He was a terror to any snake that came in his path, whether it was the cold, slimy reptile sliding along the ground or the more dangerous snake that oppresses men through false teachings. And he drove the snakes out of the minds of men, snakes of superstition and brutality and cruelty.

Brisbane uses “snake” as a double emblem: the literal reptile and, more pointedly, the figurative serpent of deceit—false doctrine, superstition, and the social cruelties that such beliefs can justify. The passage praises a figure (likely a reformer, teacher, or moral exemplar) as someone who confronts both physical danger and intellectual/moral corruption. “Driving snakes out of the minds of men” frames enlightenment as an act of cleansing: replacing fear, brutality, and credulity with clearer thinking and humane conduct. The rhetoric is characteristic of popular moral journalism, turning a vivid image into a broader argument for education, skepticism toward manipulative authority, and ethical progress.