The third Chapter.
What effect and offense witches charmes bring, how unapt witches are, and how unlikelie to worke those things which they are thought to doo, what would followe if those things were true which are laid to their charge.
HE words and other the illusions of witches, charmers, and conjurors, though they be not such in operation and effect, as they are commonlie taken to be: yet they are offensive to the majestie/219 and name of God, obscuring the truth of divinitie, & also of philosophie. For if God onlie give life & being to all creatures, who can put any such ver/tue158. or livelie feeling into a body of gold, silver, bread, or wax, as is imagined? If either preests, divels, or witches could so doo, the divine power shuld be checked & outfaced by magicall cunning, & Gods creatures made servile to a witches pleasure. What is not to be brought to passe by these incantations, if that be true which is attributed to witches?An ample description of women commonlie called witches. & yet they are women that never went to schoole in their lives, nor had any teachers: and therefore without art or learning; poore, and therefore not able to make any provision of metal or stones, &c: whereby to bring to passe strange matters, by naturall magicke; old and stiffe, and therefore not nimble handed to deceive your eie with legierdemaine; heavie, and commonlie lame, and therefore unapt to flie in the aire, or to danse with the fairies; sad, melancholike, sullen, and miserable, and therefore it should be unto them (Invita Minerva) to banket or danse with Minerva; or yet with Herodias, as the common opinion of all writers heerein is. On the other side, we see they are so malicious and spitefull, that if they by themselves, or by their divels, could trouble the elements, we should never have faire weather. If they could kill men, children, or cattell, they would spare none; but would destroy and kill whole countries and housholds. If they could transfer corne (as is affirmed) from their neighbors field into their owne, none of them would be poore, none other should be rich. If they could transforme themselves and others (as it is most constantlie affirmed) oh what a number of apes and owles should there be of us! If Incubus could beget Merlins among us, we should have a jollie manie of cold prophets./
The fourth Chapter.220.
Why God forbad the practise of witchcraft, the absurditie of the lawe of the twelve tables, whereupon their estimation in miraculous actions is grounded, of their woonderous works.
HOUGH it be apparent,A common and universall error. that the Holie-ghost forbiddeth this art, bicause of the abuse of the name of God, and the cousenage comprehended therein: yet I confesse, the customes and lawes almost of all nations doo declare, that all these miraculous works, before by me cited, and many other things more woonderfull, were attributed to the power of witches. The which lawes, with the executions and judicials thereupon, and the witches confessions, have beguiled almost the whole world. What absurdities concerning witchcraft, are written in the law of the twelve tables, which was the highest and most ancient law of the Romans? Whereupon the strongest argument of witches omnipotent power is framed; as that the wisedome of such lawgivers could not be abused. Whereof (me thinks) might be made a more strong argument on our side; to wit, If the cheefe and principall lawes of the world be in this case ridiculous, vaine, false, incredible, yea and contrarie to Gods lawe; the residue of the lawes and arguments to that effect, are to be suspected. If that argument should hold, it might proove all the popish lawes against protestants, & the hea/thenish159. princes lawes against christians, to be good and in force: for it is like they would not have made them, except they had beene good. Were it not (thinke you) a strange proclamation, that no man (upon paine of death) should pull the moone out of heaven?J. Bodinus.
Danæus.
Hyperius.
Heming.
Bar. Spineus*
Mal. Malef.* Spinæus. And yet verie many of the most learned witchmongers make their arguments upon weaker grounds; as namelie in this forme and maner; We find in poets, that witches wrought such and such miracles; Ergo they can accomplish and doo this or that wonder. The words of the lawe are these;/221. Qui fruges incantasset pœnas dato, Néve alienam segetem pellexeris excantando, neq́; incantando, Ne agrum defruganto: the sense wherof in English is this; Let him be executed that bewitcheth corne, Transferre not other mens corne into thy ground by inchantment, Take heede thou inchant not at all neither make thy neighbors field barren: he that dooth these things shall die, &c.