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  • March 1, 1797
  • Page 32
  • ON THE FASCINATING POWER OF SERPENTS.
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The Freemasons' Magazine, March 1, 1797: Page 32

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On The Fascinating Power Of Serpents.

France , having had occasion to talk with Bianchot upon the subject , an officer who succeeded Bouffiers in the government of Senegal , he assuie-I me with confidence , that both at Goree and in Senegal , the opinion was universal ; that ascending the river of that name , as far even as Galam , three hundred leagues from its mouth , it equally prevailed among the Moors , at the right , and the Negroes , at the left ; that these le nobod

among peop y doubted this power in certain species of serpents , of fascinating both animals and men ; and that the tradition was founded upon long experience , aud the many misfortunes they are continually witnessing . - ,. - Here again let it be remembered , that I am only the historian , and that I take upon me neither to validate nor explain these reports

. With respect to the two instances I have adduced , and of which I am at once the recorder and the evidence , they will probably be regarded by many of my readers , as the pure effect of that extreme and involuntary terror - which every animal experiences by instinct , at si ght of an enemy that has power over its life ; and they will allege , perhaps , in support of this supposition , the example of the setter ' who retains in

their place a partridge or a hare , by the mere circum- * stance of his presence and look . To this I reply , that if a partridge or a hare remain quiet before the dog , it , s not so much from a sudden impulse of fear as from deliberate cunning . ' While close upon the ground they imagine themselves to be concealed from the enemy . What confirms this conjecture isthat if the

, dog approaches near enough to seize upon his pre } ' , the bird instantly takes wing , and the hare scampers away . It willcertainly not be denied me , that it is fear which makes them fly . Such is the powerful effect of instinct in every animal at the appearance of danger . But wh y do not the hare and partridge , at sig htof the dogremain fixed and motionless with terrorlike the shrike

, , and the mouse in presence of the serpent ? Why should fear give to the former new strength , while the others die on the spot , under all the increasing symptoms of agony , and without the power of escaping , as if retained by some invincible force ? The rat does not remain '

stationary upon the approach of the cat , but hastens away the ' moment he perceives her . May not then the look and presence of a serpent , and the nature of the corpuscles that emanate from its body , produce a very different effect from the emanation and look of the cat ? How few are our opportunities of observing nature ? Let us stud y her closeland shall find

more y , we perhaps , that she has many particular laws of which we are yet i gnorant . Before the discovery ' of electricity , had an author ventured to assert that there existed fish , which , though small in themselves , could give to a humber of persons at once so violent a shock , as to make them feel particular pain in all the articulations of the bod } -, the assertion would have been regarded as the most absurd fable . This supposed fable , however , is become " an indisputable truth . Without speaking of the torpedo , with which " every body is acquainted , I shall content myself with citing , in proof

“The Freemasons' Magazine: 1797-03-01, Page 32” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 31 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fmm/issues/fmm_01031797/page/32/.
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Title Category Page
Untitled Article 1
Untitled Article 2
LONDON: Article 2
TO READERS, CORRESPONDENTS , &c. Article 3
THE SCIENTIFIC MAGAZINE, AND FREEMASONS' REPOSITORY, Article 4
ON THE MANNERS OF ANCIENT TIMES. Article 5
NOBLE SPEECH. OF A NATIVE OF AMBOYNA TO THE PORTUGUESE. Article 7
A DROLL CIRCUMSTANCE. Article 7
HISTORICAL FACT Article 8
A TURKISH STORY. Article 9
Untitled Article 10
ACCOUNT OF THE LATE GLORIOUS NAVAL VICTORY * Article 11
ORIGINAL LETTERS RELATIVE TO IRELAND. Article 18
LETTER I. Article 18
LETTER II. Article 21
ANECDOTE RELATIVE TO THE BASTILLE. Article 22
RISE AND FALL OF BEARDS. Article 24
ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH RENDER THE RETROSPECT OF PAST AGES AGREEABLE. Article 27
ON THE FASCINATING POWER OF SERPENTS. Article 30
ANECDOTES. Article 33
FREEMASONS' REPOSITORY. Article 35
MASONIC INTELLIGENCE. Article 38
REVIEW or NEW PUBLICATIONS. Article 41
POETRY. Article 51
AN HYMN ON MASONRY, Article 51
SONG. Article 51
HYMN. Article 52
THE MAID's SOLILOQUY. Article 52
YRAN AND JURA. Article 53
THE SOUL. Article 53
LOUISA: A FUNEREAL WREATH. Article 54
SONNET II. Article 54
LINES, ADD11ESSED TO A YOUNG LADY, Article 54
ON ETERNITY. Article 54
SONNET. Article 54
PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Article 55
Untitled Article 56
REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT. Article 57
HOUSE OF COMMONS. Article 58
MONTHLY CHRONICLE Article 63
OBITUARY. Article 71
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Page 32

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

On The Fascinating Power Of Serpents.

France , having had occasion to talk with Bianchot upon the subject , an officer who succeeded Bouffiers in the government of Senegal , he assuie-I me with confidence , that both at Goree and in Senegal , the opinion was universal ; that ascending the river of that name , as far even as Galam , three hundred leagues from its mouth , it equally prevailed among the Moors , at the right , and the Negroes , at the left ; that these le nobod

among peop y doubted this power in certain species of serpents , of fascinating both animals and men ; and that the tradition was founded upon long experience , aud the many misfortunes they are continually witnessing . - ,. - Here again let it be remembered , that I am only the historian , and that I take upon me neither to validate nor explain these reports

. With respect to the two instances I have adduced , and of which I am at once the recorder and the evidence , they will probably be regarded by many of my readers , as the pure effect of that extreme and involuntary terror - which every animal experiences by instinct , at si ght of an enemy that has power over its life ; and they will allege , perhaps , in support of this supposition , the example of the setter ' who retains in

their place a partridge or a hare , by the mere circum- * stance of his presence and look . To this I reply , that if a partridge or a hare remain quiet before the dog , it , s not so much from a sudden impulse of fear as from deliberate cunning . ' While close upon the ground they imagine themselves to be concealed from the enemy . What confirms this conjecture isthat if the

, dog approaches near enough to seize upon his pre } ' , the bird instantly takes wing , and the hare scampers away . It willcertainly not be denied me , that it is fear which makes them fly . Such is the powerful effect of instinct in every animal at the appearance of danger . But wh y do not the hare and partridge , at sig htof the dogremain fixed and motionless with terrorlike the shrike

, , and the mouse in presence of the serpent ? Why should fear give to the former new strength , while the others die on the spot , under all the increasing symptoms of agony , and without the power of escaping , as if retained by some invincible force ? The rat does not remain '

stationary upon the approach of the cat , but hastens away the ' moment he perceives her . May not then the look and presence of a serpent , and the nature of the corpuscles that emanate from its body , produce a very different effect from the emanation and look of the cat ? How few are our opportunities of observing nature ? Let us stud y her closeland shall find

more y , we perhaps , that she has many particular laws of which we are yet i gnorant . Before the discovery ' of electricity , had an author ventured to assert that there existed fish , which , though small in themselves , could give to a humber of persons at once so violent a shock , as to make them feel particular pain in all the articulations of the bod } -, the assertion would have been regarded as the most absurd fable . This supposed fable , however , is become " an indisputable truth . Without speaking of the torpedo , with which " every body is acquainted , I shall content myself with citing , in proof

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