9. "And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name
is Legion, for we are many.
11. "Now, there was nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine
feeding.
12. "And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine,
that we may enter into them.
13. "And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went
out, and entered into the swine; and the herd ran violently down a steep
place into the sea, and they were about two thousand; and were choked in
the sea."--_Mark v_.
The doctrine of witchcraft does not stop here. The power of casting out
devils was bequeathed by the Savior to his apostles and followers, and
to all who might believe in him throughout all the coming time:
17. "And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall
they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.
18. "And they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly
thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they
shall recover."--_Mark xvi._
I would like to see the clergy who have been answering me, tested in
this way: Let them drink poison, let them take up serpents, let them
cure the sick by the laying on of hands, and I will then believe that
they believe.
I deny the witchcraft stories of the world. Witches are born in the
ignorant, frightened minds of men. Reason will exorcise them. "They are
tales told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
These devils have covered the world with blood and tears. They have
filled the earth with fear. They have filled the lives of children with
darkness and horror. They have peopled the sweet world of imagination
with monsters. They have made religion a strange mingling of fear and
ferocity. I am doing what I can to reave the heavens of these monsters.
For my part, I laugh at them all. I hold them all in contempt, ancient
and modern, great and small.