With pictures full, of wax and of wool;
Their livers I stick, with needles quick;_
There lacks but the blood, to make up the flood.
Quickly, dame, then bring your part in,
Spur, spur upon little Martin,
Merrily, merrily, make him sail,
A worm in his mouth, and a thorn in his tail,
Fire above, and fire below,
With a whip in your hand, to make him go.
_Ben Johnson's Works, by Gifford_, vol. vii. p. 121.

Meric Casaubon, who is always an amusing writer, and whose works,
notwithstanding his appetite for the wonderful, do not merit the total
oblivion into which they have fallen, is very angry with Jerome
Cardan, an author not generally given to scepticism, for the
hesitation he displays on the subject of these waxen images:--

I know some who question not the power of devils or witches;
yet in this particular are not satisfied how such a thing
can be. For there is no relation or sympathy in nature,
(saith one, who hath written not many years ago,) between a
man and his effigies, that upon the pricking of the one the
other should grow sick. It is upon another occasion that he
speaks it; but his exception reacheth this example equally.
A wonder to me he should so argue, who in many things hath
very well confuted the incredulity of others, though in some
things too credulous himself. If we must believe nothing but
what we can reduce to natural, or, to speak more properly,
(for I myself believe the devil doth very little, but by
nature, though to us unknown,) manifest causes, he doth
overthrow his own grounds, and leaves us but very little of
magical operations to believe. But of all men, Cardan had
least reason to except against this kind of magick as
ridiculous or incredible, who himself is so full of
incredible stories in that kind, upon his own credit alone,
that they had need to be of very easie belief that believe
him, especially when they know (whereof more afterwards)
what manner of man he was. But I dare say, that from Plato's
time, who, among other appurtenances of magic, doth mention
these, [Greek: kerina mimemata] [Transcriber's Note: typo
"mimkmata" for "mimemata" in original Greek] that is, as
Ovid doth call them, _Simulachra cerea_, or as Horace,
_cereas imagines_, (who also in another place more
particularly describe