Who (I pray you) heareth now of any soule or spirit, which dooth wander, and as they call it, craue mens deuotions? Those rumblings of spirits in the night, are now muche more sildome heard than they haue bene in times past.
What the cause is that in these our dayes so fewe spirites are seene or heard.
The cleare light of Gods word driueth away all such spirits, which vse to worke their feates in the darke. The cleare light approaching, the shadow & darkenesse vanisheth. The prince of darknesse shunneth light, and hath nothing to doo where men worship God the Father, only through Iesu Christ, beléeuing only on him, and committing themselues wholy vnto his protection. If men estéem the word of God, and haue it in price, he will in no wise suffer them to be so ouerséene and deceiued, as they are which do all things without the warrant of his word.
Here I cannot ouerpasse with silence a certaine merry iest: when once there chaunced to be talke in a certaine place of visions and spirites, a certaine professour of the Gospell saide vnto a Papist in this maner: You ought (quoth he) euen by this to gather, that our religion is true, and youres false, for that since the Gospell was preached vnto vs, very fewe spirits haue bin séene of any man. To whome the other made aunswere by way of reasoning called =Violentum=: Nay (saith hée) hereby ye may gather, that your religion is naught, and oures good: for the diuell assaulteth those, whome he feareth will shortly reuolte from him.
[Sidenote: A storie of S. Benedict, seing many diuels in a monastery and fewe in the market.]
It is not much vnlike whiche =Æneas Siluius= (who was afterwardes made Pope, called =Pius= .2.) reciteth in his Historie of the Councell of _Basill_, out of the life of holy =Benedict=, father of the Monkes called after his name. Hée sometimes visiting a certaine Monasterie of holy men, espyed an infinite route of diuels, who as it were fighting with the holy fathers, laboured to disturbe the good workes which they went about. And he forthwith going to a faire full of marchandise and buying and selling, sawe there but one diuell, and he also idle and sad, sitting vppon a watch-toure, wherat saint =Benedict= maruelling, that he saw the place which was holy and dedicate to praier, full of diuels, and that he founde the prophane place which was occupied with periurie and other offences, guarded but with one Diuell: coniures the same Diuell to declare and shewe vnto him the true cause thereof: who straight answered him, that it was néedfull the holy place shoulde be assaulted by many diuels, but those which sinned of their voluntarie accorde, had no néede to bée deceiued by the Diuell.