OW commeth in Samuel to plaie his part: but I am persuaded it was performed in the person of the witch hir selfe, or of hir confederate. He saith to Saule;1. Sa. 28, 15. Why has thou disquieted me, to bring me up? As though without guile or packing it had beene Samuel himselfe. SauleIbidem. answered that he was in great distresse: for the Philistines made warre upon him. Whereby the witch, or hir confederate priest might easilie conjecture that his heart failed, and direct the oracle or prophesie accordinglie: especiallie understanding by his present talke, and also by former prophesies and dooings that were past, that God had forsaken him, and that his people were declining from him. For when Jonathan1. Sam 13, 5. (a little before) overthrew the Philistines, being thirtie thousand chariots and six thousand horssemen; Saule could not assemble above six hundred souldiers.1. Sa. 13, 15.
Then said Samuel (which some suppose was sathan, and as I thinke was the witch, with a confederate; for what need so farre fetches, as to fetch a divell supernaturallie out of hell, when the illusion may be here by natu/rall110. meanes deciphered? And if you note the words well, you shall perceive the phrase not to come out/149. of a spirituall mouth of a divell, but from a lieng corporall toong of a cousener, that careth neither for God nor the divell, frō whence issueth such advise and communication, as greatlie disagreeth from sathans nature and purpose. For thus (I saie) the said Samuel speaketh: Wherefore dooest thou aske me,1. Sam. 28. 16. 17. seeing the Lord is gone from thee, and is thine enemie? Even the Lord hath doon unto him as he spake by mine hand:1. Sa. 15, 28. for the Lord will rent thy kingdome out of thine hand, and give it to thy neighbour David, bicause thou obeiedst not the voice of the Lord, &c. This (I say) is no phrase of a divell, but of a cousener, which knew before what Samuel had prophesied concerning Saules destruction. For it is the divels condition, to allure the people unto wickednes, and not in this sort to admonish, warne, and rebuke them for evill. And the popish writers confes, that the divell would have beene gone at the first naming of God. If it bee said, that it was at Gods speciall commandement and will, that Samuel or the divell should be raised, to propound this admonition, to the profit of all posteritie: I answer, that then he would rather have doone it by some of his living prophets, and that sathan had not beene so fit an instrument for that purpose. After this falleth the witch (I would saie Samuel) into the veine of prophesieng, and speaketh to Saule1. Sa 28, 17.
18. on this wise; The Lord will rent thy kingdome out of thine hand, and give it to thy neighbor David, bicause thou obeiedst not the voice of the Lord, nor executedst his fierse wrath upon the Amalekites: therefore hath the Lord doone this unto thee this daie.19. Moreover, the Lord will deliver thee into the hands of the Philistines, and to morrowe shalt thou and thy sonnes be with me, and the Lord shall give the host of Israel into the hands of the Philistines. What could Samuel have said more?
Me thinks the divell would have used another order, encouraging Saule rather than rebuking him for his evill. The divell is craftier than to leave such an admonition to all posterities, as should be prejudiciall unto his kingdome, and also be void of all impietie. But so divine a sentence maketh much for the maintenance of the witches credit, and to the advancement of hir gaines. Howbeit, concerning the veritie of this prophesie, there be many disputable questions: first, whether the battell were fought the next daie; secondlie, whether all his sonnes were kil/led150. with him; item, whether they went to heaven or hell togither, as being with Samuel, they must be in heaven, and being with sathan, they must be in hell. But although everie part of this prophesie were false, as that all his sonnes were not slaine (Ishbosheth living and reigning in Israel two yeares after Saules death) and that the battell was not on the morrow, and that wicked Saule, after that he had killed himselfe, was not with good Samuel;2. Reg. 4. yet this witch did give a shrewd gesse to the sequele. Which whether it were true or false, perteins not to my purpose; and therfore I will omit it. But as touching the opinion of them that saie it was the divell, bicause that such things came to passe; I would faine knowe of them where they learne that divels foreknow things to come. If they saie he gesseth onelie upon probabilities, the witch may also doo the like. But here I may not forget the decrees,Canon. 26. quæst. cap. 5. nec mirum. which conclude, that Samuel appeered not unto Saule; but that the historiographer set foorth/111. Saules mind and Samuels estate, and certeine things which were said & seene, omitting whether they were true or false: and further, that it were a great offense for a man to beleeve the bare words of the storie. And if this exposition like you not, I can easilie frame my selfe to the opinion of some of great learning, expounding this place, and that with great probabilitie, in this sort; to wit, that this Pythonist being Ventriloqua; that is, Speaking as it were from the bottome of hir bellie, did cast hir selfe into a transe, and so abused Saule, answering to Saule in Samuels name, in hir counterfeit hollow voice: as the wench of Westwell spake, whose historie I have rehearsed before at large, in pag. 127 and this is right Ventriloquie./Right Ventriloquie.
The xiiii. Chapter.151.
Opinions of some learned men, that Samuel was indeed raised, not by the witches art or power, but by the speciall miracle of God, that there are no such visions in these our daies, & that our witches cannot doo the like.
IAS and Sadaias write, that when the woman sawe the miracle indeed, and more than she looked for, or was woont to doo; she began to crie out, that this was a vision indeed, and a true one, not doone by hir art, but by the power of God. Which exposition is far more probable than our late writers judgements hereupon, and agreeth with the exposition of diverse good divines. Gelasius saith, it was the verie spirit of Samuel: and where he suffered himself to be worshipped, it was but in civill salutation and courtesie; and that God did interpose Samuel,J. Bodin & L. vairus differ herein. as he did Elias to the messenger of Ochosias, when he sent to Belzebub the god of Acharon. And here is to be noted, that the witchmongers are set up in this point: for the papists saie, that it cannot be a divell, bicause Jehovah is thrise or five times named in the storie. Upon this peece of scripture arguments are daielie devised, to proove and mainteine the miraculous actions of witchcraft, and the raising of the dead by conjurations. And yet if it were true, that Samuel himselfe were raised, or the divell in his likenesse; and that the witch of Endor by hir art and cunning did it, &c: it maketh rather to the disproofe than to the proofe of our witches, which can neither do that kind of miracle, or any other, in any such place or companie, where their jugling and cousenage may be seen and laid open. And I challengeA bold, discreet, and faithfull challenge them all (even upon the adventure of my life) to shew one peece of a miracle, such as Christ did trulie, or such as they suppose this witch did diabolicallie, be it not with art nor confederacie, whereby some colour thereof may be made; neither are there any such visions in these daies shewed.
Heretofore God did send his visible angels to men: but now/152 we heare not of such apparitions, neither are they necessarie. Indeed it pleased God heretofore, by the hand of Moses and his prophets, and speciallie by his sonne Christ and his apostles, to worke great miracles, for the establish/ing112. of the faith: but now whatsoever is necessarie for our salvation, is conteined in the word of God: our faith is alredie confirmed, and our church established by miracles; so as now to seeke for them, is a point of infidelitie. Which the papists (if you note it) are greatlie touched withall, as in their lieng legends appeareth. But in truth, our miracles are knaveries most commonlie, and speciallie of priests, whereof I could cite a thousand. If you read the storie of Bell and the dragon, you shall find a cousening miracle of some antiquitie. If you will see newer devises, read Wierus, Cardanus, Baleus, and speciallie Lavaterns,* [* ns read us.] &c. There have beene some †walking† At Canturburie by Rich. Lee esquire, & others, anno. 1573. At Rie by maister Gaymor & others, anno. 1577. spirits in these parts so conjured not long since, as afterwards they little delighted to make anie more apparitions.