Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-10-06
SNAKES
By Dr.. Frank Crane

According to an old legend, God put in the
Garden of Eden two trees, the one the Tree
Of Life, the other the Tree Of Death. He
then sent the serpent to tell Adam and Eve
to. eat only of the Tree of Life. But the SER
pent told them to eat Of the other tree and
thus got the fruit of Life for himself. He
Immediately gobbled up the Life apple, with
the result that he is immortal and human
creatures must die.
This legend probably originated in the fact
that the snake sheds his skin. Many savage
tribes believe that when this moulting takes
place, the snake becomes as strong and as
young as the year before.
At any rate, the superstition is widespread
that snakes live forever, and from most an
Gent times the image of the snake has been
used as the symbol of life. Curiously enough,
we find this symbol upon the uniform of the
United States Army medical officer.
The Bible story says that after the down
fall of Adam and Eve and their expulsion
from Eden eternal enmity was declared be-
tween all children of Eve and snakes; men
were forever to, crush the serpent's head and
the serpents were forever to bite mans heel.
This may be the form in which tradition
pictured the natural loathing which most
people have for reptiles.
At any rate the snake stands for treachery,
for immortality and for wisdom or shreWd-
ness. The snake legend takes these three
forms.
Even a snakes eggs have been supposed to
have healing power, in that strange pharma-
copoeia of the past where they used bats
wings and toads livers.
In some parts of the United States and
| probably elsewhere, a snakes skin nailed to
! the roof Of the house is supposed to be pro-
| lection against lightning. Here again the
snake represents good power and protection
against the destructive forces of nature.
There are some Christian sculptures where
| in the snake Is used to symbolic Jesus be-
| cause life and protection against evil which
are brought to US by the Saviour, were also
attributed In pagan legends to the snake.
| The natural antipathy, however, Of human
beings toward reptiles has not given the
| snake much chance to pose as a model Of
goodness. He Is rather symbolizat1on OF
that shrewdness by which one can protect
| himself.
Thus the snake has been used as a symbol
| for argument, clever and bewildering argu-
ment, difficult to combat. This was an ap-
| propriate figure in the Middle Ages, when the
wisest kind of man was supposed to be one
who could prove just how many angels could
stand on the point of needle. Naturally no
one but a real serpent could discuss matters
so fine.
| The snake was also used as a symbol of
prudence, for prudence and shrewd arguing
went together.
And as part of prudence is liberation
from passion and the dangers into which pas
| sion leads us, and as snakes are especially
| cold-blooded, their use as representatives OF
| prudence was appropriate.
In art we sometimes see snakes used In
| connection with vampire women. But this
was not true of the most ancient art, for their
serpent was the symbol Of the prudent man
or woman who was not to be taken In by any
passion or led astray by any within.
copyright, 1921, by Frank Crane)
|