THE ANCIENT HEBREWS- 
421 
The effect of the stroke is not always fatal. Those, who 
have been stung in Mexico and in Sardinia, have commonly 
recovered. Those who have been stung in Ceylon, India, 
Nubia, or Guinea, have often perished. The terror is some- 
times greater than the danger. 
Various medicines for counteracting the effect of the poi- 
son have been extolled by empirics, and even used with 
success. In such cases, imagination can do a great deal, 
and we have no doubt, that what is owing to the weakness 
of the poison, has sometimes been ascribed to the virtue of 
the medicine. 
When convenient, immediate excision of the part stung 
has been resorted to, or the cautery applied, whether heated 
iron, burning coals, or an alkaline substance. In desperate 
cases, men will grasp at any thing which seems to promise 
relief. 
This insect is most malignant, and if its power were equal 
to its rage, it would destroy every thing that came within its 
reach. Maupertuis, the celebrated French philosopher, 
put 100 of them into a glass vessel, and they had scarcely 
come into contact, when they began to vent their fury upon 
each other. At the end of two or three days 14 remained 
alive. All the rest had been killed and devoured. 
The frequent mention of this insect in the Sacred Writ- 
ings shews how formidable it was reckoned by the chil- 
dren of Israel. Thus, it is said. Dent. viii. 15, " God 
led thee through this great and terrible wilderness, wherein 
were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought ; wherein 
there were no waters f ' that is, when they marched through 
desert tracts under a burning sun, they were preserved 
from the most dangerous enemies, and the most appalling 
privations. 
In 1 Kings xii. 11, Rehoboam uses these words to the 
Israelitish nation, " My Father chastised you with whips, 
but I will chastise you with scorpions," which words are 
