The displaying of supposed witchcraft : $b Wherein is affirmed that there are many sorts of deceivers and impostors, and divers persons under a passive delusion of melancholy and fancy. But that there is a corporeal league made betwixt the devil and the witch, or that he sucks on the witches body, has carnal copulation, or that witches are turned into cats, dogs, raise tempests, or the like, is utterly denied and disproved. Wherein also is handled, the existence of angels and spirits, the truth Webster, John
Religion
The displaying of supposed witchcraft : $b Wherein is affirmed that there are many sorts of deceivers and impostors, and divers persons under a passive delusion of melancholy and fancy. But that there is a corporeal league made betwixt the devil and the witch, or that he sucks on the witches body, has carnal copulation, or that witches are turned into cats, dogs, raise tempests, or the like, is utterly denied and disproved. Wherein also is handled, the existence of angels and spirits, the truth
Webster, John
Witchcraft; Witchcraft -- Early works to 1800
2. We acknowledge that this spiritual League in some respects and in
some persons may be, and is an explicit League, that is, the persons
that enter into it, are or may be conscious of it, and know it to be so;
for when a person resolves to murther, he cannot but know that he then
maketh a League with the Devil, who was a Murtherer from the beginning.
And it is manifest, that in this League, and in no other, were all the
Priests that belonged to the Oracles, who knew well enough that the
Idols or false Gods they worshipped, did give no answers at all, but the
responsions given were only of their own devising and framing, to uphold
their credit; and more colourably to cozen and deceive the people, they
did pretend that they had answers from their Gods or Idols, and thus far
the Devil was in all their impostures and jugglings. And so all the
several sorts of the Diviners or Witches mentioned in the Old Testament,
were under a spiritual League with the Devil, and did very well know,
that what they did, was not by the finger of God, but either by the help
of Art, Nature, Leger-de-main, Confederacy, or such like impostures and
cheats: and yet they pretended, as did _Simon Magus_, and gave out that
they were some great men, thereby to deceive others, when explicitly
they plainly knew that themselves were but dissemblers and lyars, and
that for gain, credit, and vain-glory they pretended to do those things,
which they could never truly perform. And under this spiritual League,
explicitly considered, are all our Figure-flingers contained, who take
upon them (far beyond the Rules of the true Art) to declare where
stollen Goods are, and to cause them to be brought back again, and many
other such vain and lying matters, which they well know they have no
power to perform, but that they willingly and knowingly take upon them
to pretend to do these things for vain-glory and filthy lucre sake. And
of this sort are all our pretending Conjurers, Diviners, Wizards, and
those that take upon them to reveal things by looking in Crystals,
Beryls, and the like, (of which we may perhaps speak more largely
hereafter) that indeed know well enough they do but deceive and cheat
others: of all which we could recite very lepid and apposite stories,
certainly known unto us, or discovered by us; but Mr. _Glanvil_ would
account them but silly Legends and old Wives Fables, and therefore we
shall supersede here, and leave them to a fitter place.
[Sidenote: Isa. 8. 19, 20.]
[Sidenote: _Calvin in loc._]
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