gular comparison of the locust with other animals. He régarded it as a jest of the Bedouin, and paid no attention to it, till it was repeated by another from Bagdad. He compared the head of the locust to that of the horse; its breast to that of the lion; its feet to those of the camel; its body to that of the serpent; its tail to that of the scorpion; its horns to the locks of hair of a virgin; and so of other parts. It has been remarked by almost every one who has paid attention to this branch of natural history, that the head of a locust bears a striking resemblance to that of a horse. The Greeks called it the horse of the earth. Accoutred for war, and mounted by a stern and bearded warrior, the Arabian charger has a majestic and terrible appearance; not less dreadful to the inhabitant of the east is the locust, in all the vigour of youth, ready to commence his destructive march. The Saracen furnished his horse with a silver bridle, and gilt trappings, and covered his neck and breast with plates of iron; it is therefore, not improbable, that he adorned his head with some ornament resembling a crown, to which the horns or antennæ of the locust may not improperly be compared. The neck of this formidable insect is also defended by a hard scaly substance, in the same manner as the neck of the Arabian war horse was defended by plates of iron. The Arabian horse is carefully taught to recognize his enemy in the field of battle, which he no sooner does, than he rushes upon him with the utmost violence, and attempts to tear him in pieces with his teeth. The teeth of the locust are very sharp and strong. With what astonishing rapidity this insect devours every green thing, and scatters desolation over the fairest regions of the earth, has already been described; from whence it appears, that the com

parison of the Saracen horse to the locust, is by no means inapplicable. Nor is the sound of their wings less remarkable; the inspired writer says, "the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle ;" and travellers have stated, that " the passage of the locusts over their heads was like the noise of a cataract, or the rushing of a violent gale of wind, at a distance."

e

CHAP. IV.

OF REPTILES.

The Snail-The Horse-Leech.-The Scorpion.The Viper.-The Cockatrice, or Basilisk.-The Cerastes, or Horned Snake.-The Seraph, or Fiery Flying Serpent.-The Dragon.

The Snail.

THE snail is in the Hebrew Scriptures, called bbw, Sabbelul, which the learned Bochart derives from baw, a path, because the snail marks out his path with his slime, and so is called bbw, the path maker; or, from 2w, to lodge, in, and 3, a winding shell, cochlea, the well known habitation which this animal carries about with him. Parkhurst is of opinion, that a better account of the name may be deduced from the peculiar manner in which snails thrust themselves forward in moving, and from the force with which they adhere to any substance on which they light. The wise Author of nature, having refused them feet and

b

e Morier's Trav. vol. i, p.

a Bochart, vol. iii, p. 646.

61.

b Heb. Lex. p. 714.

claws to creep and climb, has compensated them in a way more commodious for their state of life, by the broad skin along each side of the belly, and the undulating motion observable there. By the latter, they creep; by the former, assisted by the glutinous slime emitted from their body, they adhere firmly and securely to all kinds of superficies, partly by the tenacity of their slime, and partly by the pressure of the atmosphere. Thus, the snail wastes herself by her own motion, every undulation leaving some of her moisture behind; and in the same manner, the actions of wicked men prove their destruction. They may, like the snail, carry their defence along with them, and retire into it on every appearance of danger; they may confidently trust in their own resources, and banish far away the fear of evil; but the principles of ruin are at work within them, and although the progress may be slow, the result is certain. The holy Psalmist, guided by the spirit of inspiration, prayed: "As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away;" and Jehovah answered; "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."

The Horse-leech.

This creature is only once mentioned in the holy Scriptures. It was known to the ancient Hebrews, under the name (~piby), Aluka, from the verb Alak, which in Arabic, signifies to adhere, stick close, or hang fast. The reason of the Hebrew name is evident; the leech sticks fast to the skin and in several languages, its pertinacious adhesion is become proverbial. Horace celebrates it in this line.

Derham's Phys. Theol. book ix, ch. i, iii, c. 14. Plin. Hist. Natur. lib. ix, c. 56.

d Ps. lviii, 8.

note 4. Varro de re rust. lib. Hesiod. Opera et Dies. 1. 569.

"Non missura cutem, nisi plena cruoris hirudo." An ancient author calls it the black reptile of the marsh; because, it is commonly found in marshy places. Its cruelty and thirst of blood, are noted by many writers, and indeed, are too prominent qualities in this creature to be overlooked.

Atque eorum exsugebo sanguinem." Plaut. in Epidico, Act ii. Long before the time of that ancient Roman, the royal Preacher introduced it in one of his Proverbs, to illustrate the cruel and insatiable cupidity of wordly men: "The horse-leech hath two daughters, crying, give, give." Several questions have been proposed in relation to this text; whether, for example, it is to be literally understood; and what the royal Preacher means by its two daughters. Bochart contends, that it cannot be literally understood, first, because its introduction into that proverb would be quite improper; second, because the horse-leech has no daughters, being generated of putrid matter in the bottom of the marsh. In answer to these reasons, it may be observed, that if it be connected with the preceding verse, the introduction is quite proper, and highly emphatical; indeed, we can scarcely conceive any thing more forcible and beautiful than the compariTo the second objection, it is sufficient to reply, that Bochart has merely asserted the formation of the horse-leech from putrid mire; but the absurdity of equivocal generation, has already been considered. Mercer supposes, that the two daughters of the horse-leech are the forks of her tongue, by which she inflicts the wound; but this exposition is inadmissible, because she is destitute of that member, and acts merely by suction. Bochart, f Vol. iii, lib. 5, c. 19, p. 800.

son.

e Prov. xxx, 16.

VOL. I.

Ee

supposing that the clause where it is introduced, cannot with propriety be connected with any part of the context, considers it of course, as independent; and admitting the derivation of Aluka from Alak, to hang or be appended, interprets the term as denoting the termination of human life, appended as it were to the purpose of God, limiting the term of our mortal existence; and by consequence, that her two daughters are death and the grave, or, should these be thought nearly synonimous, the grave, where the body returns to its dust, and the world of spirits, where the soul takes up its abode. But with all deference to such high authority, this interpretation appears very forced and unnatural. The common interpretation seems in every respect, entitled to the preference. Solomon, having in the preceding verses, mentioned those that devoured the property of the poor, as the worst of all the generations he had specified, proceeds in the fifteenth verse, to state and illustrate the insatiable cupidity with which they prosecuted their schemes of rapine and plunder. As the horse-leech hath two daughters, cruelty and thirst of blood, which cannot be satisfied; so, the oppressor of the poor has two dispositions, cruelty and avarice, which never say they have enough, but continually demand additional gratifications.

The Scorpion.

The scorpion is one of the most loathsome objects in nature. It resembles a small lobster; its head appears to be joined and continued to the breast; it has two eyes in the middle of its head, and two towards the extremity, between which, come as it were, two arms, which are divided into two parts, like the claws of a lobster. It has eight legs proceeding from its breast, every one of which is divided into six parts, covered with hair, and armed with talons