120 NATURAL HISTORY. 



which is the protection of God over those that execute 

 Ins place) to the weakness of the imagination of the 

 imaginant: for it is hard for a witch or a sorcerer to 

 put on a helief that they can hurt such persons. 



902. Men are to be admonished, on the other side, 

 that they do not easily give place and credit to these 

 operations, because they succeed many times. For the 

 cause of this success is oft to be truly ascribed unto the 

 force of affection and imagination upon the body agent ; 

 and then by a secondary means it may work upon a 

 divers body : as for example, if a man carry a planet s 

 seal, or a ring, or some part of a beast, believing 

 strongly that it will help him to obtain his love, or to 

 keep him from danger of hurt in fight, or to prevail in 

 a suit, &c., it may make him more active and indus 

 trious, and again more confident and persisting, than 

 otherwise he would be. Now the great effects that 

 may come of industry and perseverance (especially in 

 civil business) who knoweth not ? For we see auda 

 city doth almost bind and mate the weaker sort of 

 minds ; and the state of human actions is so variable, 

 that to try things oft, and never to give over, doth 

 wonders : therefore it were a mere fallacy and mis 

 taking to ascribe that to the force of imagination upon 

 another body, which is but the force of imagination 

 upon the proper body ; for there is no doubt but that 

 imagination and vehement affection work greatly upon 

 the body of the imaginant ; as we shall shew in due 

 place. 



903. Men are to be admonished that, as they are 

 not to mistake the causes of these operations, so much 

 less they are to mistake the fact or effect ; and rashly 

 to take that for done which is not done. And there- 



