in Natural History, an old term employed to denote a mineral, of a dusky green ground, sprinkled with spots of a lighter green, otherwise called serpentine. See MINERALOGY Index.

church history, Christian heretics, so called both from the veneration they had for the serpent that tempted Eve, and the worship they paid to a real serpent: they pretended that the serpent was Jesus Christ, and that he taught men the knowledge of good and evil. They distinguished between Jesus and Christ: Jesus, they said, was born of the Virgin, but Christ came down from heaven to be united with him; Jesus was crucified, but Christ had left him to return to heaven. They distinguished the God of the Jews, whom they termed Jahabooth, from the supreme God: to the former they ascribed the body, to the latter the soul of man. They had a live serpent, which they kept in a kind of cage; at certain times they opened the cage door, and called the serpent: the animal came out, and mounting upon the table, twined itself about some loaves of bread; this bread they broke and distributed it to the company, who all kissed the serpent: this they called their Eucharift.