Serpentinians. See Ophites.
Serpent - ■worship. The extent to which this species of idolatry yhas prevailed is very remarkal)le. From the fact that Satan assumed the form of a serpent.
in his temptation of our first parents, it has been adopt- ed as the symbol of Typhon, or the evil deity of the an- cient Egyptians; of Ahriman among the Persians; and of the spirit of evil in the hieroglyphics of the Chinese and Mexicans. The serpent whose head the Messiah was to crush was transformed, in heathen fable, into the hj-dra which Hercules vanquished, and in India into that over which Krishna triumphed; into Ilorus in Egypt, Sie(ifried among the Germans, and Cirtc in Poland. We have also the serpent Python slain by Apollo, and the hundred-headed snake destroyed b^' Jupiter. The ser- pent was anciently worshipped in Chaktea and in several other nations of the East. Servius tells us that the ancient Egyptians called serpents good djemons. The asp was the emblem of the goddess Kanno, and was sup- posed to protect the houses, or the gardens, of individuals, as well as the infancy of a royal child. This serpent was called Thermuthis, and with it the statues of Isis were crowned as with a diadetn. The snake Bai also appears to have figured as a goddess; and another snake-headed goddess had the name of Hoh or Hih. The Typhon of the Egyptians had the upper part of his person deco- rated with a hundred heads like those of a serpent or dragon.
In the religions of all the Asiatic nations the serpent is regarded as a wicked being who brought evil into the world. As such it became, in course of time, an object of religious worship in almost every part of heathen- dom, the worship being inspired rather by the desire to avert evil than to express reverence or gratitude. The Hindil serpent is the type and emblem of the evil prin- ciple in nature; and as such we see it wrestling with the goddess Parvati, or writhing under the victorious foot of Krishna, when he saves from its corrupting breath the herds that pasture near the waters of the Yamuna. "As a further illustration of this view, it is contended that many Hindus, who feel themselves con- strained to pay religious worship to the serpent, regard it, notwithstanding, as a hideous reptile, whose approach inspires them with a secret awe and insurmoimtable horror." In the symbolic language of antiquity the serpent occupies a conspicuous place. In (ien. iii, 1 we are told that "the sequent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made." In consonance with this view the Chinese regard Long, or the winged dragon, as the being who excels in intelli- gence. The supreme god of the Chaldeans, Bel, was adored under the form of a serpent or dragon; hence the Apocryphal book Bel and the Dragon. To repre- sent the Almighty upholding the world by his powerful Word, the Hindus describe it as resting upon a serpent which bites its own tail; and the Phoenicians entwine the folds of a serpent around the cosmic egg. On the Egyptian monuments Kueph is seen as a serpent car- ried upon two legs of a man, or a serpent with a lion's head. The Siamese, while they are afraid of venomous serpents, never dare to injure them ; but, on the con- trary, they consider it a lucky omen to have them in or near their houses. Among the Chinese the serpent is a symbolic monster, dwelling in spring above the clouds to give rain, and in autumn imder the waters.
Among the North American Indians the serpent was formerly held in great veneration; the IMohicans pay- ing the highest respect to the rattlesnake, which they called their grandfather. Many primitive nations, how- ever, looked upon the serpent as the personification of the evil principle. Among the idolatrous nations who descended from Ham this species of idolatry was uni-: versally practiced, and has sometimes been alleged to have been the most prevalent kind of worship in the antediluvian world. See Fergusson, Tree and Serpent Worship (Loud. 1869, 4to). Sec Serpent.
Serrad, Giovanni Ani>rea. an Italian prelate, was born at Castel Monardo (now Filadelfia), Feb. 4, 1731, and studied for the priesthood twelve years at Rome under the best teachers. He reorganized the Seminary of Tropea in 1759, and then went to Naples in couuec-
SERRES
SERVANT OF JEHOVAH
tion with marquis Fraggianni, whose lite he wrote, and also with abbe Genovesi, who procured him the chair of history in the Royal University, and afterwards that of theology in the College of the Saviour (1768). He was appointed bishop of Potenza in 1782, but was not consecrated till a year later, owing to some technical op- position. At the reorganization of the Royal Academy of Naples in 1778, he was chosen one of its perpetual secretaries. He was massacred Feb. 24, 1799, during the revolution which followed the French army. He wrote several works on local ecclesiastical history, in Latin and Italian, for which see Hoefer, N^ouv. Biog. Ge- nerule, s. v.
Serres (Lat. Serra7ius), Jean de, a French Protes- tant historian and theologian, was born at Villeneuve de Berg about 1540, and educated at Lausanne, especial- ly in ancient languages and philosophy. He early dis- tinguished himself by his learned historical writings. In 1578 he was called to Nismes as rector of the acad- emy' and principal of the College of Arts. He was very active and conspicuous in the ecclesiastical affairs of the times, especially by his writings and the part he took in public religious bodies. He died at Geneva, May 31. 1598. For his extensive works, chiefly embracing Church history and polity, see Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Ge- nerale, s. v.