Specus

“ The mirror is an attribute of nearly every ancient Deity, and the British Druids seem to have had some system of flashing the sunlight on to the crowd by means of what was termed by the Bards, the Speculum of the Pervading Glance. Specula means a watch-tower, and spectrum means vision. Speech, speak, and spoke, point to the probability that speech was deemed to be the voice of the indwelling spook or spectre, which etymology is at any rate preferable to the official surmise “all, perhaps, from Teutonic base sprek—to make a noise”. ”

“ In many books on natural history, particularly if herpetology occupy any space, we find the subject wound up with a chapter on ‘The Sea Serpent,’ forming a sort of apologetic little addendum, as if the creature of questionable existence must claim no space in the heart of the volume, yet is not quite so unimportant as to be omitted altogether. ”

“ First in order of importance comes the fact that not only are there uniformly transmitted from an organism to its offspring, those traits of structure which distinguish the class, order, genus, and species; but also those which distinguish the variety. We have numerous cases, among both plants and animals, where, by natural or artificial conditions, there have been produced divergent modifications of the same species; and abundant proof exists that the members of any one sub-species habitually transmit their distinctive peculiarities to their descendants. ”

“ The little history will be a sort of OPHIDIANA, or gossip about snakes; and in this I only follow the example of most herpetologists, who, when writing exclusively on these reptiles, preface their work with some outline of the history of ophiology, and generally with an excuse for introducing the unwelcome subject at all. There is still reason to lament that traditional prejudice invests everything in the shape of a serpent with repulsive qualities, and that these prejudices are being only very slowly swept away by the besom of science. ”

“ It is probable, says this German physician, that the Serpent had his cavern under or about the tree of knowledge, and this tree became scientifical by way of transplantation from the Serpent, that is, this tree and its fruit had both the spiritual essence and the spiritual virtue of the Serpent Communicated to them, and impressed in them, by virtue of the Serpent's cohabitation with them. For in nature we find that many bodies do not only by their qualities affect their adjacents, but also infuse their virtue into them, and endue them with the same faculty. ”

“ The speckled shall be thy wages: all the sheep brought forth speckled: but when he said on the contrary: Thou shalt take all the white one for thy wages: all the flocks brought forth white ones.
9 And God hath taken your father's substance, and given it to me.
10 For after the time came of the ewes conceiving, I lifted up my eyes, and saw in my sleep, that the males which leaped upon the females were of divers colours, and spotted, and speckled. ”

“ Warriors and braves, give unto me the brand, that the Charming Serpent may light the steps of the boy to the hiding-place of the pale-face. He shall listen to the eloquence of the Charming Serpent when he takes the white man by the hand—he shall learn how to move alike the heart of the pale-face and the red man. ”

“ But besides these First Essences, there are also Second Essences — Species and Genus, which stand to the first Essence in the relation of predicates to a Subject, and to the other Categories in the relation of Subjects to predicates.21 These Second Essences are less of Essences than the First, which alone is an Essence in the fullest and most appropriate sense. Among the Second Essences, Species is more of an Essence than Genus, because it belongs more closely and specially to the First Essence ”

“ The more integrated and more differentiated types of the class remain. If in them we find a carrying further of the processes by which the lower types are here supposed to have been evolved, we shall have additional reason for believing them to have been so evolved. If we find that in these superior orders, the individualities of the united segments are much less pronounced than in the inferior, we shall have grounds for suspecting that in the inferior the individualities of the segments are less pronounced than in those lost forms which initiated the annulose sub-kingdom. ”

“ All the sins, infirmities, temptations, and troubles, of God’s dear people—these are the dust he feeds on. And as it is with the father Serpent, it is with his seed; his offspring a generation of Vipers and Serpents, they have their portion of dust to eat, and they can feed on nothing else—and this every believer has seen to his grief. What in one scripture is called the seed of the Serpent, is in another called the children of the wicked one. First, Because as sinners, they are his offspring. ”

“ Toplady justly remarks on this passage, that what is said of the Serpent going on his belly and eating dust, are properties common to many kinds of vermin, such as worms, &c.—and why should that be esteemed a curse to the Serpent which is natural to many other animals beside. But is it so said because this creature is obnoxious to man? so are many others beside, and it is worthy observation, that there are some kind of Serpents which are remarkable for the affection they bear to man; and others are good for food, and have been served up as such, even at royal tables. ”

“ It was the face of man, but yet of a type of man distinct from our known extant races. The nearest approach to it in outline and expression is the face of the sculptured sphinx—so regular in its calm, intellectual, mysterious beauty. Its colour was peculiar, more like that of the red man than any other variety of our species, and yet different from it—a richer and a softer hue, with large black eyes, deep and brilliant, and brows arched as a semicircle. ”

“ In discussing the mental representations of animals of different grades of intelligence, Sextus shows a very good comprehension of the philogenetic development of the organs of sense, and draws the final conclusion that external objects are regarded differently by animals, according to their difference in constitution. [1] These differences in the ideas which different animals have of the same objects are demonstrated by their different tastes, as the things desired by some are fatal to others. ”

“ In passing through these organs of sense and percipient centres, the like groups of forces are segregated, or separated from the unlike groups of forces; and each such differentiated and integrated series of groups of forces, answering to an external genus or species, constitutes a state of consciousness which we call our idea of the genus or species. We before saw that as well as a separation of mixed matters by the same force, there is a separation of mixed forces by the same matter ”

“ Nevertheless ’tis past doubt, that Brutes of the highest Order, and most refin’d, are but Brutes, i. e. irrational, and it’s well for us they are so.
This is call’d Instinct, a natural Disposition, or Sagacity wherewith Animals are endued; by virtue whereof they are enabled to provide for themselves, know what is good for them, and are determin’d to propagate and preserve their Species. Instinct bears some Analogy to Reason or Understanding, and supplies the Defect of it in Brutes. The Narrative of Eve’s Temptation begins with affirming, The Serpent was more subtle than any Beast of the Field. ”

“ The Serpent in the flesh shows itself in individuals in all the colours of its skin. It manifests itself in all the deceptions men practise upon themselves and one another. Its most insidious and dangerous manifestations emanate from the pulpit, and ecclesiastical thrones. In these, the Serpent presents himself to mankind, presumptuously entertaining them with things he does not understand. From thence he delights them with the assurance of wisdom upon principles in harmony with their nature. ”

“ On the scene of history whereon it thus performs, the spectre becomes a living body, and, due allowance being made for distances and for difference of culture, its flesh and blood do not appear far removed from those of the Christian, civilized, European world of the period. ”

“ The Serpent having ascrib’d its Reason, and Speech to the eating of that Fruit, the Woman might infer, If this Fruit did turn a Serpent into a rational Creature, why may it not transform a rational Creature into a God, and a Woman into a Goddess? ”

“ Translating his words‍576 freely we may say that he takes Substance as the genus to be divided, under which are successively placed as Species—Body, Animated Body, Animal, Rational Animal, and Man. Under Man, again, come Socrates, Plato, and other particular men. Now of these notions Substance is the genus generalissimum, and is a genus only, not a species. Man, on the other hand, is the species specialissima (infima species) , and is a species only, not a genus. ”

“ In all the main features of body they were human beings, but of a somewhat superior stature. Noses and mouths were small and delicate; hair long, silken, and either light gold or rich chestnut in color; skin white and smooth; ears small and peculiarly formed, with a curious mobility ”

“ The corporeal species=the external object (outward appearance) . (2) . The sensible species=the sensation (appearance for the sense) . (3) . The mental species in its first form=present perception. (4) . The mental species in its second form=remembered perception. These three “species” or appearances of the object: namely, corporeal, sensible, and mental, according to him, are combined in one synthesis with the object by the operation of the will. ”

“ The component units of all its members have certain fundamental traits in common: all of them have proclivities towards formation of a vertebral column. Leaving behind the great assemblage of Fishes with its multitudinous types, each having special units of composition, we pass to the Amphibia, in the units of which there exist certain traits superposed upon the traits they have in common with those of Fishes. Through unknown links we ascend to incipient Mammalian types and then to developed Mammalian types, the units of which must have further superposed traits. ”

“ And when, lastly, we remember that the variations of feature constituting expression are confessedly significant of character—when we remember that these tend by repetition to organize themselves, to affect not only the skin and muscles but the bones of the face, and to be transmitted to offspring—when we thus find that there is a {393} psychological meaning alike in each passing adjustment of the features, in the marks that habitual adjustments leave, in the marks inherited from ancestors, and in those main outlines of the facial bones and integuments indicating the type or race ”

“ Romanes contends follows the cessation of selection. The three things are aspects of the same thing. And now, before leaving this question, let me remark on the strange proposition which has to be defended by those who deny the dwindling of organs from disuse. Their proposition amounts to this:—that for a hundred generations an inactive organ may be partially denuded of blood all through life, and yet in the hundredth generation will be produced of just the same size as in the first! ”

“ By a calculation of the chance coincidences of the muscles of the human body, Professor Spence appears to reduce to an utter absurdity any theory that makes the will depend upon trial and error. At the same time, he finds in the doctrine of evolution an easy way out of the difficulty. ”

“ The Historian speaks of a certain Person, who, in digging, happened unawares to cut an Asp with his Spade, and went mad upon it,—was taken into the House of Serapis, an Egyptian Idol,—the Relatives of the Patient praying the Spectrum of that Serpent might be destroyed,——which being accordingly done by Magick Art, the Man was cured.——By this we see, how highly Asps were venerated among the Egyptians, who not only suffer’d them to live, but to live in their Houses, where they were carefully fed, as Favourites of the Family [136] . ”

“ Hours after this discovery, if an observer were to remain stationary, the specks take on the shapes of animal life—two men, a woman, and two burros bearing packs. Onward they move slowly, and once more become mere specks, scarce discernible against the weird hue of the sky, then vanish altogether. ”

“ That the same mental representations are not found in different animals, may be inferred from their differences in constitution resulting from their different origins, and from the variety in their organs of sense. Sextus takes up the five senses in order, giving illustrations to prove the relative results of the mental representations in all of them, as for example the subjectivity of color [2] and sound. [3] All knowledge of objects through the senses is relative and not absolute. ”

“ It is true that in other respects the higher primates (even including man) may be more specialized, but the specialization is not as obvious as in the cases referred to, and it is not evident how we are to balance irrelative specializations against each other, or even how we shall subordinate such cases. ”

“ And in every classification they considered some one class as the lowest or infima species. Man, for instance, was a lowest species. Any further divisions into which the class might be capable of being broken down, as man into white, black, and red man, or into priest and layman, they did not admit to be species. ”