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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09402	A discourse of the damned art of witchcraft so farre forth as it is reuealed in the Scriptures, and manifest by true experience. Framed and deliuered by M. William Perkins, in his ordinarie course of preaching, and now published by Tho. Pickering Batchelour of Diuinitie, and minister of Finchingfield in Essex. Whereunto is adioyned a twofold table; one of the order and heades of the treatise; another of the texts of Scripture explaned, or vindicated from the corrupt interpretation of the aduersarie.	Perkins, William, 1558-1602.; Pickering, Thomas, d. 1625.	1610 (1610)	STC 19698; ESTC S114527	101,186	282

creatures indeede and their other sleights true and reall works then they were made and caused either by the deuill or by God himselfe for no man of himselfe can make a rod to become a true serpent But this was done neither by the deuill nor by God as shall appea●e in the sequel● They were not done by the Deuill because the deuill cannot make a true creature either serpent or frogge Hovv doth that appeare Ans. To make a true creature of any sort by producing the same out of the causes is a vvork seruing to continue the creation and is indeede a kinde of creation Now the deuill as he cannot create a thing at the first so he is not able to continue the same by a new creation that beeing a propertie belonging to God onely For better conceiuing hereof we must know that God crea●eth two waies either primarily in the beginning whē he made all things of nothing Gen. 1. 1. or secōdarily in the gouernment of the world when he produceth a true creature in a true miracle yet not making it of nothing as he did in the beginning but producing it by ministring and in forming the matter immediately by himselfe without the aide of ordinarie meanes and instruments appointed after the creation The former is creation properly called the latter a continuance thereof Both these God hath reserued to himselfe as incommunicable to any creature As for the succession and propagation of creatures in their kinds as of men beasts birds fishes c. it is onely a continuation of the creatures in their kindes and is wrought by ordinarie meanes of generation but is no continuance of the worke of creation And the deuill by his power may make counterfeits of the true creatures of God but neither by creating them nor by continuing their creation these two beeing workes peculiar and proper to the Deitie alone Againe if the deuill could turne a rodde into a true serpent and water into blood indeed then his power should be equall to the power of the sonne of God himselfe For the first miracle that he wrought was the turning of water into wine loh. 2. And that was no greater a worke then the turning of water into blood or a rod into a serpent But this were most horrible blasphemic to match the deuill with the Son of God and his finite power with the power of the Godhead by which miracles are wrought And the truth is Satan can worke no true miracles neither doth the text import that the Magicians did that which they did by miracle but by Inchantment and Sorcerie Exod. 7. 11. 22. 8. 7. In the second place I affirme that God did not create these creatures or cause the works of the Magicians to be effected And this is prooued by the words of Paul 2. Tim. 3. 8. who saith that Iannes and Iambres which did these workes withstood Moses and Aaron whom God had sent and by whom he wrought If then God had wrought with the Magicians also he should haue beene against himselfe yea he should haue wrought both waies for himselfe and against himselfe and consequently should haue impeached his ovvne glorie for the manifestation vvhereof he wrought miracles by Moses and Aaron which vve may not once thinke of God Seeing therefore that these serpents if they were true creatures were not created either by Satan because he could not or by God himselfe because he would not it must needes remaine that they all other the Magicians works were meere illusions not otherwise Yet for the further clearing of the matter in hand the text it selfe yeeldeth sundrie reasons to prooue that these acts of the Sorcerers were but appearances and not things really produced First they that cā not do a lesser thing can not possibly do a greater Now Moses shewes that the Egyptian Inchāters could not do a lesser thing then the turning of rodds into true serpents or waters into blood For they could not by all their power skill preserue themselues from the plagues of Egypt as the botch other iudgements Exod. 9. 11. which was a more easie thing then to make or change a creature Nay they were not able to bring forth lice by their inchantment which seemed to be the least miracle but acknowledged that to be the ●inger of God Ex. 8. 18 19. Secondly the text saith that Aarons serpent deuoured their serpents Exod. 7. v. 12. hence it followeth that theirs could not be true creatures For in all likelihood they were all of the same kind and of like quantitie at least in shew And it was neuer seene that one creature should receiue into it selfe an other creature of equall bignesse with preseruation of it selfe Neither hath it been obserued ordinarily that one creature shold deuoure another of the same kind It was therefore a worke of Gods secret power in the true serpent wherby he would shew that the other were not true and real but formall imaginarie Thirdly if the Magicians had beene able to haue made true frogges and serpents then by the same power they might have remooued those which Moses brought for the like abilitie is required in both yet this they could not doe but were faine to intreat Moses to pray for their remooueall So saith the text Then pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said Pray c. Exod. 8. 8. Lastly the frogges which Moses caused when they were remooued beeing gathered on ●eapes caused great corruption and the whole land stanke of them Exod. 8. 14. Againe the water turned into blood made the fish in the riuer to die and the water to stinko so that the Egyptians could not drinke of the water of the riuer Exod. 7. 21. But we read of no such effect of the frogges and waters of the Inchanters which doubtlesse would haue followed as well as the other if both had beene true and reall creatures It remaines therefore that these were but meere appearances and Iugling trickes and the Sorcerers themselues Iuglers yea all their works but sleights caused by the power and subtiltie of Satan and no true works as hath beene said Thus I haue declared the whole nature grounds and kinds of this damnable Art CHAP. V. What Witches be and of how many sorts HAuing in the former part of this Treatise opened the nature of Witchcraft and thereby made way for the better vnderstāding of this Iudiciall Lawe of Moses I come now to shew who is the practiser hereof whome the Text principally aimeth at namely the Witch whether man or woman A witch is a Magician who either by open or secret league wittingly and willingly consenteth to vse the aide and assistance of the Deuill in the working of wonders First I call the Witch a Magician to shew what kind of person this is to wit such a one as doth professe and practise Witchcraft For a Magician is a professor and practiser of this arte as may appeare Act. 8. 9. where Simon a

another vntill they had seated themselues in the chaire of the Papacie So great was their desire of eminencie in the Church that it caused them to dislike meaner conditions of life and neuer to cease aspiring though they incurred thereby the hazard of good conscience and the losse of their soules The scond degree of discontentment is in the minde and inward man and that is curiositie when a man resteth not satisfied with the measure of inward gifts receiued as of knowledge wit vnderstanding memorie and such like but aspires to search out such things as God would haue kept secret and hence he is mooued to attempt the cursed art of Magicke and witchcraft as a way to get further knowledge in matters secret and not reueiled that by working of wonders he may purchase fame in the world and consequently reape more benefit by such vnlawfull courses then in likelihood he could haue done by ordinarie and lawfull meanes Sect. IV. Fourthly it is affirmed in the description that Witchcraft is practised by the assistance of the Deuill yet the more fully to distinguish it from all good lawfull and commendable arts For in them experience teacheth that the Arts-master is able by himselfe to practise his art to doe things belonging thereunto without the help of another But in this it is otherwise for here the worke is done by the helpe of another namely the Deuill who is confederate with the Witch The power of effecting such strange works is not in the art neither doth it flow from the skill of the sorcerer man-or-woman but is deriued wholly from Satan and is brought into execution by vertue of mutuall consederacie betweene him and the Magician Now that this part of the description may be more clearely manifested 〈…〉 procede to a further point 〈…〉 kind of wonders they be which are ordinarily wrought by the ministerie and power of the deuill § 1. Wonders therefore be of two sorts either true and plaine or lying and deceitfull A true wonder is a rare worke done by the power of God simply either aboue or against the power of nature and it is properly called a miracle The Scripture is plentifull in examples of this kind Of this sort was the deuiding of the redde sea and making it drie land by a mighty east wind that the children of Israel might passe through it Exod. 14. 21. For though the East wind be naturall of great force to mooue the waters and to drie the earth yet to part the sea asunder and to make the waters to stand as walls on each side and the bottome of the sea as a pauement this is a worke simply aboue the naturall power of any wind and therefore is a miracle Again such were the wonders done by Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh in Egypt one whereof in stead of many was the turning of Aarons rodde into a serpent a worke truely miraculous For it is aboue the power of naturall generation that the substance of on creature should be really turned into the substance of another as the substance of a roode into the substance of a serpent Of the like kinde were the standing of the Sunne in the firmament without moouing in his course for a whole day losh 10. 13. the going backe of the Sunne in the firmament tenne degrees 2. King 20. 11. the preseruation of the three men Shadrach Meshach and Abednego in the midst of the hoat fierie fornace Dan. 3. 25. and of Daniel in the lyons den Dan. 6. 22. the feeding of fiue thousand men beside women and children with fiue loaues and two fishes Matth. 14. 20. 21. the curing of the eyes of the bling man with spittle and clay tempered together Ioh. 9. 6. 7. c. Now the effecting of a miracle in this kind is a work proper to God onely and no creature man or Angel can doe any thing either aboue or contrarie to nature but he alone which is the Creator For as God in the beginning made all things of nothing so he hath reserued to himselfe as a peculiar work of his almightie power to change or abolish the substance propertie motion and vse of any creature The reason is because he is the author and creator of nature and therefore at his pleasure is perfectly able to command restraine enlarge or extend the power strēgth thereof without the helpe or assistance of the creature Againe the working of a miracle is a kind of creation for therein a thing is made to be which was not before And this must needs be proper to God alon by whose power things that are were once produced out of things that did not appeare The conclusion therefore must needs be this which Dauid confesseth in the Psalme God onely doth wondrous things Psalme 136. 4. that is works simply wonderfull But it is alleadged to the contrarie that the Prophets in the old Testament and the Apostles in the new did worke miracles I answer they did so but how not by their owne power but by the power of God beeing onely his instruments whom he vsed for some speciall purpose in those works and such as did not themselues cause the miracle but God in and by them The same doth Peter and Iohn acknowledge when they had restored the lame man to the perfect vse of his limmes that by their power and godlinesse they had not made the man to goe Act. 3. 13. Againe it is obiected that our Sauiour Christ in his manhood wrought many miracles as those before mentioned and many more Ans. Christ as he was man did something in the working of miracles but not all For in euery miraculous worke there be two things the worke it sel●e and the acting or dispensing of the work the work it selfe being for nature and substance miraculous considering it was aboue or against the order of natural causes did not proceed ●rom Christ as man but from him as God but the dispensation of the same in this or that visible manner● to the viewe of men was done and performed by his manhood For example The raising vp of Lazarus out of the graue hauing beene dead foure daies was a miracle● to the effecting whereof both the Godhead the manhood of Christ ●ōcurred by their seueral distinct actiōs The manhood onely vttered the voice and bad Lazarus come forth but it was the godhead of Christ that fetched his soule from heauen and put it againe into his bodie yea which gaue life and power to Lazarus to heare the voice vttered to rise and come forth Ioh. 11. 43. In like manner when he gaue sight to the blinde Matth. 20. 34. he touched their eyes with the hands of his manhood but the power of opening them and making them to see came from his Godhead whereby he was able to doe all things And in all other miraculous workes which he did the miracle was alwaies wrought by his diuine power onely the outward actions and circumstances that accompanied the same proceeded

conscience which stoppeth the freedome of speech and vtterance and may giue iust occasion to the Magistrate to make further enquirie I say nor if he or shee be timorous and fearefull for a good man may be fearefull in a good cause sometimes by nature sometimes in regard of the presence of the Iudge and the greatnes of the andience Againe some may be suddenly taken and others naturally want the libertie of speech which other men haue And these are the causes of feare astonishment which may befall the good as well as the bad Touching the manner of Examination there be two kinds of proceeding either by a single Question or by some Torture A single question is when the Magistrate himselfe onely maketh enquirie what was done or not done by bare and naked interrogations A torture is when besides the enquirie in words he vseth also the racke or some other violent meanes to vrge confession This course hath beene taken in some countries and may no doubt lawfully and with good conscience be vsed howbeit not in euery case but onely vpon strong and great presumptions going before and when the partie is obstinate And thus much for Examination now followeth Conuiction § 2. Conuiction is an action of the Magistrate after iust examination discouering the Witch This action must proceed from iust sufficient proofes and not from bare presumptions For though presumptions giue occasion to examine yet they are no sufficient causes of conuiction Now in generall the prooses vsed for conuiction are of two sorts some be lesse sufficient some be more sufficient The lesse sufficient proofes are these First in former ages the party suspected of Witchcraft was brought before the Magistrate who caused red hoat yron and scalding water to be brought and commanded the partie to put his hand in the one or to take vp the other or both and if he tooke vp the yron in his bare hand without burning or endured the water without scalding hereby he was cleared and iudged free but if he did burne or scalde he was then conuicted and condemned for a Witch But this manner of conuiction hath long agone beene condemned for wicked and diabolicall as in truth it is considering that thereby many times an innocent man may be condemned and a rancke Witch scape vnpunished Againe our owne times haue afforded instances of such weake and insufficient proofes As first Scratching of the suspected partie and present recouerie thereupon Secondly burning of the thing bewitched if it be not a man as a hogge or oxe or such like creature is imagined to be a forcible meanes to cause the Witch to discouer her selfe Thirdly the burning of the thatch of the suspected parties house which is thought to be able to cure the partie bewitched and to make the Witch to bewray her selfe Besides these in other countries they haue a further proofe iustified by some that be learned The partie is taken and bound hand and foote and cast crosse waies into the water if she sincke shee is counted innocent and escapeth if shee fleete on the water and sincke not she is taken for a Witch conuicted and accordingly punished All these proofes are so farre from beeing sufficient that some of them if not all are after a sort practises of witchcraft hauing in them no power or vertue to detect a Sorcerer either by Gods ordināce in the creation or by any speciall appointment since For what vertue can the Scratching of a Witch haue to cure a hurt where doe we finde it in any part of the word of God that scratching should be vsed or what promise of recouerie vpon the vse thereof But how then comes it to passe that helpe is often procured by these such like meanes Ans. It is the sleight and subtiltie of the Deuill vpon scratching the Witch to remooue such hurts as himselfe hath inflicted that thereby he may invre men to the practise of wicked and superstitious meanes And what I say of scratching the same may be enlarged to all other proofes of this kind before named God hath imprinted no such vertue in their natures to these purposes or added the same vnto them by speciall and extraordinarie assignment That therefore which is brought to passe by them when they are vsed commeth from the Deuill And yet to iustifie the casting of a Witch into the water it is alleadged that hauing made a couenant with the Deuill shee hath renounced her Baptisme and hereupon there growes an Antipathie betweene her and water Ans. This allegation serues to no purpose for all water is not the water of Baptisme but that onely whi●h is vsed in the very act of Baptisme and not before nor after The element out of the vse of the Sacrament is no Sacrament but returnes againe to his common vse To goe yet further an other insufficient proofe is the testimonie of some wizzard It hath beene the ordinarie custome of some men when they haue had any thing ill at ease presently to go or send to some wise man or wise woman by whome they haue beene informed that the thing is bewitched and to winne credit to their answer some of them haue offred to shew the Witches face in a glasse whereof the partie hauing taken notice returnes home and detecteth the man of woman of witchcraft This I graunt may be a good presumption to cause strait examination but a sufficient proofe of conuiction it can not be For put the case the grand-Iurie at the Assises goeth on a partie suspected and in their consultation the Deuill comes in the likenesse of some knowne man and tells them the person in question is indeede a Witch and offers withall to confirme the same by oath should the Inquest receiue his oath or accusation to condemne the man Assuredly no and yet that is as much as the testimonie of another wizzard who onely by the Deuils helpe reuealeth the Witch If this should be taken for a sufficient proofe the Deuill would not leaue one good man aliue in the world Againe all other presumptions commonly vsed are insufficient though they may minister occasion of triall for example If a man in open court should affirme before the Iudge Such a one fell out with me and cursed me giuing me threatning words that I should smart for it and some mischiefe should light vpon my person or goods ere it were long Vpon these curses and threats presently such and such euills befell me and I suffered these and these losses The Magistrate thus informed may safely proceed to inquire into the matter but he hath not frō hence any sure ground of conuiction For it pleaseth God many times to lay his hand vpon mens persons and goods without the procurement of Witches And yet experience shewes that ignorant people who carrie a rage against them wil make strong proofes of such presumptions whereupon sometime Iurers doe giue their Verdict against parties innocent Lastly if a man beeing dangerously sicke and like to die