Part 3
=Paulus Aegineta= writeth in his thirde booke and xv. chap. that those that are taken with _Licanthropia_ (which is a kynde of madnesse) leape out of their houses in the night, in all things imitating the nature of wolues, and that vntill it waxe day, they kéep about the graues of dead men. Moreouer, somtimes the diuel (enemie to mankinde) so deceiueth men, that they séeme vnto them selues to bée beastes. Whereof Augustin writeth =In Genesin ad litteram lib.7.cap.11.= they which are bitten with madde Dogges are afraide of water. This disease they call _Hidrophobiam_: out of which =Aegineta lib.5.ca.cap.3.= reporteth, that they which are troubled with this disease, looking on the water, and béeing broughte vnto it, flée from them soone: other vtterly refuse all kind of moisture: and that there are some which barke like Dogges, and bite them that come vnto them. =Rufus= shewing the cause of their feare, saith that they suppose they sée in the water the shadowe of the Dog which bitte them.
[Sidenote: Ephialtes the maare.]
_Ephialtes_, which the Phisitions call the Maare, is a disease of the stomacke, concerning which, reade =Paulus Aegineta= =li.=3.=cap.=6. Many which are taken with this disease, imagine that a man of monstrous stature sitteth on them, which with his hands violently stoppeth their mouth, that they can by no meanes cry out, and they striue with their armes and hands to driue him away, but all in vain. Some led with vaine fantasie, thinke him who oppresseth them, to créepe vp by little and little on the bed, as it were to deceiue them, and anon to runne downe. They séeme also to themselues to heare him. This disease is called by an other name πνιγαλίον and πνιγἁμων.
[Sidenote: Madmen.]
Madde men which haue vtterly lost the vse of reason, or are vexed by Gods permission, with a Diuell, whome the Gospell calleth δαιμονιζομἁνους, doo maruellous thinges, talke of many visions and diuers other matters. Their sight deceiueth them, in so much as they mistake one man for another: which thing we sée by experience, in Bedleme houses where madde and frantike men are kept. We read that =Aiax= tooke the matter so gréeuously, when =Achilles= armour was adiudged vnto =Vlisses=, that becomming mad through griefe, and drawing out his sworde, he set vpon herds of swine, supposing that he fought with the whole army of the Grecians. Afterwards hanging vp two of the greatest of them on postes, with rayling words he whipped them, thinking one of them to be =Agamemnon=, the other =Vlisses=, of whom with the first he was angry as an euil iudge, with the other bicause he was by him vanquished in iudgement. But afterwards when he came againe to himselfe, for very shame he slew himselfe. It hath many times chaunced in battaile, that the souldiers falling into great fury, their captaines haue bene forced to take away their armour, because by rage they tooke their own felowes for enemies, and began to set on them violently.
[Sidenote: Tertullian.]
=Tertullianus= saith thus: Those which are mad sée one man in an other, as =Orestes= sawe his mother in his sister, =Aiax= beheld =Vlisses= in an heard of swine, =Athamas= and =Agaue= wilde beastes in their owne children, &c.
CHAP. III.
Fearefull men, imagine that they see and heare straunge things.
[Sidenote: 2._Pet._3.]
That whiche we haue hitherto spoken concerning melancholicke men, and men out of their wits, may also be vnderstood of timorous and fearefull men. For if any man be timorous by nature, or subiect to feare through great daungers, or by some other wayes, he also imagineth straunge things which indéed are not so, especially if he haue in him any store of melancholy. Women, which for the most part are naturally giuen to feare more than men, (for which cause S. =Peter= in his first Epistle speaking of the dutie of married folks, calleth them the weaker vessell,) do more often suppose they sée or heare this or that thing, than men doo. And so do yoong women, because commonly they are afraide. If when men sit at the table, mention be made of spirites and elues, many times women and children are so afraide that they dare scarce go out of doores alone, least they should meete with some euill thing: and if they chaunce to heare any kinde of noise, by and by they thinke there are some spirites behinde them, such vaine perswasions they haue. A cowardly souldiour iudgeth his enemies to be more in number than they are: the noyse of a leafe being mooued so affrighteth him (which thing God in his lawe threatneth his people of _Israel_, except they do their duties) that he betaketh himself to his héeles: if he but heare a woodspeck with his bill beating on a trée, he straight thinketh the enemy readie to leape on his shoulders: yea if he heare but a mouse moue, by and by his heart is in his hose. These and such like things neuer trouble a stout and couragious souldier.
And yet sometimes in the chase, lustie souldiers flying away from their companie, are so troubled in minde, that they thinke their friends enemies, and cannot tell in the world where they are, and whither they go: all the which commeth by feare.
[Sidenote: Plutarche.]
=Plutarche= in his booke _De sera numinis vindicta_, reporteth a maruellous and notable historie, of one called =Bessus=: who after he had murthered his father, hid himselfe a long season. But on a time as he went to supper, espying a swallowes neast, with his speare be thrust it downe: and when those which supped togither with him, misliked and abhorred his cruelty (for we like not those men that trouble little birdes and other beastes, because we iudge them austere and cruell) he answered: haue they not (saieth hée) falsly accused me, a great while crying out on me, that I haue slaine and murthered my father. Those which were present, being striken with great admiration, reported these his words to the king, who immediately caused him to bee tormented, and examining the matter diligently, at the last found him guiltie, and punished him as a manquiller of his owne father. Hereof ye may gather what feare can doo: the swallowes coulde not speake, and yet he perswaded himselfe that they vpbrayed him with murthering his father. Euen so many through feare, imagine that they heare and sée many thinges whiche in déede are méere trifles.
[Sidenote: Theodoricus imagining that he seeth Symmachus.]
[Sidenote: Matth.14.]
[Sidenote: Luke.24.]
[Sidenote: Stout and coragious men seldom see any Spirits.]
=Procopius= in the beginning of the warres of _Italie_, declareth, that as =Theodoricus= satte at meate, after he had put to death =Boethius= and =Symmachus= his sonne in lawe, a fishes head being brought before him, he sawe in it the countenance of =Symmachus= looking horribly, which byting the nether lip with lowring eyes séemed to threaten him, wherewith the King being sore abashed, fell into a gréeuous sicknesse, wherof he afterwards died. Yea feare if it be vnmeasurable maketh vs to abhorre those thinges, which otherwise should be comfortable vnto vs. The apostles of our Lord Iesus Christ may be examples hereof. Who in the night season being in greate daunger in the Sea, when they sawe Christe walking on the water approching towards them wer maruelously appalled. For they supposed they sawe a Spirit, and cried out for feare. But the Lorde came to deliuer them out of that present daunger wherein they were. After his resurrection they were maruellously affraide, and as S. Luke saith, they verily supposed they sawe a Spirit, when in déede he appeared vnto them in his owne body. Therfore the lord comforteth & hartneth them saying: Behold my hands & my féet, for I am euē he: handle me and sée: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye sée I haue. They through great ioy could not beléeue it, but maruelled at it. Héere thou séest, by feare it came to passe, that the Disciples supposed yͤ Lord him self to haue bin a ghost. And therfore no man ought to maruell if we hindered by feare, mistake one man for an other, and perswade our selues that we haue séene spirits, whereas no such were. They which are of stout and hautie courage, frée from all feare, seldome times sée any spirits. It is reported of the Scithians, a warlike natiō dwelling in mountains (from whom it is thought the Turkes take their originall) that they neuer sée any vaine sightes of spirits. Authors write that Lions are not feared with any bugs: for they are full of stomacke and deuoide of feare.
CHAP. IIII.
Men which are dull of seeing and hearing, imagine many things which in verie deed are not so.
[Sidenote: Dronken men see straunge things.]
[Sidenote: Euripides.]
[Sidenote: Pro.23.]
They whiche are weake of sight, are manye times in suche sorte deceyued, that they beholde one man in steade of an other. Poare-blinded men whome the Gréekes call Μὑοπες, whiche can not sée any thing, except it be verie neare their eyes (as for the most part students are, which night and day turne ouer their bookes) are so much deceiued in their sight, that they are many times ashamed to vtter what they haue thought they haue séene. And it standeth by naturall reason, that an oare séemeth to be broken in the water: and a tower foure cornered, a farre off sheweth to be rounde. Those which drinke wine immoderately, in such sort that their eyes begin to waxe dimme, and stare out of their heads, like hares which haue bin caried hanging on a staffe a mile or twaine, sée things farre otherwise than sober men doo. They suppose they sée two candles on the table, when there is but one: desiring to reach the potte, they put their hand amisse. In =Euripides= Tragedie named =Bacchis=, =Pentheus= affirmeth, that he seeth two Sunnes and two citties of _Thebes_: For his braines were maruellously distempered. It is a common saying, that if wine haue the victorie, all things seeme to haue turned vpside downe: trées to walke, mountaines to be moued, and riuers to run against the head, &c. =Salomon= exhorteth all men from drunkennesse, in his prouerbs, cap.23. shewing what discommodities ensue therof, and amongst other thinges he saith thus: Thy eyes shall sée straunge (to wit) visitions and maruellous apparitions. For as timorous men imagine miraculous things, euen so doo drunken men, who of purpose corrupt and spoile their sight. And albeit God shew many wonders in the aire, and in the earth, to the ende he may stir men vp from idlenesse and bring them to true repentaunce, yet notwithstanding, we must thinke that dronken men which sit vp vntill midnight, do often say, that haue séene this or that vision, they haue beheld this or that wonder, when as indéed they are vtterly deceiued. For in case they had returned home in due season, and not ouercharged themselues with too much wine, no such thing had appeared vnto them. For indéede their eyesight had not bene blinded. Doth it not often come to passe, that when men are once throughly warmed with wine, they mistake one for another, of whom they thought they were abused in word or déede, and violently flie on them with weapon? The place before alleaged out of =Salomon=, may also be vnderstood to this purpose: Thy eyes shall sée straunge (to wit,) women, to lust after them. For experience teacheth vs that men being drunke, assaie to rauish matrones and maidens, which being sober they would neuer once think vppon. Wine immoderately taken, is the nurse of rashe boldnesse and filthie lust.
[Sidenote: Some see themselues.]
=Aristotle= writeth, that some men through the féeblenesse of their sight, beholding in the aire neare vnto them (as it were in a glasse) a certaine image of themselues, suppose they sée their owne angels or soules: and so as the Prouerbe is, they feare their owne shadow. Although men in obscure and darke places can sée nothing, yet do they not (I pray you) imagine they sée diuers kindes of shapes and colours. And we many times suppose those things which we sée, to be farre otherwise than indéed they are.
[Sidenote: Hearing deceiueth.]
It is well knowne, a mans sight may be so deceiued, that he verily thinkes that one deuoureth a sword, spitteth out money, coales, and such like: that one eateth bread, and spitteth foorth meale: one drinketh wine, which after runneth out of his forehead: that one cutteth off his fellowes head, which afterwardes he setteth on againe: and that a Cocke séemeth to drawe after him a huge beame of timber, &c. Moreouer it may be brought to passe by naturall things, as by perfumes and such like, that a man would sweare in earnest, that all men sitting at the table with him, haue no heds at all, or else that they are like the heads of asses: & that somtimes a vine spreadeth it self as it were ouer al the house, whē indéed it is a mere deceit, or a plaine iugling cast. Of which matter there be bookes commonly set abroad. The like reason is in hearing, & in the other senses. Those men whose hearing is somewhat decaied, many times séeme in their owne imagination, to heare the noyse of boysterous winde, or violent tempest, the sparkling of fire, the roaring of waters sodeinly increased, singing and sounding of instruments, and also the iangling of belles, when as indeed these things are not so, but only chaunce by default of hearing: for others which are conuersant with them, hauing the right vse of hearing, do not heare any such thing at all. Somtimes in very déed such things are heard, as the crackling of wainscot walles, and such like, which are naturall signes of some tempest shortly after ensuing.
[Sidenote: The sense of feeling is deceiued.]
There are also certaine hollowe places, through the which the winde whiszing, giueth a pleasant sound, as it were through a pipe, much like vnto singing, so that men wonder verie much thereat. We reade in writers of Philosophie, that the very same also chaunceth in bankes of riuers, which bende a little in compasse. Hearing is also deceiued when we thinke we heare thunder, and it is indéed but the rumbling of some Carte. There be many which thinke they handle something, and yet are deceiued: If men sicke of the ague, drinke wine of the best and swéetest sorte, yet they thinke it is more bitter than Gall: if they eate pottage neuer so good, yet they iudge it vnsauorie: which thing commeth not of any faulte in the Cooke, but of the mouth and stomacke whiche is distempered with sicknesse. For vnto them which haue abundance of choller, all things séeme bitter. And euen so it commeth to passe, that a man supposeth he seeth, heareth, féeleth, or is felt of some spirit, when indéed it is not so, and yet no man can perswade him the contrary.
[Sidenote: VVeakenesse of the sight and feare.]
If feare and weaknesse of the sight and of other senses méete togither, then men fall into strange and maruellous imaginations, beléeuing things vtterly false, to be verie true: Neither will they be brought from their owne opinions by any meanes or reason.
We reade that not only perticular and priuate men, but also whole armies of souldiers generally haue bene so deceiued, that they haue verily thought their enemies hard at their héeles, when as no man followed. And hereof haue procéeded many horrible flightes in battaile.
[Sidenote: Cominæus.]
[Sidenote: King.4.]
=Cominæus=, a knight and diligent writer of histories, in the ende of his first booke of the Acts of =Lewes= the II. King of _Fraunce_, writeth, that when =Charles= Duke of _Burgundie_, with other Princes, had remooued their armie to _Paris_, they vnderstood by their espials, that the next day the king had determined to set on them with all his power of men. Wherefore the next day =Charles= sent out certaine horsemen to view his enemies: who comming foorth, by reason that the element was somewhat darke, supposed they sawe a huge number of pikes and speares, but when they had passed a little further and that the aire was a little clearer, they vnderstood the same place wherein they iudged the king to be with all his armie, to be planted and ouergrowne with many high thistles, which a far off shewed as it had bene long speares. For the night beguileth mens eyes. And therefore none ought to maruell, if trauellers towardes night or at midnight, mistake stones, trées, stubbes, or such like, to be sprites or elues. We reade in the last booke of the kings the 3.chap. that after the death of king =Achab=, the Moabites reuolted from =Ioram= his sonne, wherefore he desired =Iosaphat= to aide him, and with all his power he determined to make warre on the Moabites, to reduce them to obedience, and subiection. Which thing when the Moabites heard, they prepared to defend themselues, so many as were able to beare armour. But when they had set foreward verie earely in the morning against their enemies, supposing in the rising of the Sunne, the waters which God had miraculously brought out to be redde, they said amongst themselues: Surely the two Kings haue encountred togither, and eache haue destroyed other, wherevppon they running on heapes without order, to spoile the Israelites Tents, were by them vanquished and slaine: here you sée all the Armie mistooke water in stead of bloud.
CHAP. V.
Many are so feared by other men, that they suppose they haue heard or seene Spirits.
[Sidenote: Salomons pro.]
Furthermore, it commeth to passe many times that not only pleasant and mery conceited men, but also spitefull and malitious men, chaunging their apparell, make others extreamely affraide. It is a common custome in many places, that at a certaine time of the yeare, one with a nette or vizarde on his face maketh Children affraide, to the ende that euer after they should laboure and bee obedient to the Parentes, afterward they tel them that those which they saw, were Bugs, Witches and Hagges, which thing they verily beléeue, and are commonly, miserably affraide. Howbeit, it is not expedient alwayes so to terrefie Children. For sometimes through great feare they fall into dangerous diseases, and in the night crie out, when they are fast a sléepe. =Salomon= teacheth vs to chasten children with the rod, and so to make them stand in awe: he doth not say, we must beare them in hand they shall be deuoured of Bugges, Hags of the night, and such like monsters.
[Sidenote: Daunsing Spirits.]
Many times, pleasant & mery yong men, disguise themselues like vnto Diuels, or ofe shroud themselues in white shéetes to make other men affraide: with whome if simple men chaunce to méete, they make no doubt of the matter, but verily thinke they haue séene spirites, and straunge sightes. And yet it is not alwayes the safest way, so to deceiue men with iests and toyes; for many examples might be brought to shewe how euill some men haue sped hereby. It is an vsuall and common thing that yoong men merily disposed, when they trauell by the way, comming to their Inne at night, tie ropes to the bed side, or to the couerlet or garments, or else hide themselues vnder the bedde, and so counterfeiting themselues to be Spirites, deceiue and mocke their fellowes. It chaunced once at _Tigurin_ where we dwel, that certaine pleasant yong men disguising themselues, daunced about the Churchyard, one of them playing on a béere with two bones, as it were on a drumme. Which thing when certaine men had espied, they noysed it about the citie, how they had séene dead men daunce, and that there was great danger, least there should shortly ensue some plague or pestilence.
Moreouer, it is well knowne to all men, that harlots, and whooremongers, haue practised their wickednesse a long season vnder this cloake and pretence, perswading their family, that walking Spirites haunt the house, least they should bee taken with the déede dooing, and that they might enioy their desired loue. Many times such bugges haue bin caught by the magistrates, and put to open shame. Théeues likewise vnder this colour haue many times robbed their neighboures in the night time, who supposing they heard the noyse of walking Spirits, neuer went about to driue the théeues away. Touching this point, that an euil Spirit, by means of naturall things which haue strange vertues, can do maruellous things, by deceiuing mens senses, I will at this present speake nothing.
CHAP. VI.
Priestes and Moncks fained themselues to be Spirites: also how _Mundus_ vnder this colour defiled _Paulina_, and _Tyrannus_ abused many noble and honest matrones.
To these thinges may bee added, that there haue bin in all ages certaine Priests, which practising strange deuises, and giuing themselues to Necromancie, haue bewitched foolish men that highly estéemed them, to the ende they might thereby encrease their riches, and follow their lustfull pleasures. Touching which matter, to the ende godly disposed men may be the more héedfull, I will rehearse a fewe histories.
[Sidenote: Iosephus de antiquitatib.]
=Iosephus= a writer of histories, in his 18.booke and 4.chap. of Antiquities, remembreth a notorious deed which hapned at =Rome=, in the time of =Tyberius Cesar= vnder the pretence of sacrificing to the goddesse =Isis=. I will record the historie as it is translated by =Galenius=, a very learned man.
[Sidenote: Paulina and Mundus.]
There dwelled at =Rome= a woman named =Paulina=, no lesse renoumed for honestie of life, than for the nobilitie of parentage: She was also very rich and excéeding beautful, as one that was now in the floure of her age, and especially adorned with the great vertue of chastitie, and married she was to one =Saturnius=, a man worthie of such a wife. It chaunced that =Decius Mundus=, a famous yoong knight, became very much enamored with her: and because she was a woman of greater wealth than that she might be won with rewardes and money, so much the more was this louers madnesse inflamed, in so much that he stuck not to proffer her for one night .200000. groates. The Atticke groat and the Romain peny are by common valuation all one. =Budeus= accounteth one of them worth 8. Crusados: so this summe according to his reckoning, amounteth to 26000. Florens.
[Sidenote: Ruffinus.]