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A26476
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A candle in the dark shewing the divine cause of the distractions of the whole nation of England and of the Christian world ... / by Thomas Ady ...
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Ady, Thomas.
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1655
(1655)
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Wing A673; ESTC R17625
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123,739
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172
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of God for by Law we ought not to suffer a Witch to live but the sin is in inflicting punishment upon the innocent in Condemning them for Witches which are not Witches for a Witch in the Scriptures is only a seducer of the people to Idolatry and for killing without a stroak of the hand or some material instrument God claimeth it as his own Prerogative proper to himself only Deut. 32.39 1 Sam. 2.6 so that imputing it to any other is against the Scriptures Fourteenthly Some will object and say Although there were no Murtheâ—ing Witches spoken of in the Scriptures or any such dâ—scription of a Witch as one that maketh a League with the Devil or that lyeth with Incubus or Succubus or that hath Imps or Biggs or privie Marks by which they are known yet such may be sprung up since the Scriptures were written as new sins increase daily To this I answer If there be new sins it must be in reference to the Law for that maketh sin to be sin because it is a breach of the Law now No man may adde any thing to the Law of God Deut. 12.32 and therefore we may not suppose that there be any sins that are not mentioned in the Law also such sins are not mentioned in the Gospel and Saint Paul saith Whosoever preacheth any other Gospel than that we have received let him be accursed Gal. 1.9 Fifteenthly it hath been objected by some That a Iudge or a Iury-man is not to question any truth of opinion concerning the power of Witches or what Witches are but to be guided by the Law of the Nation and to go according to the evidence of Witnesses and if any one will come and witness upon Oath against any men or woman that he or she is a Witch the Iury ought to cast her and the Iudge ought to condemn her To this Objection I answer Deut. 17.6 At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death be put to death but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death It is taken for granted that a man or woman is sometimes given over to bear false witness therefore God hath made it one of his Commandements Thou shalt not bear false witness and here in Deut. 17.6 God hath given us this rule to avoyd false witness That one Witness shall not pass as a sufficient evidence upon Life and Death and yet many have wrongfully suffered death at the mouth of one Witness contrary to this Law without examination of the condition of the Witness whether Mad or foolishly presumptuous or malicious Secondly I answer Where two or three Witnesses are to pass for true evidence against any Person it is to be understood only in matters prescribed by the Word of God as Murther by an instrument smitten or cast at a person or by the hand or by some apparent infallible way Numb 35. 16 c. but not in matters that are no way grounded upon the Word but are flat contrary to the Word of God and are only mens imaginations for we have no warrant to put any person to death upon any imaginary offence if it were likely that two or three should agree together in such a testimony neither ought a Judge or any Magistrate to administer an Oath or take or hear an Oath in any thing Moral that is not prescribed in Gods Word but only imaginary and if two or three would swear point blank against any person to be a Witch they ought not to be suffered to swear against any in that manner except it be to swear against such Witches as the Scripture speaketh of according the whole discourse of this Book and therein also they ought to give a reason of their Oath and the Judge and Jury to consider it Thirdly I answer That Oathes that have been usually taken against many persons in that kinde are not to be regarded though true as that such a one hath been seen to have a Rat or Mouse creep upon her or under her Coats or was heard talking to her Imps these are not material testimonies but are foolish and sensless arguments not grounded in the Word of God Further if the Witnesses can swear that any person keepeth and feedeth Imps it is not a material Oath for it is as lawful to keep a Rat or Mouse or Dormouse or any Creature tame as to keep a tame Rabbit or Bird and one may be an Imp as well as another and so may a Flea or Louse bythe same reason and so the Devil need not go far for a bodily shape to appear in or to suck mens or womens flesh in and if these were material Oathes who then may not be proved a Witch and yet there was an honest woman so always formerly reputed executed at Cambridge in the year 1645. for keeping a tame Frogge in a Box for sport and Phantasie which Phantasie of keeping things tame of several species is both lawful and common among very innocent harmless people as Mice Dormice Grashoppers Caterpillers Snakes yea a Gentleman to please his Phantasie in trying conclusions did once keep in a Box a Maggot that came out of a Nut till it grew to an incredible bigness all these are Arguments of no force yea I further say if two or three would swear that they saw such a Creature suck any persons flâ—sh it doth not prove it to be a Devil or that the Devil is in it or therefore the Person a Witch Lastly I answer If a Judge or a Jury be bound by the Law of the Nation to proceed according to that Law yet they are bound more by the Law of God to proceed according to his Law and if there be any Law of any Nation made to put to death people for any supposed imaginary Witchcraft not spoken of in Gods Word that Law ought to be abrogated for we may not adde to Gods Law Deut. 12.32 and in the mean time that Nation that maintaineth such a Law that Judge that Jury which prosecuteth such a Law being not grounded in but contrary to the Law of God they all hazard themselves under the Curse of Gods Law Exod. 22.23 24. Sixteenthly The last and wisest Objection is this It is maniest in the Scriptures that a Witch may kill by Witchcraft for it appeareth Numb 25.9 that after Balaam had tried all ways to Curse the people there dyed of the people twenty four thousand and although he could not hurt them by Inchantment as he affirmeth chap. 23.23 There is no Inchantment against Israel yet it appeareth Revel 23.14 that he taught Balac to lay a stumbling-block before the people in intâ—cing them to commit Idolatry which brought down the anger of God upon them that they dyed Numb 25.9 To this I answer This indeed is the only Witchcraft that can kill or hurt any man according to the whole Discourse of the First Book of this Treatise seducing the people to Idolatry whereby they do
quaesusset Saul had sought to ask counsel of the Oracle there Saul was an Idolater and not a Witch but she that sought out that Oracle for him from the dead she was a deluding Witch This description or term of description of a Witch hath a various manner of expression in the Scriptures which is needful to be noted by the Reader for in this text Deut. 18. 1◠11. such a Witch is called Pythonem requirens one that seeketh out an Oracle and in Levit. 20.6 there such ae Witch is called Python an Oracle-giver in these words Anima quae converterit se ad Pythones Arioles ut scortando sectetur eos c. That soul that turneth himself after Oracles and South-sayers to commit Idolatry in following them shall be cut off and in vers 27. of the same Chapter Viri autem aut mulieres si erit ex eis ` Pytho aut ariolus omnina morte afficiuntor If there shall be found either man or woman that is an Oracler or a South-sayer they shall be put to death There is also a Marginal note of Tremellius worth noting in these words Qui Diabolicis artibus reliquos à Dei cultu sui sanctificatione avocant Those Oraclers and South-sayers saith he are such as by their Devilish deluding craft do lead others from the true Worship of God and living holily People so mis-led to Idolatry are spoken of in vers 6. chap. 20. of Leviticus afore noted And further look 1 Sam. 28.7 there such a Witch being of the female kinde is called Mulier Pythone praedita A woman that hath the craft of Oracling or seeking out an Oracle And Acts 16.16 there such a Witch is said to have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the spirit of Oracling Where Beza in his Latine translation saith in his marginal notes that that spirit of Oracling was only an expression altnding to the Idol Apollo which was called Python and gave answers unto them that asked namely by the Priests that belonged unto it of which Idol the Poets feigned many things so they that had the imposture of Divination were said by the Heathen to be inspired by the spirit of Apollo Plutarch de def Orac. and in this place of the Acts St. Luke speaketh after the common phrase of the Heathen because he delivereth the error of the common people but not by what instinct the Maid gave Divinations for it is certain that under the mask of that Idol the Devil played his deluding pranks and this spirit of Apollo was nothing but as much as to say an imposture or deluding trick of the Devil practised by the Priests of Apollo So much saith Beza who plainly expoundeth that that spirit of Divination or Oracling was only a Devillish deluding imposture and not a familiar Devil as many do fondly imagine And whereas it is said in the verse following that Paul did cast that Spirit out of the Maid it was that he by the power of the Gospel of Iesus rebuked her wickedness so that her Conscience being terrified she was either converted or else at the least dared not to follow that deluding craft of Divination any longer as when Christ did cast out seven Devils out of Mary Magdalen it is to be understood that he did convert her from many Devillish sinful courses in which she had walked Luke 8.2 and 7.47 But if any be still so obstinate as to follow the common fond tradition that Python or spiritus Pythonis was a real familiar visible discoursing Devil yet I hope none are so mad as to say upon serious consideration that it was any thing but a spirit of lying Prophecie or Divination or Oracling in all the discourse of the Scripture no man can shew in all the Scriptures be they never so grosly expounded that any man or woman had a killing or a murdering Devil whereby to bewitch any man to death nor the least colour of any such Devillish exposition This Seventh term in the text namely Requirens Pythonem one that seeketh out an Oracle differeth not from the second term of description that is Utens Divinationibus one that useth Divinations or false Prophecies save only in this that that second term of description implieth only bare Predictions of future things and telling of hidden things by which the Witch was described but this Seventh term of description implieth some particular impostures whereupon the Witches grounded their Predictions according to which impostures they are called Oraclers or seekers out of Oracles the Hebrew word is Ob and is translated Python Ob signifieth properly a Bottle or any such like hollow thing and here in the text and in all other Scripture-sense it implieth the imposture of speaking with their mouthes in a Bottle from a hollow Cave in the earth out of which came a voyce spoken by some confederate with the Impostor or Witch which confederate was upon such occasion to go into a secret conveyance and to make answer to the inquiry with a hollow sounding voyce caused by the Bottle and so it seemed to the silly deluded people that the voyce came out of the firm ground as an answer sent by the gods by the departed soul of some Prophet or other man that had formerly died in which sense also they were called Necromantists from asking counsel of the dead being the Ninth term of description for which imposture all Idol houses and houses of all such other Witches as practised the same imposture that the Idol-Priests did practice were built and contrived on purpose with a room called Manteum in which the said Cave and hollow passage was in which room some fond Writers do say that the Devil spake but had it been so that a real familiar Devil had answered as is fondly imagined why then did he answer only in that room Surely if their Devil was so familiar and at command he might as well have answered in any room as in that but a confederate man or woman could not bring to pass the imposture in any room but in that This imposture is alluded unto by the Prophet Isaiah 29.4 Sitque quasi Pythonis è terra vox tua è pulvere serma tuus pipiat and thy voyce shall be as an Oracler out of the earth and thy speech shall be whispering out of the dust because they used cheating impostures to seduce the people making them beleeve they could call the departed Ghosts of their friends to give them Oracles or answers to their inquiry out of the earth this imposture the Prophet Isaiah warneth the people to avoyd the delusion of it Isaiah 8.19 in Tremellius translation Quum enim edicum vobis consulite Pythones ariobos qui pipiunt mussitant nonne populus Deum suum consulturas est◠pro viventibus mortuos consulat for when they say unto you Ask counsel of Oraclers and South-sayers that whisper and mutter should not a people ask counsel of their God Shall they ask counsel of the dead for them that are