Page:Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy, 1655.djvu/148

 124 A Difcourfe,

That fometimes they deep or reft, and do change their places, and fhew themfelves vifible to the fences of men, Socrates atfertetb, That a Spiric did fpeak with him, which alfo fome- times he faw and felt ; but their bodies cannot be difcerncd j. e • to be different in fex. But Marcus Qherroncfut, an excellent rits cannot fearcher into the natures of Spirits, writeth, That they have be difcem- fimple bodies & that there doth belong a difference of fex to ed by fex. compound bodies ; yet their bodies are eafily drawn to mo- tion and flexibility, and naturally apt to receiveevery con- figuration. For, faith he, even as the clouds do (hew forth the apparition and refemblance fometimes of men, andfomettmes ofe~. very thing yon conceive ; fo like wife do the bodies of Spirits re- ceive vanotufhapes as the) plcafe , by reafon whereof they trans- forme thcmfelvc* into the forms fomettmes of men, and fometimes All Spirits of women. Ncverthelefithis is not free to them ally but onely to cannot re- the fiery and aiery Spirits, For he teacheth, That the Spirits ceive feve f the water have more flow and lefs a&ive bodies, which by ,alrtia P«- reafon of the flownefs and foftnefs of that element, they do mofl efpecially refemble birds and women ; of which kinde the Naiades and Nereides are, celebrated by the Poets. Trimctiui teftifics, That the Devils do defreto affume the (haps of men rather then any ether form ; but when they cannot finde the matter of the air convenient and befitting for that purpofe. And he laith , That they frame fuck kj,nde ofapparences to themfelves, as the contrary humour or vapour will afford ; and fo they arefeen fometimes in the form andfhape of a Lion, a Wolfe,a Sowyan Afia Centaure,of a Man horned, having feet like a (joat : fuch as It is reported were feen in the mountain o(Thru «j/'rf,where there was heard a terrible roaring.

Castor. Porphyr us in Etijebius, in his fourth book of Evan- gelical Preparations, teacheth, That fome of thefe are goodSpi- nts, andfomebad ; bur. I have counted them to be all evil, Pollux.

Pollux. Then it feemeth that thou art not feduced with the affert ions either of Porphyrins, or Apuletu, or Proclus, or of fome other Plantonicks , which are mentioned in St. Aw gufttnes book of The City ofGcd, 1,2, and 3 Chapter , who

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