A new edition of Toland's History of the druids: - Free History Ebooks

1NOTES. 2(31writers. It Is called the serpent's egg ; and In order to produceit,an immense number of serpents, twisted together in summer,are rolled up in an artificial folding, by the saliva of their mouths^and the slime of their bodies. The Druids say that this egg istossed on high with hissings, and that it must be intercepted iaa cloak, before it reach the ground. The person who seizes itflies on horseback, for the serpents pursue him, till they arestopped by the intervention of some river. The proof of thisegg is, that tho' bound in gold, it will swim against the stream.And, as the Magi are very artful and cunning in concealingtheir frauds, they pretend that this egg can only be obtained, ata certain time of the moon, as if this operation of the serpent*could be rendered congruous to human determination. I havftindeed seen that egg of the siae of an ordinary round apple, woraby the Druids, in a chequered cover, resembling the numerouscalculi in the arras of a Polypus. Its virtue is highly extolledfor gaining law-suits, and procuring access to kings ; and it isworn with so great ostentation, that I knew a Roman knightby birth a Vocontian, who was slain by the Emperor Claudiusfor no cause whatever, except wearing one of these eggs on hi&breast during the dependence of a law-suit."Pliny has, no doubt, given us this enigmatical account of theserpent's egg, in the words of the vulgar tradition in Gaul ;forthe Druids were of ail men the most studious to conceal theirtenets, and it does not appear he could have had access to it byany other means. Dark and disguised as it is, it contains somaimportant facts, on which I shall hazard a few conjectures. 1.The serpent in early times was the emblem of wisdom, and theconglomeration of the serpents to produce this egg^ appears to befigurative of the wisdom of the Deity in creating the universe.2. That this egg was tossed on high, and must be interceptedbefore it fall to the ground, seems to denote that the true philosophermust directhis eyes upward, and be always on the alertto observe the phiKnoniena of nature, before they are out of hisreach.3. The flying on horseback, and the pursuit of the serpantstill they are stopped by some river, clearly iatiraate^ that^1.