¶ The fift Booke. 89. 69.
The first Chapter.
Of transformations, ridiculous examples brought by the adversaries for the confirmation of their foolish doctrine.
OW that I may with the verie absurdities, conteined in their owne authors, and even in their principall doctors and last writers, confound them that mainteine the transubstantiations of witches; I will shew you certeine proper stuffe, which BodinJ. Bod. lib. 2. de dæmon. cap, 6. (their cheefe champion of this age) hath gathered out of M. Mal. and others, whereby he laboureth to establish this impossible, incredible, and supernaturall, or rather unnaturall doctrine of transubstantiation.
First, as touching the divell (Bodin saith)J. Bodin abuseth scripture to proove a lie. that he dooth most properlie and commonlie transforme himselfe into a gote, confirming that opinion by the 33. and 34. of Esaie: where there is no one title*[* = tittle.] sounding to anie such purpose. Howbeit, he sometimes alloweth the divell the shape of a blacke Moore, and as he saith he used to appeare to Mawd Cruse, Kate Darey, and Jone Harviller. But I mervell, whether the divell createth himselfe, when he appeareth in the likenesse of a man; or whether God createth him, when the divell wisheth it. As for witches, he saith they speciallie transubstantiate themselves into wolves, and them whom they bewitch into asses: though else-where he differ somewhat herein/90. from himselfe. But though he affirme,Pudendis tunc primùm erumpentibus. that it may be naturallie brought to passe, that a girle shall become a boie; and that anie female maybe turned into the male: yet he saith the same hath no affinitie with Lycanthropia; wherein he saith also, that men are wholie transformed, and citeth infinite examples hereof.
First, that one Garner in the shape of a woolfe killed a girle of the age of twelve yeares, and did eat up hir armes and legges, and carried the rest home to his wife. Item, that Peter Burget, and Michael Werdon, having turned themselves with an ointment into woolves, killed, and finallie did eate up an infinite number of people. Which lie WierusJo. Wier. lib. 6. de mag ca. 12. dooth sufficientlie confute. But untill you see and read that, consider whether Peter could eate rawe flesh without surfetting, speciallie flesh of his owne kind. Item, that there was an arrowe shot into a woolves thigh, who afterwards being turned into his former shape of a man, was found in his bed, with the arrowe in his thigh, which the archer that shot it knew verie well. Item, that another being Lycanthropus in the forme of a woolfe, had his woolves feet cut off, and in a moment he became a man without hands or feete.
He accusethJ. Bodinus mendaciorum *heluo.[* Text helüo.] also one of the mightiest princes in christendome, even of late daies, to be one of those kind of witches (so as he could, when he list, turne himselfe to a woolfe) affirming that he was espied and oftentimes seene to performe that villanie; bicause he would be counted the king of all witches. He saith that this transubstantiation is most common in Greece,/70. and through out all Asia, as merchant strangers have reported to him. For Anno Domini. 1542, when Sultan Solimon reigned, there was such force and multitude of these kind of woolves in Constantinople, that the emperour drave togither in one flocke 150. of them, which departed out of the citie in the presence of all the people.
To persuade usA warme season to swim in. the more throughlie heerein, he saith, that in Livonia, yearelie (about the end of December) a certeine knave or divell warneth all the witches in the countrie to come to a certeine place: if they faile, the divellI mervell that they forsake not the divell, who punisheth them so sore: ywis they get not so much at his hands. commeth and whippeth them with an iron rod; so as the print of his lashes remaine upon their bodies for ever. The capteine witch leadeth the waie through a/91. great poole of water: manie millians of witches swim after. They are no sooner passed through that water, but they are all transformed into woolves, and flie upon and devoure both men, women, cattell, &c. After twelve daies they returne through the same water, and so receive humane shape againe.