Chapter 78

CHAP. I.OfReptiles.

OfReptiles.

Having dispatch’d the insect Tribe, there is but oneGenusof the Land-Animals remaining to be survey’d; and that is, that ofReptiles[a]. Which I shall dispatch in a little Compass, by Reason I have somewhat amply treated of others, and many ofthe Things may be apply’d here. But there are some Things in which this Tribe is somewhat singular, which I shall therefore take Notice of briefly in this Place. One is their Motion, which I have in another Place[b]taken Notice of to be not less curious, than it is different from that of other Animals, whether we consider the Manner of it, as vermicular, or sinuous[c], or like that ofthe Snail[d], or the Caterpillar[e], or theMultipedous[f]or any other Way, or the Parts ministring to it, particularly the Spine[g], and the Muscles co-operating with the Spine, in such as have Bone, and the annular and other Muscles, in such as have none, all incomparably made for those curious, and I may say, geometrical Windings and Turnings, Undulations, and all the variousMotions to be met with in the reptile Kind.

Another Thing that will deserve our Notice, is, the Poyson[h]that many of this Tribe are stock’d with. Which I the rather mention, because some make it an Objection against the divine Superintendence and Providence, as being a Thing so far from useful, (they think,) that ’tis rather mischievous and destructive of God’s Creatures. But the Answer is easy,viz.That as to Man, those Creatures are not without their great Uses, particularly in the Cure of[i]some of the most stubbornDiseases; however, if they were not, there would be no Injustice for God to make a Set of such noxious Creatures, as Rods and Scourges, to execute the divine Chastisements upon ungratefuland sinful Men. And I am apt to think that the Nations which know not God, are the most annoy’d with those noxious Reptiles, and other pernicious Creatures. As to the Animals themselves, their Poyson is no doubt of some great and especial Use to themselves, serving to the more easy Conquest, and sure Capture of their Prey, which might otherwise be too resty and strong, and if once escap’d, would hardly be again recover’d, by Reason of their swifter Motion, and the Help of their Legs; besides all which, this their Poyson may be probably of very great Use to the Digestion of their Food.

And as to the innocuous Part of the Reptile-Kind, they as well deserve our Notice for their Harmlesness, as the others did for their Poyson. For as those are endow’d with Poyson, because they are predaceous; so these need it not, because their Food is near at hand, and may be obtain’d without Strife and Contest, the next Earth[k]affording Food to such as can terebrate, and make Way into it by their Vermicular Faculty; and the next Vegetable being Food to others that can climb and reach[l], or but crawl to it.

FOOTNOTES:[a]Notwithstanding I have before, inBook IV. Chap. 12. Note (p), taken Notice of theEarth-Worm; yet it being a good Example of the Creator’s wise and curious Workmanship, in even this meanest Branch of the Creation, I shall superadd a few farther Remarks from Drs.WillisandTyson. SaithWillis,Lumbricus terrestris, licet vile & contemptibile habetur, Organa vitalia, necnon & alia viscera, & membra divino artificio admirabiliter fabrefacta sortitur: totius corporis compages musculorum annularium catena est, quorum fibræ orbiculares contractæ quemque annulum, prius amplum, & dilatum, angustiorem & longiorem reddunt.[This Muscle in Earth-Worms, I find is spiral, as in a good Measure is their Motion likewise;so that by this Means they can, (like the Worm of an Augre,) the better bore their Passage into the Earth. Their reptile Motion also, may be explain’d by a Wire wound on a Cylinder, which when slipp’d off, and one End extended and held fast, will bring the other nearer it. So the Earth-Worm, having shot out, or extended its Body, (which is with a Wreathing,) it takes hold by those small Feet it hath, and so contracts the hinder Part of its Body.Thus the curious and learned Dr.Tyson, Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 147.]Nam proinde cùm portio corporis superior elongata, & exporrecta, ad spatium alterius extenditur, ibidemque plano affigitur, ad ipsum quasi ad centrum portio corporis inferior relaxata, & abbreviata facile pertrabitur. Pedunculi serie quadruplici, per totam longitudinem Lumbrici disponuntur; his quasi totidem uncis, partem modò hanc, modò istam, plano affigit, dum alteram exporrigit, aut post se ducit. Supra oris hiatum, Proboscide, quâ terram perforat & elevat, donatur.And then he goes on with the other Parts that fall under View, theBrain, theGullet, theHeart, thespermatick Vessels, theStomachsandIntestines, theForaminaon the Top of the Back, adjoyning to each Ring, supplying the Place of Lungs, and other Parts.Willis de Anim. Brut.P. 1. c. 3.[b]InBook IV. Chap. 8.[c]There is a great Deal of geometrical Neatness and Nicety, in the sinuous Motion of Snakes, and other Serpents. For the assisting in which Action, the annular Scales under their Body are very remarkable, lying cross the Belly, contrary to what those in the Back, and rest of the Body do; also as the Edges of the foremost Scales lye over the Edges of their following Scales, from Head to Tail; so those Edges run out a little beyond, or over their following Scales; so as that when each Scale is drawn back, or set a little upright by its Muscle, the outer Edge thereof, (or Foot it may be call’d,) is rais’d also a little from the Body, to lay hold on the Earth, and so promote and facilitate the Serpent’s Motion. This is what may be easily seen in the Slough, or Belly of the Serpent-kind. But there is another admirable Piece of Mechanism, that my Antipathy to those Animals hath prevented my prying into; and that is, that every Scale hath a distinct Muscle, one End of which is tack’d to the Middle of its Scale; the other, to the upper Edge of its following Scale. This Dr.Tysonfound in theRattle-Snake, and I doubt not is in the whole Tribe.[d]The wise Author of Nature, having deny’d Feet and Claws to enable Snails to creep and climb, hath made them amends in a Way more commodious for their State of Life, by the broad Skin along each Side of the Belly, and the undulating Motion observable there. By this latter ’tis they creep; by the former, afflicted with the glutinous Slime emitted from the Snail’s Body, they adhere firmly and securely to all Kinds of Superficies, partly by the Tenacity of their Slime, and partly by the Pressure of the Atmosphere. Concerning this Part, (which he calls theSnail’s Feet,) and their Undulation, See Dr.Lister’sExercit. Anat.1. §. 1. and 37.[e]The motive Parts, and Motion of Caterpillars, are useful, not only to their Progression and Conveyance from Place to Place; but also their more certain, easy and commodious gathering of Food. For having Feet before and behind, they are not only enabled to go by a kind of Steps made by their fore and hind Parts; but also to climb up Vegetables, and to reach from their Boughs and Stalks for Food at a Distance; for which Services, their Feet are very nicely made both before and behind. Behind, they have broad Palms for sticking too, and these beset almost round with small sharp Nails, to hold and grasp what they are upon: Before, their Feet are sharp and hook’d, to draw Leaves,&c.to them, and to hold the fore-part of the Body, whilst the hinder-parts are brought up thereto. But nothing is more remarkable in these Reptiles, than that these Parts and Morton are only temporary, and incomparably adapted only to their presentNympha-State; whereas in theirAurelia-State, they have neither Feet nor Motion, only a little in their hinder parts: And in theirMature-State, they have the Parts and Motion of a flying Insect, made for Flight.[f]It is a wonderful pretty Mechanism, observable in the going ofMultipedes, as theJuli,Scolopendræ, &c. that on each Side the Body, every Leg hath its Motion, one very regularly following the other from one End of the Body to the other in a Way not easy to be describ’d in Words; so that their Legs in going, make a kind of Undulation, and give the Body a swifter Progression than one would imagine it should have, where so many Feet are to take so many short Steps.[g]Vertebrarum Apophysos breviores sunt, præcipuè juxta caput, cujus propterea flexus in aversum, & latera, facilis Viperis est: secus Leonibus,&c.——Incumbit his Ossibus ingens Musculorum minutorum præsidium, tum spinas tendinum exilium magno apparatu diducentium, tum vertebras potissimum in diversa flectentium, atque erigentium. Adeoque illam corporis miram agilitatem, non tantùm (ut Aristot.) ὅτι ἐπικαμπεῖς καὶ χονδρώδεις ὁι σπόνδυλοι quoniam faciles ad flexum, & cartilagineas produxit vertebras, sed quia etiam multiplicia motûs localis instrumenta musculos fabrefecit provida rerum Parens Natura, consecuta fuit.Blas. Anat. Anim. P. 1. c. 39. de Viperâ è Veslingio.That which is most remarkable in theVertebræ[of theRattle-Snake, besides the other curious Articulations,]is, that the round Ball in the lower Part of the upperVertebra, enters a Socket of the upper Part of the lowerVertebra, like as the Head of theOs Femorisdoth theAcetabulumof theOs Ischii; by which Contrivance, as also the Articulation with one another, they have that free Motion of winding their Bodies any Way.Dr.Tyson’s Anat. of theRattle-SnakeinPhil. Trans.Nᵒ. 144. What is here observ’d of theVertebræof thisSnake, is common to this wholeGenusof Reptiles.[h]My ingenious and learned Friend, Dr.Mead, examined with his Microscope, the Texture of aViper’sPoyson, and found therein at first onlya Parcel of small Salts nimbly floating in the Liquor; but in a short Time the Appearance was chang’d, and these saline Particles were shot out into Crystals, of an incredible Tenuity and Sharpness, with something like Knots here and there, from which they seem’d to proceed; so that the whole Texture did in a Manner represent a Spider’s Web, though infinitely finer.Mead of Poysons, p. 9.As to the Nature and Operation of thisPoyson, see the same ingenious Author’s Hypothesis, in his following Pages.ThisPoysonof theViper, lieth in a Bag in the Gums, at the Upper-end of the Teeth. It is separated from the Blood by aconglomerated Gland, lying in the anterior lateral Part of theOs Sincipitis; just behind the Orbit of the Eye: From which Gland lieth a Duct, that conveys the Poyson to the Bags at the Teeth.The Teeth are tubulated, for the Conveyance, or Emission of the Poyson into the Wound, the Teeth make; but their Hollowness doth not reach to theApex, or Top of the Tooth, (that being solid and sharp, the better to pierce;) but it ends in a long slit below the Point, out of which the Poyson is emitted. These Perforations of the Teeth,Galensaith, the Mountebanks us’d to stop with some kind of Paste, before they suffer’d the Vipers to bite them before their Spectators. Cuts of these Parts,&c.may be seen in the last cited Book of Dr.Mead. Also Dr.Tyson’s Anat. of the Rattle-Snake, inPhilos. Transact.Nᵒ. 144.[i]That Vipers have their great Uses in Physick, is manifest from their bearing a great Share in some of our best Antidotes, such asTheriaca Andromachi, and others; also in the Cure of theElephantiasis, and others the like stubborn Maladies, for which I shall refer to the medical Writers. But there is so singular a Case in the curious Collection of Dr.Ol. Worm.related fromKircher, that I shall entertain the Reader with it. Near the Village ofSassa, about eight Miles from the CityBraccianoinItaly, saith he,Specus feu caverna (vulgò La Grotta delli Serpi) duorum hominum capax, fistulosis quibusdam foraminibus in formam cribri perforata cernitur, ex quibus ingens quædam, principio veris, diversicolorum Serpentum, nullâ tamen, ut dicitur, singulari veneni qualitate imbutorum progenies quotannis pullulare solet. In hæc speluncâ Elephantiacos, Leprosos, Paralyticos, Arabriticos, Podagricos,&c.nudos exponere solent, qui mox halituum subterraneorum calore in sudorem resoluti, Serpentum propullulantium, totum corpus infirmi implicantium, suctu linctuque ita omni vitioso virulentoque humore privare dicuntur, ut repetito hoc per aliquod tempus medicamento, tandem perfecta sanitati restituantur.This CaveKirchervisited himself, found it warm, and every Way agreeable to the Description he had of it; he saw their Holes, heard a murmuring hissing Noise in them; but although he missed seeing the Serpents (it being not the Season of their creeping out) yet he saw great Numbers of theirExuviæ, orSloughs, and an Elm growing hard by laden with them.The Discovery of this Cave, was by the Cure of aLepergoing fromRometo some Baths near this Place; who losing his Way, and being benighted, happened upon this Cave; and finding it very warm, pull’d off his Cloaths, and being weary and sleepy, had the good Fortune not to feel the Serpents about him, till they had wrought his Cure.Vid.Museum Worm.L. 3. c. 9.The before-commended Dr.Mead, thinks our Physicians deal too cautiously and sparingly, in their prescribing only small Quantities of the Viper’s Flesh,&c.in theElephantiasis, and stubbornLeprosies: But he recommendeth rather the Gelly or Broth of Vipers; or, as the ancient Manner was, to boil Vipers, and eat them like Fish; or at least to drink Wine, in which they have been long infused.Vid.Mead. ubi supr.p. 34.[k]ThatEarth-wormslive upon Earth, is manifest from the little curled Heaps of their Dung ejected out of their Holes. But inPhilos. Transact.Nᵒ. 291, I have said, it is in all Probability Earth made of rotted Roots and Plants, and such like nutritive Things, not pure Earth. And there is farther Reason for it, because Worms will drag the Leaves of Trees into their Holes.[l]Snailsmight be in Danger of wanting Food, if they were to live only upon such tender Plants as are near the Ground, within their Reach only; to impower them therefore to extend their Pursuits farther, they are enabled by the Means mentioned inNote (d), to stick unto, and creep up Walls and Vegetables at their Pleasure.

[a]Notwithstanding I have before, inBook IV. Chap. 12. Note (p), taken Notice of theEarth-Worm; yet it being a good Example of the Creator’s wise and curious Workmanship, in even this meanest Branch of the Creation, I shall superadd a few farther Remarks from Drs.WillisandTyson. SaithWillis,Lumbricus terrestris, licet vile & contemptibile habetur, Organa vitalia, necnon & alia viscera, & membra divino artificio admirabiliter fabrefacta sortitur: totius corporis compages musculorum annularium catena est, quorum fibræ orbiculares contractæ quemque annulum, prius amplum, & dilatum, angustiorem & longiorem reddunt.[This Muscle in Earth-Worms, I find is spiral, as in a good Measure is their Motion likewise;so that by this Means they can, (like the Worm of an Augre,) the better bore their Passage into the Earth. Their reptile Motion also, may be explain’d by a Wire wound on a Cylinder, which when slipp’d off, and one End extended and held fast, will bring the other nearer it. So the Earth-Worm, having shot out, or extended its Body, (which is with a Wreathing,) it takes hold by those small Feet it hath, and so contracts the hinder Part of its Body.Thus the curious and learned Dr.Tyson, Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 147.]Nam proinde cùm portio corporis superior elongata, & exporrecta, ad spatium alterius extenditur, ibidemque plano affigitur, ad ipsum quasi ad centrum portio corporis inferior relaxata, & abbreviata facile pertrabitur. Pedunculi serie quadruplici, per totam longitudinem Lumbrici disponuntur; his quasi totidem uncis, partem modò hanc, modò istam, plano affigit, dum alteram exporrigit, aut post se ducit. Supra oris hiatum, Proboscide, quâ terram perforat & elevat, donatur.And then he goes on with the other Parts that fall under View, theBrain, theGullet, theHeart, thespermatick Vessels, theStomachsandIntestines, theForaminaon the Top of the Back, adjoyning to each Ring, supplying the Place of Lungs, and other Parts.Willis de Anim. Brut.P. 1. c. 3.

[b]InBook IV. Chap. 8.

[c]There is a great Deal of geometrical Neatness and Nicety, in the sinuous Motion of Snakes, and other Serpents. For the assisting in which Action, the annular Scales under their Body are very remarkable, lying cross the Belly, contrary to what those in the Back, and rest of the Body do; also as the Edges of the foremost Scales lye over the Edges of their following Scales, from Head to Tail; so those Edges run out a little beyond, or over their following Scales; so as that when each Scale is drawn back, or set a little upright by its Muscle, the outer Edge thereof, (or Foot it may be call’d,) is rais’d also a little from the Body, to lay hold on the Earth, and so promote and facilitate the Serpent’s Motion. This is what may be easily seen in the Slough, or Belly of the Serpent-kind. But there is another admirable Piece of Mechanism, that my Antipathy to those Animals hath prevented my prying into; and that is, that every Scale hath a distinct Muscle, one End of which is tack’d to the Middle of its Scale; the other, to the upper Edge of its following Scale. This Dr.Tysonfound in theRattle-Snake, and I doubt not is in the whole Tribe.

[d]The wise Author of Nature, having deny’d Feet and Claws to enable Snails to creep and climb, hath made them amends in a Way more commodious for their State of Life, by the broad Skin along each Side of the Belly, and the undulating Motion observable there. By this latter ’tis they creep; by the former, afflicted with the glutinous Slime emitted from the Snail’s Body, they adhere firmly and securely to all Kinds of Superficies, partly by the Tenacity of their Slime, and partly by the Pressure of the Atmosphere. Concerning this Part, (which he calls theSnail’s Feet,) and their Undulation, See Dr.Lister’sExercit. Anat.1. §. 1. and 37.

[e]The motive Parts, and Motion of Caterpillars, are useful, not only to their Progression and Conveyance from Place to Place; but also their more certain, easy and commodious gathering of Food. For having Feet before and behind, they are not only enabled to go by a kind of Steps made by their fore and hind Parts; but also to climb up Vegetables, and to reach from their Boughs and Stalks for Food at a Distance; for which Services, their Feet are very nicely made both before and behind. Behind, they have broad Palms for sticking too, and these beset almost round with small sharp Nails, to hold and grasp what they are upon: Before, their Feet are sharp and hook’d, to draw Leaves,&c.to them, and to hold the fore-part of the Body, whilst the hinder-parts are brought up thereto. But nothing is more remarkable in these Reptiles, than that these Parts and Morton are only temporary, and incomparably adapted only to their presentNympha-State; whereas in theirAurelia-State, they have neither Feet nor Motion, only a little in their hinder parts: And in theirMature-State, they have the Parts and Motion of a flying Insect, made for Flight.

[f]It is a wonderful pretty Mechanism, observable in the going ofMultipedes, as theJuli,Scolopendræ, &c. that on each Side the Body, every Leg hath its Motion, one very regularly following the other from one End of the Body to the other in a Way not easy to be describ’d in Words; so that their Legs in going, make a kind of Undulation, and give the Body a swifter Progression than one would imagine it should have, where so many Feet are to take so many short Steps.

[g]Vertebrarum Apophysos breviores sunt, præcipuè juxta caput, cujus propterea flexus in aversum, & latera, facilis Viperis est: secus Leonibus,&c.——Incumbit his Ossibus ingens Musculorum minutorum præsidium, tum spinas tendinum exilium magno apparatu diducentium, tum vertebras potissimum in diversa flectentium, atque erigentium. Adeoque illam corporis miram agilitatem, non tantùm (ut Aristot.) ὅτι ἐπικαμπεῖς καὶ χονδρώδεις ὁι σπόνδυλοι quoniam faciles ad flexum, & cartilagineas produxit vertebras, sed quia etiam multiplicia motûs localis instrumenta musculos fabrefecit provida rerum Parens Natura, consecuta fuit.Blas. Anat. Anim. P. 1. c. 39. de Viperâ è Veslingio.That which is most remarkable in theVertebræ[of theRattle-Snake, besides the other curious Articulations,]is, that the round Ball in the lower Part of the upperVertebra, enters a Socket of the upper Part of the lowerVertebra, like as the Head of theOs Femorisdoth theAcetabulumof theOs Ischii; by which Contrivance, as also the Articulation with one another, they have that free Motion of winding their Bodies any Way.Dr.Tyson’s Anat. of theRattle-SnakeinPhil. Trans.Nᵒ. 144. What is here observ’d of theVertebræof thisSnake, is common to this wholeGenusof Reptiles.

That which is most remarkable in theVertebræ[of theRattle-Snake, besides the other curious Articulations,]is, that the round Ball in the lower Part of the upperVertebra, enters a Socket of the upper Part of the lowerVertebra, like as the Head of theOs Femorisdoth theAcetabulumof theOs Ischii; by which Contrivance, as also the Articulation with one another, they have that free Motion of winding their Bodies any Way.Dr.Tyson’s Anat. of theRattle-SnakeinPhil. Trans.Nᵒ. 144. What is here observ’d of theVertebræof thisSnake, is common to this wholeGenusof Reptiles.

[h]My ingenious and learned Friend, Dr.Mead, examined with his Microscope, the Texture of aViper’sPoyson, and found therein at first onlya Parcel of small Salts nimbly floating in the Liquor; but in a short Time the Appearance was chang’d, and these saline Particles were shot out into Crystals, of an incredible Tenuity and Sharpness, with something like Knots here and there, from which they seem’d to proceed; so that the whole Texture did in a Manner represent a Spider’s Web, though infinitely finer.Mead of Poysons, p. 9.As to the Nature and Operation of thisPoyson, see the same ingenious Author’s Hypothesis, in his following Pages.ThisPoysonof theViper, lieth in a Bag in the Gums, at the Upper-end of the Teeth. It is separated from the Blood by aconglomerated Gland, lying in the anterior lateral Part of theOs Sincipitis; just behind the Orbit of the Eye: From which Gland lieth a Duct, that conveys the Poyson to the Bags at the Teeth.The Teeth are tubulated, for the Conveyance, or Emission of the Poyson into the Wound, the Teeth make; but their Hollowness doth not reach to theApex, or Top of the Tooth, (that being solid and sharp, the better to pierce;) but it ends in a long slit below the Point, out of which the Poyson is emitted. These Perforations of the Teeth,Galensaith, the Mountebanks us’d to stop with some kind of Paste, before they suffer’d the Vipers to bite them before their Spectators. Cuts of these Parts,&c.may be seen in the last cited Book of Dr.Mead. Also Dr.Tyson’s Anat. of the Rattle-Snake, inPhilos. Transact.Nᵒ. 144.

As to the Nature and Operation of thisPoyson, see the same ingenious Author’s Hypothesis, in his following Pages.

ThisPoysonof theViper, lieth in a Bag in the Gums, at the Upper-end of the Teeth. It is separated from the Blood by aconglomerated Gland, lying in the anterior lateral Part of theOs Sincipitis; just behind the Orbit of the Eye: From which Gland lieth a Duct, that conveys the Poyson to the Bags at the Teeth.

The Teeth are tubulated, for the Conveyance, or Emission of the Poyson into the Wound, the Teeth make; but their Hollowness doth not reach to theApex, or Top of the Tooth, (that being solid and sharp, the better to pierce;) but it ends in a long slit below the Point, out of which the Poyson is emitted. These Perforations of the Teeth,Galensaith, the Mountebanks us’d to stop with some kind of Paste, before they suffer’d the Vipers to bite them before their Spectators. Cuts of these Parts,&c.may be seen in the last cited Book of Dr.Mead. Also Dr.Tyson’s Anat. of the Rattle-Snake, inPhilos. Transact.Nᵒ. 144.

[i]That Vipers have their great Uses in Physick, is manifest from their bearing a great Share in some of our best Antidotes, such asTheriaca Andromachi, and others; also in the Cure of theElephantiasis, and others the like stubborn Maladies, for which I shall refer to the medical Writers. But there is so singular a Case in the curious Collection of Dr.Ol. Worm.related fromKircher, that I shall entertain the Reader with it. Near the Village ofSassa, about eight Miles from the CityBraccianoinItaly, saith he,Specus feu caverna (vulgò La Grotta delli Serpi) duorum hominum capax, fistulosis quibusdam foraminibus in formam cribri perforata cernitur, ex quibus ingens quædam, principio veris, diversicolorum Serpentum, nullâ tamen, ut dicitur, singulari veneni qualitate imbutorum progenies quotannis pullulare solet. In hæc speluncâ Elephantiacos, Leprosos, Paralyticos, Arabriticos, Podagricos,&c.nudos exponere solent, qui mox halituum subterraneorum calore in sudorem resoluti, Serpentum propullulantium, totum corpus infirmi implicantium, suctu linctuque ita omni vitioso virulentoque humore privare dicuntur, ut repetito hoc per aliquod tempus medicamento, tandem perfecta sanitati restituantur.This CaveKirchervisited himself, found it warm, and every Way agreeable to the Description he had of it; he saw their Holes, heard a murmuring hissing Noise in them; but although he missed seeing the Serpents (it being not the Season of their creeping out) yet he saw great Numbers of theirExuviæ, orSloughs, and an Elm growing hard by laden with them.The Discovery of this Cave, was by the Cure of aLepergoing fromRometo some Baths near this Place; who losing his Way, and being benighted, happened upon this Cave; and finding it very warm, pull’d off his Cloaths, and being weary and sleepy, had the good Fortune not to feel the Serpents about him, till they had wrought his Cure.Vid.Museum Worm.L. 3. c. 9.The before-commended Dr.Mead, thinks our Physicians deal too cautiously and sparingly, in their prescribing only small Quantities of the Viper’s Flesh,&c.in theElephantiasis, and stubbornLeprosies: But he recommendeth rather the Gelly or Broth of Vipers; or, as the ancient Manner was, to boil Vipers, and eat them like Fish; or at least to drink Wine, in which they have been long infused.Vid.Mead. ubi supr.p. 34.

The Discovery of this Cave, was by the Cure of aLepergoing fromRometo some Baths near this Place; who losing his Way, and being benighted, happened upon this Cave; and finding it very warm, pull’d off his Cloaths, and being weary and sleepy, had the good Fortune not to feel the Serpents about him, till they had wrought his Cure.Vid.Museum Worm.L. 3. c. 9.

The before-commended Dr.Mead, thinks our Physicians deal too cautiously and sparingly, in their prescribing only small Quantities of the Viper’s Flesh,&c.in theElephantiasis, and stubbornLeprosies: But he recommendeth rather the Gelly or Broth of Vipers; or, as the ancient Manner was, to boil Vipers, and eat them like Fish; or at least to drink Wine, in which they have been long infused.Vid.Mead. ubi supr.p. 34.

[k]ThatEarth-wormslive upon Earth, is manifest from the little curled Heaps of their Dung ejected out of their Holes. But inPhilos. Transact.Nᵒ. 291, I have said, it is in all Probability Earth made of rotted Roots and Plants, and such like nutritive Things, not pure Earth. And there is farther Reason for it, because Worms will drag the Leaves of Trees into their Holes.

[l]Snailsmight be in Danger of wanting Food, if they were to live only upon such tender Plants as are near the Ground, within their Reach only; to impower them therefore to extend their Pursuits farther, they are enabled by the Means mentioned inNote (d), to stick unto, and creep up Walls and Vegetables at their Pleasure.

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