Men which are dull of seeing and hearing, imagine many
things which in verie deed are not so.

T Hey whiche are weake of sight, are manye times in suche sorte deceyued, that they beholde one man in steade of an other. Poare-blinded men whome the GrÉekes call ???pe?, whiche can not sÉe any thing, except it be verie neare their eyes (as for the most part students are, which night and day turne ouer their bookes) are so much deceiued in their sight, that they are many times ashamed to vtter what they haue thought they haue sÉene. And it standeth by naturall reason, that an oare sÉemeth to be broken in the water: and a tower foure Dronken men see straunge things. cornered, a farre off sheweth to be rounde. Those which drinke wine immoderately, in such sort that their eyes begin to waxe dimme, and stare out of their heads, like hares which haue bin caried hanging on a staffe a mile or twaine, sÉe things farre otherwise than sober men doo. They suppose they sÉe two candles on the table, when there is but one: desiring to reach the potte, they put their hand amisse.Euripides. In Euripides Tragedie named Bacchis, Pentheus affirmeth, that he seeth two Sunnes and two citties of Thebes: For his braines were maruellously distempered. It is a common saying, that if wine haue the victorie, all things seeme to haue turned vpside downe: trÉes to walke, mountaines to be moued, and riuers to run against the head, &c. Salomon exhorteth all men from drunkennesse, in his prouerbs, cap.23. shewing what discommodities ensue therof, and amongst other thinges he saith thus: Thy eyes shall sÉe straunge (to wit) visitions and maruellous apparitions. For as timorous men imagine miraculous things, euen so doo drunken men, who of purpose corrupt and spoile their sight. And albeit God shew many wonders in the aire, and in the earth, to the ende he may stir men vp from idlenesse and bring them to true repentaunce, yet notwithstanding, we must thinke that dronken men which sit vp vntill midnight, do often say, that haue sÉene this or that vision, they haue beheld this or that wonder, when as indÉed they are vtterly deceiued. For in case they had returned home in due season, and not ouercharged themselues with too much wine, no such thing had appeared vnto them. For indÉede their eyesight had not bene blinded. Doth it not often come to passe, that when men are once throughly warmed with wine, they mistake one for another, of whom they thought they were abused in word or dÉede, and violently flie on them with weapon? The place before alleaged out of Salomon, may also be vnderstood to this purpose: Thy eyes shall sÉe straunge (to wit,) women, to lust after them. For experience teacheth vs that men being drunke, assaie to rauish matrones and maidens, which being sober they would neuer once think vppon. Wine immoderately taken, is the nurse of rashe boldnesse and filthie lust.

Aristotle writeth, that some men through the fÉeblenesse of their sight, beholding in the aire neare vnto them (as it were in a glasse) a certaine image of themselues, suppose they sÉe their owne angels or soules: and so as the Prouerbe is, they feare their owne shadow. Although men in obscure and darke places can sÉe nothing, yet do they not (I pray you) imagine they sÉe diuers kindes of shapes and colours. And we many times suppose those things which we sÉe, to be farre otherwise than indÉed they are.

It is well knowne, a mans sight may be so deceiued, that he verily thinkes that one deuoureth a sword, spitteth out money, coales, and such like: that one eateth bread, and spitteth foorth meale: one drinketh wine, which after runneth out of his forehead: that one cutteth off his fellowes head, which afterwardes he setteth on againe: and that a Cocke sÉemeth to drawe after him a huge beame of timber, &c. Moreouer it may be brought to passe by naturall things, as by perfumes and such like, that a man would sweare in earnest, that all men sitting at the table with him, haue no heds at all, or else that they are like the heads of asses: & that somtimes a vine spreadeth it self as it were ouer al the house, whe indÉed it is a mere deceit, or a plaine iugling cast. Of which matter there be bookes commonly Hearing deceiueth. set abroad. The like reason is in hearing, & in the other senses. Those men whose hearing is somewhat decaied, many times sÉeme in their owne imagination, to heare the noyse of boysterous winde, or violent tempest, the sparkling of fire, the roaring of waters sodeinly increased, singing and sounding of instruments, and also the iangling of belles, when as indeed these things are not so, but only chaunce by default of hearing: for others which are conuersant with them, hauing the right vse of hearing, do not heare any such thing at all. Somtimes in very dÉed such things are heard, as the crackling of wainscot walles, and such like, which are naturall signes of some tempest shortly after ensuing.

There are also certaine hollowe places, through the which the winde whiszing, giueth a pleasant sound, as it were through a pipe, much like vnto singing, so that men wonder verie much thereat. We reade in writers of Philosophie, that the very same also chaunceth in bankes of riuers, which bende a little in compasse. Hearing is also deceiued when we thinke we heare thunder, and it is indÉed The sense of feeling is deceiued. but the rumbling of some Carte. There be many which thinke they handle something, and yet are deceiued: If men sicke of the ague, drinke wine of the best and swÉetest sorte, yet they thinke it is more bitter than Gall: if they eate pottage neuer so good, yet they iudge it vnsauorie: which thing commeth not of any faulte in the Cooke, but of the mouth and stomacke whiche is distempered with sicknesse. For vnto them which haue abundance of choller, all things sÉeme bitter. And euen so it commeth to passe, that a man supposeth he seeth, heareth, fÉeleth, or is felt of some spirit, when indÉed it is not so, and yet no man can perswade him the contrary.

If feare and weaknesse of the sight and of other senses mÉete togither, then men fall into strange and maruellous imaginations, belÉeuing things vtterly false, to be verie true: Neither will they be brought from their owne opinions by any meanes or reason.

We reade that not only perticular and priuate men, but also whole armies of souldiers generally haue bene so deceiued, that they haue verily thought their enemies hard at their hÉeles, when as no man followed. And hereof haue procÉeded many horrible flightes in battaile.

CominÆus, a knight and diligent writer of histories, in the ende of his first booke of the Acts of Lewes the II. King of Fraunce, writeth, that when Charles Duke of Burgundie, with other Princes, had remooued their armie to Paris, they vnderstood by their espials, that the next day the king had determined to set on them with all his power of men. Wherefore the next day Charles sent out certaine horsemen to view his enemies: who comming foorth, by reason that the element was somewhat darke, supposed they sawe a huge number of pikes and speares, but when they had passed a little further and that the aire was a little clearer, they vnderstood the same place wherein they iudged the king to be with all his armie, to be planted and ouergrowne with many high thistles, which a far off shewed as it had bene long speares. For the night beguileth mens eyes. And therefore none ought to maruell, if trauellers towardes night or at midnight, mistake stones, trÉes, stubbes, or such like, to be sprites or elues. We reade in the last booke of the kings the 3.chap. that after the death King.4. of king Achab, the Moabites reuolted from Ioram his sonne, wherefore he desired Iosaphat to aide him, and with all his power he determined to make warre on the Moabites, to reduce them to obedience, and subiection. Which thing when the Moabites heard, they prepared to defend themselues, so many as were able to beare armour. But when they had set foreward verie earely in the morning against their enemies, supposing in the rising of the Sunne, the waters which God had miraculously brought out to be redde, they said amongst themselues: Surely the two Kings haue encountred togither, and eache haue destroyed other, wherevppon they running on heapes without order, to spoile the Israelites Tents, were by them vanquished and slaine: here you sÉe all the Armie mistooke water in stead of bloud.

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