If thou be a right deuill quoth he returne me this stone again at which very moment the selfe same stone fel from the roofe of the house and hitte him on the brimme of his Hatte ouer his eyes and the stone was euidently knowne of them all to be the very same which hee had throwne ouer the other house so that the Magistrate with the rest of those that were there present with him departed out of the house with the greatest astonishment that might be and not long after there came thither a Priest of the little Tower of Salamanca who through certaine coniuration which hee wrought deliuered the house both of this throwing of stones and all other such like molestations LU. In good sooth I neuer heard of a merrier deuill but afore you passe any farther I will tell you of two thinges which both happened in this same Towne where we nowe are the one was of a young man that being a Studient in Salamanca came thence hither to see his mother beeing a widdow and was certified by the folkes of the house that there haunted in the same a Hobgobline vvhich at sundry times played twenty knauish pranks with those of the house which the Studient would by no meanes beleeue but laughed at the reports thereof and at last grew into choller with them because they persisted in the earnest affirmation thereof At night calling for a candell hee went to a chamber that vvas made ready for him and shutting to the doore layd himselfe downe to rest but waking within a little while he might see vnder his bed a light like vnto a little flame of fire at which lifting vp the cloathes and starting out of the bed he began to looke whence this fire might come but the same presently vanishing hee turned to his rest againe thinking surely that his eyes had dazeled but he had not line long when he perceaued a greater flame then the first to his seeming vnder the bed at which lifting the couerings of the bed fearefully vp and bowing downe his head very lowe to looke vnderneath the bed he was sodainly taken by the legges and pitcht topsie turuie ouer and throwne into the midst of the chamber where-with striken into a great amazement he cryed out as loude as he could for a candell which beeing brought and searching vnder the bed there was nothing at all to be found from which time forward the Studient acknowledged his error and was lesse obstinate in beleeuing that were Hobgoblins The other was of two Gentlemen which are nowe the chiefest in the Towne and our especiall friends who hearing of a Hobgobline that haunted a poore womans house holding the same for a iest would needes goe thither one night with a certaine Priest to search out the secret cause whence this report might arise comming thither and giuing no credite to the poore womans wordes of a sodaine one of them was striken a great blow vpon one of his iawes with a clod of stinking filthy clay of which he receaued no greater hurt but that it astonished him a little There fell also of this earth vppon others of their company and one of them was hitte a great blowe on the shoulder with a tile so that the Gentlemen and the Priest made as great hast as they could to gette thence not without great wonder and meruaile Not long after a Priest exorcising a vvoman that was possessed the deuill that was within her amongst other thinges confessed that it was hee that which had handled them the other night and that the same clay which hee threwe at them was out of a Graue and of a putrified body not throughly yet conuerted into earth But if wee will enter into speech of this kinde of spyrites wee shall neuer make an ende for there is nothing tolde of them so vnpossible but I beleeue the same seeing it is a thing so manifestly approoued that they canne take vppon them what shape or forme they list Leauing therefore this and passing to other poyntes of greater importaunce I pray you make mee vnderstande vvhether this opinion which many doe holde be true that when so euer any manne is possessed the soule of some one that is dead should enter into him and speake within him AN. In trueth you haue reason to seeke to be resolued of so ignorant an absurdity as this of theirs is vvho so euer mainetayne or thinke the same for though sometimes GOD permitte the soules departed for some especiall causes to returne vnto the vvordle yet dooth hee not permitte them to enter into a body vvhere is an other soule for two reasonable soules canne by no meanes abide in one body so that there cannot be a greater falsenes and errour then this for without doubt they are deuils and not soules as we may see by their casting forth which is done by the vertue of holy and sacred words at which time they vse their vttermost endeuour not to be constrained to goe into places where they cannot exercise their malice of which we haue in the Scriptures an example of him who being as Saint Luke saith in his eight Chapter possessed of a legion of deuils was deliuered of them by our Sauiour by whose permission they entred into a Heard of Swine which threw them selues immediatly downe the Rocks tumbling into the Sea LV. I would also gladly know what should be the cause that the deuils are so desirous to enter into mens bodies and can with such difficulty be cast out of them making there-vnto all resistance that they possibly may AN. To this question Psellius maketh aunswere and Gaundencius Merula also saying that though the deuils are enemies vnto men yet they enter into their bodies not so much with will to doe them hurt as with desire of a vitall heate and warmenes for these are such as doe enhabite the deepest and coldest places where the cold is so pure that it wanteth moistnes so that they couet places hote and moist searching all oportunities and occasions to enter into them so often as for some reasons which we vnderstand not God suffereth permitteth them so to doe And when they cannot enter into the bodies of mē they enter into those of other creatures where willingly they detaine themselues so long as they may and through the violent strength which the body by their entry receaueth happen these tremblings shakings and forcible motions which we see they vse that are possessed This kinde of deuils vse the spirit of the patient as their proper instrument and with his tongue speake and vtter what they list but if they be of those that flie the light and dwell in the profundities of the earth as the last and vtmost sort of those of the earth they make the patient deafe and dumbe like a blocke without vnderstanding as though hee were depriued of all his sences forces which he had before and this is the worst sort of all and with
other such like tales of which the common people speaketh AN. There are some certainly yea and very many which I take to be meere fictions and fables inuented by men for their pastime or some other cause that moued them others there are which are vndoubtedly of most assured truth as it appeareth by sundry examples successes which cannot be denied LU. Truly Signior Anthonio I shold be very glad throughly to vnderstand this matter of Spirits whether they be illusions deceits of the deuill who representeth thē in imagination fancy only or whether they are truly seene discerned with our bodily eyes for according to the diuersity of tales which I haue heard and of such diuers sorts I knowe not what I should iudge thereof AN. You haue entred into a matter very deepe me thinks you go about to make me a Diuine perforce as yesterday you did in that of terestriall Paradise wherin because I found you then easie to be contented I am the readier now to satisfie you so far as my knowledge extendeth Let vs therfore repose our selues on this greene banke where with the shadow of those trees of one side the freshnes of this Fountain on the other we shal sit to our ease contentment BER We are ready to fulfill obey your cōmaundement in all things especially in this tending to so good an end surely I haue oftentimes beaten my braines about this matter of which you will nowe entreate but still in the end finding the conceite thereof intricate aboue my capacity I gaue it quite ouer AN. Well therfore I wil begin to say what I know as there ariseth any doubt aske and I wil doe my best to resolue satisfie you as wel as I can with the greatest breuity possible for otherwise the matter is so great so much thereof written that we should neuer bring it to an end and because these illusions apparitions of Spirits chiefely proceed of the deuils let vs first see what the ancient Philosophers thought of them not touching our Christian Religion The Peripatetikes chiefely Aristotle were of opinion that there were no deuils at all and so saith Aueroes that hee knew no spirituall substances but those which moue the heauens which he calleth also Angels seperated substances intelligences mouing vertues so that the deuils being spirituall substances he seemeth to deny that there be any Of the same opinion was Democrites therin so obstinate that certaine yong men clothing themselues one night in deformed vgly attire seeming to be very deuils in deed thinking to make him afraide when they came into the place where he was vsing horrible feareful gestures he shewed himselfe secure without any alteration at all bidding thē cease to play the fools because he knew wel there were no such bugs as they represented And when these Philosophers were asked what griefe that was which those endured who were possessed of Spirits they answered it was a passion proceeding of a melancholly humor affirming melancholly to be able to worke those effects and as yet the most part of Phisitions maintaine the same affirming that when the deuill speaketh in diuers tongues yea though often very highly and mistically yet that all this may well proceed through the operation of a vehement melancholly But this is a manifest error for amongst the Ethnike Philosophers them selues there were diuers of a contrary opinion as Pythagoras Plato Socrates Trismegistus Proculus Pophirius Iamblicus many others though S. Austine in his ninth booke De ciuitate Dei sayeth that Plato and his followers called the superiour Angels Gods and that they were the selfe same whom Aristotle called Angels and in this sort is to be vnderstoode the spirit of Socrates so famous in Platos works and of which Apuleius writeth a whole booke and whosoeuer attentiuely readeth the Tymeus of Plato and his Cratilus in the tenth Dialogue De legibus shal find that he meant the same Aristotle him selfe sayeth that Lemures and Lamiae dwell in a sad Region LV. I vnderstand not these names if you declare thē not plainlier vnto me AN. The deuils are called by sundry different names which though for certaine respects keepe their particuler significations Lamiae properly signifie a kind of deuils yet vnder the same name are also contayned Hags and Witches as persons who haue confederation and agreement with the deuill and Lemures or Lares are such as wee call Hobgoblins or domesticall Spirits and as these are Spirits it seemeth to make against that which in other places he maintained But leauing these men who went so blindly and obscurely to worke Let vs come to the trueth it selfe which is Christ and to our Christian Religion which manifestly teacheth vs to vnderstand what we should beleeue as touching these maligne Spirits whose being is proued by so many examples and testimonies of the holy Scripture and by the misteries and miracles wrought by the same God our Sauiour in casting them foorth of humaine bodies The which afterwards the Apostles and holy men did in like sort The Philosophers which confessed that there were deuils though they vnderstood that theyr office was to torment the soules of euill liuers as saith Plato and Xenocrates in his booke which he made of death yet they drawe diuers waies for they make good spirits and euil spirits and they call the departed soules of great wise men Spirits halfe Gods feyning thē through the excellencie of their merrits to be assumpted into heauen where though they neuer entered into the Consistory with the other Gods but when they were called and appointed yet were they Mediators for men that liued on the earth carrying and offering vp theyr messages requests demaunds supplications to the Gods in heauen Neyther made they heere an end but they called also the Gods Daemons as it appeareth by the words of Trismegistus which are thus When the separation saith he shall be of the soule from the bodie the examination thereof shall be tryed by the power iudgment of the chiefe Daemon who finding it righteous godlie will assigne it a conuenient happy place but if he find it spotted with wickednes and defiled with sinnes and offences hee will throw it into the deepe Abysmes where there is alwayes horror and confusion terrible tempests violent waters and vnquenchable fires And so by degrees downewardes towards the earth they place other Gods still declyning till they come to the ill Spirits which they say are those who dwell vnder the earth in the deepe Abysmes thereof Feyning besides a hundred thousand other such like toyes vanities which if you desire to see you may reade the Phylosophers before named and besides them Caelius Rodiginus Protinus Pselius and many others who haue perticulerlie written of this matter But one thing I will assure you that he had neede of a very diuine iudgement whom they
bee a bondslaue and such a one mee thinkes may with reason say that his Destenie placed him in that seruitude and bondage because hee came not there-vnto by his owne will neyther could hee by any meanes auoy de the same but would by any meanes seeke and procure his freedome if there were anie possibility thereof AN. This obiection may many wayes be aunswered the one is that it was no Accident or Chaunce that happened to this man to serue as a bondslaue because hee was begotten and borne in seruitude and besides there is no impossibility of recouering his liberty for euery day wee see happen sondry newe occasions whereby a slaue may be manumitted and sette free if then it be possible it followeth that there is no forcible Desteny if you will say that it was an accident in his Auncestors to fall into bondage to the end that this man should be borne a slaue I aunswere that it was in their choise and free-will because they might haue gone some whether else and haue refrained that place in which they stood in danger hazard to be made Captiues so that he cannot lay the fault vpon his Destenie but vpon those that might haue remedied the same and did not LU. You leaue me not well satisfied heerein for if I loose perforce my liberty neyther euer was it neyther now is it in my hand to remedy the same neyther am I hee that was any way the occasion thereof I may well say it vvas my Destenie and consequently vvith reason complayne of the same considering that it vvas not in my povver to auoy de it ANT. All that vvhich is not vnpossible may bee sayde auoy dable and if at anie tyme while one remaineth in bondage occasions may happen to recouer his freedome he can by no meanes say that his Destenie forcibly with-holdeth his liberty for though he want it against his will yet hee wanteth it not with impossibility of euer hauing it if he vse such meanes and industry as is requisite for the obtaining thereof For example we see daily manie slaues runne from their Maisters and set themselues at liberty not onely heere with vs but also such as are in captiuitie vnder the Mores and Turkes and if the enterprize which any such one vndertaketh for his liberty succeede not according to his intent it is because hee procured it not in such as was requisite or because it pleased not God to permit his deliuerie for his sinnes and demerrites or some other cause to vs hidden and vnknowne BER Thinke not that you haue here made an end for the principall poynt as yet remaineth If you remember you said that many of the Auncients held opinion that the causes of Desteny working with such necessity proceeded from the second superior caelestiall causes as the influence of the Planets and starres I pray you therefore make vs to vnderstand what is the force of the constellations and in what sort theyr influence worketh as well in vs as in other things for the cōmon opinion is that all things on the earth are gouerned maintained by the Caelestiall bodies whence it commeth that the Astronomers by calculating Natiuities casting figures and other obseruations come to foreknowe and vnderstand many thinges not onely concerning men but also tempests earth-quakes plagues inundations and other such like future calamities AN. It is a thing notorious that the starres haue their influences but not in such sort as the common opinion maintaineth first therfore you must vnderstand that their influence hath no power or force to worke any operation in the soules of men but onely in their bodies the reason whereof is that the soules are farre more noble and of more excellent perfection then the planets and starres so that the constellations being vnto them inferiour in beeing and substance are vnable to worke in them any effect at all That the soules are more noble then the caelestiall bodies S. Thomas proueth in this sort in his Booke against the Gentiles So much more noble saith hee is euery effect as it is neerer in likenes to the cause whence it proceedeth so our soules being liker vnto God then the caelestiall bodies are in beeing Spirits as is the first cause which is God must needs be more excellent then they so that they can haue no influence vnto them nor domination ouer thē the soules remaining alwaies free For though Dionisius sayd that God hath so disposed the whole order of the Vniuerse that all inferior thinges beneath should be gouerned by those that are superior and aboue yet he presently addeth and those that are lesse noble by those that are more noble and though by this reason the soules remaine free yet the bodies doe not so because they are lesse noble then the Sunne the Moone the other heauenly lights and so are subiect to their influences working in them diuers and contrary inclinations some good and some euill which they that seeke to excuse theyr vices and vvicked life call Destenies as though it were not in their power to flie and auoyde them through the libertie of free-will For if we say that Mars doth praedominate in men that are strong and valiant we see that many borne vnder his Planet are timorous and of small courage All those which are borne vnder Venus are not luxurious nor all vnder Iupiter Kings great Princes nor all vnder Mercurie cautelous and craftie neither are all those which are borne vnder the signe of Piscis fishermen and so forth of all the other Signes and Planets in manner that theyr effects are not of force and necessitie but only causing an inclination to those things the which by many wayes and meanes may be disturned altered auoyded chiefely by the disposition and will of the first cause which is God who addeth altereth taketh away at his pleasure the force vigor and influence of those Planets and starres restraining theyr vertue and force or els mouing directing and lightning our minds not to follow those naturall inclinations if they tend to euill and sinister effects The Angels deuils also may doe the same as beeing creatures more noble then the soule the one moouing to good and the other to euill for oftentimes our good Angell is the cause that we refraine those vices to which by the constellation of those heauenly bodies we are inclined and that we follow for our soules profit such waies as are vertuous and good and that wee auoyde those dangers which these influences doe threaten vnto vs. These also may a man of himselfe beware and eschew by discretion and reason for as saith Ptolomie The wise prudent man shall gouerne the starres LVD I confesse all this which you haue said to be true but yet besides the inclinations appetites of men the starres and Planets worke also in another manner as in aduauncing some men and abating others making some prosperous and rich yea
confound not with theyr intricate and obscure contrarieties it is best therefore that we referre our selues to the Church following for Pylots in this matter the holy Doctors who cleerelie expresse the pure truth hereof and so shall we attaine to the vnderstanding of that which we pretend BER You say well but first declare vnto vs whether Lucifer those other Angels that offended with him in ambition and pryde fell altogether into hell or no AN. They fell not altogether into the very Abysme of Hell though they all fell into the truest hell which is Punishment Those which remained in the places betweene was because they had not offended with so determinate an obstination and vehemence as the others had and they remained also there because it was necessary conuenient for our merite that we should haue Spirits for our enemies in such place where they might vexe vs with theyr temptations For which cause God permitted a great part of them to remaine in the ayre the earth and the water vvhere they shall continue till the day of iudgement and then they shall be all damned into the very dungeon of Hell so that we haue with them a continuall warre who though they be in the places which I haue said yet are they not out of Hell in respect of torment for theyr paine is all alike All this is out of S. Thomas in the first part Quest. 64. Ar. 4. The difference of the degrees of Spirits is rehearsed by Gaudencius Merula taking the same out of Pselius who maketh 6. kinds of Spirits betweene Heauen Hell The first who are those that remained in the highest region of the Ayre hee calleth Angels of fire because they are neere vnto that Region and perchance within it The second kinde saith hee is from the middle region of the Ayre downeward towardes the Earth The third on the earth it selfe The fourth in the waters The fift in the Caues and hollow vautes of the earth The sixt in the very dungeon and Abysme of Hell LU. In such sort that they are as it were enter-linked one with another but tell mee haue all these Spirits one selfe dutie and office AN. No if we will beleeue Gaudencius Merula but manie and those of diuers sorts For the cheefest greefe and paine of the first which vvere those that had least offended seeing themselues so neere Heauen is the contemplation that through theyr wickednes they haue lost so great a Beatitude though this be generall to them all and these are nothing so harmfull as the others are For those which are in the middle of the region of the Ayre and those that are vnder them neerer the earth are those which sometimes out of the ordinary operation of Nature doe mooue the windes with greater fury then they are accustomed doe out of season congele the clowes causing it to thunder lighten haile and to destroy the grasse Corne Vines and fruites of the earth and these are they whose helpe the Negromancers do often vse in their deuilish operations Amongst other things which are written in the Booke called Mallcus Maleficarum you shall finde that the Commissioners hauing apprehended certaine Sorceresses willed one of them to shew what she could doe assuring her life on condition that from thence forward shee should no more offend in the like Wherupon going out into the fields in presence of the Commissioners many other besides she made a pitte in the ground with her hands making her vvater into the same which being done she stirred about the vrine with one of her fingers out of the which by little little after shee had made certaine Characters and mumbled a few wordes there arose a vapour which ascending vpwarde like a smoake began to thicken of it selfe in the midst of the region of the ayre gathering and making there a blacke fearfull Clowde which cast out so many thunders lightnings that it seemed to be a thing hellish and infernall the vvoman remaining all thys while still asked at last the Commissioners where they woulde haue that clowde to discharge a great quantitie of stones they poynting her to a certaine place where it could doe no hurt at all the clowde of a suddaine began to moue it selfe with a great furious blustering of winds and in short space comming ouer the place appointed dyscharged a great number of stones like a violent shower directly within the compasse thereof And in this sort may the Witches and Negromancers worke many such like thinges through the help of those Spirits as we wil hereafter declare But turning to the third kind of Spirits beeing on the earth whose principall office function is to persecute men and to tempt and allure them to sinne and thereby to worke theyr damnation enuying that those glorious places which they once enioyed in heauen should bee possessed replenished with men These vex vs these trouble vs these deceiue vs and entise vs to all those wicked offences which we cōmit against the maiestie of him who made created vs of nothing these lie in waight day and night to entrap vs sleeping and waking they allure vs to euill thoughts and naughty works tempting our soules perswading vs to run the way of perdition the which because they are Spirits they may very well do in vexing and tempting our Spirit yea and many times so that wee are not not able to perceaue it And though Gaudencius Pselius attribute to sundry kindes of Spirits sundry functions in perticuler yet in generall each of thē can indifferently vse them though they be of another kinde For in dooing euill they agree all in one malice and most earnest desire to worke our damnation by all meanes possibly they may BER Is that true which they say that there is no man but hath at his right hand a good Angell and at his left hand a bad AN. Doubt not of this for as God for our good and benefit hath ordeyned to each one of vs a good Angel to accompanie vs whom we call our Angel of gard who as by the holy church we are taught keepeth defendeth vs frō many dangerous temptations by which the deuil procureth to work our damnation so also haue we at our left hand an ill Spirit which stil is solliciting perswading and alluring vs to sin and offend by all meanes possibly he may And the Gentiles though they were not so illuminated as we are yet did they in part acknow ledge this calling the good Angell Genium Hominis though this of the euill Angell I haue not found approoued by ame Author onely that it is an opinion which the common people holdeth and is generally allowed and besides the readines of them at hande to procure vs to sin is confirmed by the holy Scripture in sundry places BER What power hath God giuen vnto these good and bad Angels which wee carry daily in our company AN. That
of but the most part tooke it to be the iust iudgement of God vvhom it pleased to make this man an example to the vvorld in suffering him to end his dayes so miserably and to haue his tong torne out of his head and carried away for he vvas noted to be a great outragious swearer and blasphemer of Gods holy name vvhile hee liued LU. And may it not be that the vvhirle-vvind catching this man in the midst thereof might haue povver to vvorke these effects as vvell as vvhole Rocks to be vvhirled vp and trees to be turned vp by the rootes by the furious buffing together of vvindes when they meete AN. I confesse vnto you that the force of whirle-windes are very great and that they worke often very dangerous and damageabe effects as that which destroyed Algadefres ouerthrowing the houses and buildings and making them all flat with the earth in like sort it is passing dangerous at Sea when two contrary winds take a ship betweene them for sildome or neuer any shippe so taken escapeth but as for this which happened in Benauides I cannot iudge it to be other then the worke of the deuill through the permission of God as by two reasons it appeareth the first that they being two men together the one was saued the other that the dead mans tongue was wanting could not be found LU. You haue satisfied vs as concerning the power which the deuil hath and the limitation thereof therfore passe on I pray you with your former discourse AN. The fourth kind of Spirits are those which are in the waters as well the Sea as Floods Riuers and Lakes these neuer cease to raise damps and stormes persecuting those which saile putting them in great and fearefull dangers through violent and raging tempests procuring to destroy and drowne the ships also through the ayde of monsters rocks and shallowes which are in the Sea the like doe those of the Riuers guiding in such sort the Boates that they make them to ouerturne and causing those that swimme to entangle them selues in sedge or weeds or bringing them into some pits or holes where they cannot get out and finally by all meanes possible they persecute and molest them so far as the limitation of their power extendeth The fifth kind of Spirits are those which are in the Caues vautes of the earth where they lie in waite to entrap those that digge in Mines and Wells and other workes vnder the ground whose death and destruction they couet and procure as much as they may These cause the motions and tremblings of the earth through the ayde of the windes which are therein enclosed whereby whole Citties are often in danger to be swallowed vp especially those which are built neere the Sea whole mountaines are heereby throwne downe infinite peoples destroyed yea and sometimes the Sea heereby breaketh into the Land wasting deuouring whatsoeuer it findeth before it The sixth and last kinde of Spirits are those who are in the Abysmes place whose name is Hell whose principall and proper office is besides the paines which they endure to torment the damned soules This is the place where is no order at all as sayth Iob but continuall feare horror and amazement BE. Seeing you haue declared vnto vs how many sorts of Spirits there are tell vs also I pray you whether they haue bodies or no because I haue often beaten my braines about this secrete without finding any man that could herein resolue me AN. You may well call it a secret considering the diuers opinions that are thereof for many say that they are pure Spirits as Apuleius who made himselfe so well acquainted with them writeth that there is a kinde of Spirits who are alwayes free from the strings and bonds of the body of vvhich number is Sleepe and Loue whom he termeth spirits vvhereby he seemeth to confesse that there are others which haue bodyes so thinketh S. Basile who attributeth bodies not only to these Spirits but also to the Angels The like is vnderstood by the words of Pselius They who followe this opinion alleage for the maintenance thereof the wordes of the Prophet Dauid where he saith He which maketh his Angels spirits and his ministers of fire c. They alleage also S. Augustine to haue beene of the same opinion saying that the Angels before theyr fall had all their bodies formed of the superior purest part of the Ayre and such those haue as yet which remained guiltlesse of Lucifers offence the bodies of whose followers were turned into a thicker and grosser ayre to the end they might be therein more tormented But the Maister of Sentences sayth in his second booke that this is not Saint Augustines opinion but falsely attributed vnto him and so the common opinion of all the holy Doctors is that both the Angels and deuils are pure Spirits as S. Thomas and Saint Iohn Damascene and S. Gregory who aunswere most sufficientlie to such doubts as may herevpon be mooued as how they may feele suffer and receaue punishment though Gaudencius Merula defend the contrary saying that thinges incorporat cannot onely suffer or receaue feeling of any bodily paine but that also to feele them in vnderstanding is vnpossible But as for this opinion holde it for a manifest error for truly Gaudencius in some of his opinions goeth farre vvide of the marke If I should heere rehearse each of the seuerall Doctors opinions I should beginne an endlesse worke leauing them therefore I will come to the poynt indeed that which the rest confesse to be the generall opinion as I sayde before of all or the most part of the holy Doctors of the Church which is that the Angels when it is necessarie doe fashion make vnto thēselues visible bodies for the effects which they pretend as we finde in many places of the holie Scripture whether it be of ayre thickned of fire or of earth it maketh no matter but that so it is see what is written of the three Angels that came to the house of Abraham in the likenesse of three beautifull young men and the Angell Gabriell appeared to the glorious virgine in a most goodlie forme and figure when he brought her the salutation The selfe same is permitted to deuils in their operations whose bodies though we call fantasticall because they vanish presentlie away yet they verily are visible bodies formed of some such substance as I said before but the same is so fine and delicate that it straight dissolueth vanisheth And because this is to the purpose of that which you asked mee and which we now discourse of I haue so lightlie passed ouer all the rest for there haue not wanted Doctors vvhich affirme the deuils to be in such manner bodily that they haue neede of foode vvherewith to sustaine themselues and that they feare stoute men and flie from theyr sharpe vveapons and that beeing striken they
common sort but of a higher and superiour condition For amongst them selues sayeth Father Franciscus de victoria in a Repetition vvhich hee made of Magique they doe obserue theyr orders and degrees of superioritie and this is for the better vse of theyr wickednesse and so sayeth Saint Thomas some deuils sayeth hee are preferred as principals to commaund the rest and the inferiour deuils are subiect vnto those which are of mightier force to execute theyr wickednesse and therefore the Iewes sayde vnto Christ that hee wrought his miracles in the name of Belzebub Prince of deuils so that the Negromancers and Magitians that are confederated with the Princes and Captaines of the Infernall Armie haue alwaies the lesser inferiour deuils in a readines at commaundement to doe their will and pleasure being therevnto constrained by those of the higher dignitie and condition And whereas you say that the deuils are kept by some bound and enclosed in Ringes Boxes or Viols it is a common error and deceite which the deuils make them beleeue with whom they deale for they are where in what place and when they list themselues and how farre soeuer they be of yet at such time as they are called or theyr presence required they come in the very same instant to make aunswere to those which holding them for Familiars and thinking surelie that they carry them alwaies present with them demaund or aske any thing of them who are greatly abused deceaued in presuming that they are able to hold them forcibly at theyr commaundement because it proceedeth not through the words of the Negromancer but through the might and authority of the higher Spirits and deuils which as Captaines gouerne and commaund them Yea and some-times constrayning them to remaine bound indeed when they haue any notable exployt in hande but els for the most-part they leaue them alwayes at libertie This is not onely the opinion of S. Thomas but also of S. Augustine and almost all the rest of the Doctors that handle this matter who write therof many particularities leauing which let vs passe now to other matters no lesse worthy to be vnderstood BER Let then the first I pray you be one which of long time so often as I thinke thereof hath and doth exceedingly trouble my vnderstanding and the same is if the soules of the deceased returne at any time to visite or to speake with those that liue in the world as I haue often heard say that they doe LUD There want not sufficient reasons to confirme that which you say but leauing the determination thereof to better Diuines then we are let vs handle our former discourse of fancies and visions of which vndoubtedly many that are reported to be true are faigned and somtimes take their beginning of occasions that happen whereby they are thought to be true when in deede they are not BER This is an ordinary matter happeneth daily for confirmation of which I vvill tell you of one that chaunced not long since in this Towne wherein we now are and the party yet liuing which was a woman who rising one night very early before day to doe certaine busines shee had hauing ouer night willed her May de to leaue the fire well couered to the ende shee might light her candle in the morning and finding the same quite out when shee rose fell into a great chafe the may de seeing her Mistris so angry stept out of dores with a candell in her hand and going from house to house without finding fire perceauing at last a Lamp burning within the Church went and knocked at the dore thereof desiring the Sexton to light her candell Her Mistres being out of patience and not enduring to stay so long tooke another candle going to the house of one of her acquaintance lighted the same returning at that very instant by one side of the Church as her may de dyd by the other and being in the Sommer time both vnclothed sauing onely that they had a thin white peticoate ouer theyr smockes they chaunced to be seene by a neyghbour thereby who was risen a little before whose eyes belike not being well opened he tooke them to be Sprights and published the next day that he had seene certain women go about the Church in Procession with candles in their hands Some that heard him added that they were eyght others tvvelue others twentie thirtie and amongst the rest they affirmed that some yet liuing were seene who hearing thereof fell into the greatest feare of the worlde that they shoulde not liue long but I procured to search out the truth thereof found it to be in such sort as you haue hearde AN. Let but once such a matter as this come amongst the common people and it will growe so from one mouth to another that at last of a flie they will make an Elephant neuer willing to acknovvledge themselues to be deceaued as it hapned in a very pleasant tale which I will tell you the truth whereof came after to be discouered There dyed in a towne of this Countrey a Gentleman very rich and of great reputation who had ordained his body to be buried in a Cloyster of Fryers vvhich was performed and his funerals doone sumptuously vvith great pompe and magnificence The night comming a certaine mad woman that ranne vp and downe the towne halfe naked was by chaunce left in the Church of the Monasterie when the Sexton lockt the doore who hauing seene the dead mans Herse which stood in the midst of the Church couered ouer of each side with a black cloth trayling on the groūd with great compasse and widenes as the manneris and beginning to be pinched with cold for it was in the middest of the Winter went to shroud herselfe vnder the same in which sort the fell a sleepe till at last the Fryers came into the Quire to say theyr matins with the noyse of whose voyces awaking she thought good to sport with them a little to make them afrayde beginning to giue great bounces and rumblings against the Coffin and withall to skritche and howle in the lothsomest manner she could The Pryor and his Brethren somewhat troubled at the suddainenesse thereof came downe into the body of the Church bringing with them Holy-vvater and holding in theyr handes halowed Candles burning and vsing such prayers and deuotions as for such a case they thought conuenient Notwithstanding the foolish woman resolute to goe forward with that which shee had begunne the neerer she heard them approach the greater bounsing shee made and withall rearing vp the coffin in height with her head let both herselfe and the same fall as hard as she could which though she did manie times yet the largenes of the mourning cloth kept her from beeing discouered The Pryor seeing that this coniurations exorcismes profited nothing at all thought it should be a great rashnesse to lift vp the cloath and to discouer
greatest difficulty cast out But as for mee I take these to be rather imaginations of those Authors then opinions indeed to be allowed and held for true for the deuils not hauing bodies nor entryng into the bodies otherwise then as pure Spirits they can receaue neither good nor ill of the naturall heate conteyned in the body of the men into which they enter BE. Much might be replyed to the opinion of these two Authors but I had rather seeing the beginning of this our discourse was of the Witch that with her vrine caused a clowde to rise in the ayre that you would tell me what difference is betweene Witches and Inchaunters and in what sort the one and the other vse their Science AN. Much might be answered to this your demaunde but omitting that which is lesse materiall let vs come to that which in our vulgar and mother tongue we vnderstand We call by name of Enchaunters those who publiquely and openly haue any agreement or couenaunt vvith the deuill by whose helpe they worke thinges which are in apparance wonderfull entring into circles they cause them to appeare and to speake consulting with them vsing theyr fauour and ayde in all theyr workes and many they make the deuils alone to doe for thē Witches are those which though they haue familiarity and conuersation with the deuill yet the same is in such sort that they themselues scarcely vnderstande the error wherewith they abuse themselues vsing vnknowne signes Characters and other superstitions in which they secretly inuoke the names of the deuils vsing theyr ayde and counsaile And because the deuill may the better bring them to his byasse hee discloseth vnto them some properties and vertues of rootes herbes and stones and other things which haue secret operations mingling the one with the other that is to say that of naturall Magique with that of the deuill but in conclusion they may all be called Witches Enchaunters which with naturall Magique which is the knowledge of those things to whom Nature hath imparted these secret vertues mingle signes Characters and words vsing thē though they vnderstand them not in theyr sorceries vvitchcraftes BER By the way before you passe any further I pray you satisfie me in one thing which you sayd that the deuill doth sometimes enter into the body of vnreasonable creatures which to me seemeth verie strange because I neuer heard the the like before AN. Is your memory so short that you remember not that which wee saide a little before of the deuils cast forth by our Sauiour which desired leaue of him to enter into a heard of Swine the which threw themselues presentlie headlong downe the rocks But to the end that you may vnderstand that the deuils doe also enter into bruite beasts at request of those with whom they are compacted I will heere giue you a later example When I was a Student it was my chaunce to be familiarlie acquainted with another young man that studied Phisick in which he proued so excellent that hee was preferred for a Phisition to the Emperour Charles the fifth He and I beeing one day in company discoursing of such matters as these of which we now speake he affirmed to me with great othes that when hee studied Grammer in the Monastery of Guadulupe as he went foorth one euening to solace himselfe in the fieldes he saw ryding on the high-way a man in a religious habit vpon a horse so leane and to the outward shewe so tyred that hee seemed scarcely able to stande vpon his feete within a while the passenger comming to the place where he walked after salutations past of both sides desired him of all fauour to goe vnto the towne and to buy him somewhat for his supper because for diuers causes he coulde not goe himselfe promising him not to be vnthankfull for so great a curtesie The Student gently aunswered that he was most vvilling to doe him that or any other measure he could vvherevpon receauing money he departed presently to the towne returned with speed bringing such things as the other had required him to buy The stranger being hungry spred his cloake ouer that a napkin he carried with him vppon the grasse and fell to his victuals with an appetite constrayning the student to sit downe to eate with him Where amongst other talke the scholler asked him whether he rode that way who aunswering to Granada the scholler told him that if hee had beene prouided of meanes he would willingly haue vndertaken that voyage with him to visite an old mother of his that lyued in that Cittie whom in many yeeres hee had not seene That shall not be your stay aunswered the passenger for if it shall please you to beare mee company I will defray your charges thither and withall I will promise you to take such order that you shall neither be anoyed nor wearied with the length of the way but vppon condition that wee depart presently for I cannot stay long by any meanes The scholler beeing poore and the onely thing that letted him to vndertake this iourney beeing the want of money accepted vvillinglie his offer desiring him onely to attend so long till hee had taken leaue of some of his friendes in the towne fetcht a shirt or two The passenger beeing therewith contented he went his wayes and returned againe with great speede but make as much hast as he could the night was come on so that he requested the other to stay till next morning vvhich hee would in no wise doe saying that it was rather better to trauaile by night and to rest by day because beeing in the midst of Iune the heate was most extreame so that they began to goe onwards on theyr voyage the one a foote and the other on horsebacke telling old stories and discoursing of sundry matters till when they had so gone a little while the passenger importuned the student to gette vp behinde him on the croupe of his horse at which the scholler laughing tolde him that his horse in respect of his passing leanenesse seemed to be fitter for dogs meate then to carry two men at once on his backe Well quoth the passenger if you knew my horse so well as I doe you would not say so for I assure you howe ilfauoured soeuer he looke there is not his fellow in the world neyther woulde I sell him for his weight in gold and if you doubt of his ability to cary vs both get but vp and you shall ere it be long confesse the contrary at which perswasions others which he vsed the student got vp behind him on his Palfry which carryed them away with such smoothnesse and so swiftly that hee though hee neuer rode pleasantlier in his life euery foote his companion askt him what he thought of his leane beast assuring him that he would not be tyred or alter his pace though the iourney were neuer so long After they had ridden all
we haue here that hath care and charge of theyr soules And in all the other bordering Prouinces rounde about these they are most ready and willing to conuert themselues but the greatest pitty of all is that they are lost for lack of Preachers and learned Pastours to preach vnto them and to perswade and instruct them in the right way manie good men haue not wanted will to doe the same but theyr bodyes haue not beene able to suffer and endure the extreame colde of that Climat but I trust in God that of his mercie he will one day put this in some good mens harts to goe through withall and endue and strengthen them with forces sufficient to the accomplishing thereof especially seeing hee hath already so enclined the peoples harts to embrace his vvorde for it is a thing most assuredly knowne that on the Frontires of Norway Bothnia and Fynland at such time as the vveather breaketh and that the snowe and Ise giueth thē passage there come men and women thirty forty leagues frō within the Land bringing theyr young children those that haue meanes vpon horses and beasts backs those which haue not in little Baskets made for the nonce vppon theyr owne shoulders to be baptized some of which are foure months some sixe and some a yeere old and there cōming to the Priestes and Pastours they desire to be instructed with rules and precepts howe to leade a Christian life and as opportunitie serueth they bring dulie vnto them theyr Tythes When they are ignorant of any poynt howe they shoulde deale therein like Christians then conforming themselues with the Lawe of Nature they doe that which seemeth good and vertuous and leaue that vndoone which seemeth wicked and vicious and it is to be supposed that those of the Prouinces adioyning to the dominion of the great Muscouite doe the like LU. No doubt but they doe so and truely the Christianitie of these Countries is greater then I thought it had beene and according to your speeches there is apparance of encreasing it daily more and more seeing that there are so many mightie Septentrionall Princes that are Christians God of his great goodnesse giue them will and power throughly to conuert those poore people and to bring them vnder the obedience of the holy Catholique Church that they may saue theyr soules AN. It seemeth vnto me now high time to retyre our selues seeing the night hath surprised vs otherwise wee might haue lengthned this our discourse with manie prettie poynts not yet talked of which wee must nowe deferre till it shall please God to giue vs time and opportunitie to meete together againe In the meane time let vs not be vnthankful to those learned Authors which by theyr painefull writings haue giuen vs notice and knowledge of such thinges as vvee haue to day discoursed of chiefely Olaus Magnus Archbishop of Vpsala Primate of Swethland and Gothland for the most of the things heere to day alleadged are his as beeing a man very learned and industrious and such a one as desired that we should vnderstand as well the qualities and perticuler properties of his owne naturall Country as also of the other Septentrionall Regions which haue beene till this present so vnknown that they were in a maner accounted vnenhabitable and seeing these are enhabited at the leastwise the greater part of them wee may well suppose that so also are the others that remaine yet vndiscouered as well about the circute of this pole as of the other which to be so they haue founde by manifest tokens that haue gone discouering about the West Indies BER You haue briefely gone about the whole world searching and displaying the wonders meruailes thereof but as for mee I account this which wee haue saide to bee but a Cypher in respect of that which might be said yet let vs content our selues and giue God thankes that we haue beene able to goe so farre AN. Well let vs now be going and withall if it shall please you to fauour me with your company at my Lodging you shal be most hartilie welcome to such a poore pittance as is prouided for my Supper LU. Neither of vs needeth much bidding and threfore goe on Sir whenit pleaseth you and we will follow The end of the sixth and last Discourse Benedicta sit Sancta Trinitas A Table of the principall matters contayned in this Booke A. ABstinence 20. Abel 75. Admiration 3. Aduerse Fortune 93. Adams hill 132. Agrippae why so called 8. Alcippa 9. Amazons 13 14. Aethiopians Macrobians 24. Alcoran 54. Amphioscaei 115. Andaluzia 44. Androgyni 7. Angels 65 105. Angels good and bad 62 105. Anostum 127. Antiodius 4. Ants 97. Antheus 21. Antipodes 114 115. Articke Pole 113. Antartick pole ibidem Astronomers 109 105. Arimaspes 11. Augustus Caesar 5. B. Baharas 38. Barnacles 41. Belus 53. Beturgia the true name of Prester Iohn fol. 55. Beasts 135. Biarmia 129 151. Birds 134. Blasphemy 64. Bothnia 150. C. Caucasus 49. Caligula 95. Centaurs 27 28. Childbirth in Naples 6. Christianity 57. Chiromancers 107. Caelestiall bodies 105 108. Claudius 95. Cold 1. Corrio Fortuna 93. Commendador what 114. Curses 6. Custome 131 132 142. D. Destenie 101. Demones 61. Degrees of Spirits 61. Their offices ibid. Deuill 53 57 107 62 87 80 his puissance 62 his malice 73 90. Diego Osorco 8. Difference betweene Chaunce Fortune 94. Disa 136. E. Egipanes 12. Elizian fields 44. Elias 48. Enchaunters 81 137. Ethoroscaei 115. Euphrates 48. Europe 116. F. Faunes 12 73 S s. 3. Fooles 36. Fortune 92 98 99. Fountaines 37 39. Finmarchia or Finland 130. G. Ganges 49. Georgia Georgists 57. Gihon 48. God 2 3 51 53 63 90 his prouidence 101. Good and bad Angels 62. Gouernment of the Bees 97. Golyas 23. H. Heauen 45 109 108. Hanno of Carthage 46. Hagge 81. Hemlock 110. Heden 43. 45 47. Heate 1. Hercules 8. Hermophrodites 5 7. Holy Fountaine 59. Hobgoblins 78 80. Horizon 122. Hyperboreans 26. 27. 119. Hypocrates 34. I. Iacobs Well 37. Iambolo 16. Icarus 46 Idolatry 53. Ictiophagi 125. Iland of Satires 12 Iland Meroe 24. Imagination 9 10 65. Incubi Succubi 73. Instinct of Beares 96 98 Influence of the Starres 104. Iohn Mandeuile 56. Ireland 116 Iseland 44 120 124. Iulio Viator 20. K. Knowledge 36. L. Lamiae 60. Lares ibid. Lactantius Firmianus 73 84. Lamparones or the Kings euill 88. Lemures 60. Life of man 24. Lucifers fall 61. M. Magitians 76. Mahomet 54. Mandragora 110. Mare magnum 50. Margaret of Holland 6. Melancholly 59 60 Mermaides 33. Miracles 3. Milo 19 20. Monosceli 11. Monstrous childbirths 9. Monstrous formes 11. Mountaine of the Moone 49 50. N. Nature 2 9 29 119 132 131. Natura naturans 2. Natura naturata 2 201. Nero 8. Naturall Magique 75. Nereides 28. Nestor 25. Negromancie 75 107. Nilus 49. Ninus 53. Noahs Arke 47 51. O. Olympus 24 45. Opinions of Paradice 47 44 45. Opinions of deuils 60. Opinions of Spirits 65. Opinions of
The wonderfull puissance of the deuill The power of the deuill restrained by God A strange chance that happened to a Boy in the Citty of Astorga A verie strange thing that happened in Benauides The miserable end of a swearer The fourth kind of Spirits The fifth kind of Spirits These are causers of earthquakes The sixth kinde of Spirits The opinion of S. Basile touching the bodies of Spirits Both the Angels and deuils are pure Spirits The generall opinion of the holy Doctors coÌ„cerning the substance of Spirits The Spirits when it is necessary fashion vnto themselues bodies of fire ayre or earth c. What PhaÌ„tasma is A strange vision that hapned to Gentleman in Fuentes de Ropell A notable straÌ„ge thing that happened in Bolonia to one Iohn Vasques de Ayola a Spaniard A notable strange chance that hapned to a Gentleman in Spayne in a Monastery of Nunnes Another very strange history written by Alexander de Alexandro Another most straÌ„ge history written by Alexander de Alexandro The answer of S. Andrew to a question proposed to him by the deuill A strange History of Don Anthonio de la Cueua Incubi Succubi The deuils malice is such that he wil not stick to commit any abhomination so that he may cause men to commit it with him Marcus a Greacian that had great familiaritie with deuils An erronious opinion of Lactantius Firmianus A wonderful history of a mayden that was enamoured of the deuill An other strange history of a mayden deceaued by the deuill Negromancie Naturall Magique Abel the Sonne of Adam made a book of the vertues of the Planets The vse of natural Magique is lawfull The Magitians do couenant and agree with the deuill Some deuils higher in authoritie then others A pretty tale of Sprights that were seene in Beneuenta Another pretty tale of a Spright Trasgoâ—y Duendes de Casa Hobgoblins and Robin Goodfelows A Hobgoblin in the Citty of Salamanca A Story of a Studient and a Hobgobline in Beneuenta Another story of a Hobgobline in Beneuenta A false and ridiculous opinion that many hold touching those that are possessed Psellius opinion of the cause why the deuils desire to enter into mens bodies Enchaunters Witches The deuill sometimes entreth into the body of beastes A story of a student that rode between Guadalupe and Granada in one night Another notable chance that hapned to two men on their way to Granada Sorcerers Hags A notable chance that happened to a learned man in Spaine Fryer Alonso de Castra his opinion touching Sorcerers Hags Lamia Striges Wee call these skriech Owles Two maner of wayes by which the Sorcerers are present in generall assemblies with the deuill A strange story of a Sorceresse Another story of a Sorceresse written in Malleê° Maleficarum a booke contayning nothing but things exceeding wel verified and of vndoubted truth Another history of a Sorceresse recited by Paulus Grillandus The names of certaine old famous Sorcerers Negromancers The deuill in the ende always bringeth his ministers to shame and confusion Particuler vertue of men called Ophrogens A pretty kind of curing a man that was bitten by a mad dogge There is a Sect of men in Spain called Saludadores who heale by such like ceremonies those that are bitten by mad dogs I haue seene of them my selfe The cause why the deuill suggesteth euill thoughts to vs in our sleepe A strange chance that hapned to a Gentleman in his sleepe The deuill is alwayes lying in wait to deceaue vs. Aristotles definition of Fortune The grosnes of the Gentiles about their Gods Sundry maners and formes in which the Gentiles figured and paynted Fortune The phrase Corrio Fortuna is not so proper in English and therefore I set it in Spanish Temples dedicated to aduerse Fortune There is great difference betweene Chaunce Fortune The definition of Chaunce more general then that of Fortune Claudius despairing to liue of a sodain made Emperour Caligula murdered as he went to see certaine pastimes Beastes haue no vnderstanding but are onely guided by a distinct of Nature A Beare that playd vpon a Flute The fiercenes of the dogs of Albania The strange affection of a dog of K. Lysimachus The loue of a Romaine gentlemans dog to his dead maister Cardanê° also maketh meÌ„tion of thy dog in his booke de perfect is animalibus Fernandus Gonzala Ouiedê° sayth that this dog was called Bezerillus A strange story of the Earle of Beneuentaâ— dogge The gouernment of the Bees The prouidence of the Ants. The vigilance or the Cranes Reason and vnderstanding vnseparably conioyned and vaited together The cause why some beasts haue greater instinct then others * Dycha Desdycha * Ventura Disuentura * 〈◊〉 Desdichade Bonauentuâ—ado Malauenturado Some words of the Author omitted which treate of the Etimologie of Dycha Desdycha Ventura Disuentura and Disgracia deriuing them from the Latine which doe nothing agree with our English phrase In thinges spirituall interiour there can be no Fortune What wee ought in true Religion to thinke of Fortune There is no other Fortune then the will and prouidence of God What thing Desteny is The Stoyicks opinion of Desteny The opinion of Chrisippus The opinion of Seneca A story of one that said it was his desteny to be a Hangman An argument to proue that there is Destenie The obiection aunswered All that is not vnpossible may be auoided How the operation influence of the starres is to be vnderstoode Our soules farre more noble then the caelestiall bodies Out bodies lesse noble theÌ„ the Planets therfore subiect to their influence The influence of the planets worketh not â—â— force necessity but theyr effects may many vvayes bee altered and changed Our good Angel preserueth vs oftentimes from many mischiefes Astronomers sometimes foretell future things Pope Marcellê° Father said at the houre of his sonnes birth that he was borne to be Pope The Astronomer of Charie Many causes and reasons to alter that which the signes and Planets doe seeme to portend The Chyromancers or Palmestrers doe often meddle their Science with Negromancie The opinion of the Astronomers touching the operation of the Planets Opinion of the Philosophers The opinion of Plato Calcidius An obiection An aunswer to the obiection Auerroes Opinion of Merc. Trismegistus Auerroes Iamblicus Plotinê° scoffeth at the Astronomers Auerroes Opinion of Marsilius Ficinus The Astronomers opinion reprouable by many arguments Obiection The iuyce of Hemlocke giuen to drinke to those that were condeÌ„ned to die The iuyce of Mandragora is mortiferous The vertue of Hemlock The vertues of Mandragora No herbe so venomous but it is some-way vertuous profitable The Viper yeeldeth remedy against many diseases A Leaper strangely cured Pestilentiall diseases are caused through the corruptions putrifactions of the earth The heauen is deuided into fiue Zones and the earth into as many The opinion of Ouid. Macrobiê° Virgil and the rest of the ancients erred touching the enhabited parts of the