Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	good_a	know_v	work_n	2,986	5	5.9689	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01718	A discourse of the subtill practises of deuilles by vvitches and sorcerers By which men are and haue bin greatly deluded: the antiquitie of them: their diuers sorts and names. With an aunswer vnto diuers friuolous reasons which some doe make to prooue that the deuils did not make those aperations in any bodily shape. By G. Gyfford.	Gifford, George, d. 1620.	1587 (1587)	STC 11852; ESTC S103141	49,907	72

do stifly maintaine but how wisely let it appeare that all witchcraft spoken of either in the holy Scriptures or testifyed by other writers to haue bene among the heathen or in thee latter dayes hath bene and is no more but either more cosenage or poisoning so that in the opinion of these men the deuill hath neuer done nor can do any thing by witches and sorceres It may be some man wil obiect and say what hurt can grow from this opinion Who can tell what hurt wil ensue and grow thereof vnlesse he saw first somewhat by experience this we all do see that one carnell of wheat being sowen doth grow vp and bring forth a whole eare with an hundreth carnels in it sometyme If one error be planted who can tell what increase it may yeeld in tyme the grownd doth not bring forth the corne with such increase as mans hart doth errors If a man draw in one linke of a chaine another followeth and is by and by in sight which draweth wee know not how many after it vntil we see the last There is no error that goeth alone or that is not linked vnto other The holy Scriptures which make the man of God perfect and perfectly instructed vnto enery good worke are for to iudge and to decide all controuersie in this case I will therefore onely sticke vnto them for testimonie and proofe The definition of a witch the antiquity of witchcraft The 2 Chapter THe perfect and right knowledge of thinges is when a man doth know the causes A definition doth consist of those causes which giue the whole essence and containe the perfect nature of the thing defined therefore where that is found out there is a very cleere light If it be perfect it is much the greater though it be not fully perfect yet it giueth some good light For which respect though I dare not affirme that I can giue a perfect definition in this matter which is hard to do euen in knowen things because the essential forme is hard to be found yet I do giue a definition which may at the least giue notice what maner of persons they be of whom I mynde to speake A Witch is one that woorketh by the Deuill or by some deuelish or curious art either hurting or healing reuealing thinges secrete or foretelling thinges to come which the deuil hath deuised to entangle and snare mens soules withal vnto damnation The coniurer the enchaunter the sorcerer the deuiner and whatsoeuer other sort there is are in deede compassed within this circle The Deuill after diuers sortes no doubt and after diuers formes doth deale in these but who is able to shew an essentiall difference in each of them from all the rest I hold it no wisedome nor labour well spent to trauell much therein one artificer hath deuised them al they bee all to one ende and purpose howsoeuer they may differ in outward rules for practise of them that is litle or nothing besides mere dilusion Who wil not confesse that the father of lies is not to bee trusted who knoweth not that all his doinges are hidden vnder colourable shewes shall men seeke for stedfastnes in his wayes shall they be so folish as to Imagine that things are effected vy the vertue of wordes gestures figures or such lyke doubtles all those are but to deceiue to draw men forward and to plunge them more deeply into errors and sinnes And now touching the antiquity of witchcraft wee must needes confesse that it hath bene of very auncient tyme because the holy Scriptures do plainly testify so much For in the tyme of Moses it was very ryfe in Egypt Neither was it newly sprong vp being common and growen vnto such ripenes among the nations that the Lord reckoning vp diuers kindes saith that the gentils did commit such abhominations for which he would cast them out before the children of Israel Deutron 18. How long it was before that tyme can not for certainty be discussed sauing that as we haue said it was not yong in those dayes when Moses wrote And if we maintaine that it was before the flood ther is great reason to vphold and iustify the a●…ertion Wee know that the Deuill was exceeding crafty from the beginning Alwaies labouring to seduce and deceiue after the woorst manner If hee fayled of his desire it was because men had not procured Gods displeasure to come vpon them to deliuer them ouer vnto strong delusion But we see how God complaineth that men had wonderfully corrupted their wayes long before the flood God being thus prouoked by the wickednes of the world what should make vs doubt but that through his iust iudgement the deuil had power giuen him and was let lose that hee might seduce and lead the prophane Nations into the depth of the gulfe of all abhominable sinnes that they might haue the sorer condemnation That there be 8. sortes of Witches and practisers of deuilish art mentioned Deuter. 18. whose names and their interpretation do here follow The 3. Chapter THer are no doubt a thousand waies differing euery one from the rest in one circumstance or other vnder which Satan doth hide and couer his craft and deadly poyson But yet the holy Ghost to warne al men to beware doth mention onely 8. sortes vnder which no doubt hee comprehendeth all other for there bee other names in the Scriptures but yet such as do note in the Egyptian and Chaldean tong those that are the same with some of these I suppose that this one reason may suffice for to proue that vnder eight names all are comprehended because that here is a general matter dealt in For the Lord shewing that those gentils caused their children to passe through the fire doth by the trope synecdoche of the part for the whole vnderstand all that false worship and idolatrie into which they were blindly led and seduced Then hee nameth who they were whose helpe Satan did vse as chiefe instrumentes to seduce withall And lastly agaynst all these hee doth oppose the true Prophet whom hee would raise vp from tyme to tyme vnto his people at whose mouth they were to learne his holy wil and the true and acceptable worship Now then let vs come vnto the names by which those euill people are named by the holy ghost in the Hebrew tong for their interpretation so farre as wee may attayne wil bring some light hereunto The most of them be set down in the forme of participles The first is called Kosem Kesamim that is one which deuia●…th by diuinations the latter word is added for to distinguish because the deuining was more general then by diuinations as appeareth by that speech which Saul vsed vnto the witch when hee requested her to deuine by her spirite and to bring vp him whom he should name The word is somtime vsed in good part For in the third chapter of Esay God doth threten for a plague that he wil take away

Kosem And king Solomon Prou. 16. doth commend Kesem that is diuination in the lippes of the king which should guide him in iudgement For in those places Kosem is put for a man of excellent and rare giftes for gouernment In other places of the holy Scriptures where it is taken in euill part it is put for false prophets which with their lying and vaine diuinations did seduce the people These did sometyme deuise lies sometyme they did dreame dreams which they followed and propounded to the people as if they had receaued them from God for God did vse that as one way to reueale himselfe to his seruants when as in deed they were in these diuiners but the vanities of their owne hartes and illusions of vncleane spirites which alwaies counterfait the holy spirite of God Sometyme the deuill did inspire them and shew them visions as if he had bene the holy Ghost and made them vtter his wares vnder the name of God This matter is is sufficiently proued by the history which is written 1 Reg. 22 for there it is shewed that to the end king Ahab might bee seduced and goe vp to Ramoth Gyliad vnto battaile a deuill hath power giuen him to be a lying spirite in the mouth of the 400 false prophets which were Ahabs Diuers thinges are in that place set forth to the reach of our capacity but this is clere what effect it wrought for both the Prophets and Ahab were ●…eceiued Sometyme the Lord himselfe did speake vnto Kosem though we neuer read that any true Prophet was so called but sorcerers which did fetch answers diuinations from the deuil whom they tooke to be God hee did so cunningly handle the matter But wee do not reade in the holy Scripture of any moe but one sorcerer whom the Lord spake vnto And that was Balaam for he is called Kosem Ios. 13. ver 22 which name sheweth that hee was no Prophet of the Lord. hee was accustomed to fetch answers from the Deuill why els did hee will those that were sent from the King to stay all night to see what answere hee should haue It is sayd afterward that he went Likkath Kesamim that is to meet with diuinations A thing which hee was accustomed vnto but at this tyme God himselfe did speake vnto him The second is called Megnonen from whence this name was deriued none can for certainty affirme for it may come Gnun whereof commeth Gnonah which signifyeth a set tyme for any purpose It may also as well bee deriued from Gnanan which is a clowd Of whether of them it commeth it is vsually taken for such as did practise Indiciarie Astrologie which from the course of the heauens and the stars did take vpon them to foreshew warres pestilences sedicions treasons and the death of great Princes Moreouer they did teach the fit and prosperous times for to buy or to sel to iourney by Sea or by Lande to make peace to vndertake warre or to marry These also did take vpon them to shew vnto euer man so that they did know the instant of his byrth whether he were borne vnder a lucky or an vnlucky planet What vertue or what vice he should be giuen vnto whether he should be rich or poore learned or vnlearned what manner of death hee should dye Agaynst these God did inuey by his Prophets declaring their vanity accompting them among the witches and sorcerers Their errors are very vyle and abhominable by which they did seduce the blynd Wee may see how the Lord doth speake of them Iesay chapter 47. ver 15. where hee calleth them Hobere schammaim that is obseruers of the Heauens and Chozim baccahochabim gazers vppon the Starres It is not the mynde of the Lord to condemne the obseruing and beholding of the course of the Heauens and the Starres for they set foorth the great glory of the Creator as those are much to blame which do not diligently behold them to be stirred vp vnto admiration worshipping of the great God But those Astrologians did behold them aiuisse ascribing all good thinges vnto them which are peculier vnto God like wise the euil thinges which are from the deuil and from the corrupted nature of man by original sinne Yea they tye the prouidence of God vnto the Starres For if there bee any sound vertue in a man it is of grace through fayth and not from the Starres drookennes adultery murther disobedience cruelty and such like are of the Deuill and from the nature of man by him corrupted in the fall of Adam If a man should aske these vayne fooles whether the nature of the starres bee changed since mans fall what will they answere for this they must needes confesse that if the Starres bee the cause and fountaine of vice in men then they bee either changed from their first creation from good into euill or else that God created the cause and fountayne of euill And so as they committe vile sacrilege on the one side when they make the starres the bestowers of vertues lykewise on the other side they fall into horrible blasphemie when they make God the creator of the cause of euil The holy Scriptures do teach that vice and vncleannes is in vs from our sinfull parentes and that the Deuill brought it in and doth increase the same famins pestilences and cruell warres are sent by the wrath of God for sinne The wise Astrologians tell vs of this and that coniunction of planets which wil cause tyrants to rage frendes to be false one to an other women will bee disobedient to their husbandes these thinges in deede come much to passe and folish people beleue that the Astrologians did foresee it by the Starres If men did prosper it was ascribed vnto that lucky planet vnder which they were borne In aduersity they blamed the Starres warres pestilences and famins being thought to come from them men neuer consider their sinnes which haue bene the cause of Gods indignation for those thinges hee sendeth as the roddes and scourges of his wrath but are led into a further mischiefe for 〈◊〉 they f●…ll to worship the host of Heauen And as the Lord sayth Ierem. 10. They feare the signes of Heauen For this is mans nature that where hee is perswaded that there is the power to bring prosperity and aduersitye there will hee woorship In respect therefore of this the Astrologians are litle better then witches For the deuill doth seduce by them Some will exclaime that wee do now condemne the excellent and noble skill of Astronomie But that is nothing so For it is a precious gift which God hath giuen vnto men wherby they are able to take view of his works which are so high aboue them Men do behold goodly things so sone as they cast their eies vpon the heauens But such as haue the skill of Astronomie doe behold a great deale more All men do see a glorious trimme worke but yet a far off Whereas the Astronomers are