Treatise of the Four Degenerate Sons, Treatise · Part 2 · Section 9
SECT. 9. De augurio, or of the divining by ſoules.
THis divining by foules the Lord forbids in his Law,foreign. Num. 24.1. Such as Balaam practiſed, he went not as at other times to ſeeke for enchantments; the 70. tranſlate it, foreign, id eſt, foreign augures.in occurſum avibus, that is, to take a divination by the fleeing of the foules by their chirping, by their feeding, by their number, and ſuch like: Such was the diviners amongſt the Philiſtimes, 2 Sam. 6.2.
What things the foules can foretell.Although the foules be not domini actionum ſuarum, cannot command their own actions as man doth, yet by a ſecret inſtinct they can foretell theſe things which are agreeable moſt to their nature as ſenſitive things, for their bodies being ſubject to the influx of the ſuperiour elements, and exerciſed onelyonly about organicke thinges, therefore by the influx of the ſuperiour bodies they can foretell raine, tempeſts, and ſuch like, which man cannot doe by the conſtitution of his body ſo well, becauſe mans phantaſie is carried to more ſublime and high things, for mans ſenſe is not governed by externall things, as the beaſts and foules are. Hence it is that wee ſee that theſe who are fooles and ſtupid, who are not ſo much ruled by reaſon as by ſenſe, are apter to divine of naturall things than the wiſe, and they who ſleepe, rather than they who walke, becauſe their bodies are not onelyonly more affected with theſe externall changes, but alſo in theſe the phantaſie is ſtronger than in wiſer men.
The foules by a naturall inſtinct and temperature of their bodies foretell ſtormes to come, and Summer and Winter: We compare things three manner of wayes; firſt, we compare things ſingular to make up the univerſall;How many wayes we compare things. the foules cannot doe this. Secondly, we compare on thing with another; the foules cannot doe this. Thirdly, wee compare things and time diſtinctly together in our minde, I ſay diſtinctly, becauſe the foules confuſedly can take up the times and ſeaſons of the yeare, but they cannot diſtinctly diſcerne the time from the thing it ſelfe, as we doe: Theſe naturall inclinations we may obſerve and make uſe of them.
God hath appointed the foules to teach us, as to learne the time of our viſitation, Ier. 8.7.What we ſhould learne of the foules. The Storke in the heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the Turtle, and the Crane, and the Swallow know the time of their comming, but my people know not the judgement of the Lord: So the Lord ſets downe the example of the Storke, which is called Ghaſida, or pitie, Levit. 11.19. and foreign, becauſe the young ones feedes the old; ſo ſhould children learne from theſe foreign, to feede their old parents, and ſometimes by their example, hee teaches us, what we ſhould decline, and ſhunne, Ier. 17.11. as the Partrich ſitteth on egges, and hatcheth them not; ſo he that getteth riches, and not by right, ſhall leave them in the midſt of his dayes, and at his end ſhall be a foole, the Partrich many times ſitteth upon the egges, which ſhe gathered, but never hatcheth them: So covetous men enjoyes not the fruit of that which they toyle for. Thus farre wee have a warrant to make uſe of the foules.
Queſt. What uſe are wee to make of theſe foules which are called inauſpicatae aves, as the Owle, and the Skrich-owle? Eſay 13.21.
An. We may only make this uſe of them when they dwell in ſuch places which are deſolate, that th…ſe places carries the marke of Gods wrath upon them, when the inhabitants of them are ſpued out for their ſinnes.
But to take up the contingent event of things by them is altogether deviliſh, as to marke their number,We muſt not take up contingent events by the foules. their fleeing, eating, or chirping: to foretell contingent things by theſe, that the Lord forbiddes altogether, Deut. 18. and they are joyned with Augures coeli, Eſay 46. Becauſe of the great affinitie which was betwixt them; the one obſerveth the ſtarrie heaven, the other obſerveth the nether region of the ayre, and the foules that flies in it, augures, the 70. tranſlates foreign, the heathen called the foules nuncios deorum; and firſt, they obſerved their number, as Calcas foretold Agamemnon by the number of the Sparrowes which did flie before him; how many yeares the Trojan warre ſhould laſt: So they marked the crying, and eating of the foules; If they refuſed to eate, they tooke that for an unluckie ſigne; ſo they marked their terrae pavium or trepudium, their tripping upon the ground. There are ſignes given from God to man, as the Lord bade Ioaſh ſmite the ground ſo often, and he ſhould have victory againſt the Syrians, ſo from man to man, as Ionathan his arrow ſhot to David, and Iudas kiſſe to the Iewes, whomſoever I kiſſe, Matth. 26.48. ſo from the devill to man; as when they foretell by the flying of the foules, the events of things, and things contingent; and ſo when they called upon the Flie, dominus muſcae, the devill anſwered them, 2 King. 1.4. There was one ſort of divination by the foules very ſtrange amongſt them; they cauſed to write twenty foure letters in the ground, and layed a graine of barley upon every letter, and the Magitian ſet forth a cocke, uſing certaine conjurations in verſes, and marking what graine the cocke did picke up,Pecerus pag 322. theſe letters they joyned together; The maſter of Iamlicus Proclus by this ſort of divination would know who ſhould be Emperour after Valence, and when as the cocke had picked up onelyonly the graines of the foure letters, foreign it was uncertaine, whether this was Theodoſius, Theodotus, Theodorus, or Theodectes; Valence being uncertain who was meant, cauſed to put to death many who were named by theſe names, fearing that ſome of them ſhould ſurpriſe him in his Empire, and Iamlicus fearing the Emperours wrath, dranke poyſon and made himſelfe away.
There was ſomething naturall in this action, as for the cocke to eate, ſomething caſuall, as to picke up ſuch a graine, and ſomething ex inſtituto humano, by mans appointment, that the letters being joyned together ſhould ſignifie ſuch a name; and ſomething diabolicall, as who ſhould be Emperour.
This kinde of divination hath beene derided by ſundry; It is memorable which is reported by Herateus of Mauſellanus, how hee mocked theſe diviners by the foules; for when he was travelling towards the red ſea with Alexander the great,Vide Petrum Cunaeum. pag. a Diviner ſeeing a bird ſitting by the way, deſired the armie to ſtay for a while, and hee ſhould ſhortly tell them what ſucceſſe they ſhould have in the warre; Mauſellanus being skilfull in archerie, bends his bow, and killed the bird, and this way mocked the Diviner, ſaying, how could this poore bird foretell what ſhould become of the armie, when it could not foretell its owne death: Cato was wont to ſay, that he marvelled when one of theſe diviners met another, that they could abſtaine from laughing, who ſo deluded and mocked the people.
This kinde of divination by the foules,When the divination ceaſed. ceaſed moſt when the Roman Empire ceaſed, the Romans were much given to it.
So to divine by the intrales of beaſts good or bad ſucceſſe is unlawfull, Ezech. 21.26.To divine by the intrals of beaſtes is unlawfull. he looked into the liver; this is extiſpitium: the Prieſts of the Lord when they were to ſacrifice a beaſt, they looked firſt whether it was whole and ſound or not: Secondly, whether it wanted hornes and hoofes or not, Pſal. 69.21. if it wanted theſe, they would not ſacrifice it. Thirdly, if it was not found within, they would not offer it: And laſtly, when it was burnt they obſerved whether it was wholely burnt to aſhes or not, then they tooke this for a good ſigne, therefore David prayes, Pſal. 20.3. Remember all the offerings, and turne thy ſacrifice to aſhes: So the heathen counterfeiting them, looked to the intrals of beaſts, and to try the events of things contingent by them.
The laſt ſort of divination forbidden is foreign when they asked counſell of the dead, or did divine by the skull of a dead mans head,foreign which was called foreign, and this the Hebrews cals Begolgola, and by Teraphim; Elias in Tiſhbi tels, the manner how theſe Teraphim were made, they tooke a child uncircumciſed, whoſe head they pinched off with their nailes, and they put a little plate of gold under his tongue, and wrote upon the plate the name of the ſpirit which they called upon.How many wayes this Teraphim is taken in the Scripture.
This word Teraphim is taken three manner of wayes in the Scripture; firſt, univoce; for the Teraphimes, which the Magitians uſed, ſuch was Labans Teraphim, which he conſulted with, Gen. 31.19. Secondly, this word Teraphim is taken Analogice, for the Idols which the Idolaters worſhipped, Iudg. 18.14. Theſe were not like Labans Teraphim,foreign but by way of analogie, they are called Teraphim, for the worſhipping of idols, is the worſhipping of devils, 1 Cor. 10.21. Thirdly, the word Teraphim is taken aequivoce; Such was the Teraphim which Michol kept in her houſe, 1 Sam. 19.13. made only to the forme of a man; for it is not likely that David, who had a care to purge his houſe of all abominations, Pſa. 101. would have ſuffered his houſe to have bin polluted with Teraphim, either in the firſt or ſecond ſenſe: Theodoret turns it foreign which ſeemes to containe the corps of the dead man, and yet the corps is not there: So this Teraphim was like unto a man, yet there was nothing within it to reſemble a man:This word devill is taken three wayes in the Scripture. So this word devill is taken three wayes in Scripture; firſt, univoce, as the devill put it in the heart of Iudas, Ioh. 13.2. Secondly, Analogice, Ioh. 6.70. Iudas analogice is called a devill there, And thirdly, aequivoce, when Chriſt calls Peter Satan, Math. 16.23.