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].

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].

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].

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].

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].

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]

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.

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.

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].

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.

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].

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.

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].

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].

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].

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].

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.

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].

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.

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.

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].

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].

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].

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.

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].

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].