124 A Difcourfe,
That fometimes they deep or reft, and do change their places, and fhew themfelves vifible to the fences of men, Socrates atfertetb, That a Spiric did fpeak with him, which alfo fome- times he faw and felt ; but their bodies cannot be difcerncd j. e • to be different in fex. But Marcus Qherroncfut, an excellent rits cannot fearcher into the natures of Spirits, writeth, That they have be difcem- fimple bodies & that there doth belong a difference of fex to ed by fex. compound bodies ; yet their bodies are eafily drawn to mo- tion and flexibility , and naturally apt to receiveevery con- figuration. For, faith he , even as the clouds do (hew forth the apparition and refemblance fometimes of men, andfomettmes ofe~. very thing yon conceive ; fo like wife do the bodies of Spirits re- ceive vanotufhapes as the) plcafe , by reafon whereof they trans- forme thcmfelvc* into the forms fomettmes of men, and fometimes All Spirits of women. Ncverthelefithis is not free to them ally but onely to cannot re- the fiery and aiery Spirits, For he teacheth, That the Spirits ceive feve f the water have more flow and lefs a&ive bodies, which by ,alrtia P«- reafon of the flownefs and foftnefs of that element, they do mofl efpecially refemble birds and women ; of which kinde the Naiades and Nereides are, celebrated by the Poets. Trimctiui teftifics , That the Devils do defreto affume the (haps of men rather then any ether form ; but when they cannot finde the matter of the air convenient and befitting for that purpofe. And he laith , That they frame fuck kj,nde ofapparences to themfelves, as the contrary humour or vapour will afford ; and fo they arefeen fometimes in the form andfhape of a Lion, a Wolfe,a Sowyan Afia Centaure,of a Man horned, having feet like a (joat : fuch as It is reported were feen in the mountain o(Thru «j/'rf,where there was heard a terrible roaring.
Castor. Porphyr us in Etijebius, in his fourth book of Evan- gelical Preparations, teacheth , That fome of thefe are goodSpi- nts, andfomebad ; bur. I have counted them to be all evil, Pollux.
Pollux. Then it feemeth that thou art not feduced with the affert ions either of Porphyrins, or Apuletu, or Proclus , or of fome other Plantonicks , which are mentioned in St. Aw gufttnes book of The City ofGcd, 1,2, and 3 Chapter , who
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