The World Bewitched, Abridgment

The World Bewitched · Abridgment

AN ABRIDGMENT OF THE Whole Work; What hath been the deſign of the Author, and what is his Method.

AS the two firſt Books of this work that I publiſhed at firſt, have been differently received, for Reaſons alledg'd in the Preface; It will not be amiſs to repreſent to the Reader, what has been properly my deſign in theſe four Books, that I have Intituled, The World Bewitch'd, nor to ſhew what foundation I built upon, and what way I take to find out the truth. For althô I expreſs my ſelf clearly enough in the beginning of the work, and in the Preface to the firſt part; I know nevertheleſs, that is not ſufficient to deſtroy the prejudice wherewith, the learned themſelves appear more biaſſed than the Vulgar; which I ſhould never have thought; but it ſeems at preſent, I have found out the Reaſon, which is, that the moſt part of thoſe which do not put themſelves to the trouble to paſs through all the Degrees of the Schools, aſpire to Sciences and ſublime knowledge, but for their particular pleaſure; they are the People that love liberty, and to whom it matters not, who is the Maſter that inſtructs them, provided that they may learn ſomething; or if they are greedy of rarities, they have not ſo much reſpect to the mode, nor to that which is New or Antient, as to the beauty of the matter, and to that of the work. On the contrary, it is with thoſe who paſs through the Schools, as with thoſe who live in Shops, where every one has his way, every Maſter has his Method in the work he makes. In one Town they make the ſame things after one faſhion, and in another, after another; when one is taken up with the mode, he often rejects what is pleaſing, without any other Reaſon, then becauſe it is not as commonly uſed in the World. And we have a ſtrangeneſs for all novelties, ſo long as they have not the common vogue; althô otherwiſe, we might approve them, and have them cheap enough; but as ſoon as Cuſtom has introduced them, one begins to ſeek them out, and to be diſguſted at the former. Sciences are ſubject to the ſame inconveniencies. Thoſe that we ſend to the Schools, continue in the road which has been mark'd out to them for their exerciſes; they endeavour to form themſelves upon the model of thoſe which have moſt reputation, or of thoſe who are the neareſt to their firſt prejudices; ſo this is diſapproving the part they have taken, not to be apt to take any, and to preſerve our own liberty, and thus we expoſe our ſelves very much; but one runs a greater risk, if willing to aſcend higher, and ſearch things in their Fountains, it happens at laſt, that we find our ſelves out of the ordinary Road, and that we are obliged to take another. Hinc illae lachymae, From thence proceeds all diſorders.

The common Opinion of the Devil, of his knowledge, power, and Operations, and of People which are accuſed of having commerce with him, began by little and little to become very ſuſpitious by the help of natural light, which I have common with others, which was ſtrengthened and purified by the Scripture; ſo after I had well examined it, I was in doubt, whether I ought to maintain it any longer, or abandon it, not only by Reaſon of the truth, but alſo becauſe of the Piety which it ſeem'd to contradict: My Conſcience it ſelf compel'd me to it; for I was obliged to anſwer thoſe that ask'd me, and to take care of my Conduct, becauſe of the diſpoſition I ſaw the People in. It was the Duty of my charge, and every Day occaſions offer'd themſelves, my pain increaſed every moment, by the continual neceſſity I found my ſelf in, to ſpeak and act as others did, or to oppoſe the publick with words or actions, which agree not with my Character, which is to be complaiſant, and to agree with all the World, as much as is poſſible. Beſides I found not as yet foundation enough to act after an other manner, which made me at firſt reſolve to make an exact ſearch, after the Original of this common and general Opinion, to know whether it was founded upon truth. But becauſe I make this examination, à priore and not à poſteriore, as they in the Schools, I have propoſed the ſtate of the Queſtion, but at the end of the firſt Book; where I diſcovered in the 22th Chapter, how many of the Opinions, which I have related; (which are all thoſe that ever were in the World upon this ſubject,) The Proteſtants have at laſt got together, and formed thoſe which they retain to this Day. In the 23th Chapter I compare them with the Opinions duplicate page duplicate page of other Nations; and in the 24th Chapter, I ſhew by what means they have been introduced amongſt us; and what keeps us ſo ſtrongly tyed to them: So in the firſt Book, I examine what is the riſe of the Opinion concerning the Devil, and in the following Books, I diſcover what ſentiments we ought to have of him.

An Abridgement of the Firſt Book.

IN the Firſt Book I run over all the World, to find whence this Opinion has its Original. And for this purpoſe I have omitted neither time nor place. I obſerve that the ſubject ought to be examin'd in two Reſpects; In reſpect of the Devil, to find what is his Knowledge and Power; and in reſpect of Men, to ſee what they learn and effect by his means. But becauſe theſe things are preternatural, or are ſo thought to be, and that by conſequence they are known only to God, I have judg'd it neceſſary, to know what are the Opinions of Men concerning the Divinity, and Spirits in general, either good or bad, and of human Souls ſeparated from their Bodies by death, which are alſo Spirits: I make a ſearch of all theſe things, Firſt, in the Books of the Ancients, and afterwards in the Moderns of all Religions, and amongſt all Nations, diſtinguiſhing them into Pagans, Jews, Mahometans and Chriſtians, in reference to the preſent ſtate of the World. I begin with the Ancient Pagans, which are for the moſt part Greeks or Romans, known to us by Greek and Latin Books they have leſt us: which I treat of in the 2d, 3d, and 4th Chapters; for there are very few Hiſtories of other Countries and other People, which are come to our knowledge. There you ſee what they believe touching Gods, and Spirits, which are neither Gods nor human Souls; and as to the eſtate of the Souls after death: You read there alſo what means they uſed to attain that knowledge, and to operate things beyond the power of Nature, by the means of thoſe Spirits, ſuch as they believe them to be. I come afterwards down to our time, and examine all the Pagans in the World; firſt in Europe, in the 6th, Chapter; after in Aſin, in the 7th and 8th Chapters; then in Africa, in the 9th Chapter and at laſt in America, in the 10th Chapter; which gives me occaſion to demonſtrate in the 11th Chapter, that the Pagans as well Ancient as Modern, have had a notion of the Divinity, that is all powerful, but that they have aſſociated to him, inferior Gods. That the Greeks have often called them Demons, and likewiſe Gods, as moſt of the Pagans do at this Day; which Demons, or inferior Gods, have every one their ſhare in the Adminiſtration of the Univerſe, directing the affairs of Men under the name and Authority of the Soveraign God, and being as Mediators between him and Men: They converſe alſo with theſe laſt, who can, by their means, know and effect things above the power of Nature. This knowledge gives ſome the name of Diviners, and theſe Operations cauſe others to be called Magicians and Sorcerers; in conſequence of which, all the effects that we cannot give a Reaſon for, or find the cauſe of, are attributed to theſe Demons or inferior Gods,

The Souls of the Dead are alſo ranked amongſt the Demons, and according as they have behav'd themſelves well or ill upon Earth, the good or evil which happens to Men, is attributed to one or the other. It is that which has given occaſion to diſtinguiſh the inferior Gods, into good and bad.

After the Pagans, which know neither the true God nor Religion; I treat of thoſe which have the Holy Scripture among them, of whom the firſt are the Jews, having known God a long time before all the others, and received his Word in the writings of the Old Teſtament, where they have learned, that in truth the Souls of Men are immortal, but that there are no Demons, or inferior Gods, ſuch as the Pagans fancy. That God alone by himſelf rules the Univerſe, and that none can have knowledge or produce effects beyond the ſtrength of nature, for that belongs to God only. I obſerve farther, that Judaiſm in the ſtate into which it is inſenſibly fallen, ſince the coming of Chriſt, and as it is at this Day, is very much mixed with Paganiſm, or at leaſt very much infected with it; whence proceeds the practices of Divinations and Sorcery, that are in faſhion amongſt the Jews, Chapter the 13th.

After that I repreſent, that the Mahometans who acknowledge but one God, and created Angels good and bad, and the Devil as chief of them. That the Mahometans, I ſay, who have admitted the Books of the New Teſtament, and reverence Jeſus Chriſt as a great Prophet, have nevertheleſs mixed in all their Opinions, a great many of thoſe of the Pagans, which they have for the moſt part received, and that they are no leſs inclined to Divinations and Witchcraft, Chapter the 14th.

After the Jews and the Mahometans, who keep a kind of mean between the Pagans and the Chriſtians; I paſs to theſe laſt, and diſtinguiſh them according to the time, before Popery, under Popery, and ſince Popery. By this means I ſhow, that the primitive Chriſtians ſince the Apoſtles, have inſenſibly introduced amongſt them, many Opinions of Paganiſm and Judaiſm, which have been increaſing under Popery till they attained to the heigheſt pitch, and that they had aſcribed to the Angels, the Souls of the deceaſed, eſpecially to the Devil, all the Miracles which the Pagans attributed to the Demons, the Devils, and inferior Gods, Chapter the 15th to the 21.

In the mean while, I take notice, that among the Ancient Chriſtians, there aroſe a Sect called the Manichees, which had admitted in particular a great many Pagan Opinions, and made the Devil almoſt equal to God. And I ſhow, that their Opinions have inſenſibly been propagated, in Chriſtianity, even to our times; after that I come to theſe laſt Ages, and to the Doctrines of the Proteſtant Churches, among which I rank all thoſe that are Call'd The Reformed, that is, all thoſe that are ſeparated from Popery; upon which I remark, that the more we are remote from Paganiſm, either for time or place, there's the leſs credit given to all thoſe things which reſpect the Devil and his Power. Nevertheleſs I ſhow, that part of our People, not having comprehended enough, what are the foundations of the Proteſtant Doctrine, nor in what it differs from Popery, are taken with the common Opinion of Devils, to whom as well as to Men, that have Communication with him, they attribute more eaſily ſo many marvelous effects, and ſo much above the power of nature, then others do, who have more meditated and reflected upon thoſe Doctrines and variations. Chapter the 22th and 23.

Laſtly having compared all theſe Opinions together, I conclude that the common Opinion which has been in requeſt amongſt us to this day, had it's Original from Paganiſm, not that the meer uſe of Reaſon ſhould produce ſuch thoughts, but on the contrary, the ill uſe that is made of it. It is becauſe we ſuffer our ſelves to be ſeduced, and blinded by a falſe appearance of Piety, without having recourſe to the light of the Scripture, that we fall into ſuch Extravagancies, with which we are pleaſed, and love to continue in them. I prove that theſe are thoughts that never were inſpired to the Chriſtians by the Holy Scripture, by reaſon that thoſe who read it leſs, and underſtand it leſs, give more Credit to theſe ſort of things, and becauſe all the World is already prevented before they read it, and meditate upon it.

For by theſe Reaſons I endeavour to bring the Reader to conſider, whether the Scripture gives occasion to believe all thoſe things that are ordinarily ſaid upon that ſubject, or to believe them ſo as they are ſaid; or whether ſuch Sentiments have not taken root in us from our tender Youth, and been confirmed by Cuſtom. At beſt, I have a very ſtrong preſumption for that Reaſoning, that when we believe before-hand, that ſuch a thing is, there is a great diſpoſition to turn our Reaſon, and the Expreſſions of the Scripture to that ſide, and to believe that the inclination we have of it comes from Reaſon, and even the Holy Writ leading us thitherto. Moreover, we receive the firſt Interpretations, and the Commentaries upon the Scripture, from the hands of thoſe antient Doctors, touching which I prove, Chap. 15. that they have been all prejudiced, ſome more, others leſs, in favour of many Pagan Doctrines and Opinions, which have unawares given occaſion to that Senſe in which the Scripture has been expounded by them. Theſe are the Contents of the 24th Chapters, and the concluſion of the firſt Book.

An Illuſtration upon the three laſt Books in general.

In ſeems to me that for all theſe Reaſons it is eaſie to conceive, that this firſt part of my Treatiſe is not ſo unprofitable as ſome imagine. They will that regard be had only to the ſecond Book, and that the firſt ſhould not be inſiſted upon, becauſe it conſiſts but in Hiſtorical narrations, which conclude nothing. But as far as I am capable to give a reaſon for the ſtructure of my own building; I ſay the Second Book is founded upon the Firſt, according to the proofs I am perſwaded I have lawfully drawn by good conſequences, Chapter 14. For if it were otherwiſe, I had reaſon to be ſurprized; that of ſo many, who exclaim againſt my Second Book, paſſing my Firſt, none has taken notice of my error in this point, and declared it to me, very few having done ſo much as reflected upon it. But in vain they attack the Second, if they admit the Firſt. They in no wiſe ſee the end I aim at, nor the order I have followed, as ought to be done, in an exact ſearch after the Truth. But they undertake to confute my Second Book, becauſe it offers a larger field to their cenſures, by different things expounded in an oppoſite Senſe to that of the literal; like thoſe ignorant Diſputants, who let ſlip the antecedent Propoſitions, and deny the conſequence that is neceſſarily drawn from it. I have reaſon to complain for paſſing an over-haſty judgment upon the halfe of my Work, without ſtaying till it appeared intire, and they have ſeen the following Part, and the Connexion; no circumſtance of time required that precipitation, for I had not loſt a moment to publiſh the two laſt Parts, had they not hinder'd it by the diſturbances they have given me. I believe not that the whole extent of a project, or its oeconomy, may be perfectly ſeen, while 'tis but halfe done. So 'tis but at preſent that ſome judgement may be paſt upon this work, ſince it begins but now to appear altogether, and to be a perfect Body with all its Members.

The Second Book and the Third, conſiſt in the ſearch after Truth, and what of certainty may be had, as to the Sentiments that have been upon this ſubject of Spirits, and Men who have communication with them, that is, with evil Spirts. I examine in the Second Book, what concerns Spirits; and in the Third, what concerns theſe wicked People, who ſeek to deal with them, according to the diviſion that I have propoſed in the beginning of the Firſt Book, Chap. 1. Sect. 8. As to the Fourth, I ſhall ſay hereafter, what connection it has with the former, and its uſefulneſs.

Touching the method I take, to make, by degrees and in order, this Search after Truth; if whatever I have written upon this ſubject, be attentively conſider'd, you will undoubtedly know the injuſtice of thoſe who impute to me, that I offer chiefly new Propoſitions of my own head; that I take the greateſt trouble imaginable to wreſt the Scripture, and my reaſonings to accommodate them to it; or that I make uſe of Reaſon, as of a Rule with which I would meaſure Scripture, and adapt it to the ſame. On the contrary, it is impoſſible not to ſee, that I never had as yet the leaſt thought of building upon ſuch a foundation; but that I have run through all the World, and all times, to diſcover where Men may have found the foundations of theſe Opinions, which I have undertaken to find out. For when one has attain'd to that knowledge, he is in a condition to judge ſolidly, whether thoſe Opinions or Practices are grounded upon good or bad Reaſons. I declare then, that I have not examined all the divers Opinions of the Pagans, Jews, Mahometans and Chriſtians, as well Ancient as Modern, nor their Doctrines and Practices, with an intent to give explanations of them, nor to main…a…n them, or confute them, but only to conſider them in themſelves, and to expoſe them as they are, without making any Judgment, or producing any proofs to ſupport or deſtroy them; which is an extraordinary labour that none would ever undertake, unleſs carry'd by the deſire of truth. So far I lay no foundation. I that am a Chriſtian and a Proteſtant, and have no deſire to become either Papiſt, Jew, or Pagan. If I found nothing ſolid in the ſearch I make, I conſent that they continue to ſay and believe concerning Spirits in general, and Devils in particular, all that is wont to be ſaid, and all that can be imagined.

But altho', I have not as yet found the bottom I ſeek, and that neither Popery, Judaiſm, nor Paganiſm conſidered in themſelves, having there withal to furniſh me, I have notwithſtanding a ſolid foundation, which is common to me with thoſe People: And I have further another particular, which I have in common but with part of them. The firſt is reaſon, which is the light of all men in general, when it is found pure in them, and neither perplexed, nor obſcured by prejudices or paſſions. The other foundation upon which I reſt, is, the Scripture inſpireed by God, which is equally pure in it ſelf; And and to the reading of which we ought alſo to apply our ſelves, as if one had never read them; that is to ſay, with an entire diſingagement of all humane prejudices; and from thoſe that may proceed from the verſions of the Hebrew and the Greek, which are the original languages in which it has been written; he muſt meditate upon it, without any regard to the interpretation which have been made by all ſorts of Doctors, either Ancient or Modern.

Theſe two foundations are not Subordinate one to the other, but ſubſiſt equally together. Philo the Jew, loving very much to ſearch allegorical Senſ…s in Scripture, and not approving what St. Paul wrote upon the ſubject of Sarah and Agar. Galatians, Ch. 4. v. 2. has been the firſt that has applied to the Scripture and to reaſon the diſtinction of Miſtreſs and Servant; ſaying, that you muſt thereby underſtand, that Philoſophy and humane underſtanding ought to be ſubmitted to the holy writ. This application is become ſo familiar to Divines, that it has been received as an undeniable maxime, ſince Philo took a fancy to propoſe it.

It is however a truth, that reaſon ought to precede Scripture, becauſe the latter preſuppoſes the former; I underſtand ſound reaſon, to which the Scripture ought to preſent it ſelf, and make it ſelf known as divine; after that, Reaſon comes to the help of Scripture, teaching us things wherein Scripture is ſilent, and the Scripture likewiſe comes to aſſiſt reaſon, diſcovering to us things which are above it, and above the reach of our underſtanding. We muſt nevertheleſs confeſs, that the Scripture is above reaſon, not as miſtreſs, for they have every one their particular Empire and Direction: But as being more noble and excellent; becauſe it is in this God manifeſts to us, things which no humane underſtanding ever could comprehend, 1 Corinthians 2.9. notwithſtanding it happens ſometimes that they meet both in the ſame way, where they lodge together in the ſame houſe, and by conſequence they often lend one another the helping hand, but they do it freely, althô with this difference, that reaſon as an inferiour, alwayes ſhows a great reſpect for the Holy writ. When therefore 'tis ſaid a Chriſtian ought to ſubmit his underſtanding to the word of God; it muſt be underſtood, the underſtanding ſuch as it is in the Eſtate of corruption, obſcure by he Clouds that ſurround it, and infected by the ſt…ins that d…gure it. And ſuch it is in reſpect of things which are above our reach, which are only manifeſted to us in the word of God; and which we are obliged to believe as Scripture diſcovers them, althô we comprehend them not. But it does not follow from thence, that we ought to believe thoſe things, ſuch as men teach us by their expoſitions, or even by their tranſlations, without a great certainty that they are faithful. So then the word of God conſidered as it is originally, and in it ſelf, and proceeding from God without any reſpect to the interpretations that have been made by men; and reaſon not ſuch as is born with us, and when it is perplex'd with prejudices, and blinded with paſſions, but reaſon purified by the ſame Spirit which has inſpired the Scriptures; the Scripture I ſay and reaſon, are the two only lawful and true grounds of the knowledge we can acquire, as well in things Natural as Spiritual.

But there is yet another diſtinction to be made upon this Subject, that is, that reaſon is the ground and rule of our knowledge in natural things, ſince the Holy writ never treats of them purpoſely to inſtruct us, and diſcover them to us, and that it ſpeaks of them only as of ſubjects; the nature of which is known to us as much as is neceſſary to make a good uſe of them, as well in civil matters as in Spiritual. In what concerns our Salvation, the word of God is the only ground of our Faith, and the rule of our Life without being in the power of our reaſon, to add, to take from, or to change any thing in it, thô it ought to be employed on this occaſion, in two manners; the firſt is to try the Scriptures that are ſaid to be divine, in making uſe of the knowledge that Men have naturally of God, to know whether the Scriptures preſent to them, ſuch Characters of truth as are agreeable to that notion. The ſecond is, to comprehend by the ſenſe of the word contained in them, the doctrines there propoſed for our Salvation.

Further we muſt be perſuaded, that Scripture and Reaſon are mutually helping, to one another, in ſuch matters as are of their Juriſdiction; for if the Scripture ſpeaks not ſometimes naturally of things naural; Nevertheleſs as it never propoſes any thing falſe, tis the part of reaſon to inſtructus, after what n anner the Holywrit muſt be underſtood in theſe places, according as the matter required; as Pſalm 19. touching the deſcription of the courſe of the Sun, and in many other like places. Or if there be any thing in nature, that our proper experience has not ſufficiently diſcover'd to us to paſs a ſafe Judgment, and that we be obliged to rely upon the Credit of others, who perhaps are not much more knowing than ourſelves: The Scripture may alſo in this occaſion afford us ſome light; As in what is ſaid of the Rain, In the Evening and the Morning in Judea, Jeremiah 6.24. the little rain that falls in that Country in the time of Harveſt, and the few ſtorms that are ſeen there, 2 Sam. 12.17. of the violence of the Eaſt wind upon the coaſt of Aſia and Paleſtine in the Mediteranean Sea, Pſalm 48.8. and the like. But that which is moſt conſiderable is, that the Scripture it ſelf inſtructs us of ſome certain natural things, to which the reach of reaſon ſhould never attain, they are ſo much above it. Such is the beginning of the World, eſpecially that of Man, by the immediate creation of God out of nothing. And ſuch is the original of the darkneſs and corruption in which reaſon and underſtanding is plunged, as they may perceive by the help of ſuch ſound and pure remained light, as is in them.

Theſe are the general Principles I preſuppoſe, which I believe to be ſuch, that there is no Body, in what particular Senſe he may be, that will conteſt them. Upon which I come to examine what is true in all the relations I have faithfully made in my firſt Book, and which are the Sentiments, or the ordinary Diſcourſes of all Men upon that ſubject. But it is manifeſt, that I have not made to my ſelf any particular Principles; and much leſs put Reaſon and Philoſophy above Scripture: Even the contrary will be ſeen as clear as the Noon-Day, if you take the trouble to read my Writings with attention, and without Prejudice: For I obſerve as to this reſpect, as well as in reference to Comets, (in which Treatiſe I have followed the ſame order, of which I am amaſed it has not been perceived) the Queſtion ought to be diſcuſs'd of one ſide with relation to Nature, and on the other with reference to Holy Writ; and therefore I begin with Reaſon, which is inferiour to the two others, to ſearch into Nature as in the loweſt School, what it teaches moſt pure touching God and Spirits, and particularly the Devil. For ſince the Pagans have preſumed to ſay ſo many things of the Demons, that they had not learned of the Scripture, of which they had no knowledge, it ſeems to me that I am not in the wrong to examine what there was that was grounded upon Reaſon; and of what Opinions it ſeems to be the principle, or what are thoſe that are derived from another ſourſe. But as what I could diſcover by the deepeſt and moſt exact ſearch I could make in that loweſt School, is yet but inconſiderable; I aſcend a degree higher, where I find a Miſtreſs ſuperiour to this firſt, that is, the Scripture, that I begin to conſult in the 8th Chapter of the ſecond part. Now as in the ſeven firſt Chapters, where I walk as in Nature alone, I lay aſide Scripture to try how far human Underſtanding may attain by its own ſtrength; ſo I leave reaſon behind, as ſoon as I enter into the Sanctuary of the Word of God, whoſe Oracles are infallible.

What I ſay here, that I have no longer recourſe t… Reaſon; I underſtand it in this Senſe, that I take … not as a foundation, or as a rule by which I may expound the Scripture; But I exclude it not as a means, by which I acquire the underſtanding of the Scripture; for on the contrary I cannot want it in this reſpect, were it not for my Reaſon and Understanding in relation to God, I ſhould be in the ſame rank with Beaſts; but it is not to Beaſts that God ſpeaks, but to Men, that is, to rational Creatures. Reaſon may act alone without Scripture, in things that are of its Juriſdiction, for Arts and Sciences are the objects of Reaſon: From thence they proceed, and thereby they are learned, that is, Man uſes his own light for that purpoſe, without having recourſe to the inſtructions of the Word of God, and without having occaſion for them. But for the things of an higher Nature, which concern the Will of God, with relation to the Salvation of Man, the Scripture is the true principle and ſolid foundation upon which our truſt is founded; although Reaſon ought to concur with it, to underſtand and comprehend under the direction of the Spirit of God, the Senſe of the Scripture. So in this ſecond examination of the ſecond part, where the certainty of the knowledge which proceeds from Scripture alone is treated of, I am nevertheleſs obliged to employ my Reaſon, to the end it may ſerve me to examine what Scripture contains; not that it may reach ſo far as to comprehend the things themſelves; but it ought nevertheleſs to comprehend what the Scripture it ſelf ſays, and that things are ſuch as it ſays, although I conceive them not ſuch as they are.

But ſee here the knot of the difficulty, that is that every one crys out, that the Scripture ſays ſuch or ſuch things, becauſe he conceives that the Scripture ſays them, and when the Scripture may be underſtood two …ys, we eaſily embrace the Senſe which beſt ſuites our Notions. If already, without too much examination, we have ſufferd our ſelves to be prejudiced with Opinions, of which we would however be better ſatisfied, and find ſome more particular inſtruction in the Scripture; It is not ſought with that impartiality and liberty of Mind which are neceſſary; but we ſtill incline towards the prejudices. If there is the leaſt appearance that we may, by wreſting the Scripture, adapt it to the Senſe we would have it, we never fail to do all our Endeavours in order thereto, and afterwards imagine to have found there ſufficient proofs in favour of our Opinion, becauſe it ſeems to ſay what we deſire▪ As we ſee two Counſellors explain the ſame Law, each for the advantage of his Client; and that they never want Reaſons on both ſides to confute the contrary Arguments; ſo that they appear each to have the right on his ſide; and that it is very difficult to extricate what they have ſo much perplexed.

But it is ſaid, that I my ſelf do what I condemn in others; and for me, I maintain that thoſe, who are conſcious of their guilt and worthy of cenſure, caſt that imputation upon me, ſeeing me explain ſo many paſſages in another Senſe than that with which they are prevented, without any other Reaſon than becauſe it is ordinarily received. They are perſuaded that this change proceeds in me from the ſame cauſe that I diſcover in them. See the true cauſe that makes them ſay I wreſt the Scripture; not that I really wreſt it, but rather that I keep not as a Slave to their Interpretations. But I make, ſay they, a falſe Suppoſition, and after I endeavour to give to the Scripture a Senſe which agrees to that Suppoſition; That may be, but to know what it is, you muſt examine after what manner I make the expoſition of the Scripture; and whether I turn it towards my prejudices; and the…efore 'tis neceſſary that I explain a little more clearly every one of the Articles I treat of.

The Principle, they ſay, I ſuppoſe is, that a Spirit cannot act upon a Body, nor upon other immaterial Spirits. That's the burthen of the Song, and what they make me ſay over and over every where, and is ſo confidently publiſhed, that even my Friends can ſcarce forbear crediting it; as there come every day occaſions, which make me know it. It is a prejudice that paſſes from hand to hand from one party to another: It inſenſibly ſpreads it ſelf in all the Minds, and in that Diſpoſition the reading of my Book is undertaken: but they ſeldom read it entire, from one end to the other, as it would be but juſt and neceſſary to do; they only read ſome ſeparate places, viz. thoſe they are referr'd to, and eſpecially thoſe in which I diſpute upon the Operations of Spirits: For I may boldly ſay, that of thoſe that have read my Book with attention, I find but very few which hold the ſame Diſcourſes: On the contrary, they take quite another party, viz. that of Truth. So that I defie all thoſe that have read it, to mark ſo much as one place where I put as a Principle of my Opinion touching the Devil, That a Spirit cannot act either upon a Body, or another Spirit. What is then the foundation of this noiſe, which is ſo ſtrongly and ſo generally ſpread abroad, and which is the cauſe of the great proſecution that is made againſt me? It is this general prejudice which proceeds from the common Expoſition of the paſſages of Scripture upon this; that is, That a Spirit, as a Spirit, and ſo much the more as it is a Spirit, can without Body act upon all ſorts of Bodies, and upon other Spirits. I require proofs of this Theſis; and becauſe this demand is unthought of and extraordinary, and upon which by conſequence every one is not prepared, my demand is taken for a Negative. But before I lay my ſelf that foundation, which ordinarily is not call'd in Queſtion, I examine firſt the Grounds upon which theſe People themſelves reſt their Opinion, or upon what they ought to eſtabliſh it, according to the Idea they have of Spirits; I ſay, according to the Idea they have of Spirits; for, whether according to the Principles of Deſcartes, they diſtinguiſh them from Bodies the more neatly then other Philoſophers do, or that they groſly attribute ſomething corporeal to them. Theſe two Idea's nevertheleſs proceed as yet equally, from that they conceive the Operations of Spirits upon external Objects, whether Bodies, or other Spirits, as a property of the Spiritual Nature; and from that they include them in the notion they have of that Nature: and it is by this means, that inſtead of conſidering the Body as an inſtrument which is neceſſary to the Operation of Spirits, or at leaſt proper to them, they look upon it as an obſtacle to the liberty and virtue of the Operations of a Spiritual Nature, Thence comes that every Body crys …ut ſo differrently againſt me, ſome ſaying, that Deſcartes's Philoſophy has ſpoiled me, and that is the fruit which is reaped by his Followers, deſiring to caſt upon it the Errors that they accuſe me of: Others, who being in the ſame prejudice, yet are Carteſians at bottom, give out, that I underſtand not the Philoſophy of Deſcartes: But whatever my Learning and Experience be, I intend to have to do but with ſenſible People, and leave the others at full liberty to paſs upon the Doctrine I teach, ſuch Judgments as they pleaſe.

An Abridgment of the Second Book.

As to what concerns my Second Book ſee the method I have taken. I begin with the diſtinction of names, in fixing at firſt, what muſt be underſtood by a Body, and a Spirit, to avoid all equivocations: which I have done in the firſt Chapter. I ſpeak of God in the Second, proveing not only, that the ſupream Being which I denote by that word, is only one, but alſo that there is not the leaſt communion between it and created things; directly confuting the Opinion of Spinoſa, upon this ſubject; which I pretend to do with more force and evidence than any hitherto, becauſe ordinarily they undertake to demonſtrate by the moſt perfect and incomprehenſible Eſſence of God, the manner and virtue of the Operations of created Spirits, which I abſolutely reject, as a way which is uſed to lead us into error. By conſequence I cannot admit the arguments which are taken from the nature of God, to demonſtrate in what manner acts a Spirit which is his creature, and has nothing common with him, but the name. After, in the Third Chapter, I prove by arguments drawn from the ſovereign perfection of God, that there are none of thoſe ſorts of Spirits, that the Pagans eſteem to be Gods and ediators of Men towards the ſupream Divinity; becauſe the Reaſons of thoſe that ground that belief upon the perfection of God, are directly oppoſite to this perfection.

We then having taken off the imaginary Spirits, I come to thoſe which we certainly know to exiſt; that is, our Souls that are a part of our ſelves, and which by conſequence, are better known to us by our own experience; this is treated of in the fourth Chapter, where I prove as much as is poſſible their immortality, and that they ſubſiſt even out of the body: I employ for this purpoſe, Reaſon and Scripture, becauſe they are two ways, that equally conduct us to the knowledge of the Soul; the firſt by experience and by our own Conſciouſneſs; and the ſecond by the particular inſtructions God gives us of the eſtate of the Soul, after this life: but I quote not the Scripture in this part of my Treatiſe, where I examine but what concerns nature only. Neither do I judge it neceſſary to do it afterwards, becauſe it is a point that a Chriſtian looks upon, as already ſufficiently eſtabliſhed; and ſuppoſes it when he will engage in a diſpute upon this ſubject. Beſides, I reject as ſuperſtitions and fables, whatever, proceeds from the invention of Men, eſpecially of the Heathens, which is the matter of the fifth Chapter. So we come to know with certainty, that ſuch a Spirit, that is the Soul which truly exiſts, has a body with which it lives, and without which it may ſtill live, and to reject all the other Spirits, of whom the greateſt part of the World falſly believe the exiſtence. But beſides thoſe Pagan Opinions, we hear every day mention made of Angels, not only by Chriſtians, but alſo by Jews and Mahometans. The Queſtion is, Whether Reaſon alone is capable to diſcover to us, that there are ſuch Spirits, deſtitute of a proper and peculiar body? Upon this point I ſhew in the ſixth Chapter, that our underſtanding without the help of Scripture, cannot penetrate farther, than to comprehend, that it is poſſible, but not certain, that there are Spirits. For this Reaſon, I have not judg'd it neceſſary, to examine the Operations of theſe Spirits upon bodies, or upon the other Spirits; becauſe it ſeems to me ridiculous to trouble ones ſelf with the examination of the Operations of Creatures, the exiſtence of which is not eſtabliſhed as certain. And therefore I have ſpoken in the firſt Edition, but by the way in verſe, which is at preſent, the ſeventh Sect. of the ſixth Chapter. And therefore it is manifeſt how wrongfully many People would perſwade themſelves, that I have compoſed my work only, To deny the Operations of Spirits upon bodies, and upon other Spirits. And beſides, that I ground upon this negative, all my explications of the paſſages of Scripture; but that I may avoid this perſecution for the future, I thought fit to inſert in the new Edition that is made of my Book, a whole Chapter between the ſixth and ſeventh, ſo that this new Chapter is at preſent the ſeventh, and the ſeventh is the eight, and ſo of the others following. There I pretend clearly to ſhew, that the proofs related upon that ſubject, ſtrike not at all to the end, and cannot be conſidered as true proofs; which I mean as to what concerns nature, and as to what Human Reaſon may conceive of it ſelf, as deſtitute of help from the word of God.

After that I come to the word of God, and then I employ Reaſon no more, but keep to the Scripture only and I ſearch in it, what it will teach me, touching Spirits, which is now the queſtion; there I find that under the name of Angels, it gives us to underſtand, ſuch Spirits as are the Miniſters of God, toward other Creatures. But there is nothing diſcovered to us, touching their Eſſence; neither is their any thing in the Hiſtory of the Creation, as to their Original, or the manner of their fall; for which Reaſon, part of them was from the beginning rejected from God; notwithſtanding, the Scripture puts theſe two things for certain, which is the ſubject of the eight and ninth Chapters.

I conſider afterwards the properties and Operations that the Scripture attributes to them, and I endeavour to know, what is their proper nature, their power upon other Creatures, either ſpiritual or corporeal. But the paſſages that ſpeak of theſe things do not appear to me to have been underſtood otherwiſe, than thoſe that attribute alſo to certain Men, that is, to Prophets and Apoſtles, the works that they have done in diſpenſing the miracles of God. That which gives me occaſion to ſay, that as this diſpenſation ſurpaſſes the force of thoſe to whom it was entruſted, it cannot make us know what was their proper nature, whence I take occaſion to infer the ſame things touching Angels; this is in the tenth and eleventh Chapters.

That which could not be diſcovered by the means of the name, Original, or Operation of thoſe Spirits, I endeavour to learn by the means of their orders, of which is made an ample mention, in the twelfth, fifteenth, and nineteenth Chapters of my firſt Book. But I draw not any light from thence, ſave that Angels, as well good as bad, have each their head; that the Prince of good Angels is called Michael, and that of the bad, named Diabolus, the Devil; that is in the two and twentieth Chapter.

Yet I leave it not here; I conſider again, that the Scripture attributes in many places, ſome particular adminiſtration to Angels, I examined to know what it is, firſt as to the good Angels in general, in the thirteenth Chapter, whom the Scripture often makes appear, and always for particular revelations to the faithful, either to work extraordinary miracles, or execute God's Judgments upon Men by puniſhments, or by deliverances. But I conceive not that what is ſaid of this Miniſtry, is different from what is related of that of thoſe holy Men, who have been employed in the works of God and his miracles, that they in no wiſe operated by their own virtue; by conſequence I find nothing as yet which may give me a certain knowledge of the proper Angels, their power, or their Operations.

Afterwards I come to a more particular examination of the principle paſſages, eſpecially of the manner of ſpeaking of theſe three perſons, which appeared to Abraham, of the two others that appeared to Lot, Geneſis, Chapter the eighteenth and nineteenth: and in making reflection upon this Hiſtory, and comparing it with other inſtructions of the Holy Scriptures; It ſeems to me, that I am in the right to conclude, that thoſe Angels, that is to ſay, thoſe Meſſengers, were Men as they named themſelves; not being able in the mean while, to determine what muſt be underſtood by the Angel of the Face of God, which conducted Iſrael in the deſert, Exod. 23 Chap. and by the Angels, by whom God gave his Law upon Mount Sinai. I propoſe only my thoughts, and what ſeems to me may be underſtood by it, by a Collation of the paſſages of the Holy writ, which make mention of the manner of that Divine conduct of the Iſraelites, in the deſert, Chap. 15.

I paſs farther and examine what is ſaid in the Scripture concerning the Angels, with relation to ſome certain Perſons, Nations, and Countries: And I conclude from thence, that what has ever been variouſly written upon this ſubject by particular Authors, is not founded upon Scripture, becauſe all the paſſages made uſe of to ground thoſe Opinions, ſpeak but figuratively.

At laſt coming to the Devil, and to the reſt of evil Angels, I ſee that this name has been given as well to ill Men, as to evil Spirits, and even firſt to wicked Men. So I examine in the 17, 18 and 19 Chapters, what may moſt conveniently be underſtood by the Chief of evil Spirits; but in making the examination of all the particular paſſages which are uſually applied to the Devil, I find that the name of Satan or Devil, is uſed in ſome of theſe paſſages, and that of Daemon and of Daemonium in ſome others. And that there are ſeveral denominations ordinarily applied to the Devil, which obliges me to double my cares, that I may diſcover what ought to be underſtood by Devil, eſpecially in the Hiſtory of the fall of the firſt Adam, and in that of the temptation of the ſecond. This is the matter of the 20 and the 21ſt, Chapters. The other paſſages which contain the name of Satan, appear to me to be different from theſe, of which I treat in the 23, 24 and 25 Chapters. I examine afterwards in the 26 to the 30, what are the Daemonia, and thoſe that are called Poſſeſt. And laſtly, in the 31ſt, Chapter, what muſt be underſtood in all the other paſſages, where inſtead of the name of Devil, and of Demons, others quite different are uſed.

And therefore as the principal operations attributed to the Devil in Scripture, conſiſt in the fall of the Firſt Man, and the aſſaults he made upon our Saviour in the Deſart; Thence I take occaſion to examine, Whether thoſe Accounts may ſerve to the Opinion of the power of this evil Spirit, and of the power of his operation upon Men? But it ſeems to me, that in the narration of Moſes, touching the fall of Man, that happen'd by the diſcourſe of a Serpent, nothing is ſaid that ought to carry me to conclude, that the Devil himſelf can act immediately upon the Soul and Body of Man. Here I keep to that diſcovery, without going any further. Thoſe that are of another Opinion, find that this concluſion is drawn from that Relation, with a full evidence, and aske how the fall of Man could happen otherwiſe; rendring themſelves guilty of the ſame fault they reproach me with, by pretending to know themſelves, how the thing came to paſs, and to be able to render the reaſon of it. But he that judges, ought not to ſpeak of it ſo poſitively, declaring he knows nothing of it, and finds nothing revealed upon that point, he is preſently accuſed of denying the ſame thing it ſelf, and of not believing the matter of Fact, becauſe he grants he is not acquainted with the manner of it. The celebrated Voetius has however, explained himſelf upon this ſubject very near, as I do, for in the firſt part of his Diſputes, pag. 915. ſpeaking of the fall of Man, he ſays, upon the Queſtion, to know how, and in what manner? it is not poſſible to give ſo ſatisfactory an anſwer; but it may be ſeen that there remains ſtill ſomething, which the weakneſs of our underſtanding cannot comprehend, nor likewiſe how the Devil ſeduced Eve.

Examining the temptation of our Lord by the Devil, I agree that the Tempter is the evil Spirit; and I believe that the literal Senſe may very well paſs, ſuppoſing that it was a wicked Man ſo called. But I ſhew, that underſtanding theſe words of the evil Spirit, literally; the quite contrary may be inferr'd from what is ordinarily gather'd from thence. Thereupon, if I be ask'd how I underſtand and explain that narration? I anſwer, That I believe that the thing was done in a Viſion. See how Schultetus ſpeaks, who as well as Voetius, has been a member of the national Synod of Dordrecht: in his Exercit. Evang. Lib. 11. Chap. 3. the queſtion is to know, whether the thing really happend, or in a viſion? he anſwers, it was in a viſion, and after gives ſome reaſons, which however I do not judge ſo ſtrong as mine. None has right to require from me, that I ſhould preciſely explain my ſelf upon the paſſages of Scripture, and upon others: from which they ſuppoſe to draw ſtrong proofs in favour of that Opinion, the truth of which I here call in queſtion; nor that I ſhould declare what ſenſe I give them, eſpecially to thoſe who mention the fall of the firſt Man in Paradiſe, and the temptation of our Lord in the Deſart. For I have had no other deſign on this occaſion, but to examine whether theſe paſſages, underſtood according to the Letter, afford ſufficient proof to make us admit the conſequences that are uſually drawn from thence, and to eſtabliſh the common Opinion which is had of the craft and power of the Devil to act upon Men. If it were neceſſary to proceed farther, and to examine all theſe paſſages to the bottom, in order to penetrate their true ſenſe, a whole Book ſcarce ſuffices. I refuſe not however to do it, and hope to undertake it, as ſoon as the Divine Providence will furniſh me with occaſion and leiſure.

I ſhew, as to other paſſages of the Holy Writ, that they cannot be underſtood of evil Spirits, but only of ill Men; and of the works of God, not of thoſe of the Devil; thô without heſitating, theſe paſſages are ordinarily applyed to the Devil. I maintain in the 22 Chapter, that it was a Man which brought David to number the People, Chap. 23. that the paſſage, wherein the fight of Michael againſt the Devil, is mention'd, is very obſcure, and that there is a great uncertainty in the preſent Opinions upon that point, as all Divines grant; and that by conſequence, nothing can be concluded from them, eſpecially if it be ſuppoſed, as ſome learned do, that the Devil was but a meer Man. I ſhew in Chap. 24. That the Spirit of Python that is ſpoken of in the 16th Chapter of the Acts of the Apoſtles, can no ways be applied to the Devil. Neither does the famous Hiſtory of Job, always alledged one of the firſt, as a proof of his power, being well examined in its whole extent, attribute to him the leaſt part in the evils, which by the Providence of God, happen'd to that Holy Man. As to the Angel of Satan which tormented St. Paul, I place him in the ſame rank with the fight againſt Michael, that is in uncertainty, there being no ground to pretend to a perfect underſtanding of this paſſage; and therefore I look upon it as inſufficient to prove any thing which is the matter of the 25th Chapter.

But as the Poſſeſt are univerſally alledg'd for a certain proof of the great power of the Devil, and that we read ſo many times in Scripture, that the evil Spirits have been caſt out by our Saviour Jeſus Chriſt, I beſlow five Chapters upon examining what is in it. I ſee that the term of Diabolus, which we Tranſlate Devil, is not found in any of the paſſages in which thoſe Relations are contained; but only that of Daemon, which I illuſtrate in the 26th Chapter. In the 27th I ſhew, that the moſt dangerous diſeaſes, eſpecially thoſe of the Head, were uſually aſcribed to Demons, or even call'd by the name of Demons; and in the 28th, that our Saviour Jeſus Chriſt, has not changed the uſual way of ſpeaking, but made uſe of them according to the cuſtom of that time; neither did he always immediately confute all the errors, in the 29th and 30th Chapters; ſo that the cure of Daemonia, was not properly an expulſion of Devils, but a miraculous cure of incurable Diſeaſes.

I come after to other paſſages of Scripture, where neither the names of Devil, Satan, or Demon are made uſe of, but thoſe of the Prince of the World, Prince of the power of the air; Prince of this Age, of Lordſhips, Powers, Dominions, and the like; And I ſhew that there is not the leaſt cauſe to apply them to the Devil; but that the Stile of Scripture leads us of it ſelf to underſtand by all theſe names a certain order of perſons.

Having then examined all, I could not conclude, that the Scripture, conſidered truely and without prejudice, attributes to the Devil this power and theſe operations, which the prevention of Commentators and Tranſlators diſcovers in it: I grant it has been very troubleſom to me to be obliged to take this party, and to confute and cenſure very famous Men and moſt approved interpreters: It even ſeemed to me, that I expoſed my ſelf very much becauſe I know that a more advantageous opinion is had of thoſe that are not known, and that a Prophet is neither eſteemed in his own time nor in his own Country. For this Reaſon I did firſt reſolve not to meddle with thoſe of Scripture, where I found my ſelf conſtrain'd to go from the expoſitions ordinarily received. But at laſt, conſidering that my work would appear but imperfect, and that they would not fail to object thoſe famous paſſages, to which I ſhould be then obliged to anſwer; I at laſt prevailed with my ſelf to venture in the main Sea, and to fly before none that came to attack me; further I do not believe that any one can ſhew me, that the interpretations that I make, are founded upon the light of reaſon and humane underſtanding, or upon any other particular propoſition I ſhould have aſſerted; ſuch as this is ſaid to be, that a Spirit cannot act upon a body, nor upon other Spirits I have made uſe of for this effect, but of the ordinary means that the knowledge of Languages afford us; ſo there is no more unjuſt accuſation then that which is raiſed againſt me upon this ſubject.

And therefore when I compare with the analogy of the whole Scripture, with the grounds of our Divinity, and with the rules of true Piety; whatever is ordinarily publiſhed concerning the underſtanding of the Devil, his power, his operations, his apparitions in divers places in the World, his Dominion, and the Kingdom which he raiſes againſt that of Jeſus Chriſt; I conclude not only that they are not grounded upon theſe three principles, but alſo being conſidered with all the neceſſary attention, they appear contrary to them. In this place I begin to enter into diſpute, and to draw my concluſion from arguments which the Scripture and reaſon furniſhes me with; having by the means heretofore eſtabliſhed upon thoſe two principles, ſearched after the ways how plainly and without equivocation to underſtand the ſtate of the queſtions which properly and particularly cocern the Devil. This is not then the point in queſtion, to diſpute of the meaning of thoſe paſſages which mention the fall of Man, or ſpeak of Angels, ſome of whom appeared to Abraham, and others wreſtled with Jacob; or of the tentation of Our Lord Chriſt in the deſert; nor of the ſenſe of thoſe that ſay David was tempted by Satan, and that Job was tormented by him, and the like places; but the Chief point, the ſcope of all this ſearch, is to know what to believe concerning the Devil.

Upon this I beſtow the five laſt Chapters, and in the three firſt of theſe five, which are the 32th, 33th, and 34th, I am not afraid of calling Reaſon to my aſſiſtance; after having ſhewn that the Scripture is ſilent upon this ſubject, for I preſume to have made appear in the 32th Chapter, that the apparitions of Evil Spirits are contrary to true Reaſon, and that the Holy Scripture affords no proofs of it. Afterwards, in the 33th Chapter, I ſhow, that the knowledge that the Devil may have, as well of things Natural as Civil, and above all of things Spiritual, which concern our Salvation, is nothing of what is believed. I reſt as yet upon the ſame foundation of Scripture and Reaſon, to prove the Empire of the Devil is but a Chimera, and that he has neither ſuch a Power, nor ſuch an Adminiſtration as is ordinarily aſcribed to him, which is contained in the 34th Chapter. At laſt, after having treated of all thoſe things with all poſſible exactneſs, I come to the concluſion of my ſecond Book, where I ſhew the importance of this examination by reaſon of the great value the vulgar put upon the Devil, and his Operations in the World. My Opinion is, that theſe ſorts of Diſcourſes ſhake the Grounds of the Doctrine of our Salvation, and cauſe a great damage to Piety in divers occaſions. I demonſtrate the firſt. of theſe things in the 35th Chapter, and the ſecond in the 36th.

As to the Doctrine, I prove in this place what I have aſſerted in the firſt Chapter of my Book, viz. that the common Opinion concerning the Devil is oppoſite to the proofs that Jehova is God, and that Jeſus is the Meſſiah, and that the Books of the Prophets and Apoſtles are the Word of God. In what concerns Piety, I ſhew, that the Service of God is thereby greatly weakened; that the Filial fear is very much diminiſhed by that they have of the Devil; that the eſteem that the holy Angels deſerve, is almoſt deſtroyed, that the glory and virtue of the miracles of our Saviour Jeſus, are very much leſſened, that the vanity of Man is maintained and increaſed; and that the comfort of the humble is cut off, or at leaſt, ſuffers a great diminution. That is whatever is contained in my ſecond Book.

An Abridgment of the Third Book.

After having thus ſimply treated of what concerns Spirits, and particularly the Devil, according to the knowledge that ſound Reaſon can furniſh us with, according to that which may be drawn from the word of God, where Reaſon ceaſes; I paſs ſtill following the order and diviſion eſtabliſhed in my firſt Book,) to thoſe Men, who, according to the common ſentiment, have communication with Spirits, eſpecially with the Devil. The ſame order to which I have kept in my ſecond Book, is alſo obſerved in this; for in the eight firſt Chapters, I make an exact ſcrutiny of all which may contribute to clear the ſubject I treat of, and afterwards in the ſeven laſt, I ſhew what light the inquiry has afforded me, and how far one can rely upon what I have diſcovered.

I propoſe at firſt the true ſtate of the queſtion, ſhewing that the query is not, Whether Magick is poſſible, for I grant it; but whether there is a Magick, which by the virtue of agreement made between Men and the Devil, may diſcover hidden things, predict thoſe that are to come, and produce effects above the force of nature. This is diſcuſt in the firſt Chapter.

Following the diſtinction that I have already heretofore many times ſet down, I make in the firſt and ſecond Chapters, the ſearch required, and that firſt by the light of Reaſon; which I divide it into two parts: in the firſt, I examine, whether it be poſſible to conceive that Men have any commerce with Spirits; that the one and the other may rely upon mutual help, or that they may act one upon another, In the ſecond part, I examine whether there is Reaſon to believe, that there may be expreſs compacts between them; that they may mutually contract, and reciprocally perform the conditions of their Covenants. I expreſly deny the firſt of theſe, founded upon the Reaſons alledged, Book 2. Chap. 2. and I unfold a little more preciſely in the 2 Chapter of this, what is contained in the firſt, which I defend againſt the arguments of Glanvil an Engliſh Author. I beſtow the third Chapter upon confuting thoſe compacts of the Magicians with the Devil, as ridiculous and altogether incredible; and I anſwer at the ſame time, ſeveral objections and ſhifts of Glanvil, convincing him by his own Reaſons that are ſufficient for that purpoſe. I paſs afterwards to the Scripture, as to an upper School; from the 4th Chapter to the 7th, I undertake it over from the beginning to the end, to find out with the utmoſt exactneſs, what it diſcovers to us upon this point, and upon all it's dependencies either by it's expreſſions, or by the examples it affords us. Than I begin to eſtabliſh what we may believe of it according to Scripture.

As an Introduction to this examination, I relate all the names it gives to that ſort of People, to their trade and art, and I compare the difference to be found between the tranſlations of our own Interpreters, as well as between the tranſlation of others.

This examination is but general, but afterwards I come to particulars, whether the Scripture ſpeaks of that ſort of People, of their trade and arts, ſo as it is ordinarily ſuppoſed. This I do from the fifth Chapter to the 12th, but finding it expreſſes not it ſelf as they give out, I examine what ſort of People they can be, and what the Scripture really ſays of them, from the 13 Chap. to the 17th.

I diſcuſs the firſt of theſe, as well by Scripture as Reaſon, and proceed by degrees; ſearching, firſt, whether theſe of whom the Scripture ſpeaks, have a particular communication with the Devil; whether they make their predictions and enchantments by his undertaking or by his power; and at laſt whether they have between them covenants for that purpoſe. The paſſages of Scripture which I examine upon this ſubject, are of three ſorts, ſome contain Hiſtories of that kind of People, and of their Witchcrafts which I ſhow in the 5th 6th and 7th Chapters, viz. In the 5th all the enchantments of the Egyptians; in the 6th, thoſe of Bilſa, thoſe of the Prieſts of the Philiſtins, and of the Witch of Endor, and many others, by whom the idolatrous Kings of Iſrael fell into great Sins, eſpecially when they came to the Court of Babylon; and in the 7th Chapter, the enchantment of Simon and Elimas, who are called enchantors; thoſe of the maid ſervant which was in the Town of Philippi, who had a Spirit of Pithon, and thoſe of the ſeven Brothers Exorciſts. Afterwards I come to the examination of the names, of words, of actions, and circumſtances, as well by themſelves as comparing the Dutch tranſlations of the Scripture, with thoſe which have been made in divers Languages, by different Tranſlators, and by comparing with the texts, the explications which are given by ſo many different interpreters. All the paſſages where thoſe things are contained, being examined very attentively, give cauſe to conclude, that the Magicians or Enchanters have been very miſcheivous People, whoſe Doctrine and morals were very much corrupted; but they do not furniſh any probable argument to aſſert, that theſe People had a particular communication with the Devil.

The ſecond Order of the paſſages of the Holy Writ upon this ſubject, conſiſts of thoſe that contain the expreſs Laws, which condemn that ſort of People, and forbid them the exerciſe of their Function; which I examine in the 8th and 9th Chapters. But I find no other Reaſons for thoſe Prohibitions and the puniſhments inflicted upon them, but their Idolatry and Cheats, both of which are Criminal, and not becoming the People of God.

The third Order conſiſts in thoſe Reaſonings and Proverbial Expreſſions, diſperſed through the whole Scripture, that have relation to thoſe things, either to the Perſons themſelves, or to their ways. I examine therefore whether nothing can be underſtood in thoſe places, whence ſome conſequence may be drawn to illuſtrate the ſubject in hand: But having beſtowed the whole tenth Chapter upon it, I find nothing more than before.

Now as in the third Chapter, I have examined by the light of Reaſon, whether there is cauſe to believe the poſſibility of the communication of Men with the Devil by expreſs Covenants, I do here the ſame by that of the Holy Writ. For in the two following Chapters I run it over again, and inſiſting upon all the paſſages, where the leaſt mention is made of Alliances, or Compacts, that are not made with God but againſt Him, ſinfully and with an evil deſign; I find not ſo much as one that ſpeaks of thoſe Agreements made with the Devil, or any thing like it. Upon this I beſtow the 11th Chapter. In the 12th I run over again the whole Scripture from the beginning to the end; From the Covenant of God with Abraham, to our Saviour, and examining whether from whatever has been ſaid upon that ſubject, there is any occaſion to infer, that the Devil may likewiſe on his part make his deteſtable Compacts; I demonſtrate, that the Opinion, which ſuppoſes ſuch Contracts between the Devil and Men, by vertue of which they are ſaid to have perform'd all their Witchcrafts, can by no means conſiſt with what is contained in the Doctrine of the Holy Scripture; nor with the Diſpenſation of God's Covenant, as well before the Law as under the Law, and much leſs under the Goſpel.

Thus I plainly ſhew, that the vulgar Opinion of Magick, and of its Dependencies, by no means proceed from the Sacred Writings, but on the contrary is altogether oppoſed to it. Afterwards we muſt conſider what the Scripture ſays concerning thoſe that practiſe that Art, and what Teſtimony it gives of their Actions. This I do two ways, in the five following Chapters. The firſt by offering, in the 13th and 14th, the lively Picture which the Holy Writ gives of thoſe Men in ſeveral places; and the ſecond by ſhowing what Opinion muſt be had of them according to the Character given them.

But expounding to the Reader the force of thoſe things, I make yet this diſtinction: That I firſt offer the Perſons to his view, that he may know what might be expected from them; what their aim may be; why they were interrogated; and on what the great Men and the vulgar beſtow their time. Afterwards in the 14th Chapter, I conſider them in themſelves, with their Arts and Crafts, ſhowing the Reaſons that moved the People, eſpecially the Kings, even thoſe of Iſrael, to be infatuated by them.

Afterwards 'tis required to know what Judgment muſt be made of them, according to the Holy Writ, which I ſhow in the three following Chapters. In the 15th, I aſſert, that in whatever they did, they ſhewed neither real Power nor Virtue; that they knew nothing of what they ventur'd to foretel, or to diſcover as very much concealed; and that in reality they effected nothing of what they boaſted of, or of what they undertook to effect; but that they applied themſelves to deceive by outward ſemblances, wherein conſiſted the chief part of their Art. In the mean while, as the Holy Scripture …ms, by its Expreſſions in ſome places, to aſcribe a great vertue to Conjurations and Enchantments; I examine in the 16th Chapter, what is the Senſe of thoſe places, and I conclude that after an attentive Meditation it will not be found that it ſays upon that ſubject what it appears at firſt to ſay.

All theſe things being thus enquired into, it remains to ſhow wherein properly conſiſts all the Evil; why thoſe Men with their Arts, eſpecially the Iſraelites, that had a hand in their Crafts, are ſo defamed in the Bible; why, ſince that time they have been in as great hatred amongſt Chriſtians, who have mortally deteſted them, and puniſhed them with the utmoſt rigour; And laſtly, for what Reaſon the Laws have been ſo ſevere againſt them, and prohited all their Arts, as well under the Old Teſtament as under the New. This is the Enquiry of the 17th Chapter. I have hitherto ſpoken only of thoſe who pretend to a Converſe with the Devil, and to be in a Covenant with him; I add in this place a Chapter, which is the 18th, where I mention thoſe to whom he is an Enemy, whoſe Mind is ſuppoſed to be troubled, or their Body to be tormented by him; thoſe are the poſſeſt, as they are ordinarily call'd, but I enlarge not much upon that ſubject, having already fully clear'd it in my ſecond Book, from the 26th Chapter to the 30th, where it came to paſs.

Having thus ended the firſt part of my third Book, I ſhow what Judgment muſt be made of all thoſe things, which I conſider in two Reſpects. Firſt, I eſtabliſh from the 19th to the 20th Chapter, what may rationally be thought of it; and in the laſt Chapter, I ſhow what is the Duty of a Chriſtian, and how he ought to behave himſelf in ſuch occaſions.

A double judgment may be formed upon this ſubject. Firſt, concluding that the Vulgar Opinion is altogether groundleſs and condemnable, as appears by the 19th, 20th, and 22th Chapters. Secondly, By eſtabliſhing what muſt be held of it.

Concerning that firſt and common Opinion; As in the Writings made againſt my ſecond Book, ſome expreſſions of our Liturgy have been objected, I ſhow in the 19th Chapter, how weak are the Grounds upon which are founded the principal Doctors, whoſe Doctrines are in ſhort in Voetius; and that the Proofs they alledge are not taken from the Senſe of the Holy Writ, well examined and ſearcht into; but only from the external ſound of Words, if I may ſo ſpeak, upon which we are wont to inſiſt, as well as upon the Idea's that firſt offer themſelves to us, when we conſider them but ſuperficially. To which I add, that Liturgies muſt be underſtood in the Senſe of the Scripture from whence they are drawn, and to which they relate in all thoſe places, where 'tis ſpoken of the Temptations and Seductions of the Devil, Spiritual Combats, Witchcraft, Predictions, Enchantments, and even in all others where the agreeableneſs of Style, and the Series of Idea's has cauſed ſomething to be added that ſeems to have a relation to it. But moreover, in the 20th Chapter, I demonſtrate, that the Errors ſpread amongſt the vulgar concerning the Works of the Devil, and his Adherents, are abſolutely oppoſite to the ſame Liturgies; even ſo far, that amongſt the Doctors of the Reformed Church, none but thoſe that are of my Opinion can pretend to conform in this point to what they ſubſcribed when they took Orders; which I underſtand only as to the Doctrine and Truth. I ſhow again, in the 21th Chapter, that this Opinion makes very bold attempts upon Piety; that it diminiſhes the veneration due to God, that it extreamly weakens Faith and Charity, and that it expoſes Chriſtianity to the attacks of the Unfaithful, and that it cauſes great diſtractions and prophanations in our Prayers.

Laſtly, I proceed further and to come to a concluſion, I diſcover in the 22th Chapter, what muſt be believed of all theſe things, and in the 23th I declare what muſt be done. But as in the 32th Chapter of the 2d Book, I have treated of apparitions in general, I ſpeak here of preſages and predictions in particular, examining what is poſſible or not, as to theſe things, and to what cauſes they muſt be aſcribed. Theſe cauſes, according to the Proofs I have related in this place, are natural, but the Devil meddles not with them: I propoſe my thoughts in the ſame manner upon the Conjuring up of Ghoſts, the divinations of the pretended Magicians, and all ſorts of apparitions and poſſeſſions, which are ſaid to be cauſed by their malice, by Virtue of the compacts they have contracted with the Devil; and laſtly I ſhow what ſort of Magick is practicable in the World and which is not.

I declare in the laſt Chapter but one, what opinion muſt be had of thoſe men that credit Apparitions and Witchcrafts; And ſtick not however to converſe with thoſe that meddle with thoſe deteſtable Arts; And in the laſt Chapter, what is our Duty, and how we are obliged to behave our ſelves in that reſpect. We muſt double our devotion and veneration towards God, our moderation and charity towards our Neighbours, our modeſty in our actions, and our zeal in the exerciſes of Piety. Such are the Contents of the 3d Book.

An Abridgment of the 4th Book.

There would be reaſon to believe that this ſubject is exhauſted; but it ſeems experience carrys it above Reaſon; and being grounded upon matters of fact and inſtances, it ſeems that it will not favour us: Our Adverſaries appeal to its Tribunal, and plead their cauſe with ſo many ſtrong and aggravating reaſons, that it ſeems they deſign to overwhelm us by their multitude. This conſideration obliges me to add this 4th Book to the 3 preceding, and to examine what experience actually teaches, that it may be no more objected, that by my new Doctrine, I undertake to contradict opinions received and eſtabliſhed through all the World; where almoſt no place is to be found, but it affords plain inſtance of the operations of the Devil; of which I dare even deny the poſſibility. I diſtinguiſh therefore thoſe Inſtances into thoſe, that any one may gather from his own experience, and into thoſe that are grounded upon the relation of others; there's no doubt but what one has experienc'd himſelf, muſt prevail over all the reſt. But to omit nothing, I firſt ſhow how far one may truſt to his own experience, and afterwards how far we may rely upon the teſtimony of others. I diſmiſs the firſt of theſe queſtions, in the firſt eleven Chapters; and he Second in the 21 following, adding two others at the end as a concluſion of the whole.

I diſtinguiſh again each of thoſe parts into two others; having thought convenient to ground upon many examples; the inſtructions and illuſtrations I give upon both, that no body may eaſily be deceiv'd. What I eſtabliſh as to the firſt part is contained from the beginning of the 5th Chapter, and the examples are the matter of the following Chapter to the 11th: But I could not ſo exactly follow the ſame method in the 2d part, having thought neceſſary, or at leaſt uſeful, in ſome places, to mix with examples the illuſtrations I give at firſt, and with the illuſtrations, the inſtances I produce afterwards.

I therefore ſhow in the firſt part, that there are few Men amongſt us, that are capable of paſſing a ſolid Judgment upon that ſort of things, and that beſides that our occaſions will not allow either to examine, or to ſearch into whatever could be neceſſary, to attain to a naked and full knowledge of all the matters of Fact. I aſcribe the firſt of theſe faults, to the prejudices with which we are imbued, or to the terror with which we are ſurprized, at the ſight and hearing of what paſſes. This is the ſubject of the firſt Chapter: I demonſtrate in the 2d, that this cauſe alſo proceeds, from that we know not ſufficiently how far the ſtrength of nature may extend its operations: In the 3d Chapter I aſſert, that we know not more of the things, the Images of which nature may only ſhow us, when they are not real, nor we ſo far knowing as to obſerve all the tricks of men; nor of ſufficient Authority to obſerve all the circumſtances of their Actions: I ſay again, we are not Skilful enough to penetrate the Force and Virtue of Arts, which encreaſe proportionably to the exerciſe we make of them, and of the care we take to cultivate them, and make us look upon meer natu… …acidents as effects of Magick. Of theſe I have alledged many proofs in the firſt Chapter; ſhewing afterwards in the 5th, that often we want only the occaſion to diſcover the Myſteries of the Artifices of Men, and the ſecrets of the operations of Nature.

I begin in the ſame 5th Chapter, to produce ſome inſtances of Apparitions. In the 6th, I ſpeak of the Poſſeſt and Bewitched, as far as I am acquainted with them, and thereupon I declare in the 7th, what judgment I make of that famous Parot, which was thought to be bewitched, comparing that caſe with another known to me from my own experience. From thoſe bewitchings of the Body, I paſs to the Enchantings of the Soul, and mention in the 8th Chapter, what I have ſeen my ſelf happen to many perſons in ſeveral places, eſpecially at Franeker. In the 2th I deſcribe a very remarkable Hiſtory, which happen'd in the ſame Town, and which has been the greateſt occaſion of exerciſing my ſelf upon this ſubject. To this I joyn the Impoſture of the Witchcraft of Campen that has been lately diſcover'd, of which I have been informed, both by word of mouth and writing, by underſtanding Perſons that were preſent, and have themſelves laid open the whole Intreague, having had a full knowledge of the whole matter, from the beginning to the end. Wherefore I have inſerted the Narration, word for word, in the 10th Chapter. In the 11th I relate the Cheat of the Ʋrſulin Nuns of Londun in France, whoſe Hiſtory having been lately publiſhed, manifeſtly diſcovers the deluſions of the pretended Poſſeſſion, and withal… of the Magick, with which they charged the innocent Prieſt Grandier, whom they cauſed to be burnt.

The illuſtrations I have made upon the Firſt Part, make the inſtructions I am… give upon the Second, more eaſy. I beſtow 12 Chapters upon them, ſtill following the Rules I have before propoſed, which to my beſt knowledge, are univerſally approved of; viz. To admit as Truth, no Advices, Narrations, … Teſtimonies, how confidently ſoever they may be told, before we have examined them with a full exactneſs, and made experiments upon all thoſe caſes and inſtances, the truth of which is propoſed to us as undeniable.

That I may, if poſſible, leave no perplexity, on darkneſs in my work; I make yet a diſtinction upon this laſt point. For I propoſe in four Chapters, all the Inſtances I have been obliged to inſert in ſeveral places of my Firſt Book, to facilitate the underſtanding of the things contained in it, beginning with thoſe that concern the Ancient Heathens that are in the Third Chapter of that Book, and in the Thirteenth of this.

Thoſe that relate to the Modern Pagans, in the 6th, 8th, 9th and 10th Chapters of the Firk Book, are contained here in the 14th. Thoſe that I have drawn from the Jews and Mahometans are the matter tof the 15th, and thoſe that were afforded me by the Papiſts in the 19th, 20th, and 21ſt, of the Firſt Book, are confuted in the 16th of this.

Afterwards I run over the whole Univerſe, from the 17th to the 32d Chapter, relating and examining the moſt famous examples, and thoſe that are thought to be the ſtrongeſt proofs for the common Opinion. I alledge firſt in general, thoſe that are moſt ordinary and familiar, concerning Apparitions and Magick. Such are the Apparitions of the Fairys, that were ſo much talked of in our Country, as the Fairy of Roſemberg, and the like, in the 17th Chapter. In the 18th I ſpeak of thoſe that pretend to be invulnerable to Sword and Muſquet-Ball, and I prove that all the Diſcourſes and Narrations made upon that ſubject, are altogether falſe. I come afterwards to examine particular Relations. And Firſt, of thoſe that can have no particular name, or properly be called Apparitions, Divination, Witchcraft; or Poſſeſſion; becauſe they are made up of ſeveral kinds of Witchery, of which Poſſeſſion uſes to be the Principal. This is the matter of the 19th and 20th Chapters. In the 21ſt, I paſs to Apparitions; in the 22 to Divinations; and afterwards to Witchcraft, from the 24th to the 32 Chapters.

I relate but Three Inſtances of the Firſt ſort. The Firſt, is the going out of the Children of Ha…elon in 1284. The Second, is the Devil Zechariah, whom Volſcius mentions in his Hiſtory of the Churches of Sclavonia, which Inſtance I expound in the 19th Chapter, as a Specimen of whatever may be invented or practis'd as to this. The Third is, the ſtory which happen'd Twelve years ago at Bolſward, that was publiſhed with very extraordinary circumſtances: I relate it in the 20th Chapter.

I come afterwards to ſuch Caſes as have a particular Reference to Apparitions and Witchcraft, or enchantments, if there be any ſuch. Of the Firſt kind, I produce the famous Devil of Maſcon; And having taken off the vail from the Cheat, I deal in the ſame manner with the Spirit of Tedworth, that was lately brought again upon the Stage to frighten me. The Queſtion is, Whether they have ſucceeded in that Deſign? of which, the Reader ſhall be able to judge by the 21ſt Chapter. He will likewiſe find in the 22, a full deſcription of the Phantaſm that appeared a year ago at St. Aneberg; and of another Story which happen'd the laſt Summer at Lauzanne, contained in a Letter, written with the hand of a Miniſter of that Town, whom they would trouble with it, which I think ſufficient to ſhew what Opinion muſt be had of Apparitions and Phantaſms. But as to Divination, there occurs the moſt ſingular and ingenious Story which I ever heard of, that happen'd whilſt I was writing this Treatiſe; and having begun at Lyons a Year ago, is ſtill in force to this Day. It concerns a Man, who by the motion of a Wand, he carryed in his hand, boaſts of diſcovering ſprings of Water, hidden Gold and Silver, Robbers and Murtherers. I give a ſhort account of the different relations made of it, with the judgments of the learned that are all contrary to one another, and I examine what may be thought of it after a ſerious conſideration,

But before I ſpeak of Magick, I examine in the 23 Chapter, ſuch proofs as are drawn from the very confeſſion of thoſe that are detained Priſoners, as guilty of that crime; and I demonſtrate, that nothing in the World is leſs worthy of credit, than ſuch confeſſions. Thence I take occaſion to examine the proceedings and enquiries of the Judges that take notice of it, and ſhow their nullity and injuſtice.

Afterwards I come to the chief proofs, that have been alledged for Magick, either far or near, long ago or lately; and begin with a caſe which happened within the walls of our City of Amſterdam, in the houſe of the Orphans about the Year 1570, whilſt the Inhabitants profeſt as yet, the Popiſh Religion, to which I add another ſtory, which happened at Hoorn, in 1670, with that of Antoinette Bourignon, which ſhe has related her ſelf; all the circumſtances of it having happened in her ſight at the Hoſpital of l'Iſle. In the 24th Chapter, I ſhow what judgment muſt be made of ſuch ſtories. In the 25th I ſpeak of that Woman of Abbekerk, that thrice publiſht, ſhe was become miraculouſly with Child; and has been held not long ago every where for a famous Magician, in the Years 1658 and 1659.

From that ſort of People that are only look't upon as Magicians by the Vulgar, I come to thoſe that have been condemn'd for ſuch, by the ſentence of Judges, and by conſequence put to Death. I mention not ſuch as have been ſet down by Schottus, and ſome other Authors, becauſe it would be to no purpoſe, ſince they may be ſeen in their writings. I only relate ſuch new inſtances as are come into my knowledge, that I may leave no room to objection, nor be charged of having paſt by ſuch matters of fact as might have perplex'd me, and to which I had nothing to reply. For that Reaſon, I firſt examine what happened in our own Country, from the very time of the Reformation, and mention in the 26th Chap. the Hiſtory of thoſe that have been burnt here for Magick, as one at Schoonhove, and 4 at Ʋtretch; as alſo another ſtory, of one that being accuſed of the ſame crime, had been condemn'd to the Rack, by the Court of Holland, and was acquitted by the ſupream Council. This happened in the Years, 1591, 1592, and 1593. Thence I go over to Denmark, and in the 27th Chapter, I make an examination of that black Art that was ſaid to be practiſed 80 Years ago, at Kogen in Zealand, a Province of that Kingdom. I likewiſe examine all the other particular events, worthy to be taken notice of, that happened in that Country, and were publiſhed ſeveral times in the Daniſh Tongue, and from that tranſlated into Latin and Dutch. To which I add a ſtory of another unhappy wretch, executed this very Year. From thence I go over to Sweden, and in the 29th Chapter, I relate what is inſerted in the Royal Records, concerning that famous Magick that began to appear in 1669, and again in 1670; and a third time in 1674, to which I add another ſentence delivered to me by a perſon that ſaw the execution of it, at Golnaw in Pomerania.

I afterwards mention the Magick practiſed in the Weſt of England, the falſehood of which I diſcovered my ſelf, and gave the Hiſtory of it to the publick. This is the matter of the 30th Chapter. The 31th contains a judicial information made at Harlingen, with a letter written to me upon that ſubject from Leuwarden, which contains ſeveral other matters of fact concerning Magick, happen'd about the Years 1667, and 1668. I conclude this Chapter with the relation of a caſe that happened in the City of Amſterdam 7 Months ago, which has been lately communicated to me, the particulars of it having been diſcovered whilſt I was writing this 4th part.

Some People may ſuppoſe it uſeleſs to add narrations of a leſs conſequence, after having ſhown the groundlſeneſs and deluſions of more conſiderable facts, But I thought, that in reference to the Vulgar, it was convenient to add here another Chapter, that is the 32th, where I relate the Story of a Child in Friezeland, it was ſuppoſed to be bewitch'd, of which I have had a full account by the letters of his friends and relations; that by this ſpecimen any one may judge of all the narrations of that nature, that are ſo much credited by the common People; who take ſuch matters of fact for undeniable effects of Magick. As for the reſt, ſhould I make an enquiry after all the examples that are reported to prove the Operations of the Devil, I ſhould never compaſs my end. And therefore I perſwade my ſelf, that I have alledged a ſufficient number of them to ſatisfy the Reader, who ſhall not be able to doubt of their truth; becauſe I have produced ſuch as are moſt known, lately happened, and in neighbouring places; or at leaſt attended with one of thoſe 3 circumſtances, and conſequently may be examined with great conveniency and certainty, and teſtified for the moſt part, by living perſons.

Thus I put an end to this Treatiſe, and make my concluſion, briefly rehearſing all the proofs related in the 4 Books, each in it's place. Theſe proofs ſhow that there are no natural Reaſons, nor Revelations in the Holy Writ, no certain experiments, that give us cauſe to aſcribe to wicked Spirits, all the Operations and effects that are generally ſuppoſed to proceed from the Devil or from Men, his Confederates. This is contained in the 33th Chapter, whereupon it muſt be remembred, that what I ſay concerns only the common Doctrine and Opinion. Afterwards 'tis not difficult to ſhow, how wrongfully ſuch a ſuperſtition is cheriſhed and increaſed, inſtead of moderating it, or even rooting it out, if poſſible. In the 34th Chapter, I charge with that fault, Clergy Men and Divines, more than Princes and Magiſtrates; becauſe the former are more particularly obliged to meditate upon thoſe matters, to watch over the preſervation of the Souls committed to their care, and to attempt the cure of a Diſeaſe that is ſo contagious, and feeds upon the very Bowels.

But becauſe 'tis probable, that this undertaking will but ſlowly proceed, I will in the mean while propoſe to the Reader and my ſelf, the leſſon of the Apoſtle in his firſt Epiſtle to Timoth. 4.7. Reject prophane, and Old Wives Fables, and exerciſe they ſelf to Godlineſs. I ſhow, in the 35th and laſt Chapter, that this is what I chiefly intend in this work, and that I obtain my end in moſt of thoſe that undertake the Rending of it, with ſuitable diſpoſitions. Beſides I hold it for certain, that thoſe who take occaſion or pretence from thence, to accuſe me with error and libertiniſm, are Men themſelves that have not for the word of God, all the deference that could be wiſht. This I demonſtrate in particular, with ſo great evidence, that I have already had the ſatisfaction to ſee that my work produeed a great fruit, when but one half of it appeared. So that I hope by the bleſſing of God, it being now finiſhed, I ſhall gather as plentiful a Harveſt, as the ſorrows which it cauſed to my Enemies, whilſt I was publiſhing it, were uneaſy and ſmarting.