whatsoever he hath promised and so faile of the benefit of his bargaine though he have the hand-writing or some part of the bloud of the Witch for his security or the solemnity before witnesses as Delrio imagineth I am certaine they will not say that Witch-craft is like the sinne against the Holy Ghost unpardonable for Mr. Perkins confesseth the contrary and Delrio denies it not for hee allowes the Sacrament of the Eucharist to be administred to a condemned Witch with this limitation that there may be about foure houres space betweene the Communion and the Execution in which time it may be probably thought that the Sacramentall Species as they call it may be consumed 3. Delrio in his second Booke and fourth Question gives this rule which he saith is common to all Contracts with the Devill that first they must deny the Faith and Christianisme and Obedience to God and reject the patronage of the Virgin Mary and revile her To the same purpose Mr. Perkins affirmes that Witches renounce God and their Baptisme But if this be common to all Contracts with the Devill it will follow that none can be Witches but such as have first beene Christians nay and Roman Catholiques if Delrio say true for who else can renounce the patronage of the Virgin Mary And what shall be said then of all those Idolatrous Nations of Lapland Finland and of divers parts of Africa and many other Heathenish Nations which our Travailers report to be full of Witches And indeed what neede or benefit can the Devill gaine by contracting with those Idolaters who are surer his own then any Covenant can make them 4. Whereas it is said that Witch craft is an Art working wonders it must be understood that the art must be the Witches Art and not the Devills otherwise it is no Witch-craft but Devils-craft It is confessed on all hands that the Witch doth not worke the wonder but the Devill onely It is a rare Art for a Witch by her Art to be able to do nothing her selfe but to command an other to practise the Art In other Arts Mr. Perkins confesseth that the Arts Master is able by himselfe to practise his Art and to doe things belonging thereunto without the helpe of an other but in this it is otherwise the power of effecting strange workes doth not flow from the skill of the Witch but is derived wholy from Satan To the same purpose he saith that the means of working wonders are Charmes used as a Watch-word to the Devill to cause him to worke wonders so that the Devill is the worker of the wonder and the Witch but the Counsellor Perswader or Commander of it and onely accessary before the Fact and the Devill onely principall Now the difficulty will be how the accessary can be duely and lawfully convicted and attainted according as our Statute requires unlesse the Devill who is the Principall be first convicted or at least outlawed which cannot be because the Devill can never be lawfully summoned according to the rules of our Common-law For further proofe that the Devill is the principall in all such wonders I shall shew it by the testimony of King James in a case of Murther which is the most capitall crime our Lawes looke upon First he tells that the Devill teaches Witches how to make Pictures of Wax and Clay that by the resting thereof the persons that they beare the Name of may be continually melted or dried away by continuall sicknesse not that any of these meanes which he teacheth them except poysons which are composed of things naturall can of themselves helpe any thing to these turnes they are imployed in Secondly King James affirmes that Witches can bewitch and take the life of Men or Women by rosting of the Pictures which is very possible to their Master to performe for although that instrument of Wax have no vertue in the turne doing yet may be not very well by that same measure that his conjured Slave melts that Wax at the fire may he not I say at these same times subtilely as a spirit so weaken and scatter the spirits of life of the patient as may make him on the one part for faintnesse to sweate out the humours of his body and on the other part for the not concurring of these spirits which cause his digestion so debilitate his stomack that his humour radicall continually sweating out on the one part and no new good Suck being put in the place thereof for lack of digestion on the other he at last shall vanish away even as his Picture will doe at the Fire Here we see the Picture of Wax roasted by the Witch hath no vertue in the Murdering but the Devill only It is necessary in the first place that it be duely proved that the party Murther'd be Murthered by the Devill for it is a shame to bely the Devill and it is not possible to be proved if it be Subtilely done as a spirit 5. Our Definers of Witch-craft dispute much whether the Devill can worke a Miracle they resolve he can do a wonder but not a Miracle Mirum but not Miraculum A Miracle saith Mr. Perkins is that which is above or against nature simply a wonder is that which proceeds not from the ordinary course of nature Delrio will have a Miracle to be Praeter or supra naturae creatae vires both seeme to agree in this that he had neede be an admirable or profound Philosopher that can distinguish between a Wonder and a Miracle it would pose Aristotle himselfe to tell us every thing that can be done by the power of Nature and what things cannot for there be dayly many things found out and dayly more may be which our Fore-fathers never knew to be possible in Nature Those that were converted by the Miracles of our Saviour never stayed to enquire of their Philosophers what the power of Nature was it was sufficient to them when they saw things done the like whereof they had neither seene nor heard of to believe them to be Miracles 6. It is commonly believed and affirmed by Mr. Perkins that the cause which moves the Devill to bargaine with a Witch is a desire to obtaine thereby the Soule and Body of the Witch But I cannot see how this can agree with another Doctrine of his where hee saith the Precepts of Witch-craft are not delivered indifferently to every Man but to his owne Subjects the wicked and not to them all but to speciall and tried ones whom hee most betrusteth with his secrets as being the fittest to serve his turne both in respect of their willingnesse to learne and practice as also for their ability to become Instruments of the mischiefe he intendeth to others All this argues the end of the Devills rules of Witch-craft is not to gaine Novices for new Subjects but to make use of old ones to serve his turne 7. The last clause of Mr. Perkins definition is that Witch-craft
from his Covenant Besides hee confesseth the Devill suffereth some to live long undisclosed that they may Exercise the greater measure of his Malice in the World It remaines that if the two true Proofes of Mr. Perkins which are the Witches Confession or sufficient witnesses faile we have not warrant as hee saith in the word to put such an one to Death I conclude this Point in the words of Mr. Perkins I advise all Jurors that as they be diligent in the zeal of Gods Glory so they would be carefull what they do and not condemne any party suspected upon bare presumptions without sound and sufficient proofes that they be not guilty through their own rashnes of shedding innocent Bloud Of the Hebrew Witch IN Deut. 18. The Witch is named with divers other sorts of such as used the like unlawfull Arts as the Diviner the Observer of times an Inchanter a Charmer a Consulter with a familiar Spirit a Wisard or a Necromancer The Text addeth all that doe these things are an abomination to the Lord and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them the Nations out from before thee If wee desire to know what those abominations of the Nations were wee are told in generall in the 14. Verse of the same Chapter These Nations harkned unto observers of times and unto Diviners There is no other crime in this Chapter laid to the charge of all or any of these practisers of such unlawfull Arts but of lying Prophecies and therefore the Text addeth the Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midest of thee of thy Brethren like unto me unto him shall ye harken and not to the Diviners Wisards Charmers c. Setting aside the case of Job wherein God gave a speciall and extraordinary Commission I doe not finde in Scripture that the Devill or Witch or any other had power ordinarily permitted them either to kill or hurt any Man or to medle with the Goods of any for though for the triall of the hearts of men God doth permit the Devill ordinarily to tempt them yet hee hath no Commission to destroy the Lives or Goods of Men it is little lesse then blasphemy to say any such thing of the admirable Providence of God whereby he preserves all his Creatures It was crime sufficient for all those practicers of unlawfull Arts to delude the people with false and lying Prophecies thereby to make them forget to depend upon God and to have their Soules turne after such as have Familiar Spirits and after Wisards to go a whoring after them as the Lord saith Levit. 20. 6. This spirituall whoredome is flat Idolatry in the common phrase of the Old Testament and those that be entisers to it thereby endeavour to destroy the Soules of the People and are by many degrees more worthy of death then those that only destroy the Bodies or Goods of Men If there were a Law that every one should be put to Death or punished that should advisedly endeavour to perswade Men that they are skilfull in those forbidden Arts or in foretelling of things to come or that they have contracted with the Devill and can thereby Murder or destroy Mens Goods I should never deny such a Law to be most consonant and agreeing with the Law of Moses But because I may be thought by some a favourer of these forbidden Arts through want of understanding the Scripture about the quality of them I have made choice of a Man who is no friend to Witches and whose learning in this point will not be denied In his own words I shall set downe what either out of the Hebrew Names of those prohibited Arts or out of the exposition of the Jewish Doctors can be gathered for the understanding of them A Diviner in Hebrew a Foreseer or Presager a Foreteller of things to come as doth a Prophet the Hebrews take a Diviner to be one that doth things whereby hee may foretell things to come and say such a thing shall be or not be or say It is good to doe Such a thing the meanes of Divining some doing it with Sand some with Stones some by lying downe on the Ground some with Iron some with a Staffe he that asked of a Diviner is chastised with stripes 2. An observer of times or Soothsayer an Observer of the Clouds a Planetary or an observer of the flying of Foules an Augur As the Diviners were carried much by inward and Spirituall Motions so these by outward Observations in the Creatures The Hebrews say they were such as did set times for the doing of things saying Such a day is good and such a day is naught 3. An Observer of Fortunes one that curiously searcheth signes of good or evill luck which are learned by Experience the Hebrew is to finde out by Experience Whereupon the word here used is one that too curiously observeth and abuseth things that doe fall out as lucky or unlucky The Hebrews describe it thus as if one should say because the morsell of Bread is fallen out of my mouth or my Staffe out of my hand I will not go to such a place because a Fox passed by on my right hand I will not go out of my House this day Our new translation renders this word an Inchanter 4. A Witch a Sorcerer such as do bewitch the senses or minds of Men by changing the formes of things to another hew The Hebrew word for a Witch properly signifies a Jugler and is derived from a word which signifies changing or turning and Moses teacheth Exod. 7. that Witches wrought by Enchantments that is by secret Sleights Juglings Close conveyance or of Glistering like the flame of Fire or a Sword wherewith Mens Eyes were dazled 5. A Charmer or one that conjureth Conjurations the Hebrew signifies conjoyning or consociating the Charmer is said to be hee that speaketh words of a strange Language and without sense that if one say so or so unto a Serpent it cannot hurt him hee that whispereth over a wound or that readeth over an Infant that it may not be frighted or layeth the Bible upon a Child that it may sleepe 6. A Wisard or cunning Man in Hebrew named of his knowledge or cunning the Hebrews describe him thus that he put in his mouth a bone of a Bird and burned incense and did other things untill hee fell downe with shame and spake with his mouth things that were to come to passe 7. A Necromancer one that seeketh unto the Dead of him they say he made himselfe hungry and went and lodged among the Graves that the dead might come unto him in a Dreame and make known unto him that which he asked of him and others there were that clad themselves with Cloaths for that purpose and spake certaine words and burned Incense and slept by themselves that such a dead person might come and talke with them in a Dream 8. Lastly The Consulter with Familiar Spirits in Hebrew a
Consulter with Ob applied here to Magitians who possessed with an evill Spirit spake with a hollow voyce as out of a Bottle The Hebrews explaine it thus that he which had a Familiar spirit stood and burned Incense and held a rod of Mirtle-tree in his hand and waved it and spake certaine words in secret untill he that enquired did heare one speak unto him and answer him touching that hee enquired with words from under the Earth with a very low voyce c. Likewise one tooke a dead Mans Skull and burnt Incense thereto and inchanted thereby till hee heard a very low voyce c. This Text in our English translation being expounded a Familiar Spirit and seconded by the History of the Woman of Endor may seeme a strong evidence that the Devill covenanted with Witches But if all be granted that can be desired that this Familiar Spirit signifies a Devill yet it comes not home to prove the maine point for it is no proofe that the Familiar Spirit enter'd upon Covenant or had or could give power to others to kill the persons or destroy the Goods of others Kings James confesseth the Devill can make some to be possessed and so become very Demoniaques and that she who had the spirit of Python in Acts 16. Whereby she conquested such gaine to her Master that spirit was not of her own raising or commanding as she pleased to appoint but spake by her Tongue as well privately as publiquely Wee do not finde the Pythonesse condemned or reproved but the uncleane Spirit commanded in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her The Child which was too young to make a Covenant with the Devill was possessed with a dumb and deafe Spirit and the Devill charged to come out and enter no more into him Marke 9. A Daughter of Abraham that is of the Faith of Abraham was troubled with a spirit of infirmity 18 years and bowed together that shee could not lift her selfe up Luke 13. 10. 16. It is observable that in Deut. 18. where all the unlawfull Arts are reckoned up and most fully prohibited the crime of them is charged upon the practisers of those Arts but the crime of having a Familiar Spirit is not there condemned but the Consulter of a Familiar Spirit so in Levit. 19. 31. the prohibition is Regard not them that have Familiar Spirits and so in Levit. 20. 6. The Soule that turneth after such as have Familiar Spirits so that it was not the having but the consulting was condemned If we draw neerer to the words of the Text it will be found that these words a Consulter with a Familiar Spirit are no other then a Consulter with Ob. Where the question will be what Ob signifieth Expositors agree that originally Ob signifieth a Bottle and they say is applied here to one possessed with an evill Spirit and speaketh with a hollow voyce as out of a Bottle but for this I finde no proofe they bring out of Scripture that saith or expoundeth that Ob signifieth one possessed with a Familiar Spirit in the Belly the onely proofe is that the Greeke Interpreters of the Bible Translate it Engastromuthi which is speaking in the Belly and the word anciently and long before the time of the Septuagint Translators was properly used for one that had the cunning or slight to shut his mouth and seeme to speake with his Belly which that it can be done without the helpe of a Familiar Spirit experience of this Age sheweth in an Irish-man We do not find it said that the Woman of Endo did foretell any thing to Saul by the hollow voyce of a Familiar Spirit in her Belly neither did Saul require nor the Woman promise so to answer him but hee required bring me him up who I shall name unto thee and she undertooke to do it which argues a desire in Saul to consult with the dead which is called Necromancy or consulting with the dead But it hath beene said shee raised the Devill in Samuels likenesse yet there is no such thing said in the Text when the Woman went about her worke the first thing noted is that when she saw Samuel she cried out with a loud voyce an Argument shee was frighted with seeing something shee did not expect to see it is not said that when shee knew Saul but when shee saw Samuel She cryed out with a loud voyce when shee knew Saul shee had no reason to be afraid but rather comforted for that shee had his Oath for her security It may well be that if either shee had a Familiar Spirit or the Art of hollow-speaking her intention was to deceive Saul and by her secret voyce to have made him believe that Samuel in another roome had answered him for it appeares that Saul was not in the place where she made a shew of raising Samuel for when shee cried out with a loud voyce Saul comforted her and bid her not be afraid and asked her what she saw and what forme is he of which questions need not have beene if Saul had beene in the Chamber with the Witch King James confesseth that Saul was in another chalmer at the conjuration and it is likely the Woman had told Saul shee had seene some fearfull sight which made him aske her what she saw and her answer was She saw Gods ascending out of the Earth and it may be understood that Angels waited upon Samuel who was raised by God and not any Puppets or Divells that shee conjured up otherwise the words may be translated as Deodat in the Margent of his Italian Bible hath it She saw a Man of Majesty or Divine Authority ascend un ' huomo di Majesta è d' Authorita Divina which well answers the question of what forme is he of which is in the singular not in the plurall number Wee finde it said in Esay 29. 4. thou shalt be brought downe and shalt speake out of the ground and thy speech shall be low out of the dust and thy voyce shall be as one that hath a Familiar Spirit out of the ground and thy speech shall whisper out of the Earth which argues the voyce of Ob was out of the Earth rather then out of the Belly and so the Hebrew Exposition which I cited before affirmes some learned have beene of Opinion that a naturall reason may be given why in some places certaine exhalations out of the earth may give to some a propheticall spirit Adde hereunto that some of the Heathen Oracles were said to speake out of the Earth and among those five sorts of Necromancy mentioned by Doctor Reynolds in his 76 Lecture of his censure of the Apocryphals not any of them is said to have any Spirit in their Belly The Ronanists who are all great affirmers of the power of Witches agree that the soule of Samuel was sent by God to the Woman of Endor to this not onely Delrio but Bellarmin before him agrees That true Samuel did appear