T ne n E ·v :r L _.,_ s 'E :R P E N T. Book IV. VII. Ther7 are in Ethicpia, and other hot Countries, Multitudes of Dragons, fome ·g:reater, and lome Idler, alfo fome of a red Colour. We read of fame that have been ·found to be nine Cubits long, and .of a great Thicknefs. Neither is it to be thoua-hc, faith Mr. 'Topfell, am of Gefner, p. 794· incredible, that rhe Soldiers of Atti!ius Reg':.lus )qlled a D ragon, whrch .was an hundred and twenty Feet long. .Dragons, faith he, are certainly great'Bea(h, and there are few or none bigger on Earrh: So there are many ,Devrls, and by fame Places at holy Scnpture, we may conclude there is a chief or a-rand Devil, one '"hole.hdlifh Power is above ,the reft, &c. The .Earth and Air are f~ll of .thefe curfed Dragons, but beingSpirits, we ~annat fee them : Bd'ides, we .may fuppofe, rthat they may abound more 111 lome Countnes than .in others. DEVIL A S E R P E N T. .But !fear left by any Means, as the Serpent beguileilEvc through his Subtilty, &c. 2.Cor. xi. 'j. "'he old Serpent, the Devil, .&c. Rev. xii. 9· 'SERPENTS are venomous Beafts, that creep upon the Ground, or go as it were upon their Bellies, which, as it appears from Gen. iii. 14. was laid upon them at firft as a juft Judgment of God: Upon thy Belly jhalt thou go; meaning, faith Ainf– ·worth, in great Pain, .&c. This Creature the Devil made ufe of to deceive Eve; the Devil fpake in, or by the Serpent, i. e. opened the Serpent's Mouth ; for we are not •to conclude that that Serpent was the Devil, becaufe the Text faith pofitively, ·it was a ;Beall: of the Field, who, .as fame conceive, .is faid to be mor.e fubtil than any other Beall:, by means of Satan's lnAuences ; yet all agree, that naturally the Serpent, or ·fame Serpents are very crafty and fubtil. Arijfot!e and Galen define a Serpent to be. Animal fanguineum , pedibus orbatum, & oviparum ; that is, a bloody Beaft, without Feet, laying Eggs. There .a.e divers forts of Serpents; we read of the Adder, Afp, Dart, Dragon, Cockatrice, &c. Some affirm, that the Cockatrice or Bafi!ifk hath Wings, from Ifa• .xiv. 29. Out of the Serpent's Root jha/1 come a Cockatrice, and his Fruit jha/1 be a flying Serpent. The Bafilifk is elteemed the King of Serpents, partly for the great Strength of his Poifon, and partly for his ftately Pace, and magnanimous Mind ; for he goes .upright with his Head, near half a Yard in length. P A R A L L E L ~ ·J. SERPENTS are a venomous lore of Creatures, efpecia!ly the Cockatrice: For his Poifon, N utu ralifts affirm, infetl:eth the Air, and the Air fa infeCted killeth all Jiving Creatures, and all green Things, Fruits and Plants of the Earth; it h>urneth up the Grafs whereupon it gocth, or creepcth ; and the very Fowls of the Air f all down dead, when they come near his Den or Lodging : So the Venom or Poifon of the old 13erpent, viz. Sin, is very deadly, and of an ·infectious Nature, as hath been largely fhewe.l. What Creature hath not been hurt and corrupted, more or lefs, by this Poifon 1 le hath clifordered the whole Creation; the very Ground is curfed, .and bringe.th fonh Thorns and Thirties hereby, Gen. iii. ll. Amongfl: all li ving Creatures, there is none that perilheth fooner than cloth a Man. by the Poifon of a Cockacri.ce, for with .his Sight he killeth him, the Beams of his Eyes do corrupt rhe Spirit of a Man; n ay, faith my A uthor, he kills other Serpents by his Sight, fuch is the Venom of his Poifon: So no Creature hath fuffered, or received fuch hurt, as Mankind hath by the Porfon of the old Dragon. Though the Srn of Man, which is the Venom of this Serpent, hath been a Plague to all Creatures, yet Man re– ,ceives the greatell: Ruin by it, it deftroys him eternally. Wicked Men, who are com– yared to Serpenrs, are deftroyed by this old Serpent. Ill. A Serpent is a very fubtil Beaft; Be ye wife as Serpents, &c. The Devil being compared to a Serpent, it principally denotes .his Subtilty, who hath a thoufand Ways ro deftroy and undo the Children of Men. IV. Serpents are moll: en vious, implacable, and fur.ious Beall:s; t1Jey are immiti!Jimum .nnima!ium genus, a moll: ungentle and barbarous kind of Creatures, faith Mr. P/iny, .as appears by the Rage of a liule Snake, one of the leall: of the Serpents kind: For "·hen he .Perceives he is h.urr.or wounded, he .never ceafeth cafting out his Poifon, until · · - he
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