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Article MR. TASKER'S LETTERS Page 1 of 2 →
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Mr. Tasker's Letters
MR . TASKER'S LETTERS
CONTINUED . LETTER THE EIGHTH . FURTHER REMARKS ON LUCANt
SIR , IF you never yet read Lucan , I think I can ' promise you much pleasure by the further perusal of the afore-mentioned C / book ; for there I shall beg leave to introduce you to the Psjdlians , the most extraordinary people , according to our author ' s account , that ever this world produced , and very properly situated amidst all the viperous brood . —Would you suspect another miracle so soon ? Here
you have it—read and judge : — ' ¦ Gens unica terras , . Incolit , a savo Serpentthn imwxia morsu ,, Marmaridx Fsylli- " The . Psylli ; the only nation on the face of the earth , who could not be hurt by the bites of serpents . "
He likewise mentions a most singular custom prevailing among this poison-proof nation . When any good men suspect their wives of being connected with m n of another tribe or people , - - Letifca duhios explorant aspUe partus . they make the following experiment : if the new-born babes can bear
the bite of the asp unhurt , they declare them genuine Psyllians , otherwise not . This tells well in fiction , but can never be reconciled to the belief of the liatural historian . Some of this tribe that followed the Roman camp , exorcised it bv spells and charms , and likewise made large fires round it , and burnt a great variety of herbs , supposed to be possessed of a smell or quality calculated to keep serpents at a
due distance . The poet recounts a large catalogue of herbs of this description , and such as will afford ample materials for the exercise of botanical knowledge . He likewise does not fail to avail himself of the powers of the potent Panacaaa *' , a poejical herb of all virtues , but existing no where in the nature of things , and the pure coinage of poets' brains . He likewise particularises the well-known herb .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Mr. Tasker's Letters
MR . TASKER'S LETTERS
CONTINUED . LETTER THE EIGHTH . FURTHER REMARKS ON LUCANt
SIR , IF you never yet read Lucan , I think I can ' promise you much pleasure by the further perusal of the afore-mentioned C / book ; for there I shall beg leave to introduce you to the Psjdlians , the most extraordinary people , according to our author ' s account , that ever this world produced , and very properly situated amidst all the viperous brood . —Would you suspect another miracle so soon ? Here
you have it—read and judge : — ' ¦ Gens unica terras , . Incolit , a savo Serpentthn imwxia morsu ,, Marmaridx Fsylli- " The . Psylli ; the only nation on the face of the earth , who could not be hurt by the bites of serpents . "
He likewise mentions a most singular custom prevailing among this poison-proof nation . When any good men suspect their wives of being connected with m n of another tribe or people , - - Letifca duhios explorant aspUe partus . they make the following experiment : if the new-born babes can bear
the bite of the asp unhurt , they declare them genuine Psyllians , otherwise not . This tells well in fiction , but can never be reconciled to the belief of the liatural historian . Some of this tribe that followed the Roman camp , exorcised it bv spells and charms , and likewise made large fires round it , and burnt a great variety of herbs , supposed to be possessed of a smell or quality calculated to keep serpents at a
due distance . The poet recounts a large catalogue of herbs of this description , and such as will afford ample materials for the exercise of botanical knowledge . He likewise does not fail to avail himself of the powers of the potent Panacaaa *' , a poejical herb of all virtues , but existing no where in the nature of things , and the pure coinage of poets' brains . He likewise particularises the well-known herb .