The juxtaposition of these texts, one with another, and the comparison of them, mutually, with the explication of the _serpent_, given at p. 229, will not only confirm the _truth_ of all the foregoing developments, but satisfy you further, what I am very certain you did not before identify, viz. that the phrases _generation of vipers_, and the being _born of fornication_, are one and the same--the _viper_, or _serpent_, being the symbol of _lustfulness_, making the former equivalent to _ye offspring of concupiscence_; that is, in other words, ye _born of fornication_![595] And the very stress laid upon this mode of _geniture_, implies not only the _possibility_ of a different sort, but its _frequency_ also! “In the Purana prophecies concerning the expected Saviour,” say the _Asiatic Researches_, “it is said, that he was the son, or rather the incarnation, of the great serpent: and his mother was also of that tribe, and incarnate in the house of a pot-maker. She conceived, at the age of one year and a half, the great serpent gliding over her while she was asleep in the cradle: and his mother, accordingly, is represented as saying to the child, once that she brought him to a place full of serpents--‘Go and play with them, _they are your relations_.’” Here it will be seen that, under the form of a serpent, is personified the _Deity_, or the _generative power_. Nunez de la Vega, Bishop of Chiapa, in Mexico, when describing Nagualism, in his _Constitutions_, as observed in that country, says: “The Nagualists practise it by superstitious calendars, wherein are inserted the proper names of all the Naguals, of stars, the elements, birds, beasts, fishes, and reptiles; with observations upon the months and days; in order that the children, as soon as they are born, may be dedicated to that which, in the calendar, corresponds with the day of their birth; this is preceded by some frantic ceremonies, and the express consent of parents, which is an explicit part between the infants and the Naguals that are to be given to them. They then appoint the _melpa_, or place, where, after the completion of seven years, they are brought into the presence of the Nagual to ratify the engagement; for this purpose they make them renounce God and His blessed Mother, instructing them beforehand not to be alarmed, or sign themselves with the cross: they are afterwards to embrace the Nagual affectionately, which, by _some diabolical art or another, appears very tame, and fondly attached to them, although it may be a beast of a ferocious nature, as a lion, a tiger, etc._ They persuade the children, by their _infernal cunning_, that this Nagual is _an angel sent by God_ to watch over their fortunes, to protect, assist, and accompany them; and that it must be invoked upon all occasions, business, or occurrences, in which they may require its aid!”