394 CERASTES. 



of the tub, has put it upon his bare head, covered 

 it with the common red cap he wears, then taken 

 it out, put it in his breast, and tied it about his 

 neck like a necklace ; after which it has been ap- 

 plied to a hen, and bit it, which has died in a few 

 minutes; and, to complete the experiment, the 

 man has taken it by the neck, and, beginning at 

 the tail, has ate it, as one would do a carrot or a 

 stock of celery, without any seeming repug- 

 nance." 



" We know from history, that where any coun- 

 try has been remarkably infested with serpents, 

 there the people have been screened by this secret. 

 The Psylli and Marmarides of old undoubtedly 

 were defended in this manner." 



Ad quorum cantus mites jacuere Caiastae*. 



SiL ltd. lib. 3. 



To leave ancient history, I can myself avouch, 

 that all the blaqk people in the kingdom of Sen- 

 naar, whether Funge or Nuba, are perfectly armed 

 against the bite of either scorpion or viper. They 

 take the Cerastes in their hands at all times, put 

 them in their bosoms, and throw them at one an- 

 other as children do apples or balls, without having 

 irritated them by this usage so much as to bite. 

 The Arabs have not this secret naturally, but 

 from their infancy they acquire an exemption 

 from the mortal consequences attending the bite 

 of these animals, by chewing a certain root, and 



* Tame at whose spell the charm'd Cerastes lay. 



