Morte carent animæ, sempérque priore relicta Sede, nouis domibus viuunt habitántque receptæ.)
The second or succedent, being alwaies either more noble, or more vile than the former, as the partie deserued by his merits, whilest he liued here vpon earth. And therefore it is said by Plato and other, that Orpheus after his death had his soule thrust into the bodie of a swanne, that of Agamemnon conueied into an egle, of Aiax into a lion, of Atlas into a certeine wrestler, of Thersites into an ape, of Deiphobus into Pythagoras, and Empedocles dieng a child, after sundrie changes into a man, whereof he himselfe saith;
Ipse ego námq; fui puer olim, deinde puella, Arbustum & volucris, mutus quóq; in æquore piscis.
[Sidenote: _Plinius, lib. 16. cap. ultimo._] For said they (of whom Pythagoras also had, and taught this errour) if the soule apperteined at the first to a king, and he in this estate did not leade his life worthie his calling, it should after his [Sidenote: Metempsuchôsis.] decease be shut vp in the bodie of a slaue, begger, cocke, owle, dog, ape, horsse, asse, worme, or monster, there to remaine as in a place of purgation and punishment, for a certeine period of time. Beside this, it should peraduenture susteine often translation from one bodie vnto another, according to the quantitie and qualitie of his dooings here on earth, till it should finallie be purified, and restored againe to an other humane bodie, wherein if it behaued it selfe more orderlie than at the first: after the next death, it should be preferred, either to the bodie of a king againe, or other great estate. And thus they made a perpetuall circulation or reuolution of our soules, much like vnto the continuall motion of the heauens, which neuer stand still, nor long yeeld one representation and figure. For this cause also, as Diodorus saith, they vsed to cast certeine letters into the fire, wherein the dead were burned, to be deliuered vnto their deceased fréends, whereby they might vnderstand of the estate of such as trauelled here on earth in their purgations (as the Moscouits doo write vnto S. Nicholas to be a speach-man for him that is buried, in whose hand they bind a letter, and send him with a new paire of shooes on his feet into the graue) and to the end that after their next death they should deale with them accordinglie, and as their merits required. They brought in also the worshipping of manie gods, and their seuerall euen to this daie sacrifices: they honoured [Sidenote: Oke honored whereon mistle did grow, and so doo our sorcerers thinking some spirits to deale about ye same, for hidden treasure.] likewise the oke, whereon the mistle groweth, and dailie deuised infinit other toies (for errour is neuer assured of hir owne dooings) whereof neither Samothes, nor Sarron, Magus, nor Druiyus did leaue them anie prescription.