Not. in Act. Apost. in loc.
Vid. Beza not. in loc.
&
A Candle in the dark, p. 67, 68.
Luke 7. 47. 8. 2.
4. Next the more fully to explain this we may consider the place in the Acts which is rendred thus, Παιδίσκην τινὰ ἔχουσαν πνεῦμα Πύθωνος of which the learned and judicious Isaac Casaubon saith thus: “An ancient interpreter readeth Πόθωνα, and the Syrian version rendereth spiritum divinationis. It may be quere’d, seeing Apollo is understood, why S. Luke doth use the Epithete of him rather than the proper name: And the reason is because the ancients did call the Ventriloquists Πύθωνες Pythonists.” And it is plain that it was Divination, that was telling of secret things, whether past, present or to come, that the Maid pretended and undertook: for the text saith, Which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying; μαντευομένη, that is, by Vaticination. Beza in his Latine translation saith in his Marginal Notes, “That that Spirit of Oracling, was only an expression alluding to the Idol Apollo, which was called Python, and gave answers unto them that asked, namely, by the Priests that belonged unto it, of which Idol the Poets feigned many things; so that they that had the Imposture of Divination were said by the Heathen to be inspired by the spirit of Apollo. And in this place of the Acts, S. Luke speaketh after the common Phrase of the Heathen, because he delivereth the error of the common people, but not by what instinct the Maid gave Divinations; for it is certain that under the Mask of that Idol, the Devil plaid his deluding pranks, and this spirit of Apollo was nothing, but as much as to say, an Imposture, or deluding trick of the Devil practised by the Priests of Apollo.” So much saith Beza, who plainly expoundeth, “That that Spirit of Divination or Oracling, was only a Devilish deluding Imposture, and not a familiar Devil as many do fondly imagine: And whereas it is said in the verse following, that S. Paul did cast that Spirit out of the Maid, it was, that he by the power of the Gospel of Jesus rebuked her wickedness: so that her Conscience being terrified, she was either converted, or else at the least dared not to follow that deluding craft of Divination any longer: as when Christ did cast out seven Devils out of Mary Magdalen, it is to be understood that he did convert her from many devilish sinful courses in which she had walked.” Thus far learned Beza and Mr. Ady, who both seem to understand no other Demon in the case than only a crafty and devilish Imposture and Cheat, and most certainly it could be nothing else.
2 Kings 10. 18, to 26.
5. But to come to the stress of the business, these things are to be considered. 1. Some thought that they were really, and essentially possessed with an evil spirit that did speak in them and gave forth answers, and this is the most common, though most false opinion: which if it were true, it maketh nothing for those familiars that are ascribed to our Witches, for by that they mean a visible Devil without them in the shape of a Dog, a Cat or the like, and both these are equally absurd and false, as we shall shew anon. 2. Some thought that an evil spirit ab extra did but work upon their minds, and so inspired them with these Divinations, and this seems to have been the opinion of Plutarch and some others of the Heathen. 3. But others (which is that which we affirm) did hold that they were but counterfeiting deluding Impostors, and what they did was only by Ventriloquy, Jugling and confederacy, and that all their pretended Divinations and predictions, were nothing but lying conjectures and ambiguous equivocations. But to open it fully we must conceive that they did pretend and take upon them to foretel and declare things to come, which notwithstanding were but false forgeries and lies: for if they had really had any certain foreknowledge of things to come, then when Jehu was made King, and in subtilty pretended to sacrifice to Baal, and so got together all the Priests to sacrifice, if these base, lying, cheating Impostors had really had any skill in Divination, then they might have known, that their calling together was not truly to advance their Idolatry, but to take away their lives; and it may safely be concluded that those that could not foresee the danger threatning their own lives, could not truly foretel contingent effects to others; and though the Scripture give us many such examples as these, yet to eschew prolixity this may suffice to evince that all their pretended predictions were nothing but conjectures, or lying forgeries.
And as they did take upon them to foretel things to come, so this Woman of Endor, and in likelihood the rest, did pretend to do it by raising up, or causing to ascend those that were dead to give answers of the things demanded.
Now therefore the state of the question will be, whether this Woman had really a familiar or supernatural spirit that gave her answers, or that she raised such an one, or that only she was a deceiver and Impostor that could cast her self into a Trance, and so speak in her Breast, or that she had a place contrived for the purpose (as they had at the Oracle at Delphos) by which means she could speak, as in a Bottle or hollow cavity, and had other Confederates sutably fitted to accomplish her design. Here we shall only speak as to the significancy of the words relating to this matter, and shall handle the History of the matter of fact elsewhere: And in the first place we allow and grant that she had the cooperating power of the Devil, in her mind and will, leading her to take upon her to foretel things to come, of which she was utterly ignorant: so that we grant her under a spiritual league with the Devil, as all wicked persons are, but we deny that she had any other familiar spirit, but only the spirit of delusion and Imposture, as we shall make good by these arguments.