Friar Bacon: His Discovery of the Miracles of Art, Nature, and Magick

Hat I may carefully render you an answer to your desire, understand, Nature is potent and admirable in her working, yet Art using the advantage of 2 Of the Invocation of Spirits.nature as an instrument (experience tels us) is of greater efficacy than any natural activity.Whatsoever Acts otherwise than by natural or artificial means, is not humane, but merely fictitious and deceitfull. We have many men that by the nimblenesse and activity of body, diversification of sounds, exactness of instruments, darkness, or consent, make things seem to be present, which never were really existent in the course of Nature. The world, as any judicious eye may see, groans under such bastard burdens. A Jugler by an handsome sleight of hand, will put a compleat lie upon the very sight. The Pythonissæ sometimes speaking from their bellies, otherwhile from the throat, than by the mouth, do create what voices they please, either speaking at hand, or farre off, in such a manner, as if a Spirit discoursed with a man, and sometimes as though Beasts bellowed, which is all easily discovered by private laying hollow Canes in the grasse, or secret places, for so the voices of men will be known from other creatures.When inanimate things are violently moved, either in the Morning or Eve.