Chap. xvi. Of the notes of numbers, placed in certain gesturings.
I have often read in the books of Magicians, and their works, and experiments certain, wonderful, & as they seemed to me ridiculous gesturings, and I did think they were certain occult agreements of the divels, by reason of which I did reject them: but after I did more seriously examine the matter, then I did presently understand that they were not the compacts of divels; but that there lay in them the reason of numbers, by which the ancients did by the various bending forward, and backward, their hands, and fingers represent numbers, by whose gesturings the Magiciand did silently signifie words unknown by sound, various with numbers, yet of great vertue, by their fingers joyned together, and sometimes changed, and did with sacred silence worship the Gods that rule over the world. The rites whereof Martianus also makes mention of in his Arithmetick, saying, The fingers of the Virgin were moved all manner of wayes, who after she went in, did by expressing seven hundred and seventeen numbers with her bended fingers call upon Jupiter. But, that these things may be the better understood, I shall bring something out of the sayings of Beda who saith, When thou sayest one, bend in the litle finger on thy left hand, and set it in the middle of the Palme; when thou sayest two, place the next finger to the litle finger in the same place; when three, the middle finger after the same manner; when four, thou shalt lift up thy little finger; when five, the next to it after the same manner; when six, the middle, that finger alone which is called the ring finger, being fixt on the middle of the Palme: when thou sayest seve, thou shaly put only thy little finger above the root of thy Palm, tthe rest in the mean time being lifted up; and by it when thou sayest eight, thy ring finger; when thou sayest nine, thou shalt set thy middle finger contrary to them; when thou sayest ten, thou shall set the naile of thy fore-finger, or the
