The xxi. Chapter.
What miracles witchmongers report to have beene done by witches words, &c: contradictions of witchmongers among themselves, how beasts are cured herby, of bewitched butter, a charme against witches, and a counter charme, the effect of charmes and words proved by L. Vairus to be woonderfull.
F I should go about to recite all charmes, I should take an infinite worke in hand. For the witching writers hold opinion, that anie thing al/most197.[2] maie be therby brought to passe; & that whether the words of the charme be understandable or not, it skilleth not: so the charmer have a steddie intention to bring his desire about. And then what is it that cannot be done by words? For L. VairusL. Vair. lib. de fascin. 1. ca. 5. saith, that old women have infeebled and killed children with words, and have made women with child miscarrie;/280. they have made men pine awaie to death, they have killed horsses, deprived sheepe of their milke, *transformed* According to Ovids saieng of Proteus & Medea, which he indeed alledgeth therefore, Nunc aqua, nunc ales, modò bos, modò cervus abibat. men into beasts, flowne in the aire, tamed and staied wild beasts, driven all noisome cattell and vermine from corne, vines and hearbs, staied serpents, &c: and all with words. In so much as he saith, that with certeine words spoken in a bulles eare by a witch, the bull hath fallen downe to the ground as dead. Yea some by vertue of words have gone upon a sharpe sword, and walked upon hot glowing coles, without hurt; with words (saith he) verie heavie weights and burthens have beene lifted up; and with words wild horsses and wild bulles have beene tamed, and also mad dogs; with words they have killed wormes, and other vermine, and staied all maner of bleedings and fluxes: with words all the diseases in mans bodie are healed, and wounds cured; arowes are with wonderfull strangenesse and cunning plucked out of mens bones. Yea (saith he) there be manie that can heale all bitings of dogs, or stingings of serpents, or anie other poison: and all with nothing but words spoken. And that which is most strange, he saith, that they can remedie anie stranger, and him that is absent, with that verie sword wherewith they are wounded. Yea and that which is beyond all admiration, if they stroke the sword upwards with their fingers, the partie shall feele no paine: whereas if they drawe their finger downewards thereupon, the partie wounded shall feele intollerable paine. With a number of other cures, done altogither by the vertue and force of words uttered and spoken.
Where, by the waie, I maie not omit this speciall note, given by M. Mal.Mal. Malef. par. 2. quæ. 2. cap. 7. to wit, that holie water maie not be sprinkled upon bewitched beasts, but must be powred into their mouthes. And yet he, and also Nider,Nider in præceptorio, præcept. 1. ca. 11. saie, that It is lawfull to blesse and sanctifie beasts, as well as men; both by charmes written, and also by holie words spoken. For (saith Nider)Nider in fornicario. if your cow be bewitched, three crosses, three Pater nosters, and three Aves will certeinlie cure hir: and likewiseMal. Malef. part. 2. cap. 8. all other ceremonies ecclesiasticall. And this is a sure Maxime,*[* Ital.] that they which are delivered from witchcraft by shrift, are ever after in the night much molested (I beleeve by their ghostlie fathers.) Also they loose their monie out of their pursses and caskets: as M. Mal. saith he knoweth by experience./281. Also one generall rule is given by M. Mal.A good devise to starve up poore women. to all butter wives, and dairie maides, that they neither give nor lend anie butter, milke, or cheese, to anie witches, which alwaies use to beg therof, when they meane to worke mischeefe Mal. Malef. part. 2. quæ. 2, cap. 7. to their kine or whitmeats. Whereas indeed there are in milke three substances commixted; to wit, butter, cheese, and whaie: if the same be kept too long, or in an evill place, or be sluttishlie used, so as it be stale and sower, which happeneth sometimes in winter, but oftener in summer, when it is set over the fier, the cheese and butter runneth togither, and congealeth, so as it will rope like birdlime, that you maie wind it about a sticke, and/198.[2] in short space it will be so drie, as you maie beate it to powder. Which alteration being strange, is woondered at, and imputed to witches. And herehence sometimes proceedeth the cause, why butter commeth not, which when the countrie people see that it commeth not, then get they out of the suspected witches house, a little butter, whereof must be made three balles, in the name of the holie trinitie; and so if they be put into the cherne, the butter will presentlie come, and the witchcraft will cease; Sic ars deluditur arte. But if you put a little sugar or sope into the cherne, among the creame, the butter will never come: which is plaine witchcraft, if it be closelie, cleanlie, and privilie handled. There be twentie severall waies to make your butter come, which for brevitie I omit; as to bind your cherne with a rope, to thrust thereinto a red hot spit, &c: but your best remedie and surest waie is, to looke well to your dairie maid or wife, that she neither eat up the creame, nor sell awaie your butter.
¶ A charme to find hir that bewitched your kine.
PUtA ridiculous charme. a paire of breeches upon the cowes head, and beate hir out of the pasture with a good cudgell upon a fridaie, and she will runne right to the witches doore, and strike thereat with hir hornes.
¶ Another, for all that have bewitched anie kind of cattell.
WHen anie of your cattell are killed with witchcraft, hast you to the place where the carcase lieth, and traile the bowels of the beast unto your house, and drawe them not in at/282. the doore, but under the threshhold of the house into the kitchen; and there make a fier, and set over the same a grediron, and thereupon laie the inwards or bowels; and as they wax hot, so shall the witches entrailes be molested with extreame heate and paine. But then must you make fast your doores, least the witch come and fetch awaie a cole of your fier: for then ceaseth hir torments. And we have knowne saith M. Mal. when the witch could not come in, that the whole house hath beene so darkened, and the aire round about the same so troubled, with such horrible noise and earthquakes; that except the doore had beene opened, we had thought the house would have fallen on our heads. Thomas Aquinas, a principall treator herein, alloweth conjurations against the changelings, and in diverse other cases: whereof I will saie more in the word Iidoni.
¶ A speciall charme to preserve all cattell from witchcraft.
ATIn anie case observe the festivall time, or else you marre all. Easter you must take certeine drops, that lie uppermost of the holie paschall candle, and make a little waxe candle thereof: and upon some sundaie morning rath, light it, and hold it, so as it maie drop upon and betweene the hornes and eares of the beast, saieng: In nomine patris, & filii, et duplex s s: and burne the beast a little betweene the hornes on*[* or] the eares with the same wax: and that which is left thereof, sticke it in crossewise about the stable or stall, or upon the threshold, or over the doore, where the cattell use to go in and out, and for all that yeare your cattell shall never be be/witched.199.[2] ❈ Otherwise: Jacobus de Chusa Carthusianus sheweth, how bread, water, and salt is conjured, and saith, that if either man or beast receive holie bread and holie water nine daies together, with three Pater nosters, and three Aves, in the honour of the trinitie, and of S. Hubert, it preserveth that man or beast from all diseases, and defendeth them against all assaults of witchcraft, of satan, or of a mad dog, &c.
Lo this is their stuffe, mainteined to be at the least effectuall, if not wholsome, by all papists and witchmongers, and speciallie of the last and proudest writers. But to proove these things to be effectuall, God knoweth their reasons are base and absurd. For they write so, as they take the matter in question as granted,/283. and by that meanes go awaie therewith. For L. VairusL. Vair. lib. de fascin. 1. cap. 1. saith in the beginning of his booke, that there is no doubt of this supernaturall matter, bicause a number of writers agree herein, and a number of stories confirme it, and manie poets handle the same argument, and in the twelve tables there is a lawe against it, and bicause the consent of the common people is fullie with it, and bicause immoderate praise is to be approoved a kind of witchcraft, and bicause old women have such charmes and superstitious meanes as preserve themselves from it, and bicause they are mocked that take awaie the credit of such miracles, and bicause SalomonSapi. 4.
Gali. 3.
Psal. 119. saith; Fascinatio malignitatis obscurat bona, and bicause the apostle saith; O insensati Galatæ, quis vos fascinavit? And bicause it is written, Qui timent te, videbunt me. And finallie he saith, least you should seeme to distrust and detract anie thing from the credit of so manie grave men, from histories, and common opinion of all men: he meaneth in no wise to proove that there is miraculous working by witchcraft and fascination; and proceedeth so, according to his promise.