of Plinies Naturall Hiftorie. 295; 
A duedby the Romane captains under Nero, and fotced by their capitulations co prefent bimfelfe 
perfonally at Rome for to doe homage unto the emperour,.ttavailed thither all the way by land 
(which wasa fore charge to the countries and provinces through which he paffed, bringing with 
him as he did the whole pompe,and traine for the triumph over Armenia andhimfelfe) & came eine 
unto Cafar. Andwhy would not this Tyrédates pafle the feas'and faile over into ltaly the neareft | 
’ and moftexpedit way 2 Forfooth,fo precife he was, that he made afcruple, andthought itunlaws 
full (as all magicians doe) either to {pit into the fea,or othetwife to difcharge into it the neceflarie 
excrements that pafle from mans bodie,thereby to pollute and defile that Elemen t. Many others 
~ magicians he brought with him in his traine, Hee inftructed Nero inthe principles of Magicke; 
yea and admitted him to their facred feafts andfolemne fuppers,&all to enter bin into thanpro- 
B feffion: but it would not be: for albeit Nero enthronized & enftalled Tyridatesin his kingdome, 
and gave him his roialties againe,all would notferve ; for never could he receive at his hands by 
way of remuneration and recompence, the skill ofthis Science, And therefore we may be fully 
aflured and boldly conclude, That itis a deteftable & abhominable Art, grounded upon no cer- 
taine rules; full of lies and vanities, howfoever it carrie fome fhew or {hadow rather of vericie: 
and to fay a tcuth,that certitude which it hath in etfecting any thing,proceedeth ratherfrom the 
devilith caft of poifoning practifed therewith, than from the Art it felfe of Magicke, But, what 
needs any man to feeke and hearken after the lies which the Magicians in oldtime have let flie 
and {ent abroad 2 When I my felfe in my youth have feene and heard pion (that great and fa- 
mous Gramimarian) tell flraunge tales of the hearbe Cynocephalia, which the Egyptians call 
~C Offrites, and namely,thatit hath a divine and heayenly vertue,and was a fingular prefervative a- 
gainft all poifons,charms,& enchantments ;but whofoever plucked or drew it outofthe ground 
(laith he)could not efcape prefent death. The fame Appzon reported in my hearing thathe hath 
conjured and raifed up {pirits,to * enquire and learne of Homer, what countryman born he was? * 4d/zifcicandt 
and from what parents defcended? mary he durft notreport what anfwer was made againe, either Homerum. 
voto him or them, | 
CuaP, 11% 
2& Of Mould-warps : and of many other medicines taken from fendrie beafts, which are 
D in their kind either tame or wild : and the {ame medicines diecfied cetording | 
to difeafesias they orderly follow: Pane | 
Ne fpeciall argument this may be,to proove the follie and vanitie of Magicians, becaule 
ofall other living creatures, they do admire and fet greateft {tore by thele wants or mouls, 
which Nature feemeth to have condemned to perpetual! blindnefle and prifon, fhucting 
them up as it were evermore ina darke dungeon,or keeping them rather under the earth, like as 
they were buried and enterred, And yet for all this, thefe Wife men give more beleeferothole 
fignes which they {pie in their bowels and entrailes when they be opened, than to the inwards of 
any beaft whatfoever. This opinion moreover they have of a mould-warpe, that there isnora 
creature more capable of religion, and fitter tobe emploied in facrifice and divine fervice, than 
E it :may they bath not to avouch & warrant, That whofoever {walloweth down all whole the heart 
ofa moule freth killed whiles it is yet warme and panting with life in it,fhall have the gift ofdivie - 
nation,and foretell che event and iflue of any bufineffe in hand, Moreover, they.affirme,that the 
tooth of a mould-warpe taken out of her head whiles (hee is alive; is fingular to allay the tooth- 
ach, ifitbe hanged about the necke.or tied to any part of the bodie, They.talke of many other 
wonders wrought by this poore creature, which.I purpofe to deliver as occafion {hall be offered, 
in place convenient, And yet when they have all faid thatthey can of thew); that which carrieth 
the greateft likelihood and probabilitie,is this, That they fhould bee good. againft the biting of 
thefe mufets or hardifhrews  for,as you have heard me fay before, the very-carth that is prefled 
down with the wheels in acart-tract,is proper for that purpoft. But to leave thefe mouls & to fol- 
F low onftill with this maladie of toothach;the faidMagicians tell us a medicine made of the athes 
ofa dogs head(dying of madnefle) that it fhould be pafling good therfore, ifit be mixed withthe 
oile Cyprinum,and fo droppedinto the ear on the pained fide: howbeit this care would be had, 
_ That thefaiddoggs head have noflefh atall ticking to the {calpe or {cull, when it is burned and 
calcined, They fay moreover,that the greatefteye-rooth ofadog growing on the left ee his 
Kk jj | cad, 
