Treatise of the Four Degenerate Sons, Treatise · Part 2 · Section 16
SECT. 16. That Sorcerers and Witches ſhould be put to death.
THere are three ſorts of people whom Satan tempts; firſt, thoſe whom he tempts contrary to their will; as thoſe who were poſſeſſed in the primitive Church, called foreign; thoſe ſhould not be put to death; thoſe they pittied and placed inter Catechumenos, amongſt thoſe who were catechized in the Church.
The ſecond ſort are thoſe who enter in an indirect covenant with the devill; thoſe were not put to death, ſed admonebantur tantum, they were onelyonly admoniſhed.
Thoſe who enter in direct covenant with the devill ſhould die the death.The third ſort were thoſe who entred into the direct covenant with the devill, and thoſe were to die the death, Deut. 18.11. For all that doe theſe things are abomination to the Lord. So Lev. 20.27.
The Iewes in their thirteene rules of expounding of the Scripture, this is the eight rule; when a precept is ſet downe, it is not ſet downe, ut doceat de ſe non exivit, ſed ut docrat de toto univerſ… exivit: Their meaning is, if a thing be ſpoken generally elſewhere, and then be explained more plainely, this clearer explanation is to be referred to the generall: Example, the Magitians indefinitely are commanded to die the death, Exo. 22.18. Thou ſhalt not ſuffer a witch to live. But Lev. 20.27. A man alſo or a woman that had a familiar ſpirit, or that is a wizzard ſhall be ſurely put to death, they ſhall ſtone them with ſtones, and their bloud ſhall be upon them. Hence they conclude that all ſort of Magitians ſhould die the death.
The diviners (they hold) ſhould not die the death; firſt, they ſay that Keſem, who is a diviner, and who takes upon him onelyonly to foretell things to come, hee ſhould not die the death, but be admoniſhed onelyonly.
Secondly, they ſay that Menaches, Maimonides hujuſmodi artium ſectatores vel lapidibus obruendi erunt, ut lidgnom, Bagnal, O…h, & Mekaſheph, vel mitiori poena mulctandi ut Coſem, Menaches, & Megnonan.who markes the flying of the foules ought not to die the death, hee is to be admoniſhed, and other wayes cenſured.
Thirdly, incantator, the charmer is not to die the death, non facit opus peccatoris, as they ſay in pheſikta, that is, they doe not any thing that deſerves death.
Fourthly, Hamegronen, qui obſervat nubes, he is not to die the death, and they ſay of him, Non moritur & eſt liber etiam a plagis; that is, hee ſhould not die, and he is free from ſtripes.
And laſtly, they ſay, Qui perſtringit …o…l…s, who deceives the ſight, as Inglers, non moritur, ſed admonetur, he is not to die the death, but onelyonly to be admoniſhed.
But theſe three were alwayes to be put to death, firſt, Mekaſheph malefitus, or pharmacus, they are called veneficae, Exod. 22.18.
Secondly, Obh, thoſe who had a familiar ſpirit.
Thirdly, Iidgnoni, foreign, qui multa novit & praedicit: Targum tranſlates him Ariolus, theſe were alwayes put to death, as in Sauls dayes, he cut off the wizzards, and thoſe who had familiar ſpirits 1 Sam. 28.9. and Ioſias tooke away the workers with familiar ſpirits and wizzards, 2 King. 23.24. Saul, who cauſed before familiar ſpirits and wizzards to be taken away; now becauſe he falls to conſult with them againe, therefore juſtly he falls into the hands of the Philiſtines and is killed.
When Tiberius was Emperor hee cauſed to hang up thoſe ſorcerers, and put them to death, ad ſacros lucos ſuſpendebantur.
Magitians ſhould loſe their temporary eſtate.As the Magitians ſhould be put to death, ſo ſhould they loſe their temporall eſtate and inheritance; the Canaanites for their ſame was caſt out of Canaan, Deut. 18.12. Becauſe of theſe abhominations, the Lord thy God did drive out the Canaanites before thee, Although children ſhould not be put to death for their fathers offences, 2 King. 14.6. yet they may be other wayes puniſhed for their fathers offences, as to be forfeited, and to loſe their fathers inheritance,Leſſius pag. 53. not. 66. as the imperiall lawes have ordained: the Caſuiſts adde, that if a Magitian ſhould find a treaſure hid in the ground (whereas a third part of it ſhould fall to the finder) yet neither the Magitian nor his children ſhould have any part of it, & ea pars quae inventoris fuit adjudicatur fiſco, that is, that part which ſhould have befallen to the finder, is adjudged to the common treaſure, and beſides all theſe temporary evils, Sorcerers and Witches ſhould not enter within the holy city, Rev. 21.27. And there ſhall in no wayes enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatſoever worketh abhomination… the greateſt abhomination that God abhorred,Magitians are excluded from the kingdome of God. is witchcraft, D…t. 18.12. therefore they ſhall never enter within the holy citie.
Of the third degenerate Son, the IDOLATER.
IT is not knowne whence the river Nilus ſprings; all condeſcend upon this, that this river ſprings firſt out of the hills called montes Lunae; but out of what ſpring it aryſeth firſt, no man can tell; But yet we ſee that out of theſe ſmall beginnings it aryſeth to a great river, and runnes through Ethiopia, turning the courſe now this way, now that way, and then runneth into Egypt: at laſt it divides it ſelfe into ſeven branches, and runnes into the Mediterranean ſea. And ſoe we may judge of the beginning of Idolatrie and progreſſe thereof: This we know in generall, that Idolatrie is a worke of the fleſh,Whence Idolatrie tooke the beginning. Gal. 5.20. and it comes from a mind obſcured with darkeneſſe, Iohn 4.24. and from a corrupt underſtanding, Hoſe. 13.2. and they made them Idolles according to their owne underſtanding, and from a will corrupted; therefore it is called will worſhip, Col. 2.23. and from the ſenſes corrupted, and eſpecially from the ſight: therefore we are forbidden to goe a whoring after our owne eyes, Num. 15.35. But in particular to tell who invented this Idolatrie firſt, or where it was invented, that we cannot doe, for while men ſlept, the enemie came and ſowed tares, Mat. 13.25. But as men know that Nilus tooke the beginning from a ſmall originall, and peece and peece increaſeth unto a great river: Such is the beginning and progreſſe of Idolatrie, that it hath now overſpread the moſt part of the world.