perpetual Sabbath and perpetual New-moons However for the sake of the common people and the more illiterate part of the Church the Holy Fathers did institute Holy-days that they might have liberty and vacancie to come and hear the Word and to celebrate Divine Worship and for receiving the Sacraments yet so that the Church should not be subservient to the days but that the days should be subservient to the Church Therefore did the Fathers ordain certain Holy-days wherein the common people were exhorted to abstain from worldly business and bodily labour whereby they might be the more free to serve God the more at leisure to pray and think upon Divine matters to be present at Service and Sermons and to tend such other Duties as might most directly tend to their Salvation But that same perverter of Equity that destroyer of all Order and Decencie that author of all Evil the Devil endeavouring to pull down whatever the Holy Ghost sets up hath neer demolish'd this Tower of Beauty also While we behold the greatest part of Christians not converting this Holy leisure of Holy-days to the exercises of Prayer or hearing the Word of God but spending their pretious time in the corruption of all good Manners Dancing Stage-playes lewd Songs idle Sports and Games Drinking Feasting Visiting and in all worldly and Carnal works quite opposite to Spiritual As Tertullian speaks of the solemn Feasts of the Caesars They were wont saith he to make a great stir to bring forth into the publick street their Fires and their Chorus's to junket in the High-way to make a Tavern of the whole City to pour Wine down one anothers throats by violence then to run headlong to do all manner of mischief and to please themselves in all manner of filthy Lust. Are we not therefore deservedly to be condemn'd who celebrate the Festivals of Christ and his Saints after such a lewd fashion I confess we do not finde many Heretical Disputes concerning Holy-days omitting the madness and Blasphemy of the Manichaeans and the pestiferous opinions of the Cataphrygians yet had they like to have occasion'd a great breach in the Church when Victor the Pope excommunicated all the Eastern and Southern Churches for not keeping Easter-day according to the direction of the Western Decrees who notwithstanding was notably resisted among others by Polycrates Bishop of Asia Ireneus also Bishop of Lions though he observ'd Easter-day as was commanded by Victor yet with great freedom undertook to chide the Pope for that he had contrary to the Example of his Predecessors as a disturber of the Peace lopp'd off so many Limbs of the Church not for any Errour in point of Faith but onely for disagreeing in point of Ceremony from the Church of Rome 'T is true there have been many decrees of Popes and Councils to confirm and settle the observation of Easter-day and many Ecclesiastick Computations have been made for the better finding out of the true day And yet to this very hour they could never find out a certain day or that was Universally observ'd through the whole World at one and the same time A very worthy business indeed that for the humour of one obstinate Pope the whole Church should suffer Shipwrack CHAP. LX. Of Ceremonies OF the Members of Religion the Pomp of Rites and Ceremonies in Habits in Vessels in Lights in Bells in Organs in Singing in Perfumes in Postures in Pictures in the choice of Meats and Fasts and the like have been receiv'd and approv'd with great Adoration and Veneration by the Multitude especially Papistical who understand no more than what they see with their Eyes Numa Pompilius first Instituted Ceremonies among the Romans thereby to invite a rude and fierce People that had obtain'd a Kingdom by Violence and Rapine to Piety Truth Justice and Religion such were the Ancylia and Palladium the Sacred Pledges of the Empires Safety the double-Fronted Janus Arbiter of Peace and War The Fire of Vesta over which a she Flamin did continually Watch The Year also divided into Twelve Months with the variety of Good and Evil Days The Sacerdotal Dignity divided into Pontifexes and Augurs their various Ceremonies of Sacrifices Supplications Shews Processions Temples of which the greatest part as Eusebius testifies has been Translated into our Religion But God himself who delights not in Flesh and Humane Signes contemns and despises these Carnal and Exteriour Ceremonies For he is not to be Worship'd with Corporal Actions Eye-pleasing Works or Carnal Adoration but in Spirit and Truth by Christ Jesus For he looks upon the Faith considering the inward Thoughts and Intentions of Men the searcher of Hearts that sees the very Secrets of the Soul Therefore those Carnal and outward Ceremonies no way advance us toward God with whom there is nothing acceptable but Faith in Jesus Christ with a perfect imitation of his Charity and an unshaken hope in his Salvation and Reward This is the true Worship spotless from all Contamination of External and Carnal Ceremonies wherein St. John instructing us saith That God is a Spirit and to be worship'd in Spirit and Truth This some of the Ethnick Philosophers were not ignorant of therefore Plato forbid that any Ceremonies should be used in the Worship of the most high God For there is nothing wanting to him who is all things himself only it is requisite that we should adore him by returning our thanks to him for all things Neither have we any thing more grateful to return to God than Praise Glory and Thanks Neither will it serve for an Objection to insist upon the Sacrifices Rites and Ceremonies of the Mosaical Law as if God had taken delight in them For God brought them not out of Aegypt to offer up Sacrifices and Incense to him but that forgetting the Idolatry of the Aegyptians they might hear the Voice of God and obey him in Faith and Truth to the obâ—aining of their Salvation Now the reason that Moses Instituted Sacrifices and Ceremonies among them was that he bare with their Infirmities and yielded to the hardness of their Hearts indulging a small Error to recal them from things more unlawful directing their Sacrifices to God and not to Devils For those things were not principally Instituted but by consequence neither could that Law oblige them otherwise than as it was approv'd by the people Therefore Moses when he produc'd the Laws of Ceremonies he collected the suffrages of the Elders and the people whereby to render them more pliable to his commands Therefore might that Law be chang'd according to the alteration of times and manners and was at last totally abrogated but the Law of God delivered in the Tables of Stone that is perpetual For so God spake by Jeremiah Why do ye offer to me Frankincense of Saba and Cynamon fetch'd from a far Country Your Holocauâ—ts and your Sacrifices have not pleased me And again by the same Prophet Thus saith the Lord Put your burnt offerings to your sacrifice
So Orpheus asswag'd the Tempest of the Argonauts with a Song and Homer relates how the course of Vlysses blood was stopt by the power of words Moreover in the Law of the Twelve Tables there is a Law against those that did inchant the standing Corn whereby it is apparent that Witches have a power by the force of words to produce strange Effects not onely upon themselves but also upon outward things All which things that is to say to separate the hidden force of things and either draw them to themselves and repel them from themselves they credibly believe themselves to effect no other way than as the Loadstone draws Iron or Amber or Jet draws Chaff and as Onions again destroys the Magnetick Power So that by this Gradual and Concatenated Sympathy not only Natural and Celestial Gifts but also Intellectual and Divine may be receiv'd into humane Souls as Iamblicus Proculus and Sinesius gather from the Opinions of Great Men and that by this Consent and Harmony of things Magicians do call up the very Spirits For some of them are arriv'd at such a height of Madness that they believe that upon the right Observation of such and such Constellations at such intervals of time and by such reason of Proportions an Image being made would receive Life and Motion which upon counsel desired should be able to give Answers and Reveal the hidden Secrets of Truth Hence it is manifest That this Natural Magick inclining toward Conjuring and Necromancy is often entangled in the Snares and Delusions of Evil Spirits CHAP. XLV Of Conjuring and Necromancy THE Ceremonial Parts of Magick Conjuring and Necromancy Geocie or Conjuring curs'd for being familiar with unclean Spirits ceremonies of wicked curiosity compos'd of Prayers and Inchantments is held Abominable and wholly Condemn'd by the Decrees of all Lawgivers Men hateful to the Gods that stain the Skie And blot the Stars though Natures Progenie The setled course of things they can confound Can fix the Poles send Lightnings on the ground Pull down the Heavens and Hills eradicate These are those that Invoke the Souls of dead Bodies who Inchant Children and cause them to give the Answer of the Oracle and as we read of Socrates carry about with them certain Pocket Daemons and who as they say nourish little Spirits in Glasses by which they pretend to Foretel and Prophesie All these proceed in a twofold manner For some of them make it their business to adjure and compel Evil Spirits to appearance by the Efficacy and Power of sacred Names because seeing that every Creature doth fear and reverence the Name of its Creator no wonder if Conjurors and other Infidels Pagans Jews Saracens or prophane Persons do think to force the Devils Obedience by the Terrour of his Creators Name Others more to be detested than they and worthy the utmost punishment of Fire submitting themselves to the Devils sacrifice to them and Worship them become guilty of the vilest subjection and Idolatry that may be to which Crimes though the former are not quite so obnoxious yet they expose themselves to manifest dangers For the Devils are always watchful to intrap Men in the Errors they heedlesly run into From this insipid crowd of Conjurors have flow'd all those Books of Darkness which Vlpian the Civilian calls by the name of forbidden Writings Of which one of the first Authors is said to be Zabulus a man wholly inclin'd to unlawful Arts. Then Barnabas 〈◊〉 Cyprian and now frequently other Books are Published up and down under the feigned Titles and Names of Adam Abel Enoch Abraham and Solomon others under the Names of Paulus Honorius Cyprian Albertus Thomas Hierome and one Eboracensis to whose silly trifles Alphonsus King of Castile Robert the Englishman Bacon Apponus and many other of deprav'd Fancies have adher'd But besides this they have not only made the holy Patriarchs and Angels Authors and Upholders of their detestable Studies but also shew several Books which they pretend were written and delivered by Razial and Raphael tutelar Angels of Adam and Tobias Which Books notwithstanding to any one that narrowly considers the Rules of the Masters the Customes and Ordinances of their Ceremonies the Nature and Choice of their Words and Characters their insipid and barbarous Pharases sufficiently betray themselves to contain nothing but meer Toys and Geugaws and that they were in far later Ages contriv'd by such as were utterly ignorant of that Magick Profess'd by the Ancients being â—ounded only upon certain prophane Observations mixt with the Ceremonies of our Religion with an addition of many unknown Names and Characters to terrifie ignorant and silly people and to amuse those that are void of sence and understanding Neither doth it therefore follow that these Delusions are Fables for unless there were something of reality in them and that many mischievous and wicked things were accomplish'd thereby both Divine and Humane Laws had not so strictly provided for the punishment thereof and Ordain'd them to be quite extirpated from the Earth Now why these Conjurers make use only of evil Spirits the reason is because the Good Angels seldome appear being only attendant on the Commands of God and not vouchsafing to be known but only to upright and holy Men. But evil Spirits submit themselves more willingly to their Invocations falsely assuming to themselves and counterfeiting Divinity always ready to deceive and delighting to be ador'd and worship'd and because Women are more covetous of the Knowledge of Secrets and not less cautious and prone to Superstition and more easily Deluded therefore to them the Devils show themselves more familiar and make them the performers of many Miracles as are related of Circe and Medaea of many others the Stories of the Poets are full and Cicero Pliny Seneca St. Austin and many others both Philosophers Doctors and Historians as also Sacred Writ bring many Testimonies For in the Book of Samuel we read of a certain Woman-Witch that liv'd in Endor that rais'd the Soul of Samuel though most Interpreters agree that it was not the soul of Samuel but an Evil spirit that took upon him the shape of the Prophet Yet some of the Hebrew Doctors aver neither doth St. Austin to Simplician deny the possibility thereof that it was the true Soul of Samuel which before a compleat Year after its departure from the Body might be easily call'd up according to the rule of Necromancy The Necromantick Magicians believe that the same may be performed by certain Natural tyes and Obligations which was the reason that the Ancient Fathers well-read in Spirituals not without good cause ordain'd that the Bodies of the Dead might be buried in Holy-ground should be assisted with Lights and sprinkled with Holy-water be perfumed with Incense and pray'd for by the Living so long as they were above Ground For say the Hebrew Doctors All our Carnal Body remains as Food for the Serpent which they call Arazel which is Lord of the Flesh and the Blood
and Prince of this World in Leviticus nam'd the Prince of the Deserts to whom it was said in Genesis Thou shalt eat the dust all the days of thy life And in Isaiah The Dust is thy bread that is our Corporeal Body Created out of the dust of the Earth so long as it remains unsanctifi'd and not chang'd for the better to be no longer then at the disposal of the Serpent but of God according to the word of St. Paul It is sow'd corporal but shall rise spiritual And in another place All shall rise but all shall not be chang'd for that many shall remain perpetual food for the Serpent This foul and detestable matter of the Flesh the food of the Serpent lies in the Grave in hopes of a better Lot and spiritual Transmutation which is already come to pass in those that have already tasted the first-Fruits of Redemption and some have attain'd it by vertue of the Deifick Spirit as Elias and Enoch and as some are of opinion Moses whose bodies being chang'd into the nature of Spirits never saw corruption nor as other Carcasses were left to the power of the Serpent And something to this purpose it was thought was the great dispute of Michael with the Devil about the body of Moses which St. Jude mentions in his Epistle Thus much concerning Conjuring and Necromancy CHAP. XLVI Of Theurgy MAny there are that believe Theurgy not to be unlawful which pretends to have to do with none but good Angels and the Divine Numen himself though under the names of God and Angels it proves to be onely the delusion and mockery of evil Spirits It pretends no natural Power but to make use of Celestial Ceremonies by which they think to attract and reconcile the Divine Natures Concerning which the antient Magi have deliver'd several Rules in several Volumes But the chiefest part of their Ceremonies is in observing Cleanliness first of the Soul then of the Body then of those things about the Body as in the Skin the Garments the Dwelling Vessels Utensils Immolations and Sacrifices which cleanliness renders them capable of being the receptacles and fit for the entertainment of Divine Spirits and is very much encourag'd and commended in Sacred Scripture according to the words of Esay Be glad and be clean and take away the evil of your thoughts But uncleanness which often corrupts and defiles and infects man disturbs the most clean and pure Society of Celestial Beings and chases away the spotless Spirits and Angels of God It is true that many times unclean and delusive powers to the end they may be ador'd and worship'd for Gods do counterfeit this Purity and therefore great diligence and care is to be us'd for the avoiding thereof and therefore we have abundantly discours'd thereof in our Books of Occult Philosophy Now of this Theurgy or Divine Magick Porphyrius having delivered many things at length concludes that by Theurgick Operations the soul may be made fit to receive Spirits and Angels and to see and converse with them but that there can be any access to the Deity thereby he altogether denies His Rules and Directions are contain'd in his Art Almabel his Notorious Art his Art Pauline his Art of Revelations where are abundance of Superstitions to be found which are so much the more pernicious by how much they seem more Losty and Divine to the unskilful CHAP. XLVII Of the Cabalists HEre the words of Pliny come into my minde There is saith he another Sect of Magicians of which Moses and Latopea Jews were the first Authors which words bring to my remembrance the Cabala of the Jews which as the constant opinion among the Hebrews goes was delivered by God to Moses and thence through succession of Ages even to the times of Ezra preserv'd by Tradition onely without the help of writing As of old the Doctrine of Pythagoras was delivered by Archippus and Lysiades who kept School at Thebes in Greece where the Scholars learning all their Masters Precepts by heart made use onely of their Memories instead of Books So certain Jews despising Letters plac'd all their Learning in Memory Observation and verbal Tradition whence it was call'd by the Hebrews Cabala that is to say a receiving from one to another by the Ear An Art by report very antient though the name be but of later times known among the Christians Now this Cabala they divide into three parts the first contains the knowledge of Bresith which they call also Cosmology explaining and teaching the force and efficacie of things created Natural or Celestial expounding also the Laws and Mysteries of the Bible according to Philosophical reasons which for that cause differs little from Natural Magick wherein they say K. Solomon excell'd Therefore we finde in the Sacred Histories of the Jews that he was wont to discourse from the Cedar of Libanon to the low Hyssop as also of Cattle Birds Reptiles and Fish all which contain within themselves a certain kinde of Magical vertue Moses also the Egyptian in his Expositions upon the Pentateuch and most of the Talmudists have followed the Rules of this Art The other part thereof contains the knowledge of more sublime things as of Divine and Angelical Powers the contemplation of Sacred Names and Characters being a certain kinde of Symbolical Theology wherein the Letters Figures Numbers Names Points Lines Accents are esteemed to contain the significations of most profound things and great Mysteries This part again is twofold Arithmantick handling the nature of Angels the Powers Names Characters of Spirits and Souls departed and Theomantick which searches into the mysteries of the Divine Majesty his Emanations his Names and Pentacula which he that attains to they account endu'd with most admirable power By vertue of this Art they say Moses wrought so many Miracles changing his Rod into a Serpent the Water into Blood and plagu'd Egypt with Frogs Flyes Lice Locusts Emrodes and Pestilence slaying the first-born of Man and Beast By this Art he divided the Red-sea caus'd Water to flow out of the Rock brought the Qualls into the Wilderness sweeten'd the bitter Waters made Lightning by day and a Pillar of Fire by night to lead the March of his people call'd down the Voice of God among the people By this Art he punish'd the Arrogant with Fire the Murmurers with Leprosie Mutiners with sudden Destruction causing the Earth to swallow them up preserv'd the Clothes of the Israelites from wearing out and gave them Victory over their Enemies Lastly by means of this Art Josua commanded the Sun to stand still Elias call'd down Fire from Heaven and rais'd the dead Youth to life Daniel muzzled the Lions mouths and the three Children sang in the middle of the fiery Furnace Nay the perfidious and unbelieving Jews stick not to aver that Christ himself wrought all his Miracles by vertue of this Art Solomon as they say did excel in this Art and that he discovered several secrets thereof
Arguments and talk in wrangling Syllogisms with Hereticks but to labour to convince them by the Word of God then to determine the matter according to the Decrees and Canons of the Church and either to reduce him to the Orthodox Faith or pronounce him a Hereticks for he is no Heretick who is not obstinate nor is he a favourer of Hereticks who seeks to defend an innocent person condemned of Heresie left he should be deliver'd up by these cruel and ravenous Inquisitors to be butchered without a cause And although it be expresly provided in the Law that the Inquisitors shall have no power of Examining nor any Jurisdiction over any suspition defence or favour of Heresie which is not a Heresie manifestly exprest and absolutely already condemn'd yet these bloudy Vultures going beyond the Priviledges and Commission of their Office against all right and contrary to the Canons themselves take upon them to meddle with ordinary things arrogating and usurping the power of Popes in those things which are not Heretical but onely Scandalous or offensive to the ear most cruelly raging against the poor Country-women whom being once accused of Witchcraft and condemned without the examination of any lawful Judge they expose to most strange and unheard-of Torments till having extorted from them what they least thought to confess they finde matter to proceed upon to condemnation and then they think they do the Office of Inquisitors truly when they never leave the business off till the poor woman be burnt or else have so far gilded the Inquisitors hand until he take pitie of her as sufficiently purg'd for an Inquisitor may alter the punishment from penal into pecuniary and convert it to the use of the Office by which there is not a little Money to be got and some of these poor creatures are forc'd to pay them an annual Stipend for fear of being harass'd to Torment And when the Goods of Hereticks are confiscated then the Inquisitor gets no small matter The very accusation or highest suspicion of Heresie nay the very Citation of the Inquisitor is enough to bring a womans credit in question which is not to be salved without money given to the Inquisitor which is no small gain Thus while I was in Millain several Inquisitors did torment many honest Matrons some of very good Quality and privately milk very large sums from the poor affrighted and terrified women till at length their Cheating being discovered they were severely handled by the Gentry hardly escaping Fire and Sword When I was President of the Commonwealth in the Citie of Mediomatricum I had a very great Contest with an Inquisitor who being a loose fellow had hal'd a poor Country-woman into his Slaughter-house being a place of disrepute and all for a very slight Accusation not so much to Examine her as to Crucifie her This woman when I undertook to defend her Cause and found and had made it evident that there was nothing of Proof to make out the Crime the Inquisitor made answer that there was one proof not to be question'd That her mother many years ago was burnt for a Witch Which Article when I shew'd how impertinent it was and that it was not for the Law to condemn one for the fact of another presently he lest he should have seemed to have talkt out of Reason before produces this Argument That therefore it was so and the Proof good because Witches were wont to devote their children to the devil as also because they are wont to Conceive by lying with the devil and therefore there is an inherent Guiltiness in the Off-spring Wicked Father said I is this thy way of Theologie Are these the Fictions for which thou harriest silly women to Torture are these the Sophisms with which thou condemnest Hereticks Thou thy self in my opinion art far worse than Faustus or Donatus Grant it were as thou sayst dost thou not hereby abrogate the grace of Baptism if for the impiety of a Parent the Off-spring should be the devils due And if it were true that Incubi did generate yet was never any one of that opinion so infatuated as to think those Spirits did mingle any thing of their own nature with the suffoced seed But I tell thee upon the true grounds of Faith and by the true natures of our Humanities we are all one mass of sin and eternal malediction sons of perdition sons of the devil sons of the wrath of God and heirs of hell but by the grace of Baptism Satan is cast out of us and we are made new creatures in Jesus Christ from whom no man can be separated but by his own sin for far is it from truth that he should suffer for another mans sin Seest thou not now how invalid thy most sufficient Proof is how vain in Law and indeed how absolutely Heretical it is The cruel Hypocrite grew very wroth against me and threatned to sue me as a favourer of Hereticks However I persisted in defence of the poor creature and at length by the power of the Law I delivered her out of the Lions mouth and the bloudy Monk stood rebuk'd and sham'd before um all and ever after infamous for his Cruelty and the Accusers of the poor woman in the Capitol of the Church of Metz whose Subjects they were were very considerably Fin'd CHAP. XCVII Of Scholastick Theologie IT remains that we discourse concerning Theologie I shall pass by the Theologie of the Gentiles mentioned in Orpheus Musaeus and Hesiod which all men acknowledge to be Poetical and fictitious and which Lactantius and Eusebius and many other eminent Doctors of the Christians have convinced by most strenuous Arguments Nor shall we speak of the Religion of Plato or the rest of the Philosophers whom we have already shew'd to be the teachers of nothing but Errour But we shall here discourse concerning the Christian Religion This onely depends upon the faith of its Doctors seeing that it can fall under no Art or Science And first of Scholastick Divinity a certain Hodge-podge or Mixture of Divine Precepts and Philosophical Reasons looking like a Centaur written after a new manner far different from the antient way of delivery diffus'd into little Questions and subtil Syllogisms without any Elegancie of speech and which has brought not a little profit to the Church in the convincing of Hereticks The first Authors whereof and who were most excellent therein were Thomas Aquinas Albertus sirnamed the Great and many other famous men besides Johannes Scotus a most subtil and acute Writer though a little more given to Contention Hence Scholastick Theologie sell into Sophisms while those newer Theosophists and as it were Sutlers of the Word of God never worthy of the title of Divines but for their money of so sublime a Studie and Contemplation made a meer Logomachie wandring from School to School starting little Questions framing Opinions forcing the Scriptures inducing a strange sence with intricate words and more nimble to ventilate
the humility and simplicity of little children who are prepar'd to shed their bloud for the Truth These are they to whom onely the true Deifying wisdom is given that is to bring us to the heavenly Quires and transforms us into Angels As we read in the Sermon of Christ Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Blessed are the peace-makers for they shall be call'd the sons of God Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice sake It is therefore better and more profitable to be Idiots and without knowledge to believe by faith and charity and to become next to God than being lofty and proud through the subtilties of the Sciences to fall into the possession of the Serpent Thus we finde in the Gospel how Christ was receiv'd of Idiots of the vulgar people and of the simpler sort while he was rejected despised and persecuted even to death by the High-priests by the Lawyers by the Scribes by the Doctors and Rabbies For this cause Christ chose his Apostles not Scribes not Doctors not Priests but unlearned persons of the vulgar people void of knowledge unskilful and Asses CHAP. CII A Digression in praise of the Ass. BUt lest any one should falsly accuse me that I have call'd the Apostles Asses it will not be from the purpose to discourse the Mysteries of the Ass. For this creature the Hebrew Doctors expound to be the Hieroglyphick of Fortitude and Strength Patience and Clemency and that his influence dependeth on Sephiroth that is Hochma which signifies wisdom For his conditions are most necessary for a Scholar of wisdom for he lives by little food and is contented whatsoever it be Patiently he endures Penury Hunger Labour Stripes and all manner of Persecution yet of so low and poor an Understanding that he cannot discern between Lettice and Thistles Of a clean and innocent heart void of Choler being at peace with all living creatures patiently carrying all burthens laid upon his back as a reward whereof he is never troubled with Lice or any diseases and liveth longer than any other Beast An Ass saith Columella performs many and very necessary labours beyond his share for he is many times used in Plowing and drawing heavie Carts He is also used in Mills for the grinding of Corn. There is no Country but wants so necessary a creature as the Ass is How much the Ass is regarded and esteemed in Augury Valerius witnesses of C. Marius who having conquered both North and South being at length declared an enemy of his Country and pursued by Sylla by the advice and guidance of an Ass escaped all his threatnings an Ass being the cause of his flight and safety Also in the Old Law God so far honour'd the Ass that when he commanded every first begotten to be slain for Sacrifice he onely exempted Men and Asses granting that Man should be redeemed for a price and that a Sheep should be exchanged for the Ass. Christ would that this Beast should be a witness of his Nativity as is generally affirm'd And by him he would be saved from the hands of Herod The Ass was consecrated by the touch of the body of Christ for Christ ascending to Jerusalem in triumph for the Redemption of mankinde as it is recorded in the Gospel rode upon an As which was mysteriously foretold by the Oracle of Zachary And we read that Abraham the Father of the Elect rode onely upon Asses So that the Proverb commonly repeated among the Vulgar is not spoken in vain That the Ass carries Mysteries Wherefore I would hereby advertise the famous Professors of Sciences that if the unprofitable burthen of Humane Knowledge be not laid aside and that Lions borrowed skin put off not that of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah but of the Lion that goes about roaring and seeking whom he may devour whereby ye shall be turned into meer and bare Asses that ye will be utterly and altogether unfit to carry the Mysteries of Divine wisdom Neither had Apuleius of Megara's Ass been admitted to the holy Mysteries of Isis if he had not been turn'd out of a Philosopher into an Ass. We read Miraculous actions of divers Beasts as that an Elephant writ the Greek letters and Plutarch relateth a Story of one that being a Rival with Aristophanes the Grammarian lov'd a young Maid named Stephanopolides And in the same Author we read of a Dragon that lov'd a Virgin of Etholis The same also preserv'd his Nourisher running to her assistance as knowing her voice In Pliny we finde that a Serpent call'd Aspis was accustomed to come daily to a certain mans Table who perceiving the son of her Host to be stain by one of her young ones she flew her young one in revenge of the broken law of Hospitality nor would ever after for shame come to that house again The same Gratitude is recorded of a Panther to a man for helping her young ones out of a ditch for which she conducted him out of the desart till she brought him safe into the open Road. Histories also report that Cyrus was suckled by a Bitch and the founder of the Roman Citie by a She-wolf I pass over the Wonders related of Dolphins and the Gratitude of Lions for benefits receiv'd Nor will I speak of the Bear of Daunia nor of the Bull of Tarentum both tam'd by Pythagoras But that which surpasseth all admiration is this That Ammonius of Alexandria Master of Origen and Porphyrie is said to have had an Ass one of the hearers of his Wisdom a Fellow-scholar with the rest We finde also in sacred Story that an Ass was endued with the spirit of Prophecie for when Balaam a wise man and a Prophet went to curse the people of Israel he saw not the Angel of the Lord but the Ass saw him and with the voice of a man spake to Balaam that rode him Thus I say sometimes the simple and rude Idiot sees those things oft-times which a School-Doctor blinded with the Traditions of men cannot perceive Did not Sampson with the jaw-bone of an Ass kill and slay the Philistims and being thirsty when he prayed to the Lord the Lord loosned a tooth in the same jaw-bone and clean water sprang out immediately which when he had drank his spirits were refreshed and his strength recovered Did not Christ by the mouth of his silly Asses and rude Idiots the Apostles vanquish and put to silence all the Learned Philosophers of the Gentiles and great Lawyers among the Jews trampling under-foot all manner of worldly wisdom drinking to us out of the Cheek-bone of his Asses the water of wisdom and everlasting life By what has been already said it is now as clear as the Sun that there is no Beast so fit and proper to retain Divinity as the Ass into which creature if ye be not transform'd ye shall not be able to carry the Divine