in Astronomy, a constellation in the northern hemisphere, called more particularly Serpens Ophiuchi. The stars in the constellation Serpens, in Ptolemy's catalogue, are 18; in Tycho's, 13; in Hevelius's, 22; and in the Britannic catalogue, 64.

SERPENS Biceps, or Double-headed Snake; a monster of the serpent kind, of which some individuals are described by naturalists.

SERPENTES, Serpents, in the Linnaean system of zoology, an order of animals belonging to the class of amphibia. See OPHIOLOGY.

The serpent has been always considered the enemy of man; and it has hitherto continued to terrify and annoy him, notwithstanding all the arts which have been practised to destroy it. Formidable in itself, it deters the invader from the pursuit; and from its figure, capable of finding shelter in a little space, it is not easily discovered by those who would venture to encounter it. Thus possessed at once of potent arms, and inaccessible or secure retreats, it baffles all the arts of man, though ever so earnestly bent upon its destruction. For this reason, there is scarcely a country in the world that does not still give birth to this poisonous brood, that seems formed to quell human pride, and repress the boasts of security. Mankind have driven the lion, the tiger, and the wolf, from their vicinity; but the snake and the viper still defy their power.

Their numbers, however, are thinned by human fidelity; and it is possible some of the kinds are wholly destroyed. In none of the countries of Europe are they sufficiently numerous to be truly terrible. The various malignity that has been ascribed to European serpents of old is now utterly unknown; there are not above three or four kinds that are dangerous, and their poison operates in all in the same manner. The drowsy death, the startling of the blood from every pore, the inflatable and burning thirst, the melting down the solid fats of the whole form into one heap of putrefaction, said to be occasioned by the bites of African serpents, are horrors with which we are entirely unacquainted, and are perhaps only the creatures of fancy.

But though we have thus reduced these dangers, having been incapable of wholly removing them, in other parts of the world they still rage with all their ancient malignity. In the warm countries that lie within the tropics, as well as in the cold regions of the north, where the inhabitants are few, the serpents propagate in equal proportion. But of all countries those regions have them in the greatest abundance where the fields are unpeopled and fertile, and where the climate supplies warmth and humidity. All along the swampy banks of the river Niger or Oroonoko, where the sun is hot, the forests thick, and the men but few, the serpents cling among the branches of the trees in infinite numbers, and carry on an unceasing war against all other animals in their vicinity. Travellers have assured us, that they have often seen large snakes twining round the trunk of a tall tree, encompassing it like a wreath, and thus rising and descending at pleasure.—We are not, therefore, to reject as wholly fabulous the accounts left us by the ancients of the terrible devastations committed by a single serpent. It is probable, in early times, when the arts were little known, and mankind were but thinly scattered over the earth, that serpents, continuing undisturbed possessors of the forest, grew to an amazing magnitude; and every other tribe of animals fell before them. It then might have happened, that serpents reigned the tyrants of a district for centuries together. To animals of this kind, grown by time and capacity to 100 or 150 feet in length, the lion, the tiger, and even the elephant itself, were but feeble opponents. That horrible factor, which even the commonest and the most harmless snakes are still found to diffuse, might, in these larger ones, become too powerful for any living being to withstand; and while they preyed without distinction, they might thus also have poisoned the atmosphere around them. In this manner, having for ages lived in the hidden and unpeopled forest, and finding, as their appetites were more powerful, the quantity of their prey decreasing, it is possible they might venture boldly from their retreats into the more cultivated parts of the country, and carry consternation among mankind, as they had before defoliation among the lower ranks of nature. We have many histories of antiquity, presenting us such a picture, and exhibiting a whole nation sinking under the ravages of a single serpent. At that time man had not learned the art of uniting the efforts of many to effect one great purpose. Opposing multitudes only added new victims to the general calamity, and increased mutual embarrassment and terror. The animal was therefore to be finely opposed by him who had the greatest strength, the best armour, and the most undaunted courage. In such an encounter, hundreds must have fallen; till one, more lucky than the rest, by a fortunate blow, or by taking the monster in its torpid interval, and furbished with spoil, might kill, and thus rid his country of the destroyer. Such was the original occupation of heroes; and those who first obtained that name, from their destroying the ravagers of the earth, gained it much more deservedly than their successors, who acquired their reputation only for their skill in destroying each other. But as we descend into more enlightened antiquity, we find these animals less formidable, as being attacked in a more successful manner. We are told, that while Regulus led his army along the banks of the river Bagrada in Africa, an enormous serpent disputed his passage over. We are assured by Pliny, that it was 120 feet long, and that it had destroyed many of the army. At last, however, the battering engines were brought out against it; and these afflicting it at a distance, it was soon destroyed. Its spoils were carried to Rome, and the general was decreed an ovation for his success. There are, perhaps, few facts better ascertained in history than this: an ovation was a remarkable honour; and was given only for some signal exploit that did not deserve a triumph: no historian would offer to invent that part of the story at least, without being subject to the most shameful detection. The skin was kept for several years after in the Capitol; and Pliny says he saw it there. At present, indeed, such ravages from serpents are scarcely seen in any part of the world; not but that, in Africa and America, some of them are powerful enough to brave the assaults of men to this day.

—Nequeunt expleri corda tuendo Terribiles oculos, vultum villosaque setis Pectora.— VIRGIL.

We have given a place to the preceding remarks, not so much for their accuracy, as to show what were formerly the sentiments of mankind concerning this tribe of animals.