O F S E R P E N T S. 193 



fent of which was made to King Francisj as a great Rarity of 

 the Kind. 



JEROM Cy-JR DAN informs us of fotne winged Dragons 

 he had feen at Paris, fo nicely preferved, that they very much 

 refembled the Living j they were defcribed with two Feet, weak 

 Wings, a ferpentine Head, and oftheBignefs of a Rabbit. 



Why was the Deliverance of i/r^?^/ by a Machine made in 

 the Form of a Serpent t Perhaps, thefe ferpentine Strokes might 

 be intended as Emblems, or Memento's of the fatal Wound in 

 Paradife, where Man's Nature was iirft poifoned by the DeviJ, 

 who made ufe of a real Serpent to feduce our firfl Parents. 



What is moral Evil but the Venom of the old Serpent? A 

 Venom rs pleafant to the Tafle, as the forbidden Fruit to the 

 Eye, but the End is Bitternefs. And what are Incentives to Sin, 

 but delufive Infinuations of the fubtle Serpent? And what is En- 

 joyment, but a pleafmg Illufion, which is no fooner grafp'd, but 

 glides away as a Shadow, leaving b<rhind it a wounded Confci- 

 ence, direful Apprehenfions and Profpeds. 



And what are all fcnfual Entertainments but fo many hot 

 Gleams that portend the Approach of warring Winds and Storms ? 

 The Powers of Darknefs that excel in Science, know how to 

 regale the l:uman Mind with pleafant Scenes, and how to diverc 

 the Senfes with delightful Charms; Charms that have noExiflence 

 but in a deluded Imagination. 



The Cure by a brazen Serpent, might alfo be to fhew, that 

 the Almighty in relieving diftrelTed Supplicants, is not tied to any 

 particular Medium. WIkmi the Ifraelites were poifon'd by real 

 Serpents, he heals them by the Image of a Serpent. When he 

 would deflroy Golicih the Tyrant, he does it by a Sling in the 

 Hands of David a Youth, a very unlikely Perfon to elKountjsr a 

 Champion. 



Thus Cod by the Figure of a Serpent mortifies the Pride 

 of Lucifer J the old Serpent, by which he acquir'd greater Ho- 

 nour, than If he had facriiiced to the Fire all the Serpents in the 

 V/ildernefs. 



This may further intimate, that Providence may employ the 

 fame Kind of Inftruments, either for the Difplay of Mcr«.y ur 

 Juftice upon Mankind. He who heals and wounds by the Me- 

 diation oi Serpents, can turn Bleilings into a Curfe, or enable us 

 to extract Sweetnefs out of the bitter Cup. 



C c SECT. 



