_That the Scriptures and sound Reason are the true and proper Mediums
to prove the Actions attributed unto Witches by, and not other
improper ways that many Authors have used. And of the Requisites
necessary truly to prove a matter of Fact by._
As we have in the former Chapter proved, that Apparitions (though true)
are no sufficient warrant to ground our belief upon, for the Existence
of Angels or Spirits, but the Word of God: so here we shall endeavour
clearly to manifest, that the Sacred Scriptures are the only Medium,
joyned with sound Reason, of deciding this point of the power and
operation of Demons and Witches, and not other improper Mediums brought
in by divers Authors, and first we shall answer the Objection of Mr.
_Glanvil_, that runs thus.
[Sidenote: _Object. 1._]
[Sidenote: _Pag._ 96, 97.]
“That though the New Testament had mentioned nothing of this matter, yet
its silence in such cases is not argumentative. He said nothing of those
large unknown Tracts of _America_, nor gave he any intimations of as
much as the existence of that numerous people; much less did he leave
instructions about their Conversion. He gives no account of the affairs
and state of the other World, but only that general one of the happiness
of some, and the misery of others. He made no discovery of the
_Magnalia_ of Art or Nature, no not of those whereby the propagation of
the Gospel might have been much advanced, _viz._ the Mystery of Printing
and the Magnet, and yet no one useth his silence in these instances as
an argument against the being of things, which are evident objects of
sense.” To which we answer.
[Sidenote: _Respons._]
1. He falleth into a common mistake in making the Proposition universal,
and _dolus versatur in universalibus_, when it ought but to be
particular: so for him to say, that no silence of Scripture is
argumentative, is too universal; for its silence in point of Geography,
as in describing _America_, and the people thereof, nor in discovering
the _Magnalia Naturæ & Artis_ is not argumentative; and we do not say,
that all silence of Scripture is argumentative, but yet we affirm that
some silence of Scripture is argumentative. So we cannot universally
say, that nothing hath a being but what is mentioned in Scripture; but
we may very well affirm, that some things have no being, or truth of
existence, because not declared in Scripture.
[Sidenote: _Lib._ 1. _c._ 1.]
2. The Scriptures were not written to teach Natural Philosophy, Arts or
Sciences, humane Policy, or the like; but were given, _that the man of
God might be perfect, furnished for every good work_: and it is by them
that we have the doctrine of eternal Salvation revealed unto us, and we
positively affirm the sufficiency of the Scriptures unto Salvation,
which thing no Orthodox Divine (we suppose) will deny, and _Bellarmine_
himself did confess in these words: _Prophetici & Apostolici libri sunt
verum verbum Dei, ac stabilis regula fidei_. And if it be a certain Rule
of Faith, and the true Word of God, then whatsoever it is silent of, we
ought not to believe, and so its silence is argumentative in that point.
The Scriptures are utterly silent concerning Purgatory, and therefore it
is a good argument to affirm there is no such place as Purgatory,
because the Word of God is silent as concerning it; but if it had been
necessary to have been believed, then there would have been mention made
of it.
3. And as the Scriptures are sufficient in matters of Faith, and _circa
credenda_, and what they are silent in, are not to be received as
Articles of our Faith, but to be rejected, as having no truth of
Existence: So likewise what Worship God requireth of his people, is
fully revealed in his Word, and therefore I am to reject the worshipping
of _Mahomet_ with the Turks, or Images, and praying to Saints with the
Papists, because I have neither precept nor president in the Word, but
it is silent in such matters; nay tells us, _That he is the Lord our
God, and him only we ought to serve_.
[Sidenote: _Pag._ 87, 88. 23.]
[Sidenote: _Origin. Sacr._ _l._ 3. _c._ 6. _p._ 608.]
[Sidenote: Invisib. World, p. 112.]
[Sidenote: Joh. 17. 24.]
[Sidenote: Serm. c. 7.]
[Sidenote: Wisd. 3. 1.]
[Sidenote: Luk. 23. 43.]
[Sidenote: _Concio secunda de Lazaro._]
[Sidenote: Luk. 16. 22, 23.]
[Sidenote: 2 Sam. 12. 23.]
[Sidenote: Job 7. 9, 10.]
[Sidenote: _Idem._ 10. 20, 21.]
[Sidenote: _Bellarm. Enervat._ _tom._ 2. _l._ 5. _p._ 204.]
[Sidenote: _Homil._ _sect._ 16. _pag._ 484.]
4. Though Mr. _Glanvil_ say, that God hath given no account of the state
of the other World, but only that general one of the happiness of some,
and the misery of others; yet Am I to believe as Mr. _Glanvil_ somewhere
in his Book affirmeth, that _Samuels_ Soul was raised up by the Woman at
_Endor_, and that those that he feigneth to make Leagues and Contracts
with Witches, are the Souls of such as had been Witches when they lived,
and asketh, Who saith that happy Souls were never imployed in any
ministeries here below? Or am I to believe that both the Souls of the
godly and wicked, do rove up and down here upon earth, and make
Apparitions, because the Popish Teachers do hold it to be so? I hope
not, and therefore I shall in part give an answer here to some of these,
and handle that of the Woman of _Endor_ in another place. 1. The Word of
God doth particularly teach us the state and condition of the Souls
after death, that they shall be like the Angels in Heaven; and all other
things necessary to move and draw us to believe the immortal Existence
of Souls, as that most able and learned Divine Dr. _Stillingfleet_ hath
asserted in these words: “The Scriptures give the most faithful
representation of the state and condition of the Soul of Man. The World
(he saith) was almost lost in Disputes concerning the Nature, Condition,
and Immortality of the Soul, before divine Revelation was made known to
Mankind by the Gospel of Christ; _but life and immortality was brought
to light by the Gospel_, and the future state of the soul of man not
discovered in an uncertain Platonical way, but with the greatest light
and evidence from that God who hath the supreme disposal of souls, and
therefore best knows and understands them.” A Sentence truly pious and
orthodoxal. 2. Hath not God in the holy Scriptures amply and plainly
taught us the state of the other World, in describing unto us such a
numerous company of Seraphims and Cherubims, Angels and Archangels, with
their several Orders, Offices, Ministeries, and Imployments? and this is
more than a general account, as may be seen at full in that learned and
godly Piece of Bishop _Halls_, called _The invisible World_. And hath he
not given us a particular account of the very Kingdom of Darkness,
telling us of the Devil and his Angels, and precisely in this
enumeration? _For we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places._ And this is
more than a general account, and we must needs say, that what he holds
is very derogatory to the wisdom and goodness of God, and the
sufficiency and truth of the Scriptures. 3. Must I believe him that the
souls of the Saints do rove and wander here below? when as Bishop _Hall_
saith, where he is speaking against the opinion of those that hold, that
Souls do sleep until the Day of Judgment: “Indeed who can but wonder
that any Christian can possibly give entertainment to so absurd a
thought, whilst he hears his Saviour say, _Father I will that they also
whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, and that_ (not in a safe
sleep) _they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me_.” Sure if
the Souls departed be with Christ where he is, and do behold his glory,
then it is a Popish Fable of Mr. _Glanvil_, to feign their coming upon
Messages hither. The saying of St. _Bernard_ is remarkable in this case:
_Advertistis tres esse sanctarum status animarum, primum videlicet in
corpore corruptibili, secundum sine corpore, tertium in corpore jam
glorificato. Primum in militia, secundum in requie, tertium in
beatitudine consummata._ And if the second state of holy Souls be
without a body, and be at peace and rest, then it must necessarily be a
truth, that they do not wander here, nor run upon Errands; _For the
souls of the righteous are in the hands of the Lord, and there shall no
torment touch them_. And our Saviour told the Thief upon the Cross,
_This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise_, that is, as Dr. _Hammond_
giveth the Paraphrase: “Immediately after thy death thou shalt go to a
place of bliss, and there abide with me, a Member of that my Kingdom
which thou askest for.” Now if the souls of the godly, after their
death, be immediately in a place of bliss, and abide with Christ as
Members of his Kingdom, then they do not wander up and down here, as Mr.
_Glanvil_ and the Papists vainly fancy and believe; for as _Chrysostome_
saith upon that place of _Lazarus_ his being carried by Angels into
_Abrahams_ bosome. “What is it then that the Devils say, I am the Soul
of such a Monk? Truly I therefore believe it not, because the Devils say
it, for they deceive their Auditors.” 4. Or must I believe that the
souls of the wicked do wander, and make Apparitions here, because Mr.
_Glanvil_ and the Popish Writers tell me so? I hope not; for the Text
telleth us plainly, that the rich man presently after his death was in
Hell in torments, and could not come hither unto earth again to warn his
brethren, otherwise he would not have prayed _Abraham_ to have sent
_Lazarus_. And whether it be taken for a real History of things done, or
but a Parable, yet the spiritual meaning of our Saviour must be
infallibly true, that immediately after death the souls of the godly are
by Angels carried into _Abrahams_ bosome, and the wicked go down into
Hell, from whence there is no redemption; and therefore do not wander up
and down here, nor make any Apparitions: for I imagine that the
authority of holy King _David_, a Prophet and a man after Gods own
heart, is to be preferred before the authority of a thousand Popish
Writers, and he tells us, when the child was dead: _But now he is dead,
wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him,
but he shall not return to me._ And _Job_ tells us: _As the cloud is
consumed, and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave, shall
come up no more, he shall return no more to his house, neither shall his
place know him any more_. And therefore it was a vain argument of
_Bellarmine_ when he said: “_Apparitiones animarum ex Purgatorio
venientium idem testantur_.” To which the Protestants answer: “But who
shall bear witness of these Apparitions, that they were not either
feigned fables, or Satanical illusions? They were men, and might be
deceived, even the best of them, with whom doth rest the faith of these
Narrations.” 5. And whereas he audaciously asketh, “Who saith that happy
Souls were never imployed in any Ministeries here below?” I shall tell
him who they are that say, that happy Souls departed are never imployed
here in any Ministeries; and they are all the learned Divines of the
Reformed Churches, and all those that were true Sons of the Doctrine of
the Church of _England_, such as were Bishop _Jewel_, Bishop _Hall_, Dr.
_Willet_, Dr. _Whitaker_, Mr. _Perkins_, and many more such, the
authority and reputation of the least of which is far above the simple
question of Mr. _Glanvil_. And therefore saith the latter Confession of
_Helvetia_: “Now that which is recorded of the Spirits or Souls of the
dead sometimes appearing to them that are alive, &c. we count those
Apparitions among the delusions and deceits of the Devil.”
5. And as the Scriptures are sufficient both in respect of matters of
Faith, and concerning divine Worship, that their silence in those two
particulars are fully argumentative, to deny whatever is not contained
in them, as unfit to be received to either purpose. So in respect of a
Christians warfare, all things for the obtaining of a perfect and
compleat victory, and for standing and perseverance, are in them fully
declared, and what they mention not is to be rejected, as wanting the
seal of Divine Authority, whether it be in regard of eschewing what is
prohibited, or in following what is commanded. And therefore we affirm,
that what the Scriptures have not revealed of the power of the Kingdom
of Satan, is to be rejected, and not to be believed, and what weapons we
are to use against the wiles of the Devil, we are to be furnished
withal, but have need of no others but what the Holy Ghost in the
Scriptures hath made known unto us, the rest are to be cast off, as
fables and lyes, or humane inventions, because the Scriptures are silent
of any such matter, and that for these weighty grounds and
considerations.
[Sidenote: _De Doctrin. Christian._]
1. We shall take the Concession of _Bellarmine_ himself, who saith:
_Nullum est vitium ad quod sanandum non invenitur in Scriptura aliquod
remedium_. And again: _Illa quæ sunt simpliciter omnibus necessaria,
Apostoli consueverunt omnibus prædicare: & aliorum quæ sunt omnibus
utilia_. And to the same purpose is the saying of St. _Austin_: _Titubat
fides, si divinarum Scripturarum vacillet authoritas: porrò fide
titubante, etiam ipsa charitas languescit_. Therefore if there be no
fault for which the Scripture doth not yield some remedy, then surely to
make a visible League with the Devil, or to have carnal Copulation with
him, either must have no verity at all in it, or that the Scripture hath
provided no remedy for it, for of such things there is no mention. And
if Faith must stumble, where the authority of the Scriptures is wanting,
then surely the belief of all rational men must needs be staggering, to
believe what these common Witchmongers affirm of the Witches visible
League and carnal Copulation with the Devil, when there is no authority
of Scripture at all to strengthen or countenance any such matter.
[Sidenote: Eph. 6. 11, 12, 13.]
[Sidenote: 1 Pet. 5. 8, 9.]
[Sidenote: 2 Cor. 10. 4, 5.]
2. The Scriptures do fully and abundantly inform us of the Devils
spiritual and invisible power, and against the same declares unto us the
whole Armor of God, with which we ought to be furnished, as the Apostle
saith: _Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand._ And the
Apostle St. _Peter_ telleth us: _Be sober, be vigilant, because your
adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he
may devour; whom resist stedfast in the faith_. And in another place:
_For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God
to the pulling down of strong holds, casting down imaginations, and
every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God_.
From which Scriptures we may take these remarkable observations.
[Sidenote: 2 Cor. 2. 11.]
[Sidenote: 1 Tim. 3. 7.]
[Sidenote: 2 Tim. 2. 26.]
1. We are to consider the nature of this Warfare, that it is spiritual
and against spiritual wickedness in high places, and not against flesh
and blood; and the Holy Ghost could not be wanting nor defective, but
superabundantly full in describing the nature of this warfare, that it
is spiritual, not carnal; and therefore we are to prepare our selves
against all spiritual assaults: but as for any visible, carnal, or
bodily, there is not, nor can be any such, because the Apostle that
declared by his Preaching and Writings the whole counsel of God, hath
revealed no such thing as the visible appearing of Satan, much less of
his making of a visible League with the Witches, or the sucking of their
bodies, or the having carnal Copulation with them, which must of
necessity be lyes and figments, because the Holy Ghost hath not warned
us of any such, which we ought certainly to believe he would have done,
if there had been any such matter. And the holy Apostle, who was not
ignorant of the devices νοήματα, notions or intentions of Satan, would
not have omitted to have warned the godly, if there had been any such
matter as a visible League, sucking of their bodies, or carnal
Copulation, the thing being of so great weight and concern. For as one
said well: _Grave est de vita & bonis periclitari, sed multò gravius
insidiantem habere Satanam_. And he that so often hath given us warning
of the wiles, devices, and snares of the Devil, if there had been any
such dangerous snare as this, would without doubt have given us notice
of it.
2. We are to consider the end of this Warfare, that it is for no less
than a Crown, and that not a terrestrial, but a celestial one, not a
fading one, but an everlasting one, a Crown of eternal life, of immortal
glory, even for an house given of God, eternal in the Heavens. Therefore
this being a thing of the greatest concern that belongs to a Christian,
the Apostle would not doubtlesly omit any thing that had been necessary
to the obtaining of such an inestimable prize, and such an important
Victory; and therefore cannot in reason have concealed or omitted such a
weighty matter as a visible League, and the like, if there had been any
such thing.
[Sidenote: Eph. 6. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18.]
3. We are to consider that this Armor prescribed for the Souldiers of
Jesus Christ, is _the whole armor of God_, πανοπλίαν, the compleat armor
of God (as Dr. _Hammond_ renders it) perfect both for defence and
offence. And therefore the Apostle describes it fully by a Metaphor,
taken from such Arms as the _Roman_ or other Nations in his time use,
saying: _Stand therefore, having your loyns girt about with truth, and
having on the breast-plate of righteousness: And your feet shod with the
preparation of the Gospel of peace. Above all taking the shield of
faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the
wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit,
which is the word of God. Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance
and supplication for all Saints._ And as it is a compleat and perfect
Armor, both in respect of defence and offence; so it is a spiritual, not
a carnal, corporeal, or bodily armor, because the warfare _is not
against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high
places_, against spiritual enemies, not against corporeal and carnal
ones; for as the enemies are and the warfare, so are the armor and
weapons. From whence we truly urge, that the Apostle led by the Holy
Ghost, and the Wisdom of the Father, and knowing the whole counsel of
God (especially in this point) hath omitted nothing that is fitting
armor for a Christian either of defence or offence, whereby he may be
inabled to get the victory against Satan, and all his spiritual Army.
And therefore that either Satan hath not power, or doth not assault
Christians after a visible, carnal, and bodily manner, or else that the
Holy Ghost hath been defective in prescribing armor against such
assaults, and consequently that the armor of a Souldier of Jesus Christ
is not compleat, or else there is no such bodily assaults of Satan at
all, as to tempt visibly, to make a corporeal League, to suck upon the
Witches bodies, nor to have carnal Copulation with them. But we affirm,
and that (as we conceive) with sound reason, that the Scriptures in this
particular of a Christians armor, and the compleatness of it, is
abundantly sufficient against all spiritual assaults whatsoever, and
consequently that there is no other kind of assaults but meerly
spiritual, and therefore the Word of God, the most proper _Medium_ with
sound reason, to judge of the power of Spirits and Devils by.
[Sidenote: _Gregor. sup. Ezekiel._ _Homil._ 6.]
[Sidenote: 1 Tim. 1. 17.]
[Sidenote: Heb. 12. 9.]
3. That the Scriptures and sound reason are the only true and proper
_Medium_ to decide these Controversies by, is most undeniably apparent,
because God is a Spirit, and the invisible God, and therefore best knows
the nature and power of the spiritual and invisible World, and being the
God of truth, can and doth inform us of their power and operations,
better than the vain lyes and figments of the Heathen Poets, or the
dreams of the Platonick School, either elder or later, nay better than
all the notional and groundless speculations of the Schoolmen, of whom
it may truly be said that, _Rivulo divinæ Scripturæ relicto, in abyssos
vanarum opinionum incidêrunt_. Nay these can better inform us in this
point, than the Writings of all Mortals besides, and therefore
whatsoever may be said to the contrary, may receive its answer from the
Father: _Quod de Scripturis sacris authoritatem non habet, eâdem
facilitate contemnitur, quâ probatur_. Therefore he being _the King
eternal, immortal, invisible, and the only wise God_, of none can we so
truly and certainly learn these things, as of him who hath plentifully
taught us in his Word all things necessary to Salvation, _that the man
of God may be perfect, throughly furnished to every good work_. Nay _he
is the Father of Spirits_, and therefore truly knoweth, and can and doth
teach us their Natures, Offices, and Operations.
[Sidenote: _Vid. Orig. sacr._ _l._ 1. _c._ 1. _p._ 15.]
[Sidenote: Levit. 18. 22, 23, 24.]
4. The Scriptures (especially the Writings of _Moses_) considered only
as Historical, are of more antiquity, verity, and certainty both as to
Doctrine, Precepts, matters of Fact, and Chronology, than all other
Histories whatsoever, whether of the Phenicians, Egyptians, Chaldeans,
or Grecians, as the learned person Dr. _Stillingfleet_ hath sufficiently
proved. Now if there had been such an one as a Witch, that made a
visible League with the Devil, and upon whose body he suckt, and with
whom he had carnal Copulation, something of that nature would doubtless
have been recorded in the Scriptures, of which notwithstanding there is
not the least tittle or mention. And _Moses_ who was so perfect a
Law-giver, as in a manner to omit no kind or sort of sin or evil that
men possibly could commit, but to forbid it, and make a Law against it,
could never have left out such an horrid, unnatural, and hellish
wickedness as carnal Copulation with the fallen Angels, if there had
been any such matter. For he saith, after he had forbidden all sorts of
Fornications, Adulteries, and Incests: _Thou shalt not lye with mankind,
as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lye with any
beast to defile thy self therewith: neither shall any woman stand before
a beast to lye down thereto: it is confusion. Defile not your selves in
any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled, which I
cast out before you._ Now it cannot be rationally imagined, that _Moses_
having named and prohibited the less sins of bestial Copulation and
Sodomy, would have left out that which is the most horrid and execrable
of all others, to wit, carnal Copulation with Devils, if there had been
any such thing either in possibility or act. And therefore we may
conclude according to the rules of sound reason, that there is no such
matter, and that the Scriptures are the most fit _Medium_ to decide
these Controversies.
[Sidenote: 2 Thess. 3. 2.]
5. The Scriptures and sound reason are the most fit Mediums to determine
these things by, because there is nothing that any hath written upon
this Subject (though the Authors be superfluously numerous) but if it
agree not with the principles of right reason, and the rules of the
Scriptures, they ought to be rejected. For what is not consonant to
right reason, ought not to be received by any that truly are rational
Creatures; and what agrees not with the Word of God, ought not to be
entertained by any that are or would be accounted good or true
Christians. And if all the gross fables, lyes, impossibilities, and
nonsensical stories that Demonographers and Witchmongers have related
and accumulated together, were brought to the test of the Scriptures and
sound reason, they would soon be hissed off the Stage, and find few
believers or embracers of them. But alas! all (nay few men) have the
right use and exercise of their rational faculty, but men to see to are
in themselves as beasts; and therefore we may all pray with the Apostle
to be delivered from unreasonable men, or men without reason, or absurd
men, that make no right use of reason, ἀτόπων ἀνθρώπων.
[Sidenote: Dan. 4. 35.]
[Sidenote: Gal. 4. 4.]
[Sidenote: Joh. 9. 1, 2, 3.]
[Sidenote: Joh. 5. 14.]
[Sidenote: _Vid. Thom. Aquin. caten. aur. in loc._]
[Sidenote: _Ut supr._]
6. The Scriptures and right reason have declared all things concerning
Spirits either good or bad, as also all sorts of Diviners (or Witches,
if you will have them called so) and the nature, power, operations, and
actions of them, more than any other Book that was written before the
time of our Saviours Birth (the dreams and whimsies of the Platonists
only excepted) or for the space of three hundred years after, and
therefore are the most fit Medium and Authority to determine these
things by. 1. For first it is manifest, that all things are ordered by
the wisdom of the Almighty, who hath done whatsoever he would both in
Heaven, _and he doth according to his will in the army of heaven, and
among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say
unto him, What dost thou?_ And these things God doth not by a naked
prescience, but by his divine will, providence, and ordination, as a
learned Divine hath taught us in these words: _Est hoc inprimis
necessarium & salutare Christiano nôsse, quòd Deus nihil præscit
contingenter, sed quòd omnia incommutabili & æternâ, infallibilíq;
voluntate & providet, & præponit, & facit_. So it was only his will,
decree, and determination, that Christ should not be born, or assume
humane nature visibly, but at that precise time that he had appointed,
according to the evidence of the Apostle. _But when the fulness of time
was come, God sent forth his Son made of a woman, made under the law._
And when that fulness of time was come that he sent him, then did the
divine Wisdom and Providence ordain all means, objects and occasions,
whereby the fulness of the Godhead that dwelt in him bodily, might be
made manifest, by working of miracles, both by himself and his Apostles,
therefore were there so many several sorts of Demoniacks, blind, lame,
dumb, deaf, and diseased, not by chance, but by the providence of the
Father, and only and chiefly that the work of God might be manifest in
them, for the Evangelist tells us: _And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man
which was blind from his birth. And his Disciples asked him, saying,
Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that
the works of God should be made manifest in him._ Upon which place Dr.
_Hammond_ doth give this clear Paraphrase: “And some of his followers
asked him, saying, Sir, was it any sin of his own, when his soul was in
another body, or was it some sin of his parents at the time of his
conception, which caused this blindness in him? Neither his own, nor his
parents sins were the cause of this blindness of his, but Gods secret
wisdom, who meant by this means to shew forth in me his miraculous power
among you.” And though the Doctor would bring in the opinion of
_Pythagoras_ of the Transmigration of Souls (of which vain traditional
fancies he is almost every where guilty) as received and imbibed in by
some of the Jews that then followed him: yet it appeareth plainly, that
it was not interrogated by the Jews, but by his Disciples, ὁι Μαθηλαὶ,
and therefore it is a wonder the Doctor should be so grosly mistaken;
and _Theophylact_ tells us thus much plainly: _Neq; enim Apostoli
Gentiles nugas receperunt, quo anima ante corpus in alio mundo versans
peccet, ac deinde pœnam quandam recipiat in corpus descendens.
Piscatores cùm essent, neq; audiverant tale quiddam, quia hæc
Philosophorum dogmata erant._ And so declareth, that the Disciples
having seen Christ heal the man that had thirty eight years been
impotent and lame, and had said unto him, _Behold thou art made whole,
sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee_, did conceive, that this
man being born blind, it had been a punishment upon him, either for his
own sins, or the sins of his parents, and so doubting asked the
question. And so also do St. _Austin_ and _Chrysostome_ expound the
place, which is both sound and rational. And of our Saviours responsion,
_That neither had this man sinned, nor his parents_, the learned Father
giveth a satisfactory answer, saying: _Nunquid vel ipse sine originali
peccato natus erat, vel vivendo nihil addiderat? Habebant ergo peccatum,
& ipse & parentes ejus, sed non ipso peccato factum est ut cæcus
nasceretur. Ipse autem causam dicit quare cæcus sit natus, cùm subdit:
sed ut manifestentur opera Dei in illo._ And to the same purpose
_Gregory_ hath this notable passage: _Alia itaq; est percussio, quâ
peccator percutitur, ut sine retractatione puniatur: Alia quâ peccator
percutitur, ut corrigatur: Alia quâ quisq; percutitur, non ut præterita
corrigat, sed ne ventura committat: Alia per quam nec præterita culpa
corrigitur, nec futura prohibetur. Sed dum inopinata salus percussionem
sequitur, salvantis virtus cognita ardentiùs amatur._ From whence it is
manifest, that as the Father in the fulness of time, by his Decree and
Providence sent out the Son, _in whom dwelt the fulness of the Godhead
bodily_, with a purpose to manifest the same by his great and wonderful
Miracles: so in his divine Wisdom he had ordered fit subjects and
objects upon whom that power might be made manifest. And therefore were
there such strange diseases offered, especially in Demoniacks, that can
hardly be parallel’d in any one Country of that small compass, and in so
short a time, and all that the works of God might be manifest by that
ever-blessed Saviour of Mankind, Jesus Christ. And though there were so
many persons, so many several ways perplexed and afflicted both in their
minds and bodies, as some made deaf and dumb, some torn and contorted in
their members, some thrown on the ground, some into the fire, some
driven to live amongst the graves and monuments, and yet all these cured
by our blessed Saviour: Yet is there no mention made of any that had
made a visible League with the Devil, nor upon whose bodies he suckt,
nor with whom he had carnal Copulation, nor whom he had
transubstantiated into Wolves, Dogs, Hares, Cats, or Squirrels; to have
cured which would have been as great a miracle as any of the rest, but
there were no such matters; and therefore we may safely conclude, there
never were, are, or can be any such matters, whatsoever may be said to
the contrary.
[Sidenote: Act. 8. 9, 10, 11.]
[Sidenote: Act. 13. 8.]
[Sidenote: _Ibid._ 16. 16, 18.]
[Sidenote: Act. 19. 13, 16.]
[Sidenote: 2 Thess. 2. 9.]
[Sidenote: _Chrysost. in loc._]
2. In the New Testament there is mention made of several sorts of
deceiving Impostors, Diviners, or Witches, who were all discovered and
conquered by that power that Christ had given unto the Apostles; as for
instance: _Simon, which before-time in the same city used sorcery, and
bewitched_ μαγεύων κὶ ἐξισῶν _the people of Samaria, giving out that
himself was some great one. To whom they gave heed from the least to the
greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they
had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with
sorceries_; τῶς μαγείαις ἐξεσακέναι αὐτὺς, _seducebat populum suis
magicis præstigiis_, saith _Tremellius_; and _Beza_, _Exercuerat artem
magicam, & gentem Samariæ obstupefecerat_; who when he would have bought
the gift of the Holy Ghost with money, was rejected by _Peter_ as an
Impostor and Counterfeit, and declared, _that he was in the gall of
bitterness_. Such another was _Elymas_ the Sorcerer (for so is his name
by interpretation) ὁ μάγος who was stricken blind by St. _Paul_. Such an
one was the Damsel that was possessed with a Spirit of Divination, which
St. _Paul_ cast forth. And such were the Jewish Exorcists, that took
upon them to call over them which had evil Spirits, the Name of the Lord
Jesus, saying, _We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. But the man
in whom the evil spirit was, leapt on them, and overcame them, and
prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and
wounded._ But amongst these several sorts of Diviners, Impostors, or
Witches, there were none that had made a visible League with the Devil,
nor upon whose bodies he suckt, nor that had carnal Copulation with him,
nor were changed into Cats, Dogs, or Wolves: but if the Devil had had
any such power, or had there been any such sort of Witches, the divine
Wisdom and Providence would have ordained some of them then to have been
made apparent, that his power by Christ and the Apostles, might have
been shewed as well in the greater as in the less: and that for the more
full manifestation of the Works of God, as for a more triumphant
declaration of the power of Christ in conquering him and his Kingdom,
and for a more ample warning and instruction to the Children of God to
avoid the snares and wiles of the Devil; but there being no such, then
we must rationally conclude, that there now is not, nor ever was, or can
be any such matter, but the vain believing of such figments and
forgeries, is only the cunning and delusion of Satan, who works by lying
and deceiving wonders τέρασι ψεύδοις, of which St. _Chrysostome_ saith
thus: _Hoc est, omnem ostentabit potentiam, sed nihil veri, verùm omnia
ad seductionem. Et prodigiis, inquit, mendacii. Aut ementitis ac
ludificantibus, aut ad mendacium inducentibus._
[Sidenote: _Pag._ 9.]
Having now sufficiently proved, that the Scriptures and sound Reason are
the proper Mediums to decide these difficulties by, we shall in the next
place shew the invalidity of some ways used by the most Authors, to
prove and defend these Tenents, and _ab uno disce omnes_, take Mr.
_Glanvil_ for all, in his own words: “That this being matter of fact, is
only capable of the evidence of authority and sense: and by both these,
the being of Witches and Diabolical Contracts, is most abundantly
confirmed.” To which we shall give this smart Reply. Not to make the
Proposition universal, generally to deny the evidence of authority and
sense; no, far be it from me to run into that wild and senseless
absurdity, which were in a manner to destroy the credibility of all
humane testimony: But we shall here speak of the evidence of authority
and sense with this restriction and limitation, to these Particulars. 1.
Those Authors that write of Apparitions and Spirits. 2. Those that treat
of Diabolical Leagues and Contracts. 3. Those that mention the Devil
sucking of the Witches body, carnal Copulation with them, their being
changed into Hares, Dogs, Cats, and Wolves, and the like. These Authors
we say are to be read with caution, and their relations not to be
credited, except better proof be given to evidence the matters of fact,
than hitherto hath been brought by any, and that for these especial
reasons and necessary cautions.
[Sidenote: _Epist._ _lib._ 7. _pag._ 252.]
[Sidenote: _De defect. oracul._ _p. mihi_ 700.]
[Sidenote: _Plutarch. in vit. Marc. Brut._ _pag._ 361.]
1. The Authors that have recorded stories of this nature, are to be
seriously considered, whether they have related the matter of fact by
their own proper knowledge, as eye and ear-witnesses of it, or have
taken it up by hear-say, common fame, or the relation of others: and if
what they relate, were not of their own certain knowledge or αὐτοψία,
then is it of little or no credit at all; for the other that relates it,
might be guilty either of active or passive deception and delusion, or
might have heard it from another, or by common report: of all which
there is no certainty, but leaveth sufficient grounds for dubitation,
and is sufficient to caution a prudent person altogether to suspend his
assent, until better proof can be brought. There is a story related by
_Plinius Cæcilius_ to his friend _Sura_, of a House in _Athens_ that was
haunted by a Spirit in so terrible and frightful a manner, that it was
left utterly forsaken, and none would inhabit in it, until that
_Athenodorus_ the Philosopher adventured upon it, and abode the coming
of the Apparition or Phantasm, and upon its signs followed it to a place
below, and then it vanished: he marked the place, and went to the
Magistrate, and caused the place to be digged up, and found the bones of
a person inchained or fettered, and caused the bones to be buried, and
so the House remained free afterwards. It is a wonder to think how many
Authors have swallowed this relation (nay even _Philip Camerarius_
himself, who though a very Learned man, yet in things of this nature too
extremely credulous) and urged it for proof, as a matter of great credit
and authority, when we cannot discern that it affords any credible
ground to a rational man to believe it, not only because the very matter
it self, and the circumstances of it, do yield sufficient grounds of the
suspicion of its verity; but chiefly because _Pliny_ doth but relate it
by hear-say, _exponam ut accepi_, and of it and the rest he desires the
opinion of his Friend _Sura_, from whom we do not find any answer. The
story taken from _Plutarch_ (a grave Author, if he be considered as an
Heathen and a Moralist) yet of no authority to decide such points as
these are of the voice that called upon _Thamus_, and commanded him to
declare when he came at _Palodes_, that the great God _Pan_ was dead,
which he performed, and that thereupon followed a great lamentation of
many: the story at large is related by many, and urged as a matter of
great weight and credibility, when indeed there is no ground sufficient
to perswade any that it was true. For if it had been related by
_Plutarch_ as an ear-witness of it, yet was he but an Heathen, that we
know believed many fond, lying, and impossible things, especially of
their Gods; and therefore in this case to a considerate Christian could
be of no great authority. And if his authority had been great, or of
weight in such matters as these, yet was he but _singularis testis_,
which is not sufficient in these things to be relied upon. And lastly
(to our present purpose here) he doth not record it as a thing of his
own certain knowledge, but of hear-say from _Epitherses_, who was but a
single Relator, and a man of no certain veracity; and therefore we can
have no rational ground to believe the truth of the story, but it may be
rejected with more reason, than it can be affirmed by. Of no greater
credit can his story be of _Brutus_ his _malus Genius_ appearing unto
him, because he received this by meer Tradition and hear-say, neither
could it have any other rise, but from the relation of _Brutus_ himself,
whose guilty confidence, and troubled brain, fancied such vain things;
for those that were near _Brutus_ neither saw nor heard any such matter,
and therefore must have been a deception of Phansie, and no real
Apparition _ad extra_.
[Sidenote: The invisible World, p. 245, 246, 247.]
[Sidenote: _Jo. à Jesu Mar._ _lib._ 5. _de Vit. Theres._ _cap._ 3.]
[Sidenote: The invisible World, p. 305.]
[Sidenote: _Ibid._ _p._ 284.]
2. And as evidence of the matter of fact recorded from the relation of
others, is of no validity to a judicious person: so if the matter of
fact be witnessed but by one single testimony (though an eye or an
ear-witness) it is not sufficient, because one single person may be
imperfect in some senses, or under some distemper, and so be no proper
Judge of what it sees or hears; and the Word of Truth tells us, _That in
the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established_;
and therefore we are not (especially in such abstruse matters as these)
to trust the evidence of one single testimony. To make clear this
Particular, we shall relate a story or two from the credit of the
Reverend and Learned Bishop _Hall_, joyned with his judgment of such
weak and feigned Tales, one of which runs thus: “_Johannes à Jesu
Maria_, a modern Carmelite, writing the Life of _Theresia_ (Sainted
lately by _Gregory_ XV.) tells us, that as she was a vigilant Overseer
of her Votaries in her life, so in and after death she would not be
drawn away from her care and attendance: For (saith he) if any of her
Sisters did but talk in the set hours of their silence, she was wont by
three knocks at the door of the Cell, to put them in mind of their
enjoyned taciturnity. And on a time appearing (as she did often) in a
lightsome brightness to a certain Carmelite, is said thus to bespeak
him; _Nos cœlestes, ac vos exules amore ac puritate fœderati esse
debemus, &c._ We Citizens of Heaven, and ye exiled Pilgrims on earth,
ought to be linked in a League of love and purity, &c. Methinks the
Reporter (saith the Bishop) should fear this to be too much good
fellowship for a Saint; I am sure neither Divine nor Ancient story had
wont to afford such familiarity: and many have misdoubted the agency of
worse, where have appeared less causes of suspicion. That this was (if
any thing) an ill Spirit under that face, I am justly confident; neither
can any man doubt, that looking further into the relation, finds him to
come with a lye in his mouth. For thus he goes on; [We Celestial ones
behold the Deity, ye banished ones worship the Eucharist, which ye ought
to worship with the same affection wherewith we adore the Deity] such
perfume doth this holy Devil leave behind him. The like might be
instanced in a thousand Apparitions of this kind, all worthy of the same
entertainment.” This is a story from one single person, a lying
Carmelite, one that for interest, and upholding of Superstition and
Idolatry, had feigned and forged it; for in it self it appeareth to be a
meer falsity and figment, as any rational man may easily discern, and so
are a thousand stories of this kind worthy of the like entertainment,
that is, to be condemned for most horrid lyes. Another he tells us:
“Amongst such fastidious choice of whole dry-fats of voluminous
relations, I cannot forbear to single out that one famous of _Magdalen
de la Croix_, in the year of our Lord Christ 1545, &c.” The third from
the mouth of another lying Fryar named _Jacobus de Pozali_, in his
Sermon, “That St. _Macarius_ once went about to make peace betwixt God
and Satan, &c.” Now whatsoever credit this Learned man (who in things of
this kind appeareth to be as vainly credulous as any) doth seem to give
unto these, or what use soever he would make of them, it is undeniably
manifest to all impartial judgments, that they were but absolute
forgeries and knacks of Imposture and Knavery, and (according to his own
opinion) may justly be ranked amongst those thousand Apparitions of this
kind, all worthy of the same entertainment, that is, to be rejected for
abominable lyes or forgeries, and that for these reasons. 1. Because
they are not attested by any sincere and uncorrupt ear and
eye-witnesses, but by reports and relations, and that of those that were
corrupt and partial, or Accomplices to bring to pass the fraud and
imposture. 2. If they be run up to their first Author or Venter of the
Tale, he will but be found a single Witness, which is utterly
insufficient in evidencing truly a matter of fact. 3. The Relaters of
them did publish them for interest sake, and upon design to advance
false Doctrine, Worship, Superstition, and Idolatry, and therefore are
not of validity and credit. 4. In themselves (if strictly considered)
they will appear to be lying, ridiculous, contradictory in themselves,
and contrary to the authority of Divine Writ, and dissonant to sound and
right reason, and therefore ought to have no other entertainment, but as
abominable lyes and forgeries.
[Sidenote: Of Credul. and Incredul. pag. 159.]
[Sidenote: A serious Disswasive from Popery, pag. 38, 39.]
3. But if matters of fact be witnessed and attested by many or divers
persons that were ear and eye-witnesses, yet may their testimony bear no
weight in the balance of Justice or right Reason, because they may be
corrupt in point of interest, and so have their judgments mis-guided and
biassed by the corruption of their desires and affections, or relate
things out of spleen, envy, and malice; and so may not in these
mysterious matters be fit authority to rely upon, nor competent evidence
in these particulars, as Dr. _Casaubon_ is forced to confess in these
words: “In the relation of strange things, whether natural or
supernatural, to know the temper of the Relator, if it can be known: and
what interest he had, or might probably be supposed to have had, in the
relation, to have it believed. And again, whether he profess to have
seen it himself, or taken it upon the credit of others. And whether a
man by his profession in a capacity probable to judge of the truth of
those things, to which he doth bear witness.” Every one of these
particulars would require a particular consideration. For if there be
interest in point of Religion, then all authorities, all colour of
reason is drawn in to make good this interest, and verity is commonly
stifled in this contest for selfness and interest, and the adverse
parties stigmatized with all the filthy lyes and enormous crimes that
can be invented, as is most manifest in these instances. The Popish
party finding themselves hindred and opposed in point of the highest
interest, have forged a thousand false stories and tales to make good
the interest of their Party, and have left no dirt and dung unscraped up
to throw in the faces of their Opponents; and so have each Party done
against other, where religious interest was the quarrel, as Bishop
_Hall_ hath truly observed in this passage, where he is shewing the
abominable corruptions of the Church of _Rome_: “A Religion that cares
not by what wilful falshoods it maintains a part; as _Wickliffs_
blasphemy, _Luthers_ advice from the Devil, _Tindals_ Community,
_Calvins_ feigned Miracle, and blasphemous death, _Bucers_ neck broken,
_Beza_’s Revolt, the blasting of Huguenots, _Englands_ want of Churches,
and Christendom, Queen _Elizabeths_ unwomanliness, her Episcopal
Jurisdiction, her secret fruitfulness, English Catholicks cast in Bears
skins to Dogs, _Plesses_ shameful overthrow, _Garnats_ straw, the
_Lutherans_ obscene Night-Revels, _Scories_ drunken Ordination in a
Tavern, the Edict of our gracious King _James_ (_An._ 87.) for the
establishment of Popery, our casting the crusts of our Sacrament to
Dogs, and ten thousand of this nature, maliciously raised against
knowledge and conscience, for the disgrace of those whom they would have
hated, e’re known.”
The rise of this opinion that we are disputing against, that the Devil
makes a visible and corporeal League with the Witches, that he sucks
upon their bodies, hath carnal Copulation with them, and that they are
changed into Hares, Dogs, Cats, or Wolves, and the like, was soon after
the thirteenth hundred year of Christ, when as _Frederick_ the Second
had made a Law temporal, for the burning of Hereticks. And not long
after that, was the Inquisition set up in _Rome_ and _Spain_, and then
did the Inquisitors and their Adherents, draw in from the Heathen Poets,
and all other Authors, whatsoever might carry any colour of authority or
reason, the better to countenance their bloody and unjust proceedings,
where they drew thousands of people into the snare of the Inquisition
for pretended Witchcraft, which they made to be Heresie. And whatsoever
these have written concerning these things, such as _Delrio_, _Bodinus_,
_Remigius_, _Springerus_, _Niderus_, _Spineus_, _Grillandus_, and a
whole rabble besides not necessary to be named, are nothing but lyes and
forgeries, and deserve no credit at all for these reasons. 1. Because as
many of them as either were Inquisitors themselves, or those that had
any dependence upon them, or received benefit by their proceedings, are
all unjust and corrupt Authors and Witnesses, as writing and bearing
witness for their own ends, interest, and profit, having a share in the
Goods and Estates of all that were convicted and condemned: and the Wolf
and Raven will be sure to give judgment on the Serpents side, that he
may devour the man, though never so innocent, because they hope to have
a share of his flesh, or at least to pick the bones. 2. These Authors
that were the first Broachers of these monstrous stories of Apparitions
and Witches, and are so frequently quoted by others, (that ought to have
been more wary, and might have seen reason enough to have rejected all
their feigned lyes and delusions) were not only sharers in the spoil of
the Goods of the condemned (who were judged _per fas & nefas_) but also
had another base end and interest, to wit, to advance the opinion of
Purgatory, praying for the dead, setting up the vain Superstitions of
the virtue of the sign of the Cross, holy Water, and the like. And
therefore they did forge so many stories of Apparitions, and Souls
coming forth of Purgatory, and recorded so many false, lying, and
impossible things from the forced, extorted, and pretended confessions
of the Witches themselves, which were nothing else but an Hotch-potch of
horrid and abominable lyes, not to be credited, because the Authors only
invented them, to promote their own base ends and wretched interests.
[Sidenote: _Lib._ 2. _de præstig. Dæmon._ _cap._ 5.]
[Sidenote: _Vit. Germ. medic._ _pag._ 16.]
[Sidenote: _Anim. mag._ _præf._]
Again, where Authors are engaged for interest sake, they fall into heat,
passion, malice, and envy, and what they cannot make out by strength of
arguments, they labour to make good by lyes and scandals, as is most
apparent in this one Example we shall here give. _Henricus Cornelius
Agrippa_, a person in his time well known to most of the Learned in
_Europe_, and admired for his general and universal skill in all kind of
Learning, having published a Piece which he styled, _A Declaration of
the incertitude and vanity of Sciences and Arts, and the excellency of
the Word of God_: wherein amongst other things he had sharply taxed the
Monks and Fryars, and other Orders, of their ignorance, idleness, and
many other crimes and misdemeanors, whereby certain Theologasters of
_Lovain_ (netled with their own guilt) did in bitter malice draw up
certain Articles against him, therein accusing him of Errour, Impiety,
and Heresie, and had so far incensed _Charles_ the Fifth then Emperour
against him, that he had commanded _Agrippa_ unheard to make a
Recantation. But he writing a strong, polite, and pithy Apology, gave
them such a responsion, that afterwards they did never reply; by which,
and the mediation of divers learned Friends, who gave _Cæsar_ a right
information of the end and drift of that Book, and of the things therein
contained, He was pacified, and brought to a better understanding of the
matter. Yet this could not protect _Agrippa_ from the virulent malice of
the Popish Witchmongers, but that they forged most abominable lyes and
scandals against him, especially that wretched and ignorant Monk _Paulus
Jovius_, that was not ashamed to record in his Book intituled, _De
Elogiis doctorum Virorum_, that _Agrippa_ carried a Cacodemon about with
him, in the likeness of a black Dog, and that he died at _Lyons_, when
it is certain he died at _Gratianople_. From all which horrid aspersions
and lying scandals he is sufficiently acquitted by the famous Physician
_Johannes Wierus_, one that was educated under him, and lived familiarly
with him; and therefore was best able to testifie the whole truth of
these particulars. But any that are so perversly and wilfully blinded as
to have a sinister opinion of this person, (who _ab ineunte ætate in
literis educatus esset, quâ fuit ingenii fælicitate, in omni artium ac
disciplinarum genere ita versatus est, ut excelluerit_) may have most
ample satisfaction from the modest and impartial Pen of _Melchior
Adams_, who hath written his Life: as also from something that our
Countryman, who called himself _Eugenius Philalethes_, hath clearly
delivered: so that none can be ignorant of this particular, but such as
wilfully refuse to be informed of the truth.
[Sidenote: Inquir. into vulgar Errours, pag. 34.]
[Sidenote: _Vid. vit. Germ. medic._ _pag._ 29.]
Nay where interest hath a share, truth can hardly be expected, though it
be but in more trivial things, as even but for aery fame and vain-glory,
as may be manifest in _Hierome Cardan_, who was a man of prodigious
pride and vain-glory, which led him (as the learned Dr. _Brown_ hath
noted) into no small errours, being a great Amasser of strange and
incredible stories, led to relate them by his meer ambition of hunting
after fame and the reputation of an universal Scholar. And of no less
pride and vain-glorious ambition was his Antagonist _Julius Cæsar
Scaliger_ guilty, of whom it may truly be said, that he was of the
nature of those of the _Ottoman_ Family, that do not think they can ever
raign safely, unless they strangle all their Brethren; so he did not
think that he could aspire to the Throne of being the Monarch of general
Learning, without stifling the fame and reputation of _Cardan_ and
others, against whom he hath been most fell, and impetuously bitter. But
when men fall out about professional interest, then the stories that
through malice they invent and forge one against another, are
incredible, as is manifest in many Examples; but we shall but give one
for all, which is this. When _Paracelsus_, returning from his
Peregrination of ten years and above, was called to be Physical Lecturer
at _Basil_, where he continued three years, and more, having by his
strange and wonderful Cures drawn the most part of _Germany_, and the
adjacent Countries into admiration; so that he was, and might
(notwithstanding the envy and ignorance of all his enemies) justly be
styled, _Totius Germaniæ decus & gloria_: yet this was not sufficient to
quiet the violent and virulent mind of _Thomas Erastus_, who coming to
be setled at _Basil_, and finding that he could not outgo nor equal
_Paracelsus_ in point of Medicinal Practice, and being strongly grounded
in the Aristotelian Philosophy, and the Galenical Physick, did with all
poyson and bitterness labour to confute the Principles of Chymical
Physick that _Paracelsus_ had introduced; and lest his arguments might
be too weak, he backt them with most horrible lyes and scandals,
thinking that many and strong accusations (though never so false) would
not be easily answered, nor totally washt off: which after were greedily
swallowed down by _Libanius_, _Conringius_, _Sennertus_, and many
others: so apt are men to invent, and suck in scandals against others,
never considering how false and groundless they are, or may be: for that
he wrongfully and falsely accused him in many things, will be manifest
to any unbiassed person, that will but take pains to read his Life,
written by that equitable Judge _Melchior Adams_, and that large Preface
the learned Physician _Fredericus Bitiskius_ hath prefixed to his Works
printed at _Geneva_ 1648.
[Sidenote: History 1.]
[Sidenote: _Vid. Resp. Rob. Flud. ad Foster._]
[Sidenote: History 2.]
4. But if the Authors that report matters of fact in reference to these
four particulars that we have named, were ear and eye-witnesses, and not
single, but a greater number, and were not swayed by any corrupt or
self-interest whatsoever; yet all this is not sufficient to give
evidence in these matters, except they be rightly qualified in other
things, that are necessarily requisite to capacitate a person rightly to
judge of these nice and difficult matters, some of the chief of which we
shall here enumerate. 1. The persons that are fit to give a perfect
judgment of these matters, ought to be perfect in the organs of their
senses, otherwise they may easily be deceived, and think the things
otherwise than indeed they are; so some defects or distempers in the
ears, eyes, or the rest of the sensories, may hinder the true perception
of things acted or done. 2. They ought to be of a sound judgment, and
not of a vitiated or distempered Phantasie, nor of a melancholick Temper
or Constitution; for such will be full of fears, and strange
imaginations, taking things as acted and wrought without, when they are
but only represented within. These will take a bush to be a Boggard, and
a black sheep to be a Demon; the noise of the wild Swans flying high
upon the nights, to be Spirits, or (as they call them here in the North)
_Gabriel Ratchets_, the calling of a Daker-hen in the Meadow to be the
Whistlers, the howling of the female Fox in a Gill, or a Clough for the
male, when they are for copulation, to be the cry of young Children, or
such Creatures, as the common people call Fayries, and many such like
fancies and mistakes. 3. They ought to be clear and free from those
imbibed notions of Spirits, Hobgoblins, and Witches, which have been
instamped upon their Phantasies from their very young years, through
ignorant and superstitious education, wherewith generally all mankind is
infected, and but very few that get themselves extricated from those
delusive Labyrinths, that parents and ignorance have instilled into
them. From hence it is, that not only the stolid and stupid Vulgar, but
even persons otherwise rational enough, do commonly attribute those
sleights and tricks that our common Jugglers play, unto the Devil, when
they are only performed by Leger-de-main, or sleight of hand, Boxes, and
Instruments aptly fitted; and will not stick to believe, and strongly to
affirm to others, that they have seen the Jugglers Familiar or Devil,
when it was but a poor Squirrels skin stuffed with hair or moss, and
nimbly agitated by the hands of the Juggler: which makes me call to mind
a very lepid and pertinent Accident that once in my younger years
happened in _Burrow-bridge_ upon a great Fayr holden there upon St.
_Barnabas_ day: I being in Company with divers Gentlemen, whereof two
were Masters of Arts, and walking in the Horse-Fayr, we espyed a great
crowd and ring of people, and drawing near, there was a person commonly
known through most of the Northern parts of _Yorkshire_ by the name of
_John Gypsie_, being as black as any of that Tribe, with a Feather in
his Hat, a silk slasht Doublet, upon a fair Holland Half-shirt,
counterfeiting himself half drunk, and reeling to and fro, with a fine
Tape or Incle-string tyed fast together at the two ends, and throwing
it, (as it were) carelesly two or three times about a smooth Rod, that
another man held by both ends, and then putting the bout of the Tape
upon the one end of the Rod, and then crying, It is now fast for five
shillings; but no sooner reeling and looking aside, the man that held
the Rod did put off the bout of the Tape again, and still _John Gypsie_,
would cry and bet that it was fast, then would there come two or three,
and bet with him, and win, and go away (as it were) laughing him to
scorn, yet still he would continue, and pray the Fellow that held the
stick not to deceive him, and plainly shew the people, that it would be
fast when the bout was put on, then would the Fellow that held the
stick, still put off the bout when _John Gypsie_ looked away, whereby
the people believed that he was in drink, and so deceived by him that
held the Rod, and so many would come and bet with him, and lose: so that
he used to win much money, though the bout was put off every time, and
none could discern any alteration in the string. This strange Feat
(which I confess, as he handled and acted it, was one of the neatest
that ever I saw in all my life) did so surprize all my Companions, and
in part himself, that some of them were of opinion, that he had some
stone in the Ring upon his finger, by virtue of which he performed the
Trick. But the most part concluded, that it could not be done but by the
power and help of the Devil, and resolved to come no more near _John
Gypsie_, as a man that was a Witch, and had familiarity with the Devil.
But I that then was much guilty of curiosity, and loth to be imposed
upon in a thing of that nature, then also knowing the way and manner how
all the common Jugglers about _Cambridge_ and _London_ (who make a Trade
of it) did perform their Tricks, I slipt away from my Company, and went
to the place again where I found him still playing; and thrusting in, I
desired to hold the stick, which he refused not; and so in a short time
I perceived how it was done, and so returned to my Company, and shewed
them the sleight and mystery of it, which made them very much ashamed of
their folly and ignorance. They may deride this story that list, and yet
it may serve for instruction to the wisest, and there are hundreds yet
living that knew this person, and where he was born, which was at
_Bolton-bridge_ near _Skipton_ in _Craven_, and have seen him play this
trick of fast and loose, as I have related it: so that if a man meet
with a crafty cunning Fellow, he commonly by way of Proverb calls him
_John Gypsie_. 4. They ought to be free in their judgments as _in
æquilibrio_, and not to be radicated nor habituated in the belief of
those things; for then they will hardly be disswaded from their
opinions, but pertinaciously adhere unto them, though never so absurd,
and will be apt to ascribe all effects, that they understand not, unto
Devils and Witches, as is manifest in the Jesuit _Roberti Foster_,
_Sennertus_, and many others, who attributed the effects of the
Hoplocrism or Weapon-salve, and the Sympathetick Powder unto the
operation of the Devil and Witchcraft, when they are but meerly natural.
Which makes me call to mind a pretty story that happened when I was but
a young Boy. For where I once learned at the School, there was one who
was Rector of the Church, who was a very godly man, a good and constant
Preacher, accounted very learned, and Bachelor of Divinity: this person
being informed, that I and some other Boys could play some odd Feats of
sleight of hand, especially to put a Ring upon our Cheek, and to throw
it unto a staff holden fast by both the ends; this he by no means did
believe could be done but by Diabolical means, and did advise and
threaten us to desist from such practices, as devillish and damnable. So
ready even the otherwise Learned may be, when once setled in these fond
and absurd opinions of the too great power of Demons and Witches, to
ascribe that unto them, which is performed by Nature and lawful Art.