We have a story minutely related by Benvenuto Cellini in his Life,
which it is now known was produced by optical delusion, but which
was imposed upon the artist and his companions as altogether
supernatural. It occurred a very short time before the death of pope
Clement the Seventh in 1534, and is thus detailed. It took place in
the Coliseum at Rome.
"It came to pass through a variety of odd accidents, that I made
acquaintance with a Sicilian priest, who was a man of genius, and
well versed in the Greek and Latin languages. Happening one day to
have some conversation with him, where the subject turned upon the
art of necromancy, I, who had a great desire to know something of
the matter, told him, that I had all my life had a curiosity to be
acquainted with the mysteries of this art. The priest made answer,
that the man must be of a resolute and steady temper, who entered
on that study. I replied, that I had fortitude and resolution enough
to desire to be initiated in it. The priest subjoined, 'If you think
you have the heart to venture, I will give you all the satisfaction
you can desire.' Thus we agreed to enter upon a scheme of necromancy.
"The priest one evening prepared to satisfy me, and desired me to
look for a companion or two. I invited one Vincenzio Romoli, who was
my intimate acquaintance, and he brought with him a native of Pistoia
who cultivated the art of necromancy himself. We repaired to the
Coliseum; and the priest, according to the custom of conjurors, began
to draw circles on the ground, with the most impressive ceremonies
imaginable. He likewise brought with him all sorts of precious
perfumes and fire, with some compositions which diffused noisome and
bad odours. As soon as he was in readiness, he made an opening to
the circle, and took us by the hand, and ordered the other
necromancer, his partner, to throw perfumes into the fire at a proper
time, intrusting the care of the fire and the perfumes to the rest;
and then he began his incantations.
"This ceremony lasted above an hour and a half, when there appeared
several legions of devils, so that the amphitheatre was quite filled
with them. I was busy about the perfumes, when the priest, who knew
that there was a sufficient number of infernal spirits, turned about
to me, and said, 'Benvenuto, ask them something.' I answered, 'Let
them bring me into company with my Sicilian mistress, Angelica.' That
night we obtained no answer of any sort; but I received great
satisfaction in having my curiosity so far indulged.
"The necromancer told me that it was requisite we should go a second
time, assuring me that I should be satisfied in whatever I asked; but
that I must bring with me a boy that had never known woman. I took
with me my apprentice, who was about twelve years of age; with the
same Vincenzio Romoli, who had been my companion the first time, and
one Agnolino Gaddi, an intimate acquaintance, whom I likewise
prevailed on to assist at the ceremony. When we came to the place
appointed, the priest, having made his preparations as before with the
same and even more striking ceremonies, placed us within the circle,
which he had drawn with a more wonderful art and in a more solemn
manner, than at our former meeting. Thus having committed the care of
the perfumes and the fire to my friend Vincenzio, who was assisted by
Gaddi, he put into my hands a pintacolo, or magical chart, and bid me
turn it towards the places to which he should direct me; and under the
pintacolo I held my apprentice. The necromancer, having begun to make
his most tremendous invocations, called by their names a multitude of
demons who were the leaders of the several legions, and questioned
them, by the virtue and power of the eternal, uncreated God, who lives
for ever, in the Hebrew language, as also in Latin and Greek; insomuch
that the amphitheatre was filled, almost in an instant, with demons a
hundred times more numerous than at the former conjuration. Vincenzio
meanwhile was busied in making a fire with the assistance of Gaddi,
and burning a great quantity of precious perfumes. I, by the direction
of the necromancer, again desired to be in company with my Angelica.
He then turning upon me said, 'Know, they have declared that in the
space of a month you shall be in her company.'
"He then requested me to stand by him resolutely, because the legions
were now above a thousand more in number than he had designed; and
besides these were the most dangerous; so that, after they had
answered my question, it behoved him to be civil to them, and dismiss
them quietly. At the same time the boy under the pintacolo was in a
terrible fright, saying, that there were in the place a million of
fierce men who threatened to destroy us; and that, besides, there were
four armed giants of enormous stature, who endeavoured to break into
our circle. During this time, while the necromancer, trembling with
fear, endeavoured by mild means to dismiss them in the best way he
could, Vincenzio, who quivered like an aspen leaf, took care of the
perfumes. Though I was as much afraid as any of them, I did my utmost
to conceal it; so that I greatly contributed to inspire the rest with
resolution; but the truth is, I gave myself over for a dead man,
seeing the horrid fright the necromancer was in.
"The boy had placed his head between his knees; and said, 'In this
attitude will I die; for we shall all surely perish.' I told him that
those demons were under us, and what he saw was smoke and shadow; so
bid him hold up his head and take courage. No sooner did he look up,
than he cried out, 'The whole amphitheatre is burning, and the fire is
just falling on us.' So, covering his eyes with his hands, he again
exclaimed, that destruction was inevitable, and he desired to see no
more. The necromancer intreated me to have a good heart, and to take
care to burn proper perfumes; upon which I turned to Vincenzio, and
bade him burn all the most precious perfumes he had. At the same time
I cast my eyes upon Gaddi, who was terrified to such a degree, that he
could scarcely distinguish objects, and seemed to be half dead. Seeing
him in this condition, I said to him, 'Gaddi, upon these occasions a
man should not yield to fear, but stir about to give some assistance;
so come directly, and put on more of these perfumes.' Gaddi accordingly
attempted to move; but the effect was annoying both to our sense of
hearing and smell, and overcame the perfumes.
"The boy perceiving this, once more ventured to raise his head, and,
seeing me laugh, began to take courage, and said, 'The devils are
flying away with a vengeance.' In this condition we staid, till the
bell rang for morning prayers. The boy again told us, that there
remained but few devils, and those were at a great distance. When the
magician had performed the rest of his ceremonies, he stripped off his
gown, and took up a wallet full of books, which he had brought with
him. We all went out of the circle together, keeping as close to each
other as we possibly could, especially the boy, who placed himself in
the middle, holding the necromancer by the coat, and me by the cloak.
"As we were going to our houses in the quarter of Banchi, the boy told
us, that two of the demons whom we had seen at the amphitheatre, went
on before us leaping and skipping, sometimes running upon the roofs of
the houses, and sometimes on the ground. The priest declared that, as
often as he had entered magic circles, nothing so extraordinary had
ever happened to him. As we went along, he would fain have persuaded
me to assist at the consecrating a book, from which he said we should
derive immense riches. We should then ask the demons to discover to us
the various treasures with which the earth abounds, which would raise
us to opulence and power; but that those love-affairs were mere
follies from which no good could be expected. I made answer, that I
would readily have accepted his proposal if I had understood Latin. He
assured me that the knowledge of Latin was nowise material; but that
he could never meet with a partner of resolution and intrepidity equal
to mine, and that that would be to him an invaluable acquisition."
Immediately subsequent to this scene, Cellini got into one of those
scrapes, in which he was so frequently involved by his own violence
and ferocity; and the connection was never again renewed.
The first remark that arises out of this narrative is, that nothing is
actually done by the supernatural personages which are exhibited. The
magician reports certain answers as given by the demons; but these
answers do not appear to have been heard from any lips but those of
him who was the creator or cause of the scene. The whole of the demons
therefore were merely figures, produced by the magic lantern (which is
said to have been invented by Roger Bacon), or by something of that
nature. The burning of the perfumes served to produce a dense
atmosphere, that was calculated to exaggerate, and render more
formidable and terrific, the figures which were exhibited. The magic
lantern, which is now the amusement only of servant-maids, and boys at
school in their holidays, served at this remote period, and when the
power of optical delusions was unknown, to terrify men of wisdom and
penetration, and make them believe that legions of devils from the
infernal regions were come among them, to produce the most horrible
effects, and suspend and invert the laws of nature. It is probable,
that the magician, who carried home with him a "wallet full of books,"
also carried at the same time the magic lantern or mirror, with its
lights, which had served him for his exhibition, and that this was the
cause of the phenomenon, that they observed two of the demons which
they had seen at the amphitheatre, going before them on their return,
"leaping and skipping, sometimes running on the roofs of the houses,
and sometimes on the ground." [209]