rather than fail, will make piety a colour of laziness: another while, he spurs up our diligence in our worldly vocation; to withdraw us from holy duties.

One while, he hides his head, and refrains from tempting; that we may think ourselves secure, and slacken our care of defence another while, he seems to yield; that he may leave us proud of the victory.

Ône while, he tills us on, to our overhard task of austere mortification; that he may tire our piety, and so stupefy us with a heartless melancholy: another while, he takes us off from any higher exercises of virtue, as superfluous.

One while, he turns and fixes our eyes upon other men's sins; that we may not take view of our own: another while, he amplifies the worth and actions of others, to breed in us either envy or dejection.

Óne while, he humours our zeal, in all other virtuous proceedings; for but the colour of one secret vice: another while, he lets us loose to all uncontrolled viciousness; so as we be content to make love to some one virtue.

One while, under the pretence of discretion, he discourages us from good, if any way dangerous enterprizes: another while, he is apt to put us upon bold hazards, with the contempt of fear or wit; that we may be guilty of our own miscarriage.

One while, he works suspicion in love, and suggests misconstructions of well-meant words or actions; to cause heartburning between dear friends: another while, under a pretence of favour, he kills the soul with flattery.

One while, he stirs up our charity to the public performance of some beneficial works; only to win us to vain-glory: another while, he moves us, for avoiding the suspicion or censure of singularity, to fashion ourselves to the vicious guises of our sociable neighbours.

One while, he persuades us to rest in the outward act done, as meritoriously acceptable: another while, under a colour of humility, he dissuades us from those good duties, whereby we might be exemplary to others.

One while, he heartens us in evil-gettings; under pretence of the opportunity of liberal alms-giving: another while, he closes our hands, in a rigorous forbearance of needful mercy; under a fair colour of justice.

One while, he incites us, under a pretence of zeal, to violate charity, in unjust censures and violent executions: another while, under pretence of mercy, to bear with gross sins.

One while, he stirs us up, under a colour of charitable caution, to wound our neighbour with a secret detraction : another while, out of carnal affections, he would make us the panders of others' vices.

One while, he sets on the tongue to an inordinate motion;

that many words may let fall some sin: another while, he restrains it in a sullen silence; out of an affectation of a commendable modesty.

One while, out of a pretended honest desire to know some secret and useful truth, he hooks a man into a busy curiosity, and unawares entangles the heart in unclean affections: another while, he brooks many a sin, with only the bashfulness of enquiry.

One while, he injects such pleasing thoughts of fleshly delights, as may at the first seem safe and inoffensive; which, by a delayed entertainment, prove dangerous and inflaming: another while, he overlays the heart with such swarms of obscene suggestions, that, when it should be taken up with holy devotion, it hath work enough to repel and answer those sinful importunities.

One while, he moves us to an ungrounded confidence in God, for a condescent or deliverance; that, upon our disappointment, he may work us to impatience; or, upon our prevailing, to a proud and over-weening opinion of our mistaken faith: another while, he casts into us glances of distrust, where we have sure ground of belief.

One while, he throws many needless scruples into the conscience; for a causeless perplexing of it, affrighting it even from lawful actions: another while, he labours so to widen the conscience, that even gross sins may pass down unfelt.

One while, he will seem friendly in suggesting advice to listen unto good counsel, which yet he more strongly keeps us off from taking; for a further obduration: another while, he moves us to slight all the good advice of others, out of a persuasion of our own self-sufficiency; that we may be sure to fall into evil.

One while, he smooths us up in the good opinion of our own gracious disposition; that we may rest in our measure: another while, he beats us down with a disparagement of our true graces; that we may be heartless and unthankful.

One while, he feeds us with a sweet contentment, in a colourable devotion; that we may not care to work our hearts to a solid piety: another while, he endeavours to freeze up our hearts, with a dulness and sadness of spirit, in our holy services; that they may prove irksome, and we negligent.

One while, he injects lawful, but unseasonable motions of requisite employments; to cast off our minds from due intention in prayers, hearing, meditation: another while, he is content we should over-weary ourselves with holy tasks; that they may grow tediously distasteful.

One while, he woos a man, to glut himself with some pleasurable sin; upon pretence that this satiety may breed a loathing of that whereof he surfeits: another while, he makes this spiritual drunkenness but an occasion of further thirst.

One while, he suggests to a man the duty he owes to the maintenance of his honour and reputation, though unto blood: another while, he bids him be tongue-proof; that he may render the party shamelessly desperate in evil doing.

One while, he allows us to pray long; that we may love to hear ourselves speak, and may languish in our devotion: another while, he tells us there is no need of vocal prayers, since God hears our thoughts.

One while, he urgeth us to a busy search and strong conclusion of the unfailable assurance of our election to glory, upon slippery and unsure grounds: another while, to a careless indifferency and stupid neglect of our future estate; that we may perish through security.

One while, slighting the measure of contrition, as unsufficient another while, working the heart to take up with the least velleity of penitent sorrow, without straining it to any further afflictive degrees of true penance.

One while, suggesting such dangerous points of our selfexamination, that the resolution is every way unsafe; so as we must presume upon our strength, if we determine affirmatively; if negatively, decline towards despair: another while, encouraging a man, by the prosperous event of his sin, to re-act it; and, by the hard successes of good actions, to forbear them.

One while, under pretence of giving glory to God for his graces, stirring up the heart to a proud over-valuing our own virtues and abilities: another while, stripping God of the honour of his gifts; by a causeless pusillanimity.

One while, aggravating our unworthiness to be sons, servants, subjects, guests, alms-men of the holy and great God: another while, upon some poor works of piety or charity, raising our conceits to a secret gloriation of our worthiness, both of acceptance and reward, and God's beholdingness to us.

Shortly, for it were easy to exceed in instances, one while, casting undue fears into the tender hearts of weak regenerates, of God's just desertions, and of their own sinful deficiencies: another while, puffing them up, with ungrounded presumptions of present safety and future glory.

These, and a thousand more such arts of deceit, do the evil spirits practise upon the poor soul of wretched man, to betray it to everlasting destruction. And if, at any time, they shall pretend fair respects, it is a true observation of a strict votary, That the Devils of Consolation are worse than the Afflictive. O my soul, what vigilance can be sufficient for thee, while thou art so beset with variety of contrary temptations?

SECT. VI.

OF THE APPARITIONS AND ASSUMED SHAPES OF EVIL SPIRITS.

BESIDES these mental and ordinary onsets, we find when these malignant spirits have not stuck, for a further advantage, to clothe themselves with the appearances of visible shapes; not of meaner creatures only, but of men, both living and dead; yea, even of the good angels themselves.

It were easy to write volumes, of their dreadful and illusive apparitions: others have done it before me: my pen is for other use. The times are not past the ken of our memory, since the frequent, and in some part true, reports of those familiar devils, fairies, and goblins, wherewith many places were commonly haunted: the rarity whereof, in these latter times, is sufficient to descry the difference, betwixt the state of ignorant superstition, and the clear light of the Gospel. I doubt not, but there were many frauds intermixed, both in the acting and relating divers of these occurrences; but he, that shall detract from the truth of all, may as well deny there were men living in those ages before us. Neither can I make ques

tion of the authentic records of the examinations and confessions of witches and sorcerers, in several regions of the world, agreeing in the truth of their horrible pacts with Satan, of their set meetings with evil spirits, their beastly homages and conversations. I should hate to be guilty of so much incredulity, as to charge so many grave judges and credible historians with lies.

h

Amongst such fastidious choice of whole dry-fats of voluminous relations, I cannot forbear to single out that one famous story of Magdalen de la Croix, in the year of our Lord Christ, 1545: who, being born at Cordova in Spain, whether for the indigence or devotion of her parents, was, at five years' age, put into a convent of nuns. At that age, an evil spirit presented himself to her, in the form of a blackmoor, foul and hideous she startled at the sight, not without much horror; but, with fair speeches and promises of all those gay toys wherewith children are wont to be delighted, she was wont to hold society with him; not without strong charges of silence and secrecy in the mean time, giving proof of a notable quick

1 Diabolus, gloriosá formá, diademate gemmeo et aureo redimitus, veste regiá indutus, apparuit Martin precanti; se Christum dicit: cui, post silentium aliquod, Sanctus: Ego Christum, nisi in illo habitu formáque quá passus est, nisi crucis stigmata proferentem, venisse non credam : hinc evanuit. Hoc narravit Sulpitio Martinus ipse; ut refert idem Sever. Sulp. in vitâ Martini.

Bodin Dæmonomania; ubique.

↳ Sim. Goul. Hist. admirables. Casside Reney en ses Relations. Zuinger. Theatre de vie Human. Bodin. Dæmonomania; 1. ii.

wit, and more than the ordinary ability incident into her age; so as she was highly esteemed, both of the young novices, and of the aged nuns. No sooner was she come to the age of twelve or thirteen years, than the Devil solicits her to marry with him; and, for her dowry, promises her, that, for the space of thirty years, she shall live in such fame and honour for the opinion of her sanctity, as that she shall be for that time the wonder of all Spain. While this wicked spirit held his unclean conversation with her in her chamber, he delegates another of his hellish complices, to supply the place and form of his Magdalen, in the church, in the cloister, in all their meetings; not without marvellous appearance of gravity and devotion: disclosing unto her also the affairs of the world abroad; and furnishing her with such advertisements, as made her wondered at; and won her the reputation, not of a holy virgin only, but of a prophetess. Out of which height of estimation, although she was not, for years, capable of that dignity, she was, by the general votes of the sisterhood, chosen unanimously, to be the abbess of that convent. Wonderful were the feats, which she then did: the priest cries out in his celebration, that he missed one of the holy host, which he had consecrated; and, lo, that was, by her wonted angel, invisibly conveyed to holy Magdalen: the wall, that was betwixt her lodging and the quire, at the elevation of the host, clave asunder, that holy Magdalen might see that sacred act: and, which was yet more notorious, on solemn festivals, when the nuns made their procession, Magdalen was, in the sight of the beholders, lift up from the earth, the height of three cubits, as if she should have been rapt up to heaven: and, sometimes, while she bore in her arms a little image of the child Jesus, new born and naked, weeping, like a true Magdalen, abundantly over the babe; her hair seemed, by miracle, suddenly lengthened so low as to reach unto her ankles, for the covering of the naked child; which, so soon as she had laid aside that dear burden, returned suddenly to the wonted length. These, and many other the like miracles, made her so famous, that Popes, Emperors, the Grandees of Spain wrote to her, beseeching her in their letters to recommend their affairs to God in her powerful devotions, and in requiring her advice and advertisements in matters of high importance; as appeared afterwards, by the letters found in her cabinet. And the great ladies of Spain, and other parts, would not wrap their new-born infants in any clouts or swaddling-bands, but such as the sacred hands of abbess Magdalen had first touched and blessed. All the nuns of Spain were proud of so great an honour of their order, and such miraculous proofs of their sanctity. At last, it pleased God to lay open this notable fraud of the Devil: for Magdalen, after thirty years' acquaintance with this paramour, having