Of Ghostes and Spirites Walking by Nyght and of Strange Noyse... by Lewes Lavater

yeres after the battaile there foughten, there was hard the neying of horses, and the incountring of souldi∣ours as it were fighting euery night: And that they which of purpose came to heare these things, could hear nothing, but those that by chaunce came that way, hearde it very sensibly. Pausanias writeth in Atticis, That in the field of Mara∣tho. For which cause the Atheniās afterward were mo∣ued to honour him as a demigod. * Plutarke writeth in Theseus life, that many whiche were in the battaile of Marathonia, against the Medians, did affirme, that they sawe the soule of Theseus armed (who long time before died of a fall) before the vauntgard of the Grecians, running and setting on the barbarous Me∣dians. Then sayd Caesar: good lucke mates, let vs go whe∣ther the gods warnings leade vs, and whether our eni∣mies iniquitie calleth vs: The dice are throwne. iton) vnto whom when not only shepherds, but also very many soul∣diors from the camp, and amongst them diuers trumpet∣ters had flocked to heare him, he sodenly snatched a trum∣pet from one of them, and leaped to the riuer, and with a lustie breath blowing vp the alarum, went to the farther side.( Melancthon in his phisicks calleth him The hether Fraunce, staying there a while, and reuoluing with him selfe how great an enterprise he hadde taken in hand, as he was wauering in mind whether he shold passe the water or not, sodenly there appeared a man of excel∣ling stature and shape sitting hard by, piping on a reede.

Suetonius Tranquillus writeth, * that when Iulius Cesar marching out of Fraunce into Italie with his army, and comming to the riuer Rubico, which deuideth Italie from And here I will orderly declare a fewe histo∣ries out of diuers allowed authors, touching spirits which haue appeared and shewed them selues. For many suche things of thys sorte are to be red in diuers graue and auncient historio∣graphers: and many men of no small credite, haue affir∣med, that they haue séene spirits both in the day and in the night also. A proofe out of the Gentiles histories, that Spirits and ghosts do often times appeare.ĪLbeit many melancholike, mad, fearefull, and weake sensed men doo oftentimes ima∣gine many things whiche in very déede are not, and are lykewyse deceyued, somtyme by men, or by brute beasts: and moreouer mistake things whiche procéede of naturall causes to bée bugs and spirits, as I haue hitherto declared by many ex∣amples, yet it is most certayne & sure, that all those things which appeare vnto men are not alwayes naturall things nor alwayes vayne terrors to affray men: but that spirits do often appeare, & many straunge and maruellous things do sundry times chaunce.

Of Ghostes and Spirites Walking by Nyght and of Strange Noyse... by Lewes Lavater