Demonologia : $b or, natural knowledge revealed; being an exposé of ancient and modern superstitions, credulity, fanaticism, enthusiasm, & imposture, as connected with the doctrine, caballa, and jargon, of amulets, apparitions, astrology, charms, demonology, devils, divination, dreams, deuteroscopia, effluvia, fatalism, fate, friars, ghosts, gipsies, hell, hypocrites, incantations, inquisition, jugglers, legends, magic, magicians, miracles, monks, nymphs, oracles, physiognomy, purgatory, predestForsyth, J. S.
History
Demonologia : $b or, natural knowledge revealed; being an exposé of ancient and modern superstitions, credulity, fanaticism, enthusiasm, & imposture, as connected with the doctrine, caballa, and jargon, of amulets, apparitions, astrology, charms, demonology, devils, divination, dreams, deuteroscopia, effluvia, fatalism, fate, friars, ghosts, gipsies, hell, hypocrites, incantations, inquisition, jugglers, legends, magic, magicians, miracles, monks, nymphs, oracles, physiognomy, purgatory, predest
Forsyth, J. S.
Demonology; Superstition; Witchcraft
“The words that he descants upon are Deut. c. xviii. v. 10, 11: ‘There
shall not be found among you any one that useth divination, or an
observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a
consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizzard, or a necromancer.’ The
first word in the Hebrew is קוסם קסמים, _kosem kesamim_, a diviner.
Here because קסם _kasam_, sometimes has an indifferent sense, and
signifies to divine by natural knowledge or human prudence or sagacity;
therefore nothing of such a witch as is imagined to make a visible
league with the devil, or to have her body sucked by him, or have carnal
copulation with him, or is really turned into a cat, hare, wolf or dog,
can be deduced from this word. A goodly inference indeed, and hugely to
the purpose, as is apparent from the foregoing definition. But though
that cannot be deduced, yet in that, this divination that is here
forbidden, is plainly declared abominable and execrable, as it is _v._
12, it is manifest that such a divination is understood that really is
so; which cannot well be conceived to be, unless it imply either an
express or implicite inveaglement with some evil invisible powers who
assist any kind of those divinations that may be comprehended under this
general term. So that this is plainly one name of witchcraft, according
to the genuine definition thereof. And the very words of Saul to the
witch of Endor, are, קסומי נא לי באוב; that is to say, ‘Divine to me,
I pray thee, by thy familiar spirit.’ Which is more than by natural
knowledge or human sagacity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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