Thus, in Pharos and other places, the bite of the
scorpion is not dangerous; elsewhere-in Caria, for instances-where
scorpions are venomous as well as plentiful and of large size, the
sting is fatal to man or beast, even to the pig, and especially to a
black pig, though the pig, by the way, is in general most singularly
indifferent to the bite of any other creature. If a pig goes into
water after being struck by the scorpion of Caria, it will surely die.
There is great variety in the effects produced by the bites of
serpents. The asp is found in Libya; the so-called 'septic' drug is
made from the body of the animal, and is the only remedy known for the
bite of the original. Among the silphium, also, a snake is found,
for the bite or which a certain stone is said to be a cure: a stone
that is brought from the grave of an ancient king, which stone is
put into water and drunk off. In certain parts of Italy the bite of
the gecko is fatal. But the deadliest of all bites of venomous
creatures is when one venomous animal has bitten another; as, for
instance, a viper's after it has bitten a scorpion. To the great
majority of such creatures man's is fatal.
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