The World Bewitched, Chapter 3
CHAP. IV. That thoſe Opinions, are the Source and Baſis of the Art of Divination.
THE Opinions of the Heathens concerning Spirits, being thus explained in ſhort, will give us an eaſie underſtanding of whatever is read in their Books, concerning their Cuſtoms and Practiſes upon this Subject, and the Arts that aroſe from them; Theſe Arts were directed to two ends, to which Man is always inclined of himſelf; that is, to know much, and to do much. Divination was uſed to acquire an unlimited Knowledge, and Magick, to produce wonderful effects. Our preſent deſign neceſſarily requires to ſpeak clearly and diſtinctly of both.
Sect. 2. As to the Firſt, we find in the Authors, and in ſeveral others, that every one was eager to obtain the favour of the Gods, whether great or little, and that they earneſtly ſought to pleaſe the good Spirits, and to turn off the evil. To this end they built Temples, eſtabliſh'd Forms of Prayer, conſecrated Prieſts, offer'd Sacrifices, inſtituted Feſtivals and Games of all ſorts. Beſides that, they uſed ſeveral means to diſcover the deſigns and inclinations of the Gods, together with the happineſs and misfortune of Men; to which they ſuppoſed to attain, either by the Knowledge they might receive from the help of the Demons, the communication of the Penates, of the Remures, by the means of Oracles, Conjurations and Witchcraft, or by the obſervation of the influence of the Stars, the motions of the Air, the dreams of ſleeping Perſons, by conjuring up Ghoſts, by inchantments, for which they made uſe of Carcaſſes, by Prognoſticks drawn from the days of the year, the hours of the day, or the meeting of Men and Beaſts. Whatever was practiſed as to this point amongſt the Romans, was called Divination, that properly ſignifies an exerciſe of things concerning God, of which, Cicero has written a particular Book. Polydore Virgil in his firſt Book, Chap. 24. relates, in what conſiſted all thoſe Arts. Wherefore I ſhall extract out of that Author, and ſeveral others, what is neceſſary for the underſtanding of this matter.
Sect. 3. There, were two, ſorts of Divinations Anciently in uſe amongſt the Greeks and the Romans, the one was rightly called Natural, but the other Artificial, they held for a Natural Divination, what ever a particular, free, and voluntary Action of the Mind of Man, without the help of Reaſon, or any Conjecture, or Prognoſtick, portended as future, as it often happens in a Dream, and even without Sleeping in the Fits of a raving Fever, thence the Goddeſſes called Furies, had their Name and 'twas believ'd, that ſome Prieſts, and even the Sybil, Erythrea had begun to utter their Oracles in ſuch Paroxyſins. Jupiter Hammon, and Apollo of Delphos, gave their Anſwers in ſuch a way, and by ſuch ſort of People of which their Prieſts themſelves boaſted. And as thoſe Perſons were eſteem'd ſincere, and to act in the courſe of Nature, the vulgar aſcribed to their affected furor; what a long Obſervation and a frequent experience cauſed them to diſcover, or to foretell upon concealed or future things. The chief and moſt famous of thoſe divining Arts were Aſtrology, the Art of Haruſpices, or foreteling, by the inſpection of the Bowels of ſanctified Beaſts, beſides Auguries, and caſting of Lots.
Sect. 4. Aſtrology was called by the Greeks, a Conjecture drawn from the Stars; ſo that Aſtrologers may be named Divines by the Stars, the communication of the Gods with the Stars, of which mention has been made before, the operations of thoſe Celeſtial Bodies, and the influences upon the inferior part of the World, and upon Men, and even upon one another, gave occaſion to believe, that from thence may be drawn conjectures uſeful for Mankind; but I ſhall not inlarge upon this point further; becauſe I treat of it as far as 'tis neceſſary in my Examination of Councils, Chap. 8. where is to be ſeen, what rank is to be given to thoſe that are called Genethliaci, or Planetarii, which we uſually call Fortune-tellers; who by the inſpection of the Stars, eſpecially of the Planets, in the inſtant that a perſon was born, foretell what inclinations, what fortune he ſhall have, and of what ſort of death he ſhall dye; which Art is not yet aboliſh'd in the World: but becauſe there will be occaſion to ſpeak of it afterwards, I ſhall preſent the Reader only, with a ſhort account of the three others.
Sect. 5. Donatus derives the Word Haruſpices, and Haruſpicina, from Haruga a Sacrifice; and Exta Entrailes, it being the Art of foretelling future things, by the inſpection of the Entrails of Beaſts, that were ſacrificed to the falſe Gods, as thô thoſe Gods had imprinted ſome ſigns on the Bowels of the Victims that were offer'd to them. To this ſort belong the Caſe recited by Apian in his ſecond Book of the Wars of Alexandria, and by Cicero, namely, that no Heart was found in an Ox, which Julius Caeſar ſacrificed, the firſt day that he ſate on the Golden Seat; wherefore the Diviners told him, that ſuch a ſitting could not prove happy to him.
Sect. 6. To thoſe Arts M. Tullius adds two others, viz. that of Prodigies, and that of Lightning. Prodigies, Oſtenta, comes from Oſtendendo, to ſhew, to ſignifie, becauſe when ſomething extraordinay in Nature offer'd it ſelf to the ſight, they drew preſages from it; as it was done, if we believe Herodotus, in his 7th Book, when a Mare was big with a Hare, at the time of the invaſion of Greece by Xerxes, for from thence the Divines conjectured, that his powerful Army ſhould flye before the Grecians, as a Hare before the Hunter. Such accidents were alſo called Portenta, Monſtra, Prodigia, Signs and Monſters. Such alſo were Thunders and Lightnings, Fulmina and Fulgura, as Virgil ſays, De caelo tactas memini praedicere quercus. The thunder'd Oaks foretold me that event.
Auſpicium, Auſpice, and Augurium, Augury; the former ſo call'd, from viewing the flight of the Birds, and the latter from obſerving their Song and Cry, made the whole imployment of thoſe that were called Auſpices and Augures: they were very famous amongſt the Antient; for at Rome, that ſort of Divination was preferr'd before all the others; and the College of Augures was extreamly reverenced. No Affair of importance was undertaken without conſulting them, to know whether it ſhould ſucceed, or not. That ſo much exalted Art obſerved the Birds three ways, in their Flight, in their Singing, and their Eating: As to their Flight, they made their obſervations upon the Praepetes, that is, on ſwift flying Birds; as to the Singing, they drew their conjectures from Oſcines, or Singing Birds; and as to Eating, they obſerved the young Chickens Amongſt the 4th ſort is ranked the caſe of the Emperor Auguſtus, from whoſe hands an Eagle took a piece of Bread, whilſt he was yet a Child, carried it into the Air, whence ſoftly coming down, ſhe let it fall; which gave occaſion to the Diviners, to foretell the happineſs of Auguſtin's life, if we may believe Suetonius. To the 2d, way or the Divination by Singing, this Verſe of Virgil may be applyed, Saepe ſiniſtra cava praedixit ab ilice Cornix. Th' ominous Crow foretold it on an Oak.
For the 3d, ſort, they uſed the Tripudia ſolſtima, which were a ſort of Skipping and Dancing, during which, if the Chicken fell upon the Meat, that was fall'n from his Bill on the ground, called Solum, and ſwallow'd it greedily, it was a happy Omen; whereas, if he let it ſtand, an ill ſucceſs was to be feared. Thus was foreſeen the defeat of Hoſtilius Mancinus by the Numantines; becauſe the Chickens had refuſed to eat, and were fled from their Coops.
Sect. 8. Sortilegium, or Caſting of lots, was a diſpoſition of ſome Letters mixed together, and drawn at adventure, by the firſt Child to be met with; thoſe Letters were engraven on the Bark of an Oak, according to the antient Cuſtom, and diſpoſed as many different ways as was poſſible, to ſee whether they ſhould render ſome Senſe or none. Whence the good or bad fortune of the Inquirer was inferr'd. When Tiberius, ſays Suetonius in his Life, undertook a journey into Dalmatia, and at Pavia conſulted the Oracle of Geryon by Lots, he was obliged to make uſe of another way; for he was anſwered that he ſhould caſt Golden Dice in the Spring of the Fountain Apona; which having done, it was the greateſt point that appeared to his Eye, which is ſtill to be ſeen under water at this day.
Sect. 9. There is yet another way of Divination, famous, even in the Holy Scripture, viz. by expounding of Dreams. I ſhall be obliged to ſpeak of it more at large another time, becauſe the Omirocritici, or expounders of Dreams, are nor yet baniſh'd out of the World, and that ſome, eſpecially of the French Court, begin to revive that Art. As to the Heathens, as often as the Demons, Geniuſes and Larvae, medled with their Dreams, it was to offer them ſomething particular, by which, according to the uſual Rules of their Art, they might know the good or bad ſucceſs of future things.
Sect. 10. Our Anceſtors in the time of Paganiſm, had amongſt them a Cuſtom of that nature, as Tacitus relates. Divinations, and caſting of Lots ſays he, are as much in faſhion amongſt them, as any where elſe. They caſt their Lots in a very ſimple way, for they cut the branch of a Fruit-tree in ſeveral little Lots, on each of which they make a particular mark, and then Confuſedly throw them on a piece of white Cloth. There the Prieſt, if matters of State are treated of, or the Father of the Family, when it concerns him, or his houſe looking to he Heavens, lifts up thrice each little Lot, and gives the explication of the marks printed on them; if they diſſwade, no farther conſultation is made that day; but if they allow to proceed, they go to the Diviners for an Anſwer. There is yet another particular way of predicting amongſt that people, by the means of white Horſes, that were never back'd, and are kept together in a Foreſt at the Publick Coſt. They hunt them, and the Prieſt, King or Governor ſitting on a conſecrated Chariot, obſerves their Neighing and Foam. There is no Divination more eſteemd than this, not only by the People, but even by the Great Men and the Prieſts; the latter are look'd upon as the Miniſters of the Gods, and the Great Men as thoſe that are nearer and better known to them.
Sect. 11. But 'tis not ſufficient to have explained 'the names of thoſe 3 or 4 ways of making the Heathen Gods ſpeak; for tho' they be the chief, yet I find that ſeveral others have been in uſe, called by the Greeks, …egromancy, Pyromancy, Aeromancy, Hydr…mancy, Geoma…cy and Chiromancy: the 1ſt. relates to the dead, the 2d. to the Fire, the 3d. to the Air, the 4th to the Water, the 5th to the Earth, the 6th to the Hands. Polydore Virgil gives us a deſcription of each of theſe Arts, in the 23 Chapter of his 1ſt. Book.
Sect. 12. Necromancy, or the Divination by dead Bodies, is made by ſomething perceived on a Corps, which gives occaſion to the foretelling. The ignorance of the Greek Tongue has made ſome believe, that foreign, which ſignifies dead, was derived from the Latine, as tho' it had been Negros, from Niger Black, which miſtake cauſed Necromancy to be called the Black Art; which name is uſed at preſent to ſignifie all ſorts of Witchcraft, Inchantments, and Diabolical Illuſions. Under this ſort is comprehended Sciomancy, or Divination by the ſhadows in which they conjured up the Ghoſts or Shadows of the dead, to foretell future things. It would be a great proof of the power of this Art, if what Lucan relate in his 6th Book, were true, that a Ghoſt conjured up, foretold the whole ſucceſs of the Battle of Pharſalia. Sciomancy differed from Necromancy herein, that the latter requires Blood, and made the dead Bodies appear, whereas the other conjured up only Ghoſts.
Sect. 13. Pyromancy was, according to Polydor? a Divination by Fire, when they ſuppoſed to know ſomething by the means of Fire, for which purpoſe Obſervations were made upon Lightning, or ſome other extraordinary Fire. Inſtances of it are to be read in Livy, and in the Firſt Book of Dionyſius Halicarnaſs. where 'tis related, that the Wiſe of Tarquinius the Ancient, ſeeing a Flame ſurround the Head of Seruivs Tullius, foretold, that he ſhould become King of Rome.
Sect. 14. Acromancy, or the Divination by the Air, conſiſted obſerving Tempeſts, and extraordinary Clouds; as when Pliny relates in his Second Book, that there Rain'd Iron in Lucania, which in his Opinion ſignified, the Defeat of Ceaſſus, by the Parthians. He likewiſe relates in his Firſt Book of the Second Punick War, that their Rained Stones in Picenium, which he takes for a forerunner of the Evils, that Hanibal was bringing to Italy. Thoſe Divines are called in the Hebrew Bible foreign Jidnoni, Diviners by the Clouds; amongſt this ſort may be ranck'd the Capnomancy, which conſiſted in obſerving the motions of the Smoke of Sacrifices
Sect. 15. Hydromancy, or the Divination by Water, aroſe from ſomthing particular, which they fancyed to ſee in the Water. Varro relates upon this occaſion, that a Youth ſaw in the Water, the Image of Mercury, who declared to him, in 150 Verſes, the whole courſe, and all the events of the War againſt Mithridates; St. Auſtin, in the 9th Book of the City of God, ſays that Numa Pompilius, the Second King of the Romans, was the Inventer of that Art, and that by the illuſion of the Demons, he made appear upon the Water, the Images of the Gods, who gave him Laws, for governing his People, with goodneſs and Juſtice.
Sect. 16. Geomancy, or the Divination by the Earth, was made by the Obſervation of the Clefts and Chaſms, of an Earth quake, I could not find any particular Deſcription of it, thô I was never ſo inquiſitive after it; but I ſuppoſe, that to this may be referr'd, what is related by Livy, Decad. 1 Book 7. Sect. 6. concerning Marius Curtius. In the ſame Year (which was according to the Calculation of Calviſius 357 before Chriſt;) either by an Earthquake, or ſome other ſtrange commotion, almoſt one half of the Market of Rome, was ſwallowed up. There was a great Depth, and moſt frightful Chaſm, which could not be fill'd, what trouble ſoever was taken for it, thô People carried Cattle thither continually. The Oracles of the Gods were conſulted, and the Diviners anſwer'd, that the things in which the principal Strength of the Roman People conſiſted, muſt be Conſecrated to them in that very place, if they deſired to eſtabliſh for ever, the Republick of Rome. And as they were troubled to know, what was the thing to be Conſecrated; a warlike Young Man called Martius Curtius derided it, aſſerting, that the chief Strengh of the Roman People, conſiſted in Valour, and an undaunted Courage, to confirm which, he got on Horſeback, and precipitated himſelf into the Abyſs.
Sect. 17. Chiromancy, or Palmiſtry, conſiders the Lines of the Hands, to know the Fortune of Men, whereupon Juvenal ſays in his 6th Satyr.
—Frontemque manumque
Praebebit vati,
His Hand and Head, he'd ſhow to the Divine.
Whence appears, that Phyſiognomy, that is, accordeing to the Etymology of the word, the Knowledgs of Nature; but by uſe, the Obſervation of a Man Shape, muſt be comprehended under this ſort, for this Art foretells things by the Looks, the Features and Lineaments of the Face, by which the Genius and Humour of Men are to be diſcovered.
Sect. 18. Now all theſe things are natural, thô they were abuſed to attain to a ſupernatural knowledge. But Art was made uſe of in other means, which were the works of Mens Hands, that might well be called a Bewitching Pomp; in that ranck was contain'd the Axinomancy, a Witchcraft made with an Axe, Hatchet, or the like Tool. The Lecanomancy another Witchcraft, in which they uſed a Caldr…u full of Water, on the bottom of which, they fancyed, that the Demons came to walk. The Catoptromancy, a Witchcraft made with Looking-glaſſes, in which they ſuppoſed that blindfolded Children ſaw what 'twas deſired to be known. The Keskinomancy, in which they uſed a Seive, and a Thouſand other Impertinencies.