T is affirmed by James Sprenger and Henrie Institor, in M. Mal. M. Malef. p. 1. q. 10. who cite Albert In lib. de animalib. for their purpose, that divels and witches also can truelie make living creatures as well as God; though not at an instant, yet verie suddenlie. Howbeit, all such as are rightlie informed in Gods word, shall manifestlieJohn. 1, 3.
Coloss. 1, 16. perceive and confesse the contrarie, as hath beene by scriptures alreadie prooved, and may be confirmed by places infinite. And therefore I saie Jannes and Jambres, though sathan and also Belzebub had assisted them, could never have made the serpent or the frogs of nothing, nor yet have changed the waters with words. Neverthelesse, all the learned expositors of that place affirme, that they made a shew of creation, &c: exhibiting by cunning a resemblance of some of those miracles, which GOD wrought by the hand of Moses. Yea S. Augustine and manie other hold, that they made by art (and that trulie) the serpents, &c./313. But that they may by art approch somewhat neerer to those actions, than hath beene yet declared, shall and may appeere by these and manie other conclusions, if they be true.
The xviii. Chapter.
How to produce or make monsters by art magike, and why Pharaos magicians could not make lice.
TRATO,Naturall conclusiōs. Democritus, Empedocles, and of late, Jo. Bap. Neap. teach by what meanes monsters may be produced, both from beast and also from fowle. Aristotle himselfe teacheth to make a chicken have foure legs, and as manie wings, onlie by a doubled yolked eg: whereby also a serpent may be made to have manie legs. Or any thing that produceth egs, may likewise be made double membred, or dismembred: & the viler creature the sooner brought to monstrous deformitie, which in more noble creatures is more hardlie/221. brought to passe. There are also prettieTo produce anie fowle out of an eg, without the naturall helpe of the hen. experiments of an eg, to produce anie fowle, without the naturall helpe of the hen: the which is brought to passe, if the eg be laid in the powder of the hens doong, dried and mingled with some of the hens fethers, & stirred everie fourth houre. You may also produce (as they saie) the most venomous, noisome, and dangerous serpent, called a cockatrice, by melting a little arsenicke, and the poison of serpents, or some other strong venome, and drowning an eg therein, which there must remaine certeine daies; and if the eg be set upright, the operation will be the better. This may also be doone, if the eg be laid in doong, which of all other things giveth the most singular and naturall heate: and as J. Bap. Neap. saith is *Mirabilium* The mother of marvels. rerum parens; who also writeth, that Crines fæminæ menstruosæ are turned into serpents within short space: and he further saith, that basill being beaten, and set out in a moist place, betwixt a couple of tiles, dooth ingender scorpions. The ashes of a ducke, being put betweene two dishes, and set in a moist place, dooth ingender a huge tode: Quod etiam efficit sanguis menstruosus. Manie writers conclude, that there be two maner of todes, the/314. one bred by naturall course and order of generation, Two kind of todes, naturall & temporall. the other growing of themselves, which are called temporarie, being onlie ingendred of shewers and dust: and (as J. Bap. Neap. saith) they are easie to be made. Plutarch and Heraclides doo saie, that they have seene these to descend in raine, so as they have lien and cralled on the tops of houses, &c. Also Aelianus dooth saie, that he sawe frogs and todes, whereof the heads & shoulders were alive, & became flesh; the hinder parts being but earth, & so cralled on two feete, the other being not yet fashioned or fullie framed. And Macrobius reporteth, that in Aegypt, mice growe of earth and shewers; as also frogs, todes, and serpents in other places. They saie that Danmatus Hispanus could make them when & as manie as he listed. He is no good angler, that knoweth not how soone the entrales of a beast, when they are buried, willMaggotts ingendred of the inwards of a beast are good for angling. engender maggots (which in a civiler terme are called gentles) a good bait for small fishes. Whosoever knoweth the order of preserving silkewormes, may perceive a like conclusion: bicause in the winter, that is a dead seed, which in the summer is a livelie creature. Such and greater experiments might be knowne to Jannes and Jambres, and serve well to their purpose, especiallie with such excuses, delaies, and cunning, as they could joine therewithall. But to proceed, and come a little neerer to their feats, and to shew you a knacke beyond their cunning; I can assure you that of the fat of a man or a woman, lice are in verie short space ingendered: and yet I saie, Pharaos magicians could not make them, with all the cunning they had. Whereby you may perceive, that God indeed performed the other actions, to indurate Pharao, though he thought his magicians did with no lesse dexteritie than Moses worke Giles. Alley: See the poore mans librarie. miracles and woonders. But some of the interpretors of that place excuse their ignorance in that matter, thus; The divell (saie they) can make no creature under the quantitie of a barlie corne, and lice being so little cannot therefore be created by them. As though he that can make the greater, could not make the lesse. A verie grosse absurditie. And as though that he which hath power over great, had not the like over small.//
The xix. Chapter.315. 222.
That great matters may be wrought by this art, when princes esteeme and mainteine it: of divers woonderfull experiments, and of strange conclusions in glasses, of the art perspective, &c.
OWBEIT, these are but trifles in respect of other experiments to this effect; speciallie when great princes mainteine & give countenance to students in those magicall arts, which in these countries and in this age is rather prohibited than allowed, by reason of the abuse commonlie coupled therewith; which in truth is it that mooveth admiration and estimation of miraculous workings. As for example. If I affirme, that with certeine charmes and popish praiers I can set an horsse or an asses head upon a mans shoulders, I shall not be beleeved; or if I doo it, I shall be thought a witch. And yet if J. Bap. Neap. experiments be true, Wonderfull experiments.it is no difficult matter to make it seeme so: and the charme of a witch or papist joined with the experiment, will also make the woonder seeme to proceed thereof. The words used in such case are uncerteine, and to be recited at the pleasure of the witch or cousener. But the conclusion is this: Cut off the head of a horsse or an asse (before they be dead) otherwise the vertue or strength thereof will be the lesse effectuall,To set an horsses or an asses head on a mans neck and shoulders, and make an earthern vessell of fit capacitie to conteine the same, and let it be filled with the oile and fat therof; cover it close, and dawbe it over with lome: let it boile over a soft fier three daies continuallie, that the flesh boiled may run into oile, so as the bare bones may be seene: beate the haire into powder, and mingle the same with the oile; and annoint the heads of the standers by, and they shall seeme to have horsses or asses heads. If beasts heads be annointed with the like oile made of a mans head, they shall seeme to have mens faces, as diverse authors soberlie affirme. If a lampe be annointed heerewith, everie thing shall seeme most monstrous. It is also written, that if that which is called Sperma in anie beast be bur/ned,316. and anie bodies face therewithall annointed, he shall seeme to have the like face as the beast had. But if you beate arsenicke verie fine, and boile it with a little sulphur in a covered pot, and kindle it with a new candle, the standers by will seeme to be hedlesse. Aqua composita and salt being fiered in the night, and all other lights extinguished, make the standers by seeme as dead. All these things might be verie well perceived and knowne, and also practised by Jannes and Jambres. But the woonderous devises, and miraculous sights and conceipts made and conteined in glasse,Strange things to be doone by perspective glasses. doo farre exceed all other; whereto the art perspective is verie necessarie. For it sheweth the illusions of them, whose experiments be seene in diverse sorts of glasses; as in the hallowe, the plaine, the embossed, the columnarie, the pyramidate or piked, the turbinall, the bounched, the round, the cornerd, the inversed, the eversed, the massie, the regular, the irregular, the coloured and cleare glasses: for you may have glasses so made, as what image or favour soever you print in your imagination, you shall thinke you see the same therein. Others are so framed, as therein one may see what others doo/223. in places far distant; others, wherby you shall see men hanging in the aire; others, whereby you may perceive men flieng in the aire; others, wherin you may see one comming, & another going; others, where one image shall seeme to be one hundred, &c. There be glasses also, wherein one man may see another mans image, and not his owne; others, to make manie similitudes; others, to make none at all. Others, contrarie to the use of all glasses, make the right side turne to the right, and the left side to the left; others, that burne before Cōcerning these glasses remember that the eiesight is deceived: for Non est in speculo res quæ speculatur in eo. and behind; others, that represent not the images received within them, but cast them farre off in the aire, appearing like aierie images, and by the collection of sunne beames, with great force setteth fier (verie farre off) in everie thing that may be burned. There be cleare glasses, that make great things seeme little, things farre off to be at hand; and that which is neere, to be far off; such things as are over us, to seeme under us; and those that are under us, to be above us. There are some glasses also, that represent things in diverse colours, & them most gorgeous, speciallie any white thing. Finally, the thing most worthie of admiration concerning these glasses, is, that the lesser glass dooth lessen/317. the shape: but how big so ever it be, it maketh the shape no bigger than it is. And therfore Augustine thinketh some hidden mysterie to be therein. Vitellius, and J. Bap. Neap. write largelie hereof. These I have for the most part seene, and have the receipt how to make them: which, if desire of brevitie had not forbidden me, I would here have set downe. But I thinke not but Pharaos magicians had better experience than I for those and such like devises. And (as Pompanacius saith) it is most true, that someRash opinion can never judge soundlie. for these feats have beene accounted saints, some other witches. And therefore I saie, that the pope maketh rich witches, saints; and burneth the poore witches.