The World Bewitched, Chapter 21
CHAP. XXI. That ſeveral means are practiſed againſt Attacks, and the Illuſions of the Devil and Magicians.
Sect. 1. I Know not whether I muſt put the reſt I have to ſay upon the account of the Papiſts only, there being but very few of our Profeſſion who do not believe it as they do, as I ſhall ſhew in the next Chapter. I ſhall report only in this, what means Popery affords to avoid all ſorts of Devils and Specters, and to divert them from us. The Firſt means conſiſts in the reſiſtance, which is ſufficient againſt their Malice. The Second, conſiſts in the finding out of thoſe that are guilty of theſe Abominations. And the Third, in the Puniſhments that theſe People are thought to deſerve. Schottus ſhall furniſh me with that which I have to ſay touching the firſt of theſe means: And I ſhall take from other Writings what I am to relate concerning the ſecond and third, to which I ſhall joyn that which may be learned by experience.
Sect. 2. Our Author, who warrants that which he ſays, rejects divers means, and eſtabliſhes many others; we muſt hear him as well upon thoſe which he rejects, as thoſe he eſtabliſhes. See theſe he rejects.
1. Malignant Injuries and Outrages never drive away Spirits, but ſome inſulting terms that are made uſe of in Exorciſms, which have been introduced into the Church, contribute very much to expel them, pag. 304.
2. Neither Pike nor Sword, nor any other ſort of Arms will oblige them to retire, pag. 305.
3. Neither Fire nor Light that are not Conſecrated, have any virtue for this purpoſe, p. 308.
4. Neither will they withdraw, though they find the Doors and Windows open before them, p. 308.
5. Though 'tis the Opinion of many People, who are of the Author's Profeſſion, that Spirits may be driven away by Smoak, by Perfumes, by certain Herbs, and by Blows with Stones, they hold nevertheleſs, That no natural Virtue that may be in material Subjects, can act directly upon Spirits, and that by conſequence there are no ſenſible ſubjects, ſuch as thoſe (as have been juſt now mentioned) which may always expel Spirits from the places where they are, nor drive them far from Men, pag. 308. and 312.
Sect. 3. On the contrary, he holds that the means following are abſolutely effective.
1. At firſt he ſtabliſhes two, againſt which there is nothing to ſay; which are, a ſtedfaſt Faith, and an ardent Prayer, p. 214, 215. for they are conform to the Maxims of Scripture. This ſort of Devils cannot be caſt out but by Prayers and Faſtings, St. Matth. 17.20, 21.
2. But he eſtabliſhes five others, which are invented purely by Popery. Firſt, The Relicks of Holy Bodies; or, to ſay better, of thoſe who are taken for ſuch. Secondly, The Sign of the Croſs. Thirdly, Holy Water. Fourthly, Agnus Dei, that is, the Lamb of God, imprinted upon a little round figure of Wax, and conſecrated by the Pope. They have, ſays Schottus, a ready virtue and efficacious, virtutem praeſtantiſſimam, to put the Devil to flight, p. 322. Fifth, To pronounce the name of Jeſus, and to call upon the Virgin Mary his Mother, p. 324. All theſe means are explained, every one in particular, in the ſame place. They are alſo deſcribed, but a little more abridged, although in the ſame ſenſe, by John Davidi, Jeſuit, in his Book Intituled, the Buckler, printed at Balduc, in the year 1619. I ſhall report his own Words, leſt the Roman Catholicks ſhould accuſe me of impoſing upon them: See what he writes in the 10th Chapter. Amongſt the Conſecrated things which have power againſt the ambuſhes of the Enemy, we muſt rank theſe here. Holy Water, which is every Sunday conſecrated in the Church, and has its name from that Conſecration. The Baptiſmal Water that is Conſecrated on the Vigils of Eaſter and Whitſuntide. The Holy Water, that is called Gregory Water, that the Biſhops conſecrate with Salt, Aſhes, and Wine, therewith to conſecrate Altars, and for other Holy Ʋſes. The Candels that are wont to be Conſecrated upon the Feaſts of the Purification. The Branches Conſecrated on Palm Sunday; Every one of thoſe operates its effect in being uſed in the ſame manner that they have been Conſecrated, beſprinkling with Water, lighting of Candles, and putting or planting the Branches in ſome particular place. The Agnus Dei's that are worn about the Neck, or other places, according to the veneration due to them, being Conſecrated by the Pope himſelf, have alſo a Soveraign virtue to keep the Chriſtian from the Snares, and from all the evil deſigns of the Enemy, or to preſerve him by Sea and Land, from Fire or Water, and all other Perils. The ſign of the Croſs is alſo of a Marvellous uſe on theſe occaſions; It being the Chriſtians Duty to be always ready to make againſt all the Temptations the Enemy can give them, as well within as without. The Church makes a profitable uſe of it in all its Conſecrations, in its Bleſſings, in the Adminiſtration of the Holy Sacrament; but eſpecially in the Exorciſms of Evil Spirits, and in the Conjurations which are made upon People tormented by them: All which things are practiſed to reſiſt the Wiles and Miſchiefs of the Devil; and to repulſe his Attacks, to weaken his Force, and deſtroy his Power.
Sect. 4. The Roman Church alone, according to this Author, has the power to uſe effectually theſe means, which it calls Spiritual. For ſee what he ſays, All that which is not efficacious of it ſelf, nor by ſome natural Virtue, nor by the Inſtitution and Power of God, both which are found in the Sacraments; nor by the Ordinance of the Church, which acts but according to the Word of God, and by the Virtue he communicates to her: All that, I ſay, which is not efficacious by ſome one of theſe means, from which alone the Remedies imployed in any occaſion whatſoever can draw their force; If one dares undertake to make uſe of theſe things, and to apply them for Remedies, it is an action baſely Superſtitious and oppoſite to the Will of God and his Word. Afterwards he begins the 11th Chapter in theſe Terms. As to the Sacred Word, whoſe power affects the Enemy, the Exorciſms, or the Conjurations which are ordain'd by the Church, have a particular Virtue: Such are the Exorciſms that are made uſe of by the Ritual of Rome, and thoſe that are found in the Manual made for the Archbiſhoprick of Malines, ſeen and approved by the Doctors of the Ʋniverſities of Lovain. If one has the curioſity to ſee all theſe Doctrines reduced into practice, he needs but Read the Hiſtory of the Devils of Loudun, which has been already cited, where he will ſee from one end to the other, the uſages of the Roman Church concerning Conjurations and Exorciſms, which are unknown to all other Religions, and of which thoſe that read them have cauſe to be ſurpriſed.
Sect. 5. See how they proceed to find out the guilty, and particularly in Germany. It is ſufficient only to have the reputation of being a Sorcerer, and you are aſſoon impriſoned, and interrogated; if you deny it, you are put to the Torture, even two or three times; if you confeſs, you pronounce your own Sentence, even of Condemnation. It is a long time ſince they take for a mark of Conviction, when the Accuſed being in the hands of Juſtice, cannot cry, which proof was found in the Proceſs of the Curate that was burnt at Loudun, Hiſtory of the Devils of Loudun, &c. Pag. 201. for the Exorciſt told him, Praecipio ut ſi ſis innocens, effin…das lachrymas. I command you to ſhed tears if thou art in ocent, which not having done, they reported it for a proof of his crime, that he ſhed no tears in ſuffering the wrack, nor after having ſuffered it, when he was exorciſed with the Exorciſme and Magicians. But, becauſe it is believed that the Devil will ſerve his ſubjects or confidents, with all the skill and power he is capable of, there is a great deal of care taken to leave nothing upon the Criminals, for fear that there ſhould remain upon them ſome hidden charm, by which means they may deliver themſelves. For this reaſon they take from them all their Cloaths, and examine at the ſame time, whether they have the Devils mark. So the Men and the Women are ſtript naked, and all the Hair is ſhaved off their Bodies: after this manner they uſed the Curate of Loudun, for to prevent the help that he might hope to have from the Devils. A Capucin Frier exorciſed the Air, the Earth, and other Elements, Pag. 207. The Corners, the Woods, and the Hammers of the Rack 208. they took off his Cloaths and gave him others, Pag. 205. he was ſhaved all over, and ſearched to find out the Devil's marks upon his Body, Pag. 130. But not to be deceived in the judgment, that ſhall be made of the crime, or of the innocence of the Accuſed; the Jeſuit Davids reports four principal manners of making proofs, which is to the purpoſe to mention here. They uſe a red hot Iron, hot Water, or cold Water, and a Ballance.
Sect. 6. I find the three firſt means in the firſt Book of the deſcription of America, of A Mountanus which appears to be taken from Boxhoorneus, thus they are related. The Ordallia (which is the name given to this way of poof) was Preached in the Low-Countries after this manner, when any was accuſed for not being a good Catholick or of being a Sorcerer, he faſted three days, in the ſight of the Prieſt, at the end of which, he went to Church, the Prieſt cloathed in his ſacredotal Habits put upon burning Coals near the Altar, an Iron wedge beſprinkled with Holy Water. He ſung the Song of the three Children in the fiery Furnace, he ſaid Maſs, he put the Hoſt in the mouth of the accuſed, and prayed to God that it would pleaſe him to diſcover the crime of Magick, of which he was ſuſpected, in ſuffering that his Hand in which he was puting the red hot Iron, might be burnt, or that he might not receive any hurt, if he were innocent. Theſe Prayers being finiſhed, the accuſed was to go nine ſteps in carrying the burning Iron in his Hand, after which the Prieſt wrapt up has Hand, and ſeal'd the covering that was put to it. The third day he took off the ſeal to conſider his Hand, whether it was ſound and without wound, otherwiſe the unhappy accuſed had but to reſolve to be burnt alive all covered with Paper, painted all over with Devils.
Sect. 7. The Ketelvang was no leſs painful, they had in the Church a Caldorn full of boyling Water, upon which they had made the moſt terrible Conjurations, that can be imagin'd, after which, to come to the conviction or to the juſtification of the accuſed, he was obliged to put his Arm naked up to the elbow, in the boyling Water, as hot as could be. This uſage muſt be very Ancient, and proceeded from Paganiſm, according to that which has been remarked hereupon, touching the Ancients. Chap. 3. Sect. 18.
Sect. 8. We have a little more knowledge of the proof by cold Water, which has been more common common than the others, and has been practiſed long ago in the Weſt of England, of which we ſhall have occaſion to ſpeak hereafter. Montanus has made likewiſe a ſhort deſcription of it. It was alſo cuſtomary to make uſe of a proof by cold water in Canals, Brooks and Ditches; the Prieſt conjured the Water, he tyed the Thumb of the accuſed to his great Toe, one upon another in form of a Croſs, and threw him in to the water; if he ſunk, to the bottom, he was declared innocent; but if he was buoy'd up on the water, he was condemned as guilty.
Sect. 9. There is as yet a more particular proof, which is practiſed in Holland, althô, not upon the Dutch themſelves, but upon ſtranger, that are weighed in a Ballance. The Papiſt inhabitants of the Biſhoprick of Munſter, Cologne, and Paderborne, and many other more diſtant places have made uſe, ſince the time of the Emperor Charles, to this day, of the publick weights of the Town D'Oudewater in this ſame Province. It is what I am going to tell you more preciſely by the contents of a Letter written by one of the Bourgomaſters of Oudewater to a friend of his, and related at the beginning of a little Book, entituled (Sure means not to paſs ſentence of death unjuſtly.) The Bourgomaſter ſays chiefly in his Letter, anſwering to queſtions that had been put to him: That all thoſe that came from that Country for this purpoſe, unanimouſly complain'd, that they had been unjuſtly accuſed of Magick in their Country, and that if they were ſo unhappy as not to find proofs of their innocence in the weights of the Town of Oudewater, with which it was neceſſarily required, their Bodies ſhould be in equal weight, for their juſtification; they ran a danger upon their return of looſing their Life and Eſtate: Becauſe the common belief of that Country is, that thoſe, who weigh leſs than the weight that is put againſt them into the other part of the ballance, (ſuch as agreed upon, as will be preſently ſeen) are undoubtedly Sorcerers. The Burgomaſter adds, that the late Secretary Hoy had told him, that in his time there was a certain Inhabitant of the upper Country, who having had a difference with one of his Companions, he cauſed a diſcourſe thro' the Country, that the other was a Wizard: Some adviſed this pretended Sorcerer to go into Holland, and to be weighed with the weights of Oudewater, to the end he might take off, by this means, the calumny. He goes thither, but whether out of ſtupidity, imprudence, or fear, or for not being well informed of what muſt be practiſed, he returned into his own Country without being weighed. They did not fail to aske him whether he had undergone this Tryal, which he could not ſhew; upon which ſuſpicions being increaſed, it was believed he was found too light, and that he was guilty. The diſcourſe being come to the Ears of the Judge of the place, he gave order to take him up; but he ſ…ed, and was concealed with a perſon to whom had happen'd very near the like adventure, who adviſed him to return to Oudewater; and indeed they went thither together. The accuſed was weighed in the Scales of the Town, and returning into his Country, brought with him, at this time, all the Certificates of the proof he had undergone, And then he was re-eſtabliſhed into his good Fame; and his Eſtate that was ſeized by the Judge, was reſtored to him.
Sect. 10. Upon the ſecond Queſtion which was made to the Burgomaſter of Oudewater, he anſwered, That there is no fi…d weight for to weigh people; but they look upon their bulk, and at ſight they proportion the weight to it. Upon the Third demand to know where this practice had taken its Original; He anſwered, that he could diſcover nothing of it. But that nevertheleſs, it appeared from all theſe matters of fact, that … …lla…c of the Town of Oudewater is in reputation in the Country, as has been ſpoken of, to produce this effect, ſo that there are often perſons that come thither to be weighed, who have brought particular recommendations from the Town or Country they lived in. They ſay further, that the Emperor Charles the Fifth gave this Privilege to the Town of Oudewater, gave becauſe of the faithfulneſs that is made uſe of upon this occaſion; and becauſe they had diſcovered a certain Cheat, which was practiſed in the neighbouring Village. However, it is but a publick diſcourſe, and without certainty.
Sect. 11. I approve very much the judgement the Author makes of this practice, but 'tis a thing I ought not to ſay here, to the end, not to create in the Mind of any, prejudice upon the ſubject I treat of. However, this ſame Author which has furniſhed me with all this Relation, and has not put his name but by N. B. A. ſays, That during two years that he has lived at Oudewater, they have weighed many perſons for the ſame purpoſe. I have learned likewiſe ſince, that this uſe ſtill continues as yet, and pretended Sorcerers are there ſtill.
Sect. 12. There are not many things to ſay touching the puniſhment inflicted upon Wizards and Witches in Popiſh Countries, more eſpecially in Germany. It being undeniable, and generally received, that they deſerve to be burned alive; it is rarely ſeen that they are treated with leſs rigor. If the number of thoſe which have loſt their lives in divers places, and at divers times upon this occaſion, might be brought together, and put in Arms, they would be more than ſufficient to deſtroy the enemy of the Chriſtian name, and entirely deſtroy its Empire. We ſhall make this examination in our Third Book, and the review of the proceedings of the Magicians, to which the ſame Treatiſe of Sure means, &c. will be of great uſe.