"There is a...tribe in Africa called the Psylli after King Psyllus, whose tomb is in the region of Greater Syrtes, as Agatharchides records. They produce in their bodies a poison deadly to snakes, and its odour puts snakes to sleep. Their custom was to expose children at birth to extremely fierce snakes and to use these snakes to test the faithfulness of their wives since snakes do not flee people born of adulterous blood."
[Natural History, Pliny the Elder, Book 7, section 14; translated by John F. Healy]
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