76 A NATURAL HISTORY 



Den, from whence the Dragon leaped furioufly at him : In the 

 Encounter, the Dogs laid hold on his Belly, and forced him to lie 

 down; upon- which the valiant Knight alighted, thruft his great 

 Sword feveral times into his Throat, and foon killed him : Upon 

 which the Spectators drew near, and with great difBculty fever'd 

 the Head from the Body, and lugged it into the Town in Tri- 

 umph. 



The Conqueror was degraded for the fake of Form, becaufe 

 he had violated the Grand-Mafter's Order ; but was immediately 

 reftored, and foon after was eleded Grand-Mafter himfelf 3 he 

 died in the Year 1335, and on his Tomb were engraven thefe 

 Words, Dracofiis ExtinSlor ; 77?^ Dejiroyer of the Dragon. 



I N the Life of Attilius Regains (the Roman General in the War 

 againft the Carthaginians) is defcribed a Dragon of prodigious 

 Bulk near the River Bagrada^ that annoyed all the Country round, 

 without Remedy. Several Devices were formed to deftroy it, but 

 without effedl, till the Military Po^^' was called in, who difcharged 

 the Engines of War againft it with Succefs : And fo great was this 

 Deliverance, that an Ovation, or a fmall Triumph, was publickly 

 made at Rome for the Victory. 



XI. Th e Pythian Dragon, fo called from its being the Guar- 

 dian of the Delphick Oracle : Its Eyes are large and fharp, and 

 the Body painted with Variety of Colours, as red, yellow, green 

 and blue, andfurniflied with Scales that are refplendent, well com- 

 pad:ed and hard. It has been called Deucalionc^eus, becaufe in the 

 Language of Ignorance, it was produced from the Mud left by the 

 DeucaUonian Deluge: a Serpent of prodigious Bulk^. 



PT'THON is alfo taken for a prophetic Demon, by St. 

 Luke t. — u^s 'we went to Prayer^ a certain Damfel pofefi with a 

 spirit of Divination^ (having the Spirit of P)'//^c, according to the 

 Greek) which brought her Majlers much Gain by Socth faying, that 

 is, by PredidHons, telling of Fortunes. Python of the Greeks is 

 luppoled the Syphon of the Phoenicians, and the phivnician Ty- 

 phon to be Ogg King of Bajhan, and Apollo that ilew it, to be 

 Jojhua. Apollo is called Pythius from this Serpent, or from fome 

 notorious Tyrant of that Name, flain by him, as the antient Geo- 

 grapher 



