THE POISON OF THE MURRY 



as a function that is actually realized, we must have 

 the special case of the murry, more effectively armed 

 than the others, equipped with larger teeth, and so 

 capable of making use of a power which all possess 

 to a greater or less degree. 



This poisonous quality in the animals which it 

 characterizes creates a most alarming impression 

 because of its violence. On land, the sting of a 

 wasp, the bite of a viper, surprise by their suddenness, 

 by the intensity of their effects. We are astounded 

 by the vigorous, tragic action of those few tiny drops 

 of liquid which are introduced into a wound. We 



Fig. 27. — Skull of a Pit Viper, a poisonous snake, showing the large 

 upper teeth which act as poisonous fangs. 



give special attention to the organ which causes the 

 wound, the sting or the tooth; we are on our guard 

 against it, and rightly so. We think less of the poison 

 itself and of the organs in which it is prepared. Yet 

 theirs is the principal part, and biology spends its 

 efforts upon the study of them. It discovers the same 

 principles everywhere. If, at one and the same time, 

 the poisonous creature possesses the toxic quality and 

 the means of inoculation, this property is not restricted 

 to the organ; it exists elsewhere, but not in use, since 

 the inoculating organ is lacking. 



We often see things in their relation to ourselves 

 alone, and we consider Nature through eyes which 

 have, so to speak, preconceived ideas, according to 

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