*6 T O A t). Class III. 



Toad that under the cold ftone, 

 Days and nights has, thirty-one, 

 Svvelter'd venom fleeping got, 

 Boil thou, firfi i'th' charmed pot. 



We know by the poet that this charm was in- 

 tended for a defign of the firft confideration, that 

 of raifing the dead from their repofe, and bringing 

 before the eyes of Macbeth a hateful fecond-fight 

 of the profperity of Banquets line. 



This fhews the mighty powers attributed to this 

 animal by the dealers in the magic art; but the 

 powers our poet indues it with, are far fuperior 

 to thofe that Gefner afcribes to it : Shake/pear's 

 witches ufed it to difturb the dead •, Gefner's^ only 

 to dill the living, Ut vim coeundi mfallor, in viris 

 toller ent *. 

 Toad- We may add here another fuperftition in refpect. 



to this animal : it was believed by fome old writers 

 to have a ftone in its head, fraught with great 

 virtues medical and magical: it was diftinguifhed 

 by the name of the Reptile, and called the Toad- 

 Stone, Bufonites, Crapaudine, Krottenftein f ; but all 

 its fancied powers vanifhed on the difcovery of its 

 being nothing but the foflil tooth of the fea-wolf, 

 or of fome flat-toothed fifh, not unfrequent in our 

 ifland, as well as feveral other countries \ but we 

 may well excufe this tale, fince Shake/pear has ex- 

 traded from it a fimile of uncommon beauty : 



* Hiji. quad, o-vip. J 2, 



f Boet. de Boot, de Lap, et Gem, 301. 303. 



Sweet 



STONE, 



