which sometimes there falleth as it were three blackish egges the true and proper mothers and breeders of Flyes and Cantharides When the Butterflyes doe ioyne together very late or after the time it ought to be they doe lay or cast theyr egges which will continue vitall and that may liue till the next Spring if a diligent care be had of them as well as is often seene in Silke-wormes whose egges the Spanyards sell and that very vsually by vvhole ounces and pounds I haue now according to my cunning discoursed of the transmutations and variable changes of Catterpillers it followeth next that I write of the qualities and vse of Catterpillers together with those preseruatiues which experienced Phisitians haue warranted for true and infallible All Catterpillers haue a burning qualitie and such as will readily fetch of the skinne and flea it quickly and rayse blisters If any one drinke the Catterpiller that liueth in the Pytch-trees there will forth-with follow a great paine about his mouth and iawes vehement inflamation of the tongue strong griping and wringing of the stomacke belly and intestines with a sensible itching about the inward parts the whole body is as it were burned and scalded with heate hot vapours the stomack abhorreth all meate all which are to be remedied with the same meanes as those that haue taken Cantharides Yet properly as here-to-fore I haue touched oyle of Quinces giuen to cause vomiting is the best and safest And if we may credit Pliny new Wine boyled to the third part and Covves milk being drunk are very effectuall There is not any one sort of Catterpillers but they are maligne naught and venomous but yet they are least hurtfull who are smooth and without hayres and the most dangerous of all the rest is that which heeretofore I termed a Pityocampe whose poyson for the most part is deadly The daughter of Caelius Secundus liuing at Basill in Germany as Gesner saith when shee had vnwarily and greedily eaten some Colewort-leaues or Cabbage in a Garden and with them some Catterpillers after a strong vomit that was giuen her belly beganne to swell which swelling hauing continued these many yeeres could neuer as yet receiue any cure If you will haue your Gardens and Trees vntouched and preserued from their mischâ—euous qualitie you must first take cleane away in the winter-time their webbes or any part thereof though neuer so little that you can find cleauing to the bare boughes for if you let them alone till the Spring you shall sooner see them then find them remooued for in a short space of time they deuoure vp all that is greene both leaues flowers Some vse to annoynt their Trees with the gall of a greene Lizard and some with a Bulls gall which as some constantly report they can by no meanes away withall The Country-people choke them with the vapour of a little Brimstone with straw being fired vnder the Tree and so to smother them Some there be that make a fumigation with Galbanum Harts-horne the shauings of Iuory and Goates-hoofes and Oxe-dung Didymus in Georgicis saith that if you bare the rootes of your trees and be-smeare or soyle them with Doues-dung they shall neuer be hurt by any wormes I should willingly haue omitted and not renewed with any fresh discouery Columellaes remedy against Catterpillers or rather the immodest deceâ—t and deluding tricke of Democritus vnlesse experience which is Iterata eiusdem eventus obseruatio a repeated obseruation of the same euent had approoued the verity thereof especially in the Country of Stiria And Palladius in his first booke chap. 35. and Constantinus neere the end of his xj and xij Bookes whose wordes be these At sinulla valet medicina repellere pestem Dardaniae veniunt artes nudata que plantas Faemina quae just is tum demum operata juventae Legibus obscaeno manat pudibunda cruore Sed resoluto sinus resoluto maest a capillo Ter circum areolus et sepem ducitur horti Quae tum lustravit gradiens mirabile visu Non aliter decussapluit quam ex arbore nimbus Vel Teretis mali vel tectae cortice glandis Voluitur ad terram distorto corpore campe Which may be englished thus But when no medicine can that plague expell Then vse they Arts which once the Troyans found A woman which had virgin-lawes obserued well Her bare and naked bring they to the ground Flowing with Natures shamefull filthy blood Her bosome open and her hayre vntrimmed falling Like one ore'prest with griefe forgetting good Three times about the plots and hedges walking Which done a wonder t is for to be told As rayne drops from the trees type apples fall Wallnuts out of huskes so cast you may behold These wormes from trees all torne and cannot crall Theophrastus saith that Catterpillers will touch no plants which are moistened or besprinckled with Wine They will die if they take the fume or be any way smoaked with the herbe Psora Aetius Whereby it is apparant saith Siluius that the herbe commonly termed Scabiose is not the true Psora Catterpillers that liue and feede on Coleworts if they be but touched with that kind of worme which is found in the Fullers Teasell they die Pliny All to besprinkle a Colewort whilst it hath but onely three leaues with Niter or with saltish and brinish earth and by meanes of the saltnesse the Catterpillers vvill be quite driuen away Geopon Palladius in this case preferreth the ashes of Figge-leaues The Sca-onion called Squilla beeing sowne or hanged vp in Gardens hindereth the breeding of Catterpillers Othersome in the most places of their Gardens and round about them sow and set Mints the pulse called Orobos which is somewhat like Vetches and some worme-wood or at least-wise hang them in bunches in diuers places of the same to expell this kind of noysome creature Some very aduisedly take dry leaues stalks of Garlicke with the same doe smoke and perfume their whole Garden so that by this way the smoke being conuayed into all places thereof the Catterpillers will fall downe dead as Palladius hath written in whose writings any man may read of plenty of such antydots and alexipharmicall medicines as may serue to destroy Catterpillers Now will I speake of their vse in Phisicke and in the Common-wealth The webbe of Catterpillers beeing taken inwardly stayeth womens fluxes as Matthiolus saith Beeing likewise burnt and put into the nostrells it stancheth bleeding at the nose The Catterpillers that are found amongst the herbes called Spurges of all sorts by the iudgement of Hippocrates are notable for putulent and mattrie wombes especially if they be first dryed in the Sunne with a double quantity of earth-wormes and a little Anny-seed finely powdered and so all of them to be relented and taken in some excellent White-wine But in case they feele any heauines or aking in the belly after the taking of this Medicine then it were good to drinke a little Mulse therevpon
red spots yeald a more liuely and pleasant aspect vpon black standeth browne yet so as the green hew seemeth to be confounded with blacke and it doth not change his owne colour into a supposed colour but when it is oppressed with feare or griefe That it liueth sometime of the Ayre a whole yeare or more doeth appeare because it eateth no meate during that time but gaping with a wide mouth draweth in the ayre then shutting his chaps againe his belly swelleth Yea I found one that constantly affirmed that they turne themselues to the beames of the Sunne and gaping wide after them follow them hard as it were to draw them in They haue fiue distinct clawes vpon euery foote with two of which they claspe the round boughes or twigges of trees as Parrats doe when they sit vppon their pearches and these clawes stand not as other Birdes doe three together and one by it selfe but in imparity or dissimilitude three on the one side and two on the other and so are parted with an inuerse order for the hinder and former are contrary one to the other so as if there bee three clawes on the inside and two on the outside of the Leg before then are there three on the outside behind and two on the inside And thus much I receiued from Langius So farre Scaliger Now we will proceede to the perticular description of their parts as we find them recorded in other Writers leauing those breefe and pregnable Narrations of Bellonius Scaliger And first of all for the figure and outward shape of their bodies then for theyr colour and the reasons of their mutability and variation of colour For the figure and shape of their bodies Pliny is of opinion that a Chamaelion is like to a Crocodile of the Earth except in the sharpe bending of the backe-bone or the length or greatnesse of the tayle Some say that the whole parts of the body doth represent a Lizard excepting that the sides are ioyned to the belly and the baeke-bone standeth vp as in Fishes Arnoldus saith it resembleth a Stellion if the Legs were not straighter and higher but the truth is it is a Foure-footed-beast much like to a Lizard yet it goeth higher from the Earth and alwayes gapeth hauing a rough skinne all ouer the body like a Crocodile and is also full of scabs The length of it from the tip of the Nose to the rumpe of the taile is 7. or 8. fingers the height of them fiue fingers and the Legs lone three fingers and a halfe The length of the tayle eyght or nine fingers the backe-bone eminent standing vp cersted or indented all throughout to the tip of the taile but neare the rump the crestes are more low and lesse visible On eyther side at the roote of the ribbes stand bony eminent bunches from which discendeth a line and is extended throughout the length of the tailo on both sides and if it were not for these bunches the turnings about and the other three in the lower part it would be so exasperated or extenuated toward the end like to the tayle of a Rat or great Mouse The middle place betwixt the bottome of the belly and the top of the backe contayneth an Angle or flexure of sixteene ribbes after the fashion or proportion of a Greeke Lambda except that the angle thereof be more wide potent which looketh backeward toward the taile and within these ribbes is the whole haunch of the body and belly contained in a round compasse on either side Beeing blacke it is not vnlike the Crocodile and being pale it is like to the Lizard set ouer with blacke spottes like a Leopard It changeth colour both in the eyes tayle and whole body alwayes into the colour of that which is next it except red and white which colours it cannot easily vndertake so that it deceiueth the eyes of the beholders turning blacke into greene and greene into blew like a Player which putteth of one person to put on another according to these verses of Ouid Id quoque quod ventis animal natritur aura Protinus assimilat tetigit quoscunque colores In English thus The beast that liueth by wind and weather Of each thing touched taketh colour The reasons of this change of colour are the same which are giuen of the Buffe and Polypus Fish namely extreamity of feare the thinnesse smoothnesse and baldnesse of the skinne Whereupon Tertullian writeth thus Hoc soli Chamaelienti datum quod vulgo dictum est de suo corio ludere That is to say This is the onely gift of nature to a Chamaelion that according to the common Prouerbe it deceiueth with his skin meaning that a chamaelion at his owne pleasure can change the colour of his skinne Whereupon Erasmus applyeth the prouerb de alieno corio ludere to such as secure themselues with other mens perill From hence also commeth another prouerbe Chamaileontos rumetaboloontaros more mutable then a Chamaelion for a crafty cunning inconstant fellow changing himselfe into euery mans disposition such a one was Alcibiades who was said to be in Athens and of such a man resembling this beast did Alciatus make this emblem against flatterers Semper hiat semper tenuem qua vescitur auram Reciprocat Chamaelion Et mutat faciem varios sumitque colores Praeter rubrum vel candidum Sic adulator populare vescitur aura Hiansque cuncta deuorat Et solum mores imitatur principis atros Albi pudici nescius That is to say It alway gapes turning in and out that breath Whereon it feedes and often changeth hew Now blacke and greene and pale and other colours hath But red and white Chamaelions do eschew So Clawbackes feede on vulgar breath as bread With open mouth deuouring fame and right Princes blacke-vices praise but vertues dread Designed in nature by colours red and white A Chamaelion of all Egge-breeding-beastes is the thinnest because it lacketh bloud and the reason hereof is by Aristotle referred to the disposition of the soule For he saith through ouer much feare it taketh vpon it many colours and feare through the want of bloud and heate is a refrigeration of this beast Plutarke also calleth this beast a meticulous and fearefull beast and in this cause concludeth the change of his colour not as some say to auoyde and deceiue the beholders and to worke out his owne happinesse but for meere dread and terrour Iohannes Vrsinus assigneth the cause of the change of Chamaelions colour not to feare but to the meate to the ayre as appeareth by these verses Non timor imò cibus nimirum limpidus aër Ambo simul vario membra colore nouant Which may be thus englished Not feare but meate which is the ayre thinne New colours on his body doth begin But I for my part doe assigne the true cause to bee in the thinnesse of their skinne and therefore may easily take impression of any colour like
to a thin fleake of a horne which beeing layde ouer blacke seemeth blacke and so ouer other colours and besides there being no hinderaunce of bloud in this beast nor Intrals except the Lights the other humours may haue the more predominant mutation and so I will conclude the discourse of the partes and colour of a Chamaelion with the opinion of Kiranides not that I approoue it but to let the Reader know all that is written of this Subiect his wordes are these Chamaelem singulis horis diei mutat colorem A Chamaelion changeth his colour euery houre of a day This beast hath the face like a Lyon the feet and tayle of a Crocodile hauing a variable colour as you haue heard and one strange continued Nerue from the head to the tayle beeing altogether without flesh except in the head cheekes and vppermost part of the tayle which is ioyned to the body neither hath it any bloud but in the hart eyes and in a place aboue the hart and in certaine vaynes deriued from that place and in them also but a very little bloud There be many membranes all ouer theyr bodies and those stronger then in any other Beastes From the middle of the head backward there ariseth a three square bone and the fore part is hollow and round like a Pipe certaine bony brimmes sharpe and indented standing vpon either side Theyr braine is so little aboue their eyes that it almost toucheth them and the vpper skinne beeing pulled off from their eyes there appeareth a certaine round thing like a bright ring of Brasse which Niphus calleth Palla which signifieth that part of a Ring wherein is set a pretious stone The eyes in the hollow within are very great and much greater then the proportion of the body round and couered ouer with such a skinne as the whole body is except the apple which is bare and that part is neuer couered This apple stands immoueable not turned but when the whole eye is turned at the pleasure of the beast The snoute is like to the snoute of a Hog-ape alwayes gaping and neuer shutting his mouth and seruing him for no other vse but to beare his tongue and his teeth his gumbes are adorned with teeth as we haue said before the vpper lippe beeing shorter and more turned in then the other Their throate and arterie are placed as in a Lizard their Lights are exceeding great and they haue nothing els within their body Whervpon Theophrastus as Plutarch witnesseth conceiueth that they fill the whole body within for this cause it is more apt to liue on the ayre and also to change the colour It hath no Spleene or Melt the tayle is very long at the end and turning vp like a Vipers tayle winded together in many circles The feete are double clouen for proportion resemble the thumbe and hand of a man yet so as if one of the fingers were set neere the side of the thumbe hauing three without and two within behind and three vvithin and two without before the palme betwixt the fingers is somewhat great from within the hinder legges there seeme to growe certaine spurres Their legges are straight and longer then a Lizards yet is theyr bending alike and theyr nayles are crooked and very sharpe One of these beeing dissected and cut asunder yet breatheth a long time after they goe into the caues and holes of the earth like Lizards wherein they lie all the winter time and come forth againe in the Spring theyr pace is very slow and themselues very gentle neuer exasperated but when they are about wild-figge-trees They haue for theyr enemies the Serpent the Crow and the Hawke When the hungry â—erpent doth assault them they defend themselues in this manner as Alexander Mindius writeth they take in their mouthes a broad strong stalk vnder protection whereof as vnder a buckler they defend themselues against theyr enemy the Serpent by reason that the stalke is broader then the Serpent can gripe in his mouth and the other parts of the Chamaeleon so firme and hard as the Serpent cannot hurt them he laboureth but in vaine to get a prey so long as the stalke is in the Chamaeleons mouth But if the Chamaeleon at any time see a Serpent taking the ayre and sunning himselfe vnder some greene tree he climbeth vp into that tree and setleth himselfe directly ouer the Serpent then out of his mouth he casteth a thred like a Spyder at the end whereof hangeth a drop of poyson as bright as any pearle by this string he letteth downe the poyson vpon the Serpent which lighting vppon it killeth it immediatly And Scaliger reporteth a greater vvonder then this in the description of the Chamaeleon for he sayth if the boughes of the Tree so grow as the perpendiculer line cannot fall directlie vpon the Serpent then hee so correcteth and guideth it with his fore-feete that it falleth vpon the Serpent within the mark of a hayres breadth The Rauen and the Crow are also at variance with the Chamaeleon so great is the aduerse nature betwixt these twaine that if the crow eate of the chamaeleon beeing slaine by him he dyeth for it except he recouer his life by a Bay-leafe euen as the Elephant after he hath deuoured a chamaeleon saueth his life by eating of the Wile-oliue-tree But the greatest wonder of all is the hostility which Pliny reporteth to be betwixt the Chamaeleon and the Hawke For he writeth that when a Hawke flyeth ouer a Chamaeleon she hath no power to resist the Chameleon but falleth downe before it yeelding both her life and limbes to be deuoured by it and thus that deuourer that liueth vpon the prey blood of others hath no power to saue her owne life from this little beast A Chamaeleon is a fraudulent rauening and gluttonous beast impure and vncleane by the law of GOD and forbidden to be eaten in his owne nature wilde yet countersetting meekenes when he is in the custodie of man And this shall suffise to haue spoken for the description of this beast a word or two of the Medicines arising out of it and so a conclusion I find that the Auncients haue obserued two kindes of Medicines in this beast one magicall and the other naturall and for my owne part although not able to iudge of either yet I haue thought good to anex a relation of both to this History And first of the naturall medicines Democritus is of opinion that they deserue a peculier Volume and yet he himselfe telleth nothing of theÌ„ worthy of one page except the lying vanities of the Gentiles superstitions of the Graecians With the gall if the suffusions and Leprous parts of the body be annointed three dayes together and the whitenesse of the eyes it is beleeued to giue a present remedy and Archigenes prescribeth the same for a medicine for the taking away of the vnprofitable and and pricking hayres of the eye-browes It is
neere Liuonia there are great store of great serpents also so that the Heard-men are at continuall war and contention with them for defence of their flock Likewise in the Mountaines of Heluetia and Auergne whereof there are many wonders reported in the world which I will not stand vpon to relate in this place We reade also that some places haue beene disinhabited dispeopled by serpents such were the people of Scythia called Neuri who before the war of Darius were constrained to forsake theyr soyle because they were annoyed not onely with home-bred serpents but also with many other which came from other parts and so the Country remaineth desolate to this present day the ancient Inhabitants beeing all remooued to dwell among the Buditani The Cittie Amyclae in Italy as M Varro writeth was destroyed also by serpents And there be certains places of the world which haue receiued their denomination from serpents besides the Ophiusae neere Creete The Iland Tenos was called Hydrussa and Ophiussa so were Cremiuscos Aepolium and the Mountaines Macrocremnij Rhodus the long Ilands Ophiades in the Arabian coast which after it had remained a long time desart was purged and cleered from serpents by the Kings of Egypt Nicaenetus also calleth Cyprus Ophiodia And in Pausanias we read of a place name Opheos Kephale the Serpents head The like might be saide of Riuers as of Orontes called also Ophites and Ophis in Pontus which deuideth a sunder Colchis and the Country Thiamica Ebusus nourisheth no serpents and the earth thereof hath in it a secret vertue to driue away serpents wherefore it is much desired of all men to carry about them for that it hath beene often prooued that neuer any venomous beast durst aduenture vpon any man possessed thereof The like is said of Ireland as our owne Chronicles doe plentifully declare and therefore I will spare to enter into any narration thereof To come therfore to the more particular abode of Serpents especially of such as are knowne to vs we must leaue of the talke and nominaton of Kingdoms and descend to dennes holes caues dunghils sheep-coats valleys rocks hollow-walls and trees woods greene pastures hedges and such like places wherein they make their most abode And now and then in these Northerne parts of the world yet sildome they diue downe into the bottome or rootes of trees especially such as are greene all the Winter-time For they finde in them a greater heate or warmth then in other whose leaues fall off and decay in the cold weather except in the rootes of Birch And by reason of their multitude gathered together at the roote of this tree it falleth out that their breath heateth the same and so preserueth the leaues of it from falling off Wherefore in auncient time the ignorant multitude seeing a Birch-tree with greene leaues in the Winter did call it our Ladies Tree or a Holy tree attributing that greenenesse to miracle not knowing the former reason or secrete of Nature Solinus reporteth of such a like wood in a part of Affrica wherein all the Winter time the leaues of all the Trees abide greene the cause is as before recited for that the Serpents liuing at the rootes of the trees in the earth doe heate thē with their breath Neither ought any man to wonder that they should so friendly liue together especially in the winter cold time seeing that by experience in England we know that for warmth they will creepe into bed-straw about the legges of men in their sleepe as may appeare by this succeeding discourse of a true history done in England in the house of a worshipfull Gentleman vpon a seruant of his whom I could name if it were needfull He had a seruaunt that grew very lame and feeble in his legges thinking that he could neuer be warme in his bed did multiply his clothes and couered himselfe more more but all in vaine till at length he was not able to goe about neither could any skill of Phisitian or Surgeon find out the cause It hapned on a day as his Maister leaned at his Parlour window he saw a great Snake to slide along the house side and to creepe into the chamber of this lame man then lying in his bedde as I remember for hee lay in a lowe chamber directly against the Parlour window afore-said The Gentleman desirous to see the issue and what the snake would doe in the chamber followed and looked into the chamber by the window where hee espied the snake to slide vppe into the bed-straw by some way open in the bottome of the bedde which was of old bordes Straightway his hart rising therat he called two or three of his seruaunts and told them what he had seene bidding them goe take their Rapiers kill the said snake The seruing-men came first and remoued the lame man as I remember and then the one of them turned vp the bed and the other two the straw their maister standing without at the hole whereinto the said snake had entered into the chamber The bedde was no sooner turned vp and the Rapier thrust into the straw but there issued forth fiue or six great snakes that were lodged therein Then the seruing-men bestirring themselues soone dispatched them cast them out of doores dead Afterward the lame mans legges recouered and became as strong as euer they were whereby did euidentlie appeare the coldnes of these snakes or Serpents which came close to his legges euerie night did so benumme them as he could not goe And thus for heate they pierce into the holes of chimneyes yea into the toppes of hills and houses much more into the bottomes and rootes of Trees When they perceiue that winter approcheth they find out their resting places wherin they lye halfe dead foure moneths together vntill the Spring-sunne againe communicating her heate to all Creatures reuiueth and as it were raiseth them vp from death to life During which time of cold and vvinter as Seneca writeth Tuto tractari pestifera serpens potest non desunt tunc illi venena sed torpent They may bee safely handled without feare of harme not because they want poyson at that time but because they are drouzie and deadly astonished But there is a question whether when they be in this secrecie or drouzines they awake not to eate or else their sleepe be vnto them in stead of foode Olaus Magnus affirmeth of the Northerne serpents that they eate not at all but are nourished with sleep Cardan saith that they take some little foode as appeareth by those which are carried vp and downe in boxes to be seene and are fedde with branne or cheasill But this may be aunswered that serpents in boxes are not so colde as those in woods and desarts and therefore seeing cold keepeth them from eating the externall heate of the box-house or humane body which beareth them about may be a cause that inclosed serpents feede in
lost or left some poyson vppon the Cats skinne the Monkes by stroking of the Cat were infected there-with And the cause why the Catte was not harmed thereby was for that shee receiued the poyson from the sport and not from the anger of the serpent And this thing surely is not so maruailous seeing that little Mice and Rats doe also play with Serpents and heerein Politicians play the serpents vvho hold correspondence and peace both with the Catte and the Mouse that is with two sworne and naturall enemies together The like peace and league they are also saide to keepe with Eeles as may more plainely appeare by this following historie of a certaine Monke called Rodolphus a Will Monachus Capellensis There vvas as this Monke affirmeth one of his fellowe Monks which did often tell him that beeing a little boy and vsing to sport himselfe by the water side hee hapned to catch an Eele which he attempted for his owne pleasure to carry to another water and by the way as he went hee passed thorough a vvood at which time when hee was in the vvood the Eele began to hisse cry mainelie at the hearing wheteof there gathered together very many serpents round about him insomuch that he was afraid and set downe his basket fast pinned and ranne away afterward he came againe and sought for his basket but he found not the Eele therein wherefore it was supposed that the Serpents deliuered the same Eele out of the basket by some sleight of nature the onely doubt is whether Eeles doe hysse or not seeing they are fishes and Omnes pisces mâ—ti all fishes are mute or dumbe But for answer to this obiection it is most certaine that Ecles haue a voyce as all they knowe which vse fishing in the night for I my selfe haue not onely heard such a voyce in the night time in Riuers and other waters where Eeles abounded but haue had it confirmed by diuers other of greater practise experience in fishing The reason wherof may be their manner of generation for they engender not by spawne as other fishes but of the slyme of the earth or vvater and differ not froÌ„ serpents in their externall forme except in their colour and therefore may be said to partake with fishes serpents in both their natures that is hauing a voyce like a serpent a substance like a fish Such is theyr confederacie with liuing Creatures and with no more that I euer read or heard of But moreouer it is said that they loue some plants or herbes aboue measure as the Fenell and Iuy and for this latter both Pliny and Textor doe not without great cause wonder that euer there was any honour ascribed or giuen to the Iuy seeing that serpents the most vnreconcileable enemies of man-kind delight so much therein But herein the deuil blinded their reason as hee did the modest women that worshipped Priapus or the Tartars which at this day worship the deuill to the end that he should do theÌ„ no harme Thus much I can onely say of the friends and louers of Serpents by the multitude whereof wee may coniecture how among other parts of the curse of God vpon them they are held accursed both by man and beast Now then it followeth that we enter into a more particular description or rather a relation of that hatred which is betweene them and other creatures and first I will beginne with their arch enemie I meane Man-kind For vvhen GOD at the beginning did pronounce his sentence against the Serpent for deceiuing our first Parents among other things he said I will put enmity betwixt thee and the Woman betwixt thy seed the womans seede Whereby he did signifie that perpetuall warre and vnappeaseable discord vvhich should be for euer by his owne appoyntment betwixt them And the truth heereof is to be seene at this day for by a kind of secret instinct and naturall motion a man abhorreth the sight of a Serpent a serpent the sight of a man And as by the tongue of the serpent was wrought mans confusion so by the spettle of a mans tongue is wrought a serpents astonishment For indeed such is the ordinance of God that men Serpents should euer annoy and vexe each other And this Erasmus saith shall continue as long as meminerimus illius inauspicati pomi we shall remember that vnfortunate Apple Isidorus saith that serpents are afraid of a man naked but will leape vpon and deuoure a man clothed Which thing is also affirmed by Olaus Magnus for he saith that when he was a boy hee often tryed it that when hee was naked hee found little or no resistance in serpents and did safely without all danger combat with them hand to hand I my selfe also in my younger time when I was about tenne or twelue yeeres old vsed many times in the Spring and Sommer time to wash my selfe with other my colleagues in certaine fish-ponds wherein I haue seene and met with diuers water-snakes without all harme and I did neuer in my life heare of any harme they did to any of my fellowes beeing naked neither did I euer see any of them runne away so fast on the Land as they did fly from vs in the vvater and yet are not the vvater-snakes lesse hurtfull then the Land-Adders And this was well knowne to many About the beginning or Fountaine Springs of Euphrates it is said that there are certaine serpents which know strangers from the people of the Country wherefore they doe no harme to the naturall borne Country-men but with strangers men of other countryes they fight with might and maine And along the bankes of Euphrates in Syria they also do the like sauing that if they chaunce to be trode vpon by any of the people of those parts they bite like as a dogge doth without any great harme but if any other forrainer or stranger annoy them they also repay him with malice for they bite him and intollerably vexe him wherefore the Country-men nourish them and doe them no harme Such as these are also found in Tirinthus but they are very little ones and are thought to be engendered of the earth The first manifestation in nature of mans discord with serpents is their venom for as in a serpent there is a venome which poysoneth a man so in a man there is the venom of his spittle which poysoneth a serpent For if the fasting spittle of a man fall into the iawes of a serpent he certainly dieth thereof And of this thus writeth the Poet Lucretius Est vtique vt serpens hominis quae tacta saliuis Disperit ac sese mandendo conficit ipsa In English thus As serpent dyeth when spittle of man he tasteth Gnashing his teeth to eate himselfe he wasteth The cause of this the Philosophers which knew nothing of Adams fall or the forbidden Apple doe assigne to be in the contrarietie betwixt the liuing soules or spirits of these Creatures for
breasts some on his sides and backe some on his legges and some hanging vpon his priuie partes byting him with mortall rage to end and ouerthrow him The poore Hart beeing thus oppressed with multitude and assailed without any warning to the battell in vaine attempteth to runne away for their cold earthy bodies winding tayles and pinching teeth hinder his wonted pace and ouer-charge his strength whereat beeing forced to quite himselfe in the best manner he can enraged with teeth feete and hornes assaileth his enemies whose speares and arrowes of teeth and stinges sticke so fast in his body tearing them in peeces which he can touch with his teeth beating others asunder where he can reach theÌ„ with his hornes and trampling vnder his feete those which cleaue to his lower parts and yet such is the rage and dauntlesse courage or rather hatred of these enemies not willing to die alone but like Champions to end their liues vppon and with their aduersarie doe still hold fast and euen when their bodies are beaten in peeces their heads sticke close and hang sharpe vpon the Harts skinne as though they would grow with him and neuer fall off till he should also fall downe dead But the Hart feeling some ease and hauing by the slaughter of their bodies deliuered his feete from thraldome by a diuine naturall instinct flyeth and runneth fast to some adioyning fountaine where hee seeketh for Sea-crabbes whereof he maketh a medicine that shaketh off their heads which cleaue so fast vnto him and also cureth all their wounds and poyson This valiant courage is in Harts against serpents neuer yeelding tyring or giuing ouer and yet otherwise are afraid of Hares and Connyes by nature But what is the cause of this hostilitie betwixt Harts and serpents is it for meate or for medicine and cure Surely they would abhorre to eate them if it were not for health and naturall medicine for sometimes the pores of their body are dulled and shut vp somtimes the wormes of their belly doe ascend vp into the roofe of their mouthes while they chew the cudde and there cleaue fast for remedie whereof the Hart thus afflicted runneth about to seeke for serpents for the eating of a serpent cureth this maladie Pliny saith that when the Hart waxeth old and perceiueth that his strength decayeth haire changeth his bodie beginnes to be feeble then for the renewing of his strength he first deuoureth a serpent and afterward runneth to some fountaine of water wherof when he hath drunk he findeth a sensible alteration both in horne haire and whole bodie And this thing is also deliuered by the Writer of the Glosse vpon the 42 Psalme which beginneth Like as the Hart desireth the water springs so longeth my soule after my GOD. But for the ending of this question we must consider and remember that there are two kinds of Harts one eateth serpents and feeling the poyson to worke straight-way by drinking casteth vp the poyson againe or else cureth himselfe by couering all his body ouer in water The other kind onely by nature killeth a serpent but after victorie forbeareth to eate it and returneth againe to feede in the Mountaines And thus much for the discorde betwixt Harts and Serpents In the next place great is the variance betwixt Serpents Dragons Elephants wherof Pliny Solinus write as followeth When the Elephants called Serpent-killers meete with the Dragons they easily tread them in peeces and ouer-come them wherefore the Dragons and greater serpents vse subtiltie in stead of might for when they haue found the path and common way of an Elephant they make such deuises therein to intrap him as a man would thinke they had the deuise of men to helpe them for with their tayles they so ensnare the way that when the beast commeth they entangle his legges as it were in knots of ropes now when the beast stoopeth downe with his trunke to loose and vntie them one of them suddenly thrusteth his poysoned head into his trunke whereby hee is strangled The other also for there are euer many which lye in ambush set vpon his face byting out his eyes and some at his tender belly some wind themselues about his throat and all of them together sting bite teare vex hang vpon him vntill the poore beast emptied of his blood and swollen with poyson in euery part fall downe dead vppon his aduersaries and so by his death kill them at his fall and ouerthrow whom hee could not ouer-come beeing aliue And whereas Elephants for the most part goe together in flocks and troupes the subtile serpents doe let passe the formost of euery rancke and sette onely vpon the hindermost that so one of the Elephants may not helpe another these serpents are said to be thirtie yardes long Likewise forasmuch as these Dragons know that the Elephants come and feede vpon the leaues of trees their manner is to conuay themselues into the trees and lye hid among the boughes couering their fore-parts with leaues and letting their hinder partes hang downe like dead parts and members and when the Elephant commeth to brouze vpon the Tree-toppes then suddenlie they leape into his face and pull out his eyes and because that reuenge doth not satisfie her thirsting onely after death she twyneth her gable-long bodie about his necke and so strangleth him It is reported that the blood of Elephants is the coldest blood in the world that the Dragons in the scorching heate of Summer cannot get any thing to coole theÌ„ except this blood for which cause they hide themselues in Riuers Brookes whether the Elephants come to drinke and when he putteth downe his trunck they take hold thereof instantlie in great numbers leape vp into his eares which onely of all his vpper parts are most naked and vnarmed out of which they suck his blood neuer giuing ouer their holde till hee fall downe dead so in the fall kill them which were the procurers of his death So that his and their blood is mingled both together whereof the Auncients made their Cinnabaris which was the best thing in the world to represent blood in painting Neither can any deuise or arte of man euer come neere it and beside it hath in it a rare vertue against poyson And thus much for the enmâ—tie betwixt Serpents and Elephants The Cat also by Albertus is said to be an enemie to serpents for hee saith shee will kill them but not eate thereof howbeit in her killing of them except she drinke incontinently she dieth by poyson This relation of Albertus cannot agree with the Monks of Mesven their relation about their Abbey-cat But it may be that Albertus speaketh of vvildcats in the woods and mountaines who may in â—auine for their pray kill a serpent which followeth with them the same common game The Roes or Roe-bucks do also kill serpents the Hedge-hogge is enemy vnto them for sometimes they meete both together in one hole and then at
bodie If you take the dryed skinne and lay it vppon the tooth on the inner side it will mittigate the paine thereof specially if it proceede from any hote cause In like sort the same skinne washed with spettle and with a little peece of the taile laid vppon any Impostume or Noli me tangere it will tame and master the paine causing it to putrefie more easilie and gentlie and scarcely leauing behind any cicatrise or skarre And if a woman beeing in extremitie of paine in child-birth do but tye or bind a peece of it on her belly it will cause the birth immediatly to come away So the skinne beeing boyled and eaten performeth the same effects that the Serpent doth The blood of a Serpent is more precious then Balsamum and if you annoynt your lips with a little of it they will looke passing redde and if the face be annoynted there-with it will receiue no spot or fleck but causeth it to haue an orient and beautifull hue It represseth all scabbinesse of the body stinking in the teeth and gummes if they be there-with annointed The fat of a serpent speedily helpeth all rednes spots other infirmities of the eyes and beeing annoynted vpon the eye-liddes it cleereth the eyes exceedingly Item put them into a glassed spot and fill the same with Butter in the Month of May then lute it well with paste that is Meale well kneaded so that nothing may euaporate then sette the pot on the fire and let it boyle wel-nigh halfe a day after this is done straine the Butter through a cloth and the remainder beate in a morter and straine it againe and mixe them together then put them into water to coole so reserue it in siluer or golden boxes that which is not cuaporated for the older the better it is and so much the better it will be if you can keepe it fortie yeeres Let the sicke patient who is troubled eyther with the Goute or the Palfie but annoynt himselfe often against the fire with this vnguent and without doubt he shall be freed especially if it be the Goute All these prescriptions and directions were taken from the writings of a certaine namelesse Author Hippocrates saith that a Hart or Stagge hauing eaten any Serpents the wormes in their guttes are thereby expelled And Absyrtus hath the same words that Harts by eating of a Serpent doc kill and expell wormes from their guttes Hierocles to a certaine medicine which he prepared for the Strangulion in a horse mingled the dung of a Lyzard Stèar herpetou that is as I interpret it the fat of a serpent the blood of a Doue c. Laurence Rusius saith that it is good to giue the flesh and decoction of Serpents to madde beating and striking horses And that the fatte of a Serpent c. doth cure the puffing or swellings that arise in horses backs which come by meanes of any compression or close sitting and thrusting downe Item the vnguent that droppeth from a Serpent whilst he is rosted on a spit is highlie commended for Fistuloes that are in horses hoofes Galen and Rasius doc counsell vs to cut in peeces a snake or serpent and to lay the fat there of vpon a sticke and to annoint the outward parts of the hoofe of any horse Horseleaches liue Mise the greene Lyzard being burned if they be giuen to a Hawke in her meate they do cause a speedie mutation of her feathers or wings and the same effect haue little Riuer-fishes finely beaten or stamped if they be cast vpon any meate Item the Serpent that is speckled and of diuers and sundry colours of all others hath the least poyson and in the German tongue it is called Huf peraduenture it is that which we call a snake if I say you take this serpent and boyle it with Wheate and giue the same Wheate to a Henne to feede vpon beeing mingled amongst her meate and drinke with the venim of a Serpent a Hawke beeing fedde with the flesh of such a Henne forth-with casteth her sicke feathers and is freed from any other disease if she haue any at all as Albertus saith The old skinne of an Adder or Snake that he casts off in the Spring-time if it be rubbed vpon the eyes cleereth the sight as Pliny saith And Galen biddeth vs if any be troubled with blood-shotten eyes to take the old cast-skinne of serpents being beaten with Sea-water ' to annoynt them there-withall And Cardan saith that the cast-skin of a snake if the eyes be rubbed there-with euery morning that they will neuer be very dim of sight nor yet euer haue any pinne or webbe in them Amongst compositions that are made for the eyes they vse to mixe the cast-skinne of snakes as Diocles affirmeth adding further that the old age or cast-skinne of a snake beeing boyled in vvine is an excellent helpe for paine in the eares if a little thereof be dropped into them Boyle the cast skinne of a snake with toppes of Poppy and droppe a little thereof into the cares if any be troubled vvith paine thereof and this is an excellent remedy as Galen in his third Booke De Composit medicam sec loca hath taught vs hauing himselfe learned the same from Archigenes The cast-skinne of serpents being burned in a pot or on a hot burning tyle-shard if it be mingled with oyle of Roses and so dropt into the eares is prooued to be very effectuall against all sores and sicknesses of the eares but especially against the stinking sauour of them or if they be puralent or full of matter then to be mixt with vineger Some vse to mingle Bulls gall there-with and the iuyce of the flesh of Torteises beeing boyled Marcellus saith that if you take the gall of a Calfe with a like quantitie of Vineger and mixe them with the cast-skinne of a serpent if then you dippe a little vvooll into this medicine and put it into the eare that it helpeth very much especially if with a spunge being soked in warme-water you first foment the eare Dioscorides and Galen doe affirme that the cast-skinne of a serpent if it be boyled in Wine doth cure the tooth-ach if the pained place be washed there-with But yet in intollerable paines of the teeth this is prooued more singuler Take the cast-skinne of a Serpent and burne it then temper it with oyle till it come to the thicknes or consistence of hard Hony and couer the tooth being first scoured and clensed there-with annoynting all the neere places to the same and put some of it into the hollownes of the tooth And as Archigenes saith if you lay the cast-skinne of a snake vnto the teeth not beeing burnt they will all fall out It cureth likewise the lowsie euill called Phthiriasis And Galen prescribeth this cast-skin of snakes or serpents for a remedie against the Cholick if it be put into a brasse pot with some oyle and so burnt to powder if then it be dissolued in oyle and the
apply very warme to the wound a Spiders web bruised with a vvhite Onion sufficient Salt and vineger will perfectlie cure it Guil Placentinus will warrant that a Plate of cold Iron laid vppon the wound or Lead steeped in vineger will doe the deed Gordonius counsell is to rub the place with sage and vineger and afterwards to foment it with water and vineger sod together Varignana would haue vs to apply Chalk in powder and invvardly to take the seedes of Mallovves boyled in vvine water and a little vineger Matthiolus much commendeth Sperage being beaten and wrought vp with Hony to annoint the place Likewise Flyes beaten and annointed on the place vvinter Sauoury VVater-cresses with oyle of Momerdica giue most speedie helpe Arnoldus Villanouanus assureth vs that any fresh earth especially Fullers earth is very auayleable and the herbe called Poley vsed as an vnguent or else Goats Milke And Marcellus Empiericus is not behinde his commendations for the vse of Bullockes dung to be applyed as a poulteisse to the stinged part These and many others any man ascribe that hath hadde but an easie tast of the infinity of Physickes speculation for the store-house of Nature and truely learned Physitions which way soeuer you turne you will Minister and giue sufficient store of alexyteriall medicines for the expulsing of this griefe In conclusion one and the selfe same medicament will serue indifferently for the curation of waspes Bees sauing that when we are stung with Waspes more forceable remedies are requyred and for the hurts that Bees doe vs then weaker and gentler are sufficient In the hundreth and nintith yeare before the byrth of our blessed Sauiour an infinite multitude of Waspes came flying into the Market place at Capua as Iulius witnesseth and lighted on the temple of Mars all which when with great regard diligence they were gathered together and solemnly burnt yet for all that they presignified the comming of an enemy and did as it were foretell the burning of the Citty which shortly after came to passe And thus much for the Historie of the Waspe OF HORNETS AHornet is called of the Hebrewes Tsirhah Of the Arabians Zabor and Zambor Of the Germans Ein hornauss Horlitz Froisln Ofertzwuble Of the Flemminges Horsele Of the French-men Trellons Troisons Foulons Of the Italians Calauron Crabrone Scaraffon and Galanron Of the Spaniards Tabarros ò Moscardos Of the Illirians Irssen Of the Slauonians Sierszen Of vs Englishmen Hornets great waspes The Graecians cal them Anthrénas and Anthrenoùs because with their sting they raise an Anthrar or Carbuncle with a vehement inflamation of the whole part about it The Latines call them Crabrones peraduenture of Crabra a Towne so named in the territory of Tusculanum where there is great plenty of them or it may be they are tearmed Crambrones of Caballus a horse of whom they are first engendered according to that of Ouid 15. Metamorphos Pressus humo bellator equus Crabronis origo est That is to say When war horse dead vpon the earth lies Then doth his flesh breed Hornet flyes Albertus tearmeth a Hornet Apis citrina that is a yellow or Orenge coloured Bee Cardan laboureth much to proue that dead Mules are their first beginners Plutarke is of opinion that they first proceed from the flesh of dead Horses as Bees do out of a Buls belly and I thinke that they haue their breeding from the harder more firme and solide parts of the flesh of Horses as Waspes do from the more tender or soft Hornets are twice so great as the common Waspes in shape and proportion of body much resembling one another They haue foure winges the inward not beeing halfe so large as the outward beeing all ioyned to their shoulders which are of a darke brownish and of a Chestnut-like colour these wings are the cause of their swift flight they haue also sixe feete of the same colour and hew that their breast and shoulders are of Their is somewhat long of the colour of Saffron their eyes and lookes are hanging or bending downewards crooked and made like a halfe Moone from which grow forth two peakes like vnto Sithes or two sickles nothing varying in colour frō their feet Their belly is as though it were tied to their shoulders with a very fine thred the forward and middle part whereof is ouercast with a browne colour begirt as it were with a girdle of Saffron The hinder part is altogether yellow easily discerned and remarkable for those eight browne pricks or specks euery one of them being much like vnto a small triangle besides they haue certain clefts or slits on both sides both before and behind by which they can at their pleasure when they list either shrinke vp themselues or draw and gather themselues together and with the same againe lengthen and stretch out their bodies They haue also neere to their belly on both sides foure blacke spots and in their taile they are armed with a strong piercing sting and the same very venomous They make a sound or a buzzing strange noyse more hydeous and dreadfull then waspes doe They are shrewd fierce and cruell quickly angry and wrathfull and although they liue in companies together yet notwithstanding they are euer known to be but of an homely rude curft and vntractable disposition and nature and will neuer be brought by any Art or fashioning to lay aside their vplandish wildenesse as some Herbes will doe that are transplanted into Gardens They are besides this of such a mischeeuous malignity and venemous quality that as some affirme nine of their stings will kill a man and three time nine will be able to kill a strong Horse especially at the rising of the Dog-star and after at which time they haue a more fiery hasty and inflaming nature and men at that season by reason of their large exaltation and sending forth of spirits grow more weake and faint And therefore it is no maruaile though in holy Scripture they are compared or likened to most fierce cruell enemies which should put cast forth the Cananites Hettites and Cheuits Exod. 23. 28. So likewise Ouid in the eleuenth Booke of his Metamorphos hath these words Spicula carbronum ardentia The burning stings of Hornets And Virgill in the fourth booke of his Georgiks calleth them Asperrima most sharp and violent Terence the most eloquent of all Comicall Poets in his Comedy intituled Phormio and Plautus in his Amphytrio haue this Prouerbe Irritaui crabrones I haue prouoked or incensed the great Waspes to anger which I suppose they vsed as a by-word against the properties natures and froward behauiours of women who beeing in their wonted sumish mood if once you go about to ouerthwart them or a little to contrary their wilfulnesse you shall pull an old house ouer your owne head by a further prouocation perhaps if you get you not the sooner out of their sight and reach of
mouthes vppon euery iawe and with most bright and cleere-seeing eyes vvhich caused the Poets to faine in their writings that these dragons are the watchfull-keepers of Treasures They haue also two dewlappes grovving vnder their chinne and hanging downe like a beard which are of a redde colour theyr bodies are sette all ouer with very sharpe scales and ouer theyr eyes stand certaine flexible eye-liddes When they gape wide with their mouth and thrust foorth their tongue theyr teeth seeme very much to resemble the teeth of Wilde-Swine And theyr neckes haue many times grosse thicke hayre growing vpon them much like vnto the bristles of a VVilde-Boare Their mouth especially of the most tame-able Dragons is but little not much bigger then a pype through which they drawe in theyr breath for they wound not vvith theyr mouth but with theyr tayles onely beating with thē when they are angry But the Indian Ethiopian and Phrygian dragons haue very wide mouthes through which they often swallow in whole foules and beasts Theyr tongue is clouen as if it were double and the Investigators of nature doe say that they haue fifteene teeth of a side The males haue combes on their heads but the females haue none and they are likewise distinguished by their beards They haue most excellent sences both of seeing and hearing and for this cause theyr name Drakon cōmeth of Derkein and this was one cause why Iupiter the Heathens great God is said to be metamorphised into a Dragon whereof there flieth this tale vvhen he fell in loue with Proserpina he rauished her in the likenes of a dragon for hee came vnto her and couered her with the spires of his body and for this cause the people of Sabazij did obserue in their misteries or sacrifices the shape of a dragon rowled vp within the cōpasse of his spires so that as he begot Ceres with child in the likenes of a Bull he likewise deluded her daughter Proserpina in the likenes of a dragon but of these transmutations we shall speake more afterwards I thinke the vanity of these tooke first ground frō the Affricans who beleeue that the originall of dragons tooke beginning from the vnnaturall cōiunction of an Eagle a shee-Wolfe And so they say that the Wolfe growing great by this conception doth not bring forth as at other times but her belly breaketh and the dragon commeth out who in his beake and wings resembleth the dragon his father and in his feete and tayle the vvolfe his mother but in the skin neither of them both but this kind of fabulus generation is already sufficiently confuted Their meates are fruites and herbes or any venomous creature therfore they liue long without foode and when they eate they are not easily filled They grow most fat by eating of egs in deuouring wherof they vse this Art if it be a great dragon he swalloweth it vp whole and then rowleth him selfe whereby hee crusheth the egges to peeces in his belly and so nature casteth out the shells keepeth in the meate But if it be a young dragon as if it were a dragons whelp he taketh the egge within the spire of his tayle and so crusheth it hard holdeth it fast vntill his scales open the shell like a knife then sucketh hee out of the place opened all the meate of the egge In like sort do the young ones pull off the feathers frō the foules which they eate and the old ones swallow them whole casting the feathers out of theyr bellyes againe The dragons of Phrygia when they are hungry turne themselues toward the west gaping wide with the force of their breath doe draw the birdes that flie ouer their heads into their throats which some haue thought is but a voluntary lapse of the fowles to be drawne by the breath of the dragon as by a thing they loue but it is more probable that some vaporous and venomous breath is sent vp from the dragon to them that poysoneth and infecteth the ayre about them whereby their sences are taken from them and they astonished fall downe into his mouth But if it fortune the dragons find not foode enough to satisfie their hunger then they hide themselues vntill the people be returned from the market or the Heard-men bring home their flocks and vppon a suddaine they deuoure eyther men or beastes which come first to their mouthes then they goe againe and hide themselues in their dennes and hollow Caues of the earth for theyr bodies beeing exceeding hote they very sildome come out of the cold earth except to seeke meate and nourishment And because they liue onely in the hottest Countries therefore they commonlie make theyr lodgings neere vnto the waters or else in the coldest places among the Rocks and stones They greatlie preserue their health as Aristotle affirmeth by eating of Wild-lettice for that they make them to vomit and cast foorth of theyr stomacke what-soeuer meate offendeth them and they are most speciallie offended by eating of Apples for theyr bodies are much subiect to be filled with winde and therefore they neuer eate Apples but first they eate Wilde-lettice Theyr sight also as Plutarch sayth doth many times grow weake and feeble and therefore they renew and recouer the same againe by rubbing their eyes against Fennell or else by eating of it Their age could neuer yet be certainely knowne but it is coniectured that they liue long and in great health like to all other Serpents therefore they grow so great They doe not onely liue on the land as we haue said already but also swimme in the water for many times they take the Sea in Ethyopia foure or fiue of them together folding theyr tayles like hurdles and holding vp their heads so swim they ouer to seeke better foode in Arabia We haue said already that when they set vpon Elephants they are taken and killed of men now the manner how the Indians kill the Mountaine-dragons is thus they take a garment of Scarlet and picture vpon it a charme in golden letters this they lay vpon the mouth of the Dragons denne for with the redde colour and the gold the eyes of the dragon are ouer-come and he salleth asleepe the Indians in the meane-season watching muttering secretly words of Incantation when they perceiue he is fast asleepe suddainely they strike off his necke with an Axe and so take out the balls of his eyes wherein are lodged those rare precious stones which containe in them vertues vnvtterable as hath beene euidently prooued by one of them that was included in the Ring of Gyges Manie times it falleth out that the dragon draweth in the Indian both with his Axe and Instruments into his denne and there deuoureth him in the rage whereof hee so beateth the Mountaine that it shaketh When the dragon is killed they make vse of the skin eyes teeth and flesh as for the flesh it is of a vitriall or glassie colour and the Ethiopians doe eate it
very greedily for they say it hath in it a refrigeratiue power And there be some which by certaine inchaunting verses doe tame Dragons and rydeth vpon their necks as a man would ride vpon a horse guiding and gouerning them with a bridle Now because we haue already shewed that some dragons haue winges least it should seeme vncredible as the foolish world is apt to beleeue no more then they see I haue therefore thought good to adde in this place a particuler relation of the testimonies of sundry Learned-men concerning these winged Serpents or dragons First of all Megastenes writeth that in India there be certaine flying Serpents which hurt not in the day but in the night time and these do render or make a kind of vrine by the touching whereof all the parts of mortall creatures doe rotte away And there is a Mountaine which deuideth asunder the Kingdome of Narsing a from Alabaris wherein be many winged-serpents sitting vpon trees which they say poyson men with their breath There be many pestilent winged-serpents which come out of Arabia euery yeere by troupes into Egypt these are destroyed by a certaine Black-bird called Ibis who fighteth with thē in the defence of that Country where she liueth so that there lye great heapes of them many times destroyed vpon the earth by these Birds whose bodies may be there visibly seene to haue both wings and legges and their bones beeing of great quantitie and stature remaine vnconsumed for many yeeres after These kinde of Serpents or Dragons couet to keepe about the Trees of Frankinsence which grow in Arabia and when they are driuen away frō thence with the fume or smoake of Stirax then they flie as is afore-said into Egypt and this is to be considered that if it were not for this Stirax all that Country would be consumed with Dragons Neither haue wee in Europe onely heard of Dragons and neuer seene them but also euen in our own Country there haue by the testimonie of sundry Writers diuers been discouered and killed And first of all there was a Dragon or Winged-serpent brought vnto Frauncis the French-King when hee lay at Sancton by a certaine Country-man who had slaine the same Serpent himselfe with a Spade when it sette vppon him in the fields to kill him And this thing was witnessed by many Learned credible men which saw the same and they thought it was not bredde in that Country but rather driuen by the winde thither from some forraine Nation For Fraunce was neuer knowne to breede any such Monsters Among the Pyrenes also there is a cruell kinde of Serpent not past foure foote long and as thicke as a mans arme out of whose sides growe winges much like vnto gristles Gesner also saith that in the yeere of our Lord 1543. there came many Serpents both with wings and legs into the parts of Germany neere Stiria who did bite wound many men incurably Cardan also describeth certaine serpents with wings which hee saw at Parris whose dead bodies were in the hands of Gulielmus Musicus hee saith that they had two legges and small winges so that they could scarce flie the head was little and like to the head of a Serpent their colour bright and without haire or feathers the quantitie of that which was greatest did not exceede the bignes of a Cony and it is saide they vvere brought out of India Besides a further confirmation of these beastes there haue beene noted in all ages for it is written in the Romaine Chronicles the times of their apparision and manifestation When the Riuer of Tiber ouer-flowed aboue the bankes then were many Serpents discouered and many Dragons as in the time of Mauritius the Emperour at what time a dragon came along by the Citty of Rome vpon the waters in the sight of all men and so passed to the Sea after which prodigie there followed a great mortall pestilence In the yeere 1499. the twenty sixe day of May there came a dragon to the Citty of Lucerne which came out of the Lake through Rusa downe along the Riuer many people of all sorts beholding the same There haue beene also Dragons many times seene in Germanie flying in the ayre at mid-day and signifying great and fearefull fiers to follow as it happened neere to the Cittie called Niderburge neere to the shore of the Rhyne in a maruailous cleere sun-shine day there came a dragon three times successiuely together in one day did hang in the ayre ouer a Towne called Sanctogoarin and shaking his tayle ouer that Towne euery time it appeared visibly in the sight of many of the inhabitants and afterwards it came to passe that the said towne was three times burned with fire to the great harme and vndooing of all the people dwelling in the same for they were not able to make any resistance to quench the fire with all the might Art and power that they could raise And it was further obserued that about that time there were many dragons seene washing themselues in a certaine Fountaine or Well neere the towne and if any of the people did by chaunce drinke of the water of that Well theyr bellyes did instantly begin to swell and they died as if they had beene poysoned Where-vpon it was publiquely decreed that the said well should be filled vp with stones to the intent that neuer any man should afterwards be poisoned with that water and so a memory thereof was continued and these thinges are written by Iustinus Goblerus in an Epistle to Gesner affirming that hee did not write fayned things but such things as were true and as he had learned from men of great honestly and credite whose eyes did see and behold both the dragons and the mishaps that followed by fire When the body of Cleomines was crucified and hung vpon the Crosse it is reported by them that were the watch-men about it that there came a dragon and did wind it selfe about his body and with his head couered the face of the dead King oftentimes licking the same and not suffering any bird to come neere and touch the carkasse For vvhich cause there began to be a reuerent opinion of diuinitie attributed to the King vntill such time as wise and prudent men studious of the truth found out the true cause hereof For they say that as Bees are generated out of the body of Oxen and Drones of horses and Hornets of Asses so doe the bodyes of men ingender out of their marrow a Serpent and for this cause the Auncients were moued to consecrate the dragon to noble-spirited men and therefore there was a monument kept of the first Affricanus because that vnder an Oliue planted with his owne hand a dragon was said to preserue his ghost But I will not mingle fables and truth together and therefore I will reserue the morrall discourse of this beast vnto another place and this which I haue written may be sufficient to satisfie
rumors of perrill vnto guiltie consciences such as all wee mortall men beare are many times as forcible as the sentence of a Iudge to the hart of the condemned prisoner and therefore it vvere happy that either we could not feare except when the causes are certaine or else that wee might neuer perrish but vpon premonition And therefore I conclude with the example of this man that it is not good to holde a superstitious feare least God see it and beeing angry there-with bring vppon vs the euill which wee feare But this is not the end of the story for that fire-drake as by the sequell appeareth prooued as euill to the seruaunts as he did to the Maister These two sonnes of the deuill made thus rich by the death of their Maister foorth-with they sayled towards the Coasts of Fraunce but first of all they broke the Chayre in peeces and wrapped it vppe in one of theyr Nettes making account that it was the best fish that euer was taken in that Net and so they layde it in one end of theyr Barcke or fisher-boate And thus they laboured all that night and the next day till three or foure of the clocke at what time they espied a Port of Brittaine whereof they were exceeding gladde by reason that they were wearie hungry and thirstie with long labour alvvaies rich in their owne conceit by the gold which they had gotten which had so drawne their harts from God as they could not feare any thought of his iudgement And finallie it so blinded theyr eyes and stopped theyr eares that they did not see the vengeance that followed them nor heare the cry of theyr Maisters-blood Wherefore as they were thus reioycing at the sight of Land behold they suddainely espyed a Man-of-Warre comming towards them whereat they were appalled and beganne to thinke with themselues that theyr rich hopes were now at an end and they had laboured for other but yet resolued to die rather then to suffer the bootie to be taken from them And while they thus thought the Man-of-Warre approched and hailed them summoning them to come in and shew what they were they refused making forward as fast to the Land as they could Wherefore the Man-of-warre shot certaine Muskets at them and not preuailing nor they yeelding sent after them his Long-boate vppon the enterance whereof they fought manfully against the assaylants vntill one of them vvas slaine and the other mortallie wounded who seeing his fellow kild himselfe not like lie to liue yet in enuy against his enemy ranne presently to the place where the Chayre lay in the Nette and lyfting the same vp with all his might cast it from him into the Sea instantly falling downe after that fact as one not able through weakenesse to stand any longer wherevppon he was taken and before his life left him hee related the whole storie to them that tooke him earnestly desiring thē to signifie so much into England which they did accordingly and as I haue heard the whole story was printed so this second History of the punishment of murder I haue related in this place by occasion of the fire-drake in the history of the Dragon A second cause why poyson is supposed to be in Dragons is for that they often feede vppon many venomous rootes and therfore theyr poyson sticketh in theyr teeth where-vppon many times the partie bytten by them seemeth to be poysoned but this falleth out accidentally not from the nature of the dragon but from the nature of the meate which the dragon eateth And this is it which Homer knewe and affirmed in his verses when hee described a dragon making his denne neere vnto the place where many venomous rootes and herbes grew and by eating whereof hee greatly annoyeth man-kinde when hee byteth them Os de Drokoon espi Xein oresteros andra menesi Bebrocos kaka pharmaka Which may be thus englished And the dragon which by men remaines Eates euill herbes without deadly paines And therefore Elianus saith well that when the dragon meaneth to doe most harme to men he eateth deadly poysonfull herbes so that if he bite after them many not knowing the cause of the poyson and seeing or feeling venome by it doe attribute that to his nature which doth proceede from his meate Besides his teeth which bite deepe he also killeth with his tayle for bee will so be-girt and pinch in the body that hee doth gripe it to death and also the strokes of it are so strong that either they kill thereby foorth-with or else wound greatly with the same so that the strokes of his tayle are more deadly then the byting of his teeth which caused Nicander to write thus Nec tamen ille graues vt caetera turba doloris Si velit infixo cum forte momorderit ore Suscitat exiguus non noxia vulner a punctus Qui ceu rodentes noctu quaeque obvia muris In fligit modicum tenui dat plaga cruorem Which may be thus englished Nor yet he when with his angry mouth Doth byte such paines and torments bringeth As other Serpents if Auncients tell the truth When with his teeth and speare he stingeth For as the holes which byting-myse doe leaue When in the night they light vpon a prey So small are Dragons-byts which men receiue And harmelesse wound makes blood to runne away Their mouth is small and by reason thereof they cannot open it wide to byte deepe so as their byting maketh no great paine and those kind of dragons which do principallie fight with Eagles are defended more with their tayles then with their teeth but yet there are some other kind of dragons whose teeth are like the teeth of Beares byting deepe and opening theyr mouth wide where-withall they breake bones and make many bruses in the body and the males of this kinde byte deeper then the famales yet there followeth no great paine vpon the wound The cure hereof is like to the cure for the byting of any other beast wherin there is no venome and for this cause there must be nothing applyed there-vnto which cureth venomous bytings but rather such things as are ordinary in the cure of euery Vlcer The seede of grasse commonly called Hay-dust is prescribed against the byting of dragons The Barble beeing rubbed vppon the place where a Scorpion of the earth a Spyder a Sea or Land-dragon byteth doth perfectly cure the same Also the heade of a dogge or dragon which hath bytten any one beeing cutte off and fleyed and applyed to the wound with a little Euphorbium is said to cure the wound speedily And if Albedisimon be the same that is a dragon then according to the opinion of Auicen the cure of it must be very present as in the cure of Vlcers And if Alhatraf Haudem be of the kind of dragons then after theyr byting there followeth great coldnes and stupiditie and the cure thereof must be the same meanes which is obserued in colde poysons For
them to be the same which Hesychius called Sauritae and Pliny by a kind of excellency Snakes of whom we shall speake afterwards for I haue no more to say of theÌ„ at this present but that they are very venomous And it may be that of these came the common prouerbe Latet Anguis sub herba vnder the greene herbe lyeth the Greene-Snake for it is a friendly admonition vnto vs to beware of a falshoode couered vvith a truth like vnto it OF THE HAEMORRHE THis Serpent hath such a name giuen vnto it as the effect of his byting worketh in the bodies of men for it is called in Latine Hâ—morrhous to signifie vnto vs the male and Haemorrhois to signifie the female both of them being deriued from the Greeke word Aima which signifieth blood and Reo which signifieth to flow because whomsoeuer it byteth it maketh in a continuall bleeding sweat with extremitie of paine vntill it die It is also called Affodius and Afudius Sabrine and Halsordius or Alsordius which are but corrupted barbarous names from the true and first word Haemorrhus It is doubtfull whether this be to be ascribed to the Aspes or to the Vipers for Isidorus saith it is a kind of Aspe and Elianus a kind of Viper They are of a sandy colour and in length not past one foote or three handfulls whose tayle is very sharpe or small theyr eyes are of a fiery-flaming-colour their head small but hath vppon it the appearance of hornes When they goe they goe straight and slowly as it were halting and wearilie whose pace is thus described by Nicander Et inster Ipsius oblique suaparvula terga Cerasta Claudicat ex medio videas appellere dorso Parvùm nauigium terit imam lubrica terram Alvus et haud alio tacitè trahit ilia motu Ac per arundineum si transeat illa grabatum In English thus And like the Horned-serpent so trayles this elfe on land As though on backe a little boate it draue His slyding belly makes path be seene in sand As when by bedde of Reedes she goes her life to saue The scales of this Serpent are rough sharpe for which cause they make a noyse wheÌ„ they goe on the earth the female resteth herselfe vppon her lower part neere her tayle creeping altogether vppon her belly and neuer holdeth vp her head but the male when he goeth holdeth vp his head theyr bodies are all set ouer with blacke spots and themselues are thus paraphrastically described by Nicander Vnum longa pedem totoque gracillima tractu Ignea qundoque est quandoque est candida forma Constrictumque satis collum et tenuissima cauda Bina super gelidos oculos frons cornua profert Splendentum quadam radiorum albentia luce Syluestres vt apes populatricesque Locuste Insuper horribile ac asprum caput horret Which may be englished in this manner following On foote in length and slender all along Sometime of fiery hue sometime milke-white it is The necke bound in and tayle most thinne and strong Whose fore-head hath two hornes aboue cold eyes Which in theyr light resemble shining beames Like Bees full wilde or Locusts spoylers bredde But yet to looke vpon all horrible in seames For why the cruell Bore they shew in head They keepe in Rocks and stony places of the houses and earth making theyr deunes winding and hanging according to these verses Rimosas colit illa Petras sibique aspera recta Et modice pendens facit inflexumque cubile In English thus The chincks of Rocks and passages in stone They dwell wherein their lodgings bare A little hanging made for euery one And bending too theyr sleepie harbours are It is said that Canobus the Gouernour of Menelaus chaunced to fall vpon this Serpent in reuenge whereof Helen his charge the wife of Menelaus broke his backe-bone and that euer since that time they creepe lamely and as it were without loynes which fable is excellentlie thus described by Nicander Quondam animosa Helene cigni Iovis inclyta proles Euersa rediens Troia nisi vana vetustas Huic indignata est generi Pharias vt ad oras Venit aduersi declinans flamina venti Fluctiuagam statuit iuxta Nili ostia classem Namque vbi nauclerus sefessum fortè Canobus Sterneret et bibulisfusus dormiret arenis Laesa venenosos Haemorrhois impulitictus Illatamque tulit letali dente quietem Protinus ouipera cernens id filia Ledâ— Oppressae medium serpenti feruida dorsum Infregit tritaeque excussit vinculae spinae Quae fragili illius sic dempta è corpore fugit Et graciles Haemorrhoi obliquique Cerastae Ex hoc clauda trahunt iam soli tempore membra Which may be englished thus Once noble Helen Ioues child by Swan-like shape Returning backe from Troy destroyed by Graecian warre If that our Auncients doe not with fables vs be-clappe This race was enuyed by Pharias anger farre When to his shores for safety they did come Declyning rage of blustering windy Seas Water-byding-Nauy at Nilus mouth gan runne Where Canobus all tyred faynted for some ease For there this Pilot or Maister of the Fleete Did hast from boate to sleepe in drery sand Where he did feele the teeth of Hemorrhe deepe Wounding his body with poyson deaths owne hand But when egge-breeding Ledaes wench espyed This harme she prest the Serpents backe with stroke Whereby the bands thereof were all vntyed Which in iust wrath for iust reuenge she broke So euer-since out of this Serpents frame And body they are taken which is the cause That Cerasts and leane Haemorrhs are euer lame Drawing their parts on earth by natures lawes They which are stunge with there Haemorrhs do suffer very intollerable torments for out of the wound continually floweth blood and the excrements also that commeth out of the belly are bloody or sometimes little roules of blood in steed of excrements The colour of the place bitten is black or of a dead bloody colour out of which nothing floweth at the beginning but a certaine watery humour then followeth paine in the stomack and difficultie of breathing Lastly the powers of the body are broken opened so that out of the mouth gumbs eares eyes fingers-ends nayles of the feete and priuie parts continually issueth blood vntill a crampe also come then followeth death as we reade in Lucan of one Tellus a young noble man slaine by this Serpent described as followeth Impressit dentes Haemorrhois aspera Tullo Magnanimo iuveni miratorique Catonis Vtque solet pariter totis se effundere signis Coricij pressura croci sic omnia membra Emisêre simul rutilum pro sanguine virus Sanguis erant lachrimae quaecunque for amina novit Humor ab ijs largus manat cruor or a redundant Et patulaenares sudor rubet omnia plenis Membra fluunt venis totum est pro vulnere corpus In English thus The Haemorrhe fierce in noble Tullus fastened teeth That valiant youth great Catoes scholler deere
will be found to be much the worse Beeing mooued to anger it standeth vpon the hinder legges and looketh directlie in the face of him that hath stirred it and so continueth till all the body be white through a kind of white humour or poyson that it swelleth outward to harme if it were possible the person that did prouoke it And by this is their venomous nature obserued to be like the Salamander although theyr continuall abode in the water maketh their poyson the more weake Some say that if in Fraunce a hogge doe eate one of these hee dyeth thereof and yet doth more safely eate the Salamander But in England it is otherwise for I haue seene a hogge without all harme carry in his mouth a Newte afterward eate it There be some Apothecaries which doe vse this Newte in steed of Scinks or Crocodiles of the earth but they are deceiued in the vertues and operation and do also deceiue other for there is not in it any such wholesome properties and therefore not to be applyed without singuler danger And thus much may suffice to be said for this little Serpent or water-creeping creature OF THE PELIAS AEtius making mention of the Elaps and Pelias two kinds of Serpents dooth ioyntly speake of them in this sort saying that the signes of these 〈…〉 common and vulgarly knowne that 〈…〉 among the auncient writers But thâ— Pehas byting 〈…〉 about the wound or bytten place but yet not very dangerous and it bringeth obfuscation or dimnesse to the eyes by reason that as the poyson is vâ—â—ersally distributed ouer all the body so it hath most power ouer the tenderest part namely the eyes It is cured by a Ptisane with oyle in drinke and a decoction of such Docks as grow in ditches and other simple medicines such as are applyed to the curing of the yellow-Iaundise The eyes must be washed with the vrine of a child or young man which neuer knew any woman â—…lly and this may be applyed eyther simply and alone or else by bryne and pickle so also must the head After that the body is purged annoynt it with Balsamum and Hony and take an eye-salue to sharpen againe and recouer the sight and for this cause it is very good to weepe for by euacuation of teares the venom also will be expelled But if the eyes grow to paine then let their eyesâ—lue be made more temperate and gentle to keepe the head and braine from stupefaction And thus much for the Pelias out of Aetius OF THE PORPHYRE THere is among the Indians a Serpent about the bignes of a spanne or more which in outward aspect is like to the most beautifull and well coloured purple the head hereof is exceeding white and it wanteth teeth This Serpent is sought for in the highest Mountaines for out of him they take the Sardius stone And although he cannot byte because hee wanteth teeth yet in his rage when he is persecuted he casteth foorth a certaine poyson by vomit which causeth putrefaction where euer it lighteth But if it be taken aliue and be hanged vp by the tayle it rendereth a double one whiles it is aliue the other when it is dead both of them blacke in colour but the first resembleth blacke Amber And if a man take but so much of the first blacke venome as is the quantitie of a Sesamyne seede it killeth him presently making his braines to fall out at his nostrills but the other worketh neither so speedily nor after the same manner for it casteth one into a consumption and killeth within the compasse of a yere But I find Aelianus Volateran and Textor to differ from this relation of Ctesias for they say that the first poyson is like to the drops of Almond-trees which are congealed into a gumme and the other which commeth from it when hee is dead is like to thin mattery water Vnto this Porphyre I may adde the Palmer-serpent which Strabo wryteth doth kill with an vnrecouerable poyson it is also of a Scarlet colour to the loynes or hinder parts OF THE PRESTER ALthough there be many Writers which confound together the Prester and the Dipsas and make of them but one kind or Serpent of diuers names yet seeing on the contrary there be as many or more which doe distinguish or deuide them and make them two in nature different one from another the Dipsas killing by thirst and the Prester by heate as theyr very names doe signifie therefore I will also trace the steppes of this latter opinion as of that which is more probable and consonant to truth The Graecians call it Praester of Prethein which signifieth to burne or inflame Tremellius and Iunius thinke that the Serpents called fiery Serpents which did sting the Israelites in the wildernesse were Presters We find in Suidas Praester for the fire of heauen or for a cloude of fire carried about with a vehement strong wind and sometimes lightenings And it seemeth that this is indeede a fiery kind of Serpent for he himselfe alwayes goeth about with open mouth panting and breathing as the Poet writeth Oraque distendens auidus fumantia Praester Inficit vt laesus tumida membra gerat Which may be englished thus The greedy Presters wide-open foming mouth Infects and swelleth making the members by heate vncouth When this Serpent hath strooke or wounded there followeth an immeasurable swelling distration conuersion of the blood to matter and corrupt inflamation taking away freedome or easines of aspiration likewise dimming the sight or making the hayre to fall off from the head at last suffocation as it were by fire which is thus described by Mantuan vpon the person of one Narsidius saying as followeth Ecce subit facies leto diuersa fluenti Narsidium Marsi cultorem torridus agri Percussit prester illi rubor igneus ora Succendit tenditque cutem pereunte figura Miscens cuncta tumor toto iam corpore maior Humanumque egressa modum super omnia membra Efflatur Sanies latè tollente veneno Ipse late penitus congesto corpore mersus Nec lorica tenet distenti corporis auctum Spumeus accenso non sic exundat aheno Vndarum cumulus nec tanto carbasa Corâ— Curuauere sinus tumidâ—s iam non capit artus Informis globus confuso pondere truncus Intactum volucrum rostris epulasque daturum Haud impunè feris non ausi tradere busto Nondum stante modo crescens fugere cadauer Which may be englished thus Loe suddenly a diuers fate the ioyfull current stayed Narsidius which Marsinus mirror did adore By burning sting of scorching Prester dead was tayeâ— For fierie colour his face enflam'd not as before The first appearing visage fayld all was out-stretcht Swelling couer'd all and bodyes grossenes doubled Surpassing humane bounds and members all ore reacht Aspyring venom spreads matter blowne in carkasse troubled The man lyeth drownd within swolne bodies bankes No girdle can his monstrous growth contayne Not so are waters swolne
or 4. cubits long hauing a rounder belly then an Eele but a head like a Conger the vpper chap is longer and standeth out further then the neather chap the teeth grovv therein as they doe in Lampreys but they are not so thicke and it hath two small finnes neere the gills like an Eele The colour of it is yellow but the beake and belly is of Ash-colour the eyes yellow and in all the inward parts it doth not differ from a Lamprey and there is no man of any vnderstanding as writeth Rondeletius but at the very first sight will iudge the same to be a Serpent although the flesh thereof be no more harmefull then the Conger or Lamprey yet for similitude with other Serpents I could not chuse but expresse the same in this place There be also in the Sueuian-Ocean or Balthicke-sea Serpents of thirty or forty foote in length whose picture is thus described as it was taken by Olaus Magnus and hee further writeth that these doe neuer harme any man vntill they be prouoked The same Authour also expresseth likewise the figure of another Serpent of a hundred and twenty foote long appearing now and then vpon the coasts of Norway very dangerous and hurtfull to the Sea-men in calmes and still weather for they lift vp themselues aboue the hatches and suddainely catch a man in their mouthes and so draw him into the Sea out of the Shippe and many times they ouer-throw in the waters a laden vessell of great quantitie with all the wares therein contained And sometimes also they sette vp such a Spire aboue the water that a boate or little Barke without sayles may passe thorow the same And thus much for the Sea-Serpents OF THE SEPS OR SEPEDON ALthough I am not ignorant that there be some which make two kindes of these Serpents because of the two names rehearsed in the title yet when they haue laboured to describe them seuerally they can bring nothing or very little wherein their story doth not agree so as to make twaine of them or to handle them asunder were but to take occasion to tautologize or to speake one thing twice Wherefore Gesner wisely pondering both parts and after him Carronus deliuer their opinions that both these names doe shew but one Serpent yet according to theyr manner they expresse them as if they were two For all their writings doe but minister occasion to the Readers to collect the truth out of their labours wherefore I will follow their opinion and not their example Sepedon and Seps commeth of Sepein because it rotteth the body that it byteth in colour it neerely resembleth the Haemorrhe yet it vsually goeth by spyres and halfe-hoopes for which cause as it goeth the quantitie cannot be well discerned the pace of it beeing much swifter then the Haemorrhe The wound that it giueth is smarting entering deepe and bringing putrefaction for by an inexplicable celeritie the poyson passeth ouer all the body the hayre rotteth and falleth from all parts darknes and dimnesse is in the eyes spots vpon the body like as if a man had beene burned in the sunne And this Serpent is thus described vnto vs by Nicander Iam quae Sepedonis species sit qualeque corpus Accipe diuersa tractum ratione figurat Quin etiam mutilae nulla insunt cornua fronti Et color hir suti qualem est spect are tapetis Grande caput breuior dum currit cauda videtur Quam tamen obliquo maiorem tramite ducit Quod fit ab hoc vulnus magnos nocuosque dolores Excitat interimens quia fundit ipse venenum Quo sata marcentes tabes depascitur artus Indeque siccata resolutus pelle capillus Spargitur volitans candentis pappus achantae Praeterea foedum turpi vitiligine corpus Et veluti vrenti maculas á sole videre est Which may be englished thus Sepedons shape now take and what his forme of body is It doth not goe as Haemorrhe doth but trayleth diuersly His powled head of Haemorrhs hornes full happily doth misse And colours are as manifold as works of Tapestry Great is his head but running seemes the tayle but small Which winding it in greater path drawes after to and fro But where it wounds by paines and torments great it doth appall Killing the wounded infusing poyson so Whereby consumed are the leane and slender sinewes And dryed skinne lets hayre fall off apace Like as the windes driue whites from top of thistle Cardus Besides the body filth as with sunne parched looseth grace Thus doth Nicander describe the Sepedon now also we wil likewise relate that which another Poet saith of the Seps that both compared together may appeare but one therefore thus writeth Lucan vpon occasion of one Sabellus wounded by this Serpent Miserique in crure Sabelli Seps stetit exiguus quem flexo dente tenacem Auulsitque manu piloque affixit arenis Parua modò serpens sed qua non vlla cruentae Tantum mortis habet nam plagae proxima circum Fugit rapta cutis pallentiaque ossa retexit Iamque sinu laxo nudum est sine corpore vulnus Membra natant sanie surae fluxere sine vllo Tegmine poples erat femorum quoque musculus omnis Liquitur nigra distillant inguina tabe Dissiluit stringens vterum membrana fluuntque Viscera nec quantum toto de corpore debet Effluit in terras saeuum sed membra venenum Decoquit in minimum mors contrahit omnia virus Vincula neruorum laterum textura cauumque Pectus abstrusum fibris vitalibus omne Quicquid homo est aperit pestis natura profana Morte patet manant humeri fortesque lacerti Colla caput fluunt calido non ocyus Austro Nix resoluta cadit nec solem cera sequetur Parua loquor corpus sanie stillasse perustum Hoc flamma potest sed quis rogus abstulit ossa Haec quoque discedunt putresque secuta medullas Nulla manere sinunt rapidi vestigia fati Cynphias inter pestes tibi palma nocendi est Eripiunt omnes animam tu sola cadauer Mole breuis seps peste ingens nec viscera solum Sed simul ossa vorans tabificus Seps Which is to be englished thus On wretched Sabells legge a little Seps hung fast Which with his hand from hold of teeth he pluckt away From wounded place and on a pyle the Serpent all agast He staked in sands to him ô wofull wretched day To kill this Serpent is but small yet none more power hath For after wound falls off the skinne and bones appeare full bare As in an open bosome the hart whole body gnaweth Then all his members swamme in filth corruption did prepare To make his shankes fall off vncouered were knee bones And euery muscle of his thigh resolued no more did hold His secrets blacke to looke vpon distilled all consumptions The rym of belly brake out fierce which bowels did infold Out fell his guts on earth and
time do grow from the bignesse of a little Pease to a very great bulk and thicknesse There are also found in all places of this Countrey Long-legged-Spyders who make a very homely and disorderly Web. This kind of Spyder liueth altogether in the fields her body is almost of a round figure and somewhat brownish in colour liuing in the grasse and delighting in the company of Sheepe and for this cause I take it that we Englishmen do call her a Shepheard either for that she keepeth and loueth to be among their flockes or because that Shepheards haue thought those grounds and feedings to bee very holesome wherein they are most found and that no venomous or hurtfull creature abideth in those fields where they be And herein their iudgment is to be liked for they are indeed altogether vnhurtfull whether inwardly taken or otherwise outwardly applyed and therefore because I am tyed within a Teather and thereby restrained from all affectionate discoursing or dilating vnlesse of poysonous and harmefull Creatures I will come into my path againe and tell you of another certaine blacke Spyder that hath very short feete carrying about with her an Egge as white as Snow vnder her belly and running very swiftly the Egge being broken many Spyders creepe forth which goe forth with their damme to seeke their liuing altogether and climing vpon her back when night approcheth there they rest and so they lodge In rotten and hollow trees there are also to be found exceeding blacke Spyders hauing great bodies short feet and keeping together with Cheese-lips or those creeping vermine with many feet called of some Sowes We haue seene also saith the learned Gesner Spyders that were white all ouer of a round compact and well knit body somewhat broad liuing in the flowers of Mountaine Parsely amongst Roses in the greene grasse their Egges were little slender and very long their mouth speckled and both their sides were marked with a red line running all alongest He tooke them to bee very venomous because hee saw a Marmoset or Monky to eate of them and by eating thereof hardly to escape with life yet at length it did well againe and was freed from further daunger onely by pouring downe a great deale of Oyle into his throat I my selfe haue also seene some Spyders with very long bodies and sharp tailes of a blackish or darke red colour I haue noted other-some againe to be all ouer the body greene-coloured I will not deny but that there are many other sorts of Spyders and of many moe different colours but I neuer reade or yet euer saw them Neque enim nostra fert omnia tellus The ages ensuing peraduenture will find more I will onely put you in remembrance of this one thing worthy to be obserued that all weauing and Net-making Spyders according as they grow in yeares so do they acquire more knowledge and attaine to greater cunning and experience in their spinning trade but carrying a resolute and ready will to keepe both time and measure with that Musicke which best contents most eares I will now passe to speake of the propagation and vse of Spyders and so I will close vp this discourse The propagation of Spyders for the most part is by coupling together the desire and action whereof continueth almost the whole Spring time for at that time by a mutuall and often drawing and easie pulling of their Web they do as it were woe one another then approch they nearer together and lastly are ioyned with their hippes one agaynst another backwards as Camels do for that is the most fit for them iu regard of the round proportion and figure of their bodies In like sort do the Phalangies ioyne together and are generated by those of the same kinde as Aristotle saith But the Phalangies couple not in the Spring-season as the other Spyders doe but towardes Winter at what time they are very swift quicke nimble and of most certaine hurt more dangerous more venomous in their bytinges Some of them after their coupling together doe lay one Egge onely carrying it vnder their belly it is in colour as white as Snow and both Male and Female sit vpon it by turnes Some Spyders do exclude many little Egges very like vnto the seedes of Poppy out of which it hath beene obserued that sometimes there haue beene hatched three hundereth Spyders at one time which after their vaine and idle plying and sporting together in their Webbe at length come foorth with their Damme and towardes euening they all trudge home vntill each one hath learned and perfectly attained to the skill to spinne his owne webbe that therein he may spend the residue of his dayes in more pleasure ease and security They make exclusion of their young breede in hopping or skipping-vvise they sitte on their egges for three dayes space together and in a months space their young ones come to perfection The domesticall or House-Spyder layeth her egges in a thinne webbe and the wilde-Spyder in a thicker and stronger because they are more exposed to the iniuries of winds and lie more open to the rage of and fury of stormes and showers The place and country where they are helpeth much and is very auaileable to their generation There is no country almost but there be many Spyders in it For in the country about Arrha which is in Arabia foelix there is an infinite number of them to be found and all the Iland of Candie swarmeth with Palangies Strabo saith that in Ethiopia there be great number of Phalangies found of an exceeding bignes although as Pliny saith in his eight booke and 58. chapter there are neither Wolfes Foxes Beares nor no hurtful creature in it and yet wee all know that in the I le of Wight a member of England the contrary is to be found for although there were neuer dwelling in it Foxes Beares nor Wolfes yet there be Spyders ynow The Kingdome of Ireland neuer saw Spyders and in England no Phalangies will liue long nor yet in the I le of Man neere vnto the Citty of Grenoble in that part of France which lyeth next Italy Gaudentius Merula saith there is an old Tower or Castle standing wherein as yet neuer any Spyder hath beene seene nor yet any other venomous creeping creature but rather if any be brought thether from some other place they forth-with die Our Spyders in England are not so venomous as in other parts of the world and I haue seene a madde man eate many of them without eyther death or deaths harme or any other manifest accident or alteration to ensue And although I will not denie but that many of our Spyders beeing swallowed downe may doe much hurt yet notwithstanding we cannot chuse but confesse that their byting is poysonlesse as being without venome procuring not the least touch of hurt at all to any one whatsoeuer and on the contrarie the byting of a Phalangie is deadly We see the harmelesse Spyders almost