foot, or to a manger in a stable, or one hand bound to the other with a cord, a twig, or hemp, or the hair of a horsetail, and that so speedily, that no one could discern the doing of it.' Doctor Picardus, and other divines, saw her, when she was brought to Paris, in the year 1552, and spent all their skill in vain for her delivery. Hollerius, the physician, at first laughed at them, and said she was melancholy, but afterwards, when in a great company of people he saw with his own eyes, the girl standing between two or three women, and, crying out, had her hands so suddenly bound together, that they could not untie the bond, but were fain to cut it, he confessed it was an evil spirit.

Augustin De Civitate Dei,' (lib. xxii. cap. 8,) and in divers other places, doth confidently affirm that he hath seen divers possessed or tormented by Satan, and how cured; so do many others, if not most of the fathers, Greek and Latin, give us full testimonies of the like, though the papists, the vile abusers of history, have done their best to overwhelm and bury the credit of all, in their heaps of lies, and not content with Metaphrastes, and their lying legends, their Staphilus, Cochlæus, Bolserus, Lindanus, Thyræus, and others, have vented their foolish, malicious fictions of Luther, Zuinglius, Carolostadius, Bucer, Calvin, and who not that was contrary to them.

Sect. VI.

The third way by which Satan's designs are manifested to be mischievous is, by the vexation of men by apparitions, noises, voices, and other such means, by which he hath suddenly affrighted some to death, some out of their wits, some into grievous diseases, and some he long continueth thus to vex; and many he hath affrighted to the use of unlawful means for their deliverance. Of all these sorts, or most, I could mention examples not far from this place, were it fit or necessary. And I know divers persons of good repute for judgment, and godliness, and fidelity, yet living, some in places of honour in the commonwealth, and some of reverend esteem and credit, that will give full testimony to the truth of these apparitions. And we have known houses so haunted and disquieted by them, that the inhabitants have been either driven out, or much troubled by them. The whole countries also have flocked to some places to hear them, where there were at set times constantly, either whistlings that would answer them in tunes, or voices that would

speak to them. And we have sufficient proof of such as would familiarly talk, discourse, and dispute with them.

The poor Indians are so familiar with them, that by apparitions and the power of witches to do some cures, they are enticed to the worshipping of devils. So that our English preachers at New England do find it a hard matter to convert these deluded wretches from this evil; and to bring them to forsake their witches, which they call Powwaws: for then, say they, who shall help us when we are sick; and whither shall we go for healing? For though the devil delights to torment men's very bodies, and commonly such servants of his are even in outward respects the most miserable people on earth; yet some kind of cures he will do on their flesh, which yet doth usually relieve them but for a while, that thereby he may draw them to worship him, and seek to him, and depend upon him, to the ruin of their souls.

Partly to this, and partly to the foregoing section, belongs the misery of those called Ventriloqui, that have a devil speaking within them; for, doubtless, such there have been. Lodovic. Calius Rhodiginus in his 'Lect. Antiq.' (lib. S, cap. 10.) hath this passage.

'Lest any should take this as a fabulous matter to be laughed at, I do hereby testify, that at this very time, even when I am publishing these things, there is in my country a woman of low quality, named Jacoba, out of whose belly I myself have heard the voice of an unclean spirit, small indeed, but articulate, and wholly intelligible; and innumerable people more have heard it as well as I, not only of Rhodigium, but almost out of all Italy. For the minds of great men being greedy to know things to come, they oft sent for her, and stripping her of all her clothes, lest there should be any deceit, did see and hear her. The devil's name was Cincinnatulus. To this name, when he was called, he would readily answer. If he were asked any question about things past or present, though they were the most hidden secrets, he would oft give wonderful answers: but if he were asked about things to come, he would always lie; and sometimes discover his ignorance, by using a grumbling, unintelligible voice.' So far Cælius Rhodiginus.

But having spoken enough of this in the fore-mentioned writing already, I shall forbear the adding here of any more.

Sect. VII.

The fourth way by which Satan hath discovered his enmity to

God and men's souls, and his desire to be adored, is, his universal endeavours, and too great success, to bring all the world to the sin of idolatry; a sin that one would think reason itself should have so disgraced and banished, that it should have found entertainment with none but very sots, that had not the use of their reason. Yet, how hath it prevailed in all ages, in all countries on earth, and among all ranks and sorts of men, and doth so in the far greatest part of the world to this day; how commonly did they adore the creatures; how many gods did they worship, and how base; what flocking was there to their oracles for advice; how confident were they, not only that those images did represent their gods, but that they came down into them, and dwelled in them, as our souls do in our bodies; what beast, or bird, or plant almost, that was not a God to one nation or other? And though I will not enter on the dispute, whether all their oracles were the mere delusions of men, or whether they were the real abuses of the devil himself; yet, as it is scarcely likely that so many ages and nations, and men of all sorts, philosophers and princes and all, should be so generally persuaded that such a thing there was if there had been no such thing, but without something real to uphold it, the reputation of oracles would have been destroyed in a much shorter time; so if it were indeed nothing but a fantasm or delusion, it was certainly such a delusion as must needs have the devil's help to manage it and drive it on. It was devils that all these nations did adore and sacrifice to; and, by the work, we may see who was the master and contriver of it. He that seeth the great Turk obeyed through all his empire by so many nations, may well conclude that there is some power of his own employed for the procuring of this obedience, and keeping all these nations in subjection to him; and he that seeth so much of the world addicted to idolatry and worshipping of devils, may well know that there is some contrivance of the devil's that hath a hand in it, and that it is himself that procureth his own worship. From the time of Adam to this day, the far greatest part of the world have been enslaved to him. What were all the world but idolaters, except Israel, and a few proselytes, from Abraham, or Jacob, from whom they were so named, till Christ; and how hardly were the Israelites themselves kept from this sin? Though they were plagued for it both grievously and frequently, though they oft saw God witnessing against it by miracles, yet were they returning to it again and again; so that the prophets, one after

another, were sent to reclaim them, and yet they relapsed, till, after many breakings, at last it broke them off, and broke them all to pieces, and there was no remedy. The learned Athenians were drowned in idolatry; the wise and valiant Romans were befooled and enslaved by it; and after all the light of the Gospel, at this day, near two third parts of the world are thought to be idolaters (not reckoning the Mahometans among them, but only such as are properly heathens or pagans). He that cannot see the inclination, interest, and design of the devil in all these effects of it, and in this planting, building, and maintaining of his own kingdom, is certainly very blind.

They that would know what nations, and how much of the world are yet heathenish idolaters, may, to spare the reading of many, see it in short in Brierwood's 'Inquiries,' (cap. xii. p. 86, &c.,) and in Alstedius's Encyclopædia,' (lib. xviii.,) 'Geograph. (part III. cap. xii.)

Nay, among some of the wilder Indians, and other Americans, it is confidently affirmed by many navigators, that the devil useth to appear to them in visible shapes, and so to be worshiped by them commonly, as here he is by witches. And the Jesuits, and others, that have dwelt among them, have given us the more full and particular assurance of it. To omit what is said of the Brazilians, and many of the most barbarous sort, I shall only add somewhat of the Japonians, a people more ingenious. In the Jesuits'' Epistles from the Indies,' collected and published by Pet. Maffæus, (lib. i.,) Gaspar Vilela writes to this purpose. 'Sometimes the witches, by the devil's help, do work some cures one was missing many days, and by their help he suddenly appeared again. Another being dead, and carried to burial, when the bier was opened, there was no corpse to be found. By these and the like arts doth the devil deceive the miserable Japonians; who, to the rest of their wickedness, which is great, do add this cruelty, that they murder their own infant children. They are forbidden to think of the end of their lives, lest by the fears of death they should be deterred from their wickedness.: and therefore they wish a sudden death, and think him blessed that so dieth. And some of them do worship the devil, and most familiarly converse with him, whom they call Jamabuxas: these, to get a reputation of holiness, do grievously punish themselves; they stand, they watch, and use very little meat for two or three months, till the devil tell them he is satisfied; and taking some of their mad companions with

them, they get into a ship which they purposely sink, and so drown themselves. Besides, the devil is very busy to have the common people worship him in the shape of brute beasts. And as they are worshipping oxen he possesseth one of the men and when they ask him his name, he tells them that he is the king of oxen. When they desire him to depart, he tells them he will not go out of the man, unless they will build him a temple. If they promise it, he departeth; if they perform not their promise, he returneth again, and tortureth the poor, oppressed man with divers torments, till they build him a temple, in which they worship the images of divers sorts of wild beasts, as deities and some of them make it death for any one to kill an ox. Sometimes, also, with his enchantments he makes the hunters sick if they kill a wild beast; and, therefore, for fear, they humbly worship such beasts as the devil. All which he doth to this end, that mortals forsaking the true worship of God, might change the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of corruptible man, and birds, and four-footed beasts, and serpents. The superstition of the Japonians is manifold. Some of them worship I know not what dead man, called Amida, others one whom they call Xaca. Lastly, the sun and moon also are worshipped by them as gods, and so is the devil himself, to whom they build a temple: and in his temple they paint him much more ugly and deformed than we do. They have divers convents also of both sexes, distinguished by the white, red, or black colours of their garments, being of most filthy life and manners.' So far Vilela.

The like you may find in the Epistle of Ludovicus Froius, (lib. iv. pp. 191, 192,) who added, That there is a devout sect of them that make their dwellings in the tops of the highest hills, and will pass over any rivers by the mere help of the devil: who, that he may ensnare the wretches more effectually in error, doth command them to go up to the top of a certain very high mountain, where they must wait for his coming till the appointed time. And then, about noon or evening, the devil offereth himself to them, whom they worship under the name of Amida, and he passeth through the midst of their assembly: after they have once thus seen him, their superstition is so deeply fixed in the very breasts and marrow of them, that it can never after by any reasons be plucked out.' So far Lud. Froius, where he addeth much more of the devil's appearing to them, and their worshipping him, which I omit.