The Discoverie of Witchcraft

by Reginald Scot

The xv. Chapter.

The inchanting of serpents and snakes, objections aunswered concerning the same; fond reasons whie charmes take effect therin, Mahomets pigeon, miracles wrought by an Asse at Memphis in Aegypt, popish charmes against serpents, of miracle workers, the tameing of snakes, Bodins lie of snakes.

ONCERNING the charming of serpents and snakes, mine adversaries (as I have said) thinke they have great advantage by the words of David in the fiftie eight psalme; and by Jeremie, chapter eight, expounding the one prophet by Virgil, the other by Ovid. For the words of DavidPsal. 58. are these; Their poison is like the poison of a serpent, and like a deafe adder, that stoppeth his/250. eare, and heareth not the voice of the charmer, charme he never so cunninglie. The words of VirgilVirg. eclog. 8. are these, Frigidus in pratis cantando rumpitur anguis. As he might saie, David thou liest; for the cold natured snake is by the charmes of the inchanters broken all to peeces in the field where he lieth. Then commeth Ovid,Ovid. metamor. 7. and he taketh his countriemans part, saieng in the name and person of a witch; Vipereas rumpo verbis & carmine fauces; that is, I with my words and charmes can breake in sunder the vipers jawes. Marrie JeremieJerem. 8. 17. on the other side encountereth this poeticall witch, and he not onelie defendeth, but expoundeth his fellowe prophets words, and that not in his owne name, but in the name of almightie God; saieng, I will send serpents and cockatrices among you, which cannot be charmed.

Now let anie indifferent man (christian or heathen) judge, whether the words and minds of the prophets doo not directlie oppugne these poets words (I will not saie minds:) for that I am sure they did therein but jest and trifle, according to the common fabling of lieng poets. And certeinlie, I can encounter them two with other two poets; namelie Propertius and Horace, the one merrilie deriding, the other seriouslie impugning their fantasticall poetries, concerning the power and omnipotencie of witches. For where Virgil, Ovid, &c: write that witches with their charmes fetch downe the moone and starres from heaven, etc.; Propertius mocketh them in these words following:/

181.At vos deductæ quibus est fallacia Lunæ,

Et labor in magicis sacra piare focis,

En agedum dominæ mentem convertite nostræ,

Et facite illa meo palleat ore magis,

Tunc ego crediderim vobis & sidera & amnes

Posse Circeis ducere carminibus:

But you that have the subtill slight,Englished by Abraham Fleming.

Of fetching downe the moone from skies;

And with inchanting fier bright,

Attempt to purge your sacrifies:

Lo now, go to, turne (if you can)

Our madams mind and sturdie hart,/

251.And make hir face more pale and wan,

Than mine: which if by magicke art

You doo, then will I soone beleeve,

That by your witching charmes you can

From skies aloft the starres remeeve,

And rivers turne from whence they ran.

And that you may see more certeinlie, that these poets did but jest and deride the credulous and timerous sort of people, I thought good to shew you what Ovid saith against himselfe, and such as have written so incrediblie and ridiculouslie of witches omnipotencie:

Nec mediæ magicis finduntur cantibus angues,

Nec redit in fontes unda supina suos:

Snakes in the middle are not rivenEnglished by Abraham Fleming.

with charmes of witches cunning,

Nor waters to their fountaines driven

by force of backward running.

As for Horace his verses I omit them, bicause I have cited them in another place. And concerning this matter CardanusCard. lib. 15. de var. rer. cap. 80. saith, that at everie eclipse they were woont to thinke, that witches pulled downe the sunne and moone from heaven. And doubtles, hence came the opinion of that matter, which spred so farre, and continued so long in the common peoples mouthes, that in the end learned men grew to beleeve it, and to affirme it in writing.

But here it will be objected,An objection answered. that bicause it is said (in the places by me alledged) that snakes or vipers cannot be charmed; Ergo other things may: To answer this argument, I would aske the witchmonger this question, to wit; Whether it be expedient, that to satisfie his follie, the Holie-ghost must of necessitie make mention of everie particular thing that he imagineth may be bewitched? I would also aske of him, what privilege a snake hath more than other creatures, that he onelie may not, and all other creatures may be bewitched? I hope they will not saie, that either/182. their faith or infidelitie is the cause thereof; neither doo I admit the answer of such divines as saie, that he cannot be bewitched:/252. for that he seduced Eve; by meanes whereof God himselfe curssed him; and thereby he is so privileged, as that no witches charme can take hold of him. But more shall be said hereof in the sequele.

DanæusDan. in dialog. cap. 3. saith, that witches charmes take soonest hold upon snakes and adders; bicause of their conference and familiaritie with the divell, whereby the rather mankind through them was seduced. Let us seeke then an answer for this cavill; although in truth it needeth not: for the phrase of speach is absolute, & importes not a speciall qualitie proper to the nature of a viper anie more, than when I saie; A connie cannot flie: you should gather & conclude thereupon, that I ment that all other beasts could flie. But you shall understand, that the cause why these vipers can rather withstand the voice & practise of inchanters and sorcerers, than other creatures, is: for that they being in bodie and nature venomous, cannot so soone or properlie receive their destruction by venome, wherby the witches in other creatures bring their mischeefous practises more easilie to passe, according to Virgils saieng

Corrupítque lacus, infecit pabula tabo,Virg. geo. 4.

She did infect with poison strongEnglished by Abraham Fleming.

Both ponds and pastures all along.

And thereupon the prophet alludeth unto their corrupt and inflexible nature, with that comparison: and not (as Tremelius is faine to shift it) with stopping one eare with his taile, and laieng the other close to the ground; bicause he would not heare the charmers voice. For the snake hath neither such reason; nor the words such effect: otherwise the snake must know our thoughts. It is also to be considered, how untame by nature these vipers (for the most part) are; in so much as they be not by mans industrie or cunning to be made familiar, or traind to doo anie thing, whereby admiration maie be procured: as Bomelio FeatesFeates his dog, and Mahomets pigeon. his dog could doo; or Mahomets pigeon, which would resort unto him, being in the middest of his campe, and picke a pease out of his eare; in such sort that manie of the people thought that the Holie-ghost came and told him a tale in his eare: the same pigeon also brought him a scroll, wherein was written, Rex esto, and laid the same in his necke. And bicause I have spoken of the doci/litie of a dog and a pigeon, though I could cite an infinite number of like t253.ales, I will be bold to trouble you but with one more.

At Memphis in Aegypt,A storie declaring the great docilitie of an asse. among other juggling knacks, which were there usuallie shewed, there was one that tooke such paines with an asse, that he had taught him all these qualities following. And for gaine he caused a stage to be made, and an assemblie of people to meete; which being done, in the maner of a plaie, he came in with his asse, and said; The Sultane hath great need of asses to helpe to carrie stones and other stuffe, towards his great building which he hath in hand. The asse im/mediatlie183. fell downe to the ground, and by all signes shewed himselfe to be sicke, and at length to give up the ghost: so as the juggler begged of the assemblie monie towards his losse. And having gotten all that he could, he said; Now my maisters, you shall see mine asse is yet alive, and dooth but counterfet; bicause he would have some monie to buie him provender, knowing that I was poore, and in some need of releefe. Hereupon he would needs laie a wager, that his asse was alive, who to everie mans seeming was starke dead. And when one had laid monie with him thereabout, he commanded the asse to rise, but he laie still as though he were dead: then did he beate him with a cudgell, but that would not serve the turne, untill he addressed this speech to the asse, saieng (as before) in open audience; The Sultane hath commanded, that all the people shall ride out to morrow, and see the triumph, and that the faire ladies will then ride upon the fairest asses, and will give notable provender unto them, and everie asse shall drinke of the sweete water of Nilus: and then lo the asse did presentlie start up, and advance himselfe exceedinglie. Lo (quoth his maister) now I have wonne: but in troth the Maior hath borrowed mine asse, for the use of the old ilfavoured witch his wife: and thereupon immediatlie he hoong downe his eares, and halted downe right, as though he had beene starke lame. Then said his maister; I perceive you love yoong prettie wenches: at which words he looked up, as it were with joifull cheere. And then his maister did bid him go choose one that should ride upon him; and he ran to a verie handsome woman, and touched hir with his head: &c. A snake will never be brought to such familiaritie, &c. BodinJ. Bod. lib. de dæm. 2. cap. 6. saith, that this was a man in the likenesse of an asse: but I maie/254. rather thinke that he is an asse in the likenesse of a man. Well, to returne to our serpents, I will tell you a storie concerning the charming of them, and the event of the same.

In the citie of SalisboroghMal. malef. part 2. qu. 3. cap 9.
John. Bodin. there was an inchanter, that before all the people tooke upon him to conjure all the serpents and snakes within one mile compasse into a great pit or dike, and there to kill them. When all the serpents were gathered togither, as he stood upon the brinke of the pit, there came at the last a great and a horrible serpent, which would not be gotten downe with all the force of his incantations: so as (all the rest being dead) he flew upon the inchanter, and clasped him in the middest, and drew him downe into the said dike, and there killed him. You must thinke that this was a divell in a serpents likenesse, which for the love he bare to the poore snakes, killed the sorcerer; to teach all other witches to beware of the like wicked practise. And surelie, if this be not true, there be a great number of lies conteined in M. Mal. and in J. Bodin. And if this be well weighed, and conceived, it beateth downe to the ground all those witchmongers arguments, that contend to wring witching miracles out of this place. For they disagree notablie, some denieng and some affirming that serpents maie be bewitched. Neverthelesse, bicause in everie point you shall see how poperie agreeth with paganisme, I will recite certeine charmes against vipers, allowed for the most part in and by the church of Rome: as followeth.

Exorcismes or conjuratiōs against serpents. I conjure thee O serpent in this houre, by the five holie woonds of our/184. Lord, that thou remove not out of this place, but here staie, as certeinelie as God was borne of a pure virgine. ❈ Otherwise: I conjure thee serpent In nomine patris, & filii, & spiritus sancti: I command thee serpent by our ladie S. Marie, that thou obeie me, as wax obeieth the fier, and as fier obeieth water; that thou neither hurt me, nor anie other christian, as certeinelie as God was borne of an immaculate virgine, in which respect I take thee up, In nomine patris & filii, & spiritus sancti: Ely lash eiter, ely lash eiter, ely lash eiter. ❈ Otherwise: O vermine, thou must come as God came unto the Jewes.L. Vair. lib. de fascinat. 1. cap. 4. ❈ Otherwise: L. Vairus saith, that Serpens quernis frondibus contacta, that a serpent touched with oke leaves dieth, and staieth even in the beginning of his going, if a feather of the bird Ibis be cast or throwne upon him: and that/255. a viper smitten or hot with a reed is astonied, and touched with a beechen branch is presentlie numme and stiffe.

Usurpers of kinred with blessed Paule and S Katharine. Here is to be remembred, that manie use to boast that they are of S. Paules race and kinred, shewing upon their bodies the prints of serpents: which (as the papists affirme) was incident to all them of S. Paules stocke. Marie they saie herewithall, that all his kinsfolks can handle serpents, or anie poison without danger. Others likewise have (as they brag) a Katharine wheele upon their bodies, and they saie they are kin to S. Katharine, and that they can carrie burning coles in their bare hands, and dip their said hands in hot skalding liquor, and also go into hot ovens. Whereof though the last be but a bare jest, and to be doone by anie that will prove (as a bad fellow in London had used to doo, making no tariance at all therein:) yet there is a shew made of the other, as though it were certeine and undoubted; by annointing the hands with the juice of mallowes, mercurie, urine, &c: which for a little time are defensatives against these scalding liquors, and scortching fiers.

But they that take upon them to worke these mysteries and miracles, doo indeed (after rehearsall of these and such like words and charmes) take up even in their bare hands, those snakes and vipers, and sometimes put them about their necks, without receiving anie hurt thereby, to the terror and astonishment of the beholders, which naturallie both feare and abhorre all serpents. But these charmers (upon my word) dare not trust to their charmes, but use such an inchantment, as everie man maie lawfullie use, and in the lawfull use thereof maie bring to passe that they shalbe in securitie, and take no harme, how much soever they handle them: marie with a woollen rag they pull out their teeth before hand, as some men saie; but as truth is, they wearie them, and that is of certeintie. And surelie this is a kind of witchcraft, which I terme private confederacie. BodinJ. Bodin. lib. de dæm. 1. cap. 3. saith, that all the snakes in one countrie were by charmes and verses driven into another region: perhaps he meaneth Ireland, where S. Patrike is said to have doone it with his holinesse, &c.

James Sprenger, and Henrie Institor affirme, that serpents and snakes, and their skins exceed all other creatures for witchcraft: in so much as witches doo use to burie them under mens/256. threshholds, either of the house or stalles, whereby barrennes is procured both to woman and beast: yea and that the verie earth and ashes of them continue to have force of fascination. In respect whereof they wish all men now and then to dig/185. awaie the earth under their threshholds, and to sprinkle holie water in the place, & also to hang boughes (hallowed on midsummer daie) at the stall doore where the cattell stand: & produce examples thereupon, of witches lies, or else their owne, which I omit; bicause I see my booke groweth to be greater than I meant it should be.