Book 13, Chapter 19: That great matters may be wrought by this art, when princes esteeme and mainteine it: of divers woonderfull experiments, and of strange conclusions in glasses, of the art perspective, &c
1 Howbeit, these are but trifles in respect of other experiments to this effect; speciallie when great princes mainteine & give countenance to students in those magicall arts, which in these countries and in this age is rather prohibited than allowed, by reason of the abuse commonlie coupled therewith; which in truth is it that mooveth admiration and estimation of miraculous workings. As for example. If I affirme, that with certeine charmes and popish praiers I can set an horsse or an asses head upon a mans shoulders, I shall not be beleeved; or if I doo it, I shall be thought a witch. And yet if J. Bap. Neap. experiments be true, it is no difficult matter to make it seeme so: and the charme of a witch or papist joined with the experiment, will also make the woonder seeme to proceed thereof. The words used in such case are uncerteine, and to be recited at the pleasure of the witch or cousener. But the conclusion is this: Cut off the head of a horsse or an asse (before they be dead) otherwise the vertue or strength thereof will be the lesse effectuall, and make an earthern vessell of fit capacitie to conteine the same, and let it be filled with the oile and fat therof; cover it close, and dawbe it over with lome:
2 let it boile over a soft fier three daies continuallie, that the flesh boiled may run into oile, so as the bare bones may be seene: beate the haire into powder, and mingle the same with the oile; and annoint the heads of the standers by, and they shall seeme to have horsses or asses heads. If beasts heads be annointed with the like oile made of a mans head, they shall seeme to have mens faces, as diverse authors soberlie affirme. If a lampe be annointed heerewith, everie thing shall seeme most monstrous. It is also written, that if that which is called Sperma in anie beast be burned, and anie bodies face therewithall annointed, he shall seeme to have the like face as the beast had. But if you beate arsenicke verie fine, and boile it with a little sulphur in a covered pot, and kindle it with a new candle, the standers by will seeme to be hedlesse. Aqua composita and salt being fiered in the night, and all other lights extinguished, make the standers by seeme as dead. All these things might be verie well perceived and knowne, and also practised by Jannes and Jambres. But the woonderous devises, and miraculous sights and conceipts made and conteined in glasse, doo farre exceed all other; whereto the art perspective is verie necessarie. For it sheweth the illusions of them, whose experiments be seene in diverse sorts of glasses;
3 as in the hallowe, the plaine, the embossed, the columnarie, the pyramidate or piked, the turbinall, the bounched, the round, the cornerd, the inversed, the eversed, the massie, the regular, the irregular, the coloured and cleare glasses: for you may have glasses so made, as what image or favour soever you print in your imagination, you shall thinke you see the same therein. Others are so framed, as therein one may see what others doo in places far distant; others, wherby you shall see men hanging in the aire; others, whereby you may perceive men flieng in the aire; others, wherin you may see one comming, & another going; others, where one image shall seeme to be one hundred, &c. There be glasses also, wherein one man may see another mans image, and not his owne; others, to make manie similitudes; others, to make none at all. Others, contrarie to the use of all glasses, make the right side turne to the right, and the left side to the left; others, that burne before and behind; others, that represent not the images received within them, but cast them farre off in the aire, appearing like aierie images, and by the collection of sunne beames, with great force setteth fier (verie farre off) in everie thing that may be burned. There be cleare glasses, that make great things seeme little, things farre off to be at hand;
4 and that which is neere, to be far off; such things as are over us, to seeme under us; and those that are under us, to be above us. There are some glasses also, that represent things in diverse colours, & them most gorgeous, speciallie any white thing. Finally, the thing most worthie of admiration concerning these glasses, is, that the lesser glass dooth lessen the shape: but how big so ever it be, it maketh the shape no bigger than it is. And therfore Augustine thinketh some hidden mysterie to be therein. Vitellius, and J. Bap. Neap. write largelie hereof. These I have for the most part seene, and have the receipt how to make them: which, if desire of brevitie had not forbidden me, I would here have set downe. But I thinke not but Pharaos magicians had better experience than I for those and such like devises. And (as Pompanacius saith) it is most true, that some for these feats have beene accounted saints, some other witches. And therefore I saie, that the pope maketh rich witches, saints; and burneth the poore witches.
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