilatation and
Compression; when they _dilate_ their _Gills_, the Water is taken in;
when they _contract_ them, ’tis expelled again. Thus the Water is
carried in by the Mouth, and carried off again (stript of its Air) by
the _Gills_, which perform the Office of Lungs. Their sucking Water is
Breathing, and their Food as little of Water, perhaps, as other
Creatures use.

_SERPENTS_ will swim in all Liquids; this appears in the Experiment made
by a _learned Italian_, who put a Serpent into a large Glass-Vessel of
Wine, where it lived swimming about six Hours: and when it was by force
immersed and kept under that Liquid, it lived only about an Hour and a
half. He put another in common Water, where it lived three Days; but
when it was kept under Water, it lived only about twelve Hours[2].

Footnote 2:

  _Fr. Redi Exper. circa res nat._ p. 170.

Some Serpents are reptitious, creep on the Belly, and some have Feet;
the Form of their Legs is peculiar and different in divers Species,
whence the slow Motion of some, and wonderful Agility and Swiftness in
others: Their Feet are some cloven (as it were) into Hoofs, others
divided into Claws, with Variety of different Nails to answer the
several Purposes of Life; among them are _Flying Serpents_: for which
purpose, they are furnished with Wings to buoy themselves up in the
fluid Air, whereby they keep their Bodies on a due Balance in their
Motion.

Serpents are provided with Tails of different Length and Size; these
also are necessary to adjust their Motion, and guard them against
Stimulation of Flies. In winged Serpents, the Tail serves as a Rudder to
govern them in flying through the Air; and, in the marine Serpents, they
serve as Oars. But another says, the flying of a Bird, in effect, is
quite a different Motion from the sailing of a Ship: Birds don’t vibrate
their Wings towards the Tail, as Oars are struck towards the Stern, but
waft them downward; nor does the Tail of the Bird cut the Air at right
Angles as the Rudder does the Water, but it is disposed horizontally,
and preserves the same Situation what way soever the Bird turns[3].

Footnote 3:

  _Borelli._

They are painted with variety of Colours, as red, black, white, brown,
green; the Composition of these, in some of their Garnitures, forms
Beauties exquisitely fine. Some of them have very little Eyes, others
large ones: Some wound with their Teeth, others with the Tail that
terminates in a Sting, which is an Apparatus in the Body of certain
Insects like a little Lance, serving them as a Weapon of Offence.
Mention is made by Historians of harmless Serpents, and of Persons who
have tamed Serpents, and whose Hair has been kissed by a tame Dragon,
and which, with its Tongue, gently lick’d its Master’s Face[4].

Footnote 4:

  _Raii Synopsis. Ælian. Hist._

The Serpent seems to be one of the distinguished Favourites of the Air,
seeing it subsists by aerial Food all Winter; that is, in those Regions
where it dare not turn Ranger. Sleep is the Nurse of Nature, a Nurse
that greatly indulges the animal Spirits, and, by arresting voluntary
Motion, prevents their daily Consumption, and, at the same time, allows
the perpetual Motion of the Arteries, Veins, Heart. We know but little
of the real peculiar Nature of what we call Air, only that it is the
most heterogeneous Body in the World, a kind of secondary Chaos, being a
Compound of minute Particles of various Kinds, Earth, Water, Minerals,
Vegetables, Animals, _&c._ collected either by solar or artificial Heat.

These Particles together constitute an Appendage to our Earth, called
Atmosphere; or that thin, elastick, fluid Mass, wherein we live, move,
and have our being; which Air we continually receive, and expel by
Respiration, and no Animal can live, or Vegetable grow without it.

Thus Serpents inclosed in the Receiver, are immediately (I may say)
starved when deprived of Air, which is their only Winter-Food.—_N. B._
Whatever is put in a Receiver so exhausted, is said to be put _in
Vacuo_: Animals that have two Ventricles, and no _Foramen Ovale_, as
Birds, Dogs, Cats, Mice, die in it in less than half a Minute; a Mole
died in one Minute; a Bat lived seven or eight; Insects, as Wasps, Bees,
Grashoppers, seem dead in two Minutes[5].

Footnote 5:

  _Derham._

Nor will any Vegetation proceed _in Vacuo_, or without Air: Seeds
planted will not grow. OBJECTION. _Beans grow in Vacuo._ I answer, they
grow a little tumid, but that kind of Vegetation is only owing to the
Dilatation of the Air within them; they swell a little by the Expansion
of the Air, but they never bud.

Among the Ancients were very strange Notions about the _Original_ of
Serpents, and other Animals: _Bees_, says a certain Orator, Historian,
and Philosopher, were bred from the Carcass of Oxen; _Wasps_ from the
Corruptions of Horses; _Beetles_ from Asses; and _Serpents_ from human
Marrow: Hence they consecrated a Dragon to Kings and Princes, as a
Creature peculiar to Man[6].

Footnote 6:

  _Plutarch_’s Lives of _Cleomenes_ and _Agis_.

I don’t know how to form an Apology for the old Philosophers, whose
Account of spontaneous Generation is perfectly romantick: What can be
more so, than to say Frogs are engendered of Slime, or in the Clouds,
and dropt down in the Showers of Rain? So the _Egyptians_ said, that
Mice were produced from the Mud of _Nilus_, and Insects from putrified
Matter animated by the Sun. The Principle of this equivocal Generation,
was the old Doctrine of _Egypt_, and now justly exploded, as contrary to
Reason and common Sense, as well as to the Design of the Creator in
making Animals Male and Female; the End of which Difference in Sexes,
all Animals exactly answer, as if they were endued with human Reason. No
Woman more tender of her Babe, or careful in providing for it, than
Animals are of their Young Ones.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------


                              SECTION II.

The knowledge of mere Animals (who have no School for Arts and Sciences)
is most surprising; these without visible Instructors, know how to
perpetuate their Species to the End of the World; and how to order their
Eggs, as those, who are apprized, their Successors were contained in
them, and that it was in their power to produce them, and to perpetuate,
or keep up the Name of their Family.

The Serpentine Animals are thus taught by Nature; these differ in the
Mode of Propagation; some of them are _viviparous_, an Epithet applied
to such Animals, who lay their Eggs within their Bellies, who bring
forth their Young Ones alive and perfect, as Vipers, Sheep, Hares;
others are _oviparous_, and bring forth their Young from Eggs, as
Serpents, Snakes, Lizards, Frogs, Salmon, Tortoise, Herrings, _&c._[7]

Footnote 7:

  _Omnia ab ovo animalia._

In this Contrivance of Male and Female, and different Method of
Multiplication for perpetuating the Species, we may see an admirable
Instance of divine Wisdom: But for this Difference in Sexes, there would
be no Increase of Serpents nor other Animals. The oviparous and
viviparous Manner of Propagation is as wonderful; for,

Were they all _viviparous_, that is, brought forth living Births, there
would be but a small Number, and not sufficient to support the whole
animal Body: Corn, Grass, Fruits, _&c._ are no Production of the Sea,
therefore can be no Food for Fish: The Almighty Creator so ordained it,
that they should feed one upon another; and this made it necessary that
they should be _oviparous_, that they might increase in great Plenty,
which they could not do, if they were of the _viviparous_ Kind; that is,
brought forth their living Offspring, as Vipers, Sheep, Hares, Cows do.

But Fish being _oviparous_, propagating their Kind by Eggs, which, for
Number, are infinite, their Progeny is innumerable, and sufficient to
support all the Branches of the Marine Family; even the lesser Kind of
Fish send forth an incredible Number of Spawn.

On the other hand, if four-footed Beasts were propagated by Eggs, they
would soon cover the Face of the Earth, without a daily Destruction of
them, which would take up no little time, tho’ an _Army of Nimrods_ were
employed. Birds increase by Eggs, and bring forth great Numbers; and
perhaps, for this reason, that Birds of Prey and Serpents, Kitchens,
_&c._ might not want proper Supplies. Now, if a Female Bird was great
with six or twelve Young Ones at once, the Burden would be intolerable,
her Wings would fail, and she would become an easy Prey to her Enemies.

But you will say, what if they brought forth only one or two at a time,
till they amounted to the usual Number of their Eggs? I answer, that
then they would be troubled all the Year long with feeding their Young,
or bearing them in their Womb.

This Production of Creatures by Eggs, is a wonderful Phænomenon in the
animal World; the Eggs are shelly and hard, to preserve the included
Embryo from Accidents, and to contain suitable Nutriment for it. ’Tis
observable that Chickens, while in their dark embryotick State, are
nourished by the _White_ alone, till grown big, and then feed on the
_Yolk_, as the stronger Diet; and, when that is consumed, the Shell
opens, and lets out the Prisoners.

Though all Fowl are hatched from Eggs, yet it is not always by the
Parent’s Incubation, or Brooding, but by some other Warmth: The
_Tortoise_ is said to lay no less than fifteen hundred Eggs, which she
covers in the Sand, and leaves the Sun to hatch them. The Eggs of the
_Ostrich_[8] are hatched after the same manner; so the Serpent lays, and
leaves her Eggs in the Dunghill.

Footnote 8:

  _Job_ xxxix. 14, 15. _Willoughby’s Ornithol._ _lib._ ii. _cap._ 8.

The _Eggs_ of Serpents, and certain other Animals, are Parts formed in
the Ovaries of the Female, covered with a Shell, which includes an
Embryo of the same Species. In the days of old, the Egg was the Symbol
of the World; the World, by Tradition, being made of an _Egg_: Hence
Eggs became of singular Importance in the Sacrifices of _Cybele_ the
Mother of the Gods. Some of the Pagan Deities were said to be produced
from Eggs.

In some Parts of _Asia_, and at _Grand Cairo_ in _Egypt_, they hatch
their Chickens in Ovens; each Oven contains several thousand Eggs which
the Country brings in, and have their Eggs returned in Chickens.

By this Method, they generally want some integral Part, as an Eye, a
Claw, _&c._ which may be owing to a Want of equal Impression of Heat,
tho’ the artificial Warmth be continued. There are thousands, yea
Millions at a Batch, thus produced in _Egyptian Ovens_;—and may as well
be in _Europe_, if our Bakers had the knack on’t. An Experiment has been
made by a _Duke of Tuscany_, who having built such Ovens, did produce
living Chickens in the same manner.

Under this _Section_, I shall consider the wonderful Sagacity of
Serpents, in chusing their Paths for Deambulation, and finding out
proper Receptacles for their Repose and Security in Winter; and that in
Climates that are Opposites in their Nature.

In Summer, generally speaking, they are found in solitary and
unfrequented dry Situations; others delight in moorish fenny Grounds;
and in hot Countries, near to Groves, Rivulets—These, like other
Animals, strictly adhere to the Constitutions of their Family, without
Deviation.

They take up their Winter-Quarters in Caverns, hollow Places, Burrows,
Rocks, old Hedges, and under the Roots of Vegetables, especially the
Birch, others say Beech-Trees, which were consecrated by the Pagans to
the supreme Numen.

In these lonesome Habitations they repose themselves during the Winter,
in a kind of sleepy State, as half dead, with _open Eyes_[9]. In this
Solitude they lie dormant, indulg’d with a little humid Air, till the
Sun, by its Entrance into the northern Constellations, restores them to
the active Life; without some Air they could not live. Mr. _Boyle_ made
the experiment, by putting Vipers into the exhausted Receiver, which
soon died upon pumping out the Air.

Footnote 9:

  _Apertis Oculis._ Conrad. Gesner. pag. 3. _de Serp._

It argues no little Penetration, that they know when and how to shelter
themselves in Places of Safety in all Seasons; and what is yet more
astonishing, is, that they live there so many Months without Food and
without Action; and when released from their hybernal Confinement, how
soon do they find out their appointed Food? Taken in this light, they
are not singular; for ’tis believed, there are other Animals that pass
the Winter-Season in a state of Indolence and Inactivity, as Cuckows and
Swallows, making way by their Retreat for Woodcocks and Fieldfares,
which visit us in Winter, and then return northwards: They are said to
breed in colder Countries, as _Norway_, _Russia_, _Sweden_, and the
_Islands of Orcades_, the most northern Parts of _Scotland_; which
Islands were formerly in possession of the _Norwegians_, and given and
annex’d to _Scotland_ by _Christiern_ I. King of _Denmark_ and _Norway_,
on the Marriage of his Daughter _Margaret_, with _James_ III. King of
_Scotland_, about the Year 1474.

It is probable, that when these northern Countries are buried in Snow,
and their Rivers are frozen up, these Birds take their Flight hither,
and such like Places, where they have access to Water, _&c._ But as to
Cuckows and Swallows, as intimated above, ’tis generally allow’d that
they sleep in Winter, having, as ’tis said, been found in hollow Trees
and Caverns. Nor is this at all unlikely; tho’ on the other hand, I can
see no Absurdity in supposing that these should go upon a Summer, as the
other do upon a Winter Pilgrimage; that these pursue a lesser Heat, as
well as the others fly from a greater Cold. Yea, _Vegetables_ are said
to _sleep in Winter_, and to be awake and lively in Summer: During the
Months of their Rest, a quantity of Oil is laid up in them for their
Defence against the Cold, and in proportion to the Degrees of it, which
they are to sustain; whence it is, that the Trees of the northern
Climates so much abound with Oil.

On the other hand, there are _Reptiles_ and _Insects_ that have Sense
enough to lay up Winter-Store in Summer, as the _Bee_, _Wasp_,
_Field-Mouse_, _&c._ a Property foreign to the ancient House of
Serpents.

In Summer, the _Bees_ labor hard for Winter Provision: As soon as the
Air grows mild and warm, they are out betimes, and gather their Harvest
from the Simples of the Fields, which they suck into their Bodies, and
upon their Return to the Hive they disgorge it, as Pigeons do their Food
wherewith they feed their Young. When the Bees have fill’d their
Storehouse with the Delicacies of Nature, they lock the Doors, which
they seal up with delicate white Wax, to prevent the Emanation of the
Honey, which is a vegetable Juice: The Combs in which their Treasure is
lodg’d, are geometrically nice, and exceed the most exquisite Art of
Man.

The Ants also in this respect, are remarkable for Penetration and
Foresight. In _America_ are Ants which raise Hillocks four or five Foot
high, and have such a way of cementing the Earth about them, that ’tis
as firm as Lime and Stone, which protects them against the _Ant-Bears_,
or Pismire-eaters; _i. e._ a kind of Creatures as big as Dogs, that feed
on these Insects.

One observes, that the _Spaniards_ left _Jamaica_, and went to _Cuba_,
for this Reason among others, because their Childrens Eyes were eaten by
these Ants, when left by themselves in the Cradle[10].

Footnote 10:

  Sir _Hans Sloan_’s _Introduction to his Voyage_, p. 68.

Ceylon in the _East-Indies_ produces several sorts of remarkable Ants,
particularly a large red kind, which make their Nests on the Boughs of
great Trees, with Leaves wrapt together in Clusters, in which they lay
their Eggs: And another sort call’d _Vacos_, whose Hinder-part is white,
and the Head red; these swarm over the Land and devour every thing, but
Stone and Iron: They creep on House-walls, and always build an Arch over
themselves; on these their Poultry live chiefly; some of them bite
desperately.

To these I might add the _Wasps_, that have their Winter-Treasures in
subterranean Cells, and the Field-mice that know the proper Season to
gather Acorns, which they carefully hide in hollow Places, (as
Mole-runs) in the Earth. Thus we see no Creatures so mean in our View,
but a Ray of divine Wisdom shines in their Foresight and Contrivance:
When we consider how wonderfully these inferior Creatures are conducted
in their Operations, how punctually they obey the Laws of their Creator,
how solicitously every one propagates his Kind, and makes proper
Provisions for his Family; it looks as if it were done by some Principle
that’s more perfect than the common Reason of Man. Nevertheless ’tis
past doubt, that Brutes of the highest Order, and most refin’d, are but
Brutes, _i. e._ irrational, and it’s well for us they are so.

This is call’d _Instinct_, a natural Disposition, or Sagacity wherewith
Animals are endued; by virtue whereof they are enabled to provide for
themselves, know what is good for them, and are determin’d to propagate
and preserve their Species. _Instinct_ bears some Analogy to Reason or
Understanding, and supplies the Defect of it in Brutes. The Narrative of
_Eve_’s Temptation begins with affirming, _The Serpent was more subtle
than any Beast of the Field_. And _Christ_ recommends the Wisdom of the
Serpent, but not without the Innocence of the Dove.

The Proofs of its Subtilty are not so obvious; some produce such as
these, telling us, that the Serpent _Cerastes_ hides itself in the Sand,
with a view to bite the Horse’s Foot that he might throw the Rider.
_Jacob_ seems to allude to this, in the Blessing he gave to _Dan_, of
whom ’tis said, _Dan shall be a Serpent by the Way, an Adder in the
Path, that bites the Horse’s Heels, so that his Rider shall fall
backward_. Gen. xlix. 17. But more in Part third.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------


                              SECTION III.

Serpents are supposed to have many Enemies, besides Man, as the _Eagle_,
_Hawk_, _Stork_, _Ibis_, _Ichneumon_, _Magaure_, _&c._ I shall only
touch upon some of these: _Ibis_ is a Bird of _Egypt_, and a faithful
Ally in the War against Serpents; vast Numbers of winged Serpents are
annually bred in _Arabia_, from whence, at certain Seasons, Swarms of
them take their flight across the _Red-Sea_ into _Egypt_: Upon the first
notice of their Arrival, the _Ibidian_ Birds assemble in Troops, and
immediately fly upon the Invaders, and soon destroy them. In the same
manner they execute Vengeance upon the Serpents of _Ethiopia_, when they
molest the Land[11].

Footnote 11:

  _Conradus Gesn._ p. 55. _Ray. Gyllius._

The _Storks_ destroy all Serpents that fall in their way, and are so
greatly regarded in _Thessaly_ for this kind office, that it is counted
a capital Crime to kill a _Stork_, and the Criminal is punished as in
the case of Man-slaughter.

[12]The Stork’s Bill is very long and sharp, with which it makes a
rattling kind of Noise: It is said, the Chirurgeons have learn’d the
Clysterick Art from these Birds.

Footnote 12:

  _Pliny’s Nat. Hist._ Tom. i. B. 10.

The _Storks_ also are esteemed the Clergy’s Friends, for the Author of
the _Book of Nature_ says, they will not inhabit any City in _Germany_,
where no Tythes are paid to the Priest. An Orthodox Brood of Birds!

When _Moses_ conducted the _Egyptian_ Army against the _Ethiopians_, he
was to pass through a Country full of Serpents, and to secure his Forces
from them in their March, he carried with him several of these _Ibidian_
Birds, before whose Fury they fell or fled[13].

Footnote 13:

  _Josephus_, B. ii. Cap. v. p. 65.

_ICHNEUMON_ is a little Animal of bold Spirit, and a great Destroyer of
Serpents, and therefore the _Egyptians_ keep it in their Houses, as we
do Cats; and the young ones are commonly sold for that end at
_Alexandria_. In form it resembles an overgrown Rat, and is called the
_Indian-Rat_, and _Pharaoh’s Rat_; and by its mighty Atchievements, it
must be of some considerable Bulk; for in its Encounters with great
Dogs, Crocodiles, Serpents, _&c._ it generally comes off victorious:
Upon their Approach it bunches up, and bristles up its Hair, in token of
Defiance: It couches on the Ground, and leaps like a Bull-dog at its
Prey.

By some it is call’d the _Egyptian Otter_; ’tis of a dun Colour, has
round Ears, black Legs, and long Tail: It cannot endure the Wind, and
runs for Shelter, when it rises, sometimes thrusting its Head between
its hinder Legs, in a round Form like a Hedge-hog.

Those who have examined into Kites Nests, have found Vipers in them,
which are supposed to be Food for their young ones. In _China_ is a
little Creature like a Weezel, called _Magaure_, that is a mortal Enemy
to Serpents, which it kills by striking its Teeth into their Heads. The
_Chameleon_ trembles at the Sight of this little Furioso[14]; whose Ears
are short and round, its Nose like that of a Ferret, its Tongue and
Teeth like a Cat, which is a Creature it destroys in a Minute, though
not the easiest to be killed. The _Argoli Serpents_ in _India_ destroy
Asps; therefore by _Alexander_ the Great’s Command, they were
transported to _Alexandria_[15].

Footnote 14:

  _L. Le Comte’s Memoirs_, p. 504.

Footnote 15:

  _Johnstonus_, p. 16.

Whether the Serpent hates Man more than other Creatures, is with me a
question; be that as it will, it is wonderful to think, that
notwithstanding Man’s and other Creatures invincible Hatred of Serpents,
yet hitherto they have been able to support themselves in a State of War
against all the World.

Even among Vegetables are found Enemies to Serpents; as the _Dittany_ of
_Virginia_, or the _wild Penny-royal_; the Leaves of which, says my
Author, being bruised, we tied in the Cleft of a long Stick, and held
them to the Nose of the _Rattle-Snake_, who by turning and wriggling,
laboured hard to avoid it, and in half an hour’s time was kill’d by it:
This was done _July_ 1657, at which Season those Creatures are computed
to be in the greatest Vigour of their Poison; it is also remarkable,
that in those Places where the _wild Penny-royal_ grows, no
Rattle-Snakes are observed to come[16].

Footnote 16:

  _Philos. Transact._ abridg’d by _Lowthorp_, p. 811.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------


                              SECTION IV.

That _Dust_ was not the original Food of the Serpent, seems evident from
the Sentence passed upon the Paradisaic Serpent, but the necessary
Consequence of the Change made in the manner of its Motion, _i. e._ the
prone Posture of its Body, by which it’s doomed to live upon Food
intermix’d with Earth, dried to a Powder; _Dust shalt thou eat_, is one
part of the Curse. It’s true, Serpents eat Flesh, Birds, Frogs, Fish,
Fruits, Grass, but as they continually creep on the Earth, ’tis
impossible but their Food must be often defiled with Dirt; some of them
may eat Earth out of Necessity, or at least Earth-Worms, which they
cannot swallow without some Dirt with them. No Animal but has its proper
Food; even the most minute Insects; those that seemingly feed upon Dust,
in reality feed only upon some nutritive Particles therein. Insects have
been seen through a Microscope to eat some Particles of Dust, and reject
many others, having accurate Organs of Sight, Smelling, and Feeling, as
well accommodated to Dust, as the Organs of Ducks and Hogs are to find
their Food in Dirt.

And here it may be observed, that what the Serpent does through a
Necessity from the Divine Sentence, the earthly Man does from his own
Will; the Serpent only by the Will of another, Man eats it from his own
Inclination to it; the Serpent would have better Food if it could, Man
might have better and will not: This shews that Man has a mind to be
Companion with the Serpent, and to carry on the Acquaintance, that was
begun in Paradise; the Serpent licks the Dust materially, the earthly
Person licks it morally; the one has its Tongue upon it, the other has
his Heart. The earthly Man is only a Man in shape, but a Serpent in
Practice: What is the Punishment of the Serpent, is made the Happiness
of the earthly Mind.

Some Serpents are _carnivorous_, and feed on Flesh; others are
_verminivorous_, and feed on Reptiles: Their Sustenance is various,
suited to their several Constitutions, and Nature of the Climates, where
they inhabit. Vipers and Adders feed on Herbs, Weeds, Dews, as well as
upon Lizards, Mice, Frogs.—When they take Food into their Mouths, they
raise up their Bodies a little, that they may swallow their Prey with
less difficulty. They swallow those little Animals whole without
chewing. In a Viper dissected by a certain Gentleman, he found three
large Mice, intire, without any Change of their Form by hard
Compressure. _Scorpions_ live chiefly upon Locusts, and other winged
Insects. In _Arabia_, ’tis said, they feed upon _Balsam-Juices_, and
seem to delight much in the Shadow of that Tree[17].

Footnote 17:

  _Conrad, Gesner._ 85.

It is remarkable, that Nature has provided young Vipers with poisonous
Teeth grown to Perfection, commensurate to their Bulk, that so they may
immediately feed themselves, by being able, in some measure, to kill
their Prey as soon as they are born. Some of these Animals have
temporary Parts, as the _Lacerta Aquatica_, a little Water-Serpent,
which, when young, has four ramified Fins, to poise and keep its Body
upright, (which gives it the Resemblance of a young Fish) and these fall
off when the Legs are grown: So Frogs and Toads, in their _Tadpole
State_, have Tails, which fall off when their Legs are grown out[18].
These pass through various Transmigrations, before they arrive at their
perfect State.

Footnote 18:

  _Derham’s Phys. Theol._ B. IV.


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                               SECTION V.

As Serpents differ in Kind, so in Size; the Length to which some of them
grow is most surprizing. A certain Number is sent out with little
Bodies; others are of monstrous Bulk, and capable of making the
strongest Efforts against all the Attempts made to destroy them; yea,
are strong enough to contend with _Elephants_, the greatest of Animals,
and conquer them. _e. gr._

_ATTILIUS REGULUS_, the _Roman_ General in _Africa_, is said to
encounter a Serpent in that Country, of vast Strength and Stature, near
the River _Bagrada_, 120 Feet long, which he and his Army could not
subdue, without discharging all their Engines of War against it; and,
when conquered and flea’d, its Skin was conveyed to _Rome_ in
Triumph[19]. This is the more credible, says _Pliny_, because, in
_Italy_, we see other Serpents, called _Boæ_, so large that in the Reign
of _Claudius_, there was one of them killed in the _Vatican_, within
whose Belly was found an Infant whole[20].

Footnote 19:

  _Prœlium grands & acre eumque magna totius exercitus conflictatione,
  balistis atque catapultis diu oppugnatum—Ejusque interfecti longum
  corium pedes 120. Aul. Gellii Noct. Att._ _Liber_ VI. _Cap._ iii.

Footnote 20:

  _Nat. Hist._ B. VIII. _Cap._ xiv.

Among the _Andes_ in _America_, are Serpents of prodigious Magnitude,
from 25 to 30 Foot long[21]. In the Province of _Caria_, are Serpents
ten Yards long, and Ten Hands broad, and their Eyes as large as two
small Loaves. In _Brasil_, are found Serpents 30 Foot long. In
_Gresham-College, London_, is a Snake preserved in Spirits, that is near
two Yards long.

Footnote 21:

  _De Le Vega._

In _Norway_, we read of two Serpents of very large Proportion: One of
two hundred Foot long, and lives in Rocks and desolate Mountains, near
the Sea, about _Bergen_; which in Summer-Nights ranges about in quest of
Plunder, devouring Lambs, Calves, Swine, and other Animals, that fall in
its way. In a calm Sea, it ransacks the Superficies of the Water, and
devours the _Polypus_ (_i. e._ a little Fish of many Feet) and all sorts
of Sea-Crabs.——Upon the Approach of a Ship, this Serpent lifts up its
Head above Water, and snatches at the Mariners. My Author adds, that it
rolls itself round about the Ship, the more effectually to secure its
Prey[22]. The Representation of this you have in _C. Gesner._

Footnote 22:

  _Olaus Magn._ B. xxi. c. 27. p. 23. _Gesner ex Scalig._

The other Serpent is in the Diocess of _Hammer_, about fifty Cubits
long, by Conjecture. In _Bothnia_, on the _Livonian_ Sea, we read of
monstrous Serpents, with which the Shepherds of that Country were in
constant War. Wonderful Things are reported of the large Serpents that
infest the _Helvetian Mountains_. From the Instances above, ’tis evident
that the Northern Climates breed Serpents as well as the South; but with
this Difference, that they are not so venomous as those in _Africa_,
tho’ _Olaus Magnus_, Archbishop of _Upsal_, seems to except the
Shrew-Serpent. _Ibid._

There are _Marine_, as well as _Land-Dragons_, of uncommon Bigness: Some
in _Ethiopia_ of 30 Paces long, and in _Phrygia_ ten Paces long.——_N.
B._ A geometrical Pace is five Foot; but if it be the lesser Pace only,
_viz._ the Measure of two Foot and a half, it must be a monstrous
Animal[23].——In the Reign of _Philadelphus_, two _Live-Dragons_ were
brought from _Ethiopia_ to _Alexandria_, one 13, the other 14 Cubits
long. In the Reign of King _Euergetes_, they took three Dragons, one
seven Cubits, the other nine Cubits long. The third was carefully nursed
in the Temple of _Esculapius_, and no Creature so highly reverenced[24].

Footnote 23:

  _Gesner_, p. 44.

Footnote 24:

  _Ælian_, l. 16. c. 39. p. 957.

On the _Pellonæon Hill_ in _Chius_, was a _Dragon_ whose hideous Noise
filled the Vicinity with Horror and Dread; so terrible, that none durst
approach so near as to take its Dimensions. It happened, the Wilderness
wherein it lived, took fire in a Storm; and being involved in the Smoke
and fire, it perished, and, upon viewing its Bones, ’twas concluded to
be of a monstrous Bulk. _Ibid._

The _Ethiopian Dragons_ just mentioned, have no proper Name, and are
only known by a Periphrasis, _viz._ _Killers of Elephants_. The Method
is, by winding themselves about the _Elephants_ Legs, and then thrusting
their Heads up their Nostrils, sting them, and suck their Blood till
they are dead.

_ALEXANDER_, in his Tour thro’ the _Red-Sea_, says, he saw Serpents of
incredible Magnitude, some about 30 Cubits long[25].

Footnote 25:

  _Ælian_, lib. 17. cap. 1.

We read of monstrous Dragons, particularly two Draconic Monsters
mentioned by _Alexander_’s Ambassadors, seen by them in their Return
from the Kingdom of _Abisaris_, one of 80 Cubits long, the other
140[26].

Footnote 26:

  _Strabo_, de situ orbis, lib. 15. βιασαρου χωρα _Bisari_, alias
  _Abisari Regio_.

In places adjacent to _Batavia_, a _Dutch_ Settlement in the
_East-Indies_, we read of Serpents 50 Feet long; and the Skin of one,
which was 20 Feet long, that swallowed an _Infant_, is shewn in
_Batavia_, the _Metropolis_ of the _Dutch_ Empire in the _East-Indies_.
In _America_ also are Serpents of prodigious Bulk, from 25, to 30 Feet
long[27]; but this Subject will be further considered in the _Second
Part_ of this Book.

Footnote 27:

  Atlas American.

On the other hand, there are Serpents, as remarkably little as the
_Amphisbæna_, _Gallic_ Viper, and some of the Lizards, that are not
above four or six Inches long. Most of these Minutillos vary in outward
Form.

And here, I can’t but observe that as the Magnitude of some other
Animals is very wonderful, so, on the contrary, the Minuteness of some
is equally astonishing, if not more so: There are some very _little
Insects_ that are conspicuous to the Eye, but more that are _invisible_
without the Help of a _Microscope_, which is an optical Instrument, that
magnifies Objects, and makes them bigger than really they are; it helps
to discover minute Particles, of which Bodies are composed, and the
curious Contexture of them.

To those who are not used to a rigid mathematic Proof, this may be
illustrated by the Smallness of many organized Bodies. There is a Plant
called _Harts-Tongue_, ten thousand Seeds of which hardly make the Bulk
of a Pepper-Corn. Now the Cover of the true Body of each Seed, the
parenchymous and ligneous Parts of both; the Fibres of those Parts, the
Principles of those Fibres, and the homogeneous Particles or Atoms of
each Principle, being moderately multiplied one by another, afford a
hundred thousand Millions of formed Atoms in the space of a Pepper-Corn,
says the learned Dr. _Grew_[28].

Footnote 28:

  _Cosmologia Sacra_, B. i. chap. 3.

The same is yet more evident from the Stupendous Smallness of some
Animals, especially in the Sperm of smaller Insects; which have been
observed by Mr. _Leeuwenhoek_, to be some Millions of times smaller than
a grain Sand. This learned Gentleman has observed more of them in the
Spawn of a Cod-fish, than there are People living on the Face of all the
Earth at once[29].

Footnote 29:

  _Numerum animalculorum ex unius asselli majoris lactibus
  provenientium, plus decies superare homines in universo terrarum orbe
  viventes._—_Epistola ad Dom. N. Grew_, p. 1.

    _N. B._ It is the infinite Number of these little invisible
    Animals that makes stagnating Waters or Pools appear of so many
    different Colours, as green, reddish, brown,—according to the
    several Natures of these little Animals that live therein.

Thus, among Men, we find big and little; _Giants_ and _Pygmies_: Whether
that Disproportion be from meer natural Causes, or by Designation of
Providence, I determine not. It is very questionable whether there be a
particular Nation of _Pygmies_; but no doubt is made about the Existence
of _Dwarfs_ in many Places as well as Giants. _Julia_, the Niece of
_Augustus_, had a Dwarf called _Canopas_, that was about two feet in
height. _Philippa French_, born at _Milcomb_ in _Staffordshire_, aged
about 36, being then married, wanted something of three Feet in
height[30].

Footnote 30:

  Dr. _Plot_’s Natural History.—_Oxford_ 16.

On the other hand, we are not without Instances of Men, that were of a
_gigantick Stature_, after, as well as before the Deluge, as _Goliah_
and the Sons of _Anak_.

In the Days of _Claudius_ the Emperor, _Pliny_ tells us, that one called
_Gabara_, brought out of _Arabia_, was nine Feet and nine Inches high:
He tells us also, of two others in the days of _Augustus Cæsar_,
_Iducio_ and _Secundilla_, that were half a Foot taller than
_Gabara_[31]. _Maximinus_ the Emperor, was eight Foot and a half in
height. But to come near home:

Footnote 31:

  _Nat. Hist._ B. vii. cap. 16.

_WILLIAM EVANS_ born in _Monmouthshire_, and Porter to King _Charles_ I.
was two Yards and a half high. _Walter Parsons_, Porter to King _James_
I. was about the same height. “Some say, _William Evans_ exceeded
_Walter Parsons_ two Inches in height, but was far beneath him in
proportion of Body. Tho’ he halted a little, and going out squalling
with his Feet, yet made a shift to dance in an _Antimasque_ at Court,
where he drew _Little Jeffrey_, the _Dwarf_, out of his _Pocket_, first
to the Wonder, then to the Laughter of the Spectators[32].”

Footnote 32:

  Fuller’_s Worthies of_ Engl. Monmouthshire, _p._ 54.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------


                              SECTION VI.

The Apparatus in Serpents for their Motion is admirable. How curious the
Structure of their Muscles, and their Junction to every Point, whereby
they are prepared for their different Motions, and enabled to move
according to their different Nature and Situation!

In those that go upon their Bellies, the Movement is very singular,
which is in a Form curvilineal, different winding of their Bodies. The
Serpentine Line, among Mathematicians, is borrowed from the Foldings of
a Serpent in its Motion.

The Learned observe, there is a great deal of geometrical Niceness in
the sinuous Motion of Snakes, Vipers, and other Serpents; to assist them
in the right Management of it, the annular Scales under their Bodies are
very remarkable, lying cross the Belly, contrary to what those in the
Back, and the rest of the System do; which Contrivance facilitates their
Motion. This tortuous creeping Motion of the Reptile Species is very
curious: The whole Body of a Worm is, as it were, but a Chain of annular
or spiral Muscles, whose round Fibres, by contracting, make each Ring
more strong. The Back-Bones of Serpents are a wonderful Composition: How
thick are they with Joints? How numerous and strong are their
co-operating Muscles? By this curious Articulation of the Joints, they
can turn and wind their Bodies any way without any difficulty.

The Outside of their Skin is a most elegant Composition: to a common
Eye, their Tegument has a rugged uneven Aspect; but, to a proper Judge,
the Scales of Vipers are found to be a most exquisite Piece of
Mechanism; the Symmetry of the whole is geometrically exact, and vastly
beautiful; not imitable by human Skill: Some of them are guarded by a
coverture not penetrable by a human Arm, which is their Security in a
perilous Situation; yea, a greater Security than many innocent
Inhabitants of the Field are privileged with. Among Serpents, some are
clothed as with a Coat of Mail, _i. e._ an Armature of strong Scales;
and such of them as want that crustaceous Covering, have either a Sting
in the Tail, or a Tooth in their Mouth, that bids the Assailant keep
off, and observe his Distance.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------


                              SECTION VII.

What is Poison? I answer, that, generally speaking, ’tis taken to be a
malignant Quality in some Vegetables, Minerals, and Animals, a small
Quantity of which is hurtful, and even mortal, _&c._

The Learned in the Faculty tell us, _Poisons_ operate in various
manners; some by dissolving the Blood, others by coagulating it, and
some by corroding and destroying the Solids. The Learned Sir _Hans
Sloane_ says, “Some attack equally all Parts, some only a particular
one. Thus the _Lepus Marinus_ is an Enemy to the Lungs, _Cantharides_ to
the Bladder[33].”

Footnote 33:

  _His Voyage._

Some Vegetables again, which prove Poison to Man, serve for Food to
other Animals. Thus, says that learned Gentleman, _Mandragora_ and
_Jusquiamnus_ that feed Hogs, kill Man.

_HEMLOCK_, that is hurtful to Man, is wholesome for Goats; yea, the
_Cassavi Plant_ poisons unprepared; but prepared, is the very Bread of
the _West-Indians_, particularly _Jamaica_ and the hotter Parts, with
which they victual Ships. _Ibid._ Tea is said to be poisonous before it
is cured.

This perhaps may serve to obviate an Objection made against the Goodness
of the Deity, in planting a Tree in Paradise that had such malignant
Influences; because, supposing that it had any Properties, which might
tend to the Dissolution of the human System, yet the same Tree might be
very salutary and useful to other Beings in the Creation.

Having divided _Poison_ into _Three Parts_, I shall, in the next Place
consider them distinctly.


I. _This Contrivance of Divine Wisdom is so universal, that we find, in
the vegetable Kingdom, something more than what is merely analogous to
Poison, both in Land and Water-Plants_; as the _Napellus_, _Cassivi_,
_Nux Vomica_, _Aconite_, _Cicuta Aquatica_, _Solanum Lethale_, _Aconitum
Hyemale_. Some Poisons are of a Narcotic Quality, as Poppy and
Henbane—being taken in too great a Quantity, become poisonous. I shall
only add some Instances of Persons kill’d by eating poisonous Plants,
Roots, and Herbs. The Wife of _W. Matthews_, near _Salop_, who having
gathered a Quantity of _Dog-Mercury_, which she took to be another Herb,
boiled it for their Supper, which very sensibly affected the whole
Family. One of the Children slept from _Thursday_ Night till _Monday_
Evening, then just opened her Eyes, and died immediately. The other two
Children slept about 24 Hours, and, upon their awakening, fell a
vomiting and purging, which, ’tis thought, saved their Lives[34]. A
certain Woman near _Kilkenny_ in _Ireland_, eating by mistake, a
_Hemlock-Root_ among _Parsnips_, was immediately seized with a Raving
and Madness. _Ibid._

Footnote 34:

  _Lowthorp_’s Abridg. Vol. II.

Eight young Lads went a fishing to a Brook near _Clonmel_ in _Ireland_,
and there meeting with a great Parcel of _Oenanthe Aquatica succo
viroso_, they mistook the Roots of it for _Sium Aquaticum_ Roots, and
did eat heartily of them. About four or five hours after coming home,
the eldest of them, on a sudden, fell down backwards, and lay kicking
and sprawling on the Ground, foaming at the Mouth; soon after, four more
were seized the same way, and they all died before Morning: not one of
them having spoken a Word from the Moment in which the venenate
Particles surprised the _Genus nervosum_[35]. Of the other three, one
ran stark-mad, but recovered; another had his Hair and Nails fallen off;
the third alone escaped: perhaps it might be owing to a strong
Constitution, and eating less of that fatal Root; or perhaps it might be
attributed to his speedy running above two Miles home (after he saw one
young Man fall) together with his drinking a very large Draught of warm
Milk from the Cow, in his midway, and a violent Sweating, which might
expel many of those venemous Particles. _Ibid._

Footnote 35:

  _Ibid._ p. 641.

An Experiment has been made upon a Dog, by giving him the _Nux Vomica_,
which soon poisoned him. The _American Physick Nut_ is said to be so
poisonous, that no Animals make a near Approach to it. Wormwood in
_Persia_ is so venemous, that if Horses, or any other Creatures, eat
thereof, they die immediately; upon which account, say the Duke of
_Holstein_’s Ambassadors, we durst not unbit that day[36]. The _Indians_
have what they call _Juico Juice_ among them, which deprives such as
drink of it of their Reason, and renders them perfect Idiots; tho’ at
the same time it leaves them in the perfect Enjoyment of their Health
and natural Powers.

Footnote 36:

  Their Voyages and Travels to _Muscovy_ and _Persia_, p. 228. A. D.
  1637.

_CHARCOALS_ prepared from _Vegetables_, have a poisonous Quality; for,
when kindled, they exhale a Vapour, which, if it be kept up, and
confin’d to a close Place, proves fatal. ’Tis said, Charcoal made in
_Cornwal_ affords a manifest arsenical and sulphurous Smell beyond
others; and yet Charcoal is a _commodious_ Fuel.

Even when the sharp Points of Nettles pierce the Flesh, they instil a
kind of venemous Juice into the Wound, which gives a painful Sensation.
The Leaf of a Nettle has some relation to a Sting; ’tis covered with
very sharp Prickles, whose Base, which is a Bladder of a flexible
Substance, has a Hole in the middle, by which this venemous Liquor runs
into the wounded Part, and excites Pain.

This may be easily perceived with a Microscope; if a Man press with the
Finger, the End of those Prickles against its _Base_: for then, thro’
these Prickles which are transparent, this Liquor is manifestly seen to
mount, and to descend, as the ingenious Mr. _Hook_ assures us, he had
often made the Experiment.

In _Carmania Deserta_, towards the _Persian_ Gulph, they have two sorts
of dangerous Shrubs, one called _Gulbad-Samour_, i. e. the Flower that
poisons the Wind, where there are many of these _Shrubs_. The Wind that
passes thro’ them, kills those who are near it. The other is _Kerzehre_,
the _Gall_ of _Asses_, because it kills those Creatures, and others that
eat of it; yea, the Water that falls from it is poisonous. They say,
that Part of its Root which spreads to the East is Poison: for which,
that on the South-side is an Antidote[37].——_N. B._ Is not our Author
mistaken? for can any Poison grow in the delicious Plains of the East,
consecrated to the Service of the Altar and Knee?

Footnote 37:

  _Tavernier_, in _Atl. Geo._ p. 349, and 396.

An Overdose of Opium, which is the condensed Juice of Poppies, is
poisonous. The _Turks_ take _Opium_, which they call _Affion_, without
any Preparation, it being merely the Juice of black Poppy, dried in the
Sun, without any purification. It is wonderful, _that use should make
that Liquid which is Poison to us, a Cordial to them_[38].

Footnote 38:

  _Wheeler_’s Voyages, p. 203.

The Vapour arising from vegetable Liquors during their Fermentation,
ought not to be approached too near, because it is poisonous: We have
Accounts in the _French_ and _German Transactions_, of People who were
immediately struck dead, by receiving at the Nose the Fumes that issued
from large Vessels of Wine in the State of Fermentation[39].

Footnote 39:

  _Boerhaave_, p. 120, 130.

“I think, says a learned Physician, that God made no Poison, but all
things in the World were made for the Use of Man; their chiefest
_Deleterium_ is either in the Quantity, or some other Circumstance, as
in Lettice, Leeks,—whose _Integra_ are Aliments, the Juices mortiferous.
Those things that are pernicious, by their external Form, as beaten
Glass, Sponges, have not deserved the Brand of Poison; those that are
really lethiferous, are but the Excrescences of Sin, and came in with
the Thorns. The Serpent was rather destructive to the Soul than the
Body.”

Among the Ancients was a Plant that killed Mice with its bare smell,
according to _Pliny_: The Poets feign it to have sprung from the Foam of
the Dog _Cerberus_, when _Hercules_ dragg’d him out of Hell.

The _Aconite Plants_ also are extremely caustic and acrimonious, in
virtue whereof they have produced terrible Inflammations, that end in
Mortification. So great was the People’s Dread of this Plant, for its
venemous Quality, that they durst not touch it and yet, ’tis said, they
made use of it against the Sting of _Scorpions_, which is supposed to be
deadned by the Touch of the Aconite, and restored to its Vigour by that
of _Hellebore_.

    _N. B._ The Root of the Plant is said to cure all Diseases
    proceeding from Melancholy, as Disaffections from the
    _Hypochondria_, _Herpes_ or cutaneous Inflammations.

It is also reported that Arrows dipped in the Juice of _Aconite Plants_,
proved mortal wherever they wounded.


II. _The Globe we inhabit, abounds with Variety of Minerals, of a very
mischievous Nature_; as _Arsenic_, found in Copper-mines; _Orpiment_, a
Mineral found among Copper-mines, in Stones of different Bigness, Colour
and Figure. These, and others of the same venemous Nature, are less or
more dangerous, according as their Salts receive a different Force from
the metallic Particles.

The Mineral Kingdom is very subject to Damps, or noxious Streams, and
often found in Mines, Pits,——and in Kinds various. There are also
Exhalations, a sort of Fumes issuing from Body, and diffusing themselves
in the Atmosphere. Some make difference between Vapours and Exhalations:
The Term _Vapour_, they say, is appropriated to the moist Fumes raised
from Water, and _Exhalation_, to the dry ones emitted from solid Bodies,
as Earth, Fire, Minerals, Sulphur. The nocuous Effluvia sent forth from
them may infect the Air, and cause epidemical Distempers, and even new
Diseases. About Mines and deep Caverns, are frequently found copious
Exhalations continually streaming out, which, in a Moment, destroy any
Animal that comes within their reach; so much as the very Insects
themselves not escaping: Therefore these Places were by the Ancients
called _Gehennæ_, _Averni_,—intimating thereby, that a _Mineral Pit_ was
_Hell_, and that _Subterraneous Exhalations_ were _Steams_ from the
_Fiery Lake_.

_STRABO_ takes notice of a _Cave_ or _Grotto_ in _Natolia_, from whence
issue pestilential Vapours that infect the Air: No sooner is any Animal
put in, but it immediately dies. Bulls have been put in, and suddenly
taken out dead. Sparrows that have been thrown in, dropt down dead
instantly.

The _Turks_ fancy it to be haunted by evil Spirits, because those who
had the Curiosity to enter it, have either _died_ or fallen desperately
_sick_[40].

Footnote 40:

  _Strabo Geograph._

Mineral Poisons are more or less dangerous, as their Salts receive a
greater or less Force from the metallic Particles: And hence, as the
most virulent may be mitigated by breaking the Points of the saline
Crystals, the most innocent Minerals may become corrosive, by combining
them with Salts, as is seen in the Preparations of Silver, Antimony,
Iron.

Nothing more fatal than mineral Poison, which often brings swift
Destruction without remedy. To a large Dog, says the learned Dr. _Mead_,
was given a Drachm of _Mercury Sublimate_, mixt with a little Bread, who
after violent Evacuations, died next Morning. The same Gentleman
observes, that in _Arsenic_ is a very noxious quality: the factitious
white is the most violent of all kinds, superior in force to _Mercury
sublimate_.

These mortiferous Steams that flow from the Earth, are called
_Mephites_, _poisonous Damps_; and are very common in Countries fruitful
of Minerals and Mines: _Damps_ happen in most of the _Hungarian-Mines_,
not only in the direct Passages, where they walk on horizontally, but
also in the perpendicular Descents. Now, to guard themselves against the
fatal Effects of these Exhalations, they sometimes clear their way by
Fire and the Bellows, but generally by long Tubes or Pipes, reaching
from top to bottom, thro’ which they let the Air in and out; and by this
Circulation of the Air, they carry on their Work for some time without
Danger.

_CREMNITS_ in _Hungary_ (a small Town, reckon’d the chief of the Berg,
or Mine-Towns) is famous for its Gold-Mine which has been work’d on 900
Years, where the Workmen sometimes are troubled with pernicious Damps,
and many are kill’d by them; and so it happens in the Mines at
_Schemnits_, the fairest of the seven Mine-Towns[41].

Footnote 41:

  _Atl. Geograph._ p. 1640, —1, —2, —3.

Among the Minerals known to us, there are many more noxious than
wholesome and the Power of the former to do mischief, is more
efficacious than the Power of the latter to do good; which is evident
from the little Benefit the Miner’s Health receives from any mineral
Effluvia, compar’d with the great and sudden Damps, that are often
caused by the Expirations of _Orpiment_, _Sandarac_, and _white
Arsenic_, which is a deadly Poison, and most fatal of the whole Tribe of
Fossils. Hence the Refiners dread nothing so much as _Arsenic_ in their
Metals; for its Fumes taken into the Lungs kill instantly, and the
oftner ’tis sublim’d, the ranker it grows[42].

Footnote 42:

  _Boerhaave’s Theory of Chemistry._

_MERCURY_ is extremely volatile, being convertible into Fumes, even by a
Sand-heat. Those who practise the Art of Gilding, are but too well
acquainted with these mercurial Fumes, which frequently render them
epileptic and paralytic, and sometimes throw them into a Salivation.
This kind of Poison is found in _Friuli_, a Province in _Italy_,
belonging to the Emperor, and also in _Spain_, _Hungary_, _&c._

The miserable People condemn’d, or hired to work in these Mines, all die
in a little time: they are so affected with those venemous Fumes, that
from Tremors they proceed to salivate, then their Teeth drop.—One of
them who had been there six Years, was so full of _Mercury_, that
holding a Piece of _Gold_ in his Mouth a little while, it became of a
_Silver Colour_, and when taken out, it was found heavier than before,
_ibid._ p. 74.

_COPPER_ is another poisonous Mineral, difficult of Fusion, and when
fused, if a single Drop of Water do but fall upon it; or any Vessel it
be cast in, be ever so little moist, it flies into innumerable
Fragments, with incredible Noise, and destroys all the Persons near it.
_Ibid._

_TIN_, the lightest of all Metals, when urged by an easy Fire, it shines
exceedingly; but this Splendor is succeeded by a sulphurous Steam, very
destructive to the Lungs, and throws the Body into a Consumption.
_ibid._

At _Mendip_ in _Somersetshire_, those who are employ’d in melting
_Lead-ore_, if they work in the Smoke, are subject to killing Diseases.
There is a Flight (or Steam) in the Smoke, which falling on the Grass,
poisons the Cattle that eat it. Those who live very near where Lead-ore
is wash’d, can’t keep either Dog or Cat, or any sort of Fowl, but they
all die in a short time[43].

Footnote 43:

  _Lowthorp_’s _Abr._ vol. ii. p. 576.

Such are the _mephitical_ Exhalations in a little Cavern in _Italy_,
call’d _Bacca Venosa_, the poisonous Mouth, not far from _Naples_, but
more generally known by _Grotto de Cani_, the _Dog’s Cave_; because the
Experiment of its poisonous Nature is frequently made upon Dogs; tho’ it
be fatal as to any other Creatures that come within the Reach of its
venemous Fumes. This wonderful Cave is (situated at the Bottom of a
Hill) in Dimension, about eight Foot high, twelve long, and six broad.

From the Ground within it, arises _a thin warm Fume_ (visible to the
Eye) which is one continued Steam covering the whole Surface of the
Bottom of the Cave; it does not disperse itself into the Air like Smoke,
but quickly after its Rise, falls back again into the Earth. The Fumes
rise about a Foot high and never higher, and hurt no Creature whose Head
is above that height; but when a little Dog, or the Head of any other
Creature is forcibly held in the Steam, it falls down dead, the Limbs
convuls’d, and trembling; and if left there a little while, it dies, but
if taken out soon, and laid in the open Air, comes to Life again, and
sooner, if thrown into the adjacent Lake.

_CHARLES_ the Great, King of _France_, and Emperor of the _West_ (a
Title of Honour other _Gallick Monarchs_ have had in full view for some
time) made the Experiment upon an _Ass_, whose Head was held in the
Fume, and was soon destroy’d. _Two Slaves_ put in with their Heads kept
down to the Earth, were both soon kill’d. To this, I shall add some
Experiments made by the ingenious Mr. _Addison_, who says——

    —“A Dog that has his Nose held in the Vapour (within the Cave)
    loses all the Signs of Life in a very little time.” Then he
    observes, how long a Dog was expiring the first time, and after
    his Recovery, and found no sensible Difference. “A _Viper_ put
    in, adds he, bore it nine Minutes the first time we put it in,
    and ten the second. When we brought it out after the first
    Trial, it took such a vast quantity of Air into its Lungs, that
    it swell’d almost twice as big as before, and it was perhaps, on
    this Stock of Air, that it lived a Minute longer.

    “A Torch, Snuff and all, goes out in a moment, when dipt into
    the Vapours or Steams of that Cave——A Pistol can’t fire in it. I
    split a Reed, and laid in the Channel of it a Train of
    Gun-powder, so that one end of the Reed was above the Vapour,
    and the other at the bottom of it; and I found, tho’ the Steam
    was strong enough to hinder a Pistol from taking fire in it—that
    it could not intercept the Train of Fire, when it once begun
    flashing, nor prevent it from running to the very end—fire will
    live in it no longer than in Water, because it wraps itself in
    the same manner about the Flame, and by its Continuity hinders
    any quantity of Air, or Nitre from coming to its succour[44].”

Footnote 44:

      _His Works_, vol. iii. p. 8, 97.

Nor are our Mines in _Great-Britain_ altogether free from these fatal
Damps, that have turn’d Coal-pits into Graves. In a Coal-pit belonging
to Lord _Sinclair_ in _Scotland_, seven or eight Men intending to work
in a Place where they had been the Day before, but stepping a little
further, they all fell down dead, as if they had been shot. The Wife of
one of them, venturing to see her Husband, fell down dead as soon as she
came near the Corps[45].

Footnote 45:

  _Lowthorp_’s _Abridgment_, vol. ii. p. 373.


III. We come now to the sensible Region, where animal Poisons reign;
that is, Poison drawn from Animals, as the Viper, Asp, Scorpion, Lepus
Marinus: and here we are to encounter with an Army of Serpents, and
their formidable Train.

When we speak of the Poison of Serpents, we must not suppose it diffused
thro’ the whole Body, as some have imagined. Many Errors about the
particular Situation of it, have been happily removed by the Learned Dr.
_Redi_, and Dr. _Mead_, who observes the Viper has always been so
notorious for its Poison, that the most remote Antiquity, made it an
Emblem of what is hurtful and destructive, but were not agreed from
whence the Poison proceeded, whether from the _Saliva_, the _Teeth_, the
_Gall_, _&c._ which leads me to a Passage in the _noble Italian_, who
says:

... That as a certain Learned Society in _Italy_ were debating this
Point, one _Jacobus Sozzi_ (_audiendi gratiâ_) who was allow’d to be
present, stationed himself in a corner of the Place, and hearing some of
them affirm that the Poison was in the Gall-bladder, fell a smiling; and
being ask’d the Reason, he answer’d, that the Serpent’s _Gall_ was an
innocent Part: Whereupon, in their Presence, he drank a Glass of Wine,
mixt with the _Gall of a Viper_, without any ill Effect.

One of the Company said, he came thither with his Body prepared by
Alexipharmicks. He, to convince them of the contrary, try’d the
Experiment upon Dogs, and other Animals, by giving them the _Gall_ of
Vipers to drink in abundance, without any Danger ensuing[46].

Footnote 46:

  _Redi nobilis Aretini Experim. in Res Naturales_, pag. 163, 164, 165.

In the Debate about the Seat of the Poison, the famous _Italian_
maintains, that all the _Venom_ of a Serpent consists in a _yellow
Liquor_ contain’d in a Bladder, at the bottom of its Tooth, which
Liquor, upon its biting, by the Pressure of the Bladder, is forced thro’
a Tube within the Tooth, into the Wound, and thence ensue direful
Effects. This Hypothesis he supports by a good number of Experiments
upon various Animals, which were bit by a Viper, after those venemous
Bags were taken out, without any Signs of Poison, or any ill Consequence
at all[47].

Footnote 47:

  _Seignior Redi._

Another _celebrated Physician_ maintains, that this _yellow Liquid_ is
not poisonous, that he had given it to Pigeons as Food, without their
being at all disorder’d thereby.—That the Viper’s Bite, he had always
found mortal to Animals, even after the venemous Bag was taken out, as
well as before.—That therefore the Poison must lie in the _irritated
Spirits of the Viper_, which it exhales in the Ardor of its biting, and
which are so cold that they curdle the Blood, and stop the
Circulation[48].

Footnote 48:

  _Monsieur Charras._

Both these are ingenious Men; their Systems are opposite, yet both
maintain’d by well-attested Experiments. The Publick, however, give into
the Sentiments of _Seignior Redi_, as answering the best to the
Mechanism of the Parts.

Seignior _Vigani_ has in some measure reconciled these two Learned
Combatants, who alledges, that the _yellow Liquor_ wherewith Dr. _Redi_
kill’d Pullets, _&c._ after the death of the Viper, was either saturated
with the Spirits of the enraged Viper, by whipping it before, or else
(as ’tis probable) in the hot and dry Climates of _Italy_, those
Creatures are more venemous than in colder Countries.

This Poison of Vipers seems to lie in their hollow Teeth, because the
Mountebanks of old, to impose on the People, used to stop those
Cavities, or hollow Places in the Teeth, with some kind of _Paste_,
before they suffered the Vipers to bite them in sight of Spectators;
which was commonly done, and succeeded according to their wish;—and
sometimes, with a Needle scratch’d the Gums, and press’d out the
Poison[49]. _Pliny_ says, they have but one venemous Tooth.

Footnote 49:

  _Lowthorp_’s _Abridg._ vol. ii. p. 815.

Dr. _Mead_, having given the various Symptoms attending venemous Wounds,
proceeds to the Remedies; and in particular, mentions the _volatile Salt
of Vipers_, as alone sufficient to do the Work, if given in due time, in
proper quantities, and duly repeated[50].

Footnote 50:

  _Mechanical Account._

Mr. _Robert Burdet_, an _English_ Merchant at _Aleppo_ (in _Turkish
Asia_) was bit by a Serpent about ten in the Morning, and died about
three in the Afternoon. The People of that Country say, the only Cure in
that Case, is immediately to suck the Wound; but they must rub first
their Gums and Teeth with Oil, that none of the Poison may touch any
place where the Skin is broken, and spit out immediately what they
suck[51].

Footnote 51:

  _Lowthorp_’s _Abridg._ vol. ii. p. 814.

The Learned _Batavian_ observes, as a present and effectual Remedy in
the Case of the Bite of a mad Dog, or other venemous Animal, immediately
to burn the affected Part with a hot Iron, or rather thrust deep into
the Wound; for by this means, the Juices about the Part being
coagulated, and an Escar produced, all Communication of the Poison to
any other Vessels is stopt, and thus the Cure may be easily effected.
Not that the hot Iron draws out the Poison, as is vulgarly imagined, but
renders the Parts uncapable of being penetrated, or affected
thereby[52].

Footnote 52:

  _Boerhaave_’s _new Method of Chemistry_, part. iii. _proces._ 104. p.
  213.

But to come nearer home, and to a cheap and easy Antidote against the
serpentine and canine Venom, by a certain Experiment lately made in
_England_, which was thus, _viz._

... One _William Oliver_, and his Wife from _Bath_, who follow the
Business of catching and selling Vipers, offer’d themselves—to be bit by
any Viper, that should be procured, trusting to the Virtue of a certain
Remedy they had found out by chance in trying things, when the Woman was
once accidentally bitten.——The usual known Medicine, even the _Oil of
Vipers_, having no Effect in assuaging her Pains, they had recourse to
the _common Oil of Olives_, which proved an effectual Remedy. The
Circumstances of the Case were——

On the first of _June 1735,_ in the Presence of a great number of
Persons, the said _William Oliver_ was bit by an old black Viper, or
Adder, (brought by one of the Company) upon the Wrist, and Joint of the
Thumb of the Right-Hand, so that Drops of Blood came out of the Wounds:
He immediately felt a violent Pain, both at the top of his Thumb, and up
his Arm, even before the Viper was loosen’d from his Hand: Soon after he
felt a Pain resembling that of Burning, trickle up his Arm; in a few
Minutes, his Eyes began to look red and fiery, and to water much.

In less than half an Hour, he perceived the Venom seize his Heart, with
a prickling Pain, which was attended with Faintness, Shortness of
Breath, cold Sweats: In a few Minutes after this, his Belly began to
swell, with great Gripings, and Pains in his Back, which were attended
with violent Vomitings, and Purgings.

During the Violence of these Symptoms, his Sight was gone for several
Minutes; but he could hear all the while: He said, that in his former
Experiments, he had never defer’d making use of his Remedy longer than
he perceived the Effects of the Venom reaching his Heart; but this time,
being willing to satisfy the Company throughly, and trusting to the
_speedy Effects of the Oil_, which had never fail’d him, he forbore to
apply any thing till he found himself exceeding ill, and quite giddy.
About an Hour and Quarter after the first of his being bit, a
Chafing-dish of glowing Charcoals was brought in, and his naked Arm was
held over it as near as he could bear it, while his Wife rubb’d in with
her Hand the _Sallad Oil_, turning his Arm continually round, as if she
wou’d have roasted it over the Coals.

He said the Pain soon abated, but the Swelling did not diminish much;
most violent Purgings and Vomitings soon ensued, and his Pulse became so
low and so often interrupted, that it was thought proper to order him a
Repetition of Cordial Potions. He said he was not sensible of any great
Relief from these, but that a Glass or two of _Olive Oil_ drank down
seemed to give him ease: Continuing in this dangerous Condition, he was
put to Bed, where his Arm was again bath’d over a Pan of Charcoal, and
rubb’d with _Sallad Oil_ heated in a Ladle over the Charcoal, by Dr.
_Mortimer_’s Direction.——Whereupon he declared he found immediate Ease,
as tho’ by some Charm——then fell into a profound Sleep, and after about
nine Hours found Rest, awak’d, about six the next Morning, and found
himself very well; but in the Afternoon, on Drinking some Rum and strong
Beer, so as to be almost fuddled, the Swelling return’d with much Pain
and cold Sweats; which abated soon on bathing the Arm as before, and
wrapping it up in a brown Paper soaked in the Oil.

The learned Dr. _Mortimer_, relates the Success of this simple Medicine,
tried afterwards on other Animals, who were purposely bitten, both by
the same, and by fresh Vipers, to experience the Efficacy of it[53].

Footnote 53:

  Dr. _Cromwell Mortimer_ R. S. Secr. his _Narrative_ relating to the
  Viper-catchers.

In the Sequel, he has occasion to mention a Remedy for the Bite of a mad
Dog, under the Title of _Dampier’s Powder_, the Composition of which is,
_viz._ _ash Colour Groundwort and black Pepper_. It was first published
by Sir _Hans Sloane_, in _Numb. 237_ of _the Transactions_, A. D. 1720,
under the Name of _Pulvis Antilyssus_; where the Manner of giving it,
not only to Men, but to Dogs and Cattle, is accurately set down. The
Doctor says, the _Lichen Cinereus Terrestris_ is accounted exceedingly
efficacious in curing Dogs bitten by mad Dogs; then adds, _viz._

That King _James_, when Duke of _York_, caused this _Lichen Cinereus
Terrestris_ to be given to a whole Kennel of Dogs bit by a mad one,
which were all cured, except one of them, to whom none of it was
given[54].

Footnote 54:

  _Philosophical Transact._ Numb. 443, for _Oct. 1736_.

In _Norway_, and on a great Moss near _Warrington_, are many Serpents;
and their Wounds are cured by _Venice-Treacle_.

In _Africa_, they have an odd Way of curing Persons hurt by Poison; they
rub the Venom of Snakes with their own Spittle, between two Stones and
having mixed them well, they scratch upon the Wings of the Stomach, and
to the Part so scratch’d, which is bloody, they apply a small Part of
the Mixture; the rest they take inwardly.——This never fails to expel the
Poison in the Wound, or in any other Part affected with it: In about a
Month’s time a perfect Cure is made; in order to which, when they judge
the Poison is expell’d, they cleanse the Wound, and apply to it the
leaves of _Buchu_, _Dacha_, and other _salutiferous_ Herbs: But they
say, the least Neglect of such a Wound, (be it by a poisonous Arrow, or
any other way) is dangerous[55].

Footnote 55:

  _Peter Kolben_’s present State of the Cape of _Good Hope_, and of the
  _Hottentots_, writ in _High-German_, and translated by Mr. _Guido
  Medley_, p. 304-5.

Snake-wood is very common in the Island of _Ceylon_, (suppos’d to be the
_Taprobane_ of _Ptolemy_) which is much esteem’d by the _East-Indians_,
who, with the Powder of it taken in Water or Wine, cure many Distempers,
and among others, the Stings of Serpents, which abound in that Country.

Their Naturalists say, the Virtue of it was first discovered by a small
Creature, like our Ferrets, which when stung by Serpents, runs and eats
of the Snake-wood, and is cur’d.

Father _Regnault_, speaking of Poisons, mentions several Methods of
Cure, as Incisions, Ligatures, Caustics, Vomits, Oil of Olive, Baths,
Treacle, Juice of Citron.

By a Ligature, which hinders the Poison from spreading.

By Caustics, or red-hot Iron brought within a certain Distance of the
Wound; because Heat attenuates the Poison by its action, and dissipates
it.

This Effect of Poison has some Analogy with that which happens upon
syringing (thro’ Curiosity) some acid Liquor into the Veins of a living
Dog, or other Creature; for in a short time he falls into Convulsions,
and dies. A Decoction of _white Hellebore_ injected into the jugular
Vein of a Dog, as soon as it enter’d the Heart, kill’d as suddenly as if
shot thro’ the Heart with a Bullet. On _January 4, 1679_, a Drachm and a
half of _Spirit of Salt_, diluted in an Ounce and half of Water, and
injected into the jugular Vein of a Dog, kill’d him immediately. We
kill’d a Dog almost in a Moment by injecting into his jugular Vein an
Ounce of _Spirit of Wine_, in which was dissolved a _Drachm of
Camphire_: The same Day we injected warm into the crural Vein of a Cat,
50 Grains of _Opium_, dissolved in an Ounce of Water, which was soon
seized with convulsive Motions, and died within a Quarter of an Hour. We
injected an _Ounce of Oil of Olives_ into the jugular Vein of a Dog,
which suffocated him the same Moment.

       _N. B._ In all that were suffocated by Oil, we found their
               Lungs fill’d with a very thick Froth[56].

Footnote 56:

  Mr. _Benj. Motte_’s Philosophical Transact. abridg. Vol. 1. Part. ii.
  p. 220, 221, where you may find many Instances of the same Nature.

                  *       *       *       *       *

          The Remarkables here are,


I. _That a small Portion of this venemous Liquid should in so short a
time do such terrible Executions_: That it should so soon infect so
great a Quantity of Fluid, as the whole Mass of Blood in the wounded
Animal. A very learned Physician accounts for it thus, _viz._

    “That in the Drop of Poison are pungent Salts, by which little
    Bladders in the Blood are prickt, and the elastick Matter in
    them being let out, carries those acute Salts thro’ the whole
    Region of Fluids; upon which follows a Coagulation[57].”

Footnote 57:

      Dr. _Mead_’s Mechanical Account.

All venemous Creatures hurt, by instilling a liquid Poison into the
Wound, suppose the Wound to be given by the Tooth or Tail. The aforesaid
ingenious Physician says, _viz._ “This venemous Juice it self is of so
_inconsiderable a Quantity, that it is no more than one good Drop that
does the Execution_.”——In order, adds he, to examine the Texture of the
Liquor, I enrag’d a Serpent till it bit upon something solid, so as to
void its Poison; whose Parts I view’d with a Microscope as nicely as I
could.

    “Upon the first Sight, I could discover nothing but a Parcel of
    small Saks nimbly floating in the Liquor, which soon shot out,
    as it were, into _Crystals_ of incredible Tenuity and Sharpness,
    with something like Knots here and there, from which they seemed
    to proceed; so that the whole Texture in a manner represented a
    Spider’s Web, tho’ infinitely finer, and more minute; and yet
    withal so rigid were these pellucid _Spicula_ or Darts, that
    they remain’d unalter’d upon my Glass for several Months[58]”.

    ——_N. B._ These saline Particles appeared to be Acids.

Footnote 58:

  _Ibid._ p. 5-6.

Most surprising this! to see an Army of Flesh and Blood, tremble and
fall before a single Atom of Matter! to see the _Cedars of Lebanon_
demolish’d by the single Stroke of a contemptible Worm. So in the Moral
World. Even in the Paradisaical State, how malignant the Poison of
forbidden Fruit that spread Mortality over the whole human Race, and
will affect Millions; dreadful Effects of once eating forbidden Fruit!
What a World of Evils flows from one Disease or Disorder in the human
Nature! _It was by one false Step the unquenchable Fire was first
kindled._


II. _That Poison is not so dangerous, if it does not mix with the
Blood._ Even that venemous Liquid may be tasted, yea, and swallow’d
without mortal Effects, say some of the Learned. Hence it is, wounded
Persons have been directed to get the Venom immediately suck’d out,
which has been practis’d without ill Consequences to the Sucker.

For this Method of curing venemous Wounds by Suction, _Avicenna_, an old
_Arabian_ Philosopher and physician, is quoted; who says, that those who
suck out the Poison are in no danger, so their Teeth be sound and
perfect, and their Mouths be free from all Ulcers. At _Rome_ was an
Order of Servants whose Office was to suck venemous Wounds, which they
did with Safety and Applause[59].

Footnote 59:

  Sr. _Redi_, p. 185.

    “Many _acid Substances_ taken into the Stomach, are, by its
    action turned into _Alcalious_; so there is no question but
    these _saline Spicula_ are, partly by the muscular Motion of the
    Fibres, partly by the salival Juice, all broken and dissolved;
    or if any escape into the Intestines, the Balsam of the Bile
    will be an Antidote for them. _p. 14._”

Creatures reputed venemous, are indeed no Poisons when swallowed, tho’
the Venom may prove so when put into Wounds.

The Venom that falls upon the Skin, is not so mischievous as that which
enters into the Stomach, or is communicated by a Wound. “Yea, the Venom
of a Viper, in itself, is not mortal to a robust and strong Body; and
tho’ very unhappy and mischievous Accidents attend it, as Convulsions,
Vomitings, _&c._” yet in eight or ten Days at most, these are over; tho’
the Patient may be very ill, yet he recovers, while the Poison having
run thro’ divers Parts of the Body, at last always throws itself into
the _Scrotum_, and is discharg’d by a great Quantity of Urine: This
Evacuation being the ordinary and most certain Crisis of the
Disease[60].

Footnote 60:

  Philosoph. Transactions abridged by _Lowthorp_, Vol. II. p. 814.
  _Noxia Serpentum est admisso sanguine partis._ Lucani Pharsalia.
  Amstelod. Edit. p. 266.

The Water—which amphibious Serpents frequent, receives no venemous
Tincture from them. When _Marcus Cato_ commanded in _Africa_ (the
Element of poisonous Animals) he had in his Army a Number of those
Natives called _Psylli_ and _Marci_, the supposed Aversion of Serpents,
and who suck’d the Wounds of those hurt by them. It is said, these
_Psyllians_ inchanted Serpents, who fled at the sight of them, as if
their Bodies exhaled some _corpuscular Effluviums_ that were most
offensive to Serpents, and put them into such pain that made them run.
To these, the General added another Set of Persons, famous for curing
the wounded by other Methods; and all little enough, Serpents being the
Lords of the Country through which they were to pass[61].

Footnote 61:

  _Auli Gellii Noctes Atticæ_, lib. 16. c. 11. p. 161. _Herodot._ lib.
  4. _Plutarch in Cato._

The Author of the Description of _Cato_’s marching the Remains of
_Pompey_’s Army through the _Lybian Deserts_, observes, how the Army
being almost choak’d with Thirst, and coming to a Brook full of
Serpents, durst not drink for fear of being poisoned, till convinced by
their Superiors, that their being in the Water, did by no means infect
it: Upon which they refreshed themselves with Water from the Serpentine
River[62].

Footnote 62:

  _Redi_, 178. Lucan_’s_ Pharsal.—_Pocula morte carent_—lib. 9.

Add to this, the Example of Queen _Cleopatra_, who, to prevent her being
carried to _Rome_ in Triumph, ’tis said, poisoned herself, by holding a
Serpent to her own Breast. _Galen_ mentioning this Story, relates from
Authors, that she killed herself, by pouring the Poison of an Asp into a
Wound made in her Arm by her own Teeth; as if under Conviction, that the
Poison would not effectually answer the End, without touching the Blood.
_Ibid._ Of which more in the _Second Part_ of this Discourse.


III. _In Serpents is an inexhaustible Store of Poison._ If they
discharge all their Artillery to-day, their Arsenal will be full
to-morrow. ’Tis true, by a speedy repeated Emission of Poison at one
time, the Viper loses its force, probably by a Diminution in Quantity;
but is recruited in a Short space. Thus, one Viper cannot poison six
Creatures, one immediately after another; the Truth of which is
confirmed by uncontestable Facts.——An Experiment was made by Dr.
_Areskine_, when he was at _Paris_.—Having got a large female Viper, he
made it bite six Pigeons, one immediately after another. The first and
second that were bit, died within half an Hour; one a little before the
other; the third lived about two Hours; the fourth seem’d to be very
sick for a while, but recover’d; the fifth and sixth that were bitten,
were no more hurt than if prick’d with a Pin. _Ibid._

The learned _Italian_, Seignior _Redi_, says, that having, at the
Entrance of Winter, a Scorpion sent him to _Rome_ from _Tunis_ in
_Africa_, he irritated it to sting Pigeons and Pullets, without any bad
Effects; but upon the approach of warm Weather, after eight Months
fasting it was provoked to sting two Pigeons successively, which soon
died; but the third and fourth received no hurt from its Wound. The
Author of the _Natural History of Carolina_, speaking of the
_Rattle-Snakes_, says, they can’t renew their Poison as oft as they
will; for he had seen a Person bit by one of them, who never rightly
recovered, and very hardly escaped with Life; and another Person
immediately after being bit by the same Snake, received no more Hurt
than if bit by a Rat. _p._ 129.[63]

Footnote 63:

  New Collection of Voyages, printed A. D. 1711.

    _N. B._ Poison in different Countries, is more or less dangerous
    according as it is exalted and heighten’d by various Degrees of
    Heat; for by Increase of Heat, that venemous Quality is
    increased.


                               OBJECTION.

_How is it consistent with Divine Goodness to create such venemous
Animals, that are so dangerous and destructive to their
Fellow-Creatures?_ I answer,


I. _That as the Power of God shines in the Formation of all Creatures,
so does his Goodness in their natural Perfections, which is the Goodness
of their Being._ Every Creature is good, and if any Branch of the
Creation be hurtful to another, ’tis the Effect of moral Evil, and not
any necessary Consequence arising from their Creation.

This noxious Quality in Serpents, is God’s Creature, and must answer
some valuable Purpose, tho’ concealed from an Eye blinded by the Venom
of Sin. Nor must we forget that they seldom hurt their Fellow-Creatures,
but when they are provok’d; and when they hurt, they present us with a
healing Remedy, that is, _the volatile Salt of Vipers, which if rubbed
into the Wound, has been generally applied with Success_.


II. _Their poisonous Liquid must some way be beneficial to themselves._
We are not told what their original Food was; but now they live by
Plunder, and by their Venom they are enabled to make sure of their Prey,
which otherwise might escape, or grow too strong for them, and so they
might starve for want of proper Means to support Life; and what they
take by their venemous Fangs and Stings, is good Nourishment.

Their Poison also, is to them as a Life-Guard. Were there not something
terrible in their Weapons of War, every one would trample upon them. Add
to this, that perhaps their Constitution may be so modify’d and framed,
that this venemous Liquid may be as useful to digest their Food, as our
_Saliva_ is to us in that respect.


III. _SERPENTS, tho’ venemous, are of special Use to Mankind, as they
are Part of the_ Materia Medica, _and bear a great Share in some of the
best Antidotes, or Remedies against Poison_. Vipers make a considerable
Article in Medicine; their Flesh either roasted or boiled, the
Physicians unanimously prescribe as an excellent Restorative,
particularly in Consumptions, Leprosy.——

The learned Dr. _Mead_ recommends the Broth or Jelly of Vipers; or, as
the Antients did, to boil and eat them as a Fish, or at least to drink
Wine, wherein they have been long infused: The Apothecaries sell the
_Pulvis Viperinus_, which is only _dried Vipers pulverized_, Heart,
Liver, and all other Parts, and past through a fine Sieve. Some call it,
_Animal Bezoard_.

_BEZOAR_ is a _Persian_ Word, _Pazahar_, primarily denotes
_Counter-Poison_, and is applied to several chymical Compositions of
that Intention. _Theriaca_, or Treacle, a Name given by the Antients to
various Compositions, is reckoned good against Poison.—The Basis or
Foundation of the Composition is Viper’s Flesh[64].

Footnote 64:

  _Cyclopædia._

Even in _Tartary_, an uncultivated Nation, the Viper’s Flesh is reckoned
to be wonderful good Physick. In some of the Rivers of _Siam_, are many
Crocodiles, which the _Siamese_ call _Cayman_, and use them as good
Physick with Success[65].

Footnote 65:

  _Struys_’s Voyages, _ad annum_ 1657. I. c. III p. 29.

It is supposed, when Viper-Catchers were hurt, they immediately cured
themselves by rubbing this _volatile Salt_ of Vipers into the wounded
Part. An Experiment was made by enraging a Viper to bite the Nose of a
young Dog: The Part began to swell; to which was applied this _volatile
Salt_, and the Dog was very well next day. The Viper was made to bite
the Dog again in the Tongue, and no Application being made, he died
within a few Hours[66].

Footnote 66:

  Dr. _Mead_’s Mechanical Account, p. 17.

One of the first that made use of the Viper in medicinal Purposes, was
(as my learned Author thinks) _Antonius Musa_, the famous Physician to
_Octavius Cæsar_; of whom _Pliny_ tells, _that when he met with
incurable Ulcers, he ordered the eating of Vipers; and by this means
they were quickly healed_. The same Author adds from _Porphyrius_, that
the great _Greek_ Physician _Craterus, very happily cured a miserable
Slave, whose Skin in a strange manner fell off from his Bones_, by
advising him to _feed upon Vipers, drest after the manner of Fish_.
Ibid.

A late eminent Physician, speaking of Vipers, says,——’Tis certain, very
noble Medicines are prepared from them, and a Wine from their Flesh,
singular in consumptive, leprous, and scorbutick Cases: They afford also
a _volatile Salt, the most generous Cordial in Nature_[67].

Footnote 67:

  Dr. _Charles Leigh_’s Natural History of —— p. 148.

In _Italy_ is a subterraneous Cavern, called _Grotto de i Serpi_, large
enough to hold two Persons, perforated like a Sieve; out of which, in
the Spring, issues a numerous Brood of young Snakes, of divers Colours.
In this Cave they expose their leprous, paralytic, arthritick Patients,
where the Warmth of the Steams resolving them into Sweat, and then
Serpents clinging variously all around, licking their naked Bodies, they
are soon restored to Health, by repeating the Operation. This
_Serpentine Cave_ was visited by _Kircher_, the celebrated Philosopher
and Mathematician; who says, he saw the Holes, and heard a murmuring
hissing Noise in them, tho’ he did not see the Serpents, it not being
their Season to creep out; yet he saw a great Number of their _Exuviæ_,
or _Sloughs_, and an Elm at a small distance laden with them. The
Discovery was by the Cure of a Leper going from _Rome_, who losing his
way, and being benighted, happen’d upon this Cave, and finding it very
warm, pull’d off his Clothes; and being weary and sleepy, had, says my
Author, the Good-fortune not to feel the Serpents about him, till they
had wrought his Cure. _Musæum Wormian. in Cyclopædia._


IV. _Serpents are not only Physick, but common Food in many Parts of the
World, and esteemed a most delicious Entertainment._ Formerly, nothing
more terrible to Men than these veneniferous Animals, but now (Men being
better acquainted with their natural Qualities) are very familiar to
many People; insomuch that there are but few Persons of Distinction, in
_France_, and other Places, where they may be had, but make use of them,
as _a good and most agreeable Diet_; and the ingenious Virtuoso makes
living Vipers his Domestick Divertisement.

The _Italian_ and _French Physicians_ do commonly prescribe the _Broth_
and _Jelly_ of _Vipers_, to purify and invigorate the Mass of Blood,
exhausted with Age and chronical Diseases.

We read of the _Ophiophagi_, a People so called because they are
_Serpent-Eaters_. It is observed from _Aristotle_, that the
_Troglodytes_, who are _Africans_, not far from the _Arabian Gulph_,
leading a pastoral Life, lived by hunting—and fed on Serpents[68].

Footnote 68:

  _Strabo_, lib. 16. Βιος νομαδιχος—_Cluverii Introduct._

Among the _Andesian_ Mountains in _America_, is a Serpent called
_Juanna_, big as a Rabbit, has a spotted Skin, four Feet, and is never
observed to have any Voice, is much eaten by the Inhabitants, and
counted better Meat than Rabbits, as it is prepared by the
_Barbarians_[69].

Footnote 69:

  _Ray_, p. 329. _Atl. Geograph. America_, p. 129.

The _Kanina Serpent_ that feeds upon Birds, is eaten by the Inhabitants,
the _Brasilians_, and their _Negro-Labourers_, after they cut off the
Head and Tail. _Ibid._ The _Dutch_, _Portuguese_, and others in that
Country, feed upon the _Lyboya Serpent_; ’tis of a prodigious, large
Bulk, and described in another Place. _Ibid._ In old _Mexico_, we read
how the _Indians_ took a certain Serpent that carried thirty Young’s,
which were each a Finger long, and crept about immediately; and the old
one being above 20 Foot long, served the Natives for Venison[70].

Footnote 70:

  _Atl. Geograph. for America_, from _Laet._ p. 628.

_AMERICUS Vespusius_, (a _Florentine_, who was the first, after
_Columbus_, that discover’d _America_, and wrote the History of his four
Years Voyages) says, he saw some Serpents in _America_, which the
Inhabitants commonly feed upon: They were of diverse Colours, and as big
as Kids. In the History of that Country, we find the Natives of the Land
fed upon Adders, Serpents, Toads,——without any Scruple of Mind, or
Injury to their Health.

The Natives of _Tonquin_, a large Kingdom of _India_, beyond the
_Ganges_, in treating their Friends, give them _Arrack_, a rich Cordial,
in which Snakes and Scorpions have been infus’d; and is esteem’d an
Antidote against all Poisons.

_INDIA_ breeds Serpents in abundance of all Sizes, and Variety of most
charming Colours: The People of _Siam_ catch prodigious Numbers of them
in the Woods, and expose them to Sale in the Markets, as Eels in
_England_, for Animal Food[71].

Footnote 71:

  _Le Comte_’s Memoirs, p. 504.

Experiments have been made upon Animals, as Pigeons, Chickens—that were
bit by Serpents, which have been eaten without any manner of Hurt, or
painful Sensation; yea, Serpents that were slain have been given to
Dogs, who fed upon them without danger, or any uneasiness[72].

Footnote 72:

  Sr. _Redi_, p. 178.

The _Circulatores_, or Dealers in Serpents, devour’d at their Tables
even their Heads, and pour’d the Gall into their Cups when they drank,
laughing at their Neighbours Timidity, who transform their Imaginations
into Bug-bears.

The Inhabitants of Mount _Athos_, between _Macedonia_ and _Thracia_, are
called _Macrobii_, that is _Long-livers_, or long-liv’d; and their
Longevity is attributed to their feeding on Viper’s Flesh, which is a
most elegant Nutritive[73].

Footnote 73:

  _C. Gesner_, p. 76.

The _Ethiopians_ are number’d among those who feed upon Serpents, as one
valuable Branch of their sustenance.

In the Kingdom of _Congo_ in _Africa_, the _Negroes_ roast the Adders,
and not only greedily feed upon them, but esteem them as a most
delicious Food[74].

Footnote 74:

  _Purchas Pilgrim_, Part ii. l. 7.

_ST. HELENA_, one of the _African_ Islands, abounds with Serpents which
the _Dutch_ eat as a greater Dainty than Eels[75]. We read of a Man who
liv’d at _Colonia Agrippina_ in _Germany_, that fed upon Spiders, as the
most delicate Dish.—_N. B._ This _Cologne_ is called _Agrippina_ from
_Agrippina_ the Mother of _Nero_ (who poison’d _Claudius_ her own
Husband, to make _Nero_ her Son Emperor) and would have the Town
honoured with a _Roman_ Colony, as being the Place of her Birth[76].

Footnote 75:

  _Atl. Afric._ p. 741.

Footnote 76:

  _Tacitus_’s Annals, Vol. 1. B. iv.

In _Cuba_, an _American_ Island, they were pester’d with many sorts of
Serpents, not so much from the ill Condition of the Soil, as by an old
superstitious Whim of the Savages, who in former Times were not suffered
to kill them, (this being a royal game, and a nice Dish reserved for the
Higher Powers) and were not able afterwards to destroy them, when it
would have been suffered[77].

Footnote 77:

  _Heylin_’s Cosmography, B. iv. p. 151.

The _Kalmuck Tartars_ feed very much upon Snakes, Adders and Foxes——The
_Syrians_ eat Crocodiles, which live on the Land only.

_MITHRIDATE_, formerly one of the Capital Medicines in the Shops, has
the Name from the Inventor, _viz._ _Mithridates_ King of _Pontus_, who
being overcome by _Pompey_, would have poison’d himself; but no Poison
would work upon him, having accustom’d himself to eat Poison; thus
described in an old Doggrel Rhyme, _viz._

               _King_ Mithridates _cou’d not poison’d be,
               He drinking Poison oft, grew Poison-free_.

After King _Mithridates_ was vanquish’d, _Cneus Pompeius_ found in his
Closet the following Receipt, against Poison, writ with his own Hand, in
this Manner, _viz._

_TAKE two dry Walnut-kernels, as many Figs, of Rue twenty Leaves, stamp
all these together into one Mass, with a Grain of Salt._——Under this
Receipt was writ——_Whoever eats this Confection in the Morning fasting,
no Poison shall hurt him that Day_[78]. In _America_, where Lizards are
very good, they eat them, and so large, that one Lizard is enough to
satisfy four Men. ’Tis very probable that they were eaten in _Arabia_
and _Judea_, since _Moses_ ranks them among the unclean Creatures[79].

Footnote 78:

  _Pliny_’s Natural Hist. Tom. ii. B. 23.

Footnote 79:

  _Calmet in verbum——Hieronym. contra Jovinian._ lib. ii.

Though the Flesh of venemous Creatures be nutrimental, and eaten with a
good Relish, in many Places, yet it must be allow’d our old
Historiographers in some Things hyperbolize upon the Subject. Thus
_Avicenna_, the great _Arabian_ Doctor, and others, speak of a young
Maid, who was fed with the Flesh of poisonous Creatures, from her tender
Age; by which her Breath became venemous to those who stood by her. And
thus _Porus_, a certain _Indian_ King, is said to use Poison every Day,
that he might kill others. It is a known History, adds he, of a young
Woman, fed with Poison, with which the _Persian_ Kings destroy’d whom
they pleas’d.

Add to this another traditional Opinion, _viz._ that some particular
Persons have an evil Eye, which affects Children and Cattle; yea, that
some have this unhappy Faculty, tho’ at the same Time void of any ill
Design. This has been an old Tradition, as appears from that of the
Poet[80].

Footnote 80:

  _Nescio quis teneros oculus mihi fascinat agnos._ See _Martin_ on the
  Western Islands, _p._ 122, 123.

On the Mountains of _Ceylon_ in the _East-Indies_, are Serpents of such
vast Size, that they swallow young Cattle: Their Flesh is very delicate,
and has a most pleasing Taste; therefore is very much eaten.

This Island of _Ceylon_ is one of the most charming Situation on the
Earth, the Key and Glory of the _Indies_; the Air so temperate, that,
properly speaking, they feel neither Heat nor Cold; the Vales and Hills
are always covered with Flowers, the Fields cover’d with Fruits of all
Sorts; and in the Woods are Serpents call’d _Lizards_, full three Hands
long, whose Flesh is excellent Meat[81].

Footnote 81:

  _Ribeyro_’s History of _Ceylon_, presented to the King of _Portugal_,
  1685, translated out of _Portuguese_ into _French_, printed at
  _Trevoux_, 1701.

In the second Part is a more ample Description of _Ceylon_.

The _Iguana_ Serpent is amphibious, lays numerous Eggs, grateful to the
Taste, is very good Nourishment, preferable to _Spanish_ Rabbits; and in
the City of _Mexico_ these Serpents are brought to the Markets,
especially in the quadragesimal Days.

A _Spanish_ Historian says, the _Iguanas_ are shap’d like the
_Alligators_, very ugly, as big as Lap-dogs, of several Colours; the
_Spaniards_ observe, that their Flesh tastes like the Pheasants, and
feed upon it with pleasure[82].

Footnote 82:

  _Herrera_’s Hist. Vol. ii. p. 14.

The learned _Ray_, speaking of the _Liboya_, that monstrous _American_
Serpent, says, that after it has swallow’d a large Animal, its Head
grows heavy and sleepy, that it can neither run nor fight; the Hunters
finding it in this stupid Posture, soon strangle him with a Rope; and
being kill’d, cut the Carcass into Parcels, and sell the Flesh for Food,
which is reckon’d a delightful Entertainment[83]. The same Author adds,
that both _Africans_ and _Americans_ having cut off the Head and Tail of
the _Kanina_ Serpent, eat the Body as part of their constant Repast.
_Ibid._ 328.

Footnote 83:

  _Raii Synopsis_, p. 334,—_Solo reste_—_caroque ejus pro cibo
  gratissimo venditur_.

_BRASILIAN_ Serpents call’d _Lizards_ are slay’d, broil’d as little
Fishes, and eaten by the Negroes or Blackmoors that are transported into
that Country from _Africa_.

I am inform’d of a Gentleman of the Law at _Ludlow_, who having prick’d
a living Toad in various Parts, sucks its Moisture, and leaves it as
must a Skeleton as the Purse of a Client.

Thus we see that the Almighty is so far from being chargeable with
Defect of Wisdom and Goodness, in forming of Serpents, that both as Food
and Physick, they may be equally improv’d to our Advantage.

I shall only add one Remark here, that if Serpents, and other venemous
Creatures, are hurtful to us, ’tis only by Accident, that is, they are
not vexatious to us, of Necessity, but through our own Ignorance,
Carelessness, or Mistake; _e. gr._

    “The Birds we call _Stares_, safely feed upon _Hemlock_;
    _Storks_ feed on Adders, and Slow-Worms; which, and other
    hurtful Creatures, would be as harmless to ourselves, had we
    always Caution enough to avoid them, or Wit enough to use them
    as we should. Thus _Aloes_ has the Property of promoting
    Hæmorrhages; but this Property is good or bad, as ’tis used: if
    by one that has the _Green Sickness_, it will prove a good
    Medicine; if by one subject to a _Dysentery_, or to spitting of
    Blood, a pernicious Poison.”[84]

Footnote 84:

      Dr. _Neh. Grew_’s _Cosmologia Sacra_, B. iii. cap. 2. p. 103.

And it is very probable, that the most dangerous Poisons skilfully
managed, may be made, not only innocuous, but, of all other Medicines,
the most effectual. Opium corrected, loses its narcotic Quality, and is
safely given in great Doses, in Fluxes, Catarrhs, and convulsive Cases.

It is generally agreed, there is no Part of a Viper, not even the Gall
itself, but may be swallowed without harm; accordingly the Ancients,
and, as several Authors of Credit assure us, the _Indians_ and others at
this day, both of the East and West, eat them, as we do, Eels.

Spontaneous Productions of the Earth were the first Food, and still are
the Sustenance of numerous Nations. It was some time before they came to
the Juices of Cattle, as Milk, and longer before they commenced
carnivorous, and devoured their Fellow-Animals.

Some think the Fruits of the Earth were intended as Man’s sole Food, and
that nothing but Necessity or Luxury first prompted to feed upon Flesh:
And indeed, by the Structure of Man’s Teeth, it looks as if they were
not proper to devour Flesh; and that Nature had rather intended and
prepared them for cutting Herbs, Roots,——than, for tearing of Flesh.
Yea, Children don’t affect Animal Food, till their Palates be vitiated
by Custom; and, further, when we feed upon Flesh, it must be prepared by
roasting or boiling, which makes it harder of Digestion, than all other
Animal Food; and therefore forbid in Fevers, and other Distempers.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------


                             SECTION VIII.

_That venemous Creatures have been made Instruments of divine and human
Vengeance, is most evident._ The romantic Account given in Antiquity, of
strange Feats done by a poisonous Breath—does not affect the Truth of
this Proposition.

The Antients divided Serpents, into good and evil Ministers; thus the
_Egyptians_ looked upon some of them to be Administrators of Mercy, and
others to be Messengers of Justice. _Osiris_[85] one of their Gods, is
said to send out Serpents, to chastise Evil-Doers[86].

Footnote 85:

                  ——δρακων επι νωτα δαφωινος
              Σμερδαλεος, του ῥ’ αυτος ολυμπιος ηκε φοως δε.
              Hom. Iliad. B.

Footnote 86:

  _Ælian. Hist. Animalium._

When the Church of _Israel_ murmured against God in the Wilderness, and
censured the Conduct of Providence, he employs an Army of Serpents as
his Agents, to correct the Rebels.——Plagues, and other pestilential
Diseases, were, in old times, reputed to be the Messengers of the Gods,
and commissioned by them, to execute Wrath upon the Wicked.

Some of the Heathens had exalted Notions of Virtue, and believed Men of
Virtue to be the Favourites of the Gods, and that a vicious Life, being
opposite to the Sanctity of their Nature, they could not let it pass
with Impunity.

An Instance to this purpose we have in the History of the Apostles,
_Acts_ xxviii. 1-6. The _Island_ was called _Melita_. _And when Paul had
gathered a Bundle of Sticks, and laid them on the Fire, there came a
Viper out of the Heat, and fastened on his Hand. And when the Barbarians
saw the venemous Beast hang on his Hand; they said among themselves, No
doubt this Man is a Murderer, tho’ he has escaped the Sea, yet
Vengeance_ (δικη, _Justice_) _suffers not to live——They looked when he
should have swoln, or faln_ _down—And when they saw no harm come to him,
they changed their Mind, and said he was a God._ _How_ came they to
alter their Opinion? Because, according to their Divinity, none else
could thus command, and controul a venemous Serpent, which was one of
the _Messengers of the Gods_.

“No venemous Beasts, according to the fabulous Tradition, will live in
the Island, which they ascribe to St. _Paul_’s Blessing, when he was
shipwreck’d there.” They shew the Cave where they pretend he resided,
and reckon the Earth of it, an Antidote against Poison.

From this historical Passage, ’tis evident, that these Barbarians did
believe a _Providence_, and the Doctrine of _Divine Justice_, which
_Justice_ they openly adored, under the Name of _Vindicta_, or
_Nemesis_, which was the _Goddess_ of _Revenge_, whose Province was to
inspect the moral Conduct of all Men, and distribute Rewards and
Punishments as the Case required. It was painted in the same manner as
_Justice_, with a Pair of _Scales_ in one hand, and a _Sword_ in the
other.

In _Ethiopia_, we read of a large Country, this side the _Cynamolgi_,
that was laid waste, and entirely depopulated by Scorpions, before whom,
the Inhabitants not being able to stand, fled for their Lives. The same
Desolation was made by the Scorpions at _Salamin_, an island not far
from _Athens_, called the _Island of Dragons_, for which _Lycophron_ is
quoted[87].

Footnote 87:

  _Conrad. Gesner. de Scorp._

The Inhabitants of _Amyclæ_, a Town in _Italy_, were destroyed by
Serpents, being, as ’tis said, of the _Pythagorean Race_, whose Laws
forbid to kill Animals, and by suffering these venemous Creatures to
multiply without Controul, they became insufferable[88].

Footnote 88:

  _Ibid._

The Inhabitants of _Pescara_, an antient City in _Africa_, were
constrained to forsake their Habitations in _Summer_, by reason of
_Scorpions_ that were very numerous, and in that Season, their Sting
most dangerous: In Winter, when their Wounds were less dangerous, the
Refugees turned to their Houses[89].

Footnote 89:

  _Atl. Geogr._ p. 319.

_DIODORUS SICULUS_ observes how many Regions have been deserted, for
this reason; both People and Cattle being driven away by an Army of
_Scorpions_, and their Allies.

In the _Canary-Islands_, these venemous Animals are more dreaded than
the Pestilence. ’Tis said they are hunted and taken by the _Turks_, who
prepare the _Oil_ of _Scorpions_ from them[90]. In _India_, about the
_Arrahban-Lake_, the Country has been intirely dispeopled by these
mischievous Creatures. _Ibid._

Footnote 90:

  _Conrad. Gesner._ p. 29.

In Times of War, Serpents have been prest into the Service. Thus
_Heliogabalus_ (Emperor of _Rome_, so called because he was _Priest_ of
the _Sun_ before his Election) having, by his _Sacerdotal Incantators_,
or sacred Conjurers, gathered together several Serpents, contrived a
Method to turn them loose, before day, among his Enemies, which soon put
them into a terrible Hurry, and a Motion, that was a Trial for their
Lives; the Sight of the crooked Serpent being far more dreadful, than
the Whizzing of a straight Arrow[91]. The same Author informs us of
Snakes thrown by a Sling-Staff into the Camp of the Barbarians, which
did great Execution.

Footnote 91:

  _Gesner. de Scorp._

King _Prusias_ being overcome by King _Eumenes_, by Land, and intending
to try his Fate by Sea, _Hannibal_, by a new Invention, made him
victorious. The Stratagem was this: _Hannibal_ having procured a great
Number of Serpents, put them into earthen Vessels; and by another
Device, and in midst of the Engagement, convey’d them into _Antiochus_’s
Fleet, which proved more dreadful than Fire-balls, and feather’d
Weapons, that flew amongst them. At first, it seemed ridiculous to the
_Romans_, that they should arm themselves, and fight with _earthen
Pots_; but when they were broken, an Army of Snakes rush’d out, which so
terrified the Marines, that they immediately yielded the Victory to
_Prusias_, the _Carthaginian_ Hero’s Friend[92].

Footnote 92:

  _Justini Hist._ lib. xxxii. ad finem.

We read in History, how _Juno_, out of her hatred to _Hercules_, sent
two dreadful Serpents to devour him in the Cradle, which he soon crush’d
with his Infant-Hands.

It was common among the _Antient Swedes_, to send out certain Flies
(which they pretended to be their Familiars) to plague their Enemies.
They also made _Magical Balls_ for the same purpose, boasting how they
thereby conveyed Serpents into their Enemies Bodies.

The _Laplanders_ had their _Magical Tyre_, which was a Ball about the
Bigness of a small Apple, (made of Moss, or Hair of Beasts) which, they
say, is quickned and moved by a particular Art; they persuade
themselves, that by this _Tyre_, they can send Serpents, or what they
please, into any Man, to torment him. When this _Ball_ is thrown, it
goes like a Whirlwind, and as swift as a pointed Arrow[93].

Footnote 93:

  _Schefferus_’s History of _Lapland_, cap. xi. p. 60.

In the Book of _Daniel_, mention is made of several kinds of Magicians
in _Chaldea_, under King _Nebuchadnezzar_; one is _Mecasphim_, a word
which by St. _Jerome_, and the _Greeks_ is translated _Malefici_,
_Inchanters_, such People as make use of noxious Herbs and Drugs, the
Blood of Victims, and Bones of the Dead, for their superstitious
Operations[94].

Footnote 94:

  _Calmet_’s Hist. Crit.—Dictionary.

    “The Tyrants of _Japonia_ invented a strange Punishment for
    those who confessed Christ.——They hung them with their Heads
    downwards, half their Bodies into a large Hole digged in the
    Earth, which they filled with _Snakes_, _Lizards_, and other
    poisonous Vermin; but even those (says my Right Reverend Author,
    the learned and pious Bishop _Taylor_) were better Companions
    than those infernal Dragons in the Pit of Hell[95].”

The _Romans_, when they punish’d any for _Parricide_, to express their
Abhorrence of so heinous a Murder, they shut him up in a Sack, with a
Serpent, an Ape, and a Cock.

Footnote 95:

  _Contemplations_, Book ii. chap. 6.

To these Instances, I shall add, that the Attendants of _Pluto_, Prince
of the Infernal Regions, are represented in a _Serpentine Habit_, viz.
the _Furies_, _Harpies_——

In his Train, are three _Diræ_, _Eumenides_, or Furies, _viz._ _Alecto_,
_Megæra_, and _Tysiphone_, whose Heads are covered with long and
dreadful Snakes, instead of Hair, with Whips, Chains, and flaming
Torches, in their Hands, to punish the Guilty. These also attended the
Throne of _Jove_, and were accounted to be Messengers of the Gods, whose
Office it was to execute their Decrees in the Infliction of Calamities
upon Mortals.

These _Furies_ had their Temples and Worshippers, and were described in
Figures of so frightful a Form, that they durst scarce mention their
Names without Horror.

_TYSIPHONE_, one of them, enraged at an innocent Youth, pluck’d off one
of her Snakes, and threw it at him, which wound about his Body, and
immediately strangled him. Some say, that we see these three Furies on a
Medal of the Emperor _Philip_, struck at _Antioch_, on whose Reverse are
represented three Women, arm’d with a Key, burning Torches, Poniards,
and Serpents.

The Daffodil was sacred to the Furies, and such as offered Sacrifice to
them were crowned with it[96].

Footnote 96:

  From _Eustathius_, on the first Book of the _Iliad_.

As soon as departed Souls had been examined by _Minos_, _Radamanthus_,
and _Æacus_, and found guilty, and Sentence past, they were delivered to
the Furies, who cast them down headlong into _Tartarus_, the Place of
Torment,—and all those who had lived well, were conducted to the
_Elysian_ Fields.

_HOMER_ speaks of them as the Executioners of Justice upon false
Swearers, among other Instances:

             _Infernal Furies, and Tartarean Gods,
             Who rule the Dead, and horrid Woes prepare
             For perjur’d Kings, and all who falsly swear._

The _Harpies_[97] were monstrous and cruel Birds describ’d with Women’s
Faces, and _Dragons Tails_, to render them more formidable to Mankind:
The Ancients looked upon them as Dæmons or Genii, which last _Homer_
calls _Podarge_. About _Kaskan_ in _Persia_, is a fine and fertile
Country, but plagued with Multitudes of _Scorpions_, which haunt the
Inhabitants, especially in that Town (one of the most populous and
eminent Marts in that Empire) where the Inhabitants, for fear of that
venemous Animal, dare not sleep upon the Floor (as in other Places,
where they only throw a Quilt upon the Tapestry) but have light Couches,
hanging down from the Roof, like Seamens Hammocks, or hanging Beds on
ship-board.

Footnote 97:

  _Aello_, _Ocypete_, and _Celæno_, Virg. Æneid. lib. 3.

They have indeed a ready Help against its venemous Wounds, which is made
of the Filings of Copper, tempered with _Vinegar_ and _Honey_, which
proves a speedy Cure; but if neglected, the Patient is in danger of his
Life. This, says the Historian, I presume, has been first found out by
the antipathetick Quality, which seems to be between _Scorpions_ and
_Copper_; for not far from the City is the Copper-Mine, where, as
before, if one of these Animals be brought, it dies immediately. _Q.
Whether this be not_ Herbert_’s_ Parthian?

Yea, to render a future State terrible to Mortals, the Heathens,
speaking of departed Souls, feigned, that at their Descent from
_Charon_’s Boat (who was the Ferryman of Hell) they met _Cerberus_, a
monstrous Dog, with three Heads, who was covered all over with
_Serpents_, instead of Hair. There was the Monster _Chimæra_ that
vomited Fire, her Head like a _Lion_, Middle like a _Goat_, and her Tail
like a furious _Dragon_; so sings the Poet:

        ——Cerberus, _who soon began to rear
        His crested Snakes—he gapes with three enormous Mouths_.

        Dryden’s Virgil.

So another:

              _For as the_ Pope _that keeps the Gate
              Of Heaven, wears three Crowns of State;
              So he, that keeps the Gates of Hell,
              Proud_ Cerberus, _wears three Heads as well.
              And, if the World have any Troth,
              Some have been canoniz’d in both_.

              Hudibras.

But further, we may observe, that besides this frightful Appearance of
Serpents to salute their Entrance into Hell, there was Variety of
Punishments for them when there. Thus the _Danaides_ were condemned to
_Tartarus_ by the Poets, to be continually employed in filling a Cask
perforated at the bottom; _Phlegas_, condemned by _Apollo_ to Hell,
where he sat upon a rolling Stone, in constant danger of falling into a
Pit of greater Misery; _Tityus_, adjudged to Hell, where a Vultur feeds
on his Liver, and the Liver always grows with the Moon: Nay, such were
the horrible Preparations in Hell, that _Virgil_[98], after a Survey of
it, declares, that had he a hundred Mouths and Tongues, they would not
suffice to recount all the Plagues of the Tortured: so that it is no
wonder to see them represent the infernal Prison in Figures the most
frightful.

Footnote 98:

  _Æneid._ lib. vi. ver. 638.

And as the Heathen had their terrible Place for bad Men, so, to prompt
them to Virtue, they had their _Elysium_, i. e. a Place of Pleasure in
_Hades_, furnished with most pleasant Fields, agreeable Woods, Groves,
Shades, Rivers; whither the Souls of good People were supposed to go
after this Life. These are finely described by the Poet:

                 ——_locos lætos & amœna virenta
                 Fortunatorum nemorum sedesque beatas_.


[Illustration]


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[Illustration]


                                   A

                            NATURAL HISTORY

                                   OF

                               _SERPENTS_

    ----------------------------------------------------------------




                                PART II.

_Which gives a View of most Serpents that are known in the several Parts
    of the World, describ’d by their various Names, different Countries,
    Qualities_, _&c._


    ----------------------------------------------------------------

The Serpents are a numerous Tribe, and their Dominions of large Extent,
lying both in Sea and Land: No part of the World but what is replenish’d
with them, more or less, in some form or other. In describing them, I
shall begin with,


I. The _Viper_, or _Adder_, a subtle and poisonous Creature, slender in
Body, about a Foot and half long, with fiery and flaming Eyes, a long
and cloven Tongue, which when irritated, it darts forth with Violence,
and looks like a glowing Firebrand; has a big Head, and flattest of the
serpentine kind.

It is slow in its motion, and does not leap like other Serpents, but is
very nimble to bite when provok’d. The Scales under the Body resemble
that of well-polish’d Steel. They appear in divers Colours, yellow, ash,
green; and others of _Libya_, like the Inhabitants, of a blackish Hue;
its Front not unlike that of a Hog.

_VIPERS_ of other Nations, are supposed to be larger than the
_European_, especially the _Troglodite-Viper_[99], which is said to be
above fifteen Cubits long: and the Historian adds, viz. _That there are
no domestick Vipers_. I presume, he means they are not brought up among
the Children of the Family, as some Serpents are said to have been; this
little venemous Reptile being of a more mischievous Nature[100].

Footnote 99:

  _Ælian de Nat. Animal._

Footnote 100:

  _Conrad. Gesner. Hist._ p. 75.

The _Viper_ differs from the _Snake_ in bulk, being not so large, and
their Scales more sharp, and Head more large: They also differ in this,
_viz._ Snakes lay their Eggs, twenty, thirty, sixty, and a hundred
sometimes, in one Nest, not quite so large as that of a Magpye (which
are inclosed with a whitish Skin, but not with Scales) in Dunghills and
other warm Situations, where they are hatch’d by adventitious Heat,
commonly call’d Adders in this Country; whereas Vipers make use of their
own Matrix, and bring forth live Vipers: Their young ones come forth
wrapt up in thin Skins, which break on the third day, and set the little
venemous Creatures at liberty, therefore rank’d among the viviparous
Animals.

Their Births are much like young Snigs for Bulk; they generally bring
forth about twenty young ones, but only one each day. It is observ’d of
the Viper, that its Internals are not fetid, like those of some other
Serpents, that are intolerable. The Eggs of _Lizard-Serpents_, which are
so much esteem’d in the _French-Islands_ of _America_, are of the same
Size and Figure as those of Pigeons, and are generally used in all sorts
of Sauces: When the Females lay their Eggs, they make a Hole in the
Sand, and cover them with it, and the Heat of the Sun is sufficient to
hatch them[101].

Footnote 101:

  _Fevillee’s Journal of the Phil. Math. and Bot. Obs._

_ALBERTUS_ is quoted for a Battle between a Viper and a Magpye,
occasioned by her creeping up into a Magpye’s Nest, and devouring her
Brood in the Mother’s absence, who upon her Return made a hideous
clattering, which soon brought in its Mate; whereupon both, with united
Beaks, fell upon the Plunderer, and after a sharp Engagement demolish’d
the Enemy.

    Father _Fevillee_ in the Woods of the Island _Martinique_,
    “being frighted by a large Serpent, which he could not well
    avoid, his Dog immediately fell on, and took the Serpent by the
    Head: The Serpent surrounded him and press’d him so violently,
    that the Blood came out of his Mouth; and yet the Dog never
    ceased till he had entirely tore it to pieces. The Dog was not
    sensible of his Wounds during the Fight, but soon after, his
    Head prick’d by the Serpent swell’d prodigiously, and he lay on
    the ground as dead; but his Master having found hard by a
    _Bananier_, which is a very watry Tree, he cured him with the
    Juice of it, and some Treacle[102].”

Footnote 102:

      _Fevillee’s Journal of the Phil. Math. and Bot. Obser._

The _Viper_ is common in some parts of _France_, especially in
_Dauphiny_ and in _Poictou_, from whence all the Vipers come that are
sold in _Paris_. They are usually taken with wooden Tongs, or by the end
of the Tail, which may be done without danger; for while held in that
Position, they can’t wind themselves up to hurt their Enemy. The
Viper-Catchers have their Specificks, in which they can safely confide,
as not to be afraid of being bitten; which they say is _the Fat of a
Viper_, immediately rubb’d into the Wound, which is one of the most
venemous in the animal World.

These Vipers are usually put and kept in a Box with Bran or Moss; not
that these Ingredients serve to feed upon, as some may fancy; because
’tis said, _they never eat after they are taken_ and confin’d, but live
on the Air, and will live so, many Months: But more hereafter. _The
Destruction_ of Vipers by human Spittle, the Coition of the Marine with
Lampreys, the pregnant Viper biting off her Companion’s Head, and the
Revenge of it by the Younglings——I place among vulgar Errors.


II. The _Amodytes_ is a Serpent very venemous and fierce, of a sandy
Colour, black Spots, and of about a Cubit long. The Wound given by the
Female, the weaker Vessel, is said to be most dangerous: Its Jaws are
larger than the common Vipers, and from some Eminencies upon the Head,
like a Tuft of Flesh, is called _Cornutus_. Its Wounds prove fatal
without a speedy Cure. It is found in _Lybia_, a Limb of _Africa_, and
also in _Illyricum_, and in some parts of _Italy_[103].

Footnote 103:

  _Comitatu imprimis Goritiensi invenitur._—_Ray._

This Serpent is called _Cornutus_, a horned Beast[104]. Of this Form, is
a numerous Herd; we read, that in the _Roman_ Army was a Band of Foot
Soldiers called _Cornuti_.

Footnote 104:

  _Lucan. Pharsal._ lib. ix.

Upon the Continent of _America_ are Bulls and Cows, that have no Horns,
says Dr. _Ch. Leigh_——who adds,

    “The Defect of _Horns_ in these Beasts, brings into my mind a
    remarkable Phenomenon of one _Alice Green_, whose Picture I have
    seen in _Whalley-Abby_, in _Lancashire_. This Woman had _two
    Horns_ which grew out of the back-part of her Head; they grew
    backwards like those of Rams, and were about three Inches long;
    these she cast once in three Years, and had always intolerable
    Pains, before the Horns broke out[105].”

Footnote 105:

      His _Natural History of Lancashire_, Book ii. p.3.

He might have mentioned another innocent Creature, on whose Head a
treacherous Companion inoculates a Scion, which intitles him to the
Title of Cuckold, a word derived from _Cuckows_, who having no Beds of
their own, invade their Neighbour’s. Of the _Cuckow_ ’tis said, that
having no Nest, she takes possession of some other Bird’s Nest, destroys
the Eggs, and lays in it an Egg of her own, which the innocent Bird
brings forth and nurses for its own[106].

Footnote 106:

  Dr. _Willoughby_, who writ the History of Birds, affirms this Account
  of the Cuckow to be true upon his own Knowledge, according to Mr.
  _Ray_.


III. The _Cerastes_ is a Serpent of the viperine Kind; its Head
resembles the _Cornigerous_; it belongs to the _Libyan_ and _Nubian_
Family: Its Teeth are like those of the Viper, and it brings its
Successors into the World after the same manner.

Its Constitution is very dry, which refines and exalts its Poison, and
makes it more dangerous; the Wound is generally attended with
Distraction, and continual pricking as with Needles. Some say, ’tis of a
whitish Colour, others arenaceous; it loves sandy Habitations, where it
often surprises the unwary Traveller: And all agree ’tis of a most cruel
Nature; and therefore in some Places ’twas made the Executioner of
Malefactors[107], as the Juice of the _Cicuta_, (an Herb like our
_Hemlock_) was among the _Athenians_.

Footnote 107:

  _Nunc potes actutum insidiatoremque Cerasten—Non is corpus habet, sed
  quatuor aut duo profert Cornua._ Nicander in Ther.

[Illustration:

  _Plate 1^{st}_
]

Some say ’tis of the aspick kind, as the _Arabians_; in length a Cubit
or more, with two Horns on the Head, resembling Snail-Shells: It lies
perdue near travelling Paths, and is very crafty in decoying little
Birds into the Snare.

Its Wounds soon kill, if one of the _Psyllian_ People be not immediately
called in. _N. B._ These _Psylli_ are a noted People of _Syrenaica_ in
_Africa_, endued with a natural Faculty of destroying Serpents upon
sight, and curing their Wounds by a Touch of the Hand of whom we have
this Account, _viz._ ... _Crates_ of _Pergamus_ says, that about
_Parium_ in the _Hellespont_, there were Men, named _Ophiogenes_, who
cured those wounded by Serpents with a Touch. _Varro_ testifies there
were some of them in his time.

_AGATHERCIDES_ writes, that in _Africa_ the _Psyllians_ (a People so
called from King _Psyllus_, from whom they were descended, and whose
Sepulchre is to be seen at this day in the greater _Syrtes_) did in the
same manner heal People wounded by Serpents. ’Tis said they had some
extraordinary Quality in their Nature, that would suddenly kill all
Serpents.

It was by these they tried the Chastity of their Wives, thus, _viz._
When a Child was born, and its Legitimacy questionable, they laid it in
a _great Vessel_ full of these _cerastick Serpents_, that immediately
breathed Destruction; but when they came near the Child, their Rage
soften’d, and they immediately fled from it; which proved the Legitimacy
of the Child, that he was a true _Psyllian_, born in lawful Wedlock,
because Serpents could not poison it, nor endure its Presence[108].

Footnote 108:

  _In dolium cerastarum plenum infantem conjicere_, Ælian. lib. i. cap.
  57. Gyllii Accessio, cap. 37. _N. B._ If the Child was begotten by a
  Stranger, ’twas killed by Poison; if lawfully begotten, the Privilege
  of his Father’s Blood protected him against the Venom.

However this romantic Account may appear, it may doubtless be
philosophically accounted for by Effluviums emitted from their Bodies,
that proved fatal to Serpents.

The _English_ Annotator upon _Lucan_, who was Nephew to _Seneca_,
observes much to the same purpose, when he says, These _Psylli_ (a
People inhabiting those parts of _Africa_ called _Marmarica_, bordering
on the _Nile_) are fortify’d by Nature with an incredible Privilege
against the Strength of Poison, and sustain no Harm by the biting of
Serpents.

The Serpents, says _Pliny_, are afraid of them, and when others are
bitten by them, these _Psyllians_ by sucking the Wounds, cure them.

The _Marsians_ in _Italy_, ’tis said, are still in possession of this
natural Power against Serpents, and are supposed to descend from the Son
of _Circe_, the famous Enchantress.

The Trial of Childrens Legitimacy by Serpents, puts me in mind of
Hereditary Right; whose Title was try’d by the _Fatal-Stone_, on which
the _Irish Monarchs_ used to be inaugurated on the Hill of _Tarah_; and
which being inclosed in a _Wooden-Chair_, was made to emit a Sound under
the rightful Candidate, when he sat in it; but was quite silent under
one who had no Title, or not a good one; that is, one who was not for
the Druidick Priest’s Turn.

    “This Stone was sent to confirm the _Irish_ Colony in
    _Scotland_, where it continued to be the Coronation-Chair till
    in the Year 1300, _Edward_ I. of _England_ brought it from
    _Scoon_, and placed it under the Coronation-Chair at
    _Westminster_[109]; and there it still remains, is used in the
    Coronation, the antientest respected Monument in the World[110].
    The Vulgar call it _Jacob_’s Stone, as if this had been his
    Pillow at _Bethel_.”

_Note_, Antique Appearances often give birth to popular Superstitions.

Footnote 109:

                Ni fallat fatum Scoti quocunque locatum
                Invenient lapidem, regnare tenentur ibidem.

Footnote 110:

  _Island_’s _Colect._ A. D. 1726.

Such natural Power against _Diseases_ did in our Days appear in the
celebrated Mr. _Greatrix_, before _whose Hand they fled_. In the
Philosophical Transactions we have the following Account of it, received
from Eye-Witnesses,—_e. g._

    “... My own Brother, _John D——n_, was seized with a violent Pain
    in his Head and Back: Mr. _Greatrix_ (coming by accident to our
    House) gave present Ease to his Head, by only stroaking it with
    his Hands. He then rubb’d his Back, which he most complain’d of,
    and the Pain immediately fled from his Hand to his right Thigh;
    then he pursued it with his Hand to his Knee, from thence to his
    Leg, Ancle and Foot; and at last to his great Toe. As it fell
    lower, it grew more violent; and when in his Toe, it made him
    roar out, but upon rubbing it there, it vanish’d.

    “A young Woman being seiz’d with a great Pain and Weakness in
    her Knees when a Girl, used divers Means to no effect: After six
    or seven years time, Mr. _Greatrix_ coming to _Dublin_, he
    stroak’d both her Knees, and gave her present Ease, the _Pain_
    flying downward from his _Hand_, till he drove it out of her
    Toes; the Swelling that always attended it, did in a short time
    wear away, and never troubled her after.

    “... A certain Gentlewoman being much troubled with a Pain in
    her _Ears_, and very _deaf_, Mr. _Greatrix_ put some of his
    Spittle into her Ears; which, after chafing them, soon cured
    her, both of the Pain and Deafness.... Her Uncle was cured by
    him of the same Malady, and in the same manner.

    “... A Child, being extremely troubled with the King’s-Evil, was
    touch’d by King _Charles_ II. and was nothing better; but was
    soon and perfectly cured by Mr. _Greatrix_.[111]”

Footnote 111:

      _Lowthorp_’s _Philosoph. Transactions abridged_, vol. iii. p.
      10, 12. Edit. 2. Communicated by Mr. _Thoresby_, N. 256. p.
      332. 1699. In Page 10. an account is given of the wonderful
      Effects of Touch and Friction.


IV. The _Hemorrhous_ Serpent is an _Egyptian_ of the viperine kind; of
sandy and bright Colour, enamel’d with black and white Rays on the Back;
flaming Eyes, corniculated Brows, and is defended by an Armature of
rough and sharp Scales; which by one is given as the Reason of making
some Noise as it goes, which another denies, because it wants the
_Sonalia_[112].

Footnote 112:

  _Caret Sonalibus._ _Nierembergius_, p. 269.

This Creature is little in Body, but great and terrible in its
Executions; for when it wounds any Persons, all the Blood in the Body
flows out, at all the Apertures of it, which is immediately follow’d
with Convulsions and Death[113].

Footnote 113:

  _Gyllius_, p. 261. _Raii Synopsis Meth._ 8vo. A. D. 1693. _Invenitur
  in Ægypto & aliis locis quibus Thonis imperavit._ _ibid. & in agris
  Jucatensibus_.

                 At non stare suum miseris passura cruore
                 Squamiferos ingens Hæmorhois.

The _Atlas_ from _Ribeyro_ mentions an _Indian Serpent_ of the same
malignant Nature, whose Poison operates with such Violence, that the
Person wounded by it bleeds at the Eyes, Nostrils, Ears, and all the
Pores of the Body, and the miserable Patient is irrecoverable.

The Poet laments the Death of the _brave and noble Tullus_[114], by this
bloody Serpent; which is also found in _India_ (according to _Diodorus
Siculus_) in that part where _Alexander_ the _Great_ conquer’d _Porus_,
the _Great_ King of the _Indies_. The Conqueror bid _Porus_ ask of him
whatever he desired; who answered, _That he only desired to be treated
as a Prince_: with which _Alexander_ was so charm’d, that he not only
gave him his Kingdom again, but some of the Provinces he had conquered
in that Vicinity.

_N. B._ On the Bank of the River _Hydaspis_, _Alexander_ built a Town,
which he call’d _Bucephala_, in remembrance of _Bucephalus_ his great
Horse, which died and was buried there.

Footnote 114:

  _Lucan_, lib. ix. p. 269. _Impressit dentes Hemorhois aspera Tullo
  magnanimo Juveni._

V. The Serpent _Seps_, which by some is said to be the same with
_Sepedon_, is about two Cubits long, the Head broad, and of divers
Colours. Both these are of the smaller Species, but most venemous, and
therefore are rank’d in the second Class of Serpents. The Virulency of
the Poison is not in proportion to their diminutive Stature.

When any are wounded by these venemous Animals, the Hair of the Head
immediately falls off, the whole Body turns scurfy, leprous and putrid;
yea, the very Bones, as well as the Flesh, putrify and corrupt;
therefore some call it the _putrid Serpent_[115]. The Poet accounts for
the Symptoms of its Poison[116].

Footnote 115:

  _Nonnulli ex Scoligero, non male putriam vocare._ _Jonstonus_, p. 14.

Footnote 116:

  _Mors est ante oculos Seps stetit exiguus—Parva modo Serpens, sed qua
  nonnulla cruentæ. Fugit rupta cutis._ Lucan Pharsal. lib. ix. p. 271.

These Serpents are _Asiaticks_, Inhabitants of the Rocks in _Syria_;
_Syria_, the supposed western _Porch_ of _Paradise_. These resemble the
_Hemorrhous_ in Colour and external Figure: According to _Ælian_, they
change into the Similitude of the Things they light upon. He might, I
think, as well have said, they chang’d their _Notes_ on different Trees,
since there is a kind of relation between _Musick_ and _Colour_, as the
Learned _Newton_ observes.


VI. _KOKOB_ Serpent, is between three and four Foot long, of a dusky
Colour, and made beautiful by Spots of red and light Blue. Its Wounds
are terrible, and the Effects not very dissimilar to those of the
_Hemorrhous_. _Nierembergius_ observes, that it resides among Stones;
and when it rambles out, and hears any Noise, makes towards it like a
mighty Hero. Thus the _Gallic_ Monarch, upon Debates among Princes,
marches out as sovereign Umpire of _Europe_, and never returns home but
by way of _Lorrain_, _Corsica_, _Palatine_, or _Spanish Flanders_.


VII. The _Asp_, so called from the _Asperity_ of its Skin, as
_Arnoldus_, or from _aspiciendo_, because of the Acuteness of its Eyes.
A Serpent well known, but not accurately describ’d, says the Learned Mr.
_Ray_: Some make it a small Serpent, others say ’tis several Feet long;
and both may judge right, for according to _Ælian_, there are various
Species of Asps; some a Foot and half long, and others six.

Among these different Proportions, the least of them is said to be most
hurtful, and kills the soonest. Its Poison is so dangerous and quick in
its Operation, that it kills almost in the very Instant that it bites,
without a Possibility of applying any Remedy: They die within three
Hours, says my learned Author[117]; and the manner of their dying by
Sleep and Lethargy, without Pain, made _Cleopatra_ chuse it as the
easiest way of dispatching herself. (More of this further on.)

Footnote 117:

  _Calmet in Verbum_, p. 213.

These Aspick Serpents, are the Growth of several Climates: _Olaus_
observed some of them in the northern Parts, of rugged and rough Skins,
ash Colour, sparkling Eyes, three or four Cubits long[118]; tho’ Lovers
of warm Situations, yet delight in shady Retirements[119]. Many of them
are found in the _Spanish_ Islands[TN]; but _Egypt_, _Libya_, and other
Places in _Africa_ claim the greatest Right to them, for there they are
most numerous and venemous.

Footnote 118:

  _Jonstonus Hist. de Serp._ p. 15.

Footnote 119:

  Ideo _Seneca_, ad umbram exsurgere dixit.

When provok’d, the Neck of this Creature swells, and the Wound then
given, is most dangerous. Its Teeth are of considerable length, growing
out of the Mouth like the Tusks of a Boar. The Historian says, that two
of the longest Teeth have little Cavities in them, covered with a thin
Skin, that slides up when it bites, by which means the poisonous Liquid
runs out, and drops into the Puncture; after which, it recovers its
Station.

In _America_, says a celebrated Historian, are found _Asps_ with Stings
in the Tail, wherewith they strike and kill[120].

Footnote 120:

  _Jonstonus Hist. Nat. de Serpentibus._ p. 15.

The Banks of _Nilus_ abound with _Asps_, who have Sagacity enough to
remove their Habitations to a place of Safety, several days before that
River overflows the Rising-Grounds about it: ’Tis also said the
_Crocodile_ and _Tortoise_ recede with their Eggs, to a Situation not
accessible by that mighty Flood; a Flood that makes the Land of _Egypt_,
a Region of Fertility, a Flood dreaded by these Animals, and ador’d by
the _Egyptians_, those Sons of Contradiction, who consecrated their
Animals to the Gods, and then worshipped them, and upon Occasions kill’d
them. (Can we behold such Instincts in the _Crocodile_, _&c._ without
acknowledging the Divine Wisdom that ordain’d ’em!) No Nation more
knowing, and more sottish, _e. g._ Upon the Statue of _Minerva_, or the
Goddess _Isis_, was this Inscription, _viz._ _I was she that was, that
am, and shall be, and that am every thing_. Which being an exact
Interpretation of the Word _Jehovah_, and the same Definition the
Almighty appropriates to himself, I can’t, says the Learned _Jurieu_,
conceive, how a Nation that was arrived to such a high Degree of
Knowledge, should have worship’d _Bullocks—as Gods_.

_PLUTARCH_ gives a strange relation of them, _viz._ that in case of any
extraordinary Calamity, as War, Plague, Famine, the _Egyptian_ Priests
used to threaten the _sacred Beasts_ most horribly: If they failed to
help them, they whipt them till the Blood follow’d; and if the Calamity
did still continue, they kill’d those sacred Beasts by way of
Punishment[121]. The Reverse of this is given us in a _Clan_ of
_Tartars_, who, when exposed to any imminent Calamity, sacrifice their
Priests, in order to intercede for them with the Gods in the other
World.

Footnote 121:

  _Jurieu_ from _Plut. de Is. & Osir._

It has been said, that the _Asp_, when exasperated, did, with an erected
Head, cast out of its Mouth liquid Poison; but it now appears, it darts
it only by its Bite, or by Poison taken from it by Force, and poured
into a Wound made by another; and both the Wounds so made, soon
terminate in an _easy pleasant Exit_; which is supposed to be the reason
why Queen _Cleopatra_ chose this kind of Death, that is, to poison
herself by an Aspick Dose. This reminds me of a certain Herb I have read
of, in _Arabia_, which (according to the Tradition) _if a Man slept
upon_, he died in his Sleep without any Pain.

A certain learned Pen, makes this Remark upon _Cleopatra_’s Case, _viz._
that she was not bit by an _Asp_, as some have asserted, but did that
which was more secret and sure; that is, after she had bit her own Arm,
infused Poison into the Wound, expressed before-hand from an _Asp_ by
Irritation, and preserved in a Phial for that purpose: Or, as _Dio_
says, she wounded her Arm with a Needle, or Dressing-pin, and then
poured the Poison into the bleeding Wound. This seems probable, because
no Serpent was found in her Chamber or near it.

The _Queen_, in order to find the most easy Passage out of this Life,
made an Experiment upon Criminals by various kinds of Poison, and
Application of diverse sorts of Serpents, and found nothing came up to
_Aspick Poison_, which throws Persons into a pleasant Sleep, in which
they die[122].

Footnote 122:

  _Plutarch_’s _Lives of Marc Anton._ and _Cleopatra_, and _Fr. Redi
  Nobilis Aretini Experiment_. p. 170, -1, -2, -3.

_Obj._ If it be said, that in the Triumphs of _Augustus_, Queen
_Cleopatra_ is _drawn with an Asp in her Hand_:

I answer, That I apprehend that Device might only be
_Pictorial-Licence_, or a Flourish of the Painter to affect the People,
by _displaying the Heroism_ of a Woman, who to prevent the Disgrace of
Captivity, _embraced Death at the hands of a Serpent_, a terrible
Creature, to which none has so great an Aversion as the female Sex.
Excuse a poetick Digression.


                       On the ASP and its POISON.

            ——_Welcome thou kind Deceiver,
            Thou best of Thieves! who with an easy Key
            Dost open Life, and unperceiv’d by us,
            Even steal us from our selves; discharging so,
            Death’s dreadful Office, better than himself.
            Touching our Limbs so gently into Slumber,
            That Death stands by, deceiv’d by its own Image,
            And thinks himself asleep[123]._——

Footnote 123:

  _Dryden_, _All for Love_.

Some are of Opinion, that the _Asp_ is _David_’s _deaf Adder_, Psal.
lviii. 45. _They are like the deaf Adder that stops her Ear, which will
not hearken to the Voice of Charmers, charming never so wisely._ They
are like the _deaf Asp_, says the _Hebrew_ and the _Septuagint_. The
word in the Original is [124] _Pethen_, q. d. _Unpersuadedness_; hence,
wicked Men are called Απειθεις in the _New Test._ unpersuadable, which
the _English_ Translation renders _Disobedient_, Tit. i. 16.

Footnote 124:

  פתן . ωσουι ασπιδος κωφης.

The common Tradition is, that when Men by Inchantments and Charms have
attempted to take these Serpents, they stopt one Ear with the Tail, and
the other was either deaf, or made so by laying it close to the Ground.
Some are of Opinion, that there is a sort of _Asp_ that really is deaf,
which of all others is the most dangerous, and is meant by the _Royal
Prophet_ here.

That there was a Practice of charming Serpents by some Art or other, so
that they could neither _bite_ nor _sting_, seems evident from the
sacred Writings, _e. g._ Eccl. x. 11. _Surely the Serpent will bite
without Inchantment._ Jer. viii. 17. _I’ll send Serpents, Cockatrices,
among you, that will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, says the
Lord._

Among other Things the word _Charmer_, some say, signifies _one_ that
conjoins and consociates; that is, that by Sorcery gather’d Serpents
together, and made them tame and familiar; or the _Person_ may be so
call’d, because by _Magick Art_, he associated with _Demons_, the Lords
of Serpents.

We are inform’d by History, of some, who have summoned together a
hundred Serpents at once; but by what method, I leave the Reader to
judge. _Montanus_, a famous Physician, and Professor at _Padua_ in
_Italy_, says he saw this Coadunation of Serpents.

The learned Doctor _Casaubon_ tells us, he had seen a Man, who from the
Country around him, wou’d draw Serpents into the Fire, which was
inclos’d in a magical Circle: When one of them, bigger than the rest,
would not be brought in, upon repeating the aforesaid Charms, it
submitted to the Flames.

We read of a famous Charmer at _Saltsburgh_ in the Circle of _Bavaria_;
that, when (in sight of the People) he had charm’d a great Number of
Serpents into a Ditch, where he kill’d them; there came a Serpent of
great Bulk, supposed to be the Devil, that leapt upon the Charmer, and
immediately slew him[125].

Footnote 125:

  Doctor _More_’s Antidote.

Answer me, says _Paracelsus_, (the celebrated _Swiss_ Physician, who did
wonderful Cures by Liquids extracted from Vegetables) from whence is it,
that a Serpent of _Helvetia_, _Algovia_, or _Suevia_, does understand
the _Greek_ Idiom, _Osy, Osya, Osy_; that they should, at the first
Sound of these Words, _stop their Ears_, remain immoveable, and do us no
hurt with their Poison? From whence he infers, there was a Power in
Words to operate upon the Ear, without Superstition. The Antients seem
to have entertain’d some favourable Thoughts of the _Power of Spells_
upon Serpents: Their Poets speak often of these Charms and Incantations.

         _Frigidus in pratis cantando rumpitur anguis._ Virgil.
         _Vipereas rumpo verbis, & carmine fauces._ Ovid.
         _Ingue pruinoso coluber distenditur arvo
         Viperes coëunt abrupto corpore nodi
         Humanoque cadit serpens afflata veneno._ Lucan.

_PHILOSTRATUS_ describes particularly how the _Indians_ charm
Serpents—they take a Scarlet-Coat embroider’d with golden Letters, and
spread it before the Serpent’s Hole; and these golden Letters have a
fascinating Power over it, and therewith its Eyes are overcome and laid
asleep[126].

Footnote 126:

  His Life of _Apollonius Tyanæus_, writ at the Desire of the Empress
  _Julia_, lib. 3. cap 2.

If we consider the strange Things done by _Force of Words_, so much
extoll’d in Antiquity, it will be no wonder to see _Letters_, out of
which _Words are form’d, made the Rudiment and first Study of human
Life_: But as to the _Mode of Operation_ by _Words_, the Learned are not
agreed.

Some say, there is a natural Virtue and Efficacy in Words, and appeal to
the _notable Feats_ done by _Force of Eloquence_. This was the favourite
Study and View of _Orators_; in this they triumph’d, and never wanted
Acclamations and loud Applauses.

In _Plutarch_, we have, among others, one remarkable Instance, _viz._
_Cæsar_, upon the Accusations brought in by _Tubero_ against _Quintus
Ligarius_ (_Pompey_’s Friend) he was resolved to sacrifice that Rebel,
till he was charm’d by the _Words_ of the _Orator_ that pleaded in his
favour—No sooner did _Cicero_ begin his Oration in his defence, but
_Cæsar_’s Countenance chang’d, and his Indignation begun to soften ...
but when the Orator touch’d upon the Battle of _Pharsalia_ (where
_Cæsar_ was Conqueror) _Cæsar_’s Heart tender’d, his Body trembled with
Joy, and certain Papers in his Hands dropt to the ground.—And when
_Cicero_ had finish’d his Oration, _Cæsar_’s Wrath against his Enemy was
intirely extinguish’d; and _Ligarius_ was set at liberty[127]. The same
Orator, by the Dint of Eloquence, overthrew the Constitution of the
_Decemviri_.

Footnote 127:

  _Plutarch_’s Life of _Cicero_.

Others say, there is a mighty Force in Words in such a _Tone_, and
_Talismanical Characters_, rightly-adapted Figures, and Images _under
certain Constellations_[128].

Footnote 128:

  _Paracelsus_, _C. Agrippa_, Life of Mr. _Duncan Campbell_, _A. D.
  1720_, page 256. _Gaffarel._

Some affirm that _Magick_ consists in the _Spirit of Faith_, for _Faith_
is the _Magnet of Magicians_, by which they draw Spirits to them, and by
which Spirits they do wonderful Things, that to vulgar Eyes appear like
Miracles. No doubt but several extraordinary Effects have been ascrib’d
to the Devil, that in reality were natural, and artfully disguised: The
Story of Sieur _Brioche_, a famous Puppet-player, is well known, who in
a Town in _Switzerland_, where that _Show_ had never been seen before,
he was apprehended as a Warlock or Magician, and ran the hazard of being
punish’d as such[129].

Footnote 129:

  _De Saint Andre_’s Letters.

Others affirm, that _Charms by Words_ are but means to heighten the
Imagination; and the strange Effects produced by ’em, flow’d only from
the Activity of an exalted Thought, or Fancy of heated Brains. In proof
of this ’tis said, that if a Woman at a certain Season, strongly fix her
Imagination upon any particular Object, the Child will bear the Image
thereof.

I think ’tis pretty obvious, that those extraordinary Impressions made
by _Pagan Sophists_ upon the Minds of their Audience by the Charms of
Rhetorick, past for a _divine Afflatus_ or _Inspiration_; and therefore
in such Cases, we shall find this _Formula_ (_Aliquis nescio quis Deus_)
frequently used by Enthusiastical _Orators_, as well as their _Poets_:
Thus _Cicero_, speaks of himself, that he was mov’d by a certain
_Impetus_ or Ardour[130]: _Apollonius Tyanæus_, who was looked upon by
the Christians as a notorious Magician, being ask’d by the Governor of
_Rome_ under _Nero_, what was his Profession? he answer’d, θειασμος, an
Enthusiast, _q. d._ Fanatic, Conjurer.

Footnote 130:

  _Nulla ingenti, sed magna vis animi inflamantis ut me ipse non
  teneam._

’Tis true, that wonderful Things have been done by Words, but how
_verbal Charms_ operated upon _Serpents_, wants Explication: Of some
Inchanters ’tis said, that by vocal and instrumental Sounds, they have
charm’d Rats, Mice and Serpents, some into a stupid State, and others
into a flexible submissive State.

A remarkable Instance in _Rats_ we have in the publick Records of
_Hamelen_, (an antient City on the River _Weser_ in _Germany_, about 28
Miles S. E. of _Hanover_) where the following strange Account is
register’d, _viz._

That in _June 26. 1284_, a certain Stranger undertook to destroy an Army
of Rats with which the Town had been long pester’d, on promise of such a
Reward; and immediately playing on his _Pipe_ and _Tabret_, the _Rats_
march’d out, and follow’d the Musick to the River, where they were all
drown’d: But being denied the Reward, he threaten’d Revenge; and next
day he went about with the same Musick, and most Children in the Town
follow’d the Piper to the Mouth of a great Cave on a neighbouring Hill
call’d _Koppelberg_, where he and they entered, and were never heard of
after.

In remembrance of this _sad Catastrophe_, the Citizens for many Years
after, dated all their publick Writings _from the Day they lost their
Children_, as appears by their old Deeds and Records: They still call
the _Street_ thro’ which the Children went out, _Tabret-street_; and at
the Mouth of the Cave there is a Monument of Stone, with a _Latin_
Inscription, giving the Particulars of this tragical Story.

As to the other Instance, _viz._ Serpents charm’d into a ductile
manageable State, ’tis thus accounted for; _viz._ Serpents, they say,
are strangely influenced by the Smell of those Emanations, proceeding
from the _Cornus_, or Dog-tree (why not the _Cornelian-Cherry_,
antiently dedicated to _Apollo_?) and that by a Wand or Rod taken from
it, they are thrown into an obsequious Temper—

    “When touch’d by a Rod from that Tree, they are immediately
    intoxicated, but so as to be able to follow the Motion of the
    Rod; but whether by reason of some great Disproportion or
    Incompossibility, between these subtile Effluvia and the
    Temperament of the vital, spiritual Substance of the Serpent, or
    by what other way, we are not told[131]. The Sassafras-tree, a
    Native of _America_, is call’d _Cornus_ also, whose Wood is very
    odorous and fragrant.”

Now, say these Gentlemen why should it seem impossible, that he who
understands this invincible Enmity, and how to manage a Rod of the
_Cornus_ with Cunning and Dexterity (having first intoxicated a Serpent
by the Touch thereof) should during that Fit make it observe, and
readily conform to all the various Motions of the Wand, so as that the
unlearned Spectators, perceiving the _Serpent_ to approach the
_Inchanter_, as he moves the Wand near to himself, or to retreat from
him, as he put the Wand from him, or turn round and dance as the Rod is
mov’d to and fro, or lie still as in a Trance, as the Rod is held still
over it; and all this Time, the People knowing nothing of the Virtue in
the Rod, are easily deluded into a Belief, that the whole Scene is
supernatural, and the main Energy radiated in those Words or Charms,
which the Impostor with great Ceremony and Gravity of Aspect mutters
forth, the better to disguise his Legerdemain, and dissemble Nature in
the colour of a Miracle.

Footnote 131:

  _Charlton._

The Rattle-snakes in _America_ are said to secure their Prey by
Incantation; for they have the Power or Art, (I know not which to call
it, says my Author) to charm Squirrels, Hares, Partridges, or any such
Thing, in such a manner, that they run directly into their Mouths: This
I have seen, adds he, by a Squirrel and one of the Rattle-snakes; and
other Snakes have in some measure the same Power[132].

Footnote 132:

  Natural History of _Carolina, A. D. 1711_. page 129.

It is allowed indeed, that there are _dumb Creatures_ that do exceed Man
in some _sensible Perceptions_, particularly in that of _Smelling_, as
the _Harriers_, and other Dogs. How strange, that Odours from the Hare’s
Body, Should so affect the Nose of a Hound, as to raise in him that
Sensation or Scent, by which he follows her all the Day (tho’ he never
had a Sight of her) thro’ a Cloud of Opposition, from perplexing
intricate Places, and Effluviums proceeding from other Animals!

These Emanations are exceeding fine Effluvia, or Particles flying off
odorous Bodies in all Directions; and as they float in the Air on the
Surface of the Earth (within their Atmosphere) strike against the Dog’s
Nose, and produce that Sensation of Smell.—_N. B._ The Intensity of
Smell in all Creatures, is in proportion to the Density or Thickness
where we are: This Density is always diminish’d in proportion to the
Squares of the Distances from the odorous Body.

Yea, a little Cur, by the Power of Smelling, can find out his Master
among Thousands, will trace his Steps thro’ Crouds in Fairs and Markets;
yea, throughout a whole Country. Our Histories inform us of Dogs in some
parts of this Island, that being put upon the Scent, would pursue a
Thief and a Murderer; and if he cross’d a River, would smell where he
entered, and swim after him; and when arrived at t’other side, would
hunt about till they found where he landed, and then run on, till they
overtook the Criminal.

In Animals is a sulphurous or oily Matter, so attenuated and subtiliz’d
as to become volatile, which is denominated a Spirit: Now that there is
such a Spirit in Man, and a peculiar one too in every Man, is evident
from these Dogs, which will pursue the Game by their Nose, and follow
their Master’s Track, and distinguish it precisely; yea, tho’ a thousand
other Persons had past the same way.

It must be by meer Force of Smelling, that the Dog is able to do this,
that is, to distinguish his Master from all Men by the Instrumentality
of his Nose.

Therefore there must be some specifick Matter exhaled from the Master’s
Body, which the Dog can perfectly distinguish from the various Effluvia
flowing from all other Persons.

The Dog must exceed us, in that he can thus exactly discern his Master,
by these subtile, oily, or sulphurous Effluvia, which no human Nose was
ever able to do.

We find the like Spirit in the Hound, who when put in the Track which a
Deer has lately been in, will follow the Steps of that Deer thro’ all
cross Paths of a thousand others, and at last single out that individual
Deer among a whole Herd of those Animals.

In _Scotland_ are a sort of Dogs (in Colour generally red and spotted
with black, or black with red) of extraordinary Sagacity, being, as ’tis
said, put upon the Scent, will pursue Thieves with Success; and the Use
of them has been authorised by the Magistrate——_Nullus perturbet aut
impediat canem trasantem, aut homines transentes cum ipso ad sequendum
latrones aut ad capiendum malefactores_.

    _N. B._ _Trasantem_ is a Word latiniz’d from the old _French_
    _Tracer_ or _Trasser_, signifying to follow by the Track.

If any shou’d suggest, That this derogates from the Wisdom and Goodness
of the Creator, who has given to some Beasts stronger Perceptions,
Nerves more exquisitely fine and delicate than he has bestow’d upon Man:

I answer, this is so far from derogating from divine Wisdom and
Goodness, that it is an admirable Instance and Illustration of both; for
were our olfactory Nerves susceptible of such quick Sensations as Dogs
and some other Animals, we shou’d be continually annoy’d with
pestiferous Fumes and Exhalations, so as not only to render most
Situations troublesome, but even Life it self miserable and wretched.

Such quick Sensations may be very useful to carnivorous Animals, so as
to direct them to their Prey, but to human Beings it wou’d be very
vexatious, if not pestiferous and deadly. I shall only add to this
Digression, a short Hint about the _Magic Art_, the most surprising of
all Arts, and in its first Appearance most innocent and useful.

Among the antient _Chaldeans_, _Babylonians_, and _Persians_, where the
Art-magic was first and principally cultivated, it signified no more
than _Wisdom_ and hence the _Sophi_, or Wisemen of the _Greeks_ were by
them call’d μαγοι that is, _Magicians_; who being acquainted with many
of the hidden Powers of Nature, directed them in such manner, as to
produce Effects, whose Causes being unknown to the _Vulgar_, were
attributed to _Dæmons_.

Hence the Art in process of Time came into Disrepute, and Magicians have
been censur’d, as working by Compact with the Devil: But this is
invidious; for in the Gospel we find, the _Magi_ or _Magicians_, are
said to come _from the East to_ Jerusalem, _saying, where is he that is
born King of the_ Jews? _for we—are come to worship him_. No body can
imagine this to be understood of those that have been called
_Sorcerers_, _Wizards_, _Conjurers_, _Witches_ or _Magicians_, in the
modern Sense of that Word[133]; for those who were familiar with the
Devil, would scarce come to enquire after him, who came to destroy his
Works.

Footnote 133:

  _Matt._ ii. 1, 2.

The Notion of Witches in the Days of Ignorance and Superstition, was
very prevailing in this Island, but of late Years has undergone a
parliamentary Excommunication; though the _Lancashire_ Witches, who are
constituted of the fairer Part of the fairer Sex, triumph even over our
Senators, and will maintain their fascinating Charms, while their rival
Beauties, the Sun and Stars endure.

We read of a certain King of _Egypt_, who having assembled his _Magical
Priests_ without the City _Memphis_, caus’d them to enter where the
People were gather’d, by Beat of Drum: All of them made some miraculous
Discovery of their Magic and Wisdom. _One_ had his Face surrounded with
a Light, like that of the Sun, so bright that none could look earnestly
upon him.

Another seem’d as if enrob’d with precious Stones of diverse Colours,
red, green, yellow, or wrought with Gold.

A third came mounted on a _Lion_, compass’d with _Serpents_, like
Girdles.

The next came in with a Pavilion, or Canopy of Light, distended over his
Head.

Another entered surrounded with Flames of Fire, turning about him; so
that none durst come near him.

After _him_ appeared one with dreadful Birds, perching about his Head,
and shaking their Wings like Vulturs and black Eagles.

The _last_ made his Appearance with an Army in the Air, marching before
him, of winged Serpents and terrible Personages.——In fine, every one did
what was taught him by the Star he served; and, after all, the whole
Scene was but an Apparition and Illusion, according to their own
Confession to the King, when the Farce was over[134].——Something
analogous to this are the Magick Lanthorns in our days.

Footnote 134:

  This Passage is taken out of the _Egyptian_ History of the Pyramids—by
  _Murtadi_ the _Arabian_, printed at _Tibe_, a City in _Arabia_, 14th
  of _Regebe_, 992; which corresponds to _July_ 22d, 1584; about 156
  Years ago; translated into _French_, and into _English_, 1672.

In antient times, the Word _Magician_ generally signified _Men of Wisdom
and Learning_, i. e. of superior Knowledge in Things natural and divine,
and more especially in that sort of Learning relative to the Sun, Moon,
and Stars, as we learn from _Porphyry_, _Apuleius_, and others. And
seeing the inspired Apostle gives them that Name (_Magicians_) not as a
Mark of Infamy, but a Title of Honour, therefore does the _English_
Translation stile them _Wisemen_, such as the old _Greeks_ called σοφοι,
_Sages of their Time_[135]. How, and how far this Art is degenerated, I
refer to the Judgment of the Learned: We see there are Revolutions in
Words, as well as in Families and Kingdoms; a _Magician_ being formerly
a _Wise-man_, as well as a Knave an honest one. _Sed tempora mutantur._

Footnote 135:

  _Boerhaave_’s New Theory, p. 211.

I shall only add to the _Aspick Subject_, the Tribute of Veneration paid
to this poisonous Animal in the Land of _Egypt_. The Historian speaks of
a certain Person, who, in digging, happened unawares to cut an Asp with
his Spade, and went mad upon it,—was taken into the House of _Serapis_,
an _Egyptian_ Idol,—the Relatives of the Patient praying the _Spectrum_
of that Serpent might be destroyed,——which being accordingly done by
Magick Art, the Man was cured.——By this we see, how highly _Asps_ were
venerated among the _Egyptians_, who not only suffer’d them to live, but
to live in their Houses, where they were carefully fed, as Favourites of
the Family[136]. And Queen _Cleopatra_’s Case was not singular, for the
_Persian_ Kings kept an exquisite Poison by them, made of the Dung of an
_Indian_ Bird, which would kill without putting them to pain, that they
might use it themselves in case of any Disaster[137].

Footnote 136:

  _Circurantur cibo, cum infantibus vivunt, & crepitum digitorum vocata
  ex cavi prodeunt._ Jonstonus, p. 16.

Footnote 137:

  _Atlas, Asia._

_DEMOSTHENES_, who slew his Soldier, when he was asleep, was a merciful
Executioner; a kind of Punishment the Mildness of no Law has yet
invented. It is strange that _Lucan_ and _Seneca_ made no discovery of
it.

Sleep is a kind of _Death_, by which we may literally be said to _die
daily_; and in this Sense, _Adam_ may be said to die before his final
Exit.


VIII. I now proceed to the Serpent _Scytale_; the Name is borrowed from
the _Greek_ Word σκυταλη, a Staff, or any thing like a Cylinder, of a
long smooth round Form; the Body of this Serpent being in shape equally
round, like a Rolling-Stone, with very little Variation in the
Extremities of it.

[Illustration:

  _Plate 2^d._
]

It forms a beautiful Prospect, being an Aggregate of most charming
Colours, (therefore call’d the Painted Serpent by _Mantuanus_.) It may
be view’d without danger, because slow in its Motion. ’Tis an Error in
_Lucan_ to attribute its Slowness to a Design of enticing Spectators, if
it be not _Poetica Licentia_.

When released from its Winter-Confinement, the first thing she does,
says the Historian, is to refresh her languid Body with Fennel-Leaves;
but does not tell us what is done, in case that Herb can’t be readily
found. It must indeed be allowed, that wild Fennel is a common Herb of
the Field, and well known and of Use in Physick[138]. The Poet observes,
that no Snake casts her Coat in Winter, but the _Scytale_[139].

Footnote 138:

  _Ælian_, _Gyllii Accessio_.

Footnote 139:

  _Et Scytale sparsis etiam nunc sola pruinis Exuvias positura
  suas._—Lucan’s Phars.

This Serpent being adorned with beautiful Colours, excuse a short
Digression upon the Doctrine of Colours in Natural Bodies. Know then,
Colours are the Children of Fire and Light.


I. _Where there is Light, there is Fire_; and Fire shews itself to be
present by Light. The Sensation of Light is produced when the Particles
of Fire, directed by the Action of the Sun, reach the Eye in right
Lines. Now, Fire thus entering the Eye, gives a Motion to the optic
Fibres at the bottom of the Eye, and thus excites the Idea of Light.


II. _FIRE discovers itself by Colour_; for all Colours depend upon
Light, and Light depends upon Fire; and different Colours appear in
Natural Bodies, as their Surfaces are disposed to reflect this or that
sort of coloured Rays more than others. Colour is a Property inherent in
Light.

Colours therefore are not connate with Natural Bodies, which are all of
the same Hue in the dark. To this the Poet alludes, when he makes
_Darkness the Destruction of Colours_[140].—Colours are only in the Rays
of the Sun: In Natural Bodies is a Quality or Power to reflect the Light
falling upon them, which striking the Eye, produces in the Spectator the
Sensation of Colour.

Footnote 140:

  _Rebus nox abstulit atra colores._—Virgil.

Clouds often appear very beautifully coloured; they consist of aqueous
Particles, between which Air is interspersed; therefore, according to
the various Thickness of those aqueous Particles, the Cloud will be of a
different Colour[141].

Footnote 141:

  _Boerhaave_, _Gravesand_.


IX. _AMPHISBÆNA_ Serpent, so called from αμφι _&_ βαινω _Biceps_, a
Monster with two Heads. This is a small and weak Creature, equal in Bulk
to a little Finger, and about a Foot long, of a whitish or terraceous
Colour; of the oviparous Family, of small Eyes, no otherways visible
than the Prick of a little Needle; lives much under ground, and is often
found by digging; feeds upon Ants. Under this Head, the Historian
mentions three Serpents, _viz._

The _Brasilian_, that has two Heads, and moves as a Crab[142].

Footnote 142:

  _Acosta._

The _Taprobanensian_, with four Heads; and he who believes it must have
a four-headed Faith.

The _Hungarian_; of which elsewhere.

The same Historian adds, that the marine _Amphisbæna_, taken in the
_English_ Sea, has two Heads. _Ibid._ _Pliny_, _Ælian_, _Lucan_,
_Mantuan_,—affirm it has two Heads; _Matthiolus_ denies it, _Hesychius_
is doubtful. Mention is made of a Serpent found near _Chipping-Norton_,
not far from _Oxford_, having two Heads, and Faces like Women; one being
shaped after the new Tyre of that Time; the other was habited after the
old Fashion, and had great Wings resembling those of the Flinder-Mouse
or Bat[143]. This happened in the Reign of _Edward_ III.

Footnote 143:

  _Stow_’s Annals, _London_, printed, 1631.

A _Spanish_ Author says, that in _Chiapa_ he found a two-headed Serpent,
18 Inches long, in the Form of a _Roman_ T, and very venemous; it does
not only kill, adds he, by its Bite, but if any tread upon that part of
the Ground over which ’twas just gone, it proves fatal[144]. The Poet
also subscribes to two Heads[145].——If this two-headed Serpent has slain
its Thousands, there is a certain metaphorical three-headed Serpent on
the Banks of _Tyber_, that has slain its Ten Thousands.

Footnote 144:

  _Antonio de Herrera_’s History of _America_.

Footnote 145:

  _Et gravis ingenium surgens caput Amphisbæna._—Lucan, p. 270.

Perhaps the Reason of ascribing two Heads to this Serpent, might be,
because it is said to poison by the Tail and Teeth. Others say, both
Ends are so like in Figure and Bulk, that they are not easily
distinguished.

It seems probable to me, that this Serpent, like some Insects or Worms,
has a double Motion, _antrorsum & retrorsum_, which made some of the
Antients conclude it had two Heads; one in the usual Situation, the
other in the Extremity of the _Cauda_. Its Body is of equal Thickness,
and recommended to the View by various and delightful Spots[146].

Footnote 146:

  _Conrad. Gesner._ _Ælian._ _Columella_, lib. vi.

We read of this Serpent in _Gothland_, where it comes forth in the
Spring before all other Serpents, being more able to encounter the cold
Air[147]. Some Authors tell us, that its Skin wrapt about a Stick,
drives away all Serpents; which I place among the Tales of Antiquity.

Footnote 147:

  _Olaus Magnus Hist._ B. xxi.

This Serpent is found in the _Lybian Deserts_, and also in the Island of
_Lemnos_, in the _Ægean_ Sea. The Puncture made by its Wounds is so
small, that it can scarcely be discerned, yet terminates in a dreadful
Inflammation and a lingering Death.

_ERASMUS_ was puzzled about the Sense of that _Greek_ Proverb ὑδρος εν
φιθω, _hydrus in dolio_, a Serpent in the Hogshead: The Meaning of it,
said an Interpreter of Dreams, is this: A certain Person had a Vessel of
Wine, that was constantly diminishing, tho’ carefully lock’d up; the
Reason of which he could not account for, till he empty’d the Vessel, at
the bottom of which he found a Serpent rioting in Wine[148].

Footnote 148:

  _Conradus Gesner._

Perhaps as good an Interpretation may be this, that there was Venom in
the Cask (of which the Serpent was an Emblem) to all those who rioted in
the Bowls of Excess. Not so, says a Son of _Bacchus_; for

                 _The thirsty Earth soaks up the Rain,
                 And drinks, and gapes for Drink again.
                 The Sea itself, which one would think,
                 Should have but little need of Drink,
                 Drinks Ten thousand Rivers up._——
                 _The busy Sun, and one would guess
                 By’s drunken fiery Face no less,
                 Drinks up the Sea.——
                 Fill up the Bowl then, fill it high,
                 Fill all the Glasses there, for why,
                 Should every Creature drink, but I?
                 Why, Man of Morals, tell me why?_[149]

Footnote 149:

  _Cowley_’s Anacreon.

Some of the Poets have thought this _Amphisbæna_ to be the _Hydra
Lernæa_, the many-headed Serpent, that was very terrible to the adjacent
Country, and slain by _Hercules_: When one Head was cut off, many others
sprung up; so that there was no way to destroy the Monster, but by
cutting off all the Heads with one Stroke.

Tho’ there be no _Amphisbænick_ Animals, there is some Resemblance of it
in Plants, whose _Cotyledon_ is always double, and in the common Centre
of the two, is a Point or Speck, which is the Plantule, or the Tree in
Embryo; which Plantule being acted on by the Earth, warmed by the Sun,
begins to expand, and shoots its Root both upward and downward. Thus, in
a Bean committed to the Ground, we soon see it to cleave into two Parts,
and in the Fissure appears a little Speck, which sends out a Root
downwards, and a Bud upwards.—A remarkable Phænomenon, says the Note on
_Boerhaave_’s Theory.

X. Among Serpents, Authors place _Dragons_; Creatures terrible and
fierce in Aspect and Nature. They are divided into _Apodes_ and
_Pedates_, some with Feet, and some without them; some are privileged
with Wings, and others are destitute of Wings and Feet: Some are covered
with sharp Scales, which make a bright Appearance in some Position. Some
have observed, that about the _Ganges_, are Dragons whose Eyes sparkle
like precious Stones.

They differ in external Form: The _Draconopades_ are represented by a
human Face, and sightly Countenance; the rest of the Body in a tortuous
winding Shape. In one of Dr. _Johnson_’s Figures, a Dragon is made to
appear like a Man’s Face, with a Grenadier’s Cap on the Head. Some
differ in Colour, some are black in the upper Part of the Body,
according to _Philostratus_; red, according to _Homer_; yellow,
according to _Pausanias_; and _Lucan_ makes it a golden Colour[150].

Footnote 150:

  _Philostratus de Vita Apol._ lib. iii. cap. 2. _Homer._ _Iliad_, lib.
  12. _Lucan._ _Pharsal. in Jonstoni Historia Serpentum_, p. 33, 34.

The same Historian observes, that in the _Atlantick_ Mountains, they
kill where they touch, and those that are in the Kingdom of _Narsinga_,
and dwell in the Woods, kill all they meet. _Ibid._[151]

Footnote 151:

  _Unde quidam in arbores & chamo dracones distinxere._

I presume, the Author means _Narsinga_, a potent Kingdom, bounded on the
East with the Bay of _Bengal_, that noble Part of _India_, says
_Herbert_[152]; where the Monarch is always attended with 1000 for his
Guards, has 5 or 6000 Jesters, and reckons it one of his chief Titles to
be the Husband of a Thousand Wives.

Footnote 152:

  His Travels into _Africa_ and _Asia_, the famous Empires of _Persia_
  and _Indostan_,—Oriental Islands.

Dragons are Inhabitants of _Africa_ and _Asia_; those of _India_ exceed
most in Largeness and Longitude: In the Tower of _London_, is the Skin
of one, which is of vast Bulk. In _Æthiopia_, they have no Name for
_Dragons_, but _Killers of Elephants_, which is supposed to be the
largest of Land-Animals.

Over the Water-gate in the City of _Rhodes_, there is set up the Head of
a _Dragon_, which was 33 Foot long, that wasted all the Country, till it
was slain by _Deodate de Gozon_, one of the _Knights of St. John
Baptist_[153]. The _Knights of that Order_ had frequently attack’d it,
but in vain; for its Scales being proof against all their Arms, it
destroyed so many of them, that the Grand-Master forbad them to engage
the Monster any more.

Footnote 153:

  _Atlas Geog. Anatolia_, p. 43, -4. From _Tavernier_ and _Du Mont._

_GOZON_, who, after several dangerous Onsets escaped with his Life,
resolved to make another Trial by Stratagem; perceiving it was no where
vulnerable but in the Eyes and Belly, contrived the Resemblance of a
Dragon by a Machine of Pastboard, of equal Bulk with the Dragon, and by
certain Springs made it leap like a true Dragon: Having trained up a
Couple of fierce Dogs to attack it at the _Belly_, he went out privately
one Morning, well-armed on a managed Horse with his Dogs, and rode up to
the Den, from whence the Dragon leaped furiously at him: In the
Encounter, the Dogs laid hold on his Belly, and forced him to lie down;
upon which the valiant Knight alighted, thrust his great Sword several
times into his Throat, and soon killed him: Upon which the Spectators
drew near, and with great difficulty sever’d the Head from the Body, and
lugged it into the Town in Triumph.

The Conqueror was degraded for the sake of Form, because he had violated
the Grand-Master’s Order; but was immediately restored, and soon after
was elected Grand-Master himself; he died in the Year 1335, and on his
Tomb were engraven these Words, _Draconis Extinctor_; _The Destroyer of
the Dragon_.

In the Life of _Attilius Regulus_ (the _Roman_ General in the War
against the _Carthaginians_) is described a Dragon of prodigious Bulk
near the River _Bagrada_, that annoyed all the Country round, without
Remedy. Several Devices were formed to destroy it, but without effect,
till the Military _Possé_ was called in, who discharged the _Engines of
War_ against it with Success: And so great was this Deliverance, that an
_Ovation_, or a small Triumph, was publickly made at _Rome_ for the
Victory.


XI. The _Pythian_ Dragon, so called from its being the Guardian of the
_Delphick_ Oracle: Its Eyes are large and sharp, and the Body painted
with Variety of Colours, as red, yellow, green and blue, and furnished
with Scales that are resplendent, well compacted and hard. It has been
called _Deucalionæus_, because in the Language of Ignorance, it was
produced from the Mud left by the _Deucalionian_ Deluge: a Serpent of
prodigious Bulk.[154]

Footnote 154:

  _Jonstonus._

_PYTHON_ is also taken for a prophetick Demon, by St. _Luke_[155].—_As
we went to Prayer, a certain Damsel possest with a Spirit of
Divination_, (having the Spirit of _Pytho_, according to the _Greek_)
_which brought her Masters much Gain by Sooth-saying_, that is, by
Predictions, telling of Fortunes. _Python_ of the _Greeks_ is supposed
the _Typhon_ of the _Phenicians_, and the _Phœnician Typhon_ to be _Ogg_
King of _Bashan_, and _Apollo_ that slew it, to be _Joshua_. _Apollo_ is
called _Pythius_ from this Serpent, or from some notorious Tyrant of
that Name, slain by him, as the antient Geographer observes. So _Gesner_
from _Pausanias_. The Priestess of _Apollo_, that delivered the Sacred
Oracles, was called _Pythia_ and _Pythonissa_. This _Pythonick_ Spirit
among the Gentiles, was esteemed as a God, and by _Juvenal_ is styled
_Vates_, a Prophet.

Footnote 155:

  _Act._ xvi. 16.—Πνευμα Πυθωνος.

The Priestess that delivered the Sacred Oracles, was called _Pythia_,
from _Apollo Pythius_, and must be a pure Virgin. Most of the Fathers of
the Church were of opinion, that it was the Devil gave the Answers,
which were generally dubious, a Sign of his Ignorance about Futurity.

One _Œnomaus_, a certain Pagan Philosopher, highly resenting it, that he
had been so often befooled by the Oracles, speaks to _Apollo_ thus—

    “When we come to consult thee, either thou knowest Things to
    come or not. If thou knowest them, why dost not thou speak so as
    to be understood? If thou knowest not, why dost thou pretend to
    it? If Things necessarily come to pass, why dost thou amuse us
    with Ambiguities?[156]”

Footnote 156:

      _Eusebius._

_F. BALTHUS_, a learned Jesuit, and _F. Bouchet_, say there were real
Oracles, and such that can never be attributed to Priests and
Priestesses; and that the Devil still gives Oracles in the _Indies_, and
that not by Idols, which would be liable to Imposture, but by the Mouths
of Priests, and By-Standers; and that the Devil becomes mute, in
proportion as the Gospel prevails.——

    “It is generally believed among the more Learned, that the Pagan
    Oracles were mere Frauds and Impostures, and calculated to serve
    the political Views of Princes, and covetous Ends of Pagan
    Priests.”

According to the learned _Bayle_, they were meer human Artifices; and he
is seconded by _Vandale_ and _Fontenelle_. But to return to the Oracle
at _Delphos_, which was very antient and much in vogue before the
_Trojan_ War: The Situation of the Place, where People were made to
believe God spoke, was at the Mouth of a certain Cavern, whence they
received their Intelligence. The Prophetess sat upon a _Tripodium_, a
three-footed Stool, assisted in her Function by divers Priests.

Under her Seat, ’tis said, that some time there appeared a Dragon,
through whose Throat Responses were audibly deliver’d, with a loud and
strong Voice: According to _Eusebius_, a Serpent rolled itself about the
Tripod, on which the Priest sat.

Of all Oracles, that of _Apollo Pythius_ at _Delphos_, in the _Ægean_
Sea, was the most celebrated, and consulted as the _dernier Resort_ by
the Princes of those Times; yea, all the _Greeks_ resorted thither for
Counsel in Matters of Importance. At the first opening of that _Oracular
Office_, Answers were given to the Querist in Verse; but upon People’s
ridiculing the Poorness of the Verification, the Oracle fell to Prose.
’Tis strange, that what they made a _God_, could not make a _good
Verse_, but not strange to see the old Serpent adhering to its first
Scheme of Politicks, by making the weaker Vessel the Vehicle to convey
his strong Delusions to the World.

Some of these Draconick Serpents excel in the Sensations of Hearing and
Seeing, as well as in the Art of Killing; and therefore a _Dragon_ was
made the _Conservator_ of their _Treasures_ and _Curiosities_; e. g.
_Mauritania_ in _Africa_, was famous for the Gardens of the _Hesperides_
(so called from three Sisters and Daughters of King _Hesperius_) that
produced _Golden Apples_, and were guarded by a _Dragon_, which
_Hercules_ having killed or charm’d into a profound Sleep, he robbed the
Golden Orchard.

The Rod of _Moses_, ’tis said, _was turned into a Serpent_. The
_Syriack_, _Arabick_, and _Septuagint_ Translations, say, twas turned
into a _Dragon_; and so the Rods of the Magicians became _Dragons_.


XII. The _Basilisk_ or _Cockatrice_, is a Serpent of the Draconick Line,
the Property of _Africa_, says _Ælian_, and denied by others: In shape,
resembles a Cock, the Tail excepted. Authors differ about its
Extraction; the _Egyptians_ say, it springs from the Egg of the Bird
_Ibis_; and others, from the Eggs of a Cock: Other Conjectures about its
Descent, being as ridiculous, I forbear to mention them. Nor are they
agreed whether it more inclines to the black or yellow Colour; nor are
their Sentiments less various about its Stature.

It is gross in Body, of fiery Eyes, and sharp Head, on which it wears a
Crest, like a Cock’s Comb; and has the Honour to be stiled _Regulus_ by
the _Latins_, the _Little King of Serpents_; and ’tis generally supposed
to be terrible to them. The Sight of this Animal, and Sound of his
Voice, puts them to flight, and even to over-run their Prey[157]: Yea,
Tradition adds, that his Eyes and Breath are killing; that is, I
presume, when he grasps the Spoil. Several dreadful things are
attributed to his venemous Qualities, so sing the Poets[158].

Footnote 157:

  _Sibilo ejus reliquos terreri & prædam derelinquere._

[Illustration:

  _Plate 3^d._
]

Footnote 158:

             Tam teter vacuas odor hinc exhalat in auras,
             Atque propinquantes penetrant non segniter artus.

             _Nican._


             Ante venena nocens, late sibi submovet omne
             Vulgus, & in vacua regnat Basiliscus arena.

             _Lucan._ 270.

According to _Pliny_ and other antient Historians, this Serpent in its
Motion, inclines to the Erect; it goes half upright, the middle and
posterior parts of the Body only touching the Ground. The Venom of the
Basilisk is said to be so exalted, that if it bites a Staff, ’twill kill
the Person that makes use of it; but this is Tradition without a
Voucher[159].

Footnote 159:

  _Ælian. Gyllii Accessio_, cap. xviii. p. 247. _Jonstoni Historia
  Natural. Serp._ p. 34, 35.

The reason why this Serpent is dubb’d _King_, is not because ’tis larger
in bulk than others of the Fraternity, or because it wears a Crown, or
because that Title seems to be recognized by a divine Prophet, who
speaking of _Ahaz_ and his Son _Hezekiah_, says, _Out of the Serpent’s
Root shall come forth a Cockatrice, and his Fruit shall be a fiery
flying Serpent_. The _Hebrew_ expresses it by a word, that Signifies a
_Prince_ or _King_, but not with a View to Empire over the serpentine
Race.

But ’tis most probable, that the royal Stile is given to this Serpent,
because of its _majestic Pace_, which seems to be attended with an Air
of Grandeur and Authority. It does not, like other Serpents, creep on
the Earth; which if it did, the sight of it would not be frightful, but
moving about, in a sort of an erect Posture, it looks like a Creature of
another Species, therefore they conclude ’tis an Enemy. Serpents are for
Uniformity, therefore can’t endure those that differ from them in the
Mode of Motion.

’Tis said of this Creature, that its Poison infects the Air to that
Degree, that no other Animal can live near it, according to the
Tradition of the Elders famous for magnificent Tales. These little
Furioso’s are bred in the Solitudes of _Africa_, and are also found in
some other Places, and every where are terrible Neighbours.

The crown’d Basilisk leads me to _Ovid_, who, speaking of Man’s erect
Posture, says ’tis a Mark of Distinction due to the Excellencies of the
human Mind:

           _A Creature of a more exalted kind
           Was wanting yet; and then was Man design’d,
           Conscious of Thought, of more capacious Breast._——

2. And partly as an Ensign of Royalty, some Characters whereof
Naturalists have observed in some other petty Principalities; such as
the Crown on the Dolphin, Diadem on the Basilisk, the Lion’s stately
Mane, which serves as a Collar of Honour.——

But Man, being vested with an universal Monarchy, walks upon the Earth,
like a Master in his own House.


XIII. The _Cæcilia_ or _Typhlinus_, the blind Worm, as the _Greek_ word
imports; not that it wants Eyes, but because they are so little, that he
must be furnish’d with good Optics that can discern them: And the Ear
also is as remarkably dull, therefore call’d by the _Greeks_
κωφιας[160]; of a brown Colour, full of Spots, variegated: The Belly is
blackish, the Neck sky-colour’d, garnish’d with certain black Spots:
Head like a Lamprey, and is as free from Poison: Little Teeth, a forked
Tongue, and may be handled without hurt[161].

Footnote 160:

  _Quasi surdaster, quod hebetis sit auditus._

Footnote 161:

  _Nicander_ calls it απημαντον, quod nullam noxam inferat. _Jonstonus_,
  p. 19.

This Serpent seems to resemble those People which we call _Myops_, _i.
e._ Mouse-eyed, or purblind, which happens when the Eye is so _convex_,
that the Rays of Light unite, before they come to the _Retina_, which
makes the Eye also look small, whence the Name[162].

Footnote 162:

  From τυφλοω excæco, κωφοω, exsurdo.

The _Cæcilian Serpent_ is about a Foot long, and distinguishable from
our common Serpents by the Form of its Body, which is almost of the same
Crassitude, excepting two or three Inches at the extremity of the Tail.
_Conradus Gesner_ tells us, his Wife struck one of these Serpents on the
Head, when ’twas pregnant, and it immediately cast forth its young[163].

Footnote 163:

  _Gesner_, p. 36. _Ælian._


XIV. The _Cencris_, or _Cencrina_ is a spotted Serpent, and very
venemous; denominated from _Milium_, a small Grain call’d Millet-feed;
to which Historians compare the Spots wherewith this Serpent is adorn’d:
For the same reason, a certain Species of the _Herpes_, that is, a
cutaneous Distemper, which is a kind of spreading Inflammation, (and is
like Millet-feed on the Skin) is called _Miliary_: And by some, this is
called the _Miliary Serpent_[164].

Footnote 164:

  _Ab aliquibus Miliaris appellatur._ Jonstonus, p. 20.

This Serpent is compared by _Nicander_ to a _Lion_; either for _Cruelty_
in thirsting after Blood, or for its _Courage_, which appears in all its
Attacks. How furious in all its Wars, offensive and defensive! always
fighting, Lion-like, with an _erected Tail_: Which leads me to a
Digression about the _Turkish Standard_, which is a _Horse-Tail
erected_: The Original of that Custom was this, _viz._ One of the
_Turkish Generals_ having his Standard taken in a Battle with the
_Christians_, and perceiving his Men discouraged by the loss of it, he
cut off a _Horse-Tail_, and fastening it to the top of a _Half-pike_,
advanced it on high, crying out, _This is the great Standard, let those
that love me follow it_: Upon which his Men rallied, fought like
_Lions_, and obtained the Victory[165].

Footnote 165:

  _Tavernier._

But to return to the Serpent, which moving in a direct Line, goes fast,
but being of great Bulk, can’t suddenly wind about[166]: Circumvolution
is the way to avoid its Menaces. ’Tis commonly found in the Island of
_Lemnos_ (the old _Dipolis_, and now the _Stalimene_ of the _Turks_) and
also in _Samothracia_, an Island in the _Archipelago_, a Province
anciently famous for the _Dii Cabiri_, that is, _certain Gods_
worshipped by the _Samothracians_ and _Phenicians_, and had in such high
Veneration, that it was a Crime to mention Names so sacred among the
People[167]. Some say they were God’s Ministers, others think they were
Devils.

Footnote 166:

  _Et semper recto lapsurus limite cencris._ Lucan. Pharsal. p. 269.

Footnote 167:

  _Bochart Geogr. Sacra_, lib. i. cap. 12.


XV. The _Acontia_[168], called by the _Latins_, _Serpens Jacularis_, and
by some, the Flying Serpent, because of the Celerity of its Motion. In
_Lemnos_ ’tis call’d _Sagittarius_, the Bowman or Archer. By the modern
_Greeks_, _Saeta_, a Dart; for it flies like an Arrow at its Prey[169].
A certain Person in _Cato_’s Army call’d _Paulus_, was slain, not by the
Poison, but the Violence of its Blow[170]: Probably on the lateral part
of the Scull.

Footnote 168:

  Απο του ακοντος, quod, jaculi instar, se vibret.

Footnote 169:

                     Rumpat & Serpens iter institutum
                     Si per obliquum similis sagittæ
                               Terruit mannos.

Footnote 170:

               ——immisit (jaculum vocat Africa,) serpens
               Perque caput Pauli transacta tempora fugit
               Nil ibi virus egit: rapuit cum vulnere fatum.

               _Lucani Pharsalia_, lib. ix. p. 273.

Authors are not agreed about its Dimensions. _Ambrosinus_ speaking of
one he had seen in the _Bononian Musæum_, says, ’tis about the thickness
of a Staff, and about three Foot long: It is found in _Egypt_, its
Wounds are dreadful, being attended with Putrefaction and Defluxion of
the Flesh.

That which _Bellonius_ saw, was three Palms long, or sixteen Inches and
a Finger’s Breadth. _N. B._ _Palmus_ stands for two different Measures;
_Palmus major_ contains twelve Fingers; _Palmus minor_, four Inches.

It lies in wait under Bushes, from whence it rushes out unawares, and
flies like an Arrow at Passengers: Before it leaps at the Prey, it lies
on the Ground, and turns itself round, to give the greater spring to the
Motion, by which she’ll do execution at twenty Cubits distance[171].

Footnote 171:

  _Jonstonus_, p. 20, 21.

These nimble Leapers are found among the _West-Indians_, especially in
_Hispaniola_, where there are little Serpents in green Apparel, that
hang by the Tail on the Branches, from whence they suddenly leap upon
their Prey. Among the _Sabæans_ are some cloathed in red, four Inches
long, that thus leap upon Men unawares; and hurt, not only by striking,
but touching.

This Serpent resembles the Ash in Colour, inclining to the white. It
traverses the _Lybian_ Provinces, where it makes travelling dangerous:
It is also found in the Island of _Rhodes_; an Island on which, the
Poets tell us, _Golden Showers are rain’d_, and where the Air is never
so clouded, as to hinder the Light of the Sun. It appears also in
_Norway_, according to _Olaus Magnus_.

One tells us, that he was inform’d by one _John Vitus_, a learned
_Hungarian_, that there were in that Country _little Serpents_ about six
Inches long, and without a Tail, therefore called by the Vulgar, the
_curtail’d Serpent_, the whole Body is much of an equal Thickness; and
these, upon View of their Prey, leap upon it with the Swiftness of an
Arrow[172].

Footnote 172:

  _Conrad. Gesner. in Verbum._


XVI. The _Druina Serpent_ from δρυς, an Oak, by _Scaliger_ called
_Querculus_; it takes its Name from the Oak, in whose hollow places it
seems to reside; and to which, it retires for Refuge, when assaulted by
Hornets.——Some credulous Authors have said, that these Serpents take up
their hybernal Lodgings about the Roots of the _Beach-trees_, and by
Virtue of the Warmth, which those Roots derive from them, that Tree, so
enhappy’d, flourishes all Winter.

This Serpent is of the amphibious kind, and a most venemous Creature,
therefore rang’d with the first Order of the serpentine Race. ’Tis of
monstrous bulk[173], guarded by a rough squammatick Armour, in the
Cavities of which, ’tis said, little Flies build their Nests. Whether it
appears in white or blue Habit, is not material, nor do I see what
Honour it gets by wearing a Coronet on its Head.

Footnote 173:

  It is a Load for a Porter.

In the Language of Tradition, to tread upon it, will cause an
Excoriation in the Foot, (tho’ no Wound be given) and a Tumor in the
Leg; yea, adds the Traditionist, the Hands that attend the Patient, will
be in danger of losing their Skin: But he who believes all the Fables of
Antiquity, is in more danger of losing his Reason.

The Druinical Serpent goes under various Denominations. ’Tis said to
follow the _Acontia_ in Authors, because its Figure exactly quadrates
with _Bellonius_’s dart Serpent; and _Scaliger_ was in the same
Sentiment[174].

Footnote 174:

  _Jonstonus_, Articul. xiii. p. 21.

But I shall only mention that of _Chersydrus_, from _Nicander_ in
_Jonstonus_, p. 28. or _Chelydrus_, called by some a _Sea-Snail_; which
the learned Sir _Hans Sloane_ describes thus——

    “That it is more flat than most of the cochlean Marines,
    consisting only of Circumvolutions, round the Axis of the Shell;
    of a fine purple Colour.”

He calls it _Cochlea Marina_[175], and not without reason, because of
their difference in Magnitude.

Footnote 175:

  His Voyage to _Jamaica_, vol. i. p. 34.

The terrestrial _Druina_ lives upon Frogs, and other Insects; many of
them are found in _Africa-Interior_, and the _Hellespont_ by
_Constantinople_. It is a fetid Animal, and sends forth an ill Scent,
especially when its Body is wounded[176].

Footnote 176:

  _Ælian._ _Gyllius._ _Gesner._

This Serpent exceeds most in bulk, and loudness in hissing, which
resembles the Cry of _Sheep_ and _Goats_, ibid. _Gyllius_ makes the
_Druina_ to be the _Chelydrus_, described by the Poet, who makes it a
_Calabrian_[177]: Of which, more in another place.

Footnote 177:

                 ——_Nidore chelydros
   Est etiam ille malus colubris in saltibus anguis
   Postquam exhausta palus._—Virg. Georg. l. iii. This is applied also
      to the _Hydrus_.


XVII. The _Elops_ or _Elaphis_ of the Antients, which some confound with
the _Cæcilia_, as _Jonstonus_ observes: It is of the amphibious Sort,
and known at _Lemnos_, where ’tis call’d _Laphiati_ by the Natives. In
_Aldrovandus_’s Study, _Ambrosinus_ saw the Picture of this Serpent,
which was about three Foot long; the Belly is of a yellow Colour, the
Back is brown, and distinguishable by three black Lines[178].

Footnote 178:

  _Ray._

There is a _marine Elope_, an Animal counted sacred by the Poets, a Set
of merry Mortals, famous for turning every thing into a _God_, or
_Ridicule_. The Historian mentions a certain Fish so called, that upon
any loud Noise made on Land near the Shore, would immediately hasten
towards the Place, as if it would see who durst rival _Triton_ in Sound;
_Triton_, Herald of _Neptune_, Sovereign of the Sea.


XVIII. The _Pareas_ or _Parvas_, is a Serpent of a fiery Colour, sharp
Eyes, wide Mouth, two Feet situated near the Tail, by which its Motion
is guided[179]: It is called the Serpent of _Esculapius_, being of a
gentle, innocent, friendly Nature. In _Italy_ they frequent Houses, and
are no more dangerous than common Eels; and if provoked to exercise
their Teeth, there is nothing venemous in the Bite. This is supposed by
some to be the _Italian Baron_: One of its commendable Properties is,
that it devours poisonous Serpents; and therefore is sacred to the
Mysteries, and highly esteem’d in the Temple of _Dionysius_.

Footnote 179:

  _Et contentus, iter cauda sulcare Pareas._ Lucan. Phars. 270.

_Gesner_[180], from _Albertus_ says, it goes as it were upright, on its
Tail, not perpendicularly upon the sharp End, but on that Part of the
Body joined to the Tail: It is bred in _Syria_, _Alexandria_, and in the
East, _&c._ These Serpents are known also in _Spain_ and other temperate
Regions, and every where esteemed Enemies to hurtful Serpents, and
Friends to Mankind; therefore were consecrated to the divine
_Esculapius_, that great and glorious Exemplar of Humanity.

Footnote 180:

  _Quasi totus erectus graditur super caudam._ l. v. p. 65.


XIX. The _Dipsas_ or _Dipsacus_ is a little venemous Reptile of the
Aspick kind[181], less than a Viper, but kills sooner; and is most
remarkable in this, that when it bites, the Poison brings an
unquenchable Thirst on the Person affected, who finding no Relief, runs
to the Water, and drinks till he bursts asunder[182].

Footnote 181:

  Some make it of the viperine Sort. One calls it, _Vipera siticulosa.
  Vipera sitem facientes._ Avicenna. Conrad. Gesner, p. 42. _Inter
  aspidem & viperam_, says another. _Ibid._

Footnote 182:

  _Accessio Gyllii_, cap. 47.

The Poetick Historian observes, how _Aulus_, an Ensign-bearer in the
_Roman_ Army in _Africa_, was slain by this Serpent; at first he felt
little or no Pain from the Bite, but as soon as it began to operate, he
was immediately scorch’d to death[183]. _Galen_ calls this Serpent
_Diabetes_, and _Ægineta Dipsacus_, from the incurable Thirst that
accompanies its Bite: By others ’tis called _Situla_, because of the
burning Heat caused by the Wound.

Footnote 183:

                            ——_Sanguinis Aulam.
                Torta caput retro Dipsas calcata momordit.
                Vix dolor_—— p. 270.

It is about a Cubit in Length, lives in salt Marshes and shallow Waters;
it dwells in _Arabia_, _Rhodes_, _Africa_, especially in _Lybia_, where
some Branches of the venemous Family live on Camel’s Flesh, and Locusts
dried in the Sun. The more hot the Climate, the more terrible the Wound,
as it is in that hot Country, where they have no Springs, but a few salt
Wells, which increase the animal Appetite of Thirst. The learned
_Venetian_ makes the Serpent _Dipsas_ an _Hieroglyphick of illicit
Love_, the Poison of which will, without timely Repentance, excite the
Thirst of _Dives_, who wanted a Drop of Water to cool his scorched
Tongue[184].

Footnote 184:

  _Joannis Pierii Valeriani Bellunensis Hieroglyphica, inter
  Collectanea_, p. 34. _Titulus_, _Amoris ignes_.


XX. _Common Snake._ These Serpents in their Summer-rambles haunt among
Bushes, mossy Grounds, uliginous and unfrequented Situations. In a
sultry Day they may be seen basking themselves in the Sun, near their
Apartments: The Sight of a Person puts them to flight; and upon a close
Pursuit of them, they make a Stand, raise up their Heads to a
considerable Height, and oppose the Enemy with a loud and angry Hiss. No
Danger is apprehended from their Bite, and they are handled with
Impunity.

This Species of Serpents resembles the _Esculapian_, that has been fed
in some Families; and when provoked to use the Teeth, the Danger is no
more than that from a Bee, whose Weapons are defensive, and not employed
without Provocation: In Winter they retire into subterraneous Spaces,
where they lie dormant, till the vernal Sun invites them out.

Though they propagate as Vipers, it does not appear that they sit on
their Eggs, as most oviparous Animals do; for we often find a Brood of
young Serpents in old Hedges and Dunghills, and no visible Sign of a
common Passage to and from the Nest.


XXI. The _Elephantia Serpents_ are those whose Wounds cast People into a
Leprosy or Roughness of Skin, like that of an Elephant: Hence Leprosy
proceeding from inward Disorders, is call’d _Elephantia_ or
_Elephantiasis_, which is a cutaneous Disease, makes the Skin scurfy and
rough, in Colour resembling that of an Animal, that in Bulk and
Intelligence is superior to all four-footed Beasts.

_Elephants_ in _India_ are said to be about 12 Foot high, and of a
Mouse-colour, the Skin not only rough, but hard, so hard, that it is not
penetrable by a Sword; their Eyes like those of Swine; two Teeth hang
out beyond the rest, which are Ivory.

A memorable Instance of this gigantick Creature’s Understanding, we had
a few Years ago at _Newcastle_ in _Staffordshire_, where a Man
travelling with an _Elephant_ for a Show, one Morning conducting that
Creature to water, happened to pass by a Taylor’s Shop, that was working
at an open Window, and so near it, that the _Taylor_ had the _Courage_
to prick him with his Needle: The Beast did not then seem to resent the
Affront, but when he returned from the Water, which he having artfully
muddled, took into his Trunk; as he came back by the Taylor’s Window,
spouted it in his Face, which very much disobliged a Piece of
Scarlet-cloth on his Table.

[Illustration:

  _Plate 4^{th}._
]

That Elephants are subject to Wrath and Revenge, is evident from other
Instances: _e. g._ We read of an Elephant, that when he was brought into
a certain Theatre, saw, as he pass’d along, a Keeper of wild Beasts,
sitting in the Market-place, whom he suddenly killed: And that the
occasion of this Revenge was, because the said Keeper about ten Years
before had struck him with a Sword in that same Place[185].

Footnote 185:

  _Michael Glycas_’s Annal. par. 1. in the Memoirs of the Royal Society,
  vol. v, vi. p. 280, 281. _ibid._ p. 281.

And _Acosta_ writes, that a Soldier in the Town of _Cochine_, had thrown
the Kernel of a Nut at an Elephant, which the Animal took up and
carefully hid: Some Days after, the Elephant seeing the said Soldier
pass by, threw it in his Face, and went away leaping and dancing.
_Ibid._

In that same Town, another Soldier, meeting an Elephant and his Keeper,
would not give way to them: Whereupon the Keeper complained to the
Elephant of the Affront, who some days after, standing on the River
_Mangata_, which runs through the Town, and seeing that sturdy Soldier
stand idle, ran hastily towards him, lifted him upon his Trunk, and
plunged him several Times in the River; after which, he drew him out,
and left him where he found him. _Ibid._


XXII. The _Scorpion_ is one of the Inhabitants of the World in
Miniature; though a little Insect, yet is reckoned to be one of the
chiefest among stinging Animals, whose Poison in different Regions is
less or more dangerous, as it is exalted by various Degrees of Heat. It
has eight Legs, and two large Claws, resembling those of a Lobster, and
a Body like a Crab or Craw-fish: They are of various Colours, as red,
white, yellow, black: They differ also in their Size and Kinds, as the
marine, terrestrial, reptile, winged, hurtful and innocent.

Some are of the Bigness and Length of a Man’s Finger, not much longer
than a _Beetle_ or a black Fly: Those known to us are of a brown Colour,
the Back composed of Joints resembling those of a Crab, but more
crustaceous.

Authors differ about the Tail, whether it be knotty or not; but all
agree, that it is furnished with a terrible Sting, worse than the
knotted Whip. Many Places produce _Scorpions_ of the minute Sort, not
much exceeding the Length of a large Bean.

Others are more bulky, as those at _Jerusalem_, and all about _Syria_,
not unlike our little fluvial Crabs for Bigness, which they call
_Gambari_.

In the _East-Indies_ are large Scorpions of the winged Kind; so in
_Egypt_, where it is reported they are armed with two Stings[186].

Footnote 186:

  _Conradus Gesner in Verbum_, p. 4.

It is observable, these large Scorpions taking their Flight against the
Wind, sometimes drop down, and so are taken by the Country People, and
perhaps sent to scorpionize other Kingdoms.

The _Sea-scorpion_ is a flying Animal, and of a red Colour, whose Flesh
is good, and much better than what they call _Scorpœna_, that affects
muddy Water and moorish Habitations.

There is a vast Spread of these venemous Animals over the World, both of
the winged and creeping Kind, in the Eastern and Southern Climates. Some
of them move with Tails somewhat erected, others trailing on the ground;
and are thought to be more dangerous than the former: The Coal-black
Scorpion is accounted the most hurtful; ’tis said, that in many Places
in _Persia_, the Inhabitants dare not sleep in Ground-rooms, for fear of
these little plaguy Creatures, the most terrible of all Night-walkers:
Of which more elsewhere.

A certain Historian informs us of stimulating Scorpions that infest
_Cashan_ in _Parthia_: They are of small Size, not strong in Body, but
very terrible in their Wounds, there being the greatest Malignity in
their Stings; upon which is grafted this proverbial Curse in that
Nation, _May a Scorpion of_ Cashan _sting thee_[187]: But _Chardin_,
_Tavernier_, and others, place _Cashan_ in _Persia_,

    “where they are very much infested with Scorpions at all
    Seasons, but especially when the Sun is in that Sign, which is
    one of the twelve Signs in the _Zodiack_; so that ’tis become,
    says another Historian, a Curse, _May the Scorpions of_ Cashan
    _sting thy Gulls_.”

This occasions every one to be provided with _sovereign Remedies_
against them, which is a Piece of _Copper-money_ they put upon the
Wound, take it off 24 Hours after, and apply a Plaister of Honey and
Vinegar. The _Holstein_ Ambassadors say they are very black, of the
Length and Thickness of a Man’s Finger, and run faster than Crab-fishes,
with their Tails always erected[188].

Footnote 187:

  _Herbert_’s Travels, Book ii. p. 13.

Footnote 188:

  Duke of _Holstein_’s Ambassadors Travels into _Persia_, _sparsim_.

We read of a certain Emperor of _Persia_, who designing to make a Tour
into _Media_, durst not undertake the Journey, for the vast Quantity of
_Scorpions_ lying in the Road: So that he was obliged to detach a great
Number of stout Fellows to destroy those pestiferous Animals, promising
a superior Reward to them that kill’d most: Till this Execution was
over, he durst not venture his dignified Carcass abroad. The _Scythian
Scorpions_ are of the large Size, and terrible when they shoot their
Stings.

In _Madagascar_, a large _African_ Island, are several Sorts of
Scorpions, particularly _Water-Scorpions_, that lie in the Marshes and
standing Waters, which are very mischievous, killing Dogs and Beasts,
and then sucking their Blood. There is another Sort of Scorpions with a
great round black Belly, that are very dangerous; for those whom they
strike immediately swoon, and some for two Days are weak, and cold as
Ice. The only Remedy they have, is that used against Serpent’s Wounds,
_viz._ to set the Patient by a great Fire, and giving him Antidotes to
expel the Poison, which proves a Cure[189].

Footnote 189:

  _Atlas Geograph. Asia_, from _La Croix_.

In _Italy_, _Land-Scorpions_ are call’d _Scurtificio_, because they have
their Poison _nel-pizzo_, in the Extremity of their Tail. Among the
_Germans_, _pizzo_ is _sharp_, as _spits als een naalde_, pointed as a
Needle: The Country people bring them in Sack-fuls to _Florence_, and
take them out with naked Hands, as if they were so many Eels, which
supposes them to be of the innocent Kind, like those _white Scorpions_
in _Pharos_, a little Island in the Mouth of _Nilus_, where there is
plenty of these pacifick Animals, who offer no Violence to their
Neighbours. Mention is made of other Provinces where they live and hurt
no body[190].

Footnote 190:

  _Fran. Redi opusculorum, pars prior._

By the _Spaniards_ the _Scorpion_ is call’d _Alaicran_, from an Island
in _America_, called the _Island of Scorpions_, for the numerous
Multitude that ravage the Place. In _Brasil_ is a vast Number of
_Scorpions_, and some four or five Foot long, in Shape like those of
_Europe_; but not so venemous: Some of them chuse to kill themselves
rather than die by the Hands of an Enemy. A certain Gentleman who made
the Trial observes, that a Scorpion being surrounded with a Circle of
burning Coals, chose to sting itself to Death rather than be burnt.

In _Ceylon_ in the _East-Indies_, they have many Species of Serpents;
as,


XXIII. The _Pimbera Serpent_, whose Body is said to be as big as a Man’s
Middle, and in Length proportionable. The Creatures of this Kind secure
their Prey, even horned Beasts (which sometimes are pretty large) by a
sort of a Peg, or _pointed Hook_, that grows upon the Extremity of the
Tail: They are slow in Motion, and therefore skulk in hollow Places; and
when they have taken the Spoil, tho’ horned, they swallow it alive, and
whole; which often proves fatal, because the Horns may gore the Belly.
More, further on.


XXIV. The _Noya Serpent_ is another ill-natur’d _Indian_, about four
Foot long, will stand with its Body half upright two or three Hours
together, thereby displaying an Air of Majesty: The Inhabitants call it
the _King’s Snake_.

Their Poison in that Part of the Country operates variously: Some after
they are bitten, fall into a profound Sleep, and without speedy Help die
in about six Hours time: Others grow distracted, and if neglected die in
twenty-four Hours, and bleed at all the Pores of the Body, and are
irrecoverable: Of which before[191].

Footnote 191:

  _Atlas Geogr. Asia._


XXV. The _Polonga Serpent_ is five or six Foot long, and a most venemous
Creature, destroying all manner of Animals that fall within its Circuit,
as well as Men, Women and Children. When the _Noya_ and _Polonga_
Serpents happen to meet, a bloody Battle ensues; they fight till one be
kill’d, and then the Conqueror eats up the slain.


XXV. The _Cobres Capellos_, Sea-serpents from eight to ten Yards long,
are most dangerous Beasts and frequently kill People in that
Country[192].

Footnote 192:

  _Ibid._ from _Baldeus_.

When _Alexander_ was in the _East-Indies_, he and his _Macedonians_ were
strangely alarm’d by an Army of Serpents that sallied upon ’em from the
Woods, which would soon have destroy’d them, but for the Humanity of a
_Native_, who directed them to a certain Herb that cured their Wounds,
and saved them from Ruin[193]. The same Historian adds, that in those
great Deserts, frequent and terrible Scuffles happened between Elephants
and Serpents about Water, when they met at a Spring, and it so fell out
some time, that both perish’d; for the Serpent roll’d it self about the
Elephant’s Leg by several Folds, who finding himself wounded, falls
down, and in falling often crushes his Enemy to death. _Ibid._

Footnote 193:

  _Diodor. Siculus._

In _America_ is a vast variety of Serpents, and some of prodigious
Dimensions; in particular, they are very numerous and large in
_Cordillera_, i. e. _Andes_, or high Mountains of _Chile_, which
Mountains, _Antonio de Herrera_ calls a Prodigy of Nature, not to be
match’d in the kind: They are two Chains of high Mountains, about 1500
Leagues in length: In that spacious Region are Adders red as blood,
seven or eight Foot long, which in the Night appear like burning Coals,
but not so dangerous as other Serpents, that are Imps of Darkness.
_Acosta_ and other Writers tell us, that the Devil appear’d among the
_Americans_ in the shape of a Serpent.

There are so many Sorts, says _Nieuhoff_, that the _Brasilians_ reckon
up no less than thirty-two, most of which are here accounted for.


XXVII. The _Caudisonant_, or _Rattle-snake_, is a large Species of the
Viper, and in its exterior Form every way similar, the rustling Tail
excepted; it moves with as much Agility as if supply’d with Wings,
called therefore the _Flying-snake_: It has small Eyes, and four Teeth
longer than the rest, of white Colour, and sharp, like Thorns; the Head
is guarded with small Scales, the Back with larger and thicker Armour;
the Tail is composed of several loose bony Articulaments that make a
roaring Sound, loud enough to be heard at a distance; and therefore
called the _Bell-Snake_.

It is common in _Virginia_, where it appears to be from three to four
Foot long, and reckoned to be very poisonous; but scarcely hurts any,
unless provoked; and when offended, like the God of War, makes directly
at the Enemy, without dread of Consequences.

In the History of _Peru_, an Account is given of a young Woman who was
wounded by a Rattle-snake, and died on the Spot, before any Relief could
be had; and when they came to take up the Corpse, the Flesh came off her
Bones; so speedily did the violence of the Poison dissolve the structure
of the Body.

The method of killing this Snake, is thus given by Captain _Silas
Taylor_, _viz._ Of the Leaves of _Dittany_ of _Virginia_ (_i. e._ wild
Penny-royal) bruis’d, we took, says he, and having fasten’d them at the
end of a cloven Stick, we held it to the Nose of the _Rattle-snake_, who
by turning and wriggling, labour’d hard to avoid it; but was kill’d with
it in less than half an Hour’s time, and as is supposed by the meer
Scent of that Vegetable[194]. This was done _A. D._ 1657, in _July_, at
which Season those Creatures are reputed to be in the greatest Vigour
for their Poison: It is also remarkable, that in those Places where this
wild Penny-royal grows, none of these Snakes are observed to come[195].

Footnote 194:

  _Regnault_, vol. ii. from _Journ. des Scav._ 1666. p. 113.
  _Lowthorp_’s Abridg. of Philos. Transact. vol. ii. p. 811.

Footnote 195:

  _Ibid._

The bruised Leaves of the _Virginian_ Dittany are very hot, and biting
upon the Tongue: Probably the strong Smell of it might stop the Passages
of Respiration in those Animals, or ferment with the Blood, so as to
suffocate them. In _Gresham_ College at _London_ may be seen fifteen
Skins of Rattle-snakes checker’d——Some appear in ash colour: Several
Rattles of those Snakes, most of them composed of above ten Joints.


XXVIII. The _Salamander_ is an amphibious Serpent, very much spotted;
superior in Bulk to common Lizards. The _Land-Salamander_ is a little
poisonous Reptile, that resembles the green Lizard, but more gross in
Body; and is found in _Germany_ and other Places.

_CONRADUS Gesner_, says he saw one of ’em on the _Alps_ perfectly black,
with a short Tail: When wounded, a kind of milky Liquid runs out. In
_Germany_, are several great Woods, where _black Salamanders_ have been
seen; _Teste Matthiolo_[196].

Footnote 196:

  _Jonstonus de Quadrupedibus_, p. 137.

This little strange Animal affects moist, cold and solitary Habitations.
In some parts of _Germany_ great numbers of them have been found in a
Body piled up, one upon another: They are of the oviparous kind, and
propagate their Species by Eggs, the common Semen of Fowls and Insects.

They are Enemies to Frogs and the Tortoise, and feed on little small
Insects; and when they have Access to Honey and Milk, they never want a
Feast.

It is of a poisonous Nature, and many have suffer’d by its Biting; so
says _Pliny_, with whom agree _Nicander_, _Aëtius_, and _Abensinæ_.

_GESNER_ is in a contrary Sentiment, and says he had domestick
_Salamanders_, that offered no violence with their Teeth without
Provocation. _Jonstonus_ adds, that in _Germany_ there appeared no ill
Effects of its Bite; but in _France_ its Wounds were of a most deadly
Nature, as appears by a Saying in that Kingdom. _viz._ _That a Man bit
by a Salamander, should have as many Physicians to cure him, as the
Salamander has Spots, which are numerous_[197].

Footnote 197:

  ——_tot medicis indigere quot maculas bestia habet, proverbio jactant_.
  Jonstonus de Quadrupedibus, p. 137.

The _Aquatic Salamander_ is not very unlike the former, unless it be in
Colour and Figure; some with a Tail turn’d up, others with a flat Tail,
prominent in the middle: There are various sorts of them; one of which
appears in the form of a Turbot, whose Eggs are as large as
Garden-pears.

When upon Land their Mouth will not open, unless it be by Force, or they
be cast into a Vessel of Water: When put upon Salt, they move the Tail
and die; their Skin is close compacted, and not penetrable by a Sword;
and ’tis said that Swine’s Flesh is Poison to them[198].

Footnote 198:

  _Jonstonus de Quadruped._ p. 138.

The common Report is, that the _Salamander_ is able to live in the Fire,
which is a vulgar Error: The Hieroglyphick Historian observes, that upon
Trial made, it was so far from quenching it, that it consum’d
immediately[199]. It is true, that _Newts_ (or Water-lizards) Frogs,
Snails, and such icy Animals, will endure the Fire for a longer time
than others will, by reason of an extraordinary degree of Coldness,
which dissipates and scatters the Flame for a little time.

Footnote 199:

  _Joannis Pierii Hierogl._ cap. 21-26. p. 195-6, 7.

I have read an Experiment made upon a _Salamander_, that was thrown into
the Fire, and there came from it a sort of gelid, moist, viscous Humour,
which resisted the Power of Fire for a little time; but those
Exhalations being dried up, was soon consum’d. In the _Philosophical
Transactions_, we have another Instance, which seems to carry the matter
further.

M. _STENO_ writes from _Rome_, that a Knight called _Corvini_, had
assured him, that having cast a _Salamander_ (brought to him out of the
_Indies_) into the Fire, the Animal thereupon swelled presently, and
then vomited store of thick slimy Matter, which did put out the
neighbouring Coals, to which the _Salamander_ retired immediately,
putting them out also in the same manner as they rekindled; and by this
means saved his Life about two Hours, and afterwards lived nine Months;
that he had kept it eleven Months, without any other Food but what it
took by licking the Earth, on which it moved, and on which it had been
brought out of the _Indies_, which at first was cover’d with a thick
Moisture, but being dried afterwards, the Urine of the Animal served to
moisten the same: Being put upon _Italian Earth_, it died within three
days after[200].

Footnote 200:

  _Lowthorp_’s _Abridgement_, v. ii. p. 816.

As to the Possibility of the thing; I make no doubt but he, who made
_Water_ the Habitation of Fish, can make _Fire_ to be the Residence of
another sort of Beings. The Sun, which is the Centre of our planetary
System, for aught we know, may be the Seat of glorious Inhabitants; or,
as others conjecture, the Place of future Misery.

Upon the whole, the _Salamander_ being of a mucous, slimy, and cold
Body, will, like Ice, soon extinguish a little Fire, but will be as soon
consum’d by a great Fire; therefore it was no Absurdity in _Galen_,
when, as a _sceptical Medicine_, he recommended the _Ashes of a
Salamander_.

The like Humidity is observable in Water-Lizards, especially if their
Skins be prick’d: Yea, Frogs, Snails, White of Eggs, will soon quench a
lesser Coal. We read of _incombustible Cloth_, (_Linnen Paper_,) made
from a Flaxen-Mineral, call’d Ασβεστος by the _Greeks_, and _Linum
vivum_ by the _Latins_.

[Illustration:

  _Plate 5^{th}_
]

This _Asbestos_, or Matter out of which this wonderful Cloth ... is
made, is a Fossil, a mineral stony Substance, of a whitish Colour, and
woolly Texture (call’d _Salamander’s-Wool_) the downy Fibres, separable
into short Filaments of Threads, capable of being spun, and made into a
sort of Cloth, which will endure the Fire without consuming. When foul,
instead of washing, they throw it into the Fire, which cleanses without
burning it. Whole Webs and Coats, Napkins, Handkerchiefs, Towels, have
been made of it; which were so far from being consumed by Fire, that
they were only cleansed from their Dross, and came out purified into a
greater Lustre than if wash’d with Water.

Its principal use, according to _Pliny_[201], was for making of Shrouds,
in which the Corps of their Kings were usually burnt, lest their royal
Ashes should be blended with common Dust. The Princes of _Tartary_ use
it to this day in burning the Dead[202]. _Nero_ had a Napkin or Towel
made of it. The _Brachmans_ among the _Indians_, are said to make
Clothes of it. The Wicks for their perpetual Candles were made of
it[203]; and some to this day use it for Lamp-Wicks.

Footnote 201:

  Book xix. cap 1.

Footnote 202:

  _Philos. Transact._

Footnote 203:

  Dr. _Lister_.

The Emperor _Constantine_ ordered an incombustible sort of Linnen to be
made of _Lapis Amianthus_, the growth of _Cyprus_, that might burn in
his Lamps, which were in his _Baths_ at _Rome_. The Commentator on St.
_Augustin_ says, that he saw several Lamps at _Paris_, which would never
be consumed: and at a Feast at _Louvain_, there was a Napkin thrown into
the Fire, which was restored to the Owner clearer and brighter than if
it had been rinsed in Water[204].

Footnote 204:

  _Ludovicus Vives, in his Scholia—de Civitate Dei. Pancirol. Historia
  rerum deperdit._

The _incombustible Paper_ is made of this lanuginous Mineral, viz.
_Asbestine-Stone_, which will bear burning without being injured.
Whoever would be further informed about this wonderful incombustible
Stone, may peruse Dr. _Bruckman_, Professor at _Brunswick_, who has
publish’d _a natural History of the Asbestos,_ or _incombustible Paper_;
and what is most remarkable, has printed four Copies of his Book on
_this_ Paper, which are deposited in the _Library_ of _Wolfembuttle_.
The manner of making this extraordinary Paper is described by Mr.
_Lloyd_, in _Philosoph. Transactions_, N^o. 166.

_N. B._ The _Salamander_ is said to live in the Fire, and has power to
extinguish it: “From which Conjuncture was taken the _Device_ of Great
King _Francis_, the first of the Name, (Father of Arts and Sciences)
_Nutrisco & Extinguo_, I Feed and Extinguish[205].”

Footnote 205:

  _Pedro Mexia_ and M. _Francesco Sansovinio_, the famous _Italian_.


XXIX. The _Cameleon_ belongs to the Class of Quadrupedes, and is a
little Animal resembling a Lizard, but of a larger and longer Head: Its
Eyes stand out of its Head above one half of their Globe, which he turns
so obliquely, that he sees every thing behind him: Nature perhaps has
given it this Advantage, because its Legs (by the slowness of its
motion) are of no use to avoid his Enemy, by running away. There is yet
something more extraordinary, in the motion of his Eyes, for when one of
them moves, the other has no motion at all; one looks upward, the other
downwards[206].

Footnote 206:

  A Journal of the Philosoph. Mathematical and Botanic Observ. by _Lewis
  Feuillée_, A. D. 1725.

The length of these Creatures does not exceed twelve Inches, and they
have a proportionable bigness. The Skin is plaited and very fine,
transparent, jagged like a Saw, and thin; and must be very compact and
hard, since, according to the Historian[207], ’tis not penetrable by the
Teeth of Serpents. It has four Feet, and on each Foot three Claws; its
Tail is long and flat, with which, as well as with its Feet, it fastens
itself to the Branches of Trees: its Nose long, and ends in an obtuse
point: In other respects it is made like a Fish; that is to say, it has
no Neck[208]: Reckoned by _Moses_, _among the unclean_—Numb. xi. 30.

Footnote 207:

  _Ælian,_ iv. 33.

Footnote 208:

  _Calmet,_ p. 351.

The _Cameleon_ is said to transform itself into variety of Colours;
perhaps this change may arise from the different reflections of the Rays
of Light: Thus they may put on a brown or whitish Habit, from Trees of
that Colour, on which they sit. Others observe, that its Colour is
changeable, according to the various Passions that agitate the Creature;
_e. g._ When affected with Joy, ’tis of an emerald Green, mixt with
Orange, etch’d with little grey and black Strokes: Anger gives it a
livid and dusky Colour: Fear makes it pale, and like faded yellow[209].
All these Colours compose such a pretty Medley of Shadow and Light, that
Nature does not afford a finer Variety of Shadowing, nor our finest
Pictures more lively, sweet, and proportionable Drawing.

Footnote 209:

  _Le Compte’s Memoirs_, p. 502.

For the further Illustration of this Subject, I shall add something from
the Philosophical Transactions about a female Cameleon, the Skin of
which appear’d mixt of several Colours, like a Medley-cloth. The Colours
discernable are green, a sandy yellow: And indeed one may discern, or at
least fancy, some mixture of all, or most Colours in the Skin, whereof
some are more predominant, at different times: There are some permanent
black Spots on the Head, and Ridge of the Back. But our modern
Naturalists assure us, that its common Colour, when it is at rest, and
in the Shade, is a bluish grey; when ’tis exposed to the Sun, this grey
changes into a darker grey, inclining to a dun Colour: If ’tis put on a
black Hat, it appears to be of a violet Colour.

... Upon Excitation or warming, she becomes suddenly full of little
black Spots, equally dispersed on the sides, with small black Streaks on
the Eyelids; all which afterward do vanish. The Skin is grain’d with
globular Inequalities, like the Leather call’d Shagreen. The grossest
Grain is about the Back and Head, then on the Legs; on the Sides and
Belly, finest; which, perhaps, in several Postures, may shew several
Colours; and when this Animal is in full Vigour, may also have in some
sort, _Rationem Speculi_, and reflect the Colours of Bodies adjacent;
which, together with the mixture of Colours in the Skin, may have given
occasion to the old Tradition, _of changing into all Colours_[210].

Footnote 210:

  _Lowthorp_’s _Abridg._ vol. ii, p. 816.

A certain curious Gentleman, made the following Experiment, when he
lived at _Smyrna_, in _Asia-minor_: He bought some _Cameleons_, to try
how long they could be preserved alive under Confinement; he kept them
in a large Cage, and allowed them the Liberty to take the fresh Air,
which they suck’d in with Pleasure, and made them brisker than ordinary.
He never saw them either eat or drink, but seem’d to live on the Fluid
in which we breathe.

The Antients were persuaded that _Cameleons_ fed upon the Air, for which
reason one of the Fathers calls it a _living Skin_[211]; but now it
appears by Experience, that they feed upon different Insects, as
Palmer-worms, Locusts, Beetles, Flies, and also Leaves of Vegetables.
Father _Feuillée_[212], in a Journey into _Asia-minor_, opened one of
these Animals, and found in its Belly Peach-Leaves, which were not then
digested.——_N. B._ Digestion is very slow in _Cameleons_, which is the
reason why they take so little Nourishment.

Footnote 211:

  _Pellicula vivit. Tertull. de Pallio_, cap. 3.

Footnote 212:

  _Feuillée_’s _Journal. Franckf._ 1597. p. 3.

The same Father mentions a small Lizard, which he saw in _Peru_, that
was not above an Inch thick, which he calls _Chameleontides_, because he
changed his Colour, like the _Cameleons_; being in a certain Situation,
he saw it of a dun Colour; in another, ’twas green.... This little
Creature, he says, had the same Figure and Proportion as the _Great
Lizard_; nam’d by the _Spaniards_, _Iquanna_; and _Senembi_, by
_Marcgravius_; and he makes that _Lizard_ a fourth kind of _Cameleon_,
and to be added to the two kinds of _Bellonius_, one of which is to be
found in _Arabia_, and the other in _Egypt_, and to that mention’d by
_Faber_, _Lynceus_, which may be seen in _Mexico_.

Their Tongue is somewhat peculiar, it being as long as their Body, with
which they catch Flies, and other Insects, which settle on their
Tongues, to suck the viscous slimy Matter, adherent to them. The
_Cameleon_ puts out his Tongue to draw them upon it, and when ’tis full
of these Insects, he pulls it in with wonderful Agility. Others think,
it encloses its Prey with the tip of its Tongue, which is made in a form
proper for that purpose.

The _Cameleon_ is an oviparous Animal. _J. Jonstonus_ says, it has above
a hundred Eggs, from _Piereskius_, who nursed a Female on purpose to
make Observations upon the Subject[213]. After all the Gentleman’s Care
about ’em at _Smyrna_, all of them died within five Months; and having
opened the Female, found thirty Eggs in her, fasten’d one to another in
the form of a Chain. _Ibid. supra._

Footnote 213:

  _Jonstonus de Animalib. inter Quadrupedes_, p. 141.

The _Atlas_[214] calls the _Cameleon_, the _Indian Salamander_[215];
that goes there by the Name of _Gekho_, from the Noise it makes after
hissing, and is thus describ’d, _viz._ ’tis about a Foot long and
spotted, has large Eyes starting out, the Tail has several white Rings
round it, and its Teeth sharp, and strong enough to penetrate an Armour
of Steel: it has a slow Motion, but where it fastens, ’tis not easily
disengaged. This Creature is found in _Arabia_, _Egypt_, _Madagascar_,
_Java_, and other parts of _India_. _Bellonius_ saw several of them
among the Shrubs of _Attica_[216]: He says it frequents _Cairo_, and
other Places, is found among Hedges and Bushes; mutes like a Hawk;
swallows every thing whole. It moves the Feet of each side alternately,
but runs up Trees very fast, and lays hold on the Boughs with its Tail.
_Leo_ and _Sandys_ say, the Neck is inflexible, and it can’t turn
without moving its whole Body: the Back is crooked, the Skin is spotted
with little Tumours: the Tail long and slender, like that of a Rat, when
it sucks in the Air, its Belly swells, whence some think that the Air is
part of its Food. One Author says, it subsists only upon Air; another
says, ’tis a vulgar Error.——

Footnote 214:

  _Africa._

Footnote 215:

  For _America_.

Footnote 216:

  _Jonstonus de Quadrupedibus._

’Tis said, that if a Serpent lurks near the Tree, where it sits, it
throws a Thread out of its Mouth, with a little shining Drop at the end,
which falls upon the Serpent’s Head, and kills it[217].

Footnote 217:

  _Atl. Afric._ p. 49, 50.

In _America_ are Serpents, some of whom are so poisonous, that if
touch’d but with a little Stick, the Venom runs up the Hand; and such as
are touch’d with the Blood of dead Serpents, die a lingering Death: This
is Tradition: I shall begin with the first of them, _viz._


XXX. _KUKURUKI_, a Serpent of _Brasil_ in _South-America_, which is
under the torrid Zone, where their Winter begins in _March_ and ends in
_August_; and is like our Summer. This Serpent is of an ash Colour, and
in its Scales resembles the _Bocinga_, or Rattle-Snake, but is more
gross; on the Back, variegated with yellow, and large black Spots. ’Tis
represented as a very venemous Animal, eight or nine Foot long[218]; and
when prepared, the Inhabitants feed upon it.

Footnote 218:

  _9 & interdum 12 pedes longus est._ Ray.


XXXI. The _Ibiara_ is a _Brasilian_ Adder, about a Foot and half long;
an Inch and half in thickness. Serpents of this kind are very numerous
in that Country, and nothing more poisonous than their Wounds, tho’ not
incurable, if proper Remedies be applied in time.

In Seasons of Danger, they shelter themselves in Cavities under Ground,
and feed upon Pismires, which are very large in that Country, and in
such prodigious Quantities, that the _Portuguese_ call them, _Kings of
Brasil_.


XXXII. In _Chiapa_, in _Old-Mexico_, now call’d _New-Spain_, is a
noxious Animal call’d _Teuthlacokauqui_, or _Fortress of the Serpents_,
whose Head is like an Adder, thick Belly, glittering Scales, the Ridge
of the Body black, with an Interspersion of white Crosses; the Teeth
poisonous, and the biting kills in twenty-four hours, unless the wounded
part be held in the Earth so long, till the Pain be over.

It has a frightful Aspect; when it moves it makes a Noise with its Tail,
that sounds an Alarm of Danger. The _Americans_, who have the Art of
taking it by the Tail, carry it home, and by degrees make it tame: ’tis
maintain’d at a cheap rate, for it can subsist a whole Year without any
visible Food.

_JOHNSTONUS_ calls this Serpent the _Bocininga_, and describes it from
_Marcgravius_ and _Piso_. The former says, ’tis four Foot and three
Fingers long, Belly smooth, small Eyes, forked Tongue, rattling Tail.
The other observes, the _Spaniards_ call it _Cascavel_, and _Tangedor_,
because its Tail emits the sound of a Ball; in thickness, as a Man’s
Arm; in length, about five Foot; a cloven Tongue, long and sharp Teeth;
of a dark Colour, inclining to the yellow[219].

Footnote 219:

  _Jonstonus_, Articulus xvii. p. 23.

According to _Nierembergius_, this Serpent is called the _Queen of
Serpents_, which they suppose to be like the Viper, in its Poison, and
Shape of the Head[220]. By the Definitions of several Authors, this
Serpent seems to be the _Caudisonant_; and the _Dutch_ in _America_ call
it, the _Ratel-Stange_, _i. e._ Rattle-Snake.

Footnote 220:

  _Historia Naturæ Maximè Peregrinæ_, p. 268-9.

Now we are in _Mexico_, excuse me in giving you two Instances of
monstrous Cruelty; one in the Natives, the other in the _Spaniards_.

When the _Mexicans_ were disposed to do signal Honour to their Idols,
they sent out Armies to bring in Prisoners for a Sacrifice, whose Flesh
they did afterwards eat; and _Montezuma_ the Emperor, commonly
sacrificed 20000 Men, one year with another, and no less than 50000 some
years. The Priests thought it dishonourable to sacrifice less than 40 or
50 Captives at a time to one _Idol_. At a certain Festival, they ript up
the Breast of a manumitted Slave, pull’d out his Heart, which they
offer’d to the Sun, and then eat up his Body.

Their Priests were bloody Men, a Brood of Vipers, and had such an
Ascendant over their Princes, that they made them believe _their Gods
were angry_, and not to be appeased without 4000 or 5000 Men to
sacrifice in a day; so that, right or wrong, they must make War on their
Neighbours, to procure those Victims to keep their Priests in Humour.

The next, is an Instance of _Spanish Cruelty_, in this Country, that
could have no Original but Hell, the Seat of the old Serpent. It runs
thus, _viz._ _Barthol. de las Casas_ Bishop of _Chiapa_, in a Letter to
the _Emperor Charles V._ gives this account of the Barbarity of the
_Spaniards_ towards the poor Inhabitants, Natives of the Land.

    ... “Their Kings and Princes, says the Bishop, the _Spaniards_
    scorch’d to death, or tore in pieces with Dogs: The poor People
    they burnt in their Houses, and dash’d out the Brains of their
    Children: Those that were spared, they forced to carry greater
    Burdens than they were able to bear, by which thousands of them
    were destroy’d: Others who escap’d, died of Famine in the Woods,
    after they had kill’d their own Wives and Children, and eat them
    for hunger. In this one Province they murder’d above two
    Millions of Men, not sparing those of Quality, who had civilly
    entertain’d them. They tortured the Natives with the most
    hellish Inventions, to make them discover their Gold. _Diego de
    Valesco_, in particular, spared none that fell into his hands,
    so that in a Month’s time he murder’d ten thousand: He hang’d
    thirteen Noblemen.

    “Some they starved to death, by thrusting their Heads betwixt
    Pieces of cloven Timber: Others they buried alive, leaving their
    Heads above Ground, at which they bowl’d with large
    Iron-Bullets: They also forced them to eat one another.——

Besides other hellish Cruelties too dreadful to be related[221].” _N.
B._ This _Barth. de las Casas_ had been a _Friar_, and afterwards made
Bishop of _Chiapa_, was a Man of more Piety and Justice than is commonly
found among _Friars_. It was he, who procur’d the _Indians_ their
Liberty from being Slaves to the _Spaniards_, which they enjoy to this
day, so that they are paid for what they do, about half a Crown a Week.

Footnote 221:

  _Acosta_, _Gage_—The Civil and Moral History of the _Spanish
  West-Indies_, in _Atlas Geogr. America_.


XXXIII. The _Ibitobaca_ is a Serpent of _Chiapa_, near four Foot long,
and of a crimson Colour, adorn’d with a pleasing Diversity of black and
white Specks; wearing its Bones as a Necklace, or the Ruff in Queen
_Elizabeth_’s Reign, who destroy’d the Invincible Armada, and made good
old _England_ a Terror to _Spaniards_.


XXXIV. The _Iquanna_ is the Birth of _Mexico_, a Serpent like the Pope’s
Anathema, of a terrible Front, but harmless; a glittering Comb on the
Head, with a Bag under the Chin; a long Tail, and sharp Bones on its
Back, standing up in the form of a Saw.

This Iquannatick Serpent is of the amphibious kind, equally fitted to
live by Land or Water; a Privilege which no Son of _Adam_ can boast of.
It is of the oviparous Tribe, and a great Breeder, laying about fifty
Eggs at the Season as big as Acorns, which are of a very good Taste, and
good Food when boiled, and so is the Serpent itself; but the
Land-_Iquanna_ is a more pleasant Food, and preferable to _Spanish_
Ragous[222].

Footnote 222:

  _Nierembergii Historia Naturalis_, p. 271.


XXXV. The _Ibiboboca_ is a Serpent beautiful to the Eye, but of a
venemous Nature; ’tis about three Foot long. The _Icon_ of it in
_Gresham-College_ is above three Yards[223], white as Snow, decorated
with Particles of various Colours, especially black and red. The Wound
it gives operates gradually, and if neglected, proves fatal.

Footnote 223:

  _Curzon_’s _Catalogue of Rarities_, p. 445.


XXXVI. The _Guaku_ or _Lyboya_ Serpent, is one of the largest of all the
serpentine Brood, some of which being from eighteen to thirty Foot long,
call’d by the _Portuguese_, _Hobre de Hado_, or the _Roebuck Serpent_,
because it can swallow a whole Buck at once. After swallowing it down,
it generally falls asleep, and in that Posture is frequently taken,
while digesting its Supper. My Author says, he saw one of this kind,
which was 30 Foot long, of a greyish Colour, but others incline more to
the brown[224]. A ravenous Animal, and so voracious, that it leaps out
of the Woods to seize its Prey; and, if disturb’d, will fight, or
wrestle, with Man or Beast, standing upright upon the Butt-end of his
Tail.

Footnote 224:

  _Nieuhoff in Atl. America,_ p. 263.


XXXVII. The _Jararaka Serpent_, is another _Brasilian_, no longer than a
Man’s Arm to the Elbow; it has swelling Veins on its Head; the Skin is
covered with red and black Spots; the rest is of an Earth Colour: Its
Wounds are dangerous, and attended with the usual Symptoms. There are
three Sorts of these venemous Snakes besides this, _viz_. _One_ sort is
about ten Spans long, with two terrible Tusks, or great Teeth, which
they stretch out to a great length, and strike them into their Prey. The
venemous Liquid, which is very yellow, works with a Violence, that kills
in a few Hours. The _second_ sort resembles the _Spanish Viper_ in
Colour and Form, and is equally dangerous. The _third_ and worst sort
very much resembles the _first_.


XXXVIII. The _Biobi_, called _Gabro Verde_ by the _Portuguese_ in
_Brasil_, i. e. the _Green Serpent_, because its Colour is porraceous, a
shining Green like the Leek; it is between three and four Foot long, and
about the Thickness of a Man’s Thumb; a large Mouth, and black Tongue,
and has this good Property, that it hurts nobody unless irritated; but
when provoked, no Poison more dangerous. We read of a _Soldier_, who
accidentally treading on this Serpent, was wounded by it in the Thigh,
and died a few Hours after, tho’ the Remedies that proved successful on
the like occasions, had been diligently applied[225].

Footnote 225:

  _Raii Synopsis_, p. 328.


XXXIX. The _Caninana Serpent_, is another Inhabitant of _Brasil_, green
on the back, and yellow on the Belly, about two Foot long, and reckoned
not to be so venemous, as the rest of that mischievous Tribe. It feeds
upon Eggs and Birds, at last becomes the common Entertainment of the
_American_ and _African_ Tables[226]. We read of other _green Serpents_
in the _Indies_, that are indulged with little Cottages made of Straw,
where they spend their solitary Hours, till the time of eating invites
them out, then they repair to the House, where they fawn upon their
Masters, and eat what is set before them, and then retire to the Huts of
Indulgence.

Footnote 226:

  _Raii Synopsis_, p. 328.


XL. The _Tetzawhcoatl_, is another Production of _Brasil_, a Serpent of
about three Foot long, and slender Body, whose Strokes are pestilent:
The Head is black, nether Part of the Tail reddish, and the Belly dash’d
with black Spots. The Cure is by Suction.

Now we are travelling among the Inhabitants of _Brasil_, we may be
allowed to take notice of Prince _Maurice_’s _Rational Parrot_,
mentioned by Sir _William Temple_ and Mr. _Locke_, which the _former_
had from the Prince’s own Mouth. His Words were,

    ... “That he had heard of such an _old Parrot_, when he came to
    _Brasil_, and tho’ he believed nothing of it, and it was a good
    way off; yet he had so much Curiosity as to send for it: that it
    was a very great and a very old one; and when it came first into
    the Room, where the Prince was with a great many Dutchmen about
    him, it said presently, _What a Company of White-men are here!_
    They ask’d it, what he thought that Man was, pointing at the
    Prince? it answered, _Some General or other_. The Prince asked
    it, Whence come ye[227]? The Parrot answered, _From Marinnan_.
    To whom do you belong, said the Prince? it answered, _To a
    Portuguese Prince_. The Prince ask’d, What do you there? Parrot
    answered, _I look after the Chickens_. The Prince laugh’d, and
    said, You look after the Chickens! The Parrot answered, _Yes, I;
    and I know well enough how to do it_, and made the _Chuck_ four
    or five times, that People use to make to Chickens, when they
    call them....”

Footnote 227:

  D’où venes vous? De Marinnan. A qui estes vous? A un Portugais. Que
  fais tu-la? Je garde les poulles. Vous gardez les poulles? Ouy moy, &
  je sçai bien faire.—_Sir_ William Temple’s _Memoirs_, and _Mr._
  Locke’s _Essay_, Book II. _chap._ 27.

    ... “I could not but tell this odd Story, because it is so much
    out of the way, and from the first hand, and what may pass for a
    good one; for I dare say, this Prince at least believed himself
    in all he told me, having ever past for a very honest and pious
    Man. I leave it to Naturalists to reason, and to other Men to
    believe as they please upon it; however, it is not perhaps amiss
    to relieve or enliven a busy Scene sometimes with such
    Digressions, whether to the purpose or no.” So far Sir _William
    Temple_.

Wonder not then, if you meet in this History with some romantick
Sentiments entertained by learned Men concerning Serpents, when two such
illustrious Pillars of the Commonwealth of Letters, give way to a
Relation that has so much of the Marvellous in it.


XLI. These Historians inform us of many more Serpents, and some of great
bulk, that infest those _American_ Regions; whose Looks are ruddy, of
blood-red Colour, that shine in the Night, like so many glittering
Stars.

A modern Author writes, that in _America_ are some Snakes that were
eight Foot long, and as red as Blood, which in the Night look’d like
Fire[228].

Footnote 228:

  _Anton. Herrera_’s History of _America_, Vol. II. in his Account of
  _Darien_, p. 72.

The former black, and these shining Serpents, remind me of the
_Obsidian_ Stones, that are very black and transparent; they have their
Names from one _Obsidius_, who first found them in _Æthiopia_.

There is a sort of natural _Obsidian_ Glass, which is rather to be
ranked among Stones than Metals; ’tis as passive as the former, enduring
the Graving-Tool, is diaphanous and pellucid, receiving Images, and,
like artificial Glass, transmitting all Forms and Shapes.

This is found in _Æthiopia_, where the Sepulchres of the Nobles are
usually made of it, and after this manner; _viz._ They take a large
Stone, and make it hollow, and in the Cavity include the Corps, where it
is not only preserved, but, as if entomb’d in Glass, is apparently
visible to Spectators, and sends forth no ungrateful Scent.

Out of these _Obsidian_ Stones, Looking-Glasses are wont to be made, and
are also found on the Coasts of _Arabia_. These shining Stones were
inserted into Rings, and in one of them was cut the entire Image of
_Augustus_, who being much taken with these Stones of Glass, caused four
Elephants to be made of them,—See the _Commentary_ upon _Pancirollus_,
B. i. of _Jet_; and _Pliny_, B. xxxvi. c. 26.


XLII. _Boiguacu_, another venemous Production of _Brazil_, thick in the
middle, and declining towards the Extremities of the Body; ’tis covered
with large Scales on the Back, and lesser ones on the Belly, which is
common in all Serpents.

The whole is adorned with elegant Variegations.... The Back and Sides
set off with black Spots, inclining to the round; about three Inches
distant from each other, and in the Centre a round white Spot. These
beautiful Appearances, says _Jonstonus_, have a Grandeur in them more
than rivals Imperial Majesty.

He saw several Serpents of this kind: On _August_ 7th, 1638, one that
was eight Foot long. Another, _August_ 13th, 1638, above five Foot long,
its Flesh fat, and very white; the Heart being taken out, lived about 15
Minutes. _October_ 16th, 1638, he saw another, that was near nine Foot
long, and he was a Witness to its swallowing a She-Goat whole[229]. By
the Description, this Serpent must be the _Lyboia_, so famous for the
Knack of Deglutition of Animals.

Footnote 229:

  _Jonstoni Historia Naturalis_, p. 25, 26.


XLIII. The _Brasilian Serpent_, called the _Ibiracoan_, makes its
Appearance in a Habit of various Colours, trimmed with red, black and
white Spots. Under this fine Dress, is a poisonous Spring; the Wound it
gives, infallibly kills without immediate Assistance.

Before the Poison reaches the Heart, the common Practice is, to secure
that Serpent, and boil the Flesh of it with certain Roots, and give it
the Patient in Wine, or any other proper Liquid, and it will answer the
Intention.


XLIV. The _Tarciboya_, and _Kakaboya_, are two Serpents much of the same
Nature, and therefore I put them together: They are occasional
Inhabitants of the Water and Land; in Colour black, and about six Hands
in Length. If they hurt any Creature, it is only in Defence of
themselves, and the Wound is easily cured by Remedies well known in
those Countries. They are great Devourers of Birds.

Here the Learned _Ray_, from _Piso_, mentions ten other Serpents, whose
particular Characters he considers in his Description of Fishes; then
refers his Reader to those described by _Joan. de Laet_.[230]

Footnote 230:

  _Raii Synopsis Animal._ p. 329. _Londini_ 1693.


XLV. The _Bibera_ is a venemous Lizard of _Brazil_. If you ask, What are
these _Brasilian Lizards_? I answer, They are creeping Serpents, of
various Colours, and different Sizes: Some are the length of a Finger,
others many Feet; have sparkling Eyes. There is only one sort of them
that is venemous, among which is this _Bibera_: they are like the
others, but lesser, and are most mischievous. They are of an ash Colour,
inclining to the white; the Body and Limbs seem thick, but the Tail is
short and broad.

The Wounds given by these Serpents, are full of a thin stinking Matter,
attended with blue Swellings, and Pain in the Heart and Bowels. _N. B._
Great Things have been frequently done by little Things.


XLVI. The _Ambua_, so the Natives of _Brazil_ call the _Millepedes_ and
the _Centipedes_ Serpents. Those Reptiles of thousand Legs bend as they
craul along, and are reckoned very poisonous. Those Lizards of hundred
Legs are commonly found in the Woods, where they destroy the Fruit, and
also do mischief both to Men and Cattle.

In these _Multipedes_, the Mechanism of the Body is very curious; in
their going, it is observable, that on each side of their Bodies, every
Leg has its Motion, one regularly after another; so that their Legs,
being numerous, form a kind of Undulation, and thereby communicate to
the Body a swifter Progression than one could imagine, where so many
short Feet are to take so many short Steps, that follow one another,
rolling on, like the Waves of the Sea.

The _Palmer-Worm_ is also called _Millepes_, because of its many Feet,
which are as Bristles under its Body: It is about six Inches long, and
moves with incredible Swiftness. The upper part of the Body is cover’d
with hard swarthy Scales, and it has a sort of Claws both in its Head
and Tail, of rank Poison, as the Historian says.


XLVII. The _Jebeya_ is another _Brazilian_, and a Serpent very ravenous
and destructive: It has four Legs, and a long Tail like a _Crocodile_;
it lies flat and close on the Ground, artfully concealing itself, ’till
the Prey comes within reach, and then darts out a couple of sharp Fins
from its Fore-quarters, and kills whatever it strikes.


XLVIII. The _Giraupiagara_ is an _American_ Serpent, so call’d, because
of its being a great Devourer of Eggs. ’Tis of a Negro-Colour, but a
yellow Breast, and of great Length and Agility. It glides (as if
swimming) on the tops of Trees, faster than any Man can run on the
Ground.[231]

Footnote 231:

  _Nieuhoff in Atlas, America._

It lives upon Birds, whose Nests it constantly plunders. ’Tis
observable, that the _Cuckow_ feeds very much upon _Eggs_, which
accounts for the vulgar Notion, that it always has one or more little
Birds, as Menials to attend it, these being some of those, whose Houses
it plundered. There is another Charge preferred against the Cuckow,
_viz._ The Contempt it puts upon our Vegetables, by spitting upon them;
whereas in those Dobs of frothy Dew, we find little Green Insects, that
are Grashoppers in the Embryo.


XLIX. The _Caminana_ is another _Brazilian Serpent_, of a great length.
The Body is all over green, and very beautiful in prospect. This also
runs up the Trees, not so much because of the green Leaves, as in
pursuit of Birds of all Colours; and having devoured the Contents of the
Nest, seizes the Dam, and drinks her Blood.

The pleasing Appearance made by this Serpent in _Green_, puts me in mind
of the _Turks_, who have so great a _Superstition for the green Colour_
(because it was consecrated to _Mahomet_) that they forbid Christians to
wear it on pain of Death; but the _Persians_ (who are _Mahometans_ as
well as the _Turks_) allow it to every body, and laugh at this
Superstition; so that when _Sultan Amurath_ sent an Ambassador to
_Sha-Abbas_ of _Persia_, to complain that he suffer’d that _venerable
Colour_ to be prophaned by Christians, he scoffingly said, that he would
forbid the _green Colour_ to be prophaned by Christians, as soon as
_Amurath_ would hinder the _green Meadows_ to be prophaned by his
_Turkish Cattle_[232]. The Eastern _Turks_ abhor the _blue Colour_,
because the _Jews_, they say, threw _Indigo_ into _Jordan_ to hinder the
Baptism of _Christ_, but the Angels brought Water from _Jordan_ to
baptize him, before it was polluted. _Atlas._

Footnote 232:

  _Holstein Ambassadors._—_Herbert._—_Atl. Asia._


L. _BOYTIAPUA_, is a Serpent so called by the _Brazilians_ for its long
Snout, though I don’t find it exceeds others in smelling, by the
extension of its Nose; it is of a long slender Body, and feeds upon
Frogs, amphibious Animals and Insects.

This Serpent is in high Esteem among the Natives of _Brazil_, who
practise the Art of Conjuration by it; and if any of them have a barren
Wife, and are desirous of Children, they lash this Serpent over her
Hips, pretending that such Exercise will make her fruitful: And if this
Device should take effect, must not we conclude the Offspring to be a
_Generation of Vipers_?


LI. The _Gaytiepua_ is a large Snake, smells rank like a Fox, and,
according to a learned Author, the Smell is intolerable[233], as is that
of the Serpent _Boyana_, which is very long and slender, and of black
Colour; of which one of the _Latin_ Poets takes notice[234].

Footnote 233:

  _Fætor illius nullatenus—possit tolerari._ Raii Synopsis.

Footnote 234:

                   Quod vulpis fuga, vipere cabile
                   Mallem quam quod oles, olere, Bassa.
                   _Martial._

If the loathsome Smell of these Creatures offend the Nose, it serves as
a friendly Alarm of Danger, to those who have the use of a Nose, that
they may avoid a more terrible Stroke.

Nothing so constituted in Nature, but a superficial Observer may
construe as a Blemish to the Creation; but to a more penetrating Eye,
those imaginary Blemishes have their Convenience and Use, and appear to
be the Product of perfect Intelligence and Wisdom.


LII. The _Bom-Snake_, is another _Brazilian_ Reptile, call’d _Bom_ from
the Noise it makes in its Motion. It is of a prodigious large Size, but
is class’d among the Innocent, that do no manner of hurt to Persons,
_viz._ that can endure a little Sound, arising from a Propagation of the
Pulse of the Air.

An innocent Serpent, no Contradiction. There is good among the bad in
the moral World.

              _Virtue——needs no Defence;
              The surest Guard is Innocence:
              None knew, till Guilt created Fear,
              What Darts and poison’d Arrows were.
              Integrity undaunted goes
              Thro’_ Lybian _Sands, and_ Scythian _Snows_.

In _Paraguay_, or _La Plata_ in _America_, is a famous _white Bird_,
which, though it has a very small Body, has a Voice like a _Bell_, and
therefore the Natives call it _Guirapo_, that is, the _Sounding-Bird_.

How many Animals of the same kind in the moral Creation, that wear gaudy
Feathers and Plumes, whose Sound, in the Assemblies of Saints and
Sinners, proves to be _vox & præterea nihil_.


LIII. The _Boicupecanga_ is a Serpent, so called because its Back looks
as if it were overgrown with Briers and Thorns, the Ridge being sharp
pointed, which makes the Beast look as if he were guarded by little
Spears: This prickle-back’d Serpent is of a monstrous Extension, very
frightful, and venemous, the very sight of which strikes Terror into Man
and Beast.


LIV. The _Cucurijuba_ is a Water-Snake of twenty-five or thirty Foot
long, and three Foot in Compass, will swallow a Hog or a Stag at once;
has Teeth like those of Dogs, but makes no use of them as Instruments of
Mastication. _HARRIS_ in the _Atlas America_, mentions one kill’d when
asleep, that was twelve Yards and a half long, and proportionably big,
in whose Belly they found two wild Boars. This Creature I take to be the
_Lyboya_, (or a near Relative) a gigantick Serpent, already described,
therefore I dismiss the Monster, and proceed to the


LV. _MANIMA_, another Water-Snake, of the same Proportion with the
former, if not more bulky: The sight is terrible; the Monstrosity of
Dimensions is sufficient to render it so; but we are told, the Terror
vanishes in some Degree upon a view of the Skin, which is exquisitely
painted, and the _Brazilians_ not only love to see so spruce an Animal,
but reckon it an Omen of a long Life.

If you ask, What a long Life is? I answer, ’Tis nothing but a lingering,
slow Consumption: Life itself, what is it, but a meer practical
Tautology, a Repetition of the same things over and over, and looks more
like a Penance imposed upon Mankind than Pleasure.


LVI. The _Terpomongo_ is another Serpent, which in the _Brazilian_
Dialect, signifies to _stick close_, so close to whatever it touches,
that it is not to be parted. It is about the bigness of a Cable-Rope,
which being fasten’d to the Anchor, holds the Ship fast when it rides.

This Property in the Serpent, may be an Hieroglyphick; or Symbol of true
Friendship, which is a sacred Mixture: My Friend and I are as two Rivers
joined in one, not to be separated; we stick close and fast, traversing
the Wilderness hand-in-hand: He who strikes one, wounds the other—No
Schism in true Friendship.


LVII. _JACORE Lizard_; some of these Serpents are as big as Dogs, and
resemble them in the Nose; their Teeth large and long, and their Skin
impenetrable. They do no harm to their Neighbours, and therefore are
generally allow’d to live. They make a loud Noise, by which their Haunts
are discovered, and their Liberty hazarded.

They lay Eggs as large as those of a Goose, of an elastick Nature, so
hard, that when one is struck against another, they ring like Iron: they
frequent both Land and Water.

It’s observable here, that this Animal is obstreporous, and by its Noise
invites Danger; whereas Silence would be his Security: yea, its Eggs are
as so many roaring Bells. This may serve for a Document to the unruly
Member: _Thersites_, in _Homer_, was counted a Fool for babbling. A
talkative Tongue is the Spring, Ringleader, and Head of Faction in all
places.

The first Rudiments in _Pythagoras_’s School, was _Quinquennian_,
_Silence_. The Scholars were not allow’d to talk for five Years, that
is, till they had learned the _Art of Silence_. _Harpocrates_ was the
_God of Silence_, therefore painted with his Finger on his Lip, and was
worshipped in _Egypt_ with _Isis_ and _Serapis_.

_ANGERONA_ was the Goddess of Silence at _Rome_, and painted with a
Cloth about her Mouth. Nor is it less venerable at _Venice_, where after
they come out of the Senate-house, they are as silent about what was
said and done, as if they had power to forget all that was said and
done.

To the above-mention’d Serpents, the learned Mr. _Ray_ adds, by way of
Supplement, a Catalogue of fifteen _East-Indian Serpents_, which he had
from the Learned Dr. _Tancred Robinson_, whose Descriptions he had from
the College at _Leyden_, which I shall annex to the foregoing[235].

Footnote 235:

  _Ray_’s _Synopsis Animalium_, p. 330.


LVIII. _SERPENS Indicus Coronatus_, an _Indian_ Serpent, that makes its
Appearance with a crowned Head, which it holds up on high, as if proud
of the Honour. This is an Emblem of Pride, that Dropsy of the Mind; to
yield to its Thirst, is to swallow the Bait, that turned the _Seraph_
into a _Devil_.

The Remedy used by the _Indians_ for its Wounds, is what they call the
_Serpent-Stone_, which, according to _Thevenot_ and others, is an
artificial Composition, and not taken out of this Serpent’s Head.


LIX. _VIPERA Indica tricolor major_, a Serpent remarkable for a Body
decorated with three fine Colours, the Liveries of Summer’s Pride, but
living much under ground, the Glories of its Attire are buried in the
Earth, _the World’s material Mould_.


LX. _VIPERA Zelanica minor maculis eleganter variegata_, a Serpent
elegantly garnished with a Variety of charming Colours: It is an
Inhabitant of _Ceylon_, an Island in the _East-Indies_, called by the
Inhabitants _Tenarisain_, that is the _Land of Delights_, and not
without reason is this Island so called, since it is the most fruitful
place in _India_, producing Gold, Silver, Precious Stones, plenty of
Rice, Ananas, Cocoas, best Oranges, Lemons, Figs, Pomegranates, Ginger,
Grapes, Pepper, Cardamum, Tobacco, Nutmegs, Sugar; Mulberry, which yield
much Silk; Palm-trees, which afford a Liquor for their constant Drink,
_&c._ But in midst of these pleasing Varieties, they are haunted with
various sorts of venemous Serpents; an Emblem of our present State,
which is a Compound of Pleasure and Pain.

              _The Gods will frown, wherever they do smile;
              The Crocodile infests the fertile_ Nile.

_CEYLON_ is an Emblem of Man, to whom _Pleasure_ is as a delightful
Situation; but in it dwells a Serpent, called _Pain_. Pleasure is the
principal Intendment of Nature, and the great Object of our Inclination,
without which Life would be no Blessing, but a Mortification: Yea, ’tis
Pleasure reconciles us to Pain; for who would submit to nauseous
Medicines, and Tortures of the Surgeon’s Knife, but for hope of the
Pleasure of Ease that succeeds it.

No Serpent so terrible as Pain, which is a strange domineering
Perception, that keeps off Ease when wanted, and destroys Ease when we
are in possession of it.


LXI. The _Malcarabeta_ of _Ceylon_ is a Serpent painted by Nature in a
Garb blue and white; the last of these two Colours shew best by
Candle-light. This leads us to the Excommunication by Inch of Candle;
that is, while a little Candle continues burning, the Sinner is allow’d
to come to Repentance; but after it burns out, he remains excommunicated
to all Intents and Purposes.


LXII. The _Ethetulla_ is a _Ceylonick_ Serpent; of a little slender
Body, and sharp-pointed Head. This is a kind of Ranger, delights in
Groves and Forests, and may be known by a white and green Vesture, in
which it rambles among the Trees.


LXIII. _MALPOLON_ is another Serpent of that celebrated Island, and of a
vermilion Hue, imbroider’d with curious fine red Spots, which shine like
so many Stars.


LXIV. _SERPENS Putorius_, so denominated, probably because of its filthy
Smell; by which it resembles the _Putorius_, a little Animal call’d
_Fitchet_, that smells ill, especially when enraged[236]. _Jonstonus_
and _Gesner_ make it to be the _Druinus_, which has been already
describ’d.

Footnote 236:

  _A putorio, quia valdè fœtet._


LXV. The _Anacandia_, a _Ceylonick_ Serpent, of monstrous Corpulence,
being in longitude about 25 Foot. _D. Cleyerus_, who accounts for this
gigantick Serpent, says, he saw one of them open’d, in whose Belly was
found a whole Stag, with all his integral Parts: In another they found a
wild Goat; and in a third, a Porcupine arm’d with all its Darts and
Prickles[237]. Serpents of this nature have often fallen in our way, by
which we may imagine, that there is a vast spread of them over the
Earth. Mr. _Ray_ from _Cleyerus_ gives this account of the Monster——Tho’
the Throat seems narrow, yet ’tis very extensible, and the Facts have
been confirm’d by Experience. When the Prey is catch’d, he wraps himself
about it, takes it by the Nose, sucks the Blood, and soon reduces it to
a Hodge-podge; after he has broken the Bones in pieces, that emit a
Sound like a Gun, _ibid._ And in doing all this he spends two days.

Footnote 237:

  _De octavo genere merentur legi, quæ D. Cleyerus in Ephemer. German._
  Anno 12. Observ. 7. cui titulas, _De Serpente magno Indiæ Orientalis.
  Urobubalum deglutiente Narrat. Raii Synopsis Animalium_,—p. 333, 334.


LXVI. The _Ghalghulawa_ is another _Ceylonite_, that goes by the Name of
_Serpens Indicus Saxatilis_, describ’d by whitish Lines, that run across
one another: Whether the Poet refers to this, as a Serpent affecting
stony and gravelly Situations, or to a certain Fish, I determine
not[238].

Footnote 238:

  Tum viridis squamis, parvo saxatilis ore. _Ovid._


LXVII. The _Manballa_ is another _Indian_, and from its Name we may
conclude it has something of the canine Nature, for it flies with great
Fury at Passengers, as some Dogs usually do. ’Tis of a light red (or
bright bay, as we call it in Horses) spotted with white.


LXVIII. The _Nintipolonga_, an _Indian_ Serpent, whose Skin is checker’d
with white and black Spots. Its Bite is accompanied with mortiferous
Sleep, therefore call’d _Serpens hypnoticus_, _soporiferous Serpent_,
whose Wounds are as an _Opiate_, or _Medicines_ that induce sleep, in
which they die. _Q._ Why may not we suppose this narcotic Poison to be
the same with that, which _Cleopatra_ used in executing the Sentence
that _Heroine_ past upon herself?


LXIX. The _Wepelon_ Serpent: Nothing is said of it, but that it
resembles an _Indian_ Reed or Cane in form.


LXX. _SERPENS Fluviatilis_, seems to be the _Water-Snake_.


LXXI. _SERPENS Spadiceus_, a Serpent of light red Colour.


LXXII. Then follows the _Ceylonic Hotambœia_. Dr. _Robinson_’s Account
of this Serpent, he had from the learned _Hermannus_’s Library.

_N. B._ Some of these Eastern Serpents may coincide and agree in
Character with those in _America_, and other Regions. Where there is
such an infinite Variety of them, and delineated by so many different
hands, ’tis difficult to give an exact Description of every individual
Serpent.

Other parts of the _East-Indies_ (Continent and Islands) are infested
with Serpents of various kinds and sizes, and he must be more than a
Conjurer in History, that can charm them to make their Appearance in one
Place, and all in their proper Habiliments.


LXXIII. The _hooded_ or _Monk Serpent_, found in an Island near
_Batavia_ (a _Dutch_ Settlement in the _East-Indies_) which differs from
other Serpents in the _uncouth Shape of its Head_, that looks as if it
were cover’d with a large long _Hood_, like a _Monk’s Cowl_, or the
Widow’s Veil, therefore called the _hooded Serpent_, which is a very
dangerous Animal. Upon a view of its Prey, it immediately advances
towards it, with terrible Rage and Hissing.

When the _Sieur de la Case_ was hunting one day in the Woods adjacent to
_Batavia_, he saw one of these Serpents descending from a Tree, making a
fearful Noise: It was about the thickness of a Man’s Arm, and in length
about eight Foot.

This venemous Creature was no sooner on the Ground, but it made towards
him with the greatest Fury; but having a Gun ready charg’d, he very
happily shot it dead, and made off hastily for fear of a second
Attack[239].

Footnote 239:

  _Fr. Leguat_’s _Voyages_, in _Atl._ for _Asia_.

_LEGUAT_, who gives this Account, and was in _Batavia_, _A.D._ 1697,
says, he saw a Serpent in that Country about fifty Foot long. _N. B._
The Skin of one that was 20 Foot long, is shewn in _Batavia_, that
swallow’d an Infant, _ibid._


LXXIV. The _Musk Serpent_, so term’d from its musky or sweet Scent.
These sweet-scented Animals are Inhabitants of the _East_, between
_Calicut_, the second Kingdom of _Malabar_, and _Candahor_. In _Ceylon_
are Musk-Rats, where the Inhabitants eat all Rats, but this kind.

These Musk-Rats are in all things shaped like our Water-Rats, only
something larger; and in other respects differ only in that musky Scent.
A Gentleman, who kept one of them in a wooden Chest, observed that two
days before it died, ’twas most odoriferous, and scented the Room above
what was common[240]. In _Muscovy_ is a Water-Rat, which smells like
Musk; and also a great number of _Musk-Cats_, which look like young
_Bucks_ without Horns, and therefore call’d _Musk-Harts_ by the
_Chinese_, because they resemble those Creatures. The Musk is contain’d
in a little Excrescence near the Navel[241].

Footnote 240:

  _Lowthorp_’s _Abridg._ vol. iii. p. 594.

Footnote 241:

  This Animal is described by _Philip Martinus_ in his _Chinese Atlas_.

In _America_ also, are found Woods abounding with Musk-Rats, that are as
big as Rabbits, and have Burrows in the Ground. Their Skins are black,
Bellies white, and smell exceeding strong of Musk[242]. The vegetable
World also, entertains us with Musk-Pears, Musk-Roses, single and
double, and the Ever-green, _&c._ _N. B._ Musk-Rats frequent fresh
Streams, and no other.

Footnote 242:

  _History of the Antilles._

The word _Musk_ comes from the _Arabic_, _Moscha_, a Perfume of strong
Scent, only agreeable when moderated by the Mixture of some other
Perfume, by which it becomes an agreeable artificial Odour.... Musk is
found in a little Swelling, like a præternatural Tumor, or Bag growing
(about the Bigness of a Hen’s Egg) under the Belly of a wild Beast, of
the same Name; and appears to be nothing else, but a kind of bilious
Blood there congeal’d.

This _Musk-Animal_ is common in the _East-Indies_, as in the Kingdoms of
_Boutan_, _Cochin China_, but the most esteem’d are those of _Tibet_.
When the Bladder under the Belly is taken out, they separate the
congeal’d Blood, and dry it in the Sun.

Sir _John Chardin_[243] says, _Musk_ is also produced in _Persia_ from
an Impostume in the Body of a Beast, that resembles a _Goat_, and grows
near the Navel, and is better than that of _China_. The Scent of it,
adds he, is so strong, that it many times kills those who hunt the
Beast, when they first open the Bag, except they stop their Mouths and
Noses with Linnen: ’Tis easily counterfeited, and the best way to try
it, is by drawing a _Thread_, dipt in the Juice of Garlick, thro’ the
_Bag_ with a Needle; and if the Garlick loses its Scent, the Musk is
good. _Atl._ 397.

Footnote 243:

  _His Travels._


LXXV. The _Boitiapo_ (that should have been mention’d before with its
_Brazilian_ Relatives) is a large Serpent, about seven Foot long, not
quite so thick as a Man’s Arm, of an olive Colour, yellow Belly, in Body
round, cloath’d with Scales that make an elegant Appearance in a sort of
triangular form. ’Tis very venemous, and its Wounds not curable without
timely and proper Applications.

The _Lacertan Snakes_ or Lizards come next under Consideration, and in
the same order as laid down by the learned Mr. _Ray_[244]. Previous to
that, I beg leave to observe, that _Moses_ places two sorts of _Lizards_
among unclean Creatures, the _Stellio_ and _Lacerta_. These Lizards
differ vastly in Bulk; some a Finger’s length; in _Arabia_, some of a
Cubit long; in the _Indies_, twenty-four Feet in length. Several sorts
of _Lizards_ are mention’d in Scripture, _Lev._ xi. 30. the two former
are translated _Stellio_ and _Lacerta_; the third is translated a
_Mole_, but _Bochart_ maintains, it is a _Cameleon_; the fourth is
describ’d _Prov._ xxx. 28. and there, _Spider_ is render’d _Stellio_, a
Lizard. Mr. _Ray_ begins with

Footnote 244:

  _Synopsis Animal. de Lacertis._


LXXVI. The _Crocodile_, the largest of the _Lacertan_ Race, a Name which
is supposed to come from a word[245] that signifies _afraid of Saffron_,
because this Creature abhors the Smell of _Saffron_, as a learned Author
observes[246]. It is an amphibious Beast, noisome and voracious, and one
of the Wonders of Nature; for, from an Egg no bigger than that of a
Goose, proceeds an Animal which increases to eight or ten Yards in
length.

Footnote 245:

  Κροκοδειλος δειλος. _Græcis timidus._

Footnote 246:

  _Calmet._

His Mouth is very wide, and is extended to the Ears; his Snout and Eyes
like those of Swine; the Teeth, which are ingrail’d, are white, acute,
strong and numerous; the Feet arm’d with sharp Claws; the Skin of the
Belly is tender and may be easily penetrated, but the other parts of the
Body are not penetrable by Swords and Arrows: It defies even the Wheels
of a loaded Cart, as well as Darts and Spears: It is of a yellow Colour,
say some; but _Wormius_ in Mr. _Ray_’s _Synopsis_ says, that those he
had seen, were inclin’d to the grey or ash Colour.

The Tail is near as long as the Body, upon which are Fins of a Fish,
whereby he is capacitated to swim. When he strikes with his Claws, he
tears with his Teeth, and grinds the very Bones of what he kills into
Powder. In Winter he lives much without Food, but in Summer, his
Sustenance is of the animal kind, but is most fond of human Flesh; and
as he is an amphibious Creature, plunders both Elements[247].

Footnote 247:

  _Jonstonus_, 141.

The Crocodile, when prest with Hunger, swallows Stones, which have been
found worn round about, and the wasted parts reduced to such minute
Particles, as were fit to circulate with the Mass of Blood[248].

Footnote 248:

  _Nierembergius._

In _Egypt_ the _Crocodile_ is made the Object of religious Adoration,
but not by all the Nation; for the Inhabitants of _Tentyra_ (an Island
form’d by the River _Nilus_) were so far from worshipping that hateful
Monster, that they despised it, and often brought them to the _Roman_
Shews for Diversion.——This Aversion to _Crocodiles_ caused a War between
the _Tentyrians_ and the other _Egyptians_, who worship’d those
Creatures; of which People _Job_ seems to speak in the following Words:
_Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their
Mourning_, Job iii. 8. Some read it, to raise up the _Leviathan_, or to
awake the _Crocodile_; of which _Job_ gives an admirable Description,
under the Name of _Leviathan_, _Job_ xli. 1, 2, 3, 4.... So the
Psalmist, _Thou breakest the Heads of Leviathan in pieces, and gavest
him to be Meat to the People inhabiting the Wilderness_.

When I think of the superstitious _Egyptians_ warring against the People
of _Tentyra_, I can’t but observe how the same kind of Spirit (the more
the pity) too often reigns among Christians: Those who have ridicul’d
Superstition, and endeavour’d to propagate Truth, have always had
Vengeance and Wrath breath’d out against them, and have been exposed to
the same Fate as the _Tentyrians_.

The Habitations of Crocodiles are generally in great Rivers, as the
_Ganges_ in _Asia_, one of the greatest Rivers in the World, and which
is accounted sacred: Its Water is clear and sweet, weighs an Ounce in a
Pint lighter than any other Water in the Country: The _Great Mogul_’s
Court drink none else with their Wine. These monstrous Animals are also
found in the _Nile_ and _Niger_, two of the greatest Rivers in _Africa_;
and also in the great Rivers of _America_, especially those of the
_Amazons_, which abound with Crocodiles of vast Bigness, that very much
annoy the Inhabitants.

_GEMELLI_ in the _Atlas_, says the _Crocodile_ is hatch’d of an Egg no
bigger than that of a Turkey, but grows to thirty Foot long, the Back
arm’d with impenetrable Scales, the Mouth wide enough to swallow an
Heifer, and only moves the upper Jaw; it sees better by Water than Land,
is cowardly, and generally flies from those that attack it, but daring
enough otherwise; for which reason the _Egyptians_ made it the
Hieroglyphick of Impudence.—They have no Tongue, and eat nothing in all
the autumnal Quarter[249].

Footnote 249:

  For _Africa_, p. 47.

This Animal has a great Dexterity in catching Wild-fowl, which always
abound in those great Rivers, and along Sea-shores, as Ducks, Teals, and
other Water-fowls: When in want of Food, he goes into the Sea, where he
lies in such a manner, that the upper Part of his Back appears above the
Water, and looks like a piece of Timber floating; the wild Fowls
mistrusting nothing, come so near it, that he immediately devours them:
They lurk among Reeds and Bushes, on the Banks of Rivers and great
Pools, from whence they suddenly leap out, and eat up their Prey, which
sometimes happens to be People that come to drink or fetch Water.

The Inhabitants of _Madagascar_, an _African_ Island, look upon
Crocodiles as Devils, and swear by them: When Differences happen among
them, they go to a River, where he that is to swear throws himself into
the Water, and conjures the Crocodiles to be Arbitrators betwixt him and
his Adversary, and to let him live if he speaks Truth, but if otherwise,
to destroy him[250]. Among the Rarities in _Gresham-College, London_, is
a Crocodile about two Yards and a half long. Crocodiles are little known
in _Europe_, but common in the _Indies_.

Footnote 250:

  _Dellon on Madagascar, in Atl. Afr._

The _Land Crocodile_, call’d _Seincus_, is variously described. In the
_Molucca_ Islands they are accounted the fiercest of Monsters, contrary
to those of the _Nile_, according to some Writers[251]. _Harris_[252]
says, that they are very harmless, and in some places so tame, that
Children play with them. _Le Comte_ says, what are called _small
Crocodiles_, are _huge Lizards_, found all over the Woods in _Siam_, as
also in Houses and Fields[253].

Footnote 251:

  _Barth. Leonardo de Argensola_’s Discovery of the _Molucca_ and
  _Philippine_ Islands.

Footnote 252:

  _Atlas Amer._ 263.

Footnote 253:

  _Memoirs_, 2d Edit. p. 502.

This Land Crocodile is indeed an amphibious Animal, lives partly in the
Water and partly upon dry Ground: It has four slender Legs like a
Lizard; its Snout is sharp, and its Tail short, cover’d with small
Scales of a silver Colour. ’Tis hatch’d in _Egypt_, near the Red-Sea, in
_Libya_, and the _Indies_.

In _Leviticus_ there’s mention made of a kind of _Crocodile_, in the
_Hebrew_ called _Choled_, which the Septuagint translates κροκοδειλος
χερσαιος, a land Crocodile, which is a kind of Lizard, that feeds upon
the sweetest Flowers it can find; this makes its Intrails to be very
much valued for their agreeable Smell. _Bellonius_ says, it has four
Feet, and a round knotty Tail, and is as big as the _Salamander_.

There’s scarce any way to manage him by Land, unless it be by a Wile, as
they do on the Bank of _Nilus_, where little Huts are erected, from
whence the Watchmen, upon the Approach of a Crocodile, spring out with
long Branches in their Hands, which they, with great Dexterity, thrust
into its Throat; and not being able to extricate itself, it falls down,
upon which others of them discharge their Arrows at his Belly, which
being a tender part, he is soon killed; but in Water he is quickly
noosed, because for want of a Tongue, he can’t safely open his wide
Mouth, without being suffocated.

This terrestrial Crocodile comes to us by way of _Alexandria_ and
_Venice_, and is very useful in physical Prescriptions.


LXXVII. The _Cordylus_ is a little noxious Reptile, supposed by some to
be the _Land Crocodile_, because upon first sight it looks like the
_Nilotic_; but upon a stricter view, the Fallacy appears. The Back is
cover’d with close compacted Scales, as a House with Tiles, by which
’tis distinguish’d.

Its Tail is rough, and like a Club, wherewith it strikes whatever it
meets, therefore is called _Caudiverbera_, that is, one that strikes
with the Tail; a Tail prominent with War[254].

Footnote 254:

  _Raii Synopsis Animalium Quadrupedum_, p. 263.


LXXVIII. The _Tapayaxin_ is a Lizard of _New Spain_, and of a round
form; and, _Spaniard_-like, is slow in Motion, and as loth to change its
Seat, as the _Spaniards_ their old Fashions and Customs. This little
Creeper is of the northern Tribe, being generally found in the Mountains
of cold Regions. It is observable, that if its Head be comprest or
squeezed, it will throw out drops of Blood with a Force that will carry
them several Yards off[255].

Footnote 255:

  See _Dr. Plot’s History of Staffordsh._ p. 252.


LXXIX. The _Lacertus Viridis_, or green Lizard, is found in _Italy, &c._
lives in Meadows, and being of the harmless kind, little is said of it.
There are many Lizards of other Colours, but none so beautiful as the
green ones; tho’ very small, they are pretty: Many make themselves very
familiar with them, and put them in their Bosom[256].

Footnote 256:

  _Nat. History of Carolina_, 131, 2. _N. B._ These are found in
  _Ireland_.


LXXX. The _Tejuguacu_ is a _Brazilian Lizard_, of black Colour,
beautified with elegant white Spots, which renders it pleasing to the
Eye: Its Tongue is long and cloven, smooth and red. ’Tis a little
Creature, and moves its little Body with great Celerity; is patient in
Want, and will for six or seven Moons, live without any kind of
Sustenance, but Air, the Fluid in which we all breathe.


LXXXI. The _Taraguira_ is another _Brazilian_, of about a Foot long,
whose Body is smooth, and naturally guarded by an Armour of a strong
squamatick Skin, and the Scales situated in a kind of triangular form:
It affects to reside in Underwoods, and Places inclosed, and near to
Houses.


LXXXII. The _Americina_ Serpent, which is not much different from the
former, except it be in its forked Tail, which terminates in two
different Points; and in this Article seems to differ from all other
sanguineous Animals, among whom, says the learned _Ray_, I have never
heard of any else furnish’d with two Tails: This looks like something
anomalous in Nature, and contrary to its common Rules, if the
Description be true.


LXXXIII. The _Taraquico Aycuraba_ is another venemous Offspring of
_Brazil_, a Species of the former, but differs from it in the Tail,
which is single. This Animal is covered with little rough triangulated
Scales, the Extremity of which is decked with brown Spots, and the Back
with various dusky Specks, ranged in the form of Waves.


LXXXIV. The _Americina_ is a little venemous Creeper, whose Body
inclines to the square, about three Fingers long, in Crassitude as the
Quill of a Swan; bright to the Eye, and smooth to the Hand: The Back is
made strong by whitish Scales; the Head, Shanks, and Sides with brown
ones: The Tail is of a fine azure Colour; its Claws are setigerous,
resembling the Bristles of a Hog.


LXXXV. _CARAPOBEBA_ is another minim Serpent of _America_, and
veneniferous, four or five Fingers long: The Body, that in Colour
resembles a Liver, is adorn’d with white Marks, (and the Tail with white
Lines) and is illuminated with glaring Eyes, like Globes of Glass.


LXXXVI. _TEJUNHANA_ is a little Serpent, whose Head is sharp-pointed:
The Tail is about six Fingers long, smooth and round, and ends like a
Needle; the Head is cover’d with rough Scales, like _Milford_ Oysters;
the Back and Sides are cloath’d with a Skin, that is finely painted with
green and brown Colours, and when touched, feels soft like Velvet.


LXXXVII. To these _Americans_ I add the _Stellio_, which Mr. _Ray_ calls
the _swift_, or _spotted Lizard_, whose Body makes a glorious
Appearance, by glittering Spots, that when it makes its Parade, looks
like a little moveable Firmament of Stars: This Serpent is pretty common
in _Thrace_, _Sicily_, and _Syria_[257].

Footnote 257:

  _Ray_, p. 265.

’Tis said of this Animal, that it casts its Skin and eats it again; and
if so, ’tis a proper Emblem of desultory Creatures, who leave their
Vices for a time, and return to them afterwards[258].

Footnote 258:

  _Grew’s Cosmologia Sacra._

Among Serpents is such Variety of charming Colours, and Figures, that if
it were not for the natural Antipathy that we have for them, perhaps
there is not one thing that the Eye could take greater Delight in.

Besides the above Lacertick Serpents of _Brazil_, _Rochefort_[259], a
_French_ Author, mentions other Serpents different from these, which
come next under Consideration.

Footnote 259:

  _History of the Antilles-Islands._


LXXXVIII. The _Les Anoles_, a Serpent in bigness like the _Gallick_
Lizards, but of a longer Head; of a yellow Skin, like a Sun-burnt
_Roussilonite_, or the _Savage Man_ in the Isle of _Borneo_; Russet
Back, channel’d with green; of an ashy or cineraceous Colour; a
boisterous noisy Animal. It’s generally in motion by Day, and by Night,
lodges in hollow places, where it joins with the Brotherhood, in
disturbing the Neighbours with hideous Croakings: by the loudness of its
Noise, it should seem that it had but an empty Noddle.


LXXXIX. _LES ROQUET_, a Serpent of a ruddy Colour, intermix’d with black
and yellow Points: of sparkling Eyes, and majestick Mien, walking in a
stately manner with Head erect; and skipping about like a Bird, or a
_French Beau_, who was said to make a _Solecism_ with his Hand, when he
made a false Gesture on the Stage.


XC. The _Maboujas_, a word that signifies a Devil in the _Indian_
Language, and given to this Serpent, because in its Nature it is most
malignant and mischievous: It lives in fenny Ground, and shaded Valleys,
dreadful in Appearance, and more so in its Executions.

This cruel Serpent is an Emblem of the old Serpent, that great fiery
Dragon, that in a few Hours reduced _Job_, a wealthy Prince, into the
lowest Ebb of Poverty, converted his Palace into a Dunghill, and his
Body into an Hospital of Diseases; and if permitted, he would
immediately turn the Earth into a Scene of Blood and Destruction;
therefore he is called απολλυωνορ, the _Destroyer_, _Rev._ ix. 11. the
Murderer, and Shedder of Blood. _N. B._ The tutelar Deity of the
_Cæsars_ was _Apollo_, that is, the—_Destroyer_. The like kind of bloody
Deity has presided in the Temples of Tyranny ever since.


XCI. The _Gobe Moujes_, so denominated by the _French_, from its
_gobbling_ all kinds of Flies, which it constantly hunts, and swallows
in a voracious manner. It commonly frequents Houses where it suffers no
little Insects to live, no not upon Garments: It is of the stellionick
form, and the least of all the Quadrupeds in those _Antilles_, which our
_English_ call, the _Leeward-Islands_.

May not this Animal serve to represent those gobbling Sots, who brush
off the Flies of Melancholy, and drown them in the inchanted Cup? Thus
likewise the Sons of _Mammon_ hunt for _golden Flies_, as Entertainments
most delicious.


XCII. _BROCHET DE TORRE_, or the _Land-Pike_, is a Serpent of about
fifteen Inches long, so termed from its Likeness in Figure and Skin to
that Fish. Instead of Fins, it has four Feet, too weak to support the
Body, therefore crawls on its Belly, after an odd unusual manner,
winding its Body about like a Pike newly taken out of the Water; which
kind of Motion being strange, strikes Terror into Spectators. _Tetre_
denies it to have the perfect Shape, Head and Skin of the common Pike,
and treats _Sieur Rochefort_ with some Roughness, according to Mr.
_Ray_.

In the Night, these Serpents are found under the Rocks, where they make
a frightful Noise, more hideous than the croaking of Frogs and Toads. In
_Antigua_ is a Fish called _Cane_, like our _Pike_ in figure, seven or
eight Foot long, and big in proportion: It preys like the _Shark_, and
especially on human Flesh; and the least Bite of its Teeth proves mortal
Poison, without immediate Application of some sovereign Antidote[260].

Footnote 260:

  _History of the Antilles._


XCIII. The last he mentions, is a _little Serpent_, about seven Fingers
in length, and terrible to the Eye. The Skin is embroider’d with black
Scales, that look smooth and sleek as if it were a Surface of Oil: It is
furnish’d with very sharp Teeth, small Eyes, but so weak that they can’t
long face the Light, no more than a _Frenchman_ can look Truth in the
face, or a _Spaniard_ the Field of Battle.

When this little venemous Animal apprehends any Danger, it immediately
digs into the Earth, with its five crooked and strong Claws, that soon
penetrate the Ground: ’tis guilty not only of Evils among Beasts, but of
great Devastations in Orchards and Gardens[261].

Footnote 261:

  _Ray._

I have wondered, says a learned Author, to see with what great
Quickness, Art, and Strength, many _Vespæ, Ichneumons, wild Bees and
Beetles_,—perforate the Earth, yea, even Wood itself; but the most
remarkable in this way, is the _Mole-Cricket_[262]. Swine, who dig in
the Earth for their Food, have all parts of their Head adapted for that
Service, but rather more remarkable in the _Mole_, whose Neck, Eyes,
Nose and Ears are all fitted in the nicest manner, to its subterraneous
way of Life.

Footnote 262:

  _Derham_ _Phys. Theol._


XCIV. The _Ground Rattle-Snake_, so called, only because it resembles
the real Rattle-Snake in Colour, but is somewhat darker: It never grows
above twelve or sixteen Inches long; ’tis reckon’d among the worst of
Snakes, and of a hardy Nature, because it keeps out of its
Winter-Quarters the longest of any. N. B. _This Serpent and some of the
following are taken out of the natural History of_ Carolina[263], a part
of _America_ belonging to _England_. The Natives of that Country were of
a larger Size than _Europeans_, and accounted so faithful in their
Promises, and so just in their Dealings, that they had no Words to
express _Dishonesty_, _Fraud_, or _Cheating_,—What contributed chiefly
to their honest Simplicity, and plain Method of living, was their
Contempt of Riches; were content with plain Food and Raiment, without
being anxiously sollicitous for to-morrow.

Footnote 263:

  In the new _Collection of Voyages_, 4to, printed 1713.


XCV. The _Horn-Snake_, very venemous, hisses exactly like a Goose, upon
any body’s Approach. Serpents of this Class strike at the Enemy with
their Tail, which is arm’d at the end with a horny Substance, like a
Cock-Spur, that kills whatever is wounded with it. ’Tis said, that in
_Virginia_, they only shoot their Tongues, and shake them at the
Enemy[264].

Footnote 264:

  _Lowthorp._ vol. iii, p. 599.


XCVI. The _Hydrus_, _Natrix_, or _Water-Snake_, of these are various
sorts, and all in some degree amphibious. When the _Coluber Aquaticus_
wounds any, ’tis attended with a most disagreeable Odour, and so strong,
that it forbids a near Approach to the unhappy Sufferer, who immediately
falls into a Tremor and Distraction, and soon expires (the third day,
says _Ælian_) without timely Relief[265].

Footnote 265:

  _Ælian._ lib. iv. cap. 57. _Accessio Gyllii._—

Its common Residence is in shallow Waters, and when they are dried up,
it goes upon dry Ground, where its Wound is more dangerous than in
Water: But more of this elsewhere.


XCVII. In that Country they have what they call _Swamp-Snakes_; three
sorts of which are near a-kin to the Water-Snakes, and may be rank’d
among them. The Belly of the first is of the carnation Colour, the Back
is dark: the next, which is of a brown Colour, always abides in the
Marshes: the third is of a motley Colour, and very poisonous.

They dwell on the sides of Swamps, _i. e._ Bogs, Marshes, and Ponds,
have a prodigious large Mouth, and they arrive to the thickness of the
Calf of a Man’s Leg. Among these I place the black _Truncheon-Snakes_,
that live on the Banks of Rivers, which, when disturbed, shoot into the
Water, like an Arrow out of a Bow. I fancy the Name is borrow’d from a
certain Weapon call’d Truncheon, which we call _Battoon_, or Tipstaff,
of a cylindrical form, used by principal Officers of State, Generals,
and sometimes by Constables, when they go upon secret Expeditions.


XCVIII. The _Red-belly-Snake_, this is so called from its ruddy Colour,
which inclines to an Orange-red. Of these are two sorts; one, like
_Abel_ the Innocent; the other, like _Cain_ the Cruel: An Emblem of the
World, humane, angelic Animal, and Vegetable, in which is a Mixture of
Good and Evil.


XCIX. The _Red-back-Snake_, so named from that Colour; a long, slender
Snake, but not very common. A certain Surveyor of Lands in _Carolina_
happen’d to step over one of these, which he did not see till his
Servant spy’d it: The Surveyor inquired of the _Indian_ that was along
with him, _Whether it was a very venemous Serpent?_ Who answer’d, _That
if he had been wounded by it, even the_ Indians _themselves, tho’ expert
in the Art of curing serpentine Wounds, could not have saved his
Life_[266].

Footnote 266:

  _Natural History of Carolina._

Red, which is one of the primary Colours, proceeding from the least
refrangible Rays of Light, is a lively Emblem of Fire, or the fiery
Venom in this Serpent, whose principal Quality is to draw Blood.


C. The _Scorpion-Lizard_; ’tis commonly called so, but is no more like
it than a Hedge-Hog: It is indeed of the Lizard Colour, but much larger:
Its Back of a dark copper Colour; the Belly, in Orange; quick in its
Motion on the Ground, and very nimble in running up Trees; has several
Rows of Teeth, and is reckoned to be of a very poisonous Nature.


CI. The _Long Black-Snake_, is a land Animal, and very common. _I have_,
says my Author, _kill’d several of them, full six Foot in length_. Its
Bite, tho’ painful in its Consequences, is not deem’d commonly mortal:
the wounded Part swells, and turns to a running Ulcer. No living
Creature more nimble in Motion, or a greater Enemy to Mice, for it
leaves not one of that Vermin alive, wherever it comes. This Serpent
kills the Rattle-Snake, by twisting its Head about the Neck of that
Snake, and whipping her to death with its Tail.

This Serpent very much haunts Dairy-houses in those Countries, and makes
very free with unguarded Milk-Pans, and Cream-Pots: It delights to be
among Hens, whose Eggs it does not suck, but swallows them whole, as all
Snakes do their Sustenance. It will often swallow the Egg under a
sitting Hen, and then lie in the Nest in the form of a Ring.

Allow here a few Remarks upon the Nature of Milk and Eggs.

In all kinds of Vegetables is an oily Substance, which is a Fluid that
Animals take in with their Food, and no vegetable Food is nutrimental,
without some Proportion of this Oil; even Grass, especially in its Seed,
abounds therewith, which being thoroughly mixt with the _Saliva_, it
turns _milky_ in the Stomach: Which differs from the _Chyle_, only as
having been more concocted, and containing a large degree of Salt, which
renders it convertible into Curd.

_MILK_ therefore is an _oily vegetable Matter_, circulated first in
Plants, then in Animals, and capable of being reduced into a caseous and
watry Substance, (or Cheese and Whey, if you please.) If _Milk_ finds no
opportunity of passing off in its own natural form, it turns to _Fat_,
or goes away by Urine and Sweat, which commonly is the case in Men, for
they generate Milk as well as Women, _&c._

An Egg is from a certain animal Liquid, which by repeated Circulations
in the Body, arrives at a perfect animal State; this Fluid comes from
the oviparous Class, which is the White wherein the Yolk appears to
swim. The White and Yolk of Eggs are neither alkaline nor acid.

The White dissolves by _a gentle Heat_, till it totally liquifies, (thus
the Hen’s Heat gradually dissolves the White of a prolific Egg into
Nourishment for the Chicken) but if you expose the White to the _Heat of
boiling Water_, it will immediately harden, into a viscous, dry Mass.

The White of an Egg is a surprizing Menstruum, for if it be first boiled
hard in the Shell, and afterwards suspended in the Air by a Thread, it
will resolve and drop down into an insipid Liquor; which is that
heterogeneous Menstruum so much used by _Paracelsus_, and will make a
thorough _Solution of Myrrh_, which is more than Water, Oils, or Fire
itself can effect[267]. _N. B._ The White of an Egg, by a strong
Distillation, will afford an alkaline Spirit, and will putrify by
Digestion; and a single Grain of this putrify’d Substance taken, will,
like Poison, presently cause a Nausea, Vomit, Diarrhœa, Fever ... as
_Bellini_ tells us he has tried. And the learned _Boerhaave_ himself,
had seen those terrible Effects of it, which however are immediately
stopt by drinking any acid Liquor, as Vinegar, Juice of Lemons. From
Milk I proceed to give an account of an odd Custom about Cheese in
Antiquity, _viz._ Among the _Romans_, one of their _Tabernæ_ was called
_Casearia_, _a Caseo i. e._ from Cheese; not because Cheese was made or
sold in it, but because it was wont to be smoaked there: It being a
Custom among the old _Romans_ and other _Italians_, to make a great
Smoke with Reeds and green Wood, on purpose to dry and colour their
Cheese; hence the Poet _Martial_.

             _Non quemcunque focum, nec fumum caseus omnem,
             Sed velabrensem, qui bibit ille sapit._——

_i. e._ That Cheese only is pleasant and grateful, which does not suck
in every Fume, but which is smoak’d only, _velabro_, in Tents or Booths.

Footnote 267:

  _Boerhaave’s Process_, p.


CII. The _King’s Snake_, is the longest of all others; but not common.
It is said to be terrible to other Serpents, though not very venemous
and gross: the _Indians_, Men and Women, in _Carolina_, make _Girdles_
and _Sashes of their Skins_, as Signs of Conquest, and wear them as
Trophies of Honour.

This puts me in mind of _Hippocrates_, the Prince of Physicians, who
tells us that in the Eastern Parts of _Europe_, there is a _Scythian
People_, called _Sauromatæ_, bordering on the _Palus Mæotis_, where the
Women ride on Horse-back, draw the Bow, throw the Javelin as they ride,
and fight in their Battles, so long as they remain Virgins; and were not
allow’d to marry, _till they had killed three Enemies in the Wars_[268].
Of my Author ’tis said, He neither knew how to _deceive_, nor be
_deceived_[269].

Footnote 268:

  _Hippocrates upon Air, Water, and Situation; upon Epidemical
  Diseases_, _&c._ translated into _English_, by the learned Dr.
  _Clifton_.

Footnote 269:

  Of _Hippocrates_ ’tis said,——_Qui tam fallere quam falli nescit_.
  -Macrobii Opera, p. 27.

_N. B._ These were the Women called _Amazons_, descended from the
_Scythians_, whose Women were as warlike as the Men, and joined with
them in their Wars.


CIII. The _Corn-Snake_, is most like the _Rattle-Snake_ of all others in
Colour, but the Chequers are not so regular; neither has it any Rattles.
They are frequently found in _Corn-fields_, from whence, I presume, they
have their Appellation. In their Qualities they resemble the
_Green-Snakes_, that are innocent by Nature, and in form admirably
pretty, if I may be allow’d by the Ladies, to call a Serpent so.


CIV. The _Blowing-Serpent_, which is a Species of the Viper, but larger
than the _European_, is so called, because it seems to blow, to spread
its Head, and swell very much, before it bites; which Bite is very
poisonous, and seems to receive some additional Malignity from the
Enlargement of its Head beyond the common Proportion.


CV. The _Brimstone-Snake_, so denominated from the Similitude of Colour:
They might as well call it, the _Glass-Snake_, for if any Credit be
given to the Historian, ’tis as brittle as a Glass-Tube, or a
Tobacco-Pipe, so that upon the touch of a Twig, it immediately breaks
into several Pieces, which some say, and nobody believes, are capable of
Re-union.

Its component Parts may be weak and frail, but it is questionable,
whether so brittle as represented: ’Tis true indeed there are hard
Bodies, that would not be affected with a Twig, yet are very brittle.
Thus _Iron_, which is one of the hardest Metals and yet _most brittle_,
and by fusing, it becomes harder and more brittle. Now this great
Brittleness of Iron, arises from the great quantity of Sulphur-Brimstone
intermixed with it. The abundance of _Sulphur_ in _Iron_, is apparent
from the _Sparks_ it emits from under the Smith’s Hammer; those fiery
Sparks being only the Sulphur of the heated Iron, nothing of which is
seen in any other Metal[270]. _N. B._ Roll-Brimstone sold in the Shops
comes from the native Sulphur, which _Helmont_ always preferred to that
purified.

Footnote 270:

  _Boerhaave’s Method of Chemistry._


CVI. The _Yellow-Snake_ is in length about seven or eight Foot; the Neck
is small, rather less than its Body, which grows bigger, till it be as
big as one’s Wrist, and continues so large to the _Anus_; from whence it
diminishes by degrees to the Tail. Its Head (which is not very large) is
of a dark Colour, and so are the Scales all over the Body, with some
yellow Streaks here and there. The Belly is all yellow, like Marygold,
whose Flowers are cordial.

These Serpents are for the most part to be found in the woody Mountains
of _America_, coil’d up in the Paths, as Ropes in a Ship: they are not
hurtful, unless irritated; they feed on Birds, Rats, _&c._ which they
swallow whole, and therefore Nature has given them such a folded,
rugous, inward Tunicle of the Stomach, that it may extend, and receive
things of large Dimensions. Many of them have been killed with thirteen
or fourteen Rats in their Bellies[271].

Footnote 271:

  _Sir Hans Sloan’s Voyages to Madeira, Barbad._ vol. ii. Lond. 1725.

It has been observed, that the Heart of this Serpent was beating an Hour
after the Head was cut off, and that it would turn and twist its Body
strangely in its Dissection, for a long time after the Bowels were out:
The Lungs were very membranaceous, being nothing but Blood-Vessels and
Air-Bladders. So a very learned Author. _ibid._


CVII. The _Chicken-Snake_, so called because of its Executions in the
Poultry-yard, where it devours all Eggs, and lesser Birds that come in
its way. These Serpents are of a sooty Colour, and will very readily
roll themselves round a smooth-bark’d Pine-tree, eighteen or twenty Foot
high, where there is no manner of hold, and there sun themselves, and
sleep all the pleasurable part of the Day, reserving the hours of
Darkness for rambling[272]. There is no great matter of Poison in them.
Here the Historian mentions the _Eel-Snake_, improperly so called, I
think, because it is nothing but a _Leach_, that only sucks, and can’t
sting nor bite, so as to do any Damage.

Footnote 272:

  _Natural History of Carolina_, p. 134.


CVIII. The _Vectis_, whose Head, strictly speaking, is neither round,
flat, nor pointed, but looks like a Swelling on both sides, one
stretching transversly, like a Bar that guards a Door, or, if you
please, a _Bettee_, an Engine to break open Doors. Though this Sense be
not intended here, yet ’tis true, that _Serpents_ do make _forcible
Entries_, but it is always with Teeth and Tail, by which they often
throw down the whole Fabrick, and drive out the Inhabitant.


CIX. The _Agnasen_ Serpent, called the _Mother of Ants_, because it
lodges in their Apartments, and other warm Situations. We read of _Ants_
in the _East-Indies_ that build their Houses above Ground, and with the
_finest Clay_, of which the People make their _Idols_; their little
Houses are like strong _Butts_, hollow within, where they dwell, and
breed in Nests like Honey-combs.

The _Butts_ present to my view the _Bow and Arrows_ in the Hands of the
_Parthians_, who were esteemed the best _Archers_ in the world, and very
deservedly, _having the Art of shooting backwards_, and making their
_Retreat more terrible than their Charge_: Whence that of _Seneca_[273],
_The_ Parthians _Flight does most affright_. The manner of their Fight
is describ’d by the Poet, who says, _They were better Soldiers when they
run away, and fought best when furthest off, trusting most to the
Bow_[274].

Footnote 273:

  Terga conversi metuenda Parthi.

Footnote 274:

              Pugna levis, bellumque fugax, turmæque fugaces,
              Et melior cessisse loco quam pellere miles.

              _Lucan._

_M. CRASSUS_, in his Expedition against them, being told by an
_Astrologer_ it would be unprosperous, because of some ill Aspect in
_Scorpio_: _Hush Man_, quoth he, _I fear not_ Scorpio, _but_
Sagittarius.—But to return to the _Motherly Serpent_, which is about a
Foot and a half long, the Body slender, adorn’d with red and white
Streaks. Another Author says, ’tis of a red Colour, distinguish’d by
black Lines, intermix’d with white Spots: The _Indians_ play with this
Serpent (as _Ladies_ with their _Lap-dogs_) and for Diversion, wear this
little innocent and pretty Animal (as a Necklace of Pearls) about their
Necks[275].

Footnote 275:

  _Joan. Euseb. Nierembergii Historia Naturæ_, p. 272,-3.


CX. The _Macacoatl_, or _Anguis Cervinus_, so called from its horned
Head, which resembles that of a Deer, as thick as a Man’s Thigh, in
length about twenty Foot, sprinkled with dusky Spots inclining to the
black and yellow.—This seems to be a Member of the gigantick Family,
already described. _Ibid._ 273. Therefore I dismiss it, and proceed to
the


CXI. _AQUASEN_ Serpent, which seems to be the Birth of the
_Philippines_, and very venemous: Its Wound proves fatal in a few
Minutes, which is preceded by the Putrefaction of the Flesh, next to the
affected part. It is about two Spans long, of a brown Colour, and a
large Head[276].

Footnote 276:

  _Nascitur in Philippicis._ ibid. p. 273. Nierembergius.


CXII. The Serpent _Otus_ is one of the Plagues of _America_, and very
poisonous, there being but few hours distance between the Wound it gives
and Death. It is about an Inch thick, and three Foot long, a little Head
and whitish Belly, and may be farther distinguish’d from others, by
white and black Spots, and three red Lines running across; slow in
Motion, and fond of Shade; found in _Cuba_, a famous Island, where the
antient Inhabitants went naked, tho’ they might have been cloath’d in
Gold. The Historian speaking of _Spanish Cruelty_, observes, that a
certain _Indian Prince_ having fled to _Cuba_ for Shelter, was taken by
the _Spaniards_, and condemned by them to be burnt alive. When they were
tying him to the Stake, a _Priest_ told him if he would embrace the
_Spanish Religion_, he should go to Heaven; but if not, he must burn for
ever in Hell. Upon this, the poor distressed Prince ask’d him, if there
were any _Spaniards in Heaven_, and the Priest answering, Yes; _Hathuey_
the Prince replied, _viz._

_THAT if it be so, I’ll rather go to the Devils in Hell, than go with
the_ Spaniards _to Heaven; for their Cruelty is such, that none can be
more miserable than where they are_. _N. B._ This account is given by
one of their own Bishops[277].

Footnote 277:

  _Barthol. de las Casas_, Bishop of _Chiapa_. Hist. of _Antilles_.


CXIII. The _Dopon_ is reckoned to be a most dangerous Serpent; ’tis
about an Inch round, and four or five Foot long. The vulgar Opinion is,
that the whole Body is all over tinged with Poison, the Tail excepted.
Its Head is very large, and of an octangular form, so far as the Eyes,
from which it grows less and less to the Mouth, which is oblong and
flat, arm’d with six Teeth in the upper Jaws, and six in the lower,
besides lesser ones: The Tongue is slender, and of a black Colour.

Its Wounds are terrible, allowing the Patient only about twenty-four
hours to live. No sooner is the Wound given, but all parts of the Body
begin to swell, and soon extend beyond their due Proportion; that they
are soon disabled from performing their Operations[278].

Footnote 278:

  _Remedio est Alexiterium pangagausen._ Nierembergii Historia, cap.
  xiii. p. 274.

Thus Pride, the malignant Tumour of the Mind, was the fatal Wound, by
which the Angelic Serpent, the first in Dignity among created Beings,
was transformed into a Devil. Sin, a Poison so strong, that by the first
taste of it, the whole human Nature was infected. _Adam_ and _Eve_
tasted the forbidden Fruit, and lo! we must all die for it, at the
distance of so many thousand Years.


CXIV. The _Attaligatus_ is a small slender Serpent, not exceeding the
Quill of a Goose in proportion; not poisonous in its Nature, yet very
mischievous; for these little Creatures are an united Body, and live in
community, and never separate: they are a Society without Schism, which
is more than can be affirmed of all human Societies, civil or
ecclesiastick.

When these small harmonious Reptiles go abroad, they travel in Company,
a hundred strong or more, and where they find any asleep, they
immediately seize the Body, and with a Force united and irresistable,
they devour it[279]. Behold! a Conquest by an Army of Worms!

Footnote 279:

  _Nierembergii Historia_, cap. xiii. p. 274.

Thus _Herod_ the _Great_, the Proud, the Cruel, when upon the _Throne_,
was attack’d by an Army of Worms, that quickly devoured him. His Body
became _worm-eaten_ like a piece of rotten Wood[280]. Of the Executions
done by Worms, we have divers Instances in the human World. No part of
Man’s Body, whether inward or outward, but is subject to Worms, and have
been tormented with them.

Footnote 280:

  γενομενος σχωληχοβρωτος, Act. xii.

Man’s Body, if rightly understood, would appear to be a Granary for
Worms, of divers Colours and Sizes: In the inward Parts, as Stomach,
Guts, Liver, Blood, Gall, Bladder, have been found swarms of Vermin,
sapping the Foundation of the animal Structure. We have Instances of
Worms bred in the human Brains, and were discovered in the Brain of the
_Paris-Girl_ when opened—probably laid, by some Insect, in the Laminæ of
the Nostrils, from whence it gnawed its way into the Brain[281]. So in
the outer parts.

Footnote 281:

  _Derham_ from _Bartholinus_.

_GALEN_ in _Jonstonus_ says, that in _Ethiopia_, _India_, and the
mountainous part of _Egypt_, the Inhabitants were tormented with Worms,
that bred in their Legs and Arms, called _Dracunculi_, whose Motion in
the Flesh was conspicuous to the Eye.

_LUCIUS CORNELIUS SYLLA_, _Consul_ and _Dictator_ of _Rome_, (the
Glories of whose Valour were obscured by barbarous Cruelties) died of a
φθιριασις a wormy or lousy Disease: Thus _Aliman_[282], a renowned
_Greek_ Poet, and _Pherecydes_ the Philosopher, and Master to
_Pythagoras_, died of the same loathsome Distemper.

Footnote 282:

  _Pliny._ Part. i.

               Sed quis non paveat pherecydos fata tragœdi:
               Qui nimio sudore fluens, animalia tetra,
               Eduxit turpi miserum qua morte tulerunt.
               Sylla quoque infelix tali languore peresus
               Corruit, & sœdo se vidit ab agmine vinci.

               _Sic testatur Serenus medicus._

In _Persia_ there are very long slender Worms bred in the Legs and other
Parts of Men’s Bodies, six or seven Yards long. Those who live upon the
Red-Sea, and feed upon Locusts, are, in the last Stage of Life, subject
to a sort of Flying-Worms, like what is called a Tyke, spread over all
the Body, arising at first from a Scab, by scratching of which they tear
their Flesh. _Nieremberg._ Some relate divers Examples of Worms taken
out of the Tongue, Gums, Nose, and other Parts by a Woman at
_Leicester_, which they were Eye-witnesses of. N. B. _Mr._ Dent _and
Mr._ Lewis, _in the_ Philosoph. Trans. _in_ Lowthorp_’s_ Abridg. _where
these and divers others may be seen_. If it did not extend the
Digression too far, I might add here, That there are no Animals, as
Sheep, Wolves, Goats, Deers, Cows, Horses, Swine; yea, no Vegetables, as
Trees, Herbs, Plants, Flowers, but abound with Worms; and all these have
Worms peculiar to themselves. By the help of microscopical Glasses, we
may discover Legions of Worms in Vinegar, human Blood, and other
Liquids.


CXV. The _Ecatotl_, _Anguis-Venti_, _Serpent-of-the-Wind_, and very
innocent, and perhaps the Name may be borrowed from a gentle salutary
Gale; it is about six Spans long, and two Inches in Crassitude; the Eyes
are black, Teeth small, the Belly bright, like Silver. The Back and
Sides illustrated with white Streaks, alternately painted with Yellow
and Azure: the Tongue is of a black Colour, small, long, and cloven, and
most nimble in its Vibrations[283].

Footnote 283:

  _Nierembergius_, cap. xv. p. 274.


CXVI. _DE Angue-Laqueo_, the Ensnaring-Serpent. In the Province of
_Vera-Pas_, west of the _Honduras_; they are much infected with several
Insects, as _Muskettoes_, _Fire-Flies_, and _Serpents_. Among the last
is one Serpent of great Bulk, and excels in Craftiness, being very
subtle and sharp in laying hold of its Prey. The Method is surprizing;
for it wraps up itself in the Form of a Ginn, and so decoys the Game
into the Snare: It bites like a Dog, and is very mischievous, tho’ not
of the venemous Order. _Ibid._


CXVII. The _stupid_ Serpent, which they call _Canaucoatl_, in Character
is contradictious; for, as represented in History, ’tis dull and in a
manner destitute of Sensation, and yet a Creature full of Vitality and
Spirit; and indeed is only remarkable for its Mettle. It is of the Tribe
of Innocents, and very strong, and fears no Assault. In Dimension,
monstrous; for Thickness, equal to a Man’s Body, and twice the Length.
’Tis said, some have sat upon it, apprehending it to be only the Trunk
of an old Tree. Some other fabulous Things are reported of it.

It lives in the Shadow of Woods, often concealing itself under Branches
and Leaves of Trees, where it surprizes the Prey, which, to speak with
the Vulgar, it draws to him, by the Force of its Breath, as a Loadstone
does Iron. The Authors of the _Atlas_ mention a Serpent of this
attractive Power in the _Philippine Islands_; Birds and other Animals
are drawn into the Trap by the Charms of the Breath; yea, Partridges,
Weasels——are made to run into its devouring Jaws. _Ibid._

If this Serpent be endued with this magnetic Property, it is a _living
Loadstone_, and more extensive in its Attractions than the real one; for
this draws all animal Bodies to it, whereas the real Loadstone only
attracts Iron. Attraction in the gross, is so complex a thing, that it
may solve a thousand different things alike. This Creature is called
_Ibitin_ in _America_; and probably the same with the following, though
distinctly considered by the Historian.


CXVIII. The Serpent _Bitin_, an Inhabitant of the Mountains and Woods in
the Island of _Cuba_, _&c._ of great Bulk, and Length about four Ells;
and in Shape terrible to the Eye. The Head, which resembles that of a
Calf, grows large to the Eyes, which sparkle with the bright and black,
and are incircled with Rays of Green; it has wide Jaws, armed with many
sharp Teeth, among which are four of the _canine_ sort.

_CANINI Dentes_, that is _Dog’s-Teeth_, are two Teeth in each Jaw, so
called, because they end like those of a Dog in a sharp Point, whose
particular Office is to pierce the Aliments, therefore are buried in
their Sockets, by which they are more able to resist all lateral
Pressures, than the _Molares_, or the common Grinders.

This _Bitinian_ Serpent hangs by the Tail on Trees, devouring Men and
Beasts that pass by, and come within its Reach, by the dint of halituous
Attraction, as the _stupid_, and some of the _Philippine_ Serpents are
said to do; but if it be so, the Philosophy of it is not yet accounted
for.


CXIX. The _Monoxillo_, or _Mucronated-Serpent_, so called because its
Termination is sharp-pointed. It has something of the Fierce and
Terrible in its Appearance, but is more dreadful in Aspect than Nature;
for its Wounds, though painful, are not mortal. ’Tis of the Lacertan
Kind and Colour; the Tail long, and Legs of small length; the Body about
two Spans long, the Tongue large and forked and of red Colour. ’Tis
tedious in Motion; the whole Compound is crustaceous, like Shell-Fishes,
adorned with white and yellow Spots, resembling little Pearls, or Seed
of Grummel or Gray-Mile.

_N. B._ The Seed of Vegetables consists of an Embryo, in which is
contained the whole Plant in Miniature. A compleat Oak is visible in an
Acorn by a Microscope.


CXX. The _Tapayaxin_, a little wonderful Serpent; some say of the
Lacertan Kind, others say of an orbicular Form, not above four Inches
Long. The Body is cartilaginous, or gristly, smooth and solid. This kind
of Coverture is harder than a Ligament, and softer than a Bone, but is
not covered over with any Membrane to make it capable of Sensation.

It moves slowly, and recommends itself by Diversity of Colours: when
touched, the Body appears to be cold. Now, Bodies are said to be cold or
hot, as their Particles are in a greater or lesser Motion, than those of
the sensitory Organs. All Changes in the created Globe, are the Effects
of Motion, without which all Bodies would become unactive Masses[284].

Footnote 284:

  _Newton_’s _Opticks_, p. 375.

This little Animal, is said to be pleased, or rather unconcerned, when
taken up by human Hands; called on that account, the _Friend of Man_;
that is, _he who is not against us, is for us_; therefore merits our
Smiles. His Situation corresponds with his natural Disposition, for it
is an Inhabitant of cold Regions. When its Head is comprest, Drops of
Blood gush out of his Eyes, which he casts to a great distance from him;
which agrees with a former Description, _&c._


CXXI. _DE Haro coloti genere._ The Serpent _Harus_, according to the
Historian[285], is a Native of the _Philippines_, and of the Lacertan
Tribe: a very long Head (like the _Philippine_ Queen) on a bulky Body,
terminating in a sharp Point. It resembles the _Quaquetzall_, is in
_Mexico_, and agrees therewith in most things, and of which it seems to
be a Species.

Footnote 285:

  _Nierembergius_, cap. xxiv. p. 276. _Nascitur in Philippicis._

It chuses its Habitation among Shrubs adjacent to clear Streams, and
never defiles a Body, so prettily coloured, with muddy Water, till
constrained to make the Bulrush its Shelter against the excessive Heat
of the Sun[286].

Footnote 286:

  _Ibid._ p. 276.


CXXII. The _Tamacolin_, or a Serpent called _Rubeta_, of the Lineage of
the red Toad: This kind is made up of Variety, differing only one from
another in Magnitude, Colour, and Poison. The lesser kind not so
venemous as the larger. Some are green, some are brown, and others
black. In showery Weather they make an open Appearance, and in such
Numbers, that none walk abroad without running the risk of a poisonous
Touch.

_NEW-SPAIN_ abounds with them, where they affect watry Habitations. In
_Peru_ are _Toads_ as large almost as _Cats_ or _Dogs_, but not so
poisonous as those of _Brazil_, where they have a Fish called _Amyacu_,
i. e. _Toad-Fish_; ’tis about a Span long, and oddly painted; its Eyes
are fine and fair: It swells and snorts when taken out of the Water,
which was the reason of giving it that Name: When flayed it may be
eaten, but is otherwise poisonous; the Poison is drawn out by
Application of Fire to the Part affected[287].

Footnote 287:

  _Harris in Atlas for Brazil in General._


CXXIII. _TETZAUCOATL_, or the _rare_ Serpent; so called, because the
_least_ of Serpents; and though very little, scarce four Inches long, or
in Bulk so big as a Goose-quill, yet its Wounds are most deadly. The
Belly is red, and distinguishable by black Stains; the Back yellow,
interlaid with divers Spots. It is an Inhabitant of the North, and
delights in cold Apartments. This (though distinctly described by the
Historian) seems to be the same with the _Tetzaucoatl_[288]. _N. B._
Little Things, greatly dangerous.

Footnote 288:

  _Nieremb._

The Poet weeps for a Person killed by the Fall of an Icicle, which is a
little Drop of Water congealed[289]. _Anacreon_, the celebrated Lyrick
Poet among the _Greeks_, was choaked with a _little Kernel_ of a
_Grape_. Little Things do great Executions. Little Worms destroy
floating Castles. _Tarantula_, a little Spider, poisons a Giant. In
_Barbadoes_ is what they call the _Poison-Tree_, a little Drop of its
Sap flying into a Workman’s Eyes, makes him blind; therefore Workmen
cover them with Cypress.

Footnote 289:

                    Oh! ubi non est si jugulatis aqua.

                    _Mart._

_PLINY_, from _M. Varro_ says, there was a Town in _Spain_ undermined by
_Conies_, and another in _Thessaly_ by _Mold-Warps_, and another in
_France_, from which they were driven out by Frogs.... In some parts of
_Africa_, People were constrained by _Locusts_ to leave their
Habitations. Out of _Gyaros_ (one of the _Islands_ of the _Cyclades_ in
the _Ægean Sea_, most of which are now under the _Turks_) the
Inhabitants were forced away by _Rats_ and _Mice_, little Things: And if
it be true, that _Theophrastus_ the Philosopher reports, the _Treriens_
were chased away by an Army of little Worms, called _Scolopendra_[290].
All these mighty Conquests were made by little contemptible Insects.

Footnote 290:

  _Pliny’s Natural History_, Part I. B. viii. Cap. 29.

What says the _Laconian_, when wounded with a Dart? I am not, quoth he,
concerned at my Death, but at my Fall by a Wound from a little feeble
Archer. For ’tis Satisfaction to the Vanquish’d to die by the Hand of
heroic Valour; hence that of _Virgil_;

                _Æneæ Magni dextra cadis....
                ’Tis by the Great Æneas’ Hand you fall._

The reason was, because the _Lacedemonians_ were wont to fight with
Swords, therefore it was not counted Bravery to kill Men with a Dart, a
thing that may be done by any Woman.

So in the vegetable World, there are _Cedars_ and _Shrubs_. In Natural
Philosophy, we read of _Atoms_, that are _Minima Naturæ_, the ultimate
Particles into which Matter is divisible, and are conceived as the first
Rudiments, or component Parts of all physical Magnitude, or the
pre-existent and incomprehensible Matter, whereof particular Bodies were
formed; there are Mountains and Mole-Hills,

So ... there was _Alexander_ the _Great_, and there is _Alexander_ the
_Little_, the ingenious and learned Mr. _Pope_; the one conquered by the
Sword, the other by his Pen, and has made all the Regions of Fame
tributary to him.


CXXIV. The _tame_ and _tractable Serpent_, is of the _Indian_ Race,
about an Inch long, when brought first from the Field for domestick
Education; and when at its full Growth, is not much short of a Man’s
Thigh. Its Habitation is in some little Hutch erected on purpose,
(_indulgentiæ gratia_) where it idles away its time, till Hunger brings
it out. Upon its Approach to the Master of the House, it creeps up to
his Shoulders, where the Embraces of that terrible Creature (being made
tame) are received with Delight[291].

Footnote 291:

  _Nierembergius_, cap. xl. p. 283.—Humeros heri amicè conscendunt,
  benevolè terrifici animalis amplexus tolerantis.


CXXV. The _Tleoa_, or _Tetloa_, that is, a little fiery Serpent, and
very common in the new World, and described by the Historian thus[292],
_viz._ ’Tis about a Finger broad, and five or six Foot long, and
differenced from others by a Medley of Spots, compounded of white,
black, yellow, and dun Colours. The Head is like that of our Vipers, and
the Tail, which seems to have a touch of the Rattle, ends acutely.

Footnote 292:

  _Nierembergius_; from _Franciscus Hernandus_.

Its Wounds are deadly, and burn like Fire; hence the Name it bears:
Though fiery in Nature, is slow and winding in Motion, and may be
avoided by the Traveller, if he has Eyes and Ears. Its usual Residence
is in Mountains, and the higher Mountains are, the greater the Cold,
(because they only receive direct, and but little of the reflected Rays
of the Sun) yet are the Habitations of fiery Animals.

The Learned observe, there are Mountains a Mile and an half high, to the
tops of which, no Vapour, and consequently no Clouds, can ever reach:
And hence it is that in very high Mountains, as the _Pico de Theide_ in
_Bohemia_, though the middle part be always inverted with Snow, and the
bottom scorched with intolerable Heat; yet on the top you will find
yourself in a pure, thin, serene Air, and view the Clouds hovering at a
considerable distance below you[293].

Footnote 293:

  _Montibus Tepeztlanicis._

Hence it is that all Thunder is confined within less than a Mile’s
Height. The Air is coldest in the highest places, and hottest in the
lowest; but in the intermediate Atmosphere, where we live, very unequal:
but no Climates, however situated, are privileged with Exemption from
venemous Creatures, and where they are less pestered with them, ’tis
owing to the Cultivation of the Land.

The Wounds given by this Serpent are dangerous, and cured by an Herb
called _Ancola_, by _Jonstonus_, p. 26, 27. but _Anola_, by
_Nierembergius_, p. 277, 283.


CXXVI. The _Hydrus_, or _Natrix_, an acquatic Serpent: The former word
from ὑδορ _Water_, of which ’tis an Inhabitant; the other word denotes
its Skill in the Art of Natation; it goes under various Denominations,
as appears in _Jonstonus_; who, from _Pliny_ observes, that this Serpent
is _superior to most in Beauty, and inferior to none in Poison_[294].

Footnote 294:

  _Jonstoni Historia Nat._ p. 28.

_NICANDER_, who calls the terrestrial _Hydrus_, a foul coloured Beast,
vindicates the beautiful Character of the Marine; who yet is not very
nice in its Choice of Water, for muddy and clear is equally the same to
this beautiful Slut[295]. In its Nature ’tis very poisonous, says one;
_Cardan_ is in the Negative. The truth is, there are several sorts of
them, some of which are harmless, and others hurtful, and their Wounds
attended with very terrible Effects, described by the poetick
Physician[296].

Footnote 295:

  ’Tis sometimes called _Lutra, ex Luto_; because it delights most in
  foul Water; or the Word may signify, to wash and make clean.

Footnote 296:

              Pessima quas fecit plagas hæc signa sequantur;
              Arida tota cutis circum putret horribilemque
              Elevat aspectum, magni ignitique dolores
              Tandem hominem interimunt.——

              _Nicander._

In some parts of _Persia_ they are very numerous, described by white
Heads and black Body, four Cubits long, and dangerous to those who
dabble in the Water by Night, as they often do in that hot Country where
these Animals feed upon Fish and Frogs[297]; and breed upon Land,
according to _Aristotle_[298].

Footnote 297:

            Stagna colit, ripisque habitans his piscibus atram
            Improbus Ingluviem ranisque loquacibus explet,
            Exhausta palus—Exilit in siccum—
            _Virg. Georg._ lib. iii.

Footnote 298:

  _Jonstoni Hist. Nat._ p. 28, 29.

Its common Habitation is in the _Myclean Lake_, in _Corcina_ or
_Corcyra_, now _Corfou_, (a little rich Island in the _Venetian_
Dominion) and also about _Taracina_ (a City of the _Volscians_ in
_Campania_, in _Italy_, not far from _Amyclæ_) where the People, not
daring to kill Serpents, were overthrown by them; to mention no more.
_Ibid._


CXXVII. The _Natrix-Torquata_, _Jonston_ makes different from the
former, and describes it thus——Called _Torquata_ from its beautiful
Neck, which looks as if incircled with a strong Collar of Pearls.... On
the hinder part of the Head is a little narrow Space in the form of two
Scales, where the Spots on both sides end acutely in a triangular form.
The _Scholiast_ upon _Nicander_, compliments those _pretty Spots_ with
the Title of _little Crowns_[299].

Footnote 299:

  _Ibid._ p. 29.

It goes under various Appellations. The _Greeks_ called it Guardian of
their Houses[300], it being of the innocent sort. Some of the _Italians_
call it _Carbonarium_, a Collier, because its Colour inclined to
Coal-black, or Iron. Mr. _Ray_ calls it, the _common Snake_. It is
larger than a Viper, and more gross in Body; brings forth its Young by
Eggs, hatch’d by foreign Heat; feeds on Mice; sucks Cows, upon which
follows Blood. The Reader is referred to a former.

Footnote 300:

  Οφεις οικουροι.

[Illustration:

  _Plate 6^{th}._
]


CXXVIII. The _Marine-Dragon_, as _Pliny_ calls it, or the _true
Marine-Serpent_, in the Dialect of _Jonstonus_, who, in his Description
of Fishes, gives a particular account of it. We have already accounted
for monstrous Serpents in the _Indies_, where some have Teeth in the
form of a Saw, with which they do more hurt than with their Poison, says
the _Greek_ Historian[301].

Footnote 301:

  _Æliani Hist._ lib. xvi. cap. 3.

In _Africa_, are some large and strong enough to contend with Oxen by
Land, and to overturn a three-oar’d Galley by Water; which agrees in
Character with those of _Norway_ already described: There we found some
of 200 Foot long, winding themselves about Ships, according to _Olaus
Magnus_, Archbishop of _Upsal_.

In several of the _Persian Islands_ are some of twenty Cubits long, and
very terrifying to Sailors. Such also are seen in the Promontory of
_Carmania_, the Residence of the _Ichthyophagi_, a People that feed
wholly upon Fish; a fine Country for such who are inclin’d to keep a
_perpetual Lent_. Tho’ these Monsters are born in the Deep, yet are they
found in fresh Waters, and sometime sporting upon Land, where they
sleep[302].

Footnote 302:

  _Jonston. de Piscib._ p. 9. Articulus v.

The same Author tells us, of a _terrible Battle_ that happen’d in
_Turkey_, in the time of _Bajazet_, between the _land_ and _marine
Serpents_, that continued from Morning to Night, when after a great
Destruction on both sides, the _Marines_ fled. _Ibid._


CXXIX. The _Rubetarian-Serpent_ is a very noisy Animal, who for its
croaking Noise is resembled to a land Toad. It also engages the
Attention of the Eye, for it excels in Beauty: It’s known among Country
People by these two Characteristicks, _viz._ _Loud_ and _Pretty_. Here
we see, what is an Offence to the Ear may be a pleasing Entertainment to
the Eye; thus the Five Senses agree to differ in their several
Perceptions, and to meet in several distinct Apartments of the capital
Temple, in the pacifick Empire. But to return to the _beautiful
Padalica_ of the _Polonians_:

It is said of this Serpent, that when it wounds any in the Foot, the
Remedy is to put the wounded part into the next Earth, that is inclined
to the moist, for twenty-four hours. This seems to differ from the
_American Rubeta_.


CXXX. The _Serpent de Boa_ is another of the monstrous kind; called
_Boa_ from _Bos_, the _Latin_ word for an Ox, which it devours at once:
The young ones, which grow to a great Bulk, are nourished by sucking the
Cow.

In the Emperor _Claudius_’s time, in one of them that was killed, they
found a Child that was whole. In _Calabria_ are some monstrous Animals,
not unlike these, says the Historian; who adds, that not many Years ago
a certain Bishop speaks of a large mischievous Serpent, that was shot
near _St. Archangel_, whose Jaws were almost two Palms long, the
Portraiture of which is yet seen in a certain Temple there[303].

Footnote 303:

  M. Antonius Cuccinus Episcopus Anglonensis ad Thomasium—in Agro S.
  Archangeli. _In Jonstonus; in Verb._


CXXXI. I Am informed by some Persons, who had it by Tradition from
ancient People, that formerly there was in this Country a monstrous
Serpent of four or five Yards long, and thicker than a common Axle-tree
of a Cart, and very mischievous, preying upon Lambs, _&c._ Its chief
Residence was in a Wood, near _Pickopbank_, a few Miles from
_Blackburn_, in _Lancashire_, called _Ouse-Castle_, wherein there is yet
a little Spot of Ground, called _Griom’s-Ark_, which is a deep Cavern,
situated among Rocks, in a Wood, from whence it was seen to come out,
and bask itself on a sunny Bank.

The Picture of this Serpent is drawn with Wings, two Legs, and Talons
like an Eagle, which is seen in some ancient Houses, (and particularly
at _Clayton-hall_, near _Dunkin-hall_) by which it appears to be very
large and furious.

It’s said, one —— _Grimshaw_ Esq; Proprietor of that Hall, shot the
Monster with Arrows, and had an Estate offer’d him for that good Service
done to his Country, which he generously refused, and only desired he
might have a Passage thro’ that Wood to a Township he had on t’other
side of it, which was granted, the Title of which is to be found in old
Writings. By another hand I am informed, that it was supposed to be a
_Griffin_, which is a Bird of Prey, and of the Eagle kind, which, I take
to be the _Ossifrage_ of _Moses_, and mentioned _Levit._ xi.

There is also a fabulous _Griffin_, represented with four Legs, Wings,
and a Beak; the upper part like an Eagle, and the lower a Lion. They
conjecture it to watch over golden Mines and hidden Treasures. This Bird
was consecrated to the Sun, therefore the Chariot of the Sun was
represented as drawn by a Set of _Griffins_.

This _poetick Griffin_ is frequently seen in antient Medals, and is
still bore in Coat-Armor. The antient and honourable Family of the
_Guillims_ blazons it rampant, alledging any very fierce Animal may be
so blazon’d as well as a Lion. It is observable, says my Author, that in
the Front of _Clayton-hall_ are two Figures drawn in Plaister in the
form of a Coat of Arms; on the right side of the Escutcheon is a Figure
with Wings, four Feet, and a Tail twisted in the Form of a Serpent. The
like Figure is drawn in Plaister in several antient Houses in that
Neighbourhood, which go under the Name of the _Griffin’s Picture_, and
the Sign is used at Publick-houses: There is a Place in that Wood called
the _Griffin’s-Ark_.

_N. B._ This seems to carry some Probability with it, since Eagles are
voracious Creatures, and very destructive to Fawns and Lambs, especially
the black Eagle, which is of a lesser Size than the other.

In some of the _Scots Islands_, the Natives observe, that this Eagle
fixes its Talons between the Deer’s Horns, and beats its Wings
constantly about its Eyes; several other Eagles flying at the same time
on both sides, which puts the Deer upon a continual Run, till it fall
into a Pit, or down a Precipice, where it dies, and so becomes a Prey to
the Enemy[304].

Footnote 304:

  _Martin’s Description of the Western Islands of Scotland_, Edit. ii.
  p. 7.


CXXXII. In some of the Western Islands of _Scotland_ are several
Serpents: There is one that is _yellow_ with brown Spots, and another
with _brown_ Spots; but that which is the most poisonous, is the _black
and white spotted_, three or four Foot long.

The Remedies are such as these: The Natives cut off the Head of the
Serpent that gives the Wound, and apply it to the Place as the best
Remedy: Others, by the Application of new Cheese, extract the Poison;
and some make use of the Rump of a Cock stript of its Feathers, which
they apply to the Wound with Success, according to the Historian[305].

Footnote 305:

  _Martin_’s _Description of the Isle of Skie_, _&c._ p. 236.

In the Library at _Manchester_, is the Skin of a Serpent which was five
Yards long, as thick as the Calf of a Man’s Leg; has a forked Tongue,
scaly Skin, yellow Colour.


CXXXIII. _MARTINIUS_ in his _Atlas_ relates, that in the Province of
_Quangsi_ in _China_, there are Serpents thirty Foot long. The _Flora
Sinensis_ reports of the Serpent call’d _Geuto_, that it devours whole
Stags, but is not very venemous. ’Tis of an ash Colour, from eighteen to
twenty-four Foot long; will often seize on a Man, by leaping from a
Tree, and kill him, by its violent windings about him.—The _Chinese_
preserve his _Gall_ to cure the Diseases of the Eyes.—_Marcus Paulus
Venetus_ testifies the same of the Serpents of _Carrajam_.—Some are in
length ten Paces, in thickness ten Palms, and able to swallow a Man. Are
taken thus: The Serpent in the Day lies in Caves of Mountains; in the
Night hunts for Prey, and then returns to its Cave, with the weight of
its Body, plowing deep the Earth, being sandy in the Track it goes
along: Here the Huntsmen fix strong Stakes pointed with Iron, covered
with Sand; and as the Serpent travels along, the Spikes gore its
Entrails, and are fasten’d therein, by which ’tis kill’d; and the
Huntsmen sell the _Gall_ at a great Price for Medicine, and the _Flesh_
for Meat. These, continues he, may be reckon’d among _Dragons_, but are
without Poison: Instead of Feet, they have Claws like those of a _Lion_
or _Falcon_.—There are other Serpents in _China_ full of rank Poison,
especially the _hairy-headed Serpent_. So far _Martin_.

_N. B._ This Province of _Quamsi_ or _Quangsi_ is able to raise a
Million of fighting Men. It is not so much frequented as the Province of
_Quantung_ or _Canton_, where they have two Harvests a year. One says,
there is a Mountain here with a Pool in it, which makes a Noise like
Thunder, if a Stone be cast into it, and causes Showers from the
Sky[306]. Their Winter is warm, and their Fields always verdant,
producing great Quantities of Gold, Pearl, Silk, Copper, Steel, Iron,
Salt,—and odoriferous Woods.—They hatch their Ducks Eggs and those of
other Fowls in Ovens, or Dunghills.

Footnote 306:

  _Pancirollus._


CXXXIV. There is a kind of _Reptiles and Insects_ (I don’t mean the
common Tortoise) which is a certain sort of Snake, small in Body and of
white Colour, found in _Lydia_, _Arabia_,—cased over with a white
colour’d Shell, which shines like a sparkling Margarite[307].

Footnote 307:

  _Pancirollus._

I shall close this Part with an Experiment made by the noble _Roman_
before-mentioned, who (being sollicitous to take a compleat View of a
Serpent) after he had dissected one, preserved the Flesh and Bones, and
having, _secundum artem_, reduced them to Ashes,—extracted _Aqua
Fontana_,—whose Virtues were equal to those drawn from the Ashes of
other Animals, and of Plants.

To this venemous Tribe, I shall annex a few Reptiles, in whose Veins I
find something of the Serpent’s Blood; and close the variegated List
with a large Account of the _Tarantula_, its Wound, and Cure by Musick;
then inquire into the Reasons of that strange Operation; the Nature and
Force of Sounds, not only on the Animal Passions, but Inanimate Matter.
I shall begin with,


I. The _Bee_, called the Honey-Fly, a little Animal that has four Feet,
which it carries close to the Belly, and not easily separated: It has
four Wings, small Teeth, and a long Tongue, which usually it carries out
of the Mouth. Its Sting cleaves to the Belly, which, when it strikes, it
parts with, and becomes uncapable of wounding a second time; which, I
think can’t be said of any other Member of the stinging Race, unless it
be the Wasp and Hornet.

The Sting, in the Design of it, seems to be only a Weapon of Defence; it
looks like a Tube or Pipe, hollow, with a little Bag of sharp
penetrating Liquid (which is its Poison) joined to the Extremity of it
within the Body, which, in stinging, is injected into the Wound thro’
the Tube; and tho’ venemous and painful, is not strong enough to corrupt
the Mass of Blood.

One may, with the naked Eye, sometimes see this little Insect discharge
its Venom, in which, says the ingenious Dr. _Mead_, by the help of a
Glass, I can easily discover _a great Number of minute Salts floating_.
In _Brazil_, _Bees_ are distinguish’d into twelve kinds, among which are
some that sting in a most furious and fatal manner, called _Mateecas_ by
the _Indians_.

In _Ceylon_ in the _East-Indies_, are several Bees, the largest are of a
brighter Colour than ours; they make their Combs on the Boughs of Trees:
At proper Seasons, the Inhabitants hold Torches under them, till they
drop down, which they carefully gather, boil and eat, and are accounted
excellent Food. In _Quatemala_ are Bees and Honey of a white Colour, and
some without a Sting, says the Historian[308].

Footnote 308:

  _Nierembergius_, p. 286.


II. To the _Bee_, I add the _Wasp_, which, as it is something larger,
makes a deeper Wound; it differs also from it in its Food, which is
Flesh and Carrion, when it can be got; whereas the Bee regales itself
with delicious Entertainments, and enriches its Family with all the
Glories of the vegetable Kingdom. From whence is the Honey? I answer,
That in Flowers is found a viscid sweet Juice, and accordingly we see
Children gather Cowslips, Honeysuckles, and suck the Honey from them.
The Bees visit all Flowers within their Reach, and putting it in their
Trunks, suck out the Honey, with which they load their Stomachs, to be
discharg’d, and laid up in their Combs. Among the Antients, Honey was
taken for a Dew that fell on Flowers; but this is a mistake, because the
Bees only gather it after the Sun is up, when there is no Dew left, or
very little.


III. The _Hornet_ is yet more dangerous, and has been known to pursue a
Sparrow, and kill it, and then suck its Blood. The Hornet and Wasp have
strong Jaws tooth’d, by which they can dig into Fruits, for Sustenance;
yea, and into harder Substances, for Quarters.

If you take a Bee, a Wasp, or Hornet, and gently squeeze the Tail, so
that you can see the Sting, you may perceive a Drop of transparent
Liquor at the very end of it; which if wiped off, you shall soon see it
renew’d, that Liquid passing down the Cavity into the end thereof: ’Tis
said the Decoction of Hornets dropt on the Skin, makes it swell.


IV. I proceed to the _Spider_, another little venemous Insect, whose
forked Tongue or Sting, is very fine and sharp; by this he pierces
Flies—and at the same time, instils a poisonous Juice into the Wound, by
which the Prey being kill’d, it sucks out the Moisture, and leaves
nothing but a husky dry Carcass: Tradition says, it poisons by spitting,
or breathing, because it dare not approach so near to a large Fly as to
a little one; but keeps at some distance, and uses a kind of shoving
Motion, upon which the Fly has done struggling.

There are various sorts of these little strange Creatures, whose Stings
are hurtful, as the _Astorius_, (so called from its resemblance to a
Star) whose Wound produces Heaviness, and Relaxation of the Nerves. The
_Cæruleus_, or blue Spider, whose Sting is attended with Vomiting and
Pain at the Heart. The _Lycos_, the least of the kind, that causes an
_Asthma_, and Swelling about the wounded Part. In the _Philosophical
Transactions_, we have a Table of thirty-three kinds of Spiders found in
_England_, by Dr. _Lister_[309].

Footnote 309:

  _Lowthorp_, vol. ii. p. 793.

There is something very curious and admirable in those long Threads they
make in the Air, during some part of Summer, especially towards
_September_, so much wonder’d at, in such Quantities every where. The
Method of Operation, I take to be as follows, _viz._

All Spiders that spin in a Thread, are the Makers of those Threads, most
visible in the Autumn. In all the ways of weaving, they still let down
the Thread they make use of, and draw it after them. Attending on one
that wrought a Net, I saw it, says a very nice Observer, suddenly in the
Mid-work desist, and turning his Tail into the Wind, to dart out a
Thread, with the Violence we see Water spout out of a Spring: This
Thread taken up by the Wind, was in a Moment emitted some Fathoms long,
still issuing out of his Belly; by and by the Spider leapt into the Air,
and the Thread mounted her up swiftly.—And I found the Air fill’d with
young and old, sailing on their Threads, and undoubtedly, says the
Relator, seizing Gnats and other Insects in their Passage; there being
often manifest Signs of Slaughter, as Legs, and Wings of Flies ... on
these Lines, as in their Webs below[310].

Footnote 310:

  _Lowthorp_, vol. ii. p. 794.

Spiders have been observed to get to the Top of a Branch or such like
thing, where they exercise this darting of Threads into the Air. After
the first Flight, all the time of their sailing on those Threads, they
make Locks, still darting forth fresh Supplies of Thread to sport and
sail by. _N. B._ Those called Shepherds, or long-legg’d Spiders, are no
Spinners.

I have seen Spiders, says the Learned Dr. _Hulse_[311], shoot their Webs
three Yards long before they begin to sail upon them. So the Learned
_Derham_ observes, that with pleasure he had often seen Spiders dart out
their Webs, and sail away by the Help thereof.

Footnote 311:

  Ibid. vol. i. p. 363.

_AMERICA_ turns out diverse kinds of these araneous Insects: In _Peru_
are Spiders as large as a Man’s Hand, and have Eyes as big as those of
Sparrows. In _Brasil_ there is one kind of Spider, whose Skin is rough
and black, and whose Sting proves incurable, without immediate Relief.
On the other hand, we read of monstrous Spiders in the _Antilles_, whose
Eyes are so small and deep in the Head, that they are scarcely visible:
They feed on flying Insects, and their Webs are strong enough to catch
small Birds[312].

Footnote 312:

  _Atl. Geog. Amer._ p. 179, 265, 519.

_CEYLON_ in the _East-Indies_ produces a long, glittering, and hairy
Spider, called _Democulo_, whose Wound is not mortal, but sometimes
deprives People of their Senses. There is an Experiment made by Mr.
_Leeuwenhoek_, who put a Frog and Spider together into a Glass, and
having made the Spider sting the Frog diverse times, the Frog died in
about an hour’s time[313].

Footnote 313:

  _Scaliger Exercit._ in _Boyle_’s _Subtil. Efflu. Philos.
  Transactions_. Where there is a curious Account how Spiders lay and
  guard their Eggs. _Derham._

There is another Instance of the Poison of some of them (for all are not
poisonous) given by the Learned _Scaliger_, who relates, that in
_Gascony_ in _France_, there are Spiders of that Virulency, that if a
Man treads upon them to crush them, their Poison will pass thro’ the
very Soles of his Shoe[314].

Footnote 314:

  _Scaliger Exercit._ in _Boyle_’s _Subtil. Efflu. Philos.
  Transactions_. Where there is a curious Account how Spiders lay and
  guard their Eggs. _Derham._

V. The _Scolopendra_ is a little venemous Worm, and amphibious. When it
wounds any, there follows a Blueness about the affected Part, and an
Itch over all the Body, like that caused by Nettles. Its Weapons of
Mischief are much the same with those of the Spider, only larger; its
Bite is very tormenting, and produces not only pruriginous Pain in the
Flesh, but very often Distraction of Mind. These little Creatures make
but a mean Figure in the Rank of Animals, yet have been terrible in
their Exploits, particularly in driving People out of their Country:
Thus the Inhabitants of _Rhytium_, a City of _Crete_, were constrained
to leave their Quarters for them[315]. There is a minute _Scolopendra_,
accounted for by Dr. _Molyneux_.

Footnote 315:

  _Ælian_, lib. xv. cap. 26.


VI. The _Shrew-Serpent_ in _Norway_, is a Creature of admirable Beauty;
small in Body, and slow in Motion, but of fiery Venom, and its Wounds
most dangerous.


VII. The _Lacertus Facetanus_, or _Tarantula_, whose Bite gives Name to
a new Disease. Those who are wounded by it are denominated _Tarantati_:
It is a kind of an overgrown Spider, about the Size of a common Acorn.

It borrows its Name from _Tarentum_ in _Apulia_, a City in the Kingdom
of _Naples_, built by a Band of _Lacedemonian Bastards_, who having no
Inheritance at home, were sent thither to seek their Fortunes, where
they built that Town, and made it the Capital of _Magna Græcia_.

This little Animal is furnish’d with eight Eyes, and eight Legs: Its
Skin is tender and soft, of various Colours, and always hairy: ’Tis of
the oviparous kind, and propagates its Species by Eggs, and sometimes a
hundred Eggs have been found in one Female.

In the Opinion of some, ’tis not only an Inhabitant of _Apulia_, but
peculiar to that Province, a Situation that may be called, _A Garden of
Rarities_; Plenty of generous Wine, delicate Honey and Oil, an early
Spring, a soft Winter—render it a most delightful Habitation, especially
to old Persons, according to the Poet[316]; and yet in that most
agreeable Region, this little Tyrant reigns and spreads Terror.

Footnote 316:

  —Ille terrarum mihi præter omnes—(_Horat._ lib. ii. ode 6.) Angulus.—

It’s found in other Parts of _Italy_, and even in the Isle of _Corsica_;
but those of _Apulia_, ’tis said, are only dangerous; though I think to
have read something like it in _Persia_, where there is an Insect like a
Spider, about two Inches round, which the _Holstein_ Ambassadors suppose
to be the _Latin Stellio_, and the _Italian Tarantula_: It lets its
Poison fall like a Drop of Water, which causes an insupportable Pain in
that Part ... immediately causes a profound Sleep, from which the
Patient is not to be recovered, but by crushing one of the same
Creatures upon the Wound; or, if this can’t be had, by pouring as much
Milk down his Throat as they can, and then put him on an Engine, which
they turn round with great Violence, till by that violent Agitation, his
Stomach discharges the Milk, which appears greenish, because of the
Poison. Those who are cured thus, have some Remnant of the Pain once a
Year, about the same Season[317].

Footnote 317:

  _Voyages and Travels_ of the Ambass. of _Freder._ Duke of _Holstein_.

But to return to _Italy_; ’tis observable, that it hurts no where but in
_Apulia_, and that only in Summer, especially in the _Canicular-Days_,
so called from _Canicula_, that signifies a Dog; hence _Dog-Star_, which
rises cosmically with the Sun the 19th of _July_, and is supposed to be
the brightest, as well as the largest Star in the Firmament.

[Illustration:

  _Plate 7^{th}_
]

The _Dog-Days_ denote certain Days before and after the Rising of this
Star, to whose Appearance the Antients ascrib’d terrible Effects: the
very first Day it appears, they say (but without Reason) the Sea becomes
boisterous and boils like a Cauldron, produces Variety of Distempers,
sours Wine, and Dogs grow mad.... The _Romans_, dreading the Indignation
of this Star, sacrificed a Dog every Year to it, (_viz._ at its first
Appearance in our Hemisphere) to appease its Rage against Mortals.

In Winter, this _Italian_ Spider lurks in Caverns, and solitary Places;
and if it happens to bite, hurts not: There it lives in a drowsy
Posture, and keeps _Lent_ till Summer; when the whole Tribe creeps out,
and disperse themselves over that pleasant Land; and Wo to the Body
asleep, and bare Legs, in Corn-Fields.

Those on the Plains are much to be feared, the Air being hotter there
than on the Mountains, where their Bite is not dangerous, the Solar Rays
not being so strong in those Heights: and what is yet more surprizing,
is, that if they wound any out of _Apulia_, though in places not remote
from it, the Wounded receive no deadly Hurt[318].

Footnote 318:

  _Baglivii de Anatome, Morsu & Effect. Tarantulæ Dissertatio_ i. p. 27.
  & cap. v. p. 20.

When it bites, the Pain resembles that given by the Sting of a _Bee_,
and is attended with various Symptoms, according to their different
Natures: The _Northern Tarantula_ is the most terrible; those that are
inclin’d to the _white Colour_ are not so dangerous; the spotted differs
from both.

The Wound given by any of them is dangerous, and has different
Indications. In some that are bitten, an universal Stupor follows;
others weep: Some tremble and vomit; others laugh, fancying themselves
to be Kings. This perhaps made Dr. _Cornelio_ represent this as an
imaginary Disease; that those who imagine themselves hurt, are most of
our young wanton Girls, who, falling from some particular Indisposition
into Melancholy and Madness, persuade themselves that they have been
stung by a _Tarantula_[319].

Footnote 319:

  _Philos. Transact._

Some grow pale, sick and faint, and die in a short time, unless relieved
by Musick, which alone, without the Help of Medicine, performs the Cure.

The Wounded are as Men half dead, but at the first Sound of a musical
Instrument, though they are very weak, and seemingly unable to stir,
they begin by degrees to move their Hands and Feet, till at last they
get up, and then fall to dancing with wonderful Vigour, for two or three
Hours, their Strength and Activity still encreasing. Some will continue
the Dance, without Intermission for six Hours; and when tired they are
put to Bed, and after they are sufficiently recruited by Rest, they are
called up again by the same Tune, and renew the Dance with great
Violence, the Musick still playing; and when the Patients grow weary,
they are put into Bed again, and kept warm to encourage Perspiration.
These Exercises being continued six or seven Days, the Patient finds
himself fatigued and unable to dance any longer, which is the
Characteristic of a Cure.

They usually spend ten or twelve Hours a-day in this violent Exercise,
and continue it for three or four, or six Days; by which time they are
generally freed from all their Symptoms, tho’ not always, says the
learned _Baglivi_, who observes, that about the same time next Year, the
Distemper returns, and will prove fatal, if not prevented by the same
musical Application.

In _Apulia_ is a _Scorpion_, whose Wounds are accompanied with the same
Effects as those produced by the _Tarantula_, and are only curable by
_Musick_ and _Motion_. These _Apulian Scorpions_, are less violent than
those of _Africa_, but more virulent than those in other Parts of
_Italy_. I shall only offer two Remarks here.

1. _THAT different Patients must be entertain’d with different Tunes,
according to the different Symptoms of the Disease_; in which the great
Art of curing them seems to consist. _e. g._ Some are roused by a Pipe,
others by a Timbrel: Some are roused by a Violin, others by the Harp;
and all must be entertain’d with different Airs. The Musicians therefore
make Trial before they can accommodate the _Sound to the Venom_; which
requires the most brisk and lively Tunes, to produce a powerful
Vibration in the Body; and till this be done, the miserable Patients
stand still, sighing and sobbing. The Vibrations must be quick and
frequent.

2. _DURING the Time of Cure, the wounded People throw themselves into a
Variety of strange Forms_, and behave like Drunkards and Madmen ...
talking foolishly ... diverting themselves with naked Swords, red Cloth,
_&c._ but the Sight of any Object that appears black is terrible to
them. _Ibid._

To this Account of the _Tarantula_, I have (by way of Illustration)
added the Remarks of another learned Foreigner, who says.... The
venemous Bite of the _Tarantula_ is quickly follow’d with a very acute
Pain, and soon after, with Numbness, profound Sadness, difficult
Respiration: The Pulse grows weak, the Sight disturbed; Persons lose
their Knowledge, Sense, and Motion; and if destitute of Help, they
die.... The most effectual and certain _Remedy_ is _Musick_: When the
Person becomes destitute of Knowledge and Motion, a _Musician_ tries a
Variety of Airs: Shou’d he hit on that whose Harmony is suited to the
Patient, he begins to move by successive Degrees, and keeps Time with
his Fingers, Arms, Legs, _&c._ he raises himself, and dances about six
Hours without Intermission....

When the Musick ceases, the sick Person gives over dancing, and is put
to Bed: The same Air brings him out of Bed for a new Dance, an Exercise
that lasts six or seven Days.——_N. B._ Every sick Person must have his
particular and specific Tune, and always one that is very sprightly and
moving.

The Poison of the _Tarantula_, adds he, thickens the Blood, and stops
several of its Passages; thence the Numbness: The Blood being thick,
furnishes but a small Quantity of animal Spirits, their Canals are
shrunk up in the Brain: The Nerves being destitute of Spirits, relax;
thence proceed the Inactivity, and Defect of Knowledge and Motion: But
the Vibrations of the quick Airs which are play’d, agitate the Blood and
the rest of the animal Spirits, which are soon increased by the
Agitation of the Blood: Being agitated and multiply’d, they run into the
Fibres and Nerves, which being put into _Unison_ with the sonorous
Strings, receive their Vibrations, and are shorten’d or extended
successively; whence proceeds the successive Motion of the Fingers,
Arms, Legs, _&c._[320]

Footnote 320:

  _Father Regnault. Phil. Conv. or New System of Physic_, vol. ii.
  _Conversation_ xiv. p. 268, -9.

The action of Dancing augments the Agitation of the Blood, and makes the
Patient sweat. The Poison being agitated and attenuated, is exhaled by
Transpiration; in proportion as the Poison is exhaled, the sick Person
perceives himself eased; this Ease continually inclines him to dance:
When all the Poison is dissipated by Agitation and Sweat, the Blood
recovers its Fluidity and usual Course.

I Shall conclude this historical Account, with a Passage taken out of a
_formed History of the Tarantula_[321], writ by a learned Author, who
having described the Disease, proceeds to the manner of Cure, _viz._ The
salivous Poison of that Spider seizes principally on the Nerves and
Muscles––the manner of Cure thus––

Footnote 321:

  Printed at _Leyden_, in 12_mo._ _A. D._ 1668.

The Air moved by the musical Motion of Instruments, moves the next, and
so onwards (as we see in the circular increasing Motion of the Water,
when a Stone is cast into it) till the like be produced in the Spirits
of the Body, to which the Air is impelled.––Now, adds he, the Commotion
of the Passions depends upon the Spirits, and the viscous Humour of the
_Tarantula_ is a very capable Subject of Sound: Hence the next Air being
moved by a musical Tone suitable to the Patient, the lurking Poison, and
Spirits of a Man are put into a Commotion; by which Agitation, the
Nerves being vellicated, the Spirits vehemently stirred, and Muscles
moved, the Dancing, or something like it, must of necessity ensue, by
which the Cure is performed: For, by vehement Motion the Blood is
heated, the Pores are opened, and the Poison rarified; which can’t be
done by common Sudorificks, because the Medicines can’t reach, or at
least can’t stir those little Particles where the Poison lies, as Motion
by Dancing does.

I shall add here some _Reflections on the Power of Musick, and give
Instances of it in the human Mind, in animal, and inanimate Bodies_.

_MUSICK_ appears to be one of the most antient of Arts, and of all
other, vocal Musick must have been the first kind, and borrowed from the
various natural Strains of Birds[322]; as stringed Instruments were from
Winds whistling in hollow Reeds, and pulsatile Instruments (as Drums and
Cymbals) from the hollow Noise of concave Bodies. This is the
Conjecture.

Footnote 322:

              At liquidas avium voces imitarier ore,
              Ante fuit multo quam carmina cantu
              Concelebrare homines possent aureisque juvare.

              _Lucretius._

Musick has ever been in the highest Esteem in all Ages, and among all
People. Nor could Authors express their Opinions of it strongly enough,
but by inculcating, that it was in Heaven, and was one of the principal
Entertainments of the Blessed. The Effects ascribed to Musick by the
Antients, almost amount to Miracles; by means thereof Diseases are said
to have been cured, Unchastity corrected, Seditions quelled, Passions
raised and calmed, and even Madness occasioned.——

Musick has been used as a Sermon of Morality.... _Athenæus_ tells us,
that the Lives and Actions of illustrious Men were written in Verse, and
publickly sung by a _Chorus_, to the Sound of Instruments, which was
found to be the most effectual means to impress Morality, and a right
Sense of Duty on the human Mind[323].

Footnote 323:

  _Chambers_’s _Cyclopædia_, vol. ii.

Thus the _Pythagoreans_ made use of Musick to cultivate the Mind, and
settle in it a passionate Love of Virtue. _Pythagoras_ instituted a most
profitable Correction of Manners by Musick, which, he says, conduces
very much to Health; and he made use of it, not only against Diseases of
the Mind, but those of the Body. It was the common Custom of the
_Pythagoreans_ to soften their Minds with Musick before they went to
sleep; and also in the Morning, to excite themselves to the Business of
the Day[324].

Footnote 324:

  _Plutarch de Osir. & Is._

This Cure of Distempers by Musick sounds odd, but was a celebrated
Medicine among the Antients. We have already considered, how those
wounded by the _Tarantula_ were healed by Musick; the Evidence of which
is too strong to be overturned: That which now lies before me, is, to
prove this to be the Practice of Antiquity, which will appear by the
following Instances.

I shall begin with _Democritus_ (a Philosopher of the first Rank, and a
most diligent Inquirer into the Mysteries of Nature) who taught in his
Works, that _Musick of Pipes_ was a Medicine for most Distempers....
_Thales_ of _Crete_, being sent for by the _Lacedemonians_ to remove the
Plague, came, and by the Help of Musick he did so; and he is said to do
it by the Command of _Apollo_, as appears from the Great _Chæronean
Moralist_[325]. If any Credit be given to _Terpander_, it appears he
supprest an Insurrection in their Town by the Use of Musick. _Ibid._

Footnote 325:

  _Plutarch_’s _Morals on Musick_.

We read of a young Man among others of _Tautomenium_, whose Passions
being inflamed by Musick in the _Phrygian Mood_, was going to force open
a Matron’s House, but his Rage was soon calmed, when the Piper (by
_Pythagoras_’s Advice) changed his Air into the _Spondaic Mood_; and he
went home quietly, which the Philosopher could not make him do by
Persuasives. This historical Passage is confirmed by _Ammonius_, and
_Cicero_, and is thus related, _viz._

When as some young Men, being drunk, and irritated by the _Musick of
Flutes_, would have broke into an honest Woman’s House, but upon hearing
one playing a _Spondaic Air_, their outragious Heat was allay’d by the
Slowness of the Mood, and Solemness of the Tune....

St. _Basil_ gives another Instance to the same purpose, _viz._ That
_Pythagoras_ meeting with some that came with Musick from a Feast,
drunk, requested the Musician to change his Tune; which he did, and
playing a _Doric Air_, they were so brought to themselves, that they
threw away their Garlands, and walked home, ashamed of their Folly.

_THEOPHRASTUS_ is said to cure Persons that had been wounded by
Serpents, with various kinds of Musick—_Probatum est_[326]. Another
Observation of his was, that Diseases were made and mitigated by Musick.
_Plato_ forbids Musick and Wine to young Persons, lest one Fire should
kindle another[327].

Footnote 326:

  Quibusdam viperarum morsibus cantus tibiarum aut fidicinum atque alia
  organa artis musicæ modulare adhibita aptissimè mederi. _Alexander ab
  Alexand. ... Genialium_, lib. ii. cap. xvii. p. 81. The Title is,
  _Quod Theophrastus sensit quibusdam Viperarum morsibus tibicines
  mederi, probatum experimentum_. _Baglivi_ Dissert. i. _de Tarent._
  cap. xiii.

Footnote 327:

  _De Legibus._

The _Pythagoreans_, to appease the Troubles of the Mind, lulled
themselves asleep by Tunes upon the Harp: Thus _Homer_ brings in
_Achilles_ relieving his Melancholy by playing on his _Lute_, and
mitigating his Anger against _Agamemnon_ by Musick, which he had learned
of _Chiron_. _Asclepiades_, a _Roman_ Physician of great Reputation, is
said to heal frantic Melancholy, and mad People, by vocal and
instrumental Musick[328]. The learned _Neapolitan_ adds, _Tanta hominis
naturæ cum harmonia consensio est_.

Footnote 328:

  Qui Phreneticos mente imminuta, & valetudine animi affectos, nulla re
  magis quam symphonia, & vocum concentu, & modulis resipiscere, &
  sanitati restitui censuit. _Alex. ab Alex._ lib. ii. cap. xvii. p. 81.

Whatever be the Cause of it, there is nothing more powerful than Musick
for moving the human Passions, making some pensive and melancholy,
others brisk and lively. The truth is, says the Learned _Wallis_, we can
match most of the antient Stories of this kind in the modern Histories.
_e. g._

If _Timotheus_ could excite _Alexander_’s Fury with the _Phrygian Mood_,
and sooth him into Indolence with the _Lydian_, a more modern Musician
is said to have driven _Eric_ King of _Denmark_, into such a Rage, as to
kill his best Servants. The Occasion was thus—The King willing to make
Trial in his own Person, _whether a Musician spoke true, who boasted,
that by virtue of his Musick, he could make People mad_: The Artist
play’d, and the King became outragious, and experienced the Truth of it
so thoroughly, that in the Excess of his Rage, he kill’d some of his
best Friends[329].

Footnote 329:

  _Father Regnault_’s _Convers._ from _Repub. des Let._ p. 264.

This may be owing to the Impression made by the Vibrations of the Air,
being carried as far as the Origin of the Nerves, passes into the Soul,
and puts the animal Spirits into a rapid Motion, determines them to run
into different Nerves, diffused thro’ different Parts of the Body, and
is communicated to those Nerves, according as it finds them more or less
in _Unison_.... Hence the Passions and Madness itself. _Ibid._

In Musick are different Tastes, which seems to proceed from the
different Constitutions of the Fibres or the animal Spirits: The Fibres
of the auditory Nerves are differently disposed in different Persons,
and in the same Person at diverse Times; but generally speaking, Musick
inspires more pleasing Sentiments, _e. g._

A certain famous _French Physician_ being ill, fell into a violent
_Delirium_, after some Days Illness of a continued Fever: the third Day
of his _Delirium_, I know not by what Instinct, (says the Learned Father
_Regnault_) made him desire a _Concert of Musick_; upon which, they
play’d, and sung to him the Songs of _M. Bernier_[330]: Scarcely had he
heard the first Notes, but his Eyes were calm; a Serenity was spread all
over his Countenance, the Convulsions ceased, and he wept thro’ Excess
of Pleasure; he was free from his Fever all the time of the Concert, but
whenever they ceased singing, he relapsed into his former Condition:
They fail’d not to continue so marvellous a Remedy, which always
suspended his Indisposition. In short, after ten Days musical
Entertainment, he was restored to his former Health. _Ibid._

Footnote 330:

  _Father Regn._ from _Hist. of the Royal Academy in France_.

Another Instance, is a Dancing-Master of _Alais_ in _France_, who had
the same Fate in the Year 1708; after a Fever of about four Days, and a
long Lethargy, he fell into a _Delirium_, both mad and dumb. One of his
Friends took his Violin, and plaid to him those Airs he was most
accustom’d to: People thought at first, _that the Player was as mad as
the Patient_; but, in a short time, the sick Man raised himself upright
in his Bed, with the Air of a Man agreeably surpriz’d.... All his
Motions discover’d the Pleasure he felt: Soon after he fell into a deep
Sleep, and the Crisis he had during his Sleep, perfected his Cure.
_Ibid._

One Reason of this strange Operation might be this, _viz._ The Sound of
the Instrument agitates the Fibres, especially those that are in Unison,
by that means brings to his Remembrance agreeable Perceptions ... sets
the animal Spirits going, and restores them to their natural Course:
These Spirits being moved, run into the Nerves and Muscles, where they
have been used to run, in order to form the Motion of certain Airs; the
Passages of the Blood thereby become more free: Hence that serene Air
diffused all of a sudden over the Face of the sick Musician, who was
cured by the Charms of his own Art.

These two Instances are quoted by the Learned Dr. _Nieuwentyt_, who
says, both of them (the Musician and Dancing-Master) were perfectly
restored to their Senses by Musick. He also observes, that the Wound
given by the _Tarantula_ can only be cured by the Sound of Musick, of
which different Airs and Tunes must be play’d, according to the
different Nature and Colour of those _Tarantula’s_ that have given the
Wound[331]. Then adds;

Footnote 331:

  _Religious Philosopher_, vol. I. Contempl. xiii. Sect. 270.

That the famous _Italian_ Musician, _Angelo Vitali_ had related to him
the following Story, and assured him of the Truth of it, _viz._

That a certain Player on the Flute at _Venice_ had boasted, that by his
playing, he could deprive the Hearers of the Use of their Understanding:
Whereupon he was sent for by the _Doge_, who was a Lover of Musick, and
commanded to put his Art in practice before him; where, after having
play’d some time very finely, (and to the Amazement of the Hearers) he
at last begun a mournful Tune, with a Design, as far as he was able, to
put the _Doge_ into a melancholy Humour; and presently, he struck up a
jovial one, to dispose him to Mirth and Dancing; and after having
repeated these two kind of Tunes several times by turns, the _Doge_
being no longer able to endure those different Emotions, which he felt
in his Soul, he was ordered to forbear playing any longer. _Ibid._ p.
271.

_FROM the Account given of Concords and Discords in Musick, a Reason may
be form’d why two Strings of a Viol, that are Unisons or Octaves one to
another, if one be struck the other will tremble, so as to be visibly
perceived._

_What is this Unison?_ In Musick, _Unison_ is a Consonance of two
Sounds, produced by two Strings, or other Bodies of the same Matter,
Length, Thickness, and Tension, equally struck, and at the same Time, so
that they yield the same Tone or Note. Others define it, _the Union of
two Sounds_, so like each other, that the Ear perceiving no Difference,
receives them as one and the same Sound.

What constitutes Unisonance, is the Equality of the Number of
Vibrations: Unison is the first and greatest of Concords. Others say, it
is only that in Sounds which Unity is in Numbers.

Being once in a Room where there was a _Bass-Viol_, and striking one of
the Strings, a loose Quarry of Glass in the Window, jarr’d every time
that String was struck, which it wou’d not do upon striking any of the
other discordant Strings. The Reason may be, _viz._ That the times of
the Vibration of the loose Quarry, were equal or near Concordance to
those of the String. A Gentleman of my Acquaintance, when he sounded a
particular Tone on the Bass-Viol, very plainly heard the Noise of the
Glass of the Clock in his Chamber, which Glass never moved, upon his
sounding any other Tone.... It is a general Remark, that an
_Unison-String_ will receive the Motion, and so tremble, when another
Unison is made to sound; and yet all other Strings of the same
Instrument, that are not Unisons, shall remain silent and unmoved.

Musick does not only exert its Force on the Passions and Affections, and
musical Instruments, but on the Parts of the human Body also. Witness
the _Gascoigne-Knight_, (mention’d by Mr. _Boyle_) who could not contain
his Water, at the playing of a Bag-pipe: The Woman, mention’d by the
same Author, who would burst out in Tears, at the hearing of a certain
Tune, with which other People were but little affected: And in this
County, near _Rochdale_, there is a certain Man, who can’t forbear
dancing, if in a House, or Market, upon hearing a certain Tune sung.

Wonder not at the strange Effects of musical Sounds, when other Sounds
strangely affect the Mind. How are the Passions excited by the Sound of
a Drum and the Discharge of Canons.... Not only human Minds and Bodies
are affected by the Impression of Sounds, but even Things without Life.

_KIRCHER_ tells us of a large Stone that would tremble at the Sound of
one particular Organ-Pipe. _Mersenne_ also tells us, of a particular
part of a Pavement that would shake and tremble, as if the Earth would
open, when the Organs play’d. Mr. _Boyle_ adds, that Seats will tremble
at the Sound of Organs, that he has felt his Hat do so under his Hand,
at certain Notes, both of Organs and Discourse; and that he was well
inform’d, every well-built Vault, would answer some determinate Note.

We may observe the like mechanic Perception in several empty
Drinking-Glasses, of fine white Metal. Thus if we cause the Strings of a
musical Instrument to be stretched to a certain Tone or Note, it would
make one of the Glasses ring, and not the other; nor would the Sound of
the same String, tuned to another, sensibly affect the same Glass.
_Morhoff_ mentions one _Petter_, a _Dutchman_, who could break
Rummer-Glasses with the Tone of his Voice. The same, I think, is said of
_Purcel_.

When two Viols are tuned in Unison, one of them being touch’d, the other
will answer, tho’ at some distance. This is a noble Proof of an
harmonious Creation: This Unison looks like a more pure sort of
sympathising that is found in all the Creatures, when those of the same
Species flock together.

Here give me leave to observe, that all Nature is as it were a System of
divine Musick, and delightful Harmony; or, in the sacred Language, a
_Poem_ which is a Work of Skill, curious and polite, lofty and sublime;
in which Numbers and Measures are exactly observed. Under this Idea of a
_Poem_ the old and new Creation are represented.

_THE invisible things of him from the Creation of the World are clearly
seen, being understood by the things that are made_, τοις ποιημασι[332],
Poems that are made. The Creation is, as it were, a _Poem_ in the
Sublime: Every Species of created Beings is a _Stanza_, and every
individual Creature, a Verse in it, as a certain learned Divine
expresses it. Creation here is not stiled εργον, which is a Work of
manual Labor, but ποιημα[333], a Work of Skill; not so much the
Operation of the Hand, as of the Head and Heart: No Creature so small
and mean, but glitters with a Beam of divine Skill.

Footnote 332:

  τοις ποιημασι. Rom. i. 20.

Footnote 333:

  Αυτου γαρ εσμεν ποιημαι. Eph. ii. 10.

So the new Creation is stil’d a _Poem_.... _We are his Workmanship in
Christ Jesus_, Eph. ii. 10. In the _Greek_, _we are his Poem in Christ
Jesus_.

As for the several Moods, which, in musical Composition, were observed
by the Antients, for moving particular Passions, there is a remarkable
Fragment of _Damon_ the Musician, mentioned by _Aristides_ in
_Plutarch_. This is supposed to be that kind of Musick used by _David_
and _Elisha_, as a Prescription to remove mental Disorders; and may
suppose to point at the Original of the Pagans curing Diseases of the
Body and Mind by instrumental Musick.

It’s said, when an _evil Spirit_ from God was upon _Saul_, _David took a
Harp and play’d with his Hand, so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and
the evil Spirit departed from him_. 1 Sam. xvi. 23.

... _AND Elisha said to Jehoram, King of Israel.... Were it not that I
regard the Presence of the King of Judah, I would not look towards thee,
but now bring me a Minstrel. And it came to pass when the Minstrel
play’d, that the Hand of the Lord came upon him._ 2 Kings iii. 13,-15.

It is observable here, that the Mind of _Elisha_ the Prophet was very
much ruffled; now, under this Discomposure, he calls for a Minstrel, not
out of Levity, but for a religious End; and that was, to compose his
Mind, and to bring it into a serene and sedate Frame, and thereby to
prepare himself for divine Exercises; or perhaps, a _devout Levite_,
well skill’d in musical Performances, might play before him, and
intermix with it, Psalms and spiritual Songs, according to the
Constitutions of those Times.

As the Prophets might indispose themselves for the Spirit of Prophecy,
so they were to use Means to dispose themselves for the Impulses of the
Holy Spirit; and for this End the School of the Prophets was appointed,
in which the Students were trained up _in the Science of Musick_, _in
strict Virtue_, _Self-denial_, _Contempt of worldly Grandeur_,
_Knowledge of the Law_, _&c._ These Schools were Seminaries of Religion,
in which the intended Guardians of the Spirituality were instructed, and
prepared to receive the extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit.

We read how the Indians performed their Worship by dancing to Songs, the
Priests of _Cybele_ with _Cymbals_, the _Curetes_ with Drums and
Trumpets, the _Romans_ sung _Spondaic Verses_, while they offer’d their
Sacrifices; the musical Sound that calm’d the Passions (consisting of
_Spondees_ principally) _Aristotle_ calls moral; (to distinguish it from
the _Diatonic_ and _Phrygian_) from whence the Custom might be derived.
When the _Spartans_ went to War, they march’d to the Sound of _Flutes_,
to animate the Soldiers; as is now done by Drum and Trumpet, to lessen
the Terror of Death.

_THE Antients having related wonderful Things done by Musick in their
days, by which Diseases were suspended, the Sick restored ... I shall
make a short Inquiry into the Reasons of it. Tho’ the Report be strange,
and in some degree hyperbolical, yet some Account may be given of the
surprizing Effects of Musick_, and is attempted by the learned Dr.
_Willis_, (among others;) a Hint of which I shall add here, to what was
observed before upon the Subject.


         _REASONS_ (or rather CONJECTURES) _for Medicinal Cures
                              by MUSICK_.

I. That Musick, if not new, was in those Days a rare thing, which the
Vulgar, on whom ’tis reported to have mighty Effects, had scarce heard
any before, and on whom a little Musick will do great Feats, as we now
find a _Bag-pipe_ at a _Morris-Dance_.


II. Antient Musick was much more simple and plain than ours now, having
only one single Voice or Instrument apart, which to a rude Ear is much
more taking, than compound Musick; the former not exceeding their
Capacity, whereas a Concert of Musick confounds them quite, and ’tis by
no means distinguishable by them, so as to affect them with the Harmony
of its Parts.


III. Musick, with the Antients, was of a much larger Extent than what we
now call by that Name; for Poetry, and Dancing or graceful Motion, were
then counted part of Musick, when it had arrived to some degree of
Perfection: And we see that _Verse_ alone, if in good Measure and
_moving Words_, sung by an agreeable Voice, with soft instrumental
Musick, will work strangely on the Ear, and move all Affections suitable
to the Tune and Ditty ... especially if attended with _proper Gestures
and Actions_.... Thus suitable Acting on the Stage, gives great Life to
the Words[334].

Footnote 334:

  _Lowthorp’s Abridg._ vol. i. p. 618.

If a deliberate pathetick Reading of a well-penn’d Romance, will strike
the Passions, and produce Mirth, Tears, Joy, Grief, Pity, Wrath,
Indignation, suitable to the respective Intents of it; much more would
it so do, if accompanied with all those Attendants.——

If it be ask’d, _Why may not all this be done now?_ I answer, No doubt
but it may, if the Address be made in proper Words, emphatically spoken,
with agreeable Voice, attended with a decent Gesture; and all these
adjusted to the Passion and Temper of the Mind, particularly design’d to
be produced, (be it Joy, Grief, Pity, Courage, Indignation) will
certainly now, as well as then, produce great Effects upon the Mind,
especially upon a Surprize, and where Persons are not otherwise
pre-engaged. _Ibid._

The Antients had the Art of exciting this or that particular Passion of
the Mind, the Tunes being suitably adapted to such Designs; whereas
those now are almost quite neglected in our modern Musick.

The _Chromatick Genus_[335], with its greater and lesser _Semi-Tones_,
either ascending or descending, is very proper for the Pathetick in
Musick; as is also an artful Management of Discords, with a Variety of
Motions; now brisk, now languishing; now swift, now slow. The _Venetian_
Musician before-mentioned, excell’d in the _Pathetick_ to that degree,
that he was able to play any of his Auditors into _Distraction_.... The
great Means he made use of, was the _Variety of Motions_.——

Footnote 335:

  _Chroma_ in Musick, is the graceful way of Singing.

Even little Children, when crying, are charm’d and quieted by a jingling
Sound, a Shadow of Musick. In short, Musick attends the Man to his
Grave, where Elegies were formerly sung in Honour of the Deceased: Thus
the _Phenicians_ added _Flutes_ to their _Mournings_, and the _Romans_
had their _Siticines_, that is, those who sung to a Pipe, or blow’d the
Trumpet at their Funerals, a Custom not yet entirely abolish’d among the
antient _Britons_ and some Parts of _England_, who, when they take up
the Corps, sing Psalms before it all the way to Church; a common
Practice about seventy Years ago: So far I can charge my Memory.

We are not without modern Instances of Persons extraordinarily affected
by the Powers of Musick, as appears from our Opera’s, and the very
particular Devotion paid to the _Farinello’s_ of the Age, and to
_Italian_ Musick, display’d in Temples as well as on the Stage, the
first Erection of which was intended for the Honour and Defence of
Virtue.

The _Laconians_ were wont at the Death of their King to tinkle a
Caldron, instead of a Bell: Yea, the _Jews_ had their Minstrels at
Funerals; for, at the raising to Life the Daughter of _Jairus_, ’tis
said, the _Musicians_ were commanded to troop off, _Matth._ ix. Before
the _Roman_ Funerals, a Trumpeter went, follow’d by the _Præficæ_, _i.
e._ old Women, singing Songs in Praise of the Deceased.

Thus we have had a general View of Serpents, their Poison and Cure; and
a particular Account of Persons wounded by the _Tarantula_, and cured by
Musick; the Effects of which musical Operation, have past for Miracles;
for, by means of it, dangerous Distempers have been cured, Insurrections
quelled, Passions calm’d and raised, even to Distraction and Madness.

Antiently all Laws, Exhortations to Knowledge and Virtue, and Lives of
illustrious Men, were written in Verse, and publickly sung by a _Chorus_
to the Sound of musical Instruments, which was found a most effectual
way to impress Morality. So much for Serpents in particular.

_N. B._ In the Description of some Serpents by different Authors, ’tis
difficult to know whether they mean the same, or another; some having
the same Description with different Names, and some different
Description with the same Name. Another Mistake may arise from some
Difference in the same Serpent, in different Climates, as in Situation
(_N._ or _S._) and Size.


[Illustration]


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration]

                                   A

                            NATURAL HISTORY

                                   OF

                               _SERPENTS_

    ----------------------------------------------------------------

                               PART III.

                     Containing Six DISSERTATIONS.

                     I. _Upon the Primæval Serpent._

                    II. _Fiery Serpent._

                   III. _The Brazen Serpent._

                    IV. _Adoration of Serpents._

                     V. _Reasons of that monstrous
                        Worship_;

                    VI. _And for the Adoration of
                        different Animals._


    ----------------------------------------------------------------




                               CHAPTER I.

CONTENTS. _Various Sentiments about the Primæval Serpent: Some say,
    ’twas a real Serpent; others say, the Passage is allegorical. Some
    make the Serpent to be Pleasure; others the Devil in the Natural
    Serpent. Reasons why_ Adam _was not made beyond a Capacity of
    Sinning. Our first Parents arm’d with sufficient Power to stand:
    They knew no Enemy. Satan a compleat Orator. The Fatal Surrender.
    Satan’s triumphant Return from_ Eden. _Serpent’s Head and Subtility.
    Intercourse between the Angelick and Human World. A Plea for our
    first Mother. Why_ Moses _introduces a speaking Serpent. Method of
    Divine Government. Satan’s View. Reasons why_ Adam _was created in a
    State of Trial. A strong Negative, sufficient to put the Tempter to
    flight. The_ Paradisaical _Law guarded by the most powerful
    Sanction. The Opinion of_ Pagans _and_ Mahometans _about the Fall
    of_ Adam, _&c. Why Satan punish’d under a visible Figure_, viz.
    _Serpent_. Christ’s _Death publish’d, before Sentence of Death past
    upon_ Adam. _The Earth, a secondary_ Paradise. _Moral Reflection._


The Manner of Sin’s first Entrance into our World, is inscrutable: The
Subject is an Article of Lamentation, an Article that conducts us to
Paradise indeed, but ’tis to _Paradise lost_; whence date the _fatal
Æra_ of all human Calamities. There, there in a blissful Field; Sin, the
Plague of Hell, made its first Appearance on Earth: but as to the Mode
of its Introduction, there is a Spread of impenetrable Darkness over the
Face of that great Deep; after the most critical Disquisitions about it,
the Difficulty remains unsolvable.

Men of Letters may give their Conjectures, but it seems to be one of
those secret Things which belongs to him who is unsearchable, and _whose
ways are past finding out_; therefore we should rather think, _how to
get Sin out of the World, than how it came in at first_: The one would
only prove what our Understandings could do, but the other would declare
our Hearts, what they ought to be.

What this Serpent was, that triumph’d in Paradise, has been a Subject of
long Debate, and the Learned are not yet agreed in their Verdict about
it. I shall first lay down their various Opinions, and then give my own
Conjectures.

Among the _Jews_, some took it for a real, natural Serpent, and did
believe, it was endued with the Gift of Speaking; but because it
deceived the Woman, was condemn’d to lose its vocal Tongue, _to go upon
its Belly_, and _feed upon Dust_[336].

Footnote 336:

  _Joseph. Antiq._ cap. i.

Others, who, not allowing the Privilege of Speech to a Brute, have
turn’d the _Mosaic History_ of Paradise into an _Allegory_, an
Assemblage of Metaphors, or figurative Documents. Thus a certain learned
_Jew_ says, the _Serpent_, that seduced the Woman, _was Pleasure_; and
forbidden Pleasure, when tasted, brought forth Death[337].

Footnote 337:

  _Philo Jud. de Mundi Opif._

But if this was the Case, could she be so properly said to be tempted by
another, as to tempt herself? He adds, the Curse of the Serpent is not
only to go upon its Breast, but, _and thou shalt go upon thy Belly_. _q.
d._ “Since Pleasure was thy Desire, let the Pleasure of the Earth enter
into it. The _Belly_, says the _Allegorizer_, is the Receptacle of most
Pleasures of the Animal Kind.” Creatures that go upon four Feet, or
more, are deem’d impure; and such is he, who is a Lover of terrene
Pleasures; such a Person may be said, always to go upon his Belly,
because he studies nothing more than its Gratification. Pleasure indeed,
is attended with a Train of Allurements and Charms. _Tarquin_’s violent
Pursuit of forbidden Pleasure, terminated, not only in the Ruin of his
House, but Extirpation of Monarchy: _Crœsus_ King of _Lydia_ being
conquer’d by _Cyrus_ King of _Persia_, gave the Conqueror this Advice,
If you would have the _Lydians_ be your obedient Slaves, make them
_Slaves to Pleasure_.

Nor is _Philo_ alone in making the Serpent a Symbol of Pleasure, for
_Maimonides_ and others expound those historical Passages in the same
manner; asking, Why should that Serpent be call’d a subtle Beast, if it
were not in a figurative Sense? In favour of this Exposition, he quotes
several Passages out of the Prophets, that are allow’d to be intirely
allegorical[338]; and then adds, that in _Moses’s Journal of the
Creation_, all things therein are not to be understood literally[339].
One of the most learned Fathers seems inclined to this _Philonick
Interpretation of Moses_[340]. It is observable, that in reality, ’twas
not the _Pleasure of Eating_ which tempted the Woman, but an anxious
_Desire of greater Wisdom_; which shews a more refined Taste in _Eve_,
and overthrows the Hypothesis of _Philo_ and _Clemens_.

Footnote 338:

  _More Nevochim_, cap. xxix.

Footnote 339:

  Ibid. p. 265, & 273.

Footnote 340:

  _Clem. Alexandrinus_, who flourish’d in the second Age. Οφις
  αλληγορειται—ηδονη. Edit. col. p. 69. A. B. _A. D._ 1688.

Some Rabbinical Writers say, the Devil that deluded the Woman, came
mounted upon a Serpent, in Bulk equal to a Camel, and known by the Name
_Sammael_, an Evil Angel; called also by them, the _Angel of the Dead_,
Prince of the aerial Region, and Chief of the Demons. Other Rabbies look
upon him as the Prince of Angels; and believe, he is to preside at the
last Judgment; for which Reason, they make him Offerings on the Day of
solemn Expiation, to appease his Indignation[341]. ’Tis said, this
Serpent eat the forbidden Fruit and did not die for it; the Woman
inferred she might also eat, and not die.

Footnote 341:

  _Calmet in Verbum._ _Rab. Benach in Genes._ iii.

Others there are, who will not allow the seducing Serpent to be an
_Animal_, but the _Devil_ himself in that Shape, who therefore in the
sacred Writings is called the _great Dragon, old Serpent, and Murderer
from the Beginning_. And some are of Opinion, he borrowed the Body of a
real Serpent, which he made use of, as a Vehicle, thro’ which he
instilled Poison into the Woman’s Mind: And if so, what occasion to say
the Serpent was more subtle than any Beast?——Since the grand Enemy in
tempting _Eve_, did not use the Craft of the Serpent, but his own
Cunning, in the Management of that cruel Stratagem.

Those who are not pleased with such Ratiocinations, satisfy themselves
with this, _viz._ That our first Parents, in whose Loins we were,
transgrest, and made a Forfeiture of Paradise for themselves and
Descendants; but the manner how they fell is not obvious, nor to be
accounted for, in a State of Imperfection.

If it be ask’d, Why did not the divine Goodness put our first Parents
beyond a Capacity of sinning? ’tis answer’d,

That _Mutability is essential to all Creatures_, as such, in all their
Kinds: In this mutable State our first Parents were created, holy and
happy: Life and Death were set before them; they had freedom of Choice,
a free-will to use the Powers of Nature as they pleased; that is, they
were made in a State of Liberty, with a Power to determine for
themselves, whether to abide or not in that glorious Situation. So that
if there be a Difficulty in accounting for the Fall, there is as great a
one in supposing a reasonable moral Creature uncapable of Choice: for
where there is no Choice, there can be no Virtue; and where there is no
Virtue, there can be no Happiness.

Again, _Adam_ and _Eve were arm’d with a sufficient Power to stand_,
being created after the divine Image pure and upright, without Error in
their intellectual Powers; therefore if they mistook the Object, or were
imposed upon, ’twas not for want of Light in the Mind, but want of
Application of that Light, which was in their power.... Which Light told
them, the Tree of Life planted in Paradise, was to perpetuate their
Lives; and that the Tree that had the Marks of Death upon it, would do
them no harm, but by doing their own Will, or the Will of any other in
opposition to his sovereign Will who had said, _Eat not_.

They were created pure, and capable of Perseverance; and when they fell,
God did not withdraw any Gift he had conferred upon them: He did all
that was necessary on his Part for their Preservation, and they had
remain’d safe, if their Liberty had but conducted itself aright: Their
Liberty was not tied to any particular Object, as their other Faculties
were, but respected every thing that could be done, or left undone, and
it might have imploy’d them after another manner.

It’s said, _Out of the Ground made the Lord God to grow every Tree that
is pleasant to the Sight, and good for Food; and the Tree of Knowledge
of Good and Evil, of which thou shalt not eat_. Gen. ii. 9, 17. Now,
where lay the Difficulty of _not eating_, when they were in no want of
Food? And if in want, were not all the Fruits of Paradise prepared for
them? Why would none serve but what was prohibited? And nothing
prohibited but what was deadly Poison, and what _Adam_ knew to be so, by
immediate Revelation from Heaven.

Thus furnish’d with divine Armour, and all the agreeable Entertainments
of Life, ’tis most surprizing how they should indulge an irregular Turn
in the animal Passions, and give way to such Inadvertency. One thing
that might lead them to this Oversight, probably was, that they knew of
_no Enemy_, therefore dreaded _no Danger_. But this Plea is of no force;
for their Business was strictly to regard the Voice of their Creator
(who said, _Eat not_) and not to give heed to any contrary Insinuations,
tho’ proposed by a known Friend, much less by a Stranger, one of another
Kingdom, and of another Species, without sufficient Attestation.

Here _Lucifer_ play’d the Orator: He gave his Argument all the Rhetorick
it would bear, by removing their _fear of Death_, and gratifying in them
a certain Hope of _being Gods_. The Woman had the Threatning of Death in
her Thoughts, and therefore durst not eat till she was made to believe,
_she should not die_; (by which it appears, she had dreadful Ideas of
dying.) And thus she was tempted to _Unbelief_. Then Satan proposes the
glorious Advantages of _Eating_, viz. _Ye shall be as Gods_ ... be
independent Beings, not subject to the Controul of a superior Power; and
thus they were tempted to _Pride_. _Unbelief_ and _Pride_ were the two
fatal Rocks, on which their Innocence was wreck’d. Thus our first
Parents fell, not for want of _Light_, but for extinguishing it; not for
want of _Power_, but for not using it in the Hour of Danger.

The Enemy having made his Conquest, might probably continue for some
time in _Eden_, to assist the Woman in seducing her Husband, and then
confirm them in their Apostacy, directing them, upon the Approach of an
Enemy, to hide themselves among the Trees of the Garden, where he left
them; upon which he return’d to his Kingdom in the Air, to publish his
successful Atchievements in Paradise, and was no more heard of, till he
was summon’d to the Bar.

The Devil’s principal Residence is in the Air, where he keeps his Court,
from whence he sends out his Angels to secure and enlarge his Conquests.
Perhaps, he may think it not consistent with the Dignity of so great a
Prince to traverse the Earth in Person, unless it be upon some
extraordinary Occasions, as that of tempting the first and second
_Adam_, _&c._

The next Thing that offers itself, is an Attempt to illustrate the Case
between the Woman and Serpent: It seems most apparent to me, that under
the Name of the Serpent, we are to understand the Devil, who made use of
a real Serpent in his Descent upon Paradise, where he decoy’d the first
Woman into the fatal Snare.

In the Curse upon the Serpent, ’tis said, the _Seed of the Woman should
break the Serpent’s Head_; intimating, the Serpent having its _Heart_
under the _Throat_, and very near the _Head_, the readiest way to kill
it, is to squeeze the Head. Some of the Fathers bring four Proofs of the
Serpent’s Wisdom; trite and common.

1. When ’tis old, it has the Secret of growing young again, by stripping
off its old Skin, which is succeeded by a new Coat; but if it parts with
its outward Garments, it retains its Poison. Herein it is resembled by
those, who leave the outward Acts of Sin, but not their secret Regards
for it.

2. The Serpent assaults a Man if he sees him naked, but flies if it
finds him cloathed. But there is a Fault in this Passage of
_Epiphanius_, who intends to say the contrary; for ’tis generally
affirm’d, that the Serpent is afraid of a naked Man, but attacks him if
he has Clothes on.

3. When the Serpent is assaulted, its chief Care is to secure its Head:
’Tis attested by many Writers, that to save the Head, it will expose the
whole Body to Danger[342].

Footnote 342:

  Ὁ οφις φυλαττει κεφαλην. Isiodor. Pelusiot. lib. i. p. 126.

4. When it goes to drink, it vomits up all its Poison, for fear of
poisoning itself. Some have defended this, but without any Colour of
Reason[343].

Footnote 343:

  _Calmet’s Diction. of the H. Bible_, vol. iii. out of _Epiphanius_.

They relate other Instances of the Serpent’s Wisdom, as stopping its
Ears, that it may not hear the Voice of the Charmer or Inchanter; of
which the _Psalmist_ takes notice. ’Tis said, it applies one of its Ears
hard to the Ground, and stops up the other with the end of its Tail,
_Psal._ lviii. 4. Others say, its Wisdom consists in Acuteness of Sight;
therefore among the _Greeks_, a Serpent’s Eye was a proverbial Speech
for one of a quick Understanding[344]. These are some of the common
Reasons assigned for the Wisdom of the Serpent.

Footnote 344:

  Οφεως ομμα.

I Now proceed to an Illustration of the Debate between the Woman and
Serpent in Paradise, under three Heads.


I. _WHY may not we suppose, that in the Infancy of Mankind there was an
open Intercourse between the angelick and human World, and that Angels
might appear to our first Parents in some visible Form, as afterwards
they did to the Patriarchs?_ If this be not granted, I would ask how a
fallen Angel came to know there was a Paradise, and a certain Tree whose
Fruit was forbidden, and where that Tree was situated in the Garden?

When a certain Province of Angels rebelled, they were doom’d to the wide
Space contiguous to our Globe, and by their daily Rovings from Place to
Place, they might indeed discover that little Spot of Earth, called
_Paradise_; but how came they to be acquainted with the Laws of that
Country, and that there was a forbidden Tree, and where it grew? How, I
say, could they know all this without Revelation, or previous
Conversation with the Inhabitants of the Place?


II. _IF there had been no former Acquaintance between Angels and our
first Parents, how came the Woman to converse so freely with a Stranger
she had never seen before, one of another Country, and of a different
Species?_ ’Tis therefore probable, that when the Devil addrest the
Woman, and that in her own Language, he might assume the Form of a good
Angel, that Form in which Angels had discoursed with our first Parents
before the Fall.

And perhaps when Angels, the Messengers of Heaven, conversed with _Adam_
and _Eve_, it might be in the Shape of flying speaking Serpents. Without
allowing this mutual Intercourse, and former Familiarity, we can’t well
suppose that our first Parents, tho’ not furnish’d with so much
Knowledge as is usually ascribed to them, would be conquer’d by a
_Demon_ in the Shape of a _Serpent_, which naturally is a Beast of the
Field, and known to be so by _Adam_, who, but a little before, had
enrolled it among his Subjects, and given it a significant Name.

Can we imagine our first Parents so stupid, as to hold a Conversation
with a Beast, without Surprize, Jealousy, and Suspicion? _Adam_, who
knew the Properties of inferior Animals, (to whom he had given proper
Names a little before) could not but know, that the _Serpent_ was a
_Beast_, and had no Organs fitted for the Formation of articulate
Sounds, much less a Power to fix proper Ideas to them, and support an
Argument by arguing the Case in a rational manner. Could _Adam_, who was
the Image of God upon Earth, hear a Brute speak and dispute in the
Language of Paradise, without a Suspicion of Imposture or something
ominous?

During the Woman’s Parley with the Serpent, _Adam_ is supposed to be
absent, perhaps thro’ Satan’s Management, and upon her representing to
him at their next meeting, the Conversation she had with the Serpent, he
must conclude that Serpent to be a _grand Cheat_, or a _good Angel_,
that spoke to his Wife: and that he took it in the latter Sense, is
plain from the Event; that is, his taking the forbidden Fruit, and
eating thereof upon the Serpent’s Recommendation of it to his Wife, who
found no ill Effect from her Compliance. Now, the Tempter having assur’d
the Woman that her eating that Fruit would not bring Death, and _Adam_
finding it to be true in Fact, that is, that she did eat and live after
it, concluded he might eat with equal Safety.

Upon this Supposition, we may charitably infer, that since our first
Mother might converse with Angels in that serpentine, or some other
bright Form, she now converses with the Serpent without Scruple or Dread
of Imposture. And as she apprehended the Serpent to be a good and kind
Spirit, so _Adam_ did, upon her Representation of the Matter, and took
the forbidden Fruit, and eat it: And perhaps the Serpent was present,
giving Attestation to the Report made by the Woman to her Husband.

This being granted, ’tis conceivable how the Woman might freely converse
with a Creature that assum’d an Image so glorious, especially if we
consider she was in her infantile State, and without any experimental
Knowledge, or any Apprehension of Danger, from an Enemy, of which she
had no Idea; being no Sinner, she was without Fear.

In the Sentence past upon _Adam_, there is one Clause that seems to
corroborate this Hypothesis; for, upon the Expulsion of our first
Parents ... the Gates of _Eden_ were guarded by a _Cherub_ (to prevent
their re-entrance) which, by the _Jews_, was esteem’d a _second Angel_,
and may be aptly imagin’d to be a _Seraph_, or an Angel in the Form of a
flying Serpent, whose Body vibrated in the Air, with a peculiar
Resplendency, and may be fitly describ’d by the Image of such a Sword.
’Tis said, _God drove out the Man, and placed at the East-end of the
Garden of Eden, Cherubims and a flaming Sword, which turned every way,
to keep the Way of the Tree of Life_, Gen. iii. _ult._ God made Angels
Guardians of Paradise, and a sparkling Fire, like a flaming Sword; says
the _Arabick_ Version.

But why may not this Text bear an Interpretation pregnant with good
Tidings, as an Explication of the Promise made to the Woman, that is, an
Instruction to our first Parents how to worship God after the Fall,
namely by Sacrifice, which was to be offer’d by them before the
_Cherubims_ (erected over the Gates of Paradise) as Sacrifices
afterwards were before the _Cherubims_ in the _Tabernacle_ and _Temple_,
or, as the _Hebrew_, before the _Faces of Jehovah_?

The _flaming Sword and the Cherubims_, might be Emblems or Figures of
some things to be observed in the Form of Worship design’d for that new
Dispensation. The _fiery Sword_ being a killing Weapon, might represent
irritated Justice; and _Cherubims_ being the Inhabitation of the Deity
in the Tabernacle and Temple, might be an Emblem of Mercy, to which the
Sacrifices were offer’d: and may not Cherubims be so construed here? _N.
B._ May we not date the first Institution of Sacrifice here, which soon
appear’d in the History of _Cain_ and _Abel_?

God might address our first Parents after this manner; View these
wonderful Sights over the Gate, behold in them the Scheme of Salvation!
The Text thus interpreted, gives the Tempter a fresh Mortification, to
see his bloody Design defeated, and our first Parents restored to Favour
at the Gate of _Eden_, in which he had triumph’d over them; and that
which encreased his Vexation was, to see this done by _Christ_, the
promised Seed, one of the human Race.

In the Tabernacle and Temple there were no Representations of God, but
only emblematical Figures erected over the Mercy-Seat, called the
Cherubims; in, or between them, the _Deity_ is said _to dwell_; and the
Law obliged the _Jews_ to bring the Blood of the Sacrifice _before the
Face of God_ in the Cherubims, that is, within the Vail, on the Day of
Expiation: and here God might direct our first Parents to bring their
Sacrifices to him, who was in a special manner present in the Cherubims
over the Gate.

But supposing _Adam_ and _Eve_ had, after their Expulsion, enter’d
Paradise; I don’t see what valuable End it would have answered, for the
special Promises made to the first Inhabitants of Paradise were now null
and void. All the Blessings peculiar to that glorious Situation, were
irrecoverably lost. It was not in the power of that once sacred Seat to
reinstate them in their pristine Happiness.

_Obj._ Could not the Tree of Life restore their forfeited Comforts? I
presume not; because the Tree of Life, in the Design of it, was to
perpetuate the happy Life of innocent Man, and not to restore the Life
and Comforts of Criminals under a Sentence of Death; a Sentence
irrepealable, which even the Death of our Blessed Redeemer does not
exempt us from.

Upon the whole, I can scarcely think that these strange and awful Sights
or Figures, over the East Gate of _Eden_, were only to frighten our
first Parents, whose distressed State stood in need of Divine Supports.
To be cast out of Paradise was a Mortification that needed not a
super-added Terror; therefore to make those Figures Spectacles of
Horror, seems not so well suited to Persons under Circumstances so
inexpressibly dolorous, tho’ restored to Favour; but might rather be
design’d to conduct them to God by _Christ_, the _Tree of Life_.


III. _IT’s very probable a Conversation had past between the Woman and
Serpent before the Narrative publish’d by Moses._ She might upon the
first Approach of the Serpent ask, How a Beast acquired the Gift of
Speaking, which is the Prerogative of Rationals? The Serpent might
answer, That it was by Eating the Fruit of that Tree. _Eve_ might urge,
That God had forbid her to eat that Fruit upon pain of Death. The
Serpent might make this Return, _viz._ What you say is true; ’tis
allow’d to be the Law under the first Form of Government, but I am now
come from the supreme Court, to give you Assurance of God’s kind
Intentions to advance you to a higher and more noble Station: The
Prohibition of this Fruit was only a probationary Restraint, and
temporary.

Now the End of the first Institution being answered, ’tis the Will of
our Great Sovereign to take off those Restraints, and make you a free
People. Upon the Formation of your Being, he brighten’d your Mind with
Rays of great Wisdom; but now the happy Moment is come, in which he
purposes to inspire you with higher Degrees of Wisdom.... By eating this
Fruit, your intellectual Powers will be infinitely enlarged; for, _ye
shall be as Gods_, and then all the Endowments and Accomplishments of
Nature will arrive at their full Perfection, which as yet are only in
their Embryo. This being only a Supposition, I dismiss it.

The Serpent having ascrib’d its Reason, and Speech to the eating of that
Fruit, the Woman might infer, If this Fruit did turn a Serpent into a
rational Creature, why may it not transform a rational Creature into a
God, and a _Woman_ into a _Goddess_? The Serpent had no occasion to say
more; fir’d with the Prospect of such Preferment, she _took the Fruit
and did eat_. Gen. iii. 6. _And when the Woman saw that the Tree was
good for Food, pleasant to the Eye, and a Tree to be desired to make one
wise, she did eat._

_N. B._ How divine and delightful a Thing is Knowledge, of which
Innocency itself is ambitious! _Eve_ thirsted after the highest Degrees
of Knowledge, and made no doubt of obtaining it by the Serpent’s
Instructions; not knowing of any Impostor, she believed what the Tempter
said. Satan, by the Serpent, as a Bait proposed Improvement in
Knowledge.

Thus the first Woman, Head of the human Race, fell a Sacrifice to her
own Ambition, fell a Virgin, and in her Infant-State. _Icarus_, by
flying too near the Sun, his waxen Wings melted, and he fell into the
Sea, and was drowned. Justly was he punish’d, for not observing his
Father’s Will. May I add, in favour of our Mother, that the Law
forbidding that Fruit, was not immediately publish’d to _Eve_, but
receiv’d at second-hand from _Adam_; and that it can’t be well supposed,
that she knew the various Capacities and Qualities of Brutes, as her
Husband did.

But, why does _Moses_ introduce a Serpent speaking, when naturally it
was a speechless Creature?

In answer to this, may we not observe, that the Almighty, who has no
_material Tongue_, yet is often introduced, speaking with _human Voice_
in the Scripture. The _Egyptians_ made the _Crocodile_ a Symbol of the
Deity, giving this as a Reason why they worshipped God symbolically in
that Creature, because it resembled God, in that it was the only Animal
without a Tongue; for the Divine λογος stands in no need of Speech; he
governs human Affairs without Words, and without Noise.

Again, this Dialogue with the Serpent, a known Beast, is very agreeable
to a Custom among the Oriental Writers, who enchase their Histories with
Ornaments taken from familiar Discourses between Beasts; by which they
convey moral Instructions to their Readers: Thus, on a Subject of Craft,
they made the Fox to speak.

With what View did the Devil tempt our first Parents to sin? I answer,
’twas out of despite to God; _i. e._ with a design to rob the Creator of
the Glory he proposed to himself from the Erection of this new World: He
could not attack the Almighty on his Throne, therefore he strikes at the
Footstool. Since he could not reach the Person of the Almighty, he
wreaks his Malice upon his _Image_, Man; Man, whose Happiness, and that
of his Descendants, he envy’d; and whom, in particular he hated, as his
intended Successors to the vacant Seats in the blissful Regions above.

In his Plot against _Adam_, the Deceiver was deceived; for he made no
doubt but the Sentence of Death would be immediately executed upon
_Adam_ and _Eve_, and upon the Extinction of the human Species, God
would lose all his Honour upon Earth. Why did not he appear to our first
Parents in a human Form? probably because he might apprehend, that there
was no other Man or Woman, but themselves.

Having considered _Adam_ in his probationary Capacity, I shall in the
next place observe these three Things, by way of Illustration.

  I. _It was most congruous that Man’s first State should be a State of
    Trial._ II. _That his Trial should be by the Laws of his Creator._
    III. _That those Laws should be inforced by a proper Sanction._


I. _IT was congruous and fit, our first Parents should begin their Life
in a way of Trial, as they were moral Agents_: In which Situation I
apprehend all the Angels to be at first, to see how they would behave
towards the Great Author of their Being and Blessedness, before they
were establish’d. No Creature, as such, is capable of Immutability, any
more than of Omnipotence. To be naturally, and necessarily immutable, is
the sole Prerogative of the Almighty: The perpetual Duration of created
Beings, is not from their Nature, but from the Divine Will.

Our first Parents were under a strong Guard, and not to be disarm’d
without their own Consent; tho’ the Devil, as he was a Spirit, excelled
in Power, yet he could not by Force subdue the weaker Vessel, therefore
conducted the bloody Design by Stratagems. When the Woman was sollicited
by the Tempter, one strong _Negative_ would have put him to _flight_. A
resolute Denial, without any other Means, would have made her
victorious, tho’ assaulted by all the Legions of Hell; therefore, no
room to complain of Deficiency in Divine Goodness.

’Tis beyond all doubt, that the Revelation given to _Adam_ (as that to
Christian Churches in After-ages) made it a fundamental part of his
Duty, not to attend to any Insinuations contrary to those delivered to
him by his Creator, tho’ recommended even by an Angel from Heaven:
Temptations to forbidden Fruit, however pleasant, should not be parley’d
with, but peremptorily rejected.


II. _IT was equally proper, that a Creature should be govern’d by the
Laws of his Creator_; as it implies a Contradiction for a Creature to be
independent, which it must suppose itself to be, when govern’d by its
own Laws. The Will of the Creator was surely the fittest, for the
Obedience of Creatures; one part of which was, that they must not have
an Indulgence of all the Trees in _Eden_.

It follows hence, that _Self-denial was a Duty in Paradise_. _Adam_ was
not an absolute Sovereign to do what he pleased, but what his Almighty
Creator and Patron prescribed; tho’ endowed with Reason, yet was he to
govern himself by the Will of another, that is, of him who was the
Donor. His Reason was a bright, but borrowed Light, borrowed from the
uncreated Sun, therefore ought to move by its Direction.

Thus we see that Restraints on the human Nature, were necessary even in
Man’s Paradisaical State: To deny Self, was one of the Precepts of
Religion in the Garden of Innocence; nor is this strange, if we
consider, that for any rational Creature to live according to his own
Will, is to make a _God_ of his _Will_.

Why did God forbid the Fruit of one Tree? This might be to signify
_Adam_’s Dependance upon his Maker, and that he had no Claim to any
thing without his Leave: The sovereign Lord of the Creation made over to
_Adam_ large Dominions, and the Mannour of Paradise for the Seat of his
Empire, reserving nothing to himself but a small Rent of Acknowledgment,
which was only the Fruit of one Tree. The Exemption of this Tree from
human Use, notify’d Man’s Subjection, and God’s supreme Dominion. By
this Reservation he tried their Obedience, whether they would be content
with all the Earth, and Appurtenances thereunto belonging, one Tree only
excepted. _N. B._ This forbidden Tree might have something of a natural
Tendency to corrupt the animal Juices, and introduce Diseases and Death
into the human Nature. If the Tree of Life could immortalize our
Existence in Happiness, is it not equally rational to suppose the Tree
of Knowledge ... would destroy it?


III. _THE Laws of Paradise were inforced by a very awful Sanction_, viz.
_Life and Death_: The one expressing something most terrible, the other
implying somewhat vastly delightful. Threatnings were necessary Cautions
in Paradise: How surprizing this! The first day of Man’s Life, Man was
put in mind of Death, of which the Tree of Life was a Memento. If you
eat the Fruit of it, you forfeit your Life, _die you must_ without
Remedy. This Menace of Death, in the Design of it, was to guard against
Sin, as that which only could be the Cause of Death.

_IN the day thou eatest thereof_, dying thou shalt die; or, die the
Death. Behold here! as in a Cloud, the first Alarm of Mortality, the
first Institution of Funerals, and the melancholy Office of
Grave-diggers. Bells from the Pinnacle of the Temple, proclaim it aloud
to Man, _Dust thou art, and unto Dust thou shalt return_. In this
paradisaical Scheme of Government, we find Death to be a near Neighbour
to Life: Both the Trees grew near to one another.

Some have made this _Tree of Life_ a Representation of _Christ_, and if
so, here, as in a Glass, darkly Man saw his Saviour before he stood in
need of him: The Tree of Life planted in the midst of Paradise, was to
preserve _Adam_’s Life, and without doubt had done so, if he had not
rebelled. According to a Learned _Jew_, the Tree of Life represents
Piety; and that of Knowledge, Prudence[345]. Some of his Countrymen tell
us ridiculous Stories about the Tree of Life, _viz._ That it was of
prodigious Size, and all the Water of the Earth gush’d out at its Foot,
_&c._

Footnote 345:

  _Philo Judæus._

It is from the History of Paradise that pagan Poets took their _Nectar_
and _Ambrosia_, which were said to be the Meat and Drink of the Gods;
upon which some put this Construction, _viz._ _Nectar_ signifies
_young_; _Ambrosia_, _Immortality_; intimating, that in a State of
Innocency, the Vigor of Youth would have been immortal.

The Heathen were not without some Idea of the Mosaic Creation, and Fall
of Man, and of a Woman that brought Sorrow into the World; envying, that
a Fire, which is the Light of Knowledge, was hid from them ... and also
of Old-Age, brought in by the Counsel of a Serpent.——

Paradise, in _Plato_’s _Symposium_, is _Jupiter_’s _Garden_, and also is
the Pattern of _Alcinous_’s _Orchards_, and the _Hesperides_: The
Golden-Apples kept by a _Dragon_, were the forbidden Fruit in Paradise:
The Fable of _Hercules_’s killing the Serpent of the _Hesperides_, is
borrowed from the Seed of the Woman, breaking the Serpent’s Head.

What is _Ovid_’s _In nova fert animus_? but an imperfect Transcript of
_Moses_’s Journal of the Creation, _&c._ ’Tis said by _Moses_, _The
Spirit of God moved on the Face of the Waters_; hence _Thales_, makes
Water to be the first Principle of all natural Bodies: His Reasons are
deliver’d by _Plutarch_. _Homer_ says, All things are made of the Ocean.
The _Chaos_, whereof all things were made, according to _Hesiod_, was
Water. _Orpheus_ says, all things were generated of the Ocean[346].
_Plato_’s _Atlanticus_, what is it but a Fable? built upon _Moses_’s
History of _Noah_, and the Flood, and the Causes that brought it upon
the World.

Footnote 346:

  ωκεανος—γενεσις παντευς τετυκται.

What is the _Bacchus_ of the Heathen, but the _Noah_ of _Moses_?
formerly called _Boachus_, for _Noachus_, as might easily be, mistaking
the _Hebrew_ Letters B and N, which are not very much unlike. By _Janus_
and _Saturn_, _Noah_ is meant; and some take _Jupiter_ to be _Japhet_,
for tho’ _Jovis_, and the other oblique Cases are derived from
_Jehovah_, yet _Jupiter_ is another. The Fable of Heaven being stormed
by the _Giants_, arose from what the Builders of the _Tower of Babel_
said, _viz._ _Let us build a City and a Tower, whose Top may reach unto
Heaven_.... But no Man imitates the Scriptures more than _Homer_, who
was an inquisitive Traveller into all Countries. But to proceed to the
Pagan Account of Paradise, and the Fall of Man:

A certain Author relates a Discourse between _Midas_ the _Phrygian_, and
_Silenus_ who was the Son of a _Nymph_, inferior by Nature to the Gods,
superior to Men and Death, thus:

_SILENUS_ told _Midas_, that _Europe_, _Asia_, and _Africa_ were
Islands, surrounded by Water: that there was but one Continent only,
which was beyond this World, in which, among other Rarities, were two
great _Rivers_, whose Banks were cover’d with _Trees_, one of them was
called the _River of Pleasure_, and the other the _River of Grief_....

He who eat the Fruit of the Trees along the River of Pleasure, was eased
from all his former Desires, and in a short time became younger, and
lived over again his former Years, cast off Old-Age, and became first a
Young Man, then a Child, and lastly an Infant, and so died.

On the other hand, he who eat the Fruit from the Trees by the River of
Grief, spent all his Days in Tears and Troubles, and after many Years of
Vexation, dies.

How romantick soever this Relation may be, it seems to allude to the
_Trees_ and _Rivers_ of Paradise, and to give some Hints about the
Introduction of Death.

The _Indians_ account for the Fall of Man after this manner:—_Brama_,
one of their subaltern Deities, form’d Man out of the Slime of the Earth
that was then just created, and placed him in a certain Situation, which
they call _Chorcham_, which was a Garden of Delights, abounding with all
manner of pleasant Fruit, in which was a certain Tree, whose Fruit would
confer Immortality upon any Persons that were allow’d to eat it.

The _Gods_, say the _Indians_, tried all sorts of Means to obtain the
Privilege of this Immortality; and after great Difficulties, did at last
succeed according to their Wish, and found out the Way to the Tree of
Life, which was in the _Chorcham_, and by feeding on its Fruit for some
time, they commenced immortal.

A famous Serpent called _Cheieu_, (probably Guardian of that Tree)
perceiving the Secret was discover’d by the Gods of the second Rank, was
so enraged, that it scatter’d a Flood of Poison over the Plain. All the
Earth felt the fatal Effects, and no Man escaped the Infection: But the
God _Chiven_, took pity on the human Nature, appear’d in the Shape of
Man, and swallow’d all the mortal Poison, wherewith the malicious
Serpent had infected the Universe.... This Fable, as ridiculous as it
is, must have some regard to the terrestrial Paradise, and can have no
other Original but the Doctrine of _Moses_[347].

Footnote 347:

  _Æliani Sophistæ varia Historia, cum Notis, Curante Gronovio._ A. D.
  1731. _Theopompus_ is quoted for it, whom my Author calls μυθολογος.
  _Et hæc si cui fide dignus videtur, ea narrans Chius, ille credatur,
  mihi vero egregius esse fabulator._ vol. I. cap. xviii. p. 252.

Nor were the more western Pagans more happy in their Conjectures about
the first Entrance of moral Evil. _Prometheus_, say they, having form’d
Men out of the Earth and Water, animated them with Fire, which he stole
from Heaven. _Jupiter_, the Chief of the Pagan Gods, enraged at this,
commands _Vulcan_ to make a Woman out of Clay, upon whom all the Gods,
out of their high Regard[348] to the Fair Sex, bestow’d some of their
Perfections. _Venus_ gave her Beauty; _Pallas_, Wisdom; _Mercury_,
Eloquence; _Apollo_, Musick; and _Juno_ gave her Riches; therefore
called _Pandora_, who was sent by the Gods in revenge to _Prometheus_,
with a Box full of Evils as a Present from them, but he was too cautious
to receive it; upon which she was to present it to his Brother
_Epimetheus_, (supposed by some to be her Husband) which he had no
sooner open’d, but immediately there flew out _all kinds of Evil_, that
soon scatter’d themselves over all the Earth; and at the bottom of the
Box, nothing was left but poor _Hope_.

Footnote 348:

  _Travels of several Missionaries into_ India, p. 7.

             _Hope, of all Ills that Men endure,
             The only cheap and universal Cure.
                           Hope,
             Thou pleasant, honest Flatterer; for none
             Flatter unhappy Men, but thou alone._...  Cowl.

The _Mahometan Account of Man’s Fall_, is equally absurd, as appears
from _Mahomet Rabadan, &c._ thus:—God made the Creation ... the earthly
Mass became an animate Body ... and was called _Adam_; God placed him in
heavenly Paradise, and lest he should believe that he had no Superior,
God gave him only one Command, the Observation of which was very easy.
He forbid him, upon pain of Death, to eat of the Fruit of a certain
Tree. _Adam_ wanted a Mate; therefore God made him fall into a profound
Sleep, and took out of his left Side a Rib, of which he formed a very
beautiful Woman, whom he called _Eve_, ... and order’d _Gabriel_ to go
into Paradise, and to celebrate the Wedding of _Adam_ and _Eve_, being
attended with a great many other Angels.

_LUCIFER_ envying the Happiness of Man, used his utmost Endeavours to
deprive him of it. Going one day by the door of Paradise, he said to the
Angel who kept it, _Give me leave to go in, for I have a Matter of
Moment to impart to the Servants of thy Lord_. The Angel having denied
his Request, he desired him to call the Serpent, who was then a very
fine Creature. The Serpent came, and _Lucifer_ earnestly desired Leave
to get into his Body; the Serpent did so, and placed _Lucifer_ in the
Roof of its Mouth, and carried him into Paradise. When he came near the
Forbidden Tree, it endeavoured in vain to make _Lucifer_ come out.
_Lucifer_ stuck fast, and forced the Serpent to get upon that Tree,
under which _Adam_ and _Eve_ used to sit down. _Eve_ was then alone,
near the Tree: She saw the Serpent, who spoke to the Woman in these
Words, _viz._

Charming Creature, if you would taste this Fruit, you would be _like God
himself_ in Wisdom and Knowledge: All the Secrets and all the Mysteries
you are now ignorant of, will be manifested to you. _Adam_ came during
the Discourse, and having told him what the Serpent had said, proposed
to him to eat of the forbidden Fruit, which after a Short Pause he
comply’d with. The Tree was a large Vine; _Eve_ took twelve Grains of a
Bunch of Grapes, gave eight to her Husband, and kept four to herself.

At that very moment, _Adam heard a very terrible Voice, Wo to thee! hast
thou so soon forgot the only Commandment thou hadst promised to observe?
how comes it that thou hast (by thy Greediness) polluted the Purity of
my Habitation?_ _Adam_ being confounded, excused himself by laying the
Fault upon _Eve_, who endeavour’d to justify herself by accusing the
Serpent. Upon which God ordered the Angels immediately to drive _Adam_
and _Eve_ from Paradise, to Strip them of their Clothes, and take away
the Crowns they had on their Heads[349].——But it is high time to return.

Footnote 349:

  _Mahometism fully explained, by_ Mahomet Rabadan, _a_ Moor _of_
  Arragon _in_ Spain, _for the Instruction of the_ Moors _in that
  Kingdom, who were then violently persecuted there_. Translated out of
  _Spanish_ by Mr. _Morgan_, with a design to give us a better Notion of
  the _Mahometans_, and to place it in the rich Library of the late Earl
  of _Oxford_. Printed _A. D._ 1724.

Satan, who imploy’d the Serpent in his Service, is supposed to be
punish’d here under the Figure of a Serpent: But why in the Presence of
our first Parents? Perhaps for such Reasons as these, _viz._ 1. To
reproach their Inadvertency for suffering themselves to be imposed upon
by a lying Spirit, who, if but resisted by a meer Negation, would have
fled. 2. To let them see that no Creature, tho’ never so great, can
rebel with Impunity; from whence they might conclude, what to expect
from new Provocations. 3. They had no other way to see a Spirit
punish’d, but under some visible Form. It could not but give them some
secret Satisfaction to see their cruel Enemy tremble at the Bar.

It is observable here, that the _Promise of the Messiah_ was made to
_Adam_, before the Almighty past upon him the Sentence of Death. How
surprizing this! to find the Death of Christ _published_, before the
Death of _Adam_ was _pronounced_. The Death of _Christ_, the _Innocent_;
before the Death of _Adam_, the _Criminal_.

The last Remark I shall make here is, that the Earth, tho’ cursed for
Man’s Sin, still puts on the Face of a Paradise, abounding with an
innumerable Variety of good Things; yea, and those so delicious and
pleasant to Mankind, that many wish to live in it for ever. Thus they
confine their Hopes and Fears to the present State, and are so far from
believing a Life to come, that they can hardly persuade themselves to
believe, that they shall leave this present Life.

As the Bounties of Providence gives us no room to murmur at our present
Province or Portion, so on the other hand, the Toils and Troubles of
this State should cause us to aspire after the heavenly Paradise, where
no Curse ever found Access, where none of the Thorns of Affliction, or
the Briers of Sorrow grow.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------

                              CHAPTER II.

CONTENTS. _Of the_ fiery Serpents _that annoy’d the Camp of_ Israel:
    _The Reason of that judicial Stroke_, i.e. _Murmuring under a
    Dispensation of Miracles. Why punish’d by Serpents? Why called_
    Fiery? _The last Plague in the Desart. Flying Serpents._


                              SECTION. I.

It might be said with great Propriety of the _People of Israel_, that
they were _a Generation of Vipers_. Ingratitude, Unbelief, Discontent
and Murmuring, were the dominant Passions in the Wilderness; they were
always quarrelling with _God_ and _Moses_: never easy, no not under a
Theocracy, a divine Government. No wonder that Rage and Faction haunt
the Dwellings of good Princes, when we find perverse Spirits have
murmur’d at a divine Administration.

A Magnificent Table was Spread for them in the Wilderness, their daily
Entertainments were miraculous; they were fed by _Manna_, a delicious
Food distilled from Heaven, admirably suited to every one’s Palate. _He
commanded the Clouds from above, and opened the Doors of Heaven, and
rained down Manna upon them to eat, and gave them the Corn of
Heaven[350]. Wherefore have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the
Wilderness, for there is no Bread, neither is there any Water, and our
Soul loatheth this light Bread[351]: This vain and empty Bread, say the_
LXX.

Footnote 350:

  _Psal._ lxxviii. 23-25.

Footnote 351:

  _Numb._ xxi. 5, 6.—τω αρτω τω διακενω—

They were also furnish’d with _miraculous Drink_, i. e. _Water out of a
Rock_; Water that swell’d into a River, and follow’d ’em in all their
Motions, till they arrived in the Land _flowing with Milk and Honey_;
Terms, that include a Scene of Plenty and Pleasantness.

In all their Traverses through the Wilderness, they were always under
the Guidance and Protection of the _Shekina_; by which Word the _Jews_
understood the _Presence of the Holy Spirit_; of _Christ_, say the
Christians. The _Shekina_ was the most sensible Mark of the Presence of
God among them, which rested over the Propitiatory, or the golden
Cherubims, which adher’d to the Propitiatory or Covering of the Ark;
there the _Shekina_ abode in the Shape of a Cloud. The _Rabbins_ tell
us, that it first resided in the Tabernacle, and descended into it in
the Figure of a Cloud, on the Day of Consecration. It past from thence
into the Sanctuary of _Solomon’s Temple_, on the Day of its Dedication
by that Prince[352]; where it continued to the Destruction of
_Jerusalem_ by the _Chaldeans_, and was not afterwards to be seen there.

Footnote 352:

  _Calmet from Basnage_, _History of the Jews_.

Thus were they conducted and entertain’d by an unintermitted Train of
Miracles. Now to fret and repine in such a Situation, was a Crime of a
high and heinous Nature, no less than impeaching infinite Wisdom, and
taxing it with erroneous Conduct: If Difficulties occurred in the way,
their Duty was _Resignation_, a Temper obvious in _Pagans_, whose
Religion forbid all indecorous Sallies of the Passions.

_SOCRATES_, a Philosopher of _Athens_, was a Philosopher in _Prison_, as
well as in the _Museum_: When bound in Fetters, and he had nothing but
Death before his Face, he then conversed with his Friends with perfect
Equanimity, and without the least _Reflexion_ upon _Fate_, upon _God_,
and his _Judges_, notwithstanding his base Treatment, and the notorious
Injustice of his Sentence. The Scripture represents _Job_ as a
_Champion_ in Affliction, who by his passive Fortitude under it, became
the proper Hero of an Heroic-Poem.


                               SECT. II.

                 _WHY were they punish’d by Serpents?_

Perhaps it might be to put them in remembrance of the first Sin, that
was introduced into Paradise by the old Serpent: This kind of Punishment
could not but bring to their Mind that gloomy Moment in which the human
Nature was morally and mortally wounded by that evil Spirit, in the Form
of a Serpent. This being allow’d, we may infer, that Man’s Memory stands
in need of a Remembrancer, even of Paradise lost. And oh! who can think
of that inexpressible Loss, without dropping a silent and solemn Tear?

Some Learned _Jews_ themselves, speaking upon this Subject, say, the
Reason why they were chastised by Serpents, was _because they had done
the Actions of the old Serpent, in using an ill Tongue against God,
against_ Moses, _and Manna, the Bread of Heaven_.


                               SECT. III.

                      _WHY called Fiery Serpents?_

A natural and a moral Reason may be assigned for it.

1. The sacred Volume seems to account for the _natural Reason_, when it
says, _God sent fiery Serpents_. The _Hebrew_ word is _Seraphim_, that
is _Burners_, because they appeared in the form of a _Flame_. The LXX
calls them _Serpents of Death_[353], because their _Wounds_ proved
_mortal_.

Footnote 353:

  Οφεις θαναουνται.

As soon as the People were wounded, their Blood was inflamed, and
according to some _Jewish_ Authors, they were _scorch’d with insatiable
Thirst_. Of the _Hebrew_ word _Saraph_, the _Greeks_, by changing the
Position and Order of Letters, have borrowed the Name _Prester_, which
is a kind of fiery venemous Serpent, called also _Dipsas_ and _Causon_,
whose Wound is accompanied with a most vehement Heat and Thirst, and
generally incurable, as some have formerly said. They may be properly
called _Fiery_, as their Colour was glowing, a proper Representative of
Fire. In the _West-Indies_ are _Adders, red as Blood_, about seven or
eight Foot long, and appear by Night as a _burning Coal_[354].

Footnote 354:

  _Atl. America_, 179.

2. They might be called _Fiery_ also, from a _moral Consideration_; for,
that raging Heat in the Body might represent the outragious Disorders of
the Mind, flowing from conscious Guilt, neither of which were the
Attendants of an original State. Hence, perhaps, it is that Satan’s
_Temptations_ are styled _fiery Darts_, because when complied with, they
kindle a Fire in the Conscience, a Prognostick, and Taste of the
Unquenchable[355].

Footnote 355:

  _Eph._ vi 16. βελη—πεπυρωμηνα.

And indeed, what are all uneasy Sensations, but the Venom of the old
Serpent? thence, that long Train of Complaints and Groans. _Remember
from whence thou art fallen_, is the Language of every Calamity, but no
calamitous Impression so terrible, as that which alarms the Mind about
the awful Futurity. Of Sin it is said, that at last, _it will bite like
a Serpent, and sting like an Adder_[356].

Footnote 356:

  _Prov._ xxiii. 32.

What fill’d _Adam_’s Mind with Horror and Consternation? What made him
run with wild Confusion among the Trees to hide himself? What was he
afraid of? He, who was Lord of the Earth, and Image of the Almighty? Was
not he in Paradise, the Garden of God; whence then this sudden and
mighty Panick? What produced this great and astonishing Change in one
who had a friendly Intercourse with God a little before? Oh! ’twas
Guilt, Guilt, Guilt. A Consciousness of his iniquitous Compliance with
the Serpent. What were those anxious disquieting Thoughts that kindled
the Fire in his Breast, but the venemous, fiery Darts of Satan?

_JUDAS_ is another Example; a Person highly honour’d by Christ, who made
him his Ambassador Extraordinary to the House of _Israel_, and Treasurer
of his House and Privy Counsellor, on a sudden falls into Extremity of
Anguish; and why? Guilt, Guilt ... struck with Horror of Mind for the
Effusion of innocent Blood; was arraign’d, and sentenced by his own
Conscience, and became his own Executioner: His Guilt was the Wound that
bled within, and what Words can describe the Agony that made that
wretched Man throw himself into Hell for Ease.


                               SECT. IV.

This gloomy Occurrence fell out in the last Year of their Pilgrimage.
The Wilderness thro’ which they had travelled abounded with these
venemous Creatures, but were under the Restraint of a kind Providence,
and not suffer’d to distress the Camp of _Israel_ till now. _Deut._
viii. 15. _Who led thee through the great Wilderness, wherein were fiery
Serpents and Scorpions._

Thus, for their repeated Provocations, they were pursued by divine
Vengeance to the very Borders of _Canaan_.

Just as they were congratulating one another upon the glorious Prospect
before them, an Army of venemous Serpents invade their Camp, and made a
terrible Slaughter among them. Little did our first Parents suspect a
Serpent in Paradise, nor _Israel_ such a Visit from fiery Serpents upon
the Confines of the holy Land, the western Border of Paradise.

This Plague in the Camp, was the last Punishment inflicted upon the
_House of Israel_ in the Wilderness. When they came out of _Egypt_, it
appeared they were about _six hundred thousand Men, besides Women and
Children, and a mixt Multitude_: Of that mighty Number, none but two,
_viz._ _Josua_ and _Caleb_ enter’d into the promised Land; the rest, for
their Unbelief and reiterated Offences, perish’d by the way[357].

Footnote 357:

  _Exod._ xii. 37, 38.


                              CHAPTER III.

                               CONTENTS.

_The flying and fiery Serpents. Ungrateful Israel wounded by them, and
    healed by the Figure of a Serpent. God hears the Intercession of_
    Moses, _when deaf to the Cries of that rebellious People.
    Conjectures why healed by a Machine in the Form of a Serpent. Sin in
    all its Appearances, the Venom of the old Serpent. The brazen
    Serpent a Representation of the_ Messiah. _The Cures wrought by both
    were by very unlikely Means. The Wonders of Salvation. Why_ Israel
    _was healed by a Serpent made of Brass; Opinions about it. The
    brazen Serpent was no Talisman, or a magical Image. The fatal
    Catastrophe of the brazen Serpent. Destroyed, when abused to
    Idolatry. The Serpent shewed in St._ Ambrose’_s Church at_ Milan,
    _for that of_ Moses, _a Cheat. Martyrs from the Catacombs of St._
    Sebastian. _Divine Institution necessary to acceptable Worship. May
    the Destruction of the brazen Serpent, when abused to Idolatry,
    warrant us to guess at the Fate of a Cross abused to Idolatry!_


    ----------------------------------------------------------------


                               SECTION I.

Among Serpents, we find some that are furnished with Wings. _Herodotus_
who saw those Serpents, says they had great Resemblance to those which
the _Greeks_ and _Latins_ call’d _Hydræ_; their Wings are not compos’d
of Feathers like the Wings of Birds, but rather like to those of
_Batts_; they love sweet smells, and frequent such Trees as bear Spices.
These were the fiery Serpents that made so great a Destruction in the
Camp of _Israel_.

In their Extremity, the People addrest their Mediator, Prophet, and
General, _Moses_, saying, _O pray to the Lord that he take away the
Serpents from us!_ The meek Prophet did so; the mediatorial Voice
reach’d Heaven, and mov’d the Almighty who directs _Moses_ to make a
Serpent of Brass, (which was a Figure of the Serpents that plagued the
People) and fix it upon the Top of a Pole, conspicuous to all the
Assembly, promising that all those who were bit by Serpents, and should
look upon this brazen Image, should be presently healed. Astonishing
Clemency! The Event was answerable to this Promise.

This Method of Cure was new and strange; but he who at first called the
World out of nothing, can with equal Facility command Health out of a
Piece of Brass. Another Observable here, is that when the Almighty
refused to hear the Cries of the Wounded in their Distress, he readily
hearkened to _Moses_’s Intercession in their favour. Thus God accepted
the Prayers of _Job_ for his three Friends, when he would not regard the
Supplications they put up for themselves. _Job_ lxii. 7, 8.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------


                              SECTION II.

The brazen Serpent was a Figure of the flying Serpent, _Saraph_, which
_Moses_ fixed upon an erected Pole: That there were such, is most
evident. _Herodotus_ who had seen of those Serpents, says they very much
resembled those which the _Greeks_ and _Latins_ called _Hydræ_: He went
on purpose to the City of _Brutus_ to see those flying Animals, that had
been devour’d by the _Ibidian_ Birds.

In _Asiatic-Georgia_, between the _Caspian_ and _Euxine_ Sea, are found
winged Dragons, with anserine Feet and venemous Claws; and some of them
are fortified with more terrible Pedestals than others: their Wings are
generally composed of strong nervous Membranes, which when they walk,
are scarcely visible, because of their close Adherence to their lateral
Parts[358].

Footnote 358:

  Paulus Jovius de Piscibus, cap 23. p. 140.

In the _Atlantic_ Caves, and Mountains of _Africa_, is an infinite
Number of these winged Dragons, whose Poison is so strong, that the
Flesh of such as are wounded by them, immediately grows soft, languid,
and incurable[359]. We read of flying Serpents transported from some
Parts of _Arabia_ into _Egypt_[360][361].

Footnote 359:

  P. Belon in Johnstonus.

Footnote 360:

  Teste Brodæo.

Footnote 361:

  J. Leo’s Hist. of Africa, lib. 6, & 9.

These also have been seen in _Florida_ in _America_, where their Wings
are more flaccid, and so weak, that they cannot soar on high. _Scaliger_
describes a certain flying Serpent that was four Foot long, and as thick
as a Man’s Arm, whose Wings were cartilaginous, or gristly, _ibid._
History accounts for one of these flying Dragons that was killed in old
_Aquitania_ in _France_, a Present of which was made to King _Francis_,
as a great Rarity of the Kind.

_JEROM CARDAN_ informs us of some winged Dragons he had seen at _Paris_,
so nicely preserved, that they very much resembled the Living; they were
described with two Feet, weak Wings, a serpentine Head, and of the
Bigness of a Rabbit.

Why was the Deliverance of _Israel_ by a Machine made in the Form of a
_Serpent_? Perhaps, these serpentine Strokes might be intended as
Emblems, or Memento’s of the fatal Wound in Paradise, where Man’s Nature
was first poisoned by the Devil, who made use of a real Serpent to
seduce our first Parents.

What is moral Evil but the Venom of the old Serpent? A Venom as pleasant
to the Taste, as the forbidden Fruit to the Eye, but the End is
Bitterness. And what are Incentives to Sin, but delusive Insinuations of
the subtle Serpent? And what is Enjoyment, but a pleasing Illusion,
which is no sooner grasp’d, but glides away as a Shadow, leaving behind
it a wounded Conscience, direful Apprehensions and Prospects.

And what are all sensual Entertainments but so many hot Gleams that
portend the Approach of warring Winds and Storms? The Powers of Darkness
that excel in Science, know how to regale the human Mind with pleasant
Scenes, and how to divert the Senses with delightful Charms; Charms that
have no Existence but in a deluded Imagination.

The Cure by a brazen Serpent, might also be to shew, that the Almighty
in relieving distressed Supplicants, is not tied to any particular
Medium. When the _Israelites_ were poison’d by real Serpents, he heals
them by the Image of a Serpent. When he would destroy _Goliath_ the
Tyrant, he does it by a Sling in the Hands of _David_ a Youth, a very
unlikely Person to encounter a Champion.

Thus God by the Figure of a Serpent mortifies the Pride of _Lucifer_,
the old Serpent, by which he acquir’d greater Honour, than if he had
sacrificed to the Fire all the Serpents in the Wilderness.

This may further intimate, that Providence may employ the same Kind of
Instruments, either for the Display of Mercy or Justice upon Mankind. He
who heals and wounds by the Mediation of Serpents, can turn Blessings
into a Curse, or enable us to extract Sweetness out of the bitter Cup.


                               SECT. III.

This artificial Serpent might (as some have thought) prefigure the
_Messiah_, the Healer of spiritual Maladies. Many take it for a
Representation of his Passion and Crucifixion: The Analogy may be thus
illustrated, _viz._ The Cures wrought by the Serpent and the Saviour,
deriv’d their Efficacy from Divine Appointment.

If the _brazen_ Serpent had been the mere Contrivance of _Moses_, it
would not have answer’d the Intention: so all human Institutions adopted
into Divine Worship will be as little available to true Happiness, (_Who
has required this at your Hand?_) of that Sovereign, who accepts no
Worship but what has the Sanction of his Wisdom and Will.

Both Cures were performed by the most unlikely Means. The Serpent that
healed their Wounds, was made of Brass; a Prescription in which there
was no Probability of producing that happy Effect: And where was the
promising Aspect arising from the Manner of our Saviour’s Appearance on
Earth? What great Things could be expected from a Root of a dry Ground?
How improbable was it that a Person so mean in external Form should
overthrow the Kingdom of Darkness, a Kingdom that had been strengthening
its Barriers for about four thousand Years? Who could think that he had
such powerful Interest in Heaven, who was of no Reputation on the Earth?

Behold here a Scene of Paradoxes! Patients recovered by the Death of the
Physician. Upon Mount _Golgotha_ we see Paradise, lost by the first
_Adam_, regained by the Death of the second _Adam_; Principalities and
Powers led captives by a dying Man; there we see Life restored by Death,
a Crown of Glory purchased by an ignominious Cross. Were the
_Israelites_ healed by a Creature made in the Likeness of the Serpent
that hurt? So Men are restor’d by one made like themselves.

How was this miraculous Cure in the Wilderness obtained? It was by an
ocular View, that is, by looking at the artificial Serpent. None else
were entitled to a Relief. Thus Salvation comes by Faith, which in the
prophetick Dialect is represented by _looking_. _Es._ xlv. 22. _Look
unto me and be ye saved all the Ends of the Earth._ The first Sin
enter’d at the Eye; _the Woman saw the Fruit was good_. Thus our
Restoration to the Divine Favour is by an Eye to Christ, the _Tree of
Life_, but I must not strain the Metaphor too far.


                               SECT. IV.

_Why was the Cure by a Serpent of Brass?_ I answer, not for any healing
Virtue inherent in that Mineral, more than others, but to demonstrate
his Almighty Power, who can save by improbable Means, or without the
Application of any Means. Thus the blind Man was cured by a Piece of
Clay temper’d with Spittle; _John_ ix. 6.

Perhaps, this also may refer to our Lord, as he is compar’d to _Brass_,
which, when polish’d, is of a most beautiful Colour, exceeding that of
Gold. _Revel._ i. 15. _His Feet like unto fine Brass._ An Emblem of the
high Qualities that glitter in him, whose Nature is divinely fair and
glorious.

Those fiery Serpents, as they flew in the Air, might in Colour resemble
that of _burnish’d Brass_, because the Serpent of _Moses_ was form’d of
_Brass_, a Metal that in itself is no Friend to Health; and some have
said, that the Sight of the brazen Serpent ought naturally to increase
the Distemper of the Wounded, instead of healing it; and that the
Almighty, shew’d a double Efficacy of his Power, by healing with those
Means, which ought to have a quite contrary Effect[362].

Footnote 362:

  _Buxtorf_, Hist. de Serpente æneo.

Tho’ Brass in its natural State, may not be propitious to Health, yet
when duly prepar’d it is beneficial: The Preparation of _Copper_ has
been accounted an universal Remedy, and an excellent _Emetick_, having
this singular Virtue, _that it exerts its Force, as soon as ever it is
taken_: Whereas other Emeticks lie a long time dormant in the Stomach,
creating nauseous Anxieties, _&c._ but a single Grain of _Verdegrease_
immediately vomits[363].

Footnote 363:

  _Boerhaave_’s Method.

A Certain learned Gentleman of this Island, imagines that the _brazen
Serpent_ was a kind of _Talisman_; that is to say, one of those Pieces
of Metal, which are cast and engraven under certain Constellations, from
whence they derive an extraordinary Virtue to cure Distempers, _&c._
Some impute their Effects to the old Serpent, others to the Nature of
the Metal, and to the Influence of the Constellation. This Author
therefore would make us believe, that the brazen Serpent cured just as
the _Talismans_ cure certain Distempers, by the Sympathy there is
between the Metals of which they are made, or the Influence of the Stars
under which they are formed, and the Disease they are to cure. Every one
may believe as he pleases[364].

Footnote 364:

  _Marsham Canon. Chronic._ quoted by _Calmet_.

The Serpent that is always represented with _Esculapius_’s _Image_, and
with _Salus_, the Goddess of Health, and often with the _Egyptian_
Deities, is a Symbol of Health, or of Healing, very probably derives
those Ensigns of Honour from the brazen Serpent of _Moses_.


                                SECT. V.
              _WHAT became of the brazen Serpent at last?_

I answer, it was brought into the _Land of Canaan_ as a sacred Relick,
and religiously preserved among the _Israelites_ down to the Time of
_Hezekiah_ the King, as a standing Memorial of divine Goodness to their
Forefathers in the Wilderness; but being abused by them to Superstition
and Idolatry, as appears by their burning Incense thereto, it was broke
in pieces by the special Command of King _Hezekiah_, who, in Derision
and Contempt, called it _Mehushtan_, a Piece of Brass, a Trifle, a
Bauble, Shadow of a Snake. 2 _Kings_ xviii. 4. May all the
Ecclesiastical _Nehushtans_ of _Babylon_, foisted into Divine Worship,
from the Rising of the Sun, to the Going-down of the same, meet with the
same honest and righteous Fate. In the Church of St. _Ambrose_ at
_Milan_, they pretend to keep a _brazen Serpent_, which they shew for
that of _Moses_, tho’ there be no such thing now in being. In the Church
of St. _Ambrose_ there is a Dragon of Brass on a Column of Marble: Some
think it to be that of _Esculapius_, others an Emblem of that in the
Wilderness, upon which account many of the Pilgrims and common People
worship it. The Inhabitants are very superstitious, and fond of holy
Fragments, and pretend to have at the Church of St. _Alexander_, no less
than 144,000 _Martyrs_ from the _Catacombs_ of St. _Sebastian_. The
Cures effected by the artificial Serpent, derived that Efficacy from the
divine Institution of that Medium: Had their Prescription been the meer
Device of Rabbi _Moses_, that great and valuable End would not have been
answered; therefore, since the Reason of that Institution ceased, ’twas
highly criminal in them, to make any religious Use of it. It is the
divine Impress upon Institutions that ushers in the Blessings intended
by them; therefore to hope for Acceptance with God on account of meer
human Ordinances, (as bowing to Images, to the Altar, to the East, and
to make use of Crucifixes, Crosses, holy Water) is to _hope for what God
has never promised to give_. No wonder to see the brazen Serpent ground
to Powder, and the Dust scatter’d in the Air, that so no Fragments of it
might remain, when Altars of divine Establishment, and sacred to
Devotion, were intirely destroy’d, when they made Idols of them: And how
a holy and jealous God may resent the _Adoration of the Cross in the
Popish Church_, I pretend not to predict, much less to determine. This
Destruction of the brazen Serpent, is reckon’d among the good Deeds of
King _Hezekiah_, because it was made a Medium, and Part of Worship not
prescrib’d by divine Authority.


                              CHAPTER IV.

_This Chapter begins with the Original of Idolatry, as a Preliminary to
    the Adoration of_ SERPENTS, _under three Sections_.


                                SECT. I.

As introductory to the Divinity of Serpents, I shall make a brief
Inquiry into the Original of sacred Images, and Idol-Worship; the first
Period of which is hard to trace. Some make _Cain_ the first Founder of
it, because of his early Apostacy from the true Religion; which is not
very improbable, since ’tis said, _He went out from the Presence of the
Lord...._ He grew more wicked, and gave himself up to all sorts of
Violence[365].

Footnote 365:

  See _Cluverius_, and Dr. _Cumberland_.

That the old World was guilty of Idolatry, some gather from _Gen._ iv.
26. which they say will bear this Reading——_Then Men prophaned, calling
on the Name of the Lord, that is, by setting up Idols_: Upon which some
of the Rabbins paraphrase thus, viz. _Then they began to call Idols by
the Name of the Lord_: With which agrees the _Jerusalem Targum_, that
says, _That was the Age, in the days of which they began to err, and
made themselves Idols, and called their Idols by the Name of the Word of
the Lord_[366].

Footnote 366:

  _Schindl._

So they understand _Gen._ vi. 11. _The Earth was corrupt_, that is
_idolatrous_. In defence of this Gloss, they quote the _Idolatry_ of the
_golden Calf_, which is expressed by this very Form of Speech, viz. _The
People had corrupted themselves_. We read _Gen._ iv. 26. _Then Men began
to call upon the Name of the Lord_. There is no room to doubt, but they
called upon God before; the Particle _then_ seems to refer to _Enos_,
which is the next Antecedent: therefore ’tis said, They now applied
themselves to the Knowledge of the Stars, which they apprehended were
erected for the Government of the World, and consequently might be their
Duty to adore them as God’s Representatives.

But the general Opinion is, that Idolatry did not begin till after the
Deluge, and that perhaps the Deluge might be one Occasion of it; for the
old World, as some suppose, was drown’d for _Atheism_——which coming to
the Knowledge of _Noah_’s mediate Successors, they run into the other
Extreme, _chusing rather to have many Gods than no God_.

_IDOLATRY_ is of a more antient Date than _Image-Worship_: To see Men
kneeling before a piece of Wood or Stone, has something so low and mean
in it, that Men were not immediately brought to that abject and
scandalous piece of Worship. The Sun, Moon, and Stars, were their
_natural Gods_, and ador’d before deify’d Men, who were their _animated
Gods_.

This Deification of Creatures, seems to begin about the time of the
_Confusion at Babel_, or the Dispersion immediately consequent
thereupon, particularly in the Family of _Nimrod_, the Son of _Cush_,
Grandson of _Noah_. May not we date the _Original of Paganism_ from that
remarkable Person? ’Tis the Conjecture of some, that _Nimrod_ was the
first Man that was deify’d, and probably for the important Service he
did to his Country, as a _mighty Hunter_, in destroying wild Beasts that
otherwise would soon have devour’d the Inhabitants, which were not very
numerous in those days. ’Tis certain, that such Benefactors to Mankind
were rank’d among the Gods. If so, who will pretend to say, _our modern
Fox-Hunters don’t carry one Characteristic of Divinity about them_?

Some think that the true Religion was universal for about four hundred
Years after the Deluge, because it does not appear from _Abram_’s
Traverse thro’ _Mesopotamia_, _Canaan_, _Philistia_, _Egypt_, _&c._ that
those Countries were Idolaters. Others apprehend _Abram_ himself was
originally an Idolater, at least that Idolatry had overspread the
Nations in his time, for which they quote _Joshua_ xxiv. 2. _Your
Fathers ... even Terah the Father of Abraham ... served other Gods_.
It’s evident from hence, that _Terah_ had fallen into Idolatry, and some
are of Opinion, that _Abram_ himself was an Idolater, till God made him
sensible of the Vanity of Idol-worship, and that it was thro’ him that
his Father _Terah_ was brought under the same Conviction, by this
Device, _viz._

The _Jews_ say that _Terah_ was not only an Idolater, but also a Carver,
and Dealer in Images and Idols; that one day when he went a Journey, he
left _Abram_ to take care of the Shop; but _Abram_ being already
convinced of the Sinfulness of Idols, ask’d all that came to buy
_Idol-Gods_ of him, _How old are you?_ They told him their Age; and he
replied to them, _This God that you would buy and worship, is younger
than you are; it was made but the other day, and of contemptible Matter,
therefore believe what I say, and renounce this vain Worship_. The
_Buyers_ struck with Confusion at these Reproaches, went away without
buying, asham’d of their Stupidity[367].

Footnote 367:

  Fa _Calmet_ under _Terah_, vol. xiii.

Q. _What might move Men to the first Idolatry?_

Perhaps it might be a _strong Attachment to the Senses_, which they made
their sovereign Judges in Spirituals: It was hard for vulgar Heads in
those Days of Darkness to elevate their Thoughts above sensible Objects.

Another Reason, may be the _Pride of the human Mind_; that is not
satisfied with rational plain Truths, but will adulterate them with
foolish Imaginations: Hence it was that they would have such Objects of
Worship, as might immediately strike their sensible Powers; nothing
would serve their Turn but a Divinity visible to the Eye, therefore they
brought down the Gods to the Earth, and represented them under certain
Images, which by degrees commenced inferior Deities.

The _Egyptian Priests_ not being able to persuade the _People_, that
there were any _Gods_ or _Spirits_ superior to Men, were constrained to
call down Demons, or Spirits, and lodge them in Statues, and then bring
forth those Statues to be visible Objects of Adoration, and from hence
sprung Idolatry.

Among the Pagans were various Opinions about religious Images. _Some_
looked upon them as only Representatives of the true God, as _Seneca_, a
Stoick Philosopher, and _Plato_ a Native of _Athens_, and a noted
Academick.

_OTHERS_ said, they did not adore material Images, but the Gods in them,
into which they were drawn by virtue of their Consecration, or, in a
more modern Language, their Canonization[368].

Footnote 368:

  _Arnobius_, lib. vi.

_SOME_ were of Opinion, that after the Consecration of Images, the Gods
actually incorporated with them, or were animated by them, as Man’s Body
is by the Soul[369]. The vulgar Heathen paid their Adoration to Images
as if they were real Gods; which monstrous Practice was ridiculed by the
most sensible Pagans, as appears farther on[370].

Footnote 369:

  _Trismegistus_, a learned _Egyptian_, a great Philosopher, a great
  Priest, and a great King.

Footnote 370:

  See _Lactantius_, lib. ii.

The Use and Worship of Images has been long, and still is controverted.
The _Lutherans_ condemn the _Calvinists_ for breaking the Images in the
Churches of the Catholicks; and at the same time they condemn the
Romanists (who are professed Image-Worshippers) as Idolaters. The modern
_Jews_ condemn all Images, and suffer no Pictures or Figures in their
Houses, much less in their Synagogues, or Places of Worship.

The _Mahometans_ have a perfect Aversion to all Images. This is it that
made them destroy most of the beautiful Monuments of Antiquity, both
sacred and profane, at _Constantinople_.

The old noble _Romans_ preserved the Images of their Ancestors with no
little Care, and had them carried in Procession in their Funerals and
Triumphs.


                               SECT. II.

This Part entertains us with various Instances of Pagan Deifications,
_viz._ of Men, Beasts, and Things without Life.

                    I. _MEN transformed into Gods._

I Begin with their _deified Men_, that is, _dead Men_, who being
canonized, past for _reputed Gods_. Note here, some are of opinion, that
the word _God_, among the Heathen, did not mean the uncreated eternal
Being, but some _most excellent superior Nature_; and accordingly, they
gave the Appellation of _Gods_ to _all Beings_ of a Rank higher, and
more perfect than Man.

The _principal Gods_ among the antient Heathens were _Jupiter_, _Mars_,
_Mercury_, _Neptune_, _Apollo_, _Juno_, _Vesta_, _Minerva_, _&c._ The
_next sort of Gods_ were called _Demy-Gods_, or _Gods adopted_; and
these were Men canonized and deify’d. Now, as the _greater Gods_ had
possession of Heaven in their _own Right_, so these _lesser Gods_ had it
by _Donation_, being translated into Heaven, because they were Men
renowned for their Virtues, and had lived as Gods upon Earth; and these
at first were called _Teraphim_.

The first certain Account of these we have in _Genesis_, where ’tis
said, _Rachel_ had _stoln her Father’s Images_. Chap. xxxi. 19. the
_Teraphim_ of her Father in the _Hebrew_, which _Laban_, (ii. 30.) calls
his _Gods_, Hebr. _Eloha_.

The word _Teraphim_ is _Hebrew_, others say _Egyptian_: Be that as it
will, we find it about thirteen times in our Bible, and is commonly
interpreted _Idols_, _Images_, _sacred_, _superstitious Figures_.
_Spencer_ maintains the word to be _Chaldee_, and that those Images were
borrowed from the _Amorites_, _Chaldeans_, or _Syrians_, and that the
_Egyptian Serapis_ is the same thing with _Teraphim_ of the _Chaldeans_.

A Learned _Jew_ says the _Teraphim_ were in human Shape, and that when
raised upright, they spoke at certain Hours, and under certain
Constellations, by the Influence of the celestial Bodies. _R. David de
Pomis ... Cyclopædia._

This _Rabbinical Fable_ seems to be grounded on _Zech._ x. 2. _The
Idols_ (Hebr. _Teraphim_) _have spoken Vanity...._ Some of the learned
_Jews_ will have it to denote the Knowledge of Futurity, and for this
Signification they quote _Ezek._ xxi. 21. _The King of Babylon stood ...
at the Head of the two Ways ... he consulted with Images_; with
_Teraphim_, says the _Hebrew_.

The same _Rabbi_ adds, that to make the _Teraphim_ they kill’d a
first-born Child, clove his Head, season’d it with Salt and Oil; that
they wrote on a Plate of Gold the Name of some impure Spirit, laid it
under the Tongue of the Dead, placed the Head against the Wall, lighted
Lamps before it, prayed to it, and it talk’d with them.

Others hold, that the _Teraphim_ were brazen Instruments which pointed
out the Hours of future Events, as directed by the Stars.—Some think
that the _Teraphim_ were Figures or Images of a Star engraven on a
sympathetic Stone, or Metal corresponding to the Star, in order to
receive its Influences: To these Figures, under certain Aspects of the
Stars, they ascribe extraordinary Effects.

This Talismanical Opinion, says a Learned Pen[371], appears the most
probable.... All the Eastern People are still much addicted to this
Superstition of _Talismans_. The _Persians_ call them _Telesin_, a Word
approaching to _Teraphim_. In those Countries no Man is seen without
them, and some are even loaded with them. They hang them to the Necks of
Animals, and Cages of Birds, as Preservatives against Evils. Such were
the _Samothracian Talismans_, which were pieces of Iron, formed into
certain Images and set in Rings....

Footnote 371:

  Father _Dom. Calmet_.

The _Labanic Images_ are supposed to be the most antient, if not the
first religious Images, made of some precious Metal, and had their Birth
in _Laban_’s Country, that is, _Chaldea_, or _Mesopotamia_.

From _Laban_’s History, it seems as if these _Teraphim_ were Pictures or
Images of certain Persons deceased; that is, they were a sort of Idols,
or superstitious Figures venerated by them as _Demy-Gods_. That they
were such artificial Portraitures of Men, is evident from that Instance
in _Michal_, who, to deliver _David_ her Husband from bloody Assassins
that threaten’d his Life, laid an _Image in his Bed_, a _Teraphim_, says
the _Hebrew_, that is, a material Image, probably a Figure of Wood, or
Sticks hastily made up, drest in Man’s Clothes, to make those sent by
King _Saul_ to apprehend him, believe he was sick.

Why does _Laban_ call them his Gods? Very probably because he believed
they retain’d their Affection for Mankind in the invisible World, and
being rank’d among the Gods, might be serviceable to his Family,
therefore adopted them to be Guardians of his House. They were only his
_domestick Gods_, and not the established Gods of the Country; and ’tis
very likely they might be the Images of _Noah_ and his _Sons_; or some
other illustrious Ancestors, whom he had chosen for his _Tutelary Gods_.

The Scripture mentions another sort of _Teraphim_, sometimes consulted
by the _Jews_ as an Oracle, not imagining that thereby they abandon’d
the Worship of the true God. Such was the _Teraphim_ that _Micha_ made
and set up in his House, and to which he appointed a _Priest_ of the
_Levitical Race_, with an _Ephod_ or Sacramental Garment, by the
Influence of which he flatter’d himself that God would bless his House.
This probably might be some _Hieroglyphical Figure_, to which the
superstitious _Jews_ attributed the Virtue of an Oracle, and the Power
of foretelling Things to come: Hence speaking Teraphims.

From these _Teraphim_ came the _Lares_, or the Household Gods of the old
_Romans_, who before the Laws of the Twelve Tables, used to bury the
Dead in their Houses; from whence arose that great Veneration they had
for their _Lares_ and _Penates_, a kind of domestick Divinities,
worship’d in Houses, and esteem’d Protectors of Families, which were
nothing else but the supposed Ghosts of those who formerly had belonged
to the Family, whom they represented by Images, which they placed in the
Chimney-Corner, or near their Doors.

These were also look’d upon as Guardians of the Highways, near to which
their Images were fix’d for the Benefit of Travellers, therefore call’d
_Dii Viales_, Gods of the Roads. ’Tis said by the Prophet, _The King of
Babylon stood at the parting of the Way_, and consulted _with the
Images_; with the _Teraphim_, says the _Hebrew_, _Ezek._ xxi. 21. which
the _Jewish_ Interpreters say were prophetick Images, endued with the
Gift of Prediction; so far from being mere Idols, that they gave out
Oracles, and foretold Things to come.

Some think _Laban_’s _Teraphim_ to be such, and that _Rachel_, having
observed how her Father did divine by them, and fearing, by consulting
with them, he might know which way _Jacob_ went, and follow after and
murder him; to prevent so fatal a Catastrophe, she took away his
_Oracles_.

Those sacred Images might, at first, be made in honour of departed
Relatives, or illustrious Persons; but by degrees degenerated into
religious Adoration. Thus the _Manes_ of the Dead were worship’d by them
under the Figure of their _Teraphim_, in some place of the House, and
probably where they had deposited the Remains of their Ancestors, as
some think.

The _Lares_ were also called _Penates_: To these they paid religious
Homage with Sacrifices; so the _Roman Satirist_ says, and calls these
images his _dear little House-Gods_; and then observes, that they were
crown’d with Garlands of Flowers in Summer, and in Winter with Shaving
of Horns colour’d. To these _Waxen-Gods_ the _Romans_ addrest themselves
with Offerings of Frankincense and Cakes[372]....

Footnote 372:

           Oh parvi nostrique Lares quos thure minuto
           Hic nostrum placabo, Jovem Laribusque paternis
           Thura dabo, atque omnes violæ jactabo colores
           Cuncta nitent——

           _Juvenal. Sat._ ix. _v._ 137. & _Sat._ xii. _v._ 89.

They were supposed to be the Spirits of such, who had lived well on the
Earth, and in consequence of it, were happy; so on the other hand, those
who lived ill here, did after Death wander up and down in Horror, and
were supposed, by the Vulgar, to be Hobgoblins, call’d _Lemures_, _i.
e._ restless Ghosts of departed Spirits, who return to the Earth to
terrify the Living.

These are the same with _Larvæ_, which the Antients imagined to wander
round the World, to frighten good People, and plague the bad. All these
were imagin’d to be the Ghosts of the Dead: They pray’d to the Good for
Protection, and sacrificed to the Evil to pacify their Rage: For this
reason they had their _Lemuria_ or _Lemuralia_ at _Rome_, where on the
9th of _May_, a Feast was solemnized in honour of the _Lemures_, and to
pacify the _Manes_ of the Dead, especially those who died without
Burial, to prevent their giving disturbance to the Living.

The first _Men_ that were _deified_, or made Gods, are supposed to be
the Heads of Families, Founders of Empires, and Benefactors of
Provinces——who, after their decease, were highly reverenced. _Noah_ and
his Sons seem to be the first and chief animated Deities of the Pagans,
under the Names of _Saturn_, _Jupiter_, _Neptune_ and _Pluto_; hence
_Demons_, another Name given to Spirits, which were supposed to appear
to Mortals, with intention to do them Good or Hurt.

The first Notion of Demons, ’tis said, sprung from _Chaldea_, thence it
spread among the _Persians_, _Egyptians_.... _Pythagoras_ and _Thales_
were the first that introduced _Demons_ into _Greece_, where _Plato_
fell in with the Notion, which he explains thus, _viz._

... By _Demons_, he understood Spirits inferior to Gods, and yet
superior to Men, which inhabiting the middle Region of the Air, kept up
the Communication between the Gods and Men, carrying up the _Prayers_
and Offerings of Men to the Gods, and bringing down the _Will_ of the
Gods to Men. He allow’d of none but good ones, tho’ his Disciples
(finding themselves unable to account for the Origin of Evil) adopted
another kind of Demons, who were Enemies to Man[373].

Footnote 373:

  _Gale_’s _Court of the Gentiles_, part I. chap. viii.

The Apocryphal Book of _Enoch_ abounds with the Names of Angels and
Devils; but that Book is not of any great Antiquity, tho’ the Prophecy
be: it does not appear to have been known by the antient _Jews_. St.
_Jude_ is the first that cited it. The Authority which this spurious
Book of _Enoch_ has received from some of the Antients, is the reason of
our meeting with several of its Opinions, scatter’d in their Writings.
_Ibid._

_LACTANTIUS_, one of the most eloquent Authors of his time, (and
therefore called the _Christian Cicero_) was of Opinion there were two
sorts of Demons, celestial and terrestrial[374]: The _celestial_ are the
fallen Angels, who having been seduced by the Prince of Devils, engaged
themselves in impure Amours; the _terrestrial_ are they who issued from
the former, as Children from their Parents: These last, who are neither
Men nor Angels, but a Medium between the two Natures; were not plunged
into Hell, neither were their Fathers admitted into Heaven: The
terrestrial Angels are impure Spirits, and Authors of all the Evils
committed on Earth[375].

Footnote 374:

  _Chambers_’s _Cyclopæd._ _Calmet_’s _Hist. Dict._ vol. i. p. 434.

Footnote 375:

  _Lactantius_, lib. ii. cap. 14. _Lugd._ _Bat._ 1652.

Many of the Antients have allotted to every Man an Evil Angel, who is
continually laying Snares for him, and inclining him to Evil, as his
Good Angel does to what is Good. The _Jews_ have still the same
Sentiments at this day. Another _Father_ thinks, that every Vice has its
Evil Angel, presiding over it; as the Demon of Avarice, the Demon of
Pride, of Uncleanness[376]....

Footnote 376:

  _Origen._ Homil. xv. in Josh. _Calmet._ ibid.

In _Pagan Theology_, nothing more common than those good and evil Genii,
and the same superstitious Notion got among the _Israelites_, by
Commerce with the _Chaldeans_; but I don’t apprehend that by Demon, they
meant the Devil, or a wicked Spirit, tho’ it be taken under that Idea by
the Evangelists, and also some modern _Jews_[377].

Footnote 377:

  _Cyclopædia._

We are not without some Remains of those antient Representations: Among
the various Rarities in the _Musæum_ at _Leyden_ in _Holland_, is the
Effigies in Sculpture of _Osiris_, the _Egyptian God_; ’tis made of
Wood, and now almost consum’d with Age: There are three other _Egyptian_
Idols of Stone; an Image of _Isis_ (who married _Osiris_, King of the
Country) giving suck to her Orr. Another Effigies of _Isis_, the
_Egyptian Goddess_, upon a little _Egyptian_ Coffer, containing the
Heart of an _Egyptian_ Prince embalm’d therein.

The antient Pagans, had almost as many _Goddesses_ as _Gods_; such were
_Juno_, the _Goddess of Air_, _&c._ Queen of Heaven, and of the Gods;
was represented sitting on a Throne with a Crown of Gold on her Head:
This was the Patroness of the female Sex. Every Woman had her _Juno_, or
Guardian; as every Man had his _Genius_. She was the Goddess of
Marriages, which were not deem’d lawful without the Parties first
addrest her. One Branch of her Office was to attend them in Labor, when
they pray’d, _Help, Juno Lucina_[378].

Footnote 378:

  _Juno Lucina fer opem._

She was ador’d by all Nations; her Temple was open on the Top and had no
Doors, it being impious to think of confining the Gods to a narrow
Inclosure. Yea, many of the Antients would erect no devotional Temples,
from a Persuasion that the whole World is the Temple of God. The
_Sicyonians_ would build no Temple to their Goddess _Coronis_: Nor would
the _Athenians_ erect a Statue to the Goddess _Clemency_, who they said
was to live in the _Hearts of Men_, not _within Stone-Walls_. The
Goddesses were numerous, but I shall add no more.

They did not only enroll _Men_ and _Women_ among their Gods, but they
had also _Hermaphrodite-Gods_. Thus _Minerva_, according to several of
the Learned, was both Man and Woman, and worshipped as such under the
Appellation of _Lunus & Luna_. _Mithras_, the _Persian Deity_, was both
God and Goddess; there were Gods of Virtue, Vice, Time, Place, Death ...
Infancy. Not Men only, but every thing that relates to Mankind, has also
been deified, as Infancy, Age, Death, Labor, Rest, Sleep, Virtues,
Vices, Time, Place.... Infancy alone had a numerous Train of Deities.
They also ador’d the Gods of Health, Love, Fear, Pain, Indignation,
Shame, Renown, Prudence, Art, Science, Fidelity, Liberty, Money, War,
Peace, Victory....

Thus we have seen, that nothing more common among Pagans, than to place
Men among the Number of Deities; yea, some of them would not wait for
their Deification till Death. Thus _Nebuchadnezzar_, King of _Babylon_,
procured his _Image to be worshipped_ while he was living. Thus
_Augustus_ had Altars erected and Sacrifices offered to him while alive.
He had Priests called _Augustales_, and Temples at _Lyons_, and several
other Places. He was the first _Roman_ who carried Idolatry to such a
pitch: Having in a most respectful manner view’d the embalm’d Body of
_Alexander the Great_, was ask’d, if he would see _Ptolemy_’s also? he
answer’d, _His Curiosity was to see a King, not a Man_. His Favourite
Poet complements him with the Title of God[379]. Yea, the _Ethiopians_
deem’d all their Kings _Gods_.

Footnote 379:

                       ——Deus nobis hæc otia fecit.


II. _Inanimate Things turn’d into Gods._ Things without Life were made
into Gods by the Heathens: The Sun, Moon, and Stars seem to be the first
Idols, or false Gods, to whom they paid a divine Regard. _Possidonius_
defines a _Star_, a _divine Body_. The _Zabii_ erected Images to the
Stars, which they fancied to be so many Gods, and that they influenced
the Images consecrated to them; yea, and communicated the prophetick
Spirit to Men.

The _Sun_ and _Moon_ were by the idolatrous _Israelites_ called the
_King_ and _Queen_ of Heaven, and the Stars were supposed (as it were)
to be their Militia, form’d for their Guards, with which they were
always surrounded.

_PHILO_ of _Alexandria_, (called _Philo_ the _Jew_, a _Platonick_
Philosopher) imputes to the Stars a great part of whatever happens on
the Earth; and says, they are not only Animals, but even most pure
Spirits; that our Air is replete with Animals and Spirits, which are
continually descending to animate Bodies. He had borrow’d these odd
Notions from his Master _Plato_, Chief of the Academicks. _Origen_ one
of the Fathers, who flourish’d in the third Century, was guilty of the
same Mistake[380].

Footnote 380:

  _Philo Leg. Alleg. Origen._ t i. _Maimon. in Calmet._ under the word
  _Star_.

The sacred Books, in some places, seem to ascribe Knowledge to the
_Stars_, when they praised God at the beginning of the World, _Job_
xxxviii. 7. but the Stars were not then created, therefore it’s
generally supposed they were _Angels_. Since then the Sun, Moon and
Stars are excited to praise the Lord; the Moon withdrew its Light, and
the Sun stopt its Course at the Command of _Joshua_ ... and perhaps one
reason of their strange Opinions about the heavenly Bodies, might be
owing to these and the like Expressions; not knowing that these Words
were meerly popular, and not to be understood literally, for then we
must say that the Earth, the Trees, the Waters, are animated, since we
find in Scripture some Expressions that would insinuate as much.

The _Arabians_ who sprung from _Ishmael_, worshipped the Sun, Moon and
Stars, in which they were conducted by their Priests who were cloathed
in white Vestments, wearing Mitres and Sandals, which at first were only
Soles tied to the Feet with Strings. In Authors that speak of
ecclesiastical Rites, and Ornaments, we find the word _Sandals_ to
signify a valuable kind of Shoes, worn by the _Prelates at
Solemnities_[381].

Footnote 381:

  _Benedictus Baudovinus de Calceo Antiquo._

We find _Sandals_ also used by the Ladies, very different in form: When
_Judith_ went to the Camp of _Holofernes_, she put _Sandals_ on her
Feet, at the sight of which he was captivated; for ’tis said, _Her
Sandals ravish’d his Eyes_. These were a magnificent sort of Stockens,
like Buskins, of an extraordinary Beauty[382], and were proper only to
the Ladies of Condition, who generally had Slaves to carry them.

Footnote 382:

  _Judith_ x. 4.

_N. B._ The real _Buskin_ was the _Cothurnus_, a very high Shoe rais’d
on Soals of Cork, wore by the ancient Actors in Tragedy, to make them
appear taller, and more like the Heroes they represented, most of whom
were supposed to be Giants.

The _Persians_ had no Temples, Altars, nor Images, holding such little
Things improper for the high Gods. Therefore they worshipp’d upon the
Top of Hills, where they offer’d Sacrifices to the Sun, Moon, and Stars.
The _Babylonians_ adored the Sun, to which the King offer’d every Day a
white Horse richly furnish’d: The Sun was in high Esteem among the
_Phenicians_, whose Priests were crown’d with Gold. The _Tartars_ and
_Cathaians_ worship the Sun, and Stars, to which they offer the first
Fruits of their Meat every Morning before they eat and drink themselves.
They have divers Monasteries of Idols, to whom they dedicate their
Children.

In _Nova Zembla_ there is no Religion prescrib’d by Law, but they
worship the _Sun_, so long as ’tis with them, and the Moon and
North-Star in its absence. In _China_ are great Numbers of sacred
Temples, where the Priests have so much Power over their Gods, that they
may beat them when they don’t answer their Expectation: Their _chief_
Gods are the _Sun_, _Moon_, and _Stars_, where they are not
christianis’d.

In the _Philippine Islands_, the Natives worship the _Stars_, which they
hold to be the _Children_ of the _Sun_ and _Moon_: Their Priests, for
the most part, are Women. The _Japonians_ worship an Image, with three
Faces, by which they mean, Sun, Moon, and the elementary World[383].

Footnote 383:

  _Acosta_, and _Jesuits_ Ep. in _R. Oliver_. _Noort_’s Navigation.

In _America_ their chief Deities are the Sun and Moon; which they honour
with Dances and Songs. In _Virginia_ and _Florida_, when they eat,
drink, and sacrifice, they use to throw up towards the Sun, some part of
their Food: The _Spaniards_ taking Advantage of this Superstition, made
the poor ignorant People believe they were Messengers sent to them from
the Sun; whereupon they submitted to the _Spanish_ Yoke. _Hacluyt_,
_ibid._ At _Mexico_, when they sacrificed a Man, they pull’d out his
_Heart_, and offer’d it to the _Sun_.

In _South-America_, they worship evil Spirits in various Forms, and Sun
and Moon. When it thunders, and lightens, they say the _Sun_ is angry
with them: When the Moon is eclipsed, they say the _Sun_ is angry with
her.

In _Peru_, next to their chief God, they worship’d the Sun, and after
it, the Thunder. They took Sun and Moon for Husband and Wife. In the
seventh Month they sacrificed to the Sun, and in the tenth to the Honour
of the Moon.

The same Paganism was profest among the _Europeans_; yea the _Greeks_
and _Romans_ that were the most knowing and polite Nations, their chief
Gods were Sun, Moon, and Stars.

The Air, and Meteors in it, were made into Gods: Thus the _Persians_
ador’d the Wind; Thunder and Lightning were honour’d under the Name
_Geryon_. Comets and the Rainbow also have been prefer’d from _Meteors_,
to be _Gods_. _Socrates_ deify’d the Clouds, if Credit may be given to
_Aristophanes_.

Their high Veneration for _Water_ was such, that to spit, to urine, or
wash in a River was made a high Crime; perhaps, the _Water of Jealousy_
that determin’d the Case about the _Jewish_ Women, suspected of
Adultery, might heighten their Veneration for this Element.

In _Sicily_, Rivers were worshipped by the _Agrigentes_ (in the shape of
a beautiful Boy) to which they sacrificed.... The _Cathaians_ worship
Earth and Water.

The _Indians_ count the River _Ganges_ sacred, and to have a Power of
expiating their Sins. When the Idolaters wash in it, they cry, _Oh
Ganges, purify me!_ And when any are sick, they dip them in it, in order
to recover their Health. The Water of this River is convey’d to such as
live at a distance, and are not in a Capacity to travel; so that they
ascribe as much Virtue to this River, as the Papists do to their holy
Water, and chief Relicks.

The People of _Bengal_ don’t only worship the River _Ganges_, but give
Divine Honours to its Image. _Bernier_ says, that Kingdom is well
water’d by Channels cut out of the _Ganges_, which is visited by many
Pilgrims, who think themselves happy if they can wash in it. There is
also a Well in that Country, which they adore, and think, by washing
therein, they are purify’d from their Sins. Their _Priests_ travel about
with the _Water_ of the _Ganges_, which they sell at vast Prices;
because the poor ignorant People are made to believe, that by drinking
this Water, they obtain Pardon of their Sins.

The Inhabitants of _Peru_ in _America_, fling the Ashes of their
Sacrifices into the River, follow the same six Leagues, and pray the
River to bring that Present to _Virachoca_, a superior Deity. _Acosta._

The _Persians_ and _Chaldeans_ express their God by _Fire_, to which
they perform Adoration, and bring it Food, crying to it, _Eat, Oh my
Lord Fire!_ To throw dead and dirty Things into the Fire, yea to blow it
with their Breath, was High Treason.

The _Magicians_ say, that this _Fire_ was convey’d to them from Heaven;
and that it was for this Reason that they kept it so religiously. That
they preserve a constant Fire on their Altars, is evident from History.
They are said to have Fires still subsisting, which have burnt above a
thousand Years. We read of such Fire kept up with superstitious Care in
the Temple of _Jupiter Ammon_, and in that of _Hercules_ at _Gades_. So
it is in _Egypt_, and in most of all the eastern Countries, and _Virgil_
tells that _Iarbas_ the _Getulian_ could boast of a hundred Temples he
had erected with Altars, blazing with perpetual Fire, the eternal Guard
of the Gods[384].

Footnote 384:

             Centum aras posuit, vigilemque sacraverat ignem,
             Excubias divûm æternas.

             VIRG. Æneid. 4.

That which gave occasion to perpetuate the Fire in Pagan Temples, might
be from the perpetual Fire kept in the Temple at _Jerusalem_, which
descended from Heaven upon the first Victims sacrificed by _Aaron_ and
his Son. Hence the _Vestals_ were appointed express, to keep up the
sacred Fire of the _Romans_.

The Kings of _Persia_ never went abroad without having some Portion of
the sacred Fire carried before them: The Historian giving an Account of
the March of _Darius_’s Army,—says, that they carried Fire upon Altars
of Silver, in great Ceremony,—that they had it in great Veneration,
calling it the _sacred and eternal Fire_, and that the _Magi_ came
after, singing Hymns according to the _Persian Mode_[385].

Footnote 385:

  Quint. Curtius, lib. 1. Hyde de Pers. Relig. c. iii. p. 69.

God appear’d to _Moses_ under the Form of a Fire burning in a Bush. The
Camp of _Israel_ in the Wilderness was conducted in the Night by a
Pillar of Fire. Now God having made several Revelations of himself,
under the Appearance of Fire, might give occasion to the _Chaldeans_ and
_Persians_ to entertain such enormous Veneration for Fire, which is a
Symbol of the Deity: _The Lord thy God_, says _Moses, is a consuming
Fire_. At their high Solemnities they set several Trees (hung with
diverse Sorts of Beasts for Sacrifice) on fire; this they did after they
had carried about these Fires in Procession.

I Shall add here, a remarkable Contest that happen’d between the
_Chaldean_ and _Egyptian_ Priests about the _Superiority of their
Gods_.... In the time of _Constantine_ the _Chaldean Priests_, to prove
that _Fire_, which was their God, excell’d all other Gods in Power,
travell’d over the Earth, carrying _Fire_ with them, which soon consum’d
all the Statues and Images of other Gods; whether of Brass, Silver,
Stone or Wood, says _Suidas_[386], who gives a large Account of it,
under the Word κανωπος. At length coming into _Egypt_, and making this
Challenge; the _Egyptian Priests_ agreed upon a _Battle of the Gods_,
and immediately brought into the Field one of their Idols, which was a
large Statue of _Nilus, full of Water_, and full of little Holes, which
they stopt with Wax not discernable, and so artificially, that the Water
was kept in.

Footnote 386:

  Vol. I. pag. 1368.

The _Chaldeans_ (not aware of this Device) begun the Action, with much
Assurance, and with Eagerness put Fire around the _Egyptian Statue_,
which soon melted the invisible Wax, and the Water gushing forth from
all Parts, immediately put out the Fire, and drown’d the hitherto
_invincible Deity_ of the _Persians_; the Tragedy ended in a triumphant
Shout of Laughter among the Spectators: And I might add[387] how the
_Arabians_ and _Indians_, _Peruvians_, _Lithuanians_, and _Vandals_
worship’d Vegetables,—the _Scythians_ Iron. Trees and Plants have been
made Gods. Leeks and Onions were Deities in _Egypt_. The ancient _Gauls_
and _Britons_ bore a particular Devotion to the _Oak_; from which their
Priests took their Names. _Ceres_ and _Proserpina_, worship’d by the
Ancients, were no other than Wheat, Corn, Seed.—The _Syrians_ and
_Egyptians_ ador’d Fishes. What were _Tritons_, _Nereids_, _Syrens_, but
Sea-Gods? Insects, as Flies, and Ants, had their Priests and Votaries:
Yea, _Minerals_ were erected into _Deities_. The _Finlanders_ ador’d
_Stones_. I don’t see what can be said for such an Instance of
Stupidity. To say the Practice took its rise from _Abram_’s anointing
the _Stone_ that he made use of for a Pillow, when he went to
_Mesopotamia_, does not lessen the Reproach. The _Mahometans_ think that
_Jacob_’s Stone was convey’d to the _Temple at Jerusalem_; and is still
there in a _Mosque_ or _Turkish_ Temple, where the Temple at _Jerusalem_
stood before the final Desolation. The monstrous Stupidity of Pagans in
their Devotions will further appear in the Close of this Performance.

Footnote 387:

  _Ruffin._ Hist. Ecclesiastica, lib. 2. _Stanley_’s Lives of the
  Philosophers, part 16. chap. 8. page 28.

Now among all these Instances of Idolatry, the Adoration of the _Sun_
was the most excusable; for, who can behold that stupendous Globe of
Fire and Light in perpetual Motion, Splendor, and universal Usefulness
to Mankind, without awful Admiration, and warm Emotions of Mind? No
wonder then to find that it has been the Object of Adoration so long,
and in so many Places. It was the Sun very probably that was worship’d
by the _Phenicians_ under the Name of _Baal_, by the _Moabites_ under
the Name of _Chemosh_, by the _Ammonites_ under the Name of _Moloch_; by
the degenerated _Israelites_ by the Name of _Baal_, the King of the Host
of Heaven, to whom they join’d the Moon, whom they called _Astarta_ or
Queen of Heaven.

This Worship was perform’d upon high Places, in Groves, and upon the
Roofs of their Houses, which in those Countries, were flat. It was
against this kind of Worship that _Moses_ warn’d the _Israelites_, and
threatens the Transgressors with Death. _Deut._ iv. 19, ’tis said
_Josiah_ King of _Judah took away the Horses_, that his Royal
Predecessors had given to the Sun, and were fix’d at the Entrance into
the House of the Lord, and _burnt the Chariots of the Sun with Fire_.


III. _Animal Gods._ In the next place, I shall briefly touch upon some
Brutes and Birds, _&c._ that received Divine Honours from the Pagan
People, and even from those who were supposed to excel their Neighbours
in Understanding and Wisdom.

Thus _Crocodiles_, _Serpents_, _Eagles_, _Dogs_, _Cats_, _Wolves_,
_Oxen_, were worship’d by the People of _Egypt_, those celebrated Sons
of Wisdom; but their greatest Solemnities were consecrated to the God
_Apis_, or _Serapis_, under the Image of an Ox or Bull.

They had an Ox consecrated to the Sun, which they fed at _Heliopolis_ in
_Egypt_: They had another called _Apis_, dedicated to the Moon, and fed
at _Memphis_, (for some time, the royal City) where he had his Temple,
and the Devils gave out their Oracles. In the time of St. _Jerom_, who
flourish’d in the fourth Century, they worshipped here a brass Bull as a
God.

The famous God _Osiris_ was adored under the Figure of this Beast, and
when dead, it was buried with great Solemnity and Mourning: And ’tis
observable, that his Birth-day was celebrated thro’ the whole Kingdom.
_N. B._ ’Tis very probable, that the _Israelites_ worshipped the golden
Calf in the same manner as the _Egyptians_ did their Bulls, their Cows
and Calves.

Before I proceed, give me leave to speak something of this golden Idol,
which was the Figure of a Calf, which the _Israelites_ cast, and set up
to worship in _Moses_’s Absence; who, upon his return from the Mount,
burnt the Figure, ground it to Powder, and made the People drink it mixt
with Water, _Exod._ xxxii. The Learned are divided in their Sentiments
on this Article; that is, the golden Calf, that was burnt and
pulverized.

To pulverize Gold and render it potable, is an Operation in Chymistry of
the last Difficulty; and ’tis hard to conceive how it should be done at
that time, before Chymistry was heard of, and in a Wilderness too, where
they had no proper Instruments. Many therefore suppose it to be done by
a Miracle. But the chymical Art seems to be of greater Antiquity, and
was very probably practised in the antediluvian World by _Tubal Cain_.
_Moses_ is the next Chymist mention’d in the Bible, whose Skill in
chymical Operations, in pulverizing the golden Calf, seems to be
incontestable, and artificial.

The Art is now much improved. Bid a Chymist convert Gold into Glass; and
by means of a burning Concave, or otherwise, he presently does it: Ask
him to Shew you Gold in Powder, and by mixing a little _Antimony_ with
that Metal, he will soon render it pulverable[388].

Footnote 388:

  _Boerhaave_’s _new Method. Proces._ 268, 317.

But to return: Among other living Creatures, the _Egyptians_ also paid a
great Devotion to _Dogs_ and _Cats_. We read of a certain _Roman_
Soldier, that was like to be torn to pieces by the People, for having
_kill’d a Cat by Accident_; and that when a Dog happen’d to die, the
whole House went into Mourning[389]: Yea, in case of a great Famine,
they would eat Man’s Flesh, before they would touch their sacred
Animals; _ibid._ The Stork, Raven, Eagle, Hawk, Ibis, and other Birds,
have had divine Honours paid them in _Egypt_ and other Places....

Footnote 389:

  _Diodor. Siculus, Herodot._

The City of _Mendez_ in _Egypt_ worshipped a _Goat_; the City of _Mira_,
the _Crocodile_. In other Provinces they erected Altars to Lions,
Baboons, Wolves.... The _Hog_ was ador’d in the Island of _Crete_ (now
_Candy_) in the Mediterranean. Bats and Mice had Altars consecrated to
them in _Troas_ and at _Tenedos_.

Nothing can be supposed more ridiculous than the Adoration given by the
_Egyptians_ to their brutal Deities, which were either within or near
their Temples; had Tables with delicious Meats and Beds prepared for
them, and when any of them died, they went into Mourning, prepared
sumptuous Funerals and magnificent Tombs for them, as may be seen at
large in _Diodorus Siculus_, _Herodotus_, and others[390].

Footnote 390:

  _Plut. Herodot. Jurieu’s Critical History._

Some indeed ridiculed their senseless and stupid Neighbours, tho’ they
themselves were not Masters of superior Sense in their Devotions.
_Anaxandrides_ reproaches the _Egyptians_ for their wretched and foolish
Idolatry; but after all, this was only one Idolater deriding another.
_Dionysius_ was the most notorious this way: And most knavish in this
kind was the _Painter_, who, when he should have drawn the Picture of
_such a Goddess_ for a _Grecian_ City, drew the _Picture of his own
Mistress_, and so made her to be adored by the Citizens.

What Man could have forbore laughing, said the _Greek_ Poet above, to
see an _Egyptian on his Marrowbones, praying to an Ox as to a God, or
howling over a sick Cat, fearing lest his scratching God should die_?

Upon the whole, ’tis no easy matter to discover the real Sentiments of
the Heathens about their Gods: they admitted so many superior and
inferior Deities, who shared the Empire, that all was full of Gods.

Some of the Antients say, that a certain _subtile Matter_ that made
Stars _intelligent_, did reside in their sacred Animals, Plants and Men,
and escaped Death: And this made them fit to partake of such Worship, as
they gave to the Stars.——_Sanchoniatho_ meant only, that the celestial
Bodies are intelligent, and see what is done here below, and therefore
were to be adored as Gods[391].

Footnote 391:

  _Sanchoniatho’s Phœnician Hist._ by the Learned Bp. _Cumberland_, vol.
  i. p. 20, 21.


                               SECT. III.

                        _Adoration of_ SERPENTS.

The next thing that comes under Consideration is, the _Worship of
Serpents, which is observed thro’ all the Pagan Antiquity_. The Devil,
who, under the Shape of a Serpent, tempted our first Parents, has, with
unwearied Application, labour’d to deify that Animal, as a Trophy of his
first Victory over Mankind. The Conquest made by the _old Serpent in
Paradise_, and the wonderful Cures made by the _Shadow of a Serpent in
the Wilderness_, contributed very much towards making that hateful
Creature so venerable in the Eyes of so many Nations.

God having past Sentence upon the Serpent, Satan _consecrates that Form_
in which he deceived the Woman, and introduces it into the World as an
Object of religious Veneration: This he did with a view to enervate the
Force of the divine Oracle, the Seed of the Woman. Scarcely a Nation
upon Earth, but he has tempted to the grossest Idolatry, and in
particular got himself to be worshipped in the hideous _Form of a
Serpent_.

The Almighty foreseeing this general Delusion, guarded the World against
it, by inspiring Men with the greatest Aversion to that venemous
Creature, and yet was the Tempter ador’d in most places under the
Appearance of a Serpent. If you say, that Men worship other Creatures; I
answer, Those are beneficial to Mankind, and not so odious and hurtful
as those who carry Poison in their Tails and Teeth.

How surprizing this! that a Serpent, a Beast to which Mankind has a
strong natural Aversion, should be _ador’d by Creatures of Reason_, and
yet _nothing more common_, as will appear by the following Instances
from Antiquity.

_EGYPT_ was a Country that abounded with Variety of Serpents, and where
they were generally held in the greatest Veneration. The supreme God was
represented by them in the _Form_ of a _Serpent_ with a Hawk’s Head,
because of the wonderful Agility of that Bird. We see no Table of
_Osiris_ and _Isis_, two _Egyptian Idols_, without a Serpent joined to
them[392]. This _Isis_ married _Osiris_, King of that Country, and
govern’d with so much Wisdom and Gentleness, that the _Egyptians_ paid
divine Honours to them, who had been such Blessings to the Land.

Footnote 392:

  _Macrobii Oper. Sat._ cap. xx.

In _Egypt_ is a Serpent of the Aspick Kind, called _Thermutis_, to which
they gave divine Worship; therefore crown’d with it the Statue of their
Goddess _Isis_. In the Corners of the Temples, they built little Chapels
under ground, where they carefully fed this _Thermutic Serpent_, as a
_sacred Genius_[393].

Footnote 393:

  _Ælian de Animalibus_, lib. x. _Conrad. Gesner. de Serp._ p. 32.

The _Egyptians_ also paid divine Honours to the _Crocodile_, that
monstrous kind of Serpent, particularly the Inhabitants of _Arsinoë_,
and they who dwelt in the Neighbourhood of _Thebes_, and the Lake
_Mæris_; among whom ’twas fed by their Priests with Bread, Wine, Flesh,
and diverse Rarities[394].

Footnote 394:

  _In Jonstonus de Quadruped_, cap. viii. p. 142.

_THÆAUTUS_, so often mentioned by _Sanchoniatho_, attributed some Deity
to the Nature of the Serpent; an Opinion approved by the _Phenicians_,
therefore look’d upon as holy and immortal, and comes into the sacred
Mysteries[395].

Footnote 395:

  _Euseb. Præp. Evangel._ l. i. c. 10. from _Philo Biblius_, the
  Translator of _Sanchon_.

They represented the World by a Circle, in the middle of which was a
Serpent, representing the good Demon, or Genius of the World, by which
’tis animated, and is a _Symbol_ of the Almighty Creator. Behold here
the Blasphemy of Satan, in giving to God the Form of a Serpent, which he
had borrow’d himself to make war against God in Paradise. They sometimes
represented their Gods with the Bodies of Serpents, and honour’d those
odious Animals with divine Worship, as Symbols of _Apollo_, of the
_Sun_, and of _Medicine_, and were put into the Charge of _Ceres_ and
_Proserpine_.

_HERODOTUS_ observes, that in his time, near _Thebes_, there were to be
seen tame Serpents, adorn’d with Jewels, and consecrated to _Jupiter_,
which did no harm to any body: When they died, they were buried in
_Jupiter_’s Temple[396]. _Ælian_ speaks of domestick Serpents, that were
in the Houses of the _Egyptians_, and look’d upon as _household Gods_;
and of another Serpent worshipped in a Tower at _Melitus_ in _Egypt_,
that had a Priest and other Officers attending it, and served every day
upon an Altar with Meal kneaded up with Honey, which the next day was
found to be eaten. _In Melite Eg. Draco divinis honoribus afficitur in
turri quadam_ ... _adsunt ei sacerdotes & ministri; mensa_ ... _ex
farina subacta_.... Herod. lib. ii. cap. 17.

Footnote 396:

  _——Ex Crocodilis alunt. appendentes auribus vel gemmas—sacris in arnis
  sepeliant._ _Euterpe_, lib. ii. p. 186.

The _Phenicians_ also sacrificed to _Dragons_, calling them their _good
Angels_, their propitious and kind Spirits. Nothing more common in the
Heathen Religion, than the Appearance of a Serpent in some Form or
other.

The _Babylonians_ worshipped a _Dragon_, which the Prophet _Daniel_, by
a Commission from the King, killed; which, one would think, was
sufficient to convince the Royal Idolater of his egregious Stupidity in
worshipping a Creature as Conservator of Mankind, that could not
preserve its own Life. They represented the World by a Circle in the
Form of a _Greek Theta_ Θ, and the _good Demon_, by a _Serpent_ in the
midst of it; under which Figure, the Protectors of Countries and Cities,
called tutelary Gods, were worshipped.

The _Arabians_ reputed Serpents _sacred Beings_, and therefore would
allow no Violence to be offered to them; and this Superstition yet
remains among those People, according to _Veslingius_, says my Author.
They take them into their Houses, feed and worship them as the _Genii_,
or Guardians of the Place: Not only Men, but every kind of Things, had
its peculiar _Genius_. Two were assigned to each Person, a good and evil
Genius, and those were thought to attend them from the Cradle to the
Grave. We read of a sacred Dragon that was kept in _Phrygia_ in _Asia
Minor_, whose Residence was in a Wood, dedicated to _Diana_, Goddess of
the Woods.

Among other strange Animals in the _East-Indies_, _Alexander_ found in a
Cave, a _monstrous Dragon_, which the Inhabitants counted sacred, and
was adored by them, and daily supplied with Food: The poor, ignorant,
superstitious People, humbly addrest the _Conqueror_, not to attack that
_holy Place_, and disturb the Repose of their God. The victorious Army
hearing its hideous and dreadful Roarings, were not a little terrify’d;
they only saw its monstrous Head, when stretch’d out of its Mansion, and
its Eyes appeared to them to be as big as a large _Macedonian Buckler_,
a Species of defensive Armour[397].

Footnote 397:

  _Conrad. Gesner._ p. 44, 45. _Gyllius._

The King of _Calicut_ (in the _East-Indies_, the most powerful of all
the _Malabar_ Princes) causes little Cottages to be erected for sacred
Serpents, to guard them against the Inclemency of the Weather, and ’tis
made Death to hurt them, being they are look’d upon as heavenly Spirits;
and they believe them to be such for this Reason, because _they kill Men
so suddenly by the Wound they give, which is only a little Puncture, and
would not prove fatal if given by other Creatures_.

It is observed by some, that Serpents at this day are highly honour’d in
the Kingdom of _Calicut_, on this side the _Ganges_, where the
Inhabitants call their King _Samori_, or _Zamorin_, that is, Sovereign
Emperor, and God upon Earth. The Dragon being a Serpent of the vigilant
Tribe, was constituted and made Guardian of their Houses, of their
oracular Temples, and of all their Treasures.

These Protectors of Places and Possessions, they call’d Tutelary Gods,
and were worshipp’d by them under the Symbol of _Serpents_, without
whose Sanction no Methods of Protection were available.

It is remarkable, that where the Figure of two Serpents was erected in
any place, it was look’d upon as a Sign of consecrated Ground; that is,
that the Place was holy, being dedicated to some God; for which
Superstition they are ridiculed by one of their own Writers, _viz._
_Persius_ the Satirist, that lived under _Nero_, who tells us, that
Children were forbid to empty themselves in those Places, and not so
much as make-water, for the Place is holy, as appears by the _Picture of
the two Serpents_; the Language of which is, Profane not holy Ground.

Would you, Sir, have your Poem pass for a sacred Composure, then paint
two Serpents in the Front of it.

Behold here the Original of that Popish Superstition, which forbids Men
to make-water in the Church-Yard[398].

Footnote 398:

             Pinge duos angues, pueri, sacer est locus, extra
             Meite——

             _Satir._ i.

At _Alba_, in a Wood not far from _Juno_’s Temple, is a Dragon
worshipp’d by the Inhabitants, and for their greater Honour, fed by
Virgins, thereby intimating, that Innocence was a proper Attendant on
the Gods.

In _Epirus_, south of _Macedonia_, is a certain place sacred to
_Apollo_, and wall’d about, within which are kept _sacred Dragons_, fed
likewise by a Virgin Priestess, uncloathed, which they believe to be
most acceptable to their idol Gods[399]; called by _Juvenal_, one of
their own Poets, _wenching Gods_.

Footnote 399:

  Ælian. lib. ii. cap. 2. ἱερεια γυμνη παρθενος.

The _Epiroticks_, who highly venerated _Apollo_, honour’d his Temple
with a _consecrated Dragon_, which they worshipp’d in solemn remembrance
of his killing the _Pythonic Serpent_. It were well if the same Spirit
of Gratitude reign’d amongst _Britons_, towards the Heroes that
deliver’d their Country from the great Ecclesiastical Dragon, by the
glorious Revolution.

Near _Lavinium_ was a Grove of serpentine Gods, dedicated to _Juno_ of
_Argos_, which was a City in _Peloponnesus_ (famous for the Shrine of
_Æsculapius_) now the _Morea_, one of whose Rivers is called _Styx_; or
rather a Well, whose Water is so cold and venemous, that it often kills
such that drink thereof; and therefore design’d by the Poets, to be a
River of Hell: ’Tis said by some, that _Alexander_ was poison’d with it.

It’s well known what Worship was paid to the Serpent at _Epidaurus_, a
_Peleponnesian City_, and the Manner how ’twas pretended that Serpent
was brought to _Rome_, which is as follows, _viz._

The _Romans_ being sorely distrest by a Plague, they sent a _Galley_
with Ambassadors to _Epidaurus_, to bring the Serpent consecrated to
_Æsculapius_ to _Rome_, which of its own accord went aboard the Galley,
and which was landed in the Isle of _Tyber_, where divine Honours were
paid to it; upon which the Plague ceased.——Take it as represented by the
Historian, who says, ... That the Plague raging terribly at _Rome_, and
in the Vicinity, above three Years, did not abate, by any divine or
human Remedy, tho’ Men had tried both; therefore by the Counsel of the
_Delphic Oracle_, ten Ambassadors were sent to fetch the Statue of
_Æsculapius_, that was ador’d in the Body of the great Serpent;
hereupon, a very strange thing ensued, and manifestly true, both from
many faithful Historians, and building the _Temple_ (dedicated to it) in
the _Isle of Tyber_.

When the _Roman Ambassadors_ had delivered their Commands to the
_Epidaurians_, who brought them into the Temple of _Æsculapius_ ...
while they were admiring a huge Shrine, a great Serpent sliding of a
sudden from the _Adytum_ (which was a Place of Retirement in the Pagan
Temples, where Oracles were given, into which none but Priests were
admitted) upon sight of it the Priests, in a devout Posture, said to the
Company, _that the Deity shrouded itself in that Form_, and when it
appear’d in this _Fashion_, ’twas look’d upon as a _happy Omen_.

The Serpent was seen for two Days in the Temple, and afterwards
disappeared, but on the third Day it past thro’ the Croud (which gazed
on and worship’d) and went directly to the Port where the _Roman Galley_
stood; and having enter’d into it, laid itself down in the Cabin of _Q.
Ogulnius_, the chief Ambassador. They set sail from thence ... and soon
arrived at _Rome_. The whole City came out to see this wonderful
Thing——Altars were built, Incense burnt, and Sacrifices offer’d. The
Serpent swam over to the _Isle of Tyber_, (which afterwards was called
_Æsculapius_’s _Isle_) and since was never seen.

The Senate concluding this Island to be the Place chosen by the God,
decreed that a Temple should be built for _Æsculapius_ there—whereupon
the Plague ceased. The Temple grew famous for rich Offerings, in
Consideration of their Deliverance from the Plague by that Deity[400].

Footnote 400:

  _Livy._ lib. xi. _Quære_, Whether the Historian’s Faith kept pace with
  his Pen?

_VALERIUS MAXIMUS_ says, that the Priests looking into the _Sibyls
Books_, observed there was no other way to restore the City to its
former Health, but by bringing the Image of _Æsculapius_ from
_Epidaurus_ ... upon which Ambassadors were sent[401].

Footnote 401:

  _Val. Maxim._ lib. i. cap. 8. See _Ovid. Metamorph._ lib. 25.

The Poets and Mythologists, in order to shew there was no Distemper but
_Æsculapius_ could cure, said, he raised the Dead. Thus at the Request
of _Diana_, he restor’d _Hippolytus_ to Life, who had been torn to
pieces by his Horses. We can’t doubt of the Credulity of the People in
thinking him rank’d among the Gods, after so many Temples, Inscriptions,
and Medals dedicated to his Memory.

The most famous Temples consecrated to _Æsculapius_, were that of
_Epidaurus_[402], that in the Isle of _Co_, that of _Cyrene_, that of
_Pergamos_, that in the Isle of _Tyber_[403].

Footnote 402:

  _Pliny Nat. Hist._ lib. 4. c. 5.

Footnote 403:

  For these, see _Strabo_, _Val. Maximus_, _Herodot., Livy_.

As to the Inscriptions in honour of _Æsculapius_, _Gruterus_ has these
following, _viz._

              _Æsculapio, Hygeæ, & ceteris Diis & Deabus._

              _Deo Æsculapio, & Hygeæ, conservatoribus._

              _Deo Æsculapio, & Deæ Hygeæ._

_N. B._ The Title of Conservator, or Saviour, was the ordinary Elogium
of _Æsculapius_.

In the Isle of _Co_, there was a Coin whereon _Æsculapius_ was called
the _Saviour_; and so on a Coin of _Ancyra_. Games are also mentioned,
instituted in honour of him as Saviour. The Symbol of _Æsculapius_ was a
_Serpent_, or _Dragon_, about a _little Rod_, as may be seen in several
Medals, and by the Testimony of the Poet[404]. Wherever he was worship’d
in Statues of a _human Figure_, a _Staff was put into his Left-hand,
with a Serpent about it_.

Footnote 404:

  _Ovid. Metam._ lib. 5. Qualis in æde.... Esse solet, baculumque tenens
  agreste sinistra.

This seems to be the reason why Antiquity represents the first Masters
of Physick (as _Hermes_, _Æsculapius_, _Hippocrates_, in their Statues
and Medals) with a _Viper_ added to their _Figure_; and also why they
worship’d those _Physicians under the Form of Serpents_[405].

Footnote 405:

  _Salomonis Cellarii—Origines & Antiquitates Medicæ._ Printed at _Hall_
  in _Saxony_.

The Serpent of _Æsculapius_, the reputed God of Physick, had its Rise
from the miraculous Cures done by _Moses_’s _Serpent_ in the Camp of
_Israel_. Serpents of bright and golden Colour were all counted sacred
to _Æsculapius_, and were cicur’d, or made tame by human Arts. A
_Dragon_ was usually annex’d to his _Image_, and to that of _Health_,
nothing being thought _available_ without the _Presence of a Serpent_.

At _Pella_ in _Macedonia_, the Royal Seat, and _Alexander_’s
Birth-place, were _Dragons_ of a large Bulk, but of a gentle Nature,
maintain’d at the Expence of the Government, as Creatures bearing a
_sacred Character_, and worthy of the publick Regard. Because many tame
Serpents were kept in that Place, the fabulous Poets said, _Alexander
was born of a Serpent_.

The People of _Argos_ in _Greece_, had Serpents in such great
Veneration, that nobody was suffer’d to kill them with impunity[406].
The _Pagan Temples_ were wont to be haunted with Serpents, in so much
that it grew into a Phrase of Speech, the _sacred Serpent_[407]. And
thus Serpents are deified and solemnly enrolled among the Gods.

Footnote 406:

  _Ælian._ lib. xii. cap. 34.

Footnote 407:

  Sacer anguis.

_SANCHONIATHON_, a _Phœnician Historiographer_, and _Philo Biblius_, who
translated his Antiquities, have left us a full Account of the Origin of
the _Apotheosis_, or _Canonization of Serpents_[408]; which leads me to
say something of what the Ancients called _Apotheosis of departed
Souls_, and the Strange Ceremonies used in the _Apotheosis_ or
_Deification_ of the deceased Emperor, who had deserved well of their
Country.

Footnote 408:

  _Sanchoniathon_ is supposed by some to be cotemporary with _Gideon_.

_APOTHEOSIS_ among the Ancients was a Pagan Ceremony whereby Emperors
and great Men were placed among the Gods, called also _Deification_, and
_Consecration_: Temples and Altars were erected to the new Deities,
_viz._ Serpents and Men, Sacrifices offered to them; and for that end,
Colleges of Priests were instituted for the Honour of these Demi-Gods.

It was one of the Doctrines of _Pythagoras_, which he borrowed from the
_Chaldeans_, that useful and virtuous Persons, after their Death, were
raised into the _Order of the Gods_. Hence the Ancients _deified_ all
the Inventors of Things that were beneficial to Mankind, and those who
had done Services of Importance to their Country.

By degrees these _new Gods_ grew very numerous. One of their own Poets
rallying them for frequent Deifications, introduces poor _Atlas_, who is
said to _bear the Heavens on his Shoulders_, complaining, that he was
ready to sink under the Number and Weight of so many _new Gods_, as were
every day coin’d, and added to the Heavens, which made his Shoulders to
warch. _N. B._ _Atlas_ in Anatomy is the Name of the first _Vertebra_ of
the Neck, which supports the Head, and is the highest, so called in
allusion to the famous Mountain _Atlas_ in _Africa_, suppos’d to be the
highest in the World, so that it seems to hold up the Heavens; and also
to the Fable that makes _Atlas_ King of _Mauritania_ in that Country, to
bear up the visible Heavens. I now proceed to the Description which we
have in _Herodian_, a _Greek_ Historian in the third Century, who in
speaking of the _Apotheosis_ of the Emperor _Severus_, gives us a very
full Account of that strange Ceremony, _viz._

... After the Body of the deceased Emperor had been burnt with the usual
Solemnities, they placed an Image of Wax perfectly like him, but of a
sickly Aspect, on a large Bed of Ivory, covered with Cloth of Gold,
which they exposed to publick View at the Entrance of the Palace-Gate.

The greatest Part of the Day the Senate sat ranged on the left side of
the Bed, drest in Mourning Robes; the Ladies of the first Rank sitting
on the right side, in plain and white Robes, without any Ornaments....
This lasted for seven Days successively; during which, the Physicians
came from time to time to visit the Sick, always making their Report
that he grew worse, till at length they publish’d it, that he was dead.

This done, the _young Senators_ and _Roman Knights_ took the Bed of
State upon their Shoulders, carrying it thro’ the _Via sacra_ to the old
_Forum_, where the Magistrates used to divest themselves of their
Offices: There they let it down between two kinds of Amphitheatres; in
the one, were the Youth, and in the other the Maidens of the first
Families in _Rome_, singing Hymns set to solemn Airs in praise of the
Deceased.

Those Hymns ended, the Bed was carried out of the City into the _Campus
Martius_, in the middle of which Place was erected a kind of square
Pavilion; the Inside thereof was full of combustible Matter, and the
Outside hung with Cloth of Gold, and adorned with Figures of Ivory, and
various Paintings.

Over this Edifice were several others, like the first in Form and
Decoration, but less; always diminishing, and growing slenderer towards
the Top, and a great many aromatick Perfumes, and odoriferous Fruits and
Herbs were thrown all around: After which, the Knights made a Procession
in solemn Measures about the Pile; several Chariots ran round it, those
who conducted them being clad in purple Robes, and bearing the Images of
the greatest _Roman_ Emperors and Generals.

This Ceremony ended, the new Emperor came to the _Catafalco_ or Pile
with a Torch in his hand, and at the same time Fire was put to it on all
sides by the Company, the Spices and all Combustibles kindling all at
once. While this was doing, they let fly from the Top of the Building an
_Eagle_, which mounting into the Air with a Firebrand, carried the Soul
of the dead Emperor along with it into Heaven, as the _Romans_ believ’d;
and thenceforward _he was ranked among the Gods_. ’Tis for this Reason
that the Medals wherein the _Apotheoses_ are represented, have usually
an Altar with Fire upon it, or however an Eagle taking its Flight into
the Air, and sometimes two Eagles[409].

Footnote 409:

  _Herodian_, who writ his History in 8 Books, from whom we have the
  Ceremonies of the Apotheosis of the _Roman_ Emperors, lib. 4.

A certain Emperor being asked, what he had done to merit an
_Apotheosis_? He answered, _He had always studied to resemble the Gods_.
And being asked again, In what did he endeavour to be like them? He
answered, _In having as few Wants as possible of my own, and doing good
in the most extensive Way to others_.

There is no Place so remote in the World, but has been polluted with
this monstrous Idolatry, _of worshipping Serpents_. The northern
Historians tell us, the People of _Lithuania_ in _Poland_ worship’d
Serpents; and ’tis not long ago, since that gross Idolatry was
abolish’d, of which _Sigismund_ Baron of _Herberstein_, gives us this
memorable Story, _viz._

——Returning, says he, from _Massovia_ near _Wilna_, my Host
acquainted me, he had bought a Hive of Bees, from one of these
_Serpent-Worshippers_, whom with much ado he had persuaded to kill
the Serpent, and worship the true God: Within a while after coming
that Way, he found the poor Fellow miserably tortured and deformed,
his Face wrinkl’d and turn’d awry; and demanding the Cause of it, he
answer’d, _viz._

_THAT this Judgment was inflicted upon him for killing his God_, and
that he was like to endure heavier Torments if he did not return to his
former Worship. Which brings to my Mind a Passage in one of the Fathers,
relating to the _Carthaginians_, who having been compelled by
_Agathocles_ King of _Sicily_ to leave off those horrid Sacrifices of
human Victims to _Saturn_, forbore them a long time: But a great
Calamity being brought upon them for disusing those human Sacrifices;
and to atone for their Neglect, _they sacrificed at once two hundred
Children of the noblest Families in_ Carthage[410].

Footnote 410:

  Cum victi essent ab Agathocle rege Siculorum, iratum sibi Deum
  putavisse, itaque ut diligentius piaculum solverent ducentos nobilium
  filios immolasse. Lactantius. Lib. 1. Sect. 21. p. 67. _Lugd. Batav._

But to return to the _Baron_ of the North, who adds, That in his Time,
the People in _Samogitia_, East of the _Baltick_ Sea, did still pay
_divine Honours to a Serpent as a Deity_.... Some of those that inhabit
the Deserts, adore a _four-footed Serpent_, under the Name of _Givosit_.
Few Families there, are without _Serpents_, for their _Domestick Gods_,
to whom they give more than ordinary Veneration, tho’ at the same time
they profess the Christian Faith[411], which _Jagello_ their Prince
received _Anno Domini_ 1386. _ibid._

Footnote 411:

  Atlas _Europe_, p. 261.

The _English_ Cosmographer accounts for them thus, _viz._ “The People
anciently had _Fire_ and _Serpents_ for their Gods, nourishing the last
in their Houses, and keeping the other continually burning; the Priests
of the Temple always adding Fuel, that it might not fail. The Vestal
Fire was not kept more carefully at _Rome_, nor with greater
Ceremony.... To this God, (whom they call’d, Lord of the _Smoke_,) they
used to sacrifice young Pullets, to the other their Cocks[412].” The
Seed of this Idolatry is so implanted in them, that ’tis said, that in a
Village of the King’s, called _Lovaniski_, their chief City, they do, to
this day _worship Serpents_. _ibid._

Footnote 412:

  _Heylin_’s Cosmogr. lib. 2. _Poland_ p. 143.

The _Lithuanians_, ’tis said, ador’d three Gods, _Fire_, _Wood_, and
_Serpents_. These last were counted their _Guardian Gods_. And according
to a certain Historian, this kind of superstitious and diabolical
Worship continues yet in some Parts of the Kingdoms of _Norway_ and
_Vermolandia_[413].

Footnote 413:

  _Olaus Magnus_, Archbishop of _Upsal._ History of the _Goths_.

The Inhabitants of _Prussia_ were barbarous and wild in the highest
degree, having of old no manner of Religion, or next to none, and first
began _with the Worship of Serpents_[414]. There are Countries in the
_Indies_, says _Jurieu_, where Serpents are worship’d to this day.

Footnote 414:

  _Erasm. Stella_ in the Antiquities of _Prussia_. Lib. 1.

_ARISTOPHANES_, in the Comedy entitled _Plutus_, observes that the Deity
gave the Sign, _viz._ by _hissing_; upon which two monstrous Dragons
skip’d out of the Temple[415].

Footnote 415:

              Δυω δρακοντ’ εκ του νεω. Fragmenta p. 52.
              Dixerat hæc adytis cum lubricus anguis ab imis.

When _Æneas_ sacrificed to the _Manes_, (the departed Soul) of his
Father _Anchises_, he saw a _Serpent_ come out of his Grave, which he
concluded to be either the _Tutelar God_ of his Father, or of that
Place, which was counted a good Omen. We have an Account of some Priests
in _Asia_ that expose to publick View a Serpent in a brazen Vessel,
attended with a great Variety of Musick. The Serpent appears in an erect
Posture, opens its Mouth, and instead of a forked Tongue, appears the
Head of a beautiful Virgin[416].

Footnote 416:

  _Phil. Melanchton._

_NICHOLAS de Lyra_ makes mention of such another idle Conceit, _viz._
That the Serpent assumed the Face of a beautiful Maid, when it tempted
_Eve_. _N. B._ In the _German Bibles_ printed before _Luther_, among
other Figures may be seen that of a Serpent with the Face of a very
handsome Maid.

In short, so great was the Devotion paid to Serpents, that Persons and
Things were denominated from them: Yea, some would be thought to proceed
from Serpents, as the highest Degree of Honour. _Cadmus_’s Companion was
called a _Serpent_, so the Giant in _Homer_, and a certain Prophet in
_Pausanias_.

In the Primitive Church were an heretical Sect, called _Ophites_, that
is Serpents. In _Cyprus_, and about the _Hellespont_, were a certain
People that went by the Name _Serpent_. So a Soothsayer in _Messenia_,
_&c._ But these came short of _Alexander the Great_, and _Scipio
Africanus_, who were said _to be born of Serpents_, which they look’d
upon to be the _brightest Insignia_ in their _Escutcheon_; but more of
this _Serpentine Pride_ in the next Chapter.

In such wonderful Esteem were _Serpents_ among them, that all manner of
Creatures were called by their Name, as Stars, Animals, Plants, Trees,
Herbs, Rivers, Stones, Islands, Proverbs.... Nothing was accounted
Divine and Grand, unless graced by a Serpent[417]. From this _Divinity_
ascrib’d to Serpents, _Pherecides_ took occasion to make a Dissertation
concerning the Deity called _Ophion_, from Οφις, a Serpent[418].

Footnote 417:

  Conradus Gesner.

Footnote 418:

  Euseb. Præparat. Evang.

------------------------------------------------------------------------


                               CHAPTER V.

                               CONTENTS.

_Reasons for worshipping Serpents, seem to rise from Misapplication of
    some Scripture Passages: But especially, 1. From the Triumphs of the
    Paradisaic Serpent. Pagan History from_ Moses. _In the primitive
    Church, a Sect of Christians worship’d Serpents, and said the
    Serpent in Paradise was a good Creature. 2. From the miraculous
    Cures done by the brazen Serpent._ Alexander _affected the Honour of
    being begot by a Serpent, ador’d as a God, by a Decree of the
    Priests._


_WHAT Reason can be assigned for giving religious Worship to Serpents?_
I answer,

It is no easy Matter to find out the Original of Pagan Idolatry, having
no authentick Records of those remote Times, therefore Conjectures, or
nothing must content the honest Enquirer: Something may be offer’d,
without going beyond our Depth. Before I proceed, it may be proper to
observe, _viz._ That Knowledge sprung from the Sons of _Noah_, who
doubtless instructed their Successors in the History of the Creation,
the Conquest of Paradise by a Serpent, that introduced the Knowledge of
Good and Evil upon Earth.

Those whom we call _Heathens_, at first were Members of the true Church;
the further Men went from the Spring, the Streams grew more muddy, and
strange Constructions were put upon the History of _Adam_ and _Eve_,
_Noah_, and his Progeny, which in process of Time was metamorphosed into
a Narrative of Fooleries and fabulous Gods.

So the _Mosaick_ History of their Travels thro’ the Wilderness, and the
Promulgation of the Law upon Mount _Sinai_, were strange and stupendous
Events, that soon spread over the Nations in some Shape or other.

In the _Phœnician Theology_, we find the Creation described, almost in
the Terms used by _Moses_. _Diodorus Siculus_ says, the Antients liv’d
upon Roots and Fruits. The _Phœnician_ Records mention _Ujoris_, _i. e._
_Adam_, the first that wore Garments made of Animal Skins. The _Vulcan_
of the Heathen was the _Tubal-cain_ of _Moses_, (_Gen._ iv. 22.) the
first Artificer in Brass and Iron: _Plato_’s _Atlanticus_ is a Fable
founded upon the History of _Noah_’s Flood: The Fable of the Giants
storming Heaven, is taken from the Builders of the Tower of _Babel_, as
before: Yea, says a Learned Father (after _Numenius_, the celebrated
_Pythagorean_ and _Platonist_) what is _Plato_ but _Moses in an Athenian
Dress_[419]? But to be more particular,

Footnote 419:

  Τι γαρ εστι Πλατων η Μωσης αττικιζων. _Quid enim est Plato, nisi Moses
  qui loquitur Atticè?_ Or, _Quid enim aliud est Plato, quam Moses
  Atticissans_? Clementis Alexandrini Opera, Strom. lib 1. _Coloniæ_ p.
  342.

1. _SATAN_, who conducted the War in _Eden_, display’d his Art under the
Form of a Serpent, which _Moses_ represents as a Creature of superior
Wisdom, and Illuminator of Mankind. Now the Tradition, that the _first
Serpent_ had not only the Gift of speaking, but of communicating
Science, and had held a Conference with the first Woman, to the vast
Increase of her Knowledge, might at last swell to such a degree, that
ignorant People might attribute to that Serpent, and her Race, a kind of
Divinity; and for this Reason also, because in the Perfections of the
Mind she exceeded our first Parents, who being constituted Governors of
the Earth, must be supposed to be furnish’d with extraordinary
Accomplishments: But, says Tradition, here is one who infused greater
Knowledge into them, and made them more wise; and they, for contesting
with the _Wisdom of the Serpent_, were turned out of Paradise, and
ordain’d their Dwelling to be among the Beasts of the Field.

Surely, might the People say, so great a Being as this Serpent merits
our awful Regards. Now, how far such Thoughts might operate in those
early days of Ignorance and Superstition, I determine not: The Serpent
indeed, is said to be more subtle than the Beasts of the Field, but not
more wise than _Adam_ and _Eve_.

It is more strange, to think that in the primitive Church there were
certain Hereticks call’d _Ophites_, took their Name from _Ophis_[420],
who worshipped the Serpent that betray’d _Eve_, and ascribed all sorts
of Knowledge to that Animal, maintain’d ’twas a good Creature, and that
our first Parents were instructed by it to know Good and Evil. Yea, they
believed, “the Serpent that tempted _Eve_ was the _Christ_, who
afterwards came down and was incarnate in the Person of _Jesus_: That it
was _Jesus_, but not the _Christ_, that suffer’d; for which reason they
made all Proselytes to their Sect, to renounce Jesus[421].” If a Sect of
Christians speak after this manner, what Ideas must the Heathen form of
things?

Footnote 420:

  A _Greek_ word that signifies _a Serpent_.

Footnote 421:

  _Calmet._

One of the Fathers speaking of these Hereticks, observes how they
affirm’d,——_That Wisdom made itself a Serpent_——had given Knowledge to
Man, and that the Position of Man’s Bowels, winding about like Serpents,
shews that there is in us a hidden Substance that engenders the Figure
of Serpents[422]. Surely those Fathers of the Church were Children in
Understanding, that gave way to such mystical Conundrums. Call them no
more Fathers, but Children of Antiquity.

Footnote 422:

  _Irenæus adv. Hæres._ (lib. 1. cap. 34.—_sophiam serpentem factam_—)
  who flourish’d in the close of the 2d Century.

These Hereticks, in the Consecration of the Eucharist, always had a
Serpent ready in a Box, which they produced on that Occasion, making it
come out by certain Charms, and lick the Bread, and having kissed the
same, they eat it[423]. Another Historian expresses it thus, _viz._
“When their Priests celebrated their Mysteries, they made one of these
Creatures to come out of his Hole, and after he had roll’d himself upon
the Things that were to be offer’d in Sacrifice, they said _Jesus
Christ_ had sanctified them, and then gave them to the People to worship
them[424].” _N. B._ I don’t apprehend how the _Learned Abbot_ makes them
bring in the Name _Jesus_ here, a Name which in the same Page he says,
they obliged their Proselytes to renounce.

Footnote 423:

  _Bingh. Index Heret._

Footnote 424:

  _Calmet_’s _Histor. Dict._ vol. ii. p. 668.

This strange Superstition seems to be derived from the Heathen, who at
the Feasts of _Bacchus_, used to carry a _Serpent_, and to cry, _Evia,
Evia_[425]: And _Evia_, says _Clemens Alexandrinus_, if it be asperated,
_Hevia_, signifies in the _Hebrew_, a _female Serpent_. Dr. _Lightfoot_
observes, that there being no such Word in the _Hebrew_, _Clemens_ must
mean the _Chaldee_, in which _Hivia_ signifies a Serpent.

Footnote 425:

  Ευια, ευια.

2. The Reputation gain’d by the Serpent in Paradise, was heighten’d by
the wonderful Cures done by the brazen Serpent in the Wilderness. As
this strange Occurrence was capable of various Glosses, so it must
undergo different Constructions. The _Brazen Serpent_ was brought to
_Canaan_, where ’twas kept in remembrance of the miraculous Cures their
Forefathers had received from it in the Wilderness; and, ’tis probable,
the _Israelites_ themselves were the first that paid divine Honours to
it, and the Idolatry might begin in the days of the Judges; others say,
under the Kings of _Judah_[426].

Footnote 426:

  _Jurieu_, vol. ii. from _Rabbi Kimchi_, who says they burnt Incense to
  it, from the time the Kings of _Judah_ had corrupted themselves ...
  _in locum_.

It lay quiet there, _until those Days, the Children of Israel burnt
Incense to it_. That is, from the days _Israel_ began to commit
Idolatry, to the days of _Hezekiah_; who, to prevent the Growth of that
Serpentine Idolatry, _brake in pieces the brazen Serpent that Moses had
made_. 2 Kings xviii. 4.

The Sound of the strange Cures done by the _brazen Serpent_, soon spread
over the forsaken Nations, who, observing how the Wounded were healed by
looking at it, conceived it to be a proper Instrument to be their
Mediator, and consequently a fit Object for their Adoration, when even
the Wounded in _Israel_, by addressing to its Shadow, were healed.

It is most probable, that the Adoration of Serpents by the Pagans,
sprung from these two Fountains,

The _Wisdom of the Serpent_ in Paradise, and the _miraculous Cures_ done
by the _Shadow of a Serpent_ in the Wilderness; which were improved by
the Devil to secure his Honour and Interest, who wanted not Priests to
display the Glories of their Character, to make the Serpent honourable
in the sight of his Vassals. From hence, the _Egyptians_, _Phenicians_,
yea most Nations, did imagine the Serpent to have some _Divinity in its
Nature_, and for that reason (as hinted before) honour’d it with sacred
Homage; this the Devil did, with a view to lessen Men’s Esteem for the
Almighty Creator.

Hence also some Men of superior Dignity have affected to be esteem’d
more than meer Men, making this as an Argument, that they were _begot by
Serpents_, as we observed already, therefore I shall only add, _viz._

That _Alexander the Great_, after he had taken _Rhodes_, _Egypt_ and
_Cilicia_, addrest _Jupiter Ammon_ to know his Original, for his Mother
_Olympias_ had confest to his Father _Philip_, that _Alexander_ was not
begot by him, but by a _Serpent_ of _vast Bulk_; whereupon _Philip_ was
divorced from his Wife _Olympias_, and _Alexander_ was saluted Son of
_Ammon_, and by Order of the Priests, his Companions were enjoin’d to
worship him as a _God_, and not as a _King_.

_ALEXANDER_, when he had conquer’d _Darius_ III. surnam’d _Codomannus_,
and was possest of the _Persian_ Empire, writ to the _Grecians_, that
they should _decree him to be a God_. Hereupon several Decrees were
made: The _Lacedemonians_ exprest their Compliance in this short Decree,
_viz._ _Forasmuch as_ Alexander _would be a God, let him be a God_. Thus
with Laconick Brevity, fashionable among the _Lacedemonians_, they
humour’d and reproved the Pride of their King at once[427].

Footnote 427:

  Επειδἡ Αλεξανδρος βουλεται Θεδς ειναι εσο Θεος. Æliani variæ Hist.
  lib. ii. cap. xix.

_VARRO_ was of Opinion, that all gallant and heroick Men should believe
themselves, tho’ falsly, to issue from the Gods ... that upon this
Supposition, they might attempt great things with more Courage, and
prosecute them with more Ardency; and tho’ the Motive was but imaginary,
yet might produce glorious Effects[428]. When _Varro_ writ this, ’tis
probable he had _Alexander the Great_ in his view.

Footnote 428:

  Ex Diis genitos—_Aug. de Civitate Dei._ cap. 4.

Such is their Opinion of their King in _China_, that they think he is
descended from the Race of some Demi-God, and so adore him accordingly.
They believe there is some Divinity in his Blood, in so much that he
never marries any but his next Relatives, for fear of staining the Royal
Blood[429].

Footnote 429:

  _Howel_’s _Londinopolis_. p. 384.

Among the Antients, Serpents were Emblems of Power; therefore
_Epaminondas_, the brave _Theban_ General, to encourage his Army against
a powerful Enemy, _bruised the Head of a Serpent_ before them as a
Prognostick of Victory.

Thus King _James_ I. tho’ the _Dupe of all Christendom_, says a certain
Gentleman, yet was the grand Idol of the Court-Clergy. That Pedantry
which would have brought a School-Boy under the just Discipline of the
Rod, in him was represented by his parasitical Preferment-hunting
Ecclesiasticks, as divine Eloquence, and the Inspiration of the
Almighty....


                              CHAPTER VI.

_Reasons for worshipping hurtful as well as useful Creatures, founded on
    a Notion of two eternal contrary Principles: They believe God was
    good, and could not be the Author of moral Evil, therefore fram’d
    the Ditheistical Doctrine; an Error, espoused by some primitive
    Christians, confuted by the Sentence past upon the Serpent. Reasons
    for worshipping different Species of Animals by the_ Egyptians.


Whence arises the Honour given by Heathens to different Species of
Beings, to the noxious and hurtful, as well as to the salutary and
beneficent Tribe?

Probably, it might be from their observing the _Mixtures of Good and
Evil_ in the visible Creation, when as yet in their infantile State of
Knowledge: The reason of this they could not otherwise account for, but
by giving into the Notion of _two distinct independent governing
Powers_; the one a good, the other an evil Genius: accordingly they
worshipped Creatures that were useful, as being the Ministers of the
good Genius; and those that were hurtful they paid Homage to, out of
servile Fear, and to ingratiate themselves into their Favour. In the
Morning they worshipped the _celestial Gods_; in the Evening, the
_infernal_: On the Plain they worshipped the terrestrial Gods, on Hills
the supernatural; in Grotos and Caves, the infernal.

Hence it is they asserted a Duplicity of Gods, _viz._ Two perceptive
self-existent Beings, one the Principle of Good, and the other of Evil.
This Opinion originally sprung from a strong, firm Persuasion, _That God
was invariably Good, and therefore could not possibly be the Author of
the Evil upon Earth_. Nor could they otherwise solve the Difficulty
about the Entrance of moral Evil into our World, but by supposing
another eternal self-existent evil Cause.

Yea, some among the primitive Christians fell into the Error of
asserting this _Ditheistical_ Doctrine; that is, two self-existent
Principles in the Universe, to wit, a _good God_, and an _evil Demon_.
Thus the _Cerdonites_, an heretical Sect, that sprung up in the second
Century, held there were two Gods; one, the Author of all good, the
other, of all evil Things. So the _Marcionites_ held two contrary Gods;
and in the third Century, the _Manichees_ did the same.

Perhaps, this might be one reason why God past Sentence upon the Devil
in the Serpent, in the presence and hearing of our first Parents, _viz._
to prevent the Error of imagining that there was any Principle of Evil,
which was independent upon the Almighty. The Sentence past upon Satan in
the Curse upon the Serpent, was a Conviction to _Adam_ and _Eve_ of his
Dependency upon the Almighty Creator, before whose Tribunal he now was
constrained to appear, to receive the Sentence merited by those, who
make a Lye, and tempt their Fellow-creatures to rebel.

_REASONS about the Adoration of different kind of Animals by the_
Egyptians.

If you ask, that if they worshipped a Serpent, why did they pay
religious Honours to so many other Beasts? I answer, This monstrous
Idolatry begun in _Egypt_, and the first occasion for it seems to be
this, _viz._

_OSIRIS_, a certain King of _Egypt_, who reign’d with great Equity and
Mildness, having divided his Kingdom into several distinct Provinces,
appointed Presidents over them, and in their Banners he placed the
Figures, or Pictures of certain Animals, that bore some Similitude to
the Peculiarities of those Countries, over which they were to preside:
Thus to the Governor, whose Land was proper for Tillage, he design’d an
_Ox_ in his Standard, to which the Inhabitants of that Place paid a
particular Veneration, which in process of time was worshipped by the
whole Nation, for its Usefulness, and as the Symbol of Agriculture:
Hence the Image of _Osiris_ is set off with Horns.

The _golden Calf_ which _Aaron_ made in the Wilderness, and the Calves
set up by _Jeroboam_ to be worshipped in his Kingdom, were an Imitation
of the idolatrous Adoration, which the _Egyptians_ paid to their _Bull
Apis_.

That part of the Country, in which was abundance of Water, the King set
a _Crocodile_ (an amphibious Animal) in his Banner, that was to govern
there, which was had in high Veneration, especially in the City of
_Mira_; and at last the _Crocodile_ was worshipped all over _Egypt_.

Where the Country abounded with Wood, a _Dog_ was fixt in the Governor’s
Standard, to which the _Egyptians_ gave no little Veneration, especially
Sportsmen ... as the Poet observes[430].

Footnote 430:

               _Oppida tota canem venerantur, nemo Dianam._
               The Dog whole Towns, _Diana_ none implore.

               Juvenal. Satir. xv.

That which gives some colour to this Partition of _Osiris_’s Kingdom,
is, “that God ordained very near the same thing to be observed in the
Encampments of the _Israelites_, when he divided the twelve Tribes into
four Bodies, and allotted to one of the three Tribes, belonging to each
Body, _the Figure of an Animal to be placed in the Banner_: Thus, that
of _Reuben_ carried the Figure of a _Man_; that of _Judah_, a _Lion_;
that of _Dan_, an _Eagle_; and that of _Ephraim_, an _Ox_[431]”.

Footnote 431:

  _Jurieu’s Crit. Hist._ vol. ii.

After this manner the _Egyptian_ Monarch did place in their Banners the
Figures of certain Animals, which by degrees were usher’d into their
Religion and Temples. _N. B._ These Banners thus painted with different
Animals, were fixt upon Poles, between their several Provinces, by which
their Bounds were determined. _Semiramis_, being conquered by
_Staurobates_, Antiquity feign’d she was changed by the Gods into a
Dove, the Bird of _Venus_, which is the reason why the _Dove_ was
worshipped by the _Babylonians_, and why they gave it in their Ensign.

I Conclude this Part with some Instances, that are given of the
Sottishness of _Pagans_ in what they called religious Worship, which
indeed is almost incredible, if they were not common, and well
attested.—— The _Egyptians_ did not only worship variety of Beasts, but
also the Figures of them, as the Representatives of their Gods: Each
City and District entertain’d a peculiar Devotion for some particular
Beast or other, in honour of which they built Temples; yea, every one of
the _Pagan Deities_ had his own Beast, Tree and Plant consecrated to
him. Thus the _Pigeon_ was consecrated to _Venus_; the _Dragon_ and
_Owl_ to _Minerva_; the _Eagle_ to _Jupiter_; the _Cock_ to _Æsculapius_
and the _Sun_. This, says _Jurieu_, is the true Origin of the _Egyptian
Idolatry_. _Ibid._ Who adds, The _Egyptians_ assign’d to their Gods
certain Animals, as their Representatives, and being introduced into the
Temples, as the Images were in some Christian Churches, they at last
began to worship them. This points out the Impiety of admitting any
symbolical Representations of Divinity into Places of publick Worship.

Nothing more monstrous than the _Divinity_ of the _Pagans_; their Gods
were innumerable. Every thing on _Earth_, in the _Sea_, in the
_Heavens_, yea, and in _Hell_, had their _peculiar Gods_. If
_Egyptians_, who past for the wisest of Mortals, paid religious
Adoration to _meer Animals_, not only to Serpents, but Apes, Wolves,
yea, Dogs, Cats, ... and to Vegetables, as Onions, Garlick ... what
shall we think of stupid Nations, who had no Claim to Wisdom?

Even in _Athens_ (that celebrated Fountain of Light) were more Idols
than in all _Greece_; yea, so numerous were their Idols, that they had
almost as many Gods as Men[432].

Footnote 432:

  Facilius possis Deum, quam hominem invenire.

_STRABO_, _Procopius_, and _Ben Jonas_ say, the antient _Persians_ kept
and worshipped their _perpetual Fire_ on Mount _Albors_, a Branch of
_Caucasus_. The _Japonese_ worship the Devil, and the Head of their
Religion is called _Dair_, whom they worship as a God. _Atlas._

I Should rather think the _Persians_ ador’d the supreme God, under the
Image of _Fire_, by reason ’tis Fire gives Motion to every thing in
Nature, and therefore they made it an Emblem of Divinity.

The _Hebrews_ kept up the _holy Fire_ in the _Temple_, and the _Vestals_
were appointed to keep the sacred Fire of the _Romans_.

_VULCAN_ was worshipped among the Antients, and particularly the
_Egyptians_, as the _Inventor of Fire_.

The People of _Egypt_ exceeded most Nations in depreciating Divinity by
gross Superstitions and Idolatry; they did not err in worshipping
Mortals only, but they gave Reverence to Beasts, Birds, Insects, Winds,
Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Plants, _&c._ whom _Rhodius Anaxandrides_, one
of themselves, derides in this manner:

         _I sacrifice to God the Beef, which you adore;
         I broil th’_ Egyptian _Eels, which you as God implore_.
         _You fear to eat the Flesh of Swine, I find it sweet:
         You worship Dogs, to beat them I think meet,
         When they my Store devour.[433]_——

Footnote 433:

                 Bovem colis, ego Deis macto Bovem;
                 Tu maximum anguillam, Deum putas: ego,
                 Obsoniorum credidi, suavissimum,
                 Carnes suillas, tu caves, at gaudeo
                 His maximè. Canem colis, quem verbero.
                 Edentem, ubi deprehendo, forte obsonium.

Thus _Juvenal_, another Heathen Poet, ridicules their religious
Fooleries:

           _Oh happy Nations! which, of their own sowing,
           Have store of Gods, in ev’ry Garden growing.[434]_

Footnote 434:

             Porrum & cæpe nefas violare & frangere morsu,
             Oh sanctas gentes quibus hæc nascuntur in hortis
             Numina!——

             _Sat._ xv. _l._ 8, 9, 10.

The Images of the Gods, says _Seneca_, are worshipped; these they pray
unto and adore, and while they greatly admire them, at the same time
despise the Workmen that made them[435]. Which also _Sedulius_ their
Poet scoffs at, saying,——Who worship Vanities ... despise their own
Maker ... fear the Works of their own Hands.... What Madness! that Man
should ugly Shapes adore, of Bulls, Birds, Dragons, the vile Half-Dog,
or Half-Man, on Knees for Aid implore[436].——

Footnote 435:

  Simulachra Deorum venerantur——fabros qui ilia fecêre, contemnunt.

Footnote 436:

  Heu miseri vana colunt——ut volucrem, turpemque Bovem, torvumque
  Draconem, sem-hominemque canem supplex homo pronus adoret.

Yet among the Nations were some who thought it Impiety to represent
their Gods by Images, as the _Persians_, _Indian Brachmans_, _&c._[437]
Yea, the _Romans_, for 170 Years, would not allow Images in their
Temples, observing the Law of _Numa_. It was _Tarquinius Priscus_ that
followed the Vanity of the _Grecians_ (a Nation of all others, excepting
_Egypt_, most deluded by the old Serpent) set up the Images of their
Gods, which even the Learned _Varro_ bewailed and condemned. The
_Mahometans_ have a perfect Aversion to Images. The _Jews_ hate all
Images, will not allow any in their Houses, much less in Places of
Worship. But to proceed:

Footnote 437:

  _Hospinian. de Origine Imaginum._

The apostate _Indians_ worship both Gods and Devils, over which they
acknowledge a Supreme, who sends forth other Deities as his Deputies;
which they think to be the Souls of good Men; and Devils, the Souls of
the Wicked.... They imagine the Sun and Moon to be Gods; their Idols are
represented as Monsters of the kind[438].

Footnote 438:

  _Atlas Asia._ page 662.

“In the Kingdom of _Pegu_ in the East, the People are exceeding
superstitious, and scruple not to worship the Devil, whom they reckon
the Author of Evil; as they do God, of Good: And in all Calamities,
their first Addresses are to the evil Spirit, for Deliverance; and they
make Vows to him, which they perform upon their Recovery, with the
Assistance of their Priests, whom they call the Devil’s Father, and he
directs them to make sacred Feasts with Musick.” Many of them run about
in the Morning with a Torch in one Hand, and Rice in the other;
pretending to give the Devil his Breakfast, that he may not hurt them
that Day. Others at their Meals, throw part of what they have over their
Shoulders, to feed him, before they eat any themselves. _Ibid._ p. 662.

At _Tavay_ in that Country, they replenish their Houses with Victuals,
and leave them for three Months, that the Devils may dwell and feed
there, and be favourable all the rest of the Year. _ibid._ They have a
sort of Monks called _Talapoins_, who endeavour to root out this Devil
Worship, but without effect.

The _Aruspices_, were an _Order_ of _Priests_ among the antient
_Romans_, who pretended to foretell Events, chiefly by inspecting the
Entrails of Beasts killed in Sacrifice ... Birds, and celestial
Appearances. _Cato_, who was one of the _Augurs_, conscious of their
impious Politicks, used to say, _He wondered how one Priest could look
at another without laughing in his Face_. These Augural Priests made a
College, or Community; they bore an Augural Staff or Wand, called
_Lituus_, made in form of a _Crozier_, or a Bishop’s Staff, or
Shepherd’s Crook, as the Ensign of their Office and Authority—— And what
is most ridiculous is, that no Affair of Moment could be resolved upon,
without first consulting these holy Cheats; and their Advice, be what it
would, was by a Decree of the Senate appointed to be exactly and
religiously observed. _Ornithomancy_, or Divination by Birds, was, among
the _Greeks_, the same with _Augury_ among the _Romans_.

At _Angola_ and _Congo_ in the _East-Indies_, wooden Idols, resembling
Negroes, are erected in the midst of their Towns, which they daily
worship. ’Tis their Belief they are never sick, but when their Idols are
angry with them; therefore to appease them, they pour at their Feet the
_Wine of Palms_. They wash, paint, and new cloath their Dead, and bury
with them Meat, Drink, and some of their Goods, and sprinkle the Grave
with the Blood of Goats. Their Priests are in such high Esteem, that
they think Plenty and Famine, Life and Death, are in their power[439].

Footnote 439:

  See _Purchas_.

The old Inhabitants of _Virginia_ believed many Gods, but one
principally, who made the rest ... and that the Woman was made before
the Man, and propagated by the Help of one of the inferior Gods. The
Natives are _Anthropomorphites_, giving to their Gods the Forms of
Men.... When they go abroad, they carry their Gods about with them, and
in Matters of Doubt ask Counsel of them. Much of their Devotion consists
in howling and dancing about Fires, with Rattles in their Hands.
_Quære_, Whether this Custom be not the Original of Castanets or
Snappers in Dancing[440]?

Footnote 440:

  _Hackluit in Purchas._

Another Instance of monstrous Degeneracy, we have among the
_Phenicians_, who offer’d yearly Sacrifices to _Saturn_ of young
_Infants_; and in the Temple of _Venus_, practised not only Whoredom,
but the most unnatural Sin of Sodomy also; yea, by the Laws of their
Religion, were bound to prostitute their Daughters to _Venus_, before
they married them: In their Temple the Women who refused to be shaved,
were obliged to yield up their Honour to Strangers for one day.

In the Country, now called _New Spain_, the old Inhabitants would
neither eat nor drink, till they had cast towards the Sun, some part of
their Food; nor would they smell a Flower, without throwing up in the
Air some Leaves of it, thereby acknowledging the Gods to be their great
Benefactors: Tho’ this be ridiculous, yet having an Air of religious
Gratitude, it is commendable. Among other Idols ador’d at _Mexico_, they
had one called _Vitziliputzli_, placed in an azure colour’d Chair, with
_Serpent’s Heads_ at each Corner.

Yea the Pagans, to authorize their own Crimes, and justify their vicious
Lives, have constituted licentious, drunken, vicious Gods, _&c._
Instances of this kind we have in their religious Institutions, as the
_Saturnalia_ of the _Romans_, which were Feasts sacred to the God
_Saturn_: This Feast was observed in _December_, at first kept for one
day, then for three days, and afterwards for seven days. So sacred was
this Festival, that while it lasted, no Criminals were to be executed,
no War to begin.... And yet at the same time, a Sanction was given to
universal Debauchery; all Rules of Virtue and common Decency were
intirely banished, and all things run into a wild Scene of Distraction
and Lewdness, and all this under the Umbrage of doing Honour to their
Gods[441].

Footnote 441:

  Uno die ... trium dierum ... septem dierum ... Bellum fumere nefas
  habitum——_Macrobii opera_, _Londini_, A. D. 1694. p. 155, 160, 168.

The same Game was acted in the _Lupercalian_ Feasts, instituted in
honour of the God _Pan_ (under the shape of a _Goat_) whose Priests, on
the Morning of the Feast, ran naked thro’ the Streets, striking the
married Women they met, on the Hands and Belly with _Straps_ cut out of
_Goats Skins_, which was held an Omen, promising Fruitfulness, and happy
Deliveries.

I shall only add the _Bacchanalian_ Feasts, celebrated in honour of
_Bacchus_, the God of Wine, and Master of the Revels; sometimes called
_Orgia_[442], from a _Greek_ Word that signifies Anger and Rage, because
in the Celebration of it, People acted in so raging and furious a
manner, as if they had been absolutely distracted. These religious
Feasts were not only encumber’d with a great number of Ceremonies, but
attended with most notorious Dissoluteness; for Men and Women met at
them, all naked, except their Heads and Hips, that were shaded with Vine
Leaves.

Footnote 442:

  Οργη

The Women, who were installed Priestesses, during this Feast, ran thro’
the Streets, and other Places, cover’d with Tyger’s Skins, Scepters in
one Hand, and Torches in the other, howling and roaring out the Praise
of _Bacchus_, with Hair dishevell’d, dangling about their Shoulders.
They were call’d _Mœnades_ from their Madness, _Thyades_ from their
Rage, _Bacchæ_ from their Intemperance.

The Poets tell us, that in the _Bacchanalian Train_, were a Croud of
_Nymphs_ and _Naiades_, a sort of Heathen Divinities; some crown’d with
Ivy, their Hair loose, and intermix’d with Snakes, clothed with the
Skins of Beasts, and girt about with large Serpents, and running
frantick in the Woods and Mountains.

In short, their sacred Games, Festivals, and Sacrifices, were little
more than drunken Banquets, nocturnal Revels, tumultuous Dancings, all
wild, ridiculous and extravagant.


                              _F I N I S._


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration]




                                 INDEX


 A.
 _ACONTIA_ Serpent, (the Figure, Plate 4;) why call’d a flying Serpent,
    81
 _Adam_, why not made impeccable, 171
 —— Converse betwixt him and Angels, 173
 —— in Innocency put in mind of Death, 181
 —— his Fall described by _Pagans_, 182, 3
 —— —— —— —— by _Mahometans_, 184
 _Adder_; see _Viper_. (the Figure, Plate 1)
 _Agnasen_ Serpent, 132
 _Air_, ador’d by _Pagans_, 210
 _Alexander the Great_, and _Alexander the Little_, 140
 _Amodytes_ Serpent, describ’d, 53, 4
 _Amphisbæna_, a two-headed Serpent, describ’d, 72
 —— Instances of one in _Oxfordshire_, and in _Chiapa_ in _America_,
    [TN]
 _Ambua_ Serpent, 107
 _Ameiva_ Serpent, 122
 _Americina_, 122
 _Anacandia_ Serpent, [TN]
 _Ants_, their Penetration, 8
 —— in _America_ great Master-Builders, 8, 132
 —— Remarkable Sorts in the _East-Indies_, 8
 _Anguis laqueus_, or the Ensnaring-Serpent, 136
 _Animals_, turn’d into Gods by _Pagans_, 213
 —— Their Adoration ridicul’d by some of themselves, 215, 236, 237
 _Apollo_, catechis’d for his dubious Answers, 77
 —— His She-Priest, _ibid._
 _Apotheosis_, or Deification describ’d, 223
 _Asp_, (the Figure, Plate 2,) described, 59
 —— Its Foresight, 60
 —— A Poem on the Asp and its Poison, 61
 —— Highly venerated among the _Egyptians_, 70
 _Attaligatus_ Serpent, 134


 B.
 _Basilisk_ Serpent, (the Figure, Plate 3) describ’d, 78
 —— why call’d King of Serpents, 79
 —— (_African_, Plate 3)
 _Battle_ of the Gods, 212
 _Bees_, (the Figure, Plate 5) their Sagacity, great Geometricians, 8
 —— Their Sting describ’d, 148
 _Birds_, why some here only in Winter, and others only in Summer, 7
 _Biobi_, or green Serpent describ’d, 103
 _Bibera_ Serpent, 107
 _Bitin_ Serpent, 137
 _Blowing_ Serpent, 130
 _Boignacu_ Serpent, very beautiful, 106
 _Boytiapua_ Serpent, 108
 —— An Instrument of Conjuration, 109
 _Bomsnake_ Serpent, 109
 _Boicupecanga_ Serpent, prickle-back’d, 110
 _Boitiapo_ Serpent, 117
 _Brochet de Torre_, or Land-pike, 124
 _Brimstone_ Snake, 130


 C.
 _Cabiri_, characteriz’d, 81
 _Caudisonant_, or Rattle-Snake, (the Figure, Plate 7) describ’d, 91
 —— Its Wounds and Cures, 92
 _Cameleon_, (the Figure, Plate 5) describ’d; the reason why it appears
    in a change of Colours, 96
 —— Why call’d a living Skin, 97
 _Canina_ Serpent, describ’d, 103
 —— A Domestick Animal, 104
 _Camruana_ Serpent, 108
 _Carapobeba_, 122
 _Cæcilia_ Serpent describ’d, why call’d blind, 80
 _Cencris_ Serpent describ’d, why call’d miliary, 80, 1
 _Cerastes_, (the Figure, Plate 1) describ’d, the Executioner of
    Justice, 54, 5
 _Ceylon_, a Land of Delights, 113
 _Ceylonic Hotambæia_ Serpent, 115
 _Chickens_, produc’d by artificial Heat, 6, 147
 _Chastity_ conjugal, how try’d, 55
 _Charming_ of Serpents, various Instances, 62, 3
 —— of Rats, a remarkable Instance in _Germany_, 65
 —— of Serpents, by a Wand, 65
 _Cheese_, an odd Custom in Antiquity about it, 129
 _Chicken_ Snake, 131
 _Cherubims_, Emblems of Mercy and Justice, 175, 6
 _Christ_’s Death, publish’d before that of _Adam_, 180
 _Cleopatra_, her own Executioner by a Serpent, 34, 60, 61
 _Cloth_, wash’d in Fire, 95
 _Cobres Capellos_ Serpent, describ’d, 90
 _Colour_ Green, why hated by the _Turks_, 108
 —— Blue, why hated by the _Persians_, 109
 _Cordylus_, a noxious Reptile, 121
 _Corn_ Snake, 129
 _Crocodile_, (the Figure, Plate 5) describ’d at large, 118
 —— eats Stones, _ibid._
 —— venerated in _Egypt_, _ibid._
 —— the occasion of a War, _ibid._
 —— a Judge of Controversies, 119
 —— the manner of destroying it, 120
 —— Symbol of the Deity, 178
 _Creation_, a Poem, 162
 _Cuckold_, its Origin, 54
 _Cuckow_ Spittle, Grashoppers hatch’d in it, 108
 _Cucurijuba_, a Serpent monstrous, 110


 D.
 _Darkness_, the Destruction of Colours, 71
 _Dæmons_ explain’d, 205
 _Devil_ ador’d, 236, 238
 _Distempers_ cur’d by manual Touch, 56, 7
 _Dipsas_ Serpent, describ’d; its Wounds bring incurable Thirst, 85
 _Dogs_, superiour to Men in the Sense of Smelling, 66
 —— the manner of Sensation philosophically explain’d, 67
 —— Providence vindicated in that matter, 68
 _Dopon_ Serpent, 133
 _Dragons_ describ’d, various Sorts and Forms, 74
 —— monstrous one slain by _Gozon_, Knight, by a strange contrivance, 75
 —— another slain by the _Roman_ Army, 76
 _Dragon_, _Pythian_, Guardian of the _Delphick_ Oracle, _ibid._
 _Dragons_, Guardians of Treasures, 78
 —— winged, describ’d, (the Figure, Plate 2), 192
 —— _Æthiopian_, (the Figure, Plate 2)
 _Druina_ Serpent, describ’d, 83


 E.
 _Eagles_, how they take their Prey, 145
 _Ecatoth_, or Serpent-of-the-Wind, 135
 _Eggs_, the reason of Propagation by them, 5
 —— the Method wonderful, _ibid._
 _Egg_, Symbol of the World, 6
 _Eggs_ hatch’d in Ovens, the Young ones generally imperfect, _ibid._
 —— mysterious Egg.
 _Egg_, a surprizing Compound, 128
 —— the White of it a most singular Menstruum, _ibid._
 —— how reduc’d to the likeness of Poison, _ibid._
 _Egyptians_, a People of Contradiction, 60
 —— whipp’d their inattentive Gods, 60
 _Elephantia_ Serpents, why so call’d, 86
 _Elops_ Serpent, (the Figure, Plate 3) describ’d, 84
 _Elephants_, Creatures of great Bulk, 86
 —— subject to Resentment, Instances of it, 87
 —— a Battle betwixt them and Serpents, 91
 _Ethetulla_ Serpent, 113
 _Eve_, how she came to converse with the Serpent, 174
 —— her Converse with it before the Account of _Moses_ very probable,
    177
 —— a Negative would have preserv’d her Innocence, 179


 F.
 _Faith_, the Magnet of Magicians, 64
 _Fascinating_ Eyes, 41
 _Fish_, how they breathe in Water, 1
 _Fire_, ador’d, 211, 236
 _Funerals_, their first Institution, 181


 G.
 _Generation_ equivocal exploded, 4
 _Ghalghulawa_ Serpent, 114
 _Giraupiagara_ Serpent, 108
 _Gobe Moujes_, 124
 _Gods_, Men transformed into them, 201
 —— inanimate Things turn’d into them, 207
 _Goddesses_, Women transform’d into them, 206
 _Golden_ Calf, 214
 _Grotto di Cani_, a particular Account of it, 25, 6
 —— —— Experiments made in it by Mr. _Addison_, 26
 _Grotto de i Serpi_, a remarkable subterraneous Cavern, and Hospital
    for particular Diseases, 38
 _Ground_ Rattle-Snake, 125
 _Griffin_ describ’d, 145
 _Guaku_, or _Lyboya_ Serpent describ’d, one of the most monstrous, 102


 H.
 _Harus_ Serpent, 138
 _Heathens_, their Fictions about Punishments in Hell, 49
 —— their Opinion about Heaven, 50
 _Hereditary_ Right, the Title, how try’d, 56
 _Hemorrhous_, (the Figure, Plate 1) describ’d; its Wounds force the
    Blood out thro’ every Pore of the Body, 57
 _Horse_-Tail, a _Turkish_ Standard, the Original of it, 81
 _Hooded_, or Monk Serpent, 115
 _Horn_ Snake, 126
 _Hornet_, (the Figure, Plate 7) describ’d, 148
 _Hydrus_, or Water-Snake, 126, 141, 2


 I.
 _Japonians_, their way of punishing Christians, 47
 _Jararaka_ Serpent, describ’d, 103
 _Jacore_ Lizard, [TN]
 _Ibiara_ Serpent, describ’d, 99
 _Ibitobaca_ Serpent, (the Figure, Plate 4) describ’d, 102
 _Ibiboboca_ Serpent, describ’d.
 _Ibizacoan_ Serpent, Cure of its Wound very singular, 106
 _Idolatry_, the Original of it, 197
 —— more ancient than Image-Worship, 198
 —— the Incentives to it, 199
 _Jeboya_ Serpent, 108
 _Images_, why _Laban_ call’d them Gods, 203
 _Inchantment_ by noxious Herbs, _&c._ 47
 _Indian_ Prince, a very remarkable Saying of his about _Spanish_
    Cruelty, 133
 _Insects_, little, great Executioners, 139
 —— various Instances, _ibid._
 _Iquanna_ Serpent, describ’d, 102
 _Iron_, one of the hardest Metals, yet the most brittle, 130
 _Israel_, why punish’d by Serpents, 188
 —— why punish’d by fiery Serpents, _ibid._


 K.
 _Kakaboya_ Serpent, 106
 _Kingdom_ won by an Heroick Answer, 58
 _King_ Snake, 129
 —— Sashes made of its Skin, _ibid._
 _Koko_ Serpent, a Representation of the _French_ Monarch, 58, 9
 _Kukuruki_ Serpent, describ’d, 99


 L.
 _Lancashire_ Beauties, 69
 _Lacertus viridis_, or green Lizard, 121
 _Les Anoles_ Serpent, 123
 _Les Roquet_ Serpent, _ibid._
 _Light_, how the Sensation of it is produc’d, 71
 —— all Colours depend upon it, 71
 _Long_ black-Snake, 127


 M.
 _Magical_ Balls, 46, 7
 _Magick_ Art, the Original of it, 68
 —— its Degeneracy, 68, 9
 —— surprizing Instances of magick Wit, 69
 _Magick_ Egg, _ibid._
 _Magicians_, St. _Matthew_’s wise Men in their time, 70
 _Manima_ Serpent, monstrous, 111
 _Malcarabeta_ Serpent, 113
 _Malpolon_ Serpent, _ibid._
 _Manballa_ Serpent, 114
 _Maboujas_, 123
 —— , an Emblem of the old Serpent, 124
 _Macacoatl_, an horned Serpent, 132
 _Marine_ Dragon, or Serpent, 143
 _Men_, Giants and Pygmies among ’em, 16
 _Mexico_, two unparallel’d Instances of Cruelty, one by the _Mexican_,
    the other by _Spanish_ Priests, 100, 1
 _Milk_, its wonderful Nature describ’d, 128
 _Mithridate_, the Original of its Name, 40, 5
 _Monoxillo_, or Mucronated-Serpent, 137
 _Musk_ Serpent, 116
 _Musk_ Rats, and Musk Cats, _ibid._
 _Musk_, a short Account of it, 116, 17
 _Musick_, its wonderful Effects on the Mind and the Body in several
    remarkable Instances, 156 to 160
 —— Conjectures about medicinal Cures by it, 164


 N.
 _Natrix-Torquata_ Snake, (the Figure, Plate 5), 142
 _Nintipolonga_ Serpent, 114
 _Noya_ Serpent, 90


 O.
 _Obsidian_ Stones, Looking-Glasses made of them, 105
 _Opium_, the Darling of the _Turks_, 21
 _Orators_, as well as Poets enthusiastical, 64
 _Oracular_ Answers, various Opinions about them, 77
 _Otus_ Serpent, 133


 P.
 _Pareas_ Serpent describ’d, 84
 _Paper_, that is incombustible, 95
 _Parrot_, a rational Dialogue betwixt it and Prince _Maurice_, 144, 5
 _Parthians_, the best Fighters when retreating, 132
 _Paradise_, Self-denial a Duty there, 180
 —— Threatnings necessary there, 181
 _Pagan_ Fables founded on the Writings of _Moses_, 182
 _Persian_ Kings, their _Recipe_ for an easy Death, 70
 _People_, without Fraud, 125
 —— have no Name for it, _ibid._
 _Pimbera_ Serpent, describ’d, 90
 _Pluto_, his Attendants and Executioners cover’d with Snakes, as the
    _Harpies_, _Furies_, _Cerberus_, _Chimæra_, 47, 48, 49
 _Poison_, vegetable Instances of it, 19, 20
 —— Mineral, various Instances in Damps from Copper, Mercury, Tin, Lead,
    22, 23
 —— Animal, Debates about the Seat of it in Serpents, 26, 7
 —— various Remedies for it, as Oil, experimented on one _William
    Oliver_, bit by a Serpent; _Lichen Cinereus Terrestris_, _Venice_
    Treacle, and several Vegetables, _&c._, 29, 30, 31, 145
 —— one Drop of it a Match for a Sea of Blood, 32
 —— when not dangerous, 33
 —— exhaustible in Serpents by quick repeated Acts, but soon recruited,
    35
 _Poetical_ Apology for a Sot, 73, 4
 _Polonga_ Serpent, describ’d, 90
 _Priests_, their Genius for Cruelty. See _Mexico_.
 _Prussians_ and _Lithuanians_, Serpent-Worshippers, 226


 R.
 _Rattle_-Snake. _Vid._ Caudisonant.
 _Red_-belly Snake, 126
 _Red_-back Snake, 127
 _Rivers_ ador’d, 210
 _Rubetarian_ Serpent, 143
 —— —— loud and pretty, _ibid._


 S.
 _Sandals_, used by the Ladies, 208
 _Salamander_, (the Figure, Plate 5,) described, 92
 —— how said to live in the Fire, 93
 —— _Corvini_’s Experiment upon one, 94
 _Salamander’s-Wool_, 95
 —— —— Shrouds made of it for Kings, 95
 _Satan_, why punish’d under the Figure of a Serpent, 185
 _Scorpions_, (the Figure, Plate 7,) Countries destroy’d by them, as in
    _Æthiopia_, _Amyclæ_ a Town in _Italy_, _Pescara_ an ancient City in
    _Italy_, _India_, 45, 6
 —— their various Kinds, Sizes, and malignant Nature, 87, 8
 —— the _Persians_ curse by them, 88
 _Scytale_ Serpent, (the Figure, Plate 2,) described, 70
 —— —— an Aggregate of charming Colours, 71
 _Scolopendra_, (the Figure, Plate 5,), 151
 _Serpents_, general Description of them, 2
 —— their Mode of Propagation viviparous and oviparous, 4, 5
 —— their Sagacity, with regard to their different Lodgments, 6, 7, 172
 —— during Winter, sleep with open Eyes, 7
 —— their Enemies, _viz._ Eagle, Hawk, Stork, Ibis, Ichneumon, Magaure,
    and some Vegetables, 10, 11
 —— Dust, not their original Food. A moral Reflection upon it, 12
 —— their Food, which they swallow whole, 12, 13
 —— their Size, some monstrous, others remarkably small, 13, 14, 15, 16,
    146
 —— their Apparatus for Motion curious, 17
 —— their Skin an elegant Composition, 18
 —— of special Service to Mankind, of great Use in Physick, various at
    home and abroad, 36, 7
 —— the common Food of many Nations in _Europe_, _Asia_, _Africa_,
    _America_, 38 to 40
 —— Instruments of divine and human Vengeance, 44
 —— _Jewish_ Camp infested with them, 44
 —— Victory gain’d by them on Sea and Land, 46
 _Serpent_, its Contest with St. _Paul_, 44
 _Seps_, (the Figure, Plate 1,) why call’d the putrid Serpent, 58
 _Serpens Indicus Coronatus_, 112
 _Serpens Putorius_, 113
   The Sea _Serpent_, (the Figure, Plate 6)
 _Serpent_ de Boa, 144
   Mistress of _Serpents_, (the Figure, Plate 6)
 _Serpent_, an Account of a remarkable one in _Lancashire_, 144
 _Serpent_ in Paradise, various Opinions about it, 168
   _American_ Serpent, (the Figure, Plate 3)
 _Serpent_ brazen, 191, 2
 —— prefigur’d Christ, 194
 —— _Israel_, why cured by it, 195
 _Serpents_, the Adoration of them, 216 to 227
 —— Reasons for that Worship, 228
 —— Worshippers of ’em among Christians, 229
 _Shrew_-Serpent, 151
 _Shekina_ describ’d, 187
 _Silence_, a Pythagorick Rudiment, 112
 —— the Safety of _Venice_, 112
 _Sin_, its first Entrance, 168
 _Sleep_, a living Death, 70
 _Snake_ common, (the Figure, Plate 4) describ’d, 85
 _Spiders_, (the Figure, Plate 5)
 —— Black, (the Figure, Plate 4,) their various Kinds, 149
 —— their Autumn Webs, 150
 —— _American_, 150
 _Stellio_, 123
 _Stupid_ Serpent, 136
 —— —— a living Loadstone, as describ’d by some, 136
 _Sun_ and Moon, chief Deities of the _Pagans_, 209
 _Swamp_ Snakes, 126


 T.
 _Tarciboya_ Serpent, 106
 _Tapayaxin_ Serpent, 121
 _Taraguira_, 121
 _Taraquico Aycuraba_ Serpent, 122
 _Tapayaxin_ Serpent, 137
 _Tapayaxin_ Serpent, the Friend of Man, 137
 _Tamacolin_ Serpent, of the Toad kind, 138
 _Tame_ and tractable Serpent, 140
 _Tarantula_, (the Figure, Plate 7,) its Poison and Cure by Musick; the
    Manner how, 151 to 155
 _Teuthlacokauqui_ in _Mexico_, call’d the Fortress of the Serpents,
    describ’d, 100
 _Tetzawhcoatl_ Serpent, 104
 _Terpomongo_ Serpent, 111
 —— —— a Symbol of Friendship, _ibid._
 _Tejuguacu_, 121
 _Tejunhana_ Serpent, 122
 _Tetzaucoatl_, or the rare Serpent, 139
 _Teraphim_, explain’d, 202
 _Tleoa_, or _Tetloa_ Serpent, 140
 —— an Inhabitant of the Mountains, 141
 _Toads_, as large as Cats and Dogs, 138
 _Tzicatlinan_ Serpent, 132
 —— —— the Darling of the Ladies, _ibid._


 V.
 _Vegetation_, none without Air, 3
 _Vegetables_, sleep in Winter, 7, 8
 —— worshipped, 212
 _Vectis_, 131
 _Vipers_, different from the Snake, 52
 —— a Battle betwixt one and a Magpye, 52
 —— Battle betwixt one and a Dog, 53
 —— don’t eat after they are taken, 53
 _Vipera Indica Tricolor Major_, 112
 _Vipera Zelanica Minor, Maculis eleganter Variegata_, 112
 _Unison_, its Wonders, 160, 1


 W.
 _Wasps_, (the Figure, Plate 7,) describ’d, 148
 _Wepelon_ Serpent, 115
 _Woman_ with two Horns, 54
 _Women_ warlike, 129
 —— the hard Condition of their Marriage, _ibid._
 _Words_, their Efficacy, Instance of it in _Cæsar_, 63, 4
 _Worms_, Instances of Execution by them, 134, 5
 _Worship_ of hurtful Creatures, why, 233
 —— of different Animals in _Egypt_, the Reasons, 234


 Y.
 _Yellow_ Snake, 130


                              _F I N I S._


[Illustration]


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