A Guide to Grand-jury Men, Book 2 · Chapter 21 – Chapter 22
CHAP. XXI. That all sorts of Witches ought to dye, euen because they be Witches.
THere ought no such distinction of Witches to be made into good and bad,Delrio, lib. 5. s. 16. pa 775, 776, 777. blessing and cursing, white and blacke Witches, as thereby either sort should escape death. They may differ in name, but al are abomination to the Lord, and ought to dye.
Exod. 22.18. Leuit. 20 27.1. The Law of God saith, without exception; Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to liue. If a Witch, iustly conuicted, death is due to such an one.
2. They all make a league with the Diuell: an act so execrable, to renounce God, and to b… take themselues to the diuel, as for this thing onelyonly they deserue death in the highest degree.
Delrio, lib. 6▪ pa. 1042.3. For these abominations the Lord vtterly destroyed the Canaanites, Deut. 18.12. and plagued Manasseh, 2. Chron. 33.6. which wickednesse of his was so abhorred of God, as in his displeasure he mentioned it many yeeres after by Ieremy, as a cause of remouing the Iewes from their land, and of leading them away captiue into a strange land, Ier. 15.4.
4. Idolaters ought to dye, Exod. 22.20. & 32.28, 29. and inticers to Idolatry, Deut. 13.9. because they worship Diuels, Psal. 106.37.1. Cor. 10.20. Reu. 9.20.Delrio, lib. 5. sec 4. pa. 719. But Witches worship diuels, they inuocate them, craue helpe of them, worke by them, and doe them homage, sacrifice to them, and they doe it not to stocks and stones so mediately to the Diuell, as other Idolaters doe, but immediately to the very diuell himselfe. And therefore are the greatest Idolaters that can be, and so most worthy of death.
It will bee granted that bad Witches ought to dye,Incu… & … as being guilty some of murther, other some of committing filihinesse with Diuels, by the confession of innumerable Witches; and for much mischiefe, and manifold harmes which they doe.
But still some doubt of so round dealing with the white Witches, which cure folk, & do as they imagine great good, tell wonders, and delight their hearers, & sometimes their beholders.
The imagined good Witches, the Coniurer, Enchanter, Magician, Southsayer, and the rest ought to dye; for besides the former reasons;
1. As hath beene proued; the course of the Scriptures is generally against these.
2. Saul and Iosias put these sorts to death, 1. Sa. 28.2. Kin. 23.24.In his Daemono. l. 1. c. 7. and King Iames in his booke saith of Magicians and Necromancers, that they ought to be dealt with, as Sorcerers.
Bodin. Daemo lib. 3 c. 2.3. In other Countries such hauehave beene put to death. In Flanders was there a Magician, which by curing many diseases became famous, and was reputed a holy man, couering his Witchery, with appointing people to fast, to say their Pater noster, & to goe on Pilgrimage to this or that St, but his Magick practices being found out, hee had his desert.Lib. 3. cap. …. In France there was a woman Witch, which did cure some with a pretended medicine, and by saying these words, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Ghost, & of St Anthony, and St Michael, thou maist be cured of thy disease, cōmending withal the party to heare Masse nine dayes: but for all this, she had iudgement to be burnt for her Witchcraft.
For these healers are oftentimes hurting Witches withall, and all healers do entice people from God, in requiring faith of them, & do cause the people to run a whoring after them, as Moses speaketh, Leu. 20.6. Being therfore in league with Satā, being abominable Idolaters, intising people from their faith in God, they are worthy to die.
See Master Roberts his Treatise of Witchcraft, from pag. 75. to the end.4. Very Heathen Emperours hauehave put to death such as were Necromancers, such as vsed to cure diseases, such as would vndertake to foretell successe of warres, & such hauehave bin exiled, if not put to death, as would by Art. Magicke; discouer them, see examples of these in Bodins Daemonomania.Bodin. li…. c. 1. & 5. & l. 44. cap. 5. Delrio, lib. 5. sec. 4. p. 719, 720, 721.
They offend then that countenance them, that preuent their apprehension, their iudgement, and iust deserued punishment.
CHAP. XXII. That the bad Witches in their tryall, persecution, conuiction, and condemnation, should bee dealt with, as is befitting, in the course of Iustice.
IT is miserable to behold how maliciously, how ragingly, in bitternesse of spirit, the rude headlesse multitude, and other vaine people cry out against these sorts of wretched Caytifs, saying, …ye vponupon them, Away with them, Hang them, and some of them sticke not to curse them. A brutish and vnchristianlike carriage.
It is true that their sinne is very grieuous, hatefull to God, and to bee detested of all true Christians, as an execrable falling from God, into the deepest seruice of the diuell: but yet let men consider:
1. A difference between their fearfull sinne, and their persons; hate the one, but not the other.
2. That Satan is a powerfull Deceiuer, and Seducer, who can make an Eue in Paradise, (being in the state of perfection) to beleeue him, the Diuell, before God.
3. That by nature corrupt, we are no lesse apt to be mis-led by him,Ephes. 2.1, 2. Col. 3.3, 7. then they; walking in sinnes and trespasses, according to the course of the world, and according to the Prince of darknesse, in inordinate affection, and other lusts, being foolish, disobedient,Titus 3.3. Ephes. 2. deceiued, seruing diuers lusts & pleasures, liuing in malice, enuy, hatefull, and hating one another. Thus by nature are we the children of wrath, and bemyred with the filth of sinne, as wel as they.
4. That therefore our difference ariseth not, from within our selues, as from our owne wisedome, will and power: but we are kept from their Apostasie, either by Gods restraining power: as he kept the King of Gerar Abimelech from Adulterie: as also Pharaoh from Abrahams wife: or by his conuerting grace; so eueryevery one must say with Saint Paul: By the grace of God, I am that I am.
5. Consider, that some so dreadfully catched by Satan, may be Gods seruants, and bee conuerted; as was Manasseh, and also Saint Cyprian, of whom before. And did not such as vsed curious Arts, euen Magicke, turne to God and beleeue?
Therefore let vsus behold in them a spectacle of mans miserie, as being left of God vntounto the power of the Diuell, and so be moued with compassion, to pray for their conuersion. In our selues preserued, behold the mercifull goodnesse of our God, and so bee stirred vp to praise his name. Thus shall we make a good vse of both, and behaue our selues as sober Christians ought to doe.