Chap. 22.] A MAN SATED BT A BEAGON. 273 



Philinus, an ardent loTer of wisdom.'* Seized with fear, he 

 immediately began .to retreat ; while the beast rolled itself 

 before him, eyidently with the desire of caressing him, at the 

 same time manifesting signs of grief, which could not be 

 misunderstood in a panther even. The animal had young ones, 

 which had happened to fall into a pit at some distance from 

 the place. The first dictates of compassion banished all fear, 

 and the next prompted him to assist the animal. He ac- 

 cordingly followed her, as she gently drew him on by fixing 

 her claws in his garment ; and as soon as he discovered what 

 was the cause of her grief and the price of his own safety, he 

 took the ■^helps out of the pit, and they followed her to the 

 end of the desert ; whither he was escorted by her, frisking 

 with joy and gladness, in order that she might more appropri- 

 ately testify how grateful she was, and how little she had 

 given him in return ; a mode of acting which is but rarely 

 found, among men even. 



CHAP. 22. 4 MAN EECOONIZED AND SAVED BY A DEAGON. 



Facts such as these induce us to give some credit to what 

 Democritus relates, who says that a man, called Thoas, was 

 preserved in Arcadia by a dragon." When a boy, he had be- 

 come much attached to it, and had reared it very tenderly ; 

 but his father, being alarmed at the nature and monstrous size 

 of the reptile, had taken and left it in the desert. Thoas being 

 here attacked by some robbers who lay in ambush, he was 

 delivered from them by the dragon, which recognized his voice 

 and came to his assistance. But as to what has been said 

 respecting infents that have been exposed and nourished by 

 the mUk of wild beasts,''" as in the case of the founders of our 

 city by a wolf, I am disposed to attribute such cases as these 

 rather to the greatness of the destinies which have to be ful- 

 filled, than to any peculiarity in the nature of the animals 

 themselves. 



's " Asseotatorifl sapientise" — "A follower of wiedom ; " meaning a 

 "philosopher." 



'' This word here signifies, simply, a " serpent." 



'" iEliap, Var. Hist. B. xiii. c. L, relates an occurrence of this kind, ahont 

 Atalanta, and Justin, B. xliv. c. 4, ahout Habis, a king of Spain. As to 

 the account of Romijus having been suckled by a wolf, it was generally re- 

 garded as a legendary tale by the Bomans themselves. See Livy, B. i. c. 

 4, and Dionysius of Halicamassus, Antiq. Bom. B. i. — B. 



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