142 DIRECT INJURIESCAUSED BY INSECTS. 



by his artist running on the corpus callosum of the 

 brain of a patient in the military hospital at Stras- 

 bourg, which had been opened but a minute before 

 and the two hemispheres and the pia mater just sepa- 

 rated. He adds that this is not the first time that in- 

 sects have been found in the brain. Cornelius Gemma, 

 in his Cosmorritica^ p. 541, says that on dissecting the 

 brain of a woman there were found in it abundance of 

 vermicles and piinaises'^. 



It was customary in many countries in ancient times 

 to punish certain malefactors by exposing them to be 

 devoured by wild beasts : but to expose them to insects 

 for the same purpose was a refinenjent in cruelty, which 

 seems to have been peculiar to the despots of Persia. 

 We are informed that the most severe punishment 

 amongst the Persians was that of shutting up the of- 

 fender between two boats of equal size ; they laid him 

 in one of them upon his back, and covered him with 

 the other, his hands, feet, and head being left bare. 

 His face, which was placed full in the sun, they moist- 

 ened with honey, thus inviting the flies and wasps, 

 which tormented him no less than the swarms of mag- 

 gots that were bred in his excrements and body, and 

 devoured him to the very entrails. He was compelled 

 to take as much food as was necessary to support life, 

 and thus existed sometimes for several days. Plutarch 

 informs us that Mithridates, whom Artaxerxes Lon- 

 ginianus condemned to this pimishment, lived seven- 

 teen days in the utmost agony ; and that, the upper- 

 most boat being taken off at his death, they found his 



" 3Iem. Jplcrolog. 79. 



