Several Tracts Pertaining to the Archidoxa

is forgotten. As one often says in the morning before he gets up, I dreamt a wonderful dream tonight, how Mercury, or this or that philosopher appeared to me in the flesh, and taught me this or that art, but it slipped from me and was forgotten. He to whom this happens, after he gets up, should not leave his room, and speak to no one, and remain fasting, until everything occurs to him again and he thinks of his dream again. Let that be said of the natural dream and appearances in sleep, which happen daily. Yet in conclusion, there is one more thing to be mentioned of these, that all such dreams that appear and delight or sadden our spirit in sleep, usually have the opposite result in action thereafter, therefore they are not always to be trusted. But the other dreams, which happen in a supernatural way, those are certain legations and messages dispatched by God Himself and sent to us, and are nothing other than angels and ministering spirits. They appear to us usually in our greatest needs, in such form as happened to the three Magi, when they sought the newborn Child, to whom they traveled a very long journey. And when they had found Him and were to return to Herod to tell him of these events, the angel of God appeared to them in a dream and warned them that they should not return to him, but should travel another way, for God knew well that Herod had spoken such words out of a false heart, therefore He also wanted it to be that he would be deceived. Such a dream Joseph also had, and Jacob when he wanted to move to Egypt, and also Ananias, Cornelius, and many more, all of which are supernatural events, and similar ones still happen among us, but one does not heed them. They are truthful, however; they cannot and may not deceive. But as for these appearances, how they happen and come to us, it is to be known that we must ask for them in our highest needs through the mercy of God. If such prayer is made in right faith with mouth and heart, then He sends us such a messenger who also appears to us spiritually, warns us, consoles