and the Hebrew word in this place implyes no more than why hast thou mov'd me to come up So this phrase of dead bodies resting and being disturbed is usual with us though we know that they are not at all sensible of repose or disquiet But if it were not Samuel 't is very irrational to believe that it was either the Witch or any confederated person for two reasons first because it is said in the Scripture that Saul knew that it was Samuel and he bowed himself for it is not imaginable that any man could so change his face as that Saul who questionless was well enough acquainted with Samuels countenance could be deceiv'd by it and to think that Saul saw him not is as ridiculous for then why did he bow himself Secondly because he foretold Saul's Death for if as this Author supposes it had been said by the Woman at a venture the more cunning way had been to have told him that he should live for then if he had died who could have accused her of falshood If he had liv'd she had told the truth But to tell him positively that he should dye and not only himself but his Sons too and this with a limitation of time to morrow was something too much to be spoken at a venture The second difference between our Translation and the Authors is where he puts a seeker of an Oracle for a Consulter with familiar Spirits Here he tells you that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is taken in Scripture sometimes for the gift of Oracling sometimes for the person that has such a gift this is as much and no more than if he had told you that he is pleas'd to understand it so I confess as an Oracler may be understood that is for one that takes and gives answers from the Devil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may have that signification for ob properly signifies a Daemon or an evil Spirit and so the best Hebricians expound it now this being the true sence of the word ob I see no reason for blaming our Translatours who have not at all erred from the Original in this place But he understands an Oracler otherwise to wit for one that gave answers at a venture and only followed the dictates of his own fancy counterfeiting strange voices thereby to deceive the people c. And so he interprets the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but how they came by that signification I cannot tell for I find it no where but in his Book And from the Scripture I think the contrary may be gather'd viz. That ob and Python are taken for an evil Spirit that possess'd the person Divining and not for the person himself we read in Leviticus the twentieth Chapter and the twenty seventh verse and a Man or a Woman 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when there is in them a Python which words in them seem to imply something of this Nature and that the ob was some distinct being from the person in whom it was for he could not be in himself And we find in some old Translations where mention is made of Saul's turning the Witches out of Israel 't is said Et qui Pythones habebant in ventre But whosoever reads the sixteenth Chapter of the Acts of the Holy Apostles will be fully confirm'd that this is the meaning of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 except he himself be possessed with a spirit of contradiction for he there shall find that as St. Paul was walking he met a Maid 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 having a Spirit of Divination as our Translation renders it and in the eighteenth verse Paul turning himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he said to the Spirit I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her and it came out that same hour This methinks shews plainly to any body but our Author that this kind of Divining was done by the help of the Devil But it may be he will say for I know no other way that he can answer it that she did but deceive the people by counterfeiting strange voices and speaking in a bottle or some such Juggle and that where St. Paul bid the Spirit come out of her it is to be understood that he bid her Juggling tricks come out of her But to those that rightly consider this place it will plainly appear that this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was no other than a Devil and this being true I see no reason to deny that the Witch of Endor was possessed with the same Spirit or that the Pythons of Manasses were Familiar Spirits Thus I have almost done with his first Chapter But I cannot pass by one argument which he uses without taking notice of it for I cannot tell sayes he how Witches come in here no not how Devils neither except you believe that the Devils made answer at Heathen Oracles which if you do I must crave leave to dissent truly no man can deny him this leave and he may dissent when he pleases but I do not conceive my self obliged to follow his example for if they were as he supposes onely Jugling tricks of the Priests I cannot imagine how it came to pass that they ceas'd so suddenly after our Saviours time beginning sensibly to fall away at the time of his Birth and since his Death being wholly extinguish'd For the first we find something considerable in Suidas who writes that Augustus who liv'd at the time of our Saviours Birth as he enquired of an Oracle concerning his Successour had this answer given him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In English A Boy Of Hebrew race whom the blest Gods obey Bids me go hence to Hell without delay In silence from our Altars go thy way Hereupon Augustus at his return commanded that an Altar should be built in the Capitol with this inscription HAEC EST ara primogeniti Dei Now if this story may be credited it makes very much for the opinion of the Devils answering at the heathen Oracles and this answer is not at all like the fancy of a Juggling Priest it being neither for the Priests Interest nor the credit of the Oracle Thus we see how soon they began to decay upon our Saviours coming and we find another story to this purpose which happen'd at the time of his Crucifixion in Plutarchs Morals that part which is intituled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 why Oracles are ceased where he sayes that a certain company sailing from Greece towards Italy were suddenly becalmed and heard a voice calling one Thamus who was an Egyptian and at that time in the Ship but he being called twice gave no answer but at the third time he said here am I whereupon the voice bid him when he came at the Shelves in the Ionian Seas which are called Palodes to publish that the great God Pan was dead then the Ship going
whom if he can satisfie in this particular and in the accomplishing of their inordinate lusts and pleasures they aim no farther But I need not insist upon this it is enough to say that his not being a Witch is no Argument against the being of Witches in general His third Chapter is nothing but the story of the first setting up of the inquisition and of their proceedings where he tells you what a great number of Witches were then discover'd and supposes them to have been all innocent having their confessions extorted from them by extremity of torment truly I cannot say any thing to the contrary but weak spirits may by torture be brought to confess any thing and I verily believe that many innocent persons suffered by this cruel way of proceeding as well as those which were guilty but I cannot from thence conclude that none were guilty either there or any where else no more than I can say that because many at Amboyna were forced by torture to confess that they had conspired against the Governour there are no Traytors in the World so that I think I may pass by this Chapter and come to the fourth which by the Title seems more considerable for that tells you that there are Arguments to prove that there is no such thing as a Witch in Scripture as also to prove that there is no such thing as a Witch at all Now because he has yet said nothing towards it I suppose he has reserved his greatest strength for this Chapter so that if I can come off here without harm I shall think my business done wherefore it will not be amiss to take these Arguments into consideration The first says he shall be taken from the difference which is between our vulgarly reputed Witches and those which our Translatours of the Bible call so for who be they but the Kings Queens and Princes of this World Whereas now adayes they are poor silly and contemptible persons Now let any rational person judge if there be any force in this Argument for supposing this to be true there will follow nothing from hence to his purpose for his Argument rightly considered sounds thus Our Translatours of the Bible call none but Kings Queens and Princes Witches Our Witches now adayes are poor contemptible persons Ergo there is no such thing as a Witch in Scripture This is a strange sort of Argument to be brought by a rational man and stands rather in need of pity than an answer yet to satisfie him I will say thus much that he ought to consider that the Scripture mentions the Witchcrafts of Kings and Queens as being the more considerable and such as concern'd all Israel in general and also that in writing their lives these practices of theirs could not be omitted Now it was not at all requisite that the Scripture should speak of every old Woman in Israel that was a Witch since it was nothing pertinent to the story this I say might serve to answer him supposing his assertion to be true that the Scripture makes mention of no other Witches but Kings and Queens but that is not apparent for where the story required it we find that the Scripture does take notice of meaner persons that practised this Art as in that passage of the Witch of Endor as also where it is said that Saul turn'd them all out of Israel for we cannot suppose that he turn'd out so many Kings and Queens but we may easily think that many of them were poor contemptible persons as well as some of ours But seeing there is nothing in this Argument to stop me I will pass to the second which is drawn from the Sadduces who denyed Spirits and the Resurrection of the Dead yet had the five Books of Moses in great esteem among them wherefore sayes he either they did not understand Hebrew or the notion of a Witch does not appear in Scripture This Argument is as weak as the other for if he means that there is no mention of Spirits in Scripture the contrary is easily proved what ever the Sadduces thought and it is very manifest from many places of Scripture that there were both good and evil Spirits in the nineteenth Chapter of Genesis and the first verse it is said that two Angels came to Sodom so in the thirty second Chapter and the first verse Iacob went on his way and the Angels of God met him so we read that Iacob in his dream saw a Ladder that reacht from Earth to Heaven and the Angels of God ascending and descending on it many other places there are where mention is made of the Angels of God Now in the seventeenth of Leviticus and the seventh verse it is said and they shall no more offer their Sacrifices unto Devils and in the thirty second of Deuteronomy and the seventeenth they Sacrificed to Devils not unto God and other examples of this kind might be produced yet by his Argument nothing of all this should be found in Scripture Now if he once yields as he must do that the notion of a Devil appears in Scripture for what end serves his Argument drawn from the Sadduces but to shew that they were in an errour and mis-understood the Bible But I cannot be convinced that the Sadduces denied the being of Spirits in general though we read that they deny'd the Resurrection or that there was either Angel or Spirit for that has reference only to the Spirits of Dead men for if they had denied all Spirits and Angels 't is not likely that our Saviour would have told them as he did that men in the Resurrection should be as the Angels of God for what would such a comparison have signified to those who denied that there were such things as Angels Now if we believe that they acknowledged any Spirits whence can we draw an Argument to prove that they denyed the being of Devils But whatever the opinion of the Sadduces was we are not to be governed by their Judgment in deciding whether or no the notion of a Witch appears in Scripture but by our own neither have we any great reason to rely upon their understanding of the Scriptures though this Author sayes much for it seeing our Saviour tells them that they erred not knowing the Scriptures Now for his third and last Argument which is taken from the different practices of those whom our Translatours call Witches and those which are vulgarly supposed to be so for sayes he our modern Witches practise an occult and secret Art and 't is great Art to discover them by several strange signs and horrid tortures but the others practis'd what they did openly and in the face of the World I have this to answer that he is extremely deceiv'd in this point for that the Witch of Endor practis'd openly is not to be imagined seeing she was so cautious when Saul came to her that she durst not do any thing till he had sworn to her that she should
often happened a notable concurrence of Events c. this I suppose he said meerly for want of something else to say for it is not at all conceivable though once in a hundred years such a thing may come to pass as that upon an Old VVomans cursing a man may immediately fall sick or dye that it should be so frequently done and that such events should constantly attend the curses of some particular persons more than others The last Argument is from the confession of the VVitch and he answers it thus that the wisest man in the world may by torture be brought to confess any thing whether it be true or false this answer seems very weak when we consider that this way of forcing confessions by torture is not in use with us and by consequence that can be no reason why our Witches should confess themselves to be so except it were really true But that answer not sufficing he has another which is that he believes that some silly Old Women overgrown with melancholy and dotage have really believ'd themselves to be Witches and to have done those things which not onely their foolish Neighbours but worshipful men in the VVorld have charged them with But suppose some one or two have been so extreamly foolish as to be perswaded into that belief against their own knowledge can it be thought that all were so Or if we could conceive that any persons by being accus'd could be made to believe that they were VVitches what is that to those who have freely accus'd themselves without so much as being suspected by others Or what to those who after they had past the danger of being perswaded into this folly and had stood it out to the last with a stiff denyal notwithstanding the clear evidences brought in and sworn against them after I say that they had past all this without confession have afterwards penitently acknowledged all upon the Ladder To such as these his answer reaches not yet that many such have been is evident to any but those who believe no more than they have seen themselves Now to suppose that an Old Man or VVoman sunk in melancholy may be perswaded to think themselves VVitches is excusable if that were all but to believe that not onely the Old man or woman but the Judge the Jury and the whole Assize should be thus abus'd the witnesses forswearing themselves only to hang poor innocent people that have done them no harm and that not onely one Judge one Jury and one Assize should be so fool'd but thousands of each and all with nothing and to imagine that whole Countries nay all the Christian world should be so over-spread with folly as to establish Laws against a sort of people which never were in being is a madness of which whosoever is guilty wants but one step more to become a Sceptick and reject the Testimony of his own senses Thus Sir I have answered I think what is most considerable in this Book I will pass by the sixth Chapter as having nothing in it which requires an answer it being little more than what has been said before and onely to shew his fancy touching the first entrance of this Opinion of VVitchcraft into the world so that the truth of this assertion being once proved the ground upon which that Chapter stands is taken away And now Sir it is time that I free you from this trouble if you have had the patience to suffer it thus â—ar and that I beg your pardon for those many errours of which either haste or ignorance have made me guilty which if you grant me you will abundantly obliedge SIR Your most faithful Servant