[1] ¶ Thus much out of Rafe Coghshall, who affirmeth that this chanced in the daies of Henrie the second, about the 33 of his reigne, Iohn Stow. as Iohn Stow in his sum|marie hath also noted. Which report of theirs in re|spect of the strangnesse thereof might séeme incredi|ble, speciallie to such as be hard of beléefe, and refuse to giue faith and credit to any thing but what their owne eies haue sealed to their consciences, so that the reading of such woonders as these, is no more be|neficiall to them, than to carrie a candle before a blind man, or to sing a song to him that is starke deafe. Neuerthelesse, of all vncouth and rare sights, speciallie of monstruous appearances we ought to be so farre from hauing little regard; that we should rather in them and by them obserue the euent and falling out of some future thing, no lesse miraculous in the issue, than they be woonderfull at the sudden sight. This was well noted of a philosopher, who to the purpose (among other matters by him touched) hath spoken no lesse pithilie than crediblie, saieng;

M. P [...]. in [...].Nec fieri aut errore aut c [...]su monstra putandum,

Cum certas habeant causas, vt tristia monstrent,

Vnde il [...]as nomen, quare & portenta vocantur.