76 A NATURAL HISTORY 



Den, from whence the Dragon leaped fiirioufly at him : In the 

 Encounter, the Dogs laid hold on his Belly, and forced him to lie 

 down ; upon which the valiant Knight alighted, thruft his great 

 Sword feveral times into his Throat, and foon killed him : Upon 

 which the Spectators drew near, and with great difficulty fever'd 

 the Head from the Body, and lugged it into the Town in Tri- 

 umph. 



The Conqueror was degraded for the fake of Form, becaufe 

 he had violated the Grand- Mafter's Order ; but was immediately 

 reftored, and foon after was elected Grand- Mailer himfelf ; he 

 died in the Year 1335, ^"'^ ^'^ ^^^ Tomb were engraven thefe 

 Words, Draconis ExtinSior ; ^e De/iroyer of the Dragofi. 



I N the Life of Attilius Regidus (the Rotna?i General in the War 

 againft the Carthaginians') is defcribed a Dragon of prodigious 

 Bulk near the River BagraJa, that annoyed all the Country round, 

 without Remedy. Several Devices were formed to deftroy it, but 

 without efFedl, till the Military Po/fe was called in, whodifcharged 

 the Engines of War againft it with Succefs : And fo great was this 

 Deliverance, that an Ovation, or a fmall Triumph, was publickly 

 made at Rojne for the Vidory. 



XL The Pythian Dragon, fo called from its being the Guar- 

 dian of the Delphick Oracle : Its Eyes are large and Hiarp, and 

 the Body painted with Variety of Colours, as red, yellow, green 

 and blue, and furnifhed with Scales that are refplendent, well com- 

 padled and hard. It has been called Deucalionaics, becaufe in the 

 Language of Ignorance, it was produced from the Mud left by the 

 Deucalio7iian Deluge : a Serpent of prodigious Bulk.* 



PTTHON is alfo taken for a prophetick Demon, by St. 

 Liike-\-. — As ice limit to Prayer, a certain Damfel pofj'e/i iciih a 

 Spirit of Divination, (having the Spirit of P)';?/'o, according to the 

 Greek) which brought her Mafiers much Gain by Sooth-faying, that 

 is, by Predidlions, telling of Fortunes. Python of the Greeks is 

 fuppofed the 'Typlx)n of the Phcenicians, and the Phoenician Ty- 

 phon to be Ogg King of Ba/Joan, and Apollo that flew it, to be 

 foflma. Apollo is called Pythius from this Serpent, or from fome 

 notorious Tyrant of that Name, flainby him, as the antient Geo- 

 grapher 



* JortJioJSHS. t ^^- svi- 16. — Jlnviko, UvSajva? 



