Sentence:  ...and most plainly Pierius, whose words in his hieroglyphicks are these: "Whereas it is commonly said that a <WSD>salamander</WSD> extinguisheth fire, we have found by experience that it is so far from quenching hot coals, that it dyeth immediately therein." 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A long, slender, chiefly terrestrial amphibian of the order Caudata, superficially resembling a lizard.