Mat. 4, 17, &c.As touching those that are said in the Gospell to be possessed of spirits, it seemeth in manie places that it is indifferent, or all one, to saie; He is possessed with a divell; or, He is lunatike or phrentike: which disease in these daies is said to proceed of melancholie. But if everie one that now is lunatike, be possessed with a reall divell; then might it be thought, that divels are to be thrust out of men by medicines. But who saith in these times with the woman of Canaan; My daughter is vexed with a divell, except it be presupposed, that she meant hir daughter was troubled with some disease? Indeed we saie, and saie truelie, to the wicked, The divell is in him: but we meane not thereby, that a reall divell is gotten into his guts. And if it were so, I marvell/513. in what shape this reall divell, that possesseth them, remaineth. Entreth he into the bodie in one shape, and into the mind in another? If they grant him to be spirituall and invisible, I agree with them.
Some are of opinion, that the said woman of Chanaan ment indeed that hir daughter was troubled with some disease; bicause it is written in sted of that the divell was cast out,Matt. 15, 28. that hir daughter was made whole, even the selfesame houre. According to that which is said in the 12. of Matthew;Matt. 12, 22. There was brought unto Christ one possessed of a divell, which was both blind and dumbe, and he healed him: so as, he that was blind and dumbe both spake and sawe. But it was the man, and not the divell, that was healed, and made to speake and see. Whereby (I saie) it is gathered, that such as were diseased, as well as they that were lunatike, were said sometimes to be possessed of divels.
The xv. Chapter.
Of the possessed with divels.
ERE I cannot omit to shew, how fondlie diverse writers; and namelie, James Sprenger,Mal. malef. quæst. 5. pa. 1. and Henrie Institor doo gather and note the cause, why the divell maketh choise to possesse men at certeine times of the moone; which is (saie they) in two respects: first, that they may defame so good a creature as the moone; secondly, bicause the braine is the moistest part of the bodie. The divell therefore considereth the aptnesse and conveniencie thereof (the *moone* A maxime in philosophie, as the sunne in aridis & siccis. having dominion over all moist things) so as they take advantage therby, the better to bring their purposes to passe. And further they saie, that divels being conjured and called up, appeere and come sooner in some certeine constellations, than in other some: thereby to induce men to thinke, that there is some godhead in the starres. But when Saule was releeved with the sound of the harpe, they saie that the departure of the divell was/514. by meanes of the signe of the crosse imprinted in Davids veines. Whereby we maie see how absurd the imaginations and de/vises369. of men are, when they speake according to their owne fansies, without warrant of the word of God. But me thinks it is verie absurd that JosephusJoseph. de antiquitat. Jud. item de bello Jud. lib. 7. ca. 35. affirmeth; to wit, that the divell should be thrust out of anie man by vertue of a root. And as vaine it is, that Ælianus writeth of the magicall herbe Cynospastus, otherwise called Agla[o]photis; which is all one with Salomons root named Baaros, as having force to drive out anie divell from a man possessed.
The xvi. Chapter.
That we being not throughlie informed of the nature of divels and spirits, must satisfie our selves with that which is delivered us in the scriptures touching the same, how this word divell is to be understood both in the singular and plurall number, of the spirit of God and the spirit of the divell, of tame spirits, of Ahab.
HE nature therfore and substance of divels and spirits, bicause in the scripture it is not so set down, as we may certeinlie know the same: we ought to content and frame our selves faithfullie to beleeve the words and sense there delivered unto us by the high spirit, which is theNum. 27, 16. Holie-ghost, who is Lord of all spirits; alwaies considering, that evermore spirits are spoken of in scripture, as of things spirituall; though for the helpe of our capacities they are there sometimes more grosselie and corporallie expressed, either in parables or by metaphors, than indeed they are. 1. Reg. 18. verse. 23. verse. 4.As for example (and to omit the historie of Job, which elsewhere I handle) it is written; The Lord said, Who shall entise Ahab, that he maie fall at Ramoth Gilead, &c? Then came foorth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said; I will entise him. And the Lord said, Wherewith? And he said; I will go and be a lieng spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. Then he said; Go foorth, thou shalt prevaile, &c./