i6 TOAD. Class III, 



Toad that under the cold flone. 

 Days and nights has, thirty-one, 

 Swelter'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 Banqiid's 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 ftill the living, Ut vim coeundi ni fallor^ in viris 

 tollerent *. 

 Toad- We may add here another fuperftition in* refpedt 



to this animal : it was believed by fome old writers 

 to have a (lone in its head, fraught with great 

 virtues medical and magical : it was diftinguiflied 

 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 y^^-'ze^^^, 

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

 ifland, as well as feveral other countries ; but we 

 may well excufe this tale, fmce Shakefpear has ex- 

 traded from it a fimile of uncommon beauty : 



6T0NE. 



* Hift, quad. O'uip. JZ, 



4" Boet, de Boot, de Lap, et Gem* 301. 303. 



Sweet 



