but rather all manner of evill, wickednesse, and devilish deceits. For as an executioner marketh his sons in cutting off their ears, putting out their eyes, burning their cheeks, fingers, hands, and cutting off their heads, so doth the devil mark his sons through the imagination of their mothers. Also all men are to be shunned, which abound with, or want any member, or have a double member. For that is a presage of the devill's and a most certaine signe of some occult wickedness and deceit, which follows upon it. Wherefore they seldom die without the executioner, or at least from some marke made by him."* They Gnomes, spirits, &c. Under this head, our learned doctor informs us with becoming gravity, "under the earth do wander half-men, which possess all temporal things, which they want, or are delighted with. are vulgarly called gnomes, or inhabitants of the mountains; but by their proper names they are called Sylphes or Pigmies. They are not spirits as others are, but are compared unto them for the similitude of their arts and industry, which are common to them with the spirits. They have flesh and blood as men, which no real spirit hath." He then goes on to tell how these gnomes sometimes plague the miners, and at others, being of a capricious nature, do them good service, or warn them thrice by knocking in the same place. This is a sure sign that the miner, who is working there will be destroyed by the falling in of the earth, or some such accident. According to the general notion, the devil is a wealthy personage, and gives good wages. But this Paracelsus stoutly denies, maintaining that "the devil is the poorest of all creatures, so that there is no creature so miser * Paracelsus on "" able and poore, above or under the earth, or in all the other elements. Neither hath he any money or riches, nor doth he take, or require any bonds from men sealed in their blood. But there are other spirits, which do such things, such as the Sylphes or Pygmies." Unfortunately this useful class of acquaintance is lost to us; they have all gone somehow, and somewhere, but how, or where even our Doctor can not surmise. He says, however, that "the mountain of Venus,* in Italy, was much possessed with these spirits, for Venus herself was a nymph, and that mountain was by a comparison, as her kingdome and paradise; but she is dead whereby her kingdome ceaseth to be. But where, or in what place is there any mention heard to be made of them as in former time, when Danhauserus and many others entered in unto them? Neither did they invent these fables; they were of such a nature and condition that they loved all men who loved them, and hated them that hated them. Wherefore they gave arts and riches in abundance to them, who prescribed and bound themselves to them, and they know both our minds and thoughts, whereby it comes to pass that they are easily moved by us, to come to us.”† Paracelsus, however, does not recommend his friends to have any thing to do with such dangerous characters notwithstanding their amiability; he mentions these facts only as a point of natural history that people may learn to distinguish between the devil and these semi-homines, and not in Hamlet's phrase, mistake " a hawk for a handsaw," for, in addition to the other differences pointed out, the gentleman in black has no body, unless when he bor This "Mountain of Venus" is often mentioned by the dealers in the supernatural. Tieck in his tale of the "Faithful Eckhart," places him there as a monitor to warn people off such dangerous premises. + Paracelsus of " Occult Philosophy," Eng. trans. p. 57. rows one for the nonce from the four elements; neither does he die, whereas the Pygmies are clearly subject to the rules of mortality. Still it is advisable to be cautious how you enter into any contract with such a capricious and despotic race, who have a wonderful fancy for twisting the necks of any one that presumes to thwart them. Men have often been found in this plight, whence ignorant people, knowing nothing of the Pygmies, have laid all the blame upon the devil, though, if he had the inclination, he has not the power to do any thing of the kind. Paracelsus was at least original in his doctrines, and indeed one part of his system consisted in asserting the direct contrary to what was generally believed. If in the common opinion any object was black, he would maintain that it was white, which love for contradicting others is the less to be wondered at as we find him perpetually contradicting himself. Treasure-seeking. It appears that there are two sorts of hidden treasures, gold namely,—that "is made, coyned, and hid by the nymphes and Sylphes,-"* which he says is very hard to be got at, and metals in their natural state, which are to be found by proceeding as follows:-" first under an influence of the Moone, or Saturne, and when the moon transits Taurus, Capricorne, or Virgo, is a good, time to begin to seeke or digge after treasures. Neither need you use any other ceremonies, nor to draw any other circles, or to use any inchantments whatsoever; onely those that dig must be of a cheerful minde, free and alienated from any evil thoughts and cogitations, and not to be moved, nor feare any phantasies, visions, or imaginations of the spirits; although they should corporally appeare yet they are onely visions. Therefore those that dig ought to discourse, sing, and be cheereful, and not to be affrighted by anything, but to have a * Occult Philosophy, p. 66. good courage; and by no means soever let them keepe silence as some perfidious negromancers have taught. "Now when they come neere to the place where the treasure is that it is almost detected, and do heare many noises, and strange visions and horrible sights are seene, which oftentimes happens to be, it sheweth that the Pygmies and Sylphes are there, who do envy that men should have those treasures, and will not willingly part from them, especially if it be their own, or such as they brought thither. Such treasures are to be left, if the keepers thereof consent not. And although they may be gotten and taken away as a robbery from those keepers, yet they have an art whereby they can change these treasures, in this way gained, into a vile and base matter, as into earth, clay, dung, and such like things as I have seene by examples."* A better mode of keeping people honest than this of the Sylphs could hardly have been devised, for who would steal, when the booty was to be so profitless? Of Tempests." The orginal of tempests is certainly nothing else but the appearance of spirits; and lightning, or coruscation, preceding the presence of them; whereby it may be certainly known whether those tempests will pass away with or without danger; and that after this manner is to be understood; to wit, as a stranger will not enter into any one's house, unless first he speake, so these spirits do not appear unto us without speaking first. But their voice is thunder, which as we see, immediately follows every flash of lightning. The ringing of bells do availe nothing in these cases, although I do not reject them, especially in such tempests as are caused by magicians' enchantments, by reason of the spirits by them raised in the air. For the spirits do love silence and quietness, whereby it comes to pass that grate noises, * Occult Philosophy, p. 66. as the sounds of bells and trumpets do partly diminish of and disperse tempests by them stirred up. But in thunders and haile they do no good, as the monks and sacrificers have to their loss too often found. And for this cause they used ceremonies, wherewith they seduced the vulgar and common people, persuading them that besprinkling places with holy water, as they call it, preserved them safe from thunder and haile; likewise by burning holy candles, or some palme, or other herb by them sanctified, or with the perfume of frankincense, or myrrhe of these sacrificers they were preserved secure." Great is the indignation of our philosopher at such monkish tricks, for he had no faith in priests, whatever he might have in old women, and he argues reasonably enough that if these sacrificers wished to drive away the spirits they should use assafoetida and not sweet perfumes. But he has a more effectual remedy-" note," he says "that to place a preservative in the centre of a house, garden, or a field, avayleth not at all;" it must be placed at the four angles, east, west, north, and south, upon the very obvious principle, that it is safer to stand upon four legs than two, and these said legs or pillars are to be of mugwort, St. John's wort, perriwinkle, celandine, rue, and many such herbs and roots, especially if they be gathered under the right influence, for that is a main point. Yet better even than these are coral and azoth." "'* Evestrum and Trarames.-The "Evestrum, or Evester, according to its essence is either mortal or immortal. It is a thing like a shadow on a wall. The shadow riseth and waxeth greater as the body doth, and continueth with it even unto its last matter. The Evestrum takes its beginning at the first generation of everything animate and inanimate, sensible and insensible, and whatsoever 'The azoth, I take it, is the azure-stone, or lazurstone, more commonly called Lapis Lazuli. |