Of the faufes of Wonderful things . 15

did a pply and lay some earthly things to some heavenly» and thence brought downthe celestial forces into these inferiours, by reason of their likeness one withthe other; for the very likcnesse of one thing to another, is a sufficient bond tolink them together. If a man do heat a piece of paper, and then lay it a little underthe flame of a candle, though they do not touch each other, yet he shall see the pa-per presently burn, and the flame will flill descend till it have burned all the paper.Let us now suppose the paper thus heated, to be that affinity which is betwixt su-periours and inferious; and suppose we also, that this laying of the paper to thecandle, to be the fit applying of things together, both for matter, and time, andplace: let us suppose yet farther, the flame taking hold of the paper, to be the o-peration of some heavenly body into a capable matter; and last of all, we may sup-pose the burning of the paper, to be the altering of that matter into the natureof the celestial body that works upon it,and so purifies it,that in the end it flit th up-ward like burning flax, by reason of some heavenly seeds and sparks which it hathwithin it self.

Chap. X.

How the knowledge of secrecies dependeth upon the survey and viewing tf the whole• World.

\X7 E are perswaded that the knowledge of secret things depends upon thecon-W templation and view of the face of the whole world, namely, of the motion,state and fashion thereof, as also of the springing up, the growing and the decayingof things: for a diligent searcher of Natures workes, ashefeeth how Nature dothgenerate and corrupt all things, so doth he also learn to do. Likewise he learns ofliving creatures; which though they have no understanding, yet theif senses arc farquicker then ours; and by their actions they teach us Pnysick, Husbandry, the artof Building, the disposing of Houshold affairs, and almost all Arts and Sciences: thelike may be observed in Metals, Gems, and Stones. The beasts that have do rea-son , do by their nature strangely shun the eyes of witches, and hurtful things: theDoves,for a preservative against inchantments, first gather some little Bay-treeboughs, and then lay them upon their nests, to preserve their young; so do theKites use white brambles, the Turtles fword-graffe, the Crows Withy, the Lap-wings Venus-hair, the Ravens Ivy, the Herns Carrot, the Partridges Reed-leaves,the Black-birds Myrtle, the Larkes grafle, the Swans Park-leaves, the Eagle usetbMaidenhair, or the stone Ætices for the same purpose. In like mannner they haveshewed us preservatives against poysons: the Elephant having by chance eaten aChamæleon, against the poyson thereof, eats of the wilde Olive; whence Solinm ob-serves, That the fame is a good remedy for men also in the fame cafe. The Panthers,having swallowed up the poisonous herb Aconitum, wherewith the Hunters be-smear pieces of flesh so to destroy them, against the poyson thereof seek out mansdung. The Tortoise, having eaten a serpent, dispels the poyson by eating the herbOrigan. When Bears have tasted the fruit of the Mandrakes, they eat Pismires against the poyson thereof. There is a kind of Spider which destroyeth the Harts,except presently they eat wilde Ivy; and whensoever they light upon anypoyso-nous food, they cure themselves with the Artichoke; and against Serpents they pre-pare and arm themselves with wilde Pajsoeps; so do the Ring-doves, Choughs,andBlack-birds use Bay-leaves. The little worm Cimex is good against the biting ofAfpes; as Pliny shews by Hens, who, if they eat that worm, are all day after ,.freefrom the hurt of Afpes. Goats care not for Basil-gentle, because it brings a Lethar-gy, as Chryfppm writes. The fame Beasts have also shewed us what herbs aregood to cure wounds. Whenthe Harts are wounded by theCretians, they feck outthe herb Dittany, and presently the darts fall out of their bodies. And so do theGoats. The Elephant being wounded, seeks out the juice of Aloes, and thereby iscured. Tbe fame Beasts have also found out purgations for themselves, and therebytaught us the fame. An Afle eats the herb Asplcnum to purge his melancholy? of

whom