The Displaying of Supposed Witchcraft, chapter 16: Of Apparitions in general, and of some unquestionable stories that seem to… (part 1 of 5)

CHAP. XVI. Of Apparitions in general, and of some unquestionable stories that seem to prove some such things. Of those apparitions pretended to be made in Beryls and Crystals, and of the Astral or Sydereal Spirit.

IN this Treatise we have before sufficiently proved that the denying of the existence of such a Witch as doth make a visible contract with the Devil, or upon whose body he sucketh, or that hath carnal copulation with a Demon, and that is transubstantiated into a Cat or a Dog, or that flyeth in the air; doth not inferr the denial of Spirits either good or bad, nor utterly overthrow the truth of apparitions, or of such things as seem to manifest some supernatural operations. And therefore here we shall fully handle the question of Apparitions, and things that seem to be of that nature, and that in this order.

1. We shall not meddle with Apparitions in the large extent of the word, for so it may comprehend the appearing of new Stars, Comets, Meteors and other Portents, and Prodigies, which (though unusual and wonderous) have yet their production from natural causes. But only here we shall treat of such apparitions as are taken to be performed by supernatural creatures, or in such a way and by such creatures as we commonly account to be different from (if not above) the power of ordinary and visible nature, as of Angels good or bad, the Souls of men departed, or their Astral Spirits, or of some o[…]her creatures that are, or may be of a middle nature.

2. As for the apparitions of good Angels sent by God in times past, both in sleep and otherwise, the Scriptures do give us most full and ample assurance, as these few instances may undeniably demonstrate. 1. That an Angel of the Lord (that is a good Angel) did appear visibly unto Manoah and his wife, and did vocally and audibly talk and discourse with them both, and did after in both their sights openly and visibly ascend in the flame that did arise from the altar. Now a more plain and indubitable apparition visibly seen and audibly heard than this cannot be found nor read of, having the unquestionable authority of sacred writ to avouch it. 2. Another parallel unto it, and of equal authority, verity and perspicuity, is the sending of the Angel Gabriel unto the Virgin Mary, her seeing of him, hearing of his salutation, having discourse with him, and seeing his departure, both which are undoubted testimonies of the true, and real appearance of good Angels even to sight and hearing. 3. That sometimes the good Angels have been sent to the servants of God, and have appeared and spoken unto them in dreams; as that the Angel of the Lord appeared unto Joseph in a dream, and bade him to take unto him Mary his wife, which was a blessed; and clear apparition, though in a dream in his sleep. And likewise by the appearing of an Angel unto him in a dream, he was warned to take the child, and his mother, and to flee into Aegypt, and also again was commanded by an Angel, after the death of Herod, that appeared in a dream, and bade him to take the young child and his mother, and to go into the land of Israel.

3. Of the visible apparition of evil Angels we scarce have any evidence at all in the Scriptures, except we should take supposals for proofs, or disputable places to be certain demonstrations, or wrest and hale the word of God to make it serve our preconceived opinions. For I do not find any one place in all the Scriptures, where plainly and positively any apparition of evil spirits is recorded, or that by any rational and necessary consequence such a visible appearance can be deduced or proved: For we have clearly proved that the tempting of Evah by the Serpent doth not necessarily inferr, that it was by a visible apparition, but by a mental delusion; and that that of Saul and the Woman of Endor, or the Mistriss of the bottle, was neither Samuel in Soul and Body, nor his Soul alone, neither the Devil in his shape we suppose we have evinced past answer; and that the tempting of our blessed Saviour by Satan was internal, or at least the greatest part of it; so that there doth remain but little of certain proof of the apparition of Devils in that gross manner, and so common and frequent as many do too peremptorily affirm: yet for all this we think it rational to grant, that as God hath in times past often sent messages by good Angels, for the teaching, counselling and comforting of his servants, both audibly and visibly to be perceived; so also that sometimes God might not only send evil Spirits internally and mentally to deceive and seduce the wicked, as in the case of the lying spirit in the mouth of Ahabs Prophets, but also visibly to appear to terrifie, punish and destroy the wicked, or to make way for the manifestation of his glory. And the Scriptures that mention Demoniacks, and such as are commonly said to be possessed, (though that were not by an essential inhesion, but by an effective operation both upon the Souls and Bodies of the persons that were so affected and afflicted) do plainly shew that the operative effects of the Devils power was both heard and seen by their words and actions. So the Devils using the organs of the man in whom was the legion of them, they besought Christ not to command them to go out into the deep, but besought him to suffer them to go into the herd of swine: Which plainly sheweth that their words were audible, and were heard of the multitude that were by, and the acts that they performed were visible enough, for by the power of the Devil he brake the chains and fetters, wherewithal he was bound, and was driven of the Devil into the wilderness, and that these Devils went forth of the man, and entered in amongst the herd of swine, by whose effective power the swine ran violently down a steep rock into the sea, and were drowned. And this doth plainly manifest the present operation of the Devils, that was apparent both by the words and actions, that were both to be seen and heard; so that this in that large sense, that it is usually taken in, was a real apparition of Devils, or at least equivalent thereunto. For we do but here inquire after such appearances of Devils, that do necessarily infer their presence in operating so in and upon creatures or corporeal matter, that by sight, hearing, or other of the senses, it may certainly be manifest to work above the ordinary power of nature, and may induce us rationally by the testimony of our senses, to believe that those things are brought to pass by those creatures that we call Demons, as many of these persons, who were said to have been or to be afflicted with Devils, were in the days of our bl[…]ssed Saviours remaining in the flesh.

4. But though it be never so freely and fully granted, that in the ages and times mentioned in the Old and New Testament (nay it may be for a century or more after) there were persons that were possessed and afflicted with Devils, and also that for that time there were many miracles wrought: Yet now it will be said that miracles are totally ceased as not being any way necessary to confirm the Gospel, which is now established and setled. This we confess is so strongly and convincingly proved by the Divines of the reformed Churches, that we account him wilfully blind that will oppose it. Yet notwithstanding all this that miracles are totally ceased, I grant that there are some strange things that have happened in late ages, and some in our own time, that cannot be any way solved by meer ordinary natural causes, and apparitions made by some kind of creatures that must be derived from some such causes as those of good or bad Spirits, or from creatures of the like nature. And that though miracles be ceased, it will not therefore follow that every thing that hath a cause above or differing from the usual and ordinary course of nature, must be also ceased, for quanquam nunc non sint miracula, possint tamen esse miranda: and though that miracles be ceased, yet it will not follow that apparitions are so also, because apparitions are not miracles; for a good Angel to be sent and to appear, cannot be said to be a miracle, because it is the end for which he was created, they (that is the Angels) are all ministring spirits sent forth for the good of those that shall be heirs of Salvation. And it cannot be said otherwise of evil Angels or of any other creatures that may make these apparitions, for as they are and must be creatures, so there is and must be some certain ends, for which they were created and are imployed unto.

5. But to prove the truth of apparitions, or other strange Phenomena's equivalent unto them, as to have been truly performed as matters of fact is extream difficult and almost impossible, because the Histories and relations of things of this nature are most strangely fabulous, and therefore are by no means to be relied upon, as will most manifestly appear by undeniable reasons, if we examine them in divided members in this order.

1. The Histories and relations that are given either by the Poets, or most of the ancient Philosophers, of these things, are so seemingly impossible, and so extreamly fictitious, as he must of necessity have in a manner totally forsaken his own reason, that can give any credit at all unto them. And especially they are so fraught with the horrible fables of the numerousness of their feigned gods, demigods, spirits, hobgoblins, Lares, Lemures, Mens shadows and the like, that they would make a man believe that the world was full of nothing else, and this was chiefly done to uphold their Idolatrous and superstitious Religion. And all these kind of authors that have written from the time of Homer until the end of the ages in which the two Plinies and Plutarch lived, have but run the same course, all their relations tasting of the leaven of impossibilities, superstition and fabulousness.

2. And if we look into the Pontificial Writers, especially those that have recorded stories of this nature since the sixth century, we shall find such a Rhapsodie, and heap of Bombast lies and invented fables both of apparitions and Witches, that no rational man can well give assent to one of a thousand of them, they seem so incredible, that they would rather make a wise man diffident of all such matters of fact, than to yield credit to any. And a man might as reasonably believe the forged and lying miracles of Mahomet, as those monkish fables. For the extream desire that those Authors had to advance their false and feigned Doctrine of Purgatory, and thereby to uphold the gain and benefit that was gotten by injoining such and such penances and eleemosynary deeds to redeem Souls from thence, did drive them on to invent thousands of false stories of the apparitions of Souls after death, which had not one jot of truth in them at all.

3. Those that are called the Reformed Divines (because they returned to that pure and true Doctrine and Worship, that had been settled and practised in those foregoing ages that were truly Catholick and Apostolick) being altogether intent about the main and principal points of the Faith, and those that concerned the true worship of God, did take little heed to the matters of this nature, as being more circumstantial, and therefore not by them accounted so essential and necessary. From whence it came to pass that Lambertus Danaeus, Hemmingius, Erastus and others, did without due examination and circumspection receive the opinions and stories of the Papists hand over head. From whence (I conceive) it came to pass that Ludovicus Lavaterus a learned Divine of the reformed Religion at Zurich did write a book of apparitions and such matters, but brought no other proofs of the truth of these things de facto, but the often repeated stories of Heathenish Authors, and some few from Ecclesiastick Authors, that are of dubious credit, but not any one of his own knowledge.

6. But if we come to consider the Histories of late that are reported of apparitions, and such like things that must of necessity have something in them, that resembles a supernatural cause, we may in part receive more ample satisfaction, which will be manifest in these few following particulars.

1. Meric Casaubon Doctor of Divinity, in his treatise of Credulity and Incredulity (sometimes by us quoted before) hath strongly indeavoured to make good all those impossible and absurd things that are ascribed unto Witches: which though he hath pitifully failed to perform, yet hath he said enough that may serve to prove that there are many strange things that seem to prove the being of Demons or Spirits, though he have not brought any one story of his own knowledge or that was done in his time. And we have shewed before that apparitions are no certain ground for Christians to believe the existence of Demons by, but the word of God. But in his Preface to that piece of the relation concerning Dr. Dee, he relateth two stories told by that venerable and learned Prelate Bishop Andrews to his Father Isaac Casaubon. The one (he saith) concerning a noted or at least by many suspected Witch or Sorceress, which the Devil in a strange shape did wait upon (or for rather) at her death. The other concerning a Man, who after his death was restored to life to make confession of a horrible murther committed upon his own Wife, for which he had never been suspected. And both these (he saith) that learned Bishop did believe to be true, but for one of them it seems, he did undertake upon his own knowledge, to wit that of the apparition, and the other he had from an eye-witness. And considering the condition of Bishop Andrews both for learning and piety, the relations are of much weight, and they may be seen at large in the forecited Preface.

2. I cannot but much wonder that Dr. Henry Moore, a grave person, and one that for many years hath resided in a most learned and flourishing Academy, whose name is much taken notice of both at home and abroad, having published so many books, should make such bad choice of the Authors from whom he takes his stories, or that he should pitch upon those that seem so fabulous, impossible and incredible. And that I may not seem to tax him without cause, I desire the Reader to peruse his two relations, the one of the Shoomaker of Breslaw in Silesia, Anno 1591. the other of Johannes Cunti[…] a Citizen of Pentsh in Silesia, and to tell whether he can rationally believe those things either to have been true or possible. And as for the Author Martinus Weinrichius a Silesian Physician, I cannot find any thing either of his fame or writings, and it is most strange that he should be omitted by that diligent and unpartial Author Melchior Adams; And there had been far better Authors and of more credit to have pitcht upon for such like stories, than either Bodinus or Remigius; neither can there be much credit given to any of the stories that he relates, except it be that of the Pied-Piper, which some do interpret far otherwise.

3. There was a Treatise called, the Devil of Mascon, or a true relation of the chief things which an unclean spirit did and said at Mascon in Burgundy, in the House of Mr Francis Perreaud Minister of the reformed Church in the same Town, written by the said Perreaud soon after the Apparition which was in the year 1612. but was not published until the year 1653. which was 41. years after the thing was said to be acted. It seems it was translated by Dr Peter Du Moulin, the Son of the learned and reverend Peter Du Moulin, at the request of the honourable and learned person Mr Boyle. The most of the things had been known unto Mr Du Moulin the Father, when he was President of a National Synod in those parts, to whom also the said Perreaud was well known, who was a religious, well poised, venerable Divine. And Mr Boyle saith, that he had had converse with this pious Author at Geneva, and had inquired after the Writer, and some passages of the Book, which overcame all his setled indisposedness to believe strange things. The Character given of this Author, and the assent of such learned persons to the things related, have gained an ample suffrage to give credit to them also. But notwithstanding all this, there are many passages in the relation that a quicksighted Critick would find to be either contradictory or inconsistent, and it cannot rationally be thought that he was a Cacodemon, his actions were so harmless, civil, and ludicrous; and if he were to be believed (and in some things he did speak truth, and the Minister himself Mr Perreaud did in some things give credit to him) he was no Devil, but hoped to be saved by Jesus Christ. But whether a Devil or not, yet the story for substance doth sufficiently prove the existence of such kind of Demons, that can work strange and odd feats.

4. Mr Baxter a person of great learning and piety, whose judgment bears great sway with me, speaking of Apparitions saith thus: I know many are very incredulous herein, and will hardly believe that there have been such Apparitions. For my own part (he saith) though I am as suspicious as most in such reports, and do believe that most of them are conceits or delusions, yet having been very diligently inquisitive in such Cases, I have received undoubted testimony of the truth of such Apparitions, some from the mouths of men of undoubted honesty and godliness, and some from the report of multitudes of persons, who heard or saw. Were it fit here to name the persons, I could send you to them yet living, by whom you would be as fully satisfied as I: Houses that have been so frequently haunted with such terrors, that the inhabitants successively have been witnesses of it.

7. Though some of these last recited testimonies might sufficiently convince the most obstinate and incredulous, that there are Apparitions and some other such strange accidents that cannot be solved by the supposed principles of matter and motion, but that do necessarily require some other causes, that are above or different from the visible and ordinary course of nature; yet because it is a point dark and mystical, and of great concern and weight, we shall add some unquestionable testimonies, either from our own Annals, or matters of fact that we know to be true of our own certain knowledge, that thereby it may undoubtedly appear, that there are effects that exceed the ordinary power of natural causes, and may for ever convince all Atheistical minds, of which in this order.

1. In the first year of Edward the Sixth, Anno Domini 1551. on St. Valentines day, at Feversham in Kent, one Arden a Gentleman was murthered by procurement of his own Wife; for the which fact she was the fourteenth of March burnt at Canterbury: Michael Mr Arden's Man was hang'd in Chains at Feversham, and a Maiden burnt: Mosbie and his Sister were hanged in Smithfield at London: Greene which had fled, came again certain years after, and was hanged in Chains in the High-way against Feversham, and black Will the Ruffian, that was hired to do that act, after his first escape was apprehended, and burnt on a Scaffold at Flushing in Zealand.

The same horrid murther is more at large related by Hollingshead, who lived at that time, and had information of all the particulars, who saith thus much more. This one thing (he faith) seemeth very strange and notable touching Mr Arden, that in the place he was laid, being dead, all the proportion of his body might be seen two years after and more, so plain as could be, for the grass did not grow where his body had touched, but between his legs, between his arms and about the hollowness of his neck, and round about his body: And where his legs, arms, head, or any part of his body had touched, no grass growed at all of all that time. So that many strangers came in that mean time, beside the Townsmen, to see the print of his body there on the ground in that Field, which Field he had (as some have reported) cruelly taken from a Woman, that had been a Widdow to one Cooke, and after Married to one Richard Read a Marriner, to the great hinderance of her and her Husband the said Read, for they had long enjoyed it by a Lease which they had of it for many years not then expired. Nevertheless he got it from them, for the which, the said Reads Wife not only exclaimed against him in shedding many […] salt tear, but also cursed him most bitterly even to his face, wishing many a vengeance to light upon him, and that all the World might wonder on him, which was thought then to come to pass, when he was thus murthered and lay in that Field, from midnight till the morning, and so all that day, being the Fair-day, till night, all the which day there were many hundreds of people came wondring about him. From whence we may take this Observation.