is expressely called upon the names of persons are not expressed but almighty and everlasting God invocated who abideth in trinity and unity it doth easily appear elsewhere also that the persons being not named under the name of almighty everlasting God not only the father to be understood but God which abideth in trinity and unity that is the father the sonne and the Holy-ghost A third objection of theirs is this The sonne of God oftentimes praying in the gospels speaking unto the father promiseth the holy spirit and doth also admonish the apostles to pray unto the heavenly father but yet in the name of the sonne Besides that he prescribeth them this forme of prayer Our father which art in heaven Ergo the father only is to be called upon and consequently the father only is that one and very true God of whom it is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve Whereto I answer first by denying the consequent The son prayed to the father only Ergo the father only is of us also to be prayed unto For the sonne of God is distinguished of us both in person and in office he as a mediator maketh intercession for us to the father and although the sonne and the holy spirit do both together receive and take us into favour with God yet is he said to intreat the father for us because the father is the fountain of all counsels and divine works Furthermore touching the forme of praying described of Christ it is not necessary that the fathers name should personally be there taken sith there is no distinction of persons made but by the name of father indefinitely wee understand God or the essence of God the father the sonne and the Holy-ghost For this name hath not alwaies a respect unto the generation of the sonne of God but God is called the father of the faithfull because of his gracious and free adopting of them the foundation whereof is the son of God in whom we be adopted but yet so adopted that not the father only receiveth us into his favour but with him also the sonne and the holy spirit doth the same Therefore when we in the beginning of prayer do advertise our selves of Gods goodnesse towards us we doe not cast an eye to the father alone but also to the sonne who gave us the spirit of adoption and to the holy spirit in whom we cry Abba Father And if so be that invocation and prayer were restrained to the father alone then had the saints done amisse in calling upon invocating and praying to the son of God and with the son the holy spirit in baptisme according to the forme by Christ himselfe assigned and delivered Another objection is out of the fourth of Amos in this manner For lo it is I that make the thunder and create the spirit and shew unto men their Christ making the light and the clouds and mounting above the high places of the earth the Lord God of hosts is his name Now because it is read in that place shewing unto men their Christ the Pneumatomachi contended that these words are to be understood of the holy spirit But Ambrose in his book De spiritu sancto lib. 2. cap. 7. doth rightly answer that by spirit in this place is meant the wind for if the prophets purpose and will had been to speak of the holy spirit he would not have begunne with thunder nor have ended with light and clouds Howbeit the same father saith If any suppose that these words are to be drawn unto the interpretation of the holy spirit because the prophet saith Shewing unto men their Christ he ought also to draw these words unto the mystery of the Lords incarnation and he expoundeth thunder to be the words of the Lord and spirit to be the reasonable and perfect soul. But the former interpretation is certain and convenient with the words of the prophet by whom there is no mention made of Christ but the power of God is set forth in his works Behold saith the prophet he that formeth the mountains and createth the wind and declareth unto man what is his thought which maketh the morning darknesse and walketh upon the high places of the earth the Lord God of hosts is his name In this sort Santes a right skilfull man in the Hebrew tongue translateth this place of the prophet But admit this place were written of the holy spirit and were not appliable either to the wind or to the Lords incarnation yet doth it not follow that the holy spirit is a creature because this word of Creating doth not alwaies signifie a making of something out of nothing 〈◊〉 Eusebius in expounding these words The Lord created me in the beginning of his wayes writeth thus The prophet in the person of God saying Behold I am he that made the thunder and created the spirit and shewed unto men their Christ this word created is not so to be taken as that it is to be concluded thereby that the same was not before For God hath not so created the spirit sithence by the same he hath shewed and declared his Christ unto all men Neither was it a thing of late beginning under the sonne but it was before all beginning and was then sent when the apostles were gathered together when a sound like thunder came from heaven as it had been the comming of a mighty wind this word Created being used for sent downe for appointed ordained c. and the word thunder signifying in another kind of manner the preaching of the gospels The like saying is that of the Psalmist A clean heart create in me O God wherein he prayed not as one having no heart but as one that had such a heart as needed purifying as needed perfecting and this phrase also of the scripture that he might create two in one new man that is that he might join couple or gather together c. Furthermore the Pneumaâ—omachi by these testimonies insuing endeavour to prove the holy spirit to be a creature Out of Iohn the 1. cha By this word were all things made and without it nothing was made Out of the 1 Cor. 8. We have one God the father even he from whom are all things c we in him and one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things and we by him Out of the 1. Coloss. By him were all things made things in heaven and things in earth visible and invisible c. Now if all things were made by the sonne it followeth that by him the holy spirit was also made Whereto I answer that when all things are said to be made by the sonne that same universall proposition is restrained by Iohn himself to a certain kind of things Without him saith the evangelist was nothing made that was made Therefore it is first to be shewed that the holy spirit was made and then will we conclude out
of Iohn that if he were made he was made of the sonne The scripture doth no where say that the holy spirit was made of the father or of the sonne but to proceed to come and to be sent from them both Now if these universall proposition are to suffer no restraint it shall follow that the father was made of the son than the which what is more absurd and wicked Again they object out of Matth. 11. None knoweth the sonne but the father and none the father but the sonne to wit of and by himself for otherwise both the angels and to whomsoever else it shall please the sonne to reveal the father these do know doth the father and the son Now if so be the spirit be not equall with the father and the sonne in knowledge he is not only unequall and lesser than they but also no God for ignorance is not incident unto God Where to I answer that where in holy scripture we do meet with universall propositions negative or exclusive they are not to be expounded of one person so as the rest are excluded but creatures or false gods are to be excluded and whatsoever else is without or beside the essence and being of God Reasons to prove and confirme this interpretation I could bring very many whereof I will adde some for example In the seventh of Iohn it is said When Christ shall come none shall know from whence he is notwithstanding which words the Jewes thought that neither God nor his angels should be ignorant from whence Christ should be In the fourth to the Galatians A mans covenant or testament confirmed with authority no body doth abrogate or adde any thing thereunto No just man doth so but tyrants and truce-breakers care not for covenants In Iohn eight Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst And yet it is not to be supposed that a multitude of people was not present and the disciples of Christ likewise but the word Solus alone is referred to the womans accusers who withdrew themselves away every one and departed In the sixt of Mark when it was evening the ship was in the midst of the sea and he alone upon land he was not alone upon land or shore for the same was not utterly void of dwellers but he had not any of his disciples with him nor any body to carry him a shipboard unto his disciples Many phrases or for 〈◊〉 speeches like unto these are to be found in the sacred scriptures and 〈◊〉 â—â—thors both Greek and Latine whereby we understand that neither universall negative nor exclusive particles are strictly to be urged but to be explained in such sort as the matter in hand will bear When as therefore the son alone is said to know the father and it is demanded whether the holy spirit is debarred from knowing the father out of other places of scriptures judgement is to be given in this case In some places the holy spirit is counted and reckoned with the father and the son jointly wherefore he is not to be separated Elsewhere also it is attributed to the holy spirit that he alone doth know the things which be of God and seattheth the deep secrets of God wherefore from him the knowing of God is not to be excluded They do yet further object that it is not convenient or fit for God after the manner of suters to humble and cast downe himself but the holy spirit doth so praying and intreating for us with unspeakable groans Rom. 8. Ergo the holy spirit is not God Whereunto I answer that the holy spirit doth pray and intreat insomuch as he provoketh us to pray and maketh us to groan and sigh Oftentimes also in the scriptures is that action or deed attributed unto God which we being stirred up and moved by him doe bring to passe So it is said of God unto Abraham Now I know that thou fearest God and yet before he would have sacrificed Isaac God knew the very heart of Abraham and therefore this word Cognovi I know is as much as Cognoscere feci I have made or caused to know And that the spirit to pray and intreat is the same that to make to pray and intreat the apostle teacheth even there writing that we have received the spirit of adoption in whom we cry Abba Father Where it is manifest that it is we which cry the Holy-ghost provoking and forcing us thereunto Howbeit they goe further and frame this reason Whosoever is sent the sache is inferior and lesser than he of whom he is sent and furthermore he is of a comprehensible substance because he passeth by locall motion from place to â—lace but the holy spirit is foot of the father and the sonne Iohn 14.15 16. It is powred forth and shed upon men Acts 10. Ergo the holy spirit is lesser than the Father and the Sonne and of a comprehensible nature and consequently not very God Whereto I answer first that he which is sent is not alwayes lesser than he that sendeth to prove which position any mean wit may inferre many instances Furthermore touching the sending of the holy spirit we are here to imagin no changing or shifting of place For if the spirit when he goeth from the Father and is sent changeth his place then must the Father also be in a place that he may leave it and goe to another And as for the incomprehensible nature of the spirit hee cannot leaving his place passe unto another Therefore the sending of the spirit is the eternall and unvariable will of God to doe something by the holy spirit and the revealing and executing of this will by the operation and working of the spirit The spirit was sent to the Apostles which spirit was present with them sith it is present every-where but then according to the will of God the Father hee shewed himselfe present and powerfull Some man may say if sending be a revealing and laying open of presence and power then may the Father be said to be sent because hee himself is also revealed I answer that when the spirit is said to be sent not only the revealing but the order also of his revealing is declared because the will of the Father and of the Son of whom he is sent going before not in time but in order of persons the spirit doth reveal himself the father and also the Son The Father revealeth himself by others the Son and the Holy Spirit so that his will goeth before Therefore sending is the common work of all the three persons howbeit for order of doing it is distinguished by diverse names The Father will reveal himself unto men with the son and the spirit and be powerfull in them and therefore is said to send The sonne doth assent unto the will of the Father and will that to bee done by themselves which God will to be done by them these are said to be sent And because
Christ did ordaine The sound save every hower The sick and sore make whole again By vertue of thy power And that which mans unablenesse Hath never comprehended Grant by thy name of holynesse It may be fully ended c. A charme taken out of the Primer THis charm following is taken out of the Primer aforesaid Omnipotens ✚ Dominus ✚ Christus ✚ Messias ✚ with 34. names more and as many crosses and then proceeds in this wife Ista nomina me protegant ab omni adversitate plaga infirmitate corporis animae plenè liberent assistent in auxilium ista nomina regum Gasper c. 12. Apostoli videlicet Petrus c. 4. Evangelistae vedelicet Matthaeus c. mibi assistent in omnibus necessitatibus meis ac me defendant liberent ab omnibus periculis corporis animae omnibus malis praeteritis praesentibus futuris c. CHAP. X. How to make holy water and the vertues thereof St. Rufins charm of the wearing and bearing of the name of Iesus that the sacrament of confession and the eucharist is of as much efficacy as other charms and magnified by L. Vairus IF I did well I should shew you the confection of all their stuffe and how they prepare it but it would be too long And therefore you shall only have in this place a few notes for the composition of certaine receipts which instead of an Apothecary if you deliver to any morrowmâ—sse priest he will make them as well as the pope himselfe Mary now they wax every Parliament deerer and deerer although therewithall they utter many stale drugs of their own If you look in the popish pontifical you shall see how they make their holy water to wit in this sort I conjure thee thou creature of water in the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the Holy-ghost that thou drive the devill out of every corner and hole of this church and altar so as he remaine not within our precincts that are just and righteous And water thus used as Durandus saith hath power of his own nature to drive away divels If you will learn to make any more of this popish stuffe you may go to the very masse-book and find many good receipts marry if you search Durandus c. you shall find abundance I know that all these charmes and all these paltery confections though they were far more impious and foolish will be maintained and defended by massemongers even as the residue will be by witchmongers and therefore I will in this place insert a charm the authority whereof is equal with the rest desiring to have their opinions herein I find in a book called Pomoerium sermonum quadragefimalium that S. Francis seeing Rufinus provoked of the devil to think himself damned charged Rufinus to say this charme when he next met with the devill Aperios ibi 〈◊〉 nam stercus which is as much to say in English as Open thy mouth and I will puâ— in a plum a very ruffinly charme Leonard Vairus writeth De veris piis ac sanctis amuletis fascinum â—â—que omnia veneficia destruent ibus wherein he specially commendeth the name of Jesus to be worne But the sacrament of confession he extolleth above all things saying that whereas Christ with his power did beâ—throw divels out of mens bodies the priest driveth the devil out of man soul by confession For saith he these words of the priest when he saith Ep te absolvo are as effectuall to drive away the princes of darknesse throoâ— the mighty power of that saying as was the voice of God to drive away the darknesse of the world when at the beginning he said Fiat lux He commendeth also as wholesome things to drive away devils the sacrament of the eucharist and solitarinesse and silence Finally he saith thaâ— if there be added hereunto an Agnus Dei the same be worne about onâ— neck by one void of sin nothing is wanting that is good and wholesome for this purpose But he concludeth that you must wear and make 〈◊〉 in your forehead with crossing your selfe when you put on your shoe and at every other action c. and that is also a present remedie to dinâ— away devils for they cannot abide it CHAP. XI Of the Noble balme used by Moses apishly counterfeited in the châ—rcâ— of Rome THe noble balme that Moses made having indeed many excellent vâ—â—â—tues besides the pleasant and comfortable savour thereof wheâ— withall Moses in his politike lawes enjoined Kings Queens and Prince to be anointed in their true and lawful elections and coronations 〈◊〉 the everlasting King had put on man upon him is apishly counterfeit in the Romish Church with divers terrible conjurations three breâ—â—â—ings crossewise able to make a quezie stomach spue nine mumbliâ—â— and three curtsies saying thereunto Ave sanctum oleum ter ave sancta balsamum And so the devil is thrust out and the Holy Ghost let 〈◊〉 to his place But as for Moses his balm it is not now to be found either 〈◊〉 Rome or elsewhere that I can learn And according to this papistiâ—â— order witches and other superstitious people follow on with charmâ— and conjurations made in form which many bad Physicians also practiâ—â—â— when their learning faileth as may appear by example in the sequele CHAP. XII The opinâ—on of Ferrarins touching charmes periapis appensions amulets c. Of Homericall medicines of constant opinion and the effects thereof ARgerius Ferrarius a physician in these dayes of great account doth say that forsomuch as by no diet nor physicke any disease can be so taken away or extinguished but that certain dregs and reliques will remaine therefore physicians use physical alligations appensions peraipts amulets charmes characters c. which he supposeth may do good but harm he is sure they can do none urging that it is necessary and exâ—pedient for a physician to leave nothing undone that may be devised for his patients recovery and that by such means many great cures are done He citeth a great number of experiments out of Alexander Trallianus Aetius Octavianus Marcellus Philodotus Archigines Philostratus Plinie c Dioscorides and would make men beleeve that Galen who in truth despised and derided all those vanities recanted in his latter dayes his former opinion and all his invectives tending against these magicall cures writing also a book intituled De Homerica medicatione which no man could ever see but one Alexander Trallianus who saith he saw it and further affirmeth that it is an honest mans part to cure the sicke by hook or by crooke or by any means whatsoever Yea he saith that Galen who indeed wrote and taught that Incantamenta sunt muliercularum figmenta and be the onely clokes of bad physicians affirmeth that there is vertue and great force in incantations As for example saith Trallian Galen being now reconciled to this opinion
following was first authorized and printed at Rome and afterwards at Avenion Anno 1515. And lest that the devill should lie hid in some secret part of the body every part thereof is named Obsecro te Iesu Christe c. that is I beseech thee O Lord Jesus Christ that thou pull out of every member of this man all infirmities from his head from his haire from his braine from his forehead from his eyes from his nose from his eares from his mouth from his tongue from his teeth from his jawes from his throate from his neck from his backe from his brest from his paps from his heart from his stomach from his sides from his flesh from his blood from his bones from his legs from his feet from his fingers from the soles of his feet from his marrow from his sinewes from his skin and from every joint of his members c. Doubtlesse Jesus Christ could have no starting hole but was hereby every way prevented and pursued so as he was forced to do the cure for it appeareth hereby that it had been insufficient for him to have said Depart out of this man thou unclean spirit and that when he so said he did not performe it I do not think that there will be found among all the heathens superstitious fables or among the witches conjurors poets knaves coseners fooles c. that ever wrot so impudent and impious a lie or charm as is read in Barnardine de bustis where to cure a sick man Christs body to wit a wafer-cake was outwardly applied to his side and entered into his heart in the sight of all the standers by Now if grave authors report such lies what credit in these cases shall we attribute unto the old wives ales that Sprenger Institor Bodin and others write Even as much as to Ovids Metamorphosis Aesops fables Moores Utopia and divers other â—ansies which have as much truth in them as a blind man hath sight in his eye A charme for the bots in a horse You must both say and do thus upon the diseased horse three dayes together before the sunne rising In nomine pa ✚ tris fi ✚ lii spiritus ✚ sancti Exorcizo te veâ—mem per Deum pa ✚ trem si ✚ lium spiritum ✚ sanctum that is In the name of God the father the sonne and the Holy Ghost I conjure thee O worm by God the Father the son and the Holy Ghost that thou neither eate nor drink the flesh blood or bones of this horse and that thou hereby maist be made as patient as Iob and as good as S. Iohn Baptist when he baptized Christ in Iordan In nomine pa ✚ â—ris fi ✚ lii et spiritus ✚ sancti And then say three Pater nosters and three Aves in the right eare of the horse to the glory of the holy trinity Do ✚ minus fili ✚ us spiri ✚ tus Mari ✚ a. There are also divers bookes imprinted as it should appeare with the authority of the church of Rome wherein are contained many medicinall prayers not onely against all diseases of horses but also for every impediment and fault in a horse insomuch as if a shoe fall off in the middest of his journey there is a prayer to warrant your horses hoof so as it shall no â— breake how farre so ever he be from the Smithes forge Item The Duke of Alba his horse was consecrated or canonized in the Low-Countries at the solemne masse wherein the Popes bull and also his charm was published which I will hereafter recite he in the mean time sitting as Vice-roy with â—his consecrated standart in his hand till masse was done A charm against vineger THat wine wax not eager write on the vessel Gustate videte quâ—â— am suavis est Dominus CHAP. XV. The inchanting of serpents and snakes objections answered concerning the same fond reasons why charmes take effect the rein Mâ—homets pigeon miracles wrought by an asse at Memphis in Aegypt popish charmes against serpents of miracleworkers the taming 〈◊〉 snakes Bodins lie of snakes COncerning the charming of Serpents and snakes mine adversaries 〈◊〉 I have said think they have great advantage by the words of David is the fifty eight psalme and by Jeremy chap. eight expounding the one prophet by Virgil the other by Ovid. For the words of David are these Their poison is like the poison of a Serpent and like a deafe Adder thâ— Stoppeth his eare and heareth not the voice of the charmer charm 〈◊〉 never so cunningly The words of Virgil are these Frigidus in 〈◊〉 cantando rumpitur anguis As he might say David thou liest for the cold-natured snake is by the charms of the inchanters broken all to peece in the field where he lieth Then cometh Ovid and he taketh his countreymans part saying in the name and person of a witch Vipereas 〈◊〉 verbis carmine fauces that is I with my words and charmes can breâ—â— in sunder the vipers jawes Matry Jeremy on the other side encountereth this poetical witch and he not onely defendeth but expoundeth his fellowe prophets words and that not in his own name but in the naâ—â— of Almighty God saying I will send serpents and cockatrices among you which cannot be charmed Now let any indifferent man christian or heathen judge whe thâ—â— the words and minds of the prophets do not directly oppugne these poâ—â— words I will not say minds for that I am sure they did therein but jest 〈◊〉 trifle according to the common fabling of lying poets And certainly I 〈◊〉 encounter them two with other two poets namely Propertius and Horace the one merrily deriding the other seriously impugning their fantasticâ— poetries concerning the power and omnipotency of witches For when Virgil Ovid c. write that witches with their charmes fetch down the Moon and starres from heaven c. Propertius mocketh them in the words following At vos deductae quibus est fallacia Lunae Et labor in magicis sacra piare focis En agedum dominae mentem convertite nostrae Et facite illa meo palle at ore magis Tunc ego crediderim vobis sidera amnes Posse Circeis ducere carminibus But you that have the subtil slight Of fetching down the moon from skies And with inchanting fire bright Attempt to purge your sacrifice Lo now go too turn if you can Our madams mind and sturdy heart And make her face more pale and wan Than mine which if by magick art You do then will I soon believe That by your witching charmes you can From skies aloft the starres remeeve And rivers turne from whence they ran And that you may see more certainly that these poets did but jest and deride the credulous and timerous sort of people I thought good to shew you what Ovid saith against himself and such as have written so incredibly and ridiculously of witches omnipotency Nec mediae
and eye-lids their braines the roofe of their mouthes their tongues their throats their breast their hearts their bellies their livers all their bowels and their stomach Cursed be their navels their spleenes their bladder Cursed be their thighes their legs their feet their toes their necks their shoulders Cursed be their backs cursed be their armes cursed be their elbowes cursed be their hands and their fingers cursed be both the nails of their hands and feet cursed be their ribbs and their genitals and their knees cursed be their flesh cursed be their bones cursed be their bloud cursed be the skin of their bodies cursed be the marrows in their bones cursed be they from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot and whatsoever is betwixt the same be it accursed ' that is to say their five senses to wit their seeing their hearing their smelling their tasting and their feeling Cursed be they in the holy crosse in the passion of Christ with his five wounds with the effusion of his bloud and by the milk of the Virgine Mary I conjure thee Lucifer with all thy Souldiers by the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost with the humanity and nativity of Christ with the vertue of all Saints that thou rest not day nor night till thou bringest them to destruction either by drowning or hanging or that they be devoured by wild beasts or burnt or slain by their enemies or hated of all men living And as our Lord hath given authority to Peter the Apostle and his successors whose place we occupy and to us though unworthy that whatsoever we bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever we loose on earth shall be loose in heaven so we accordingly if they will not amend do shut from them the gates of heaven and deny unto them Christian burial so as they shall be buried in asses leaze Furthermore curssed be the ground wherein they are buried let them be confounded in the last day of Judgement let them have no conversation among Christians nor be houseled at the hour of death let them be made as dust before the face of the wind and as Lucifer was expelled out of heaven and Adam and Eve out of paradise so let them be expelled from the daylight Also let them be joyned with those to whom the Lord saith at the Judgement Go ye curssed into everlasting fire which is prepared for the devill and his angels where the worme shall not die nor the fire be quenched And as the candle which is throwne out of my hand here is put out so let their works and their soul be quenched in the stench of hell fire except they restore that which they have stolne by such a day and let every one say Amen After this must be sung In media vita in morte sumus c. This terrible curse with bell book and candle added thereunto must needs work wonders howbeit among theeves it is not much weighed among wise and true men it is not well liked to them that are robbed it bringeth small releef the priests stomach may well be eased but the goods stolne will never the sooner be restored Hereby is bewrayed both the malice and folly of popish doctrine whose unchaâ—itable impietie is so impudently published and in such order uttered as every sentence if opportunity served might be proved both heretical and diabolical But I will answer this cruel curse with another curse far more mild and civil performed by as honest a man I dare say as he that made the other whereof mention was lately made So it was that a certain Sir John with some of his company once went abroad a jetting and in a moon-light evening robbed a millers weire and stole all his eeles The poor miller made his mone to Sir John himself who willed him to be quiet for he would so curse the theef and all his confederates with bell book and candel that they should have small joy of their fish And therefore the next sunday Sir John got him to the pulpit with his surplisse on his back and his stole about his neck and pronounced these words following in the audience of the people All you that have stolne the millers eeles Laudate Dominum de coelis And all they that have consented thereto Benedicamus Domino Lo saith he there is savoe for your eeles my masters Another inchantment CErtaine priests use the hundred and eight psalm as an inchantment or charm or at the leastwise saying that against whomsoever they pronounce it they cannot live one whole year at the uttermost CHAP. XVIII A charme or experiment to find out a witch IN die dominico sotularia juvenum axungia seu pinguedine porci ut moris est pro restauratione fieri perungunt and when she is once come into the church the witch can never get out untill the searchers for her give her expresse leave to depart But now it is necessary to shew you how to prevent and cure all mischiefs wrought by these charmes and witchcrafts according to the opinion of M. Mal. and others One principal way is to naile a horse-shoe at the inside of the outmost threshhold of your house and so you shall be sure no witch shall have power to enter thereinto And if you marke it you shall find that rule observed in many countrey-houses Otherwise Item the triumphant title to be written crossewise in every corner of the house thus Iesus ✚ Nazarenus ✚ rex ✚ Iudaeorum ✚ Memorandum you may join herewithal the name of the virgine Mary or of the four Evangelists or Verbum caro factum est Otherwise Item in some countries they naile a wolves head on the door Otherwise Item they hang Scilla which is either a root or rather in this place garlike in the roof of the house for to keep away witches and spirits and so they do Alicium also Otherwise Item perfume made of the gall of a black dog and his bloud besmeered on the posts and walles of the house driveth out of the doors both devils and witches Otherwise The house where Herba betonica is sown is free from all mischiefes Otherwise It is not unknown that the Romish church allowed and used the smoak of Sulphur to drive spirits out of their houses as they did frankincense and water hallowed Otherwise Apuleius saith that Mercury gave to Ulysses when he came neer to the inchantresse Circe an herb called Verbascum which in English is called Mullein or Tapsus barbatus or Longwoort and that preserved him from the inchantments Otherwise Item Pliny and Homer bo do say that the herb call'd Moly is an excellent herb against inchantments and say all that thereby Ulysses escaped Circes her sorceries and inchantments Otherwise also diverse waies they went to worke in this case and some used this defensive some that preservative against incantations And herein you shall see not only how the religion of papists and infidels
other I doe call upon thee â—â— beseech thee O Lord Jesus Christ by thy nativity and baptisme thy crosse and passion by thine ascension and by the comming of the 〈◊〉 ghost by the bitternes of thy soule when it departed from the body thy five wounds by the bloud and water which went out of thy body thy vertue by the sacrament which thou gavest thy disciples the day before thou sufferedst by the holy trinity and the inseparable unity by blessed Mary thy mother by thine angels arch-angels prophets patriarchs and by all thy saints and by all the sacraments which are made in thine honor I doe worship and beseech thee to accept these prayers conjurations and words of my mouth which I will use I require thee O Lord Jesus Christ that thou give me thy vertue and power over all thine angeâ—â— which were throwne downe from heaven to deceive mankind to draw them to me to tie and bind them and also to loose them to gather them together before me and to command them to do all that they can and that by no meanes they contemne my voyce or the words of my mouth but that they obey me and my sayings and feare me I beseech thee by thine humanity mercy and grace and I require thee Adony Amay Horia Vege dova Mitaâ— Hel Suranat Ysion Ysesy and by all thy holy names and by all thine holy he saints and the saints by all thine angels and archangels powers dominations and verâ—ues and by that name that Solomon did bind the divels and shut them up Elbrach Ebanher Agle Goth Ioth Othie Venoch Nabrat and by all thine holy names which are written in this booke and by the vertue of them all that thou enable me to congrerate all thy spirits throwne downe from heaven that they may give me a true answer of all my demands and that they satisfie all my requests without the hurt of my body or soule or any thing else that of mine through our Lord Jesus Christ thy sonne which liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy ghost one God world without end Oh father omnipotent oh wise sonne oh Holy ghost the searcher of hearts oh you three in persons one true Godhead in substance which drift spare Adam and Eve in their sinnes and oh though sonne which diedst for their sinnes a most filthy death sustaining it upon the holy 〈◊〉 oh thou most mercifull when I flie unto thy mercy and beseech thee by all the means I can by these thy holy names of thy sonne to 〈◊〉 A and Q and all other his names grant me thy vertue and power that I may be able to cite before me thy spirits which where thrown downe from heaven and that they may speak with me and dispatch by and by without delay and with a good will and without the hurt of my body soule or goods c. as is contained in the book called Annulus S. Lomonis Oh great and eternall vertue of the highest which through disposition these being called to judgement Vaichâ—on Stimulamaton Esphares Tetragrammaton Olioraâ— Cryon Esytion Existion Eâ—iona Onela Brasim Noym Messias Soter Emanuel Sabbath Adonay I worship thee I invocate thee I imploy thee with all the strength of my mind that by thee my present prayers consecrations and conjurations be hollowed and wheresoever wicked spirits are called in the vertue of thy names they may come together from every coast and diligently fulfill the will of me the exorcist Fiat fiato fiat Amen CHAP. V. A confutation of the manifold vanities conteined in the precedent chapters specially of commanding of divels HE that can be perswaded that these things are true or wrought indeed according to the assertion of conseners or according to the supposition of witch mongers and papists may soone be brought to beleeve that the moone is made of green cheese You see in this which is called Salomons conjuration there is a perfect inventary registred of the number of divels of their names of their offices of their personages of their qualities of their powers of their properties of their kingdomes of their governâ—rs of their orders of their dispositions of their 〈◊〉 of their submission and of the wayes to bind or loose them with a note what wealth learning office commodity pleasure 〈◊〉 they can give and may be forced to yeeld in spight of their hearts to 〈◊〉 forsooth as are cunning in this art of whom yet was never seen 〈◊〉 rich man or at least that gained any thing that way or any 〈◊〉 man that became learned by that meanes or any happy man 〈◊〉 could with the helpe of this art either deliver himselfe or his 〈◊〉 from adversity or adde unto his estate any point of felicity yet 〈◊〉 men in all worldly happineâ—se must need exceed all others 〈◊〉 things could be by them accomplished according as it is presupposed 〈◊〉 if they may learne of Marbas all secrets and to cure all diseases and Furcas wisdome and to be cunning in all mechanicall arts and change any mans shape of Zepar if Bune can make them rich and eloquent if Beroâ—h can tell them of all things present past and to 〈◊〉 if Asmodie can make them go invisible and shew them all hidden treasure if Salmacke will afflict whom they list and Allocer can procure the 〈◊〉 of any woman if Amy can provide them excellent familiars if 〈◊〉 can make them understand the voyce of all birds and beasts and 〈◊〉 and Bifrons can make them live long and finally if Orias could proâ—â— unto them great friends and reconcile their enemies and they 〈◊〉 end had all these at commandement should they not live in all world honor and felicity whereas contrariwise they lead there lives in all oâ—â—quy misery and beggery and in fine come to the gallowes as thou they had chosen unto themselves the spirit Valefer who they say 〈◊〉 all them with whom he entereth into familiarity to no better end than the gibbet or gallowes But before I proceed further to the confuâ—â—tion of this stuffe I will shew other conjurations devised more lately and of more authority wheâ—ein you shall see how fooles are trained to beleeve these absurdities being wonne by little and little to such credulity For the author hereof beginneth as though all the cunning of conjurors were deâ—â—ved and fetcht from the planetary motions and true course of the 〈◊〉 celestiall bodies c. CHAP. VI. The names of the Planets their characters together with the twelve signes of the zodiake their dispositions aspects and government with other observations The disposition of the Planets The aspects of the Planets ☌ Is the best aspect with good planets and the worst with evill âš¹ Is a meane aspect in goodnese or badnesse â–³ Is very good in aspect to good planets and hâ—rteth not in evill â–¡ This aspect is of enimity not full perfect ☠This aspect is of enimity most perfect How the day is divided or
salutem humani generis maxima quaeque sacramenta in aquarum substantia condidisti adesto propitius invocationibus nostris elemento buic mâ—ltimodis purificationibus praeparato virtutem tuae bene ✚ dictionis insunde ut creatura tua mysteriis tuis servicas ad abigendos daemones maâ—bosque pellendos divinae gratiae sumat effectum ut quicquid in domibus vel inlocis fidelium haec unda resperserit careat omni immunditia liberetur a noxa non illic resideaâ— spiritus pestilens non aura corrumpens discedant omnes insidiâ— latentis inimici si quid est quod aut incolumitati habitantium invidet aut quieti asper sione hujus aquae effugiat ut salubritas per invocationem sancti tui nominis expetita ab omnibus sit impugnationibus desensa per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum filium tuum qui tecum vivil regnat in unitate spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum Amen Then take the salt in thy hand and say putting it into the water making in the manner of a Cross. Commixtio salis aquae pariter fiat in nomine patris filii spiritus sancti Amen Domâ—aus vâ—biscum Et cum spiritu tuo Oremus Deus mâ—cte virtutis author insuperabilâ—s imperit â—ex aâ— semper magnificus ritumâ— bator qui ad â—â—â—ae dominationis vâ—â—â—s repâ—â—mis qui inimici rugiâ—uâ— sa vitiam superas qui hostiles nequittas potens â—a pugnas te Domine trementes su plices dâ—pâ—â—â—aâ—uâ— aâ— potimus ut hanc â—râ—â—â—tâ—am salis aquae aspiâ—ias bemguus 〈…〉 es putails tuae rore sanct ✚ fices ubicunque fuâ—â—ll aspersa per invocationem sancti tui nominis omnis infestatio in mundi spiritus abâ—â—tatur terrorque venenosi se pantis procul pellatur praesevita sancti spiritus nobis 〈◊〉 tuam poscentibus ubique adesse dignetur per Dominum nostrum Ipsum â— brisium filium â—â—â—un qui â—â—cum vivit regnat in unitate spiritus sancti Deus per omnia soecula saeculerum Amen Then sprinkle upon any thing and say as followeth Asperges me Domine â—yssopo mundabor lavabis me supra niven dealbabor Miscrere mei Deus secundum magnam misericordiaum tuam supra nivem dealâ—abor Gloria patri filio spiritus sancto Sicut 〈◊〉 in principio nunc semper in saecula saeculorum Amen Et supra nivem dealbabor aspergesme c. Oslende nobis domine misâ—rcordiam tuam salutare tuum da nobis exaudi nos Domine sancte pater omnipoteus aeteâ—â—â— Deus mittere dignere sanctum angelum tuum de coelis qui custodiat soâ—â—â— visitet defendat omnes habitantes in hoc â—abitaculo per Christum Dominus nostrum Amen Amen CHAP. XVI To make a spirit to appeare in a crystall I Do conjure thee N. by the father and the sonne and the Holy ghost the which is the beginning and the ending the first and the last an by the latter day of judgement that thou N. do appeare in this crystall stone or any other instrument at my pleasure to me and my fellow gently and beautifully in faire forme of a boy of twelve yeares of age without hurt or damage of any of our bodyes or soules and certainly to informe and to shew me without any guile or craft all that we do desire or demand of thee to know by the vertue of him which shall come to judge the quicke and the dead and the world by fire Amen Also I conjured and exorcise thee N. by the sacrament of the altar and by the substance thereof by the wisdome of Christ by the sea and by his vertue by the earth and by all things that are above the earth and by their vertues by the ☉ and the ☽ by ♄ ♃ ♂ and ♀ and by their vertues by the apostles martyrs confessors and the virgins and widowes and the chast and by all saints of men or of women and innocents and by their vertues by all the angels and archangels thrones dominations principats potestats virtutes cherubim and seraphim and by their vertues and by the holy names of God Tetragrammaton El Oâ—sion Aâ—la and by all the other holy names of God and by their vertues by the circumcision passion and resurrection of our Lord Iesus Christ by the heavines of our lady the virgine and by the joy which she had when she saw her sonne rise from death to life that thou N. do appeare in this crystall stone or any other instrument at my pleasure to me and to my â—e low gently and beautifully and visibly in faire forme of a child of twelve yeares of age without hurt or damage of any of our bodyes or soules and truly to informe and shew unto me and to my fellow without fraud or guile all things according to thine oath and promise to me whatsoever I shall demand or desire of thee without any hindrance or caâ—rying and this conjuration be read of me three times upon paine of eternall condemnation to the last day of judgement Fiat fiat fiat Amen And when he is appeared bind him with the hand of the dead above written then say as followeth I charge thee N. by the father to shew me true visions in this crystall stone if there be any treasure hidden in such a place N and wherein it lieth and how many foot from this peece of earth east west north or south CHAP. XVII An experiment of the dead FIrst go and get of some person that shal be put to death a promise and sweare an oath unto him that it he will come to thee after his death his spirit to be with thee and to remaine with thee all dayes of thy life and will do thee true service as it is contained in the oath and promise following Then lay thy hand on thy booke and sweare this oath unto him I N. do sweare and promise to thee N. to give for thee an almesse every moneth and also to pray for thee once in every weeke to say the Lords prayer for thee and so to continue all the dayes of my life as God me helpe and holy doome and by the contents of this booke Amen Then let him make his oath to thee as followeth and let him say after thee laying his hand upon the booke * I N. do sweare this oath to thee N. by God the father omnipotent by God the son Jesus Christ and by his precious bloud which hath redeemed all the world by the which bloud I do trust to be saved at the generall day of judgment and by the vertues thereof I N. doe sweare this oath to thee N. that my spirit that is within my body now shall not ascend nor descend nor go to any place of rest but shall come to thee N. and be very well pleased to remaine with thee N. all the dayes of thy life and so to be bound
M. Mal. and the residue of that crew doe expound this word Diabolus for Dia say they is Duo and Bolus is Morsellus whereby they gather that the divell eateth up a man both body and soul at two morsels Whereas in truth the wicked may be said to eat up and swallow down the divell rather then the divell to eat up them though it may well be said by a figure that the divell like a roaring lion seeketh whom he may devoure which is meant of the soul and spirituall devouring as very novices in religion may judge CHAP. XXXIII Against fond witchmongers and their opinions concerning corporall divels NOw how Brian Darcies he spirits and she spirits Titty and Tifâ—â— Suckin and Pidgin Liard and Robin c. his white spirits and blacke spirits gray spirits and red spirits divell tode and divell lambe 〈◊〉 cat and divels dam agree herewithall or can stand consonant with the word of God or true philosophy let heaven and earth judge It 〈◊〉 mean time let any man with good consideration peruse that book 〈◊〉 by W. W. and it shall suffice to satisfie him in all that may required touching the vanities of the witches examinations confessions and executions where though the tale be told only of the accusers part without any other answer of theirs than their adversary â—â—teth down mine assertion will be sufficiently proved true And 〈◊〉 it seemeth to be performed with some kind of authority I will say 〈◊〉 more for the confutation thereof but referre you to the book it selfe whereto if nothing be added that may make to their reproach I 〈◊〉 warrant nothing is left out that may serve to their condemnation 〈◊〉 whether the witnesses be not single of what credit sex and age they â—â— namely lewd miserable and envious poor people most of them 〈◊〉 speak to any purpose being old women and children of the age of 4 5 6 7 8 or 9. years And note how and what the witches confesse and see of what weight and importance the causes are whether their confessions be not wonne through hope of favour and extorted by flattery or threats without proof But in so much as there were not past seventeen or eighteen condemned at 〈◊〉 at S. Osees in the county of Essex being a whole parish though of no great quantity I will say the lesse trusting that by this time there remain not many in that parish If any be yet behind I doubt not but 〈◊〉 Darcie will find them out who if he lack aid Richard Gallis of Windsor were meet to be associated with him which Gallis hath set forth another book to that effect of certain witches of Windsor executed at Abiâ—â—ton But with what impudency and dishonesty he hath finished it with what lies and forgeries he hath furnished it what folly and frenzy he hath mered in it I am ashamed to report and therefore being but a two penny book I had rather desire you to buy it and so to peruse it than to fill my book with such beastly stuffe CHAP. XXXIIII A conclusion wherein the Spirit of spirits is described by the illumination of which spirit all spirits are to be tryed with a confutation of the Pneumatomachi flatly denying the divinity of this Spirit TOuching the manifold signification of this word Spirit I have elsewhere in this brief discourse told you my minde which is a word nothing differing in Heb. from breath or wind For all these words following to wit Spiritus Ventus Flatus Halitus are indifferently use by the Holy Ghost and called by this Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the sacred scripture For further proof whereof I cite unto you the words of Isay For his spirit or breath is as a river that overfloweth up to the neck c. in which place the prophet describeth the comming of God in heat and indignation unto judgment c. I cite also unto you the words of Zaccharie These are the four spirits of the heaven c. Likewise in Genesis And the spirit of God moved upon the waters Moreover I cite unto you the words of Christ The spirit or wind bloweth where it listeth Unto which said places infinite more might be added out of holy writ tending all to this purpose namely to give us this for a note that all the sayings above cited hath many more that I could alleadge where mention is made of spirit the Hebrew text useth no word but one to wit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth as I said Spiritum ventum flatum halitum which may be Englished Spirit wind blast breath But before I enter upon the very point of my purpose it shall not bee misse to make you acquainted with the collection of a certaine Schoole divine who distinguisheth and divideth this word Spirit into six significations saying that it is sometimes taken for the air sometimes for the bodies of the blessed sometimes for the souls of the blessed sometimes for the power imaginative or the minde of man and sometimes for God Again he saith that of spirits there are two sorts some created and some uncreated A spirit uncreated saith he is God himselfe and it is essentially taken and agreeth unto the three persons notionally to the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost personally A spirit created is a creature and that is likewise of two sorts to wit bodily and bodilesse A bodily spirit is also of two sorts for some kinde of spirit is so named of spiritualnesse as it is distinguished from bodilinesse otherwise it is called Spiritus a spirando id est a stando of breathing or blowing as the winde doth A bodilesse spirit is one way so named of spiritualnesse and then it is taken for a spirituall substance and is of two sorts some make a full and compleat kind and is called compleat or perfect as a spirit angelicall some doe not make a full and perfect kind and is called incompleat or unperfect as the soule There is also the spirit vitall which is a certaine subtill or very fine substance necessarily disposing and tending unto life There be moreover spirits naturall which are a kind of subtill and very fine substances disposing and tending unto equall complexions of bodies Again there be spirits animall which are certain subtill and very fine substances disposing and tempering the body that it might be animated of the form that is that it might be perfected of the reasonable soul. Thus far he In whose division you see a philosophicall kinde of proceeding though not altogether to be condemned yet in every point not to be approved Now to the spirit of spirits I mean the principall and holy spirit of God which one defineth or rather describeth to be the third person in trinity issuing from the Father and the Son no more the charity dilection love of the Father and the Son than the Father is the charity dilection and love of the Son and Holy
spirits and not swarve in judgement it followeth therefore that the spirit of blindnesse and error doth seduce them so that it is no marvell if in the alienation of their minds they take falsehood for truth shadowes for substances fansies for verities c. for it is likely that the good spirit of God hath forsaken them or at leastwise absented it selfe from them else would they detest these divelish devices of men which consist of nothing but delusions and vain practices whereof I suppose this my book to be a sufficient discovery It will be said that I ought not to judge for he that judgeth shall be judged Whereto I answer that judgement is not to be understood of three kind of actions in their proper nature whereof the first are secret and the judgement of them shall appertain to God who in time will disclose whatsoever is done in covert and that by his just judgement The second are mixed actions taking part of hidden and part of open so that by reason of their uncertainty and doubtfulnesse they are discussable and to be tryed these after due examination are to have their competent judgement and are incident to the magistrate The third are manifest and evident and such as doe no lesse apparently shew themselves than an inflammation of bloud in the body and of these actions every private man giveth judgement because they be of such certainty as that of them a man may as well conclude as to gatâ—er that because the sun is risen in the east Ergo it is morning he is come about and is full south Ergo it is high noon he is declining and closing up in the west Ergo it is evening So that the objection is answered Howbeit letting this passe and spiritually to speak of this spirit which whiles many have wanted it hath come to passe that they have proved altogether carnall and not savouring heavenly divinity have tumbled into worse than philosophicall barbarisme and these be such as of writers are called Pneumatomachi a sect so injurious to the holy spirit of God that contemning the sentence of Christ wherein he foretelleth that the sin against the holy spirit is never to be pardoned neither in this world nor in the world to come they do not only deny him to be God but also pull from him all being and with the Sadduces maintain there is none such but that under and by the name of holy spirit is meant a certain divine force wherewith our minds are moved and the grace and favour of God whereby we are his beloved Against these shamelesse enemies of the holy spirit I will not use materiall weapons but syllogisticall charmes And first I will set downe some of their paralogismes or false arguments and upon the neck of them infer fit confutations grounded upon sound reason and certain truth Their first argument is knit up in this manner The holy spirit is no where expressely called God in the scriptures Eâ—go he is not God or at leastwise he is not to be called God The antecedent of this argument is false because the holy spirit hath the title or name of God in the fift of the Acts. Again the consequent is false For although he were not expressely called God yet should it not thereupon be concluded that he is not very God because unto him are attributed all the properties of God which unto this doe equally belong And as we deny not that the father is the true light although it be not directly written of the father but of the sonne He was the true light giving light to every man that commeth into this world so likewise it is not to be denyed that the spirit is God although the scripture doth not expressely and simply note it sithence it ascribeth equall things thereunto as the properties of God the works of God the service due to God and that it doth interchangeably take the names of Spirit and of God oftentimes They therefore that see these things attributed unto the holy spirit and yet will not suffer him to be called by the name of God do as it were refuse to grant unto Eve the name of Homo whom notwithstanding they confesse to be a creature reasonable and mortall The second reason is this Hilarie in all his twelve books of the Trinity doth no where write that the holy spirit is to be worshiped he never giveth thereunto the name of God neither dares he otherwise pronounce thereof than that it is the spirit of God Besides this there are usuall prayers of the church commonly called the Collects whereof some are made to the Father some to the Sonne but none to the holy spirit and yet in them all mention is made of the three persons Hereunto I answer that although Hilarie doth not openly call the holy spirit God yet doth he constantly deny it to be a creature Now if any aske me why Hilarie was so coy and nice to name the holy spirit God whom he denieth to be a creature when as notwithstanding between God and a creature there is no mean I will in good sooth say what I think I suppose that Hilary for himself thought well of the godhead of the holy spirit but this opinion was thrust and forced upon him of the Pneumatomachi who at that time rightly deeming of the son did erewhiles joine themselves to those that were sound of judgement There is also in the ecclesiasticall history a little book which they gave Liberius a bishop of Rome whereinto they foisted the Nicene creed And that Hilarie was a friend of the Pneumatomachi it is perceived in his book De synodis where he writeth in this manner Nihil autem mirum vobis videri dâ—bet fratres charissimi c. It ought to seem no wonder unto you dear brethren c. As for the objection of the prayers of the church called the collects that in them the holy spirit is not called upon by name we oppose and set against them the songs of the church wherein the said spirit is called upon But the collects are more ancient then the songs hymnes and anthems I will not now contend about ancientnesse neither will I compare songs and collects together but I say thus much only to wit that in the most ancient times of the church the holy spirit hath been openly called upon in the congregation Now if I be charged to give an instance let this serve In the collect upon trinity sunday it is thus said Almighty and everlasting God which hast given unto us thy servants grace by the confession of a truth to acknowledge the glory of the eternall trinity and in the power of the divine Majesty to worship the unity we beseech thee that through the stedfastnesse of this faith we may evermore be defended from all adversity which livest and reignest one God world without end Now because that in this collect where the trinity
the will of the Son doth goe before the spirit in order of persons he is also said to send the Spirit Yet for all this they alleadge that if the spirit had perfection then would he speak of himself and not stand in need alwayes of anothers admonishment but he speaketh not of himselfe but speaketh what he heareth as Christ expressely testifieth Iohn 16. Ergo he is unperfect and whatsoever he hath it is by partaking and consequently he is not God Whereto I answer that this argument is stale for it was objected by heretiques long agoe against them that held the true opinion as Cyrill saith who answereth that by the words of Christ is rather to be gathered that the Son and the Spirit are of the same substance For the spirit is named the minde of Christ 1 Cor. 2. and therefore he speaketh not of his own proper will or against his will in whom and from whom he is but hath all his will and working naturally proceeding from the substance as it were of him Lastly they argue thus Every thing is either unbegotten or unborn or begotten and created the spirit is not unbegotten for then he were the father and so there should be two without beginning neither is he begotten for then he is begotten of the father and so there shall be two sons both brothers or he is begotten of the son and then shall he be Gods nephew than the which what can be imagined more absurd Ergo he is created Whereto I answer that the division or distribution is unperfect for that member is omitted which is noted of the very best divine that ever was even Jesus Christ our Saviour namely to have proceeded or proceeding That same holy spirit saith he which proceedeth from the Father Which place Nazianzen doth thus interpret The spirit because he proceedeth from thence is not a creature and because he is not begotten he is not the son but because he is the mean of begotten and unbegotten he shall be God c. And thus having avoided all these cavils of the Pneumatomachi a sect of heretiques too too injurious to the holy spirit insomuch as they seeke what they can to rob and pull from him the right of his divinity I will all christians to take heed of their pestilent opinions the poison whereof though to them that â—e resolved in the truth it can do little hurt yet to such as stand upon a wavering point it can doe no great good Having thus far waded against them and overthrown their opinions I must needs exhort all to whom the reading hereof shall come that first they consider with themselves what a reverend mystery all that hitherto hath been said in this chapter concerneth namely the spirit of sanctification and that they so ponder places to and fro as that they reserve unto the holy spirit the glorious title of divinity which by nature is to him appropriate esteeming of those Pneumatomachi or Theomachi as of swine delighting more in the durty draffe of their devices than in the fair fountaine water of Gods word yea condemning them of grosser ignorance than the old philosophers who though they favoured little of heavenly theology yet some illumination they had of the holy divine Spirit marry it was somewhat misty dark lanâ—e and limping neverthelesse what it was and how much or little soever it was they gave thereunto a due reverence in that they acknowledged and intituled it Animam mundi The soul or life of the world and as Nazianzen witnesseth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The mind of the universall and the outward breath or the breath that cometh from without Porphyrie expounding the opinion of Plato who was not utterly blind in this mystery saith that the divine substance doth proceed and extend to three subsistencies and beings and that God is chiefly and principally good next him the second creator and the third to be the soule of the world for he holdeth that the divinity doth extend even to this soul. As for Hermes Trismegistus he saith that all things have need of this spirit for according to his worthinesse he supporteth all he quickeneth and susteineth all and he is derived from the holy fountaine giving breath and life unto all and evermore remaineth continuall plentifull and unemptyed And here by the way I give you a note worth reading and considering namely how all nations in a manner by a kinde of heavenly influence agree in writing and speaking the name of God with no more than foure letters As for example the Egyptians doe call him Theut the Persians call him Syre the Iews expresse his unspeakable as well as they can by the word Adonai consisting of foure vowels the Arabianâ— call him Alla the Mahometists call him Abdi the Greeks call him Theos the Latines call him Deus c. This although it be not so proper to our present purpose yet because we are in hand with the holy spirits deity is not altogether impertinent But why God would have his name as it were universally bounded within the number of four letters I can give sundry reasons which requires too long a discourse of words by digression and therefore I will conceal them for this time These opinions of philosophers I have willingly remembred that it might appear that the doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit is very ancient which they have taken either out of Moses writings or out of the works of the old fathers published and set forth in books though not wholly fully and perfectly understood and known and also that our Pneumatomachi may see themselves to be more doltish in divine matters than the heathen who will not acknowledge that essentiall and working power of the divinity whereby all things are quickned which the heathen did after a sort see after a sort I say because they separated the soul of the world which they also call the begotten mind from the most soveraign and unbegotten God and imagined certain differences of degrees and as Cyrill saith did Arrianize in the Trinity So then I conclude against these Pneumatomachi that in so much as they imitate the old gyants who piling up Pelion upon Ossa and them both upon Olympus attempted by scaling the heavens to pull Iupiter out of his throne of estate and to spoil him of his principality and were notwithstanding their strength whereby they were able to carry huge hills on their shoulders overwhelmed with those mountaines and squeized under the weight of them even to the death so these Pneumatomachi being enemies both to the holy Spirit and no friends to the holy church for then would they confesse the Trinity in Unity and the Unity is Trinity and consequently also the deity of the holy Spirit deserve to be consumed with the fire of his mouth the heat whereof by no meanes can be slacked quenched or avoided For there is nothing more unnaturall nothing more monstrous then against
mother the most glorious Virgin Mary spâ—inkled upon his wounds late in the evening and by all the teares which every saint and elect vessell of God hath powred out here in the world and from those eyes he hath wiped away all teares that if thou be without fault thou mayest powre down teares abundantly and if thou be guilty that thou weep in no wise In the name of the Father of the sonne and of the Holy Ghost Amen And note saith he that the more you conjure the lesse she weepeth CHAP. VIII Certain cautions against witches and of their tortures to procure confession BUt to manifest their further follies I will recite some of their caution which are published by the ancient inquisitors for perpetual lessons of their successors as followeth The first caution is that which was last rehearsed concerning weeping the which say they is an infallible note Secondly the judge must beware she touch no Part of him specially of his bare and that he alwaies weare about his neck conjured salt palme herbes and wax hallowed which say they are not only approved to be good by the witches confessions but also by the use of the Romish church which halloweth them onely for that purpose Item she must come to her arreignment backward to wit with her taile to the judges face who must make many crosses at the time of her approching to the barre And least we should condemne that for superstition they prevent us with a figure and tell us that the same superstition may not seem superstitious unto us But this resembleth the perswasion of a theef that disswadeth his sonne from stealing and never thelesse telleth him that he may pick or cut a purse and rob by the high way One other caution is that she must be shaven so as there remaine not one hair about her for sometimes they keep secrets for â—aciturnity and for other purposes also in their hair in their privities and between their skinne and their flesh For which cause I marvell they flea them noâ—â— for one of their witches would not burne being in the middest of the flame as M. Mal. reporteth untill a charme written in a little scroll was espied to be hidden between her skin and flesh and taken away And this is so gravely and faithfully set down by the inquisitors themselves that one may beleeve it if he list though indeed it be a verity The like citeth Bodin of a witch that could not be strangled by the executioner do what he could But it is most true that the inquisitor Cumanus in one year did shave one and fourty poor women and burnt them all when he had done Another caution is that at the time and place of torture the hallowed things aforesaid with the seven words spoken on the crosse he hangâ—ed about the witches neck and the length of Christ in wax be knit about her bare naked body with reliques of saints c. All which stuffe say they will so worke within and in them as when they are racked and tortured they can hardly stay or hold themselves from confession In which case I doubt not but that Pope which blasphemed Christ and cursed his mother for a peacoke and cursed God with great despighâ— for a peece of porke with lesse compulsion would have renounced the trinity and have worshipped the devill upon his knees Another caution is that after she hath been racked and hath passed over all tortures devised for that purpose and after that she hath been compelled to drink holy water she be conveied again to the place of torture and that in the middest of her torments her accusations be read unto her and that the witnesses if they will be brought face to face unto her and finally that she be asked whether for triall of her innocency she will have judgement Candentis ferri which is To carry a certain weight of burning iron in her bare hand But that may not say they in any wise be granted For both M. Mal. and Bodin also affirm that many things may be promised but nothing need be performed for why they have authority to promise but no commission to performe the same Another caution is that the judge take heed thar when she once beginneth to confesse he cut not ofâ— her examination but continue it night and day For many times whiles they go to dinner she returneth to her vomit Another caution is that after the witch hath confessed the annoying of men and beasts she be asked how long she hath had Incubus when she renounced the faith and made the reall league and what that league is c. And this is indeed the cheef cause of all their incredible impossible confessions for upon the rack when they have once begun to ly they will say what the torment or list The last caution is that if she will not confesse she be had to some strong castle or goale And after certain daies the jayler must make her beleeve he goeth forth into some farre country and then some of her friends must come in to her and promise her that if she will confesse to them they will suffer her to escape out of prison which they may well do the keeper being from home And this way saith M. Mal. hath served when all other meanes have failed And in this place it may not be omitted that above all other times they confesse upon frydaies Now saith Iames Sprenger and Henry Institor we must say all to wit If she confesse nothing she should be dismissed by law and yet by order she may in no wise be bailed but must be put into close prison and there be talked withall by some crafty person those are the words and in the mean while there must be some eves-dropers with pen and inke behind the wall to harken and note what she confesseth or else some of her old companions and acquaintance may come in and talke with her of old matters and so by eves-droppers be also bewraied so as there shall be no end of torture before she have confessed what they will CHAP. IX The fifteen crimes laid to the charge of witches by witch-mongers specially by Bodin in Daemonomania THey deny God and all religion Answer Then let them dy therefore or at the least be used liked infidâ—â—s or apostaâ—â—'s They curse blaspheme and provoke God with all despite Answer Then let them have the law expressed in Levit. 24. and Deut. 1â— 17 They give their faith to the devill and they worship and offer sacrifice unto him Ans. Let such also be judged by the same law They do solemnely vow and promise all their progenie unto the devill Ans. This promise proceedeth from an unsound mind and is not 〈◊〉 be regarded because they cannot performe it neither will it be proved true Howbeit if it be done by any that is sound of mind let the cause of Ieremie 32.36 light upon them to wit
into mans shape and that thereby witch-craft was naturally ingraffed into this child as a disease â—at commeth by inheritance C. Agrippa replying against the inquisitors folly and superstitious blindnesse said O thou wicked Priest Is this thy divinity Dost thou use to draw poor guiltlesse women to the rack by these forged devises Dost thou with such sentences judge others to be heretikes thou being a more heretike than either Faustus or Donatus Be it as thou sayest doest thou not frustrate the grace of Gods ordinance namely baptisme Are the words in baptisme spoken in vaine Or shall the devill remaine in the child or it in the power of the devill being there and then consecrated to Christ Jesus in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost And if thou defend their false opinions which affirme that spirits accompanying with women can ingender yet dotest thou more than any of them which never beleeved that any of those devils together with their stolne seed do put part of that their seed or nature into the creature But though indeed we be borne the children of the devill and damnation yet in baptisme through grace in Christ Satan is cast out and we are made new creatures in the Lord from whom none can be separated by another mans deed The inquisitor being hereat offended threatned the advocate to proceed against him as a supporter of hereticks or witches yet neverthelesse he ceased not to defend the silly woman and through the power of the law he delivered her from the clawes of the bloody monke who with her accusers were condemned in a great summe of money to the charter of the church of Meniz and remained infamous after that time almost to all men But by the way you must understand that this was but a petty inquisitor and had not so large a commission as Cumanus Sprenger and such other had nor yet as the Spanish inquisitors at this day have For these will admit no advocate now unto the poor soules except the tormentor or hangman may be called an advocate You may read the summe of this inquisition in few words set out by M. Iohn Fox in the acts and monuments For witches and hereticks are among the inquisitors of like reputation saving that the extremity is greater against witches because through their simplicity they may the more boldly tyrannize upon them and triumph over them CHAP. XII What the fear of death and feeling of torments may force one to do and that it is no marvell though witches condemne themselves by their own confessions so tyrannically extorted HE that readeth the ecclesiasticall histories or remembreth the persecutions in Qeen Maries time shall find that many good men have fallen for fear of persecution and returned unto the Lord again What marvell then though a poor woman such a one as is described elsewhere and tormented as is declared in these latter leaves be made to confesse such absurd and false impossibilities when flesh and bloud is unable to endure such triall Or how can she in the middest of such horrible tortures and torments promise unto her selfe constancy or forbeare to confesse any thing Or what availeth it her to persevere in the deniall of such matters as are laid to her charge unjustly when on the one side there is never any end of her torments on the other side if she continue in her assertion they say she hath charmes for taciturnity or silence Peter the Apostle renounced cursed and forsware his master and our Saviour Jesus Christ for fear of a wenches menaces or rather at a question demanded by her wherein he was not so circumvented as these poor witches are which be not examined by girles but by cunning inquisitors who having the spoile of their goods and bringing with them into the place of judgement minds to maintain their bloody purpose spare no manner of allurements threatnings nor torments untill they have wrung out of them all that which either maketh to their own desire or serveth to the others destruction Peter I say in the presence of his Lord and master Christ who had instructed him in true knowledge many years being forewarned noâ— passing four or five houres before and having made a reall league and â— faithfull promise to the contrary without any other compulsion than as hath been said by a question proposed by a girle against his conscience forsooke thrice denyed and abandoned his said Master and yet he was a man illuminated and placed in dignity aloft and neerer to Christ by many degrees than the witch whose fall could not be so great as Peters because she never ascended halfe so many steps A pastors declination is much more abominable than the going astray of any of his sheepâ— as an ambassadors conspiracy is more odious than the falshood of a common person or as a captains treason is more mischeevous than a private souldiers mutiny If you say Peter repented I answer that the witch doth so likewise sometimes and I see not in that case but mercy may be imployed upon her It were a mighty temptation to a silly old woman that a visible devill being in shape so ugly as Danaeus and others say her is should assault her in manner and forme as is supposed oâ— rather avowed specially when there is promise made that none shall be tempted above their strength The poor old witch is commonly uâ—â—learned unwarned and unprovided of counsell and friend-ship void 〈◊〉 judgement and discretion to moderate her life and communication heâ— kind and gender more weak and fraile than the masculine and mucâ— more subject to melancholy her bringing up and company is so baâ—â— that nothing is to be looked for in her specially of these extraordinary qualities her age also is commonly such as maketh her decrepite which is a disease that moveth them to these follyes Finally Christ did cleerly remit Peter though his offence were committed both against his divine and humane nature yea afterwards he 〈◊〉 put him in trust to feed his sheep and shewed great countenance friendship and love unto him And therefore I see not but we may shew compassion upon these poor soules if they shew themselves sorrowful for their misâ—â—ceipts and wicked imaginations The thrid Book CHAP. I. The witches bargain with the devill according to M. Mal. Bodin Nider Danaeus Psellus Erastus Hemingius Cumanus Aquinas Bartholomaeus Spineus c. THat which in this matter of witch-craft hath abused so many and seemeth both so horrible and intolerable is a plain bargain that they say is made betwixt the devil and the witch And many of great learning conceive it to be a matter of truth and in their wiritings publish it accordingly the which by God grace shall be proved as vaine and false as the rest The order of their bargain or profession is double the one solemne and publike the other secret and private That which is called solemne or publike is where witches
And all this doth Danaeus report as a truth and as it were upon his own knowledge And yet else-where he saith In these matters they do but dreame and do not those things indeed which they confesse through their distemperature growing of their melancholike humor and therefore saith he these things which they report of themselves are but meer illusions Psellus addeth hereunto that certain magicall hereticks to wit the Eutychians assemble themselves every good friday at night and putting out the candles do commit incestuous adultery the father with the daughter the sister with the brother and the son with the mother and the ninth moneth they returne and are delivered and cutting their children in peeces fill their pots with their blood then burne they the carcases and mingle the ashes therewith and so preserve the same for magicall purposes Cardanus writeth though in mine opinion not very probably that these excourses dancings c. had their beginning from certaine hereticks called Dulcini who devised those feasts of Bacchus which are named Orgia whereunto these kind of people openly assembled and beginning with riot ended with this folly Which feasts being prohibited they neverthelesse haunted them secretly and when they could not do so then did they it in cogitation onely and even to this day saith he there remaineth a certain image or resemblance thereof among our melancholicke women CHAP. IIII. That there can no reall league be made with the devill the first author of the league and the weake proofes of the adversaries for the same IF the league be untrue as are the residue of their confessions the witch-mongers arguments fall to the gâ—ound for all the writers herein hold this bargaine for certaine good and granted and as their onely maxime But surely the indenâ—uâ—es containing those covenants are sealed with butter and the labels are but bables What fit me bargaine can be made betwixt a carnall body and a sâ—irituall Let any wise or honest man tell me that either hath been aâ—parey on a witnesse and I will beleeve him But by what auâ—hority proof or testimonyâ— and upon what ground all this geere standeâ—h if you read M. Mal. you shall find to the shame of the reporters who do so vary in their tales and are at such contrarieâ—y and to the reproch of the beleevers of such absurd lies For the beginning of the credit hereof resteth upon the confession of a baggage young fellow condemnâ—d to be burnt for witch-crafâ— who said to the inquisitors of likelihood to prolong his lie if at least wise the story be true which is taken out of Nides If I wish quoâ— he that I might obtain pardon I would discover all that I know of witch-craft The which condition being accepted and pardon promised partly in hope thereof and partly to be rid of his wife he said as followeth The novice or young disciple goeth to some church together with the mistresse of that profession upon a sunday morning before the conjurâ—tion of Holy-water and there the said novice renounceth the saith promiseth obedience in observing or rather omitting of ceremonies in meetings and such other follyes and finally that they do homage to their young master the devill as they covenanted But this is notable in that story that this young witch doubting that his wives examination would bewraye his knavery told the inquisitor that in truth his wife was guilty as well as he but she will never I am sure quoth he though she should be burned a thousand times confesse any of these circumstances And this is in no wise to be forgotten that notwithstanding his contriâ—ion 〈◊〉 confession his accusation of his own wife contrary to the inquisiâ—â—â—â— promise and oath he and his wife were both burned at a stake being the first discoverers of this notable league whereupon the fable of witch-craft is maintained and whereby such other confessions have been from the like persons since that time extorted and augmented CHAP. V. Of the private league a notable tale of Bodins concerning a French-lady with a confutation THe manner of their private league is said to be when the devill invisible and sometimes visible in the middest of the people talketh with them privately promising that if they will follow his counsell he will supply all their necessities and make all their endeavours prosperous and so beginneth with small matters whereunto they consent privily and come not into the fairies assembly And in this case me thinks the devill sometimes in such externall or corporall shape should meet with some that would not consent to his motions except you will say he knoweth their cogitations and so should be bewrayed They also except they were idiots would spie him and forsake him for breach of covenants But these bargaines and these assemblies do all the writers hereupon maintaine and Bodin confirmeth them with a hundred and odd lies among the number whereof I will for diverse causes recite one There was saith he a noble Gentlewoman at Lions that being in bed with a lover of hers suddenly in the night arose up and lighted a candle which when she had done she took a box of ointment wherewith she annointed her body and after a few words spoken she was carried away Her bed-fellow seeing the order hereof lept out of his bed took the candle in his hand and sought for the Lady round about the chamber and in every corner thereof But though he could not find her yet did he find her box of ointment and being desirous to know the vertue thereof besmeered himselfe therewith even as he perceived her to have done before And although he were not so superstitious as to use any words to helpe him forward in his businesse yet by the vertue of that oinment saith Bodin he was immediately conveyed to Lorreine into the assembly of witches Which when he saw he was abashed and said In the name of God what make I here And upon those words the whole assembly vanished away and left him there alone starke naked and so was he said to returne to Lions But he had so good a conscience for you may perceive by the first part of the history he was a very honest man that he accused his true lover for a witch And caused her to be burned But as for his adultery neither M. Mal. nor Bodin do once so much as speake in the dispraise thereof It appeareth throughout all Bodins booke that he is sore offended with Cornelius Agrippa and the rather as I suppose because the said C. Agrippa recanted that which Bodin maintaineth who thinketh he could worke wonders by magicke and specially by his black dog It shoud seem he had pretty skill in the art of divination For though he wrote before Bodin many a year yer uttereth he these words in his book De vanitate scientiarum A certain French protonotary saith he a lewd fellow and a cosener hath written a certain fable or
she be barren then doth Incubus use her without decision of seed because such seed should serve for no purpose And the devill avoideth superfluity as much as he may and yet for her pleasure and condemnation together he goeth to worke with her But by the way if the devil were so compendious what should he need to use such circumstances even in these very actions as to make these assemblies conventicles ceremonies c. when he hath already bought their bodies and bargained for their soules Or what reason had he to make them kill so many infants by whom he rather loseth than gaineth any thing because they are so farre as either he or we know in better case than we of riper years by reason of their innocency Well if she be not past children then stealeth he feed away as hath been said from some wicked man being about that lecherous businesse and therewith getteth young witches upon the old Ane note that they affirme that this businesse is better accomplished with seed thus gathered than that which is shed in dreames through superfluity of humors because that is gathered from the vertue of the seed generative And if it be said that the seed will wax cold by the way and so lose his naturall heate and consequently the vertue M. Mal. Danaeus and the rest do answere that the devil can so carry it as no heat shall go from it c. Furthermore old witches are sworne to procure as many young virgins for Incubus as they can whereby in time they grow to be excellent bawds but in this case the priest playeth Incubus For you should find that confession to a priest and namely this word Benedicit driveth Incubus away when Ave Maries crosses and all other charmes fail CHAP. III. Of the devils visible and invisible dealing with witches in the way of lechery BUt as touching the devils visible or invisible execution of lechery it is written that to such witches as before have made a visible league with the priest the devill I should say there is no necessity that Incubus should appear invisible marry to the standers by he is for the most part invisible For proof hereof Iames Sprenger and Institor affirme that many times witches are seen in the fields and woods prostituting themselves uncovered and naked up to the navill wagging and moving their members in every part according to the disposition of one being about that act of concupiscence and yet nothing seen of the beholders upon her saving that after such a convenient time as is required about such a peece of work a black vapor of the length and bignesse of a man hath been seen as it were to depart from her and to ascend from that place Neverthelesse many times the husband seeth Incubus making him cuckhold in the liknesse of a man and sometimes striketh off his head with his swordâ— but because the body is nothing but air it closeth together again so 〈◊〉 although the good-wife be sometimes hurt thereby yet she maketh him beleeve he is mad or possessed and that he doth he knoweth not what For she hath more pleasure and delight they say with Incubus that way than with any mortall man whereby you may perceive that spirits arâ— palpable CHAP. IIII. That the power of generation is both outwardly and inwardly impeached by witches and of divers that had their genitals taken from theâ— by witches and by the same meanes again restored THey also affirme that the vertue of generation is impeached bâ— witches both inwardly and outwardly for intrinsecally they repreâ—â— the courage and they stop the passage of the mans seed so as it may noâ— descend to the vessels of generation also they hurt extrinsecally wiâ—â— images herbs c. And to prove this true you shall heare certaine stories out of M. Mal. worthy to be noted A young priest at Mespurge in the diocesse of Constance was bewitched so as he had no power to occupy any other or mo women than one and to be delivered out of that thraldom sought to flie into another country where he might use that priestly occupation more freely But all in vain foâ— evermore he was brought as far backward by night as he went forward in the day before some tims by land sometimes in the air as though â—e flew And if this be not true I am sure that Iames Sprenger doth ly For the further confirmation of our beleef in Incubus M. Mal. citeth a story of a notable matter executed at Ravenspurge as true and as cleanâ—â— as the rest A young man lying with a wench in that towne saith he was fain to leave his instruments of venery behind him by meanes of that prestigious art of witch-craft so as in that place nothing could be seen or felt but his plaine body This young man was willed by another witch to go to her whom he suspected and by fair or fowle meanes to require her helpe who soon after meeting with her intreated her faire but that was in vain and therefore he caught her by the throat and with a towel strangled her saying Restore me my toole or thou shalt dy for it so as she being swolne and blacke in the face and through his boisterous handling ready to dy said Let me go and I will helpe thee And whilest he was losing the towell she put her hand into his cod-peece and touched the place saying Now hast thou thy desire and even at that instant he felt himselfe restored Item a reverend father for his life holinesse and knowledge notorious being a frier of the order and company of Spire reported that a young man at shrift made lamentable moan unto him for the like losse but his gravity suffered him not to beleeve lightly any such reports and therefore made the young man untrusse his codpeece-point and saw the complaint to be true and just Whereupon he advised or rather injoyned the youth to go to the witch whom he suspected and with flattering words to intreat her to be so good unto him as to restore him his instrument which by that meanes he obtained and soon after returned to shew himselfe thankfull and told the holy father of his good successe in that behalfe but he so beleeved him as he would needs be Oculatus testis and made him pull down his breeches and so was satisfied of the truth and certainty thereof Another young man being in that very taking went to a witch for the restitution thereof who brought him to a tree where she shewed him a nest and bad him climbe up and take it And being in the top of the tree he took out a mighty great one and shewed the same to her asking her if he might not have the same Nay quoth she that is our parish priests tool but take any other which thou wilt And it is there affirmed that some have found 20. and some 30. of them in one nest being there preserved with
another of fishes 〈◊〉 other of birds And therefore it is absolutely against the ordinance 〈◊〉 God who hath made me a man that I should fly like a bird or 〈◊〉 like a fish or creep like a worme or become an asse in shape 〈◊〉 much as if God would give me leave I cannot do it for it were conâ—ry to his own order and decree and to the constitution of any body which he hath made Yea the spirits themselves have their lawes and limits prescribed beyond the which they cannot passe one haires breadth otherwise God should be contrary to himselfe which is farre from him Nâ—â—â—ther is Gods omnipotency hereby qualified but the devils impotency manifested who hath none other power but that which God from 〈◊〉 beginning hath appointed unto him consonant to his nature and substance He may well be restrained from his power and will but beyond theâ—â— he cannot passe as being Gods minister no further but in that which hath from the beginning enabled him to do which is that he being spirit may with Gods leave and ordinance viciate and corrupt the 〈◊〉 and will of man wherein he is very diligent What a beastly assertion is it that a man whom GOD hath made according to his own similitude and likenesse should be by a witch turn into a beast What an impiety is it to affirme that an asses body is 〈◊〉 temple of the Holy Ghost Or an asse to be the child of God and 〈◊〉 to be his father as it is said of man Which Paul to the Corinthiaâ— divinely confuteth who saith that our bodies are the members of Christ. In the which we are to glorifie God for the body is for the Lord. 〈◊〉 the Lord is for the body Surely he meaneth not for an asses body by this time I hope appeareth in such wise as Bodin may go hide him 〈◊〉 shame especially when he shall understand that even into these our bodies which God hath framed after his own likenesse he hath also breathed that spirit which Bodin saith is now remaining within an asses body which God hath so subjected in such servility under the foot of man of whom God is so mindfull that he hath made him little lower than angels yea than himselfe and crowned him with glory and worship and made him to have dominion over the works of his hands as having put all things under his feet all sheep and oxen yea wolves asses and all other beasts of the field the foules of the air the fishes of the sea c. Bodins Poet Ovid whose Metamorphosis makes so much for him saith to the overthrow of this phantasticall imagination Os homini sublime dedit coelumque videre Iussit erectos ad sydera tollere vultus The effect of which verses in this The Lord did set mans face so hie That he the heavens might behold And look up to the starry skie To see his wonders manifold Now if a witch or a devill can so alter the shape of a man as contrarily to make him look down to hell like a beast Gods works should not only be defaced and disgraced but his ordinance should be wonderfully â—tered and thereby confounded CHAP. VI. The witchmongers objections concerning Nabuchadnezzar answered and their error concerning Lycanthropia confuted MAlleus Maleficarum Bodin and many other of them that maintain witchcraft triumph upon the story of Nabuchadnezzar as though Circes had transformed him with her sorceries into an oxe as she did others into swine c. I answer that he was neither in body nor shape transformed at all according to their grosse imagination as appeareth both by the plaine words of the text and also by the opinions of the best interpreters thereof but that he was for his beastly government and conditions throwne out of his kingdome and banished for a time and driven to hide himselfe in the wildernesse therein exile to lead his life in aâ—beastly sort among beasts of the field and foules of the air for by the way I tell you it appeareth by the text that he was rather turned into the shape of a fowle than of a beast untill he rejecting his beastly conditions was upon his repentance and amendment called home and restored unto his kingdome Howbeit this by their confession was neither devils nor witches doing but a miracle wrought by God whom alone I acknowledge to be able to bring to passe such workes at his pleasure Wherein I would know what our witch-mongers have gained I am not ignorant that some write that after the death of Nabuchadnezzar his son Evilmorodath gave his body to the ravens to be devoured least afterwards his father should arise from death who of a beast became a man againe But this tale is meeter to have place in the Cabalisticall art to wit among unwritten verities than here To conclude I say that the transformations which these witchmongers do so rave and rage upon is as all the learned sort of Physitians affirme a disease proceeding partly from melancholy whereby many suppose themselves to be wolves or such ravening beasts For Lycanthropia is of the ancient Physitians called Lupina melancholia or Lupina insania I. Wierus declareth very learnedly the cause the circumstance and the cure of this disease I have written the more herein because hereby great princes and potentates as well as poor women and innocents have been deâ—amed and accounted among the number of witches CHAP. VII A speciall objection answered concerning transportations with the consent of diverse writers thereupon FhOr the maintenance of witches transportations they object the words of the Gospell where the devill is said to take up Christ and to set him on a pinnacle of the temple and on a mountain c. Which if he had done in manner and forme as they suppose it followeth not therefore that witches could do the like nor yet that the devil would do it for them at their pleasure for they know not their thoughts neither can otherwise communicate with them But I answer that if it were so grossely to be understood as they imagine it yet should it make nothing to their purpose For I hope they will not say that Christ had made any ointemnts or entred into any league with the devil by vertue thereof was transported from out of the wildernesse unto the top of the temple of Jerusalem or that the devill could have masteries over his body vvhose soul he could never lay hold upon especially when he might with a beck of his finger have called unto him and have had the assistance of many legions of angels Neither as I thinke will they presume to make Christ partaker of the devils purpose and sinne in that behalfe If they say This was an action wrought by the speciall providence of God and by his appointment that the scripture might be fulfilled then what gain our witchmongers by this place First for that they may not produce a
in opinion when he saith Scientiâ—m foeminarum in veneficiis praevalere To be short Augustine Livie Vaâ—erius Diodorus and many other agree that women were the first inventers and practisers of the art of poisoning As for the rest of their cunning in what estimation it was had may appear by these verses of Horace wherein he doth not onely declare the vanity of witch-craft but also expoundeth the other words wherewithall we are now in hand Somnie terrores mugicos miracula sagas Nocturnos lemures portentaque Thessala rider These dreames and terrors magicall These miracles and witches Night-walking sprites or Thessal bugs Esteem them not two rushes Here Horace you see contemneth as ridiculous all our witches turning marry herein he comprehendeth not their poisoning art which hereby he onely seemed to think hurtfull Pythagoras and Democriâ—â—â— give us the names of a great many magicall herbes and stones whereas now both the vertue and the things themselves also are unknown 〈◊〉 Marmaritin whereby spirits might be raised Archimedon which would make one bewray in his sleep all the secrets in his heart Adincanâ—iâ—â— Calicia Mevais Chirocineta c. which had all their severall vertues or rather poisons But all these now are worne out of knowledge mary in their stead we have hogs-turd and chervil as the onely thing wherby our witches work miracles Truly this poisoning art called Veneficium of all others is most abâ—â—minable as whereby murthers may be committed where no suspition may be gathered nor any resistance can be made the strong cannot avoid the weak the wise cannot prevent the foolish the godly cannot 〈◊〉 preserved from the hands of the wicked children may hereby kill the parents the servant the master the wife her husband so privily 〈◊〉 unevitably and so incurably that of all other it hath been thought 〈◊〉 most odious kind of murther according to the saying of Ovid. non bospes ab hospite tutus Non socer à genero fratrum quoque gratia rara est Imminet exitio vir conjugis illa mariti Lurida terribiles miscent aconita novercae Filius ante diem patrios inquirit in annos The travelling guest opprest Doth stand in danger of his host The host eke of his guest The father of his son-in-law Yea rare is seen to rest 'Twixt brethren love and amity And kindnesse void of strife The husband seeks the goodwifes death And his again the wife Ungentle stepdames grizly poi son temper and do give The son too soon doth aske how long His father is to live The monk that poisoned king Iohn was a tight Veneficus toâ— both a witch and a murtherer for he killed the king with poison 〈◊〉 perswade the people with lies that he had done a good and a meritorious act and doubtlesse many were so bewitched as they thought he did very well therein Antonius Sabellicus writeth of a horrible poisoning murther commited by women at Rome where were executed after due conjunction 170. women at one time besides 20. women of that consort who were poison with that poisoned which they had prepared for others CHAP. IIII. Of divers poisoning practises otherwise called veneficia committed in Italy Genua Millen Wittenberge alse how they were discovered and executed ANother practise not unlike to that mentioned in the former chapter was done in Cassalis at Salassia in Italie Anno 1536. where 40. Veneficae or witches being of one confederacy renewed a plague which was then almost ceased besmeering with an ointment and a pouder the posts and doors of mens houses so as thereby whole families were poisoned and of that stuffe they had prepared above 40. crocks for that purpose Herewithall they conveied inheritances as it pleased them till at length they killed the brother and onely sonne of one Necus as lightly none died in the house but the masters and their children which was much noted and therewithal that one Androgina haunted the houses specially of them that died and she being suspected apprehended and examined confessed the fact conspiracy and circumstance as hath been shewed The like villany was afterwards practised at Genua and execution was done upon the offenders At Millen there was another like attempt that took none effect This art consisteth as well in poisoning of cattell as men and that which is done by poisons unto cattell towards their destruction is as commonly attributed to witches charmes as the other And I â—â—ubt not but some that would be thought cunning in incantations and to do miracles have experience in this behalfe For it is written by divers authors that if wolves dung be hidden in the mangers racks or else in the hedges about the pastures where cattel go through the antipathy of the nature of the wolfe and other cattel all the beasts that savour the same do not only forbear to eat but run about as though they were mad or as they say bewitched But Wierus telleth a notable story of a Veneficus or destroyer of cattel which I thought meet here to repeat There was saith he in the dukedome of Wittneberge not farre from Tubing a butcher anno 1564. that bargained with a towne for all their hides which were of sterven cattell called in these parts Morts He with poison privily killed in great numbers their bullocks sheep swine c. and by his bargain of the hides and â—allow he grew infinitely rich And at last being suspected was examined confessed the matter and manner thereof and was put to death with hot tongs wherewith his flesh was pulled from his bones We for our parts would have killed five poor women before we would suspect 〈◊〉 rich butcher CHAP. V. A great objection answered concerning this kinde of witchcraft called Veneficium IT is objected that if Veneficium were comprehended under the title man-slaughter it had been a vain repetition and a disordered 〈◊〉 undertaken by Moses te set forth a law against Veneficâ—s severally But 〈◊〉 might suffice to answer any reasonable christian that such was the 〈◊〉 of the Holy Ghost to institute a particular article hereof as of a 〈◊〉 more odious wicked and dangerous then any other kinde of murther But he that shall read the law of Moses or the Testament of Christ himself shall finde this kind of repetition and reiteration of the law most comâ—â—â— For as it is written Exod. 22.21 Thou shalt not grieve nor affect stranger for thou wast a stranger in the land of Aegypt so are the 〈◊〉 words found repeated in Levit. 19.33 polling and shaving of heads 〈◊〉 beards is forbidden in Duet 27. which was before prohibited in 22. 〈◊〉 is written in Exodus the 20. Thou shalt not stealâ— and it is repeated 〈◊〉 Leviticus 19. and in Duet 5. Murther is generally forbidden in Exodus and likewise in 22. and repeated in Num. 35. But the aprest example that magick is forbidden in three severall places to wit once in 〈◊〉 19. and twice in Levit. 20. For the which a
to the saying of the prophet to those gods and idols which took on them the power of God Do either good or ill if you can c. So as the prophet knew and taught thereby that none but God could worke miracles Infinite places for this purpose might be brought out of the scripture which for brevity I omit and oveâ—slip S. Augustine among other reasons whereby he proveth the ceasing of miracles saith Now blinde flesh doth not open the eyes of the blinde â—y the miracle of God but the eyes of our heart are opened by the word â—f God Now is not our dead carcase raised any more up by miracle but our dead bodies be still in the gâ—ave and our soules are raised to life by â—hrist Now the eares of the deafe are not opened by miracle but they â—hich had their ears shut before have them now opened to their salvation The miraculous healing of the sick by anointing spoken of by S. Iames is â—bjected by many specially by the papists for the maintenance of their â—â—crament of extreame unction which is apishly and vainly used in the â—â—omish church as though that miraculous gift had continuance till this â—ay herein you shall see what Calvine speaketh in his institutions â—he grace of healing saith he spoken of by Saint Iames is â—â—nished away as also the other miracles which the Lord would have â—â—ewed onely for a time that he might make the new preaching of the â—ospel mervellous for ever Why saith he do not these meaning miraâ—â—e-mongers appoint some Siloah to swim in whereinto at certaine orâ—â—nary recourses of times sicke folke may plunge themselves Why do â—â—ey nor lie along upon the dead because Paul raised up a dead child 〈◊〉 that meanes Verily saith he James in the miracle to anoint spake â—â—r that time whiles the church still enjoyed such blessings of God Item 〈◊〉 saith that the Lord is present with his in all ages and so often as need 〈◊〉 he helpeth their sicknesses no lesse than in old time But he doth 〈◊〉 so utter his manifest powers nor distributeth miracles as by the hands 〈◊〉 the Apostles because the gift was but for a time Calvine even their â—ncludeth thus They say such vertues or miracles remaine but experâ—â—â—ce saies nay And see how they agree among themselves Danaeus saith at neither witch nor devil can worke miracles Giles Alley saith directly that witches worke miracles Calvine saith they are all ceased All witchmongers say they continue But some affirme that popish miracles are vanished and gone away howbeit witches miracles remaine in full force So as S. Loy is out of credit for a horseleach Master T. and mother Bâ—â—gy remaine in estimation for prophets nay Hobgoblin and Robin 〈◊〉 fellow are contemned among young children and mother Alice and another Bungy are feaâ—ed among old fooles The estimation of these continue because the matter hath not been called in question the credit 〈◊〉 the other decayeth because the matter hath been looked into Where I say no more but that S. Anthonies blisse will helpe your pig where ever mother Bungy doth hurt it with her curse And therefore we 〈◊〉 warned by the word of God in any wise not to feare their curses â—e let all the witchmongers and specially the miracle-mongers in the 〈◊〉 answer me to this supposition Put case that a woman of credit 〈◊〉 a woman-witch should say unto them that she is a true prophet of 〈◊〉 Lord and that he revealeth those secret mysteries unto her whereby â—â— detecteth the lewd acts and imaginations of the wicked and thâ—◠〈◊〉 him she worketh miracles and prophesieth c. I think they must 〈◊〉 yeeld or confesse that miracles are ceased But such thing saith Câ—â—dane as seeme miraculous are chiefly done by deceipt legierdemaâ— or confederacy or else they may be done and yet seeme unpossible else things are said to be done and never were nor can be done CHAP. II. The gift of prophesie is ceased THat witches nor the woman of Endor nor yet her familiar or devil can tell what is to come may plainly appear by the words of 〈◊〉 prophet who saith Shew what things are to come and we will say 〈◊〉 are gods indeed According to that which Solomon saith who 〈◊〉 a man what shall happen him under the sun Marry that can I saith witch of Endor to Saul But I will rather beleeve Paul and Peters 〈◊〉 say that prophesie is the gift of God and no worldly thing Thâ— cousening queane that taketh upon her to do all things and can do thing but beguile men up steppeth also mother Bungy and she 〈◊〉 you where your horse or your asse is bestowed or any-thing that you 〈◊〉 lost is become as Samuel could and what you have done in all 〈◊〉 age past as Christ did to the woman of Sichar at Iacobs well yea 〈◊〉 what your errand is before you speak as Elizeus did Peter Martyr saith that onely God and man knoweth the heart of 〈◊〉 and therefore that the devil must be secluded alledging these place Solus Deus est scrutator cordium Onely God is the searcher of hearts 〈◊〉 Nemo scit quae sunt hominis nisi spiritus hominis qui est in eo None â—oâ—â—eth the thigs of man but the spirit of man which is within him Soâ—â—mon saith Tu solus nosti cogitationes hominum Thou onely knowest 〈◊〉 thoughts of men And Jeremy saith in the person of God Ego 〈◊〉 scrutans corda renes I am God searching hearts and reines Also 〈◊〉 thew faith of Christ Iesus autem videus cogitationes eorum And 〈◊〉 seeing their thoughts who in Scripture is called the searcher and 〈◊〉 of the thoughts in the heart as appeareth in Acts 1. 15. Rom. 8. Matth. 9.12 22. Marke 2. Luke 6. 7. 11. John 1.2.6 13. Apoc. 2. 3. and in other places infinite The same Peter Martyr also saith that the devil may suspect but not know our thoughts for if he should know our thoughts he should understand our faith which if he did he would never assault us with one temptation Indeed we reade that Samuel could tell where things lost were straied c. but we see that gift also ceased by the coming of Christ according to the saying of Paul at sundry times and in diverse manners God spâ—ke in the old times by our fathers the prophets in these last dayes he hath spoken unto us by his sonne c. And therefore I say that gift of prophesie wherewith God in times past endued his people is also ceased and counterfeits and coufeners are come in their places according to this saying of Peter There were false prophets among the people even as there shall be false teachers among you c. And think not that so notable a gift should be taken from the beloved and the elect people of God and committed to mother Bungy and such like of her
the threatnings and curses pronounced by God and expressed in his word And thus much touching the word Kasam The tenth Book CHAP. I. The interpretation of this Hebrew word Onen of the vanity of dreams and divinatiâ—ns thereupon ONEN differeth not much from Kasam but that it is extended to the interpretation of dreames And as for dreames whatsoever credit is attributed unto them proceedeth of folly and they are fooles that trust in them for why they have deceived many In which respect the prophet giveth us good warning not to follow nor harken to the expositors of dreames for they come through the mâ—â—titude of businesse And therefore those witches that make men beleeve they can prophesie upon dreames as knowing the interpretation of them and either for money or glory abuse men and women thereby are meere couseners and worthy of great punishment as are such witchmongers as beleeving them attribute unto them sâ—chdivine power 〈◊〉 onely belongeth to God as appeareth in Jeremy the prophet CHAP. II. Of divine naturall and casuall dreames with their differing causes and effects MAcrobius recounteth five differences of images or rather imaginations exhibited unto them that sleepe which for the most part do figniâ—ie somewhat in admonition There be also many subdivisions made hereof which I think needlesse to rehearse In Jasper Peâ—cer they are to be seene with the causeâ— and occasions of dreames There were woâ—â— to be delivered from God himselfe oâ— his angels certaine dreames and visions unto the prophets and holy fathers according to the saying of Joel I will poure my spirit upon all flesh your young men shall dream dreames and your old men shall see visions These kind of dreames I say were the admonishments and forewarnings of God to his people as that of Joseph to abide with Mary his wife after she was conceived by the Holy Ghost as also to convey our Saviour Christ into Aegypt c. the interpretation whereof are the peculiar gifts of God which Joseph the patriarch and Daniel the prophet had most specially As for physical conjectures upon dreames the scriptures improve them not for by them the physitians many times do understand the state of their patients bodies For some of them come by meanes of choler flegme melancholy or blood and some by love surfet hunger thirst c. Galen and Boetius were said to deale with devils because they told so justly their patients dreames or rather by their dreames their special diseases Howbeit physical dreames are natural and the cause of them dwelleth in the nature of man For they are the inward actions of the mind in the spirits of the braine whilest the body is occupied with sleepe for as touching the minde it selfe it never sleepeth These dreams vary according to the difference of humors vapors There are also casual dreams which as Solomon saith come through the multitude of businesse For as a looking-glasse sheweth the image or figure thereunto opposite so in dreames the phantasie and imagination informes the understanding of such things as haunt the outward sense Whereupon the poet saith Somnia ne cures nam mens humana quod optat Dum vigil at sperans per somnum cernit id ipsum Regard no dreames for why the mind Of that in sleepe a view doth take Which it doth wish and hope to find At such time as it is awake CHAP. III. The opinion of divers old writers touching dreames and how they vary in noting the causes thereof SYnesius Themistius Democritus and others grounding themselves upon examples that chance hath sometimes verified perswade men that nothing is dreamed in vaine affirming that the heavenly influencies do bâ—ing forth divers formes in corporal matters and of the same influencies visions and dreames are printed in the fantastical power which is instrumental with a celestial disposition meete to bring forth some effect especially in sleepe when the mind being free from bodily cares may more liberally receive the heavenly influencies whereby many things are knowne to them sleeping in dreames which they that wake cannot see Plato attributeth them to the formes and ingendred knowledges of the soule Avicen to the last intelligence that moveth the moone through the light that lighteneth the fantasie in sleepe Aristotle to the phantastical sense Averroës to the imaginative Albert to the influence of superior bodies CHAP. IV. Against interpreters of dreames of the ordinary cause of dreamer Hemingius his opinion of diabolical dreames the interpretation of dreames ceased THere are bookes carried about concerning this matter under the name of Abraham who as Philo In lib. gigantum saith was the first inventor of the exposition of dreames and so likewise of Solomon and Daniel But Cicero In lib. de divinatione confuteth the vanity and folly of them that give credit to dreames And as for the interpreters of dreams as they know not before the dreame nor yet after any ceatainty yet when any thing afterwards happeneth then they apply the dreame to that which hath chanced Certainly men never lightly faâ—le to dreame by night of that which they meditate by day and by day they see divers and sundry things and conceive them severally in their minds Then those mixed conceits being laid up in the closet of the memory strive together which because the phantasie cannot discerne nor discusse some certaine thing gathered of many conceits is bred and contrived in one together And therefore in my opinion it is time vainly employed to study about the interpretation of dreames He that list to see the folly and vanity thereof may read a vaine treatise set out by Thomas Hill Londoneâ— 1568. Lastly there are diabolical dreames which Nicholaus Hemingius devideth into three sorts The first is when the devil immediately of himselfe he meaneth corporally offereth any matter of dreame Secondly when the devil sheweth revelations to them that have made request unto him therefore Thirdly when magicians by art bring to passe that other men dreame what they will Assuredly these and so all the rest as they may be used are very magicall and devilish dreames For although we may receive comfort of minde by those which are called divine dreames and health of body through physical dreames yet if we take upon us to use the office of God in the revelation or rather the interpretation of them or if we attribute unto them miraculous effects now when we see the gifts of prophesie and of interpretation of dreames and also the operation of miracles are ceased which were special and peculiar gifts of God to confirme the truth of the word and to establish his people in the faith of the Messias who is now exhibited unto us both in the testament and also in the blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ we are bewitched and both abuse and offend the majesty of God and also seduce delude and cousen all such as by our perswasion and their own light beleefe give us
I. The Hebrew word Nahas expounded of the art of augury who invented it how slovenly a science it is the multitude of sacrifices and sacrificers of the heathen and the causes thereof NAHAS is to observe the flying of birds and comprehendeth all such other observations where men do ghesse upon uncertain toies It is found in Deut. 18. and in 2. Chron. 33. and elsewhere Of this art of augury Tyresias the king of the Thebans is said to be the first inventor but Tages first published the discipline thereof being but a little boy as Cicero reporteth out of the bookes of the Hetruscans themselves Some points of this art are more high and profound than some others yet are they more homely and slovenly then the rest as namely the divination upon the entrails of beasts which the Gentiles in their sacrifices specially observed Insomuch as Marcus Varro seeing the absurdity thereof said that these gods were not only idle but very slovens that used so to hide their secrets and councels in the guts and bowels of beasts How vainly absurdly and superstitiously the heathen used this kind of divination in their sacrifices is manifested by their actions and ceremonies in that behalfe practised as well in times past as at this hour The Aegyptians had 666. several sorts and kinds of sacrifices the Romans had almost as many the Graecians had not so few as they the Persians and the Medes were not behind them the Indians and other nations have at this instant their sacrifices full of variety and more full of barbarous impiety For in sundry places these offer sacrifices to the devil hoping thereby to move him to lenity yea these commonly sacrifice such of their enemies as they have taken in war as we reade that the Gentiles in ancient time did offer sacrifice to appease the wrath and indignation of their feigned gods CHAP. II. Of the Iews sacrifice to Moloch a discourse thereupon and of Purgatory THe Jewes used one kind of diabolical sacrifice never taught them by Moses namely to offer their children to Moloch making their sonnes and their daughters to runne through the fiâ—e supposing such grace and efficacy to have been in that action as other witcheâ— affirm to be in charmes and words And therefore among other points of witchcraft this is specially and namely forbidden by Moses We reade of no more miracles wrought hereby than by any other kind of witchcraft in the old or new Testament expressed It was no ceremony appointed by God no figure of Christ perhaps it might be a sacrament or rather a figure of purgatory the which place was not remembred by Moses Neither was there any sacrifice appointed by the law for the releefe of the Israelites soules that there should be tormented Which without all doubt should not have beene omitted if any such place of purgatory had been then as the Pope hath lately devised for his private and speciall lucre This sacrificing to Moloch as some affirme was usual among the Gentiles from whence the Jewes brought it into Israel and there of likelyhood the Eutichists learned the obomination in that behalfe CHAP. III. The Canibals cruelty of popish sacrifices exceeding in tyranny the Iewes or Gentiles THe incivility and cruel sacrifices of popish priests do yet exceed both the Jew and the Gentile for these take upon them to sacrifice Christ himselfe And to make their tyranny the more apparent they are not contended to have killed him once but dayly and hourely torment him with new deaths yea they are not ashamed to sweare that with their carnal hands they teare his humane substance breaking it into small gobbets and with their external teeth chew his flesh and bones contrary to divine or humane nature and contrary to the prophesie which saith There shall not a bone of him be broken Finally in the end of their sacrifices as they say they eate him up rawe and swallow downe into their guts every member and parcel of him and last of all that they convey him into the place where they bestowe the residue of all that which they have devoured that day And this same barbarous impiety exceedeth the cruelty of all others for all the Gentiles consumed their sacrifices with fire which they thought to be holy CHAP. IV. The superstition of the heathen about the element of fire and how it grew in such reverence among them of their corruptions and that they had some inkling of the godly fathers doings in that behalfe AS touching the element of fire and the superstition thereof about those businesses you shall understand that many superstitious people of all nations have received and reverenced as the most holy thing among their sacrifices insomuch I say as they have worshipped it among their gods calling it Orimasda to wit holy fire and divine light The Greekes called it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Romans Vesta which is The fire of the Lord. Surely they had heard of the fire that came downe from heaven and consumed the oblations of the fathers and they understood it to be God himselfe For there came to the heathen the bare names of things from the doctrine of the godly fathers and patriarches and those so obscured with fables and corrupted with lies so overwhelmed with superstitions disguised with ceremonies that it is hard to judge from whence they came Some cause thereof I suppose was partly the translations of governments whereby one nation learned folly of another and partly blind devotion without knowledge of Gods word but specially the want of Grace which they sought not for according to Gods commandement and will And that the Gentiles had some inkling of the godly fathers doings may diversly appeare Do not the Muscovits and Indian prophets at this day like apes imitate Esay Because he went naked certaine years they forsooth counterfeit madnes and drink potions for that purpose thinking that whatsoever they say in their madnesse will certainly come to passe But hereof is more largely discoursed before in the word Kasam CHAP. V. Of the Romane sacrifices of the estimation they had of augury of the law of the twelve tables THe Romans even after they were growne to great civility and enjoyed a most flourishing state and common-wealth would sometimes sacrifice themselves sometimes their children sometimes their friends c. consuming the same with fire which they thought holy Such estimation I say was attributed to that of divination upon the entrails of beasts c. At Rome the chiefe princes themselves exercised the same namely Romulus Fabius Maximus c. insomuch as there was a decree made there by the whole senate that â—ix of the cheefe magistrates sonnes should from time to time be put forth to learne the mystery of these arts of augury and divination at Hetruria where the cunning and knowledge thereof most abounded When they came home well informed and instructed in this art their estimation and dignity was such as
enemies either bodily or ghostly neither shall be robbed or slaine of theeves pestilence thunder or lightning neither shall be hurt with fire or water not combred with spirits neither shall have displeasure of lords or ladies he shall not be condemned with false witnesse nor taken with fairies or any manner of axes nor yet with the falling evil Also if a woman be in travel lay this writing upon her belly she shall have easie deliverance and the child right shape and christendome and the mother purification of holy church and all through vertue of these holy names of Jesus Christ following ✚ Iesus ✚ Christus ✚ Messias ✚ Soter ✚ Emmanuel ✚ Sabbaoth ✚ Adonai ✚ Vnigenitus ✚ Majestas ✚ Paracleius ✚ Salvaâ—or noster ✚ Agiros iskiros ✚ Agios ✚ Adonaâ—os ✚ Gasper ✚ Melchior ✚ Balthasar ✚ Matthaeus ✚ Marcus ✚ Lucas ✚ Iohannes The epistle of S. Saviour which pope Leo sent to King Charles saying that whosoever carrieth the same about him or in what day soever he shall reade it or shall see it he shall not be killed with any iron toole nor be burned with fire nor be drowned with water neither any evill man or other creature may hurt him The crosse of Christ is a wonderfull defence ✚ the crosse of Christ be alwaies with me ✚ the crosse is it which I do alwaies worship ✚ the crosse of Christ is true health ✚ the crosse of Christ doth lose the bands of death ✚ the crosse of Christ is the truth and the way ✚ I take my journey upon the crosse of the Lord ✚ the crosse of Christ beateth down every evill ✚ the crosse of Christ giveth all good things ✚ the crosse of Christ taketh away paines everlasting ✚ the crosse of Christ save me ✚ O crosse of Christ be upon me before me and behind me ✚ because the ancient enemie cannot abide the sight of thee ✚ the crosse of Christ save me keep me governe me and direct me ✚ Thomas bearing this note of thy divine majesty ✚ Alpha ✚ Omega ✚ first ✚ and last ✚ middest ✚ and end ✚ beginning ✚ and first begotten ✚ wisdome ✚ vertue ✚ A popish periapt or charme which must never be said but carried about one against theeves I Do go and I do come unto you with the love of God with the humility of Christ with the holinesse of our blessed lady with the faith of Abraham with the justice of Isaac with the vertue of David with the might of Peter with the constancy of Paul with the word of God with the authority of Gregory with the prayer of Clement with the flood of Iordan p p p c g e g a q q est p t 1 k a b g l k 2 a x t g t b a m g 2 4 2 1 que p x c g k q a 9 9 p o q q r. Oh onely Father ✚ oh onely lord ✚ And Iesus ✚ passing through the middest of them ✚ went In ✚ the name of the father ✚ and of the Sonne ✚ and of the Holy Ghost ✚ Another amulet JOseph of Aâ—imathea did find this writing upon the wounds of the side of Iesus Christ written with Gods finger when the body was taken away from the crosse Whosoever shall carry this writing about him shall not dye any evill death if he beleeve in Christ and in all perplexities he shall soone be delivered neither let him fear any danger at all Fons alpha omega ✚ figa ✚ figalis ✚ Sabbaoth ✚ Emmanuel ✚ Adonai ✚ o ✚ Neray ✚ Elay ✚ â—he ✚ Rentone ✚ Neger ✚ Sahe ✚ Pangeton ✚ Commen ✚ a ✚ g ✚ l ✚ a ✚ Mattheus ✚ Marcus ✚ Lucas ✚ Iohannes ✚ ✚ ✚ titulus triumphalis ✚ Iesus Nasareuus rex Iudaeorum ✚ ecce dominicae crucis signnm ✚ fugite partes adversae vicit leo de tribu Iudae radix David aleluijah Kyrie eleeson Christe eleeson pater noster ave Maria ne nos veniat super nos salutare tuum Oremus c. I find in a Primer intituled The houres of our Lady after the use of the church of Yorke printed anno 1516. a charme with this titling in red letters To all them that afore this image of pity devoutly shall say five Pater nosters five Aves and one Credo pitiously beholding these armes of Christs passion are granted thirty two thousand seven hundred fifty five years of pardon It is to be thought that this pardon was granted in the time of pope Boniface the nineth for Platina saith that the pardons were sold so cheape that the apostolicall authority grew into contempt A papistical charme SIgnum sanctae crucis defendat me a malis praesentibus praeteritis futuris interioribus exterioribus That is The signe of the crosse defend me from evils present past and to come inward and outward A charme found in the canon of the masse ALso this charge is found in the canon of the masse Haec sacrosancta commixtio corporis sanguinis domini nostri Iesu Christi fiat mihi omnibusque sumentibus salus mentis corporis ad vitam promerendam capessendam praeparatio salutaris that is Let this holy mixture of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ be unto me and unto all receivers thereof health of mind and body and to the deserving and receiving of life an healthful preparative Other papisticall charmes Aqua benedicta sit mihi salus vita Let holy water be both health and life to me Adque nomen Martini omnis haereticus fugiat palladus When Martins name is sung or said Let hereticks flie as men dismaid But the papists have a harder charme than that to wit Fire and â—agot Fire and fagot A charme of the holy crosse Nulla salus est in domo Nisi cruce munit homo Superliminaria Neque sentit gladium Nec amisit filium Quisquis egit talia No health within the house doth dwell Except a man do crosse him well At every doore or frame He never feeleth the swords point Nor of his sonne shall lose a joint That doth performe the same Furthermore as followeth Ista suos fortiores Semper facit victores Morbos sanat languores Reprimit daemonia Dat captivis libertatem Vitae confert novitatem Ad antiquam dignitarem Crux reduxit omnia O Crux lignum triumphale Mundi vera salus vale Inter ligna nullum tale Frande flore germine Medicina Christiana Salva sanos aegros sana Quod non valet vis humana Fit in tuo nomine c. It makes her souldiers excellent And crowneâ—h them with victory Restores the lame and impotent and healeth every malady The devils of hell it conquereth releaseth from imprisonment Newnesse of life it offereth It hath all at commandement O crosse of wood incomparable To all the world most wholesome No wood is half so honourable In branch in bud or blossome O medicine which
Alysson cureth it which experiment I doubt not will prove more true then all the charms in the world But where he saith that the same hanged at a mans gate or entry preserveth him and his cattel from inchantment or bewitching he is overtaken with folly Against the biting of a Scorpion SAy to an asse secretly and as it were whispering in his eare I am bitten with a Scorpion Against the toothach SCarifie the gums in the griefe with the tooth of one that hath been slaine Otherwise Galbes galbat galdes galdat Otherwise A â—â—hur hus c. Otherwise At saccaring of masse hold your teeth together and say Os non comminuetis ex eo Otherwise Strigiles falcesque deâ—tâ—tae dentium dolorem persanate O horse-combs and sickles that have so many teeth come heal of my toothach A charme to release a woman in travel THrowe over the top of the house where a woman in travel lieth â— stone or any other thing that hath killed three living creatures namely a man a wild bore and a she-bear To heale the Kings or Queens evil or any other sorenesse in the throte REmedies to cure the Kings or Queens evil is first to touch the place with the hand of one that died an untimely death Otherwise Let a virgine fasting lay her hand on the sore and say Apollo denieth that the heate of the plague can increase where a naked virgine quencheth it and spet three times upon it A charm read in the Romish church upon Saint Blazes day that will fetch a thorne out of any place of ones body a bone out of the throte c. Lect. 3. FOr the fetching of a thorne out of any place of ones body or a bone out of the throte you shall reade a charm in the Romish church upon St. Blazes day to wit call upon God and remember St. Blaze This St. Blaze could also heale all wild beasts that were sick or lame with laying on of his hands as appeareth in the lesson read on his day where you shall see the matter at large A Charme for the head-ach TIe a halter about your head wherewith one hath been hanged A charme to be said each morning by a witch fasting or at least before she go abroad THe fire bites the fire bites the fire bites Hogs turd over it hogs turd over it hogs turd over it The father with thee the sonne with me the holy ghost between us both to be ter Then spit over one shoulder and then over the other and then three times right forward Another charme that witches use at the gathering of their medicinable herbs Haile be thou holy herbe Growing on the ground All in the mount Calvarie First wert thou found Thou art good for many a sore And healest many a wound In the name of sweet Iesus I take thee from the ground An old womans charme wherewith she did much good in the countrey and grew famous thereby AN old woman that healed all diseases of cattel for the which she never took any reward but a peny a loafe being seriously examined by what words she brought these things to pass confessed that after she had touched the sick creature she alwayes departed immediately saying My loase in my lap My penny in my purse Thou art never the better And I am never the worse Another like charme A Gentlewoman having sore eyes made her mone to one that promised her helpe if she would follow his advise which was onely to weare about her neck a scroll sealed up whereinto she might not looke and she conceaving hope of cure thereby received it under the condition and left her weeping and teares wherewith she was wont to bewaile the miserable darknesse which she doubted to indure whereby in short time her eyes were well amended But alas she lost soon after that pretious jewell and thereby returned to her wonted weeping and by consequence to her sore eyes Howbeit her jewell or scroll being sound againe was looked into by her deer friends and this onely posie was contained therein The devill pull out both thine eyes And etish in the holes likewise Whereby partly you may see what constant opinion can do according to the saying of Plato if a mans fansie or mind give him assurance thâ—â— a hurtfull thing shall do him good it may do so c. A charme to open locks AS the herbs called Aethiopides will open all locks if all be true that inchanters say with the help of certain words so be there charmes also and periapâ—s which without any herbs can do as much â— for example Take a peece of wax crossed in baptisme and do but priâ—â— certain flowers therein and tie them in the hinder flâ—irt of your shirt and when you would undo the lock blow thrice therein saying Arato 〈◊〉 partiko hoâ— maratarykin I open this doore in thy name that I am forced to breake as thou brakest hell-gates In nomine patris filii spiâ—iâ—â— sancti Amen A charme to drive away spirits that haunt any house HAng in every of the foure corners of your house this sentence written upon virgin parchment Omnis spiritus lâ—udet Dominum Mâ—seâ— habent prophetas Exurgat Deus dissipanâ—ur inimici ejus A pretty charme or conclusion for one possessed THe possessed body must go upon his or her knees to the church hoâ— farre so ever it be off from their lodging and so must creep without going out of the way being the common high way in that sort 〈◊〉 soule and dirty soever the same be or whatsoever lie in the way 〈◊〉 shunning any thing whatsoever untill he come to the church where 〈◊〉 must heare masse devoutly and then followeth recovery Another for the same purpose THere must be commended to some poore begger the saying of 〈◊〉 Pater nosters and five Aves the first so be said in the name of the party possessed or bewitched for that Christ was led into the garden secondly for that Christ did sweat both water and blood thirdly for that Christ was condemned fourthly for that he was crucified guiâ—â—lesse and fiftly for that he suffered to take away our sins Then 〈◊〉 the sick body heare masse eight daies together standing in the 〈◊〉 where the gospell is said and must mingle holy water with his meate 〈◊〉 his drink and holy salâ— also must be a portion of the mixture Another to the same effect THe sick man must fast three dayes and then he with his parents 〈◊〉 come to church upon an embering friday and must heare the 〈◊〉 for that day appointed and so likewise the saturday and sunday following And the priest must read upon the sick-mans head that gospel which is 〈◊〉 in September and in grap-hearvest after the feast of holy crosse In 〈◊〉 quatuor temporum in ember-daies then let him write and carry it aboâ—â— his necke and he shall be cured Another charme or witch-craft for the same THis office or conjuration
the weather is faire and cleer Cardanus derideth these and such like fables and setteth downe his judgement therein accordingly in the sixteenth booke De rerum ver These conjurors and coseners forsooth will shew you in a glasse the theefe that hath stolne any thing from you and this is their order They take a glasse-viall full of holy water and set it upon a linnen cloth which hath been purified not onely by washing but by sacrifice c. On the mouth of the viall or urinall two olive-leaves must be laid acrosse with a little conjuration said over it by a child to wit thus Angele bone angele candide per tuam sanctitatem meamque virginiteâ—em ostende mihi furem with â—hree Pater nosteâ—s three Aves and betwixt either of them a crosse made with the naile of the thombe upon the mouth of the viall and then shall be seen angels ascending and descending as it were motes in the sunne-beames The theefe all this while shall suffer great torments and his face shall be seen plainly even as plainly I beleeve as the man in the moone For in truth there are toies artificially conveyed into glasse which will make the water bubble and devises to make images appeare in the bubbles as also there be artificial glasses which will shew unto you that shall looke thereinto many images of divers formes and some so small and curious as they shall in favour resemble whomsoever you think upon Looke in John Bap. Neap for the confection of such glasses The subtilties hereof are so deâ—ected and the mysteries of the glasses so common now and their cosenage so well knowne c. that I need not stand upon the particular confutation hereof Cardanus in the place before cited reporteth how he tried with children these and divers circumstances the whole illusion and found it to be plaine knavery and cosenage Another way to find out a theefe that ahht stolne any thing from you GO to the sea-side and gather as many pebles as you suspect persons for that matter carry them home throw them into the fire bury them under the threshold where the parties are like to come over There let them lie three dayes and then before sun rising take them away Then set a porrenger full of water in a circle wherein must be made crosses every way as many as can stand in it upon the which must be written Christ overcometh Christ reigneth Christ commandeth The porrenger also must be signed with a crosse and a form of conjuration must be pronounced Then each stone must be thrown into the water in the name of the suspected And when you put in the stone of him that is guilty the stone will make the water boile as though glowing iron were put thereinto Which is a meere knack of legierdemaine and to be accomplished divers waies To put out the theeves eye Reade the seven psalmes with the Letany and then must be said a horrible prayer to Christ and God the father with a curse against the theefe Then in the middest of the step of your foote on the ground where you stand make a circle like an eye and write thereabout certain barbarous names and drive with a coopers hammer or addes into the middest thereof a brazen naile consecrated saying Iustus es Domine et justa judicia tua Then the thiefe shall be bewraied by his crying out Another way to find out a thiefe STick a paire of sheeres in the rind of a sive and let two persons set the top of each of their forefingers upon the upper part of the sheeres holding it with the sive up from the ground steddily and aske Peter and Paul whether A. B. or C. hath stolne the thing lost and at the nomination of the guilty person the sive will turne round This is a great practise in all countries and indeed a very bable For with the beating of the pulse some cause of that motion ariseth some other cause by slight of the fingers some other by the wind gathered in the â—ive to be staid c. at the pleasure of the holders Some cause may be the imagination which upon conceit at the naming of the party altereth the common course of the pulse As may well be conceived by a ring held steddily by a thred betwixt the finger and the thombe over or rather in a goblet or glasse which within short space will strike against the side thereof so many strokes as the holder thinketh it a clocke and then will stay the which who so proveth shall find true A Charme to find out or spoile a theefe OF thâ—s matter concerning the apprehension of theeves by wâ—â—ds I will ciâ—e one charme called S. Adelberts curse being both for length of words sufficient to wery the reader and for substantiall stuffe comprehending all that appertaineth unto blasphemous speech or cursing allowed in the church of Rome as an excommunication and inchantment Saint Adelberts curse or charme against theeves BY the authority of the omnipotent Father the Sonne and the holy ghost and by the holy virgine Mary mother of our Lord Jesu Christ and the holy angels and archangels and S. Michael and S. John Baptist and in the behalfe of S. Peter the apostle and the risidue of the apostles and of S. Stephen and of all the martyrs of S. Sylvester and of S. Adelbert and all the confessors and S. Alegand and all the holy virgins and of all the saints in heaven and earth unto whom there is given power to bind and loose we do excommunicate damne curse and bind with the knots and bands of excommunication and we do segregate from the bounds and lists of our holy mother the church all those theeves sacrilegious persons ravenous catchers doers counsellers coadjutors male or female that have committed this theft or mischiefe or have usurped any part thereof to their owne use Let their share be with Dathan and Abiran whom the earth swallowed up for their such and pride and let them have part with Iudas that betrayed Christ Amen and with Pontius Pilat and with them that said to the Lord Depart from us we will not understand thy wayes let their children be made orphanes Cursed be they in the field in the grove in the woods in their houses barnes chambers and beds and cursed be they in the court in the way in the towne in the castle in the water in the church in the churchyard in the tribunall place in battell in their abode in the market place in their talke in silence in eating in watching in sleeping in drinking in feeling in sitting in kneeling in standing in lying in idlenesse in all their worke in their body and soule in their five wits and in every place Cursed be the fruit of their wombâ— and cursed be the fruit of their lands and cursed be all that they haâ—e Cursed be their heads their mouthes their nostrels their noses their lips their jawes their teeth their eyes
that a matter of such importance hath had so ill successe The Alchymister promised to do penance to hear twelve masses for two that he had foreslowed and for every 〈◊〉 overslipped to render and repeat twelve to our Lady Soone after this when all our Alchymisters money was spent and also his shifts failed how to come by any more he came home with this advice as a man wonderfully fraied and amazed piteously crying and lamenting his misfortune Whereat Balbine being astonished desired to know the cause of his complaint Oh said the Alchymister the coutiers have spied our enterprise so as I for my part look for nothing â—â— present imprisonment Whereat Balbine was abashed because it was â—â— fellony to goe about that matter without speciall licence But quoth the Alchymister I fear not to be put to death I would it would fall our â—â— marry I fear lest I should be shut up in some castle or tower and then shall be forced to tug about this work and broile in this businesse all the daies of my life Now the matter-being brought to consultation Balbine because â—â— was cunning in the art of Rhetorick and not altogether ignorant in laâ— beat his braines in devising how the accusation might be answered and the danger avoided Alas said the Alchymister you trouble your sâ—â— all in vain for you see the crime is not to be denyed it is so general bruited in court neither can the fact be defended because of the manifest law published against it To be short when many waies were derâ—â— and diverse excuses alledged by Balbine and no sure ground to 〈◊〉 on for their security at length the Alchymister having present want 〈◊〉 need of money framed his speech in this sort Sir said he to Balbine use slow counsell and yet the matter requireth hast For I think they are comming for me yet this time to hale me away to prison and I 〈◊〉 no remedy but to die valiantly in the cause In good faith said Balbine I know not what to say to the matter No more doe I said the Alchymister but that I see these courtiers are hungry for money and so 〈◊〉 the readier to be corrupted and framed to silence And though it be a 〈◊〉 matter to give those rakehels till they be satisfied yet I see no better 〈◊〉 sell or advice at this time No more could Balbine who gave him that ducats of gold to stop their mouthes who in an honest cause would â—â—ther have given so many teeth out of his head then one of those point out of his pouch This coin had the Alchymister who for all his pretenses and gay gloses was in no danger other than for lack of money â— leese his leman or concubine whose acquaintance he would not giâ—ver nor forbear her company for all the goods that he was able to â—â— were it by never so much indirect dealing and unlawfull means Well yet now once againe doth Balbine newly furnish the forge a 〈◊〉 being made before to our Lady to blesse the enterprise and all these being provided and made ready according to the Alchymisters own 〈◊〉 king and all necessaries largely ministred after his owne liking a whâ—â— year being likewise now consumed about this bootlesse business and anything brought to passe there fell out a strange chance and that by the means ensuing as you shall hear Our Alchimister forsooth used a little extraordinary lewd compared with a courtiers wife while he was from home who suspecting 〈◊〉 matter came to the door unlooked for and called to come in threatened them that he would break open the doores upon them Some present advice you see was now requisite and there was none other to be 〈◊〉 such as the opportunity offered to wit to leap out at a back window which he did not without great hazard and some hurt But this was soon blazed abroad so as it came to Balbines ear who shewed in countenance that he had heard hereof though he said nothing But the Alchymister knew him to be devout and somewhat superstitious and such men are easie to be intreated to forgive how great soever the fault be and devised to open the matter in manner and forme following O Lord saith he before Balbine how infortunately goeth our businesse forward I marvell what should be the cause Whereat Balbine being one otherwise that seemed to have vowed silence took occasion to speak saying it is not hard to know the impediment and stop hereof for it is sinne that hindereth this matter which is not to be dealt in but with pure hands Whereat the Alchymister fell upon hisknees beating his brest and lamentably cryed saying Oh master Balbine you say most truly it is sinne that hath done us all this displeasure not your sinne sir but mine owne good master Balbine Neither will I be ashamed to discover my filthinesse unto you as unto a must holy and ghostly father The infirmity of the flesh had overcome me and the Devill had caught me in his snare Oh wretch that I am Of a Priest I am become an adulterer Howbeit the money that erst while was sent to our Lady was not utterly lost for if she had not been I had certainly been slain For the good man of the house brake open the door and the window was lesse than I could get out thereat And in that extremity of danger it came into my minde to fall down prostrate to the virgine beseeching her if our gift were acceptable in her sight that she would in consideration thereof assist me with her help And to be short I ran to the window and found it big enough to leap out at Which thing Balbine did not only beleeve to be true but in respect thereof forgave him religiously admonishing him to shew himself thankfull to that pitiful and blessed Lady Now once again more is made a new supply of money and mutuall promise made to handle this divine matter hence forward purely and holily To be short after a great number of such parts played by the Alchymister one of Balbine's acquaintance espied him that knew him from his childehood to be but a cousening merchant and told Balbine what he was that he would handle him in the end even as he had used many others for a knave he ever was and so he would prove But what did Balbine â—hink you Did he complain of this counterfeit or cause him to be punished No but he gave him money in his purse and sent him away desiring him of all courtesie not to blaâ— abroad how he had cousened him And as for the knave Alchymister he need not care who knew it or what came of it for he had nothing in goods or fame to be lost And as for his cunning in Alchymistry he had as much as an asse By this discourse Erasmus would give us to note that under the golden name of Alchymistry there lyeth lurking no small calamitie wherein there be such
distinguished A day naturall is the space of foure and twenty houres accounting the night withall and beginneth at one of the clocke after midnight An artificiall day is that space of time which is betwixt the rising and falling of the ☉ c. All the rest is night 〈◊〉 beginneth at the ☉ rising Hereafter followeth a table shewing how the day and the night is divided by houres and reduced to the regiment of the planets The division of the day and the planetary regiment The division of the night and the planetary regiment CHAP. VII The characters of the angels of the seven days with their names of figures scales and periapts These figures are called the scales of the earth without the which no spirit will appeare except thou have them with thee CHAP. VIII An experiment of the dead FIrst fast and pray three dayes and abstaine thee from all filthynesse go to one that is new buried such a one as killed himselfe or destroyed himselfe willfully or else get thee promise of one that shall be hanged and let him sweare an oath to thee after his body is dead that his spirit shall come to thee and do thee true service at thy commandements in all dayes houres and minuts And let no persons see thy doings but thy fellow And about eleven a clocke in the night goe to the place where he was buried and say with a bold faith and hearty desire to have the spirit come that thou doest call for thy fellow having a candle in his left hand and in his right hand a crystall stone and say these words following the master having a hazell wand in his right hand and these names of God written thereupon Tetragrammaton ✚ Adonay ✚ Agla ✚ Craton ✚ Then strike three strokes on the ground and say Arise N. Arise N. Arise N. I conjure thee spirit N. by the resurrection of our Lord Jesu Christ that thou do obey to my words and come unto me this night verily and truly as thou beleevest to be saved at the day of judgement And I will swear to the an oath by the perill of my soule that if thou wilt come to me and appeare to me this night and shew me true visions in this crystall stone and fetch me the fairie Sibylia that I may talke with her visibly and she may come before me as the conjuration leadeth and in so doing I will give thee an almesse deed and pray for thee N. to my Lord God whereby thou mayest be restored to thy salvation at the resurrection day to be received as one of the elect of God to the everlasting glory Amen The master standing at the head of the grave his fellow having in his hands the candle and the stone must begin the conjuration as followeth and the spirit will appeare to you in the crystall stone in a faire forme of a child of twelve yeares of age And when he is in feele the stone and it will be hot and feare nothing for he or she will shew many delusions to drive you from your worke Feare God but feare him not This is to constraine him as followeth I conjure thee spirit N. by the living God the true God and by the holy God and by their vertues and powers which have created both thee and me and all the world I conjure thee N. by these holy names of God Tetragrammaton ✚ Adonay ✚ Algramay ✚ Saday ✚ Sabaoth ✚ Plaâ—â—both ✚ Panthon ✚ Craton ✚ Neupuraton ✚ Deus ✚ Homo ✚ Omnipotens ✚ Simpiternus ✚ Ysus ✚ Terra ✚ Vnigeniius ✚ Salvator ✚ Via ✚ Vita ✚ Manus ✚ Fons ✚ Origo ✚ Filius ✚ And by their vertues and powers and by all their names by the which God gave power to man both to speak or think so by their vertues and powers I conjure thee spirit N. that now immediately thou doe appeare in this crystall stone visibly to me and to my fellow without any tarrying or deceipt I conjure thee N. by the excellent name of Jesus Christ A and Ω the first and the last For this holy name of Jesus is above all names for in this name of Jesus every knee doth bow and obey both of heavenly things earthly things and infernall And every tongue doth confesse that our Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of the Father neither is there any other name given to man whereby he must be saved Therefore in the name of Jesus of Nazareth and by his nativity resurrection and ascension and by all that appertaineth unto his passion and by their vertues and powers I conjure the spirit N. that thou doe appeare visible in this crystall stone to me and to my fellow without any dissimulation I conjure thee N. by the blood of the innocent lambe Jesus Christ which was shed for us upon the crosse for all those that doe beleeve in the vertue of his bloud shall be saved I conjure thee N. by the vertues and powers of all the royall names and words of the living God of me pronounced that thou be obedient unto me and to my words rehearsed If thou refuse this to doe I by the holy trinity and by their vertues and powers doe condemne thee thou spirit N. into the place where there is no hope of remedy or rest but everlasting horror of paine there dwelling and a place where there is pain upon pain dayly horribly and lamentably thy pain to be there augmented as the starres in the heaven and as the gravell or sand in the Sea except thou spirit N. doe appeare to me and to my fellow visibly immediately in this crystall stone and in a fair form and shape of a childe of twelve yeares of age and that thou alter not thy shape I charge thee upon pain of everlasting condemnation I conjure thee spirit N. by the golden girdle which girdeth the loins of our Lord Jesus Christ so thou spirit N. be thou bound into the perpetuall paines of hell fire for thy disobedience and unreverent regard that thou hast to the holy names and words and his precepts I conjure thee N. by the two edged sword which Iohn saw proceed out of the mouth of the Almighty and so thou spirit N. be torne and cut in peeces with that sword and to be condemned into everlasting pain where the fire goeth not out and where the worm dyeth not I conjure thee N. by the heavens and by the celestiall city of Ierusalem and by the earth and the sea and by all things contained in them and by their vertues and powers I conjure thee spirit N. by the obedience that thou dost owe unto the principall prince And except thou spirit N doe come and appear visibly in this crystall stone in my presence here immediately as it is aforesaid Let the great curse of God the anger of God the shadow and darknesse of death and of eternall condemnation be upon thee spirit N. for ever and ever
because thou hast denyed thy faith thy health and salvation For thy great disobedience thou art worthy to be condemned Therefore let the divine trinity thrones dominions principats potestats virtutes cherubim and seraphim and all the soules of saints both of men and women condemn thee for ever and be a witnesse against thee at the day of judgement because of thy disobedience And let all creatures of our Lord Jesus Christ say thereunto Fiat fiat fiat Amen And when he is appeared in the crystall stone as is said before bind him with this bond as followeth to wit I conjure thee spirit N. that an appeared to me in this crystall stone to me and to my fellow I conjure thee by all the royall words aforesaid the which did constrain thee to appeare therein and their vertues I charge thee by them all that thou shall not depart out of this crystall stone untill my will being fulfilled thou be licensed to depart I conjure and bind thee spirit N. by that omnipotent God which commanded the angell S. Michaâ—ll to drive Lucifer out of the heavens with a sword of vengeance and to fall from joy to paine and for dread of such paine as he is in I charge thee spirit N. that thou shalt not goe out of the crystall stone nor yet to alter thy shape at this time except I command thee otherwise but to come unto me at all places and in all houres and minutes when and wheresoever I shall call thee by the vertue of our Lord Jesus Christ or by any conjuration of words that is written in this book and to shew me and my friends true visions in this crystall stone of any thing or things that we would see at any time or times and also to goe and fetch me the fairy Sibylla that I may talk with her in all kinde of talk as I shall call her by any conjuration of words contained in this book I conjure thee spirit N. by the great wisdome and divinity of his Godhead my will to fulfill as is aforesaid I charge thee upon pain of condemnation both in this world and in the world to come Fiat fiat fiat Amen I conjure thee spirit N. in this crystall stone by God the father by God the son Jesus Christ and by God the Holy Ghost three persons and one God and by their vertues I conjure thee spirit that thou do goe in peace and also to come again to me quickly and to bring with thee into that circle appointed Sibylia fairie that I may talk with her in those matters that shall be to her honour and glory and so I change thee declare unto her I conjure thee spirit N. by the bloud of the innocent lamb the which redeemed all the world by the vertue thereof I charge thee thou spirit in the crystal stone that thou do declare unto her this message Also I conjure thee spirit N. by all angels and archangels thrones dominations principats potestates virtues cherubim and seraphim and by their vertues and powers I conjure thee N. that thou do depart with speed and also to come again with speed and to bring with thee the fairie Sibylia to appeare in that circle before I doe read the conjuration in this booke seven times Thus I charge thee my will to be fulfilled upon pain of everlasting condemnation Fiat fiat fiat Amen Then the figure aforesaid pinned on thy brest rehearse the words therein and say ✚ Sorthie ✚ Sorthia ✚ Sorthios ✚ then begin your conjuration as followeth here and say I conjure thee Sibylia O gentle virgine of fairies by the mercy of the Holy Ghost and by the dreadfull day of doom and by their vertues and powers I conjure thee Sibylia O gentle virgin of fairies and by all the angels of ♃ and their characters and vertues and by all the spirits of ♃ and ♀ and their characters and vertues and by all the characters that be in the firmanent and by the king and queen of fairies and their vertues and by the faith and obedience that thou bearest unto them I conjure thee Sibylia by the bloud that ran out of the side of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified and by the opening of heaven and by the renting of the Temple and by the darknesse of the Sunne in the time of his death and by the rising up of the dead in the time of his resurrection and by the Virgin Mary Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the unspeakable name of God Tetragrammaton I conjure thee O Sibylia O blessed and beautifull Virgine by all the riall words aforesaid I conjure thee Sibylia by all their vertues to appeare in that circle before me visible in the form and shape of a beautifull woman in a bright and white vesture adorned and garnished most fair and to appeare to me quickly without deceit or tarrying and that thou faile not to fulfill my will and desire effectually For I will choose thee to be my blessed virgin and will have common copulation with thee Therefore make hast and speed to come unto me and to appear as I have said before To whom be honor and glory for ever ever Amen The which done and ended if thee come not repeat the conjuration till they doe come for doubtlesse they will come And when shee is appeared take your censers and incense her with frankincense then bind her with the bond as followeth I doe conjure thee Sibylia by God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost three persons and one God and by the blessed virgine Mary mother of our Lord Jesus Christ and by all the whole and holy company of heaven and by the dreadfull day of doome and by all angels and archangels thrones dominations principates potestates virtutes cherubim and seraphim and their vertues and powers I conjure thee and binde thee Sibylia that thou shalt not depart out of the circle wherein thou art appeared nor yet to alter thy shape except I give thee licence to depart I conjure thee Sibylia by the bloud that ran out of the side of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified and by the vertue hereof I conjure thee Sibylia to come to me and to appeare to me at all times visibly as the conjuration of words leadeth written in this book I conjure thee Sibylia O blessed Virgine of fairies by the opening of heaven and by the renting of the Temple and by the darknesse of the Sun at the time of his death and by the rising of the dead in the time of his glorious resurrection and by the unspeakable name of God ✚ Tetragrammaton ✚ and by the king and queen of fairies and by their vertues I conjure thee Sibylia to appeare before the conjuration be read over four times and that visibly to appeare as the conjuration leadeth written in this book and to give mee good counsell at all times and to come by treasures hidden in the earth and all other things
that is to do me pleasure and to fulfill my will without any deceit or tarrying nor yet that thou shalt have any power of my body or soul earthly or ghostly nor yet to perish so much of my body as one haire of my head I conjure thee Sibylia by all the riall words aforesaid and by their vertues and powers I charge and binde thee by the vertue thereof to be obedient unto me and to all the words aforesaid and this bond to stand between thee and me upon pain of everlasting condemnation Fiat fiat fiat Amen CHAP. IX A license for Sibylia to goe and come by at all times I Conjure thee Sibyliae which art come hither before me by the commandement of thy Lord and mine that thou shalt have no powers is thy going or comming unto me imagining any evill in any manner of wayes in the earth or under the earth of evill doings to any person or persons I conjure and command thee Sibylia by all the riall work and vertues that be written in this Book that thou shalt not goe to the place from whence thou camest but shalt remaine peaceably invisibly and look thou be ready to come unto me when thou are called by any conjuration of words that be written in this book to come I say at my commandement and to answer unto me truly and duly of all things my will quickly to be fulfilled Vade in pace in nomine patris filii spirtus sancti And the holy ✚ crosse ✚ be between thee and me or between us and you and the Lion of Iuda the root of Iesse the kindred of David be between thee and mee ✚ Christ commeth ✚ Christ commandeth ✚ Christ giveth power ✚ Christ defend me ✚ and his innocent bloud ✚ from all perils of body and soul sleeping or waking Fiat fiat Amen CHAP. X. To know of treasure hidden in the earth WRite in paper these characters following on the saturday in the 〈◊〉 of ☽ and lay it where thou thinkest treasure to be if there be any the paper will burn else not And these be the characters This is the way to goe invisible by these three sisters of Fairies In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost First goe to a fair parlor or chamber and an even ground and in no lost and from people nine dayes for it is the better and let all thy clothing be clean and sweet Then make a candle of Virgine wax and light it and make a faire fire of charcoles in a fair place in the midle of the parlour or chamber Then take fair clean water that runneth against the east and set it upon the fire and yet thou wathest thy selfe say these words going about the fire three times holding the candle in the right hand ✚ Panthon ✚ Craton ✚ Muriton ✚ Lisecognaton ✚ Seston ✚ Diaton ✚ Maton ✚ Tetâ—agrammaton ✚ Agla ✚ Agarion ✚ Tegra ✚ Pentessaron ✚ Tendicata ✚ Then rehearse these names ✚ So thie ✚ Sorthia ✚ Sortheos ✚ Milia ✚ Achilia ✚ Sibylia ✚ In nomine patris filii spiritus sancti Amen I conjure you three sisters of fairies Milia Achilia Sibylia by the Father by the Son and by the Holy Ghost and by their vertues and powers and by the most mercifull and living God that will command his angell to blow the trump at the day of Judgement and he shall say Come come come to judgement and by all angels archangels thrones dominations principats potestaâ—es virtutes cherubim and seraphim and by their vertues and powers I conjure you three sisters by the vertue of all the riall words aforesaid I charge you that you doe appeare before me visibly in form and shape of faire women in white vestures and to bring with you to me the ring of invisibility by the which I may goe invisible at mine owne will and pleasure and that in all houres and minutes In nomine patris filii spiritus sancti Amen * Being appeared say this bond following O blessed virgins ✚ Milia ✚ Achili◠✚ I conjure you in the name of the Father in the name of the Son and in the name of the Holy Ghost by their vertues I charge you to depart from me in peace for a time And Sibylia I conjure thee by the vertue of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the vertue of his flesh and pretious bloud that he took of our blessed Lady the Virgine and by all the holy company in heaven I charge thee Sibylia by all the vertues aforesaid that thou be obedient unto me in the name of God that when and in what time and place I shall call thee by this foresaid conjuration written in this book looke thou be ready to come unto me at all houres and minutes and to bring unto me the ring of invisibility whereby I may goe invisible at my will and pleasure and that at all houres and minutes Fiat fiat Amen And if he come not the first night then doe the same the second night and so the third night untill they doe come for doubtlesse they will come and lie thou in thy bed in the same parlor or chamber And lay thy right hand out of the bed and look thou have a faire silken kercher bound abound thy head and be not afraid they will doe thee no harm For there will come before thee three fair women and all in white clothing and one of them will put a ring upon thy finger wherewith thou shalt goe invisible Then with speed bind them with the bond aforesaid When thou hast this ring on thy finger looke in a glasse and thou shalt not see thy self And when thou wilt goe invisible put in on thy finger the same finger that they did put it on and every new ☽ renew it again For after the first time thou shalt ever have it and ever begin this work in the new of the ☽ and in the houre of ♃ and the ☽ in ♋ ♠♓ CHAP. XI An experiment following of Citrael c. angeli diei dominici Say first the prayers of the angels every day for the space of seaven dayes O Ye glorious angels written in this square be you my coadjutors and helpers in all qâ—estions and demands in all my businesse and other causes by him which shall â—ome to judge both the quick and the dead and the world by fire O angeli gloriosi in hac quadra scripti estote câ—adjutores auxiliatores in omnibus quaestionibus intervogationibus in omnibus negotiis caeterisque causis per eum qui venturus est judicare vivos mortuos mumdum per ignem Say this prayer fasting called Regina linguae ✚ Lemae ✚ solma ac ✚ elmay ✚ gezagra ✚ raamaasin ✚ ezierego ✚ mial ✚ egziephiaz Iosamin ✚ sabach ✚ ha ✚ aem ✚ re ✚ be ✚ esepha ✚ sephar ✚ â—â—mar ✚ semoit ✚ lemajo ✚ pheralon ✚ amic ✚
phin ✚ gergoin ✚ leâ—o◠✚ Amin ✚ amin ✚ In the name of the most pitifullest and and mercifullest God of Isâ—â—â—â— and of paradise of heaven and of earth of the seas and of the infernals by thine omnipotent help may perform this work which livest and reigâ—est over one God world without end Amen O most strongest and mightiest God without beginning or ending by thy clemency and knowledge I desire that my questions work and labour may be fully and truely accomplished through thy worthinesse good Lord which livest and reignest ever one God world without eâ—â— Amen O holy patient and mercifull great God and to be worshipped the Lord of all wisdome clear and just I most heartily desire thy holinesse and clemency to fulfill perform and accomplish this my whole work through thy worthynesse and blessed power which livest and reignest ever one God Per omnia saecula saeculorum Amen CHAP. XII How to inclose a spirit in a crystall stone THis operation following is to have a spirit inclosed into a crystall stone or beryll glasse or into any other like instrument c. First thou in the new of the ☽ being clothed with all new and fresh and clean aray and shaven and that day to fast with bread and water and being cleane confessed say the seven Psalmes and the Letany for the space of two days with this prayer following I desire thee O Lord God my mercifull and most loving God the giver of all graces the giver of all sciences grant that I thy wel-beloved N. although unworthy may know thy grace and power against all the deceipts and craftinesse of devils And grant to me thy power good Lord to constrain them by this art for thou art the true and lively and eternall God which livest and reignest ever one God through all worlds Amen Thou must doe this five dayes and the sixt day have in a readinesse five bright swords and in some secret place make one circle with one of the said swords And then write this name Sitrael which done standing in the circle thrust in thy sword into that name And write again Malanthon with another sword and Thamaor with another and Falaur with another and Sitrami with another and ode as ye did with the first All this done turn thee to Sitrael and kneeling say thus having the crystall stone in thine hands O Sitrael Malantha Thamaor Falaur and Sitrami Written in these circles appointed to this work I doe conjure and I doe exorcise you by the Father by the Sonne and by the Holy-Ghost by him which cast you out of Paradise and by him which spake the word and it was done and by him which shall come to judge the quick and the dead and the world by fire that all you five infernall masters and princes doe come unto mee to accomplish and to fulfill all my desire and request which I shall command you Also I conjure you divels and command you I bid you and appoint you by the Lord Jesus Christ the sonne of the most highest God and by the blessed and glorious Virgine Mary and by all the Saints both of men and women of God and by all the Angels Archangels Patriarches and prophets Apostles Evangelists martyrs and confessours virgins and widowes and all the elect of God Also I conjure you and every of you ye infernall Kings by the heaven by the starres by the ☉ and by the ☽ and by all the planets by the earth fire air and water and by the terrestriall paradise and by all things in them contained and by your hell and by all the divels in it and dwelling about it and by your vertue and power and by all whatsoever and with whatsoever it be which may constraine and binde you Therefore by all these foresaid vertues and powers I doe bind you and constrain you into my will and power that you being thus bound may come unto me in great humility and to appeare in your circles beforâ— me visibly in fair form and shape of mankind kings and to obey unto me all things whatsoever I shall desire and that you may not depart from me without my licence And if you doe against my precepts I will promise unto you that you shall descend into the profound deepâ—â—sse of the Sea except that you doe obey unto me in the part of the living son of God which liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost by all world of worlds Amen Say this true conjuration five courses and then shalt thou see coâ—e out of the Northpart five Kings with a marvellous company which whâ—â— they are come to the circle they will alight down off from their horsâ— and will kneel downe before thee saying Master command us wâ—â—â— thou wilt and we will out of hand be obedient unto thee Unto whom thou shalt say see that ye depart not from me without my licence and that which I will command you to doe let it be done truely suâ—ely faithfully and essentially And then they all will sweare unto thee to doe all thy will And after they have sworn say the conjuration immediately following I conjure charge and command you and every of you Sirrael Malâ—â—than Thamaar Falaur and Sitrami you infernal kings to put into the crystall stone one spirit learned â—â—d expert in all arts and sciences by the vertue of this name of God Tetragrammaton and by the crosse of our Loâ—â— Jesus Christ and by the bloud of the innocent lambe which redeemed all the world and by all their virtues and poweâ—s I charge you ye â—oble kings that the said spirit may teach shew and declare unto me and to my friends at all houres and minuts both night and day the mâ—â— of all things both bodily and ghostly in this world whatsoever I shall request or desire declaring also to me my very name And this I command in your part to doe and to obey thereunto as unto your owâ— Lord and Master That done they will call a certain spirit whom thâ—â— will command to enter into the centre of the circled or round crystal Tâ—â—â— put the crystall between the two circles and thou shalt see the crysâ—â—â—â— made black Then command them to command the spirit in the crystall not 〈◊〉 depart out of the stone till thou give him licence and to fulfill 〈◊〉 will for ever That done thou shalt see them goe upon the crystall both to answer your requests and to tarry your licence That done the spirits will crave licence and say Goe ye to your place appoinâ—â—â— of Almighty God in the name of the father c. And then take up 〈◊〉 crystall and look therein asking what thou wilt and it will shew it â—â—to thee Let all your circles be nine foot every way and made as foâ—loweth Work this work in ♋ â™ or ♓ in the houre of the ☽ or â— And when the spirit is inclosed if thou feare him binde him with some bond in such
sort as is elsewhere expressed already in this 〈◊〉 treatise A figure or type proportionall shewing what form must be observed and kept in making the figure whereby the former secret of inclosing a spirit in crystall is to be accomplished c. CHAP. XIII An experiment of Bealphares THis is proved the noblest carrier that ever did serve any man upon the earth and here beginneth the inclosing of the said spirit and how to have a true answer of him without any craft or harm and he will appeare unto thee in the likenesse of a fair man or fair woman the which spirit will come to thee at all times And if thou wilt command him to tell thee of hidden treasures that be in any place hee will tell it thee or if thou wilt command him to bring to thee gold or silver he will bring it thee or if thou wilt goe from one country to another he will bear thee without any harm of body or soul. Therefore he that will doe this work shall abstaine from leacherousnesse and drunkennesse and from false swearing and doe all the abstinence that he may doe and namely three dayes before he goe to work and in the third day when the night is come and when the starres doe shine and the element faire and clear he shall bath himselfe and his fellows if he have any all together in a quick welspring Then he must be cloathed in cleane white cloathes and he must have another privy place and beare him inke and pen wherewith he shall write this holy name of God Almighty in his right hand ✚ Agla ✚ and in his left hand this name ✚ ♊ â—â—◠✚ and he must have a dry thong of a lions or of a hâ—â—e skin and make thereof a girdle write the holy names of God all above and in the end ✚ A Ω ✚ And upon his brest he must have this presenâ— figure or mark written in virgin parchment as it is here shewed And it must bâ—sowed upon a peece of new linnen anâ— so made fast upon thy brest And if thoâ— wilt have a fellow to worke with thee hee must bee appointed in the same manner You must have also a bright knife that was never occupied and hee must write on the one side of the blade of the knife ✚ Agla ✚ and on the other side of the knifes blade ✚ ♊ â—â—◠✚ And with the same knife he must make a circle as hereafter followeth the which is called Salomons circle When that hee is made goe into the circle and close again the place there where thâ— wentest in with the same knife and say Per crucis hoâ— signum ✚ suâ— at procui omne malignum Et per idem signum ✚ salvetur quodque bexâ—num By the sign of the Crosse ✚ may all evill fly farre away and by the same signe ✚ may all that is good be preserved and make suffurâ—gations to thy self and to thy fellow or fellows with frankincense mâ—stike lignum aloes then put it in wine and say with good devotion in the worship of the high God Almighty all together that he may defend you from all evils And when he that is master will close the spirit he shall say towards the east with meeke and devout devotion these psalmes and prayers as followeth here in order The two and twentieth Psalm O My God my God look upon me why hast thou forsaken me and art so farre from my health and from the words of my complaint And so forth to the end of the same psalm as it is to bee found in the book This psalm also following being the fifty one psalme must be said three times ever c. HAve mercy upon me O God after thy great goodnesse according to the multitude of thy mercies doe away mine offences And so forth to the end of the same psalm concluding it with Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen Then say this verse O Lord leave not my soul with the wicked nor my life with the bloud-thirsty Then say a Pater noster an Ave Maria and a Credo ne nos inducas O Lord shew us thy mercy and we shall be saved Lord heare our prayer and let our cry come unto thee Let us pray O Lord God almighty as thou warnedst by thine angell the three kings of Cullen Iasper Mâ—lchior and Balthasar when they came with worshipfull presents toward Bethlehem Iasper brought myrrh Melchior incense Balthasar gold worshipping the high king of all the world Jesus Gods son of heaven the second peâ—son in Trinity being born of the holy and clean virgine S. Mary queen of heaven empresse of hell and lady of all the world at that time the holy angell Gabriel warned and had the foresaid three kings that they should take another way for dread of perill that Herod the king by his ordinance would have destroyed these three noble kings that meekly sought out our Lord and Saviour As wittily and truly as these three Kings turned for dread and took another way so wisely and so truly O Lord God of thy mightifull mercy blesse uâ— now at this time for thy blessed passion save us and keep us all together from all evill and thy holy angell defend us Let us pray O Lord King of all Kings which containest the throne of heavens and beholdest all deeps weighest the hils and shuttest up with thy hand the earth hear us most meekeâ—t God and grant unto us being unworthy according to thy great mercy to have the verity and vertue of knowledge of hidden treasure by this spirit invoÌ„cated through thy help O Lord Jesus Christ to whom be all honour and glory from worlds to worlds everlastingly Amen Then say these names ✚ Helic ✚ â—ely◠✚ essejero ✚ Dâ—us â—â—ternus ✚ cloy ✚ clemen◠✚ â—eloye ✚ Deus sanctus ✚ sabâ—oti ✚ Deus exercâ—â—â—â—donay ✚ Deus mirabilis ✚ jao ✚ verax ✚ anephâ—neton ✚ Deus ineffabilis ✚ sodoy ✚ dominator dominus ✚ on sortissimus ✚ Deus ✚ qui the which wouldest be prayed unto of sinners receive we beseech thee these sacrifices of praise and our meek prayers which we unworthy doe offer unto thy divine majesty Deliver us and have mercy upon us and prevent with thy holy spirit this work and with thy blessed help to follow after that this our work begun of thee may be ended by thy mighty power Amen Then say this anon after ✚ homo ✚ sacarus ✚ Museolameus ✚ â—heruborca ✚ being the figure upon thy brest aforesaid the girdle about thee the circle made blesse the circle with holy water and sit down in the midst and read this conjuration as followeth sitting back to back at the first time I exorcise and conjure Bealphares the practiser and preceptor of this art by the maker of heavens and of earth and by his vertue
and by his unspeakable name Tetragrammaton and by all the holy sacraments and by the holy majesty and deity of the living God I conjure and exorcise thee Bealphares by the vertue of all angels archangels thrones dominations principaâ—s potestats virtures cherubim and seraphim and by their vertues and by the most truest and speciallest name of your master that you doe come unto us in faire form of man or woman kinde been visibly before this circle and not terrible by any manner of wayes This circle being our tuition and protection by the mercifull goodnesse of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and that you doe make answer truly without craft or deceit unto all my demands and questions by the vertue and power of our Lord Jesus Christ Amen CHAP. XIIII To bind the spirit Bealphares and to loose him again NOw when he is appeared bind him with these words which follow I conjure thee Bealphares by God the father by God the son and by God the Holy Ghost and by all the holy company in heaven and by their vertues and powers I charge thee Bealphares that thou shalt not depart out of my sight nor yet to alter thy bodily shape that thou art appeared in nor any power shalt thou have of our bodies or soules eartly or ghostly but to be obedient to me and to the words of my conjuration that be written in this book I conjure thee Bealphares by all angels and archangels thrones dominations principats potestates vertutes cherubim and seraphim and by their vertues and powers I conjure and charge binde and constraine thee Bealphares by all the 〈◊〉 words aforesaid and by their vertues that thou be obedient unto me and to come and appeare visibly unto me and that in all dayes houres and minutes wheresoever I be being called by the vertue of our Lord Jesus Christ the which words are written in this book Look ready thou be to appeare unto me and to give mee good counsell how to come by treasures hidden in the earth or in the water and how to come to dignity and knowledge of all things that is to say of the magick art and of grammar dialectike rhetorike arithmeticke musick geometry and of astromomy and in all other things my will quickly to be fulfilled I charge upon pain of everlasting condemnation Fiat fiat fiat Amen When he is thus bound ask him what thing thou wilt and he will tell thee and give thee all things that thou wilt request of him without any sacrifice doing to him and without forsaking thy God that is thy maker And when the spirit hath fulfilled thy will and intent give him license to depart as followeth A license for the spirit to depart GO unto the place predestinated and appointed for thee where thy Lord God hath appointed thee untill I shall call thee again Be thou ready unto me and to my call as often as I shall call thee upon pain of everlasting damnation And if thou wilt thou mayst recite two or three times the last conjuration untill thou doe come to this â—earin In throno If he will not depart and then say In throno that thou depart from this place without hurt or damage of any body or of any deed to be done that all creatures may know that our Lord is of all power most mightiest and that there is none other God but he which is three and one living for ever and ever And the malediction of God the father omnipotent the son and the holy ghost descend upon thee and dwell alwayes with thee except thou doe depart without damage of us or of any creature or any other evill deed to be done and thou to goe to the place predestinated And by our Lord Jesus Christ I do else send thee to the great pit of hell except I say that thou depart to the place whereas thy Lord God hath appointed thee And see thou be ready to me and to my call at all times and places at mine own will and pleasure day or night without damage or hurt of me or of any creature upon pain of everlasting damnation Fiat fiat fiat Amen Amen The peace of Jesus Christ be between us and you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Amen Por crucis hoc ✚ signum c. Say In principio erat verbum verbum erat apud Deum In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and God was the word and so forward as followeth in the first chapter of saint Iohns Gospell staying at these words Full of grace and truth to whom bee all honour and glory world without end Amen A type or figure of the circle for the master and his fellowes to sit in shewing how and after what fashion it should be made THis is the circle for the master to sit in and his fellow or fellowes at the first calling sit back to back when hee calleth the spirit and for the fairies make this circle with chalk on the ground as is said before This spirit Bealphares being once called and found shall never have power to hurt thee Call him in the houre of ♃ or ♀ the ☽ increasing CHAP. XV. The making of the holy water EXorciso te creaturam salis per Deum vivum ✚ per Deum ✚ verum ✚ per Deum sanctum ✚ per Duem qui te per Elizaeum prophetam in aquam mitli jussit â—tâ—s naretur sterrilitas aquae ut efficiaâ—is sal exorcisaâ—us in saluum credentium ut sit omnibus te sumentibus sanitas animae corporis essugiat atque discedat ab co loco qui aspersus stâ—â—at omnis phantasia nequitia vel versutia diabolicae fraudis omnisque spiritus adjuratus per cum qui venturus est judicare vivos mo tuos saeculum perignem Amen Oremus Imunsam clementiam tuam omnipotens aeterne Deus humiliter imploramus ut hanc creaturam salis quam in usum generis humani tribuisti bene ✚ dicere sancti ✚ ficare tua prelate digneris ut sit omnibus sumentibus saâ—is menlis corporis ut quicquid ex co tactum suerit vel respersum careat omni immundicia omnique impugnatione spiritualis nequitia per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum filium tuum qui tecum vivit regnat in unitate spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum Amen To the water say also as followeth Exorciso te creaturam aquae in nomine ✚ patris ✚ Iesu Christi filii ejus Domini nostri in virtute spiritus ✚ sanct ✚ ut siat aquae exorcisata ad estisgandam omnem potestatem inimici ipsum inimicum erodicare explantare valeas cum angelis suis apostatis per virtutem ejusdem Domini nostri Iesu Christi qui venturus est judicare vivos mortuos saeculum per ignem Amen Oremus Deus qui ad
to thee N. and to appeare to thee N. in any crystall stone glasse or other mirror and so to take it for my resting place And that so soone as my spirit is departed out of my body straightway to be at your commandements and that in and at all days nights houres and minutes to be obedient unto thee N. being called of the eâ—by the vertue of our Lord Jesuâ— Christ and our of hand to have common talke with thee at all times and in all houres and minutes to open and declare to thee N. the truth of all things present past and to come and how to worke the magick art and all other noble sciences under the throne of God If I do not performe this oath and promise to thee N. but doe flie from any part thereof then to be condemned for ever and ever Amen Also I N. do sweare to thee by God the Holy ghost and by the great wisedome that is in the divine Godhead and by their vertues and by all the holy angels archangels thrones dominations principats poteslaus virtutes cherubim and seraphim and by all their vertues do I N. sweare and promise thee to be obedient as is rehearsed And here for a witnesse do I N. give thee N. my right hand and do plight thee my faith and troth as God me helpe and holydome And by the holy contents in this booke do I N. sweare that my spirit shall be thy true servant all the dayes of thy life as is before rehearsed and here for a witnesse that my spirit shal be obedient unto thee N. and to those bonds of words that be written in this N. before the bonds of words shall be rehearsed thrise else to be damned for ever and thereto say all faithfull soules and spirits Amen Amen Then let him sweare this oath three times and at every time kisse the book and at every time make marks to the bond Then perceiving the time that he will depart get away the people from you and get or take your stone or glasse or other thing in your hand and say the Pater noster Ave and Credo and this prayer as followeth And in all the time of his departing rehearse the bonds of words and in the end of every bond say oftentimes Remember thine oath and promise And bind him strongly to thee and to thy stone and suffer him not to depart reading thy bond 24. times And every day when you do call him by your other bond bind him strongly by the first bond by the space of 24. dayes apply it and thou shalt be made a man for ever Now the Pater noster Ave and Credo must be said and then the prayer immediately following O God of Abraham God of Isaac God of Iacob God of Tobias â—he which diddest deliver the three children from the hot burning oven Sidrac Misac and Abednago and Susanna from the false crime and Daniel from the lions power even so O Lord omnipotent I beseech thee for thy great mercy sake to helpe me in these my works and to deliver me this spirit of N. that he may be a true subject unto me N. all the dayes of my life and to remaine with me and with this N. all the dayes of my life O glorious God Father Sonne and Holy ghost I beseech thee to help me at this time and to give me power by thy holy name merits and vertues wherby I may conjure and constraine this spirit of N. that he may be obedient unto me and may fulfill his oath and promise at all times by the power of all thine holinesse This grant O Lord God of hosts as thou art righteous and holy and as thou art the word and the word God the beginning and the end sitting in the thrones of thine everlasting kingdomes and in the divinity of thine everlasting Godhead to whom be all honour and glory now and for ever and ever Amen Amen CHAP. XVIII A bond to binde him to thee and to thy N. as followeth IN conjure and constraine the spirit of N. by the living God by the true God and by the holy God and by their vertues and powers I conjure and constraine the spirit of thee N. that thou shalt not ascend nor descend out of thy body to no place of rest but onely to take thy resting place with N. and with this N. all the dayes of my life according to thine oath and promise I conjure and constraine the spirit of N. by these holy names of God ✚ Tetragrammaton ✚ Adonay ✚ Agla ✚ Saday ✚ Sabaoth ✚ planabothe ✚ panthon ✚ craton ✚ vcupmaton ✚ Deus ✚ homo ✚ omnipotens ✚ sempiternus ✚ ysus ✚ terra ✚ unigenitus ✚ salvator ✚ via ✚ vila ✚ manus ✚ sons ✚ origo ✚ filius ✚ and by their vertues and powers I conjure and constraine the spirit of N. that thou shalt not remaine in the fire nor in the water in the aier nor in any privy plaâ—e of the earth but onely with me N. and with this N. all the dayes of my life I charge the spirit of N. upon paine of everlasting condemnation remember thine oath and promise Also I conjure the spirit of N. and constraine thee by the excellent name of Jesus Christ A and Ω the first and the last for this holy name of Jesus is above all names for unto it all knees doe bow and obey both of heavenly things earthly things and infernals Nor is there any other name given to man whereby we have any salvation but by the name of Iesus Therefore by the name and in the name of Jesus of Nazareth and by his nativity resurrection and ascension and by all that appertaineth to his passion and by their vertues and powers I do conjure and constraine the spirit of N. that thou shalt not take any resting place in the ☉ not in the ☽ nor in ♄ nor in ♃ nor in ♂ nor in ♀ nor in ☿ nor in any of the twelve signes nor in the concavity of the clouds nor in any other privie place to rest or stay in but onely with me N. or with this N. all the dayes of my life If thou be not obedient unto me according to thine oath and promise I N. do condemne the spirit of N. into the pit of bell for ever Amen I conjure and constraine the spirit of N. by the bloud of the innocent lambe Jesus Christ the which was shed upon the crosse for all those that do obey into it and beleeve in it shall be saved and by vertue thereof and by all the aforesaid riall names and words of the living God by me pronounced I do conjure and constraine the spirit of N. that thou do be obedient unto me according to thine oath and promise If thou refuse to do as is aforesaid I N by the holy Trinity and by his vertue and power do condemne the spirit of N. into the place whereas there is no
hope of â—â—ehiedy but everylasting condemnation and honor and paine upon paine daily horribly and lamentably the paines there to be augmented so thicke as the stars in the firmament and as the gravell sand in the sea except thou spirit of N. obey me N. as is afore rehearsed else I N. do condemne the spirit of N. into the pit of everlastâ—ng condemnation Fiat fiat Amen Also I conjure thee and constraine the spirit of N. by all angels archangels thrones dominations principats porestats virtutes cherubim and seraphim and by the foure evangelist Matthew Marke Luke and Iohn and by all things contained in the old law and the new and by their vertues and by the twelve apostles and by all patriarchs prophets martyrs confessors virgins innocents and by all the elect and chosen is and shall be which followeth the lambe of God and by their vertues and powers I conjure and constraine the spirit of N. strongly to have common talke with me at all times and in all dayes nights houres and minutes and to talke in my mother tongue plainely that I may heare it and understand it declaring the truth unto me of all things according to thine oath and promise else to be condemned for ever Fiat fiat Amen Also I conjure and constraine the spirit of N. by the golden girdle which girdeth the loines of our Lord Jesus Christ so thou spirit of N. be thou bound and cast into the pit of everlasting condemnation for thy great disobedience and unreverent regard that thou hast to the holy names and words of God almighty by me pronounced Fiat Amen Also I conjure constraine command and binde the spirit of N. by the two edged sword which Iohn saw proceed out of the mouth of God almighty except thou be obedient as is aforesaid the sword cut thee in peeces and condemne thee into the pit of everlasting paines where the fire goeth not out and where the worme dieth not Fiat fiat fiat Amen Also I conjure and constraine the spirit of N. by the throne of the Godhead and by all the heavens under him and by the celestiall city new Ierusalem and by the earth by the sea and by all things created and contained therein and by their vertues and powers and by all the infernalls and by their vertues and powers and by all things contained therein and by their vertues and powers I conjure and constraine the spirit of N. that now immediatly thou be obedient unto me at all times hereafter and to those words of me pronounced according to thine oath and promise else let the great curse of God the anger of God the shadow and darkenesse of everlasting condemnation be upon thee thou spirit of N. for ever and ever because thou hast denied thine health thy faith and salvation for the great disobedience thou art worthy to be condemned Therefore let the divine trinity angels and archangels thrones dominations principats â—potestaâ—es virtutes cherubim and seraphim and all the soules of the saints that shall stand on the right hand of our Lord Jesus Christ at the generall day of judgement condemne the spirit of N. for ever and ever and be a witnesse against thee because of thy great disobedience in and against thy promises Fiat fiat Amen Being thus bound he must needs be obedient unto thee whether he will or no prove this And here followeth a bond to call him to your N. and to shew you true visions at all times as in the houre of ♄ to bind or inchant any thing and in the houre of ♃ for peace and concord in the houre of ♂ to marre to destroy and to make sicke in the houre of the ☉ to bind tongues and other bonds of men in the houre of ♀ to increase love joy and good will in the houre of ☿ to put away enimity or hatred to know of theft in the houre of the ☽ for love goodwill and concord ♄ lead ♃ tinne ♂ iron ☉ gold ♀ copper ☿ quicksiver ☽ silver c. CHAP. XIX This bond as followeth is to call him into your crystall stone or glasse c. ALso I do conjure thee spirit N. by God the father by God the sonne and by God the holy ghost A and Ω the first and the last and by the latter day of judgement of them which shall come to judge the quicke and the dead and the world by fire by their vertues and powers I constraine thee spirit N. to come to him that holdeth the crystall stone in his hand and to appeare visibly as hereafter followeth Alsoâ— I conjure thee spirit N. by these holy names of God ✚ Tetragrammaton ✚ Adonay ✚ El ✚ Ousion ✚ Agla ✚ Iesus ✚ of Nazareth ✚ and by the vertues thereof and by his nativity death buriall resurrection and ascension and by all other things appertaining unto his passion and by the blessed virgin Mary mother of our Lord Jesus Christ and by al the joy which she had when she saw her sonne rise from death to life and by the vertues and powers thereof I constraine thee spirit N. to come into the crystall stone and to appeare visibly as hereafter shall be declared Also I conjure thee N. thou spirit by all angels archangels thrones dominations principats potestats virtues cherubim and seraphim and by the ☉ ☽ ♄ ♃ ♂ ♀ ☿ and by the twelve signes and by their vertues and powers and by al things created and confirmed in the firmament and by their vertues and powers I constraine thee spirit N. to appeare visibly in that crystall stone in faire forme and â—hape of a white angell a greene angell a blacke angell a man a woman boy a maiden virgine a white grayhound a divell with great hornes without any hurt or danger of our bodyes or soules and truly to imforme and shew unto us true visions of all things in that crystall stone according to thine oath and promise and that without any hindrance or tarrying to appeare visibly by this bond of words read over by 〈◊〉 three times upon paine of everlasting condemnation Fiat fiat Amen Then being appeared say these words following I conjure thee spirit by God the father that thou shew true visions in that crystall stone where there be any N. in such a place or no upon paine of everlasting condemnation Fiat Amen Also I conjure thee spirit N. by God the sonne Iesus Christ that thou doe shew true visions unto us whether it be gold or silver or any other metals or whether there were any or no upon paine of condemnation Fiat Amen Also I conjure thee spirit N. by God the Holy ghost the which doth sanctifie all faithfull soules and spirits and by their vertues and powers I constraine thee spirit N. to speake open and to declare the true way how we may come by these treasures hidden in N. how to have it in our custody who are the keepers thereof and how many there
Ghost Another treating upon the 〈◊〉 argument proceedeth in this reverent manner The holy spirit is the vertue or power of God quickning nourishing fostering and perfecting all things by whose only breathing it cometh to pass that we both know and love God and become at the length like unto him which spirit is the pledge and earnest penny of grace and beareth witness unto our heartâ— whiles wee cry Abba Father This spirit is called the spirit of God the spirit of Christ and the spirit of him which raised up Jesus from the dead Jesus Christ for that he received not the spirit by measure but in fulness doth call it his spirit saying When the comforter shall come whom I will send even the holy spirit he shall testifie of me This spirit hath divers metaphoricall names attributed thereunto in the Holy Scriptures It is called by the name of water because it washeth comforteth moiestneth softeneth and maketh fruitfull with all godliness and vertues the mindes of men which otherwise would be unclean comfortless hard dry and barren of all goodness whereupon the prophet Isay saith â— I will powre water upon the thirsty and flouds upon the dry ground c. Wherewithall the words of Christ doe agree He that beleeveth in me as saith the scripture out of his belly shall flow rivers of waters of life And elsewhere Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never be more a thirst Other places likewise there be wherein the holy spirit is signified by the name of water and floud as in the 13. of Isay the 29. of Ezech. the 146. Psalme c. The same spirit by reason of the force and vehemency thereof is termed fire For it doth purifie and cleanse the whole man from top to toe it doth burn out the soil and dross of sins and setteth him all in a flaming and hot burning zeal to prefer and further Gods glory Which plainly appeared in the Apostles who when they had received the spirit they spake fiery words yea such words as were uncontrollable in so much as in none â—oâ—e than in them this saying of this prophet Ieremy was verified Nunquid non verba mâ—a sunt quasi ignis Are not my words even as it were fire This was dâ—clared and shewed by those fiery tongues which were seen upon the Apostles after they had reâ—ivâ—d â—â—e holy spirit Moreover this spirit is called annointing or ointment because that as in old time priests and kings were by annointing deputed to their office and charge and so were made fit and serviceable for the same even so the elect are not so much declared as renewed and made apt by the training up of the holy spirit both to live well and also to glorifie God Whereupon dependeth the saying of Iohn And ye have no need that any should teach you but as the same ointment doth teach you It is also called in Scripture The oil of gladness and rejoycing wheâ—eof it is said in the book of Psalmes God even thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of joy and gladness c. And by this goodly and comfortable name of oil in the Scriptures is the mercy of God oftentimes expressed because the nature of that doth agree with the property and quality of this For as oil doth flote and swim above all other liquors so the mercy of God doth surpass and overreach all his works and the same doth most of al disclose it self to miserable man It is likewise called the finger of God that is the might and power of God by the vertue whereof the Apostles did cast out divels to wit even by the finger of God It is called the spirit of truth because it maketh men true and faithfull in their vocation and for that it is the touchstone to try all counterfeit devices of mans braine and all vain sciences prophane practises deceitfull arts and circumventing inventions such as be in generall all sorts of witchcrafts and inchantments within whose number are comprehended all those wherewith I have had some dealing in this my discovery to wit charmes or incantations divinations augury judiciall astrology nativity casting alcumystery conjuration lotshare popery which is meer paltry with diverse other not one whereof no nor all together are able to stand to the triall and examination which this spirit of truth shall and will take of those false and evill spirits Nay they shall be found when they are laid into the balance to be lighter than vanity very drosse when they once come to be tryed by the fervent heat of this spirit and like chaffe when this spirit bloweth upon them driven away with a violent whirlewind such is the perfection integrity and effectuall operation of this spirit whose working as it is manifold so it is marvellous and therefore may and is called the spirit of spirits This spirit withdrawing it selfe from the hearts of men for that it will not inhabit and dwell where sinne hath dominion giveth place unto the spirit of errour and blindnesse to the spirit of servitude and compunction which bireth gnaweth and whetteth their hearts with a deadly hate of the gospell in so much as it grieveth their minds and irketh their ears either to hear or understand the truth of which disease properly the Pharises of old were and the papists even now are sick Yea the want of this good spirit is the cause that many fall into the spirit of perversenesse and frowardnesse into the spirit of giddinesse lying drowâ—â—nesse and dulnesse according as the prophet Isay saith For the Lord hath covered you with a spirit of slumber and hath shut up your eyes and again elsewhere Dominus miscuit in medio c. The Lord hath mingled among them the spirit of giddinesse and hath made Egypt to erre as a drunken man erreth in his vomit as it is said by Paul And their foolish heart was blinded and God gave them over unto their owne hearts lusts Which punishment Moses threatneth unto the Jewes The Lord shall smite thee with madnesse with blindnesse and amazednesse of mind and thou shalt grope at high noon as a blinde man useth to grope c. In some this word Spirit doth signifie a secret force and power wherewith our minds are moved and directed if unto holy things then is it the motion of the holy spirit of the spirit of Christ and of God if unto evill things then is it the suggestion of the wicked spirit of the divell and of satan Whereupon I inferre by the way of a question with what spirit we are to suppose such to be moved as either practise any of the vanities treated upon in this book or through credulity addict themselves thereunto as unto divine oracles or the voice of angels breaking through the clouds We cannot impute this motion unto the good spirit for then they should be able to discerne between the nature of
the person of the deity I mean the spirit of sanctification to oppose mans power mans wit mans policy c. which was well signified by that poeticall fiction of the giants who were termed Anguipedes Snakefooted which as Ioachimus Cameravius expoundeth of wicked counsellours to whose filthy perswasions tyrants doe trust as unto their feet and Iames Sadolet interpreteth of philosophers who trusting over much unto their own wits become so bold in challenging praise for their wisdome that in fine all turneth to folly and confusion so I expound of heretikes and schismatikes who ' either by corrupt doctrine or by maintaining precise opinions or by open violence c. assay to overthrow the true religion to break the unity of the church to deny Caesar his homage and God his duty c. and therefore let Iovis fulmen wherewith they were slain assure these that there is Divina ultio due to all such as dare in the ficklenesse of their fancies arrear themselves against the holy spirit of whom sith they are ashamed hereupon earth otherwise they would confidently boldly confesse him both with mouth and pen he will be ashamed of them in heaven where they are like to be so farre from having any society with the saints that their portion shall be even in full and shaken measure with miscreants and infidels And therefore let us if we will discerne and try the spirits whether they be of God or no seek for the illumination of this inlightning spirit which as it bringeth light with it to discover all spirits so it giveth such a fiery heat as that no false spirit can abide by it for fear of burning Howbeit the holy spirit must be in us otherwise this prerogative of trying spirits will not fall to our lot But here some will peradventure move a demand and do aske how the holy spirit is in us considering that Infiniti ad infinitum nulla est proportio neque loci angustia quod immensum est potest circumscribi of that which is infinite to that which is finite there is no proportion neither can that which is unmeasurable be limited or bounded within any précinct of place c. I answer that the most excellent father for Christs sake sendeth him unto us according as Christ promised us in the person of his apostles The comforter saith he which is the holy spirit whom my father will send in my name And as for proportion of that which is infinite to that which is finite c. I wil in no case have it thought that the holy spirit is in us as a body placed in a place terminably but to attribute thereunto as duly belongeth to the deity an ubiquity or universall presence not corporally and palpably but effectually mightily mystically divinely c. Yea and this I may boldly adde that Christ Jesus sendeth him unto us from the father neither is he given us for any other end but to inrich us abundantly with all good gifts and excellent graces and among the rest with the discerning of spirits aright that we be not deceived And here an end FINIS The summe of every chapter contained in the sixteene books of this discovery with the discourse of divels and spirits annexed thereunto The first Booke AN impeachment of witchespower in meteors and elementary bodies tending to the rebuke of such as attribute too much unto them Pag. 1. The inconvenience growing by mens credulity herein with a reproofe of some churchmen which are inclined to the common conceived opinion of witches oâ—nipotency and a familiar example thereof pag. 3. Who they be that are called witches with a manifest declaration of the cause that moveth men so commonly to thinke witches themselves to beleeve that they can hurt children cattell c. with words and imaginations and of cousening witches pag. 5. What miraculous actions are imputed to witches by witchmongers papists and poets pag. 6. A confutation of the common conceived opinion of witches and witchcraft and how detestable a sinne it is to repaire to them for counsell or helpe in time of affliction pag. 8. A further confutation of witches miraculous and omnipotent power by invincible reasons and authorities with dissuasions from such sond credulity pag. 9. What meanes the name of witches becommeth so famous and how diversly people be opinioned concerning them and their actions pa. 10. Causes that move as well witches themselves as others to thinke that they can work impossibilities with answers to certaine objections where also their punishment by law is touched pag. 11. A conclusion of the first book wherein is foreshewed the tyrannicall cruelty of witchmongers and inquisitors with a request to the reader to peruse the same pag. 12. The second Booke WHat testimonies and witnesses are allowed to give evidence against reputed witches by the report and allowance of the inquisitors themselves and such as are speciall writers herein Pag. 13. The order of examination of witches by the inquisitors ibid. Matters of evidence against witches pag. 15. Confessions of witches whereby they are condemned pag. 16. Presumptions whereby witches are condemned pag. 17. Particular interrogatories used by the inquisitors against witches pa. 18. The inquisitors triall of weeping by conjuration pag. 19. Certaine cautions against witches and of their tortures to procure confession pag. 20. The 15. crimes laid to the charge of witches by witchmongers specially by Bodin in Demonomania 22. A confutation of the former surmised crimes patched together by Bodin and the only way to escape the inquisitors hands pag 23. The opinion of Cornelius Agrippa concerning witches of his pleading for a poore woman accused of witchcraft and how he convinced the inquisitors pag. 24. What the feare of death and feeling of torments may force one to do and that it is no marvell though witches condemne themselves by their owne confessions so tyrannically extorted pag. 33. The third Book THe witches bargaine with the divell according to M. Mal. Bodin Nâ—der Daneus Psellus Brastus Hemingius Cumanus Aquinas Bartholomeus Spineus c. Pag. 35. The order of the witches homage done as it is written by lewd inquisitors and peevish witchmongers to the divell in person of their songs and danses and namely of Lavolta and of other ceremones also of their excourses pag. 36. How witches are sommoned to appeare before the divell of their riding in the air of their accompts of their conference with the divell of his supplies and their conference of their farewell and sacrifices according to Daneus Psellus c. 37 That there can no real league be made with the divell the first author of the league and the weake proofes of the adversaries for the same 38. Of the private league a notable table of Bodin concerning a French lady with a confutation pag. 39. A disproofe of their assemblies and of their bargaine pag. 40. A confutation of the objection concerning witches confessions pag. 41. What folly it were for witches
of cousenage to another The mildest and softest nature is commonly soonest abused En immensae cavi sperant mendacia solles Balbine is ashamed that he should be overshot and overseen in a case of flat cousenage The substances of things are not transmutable Franc. Petrarch lib. de remed utr fort 1. cap. 10. Goschalcus Boll ordinis S. August in suo praeceptorio fol. 244. col b c d. 1. No certain ground in the art Alchymisticall Idem ibid. A varitia idolorum cultus Of vain hope * I. Col. in comment upon Deut. serm 127. pa. 781. col 1. number 40. A maxime Erasmus in colloq cui titulus Convivium fabulosum A hungry belly will not be bridled A princely largesse Sic ars deluditur arte The morall of the premisses Homer Englished by Abraham Fleming Aul. Persius satyr 3. Englished by Abraham Fleming Idem ibid. By Ab. Fleming The large signification of the word Iidoni Vide Philast Brix episc haerefeon catal de phitonissa L. Wierus in Pseudomonarchia daemonum Solomons notes of conjuration Baell Agares Marbas Amon. Barbatos Buer Gusoin Botis Bathin Purson Eligor Leraie Valesar Morax Ipos Naberius Glasya Labolas Zepar Bileth Vide Amaimon Sitri a baudy devill Paimon Ezech. 88. Cations for the Exorcist or conjuror The fâ—ll of Beliall Salomon gathered all the divels together in a brasen vessel The Babylonians disappointed of their hope Bune Forneus Ronove Berith a golden devill Astaroth Foras Fursur Marchosias Malphas Vepar Sabnacke Sidonay Gaap Who was the first necromancer Shax Procell Furcas Murmur Caim Raum Halphas Focalor Vine Bisrons Gamigin Zagan Orias Valac Gemory Decarabia Amduscias Andras Andrealphus Ose. Aym. Orobus Vapula Cimeries Amy. Flauros Balam Allocer Saleos Vuall Haagenti Phoenix Sâ—olas This was the worke of one T.R. written in faire letters of red black upon parchment and made by him Ann. 1570. to the maintenance of his living the edifying of the poore and the glory of gods holy name as he himselfe saith Note what names are attributed unto Christ by the Conjuror in this his exorcising exercise What wonderfull force conjurers do beleeve consisteth in these forged names of Christ. This is contrary the scripture which saith that every good gift commeth from the father of light c. A breviary of the inventary of spirits The authors further purpose in the detection of conjuring The five planetary aspects Conjunct Sextil Trine Quartil Opposit Conjuring for a dead spirit * For the cousenor the conjuror I should say can do nothing to any purpose without his consederate Note that numerus ternarius which is counted mysticall be observed Ex inferno nulla redemptio saith the scripture Ergo you lye quoth Nota. Note what these great words may doe * Dae mones credendo contremisciunt A heavy sentence denounced of the conjuror against the spirit in case of disobedience contempt or negligence How can that be when a spirit hath neither flesh bloud not bones * The conjuror imputeth the appearing of a spirits by constraint unto words quoth Nota. And why might not he do it himselfe as well as madam Sibylia The fairie Sibylia conjured to appeare c. The manner of binding the fairie Sibylia at her appearing If all this will not fetch her â— up the divell is a knave This would be much practised if it were not a cousening knack The three sisters of the fairies Milia Achilia and Sibylia The ring of invisibility * Such a ring it was that advanced Giges to the kingdom of Lyâ—ia Plato lib. 2. de justo * O queen or governesse of the tongue Observations of cleanlinesse abstinence and devotion An observation touching the use of the five swords A weighty charge of conjuration upon the five Kings of the norâ—h A penalty for not appearing c. The five spirits of the north as you shall see in the type expressed in pag. 287. next following * Memorandum with what vices the cousenor the conjuror I should say must not be polluted therefore he must be no knave c. The conjurors brest-plate Salomons circle Memorandum that you must read the 22. and 51 Psalms all over â—r else rehearse them by heart for these are counted necessary c. Gaspar Balthasar and Melchior who followed the star wherein was the image of a little babe bearing a cross iâ— Longa legenda Coloniae lie not * Which must be environed with a goodly company of grosses * On sundays festivall dayes and holy days none excepted He dares do no other being so conjured I trow Absque exorcisâ—no sal not sit sanctus It is not convenient to English these 4 following Exorcismes the name power of God is so often therein abused to a vaine and ridiculous purpose Oratio ad Deum â—â— sali exorâ—â—sato vires addat Oratio in quae dicenda exorcisia sese sacrâ— laticis aspergine debet peâ—roraâ—e Mark how consonant this is with popery c. For hidden treasure Promises and oaths interchangeably made betweene the conjuror and the spirit Note the penalty of breaking promise with the spirit * Three times in reverence peradventure of the Trinitie P. F. SS Note the sum of this obligation or bond * Scripture as well applied of the conjuror as that of satan in tempting Christ Matth. 4.6 Note what sore penalties the spirit is injoyned to suffer for disobedience * There is no mention made in the gospels that Christ was worth a golden girdle Bugs words * Is it possible to be greater than S. Adelberts curse These planetary houres must in any case be observed * A popish supplement * Belike he had the gift to appeare in sundry shapes as it is said of Pâ—oâ—eus in Ovid. lib. natamor 8. fab 10. and of Vertumnus lib. metamor 14. fab 16. Note that the spirit is tied to obedience under paine of condemnation and hell fire This is condemned for rank folly by the doctors is by Chysost sap Matth. Gregor in homil sap Epi hon Domini and others This is condemned for rank folly by the doctors is by Chysost sap Matth. Gregor in homil sap Epi hon Domini and others This is condemned for rank folly by the doctors is by Chysost sap Matth. Gregor in homil sap Epi hon Domini and others This is condemned for rank folly by the doctors is by Chysost sap Matth. Gregor in homil sap Epi hon Domini and others All the former practices briefly confuted See the title of the book with the authors intent in a marginall note page 277. Luk. 6. c. An ironicall confutation Engliâ—hed by Abraham Fleming 2 Pet. 2. Ephes. 5. Psal. 72 78. Sap. 16. Eccles. 43. To deny the subsistence or naturall being of a thing materiall and visible is impudency Ezek. 8 9. Isa. 6. 26. 30. * Iâ—hâ— Iaregâ—i servant to Gasper Anasho both Spianards Anno dom 1582. March 18. after dinner upon a a sunday this mischeif was done Read the whole discourse hereof printed at London for Tho.
rer 10. cap. 93. Divels of divers natureâ— and their operations The former opinion confuted Psellus lib. de operat daem cap. 12. If this were spoken of the tentations c. of satan it were tolerable 1. Cor. 12. Psellus ibid. cap. 13. If a babe of two yeares old throw stones from Pawles steeple they will do hurt c. Howbeit I think the spirit of tentation to be that divel therefore 〈…〉 Christ biddeth us watch and pray lest we be tempted c. Psel in operat daem cap. 14. Idem cap. 17. Beast like divels But Psâ—llus saw nothing himself Probable and likely stuffe Fasc Card. operat de daemon The Platonists opinion What kind of sacrifices each spirit liketh best Of Socrates his private divell or familiar spirit Dionys. in coelest hâ—rearch cap. 9.10 Ephes. 6. Dionys. in coelest hierarch I. Calv. lib. inslit 1. c. 14. Edw. Deering in lect upon the Hebrews reading 6. Mal 3.1 Isai. 14. The opinion of the Thalmudists Laur. Anan lib. de natur daem 1 Creavit coelum terraâ— Laur. Anan lib. denatur daem 1. Lau. Anan lib. de naâ—ur dem 1. Laur. Anan lib. de natur dam. 1. Instans viz. punctum temp nâ—mpe indivi duum Nunc. Euseb. in ecclâ—s histor 1.0000000 Iohannes Cassianus in confessione theolog tripart I. Cal lib. inslit 1. cap. 14. sect 8. Mich. And. â—hes 107. 101. Idem thes 103 108. Luk 15.7 Luk 16.23 I. Cal. lib. instit 1. cap. 14.2 Reg. 16.17 Jud. vers 6. 2 Pet. 2.4 Mal. malef par 2. quae 1. cap. 2.3 Mal. malef par 2. cap. 1. quaest 1. Mich. And. Laur. Anan Mal. malef c. Author lib. Zeor hammor in Gen. 2. The grosse dulnesse of many at the hearing of a spirit named Aug. in ser. 4. Greg. 29 sup Iob. Leo pont ser. 8 Nativit Ephe. 6.11 12. 2 Tim. 2.8.9 Idem ibid. 1 Cor. 2.14 Judg. 9.7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14. a Exod. 31.1 b Acts 8.19 Gal. 3. c John 6. Matth. 16. d 1 Cor. 3. Gal. 3. 1 Cor. 2. 2 Cor. 7. e Luk. 9. 1 Cor. 5. Philip. 1. 1 Thes. 5. f 1 John 4. g 1 Tim. 4. h Ephes. 5. Isai. 11.2 Zach. 12.10 Rom. 1.15 1 Cor. 12.8 9 10. 1 Cor. 12.11 Isai. 19.14 Isai. 29. 1 Sam. 28. Hest. 16. Sap. 15.13 29. Judg. 9.23 Num. 5.14 Luk. 13.11 Mark 16.9 Levit. 26. Prov. 24. Luk. 17. Matth. 8.16 Luk. 4.36 Luk. 7.21 John 8.11 Luk. 8.14 Levit. 14 7 8. Luk. 7.17.4 John 9. Mat. 4.17 c. Mat. 15.28 Mat. 12.22 Mal. males quaest 5. pa. 1. * A maxime in philosophy as the sun in aridis fiecis Ioseph de antiquitat Iud. item de bello Iud. lib. 7. c. 35. Num. 27.16 1 Reg. 18 verse 23. verse 4. Luke 8.27 28. Mark 5.9 Luk. 8. I. Cal. lib. inflit lib. 1 cap 14. sect 14. Numb 11. Ibid. ver 25. Acts 16. 2 Reg. 2. Judg. 3.10 a Judg. 11.39 b Ibid. 14.6 c Ibid. 14.6 d Numb 24.2 e 1 Sam. 16.13 f 1 Sam. 18.14 g Ezek. 11.5 h 2 Chron. 14. i 1 Chro. 12 18 k Numb 14. l Dan. 5.11 Joh. 3.34 Eccles. 8. For every naturall motion is either circular or elementary Gen. 18.19 I. Bod. lib. de daem 3. ca. 4. Exod. 12.29 Psal. 104.20 I. Bod. lib. de dem 3. ca. 5. Levit. 1. 2 Reg. 13. Mat. 10 12. Mark 3. Luk. 11. a 2 Reg. 19. b 2 Reg. 17. c Ose. 9.11 Numb 25. Deut. 3. 4. Josu 22. d 2 Reg. 17. e Numb 21. 1 Reg. 11. 2 Reg. 23. f Judg. 16. 1 Mac. 10. g 1 Reg. 11. 2 Reg. 23. h 2 Reg. 23. 1 Chron. 20. Jerem. 49. Ioseph lib. de antiquit Iudae or 6. cap. 14. 1 Sam. 7. 2 Reg. 23. Psal. 96. a Ioh 40. Job 3. Isai 27. b Matth. 6. Matth. 4. c. Marc. 16. James 2. d Matth. 4. John 8. Apoc. 12. e Apoc. 9. f Mark 5. Luk. 8. g Ephes. 2. h John 8.12.14.16 i Job 41. k 1 Pet. 5. l John 8. m 1 John 3. n Act. 16. o Ose. 4. p Psal. 34. 1 Chron. 21. q Prov. 17. r 2 Cor. 12. s Apoc. 9. t Apoc. 12. u Job 41. x Gen. 3. y Apoc. 12. z Isai. 27. Isai. 13.24 Psalm 96. Iuno and Minerva Cousening gods or knaves Terra aqua aer ignis sol Luna Hudgin of Germany and Rush of England 1 Wier lib. de praest daem 1. cap. 23. Bawdy priests in Ginnie Looke in the word Ob lib. 7. cap 3. A good god and goddesse for women The names of certaine heathenish gods their peculiar offices A very homely charge Beasts biâ—ds vermine fishes herbs and other trumpeâ—y worshipped as gods Inperiall godâ— and their assistants The number of gods among the gentiles 1. Reg. 20. 2. Chr. 32. 1. Cor. 16. Iudg. 3. 2 Chr. 33. 2. Reg. 23 c. Popish gods of nations Parish gods or popish idols Se the golden Legend for the life of S. Bridget He saints and she saints of the old stamp with their peculiar vertues touching the cuting of diseases * For the French pox or the common kind of pox or both This would be known New saints Divos vocant Grammatici cos qui ex hominibus dii facti sunt Cic. de natuf deorum The papists see a moth in the eye of others but no beam in their owne The idolatrous councell of Trent Exempl 4. But our Lady spied him well enough as you shal read The priests arse made buttons Our B. ladies favour Greg. 4. dialog cap. 51. Alexand lib. 5. cap. 23. lib. 2. cap. 9. c. Greg. lib. 4. dialog ca. 40. idem cap. 55. and in other places elsewhere innumerable Micha And. thes 151. Alex. ab Alexand lib. 4. genealog dierum chap. 19. Plutarch oratione ad Apoll onium Item Rasiliens in epist. Platina de vitis pontisicum Nauclerus 2. generat 35. Ambr. ser. 90. de passione Agn. Euseb. lib. eccles hist. 5. Niceph. lib. 5. cap. 7. Hieronym in vita Pau. Theodor lib. hist. 5. ca. 24. Aâ—han in vita Antho. * Melawoth in Calendar Manlii 23. April Marbach lib. de miracul adversus Ins. Iohannes Rivius de veter superstit Athan. lib. 99. quae 11. August de cura pro mortu ca. 13. Luk. 16. Matth. 17. Luk 9. Iohan. Laur. lib. de natur demon Mich. Andr. thes 222 c. Idem thes 235. 136. Idem thes 226. Th. Aq. 1 pa. quae 89. ar 8. Gregor in dial 4. Mich. And. thes 313.316.317 Idem thes 346. Leo. serm de jejuniis 10. mens Gelas. in epistola ad episc Mich. Andâ— thes 345. Greg. dial 4. cap. 1.12.14 Mich. And. thes 347. Greg. dial 4. cap. 11. Mich. And. thes 347. Mich. And. thes 341. Ide thes 388. Ide thes 411. Mal. malef 1. Bod. c. Mich. And thes 412. Idem thes 414. Gen. 3.14 15. Gen. 3.1 1 Cor. 11.3 Sap. 2.24 Gen. 3.1 Psal. 139.4 Num. 8 9. John 3 14. Maâ— 23.33 Mat. 10.16 I. Cal. in Genes cap. 3.1 Idem ibid. Idem ibid. Idem ibid. Mat. 10.16 Isai. 30.6 Mat. 3.12 13. Luk. 3. c. Gen. 3. Family of love I. Cal. lib. instit 1. cap. 14. sect 18 I. Cal. lib. inst 1. cap. 14. sect 13. Aug. de cura prâ— mort c. P. Mart. in loc com 9 sect 14. a 1 Sam. 22. Luk. 8. John 8. Ephes. 6. 2 Tim. 2. 1 Pet. 5. b Coloss. 1. v. 16. 1 Cor. 10. Matth. 8. 10 Luke 4. c â—ap 1. Apocal. 4. d 1 Tim. 4.4 e Gen. 1. f Gen. 8.44 1 Joh. 3.8 Is 54.16 Edw. Deering in his reading upon the Hebr. 1. reading the 6. Ephes. 6.12 Col. 2.16 Matth. 25. 1 Pet. 5. Idem ibid. Mat. 25.41 Mal. malef par 1. que 5. The etymon of the word Diabolus The book of W. W. published At S. Osees 17. or 18. witches condemned at once Isai. 30.28 Zach. 6.5 Gen. 1.2 John 3.8 Eras. Sarcer in dictio Scholast doctr liâ— S. Erasm. Sar. in lib. loc lit praedictis Laurent a Villavicentio in phrasib s. script lit S. pag. 176. Rom. 8.15 2 Cor. 6.5 John 15.26 Isai. 44. John 7.38 John 4.14 Jer. 23.29 1 John 2.10 Psal. 44. Cyâ—ill in Evang Ioh. lib. 3. cap. 14. Exod. 8. The holy spirit can abide nothing that is carnall and unclean Isai. 29.10 Isai. 19.14 Ro. 1.21 23. Deut. 28.28 29. A question An answer A great likelihood no doubt Judgement distinguished * Josias Simlerus li. 4. ca. 5. adversus vileres novos Antiâ—â—initarios c. 1 Objection The scripture doth never call the holy spirit God * The 1. answer A refutation of the antecedent c. 2 Objection Hilarie doth not call the spirit God neither is he so named in the common Collects * The 2. answer Hilarius lib. 12. de Triade The place is long and therefore I had rather referre the reader unto the book than to insert so many lines Collecta in die domin sanctae Trinit 3 Objection The spirit is not to be prayed unto but the father only * 3. Answer The consequent is denied 4 Objection Amos saith that the spirit was created * 4. Answer Spirit in this place signifieth wind To create is not him to be made that was not Euseb. Caesariens lib. 3. adversus Marcemull 5 Objection All things were made by the son Ergo the spirit was also made by him * 5. Answer Universal propositions or speeches are to be restrained 6 Objection The spirit knoweth not the father and the sonne * 6. Answer How exclusive propositions or speeches are to be interpreted 7 Objection The spirit prayeth for us 7 Answer The spirit doth provoke us to pray 8 Objection The spirit is sent from the father and the sonne 8 Answer How the spirit is sent 9 Objection The spirit speaketh not of himself * The 9. answer Cyrill lib. 13. the saur cap. 3. 10 Objection * 10 Answer The spirit proceedeth * Such were the Arrians 〈…〉 amosatenians c. Sus magis in coeno gaudet quam fonte sereno The heathenish philosophers acknowledged the holy spirit Cyrill lib. 1. contra Intianum Marsilius Ficinus in arg in Cratys Plot. Ovid. lib. metamorph 1. sab 5 de gigantib coeâ—nm obsident Iacob Sadol in lib. de laud. philosoph inscrip Phedius Peter Mart. in loc com part 2. cap. 18. sect 33. pag. 628. John 14.26 John 16.14 14.16