239 _sq._
[767] Petronius, _Sat._ 61 _sq._ (pp. 40 _sq._, ed. Fr. Buecheler,*[3]
Berlin, 1882). The Latin word for a were-wolf (_versipellis_) is
expressive: it means literally "skin-shifter," and is equally
appropriate whatever the particular animal may be into which the wizard
transforms himself. It is to be regretted that we have no such general
term in English. The bright moonlight which figures in some of these
were-wolf stories is perhaps not a mere embellishment of the tale but
has its own significance; for in some places it is believed that the
transformation of were-wolves into their bestial shape takes place
particularly at full moon. See A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et
Traditions des Provinces de France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 99,
157; J.L.M. Nogues, _Les Moeurs d'autrefois en Saintonge et en Aunis_
(Saintes, 1891), p. 141.
[768] J.G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and
Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), p. 6: "In carrying out their
unhallowed cantrips, witches assumed various shapes. They became gulls,
cormorants, ravens, rats, mice, black sheep, swelling waves, whales, and
very frequently cats and hares." To this list of animals into which
witches can turn themselves may be added horses, dogs, wolves, foxes,
pigs, owls, magpies, wild geese, ducks, serpents, toads, lizards, flies,
wasps, and butterflies. See A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche
Volksaberglaube_*[2] (Berlin, 1869), p.
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