200 THE SEVEN FOLLIES OF SCIENCE 



No snake or serpent has a sting in its tail. Its only 

 offensive weapons (exclusive of its crushing power) are 

 the fangs which are connected with certain poison glands 

 in the head. All the other parts and organs of the animal 

 are perfectly harmless. 



THAT THE FORKED TONGUE OF THE SERPENT 

 OR SNAKE IS A WEAPON OF OFFENSE 



HE tongues of snakes and serpents are cleft at 

 the end and have always been an emblem of 

 double dealing, treachery, and falsehood. As a 

 mere simile for a human being with a deceitful 

 tongue, this is well enough and may pass without comment, 

 but it will not serve as a suggestion for a truth in natural 

 history, since it has no foundation in fact. 



Nevertheless in all ages the tongue of the snake or 

 serpent seems to have impressed humanity with a feeling 

 of danger, and from the fact that when snakes are irritated 

 they thrust out their forked tongues, these tongues have 

 been regarded as a weapon of offense, something to be 

 feared and avoided, so that when, in " Measure for Meas- 

 ure" (Act III, Scene i, line 15), the Duke says: 



Thou art by no means valiant; 

 For thou dost fear the soft and tender fork 

 Of a poor worm, 



Shakespeare puts into his mouth words which no doubt 

 reflected a common feeling and belief. And in several 

 other passages the forked tongue of the snake is referred 

 to as a thing of danger. It was a popular fallacy. The 

 serpent's tongue is quite harmless in comparison with the 

 poisonous fangs of a venomous and treacherous poet. 



