The Witchcraft Delusion in New England: Its Rise, Progress, and Termination, (Vol. 1 of 3)Mather, Cotton
History
The Witchcraft Delusion in New England: Its Rise, Progress, and Termination, (Vol. 1 of 3)
Mather, Cotton
Witchcraft -- New England
In James's Book he lays down Rules for determining who were Witches,
and great Numbers were executed in Pursuance of those Rules. No sooner
was that benighted King seated upon the English Throne, but the
following Statute was passed: "If any Person or Persons shall use,
practice, or exercise any Invocation, or Conjuration of any evil and
wicked Spirit, or shall consult, covenant with, entertain, employ,
feed or reward any evil and wicked Spirit, to or for any Intent and
Purpose: or take up any dead Man, Woman or Child, out of his, her or
their Grave, or any other Place where the dead Body resteth, or the
Skin, Bone or any Part of the dead Person, to be employed or used in
any Manner of Witchcraft, Sorcery, Charm, or Inchantment; or shall
use, practice or exercise any Witchcraft; or shall use, practice or
exercise any Witchcraft, Inchantment, Charm or Sorcery, whereby any
Person shall be killed, destroyed, wasted, consumed, pined or lamed in
his or her Body, or any Part thereof; that then every such Offender or
Offenders, their Aiders, Abettors, and Counsellors, being of any the
said Offenders duly and lawfully convicted and attainted, shall suffer
Pains of Death as a Felon or Felons."
This Law does not materially differ from that enacted in the fifth Year
of Elizabeth; yet there is a Clause in the older one, declaring that,
"If any Person shall take upon him by Witchcraft, Inchantment, Charm
or Sorcery, to tell or declare in what Place any Treasure of Gold or
Silver should or might be found or hid in the Earth, or other secret
Places, or where Goods, or Things lost or stolen should be found or
be come: Or to the Intent to provoke any Person to unlawful Love, or
whereby any Cattle or Goods of any Person shall be destroyed, wasted or
impaired; or to destroy or hurt any Person in his, or her Body, though
the same be not effected, &c. a Year's Imprisonment, and Pillory, &c.
and the second Conviction, Death."
In the early Laws of Massachusetts, adopted in 1641, Witchcraft is thus
briefly dealt with: "If any Man or Woman be a Witch (that is hath or
consulteth with a familiar Spirit) they shall be put to Death." These
Laws were called _The Body of Liberties_, and were drawn up by the
famous Minister of Boston, John Cotton. He made them conform to the
Bible, and Passages of Scripture stand against each Law in the Margin.
Against this is found, Deut. xiii, 6, 10--xvii, 2, 6. Ex. xxii, 20.
In Plymouth Colony as late as 1671, nearly the same Law was enacted. It
differed only by saying, "If any Christian (so called) be a Witch," &c.
If Sir Robert Filmer had seen our Laws, he would, perhaps, have
indulged in a few Observations upon them. The Plymouth People seem to
have looked a little farther than the learned Minister of Boston, as
appears by the Proviso thrown in, that a _Christian_ could not be a
Witch. Of course the Judges were to determine the Point of Christian
or no Christian, assuming that a Christian Judge could not err or be
mistaken.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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