of Plinies Naturall Hiftorie, 199 
A Sador out of the faid [land whofe name was*£xagon,who by the commandement of the Con. *Enegon 
fuls was put into a great tun or pip¢ wherein were many ferpents, forto make an experimentand 
trial! of the truth: And in very deed the faid ferpents licked his body in all parts gently with their 
rongues,asif they had been little dogs,to the great wonder of them who beheld the manner of 
it.A man fhail know thofe of this familie(if any of them remaine at this day)by this figne, that 
they breath a {trong and ftinking fent from them, efpecially in the Spring feafon, Now, thefe 
people beforenamed had not onely a gift to cure folke with their fpittle,but their very fweatalfo 
hada medicinable vertue againft the fting of ferpents.For as touching thofe men who are born 
and bred in Tentyrus (an Iland lying within the river Nilus){o terrible they be unto the Croco- 
diles,that they will not abide fo muchas their voice,but flie from them fofooneas they heare it. 
B Moreover,it isknowne for certaine,thatall the fort of thefe people, who have their bodies thus 
priviledged by thatfecret antipathie in nature betweene them & ferpents, are ableto cafe thofe 
who are itung,if they doe but come in place where they be: like as a wound will bee more angry 
and fore,if they come neare who at any time before have been hurt by fting of ferpent or tooth 
of mad dog:fuch alfo carrie about with them in their bodies fo venomous a qualitie, that theit 
onely prefence isynough to marre the eggs that a brood-hen fits upon,and make them all addle, 
yea, and to drive ewes and other cattaile to caft their young before the time : fucha virulent 
propertie remaineth {till behind in their bodies who have beene once flung and bitten, that not- 
with{tanding they be cured thereof, yet venomous they are nowand hurefull to others, who be- 
foretime wete poyfoned themfelves, But the onely way to remedie this inconvenience, isto caufe . 
‘ 
C them to wafhtheir hands before they enter intothe roume where the patients lie, and wich the 
fame waterto be {princkle and wath then who are to be cured, Again,thisis to bg obferved,thae 
whofoever atany time have been pricked with a {corpion,thall never afterwards be {tung by hor- 
nets,wefpes,or bees.A ftraunge thing this is no doubt, howbeir, no great wonder to them who 
know, that a garment orcloth which had been ufed atfunerals, will never bee afterwards moth- 
eaten: and how that ferpents hardly can bee plucked out of their holes, unleffe it. bee by the 
deft hand. 
Cuap. 111th 
ego Of certaine Sorcertes:and the properties of a mans fpittle. Alf 
D t ‘ ie 
aeiin{t Macicians. 
, uinfl Magicians, | 
: q 2 , 
He inventions of P:thzgnras as touching numbers,beare a great ftroke in thefe matters,and 
~ § hehdy miffe not: but principally inthis, That the {aid Philofopher would give judgement’ 
by the vowels contained in the proper name of any perfon,concerning their fortunes : Por 
in cafe the vowels were in number odd, hee pronounced, that if the partie ever proved lame of 
a lim, loft an eie,or met with any fuch like accidents,the fame fhould happen upon therightfide 
of the bodie :burcontrariwife,if the number of vowels were even, then thele infirmities fhould 
befall che left fide. Furthermore,it is commonly faid,chatif one take a ftone,dart, or inftrument 
of fhor,wherewith aman hath killed thefe three living creatures,a man,a wild Bore,and a Bear, 
E oneafter another,and that with one fingle {troke toevery one of thei; and fling the fame clean 
over an houfe where there is a woman in hardtravell of childbireh;{o as it light on the other fide 
without touching any part thereof, the woman fhall prefently bee delivered. More reafon there, 
isthata “light javelin or Pertuifane fhould doe tliis feat,which had been drawaetorth ofa mans *petiraris hate, | 
i 
bodic, fo as it never touched the ground after: for doe but bring this murdering javelin into the which alfo wae | 
called Calibaris | 
place where a womanis in labour, it will forthwith, procure her deliverance. Or phews and Arche- 
favs doe write much after the fame manner of atrowes pulled out of mens bodies,namely, That if 
care be hadthat they touch not the earth,and then be laid under the bed where mat or woman 
lieth they will caufe the parties to be enamoured upon them that beftowed the faid arrows there. 
And thefé authors report moreover, That the venifon of any wild beaft killed with the fame wea- 
F pon which wasthe death ofa man before,is fingular for to cure the falling ficknefle. 
Asfome men there be whofe bodies all throughout be medicinable,fothere bee others who 
havecertaine parts onely of the fame vertue, according as I have written alreadie concerning 
the thumbe of king Pyrrhws In the citie Elis alfo the inhabitants were wont to fhewas a worder- 
- full monument therib of Pelops, which they avouched to bee allof Ivorie, And even atthis day, 
many 
i) 
t 
