The third Chapter.
That women have used poisoning in all ages more than men, and of the inconvenience of poisoning.
AS women in all ages have beene counted most apt to conceive witchcraft, and the divels speciall instruments therin, and the onelie or cheefe practisers therof: so also it appeareth, that they have been the first inventers, and the greatest practisers of poisoning, and more naturallie addicted and given thereunto than men: according to the saieng of Quintilian; Latrocinium faciliùs in viro, veneficium in fœmina credam. From whom PliniePlin. lib. 25. cap. 2. differeth nothing in opinion, when he saith, Scientiam fœminarum in veneficiis prævalere. To be short, Augustine, Livie, Valerius, Diodorus, and manie other agree, that women were the first inventers and practisers of the art of poisoning. As for the rest of their cunning, in what estimation it was had, may appeare by these verses of Horace, wherein he doth not onelie declare the vanitie of witchcraft, but also expoundeth the other words, wherewithall we are now in hand.
Somnia, terrores magicos, miracula, sagas,
Nocturnos lemures, portentáq; Thessala rides://
These dreames and terrors magicall,117. 88.
these miracles and witches,
Night-walking sprites, or Thessal bugs,
esteeme them not twoo rushes.
Here Horace (you see) contemneth as ridiculous, all our witches cunning: marrie herein he comprehendeth not their poisoning art, which hereby he onelie seemed to thinke hurtfull. Pythagoras and Democritus give us the names of a great manie magicall hearbs and stones, whereof now, both the vertue, and the things themselves also are unknowne: as Marmaritin, whereby spirits might be raised: Archimedon, which would make one bewraie in his sleepe, all the secrets in his heart: Adincantida, Calicia, Mevais, Chirocineta, &c: which had all their severall vertues, or rather poisons. But all these now are worne out of knowledge: marrie in their steed we have hogs turd and chervill, as the onelie thing whereby our witches worke miracles.
Trulie this poisoning art called Veneficium, of all others is most abhominable; as whereby murthers maie be committed, where no suspicion maie be gathered, nor anie resistance can be made; the strong cannot avoid the weake, the wise cannot prevent the foolish, the godlie cannot be preserved from the hands of the wicked; children maie hereby kill their parents, the servant the maister, the wife hir husband, so privilie, so inevitablie, and so incurablie, that of all other it hath beene thought the most odious kind of murther; according to the saieng of Ovid:
——————————non hospes ab hospite tutus,Ovid. metamorph. lib. 1.
Non socer à genero, fratrum quóq; gratia rara est:
Imminet exitio vir conjugis, illa mariti,
Lurida terribiles miscent aconita novercæ,
Filius ante diem patrios inquirit in annos./
Englished by Abraham Fleming.
118.
}
———The travelling ghest opprest
Dooth stand in danger of his host,
the host eke of his ghest:
The father of his sonne in lawe,
yea rare is seene to rest
Twixt brethren love and amitie,
and kindnesse void of strife;
The husband seekes the goodwifes death,
and his againe the wife.
Ungentle stepdames grizlie poi-
son temper and doo give:
The sonne too soone dooth aske how long
his father is to live.
The monke that poisoned king John, was a right Veneficus; to wit, both a witch and a murtherer: for he killed the king with poison, and/[Misp. 86] 89. persuaded the people with lies, that he had doone a good and a meritorious act: and doubtlesse, manie were so bewitched, as they thought he did verie well therein. Aeneid. 4. lib 4.Antonius Sabellicus writeth of a horrible poisoning murther, committed by women at Rome, where were executed (after due conviction) 170. women at one time; besides 20. women of that consort, who were poisoned with that poison which they had prepared for others./