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The poet speaketh not of sheep, but of lambs. As for the weakness of the power of them upon kings and magistrates, it may be ascribed, besides the main, which is the protection of God over those that execute his place, to the weakness of the imagination of the imaginant: for it is hard for a witch or a sorcerer to put on a belief that they can hurt such persons.

902. MEN are to be admonished, on the other side, that they do not easily give place and credit to these operations, because they succeed many times; for the cause of this success is oft to be truly ascribed unto the force of affection and imagination upon the body agent; and then by a secondary means it may work upon a diverse body: as for example, if a man carry a planet's seal, or a ring, or some part of a beast, believing strongly that it will help him to obtain his love; or to keep him from danger of hurt in fight; or to prevail in a suit, etc. it may make him more active and industrious: and again, more confident and persisting, than otherwise he would be. Now the great effects that may come of industry and perseverance, especially in civil business, who knoweth not? For we see audacity doth almost bind and mate the weaker sort of minds; and the state of human actions is so variable, that to try things oft, and never to give over, doth wonders: therefore it were a mere fallacy and mistaking to ascribe that to the force of imagination upon another body which is but the force of imagination upon the proper body; for there is no doubt but that imagination and vehement affection work greatly upon the body of the imaginant; as we shall shew in due place.

903. MEN are to be admonished, that as they are not to mistake the causes of these operations; so much less they are to mistake the fact or effect; and rashly to take that for done which is not done. And therefore, as divers wise judges have prescribed and cautioned, men may not too rashly believe the confessions of witches, nor yet the evidence against them. For the witches themselves are imaginative, and be

lieve oft-times they do that which they do not: and people are credulous in that point, and ready to impute accidents and natural operations to witchcraft. It is worthy the observing, that both in ancient and late times, as in the Thessalian witches, and the meetings of witches that have been recorded by so many late confessions, the great wonders which they tell, of carrying in the air, transforming themselves into other bodies, etc. are still reported to be wrought, not by incantations or ceremonies, but by ointments, and anointing themselves all over. This may justly move a man to think that these fables are the effects of imagination for it is certain that ointments do all, if they be laid on any thing thick, by stopping of the pores, shut in the vapours, and send them to the head extremely. And for the particular ingredients of those magical ointments, it is like they are opiate and soporiferous. For anointing of the forehead, neck, feet, back-bone, we know, is used for procuring dead sleeps: and if any man say that this effect would be better done by inward potions; answer may be made, that the medicines which go to the ointments are so strong, that if they were used inwards, they would kill those that use them: and therefore they work potently, though outwards.

We will divide the several kinds of the operations by transmission of spirits and imagination, which will give no small light to the experiments that follow. All operations by transmission of spirits and imagination have this; that they work at distance, and not at touch; and they are these being distinguished.

904. THE first is the transmission or emission of the thinner and more airy parts of bodies; as in odours and infections; and this is, of all the rest, the most corporeal. But you must remember withal, that there be a number of those emissions, both wholesome and unwholesome, that give no smell at all: for the plague, many times when it is taken, giveth no scent at all: and there be many good and healthful airs that do appear by habitation and other proofs, that differ not in smell from other airs. And under

this head you may place all imbibitions of air, where the substance is material, odour-like; whereof some nevertheless are strange, and very suddenly diffused; as the alteration which the air receiveth in Egypt, almost immediately, upon the rising of the river of Nilus, whereof we have spoken.

905. THE second is the transmission or emission of those things that we call spiritual species: as visibles and sounds; the one whereof we have handled, and the other we shall handle in due place. These move swiftly, and at great distance; but then they require a medium well disposed, and their transmission is easily stopped.

906. THE third is the emissions, which cause attraction of certain bodies at distance; wherein though the loadstone be commonly placed in the first rank, yet we think good to except it, and refer it to another head but the drawing of amber and jet, and other electric bodies, and the attraction in gold of the spirit of quicksilver at distance; and the attraction of heat at distance; and that of fire to naphtha; and that of some herbs to water, though at distance; and divers others; we shall handle, but yet not under this present title, but under the title of attraction in general.

907. THE fourth is the emission of spirits, and immateriate powers and virtues, in those things which work by the universal configuration and sympathy of the world; not by forms, or celestial influxes, as is vainly taught and received, but by the primitive nature of matter, and the seeds of things. Of this kind is, as we yet suppose, the working of the loadstone, which is by consent with the globe of the earth: of this kind is the motion of gravity, which is by consent of dense bodies with the globe of the earth: of this kind is some disposition of bodies to rotation, and particularly from east to west: of which kind we conceive the main float and refloat of the sea is, which is by consent of the universe, as part of the diurnal motion. These immateriate virtues have this property differing from others; that the diversity of

the medium hindereth them not; but they pass through all mediums, yet at determinate distances. And of these we shall speak, as they are incident to several titles.

908. THE fifth is the emissions of spirits; and this is the principal in our intention to handle now in this place; namely, the operation of the spirits of the mind of man upon other spirits: and this is of a double nature; the operations of the affections, if they he vehement; and the operation of the imagination, if it be strong. But these two are so coupled, as we shall handle them together; for when an envious or amorous aspect doth infect the spirits of another, there is joined both affection and imagination.

909. THE sixth is, the influxes of the heavenly bodies, besides those two manifest ones, of heat and light. But these we will handle where we handle the celestial bodies and motions.

910. THE seventh is the operations of sympathy, which the writers of natural magic have brought into an art or precept: and it is this; that if you desire to super-induce any virtue or disposition upon a person, you should take the living creature, in which that virtue is most eminent, and in perfection; of that creature you must take the parts wherein that virtue chiefly is collocate: again, you must take those parts in the time and act when that virtue is most in exercise; and then you must apply it to that part of man wherein that virtue chiefly consisteth. As if you would super-induce courage and fortitude, take a lion or a cock; and take the heart, tooth, or paw of the lion; or the heart or spur of the cock: take those parts immediately after the lion or the cock have been in fight; and let them be worn upon a man's heart or wrist. Of these and such like sympathies, we shall speak under this present title.

911. THE eighth and last is, an emission of immateriate virtues; such as we are a little doubtful to propound; it is so prodigious: but that it is so constantly avouched by many: and we have set it down as a law. to ourselves, to examine things to the bottom; and

not to receive upon credit, or reject upon improbabilities, until there hath passed a due examination. This is the sympathy of individuals; for as there is a sympathy of species, so it may be there is a sympathy of individuals: that is, that in things, or the parts of things that have been once contiguous or entire, there should remain a transmission of virtue from the one to the other: as between the weapon and the wound. Whereupon is blazed abroad the operation of unguentum teli: and so of a piece of lard, or stick of elder, etc. that if part of it be consumed or putre. fied, it will work upon the other part severed. Now : we will pursue the instances themselves.

Experiments in consort touching emission of spirits in vapour or exhalation, odour-like.

912. THE plague is many times taken without > manifest sense, as hath been said. And they report, that where it is found, it hath a scent of the smell of a mellow apple; and, as some say, of May-flowers and it is also received, that smells of flowers that are mellow and luscious, are ill for the plague; as white lilies, cowslips, and hyacinths.

913. THE plague is not easily received by such as continually are about them that have the plague; as keepers of the sick, and physicians; nor again by such as take antidotes, either inward, as mithridate, juniperberries, rue, leaf and seed, etc. or outward, as angelica, zedoary, and the like, in the mouth; tar, galbanum, and the like, in perfume; nor again by old people, and such as are of a dry and cold complexion. On the other side, the plague taketh soonest hold of those that come out of a fresh air, and of those that are fasting, and of children; and it is likewise noted to go in a blood, more than to a stranger.

914. THE most pernicious infection, next the plague, is the smell of the jail, when prisoners have been long, and close, and nastily kept; whereof wẹ have had in our time experience twice or thrice; when both the judges that sat upon the jail, and numbers of those that attended the business or were pre

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