THE ADMIRABLE HISTOR …

THE ADMIRABLE HISTORY OF THE POSSESSION AND CONVERSI­on of a Penitent woman.

SEDVCED BY A MAGICIAN THAT MADE her to become a Witch, and the Princesse of Sorcerers in the Country of Prouince, who was brought to S. Baume to bee ex­orcised, in the yeere 1610. in the moneth of Nouember, by the authority of the Reuerend father, and Frier, Sebastian Michaëlis, Priour of the Couent Royall of S. Magdalene at Saint Maximin, and also of the said place of Saint Baume.

WHO APPOINTED THE REVEREND FATHER, Frier Francis Domptius, Doctor of Diuinity, in the Vniuersity of Lo­uaine, by birth a Fleming, and residing in the said Couent of Saint Maximin, vnder the regular discipline and reformation of the order of preaching Friers, for the Exorcismes and recollection of the Acts. All faithfully set downe, and fully verified.

WHEREVNTO IS ANNEXED A PNEVMOLOGY, OR DIS­course of Spirits made by the said Father Michaëlis, and by him renewed, corrected, and enlarged: Together with an explanatory Apology of the many difficulties touching this History and the Annotations.

Erubescant impij, & deducantur in infernum, muta fiant labia dolosa.

Psalm. 30.
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Translated into English by W. B.

AT LONDON, Imprinted for VVilliam Aspley.

AA


TO THE QVEENE REGENT.

MADAME,

The History comprized within this Booke, doth for sundry reasons apper­taine vnto you. First, because those things which in themselues are great, rare, or admirable, doe properly belong to great perso­nages, and your Maiesty is the greatest Queene and Princesse of our age. Secondly, for that your name seated in the highest place of the entry of this History, may occasion Princes, Lords, and Gentlemen, to take the paines to reade ouer the same, which will aduan­tage and profit them as much, as any booke that hath been published these many yeeres. The third reason (which is grounded vpon the two former) is, that our little King your sonne will proue another Iosias, who was crowned and made King of Israel at eight yeeres of age, yet neuerthelesse became the most pious King that euer was in Israel: who did parallel Dauid him­selfe in sanctity, crushed all manner of Idolatry that for so long space was hatched amongst the people, broake downe their Idols, and put to death all Magicians and worshippers of Baal. Neither doe I slenderly con­iecture this, because that since his raigne euen at the very first entrance vnto his Crowne, there hath been [Page] made an admirable discouery of Magicians and of the kingdome of Satan, by the extraordinary proui­dence of God. Henry the Great his deceased father and our so much desired King, gaue the first light and life thereof vnto him, who would rather die then giue credence vnto Mag [...]cians: cleane opposite to Saul, who did affect rather to make his addresse to such men, then to hazard himselfe any way to danger. To which may bee added that our present King gaue the first grace and pardon vnto her, who by seducements be­came the Princesse of Magicians: God hauing through his mercy touched her heart, and conuerted her vnto him, as he will doe all those, that of their owne accord doe make acknowledgement of their impieties: which is the most proper remedy to bring the said kingdome of Satan to vtter confusion, and to attract and winne in his adherents and complices to the true knowledge of God; Neither can hee better assure his state and kingdome then by this meanes.1. King. 23. 4. King. 21. & 23. King Saul was dis-inuested thereof, because he went to a Witch. And God was stirred vp to wrath against King Manasses, in that hee countenanced Magicians and Sorcerers. Vpon the like occasion was the great City of Babylon ruined,Esa. 47. Ezek. 28. as it is written by the Prophets, Esaias and Ezechiel. Contrariwise the good Iosias, although God was much prouoked, and as it were challenged by their former offences, yet raigned religiously and peaceably one and thirty yeeres in Ierusalem.The Acts of the 23. of De­cember. pag. 219. The fourth and last reason is, because that in this History, our late King Henry the great is mentioned not with­out grert Attributes of honour and praise; God ha­uing accepted of his piety and good desires as a sacri­fice, [Page] and his death as a kind of Martyrdome. To con­clude, I am not ignorant, that some will heere alleage, that it is not expedient to beleeue all that is written in this History, and that it was not so fitly managed, to put this booke in print, by reason of the inconuenien­ces which may arise thereupon. But to these two points I will answere in the following Epistle, which I make to the Reader; fearing (Madame) least I proue bur­thensome to your Maiesty, who am, and alwaies will remaine

Your most humble and obedient subiect and seruant, F. SEBASTIAN MICHAELIS Prior of your Couent Royall of S. Magdalene at S. Maximin.

TO THE READER.

FRiendly Reader, When first I made men­tion to put this History in Print, I found two sorts of men, that were of a contra­ry opinion. The first had the faire cloak and couerture of Scripture, saying that wee must not beleeue nor giue credence to the Diuell, vpon which (say they) all this History is founded. The second as more eagle-sighted then the former, alleage, that it is vnsitting to put it forth, to auoid thereby the scandall of many (especially of those that are strayed from the Catholicke faith) which they will take at the publishing of this booke, when they shall vnderstand that these things were done by a Priest. To these two points I answere, that as touching the former, Iesus Christ himselfe doth giue vs the resolution thereof, when speaking of the Diuell he saith, that of a certainty there was no truth in him from the beginning of his fall; but hee giueth a restriction and limitation to his Axiome,Iohn 8. adding immediately these words, Cum ex pro­prijs loquitur, mendax est, that is to say, when he speaketh from himselfe, and of his owne accord, it is most cer­taine, he is alwaies a liar, euer endeauouring to worke mans preiudice and destruction; but the case is altered, when being inforced and adiured in the efficacy of the name of God, hee speaketh and answereth to exorcis­mes.Marc. 5. This wee see verified in the Gospell, when Iesus Christ would vse his authority ouer the Diuels; as when they cried with a loud voice worshipping him,Nemo poterat cum domare, ca­tenas disrumpe­bat, & compe­des diminuebat & videns le­sum à longè cucurrit & pro­cidens. Matth. 8. Adorauit eum & clamans vo­ce magna dixit. Quid mihi & tibi Iesu fili Dei altissimi? What haue wee to doe with thee Iesus the Sonne of the high [Page] God? I charge thee by the same God (said one of them) that thou doe not torment me; and earnestly besought him not to cast him out of that region, nor into the bottomlesse pit of hell, but to suffer them all to enter into the heard of swine. And Iesus Christ demanding the Diuell that spake and was the chiefe of them what his name was; he answered, my name is Legion, for wee are many. In which we may obserue two remarkeable points; first that Christ Iesus being adiured by the name of God, although it was done by a Diuell, yet from the respect and reuerence which hee did beare to God his father, condescended vnto the request of this Diuell and all his companions: as in the like occasion, being semblably charged by Caiphas to declare whether hee were the Sonne of God or no, hee then answered more cleerely and amply then at any time before, although hee well knew, that Caiphas was vncapable of that my­sterie, and would not make his aduantage of the same? What ought we then to cōceiue of Diuels, being adiu­red in the power of the name of God?Vid, Acta. 16. Decemb. pag. Marc. 5. Luc. 8. Matth. 8. shall they not deliuer the truth, when by the vertue of the same name, they are compelled to relinquish and abandon the bo­dies of those, whom formerly they did possesse? The se­cond point to be noted is, that vpon the interrogatories of Iesus Christ, they haue spoken and answered truely, and consequently they doe somtimes tell truth, not of their owne accord or motion, but vpon constraint and that of him who is powerfull to constraine them, to wit, Christ Iesus, and his Lieue-tenants that are endo­wed with this power: to whom hee saith; I haue giuen you power to tread on Serpents and Scorpions,Dedivobis po­testatem calcan­di supr a serpen­tes, &c. Luc. 10. Et in nomine meo daemonia eijcient. Marc. 16. and o­uer all the power of the enemy: And in another place he saith to the successors of the Apostles, that they shall cast out Diuels in his name. If then the answeres of Di­uels are inserted in the Gospell, why may not the like answeres be now written and published to the world? The old Testament doth not stick to say, that the euill [Page] Spirit of God hauing possessed Saul, 1. Sam. 19. besides tormen­ting him, did prophesie also, that is to say, hee spake af­ter the manner of Prophets, of things absent and hidden from the vnderstanding of men. Saint Chrysostome in the 13. Homily vpon Saint Matthew, giueth vs his reso­lution of this pointe, inueighing against Atheists who deny the paines of bell. They are taught by the Deuils (saith he) who being full of pride will not confesse that they indure any torments, and being replenished with malice, would disswade vs from beleeuing it: yet are they oftentimes compelled (besides the confessions made by them in the Gospell) to say and confesse pub­lickly the great torments which they suffer; and are constrained thereunto by the omnipotency of God, and the excessiuenesse of the torments wherewith they are punished: as a malefactor that is questioned extraordi­narily, doth by the force of the tortures that are presen­ted vnto him, confesse the truth. If then the Atheists will not beleeue the Scriptures, God maketh the De­uils themselues to confesse it, and those (saith hee) that will not then beleeue are worse then Deuils.

For answere vnto the second, wee will make remon­strance vnto them, that by their reckoning the Scrip­ture should net haue laid before vs the History of the yong Preists that were the sonnes of Hely:1. Reg. 2. who did snatch the flesh from the pots that belonged to the sa­crifice, and did deflower the deuout women, that came into the Temple to watch there at night. Neither should the narration of the sinnes of Dauid who was a Prophet and father of the future Messias be set downe; much lesse should the Euangelists mention the treason of Iudas: which are so farre from ministring occasion of scandall vnto the people, that on the contrary, many wholesome doctrines tending much to edification may be drawne from thence. This is declared by Saint Paul, 2. ad Timoth. 2. when hauing spoken of Hymeneus and Philetus that did scandalize the Church, hee addeth, The foundation of [Page] God remaineth sure, and hath his seale on those that are his. Notwithstanding (saith he) is it not true, that in the house of a great Lord, there bee vessels of gold and vessels of siluer, vessels of wood and vessels of earth, destinated vnto diuers vses? If therefore any man purge himselfe frō the ordures which are in the contemptible vessels, the same shall be a vessel of honour in the house of God. True it is that the vessels of greatest contempt and dishonour, are the wicked Preists: as for example Iudas in the Colledge of Christ Iesus, and Diacrus Ni­colaus in the society of the Apostles; and the reasons thereof are apparent. First because of their great ingra­titude,Rom. 1. which maketh the grace of God to depart farre from them, and consequently they are the more blinded by the working of the Deuill, Ingrati, scelesti; saith S. Paul. Another reason is, because they are more igno­minious to Christ Iesus, as appeareth by Magicians. The third reason is, for that the corruption of those things that are excellent, is worse then the corruption of things lesse excellent, as the putrification of the blood is more pernicious then of any of the other humours. And this would Ieremy haue said in the vision of the two baskets of figges; the one being full of figges not onely good, but excellently good, and the other full of figges not onely naught, but extreamely naught, in por­ta templi. And this is amply declared by Saint Augustine, Epist. 117. in an Epistle which he wrote vpon a suggestion against a Preist of his, who was accused of some soule crime. In the house of Adam (saith hee) there was Abel and Cain, A thorne in a garden cannot blemish the roses or the garden; but that a man may still say. Behold a faire garden. in the Arke of Noah liuing creatures both cleane and vncleane, and in his house one Cham with Sem and Iaphet. In the house of Abraham, Ismael with Isaac: in the house of Isaac, Esau with Iacob; in the house of Iacob, incestuous Rubin with chaste Ioseph: in the house of Dauid, Absolon with Salomon: And how be it God himselfe had twice talked with Salomon, and had be­stowed on him so many indowments of his grace in [Page] the house of his father; yea although himselfe was a Prophet and the author of some of the sacred and Cano­nicall writtes, yet did not the Deuill cease to gaine vpon him, and to cause him to present vnto him the sacrifices that were appointed for God. Finally Saint Augustine bringeth in the example of Iudas, and concludes, I haue by long experiences learned, that as there are not on the earth better Christians then good Preists, so on the contrary I neuer knew a Christian so euill as a wicked Preist.Hiero. contra vigil. To the same purpose speaketh Saint Ierome, no man did euer disesteeme the Colledge of the Apostles, because Iudas plaid the villaine among them: no man euer misconceiued of the Quires of Angels, by reason of Lucifer and his confederates: but rather by their vn­happy end we should learne to do well, and be strength­ned the more in the Christian faith, when it commeth into our consideration, that the Deuill paineth not himselfe to draw a Minister to make his supper in a Sy­nagogue, nor a Rabbin of the Iewes, nor a Musulman of the Turkes; for from hence can redound no ignomi­ny vnto Christ Iesus, neither can he by this gaine in any thing in his pretensions, as he would by the assistance of a wicked Preist that doth consecrate the body of Christ Iesus. Neither doth God suffer such execrable villanies to passe without great and maruellous wonders (as shall be seene in this History) but discouereth all by the ex­traordinary meanes, of his vnbounded power, and doth inforce the Deuils themselues to make discouery and proclaime the same, to their vtter ruine and confusion. And from hence he ministreth matter and occasion vnto Hereticks to make acknowledgement of their Heresies: vnto Magicians to abiure and abandon their abomina­tions; vnto Catholicks to implant and establish them­selues with better assurance in their faith. I haue made some Annotations in the margent vpon the pointes of greatest difficulty, because I would giue contentment vnto euery one. I must intreate the courteous reader of [Page] this History to excuse mee, if in the second part heereof I haue bin constrained to make mention o [...]tentimes of my selfe, and those that were with me; there was a ne­cessity for the doing of it, for the more ample verificati­on of the History. Moreouer the courteous reader shall do wel to take heed, that in this History he do not there­fore giue credit to the Deuill, in that hee speaketh naught that is contrary to the Gospell and doctrine of the Church; but to giue credit to him then, when hee would set on foote some new and contrary doctrine. Besides he may obserue, that this tendeth not any way to the ouerthrow of the company of the Virgines of Saint Vrsula, for there is many times mention and repe­tition made in this History, that God hath made special election of them to confound and crush in peeces all magicke, and the abhorred villanies thereof, and that for compensation of the same, they shall be extolled be­fore God and before men. Furthermore the freindly reader will hold me excused for the rude and vnpollish­ed phrase of this booke, I hauing a regard in a businesse of this nature to write rather truely then elegantly: hee may remember that the French Dialects are different, as it was in Greece when it most flourished; and that Aristotle with his harsh kind of writing was no lesse profitable, then Demosthenes with his Atticke phrase was pleasing: and the stile of the Gospell and of Saint Paul is more powerfull with vs, then all the oratory of the world. Besides those that are possessed ordinarily spake their mother tongue, so that it was expedient for the more faithfull relation of the whole, to follow their vaine of speaking word for word. Hence it commeth, that the phrases of the natiue French tongue could not be alwayes obserued. The scope of this History is, the feare of God and his iudgements, the detestation of vice whereby the Maiesty of God is prouoked, and the auoiding of the paines of hell; more particularly, to cause in vs a loathing of that abominable sinne of Ido­latry, [Page] which is perpetually committed in practising of Magick, and in the Schoole of Satan. In the recolle­ction of all, there hath beene vsed great faithfulnesse, without any additions whatsoeuer; and the diligence that hath beene employed heerein may bee seene in the page of the actes of the eighth of Ianuary, and in the following page.

I haue suppressed this History for the space of a yeere and more, and made no account to haue had it publi­shed; but the zeale of the Catholicke faith hath indu­ced me thereunto, after I had once seene a letter missiue of Monsieur du Vic, wherein he aduertised, that the ad­uersaries of our faith did triumph in Rochel, when the depositions of the Magician, now in question, were put forth in print, where it is said, that the said Magician did celebrate Masse in the Synagogue. And thereupon they make an inference, that the Masse is a diabolicall thing, but doe not withall consider, that the Diuels aime is to vsurpe vpon the glory of God, and to inuade (as much as in him lyeth) the honour of his diuinity, that in conclusion hee may cause himselfe to bee adored as a God. For hee shamed not to demand it of Christ Iesus himselfe, saying vnto him, I will giue vnto thee all the kingdomes of the earth,Matth 4. if thou wilt worship me, that is to say, if thou wilt acknowledge mee to be the onely God and Creator of all things, as Saint Chrysostome doth interpret it: as also hee dared to abuse the sacred Scripture it selfe in the presence of Christ Iesus. To which purpose speaketh Saint Augustine: shewing that sacrifice appertaineth to God alone;August, lib. 20. contra Fau­stum Manich. c. 21. as in the old Te­stament (saith he) the sacrifice of the law, in the new Te­stament the sacrifice of the true flesh of Christ on the Crosse: and after his ascension, the sacrifice made in the Sacrament, which is in commemoration of his death and passion; hee goeth on and saith. These are things which those proud spirits the Diuell and his Angels do openly chalenge and demand. And in the 4. booke of [Page] the Trinity, chapter 13. about the end of the chapter hee saith, Non intelligunt ne ipsos quidem superbissimos spiritus honoribus sacrificiorum gaudere potuisse, nisi vni vero Deo, pro quo coli volunt, verum sacrificium debe­retur. That is, Idolaters doe not vnderstand that these haughty spirits could not be so pleased with the honour of sacrifices, were it not that truesacrifice were due to the only true God, in whose steed they would be serued and honoured. Another inducement wherewith I was much mooued, was a booke in Latine lately printed in Paris, intituled Mimyca daemonum, compiled by Henry de Montaigne a gentleman of Languedoc L. of S. Iohn de la Coste, where in his precursory epistle he giueth to vnder­stand, that the occasion that gaue life and birth vnto this book (which doth intend to shew that in al ages the Di­uel hath bin Gods ape, and vsurpes vpon his glory) is to beat flat that shallow, yet dangerous conclusion which the Ministers of Languedoc held touching the deposi­tions of the said Gaufridy; adding these words, Nouato­res in re tam leui insistunt, & libellum confessionis praedicti Gaufridij à suis curant [...]mi, & venundari, vt rudi plebe­culae, quam decipiunt, quasi horrorem sacerdotum ineuti­ant. But the truth of this History will cleerely demon­strate, that God was grieuously offended with such im­piety, and that for to bring confusion on the same, hee vsed a maruellous and vnusual meanes, making the Di­uels themselues to be the discouerers of this Magician, who was afterwards burnt. Neither could it be other­wise detected; for the truth of this could not sinke into their apprehensions that knew him, hee being after a strange manner by the aide and conuention of the Di­uell growne a couert and close hypocrite, and was after a stranger manner dis-masked and layd open by the omnipotency of God, whom the Diuels themselues are constrained to obey, when it is his good pleasure. The streame of this History runneth mainly on this point, to shew, that al tendeth to ampliate the glory of God vnto [Page] vs, and to confirme our holy Catholick faith. Whence the courteous reader may also note, what regard God had of our Priest hood, when to conuert one Priest that had so strangely gone astray, hee did draw it on with such long and admirable solemnities. For matter of fact in this History, there is nothing to bee wondered at, which hath not beene obserued and published vpon o­ther occurrences by three Inquisitours of Spaine in the yeere 1610.Printed by Iohn de Mon­gastonat Lon. grond. which was the very yeere that this History was acted; and at the heeles of that followed another booke of the same nature, made by Monsieur d' Ancre, one of the Kings Counsell in the Parliament of Borde­aux.The 6. booke and 3. discours pag. 459. But the wonders were done in the person of him, who named himselfe and indeed was the Prince of all the rest in France, Spaine and Turky: and Monsieur d' Ancre doth write, that he found by the depositions of the Sorcerers of Biscaye, that one Lewes came & taught them to accuse those that were innocent, to excuse the nocent, and to inueagle in as many sonnes and ser­uants to Satan as they could. So that the prouidence of God, hath been the true meanes to put to rout al the ar­my of Satan in this kinde, in that his Standard is ouer­throwne, and the very master of his campe trampled and troden vnder foote. Moreouer hee that will more narrowly consider the History of Balaam the Magi­cian,Numb. 22. rehearsed in the booke of Numbers, will not think it strange which by assiduall experiments is verified of the Magicians and Witches of our time. For it is there said, that King Baelac being conscious to himselfe of his weakenesse to resist the army of Israel, sent to seek out Balaam as the greatest Magician of that Countrey, to charme and chaine vp the armes of the Israelits, and so to come to his purpose by this meanes. It is also recited in that History, that to make his charmes and maledi­ctions the more potent and effectuall, he caused seauen Altars to be built, and this was to sacrifice and inuocate the seauen Princes of the euill Spirits, which bare sway [Page] in the kingdome of Lucifer: Apoc. 1. D. Thom. 1. partic. quest. 113. art 2. wherein he doth by way of limitation endeauour to make himselfe like to God in his Maiesty, who hath seauen principall Angels to as­sist him. Of whom S. Thomas as also S. Denis doe say, that the seauen superiour orders do command and send forth, and the two inferiour are commanded and sent; and hence it is that these first are properly stiled Princes. Yet are we not to say, that the superiours doe not come vnto vs when they are sent from God, for S. Michael and S. Gabriel in the 10. of Daniel, Tob. 12. and in the 1. of Luke, and Raphael himselfe who is said to be one of the seauen Assistants before God, were sent by him And in the 10 of Daniel, Michael who is one of the chiefest is come to aide me. And in our very History,The second part pag. 311. act of the 11. of Ian. and the 6. act of the 12. Decem. pag. 39 6. Book 2 dis­cours pag. 414. after Cardan and Strozzi. Math 12. as­sumpsit 7. spiri­ritus nequiores se. Marc. 16. De qua eiece­rat 7. demonia. See Dr. Maldo­nat vpon the pastages which he literally ma­keth of the seauen Diuels. mention is made of seauen principall commanders amongst the other Di­uels, and the same is auerred in the late History of Mon­sieur d' Ancre touching the countrey of Biscaye. These Altars were built to sacrifice a Bull and a sheepe vpon euery of them to these seauen Diuels (which was the very manner of sacrificing to God in the Law) and by these meanes to obteine of them that which he desired, Dabo sicadens adoraueris me. And because they sought to worke against the honour of God, and the publicke good of the Church by him that was the Prince of all the Magicians of the East, it is said, that God to disco­couer and giue stoppage vnto such impiety against his Maiesty, and villany against his Church, did shew great and vnusuall wonders; to wit, that a good Angell did visibly appeare highly displeased, and exceedingly dreadfull, brandishing a sword in his hand, that an asse spake by as great a miracle, that the Sorcerer himselfe became a Prophet, God putting that into his mouth which was not in his heart, and he speaking oppositely vnto that which hee had determined, whereby Magick was by the Magician himselfe defeated and put to con­fusion: to the end (saith S. Ambrose) that the perfidi­ousnesse of those that beleeued not in God, might by [Page] their owne South-faier and Sorcerer bee reprehended. We are further to hope, that this History will be no lesse profitable and vsefull vnto France, then that of Lion printed in French in the yeere 1566.Bartholomaeus Fayus praeses. Parisiensis in Energumenico Hadrian. Hof­stadius ser. 52. de Eucharistia. Ioan. Lorinus in acta apost. c. 5. vers. 16. which greatly con­firmed the Catholicke faith, and conuerted many he­reticks, that heard the Diuell which possessed a Virgin to say diuers times in a high voice, that these Hereticks were his friends and confederates; and that the reality of Christs body was in the Sacrament, because in it there was Hoc. To this purpose speaketh S. Augustine in the 1. booke of the Concordance of the Euangelists chap. 15. that in his time the Paynims durst not blas­pheme Iesus Christ, because their Oracles were con­strained by the power of God to speake well of him: and thereupon the Paynims began to blaspheme the A­postles; but (saith hee, speaking to the Paynims) que­stion your Oracles touching the sanctity of life of the Apostles, and you shall cleerly see, that they will be en­forced to speake well of them also. If they could not haue had a power to speake a truth, S. Augustine had made these other more obstinate in their vnbeleese. S. Thomas in his Opusculum 17. cap. 10. answering to the fourth obiection of those that said, it was vnlawfull to receiue children into the orders of Religion, because that sometimes it proceedeth from the temptation of the Diuell, hee saith, that there is no danger to follow that which perhaps may be a temptation of the Diuell, so that it bee to a good end, with this prouision, that if the Diuell would afterwards wreath and wrest this to an euill purpose, as to scandalize or corrupt others, they doe not consent vnto the euill; otherwise the Diuell by this scruple may diuert vs from all goodnesse. Thus did S. Anthony practise who was well versed in this arte,Anthanas. in vit. Anthonii. Ioan. Lorin in act. Apost, c. 16. vers. 17. as Athanasius obserueth. And for resolution of all scrupu­lous doubts, a late Doctor of Prouince of the society of Iesus, called father Iohn Lorin hath prettily collected, that the Diuell may speake truth foure severall waies: [Page] first to beguile those that are vnbeleeuers and faithlesse, because they may say, this is not true, for the Diuell saith it; as S. Chrysostome and Oecumenius haue noted vpon the 16. chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, where it is said, that Paul being with his associats in the city of Philippi, a maid hauing an euill Spirit vpon her, cryed after them and said, These men are the seruants of the high God, and doe shew vnto you the way of saluation. Saint Paul for a while suffered her to say this, thinking that it might bee auaileable vnto some; but when shee still continued on for many daies, hee grew angry, and conceiuing that this might be hurtfull vnto others, hee commanded him to come out of the maiden in the name of Christ Iesus, which he presently did. Secondly to flatter and collogue with the Exorcist, that he would cease to torment him, or to cast him out: which reason is also alleaged by S. Chrysostome vpon the same passage saying,Marc. 5. that hee behaueth himselfe heerein as a guilty person before his Iudge, and a boy before his Schoole­master, holding the rodde with his hands for feare of being scourged.The discours of the history which is faith­fully gathered shall giue you to vnderstand that the Diuell spake after this manner. After this manner did a Diuell flatter Christ Iesus, saying, I pray thee torment me not Iesus, thou Sonne of God; in which hee spake the pure truth. Thirdly, (which is the most ordinary fashion) when they are enforced thereunto in despite of themselues, by the diuine and hidden prouidence of God, or in the vertue of his name by exorcismes; which reason is al­leaged by the sweet and religious Poet Arator, in his Poems vpon the Acts of the Apostles, as also by vene­rable Bede, and many others. Fourthly, hee speaketh truth to gaine thereby an opportunity to accuse and giue attestation against vnbeleeuing and impenitent men, before the throne of Gods iudgement. Where­vpon Saint Anthony rehearseth the history of a Diuell, that hauing taken on him the shape and habite of a Preacher, made a very good sharpe sermon, and in the end declared before them all, that hee was a wicked [Page] Spirit permitted by God to accuse vnbeleeuing and vnrepentent persons before the tribunall of Gods iudg­ments. The friendly Reader may be pleased to haue re­gard vnto two things; first that this is a History making a bare declaration of a fact, & is no foundation where­upon to build our faith, though it may serue very fitly to stirre vs vp to ponder vpon the iudgements of God. The other is, that hee take not in ill part the frequent repetition of things, for that it was expedient to ex­presse and fashion this History to the truth: although those very repetitions were so varied and expressed with such vehemence, that they were neither vnfruitfull nor superfluous to the standers by, but did raise in them such passions, that they cast forth many sighes and teares, God for his goodnesse touch and make tender all our hearts by those many meanes and remedies, which he hath bestowed vpon vs.

A TABLE OF THE DIFFI­culties that are propounded touching this History.

  • 1. WHether it be lawfull for a woman to dis­course and reason in a Church?
  • 2. Whether it behooues vs to beleeue all the Diuell saith?
  • 3. He saith that Antichrist is borne. Whereupon it were good to be prepared least we should be surprised, as those in the time of the Deluge.
  • 4. Whether Salomon be damned, and Nabuchodo­nosor saued?
  • 5. The Diuell seemeth to command the Exorcist.
  • 6. Whether Henry the great, the fourth of that name be saued? See the discourse of S. Hierome vpon the first chapter of the Prophet Nahum.
  • 7. That the blessed Sacrament hath been trodden vn­der foot.
  • 8. Whether it be lawfull to write letters vnto Saints in Paradise?
  • 9. Whether the Diuell may pray to God for to saue sinners?
  • 10. The Diuell saith, that God did promise him a di­minution of his torments.
  • 11. Whether there bee not heere an appearance of ambition.

THE REPORT AND EXPLICATION OF the passage of S. Ierome, vpon the 1. chap­ter of the Prophet Nahum, where it is said:

WHat doe you imagine against God? hee will make an vtter destruction (that is to say, he will bring all things to an end) afflicti­on shall not rise vp the second time: or ac­cording to the Septuagints, Hee will not take vengeance twice vpon the same subiect in affliction.

Hereupon S. Ierome discourseth against the Marcio­nites, and other ancient Heretickes, who accused God in the old Testament of cruelty, and alleaged the exam­ples of those that perished in the flood, of those that were stricken with lightning from heauen, in Sodome and the neighbouring townes: of the Egyptians that were drowned in the red sea, and of a great multitude of people that died in the desert.

To which he answereth, that in all this there is more mercy then iustice, for he afflicted them with some tem­porall punishment, that they might not bee eternally damned. This is cleer in the Prophet, who saith plainly, that God will not take vengeance twice on the same subiect.

Then (saith he) those that haue been once punished, shall not bee punished afterwards; otherwise it might occasion men to say that the Scripture is not true, out subiect to lies. Wee are then to say (addeth Saint Ierome) that these receper [...]nt mala in vita sua, and con­sequently not in the other world. Hee groundeth this vpon the saying of S. Peter, that many at the time of [Page] the flood repented them of their sinnes, and went not immediately into hell fire, but were put into a prison, from which Christ Iesus deliuered them when hee des­cended into hell. The same also must bee vnderstood of the others aboue named. After all this Saint Ierome ma­keth a very apposite question, saying: What shall wee then iudge of a Christian, whom another findeth in a­dultery and cutteth off his head? To this hee answereth in another manner, and saith: No man can preuent or anticipate the sentence of God our righteous Iudge, thereby to giue impeachment vnto the course of his vengeance, which hee inflicteth according to the mea­sure of those punishments, that are by him decreed for our great offences.

He meaneth, that if a man should pretend to delude God, and say, I will hinder God from condemning of this sinner, and will punish him my selfe in this world, he would much deceiue himselfe. For the reason why God doth not punish in the other world, doth presup­pose that God himselfe in his prouidence hath punished it, and that he who receiueth castigation in this world, doth whiles his affliction is vpon him repent him of his sinnes, and semblable vnto the good theese, aske par­don in his punishment. On the other side, if a Christian be beheaded in the very act of adultery, he hath no lei­sure to make an acknowledgment, and craue pardon of God; which is another case, and not comprized in the sentence of the Prophet Nahum. Better it is (saith S. Ie­rome) that the transgressor bee punished in this world; as he who cursed the people of Israel, or hee that gathe­red wood on the Sabbath day, for they had time to ac­knowledge their sinnes, which yet were much more pardonable then the sinne of adultery.

From this discourse of S. Ieromes, some schoole di­uines haue drawne this conc [...]sion, that if a malefactor that is condemned to die, receiueth his death willingly because hee hath offended God, and in hope of the re­mission [Page] of his sinnes, hee is not to endure further paine in the other world: because there can bee no greater loue in the world, then freely and willingly to die for God, for the remission and satisfaction of the offence committed against his Maiesty.

AN EXTRACT OF THE Kings Priuiledge.

BY the permission and priuiledge of the King, it is granted to Charles Chastellaine, sworne Printer in the vniuersity of Paris, to print or cause to be printed, to sell and to disperse this present booke, intituled, The admirable History of the possession and conuersion of a peni­tent woman, seduced by a Magician, compiled and disgested into order by the Reuerend Father, Michaelis, Doctor of Diuinity, and Preacher. Wee doe therefore sorbid all Stationers, Printers, and all others of what estate, qua­lity, or condition soeuer they bee, to print, or cause to be printed the said booke, or to sell and vent the same during the tearme of six yeeres, vpon paine of confis­cation of the said Copies, and an arbitrary amersement besides: as is more lagely declared in the Letters Pa­tents.

By the King in his Counsell.
DV FOS.

AN APOLOGIE VNTO THE DOVBTS that are proposed touching this admirable History of the possession and conuersion of a Penitent woman, &c.
AN ADVERTISEMENT TO THE Reader.

This booke is a bare History, that maketh true declara­tion of all the passages which happened in the disco­uery of a Magician, and conuersion of a seduced sinner.

THe wicked Spirit that was the instrument of this discouery, called himselfe Verrine, and declared that himselfe was a Diuell, dam­ned eternall, without hope or redemption. This he well shewed by his deeds, for from the moneth of December vntill the end of Aprill, he did what in him lay to stoppe and hinder Louyse, whom he pos­sessed from making an end of her confession, and from recei­uing the blessed Sacrament: the like did Belzebub by Magdalene.

God (saith he) is not my redeemer, but my seuere Iudge. And addeth, that it is a wonder extraordinarily rare, that he is thus constrained to speake the truth; yea it is more (saith he) then to create the world, in that the Diuels in this constraint, resist as much they are able, and enter into dispute with God. He also said, I was not sent by God to preach the Gospell, I should lye to say it; but said that God had permitted him to enter into this body for his glory, and for the conuersion of many soules, especially of these two.

[Page]Both the Deuils did discouer and declare, all the enor­mous and grosse villanies that these Magicians committed in their cursed Synagogue. Verrine further said, I speake vnto you things tending to your saluation: take and make vse of that which is good (as if a wicked Preist should giue you good exhortations) and if you will not, I tell you, you shall not be constrained vnto it.

These particulars with many others of a semblable na­ture, will giue an easie checke to those apprehensions, that should misconceiue them to be Angels of light: for they do plainly appeare what they are, to wit true Deuils. And con­sequently, in this regard there is no danger of being abused, by those which speake in persons possessed, because we know they are very Deuils, which in these cases we must alwaies presuppose as a foundation. The strange torments and gestures which do appeare beyond the strength of man in the bodies of those that are possessed, do prooue also the same vn­to vs.

This being presupposed, it remaineth now to cleere vp some difficulties that were propounded since the impression of this booke: which not withstanding consistunt in facto tantum, and not in any points of our faith. And although I had for the most part breefly swept away these doubts in my Annotations in the margent, yet because I will giue no disrellish vnto any, I will make a longer explication of the same: alwayes supposing that which I haue noted in the 260. page vpon the day of Saint Iohn the Euangelist, that tou­ching the predictions to come, time will make the truth or false-hood thereof to appeare haereafter, and touching those things that are abstruse and hidden, wee must in the meane time hold vs to that, which is decreed and taught by the Church.

THE DOVBTS BY SOME PROPOVNDED TOV­ching the History comprized in this booke.

THE I. DOVBT.

Whether it bee lawfull that a woman should speake and preach in the Church, since that Saint Paul forbiddeth a woman to speake there?

THE ANSWERE.

THat a woman possessed should speake in the Church, or rather the Deuill by her mouth, during the time of Exorcismes, is no new thing in the Church of God; and the fresh remembrance of the woman of Laon that was possessed in the face of the whole Court, and of diuerse Prelates, doth giue ample attestation of the same,Boleze, 1566. Bartholomaeus Fayus praeses Paristensis in energumenico. Hadrianus Ho [...]tadius serm. 52. de Eucharistia. Iohannes Lo­rinus in Acta Apost. cap. 5. & 16. which History was word for word so largely written, that it ariseth to a iust volume; and many graue personages haue alleaged the same, so that diuerse Prea­chers made no scruple to make mention thereof in the Pulpit as of a great miracle, sent from God, to confirme the Catholicke faith, which began then to fluctuate and wauer in many, and also to conuert Heretickes vnto the truth. This booke hath bin seene and receiued in all the quarters of Christendome, as some haue obserued: yet neither Bishops, nor the Sorbone, nor any Vniuersity did euer shew any disgust they tooke in the publication of the same, nay it hath bin found, that it hath wrought good effect in the propagation and aduancement of the [Page] faith.Hieron in vita Hilarions. Saint Ierome thought it no scorne to write the History of a woman possessed through witch-craft, to­gether with the manner thereof, and the questions of the Exorcist Saint Hilarion, and the answeres made by the Deuill. And in our time a Nunne of Millane that was possessed,Ioan. Lorin. in Act. Apostol. cap. 16. did in like manner discourse out of the Scripture, as ours do in this History.

As for the matter of preaching which some may heere conceiue, the History it selfe will thwart all such imagi­nations; for she neuer went into the Pulpit, and the Deuill himselfe did oftentimes protest that hee was no Preacher, saying that if God should command him to go into the Pulpit to declare who this Magician is, hee must haue taken vpon him the shape and semblance of a man, because it would not befitt a woman to do it.

THE II. DOVBT.

Whether we are to beleeue all the Deuill saith?

THE ANSWERE.

IT is a note worthy of obseruation, that he neuer said it was necessary to beleeue him, but when hee spake out of the Gospe [...]l and the Scripture, and then he sharp­ly rebuked all Hereticks and vnbeleeuers: but when he speaketh otherwise, he plainly saith that he constraineth and tyeth none to beleeue him as appeareth in the 249. page, about the end of the Act taken vpon Christmas day.

THE III. DOVBT.

He saith that Antichrist is borne.

ANSWERE.

THis hath bin said many times by the Doctors, as by Saint Gregory and others;In registro, and about 200. yeares [Page] after,D. Antonius in Historia. Saint Vincent Ferrier did say it, and preach it, and doth assure vs of the same in the Treatise hee made De Antichristo, which was verified in Iohn Husse burned at the Councell of Constance, vntill which time the said Saint Vincent liued: And this Iohn Husse was the first o­riginall and sourse of heresies both of the age past and of this now present. Quoniam Antichristi multi sunt, & Antichristus i [...]m venit, saith Saint Iohn. And who know­eth what God prepareth and storeth vp for the hainous transgressions of our age.

THE IIII. DOVBT.

Whether Salomon bee damned, and Nabuchodonosor saued?

ANSWERE.

THe Annotation which I haue made in the margent, doth make knowne that this is a Probleme in the Church, yet Saint Augustine holdeth he is damned vpon the 126. Psalme, and in many other passages, as Bellar­mine noteth 1. tom. lib. 1. Controuers. cap. 5. who is of the same opinion, together with Lyra vpon the second of Kinges the 7. Chapter.In Decretis de Poenitentia. Touching Nabuchodonosor Saint Augustine doth oppose him directly against Pha­raoh, and magnifies the iustice of God in Pharaohs re­probation, and his mercy in Nabuchodonosors saluation, although both (saith he) were equall in condition and dignity, and in the greatnesse of their sinnes. The repen­tance of the latter appeareth in the Scripture: And Epi­phanius reporteth that Nabuchodonosor after he recoue­red his witts,Lib. de interitu Prophetarum, in Danielem. in all his life after did neuer eate flesh nor drinke wine; and was aduised to do this by the Prophet Daniel.

THE V. DOVBT.

The Deuill seemeth to command the Exorcist, saying to him, take the stole and exorcise mee.

THE ANSWERE.

HEere is to be noted, that immediatly after it is said, command mee; and hee doth oftentimes protest, that he neither can, nor will do any thing without his command. In which hee sheweth, that he speaketh not after the manner of one that commandeth, but of one that desireth and would bee commanded. Example heereof we haue in the Gospell, where it is said: Sieijcis nos hinc, mitte nos in gregem porcorum: & ait Iesus, Ite, Matth. 8. & Marc. 5. where it is cleere, thaty word Mitte is not imperatiue­ly spoken, but by way of deprecation.Athanas [...]n vita Anthonij. Saint Athanasi­us reporteth, that when the Deuil perswaded S. Anthony to pray to God, hee prayed vnto him, not because the Deuil said it, but because it was his duty, and that the Deuill therein did speake agreeable vnto the word of God.

THE VI. DOVBT.

Whether Henry the great, the fourth of that name bee saued?

THE ANSWERE.

THe Diuell doth say it, and repeat it three seuerall times in diuers places. And whereas it may be ob­iected, that this may bring in a bad example, the an­swere is cleere, that contrariwise it is a maruellous ex­ample vnto vs against Sorcerers, since that God doth so freely and largely pardon those, who are not hasty to [Page] giue credit vnto their abominations.

Nolite iudi­care, &c. Dijs non detra­hes, Principi populitui non maledices.And because it is said, that it was likely that his death was a kinde of Martyrdome; we are to interpret all doubtfull and indifferent things to the best, as wee are commanded in the Gospell, especially in behalfe of our Kings and Princes. Wee must suppose that before his Assassinate, a Germane Astrologian did [...]oretell the day of his death, and he was afterwards aduertised thereof by others. We must also suppose, that by the excellency of his iudgement, and through the great faith which he had in God, and by the instructions of his ghostly fathers, he had this faith and knowledge, as to thinke it a greeuous sin to beleeue iudiciarie Astro­logers, or Magicians. All this being by vs supposed, as euery true French-man and indeed euery good Catho­licke ought, it is easy to resolue this difficulty, that his death was a kinde of Martyrdome; since is a man shall suffer death for any vertue be it morall or diuine, with faith, it is alwayes a Martyrdome. Beati qui persecutio­nem patiuntur propter iustiriam, quoniam ipsorum est reg­num calorum. As for example, if some or other had fore­told Ioseph, that vnlesse he gaue consent vnto the lasci­uious desires of his Mistres, he should as he went out of the house be murthered. If this had happened, Ioseph had bin a true Martyr, because he rather made election to expose his life to danger, then to offend God through incontinencie. Much more, when such a mischeefe as this befalls a man, because he would not transgresse the first commandement of the Law, which is the waighti­est and of most importance amongst them all;Hoc maximum est & primum mandatum. the obser­uation of which is most frequently commanded in the law, and the transgression the most seuerely threatned and auenged. This doctrine is the decision of Saint Thomas, 2.2. quaest. 124. art. 5. who concludes that if a man suffer death for a­ny vertue whatsoeuer, it is a true Martyrdome, And he all eageth the example of Saint Iohn Baptist, who was a true Martyr, in that hee did defend continency against [Page] the incestuousnesse of Herode. Apud Theodore­tum, in hist. Ecclesi [...]st. In like manner was that good Monke declared by a Councell to be a Martyr, be­cause in running betwixt two fencers to part them, hee was slaine by them.Chrysost. Hom. 3. in 1. ad Thessal. Saint Chrysostome doth precisely say, that he which may be healed of some malady by in­chantments, and refuseth all such helpe, least he might offend God, and had rather dye, then haue the vse of the same, in this case (saith he) he is a Martyr. Further­more Cardinall Caietane commenting vpon the aboue­cited article of Saint Thomas, saith, that if a man bee slaine to auoid a veniall sinne, that death is a Martyr­dome; for it chanced vnto him, because he would not offend God, and because hee desired to support vertue. Those that would play the Philosophers and say; the deceased King called not on the name of God in the last period of his life, let them know that he might do that so suddenly and secretly, that none about him might perceiue it, much lesse vnderstand it. How easily might he lift vp his heart and inward parts vnto God, and that in a moment of time, especially for that his precedent desire might minister quicke assistance heereunto; be­cause that day hee powred out his prayers vnto God, more particularly and for a longer space, then he ac­customed to do. Besides, that honorable company which were with him in his Caroche, do shew that hee went not surcharged with any wicked proiect or pur­pose.

THE VII. DOVBT.

It tendeth litle to edification, where it is said, that the blessed Sacrament was troden vnder feet.

ANSWERE.

I Haue cleered this very largely in the Epistle to the Reader. Besides the myracle which followed there­upon [Page] did much condemne Sorcerers, and tended to the edification of good Christians. It was further necessary to touch vpon this pointe, as well for the integrity of this History, as also because the said prophanation was already published, and all the hereticke ministers of Xaintogne and Languedoc made their best aduantages from the same, as may be seene in the said Epistle. The But and aime of this History is, to declare how much God is offended with such vnhallowed and sacrilegi­ous persons, as will appeare through the whole frame and body of this History. I should desire, that the histo­rians in such cases would imitate the sacred Scripture, which neuer sets before vs any prophanation of those things that are sanctified, but it presently subioynes a miracle, as may be seene in the History of the sonnes of Heli, and of their death; of the Philistins prophaning the Arke, and their plagues: of the Bethsamites who were too curious to behold it, and the fire that fell from heauen vpon them: of the two sonnes of Aaron, Nabad and Abiud, and the fire that went out from their Cen­sers and destroied them: of Choran and Dathan taking their Censers, and the earth opening vnder them: of king Ozias offering incense on the Altar, and of the le­prosie where with hee was stricken. In the new Testa­ment, of the prophaners of the Temple, and the whippes wherewith they were chased away,Hieron, in Matth. which Saint Ierome taketh to be a great miracle: of Ananias and Saphira, and of their sudden death: and to come neerer to our purpose, of Iudas prophaning the blessed Eucharist, and of his death the morrow after, with his belly breaking asunder in the middle. Saint Paul was well practised in this, who when he had told the Corinthians of this pro­phanation, he presently sets before their consideration those, that for this cause were dead, sick, and feeble, by the vengeance of the iust iudgement of God. And it is a cleere truth, that at sundry other times things sacred haue beene made prophane, which the holy Ghost pas­seth [Page] ouer in silence, because there insued no miracle [...]hereupon: which when it happeneth may edifie as much or more, then the prophanation can giue occasion of scandall. The same is held by S. Cyprian, and S. Gre­ [...]ory in his Dialogues.Cyprian. Serm. de lapsis. To this purpose may bee alleaged [...]he example of the Donatists, that gaue the blessed Sa­ [...]rament vnto doggs, who running presently mad, tur­ [...]ed vpon them and tore them in peeces. As also of him [...]ho came in to the city of Be [...]ith, recited in the workes of S. Athanasius: and of him of Paris, whose markes [...]re yet in the Church of Bulliettes, in Latine, Ecclesia Do­ [...]ini Bullientis, the blessed Sacrament being throwne [...]to a boyling cauldron. Another miracle is to be seene [...] the holy Chapel at Diion. Besides the blessed Eucha­ [...]st is more prophaned, when it entereth into a soule [...]at is polluted with the infections of sinne, then it can [...]e said to be in this place.

THE VIII. DOVBT.

How and for what reason did Magdalene by the aduice of her Confessour, write one letter to the blessed Virgin, and another to the glorious S. Magdalene?

ANSWERE.

IT is a very profitable way which our spirituall fathers [...] do vse, to instruct & inure those that haue any know­ [...]edge, to holy exercises and meditations; and by this [...]eans they become ready & expert therein. As a schole- [...]aster cōmandeth his scholar to write letters to his fa­ [...]her or mother, to the King or to the Pope, not that he would haue the letters sent, but that his scholar should [...]y this gaine some skil and ability: for it is one thing to write, and another thing to send a letter. So many in our [...]ge haue with great deuotion dedicated the epistles of [...]heir books to the blessed Virgin, not with an intent to [Page] send them, but to giue contentment to their deuotion. As for example the Epistle of the Booke touching ca­ses of conscience made by Frier Benedictus, and of the Booke of Euangelical demonstrations vpon the 3. Ma­ries, made by another Frier. The same was also practi­sed by the Emperour Theodosius, who wrote a letter to S. Chrysostome, Lib. 14. Eccles hist. cap. 43. that was dead more then 30. yeeres be­fore: which letter is to be seene in Nicephorus.

Touching the correction of this letter which was made by the Diuell, we are to conceiue, that he was in­forced by God, to busy himselfe in the conuersion of Magdalene, as is by experience verified vnto vs. There is no difficulty of this, for it is apparant, that a spirit is more sharpe-sighted and peircing, and more particular­ly familiar with mens faults and imperfections then any man can be either with his owne, or with others.

THE IX. DOVBT.

How the Diuell could pray to God for the conuersion of the Magician, presenting to God the Father the merits of the death and passion of his Sonne, of the blessed Virgine, and of all the Saints of Paradise?

ANSWERE.

WHen a good or bad Spirit doth put motions in­to a man,S. Thom. 1.2. quaest. 1. art. 1. if hee yeeld his consent and doth o­perate with them, then is the action said to be the mans and not the Spirits; because a voluntary action procee­ding from free-will, is an action appertaining to a man. When it is said, that a Spirit did aske of God to bee a Spirit of lies in the mouths of the Prophets of Achab, although this lying spirit,3. Reg. 22. did speake by the mouth of Zedekias and other false Prophets, yet the action of prophesying falsly, is attributed to Zedechias and his companions. In like manner, when the wicked Spirit [Page] came to Saul, and made him throw his speare at Dauid, 1. Reg. 18. [...]his action is Sauls and not the wicked Spirits, because Saul did consent and worke with him.Inuasit spiritus Dei malus Saul & prophetabat in medio do­mus suae, tene­batque lanceá & misit eam, &c. So when the good Angell came vpon Sampson, by whose force and [...]ower he slew a thousand Philistins with the iaw-bone of an asse, the Scripture doth appropriate this victori­ [...]us action vnto Sampson holding the iaw-bone in his [...]and. When the same good spirit made Elizabeth to declare the praises of the Virgin, the Gospel doth make the action to be blessed Elizabeths, exclamauit & dixit. The same may be said of S. Iohn Baptist, who leapt for [...]oy in his mothers belly, because he did co-operate and [...]eeld his consent thereunto, by his precedent free-will, [...]s many of the fathers haue obserued. In the same sense [...]oth Saint Augustine and others interprete that sen­ [...]ence of S. Paul, Spiritus postulat pro vobis gemitibus in­ [...]enarrabilibus, postulare nos facit & gemere. For they are the actions of the man, not of the holy Spirit, but as he inspireth him. And when it is said that God hardened Pharaohs heart, the interpretation heereof is two fold. First that it was God himselfe immediatly that did it, by withdrawing his grace: secondly, that it was by Gods permission, who suffered Satan to tempt him euen to obduratnesse of heart, without controule or hindrance. Howsoeuer it bee, all the euill actions of Pharaoh that proceeded from this hardnesse of heart, and euen that too, are attributed to Pharaoh, Indurauit Pharaoh cor suum, saith the Scripture; and the reason heereof is, be­cause he delighted and gaue his consent vnto this hard­nesse of heart.

Thus fared it with the Diuell that possessed Louyse, when God by his absolute power (as the Diuell him­selfe said, and often repeated that it was a very great miracle) constrained the Diuell to moo [...]e the tongue of Louyse, and to imprint in her imagination all which she should say, Louyse giuing her consent vnto it, out of a longing shee had to conuert the Magician and [Page] Magdalene. All these prayers were the actions of Louyse and not of the Diuell but as an inftigatour. Peraduen­ture God would haue it so, to demonstrate the more how greeuous the offence of the said Magdalene was; shee at that time sending forth hideous yell's and cries with all the force she had for the space of an houre, till shee had lost her voyce; as also to shew how much prayer and merit must be imployed in the conuersion of a miserable man, so farre banished from the presence of God. And although the wicked Spirit did sometimes speake by Parenthesis in his owne person, to declare that he was the author and moouer of this discourse, yet this lets not, but that those other actions might bee humane, shee working with them, and not these Pa­rentheses. And as wee haue noted vpon the passage in the 292. page, the act of the second of Ianuary and the 275. page in the act of the 29. of December, she after­ward said, that she did labour and consent vnto all those prayers, as if it had proceeded from her owne proper and first motion. Which being so, there is no doubt but she might present the oblation of Iesus Christ to God his Father, as all Christians that are present at Masse do or ought to doe. Pro quibus tibi offerimus, vel qui tibi offerunt hoc sacrificium laudis pro se suisque omnibus, &c. Heereunto I adde, that of S. Thomas cited before in our Epistle, who saith, that when a young man is tempted by the Diuell to enter into the orders of religion, who hopes by this meanes either to ouerthrow him, or by him to spoyle others, and that this young man doth then pray to God to giue him grace to bee receiued, this action is meritorious and good, as being a humane action, proceeding from a good intention, although the Diuell bee the author thereof. And if when the Diuell straineth to put his first designe in execution, hee doe yet resist him, then gaineth hee a double conquest vpon his enemy. The same may bee said of all other good workes, as giuing of Almes, or hearing the [Page] word of God. Actiones sunt suppositorum.

THE X. DOVBT.

The Diuell saith, that God promised him a diminution of his paines.

ANSWERE.

THe essentiall torment of the Diuels, which is the depriuation of the sight of God, and is the grea­test of all others, together with the punishment allotted vnto them from the beginning, and proportionable vn­ [...]o their first sinne, cannot bee subiect to augmentation or diminution, as may those accidentall paines bee, which are often written and mentioned in Exorcismes, Augeo tibi poenas. The doctours of Saint Ieromes time were of opinion,Hierom super 5. cap. Matth. that euill spirits haue new punishments [...]nflicted on them, as oft as they offended God, & these punishments are temporall: as parallell heereunto, there is an accidentall ioy in the good Angels at the conuersion of a sinner, which is lost againe, when hee [...]eturneth and falles into a relapse, but their essential ioy [...]emaineth for euer. Besides God at the last iudgement will augment their paines. Vt, Marc. 5. Matth. 8.2. Pet. 2. quid venisti ante tempus [...]orquere nos? & tradidit cruciandos in iudicium reser­ [...]ari: although there should bee nothing else done vnto [...]em, then the shutting and penning of them vp in hel, being now at more liberty in the aire. And when a [...]ood Angell binds a wicked Spirit (as in Tobias and in [...]e Reuelation) then is his paine increased,Tob. 8. Apoc. 20. and when [...] is loosed, then is it diminished and taken away. So [...]all Lucifer be serued at the end of the world, Soluetur athanas iam alligatus. There is heere no doubt then, if [...]e attribute this vnto the vnlimited power of God, by [...]hich he is able to do all things, and of this power doth [...] Diuel expressely speake, as we haue before obserued.

THE XI. DOVBT.

There is a shew and semblance of ambition, by reason cer­taine praises are bestowed in common, and some giuen more particularly: which might well be spared.

ANSWERE.

Touching this point, there are two fortes of learned men, which haue said their opinions of it. The first being led by the direction of their knowledge, an­swere candidely in three words, which for this purpose are as good as a thousand. It is a History. The others not regarding their knowledge (by which they might ea­sily vnderstand, that in the composure of a History, the truth must be purely told and written, and must neither wrappe vp in silence, reprehensions nor praises, vices nor vertues) conclude, that it had beene better to haue spared them. Notwithstanding Moses in his bookes, ha­uing regard vnto the rules of a History, did otherwise, euen when he spake of his owne person. The same doth Dauid in his Psalmes, Iob in his History, Saint Paul in his Epistles. Truth it is, that I would haue pared this off from the History, but those that were there present did withstand it, protesting that they would then declare o­penly, that the History was not syncere and full: which yet I wrote not, neither was I present at all these acts. The History was giuen mee in Latine and French, and may word for word be iustified; yet did I qualifie and moderate this in the margent, and said, that this might seeme to sent of flattery: and for feare least it should be misconceiued,Act. of the 27. of Decem. pag. 260. that this was supposititiall. I after­wards subioyned, Notwithstanding this hath beene said. Concerning the Trinity which hee speaketh of, him­selfe maketh explanation of it in these words. When the creatures doe conforme their wills vnto the will of God, then [Page] haue they not but one will with God. And this is agreeable to Saint Paul, who faith, Qui adhaeret Deo vnus spiritus est cum eo. And Christ himselfe witnesseth the same whē speaking generally of all Christians he saith Iohn 17. Vt ipsi in nobis vnum sint. But neither my selfe nor any of ours doe arrogate or lay claime to this, especially I who am a poore and miserable sinner before God. Men may iudge whether or no I haue beeue ambitious of mine owne glory, when in the Annotation which I haue set downe on that pointe, where the Diuell doth mention father Lawrent, and father Michaelis for prea­chers, without speaking word of others that were very famous in that kind, I haue added these words. He spea­keth vnto the capacity of the simple people that were there present, because that these two did preach much in the cities of Prouince. Many will beare mee witnesse, that I for­bad all Odes and Epigrammes to be inserted in the be­ginning of the Booke,Ribadeneira in her life and workes. Ioachin Ab­bas in Hiere­miam. and I know not how the Printer was wonne vnto it, vn [...]esse through the importunacy of some. As for that which concerneth the religious or­ders in common, the mother Therrese and the Abbot Ioachim haue foretold as much, saying, that about the end of the world two orders should be reformed in the Church, before the comming of Antichrist, and all the other orders should follow, Postea omnes ordines refor­mabuntur. Touching particular men (one of them being father Romillon Priest of the Doctrine) they are 66. yeeres of age, and this other not much short of it, so that it may be hence euinced, that their best rely is now on God, and that both their age and condition of cal­ling will free them from any touch of worldly vanity: [...]nd God he knowes, that this History was meerly pub­ [...]ished for his glory, for the supportation of the Catho­ [...]ick Church, and for to stoppe the mouths of Hereticks, who wrested and abused the depositions of the Magi­cian, that to our great disgust were put forth in print; which if it should passe vncheckt, it might adde obsti­nacy [Page] to the one, and bee a meanes to seduce the others. Therefore it was needfull to vnderstand the course of this History, which is the true antidote against those cursed depositions. Those that doe yet obiect, that He­reticks will take their aduantage thereof, let them read with diligence my Epistle to the Reader, and they shall perceiue that nothing makes for them. To conclude, this History is true, to which nothing hath been added, and in which nothing is contained, either against saith or manners: against the authority of Church or State; no more then is in the collection of the Exorcismes of the woman of Laon.

The reason why God hath permitted this wonder, may be on the one part the vnbeleefe of men, and on the other part the wrath of God for their vnbeleefe. Saint Chrysostome inferreth this conclusion against the A­thiests of his time,Homil. 13. in Matth. vpon the confessions which the Di­uils made, and their rehearsal of the tortures which they suffered in hell. This proceeded not (saith hee) from their owne accord, for their pride that alwaies swelleth and neuer abateth, is too repugnant thereunto; but it is God that constraineth them to doe this, for the further conuiction of Athiests, who beleeue not the word of God preached, nor yet the Scriptures. Wee are likewise taught by the Scripture, that when God is wroth with vs, he maketh men to vnderstand his indignation, foure seuerall waies. First when hee sendeth them cruell and tyrannous Princes: as in the 13. of O see it is said, I will giue thee Kings in my displeasure, and Rulers in my indig­nation. The second (which is an argument of greater auger) is, when hee suffereth euill and corrupt Pastours to instruct the people either in doctrine (by permitting them to beleeue lies, because they would not hearken vnto the truth) or in manners, as he doth threaten them in the 14. of Ezechiel, and in other places. So Caiphas by prophesying amongst the Scribes and Pharisies, and inducing them to crucifie Christ Iesus, gaue as it were [Page] [...] signall of their ensucing ruine. The third (which is a greater demonstration of wrath then the former) is, when the people are taught by Magicians and Sorce­ [...]ers. Thus did Balaam prophesie amongst the Moabites, [...]nd concluded that they should be totally [...]destroied. Et [...]onteret duces Moab. The fourth (which is the greatest [...]f them all) is, when the Diuell is permitted to giue in­tructions vnto men, not by an immediate operation of is owne (for he is an inuisible spirit) but by the bodies of those that he doth possesse. And in this manner (saith S. Chrysostome) God doth conuict and threaten the A­ [...]heists, who will not beleeue hell fire. And thus did the Diuels cry against the Pharisies and vnbeleeuing Iewes, [...]hat Christ Iesus was the Sonne of God.

So that from this History we may draw three obser­ [...]able points: the conuersion of a sinner, by whom o­ [...]hers of like condition may take example: the dete­ [...]tion of a cursed Magician; and the iust wrath of God [...]gainst those, who will not beleeue or follow that which is taught them by their Pastours and Preachers. But hee that will make vse of the foure signes aboue mentioned, shal thereby escape the displeasure of God, and shall acquire a full measure of reward before him. If then wee doe thus conceiue of this History, it can not chuse but minister much edification vnto our con­ [...]ciences.

We are further to consider, that God as the Creator [...]nd soueraigne Lord o [...] all, doth imploy both good and [...]ad Angels, about any thing that may tend to his glory [...]nd the execution of his good pleasure, be it by meanes [...]rdinary or extraordinary. Of this second wee haue an [...]xample in the Scripture; It is certaine, that the least [...]ngell in Paradise, is more potent then the greatest Diuell in hell; as the Diuell himselfe doth precisely con­ [...]esse in this History: yet did God suffer the Diuell to re­ [...]ist and stand in affront with Michael the Prince of Angels, about the burying of the body of Moses. And [Page] being not able to stoppe and vanquish him, hee had no other remedy but to flye to God, and to pray him to lay [...]is command on Satan. Imperet tib [...] Deus, increpet te Deus, Satan: especially in matter of iustice, whereof the Diuels are the executioners. Thus when God would trye Iob in his iustice, and cause all his cattell to be taken from him, all his children to be destroied, his houses to be throwne to the ground, and fire to de­scend from heauen and consume all his substance, then spake hee friendly to Satan, as is written at large in the booke of Iob. And when hee would declare his iustice vpon Achab, and had decreed to let him perish in bat­tell for his transgressions, hee spake vnto a wicked Spi­rit, and commanded him to goe and execute his plea­sure. Now because this History is an act of his iustice a­gainst one of the most impious and cursed Magicians that euer was, as appeared in his end, and that it was not a woman that divulged this, but the Diuell himselfe called Verrine, who published the same in her: and fur­ther, in regarde that God would shew an act of iustice vpon the conuerted sinner, as the vnsufferable torments (wherewith for the space of fix moneths shee was in all mens sight miserably afflicted) doe very well testifie; it is not to bee wondered at, if heerein hee imployed two executioners of his iustice. Let vs then giue God leaue to doe whatsoeuer seemeth best vnto him, and not dispute thus against his powerfulnesse, and manifest good pleasure.

CONCLVSION.

We ought not to beleeue the Diuell; yet when hee is compelled to discourse and relate a truth, then wee should seare and tremble, for it is a token of the wrath of God.

ERRATA.

Pag. re. line 13. read, The Dominican father. p. 11. l. 21. read, refractaric. p. 12. 27. read, contentations. p. 18. 1. 24. them, read, it. p. 38. l. 30. read, ouuert. p. 82. 2. it not so, r. it is not so. p. 87. l. 16. in margine, from any, r. from him. p. 96. l. vlt. or them, r. him. p. 97. l. 15. leaue out (and further) p. 103. l. 3. for them, r. him, 105. l. 19. for the, r. thy. p. 116. l. 10. for part, r. heart. p. 137. l. 27. r. to the blessed. 143. l. 6. for these, r. thes. p. ibid. l. 30. r, things. p. ibid. l. 36. r. store. p. 146. l. 5. r. [...]0000. p. 152. l. 12. r. in a good way. p. 169. l. 18. as like, r. like. p. 172. l. 11. r. seared. 174. l. 32. leaue, r. liue. p. 189. l. 26. r. equall. p. 198. l. 8. redresse, r. addresse. p. 216. [...]4, r. [...]auourably. p. 219. l. 18. in margine, for this Saint, r. the same. p. 223. l. 13. or his, r.this. p. 235. l. 32. forwhom, r. which, p. 245. l. 34. questioned, r. question ▪ 246. l. 1. r. domini. p. 252. l. 31. r. follow. p. 257. l. 17. r. lessoned. p. 285. l. 35. ascent. p. 355. l. 2. r. [...]nuisibly. p. 361. l. 13. r. Thrones. p. 387. l. 15. the portment, deportment.

Errata in the discourse of Spirits.

Pag. 12. line r. erant, read, erant. p. 17. l. 5. this, r. his. Ibid. p. 25. leaue out, [...]t. p. 50. l. 9. Spiritum, r. Spirituum. p. 78. l. 24. do, r. did.

AA


THE ADMIRABLE HISTORIE OF A PENITENT woman conuerted, who was seduced by a Magician in the Country of Prouince in France: and of the end of the said Magician.

The end of the first part.

THE ACTS THAT WERE COLLECTED AND DIGESTED INTO ORDER BY FA­ther Michaelis Priour of the Couent Roy­all of S. Maximin, and of S. Baume; who came thither after Christmas, in the yeere 1611. Returning from Preaching his Aduent Sermons in the towne of Aix in Prouince.

THE APPROBATION.

WE the vnder-written Doctors in the sacred fa­cultie of Diuinity at Paris, doe certifie that we haue fully and diligently suruayed and read this pre­sent treatise, intituled, The admi [...]able History of the possession and conuersion of a penitent woman, seduced by a Magician. The collections whereof were gathered by the reuerend father Michaelis Doctor, Preacher, and Inquisitour of the Catholicke, Apostolicke and Ro­mane faith, established by our holy father the Pope. In which treatise and collections wee finde nothing which is not orthodox, and conformable vnto the decrees and orders of our holy mother the Church. Yea, wee haue therein obserued many notable things, that may tend to the great comfort and edification of all faithfull Christians, as well Temporall as Spirituall, and may in­duce and spurre vs on to repentance, and to the practise of vertue.

G Froger. Fr. P. Dum.
A DISCOVRSE OF SPIRI …

A DISCOVRSE OF SPIRITS, CONTAINING WHATSOEVER is necessarie for the more full vnder­standing and resolution of the difficult Argument of Sorcerers.

WRITTEN AND COMPOSED BY the reuerend Father Frier Sebastian Michaëlis, Do­ctor of Diuinitie, of the Order of Preaching Friers, and Prior of the Couent Royall of S. Maximin in Prouence.

BY WISDOM · PEACE BY PEACE PLENTY ·

AT LONDON, Imprinted for VVilliam Aspley.

THE PREFACE.

FRiendly Reader, I doe protest with Tertul­lian, that in the Argument of Sorcery, (which is the subiect of this discourse) I ne­uer was so farre transported with curiosity, as to plunge my selfe into an ouer-diligent intelligence of the same: because it is a Science that ser­ueth for nothing but to disseason and perplex my spirit, as being an enemy vnto my soule, and therefore the vnder­standing thereof distastfull to mee. The consideration whereof is common to all those, who leuell their actions to godly purposes, whereof that holy and ancient Father doth draw a learned and generall deduction in these notable words.Tertul. lib. de anima. Nos spiritualia nequitiae, non quidem socia Conscientia, sed inimica scientia nouimus: nec invi­tatoria operatione, sed expugnatoria dominatione tractamus, multiformem luem mentis humanae, Marc. 16. totius erroris artificem, salutis pariter animaeque vastatorem. In which he hath spoken a certaine truth: for what other thing can a man gaine by this vnnecessary, yet dangerous knowledge, but a true plague of man-kind, a palpable blind­nesse in all sorts of error, and last of all, an ir-recouerable slide and downe-fall both of body and soule, into the pit of Hell? Notwithstanding the Theorick and contemplation of these things is not vnnecessary vnto vs that are Clergy­men, because we are expresly commanded by Christ Iesus, in the persons of his Apostles, to cast out and chase away all wicked and vncleane spirits by the powerfulnesse of his name: for his pleasure is, that wee should be in direct oppo­sition against Magicians, who doe call vpon them and wooe them to appeare vnto them by their softest and sweetest supplications. But we (as is already said) Non inuitato­ria [Page] operatione, sed expugnatoria dominatione ipsos tractamus. So that the admirable effects which doe conti­nually flow from so high and weighty a charge, may giue full answere and solution to the obiection of Payn [...]s, who were wont, by way of réproch, to aske the Primitiue Christians, wherein their knowledge of wicked spirits did excell and surmount other mens. Vnto whom the same good father Tertullian answereth:Tertul. lib de Testim. animae that it was necessary that Christians should haue a greater knowledge of Diuels, be­cause (as experience did well witnesse) none but Christians had authority and power to cast them out with violence and in despite of them. For as a Lord, or Master who is euer labouring to tame his slaue that is refractary and re­bellious against him, hath occasion to know his peruersues more thorowly then other men: euen so fareth it with Chri­stians in respect of vncleane spirits. Daemonia itaque af­firmamus esse, inquit, sane quasinon & probemus, qui ea soli de corpore exigimus. Hence wee may make this deduction, that for the readier way to dissipate and ouer­throwe the kingdome of Satan, this kinde of Science is ne­cessarily required in Church-men: as the knowledge of Heresies is necessary vnto Catholick Doctors, that they may the better confute them,Hierom. lib, 15. commen. in Esai. ad c. 47. and those diseases that are pestilentiall must be vnderstood by Phisitians, if they hope to expell them. I doe heere desire, that in a subiect of this nature, there might bee a methode obserued in our manner of speaking, as the Stoicks anciently did in their discourses of the world, esteeming it as a great abuse to call things that in themselues were odious and filthy, by honest names, or things that were vertuous and honest, by filthy names: but insteed thereof, euery thing was to be expressed by words and appellations apt and proper to figure out the same. For vertuous actions were to bee expressed by termes that should breath and sound forth nothing but a decent and e­quall commendation, but vicious and discommendable acti­ons were to be set forth with such fit and conuenient epi­thetes, as might breed an [...]orrour and detestation of their [Page] filthinesse. Neither doe I desire this without iust cause, since that the malice of our times hath mis-applied the names of things that are Sacred to that which is base and ridiculous: and contrariwise, those things which are stayned with pol­lutions much vnworthy of Christians, are many times graced with goodly and glorious appellations. Hence it a­riseth, that many haue so farre ouer-shot themselues, that they hold those for barbarous and illiterate fellowes, who in speaking of the Diuell doe vse the proper Greeke name, Diabolus, or the Hebrew name, Satan, or the word bor­rowed from the Latins, Malignant, which signifieth an aduersary, a back-biter, and one repleat with all malici­ousnesse: names so proper and proportionable vnto their nature, that the holy Scripture doth sundry times vse the same: yet is the vse thereof so discontinued in these times that we finde no mention of them in any Bookes. Euery one doth contend to sound forth no other name then the goodly appellation of Daemon, Tertul. lib. de anima. Hierom. lib. 8. in Esai. ad cap. 27. which signifieth one learned and wise: and indeed Plato and other great Philosophers and Poets haue vsed it as a name of God, who knoweth all things, as Tertullian obserueth: whereas insteed thereof they might vse plenty of names very frequent in the Scrip­tures, and particularly recited by S. Ierome; such as are the Diuell, Satan, Beliall, the Aspe, the Basiliske, the roaring Lyon, the great Dragon, the Apostate, the De­ceauer, and the like, which make a singular expression of his bloody and malicious nature. I could also wish, that in our French language, men should haue the vse of those names that would best befit the ordure and infamy of the despe­rate condition of these blinde and more then beastly Sor­cerers. For the tearme of Sorcerer signifieth nothing else, but one that casteth lot, being drawne from the Latine word Sors, which is sometimes taken in good part,Leuit. 15. Deuter. 1. Luc. 1. Act, 1. S. Thom. 2.29 95. art. 8. and may safely and religiously bee vsed, as these passages of the Scripture doe clearely shew vnto vs. Mittens super v­trumque hircum sortem. Cuius fors exierit Domino of­feres. Iosua forte terram diuidet, forte exiit vt incen­sum [Page] poneret. Cecidit sors super Mathiam. So that there may yet be vse of lots in the administration of Ecclesiasti­call affaires, which are of most importance, as S. Thomas after S. Augustine doth notably obserue.August. serm. 2. in Psal. 30. Heereupon it is that I desire the imposition of some tearme, that should not thus gild-ouer this abominable art, but as they that practise the same are the most filthy and brutish creatures of the world, so should their appellation bee so odious, that it should import nothing but downe right villany, and should strike an horrour and detestation of them, into those that speake of them, or heare them mentioned. And this was the opinion of Plato and the Stoicks,Plat. in Cratil. when they would la­bour to prooue that the first institution of names, did sig­nifie according to the natures of things, and had not their imposition by chance, which they also euince by experience. For (said Plato) when I say Mee, I draw in my voice to­wards my selfe, but when I say, Thee, I retort and let it out against him vnto whom I speake. And these subtle touches of Philosophy are experienced to bee true, not onely in the Greeke tongue, in which Plato wrote, but also in the two other principall tongues the Hebrew and the Latine.S. August. in E­pist. 102. cal­leth them Dae­monicolas, [...]. worshippers of Diuels. Vpon the 96. Psal. where he tear­meth them worse then Idolaters. If therefore these people had the stampe of these appeliations vpon them, Men enthralled vnto Diuels, the slaues of Sa­tan: or as S. Augustine calleth them, Worshippers of Diuels, or by such like tearmes as may best sute with their natures, they should be expressed vnto the world a great deale more naturally and more vnto the life, then by mis­terming them by the name of Sorcerers, which is deriued from the latine word Sortilegus: and by this meanes men would haue the malice and villany of such kinde of people in more horrour. For if wee narrowly sift and looke into them, it will be found, that there is no appearance or rem­nant of goodnesse in them, but onely they are good in their naturall essence, like vnto Diuels: and of a truth they are the most grosse and impure Idolaters that euer were or may bee found, since that they worship the Diuell, and know him to be the Diuell. Whereas when Idolaters did worship [Page] him, they had euer an opinion that he was God. And there­fore (saith S. Augustine) the ignorant people that are I­dolaters,August. lib. 20. contr. Faust. doe not sinne so grieuously, as doe your learned Philosophers: for the simple people doe not apprehend the spring and first originall of these Idolls, but Philosophers doe well know the head from whence they flow, which pro­ceeded from vncleannesse and from the vices and inuen­tions of men: so that without comparison, the Christians who are more particularly acquainted with the will of God, shall bee in a farre more damnable estate then the former.

After this discourse touching their names, I come now vnto the fact. I am not ignorant, that many haue formerly trauelled their spirits and pennes in this Argument of Sor­cerers, so that I might quit this labour, and repute my selfe vnworthy to publish my gleanings after their baruest: yet may I iustly vse the excuse of Lactantius Firmianus, who crauing pardon in that hee had vndertaken to write against the Gentiles in fauour of Christian Religion, since that such great and learned personages, as Iustin, Origen, Ter­tullian and Arnobius had formerly written of the same; I haue done it (said hee) as it were vpon constraint, and to giue rellish and contentment vnto the variety of mens wills, because wee are bound to fit and accommodate our selues both to the learned and vnlearned, for the aduancement of the common good. Some (said he) haue written against the Gentiles, meerly from the grounds and authority of Scrip­ture, in which they giue no satisfaction vnto the Gentiles, in that they doe repudiate the same, but doe onely con­firme the Christians and partly the Iewes. Others haue argued the case, and grounded the iudgment of their con­ceptions vpon naturall reason, wherein those doe finde a main and an extraordinary delinquency, who doe sagely and soberly prefer the Scripture, before all other humane rea­son whatsoeuer. But none (saith he) did euer mingle both together in any Authour, which is it that now remaineth to be done. And thereupon Lactantius concludeth, that if [Page] hee did make a hansome medlie or mingle of all these di­uersities, he hoped to giue contentment to euery body, euen downe to the Atheist. All which I apply vnto my selfe for my lawfull excuse. For some haue intreated of Sorcerers onely by way of a bare collection of Histories, and of the cri­minall proceedings against them, together with the relation of their owne auerments and confessions. Others haue pro­ceeded more scholastically, and haue not departed or swar­ued from the Commentaries which are made vpon the 4. bookes of the Sentences. A third sort, not rellishing this manner of proceeding, haue followed the steps and opinions of some auncient Paynim Philosophers, as Mercurius, Proclus, Iamblicus, whom they doe too much adhere vnto, euen where they thwart the authority of the holy Scripture. Whereupon I did apprehend, that there was yet left vntra­ced another way a great deale more safe and lawfull, and more apt for the course and scope of my studies, (who for the glory of God, and releefe of the Church against the op­position of heresies, haue for the space of 40. yeares giuen o­uer the reading of all sorts of bookes, but the holy Scrip­tures, and the fathers of the Church) to wit, that this dis­course should be drawne from the Scriptures, and from the reading of auncient fathers: vpon which we are to ground the principall foundation, although other authors bee al­leaged on the By, to adde strength and illustration there­vnto. For touching the first, they doe [...]akedly report the fact, but produce no proofes of the same. The second, doe propound their scholesticall resolutions of this point, but the nicenesse of these times will not digest such fare.Tertul. lib. de testi. ani. Tertul. lib. de nima. As for those of the third sort, wee will oppose against them by way of ad­monition, that which Tertullian faith, Daemonem soli nouerunt Christiani, vel quaecunque apud Dominum secta. And in another place he rendreth a reason of this, saying, Cui veritas comperta sine Deo? cui Deus cog­nitus sine Christo? cui Christus exploratus sine Spiritu Sancto? cui Spiritus Sanctus accommodatus sine fidei Sacramento? By which Gradation hee pointeth out vnto [Page] vs, that no man could euer exactly and without grosse er­rour know what belongeth vnto the soule, or vnto good and bad spirits (for hee speaketh of such in these aboue-cited passages) vnlesse he haue dranke of the water of Christ Ie­sus. Philosophers (saith he) haue sometimes chanced vpon the truth, yet was it neuer without some mingle of errour, or else they did draw and borrow it from the Scripture, or it fared with them as with one that hath lost himselfe in a maze or labyrinth, who if after many crookings and di­stractions, he chance to light vpon the right way out, it is to be attributed to hap and not to election; for they haue no assurance and certainty in whatsoeuer they say or inuent: and therefore the Academicks doe rather freely confesse, that they haue no certaine knowledge of any thing.August. lib 13. contr. Faust. Mani. cap. 15. S. Au­gustine is iust of Tertullians opinion: if Mercurius Tris­megistus (saith hee) or any other doe deliuer any thing that is good, it is not of authority sufficient to teach vs a wholesome doctrine, but it is onely able to conuince and dis­prooue the Infidels. And as concerinng their sayings, that they are agreeable vnto truth, there is no lesse discrepancy and distance between their authority and the authority of the Prophets, then there is between Diuels and Angels. For the Diuels haue sometimes spoken truth, yet are we not presently to build a conclusion of Catholick doctrine vpon the same. The question then in hand is to be debated by that which is conformable to the holy Scriptures, and which hath been taught by the auncient fathers of the Church: which is the onely scope vnto which I aime in this worke, where we will also alleage (when there shall be a conueniency thereof) certaine Philosophers (which for the most part are already cited by S. Thomas) as farre as we shall finde them in conformity and league with Scriptures and the fathers. And if any shall oppose against them, tdey shall find them­selues repelled and confuted by the ponderous and waighty allegations of naturall reason, to content and gaine in, or confound the Atheists, whose number is farre greater then it should be, although much inferiour vnto those (to [Page] my great greefe I speake it) that doe symbolize and comply themselues to Sorcerers, and adhere vnto them by an infi­nite number of superstitions: in which foule crimes men of the best ranke do sundry times inbarke themselues. So that I may well say with Chrysostome, that if it were as easie to execute iustice vpon the great ones,Chrysost. hom. 2.11. Epist. ad Heb. hom. 10. in 1. Epist. ad Timoth. as it is vpon the baser sort, all the prisons would be presently stuffed with Magi­cians and Sorcerers. And else-where doth this good father with large effusion of teares deplore the blindnesse of such people, where he saith, Lachrymis & gemitibus digna va­ticinia, obseruationes genesis, signa, ligaturae, diuina­tiones, incantationes, & caetera huiusmodi. Quae omnia magno profecto scelere praesumuntur, denique iram prouocare consueuerunt, atque eò magis, quo post in­gentis be [...]euolentiae & insignis miserationis indicia, postquam ille filium suum pro redimendis hominibus misit, haec nesario aufu admittimus. To this purpose doth S. Augustine prettily teach vs,Aug. lib. de. ci­uit. Dei cap. 18. that this is a thing which God permitteth, thereby to occasion vs to fly into the close embracements of Christ Iesus our Mediatour, when we shal vnderstand, how shamelesly and brutishly the Diuell doth dragge vs vnto him, and worrieth vs as a famished Wolfe doth the harmeles sheepe. Quantò quippe in haec ima (in­quit) potestatem daemonum maiorem videmus, tantò tenacius mediatori est inhaerendum, per quem de imo ad summa contendimus. It remaineth that I should also handle, whether those things, which are spoken of Sorce­rers, doe proceed from dreames and illusions, or whether they are reall and true. But fearing a glut of words in this long Epistle, which may perhaps seeme vnto some more wea­risome then delightfull, I haue remitted and fitted that discourse to the conclusion of this booke, hauing euer before me that which S. Augustine wittily obserueth, that a rea­der, when hee seeth the end of a booke, or a chapter, is as glad, as a passenger to see the signe of his Inne, where hee is to repose himselfe.

A DISCOVRSE OF SPIRITS, CONTAINING WHATSOEVER IS NECES­sary for the more full vnderstanding and resolution of the difficult Ar­gument of Sorcerers.

CHAP. I. Whither there be Spirits or no: There are foure points to be obserued touching Spirits: that there are Spirits; what their nature is, from whence they came; and the end why they are.

TOuching the first point; it is an ordinarie method in all things which men are de­sirous to comprehend, first to search into their causes: otherwise they shall not want occasions to remaine vnresolued and doubtfull, and their spirits will not cease to be full of discontentment and perplexitie. For this is the na­ture of man,Lib. 1. Metaph. cap. 1. especially when hee seeth vnusuall and ex­traordinary effects; as is cleere by the example of coun­trie people, set downe and expressed by Aristotle; who when they see an eclipse of the Sunne or Moone, they are presently stricken with admiration, like vnto the Children of Israel,Exod. 16. who wondred at the new foode of Manna, and demanded what it was. And such kindes of admiration (saith Aristotle) haue been the seed-plot, and head of all Philosophie: for those spirits that had a [Page 2] touch of generousnes and industrie, did presently en­deuour to comprehend the cause of those vnusuall e­uents. The like course of proceeding is here to bee ob­serued, and the rather, because it seemeth so much the more admirable and incredible by how much the more distant the knowledge and experience thereof is from the best and soundest part of men. We are therefore to diue into the causes, which when we once shall steddi­ly comprehend, it will easily bow and incline our vn­derstandings to the beleefe of those things, and make vs conceiue them not only to be possible, but of a more ordinarie frequencie then hath hitherto bin beleeued. And in regard that Spirits are the cause of these euents; wee are first to know, whither there are Spirits, or no. There are three sorts of men that haue denied Spirits: the first are Philosophers; the second are the Sadduces, and the third are Atheists. Touching Aristotle the prince of Philosophers,Lib. 8, Physic. hee is of opinion, that there is one supreme cause not tyed to the pressure and incum­brance of a bodie:Lib. 12. Me­taph. text▪ 48. And he sets downe 47. Spirits subor­dinate to that supreme cause, according to the number of motions, which he obserued in the celestiall Orbes of heauen, thinking with himselfe that those heauenly bo­dies could not so ordinately moue, vnlesse they were animated and quickened thereunto by some Spirits of life. Now whither hee had stolne this out of the holie Scripture, (or at the least had borrowed it from his Ma­ster Plato, who might take it from thence) because it is said in Ezekiel, Ezech. 1. speaking of the celestiall bodies, which are there called wheeles, Spiritus vitae erat in rotis; or whether hee had inuented the same by the collections which his experience had made from his frequent ob­seruing of them, I cannot tell; but surely he said truth, except where hee seemeth by exclusion to shut out the rest, as if there were no more then those that he recited. Wherein he might consider,S. Thom. lib. 2. cont. gent. c. 92 that if those Spirits were necessarie for the vniforme and vncessant motions of [Page 3] the Spheares, and by a consequent for the seruice of man, Qui est quodammodo finis omnium, much more is it conuenient, that this first and supreme cause, whom hee calleth the alone Prince of all things,Lib. 2. Metaph. & lib. 2. de anima. should be waited on with an infinite number of them, for his owne vse and seruice. Whereunto agreeth that of Daniel, who teacheth vs, that Dan. 7. Millia millium ministrabant ei▪ & de­cies centena millia assistebant ei: Thousand thousands ministred vnto him, and tenne thousand times tenne thousand stood before him. Whereof Dauid giueth the naturall reason, saying,Psal. 102. Ministrieius vt faciant volun­tatem eius: and this doth tacitely agree with the say­ing of Ezechiel: Spiritus vitae erat in rotis. Ezech. 10. S. Thomas. Mercurius Trismegistus, as S. Thomas recites him, doth determi­nately denie that there are good Spirits, except those who wheele about the heauens: And in this he agreeth with Aristotle, although hee was a better Diuine then the other, because he yeeldeth, that God did make and create them, which Aristotle seemed to deny, who fra­meth to himselfe an eternitie euen of thistles and but­ter-flyes:S. Thom. 1. p. q. 115. art. 5. Psell lib. de energia Dae­monum, c. 14. but touching the number of Spirits they are both of one opinion. Aristotle doth deny that there are wicked Spirits; whose authoritie Physitians did follow and adhere vnto, as Psellus witnesseth, intending those that were not Christians, or which had apostated from the true Religion. This sort of men doth ordina­rily fall into two grosse errors; the one against the im­mortalitie of the soule, as it is recited in the 2. of Wise­dome, saying,Sap. 2. that the soule doth altogether resemble the flame that is nourished from the lampe: the other is against Spirits; for when they are shewed the effects wrought really by the Diuell in the bodies of those hee doth possesse, they do adiudge of it more meanely then Aristotle did, and affirme, that these incongruities doe happen through the indisposition and depraued tem­per of humours and vitall spirits. And thus as they doe by the immortalitie of the soule, so heere also they [Page 4] change an immortall and incorruptible spirit into a spi­rit more earthly: and which they would haue to bee quintessented from the temperament of naturall quali­ties, which indeed is nothing else but a blast or smoake. Hence it is that S. Augustine doth to this purpose fitly alleage the historie of a Physitian,August. epist. 100. ad Euo­dium. who, saith hee, was constrained to confesse the immortalitie of soules by a vision which hee had when he lay asleepe, wherein hee saw, although the casements of his eyes were shut vp; and heard, although his sense of hearing was tied vp and possessed by sleepe, his good Angell speaking vnto him, and making him to consider, that his soule of it selfe without the aide or seruice of the bodie, or any of the organs thereof, did see and heare. And this is the reason why such kinde of people doe relie and leane too much vpon Philosophie, and causes in nature. The Sadduces also may be ranked with them,Act. 23. Matth. 23. because they also denie Spirits as it is recited in the Acts of the Apo­stles: from thence they fall into another inconuenience, and that is, to deny the immortality of the soule: where­upon it followeth of necessitie, that they must deny the resurrection of the body;Iust. Apolog. 2. haectria vnico medio probat. which three points are com­mon vnto Atheists, and all those that deny Spirits. O­thers there are, that are not so frontlesse and grosse in their opinions, as the former, but grant, that as there are good Spirits, (for the motion of the heauen doth force from them that confession, in that so good and necessa­rie a worke cannot proceed but from a good agent) so there are also bad Spirits, and yt from them many actiōs of villany and naughtinesse doe proceed. Of these Por­phiry maketh mention in Epistola ad Anebuntem, cited by S. Thomas, S. Thom. lib. 3. contr. gent. cap. 107. & 108. & August. lib. 10. de Ciuitat. cap. 11. & Euseb. lib. 5. de praeparat. Euang. cap. 6. saying, that these are the Masters of Sor­cerers, and of all that vse witchcraft, and that they neuer direct any man in a course of goodnesse, but giue all passage and furtherance vnto those, who haue any pro­pension to doe mischiefe. Plato also and his sect doe grant that there is a great number of Spirits, whose re­sidence [Page 5] is in the highest region of the aire, as birds haue their abiding place in the low and middle region, and fishes in the water: but they doe heere intermingle many absurdities, as wee will declare heereafter. To conclude, none haue euer perfectly knowen the nature of Spirits, but those that haue receiued and vnderstood the holy Scripture. Now against Philosophers and Pai­nims wee haue experience:Tertull. de pre­script. heretic. Helias in This­bi dictione Qua rain. S. Thom. cont. Gent. lib. 3. cap. 104.105. against the Saduces who are hereticks amongst the Iewes (as Tertullian saith) wee haue the fiue bookes of Moses which they them­selues admit: and for Catholicks and Christians, wee haue the consent of all the holy Scriptures, both of the old and new Testament. S. Thomas in his third booke against the Gentiles doth solidly and learnedly dispute against all the arguments of the Philosophers, who af­firmed, that when any prodigie in nature did happen, it was to be attributed to the influence of celestiall bo­dies, which are able to bring forth many things that are hidden and buried from our knowledge. It is true (saith hee) that nature is able to doe much, yet notwithstand­ing it is bounded in and limited so strongly, that for the most part it is tyed to the production of one manner of effects, either from the property of the efficient cause, or from the impotency or vnaptnesse of the matter which hath no capacity but to bring forth one thing: as the Sunne, and all the heauens cannot in the sapp of a vine shape vp or bring forth any other thing but grapes, nor from an apple tree any thing but apples.Mercurius Trismegist. in Asclepio. Whereupon it must bee granted, that there are many effects which are against and aboue the power of na­ture: as Oracles which were nothing else but statues that did speake and giue resolution vnto those doubts that were propounded vnto them, and did vnfold ma­ny things that were absent, hidden, and to come: as also that some men haue suddenly,Lactan. lib. inst. & Aug. lib. de ciuit, . 6. and without any study or paines taking therein, spoken Hebrew, Greeke and Latine, Syriac, Chaldey, and all other languages, citing [Page 6] sentences of Poets and Orators, although they neuer were conuersant in them or in any other kinde of lite­rature: that Oxen and Asses should speake, and other prodigious accidents should happen, against the power and course of nature; that a vestall Virgin, being suspe­cted of light behauiour and wantonnes, should in wit­nesse of her chastitie cary vp and downe before the Romansa sure full of water. Claudia also vpon the same occasion did draw a great ship after her with her girdle, and Actius Naeuius did with a rasor cut a whet-stone in peeces.

It hath been found true by experience, and mention is made of the fame in the lawes of the 12. Tables, that a certaine Island did fleet vp and downe from one place to another. It is also knowen by obseruation, that they who practise such things as these, do vse certaine words, characters, prayers, protestations, and other manners of behauiour, which cannot without folly and vanity be presented vnto any, but vnto substances that haue vnderstanding and reason. From whence hee draweth this conclusion, that it is euident that al these prodigies doe proceed from Spirits, and therefore there are Spi­rits. And if the authority of the Scripture may heere take place (which they may admit of at the least as any other History) it is impossible to conceiue, that the course of the Sunne should be stayed, and that the hea­uen should goe backward in the time of Iosua, and E­s [...]chias by any naturall force or power.Arist. lib. 8. Phys. & lib. de Coelo & Mun­do. For Aristotle himselfe faith, that this is impossible euen for Intelli­gences themselues, to wheele back the heauen, as it is impossible for the soule to yssue forth of the body at pleasure,Vide August. lib. 8 de ciuit. cap. 23. or not to enlifen and actuate the body, whiles it remaineth in it, because there is a necessity in nature that compelleth the same. Therefore it is plaine, that those euents proceed from some thing else then from the motion of the heauens: and it must necessa­rily be granted, that prodigies ought not to be appro­priated [Page 7] to the motion of the heauens, but to some other secret causes, which stand involued with much ambi­guity and mistinesse. Mercurius Trismegistus would indeed haue answered that argument touching Ora­cles, in saying, that it was true that God did create as many Spirits as are in nature, yet it was the art of men to make the Oracles to speake, by sitting thereunto certaine influences of the heauens: for (saith hee) such statues might be so aptly accomodated to certaine a­spects of the heauens, as that they might speake, di­uine, and foretell, and might strike men with diseases, and heale them againe, and might in breefe worke mi­racles. But it fareth heere with him, as it doth with Plu­tarch, Plutarch. lib. de taciturn. oracul. who endeuouring to giue a reason why Oracles did cease to doe those wonders, which they were wont, (letting slippe the true reason, which was the comming of Christ Iesus in the flesh, by whom the kingdome of Satan was vtterly ruined) he maketh a booke expres­presly to shew the reason of their cessation and silence: but hee falleth so short in his discourse, that hee allea­geth no reasons but such, whose insufficiency and weak­nesse may bee easily confuted, nay which is more, the most of them are ridiculous, and vnworthy of so great a Philosopher: in so much as he is driuen to say, that they were nourished by exhalations drawne vp from the earth, which when they ceased and were exhausted, those Oracles were famished, and dyed for want of their accustomed sustenance. In the same maze wande­reth Trismegistus, when hee would yeeld a reason of their ouerthrow: for it may be easily demanded of him, first, why men in these times may not doe the like (as those of former ages haue done) by the same obseruati­ons of the heauens, since now they are more skilled in their motions, then formerly they haue beene: and whē now our modern Astrologers haue conuicted both Aristotle and Ptolomy of many errours. Againe, how may it bee possible that the cause should be of lesse ex­cellency [Page 8] then the effect, and if a man (as hee affirmeth) can by his indust [...]y make such oracles, it will in sound Philosophy bee necessarily inferred, that hee may also produce and worke the same thinges in another man. And if it be replyed, that there must bee a concurrence of the heauens influence vnto such a worke, I answere, Why may not the like influence as well happen vnto a man, as vnto a statue of wood? Nay, why should it not rather agree vnto him, as being more capable of reason, speech, and all other actions, then a statue? Since then it was neuer knowen that a man was an oracle, we may conclude, that this reason is most insufficient; for it is certaine that in all ages there haue beene some, who would not haue desired a better purchase, then by this meanes to bee esteemed Gods, wherein they retaine a remnant of that poyson, wherewith the Serpentinfe­cted our first parents, telling them, Erit is sicut Dij;; and Gregory, Genes. 3. Gregor. Nazi­an. orat 1. 2. in Iulian Apo­stat. Nazianzene allegeth a number of examples, as of Arist [...]ur, Empedo [...]mus, and Trophonias, who hid themselues vnder ground, that they might be esteemed Gods, Empedocles also cast himselfe head-long into the sulphurous mountaine of Sicily, which perpetually vo­mited [...] [...]lakes of fire: and Iulian the Apostate was incited with the same [...] and did so burne with the cogitation of the same, that hee would haue drowned himselfe in a great riuer. Aristotle himselfe, who la­boured to giue a reason in nature for all things, could not comprehend the [...] and satisfying cause of the ebbe and flow of the Sea Eurip [...], now called Negre­pont, where with hee was so vexed, that hee threw him­selfe violently into the same,Iust. Mart. orat paraenetic. ad gentes. Arist. Prob. sect. 30. crying, Because Aristotle cannot containe this Sea, this Sea shall conteine Aristotle (as Iustin Martyr writeth of him.) Hence it is that hee studied to render a naturall reason for those memorably strange accidents in man, which cannot be attributed to any cause, but either to God or Spirits; and therefore he affirmed that the Sibills and those excellent Empe­rors [Page 9] and great Philosophers were dis-affected by a me­lancholick humour, through which they spake and did many strange things. In which words hee seemeth to preuent the argument, which might be obiected against this his assertion, touching Demoniaks and possessed,Tertull. lib. de testimonio ani­mae. which is a cleare and vnresistable experience against all the Philosophers of the world: for it is infallible that before Aristotles time there was possession, since Salo­mon himselfe did teach men exorcismes to cast out Di­nels from mens bodies, as Iosophus and others doe wit­uesse.Ioseph. lib. an­tiquit. How then can all this be attributed to a melan­cholick humour? But will Aristotle dare to auow that this grosse and earthy humour is more excellent in a man, then his vnderstanding and reason? Now if rea­son can by no meanes whatsoeuer discouer those things which it hath neuer learned, nor speake any other lan­guage, then that which for a long time it hath been v­sed vnto; nor diuine of future euents, nor alleage or in­terprete sentences, which it hath neuer conceiued, how is it possible that this muddy and grosse humour should bee so cleared as to doe all these thinges? especially when they are the proper effects that flow from reason. And if a man should require from them the cause, why such an humour should comprehend that which is farre remote from vs, both by distance of place and time, rather then reason, they could make no answere thereunto. To which may be added that they are things which doe as vsually happen vnto those that are of a different complexion,1. Corinth. 5. as vnto melancholick men. For it is probable that the Corinthian fornicatour who was possessed with a Diuell, was of no melancholick and lupmish constitution, but rather of a more plea­sant and iouiall behauiour: which is not barely conie­cturall,1. Corinth. 15. because S. Paul reprooueth the Corinthians for that they laughed and were merry with him, before he was possessed; which may make vs to conceiue, that he was witty and pleasant, as also all the Epicures were [Page 10] who were wont to say, Comedamus & bibamus cras e­nim moriemur, & post mortem nulla volupt as. In like manner were Alexander and Hymen [...]us possessed, who were much like vnto the former.Marc. 4. Moreouer, it were a ridiculous thing to say, that when the Diuels were cast out of an humane body, and entered into the swine, the melancholy of the man did descend into the hogs; so that it doth fully appeare, that these experiēces afore­said are sufficiently powerfull to confute all Philoso­phers, that there are Spirits who doe secretly conuerse with men, and doe many times visibly appeare vnto them: which Aristotle could not deny to haue happe­ned vnto Socrates Platoes master who from his infancy had a Spirit that did at times appeare vnto him: as Ter­tullian hath obserued,Tertul. lib. de anima. lib. de anima. in these words, So­cratem Puerum, adhuc Spiritus demoniclus inuenit. Let vs now come to the Saduces,D. Genebard. in Chronol. of the which sect there is yet a great multitude of Iewes in Constantinople, and in the kingdome of Persia, where almost all the Iewes doe adhere to their opinion. It is strange in them, that they should deny Spirits▪ whē in the fiue bookes of Mo­ses, which they onely admit of as the sacred writ, there is nothing more common then the mention of Spirits, and there is more spoken of that argument, in those bookes then in the whole Scripture besides. Wee will anone yeeld the reason why Moses did not mention their creation or fall, although in the beginning as it were of his booke,Gen. 3. hee bringeth in the Serpent, speak­ing and discoursing with such craftinesse and cunning, as that hee made a conquest vpon the vnderstanding, and perswades the will both of the woman and the man. Now there is nothing more discerneable, then that this was no vnreasonable beast, that spake from his owne braine and apprehension, because nothing is more disproportionable and auerse from beastes then speach and reason: Heereupon it is that Orators doe properly tearme them Animalia muta, because speech [Page 11] is the expresser and interpreter of inward reason, and can proceed from no cause but from thence. But put the case they should bee so stupide as to say that in those times beastes could speake, as Plutarch seemeth to in­timate in his booke which is intituled, That beasts are not deuoide of reason, and as some grosse capacities conceiue of Aesops fables, and the like,S. Basil. in Ex­amer. being it may be drawne to beleeue it from S. Basils opinion, who holdeth that before the temptation the Serpent had feete, and did goe vpon his legs as other foure footed beastes vse to doe, and that as soone as it was told him supra a pectus tuum gradieris, the vse of feete was taken away from him and all his kinde, because that curse did descend downe to all posterity and succession: as it is said, Inter semen tuum, & semen illius. But where doe wee finde, I pray, that God saith vnto the Serpent, thou shalt speake no more, but shalt bee mute and vtterly depriued of discourse and reason? which hee might in reason haue said, since it was not the outward forme and shape of the Serpent that beguiled our first fathers, but the reasons that he alleaged, & the promises which he made vnto them. But touching this the Scripture speaketh nothing, for besides the ridiculousnesse of such a conceite, it would breed a manifest repugnancy in the Scripture, which saith that God created liuing creatures, but hee afterwards made man after his owne image and likenesse, which similitude lyeth onely in this pointe, that hee framed him with the indowment and vse of reason, whereby hee might direct himselfe and euery other thing, as God doth guide and gouerne all things by his wisedome and prouidence. And this is it (as S. Augustine hath notably obserued) which is pre­sently there added, vt praesit piscibus maris, August. lib. 5. de Gent. ad tit. cap. 12. & volati­libus coeli, & uniuersis animantibus quae mouentur super terram. It must needs therefore be an intellectuall sub­stance, that made the Serpent to speake, for it was nei­ther man nor woman, because there were none but [Page 12] Adam and Eue, as the text saith, Erunt autem ambo nu­di. Moreouer there is mention made of a Cherubin, who was appointed to keepe the doore of Paradise, for feare least man should returne back againe, and should eate of the fruit of life; and in his hand he held a bright flaming sword, to strike a terrour into man, if hee should be so presumptuous. This could not be a man, as we haue declared, and must therefore be a Spirit. There is also frequent mention made of the Angels of God, who appeared vnto men, as vnto Abraham, Lot, Iacob and others, foretelling them of things, which was be­yond the compasse of mans knowledge, as that an olde barren woman should conceiue; that Sodome and Go­morra should be destroied, and the like. As also that the people of Israel should be led through the wilder­nesse by a cloud, and by a pillar of fire: there could no other reason be giuen heereof, but that they were Spi­rits sent as guides by God vnto them. Praesedet te (said God to Moses) Angelus meus: and Moses replyed saying, Nisi tu ipse praecedas nos, so that it appeareth that these spirits were the messengers of God.Exod. 13.23. 33. The ex perience also of those that are possessed, is a sufficient argument to confute the Saduces.Iansen. lib. concord. E­uang. Heere upon it came (saith Iansenius) that Christ Iesus did permit the Di­uels in his time to inuade not onely men, but swine al­so, for conuiction (saith hee) of the errour of the Sadu­ces, whom Christ Iesus was saine to traine vp by such rutourage, as knowing, that if a man did once appre­hend there were Spirits, hee would forth-with beleeue that there is another world, where they make their a­bode, and from thence would easily bee induced to ad­mit the immortality of the soule, and the resurrection of the body. Whereas contrariwise, hee who doth not beleeue that there are Spirits, can hardly conceiue that there is another world,Acts 23. or that the soule is immortall, or that it is possible for God himselfe to call men vnto him by resurrection from the dead. Heereupon S. Luke [Page 13] reciting the principal errours of the Saduces, doth ioyne these three points together.

Concerning Christians and Catholicks, besides the aboue named bookes,Theodor. lib. 5 in Epitom. diuin. decret. Act. 6. they haue S. Stephen in the Acts of the Apostles, and S. Paul in the 3. to the Galathians, to witnes that the Law was giuen to Moses and the people by the ministery of Angels: that God hath ap­pointed good Angels to guard vs from the perrills of this world, and from the attempts of wicked Spirits a­gainst vs, in the 90. Psalme. Moreouer,ad Gal, 3. that they ayde and succour vs so farre as to combate for vs:Dan. 10. none (said an Angel to Daniel) did aide me in the people of Israels deliuerance but Michael Prince of this people; and that the number of them is exceeding great, doth clearly appeare by the history of Helizeus when he opened the eies of his disciple,4. Reg. 6. & made him see the great multitude of Angels, at what time he was afraide of the huge army of the Assirians. Plures (saith he) nobiscum sunt quā cum illis. Gen. 32. The same spake Iacob who saw himselfe circled in with an heauenly army when hee stood in feare of his brother Esau; Castra (inquit) Dei sunt haec. Their of­fice is to praise God vncessantly, as Esay and Ezechiel doe declare, the one speaking of Seraphins, the other of Cherubins.Esai. 6. Ezech. 1. ad Thes. 4. Marc. 13. He that shall [...]ound the trumpet to raise the dead shall bee an Arch angell, and presently there shall come a great troope of Angels to collect and gather in the elect from all quarters of the world, and to assemble them in one place. Touching wicked Spi­rits, it is declared in the history of Achab, 3. Reg. 22. 2. Paralip. 18. 2. Reg. 24. that a spirit did offer himselfe to be a spirit of lyes: and Satan temp­ted Dauid to number his people in the pride of his heart, and did much mischiefe in Egypt, as being there the hang-man of God,Psalm. 77. Immissiones (saith Dauid) per Angelos malos. God also frequently forbiddeth in the law to sacrifice vnto Diuels, which hee would not doe but that there were Diuels.Iob. 1.2 It was the Diuell that did afflict Iob in his body, goods, children and seruants:Matth 4. It [Page 14] was he that dared to tempt Christ Iesus, and did exact adoration from him as if he were a God: it is hee, that by his commandement and by the prayers of the Apo­stles hath beene so often cast out from mens bodies; and for conclusion, (for the places that may heere bee brought are numberlesse) God will say at the last day to the reprobate: Ite maledicti in ignem aeternum, qui pa­ratus est Diabolo & Angelis eius. Being then ascertai­ned that there are Spirits both good and bad as well from the grounds of naturall reason, as from inuincible experiences, and especially from the authority of the holy Scripture, we are in the next place to know whe­ther they haue bodies, or no.

CHAP. II. Whether Spirits haue bodies.

THis question beareth with it more difficul­tie then any other, either in Philosophy or Diuinity next after the question of the Diuine nature: first, because Spirits do approch neerer vnto the nature of God then any other creature: as also, because it is impossible to see or comprehend them but onely by their effects; as by the print of the foote which is left in the sand wee know that a man hath passed that way, yet haue we not a possibility to conceiue of his vertue, knowledge, force, beauty, or constitution thereby: and hence it ari­seth, that so many ingenuous Spirits as haue laboured in this argument haue almost all of them missed their scope,August. lib. de orig. animae. and run into some errour. For if (as Saint Au­gustine teacheth) it bee one of the most difficult things in the world to know the essence of the soule, which Aristotle also toucheth in his first booke of the soule,Arist. lib.1. de anima. where he reciteth an infinitie of opinions together with their seuerall mistakes, and exorbitances from the truth, [Page 15] much more shall this argument of Spirits be incumbred with many difficulties, since there is no man who hath not daily experience of the nature of soules euen in their very dreames. Which maketh me say with Saint Tho­mas of Aquin, S. Thom. lib. 3. contra Gent. cap 45. ex com­mentatore comment 63. & lib. 3. de ani­ma. that Themistius the Philosopher hath more grossely ouer shot himselfe in this point then any others. For he did not onely teach it for a truth, that in this mortall life we might attaine vnto the full and com­plete knowledge of Angels, but also that this kinde of knowledge was more facile then any other, by reason of their constancy and naturall stabilitie, whereby it commeth to passe, that they are not so obnoxious vnto change, as all other elementary bodies are. Against this Saint Thomas doth learnedly oppose himselfe, lay­ing downe demonstratiuely, that whatsoeuer know­ledge a man might attaine vnto in this mortall life (for after this life our knowledge shall, without comparison be farre more excellent by the contemplation of that great Myrrour that comprehendeth all things) it doth all necessarily proceed and flow from the outward sen­ses and in the intermission of their working,Imaginatio non transcendit con­tinuum. a man doth afterward apprehend a conception of that which was offered and imprinted into his sense; The truth of this may be obserued in a man that is blind and deafe from his natiuitie, who hath no knowledge of any thing whatsoeuer. Since then Spirits haue no bodies, they cannot be seene by the eye nor receaued into any exter­nall sense: and thereupon it ariseth, that a man cannot forme them in his imagination, vnlesse it bee because we see them dimly by their effects: Saint Augustine him­selfe confesseth, that it is one of the hardest questions in the world; and is not ashamed to vse these words: Fa­teor excedere vires intentionis meae, Aug lib. 3. de Trinit. cap. 10. Arist. lib. 2. Metaph. and Aristotle as it were to preuent Themistius, doth declare that this ob­scurity doth not proceede from Spirits, but from the imbecility both of our senses and vnderstanding, which as he prettily noteth, resembleth the eye of an Oule that [Page 16] cannot endure the brightnesse of the Sunne, although it be the most conspicuous thing that is. Hence it is that as many as haue laboured to discouer the intricacy of these subtilties do resemble those that by a mathemati­call demonstration would prooue, quadraturam circuii: for being not able to reach vnto it, they haue an infinity of false hypotheses and suppositions. Among these the two Arabicke Philosophers may be numbred, Aben Rois (whom some by corruption of speech cal Auerrois) and Aben Pace, whose opinions are largely confuted by Saint Thomas. S. Thom. li. 3. cont. gent. [...]cap. 41. 42. 45. Aristot. li. 8. Phyc. & li. 12. Metaph. But to come to those who haue drawne neerer vnto the truth, Aristotle doth affirme and prooue, that those few Spirits whom he had know­ledge of, were certainely free from any Masse or pres­sure of bodies, and were substances separated and ab­stracted from all composition of elements: for he well knew that a corporeall forme ought to be proportioned vnto the body wherein it doth act and produce motion. If then the Intelligences who moue the heauens were corporeall, it must needs be, that their bodies should be proportionable vnto the quantity of the heauenly bodies, which is so great that it comprehendeth and compasseth in all the world, and as touching the out­ward superficies it is contained in no place. If then these Spirits should be fashioned to such greatnes, they would be exceeding monstrous and hideous to looke vnto: which is not to be conceited of these substances which are the most noble and excellent of all others. They moue then the heauens, as the reasonable soule doth our bodies, that is, meerely by their will, which the bo­dy in his corporall motions cannot possibly resist, if so be it be furnished with Organs proper for the same, mouet voluntate non tactu: which manner of working is strange and incomprehensible, because it is a spirituall kind of working and not a corporall. Many other rea­sons are alleaged by Aristotle, but because they are drawne from naturall Philosophy, and cannot easily be [Page 17] vnderstood, but by those that are well versed in the Maximes of that science, it shal be sufficiēt that we haue alleadged these few. Plato seemeth to himselfe to haue soared higher in his Philosophy, but he is not without this errours: for hauing got the sight of the holy Scrip­tures and taking the words according to the rigor of the letter, he affirmeth that these excellent Spirits haue a thinne and subtile kinde of body,Psalm. 103. made of fire or ayre; wherein he followeth the Scriptures which seeme to say that they are made of winde, or of a flame of fire, and do alwayes mention their appearing to be clothed in such materiall shapes, as when they speake of the An­gell that conducted the people in the wildernesse,Exod. 13.20. it is said that hee was as a pillar of fire vnto them in the night, and as a cloud in the day. Besides in the moun­taine of Sinay there were seene lightnings, lampes and flames of fier,1. Par. 18. 4. Reg. 2. as also the two Cherubins of the Mercies seate resembled two yong boyes with winges, and Helias, his taking vp to heauen was by Horses of fire. But Plaeto vnderstood not, that it is an vsuall thing with the holy Scripture to set before vs the highest mysteries by metaphors borrowed from things that are more vile, so they be more familiar vnto vs. In like manner are the fowre Elements, the seauen Planets, and that supreame heauen of all, where God and his Saints do dwell blessed for euermore,Exod. 25. 26. are represented vnto vs in the Mercies seate by artificiall things: the seauen Planets by the sea­uen Lampes, in the middest of whom one was more bright and conspicuous then the rest, and that represen­ted the Sunne: the like may be said of other things, as that in the garments of Auron the High Priest,Sap. 18. S. Thom. 1.2. quaest. 102. art. 4. [...]x probauss. Rabin. & Cle­ment. Alex­andr. lib. 5. strom. there was representation made of the whole world, and a kinde of expression of the Maiesty of God, as the wise man saith, In veste Aaron erat descriptus orbis terrarum. The linen breeches did betoken the earth, not onely because the earth bringeth forth flaxe and linnen, but also because it is one of the worst stuffes that is there de­scribed: [Page 18] the large girdle wherewithall the Priest did engirt himselfe, represented the Ocean sea that com­passeth all the earth: the coate of blew veluet with the little bells of pomegranets, the aire which is of the same colour, and is the shopp where all thunders and light­nings are hammered: the Rochet that was vpon his shoulders beautified with all variety of precious co­lours, the heauen, where all the Starres do like spangles beautifie that place: the twelue precious stones that were set into this garment, the twelue signes of the Zo­diacke: the Miter vpon his head, the highest heauen, and the plate of gold in which the ineffable name of God was ingrauen, and which was vpon all the rest did represent the Mai [...]sty of God. In the like manner God is shadowed out vnto vs with eyes, eares, and hands, that is to say, seeing, hearing, and doing all things: which these Anthropomorphites not vnderstanding, did maintaine;Cassian. colla­tio. 10. cap. 2.3. (wherein they fell into Platoes errour) that God had also a body, but how monstrous a body must this be, since God himselfe is euery where. They may as well say, that he is a Lambe, a Lyon, or a Beare, and the like, then which borrowed speeches nothing is more frequent in Scripture. So that when Angels are fi­gured out with winges, and are said to be clothed with winde or fire, it signifieth nothing else vnto vs, but that they are swift and ready to execute the will of God, as the Psalmist doth explaine it, speaking of Angels and saying,Psalm. 102. Potentes robore seu virtute ad audiendam vocem sermonum eius. The Ethnicks also, hauing stolue the same from the Iewish antiquities (as Iosephas calleth them) that is to say from the holy Scripture, doth set forth Mercury with winges, and describe the winde in the shape of a man hauing winges, thereby to expresse the swiftnesse and celerity which they conceiued and saw in these things. And Hamer when he would speake of Gods descent vpon the earth (whom he alwayes cal­leth Iupiter) hee bringeth him downe couered and [Page 19] wrapped in a cloud:Exod. 33. which he stole from the bookes of Moyses where God is alwayes said to come downe in a cloud, Descendebat columna nubis ad ostium Taberna­culi, and as King Dauid saith,Psal. 17. Descendit dominus & ca­ligo sub pedibus eius. The winde also is figured out to be a man with winges which is drawne from that place, Qui ambulas super pennas ventorum. And that we may more fully vnderstand the Maiesty and antiquity of the holy Scripture, from whence the opinions of Plato had their first ground and originall, and which the most fa­mous Philosophers and Diuines haue followed in part, as we will by and by demonstrate, it is expedient to ob­serue breefely that which the ancients haue more large­ly expressed vnto vs, especially Clemens Alexandrinus, Clem. Alex­and. in Strom. Origen. cont. Celsum. Euseb. de praepar. Euang. Tertul. de prae­scrip. & in Apo­loget. Chrysostom: Hom. de A­scensione He­liae. Origen, Eusebius, and Tertullian: and that is, that whatsoeuer Poets and Philosophers whether they were Greekes or Latines haue truly and excellently left vnto posterity, they haue stolne or borrowed the same from the customs of the people of Israel. S. Chrysostome com­mendeth the inuention of Poets, in describing the sonne drawne in a burning Chariot by foure horses run­ning at full speede: this is not a meere fable saith he, if it be rightly vnderstood: because the Sunne in Greeke is called Helios. For finding that Helias was carried to heauen in a firy Chariot drawne with foure horses, they applied this vnto the Sunne, conceiting that the Scrip­ture spake metaphorically, and by Helias meant Helion, that is the Sunne.1. Paral. 28. Aback. 3. The Cherubins also are said to be drawne in a Chariot, and Abacuc calleth them the hor­ses of God, saying: Qui ascendis super equos tuos; This the Poets would expresse when they say, that the hea­uens are wheeled and rowled about by Angels, as if they were drawne by swift horses. Moreouer, where­as the Iewes had within their Temple two manner of Oracles, the one vocall, the other mute and without a voyce: the first was when God spake out of the midle of the Tabernacle to Moyses, the other when from [Page 20] the precious stones of the high Priests Ephod,Num. 3. their beamed forth a certaine splendor that betokned good fortune,1. Regum. 30. which is mentioned in the 1. of Kings. The Gentiles herein endeauoured to imitate the Iewes, and had also two manner of Oracles, the one which spake and was called Oraculum Dodoneum, the other which spake not, and was called Oraculum Hammonium: which word Oracle signifieth in the Hebrew nothing else, but a place of speaking, and where answeres are commonly giuen, for it is called Debir: in Greeke it may be called [...],Hieron. sub fin. lib. in Epist. ad Ephes. in Latine Loquuterium, as Saint Ierome hath obserued. And as it is commanded in the Law that they should offer cakes vnto God in their sa­crifices, but that no sacrifice should be without salt, so doth Pliny also note of the Gentiles, omnibus sacrificijs adhiberi solitam molam salsam, Ouid. in Fast. lib. 1. which is also witnessed by Ouid: Ante deos homini quod conciliare valebat far erat, & puri lucida mica salis. Hence haue the customes of the Gentiles there beginning, and this Plato hath more excellently and accurately followed then any o­ther: whereupon he gained the surname of Diuine be­ing commonly styled Diuinus Plato. We are not then to wonder though Plato do affirme that Angels haue bodies of fire or ayre, since that the Scripture doth so cleerely and frequently make repetition of the same: and it may be that he vnderstood those speeches accor­ding to the sense and meaning of the Scripture, that is to say metaphorically, because either they are not so grosse and heauy as humane bodies which indure wea­rinesse in their motion, or rather, because they are like birds or clouds in the ayre, or else because they appeare to men in such formes and fashions. For if it bee law­full for Moyses to say that God is a fire: Deus noster (in­quit) ignis consumens est, because he was thus represen­ted vnto him in the bush and vpon the mountaine, why may it not be lawfull for vs to say that Spirits are made of aire or fire, because in their apparitions they euer [Page 21] take an airie or a firie body vpon them? And thus wee are to vnderstand S. Augustine, August. lib. 3. de Trinit. B [...]rnard. in Cantic. Cant. & lib. de con­siderat. ad Eu­genium. when he seemeth to af­firme that spirits haue bodies: and thus S Bernard also is to bee interpreted, that is, that spirits are then said to haue bodies, when they would appeare vnto vs: for they can haue no other meaning, since our eye hath no proportion with spirituall substances. It may well be, that some haue thus spoken of them, thereby to inti­mate that spirits are not pure qualities, but essences sub­sisting of themselues: which maketh much against the error of the Sadduces, who reduced all the apparitions recited in the fiue bookes of Moyses, to the imagina­tions and fancies of men; whereas indeed, Angels doe vnderstand, conferre, and direct men, managing, and gouerning Prouinces and kingdomes, and as our Sa­uiour saith, they doe alwaies behold the face of God the Father which is in heauen. Thus ought Tertullian to be vnderstood when he saith,August. lib. de haeresib. hae­res. 28. S. Thom lib. 10 cont. Gent. cap. 20. ait sic te­nuisse; sed Au­gust. lib. de hae­res. 50. & 86. conatur excu­sare. Cassian. collat 10. c. 2, 3.4. that God hath a bodie, not that he hath the least composition of matter, but he is a body, that is to say, a thing really subsisting, accom­modating his manner of speaking to the weakenes of ruder apprehensions, and it may bee to the vnderstan­dings of certaine. Anthropomorphites, who, as Cassia­nus saith, by reason of their great dulnesse and simplici­tie, could not conceiue that any thing could bee reallie subsisting, vnlesse it had a body, not being able, as wee are vsed to say, to iudge further then their nose. Not­withstanding the experiēce of the soules working, may be sufficient to sublime mens thoughts from such ear­thie conceptions touching Spirits, since the soule doth discourse and worke, although the body be fallen into a sound sleepe. Adam, when he sleeped very profound­ly▪ saw God when he tooke from him one of his ribbes thereof to make the woman, and when the soule at the houre of death is diuorsed from the body, it cannot bee seene by any because it is a spirit, as Christ himselfe vp­on such an occasion did say:Matth 26. Pater in manus tuas com­mendo [Page 22] spiritum meum, Ioan. 19. and afterward, & inclinate capite emisit spiritum. That we may vse these phrases of spea­king in a good sense, it appeareth by that which wee haue formerly said, for wee cannot doe amisse in vsing Scripture-phrases, if so bee they bee taken according to the meaning of the Scripture, as Christ Iesus himselfe declareth in S. Iohn, chap. 10. where he argueth against the Pharisies, who in those daies stood nicely vpon words, as wee haue many of that captious b [...]ood a­mongst vs in these times. Againe, it is not to be concei­ued, that so great and learned personages should be so ignorant as not to be conuersant in the texts of the new Testament, which doe cleerely declare that they haue no bodies. In the third place, they doe for the most part expresse and interpret themselues, as S. Atbanasius a­mongst the rest,Athanas. lib. de communi es­sentia Patris & Filij. who in his definition of Angels, doth briefly say, Angelus est animal rationale; but because the word (Animal) doth signifie a bodily substance, he doth therefore afterwards explane himselfe and say▪ Est autem expers materia. Wherein although he seemes to contradict himselfe, yet his meaning is, that since the holy Scripture doth stile these spirits Animalia, in Exo­dus,Abac. 2. and Abacuc; In medio duorum animalium, it is no absurditie to giue vnto them the same appellations: but these places are to bee vnderstood metaphorically, and then there can be no inference of bodily substance fa­stened vpon them.Didym. lib. 1 de Spiritu sancto. Thus doth Didymus, S. Ieromes Ma­ster, say, that an Angell can bee but in one place at one time: and lest any man should misconceiue him, as though he should maintaine them to be corporeall, be­cause it is the propertie of a body to be circumscribed in a place, hee addeth in that very passage, that they are not properly inuironed or bounded in, by any place; thereby letting vs vnderstand, that his meaning was not to attribute any bodily substance vnto them. The like may be obserued out of S. Ierome, Hieron. lib. 1. comment. in epist. ad Ephes. ad cap. [...]. who saith with Saint Paul, that Angels and soules doe bow their knees be­fore [Page 23] God; yet are wee not here (saith he) to conceiue, that they haue their members and dimensions like vn­to vs.

Before wee descend to the proofes out of Scriptures, wee shall doe well to examine, whether the opinion of those that take the Scripture-phrase according to the rigour of the letter, may bee defended. S. Thomas dis­pureth against it,S. Thom. cont. Gent. vbi supr. and saith that it cannot be defended. For first, if they had bodies made of aire (as Apuleius dreamed) they could not bee immortall, but would in the end fall into corruption, as we doe: because what­soeuer is compounded of elementarie qualities, must of necessitie be framed of contrary and repugnant natures, which in the end by their perpetuall opposition and fight do ruine one the other; and this truth is beyond exception. Secondly, the aire is a body, which the Phi­losophers terme homogeneall, that is, whose least part is of the same nature and condition with the whole, as euery drop of water is water, as well as whole riuers or the sea: from whence this absurditie would follow their opinion, that the whole bodie of the aire must be one immense Angelicall substance. Thirdly, the men bers of a liuing bodie, must haue seuerall organes fit for the performance of those functions, whereunto nature doth ordaine them, which cannot be true of the aire: and if they were made of aire, they may thē be dissolued and melted into water as the clouds are, they should also be hot & moist like vnto the aire; as if they were cōposed of fire, then must they burne. All which absurdities doe euidently shew, that they are said to bee airie only, be­cause they abide for the most part in the aire. And ther­fore Saint Paul writing vnto the Ephesians, who were great Philosophers, and much addicted vnto Magicke, (as S. Ierome obserueth) giueth them to vnderstand,Hieron. in E­pist. [...]d Ephes. in prologo. that this opinion was not repugnant vnto Christianitie, but that they were to hold it for a truth, that there are a great number of Spirits in the airie region, against [Page 24] whom they were to combat: insinuating thereby, that they may in this sense bee called airie, if thereby wee meane that they are Spirits, without flesh and bones. Non est nobis (saith he) colluctatio aduersus carnem & sanguinem,Ephes. 6.sed aduersus principes & potestates aeris hu­ius: Ephes. 6. he also calleth them, Spiritalia nequitiae in coele­stibus. Wee may safely (saith that Father) call them ai­rie or heauenly, but wee must alwaies suppose them to be Spirits.Luke 8. Psal. 8. In this sense doe the Hebrewes call birds the fowles of the heauen and of the aire, and men are by them stiled terrestriall: not that birds haue bodies of aire, or men of earth, but because they doe inhabite in the aire and dwell vpon the earth. For conclusion of this point, let vs hearken what the holy Scriptures say; and for the old Testament, King Dauid calleth them Spirits where he faith,Psal. 103. Qui facis angelos tuos spiritus: as if he should haue said, Lord thou hast ordained that those whom wee call Angels, should be Spirits▪ Now there is a contradiction and Antithesis betweene a bo­die and a spirit, so that the consequence by negation doth necessarily follow one vpon the other: as if such a thing be a bodie, it will be negatiuely inferred, then is it not a spirit; and contrariwise if it be a spirit, then is it not a bodie: which conclusion Christ himselfe maketh vnto his Apostles, when after his resurrection they con­ceiued him to be a spirit:Luke 24. Touch me (said he) and looke what I am (being risen with my true bodie) for a spirit hath neither flesh nor bones, as you see I haue. So that this were sufficient to proue, that a spirit hath no body, although there should bee no other place or text to strengthen the same. And lest wee should fall into the opinions of certaine Stoicks, who maintained diuersi­ties of kindes in Angels, and that some had bodies, and others had not, S. Paul doth direct vs vnto this generall Maxime, which is without exception, when hee pro­nounceth this sentence:Heb. 1. Omnes sunt administratorij spi­ritus; and in another place he saith, that amongst Gods [Page 25] creatures there are some visible, and some inuisible, such as are Thrones, Dominations, Principalities, & Pow­ers: for confirmation whereof wee may adde that, which we haue alreadie alleaged out of the Epistle vn­to the Ephesians, where there is an opposition expressed between the things that appertaine to flesh and blood, and the things that belong vnto the spirit. Touching Diuels, they are also called Spirits; but to put a diffe­rence betweene the good and them, there is euer sub­ioyned some restriction; as in the historie of Achab, 3. Reg. 22. one of them speaketh in this manner: Ero spiritus men­dax in ore prophetarum. Matth. 12. Christ Iesus often calleth them vncleane spirits, or the Diuels angels; conformable whereunto S. Paul termeth them the angels of Satan,2. Cor. 12. which must be vnderstood to proceed from their imi­tation, not from their creation. But it may be obiected, that they haue a body,Tertul. de carne Christi. and are tyed so really vnto the same, that Abraham washed their feete, they tooke Lot by the arme, and by strong hand drew him forth out of Sodome; and Iacob wrestled a whole day with them. It is true indeed, they are supported sometimes by a body, for otherwise they could not be seene, because of them­selues (as S. Paul saith) they are inuisible: yet wee are not to detract from the authoritie of Scriptures, that do cleerely teach vs that they haue no bodies of their owne: for wee must affirme with Tertullian: Tertul. de car­ne Christi. Habere corpora peregrina sed non sua: They haue bodies (saith he) which they borrow, but haue none in their owne nature. Wee know that a Spirit did appeare vnto our grandmother Eue in the forme of a Serpent: yet was there neuer any of so blunt & earthy an apprehension, that would affirme that this body of a Serpent was the body of an Angell. Wee are then to say, that this body was framed of one of the foure elements, not of fire, for it would burne: nor of water, for such a body would easily fleet away and be dissolued: nor of earth, for that would remaine sollid vnto the view, and should after­ward [Page 26] also bee found: it must therefore necessarily bee framed of aire, both because Spirits haue their places of abode from aboue, the good Spirits dwelling in hea­uen, and the bad in the aire, as also for that this element doth easily take the impression of all colours & formes: as we see what great variety of colours are in the raine­bow, and what diuersities of shapes and semblances bearing the formes of Dragons, Serpents, and the like, are represented vnto vs in the clowds. And these formes are dissolued into that from whence they were exhaled and drawne,Tertul. lib. de carne Christ. faith Tertullian: Eadem ratione species illa intercepta est, qua & edita fuerat, si non fuit initium vi­sibile, nec finis. By which it appeareth that the Doue, that descended from heauen and lighted vpon Christ Iesus,Matth. 3. was fashioned of aire, and not of earth: for it is said, Descendit spiritus sanctus corporali specie sicut co­lumba in ipsum. The like may be said of the firy tongues, that sate vpon the Apostles at the feast of Whitsontide:Act. 2. Factus est repente de coelo sonus tanquam aduenientis spiritus vehementis. So that it is cleere that these appa­rances are framed of aire, as the cloud out of which God the Father spake to his Sonne in his transfigura­tion, which vanished into aire, as did Moyses also, whose body in that apparition was composed of the same element: and whiles the Apostles eyes were fixed on these obiects it vanished, and they saw none but Christ Iesus alone. So when the Angell appeared to Manoah the father of Samson, Iudic. 13. he mounted vp into hea­uen in a flame of fire, and in his ascent was visibly seene of him: but by little and little Manoah and his wife lost the sight of him, because his body began to dis­solue into the first matter whereof it was framed. Thus did the Angell that accompanied Tobias in his iourney, It is now time (said hee) for me to returne to him that sent me; and presently hee vanished from them. And for addition vnto the truth hereof, some alleage expe­rience, saying, that if a man should cut such airie bo­dies, [Page 27] it would fare with them as it doth with the Sun­beame, which doth runne together, and presently vnite it selfe, without any signe of such separation: which ve­ry well agreeth with the nature of aire, and is fit to con­fute the error of Psellus, Psell. lib. 1. de energia Dae­mon. c. 7. & 23. who in the seuenth chapter of his booke, maintaineth that they haue a naturall body, yet in the 23. chapter he granteth, that such bodies be­ing smit asunder, doe ioyne againe, as doth the aire when it is diuided; whence he might easily haue colle­cted, that these bodies must bee made of aire, and not proper vnto Angels. For touching the reason which he bringeth, that if they had not bodies, they could not be tormented with fire, it is certaine, that the diuine pro­uidence may easily bring to passe, that a body may real­ly worke vpon a spirit, and likewise the contrary: which no Christian can deny, to bee by diuine prouidence wrought in the Sacrament of Baptisme, where the wa­ter as the instrument of the diuine bountie, doth really and truly wash and purge the soule that is a spirit: and experience teacheth vs this truth in nature, for imagi­nations, which are corporall things, doe depresse the soule and make it heauie euen vnto death, as Christ Ie­sus himselfe said. Besides, by this reason we should say, that the soules of the damned being departed from this world, are not cast into hell-fire because they haue no bodies, and must therefore bee impassible: And so wee shal fall into their heresie, that maintaine that the soules lie sleeping till the day of iudgement, which doth dire­ctly oppose the holy Scriptures; which shew vnto vs, that the soules of good men returne vnto God who hath created them, to be at quiet in his hands and vn­der his protection; as S. Stephen saith,Act. 7. Philip 3. Domine suscipe spiritum meum: and S Paul wished for death to no o­ther end, but to be with Christ, Cupio, inquit, dissolui & esse cum Christo: which is confirmed by S. Iohn in the Reuelation,Apocal. 14. saying, Henceforth doe the soules rest from their labours, for their good workes follow them; and [Page 28] death (saith S. Paul) shall be a gaine vnto me: on the other side they teach that the soules of the reprobate are tormented in the flames of hell, as appeareth in the Gospell by the rich Glutton, and by the saying of Saint Iohn Baptist, who told the Pharisies, that the axe was alreadie applied vnto the roote of the tree, and euery tree that brought not foorth good fruite, should bee hewen downe and cast into the fire. This S. Iude affir­meth is already happened to the Sodomites,Iud. in Cano­nic. as also to Chorah, Dathan, and Abiron with their complices, and that they went quicke downe to hell.

But here may an obiection be made, how Spirits are able to frame vnto themselues such bodies at their own pleasure? S. Augustine answereth, that Spirits by a cer­taine agilitie and naturall power can bring to passe whatsoeuer may be done in nature: for they doe perfe­ctly know not onely the effects of nature, but the causes also; which proceedeth from the refinednesse and sub­tilitie of spirit, wherewith they are indowed: which they so well know how to manage and applie, that whatsoeuer nature maketh successiuely and at leisure, they doe the same in an instant. We see the aire diuers times being disposed thereunto by certaine causes, is variously depainted with colours and diuers semblan­ces; and in the sommer wee sometimes see toades and frogs fall with the raine, which proceedeth frō the cor­ruption of the aire, from whence also butter-flyes and catterpillers, and the like vermine are ingendred; all which is produced from the successiue operations of na­ture. The like effects may bee produced by Spirits, by vniting of causes, whereupon the effects doe necessarily follow. Thus we reade that the Diuell tooke vpon him the forme of a Serpent, which cannot be denied; as also that Pharaohs Magicians, by the assistance of Satan, did make serpents and frogs appeare before the people: and surely they may in the like manner shape and counter­feit any other figure, yea of a man himselfe, as is cleere [Page 29] by the apparitions recited in the book of Genesis. From whence we must draw this necessarie conclusion, that it is contrary both to naturall reason, and to Scrip that Spirits should haue bodies, but that they are incor­poreall and inuisible. The resolution of all this discourse may bee had in the booke intituled, De Ecclesiastic is dog matibus, which is amongst the workes of S. Augu­stine, where in the 11. chapter he saith: We beleeue that God is inuisible and incorporeall, because hee is euery where, and is present in all places, yet not bounded in by any place: but we beleeue that intellectuall substan­ces are corporeall, because they are circumscribed in a place, as the soule within the body: and hence it is that they are called corporeall, because they are limited in their substances. It remaineth that wee endeuour to know when they were created, since Moyses maketh no mention of it; and from whence it proceedeth, that there is a difference betwixt Spirits, so that some are good and some bad.

CHAP. III. Of the Creation, goodnesse, or malicious­nesse of Angels.

SAint Athanasius when he was to giue his full resolution and opinion concerning Spirits vnto Prince Antiochus, Athanas. q. 1. ad Antioc. prin­cip. deman­deth in the first place, whether Angels were created, or no; for Moses maketh no mention thereof in the first chap. of Genesis where hee purposely laboureth to magnifie the power and goodnesse of God in the worke of Creation. And in good reason doth he take his beginning from this que­stion, since the weightiest argument that Saduces and Atheists can alleage for themselues is, that Moses speaking of all the creatures of God, and of the hea­uens [Page 30] themselues doth yet make no mention of Angels: whereupon the ancients haue endeauoured to giue a satisfying resolution heereunto, as S. Chrysostome, S. Athanasius, Chrysost. ho­mil. 2. in Gent. & homil. de ie­sunio, & gen. lect. Theodoret and others. S. Chrysostome particularly in two passages doth determine this point. I know well (saith hee, speaking vnto the people) that you are accustomed to demand, why it is not said, In principio creauit Deus Angelos & Archangelos, as well as it is written, In principio creauit Deus coelum & ter­ram, especially since Angels and Archangels are vn­doubtedly compositions of more noblenesse and puri­tie then heauen or earth. You are to know (saith hee) that the holy Scripture is nothing else but a letter mis­siue, which God by his Ministers doth send vnto vs:2. Paral 21. no lesse then when wee read that Helias was sent from God vnto Ioram king of Israell with a letter missiue to reclaime him from his faults, and to instruct him in the will of God. Now when a great Lord writeth his let­ters missiue, hee doth accommodate the stile and matter of them vnto the qualitie and capacitie of the person vnto whom he doth addresse them: for hee must write to a Prince after one fashion, and after another fashion vnto a Philosopher, and in a different maner from these, when hee writeth to his wife or to his children. Now the first letter missiue, which God in his goodnes sent vnto man, was the fiue bookes of Moses, which hee di­rected to the people of Israel. This people of Israel, vn­to whom the letter was addressed, was a rude and an ignorant people, because they were newly infranchised from the slauery and seruitude of Egypt, where they had been for the space of 400 yeares very cruelly oppressed,Exod. 1. being all of them constrained to apply themselues to manuall trades and workes, as to gather straw and clay, & to carry great baskets vpō their shoulders ful of such stuffe, wherof they were afterwards to make bricks, and then to carry them where the Cities and Pyramides of Aegypt were a building: and this they daily did, not ha­uing [Page 31] leasure to breath or to serue their God one day, as may be easily seene in the beginning of Exodus so that whatsoeuer was said of Ioseph, may very appositly be ap­plied vnto this people: Diuertit ab oneribus dorsum eius, Psal. 80. Arist. Polit. lib. 5. Socrat. lib. 3. Hist Eccles. cap. 10. manus eius in cophino seruierunt. Which was the cause that they were a rude nation, & altogether vnacquain­ted with good literature. And this is the peculiar slight of tyrants (as Aristotle writeth in his Politicks) who will not permit their subiects to study and attaine vnto learning: which was the practise of Iulian the Apostata against the Christians. They were all then very igno­rant except Moses who was exempted from such rude­nesse, because he had his education in the Kings Pa­lace,Act. 6. and was the adopted sonne of King Pharaoes daughter, and this S. Stephen well obserueth, saying, E­rat Moses doctus in omni scientia Aegyptiorum: for he had skill in Astronomy, Geometry, and the Mathe­maticks, but the rest of the people were exceeding­ly ignorant, and could not conceiue of any thing but what they could see with their eyes, which is the ordinary fashion of illiterate people, who are not able to eleuate their spirites higher then the earth, and laugh at Philosophers when they dispute of the roundnesse of the Sunne, of the height of heauen, and of the sphericall forme of the sea and earth: and heere­upon it is that Moses saith to God, alas Lord,Exod. 3. I assure my selfe that they will not beleeue that which I shall say vnto them, for when I shall speak of thee Lord, what fashion shall I hold in my discourse to make thy Ma­iesty knowen vnto them, since their apprehensions doe sauour so much of earth and dulnesse. But God answe­red him, it shall be sufficient for thee to tell them, that hee (who is) hath spoken vnto thee: for hee would not that hee should speake vnto them in a higher straine then of his being onely, which is a thing common and agreeable to the least creature of the world, although if these words bee vnderstood by nature, not by partici­pation, [Page 32] they haue a high and mysterious meaning: but this distinction was not mentioned vnto them, because he would fit his discourse to their vnderstandings. And this is the very opinion of S. Dydimus, who sheweth, that according to the diuersitie of tymes and persons there came Prophets and others in the name of God:Dydimus lib. 2 de Spiritu S. some with the name of him that was Almighty, others with the name of him that was replenished with all goodnes, and others with the name of vnappeasable ri­gour and iustice. And thus (saith hee) was Moses sent vnto this rude people with the name of him That is, for God would at that time exact nothing from them, but that they should vnderstand that the God of their fa­thers is, and was not like the false Gods of Egypt, who indeed were not, because they had not so much as an existence which is the least that any thing may haue. In like manner when Christ Iesus did addresse himselfe vnto the seauen Churches of Asia, Apoc. 2. 3. hee set downe diuers attributes of his Maiestie in the beginning of those let­ters according to the diuersitie of persons. And S. Paul preaching at Athens among the Philosophers did pur­posely decline to make particular mention of the Tri­nity, but thought it sufficient to expresse vnto them that there was a God who created heauen and earth: Deus (inquit) qui fecit mundum, Act. 17. & omniae quae in eo sunt coeli & terrae 'Dominus, non in manu factis Templis habitat. S. Peter also in his first sermon to the Iewes, doth not at the first cast plainely expresse that Christ Iesus was the true God, but accommodating himselfe vnto them hee is contented, if at the first he may winne thus much vpon their beleefe, that Christ Iesus was a holy and in­nocent man sent from God,Act. 2. Iesum (inquit) Nazare­num virum approbatum a Deo signis & virtutibus: but afterwards he speaketh vnto them in a higher straine, hauing once prepared them for more diuine instructi­ons. And so heere likewise in processe of time did God manifest vnto this people, that there were Angels, and [Page 33] that they had their creation from him, as wee shall pre­sently see. Which is also more expresly vnfoulded in the new Testament, at what time men grew more familiar and better acquainted with the secrets of God. This is S. Chrysostoms reason which is very probable and fit to be admitted.Athanas. 41. ad Annoc. princip. S. Athanasius yeeldeth another reason saying that this people was exceeding ready to beleeue and admit plurality of Gods, which in processe of time they tooke from the superstitions of the Egyptians: which conceite being once growne into an habite and custome, it did at length become almost naturall vnto them, and brake out openly in the desert,Exod. 32. Deut. 6. when they said [...]n the plurall number, Hi sunt dij tui Israel quite eduxerunt de terra Aegypti. And hereupon God tooke occasion to insist vpon the explication of this in the first commandement of the Law, (which saith, Domi­nus Deus tuus Deus vnus est) longer then vpon all the rest of the commandements,Exod. 20. because the people were so much inclined to this plurality of Gods, and had then lately made and worshipped a Calfe. Which they may doe well to obserue, who because it is after­wards said, Thou shalt not make any likenesse of any thing that is in heauen or in earth, doe conceite that this is the second commandement, and aske the cause why Curats doe not so pronounce the same in their seruice, not vnderstanding that the Curate doth pronounce but a short summary of the commandements of God, and that this whereof they complaine, is not properly a commandement, but a more ample exposition of the first commandement, against which the people had for a long time most transgressed. Therefore doth S. A­thanasius well obserue, that it was not safe to mention Angels vnto them, because they would presently haue thought them Gods: which Carpocrates, Basilides, and other disciples of Simon Magus also did,Iren. lib. 1. Tertul. de prae­script. baeret. as S. Ireneus and Tertullian haue written. Whereunto we may adde a third reason drawne from the more moderne diuines, [Page 34] and that is,Iacob. Christo­politanus E­piscop. in Psal. 81. Rom. 10. Heb. 2. that Christ Iesus was the end and scope of the law, who was to take vpon him the flesh of Adam, and not the nature of Angels as S. Paul noteth, Finis legis Christus & nusquam Angels apprehendit, sed se­men Abrahae apprehendit. Since then Christ Iesus was not to be the Redeemer of Spirits, but of men. Moses did with good reason passe ouer Angels in silence, and bounded his discourse with the mention of visible crea­tures, ouer whom man had dominion, that in conclu­sion hee might inferr that man alone had the priuiledge to bee made after Gods image and likenesse, that in the end hee might be deifyed and made a partner in the diuine nature thorow Iesus Christ. By which hee thought to leade and conduct man the more easily vn­to the knowledge of the grace of God towards him, since that he had more remembrance of him then of the Angels themselues, who were iustly passed ouer with­out mentioning, if wee consider hou much our humane nature was honoured by the diuine word: so that hee who is God adored by all, is a man as wee are; being as absolutely man as I am, and being as truely man, as he is truely God. And this is the conclusion which S. Paul maketh against the Iewes when he speaketh of Angels: Nusquam Angelos apprehendit, sed semen Abrahae. It is also manifest that the old Testament maketh no men­tion of the sinne of Lucifer and his adherents, but in­directly and by glances, as when the haughty minded men are compared vnto him, so in Esai the 14. chap. where mention is made of Nabuchodonosor King of Babilon,Esay. 14. Ezechiel. 18. and in Ezechiel 18. where the King of Thir is described, both of them being meruailous proud and presumptuous against God; they are (saith the Scrip­ture) like vnto Lucifer. But of set purpose there is no relation made hereof except it bee incidentally,Matth. 25. and (as wee say) per accidens. For Christ Iesus did pay no ran­some for wicked Spirits as he had done for men, but he hath clearly declared himselfe, that hell fire is from all [Page 35] eternity prepared Diabolo & Angelis eius. But al­though Moses did not make direct mention of them,Genes. 1. yet did hee tacitly insinuate the same, when hee saith of the seauen daies, that they followed one the other, and that the heauens went on in their course, making day & night, euening and morning, which could not possibly be without the ministry and helpe of Angels. Moreouer when he concludeth Igitur perfecti sunt, coeli & terra & omnis ornatus eorum, Genes. 2. by the perfect ornament of heauen he meaneth Angels. For that excellent ornament which addeth such grace vnto the heauens is their mo­tion, without which (as Aristotle himselfe well knew) the heauen could beame downe no influence vpon the earth, as is intimated by S. Iohn when hee saith,Apocal 10. Iurauit per viuentem in secula quod non erit ampllus tempus. For if wee should say, behold a perfect man, this speech doth import that hee hath a soule, and that his body is disposed and fitted for those motions which are naturall vnto man.Chrysost ho­mil. in Genes. Whereupon S. Chrysostome admonisheth that by this ornament wee are not to vnderstand the light or starrs onely, but many other perfections, both of higher and baser consideration. But because this man­ner of speaking is very obscure, S. Athanasius, Theodoret in Epitom diuin. decret. lib. 5. Theo­doret and S. Chrysostom moue the question, whether the Scriptures doe directly say that the Angels were created by God or no: and their resolutions are that they doe so say. First King Dauid maketh vs an expresse Psalme touching the creation of the world, where hee speaketh generally of all creatures, Spirituall, rationall, sensible, terrestriall; as also those creatures who haue their being in the water and aire in the 103. Psalme,Psal. 103. where he beginneth to speake of the Maiestie of God in this manner, Confessionem siue maiestatem & deco­rem induisti, amictus lumine, siout vestimento: next hee speaketh of the heauens saying, Thou hast stretched them our ouer vs like a tent; then doth hee adioyne the Angels, Qui facis Angelos tuos Spiritus, who makest [Page 36] (saith he) thy Angels Spirits. Where by the way wee may obserue for our better information in this and the like places of Scripture, that the Hebrews haue but three tenses in their verbes, the Praeter-perfect tense, the present, and future tense; and haue not the vse as the Greeks and Latins haue of the praeter-imperfect and praeterpluperfect tenses, whence it ariseth that the present tense with the Hebrewes may (as the sentence will beare it) bee translated by the praeterimperfect tense, as also by the praeterperfect, and by the praeter­pluperfect tense. And this is practised by the Hebrewes in this very passage of Scripture, as if they should say in latine, Quifaciebas Angelos Spiritus; that is to say, Lord in the time of creation thou diddest make and fa­shion these Spirits, to bee the messengers and ministers of thy good pleasure. By which place Dauid doth not onely shew that God created Angels,Hierom. in E­pistol. ad Ti­tum. S. Thom. 1. p. q 61. ap. 3. Psal. 148. but also, contra­ry to the opinion of the Greekes and Latins, that the Angels were created, when God made heauen and earth, and not as some would say, many thousands of yeares before: so that it is not chancefully done, that he first made mention of the essence of God, and then of Angels, and last of all of other creatures. The same methode he obserueth in the 148. Psalme, where he in­uiteth all things to praise their Creator, and doth not omit the Angels, but placeth them in the first rank, lay­ing, Laudate eum omnes Angeli eius, laudate eum om­nes virtutes eius, and concludeth that God fashioned and created them as hee hath done all other creatures; quoniam ipse dixit & facta sunt, ipse mandauit, & crea­ta sunt. The same order is obserued by the three men that were cast into the firy furnace at Babilon, who in their thanksgiuing doe inuite all the workes of Gods hand to blesse their Creator, and descending to parti­culars▪ they bring in the Angels as the excellentest cre­atures of all, harmoniously to sing and say, Benedicite omnia opera Domini Domino, Dan. 3. cantate & superexal­tate [Page 37] eum in secula. Benedicite Angeli Domini, Domino; Benedicite coeli Domino. Where it is very remarkable, (that we may not digresse from the argument in hand) against those, who conceite that the creation of Angels was long before the creation of heauen, that therefore in this place and some others, the heauen is said to bee set after the Angels, thereby to figure out vnto vs the transcendency of Angels aboue all other creatures: but why the heauens should be mentioned and not the Angels, there can be no other probable and literall rea­son rendered, then that which wee haue formerly allea­ged.Chrysost hom. de ieiunio. Genesi. lect. Ioan. 1. S. Chrysostome affirmeth that S. Iohn made mention of the creation of Angels, where he saith, Omnia per ip­sum facta sunt, & sine ipso factum est nihil. And S. Paul doth, as it were, comment vpon this sentence of S. Iohn, as hauing bin rapt vp to heauen after him, in his Epistle to the Colossians, Quoniam in ipso condita sunt vniversa in coelis & in terra visibilia, Coloss. 1. & inuisibilia, siue Throni, siue dominationes, siue principatus, siue potestates, omnia per ipsum & in ipso creata sunt. And this doth vndoub­tedly confute al the Manicheans, Marcionists, and other sectaries and disciples of Simon Magus. So that wee may from hence conclude, that God did create all An­gels good at first, that is, perfect in all goodnesse both of nature and grace: for whatsoeuer God made, he saw that it was passing good, as Moses expresseth it: and towards the end of his Bookes hee giueth a reason of the same vnto the people, saying, Dei perfecta sunt o­pera: Whereunto agreeth the wise-man,Genes. 2. Deut. 32. who giueth vs to vnderstand, that God made all things in number, waight and measure,Sapient. 11. Ioan 8. August. lib. 11. de ciuit. cap. 18. in which the most captious can not finde the least discord or blemish. And Christ Iesus himselfe doth assure vs, that the Diuell did not persist in the truth, that is, in his first integrity wherein hee was created: and that hee was once in heauen, but was fallen from thence like lightning. S. Peter and S. Iude doe giue the reason of this fall,Iud. in canon. 2 Petri. 2. because, say they, hee [Page 38] sinned against God, which sinne being folded vp in the pleates of malice and obstinacy, was without the pro­portion of remission and pardon. The same meaning hath Iob in the 4. chapter,Iob. 4. In Angelis suis reperit pra­vitatem. And although there were no other text sutable vnto this purpose, then that which is alleaged in Saint Matthew, Matth. 25. where Christ Iesus doth foretell, that he will cast the Diuell and his Angels into hell fire, yet would this bee an argument sufficient (as Theodoret well in­ferreth) to prooue that he was created in perfection and goodnesse,Theodoret. lib. Epitom. diuin decret. but that from his owne desire and malice he made choice of euill, by his rebellion against God. Non est enim (saith hee) iusti Dei proprium eum punire quinecessitate malus sit. And certainely it is repugnant vnto the nature, goodnesse and iustice of God, who neuer condemneth any, that doe not through malice deserue such punishment. Hence it is that S. Augustine doth worthily reprooue Porphiry the Philosopher, be­cause his assertion was, that there were a kinde of Spi­rits, who from their first nature were originally euill and deceitfull. This proceeded not from their nature (saith he) but from their will. It remaineth now, that we declare what manner of sinne it was, whereof they were conuicted.August. lib. 14. de ciuit. cap. 3. S. Augustine giueth vs the resolution heereof, saying, Since they are Spirits, wee are not to conceiue, that they were fornicatours, drunkards, or addicted to any of those grosse vices, which haue their sting in the flesh: but we are to obserue, that there are two sorts of sinnes; the first are spirituall, because they are proper to spirituall substances, such as are pride, and enuy: the other are carnall, and proceed from the flesh. S. Augustine spake not this of his owne head,August. lib de ciuit. 15. but grounded it vpon the Scripture, which specifying the sinnes that are peculiar vnto Satan, maketh mention of these;Esay. 14. Ezech. 18. as Esay and Ezechiel when they would exagge­rate the great ouer-weening and pride of the Kings of Babylon and Thir, he maketh a comparison betwixt Lu­cifer [Page 39] and them. And our Sauiour when he saw his Apo­stles to be a little pussed vp and swolne in spirit, because at their words and commandement the Diuels were cast out, Reioyce not (saith hee) in this,Luc. 10. for I saw Satan fall from heauen like lightning: by which words hee insinuated thus much, that the downe fall of the Diuell proceeded from pride. S. Paul also in his admonition vnto Bishops that they should be humble,1. Tim. 3. cap. 2 doth charge the Bishop not to bee pussed vp with pride, least hee should fall into the same condemnation with the Di­uell. Touching the sinne of enuy, it is also written Inui­dia Diaboli mors intrauit in orbem terrarum. And the reason why mention of mankinde is made heerein, is, to giue vs to vnderstand, that the Diuell fell not into the sinne of enuy, till after the creation of man, and that pride was his peculiar sinne, for the which he was thrust out of heauen. Now whether it were, that by reason of his great endowments of nature, hee did so farre ouer­ballance his owne worth, that hee might conceite that hee was able to make himselfe an associate and partaker in the diuine nature (which is the highest degree whereunto an intellectuall substance may aspire) and that by his owne naturall and peculiar forces (as Esai and Exechiel doe seeme to imply) or whether he would not acknowledge Christ Iesus the Mediatour of men and Angels for his head, which mystery might by reue­lation be proposed vnto him, (as it was afterwards also vnfolded vnto Adam and all the fathers of the old Te­stament) it is most certaine that from his owne will, and in the pride of his heart, he rebelled against God, so that there was a battell fought in heauen, after the man­ner that Spirites combat one against another, by a strong renitency and resistance of the ones will a­gainst the others, euen as wee also fight against them. But the good Angels would by no meanes adhere or fauour that damnable attempt, but resisted it with all their forces, accomplishing that which is written of [Page 40] them.Psal. 102. Benedicite Domino omnes Angeli eius potentes virtute, qui facitis verbum eius, ad audiendani vocem sermonum eius. Thus were the euill Spirits thrust out of heauen for their pride, whereas the good Spirits were still made blessed in the participation of the vision and presence of God. This did Christ signifie vnto his Apo­stles, when out of pride they demanded of him, who a­mong them should bee the greatest in the kingdome of heauen: hee tooke a litle childe by the hand saying, if you become not like vnto this litle childe,Matth. 18. yee cannot enter into that kingdome: and beware how you of­fend one of these litle ones, for their Angels doe al­wayes see the face of my Father which is in heauen: whereby he giueth to vnderstand, that children by rea­son of their naturall humility are like vnto Angels, which Angels by this meanes doe see the face of God. Since this great reuolte in heauen, there hath euer been a contrariety and warre betweene the will's of good and bad spirits, and betweene good and bad men also: as between Abel and Cain: Isaac and Ismael: Iacob and Esau. And this is it which S. Iohn speaketh of in the A­pocalypse,Apoc. 12. Iudic. in Ca­nonic. that there was a great battell in heauen be­tween Michael and his Angels, & the Dragon with his Angels: and S. Iude bringeth in the same Michael, di­sputing and chiding with Satan. Since therefore hee is full of wickednesse, and altogether depriued of the grace of God, he can doe nothing but what is naught, and because hee cannot wreake his malice vpon the Saints in Paradise, hee conuerteth his fury against man, that is made after the image of God, and is heere seated vpon the earth, that hee may worship his Creator, and acknowledge and serue him with his whole heart, that so he may at length participate of that diuine glory and felicity, which the Diuell by reason of his pride is vt­terly depriued of, as we haue already alleaged. And this is the next pointe, which offereth it selfe to considera­tion, in the ensueing chapter.

CHAP. IIII. The meanes which Diuels haue, to appeare and come vn­to vs; in what part of the world they reside; how they are bound; and their sundrie waies to tempt men.

TOuching the meanes which Spirits haue to performe this, the scripture teacheth vs,Of the place or residence of wicked spirits. that in their downe-fall from heauen, some re­mained in the middle region of the aire, which is darksome & obscure, because the Sun-beames passe through the same without refraction of any solid body, which by repercussion might double their force and light, and without which they shine not at all: as is euidently seene in a caue, where there is no light at all perceiued, but in the place where the sunne-beame doth fall. And although we had no other proofe, then that generall rule of Saint Ierome, it might sufficiently euince the same: for these are his very words; Omnium doctorum opinio est, quod aër iste, Hieron. lib. 3. in Epist. ad Ephes. ad cap. 6. qui coelum & terram medius diuidens, inane appellatur, plenus sit contrarys fortitudinibus. Since then there was neuer any Doctor of the Church, which made scruple of the truth hereof, wee must thinke that they had good warrant for the same from the Scripture. They did no doubt consider, that our Lord in the parable of the seede, did by the birds of heauen, which deuoured the corne,Luke 8. vnderstand and also interpret it to be the Diuels, whom he calleth the birds of heauen, thereby meaning the aire, accor­ding to the vsuall Hebrew phrase, and agreeable vnto our maner of speech also, who commonly say, the raine falleth from heauen, when the meaning is, from the aire. For as S. Ierome hath well obserued, all Philosophers doe agree in their opinions,Hieron. vbi supra. that the clouds (by the dis­soluing of which the raine is engendred) are not drawne vp aboue two miles at the most from the earth, where­as the distance betwixt heauen and earth is incompa­rably [Page 42] greater. And this is S. Pauls meaning, when hee telleth the Ephesians,Ephes. 6. that our fight is not chiefly a­gainst men, but against the princes of this world, which are the wicked spirits, that haue their abode aboue in high places: and as himselfe explaneth all these autho­rities in the second chapter of the same Epistle, by these high places he meaneth the aire: Secundum seculum mundi huius (saith hee) secundum principem potestatis aëris huius, spiritus qui nunc operaetur in filios diffiden­tiae. Iud. in canonic. 2. Pet. 2. (Which is also declared by S. Iude in his Canonicall epistle) shewing that these wicked spirits are abiding in that darksome aire, & are there reserued for the day of iudgement, when they shall heare these words, Goe yee cursed into hell fire, which is from the beginning prepared for the Diuell and his angels. His words are these: An­gelos qui non seruauerunt suum principatum, sed dereli­querunt suum domicilium in indicium magni diei, vincu­lis aeternis sub caligine reseruauit. And here may be fit­ly alleaged that which is written in S. Luke, Luke 8. Matth. 8. where it is related, that the Diuels besought Christ Iesus, not to send them out into the deepe, but rather into the heard of swine: and they doe likewise complaine vnto our Sauiour, saying, Vt quid venisti ante tempus torquere nos? As if they should haue said, we are assured of our totall and vtter damnation, but the time thereof is not yet come, for this shall bee put in execution at the last day of iudgement, which being not yet present, thou maist doe well to leaue vs in these parts, vntill that time approch. The like may be said of that place in the Re­uelation,Apoc. 12. Vah mari & terrae, quia descendit diabolus ad vos, habens iram magnam: and it is againe declared in the same booke, that our aduersarie the diuell was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. And that wee may resolue, what the difference is betweene the diuels that are in hell, and those whose abode is in the aire, al­though S. Ierome maketh daintie to meddle with it, be­cause he conceiued it to be from the matter, whereof he [Page 43] intreated,Hieron. lib. 3. comment. in epist. ad Ephes. as also for that hee feared (as himselfe excu­seth it) lest hee should trespasse too farre vpon the rea­ders patience, in dwelling so long vpon this argument; yet will we speake somewhat of the same, because this present discourse doth demaund it. It is an infallible truth, that there are great multitudes of wicked spirits, who abide in that gloomie region of the aire, and come also lower and neerer vnto vs, which God in his proui­dence hath and doth permit. First, because himselfe im­ployeth these his creatures, although it be in base and seruile offices; as a King or ciuill Iustice are accustomed to condemne certaine malefactors not vnto death, but vnto the performance of some worke, which aduanta­geth these offenders nothing at all, but is onely charged with laboriousnesse and toyle, and tendeth meerely to the publike good. Thus were many in times past ba­nished, or confined to some Isle or mountaine, to la­bour and digge in the Quarries of Marble, for the Prin­ces profit and behoofe, and did euer carrie their chaines of iron on their feete, and had a good guard to watch them. The like is done vnto those that are slaues in the Galleys. Secondly, for our exercise,Bernard. Hieron. Ioco citato. & Au­gust. contra Faust. Manich. as S. Bernard hath it, and it is also the obseruation of S. Hierome, who ap­plieth this vnto the Iebusites, Philistins, and other bar­barous people, that by diuine permission were left in the borders and skirts of the land of promise, to exercise the people of ye Iewes, who otherwise would haue spurned at Gods commandements: and these were the type and figure of those wicked spirits, that Christ Iesus after his death and passion, was to leaue in the aire, to exercise vs in whatsoeuer is good and praise-worthy: as sand which of it selfe is fruitlesse and barren, yet serueth very fitly to scoure and make bright the vessels of gold or of siluer, which are carefully looked vnto in the great house of a father of a familie. Thus was Iob exercised, and thus haue all good men been tried, as S. Paul witnesseth of himselfe and saith,Iob 1. 2. Cor. 12. that hee endured the buffetings of [Page 44] Satan:Ephes. 6. and doth conclude in the Epistle aboue cited, where he mentioneth these things, that Christ our Re­deemer, doth by the merits of his death and passion lend vnto vs all, a compleate armour, that so we may be the true champions of God. The sword is the word of God (saith he) the helmer, hope: the corslet, charitie: and the shield,1. Pet. 5. faith, as S. Peter saith, Cuiresistite fortes in fi­de. To be briefe, if wee be thus armed, the Diuell shall haue no power ouer vs,August. lib. de natura & gra­tia, cap. 58. as S. Augustine obserueth. First, because as soone as wee brandish these spirituall wea­pons against him, hee presently turneth his backe and flieth from vs, which S. Iames also witnesseth, Resistite (saith he) Diabolo, Iames 4. & fugiet à vobis. Secondly, because he can doe no good vpon those that doe resist him, and onely gaineth on those that make no preparation to stand against him, Non vincit nisi volentem. Being ho­uering so neere about vs, they haue yet a curbe & snaffle to restraine them, and that is Gods prouidence, which either by the ministerie of good Angels, or otherwise as it shall seeme good vnto him, doth hold in their rage and malice with so strong a hand, that they haue no power to do that which is within the compasse of their naturall forces,Tertul. lib. de fuga in perse­cut. and like slaues they are faine first to aske leaue of God, before they dare attempt any thing. Thus we see the Diuell asked leaue of God to afflict Iob in his person and goods;Iob. 1. and the Diuels mentioned in the Gospell dared not to enter into the swine, vntill they had gotten particular license from Christ Iesus,Matth. 8. as Ter­tullian sheweth at large. Of this curbe S. Paul speaketh, when he saith,1. Corinth. 10. Fidelis Deus qui non patietur vos tentari supra id quod potestis. He permitteth Satan to do many things, but with such limitations, that those assaults wherwithal he would force vs, are neuer aboue our abi­lities of resistance. We are not therefore to dispute, and aske the reason why God afflicteth one man more then another, and that by such diuersities of temptations, let it suffice that he knoweth, when a young man like [Page 45] vnto Dauid, hath both courage and force to encounter with the Giant Goliah, which attempt would haue crushed in peeces the strongest men in Israel, as flesh and blood would haue conceiued. The Diuell doth thus trie and exercise vs, both out of malice which hee beareth towards God, and out of enuie which hee car­rieth vnto vs; by which hee doth daily make full the measure of his punishments. For wee are to note, that those Diuels, who after their creation offended most by their pride, malice and ingratitude, were cast into the deepest dungeon of hell, and are already tortured with all the extremitie that may bee; but they that did not transgresse in that heighth of wickednesse, fell no lower then the aire, and do there acquire vnto themselues new damnation, not in their depriuation of the vision of God, for that is common to them all, but in the acces­sion and increase of paine in the pit of hell. And this the Doctors of S. Ieromes time were wont to relate,Hieron lib. 1. comment. in Matth. cap. 5. saying, that if a Christian did resist the Diuels tempta­tions, he doth not only aduantage himselfe thereby, but doth doe a good turne vnto the Diuell his aduersarie, because by this meanes hee is not punishable with so great torments, as if hee had ouercome the Christian: whereas else he should be plagued for the same, in that he was the cause of that sinne. Hereupon it is that the Diuels were afraid to be sent into the deepes,Luke 8. The chaine wherewithall they are boūd. after they had a long time tempted and tormented the poore Iew. This prouidence of God hath in like sort withheld it selfe from casting them all into the lowest bottome of the pit of hell, although they are tied vp for the most part in some quarter of the world: which is nothing else, but when God commandeth them not to budge from a certaine set place, and restraineth their workings elsewhere. And this ligation, or chaining vp, is the grea­test torment vnto them that may be [...]in regard that they are Spirits, and therefore of a generous and actiue na­ture, fashioned with all free scope and libertie to worke [Page 46] in all places, which they haue a minde vnto. And there­fore doth Tertullian call them quodammodo volucres, Tertul. lib. de anima, cap. de Somni [...]s. because they are of a more excellent agilitie, then the swiftest bird when he is vpon his wing. So that wee are to conceiue, that by this restraint and confinement they are as it were cooped vp in a cage; and are not able to flie vp and downe to execute their purposes, by reason of this compulsorie detainment: but are infinitly vexed at this commandement which God imposeth vpon thē. Thus must the passage in the booke of Tobias be vnder­stood,Tob. 8. where it is said, that Raphael tooke the Diuell Asmodeus (which in Hebrew signifieth a banished man) and banished him into the desert of the vpper Ae­gypt: and in like manner that passage in the Apoca­lypse is thus to be interpreted,Apoc. 20. where it is said that Sa­tan was bound and loosed againe: which importeth nothing but this, that all his power and actiuitie was for a time taken from him by God, and was afterwards restored vnto him againe. For in the last daies of the world he shall be vntied,Apoc. 16. & 2. ad Thess. 2. and shall haue full permission giuen vnto him to powre foorth all his rage and ve­nome vpon the children of God, yea so farre shall the authoritie of Antichrist gaine vpon the world, as that they shall be able to worke miracles, as to make fire vi­sibly to descend from heauen, and such like wonders, described at large by S. Iohn in the Reuelation.Apoc. 20. But the Diuell is now tied vp from doing of these things, al­though in his owne nature he be able to doe as much mischiefe as hee did in Iobs time, and as hee will doe, when Antichrist shall bee borne. Hee was confined and chained vp by the death and passion of Christ Ie­sus, from speaking any more by Oracles, as appeareth by the Apocalypse, and as experience it selfe teacheth vs: but when the end of the world shall approch, hee shall speake vnto men in a more familiar manner, and shall appeare vnto them in a visible shape. All which discourses are epitomized in a word by Saint Thomas, [Page 47] when he saith,S. Thom. in quaest. de po­tent. q. 6. art. 5. & August. lib. 10. de ciuit. cap. 8. vide locum. Daemones dicuntur ligari quando impedi­untur agere, quae naturaliter possunt, & solui, quando permittuntur. The Diuell then hauing this permission, like a subtle serpent, and one that well vnderstandeth his grounds whereupon hee buildeth his attempts, hee practiseth diuers and cunning slights to inueagle and gaine vpon the sillines of men: which we may manifest­ly see in two visible apparitions set downe in the Scrip­tures,Their meanes to tempt and deceiue vs. the one in the old, the other in the new Testa­ment; and this ought to be sufficient to informe our be­leefe heerein. It also plainly appeareth by the experi­ence which the good old father Anthonius Monachus had thereof,Athon. in vita Anth. whose history is written at large by Saint Athanasius for in that discourse it seemeth, that this good man was selected by God himselfe, expresly to indure the assaults of Satan both sensibly and visibly so that we may learne from him what the subtilties of the Diuell are, and what meanes we haue to keepe vs from his snares and ambushes. Touching the first visible ap­parition of Satan, which is described in the third chap. of Genes.Genes. 3. it thereby appeareth that he may take a visi­ble body vpon him, and so appeare vnto men, not that it is in his power to take a body vpon him when hee pleaseth,Chrysost hom. 4. de Lazaro. August. lib. 2. de gene. ad litt. S. Thom. 2.2. q. 165. art. 2. ad 2. for the confusion and danger that might grow thereby would be exceeding great. Repraesentaret enim se vxori tanquam maritus, seruo tanquam Dominus, re­ligioso tanquam Praelatus, poenitenti tanquam Confessa­rius, & sic nullus esset securus, & tentaremur suprae id quod possemus, 1. Corinth. 10. Et esset contra prouiden­tiam Dei. He is therefore inhibited and restrained by the omnipotencie of God, as both S. Augustine, and S. Thomas doe notably shew: but God doth sometimes permit the same, partly to force a beleefe vpon our vn­derstandings, that there are wicked spirits, which pra­ctise nothing else then how they may destroy vs, and partly to informe vs how foule and vgly these vncleane spirits bee, since the time that they were chased from [Page 48] God, and tooke armes against him. For now the Diuell appeares in a fearfull and hideous shape, as in the forme of a Serpent, or some such deformed beast. And there­fore in the beginning of the Bible he is set foorth vnto vs like a venomous snake, which is agreeable vnto the second reason, and in the beginning of the Gospell preached by Christ Iesus, he is described to be one full of talke and pratling (which-answereth the first reason) but he hath no other end in this talke then to snare vs, and to breake our neckes. And from the abundance of his cunning, his custome is to accommodate and fit himselfe vnto the humour of those whom hee would circumuent; wherein he sheweth himselfe to bee Gods ape, who doth descend vnto our capacitie and imper­fection, and doth practise that saying of Paul: Omnia omnibus factus sum, 1. Cor. 9. vt omnes lucrifacerem. Thus when the Diuell commeth vnto a silly woman that hath little knowledge, but what by nature and sense is prompted to her, he wil straight begin to derogate from God, and to make it questionable whether those things that are affirmed of him be true, or no. And because he know­eth that this sex is very liquorous of honour and great­nes, he will not stick to make large promises vnto them. And in the third place, beside the exquisite meates and drinkes, he further promiseth vnto them all sensuall and fleshly pleasures whatsoeuer: all which temptations are easily discerned in the assaults which hee vsed, to tempt the first woman,Genes. 2. 2. Cor. 11. who representeth vnto vs all those that forget God and his blessings. For it is a certaine truth, that if hee had applied himselfe vnto Adam, hee would haue laboured his subuersion by more couert & guile­full meanes then hee vsed towards the woman. And therefore S. Paul attributeth the glory of this conquest to haue proceeded from a womanish simplicitie, con­cluding in these words: Ne sicut serpens seduxit Euam, ita seducantur sensus vestri à simplicitate quae est in Christo Iesu. But when he was to tempt Christ Iesus, he [Page 49] tooke another course, for without any derogation from God (because a man of a setled vnderstanding and faith doth abhorre such grossenes, and stoppeth his eares a­gainst it) hee beginneth with that which seemeth to haue no apparancie of euill, but rather to haue bin vsed by holy men, as Moyses did by his prayer change the blood of the riuer into water, and made the rocke to gush forth with fresh and wholesome streames, as it is written: Qui conuertit petram in stagna aquarum, Psal. 113. for then the people were in great extremitie for water. So he laboured to perswade Christ Iesus to make the stones bread,Matth. 4. when as it might seeme hee had neede of suste­nance, and was in the desert as Moyses was. Secondly, knowing that Christ Iesus was conuersant in the holie Scriptures, and would be most attentiue vnto them, he alleageth diuers passages from thence. And being able to doe no good that way, he offereth vnto him the Mo­narchie of the world; knowing, that science puffeth vp those that haue no charitie, and maketh them beleeue that they are able to sit at the sterne, and gouerne the whole world better then any other whatsoeuer. To conclude, he resembleth the Crocadiles of Aegypt, who when they perceiue a traueller neere vnto Nilus, they begin to faine the voyce of a man, weeping and taking on as if they had great neede of succour, and when the poore man shall simply make his approch, he is sudden­ly deuoured. S. Athanasius reciteth, that on a time the Diuell did thus plaine himselfe,Athan. in vita Ant. neere vnto the Cell of of that godly Father Antonius, who demanding him what he was, hee answered (when hee saw that hee was discouered) that he had iust cause to complaine, for all the world did taxe and burthen him to be the author of all the villanies that were done, although he were very innocent and free from any such matter. And some­times hee would sing Psalmes, the better to insinuate himselfe vnto him; but hee stopped his eares against him, and would take no heed what the Diuell did sing, [Page 50] practising that which is written,Psal. 37. Ego autem tanquam surdus non audiebam. At other times he presented him­selfe before him with great glorie, transforming him­selfe into an Angell of light; but he shut his eyes, and would not gaze vpon the beautie of Satan: so that when hee perceiued that he could gaine nothing by all these baites and allurements, (for by his often prayers, weeping, and fasting, hee had obtained the gift which S. Paul calleth discretio spiritum) he then came vpon him with a hideous noise to affright him,1. Cor. 12. sometimes appearing in the semblance of a Dragon, and some­times in the shape of some other dreadfull beast: and then he would stand before him like a man, but of such an enormous and vast size and stature, that he seemed greater then any giant, and did touch the cloudes with his head, although his feete stood vpon the ground. Then would hee make a great noise as if the Cell had been inuironed with horses, chariots, and armed men; but he euer recommended himselfe vnto God, and re­garded not these collusions of the Diuell, remembring that which is written:Psal. 19. Hi in curribus, & hi in equis, nos autem in nomine Domini nostri inuocabimus. The Diuell forgot not to cast wedges of gold in his way by which he was to passe, that so he might baite him with auarice, yet at the signe of the crosse (saith S. Athana­sius) they all presently vanished. He also appeared vnto him in the shape of a woman to tempt him vnto the sin of the flesh; and when by none of these meanes hee could preuaile against him, hee then began to exhort him to watch,Vide Aug. lib. 2 de ciuit. c 26. and spend the whole night in prayers, to fast often, and to practise all other spirituall exercises, that so hee might either breed a disgust of these things in him, as being perswaded thereunto by the enemie of nature, or at the least, that hee might seeme to do some­thing at his request: but this holy man, who might well say with S. Paul, 2. Cor. 2. non ignoramus astutias eius, did not for all that, disaccustome his holy exercises, but rather [Page 51] encreased his deuotion, not because the Diuell com­manded it, but because Christ Iesus taught it both by word and example: knowing well that whatsoeuer the Diuel saith or doth, it is for an ill purpose,Luc. 4. and therefore by how much the lowder hee was in his confession, that Christ Iesus was the Sonne of God, by so much the more did Christ check his speech, and commanded him to silence. The last way which hee vsed was in chiding him for his austerity of life, shewing vnto him that this was a rigorous, strict & burthensome way, and it would be a means to hasten his destruction being one of Gods creatures, rather then to enable him for his seruice, and that it was no sin to vse the creatures of God freely with thanksgiuing, so that there were no excesse or gor­mundizing in the same. Lastly, hee threatned to beate him and to kill him by breaking his neck. But hee was readily answered, that since hee could not hurt the least sheepe that Iob had,Iob. 1. Matth. 8. Luc. 8. nor enter into the heard of swine without leaue, much lesse could he endamage a man who is sheltered vnder the wing of Gods protection, and who hath the haires of his head numbred, so that not one of them can fall to the ground without the expresse will of God.

CHAP. V. That the Diuels scope is to make himselfe to be worship­ped as a God, and to deceiue men:The Diuell chalengeth adoration. that the Diuell knoweth not things to come, neither can be penetrat [...] or diue into the secrets of mans heart.

WHen we would speake definitiuely of the Diuell, and inquire into his nature, we must euer call to minde those two sinnes which are peculiar vnto Satan, and that is, Pride and Enuy: for from these two spirituall vices, all other effects doe streame forth as [Page 52] from two plentifull fountaines. Therefore as at the first he,Esa. 14. together with his Angels did sinne thorow pride, and would iniuriously inuade God, and share with him in equality of glory, so doth he still persist in this per­uersenes, and remaineth hardned thorow the great im­penitency and obduratnesse which swayeth in him, in somuch that he doth not yet forbeare to say in his heart, Similis ero altissimo. This he practised from the begin­ning, for if we behold what manner of conference hee held with the woman, it is easily seene, that hee did driue all vnto this head, that she would worship him as a God. When a tyrant would by vsurpation take vpon him another mans kingdome, hee laboureth to eclipse the naturall Prince, and to perswade all men that him­selfe ought to be receiued and acknowledged for their true soueraigne: so when Satan would perswade Eue, that God did grudge and enuy them, and would be ve­ry much grieued that they should bee aduanced vnto that height, whereunto their owne excellency did car­ry them, the conclusion and inference that was to bee made thereupon, could imply nothing else but that they were to conceiue that this God was not the true God, because the true God like a true father wil straine his vttermost endeauours, to set his childrens fortunes high and in the top of honour: and further, since he de­sired to bee thought such a one as did long for nothing more then their aduancement, and seemed for that pur­pose to appeare, and to speake familiarly vnto them, although hee was of an inuisible nature, and of a sub­stance more refined and excellent then theirs, yet did he make shew that hee was willing to direct and guide them to the supreamest felicity, euen to bee like vnto God; from thence be might easily conclude that he was the true God, and therefore as the true God was to be worshipped by them. Neither was his purpose wholly frustrated, for many nations haue since conceiued, that the Serpent, which spake by the Serpent, was the true [Page 53] God: insomuch as the Greeks haue from hence drawne their etymologie of Serpents,Athan. in defi­nicion. prici. as S. Athanasius hath well obserued, for (saith he) [...], that is to say, a Serpent is so called from [...], that is to say, one that speaketh, because it was the Serpent that spake to our first parents. For they had an opinion that this speech was for the great benefit and good of mankinde: which conceite was not onely intertayned by the Grecians, but passed for currant thorow the whole Romane Empire, after that an Oracle had told them that the plague which raigned in Rome should haue no end,Valer. Maxim. lib. 1. vntill they had sent vnto the God Aesculapius. The Ambassadors who were purposely designed for this imployment, being come vnto the place which the Oracle had pointed out vnto them, found a great Serpent, which they tooke in­to their ship and carryed to Rome, where he remained for the space of three dayes. And Valerius Maximus maketh sober and serious mention of the same, as being a matter that much conduced vnto the worship of the Gods, and Ouid shameth not to call it his God

Cum cristis aureus altis
In Serpente Deus praenuncia sibila misit.
Ouid. lib. Me­tamor.

Lucian hath composed a treatise heereof,Lucian. and affirmeth that the Oracles, which proceeded from the mouth of a certaine Serpent, lead vp and downe by a Magician called Alexander, were more diuine, and to be held in greater veneration then those that came from Priests, because (saith hee) these came immediatly from the ve­ry mouth of God. Nay, which is more to be wondered, there were hereticks in the primitiue Church that affir­med so much, and were perswaded that the Serpent which spake vnto Eue was a true God:Epiph. lib 1. cont. ha [...]ses and therefore their custome was to place a Serpent vpon their Altar, vnto whom they offered their sacrifices, and heereupon were called Ophites, that is to say, Serpentines, or peo­ple that adored Serpents. Of farre greater probabilitie was the conceite of the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and other [Page 54] Easterne nations,Vide Brinium Iib. 8. natural. historiae. Lactan. in di­uinis instituti­onibus. who affirmed (as appeareth by the writings of Pherecides Syrus) that the great God of heauen hath chased away all the Diuels from thence, whose captaines name was Ophianus, that is to say in latine Serpertinus: these Ophites haue in this (as La­ctantius well answereth the Idolaters) much abused themselues mistaking black for white, and the Prince of Diuels for the Prince of men who is God alone. All this digression tendeth to no other end, then to declare that the true intendment of that old Serpent the Diuel, was, to make himselfe to bee adored as a God, which doth clearly appeare in the whole progresse of those temptations which he vsed against Christ Iesus: for the last assault he reserued these words, which were indeed the very marke and scope whereunto he leuelled all his temptations,Matth. 4. Si cadens adoraueris me. From hence it a­riseth that he hath caused Temples to be built for him, Altars to be erected, feasts to be ordeined, Priests to be interteined, and Sacrifices to bee presented vnto him, because he seeth that God hath ordeined the same for his seruice; not (as S. Augustine well sheweth, that hee is pleased with the smell of the rost proceeding from these creatures or the like, but because hee is much de­lighted that the honours which are due vnto God should be mis-applyed vnto him. Wherein he seedeth himselfe with a fantasticall shew of contentment to see himselfe in apparence honoured for a God, although he be damned and tortured for euermore. Daemones non cadauerinis nidoribus (saith S. Augustine) sed diuinis honoribus gaudent. Aug. lib. 10. de ciuit. To maintaine himselfe in this state and greatnesse, he could not deuise a readier way then to speake familiarly to men, and to tell them those things which were secret and hidden;The Diuel is ignorant of things to come Genes. 2. and this hee doth by way of Oracles, the first whereof we may tearme the Oracle of the Serpent speaking vnto Eue. For what im­porteth it whether hee entered into the body of a Ser­pent, or into a statue of marble? This hindereth not, [Page 55] but that a man may well say, that the first Oracle was, when hee spake vnto the first woman. And therefore doth Tertullian iustly place the first woman in the first catalogue of hereticks,Tertull. de prae­scrip. haeret. because to speake so familiarly vnto the Diuell, was an apostacy. After the stood, Ora­cles began to be more frequent, and had their originall from the posterity of Cham: whereupon it came that the most auncient Oracle which wee find in Authors is Oraculum Hammonium, as if we should say,Genebrar. in Chron. Oraculum Chammonium: for the name of Cham is written in He­brew with a strong aspiration, and therefore our trans­latour rather maketh it Cham then Ham, although it be all one in sense, and the very name doth sufficiently shew that the antiquity and originall of Oracles after the flood came from Cham, who was cursed of God, and of his father: and this inuention of worshipping the Diuell was found out by him to build vp the city of the Diuell, as Cain had formerly begun to oppugne the city of God built by Abel and continued vntill Noah. 4. Reg. 1. We also see in the Scripture that wicked Kings did send vnto the Oracles of the Gentiles, as vnto Acharon and other places to haue their doubts and questions resol­ued and answered. Thus Satan hath not forgotten his old wont, but as hee would at the first haue inuaded Gods honour, by predictions of hidden and future things vnto the first woman, Apperientur (saith he) o­culi vestri & eritis sicut Dij scientes bonnm & malum, so now also would hee continue his cosenage amongst men who haue a naturall desire and curiositie to know secret and future things, which they drew from Adams depraued nature, who desired to become as God, knowing that the property of God is to diue into all hidden euents, especially to vnderstand mens thoughts and things to come. The Scripture teacheth vs these two points: the first in Ieremy, Ierem. 17. Inscrutabile est cor ho­minis, & quis cognoscet illud? Ego Dominus probans re­nes & corda. And for the second point Esay saith, An­nunciate [Page 56] nobis quae ventura sunt, & dicemus, quia dij estis vos. Esay. 41. So that if we shall more narrowly sist into the passages of histories, we shall find that Oracles tended to no other end then to beget an admiration in men, and to relish and giue contentment vnto that pride which naturally is rooted in them. Yet the truth is, that the Diuels neuer vnderstood either the one or the other of these points of knowing things hidden or to come: which we will a little enlarge, that the curious of these times may know how much they abuse themselues, in thinking that they are able to attaine vnto the know­ledge of these two things, either by a secret league or familiarity with the Diuell, or otherwise by supersti­tions and Magick. For the first, Diuines haue learnedly laboured in the same, grounding their discourses vpon that sentence of Ieremy, and vpon the saying of S. Paul, Nemo scit quid sit in homine, 1. Cor. 2. nisi spiritus hominis qui in ipso est: Psal. 7. and Dauid also doth often appropriat that vnto God alone Scrutans corda & renes Deus. So that man alone doth by nature know what hee thinketh in his heart, which no other substance can search into but God onely.Dan. 2. This is well verified in the history of Nabu­chodonosox, who when hee had forgotten his dreame, would haue had his southsayers to diuine what it was: but it was told him that he demanded an impossibility. Sermo enim quem tu quaeris res grauis est, neo reperietur quisquam qui indicet illum in conspectu Regis, exceptis dijs quorum non est cum hominibus conuersatio. Where it is very obseruable, that hee had assembled not onely Philosophers and Astrologers, but Magicians also, as the text expresly declareth: and although it be certaine that these Magicians had contracted secret familiarity with wicked spirits, whom peraduenture they might conceite to be Gods, yet doe they set a distance▪ and difference betwixt the Gods that doe sometimes con­uerse with men, and those who hold no traffick or in­tercourse with them: nay they doe confesse that those [Page 57] who familiarly conuerse with men, can by no meanes vnderstand that which is hidden in mens hearts: but in the end Daniel gaue the resolution of it, saying, My­sterium quod Rex interrogat, sapientes, magi, areoli, & aruspices nequeunt indicare regi, sed Deus est in coelo reuelans mysteria, qui indicauit tibi Nabuchodonosor quae ventura sunt nouissimis temporibus. Dydimus Saint Ieromes master doth of set purpose handle this pointe, proouing that the holy Ghost is therefore the true God, because he entereth into the chamber of the heart, and openeth the most secret cogitations there. And hee giueth the naturall reason of this, for the soule hath no quantity or corporall dimensions, but is a pure and spi­ritual substance, not bounded in by any limits whatsoe­uer, but only by that natiue purenesse wherin it was cre­ated, so that it must needs follow, that if any thing doe penetrate this substance, it must bee the very vncom­pounded substance of the soule, or that quickning ver­tue which was able to put life into the fame: so that there are but these two things absolutly simple and without mixture in the soule. The Diuel thē can neither be the substance, nor the life of the soule, and therefore cannot penetrate into it: but God it is who giueth this vertue of life vnto the soule, and without whose con­currence the essence and life of the same would pre­sently be consumed to nothing, and be as it was before the creation of it: whereupon Dydimus saith, Dydim. lib. 2. de Spirit. sanct. Imparti­cipabilis Diabolus est non creator sed creatura subsi­stens, introiuit ergo in cor Iudae, non secundum substan­tiam, sed secundum operationem, quia introire in aliquem increatae est substantiae. Heereupon hee concludeth,Ios. 13. that whereas we finde that the Diuell entred into the heart of Iudas, it must bee vnderstood of Iudas his will: and whereas he is said to fill the heart of Ananias, the mea­ning is, that he filled it with his suggestions of malice, of auariciousnesse, and the like enormities: which can not enter into a man, vnlesse he set his heart open, and [Page 58] giue consent to these temptations. And the very word (to tempt) importeth nothing else but an essay or triall of something. Satan then doth endeauour to informe himselfe of our goodnesse or naughtinesse, and if hee may coniecture, that there are some feeds of goodnesse in the heart, hee imployeth all his forces to shake the same by those obiects and deuises which hee daily pra­ctiseth.Hieron. lib. 2. comment. in Matth. ad c. 15. S. Ierome, Dydimus his scholler hath learnedly opened this point, and as it were commented vpon that which his master obscurely deliuered. They that con­ceite (saith he) that wicked thoughts proceed from the Diuell, and not rather from their owne depraued will, are worthy to bee sharpely reprooued: for the Diuell may suggest and occasion wicked thoughts in men, but cannot be the author of them. Hee is indeed an Incen­diary, and setteth our flesh on fire with burning sensu­alitie, yet can he not reach the inward part of our heart, but doth coniecture of the same by the habite and be­hauiour which hee obserueth in vs: as when hee seeth a man gazing often vpon a woman, and applying him­selfe wholly vnto her, he presently from hence doth sur­mise, that he beginneth to commit adultery in his heart, whereupon hee doth forthwith minister vnto him oc­casion of incouragement, putting many fancies into his head, which when hee reiecteth not, but rather de­lighteth to entertaine them still, of himselfe and from his owne freewill he sendeth them vnto his soule. The Diuell abuseth those that are made to beleeue, that hee knoweth the secresies of the heart; hee may peraduen­ture haue some coniecturall knowledge, but because it is in the liberty of mans freewill to abandon and giue ouer such fancies when hee pleaseth, the Diuell is oft cousened of his aime, and prooueth a notorious lyar. S. Augustine hath made a treatise of this very argument, intituled,August lib. de scientia dae­monum. De scientia daemonum, where hee largely handleth the same, and concludeth, that they can no more foretell of things to come, then they are able to [Page 59] discerne the thoughts that are within vs. Yet would the Diuell seeme to make predictions of future accidents,4. Reg. 1. & 1. Reg. 28. by the answeres of Oracles. The king Ochosias did pur­posely send messengers vnto them, to vnderstand whe­ther hee should recouer his sicknesse, or no: and Saul did the like, that hee might bee informed, what should be the yssue of the battell which he was to fight against the Philistims, whereby they offended against the ex­presse word of God, which saith, Non aocedetis ad Magos, neque ab [...]hariolis aliquid sciscitabimini. Leuit. 19. And this was the occasion of their ruine, where we may ob­serue, that it ordinarily by Gods permission so falleth out, that if the Diuell (whether it be personally by him­selfe, or by any oracle of his, be it liuing or be it dead) do foretell any good fortune, it seldome falleth out to bee true, but if hee foretell any mischance, it doth as­suredly prooue to bee so, because commonly such mis­fortune is the punishment of this Apostasie. And this is easily discerned in the history of Saul, and must remaine vnto vs as a Maxime or generall rule, which is also the obseruation of S. Chrysostome, Athanas. q. 27. ad Antioch. Princ. Vide locum in fine huius capituli. Also S. Athanasius in his resolution of this pointe to the Prince of Antioche, doth soberly proceed in his discourse by experiences. There be two things (saith he) which neither the good nor the bad Angels are able to vnderstand, and they are, the secrets of the heart, and things that are to come. It is true (saith hee) that sometimes Magicians (whom I tearme the liuing oracles of the Diuel) doe foretell that which doth after­wards happen, by the fore knowledge and reuelations of Diuels, but their predictions are of euents that are already happened in other places; as for example, when they see it raine in India, and that the weather is fit and likely to carry those cloudes towards Egypt, he maketh his oracles to foretell, that it will very shortly raine in Egypt: so when he obserueth the abundance of snow that lieth vpon hills, is melted, or beginneth to melt, [Page 60] he so resheweth that Nilus or some such great riuer, will ouerflow their bankes: so that he telleth nothing but what he seeth, onely this aduantage he hath, that by his nimblenesse hee pre [...]enteth the effects, which birds themselues might do, if they were indued with naturall reason: yea many times they do foretell things in their flight from one climate to another; in so much as many Philosophers haue bin held in admiration, for their di­uinations of those things: which they obserued by their knowledge of the nature of these birdes. Therefore Saint Athanasius doth conclude. Resolue with your selues to do something, whereof none can haue the least coniecture, and then go vnto the Deuils Oracles, who are the Magicians, and aske them if they can informe you of this which you haue determined to do, and you shall finde them vtterly ignorant, and vnable to satisfie you.Athanas. in vi­ta Anthon. Saint Athanasius had heard Anthonius Mona­chus discourse of this argument, and it is probable, that he had most of his resolutions from him, as from one that had the best experience heereof of any man in the world:for we finde that hee heere reciteth all most the very same sentences which hee did formerly alleage in the discourse of Anthonies life: where hee addeth, that the Deuils do no more, then one that rideth post and aduertiseth vs of some things that are done farre from vs; or as a Physitian who by feeling a mans pulses, will shew him that hee is likely to fall into a feauer: or as a husband-man who seeing a glutt and ouerflow of waters, will foretell a scarcity of corne to ensue: to conclude (saith he) they know what­soeuer is already done, not what is to come: yet from hence did Idolatry and all those newe Gods of the hea­then take their beginning, and they were esteemed by the simple people to be the true Gods. And this asserti­on which is so waighty, and of such importance, may be strengthened both by Scripture, & by prophane au­thors also: for the most famous Oracles that euer were, [Page 61] did flourish in the time of Cyrus, in Affricke,Herod. in ini­tio. Esay 23. 14. 45. Ierem. 23. Dan. 8. 10. and in Greece, as Herodotus writeth: in which times the Pro­phets Esay, Ezekiel, Daniel, and others had foretold diuers great mutations, which were to befall the most renowned Nations of the world, as the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Grecians, and the Romanes: yea th [...]y were so plaine as to point out the Grecians, and to call Cyrus by his proper name; the like did the Sybilles also foreshowe. Now when the Deuils were thus armed, they then began to foretell that which they had stollen from the Reuelation of Prophets, and to deliuer the great euents of things. But if a man did offer to decline from these paths, and did question them of lesse affaires, and of particular businesses, whereof they could haue no knowledge or coniecture, they did so mince and perplexe their predictions with ambiguous speeches, that whatsoeuer should happen, they would still haue a hansome shift and euasion. Many graue authors both amongst the Greekes and Latins, haue handled this pointe, and amongst the Latins,Lactant. lib. diuin. institut. Hieron. lib. 12. comment. in Esaiam. ad cap. 41. we haue many notable passages of Lactantius; and of S. Ierome, who hath de­scended vnto some particulars heerein; saying Apollo Delphicus & Loxias, Delius (que), & Clarius, & caetera Idola, futurorum scientiam pollicentes, reges potentissi­mos deceperunt: and hee alleageth many examples of their ignorance: but (saith hee) if there were no other thing to discouer their weaknesse but this, that they could not foretell their owne ruine vpon the comming of Christ Iesus in the flesh, it would sufficiently prooue their imbecillity in the apprehension of things to come. It is reported, that a good vnderstanding man, who was desirous to trie the blockishnesse of a Magician, or Chiromantick, did shew him his left hand, to haue his fortune told him; and as the Magician was attentiuely vewing the lineaments of his hand, hee strooke him with his right hand a sound boxe on the eare saying vn­to him, if thou knowest things that are to come, why [Page 62] dost thou not first learne that which doth concerne thy selfe? this saith Saint Ierome of Oracles. Where by the way we may see, how grossely they are abused, who make any compacts and bargaines with this vncleane Spirit, vpon promise to vnderstand from them those euents that are afterwards to follow: as also how gree­uously they offend, who addresse themselues vnto such kind of people, which is no lesse then to apply them­selues vnto the Oracles themselues, as the Idolaters of former times did, since the Deuill is he that speaketh both in the one and in the other: And this is that feare­full Apostasie from the faith, which is so frequently for­bidden in the law of God.Athanas. de vita Anthon. But saith this good father Anthonius, what good shall a man get in suffering himselfe to bee palpably cousened, and in stead of a Carkanet, to buy a bracelet of cockles? especially since this is the way to estrange him from God, and to make him sell his poore soule vnto the Deuill for meere lies and gulleries. But put case, that hee told vs truth, yet should we not labour to get this knowledge from the enemy of God and mankinde, for feare he conuey poy­son into this hony, as hee did vnto our first parents. Hereupon it was that our Sauiour commanded the Deuill to hold his peace,Luk. 4. although hee spake pure truth. And albeit (saith this good Monke Anthonius) hee should appeare vnto vs full of splendour and brightnes, as sometimes he transformeth himselfe into an Angell of light, yet are we to shut our eyes, and to turne aside our face from the light which proceedeth from the De­uill. The history of Saul doth declare, that hee had done what lay in his power, to know that which did so much import him, and had addressed himselfe vnto God and vnto the Preists,Chrysost. Ho­mil. 8. in. 2. epist. ad Ti­moth. and Prophets, till at the last when he saw, that God would make him no answere, he went as at the last cast vnto a witch, and that hastened on his ruine. Let vs learne then to make our addresse vnto God, and if he do not aide vs forth-with, yet to [Page 63] hope still in him, and to waite his leasure with patience: knowing that all doth worke together for our good: But wee will speake heereof more at large in the ensu­ing Chapter. There is another obseruation which Saint Chrysostome noteth, and suteth notably with this argu­ment, Nemo quum fallunt, attendit: sed solum si quid verum praedixerint, aspicit. And againe he saith, Qui [...] homo se dedit Diabolipotestati, Deus id permittit accide­re. Men take no heede vnto their falshoods, but do onely looke to that which falleth out to bee true; but (saith he) touching the misfortunes which do fall vpon them, God doth iustly permit them to happen, as the scourge and punishment for their sinne.

CHAP. VI. That Sorcerers are as detestable, and as much forbidden by the law of God, as the very Oracles of the Heathen and their Idols were: that it is an idle speech which is giuen out of Sorcerers, that Princes should take heed of them: the diuersities of customes, whi [...]h the Sorcerers vsed in the olde time: all proued by the Scripture.

ALthough Pliny was of opinion, that Ma­gicke was really nothing,Sorcery a gree­uous and ab­hominable sin. Plin. lib. 30. natur. hist c. 1. but meerely a bare name without a thing, and was no more in nature then is a Chim [...]ra: which hee goeth about to prooue by the expe­rience of Nero, who was so hot in the pursuite of these curious Arts, that hee did initiate and dedicate hims [...]lfe vnto this trade, and yet for all this he could neuer giue satisfaction vnto himselfe in this kinde, although hee wanted neither wit nor will, much lesse authority, ri­ches, and the most knowing men in these Artes, that he could get from all the quarters of the East. Yet ought we not to entertaine this opinion that Pliny hath, no more then his blasphemous conceite of the Deity, (for [Page 64] he affirmeth that there is no other God but the Sunne) or his gibing at the resurrection of the flesh, which hee thinketh a meere ridiculous fancy: for in these two points he playeth the par [...] of an Atheist, as indeede hee was; but the rule in Logicke doth easily ouerthrow his collection, when from a particular instance he would in­ferre an vniuersall proposition: for as wee say, Ex par­ticularibus nihil concludi potest, & a particulari ad vni­uersale conclusio nulla. We could also allow vnto him the history of Iulian the Apostatate, who had as much authority, riches, wit, and as many masters as Nero e­uer had, and a great deale of more will, but by the per­mission of God, he grew more weary of the incertainty and barrennnesse thereof, then hee was before heated with the desire of knowing it. And this did rather happē vnto them both (that we may answere the obiection of Pliny) because their maine drift and designe was, to ab­olish and annihilate the memory of Christ Iesus, and to prooue him a lyar, in that he had said, Ecce ego vobis­cum sum vsque ad consummationem seculi. But there­upon to deny the effects of the Deuill practised by his instruments the witches, it would sauour of too much rashnesse, especially since many authors so ancient and so renowned, are full of them. Let it suffice to haue al­leaged for confirmation heereof certaine passages out of Lactantius and Saint Augustine, who giuing a rea­son of such admirable effects, do attribute them to wic­ked Spirits.Philostrat. lib. 4. We will onely adde that which Philostra­tus hath written of a sorceresse, who by her art did pro­uide a sumptuous banquet for her louer Menippus: who being sate at table with many others, and hauing a good appetit to taste of those delicacies, vpon the sud­daine all was taken away, and they were forced to rise more hungry then they were before. But wee will draw our proofes from the Scripture, least some should with Pliny conceite this relation to bee fabulous. First Saint Paule maketh mention of the Iamn [...]s, 2. Timoth. 3. and Iam­bres, [Page 65] whose history is recited in the booke of Exodus, that they resisted Moyses, and did worke by Magicke, whatsoever Moyses could do by Diuine power: they changed their roddes into serpents, and water into blood:Exod. 7. & 8. they also made frogges to come and couer the land of Aegypt: yet at the third plague (not at the third signe, as it is vulgarly receiued) they could not do as Moyses did before them: not because (as the Hebrewes would alleage) the Deuill cannot counterfeit any thing that is lesse then a barly corne, in regard that those things that are least require (say they) greatest subtilty to shape them, and therefore although the Magicians did make great snakes and frogges,Rabbi, Leui, Ben. Gerson in cap. 8. Exod. yet they could not bring lice vpon the land of Aegypt as Moyses did; for this opinion is not iustifiable, because afterwards they could not make great flyes, nor raise those hugh bot­ches and tumours which were in the bodies of men, neither could they make haile, or lightning to descend from heauen, or cause the windes to blow and combate against themselues, which neuerth [...]lesse he did in Iobs time: but the reason was, because at the third time, God tyed vp the power of Satan, and restrained him from passing further, as hee also inhibited him in the like case to put Iob to death, as he did his children. And this the Magicians were forced to confesse, saying, Digitus Dei est hic. From hence it is apparant, that there are those who contract secret familiarity with the Deuill, and by this meanes worke strange things, although for the most part they are ordained vnto wicked purposes. The Prophet Dauid doth take his similitude from the char­mer who by his arte doth charme serpents;Psalm. 57. so that this is a truth not to bee gaine-said, especially since God himselfe doth no lesse detest and prohibite such kinde of men in his law, then he doth Idols and Oracles of the Deuill. For when Sathan sawe that the people of God did abhorre his Oracles that were senslesse, and framed by the hands of men, hee insinuated himselfe amongst [Page 66] them by another way more subtile then the former, by speaking vnto men, and making himselfe to be secretly adored by them. This is it which is so strictly forbid­den in Leuiticus,Leuitic. 19. & 20. Non declinetis ad magos, nec ab Heri­olis aliquid sciscitemini, ne polluamini per eos. And hee repeateth the same afterwards, Anima quae declinauerit ad magos & Hariolos, & fornicata fuerit cumeis, ponam faciem meam contra eam, & interficiam eam de medio populi sui. Exod. 22. Also it is said in Exodus, Maleficos non patie­ris viuere, where the Hebrew word doth particularly apply it selfe vnto witches.Deut. 18. And in Deutronomy God speaketh thus vnto his people. Quando ingressus fueris terram quam Dominus Deus tuus dabit tibi, caue ne imitarivelis abominationes illarum gentium, nec inueni­atur in te qui lustret filium suum, aut filiam ducens per ignem, a [...]t qui ariolos sciscitatur & obseruat somnia at­que auguria, net sit maleficus, nec incantator, neque qui Pythones consulat, nec diuinos, & quaerat à mortuis ve­ritatem. Omnia haec abominat [...]r Dominus, & propter istiusmodi scelera delebit eos in introitu suo: perfectus eris & a [...]sque macula cum Domino Deo tuo, gentes ist ae quarum possidetis terram, augures & diuinos audiunt tu autem a Domino Deo tuo aliter institutus es. To bee breife, the Scripture doth often speake of these people, in so much as there is scarce a booke in the whole Bible, where mention is not made of them. Besides the passa­ges already cited, those that are desirous may see. Num. 23. Ios. 13. 1. Reg. 15. and 28. 2. Paral. 33. Esay 47. and 44. Mich. 5. Na [...]um. 3. In the new testament there is Simon Magus, Act. 8.13.16.19Elimas the south-sayer, Barieu, and a woman who had a familiar Spirit, and did foretell ma­ny things, by which meanes she brought in much gaine vnto her masters. There is also mention made of the Ephesians,Hieron. prolog. in epist. ad Ephes. who were exceedingly addicted to all kinds of curious artes, and these were nothing else amongst the Ancients but the artes of Magicke. but when they had their vnderstandings rectified by Saint Paules in­structions, [Page 67] they burned all their bookes, that were va­lued at 50. thousand peices of siluer. When good King Iosias would reduce the religion of God into that first integrity, wherein it formerly stood, thereby to ap­pease the wrath of God against the people of the Iewes, hee called a generall Councell in the temple at Hieru­salem,4. Reg. 2.3. where amongst other things sit to be redressed, it was decreed, that all sorcerers and witches should be put to death: which the good King accordingly practi­sed. Pythones (saith the text) & ariolos, & figuras idolo­rum, & immunditias, & abominationes, quae fuerunt in terra Iudae & Hierusalem, abstulit Iosias, vt statueret verba legis. After his raigne all good Princes did the like, the law of God hauing expressely forbidden the vse of the same. As also in the Codices there are many lawes religiously ordained by Christian Emperours, as Constantius and others, against witch-craft and Mathe­maticians. And how could they bee wanting in this duty, since the Heathens themselues haue made the practise of them punishable.Cornelius Tacit. Cornelius Tacitus doth relate, that there was a law made in Roome, by whi [...]h all Mathematicians and Magicians were banished from all Italy, as excommunicated persons, and not worthy to liue amongst honest men. Which law was put in ex­ecution in the time of Christ Iesus, not without a myste­rious and Diuine meaning: for as our Sauiour by his comming into the world, did driue away and cast out the Deuils, so his pleasure was, that their speciall atten­dants and worshippers, should by earthly Princes bee bannished out of their Dominions: which action did belong vnto the externall seate of Iustice.Apuleius in vtraque Apo­log. Appollonius Thianeus a great Magician was cited to appeare be­fore the Emperour Domitian, because hee was a sorce­rer; as was Apuleius also before the gouernour of Affricke in the raigne of Antonius Pius; and was faine to purge himselfe by two Apologies which he made to cleere this accusation, or else he had beene put to death. [Page 68] So that we must not imitate those of Geneua, (which is the well-spring of all Atheisme and diabolicall adora­tions) where none is accused or condemned to dye, vn­lesse hee be conuicted to haue cast abrode some charme hurtfull vnto man or beast, although they know him to b [...]long vnto the Deuils Synagogue. It is certaine, that the greatest exorbitancy in this sinne is, that they who practise the same, do apostate from the true religon of God, and adore the Deuill: which is cleerely prooued in the Scriptures, for they do not much aggrauate this obliquity with any other great inforcement, then that they commit idolatry, which is a sinne directly against the Maiesty of God, and not against our neighbour. Thus in Exodus 22. a little after these wordes,Exod. 22. Thou shalt not suffer a witch to liue, it is added, whosoeuer shall sacrifice vnto other Gods, but the true God, hee shall be put to death.Leuitic. 18. In the 18. of Leuiticus it is said, you shall not go to Magicians, neither shall you aske questions of sorcerers, least you be defiled by them; and the conclusion thereupon inferred is: I am thy Lord thy God. Whereupon it doth follow, that therefore this sinne is so enormous, because it is dire [...]ly against the Maiesty of God: the same may be noted in the follow­ing Chapter also,Leuitic. 20. which is the 20. The soule (saith God) that shall go vnto Magicians and sorcerers, and shall commit fornication with them, I will set my face a­gainst them, and will cut them off from among my peo­ple. It followeth, sanctifie your selues therefore and bee holy, for I am the Lord your God. In the 18. Chapter of Deutronomy it is also said: Let there not be found among you that vseth witch-craft, or that asketh coun­sell of charmers and south-sayers, for this was the sinne of the Gentiles, whom for these abominations I cast out from their land, and placed you in their steed. As for thee thou hast bin otherwise taught by the Lord thy God. And then he addeth, God will raise vp a Prophet vnto you, who shall speake familiarly with you, not as [Page 69] I spake in the mountaine in fire: but hee shall bee like vnto one of you, and vnto him shall you hearken. And whosoeuer will not harken vnto him, I will take ven­geance vpon him. It is well worth the obseruation, that both by the letter of the text, a [...] also by the exposition which Saint Stephen in the Acts of the Apostles maketh of the same, by this Prophet is meant Christ Iesus.Act. 7. All which doth sufficiently declare that this impiety is a­gainst the Maiesty of God and particularly against the person of Christ Iesus our Sauiour and Redeemer. For when from worshipping of an inuisible substance, these kinde of people do adore the Deuil, when he presenteth himselfe before them in a visible forme, it is manifest that in this he would rob the Sonne of God of his glory, who made himselfe visible, that he might be visibly adored. When Samuel would aggrauate the sinne of rebellion and contempt, which Saul committed against the Diuine Maiesty, he telleth him, that this sinne is like vnto the sinne of Sorcerers and Magicians, he could not compare this disobedience and rebellion to a grea­ter sinne, then that of Witches and Magicians. And the euent declared how odious it was: for when Saul had thus set at nought the commandement of God, he was left vnto himselfe, and could neuer after that receiue any answere either by Preists or by dreames,1. Reg. 28. and nocturnal reuelations, or by Prophets. Yet for all this was he still King of Israel, but when he once did seeke vnto a witch, he fell into the gulph of all impiety, and was the next day slaine with his children, so that none of that stocke did euer after raig [...]e or beare sway in Israel. And which Kings and Princes should regardfully obserue, it is said in the 4. of Kings 23. that good King Iosias hauing laboured all he could to reduce true religion to that first state and integrity wherein it stood,4 Reg. 23. yet was not God fully appeased with this people, but did afterwards de­liuer them vp into the hands of the barbarous Babylo­nians, to be oppressed and in slauery vnto them: which [Page 70] happened by reason of his grand-father Manasses, who did alwayes intertaine Magicians and Witches in the kingdome of Israel, and himselfe also was of that trade. Non est auersus (saith the text) Dominus ab ira furoris sui magni, quo iratus est furor eius contra Iudam propter irritationes, quibus prouocauerat eū Manasses. The abo­minations of Manasses are described in the 4. booke of Kinges the 21. Chapter,4. Reg. 21. amongst which there is mention made of his south-saying, and diuinations, and how he had for that purpose a great number of Magici­ans and Sorcerers about him, labouring to augment and adde reputation vnto that trade: by which abomi­nations, and by other his daily prouocations of God, hee plucked downe the Viols of his wrath vpon him. It is very obseruable, that God for this very fault did sharply chastise the Kings of the earth, who were vtter­ly vnacquainted with his law:Esay 4.7. as appeareth in Esay, where God threatneth to destroy the great Citty of Ba­bylon, and the whole Empire thereof, because (saith he) of the great multitude of Witches, that raigne within thee, and of that flintinesse of heart which hardneth thy Inchanters and Sorcerers.Ezechi. 28. And in Ezechiel the King of Babylon is represented vnto vs standing in the middle betwixt two wayes, and by the Arte of Magicke dispo­sing and placing of arrowes, to know what would befall vnto him: but God threatneth to punish him greeuously for the same. And heere may we fitly speake vnto Chri­stian Princes, and say with the Kingly Prophet Dauid, Nunc reges intelligite, Psal. 2. erudimini qui iudicatis terram, ne quando irascatur Dominus & pereatis de via insta. For there is no sinne in the world, that doth more trans­plant the Crownes and Kingdomes of the Princes of the Earth, especially of christian Princes, then to tolle­rate by any indulgence or conniuencie whatsoeuer, an impiety so derogatory from God, and Christ his Sonne, and to let it spread in the middest of the Church. Hence Dauid concludeth according to the Hebrew phrase, [Page 71] K [...]sse the Sonne least hee bee angry, and ye perish in the way, Psalm. 2. Osculamini fi­lium Ado [...]ate pure! Oppo­site against that damned custo [...]e of Sorcer [...], who k [...]sse the Diuell in the likenesse of a Goate, as shall afterwards be specified. 1 Corinth. 6. [...]hen his wrath shall suddenly burne. To kisse and to wor­ship the Sonne, is to adore Christ Iesus with all purity and sincerenesse of heart, who will haue no fellowship or alliance with Beliall as S. Paul teacheth. We are not to imitate those of Geneua before mentioned, but wee are to execute the rigour and extremity of iustice vpon those that are guilty of this crime, because it is agai [...]st the diuine Maiesty, and directly contrary to the first commandement of the law, although it be true withall, that this art cannot bee practised without the endam­ [...]agement of our neighbours, as shall heereafter ap­peare by their depositions. But the honour of God must take vp the first consideration, and wee are not to inuert and misplace things, or as the common saying is, put the cart before the horse. Yet it is not to be maruel­led that the practise of Geneua runneth thus; for be­sides their rage in depressing as much as in them lies the honour of God and his Saints (which was foretold in the Reuelation, that they should blaspheme God,Apoc. 13. his tabernacle, the humanity of Christ Iesus, and them that dwelt in heauen, they haue the property that all Here­ticks naturally haue, to loue Magicians and Sorcerers; as appeareth by the fi [...]st H [...]retick Simon Magus, men­tioned in the Acts of the Apostles, and by the rest that followed after him, as Irenaeus and others do declare it.Iren. lib. 1.

The Turkes (as I conceiue) doe not much esteeme these Arts, but the Sarazens did permit that men should teach this impietie publikely, about a thousand yeeres after Christ.Apoc. 13. The Dra [...]on is bound in the Apocalypse chap 20. that is to say Lu­cifer. And if Antichrist bee to proceed from the [...]urkes, whereof there is great likelihood, then is their Monarchie pointed out vnto vs by Babylon and the sa­uage beast, that was to receiue great power & strength from the great Dragon, by vertue whereof hee might worke wonders, euen to make fire to descend from hea­uen: all which he should doe through the power of the Diuell, shadowed out vnder the nature of the Dragon. [Page 72] Touching the meanes, which such kinde of people vse in their witchcrafts, there can bee no certaine number set of them, for they are infinite, and the Diuell is so craftie and malicious withall, that (as it is said of a naughty fellow) Habet mille technas, mille nocendi ar­tes. He inuenteth euery day new deuises, the more to please him, whom hee most desireth to hold fast in his gripe: and seeing that some are delighted with one thing, and some with another, he fitteth all according to their seuerall humours. And put case that these seue­rall manners of Charmes be not hurtfull vnto the body, yet doe they defile and staine the soule of the Sorcerer, because they are euer tyed vnto superstition, which is a kinde of Idolatrie. Neuerthelesse, the Diuell striueth as much as hee can, to practise those charmes which are hurtfull vnto men, as bloodshed and murther: but when he meeteth with any (as sometimes he doth) whose con­sciences are scrupulous to commit murther, or other­wise to hurt mens persons, hee then is contented to ap­plie himselfe vnto them, that at the least hee may gaine vnto him their beguiled soules. And it is probable (since there are so many diuersities of them mentioned in the Hebrew Bible) that as the Diuels in the Scriptures take their denominations from the effects that are obserued in them, so haue the Sorcerers their diuersities of names from the diuersities of effects and charmes, which they ordinarily practise. Thus the Magicians of Pharaoh, to make their charmes more powerfull, besides the roddes which they had in their hands, to shew themselues e­quall vnto Moyses, they also vsed (whether secretly or openly it is not expressed) certaine plates of red-hot iron, newly forged; and their charmes in the 7. chapter of Exodus are called by the word Lahatim, Ezod. 7. which sig­nifieth, burning plates: and so is the flaming sword cal­led which the Cherubin brandished in his hand in the fourth chapter of Genesis;Genes. 4. Rabby Dauid Quimhi. which is the particu­lar obseruation of Rabby Dauid Quimhi. And from [Page 73] hence we may gather an excellēt morall, since as S. Paul teacheth vs, the Magicians in this historie did represent Heretikes,2. Timoth. 3. as Moyses did shadow forth the Catholike Doctors. Moyses did remaine contented with the rod which he held in his hand, & the catholike Doctor doth shake the rod of Gods word ouer those that doe trans­gresse against the same. The Heretike likewise holdeth the rod of Gods word in his hand, but hee cannot pre­uaile with it, except hee also vnsheath that flaming sword, which betokeneth warre, and the effusion of blood. And it may well be, that they mingled the blood of men, in the tempering and making of such swords: which is in these daies practised, and hath been vsuall in former times amōgst the Theraphins. Vide Heliam Leuitam in Thes b. Dictione The­raphm. Leuit. 19. & 20. But let vs descend to other passages. In the 19. and 20. chapters of Leuiti­cus these Magicians are called by this word Aob, which signifieth a pitcher, or a barrell. And it might be, there were a kinde of Sorcerers which did vse such vessels, as many doe in these daies, who cast certaine names into a vessell or bason full of water, to diuine and presage of something. In the 18. of Deuteronomy they are called Menahhesh, which importeth as much as,Deuteron. 18. to vse Ser­pents, and it is probable enough, that they vsed Serpents in their charmes, as wee haue heretofore noted of the Romanes, who did the like ro rid Rome of the plague. Aben Ezra doth thinke, that it was nothing but cer­taine figures and characters of Serpents, which such people did vse in their charmes and inchantments. King Manasses, 2. Paral. 33. who was the greatest Sorcerer of the world, was accused to bee Mecasheph, which word is deriued from a verbe that signifieth to paint,Rabby Dauid Qu [...]mhi in Naum Pro­phetam. Sanctes Pag­nin. in Thesau­ro. or by imbellishing the face with colours to attract and deceiue men, which is the propertie of wanton women, as Rabby Dauid Quimhi saith in his Comment vpon Nahum: and there­upon Aben Ezra, who together with Quimhi is quo­ted by Sanctes Pagninus, and by Munsterus, Munsterus in L [...]xico. doth de­clare, that these are Sorcerers, who make a shew that [Page 74] they transshape things, and by this meanes doe grossely abuse those men, whom they doe blinde with their ap­paritions, and so make them beleeue they see that, which indeed they doe not see: like vnto those loose and light women, who set a glosse of whitenes vpon their face, which is not indeed in their persons. There is another word in the 3. of Michah, Mich. 3. that also expresseth these Ma­gicians, and that is Quassam, which Dauid Quimhi (as is to be supposed, by the passages already alleaged) doth interprete to signifie all manner of Charmes and In­chantments. Although then there bee diuers sorts of Charmes inuented by the Diuell, as it may bee concei­ued that the superstitious vse of these things tooke strength with time, and grew more familiar, when once the spirit of man was tickled with the delight of them, yet are wee not to thinke, that these Diabolicall Charmes are endued with any naturall efficacie, or that wicked spirits are more delighted with one thing then another, or allured by some speciall charme, to doe whatsoeuer the Sorcerer would haue them: but it is to be attributed, by the third and generall reason, to the malice of the Diuell, who in all things is Gods ape, as Tertullian hath it.Tertul. lib. de Baptis. For hee cunningly obserueth, that God maketh choyce from his pure and absolute will of certaine materiall substances, thereby to confirme and make effectuall his promises vnto men: as are the bread and wine in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and water in Baptisme; yet haue these outward elements no na­tiue force in themselues, to declare that vnto vs, which God by his power worketh in vs: and hereupon the Diuell maketh a voluntary election of such things as he thinketh fittest, whereby as by signes he maketh good those promises which he offereth vnto men, and taketh occasion to shew the greatnesse of his forces. And this is the resolution that is giuen by S. Augustine, Daemones (inquit) alliciuntur herbis, non tanquam animalia cibis, sed tanquam spiritus signis. An asse indeed is moued at [Page 75] the sight of Oates, and the sheepe is greedy to browse vpon a tender twig which is set before him; but it is not so with Spirits, for they haue no need of any cor­porall substance for their necessity, but vse outward things, as signes and pledges, whereby they expresse their pleasure vnto men, who otherwise could haue no aduertisement of the same. For it is the property both of reasonable and intellectuall creatures, to declare their will by externall signes; and therefore we are not to conceiue that it was the sound of Dauids Harpe that droue away the wicked spirit from Saul, or the gall of the fish that made Asmodeus to runne away; for hee standeth not in feare of any corporall thing, in respect that it is corporall, yea it cannot imprint any action in­to him, nor so much as touch him: yet when such mate­riall substances are the instruments by which God wor­keth, and when vertuous people are confirmed by faith, of Gods power herein, then is it effectuall against the Diuell: and then must wee doe as wee are comman­ded by S. Peter, cuiresistite fortes in fide. It is certaine that the Diuell doth somtimes obserue the course of the Moone in his workings, which is a corporall sub­stance: and this is plaine in the fourth, and seuenteenth Chapter of S. Matthew, Matth. 4. & 17. Hieron. in Matth. & Chrysost. where mention is made of one that was lunatickly possessed; but herein (saith S. Ie­rome) he did secretly labour to desame Gods creature, and to make men beleeue, either that it was the Diuels creature, as the Manicheans conceited, of many crea­tures that were very vsefull vnto man, or else that it was to bee adored as a God, because of the great power it had ouer the bodies of men: whereunto we may ad­ioyne the saying of S. Augustine, August. lib. 21. de ciuitat. S. Thom. 1. p. q. 115. art. 5. that the diuell, as one that is exceedingly cunning and wise (from whence al­so hee hath his name) when hee would apply naturall causes one vnto the other, for his more easie and ready way, doth obserue the course of the Moone, which doth naturally giue assistance and inclination to such effects, [Page 76] as haue their origine from lunacy. This experience teacheth to bee true in lunatick persons; and therefore the best practised Physitians doe obserue the same course, in the cures which they vndertake of this kind. As for bodily substances, he hath no vse of them, but as they serue for signes to binde Sorcerers vnto his Ser­uice: as the outward elements in the Sacraments doe serue for tokens of Gods good pleasure in the vse and institution of them: so that such signes are meerly voluntary, although they bee the true images and repre­sentations of those, against whom they would practise their Witchcrafts;Zonar. tom. 3. as we reade in Zonaras that certaine lewd persons had made the very image of Simon Prince of Bulgaria; and as soone as they had cut off the head of the said Image, the Prince was instātly found dead. Vp­on the like occasion did King, Lewes cause a certain wo­man called Claudia, to be burned aliue, because shee had made his resemblance in wax, and would haue set it neerer and neerer vnto the fire,Genebrard. lib. 4. Chron. that so as this Image in wax did melt away, so should he by little and little lan­guish and pine away, and at last die. And because this History doth occasion vs to speake of women; let vs see whether they are giuen to these arts as men are.

CHAP. 7. Of Witches; and that women are more addicted to Witch­craft then men are.

IF the Diuell haue power in a thing so exe­crable, to gaine men vnto his seruice; it is no wonder if he haue also ensnared and en­ticed women into his nets, especially be­cause hee doth first labour to win them, whom hee knoweth to be open vnto perswasions, and more easie to be deceiued, in regard of the naturall impotency and simplicity of their sex.2. Corinth. 11. And this doth S. Paul signifie, [Page 77] when he saith, Take heed you be not deceiued through the simplicity that proceedeth from Christ Iesus. Thus did the Diuell tempt Eue, albeit shee was then in her originall integrity; and hee did the rather buckle vp himselfe to giue this onset, because hee knew well how fit air organ she was to draw the man to yeeld his con­sent vnto her liking. And this hee practised from the beginning, and hath since still obserued that this sex hath this property, to bee exceedingly addicted vnto somthing, be it good, or bee it bad: so that if a woman addict her selfe to well doing, shee is more seruent in it then a man; and so contrariwise, if shee abandon her selfe to euill, she is more obstinate to persist in the same then a man is: which is well obserued by S. Chrysostom, Chrysost. hom. 4. de fide Ann. in these words: Contentiosum est (inquit) hoc animal & importunum ac victoriae amans, siue ad malum declinet, siue ad bon [...]m. So that wee may speake of them as wee speake of Angels in generall, and say with the Diuines, Cui adhaerent, immobiliter adhaerent. And hereof all Hi­stories are full: it shall bee sufficient amongst profane authors to alleage one example set downe in the Ro­mane histories. Macrina a noble Lady of Rome did resolue not to speake or looke vpon any man liuing, vn­till her husband Torquatus, who was sent abroad by the Romans to subdue diuers Cities and Prouinces, should returne home vnto her. It so fell out that eleuen yeeres after, there was a wild or sauage man brought to Rome, who had but one eye in the middle of his brow, and was found in the deserts of Aegypt: which, when shee vnderstood by her chambermaid, she was exceedingly moued with a violent desire to see this nouelty; neuer­thelesse shee did command her longings so well, that she did not interrupt her first resolution. And when vp­on a day this sauage man passed by her house, and her selfe was in the chamber, that looked out into the street by which he was to passe, although she heard the noyse and cries in the streets, as the fashion of the com­mon [Page 78] sort of people is when they see any strange specta­cle, yet did shee so strongly represse her passions, that shee would not so much as come vnto the window to see him, whereof she not long afterward died. It shall also be sufficient to select from ecclesiasticall histories that example which Theodoret relateth of the Matrons of Rome,Theodor. lib. histor. who when they saw that their husbands the Senators and others, dared not to intercede to the Em­perour in fauour of Liberius the Pope of Rome, whom he had causelesly banished, for that hee would not con­sent to the bringing in of Heresie, they resolued among themselues to goe vnto the Court, where with their cries and importunity, they neuer left vntill the Empe­rour had called back their chiefe Pastor from banish­ment. The Scripture also is plentifull in these examples. Iudith and Hester will sufficiently exemplifie the good­nesse of women that loue God; and Iosephs mistrisse with Iesabell will fully declare the violence of those that abandon themselues to euill. And as we see by ex­perience euen in these daies, that sober and vertuous women, although in their nature they are most pro­pense vnto compassion, yet they are they that cast the first stones against Sorcerers, and cry louder then the rest to haue them burnt: so contrariwise, Sorceresses are more obstinate, and more addicted vnto witch­crafts, and doe with lesse remorse of conscience plunge themselues into the most execrable facts that may bee, then men: so that it is certaine that women are imployed to strangle children, and to carry and present them to the Diuell, and to make a kind of oyntment of their grease; but Sorcerers and men Witches doe sel­dome or neuer dip their fingers in these bloody actions. Hence is the reason grounded, why the first prohibiti­on to practise witchcraft, whereof mention is made in the Law of God was addressed to women and not to men,Sanctes Pag­ninus in The­sauro. as Sanctes Pagninus hath well obserued, saying; that whereas in the two and twentieth chapter of Exo­dus, [Page 79] wee haue it in the plurall number, Maleficos non patieris viuere, it is in the fountaine of the Hebrew ex­pressed by the word Mechashepha, 1. Reg. 2 [...]. which signifieth a woman witch, and then the sense is thus: Thou shalt not suffer a Sorceresse to liue, because (saith hee) it is a trade more ordinary and vsuall vnto women then vnto men. And this appeareth by the history of Saul, who when he had formerly put to death all manner of Magi­cians and Witches; yet at the last, seeing himselfe for­saken of God for his iniquities, hee resolued to resort vnto the Diuell, and to that purpose hee demanded his seruants whether there were any woman witch left or no: Looke me out (saith he) one that hath a Spirit that I may goe vnto her, and may by her procurement bee aduertized of what I desire to know. Where we are to obserue that Saul did not aske whether there were a man that was a witch, but whether there were any wo­man witch: as if he should haue said, that notwithstan­ding all that he had done against them, it could not be but that there remained yet aliue some woman or other of this occupation: and in truth it is almost impossible to discouer them so easily as men. The conclusion was, Saul was not deceiued in his expectation, for his Cour­tiers, who doe oftentimes make their repaire vnto such people (as the custome of them is) did redily name one vnto him, vnto whom when Saul came, shee began to make her protestations that she was an honest woman, and would for no good attempt such a thing, which was prohibited both by God and the King: but being a little foothed vp with faire promises, shee quickly made the Diuell to attend this seruice: and therefore the Hebrewes are not contented to tearme them by ap­pellations common vnto them all, both men and wo­men, which we haue particularly collected in the for­mer Chapter, but would marke them out by a peculi­ar attribute, which properly is to be vnderstood of wo­men, as may be seene in Helias the Leuite in his Thisby, Helias Leuit. in Thisby. [Page 80] who reporteth according to the traditions of the Iewes, that there are women whom they call the Diuels mo­thers, and tearme them by this word Lilith, which is de­riued from another Hebrew word signifiing the night, because they vse to goe secretly and in the night. And this haue the Latines imitated or borrowed from the Hebrewes, calling them Striges or Lamiae, which signi­eth monsters and stranges birds that vse to goe in the finight. And the said Helias further saith, that a great Lord hauing asked the question of the ancient fathers of the Synagogue, how it chanced that young children that are but eight daies old were so often times found suddently dead, they answered him, that they were Li­lith who put them to death: which is the appellation of Sorceresses, for the Hebrew word is of the feminine gender, as appeareth more plainely by the participle and feminine adiectiue which is ioyned with the word Li­lith, and also because hee saith that they were Nashim, that is to say, women. And the Iewish women are so fully perswaded of the truth thereof (for they are the most superstitious women of the world) that they vse to make foure circles with chalke, or with a cole on the outward parts of the chamber walles where they vse to lie, and vpon euery side or quarter of the chamber they make a circle, writing in one of them the name of A­dam, in the other the name of Eue, in the third the word Huts, which signifieth (without) and in the fourth the word Lilith: as if they should haue said (as I conceiue it) Adam and Eue are the first Parents and Progenitors of mankind, and therefore get you hence all witchcrafts whatsoeuer. Within the chamber they write the names of the Angels, whom they thinke to bee protectors of their children: to wit, Senoy, Sansenoy, and Samangue­loph, saying that Lilith did teach the Iewish women to doe this before shee died: where it is to bee supposed, that this was the name of some great Sorceresse, heere­tofore much renouned amongst them, whom therefore [Page 81] they called Lilith, because shee commonly went in the night: and it is probable shee taught her daughters or some others all the superstitions and art she had, before her death; and afterward in processe of time such kind of women were called Lilith. Howsoeuer it be, this dis­course of Helias the Leuite doth sufficiently declare the antiquitie of Sorcerers, that goe by night and strangle young children, and hee doth there assure vs, that these things are no fables. Which relation would receiue strength and accession of authority, if wee will allow that Iesus the sonne of Sirac did make that discourse, which doth at large mention all these things, and is at­tributed vnto him in the Hebrew booke. We also finde the word Lilith in the Scripture, and particularly in the foure and thirtieth of Esay, Esay 34. which Saint Ierome tran­slateth and thinketh to be a Sorceresse.Thren. 4. Ibi cubauit La­mia: whereby is meant such women as vse to goe in the night. Againe in the Lamentations of Ieremy he inter­preteth this word Lilith to be a Sorceresse, saying,Duris lib. 2. de rebus Lybicis. Sed & Lamiae. Lamia (saith Duris) was a woman, who was iealous that her husband had begotten a child vpon another woman, and thereupon in a great surie she gaue secret order to haue the child strangled, and did the like by all those whom shee could get into her hands: and from her are such kinde of women by the Latines called Lamiae, whose custome was (as Ieremy hath it) to shew and offer their breasts vnto little children, thereby to still them, and to allure them to come vnto them, that so they might strangle them with greater secresie. Therefore when God threatneth Babylon or Ierusa­lem,Esay 34. that witches should frequent thither, and shew their teates; it is but to shew that such places should be left desolate, and vtterly ouerthrowne, because desolate places are altogether frequented by witches, who come there to make their assemblies, and are carried for the most part thither by the Diuell, that in such remote cor­ners they might the more freely exercise the mysteries [Page 82] of their abominations: like as theeues and murtherers haunt such kinde of sollitude. Pliny lib. 25. hist. cap. 11. saith that women doe farre exceed men in this trade, and Quintilian in declamat. saith, Latr [...]cinium in v [...] ­ro facilius, veneficium in foemina. The other kinde of Witches is not so execrable, because there is no ex­presse bargaine with Satan, but onely a tacite agree­ment. And against them S. Chrysostome homil. 13. in 1. ad Timotheum teacheth vs to proceed in another fa­shion.Chrysost. hom. 13. in 1. ad Timoth. Si quis (inquit) ligatur as inanes, aut aliud quip­piam eiusmodisciens & prudens sequitur, praecepto atque imperio tantum arcendus est, sin vero ignarus in ea inci­derit, docendus est. That is to say, We are to informe the ignorant, and to shew vnto them how foule the offence is, where men leaue God to adhere vnto superstitions.

CHAP. VIII. An answere vnto those that demand what danger there is in crauing the assistance and aide of the Diuel.

IT is a general obseruation which is made of those that forget God, to fall (if they doe not returne vnto him speedily) into blindnesse of vnderstanding, and into an obduratnesse of heart, like vnto that of Diuels and the soules of the damned. For as there is a sympathy and participation of good men with those that are in Paradise; so that it may bee said, that liuing in this world, they haue their conuersation in heauen, so are there others, who differ very litle from the damned,Theodore. in haeretic. fabulis insomuch (saith Theodoret) as a man may truely say, that there are Diuels in hel better then they, because they exceed the Diuels themselues in mischiefe and malice. The Diuels doe at the least beleeue and tremble, Damones credunt & contremiscunt: but these doe neither beleeue nor feare the iudgements to come. Whereupon the wiseman saith, that when a wicked [Page 83] man is come vnto the depth and bottome of sinne, hee scoffeth and maketh a ieast of all admonitions. And to digresse no further, the truth hereof is seene by the ex­perience of those, who haue giuen their poore captiue soules vnto the Diuell, and did thinke that these things were meerely fabulous, which did any way remember them of eternall damnation. And what danger is there (say they) to command the Diuell? did not Christ Iesus himselfe the same? doth not God sometimes vse them? and did not the Apostles also serue their turnes with them, by commanding them, as they thought good? Vnto these wee may propose the question, which Saint Athanasius once did to Arrius, Athanas▪ in [...]di­sputatione contra Arrium in Niceno concilio Si quis Sathanam ado­ret, rectene an malé fecerit? Vnto which Arrius re­plyed, although his vnderstanding was darke and blind, Impius & sine Deo est neque communem sensum habet, nec meretur hominis appellationem. So that by the very confession of a limme of the Diuell, wee haue foure markes of him that adoreth the Diuell. First he is full of all impiety and wickednesse: secondly, hee is a true A­theist: thirdly, he is deuoyd of common sense: and last­ly, he is not worthy the appellation of a man. In this Arrius spake wonderously well, being forced vnto this confession by the truth, which ouercommeth all things. For if our first parents fell into such labirynths, and are euer since stiled hereticks, blinde, senselesse, brute beastes, although their simplicity and ignorance was much abused, because they neuer heard talke of the cunning and malice of Satan, how much more ought they to be called by such infamous appellations, who at first dash giue themselues ouer vnto Satan and all his workes,Tertul. lib. 2. cont. Marcio. although they are admonished by many passages of the holy Scripture, yea and warned by the mouth of Christ Iesus, his Apostles, and all the Church to auoyd and resist Satan, and to make continuall in­tercession to God, that they yeeld not vnto his temp­tations, because hee is euer wakefull, and is fierce [Page 84] like a roaring and famished Lyon in the wildernesse. But wee liue in so wretched an age that although it were formerly said, happy is he that hath not drunke of the doctrine of Arrius, yet wee are forced to wish the blinded men of our times a conscience of that vpright­nesse and sensiblenesse, as the conscience of that accur­sed Arrius was. For let vs see how deceitfull and how full of lyes their sophistry is. How vntrue is it that a man is to imitate God, and his Sonne Christ Iesus in all things? It is a good note which a certaine ancient father hath: In diuinis rebus quaedam sunt credenda, quaedam admiranda, quaedam verò imitanda: as for example. When we find that Christ Iesus did of bread make his body by his owne might and authority, it is a worke to be apprehended by beleefe, not to be expressed by imi­tation: when he raised men from the dead, this myracle is proposed vnto vs, onely that wee might admire his diuine power, so that if any one should labour to ex­presse so much, hee is to bee accounted an vsurper vpon the glory of God, which is the very scope whereunto the Diuell doth by his collusions leade poore blind­folded soules. By this meanes he wrought our first pa­rents destruction, perswading them as himselfe had al­ready practised, to make themselues as God, well knowing that this was the true cause of his expulsion out of Paradise, to make themselues as God, well knowing that this was the true cause of his expulsion out of Paradise, for hee had said in his heart similis ero altissimo, and laide also this baite for the man and the woman eritis sicut dij. Thus doth he circumuent those, who would assume vnto themselues that authority,Coloss. 1. which is peculiar vnto God, not remembring that God is the author and creator of all things visible and invi­sible, as S. Paul well sheweth, ex ipso, & per ipsum, & in ipso sunt omnia, siue quae in coelis sunt, siue quae in terris sunt, visibilia & inuisibilia, & in ipso flectitur omne ge­nu coelestium, terrestrium & infernorum. So that be­ing the Creator of all things, he may vse and dispose of them as seemeth good vnto him: and this he may doe [Page 85] by the right of creation which hee hath ouer all crea­tures: by which right he is adored with a supreame and soueraigne worship which is called, Latria, proper and peculiar to him alone, Adorate Deum (saith S. Iohn) qui fecit coelum & terram, mare & omnia, quae in ijs sunt: yet would our Luciferians (for so may those that imitate Lucifer bee called) bee parellell vnto God and share with him in this worship, as if they had beene his companions in the creation of visible and inu [...]sible sub­stances, yea they would vse and dispose them to their behoofe and pleasure, without regard or consideration that God hath appropriated diuers things vnto him­selfe, which hee would not haue communicable vnto men; as is his glory, whereof he saith, Gloriam meam al­teri non dabo. Of the same nature and condition is the knowledge of mens inward cogitations, the auenge­ment vpon our enemies, the soueraigne power which he hath ouer all his creatures, in which number are wicked spirits, which are sustained, and haue their con­sistence by his prouidence no lesse then the wicked men of this world haue, who doe heere mutiny and arme themselues against him. Another fault that is com­mitted in their sophistry, is their not apprehending that the rule or ballance of all our actions ought to bee di­rected by the word of God, from which we are not to decline neither to the right hand nor to the left, but the word of God doth strictly prohibite such trafficke and familiarity with Satan: yea, it commandeth that who­soeuer hee bee, that hath recourse vnto Magicians or witches, vpon what occasion soeuer, although he speak not directly vnto the Diuell, yet is that person to bee stoned to death without mercy. By which we are taught that this is direct Idolatry, since in our extremities wee leaue God to haue redresse and succour from his aduer­sary, and to rely and haue confidence in him, acknow­ledging that whatsoeuer good betideth vnto vs pro­ceedeth from the Diuell, which is nothing else then [Page 86] worshipping him, and making him practise that which in times past hee said, Haec omnia tibi dabo, si cadens a­doraueris me. And this did open the gapp vnto the ru­ine of Ochosias, Saul, and many others who might as well haue pleaded for themselues, as the Athiest and Magicians of our times in this manner. What danger is there, if wee serue our turne with them at our need, since God himselfe doth vse them when hee pleaseth. The third fault is, that they are so farre from doing as Christ Iesus [...]id, that they doe cleane contrary vnto that which he practised. For Christ Iesus was so farre from euocating and calling Diuels vnto him, that hee forti­fied and armed himselfe against their temptations by prayers and admirable fasting: and when Satan ap­peared vnto him vnsent for, he thrust him back behind him with hard language, saying, Vade retro Sathana, scriptum est, Dominum Deum tuum adorabis, & illi soli seruies. And heereupon the Diuell departed from him, for he cannot indure to stay where he findeth resistance; and therefore Saint Iames glancing at this example of Christ Iesus, doth thus lesson vs, Resistite Diabolo & fu­giet à vobis: agreeable vnto that of S. Peter, Cuiresistite fortes in fide. Heere we may see what wee are comman­ded to doe after the example of Christ Iesus: wee are bid to pray, and to fast that hee may not come vnto vs, and in case that hee should present himselfe before vs, we are to resist him by faith, and to push him from vs with all eagernesse, as S. Martin hath done before vs, who as Seuerus Sulpitius reciteth of him, when he saw the Diuell close by him he spake, Quid hic astas cruenta bestia? And this charge was laid vpon man from the beginning of the world, to breed the greater detesta­tion of the Diuell in him. God did make a couenant of enmity betweene men and the Diuell, saying, Inimici­tias ponam inter te & mulierem, inter semen tuum & se­men illius: I will put mortall hatred (said God) between the Serpent and the seed of the woman: for this great [Page 87] guider and ouerseer of nature did well foreknow, that what faire pretext soeuer the Diuell might pretend, hee hunted after nothing more then after mans destruction, as wee haue already compared him vnto the Crocodiles of Egypt, who doe counterfaite the voice of a man that they may deuoure him. So that a man had neede to learne wisedome of the doggs of Egypt, who knowing their guile and bloody rauenousnesse, doe not tarry long to drink of this riuer,Erasm. in Chiliad. but if they are pressed there­unto by thirst, they giue a lapp and away, keeping on their course without long tarrying. Thus ought a man to auoide all the temptations of Satan, and if at some times he haue wicked thoughts suggested vnto him, he must by no meanes giue way vnto them, but continue on his course, and disburthen his minde of such cogi­tations, otherwise if hee should giue the least passage vnto them, he will be in danger to be deuoured: for the Diuell neuer goeth any where but with a purpose to swallow vp all that lye faire for his mouth. And there­fore our Lord who knew well his bloudy malice would by no meanes permit, that he should confesse him to be the Sonne of God:Luc. 4. for he made not this confession (as S. Athanasius well noterh) for any good purpose, but to lay some defamatory suspition vpon Christ Iesus,Athan. orat. 1. cont. Arrian. and to abuse the world by this meanes. The fouth fault is, that men doe not marke what power Christ Iesus gaue vnto his Apostles and their successours ouer Di­uels: at first, this power was giuen by God to bruse the Serpents head: and to tread him vnder foote, as hee had foretold, that the seed of the woman should crush his venemous head: and the same doth Christ Iesus say vnto his Apostles, Dedi vobis potestatem calcandi supra Serpentes: which is also witnessed by S. Paul, Deus au­tem conterat Sathanam sub pedibus vestris. In the se­cond place, this power was giuen vnto the Church thorow the merits of the precious death of Christ Iesus, with a charge to chase and driue him away. Thirdly, [Page 88] this power was to be exercised in calling vpon the name of Christ Iesus, which two last points are comprehended in these words: In nomine meo Daemonia eijcient. But Sorcerers and Magicians doe not vse to resist the Di­uell and bruse his head, but they flatter him and call him vnto them by a certaine bargaine or agreement, which directly importeth a subiection and dependan­cy: and to be briefe, they doe first worship him before hee will come vnto them. Againe, in steed of repelling him, they come vnto him for aduise, aide, or fauour, whereas Christ Iesus would not so much as suffer him to speake:Origen. in Numer. and this is not (as Origen obserueth) to force the Diuell, by inuocation vpon the name of God, it rather argueth a familiarity and intercourse which they haue together. So that if wee doe seriously consider all circumstances, they doe crosse and goe a contrary course vnto Christ Iesus and the Apostles. It cannot bee gaine-said, but that sometimes they will make a sem­blance as if they wept, although in truth it be nothing so.August. lib. 10. de ciuit. cap. 11. S. Augustine reciteth the history of a certaine Ma­gician, who boasted much what a command hee had o­uer Diuels, saying, that when they were lasie to doe that he commanded them, he threatned to pull the hea­uens with such violence that they should fall vpon the earth, and thereupon the Diuels would readily execute what he had enioyned them, for feare least they should be brused betweene heauen and earth, as corne is bru­sed betweene two milstones. But who seeth not that this is the craft and counterfaite weeping of Croco­diles, that is to say Diabolical fictions framed for deceit and cousonage? For first, it is not the power of Angels to make the heauen descend and touch the earth, be­cause vnto them (as S. Paul saith) God hath not sub­iected the round frame of the world: Non enim (saith he) Angelis suis subiecit Deus orbem. Nay it is so farre from being so, that it is not in the naturall power of all wicked spirits that are, to wheele about the orbe of [Page 89] the Moone, which is the least of all the rest: for as God hath appropriated the natural operations of mans body vnto a reasonable soule, so that it is not in the power of an Angell to make this body to liue the life of plants, the life of beasts, or the life of man, although he can en­ter at his pleasure into the same, as we see by experience in those that are possessed: euen so God hath limited the passiue power of the motions of the heauens, vnto cer­taine Angels whom hee hath destinated thereunto, so that it is a ridiculous thing to conceiue, that Spirits may be brused or crushed in peeces. But they doe here­in take the aduantage of mens simplicity and their owne craft, by infusing these fables into them, wherein they resemble naughty seruants that wait for an occa­sion to cut their masters throates. The fifth error that blindeth those Sorcerers is, because they haue a con­ceite that the Diuell is very ready to doe them seruice: but how is it possible that the Diuell should inuassall himselfe vnto man, that is but a worm of the earth? since that thorow the excessiiuenes of his pride which broo­keth no equals, hee scorneth to bee the seruant of God, whom he knoweth to be his Creator. How can he de­base himselfe to be mans Lackey, when hee did rather choose to relinquish his portion in Paradise, and to burne euerlastingly in hell fire, then he would acknow­ledge Christ Iesus for his better. For when it was laid before him that hee should become man, the Diuel said in his heart, no; before I will acknowledge a man and a worme of the earth, I will first be damned: as that de­uoute and auncient father S. Bernard hath well expres­sed it. He doth indeed make shew of seruice vnto man, but to this end, that he may be his master: for if hee be delighted corporally to possesse a man, when hee hath gotten the mastery of his body, how much more is hee pleased when by his subtilties, and by taking from him the knowledge of God, hee getteth possession of his soule? For when hee possesseth the body, this affliction is [Page 90] many times the instrument of saluation, as S. Paul saith, Traedidi huiu smodi Sathanae, 1. Cor. 5. vt spiritus eius saluus fiat. But when hee possesseth the soule, and withdraweth it from the grace of God, hee is then the instrument of damnation. And therefore the Scripture doth euer fi­gure out Satan vnto vs by things that are both dange­rous and dreadfull vnto men, as by a Serpent, by a Dra­gon, and by a roaring Lyon, for feare least wee should say as Athiests doe, that the Diuell is not so black as men doe paint him: whereas contrariwise, he is so ter­rible and so dangerous that all the comparisons of Cen­taures, doggs with three heads, and the like mon­sters described vnto vs by Poets, fall farre short of his vglinesse. If then any one should be familiar with such furious beasts, might hee not well bee accounted mad and depriued of common sense? Yet Witches and Ma­gicians do ordinarily expose themselues to these things And this horridnesse of Diuels was declared vnto Iob, who had partly experimented the rage and bloody ma­lice of Satan: but hee tryed not all his forces, because God suffered him not to doe, all that he was willing to inflict vpon Iob. God then described Satan vnto him by the similitude of the most great and horrible mon­ster of the world called Behemoth. Hieron. aduer­sus vigilant. Iob. 40.41. This beast saith God, is the most fearfull and cruell monster of the world: his body is armed as it were with iron, his flesh is harder then stone, so that hee cannot be crushed or hurt by the violent strokes of hammers, neither can the sharpest launces enter into him, nor pierce him more then so many strawes: if men should goe about to strike him downe with tumbling vpon him great stones from a rock, it would be but lost labour, and hee would be no more endāgered thereby then if they threw balls of flax against him. God further speaketh vnto Iob of this mon­ster: dost thou thinke to put a hooke into his nostrills as men take fishes, or when hee is before thee dost thou conceiue that he is affraide of thee? Nunquid multipli­cabit [Page 91] tibi preces, aut loquetur tibi mollia. Will he behaue himselfe like a dogg that flattereth his master, and lyeth at his feet for feare of being beaten; or if hee come to some agreement with thee, doest thou imagine that he doth it to any other end then to deuoure thee? Nun­quid feriet tecum pactum, & accipies eum quasi seruum sempiternum? Wilt thou play with him as a bird, and tye a thread about his legg to keep him in, or to let him fly at thy pleasure? Nunquid illudes ei quasi aui? Last of all God saith, Memento belli, nec vltra addas loqui: remember that hee is a murtherer from the beginning, that hee is thy arch-enemy, and doth continually wage warre against thee. Doe not hurt thy selfe by these foo­lish speeches, and by saying that thou vsest him as thy seruant, it is impossible: for hee is to be mastered onely by faith, and not by couenant or agreement. He is a liar, and when hee spieth his aduantage will deceiue thee, and when against his promise he shall breake thy neck, before what Iudge wilt thou bring in thy action, to haue reparation of the wrong hee doth thee. Another thing that offereth it selfe vnto consideration is, that being a lyar, and being not ashamed to lie manifestly to Christ Iesus, in promising him that which hee was not able to performe,Matth. 4. saying, Haec omnia tibi dabo: Men ought not to deceiue themselues, and say, that he would be ashamed to promise vnto a man that which is not in his power to compasse, as not to be slaine in battell, or to warrant and preserue him from all dangers;Gregor. Na­zian. orat. in Cyprian. whereof wee haue an example in Gregory Nazianzen, who re­porteth of S. Cyprian that he became a Magician before hee was a Christian, that hee might enioy a young wo­man whom he loued: and although the Diuell had pro­mised him to satisfie his desire, yet hee was at last con­strained by Gods commandemēt to confesse vnto him, that he had promised him a thing which was not in his power to performe,Athanas ora­tion. 1. aduer­sus Arrian. which was the [...]ause of his conuersi­on to the Christian religion. S. Athanasius who was fa­miliarly [Page 92] acquainted with Antonius Monachus, a second Iob in the time of the Gospell, doth eloquently describe the sleights and subtleties of Satan. He dissembleth and hideth (saith he) that which he is indeed, appearing in a goodly shape, and gracing himselfe with some name of humour, which he shall perceiue to be most pleasing vnto our honour. Wherein hee resembleth Pirates, who when they espy any pretty children on the shore, they draw neere vnto them, and flatter them, speaking as faire vnto them as their fathers and mothers possibly could; they shew them apples, and cast vnto them other toyes, which they conceiue may please and stay these children: but when they haue enticed them a ship­bord, they presently hoyse saile, and carry them farre e­nough from father or mother, selling them and mak­ing them slaues in a strange countrey as long as they liue. I would haue all those, who haue suffered them­selues to be thus abused by Satan, to remember well this discourse of so famous a man; and with the prodigall childe to returne vnto the house of their father, and by some trick or other to make an escape from that bloudy and mercliesse tyrant, that setteth before them nothing but huskes to eate: that is, hee promiseth vaine, friuo­lous, and vnnecessary things, full of deceitfulnesse and cousonage. But in case they will not returne, then must that be put in execution, which is set downe in the law of God, in the 20. chapter of Exodus, that is, to put them to an extraordinary death, which may strike a ter­rour into others, and serue as an example for all kinde of people. This was religiously practised in Auignon in the yeere of grace 1582. by the diligence of father Florus Prouin, at that time Inquisitour of the faith in those parts, vnto whom I was an associate in the said Inquisi­tion, where there were 18. men and women executed, who were conuicted and very deseruedly condemned, after they had by their owne depositions and mutuall accusations one of another, giuen sufficient proofe of [Page 93] their guiltinesse, as shall appeare by the sentence pro­nounced against them; the extract whereof ensueth next after this following chapter, to the end that euery one may see how farre these kinde of men are separated from the knowledge of God, and how iustly they de­serue to bee burned. For conclusion and resolution of this discourse, let vs onely marke that which Tertullian teacheth vs, to wit, that neither Christ Iesus, nor his A­postles, nor any well deseruing sonnes of the Church, did euer call vnto them wicked Spirits, but rather did repell and driue them from them by the efficacy and power of Gods word. It cleerly appeareth in the Gospel that this was the practise of Christ Iesus: Erat Iesus e­ijciens Daemonium; si in digito Dei eijcio Daemonia: so that whatsoeuer Christ Iesus did in this behalfe, he did it to this end to cast them out, and to make them odious and abominable before men. And as it appeareth in the ttenh of Matthew, the power that he gaue vnto his A­postles was onely to cast out Diuels: for it is there said, that hauing chosen them for his Apostles, he sent them forth with authority ouer vncleane Spirits, but limited and restrained vnto this, to repell and cast them out. Dedit eis potestatem (saith the text) Spirituum immun­dorum, vt eijcerunt eos. And againe after his resurre­ction he sent them abroad vnto all places of the world, and gaue them power ouer Diuels, but with the aboue­named restriction, to cast them out, saying, In nomine meo Daemonia eijcient. Read the Acts of the Apostles, and you shall finde that they did nothing else but cast out wicked Spirits, neither did any man of worth in the Church of God euer exceed these limits, and those who haue trespassed in passing further, doe shew that they are aliens from the Church of Christ Iesus, and are di­sciples in the schoole of Satan. And this is it which Tertullian did well note, Nos non inuitatoria operatione, sed e [...]ugnatoria dominatione tractamus. And in another place, hee witnesseth, that none but Christians could [Page 94] cast out Deuils, insinuating thereby, that Painims and Magicians had trafficke and intercourse with wicked Spirits, but that Christians neuer had to do with them, but according to the power which was bequeathed vn­to them by Christ Iesus, to driue and cast them out. And for further illustration hereof, see the passages that are cited in the beginning of the Preface of this booke.

CHAP. IX. Whether the Articles contained in the depositions of Sor­cerers ought to be taken as idely and dreamingly spo­ken, or whether they ought to be receiued for truth.

THis question is as difficult as it is necessa­ry, it is difficult because I neuer, lighted vpon any author ancient or moderne, that hath debated or determined the same: it is necessary, because in this one point the very knot of the difficulty lyeth, which we are now about to vntye, that is to say, whether that which Sorcerers do depose do happen vnto them by dreames and diabolicall illusions, or whether they really practise the same.Hieron lib. de scrip. Eccles. Iustin Martyr (as Saint Ierome reporteth) made a Treatise in his time touching the nature and pro­perty of wicked Spirits: the which but that time hath bin so iniurious vnto vs, as to snatch and as it were ra­uish it out of our hands, would haue ministred vnto vs (as we may easily coniecture by his other writings that do yet remaine vnto posterity) very ample and cleere resolutions of this doubt, and would teach vs, that what is commonly spoken of Witches, is not fabulously giuen out, but assuredly verified to be true. For in his first Apologie which he made for the Christians, hee is bold confidently and resoluedly to affirme, that wicked Spirits haue had carnall knowledge sometimes with women and sometimes with men. And in his second [Page 95] Apologie he saith, that Deuils will seildome do what a man would haue them, except it be with certaine con­ditions, as in Necromancy hee will haue a boy to bee brought vnto him, that is yong and tender of age. And in the 52. question which he proposeth vnto Christians, he wisheth all men to proceede warily and with all ad­uised circumspection in this argument of wicked Spi­rits & of Sorcerers. In which he giueth vs to vnderstand that we are not to goe on inconsideratly in searching after two things, which are very strange vnto the sim­ple people, and which we now will recite out of him: (for we ought to imbrace the aduise of so great a perso­nage,2. Thes. 2. seeing Saint Paul himselfe doth declare vnto vs, that the workes of Sathan shall bee set out with all signes and wonders, so that they shall exceede all our naturall forces) for resolution hereof wee must heere make a distinction, which many not obseruing haue runne and plunged themselues into many errors. The distinction is this: amongst all the effects that Sathan doth practise in the behalfe of those that owe their ser­uice vnto him, there are two manners of working: the first doth happen vnto them when they sleepe; the se­cond is practised also when they wake. Hereunto wee might adioyne many sub-diuisions, but it shall suffice hereafter to alleage such as we shall adiudge necessary for this purpose. Now that this happeneth after these two seuerall wayes, the Scriptures in many passages doth confirme it: for numbring vp the workes which Satan practiseth for them, that haue made an expresse couenant with him, they do seildome faile of the one side to alleage the obseruation of dreames, and of the other side the abhomination of charmes; where we may obserue, that diuination from dreames is euer practised by sleeping, and charmes when men are a­wake. The first place that confirmeth the truth hereof may be taken from the 19. of Leuiticus, where it is said:Leuit. 19. Non augurabimini nec obseruabitis somnia. Another [Page 96] place is in the second booke of the Chronicles the 33. Chapter,2. Paralip. 33. where it is said of King Manasses: Obserua­bat somnia, sectabatur Auguria, maleficis artibus inser­uiebat, habebat autem secum Magos & incantatores, multa (que) mala operatus est. There is another passage in the 27. Chapter of Ieremy, Ierem. 27. where God saith vnto his people: Vos ergo nolite audire Prophet as veslros, & diui­nos, & somniatores, & Augures, & maleficos. The fourth place is in the tenth of Zacharie, where it is said: Diuini viderunt mendacium, & somniatores locuti sunt frustra. And this was the very practise of Balaam whose custome was first heedfully to obserue his dreames,Num. 22. and when he was awake to make his charmes, as you may see in the 22. Chapter of Numbers. I am not ignorant, that some may here cauil & say, that those dreames were of a different quality vnto the dreames of the Sorcerers of our times: notwithstanding it doth sufficiently make for our purpose, if we declare by Scripture, yt among the wicked and prohibited workes, which Satan acteth in those that giue themselues vnto him, some are by way of dreames, and others are done waking, and are really true. And although the natures of dreames may be in­finitely varied, (a thing incident to all dreames, whether they be diuine,Tertul. lib. de Anima cap. de somnijs. naturall, or diabolicall, which is the full and complete diuision of dreames, that Tertullian ma­keth in his booke of the soule in the Chapter de somnijs) yet cannot these seuerall qualities or diuersities, make these dreames that they should not bee the reall workes of Satan, as in like manner the diuersity of them doth not hinder them, to be diuine or naturall. This distincti­on doth prompt vnto vs another, and that is, that those things which are dreames to some, are truthes to others, and this is also common vnto diuine and naturall dreames,Iudg. 7. for there is no repugnancy that one man may really practise that, which another man dreameth of himselfe: as in the booke of Iudges, we heare of a soul­dier who dreamed that Gedeon came to assault and [Page 97] force their campe, and at the same time, Gedeon did in­deede come vnto their campe, and did that which the other dreamed. I do purposely let passe diuers other, whether they be diuine, naturall, or diabolicall, which are recited by Tertullian in the place aboue alleaged: let it suffice to relate one discourse out of Saint Au­gustine very pregnant for the purpose now in hand:August. lib. 18. de Ciuitat Dei cap. 18. where he maketh mention of a certaine man of his time, who was very desirous to vnderstand the meaning of a passage in Plato, that was very obscure vnto him, and to that purpose did oftentimes addresse himselfe vn­to a Philosopher, and repared much vnto his house to haue his opinion concerning the same, but he could ne­uer vnderstand the interpretation of it. At the last, as this man was vp late in his study there came vnto him, as he thought, this P [...]ilosopher and began to speake vn­to him of the said passage, and in conclusion did so cleerely explaine and vnfold it, that he rested very fully satisfied. It chanced not long after, that this Philoso­pher came againe vnto him, whereupon hee demanded him, why he would not giue explication of the said passage at home in his owne house, but had rather inter­pret it in the house of another man. To which the Phi­losopher replied, I did indeede dreame that I had ex­pounded this passage vnto you, but the truth is I neuer did. From hence Saint Augustine inferreth, that the same thing which is a dreame to one may be a truth to another: for whiles the Philosopher was dreaming that he was expounding the said passage, the other receiued waking the reall words of that exposition. He also tel­leth of another, who hauing slept diuers dayes together, so that hee could bee waked by no meanes that they could vse vnto him; he told his seruants when he did awake, that hee dreamed that hee was changed into an horse, and that hee hid prouender in a certaine field which hee described vnto them, and it was indeede found that such an accident had happened. Vpon these [Page 98] two suppositions we affirme, that those things which are reported of Sorcerers might bee both dreamed and done, and that which was a dreame to one might bee a truth to another. And for the first, wee are to attribute vnto dreames, whatsoeuer is written in the 26. distincti­on of the Decretals in cap. Episcopi, Distinct. 26. cap. episc. which is so often alleaged by those that hold all witch-crafts whatsoeuer to be nothing else but dreames, when as the particulars there recited are not onely false and fabulous, but re­pugnant vnto Scripture, and impossible to Satan, such as is the raising of Herodias to life: this opinion wee ought to haue of the like sentences and authorities. In the second place we are to ranke all charmes and wic­ked practises wrought by Sorcerers and Magicians, which the holy Scripture, the Fathers, and a cloud of Histories do mention, as things really put in execution. By which meanes we shall easily reconcile as well the Scriptures, and the Fathers, as Histories also, which o­therwise might seeme to crosse and contrary one the o­ther. As for example, Iohn Baptista the Neapolitan in his 2. booke and 26. Chapter, reporteth that himselfe being curious to know the truth of that which witches do depose, he so ordered the matter that he beheld with his owne eyes that which they did, and indeede hauing gotten the consent of an olde witch, hee saw all their manner of proceeding thorow the chinke of a doare, and beheld an olde woman standing naked, and an­nointing her selfe with a certaine oyntment, which when she had done she fell into such a sound sleepe, that she could not be awaked by the most violent stripes that could be laid vpon her. At the last being awaked, shee affirmed that she had passed ouer the seas, and had seene diuers strange sights which shee recited in his presence, and in the presence of diuers others who together with him came to see the same. And when they shewed vnto her the markes of the stripes which shee had receaued when she was a sleepe, shee would beleeue nothing of [Page 99] these things. Apuleius reporteth of himselfe, that be­ing curious to see the fashions of witches, hee was brought by a chamber-maide to a secret place, where he might behold them, and looking in like manner tho­row the chinke of the chamber doore, he saw a naked witch besmearing of her selfe with an oyntment which she had, and while she was rubbing and annointing her selfe, she was transformed by little and little (as seemed vnto him) into an Oule, and at the last there appeared winges vpon her, and soone after she flew abroad through the window: of which strange metamorpho­sis himselfe, as hee said, was the spectator. These two Histories reported by two men curious beyond ordina­ry to vnderstand the truth of these secrets, do well shew that both the one and the other might be true enough: for we ought not to giue more credite to Iohn Baptista the Neapolitan then to Apuleius the Affrican, since Saint Augustine himselfe dared not to affirme, that those strange things which Apuleius wrote were fables:Apul. de Asino aureo. hee rather sheweth how these things may bee done. Wee may therefore do well to yeeld both to the one and the other, and not from a particular fact to inferre a generall conclusion, as they doe who attribute all these things vnto dreames onely, which is against the rule in Lo­gicke, à particulari ad vniuersale consequentia nulla. There might also be mistakes and mistes in the eyes, as Saint Augustine teacheth in the booke and Chapter before cited: where relating the History of Iphigenia, August. de ciui­tate lib. 18. cap. 18. he saith, that she was not really sacrificed as all the as­semblie did imagine, but there was a stagge conueyed in steede of her, which by ye charms of the Deuil did ap­peare vnto the lookers on to bee Iphigenia. It may also fall out, that thorow the same impostures of the Deuill, men may thinke they see the body of a man, when it is nothing so, and hauing their eyes dazeled and disaffec­ted, they may mistake one thing for another.Clemens in re­cognitionib. And hereof there are many relations in Saint Clement, which [Page 100] he reciteth in his bookes of Recognitions, where hee also describeth sundry feates which he saw Simon Ma­gus to practise. Yet on the contrary part, it is not al­waies true that this happeneth thorow impostures and illusions, as the History of Hermotymus w [...]ll witnes­seth,Tertul. lib. de anima cap. de Hermotymo. who sundry times told his wife that in the time of his sleepe hee visited diuers parts and quarters of the world, his soule for a time relinquishing his body, and afterwards returning home vnto him, whereof hee was verily perswaded. His enemies would make triall of the truth hereof by cutting his throat, but as Tertullian ieastingly saith, his soule came not backe againe in time, so that he neuer waked after. Now if this had been done by charmes and delusions, hee had been in no danger to haue died, because they should not haue medled with his body, but with a seeming and suppo­sititious body; but it being otherwise, it appeareth that it was his owne body. So that there are three man­ners of proceeding; for either they sleepe and dreame, or they goe thither really, or the Diuell putteth him­selfe in their place, and carrieth them some where else. Thus may these sundry waies be all true, and such an ac­cident may happen either meerely in a dreame, or really and indeed;Caiet. in 2. m 2 [...]. q. 95. art. 2. or else the body which appeareth to lie a­sleepe may proue a phantasme, although it may so fall out, that sometimes it is the true body of him, whose wee thinke it to bee. The difficulty then lyeth in the distin­guishing and discerning when such a thing really is acted, or when there is but an apparancy of the same by dreames and impostures.August. lib. 18. de ciuit. Dei. cap. 18. S. Augustine in that notable chapter aboue cited, doth if wee marke him well, giue vs the resolution hereof: for hee telleth vs, that in these cases there are three remarkeable rules, that present themselues vnto our obseruations. The first is, that you must iudge of these things by the experience and reali­ty that ensueth thereupon; as if a man would know, whether there were the true and perfect reality of that [Page 101] which was represented in the sacrifice of Iphigenia, the answere is, that there was not, but that there was ano­ther substance by a diabolicall art foysted into her place: for experience (saith he) did afterwards declare that Iphigenia was found in another country farre re­mote from thence, whether she had been carried aliue by the Diuels, and liued a long time after this accident. By the like experience he concludeth, that the compa­nions of Diomedes were not turned into birds as was conceiued, because, the said birds did build their nests, and multiplyed their kind as other birds vsually doe. Now this propagation of their kind is a reality which giueth sufficient proofe to conclude, that these men were carried into other places by Diuels, and these birds were cunningly and suddenly conueied into their roomes: neither could these birds be meerely apparan­ces, but they were truly as they seemed, and the experi­ence of the reality of their nature doth blow away all suspitions of illusion. Besides, the Diuels impostures (as S. Thomas hath learnedly obserued) can haue no long time of subsistence, because they are not reall natures,D. Thom. but onely common accidents (as the Logicians tearme them) whose property is to bee easily changed by any naturall alteration. This rule giueth vs to vnderstand, that what Moyses did in Aegypt and in the wilder­nesse was not done by illusion;Exod. 7. for the fishes did die indeed in the riuer that was changed into blood, and the Caterpillers and other vermine that spoyled the corne, the barly, the vines, and trees of Aegypt were truly that which they seemed to bee. It also declareth that what the Diuell wrought against Iob was not seemingly done,Iob. 2. but really acted with a great deale of malice; witnesse the death of his children and seruants, and the downefall of the house vpon them. This rule we are to practise in the charmes of Witches, and to see if there be any reality in that which they giue out they haue done: which falling out so frequently true, we are [Page 102] no longer to question the verity of the same. There is a reality in their murthering of Infants; for it is confir­med by the report of their parents, that the children which they said they had strangled, were found stran­gled indeed, as they had themselues deposed. In like manner the dis interring of their bodies was a truth, be­cause their bones were not found lying in their graues. There is a reality in the mark which they beare in their bodies, the which of all other parts is leprous, and de­uoid of sense, and which can bee found vpon none but vpon such as are said to be Witches. There is also a rea­lity in the peece of their garment, which in signe of ho­mage they present vnto the Diuell, and wee haue seene with our eyes, that such a like peece was wanting in their garment, as they themselues had reported. There is a manifest reality in the charmes which they cast vp­on man and beast, making them dull and almost dead, and by their words reuiuing and setting them in as good plight as they were before; not (saith Lactantius) that they can heale diseases,Lactan. li. 2. diuinar. inst. cap. 16. Luc. 11. Luc. 13. for this is not in the com­passe of the Diuels power, although it be in their natu­rall power to infuse an infirmity into any part of a li­uing body, as appeareth in the history of the Demoniaek that was both dumbe and deafe, and of the woman that was crooked, so that shee could not lift vp her eyes to heauen; and therefore by taking away this impedi­ment they doe not really cure a disease, but withdraw the stop that hindered those operations of nature, God somtimes permitting him by his iust, though hidden iudgement to doe this, although further then this hee cannot passe,August. lib. 2. cont. aduersa legis cap 12. & lib. 22. cont. Faust. cap. 72. & lib. de S. Virg. cap. 40. & 42. as S. Augustine often inserreth. So that it is apparant by the first rule, that the confessions made by Sorcerers are not alwaies dreames, but doe often­times containe facts that haue been really practised.

The second rule drawne both from S. Augustine, and from S. Thomas is, to obserue whether all that is spoken in this argument, doth lie in the naturall power [Page 103] of the Diuell.August. lib. 1. de ciuit. cap. 18. This S. Augustine obscurely noteth when in the history of Diomedes hee saith, that this transmu­tation was by a secret substraction and conueying a­way of their bodies, because it doth transcend the na­turall power of Diuels to change one body into ano­ther according to their substance; and therefore it must needs bee that this collusion was by transporting and placing one body into the roome of another. S. Augu­stine would not yeeld vnto the first, because as hee had already declared, it was aboue the naturall power of the Diuell: but he granteth the second, in regard that it is within the compasse of his force and working: Neque enim (saith he) daemonibus iudicio dei permissis huiusmo­di praestigia difficilia esse possunt. And as hee expresseth it else where, the Diuell can do this when he will, & how he will, if so be that God doth expresly command him, or doth leaue him to his owne nature: Quando volunt, & quomodo volunt Deo vel iubente vel sinente. S. Tho­mas betaketh himselfe to this rule when he saith,D. Thom. 1. p. q. 114. art. 4. ad 2. that if the Diuell should busie himselfe in the resurrection of the dead. or in any other supernaturall workings, wee must be strong that all these things are meere illusions: for although God by his vniuersal prouidence doth im­ploy wicked Spirits vpon many occasions, yet doth hee neuer vse them in working of miracles, which he reser­ueth vnto himselfe, and to his, because Diuels haue no capacity to receiue such supernaturall endowments. This rule did distinguish the magicall workes of Simon Magus from those of S. Peter and the other Apostles,Clemens in recognit. lib. 3. Irenaeus lib. 2. cap. 57. as S. Clement, and S. Ireneu [...] doe witnesse: and this rule shall make the workes of Antichrist to bee discerned from those of the Christians. And this rule gaue Saint Augustine occasion to say, that not onely the admira­ble workes of the Diuell comprehended in the old and new Testament were to bee beleeued, but also many o­ther things were to be credited, which prophane histo­ries, and Poets themselues doe mention of them, and [Page 104] which were in former ages accounted fables: although S. Augustine out of the great subtility of his spirit, and his deepe knowledge in holy Writ, would not venture to say that they were fables; hee rather sheweth that this might bee true either really or in outward appa­rance. For as Tertullian said:Tertul. lib. de anima. Daemones, soli nouere Chri­stiani. From whence could the Christians better know this then from the Scriptures? Whereupon it followeth, that none can truly and iudicially determine this point, vnlesse he bee conuersant in the holy Scriptures, and in the ancient Fathers, from whence the true resolution hereof may be drawne.S. Thom. p. q. 114. ar. 4. To conclude this point touch­ing the extent of the Diuels naturall power, and how farre it teacheth, it is not my intendment to enlarge my discourse thereof to the full; I will onely say with Saint Thomas who had the soule of S. Augustine, Sixtus Senensis Biblioth. Sacrae lib. 3. in Tho­ma. as a mā may say, doubled vpon him, that it is in the Diuels naturall power to doe as much as the vtmost strength of nature can reach vnto: for he is able to vse those meanes which nature accustometh to serue her selfe withall,Vid. Iustin. q. 2 [...]. ad Or­thodox. and appli­eth one thing vnto another, iust as nature doth: as when a man by applying a torch vnto char-coale doth pre­sently fire the same, which nature would also produce but at more leisure: and this appeareth in the causes of lightning, which are longer ere they produce their ef­fect, whereas wee shoot off our Artillery suddenly and without premeditation. And this we are taught by ex­perience: for the Angels, who wheele about the hea­uens, by the application of their motions vnto these i [...] ­feriour elements, doe cause naturall things to bee pro­duced, euer presupposing a matter and forme whereup­on to worke, which were immediately created by God himselfe. Hence it is that they are called both in the Psalmes and in the Gospel,Psal. 32. Luc. 12. Virtutes Coelorum: for with­out them the heauens would haue no more efficacie or power in the production of things, then the body hath to worke without a soule; which S. Augustine wel glan­ceth [Page 105] at in the third Booke against Maximin the Arrian,August. lib. 3. cont. Maxim. cap. 17. the seuenteenth chapter: So that those things which Sorcerers depose are within the natural power of Satā; as may be seene in the whole frame of this Booke, espe­cially in the Annotations vpon the ensuing Sentence. Therefore it is plaine that the second rule doth positiue­ly conclude that all these workings are not meerely dreames: and this is not repugnant to Scripture, Fa­thers, or Histories, much lesse vnto reason; and for fur­ther verification of this second rule, obserue that which is written in the booke of Exodus, Exod. where mention is made of Pharaohs Magicians, and also that which is set downe in the first three Chapters of the booke of Iob. Iob. 1. 2. 5.

The third rule is grounded vpon generall causes and occurrences. S. Augustine dared not to call these things fables, but amasseth and heapeth together whatsoeuer had been formerly practised, or remained in vse in his time, in all the quarters of the world. Some of those whom he questioned with, did tell him what they had heard related vnto them by very credible persons, o­thers what they had seene and found by their owne ex­perience. See S. Augustine in the 16. 17. and 18. chap­ters of the eighteenth booke of the City of God.August lib. 18. de ciuit. cap. 16. 17. 18. Hippocrates lib. 2. de mor­bis, & lib. de affection. This generality gaue occasion vnto Hippocrates to speake diuinely, of those vniuersall and nationall diseases, say­ing that a generall plague cannot proceed from ordina­rie causes in nature, but must bee attributed to come from God, and from inuisible causes. The same may be said in this theame of Witches, which is no lesse impor­tant. It is a wondrous thing, that the Witches of France and of our times, should depose no more nor no lesse, then those of Germany, 60. or 80. yeeres agoe. And And whereas it may be said that they haue been traded in the bookes which haue been written either in Latine or in the vulgar tongue, by learned men, that haue set downe their behauiours agreeable vnto the truth of their owne depositions: yet wee shall find them to bee [Page 106] mechanicall persons, so deuoid of all shew of learning, that through the earthinesse of their vnderstandings, they rather seeme to be beasts then men. Hence we may inferre, that this generality and conformity of the facts, doth make a full declaration of the truth thereof, if wee will yeeld vnto probabilities and reason: which is ano­ther ground that wee will propound to those that say, that there is a repugnancy in reason against these things. For how can that which happeneth vpon a set day, as vpon a Thursday, or the like, bee said to bee a dreame? if it were so, why might it not as well fall out vpon some other day? yet is it agreed vpon at all hands, that these assemblies of Witches are neuer held but vp­on Thursdaies: whereupon we demand, why rather on this day then vpon any other? Againe, if it were but a dreame, how chanceth it that so many people, in such diuersity of places, and dwelling in countries so remote one from another, should in one and the selfe same time haue all one kind of dreame? Physitians hold, that the diuersities of meates, and their seuerall quantities, doe breed and cause the variety we haue in dreames: and is it likely that all those persons, doe at the same time vse the same kinds of meates, and in the selfe same quanti­ty, that they thus iumpe and concurre in dreames of the same chance and nature? They further affirme, that the seuerall complexions of men doe also beget a diuersity in dreames: so that the sanguine man dreameth of plea­sant things: the melancholicke of sad accidents: the martialist of warre: in like manner, the dreames of young men are ordinarily different from the dreames of old men; and the dreames of men doe vary from those of women:Arist. lib. de Som. Artemi­dor. de Som­nior. interpre­tatione. wherein I appeale to Aristotle, Ar­temidorus and others, who haue made set Treatises of this argument. Since then for the most part these kind of Witches are different in complexion, age, sex, and sect, how happeneth it that they should all dreame? or if they doe dreame, whence ariseth it that they should [Page 107] all dreame the selfe same thing, without variation in any circumstance one from another; and which is more, in the same day and houre? It will bee said, that the Di­uell is assuredly the cause hereof. Be it so, now you come neere vnto the truth, since you grant that this doth transcend the forces of man, and that it must be attribu­ted to the working of the Diuell. Thereupon I demand, since that it is by them decreed vpon, that this is a true dreame, because it is in the Diuels power to effect such a thing, why are they so precise to acknowledge a rea­lity in the fact, when it is also in the compasse of the Diuels power, to accomplish the same? Besides experi­ence confirmeth it, neither is it against Scriptures, Fa­thers, or Histories: nay it is foreshowen vnto vs, that at the end of the world, these things should bee more fre­quent then euer they were before; as we will afterward proue. But it is not probable, that such a generality and conformity should bee a dreame foysted in by the Di­uell.Iustin Mart. q 40. Didym. lib. 1. de Som. Thom. 1. p. q. For first, one Diuell can worke but in one place at one time, as Iustin Martyr, Didymus, and S. Thomas do declare. So that it cannot be one Diuell alone that is to labour this businesse, but they must bee many, and their number must equall the number of the Sorcerers and Witches that are to dreame; and then must they labour and runne in and out, yea and tye themselues vnto a set day and houre; which is as strange as the reality of the fact. For why should the Diuell denie to doe such a thing, but at a set time, and should tye himselfe vnto this day and houre, rather then to any other? It may happen that the Diuels aduantage shall at that very time lie another way, and there may some great occasi­on offer it selfe to tempt others in matters of a far more execrable nature then these dreames are, so that they cannot attend this, and then it must needs follow, that many of these Sorcerers cannot dreame, because their Diuels are imployed in more diabolicall negotiations, and vse therein both their art and apprehension. Be­sides [Page 108] the Diuell may stirre the phantasie of a man as ap­peareth by the temptations which he presenteth before vs,Ioan. 13. Act. 5. S. Thom. 1. p. q. 111. art. 3. ad. 2. m and as he practised vpon Iudas, Anaenias, and Saphi­ra, but he cannot vse our phantasies at his pleasure, and present vnto them whatsoeuer he will, because it is in our power to diuert his working from them. For as S. Thomas saith, he cannot make an impression of colours into the phantasie of one that is borne blind, neither can he make the sound of a voyce in one that is natu­rally deafe (which is beyond the power of nature her selfe) yet is he able to moue the phantasie, and to offer vnto it, those obiects which it hath formerly receiued. Now the phantasies of all these kinds of people are not in euery respect alike, neither are they at all times, and vpon all occasions equally disposed; so that it will bee very improbable, to attribute this cōfluence of phanta­sies vnto dreames, yea it will bee more incredible, then to affirme that these things are palpablie and really pra­ctised, considering what wee haue already alleaged for confirmation of the same. For there is no absurdity that can follow thereupon, neither is it against the Scrip­ture, Fathers, Histories, or reason. But touching the first assertion, that they are but dreames, there are many in­conueniences that doe vnauoidably follow vpon it, as we haue in part declared. One point remaineth vnre­solued, which may s [...]agger weake and vnaduised per­sons in reading the Fathers. Lodouicus Viues of Grana­da, who hath commented vpon S. Angustines bookes of the City of God, when he vndertaketh to comment vp­on that notable and learned chapter, which wee haue so often alleaged, he sheweth himselfe to be a very meane diuine, as indeed he was, although he was well seene in humane learning: and those who reade his Commen­taries will perceiue that he was (if I may so speake) ra­ther an Idiot then a Diuine. He then seeing S. Augustine was cleere of opinion, that these things are not alwaies fables, but might fall out indeed; as where Apuleius re­porteth [Page 109] of himselfe, that hee was transformed into an Asse; that is to say, hee was couered with the likenesse of that beast; he (I say) not being able to comprehend this with Saint Augustine, doth runne into three g [...]osse faults: First he accuseth S. Augustine of ignorance, and saith that he read not Lucian, because hee cared not for the Greeke language. Secondly, that Apuleius had drawne his discourse from Lucian, who saith that he had made this of his owne head for sport and pastime. The third fault that he committeth (which is the absurdest of all) is, that whereas S. Augustines conclusion is, that these things may either bee fables, or practised truthes (which is the very resolution of our discourse) Viues doth oppose against this, and saith, that it cannot be but that all these things are meerely imaginary and fabu­lous; and alleageth the authority of Pliny, that they are not to be held for true. Touching his accusation, that S. Augustine was ignorant, and had not read the workes of Lucian; it cannot bee made to appeare that it is so: how many Greeke Authors can wee cite both sacred and prophane,Aug. lib. Conf. whom Saint Augustine hath fitly and to good purpose alleaged? although it be true, that he did naturally hate the Greeke tongue, as himselfe confes­seth in his bookes of Confessions, and did therefore the more apply himselfe vnto Latine. A Commentatour should not lightly burthen his Author, whom he goeth about to explaine, with ignorance, he should rather de­fend him in whatsoeuer may admit of a defence. Touch­ing the other imputation, that Apuleius had taken his history from Lucian, it is so farre from being true, that it rather appeareth to the contrary. For Lucian saith, that those things which he had written were fables de­uised by himselfe: but Apuleius affirmeth confidently, that what hee had set downe, was a certaine truth: hee goeth further, and reproueth those, that conceiue these things to be dreames, and saith that such do shew them­selues to be altogether vnpractised in affaires of of such [Page 110] secresie and importance.Apul. Apol. 1. & 2. And if Apuleius had concei­ued that these things were imaginarie onely, why had hee not, when hee was personally cited before the Go­uernour of Africke for witchcraft, and Magicke, made a short resolution of this doubt in both his Apologies, which hee published to cleere himselfe, and said, that it was but a popular report and a very fable. But we see he doth not so, but endeauoureth to purge him­selfe from the suspition of being one of those that pra­ctised these things.Tertul. lib. de Anima. Augustin. Touching the third; either Viues had not read, or at the least remembred not the senten­ces of Tertullian and Saint Augustine, alleaged in the Preface vnto this discourse: by the which it is euinced, that Paynims were blind and ignorant in the know­ledge of good and bad Spirits; yet doth Viues preferre the opinion of Pliny an Infidell and an Atheist, before Saint Augustines, who was the most celebrious and learned Doctor of the Church of God. Certainely if Viues had continued this fashion down to his last Com­mentaries, where Saint Augustine doth largely proue, that there shall bee a generall resurrection in the same flesh and bones; Viues might as well haue said that this was not to bee credited, because Pliny is of a con­trary opinion, and might haue ieasted also at this as at a thing full of impossibility and falshood. So that whatsoeuer Saint Augustine doth affirme in this be­halfe, hee did not take the same from the Schooles of Philosophers, but from the Scriptures, and Schooles of Christians, which he calleth the City of God. This chapter of Saint Augustine hath beene much better ex­plained by a certaine Doctor of Diuinity, well seene in the Scripture, and conuersant in the Fathers, and in the doctrine of Saint Thomas, who commented vpon the said bookes b [...]fore Viues his time, and although he were not so learned in humane sciences as Viues was, yet was he a better diuine then he. Who when he com­meth to the explication of this chapter, he onely giueth [Page 111] this briefe aduertisement of the same. Hic (inquit) dili­genter notandus est modus possibilitatis quem ponit Augu­stinus in transformationibus hominum & bestiarum, qui à minus studiosis videt [...]r difficilis ad intelligendum. In which hee thwarteth Viues, and toucheth him to the quick, who doth not onely conceite this to be d [...]fficult but also impossible. To conclude, he that is desirous to see a large and learned Comment vpon this chapter of S. Augustine, D. Thom. 1. p. q. 114. a [...]t. 4. Ioan. Georgius Goldemanus in disputatione habita Rosto­chii 26. Febru­arii anno 1584 in collegio Fratrum ex­cussa, Franco­furt: propositi­one prima, se­cunda & ter­tia. Propositione 11. 12. 14. let him read S. Thomas in his first part 114 question, art. 4. In the yeere 1584. a Germane Lawyer, called Mr. George Goldeman did first publickly defend by argument (as himselfe declareth) and afterward caused 80. propositions to bee printed, which wholy tended to prooue, that the things which Sorcerers de­pose, are nothing else but dreames and fancies. Vnto which it will be needlesse to make a full and distinct an­swere, because they are all of them confuted in diuers passages of this discourse. Yet wee shall doe well to ob­serue, that hee affirmeth, that before him no man did make the distinction betweene a Magician, a Sorcerer, and a Poysoner, and that the default of this distinction was the cause that none hitherto could resolue this dif­ficultie. And although hee grant that Magicians and Poysoners are worthy to suffer death, yet hee denyeth that Sorcerers are to be punished with the like, because they haue nothing that is hurtfull in them but meere i­maginations and illusions: yea, hee is bold to say, that although, when they are awake, they yeeld their assent vnto such imaginations, yet are they no way culpable either before God or men.Propositione 38. vsque 61. And to excuse them the more colourably, he alleageth that they are drawne in­to it by the deceite and sub [...]letie of Satan, and thorow ignorance and feare: but heerein hee sheweth himselfe too zealous and eager in their defence. For, if there bee a consent and delectation in such fantasies, there can not possibly bee a constraint: and if those concupiscentiall and fleshly cogitations which arise from the corrup­tion [Page 112] of our nature bee condemned by the law of God,Exod. 10. Matth. 5. how much more execrable is that impure carnall com­mixtion with Diuels, although there be onely a desire, delectation or contentment in the same. But to confute him in one word, since in his 12. proposition he main­teineth that Magicians doe really renounce God and their Baptisme, and doe adore the Diuell, doing all which hee commandeth them, and putting their whole trust and confidence in him, so farre as to recommend their soules and bodies vnto him at the point of death: wee would aske a reason of him, why Sorcerers should not be as lyable vnto death as those whō he calleth Ma­gicians, when they trespasse in the same, or in amore ab­ominable manner then the others doe. For example, if a murtherer be guilty of death, much more doth a par­ricide deserue the same, and if a fornicatour be seuerely punished, a far greater degree of castigation ought to be inflicted vpon him that committeth adultery: but it is certaine that Sorcerers are knowen to do whatsoeuer he conceiueth Magicians are able to performe: nay ma­ny tymes they doe a great deale worse, and therefore are more punishable then they. And what letteth it, but that all these things may concurre in one man? since the Scripture itselfe maketh mention of some that were In­chanters, Magicians, Diuiners, Poysoners and Witches altogether, as amongst the rest King Manasses for one. So that we shall do wel to call those sentences to minde which wee haue formerly cited to this purpose, as also those which are alleaged in the 6. chapter of this booke. But this mans errour is, in that he thinketh it an impos­sibility, that Diuels should carry men or women in the aire, or should haue carnall knowledge with women, or that such kind of persōs should haue the resemblāces of woolfes, doggs or cats, as hee expresseth it in his 68. Proposition, as also in the 69. and 71. All which errours haue their full confutation in this booke. The grace of our Lord be present with vs alwayes. Amen.

ANNOTATIONS VPON THE sentence giuen against the Witches. Whether the Deuill may at any time visibly shew him selfe.

PEr vestram propriam confessionem, &c. & infra, &c. Cacodaemone in humana spe­cie existente, &c. It appeareth by the in­ditement, that all both men and women do agree in this, that the Deuill doth ap­peare vnto them in a humane shape, but the meanes and occasions are diuers. One of the women deposed, that when she was, vpon the losse of a daughter of hers, who was a little before deceased, very melancholicke, and almost distracted, there appeared vnto her a man clo­thed all in blacke about the age of 25. or 30. yeares, saying: I see good woman that you are in great distresse and much grieued, yet if you will beleeue me, I will shew you the meanes how you shall bee very happy. Others depose, that in the time of the great dearth, when the poorer sort [...]of people were constrained to eate wilde hearbes, and to dry and seeth the dunge of horses and asses: and when they had now no meanes left them to giue sustenance vnto their children, a cer­taine man appeared to them, all in blacke, saluting them, and speaking vnto them, and being aged as it is aboue [Page 117] mentioned, who laboured to draw them vnto him; but the most of them do depose, that at the first they would not condescend vnto his purpose, but yeelded at the second or at the third time, after that they had a little accustomed themselues thereunto. From whence we are to learne how pleasing it is to God, and how pro­fitable vnto our owne soules to succour and giue suste­nance vnto the poore in their necessities and disconso­lation:Matth. 25. since that it is as much as to preserue or gaine them from the iawes of that great infernall Lyon, so that it is not without cause, that the workes of mercy shall bee particularly mentioned at the great day of Iudgement either to our saluation or to our condemna­tion. For as Saint Iames saith:Iacob. 5. whosoeuer shall turne a side a soule from the way of perdition, he shall saue his owne soule and shall by this meanes couer a multitude of his sinnes. Which the Apostles well knowing,Act. 6. did ordaine as the first policie in the Church, that there should be men deputed to helpe and minister vnto the poore: and fo [...]eseeing that in their time there would a great dearth happen,Act 2. they gaue order for a generall col­lection thorow all the Cities and townes where any Christians were,2. Cor. 16. thereby to succour and relieue the ne­cessities of the poore: in which worke Saint Paul did diligently imploy himselfe as appeareth by his Epistles, and money was sent from all quarters, as from Corinth, Thessalonia, and other Townes, to Ierusalem and Iudea, where there was little to be had by reason of the warres, and the Garrisons which were set ouer them by the Romanes: so that as it was said of their preaching.Psal. 18. In omnem terram exiuit sonus eorum, the same might be said of their almes, In omnem terram exierunt elecmosynae eo [...]um. By their example the first Christian Emperors and Princes, as Constantine and others gaue large and goodly temporall possessions vnto the Church, and built many Hospitals:Niceph. hist. Ecclesiast. in so much that Iulian the Apo­state could not deny but that it was religiously and [Page 118] piously done, and there vpon gaue order that more Hospitals should be founded and plentifully endowed, because he scorned (as he said) to bee in this particular out-stripped by Christians. Those who with-hold the possessions of the Church, and others that haue a conue­nient estate where with all to liue in a plentifull and de­cent manner, and do not releiue the poore, are guilty of this crime: for those necessitous persons, who by reason of their pouerty haue vowed and dedicated themselues vnto the Deuil, shall one day be presented before them, because they haue receiued no succour from them. On the other part, poore people should consider that Christ Iesus himselfe the vndoubted sonne of God and King of glory was content to become poore in this world, to teach vs, that for his sake we are to endure, what necessi­ty so euer he shall be pleased to try vs with all: especially since this pouerty is an instrument of our saluation, and is daily perfecting vp a crowne of glory for vs, enriched with all the treasures and pretious stones which a man can expresse or imagine. Thus it happened vnto poore Lazarus who could not obtaine the crummes of bread which were cast to doggs vnder the table,Luc. 16. although he laboured what he could to get the same: but putting his confidence in God, and bearing his pouerty with patience, he was after his death thought worthy to bee carried vnto God by ye Angels of Paradise.Matth. 8. Luk. 2. 2. Cor. 8. Christ Iesus himselfe had scarce a pillow whereon to rest his head; and at his birth he was glad to haue a cratch for his cradle, and was faine for his bed to vse straw and hay: to be briefe as Saint Paul saith, Cum diues esset egenus pro nobis factus est. Concerning the visible apparition of the Diuell, we are not to thinke so strangely of it, especially in these dayes of which the prediction goeth:Apoc. 20. Genes. 3. Matth. 4. soluetur sathanas. He also appeared visibly vnto Eue, and dis­coursed familiarly vnto her: touching his assumption of an humane shape, it cannot be denied but that he thus presented himselfe before Christ Iesus: yea hee tooke [Page 119] stones and shewed them vnto him saying:August. tra. 42. in Iob. Diabo­lus serpente in­dutus locutus est mulieri. Dic vt lapi­des isti panes fiant. As for the appearing of good An­gels, there is no difficulty to bee made hereof, conside­ring that euery where, especially in the booke of Gene­sis, there is mention made how Angels appeared vnto men in humane shapes, and if the Diuels did represent serpents, froggs, and the like before Pharaoh and all the people, it is not to be wondred,Exod. 8. if he shew him selfe vnto a man in a manly semblance: for thus he presented himselfe before Iob during the time of his temptation,Iob. 2. Chrysost ho­mil. 3. de pati­ent. Iob. as Saint Chrysostome doth well declare saying: That the messengers who came to bring him newes so suddenly one vpon the necke of another, were Diuels in the dis­guise of men: for otherwise it cannot wel be reconciled, how a man being in a house, which in an instant was vtterly ouerthrowne and demolished, could scape the ruine of this house; nor how these losses being acted so farre one from the other, (as the sheepe which were consumed by the fire that fell from heauen, the Camels that were carried away by the Chaldeans, the house which was rooted vp from the foundations) could bee so timed in the relations of them, that as soone as one had deliuered his newes, another should come at his heeles and tell what detriment Iob had receiued in o­ther places. And since Satan had liberty to kill not one­ly the sheepe but the sheepheards, and not to ouer­whelme the house alone, but to wrap vp also those that were within it in those ruines, it is not probable, that he who is bloodily minded, a murtherer of men, and a ra­uening wolfe, that deuoureth whatsoeuer commeth in his way, would let any one of them escape to bring the newes, especially since it was in his power as well to de­liuer the message, as to commit the riotts and murther, and since he had leaue to do vnto Iob whatsoeuer hee would, except one onely thing. Tantum (saith God) ne tang as animam eius. So that these newes tempting him most, it were no absurditie to say, that the Diuell [Page 120] was the bringer of them: neither doth the text in reci­ting these crosses make mention of any one that did e­scape, but onely that he who brought the newes-said thus and thus: although as the Amalechite told Dauid that he had slaine Saul, 2. Reg. 1. although the truth was that hee had slaine himselfe:1. Reg. 28. Irruit super gladium suum; so might this father of lyes mis-report one thing for another Therefore Saint Chrysostome doth not thinke it strange to say, that the Diuell appeared vnto Iob in the habite of a messenger or seruant, or to be of the age (as it is to bee presumed, that such and so swift messengers were) of 25. or 30. yeeres.August. lib. 7. de Trinit. cap. 7. lib. 8. quest. 8 [...]. Saint Augustine doth not onely say that this might be, but also giueth the reason why it might be, and that is by the application of naturall cau­ses, by which he shapeth vnto himselfe what body soe­uer he desireth to assume, especially for the quantity and quality which are meere accidents. And this body the Diuell can mooue by a kind of locall motion: yet doth he not viuificate and operate in the same, as the reasona­ble soule doth in a mans body, for this body is not a liue body, but is onely clothed with externall accidents, and seemeth to haue life by the secret working of these Spirits, euen as the celestiall bodies are turned about by a locall motion which proceedeth from the Angels: and yet cannot such bodies be properly said to liue. This is Saint Augustines resolution: Diabolus optat sibi corpus aliquod tanquam vestem: and in this sort did hee often­times visibly appeare vnto Saint Anthony as Saint Atha­nasius reporteth,Athanas. in Anton. Seuerus Sulpit. Epiphan. Ter­tul. de carne Christi. and once to Saint Martin, as Seuerus Sulpitius writeth. To conclude neuer did any father of the Christian Church deny, but that this either might be, or hath bin really practised. The Marcionites and Manicheans, who thought strange that the Deuill should touch Christ Iesus, denied not that the Deuill did visibly and corporally appeare vnto him, but they rather held that Christ Iesus was not clothed with true flesh, but had a body of the same condition as those are, [Page 121] which are formed by Spirits.2. Cor. 11. Saint Paul teacheth vs that Satan transformeth himselfe into an Angell of light: the meaning is, that he sometime taketh a comely humane shape as good Angels vse to do, to familiarise himselfe vnto men:Matth. 28. as we see in the Gospell that the good Angels, who appeared vnto those godly women that sought Christ Iesus in his sepulcher, were like yong men of 18. or 20. yeeres of age: so that this point is cleere and without controuersie both in the Scripture and amongst the Doctors of the Church. It would therefore appeare to be an ignorance and rashnesse too too grosse, to make doubt of the truth hereof, since there is such a cloud of Histories to giue confirmation of the same vnto vs, as for example: the History recited by Gregory Nazianzen of a Magician,Greg. Nazian. de Orat. Cypr. vnto whom the Diuell spake familiarly, and the like. But that we may not exceede the iust limits of Annotations, it shall suffice that we obserue, that among other predictions of the end of the world Saint Hippolytus writeth,Hippolyt. Ora. de Antichrist. that a great number of Diuels shall appeare vnto men in humane shapes, and being thus disguised in borrowed formes, they shall assemble themselues in mountaines, dennes, and desert places; all which predictions do fitly agree vnto the depositions of Sorcerers. It will not be amisse to note the antiquity and authority of this glorious Martyr, for the better resolution of diuers passages in the fore-cited place, which by some might be offensiue­ly taken. He was more ancient then Origen, Hieron. lib. de scripto Eccle­siast. at the least he liued in the same time with him, for Saint Ierome telleth in his Homilies how he preached, and how Ori­gen was present at his Sermons. It is then to be presu­med that since he tooke vpon him to speake of things to come, which were not expresly comprehended in the Scriptures, he had either the gift of prophesie, where­with all many were indued in the Primitiue Church, as Saint Paul teacheth, and which endured downe vnto the times of Saint Ireneus, 1. Cor. 13. 14. or hee had learned these [Page 122] things from the Disciples of the Apostles:Ireneus. as Saint Ir [...] ­neus telleth how he writ many things, which he h [...] learned from the Disciples of Iohn the Euangelist, and that it happened vnto him as it did vnto diuers others who liued neere vnto the Apostles time, who hauing faithfully treasured vp those things, which the most fa­miliar Disciples of the Apostles did reueale vnto them, yet there were some that would adde thereunto cer­taine conceits of their owne braine, which they them­selues did coniecture might be deliuered by the Apo­stles. But in this they notably abused themselues, as wee may plainely see in Ireneus, Euseb. lib. Histo. Eccle­siast. Papias, and others. The same happened vnto this holy man, in whom wee may obserue many tracts directly flowing from the Spirit of prophesie, and other vsefull instructions proceeding from his owne iudgement. Amongst this later sort of Reuelations from the Apostles, wee are to place that which he speaketh of Antichrist, whom hee saith shall be a Deuill taking vpon him the shape of a man. And this we may easily see to be his drift, for he speaketh not absolutely, but addeth that for his part he is of this opi­nion. Hanc opinor dilecti carnis suae substantiam phantasti­eam assumet organi vice. Hippolit. orat. de fine seculi. It may therefore well bee, that all these things were reuealed vnto him by the Disci­ples of the Apostles saying, that at the end of the world the Prince of Deuils shall shew him selfe vnto men in a humane forme, and shall speake vnto them, as one man doth vnto another, that hee may with the more ease se­duce them, and that there shall be a great number of o­ther Diuels with him in the like formes. But the good Father doth from himselfe conclude that such a one Antichrist should be, and therefore addeth the word, opinor; And this is not onely probable but necessary, to excuse so great a personage, who further addeth that there shall be at the end of the world many wicked Spi­rits in the shape of men. Daemones (inquit) congregabit humana specie. And this in effect the same which Sor­cerers [Page 123] doe depose, that there are a great company of Diuels in their assemblies, and both men and women haue euery one a Diuell, to commit abomination with them. S. Augustine out of the obseruation which hee tooke from the Scripture that saith,August. lib. 20. de ciuit. cap. 8. that in the last three yeeres wherein Antichrist shall raigne, all power shall bee giuen vnto the Diuell, asketh this question, whe­ther those fathers that are Christians shall then bee a­ble to procure their children to bee baptised, and shall haue power to resist the incursions of the Diuels, who at that tyme will bee euery where busied.Tertul. lib. de anima c. de somn. Tertullian saith, that Diuels haue no naturall impeachment to hin­der them from entering into any place, whereunto they haue a fancy, because God hath not circumscribed or li­mited their nature to any place, and therefore (saith he) it is an vndenyable truth, that Diuels may not onely en­ter into mens houses, but euen into their very cabinets. Nemo (inquit) dubitauerit, domos quoque daemonijs pae­tere, nec tantum in aditis, sed in cubiculis homines imagi­nibus circum [...]enire. He addeth the reason, Vtique non clausa vis est, nec sacrariorum circumscribitur terminis, vaga & peruolatica, & interim libera est. From whence S. Augustine draweth this conclusion, that because the Diuels shall in those daies bee vnbound, they shall bee able to goe in and out where they please; yet are wee not to vnderstand this, as though they could be at one tyme in diuers places, as Iustin Martyr well declareth in his 40. question. Now wee are witnesses of the be­ginning hereof, by their frequent appearing vnto those whom they abuse, and in whose behalfe they effect some things which are in themselues meerely diaboli­call: and as S. Paul saith of the schollers of Simon Ma­gus, and others of the same condition, Qui & nunc ope­ratur in filios diffidentiae. To conclude, the Diuell may take vnto himselfe a body made of aire, and may shape it after what forme and figure hee will, and clap it about him as a garment, vnlesse hee be expresly forbidden by [Page 124] the diuine prouidence, as wee haue formerly vnfolded. And this is the resolution of S. Thomas, who next to Augustine doth thus affirme it, Potest formare corpus ex aëre cuiuscunque formae & figurae, vt illud assumens in eo visibiliter appareat. P.P.Q. 114. art. 4. ad 2. Cardinal Caietan in his Comment vpon S. Thomas doth obserue, that when a wicked Spirit is so hardy, or else hath per­mission to shew himselfe visibly vnto a man, it is an ar­gument, that such a one is either forsaken of God, and hath one foote in hell already, or that he is a man of an extraordinary holinesse, and God permitteth it to the confusion of Satan, as appeareth by Christ Iesus in the wildernesse.

THE SECOND ANNOTATION. Whether the Diuell can make men renounce God and their Baptisme?

DEum rerum omnium creatorem & opificem vnum & trinum abnegastis &c. & infra. Et sacratissimo Baptismati &c. It is an ordi­nary practise of the Diuell to labour and perswade men to deny their God. Venit Diabolus (saith Christ Iesus) & tollit verbum de corde eorum, Luc. 8. ne credentes salui fiant. He is the authour of al the heresies that euer were in the world, and amongst other inuentions he brought in the plurality of Gods:Iren. lib. 1. Tertull. lib. ad­uersus Valen­tin. and to that end he stirred vp diuers agents of his, as Basilides, Carpocrates, and others. Hee it was that made the Arri­ans deny the sacred Trinity, and perswadeth Atheists that there is no God; all which hee practiseth, that hee may by vsurpation inuade the glory of God: for he stil holds him to his first pretension, when hee said in his heart, I will be like vnto the Highest. Therefore S. Au­gustine doth well obserue,Esa. 14. that the greatest ambition which the Diuell hath, is that men should performe vn­to [Page 125] him those honours which they are accustomed to of­fer vnto God.August. lib. 10. de ciuitat. & lib. 20. contra Faust. Manich, cap. 22. Daemones (inquit) diuinis honoribus gau­dent. And this hee can by no meanes wrest and extort from Christians, vnlesse they do first deny the Trinity of persons, because the very beleefe of the blessed Trinity is of sufficiency enough to giue stop vnto all Idolatry: for by it we beleeue an vnitie in trinitie, and a trinitie in vnitie, which when wee once comprehend, it cannot be fastned vpon our beleef to worship or acknowledge any thing for God, except the Father, the Sonne, and the holy Ghost: for our faith is limited to these three persons, and therefore excludeth all other things what­soeuer, in regard that they are as much inferiour and subordinate vnto these three persons, as the creature is vnto the Creator. And therefore Basilides and others of his likenesse, must first haue [...]ost all beleefe of the bles­sed Trinity, beefore they could giue admittance vnto this plurality of Gods. The like may be said of the Ar­rians and Sabellians, who denyed the three persons in vnity of essence and trinity of persons. Hence it ariseth, that neither the Diuell nor any other creature whatso­euer can be worshipped by a Christian, vnlesse hee first abandon the faith which he hath of the blessed Trinity. So that it is no wonder if the Diuell doth first exact this of Christians in his Synagogue, for if hee should doe o­therwise, hee could haue no colour to passe further. Whereupon wee may obserue, that there can scarce an heresie bee found, if a man search narrowly vnto the same, which hath retained the full and intire beleefe of the Trinity.Sanctes doth treat of the blessed Trini­ty in his A­theismes. Hippol. orat. de Antichrist. This we see daily practized by the Sabel­lians of our time, who misconceiue of the distinction of persons, and haue opened a gap to the Trinitarians of this age, to mock and make a ieast of the blessed Tri­nity, as if it were a Chimera, or a conceite framed and feined in the braine of man. In like manner it followeth of necessity, that they must renounce their Baptisme also, which is administred in the name of the blessed [Page 126] Trinity. S. Hippolytus a very ancient father and Martyr made no difficulty to grant, that the Diuell should at the end of the world visibly appeare to Christians, and should tell them, I will that thou deny thy Baptisme: for he is of opinion that Antichrist shall bee a Diuell, cloathed with the semblance of an humane body, al­though there be not many that adhere to this opinion, because S. Paul doth plainly affirme, that hee shall bee a true man,2. Thess. 2 and shall at last be put to death by the power of Christ Iesus. Howsoeuer it be, he saith, positiuely that the Diuel shal propose these words vnto the Christians, Nego Creatorem coel [...] & terrae, nego adorationem à me Deo praestari solitam, nego Baptisma, tibi adhaeresco, in te credo. Another reason why the Diuell would haue vs de­ny our Baptisme is, because by baptisme our soules are affianced and wedded to Christ Iesus, and by it wee re­ciue the ring of faith from him, and therefore by accept­ing of this, we doe expresly renounce the Diuell and all his workes. There are also certaine Exorcismes vsed a­gainst Satan in Baptisme, and therefore hee had rather that men should deny their Baptisme then any other Sacrament, nay, hee hath for a long time had his Bap­tisme also, euer imitating and aping God Almighty. Tertullian doth well witnesse this,Tertull. lib. de Baptism. Hic quoque (inquit) studium diaboli recognoscimus res Dei aemulantis cum & ipse baptismum in suis exercet: whence hee concludeth, that many in his time did by experience find it, that the Diuels did for this cause exceedingly haunt fountaines and pooles.

THE THIRD ANNOTATION. Whether the wicked Spirit doth cause the names to bee changed which were giuen in Baptisme.

MVtato vero nomine, &c. aliudque commen­titium, &c. There are two things to bee considered of in this point, for the better instruction of Parents: The first is to cause such names to bee giuen vnto their children, which may put them in minde to make head against the Diuell: the second is to prouide for them Godfathers and Godmothers of honest report and con­uersation. For since the Diuell is not contented to make men renounce their Baptisme, but will haue them al­so to renounce their Godfathers and Godmothers, and are desirous to change the name which is giuen them in Baptisme, it is an euident signe that these things are very contrary vnto him. And this is certainely true, for if wee marke, the auncient fathers of the Iewes did giue vnto children their names vpon the day of their circumcision, as appeareth in the Gospell by the cir­cumcision of Christ and S. Iohn Baptist: Luc. 1.2. so that then they were wholy deliuered from the bondage of Satan, and were inrolled in the band, and were to fight vnder the banner of the true God, that they might hence foreward manfully combat against his aduersary the Diuell. As therefore souldiers when they are receiued vnder the banner and pay of an Emperour or Captaine, doe presently cause their names to bee registred, that they may be alwaies ready to march when they shall be commanded thereunto, so that in the Monarchie of Roome, Nomen dare, did signifie all that which hath bin now said: in like manner in this Sacrament, men doe giue names vnto children, that they may alwaies re­member, what they haue promised, and vnder what [Page 128] banner they ought to march. And this was a custome a­mongst the very Gentiles,Hieron. prolog in lib. 1. com­ment. in Mi­cheam. as S. Ierome hath well noted, who gouerned themselues moraly well according to the law and light of nature, and did not impose idle or friuolous names vpon their children, but rather made choise of certaine names appellatiues, that betokened some vertue, vnto which they would appropriate and dedicate their children, and to admonish them to liue conformeable vnto the signification of their names. Thus wee finde many who haue beene called by these names Victor, Castus, Commodus, Pius, Probus, and a­mongst the Greekes Sophronius, Eusebius, Theophilus. But the fathers of the old Testament obserued another custome: for although many were called by names which signified good manners, as the word Micah, which signifieth humilitie, yet for the most part they added vnto their names the appellation of God, as in Heliseus, Samuel, Abdias, Zacharias, Esayas: (and this is a generall obseruation to bee noted in Angels, who are called by the names of Michael, Gabriel, Raphael) or at the leaft, they reteined the name of some holy man, that their childrē might imitate his vertues. And there­fore those that were present at the circumcision of S. Iohn Baptist, did wonder why they would call him Iohn, since that there was neuer any man of that ancient and illustrious family who was so called. Which very wel declareth, that they did more religiously retaine the names of their good auncestors, then they did the he­ritage which was left vnto them.Chrysost. ho­mil. 12. in 1. ad Corinth. Genes. 45. Heereupon S. Chryso­stome did admonish the people not to vse any superflu­ous thing in Baptisme, but to looke well vnto this rule, to giue no names vnto their children but the names of Saints: and for the children, that they should retaine this name, and not suffer it to bee changed for any other vpon what occasion soeuer. They must doe as Ioseph did, who notwithstanding that Pharaoh had changed his name after the Aegyptian manner, would yet keepe [Page 129] him still vnto his first name as appeareth when he said, Ego sum Ioseph frater vester. And the Scripture it selfe doth euer call him by the name of Ioseph, and passeth o­uer that prophane appellation which Pharaoh imposed vpon him: the same did Daniel and his three compa­nions, for although Nabuchodonosor had called Daniel by the Chaldean name of Balthasar, and the other three by the names of Sidrac, Misac, and Abednago, yet when Daniel writeth his booke he euer saith, Ego Daniel: Daniel. 3. as also the three children being in the furnace cryed out, Benedicite Anania, Asaria, Misael Domino, neither did they acknowledge any other names, but these that were giuen vnto them in Iudea. S. Chrysostome giueth the reason heereof. These kinde of names, saith hee, were gi­uen to children, to put them in minde to imitate holy men whose names they carryed: for if they doe not imi­tate such and such a Saint, it is an assured truth (as hee said else where) that the prayers and merits of this Saint shall not bee auaileable vnto them for their saluation. From whence this conclusion may be drawne, that it is not lawfull to giue the names of sinfull men vnto chil­dren, although they haue beene famous in their gene­rations, or haue been our progenitours and ancestours, because such impositions can serue for nothing, but for spurrs in their sides to prick them on to imitate their pride and wicked conuersation. How worthy then of reprehension are those fathers and mothers, who dis­daine the name of Saints, and had rather giue their chil­dren the names of Infidels and Idolaters, who are now frying in flames of hell. And it is to be doubted, that if our Lord had specified the name of the rich man in the Gospell, they would rather haue taken it and called their children by the same, then haue giuen the name of Lazarus vnto them: but hee would not mention his name for many waighty reasons, and amongst the rest this may serue for one. It is therefore cleere that this is a meere trick and deuise of Satan, because hee abhorreth [Page 130] the name giuen in Baptisme, and taken (as the vsual cu­stome of Christians is) from Saints, who vpon this oc­casion are the readier to aide vs, and to beare a particu­lar fauour vnto vs. The Germanes are obserued to haue for a long tyme retained a barbarous fashion in two things especially: first in eating Bacon without seeth­ing it, and feeding vpon horse flesh: the second in gi­uing Scythian names vnto their children when they were baptised:Genebrard. in Chronolog. yet at last vpon better instructious they redressed and mended these faults. It is therefore expe­dient to chuse honest people for Godfathers and God­mothers, which is an auncient custome in the Church, and practised euer since the time of Pope Thelesphorus, who was but 100. yeeres after the death and passion of Christ Iesus. For in regard that faith in Baptisme is not infused into the childe to operate, but onely to purifie the soule, it behooueth him to haue a Godfather to in­struct him in the workes of faith, and to protest in his behalfe that he shall beleeue in Christ Iesus, and shall be one of his Church; and this is to be done although the childe be dumbe and deafe, as S. Ierome hath it. And further,Hierou. in E­pist. ad Galat. it is to bring him to receiue the Sacrament of Confirmation, where the child, who hath bin baptised, commeth now to ratifie the promise made by his God­father and Godmother for him at his baptisme, and by a consequent hee commeth to receiue new grace, that hee may bee strengthened to resist all the assaults and temptations of the Diuell. Hence it commeth that be­cause in these dayes this Sacrament is so vniuersally ne­glected, the Diuell doth deceiue so many people, and maketh them with ease to renounce their baptisme, which they haue not yet confirmed: for hee doth no more but make them say, I am not tyed to that which my Godfathers and Godmothers haue promised for me.Euseb. lib. hist. Eccles. Cypri­an. lib. Epi. And therefore Saint Cyprian doth not wonder that Nouatus had abandoned his faith promised in bap­tisme, because, saith hee, hee did not ratifie the same by [Page 131] the Sacrament of confirmation. Hereupon ought the Pastors of the Church, and fathers and mothers also to be vigilant in this particular, left it should happen both to the one and to the other as chanced vnto Hely and his children, vnto whom Anna, and little Samuel were directly opposite in their courses. And concerning al­teration of names, Magdalene did affirme that all did change their names in the Synagogues, to the end that they might not be discouered by those who perchance might call them into question for the same.

THE FOVRTH ANNOTATION. Whether the Diuell exacteth any homage or tribute.

VEstimentorum vestrorum fragmentum, &c. The Diuell hath no need of any thing we haue in this world, except the faith and grace of God which is infused into vs: yet because, as wee haue formerly al­leaged out of S. Augustine, he is greatly delighted that men should doe him homage as to a God, hee willeth these poore hood-winkt wretches to present vnto him in signe of their acknowledgment some thing or other, as for example a peece of their garment. Hee exacteth this from these poore people, who haue nothing dearer vnto them amongst their earthly fortunes, then is their garment.Deuteron. And therfore God in the old Law doth strict­ly forbid, that any one shuld take a poore mans clothes for a pawne: and if he should take them, hee comman­deth that they be rendred vnto him againe before Sun­set, otherwise he threatneth to take vengeance on such a person. Thus wee see this accursed beast getteth them to offer vnto him the best of what they haue: for of all the goods of fortune, he desireth the garment: of all the gifts of nature, he craueth mens children; and of all the endowments of grace and spirituall blessings, he long­eth [Page 132] after faith and Baptisme.3. Reg. 18. He also doth somtimes de­sire the blood of men, as appeareth by the Priests of Baal, who when they would pray that fire might des­cend from heauen, they cut and flashe their flesh with Launces. But because most men did abhorre and hold this mangling of themselues in detestation, he did from thence forward content himselfe with mens goods, such as are their garments;3. Reg. 18. and it may be he desireth by this kind of tribute to be acknowledged for a King. For it was the custome of the Iewes, when they would make or proclaime any one King, to put off their vpper gar­ments, and to vse them for the seruice of this King, by putting them vnder his feet for him to tread on: as wee see in the history of Iehu, 4. Reg. 9. Matth. 21. and in the relation of Christ Iesus his being receiued after a triumphant manner in­to Ierusalem vpon Palme-sunday. To these poore and blinded wretches we may fitly apply the Greeke pro­uerbe, which in Latine runneth thus: Veste circumfers ignem. For their garment is an externall signe, that they are for euer chained vnto that eternall fire. And that may well agree vnto them which is commonly said, Ve­st is virum facit. Erasm. in Chiliad. 1. To the same purpose is that which Ter­tullian said, Diabolus tunc se regnare putat, quando san­ctos à religione Dei deturbat.

THE FIFTH ANNOTATION. Whether the Diuell doth marke Witches.

SIgnum seu stigma cuilibet vestrum, &c. This point alone is able to conuince those, who conceit that these things are meerely dreames. For experience doth demonstratiuely proue,Tertul lib. 2. aduersus Iu­daeos ca pro­bat. natiuitat. Christi. that this kind of marke which they haue in their bodies is leprous, and deuoid of all sense; in so much (as we haue tried with a needle or a pinne) that if a man doth secretly and finely [Page 133] thrust vp a pinne into the same, they feele it no more then if they were direct lepers. But there must good heed be taken that they do not perceiue you, for if they doe, they wil make shew they feele the same when they doe not; but howsoeuer, you shall be sure that you shal draw no blood from those marked parts. And this manner of Satan is very ancient, although it hath recei­ued diuers changes according to the diuersity of times. Tertullian saith,Tertul. lib. de coron. mili. & de Baptismo. that the Diuels custome is to marke those that bee his, in imitation of God, who doth in­wardly marke vs in Baptisme, by a stampe or character, that doth adheare and cleaue vnto our soules, as both S. Paul and S. Iohn do witnesse: And againe,Ephes. 1.4. he doth ex­ternally marke vs by the Chrisome and signe of the Crosse. Thus doth Satan stampe in the soules of his ser­uants the marke of sinne, and not content with this, hee now addeth an outward badge, although it may be ve­ry possible, that the Diuell in former ages did not vse to marke his with the like stampes as now hee setteth vp­on them.Tertul. lib. de veland. Virg. For (as Tertullian saith) it is the Diuels pro­perty to excogitate new deuices euery day: and it is cleere in Scripture, that the Diuell laboureth and aspi­reth as much as in him lieth, to set his badge vpon those that are his. Saint Iohn foresheweth, that at the end of the world there shall be a certaine kind of people,Apocal. 14. who shall beare vpon them the signe and character of the beast: which is litterally to bee vnderstood, as the text it selfe doth sufficiently declare; for hee saith, that by this marke wee shall haue accesse vnto those wicked men, which carry the same either in their front or in their hand. And although there were no other proofe but this, yet may it sufficiently euince vnto vs, that this and the like texts are thus litterally to bee expounded, which S. Hippolytus doth very well obserue and fore­shew in these very words,Hippol. Orat. de consummat. mundi. where he speaketh of the Di­uell that should take vpon him a phantasticall and ima­ginary body. Adducet (inquit) eos ad adorandum ipsum [Page 134] ac sibi ob [...]emporantes sigillo suo no [...]abit. So that a man would thinke that these poore mis-led Sorcerers and Witches had read this Oration of so glorious a Martyr, so aptly doe their depositions agree with his predicti­ons.

THE SIXTH ANNOTATION. Whether Magicians make a Circle, or no?

SVper circulo quod diuinitatis symbolum est, &c. The circular figure is the most re­mote and distant from the figure of the Crosse that can be. The Crosse must of necessity haue foure corners, whereas this hath none at all. The Diuell vseth those markes that are most different and opposite from the signe of our Re­demption and his ruine: and if any of his doe vse the same (as Nazianzene writeth of Iulian the Apostate) hee presently leaueth them as soone as they haue made the signe of the Crosse.Nazianzen. Orat. 4. cont. Iulian. Apost. Whereunto many later Histo­ries doe agree, which report that diuerse who came vn­to the assemblies of Witches, when as they had once made the signe of the Crosse, they were left alone in the field. The same also happened (as it is more at large amplified in the inditement made against the Witches at Auignon) vnto a young man, who by his father was carried to the Synagogue where they were to meete: but when hee saw what abominable villanies they did, hee was much affrighted, and making the signe of the Crosse he spake these words, Iesu what is the meaning of this? Whereupon they all vanished away, and the young man remained all alone, and the next day hee came home to the village where he dwelt, which was distant from the Synagogue (as they call it) aboue three leagues, and accused his father for leading of him thither, and euer since those of that Village haue called [Page 135] him in their language Masquillon, that is to say, a little Witch: and this boy remained in the prison belonging to the pallace of Auignon, at the time that the said exe­cution was done, where he was detained for the disco­uery of the like practises. Epiphanius haeres. 30. doth re­port, that a young Magician did fly throw the aire, and iustled against a Christian woman who was washing her selfe in a bath, but shee had no sooner signed her selfe with the Crosse, but she repelled him farre enough from her: And therefore Satan doth cause all Crosses to bee defaced where he commeth, and teacheth his Dis­ciples to vse other markes very different, and (if a man may say it) contrary vnto the signe of the Crosse, as is plaine in the characters of Magicians, which Agrippa a great fauourer of the sect of the Beast did vnhappily publish vnto the world.Nazian. Orat. in Iulian A­postat. Wee may further call to mind (for the Diuell vnder one externall thing doth hatch and couer a thousand impieties) what Iulian the Apo­state did conceiue hereof, who was a man exceedingly addicted vnto Diuels. He made this interpretation, that when Crosses were enclosed in a Circle, it signified that the religion of Christ Iesus was to bee depressed and a­bolished, and that not long after such a signe this should be put in execution. Wee also see that the roaring Lion when hee goeth about to deuoure his prey, doth with his taile expresse a circle, out of which the poore beast that is inuironed with the same, dareth not in any sort to stirre, such is the feare that hee conceiueth of his ad­uersarie. So that we may well apply this short sentence of Peter vnto the Diuell: Circuit quaerens quem deuoret. 1. Pet. 5. Thus doe these poore and ignorant wretches stand in awe of the Diuell, fearing that since they haue sworne fealty vnto him, hee would breake their necks, if they should back slide from the same, as appeareth by their owne confessions: for they haue voluntarily slaued themselues vnto this cruell Tyrant, and therefore doe, as it is written, Qui facit peccatū seruus est peccati, 11. Pet. 11. a quo [Page 136] quis superatus est eius & seruus est: Iohn 5. 2 Cor. 3. as on the contrary it is said vnto those that are religiously giuen, Siman­seritis in sermone meo, verè liberieritis, & vbi spiritus do­mini ibi libertas.

THE SEVENTH ANNOTATION. Whe [...]her Witches doe vse their staffe and oyntment that they may be transported and carried in the ayre?

ADminiculo baculi, quodā nefandissimo vn­guento, &c. That Sorcerers haue for a long time vsed staues, it appeareth by that which Aben Ezra hath written vpon Leuiticus: Aben Ezra in Leuit. Leuit. 19. Sanct. Pag. in Thesaur. Apoc. 2. where it is prohibited to doe any act appertaining or belonging vnto this dia­bolicall art. And hee expresseth by what meanes this was practised, and saith, (as Sanctes Pagninus hath tran­slated his words) Non facietis experimenta per figuras, per baculos, per opera, per motus, per dies & per horas. In which he seemeth to haue touched the principall points contained in this Sentence and Inditement against Sor­cerers. For touching figures, we see they vse the Circle, and for workes, they commit wicked prankes vpon the dead, especially vpon young children, as wee will shew hereafter: for motion, their bodies are hurried from one place vnto another: for daies and houres, they ob­serue Thursday after midnight, at which time they are onely thus transported, as they all agree and affirme: And the reason hereof may be because the Diuell is de­sirous to haue the first fruits, and to be acknowledged in the first part of the weeke: For the Turkes celebrate the Friday, the Iewes the Saturday, as the Christians doe the Sunday: But the Diuell hath instituted his Sabbath before them all, that hee may haue the first adoration. This is that arrogancy of Satan, which is spoken of in the Reuelation,Apoc. 2. blessed are they that haue not knowne [Page 137] nor tried Altitudinem Satbanae. Last of all, touching the staffe which this Hebrew Doctor doth mention, we see it by experience, that the Sorcerers of our times vse staues, bestriding them, and putting them betwixt their legs. Neither was this opinion of so great and learned a Rabbi without the ground and witnesse of the holy Scripture, as Arias Montanus hath well obserued.Osea 4. Arias Montan. in Os. For mention hereof is made in Osea, where it is said, Popu­lus meus in ligno suo interrogauit, & baculus eius annun­ciauit ei. And it may bee that the Diuell did inuent this custome to counterfait Moyses, who vsed a staffe or a rod in the working of his great miracles: and mention is also made of Aarons rod that budded, and miracu­lously brought forth fruit. As for the oyntment where­withall they annoint their staues and bodies, it is certaine that the Diuel the better to abuse these people, and to cloake and couer his owne malice doth make a compound of sundry idle and vneffectuall ingredients, as of hearbes, rootes, and the like: for the diuell know­eth full well, that this medley is not a whit powerfull to transport their bodies thorow the ayre from one place to another: and experience it selfe doth also sufficient­ly auow the same. So that he doth this to couer his ma­licious ends, and his aime is leuelled at no other marke then to commit murthers, and imbrue their hands in sheading of blood, as doth cleerely appeare by the de­positions of all Sorcerers, who doe concurre and agree vpon this point, that at the first it sufficeth, if they can borrow oyntment of their neighbours, but when they are at the assembly, the Diuell doth declare vnto them that they are to haue oyntment of their owne, and that it cannot be effectuall and for their purpose, vnlesse they get the grease of young children that haue been stran­gled by them. It is then vndoubtedly true that all these hearbes and flowers are nothing else but Parerga, that is to say, things that serue for no vse but to set a glosse and colour vpon that, which is their principall and pri­mary [Page 138] intention: as when a Painter draweth some lines or florishes about the border of a perfect portrature. And these are the goodly workes which Aben Ezra doth in more obscure tearmes mention.Helias in Thisby. Helias the Le­uite reporteth, that Lilith, that is to say, a woman that wanders by night, vsed secretly to steale into the bed­chambers of those that are newly deliuered, to kill young children, that were not aboue eight daies old.See Lyran. Genes. 31. Hieron. lib. 1. comment. in Dan ad cap. 2. Terrul. lib. de anima. f. 3.79. He also saith that the Therasins, whereof the Scrip­ture maketh mention, could not be made without mur­ther. Saint Ierome writeth that Witches cast abroad their charmes by touching of dead bodies. Attingunt (inquit) malefici corpora mortuorum: and Tertullian doth inlarge himselfe in tearmes more perspicuous for our purpose, saying: Pluribus notum est daemoniorum quoque opera, & immaturas & atroces effici mortes, quas incur sibus deputant. And a little before: Per vim (inquit) & iniuriam saeuus & immaturus finis extorsit: where he saith, that the Diuell doth bring to passe all these good­ly deuises of his, by the meanes of those who haue vow­ed themselues vnto his seruice. And therefore S. Au­gustine wondreth with himselfe,August. lib. 20. de Ciuit. and asketh a reason why God should permit that such massacres should bee committed vpon poore innocent children, yea and vp­on those who haue receiued the character of his Bap­tisme: whereunto he answereth, that this proceedeth from the iudgement of God, which is hidden and re­moued from our knowledge, and if there were no other thing but the tribute which wee owe vnto death tho­row originall sinne, it would sufficiently conclude that God doth permit this according to all equity. Neither is this so new a thing vnto vs, since by diuine permission so many young children were slaine in Aegypt by Pha­raoh, and in Iudea by Herod, vnto which these two Ty­rants were incited by the instigations of the Diuell.Apulelus lib. de Asino au­reo. cap. 19. We are further to obserue what Apuleius writeth touching this argument (who was a part of his owne history) by [Page 139] seeing a young woman that was a Witch playing of her prankes before him: whereupon he was accused to bee a Sorcerer, and because thos [...] that were contaminated with this diuellish art were then put to death without mercy, he was saine to make two Apologies, thereby to purge himselfe of these crimes before the gouernours of Africke.Apul. Apolog. 1. & 2. There are some that conceiue his history to bee meerely fabulous: but as himselfe reporteth of a great Orator, who when hee saw that Apulei [...]s would by no meanes credit, that a man might bee carried tho­row the ayre, or transformed into an Owle, tooke him vp short and told him; Friend, you talke like a young man that hath as yet made no experience of things, which a [...]e so full of secresie and importance. And he further reciteth that afterward he had experience of the truth of the same. But that which giueth reputati­on and authority vnto his history is, that S.August. de Ci­uit. Dei. Augustine doth oftentimes alleage him, and doth not brand him with any hard opinion of lightnesse or fiction. This A­puleius doth declare, that on a certaine euening by the assistance of a chambermaid, hee was brought about midnight to behold the mistrisse of the house, wherunto he was guided, annointing of her selfe with a certaine vnguent which she had within a pot, and when she had made an end of besmearing her selfe shee was changed into an Owle, and began to flie out of the house. He al­so doth relate what the ingredients of this vnguent were, to wit, certaine aromaticall hearbe [...], and some parts of dead bodies that had beene buried and were digged vp againe for that purpose: that all was boyled together in a great brason Caldron in Well water to­gether with the milke of a Cow, the hony of moun­taines, and other stuffe of the like nature, vsing certaine magicall words ouer the whole compound. And this we found also verified by the Witches that were con­demned by the aboue cited sentence, who confessed that they did boyle dead bodies, whom they came and [Page 140] digged vp by night, and with the grease of their kid­ne [...]es and cer [...]aine othe [...] hea [...]bes they made a certaine oyntment which they did vse. From hence it did arise that the Romās of Apuleius his time did punish witches with death, because they did violate the graues of the dead, to pilfer from thence the bodies of those which lay there [...]n [...]erred, which is not onely repugnant to the law of nature, but vnto the law of nations, called, Ius gentium. For if those who forced open Sepulchres, that they might from thence steale the iewels and rings which were buried with the dead corps, were without mercy put to death as sacrilegious persons; how much more seuerely ought they to bee punished, who steale a­way the bodies themselues? Which Apuleius also wit­nesseth, relating that it was then the custome to hier certaine men to watch dead courses, for feare least the Witches should come to gnaw and dismember them: adding that himselfe one euening being set to watch a Course that lay in a certaine Hall, there came a Weesell to gnaw the said Course, but this being discouered by him, the Weesell ran out at the hole thorow which it entred. So that it is authentically true, that the Diuell hath anciently practised this villany, for seeing that himselfe cānot discharge his ful malice vpon mā, whom he capitally hateth, he leaueth it to be executed by those that are his members: and it giueth some satisfaction vnto his sanguinary nature, that he may wreake his an­ger vpon the dead. And therefore hee is often called in the Reuelation the red Dragon, to expresse how furi­ous, outragious, and blood-thirsty he is, being as Christ Iesus himselfe saith, a murtherer from the beginning. And as God is called by the Grecians [...], that is to say, a louer of men; so by a contrary the Diuell is stiled [...], that is to say, a man-hater.

THE EIGHTH ANNOTATION. Whether Witches goe in the ayre?

PEr aëra ad locum constitutum, &c. Some do doubt whether the Deuill can make a hu­mane body to goe in the ayre, or no. But this doubtfulnesse of theirs doth argue a defect and maime in their knowledge, not vnderstanding aright the na­ture and property of Spirits: nay they are conuinced to be ignorant of the Scriptures themselues, for a Spirit is of a more excellent and noble composition then any body whatsoeuer, and therefore he hath a power in his nature to mooue according as himselfe will. It is cer­taine that man is sheltred particularly vnder the safe­garde and protection of Gods prouidence, yet doth not this hinder, but that God may sometimes suffer this to be done, as it is cleere by Christ Iesus himselfe, who was carried by the Deuill vnto a desert, from thence vnto a pinacle of the Temple, and thence vnto a mountaine. If the Deuill did this to Christ, how much more shall hee be able to effect the same, whē miserable men do quitte the seruice of God, to adore the Deuill? The Deuill also in the wildernesse of Aegypt did bring before Pharaoh and the people many great Serpents: for S. Augustine and after him S. Thomas do agree and conclude, that they were true Serpents. We are also to call vnto re­membrance that, which we haue before alleaged out of Apuleius, and which he saith that hee beheld with his owne eyes: and wee are to obserue the points which we haue handled in the sixth Chapter of this booke. For why should any man conceite strangely of this point, since Simon Magus himselfe was carried in the ayre by Diuels? and least any might apprehend that this was meerely fancied and not really done, the History saith that he brake his necke, being forsaken (by the com­mandement [Page 142] of God and his good Angels) by the De­uils who were about him for his supportation.Clemens lib. recogn. Hipp. orat. de Antichrist. Thessalon. Polid. lib. 9. H [...]st. Aug. Guli. naugiac. Sem­blable hereunto is that which Saint Hippolytus repor­teth, saying: that Antichrist shall cause himselfe to bee carried in the ayre by Deuils: whereof there is some probability in the Scriptures. And to descend vnto more moderne Authors, certaine Chroniclers and Historio­graphers do report, that Berengarius (who was a great Sorcerer) was at Rome at night, and yet the very same night he was found reading of a Lecture at Tours in Touraine: whereunto may bee added that which wee haue noted in the sixth Annotationof the yong man, who leaped in the aire after a woman.

THE NINTH ANNOTATION. Whether Witches doe eate, drinke, and dance in their Synagogue.

SAltationes, compotationes, comessationes, &c. The workes of Satan or of the flesh are as Saint Paul saith,Gal. 5. gluttony, drunkennes, and whoredome, and this was the people of Israels case when they danced be [...]ore their calfe, as our Sorcerers do before their Deuill: for it is said of them;Exod. 34. comederunt & biberunt, & surrexerunt ludere, id est, fornicari, euen so the Deuill doth make his seruants leape and dance, and afterward he causeth them to banquet and make merry, and at last as we shall see, to commit fornication and all vncleannesse, And this is Saint Ieroms obseruation, when hee writeth these very words:Hierony. lb. 3. commen. in Ep [...]st. ad Ephes. ca. 4. Nam & barbara quaedam nomina corum esse di­cuntur, vt saepe confessi sunt hi, quos verè vulgus maleficos vocat: & incantationes, & preces, & colores var [...] & di­uersa velmetallorum velciborum, ad quae inuocati assiste­re daemones, & infelices animas capere memorantur. Now whereas S. Ierome saith that the Deuils do agree [Page 143] vpon a set place to receiue certaine victuals which are promised vnto them, this is to be vnderstood of the dead bodies, which the Witches do dedicate and set be­fore them in a place that shall be designed for that pur­pose: where they cause them to be sodd and afterward eaten by the whole assembly after an abhominable kind of Anthropophagy: and in all likelie-hood this is done to shake the Article of the Resurrection. For as Pliny doth atheistically argue, how can those bodies rise a­gaine in their owne substance, although God put his fin­ger thereunto, when as now the flesh is eaten by others, and is changed into the substance of those who haue deuoured the same. Besides, by this barbarous and bru­tish manner of seeding, he maketh them to transgresse the very law of nature, and so indeede maketh them like vnto beasts, so that when Saint Ierome writeth that the Deuils are very seruiceable vnto those, that will promise vnto him such kind of victuals, it is not to bee conceiued that they do eate any thing, for they are Spirits, but yt they induce & perswade others to eate of these diabolicall viands, because they know the impie­ty and wickednes of such an execrable diet: for it is di­rectly against the first commandement which God gaue vnto man after the flood, to re-establish the law of nature, which by Giants and other wicked people had been much violated and prophaned. I giue you leaue (saith he) to eate of all liuing creatures vpon the face of the earth, but I forbid you to spill the blood of man;Genes. 9. that is, to eate and deuoure mans flesh. For in this pas­sage of Genesis, as the text it selfe declareth it, there was no question or mention of murther, but onely tou­ching the diuersity and vse of meates. So that by this text, Anthropophagy, or eating of mans flesh is expresly forbidden, and therefore the Deuill hath brought vp the practise thereof amongst his people, because it is a thing against humanity and reason: and this is the cause why hee gathereth them together, and inciteth [Page 144] them to those abominable banquets and meriments. Touching other victuals and refreshments which hee causeth them to take, although in the eating of them they please and giue contentment vnto their tast, yet when these poore wretches returne vnto their owne homes, they are then as much or more hungry then they were before. Conformable hereunto is the obser­uation of Saint Thomas, who saith, that although all na­turall bodies in respect of motion and quality are vnder the command of Spirits, yet can they not change the substances of them, of which God is the sole creator, but are onely powerfull to make an alteration or change in the accidents. And therefore the Deuill can­not make a stone bread: so that we may hence con­clude, that this is out of the compasse of his naturall power, and that such meates are so onely in apparancy, being clothed with certaine qualities of bread, wine, or flesh: & these qualities are but of short continuance, for as Saint Thomas saith, the workes of the Deuill can­not be permanent, because they haue not the prop and ground worke of true substances. So that this was it, that shewed Christ Iesus to be the true God, because he had not onely caused fiue thousand to eate, but had al­so fed and filled them for a long time after. Thus the bread that was baked in the ashes and eaten by Helias, 1. Reg. 19. was framed by the fingar of God, because in the strength thereof he walked 40. dayes and forty nights. The same may be said of the Manna in the deser [...], which did fill and satisfie those that did eate of the same, as it is said, Pae [...]e caeli saturauit eos. Therefore it is a property peculiar vnto God alone to giue corporall foode and sustenance vnto men, either by the meanes of his crea­tures, or by some other extraordinary power. I a [...]t a (said Dauid) super Dominum curam tu [...]m, & ipse te e [...] ­triel;Psal. 54. & aperis tu (domine) manum tuam, & [...]mple [...] omne animal benedictione. This being altogether hid from these miserable creatures, they goe a whoring after Sa­tan [Page 145] in the time of their necessitie, and imagine that it is in his power to keepe them from hunger or from any o­ther want, wherewith they are pinched, by giuing vnto them victuals or mony according to his promise: from which we may also draw this conclusion with S. Tho­mas: that when these kind of people are changed into cats, wolfes, or any of the like resemblances, (as Wit­ches haue deposed, and Saint Augustine doth largely make mention of the same, as of a truth in his time be­yond exception, and as Apuleius Vincentius in his history, and Ephordiensis do all witnesse) we are not to conceiue that the true substance of the man or of the woman is changed into the nature of these beasts, (for this doth surmount the power of the Deuill) but that the Deuill doth couer and cloth their bodies with a cloud of ayre, hauing the resemblance of such a beast. For as he sometimes seemeth to bee a perfect man, be­cause he hath taken such an airy forme vpon him, so doth it also appeare vnto those that behold these Wit­ches, and vnto themselues also that they are perfect beasts, although in truth it bee otherwise: and there­upon S. Thomas doth thus conclude.P. p. q. 114. art. 4. Illae transmutatio­nes corporalium rerum quae non possunt virtute naturae fie­ri, nullo modo operatione daemonum secundum rei veritatem perfici possunt. sicut quod corpus humanum mutetur in cor­pus bestiale, &c. And afterward hee commeth to de­scribe the meanes how this is done, in apparancy and shew. Cum daemon possit formare corpus ex aëre, cuiuscun­que formae & figurae vt illud assumens in eo visibiliter appa­reat: potest eadem ratione circumponere cuiuscun (que) rei corporeae quamcunque formam corpoream, vt in eius specie videatur. And this is farther prooued by the sentence ta­ken out of S. Augustine in the 18. booke of the Citty of God. It may also very well be, that the Deuill may imprint into their fantasies such kind of shapes, and then they will apprehend them as though they were true and reall formes: the experience whereof we are [Page 146] taught by those that are frantick, wh [...] thinke they see Toads, Serpents and Dragons flying and crawling vp and downe their chambers where they lye, neither can any one perswade the contrary vnto them, because these shapes are as properly inherent in the common sense as in the phantasie it selfe, whether they are sent by transmission from the eies. Neither ought wee to thinke that Nabuchodonosor was substantially changed into a beast, although that this happened vnto him by the power and finger of God, but that hee was rather depriued for a tyme of his vnderstanding, thereby to chastise a [...]d humble him for his transgressions, and was afterward by speciall grace re-setled in his former senses. And the text affirmeth not that his substance was changed, but his heart, which himselfe doth after­ward interpret, when he saith, Sensus meus reuer sus est ad me. Hieron. in Dan. Whereupon S. Ierome saith, Quand [...] dicit sensum sibi fuisse redditum, ostendit se formam non amisisse, sed mentem. As therefore a man whose senses are taken from him, doth not care if he cohabite with beasts, and feed amongst them, the same was Nabuchodon [...]sors case vn­till God had compassion of him, at what time hee was reclaimed and reduced vnto himselfe, and craued par­don of Almighty God. Touching Lo [...]s wife, shee was indeed changed into a pillar of salt, but it was either after her death, or vpon the very instant of the same, and her body in succession of tyme was turned into the mould from whence it was taken. Thus we see the Di­uels disabilitie in changing the substance or shape of man, although he may counterfaite and couer the same with his shewes and apparances. Of this nature shall the myracles of Antichrist be, which shall be lying signes, framed to all kinds of deception by the industriousnes and arte of Diuels. Thus when S. Augustine reci [...]eth the history of the Hostesses of Italy, who vsed to giue a cer­taine kinde of broth vnto their guestes of their owne making, which when they had once eaten, they were [Page 147] presently changed into Horses, Mules, or Asses, and were made to carry all burthens and loads which they pleased to put vpon them, till they came to a certaine place; wee must not thinke that these men lost the vse of their naturall reason, because by vertue thereof they saw and conceiued themselues to bee beasts according to their bodily shapes, and being come vnto the said place they returned vnto their former estate. Saint Au­gustine saith not that these things are fables, but that they may either bee so indeed, or else may seeme to bee what they are not, by charmes and collusions. And con­cludeth, that when it is so indeed, wee are not to thinke that the substance of the man is turned into the sub­stance of the beast, but that it is onely thus in externall appearance by the working of the Diuell▪ Nec sane (in­quit) Daemones naturas creant, si aliquid tale faciunt de qualibus factis ista vertitur quaestio: sed specie tenus, quae á vero Deo sunt creata commutant, vt videantur esse quod non sunt. And speaking of Apuleius, whom he reporteth to haue beene turned into an asse, hee saith, that either Apuleius did counterfaite and deuise such a thing, or did set it downe in writing as it really happened. I ste (inquit) aut iudicauit aut finxit. And for the burthens which he carryed, it was (said hee) the Diuell who did beare and vndergoe them for him.

THE TENTH ANNOTATION. Whether witches worship the Diuel in the forme of a Goate?

COluistis & adorastis in formam & speciem foedissimi & nigerrim [...] hirci, &c. That the Diuell is ambitious of nothing more then to bee worshipped as a God, wee haue formerly at large declared, and concer­ning the visible forme in which hee doth appeare, wee haue likewise shewed out of S. Augustine, that it is not [Page 148] permitted vnto him to inuest himselfe with what forme he will or naturally can take vpon him, but hee is limi­ted vnto such semblances as God is pleased to permit vnto him: and therefore saith S. Augustine, there is no question but he would haue taken a goodlier and more specious resemblance vpon him, then the forme of the Serpent was, if God would haue suffered him so to doe: but God would not haue it so. When hee comes to bee adored, he appeareth not in a humane forme, but as the Witches themselues haue deposed, as soone as they are agreed of the time that he is to mount vpon the al­tar (which is some rock or great stone in the fields) there to bee worshipped by them, hee instantly turneth him­selfe into the forme of a great black Goate, although in all other occasions hee vseth to appeare in the shape of a man: for God will not suffer him thus to abuse the nature of man, because Christ Iesus his onely Sonne is a true man, and worshipped as God and man both toge­ther: for the Hypostaticall vnion of both natures is so indissoluble and so fast linked one to the other, that there is but one essence or person that ariseth from both natures. Againe, if the Diuell had presented himselfe in an humane forme, our first parents might haue con­ceited him to haue beene the Messias,Genes. 2. Ephes. 5. who was already reuealed and fore promised to Adam, as Saint Paul ex­presseth it. Hence it is that God will not suffer him to assume the forme of the Sonne of God when hee goeth about to bee worshipped, but onely of a beast, or of some such monstrous and i [...] fauoured shapes, which are one halfe of them beasts, and the other addition of a different forme vnto it, as are Centaures and other such prodigious resemblances, which were indeed nothing else but Diuels: and many times they appeare, as Pliny saith of sea monsters, with a long taile of a Serpent, by which exorbitant parts and so vnusuall in the course of nature, they are knowen to be true monsters. And this is S.Apoc. 3. Iohns meaning when in the Reuelation hee doth so [Page 149] often ingeminate, that men shall come and worship the Beast: by which a man may probably gesse that hee meaneth Satan changing himselfe into a beast: for wee need not to make inquiry after a mysticall sense of such places as these, when literally a man may interpret the Scripture. Touching the forme of the beast, which hee ordenarliy assumeth vnto himselfe, it is a thing not to bee controuerted that hee presenteth himselfe in the forme of a Goate. And heere we are to note, that there are three or foure passages in the Scripture which haue a great resemblance and affinity with this point. The first is in the 17. of Leuiticus, where it is said,Leuit. 17. Ne­quaquam vltra immolabunt hostias suas daemonibus. The second and third passage is in the 30. and 34. of Esay. Esa. 13.34. Pilosi saltabunt ibi. In which places the Hebrew word Sehir signifieth three seuerall things; first a Goate, se­condly something that is hairie, as Esau was for his hairynesse surnamed Sehir, and the mountaines vnto which hee vsed to resort were called, Montes Sehir: thirdly, it signifieth the Diuell, and thus doth S. Ierome render the word in the 17. chap. of Leuiticus: the like also doth the author of the Chaldean translation. Touching the two first significations,Versio. Cada. it appeareth that the one hath a dependance vpon the other, because a Goat is the most shaggie beast of al other creatures: but why the Diuel should be called by the name of Goate, or of a beast that is shaggie, Rabby Quimhi, the best in­terpreter of Hebrew words amongst the Iewes, rende­reth this reason, because hee appeareth in the shaggie forme of a Goate to those that put their confidence in him. This is the obseruation of S. Thomas 12. q. 102.Rabbi Quim­h [...]in lib. radit. art. 3. And Doctor Lyranus vpon the 12. of [...]xod. and 1. Reg. 30. Hence it is that the Chaldean interpreter and S. [...]erome haue by this word Goate, meant and in­terpreted the D [...]uell, and thus is hee called by the Wit­ches themselues, as is euinced out of their owne depo­sitions. So that it is no new thing that the Diu [...]ll doth [Page 150] shew himselfe in the forme of a Goate to those that haue sl [...]u [...]d themselues vnto him, and doe him ho­mage and seruice. Sanctes Pagninus following the same signification vpon the place of the 30.Esa. 13.34. S. Pagnin. and 34. of Esay, where the text saith, that the Sebirins shall leape and daunce in the wildernesse, doth thus interpret the same. The Diuels shall daunce there. And this also is veri­fied by the witnesse of Witches, who affirme that this goatish Diuell doth leape and daunce amongst them in their night assemblies in the deserts. Moreouer, it is very remarkable that the Septuagint Interpreters haue rendered this Hebrew word of the 17.Septuagint. in terpret. of Leuit. by the Greeke word, [...], that is to say, fooles: and the Italians borrowing that word from the Grecians, doe call those that are ridiculous and impertinent in their behauiour, Matos, that is to say, fooles. And the truth is, men doe now in the countrey of Prouince call such Spirits fooles, or mad-capps, because they play many fond prankes, as laughing, leaping, dauncing and whisteling: and in this respect haue the Septuagints trās­lated the word [...].S. Thom. 1.2. q. [...]. art. 4. ad 3. To this purpose is the saying of S. Thomas, who affirmeth that the Diuels doe shew many light and carelesse behauiours, as laughing, leaping & whisteling which are but veniall sinnes in men, but the Diuels vse these kind of gestures thereby to familiarize themselues with men, and in conclusion to intice them into his nets by these semblances of merriment. Thus S. A [...]hanasius maketh mention of Diuels that sung songs.Athanas. in vita An [...]hon. In prophane histories wee find that the two most auncient Oracles, the one called Hammonium, which commeth from the word Ham, or as wee pronounce it Cham: the other called Dodonaeum, which commeth from the word Dodonum, of whom mention is made in the tenth of Genesis amongst the grand-children of Noah, Genes. 10. the first of them was in the forme of a Goate, and the second in the shape of a Ramme with great hornes. So that it is no nouelty to affirme that the Diuell doth [Page 151] cause himselfe to be adored in the forme of a Goat. And to descend to our more moderne relations,Alphons. de Castro. aduers. Haeres. lib. 1. cap. 15. Alphonsus de Castro doth report that in the countrey of Biscay they haue found it to bee certaine, that diuers women and some men haue assembled themselues together in a Mountaine, where a black Goate did visibly present himselfe before them, whom they all worshipped. In this late history of the Magician Gaufridy, Belzebub re­pining at the too abundant mercy of God, doth repre­hend the Magicians for their adoring of a Goate.

THE ELEVENTH ANNOTATION. Whether there be Incubi and Succubi?

VOs viri cum succubis, vos malieres cum in­subis fornicati estis, &c. From hence wee may learne the reason why the Diuel ap­peareth in the forme of a Goate, because hee is the most ranke and the most lust­full of all other creatures whatsoeuer, neither doth hee euer obserue set times for his hot luxurious nature, as all other beasts vse to doe. The Diuell doth assemble his people in a place designed for such a purpose, and there maketh them to commit vncleannesse, and himselfe is the first and forwardest to practise the like abominati­ons, and appeareth vnto women in the shape of a man, and vnto men in the fashion of a woman, by which meanes hee induceth them to defile themselues with those diuelish and execrable copulations with him; not that hee receiueth any delectation or pleasure from the same, but as S. Thomas saith, (giuing the reason why S. Augustine did affirme,August. in Le­uit. S. Thom. 1.2. q. 73. art. ad. 2. that the Diuell tooke more delight in Idolatry and fornication, then in any other sinne whatsoeuer) hee therefore is delighted with them both, because by the first he vsurpeth vpon the glory of God, which is his first and principall intention: and se­condly, [Page 152] he keepeth both men and women in his clawes with more security, by fastning them vnto him through the sinne of lust; for by reason of the strong and ve­hement delectation which it carryeth with it, hee ma­keth them to sticke close vnto him, so that when they fall into the same, they will bee hardly able to recouer themselues againe. Hee also maketh them to loose the vse of their reason, so that they haue no more command and soueraignty of themselues, then the very beastes haue: especially when they are once enured to these sensuall delights which are so vehement,Tertull. de anima. that Tertul­l [...]an was of opinion, that as the body of an Infant is in­gendred from a portion of corporeall substance, so is the soule also begotten from a part of his soule that doth beget: for (saith he) wee see that in the act of ge­neration, the soule, as if it were diuided into portions, hath not the power to produce any act of reason. And heereupon it groweth, that the Diuell is so much taken with this filthy and vncleane sensuality, as appeareth by the reasons which we haue alleaged. Neither are we to question whether such a thing may bee practised by the helpe and working of the Diuell, since it is out of all controuersy, that he doth and may take (when he is not in the act of adoration) any externall forme, that he pleaseth to inuest himselfe withall, especially amongst those who haue abandoned themselues vnto him, and haue done him fealty and homage. And although there were no other proofe then that two of the most famous Doctors, the one amongst the fathers, the other a­mongst the Schoolemen,August. lib. 15. de ci [...]t. cap. 88 Thom. p. q. 51. art. 3. ad 6. that is to say, S. Augustine and S. Thomas doe concurre and agree vpon this point, and doe expresly auerre, that it were impudence to deny the cleerenesse of this truth, yet is this confirmation e­nough to create a beleefe in men, that it is a certaine and vndoubted verity. And heereupon it is, why the Turkes do not thinke it strange which we haue amōgst the Articles of our Creed, that a Virgin should bee [Page 153] conceiued by the holy Ghost, because they thinke that this may bee easily done vnto all Virgins, since they are assured by experience, that bee there Virgins neuer so closely restrained and kept from the company of men, yet are they many times found to bee with childe: and this is the cunning and practise of the Diuell, Qui sur­ripit aes demum in fundit semen. Moreouer this is shadow­ed out vnto vs by the auncient Histories and Poets, who doe frequently mention, that their Gods came downe from heauen to commit folly and vncleannesse with their fairest women, and had often times yssue by them. The like doth Apuleius report of his times: and these Gods (as they tearmed them) are nothing else but Diuels, as it is written, Omnes Dij gentium Daemo­nia. To conclude this and the precedent Annotation, I should thus remember these kinde of people, that God doth permit the Diuell to appeare vnto them in the forme of a Goate, thereby to put them in minde, that they are to assure themselues they shall bee placed a­mongst the Goates in that great and last day of iudge­ment, because they haue leagued and combined them­selues with Goates in this world, and haue commit­ted execrable idolatry vnto them, as if they had beene Gods. Wee will onely adde, that the greatest part of the auncient Greeke and Latine Poets are cleare of opinion, that Diuels doe desire and practise to haue carnall knowledge with women: yea S. Ierome himselfe vseth these words. Daemones quibujdam amoribus ser­uiunt, &c. And Iustin Martyr saith that this is not pecu­liar to women alone, but is common vnto men also, whereby he doth plainly expresse himselfe, that Deuils doe vary sexes: which is also the opinion of S. Augu­stine. For although they, that did labour to interpret and accommodate the sixth chapter of Genesis to this particular, are worthily reproued by him, because the precedent and following passages doe declare, that the mention which is there made, is of men, and not of [Page 154] Angels: as S. Augustine well sheweth, yet doth hee not disapproue the opinion of the ancients touching this carnall commixtion, but on the contrary hee affirmeth, that it is an impudency to deny it. Iustin the Historian in his 11. Booke relateth, that Olympias mother vnto Alexander the great, did freely confesse vnto her hus­band, that Alexander was no sonne of his, but was be­gotten by a serpent, with whom she had carnall know­ledge. And heereupon did her husband repudiate her as an adultresse, and euer after would Alexander stile him­selfe the sonne of the Gods, and not of Philip. Hee also reporteth in his 15. Booke, that Loadice mother vnto Seleucus did affirme, that shee kept company with the God Apollo in her sleepe, who (as shee thought in her dreame) gaue a ring vnto her, and when she awoke in the morning, shee found the ring in her bed. But such kinde of women, are full of impiety, and God hath vt­terly abandoned and giuen them vp vnto themselues.

FINIS.

Ad Authorem Epigramma.

ANgelicum nomen claris virtutibus aequas
Conueniunt rebus nomina saepe suis,
Angelus vt Domini magna virtute Draconum
Turbam deuicit, corpora foeda necans.
Sortilegos tua sic vincit doctrina Michaël,
Quae clarè illorum dogmata falsa probat.
Angelicae laudi tua credito gloria par est,
Damonis astutiam fortis vter que fugat.
BAPTISTA BADERVS Parisiensis in eo­dem Parisiensi Senatu Patronus.

AN ALPHABE­TICALL TABLE OF THE principall matters contained in the first part.

A
ABominations of the synagogues of magiciās.
302.305
Abraham sacrificeth his sonne.
107
Absolution required in him that confesseth himselfe.
127
Abyron & Dathan swallowed vp by the earth for their im­pieties.
213
Accusation of Sorcerers.
8
The acts of Adoration of Verrine.
3.143.185
An Act of humility in Magdalene.
149
Adoration of Verrine.
3.143.185
Adiuration of Verrine.
103.123
Adam driuen out of Paradise for his disobedience.
133
Adams Repentance.
115
Adam, and what he did.
44.217.246.106
Adoration of the Eucharist.
26.33
Adoration of the Goat in the synagogue.
302
Adoration of God by a Diuell in a miracle.
89
An aduertizement vnto Monkes and Priests.
133.144
An aduice to write that which the Diuell deliuered.
30
An aduice giuen to Priests.
104.
and vnto religious per­sons.
172.
and generally vnto all men.
192.238.274
The Age wherein we are to doe penance.
237
Agnus dei is a lambe for true Christians, but a roaring Li­on for Diuels.
24
Against such as addresse themselves to Witches.
253
Allusion made by the Diuell touching the constraint which be suffereth in exorcismes.
204
[Page]Saint Andrewes day appointed by the Diuels to carry away Magdalene.
1.2
Angels of heauen and their force.
36
Angels which are our guardians ought to bee worshipped, and why?
199
Angels and Saints are our aduocates.
147
Angels are not able to sing at full the praises of God.
136
Angels that were goodly creatures condemned to hell for their pride.
181
Angels are waiters at the table of God.
184
Answers of the diuels which were in the body of Louyse.
2.3
Antichrist borne.
260.268.269.299.305
Antichrist will cause himselfe to bee adored, and the Kings of the earth shall serue him.
267
Apostrophe vnto S. Magdalene.
298
Apostrophe to the laity.
145.274
Arriuall of Lewes to S. Baume.
287
Arriuall of S. Magdalenes mother to S. Baume.
13
Arriuall of Father Michaelis to S. Baume.
283
Arriuall of Magdalene to S. Baumie.
1
The Attributes giuen to diuine persons.
46
Audience giuen to Magdalene.
290
An Auie said for our enemies waighes more then a Pater for our friends.
257
Authority of the Church.
171
Authority of Priests.
190
B
Balberith is he that tempteth mē to blaspheme God.
252
S. Baume ought to be reuerenced.
226.281
Baptisme not regarded.
123
Barbarous nations liue in darkenesse
123
The Bee ought to be proposed to our imitation.
229
Beatitude not essentiall but accidentall may bee augmented.
96
Belzebub tosseth Magdaleue from one side to another
21
Belzebub belloweth like a bull, and casteth Magdalenes shooes at Louyse head.
6
[Page]Belzebub maketh an out cry when he heard these words Ec­ce Ancilla domini.
24
Belzebub sweareth that Louyse is possessed.
294
Belzebub in speaking to another Diuell doth imitate the Exorcist.
66
Belzebub humbled and troden vnder feete.
86.124
Belzebub complaineth to God of his too great mercy.
62.63.73.74
S. Bernard a great familiar of the Virgins.
194
Beauty of Paradise.
38.281
Beades without workes are of none auaile.
80.81
Birds of the aire blesse God.
250
Blindnesse of men
188
He is Blind who neither hath vnderstanding nor will to do good.
141
Booke of life and death in Gods keeping.
271
The Booko of the Crucifix.
145.275
The Booke with two leaues.
173
Bread taken for the species and forme of bread.
151
C
CAluenists beleeue not the Church of Rome.
39
Capuchins goe to Marseille.
299
Carreau one of the Diuels.
243.116
Catherine of France gardian vnto Magdalene.
6
Caroches enter into hell, but men goe to Paradise on foote.
21.124
A Change in the life of Magdalene.
132
The Charity of Saints.
37
The Charity of Christ Iesus.
77
Charity the daughter of God.
44
Christians that serue not God are miserable.
17
The Church shall examine all these things.
116
Out of the Church there is no saluation, and it is but one.
209
Single Combats prohibited by God.
135.242
Confession of Magdalene.
8
The holy Communion the table of the King of Kings.
183
[Page]Confession without due preparation is not good.
126
Confessours and Exorcists are excluded from the consulta­tions.
289
Consultations touching the verification of the acts.
289
Considerations to bee thought vpon when wee sit at table.
228.229
Consultation touching the businesse of the Magician.
185
Conuersion of Magicians.
261.
It is a miracle.
305
Constraint of Verrine.
18.20.57.58.64.106
Constraint of Belzebub to renounce the actions of the Ma­gicians.
241
Constraint of the Diuels to speake truth.
42.43.91.
and to humble themselues.
63.92.93.160.186
Contradiction when the miracles of God are wrought.
205
Contradiction of Leuiathan
152
Cooperation of the creature with God.
229
Fiue Counsels or instructions giuen to Louyse.
40.
and to Magdalene.
40
The Contrition of Magdalene.
10
Another Consultation how to proceed in case that the Magician would not confesse.
106
The Contempt of Diuels towards our Lady.
5.182.
The Contempt which some haue of Priests is not to bee re­garded by Priests.
135
The Crosse a glasse in which we are all to looke,
145
Christ Iesus is the same also.
146
The Cruelty of the Magician Lewes.
298
All Creatures obey God.
60
Damnable Curiosity touching the blessed Sacrament.
90
The Curious fall into a pit out of which they cannot get when they will.
116.90.133
The Custome of the Dominicās in saying of their Rosary
3
D
DAmnation the recompence of Diuels.
60.61
Dathan and Abyron swallowed vp for their impie­ties.
213
Death, and the sundry sorts thereof.
170
[Page]The Deformity of Diuels and the damned.
38.61
The Diuell begins to speake at the first exorcismes, but by constraint.
2.3.157
The Diuell boweth himselfe to worship God.
3
The Diuell that is inferiour, dareth not speake before his superiour.
6
Diuels make dainty to tell their names, for feare of being exorcised, commanded and punished.
66
The Diuell seene by Magdalene.
14
The Diuels beaten.
24.25
The Diuels are constrained to speake at S. Baume.
30
The Diuels would ouerthrow the cōpany of S. Vrsula.
34.89
The principall Diuels that were in Magdalene.
39
The Diuels condemned for one onely sinne, and why.
93.64
Diuels are theeues.
90
Diuels are vncapable of conuersion.
90
The Diuel commandeth not: neither are we to obey him.
94
The Diuell doth falsely affirme that Lewes was no Magi­cian, and that Magdalene was not bewitched.
131
The Diuell imployed by God, and why?
236
The Diuels that tempted our first parents.
266
The Diuell exprobateth Lewes with his villaines.
289
The Diuels are bound.
300 304
The Diuell resisteth and disputeth against God.
24.143
The Diuell is proud, and is vexed that God would chuse a woman to be the instrument of so important a business.
85.54
The Diuell issueth forth like a blast from the body of Lo­uyse.
210.211
The Diuels keepe Magdalene bound in all her body to make her to despaire.
84
Diuels who are forced by God or his Church to sweare a truth cannot lie.
29.88.91.92.95.153.154
Diuels doe laugh at those who are curious.
51
The Diuels and their number which was in the body of Lo­uyse.
3
A Dialogue of the soule and the body.
217
[Page]A Dialogue betweene Verrine and Leuiathan.
161.187
A Dialogue betweene Verrine and Belzebub.
62
A Dialogue betweene Verrine and the Exorcist.
186
A Dialog [...]e between Leuiathan & one of the fathers.
296
That it is difficult to beleeue what wee cannot comprehend.
277.278
The Difference of possession.
301
The first Discouery of the Magician.
82
Discourse touching the blessed Trinity.
43.44.
and of their consultation.
45
Discourse touching the French King lately deceased.
219.263.272
Discourse touching the possession of Louyse and the pro­gresse thereof.
137.138
Discourse vnto the people
145
Discourse touching the three Kings.
306
Discourse of the paines of hell.
19.20
Discourse of the birth of our Lord well worthy to bee read.
230.243.244
Discourse of Verrine touching Saints.
68.69
Disputation betweene one of the Fathers and Verrine.
90.91.201
Disputation betweene the Exorcist and the Diuell.
186
Disputation of Leuiathan with Verrine.
151.152.154
Disputation of Belzebub with Verrine.
62.63
Diuersities of offices amongst the Diuels.
170.191
S. Dominick with the good Angell of Magdalene inter­cede for her.
13.15
Verrines enemy.
37.189.203
S. Dominicks praises.
190.197.198.203.
Doubt of the truth of this history.
223
E
THe Earth made of nothing.
222
The End crowneth the worke.
272
Enmity betweene Diuels.
6
Eucharist.
90.151.182.183.191
Eue created without sinne.
207
[Page]Examination of the acts.
308
Example of the Publican and Pharisee in S. Luke.
180
Exclamation touching the conception of our Lady.
4
Exclamation vpon the praises of God.
6
Exclamation touching the day of Iudgement.
16
Exclamation of Verrine to God who constrained him.
27
Exclamation against the proud and curious.
28
Exclamation vnto the Church.
97
Exclamation of the Diuell.
6.21.24.78
Exhortation to Magdalene.
10.91.147
Exhortation to the poore.
31.225
The Exorcist demandeth the Diuell Verrine what Saints did most trouble him.
3
The Exorcist changed.
296
F
FAith sufficient in receiuing of the Sacrament.
90
Fasts recommended.
122
Father d' Abruc commeth to S. Baume.
195.287
A father is not to answere for his sonnes offences, and of what sonne this is to be vnderstood.
177
Feare is not auaileable without loue.
226
A feeling of deuotion and strength at the prayers of the Saints.
3
Force of Diuels limited.
35
The force of Louyse.
71
Francis Billet exorciseth at Saint Baume.
90
Francis Billet vseth much patience.
2
Francis Billet writeth to the Priests of the doctrine a let­ter, and the tenure thereof.
155.156
The friends that God hath at his table the foure feastes of the yeere.
121
Frequenting of the Sacrament.
269
The Fright wherein Magdalene was.
30
G
GAlly-slaues are more happy then sinners, and why?
248
The Guardian of Magdalene.
6
The Guardian of Mary was Ioseph.
249
[Page]The Gates of Paradise very narrow.
124.200
The holy Ghost called a fire.
235
Gloria in excelsis sung at the birth of our Sauiour.
224
Gloria in excelsis to bee sung by Diuels is a great mira­cle.
245
God adored in the cratch with bowing downe of the knees.
233.247
Gods goodnesse towards men.
96.
his mercy.
101.115. 268.
and goodnesse towards Magdalene.
84
God is a Physitian.
268
God speaketh by an inward intelligence.
187.189
God resisteth the proud, & giueth grace to the humble.
40
God is neuer a witnesse vnto falshood.
188
God preuenteth the sinner.
115
God is so beautifull that the Diuels would willingly endure all torments to haue but one glance of him.
12
God maketh reseruation to himselfe of three things.
213
God is incomprehensible.
96.136.259
God calleth no man to reiect him afterwards.
10
God cannot lie.
31
God is mercifull.
99.120.167
God is not to be serued out of expectation of recompence, but rather out of loue.
122
God doth expresly command that they who keepe not his law should be punished.
109.110
God is obeyed by all his creatures.
135.136
God created the creature without any consent of it.
272
God descendeth vpon the earth, and how.
179
The gouernment of a family appertaineth not to women but to their husbands, vnlesse they doe prudently manage things.
237
The grace which was giuen to the Virgin.
208.281.282
Grace is farre remoued from the sinner.
185
A Great reprehension of men.
262
A Great sinner needeth great repentance.
98
Gresill a name of one of the Diuels.
237
H
HArdnesse of Magdalenes heart.
7
Hell in an vproare.
62.66
An Hereticke withdraweth himselfe much confounded.
155
An Hereticke reproued; as also those that are curious.
133.134.154
This History is to be published vnto all.
245
This History found fault withall.
245
Honour ought to be snewed vnto priests.
129
Honour ought to be giuen vnto Baptisme.
123
Humility representeth the birth of God.
124
Humility recommended vnto vs.
70.117.134.135.220.285
The Humility of our Lady.
36.281.248
The Humility of Magdalene.
129
I
IEremias sanctified from his mothers wombe.
207
Iesus Christ hath a glorified body in the Sacrament, which taketh vp no place.
182
Iesus Christ descends in his diuinity and humanity in Saint Baume to visit Saint Magdalene.
281
Iesus Christ a King.
247.248
Iesus Christ is before his mother, and how?
215.216
Iesus a Painter.
148.167
Incredulity reproued.
132.232.234.246.
Ingratitude of men.
26.35.146
Intellectuall conferences internally expressed.
27.28.53.56.57.176
Interrogatories propounded to Lewes.
287
Interrogatories of the Exorcist.
3
Interrogatories of the Exorcists to Magdalene.
11
An Inuectiue against the Magician.
216.220
Iohn the Euangelist compared to an Eagle and his prero­gatiues.
259.260
Ioseph is in doubt,
223.
and is sanctified.
228
[Page]The Iudgement day of Godwill be very terrible.
10.11 286.287
Iudgement that is rash is naught.
136
K
THe King of the Nineuites did wisely take sack-cloth and ashes, to appease the wrath of God.
119
L
A Letter of Magdalene vnto the Virgin changed and corrected.
40.41.42
A Letter of Magdalene to Saint Magdalene, and the te­nour thereof.
22
A Letter sent to sundry persons.
59.100.104.107.108.
Lewes vnlearned.
288
Lewes despised of the Diuels.
288
Lewes striketh an horror into Magdalene.
288.289
Lewes had no memory in him.
292
Lewes accused by Belzebub to be a Magician.
292
Lewes accused by Leuiathan.
296.
and by Verrine.
301
Lewes goeth to Auignon and Aix, there to bee declared innocent.
308
Lewes is shut vp in the place of holy penance, which was loc­ked with a key.
289
Lewes very familiar and deare vnto the Capuchin fathers.
102
Lewes playeth the Hypocrite and Pharisee.
288.297 298
Light what it signifieth.
143
The Loue of God and the recompence that attendeth it.
123
The loue of a mans selfe.
251
Louyse reciteth to her superiour all her tentations and in­trinsick speakings.
58.
Louyse to be examined.
94
Louyse exorcised by Father Francis Domptius.
2.
Bapti­zed in a Kitchin.
55
Louyse was an Huguenot.
32.55.149.263
Louyse possessed for Magdalenes sake.
29.157
In Louyse many signes of possession.
106.120.138.263.
She is at peace with conscience although she be possessed.
57
[Page]Louyse exorcised by Lewes the priest.
287
Louyse is possessed for the conuersion of two soules especi­ally, and by a consequent of many others.
120
Louyse offreth her praiers to God for Lewes.
275.283.287
Lucia for saketh all for the loue of God.
49
M
Magdalene troubled with Incubi.
33.300
Magdalene shall be repentant.
129
Magdalene contemneth and resisteth the Diuels.
33
Magdalene brought to the holy place of penance to auoid a danger.
2
Magdalene spitteth at the perswasion of the Exorcist.
11
Magdalene strongly tempted by Belzebub at the time of communion.
49
Magdalene changed.
147
Magdalene at times wauereth.
116.118.119
Magdalene weepeth and prostrateth her selfe at the feet of the Dominican.
8.10
Saint Magdalene the first among sinners.
36.
and in bea­uen is the next after the mother of God.
189
Magdalene a table.
148
Magdalene giuen to the Diuell and by whom.
116
Magdalene falleth downe at her mothers feet.
14
S. Magdalene intercedeth for Magdalene.
13
Magicians are not possessed.
304
Magicians spread abroad ill sauours, and cast some of their stinkes vpon two Fathers.
301
Magick much vsed.
282
Maladies of men.
267.268
Malice of this world.
26
Maliciousnesse of Lewes.
282.297.298
Man is endowed with free will.
272
The manner of Magdalenes transformation in soule, and of others also.
147
The Mantle or cloake of impiety.
259
Mary the Moone, and her sonne the Sunne.
222.
and the Saints, Starres.
ibid.
[Page]Mary intercedeth for sinners.
9
Mary conceiued without originall sinne.
205.206
Mary the sinners aduocate.
41.42.128.147
Mary the goodliest creature that euer God made. She is a garden.
4.47.233
Mary is a ladder.
19.8
Mary is all in all.
5.
She is the temple of the blessed trinity.
4.5
Maries praiers.
233.270
Martha next after the mother of God, and why?
50.
She is loued by Mary.
53
Martyrdome of S. Lucia and the Virgins.
49
Martyrs ten thousand went in one day to Paradise.
125
The Masse of a wicked Priest is good.
32
Memory representeth the eternall father.
193
Menaces of the Diuell to carry away Magdalene.
2
Menaces of Belzebub.
10
Menaces of Lewes the Magician.
291
The Mercy of God.
11.73.77.
and his iustice.
44
The Mercy of Christ Iesus.
45.48.62.
and of our Lady.
78
Mercy and Iustice the two daughters of God.
44
Miracles discouered.
34.43.68.88.143.205
Miracles oppugned.
205
A great miracle that the Diuell should praise heauen.
20
A great Miracle, that God by the pronouncing of foure words should descend vpon the Altar.
133
Miserable is he who giueth good counsell vnto others, and keepeth none for himselfe.
110.112.113
Mortification recommended vnto vs.
68.130
The Mother of God euer intercedeth for Magdalene.
9
The Mother of God dared not to touch him vpon his birth day.
183
Moses one of the foure trumpets, who together with Saint Iohn shall come and summon men to iudgement.
265
N
NAbuchodonosor turned into a beast, and is sa­ued.
251.258
[Page]Names of the Diuels which were in the body of Louyse.
3
The name of Verrine shall be rased forth.
259
Neighbours necessities to be relieued.
226.227
Euery night two Priests watch with Magdalene
84
No man without sinne.
239
True nobility.
252
True nobility commeth from heauen.
243
Nonnus would not baptize Pelagia.
40
Nostre Dame de grace, the place where Magdalene was exorcised.
1
O
THe Oath of the Diuell.
131
Oathes that are of validity.
92.165.209.304
The Oathes of Belzebub and Verrine.
35.63.64
Without Obedience no Paradise.
40
Obedience in some cases not to be giuen.
175
Obedience recommended.
126.133.134.171
Obstinacy and hardnesse of heart in Magicians accompa­nied with a great blindnesse.
254
Offices to be performed by religious persons.
144
Offices of the Diuels.
170.191
The order of S. Dominicke admitteth not mortall sin.
206
The Order of S. Dominick extolled.
206.263
The Order that is Hierarchichall and appertaining to the Church is not among the good Angels themselues.
93
Order among the Diuels.
80
P
THe paines of hell are not so vnsufferable as the wrath of that great God
17
The paines of hell.
19.60.61.121.122
Paines of this world as flowers, but the pames of hell are tru­ly punishments.
133
Gates of Paradise very narrow.
124.200
Pardoning our enemies.
256
The pastour is to giue an account of his sheepe.
177
Patrons of Prouince.
65
[Page]Pennance recommended.
177.181.120.208
People flocke by troupes to S Baume.
124
A great perfection to omit nothing that is good.
203
Perswasion of Verrine to Magdalene.
12
Physitians of the soule.
268
The holy pillar.
130
A Plot to ruine the companies of the doctrine, and S. Vr­sula.
55
Possessed persons are much eased at the departure of Di­uels.
211
Possession by witchcraft.
3
Possession of Magdalene by her spirituall father.
88
The power of God towards sinners.
64
The Power of God.
73.151.163.168.169
Prayers powred forth by Verrine vnto God.
240
Prayers for our enemies.
48.257
Prayers cause teares.
8
Prayers for Magdalene.
98
Prayers made by Magdalene vnto the Virgin, by the aduise of her Confessour.
15
Preachers labour much, & haue not such easie liues as some imagine.
227
The Praises of the Nunnes of S. Vrsula.
34.50.51 55.65.118
Prediction of the punishment and death of the Magician, bound with a solemne oath.
88.89.213.301
Prediction yet to come.
260.262.263.304
Predictions already happened.
265.278.299.303 304.305
Priests ought to be had in reuerence.
133.171
Priests ought to study and preach, because they are separa­ted from the world.
133
The Priest is not the cause why sinners receiue no grace by hearing of the Masse, but they themselues.
192
Pride of the Diuell.
24.66
Fiue Prinses of the Diuels in the body of Magdalene.
39
[Page]Proceedings to conuert the Magician very charitable and repugnant vnto Diuels.
102.106
Promise of witnesses to keepe Lewes his sinnes secret.
102
The proud shall not enter into Paradise.
242
The great Punishments of those that doe not obey God.
119
Purgatory.
153
Purity recommended.
186
R
THe Rage of the Magicians.▪
73.74.116.236. 254.302
The rebels person displeaseth God.
133
Recompence which the Diuell giueth to those that serue him.
254.255
Redemption of man.
145.146
Reformation.
204.206
Refusall of father Francis Domptius to exorcise, & why.
2
To Render euill for good is the property of Diuels.
254
Renunciations of Magicians.
74.75.
and of Verrine.
235.236
Reprehension of Magdalene.
7.8.116.119
Reprehension of Christians.
16.93
Resignation of Louyse.
56.94
Resistance to withstand their comming to Saint Baume.
112
Resistance of the Diuell at the Communion.
24
Returne of Lewes to Marseille as innocent.
308
Riches of this world the of scourings of Paradise.
256
Father Romillon could not hold in Magdalene but crieth for helpe.
2
Ruine of Angels.
266
S
THe Sabbath held in Saint Baume.
119.132
The same Sacrifice is alwaies seene in the Church.
190
Sacrifices that are publicke, and why they are offered.
114
Saints deuoted to the Virgin.
198
[Page]Saints and their vertues.
68.69.70.
They pray for vs.
150
Salomon the worlds wisedome damned.
251.258.304
Satisfaction followeth confession.
181
Schedules restored to Theophylus and others.
305
Science of Diuels full of malice.
25
Science of God knoweth all things.
46
Science of Cicero and Plato to what vse they serue.
232
Separation of the two women.
289.295
The seruice of Diuels is laborious, but the seruice of God delightfull.
254
The shame which Magdalene tooke to bee proclaimed a Witch before all people.
10
Signes of the day of Iudgement.
260
Signe of Predestination what it is.
228
Signes of Magdalenes possession.
39.93.305
Signes of Louyses possession.
201.202.261.265.276. 287.300
Sinners are not punished according to their offences.
181.
Sinners reprehended.
163.278.279
He Sinneth mortally who heareth not Masse vpon Holy­daies and Sundaies.
191
The Sinnes of Magdalene.
116
Sonneillon the name of a Diuell, and to what hee tempteth men.
258
Sorcerers abominable before God.
240.
their superstitions.
250.
They goe inuisible.
299.300
The sorrowes of Christ Iesus in his passion.
48
The sorrow of Verrine to be constrained.
20.36.231
The Soule of a poore man as welcome to heauen as the soule of a King, so that it stand in the grace of God.
225
The soules in heauen doe thirst after the saluation of our soules.
57.100
The soule is a mistrisse, and the body as a [...]chambermaid.
237.238
The soules of the damned were faire at the first, but after­wards by sinne grew most deformed.
122
[Page]Euery soule belongeth to God.
192
The Soule representeth the sacred Trinity.
193
The soules fall as thick into hell as flower doth from the milstone.
125
The soule is a vineyard.
285
The soule compared to a Common-wealth.
218.86
The souldier to kill himselfe is an extraordinary accident.
18
Spirits goe and come exceeding swiftly.
230
The stable made honourable by the birth of our Sauiour.
226
Three suffrages presented by the Dominican father to three seuerall Saints.
3
We are to Suffer for to raigne.
114
The Sunbeame doth not breake glasse, but addeth a bright­nesse vnto it.
224
Suspicions of a certain [...] father.
91
Sympathy betweene God and his creatures.
272
T
TE Deum sung by the assembly to giue thankes vnto God.
14
Temptation of some persons.
140
Temptation to hardnesse of heart.
243
Temptation of the world.
174.175
Temptation to single combats, and against youth.
121.242
Temptations of diuers sorts.
204.251.252
Temptation against the gentry and hereticks.
241.242
Temptation of the Diuell to Magdalene.
98
Thankesgiuing ought to be vsed after the communion.
184
The Thirst of Christ Iesus.
284
S. Thomas was not ignorant of the death of his master.
194
Three things we are to aske of God.
194
Three sorts of people serue God.
122.174
Time past or future is not in God.
46
The Time prepared for Martyrs.
269
Torments of hell.
19.60.61
Torments of the Diuels.
24.33.79
[Page]Torments of Magdalene.
90.91
V
VErity a morall vertue.
91
Verrine doth nothing but at the command of the Ex­orcist.
10
Verrine causeth that which was spoken & disputed by him, to be written.
30
Verrine doth dictate word by word that which he spake vn­to the Dominican.
41.42
Verrine maketh excellent discourses, leauing all men full of astonishment at the same.
11
Verrine doth renounce all Magicians of both sexes, Sorce­rers and Sorceresses.
235
Verrine remaineth mute and silent; and why.
51
Verrine confesseth God to be in the Host, and in the Cha­lice with his blood and bones, with his humanity and di­uinity.
52.126
Verrine disputeth with God.
52.53.176.275
Verrine braueth Belzebub.
93.261.266
Verrine neuer said Miserere mei.
87
Verrine curseth S. Baume.
87
Verrine the executioner of Gods Iustice.
89
Verrine incapable to be prayed for.
89
Verrine denieth that God is his redeemer.
93.185
Verrine denyeth that he [...]is a Preacher.
93.187
Verrine Gods sergeant.
119.127.
& his Ambassadour.
162
Verrine craueth to be commanded.
126.211.240
Verrine constrained.
18.57.106.197
Verrine asketh his owne confusion.
129
Verrine an accursed Diuel.
28.
and a lyar when he speaketh besides his commission.
51.
is damned.
92.188.221
Verrine a naughty and barraine tree.
230
Verrine saith he shall haue diminution of his torments.
230
Sonneillon saith the same.
255
Verrine forceth no man to beleeue.
249
Verrine is angry at vnbeleeuers.
301
[Page]Verrine complaineth that he is made the instrument of this History, by the mouth of Louyse.
263
Verrine barketh like a dog.
300.303
Verrine neuer assured the conuersion of Lewes.
277
Verrine resisteth God.
169.203
Verrine turneth towards Magdalene, and crieth as much as he can.
6
Verrine crieth out when he heard them say; in principio.
43
Verrine disputeth with Bezebub.
114.115
Verrine one of the Diuels in Louyse body, and why.
3.94 164
Vertues recommended.
171.229
Vertues properly tearmed the physicke of the soule.
268
Vices are as Princes.
86
Virgins
11000.
went in one day to Paradise.
125
Virgins praised.
53
Vision of the damned very fearefull.
17
A Vision which struck a great fright into Magdalene.
155
The Vnderstanding representeth the Sunne.
295.297
Vnion of the humane nature with the diuine.
44
Vnion of God with his Church.
275
Vocation and the first grace, is from the meere and sole fa­uour of God.
17
W
WOmen possessed of the company of S. Vrsula.
56
Wicked Spirits laboured to carry away Magda­lene by maine force.
2
The Will desireth to doe well.
20
The Will representeth the holy Ghost.
193
The Will and power thereof.
217
The wings which carry vs into heauen, is loue and feare.
289.130
Witchcraft changed into a blessing.
30.67
Witnesses of the acts.
18.102.142.289
The words of Verrine.
4.5.291.301
[Page]The Words of Verrine to Magdalene.
7.265.8.9.10, &c. 247
The words of Verrine to Lewes.
288.292.300
The words of Verrine to Louyse.
305
The words that sinners are to say when they are conuerted.
117.118
Y
THe Yoke of our Lord is easie and his burthen light.
231
Young people doe not thinke it a sinne to offend God.
242

AN ALPHABETICALL Table of the principall matters contained in the second part of this Booke.

A
ABnegare s [...]ipsum, is the perfection of true contriti­on.
395
Acoules a parish in Marseille.
357
Acts of humility performed by the woman that was posses­sed.
315
Adam was the first that presented himselfe to Christ Iesus in Lymbo.
314
Adoration of the Eucharist by the Diuell.
375
Aegidius giueth himselfe to the Diuell that hee might bee a skilfull Physition.
384
Affectation of Priests in their cloathes very pleasing to Belzebub.
382
An Agnus dei charmed and giuen by a Magician to Mag­dalene.
379
An Angell assisteth Magdalene.
367
Angels who are Gardians vnto men are of an inferiour or­der, and are commanded by the superiour Angels.
360
[Page]The Angell which is Magdalene Gardian tormenteth the Diuell, and why.
360.375
Father Angell the Capuchin bewitched at Marseille.
383
Anthony bishop of Aix.
389
Arrest of the Court of Parliament in Prouince against Lewes Gaufridy.
410
Arriuall of the women that were possessed at Aix.
370
Asmode [...] tempteth Eue taking on the shape of a girle.
313
Asmodee Prince of wantons and his tentations.
313.323
Asmodee shaketh Magdalene by the commandement of Belzebub with vncleane gestures.
317.374
Astaroth tempteth men to lazinesse, and his enemy in hea­uen is S. Bartholomew.
324
Aurey the name of a Diuell.
393
B
BAlberith tempteth men to single combats and his ene­my in heauen is Barnabas.
324
The banquets in the Synagogue.
335
Saint Baume held in detestation by the Diuels.
338
S. Baume to be reuerenced.
338
Belias the Diuel prince of vertues, and his tentations.
325
Belzebub taketh Magdalene by the throat to strangle her.
315
Belzebub saith that many Diuels did issue forth vpon the day of the exaltation of the holy Crosse.
311
Belzebub was he that tempted Adam and Christ.
313
Belzebub goeth forth out of the body of Magdalene.
322
Belzebub goeth to the Magician to teach him to weepe.
388
Belzebub the prince of pride, and his tentations.
323
Belzebub beginneth to speake.
313
Belzebub saith that absolution burned him more then hell fire.
338
Belzebub shaketh Magdalene.
312
Belzebub bound.
313
Belzebub interrupteth confession.
338.357
[Page]Belzebub discourseth of diuers things that were absent.
372
Blood drawne from the finger of the left hand, where the vaines of the heart are, of Lewes the Magician to write the schedule.
393
The body of Magdalene swolne by Belzebub.
315
The brauado of Verrine vnto the other Diuels.
316
The broome, wherewith Magdalene (to shew her obedience) swept the Church, is by the Diuell cast vpon the ground.
391
C
THe Charity of two Capuchin fathers.
388
Charmes to what end they are giuen.
343.
and the remedy against them.
344
Charmes spread abroad by Sorcerers,
320.347
Charmes blowne through a cane by Sorcerers.
300.383.
and the composition and ingredients of them.
330
Charmes in the eyes of Magdalene.
320
The Cherubins manner of adoring God.
408
Commissaries deputed to apprehend the Magician.
372
Confession of the Magiciā vnto the Capuchin fathers.
396
Confronting of Magdalene and the Magician.
379
Contrition truly practised.
394
Conuersions of men successiuely and by degrees.
90.386
Cries of Magdalene.
331
Cries of Belzebub.
364
The Crosse of our Sauiour very high.
313
The Crosse not made in the forme of a [...].
314
The Crosse applyed to the back of her that was possessed.
393
D
DEfence prepared against the sorcerers that came in­uisibly to Saint Baume.
330
Diuels tied to charmes, and the remedy against them.
343
The Diuell runneth in and out in the Chapell, when the wo­man which he possessed was to be confessed.
382.383
One of the Diuels answereth the Exorcist, and reuealeth many things vnto him.
323.324
[Page]Diuels not able to bewitch men that are superiours, as Bi­shops, Abbots, &c.
344
The Diuell first blindeth men, and after iests at them, and why.
354
The Diuell complaineth of God.
392
The Diuell excuseth his sinne.
392
Diuels are deceiuers.
374
Diuels by constraint may speake truth.
389
Diuels bound.
349
Diuels tormented.
321.375
Diuels feare the relicks of Saints.
369
Diuels feele the efficacie of prayers.
375
Diuels change their names as they please, when they enter into sundry bodies.
321
Diuels haue no names, and why.
321
The Diuels by constraint haue reuealed the bodies and re­licks of Saints.
389
The Diuel answereth that God was purposed that the Ma­gician and his adherents should be discouered.
366
Diuels labour to bewitch father Michaelis and cannot [...].
344.
the cause, ibid.
15.
Diuels in a body of acertaine man.
394. 30
Diuels in the body of Magdalene besides inferiour Di­uels.
325
Dialogue between Belzebub and the Magician.
373
An excellent dialogue betweene one of the fathers and the Diuell.
392
The difference between a marke and a stripe.
379
Difference in the knowledge of God.
320
Diligence of the Sorcerers to turne Magdalene vnto them.
345.349
Diuers tentations of Diuels.
323.324.325.
&c Some Doctors hold that our Lord was nayled to the crosse with foure nayles.
313
A dog kneeleth before the blessed Sacrament.
337
Doggs forbidden to be brought to the Sabboth.
337
The dueties of those who goe to the Sabboth.
334
E
THe excellent effect of consecrated fingers.
385
Exhortation of the Exorcist vnto Magdalene to renounce the Diuell.
311
An Exorcisme called Luciferiana.
342
Exorcismes, and the Diuels answers vnto them.
318.319
The Exorcist called Hangman by the Diuel.
395
Experience teacheth that Witches being beaten or threatned doe make their withcrafts cease.
354
F
FIngers that were consecrated put vpon Magdalens throat.
385
Fontaine the Physitian counterfaiteth himselfe a Priest to deceiue Belzebub.
371
The forces of Magdalene fayle her.
381.363
Force of Exorcismes.
367
Fortitudo Magdalens good Angell.
360
Father Francis the Capuchin doth Exorcise Magda­lene, and what he asked her.
383
A Franciscan putteth reliques vnto Magdalens back. and what reliques they were. Ibid.
369
Frequencie of the Sacraments a true remedy against witchcraft.
320.344.
Holy Friday apt for the remission of sinnes.
396
G
A Gallery neere Magdalens chamber to which she vsed to come.
390
Monsieur Garandeau leadeth the woman that was pos­sessed into the Chapel of S. Sauiour.
387
Garandeau Vicar generall vnto the Arch-bishop of Aix doth question Magdalene.
370
Garanier the name of a Diuell.
394
Gaufridy Prince of Magicians Priest of Acoules.
367
A gentleman of the pretended religion speaketh vnto Magdalene, and the summe of his discourse.
386
A girle digged out of her graue by witches
352
[Page]God bindeth and looseth Diuels when and how he pleaseth.
322
Gombert Priest of nostre Dame de Grace is sent to confesse the Magician.
386
The Gormundizing of Lewes.
355
Great store of Magicians come and make a noise at Louyses Exorcismes.
316
Great iniurie done to the Host by Lewes.
366
A Great light sent from God, when corporall punish­ments are lesse esteemed then spirituall tentations.
407
Great strokes giuen by the Diuell to Magdalene, being on her knees.
405
Grassy a doctor of Physick tryeth Magdalene, and is helped by other Physitians.
371.374
Gresill and his temptations
324
The Grumbling of the Diuels when they are toge­ther.
394
H
THe hate of Magdalene infused into her by the Diuell.
359
The head of an Owle engrauē within a circle in a ring.
328
Henrie Alphonsus the father of Marie.
332
An Heritick spied out by the Diuell as he came to see these wonders.
377
The Host could neuer be put into Magdalens mouth by the Magician, although her mouth was forced o­pen by the Diuell.
368
The Host presented by the Magician in the sabbath vnto Magdalene, and her refusall of it.
368
In the Host a young childe is seene by Magdalene, and what he said vnto her. ibid.
The Hickcough in Magdalene when she should com­municate.
392
Honore Lyon of the couent of S. Maximin lately arri­ued and his Angell.
366
Horrible gestures vsed by Belzebub towards Magda­lene.
315
I
IAmes the Hermit despised all honour and dignities.
326
The Image of our Ladie brought by Mary, one of Magdalens acquaintance, vnto her.
342
Imploring of helpe from the Virgin.
333
Imploring of aide from the blessed Virgin and all An­gels by Magdalene.
311.312
Impotencie of Diuels.
331
Impudence of Diuels.
373
Insolence of Belzebub.
349.352.357.363
An instrument of glasse foure cornered, and the vse of it.
42
Intellectuall conferences externally expressed.
321
Interrogatories put vnto Belzebub and his answers.
332
The iumping of Magdalene vpon her knees.
383
K
SIx Knights came from Marseille to leade away the Magician, and fauoured him, as their speciall friend.
317
Knowledge of things absent.
377
L
LAdies and other women intercede for Lewes Gaufridy.
372
Laudate Dominum sung by Magicians.
336
Father Lawrence Prouinciall of the Capuchins
407
Letanie sung to awake Magdalene.
349
A letter brought vnto Magdalene by the Magicians lieu­tenant.
342
Leuiathan neigheth like an horse.
333
Leuiathan Prince of Hereticks.
323
Lewes is ignorant.
355
Lewes celebrateth Masse in the Sabbath.
337
Lewes the Magician throweth a character vpon the head of the woman that was possessed.
315
Lewes tormented.
361.362
Lewes vsed Magick 14. yeares.
380
Lewes gaue himselfe to the Diuel 15. yeares past.
393
[Page]Lights and candles seene in the ayre.
332
Lucifer chained vp in hell.
321.323
Lucifer knoweth what soeuer is done in the world, and how?
321
M
MAgdalene relateth that the Diuels were in euery part of her body.
353
Magdalene confesseth her selfe and doth communicate.
393
Magdalene called Tharasque (a Dragon) by Belzebub.
397
Magdalene beaten by the Diuell because she cut her haire.
400
Magdalene is not suffered to eate by the Diuell.
384
Magdalene maintaineth her accusation against the Ma­gician.
379
Magdalene recouereth her hearing, sight and appetite on Whitsontide.
416
Magdalene prickt in the heart finger by Iohn Baptista a Magician.
390
Magicians cannot looke directly vpon a man.
396
Magicians not possessed, and why?
341
Magicians are marked vpon Wednesdaies and Saturda [...]es by Diuels, and with what?
386
Magicians beaten or threatned, make their charmes to cease.
354
The Magician searched by surgeons with pins, and found very vgly to be looked vpon.
378
The Magician is greatly tormented inwardly.
351
The Magician sprinckleth a kind of consecrated wine vpon the whole assembly.
337
The Magician commeth to Magdalene with a cord about his neck.
349
The Magician marked in the head by the Diuell.
362
Magicians wounded to death, and what becomes of them.
358
Magicians compared to Woolues.
316
[Page]Magicians worse then Diuels.
362
The Magicians watch euery night through the moneth of Ianuarie to turne Magdalene.
346
Malice of the Magician.
380
The Man sick of the palsie calleth for the mercy of God to be deliuered from his miseries.
343
Mary of Parise carrieth a loue-letter to Magdalene and is wounded.
331
Markes made by the Diuels, and found vpon her that was possessed.
370.398
The markes of Witches.
337
The Markes of Lewes the Magician.
362.376.378
The matters whereof charmes are made are of no vse or power.
343
Memorials made by the Magician to blaspheme Christ Iesus.
380
Foure men cannot hold Magdalene.
390
Men offend God daily.
392
Men are fraile and ignorant.
393
Menaces of the Diuell in Magdalene.
329
Mention of the parts of the body of her that was possessed, by the Exorcist.
318
Merindol, Fontaine and Grassie try Magdalene.
374
Saint Michael the chiefe of Angels.
323
Father Michaelis threatneth the woman that was possessed bring her into the place of penitence.
314
Miracle of the blessed Sacrament.
337
Musitians sing to cheare vp Magdalene who was tormen­ted.
391
N
NAmes taken by the Parliament of Aix of two that scratched a woman.
352
At night the Diuels make Magdalene leaue her chamber, but she is fetched backe by father Francis Billet.
401
No consent to be giuen to any thing which is offered by the Diuell, or Magicians.
368
Notable instructions for priests to make charms to cease.
354
[Page]The Number of Magicians exceeding great in Spaine, France and England.
340
O
THe Oath which was taken by the diuel.
319.333.367
An Oath taken by the Diuell not to depart from Magdalenes body vntill Lewes were either conuerted or dead.
365
Obedience vnto superiours commanded.
392
Obstinacy of the Magician and the cause.
356.365.380
O Eillet the name of a Diuell and his tentations.
324
Offices of Diuels.
313
The operation of the blessed Sacrament.
374
Oscillon the name of a Diuell.
388
An Owle and dogs heard at the arriuall of the Magician.
372
P
PAines imposed vpon Diuels.
341.342.344.354.360
Paines that accidentally be fall Diuels.
321
Much People come from all quarters to the Sabbath, and what they doe there.
346.377.399
Much people heare the voices that cried in the wood.
344.345
Red Pimples found on the veines of the Magician.
386
A Pinne put into Magdalenes eare by Belzebub.
397
The holy Pix applied vnto Magdalene maketh her to come vnto her selfe.
338.340
A Prayer which Magdalene often vsed.
311.312
Vpon the Prayers of the blessed Virgin, Belzebub leaueth his hold on Magdalenes throat.
360
Prayers of the assembly aided to chase away the Diuel.
329
Predictions which afterwards happened.
366.372.376
Priests be bewitched, and why?
344
The pride of the Diuell, and all wicked spirits.
348.353
The Prince of the Magicians commandeth all the Witches in Spaine, France and England.
340
The principall Diuels are related and named who are in Magdalenes body.
323
[Page]Proceedings of the Diuell for the discouerie of the Magi­cian Lewes.
366.367
Proceeding in the Exorcismes.
310
Promise of Belzebub vnto Lewes.
373
Promise of Magdalene to cleaue no longer to the Diuell.
312
Proofe and triall of the Diuels.
320.353.367
Purification the feast of Acoules.
311
Q
A Question friuolously asked by the Magician touch­ing his markes.
378
R
Rabafse the Kings Aduocate goeth from Aix to Marse­ille to fetch the Magician.
372
The Rack giuen to Magdalene by the Diuell.
373
The Rage of Lewes.
337.345.356.368
Raymond Bishop of Arles.
389
Three Realities found in Magdalene by father Michaelis
369
Recommending of a mans selfe to God in his aduersities, the aduise of father Michaelis.
351
Reconciliation doth frustrate the Diuels purposes.
359
Relicks applyed vnto Magdalene.
369.389
Remedy against witchcraft.
344.354
Remedy against the peruersnesse of the Diuell at Exorcis­mes.
333.349
Renunciation which Magdalene maketh of Diuels, hell and the schedules.
362
Renunciation of Paradise made by the Diuell in behalfe of Lewes.
376
Reuerence due to the place of penitence of Saint Magda­lene.
315.316
Reuelation of the fact, not of the time.
367
A Ring enchanted, and what was found within it.
328
The Robes of Eue what they were.
349
Rosier the name of a Diuell, and his tentations.
325
S
THe Sabbath not kept in the chamber of Magdalene because of two skulles.
390
The Sabbath in what place it is kept, and what the Witches doe there.
334.346
The Sabbath how many times kept in a weeke.
334.335 336
The Sabbath of blasphemy and reuenge.
335
The Sabbath kept at Saint Baume.
355
Saints aduersaries to the Synagogue, who they are.
384
Sandrie the name of a Diuell.
394
Some Schoolemen hold that Christ Iesus did not deliuer all the soules that were in Purgatory, but all the soules in Lymbo he did deliuer.
314
The Schedule of the Magician reduced to 16. yeeres.
380
The Sexton reporteth to the vicar generall what reliques and bones he had in the Chapell of S. Sauiour.
387
Segoyer prayeth vnto God for her that is possessed, and what the Diuell said thereupon.
395.396
Signes of Magdalens possession.
365.366.367.370.371 318.320.369
Signes of Louyses possession.
319
Signe of the Crosse chaseth away the Diuels.
329.384
Six thousand six hundred and sixty Diuels depart from the body of Magdalene.
311
Skulles applyed to her that was possessed.
387
Songs at the Sabbath.
336
Sorcerers are damned.
332
Sorcerers called Tharasques by Verrine.
316
Sorcerers buriall.
332
Surgeons proue Magdalene.
374
A Syrrope brought vnto Magdalene by a woman.
384
T
TE deum sung with a prayer vnto the sacred Trinity.
387
[Page]The Teares which Witches shead, full no lower then their cheekes.
388
Tentation of the Diuell to change our confessours.
394
Tentations of sundry Diuels, and the Saints opposite vnto them.
323.324
The time of Antichrist.
316
Mounsieur Thoron is present at the Exorcisme.
375
The Throat of Magdalene quitted by the Diuell.
329.363
Tortures and the rack giuen vnto Magdalene by Diuels.
329.373
Tortures which the Diuels inflicted vpon Magdalene.
400.401
Torments which Magdalene endured more then ordinary.
358.359.362
Torments redoubled vpon Magdalene twice a day.
391
A Tyrant will not suffer any great Lord to dwell neere him.
394
V
VErrine a Diuell, and Prince of Principalities, with his tentations.
325
Verrine tormented, and why?
322
Verrine saith he shall haue diminution of paines.
ibid.
and
328
Verrine and his tentations.
324
Verrine saith not that he is a Preacher.
328
Verrine saith, he is sent of God to speake truth.
328
Verrine was neuer bound, and the reason.
349
Verrine crieth aloud because some would declare the Ma­gician to be innocent.
318
Verrine barketh like a dog.
316
The Vertue of the blessed Sacrament.
315
Vestments of Priests.
382
Villanies committed in the Sabbath by Witches.
3 [...]7
Violins and other instruments of musick vsed in the Sab­bath.
336
Vision of the blessed Host.
368
[Page]The Vision of Magdalene red as fire.
402
The voice of a woman dying.
331
The voices of the Witches plainly heard.
344
W
WAntonnesse of the Sabbaths.
336
Weeping of Witches, and the manner.
388
Wicked Spirits cannot be consecrated fingers.
385
Witchcrafts and Charmes cast into Magdalens eares, and why?
347
Witchcrafts and Charmes giuen to two ends.
343
Witnesse of Physitians and Surgeons.
371
Witnesses of the markes of the Magician.
376
Witnesses touching those that were possessed.
375
A Woman lost and sought after, and the place where shee was.
351
A woman bewitched.
383
The working of Diuels is in vaine against the iust.
344
When God worketh not, all is darke, but when hee worketh, euery thing is full of light.
380
Y
A Young man that was an heretique, confirmed the more in the Catholick religion by the words of the Diuell. 404. and is conuerted by father Michaelis.
ibid.
The end of the table.

A TABLE OF THE CHAPTERS contained in the Discourse of Spirits.

1. WHether there be Spirits or no: There are foure points to be obserued touching Spirits: that there are Spirits; what their nature is, from whence they came; and the end why they are.
1
2. Whether Spirits haue bodies.
14
3. Of the Creation, goodnes, or maliciousnes of Angels.
29
4. The meanes which Diuels haue, to appeare and come vnto vs; in what part of the world they reside; how they are bound; and their sundry waies to tempt men.
41
5. That the Diuels scope is to make himselfe to bee wor­shipped as a God, and to deceiue men: that the Di­uell knoweth not things to come, neither can he pe­netrate or diue into the secrets of mans heart.
51
6. That Sorcerers are as detestable, and as much forbidden by the law of God, as the very Oracles of the Hea­then and their Idols were: that it is an idle speech which is giuen out of Sorcerers, that Princes should take heed of them: the diuersities of customes, which the Sorcerers vsed in the old time all proued by the Scripture.
63
7. Of Witches; and that women are more addicted to witchcraft then men are.
76
8. An answere vnto those, that demand what danger there is in crauing the assistance and aide of the Diuell.
82
9. Whether the Articles contained in the depositions of Sorcerers ought to be taken as idely and dreaming­ly spoken, or whether they ought to bee receiued for truth.
94
FINIS.

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