[...] del. J. Vand.Gucht sculp
A SYSTEM OF MAGICK; OR, A HISTORY OF THE [...]LACK ART.
BEING AN Hiſtorical Account of Mankind's moſt early Dealing with the Devil; and how the Ac⯑quaintance on both Sides firſt begun.
LONDON, Printed: And Sold by ANDREW MILLAR, at Buchanan's Head, againſt St. Clement's Church in the Strand. MDCCXXVIII.
[]PREFACE.
[]TO remove a Difficulty in my Title, and that we may not ſtumble at the Threſhold, ſome Preface to this new Undertaking may be neceſſary, but it will be very ſhort.
If by A SYSTEM of this terrible thing called Magick, my Readers ſhould expect a Body of the Black Art as a Science, a Book of Rules for Inſtruction in the Practice, or a Magical Grammar for Introduction to young Beginners, all I can ſay to ſuch is, that they will be miſtaken.
The World has perhaps been impoſed upon in nothing more than in their Notions of this dark Practice, as well its antient as its mo⯑dern State. Moſt People, when they read of the antient Magicians, think they are reading of old Necromancers and Conjurers, when really at firſt they were very honeſt Men; and now, when they read of them in their mo⯑dern Practice, they take them for honeſt Fel⯑lows, when they are, generally ſpeaking, meer [] Juglers, Cheats, Mountebanks, and Poſture maſters; or elſe, real Wizards and downright Dealers with the Devil.
There is One Sort would fain be called Cunning Men, than which nothing can be a groſſer piece of Deluſion; and 'tis not their Cunning, but their Clients want of Cunning, that gives them the leaſt Appearance of Common Senſe in all their Practice. 'Tis a ſtrange Piece of Art where Fools cheat Fools, and the Blind and the Ignorant, are impoſed upon by the Blind and the Ignorant.
All the Diſcovery I can make by it is, to note what a viſible Difference there is between Cunning and Wit; between Slight of Hand, as I may call it, and Underſtanding. 'Tis evi⯑dent the Pretenders to Magick at this time are ſo far from dealing with the Devil, that they muſt certainly be dealt with by the Devil, that have any thing to do with them.
In the firſt Ages they were Wiſe Men; in the middle Age, Madmen; in theſe latter Ages, Cunning Men: In the earlieſt Time they were Honeſt; in the middle Time, Rogues; in theſe laſt Times, Fools: At firſt they dealt with Nature; then with the Devil; and now not with the Devil, or with Nature either: In the firſt [] Ages the Magicians were wiſer than the People; in the ſecond Age, wickeder than the People; and in our Age, the People are both wiſer and wickeder than the Magicians.
I ſee no great Harm in our preſent Pretenders [...]o Magick, if the poor People could but keep [...]heir Money in their Pockets; and that they [...]hould have their Pockets pick'd by ſuch an [...]performing, unmeaning, ignorant Crew as [...]heſe are, is the only Magick that I can find [...]n the whole Science.
The beſt Courſe that I can think of to cure [...]he People of this Itch of their Brain, the Tarantula of the preſent Age, in running to [...]unning Men, as you call them, and the moſt [...]ikely to have Succeſs, is this, of laughing at [...]hem: the Satyr has reform'd the Age of [...]any a Folly, which the Solid and the Solemn [...]ould never reach: Even general Vice, would the Men of Wit and Men of Quality [...]oin in the Attempt, might be hiſs'd out of [...]he World, tho' all the Preaching and all the Preachers ſhou'd prove fruitleſs and exhauſted: Men are to be ridicul'd imto good Manners, when they won't be cudgell'd into it.
Your modern Harlequins, eſpecially ſo exqui⯑ſitely contriv'd, and ſo perfectly well perform'd [] as thoſe of late by Mr. Rich, (in which, n [...] to flatter him, we muſt acknowledge he has ou [...] done all that was before him) have gone fa⯑ther to expoſe and run down the Magick I a [...] ſpeaking of, and cure the World of the Hypp [...] and the Vapours, than the whole Stage could [...] before; nay, than all the brighteſt Dramati [...] Performances of the laſt Age could pretend to
Never was the popular Frenzy better expoſe the Ignorance on one ſide, and the Impudence [...] the other, more accurately laid open; the M [...] ⯑mickry is mimick'd to the Life; the Magician made a Fool, the Fool tickl'd into more Wit, an [...] the Devil himſelf laught out of Countenance.
We leave the Remainder to be compleat [...] by the ſame Hand; the Succeſs cannot fail, while the Senſes and the Paſſions are [...] be wrought upon by the Eye-ſight: Our M [...] ⯑thod looks the ſame Way, only that we brin [...] it up from its Original, and purſue it to t [...] End of its Proſpect. Mr. Rich ſhows yo [...] what fooliſh things you are juſt now doing we ſhow you what your Anceſtors did b [...] ⯑fore you, and what ſtill worſe things the Age to come are like to do after you.
Let no Man be diſguſted at the good A [...] ⯑count we give of the Original and Wiſdom [...] [] the Magi, and then call them Magicians: if we will debauch the Word with a degeneracy of Practice, the Fault is our own. Their Ma⯑gick was truly Science, whereas ours is nei⯑ther Magick or Science, but a kind of Devi⯑liſm, a Practice carry'd on, by Men that would be wicked if they did not want Wit, and are no otherwiſe Harmleſs, than as they happen to be Fools.
Even at its beſt, 'tis a Babel-like Confuſion, that ſpeaks ſeveral Languages, and none to be underſtood; a compleat Degeneracy of, or Deviation from, common Senſe; a Complication of Negatives, that how many ſoever you put together, won't make up one Affirmative.
Now, to bring this Nothing from the Some⯑thing it deriv'd from, tho' it ſeems a little Difficult, yet 'tis very Neceſſary, and this is the Reaſon why I call it a Hiſtory.
I have trac'd it as far back as Antiquity gives us any Clue to diſcover it by; it ſeems to have its Beginning in the Ignorance and Curioſity of the darkeſt Ages of the World, when Miracle, and ſomething Wonderful, was expected to confirm every advanc'd Notion; and when the wiſe Men, having rack'd their Invention to the utmoſt, call'd in the Devil to [] their Aſſiſtance, for want of better Help; and thoſe that did not run into Satan's Mea⯑ſures, and give themſelves up to the Infernal, yet trod ſo near, and upon the very edge of Hell, that it was hard to diſtinguiſh between the Magician and the Devil; and there they have gone on ever ſince: ſo that almoſt all the Diſ⯑pute between us and the Magicians is, that they ſay they converſe with good Spirits, and we ſay if they deal with any Spirits it is with the Devil let the following Sheets determine the Matter.
CONTENTS.
[]- INTRODUCTION. Of the Meaning of the Terms; who and what kind of People the Magicians were, and how the Words Magick or Magician were originally underſtood. Page 1
- Chap. II. How Wiſdom and Learning advanc'd Men in the Firſt Ages to Royalty and Government, and How many of the Magicians were made Kings on that Ac⯑count; as Zoroaſter, Cadmus, and many others. p. 38
- Chap. III. Of the Reaſon and Occaſion which brought the ancient honeſt Magi, whoſe original Study was Philoſophy, Aſtronomy, and the Works of Nature, to turn Sorcerers and Wizards, and deal with the Devil; and how their Converſation began. p. 61
- Chap. IV. Of what Shapes the Devil aſſum'd in his firſt Appearances to the Magicians, and others, in the Firſt Ages of the World; and whether He is, or has been allow'd to aſſume a human Shape, or no. p. 92
- Chap. V. A Farther Account of the Devil's Conduct in Imitating Divine Inſpirations; Something of the Difference between them; and particularly of Signs and Wonders, Falſe as well as True, and the Cheats of the Former. p. 125
- Chap. VI. Of who were the firſt Practiſers of Ma⯑gick, as a Diabolical Art, and how it was handed on to the Aegyptians and Phoenicians, where it was firſt openly encouraged. p. 141
- Chap. VII. Of the Practice and Progreſs of Magick, as it is now explain'd to be a Diabolical Art, how it ſpread it ſelf in the World, and by what Degrees it grew up to the Height which it has ſince arriv'd to. p. 184
- INTRODUCTION. Of the Black Art it ſelf; what it really is, why there are ſeveral differing Practi⯑ces of it in the ſeveral Parts of the World, and [] what thoſe Practices are; as alſo, what is contained in it in General. p. 218
- Chap. I. Of Modern Magick, or the Black Art as now in its Practice and Perfection. p. 228
- Chap. II. The Scene chang'd; That as the Devil acted at Firſt with his Black Art without the Magici⯑ans, ſo the Magicians ſeem to carry it on now with⯑out the Devil. p. 248
- Chap. III. Of the preſent Pretences of the Magicians: How they defend themſelves; and ſome Examples of their Practice. p. 284
- Chap. IV. Of the Doctrine of Spirits as it is underſtood by the Magicians; How far it may be ſuppoſed there may be an Intercourſe with Superior Beings, without any Familiarity with the Devil, or evil Spirits; with a Tranſition to the preſent Times. p. 321
- Chap. V. Of the Magick of the preſent Time, as it ſtands ſtrip'd in the laſt Chapter, from all the Pre⯑tences of the Magicians, and the Deluſions of Hell; of what Length it has gone, or is like to go, in de⯑luding Mankind; what the Magicians can do, and that they really have now no Converſe with the Devil at all: So that the Art being at an End, the Hiſtory comes to an End of courſe. p. 357
- Chap. VI. Of raiſing the Devil by Magical Operations; whether the Magicians really have ſuch a Power or no, and if they have, whether it is perform'd as an Art, and by the Conſequence of Magical Experiments, or whether it is by Concert and mutual Conſent, be⯑tween Satan and the Magicians. p. 379
- Chap. VII. Seeing, as the Magicians pretend, they do not Deal with the Devil, or raiſe the Devil; Who it is they do Deal with, how their Correſpondence is managed, and why do they Deal with Good Spirits, by Conjurings and the Black Art? p. 392
A SYSTEM of MAGICK.
[]INTRODUCTION.
Of the Meaning of the Terms; who and what kind of People the Magicians were, and how the Words Magick or Magician were originally underſtood.
BEFORE I come to the main End of this Undertaking, which is plainly laid down in my Title, 'tis neceſſary to explain the Terms, and to determine fully what is and is not to be under⯑ſtood by Magick, the Black Art, and ſuch like hard Words as we ſhall be oblig'd to make frequent Uſe of as we go along.
I am willing to ſuppoſe my Readers not ſo un⯑acquainted with the ancient Uſage, as not to know that the Word Magick had a quite different Signi⯑fication in former Times from what it is now apply'd to, and that the People who ſtudied or profeſs'd that which we now call Magick, were quite another ſort of Folk, than thoſe worthy Gentlemen who now apply themſelves to that Profeſſion.
In a Word, a Magician was no more or leſs in the ancient Chaldean Times, than a Mathematician, a [2] Man of Science, who ſtor'd with Knowledge and Learning, as Learning went in thoſe Days, was a kind of walking Dictionary to other People, and inſtructed the reſt of Mankind in any Niceties and Difficulties which occur'd to them, and which they wanted to be inform'd about; and in this Senſe we are to be underſtood when we ſpeak of the Magicians in Egypt, in Perſia, in Babylon, &c.
Thus when any Omens, ill Signs and Tokens, Dreams, or other ſtrange things happen'd in thoſe Times, whether publickly in the Air, or particu⯑lar to Perſons and Families, we find not only the ordinary People, but even Kings and Princes ſent im⯑mediately for the Magicians and the wiſe Men, the Southſayers, &c. to tell them what the Meaning o [...] ſuch things was.
Theſe Magicians are explain'd on many Occa⯑ſions by the term of wiſe Men, and that Term again by Men of Knowledge, and more than ordinary Underſtanding. Men, in a word, who ſtudied Na⯑ture, look'd up into, and made Obſervations from the Motions of the Stars and other heavenly Bo⯑dies, and who, as 'tis ſaid in the Scriptures, under⯑ſtood the Signs of the Times, the Face of the Hea⯑vens, and the Influences of the Superior Luminarie there; who ſearched into the Arcana of Nature, an [...] were Maſters of perhaps a little experimental Philo⯑ſophy; I ſay a little, for Reaſons which I ſhall re⯑peat preſently.
It was no Impropriety in Speech to call ſuch a [...] theſe wiſe Men at that time, tho' perhaps the utmoſ [...] of their Knowledge might arrive to no more tha [...] what we would now juſtly call ſuperficial. Be⯑cauſe at that time the Knowledge of Nature wa [...] very green and young in the World; and the Phi⯑loſopher of thoſe times, if he was to be rated by th [...] Rules Men are pleaſed to judge by at this time, woul [...] be ſomething like our Learned Friend Sir Tho. J... [3] whoſe particular Honour it was to be a Doctor among Fools, and a Fool among Doctors.
To theſe Magicians Men went on the ſeveral Oc⯑caſions hinted as above for the Solution of doubt⯑ful Queſtions; to be reſolved and directed in difficult and intricate Undertakings; to be adviſed in things of Moment; and theſe were therefore called Sages firſt, and for a long time; and afterwards Magi, from the greatneſs of their Wiſdom. Hence the wiſe Stateſmen to whom the Government of the Median Interregnum was committed were called Magi; as wiſe Men to whom alone it was fit to intruſt ſo important an Article as that of the Go⯑vernment of an Empire.
Thus afterwards in the Iſraelites times, their wiſe Men were called by another but very ſignifi⯑cant Name or Term (viz.) SEERS, a Word after⯑wards held in ſuch Veneration, that they thought fit to beſtow it upon their Prophets, who alſo were called Seers, tho' afterwards they obtained a ſupe⯑rior Title, namely that of Man of God. But before that I ſay the wiſer Men were called Seers; and this is moſt expreſly ſignified in that eminent Text, 1 Sam. ix.9. where 'tis ſaid that before time they uſed to ſay when they wanted to enquire of God, that is to enquire about any thing difficult, come and let us go to the SEER, that is to the Magician, the wiſe Man, the Prophet, or what elſe you pleaſe to call him.
It is plain from the ſame Text alſo that they ſometimes went to thoſe People called SEERS upon meaner Enquiries; for they took it for grant⯑ed that thoſe Seers dealt in all ſecret Matters; Thus Ahaziah ſent to Baal-zebub when he was ſick, to know if he ſhould live or dye, 2 Kings i.2, 3. and ſo the King of Syria's Captains told their Maſter, that Eliſha the Prophet told the King of Iſrael what he did in his Bed-chamber, 2 Kings vi.12. And to bring it down to a meaner Caſe ſtill; [4] even when Saul wanted but to find his Father's loſt Aſſes or Cattle, his Servant ſaid to him, let us go and enquire of the SEER; and ſo they did, and found News of them.
Likewiſe it appears by the ſame Text, that thoſe Seers, or Prophets, or Magi, made an Employment of it, that it was their Buſineſs to tell Men of their loſt Goods, direct them in their Way, foretel of their Health, and the like; and that they made a Livelyhood or Trade of it; therefore when Saul's Servant propoſed to him to go to the SEER, Saul made a Difficulty of it becauſe he had nothing to give him; as if he ſhould have ſaid, I have no Money in my Pocket, and not a Loaf of Bread to give the cun⯑ning Man or SEER, and how ſhould I expect that he ſhould give me any Account of my Cattle for nothing? Then when the Servant told him he had a fourth-part of a Shekle of Silver in his Purſe, (which by the way was not above ſeven Pence half-penny, or thereabouts) Saul was mighty glad, re⯑ſolving to give the low-priz'd Magician or Prophet that vaſt Fee, to tell him what was become of his Father's Aſſes.
It ſeems the Lawyers Fees were not ſo high in thoſe Days as they have been ſince; for if he had not had that Piece of Silver, perhaps about as big as an En⯑gliſh Groat, I ſay, if he had not had that, a couple of half-penny Barly Loaves it ſeems would have been as good, and have done as well; thoſe Loaves being not uſually bigger than our Half-penny, or at beſt than our Penny Wheaten brown Bread Loaves are now.
Again you find when Benhadad King of Da⯑maſcus ſent to Eliſha the Prophet to know if h [...] ſhould live or dye, he ſent the Prophet a Preſent forty Camels loaden with all the good things o [...] Damaſcus, 2 Kings viii. 9. A large Fee! But 'tis t [...] be ſuppoſed the Gift ſent, was not ſuited to th [...] [5] Prophet ſo much as to the Sender; he gave as a King; but ſtill we find the SEERS were ſuppos'd to make the Gain their Buſineſs.
That it was the ſame thing with the Magi before that, we have no reaſon to doubt, tho' we have no Particular in Story relating to that part. But we find thoſe Southſayers, Magicians, and wiſe Men, who were ſent for by Pharaoh King of Egypt to interpret his Dream, were to have receiv'd great Rewards, if they had given Satisfaction to the King; and Joſeph we ſee did receive great Rewards, as well as Honour, on that Account.
Again afterwards in the Caſe of Nebuchadnez⯑zar's Dream, there is a ſufficient Teſtimony that thoſe wiſe Men, Aſtrologers, Magicians, &c. were eſteemed not to be Wizards and Dealers with the Devil, but only (as I have explain'd the Word a⯑bove) meer Philoſophers, or wiſe Men, Men of Lear⯑ning and Knowledge, Men of Science and of Skill in the works of Nature; for when the King demanded of them to tell him not only the Interpretation of the Dream, but the Dream it ſelf, and threaten'd them with Death in caſe they fail'd to perform it, they expo⯑ſtulate with the King upon the unreaſonableneſs of the Propoſal, as a thing that no King in the World would expect from them, and that was not in the power of Nature to perform:
As if they had ſaid, does your Majeſty think we deal with the Devil, that you ſhould expect ſuch a Piece of Work as this from us? it is not in the Power of any, or of all the wiſe Men, or Philoſophers, in the World; and therefore it cannot be imagined we ſhould do it; but let the King tell us the Dream, and then we will interpret it, and that's as much as Man can do.
'Tis plain from hence, not only that the Magi or Magicians in thoſe Days were not really Conju⯑rers and Dealers with the Devil, but that they were underſtood to be what we may call Scholars, Men [6] of Learning, of Wiſdom, and of a ſuperior Un⯑derſtanding: So when the King calls for Daniel to prefer him, it is ſaid he did it becauſe an excellent Spirit was found in him; and in another Place 'tis ſaid, that the Spirit of the Holy Gods was in him; whereas at the ſame time 'tis certain that the King eſteemed him as one of the Magicians; nay, and he was ſet over them, as the Chief and Governor of all the reſt. Certainly then they did not take thoſe Magicians to be what we have ſince under⯑ſtood of ours, (viz.) Dealers with the Devil, and Sorcerers, ſuch as ought to be puniſhed for having or uſing unlawful Arts, and Practices with evil Spi⯑rits and the like.
Had this been the common Opinion of them, they would have been treated after another man⯑ner, both then and in after-Ages; for not only a⯑mong the Jews, but in other Nations, ſuch as we call now Magicians were puniſhed as Criminals.
But to go back a little to Originals, and to fetch up Knowledge from the Fountain: Man born igno⯑rant arrives to very little Knowledge but what comes by one of theſe two Channels.
Firſt, Long Experience, Study and Application.
Secondly, Teaching and Inſtruction from thoſe that went before.
I ſhall inſiſt only upon the laſt, and that parti⯑cularly for the ſake of what was Antediluvean. The moſt early Knowledge which Mankind obtain'd in thoſe Days, is ſuppos'd to be by Teaching imme⯑diately from Heaven; for Example. Adam and Eve's Mouths were open'd at the ſame time with their Eyes, and they could ſpeak, and knew what Language to ſpeak, as ſoon as they were made. But 'tis moſt certain alſo, that all the ſpeaking World ſince Adam and Eve learnt it ſucceſſively from them, by mere Imitation of Sounds, teaching of Parents and Nurſes, and the like.
[7]After Adam, his Poſterity having learnt to ſpeak immediately from him, and ſo to converſe with one another, a conſummate acquir'd Knowledge in ſeveral other things quickly follow'd; particular Arts and Sciences were either taught by Inſpira⯑tion from Heaven, or attain'd by the exquiſite Ca⯑pacities of their Minds; One having a Genius to this, Another to that kind of Knowledge; as one to Muſic, another to working in and finding out Metals and Minerals in the Earth, then melting, refining, caſting, and other Operations and Im⯑provements, as Knowledge came in by the Door of Experiment.
Adam's Poſterity (I mean his particular Houſe or Family) learnt to ſpeak more immediately from him and Eve their Mother by meer imitation of Sounds, as we do to this day from one an⯑other.
But having thus obtained Speech from their im⯑mediate Parents, all other acquir'd Knowledge men⯑tion'd above, ſuch as of their Improvement of Culture, Diſcoveries in Nature, and the like, ſeem'd to be the Conſequence, 1. Of a vehement and in⯑flam'd Deſire after Knowledge, planted in their Minds by Nature it ſelf; an inquiring Diſpoſi⯑tion; being ſenſible of a vaſt Treaſure hidden in Nature apt for Diſcovery, and which as it were waited only for the Search, in order to open it ſelf to their View for the general Good. 2. A vaſt capacious Underſtanding fitted for that Search, and which we have reaſon to believe the Antediluvean Fathers were more than ordinarily furniſhed with, guiding them directly to the Search after, and into all the Arcana of Nature, with a Readineſs and Accuracy ſo pointed, as if they had been before-hand inſtructed what to ſearch for, how to ſearch for it, and where to find it. 3. A ſecret In⯑ſpiration from Heaven, filling them with, or at [8] leaſt directing them to the Knowledge of things in a more than ordinary manner.
N.B. We cannot doubt but were there now to ap⯑pear a Man perfectly untaught, not having con⯑verſt at all with Men taught and inſtructed before him, and yet ſhould have a Treaſure of ſuch Knowledge in his Mind, exerting it ſelf in Action to ſuch a degree as was ordinary to the Patriarchs of the Antediluvean Age, we ſhould preſently give him up for a Magician in the groſſeſt Acceptation of the Word, and ſay in ſhort that he deals with the Devil.
But be it ſo or not, and let the conſummate Knowledge of thoſe Patriarchs, come which way it will, and, be as great as it will, or as you will ſuppoſe it to be, this is certain, it died with them; 'twas all drown'd in the Flood, the Poſt-diluvean Age inherited very little of it; or if they did, it was drown'd again in the Flood of Vice and Wick⯑edneſs, which almoſt as ſoon overſpread the World, as the People did the Plains of Shinaar, and much ſooner than they ſpread the reſt of the Earth with their Poſterity, however faſt they multiplied.
Nor do I wrong the People of thoſe firſt Ages after the Flood in the leaſt, when I ſay they ſeem'd to have loſt all that fund of Knowledge, all that capa⯑cious Underſtanding, and all that ſacred Inſpiration, which their Predeceſſors the Antediluveans were Maſters of; I need go no further for an Ex⯑ample of it than the building of Babel. For was it poſſible that any thing ſo abſurd and ridiculous could have entred into the Thoughts of Men, if they had not been ſunk into an unexpreſſible Dege⯑neracy as to Senſe, a meer Stupidity of Underſtan⯑ding? To ſay nothing of their having loſt all Pre⯑tence to Inſpiration; ſo far were they from any Share of ſacred Light in it, that they could not be ſaid to [9] have acted with common Senſe. Bleſs us! to build a Houſe to reach up to Heaven! or as we may with more Propriety expreſs it, to build a Stair-caſe to go up into Heaven by; and that in caſe of an⯑other Flood too, which adds to the Madneſs of the deſign many ways.
- 1. They had certainly no Notion of Heaven it ſelf; not to ſpeak of religious Notions of Heaven, they muſt be entirely dark and ſtupid as to the Phi⯑loſophy of it; The immenſe Diſtance, the differing Regions, the Alteration of things in their natural Circumſtances and Situation by the Way, or in the Paſſage.
- 2. They had no Underſtanding of their own Conſtitution, or at leaſt they muſt have very groſs and abſurd Conceptions about it; as particularly of their breathing and ſubſiſting in the Regions above the Atmoſphere, and in the pure unmix'd Aether, (or what elſe it ſhould be called) which they who mounted up to ſuch Height would be ſure to meet with, and in which they might as eaſily conceive an Impoſſibility of breathing, as they could con⯑ceive of the Impoſſibility of living without Breath.
- 3. They muſt have had no Notion of the Na⯑ture of the Flood it ſelf; as that of the Power, Force, and Weight of the Waters, when moving in ſuch a collected Body; how unable any thing they could build would be to reſiſt the Force, and not be preſently blown up and driven away by the Stream.
- 4. They muſt be utterly ignorant of the Nature of the Earth on which their Building ſtood; how no Foundation could be laid ſo deep or ſo firm in it, but what by the Violence of ſuch an immenſe Ocean of Water would be looſen'd and overwhelm'd, and the Fabrick by conſequence be brought down; the Earth which upheld it being waſh'd away.
- [10]5. They muſt be wholly ignorant of what our learned Theory Men inſiſt to have been the Cauſes of the Deluge, namely an Abſorption or breaking in of the Surface of that Earth which was before a known Cavity or Hollow fill'd up with Water, in⯑to which the Earth fell with a Violence equal to the Fall of the higheſt Mountain that could be ſuppoſed to fall into the loweſt Subterranean Deep; and in which caſe the Height, and Strength, and Magnitude of their Building could only ſerve to make its Fall more violent, more certain, and more terrible.
All theſe things, and many more, which Nature, had they been capable of conſulting it, would have dictated to them, they muſt be perfectly ignorant of; otherwiſe they could never, with a Delibera⯑tion and long conſulting one another, as the Rela⯑tion of the Story implies, have gone about ſo ridi⯑culous a piece of Work as that of Babel, than which nothing attempted by the groſſeſt and dull⯑eſt Fancies on Earth was ever more abominably fooliſh and ignorant.
Were theſe the Poſterity of the wiſe Antedilu⯑vean Age! whoſe Minds were inſpired from Hea⯑ven, and whoſe Underſtandings were ſo eminently large and capacious, whoſe Genius led them to the inventing the moſt uſeful Arts, and to exalt them in queſt of the nobleſt parts of Science, (ſuch as Muſick in particular;) and to make the moſt refin'd Experiments, ſuch as the melting, mixing, ſepara⯑ting, and refining of Metals; and which was ſtill as much as all the reſt, the finding thoſe Metals in the Oar, as the Iron, the Copper, the Silver, and the Gold, of which we find they had a compleat Knowledge, and carried it on no doubt to the moſt uſeful Experiments? Thus Jabal and Jubal for Ex⯑ample, the Sons of Lamech, who ſeverally apply⯑ing themſelves to uſeful Arts, became Inſtructors [11] of their Poſterity in Culture of the Earth, Huſ⯑bandry, breeding of Cattle, &c. Others we find were Proficients in Philoſophy, and the ſtudy of Nature; for the Doctrine of Sounds is one of the niceſt Parts of philoſophical Study, and we find them im⯑mediately Maſters of Muſick, and inventing and inſtructing others in making the Inſtruments of Mu⯑ſick; and particularly thoſe Niceſt and moſt Dif⯑ficult of all the reſt, the Harp, and the Organ, that is to ſay Wind-Muſick, which is Vocal; and Muſick by Vibration, which we call Inſtrumental; likewiſe Tubal-Cain their Brother, who was the firſt Artificer, of whom we may ſay that he was a true natural Mechanick, and the firſt and beſt Tinker in the World.
In the room of this capacious Underſtanding, and this inquiring and applying Temper in thoſe Ages, behold a ſtupid Generation riſen up in Suc⯑ceſſion; ſtript as naked of the natural Glories of their Anceſtors, as the Earth was of its natural Fruitfulneſs after the Curſe in Paradiſe; and inſtead of applying themſelves to uſeful Arts, and to the acquiring of Knowledge, grown as indolent as they were ignorant, having, like Solomon's Fool, no de⯑light in Underſtanding.
Inſtead of qualifying themſelves to inſtruct their Poſterity, we ſee no marks of Wiſdom left behind them fit for Imitation; nothing that could recom⯑mend them to their Children for any thing but a Race of brutiſh, unpoliſh'd, unfiniſh'd Creatures, that neither underſtood Heaven or Earth, themſelves, or any thing about them; that ſeem'd qualified for nothing but meerly, as the reſt of the Brutal World were, to propagate their Kind, and overſpread the Earth.
Nor in their Multiplying their Species did they ſeem to promiſe any thing but to people the World with a Race of Fools, as ignorant and ſor⯑did [12] as their Antediluvean Progenitors had been out rageouſly wicked; a Race that threaten'd to make Heaven as ſick of them for their Folly, as it was of thoſe that went before them for their Corrup⯑tions and abominable Vices; and that might be a likely to have brought a Deluge upon them for thei [...] obſtinate untractable Ignorance, as the other had been for their Rebellion and Looſeneſs, ha [...] not God's Promiſe not to deſtroy the World any more, been their Security.
Nor indeed were they leſs corrupt, their Capa⯑cities conſider'd, than the old World, whoſe flagrant Crimes had involv'd them in a general Deſtruction and if they fell ſhort in any thing, it was fo [...] want of Wit, not for want of Wickedneſs.
This appears in all their ſubſequent Conduct, from the firſt peopling of the World after Noah to that fooliſh Babel-Building-Age I ſpeak of: In the old World we found, that, at leaſt for a time, Men began to call on the Name of the Lord; and the Patriarchs of that Age were famous for Piety, of whom 'tis ſaid, as particularly of Enoch, that he walked with God: an emphatic ſignificant Expreſſion, which our learned Commentators have ſpent a great deal of Time in expatiating upon and explain⯑ing. The Scripture again expreſſes this walking with God to be an Act of Faith, and quotes it, Heb. xi. ver. 5. as a glorious Example of ſuch Faith as was rewarded with an immediate Tranſlation of the Perſon into Heaven. He was not, for GOD took him; and from which the moſt exquiſitely and ac⯑compliſhtly whimſical Mr. Aſgill form'd his new Syſtem of going the neareſt way (Home) to Hea⯑ven by the fartheſt way about, a fiery Chariot in⯑ſtead of dying; as if the former were not a Change as well as the latter, and as if Heaven had not al⯑ready made the beſt Choice for us: But tho' he ſuf⯑fer'd Martyrdom for his Scheme (having been ex⯑pell'd [13] the Parliament of two Kingdoms for it) we do not find he has yet had the Benefit of his Pro⯑ject, ſo we muſt wait till he is pleaſed to make the Experiment.
But to return to the Antediluveans: The old World, I ſay, as wicked as they were, had ſome ſhadow of Good in them, and for ſome Years, nay ſome hun⯑dreds of Years, they maintain'd the Character of the Sons of God, before they were debauched by the Daughters of Men; that is to ſay, before they blended the Race with the corrupt Seed of Cain, and mingled Blood with Idolaters. Where, by the way, we have an accurate Deſcription of the Times, I mean in thoſe early Days, of the Race; 'tis evident 'twas juſt then as 'tis now, the Ladies were the Devils of the Age; the Beauties, the Toaſts, the fine Faces were the Baits; the Hell lay concealed in the Smiles of the charming Sex, They were the Magicians, taking the Word in its preſent Accepta⯑tion and its groſſeſt Senſe: There lay the Witch⯑craft, and its Force was ſo irreſiſtible, that it drew in even the Sons of God, juſt, in a word, as it does now, and of which I ſhall have Occaſion to ſpeak again at large as we go on.—In the mean time, I deſcend with the Story to the next Gene⯑ration.
The Antediluveans might have ſomething of Re⯑ligion in them, however fatally mix'd with Crime; but as for the new Good-for-nothing Race, we hardly read of any thing that ever was to be found among them that may be called valuable, from Noah himſelf downward; and even Noah himſelf, we all know, fell into the Debaucheries of Wine, and if you will believe Tradition, continued in it a hundred Years. Now from him, and from his immediate Race, Nature ſeem'd prepared for the utmoſt De⯑generacy, for they fell into all manner of Crimes, nay into the worſt Crimes firſt; for they did not [14] begin low and ſin gradually, but immediately afte [...] the Drunkenneſs of Noah himſelf, his Poſterity de⯑generated into Idolatry, or rather return'd to it, fo [...] ſome think, and that not without Probability e⯑nough, that Noah's Sons were Idolaters before th [...] Flood, and were ſaved in the Ark, ſuch was the Wi [...] of God, meerly for being the Poſterity or Progen [...] of a righteous Father; if ſo, then they only returned to the Idolatry which they had been practis'd it before.
But be that as it will, 'tis certain that the Poſte⯑rity of Noah fell immediately into Idolatry, and tha [...] all his wiſe Dictates which he gave to his Chil⯑dren, which for ſo many Ages were preſerved by oral Traduction, and were called the Precepts of Noah, had no ſufficient Effect upon them to prevent that hated Sin of Idolatry, no not even while he was alive.
It is worth obſerving here indeed, were it not too grave for your Reading, how effectually Noah by the horrid Defection of his own Morals in that One Act of Drunkenneſs, I ſay how effectually he ſhut the Door againſt the Force of all his Own future In⯑ſtructions: He was till then indeed a Preacher of Righteouſneſs, and had been ſo to the Antediluvean World for near ſix hundred Years; but after that, he might preach indeed if he would, but what Re⯑gard would he obtain, when the debauch'd Inſtructor had expos'd himſelf by his Drunkenneſs to the Ri⯑dicule inſtead of the Reverence of his Poſterity, and when the drunken Monitor by his own Pra⯑ctice had render'd his Inſtructions fruitleſs and ridi⯑culous?
How juſtly might they bid him hold his Tongue, and go and reform his Life, before he pretended to inſtruct them? bid him firſt learn the Precepts he taught, and ſhow them by his Example what it was he would have them practiſe? How might they [15] upbraid him with exhorting them to be ſober, while he went drunk to bed? exhorting them to Modeſty and Virtue, while he appear'd in the moſt ſcandalous manner, lying drunk in his Tent, and his Nakedneſs expos'd to the Banter and im⯑pious Jeſt of his Grandſon Ham?
How muſt it cover his Face with Bluſhes, to find he had diſhonoured by his Example the Doctrine of Sobriety which he had preached to his Children, who were thereby brought to mock him, rather than to liſten to him, and to make Ballads of him, rather than copy his Precept for their Imitation?
But I ſay this is a Subject too ſolemn for the Age, and you will preſently tell me I am going to write a Comment upon the ninth Chapter of Ge⯑neſis. So I leave it for you to conſider of, and re⯑turn to the Chronology of early Wickedneſs in the Poſt-diluvean World.
Noah being thus diſabled, by his own falling into Crime, from inſtructing his Poſterity, what was the Conſequence? he liv'd to ſee them run headlong into that worſt of all Crimes, Idolatry, and the Worſhip of GOD ſunk as it were out of the World, even in his own time, and before his Eyes.
This is evident from Abraham, whom the Scripture acknowledges to have been not an Idolater only, but even bred up in Idolatry while he lived in Me⯑ſopotamia; and 'tis certain Abraham was born above fifty Years before Noah died: So that Noah liv'd to ſee his Poſterity degenerated into Idolatry, not all his Preaching or Practice being able to pre⯑vent it.
Having thus ſeen all the Wickedneſs of the old World revived in its new Inhabitants, without the Wit and Capacities which they had before; and the Race being thus entirely degenerated, we muſt be⯑gin all our hiſtorical Account of them with taking them juſt as we find them, and that will bring us directly to the Subject I propoſe.
[16]The Race being thus, as I have ſaid, ſtript naked of the Beauties of their Anceſtors, whether in Mat⯑ters of Senſe and Underſtanding, or in Matters of Piety and Religion, and running on into all man⯑ner of fooliſh and ſimple as well as wicked Exceſſes, it is not at all wonderful if when any particular Per⯑ſon appeared more than ordinary knowing, or but a Lover of and Searcher after Knowledge and Wiſdom, ſuch a Perſon was honoured in a more than ordinary manner, was reverenced as an extra⯑ordinary Man, exalted in the common Eſteem when alive, and perhaps placed among the Stars after his Death; that he who ſhined in their Eſteem when living, might be ſuppoſed to be made immor⯑tal at his Death, and to be exalted to ſhine in a higher Orbit.
Hence it became a vulgar Error among the firſt Ages, but was riveted ſo faſt in the Minds of Men, that nothing could perſwade them not to believe it, (viz.) that the Stars were all the tranſparent bright Souls of their wiſe Anceſtors, who for their Virtue and Wiſdom were exalted by the immortal Powers to a Station of Glory, and were made to ſhine in that manner for the farther enlightning the World, to whom they had been ſo beneficent when they were here; and from hence it came at laſt that all their great Men, and eſpecially their Kings, were thus reverenced and exalted, whether they were good Men or no.
It could not be, but that in Proceſs of Time, as the World grew populous, tho' they had none of the rare Parts and exalted Underſtandings of the Antediluvean Patriarchs, yet there would be ſome Men of a more refined Genius, and of more capacious Souls than others. Surely the World would not be all Fools, or not all equally and alike ſo; nor can I doubt but that while the groſs of the People went about that hare-brain'd prepoſterous [17] piece of Work which we call Babel, there were ſome wiſer Heads who tho' they might not care to oppoſe themſelves to the popular Humour, or per⯑haps to their Reſentment, and did not ridicule and mock the Undertaking, yet look'd on it with a different View, and entertain'd wiſer Notions of Things, and conſequently (when by the Confu⯑ſions which afterwards happened among the Buil⯑ders on Account of their Speech, they were oblig'd to give over their Work) might take the Liberty to expoſtulate with them upon the Weakneſs of the Deſign, and convince them afterwards that it was an unlikely impracticable thing: Or perhaps thoſe Men had calmly argued that Part with them be⯑fore, and had, as far as the times would bear it, declared their Sentiments about it; theſe Men would certainly obtain the Character of wiſe Men upon this Occaſion, and be valued by them as ſuch upon all ſubſequent Events.
As upon the Confuſion of Languages the ſeveral Families who underſtood one anothers Speech kept together, ſo 'tis very probable they did not ſeparate ſingly, every one running his own way, but by Families and Tribes, or by Nations, as their Speech was or was not underſtood by one another; and this was directed by Providence no doubt, for it is ſaid in the Text, God ſcatter'd them upon the Face, or over the Face, of the whole Earth.
It is not unlikely but that when they left off Building, and found they were not able to purſue the Deſign, with that Impoſſibility they began alſo to ſee into the Folly and Abſurdity of the Undertaking; and began more and more every day to reflect upon their Stupidity in going about it; that being withal aſhamed of the Work, they were aſhamed of the Place too, and went every Man, or Tribe of Men at leaſt, their own Way, to get as far out of the ſight of it as they could: I [18] grant indeed that this is but my Conjecture, but I think 'tis a very juſt Conjecture, and 'tis made on Suppoſition that all wiſe Men look back with Re⯑gret upon thoſe Actions of their Lives which they have been drawn into, and in which they have reaſon to ſee themſelves miſtaken.—In ſhort, a [...] no Man loves to ſee himſelf a Fool, and if he ha [...] done a fooliſh thing, does not care to have the Re⯑membrance of it always in his View; ſo generally if he cannot get the Object removed and put ou [...] of his ſight, he will remove himſelf from it, if he can.
Upon this foot I cannot doubt, but that all the People quitted the Plain of Shinaar as faſt as they could, and run away from the hated Monument o [...] their Shame; we would have done ſo our ſelves and I cannot doubt, I ſay, but they did ſo too.
Suppoſe then the People to be upon their March and going to the ſeveral Quarters of the World, whi⯑ther they were directed to ſettle; and let that b [...] where you and Sir Walter Raleigh pleaſe; for tha [...] learned Author following Scripture-light has really marſhall'd them, and laid out their ſeveral Routs a [...] exactly and authenticly as if he had been Com⯑miſſary-General, and had gone before to provide them Quarters.
Wherever, I ſay, theſe ſeveral Nations went, and in what Country ſoever they ſettled and fixed their Abode, tho' the Government and Monarchy of each Diviſion was Patriarchal and Hereditary, yet we ſhall find upon ſeveral Occaſions afterward, that they had among them many particular Men famous for their Wiſdom and Knowledge, and for their Search into the Secrets of Nature, whoſe conſummate Wiſdom by degrees not only obtained for them a more than ordinary Reverence among the People; but, in ſhort brought the People to ſubject themſelves to their Government, and make ſome of them Kings.
[19]Thus Cadmus, a Phoenician born, became King of Thebes in Greece, by having obtain'd the Fame of a wiſe Man, and one who dedicated himſelf to the common Good of Mankind; So Prometheus obtain'd the Government of a Part of Armenia, and Atlas the like in Africa; and thus ſeveral others, by their Wiſ⯑dom and earneſt Search after Knowledge, obtain'd the Empire and Government of thoſe Countries where their Wiſdom was ſo conſpicuous. But pray take this with you as you go, that thoſe Days are over, that Wiſdom crowns no Man Now, except it be with the Rage and Malice of Enemies, with Po⯑verty and Inſult.
Honeſty ſhall be prais'd and ſtarv'd; Wiſdom and Knowledge are Marks for the Men of Power to ſhoot at; to be High and Great, is to be Wiſe and Good.
But this is but an Excurſion, I come back re⯑proved: The Magi were not always Kings or Em⯑perors; the Wiſe Men and the Southſayers, the Magicians and Aſtrologers (who by the way were all but one ſort of People) were often times in mean Cir⯑cumſtances as to Money, even in thoſe graver Days; they acted for the publick Good indeed, but it was in Conjunction with their own Intereſt too, they had their Rewards for Southſaying and Divining; and when the King of Syria asked his Servants to go to Eliſha the Prophet to enquire for him about his Health, he bad them take a Preſent in their Hand for the Man of God.
I cannot indeed ſay how high priz'd things went in thoſe Days, and whether Wiſdom was not un⯑der-rated [20] then, as it is now; whether there was due Encouragement given for the Search, or whe⯑ther Wit went threadbare and in Rags, as it does ſince; Authors are not agreed upon it indeed, and it may be hard to bring them to a Point: It is true, later and more modern Philoſophers learned to de⯑ſpiſe Money, and Solon preferred Wiſdom and a retired Life to the Wealth of Croeſus; but in the more early Times of the World, the Knowledge of Nature and the Study of Wiſdom as it went then, ſeemed to be a communicative Good, which therefore as they that reaped the Benefit of it ought to pay for and did ſo, ſo their wiſe Men grew (in time) mercenary and mean, as in other Places.
This leads me to the Times when the primitive Wiſdom of thoſe early Days beginning, as I ſaid, to be more common, and that the Magi had com⯑municated much of their Knowledge to the com⯑mon People. Thoſe then who ſtill pretended to be ſomething beyond the reſt of the World, were obliged to go higher in their Studies, and enquire into Nature, view the Aſpect of the Heavens, cal⯑culate the Motions of the Stars, and eſpecially dwell upon their Influences in human Affairs, which is ſince called Aſtrology.
By this Study they obtained the Name of South⯑ſayers and Aſtrologers, added to that of Magicians, which they had before: and on the foot of theſe Studies they interpreted Dreams, explain'd good and bad Omens, foretold Events, and perhaps play'd ſome Leger-de-main Tricks too, to impoſe upon the World, as their worthy Succeſſors do to this Day; and in a word, 'tis likely they did all thoſe things then, which theſe People do now, of whom we ſay with more Freedom perhaps than Truth, that they deal with the Devil.
Not that thoſe People were charged, at leaſt not yet, with any criminal Converſation with the [21] old Gentleman; nor, if I underſtand how the Caſe ſtood with Satan at that time, had he any man⯑ner of Occaſion for them, but did his Buſineſs quite another way; for the Devil had Altars and Temples of his own, was another kind of a King in thoſe Days than he has appeared to be ſince: THEN he gave Audience in form of a Deity, and ſaw himſelf worſhipped like a God almoſt throughout the whole World: Here, under the Name of Baal; there, Mo⯑loch; here in one manner, there in another: Nor had the GOD of Heaven One Temple in the World, when the Devil had a great many ſcatter'd here and there, almoſt in every Nation. I aſſure you, however modern Writers think fit to repre⯑ſent him, he ſcorn'd in thoſe days to go about like a poor ſhabby Out-at-heels Devil, as he has done ſince, and may perhaps do now. No, He appeared in State, and as he uſurped divine Honours, ſo he made a Figure ſuitable to his Uſurpation, and had his Shrines and his Votaries, his Prieſts and his Places of Worſhip, in whatever Shapes or Places he pleas'd to be worſhipp'd in: Thus as Dagon he had a Houſe of ſolemn Worſhip at Aſhdod, 1 Sam. v.2. and as Baalzebub at Ekron, and the like.
Now as the Devil had thus the Government of the whole World in his own Hand, and that he was almoſt in the very Letter of it the God of the World, ſo he had no need at that time to employ ſecret Agents, and work by way of Familiars or private Intelligence, as he does ſince; nor, to do the ho⯑neſt Men Juſtice, had any of the Southſayers and Magicians, and thoſe which were at firſt called their wiſe Men, any Converſation with the Devil at all, no, or with any of his Works, they carried on no Buſineſs for him.
But they were Men of Thought, or if you pleaſe, Men of deeper thinking than the ordinary ſort: They ſtudied the Sciences, and enquired into uſeful [22] things, ſearched the Works of Nature and Provi⯑dence, ſtudied the Meaning and End of things, the Cauſes and Events, and conſequently were able to ſee farther into the ordinary Courſe and Cauſes both of things about them, and things above them, than other Men.
In the ſtudy of Aſtronomy, they ſoon found the ſecret Influences of the Stars upon the Surface of the Earth, upon Plants and Animals, nay, upon both Man and Beaſt: as for Example, How the Growth and Virtues of earthly Bodies were guided and govern'd by the heavenly, and how even the Events of the greateſt moment on Earth often⯑times obey'd the Force of thoſe heavenly Bodies; their Conjunctions, Oppoſitions, near or remote Poſitions, Revolutions and Appearances; and ac⯑cordingly they were capable of making ſuch pro⯑bable Conjectures of things not yet come to paſs, as were amazing and ſurprizing to the reſt of the World; and by which they took them, either for Men fill'd with ſacred Knowledge, and that thoſe things were communicated to them immediately from Heaven; or that, however they got it, they had a prophetick Knowledge of what ſhould come to paſs, and could foretel Events even before the apparent Cauſes were ordinarily known.
This gave the common People an extraordinary Veneration for the Perſons of thoſe Magicians and wiſe Men, as they had an awful Notion of their exceeding Wiſdom and Knowledge. Thus Nebu⯑chadnezzar, after he had exalted the Prophet Daniel to be the chief of his wiſe Men, ſtoopt to him with a kind of Reverence, and begins his Addreſs not like that of a Tyrant, the Terror of the World, as he at that time really was, but as One that had an Awe upon his Mind of the great Reſpect he ought to ſhow to a Perſon divinely inſpir'd as Daniel was. See the Text Dan. iv.9. O Belteſhazzar, Maſier [23] of the Magicians, becauſe I know that the Spirit of the holy Gods is in thee, &c.—And ſo in the 8th Verſe of the ſame Chapter. At laſt Daniel came in before me, whoſe Name is Belteſhazzar, after the Name of my GOD, and in whom is the Spirit of the holy Gods.
Theſe were the Magicians of the firſt Ages of the World, and ſuch was the Opinion which the People had of them in thoſe days; not that they were Conjurers, or cunning Men, or ſuch ſort of People as we now call them; but were Men, who at that time knew more than the ordinary rate of Knowledge inſtructed others to know; and were endued from Heaven with extraordinary Degrees of Wiſdom above other Men. Nor was the Re⯑ſpect paid to them equal, but more or leſs in de⯑gree, according to the particular Degrees of ſa⯑cred Inſpiration which they were ſuppoſed to have. Thus in the Caſe of the Prophet Daniel (as above) the King treats him not as a Magician only, nor as the Chief of the Magicians only, but as a Man fill'd with higher degrees of Wiſdom and Knowledge than any, nay than all the reſt of the Magicians of the Age put together, as appears Dan. iv.18. Now thou, O Belteſhazzar, declare the Interpretation thereof, (that is of the Dream) for as much as all the wiſe Men of my Kingdom are not able to make known unto me the Interpretation, but thou art able, for the Spirit of the holy Gods is in thee.
This is ſtill further explain'd in the next Chap⯑ter, and in the Tranſactions of the next Reign: I ſay it is farther and fully explain'd to my Purpoſe, (viz.) as to what was the People's Opinion of theſe Magicians, as well as their King. The Story is very particular. It was in the Reign of Belſhazzar, the Son and Succeſſor, according to ſome, of the Great Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon; when the King ſaw a Hand come out, and writing Words upon [24] the Wall, (ſee the Text) Dan. v.7. The King crye [...] aloud to bring in the Aſtrologers, the Chaldeans, an [...] the Southſayers to read the Writing. Why were theſe call'd, but as they were Men of Fame, for thei [...] Learning in reading ſtrange Characters, Men o [...] Skill in Languages and Books, which in thoſe Days the common People knew little or no⯑thing of.
Well, all the learned Men of the Kingdom were accordingly call'd together, but none of them could anſwer the End; no, notwithſtanding all the great Rewards promis'd them. Ver. 8. Then came in a [...] the King's wiſe Men, that is to ſay, the Flamſteads, the Sir Iſaacs, the Halleys, the Whiſtons, &c. o [...] the Age, but they could not read the Writing, &c. And what follows? Then was King Belſhazzar great⯑ly troubled, and his Countenance was chang'd in him. Nor is that all, but the Text adds, and his Lords were aſtonied.
It ſeems they thought thoſe wiſe Men knew e⯑very thing, that they had been able to underſtand all the Languages in the World, and that there⯑fore if they could not read it, it muſt be ſome⯑thing ſupernatural, ſomething from above, or ſome⯑thing from below, which was worſe; And in thoſe Caſes indeed they did not expect the wiſe Men ſhould read it, for they did not ſuppoſe thoſe wiſe Men correſponded with the Devil, or had an evil Spirit. They thought indeed, if it depended upon human Underſtanding, they could do it, but as to higher things than thoſe they did not expect them; ſo the King and his Lords began to be the more ſurpriz'd at it. But now ſee the 10th Verſe. The Queen directs them to enquire out Daniel, and ſend for him, and tells them he would certainly read the Writing, and tell them the Meaning or Inter⯑pretation of it. See the Words at large.
[25] Now the Queen, by reaſon of the words of the King and his Lords, came to the banquet-houſe; and the Queen ſpake and ſaid, O King, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed.
There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the ſpirit of the holy Gods, and in the days of thy father, light and underſtanding, and wiſdom, like the wiſdom of the Gods, was found in him; whom the King Nebuchadnezzar thy Father, the King I ſay, thy Father, made Maſter of the Magicians, Aſtrologers, Chaldeans, and Soothſayers;
Foraſmuch as an excellent ſpirit, and knowledge, and underſtanding, interpreting of dreams, and ſhew⯑ing of hard ſentences, and diſſolving of doubts were found in the ſame Daniel, whom the King named Bel⯑teſhazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will ſhew the Interpretation.
After this Story no Man need enquire what the World underſtood by the Magicians and Aſtrologers, and wiſe Men of thoſe Days; But 'tis plain they were look'd upon not as dealers with the De⯑vil, but as Men inſpir'd from Heaven, fill'd with inſpir'd Knowledge, Light and Underſtanding, and excellent Wiſdom, that they could make Interpre⯑tations, reſolve Doubts, &c. as ver. 15, 16. of the ſame 5th Chapter. And as ſuch, the Princes and Lords of the Country apply'd to them in all diffi⯑cult and extraordinary Caſes.
Now 'tis true, we have only Examples of the Kings and Princes making uſe of theſe People in difficult Caſes, as Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Bel⯑ſhazzar. But 'tis not to be doubted, that the Peo⯑ple in general, of all Qualities and Conditions, went to them to be reſolv'd in their Doubts, and to have Queſtions anſwer'd them in difficult Caſes; in ſhort this was their general Employment, and they made a Trade of it.
[26]On this Account we find in ſeveral ancient Wri⯑tings, that the Southſayers were made uſe of to interpret Dreams, and foretel things to come; to repreſent good or bad Omens, and give their Opi⯑nions upon the Appearances of any extraordinary Phaenomena in Nature; Thus you have Julian the Apoſtate reproach'd with encouraging ſuch Men, and liſtning to them, ſome Ages after this, when their Reputation was ſunk to a lower degree by far, than it was at in former Times.
This being then the Caſe, we are not to talk of the Magick of thoſe Ages, or of the People call'd Magicians, in the preſent vulgar Acceptation of the Word; but they are to be underſtood to be what Solon, Plato, Seneca, Ariſtotle, or any of the beſt and brighteſt of the Philoſophers of after-Ages were known to be, namely Men of Learning; who had apply'd themſelves to the ſtudy of Virtue, and to the Knowledge of and Search into the moſt hid⯑den treaſures of Nature; who underſtood the Rea⯑ſons of things, the Cauſes and Originals of the moſt retir'd and difficult Accidents in Nature, that ſearch'd into, and calculated all Aſtronomical Diffi⯑culties; the Motions and Revolutions of heavenly Bodies; and, as I ſaid before, their Influences on things below; that ſtudied and found out the phy⯑ſical Virtues of Plants, Metals, Minerals, and in a word every difficult thing, either in natural or experimental Philoſophy.
Theſe were the Magicians of thoſe Days, and to write a Syſtem of Magick as it was then practis'd, and is to this Day underſtood to be the firſt mean⯑ing of it, would be to write a Syſtem of natural Philoſophy; only with this ſpecifick Difference, namely, that with the utmoſt of their Search, the higheſt of their Reach, and the greateſt of their Underſtandings, they knew ſo little of every thing, or indeed of any thing, that the wiſeſt of their [27] wiſe Men, the moſt accompliſhed Magician or Chaldean, in all the Egyptian or Chaldean Courts, could not pretend to know what our preſent Pu⯑pils in Science come to the underſtanding of in the firſt Lectures of Philoſophy, which they go thro' in a Courſe of Academick Study.
Their Conceptions of things were rough and rude; what they entertain'd was either receiv'd by the Inſtruction of others, as by oral Tradition from the like wiſe Men that went before them, or from the dark Conjectures of their own reaſoning and enquiring Diſpoſitions, join'd perhaps to ſome few, and thoſe but very mean, Experiments of their own making, from Obſervation and Reflection.
Theſe firſt Lights burnt very dim in their Un⯑derſtandings, and gave but little helps to them in their Search after Knowledge; but ſtill as the reſt of the World was infinitely darker, and more ig⯑norant alſo than they are now, ſo this dim Light, and theſe glimmerings of Knowledge, appear'd to them, (in proportion to the Light they had to judge by) as bright and ſhining, as the greateſt and moſt conſummate Knowledge does now to us in the Heads of a Boyle, a Newton, or the moſt ex⯑quiſite and beſt accompliſh'd Philoſophers of the Age.
All things in Nature are great or little in their Appearances, in Proportion to thoſe proper Ob⯑jects which they are to be conſider'd with, or meaſur'd by. The Earth it ſelf is conſider'd as a vaſt Globe of ſolid Subſtances, form'd into one Body by an infinitely powerful Hand; when on the one hand it is meaſur'd by any particular Bodies, either Part of it ſelf, or of any other Body, which are ſmall, and as it may be ſaid inconſiderable in Bulk compar'd to it: Whereas on the other hand, that very Globe or vaſt Body which we call this Earth, is but as a Point, a Mote, or a grain of [28] Duſt, when conſider'd with and meaſur'd by the immenſe Bodies of the Comets, the Sun, the fix'd Stars, or other thoſe glorious Luminaries which we ſee rang'd above us, and out of the reach even almoſt of our Conceptions.
Thus the Knowledge and Acquirement of the Magicians and wiſe Men in the firſt Ages of Time, and of whom I have been now ſpeaking, tho' mean and trifling, ſuperficial, and of little Worth, when compar'd with the accompliſh'd, and con⯑ſummate Wiſdom of the Moderns, their experi⯑mental Philoſophy, their Knowledge in Aſtronomy, their Improvement of Nature and Art; yet it was Great, and worthy of Admiration, when compar'd in thoſe Days, to what the reſt of Mankind knew, and look'd upon by, and compar'd with an ignorant Age ſuch as that was; and therefore the King tells Da⯑niel, that an Excellent Spirit of Wiſdom was found in him. Dan. v. 14. And doubtleſs the People look'd upon Daniel to be inſpir'd with Wiſdom and Know⯑ledge from the holy Gods, that is to ſay from Hea⯑ven, as indeed he was, tho' not from their dumb Idols, whom they called by the Name of the Holy Gods.
In like manner, tho' perhaps not with ſo ſtrong a Conviction, they had an Opinion of all thoſe they call'd the Chaldeans and Southſayers, Magici⯑cians and Aſtrologers, that they had ſecret Commu⯑nication with their Gods, and that they receiv'd all the Knowledge with which they were inſpir'd, and in which they ſo much excell'd the reſt of Mankind, from the ſeveral Deities which they wor⯑ſhipp'd. I will not deny but that thoſe Magicians might endeavour by many Subtilties and Arts, to confirm and preſerve the deluſion (for they knew it to be ſo) in the Minds of the People; that they might alſo work up the Veneration of the deluded Multitude to a due Height, and preſerve the Opi⯑nion [29] both of their Perſons and of their Capacities; and this perhaps will appear, when further enquir'd into, to be the Foundation of all the wicked things which follow'd, as I ſhall demonſtrate in its Order.
It was really a Temptation to thoſe wiſe Men, as they were called, to ſee that the World had a vaſt Opinion of them; while the World was blind, and in the Infancy of their own Underſtanding, a little matter would impoſe upon them; but in pro⯑ceſs of things the World grew wiſer, and the light Nature began to receive Illuminations from the light of Reaſon, and then it behov'd the wiſe Men to ſee that their Knowledge alſo encreaſed in Pro⯑portion; for ſtill they were obliged to keep the Reputation of their Underſtandings, by paſſing from one Study to another, and aſpiring ſtill high⯑er and higher in their ſeveral Claſſes of Improve⯑ment.
Now this it was eaſie to do, in all thoſe early Days of Knowledge. Nay, they had a thouſand Years before them ſtill, in which a moderate Com⯑petence of acquir'd Knowledge would keep up their Characters; what Courſe was taken afterwards we ſhall ſee by and by.
To ſum it up then in few Words; a Magician in the firſt Ages of the World was nothing more or leſs than a Man of Learning; only you muſt take this with you as you go, that by the Word Learning is to be underſtood not a Man of Letters and Books, for the World knew little of either in the firſt Days of thoſe Acquirements. Nay, we have rea⯑ſon to be aſſur'd, that the Knowledge of Letters was not arriv'd in the World, at the time when Pharaoh ſummon'd the wiſe Men, and the South⯑ſayers, and Magicians to interpret his Dream; and as they had no Letters, they had no Books; and therefore when 'tis ſaid that Moſes was learned in [30] all the Wiſdom of the Aegyptians, it muſt be un⯑derſtood of oral Learning, Wiſdom convey'd to hi [...] by Obſervation, or Inſtruction, or Inſpiration, a [...] afterwards he really receiv'd it from Heaven.
The Magicians, I ſay, were Men of Learning that is to ſay Men of Study, Men of Obſervation buſy in the ſearch after Knowledge; and if we wil [...] take Pains to enquire into it, we ſhall find thei [...] Obſervations chiefly reſpected the Motions of the heavenly Bodies, the Aſpects and Influences of the Planets and fix'd Stars; and conſidering that they were abſolutely without the help of Inſtrument and Glaſſes to make their Obſervations by, an [...] without Books, by which to communicate the Knowledge of one Age, or of one Perſon, to an⯑other; I ſay, conſidering theſe things were want⯑ing, 'tis a wonderful thing that they arriv'd to ſuch a Degree of aſtronomical Knowledge as they did.
Others ſtudied the Knowledge of Nature, in the Conſtitution and Contexture of human Bodies; the Originals, the Progreſs, and the cauſes of Diſeaſes and Diſtempers, both in Men and Women; and alſo the phyſical or medicinal Virtue of Drugs and Plants, for Cure and Eaſe of thoſe Diſeaſes; the qualities of the ſeveral Herbs and Trees, and Pro⯑ductions of the Earth; and as in theſe things they made daily Diſcoveries in Nature, which the World was till then ignorant of, and by which they perform'd ſurprizing Cures, and deliver'd the diſtreſſed People in divers Maladies, they were on that Account, and deſervedly too, had in great Eſteem, were reve⯑renc'd, and even worſhip'd by the People.
I could give many Examples in Hiſtory from the moſt ancient Times, when their Phyſicians and A⯑ſtronomers were, after their Deceaſe, rank'd among their Gods, and doubtleſs were had in a profound Veneration, while they were living.
[31]In a word, Science and uſeful Knowledge being young in the World, thoſe Men who gave them⯑ſelves up to the firſt Searches after thoſe things, were thought worthy of the greateſt Honours, and were had in the greateſt Eſteem; indeed they very well deſerv'd of Mankind, ſince they gave ſuch noble Teſtimonies of their being devoted to the Publick good. Thus Prometheus, who is ſaid to be chain'd down to Mount Caucaſus, with a Vulture preying upon his Bowels, the Subſtance or Meaning of which was no more than this: That he gave himſelf ſo entirely up to the Study of A⯑ſtronomy, and to ſearch after the Knowledge of the heavenly Motions, that the eager Deſire after the Knowledge of them gnaw'd into his very Vitals, conſum'd his Natural Strength, and proved fatal to his Health; and that this was upon Mount Caucaſus, intimated only, that he choſe a high Hill, or a Summit among thoſe Moun⯑tains, where he uſed to lye on his Back whole Nights together, to make his Obſervations more exactly of the revolving Motions of the Stars, till he contracted Diſtempers by the Colds and Damps of the Air; ſo that he was as it were chain'd down to thoſe Mountains, till the Diſeaſes he contracted eat out his very Bowels.
This is that Prometheus, who for his exquiſite Knowledge, is feign'd by the Poets to have firſt form'd Man, that is to ſay, form'd the Model of a Man by the help of Water and Earth; and then ſtole Fire from the Sun to animate the Model, and to give him Life and Motion.
The Meaning of which is no more than this, that by his Wiſdom he inſtructed and form'd the Minds of Men in true Notions and right Know⯑lege of the moſt ſublime Objects.[30] [...] [31] [...]
And here, by the way, the firſt Atheiſts, the E⯑picureans and others, who ſhew'd their mighty Willingneſs to deny a Firſt Cauſe, a Being Prior, and therefore Superior, to all Beings, would make Man to be the Author of his own Form and Life; and that Prometheus having thus form'd the Mo⯑del, and by borrowing Fire from the Sun, given it Life, the new-form'd Creatures had ever ſince communicated that Life by Generation. But this empty Notion ſtands confuted moſt effectually, by only joyning the following four Lines to thoſe above.
But to leave Moralizing, which my merry Rea⯑ders ſeem to have an Averſion to, I go on with my Story.
The learned Sir Walter Raleigh ſays, they are greatly miſtaken who think that the Thing as well as the Word Magick is derived from Simon Magus. He adds, that Simon's Name was not Magus, a Ma⯑gician, but Goes, a Perſon familiar with evil Spirits, and that he only uſurp'd the Title of Simon the Magician, becauſe the Title of a Magician was honou⯑rable and good; and my Opinion is thus ſtrengthen'd by his Authority, viz. that there is a manifeſt dif⯑ference between Magick, which is Wiſdom and [33] ſupernatural Knowledge, and the Witchery and Con⯑juring by which we now underſtand the Word, and uſe it accordingly.
I join with this Expoſition of the Word Magick, and ſhall therefore carefully diſtinguiſh as I go a⯑long betwixt the ſeveral differing Perſons known in Hiſtory for Magi, Magicians, and Profeſſors or Practiſers of Magick; and thoſe Magicians by which we are to underſtand Sorcerers, and Enchanters, and Dealers with the Devil, of whom nevertheleſs I ſhall have occaſion frequently to ſpeak in this Work; becauſe, though I ſhall let you know that the Magicians were not all Sorcerers and Devil-Dealers, yet I muſt alſo let you know too, that I am to point the main of this Diſcourſe to ſuch as are ſo.
Nor is this previous determining the Point any thing leſs than neceſſary at this time, with reſpect to the Variety of worthy Gentlemen, our preſent Contemporaries in faſhionable Wiſdom; who, how⯑ever willing they are to be taken for Magicians, even in the very worſt Senſe of the Word, rather than not to paſs for Conjurers, muſt be vindicated even againſt their Wills, if it be only upon the ſingle Conſideration of Incapacity; ſince as none of the Magi of the World were famed for want⯑ing Brains, ſo the Devil having no occaſion for Fools in the natural Senſe, will always diſown them, in ſpite of the ſtrongeſt Pretences they make to his Service.
In juſtice therefore to thoſe Wou'd-be-witches, I muſt clear the way as I go, and openly diſtinguiſh between Magicians, underſtanding them as wiſe and learned Men; or Magicians, underſtanding them as Black-Art Men; and FOOLS, that are only not Sor⯑cerers becauſe the Devil does not think it worth his while to employ them; and in ſhort, that they are incapable of being as wicked as they would be.
[34]The Word Magus, from whence the Words Magick and Magician are derived, is a Perſian or perhaps Chaldean Term, uſed originally to ſignify a Student in Divinity, a Man converſant in divine Studies; and Plato ſays the Art of Magick is nothing but the Knowledge of the Worſhip of the Gods, and the Perſians called their Gods [...]; which Ex⯑poſition of the Word is agreeable to that of Mat. ii.2. there came wiſe Men of the Eaſt, who having ſeen the Star of him that was born King of the Jews, came ſo far to worſhip him.
Theſe wiſe Men the Greeks afterwards called Phi⯑loſophers, that is, Lovers of Wiſdom; and the ſame is underſtood in the Indian Language by Brachmans, and now Bramines; by the Babylonians, Chaldeans; by the Hebrews, Seers; and among the Perſians, Magicians.
It is true, as King James I. ſays in his Book of Dae⯑monologie, that under the name of Magick all other unlawful Arts are comprehended; but that is only as we Moderns underſtand it, not that it was un⯑derſtood ſo by the Ancients; and even in that the King diſtinguiſhes between Magick in its worſt Senſe, and the Arts or Practices of Witchcraft and Sorcery; which, with his Majeſty's Leave, I think a needleſs Diſtinction: Nor ſhall I be ſo nice; but all thoſe Dealings which we call Necromancy, Sor⯑cery, Witchcraft, and all kinds of diabolical doings, ſhall paſs with me for Magick and the Black-Art, and in this Senſe I ſhall afterwards uſe the Word.
The wiſe Men of Babylon are diſtinguiſh'd in the Prophecy of Daniel, into four Claſſes; the Magi⯑cians, that is, the wiſe Men, in the Senſe as above, I mean Philoſophers; the Aſtrologers, which are underſtood the ſame with our Aſtronomers, and with them Southſayers; the third ſort are the Sorce⯑rers, who were called Malefici or Workers of Evil or [35] Miſchief, as ſome call them; theſe are the kind I am to treat of, who are Workers of Evil by the Aſſiſtance of an evil Spirit; and the laſt are called Chaldaeans, by which are underſtood Foretellers of things to come, who underſtand their hidden and ſecret Cauſes.
This Expoſition brings us down to the Caſe in hand, where by the Word or Term of Magick is underſtood the two laſt ſorts, who working Evil of ſeveral kinds, do it alſo by the Aſſiſtance of an evil Spirit; that is in Engliſh, by the Help of the Devil, by Inchantment, Conjurations, and corrupt Methods.
The Practices of theſe People were many ways Diabolical, even in thoſe days; and if we may cre⯑dit King James's Account of them, they were ra⯑ther worſe in thoſe latter Ages of the World than in former times; but of that in its Place.
Philo Judaeus carries it further than any of the moſt antient Writers and Sages, and ſays that by this kind of Magick, that is by Aſtrology, and Obſervation of the heavenly Bodies, their Motions, and Revolutions, Abraham, who was certainly a very great Magician, arriv'd to the Knowledge of the true GOD; even be⯑fore he came out from UR of the Chaldees; that is to ſay, he gather'd from the wiſe Government, the won⯑derful Order and Motion, and the immovable De⯑crees and Revolutions of the heavenly Bodies, that there muſt be an infinite, wiſe, and intelli⯑gent Being, who, as he was the firſt Cauſe of their Beings, ſo he was likewiſe the great Director of their Motions, and by his Appointment every thing in the whole Syſtem of their Operations was guid⯑ed and appointed: In ſhort, that Abraham learn'd to know the Creator, by the Contemplation of the Creature. And doubtleſs as this ſtudy of Nature directly leads us to the great Author of Nature, ſo Abraham by his ſincere Application to the firſt, [36] and his ſincere Deſire to be led into the Number of the laſt; GOD, who knew thoſe Deſires of his Heart to be ſincere, and aiming at a right end, was plea⯑ſed to make a more clear Diſcovery of himſelf to him by Viſion and Revelation; teaching him more than he could ever have obtain'd by all the Study and Application imaginable.
It is not doubted however that Abraham was the firſt teacher of Aſtronomy and of Arithmetick in the World, and perhaps of the ſeveral Branches of the Mathematicks; The Ancients affirm, that he taught the Phoenicians, that is to ſay the Cana⯑anites among whom he liv'd, and the Egyptians alſo, all the Knowledge they had, whether Philoſophi⯑cal or Divine.
Thus then, whatever Notions we have now en⯑tertain'd of Magick as Diabolical, yet certainly, as our Saviour ſays in another Caſe, in the beginning it was not ſo. In the firſt Ages of the World, the Know⯑ledge of Magick was the Wiſdom of Nature; and nothing but Ignorance brought Men to proſtitute themſelves to the Devil for the encreaſe of their Underſtandings.
And this indeed is the way by which Magick, and the Knowledge of the moſt excellent things, has been abus'd in the World; when Men ſeeking be⯑yond themſelves for Knowledge, and ignorant of the way to increaſe true Knowledge, have been impos'd upon to make uſe of wicked and diabo⯑lical Methods to obtain it; the Devil not only readily concurring to aſſiſt them, but openly acting with them by Concert, to encourage the De⯑luſion.
Hence the weakeſt and moſt impotent of all Capacities, meer Fools excepted, have been found ſufficient to make Tools for the Devil; who hard⯑ening them for his own Work, trains them up to his Hand, with ſuch an unwearied Diligence, tha [...] [37] nothing can prevent their improving in his Ser⯑vice.
Thus while Magick is the Wiſdom of Nature, and the Magicians of thoſe Ages were the wiſeſt and beſt of Men; the Magicians of our times, and of this new kind, improve from nothing, begin with the vileſt of Ignorance, and proceed to the vileſt of Wickedneſs, till they come to be the moſt Diabolical Creatures in the World.
Magick being therefore nothing in thoſe Times, but, as I have ſaid, a degree of uſeful Knowledge, and the Magicians being a Race of honeſt ſtudious Men, ſearching after Wiſdom, and bleſt with greater Shares of it, than the ordinary Race of Men were arriv'd to; we muſt look farther, and come down lower into Time, for the preſent vulgar Ac⯑ceptation of the Word: In which Inquiry, it will not be ſufficient to jump at once from the beginning of things to the preſent times, and from what the Magicians were in Egypt and Chaldea, to what they are now in a Chriſtian Age: But we muſt a little enquire into the Gradations of the Change, and ſee by what ſeveral Progreſſions of Art the uſeful Magicians of thoſe Ages have come on, from meer Philoſophy, to all the Extraordi⯑naries of Myſtery, Cunning, Trick, Cheat, Star⯑gazing, Fortune-telling, Conjuring, Witchcraft, and the Devil; and if this be not an Enquiry, both profitable and diverting, I muſt be miſtaken in my Subject, or in my Readers. Let us enter into it gradually, and with Caution, leſt we raiſe the Devil, before we come at him.
CHAP. II.
[38]How Wiſdom and Learning advanc'd Men in the Firſt Ages to Royalty and Government, and How Many of the Magicians were made Kings on that Account; as Zoroaſter, Cad⯑mus, and many others.
IT was not many Ages that the World conti⯑nued in a ſtate of Dullneſs, equal to that at the firſt ſcattering the Nations. We do not find them building any more Babels, or entertaining them⯑ſelves with ſuch groſs Notions any more.
As they travell'd abroad they learned Experience; they ſaw farther into Nature, and into the Reaſon of Things: inſtead of building Ladders and Babels to reach up to Heaven, and keep them from drowning, they ſoon learnt to build Cities to keep out their Enemies, and Ships to ſail upon the Water; they baffled the Fears of another Deluge not by their Faith, that God would not drown the World again, ſo much as by the belief of this Whymſy, that ſeeing they could ſwim in Ships and Boats, he could not do it; or that knowing they could live upon the Water, they might ſeem not to care whether he did or no.
In this travelling Circumſtance they grew in Knowledge, as I ſay, and at leaſt ſome of them being of a brighter Genius than others, advanc'd beyond their Neighbours in Wiſdom and Under⯑ſtanding both ſpeculative and practical; and theſe, as they gain'd every Day more Knowledge, even by knowing, ſo that Knowledge gain'd them infinite Applauſe and Eſteem among the People.
Hence every aſpiring Genius among them get⯑ting the ſtart of the reſt, either in real or affected Knowledge of things, and thereby gaining Ad⯑mirers and Dependents, took little differing Routs [39] in their Wanderings; and wherever they thought fit to plant and ſettle, they built Houſes, call'd it a City, and the Leader made himſelf be call'd their particular King.
This petty Royalty, as it was rais'd upon the foot of Chance, rather than Blood, and upon the mean Circumſtance of a bold aſpiring Head, which a ſmall ſhare of Brains above its Neighbours gave a Title to, ſo it ſeem'd to ſubſiſt on the foot of the ſame Chance; thoſe Kings being as eaſily, and as often depos'd, as they were either over-power'd by their Neighbours, or as any Decay and Defect of the bright Part that rais'd them, caus'd them to ſink in the Opinion of their Subjects, and gave the King of the next City a better Place in their Favour.
Yet this Diminutive Rank of Soveraignty re⯑main'd many Ages in the World; and we find, not only in Abraham's Time, when the five Cities of the Lake or Valley, where Sodom ſtood, had five Kings over them; and afterwards in Jacob's time, the City of Sichem had a King over it; but even at the coming of the Iſraelites into Canaan, almoſt every City had its King; and we have a great deal of room to judge, that theſe Kings did not derive from a patriarchal Succeſſion, for then there would have been many thouſands of Kings more than there were; but from the exalted Merit of the Under⯑ſtandings and Genius of ſuch and ſuch a Perſon, whom the People thought fit to admire and follow, and conſequently ſubject themſelves to: and we have abundance of Examples in Hiſtory to prove, that this was the practice of thoſe firſt Ages. But this is a dry Study, and the Search after their Names would be as needleſs, as the Liſt, when obtain'd, would be tedious to read; ſo I leave it, and go on.
The reaſon of my naming this Part, is not to ſhow the Veneration the moſt early Ages of the World had for Wiſdom and Virtue; for, God knows, theſe Magi, tho' they had the Merit of ſome [40] Knowledge above the reſt, yet we do not find they had a much greater Share of Virtue than o⯑ther People: But even as we find it now, the moſt knowing Men are not the beſt Men; even ſo it was then, every wiſe Man, much leſs every great Man, was not a good Man: and as in our Age it may be fear'd, we have more Clergy than Chri⯑ſtians; ſo there were in thoſe Days more Sages than Saints: till at laſt their wiſe Men turn'd whimſical, their Kings Madmen, their Southſayers meer Conjurers, and their Magicians Devils: Of all which I ſhall give a farther Account preſently.
I'll ſuppoſe now, that the Magicians of thoſe Ages were, as I have deſcrib'd them in the Chapter before, nothing but Men fam'd for extraordinary Knowledge; meer Aſtrologers, Philoſophers, Men of Study, and the like. You will next ſee how thoſe Men frequently rais'd their Fortunes by their Wiſdom, or rather by the Opinion which the ignorant World had of their Wiſdom and Ca⯑pacities.
Zoroaſter was a famous Magician, in the Senſe which I have already given of the word. Hiſtory tells us, he was a great Aſtrologer, and foretold things by his Art, which were to come; that by his wonderful Predictions, he obtain'd ſuch a Vene⯑ration among the People, that the Bactrians ador'd him as a Man ſent down from the Gods, or if you like it as well in Scripture Terms, as a Man of GOD; and by this mighty Opinion which they had of him, he obtain'd the Empire of the Bactrians. This muſt be at the time when Ninus was Monarch of Aſſyria; for he was afterwards conquer'd, diſ⯑poſſeſs'd of his Dominions, and ſlain by Semiramis, that warlike Widow Queen of Aſſyria.
They report that he foretold he ſhould be ſlain by Lightning, or by the Fire of Heaven; and that he told the Aſſyrians, that if they could find his Aſhes, they ſhould carefully preſerve them, for [41] that their Empire ſhould continue no longer than while his Aſhes ſhould remain in Being; that after⯑ward it fell out accordingly, that he was kill'd by Lightning, and that the Aſſyrians did ſo preſerve his Aſhes, but that they were afterwards taken from them by the Perſians, who overthrew their Empire.
N.B. All this is ſumm'd up thus in fact; That Zoroaſter left behind him wholſome Rules of Virtue and good Government, which as long as the Aſſyrians kept in Memory, and wor⯑thily follow'd, they were proſperous, as he foretold them they would be; but when af⯑terwards they degenerated into Vice, and ceaſed to obey the Rules which he had ſet them, they fell into Diviſions and Factions, Civil Wars and Devaſtations, which at length ended in the Ruin of their Empire.
Cadmus, mention'd before, was a Phoenician, but went from his own Country and ſettled in Greece, where, as they ſay, he built the City of Thebes, and was made King of it, in conſequence of the Performance, and in Veneration of his Learning, having brought ſixteen Letters of the Greek Alpha⯑bet among them; not that he invented thoſe Let⯑ters, tho' he has the Fame of it to this Day: the Letters were theſe; α, β, γ, δ, ε, ι, η, κ, λ, ν, ο, π, ζ, σ, τ, υ; the other four θ, ξ, φ, χ, they tell us were afterwards ſupply'd by Palamedes during the Siege of Troy.
But the Moral of the Story is this, that Cadmus came from Phoenicia into Greece, where by his Learning he inſtructed the People, civiliz'd and poliſh'd their Manners, and taught them the Knowldge of Letters; directed them to build Houſes, and inhabit together in Towns and Vil⯑lages, which they then called Cities; and, in a word, introduc'd among them Diſcipline and good [42] Government: in Recompence for which the made him their King, and call'd their firſt Tow [...] Thebes, in Honour of Cadmus, who was originall of the Great Egyptian Thebes, a City much mo [...] ancient than the Nation of the Graecians.
Atlas (alſo mention'd before) was an Africa conſpicuous for his Excellence in all human Wi [...] ⯑dom and Knowledge; by this he was raiſed to ſuc [...] a height in the Affection of the People, that the made him King of Mauritania in the Norther [...] Part of Afric. He was one of the moſt learne [...] Magicians of the Time, and by his Knowledge i [...] the Motions of the Stars, and his excellent Judg⯑ment in the good Government of Nations, he [...] feign'd by the Ancients to carry the World upo [...] his Shoulders; that is to ſay, his Precepts of Govern⯑ment ſupported the Nations, and preſerv'd Ord [...] and Diſcipline in the World; and for this he wa [...] as he well deſerv'd, choſen by the People of A [...] to be their King.
I have done with my Examples of wiſe Men be⯑ing made Kings, eſpecially being made ſo for the Wiſdom too; and indeed to what purpoſe ſhoul [...] I go on with the Account? 'tis not pretended th [...] Example ſhould move the World in this Age, o [...] in the next: the World at preſent has no gre [...] occaſion for more wiſe Kings than they have; an [...] beſides, as there is a right wiſe Generation riſin [...] up to ſupply the Place of Power, as faſt as Natu [...] wears off the Incumbents, and we ſee no Danger o [...] wanting a ſuitable Succeſſion; ſo I leave that pa [...] of the Subject, and ſhall talk of another Claſs.
The Magicians or wiſe Men being, as I have th [...] deſcrib'd, Men of Worth, and juſtly valued in th [...] World, let us ſee how long they held it, and ho [...] they loſt that Character.
The firſt ſtep which I meet with, which leſſe [...] their Figure in my Account, was when the Ma [...] [43] or wiſe Men were called in to ſupport the Govern⯑ment of the Perſian Empire: And here they ſhew'd indeed, that Wiſdom is not the only Qualification of a Prince; that there is another thing requiſite, which tho' it is but trifling indeed among the Moderns, was an Eſſential among the Ancients, who found, that to make a good Governor, it was requiſite, that he ſhould not only be a Wiſe Man, but an Honeſt Man; and in defect of this Qualification, the Perſians cut the Throats of all the Magi, to whom they had committed the Government of the Country; for tho' they were all Philoſophers, and wiſe Men, yet, as Fame hands it down to us, they did not find one honeſt Man among them.
Theſe Magi are called by ſome Prieſts, by others Philoſophers, by others Aſtrologers; it is certain they foretold things to come, or at leaſt made the People believe ſo; as in the Caſe of the Queen of Perſia Mother of King Sapores. The Perſians it ſeems were in great Perplexity for want of a King, (there were no Pretenders at that time to put in their Claim) a thing which very ſeldom happens in our times: The Nobility being aſſem⯑bled, in order to conſider of a Nomination, the Magi ſent them word that they ſhould not pro⯑ceed, for that the Queen Dowager was with Child, and would bring forth a Prince, who ſhould be a mighty King, and do great things for the Honour of his Country.
Upon this their Conſultations broke off, and with great Joy they ſent for the Queen, and laying the Crown upon her Belly, they ſolemnly crown'd the Embrio, gave it the Title of King, and ſaluted it King by the Name of Sapor, or Sapores; all which came to paſs: And yet I may ſay all this might come to paſs, and no great matter owing to the Pro⯑phetic Knowledge of the Magi; for the Queen, loth to have a King choſen too ſoon, before ſhe knew how [44] it was with her, might venture to ſay ſhe was with Child; or at leaſt get the Prieſts, the Magi, to ſay ſo for her, and leave the reſt all to Fate; for if it had not prov'd ſo, no body was injur'd, and it would only have been ſaid that the Magi were miſtaken.
But we are, if you pleaſe, to ſuppoſe, that as I ſaid, this did not laſt long; the low-priz'd Learn⯑ing of the Magicians anſwer'd very well, while the World was ignorant in Proportion; but as the World encreaſed in People, and as Years went over their Heads, Knowledge had its Gradations too, and tho' it muſt be confeſs'd it was at a very ſlow Rate, yet ſome advances they did make; and as Princes ſeverally were lovers of Learning, ſo they encouraged Men of Learning too, and their Num⯑bers encereas'd, as well as their Knowledge.
As the common People became more knowing and intelligent, ſo it behov'd the Magicians to advance their Studies, and ſeek farther into the more ſub⯑lime Parts of Learning, to preſerve the Diſtance they ſtood in, from the lower Claſs of their Coun⯑trymen, and to maintain the Reſpect and Venera⯑tion which as I ſaid the People had for them; i [...] they had not done this, they had ſoon been upo [...] a Level with the reſt of Mankind; the Rabbl [...] had been their Equals in Wiſdom, and they ha [...] loſt themſelves in the ſuperior Station of Magici⯑ans, which they enjoy'd before.
This put them preſently upon ſearching farthe [...] and farther into the Arcana of Nature, purſuing the higheſt and moſt elevated Studies, with th [...] utmoſt Diligence and Application; advancin [...] from one thing to another, ſtill to keep up th [...] Figure and Character of wiſe Men which they ha [...] before; that is to ſay, being ſtill as many degree above the common ſort, however the common for might be improv'd in Knowledge, as they were be⯑fore.
[45]Nor was this difficult to do; for as Knowledge was then, and even is ſtill, an unexhauſted Mine and Store-houſe of unvaluable Treaſure, and which ſtill the deeper it is dug into, diſcovers more and more Riches, and an infinite variety of Rarities and cu⯑rious things, as well natural as artificial; ſo the farther theſe Men of Application ſearch'd into the Arcana, or conceal'd Treaſures of Wiſdom; and the farther and greater Experiments they made, the more they found the Search anſwer their utmoſt Ambition; the more they knew, the more they diſcover'd yet to know; and all their Enquiries made good the modern Diſtich made upon a like Subject.
This was not only an Encouragement to the wiſe Men of the Ages we ſpeak of, to go on in their Studies, and in their making new Diſcoveries in the hidden and moſt retir'd parts of Nature; but it ſhew'd that they were ſtill able to maintain the Characters they bore in the World, and to make good the Diſtinction which was formely made between them and the common People; ſo that they ſtill paſs'd for Magicians, wiſe Men, and Aſtrologers, as they really at laſt were; and for Men qualify'd to in⯑ſtruct the ignorant World in a ſuperior Knowledge.
Take them then in this new Situation, that is to ſay, puſhing on in the commendable ſearch after Wiſdom and Knowledge, till, as Solomom ſays, they dug for it as for hid Treaſures; yet the common People follow'd them cloſe at their Heels; the Na⯑tions grew wiſer and wiſer, as well as the Magi; till in ſhort Art began to fail, or rather the Num⯑bers of the Men of Art began to encreaſe; that ſo wiſe Men were not ſuch Rarities, or ſo high-priz'd [46] as they had been, and grew daily leſs and leſs it the ordinary Rate and Eſteem of the World.
Thus in ſhort, the wiſe Men, and the improving World, ſeem'd like Men running a Race, in the purſuit after Knowledge; the Magi or Southſayers, or what you pleaſe to call them, had gotten the Start, and were a great way a-head, a great way before the reſt, but the People follow'd and ad⯑vanc'd at a great Rate.
And this brings me down to the Point.
The Men of Wit and Learning being hard pu [...] to it in their new Diſcoveries, had but three ways to preſerve the Dignity of their Profeſſion, and keep up their Credit as wiſe Mine, that is as Philo⯑ſophers, Magi, and the like.
- 1. The firſt was to purſue vigorouſly the Study of Philoſophy, that is to ſay of Nature, the ſeveral Branches of Aſtronomy, Aſtrology, Geometry, and the like.
- 2. The ſecond was to puſh into the Study of Art, that is to ſay Experimental Philoſophy.
- 3. The laſt was the Study of Reaſon (viz.) Natu⯑ral Homage, and the Worſhip of the Gods.
In the firſt of theſe they went on with great Succeſs; nor were they to be follow'd by the com⯑mon People, whoſe Underſtandings could never come up to any uncommon degrees of Science, or indeed to make any Pretenſions to it; and therefore thoſe that apply'd to this Study, kept up their Credit longer than any of the reſt.
Thus the three wiſe Men of the Eaſt are ſaid to come into Judaea from a far Country, by obſerving an unuſual and ſurprizing Phaenomenon, (viz.) a Star at Noon-day, moving in a particular Orbit, and pointing to them in a very particular Manner, by which they were as it ſeems directed to follow it, in order to make an extraordinary Diſcovery of ſome great Birth, and of ſome wonderful Prince, [47] whom therefore they ought to come and pay Ho⯑mage to. Some Authors tell us, theſe three wiſe Men, or Magi, were three of the Poſterity of Abraham, by Keturah his laſt Wife, that they dwelt in Ara⯑bia Felix, and that they had it revealed to them, that they ſhould ſee this Star, and that they ſhould be guided by it to ſee the Great Meſſiah, who was to come into the World to unite the Poſterity of Abraham, and to eſtabliſh them in one Kingdom, which ſhould rule over the whole World. But I take this as it is, viz. a Chimney corner Tale, fit for a Legend, and not capable of any manner of Improvement.
But thus far 'tis to my Purpoſe, namely, that the Credit of the wiſe Men of the Eaſt was not yet quite ſunk in the World; that they maintain'd a Correſpondence with the Stars; that they por'd upon the heavenly Motions, and knew more of that kind than all that ever went before them.
As the Aſtronomers, and Star-gazing Magi kept up the Dignity of their Characters, and out-did all the reſt of Mankind in thoſe Ages; ſo the ſecond ſort too apply'd themſelves to the Study of lower Life, obſerving the Mechaniſm of Nature, and introducing the helps of Art, even to perform things ſurpriſing. Among theſe, ſome ſtudied the Microcoſm of human Bodies, and ſearcht both Diſtemper and Medicin; and theſe (that is to ſay, the Phyſicians, and Naturaliſts,) obtain'd a noble Aſcendant in the Eſteem of the Vulgar, being able by the Knowledge of Drugs and Plants, and their Vertues, to apply proper Remedies in Caſes of the greateſt Diſtreſs and Diſaſter; and this indeed could not but obtain for them a fix'd and large Eſteem in the Minds of the People, whom on ſo many Oc⯑caſions they reliev'd. Thus the firſt ſearch'd into the Curioſities of Nature, the ſecond into the Art of Phyſick.
[48]But the third were a very particular kind indeed, and theſe apply'd themſelves to the Arcana of things Divine; and at this Door came in all the wicked things, which have ſince, with ſo much Juſtice too, given a black Character to the very Name of a Magician; for under the ſhelter of Religion, the worſt and moſt Diabolical things were practis'd; and in a few Ages more, we find that all the Magi⯑cians were Prieſts in Aegypt, or according to ſome, all the Prieſts were Magicians. Some have offer'd a [...] drawing a Paralel from this to our times, and i [...] ſome Senſe it may be true, but in others doubtful [...] For if by Magicians we are to underſtand Philoſo⯑phers, and wiſe Men, I ſhall never be brought to acknowledge that all our Prieſts are Magicians, fo [...] I abhor all Slander. But to go back to the Caſe as it is before me, certain it is, that the wiſe Me [...] finding, as above, that they muſt take new Mea⯑ſures, that they muſt have Recourſe to ſome new Art, if they would keep up the Reputation of thei [...] Wiſdom; I ſay, finding it thus, they apply'd them⯑ſelves to three ſorts of Study.
The firſt was to innocent Art, ſecret and cun⯑ning Contrivances to delude the Sight; this w [...] call Juggling, Legerdemain, or philoſophical Delu⯑ſion, ſuch as I ſhall mention in its Place; but thi [...] would go but a little way.
A ſecond ſort, as above, apply'd to religious Frauds, and ſet up for Coeleſtial Deluſions, mixing thei [...] Magical Performances with religious Rites; ſo de⯑ceiving the People with the Opinion of Sanctity, and with the Belief that they had the Aſſiſtance o [...] the Gods.
Theſe laſt ſtudied indeed Divinity, ſuch as it was and how unhappily did they purſue the Myſterie [49] they profeſs'd! for firſt we find they invoked the Gods, and not finding that would do, they chang'd Hands and invoked the Devil.
From hence it is that I ſuppoſe our wiſe De⯑ſcribers of the Magick of the Ancients tell us there were three ſorts of Magick; 1. Natural, which conſiſted of the Parts already mentioned, namely, the Knowledge of the Stars, the Motions of the Heavenly Bodies, and their Revolutions and Influences; that is to ſay, the Study of Nature, of Philoſophy, and Aſtronomy. 2. Artificial or ratio⯑nal Magick, in which they included the Know⯑ledge of all judicial Aſtrology, the caſting or cal⯑culating Nativities, curing Diſeaſes by Charms, by particular Figures placed in this or that Poſition; by Herbs gather'd at this or that particular Criſis of Time, and by ſaying ſuch and ſuch Words over the Patient, repeated ſo many times, and by ſuch and ſuch Geſtures, ſtroking the Fleſh in ſuch and ſuch a manner, and innumerable ſuch like Pieces of Mimickry; working not upon the Diſeaſe it ſelf, but upon the Imagination of the diſtemper'd Peo⯑ple, and ſo effecting the Cures by the Power of Nature, tho' that Nature were ſet on work by the weakeſt and ſimpleſt methods imaginable. But, 3dly, the laſt is truly called Diabolical and helliſh Magick, which was operated by and with the Concurrence of the Devil, carried on by a Cor⯑ſpondence with evil Spirits, with their Help, Preſence, and perſonal Aſſiſtance, and chiefly practiſed by their Prieſts. And thus you have the general Syſtem of Magick, according to my Title: But I muſt enter a little into the Parti⯑culars.
[50]The firſt Sort of this Magick I have alrea⯑dy deſcribed; and I am ſtill of this Opinion, that in all the firſt Ages of the World, there was very little other Magick than this known among Men; That, all the Diabolical Practices of the third Sort, or the Art and Legerdemain of the ſecond Sort of Magick, was perfectly unknown to the Ma⯑gicians of Aegypt or Arabia, or afterwards of Chal⯑dea, at leaſt for a great while.
As for the Magicians of Chaldea, I have named them already, and we find nothing Diabolical among them: as to thoſe of Aegypt, eſpecially ſuch as were ordinarily called ſo, 'tis evident alſo they were gene⯑rally the ſame; for when Pharaoh King of Aegypt dreamed his firſt Dream of the ſeven fat, and the ſeven lean Kine, Gen. xli. the Words are expreſs, ver. 8. He ſent for all the Magicians and all the wiſe Men of Aegypt; and what followed? there was none that could interpret his Dream. Upon which, Joſeph was ſent for; where by the way you may obſerve the difference between Joſeph and the wiſe Men or Magicians, let them be what they will. The wiſe Men came when they were ſent for, and they put the King to the trou⯑ble of telling them his Dream, and, as we may be⯑lieve, went away to conſult and conſider of an An⯑ſwer. If they could have amuſed the King with any ſham Anſwer, ſo as to have quieted his Thoughts, which were diſturbed with the Oddneſs of the Ap⯑pearance, they would certainly have done it; whence I conclude they were not either of the ſecond ſort of Magicians, who by Trick and Charm, muttering of Words, drawing Figures, and ſuch empty and ſimple Formalities, did their Work; if they had, they would certainly have cheated the King with ſome of their Impoſtures and Legerdemain, and have made him accept of this or that wild Story for an Interpretation.
[51]Nor were they diabolical Magicians, ſuch as by a real and immediate Converſation with the Devil, or ſome of his inviſible Agents which we call evil Spirits, wrought their uſual Wonders, or Deluſions like Wonders; and ſuch as perhaps thoſe after⯑wards made uſe of by another Pharaoh King of Aegypt really were; who mimick'd the Miracles of Moſes in the ſight of the King and his Court: If they had been ſuch, the Devil would not have ſuffer'd them to be ſo diſgraced before their Lord, as to go away and ſay they could make nothing of it, nor give him the Interpretation; the Devil would certainly have furniſhed them with ſome kind of Interpretation, true or falſe, at leaſt ſuch as ſhould have ſatisfied the King for the pre⯑ſent.
N.B. It is very reaſonable to ſuggeſt here, that theſe Magicians and wiſe Men of Aegypt, and ſo thoſe afterwards at Babylon, had been uſually called together before, upon ſuch Occaſions as thoſe; that they had often interpreted Dreams, perhaps for the King himſelf, as well as for other People; that ſometimes they did perhaps make ſuch Interpretations as came to paſs, by which, they maintained much of their Reputation a⯑mong the People, as wiſe Men and as Magi⯑cians: the ſame we ſee practiſed among us to this day by many an ignorant old Woman, without the leaſt Claim to the venerable Name of Magician, much leſs of Wiſe; alſo we cannot doubt but that the Kings of Aegypt and of Ba⯑bylon did expect and believe thoſe Magicians could interpret if they would; it had been elſe a prepoſterous piece of Cruelty in Nebu⯑chadnezzar to put all the Magicians and wiſe Men to death, becauſe they did not tell him his Dream and the Interpretation, if he did really believe they were not able to do it; for [52] 'tis certain they did not pretend to be able t [...] tell the Dream, tho' they did pretend to te [...] the Interpretation; but he certainly believe they were able to do both.
But when Pharaoh comes to talk with Joſeph, honeſtly tells the King it was not in him; modeſt diveſting himſelf of all Claim to the Honour whic [...] he foreſaw was going to be put upon him, an [...] giving up the Praiſe to the ſupream Agent, t [...] whom it was due. v. 16. It is not in me, but G [...] ſhall give Pharaoh an Anſwer of Peace; and then goes on to interpret the Dream.
I give you this as an Evidence of the Diffe⯑rence in the Kinds of Magick practiſed in tho [...] times; the firſt Sort, 'tis plain, were, as has bee [...] deſcribed, meer Men of Learning, Maſters of Sc [...] ⯑ence, namely, the Knowledge of Nature, ſtudyi [...] Philoſophy, Aſtronomy, and the like; ſome pract [...] ⯑ſing one way, ſome another; ſome looking up [...] ⯑mong the Stars, others down among the Plant ſome into the Microcoſm of Man, and practiſi [...] Medicine for the Cure of Diſeaſes; ſome judgi [...] of Dreams and Omens, others of Signs and Appe⯑rances, and all according to their ſeveral Studie [...] and the ſeveral Branches of Science which they a [...] ⯑plied themſelves to; but not any Sorcery or Dev [...] work among them at that time, or for ſome hu [...] ⯑dreds of Years after.
But come now to the ſame Country, viz. Aegyp [...] for here, it ſeems, the Devil began firſt to convert with Mankind, or Mankind with him rather, [...] this familiar manner; I ſay, come to the ſame Cou [...] ⯑try at the diſtance of leſs than two hundred Year [...] or thereabout, and there you find the Magicia [...] turned into another ſort of People, or rather anoth [...] ſort of People mix'd with them; for when Moſes an [...] Aaron go to Pharaoh to demand the Liberty [...] [53] the Iſraelites, and ſhow Miracles or Signs before him, 'tis ſaid Pharaoh ſent for the Magicians, &c. and they did the like.
But then let us ſee how the Text diſtin⯑guiſhes the kinds, and you will find 'tis exactly according to my preſent diſtinction: Before, 'tis ſaid Pharaoh ſent for the Magicians and wiſe Men of Aegypt. See Gen. xli.8. But now the Style is changed, as the People were alſo, Exod. vii.11. Pha⯑raoh called the Sorcerers and Magicians of Aegypt; and ſee then how they acted, ver. 22. and the Magi⯑cians did the ſame with their Inchantments; and the like in ſeveral other Places: ſo that here the Magicians and wiſe Men were of another ſort, for they acted by a Diabolical Practice, as Sorcerers and Dealers with the Devil; beſides 'tis every where ſaid, they did it by their Inchantments, which we never find ſo much as mentioned before; no, nor afterwards a⯑mong the Chaldeans and the Magicians of Perſia and Aſſyria; but they acted by the meer Force of their Wiſdom and Learning, viz. the Study of Nature; and when that failed them, they acknowledged they had no other Power, and could go no farther.
Now, as I ſaid before, having paſs'd thro' the beſt of the Art, and the firſt and only honeſt Part of the Practice, it follows, that we con⯑ſider the Subſequent Progreſſions of the People called Magicians, what they have been underſtood to be, what they now are in the World, and what we are to underſtand by the Word when we ſay Magick or a Magician; and this is,
Firſt, A Jugler or Shower of Tricks by Legerde⯑main and Slight of hand; which I call only a ſham Magick, and which the World has been indeed de⯑luded with for many Ages.
Secondly, A real Sorcerer or Wizard that deals with the Devil, who converſes familiarly with the [54] old Gentleman, has him at his Call, fetches him ſends him of Errands, raiſes him, lays him, uſe him, upon all Occaſions and in all Diſguiſes, as he finds Occaſion.
That there have been ſuch as theſe in the World muſt be true, or Hiſtory muſt be one univerſal Le⯑gend of Lies, and we muſt have been deluded an [...] impoſed upon by all the Writers and Regiſter [...] keepers that ever have been, were, or are in Being; nay even the ſacred Writings confirm it, and there⯑fore, with the Pardon of all our modern Unbelievers, who deny there is ſuch a thing as a Devil or evi [...] Spirit in Being, either in the World or out of it. I ſay with their good Leave, I muſt take it fo [...] granted.
Now tho' I could bring many Examples among the Moderns, where 'tis moſt certain that ſom [...] walking Gentlemen among us, who have look'd a [...] if they had nothing in them more than other People [...] have really been a Cage of Devils, and as the Tex [...] calls them Unclean Spirits, yet I muſt at preſen [...] look a little higher, becauſe I am reſolved to bring ſuch Evidence as cannot be denied.
Firſt, The Scripture ſays of Judas, that with o [...] after the Sop the Devil enter'd into him, John xiii 27. And after the ſop Satan enter'd into him, that is, into Judas; and in the ſame Chap. v. 2. the Devi [...] having put it into the heart of Judas Iſcariot, Simon's Son, to betray him: and again, St. Paul ſpeaking to Elymas, whom the Text calls in totidem verbis the Sorcerer, calls him thou Child of the Devil. This, and all the Teſtimonies of the Devil's being miracu⯑louſly diſpoſſeſs'd by our Saviour, and by his Diſciples and Apoſtles, will put it out of queſtion, not only that there is ſuch a thing as a Devil, but alſo that he has Poſſeſſion of ſeveral of his Servants in hu⯑man Shape.
[55]But this is not the caſe at all, for I am not now upon the Proof of the Reality and Exiſtence of the Devil; that has been worthily undertaken, and hi⯑ſtorically, mathematically, and enthuſiaſtically e⯑nough Perform'd by a late Writer in another Place: But I am now talking of a Set of People who were not poſſeſs'd BY, but rather, as it may be called, are poſſeſs'd OF the Devil; have him in their keeping and Cuſtody; where, by the way, I do not find but that the Devil ſeems to be very much in Subjection to them; whether it be volun⯑tarily, and ſo perhaps, like an obſequious Dog, that fawns for what he can get; He (the Devil) creeps and cringes, in order the better to carry on his own Deſigns, which indeed is not at all improbable; or whether there were Ways and Means which theſe antient People had found out, by what ſuperiour Power I know not, to ſubject the Devil to their Orders, and make him their humble Servant upon all Occaſions, to run and go, fetch and carry, at their whiſtle: All theſe critical Enquiries may per⯑haps come in my way, when I come to talk more particularly of the Magick of our preſent times, and the Management of our modern Cunning Men, who pretend to have the Devil in a String, make him jump over a Broomſtick, dance and ſhow Tricks, as the Mountebanks and Merry-Andrews do with a Bear and a Monkey.
I muſt confeſs, if I can but, in my further Search after thoſe things, find out the Method the antient Magicians had to manage the Devil thus, and bring him to their hand, and can convey the Art to Poſterity, or at leaſt ſet up a Scheme for the preſent Improvement of it, I ſhall not doubt but I ſhall meet with Encouragement; and if the eminent Mr. Wh—on will but ſtoop to join in with my Deſign (as I doubt not he will, if there be but Money to be got by it) we may publiſh our Read⯑ings, [56] and ſet up Lectures for the Inſtruction of young Magicians, and that with extraordinary good Succeſs; nor do I think the reverend Mr. Em—in would ſtick out: for why ſhould we doubt but they who have already levell'd their Saviour with a Claſs infinitely below the Devil, and made a meer Devil or Apparition of the great Teacher and Sanctifier of the World, would willingly ſet up Lectures in Favour of the Devil himſelf, if they can find their account in it.
Beſides, when we are thus engaged in Satan's Service, and in Conjunction with his Friends and Favourites, we cannot doubt but the Devil him⯑ſelf will be ſo much obliged, that he may come frankly and Voluntier, and let us into the Secret, bind himſelf Apprentice to us for a Term of Years, and enable us to play the Devil with him for the Time to come, as he had played the De⯑vil with us for ſo many Years paſt. Nor, if he be a grateful Devil, can he do leſs; for no Men in the World ſeem better qualified to advance his In⯑tereſt in the main, however for the preſent we may ſeem to keep him in a little Subjection.
On the other hand, if he ſhould prove an un⯑grateful Spirit, and hang an A—, as the Modeſt call it, being unwilling to come into Bondage; then, I ſay, we muſt try if we can't find the way to do it without him, and, by our Black-Art, play the Devil with him, and force him to come when he's called, go when he is ſent, and do as he is bid; as our Predeceſſors the antient Magicians of Aegypt did before us, who made him aſſiſt Moſes and Aaron, and make Frogs, and Snakes, juſt as they directed him: tho' it ſeems when they commanded him to make Lice, the leaſt and louſieſt Creature of 'em all, the honeſt Devil confeſs'd it was out of his Power, that God was above the Devil, and that (in a Word) he could not do it; by which (however) [57] he loſt a great deal of his Credit with his Em⯑ployers, and perhaps with the King himſelf.
That the Devil aſſiſted the Magicians of Aegypt to do thoſe things, or in ſhort, that they made uſe of him as their Inſtrument, is plain from the Text, viz. that they did it by their Inchantments: What manner of Conjurings or Inchantments they were that they made uſe of, we have no particular light into from the ſacred Text; but perhaps ſome Gueſs may be made at it, from what happen'd frequently in thoſe Countries in after-Ages.
Alſo we find that whatever the Magicians in Perſia, and in Media, and in thoſe Eaſtern Countries were, (for their Credit continued many Ages) yet in Aegypt they were (after that) chiefly Sorcerers and Dealers with the Devil; and in a word, Aegypt ſeem'd to be the Nurſery of human Devils for all the World. Hence Baalim is called a Witch, and hence in the Roman times the Aegyptian Sorcerers were brought to Antioch for the Aſſiſtance of Ju⯑lian the Apoſtate, to utter Predictions, and to flat⯑ter the Emperor with their good Omens and their Prognoſtications; in which he was ſo ſuperſtitious, that they put the groſſeſt Deluſions upon him, 'till the Citizens of Antioch made a jeſt of him, and ex⯑poſed his Inchantments to Ridicule; for which, had he lived to come back from the War in Perſia, he had vowed a ſevere Revenge.
Hence alſo the Aegyptians, are to this day, the common Strollers of the World, and are ſucceeded by a Race of Vagabonds who pretend to the Art, without the real Wickedneſs of it, and would be thought to deal with the Devil, when the Truth is, they know little or nothing of him.
I ſuppoſe I need not tell you that the Word Gypſie is derived from theſe ſtrolling Magicians, which really came out of Aegypt, and wandering over the World, got Money by their pretending [58] to Magick, telling Fortunes, predicting Events, and Mountebanking the World with their Inchant⯑ments; 'till at laſt having tired the Devil with following them, and the Drudgery of their Ser⯑vice being not worth his while, Satan left them; and they have been ſince that, for ſome time, in the Claſs of the well-known Cardinal — who pretending to an Acquaintance with the Devil, and to have three inferior Daemons appointed to wait on him, the Devil ſent thoſe three Daemons to tell his Neighbours 'twas all a Cheat, and that he, Satan, had nothing to do with him.
'Tis very ſtrange Men ſhould be ſo fond of being thought wickeder than they are; that they cannot forbear, but that they muſt abuſe the very Devil, and claim Kindred of him, whether he has any Knowledge of them or no: But thus it is, and we need not go to Aegypt for Examples, when we have ſo many pieces of dull Witchcraft among our ſelves.
It is true the Devil does not often decline an Acquaintance where he can find his Account in it; and therefore the eminent Doctor — may hope, that after a little farther Application to Hereſy and Blaſphemy, he may be thought worthy of Admit⯑tance into Satan's Favour, at leaſt ſo much as to ſettle a Correſpondence, that ſo they may act in concert for the future.
I am told ſome have thought it a particular Re⯑putation to them to have it ſuppoſed they maintain a Correſpondence of this kind, which muſt be up⯑on the foot of Satan's Credit, ſuppoſing that he knows who is fit for his Buſineſs, and who not, and that they muſt be all capable Heads that he thinks fit to be concerned with in this manner; for as wiſe Princes always chuſe wiſe Councellors, the Devil underſtands the Capacities of his Friends ſo well, that he is never miſtaken in his choice; [59] but they that are concerned with him muſt at leaſt be of the Cunning Claſs, for he has no Incli⯑nation at all to Fools.
This brought ſome juſt Reflections into my Thought upon the Conduct of our Times, and im⯑mediately cleared up the Characters of ſome of the greateſt Politicians of our Age, at leaſt in my Opi⯑nion, ſeeing 'tis evident they either have too much Brains, or too little, for the infernal Correſpondence; let the World judge which of the two is their Caſe.
I ſay it cleared up the Character of ſome great Men to me, and I concluded they were no Ma⯑gicians, that they neither practiſed Magick in the firſt Senſe, as Philoſophers; or in the laſt Senſe, as Conjurers; what they might do in the middle Senſe, as Jugglers, that remains to be enquired into as Op⯑portunity may preſent.
Indeed I run over in my Reflections the preſent Situation of moſt of the publick Affairs in Europe, the Prime Miniſters, grand Viziers, the Stateſmen, the Counſellors, Generals, Admirals; the Clergy, whether Popiſh or Proteſtant, Greek Church, or Roman Church, Chriſtian or Mahometan; and I muſt ſpeak it to their Honour, that except, as a late Writer taught me to except, our own People, our own Country and Country Worthies, I can ſee no reaſon to think any of the preſent Managers to be Ma⯑gicians; whether, as above, we conſider the Magi⯑cians to be Philoſophers, or as Jannes and Jambres, Inchanters and Conjurers.
But having ſpoken of the two ſeveral ſorts of Magick, 1. Honeſt Magick, which I have proved to be only the Study of natural Philoſophy and Aſtronomy, and ſuch uſeful Parts of Knowledge, which the Learned call Natural Magick; and, 2dly, Diabolical or infernal Magick, which is a practiſing by the Help of Daemons or evil Spi⯑rits;
[60]It remains then, that I ſhould at leaſt mention the third, or which before I placed as ſecond in Order, which is Artificial Magick, that is to ſay, a meer Legerdemain or Juggling with Nature: This is managed by the Wit and Dexterity of Man, with the Advantages of concealed, occult Powers, known in Nature, but unknown and unſeen by vulgar Heads and Eyes; and ſuch Fame tells us have been carried to extraordinary heights, ſuch as
- 1. The Glaſs Sphere of Archimedes.
- 2. The wooden Pidgeon of Architas.
- 3. The golden Birds of the Emperor Leo, which ſung.
- 4. The brazen Birds of Boetius, which did both ſing and fly; and his brazen Serpent, which could hiſs.
To which we may add, Fryar Bacon's brazen Head, which ſpoke.
Theſe were all Impoſitions upon the Sight or Hearing of the People; as no doubt the Phoſphorus would have been, which makes Fire burn without Heat, and without conſuming the Matter; and had a Man in thoſe days of Invention found out a Load-ſtone, what Wonders might he not have performed by it? what would have been ſaid, to ſee him make a piece of Iron dance round a Table, while the Agent held the Magnet underneath; make another piece of Iron touched with it, ſuſpend a third in the Air, and the like; make it draw one End of a Needle to it, and then drive it from it again, as the Poles of the Magnet were turned and directed? Will any Man believe but he that firſt ſhewed theſe unac⯑countable things, would have paſſed for a Magician, a Dealer with the Devil, nay, or rather for a real Devil in human Shape?
Whoever had firſt brought ſuch a wonderful Stone into view as our ordinary Chalk-ſtone, calcin'd and turned into Lime, ſuppoſing it never to have been [61] heard of before, and ſhown with it the Rarity of its Operation, viz. that if you threw it into the Fire, it would put the Fire out, and if you put it into Water it would burn.
Theſe are ſome of the Deluſions of Artificial Magicians, and ſuch as theſe the World has been full of, till now we begin to be too Wiſe to be cheated any longer that way; but as to State-jug⯑glers, the Magick of the Party-mongers, Religious-jugglers, and the Magick of the Pulpit, with divers other leſs fatal Kinds, I believe they are at this time in the Meridian of their Practice and Succeſs, or near it; what height they may go farther we do not indeed certainly know, it muſt be left to Time.
And thus you have an honeſt Syſtem of the Sci⯑ence called Magick, according to the Title of this Undertaking.
CHAP. III.
Of the Reaſon and Occaſion which brought the ancient honeſt Magi, whoſe original Study was Philoſophy, Aſtronomy, and the Works of Nature, to turn Sorcerers and Wizzards, and deal with the Devil; and how their Converſation began.
HAVING thus ſtated the Fact, and given you what I call a Syſtem of Magick, 'tis neceſſary now, that in purſuance of my Title, I ſhould in⯑ſiſt more particularly upon the third and laſt ſort of Magick I mention'd, and which is call'd Diabolical, or according to the vulgar Acceptation, the Black-art, and bring it out to you from its very foun⯑dation.
[62]This muſt be deduced Hiſtorically from the o⯑ther two, or elſe I cannot lead you regularly into its Original, or give you its true Deſcription; be⯑ſides, a great many uſeful and agreeable Specula⯑tions offer themſelves in the riſe and progreſs of the thing it ſelf, which will be moſt neceſſary to ſpeak to, as we go along.
Magick did not jump at once into Being, as to the thing it ſelf; it was not a Revelation from Hell, made at once to Mankind, to tell them what they might do: The Devil did not come and offer his Service Gratis to us, and repreſenting how uſeful a Slave he would be, ſolicit us to take him into Pay, and this at once without Ceremony or Introduction.
No, no, it was a long Progreſſion of Studies, and Improvement in wicked and miſchievous Schemes, that brought Mankind to have recourſe to the In⯑fernals, to ſeek the Aid of the dark Agents below, and to ſollicit a Commerce of that kind: Nor was this done till after finding many Diffi⯑culties in their other way, they ſaw evidently they could not do without him, could not accompliſh their miſchievous Deſires by other Methods, and that this way it was to be done.
Not but that the Devil was very ready, when he found himſelf made neceſſary; I ſay, he was very ready to come into the Schemes when propos'd, and to ſerve us in our Occaſion, and that with a Wil⯑lingneſs which was extreamly obliging; which ſhew'd him to be a Perſon of abundance of Complaiſance, and mighty willing to engage us whatever it coſt him; as much as to ſay, he was glad he could ſerve us, was ready to do his utmoſt for us, and the like.
Now to go back briefly to the Occaſion which brought the Magicians to the Neceſſity of ſeeking to him for Aſſiſtance, and to take him into the Ma⯑nagement of their Affairs; the Caſe was in ſhort [63] this: The World, as I have ſaid already, began to be wiſer than the Ages before them; the ordinary Magick of the former Ages would not paſs any longer for Wiſdom; and if the wiſe Men, as they were called, did not daily produce ſome new Diſ⯑coveries, 'twas evident the Price and Rate of Southſaying would come down to nothing.
If this put them upon Stratagem and Art, in or⯑der to keep up their Credit, and maintain the Di⯑ſtance between them and the inferior Rank of Men, it is not to be wonder'd at; and theſe Strata⯑gems were of ſeveral kinds, as the Occaſion and the Wit of the Undertakers preſented; for you are to ſuppoſe the inquiring Temper of the common Peo⯑ple to be arriv'd to ſuch a Height, that nothing could paſs with them for True, at leaſt nothing which had any Novelty in it, unleſs it was con⯑firm'd by ſome ſtrange thing, ſome Sign, ſome Miracle to be wrought, by which the Mind re⯑ceiving a due Impreſſion, entertain'd the reſt of the propos'd Wonder with the more Satisfaction.
At firſt the Magicians ſatisfy'd the Curioſity of the People by Juggle and Trick, by framing ar⯑tificial Voices and Noiſes; foretelling ſtrange Events, by mechanical Appearances, and all the Cheats which we find put upon the ignorant Peo⯑ple to this Day; and it would be tedious to enu⯑merate the Particulars by which they impos'd upon one another. You may gueſs at them by ſuch as are mention'd before; but principally thoſe who ſtudied the heavenly Motions, had great Opportu⯑nities of recommending themſelves for Men of Craft, pretending to tell Fortunes, calculate Nati⯑vities, reſolve Doubts, read the Lines of Nature drawn in the Face, Palms of the Hand, Symetry of the Body, Moles and Marks on the Fleſh, and the like.
[64]Theſe things they carry'd to a due Length, and we find the Succeſs was ſo much to their Ad⯑vantage, that the whole World, or great Part of it, has been Gypſey-ridden by them, even to this Day.
It would fill a Volume larger than I propoſe this ſhall be, to give an Account of the ſeveral Stratagems thoſe People had Recourſe to, in the early Days of Sorcery and Magick, in order to main⯑tain their Character in the World as extraordinary. For I muſt do them ſo much Juſtice as I go, to obſerve, that they did not immediately run to the Devil for Help; or at leaſt, if ſome among them dealt in the Dark, and correſponded below, they did not all do ſo; perhaps they were not harden'd enough at firſt for the carrying on ſuch a Traffick. 'Twas a new Commerce, and had ſomething a little ſhocking at firſt, till the neceſſity of their South⯑ſaying Circumſtances brought them to comply with any thing rather than loſe their Trade.
The Aegyptians, you muſt know, were a People originally attended with two things, which natu⯑rally made way for theſe Magical Studies.
1. Moſt impertinently Inquiſitive, groſly Igno⯑rant in the main, (as Ignorance would be called now, but mighty Wiſe, as things were rated at that time) and prying into every thing with an irre⯑ſiſtible Paſſion for what they call'd Knowledge; on this Account they paſs'd for the wiſeſt Nation on Earth, and Aegypt was eſteem'd the Center of Learning and Knowledge. Hence Moſes was ſaid to be learned in all the Wiſdom of the Aegyptians. It is true, and they are upbraided with it by the Ethiopians of Arabia Felix, which they call the South; and who, tho' Arabians, are call'd Ethiopi⯑ans in Scripture; I ſay, it is true, that the Aegyp⯑tians learned all their Magick, that is, their Aſtro⯑nomy and Aſtrology, from the Arabians; and they [65] tell us that Abraham inſtructed his Son Iſhmael, in all the ſuperior Knowledge in which his Poſterity afterwards grew ſo famous.
2. With this inquiſitive Temper of the Aegypti⯑ans, they were alſo moſt ridiculouſly Superſtitious; I ſay, moſt ridiculouſly, becauſe it ſhew'd it ſelf in that ſordid and moſt ſimple Idolatry which they had mong them, in which they ſunk below the com⯑mon Notions of Worſhip practis'd by the moſt ignorant Nations in the World; for they wor⯑ſhip'd, or made a God of, almoſt every thing that came in their way; as the Ox, the Calf, the Wa⯑ter of Nile, nay the River it ſelf, the Sand, the Crocodiles, and numberleſs things as ſenſeleſs as thoſe.
As theſe things were peculiar to them as a Na⯑tion, ſo they particularly qualify'd them to be im⯑pos'd upon by their Southſayers and Magicians, with all manner of Deluſions; nor did the ſubtle Magicians fail to make their Advantage, upon all Occaſions, of this ſuperſtitious and inquiring Hu⯑mour of the People, but uſed all poſſible Stratagem and Art to delude and impoſe upon them.
To this purpoſe, they ſoon mixt their Religion and their Magick together, their Philoſophy and their Idolatry were made Aſſiſtant to the general Fraud, and to raiſe a due Veneration in the Minds of the People: To this or that particular Tale advanc'd by their Prieſts, they brought always along with them ſome extraordinary Revelation from the Gods, ſome wonderful Diſcovery in Nature, or ſomething ſtrange and miraculous.
How ſtrangely does religious Enthuſiaſm keep its hold of Mankind, and how exactly do paſt things and preſent correſpond! As the End is the ſame, ſo are the Means: pious Frauds got ground from the Beginning, and pious Frauds get ground to the End. As no Cheats are ſo fatal as thoſe which [66] come prefac'd with Introductions of Religion, ſo no Cheats are ſo eaſy to prevail, ſo ſoon make Im⯑preſſions upon the People, or ſtamp thoſe Impreſ⯑ſions deeper.
The Prieſts among the Aegyptians, when they turn'd Magicians, (or rather, I ſhould have ſaid, the Magicians, when they turn'd Prieſts,) ſet up for Re⯑velation, Inſpiration, and a Converſation with their Gods; and for this purpoſe they withdrew into the Deſarts and Waſtes, of which the Country is known to be full; and where to their Glory (Shame) be it ſpoken, the Religious of the Romiſh Church play'd the ſame Game over again, ſome Ages afterward.
Hither the Aegyptian Prieſts, I ſay, retir'd for Converſation with their Gods, from whence they were ſure to come back inſpir'd, that is to ſay, fill'd with ſome new Deluſion to impoſe upon the People. Here they cut ſacred Marks upon the Trees, and then brought them back as the Lan⯑guage taught them from the Gods; and by which they pretended, after muttering over them ſome unſignifying Significations, to utter ſome Anſwers to any Difficulties propoſed to them; and then ſending their Votaries into the Wilderneſs, they would ſet them to ſearch for the ſame Divine Cha⯑racters; which after long looking for, they would find upon ſome Stone, or Poſt, or Tree, and come home in Raptures for the Diſcovery.
Others of theſe Divine Magicians, or Diviners rather, would clamber up to the top of the Pyra⯑mids, whoſe immenſe Height we have ſuch certain Accounts of, as may make the climbing up ſeem incredible, whatever elſe may not be ſo. Yet here they went to make Obſervations, and Calculations of the heavenly Motions, ſome ſay; but according to others, to make their Conjurations, their ſacred Retreats, and to carry on the Deluſion of converſing with the Gods.
[67]Here alſo they cut their Diabolical Marks, which the Aegyptians call the Sacred Characters, which they left behind them indeed in the Stone upon the upper flat of the Pyramid; for according to the learned Greaves, the Summit of the Pyramid was not a Point as the top of a Spire, or as repreſent⯑ing a Flame, and which by its great Height it ſeem'd to be; but the uppermoſt Part form'd a Plain, which Stephanus in his Comment, ſupplying the Defect in Herodotus, makes to be eight Orgyiae, which again, according to Suidas, is a Fathom, or ſix Foot; ſo that the Plain on the top of the Pyra⯑mid muſt be eight Fathom ſquare: Others report it to be nine Foot only, tho' I think the former more probable.
But be that as it will, here 'tis certain they made, or found made by others, certain dark, Myſtick, and as they pretended ſacred Characters, whoſe Sig⯑nifications were repreſented by the Prieſts juſt as they pleas'd; for we have reaſon to believe they had not then the uſe of Letters; and as ſome think, theſe myſtick Characters were the Original of all the Hyeroglyphick Writing, which was afterwards the ordinary Practice of the Aegyptians, till the Hebrew Characters were handed to them by Moſes, from the Writing of God deliver'd him at Mount Sinai.
It is very well obſerv'd by the learned Author juſt now nam'd, that had not the Prieſts ſtood in need of ſomething extraordinary, to make their coeleſtial Converſe ſeem more Weighty and Impor⯑tant, all their Aſtronomical Obſervations might as well have been made from the plain of the Rock upon which thoſe Pyramids are built, and which ſupport the Foundation; which, as he takes notice, is it ſelf ſo elevated, that in a Country which is all a low, flat and level Surface, for near fifty Miles every way, and affords a fair Horiſon, is as well ſuited for all [68] ſuch Obſervations as require a large extended Pro⯑ſpect, as it would be if it were ſeven or eight hun⯑dred Foot higher, which is ſuppoſed to be the Height of the Pyramid.
But the Reaſon is evident; the mounting the Steps or Degrees of the Pyramid on the out-ſide, was a work of vaſt Labour, and ſome Hazard; Every Head could not bear the Elevation; every Mind could not have Reſolution to undertake it; few would venture up to examine the Truth of the Characters, or bring down Copies of them, much leſs examine into the Nature of them. And if they had gone up it was enough, the cunning Prieſt [...] had impreſt them there, and left the Originals up⯑on the top Stone of the wonderful Building, magi⯑cal and awful in it ſelf; and as it was really ſo, that there the Characters were to be ſeen, it was no hard matter to perſuade the credulous ſuperſti⯑tious People,
- 1. That they were written there by the Finger of the Gods:
- 2. That the Interpretation of them was given by Inſpiration to the ſame Prieſts, or wiſe Men, who firſt diſcover'd, and brought down the Characters themſelves.
How far theſe Deluſions have prevail'd, and do to this Day prevail among the Aegyptians, I need not tell you; 'tis enough to ſay it has gone ſuch [...] Length, as has encouraged Enthuſiaſtic Pretenders, and made Aegypt the Nurſery of Witchcraft to the whole World.
But why ſhould we think it ſtrange to have Di⯑vinity and Magick thus blended together in a Coun⯑try ſo ſuperſtitious as Aegypt? Has there not been a ſtranger Mixture of Magick and Witchcraft, not omitting Prieſtcraft, in all kinds of Religions ever ſince, and is it leſs among the Politer Religions now in Vogue, than it was in thoſe Days?
[69]To begin at the very Pinnacle of the Church, and to leave Judaical Magick all behind us, tho' they had the Devil almoſt in every Synagogue; I ſay, to begin at the Pinnacle of the Church, How many Popes in particular does Hiſtory give us an Account of, who have been Sorcerers and Conjurers, and who have dealt with the Devil in the moſt open and avow'd manner? How has the Romiſh Church been eſtabliſht upon the Artificial Magick of the Clergy? and how juſtly may we ſay to her, as Jehu to the King of Iſrael, What Peace, while the Whoredoms of thy Mother Jezebel and her Witchcrafts are ſo many?
But not to make our Enquiries a Satyr upon our ſelves, in falling upon Popery, where we are equally guilty; let us recommend it to our Moſt Reve⯑rend, and Right Reverend, to put our own Eccleſi⯑aſtick Affairs into ſuch a good Poſture, that we may have no Magick among us; that while we pull down the formal Magicians, we may not ſet up the cunning Men upon the Fall of the wiſe Men, and erect Hereſy in the room of Schiſm.
Some People pretend our Modern Divinity is ſo Magical in its own Nature, that it is not eaſy to ſeparate them; that is, in a word, the Devil has ſo far encroach'd upon the Church, that it is impoſſible to caſt him out: the Truth is, if it was not ſo, we ſhould hardly have ſuch a ſtruggle as has now been among us to keep the true Lord in Poſſeſſion. And ſince the Church has but one true and rightful King and Sovereign, there would never have been ſuch a bold Attempt to depoſe him, if the Devil, the ancient Uſurper of his Throne, had not been at work again to ſtep up in his Room. But we ſhall have occaſion to ſpeak of this Part more plainly by and by.
It was with great Succeſs, that the Aegyptian Prieſts went on in the manner as above, and their Artificial Magick went a great way in all the [70] Eaſtern World; they were counted the beſt and wiſeſt Men, who, Mountebank like, could ſhow moſt Tricks, and invent the moſt ſurprizing things to take with the Vulgar, ſo as to give their Words the Force of an Oracle, and entitle them to the Character of Divine and Prophetick: And thus we may ſuppoſe the World going on for many Ages, till at length, to come nearer our own Times, and indeed nearer to the Practice of our own Times too, their Mimickry was exhauſted; they had no more Tricks to play, the juggling Trade grew ſtale and dull, the World began to look beyond them, and expected ſomething more; and ſo the laſt, I do not ſay the Church Jugglers, went to the Devil for Help. I had rather tell you that another Generation, who had always been true Magicians, true Practicers of the Diabolical Part, came in play of courſe, and ſucceeded the firſt, who gradually depoſed themſelves by their meer Impotency; and juſt as Darkneſs is a deprivation of Light, and ſuc⯑ceeds it by the meer Conſequence of things, ſo the honeſt Ignorance of the innocent Magician being unable to keep the Expectation of the People up, and anſwer the Importunities of the Age, dealing with the Devil ſucceeded, even by the meer Con⯑ſequence of things.
The new Magick coming thus in Play, let us ſee how it made its firſt Entrance in the World, and in what Shapes it began to appear; in which Search we ſhall find, in ſhort, that Religion ſtill open'd the Door. For as the Devil aſpir'd at nothing more from the Beginning than to be ſet up for a God, ſo he always built his Chappel cloſe by God's Church; it was in the Conſequence of this, that the Prieſts were always his more immediate Correſpon⯑dents. How long they continued ſo, but eſpecially when the Correſpondence ceas'd, would be a Diſ⯑covery worth making to the World: but O how difficult!
[71]It is indeed to be obſerv'd, and the Devil has done us Chriſtians that Juſtice, that Satan has diſ⯑cover'd his Attachment to the Pagan Rites in Di⯑ſtinction from, and Oppoſition to, the Chriſtian Worſhip on many Occaſions, and that particularly as perhaps the latter is more fitted to introduce Devil-worſhip in the World; we have ſome Inſtan⯑ces of his making this Diſtinction, particularly when the Emperor Julian, while he was only Caeſar, and had not declar'd himſelf Apoſtate, (nay, was perhaps more inclin'd to be a Chriſtian than a Pagan, for he was Educated a Chriſtian,) I ſay, it was obſerv'd, that he was perverted from Chri⯑ſtianity, and confirm'd a Pagan, by Maximus a Ma⯑gician.
N.B. This Maximus was a Magician, when the Word Magician ſignified no more a wiſe Man, or a Southſayer, but a down-right Conjurer, a Maſter of the Black-art, or One who dealt with the Devil.
Nor was it that the Magicians were Favourers of Paganiſm only, but ſuch was the Subtilty of the Devil, that indeed the Pagan Worſhip conſiſted much in Sorcery and Magick, Conjurings, Invo⯑cation of Devils, and raiſing evil Spirits; by Theſe the Rites and Ceremonies of Paganiſm were ſuppor⯑ted. 'Tis ſaid of the famous Champion of the Chri⯑ſtian Religion, Athanaſius, that he underſtood all the Myſteries of the Pagan Theology; but we are not come to that Length in our Enquiries yet.
The Devil had a great many good Reaſons to befriend the Pagan Worſhip, rather than the Chri⯑ſtian; for that indeed the Subſtance of Paganiſm was a Diabolical Syſtem in it ſelf, and to worſhip the Heathen Gods, was Eſſentially to worſhip the Devil, as we ſhall ſee in its Place.
[72]We muſt obſerve here, that the Curioſity of Man in the moſt early Times was never fully grati⯑fied, but when his Underſtanding was as it were confounded, when he was under ſome Aſtoniſhment and Surprize, at ſeeing or hearing ſome ſtrange thing. The Phariſees, when they were attacking our Saviour, as they almoſt were always, and when as they thought they inſulted him, ask'd him what Sign doeſt thou ſhow, that thou doeſt ſuch things as theſe?
And in other Places 'tis ſaid, when he did per⯑form ſome miraculous Things they were aſtoniſh'd at him; Aſtoniſhment introduces Silence, Men are firſt amaz'd, and have nothing to ſay, and then Nature dictates Credulity as the Conſequence, viz. that when they are thus ſurpriz'd with Wonder, they ſhould conſequently believe the Perſon who ſo aſto⯑niſh'd them with his Miracles: tho', by the way, it was not always ſo with the Jews, for they were amaz'd, and yet did not believe neither; in which they were ſomething of Kin to an unbelieving Chriſtian in our Town, of Eccleſiaſtic Fame too; who ſays he, wonders and is aſtoniſh'd at the Ma⯑jeſty of the Scripture Style, and yet does not be⯑lieve a Word they ſay. A bolder Infidel I have not met with ſince I was laſt at the Pagan Circle, near old Charing, where God was own'd, ſworn by, imprecated, blaſphem'd, and deny'd, all in a Breath.
But to go on: The Curioſity of Mankind I ſay was never fully ſatisfy'd, but when ſomething won⯑derful was offer'd, and therefore Miracle was im⯑mediately call'd for, when any new Syſtem was offer'd, or any thing difficult propoſed.
Thus when God ſent Moſes and Aaron to Pha⯑raoh, he ſuppoſes the very Caſe; Moſes and Aaron were to aſſure Pharaoh that God ſent them, and they were in his Name to demand Liberty for the [73] Children of Iſrael. The Demand was ſurprizing: 'twas an inſolent thing indeed, for a couple of Slaves to come, and ask the King to releaſe ſix hundred thouſand Men, Slaves like themſelves, from their Captivity, and from the King's Service, whoſe Subjects, or rather Servants, they were; and Pharaoh 'tis to be ſuppos'd began to reſent it; nay we may ſuppoſe without any Preſumption that Pha⯑raoh's Courtiers made Game at 'em, and his Mini⯑ſters of State perhaps propos'd to puniſh them for their Impudence, and for putting ſuch Notions into the People's Heads, which might be dangerous, and might excite Tumults and Rebellion; and therefore it was Prudence to ſuppreſs the Inſolence, and make Examples of the two pretended Ambaſ⯑ſadors.
But hold! ſays Moſes, we do not come to affront your Majeſty, nor are the People we come to ſpeak for inclin'd to revolt or rebel; but we come from God; the People of Iſrael whom we repreſent are God's choſen favourite Nation, tho' they are your Servants, and they are commanded to go three days Journey into the Wilderneſs, to perform a great Sacrifice, and make a great Feaſt to him; and therefore we come to deſire your Leave, that we may go peaceably and do the Duty of our Wor⯑ſhip; aſſuring your Majeſty, that God himſelf, who has thus commanded us out, has ſent me to you to demand your Aſſent.
God ſent you! ſays the King: a fine Story for you to put into the People's Heads to make them idle, and hinder my Buſineſs; go, get you gone to your Work, and to your Task, or I ſhall find a way to drive theſe Whymſies out of your Heads again.
But ſtill Moſes and Aaron, with other the Heads of the Iſraelites, (for there were many more with them) inſiſted, that they were ſent by the immediate Direction of God himſelf. And how do you prove [74] that, ſays the King, what Sign do you give me that you come with ſuch an Authority?
With this Moſes replies to Pharaoh, I ſhall ſoon convince your Majeſty that I am ſent by the Great King, and God of Heaven and Earth: and with that turning to Aaron, he ſays to him, Brother, Throw down the Staff, or Rod, that is in your Hand, upon the Ground before the King.
Aaron does ſo, throws down his white Staff, and immediately it was turn'd into a Serpent.
The Learned have ſpent ſome Thought upon what kind of Serpent this ſhould be; but that is not to my Purpoſe; nor are their Conjectures of any Weight, eſpecially that fooliſh Notion, that it was the ſame kind of Serpent as appear'd and talk'd to Eve in Paradiſe, and that it walk'd erect in Pha⯑raoh's Preſence, ſo that it frighted the King.
But Pharaoh recovering the Surpriſe, tells them, What does this ſignifie? you ſhall ſee I have Peo⯑ple of my own can do as much as this. Upon which his two chief Conjurers or Magicians were call'd in; 'tis ſuppos'd they were at hand, for the Devil is ſeldom out of call when he is wanted fo [...] any Miſchief.
Upon this comes Jannes and Jambres, ſo St. Pa [...] call'd them, and the Text ſays they were two Ma⯑gicians, and perhaps there might be a great man [...] more of that ſort; for it ſeems the King's Cour [...] was not then without a ſufficient Number of Cler⯑gy in daily waiting. And the Text adds, Pharaoh call'd the wiſe Men, and the Sorcerers; and the nex [...] Word calls them Magicians, and not only Magi⯑cians in common, as the Word was uſed Perſonally, but as it was uſed Nationally, The Magicians o [...] Aegypt: whence 'tis inferr'd, that there were ſome Magicians not only more Eminent than others, bu [...] ſuch as were in publick Office there; as the Emi⯑nent Dr. H. . . . . may be call'd the King's Aſtro⯑nomer, [75] or as the more Eminent Mr. Flamſtead uſu⯑ally call'd himſelf the King's Star-gazer; and if it was not ſo that theſe Men were in ordinary At⯑tendance, and in Pay, how ſhould they be brought in ſo ſoon, while Moſes and Aaron were in the Preſence?
Well, theſe Men being call'd in, Pharaoh, in Contempt of Moſes and Aaron, and the Sign or Miracle they had ſhewn, ask'd them if they could not do that as well as Aaron?
They readily anſwer Yes, and fall to Paw-waw⯑ing, as the Americans call it, and uſing their Inchant⯑mens, invoking or whiſpering their Daemons, or what other Diabolical Arts they might uſe we know not; but upon this, and their Staves or Rods being caſt down, they were turn'd into Serpents too.
This was enough to make Pharaoh triumph over Moſes and Aaron, and their Company, and deriding their Mirale, tell them inſultingly, this did not at all teſtifie their Miſſion from God, for they might ſee his wiſe Men could turn Rods into Serpents as well as they. Nor did the Diſtinction which God was pleas'd to ſhow, by ſuffering Aaron's Serpent to de⯑vour or ſwallow up the Serpents of the Aegyptian Sorcerers, alter the Caſe with Pharaoh; for that, as an Accident, did not import any thing at all in the Caſe. And thus he ſent them, or rather drove them, away with Contempt, and immediately ſent Taskmaſters among the People to double their Afflictions, encreaſe their Labours, and force them to make Brick without Straw.
Well, Moſes and Aaron come again with the ſame Meſſage, and it had the ſame Event, they are Banter'd and ridicul'd: As if the King had call'd to them thus; Well, you are come again, and you ſay God has ſent you, pray has he furniſh'd you with any better Teſtimony than you had before, have you any other Miracle to ſhow?
[76]The ſacred Ambaſſadors gravely tell him they had, and if he would ſtill refuſe to grant their De⯑mands, he ſhould ſee it; nay, they tell him be⯑fore-hand what it ſhould be, namely, that they would turn the Waters of Nile, the great River of their Country, into Blood.
Pharaoh, as may be ſuppoſed, not believing they could do it, treats them ſtill in the ſame manner, and refuſes ſtill to receive them as Meſſengers from God; upon which, Moſes calls to Aaron, and bids him ſtretch out his Rod and ſmite the Waters of the River, and they were immediately turned into Blood, and all the Waters, Ponds, and Pools be⯑ſides; for Aegypt is full of Pits and Ponds, wherein they preſerve the Water of Nile after the annual In⯑undation.
The King, frighted at this ſudden Change of the Water, is a little calmer than he was before; but conſidering the matter, he calls his Magicians to ſee if they could not do this alſo, as well as Moſes; when they came they did the ſame, by which ſtill the blinded Mind of the Prince continued obſti⯑nate.
I might run through the reſt of the Miracles wrought there, and ſhew you how the Magicians brought Frogs, but could not bring Lice; but this is not to the Caſe; the Story is known.
Only one thing I muſt note for your Direction in the reading this Part of the Story, viz. that the Magicians could bring Plagues, at leaſt ſome of them, as well as Moſes and Aaron; but the Magi⯑cians could not remove them again, as Moſes did; ſo that the King might have perceived that which the Magicians themſelves acknowledged in the Plague of the Lice, that it was the Finger of God which only could remove the Plagues he brought.
The whole Deſign of this Remark is to ſhew, that it was always the Temper of Mankind to de⯑mand [77] a Sign or a Miracle, to confirm any new ad⯑vanced Doctrine, or any extraordinary Miſſion, and to take thoſe Miracles when produced for a full Confirmation.
This Temper of the People, as it drove the Ma⯑gicians to their Shifts how to ſupply Miracles to obtain Credit with the People, ſo it drove them beyond their Shifts too at laſt, and brought them to a Confederacy with the Devil for a Supply of Wonderfuls to delude the People. They tell us of a certain Sorcerer at Antioch, who for the Confir⯑mation of ſome particular thing, which he had af⯑firmed to the People, to keep up his Credit with them, told them, that ſuch an Evening he would cauſe Fire to come down from Heaven, and that it ſhould reſt on the Top of ſuch a certain Hill, in the Sight of all the City.
Whether the cunning Artiſt had found out any Compoſition by which to make artificial Fireworks, agreeable to what is done at this time or not, is not certain; tho' 'tis moſt certain the Art of ma⯑king Gunpowder was not then known, nor for above a thouſand Years afterwards: But for certain he cauſed ſuch a Machine to mount in the Air, unſeen in the dark of the Evening, which then burſting, came down again in a Shower of Fire, like the Stars (as we call them) which ſpread themſelves and fall down upon the burſting of the Tail of a Rocket; and this ſo amazed the People, that they believed afterwards every thing he ſaid.
Thus Simon the Sorcerer is ſaid, by his Diabolical Inchantments, to fly up in the Air, and perform ſo many ſurprizing things, that 'tis ſaid the Peo⯑ple called him the Great Power of God, or the Appearance of the great Power of God, Acts viii. [...]0.
Indeed the Deſcription the Scripture gives there of this Simon is very remarkable to the caſe in hand; firſt 'tis ſaid, ver. 9. That he uſed Sorcery and bewitched [78] the People, that is, the People of Samaria; then 'tis added, all the People gave heed to him, and ſaid, This Man is the great Power of God; the meaning i [...] evident, this Man has done ſuch great and ſtrange things, ſhewed ſuch Miracles, ſuch Wonders, that none but the great Power of God could enable him to do; and therefore 'tis certain that he is aided and aſſiſted by the great Power of God; and this he held a long time. ver. 11. To him they had re⯑gard, becauſe for a long time he had bewitched them with his Sorceries.
The Caſe of Simon and the People at Samaria was juſt as it was with Pharaoh and his Magicians, when Moſes and Aaron came to him. Pharaoh and all his Courtiers gave heed to Jannes and Jambres, for that of a long time they had bewitched them with their Sorceries.
It remains a Queſtion here, by what Power and by whoſe Hand it muſt be, that the Magicians of Aegypt turned their Rods into Serpents; ſmote the Waters, and turned them into Blood; brought up Frogs, &c. that is, in ſhort, mimicked or imi⯑tated the Miracles of Moſes and Aaron. If I am asked by whoſe Permiſſion it was done, I know how to anſwer; but if you ask who was the Inſtru⯑ment, I muſt ſay it was the Devil; for the Text ſays expreſly, they did it by their Inchantments.
On the other hand, when they were baffled in their Paw-wawing for Lice, and could not per⯑form it, 'tis ſaid expreſly, they acknowledged that they could not do it, for that was the Finger of God, Exod. viii.19.
Now whether the Magicians meant, it is the Fin⯑ger of God that hinders us from doing now as we did before, ſo that we cannot bring up Lice as we did Frogs; or whether they ſeemed to acknow⯑ledge, that the Plague of Lice was the Finger of God, tho' they did not grant that the Blood and [79] the Frogs were ſo, becauſe the Devil could do it alſo; this, I ſay, is a Doubt which Commentators do not reſolve, or at leaſt do not agree about.
But take it which way you will, 'tis an Acknow⯑ledgment, that what they did by their Sorcery and Inchantments, was not done by the Finger of God; and alſo that when the Finger of God was in the Work, their Sorcery and Inchantments were impotent and could do nothing.
It is not to be queſtioned but as this Correſpon⯑dence began between theſe Magicians and the in⯑fernal Spirits, they did alſo upon all Occaſions, and with the utmoſt of their Power, as well as with the greateſt Artifice and Cunning, endeavour to make the People believe, that what they did was by the great Power of God, by the Finger of Heaven; for this alone anſwer'd the End, which was Deluding, and Impoſing upon Mankind. 'Twas the Unhappineſs of that Age, as it is of ours, when a more modern and indeed more fatal kind of Ma⯑gick is practiſed in the World; I ſay, it was their Unhappineſs that the Minds of the People ſeemed prepared for their Deluſions, by being more eaſily impoſed upon than uſual.
The Eaſtern World had for many Ages been led and guided by the Juggles and Legerdemain of their Southſayers and wiſe Men, as they were called; and when they by the Degeneracy of the Times were, as I have ſaid, brought ſo low as to ſubmit to Sor⯑cery and Inchantment, they had a vaſt Advantage over the People, by the good Opinion which the People had of their Sincerity and Honeſty, and that they would not by any means cheat and impoſe upon them.
Thus when Errors and damnable Doctrines in Religion are broached and ſet on foot among us by Men of apparent Sanctity in Converſation, Men of ſevere Morals, of rigid and auſtere Lives, blameleſs [80] and mortified Manners, ſtrictly practiſing the good things which they preach, and who by that Strict⯑neſs of Converſation have obtained a Reputation in the World, as Men that do not willingly deceive the People, or that at leaſt have not a wicked De⯑ſign to deceive; In ſuch caſe, I ſay, Error comes armed with a fatal and double Power, and its in⯑fluence is much more likely to do Miſchief, the Hypocriſy is the more dangerous, and the People more eaſily abuſed.
Who could, in our Days expect, that Men of Morals, Men of unſpotted Lives, and whoſe Characters would be ſuch as never to ſuffer any Reproach, ſhould blemiſh all their Reputation, which that commendable Rectitude of Life had obtained for them, with harbouring a horrid and deteſtable Blaſphemy againſt the Holy Ghoſt it ſelf, robbing the Son of God of the Equality which he thought it no Robbery to aſſume, and de⯑nying the Godhead of him who is God bleſſed for ever ▪
But this is ſtill too ſolemn, and I am not alſo come on far enough in Order of time to talk of thoſe People; we ſhall meet with them again in our Way: for the preſent I muſt be content to go back to the South and to the Eaſt, viſit the pri⯑mitive Times of Sorcery and Witchcraft, and ſee if we can find it out, how the Devil and Mankind came to be ſo well acquainted as we find they have been; for certainly it was not all done at once. Satan, whoſe Region is the Air, and whoſe Buſineſs is in the Dark, was not immediately correſponded with in an open, publick, and avowed manner; he did not walk about in Perſon, undiſguis'd and open [...] cloathed in the Shapes and Figures of a Devil, and acting like himſelf; he certainly made his court to Mankind by ſome particular Applications, or they to him; for the Learned are not fully agreed who made the firſt Advances towards the new Acquain⯑tance, [81] and whether the Devil made love firſt, or how Mankind found him out. I muſt confeſs it is an Enquiry of Moment, and the Hiſtory of it would take up ſome Room in our Speculations, perhaps very much to your Satisfaction; I mean, if we could give a true and particular Account how the Devil and Mankind came firſt acquainted.
And firſt, it would be particularly improving to our Underſtandings, if we could tell where the firſt Occaſion of the Correſpondence lay; that is to ſay, 1. Whether the Devil in the Adminiſtration of his Affairs found it abſolutely neceſſary to ſettle a Cor⯑reſpondence among Mankind, and therefore, as Mr. Milton has it, travelled to this Globe upon the foot of new Diſcoveries, and improved upon thoſe Diſcoveries afterwards by the dexterity of his Ma⯑nagement, making his Acquaintance with Mankind his own way, and as he found proper for his Occa⯑ſions: or,
2. Whether Mankind finding their Deſires to be wicked, infinitely greater than their Capacities, and being under an abſolute Neceſſity of ſome ex⯑otick Helps, ſome Aſſiſtances farther and other than they found natural Powers would ſupply, made their Application to him; according to the laudable Example of my old Friend and good Pa⯑tron in every wicked Contrivance, the late Ho⯑nourable Mr. M—g M— who (ſaving that I can⯑not ſay I believed him) told me, that being in an extraordinary Streight, and wanting an infallible Agent in a particular Piece of Revenge where a certain Female had jilted and inſulted him, went out into his Garden, three Nights together, juſt at the moment of Twelve, (that it ſeems was the cri⯑tical time for Satan to be ſpoke with) and called him aloud by his Name, telling him he wanted his immediate Attendance in an Affair of the utmoſt Importance.
[82]Now, I ſay, which of theſe two was the Caſe at the Beginning of the Intercourſe between Man and his Maſter, is hard to determine, and would be a moſt admirable Diſcovery if the Certainty could be come at, in a manner agreeable to the nature of the thing, ſo as it might be depended upon. For my own Part, if I might give my Opinion, I ſhould determine it in Favour of the Devil, and that Mankind were the Agreſſors, firſt ſought the Acquaintance, implored his infernal Majeſty's Aſ⯑ſiſtance, propoſed a League or Confederacy with him offenſive and defenſive, and vowed themſelves to be his faithful Allies, and to ſerve him to the utmoſt of their Power; upon which Application, Satan, as powerful Princes often do, yielded to their Im⯑portunities, granted their Petition, took them into his Protection, and has been their conſtant Friend and Confederate, on all wicked Occaſions, eve [...] ſince.
But there is one Difficulty in the way of thi [...] Opinion, which indeed gives me a ſhock in the Faith of it, and ſeems to intimate that it cannot be ſo, at leaſt that it cannot be abſolutely and fully ſ [...] in the largeſt Senſe; and that is, How did Man⯑kind come firſt to know that there was ſuch [...] Creature as a Devil in Being? that he was capable of giving them Aſſiſtance in the Agency of ſuch black Deſigns as they really wanted his Help in? that he was a Spirit qualified for his Correſpondence, and that he would upon Application give him the Aſſi⯑ſtance he wanted? And again, if he did know, o [...] that any traditional Memoirs remained with him from the Records of Paſt Ages, of the Agency of the Devil with old Eve, or with any of the Antedi⯑luvean Race, and how Satan had managed things in thoſe Times; yet it does not appear how he found the Way to correſpond, whether he had any Inſtru⯑ctions for his Application, and in a word, how he [83] knew where to find the Devil out, and to come to the Speech of him. Theſe Difficulties indeed lie in the way of my laſt Hypotheſis; and 'till they can be ſolved to the general Satisfaction, I doubt I muſt quit the ſuppoſed Application of Man to the Devil, and allow that Satan himſelf firſt pickt Ac⯑quaintance with him, that the Correſpondence be⯑gan that way, that the Devil offer'd his Service to him, and let him know before-hand how ready he would be to come at his Call, and to aſſiſt him upon all Occaſions.
I muſt confeſs this Suppoſition lays the Devil a little low in your thoughts, depreciates his Cha⯑racter, and places him beneath the Dignity of his Se⯑raphick Original: But it cannot be helped; if the Devil will make himſelf a Slave, he muſt; and if he will be, according to the happy Title of the Chief of his Confederates, Servus Servorum, who can help it? The thing explains it ſelf: Whatever he was at firſt, he certainly has been, is, and is like to be the moſt obſequious, humble, diligent Devil that ever Mankind could have had to do with.
I muſt acknowledge that I did not enquire of my Friend juſt now named, whether the Devil gave his Attendance immediately, and with his uſual Alacrity, upon his calling out ſo Audibly to him; not that I ever doubted but that the Devil did wait upon him, becauſe 'tis viſible that he has acted as if the Devil had been in him ever ſince; but, I ſay, I ſhould have enquired whether he came at the firſt Call, for without doubt he called loud enough for him to hear; for, as Voice always aſcends, the Vibration moving moſt naturally upward, and that Satan's particular Reſidence is ſaid to lie that way, there is no room to queſtion but he could hear him; unleſs, as Elijah ſaid to the Prieſts of Baal, he might be buſy, or aſleep, or gone a Journey; which ſeldom happens to him, ſo as to be out of the way of Miſchief.
[84] N.B. Here indeed I ought to make ſome ſmall Apology for what I happen'd to ſay of the Honourable Perſon I juſt now mentioned, and who I ſeemed to ſuggeſt was not to be believed; which Expreſſion (he being a Per⯑ſon of Honour) I ought to explain, as I do by theſe Preſents, and in Manner and Form fol⯑lowing, that is to ſay; that he is always to be believed, in all Caſes, and relating to all Perſons, but himſelf; but he claiming a Right and Privilege of ſlandering himſelf, and being ex⯑ceeding fond of being thought wickeder than he is, I ventur'd, by way of Obſervation, to ſuſpect his Veracity, when he talks of his Father's only Son; knowing that as he has ſo conſtantly boaſted of Sins he was never able to commit, and that every thing muſt be falſe which cannot be true, ſo there is no Credit to be given to him in that Particular.
But in all other Caſes you muſt underſtand me to acknowledge him for a Man of as nice a Taſte, and as ſtrict an Obſerver of Truth and Decency, as ever Satan correſponded with; which publick Acknowledgment I hope he wil [...] take for ample Satisfaction.
Now, with Pardon for the needful Digreſſion above, I go on with repeating in Subſtance what I concluded before, viz. that this Difficulty is ſo great, that I cannot eaſily get over it, viz. to reſolve who began the Acquaintance between Satan and our Anceſtors of the Eaſt, for there it ſeems they firſt correſponded.
Nor can I proceed Hiſtorically in my preſent Un⯑dertaking, without coming to a Certainty in this Point, and 'till it is determined one way or other; and for that Reaſon, I think I muſt for the pre⯑ſent, 'till the Devil thinks fit to clear himſelf of the Charge, leave it at his Door, and grant that he [85] found the Correſpondence ſo much to his Advan⯑tage, that is to ſay, ſo much for the Intereſt of his preſent Undertakings of another kind, that he made no Scruple of being firſt in the Application; that he ſtooped without Ceremony to make the firſt Viſit, and ſo began the Treaty afterwards in his own Name.
Nor has the Devil been very nice in his ſubſe⯑quent Intimacies, or in the Management of the Correſpondence after it was begun; but has on ſo many Occaſions teſtified his Reſolution to culti⯑vate the Friendſhip ſo (happily for him) begun, that they found him ever after at their Elbow when they had Occaſion for him, and ſometimes whether they had Occaſion for him or no; whe⯑ther he is leſs kind to their Poſterity, let his Friends and Confederates of the preſent Age teſtify.
It is true that ſometimes we find, or at leaſt they tell us ſo, that he is too cunning for his Corre⯑ſpondents; and that when he has drawn them into Bargains, he is not ſo juſt to his Word as he ſhould be, or as they expected; and this brings ſome Scan⯑dal upon the Acquaintance, as if he was not a faith⯑ful Confederate, and that he leaves his Friends of⯑ten in the Lurch, as he did the late famous Car⯑touch in France, Jonathan Wild in England, and as he has done the poor Trooper lately at Dreſden, who, they ſay, he ought to have ſecured from the Officers of Juſtice; and that when he had killed Mon⯑ſieur Halm the Lutheran Miniſter, the Devil ſhould have given him an inviſible Cloak to have carried him off, and not have left him to the Mercy of the Proteſtants, after he had done him ſuch an eminent Piece of Service.
But let us bring things to a right Underſtanding, do Satan Juſtice, and ſet the Saddle upon the right Devil. In theſe Caſes, the Queſtion is not, whether the Devil, after having made Bargains with theſe People, did not perform, and was not ſo juſt to his [86] Word as they expected; but whether he was not as juſt to his Word as they ought to have expected? For Example, perhaps in making their Bargains with the Devil, they expect things to be performed which it is not in his Power to perform; the Mi⯑ſtake lies not in Satan himſelf, but in them who make a God of him, and will have him be able to do every thing.
Now 'tis true that Satan, as he is a Spirit, is Magnipotent, but he never was Omnipotent; and therefore there may be, and are, abundance of fine things which ſuch People expect of him, which he really not only never promiſes, but is not in any Condition to perform; and if People will have him do what he is not able to do, that is their Fault, not his; all they can blame him for in that caſe is, that he does not tell them how far he can, or can⯑not, ſerve them; and that truly, to give him his Due, ſeems to be none of his Buſineſs; but like a cunning Artificer, who is loth to tell you what he cannot do, but enlarges and expatiates upon his real Abili⯑ties; ſo the Devil, if you are willing to believe he can do thus and thus for you, 'tis enough if he does but equivocate, and tacitly grant it, without engaging to perform; but he is not bound to con⯑feſs his Impotence, and own he cannot do it: So theſe People pretend to blame him, whereas in truth they ought only to blame themſelves for expecting things of him, that even the Devil himſelf is not able to perform.
Thus our late Friend Jonathan, while he kept within Bounds, had, no doubt, a faithful and friend⯑ly Correſpondence with him. ‘'But, ſaid the Devil, What would Jonathan have me do? did he ex⯑pect I could ſave him, when he committed a Felo⯑ny even with his Fetters on, and while he was in Newgate? I had been his Protector in a thou⯑ſand Rogueries, Things, which if I had not ſtood by him, he could never have got over: I had [87] hang'd a hundred and fifty honeſt Rogues to ſave him; every one of which, if I had not help'd him to be too cunning for them, and ſtopt their Mouths till 'twas too late to open them, could have hang'd him and ſaved themſelves; but he was come to ſuch a Pitch at laſt, and puſh'd his Fate ſo far, that not I, no not the Devil himſelf, could ſave him.’
The like Plea the Devil made for himſelf, no doubt, in the caſe of his French Favourite Car⯑touch; ‘'Had he thought fit, after a thouſand au⯑dacious Villanies ſucceſsfully committed, and an infinite Stock of Treaſure amaſs'd, for he was grown rich by the Trade; had he thought fit to have left Paris, and march'd off, either out of the Kingdom, or at leaſt out of the City where he was ſo well known, and ſo diligently purſued, I had carried him ſafe off.'’ But he was obſtinately and inconſiderately bold; and the Devil is not bound to ſave thoſe that reſolve they will be hang'd. Nay, if am not miſinformed, the Devil himſelf told him, he would be taken if he ſtaid in Paris; and added, that the Search after him was ſo hot, and ſuch Rewards promiſed, and he ſo well known, that if he, Satan himſelf, was ſo perfectly deſcribed, and ſo hotly purſued, he ſhould certainly be diſcover'd. Tho' by the way, I would have you take that Part only ad referendum, as the Men of Buſineſs call it.
Now it is an unreaſonable thing that Men ſhould make a Bargain with either Man or Devil for more than they are able to perform, and then pretend to blame them for Non-Performance; and therefore a certain noble Lord, now in Exile, (whom they charge with contracting with Satan for ſome Parti⯑cular, in favour of his late Dumblane Enterpriſe, and which the Devil has, it ſeems, fail'd him in) ought not, as they ſay he does, to blame the De⯑vil, who really could do no more for him than he did.
[88]Having then brought it to this Concluſion, that the Devil has been really firſt in the Confederacy, that Satan made the Acquaintance, and that Man neither knew how to come at the Devil, nor ſo much as knew originally that there was any ſuch thing as a Devil in Being, it would add to our more perfect underſtanding of the whole Matter, if we could be informed in what manner the Acquain⯑tance begun.
The firſt Attack the Devil made upon our Mo⯑ther Eve, we have had fully deſcribed. Sacred Hi⯑ſtory relates the Fact; and honeſt, grave Mr. Milton has given us the Particulars as diſtinctly, and in as lively Colours, as if he had been at the Conference, heard the Courtſhip, and how cunningly the Devil managed; with what Addreſs he inſinuated into her weakeſt Part, and how entirely he conquer'd her Virtue, her Obedience, her Senſe of Religion, brought her to forget the Command that ſhe had but juſt learned to remember; and to ſacrifice her Soul, and all her Poſterity, to her Appetite: I ſay, Mr. Milton has done it in ſo lively a manner, that it ſeem [...] plain, that tho' Solomon could not under⯑ſtand the way of a Man with a Maid, but placed it among the things that were too wonder⯑ful for him; Milton ſeems not to be at a Loſs to deſcribe the way of the Devil with a Woman.
Now, I ſay, we have a diſtinct Account how the Devil made the firſt Attack upon Eve in Pa⯑radiſe; but how he pick'd Acquaintance with the Sons of Noah after the Deluge, and in what man⯑ner, or upon what Occaſion that was begun, we are utterly at a loſs about.
Nor have we any hiſtorical Account who were the Perſons who entertained the firſt Correſpon⯑dence with him, or upon what Occaſion; nothing appears upon Record to give us the leaſt Light into it, other than this, that we find the Effects of [89] an inviſible Devil in Ham or Cham, one of Noah's Sons, and in Canaan his Grandſon; but it is not the inviſible Devil that I am enquiring after, but an appearing converſible Daemon or Evil Spirit, who aſſuming human Shape, or at leaſt Voice, and in⯑telligible Operations, could ſupply the Office of the Devil in aſſiſting Mankind in the ſeveral Exigencies of their Affairs, when any kind of infernal Work was upon their Hands.
This, I ſay, is the Devil I am enquiring after; and as I would fain bring Mankind and him to be acquainted together in a decent and regular man⯑ner, I muſt confeſs I am at a great Loſs for want of the Particulars, as well of Perſons, as of the Cir⯑cumſtances in which thoſe Perſons were concerned.
However ſince that Part cannot be entred any farther into, or at leaſt not ſo far as to make a full Diſcovery, we muſt take up with ſo much as we find upon Record, and this may perhaps be enough to ſatisfy us that ſo it was.
The Story of Job, according to the ſacred Chro⯑nology, and by comparing it with other Accounts of things, appears to be very antient; even ſo old as to be in a very few Years after Abraham; for Eliphaz the Temanite could not, by Calculation, be many Removes from Eſau, and Iſhmael; and Job be⯑ing at that Time an old Man, no leſs than a hundred Years old, he might probably be alive within the time of Japhet, one of the Sons of Noah; for 'tis thought Job was above a hundred Years old when his firſt Sorrows came upon him.
Now in the time of Job, 'tis evident the Devil had made his viſible Appearances upon Earth, and among the Sons of GOD too; for he appeared before the Lord at the time, as is ſuppoſed, of a ſolemn Service or Sacrifice. What his Buſineſs was there, and on what Occaſion he came, does not lie before me on the preſent Occaſion.
[90]In the next place, the Devil not only had per⯑ſonally appeared, but it ſeems plain from the Text, when God had given Job into his Hands, that is to ſay, had given him Commiſſion to fall upon and af⯑flict him, and that he was gone out from the Pre⯑ſence of God, that he immediately ſet his human as well as elementary Inſtruments at work; that he raiſed a Storm of Wind, from or in the Wilder⯑neſs, and blew the Houſe down upon Job's Sons and Daughters; that he brought Thunder and Lightning upon the Flocks, and burnt up the poo [...] Sheep, and the Servants that look'd after them This was nothing but what, as a Devil and a Prince of the Air, might be expected from him: but that was not all; he raiſed War upon him; the Chaldean [...] from one ſide, (the North) and the Sabeans from ano⯑ther ſide, (the Eaſt) made out their Armies and came upon him, and plunder'd him; the firſt carried away the Camels, and the other the Oxen.
'Tis certain thoſe Nations were at Peace with Job before, and his Servants fed unmoleſted by them and in their Neighbourhood, 'till the Devil took upon him to break the Peace, and excite them to Inſult Job and fall upon his Subſtance. How came this to paſs; and what had Job done to any o [...] them, to move them to uſe Violence with him? I make no queſtion but the Devil went to them, and told them God had ſent him to order them in his Name to ravage the Lands and carry away the Goods of Job; that God had deſtined him to Mi⯑ſery and Poverty, and had given his Eſtate to them, and therefore it was lawful for them to fall upon and deſtroy him and his Family; and to give them a Sign, as I ſaid before, and that they might know he came with a Commiſſion, they ſhould ſee he would go and ſend down Fire from Heaven and de⯑ſtroy his Sheep; and if they would not carry off the Camels and the Oxen, he would do the like by thoſe alſo.
[91]This, and the Bait of Plunder, was enough to ani⯑mate thoſe Nations againſt poor Job, and ſo they came immediately and did as the Devil directed.
This ſeems to me to be the firſt viſible Appea⯑rance of the Devil among the Sons of Noah, in the Poſt-diluvean Ages. I will not ſay his Acquaintance begun here, tho' if I ſhould ſuppoſe it did, I do not ſee that I could be contradicted by any authentick Vouchers from Hiſtory. Indeed it was a plauſible Occaſion enough, for it was apparently a Favour beſtowed on the Sabeans and on the Chaldeans, to give them Job's Goods meerly for fetching: and this, for ought we know, may be the Reaſon that the firſt Magicians that we read of any where, were among thoſe two Nations, viz. Chaldeans and (Arabians) Sabeans; nor can I doubt but that the Devil having made his Acquaintance firſt here, kept his Hold and Intereſt amongſt them upon account of the good Offices he had done them, and perhaps might do them on many other Occaſions.
Now, tho' I would not be poſitive where there is the leaſt Uncertainty, being mighty cautious (as I am at preſent acting in the Capacity of an Hi⯑ſtorian) of doing the Devil any Wrong or Injury; ſo I enter my Caveat too againſt an Objection here, viz. that if this be not the firſt time that any Man gives an Account of Satan's Appearance, and that this was not the firſt of his Pranks which he played upon Mankind after the Flood, let them ſhew us another before it, if they can; nay, I believe the Devil himſelf cannot tell us any one Time or Place, or any other Occaſion, on which he ever ſhowed himſelf, or perhaps durſt ſhow himſelf, in a viſible Appearance in the World, I mean after the De⯑luge.
Nor is it eaſie to be determined, what Shape, what Caſe of Fleſh and Blood, or (as I might ſay with more Propriety) what ſeeming Fleſh and [92] Blood he appear'd dreſs'd in at that time; nor will I take upon me to gueſs what Figure he made, when he appear'd among the Sons of God, and whether they knew him or not; that is to ſay, knew who he was, and on what occaſion he ap⯑pear'd there; whether Job was among them or not, (for he was doubtleſs one of the Sons of God, and the Text owns him as ſuch; my Servant Job; for Son and Servant I take there to have the ſame Sig⯑nification;) and whether the ſhort Diſcourſe which it is ſaid there the Lord held with the Arch-Ene⯑my of his Servant was audible and articulate, and whether the reſt, heard it or no; all theſe Difficul⯑ties I leave, as the Learned ſay, to another Oppor⯑tunity, that is to ſay, becauſe I am not able to ſay one Word to them at this.
CHAP. IV.
Of what Shapes the Devil aſſum'd in his firſt Appearances to the Magicians, and others, in the Firſt Ages of the World; and whe⯑ther He is, or has been, allow'd to aſſume a Human Shape, or no.
AS I have ingenuouſly acknowledg'd in my laſt Chapter, that I can give you no Account of what Dreſs or Shape the Devil appear'd in, when he preſented himſelf among the Sons of God, as noted in the firſt Chapter of Job, or whether he was viſible to any elſe but his Maker; ſo I am equally uncertain in what Figure he made his firſt Appearances afterwards, among his own Acquain⯑tance and Servants, when he was introduc'd.
It muſt therefore ſuffice to tell you, that how⯑ever it was manag'd, we find there was certainly [93] an Intelligence carry'd on, a Correſpondence main⯑tain'd, and what was not perfo [...]d [...]onally, was done by Inchantments, which we call Sorcery; by Voices and by Dreams, or by Apparition in ſuch Shapes and Poſtures, as Satan, for Reaſons of State, thought fit to take upon himſelf for the Occaſion.
Some have doubted, whether the Devil is em⯑power'd to take up any human Shape, or to appear in the Figure of a Man; and they argue that it does not ſeem conſiſtent with the Goodneſs of the great Father of Mankind, to ſuffer the Arch-Enemy of his Creatures to go about in ſuch a Diſguiſe, ſo dangerous, and that might be ſo fatal to him; for that he would be always in danger of being de⯑ceiv'd to his Hurt, that he could never be ſafe; but that as the Scripture directs us to be courteous to Strangers, becauſe ſome by being ſo had enter⯑tain'd Angels; ſo it would make us be ſhy, and a⯑fraid of Strangers, for that we ſhould be always afraid we might receive the Devil into our Houſes, and eſpecially into our Friendſhip, and Familiarity. And hence I believe came the fooliſh empty No⯑tion, tho' ſuch as it is impoſſible to root out of the Fancies of Men, viz. that the Devil cannot ap⯑pear without his cloven Foot; of which I ſhall ſay nothing here, but that it is a thing ſo ridiculous as to merit no Notice, either now or at any other time.
Tho' there may be many things ſaid for this Opi⯑nion, and particularly to that Part which relates to the Safety of Mankind, in caſe of the ſeveral Diſ⯑guiſes that the Devil may appear in, yet I cannot exclude the Devil from the Privilege of putting on our Clothes ſometimes, and that too perhaps oft⯑ner than we may think he does; and that he appears in ſuch a Shape too, oftner than we may believe he does. As to the Danger of it I may ſpeak of that by it ſelf.
[94]I have taken it for granted in my laſt Chapter, that in the firſt Acquaintance between Mankind and the Evil Spirit, after the Deluge, Satan was the Aggreſſor; that he made his Application to them firſt, made his Propoſals of Aſſiſtance and Help, in the Caſes wherein he knew they wanted his Cor⯑reſpondence; and I ſhall add, that he perhaps rais'd difficult perplex'd Caſes in the World, on purpoſe to prepare the Way for his rendring him⯑ſelf uſeful.
We are come now to the Manner, I mean How, and in What Way the cunning Manager made his firſt Addreſs to Mankind. It is true, we are ſomething deficient in the Hiſtory of this firſt Tranſaction, becauſe we do not yet know, nor can eaſily find out, who was his firſt Correſpon⯑dent in the World; but if you will take what has been, by what is, and judge of his firſt Method, by his ſubſequent Practice, I think I may give you room to make a fair Judgment. Nor do I think 'tis an improper way of determining the Point, ſince as Satan found the firſt Step ſucceſsful, 'tis pro⯑bable he found no occaſion to alter his Meaſures; and tho' differing Circumſtances of Place and Per⯑ſons may make him vary a little as he ſees Occa⯑ſion, yet I have I think a great deal of reaſon to ſuppoſe that the general rule of his Practice is much the ſame, and that he proceeds upon the ſame foot with Mankind in all Ages, and on all Occaſions, mutatis mutandis, as he finds the Circumſtances of the People the ſame, or not the ſame.
Take then the Devil's firſt Method with Man⯑kind to be grounded upon his own Experience in his Antediluvean Practices with their Anceſtors; upon his Knowledge of their Preſent Circum⯑ſtances, I mean Preſent at the time after the Flood, you muſt allow Satan to have ſo much Cunning in him, as to be able, without the leaſt Heſitation, to [95] know what was the beſt Method to come about the Man, and how to compaſs him; and for that reaſon, I ſay, I do not allow him to have made any Change in his Meaſures.
The firſt Method then, that I ſuppoſe the Devil took to make his Acquaintance with Man⯑kind was by the way of Dreams; and here I ſhall go back ſo far as to ſuggeſt, that he put Canaan, Noah's Grandſon, upon intoxicating the good Patri⯑arch his Grandfather with Wine: for I join with a late Opinion, that it was Canaan, not Ham, that was the Occaſion of it; tho' Ham was guilty of trium⯑phing over the old Man, when he was overcome, and expoſing him, as far as lay in him, to his mode⯑ſter Brethren.
Suppoſe then young Canaan very buſy, helping and aſſiſting his Grandfather, in planting and dreſſing the Vines after the Flood, and in gathering the Fruit; take then the following Obſervations upon thoſe Circumſtances in particular.
Firſt, I cannot come into that fooliſh Notion, that Noah did not underſtand the Nature of the Vine, or the Strength of the Juice, when the Grapes were preſs'd, and the Wine ran out, and that he drank it ignorantly; I ſay, I cannot come into that Opinion: For Noah, who had no doubt preach'd againſt the Vices of the Antediluvian World, and againſt Drunkenneſs among the reſt, muſt certainly know the Uſe of the Vine, and the Abuſe of it too; how elſe did he come to plant it at all, and to preſs the Juice out for Drinking it at all?
Gen. ix.20. Noah began to be an Husbandman, and he planted a Vineyard.
21. And he drank of the Wine, and was drunken.
Secondly, It does not ſeem, that the time of Noah's Drunkenneſs was upon the preſſing of the Grapes, or the preſſing the firſt Grapes of his new Planta⯑tion; it muſt certainly be a conſiderable time after [96] his planting them, and after his firſt making of Wine. For tho' 'tis very probable that he planted the Vines immediately after the Flood, and the Text ſeems to intimate as much; yet 'tis evident it muſt be many Years after that, when he fell into the ſnare of Drunkenneſs. For Canaan, who was the [...] a Man grown, was not Born at the coming out of the Ark, and there muſt be at leaſt twenty or thirty Years between that time and the Fact For if Canaan had not been Major, had not been at Man's Eſtate, he would not in probability have been curs'd by his Grandfather, as a Principal in the Crime, as it is evident he was: For it does not ſeem that he was curſed ſo particularly, as an Ac⯑ceſſary only, or for the meer Offence of his Fa⯑ther, nor would it have been Righteous in Noah to have done ſo. But as he is ſo warmly fallen up⯑on, and ſo particularly by the old Patriarch, in hi [...] Anathema, 'tis very probable he was a Principal in the Fact of abuſing him.
Suppoſe then, I ſay, young Canaan buſy in aſ⯑ſiſting his Grandfather in planting and dreſſing the Vines, and in preſſing the Fruit; the Devil takes this for a Handle, and ſubtly makes Canaa [...] dream. (For I'll grant, with Mr. Milton, that the Devil had, from the Beginning, the Art of whiſ⯑pering to him in his Sleep, as that Author makes him do to Eve in Paradiſe, and thereby making him dream of any thing he pleas'd.) Take him the [...] whiſpering to Canaan, that he ſhould make his Grandfather drunk with the Wine, and that he ſhould be able to do what he pleas'd with him ever after; inſinuating, that the Effect of it would be to make his Grandfather have a greater Affecti⯑on to him than to any of the reſt of his Grand⯑children. This is not improbable, becauſe the De⯑vil always Tempts with the Expectation of ſome apparent Good.
[97]Others ſuggeſt, that Noah having reprov'd and reproach'd Canaan for ſome Crime, and perhaps caus'd him to be corrected for it, the Devil took hold of his Reſentment, (which, by the way, is not much unlike a Devil,) and propos'd this method of Revenge to him in a Dream; as if he had dream'd that he had prevail'd over his Grandfather, by per⯑ſuading him to drink himſelf drunk, and had there⯑by made him expoſe himſelf in a beaſtly manner, 'till he became the Ridicule and Jeſt of the whole Family, which by that time was very numerous; and that Canaan, pleaſed with the lively Repreſentation of his Grandfather's Shame, reſolv'd (the Devil prompting him to it in other ſubſequent Dreams) if poſſible, to give himſelf the Satisfaction of bringing it to paſs, and to perſuade the old Man to drink himſelf Drunk, the next time he came to aſſiſt him in the Buſineſs; and that accordingly he did ſo, and prevail'd.
Whether Satan did it thus, or by any other me⯑thod of Inſinuation, we are not ſure; but it is very probable it was by a Dream: Nor is it clear to me, that the Devil had ever any other way but by Dream or Apparition, to come at the intelligent Faculties of Man. 'Tis evident he does ſuggeſt Evil; now he muſt do it ſleeping, or waking; if ſleeping, it muſt be by a Dream, in which he does but imitate the good Spirit, which, as the Scripture ſays plainly, and gives a multitude of Inſtances of it, opens the Underſtandings of Men in the Night Viſions, and ſeals their Inſtructions: Nor is it a new Practice of Satan to mimick and imitate his Maker, in the Meaſures and Operations of his Wiſdom with Mankind.
But be that as it will, we are ſure the Devil does communicate his malicious Propoſals of Miſchief to Mankind; you have two eminent Examples of [98] it in Scripture, which are too plain, and too direct to my purpoſe here, to admit any Diſpute; firſt, in the Caſe of David, and his Project of numbring the Poeple, 'tis ſaid expreſly, 1 Chron. xxi 1. Satan moved David to number the People. Where, by the way, tho' it was his Sin, yet by it we gain a piece of Information, how prodigiouſly populous the Tribes were at that time, viz. that there were fifteen hundred and ſeventy thouſand fighting Men in only ten of the Tribes; an incredible Number to inhabit ſo ſmall a Spot of Ground as the Land of Canaan, beſides Women and Children: But that by the way.
The ſecond Example, which renders it out of all doubt that Satan has Acceſs to the Thoughts of Men, is that of Judas, John xiii.2. Satan put it into the Heart of Judas to betray Chriſt. Now, I ſay as above▪ this muſt be done ſleeping, or waking; if ſleeping▪ it muſt be by Dreams; if waking, it muſt be by Voice, Poſſeſſion, or Apparition. We ſhall conſider them all in their Place.
It is probable that the firſt Method the Devi [...] took in the World was by Dream; as for Poſſe [...] ⯑ſion, we do not meet with it very early; as to Voic [...] and Apparition, we take them to be all ſubſequen [...] and the Effect of a long Acquaintance: as amon [...] Men there are ſeveral degrees of Communicatio [...] with one another, after Men have a Perſonal Know⯑ledge and Acquaintance, before it comes up to Inti⯑macy and Friendſhip.
Dream then being the firſt way of Acceſs, or by which the Devil found the way into the Man▪ there is no room to doubt but by this Method h [...] found means alſo to infuſe into his Mind an infi⯑nite Variety of corrupt Imaginations, wicked De⯑ſires, and abhorred Concluſions and Reſolutions▪ with ſome ridiculous, fooliſh, and abſurd things [...] the ſame time.
[99]Thus I cannot think but the Devil firſt put it into the Hearts of the Men of the old World to go about that ridiculous piece of Work (as I obſerv'd it to be before) of building of Babel; firſt by fill⯑ing their Thoughts with daily Terrors and Appre⯑henſions of another Inundation, thronging their ſleeping Imaginations with Fancies of new Rains to overflow them; by which, every time they had any haſty Showers which rais'd the Water of the Rivers or Brooks to what we call a Land-Flood, they would be immediately alarm'd as if another Deluge was a coming upon them, and that they were immediately to be drown'd.
Thus raiſing the Vapours in their Hypocon⯑drias, they were every Night dreaming that they heard it Thunder, that they ſaw heavy Rains, and that the Brooks and Rivers ſwell'd, or as we ſay in our common Diſcourſe on ſuch Occaſions, the Waters were out; in Conſequence of this, he puts them upon conſidering of Means for their own Se⯑curity, and then they dream every Night of Me⯑thods: One while they are for building another Ark, another time for building a Thouſand, that is to ſay, an Ark for every Family, or Patriarchate, or Tribe; one time this fooliſh thing, and ano⯑ther time that; and perhaps many Men dreaming on many ſeveral Methods, till at laſt they bring their ſleeping Cogitations to a waking Conſultation; and there they reſolve upon the meaneſt, emptyeſt, and moſt inconſiſtent Project, that ever any Body of Men form'd in their Heads: And which, if the Devil had not been in them, and drawn them into it, as I ſay, meerly to impoſe upon, and expoſe them even to their own Ridicule, could never have come into their Heads, I mean the Building of Babel.
[100]If the Devil did excite that fooliſh Imagination, he muſt do it as he was a meer Devil, to ſhow his Malice, to put them upon doing ſome⯑thing extremely Ridiculous, and which ſhould at laſt expoſe them to their own Reſentments on the Madneſs and Folly of it; or, which I rather think, he bewilder'd their Imaginations, without any im⯑mediate Proſpect, other than this, that he knew it would end in ſome ridiculous Undertaking, either very fooliſh, or very wicked; not knowing which it would be, and perhaps not much caring, ſo it would be but provoking to their Maker, and what might any way bring his Diſpleaſure upon them.
And here, by the way, I cannot but obſerve, that the Method, God in his Providence was pleas'd to take with Mankind, upon their entring upon that fooliſh Piece of Work, was the mildeſt and kindeſt that could be imagin'd, and the moſt to their In⯑tereſt, calculated for their Good, evidently iſſuing ſo; and that much more than letting them go on in their Madneſs would have been.
Had Heaven thought, fit to have wink'd at the audacious Attempt, and to have let them go on with it, as far as their own Ignorance and Obſti⯑nacy would have guided them, 'till by the immenſe Circle of the firſt Stages of the Building they had form'd an Aſcent higher than any thing of its kind could be ſuppos'd to ſtand; yet they muſt have ſtop'd at laſt, it muſt have ended ſomewhere; the time would have come at length, that as they had call'd a Council about the firſt Building of it, they would have call'd another, with a go to now, ſhall we leave off this mad Piece of Work? that as they had ad⯑vis'd with one another, ſaying Go to, let us Build, Gen. xi.4. ſo they would have ſaid, Go to, let us leave off Building.
[101]Suppoſe them to have found the Way up to the Regions above the Atmoſphere, or where elſe you can imagine; and that they then found themſelves as much remote from Heaven, whither they had propos'd the Tower ſhould reach, as they were at firſt; and that among the other Miſchiefs they had met with, ſuch as the Difficulty of carrying Ma⯑terials ſo high, and the Difficulty of breathing, &c. they had alſo begun to diſcover that their Work was fruitleſs, and would be endleſs, as muſt have been the Caſe, they would certainly have given it over at laſt, and with Indignation at themſelves, perhaps at one another, have laid it aſide.
What a piece of Folly would the fruitleſs Toil have been, how would they have reproach'd them⯑ſelves, and perhaps falling out, and going together by the Ears about it, the Victors would have made the Vanquiſh'd pull it down, and carry away the Materials, that the Monument of their Shame might be removed out of their Sight. The firſt, that is, leaving off the Work, I ſay, muſt have hap⯑pen'd at laſt; the other it was very likely would have happen'd; ſo that 'tis out of doubt Heaven acted the kindeſt Part for them, by confounding their Speech, to make the going on with it im⯑practicable, ſo bringing them to a Neceſſity of laying it aſide, before they had carried it on too far.
Having thus, with a rational Proſpect, propos'd the firſt Method of Satan's making his Acquain⯑tance with Mankind, and ſo brought him to a Scene of Action; 'tis very rational to ſuggeſt, that he began the Method very early; and therefore thoſe two Experiments of Canaan and the Builders of Babel, are not improper to mention, as they ſeem to be things which Mankind had never attempted, if the Devil had not put them upon it; nor had [102] the Devil at that time any other way to bring it to paſs but by Dreams, at leaſt not as we know of.
It may alſo be obſerv'd, that the firſt Converſe of Mankind with the inviſible World, whether with the evil Spirits, or with the Good, or even with their Maker himſelf, was by Dreams; and therefore it is not improbable that Satan made his Applica⯑tion to them the ſame way: We have it very early mention'd, Gen. xv.1. The Word of the Lord came to Abram in a Viſion, that is a Dream; and again, A deep ſleep fell upon Abram, and lo a horrour of great Darkneſs fell upon him, and he ſaid unto him—ver. 12, 13.
It is in ſome particular Texts ſaid the Lord appeared to Abram, which if interpreted by other Places, muſt be underſtood to be in a Dream; for in thoſe Places, when God convers'd by Apparition with Abram, or call'd to him by Voice, it is diſtinguiſh'd expreſly in ſo many Words, that God ſaid; and God [...] went up from talking with Abram; and the Lord appeared to him in the Door of his Tent; and the like.
As God himſelf took this Method with Abram, and ſo with Moſes, and ſo with many others, both before and ſince; ſo the Devil found means to make his Addreſs to Mankind by the ſame way. Hence we find a mighty great Streſs laid upon ſome of the Dreams of the Ancients in thoſe Days; and much ado was made about the Interpretation of them: For when once a Man of Note had dream'd any Important Dream, any Dream which ſeem'd to have ſomething extraordinary in it, away they went to their Cunning Men, their Southſayers and Magicians, to enquire of them the Meaning and Interpretation of theſe Dreams.
Now bring all theſe Circumſtances together, and you will find the Devil ſubtily inſinuating Dreams [103] into the Heads of Princes and Great Men, and then by like Dreams communicating to his Cor⯑reſpondents thoſe very Dreams, and what Interpre⯑tations they ſhould make of them.
This was a particular Favour done in Aid of thoſe Magicians, who were more than ordinarily in his good Graces; and no doubt it gave them a particu⯑lar Reputation at Court, and in the Opinion of the People; as having a more than ordinary Underſtanding in hidden Matters, or having a very particular In⯑telligence in the ſecret and reſerv'd Part of Nature, or a Correſpondence in the World of Spirits.
Ali Albrahazen, a Perſian Wizard, had doubtleſs this Intercourſe with the Devil, if what I have to ſay of him is true. He was, it ſeems, a Sabian by Birth, and had obtain'd a wonderful Reputation for his Witchcraft; the ſame which I ſuppoſe the Scripture calls Inchantments, in the Caſe of the Magicians of Aegypt, when Moſes and Aaron came to work Miracles before Pharaoh; he, you may ſuppoſe, was ſent for by the King of Perſia upon ſome ex⯑traordinary Occaſion, ſuch as the Interpretation of a Dream, or of ſome Apparition like that of Bel⯑ſhazzar's Hand-writing, or ſome Meteor or Eclypſe, and he never fail'd to give them great Satisfaction on ſuch Occaſions. For whether his Accounts were true or falſe, he always deliver'd them in ſuch ambiguous Terms, that ſomething of what he pre⯑dicted might be ſure to be deduc'd from his Words, and ſo ſeem to Import that he had effectually re⯑veal'd it, whether he had really done ſo or not.
This Ali, (ſo Fame tells you,) being in the Deſart wandering by himſelf, and muſing much upon the Appearance of a certain Fiery Meteor, which had, to the great Terror of all the Country, been ſeen every Night for twenty or thirty Nights ſucceſſively; was mighty deſirous [104] to underſtand the Meaning of it, and what it ſhould Portend to the World; but being utterly incapable to make the leaſt probable Gueſs at the Thing, the Reaſon or Nature of it, much leſs its Import or Meaning; he ſat him down under a Palm-tree, weary with his Travelling, and his Mind alſo tyr'd and weary'd with fruitleſs and unper⯑forming Imaginations; Here he vehemently wiſh'd that ſome attending Spirit would be ſo aſſiſting to his Fancy, that he might at leaſt make ſome probable Conjectures at the true Meaning of that ſtrange Phaenomenon; and alſo at what might probably be the Iſſue and Event of it to the World.
With this very warm and importuning Deſire he fell aſleep, and being in a deep Sleep he dream'd that a tall Man came to him, of a venerable maje⯑jeſtic Aſpect, but with a pleaſing and chearful Smile on his Face; and calling him by his Name, told him, that he was come at his Requeſt to an⯑ſwer his Importunities; and that he would tell him the Signification of the Great and Terrible Fire in the Air, which was ſeen in his City, and in all Arabia and Perſia.
And now, ſays he, you ſhall underſtand that theſe fiery Appearances are nothing but certain Collecti⯑ons of Matter exhaled by the Influence of the Sun from the Earth or Sea, or perhaps from other ſolid Bodies in the Compaſs of the Solar Syſtem, ſuch as the Planets and other Bodies, which you in this Earth know nothing of.
Theſe being ſet on Fire, in their wandering Mo⯑tion appear like Stars or Comets for a time, being driven about in the Expanſe by the Impetuoſity of their own Motion, and become viſible in this He⯑miſphere to the infinite Terror of the People, as thou ſeeſt it now is; tho' thoſe Apprehenſions and that Amazement of the People are very ground⯑leſs, [105] and raiſed only from their own Folly and Ig⯑norance.
For as to the Importance of them to human Af⯑fairs, the truth is, Ali, and you are to be undeceiv'd in that Point, they have no Import or Significa⯑tion at all, other than that ſometimes by their near Approach to the Earth, and by their Attraction, or by their Diſſipation of moiſt Vapours they oc⯑caſion ſometimes great Drought, and inſupportable Heat; and at other times diſtilling great and un⯑uſual Rains, by condenſing in an extraordinary manner the Vapours, which by their acquir'd Heat they have exhal'd.
Ali was ſurpriz'd at this Account; and being en⯑courag'd to ſpeak, he reply'd, But what ſhall I an⯑ſwer to my People, who expect great things from me? I have often ſatisfy'd them in like Difficulties, but when I ſhall come to tell them that it ſignifies nothing at all, that it is only the effect of a natural Cauſe, and is of no Import more than an ordinary Star; they will ſtone me, and ſay, that Heaven never hangs out ſuch Signals, without ſome Significa⯑tion; that I only impoſe upon them, becauſe I am Ignorant, and do not underſtand the Motions and Intimations of the Heavenly Bodies, or how the Affairs of this World are influenc'd by them.
O Ali, O Albrahazen, highly favour'd! ſaid the Ap⯑parition; I will inſtruct thee then how to prevent thy being deſpis'd by the Elders of thy People, on Condition that thou wilt now, and on all Occaſi⯑ons, give ear to my Inſtructions, and follow thoſe Rules that I ſhall ſet thee.
To this he readily aſſented, and made ſuch Aſſu⯑rances as were ſatisfactory to the Spectre. Go then, ſays the Viſion, and warn thy Nation, that this Fiery Meteor Portends an exceſſive Drought and Famine; for know thou, that by the ſtrong exhal⯑ing [106] the Vapours of the Earth, which is occaſion'd by the Meteor's unuſual nearneſs to this Hemi⯑ſphere, the neceſſary Rains will be withheld, and by a long Drought thou knoweſt Famine and Scarcity of Corn ſucceeds of courſe. Thus by judging ac⯑cording to the Rules of Natural Cauſes, thou ſhalt predict what ſhall certainly come to paſs, and ſhalt obtain the Reputation which thou ſo earneſtly de⯑ſireſt, to wit, of a Sage Magician and wiſe Man.
But, ſays Ali, and what ſhall I ſay to the Lords of the Perſian Court, wh [...] have ſent for me, to en⯑quire of me on the ſame Phaenomenon? what ſhall it Portend to that Nation? will the ſame Fate be the Conſequence to their Country, as is portended to this?
To this the ſubtle Devil anſwers: This Inquiry is to thee of the utmoſt Conſequence. Fiery Me [...]eo [...] ſometimes from the ſame Natural Cauſes produc [...] juſt contrary Events; and whereas theſe Bodies, [...] I ſaid, exhale an infinite Quantity and Bulk of Va⯑pours, which they ra [...]ifie by their Heat, and [...] cauſe immoderate Drought and Heat in ſuch an [...] ſuch Climates, and particular Countries, where they approach too near; ſo on the other hand the [...] are in themſelves vaſt Collections of humid and wa⯑tery Vapours, which if haſtily condens'd wou' [...] be ſufficient to deluge the World, and drown Man⯑kind; and ſometimes they condenſe in ſo conſide⯑rable Quantities, as to deſcend upon the Earth, an [...] cauſe exceſſive Rains and Floods, and great Deſo⯑lations of the Country. Go then fearleſs, ſays he to the Perſian Court, and Predict to them exceſ⯑ſive Rains and Floods, which ſhall greatly hurt the Fruits of the Earth, and occaſion great Dearth alſo Thus, if either of theſe ſucceed, as it is moſt pro⯑ba [...]le, thou ſhalt be aſſuredly receiv'd as a Sage Ma⯑gician in one Country, if not in the other: Alſo [...] [107] both theſe thou mayſt ſuggeſt, as a Probability only, the Conſequence of theſe to be a Plague, or In⯑fection among the People, which is ordinarily the Effect as well of exceſſive Wet, as of exceſſive Heat; if this happens, thou ſhalt gain the Re⯑putation thou deſireſt; and if not, ſeeing thou didſt not poſitively foretel it, thou ſhalt not incur the Ig⯑nominy of a falſe Predictor.
This was very obliging in the Devil, it muſt be confeſs'd, if the Story be true; and Ali was very ſenſible of the Help it was to him, and fail'd not to ask the Viſion how he ſhould obtain his pro⯑mis'd Aſſiſtance in the like Caſes of Difficulty. Upon which the Viſion told him, that whenever he wanted his Help, he ſhould come again to the Palm-tree, and that ſurrounding the Tree fifteen times, he ſhould call him aloud by his Name three times, every time he went round the Tree; and at the end of the fifteenth time he ſhould find Sleepi⯑neſs come upon him, when he ſhould lay himſelf down as he did now, with his Face to the South; and if he fell aſleep, he ſhould be ſure to receive a Viſit from him in Viſion: and with this he gives him the Magick Name which he was to call him by.
Ali was infinitely exalted with the thoughts of this Information, which let him ſo much into the Secret of Nature, as to enable him to ſpeak in a Dialect infinitely ſuperior to the common Under⯑ſtanding, and in particular to make a Judgment of things, out of the reach of the moſt Pretending of the reſt of his fellow Magicians. When he went home among the People, he fail'd not to give his Judgment of the terrible Appearance in the Air, and told them poſitively it portended a great Drought and Heat in the approaching Summer; to which he added, as a Suggeſtion only, that he had great reaſon to believe it would be attended [108] with a Famine, and perhaps the Famine might be follow'd with a Plague; inſinuating, that if the Famine was not attended with a Plague among his own Countrymen, as he had ſaid it would, it was then likely it would appear firſt in Perſia, their Neighbouring Kingdom, and perhaps it might af⯑terwards ſpread among them.
This terrible Prediction, deliver'd with the Au⯑thority of one whom they had the Venerable Opi⯑nion of before as a Magician, and one that could foretel Events of things, gave the People an Alarm, and alſo their King with them, to whom the News of the Prediction was ſoon carry'd; but the Magician conceal'd entirely from their Knowledge the Manner of his obtaining his Information, ſo that it came to them on the ſingle Authority of his own Judgment.
It happen'd as a Confirmation of his Prediction, that after the Meteor ceas'd to appear, and the Spring Seaſon advanc'd, an extreme hot Seaſon came on, with a long Drought following for ſeve⯑ral Weeks, which began very much to burn up the Fruits of the Earth; immediately the People remembring the Words of the Magician, and find⯑ing ſo much of what he had ſaid prove true, it put them in a great Conſternation from the Ap⯑prehenſion of what, according to his Account, was yet to follow.
It happen'd ſome time after this, that the King of the Country dreamed a Dream, which much perplex'd him, and all the Magicians and Aſtrolo⯑gers were ſent for, to interpret the ſaid Dream; but Ali was not ſent for, which grieved him much, thinking that he was not eſteem'd enough among the Princes of the Country, and that he fear'd his having foretold the portentous Events of the late Meteor, which were not yet determin'd by the time that he [109] predicted, he was neglected, as a Perſon that would not give any good Interpretation of the King's Dream. However, when Ali ſaw that the Magi⯑cians and Southſayers, who were ſent for, gave the King no Satisfaction; for they were confounded in their Accounts, and differ'd one from another, and the King was ſo angry, that he was about to command them all to be put to Death; with this he was comforted again, and reſolv'd to apply him⯑ſelf to the Palm-tree, to ſee if he could furniſh him⯑ſelf with any Intelligence ſuitable to what he de⯑ſir'd; in which Caſe he would ſoon let the King know, that though the reſt of the Magicians could not anſwer his Deſire, he could ſupply that Defect; and ſo he ſhould gain more Reputation, than if he had been ſent for with the reſt.
Upon this, he retires himſelf as uſual into the Deſart as before, and comes to the Spot where he had the firſt Viſion. Here he ſurrounds the Tree fifteen times, and every time calls the Spectre by his appointed Name three times over, and as loud as his utmoſt extended Voice would admit; when, according to Direction, he laid himſelf down with his Face to the South, ſhut his Eyes, and obſequiouſly waited till he fell aſleep, which was not long: No ſooner had his Senſes forſaken him, whether doz'd with any infernal Charm or otherwiſe, the Account does not ſpecify: But, I ſay, no ſooner was he aſleep, but the Viſion appeared to his Fancy, and asked him what was the Occaſion of his coming.
He anſwer'd, That the King had dreamed a Dream, and had told it to the Magicians, whom he ſent for in order to have them interpret his Dream, but that he had not been ſent for, which was at firſt very grieving to him; but that upon further En⯑quiry he found that the Magicians had given the [110] King no Satisfaction; and that it had highly pro⯑voked him, ſo that he was going once to have killed them all, and that now he was glad he was not called; but that if he could now put him into a Condition to interpret the King's Dream, it would eſtabliſh his Reputation for ever, not with the King only, but with the whole Country, for that he was ſure to be exalted to the higheſt Pitch of Honour that the King could give; and beſides, all the People would adore him as one that had Intelligence among the Gods; ſo that he ſhould be had in the higheſt Reverence imaginable.
The Viſion aſſured him that he could not only qualify him to interpret the King's Dream, but that he had made the King dream it on ſet Purpoſe to to give him Occaſion to interpret and explain it; and ſo he let him into the Particulars of what it was the King had dreamed; and that the Dream being thus directed by him, he likewiſe could di⯑rect him to ſuch an Interpretation as none but himſelf could put upon it; and ſo he at once told him both what the King dreamed, and what Interpretation he ſhould give of it; adding, that he would yet do greater things for him than thoſe; for that if he had Occaſion to recommend himſelf to the King, or to any other Perſon of Note, he would put it into his Power at any time, not only to tell the King what his Dream ſignified, but ſhould make the King Dream any thing that he thought fit; ſo that he ſhould be able to ſay to the King, To-morrow Night a deep Sleep ſhall come upon you, and you ſhall dream ſo and ſo, which Dream ſhall portend ſuch and ſuch things to you and your People.
Ali was exceedingly raiſed in his Thoughts upon ſuch a Motion as this, and you will not wonder [111] that he expreſſed, tho' in his Sleep or Viſion, his high Satisfaction at ſuch a Favour; and from that time he entertained a conſtant Correſpondence with this Viſion or Apparition, not being aware, or per⯑haps not concerned, that he was all this while con⯑verſing with the Devil, and that the new Friend⯑ſhip he had engaged in, was neither leſs or more than an immediate Correſpondence with Hell.
We have a Parallel Story to this, and almoſt of the ſame kind, of the Devil and an old Arabian in the Court of a Pharaoh King of Aegypt, upon the Appearance of a Comet or Blazing Star, and of which I ſhall give an Account in its Place.
Nor was this any thing extraordinary in thoſe Times; 'twas natural to Satan's way of conver⯑ſing with Mankind, who had frequently midnight Thoughts injected to them by a ſupernatural Power, that is, by the evil Spirit, without their knowing by what Hand they were injected; and the Devil was able moſt certainly to give the In⯑terpretation of thoſe Thoughts which he had been the Occaſion of.
This whole Affair, tho' remote in Time, I give this Account of, to ſuggeſt from it the proba⯑ble Method which Satan has taken from the Be⯑ginning to inſinuate himſelf into Mankind; and, as I ſaid before, to begin the Acquaintance; which, when once begun, he took particular Care to cultivate to all the degrees of Intimacy poſſible; ſo that in few Years, ſuch People have been as in⯑timate with the Devil, tho' perhaps not thoroughly knowing who it was they converſed with, as they could deſire to be.
By this Method he found Opportunities, upon all Occaſions, to bring Men to converſe freely and fully with him; and as he often furniſhed them with Materials and Subjects to amuſe the reſt of the [112] World with, he was always able to oblige them in the utmoſt manner: ſeeing nothing could be more to the Satisfaction of ſuch People than the raiſing their Reputation in their Profeſſion, and giving a Sanction or Confirmation to their Predictions.
I know it is doubted by many among the Learn⯑ed, whether the Devil has himſelf any Knowledge of Futurity, and whether he can predict or fore⯑tell Events, or any thing future and to come; and this very Viſion or Apparition, ſuppoſing it to be true, verifies the Opinion; for he put the Alter⯑native ſeveral times upon him, that ſo if he miſs'd giving a right Interpretation in one thing, he might be ſure in another; and if one Conjecture ſhould miſs, another might hit, as you ſee in the Conſtruction of the appearing Body of Fire.
But the Queſtion is needleſs here; for if it be in the Devil's Power to inject the Subject of a Dream, and put Thoughts into the Heads of thoſe that are aſleep, 'tis then moſt certainly ſo far in his Power to give the Interpretation of thoſe Thoughts to whom he pleaſes to grant ſuch a Favour; ſeeing the whole Scheme may be a meer Cheat and De⯑luſion of the evil Spirit, on purpoſe to form another Deluſion, namely, that of bringing in a Conjurer or Dreamer of Dreams to interpret it. This is in⯑deed a true Piece of the Legerdemain of Hell, and it may be called, the Devil turned Juggler; for 'tis ſo in the very Abſtract, and nothing elſe.
All this is no great matter for Satan to do, if we grant him only the Power of infuſing Midnight Thoughts into the Mind, which we have good reaſon to believe he is able enough to perform, and yet have no great matter of Craft in him neither, not ſo much as we are ordinarily willing to ſuppoſe the Devil is Maſter of. The Variety is in⯑finite, that I might ſuppoſe the Devil is capable to [113] act among his Diſciples by this piece of Cunning, if we do but allow him ſo much; and I cannot but ſay 'tis very clear to me, that the Devil has a ſecret Power to inject innumerable things into our Heads by Dream, and to make us dream almoſt what, and when he pleaſes, ſo as may beſt ſerve his Occaſions, and Ours too.
And his Advantages are very great by this Fraud, for he gives his Inſtrument ſuch an undoubted Re⯑putation for a Revealer of Secrets and an Interpre⯑ter of Dreams, that nothing can be like it. Not Daniel himſelf, who they ſaid had an excellent Spi⯑rit, and that the Spirit of the Holy Gods was in him, could do more; for by this Means, the South⯑ſayer would be able to tell the Dreamer what it was he dreamed of, as well as what it ſignified.
If any Man doubt that the Devil can, as I ſay, infuſe midnight Thoughts, and whiſper Suggeſti⯑ons by Dream of any kind to the Mind, I refer him to Mr. Milton, who ſhews us the Devil in the Shape of a Toad crept cloſe to Eve's Ear in her deepeſt Slumbers, and injecting luſtful or looſe and wandering Thoughts into her chaſte Mind, (I ſay chaſte, for ſuch it was without doubt before) and making her dream with Pleaſure of the Sin which he reſolved to allure her to commit the next Day, and ſo prepare her for the Crime, which till then her very Soul ab⯑horred.
This granted, and the Devil being allowed ſuch an Advantage over Mankind, whether good or bad; I cannot wonder either that he makes uſe of it at all, or that he makes uſe of it in ſuch a frequent and extraordinary manner as to bewitch and in⯑ſpire his Friends and Favourites: Nor that thoſe Friends or Favourites of his, whom he does thus aſſiſt, make ſuch corrupt uſes of it as we find they do, for inſinuating an Opinion of themſelves into the World: for we find preſently, when this Fami⯑liarity [114] is once obtained with the Evil Spirit, and they begin to act by his Inſtruction, the firſt thing they do is, to put a Fraud upon Mankind, and make the World believe that all they did was from Heaven; that they ſpoke by Inſpiration and Reve⯑lation, and that their Intelligence was immediately from the Gods; to ſpeak in the Language of thoſ [...] Times.
Thus Balaam tells the King of Moab, he can ſpeak nothing but as God ſhall command him; wherea [...] 'tis plain, had not the Devil been reſtrained from directing him at that time, he would as heartily have curſed Iſrael as he bleſſed them, and ſo have gained the Rewards of his Office, which was the Wages of Divination; but he confeſſes the Impo⯑tency of his Art, when he found a Lock put upon hi [...] Tongue, and the Key in the Hand of a ſupream Power; I ſay, he confeſſes the good Will he ha [...] to the Reward, but the Weakneſs of his Black-A [...] where Heaven interpoſed its Power, Numb. xxiii. 23. Surely there is no Inchantment againſt Jacob, nei⯑ther is there any Divination againſt Iſrael: intimating, that he had tryed the utmoſt of his Skill, but could do nothing; and in ver. 20. Behold I have receive [...] commandment to bleſs, and he hath bleſſed, and I can⯑not reverſe it: Nothing can be plainer, He would, but the Devil and he together were not able to re⯑verſe the Bleſſing. The only thing ſtrange in this Story of Balaam is, that God ſhould thus ſuffer a Sorcerer and Inchanter, a Witch or Dealer with the Devil, to receive Commands from himſelf, and to bid him go and do thus and thus, and to meet him, and put into his Mouth what he ſhould ſay on that Occaſion; from whence ſome might inſi⯑nuate, that the Wizards and Magicians of thoſe Days had a mutual or alternate Converſe, ſome⯑times really with God himſelf, and at other times with the Devil; as if the Wretch were to day a [115] Man of God, and to-morrow a Sorcerer, Conjurer, and an Inſtrument of the Devil; and as if God would ſtoop to employ thoſe who had ſo far ſtooped below the Dignity of reaſonable Creatures, as to converſe with the Devil.
By this means the People alſo were the more eaſily ſubjected to the Abuſe of the Conjurer, and expoſed to the Deluſions of an evil Spirit, not being able to know when he ſpoke from One or from the Other; no doubt the Deluder would always pretend he ſpoke by the immediate Illumi⯑nation of Heaven, as he had ſometimes really done ſo, it would not be difficult to obtain the Opi⯑nion that he did always ſo.
Now 'tis moſt certain that nothing can more aſſiſt the Deluſions of the Devil in ſuch caſes as theſe, than to have it entertained among the Peo⯑ple, that all the Inſpiration is from Heaven; even the Devil himſelf cannot deſire a ſtronger Auxi⯑liar; it is an Aſſiſtance ſo natural to the Deluſions which he is carrying on among Men, that all his infernal Art cannot form an Equivalent to it. And hence it came to paſs, at leaſt I believe ſo, that the Devil choſe always that way of coming at the Senſes of Mankind, I mean by Viſion and Dream, by Voices in the Night, and by Injections of Mid⯑night Thoughts; becauſe God himſelf had made uſe of the ſame Means to inſpire the Minds of Men with divine Ideas; and the Devil, by imitating the ſuperior Revelations, could not only enable his Magicians and Southſayers, and ſuch other Inſtru⯑ments of Deluſion, to impoſe their Cheats upon the People, but could even delude, and impoſe upon thoſe Dreamers themſelves too, perſwading them to believe their Inſpirations were from Heaven, and that they had ſuch and ſuch things revealed to them from the immediate Spirit of God, when it was only a Flatus from Hell, throwing them into Ec⯑ſtaſies, [116] and as Balaam ſaid, being in a Trance but with his Eyes open, that is to ſay, poſſeſs'd with the Witch⯑craft of an evil Spirit, as is ſaid of the Maid in the Acts, c. xvi. ver. 16. who had a Spirit of Divination, and brought to her Maſter great Gain by Southſaying, that is to ſay, by ſpeaking as the Devil dictated to her; nay, and the Text is plain in acknowledging that it was the Devil that poſ⯑ſeſſed her, for in the Original you have his Name what Devil it was; and if you want a farther Ex⯑planation of him, you may have it too; his Name is called PYTHON, and ſome of your Bibles (ſuppoſing for once that you read any) has it in their Margins; what particular Devil Python was, whe⯑ther an avaritious, a treacherous, a deceiving Devil; but ſome think it was the firſt, becauſe ſhe hired out herſelf, and her Devil with her, to a Maſter, and what ſhe got by her Devil, her Maſter was to make the beſt of; the Terms much the ſame as a late Iriſh Mar—s married two Wives for, then let them out again at ſo much a Year, and took the Income of both their Devils for his Jointure. A rare Bargain indeed, and ſomething a-kin, I believe, to the Devil Python!
How much were it to be wiſh'd, that ſome of our Southſaying Wits, who are really neither wiſe Men or Southſayers, Magicians or Conju⯑rers, and who will have us, in ſpite of our Senſes, believe that they are really inſpired, could but tell us too, with any moderate Cer⯑tainty, whether thoſe Inſpirations are from God or the Devil; Whether the F [...]ghts of their Inſipids are Ecſtaſies of the Adored, or of the Horrid; whe⯑ther when they rail at Heaven, and burleſque their Maker, we may not really believe they are over⯑rul'd by a divine Influence, to do it with ſo ill a Grace, and ſo little common Senſe, that it may be directed to exalt the All-wiſe, by the very [117] means uſed to expoſe him, and to make them mix Im⯑pudence with ſo much Ignorance, that others equal⯑ly wicked, but of better Judgment, may grow ſick of the Crime for the meer Deficiency of the Wit.
Doubtleſs, He that knows how to ſerve the beſt Ends by the worſt Means, can leave the meaneſt Heads and the moſt brainleſs Wits to be thus wicked, to intimate to others the Weak⯑neſs of the Crime, and the groſs Abſurdity of Atheiſm. I don't therefore think it at all pro⯑phane, at leaſt if not ſo intended, to ſay Such a Fellow is one of God-a-mighty's ſimple One's; by which I would be always underſtood, that he is one to whom Heaven has denied the Gift of Brains, and ſuffer'd the Devil to fill up the empty Spaces in his Head with a Share of glaring Im⯑pudence, ſuch as will paſs for Wit with thoſe that have none, and for the worſt of Folly with all the reſt of Mankind.
This ſort of wiſe Men, of whom the Age is plentifully ſtored at this time, are doubtleſs plac'd up and down in proper Stations by the Allowance of Providence, for the Conviction of Mankind in their particular Spheres; juſt as the Devil himſelf has, in many caſes, been a Preacher of Truth, and will be ſo to the End of the World, tho' ſore againſt his Will.
Of ſo much Force is Ironical Righteouſneſs, that the blackeſt Agents are fitteſt to be made the brighteſt Examples of it; ſince alſo the greateſt and beſt Principles are often illuſtrated by their moſt infamous, and conſequently, by their compleat⯑eſt Contraries.
But to go back where I left off. The Devil, who has always had the Impudence to mimick his Ma⯑ker, and ſometimes to perſonate him too, in his Applications to Mankind, has made, I ſay, his firſt Acquaintance with him by this Method of [118] Dream and Midnight Viſion, for that very Reaſon, viz. becauſe it is the Method by which God him⯑ſelf often uſed to reveal himſelf to the Prophets and other his moſt eminent Servants of old, as inſtanc'd before in Abraham, and of which the Scripture has many Examples. (I hope that Book, when 'tis taken as a Hiſtory only, may obtain Credit enough to be brought in Evidence.) I have mentioned Abraham already, and perhaps it may be offer'd that this is not ſufficient, becauſe God converſed, as the Text ſays in another Place, Face to Face with Abraham; but take it then with his Grandſon Jacob: God ap⯑peared to Jacob, Gen. xxviii.13. in his Dream of the Ladder reaching up to Heaven. And behold the Lord ſtood above it and ſaid, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy Father. But if this will not do neither, then take it with one who it might be as likely ſhould have the Devil appear to him as God himſelf, but ſtill 'twas the ſame thing, Gen. xx.3. God came to Abimelech in a Dream; So might the Devil too, for Abimelech was an Idolater: And again, ver. 6. And God ſaid unto him in a Dream. Now Abimelech was a Philiſtin of the curſed Race deſtined to Deſtruction by the Poſterity of Abraham, and yet God appeared to him, or came to him in a Dream, and ſpoke to him in a Dream.
From hence the Devil, who is cunning enough to imitate all thoſe Methods of Acceſs to the Minds of Man, which 'tis poſſible for him to come at him by, and which his Maker has uſed for the like Communications, has always made uſe of this Method; and when he has deſigned the Deluſion, or the perplexing of Mankind, or any other of his infernal Infatuations, he has brought them to paſs by the Injection of evil Thoughts or other dark Means, moving his Paſſions and Affections, inſtilling all the helliſh Imaginations that are requiſite to the Miſchiefs he deſigns. And thus you have the Cir⯑cumſtances, [119] and the Reaſon too, of the Devil's way of working with Mankind.
It remains a Queſtion, tho' of no extraordinary Importance, what Shape or Form the Devil made uſe of in his firſt acquainting himſelf with Man⯑kind. It is Satan's Misfortune, to ſay no worſe of him, that he cannot appear in his own Figure, cloathed with any of his native Beauties; but that it would render him ſo frightful to his Emiſſaries, and even his beſt Friends and moſt uſeful Ser⯑vants would be terrified, and would run away from him inſtead of converſing with him; and the moſt accurate Magician or Southſayer in Arabia would, inſtead of going into the Deſerts and Wilderneſs to meet him, abhor the very Place, and tremble at the Thought of ſeeing him.
Hence, to whiſper to them in the Night, and only talk in Viſion and Appearance, is the kindeſt thing the Devil can do to them, as well as the wiſeſt way for himſelf; for was he ever to appeal, I ſay, in his own Cloaths, none of his Friends would ever come to receive his ſecond Viſit. Now his coming in the Night, or in Dream, as is hinted in the Story of the Magician above, is certainly needful; for as in a Dream the Voice without the Viſion is ſufficient, ſo if a Shape is repreſented to the Imagination in the Sleep it ſooner wears off, and the Impreſſions are ſooner raz'd out of the Mind, than if the Apparition was viſible with open Eyes, and in the Light of the Day; there's a great deal of difference between what we really ſee, and what we only dream we did ſee.
We have indeed ſome of Balaam's Dreamers, that is to ſay, who dream with their Eyes open; indeed ſome of them may be ſaid to be always in a Dream, they are ſcarce any thing but Apparition themſelves; their whole Lives are a kind of moral Deluſion; and as they live in a Dream, ſo we [120] muſt dream too, to make any thing of them, for they never are what they ſeem to be, or ſeem to be what they are. But as I may perhaps endeavour to diſcover thoſe People to the World, a little plainer than I can diſcover them to themſelves, I ſay no mor [...] of them in this Place, leaving the De⯑vil and them to act in Concert a-while, that they may illuſtrate, and be Foils to one another.
It is true that by this way of dealing in Dreams, the Devil has infinite Advantage, for the making C [...]n⯑jurers, that is to ſay, Magicians and Southſayers, in the World: Whether that ſort of People have been of any Uſe to him for the propagating his Intereſt in the World, is a Queſtion by it ſelf.
That the Devil took this Method for the firſt eſtabliſhing himſelf in the World, and, as I call'd it, making his Acquaintance with Mankind, I have ta⯑ken Notice of already: How uſeful he has found his new-made Friends, and how apt to carry on his Bu⯑ſineſs, and eſpecially for the farther extending his Power, and propagating the Deluſions of others, Hi⯑ſtory will inform us; and we cannot doubt but he has found his Advantage in it: But it remains a Queſtion of Importance ſtill undecided, whether are beſt pleaſed in theſe nocturnal Operations, the Devil or the Magician; my Opinion is for the firſt. I believe indeed the Devil has got the better of them in the main, and whereas he at firſt was mighty eager to make his Acquaintance among them, and glad of the Means; he ſeems now to have over-reached them, and to have worked them up to a Deſire after the Correſpon⯑dence in ſuch a manner, that the ſubtle Manager is not ſo cheap to be had ſince, but makes Bargains, nay, brings them up to his own Terms, and ſometimes tells them plainly, he has no Occaſion for them; but on the other hand, if they want him, they muſt give him his own Price, and do what he con⯑ditions with them for, or elſe he has no more to ſay to them, tho' he is a Cheat in that too.
[121]Thus like a cunning Chap, he turns his Back and is gone, knowing very well that they will call him again, and give him his Price; yield to his Demand, and rather ſell themſelves to him Soul and Body, as we are told is now very frequent, than go without his Aſſiſtance. This is all owing to his Subtilty, and Mankind's Folly and Fondneſs; for had they ſtood as they did at firſt, he muſt have come to their Conditions; but he found the way to make himſelf neceſſary to them, and to pleaſe them, and he managed accordingly.
It is indeed an Evidence how ſhrewdly the Devil over-reached Mankind in the moſt early Ages of the World: For, Firſt, as I mentioned before, this was to come to them with ſome Authority, and with the Magnificence of a God, and it always gave them an Awe and kind of Reverence of his Appearance; Secondly, it really ſo far prevail'd with them, that we have a great deal of Reaſon to believe they did not always know whether their Intelligence was from Above or from Below, and whether they were converſing with God or with the Devil; If this is true, as I have no Reaſon to queſtion, I have leſs Reaſon to doubt that he of⯑ten deluded them to think the former. And thus perhaps many falſe Prophets in former times came to the poor People, and began their Predictions with the uſual Preface, Thus ſaith the Lord; when in Juſtice they ought to have begun with, Thus ſaith the Devil, as they might eaſily have ſeen after⯑wards, by the Conſequence of it, and by the nature of their Prediction; for I believe that way it is moſt eaſily diſcovered.
The Diſcovery ſeems indeed to be directed by this very Method, where the Scripture ſays. If a Prophet comes, ſhews Signs and Wonders, and then adds, go ſerve other Gods, his very Doctrine proves him to be an Impoſtor, and on that very Account [122] he is to be rejected: God's Prophets will always teach God's Truths, a falſe Prophet is eaſily known by his Teachings; the Devil may deceive for a while, but even the Devil himſelf cannot hold it long, the cloven Principle will appear, which I ſuppoſe the Fable of the cloven Foot to be an Em⯑blem of, and no more.
But to come back to the Example of the Magi⯑cian going into the Deſart; why, the very Place was a Branch of that Complication of Fraud which conſtituted all the reſt: The Man went thither firſt caſually, fell aſleep by the natural Conſequence of his Wearineſs, and under the Palm-tree, as cu⯑ſtomary, to preſerve him by its Shade; the reſt was all a Cheat; the Devil could as well have made him dream and ſee the Viſion in his Cham⯑ber at Suſa, or where elſe he dwelt in Perſia, or Arabia, as in the Wilderneſs; but he catch'd him there, and took that Advantage, to introduce the Ceremony of his future correſponding; and therefore he appoints him to come again to the ſame Place, and there gives him the Formality of Meaſures to be obſerved; he muſt make his Tour fifteen times round the Tree; he muſt call him by what infernal Title he was pleaſed to give himſelf; and this to be done three times every Circuit he made about the Tree; and when all this was done, as he might well be inclined to do, he was to lie down and go to ſleep. And what need all this Cookery, but to diſh up the Deluſion with a due Form, give a Sanction to the Viſion itſelf, and command a ſuitable Regard to the Audience which he had the Honour to be admitted to?
If this had not been the caſe, it might as well have all been tranſacted any where elſe; but Satan finds his Account in theſe things: For during many Ages after this, and perhaps in other Places, the Southſayers and Magicians of Arabia, went out in the [123] Night, and into the Wilderneſs, and Solitary Places, to meet with their Inſpirations, and to dream Dreams, and then came back, ſtor'd and qualify'd to make their Predictions; as much as to ſay, they go to their Palm-trees, to meet Viſions; there they met their Devil, and then came back, and ſpread their Deluſions, as their Inſtructor had furniſh'd them.
Semiramis it ſeems, and we may ſuppoſe her Suc⯑ceſſors in the Babylonian Monarchy, kept ſeveral Sets of theſe People; and as they had their ſeveral Denominations, ſo they had their ſeveral Offices and Employments under her: As particularly her wiſe Men or Magicians; theſe were to explain to her the Aſpect of the Heavens, the pro⯑bable Effects of all ſurprizing Phaenomena in Na⯑ture: her Aſtrologers and Southſayers; and theſe were employ'd to conſult their private Devils, and were Revealers of Secrets, Interpreters of Dreams, &c. and then they had Wizards, and Sorcerers, and ſuch as uſed Inchantments; and theſe foretold the Succeſs of her Military Enterprizes, expounded Omens, the Signs and Circumſtances of Creatures, the flying of Birds, Voices, Apparitions, and all ſuch things as were particularly uneaſy or diſturbing to the Queen, or to her Court, and wanted their Explaining: The firſt of theſe I have voted already to be honeſt Men, but the laſt two I make no doubt conſulted with the Devil, and the Devil with them, upon all Oc⯑caſions. Nor do I doubt at all but that they made Prodigies, and then explain'd their Meaning, as I ſaid before; that they appointed Dreams on pur⯑poſe, and for the ſake of interpreting them; of which I ſhall give you another Account hereafter.
Sometimes it ſeems, theſe conjuring, enchanting People, were ſo far from explaining things to the Queen's Mind, or interpreting things after the man⯑ner that ſhe expected, that her Majeſty was pleas'd to diſpatch them out of her way, and hang them [124] by Dozens. And thus Nebuchadnezzar commanded all the wiſe Men of Babylon to be put to Death, tho' it does not appear that his Commands were ex⯑ecuted, nor are we certain they were not; but 'tis evident it was very much the Cuſtom to do ſo.
Hence I ſuppoſe they were generally inclin'd, like the Prophets in the caſe of King Ahab, to take care, and propheſy nothing but what ſhould pleaſe the King. And when Micaiah, a true Prophet, or Prophet of God, came to tell the King what really came to paſs, we ſee what his Fate had been, if the King had out-liv'd the Battle.
Nor to this Day do the Princes of the Eaſt make any ſcruple to truſs up their Conjurers and Southſayers, when they find them juggle with them, and find they cheat and impoſe upon them; an admirable Method to deal with the Broachers of Atheiſtical, Deiſtical, and Enthuſiaſtic Whymſies in our Age, where we have a more ſure Word of Pro⯑pheſy, which we are commanded to take heed to, and which the modern Agents of the Devil are only employ'd to counter-act, and drive out of the World, if poſſible, that the old Oracles of Devil-worſhip, and other Deluſions, might be again in⯑troduc'd.
But I am loth to ſeem vindictive in my Notions, nor would I ſet up Fire and Faggot; no, not a⯑gainſt the Devil and his Agents; they may have enough of that hereafter, with the Devil and his Angels: And beſides, ſuch a Perſecution muſt ne⯑ceſſarily at this time be ſo bloody, that I know not what City, or Town, Inns of Court, Palace, College, or Univerſity, (our own excepted) which it would not almoſt lay waſte, deſolate, and make void of Inha⯑bitants. Mercy on us! perſecute and puniſh Men for being Atheiſts, and Deiſts; for dividing the Trinity, and unſanctifying the Holy Ghoſt, who is the Sancti⯑fier of the World, and ſuch difficult Trifles as theſe? [125] where would it end! and what would become of all the religious Part of the World! what a Schiſm, in the moſt literal Senſe, would this make among us? and where is there a Church, Chappel, Meeting-houſe or Congregation, that would not be divided againſt it ſelf, and ſet up a new Body of Diſſenters? Truly ſo, as diſſenting not from this, or that Opi⯑nion of Religion, but from all Religion, and all Opinions in Religion whatſoever.
Well, let the Church of Rome ſend Proteſtants to Heaven by the Rack and the Gibbet, I would not be inſtrumental to ſend all the Atheiſts and Arians to the Devil; no, not for the ſake of my Native Country, for fear of laying waſte the Glebe, and leaving Poſterity no body to inſtruct them better.
CHAP. V.
A Farther Account of the Devil's Conduct in Imitating Divine Inſpirations; Something of the Difference between them; and particu⯑larly of Signs and Wonders, Falſe as well as True, and the Cheats of the Former.
HAVING obſerv'd how the Devil, in the In⯑fancy of his Correſpondence with Mankind, came to him, and made his Acquaintance by the ſame Method that God was pleas'd to reveal himſelf on Occaſions of the greateſt Importance; it would be very much to the Advantage of our preſent Enquiry, if we could come at ſome more Particulars in the reſpective Appearances, and know ſomething of the Difference in them, that ſo for the Future we might diſtinguiſh our Modern Inſpirations, and not oblige the Devil ſo much, or his Favourites either, as to flatter their Vanity with thinking they are di⯑vinely [126] inſpired, when, as I ſaid before, they are on [...] deluded with the Enthuſiaſms of Hell, and impos'd upon by Mother Eve's Toad at their Ears, that [...] to ſay, by the Whiſpers of the Devil.
That God was pleas'd to reveal himſelf to h [...] Servants of old by Viſion and Dream is eviden [...] beſides the Examples mention'd before, from h [...] own Declaration, that this was the way he reſolv' [...] to tranſact with them, Numb. xii.6. If there be [...] Prophet among you, I the LORD will make my ſe [...] known to him in a Viſion, and will ſpeak unto him i [...] a Dream. My Servant Moſes is not ſo, (that is to ſay, was more than ſo,) with him will I ſpeak Mouth [...] Mouth, even apparently, and not in dark Speeches, &c.
This is a noted Declaration of the Manner how God would diſcover himſelf to his Servants; and we cannot doubt but the Devil, who knew it very well, did quickly imitate the like Method, and bring in a thouſand Deluſions at the ſame Door: It being in his Power, as I have ſaid, to inject Midnight Thoughts and Amuſements, and make his Appearances in Viſion and Dream as he pleas'd; how near he might come to imitate the Viſions and Revelations of God, is what I cannot under⯑take to determine: I am ſure 'tis more than pro⯑bable that he might do ſo, in a manner as might deceive thoſe unguarded Perſons, to whom he often thus appear'd, and whoſe Ends in ſeeking him out might be almoſt as wicked as his that appear'd to them.
It may be ſomething too much in the Favour of the Pretenders to new Light and Propheſies, and to the ancient Revelations and Diſcoveries made by falſe Prophets, properly ſo call'd in the holy ſacred Writings; but I cannot anſwer it to my own Reaſon, if I ſhould ſay, that I believe they all knew, and every time too when they ſaid, thus ſaith the Lord, that it was falſe, that they told a wilful preme⯑ditated Lye, and that they ought to have ſaid, Thus ſaith our ſovereign Lord the Devil.
[127]Nor will I venture to ſay, that all the Modern Heathens, the Druids among the Britains, the Prieſts of the Heathen Temples, who uttered the Oracles of the Devil, however they came by them, or the Bramans and ſtricteſt Recluſes of the Indi⯑ans, the Derviſes of Mahomet, and the like, do all actually know, that is to ſay, by immediate Commu⯑nications from Hell, and the Inſtrumentality of its Agents, that they really are Confederate with the great Enemy of Mankind, and carrying on a Cor⯑reſpondence with the Devil. I have ſo much Opi⯑nion of the Power of common Senſe in Man, as a human Creature, and ſo much Charity for the good Meaning of thoſe, who we do not find immediately vile, profligate, and immoral, as to think they would not act with Satan upon that foot.
I have much more Reaſon to think the four Ec⯑cleſiaſticks of Switzerland, in the Story Jetzer, acted with Satan open-ey'd, and open-fac'd, when they propos'd to the poor fooliſh Creature to renounce God and Jeſus Chriſt, and ſo to carry on the Fraud they had begun, with a kind of Sanction in⯑ſtead of an Oath of Secreſy, and it appear'd indeed to be ſo at laſt.
But certainly, as in other Caſes, abundant Para⯑lels might be brought. The Devil, who generally acts in Diſguſe, has carry'd thoſe Diſguiſes ſo art⯑fully, that I doubt not but many of his falſe Pro⯑phets, long before our times, have ſaid, thus ſaith the Lord, with a good Grace; that is, with a real Belief, that God had ſpoken to them, or, as was the Language of the Scripture Times, had ſpoken by them, when really it was the Voice of the De⯑vil, and of no body elſe: And let not our Modern Enthuſiaſticks take this to be ſaid only in Favour of themſelves; I am not come ſo far down in the courſe of my Work, ſo much as to think of them, no not of St. Dunſtan, St. Francis, or of the more [128] eminent Deceiver St. Ignatius, the greateſt Enthu⯑ſiaſtick of the laſt ten Centuries: when I come to them, we ſhall reckon as we meet.
But I am yet talking of the ſpecifick Difference between the Inſpirations of falſe Prophets, the Dreams whiſper'd and ſuggeſted by the Devil; and thoſe on the other hand from the contrary Appear⯑ances of the good Spirit, that is to ſay, of God himſelf. I am in the firſt place to intimate, that they are not always to be diſcern'd, no nor eaſy to be diſcern'd; if they were, there would not be ſo many Deluſions in the World as have been; for the Men are not all Devils before they come to him, they don't come to him reſolving to be deceiv'd, and intending to deceive every Body they are con⯑cern'd with. I muſt own, I do not think that all the four hundred Prieſts of Baal, whom Elijah ſum⯑mon'd together to the great Sacrifice at Mount Carmel, would have ſhew'd ſo many antick Tricks, leaping upon the Altar, cutting themſelves with Knives, and crying O Baal hear us! if they had believ'd they were under a Deluſion of the Devil all the while, and that Baal was no Body but a dead Stock, a lifeleſs Image, without Senſe to hear, much more without Power to anſwer. They muſt certainly believe, that Baal was a Something, or a Somebody, whom it was their Duty to pay a Ho⯑mage and Reverence to; or that they paid that Homage to the true God, through the Medium of an Image, a ſort of a Model of that meaner and more ignorant Idolatry call'd Popery.
But to look forward beyond this Image of Idol-worſhip, we have the old falſe Prophets coming much nearer to the true, and the Inſpirations bear⯑ing an Affinity in a more ſignificant Point; and that is, in Signs and Wonders, or what we call Mircales, which yet may be all from the Devil; ſo hard it is for the deceiv'd falſe Prophet [129] to know when he is right and when he is wrong; and ſo eaſy is it for him to be impos'd upon him⯑ſelf, and conſequently to delude the People he con⯑verſes with.
The Devil, as far as his Agency of this kind will reach, muſt certainly be mightily pleas'd with it; for by thus inſpiring his Tools, not only to the de⯑gree of falſe Prophets, but to an Ability of work⯑ing Miracles, ſhowing Signs and Wonders, whe⯑ther Real or Imaginary, he not only the more ef⯑fectually impoſes upon his falſe Prophets, but gives or deputes ſo much of Devil to them, as to make them able to delude and deceive others, nay to de⯑ceive the whole World; or as the Text expreſſes it Matt. xxiii.24. to deceive (if it were poſſible) the very Elect.
'Tis remarkable in this ſame Text, that it is pre⯑dicted there ſhall come falſe Chriſts, and falſe Pro⯑phets, (Devils, or Devil's Agents) and ſhall ſhew great Signs and Wonders.
There is alſo another Text, which gives us a Caution againſt ſuch, tho' I do confeſs I can't ſee how it can be made uſe of till the Deluſion has gone ſome Length; and that is in Deut. xiii.1, 2. If there ariſe among you a Prophet, or a Dreamer of Dreams, and giveth thee a Sign, or a Wonder, and the Sign, or the Wonder come to paſs. Now this, I ſay, requires ſo much time, as to the fulfilling the Token or Prediction of the falſe Prophets, till when, and till the falſe Doctrine which he preaches ſhall detect him, the People are manifeſtly in dan⯑ger of the Deluſion; for as in all ſuch Caſes in thoſe ancient Times, every Novelty was confirm'd by Signs and Wonders, What could be more de⯑luding, and more apt to impoſe upon the People, than to have the Shewer of thoſe Signs and Won⯑ders confirm his Teachings by a Miracle, and that the Miracle ſhould come to paſs? Yet all this may at⯑tend [130] the lying Wonders of a Magician, a falſe Pro⯑phet, nay of a Devil; That ſuch Wonders ma [...] be wrought as are juſtly term'd falſe and lying Wonders, we have again predicted 2 Theſ. ii. [...] which Text I doubt touches a little our holy Fa⯑ther the Pope, whoſe coming is ſaid to be after the working of Satan, with all Power and Signs, and lying Wonders; intimating that there are Wonders which are Deluſive; ſaid to be wrought, but not wrought a la Mode the Legend, the Fables of Monkery, the De⯑vil of London, and the like. Wonders indeed c [...] ſcarce be called lying upon any other Foundation for if they were real, and actually perform'd, ho [...] can they then be lying? but if promis'd to be per⯑form'd, and not done; or ſaid to be really perform [...] and done, but were not, then they are inde [...] Lyes, or lying Wonders; and take them which wa [...] we will, I doubt as before, and leave my Maſter [...] the Jeſuites to bring his Holineſs off their ow [...] way.
But I come on upon modern Time too faſt; H [...] ⯑ſtory demands that we advance by juſt degrees, an [...] to that purpoſe I muſt look a little more particu⯑larly into the Antiquity of theſe things. SATAN, to give the Devil his due, did not manage with ſo little Dexterity, his firſt Acquaintances with Mankind, as to ſuffer his ſecret Methods to be diſ⯑cover'd and detected, or his Inſtruments to be ex⯑pos'd; On the contrary, he put innumerable Wonders upon Mankind, acted with inextricable Stratagem and Art; from which Dexterity, and the difficulty of explaining his Management, the common Operations of his Favourites obtain'd the Sanction of Deviliſh; and the ART they uſed, ob⯑tain'd the honourable Title of BLACK; and this, according to my Title, is what I am now to deſcribe.
The World was now ſo much improv'd in Know⯑legde, that, as I hinted above, nothing new could be [131] ſtarted, but a Miracle was preſently enquir'd after to confirm it; and he that could do the moſt eminent things of that kind, was the moſt famous in their Opinion. Mopſus was a Southſayer, and ſaid to be the Son of Apollo: He was in ſuch Credit and E⯑ſteem in his time, that it grew into a Proverb, to be as infallible as Mopſus.
This Mopſus meeting one Chalchas, a Man like⯑wiſe eminent in the ſame deviliſh Profeſſion, they fell into Diſpute about ſome things relating to their ART. Mopſus ask'd Chalchas, how many Figs ſuch a wild Fig-tree, as he pointed out to him, had upon it; the Southſayer Chalchas would not anſwer him, but alledg'd, that it was not a fair Queſtion. Upon which Mopſus told him the Number, and upon counting them up, it was found true to a Fig; upon which Chalchas was ſo confounded, not being able to conceive how it was perform'd, that tho' the thing was trifling, he died for Grief.
It ſeems, Chalchas had his Fortune told him by the Oracle, (viz.) that he ſhould dye when he found out a better Southſayer than himſelf; all which I can reſolve into nothing but this, that Mopſus had more Favour with the Devil than Chal⯑chas, at leaſt at that time, and that he whiſper'd the Number of the Figs in his Ear; or to clear up the Juggle, Mopſus had counted them before, and ſo the Queſtion was a Juggle in it ſelf; which in⯑deed was the moſt likely of the two.
The Humour of the Times being, as I ſaid, to require Miracles and Wonders, the Southſayers and Dreamers of Dreams beſtirr'd themſelves, and ſought out (every Man his own Way) for ſecret In⯑ſpirations and Illuminations, and the Devil was very uſeful to them on many Occaſions, till at laſt he found the Work encreas'd upon his Hands, and he was oblig'd to ſet up Deluſion-Offices, as I may call them, and give out Anſwers at the [132] Shrines of the People's Idols, and in the Names of their Gods.
Theſe were ſo far from crying down the Office or Dignity of a Southſayer in the World, that it rather encreaſt their Fame. For as the Number of thoſe Oracles were but few, not above twelve or fourteen, great and ſmall; ſo the wiſe Men, the Ma⯑gicians and Southſayers, were often ſent by their re⯑ſpective Princes, whoſe Favourites they were, to thoſe Oracles on extraordinary Occaſions, and to be reſolved in their Doubts; whence they fre⯑quently brought ſuch Anſwers, as they knew would pleaſe and oblige the Prince that ſent them; per⯑haps as beſt ſuited the Circumſtances of thoſe Prin⯑ces, and which thoſe ſo ſent beſt knew, whether the Oracle gave ſuch Anſwers or no, the latter being not always neceſſary.
This working by Miracle ſeldom or never fail'd; it confounded the Underſtandings of Men; and when any of their Southſayers had once obtain'd an Eſteem by ſuch a Performance, he never wanted any thing more to continue his Character, and to gain him Admittance into the Favour and Court of the greateſt Princes. Hence Joſeph's telling Pha⯑raoh's Chief Butler and Chief Baker their Dreams, and thoſe Dreams exactly coming to paſs, open'd the Doors of the Priſon for him; as his adding to it that of telling the Interpretation of Pharaoh's Dream advanc'd him to the ſecond Chariot, and to the crying Abrek before him, that is Bow the Knee.
'Tis the Opinion of ſome Learned in the Wiſ⯑dom of the Aegyptians, that Joſeph continued the Art of Southſaying (for in that the Wiſdom of the Aegyptians chiefly conſiſted) for a great while after; and I acknowledge my ſelf to be of that O⯑pinion, whether I am learned in the Wiſdom of the Aegyptians or no, and that he had never been con⯑tinued in ſuch a high Poſt ſo long, if he had not.
[133]For this Reaſon thoſe Words he uſed afterwards to his Brethren, Wot you not that ſuch a Man as I can Divine? are a kind of Admiration; that is to ſay, Are you ſo ignorant in the Cuſtoms of this Country, as not to know that a Man in my Poſt muſt be able certainly to divine? Gen. xliv.15.
And indeed, without putting any ſtrain'd or con⯑ſtrain'd Meaning upon the Sacred Text, I cannot doubt but that the People of Aegypt took Joſeph to be what they call'd the Prince of the Magicians of the Eaſt; that is to ſay, one of the Chief of them, and extraordinarily qualify'd by the Gods for the Underſtanding deep Myſteries, for diving into hard Queſtions, interpreting Dreams, and reſolving Doubts. In a word, in the ſame Senſe that Daniel, almoſt a thouſand Years after, was eſteem'd at Baby⯑lon, viz. that the Spirit of the Holy Gods was in him; whether they meant by their Gods the Crocodile, or the River Nile, or the Great Calf at the Aegyp⯑tian Thebes, or Iſys, or Oſyris, that I ſhall not en⯑quire into here, but they doubted not that ſome of the beſt and brighteſt of their Deities inſpir'd Joſeph with an Excellent Spirit.
Nor was it unreaſonable for the poor People un⯑der the dark Circumſtances of that Age to believe ſo of him; for how elſe ſhould he have the Fore⯑knowledge of the dreadful Famine ſeven Years be⯑fore it came? how that Sagacity to gather ſuch im⯑menſe Quantities of Corn in the plentiful Years be⯑fore it; and lay it up in ſuch Places, and in ſuch Proportions, and ſo ſecur'd, as to ſupply ſuitably the whole Country of Aegypt, ſo vaſtly extended, and ſo populous as it was at that time?
How Joſeph came by all this Knowledge and Wiſdom, they (as we have like reaſon to believe) were as ignorant of, as they were poſitive that it was ſo, by ſome means or other; and therefore it was no Abſurdity for them to ſuggeſt that he did all [134] by Divination, that is to ſay, by Enchantment, or ſecret Converſe with the Spirits of another World; or as we call it, with more Propriety at leaſt in our Opinion, that he dealt with the Devil; and that this was done by the Charm of the Silver Cup which was put in the Mouth of Benjamin's Sack.
That they believ'd ſo is evident from the Words of the ſame Chap. Gen. xliv.5. Is not this it in which my Lord drinketh, and whereby he divineth? The Words are fully explain'd by the Cuſtoms and Uſage of the Magicians and Devil-hunters in thoſe Days; who uſed ſtrange Geſtures, and clanging Sounds, ſuch, or not much unlike ſuch as our old Women now uſe to hive their Bees; by theſe they call'd the familiar Devils, the Pythons and Apollyons of their Acquaintance about them, whatever Occaſions made it neceſſary for them to ſpeak with them.
That Joſeph knew better, and that he certainly neither uſed ſuch Methods, or convers'd with any ſuch kind of Foreigners or Infernals, was moſt cer⯑tain; but his Steward was directed to ſpeak in the Language of the Country; nor would he have talk'd to have been underſtood, if he had not: and this confirms the Conjecture as above, and makes it moſt reaſonable; namely, that all Aegypt took him (Joſeph) to be a Southſayer or wiſe Man, and that certainly he could Divine.
This Part of Joſeph's Story is uſeful to explain by what manner of Communication the Diviners of thoſe days uſed to maintain their Acquaintance with the Infernals, and how mean and ſcandalous Methods the Devil contriv'd to ſettle his Corre⯑pondence; that in ſhort, by the clanging of an old Kettle, or Braſs-pot, the whole Hive of Devils ſhould be alarm'd, be told that ſome of their Ma⯑ſters on Earth had occaſion for them, or as we [135] call it, wanted to ſpeak with them, and that they ſhould immediately fly to hand, and mount to the Place to know the Buſineſs.
This will be a very material Point to diſcuſs more fully, and to explain the Philoſophy of, if we ſhould come to examine the moſt accurate and polite Me⯑thods of that particular Art, which we call raiſing the Devil, of which ſo many valiant old Women have been compleatly Miſtreſſes; and that ſo emi⯑nently, that Satan durſt no more refuſe to attend the Call, or fail of his Duty when he heard the Summons, than a School-boy that has been well laſh'd for playing Truant, dares do it again, before his Back-ſide has done ſmarting: For doubtleſs, the Scolding of an old Woman, and upon ſuch a Diſappointment too, would be enough to terrifie the Devil himſelf, if he has any Senſe of that out⯑rageous Animal, call'd an old Witch, upon his Mind.
But I leave that Part to a particular Diſſertation upon the Species, when I ſhall learnedly and po⯑litely examine, and, if practicable, determine for the good of Mankind, the two following Wehigty and Important Difficulties.
Firſt, Whether upon an immergent and ſudden Occaſion, the Muſick alſo being the ſame, old Mo⯑ther Anthony of — in the County of — could not be as effectual with her Voice to hive a Swarm of Bees, as any Braſs Kettle or Warming-pan in all the Village; and ſo both frugally ſave her Neighbours from the riſque of bruiſing their Houſhold-ſtuff; and the ſaid Mother Anthony, in⯑ſtead of being liable to the Ducking-ſtool for a common Diſturber, become a uſeful Servant to her King and Country, and enjoy a Penſion for her good Offices.
Secondly, Whether the ſame Mother Anthony, ac⯑cording to the Hypotheſis of Joſeph's Cup of Divi⯑nation, [136] might not be alſo made uſeful in her Ge⯑neration upon like extraordinary Occaſions, to lay the Devil, and that too by the ſame Rules that others raiſe him; ſince the Bees in their greateſt Hur⯑ries and Tumults are quieted, as above, by the ſame Noiſe, which at another time would fret and diſ⯑order them; the Philoſophy of which is not yet underſtood, nor can the Reaſon of it be diſcover'd in all the Philoſophical Tranſactions or Tranſactors who have ſo long ſtudied it. From whence they ſay, the Tinkers beating their Pans when they publiſh their Occupations, or as we call it vul⯑garly in England, Cry their Trades, are extreamly uneaſy to all the old Women above their ninth Climacteric, and unſufferable to thoſe who are en⯑gaged in the Article of Circle-making, and Paw-wawing; inſomuch that if a Tinker ſhould have ſtop'd in a Village and beat his Kettle above a certain li⯑mited time, at, or within hearing of the Town of [...]pſwich, in Mother Lackland's time, ſhe would have been obliged to have raiſed the Devil for her Aſſi⯑ſtance. But this I leave to Experiment.
As, I ſay, theſe two important Queſtions may take up a large Tract by themſelves, and as they muſt needs be of vaſt Conſequence to the Readers, I doubt not the Bookſellers, who are generally Publick-ſpi⯑rited Gentlemen, will embrace the Opportunity of publiſhing ſuch a valuable Piece for the Good of the Nation; ſo I ſhall adjourn it for the pre⯑ſent.
Come we next in order, according to the Con⯑tents of this Chapter, to the particular Queſtion in what Shape the Devil appeared to the firſt Magi⯑cians, or the Inchanters of the moſt early Times; and the Anſwer is, as far as we can yet learn, that he did [...]ot aſſume any Shape or viſible Appearance at all: whether it was his Modeſty or his Policy is a Que⯑ſtion has been a little, tho' not fully diſcuſs'd, and [137] thoſe that ſpeak moſt favourably of Satan, think it was the firſt; for in the early Times of his Inti⯑macy he might be loth perhaps to expoſe himſelf to his new Acquaintance; whereas afterwards, when he became really a familiar Spirit, in the litteral Senſe of the Word, he made no Difficulty to converſe with his Favourites more openly, ſee and be ſeen; of which in its Place.
But if this was not the Caſe, it ſeems to me, that at firſt, and while being only a Night Viſiter he communicated himſelf by Viſion and Dream only, there was no manner of Occaſion for the Lo⯑cality of his Perſon, and for a real Appearance; nor, if his Buſineſs was done, was it material whe⯑ther he deliver'd it by his own Mouth, or by the Voice of any of his truſty and well-beloved Angels and Agents, who are certainly as capable to officiate in his Place as if he was there in Perſon.
Beſides, as much a Spirit as the Devil is, we have Reaſon to believe he is ſo far from being Omnipreſent, that he would not be able to diſpatch a thouſandth Part of the Buſineſs he has upon his hands, if he had not a [...] innumerable number of Deputy Repreſenta⯑tive Devils always at his hand, to execute his Com⯑miſſions, and make their Appearance for him, when and as often as the meaneſt of the Southſaying In⯑chanting Race calls him.
And for this Reaſon it might be, that Ali Albrahazen, as is ſaid above, in the firſt Intimacies betwixt him and the Favourite Spirit who ſpoke to him in Dream, had a Name given, by which he was to be called three times at every Round of the Palm-tree Circle; which when he had rehearſed, the Devil, (that is to ſay, that particular Deputy Devil which was appointed to wait upon him) was always to attend and be ready. Whether that ſaid parti⯑cular Spirit was bound to his due and daily Atten⯑dance for that one Occaſion, Hiſtory has not yet [138] determined: I have only to ſay, that if it was ſo, Friend Ali muſt be a Magician of ſome Quality, that had a whole Devil to attend him perſonally and ſingly, who was allowed to do no other Buſineſs, but juſt wait to receive his Orders, and give back the Inſtructions which Ali might ſtand in need of, unleſs perhaps now and then he might go upon ſome other Errands, where the Occaſion was extraordinary.
We are told, that in America, and in ſome Na⯑tions in Africa, the Magicians or Wizards and Pawaws found Ways and Means to converſe with Satan Face to Face, as particular Occaſions requir'd; and that from the Beginning of Time: for per⯑haps his Converſation in thoſe remote Countries might be as antient as it was any where, Aegypt and Arabia excepted.
It is ſaid alſo that, he does appear in thoſe Coun⯑tries, and upon certain Times or Occaſions, in hu⯑man Shape, ſometimes in one Poſture, ſometimes in another, as Circumſtances may vary; as ſometimes he appears angry and frightful, ſurrounded with Fire, pr [...]ceded with Tempeſt, and the like terrify⯑ing Objects, to let the People know that he can hurt them; ſometimes in Smiles, and ſweet ſpicey Perfumes, and preceded by Muſic and Melody in the Air, to let them know he is pleaſed.
'Tis true, it was late in the World before we, in theſe Parts, knew any thing of it; and it might be ſo alſo before he begun thoſe Practices there: they were too groſs to go down with the firſt Ages, when the Knowledge of God was not ſo entirely obliterated from the Minds of Men as it was af⯑terwards; But Idolatry had prevailed to ſuch a de⯑gree in America, that the Devil was perhaps the only God they had heard any thing of for ſome thouſands of Years. But I return to my Subject.
[139]Except in thoſe and ſuch like remote and unac⯑quainted Parts of the World, we do not find much Evidence of the Magicians ſeeing or converſing with evil Spirits, of whatever Kind or Quality, in the Shapes of Men or Women: Gods Angels indeed, who are in ſacred Text called the Heaven⯑ly Hoſt, are and have been frequently allowed to make their Appearance, and have been ſent hither on immediate and ſpecial Buſineſs, as to Abraham, to Jacob, to Moſes, to the Father of John the Bap⯑tiſt, to the Virgin Mary, to the Shepherds at the Birth, to our Saviour himſelf on divers Occaſions, and to the Women at the Sepulcher, at the Re⯑ſurrection, and at the Aſcenſion.
Perhaps this may be the Reaſon why the Devil has kept his diſtance; he remembers no doubt his former Rencounters with Uriel and with Gabriel, or other Angels, no matter who, mentioned by Name in Mr. Milton, and how they drove him about from one Part of the Waſte to another, out of Heaven, out of Paradiſe, and every where elſe, where they and he happen'd to meet; and doubt⯑leſs he does not much care to rencounter them.
What Shape or Figure he appeared in when he came to tempt his Maker and our Saviour, at that time himſelf in a State of Perſonality as Fleſh and Blood, as it is not expreſſed, ſo I will not pre⯑tend to make a Gueſs at it: 'Tis plain when he was at any time caſt out of the poor diſtemper'd People by our Saviour, or by his Diſciples, tho' he came evidently out of the Demoniac or Poſſeſſed, yet he did not come out viſibly and in Shape, but walking off like a detected Thief in the dark, and imperceptible, he always play'd out of ſight.
The ſame Method I believe he took with all ſorts of People in the World for ſome Ages, eſpe⯑cially at the Beginning of Time; and would all our poſſeſſed or profeſſed Dealers with this cunning [140] Manager act in the Dark, and keep him to them⯑ſelves, that we might not ſee their Inſtructor, or be acquainted with the Inſtructions, their Witchery and Craft of Hell would, I believe, be much leſs hurt⯑ful to the World than it is.
But now it ſeems as if our modern Magicians acted upon another foot; that they do not go to the Devil, but the Devil comes to them; they do not go to him in the Deſarts and Retreats of the Dark for Directions and Inſtructions, but he acts with them in Concert, and there is a kind of mu⯑tual Cohabitation, they go on hand in hand, and are Fellow-Agents, both Principals and both Ac⯑ceſſaries, only with this uſual difference on the De⯑vil's ſide, viz. if they happen to do any capital Miſchief, ſo as to bring them to the Gallows, he always leaves the Hanging Part to them, there he, as we ſay, ſlips his Neck out of the Collar, and is gone.
This ſubtle Agreement in Miſchief between the Magician and the Spirit that acts with him, is not at all for the Advantage of Mankind; and the Magicians of the former Mould ſeem to have been much the leſs hurtful kind, for they generally were known to be what they pretended, and were only made uſe of by People when they wanted 'em, and for what was requir'd of them; ſo they had their Pay and Wages of Unrighteouſneſs, and you had done with them.
But here we converſe with the Men, knowing nothing of what they are, and do not ſee the Devil that is within them; ſo we deal with the Devil at ſecond hand, as we may call it, that is, we talk to him in diſguiſe, make Bargains and Contracts with him, and that ſome of the worſt kind, by the Agency of theſe Magicians, and ſee not the evil Spirit who is all the while both Di⯑rector and Principal in all the Affair. Thus far for [141] thoſe Magicians who really deal in ſecret with him, and this is that Magick which we call the Black Art, that is to ſay a ſecret undiſcover'd Conſpiracy between Satan and thoſe Agents of his which apply to him for Direction, and then their acting again by thoſe Directions, to abuſe, impoſe upon, and deceive Mankind.
CHAP. VI.
Of who were the firſt Practicers of Magick, as a Diabolical Art, and how it was handed on to the Aegyptians and Phoenicians, where it was firſt openly encouraged.
THE Writers upon this Subject before me ſeem to have all been at a loſs to ſix the O⯑riginal of Magick as an Art Diabolical, and they would fain have us believe it was in Practice in the Antediluvean World. This I have not denied, nor ſhall I deny it ſtill; but granting the Devil to have a Conqueſt upon the firſt Woman, and by her Weakneſs and Treachery drawing her Husband in⯑to the ſame Snare, we may give up all their Race for as black as Hell could make them: And indeed the ſacred Text deſcribes them in Terms as black as can well be expreſſed, Gen. vi.12. God looked upon the Earth and behold it was corrupt, for all Fleſh had corrupted his way upon the Earth; and ver. 13. The Earth is filled with Violence; and ver. 5. ſpeaking of Man, the Imagination of the Thought of his Heart was only Evil continually; and the Wick⯑edneſs of Man was great upon the Earth: upon this Account, I ſay, I gave up all that Race in the Be⯑ginning of this Work; and be it ſo, or be it only ſuppoſed to be ſo, 'tis much the ſame, nor is it [142] [...] diſputing with any Body; if the Devil had the [...]agement of them, as 'tis evident he had, much [...]eſs could not be expected, let that part go.
But my Queſtion has been all along, not what was done before but ſince the Deluge, and how did Satan introduce himſelf to the poſt-diluvean Ages, when and where, with whom, and in what man⯑ner did he make his firſt Acquaintance and break⯑ing in upon Mankind for a ſecond Poſſeſſion, or Management of Art?
I mention'd Zoroaſter ſlain in Battle by Semirami [...], and Prometheus and others, and very early they were; and I ſtand by my Account of them, that they were the firſt Magicians, as the Word or Term Magician imply'd a Man of Learning, of Wit, and more than common Underſtanding, ſearching after Knowledge, ſtudying the Rudiments and firſt Pre⯑cepts and Principles of Philoſophy. But we are now in Search after another ſort of People, who, tho' they were Searchers into Knowledge too, yet look'd into it in another manner, and for other Purpoſes, namely, who ſearched deeper into things, and into deeper things, I mean ſearching into HELL it ſelf; who began firſt to enter upon Diabolical Enquiries into the infernal Myſteries and Arts of the Devil, and where thoſe begun it is not ſo eaſy to find out.
Some Authors, as Serenus, and Caſſianus from him, and the learned Sir Walter Raleigh from both, hand down this fabulous Original for our Speculation, viz. that Ham or Cham the Son of Noah having practiſed thoſe ſuperſtitious and ſacrilegious Arts (I take their own Words) before the Flood, and knowing that he could bring no Book or Memorial of that nature into the holy Veſſel where his Life was to be ſecured by the goodneſs of his Maker, and wherein he was to remain with his righteous and godly Father, cauſed the Rules and Precepts to [143] be graved in Metal, and in hard Stone, which ſhould receive no Impreſſion from the Water.
But this is ſuch an evident Fiction, and full of ſo many Abſurdities and Contradictions, as well as Falſhoods, that 'tis not only unlikely it ſhould, but impoſſible it can be true.
For Firſt, Where were thoſe Plates left? If they were to be preſerved in the Ark, 'tis certain Noah who had the Superintendency of the whole Build⯑ing, and of every thing that was brought into it, or to be admitted, would much leſs have admitted copper Plates to be brought in there, or Tables of Stone with ſuch Abominations engraven on them, than he would have taken in written Books, if ſuch had been then in uſe.
Secondly, Had Cham been ſuch a Perſon, ſo far engaged in a Correſpondence with Hell, we may reaſonably ſuppoſe God, who for the Reaſons taken from the Sins of the reſt of Mankind deſtroyed the whole World, would never have ſpared him, and ſo by him laid the Foundation of the Devil's ſecond Kingdom, and of his debauching the World with Sorcery and Witchcraft: nor do we read that Cham or Ham was curſed by his Father on any ſuch Account, but for Sins actually committed af⯑ter the Deluge, and after their coming out of the Ark; but to charge Ham with Sorcery and Diabo⯑lical Practices before the Flood, is a groſs begging the Queſtion, and by no means to be admitted without good Evidence.
And again, the Writing and Graving upon hard Stones, Metal, &c. requires a Proof that there was any ſuch thing as the Knowledge and Uſe of Letters among Men before the Flood; which after the ſtricteſt Enquiry is not yet aſcertained, much leſs agreed upon by Men of Learning; the ſame having not been preſerved to Mankind after the Deluge, which 'tis highly probable would have [144] been, if ſuch a thing had been in uſe, the Know⯑ledge having been both innocent and uſeful.
Thirdly, If ſuch Writing or Engravement were made by Cham, or any one elſe, where were they laid, and how found again? when, by the uni⯑verſal Convulſions ſuffer'd during the Flood, not the leaſt Veſtiges, Ruins or Remains of Cities or Towns were to be ſeen upon the Surface of the Earth, but all was huddled together in the gene⯑ral Confuſion of the Parts, and either buried and overwhelmed in the Body of the Earth, or driven down by the rapid Currents which followed at the going off of the Flood; and it ſeems ſtrange that theſe Stones or Plates could be found, when every thing elſe was loſt and overthrown; when the Surface being perfectly new, no one Part of the World could be known from another, much leſs any Place be known by the Situation which it had before.
There are many more Abſurdities in the Caſe as it is propoſed; but I muſt not dwell too long in a Place, that have ſo long a Journey to go.
Zoroaſter is the next to whom they would a⯑ſcribe the Magick Art; but I have proved him to be a very honeſt Man, and a wiſe Man, pro⯑perly ſpeaking, in my former Chapters, and that he was employed in a much better and honeſter Study, ſuch as in diſcovering the Nature of Herbs and Plants, Metals and Minerals, precious Stones and Jewels; that he invented the Doctrines and firſt Principles of natural and moral Philoſophy; and many uſeful and beneficial Parts of Know⯑ledge for the Good of Mankind; the Power of Simpathies and Antipathies, and their various Work⯑ings and Objects; in all which I take Abraham alſo, who was ſtill before him, to have been eſpecially famous; and that 'tis probable Abraham was parti⯑cularly inſtructed by Noah himſelf, for 'tis evident [145] that Abraham was upwards of fifty Years old when Noah died.
To come off of all this, there are others who make another Zoroaſter, a real and Diabolical Magi⯑cian, who was not ſlain by Semiramis, as that wiſe Prince Zoroaſter was; but on the other hand, ha⯑ving been teaching his Diſciples the Art of raiſing and converſing with Spirits, was by one of them taken away out of his School, all his Scho⯑lars looking on; or, if you will have it in a modern Style, he raiſed the Devil, to ſhew his Diſciples a Teſt of his Art; and the Devil carried him away in the face of them all, to give them a Teſt of his Power: which (by the way) was but poor Encou⯑ragement at that time, for any one of them to turn Magician; and for that Reaſon, and knowing the Devil to be no Fool, makes me give the leſs heed to that Part of the Story.
Other Writers, of whom Joſephus is one, (whoſe Credit, I muſt always premiſe, goes but a very lit⯑tle way with me) tells us, that Seth the Son of Adam firſt diſcover'd the Planets or wandering Stars with their Motions, Influences, Revolutions, &c. that thoſe with ſeveral other uſeful Branches of Aſtronomic Knowledge were handed down by Tra⯑dition to Noah, and by him to the new World, and that then coming from Noah immediately to Abraham, to Zoroaſter and others, they were hand⯑ed from them to Poſterity, as we find it at this Day.
But all this is nothing to the purpoſe, that is to ſay, nothing to our Diabolick Magick, nor does it give any Light into the grand Queſtion, Who was the firſt Author of that kind of Study; who was Satan's firſt Correſpondent in the new World, or firſt dealt with the Devil after the Flood? I cannot think indeed that the Devil ſuffered Man⯑kind to live long unmoleſted by him, or that Man⯑kind [146] could go on long without ſome Buſineſs be⯑tween them: they would be both eager to renew the Acquaintance, and reſtore the ancient Familia⯑rity; and it could not be long before they found ſome means or other to bring it to paſs; for Lovers you know will meet, whatever are the Difficulties which firſt obſtruct: and eſpecially the great Artiſt on his Side had many dark Deſigns in view, and new Foundations to lay for the Overthrow of a riſing Generation, which required to be laid deep and ſtrong, and the ſooner they were begun, the better for him.
As to Cham being the Author of Magick in the new World, that indeed I cannot grant, that is to ſay, not as the Ancients bring in the Story; namely, that he invented the Seven liberal Sciences, and wrote them in fourteen Pillars of Braſs or Stone, &c as above; that Cham, as he was, notwithſtand⯑ing the Curſe he incurred by his ill Behaviour to his Father, one of the immediate Progenitors of the new Race, and particularly of thoſe great and mighty Nations the Aegyptians, Arabians, Africans, and Phoenicians, among whom all human Wiſdom and Learning firſt flouriſhed, and indeed firſt be⯑gan; ſo I doubt not but he was capable to inſtruct them in much of the antediluvean Knowledge, and that of even the beſt things, and did ſo: That he reigned afterward in Aegypt a very long while, is confirmed by all the antient Writers; particularly in the Catalogue of the Aegyptian Kings, of which Cham was certainly the firſt, they are ſaid to reign and ſucceed one another thus,
- Cham peopled Egypt the Year of the World 1847, 191 Years after the Flood. Oſyris or Mizraim the Son of Cham 2008, 352 Years after the Flood.
N.B. This was the King who elevated Joſeph, and who built the Pyramids, not for Tombs [147] and Monuments only, but for Magick, that is, Aſtronomick Obſervations, as Semiramis did the great Tower of Babylon.
From hence it appears that Cham came to Aegypt when he was near three hundred Years old; ſup⯑poſe him to be an hundred Years old when he came out of the Ark, which was the moſt, for his elder Brother Sem was no more, and that he reign'd in Aegypt one hundred and ſixty one Years, in which time he made the Aegyptians and the Ara⯑bians, and alſo the Phoenicians, for they were all his Offspring, very polite Nations.
- The Arabians were his Poſterity by his Son Chus. The Phoenicians by his Son Canaan whom Noah curſed. The Aegyptians by his Son Mizraim, which was the King Oſyris above. The Libyans and Aethiopians by his Sons Phut and Lud.
So that in ſhort, Cham was ſo exceeding fruitful, that he peopled all Africa, and ſince that, from Africa all America, and thoſe particularly populous Parts of Aſia called Arabia and Syria.
I expect my light-headed Readers, whoſe Wits are too volatile for this remote Story, will call this a dry Subject, tho' to me I confeſs 'tis juſt the contrary; but as it is too grave for them, I will endeavour it ſhall not be too long for them; ſo to oblige Folly, and I am ſure to the Diſlike of the truly wiſe and ſolid Heads, I leave off before I have done, that I may not abate that moſt faſhionable Cuſtom of writing moſt of that which is pleaſant, and leaſt of that which is profitable; ſo willing is your humble Servant to be a Man of Mode, and ſuch a Weight does he put on thoſe who have real⯑ly no Weight in themſelves.
In favour then of the Uſage of the Times, and eſpecially of the Genius and Temper I mention [148] above, I am to leave off thoſe grave tho' uſeful Di⯑greſſions, and come back to the Progreſs of Ma⯑gick, the particular Subject before me.
That the Devil was the Aggreſſor in his new Correſpondence with Mankind is not to be doubted, but that is not ſo much our Buſineſs; as to know when this Correſpondence began, who was the firſt among Men that carried on the clandeſtine Deal⯑ing, and how it was managed on both Sides.
We have cleared Cham of the Charge, as far as Probabilities will go in his Favour; and the Truth is, Cham grew quickly too great, was above the Occaſion for it, and being the firſt, and perhaps the greateſt Monarch upon Earth, even before Ninus or Bell (Baal) he had no need of turning Conjurer and Magician, which became preſently the Work of a meaner Race of Men than Cham; for the Magicians, eſpecially ſpeaking of them now as Witches and Inchanters, were not Kings and Emperors, but the Servants of Kings and Empe⯑rors; kept and maintained for the wicked Works and Services which they did for them.
Indeed the Magicians which I mentioned at firſt, were Worſhippers of the divine Being, or eminent Examples of the Homage Men owed to the true God; nay, and even after ſome time were Teachers of divine things too, tho' under the miſtaken Mediums of Idols and Images; Theſe Magi, or Magicians, as I have obſerved, were at firſt ſo reverenced and honoured by the Nations they ſerved, as often to be made Go⯑vernours of the Common-wealth; Publick Be⯑nefactors having the moſt Right to the publick Honours and Advancements in thoſe Countries where they had been accepted for their Merits.
Hence it ſeems moſt natural, that all Kings ſhould be Patriots, ſeeing the very Name and Dig⯑nity, much more the Office, began in the Thing; [149] but that by the way; how far the Patriot and the Royalty go together in theſe Days, how the Name and the Dignity correſpond, let the Kings of the Earth examine, whoſe Buſineſs it is to mend it where it is not ſo, and to let it be more known where it is.
It is then pretty hard to find out who were the firſt Magicians, taking the Word Magick as I now underſtand it, viz. in the worſt Senſe; and yet it does not ſeem to be very long after the Flood be⯑fore we ſhall find ſome of them at work; for in the immediate Reign after Cham, that is, in the Reign of Mizraim or Oſyris, which Hiſtory makes to be the Pharaoh whoſe Dream Joſeph interpreted, and who reigned two hundred ſixty one Years; in his Reign 'tis evident there were ſuch People. See the Place, Gen. xli.8. He ſent and called for all the Ma⯑gicians of Aegypt, and all the wiſe Men thereof.
It is true it does not appear poſitively that theſe were Magicians of the worſt Sort, but it ſeems to be ſo, becauſe Heaven reſerved from them the re⯑vealing to Pharaoh the Interpretation of his Dreams; which however might be to preſerve the Honour to Joſeph, and to make way for all the great Events which followed; but ſtill, I ſay, we do not know that here were none of the preſent kind of wicked Magicians, and we have much reaſon to believe there were.
But within the Space of about two hundred Years after, we are ſure to find them; nay, the Text is plain, they were there when Moſes and Aaron ſtood before the laſt Pharaoh who held the People in Captivity; for then they imitated the Miracles of Moſes and Aaron by their Inchantments, that is, by Sorcery and Witchcraft; now even this was but a little above eight hundred Years from the Flood; and thus much may ſuffice for the Chronology of of Witchcraft and Sorcery.
[150]Being thus come to a tolerable Certainty as to Time, when this Art was firſt practiſed, we ſhall be led more directly to the Perſons, by entring a little into an Enquiry after the Practice, that is, the Manner made uſe of in thoſe early Times of the Art; for by diſcovering what they did, we ſhall diſ⯑cover alſo who did it: They acted certainly from the Beginning, by certain Myſtick or concealed Conjurations, ſuch as uncouth Noiſes and Sounds, ſtrange Geſtures, Poſtures, and barbarous Magick Noiſes, of which we ſhall ſay more in their Place.
But what, ſay our Enquirers, were thoſe things called Inchantments, which conſtitute what is called the Black Art, or the Craft Magical? The Text ſays the Magicians did ſo and ſo, by their Inchant⯑ments; that is, whatever Wonders or Miracles the two Prophets of God wrought by the Finger and Power of God, theſe Men imitated by the Power of the Devil.
Thoſe Inchantments I take to conſiſt of certain agreed Geſtures and Noiſes, certain barbarous Names and Words, and ſuch inexplicable Terms of helliſh Art, which upon Concert between Hell and the helliſh Agent, are to be ſo and ſo underſtood between them; on expreſſing of which, and mak⯑ing ſuch Circles and Figures on the Ground as is agreed, the evil Spirit with whom they have con⯑certed the Affair beforehand, ſhall appear, and ap⯑pear too in ſuch and ſuch Form as they appoint to bring him out in; and this I give as a brief Defini⯑tion of what they call Inchantment.
And here, not to preach upon the Point, or to inſiſt that even what is thus acted muſt be by the Power of Heaven concurring, for this is what all that are not Atheiſts acknowledge; but, I ſay, not to dwell on this Part, I make ſo free with our Fellow-Conjurers as to ſay, they put a great deal of Cheat upon the World, in pretending to act by [151] ſupernatural Powers in thoſe Inchantments, let them be of what ſort they will, whereas they really acted much by Cheat and Trick, Lege [...]demain or Slight of Hand, and pretended the Prince of the Air, when he had nothing to do in it; that how⯑ever ſome of thoſe things were certainly by his, the Devil's Aid and Aſſiſtance, as it was with Ali Albrahazen, and has been with others to this Day, which we ſhall not and cannot deny, yet 'ti [...] appa⯑rent much of it has been, as I ſaid, meer juggling and deceiving.
As the Devil has not tied himſelf up to Methods in his acting with Mankind, ſo neither hav [...] the Magicians of the World kept to any certain Me⯑thods, as to a ſtated Rule in their Actings among us, but have, on many Occaſions, made uſe of dif⯑fering Methods; I mean as to their Management between the Devil and them; and alſo as to their apparent putting the Belief of it upon us.
How we ſhall do to know and diſtinguiſh when the Magician puts the Devil upon us, and when he only acts the Juggler, would be worth while to find out; and did either the Devil or the Magician act by any ſtated Rules and Methods, we might make ſome Judgment about it; but on the other hand, they are ſo much and ſo often both Devils and both Jugglers, that 'tis very difficult to fix them.
For Example, in their coming to Audience, ob⯑taining Admittance, or call it what you will, the great Queſtion is, How do they let the Devil know they want to ſpeak with him? either he is always at their Elbow, and can hear them whenever they call, where-ever they are, and on whatever Occa⯑ſion; and that would be to aſcribe either great things to him, as a Perſon, or a great Number to him, as an Hoſt.
Be that as it will, 'tis certain theſe People have certain concerted Terms agreed, as I ſaid above, up⯑on repeating which he is to appear to them, and [152] act for them as they ſhall agree, and thoſe I call Inchantments. There are alſo other agreed Signals, upon making which, the Devil, according to the Terms agreed on between them, ſhall act in ſuch and ſuch a manner without appearing; and thoſe I call Charms.
Thus, it ſeems, the Devil and Dr. B [...]reman agreed the Matter; the good Doctor having a mind to pay home an old Jeſt upon a young Gentleman that had abuſed a poor Girl, a [...]lient of his; the Doctor, it ſeems, told her, that if ſhe could perſwade him to get into her Smock upon their n [...]x [...] Intimacy, he would certainly agree to marry her; upon which the poor Girl makes herſelf a new one, and very large for the Purpoſe, and getting the young Fel⯑low into it, the Doctor, as was ſaid, laid ſuch a Charm upon it, or the Devil by his Order, that the Fellow could never get out of it till he gave the Girl a Note under his Hand to marry her the next Morning, and accordingly did it.
If the Story be Fact, as is loudly affirm'd, the Devil acted upon the honeſt ſide it ſeems; which I do not however charge upon him as a thing that he is often guilty of; but now and then, for the Credit of his Employers, he may be allowed to go out of his Way a little.
What thoſe things called Charms are, and how made uſe of, may occaſion ſome Speculation as we go on, and when we come to ſpeak of Charms as they are uſed between the Magicians and the Peo⯑ple; but I am now upon the Subject of Charms and Inchantments, as they relate to the proper In⯑tercourſe between the Magician and the Devil, or the Spirit whom he acts with, or by or for whom he acts, for 'tis not eaſy to expreſs it right.
I ſay, 'tis not eaſy to ſay in what Capacity the Ma⯑gician is to be underſtood to act. 1. Whether WITH (that is) in Concert and Agreement, or, 2. as we might ſay, in Partnerſhip with the Devil; or whe⯑ther [153] in a ſuperior Orb, as a Magician of Quality, making uſe of an attendant, obſequious, commanded Devil, always at his call, to do what he bids him, jump over his Stick, run and go, fetch and carry like a Dog, as ſome eminent Magicians of State have been ſaid to act; or as St. Dunſtan, St. Francis, the Abbot of Crowland, and others did by him, who they tell us ſet him to work, ſent him of Errands, made him ring the Bell to Veſpers, ſweep the Church, and a thouſand good things the ſer⯑viceable Devil did for them, if his good Hu⯑mour is not bely'd by the Prieſts knavery, and Satan charg'd with more Complaiſance for 'em, than ever he was guilty of: Or, 3. Whether the Devil is Maſter, which I muſt own is more likely, and the Magician Servant; and then he does not act the Devil, but the Devil acts him, and makes him do every thing he bids him; I ſay all theſe are doubtful Points, and not yet fully underſtood by us, or at leaſt not eaſily.
But be it which of theſe it will, there muſt be ſome concerted Terms of come and call between the Devil and his Correſpondents; like Ships at Sea, they muſt converſe by Signals, they muſt know when to meet, and when to ſummons for a meeting; when to appear, and when to diſappear; and to do this, is one of the conſtituting Parts of Magick; for without it the Magician is as good as no body, and the Devil in ſhort would appear of no uſe to him.
In ſome Parts of India they alledge to this Day, that he is talk'd with in the apparent Shape of a Man, and in the Habit of their Prieſts; but that is not the Buſineſs; they add that whenever they want to ſpeak with him, they go up to ſuch and ſuch Mountains in Troops or Aſſemblies; ſuch as ours at New-Hall perhaps, only with ſome ſpecifick Differences, which I might mention but that they are too [154] trifling to trouble you with. When they are all together, they call him with a little Kettle-Drum, juſt as I told you the good old Wives hive their Bees, ſave that they beat it on the wrong ſide; then they pronounce ſome Words which they call Charms, and the Devil comes without fail.
It is hard to find out in Hiſtory, what Words thoſe were, that were us'd for Charms in Aegypt, and Arabia, between the Devil and the Magicians for ſo many Ages; it is certain they differ'd in dif⯑fering Countries, and 'tis as certain they differ'd as the ſeveral Perſons acted together or apart; but I am as much at a loſs to find out what the Devil ſhould mean by ſuffering thoſe Words, or any Words at all, to charm, call, awaken or alarm him, as I am to know what the Words were; but at preſent let us think of the Words.
The Greeks have left us a Word, which was us'd by the Magicians of Antiquity among them, upon theſe and many more ſuch Occaſions. This is that famous Trine, or Triangular Word call'd Abraca⯑dabra, which drawn out in its Equilateral Sides ſtands thus.
ABRACADABRA
There is abundance of learned Puzzle among the Ancients to find out the Signification of this Word; the ſubtle Poſition of the Letters gave a [155] [...]ind of Reverence to them, becauſe they read it [...]s it were every way, upwards and downwards, [...]ackwards and forwards, and many will have it ſtill [...]hat the Devil put them together: Nay, they be⯑ [...]an at laſt to think it was old Legion's Sirname, and whenever he was call'd by that Name, he uſed to come very readily; for which reaſon the old Wo⯑men in their Chimney-corners would be horribly [...]fraid of ſaying it often over together, for if they ſhould ſay it a certain number of times, they had a Notion it would certainly raiſe the Devil.
They ſay on the contrary, that it was invented by one Baſilides a learned Greek, that it con⯑tain'd the great and awful Name of the Divinity, and that it was uſed for many Years for the oppoſing the Spells and Charms of the Pagans; that is, the Diabolical Spells and Charms of the Pagan Magi⯑cians.
But be this as it will, it fell into Contempt in after-Ages, and was uſed by the Magicians them⯑ſelves; ſo that its containing, or being intended to contain the Name of God, ſeems to me to be a Pretence only, to add a kind of Veneration to the Word; whereas it it now drop'd, only that ſome of our old Women, and quack Magicians, uſe it for a Spell or Charm, as they would have it call'd, to cure Agues, being written on a piece of Parch⯑ment, and hang'd about the Neck of the afflicted Perſon.
It would be nothing but crowding our Work with old Stories, to collect together what they call Spells and Charms, which our People here make uſe of, (where-ever they had them) to cure Diſtem⯑pers. I know an old Book-ridden Bunyaniſt, that is to ſay, a Baptiſt Preacher in Bedfordſhire, who cur'd Agues, by only ſaying ſome Words, while he gave the Patient a piece of Paper to put into his Pocket; others I have known cur'd by ſaying [156] ſome Words only, and giving them nothing at all I could give you many Examples, and you will find many more in the learned Collections of Mr. Aubery, and others, where in particular there is the Que⯑ſtion anſwer'd, Why ſaying ſome Words which have no Signification, and which neither the Per⯑ſon to whom they are ſaid, or the Perſon himſelf who ſays them, can underſtand, ſhould work a Cure; and the Anſwer is, becauſe the Gods underſtood what the Perſon meant, who firſt implor'd their Aid in thoſe Words, and to which they have ſtill regard.
This ſhews a little, what I am bringing all theſe things to; namely, that this was the Remains of the old Pagan Magick, and is all deriv'd from it, tho' perhaps it is practis'd with leſs crimi⯑nal Correſpondence than it was then, the People that now do theſe things not knowing what they ſay, or to whom they ſay it, yet certainly the thing is the ſame.
And this too gives us a light into the ancint Pra⯑ctices of the Magicians in Arabia, and Aegypt, and the Nature of thoſe things which the Scripture call [...] Inchantments; and how, and to what uſes thoſe Inchantments were obtain'd and apply'd. take The whole in this ſummary Account, which I gather from the exacteſt Obſervation of the uſage of thoſe Times, and of the behaviour of the People in the following Ages.
Of the Nature and Original of Inchant⯑ments.
The Story of the Devil and Ali Albrahazen the Sa⯑bean or Perſian, ſtands as a good Foundation; we have another without a Name, an Aegyptian, I will not add a Name by way of Invention, becauſe I will not [157] put my Sanction to the Truth of all the Particulars, [...]ut the Story is of the ſame Uſe, whether one Word of the Fact be true or no. And ſo, tho' I might take up ſome time with Vouchers for the Relation, I leave it upon your Hands as a current Tradition, for thoſe things are too ancient for Quotation of any ſort.
N.B. There is no room to queſtion, but that in Arabia, Aegypt, Syria, and thoſe Countries, where ſo much Magick was at firſt practis'd, and where the Devil's Correſpondence with Mankind was begun, where Magick was in its Perfection for ſo many Ages, and practis'd with ſuch apparent Succeſs, there are a great many ſtrange Stories current to this Day, and the Mouths of the People are ſtill fill'd with Traditional Accounts of the Wonders of the Ancients; their ſtrange Perfomances, and the Effects of their Magical Skill; the People are full of them, and even our Europeans, when they travel into thoſe Countries, bring away innu⯑merable Tales of this kind, which loſe little in the coming, as perhaps this among the reſt.
The Account I am now going to give, relates to a Magician of great Note it ſeems, tho', as I have ſaid, I have not his Name, whom the Devil, if it was the Devil, managed much in the ſame way as the other, and 'tis of like uſe in the Caſe before us. For as it confirms the Devil's Conduct to be much the ſame with Mankind, tho' in different Places, ſo it ſhews us that the ſame occaſions ſuit him to make uſe of: Before, he frighted the Sabeans with a Meteor or Ball of Fire in the Air; Now he alarms Aegypt with a Comet; either of them things of no Signification in themſelves, and which we in thoſe days can look on without running to Conjurers for their Interpretation: But in thoſe younger [158] days they were ſurpriſing and terrifying, and there⯑fore very proper to amuſe the World with, and to make even Kings, as well as People, ſend for their Magicians, to enquire after the Events of them.
In like manner we find in both theſe Accounts, the Devil not only making uſe of Dreams for di⯑ſturbing the Fancies of the People, as well their Kings as others; but we find him in both uſing that Power peculiar to him as a Spirit, namely, of cauſing People to Dream of this, or that, (whatever he pleaſes) on purpoſe to furniſh a Counterfeit In⯑terpretation to his Favourite Southſayer, and raiſe his Reputation at Court, in order to ſerve his (Satan's) Intereſt in other ſubſequent Deluſions: But I refer to the Story.
An Arabian of Ancient Fame, and Eminent in the Aegyptian Court for his great Skill in South-ſay⯑ing, having long ſtudied the Knowledge of hidden and ſecret things, and arriv'd to great Skill in the Motions and Revolutions of the Stars and Planets, had made himſelf famous on that Account: Having alſo much ſtudied the Appearances and Nature of the Planets, Vapours, Meteors, and other the Phaenomena of the upper Regions, from whence he made great and accurate Improvements in Natural and Experimental Philoſophy; he alſo ſtudied and underſtood the nature of Plants, Flowers, Drugs, Gums, &c. and the Influences of the Hea⯑venly Bodies upon them, giving them Virtue, Co⯑lour, Aromatick Flavour, and moſt healing and comforting Powers; and by this Knowledge, our Learned Arabian obtain'd the Fame of a moſt excel⯑lent Phyſician, as well as of a wiſe Man, and Southſayer, and was had in univerſal Eſteem, but eſpecially I ſay in the Court of Pharaoh King of Aegypt.
[159] N.B. They do not tell us which Pharaoh this was, ſo that the Chronology of this Ara⯑bian is ſomething defective in that Part; but neither is this very material, becauſe much of it will be diſcover'd by the other Circumſtances.
Unwearied in his Diligence and Studies, and eaten up with the Deſire of Knowledge, this Arabian Doctor (for ſuch we ſhall now call him) not at all abating his Search after Wiſdom by the Fame al⯑ready obtain'd; but ſeeing daily that there was an Abyſs of Knowledge yet behind, and that all he knew was as nothing, compar'd to what he was ſtill ignorant of, he purſued his Search into Nature with the utmoſt Application: All Night, yea many Nights together, he continued upon the Hills, and in the Deſarts, whither he wandered; for Aegypt is a plain Country for many Leagues together, from Memphis where he reſided. I ſay, all Night he ſpent in looking up into Heaven, and all Day in poring upon the Earth, ſearching into the Secrets of Na⯑ture, and trying and proving the Virtues of the Plants and Fruits, and other Rarities, the Product of that rich and fertile Soil: And thus he waſted and exhauſted his vital and animal Strength, to feed and nouriſh the Strength of his Mind, and fill his Head and Heart with Divine Wiſdom and Underſtanding. Thus far it muſt be acknowleg'd he was a true Original Magician, and a Man of Merit as well as Fame.
It happened in his wandering through the De⯑ſart, to the Station where he uſually fix'd his Place of Aſtronomick Obſervations, that he ſaw riſe up out of the Sea, Northward from his Situation, a Body of Fire, which at firſt ſeem'd to him one plain Flame, making an oblong Square, of an im⯑menſe Length and Breadth. But as it aſcended with the ordinary Motion of the Heavens, or rather ac⯑cording [160] to the new Syſtems, the ordinary Motion of the Earth, it leſſen'd in its apparent Dimenſions, and alſo came to bear a more regular Form than be⯑fore; till coming to its full Height it appear'd af⯑ter ſome time to be a Comet or Blazing-ſtar, which was viſible above the Horizon, as is uſual in ſuch Bodies, for about twenty ſix Days (or Nights rather) ſucceſſively, and then was ſeen no more.
This Appearance being entirely new, ſurmount⯑ed all the powers of his Underſtanding, and extreme⯑ly perplex'd him; and being one Night more than ordinarily afflicted about it, he broke out into Words to this purpoſe, tho' not directed to any of the Gods, not knowing it ſeems which of them were able to inform him, and which not. O! that ſome of the bleſſed Inhabitants of the UNSEEN WORLD would aſſiſt me in ſearching out the Myſtery of this ſtrange Phaenomenon.
He was the more anxious about it, becauſe, at his return to his own Houſe at Memphis, he had an Account, that Pharaoh had ſummon'd all the Ma⯑gicians and wiſe Men of Aegypt, to give him their ſeveral Opinions of the meaning of this ſtrange Ap⯑pearance; for the King had either ſeen it, or heard of it from others. The Appearance of it, as I have ſaid, being conſtant for about twenty ſix days after the Arabian had firſt diſcover'd it; and the wiſe Men differing very much in their Accounts of it, their Judgment had encreas'd the King's Curioſity very much; beſides, the Arabian South⯑ſayer had notice given him, that he would receive a Summons or Order to come to the King's Palace upon the ſame Occaſion.
Being thus, as is ſaid, extremely puzzled with this Affair, and believing perhaps that he ſhould do no more when he came to the King, than diſ⯑cover his Ignorance, as the reſt of the Southſayers and the Magicians had done, he was very uneaſy, [161] and reſolv'd to retire into Aethiopia for ſome time, till the Enquiry might be over; and as he was not ſent for to the King, when the reſt of the Magici⯑cians were, it would be no Impeachment of his Fame, that he was gone abroad for ſome time.
One Day, while this publick Uneaſineſs laſted, as he was walking towards his uſual Obſervatory as above, there joyn'd him a grave and venerable old Man, who ſaluting him with the uſual Bleſſing of the Times, and in the Arabick Tongue, falls into Diſ⯑courſe with him upon divers Subjects, ſuch as ſeem'd to ſhew that the Stranger was, like himſelf, an En⯑quirer after Knowledge. Among the reſt of their Diſcourſe, the Arabian particularly gave the Stran⯑ger an Account of the late Appearance which he had ſeen, as above.
They walk'd together till they came to the Foot of a gently riſing Mount, on the Top of which the Arabian had erected for himſelf a little Hut, or Bower of Palm-tree Leaves; here the Stranger ſeeing him ready to go up to the Hill, offer'd to take his Leave, but he entreated him to go up to his Obſervatory (as he call'd it) with him, and to ſtay with him that Night, that he might ſhew him the ſaid Appearance, and that in the Morning he ſhould go whither he pleas'd.
When they were come up to the Aſcent of the Hill, the Day being ſhut in, and the time for Ob⯑ſervation of the Stars come on, the Heavens being clear, and the Moon abſent under the Horizon, leaving them a fair View of the Stars, perfectly bright and clear; the Stranger ask'd him, in what part of the Hemiſphere he had ſeen the Comet riſe and ſet, and what was the particular Sphere of its Motion; all which he ſhew'd him moſt exactly, and at laſt the Comet it ſelf, not forgetting at the ſame time to let the Stranger know, how anxious and concern'd he had been to underſtand the Na⯑ture [162] and Reaſon, as well as the Import of the Ap⯑pearance of ſuch a Body, and to what particular Na⯑tion it had a Reference; and at laſt told him, how vehemently he had call'd out to the Gods, to give him ſome wiſe Interpreter, to inſtruct him in the Nature of ſuch Appearances, and of that in parti⯑cular.
The Stranger took no notice of his knowing that he had done ſo, but began with a Philoſophical Diſcourſe of Comets; as of Stars, which, in their ordinary Revolutions, are but ſeldom viſible; and therefore when they do appear, ſays he, it is generally ſuppoſed that they import great Changes and Trou⯑bles among Men, which, ſays he, may in one Senſe be true, becauſe they frequently are very much the occaſion of them.
But, ſays the Arabian, how ſhall we know when they have Important Significations, and when not, and to what Nations and Countries their Significa⯑tions are directed, and which are not concern'd in them?
Says the Stranger, There are Methods to know theſe things alſo; and the Gods, when they are minded to communicate theſe things, do it their own way. But Father, ſays the Arabian, if you can relieve my Thought in the Signification of the preſent Difficulty, pray be ſo kind; for I acknow⯑ledge my Ignorance, and that which perplexes me the more about it, is, that I expect to be call'd be⯑fore Pharaoh to-morrow, whom I reverence in the higheſt manner. I beſeech you inform me what I am to call this ſtrange new Appearance, and what are its Conſequences to the World.
Here the Stranger looking upon him with a ſmiling Aſpect, reply'd; I have great Regard for your be⯑ing eſteem'd by Pharaoh, and ſhall let you into the Knowledge of what you deſire, for your farther good Fortune. Know then, added he, with an [163] Aſpect all ſhining and pleaſant,
'Comets, continued he, are not, as fix'd Stars, Bodies of Fire, burning in the ſame manner as the Sun; but Bodies of a different Nature, compos'd either of prepar'd created Matter, ſuited from the begin⯑ning for Inflamation, or of vaſt Collections of ex⯑hal'd and condens'd Matter, ſubject to Inflama⯑tion, and more or leſs inflam'd according to the Po⯑ſition of their Orbits and Motion; and therefore the Eruption of their Flame is but on one ſide, or on one ſide chiefly, (as we ſee this burning) with a continued and vehement Eruption: They move in the utmoſt Extent of the Waſte or Ex⯑pance of Space, which you call the Aether or Air, and their Diſtance is ſo great, and their Revolu⯑tions ſo tedious, that they ſometimes do not come ſo near this Globe as to be viſible, no not in five hundred or a thouſand Years; and this is the ſe⯑cond that was ever ſeen in this Hemiſphere, ſince the great Deluge of the Earth, in the Years of Pharaoh's Great Grandfather's Father, being now above eight hundred Years paſt.
'The long Tail, or extended Flame which you ſee at one ſide of the Star, is the Eruption of Flame, which, as I ſay, continually burns with great Violence, and is ſometimes extended to an immenſe and unmeaſurable Length, even to that of many hundred thouſand Millions of Stadia, and blazes out for ever.
The Arabian heard this with a ſurpriſe of Plea⯑ſure, and was even ready to kneel down and wor⯑ſhip him; which you will ſay 'tis much the Devil [164] ſhould refuſe: But when he was juſt going to en⯑quire of him what Import this Appearance was to the World, and to Aegypt more eſpecially, and a⯑bove all to the King in particular, he was not only diſappointed to the laſt degree, but moſt miſerably afflicted and ſurpris'd; for that turning his Head caſually from him, or rather his Head being turn'd, or his Eyes turn'd from him, he in that very Mo⯑ment diſappeared, and was gone.
It was in vain that the Arabian Doctor ran out of the Hut or Bower, and down the Hill after him, to his two Servants, who always attended him at the Foot of the Hill, enquiring of them if the Father, the venerable Stranger, came not to them; they conſtantly and faithfully affirm'd that they had watch'd, as was their Duty, againſt wild Beaſts for his Security, and that nothing had paſſed by them.
It was in vain alſo, that he went back lamenting, and calling aloud upon the Stranger, whom he ſtyl'd Father, to return. How is it, ſaid he, that you could thus far illuminate my Underſtanding, and reveal the ſecret of Wiſdom but in part; promiſing to me a clear and perfect Knowledge, and then leave me uninſtructed, and in the dark, in the main and grand Inquiry? But no Voice, no Appearance return'd, which afflicted him ſore; and the Day appearing, he reſolv'd to con⯑tinue there the next Night, in hopes he might ſee him again in the Evening, as he had done before. After reſolving on this, and having been waking (as is ſaid) all Night, he laid him down to ſleep. He was no ſooner fallen into a deep Sleep, but he dream'd that he ſaw, (or, to ſpeak it in the Language of the Eaſt,) the ancient Father, the venerable Stranger, appear'd to him again in a Dream.
He was moſt agreeably ſurpriz'd with the Sight of him, and according to the Eaſtern Cuſtom fell at his Feet, embracing his Knees, and with all the [165] paſſionate Expreſſions which he had uſed before, ex⯑poſtulated with him, that he ſhould leave him ſo in the dark, and half inform'd, after having aſſur'd him that he would fully let him into the Know⯑ledge of that moſt important Secret.
The Viſion on the contrary ſeem'd diſpleas'd, and look'd at him with a leſs ſmiling and pleaſant Countenance than he had done before, when he was awake; and with a ſtern Voice ask'd him wherefore he call'd after him ſo importunately, when he had ſtaid ſo long with him, and had ſo fully inform'd him of all things he could deſire.
O my Father! ſays the Arabian, (tho' himſelf a hundred and fifty Years old) did not you put me in Expectation, that you would likewiſe inform me of what mighty Importance this frightful Comet ſhould be to Pharaoh, and to his Kingdom, and to the Country where we are, that I might obtain the Favour of the King, and be accepted for my extra⯑odinary Wiſdom and Knowledge among the People?
'Thou Fool! ſays the Viſion harſhly: O thou of weak and empty Judgment! was it not ſufficient to thee, that I had let thee know it was no new thing, nothing out of the Courſe of Nature, but a Comet or Star of a different kind from, and remoter Poſition than the reſt; that it came to be viſible here only in the Courſe of its ordinary Revolution, and may perhaps appear juſt in the ſame Manner, and in the ſame Place again, about ſeven or eight hundred Years hence?
'Can any thing be more natural, than that when I had told thee this, thou ſhould'ſt know alſo that there are no extraordinary things portended in Nature's common and ordinary Events; no Por⯑tentous Threatning; no ill Omens or Bodings in the common Appearances of the Heavens; no more in one Star than in another? When I had therefore told thee, that it was only an ordinary [166] Revolution of a Comet, I in effect told thee that it imported nothing, either to Pharaoh or to thee, or to any Perſon or Place whatever.
The Arabian, ſurpris'd, and yet inform'd by this Diſcourſe, ſtood juſtly reprov'd, and for a while an⯑ſwer'd not a Word; which the Viſion as it were obſerving, ſpoke again as follows.
‘'Tho' I have given thee ſufficient Light, where⯑by to expoſe the Ignorance of the wiſe Men, who have been call'd before Pharaoh, yet there are many things which thou mayſt ſay to the King, which are of great Importance to him and his Kingdom to know, which thou ſhalt be enabled by me to give him the Knowledge of, and which, if thou diligently liſten to my Inſtru⯑ctions, ſhall ſet thee at the right Hand of the King in all his Councils, and cauſe thee to be e⯑ſteem'd the wiſeſt Man in his Kingdom: But then thou muſt be very careful to obſerve all the Rules which I ſhall give thee, and to act in ex⯑act Obedience to them.’
The Doctor awaking, and the Viſion being end⯑ed, he now began to underſtand who it was he had been converſing with, namely an Angel of the inviſible World, (I ſuppoſe the Word Devil was not known among them at that time,) and that for the future he had a fair Opportunity of good In⯑telligence from the other World, upon all neceſ⯑ſary Occaſions, and upon the moſt important En⯑quiries.
Comforted exceedingly with this Intelligence, he haſtens back to the City, and being ſent for to appear before the King, as he expected, Pharaoh told him the Occaſion of his ſending for him, and how the Southſayers and wiſe Men were puzzl'd and perplex'd about it, but could give him no Ra⯑tional Account of it.
[167]Upon this the Arabian told the King, that he was ſorry to find him, Pharaoh, made ſo uneaſy by the Apprehenſions of a thing, which tho' above the Reach and Underſtanding of the Magicians, had yet in it nothing Extraordinary, nothing out of the Courſe of Nature; that there was nothing in it more than the neceſſity of its own Motion occaſion'd, and that it had therefore no portentous Import or Signification to Pharaoh, or to any of his People, or of his Dominions; and that this he might be aſſur'd of.
Then he went on, and gave the King an Ac⯑count of the Nature of the thing, as a Comet or Blazing-ſtar; and that Word for Word as the an⯑cient Stranger or Spirit had deliver'd it; and this he did too in the Audience, not of Pharaoh only, but of his whole Court; and that with ſuch a ge⯑neral Applauſe, that all the other Magicians and Southſayers acknowledged the Juſtice and Reaſon of what he ſaid, and the King was made perfectly eaſy upon that Account. From whence they tell us, that the Aegyptians, tho' in other Caſes the moſt ſuperſtitious People in the World, and that uſed formerly to be the moſt concern'd upon all new Phaenomena in the Heavens, or upon any un⯑uſual Appearances, flying immediately to the Divi⯑nations, and to their Southſayers, and Magicians, to interpret and account for ſuch things to them, are yet, ever ſince this Diſcovery by the Arabian South⯑ſayer ſo long ago, under no Concern at all upon the Appearance of Comets or Blazing-ſtars, on any Account whatſoever.
But I return to the Arabian. It was no ſmall Fame which he gain'd by the Solution he had given of this Appearance of a Comet; Pharaoh preferr'd him before all the Magicians of Aegypt, and exalt⯑ed him to divers Honours, but particularly to that of being near his Perſon, to counſel and adviſe [168] him upon all extraordinary Occaſions, as well in Matters of State and Politicks, as Matters of Dif⯑ficulty: Nor did the reſt of the Magicians envy him the Honours he enjoy'd, for they were convinc'd he merited all the King had done for him; and which was more, they did not find they could come at any Part of the extraordinary Intel⯑ligence or Underſtanding in things, which he was Maſter of.
In the mean time, as he was too wiſe to commu⯑nicate to any body the ſource of his Information, ſo he was too well ſatisfied with his new Intelligence, to neglect the Part he was directed to act, which was frequently to meet with the Viſion, which had once been ſo favourable to him: In a word, he fol⯑low'd with the greateſt Aſſiduity the begun Inti⯑macy, and ſail'd not to attend the very next Night in particular, after he had made his Speech con⯑cerning the Comet before the King.
On that occaſion, going towards his Obſervatory as uſual, he was encounter'd by a Man, in the Ha⯑bit of an Aethiopian, riding upon a Mule, and having a Bow hanging over his Shoulder, a Sheaf of Ar⯑rows at his Side, and a Lance in his Hand; the Man ſeem'd to ſhun him, and offer'd to go forward, but preſently turn'd back, and with a kind of Compli⯑ment to the Arabian Doctor, enquir'd of him, if there were any way for him to Foord through the River Nilus, which at that time of the Year was ſo low, as to be in ſome Places almoſt dry, and eaſily paſ⯑ſable on Horſe-back. The Arabian courteouſly an⯑ſwer'd him, that there was not any Place near the Road or Track which he was going in, and that he being as he perceiv'd a Stranger and alone, it would be hazardous for him to venture; but that if he would be pleas'd to ſtay, and go with him to a little Hut which he had hard by, for his Retreat in the Night, he would guide him in the Morning [169] to a Place where he ſhould paſs the River with Safety.
The Traveller thank'd him for the kind Offer, but ſeem'd rather inclin'd to go on; Sir, ſays the Arabian, the Night approaches, and you may meet with o⯑ther Dangers in the way from Crocodiles, Lions, &c. preſſing him again to ſtay; but he declin'd it again, and as to the Dangers he laugh'd at and deſpis'd them; Well then, ſays the kind hoſpi⯑table Arabian, let me ſend one of my Servants with you to guide you. He ſeem'd at firſt inclin'd to accept ſo kind an Offer as that was, but falling a lit⯑tle farther into Diſcourſe, the Arabian perceiv'd the Stranger began to look pleas'd, and fancying he would accept the firſt Offer, viz. of ſtaying all Night, mov'd it again, and with a little additional entreating, the Stranger conſented to that Part, and turn'd back with them.
The Arabian, tho' with two Servants with him, was always on foot; he had himſelf no Weapons, be⯑ing without fear but of wild Beaſts, againſt which his two Servants were his Security, who were armed with Swords and Lances; but the Stranger, well arm'd as above, turning back, they went on fearleſs together towards the Hill, which was about the Diſtance of two Miles.
In the Way, the Arabian was a little ſhock'd with the unuſual Civility which a great over-grown Crocodile ſhew'd them; who ruſhing out of a marſhy kind of Bog near the Way, came forward towards them, but on a ſudden turn'd back, and very obſequiouſly crept into the lurking Place, where it had juſt before come out from, and lay ſtill there as quiet as if it had been huſh'd by its own Fears, as perhaps it was.
At a ſmall Diſtance farther they met two She Lions, or as ſome call them Lioneſſes; and as they heard them growling at ſome Diſtance, before they [170] were ſeen; they, that is, the Arabian and his two Servants, began to ſhow ſome Concern about it; but behold, when the Lions appeared, they imme⯑diately turned about, and fled with the utmoſt Pre⯑cipitation.
After a little farther walking, the Arabian turn⯑ing to his Gueſt, told him, There, pointing to the Hill which was cloſe at hand, was his little Re⯑treat, to which he had invited him, and deſired him to leave his Mule with his Servants, and to walk up the little Mount with him; which the Traveller very readily did, bidding his new Land⯑lord go before to ſhew him the way, and he would follow him, as alſo he did; but what a Surpriſe think you was the poor Arabian in between Joy and Fright, when turning about at the Top of the Aſcent to receive his Gueſt, he ſaw nobody but the ancient venerable Stranger, who had at firſt ap⯑peared to him, and from whom he [...]ad received ſo much kind Inſtruction and Aſſiſtance before.
The Apparition (for ſuch I ſuppoſe it ſhould be now called) perceiving him in ſome Confuſion, bid him not be ſurpriſed, for he was ſtill his Friend, and in the ſame Diſpoſition to ſerve him as before, and asked him whether he came that Night in Ex⯑pectation of meeting him or not; to which the A⯑rabian replyed, He did, hoping to ſee him in Perſon or in Viſion, having ſomething to offer, which he hoped he would be ſo kind as to comply with him in.
Upon asking what it was, he told him, That Pharaoh had a great Difficulty upon him, and had asked him his Opinion therein, and he knew not what Anſwer to give.
What is this Difficulty? ſays the Apparition.
Why, ſays the Arabian, he has a private Account from his Spies, that Thermesbus, the General of the Armies of Aethiopia, deſigns to invade him in the [171] Beginning of the Year, with an infinite Number of Troops; and as the King is in greater Readineſs to begin the War, than the other, he wants my Opinion whether he ſhall make War upon Aethi⯑opia forthwith, or ſtay till he is obliged to do it in his own Defence.
Go you back, ſays the Spectre to him, and wait till the King ſends for you to interpret his Dream or Dreams.
What Dream? ſays the Arabian.
Why to-morrow Night, ſays the Spectre, the King ſhall dream, that a black Elephant came up to the Gates of his Palace, and that with his mighty Tusks or Teeth he broke down the Gates, and was entring in to make farther Spoil; when the Gates being, as I ſay, broken down firſt, the Tower which was over the Gates being ſhaken with the Fall, fell down ſoon after upon the Ele⯑phant, and well-nigh cruſh'd him to death; but that, tho' by his great Strength he bore up the Weight, yet he was ſo terrified with the Fall of the Tower upon him, that he withdrew into the Deſart and went quite away.
And what Interpretation ſhall I give of this Dream? ſays the Arabian.
You ſhall tell him, ſays the Spectre, That the black Elephant is the King of Aethiopia; that he ſhall ſend his General to invade him, even to the Gates of his Frontier City of Zaba, and ſhall enter the Gates thereof; but that the Aegyptians in Garriſon within ſhall break out and fall upon him, and tho' by the great Power of their Troops they ſhall eſcape, yet that they ſhall retire and go back into the Deſarts of Aethiopia, and not dare to look upon him any more.
But what then ſhall I adviſe to be done? ſays the Arabian.
[172]You will find it moſt rational, ſays the Spectre, to adviſe him to begin the War; and may promiſe him Succeſs, without Fear; but if not, let him place very great Garriſons in all the Frontier Towns of his Dominions, South, and eſpecially in Zaba or Zabda; and let him wait in a good Poſture of De⯑fence, till the Aethiopian Army advances to the Siege of that Place; and ſo his Dream will come to paſs.
This was all wonderful; the Arab was ſurpriſed with being thus furniſhed for ingratiating himſelf with his Maſter the King of Aegypt; he knew well enough, that to be able to make Pharaoh dream what he pleaſed, and then to interpret it how he pleaſed, muſt needs make him paſs for a great Man, in a Country too ſo ſuperſtitiouſly addicted to Dreams, and ſo uneaſie to have thoſe Dreams interpreted, as the People of Aegypt were.
Thus furniſhed, he goes back to the City, where he heard nothing till the third Day in the Morn⯑ing, when the whole Court was in Diſorder, all Faces ſeem'd cloudy, and every Mind diſturbed: The News was ſoon ſpread into all Parts of the City, that the King had had a frightful and terrible Dream, which had ſo diſtracted his Mind, ('tis ſuppoſed they did not call him His Majeſty) that he could not reſt.
The wiſe Men and the Southſayers, Magicians and Aſtrologers were immediately ſent for in a great hurry to give their Opinion, and interpret Pharaoh's Dream: The Circumſtances of the Dream were much the ſame with thoſe already mentioned with this Addition, that at the Beginning, Pharaoh be⯑ing in a deep Sleep, heard as he thought a ſudden great Noiſe, that it alarm'd the whole City, and that his Guards, as we call them, or Soldiers which were about him, were awaken'd, but all fled away, and that the City was even left without Defence, only that the Gates were ſhut.
[173]That in the midſt of this Hurry, a monſtrous black Elephant, breaking down all before him, and even overthrowing the Houſes and Buildings which were without the City, came on, no one reſiſting him, to the Gates of the City or Caſtle where Pharaoh ſlept; that with the Force of his mighty Tusks, or Teeth, he beat down the Gates thereof; but that the Tower being ſhaken alſo, Part of the Building fell down upon the Back of the Elephant, and, as the King thought at firſt, had cruſhed him to Death.
But that notwithſtanding the Weight of the Building which fell down was very great, yet that the Elephant by his mighty Strength bore it ſelf up and received no Injury by it; but being made afraid by the great Blow it received, it withdrew, and retired into the Deſart towards the South.
None of the Magicians could interpret this Dream, or rather, they could not agree in their In⯑terpretations of it; ſome ſaid one thing, ſome ano⯑ther, ſo that Pharaoh received no Satisfaction from their Interpretations; whereupon the Arab, who appeared at Court purpoſely to be called in, was ſummon'd, the King being told that he was there.
He came without any Heſitation at the firſt Call; and the King, with great Appearance of Diſtur⯑bance, tells him what a ſtrange Dream he had had, how it had diſturbed him, and the like, and added, that none of the Interpretations which the wiſe Men had given of it, were ſatisfactory to him, or agreeing with one another. The Arab ha⯑ving then demanded a Particular of the King's Dream, had it related to him as above; then he de⯑ſired to know what Account the Magicians had given of it, and how they had interpreted it; which when he was told, he expreſs'd ſome Wonder that they ſhould all amuſe the King in ſuch a manner, and ſhould ſay nothing but what was perfectly remote from the Caſe.
[174]But turning to the King, ‘'Let not Pharaoh (ſays he) be any more diſturbed about the Inter⯑pretation of his Dream, ſeeing the Event ſhall redound to the Honour of the King and Proſpe⯑rity of his Dominions; for that the Dream being interpreted, is a Repreſentation of what ſhall im⯑mediately come to paſs:'’ and then he went on to interpret boldly the Dream thus.
'The Noiſe, O King, ſays he, which thou waſt alarm'd with in the City, and which thy Soldiers were intimidated with, ſo as to run out of the City; this is nothing elſe but a Rumour of War from the South, and a certain Alarm upon the Approach of an Army upon the Borders, at whoſe Approach all the Inhabitants of the Country ſhall fly into the Mountains and Cities for fear of the Invaders.
'The black Elephant aſſaulting the Gates of the King's Palace is the General of the Armies of Aethiopia, who ſhall make War upon Pharaoh, and ſhall invade his Kingdoms with a great Ar⯑my, and ſhall break down the Gates of his ſtrong Cities; but let not the King be diſmayed at the Strength of this Enemy which is ſo great, for the Power of Pharaoh ſhall fall upon him, and ſhall ſtrike him with Terror and Amazement; ſo that he ſhall flee away with all his Army into the Wilderneſs, and into the Deſart Country, and ſhall be ſeen no more.
He had no ſooner delivered his Interpretation, but Pharaoh embraced him with Joy, and told him, That he had indeed given him a right Interpre⯑tation of the Dream; and that he fully believed it would come to paſs in the ſame manner: Where⯑upon Pharaoh forthwith cauſed Preparations of War to be made, and ſent Ambaſſadors into Aethiopia to denounce War.
The ſame Year that the Arabian had given this Interpretation of the King's Dream, the Aethiopians [175] with a great Army invaded the Coaſts of Aegypt, waſting the Country and ſlaying the People, even to the Gates of Zaba or Zabda, a fortified City on the Frontiers of the Country, which they beſieged, but in vain; and the King of Aegypt marching a⯑gainſt them with all his Chariots and Horſes, at their Approach the Aethiopians fled, and retired in⯑to the Deſart Country, and were ſeen no more.
This Story, ſuppoſing it, or the Subſtance of it, to be true, lets us into the Manner and Method in and by which the Devil firſt introduced a Correſpon⯑dence with Mankind, and how he tranſacted the ſame with the Magicians of Aegypt, which was cer⯑tainly continued by him for many Ages afterwards, in the very ſame manner, and by which the Magi⯑cians of Aegypt obtained ſo much in the Opinion of Mankind, that they paſſed for the wiſeſt Men in the World; whereas all this Knowledge, if we may believe Tradition, was neither more or leſs than a meer dealing with the Devil, a plain down⯑right Helliſh Correſpondence, managed by a magi⯑cal Scheme, dictated by the Devil himſelf, and ob⯑ſerved by the Magicians with but too much Exact⯑neſs on all Occaſions.
By this Diabolical Magick the Devil converſed freely with the Magicians, and they with him; and whatever ſome may pretend, that the Devil cannot aſſume a human Shape for his Correſpondence with Mankind, 'tis moſt certain that he did appear in divers Shapes, and on many Occaſions, or elſe all the Accounts of ſuch things which Tradition has handed down to the ſucceeding Ages muſt be falſe and fabulous, made up by the Invention of the Ages in which they were written.
But that this was not ſo, is apparent from the Scripture, as alſo from the firſt Writers of the Aegyptian and Phoenician Hiſtories, by all which we read of the Wickedneſs of the Magicians; as parti⯑cularly [176] in the Story of the Wonders wrought by Aaron and Moſes in the Preſence of Pharaoh, where it is allowed that the Magicians wrought by Inchant⯑ment, which I always underſtood to mean by In⯑voking the Aſſiſtance of the evil Spirit, and by re⯑ceiving Help and Secret Powers as well as Intelli⯑gence from thoſe evil Spirits; and beſides the work⯑ing by Inchantment or Sorcery, ſo taken Notice of there, we ſee it mentioned again in the Book of Wiſdom, Chap. xvii. ſpeaking of the Plague of Darkneſs, he ſays, They were ſcatter'd under a dark Veil of Forgetfulneſs, being horribly aſtoniſhed and troubled with (ſtrange) Apparitions, Noiſes as of Waters falling down, ſounded about them, and ſad Viſions appeared unto them with heavy Countenances. Ver. 6. Only there appeared to them a Fire kindled of it ſelf very dread⯑ful; for being much terrified, they thought the things which they ſaw more terrible than the Things they ſaw not.
Ver. 7. As for the Illuſions of Art Magick, they were put down, and their vaunting in Wiſdom was reproved with Diſgrace: For they that promiſed to drive away Terrors and Troubles from a ſick Soul, were ſick them⯑ſelves with Fear, and worthy to be laughed at.
This whole Quotation is a Deſcription of the Darkneſs of Aegypt, in which, according to this Text, there were ſtrange Apparitions, being evi⯑dently the Devil and evil Spirits with human Shapes, horrible Appearances and heavy Counte⯑nances.
I think this is ſo plain, as to need no Confir⯑mation from other Opinions: Magick was reproved, that is to ſay, diſgraced, becauſe the Devil could not aſſiſt the Magician, ſo as to make any Abate⯑ment of the Darkneſs, which was wrought by Hea⯑ven; for even the Fire could not be made to give any Light, ſo the Power of Art, nay even of Ma⯑gick it ſelf, was at an End.
[177]In this terrible Caſe, the Devil or rather Devils were, it ſeems, permitted to appear in horrible and frightful Shapes, with heavy Countenances, &c.
In like manner I cannot doubt but he appeared to the Magicians when he and they had Occaſion to meet and converſe, and carry on their Helliſh Combinations, and Confederacies for doing Miſchief; and this brings me of courſe to ſpeak of the Man⯑ner of the Magicians converſing with the Devil, for hitherto we have only ſpoken of his con⯑verſing with them.
The Caſe is this: Whenever the Devil had an Oc⯑caſion to ſpeak with the old Arab, or in Ages af⯑ter that (for the Arab was firſt) with Ali Albrahazen the Magician of Saba in Arabia, he knew well how to find them out, and could go to them, meet them in Apparition, or ſpeak to them in Viſion; But what was to be done when they wanted his Aſſiſtance upon any Emergency?
The Story of Ali, mentioned already, ſtated the Matter for him, namely, that he was to go into the Deſart to a certain Palm-tree, ſurround it ſo many times, call the Devil ſo many times in every Circle by ſuch and ſuch a Name, and then he would come.
Here was indeed a great deal of Ceremony, be⯑fore his Worſhip would be ſpoken with; and I cannot but think our Friend Roger M— (Ac⯑cepted Free Maſon, &c.) ſpeaks with him ſometimes upon much eaſier Terms; for the World is grown much nicer of late, than they were then, and the Devil is obliged to treat with them on Terms of leſs Ceremony.
But the reſt of the Story of the old Arabian will ſtate this Matter much clearer, and to the Under⯑ſtanding of every Reader; and will let us ſee a little what Methods they took to raiſe the Devil in King Pharaoh's time, and before our modern Experiments were in uſe.
[178]The Arab was now a great Perſon, all Aegypt re⯑ceived him as a wonderful Man; his Words were the Oracle of the Day, for whatever he ſaid came to paſs; he was ſent to far and wide, and Meſ⯑ſengers came from Perſia, from Phoenicia, nay from Aethiopia, for him to come thither, and give the Interpretation of their Viſions, and explain to them every doubtful Caſe; but he would not leave the Court of Pharaoh, and he was in the right, for the King highly honoured him.
All this while his Reputation wholly depended upon the conſtant Intelligence which he kept up with his familiar Spirit (ſo I may now call it) I mean the Apparition which came to him in the Deſart; but as this Appearing was arbitrary, and when it pleaſed, and might not be at hand when he might have a more than ordinary Occaſion for it, it occurr'd to him one Night to propoſe Methods of a more conſtant and leſs difficult Correſpondence, and that the Apparition might be brought to a greater Familiarity, ſo as that when any Exigence was upon him, he might be ſure of his Aid, might be able to call him to his Aſſiſtance, and that he would not ſail to appear.
Story does not record what Condition the Devil might make with the old Arab; as for ſelling Souls, ſigning Contracts, and the like, it ſeems to me there was little need of theſe things in thoſe Days, if there had, and the Devil had inſiſted on it, I doubt not the Arabian would have made no more Scruple of it, than our Brother of the Trowel, who adorns ſo often his blue Ribband with the moſt honour⯑able Badge of the Leather Apron; and being firſt incorporated, as above, in the ancient Society of free Th—s may, for ought we know, build two or three Churches abroad, ſeeing the Devil and he are known to be upon their Travels together.
[179]You have thus a Sketch of Satan's profeſs'd Correſpondence with his Agents in the firſt and moſt early Days of the Magick Art; if by thoſe Subtilties he brought them into great Re⯑putation among the People, and in the Courts of Princes, you are not to doubt but he found his Account in it; for by gaining a Reputation to his Agents, and at the ſame time keeping them at his Command, for the ſake of the Illuminations which they gained from him, he had them always at his hand, ready to do or undertake any thing how⯑ever black, which in the courſe of their Witch⯑crafts came in their way. We ſhall find ſome fla⯑ming Examples of this kind very quickly.
But for the preſent let us keep to our Arab as a Sample or Inſtance of the ordinary way of ſuch People in their future Correſpondences; hitherto you ſee the Devil very aſſiſtant, and, in his way, obliging to the laſt degree, to his new Acquain⯑tance the Arab. I will for the preſent ſuppoſe he had no other Correſpondent, at leaſt not in Pha⯑raoh's Court, nor was there any need of another; but you are to ſuppoſe he had more ſuch, or ſuch like, in other Places.
He had, it ſeems, found out the Way to make him⯑ſelf neceſſary to the Arab, ſo that the Doctor could not bear the Thoughts of wanting his conſtant Aſſiſtance: The Senſe of this puts the Arab upon propoſing to him, that for the future the Devil ſhould be ſo favourable to him as always to come to him whenever he had Occaſion, and this with⯑out obliging him to go into the Deſart and up the Hill, in ſearch of him, which many times the ex⯑traordinary Demands of the Court would not admit, nor allow him time for.
If the Devil did concede this Favour, which was more than he granted to Ali Albrahazen, (for he obliged him to come to the Palm-tree, walk ſo [180] many times about it, call aloud ſo many times upon him every Circle he made) before he would come; I ſay, if he yielded to this at the Deſire of his Ac⯑quaintance the Arab, it was certainly for the great Ends which were to follow.
Upon his new Propoſal, Meaſures were ſtated be⯑tween them that upon ſuch and ſuch formal ma⯑naging, (for there was ſome Reaſon, it ſeems, to make it a Piece of great Formality,) the Devil ſhould always, that is ſome of the innumerable Le⯑gions, ſhould always appear; whether Satan himſelf, or ſome of his Meſſengers, Servants, or Gentlemen in waiting, Hiſtory indeed is not ſo particular as that I ſhould be able to give you the Names of them, whether Chriſtian Name or Sirname, as in other Caſes might be expected.
The Forms of his appearing, the Occaſion, the Conditions, &c. being thus left to the Arab to de⯑termine as ſhould be for his Occaſion; let us ſee how near we can come to the Particulars.
Circles and Figures viſible to others, with ſome needful Cant or hard Words which might be made uſe of audibly, as there might be Occaſion; theſe ſeem to have been appointed as the Pomp and Ce⯑remony of the thing called Conjuring and Magick, and might be found neceſſary for many Reaſons: and in ſeveral Ages theſe were varied and changed, as the Magician and the Devil might agree about it between themſelves.
It was no doubt a great Condeſcention that the Devil would ſtoop to be always at hand, and to come when he was called; but he found his Ac⯑count in it: the Arab now had him at his Beck, and whenever Pharaoh had any difficult thing to pro⯑poſe, the old Arab could as they call it raiſe the Devil, when he pleaſed, to aſſiſt in it.
This is what After-times called having a Familiar, and a familiar Spirit, and is acknowledged to this [181] time to be frequently practis'd by Witches and Warlocks, and what we find mention'd in Scripture. Menaſſeh in particular, tho' one of the Kings of Judah, the Scripture is expreſs in it, That he uſed Inchantments and dealt with familiar Spirits and Wizards, 2 Kings xxi.6.
Several hundred Years before this 'tis apparent, by the Laws againſt ſuch as theſe, that ſuch were; and that doubtleſs while they were in Aegypt, nay it muſt be there; the Law is very expreſs, and reckons up ſeveral Sorts, Deut. xviii.10, 11. There ſhall not be found among you, (mark the Kinds,)
- 1. One that uſes Divination.
- 2. An Obſerver of Times.
- 3. An Inchanter.
- 4. A Witch.
- 5. A Charmer.
- 6. A Conſulter with familiar Spirits.
- 7. A Wizard.
- 8. A Necromancer.
then follows the juſt Character of thoſe Practices, ver. 12. For all that do ſuch things are an Abomi⯑nation to the Lord.
Now from the ſame Text we ſhall prove that theſe were Practices in the Nations of that Part of the World, even long before the Children of Iſrael came into the Land of Canaan. See the ſame Chapter, Verſe 12. And becauſe of thoſe Abominations the LORD thy GOD doth drive them out from before thee. And again, Ver. 14. For theſe Nations which thou ſhalt poſſeſs hearkened unto Obſervers of Times, and un⯑to Diviners.
Now ſuch a one was this Arab; let him act as he did, and be that how it will, 'tis evident he had a Familiar; the meaning is, he was in or under a Covenant with the Devil; he had made an Agree⯑ment with the Apparition for continuing the Cor⯑reſpondence, and for attending him conſtantly, to [182] furniſh him for his Predictions, foretelling Events, and acquainting them with ſecret and hidden things.
Theſe are the known Interpretations of theſe ſeve⯑ral Expreſſions, having a Familiar, uſing Divination, Inchantments, &c. All imply a Correſpondence with the Devil, to help them in ſuch extraordinary Caſes.
Such a ſort of People it ſeems there was among the Canaanites, that is to ſay the Phoenicians; and the Abomination was come to ſuch a height, and God had born with it ſo many Ages, that now he was reſolved to drive out thoſe Nations, for this very Crime: Now, as there were ſuch People among the Phoenicians, no doubt but there were ſuch a⯑mong the Aegyptians too, from whom theſe People of Iſrael came out, and who, tho' with the firſt-born of their Children ſlain in Aegypt, the Loſs of their Army and King in the Waters of the Red-Sea and other Calamities, they were reduced low enough at the Time that we read of them, yet were a ſtrong and powerful Nation, even from the time of Mizraim their greateſt Monarch after Cham.
As they were a powerful and great People, ſo they were a wiſe and learned Nation, as Wiſdom and Knowledge went then in the World, and there⯑fore we find, that however the Chaldeans and Ara⯑bians boaſt that they were the firſt Searchers into the Myſteries of Wiſdom and Knowledge, and that the firſt Rudiments of the celeſtial Studies were conceiv'd among them, which yet does not appear other than in their Pretences; yet ſuppoſe it, or ſuppoſe we were to grant it, we ſtill find that they went to Aegypt for their Practice and Encou⯑ragement; that perhaps in Arabia they might drink in the firſt Knowledge and Principles of things; But Arabia, a Country always poor, and not able to give Encouragement to Learning, as we [183] ſay of a Neighbouring Country, afforded Nothing but the dry Study, they muſt go farther for the Im⯑provement of it; in ſhort they might ſtay at home, and get Knowledge, but they muſt go abroad if they would get Money.
This was the Reaſon that, as it is at this time ſome⯑where elſe, as ſoon as the Poor Wretches had got a little ſmattering of Arabian, Mountain Wit, and a little Star-gazing Knowledge, away they went to Aegypt, and there they ſet up immediately for wiſe Men and Conjurers, and we ſcarce know what of Philoſophers.
The Aegyptians, a wealthy but from the very Be⯑ginning a ſuperſtitious kind of People, always hunt⯑ing after ſecret Interpretations, and hidden reſerved Events, poring upon rather than underſtanding myſte⯑rious things, and loving to have ſtrange Stories told them by any one, eſpecially Foreigners, gaped eagerly after the fine Tales of theſe ſecond-ſighted Ara⯑bians, dr [...]nk in their Magick as it was then called, and freely parted with their Money to have their Fortunes told them, and the Lines in their Palms explain'd to them by the crafty wandering Arabs.
On the contrary, the cunning Artiſts, that, tho' they knew nothing of the matter at firſt, yet ſee⯑ing plainly that even that little was eſteemed a great deal, while the People they talked with knew leſs, and finding the Aegyptians eaſie to be impoſed upon, willing to be cheated, and particularly con⯑tented to have their Pockets pick'd for the Satis⯑fying their ſimple Curioſity; I ſay, the cunning wandering Strangers made a good Market of them, grew rich and famous among them, and kept up the Reputation of their Craft by all the Subtilties of Wit and Invention.
This Succeſs encouraging their Studies, we may eaſily ſuppoſe they puſhed into all manner of na⯑tural Enquiries, and as far as they were able im⯑proved [184] themſelves, and furniſh'd their Heads with the Knowledge of human Things, ſuch as Reaſon, Philoſophy, and natural Experiments might ſup⯑ply; and at length puſhing at every thing, they found the way, or he found it out for them, as I have already obſerv'd, to deal with the Devil. And thus we are come at the Original of Magick, as we now underſtand the Word, that is to ſay of Diabo⯑lical Practices, or a certain ſpreading of Deluſions by the Aſſiſtance of the Devil.
CHAP. VII.
Of the Practice and Progreſs of Magick, as it is now explain'd to be a Diabolical Art; how it ſpread it ſelf in the World, and by what Degrees it grew up to the Height which it has ſince arriv'd to.
WE have pitch'd upon Aegypt to be the Spot where the firſt helliſh Artiſts ſtudy'd this that I now call Diabolical Magick. I ſhall not keep you long upon the cold Scent. It was practis'd there very early, and very long, before we heard much of it any where elſe; but when it took a run, when it ſtarted from thence, we ſhall ſoon hear of it a⯑broad: For however ſecret the Black Part may be, and however private the Magicians and their great Maſter the Devil manag'd their Correſpondence, yet the Practice of it, and the Game they play'd upon Mankind by it, was always publick and open, as we ſhall have reaſon to ſay, among other Nations, as well as among our own.
As to the Chronology of it, and when it began, in what Ages of the World thoſe Arabians began to practiſe as above, when they firſt dealt in this [185] Craft, when the Aegyptians began to be their Scho⯑lars, and they the Devil's, it is not (however ancient) ſo difficult to come at the Knowledge of in ge⯑neral, as ſome other things in the World, which yet we think our ſelves very certain of.
The Scripture, whether our good Friends that read Books in this Age will bear with our quoting it in Matters of Religion or no, yet is generally allow'd to be a tolerable good Hiſtory. Nay, if we may believe ſome good Authors, it muſt be al⯑low'd to be the moſt ancient Hiſtory, and the Writing from which all other Authorities take their Riſe; that Moſes was long before Beroſus, Homer, Heſiod, or in a word, any of the Writers on Earth. Nor could it be well otherwiſe, if what is lately advanc'd is true, that the firſt Knowledge of Let⯑ters to write by, and to read upon, was dictated to Moſes from Mount Sinai, by the immediate Re⯑velation of Heaven. I ſay it could not be otherwiſe. For how ſhould they write before they had Letters, and knew how to form the ſound of Words upon the Tables, where they were impreſt?
As Moſes had the firſt Knowledge of Letters, ſo he had the firſt Knowledge of Things too, and was therefore the beſt qualified to be a Collector of Antiquities; nor was it ſo difficult a Matter for Mo⯑ſes to write a Hiſtory of the Creation, and of all the material Events of things that had happen'd before his time, as ſome may imagine: Since by the Cal⯑culations of Time, Moſes might eaſily have an Ac⯑count of thoſe things by a ſucceſſive Supply of Oral Tradition from Noah himſelf, as you may ga⯑ther from the Times wherein he liv'd, and the Perſons with whom he had convers'd; of which take the following ſhort Sketch, as a leading Thread or Chain of things directly confirming my Argument.
[186]If Moſes then had the moſt early Knowledge of things by a ſhort Succeſſion of the Perſons relating them, and that even from Adam and Noah in a right Line; and if Moſes had the firſt Knowledge of Letters, even immediately from a ſuperior Hand, then at leaſt you muſt allow me, that Moſes was certainly the beſt qualify'd to form a Hiſtory of the firſt things [...]ran [...]cted in the World; and was the firſt Man, or at leaſt the Man beſt able to write that Hiſtory down. For who could form a Hiſtory of things they did not know? and who could write before they had Letters to form the Words he was to write by? and who could read what was written, unleſs thoſe Letters had been known, and made publick in the World?
Hence I infer that Moſes was the firſt Hiſtorian, and the Books of Moſes are the firſt Hiſtory in the World; and if the firſt, conſequently moſt likely to be the beſt Authority; at leaſt, as I have ſaid a⯑bove (and that my Readers may not be puſh'd upon too hard, to believe thoſe Books which they have ſo ill a reliſh of) I ſay at leaſt, they will allow that the Scripture or Pentateuch is a tolerable good Hi⯑ſtory, and that is all I ask of them as a Favour.
Now to begin with the Chronology of things:
| The Law given to the Jews from the Mouth of the Oracle upon Mount Sinai, of which Moſes gives us the Hiſtory, was, according to Sir Walter Raleigh, publiſhedAnno Mundi | 2514. |
| Joſeph died | 2370. |
| Moſes was born | 2433. |
| The Children of Iſrael came out of Aegypt | 2513. |
But we find in the Hiſtory of Joſeph, and we find by the Commands to extirpate Witches and Sorcerers, mention'd in the firſt Law given the Iſraelites; I ſay, we find the Practice of Diaboli⯑cal Magick was much more ancient than Moſes, nay than Joſeph, and that it was practis'd ſo long [187] ago, not only in Aegypt, but in Phoenicia alſo; and perhaps in the laſt, as ſoon as in the firſt.
Firſt, It ſeems that God reſolv'd to drive out the Phoenicians, that is the Canaanites, before the Chil⯑dren of Iſrael, even for this very Offence among others; and I cannot come up to the modern rate of Scepticiſm, as to believe God would have driven them out of their Country, for a Crime which they were not guilty of; and eſpecially too, that he would have aſſign'd that for a Reaſon of it, which the poor People could have ſtood up and clear'd themſelves of, and have ſaid they did not under⯑ſtand what it was.
This goes far to a Suggeſtion, that the Canaa⯑nites were guilty of it even four hundred Years be⯑fore, and before God's Promiſe to Abram to give him that Country; or elſe we muſt ſuppoſe the Ca⯑naanites condemned to an Expluſion before the Crime for which they were to be expell'd was committed; and I can no more come into that than the other.
Certainly, GOD's Promiſe to turn out the Inha⯑bitants for Abram's Poſterity muſt be allow'd to be a Sentence of Condemnation upon the Canaa⯑nites even at that time; and he would not have con⯑demned them to Baniſhment, I mean as a Nation, for Crimes which they were not even then guilty of; eſpecially that very Crime being aſſign'd as the Cauſe of their ſaid Condemnation and Sentence.
If this Argument is juſt, as I think it muſt be, then I have gain'd the Point as to the Antiquity; for then this Crime of Diabolical Magick is as ancient as Abram; and 'tis evident Abram was born above fifty ſix Years before Noah died. How long this wicked Trade was known before Abram, we can⯑not determine, but may grant it might be ſome conſiderable time.
[188]It is certain however that in the Reign of Miz⯑raim, who was but the Grandſon of Noah, they were grown very conſiderable, I mean as to their Reputation, in the Aegyptian Court; and I am wil⯑ling to ſuppoſe my old Arab was one of the Chief, if not one of the firſt of them in Mizraim's Reign, and perhaps near the Beginning of it: For as the Devil introduc'd himſelf as it were Voluntier to him, it ſhould ſeem that he had no Correſpondents of that kind there before, and took that Method to begin his Acquaintance; perhaps allowing his Correſpondents to convey the ſame Method of In⯑telligence from one to another, and perhaps to re⯑new the Contract as often as he their Inſtructor thought fit.
But be that how it will, 'tis certain the Devil muſt be Aggreſſor, in all Ages, of this Art. He knew well enough how to break in upon them, how to ſhow himſelf, and make his Appearances to them as often as he thought fit; and could begin it, or renew it, how, and whenever he pleas'd. But the Caſe was quite different on their Side, for no body knew how to come at him, they did not ſo much as know him when they ſaw him, or know where he liv'd, where he kept his Reſidence; how to go to him, or ſend to him; or, in a word, to have any Correſpondence with him, but juſt as he thought fit to enter into a Familiarity with them, and give them Methods and Rules by which they ſhould ob⯑tain Audience of him, when, and as often us they had occaſion.
This being the caſe, it is not to be wonder'd that the Devil, and thoſe Men of Craft, became ac⯑quainted very ſoon in the World; for the Devil is too diligent to neglect his own Affairs any longer than till they were ripe for his Agitation.
Having then brought all the Southſaying and Ma⯑gick of the firſt Ages as it were within his own [189] Management, and eſtabliſh'd a Correſpondence with the wiſe Men of the moſt early Times, we are next to examine how it proceeded, and what Pro⯑greſs it made: And in making this Inquiry, it comes directly in my way to tell you a very unhappy Truth; namely, that the Clergy of thoſe times ſeem to me to be the firſt Conjurers, and Dealers with the Devil; and ſo in all the ſubſequent Times, and in all or moſt of the Diſtant Nations of the World; I mean next immediately after thoſe Aegyptian Pro⯑ficients.
I hope our Moſt Reverend, and Right Reverend of the ſacerdotal Order in theſe Days, and in this wiſe Magical Age, will take no Offence at me for this, at leaſt till I have farther and fully explain'd my ſelf. Far be it from us (and ſad would be our Circumſtances ſhould I venture) to ſuggeſt that any of our Clergy ſhould be Conjurers, and deal in Magick: no, no; plenty of Grace, and paucity of Brains, I hope, is our eſtabliſh'd Protection from ſuch a diſmal Eruption as that would be upon us.
In order therefore to explain my ſelf fully upon this Subject, I muſt go back to the early Ages of the World, even juſt where I was before. The Devil, after the Flood, obſerving the World begin to fill, and that the People ſpreading themſelves over it, began to People it again, and form them⯑ſelves into Nations, and Governments; one of his firſt Cares was to debauch their Principles as to Religion, to dictate falſe Notions of Homage and Worſhip to them, and, in a word, to introduce Ido⯑latry.
As he knew perfectly well the End he aim'd at, ſo he was not at a loſs to find out the Means. It would be too long a Story to tell you, in what manner he found out Gods for them to worſhip, and how he canoniz'd their Heroes for them. The [190] Tale of Ninus or Nimrod appearing to the wiſe Men in a Flame of Fire, and telling them, he was going juſt then up into Heaven, from whence he would always ſhine upon them in the Shape of a Star, and that they ſhould build a Temple to the glory of his Memory; that he ſhould be call'd Baal or Bell, which is as much as to ſay a great God, and that he would be always ready to help them againſt their Enemies, as he was to fight for them while he was alive;
I ſay, this Tale, ſuppoſe it but a Tale, was not at all unlikely to take with the People, who had the Memory of their dead Hero-King freſh in their Thought, and who were ready to idolize the very empty Sound of his Name. Suppoſe the wiſe Men as they call'd them, only feign'd, or forg'd this Story, and reported it to the People as a Viſion which they had really ſeen, tho' they had not ſeen it at all, yet it was not unlikely to make Impreſſions upon them, in their firſt Ignorance of things.
But ſuppoſe, on the other hand, the Devil, who is always awake, ſhould have really ſhown himſelf in ſuch an Appearance, and then have drawn in the wiſe Magicians of that Age, upon ſeeing ſuch a Sight frightful and horrid like the Devil, that form'd it, to relate (as they might with Truth,) the Fact to the People: It was not at all ſtrange, that the wiſe Men mention'd ſhould go to the King with that Story alſo; and that he the King, bi⯑gotted by the Magicians, and terrify'd as they were, ſhould immediately order a Temple to be erected, Sacrifices to be appointed, and a formal Worſhip ſet on foot, to the Honour of this great God Bell, whoſe Memory was ſo high in their Eſteem be⯑fore.
Hiſtory is very full of the firſt Fury of idola⯑trous Zeal, and of the extravagant Branches of their Devotion, I mean in their Princes. Ninus [191] built a Houſe for the Worſhip of Bell, the Walls and Towers are a Prodigy in themſelves; what the manner of Worſhip was we do not read, tho' af⯑terwards we have the Deſcription of their abomi⯑nable Rites, as the Sacrifices to Moloch, viz. making their Children to paſs through the Fire; whether they were burnt to Death, or horribly ſcorcht, Au⯑thors do not yet reſolve us. The King of Moab ſacrific'd his Son, the Heir Apparent of his Throne, upon the Walls of the City, only to obtain Delive⯑rance from the Siege by the help of his Idol, at the Price of his Son's Blood.
As thoſe Idols were introduc'd by the Art of the Devil, ſo it muſt be that the Direction came from him; I mean as to the manner of the Idol-worſhip, and that he certainly held an immediate Correſpon⯑dence with the Inſtitutors and Managers of the Idol Rites.
Theſe were the Magicians and Aſtrologers, who by his Directions were inſtructed what Cere⯑monies, what Rites, what manner of Worſhip to offer to their Gods; and as they conſulted the Ma⯑gicians for the Inſtitution of their Worſhip, ſo in a few Ages after the Magicians or Southſayers were their Prieſts, and their Prieſts were all Ma⯑gicians and Southſayers. Hence the Auruſpices, the Sacrificers, and the Prieſts of the ſeveral Tem⯑ples, where Anſwers were given to Queſtions, E⯑vents predicted, and the like, were the Givers of thoſe Anſwers from the Oracle; that is in plain Engliſh, the Prieſts were Magicians, and the Magi⯑cians were the Prieſts, and the Devil brought Witchcraft and Idolatry to be at laſt but one Sci⯑ence.
As he correſponded perſonally with Ali Albraha⯑zen, and the old Arab, in the Infancy of time, and when his Kingdom was, as it were, but juſt erecting and ſetting up in the World, ſo when that Perſonal [192] Correſpondence appear'd ſucceſsful in ſetting up I⯑dolatry, he made it equally uſeful for the Propa⯑gating it, and the Magicians became Prieſts in the Temples of their Gods.
Nothing could be more agreeable to the Prieſts of their Idols, than this Intimacy with the Infer⯑nal Spirits; for the Devil, who was always his Craft's Maſter, fail'd not as well to delude the Prieſts themſelves, as by them to impoſe upon the World; nor could he have carry'd on his Game upon Mankind without it. For if the Prieſts had not believ'd that they convers'd with the Gods, when really they convers'd with the Devil; if they had been all let into the Secret, and made to pro⯑pagate their Religion as a Cheat upon the World, to which they were to have been privy; if it had all been known to be, as it really was, a Conſpiracy againſt Heaven in Favour of the Devil, and with real De⯑ſign to impoſe upon and damn the World, they would never have been brought univerſally to have kept the Devil's Council, and have come into the Plot, at the Price of their eternal Felicity, and the Souls of all their Friends.
The Devil's Plot would certainly have been blown long before it was, and the Prieſts of the Oracles would moſt certainly have firſt or laſt have betray'd their Maſter, and expos'd the whole Cheat. But the Caſe was evidently this, the Devil found the way to delude and impoſe upon the very Prieſts themſelves; and not only ſuggeſted to them, but made them really believe, that the Gods convers'd with them, that the Voices they heard, the Anſwers dictated by their Oracles, the Apparitions, &c. were all the real Appearances of their Gods, thoſe in particular whoſe Servants and Prieſts they were; when in Truth it was no more than a groſs Deluſion, and an Appearance of the Devil.
[193]I make no doubt, but that the Tumult rais'd by the Silverſmiths at Epheſus, tho' they in particular were touch'd with the ſenſe of their Intereſt, and the loſs of their Craft and Trade, yet was carry'd on in the Sincerity of their Ignorance by thoſe who call'd her the Great Goddeſs Diana, whom they and all the World worſhipp'd; that they who cry'd Great is DIANA of the Epheſians, believ'd her to be ſo, and had not the leaſt Notion of their worſhipping the Devil.
I doubt not but the Prieſts of Apollo at Delphos, who waited there to give out the Anſwers to the ſeveral Enquirers that came with their Gifts to the Oracle, believ'd that the ſaid Oracles were iſſued by the GODS, and eſpecially by Apollo himſelf; and little thought that they (the Prieſts) were Tools of the Devil, to cheat and amuſe the World, and propa⯑gate Idolatry; for which the true God, who was highly affronted in the Fraud, would one Day put them all to Silence.
Thus far, I think the Clergy are beholden to me very much, for eſtabliſhing their Honeſty at the Expence of their Heads, and telling you they were all Fools, rather than Knaves. At the ſame time it holds ſtill, and this part can never be deny'd, that as the Devil carry'd on his Kingdom by the Art Magick, or what we call the Black Art, ſo the Prieſts were the Inſtruments both of the Witchcraft and the Idolatry.
How far the two Infernal Juggles are ſtill car⯑ried on, and whether the Prieſts in moſt Parts of the World (our own, God bleſs us! always excepted) are not Magicians, and Dealers with the Devil, even in their Sacreds, and by the meer Conſe⯑quence of their Office; let the Padres and Men of the Tonſure tell us, and give us Satisfaction if they can.
[194]We have now brought the Magicians of Aegypt, and the Prieſts of the Pagan Temples to be ſome⯑thing a-kin; at leaſt we may ſay, I have brought them to be all of a Trade; and I believe 'tis not very dif⯑ficult to ſhow you, that as they ſerv'd the ſame Maſter, ſo they had their Inſtructions by the very ſame Channel, and from the ſame Original: In a word, that the Worſhip of the Gods, which was indeed the Worſhip of the Devil, was dictated in the very ſame way, namely, by an immediate Correſpon⯑dence with the Devil, and with all the Circumſtan⯑ces mention'd in the Text before quoted; (viz.) Divination, Inchantment, Conjuration, Appariti⯑on, Viſion, Dream, Familiar Spirits, obſerving Times, obſerving Seaſons, and flying of Birds, En⯑trails of Beaſts, and the like.
It may ſeem a little difficult to bring all the Schemes of Idol or Pagan Worſhip down to a Level with Witchcraft and Diabolical Magick; and ſome will tell us, that ſeveral Parts of the Pagan Worſhip, or even Paganiſm in general, was eſtabliſh'd upon pure and juſt Principles, an exact and regular Virtue, the height of Morals, prin⯑ciples of Truth, and of natural Religion, of good Government, and of Dedication to the publick Welfare of Mankind; nay even upon Principles of Piety, and a Homage to be paid to the Divine Be⯑ing, as the firſt moving Cauſe of Life, and as a Debt due to that Being, for all the good attending Hu⯑man Life; that nothing has been wanting in ſome Pagans but a Revelation from Heaven, and an open⯑ing the Eyes of the Soul by Divine Inſpiration, to know the Only True God.
Thoſe that are of this Opinion, ſupport it by the Example of Numa Pompilius, the Founder of the Roman Rites, and to whom the eſtabliſhing the greater part of the Pagan Ceremonies is juſtly aſ⯑ſign'd; who, they tell us, acted upon the higheſt [195] Principles of Morality and Virtue, and even of Piety; that he went even to the utmoſt length that Nature and Reaſon could go; that he not only acknowledg'd a Supreme Power, to whom Man⯑kind ow'd his Homage for the good receiv'd, and who would not fail, in a Life to come, to diſtribute Rewards and Puniſhments, agreeable to the Life and Conduct of every Man here: But own'd alſo that Worſhip as a Natural Debt, to be paid by all Man⯑kind; hence upon the Door of the Temple of the ſeveral Gods he caus'd to be written, as a Direction to all Mankind, this ſhort Precept, à Jove princi⯑pium; intimating that every Action of Man's Life ſhould be begun with Application to the Gods. They add, that Numa had a profound ſincere Ve⯑neration for the Creator of all things, as the Author of Life, and the ſupreme God of Heaven and Earth, and that he wanted nothing to be a ſincere Worſhipper of the true God, but a true Revelation from Heaven, inlightning his Mind, and guiding him to know what way of Worſhip that God would be pleaſed to accept.
They give us ſeveral other Examples of Great and Illuſtrious Men, who tho' profeſs'd Heathens in the manner of Worſhip, and the immediate Ob⯑ject, yet form'd their Notions upon juſt and noble Principles, ſtrictly adhering to the natural Princi⯑ples of Religion, cloſely purſuing Juſtice in Go⯑vernment, Impartiality in matters of Right, pre⯑ſerving Virtue and Honour in the People, and ma⯑king wholſom Laws for their better Government, upon all Occaſions; ſuch are Lycurgus the Lacedaemo⯑nian, Confucius the Chineſe, Solon the wiſe Philoſo⯑pher, and ſundry others.
They alſo name to us the Books of the Sybils, which, ſo far as they are diſcover'd, they ſay are fill'd with ſummary Rules for well-governing Man⯑kind, and directing a due Homage to the great God.
[196]But let us look thro' all this. God for wiſe Ends did not think fit to accept theſe little Ema⯑nations of Natural Light, or to reveal himſelf to the Perſons; however ſincere they may be ſaid to be in the purſuit of Divine Light; as then they were left to the dim and dusky Shadows of natu⯑ral Reaſonings only, ſo it appear'd that thoſe natural Reaſonings were not ſufficient to inform the Mind of Man concerning God; But that when they had done all, for want of farther Illuminations, the Devil was ſuffer'd to chop in, and confound all their brighteſt Ideas of Worſhip, with a horrid Rhap⯑ſody of complicated Idolatry.
This very Obſervation is ſufficient, or at leaſt it might be expected that it ſhould be ſufficient, to cruſh the Notions which our more Polite Gentle⯑men now advance, in favour of the ſtudy of Ma⯑gick, as an Art or Science only; They con⯑tend that the Word Magick is greatly miſtaken, and that we do not underſtand what we ſpeak of; that Magick is nothing elſe but a receiv'd well-guided way of thinking and acting; that it is truly the Science of Reflection, and the Art of making a right Judgment of things, by giving every Object, however diſtant, its due Weight; thinking of things according to the true Rate of them; that the hu⯑mane Judgment is in its ſelf infallible, and therefore in ſome manner equal to the divine Being; a Light iſſued from Heaven, and darted by Emanation into the Souls of Men; which, if rightly cultivated and improv'd, and eſpecially if ſincerely follow'd, ad⯑her'd to, and obey'd, guides the Soul to underſtand things in a ſuperior way; This they ſay is Magick: the very Word which intimates a ſuperior and di⯑vine Knowledge, leads to underſtand what it means; and this, ſay they, duly follow'd, would from the Beginning have made Men be, as the Ser⯑pent told them they ſhould be, viz. like Gods, knowing Good and Evil.
[197]Now theſe fine-ſpun Notions or Imaginations, I ſay, are fully anſwer'd, by taking Notice, that there is apparently no ſuch Infallibility in Man's Judg⯑ment, unleſs aſſiſted by a yet higher and ſuperior degree of Illumination; that is to ſay, unleſs GOD, the Author of all perfect and compleat Illumina⯑tion, ſhould add to it the Revelation of himſelf, and of his Mind and Will, giving the Man Rules and Laws for his farther Illumination, and for the Direction of himſelf.
This appears in the Particular mention'd above, namely, that notwithſtanding Man's infallible Judg⯑ment led him to the Knowledge of a Divine Be⯑ing, and that there was a great firſt Cauſe, Infi⯑nite, Eternal and Superior, becauſe Prior to all Be⯑ing, and that this firſt Being had a Right to the Homage and Obedience of his Creatures; yet 'till God by Revelation directed it, all the Perfection of human Judgment could never lead Mankind to a right Knowledge of the Worſhip and Homage this Great Being requir'd. But they ſunk down in⯑to Idolatry, worſhipping many Gods, and Images, the Repreſentations of Gods; and in a word, into the groſſeſt and dulleſt Conceptions of things re⯑lating to their Deities, ſuch as one would think it was impoſſible humane Judgment, under any manner of Improvement, could fall into; things unworthy of GOD, nay unworthy of Men. Hence they made their Jupiter, tho' they call'd him the Father of Gods and Men, a horrid Picture of ungovern'd Luſt, a Ravager of the World, raviſhing Innocence and Virtue, transforming himſelf into divers Shapes, to obtain his vicious Deſires; as into a white Bull, to carry away Europa; into a golden Shower, to fall into the Lap of Danaae, and the like. Here is the Picture of infallible humane Judgment! Wonder no more that at laſt it carry'd them all headlong into the Arms of the Devil, and not only to be ignorant [198] of the Worſhip of the true God, but to pay the Homage they ow'd to their Maker, to him who was their Deſtroyer and Enemy.
Thus Numa, with all his Sincerity and Piety, re⯑ſolv'd all his Ideas into a confus'd Maſs of idola⯑trous Ceremonies, adorning the Prieſts, forming new Orders and Degrees of his Clergy; and, in a word, drawing a Scheme of pompous Paganiſm; eſtabliſhing Games, and inhumane Fightings of Gladiators, Races and Exerciſes for Sport, in Ho⯑nour of the Gods: Beſides crowding the City with Temples and Altars, to innumerable and unknown Deities; ſo that, in a word, after he had acknowledg'd that there was a ſupreme Power, a GOD of all the Earth, a great firſt Cauſe of Life, and to whom all Homage was due, I ſay, after all theſe ſublime Ideas, he yet ſunk down into the groſſeſt of all Ido⯑latries, the worſhipping imaginary Gods, deifying the Stars of Heaven, and offering Sacrifices, build⯑ing Temples, dedicating Prieſts, and making Vows to Stocks and Stones, the Work of their own Fingers, and the Idols of their own Brain.
Will any one think we wrong the Pagan Inſtitu⯑tions, much leſs the Inſtitutors, to ſay, that the Devil had a Finger in all this? does not Satan in Policy ſuffer an Appearance of Virtue and Piety to be ſet up, to mock the World into true Devil-worſhip? How could he ſet himſelf up to be worſhip'd as a God, and how could he make himſelf truly the God of this World, if he did not enjoin to his Worſhippers, at leaſt ſeemingly, ſome Forms of Life, and appearing Principles, agreeable to the Rules of Virtue and Honour? 'Tis by this that in general he has carry'd on the Deluſion, and this, as I may ſay, has been the Magick of his Art, as well as the Art of his Magick.
The Romans were the moſt civiliz'd Heathens that the World ever ſaw; their Government had [199] in it all the Appearance of Juſtice and Moderation; they honour'd and rewarded Virtue and Honour, Love to our Country, Courage, Gallantry: How did they crown thoſe that ſav'd a Citizen, give Triumphs to thoſe that had conquer'd their Ene⯑mies, give Prizes to thoſe who excell'd in the moſt commendable Things? How did they honour Cha⯑ſtity in their Veſtal Virgins; Temperance, Elo⯑quence, Learning and Philoſophy in the Perſons of thoſe that excelled, and erect Statues to their Me⯑mory when dead?
Yet all this while their Religion was Devil-wor⯑ſhip; their Augurs and Southſayers, and the Prieſts of their Temples and Oracles, were Diviners, Ma⯑gicians, Wizards, and in the very Letter of it Deal⯑ers with the Devil, and that in the worſt Senſe; all their Sacrifices, and their Inſtitution of Games, for appeaſing the angry Gods, were the moſt horrid and barbarous Pieces of Ignorance, or helliſh Cru⯑elty and Brutality, that could be imagin'd, even ſometimes to human Sacrifices; and in all thoſe ex⯑ceſſes of their Devotion, the Devil led them on blinded by ſtrong Deluſions to ſuch Performances, in order to appeaſe the Wrath of Heaven, as were unworthy of God, inconſiſtent with his Nature, as a bountiful beneficent Being, as a fountain of Good⯑neſs and Mercy, infinitely Compaſſionate to his Creatures; and who could not take Pleaſure in thoſe things which were injurious to Mankind, in order to be reconcil'd to them, or be pacify'd by deſtroying thoſe, whom it was his glory to ſave and protect.
All the while that they erected Temples to Ju⯑ſtice, to Honour, to Virtue, and to Peace, they ſtudied all poſſible ways, by War, and Blood, to a⯑maſs Treaſures, and enlarge their Empire, 'till, as the Roman Hiſtories confeſs, they left no Na⯑tion unſubdued, except ſuch as they found it not in [200] their Power, or worth their while to Conquer; that is to ſay, ſuch as the Parthians, who were too powerful for them to conquer, and ſo poor when conquer'd, as not to be worth the Attempt; or the Indians and Aethiopians, who tho' rich, yet were ſo remote and fenc'd by wide unpaſſable Deſarts, and protected by the exceſſive Heat of the Climate, ſo that it was not in their Power to aſſault them. Their Armies were not able to endure the March thro' the Libyan Sands, or over the Mountains and vaſt Waters of India, under or near the Equinox, and where there was nothing to ſhelter or relieve them under the exceſſive and violent Force of the Sun.
All the reſt of the World, as I have ſaid, they continually invaded and ſubdued, and matter'd not the Reaſon and Juſtice of the War, if the Reward of their Treaſures, and the Advantage of Govern⯑ing them, was apparent.
Thus Caeſar invaded the Gauls, the Helvetians, the Germans, without any juſt Pretence of making War, except only that of Conqueſt, Plunder and Dominion. What Pretence of War had the Romans againſt a quiet, a remote, an inoffenſive Nation, as the Britains certainly were? They neither offer'd to diſturb the Roman Government, or were in Condition to do it; having no Knowledge of Arms equal to any ſuch Attempt, no Alliances or Cor⯑respondence with any of the Romans Enemies, no Ships to traverſe the Ocean, and make them ter⯑rible.
Nothing call'd Caeſar over hither to invade the innocent Britains, but thirſt of Glory, and enlarg⯑ing Dominion; a Principle imbib'd from the tyrannick Nature of the Devil; to raiſe humane Glory, not by Deeds truly Great, not by virtuous Actions, but by deſtroying and inſulting the Weak in Preſumption of Strength, and by ſhedding [201] Blood to triumph over the Wrongs and Oppreſ⯑ſion of their Fellow-Creatures.
And what was the Reward of Caeſar's Ambition and Thirſt of Glory? A Conqueſt indeed he gain'd; but of what, and for whom? a Conqueſt of Inno⯑cence, and a Conqueſt for the Devil; the fruit of which was thus to be ſumm'd up: They, firſt and laſt, deſtroyed two Millions, ſome think five or ſix Millions, of the Inhabitants; they ſpilt alſo an Ocean Roman Blood; eighty thouſand Romans were killed at one time by the gallant Queen Boadicia at Ca⯑molodinum, now Malden in Eſſex; and after a Poſ⯑ſeſſion of above ſix hundred Years, they were forc'd to abandon it with Infamy and Scandal, and ſo end⯑ed juſt, where they began.
Whence was all this, but from the Devil? whoſe Government of the World had this Magick in⯑deed always in it, that it ſpread Cruelty and Ty⯑ranny in all Parts, founded Dominion in Blood, and made the World a Theatre of Rapin and Vio⯑lence.
This was the ſecret Magick of his Government, and yet this was always carried on under the Mask of Juſtice, Peace and Religion; that is to ſay, Ava⯑rice was Juſtice, and to gain the Plunder of a Na⯑tion was a ſufficient Pretence to quarrel with and ſubdue it: Conqueſt then brought Peace; that is to ſay, when Rapin or Slaughter had impoveriſh'd or extirpated a People, then the Romans gave them Peace, and protected the Remnant; and as to Reli⯑gion, the Subſtance of it was, as above, Cruelty and Superſtition.
This is the Sum of the Roman Polity, and of the Methods taken in a Government and by a People who, as above, are ſaid to be the moſt civilized of all the Pagan Nations and Governments in the World; and this, in a word, ſerves to open the Eyes of Poſterity, and betrays the Devil's Conſpi⯑racy [202] againſt Mankind in the openeſt manner poſ⯑ſible. The Magick of Hell diſcovers it ſelf here, that under the ſpecious Pretence of juſt Govern⯑ment, and under the Fame of a civiliz'd Nation, governing themſelves and the World by the Rules of Juſtice and Virtue, a Looſe was given to all man⯑der of Barbariſms, Cruelty, Blood and Oppreſſion.
It is clear in ſo many Examples, that I need ſay no more to explain it, that the Roman Govern⯑ment and the Roman Religion was all founded on a Diabolical Regimen, and was maintained by the Magick and Ar [...]ifice of the Devil and his Inſtru⯑ments; which Inſtruments were chiefly the Prieſts of the Idol Temples and Worſhip, who by the Subtilty of their Arts (Religious Art, the worſt ſort of Magick) made ſuch deep Impreſſions on the Minds of the deluded World, that not the com⯑mon ſort only, not the Vulgar, or as we ſay the Canaile, the Mobb and Rabble of the People came into it, and believed the lying Wonders; but the learned World, the Philoſophers, the Poets, Men of the moſt exquiſite Parts, and the moſt polite Know⯑ledge, nay of the nobleſt Principles of Virtue, and who had the moſt refined Ideas of Juſtice and Honour, even theſe all came into the Deluſions of this Black Art, believed, and, as I may ſay, reliſhed the Witch⯑craft and Deluſions of the Magicians and Sorcerers, and were taken with their lying Wonders; even the Cato's, the Tully's, the great and the greateſt He⯑roes, Philoſophers, Scholars, 'twas all one, they were ſwallowed up by the Arts of the Magicians and Southſayers; nay, their Kings ſtooped to deal in this Black Art themſelves. Romulus the Founder of the City of Rome, and the firſt Father even of the Roman Name, was himſelf a Southſayer; that is to ſay, a Magician, a Diviner or Inchanter; in plain Engliſh a Dealer with the Devil, and the great Pro⯑pagator of the infernal Art; I ſay, the great Pro⯑pagator [203] of it, for he was the firſt that inſtituted the Augurs in the Pagan Worſhip, and, as I ſaid, Hook'd in the Magicians into their Religion, making all the Wizards and Conjurers, Prieſts; tho' I muſt inſiſt upon it, not Romulus, Numa, or the Devil himſelf, could make all the Prieſts Conjurers, no not to this Day.
Some have been of Opinion that Numa Pompilius, who I have ſaid was ſincerely inclin'd to Religion, [...]s it was ſimply underſtood to be a meer Homage due from Man a Creature, to God the Creator; that he acted from a ſincere Principle, and that he went farther towards eſtabliſhing the true Religion, than any Pagan in the World ever did before him.
But they add, he was loſt for want of revealed Light: that having determined by the Light of his Reaſon that there was a God, and that he was to be worſhipped, but not knowing how or in what manner that Worſhip was to be directed, and not being able to find out by his utmoſt Search what Worſhip would be acceptable, He ſunk into Idolatry and Polytheiſm, as the only Pattern that was before him; with this Addition, that having thus taken his Riſe from a wrong Beginning, his devout Temper hurried him on into all the Ex⯑tremes of Idolatry and Paganiſm, 'till at length he came into this very Miſchief I am ſpeaking of, I mean, Magick, Sorcery, and dealing with familiar Spirits, that is, the Devil.
This is juſt what I had ſaid already; but it is moſt certain, that though at firſt they acted up⯑on ſome Foundation of natural Principles, or if you pleaſe, Principles of Natural Religion: Yet they afterwards run farther into this Sorcery and Southſaying, and that with ſuch an univerſal Guſt of Inclination, that it became a chief Part of their Religion; and there were very few of their great Men, nay even of their Kings and Empe⯑rors, [204] but what were Magicians themſelves; and ſome of them, if not all of them, took it for a Part of their Imperial Titles, and a Badge of their Honour, to be called Pontifex Maximus, and ſome⯑times appeared in the Robes of a Sacrificer, and of this or that Order of the Prieſts, as they thought fit; 'till at length unſufferable Pride and Inſolence led them to accept of divine Honours themſelves, to lay aſide the Prieſt, and aſſume that of a God; placing themſelves ſo above the Sacrificer, as to ſuffer them⯑ſelves to be ſacrificed to: But this went but a little Way.
At length the Chriſtian Religion, in ſpite of Perſecution and obſtinate Reſiſtance, both from the Jews as well as the Pagans, began to ſpread it ſelf in the World: and as Chriſt himſelf ſays, that he came to deſtroy the Works of the Devil, ſo it ap⯑peared; for immediately the Glories of the Pagan Su⯑perſtition began to fade, their Oracles ceas'd, the Prieſts became dumb; and the Devil, not able to car⯑ry on the Cheat any farther, threw it up; the Au⯑gurs and Southſayers fled from the Face of the Chri⯑ſtian Doctrine, and from the Preaching of the A⯑poſtles and their Succeſſors, as not able to exerciſe their Sorceries and Divinations, no not ſo much as in the Preſence of the Chriſtian Miniſters.
We have two remarkable Inſtances of this in the ſacred Text; one is Acts xiii.7. when being at the Iſle of Cyprus, Elymas the Sorcerer ventured to withſtand St. Paul, when he preached the Word of God to Sergius Paulus the Governour; but for the audacious Attempt was ſtruck blind by the miraculous Word of the bleſſed Apoſtle, ſo being made an Inſtrument to confirm the Governour in his Faith, and compleat the Converſion which the conjuring Wretch ſought to oppoſe, ver. 12. The Deputy, when he ſaw what was done, believed, being aſtoniſhed at the Doctrine of the LORD.
[205]The other Inſtance is in Acts xix.19. where indeed there is a double Evidence; Firſt, of the Power of the Chriſtian Doctrine prevailing over the Magick and Diabolick Arts then in Practice; and, Secondly, of the prodigious Encreaſe of thoſe Magical Delu⯑ſions among the Romans, however wiſe and polite a People they were; the Story is ſhort, and fully to the purpoſe. St. Paul, preaching at Epheſus, made a wonderful Progreſs in converting the Pagans of that great City, to the Chriſtian Faith. Some Hi⯑ſtories tell us, he converted one hundred thouſand People there and in the Country adjacent; but that by the way: In a word, the Text ſays, ver. 17. the Name of the Lord Jeſus was magnify'd. And how, but by this eminent Victory over the Devil? For (beſides the Conqueſt of the Exorciſts who went a⯑bout to caſt out a Devil by their Conjurings and Spells) the Magicians themſelves were converted by Paul's preaching, and that to a prodigious Number of them, ver. 19. Many alſo of them which uſed cu⯑rious Arts, brought their Books together, and burned them before all Men: and they counted the Price of them, and found it fifty thouſand Pieces of Silver. What a height muſt the Black Art of the Devil be come to at that time, that the Books which were to be found in that one City ſhould amount to ſuch a Sum of Money? I give this Account, as I have ſaid, to let you ſee to what an extravagant height the Devil had carried this Matter; and how and in what manner he ſupported his Intereſt in the World. But I muſt go back to the Beginning of things, where I left off, viz. at the Inſtitution of the Augurs, who were for ſome Ages the Engroſſers of all theſe Deluſions in the Roman Empire.
The Augurs were a ſort of Roman Prieſts, who pretended to foretell Events by Omens, by the chattering of Birds, howling of Dogs, and other uncouth Noiſes of any kind in the Air: They were [206] erected into a Society, and formed in a College of Hall by the King's ſpecial Order; the Number at firſt was but three, one being taken from every Roman Tribe; and while they were thus few, the Dignity was very valuable, and it was highly eſteemed among even the Patricii and Nobility. Servius Tullius encreas'd their Number to Four, and cauſed them to be taken only from the Nobility: Afterwards Quintus and Caeneus Agellinus obtained that Five more ſhould be added to their Number, and ſhould be choſen out of the Plebeii or Common People. So ambitious were the Romans of this Diabolical Preferment, and ſo much Honour had the Devil's immediate Servants in the World; nay, upon this Increaſe of their Number to Nine, the Government was ſo reſolute againſt lowering the Price of that Reverence and Eſteem they had among the People, that they paſſed a Decree a⯑gainſt encreaſing their Number any more.
However Sylla, one of the moſt bloody and cruel Tyrants of his Time, that he might, accord⯑ing to Cuſtom, join his Care of Religion to his Thirſt of Blood, added ſix more; ſo that now their Number was fifteen. The eldeſt, whether in Years of longeſt ſtanding in Order, (I am not poſitive which) was made Father or Preſident of the College, and had the immediate Direction of all the reſt.
Their Privileges, like their Inſtitution, were ex⯑orbitant; for they were never to be depoſed or ex⯑pelled, no not for any Crime how great ſoever, nor their Places filled up by another.
N.B. Crime did not render the Devil's Agents ſcandalous in their Profeſſion, but rather the wickeder they were, the fitter for the Prieſt⯑hood or Augurate. How far the ſame Max⯑im may hold in ſome of the ſacred Order in the World at this time, if I was of their Number, I ſhould not vote to have it examined.
[207]And now for the Ceremonies of the Augurs Trade; for we muſt note, that the Art Magick had always abundance of dark and uncouth Uſages attending it, as it has to this Day; raiſing the Devil was not done with a Whiſtle, like calling a Dog; or with a Beck of the Head or Hand, as we beckon to Servants when we call them ſilently to come near us; the Devil knew very well that his Affair muſt be clothed with Ceremony, or it would not take with the World, or at leaſt would not hold long in it.
The Pagan Rites were indeed loaded with Bur⯑thenſome Ceremonies; all the Devil's Worſhip was filled with Conjurings and Mutterings, ſtrange Ge⯑ſtures, Agitations, Ecſtaſies, and I know not how many Diſtortings of the Limbs and Countenances, wild Practices and frightful Noiſes, that filled the People with Terror, and with a kind of awful Horrour at the Majeſty of their Gods.
The Augurs Obſervations were attended with a great Variety of thoſe things, as the Apparatus to their Viſions, or whatever elſe they were to be called. The Augur firſt placed himſelf upon a high Tower like one of our Obſervatories, and perhaps the Tower erected upon a high Hill, as upon the Mons Palatinus in Rome: Here he ſeated himſelf in the cleareſt Day, or in a Star-light Night, to ob⯑ſerve what came by him, or in his Sight, by Day, or what he might hear or ſee by Night.
He held in his Hand a Lituus, that is, a crooked Staff, with which he uſed a great many wild Ge⯑ſtures and Motions; and he had on, his grave Laena, that is, his Southſaying Gown or Mantle: He placed himſelf always with his Face to the Eaſt, and at his firſt fixing his Station he utter'd cer⯑tain Sentences and exotic barbarous Words, which none knew the Meaning of but the Devil and himſelf.
[208]Being thus ſeated and fix'd, as I have ſaid, he quarters out the Heavens, or Hemiſphere rather, into four Parts or Regions, each Quarter having before⯑hand ſuch and ſuch Predictions aſſign'd to it: If it was Day, then he was to mark every Bird that roſe up, or came flying by, or towards him; which of the ſaid four Quarters he firſt appear'd in, and then killing his Sacrifices, and muttering over cer⯑tain Sentences, joyning ſome petitionary Speeches to ſuch or ſuch a Deity, or Daemon rather, (which Speeches were call'd Effata) he then proceeded to Divination.
If it was in the Night, he obſerv'd in the like manner any fiery Meteor, any flying or ſhooting Fires, any ſudden Vapour, (as the Nights are full of ſuch things,) or any Cloud eclipſing the Light of any particular Planet or Star of the firſt Magni⯑tude; and then he proceeded in the ſame manner, only with ſome particular Words and Mutterings, as regarded the ſeveral Appearances reſpectively.
In the Night, it was ſaid, they had the Company of ſeveral Spirits aſſiſting them, and communica⯑ting to them the Knowledge of the Things they de⯑ſir'd. Their Divinations were arbitrary and poſi⯑tive, nor durſt any Man ask or enquire of them the Reaſon of what they predicted, or how they came to know that it would or ſhould be ſo and ſo. A Proviſion, I muſt confeſs, very prudent in the Prieſts, and which, as the caſe has ſtood with ſome of them, would be very much to their Convenience to this Day, as I ſhall ſhow in its Place.
By this taking ſuch a kind of State upon them, they politickly preſerv'd the Reverence and Eſteem of their Order, and imprinted a kind of Awe in the Minds of the People, concerning not the Holineſs of their Perſons only, (tho' that went a great way,) but concerning the divine Myſteries, as they were call'd, which were put into their Hands; and they [209] were look'd upon as Perſons to whom the Gods had committed the moſt ſecret Things that were otherwiſe known only to themſelves, and were com⯑municated to the Augurs, Favourites of the Gods, for the good of Mankind.
A Learned Author, ſpeaking of this Myſtery of Southſaying, ſays, it came firſt from the Chaldeans, who taught it to the Greeks, of whom Amphiaraus was an eminent Proficient; but he mentions no⯑thing of who taught it the Chaldeans, in which I believe my Account is the moſt authentick; name⯑ly, that the Devil taught it to the Arab I have mention'd, or to ſome other, if any was before him; that theſe gave it to the Aegyptians, and Chal⯑deans, and Phoenicians, much about the ſame time; and that the Phoenicians taught it the Greeks; their Prince Cadmus being an eminent Southſayer: and ſo you ſee its bleſſed Original.
In a word, as it is a particular Familiarity with the Devil, and depends entirely upon his Aſſiſtance, ſo no body can contend that he was not the firſt Introducer of it as an Art; ſince, as I obſerved, he might eaſily begin a Correſpondence with Man; but it was utterly impoſſible that Men ſhould be⯑gin a Correſpondence with him; or know where to find him, and how to call him to their Aſſiſtance, whatever the Occaſion might be, without his Di⯑rection, Aſſiſtance, and Conſent.
As to the Introducing it from one Nation to a⯑nother, it may indeed be ſomething difficult to aſſign the manner; But as to the meer divining upon the flying of Birds, upon Noiſes, and Appearances in the Air, the Chattering of Pyes, the Croak⯑ing of Frogs and Ravens, and the like, I take much of that to be meer Juggle and Legerdemain of the Prieſts and Augurs; and they have carry'd on the juggling Trade to a great Perfection in the ſame [210] Country to this Day; (ſtand clear DOMINICANS:) of which hereafter.
But now for a downright Converſe with the De⯑vil, I don't underſtand that Satan ever ty'd himſelf down by Articles, that not only ſuch and ſuch a Man as my Arab, or Ali Albrahazen, of whom I have ſpoken, ſhould be able to call him up when they pleas'd, by ſuch and ſuch Forms, Ceremonies, Voices and Sounds; but that to whomſoever they ſhould communicate the ſame Tokens, or Watch⯑words, they ſhould have the ſame Power, and that the very Words ſhould call him or his Agents up to an Appearance, whoever made uſe of them.
This would have been to have the Devil bind himſelf Prentice to them and their Heirs for ever; and to have chain'd himſelf down, Gallyſlave like, to the ſound of the Words, which I take to be quite wide of the Caſe; nor would it ſerve his Deſigns, for the Devil loves to know his Agents, and not be at the call of every Boy, becauſe perhaps his Grand⯑mother told him the Words which ſhe uſed to raiſe the Devil with, or becauſe the Devil and ſhe had a⯑greed upon the Matter. But no doubt Satan, who is certainly the Author of all this kind of Magick, and which therefore and for that very Reaſon is call'd by his Name, Diabolick; I ſay, no doubt, as he is the only Teacher of the Art, ſo he teaches it immediately by himſelf; that is, he make [...] Men Magicians, and Wizards, and makes old Wo⯑men Witches (ay and young too) by an immediate Converſe and Contract with them only, and between them and himſelf. Nor does he ſtick at the Pains of beginning a-new with every Perſon, and in e⯑very Country; and this is the Reaſon why the Black Art, as we righteouſly entitle it, is not the ſame in all Countries, nor is the Devil talk'd to in the ſame Words, for then all the Witches and Ma⯑gicians [211] of every Nation muſt learn the ſame Lan⯑guage; but on the contrary, as the Devil talks all Languages when he pleaſes, ſo he talks to every one of his Diſciples in their own Mother Tongue, and directs them to do the ſame to him; ſo that a Roman Wizard calls him up in Latin; a Tuſcan Conjurer in Italian; a High German Doctor makes his Circles, and caſts his Figures, and talks Ma⯑gick to him in the ſuitable Tongue call'd High Dutch; the ſecond-ſighted Highlander in Irs, and the Lancaſhire Lady in Engliſh.
So propitious, ſo civil, ſo well-manner'd is Satan to all his Drudges and Devotees, that he, to put them to as little trouble as poſſible, ſtoops to hear⯑ken to their Summons, as they think fit to expreſs themſelves in their own, or any Language. Nay, tho' the Magicians ſometimes form a Cant of their own, by which they amuſe their Clients, yet their familiar Friend takes it in good part, and on⯑verſes with them in their own way.
Even the poor Indians, Pawaw with him in the Language of the moſt Northern America, the Ba⯑nians in the Language of the Eaſt Indians, the Iſlanders of Amboyna in the Language of the Celebes and Mo⯑luccos, and the Chineſe in that of Grand Tartary.
The Magicians ſeem to act in this Part, as if the Devil condeſcended to them, not they to him; but then this makes it evident, that he converſes Per⯑ſonally with them all, that he makes his Bar⯑gains and Agreements with them always ſeparately, in all Places, and in all Languages; whereas, if he gave them a general Commiſſion to empower others to divine, inchant, and raiſe the Devil, or evil Spirits, they muſt all underſtand one univerſal Language.
The ſum of the Matter is this; the Devil, as a Learned Author ſays, has three ways by which he carries on his Kingdom in the World, and by [212] which he works all his Wonders, which amuſe and deceive them.
- 1. By moving the Affections and Thoughts of Men, whether ſleeping or waking; and this, as it reſpects his cauſing them to dream on any Occaſion as he thinks fit, is one very conſiderable Branch of his Power.
- 2. By his exquiſite Knowledge of Nature, by which he turns the Cauſes of things to his own Purpoſes, and often brings to paſs ſuch Events as ſuit with his particular Occaſions.
- 3. By Illuſion and Fraud, impoſing upon the Senſes, binding and blinding the Underſtanding and the Eyes, both of the Body and of the Minds of willingly-deceiv'd Men.
N.B. And I may add a fourth, which perhaps he was not acquainted with in former times; namely, by familiar Agreement, Compact and Contract with the Bright Men of the Times, who he brings over to converſe and corre⯑ſpond with him, and who he acts by, and allows them to play their Game and his own together; and this is Magick.
Having then eſtabliſh'd a Correſpondence with Man, we are not to wonder if, to gratify his new Correſpondents, he empowers them to act abun⯑dance of ſtrange and unaccountable things in the World, that they may by that means obtain a Re⯑putation of being wiſer and craftier than their Neighbours, and may alſo be admir'd and eſteem'd firſt, and conſequently believ'd.
Theſe Wonders they work by his immediate Hand, by his Power and Aſſiſtance, as well as Di⯑rection; and this I call Magick, and it is ſo in the worſt Senſe.
To this he ſubjoins a Power, as it may be call'd, over himſelf; authorizing the Magicians or Con⯑jurers [213] to ſummon him in to their Aid whenever they have Occaſion for him, to demand his Pre⯑ſence and Aſſiſtance whenever they pleaſe. It was ſaid of Hamed an Aegyptian Sorcerer, that he had the Devil ſo at his Command, that if he did but draw a Circle upon the Ground, and ſtamp with his Foot in the middle of it, the Devil would ap⯑pear, and bring as many Devils with him, as the Magician ſtampt ſeveral times on the Ground; and that upon their ſo appearing, he could again ſend them of ſuch Errands, and for the Diſpatch of ſuch Bu⯑ſineſs as he requir'd; whether to do good or evil, to bring on Miſchief, or to prevent Miſchief, as he that ſo call'd him up pleas'd to direct; but I do not vouch the Truth of the Devil's Complaiſance in this Particular, nor ſee the Reaſon of it.
If the Magicians in thoſe ancient Days had ſuch Influence upon him, 'tis undoubtedly true that they did him great and ſignal Services, for, and by it; or elſe Satan, who does not uſe to diſpence his Fa⯑vours gratis, muſt have ſome ſecret View in it, which they or we have not yet diſcover'd.
This great Uſe which the Devil makes of Magicians and Conjurers, is a certain Diſcovery that he is con⯑fin'd by a ſuperior Hand in his Workings, and that he can only act by Stratagem, by Cunning, and Craft, not by Force and Power.
It is reported of a Sorcerer in Rome, that he could call for Lightning and Thunder whenever he pleaſed, and that the Devil would produce it for him; but that calling him up once to procure Thunder, that ſhould burn a Houſe, and do great Miſchief, to gratifie the wicked Deſign of the Conjurer; he told him No, he could not gratifie his Revenge ſo far, at leaſt not at that time; and that the ſame Sorcerer did at laſt confeſs, that the Spirit which he convers'd with, could ſhow his Power [214] many ways in a miraculous manner, but could not do any Miſchief by it.
It may be true, and no doubt is ſo, that the Ma⯑gicians, were they fully empower'd, and at Liberty, would really do more Miſchief than the Devil him⯑ſelf, had he the ſame Power; not that their Malice can be greater, but their Policy is certainly leſs; and as they do not ſee ſo far before them as he does, ſo they do not always ſee into the Reaſon of things, and whether it would be for the common Intereſt or no: for Example; were the Devil empower'd to fire Houſes, deſtroy Families, lay waſte King⯑doms, he might encline to do it; but his Pru⯑dentials and Politicks might ſometimes tell him, that it would be more for his Intereſt to let it a⯑lone; and ſo the Magicians likewiſe find it, I ſay, for their common Intereſt, to act by Craft and Subtilty as their Maſter the Devil has done before them, rather than by open Rage and Fury; I mean for their common Intereſt as Magicians. The Devil, could without doubt, in the ordinary Exerciſe of his Power as a Spirit, burn, kill, deſtroy, and in ſome ſenſe put an end to God's Creation: But this would not anſwer his End; he knows his Maker is his Go⯑vernour, and could if he pleas'd puniſh him imme⯑diately, even as he expreſſes it in the Scripture, be⯑fore his time: And he knows likewiſe, that when he had deſtroy'd, and made havock of Mankind, God could, with the Breath of his Mouth, form a new Species, and that ſuch a Kind as he ſhould have no Power over; and therefore 'tis not in ſhort the Devil's Intereſt to make that Spoil in the World, which as an Angel, as a powerful Spirit, he might do; and eſpecially if we ſuppoſe him not to be chain'd and fetter'd down to ſuperior Limitations, which however we know to our infinite Satisfa⯑ction that he is.
[215]In a word, the Devil's Buſineſs, and all his Aim, is not to deſtroy, but to damn Mankind; not to cut him off, and put his Maker to the trouble of a new Creation, but to make him a Rebel, like himſelf; and even this he is fain to bring to paſs by Subtilty and Art, making uſe of Man againſt Man, arming Fleſh againſt Spirit, and ſetting Nature in Defiance of the God of Nature; and this by ſe⯑cretly correſponding with ſome of the worſt and vileſt abandon'd Wretches that he can find; in⯑ſtructing them, and teaching them his own Methods, and ſo making them Traytors to their own Kind; drawing them in to engage with him in ruining the Souls and Bodies of others, and concerting Mea⯑ſures with theſe corrupted Inſtruments, whoſe Principles he has firſt debauch'd, that they may act and do for him, and in his Name, all the Miſchief which he finds it is not for his Purpoſe to do him⯑ſelf.
While he thus lies behind the Curtain himſelf, and is not ſeen, or at leaſt not publickly, he cor⯑reſponds moſt punctually with theſe Agents, em⯑powering and directing them by a great variety of helliſh Arts and Contrivances to work Wonders, amuſe and impoſe upon Mankind, and carry on all his Affairs for him. And this is that we call the Black Art, and ſo I am come back to my Text.
If it be true that the Devil is the Prince of the Air, then he can form Tempeſts in it, can poiſon and infect it ſo, as that all Creatures, Humane as well as ſenſitive and vegetable, ſhould periſh in it; But as he is yet a Prince under Limitations and Re⯑ſtrictions, ſo he can exert no more Power than he has; and when his humane Agents, who are there⯑in worſe Devils than himſelf, would be for Con⯑flagrations, and general Deſtruction; He wiſely, or rather cunningly, puts them off, and diverts them, without telling them, or giving them room to [216] think, that he really has not Power himſelf to en⯑able them.
It is impoſſible to cloſe this Article of the Magi⯑cians Power being limited, without an agree⯑able Reflection upon the modern Furies of our Age, your Party Leaders, and Politick Scheme-Makers; what merry work they would make in the World, if the Devil, their Head Engineer, was not limited, and not in Condition to truſt them with the Power of doing Miſchief as they deſire it.
Perhaps the Senſe of this Limitation in the Pow⯑er of their chief Correſpondent is one Reaſon, that however ſtudious they are to do Miſchief, yet they have not ſo much ſtudied the Diabolical Art as they would otherwiſe have done; in a word, they are not compleat Magicians, becauſe they ſee the Black Art is not wicked enough for them, and they can⯑not obtain a Power by it to out-ſin the Devil.
But I come back to the Art it ſelf. The Artiſts are certainly very helpful to the Devil, as well as the Devil to them: For as he is oblig'd to work by Stratagem, not by Force, all his Cunning is em⯑ploy'd to carry on his Kingdom and Government in the World; and this brings me to the Reaſon why the Devil does not care to act in Perſon, in moſt caſes of his Adminiſtration; but to employ thoſe People, whom we call Magicians, that they may act with his full Directions, and tho' with Art, yet with Power alſo ſufficient to ſtand his Ground againſt all humane Oppoſition.
Under the Cover of theſe Agents he acts with infinite Succeſs, by their Influence he carries on all his Affairs, and eſpecially thoſe of Kingdom and Dominion, in which it is not for want of Im⯑pudence if he does not rival or indeed dethrone his Maker. By his ſecret Correſpondence with them it is that he fills the World with ſham Won⯑ders, and falſe Stories, which being detected and [217] expoſed, reflects upon the Magicians, not upon the Devil; neither indeed ought it to affect him, for that it is not for want of his Aſſiſtance if any of them miſcarry, but from their expecting more from him than it is fit he ſhould grant, or than perhaps it is in his Power to grant. No wonder then he is ſo officious, and ſo willing, that he runs and goes, and dances Attendance upon a ſet of ignorant Ma⯑gicians; I ſay ignorant, except only as he inſtructs them; 'tis evidently, becauſe he makes his Advan⯑tage of them, and they act for his Account.
'Tis then apparent, that the Magicians are Inſtruments by which the Devil carries on his Po⯑litick Affairs in the World. It is time then, in the next Place, to enquire in what manner they per⯑form it, and from what Principles they act; and then we ſhall come to ſome Hiſtorical Account of their merry Proceedings in the World.
A SYSTEM of MAGICK. PART II.
[]INTRODUCTION.
Of the Black Art it ſelf; what it really is, why there are ſeveral differing Practices of it in the ſeveral Parts of the World, and what thoſe Practices are; as alſo, what is contained in it in General.
I Have all along, till now, ſpoken of the general Correſpondence of the Devil with Mankind, under the Head of Diabolick Magick, as a meer Intimacy only; I have repreſented it as a Method which the Devil firſt took, to form his Intereſt and Acquaintance with Mankind, when he was drown'd out of his Kingdom in the old World by the Flood.
[219]'Tis too certain that the Devil acted by this Me⯑thod at firſt, for the Propagation of his own De⯑ſigns only, and to ſet on foot a new Adminiſtrati⯑on of his Affairs; it being for many Reaſons not his Buſineſs to act openly and barefacedly in the World as a Devil; but now 'tis alſo as apparent, that after the Devil had thus eſtabliſhed a Corre⯑ſpondence, he ſoon found Man as forward as him⯑ſelf, as willing to embark with him and engage, as he could deſire; nay ſo forward in the new Trade, ſo eager for Miſchief, ſo glad of being ve⯑ſted with Power (tho' Infernal) to do it, and to gratify thoſe vileſt of his Paſſions, Envy, Revenge, Malice and Strife, that the Devil himſelf, as is ob⯑ſerved in the laſt Chapter, is forced to reſtrain him, and gently to divert his Thoughts to ſome leſs vi⯑olent and leſs deſtructive Methods; not being wil⯑ling, and ſometimes indeed not being able, to act ſo much the Devil as theſe new Hell-fire Agents would have him at it.
The Correſpondence being thus ſettled between the Devil and the Magician, and the Treaties be⯑tween them ſigned, ratified, and exchanged in Form, the Inſtrument (Man) is immediately furniſhed by the Employer (Satan) with all neceſſary Qualifica⯑tions for his Buſineſs, and is compleatly qualify'd for an Infernal Mountebank; and ſo he falls to his Juggling-box and to ſhewing his Tricks, his Pawaw⯑ing and Conjuring, and in a word, exerciſing his new Acquirements and Helliſh Talents upon Man⯑kind; and this we call, and that with a great Pro⯑priety of Speech, the BLACK ART.
The brief Definition of what we call the Black Art, that is to ſay, as I would have it be under⯑ſtood in the reſt of my Diſcourſe, is, that it is a new general Term for all the Branches of that Correſpondence which Mankind has maintained, or does, or can carry on, between himſelf and the [220] Devil, between this and the Infernal World; com⯑priſing all the eight Particulars which I mentioned before, as they are taken from the Prohibition of them, and the Declaration againſt them in the Law of Moſes, viz.
- Divining, the ſame as Southſaying.
- Obſerving of Times.
- Uſing Inchantment.
- Witchcraft.
- Charming, or ſetting of Spells.
- Dealing with Familiar Spirits.
- Wizardizing, or Sorcery, thought to be the ſame as Witchcraft, but miſtaken.
- Necromancing.
The Practice of theſe, or of any of them, or of all of them, is what we are to underſtand by this ge⯑neral Term the Black Art; and as theſe ſeveral Parts are expreſs'd after a differing manner, and per⯑haps practis'd in a differing Form in ſeveral and re⯑mote Parts of the World, it may be neceſſary to give a brief Deſcription of them one by one; that ſo when we name them apart, I may yet be right⯑ly underſtood, and may need no more Digreſſions for Explanation of Terms as I go on.
1. Divining. A Diviner I underſtand to be the ſame as was antienly called a Southſayer; this is ex⯑preſly confirm'd in Scripture, if you will take its Authority for any thing, Acts xvi.16. A certain Damſel poſſeſſed with a Spirit of Divination met us, who brought her Maſter great Gain by Southſaying: So that Divination and Southſaying is the ſame thing.
N.B. Obſerve that this Divination is here called a Spirit, that is to ſay, the Devil, or a Devil; and he was really in her, for 'tis ſaid, Paul caſt him out of her.
[221]This Southſaying alſo, as we are to underſtand it, contained all thoſe leſſer Pieces of low-priz'd Art, called, telling Fortunes, reſolving Difficulties, find⯑ing out and diſcovering ſecret things; and perhaps all the juggling Part practiſed at this time; and that without any Correſpondence with the Spirit Python that Paul caſt out, or any other Spirit but that of Fraud and Legerdemain, which the Divining or Southſaying is only made a Cover to.
2. Obſervers of Times. Theſe I take to be ſome, who, by Correſpondence with an evil Spirit, de⯑clared ſuch and ſuch Days or Times to have a particular Fatality, ſo that no Buſineſs which was undertaken on that Day could proſper; and this Part of the Black Art may take in ſuch as carrying on the Study of judicial Aſtrology to the extreme, and to the Gates of Hell, aſcribe Events of Things to the Government and Influence of the Stars, and that Influence to be ſo or ſo directed for Good or Evil, according to the particular Poſition, Oppoſi⯑tion, Conjunction or Situation of thoſe Stars or Planets in differing Houſes; as if theſe could be the Directors of the Fate of Perſons, Families and Na⯑tions; and that the Events of things were directed by them, and by the Seaſons and Times of their Stations here or there in the Courſe of their ordi⯑nary Motion, whether direct or retrogade: In a word, the Practice of judicial Aſtrology, tho' not a dealing with, or by the Help of the Devil, is condemn'd here, as being a plain robbing Divine Providence of its known Glory, in directing and diſ⯑poſing both Cauſes and Events in all things relating to the Government of Mankind, or indeed of the whole World, and aſcribing that to the poor innocent unconcerned Stars or Planets which is ſingly in the Diſpoſition of him that made them. The Stars and Planets are no intelligent Beings; they have indeed a vegetative or active Life, but as to [222] Knowledge or Acquaintance of or with human Af⯑fairs they are entirely lifeleſs Bodies, utterly incapable of influencing or directing any thing, or of any Motion or Action, other than by the Direction of the ſame Power and Providence which made and guides them in common with the reſt of the World.
3. Uſing Inchantments. Theſe are variouſly de⯑ſcrib'd by the Ancients; but to explain it by our modern Terms of Art, this is what we call Con⯑juring; and this is certainly performed by the im⯑mediate Agency and Aſſiſtance of the evil Spirit, when the Magician uſing theſe Inchantments, works by the ſecret Aid of the Devil ſome won⯑derful thing, ſo as to ſurpriſe the Beholders, and make them think the Operator is veſted with ſu⯑pernatural Power, and conſequently is ſome ex⯑traordinary Man. Thus when St. Paul healed the lame Man at Lyſtra, the People, ſurpriſed with the Miracle, cry'd out preſently, The Gods are come down to us in the Likeneſs of Men. Thus the Ma⯑gicians in Pharaoh's Court made Frogs, turn'd the Water into Blood, and the Rods into Serpents by their Inchantments, that is to ſay, by the immedi⯑ate Hand of the Devil; who was permitted, it ſeems, to increaſe the Plagues of Aegypt, doing Miſ⯑chief being his particular Talent: But I do not read that whenever Aaron and Moſes denounc'd any of thoſe Plagues, the Magicians could ſtop or prevent them; if they could have done that indeed, they had been worth Notice, but it was quite otherwiſe; for, leſt they ſhould boaſt too much of their Power, they were reſtrain⯑ed, and not able to make Lice, tho' they had made Frogs and Serpents; but they were obliged to acknowledge in publick, that they were unable to do it, that it was the Finger of God, and that he had put a ſtop to their Inchantments; in a word, it made them acknowledge that, according to an [223] old Proverb which, for ought I know, is derived from thence, GOD is above the Devil.
4. Witchcraft. This is indeed the blackeſt part of the Black Art it ſelf: I need not deſcribe it any farther than this, that it is a Power received im⯑mediately from the Devil to do Miſchief; to gratify Rage, Envy, Malice, Revenge, and the vileſt Paſ⯑ſions of Men, giving it into their Hands to be⯑witch Men, Cattle, Places and Things; to burn and deſtroy, tho' limited, as hinted before in many Particulars; the Effects of this Witchcraft we of⯑ten ſee, and ſhall ſay more to it in its Place.
This includes Perſons being immediately agi⯑tated by an evil Spirit, carried often violently into the Air by the Help of the Devil, and being able to carry away others in the Air alſo; and not to inſiſt upon all the improbable things ſaid of them, and ſaid to be done by them; yet that the Devil certainly plays his Pranks by thoſe Tools ſometimes in a moſt extravagant manner, I muſt grant. Why it is generally practis'd by old Women only, is a Point to be conſider'd by itſelf.
In this Article of Witchcraft is included what we call an Evil Tongue, an evil Eye, Curſing, Blaſting, Bewitching, and abundance of Helliſh things which thoſe Creatures are permitted to practiſe, to the Hurt of thoſe that they point their Malice againſt.
5. Charming. This is certainly a Piece of the Black Art, and conſiſts of divers Branches, ſuch as ſetting Spells, drawing Circles, within which if the Perſon to be operated upon ſets his Feet, he ſhall not be able to ſtir out of the Compaſs of it with⯑out Leave from the Charmer; likewiſe Dozings, giving Filters, Potions, and Helliſh Contrivances to cauſe Barrenneſs, Impotence, Idiotiſm, Lunacy, Love, Hatred, and abundance more nameleſs Wick⯑edneſſes, which nothing but the Devil and Father of Miſchief could empower them to do.
[224]6. Dealing with Familiar Spirits. This is what was more immediately proper to a Magician; I mean, ſuch a Diabolical Magician as I have been deſcribing; and as the Title expreſſes it, is an im⯑mediate converſing with a Devil, who always attends him at his Call, to come and go as he pleaſes, to conſult with, be adviſed and directed by, and in a word, to do for him whatever He, the Magician deſires.
Thus we read that King Menaſſes dealt with the Devil; the Text ſays expreſly, he uſed Witchcraft and Inchantments, and dealt with a familiar Spirit. And who could doubt it, from what followed? nothing but a Man abandoned to Hell, and that had the Devil at his Elbow, could have been prevailed with to do what he did, which at that time was the moſt dangerous piece of Impudence that ever had been heard of, viz. to ſet a carved Image in the very Temple, the Houſe of God.
7. Wizards. This ſome take to be nothing but what they call a Man Witch; but in the Practice it hath been carried farther, namely, to be one that conſults with the Devil, to give Anſwers to difficult Queſtions, to reveal and diſcover Conſpiracies, and to govern the greater things of Life; as to blaſt or ſucceed the Enterprizes of Princes and People; to tell and foretell the Succeſs of ſuch and ſuch Un⯑dertakings; and even to influence the Undertakers. Such a one as this was Baalim, who being fam'd for a Wizard, was ſent for a long way by the King of Moab to curſe the Camp and Army of the He⯑brews.
The Northern Word uſed in our own Country for this Kind is a Warlock, the antient Import of which was one that could give good or bad Speed to any Undertaking, or at leaſt could foretell whe⯑ther the thing enquired about ſhould ſucceed or no.
[225]We have abundance of merry Tales ſcatter'd a⯑broad in the Oral Tradition of antient times, and among thoſe antient things called Old Women, con⯑cerning Wizards: how the Kings and Princes uſed to conſult with them, before they undertook any great Enterprize: They tell you in the North; how an old Wizard warned King James IV of Scotland who was killed at Flodden Field, not to paſs the Tweed with his Army, but encamp on the Nor⯑thern Bank of the River, and that if the Engliſh paſſed the Water of Tweed to attack him, he ſhould certainly defeat and overthrow them; but that if he fought on Engliſh Ground, he ſhould loſe both his Army and his Life; which accordingly hap⯑pen'd. They relate the ſame of old Mother Shipton in England, who, (tho' ſo many Fables are made of her) was a real and known Perſon, and was not a Witch or a Propheteſs, but a Warlock or Wizard, and 'tis certain ſhe did foretell to Cardinal Woolſey his falling into Diſgrace at Court, his Loſs of the King's Favour, and his Death; all which according⯑ly happen'd.
8. The laſt of theſe is a Necromancer, a Word very antient, and containing indeed the Black Art in its full Perfection; this being One who not like the Wizard foretold or predicted, but who, when the People came to him, would carry them to his Originals, that is to ſay, would go to work, and bring the Devil up by his Art to talk with and do their Buſineſs for them himſelf; and this indeed might properly be ſaid to be a Teacher of the Black Art, that is to ſay, not that he could tie the Devil down to appear to the Perſon, whoever it was, that he took a Fee of, and be at his Sum⯑mons as he was before at his the Necromancer's own; but if ever any Perſon had a mind to come into the wicked Claſs, and have a Perſonal Conference with the Devil in order to make a Bargain with [226] him, the Necromancer's Buſineſs was to raiſe the Devil, preſent the Stranger, bring them acquaint⯑ed, and then leave the Devil and the Man to agree the Matter among themſelves.
In a word, the Necromancer, (like the famous Mr. Whiſton of good, lying, merry Memory) was the Devil's Broker, neither more or leſs; he brings Grift to the Devil's Mill, Cuſtomers to his Shop, and farthers his Trade, and his own Gain by the or⯑dinary Method of his Employment.
It is true theſe blackeſt of the Black-Art Men have a great many other things in their Practice, beſides that of brokering for the Devil; they were uſed to raiſe Storms, Whirlwinds, and Hurricanes, by which they made themſelves very terrible to the People, as if it was in their Power to do all the miſchievous things in the World: By this they brought in their Cuſtomers, for the People uſually brib'd them, as the Indians worſhip the Devil that he may do them no Harm. The ſtrong Opinion the common People had of theſe Men in time paſt was ſuch, that they would go to them for Rain in Drought, and for fair Weather in Harveſt, for Abatement of Floods, and for protecting their Cattle in Lightning and Thunder.
To ſum them up all, the Diviner and Southſayer, the judicial Aſtrologer and Conjurer, the Inchanter and Charmer, the Witch and the Wizard, the Ne⯑cromancer and Dealer with a Familiar Spirit all put together and practiſed in their fulleſt Extent, make up this One Black Art which I am ſpeaking of, in its Perfection; and in this Senſe I am to be under⯑ſtood in the following Part of this Work.
Only take a few Hints by way of Obſervation, on this Occaſion, viz. that the Devil has ſome lit⯑tle Out-lyers and ſculking Operators in the World, and which he makes great uſe of, which may not be ſaid to come under any of thoſe Denominations; as [227] particularly our Second-ſight Men in Scotland; the Wind Merchants in Norway, who ſell fair and foul Weather, Storms and Calms, as the Devil and you can agree upon a Price, and as your Occaſions require: Alſo in Lapland, Muſcovy, Siberia and other Nor⯑thern Parts of the World, he is ſaid to act by dif⯑fering Methods, and govern his Dominions by a more open and arbitrary Method, not preſcribed and limited to Art and Craft as he does here.
We have alſo ſome new Practitioners in Magick among ourſelves, who deal with the Devil in a more exalted ſublime Way, and who, for ought I know, are able to teach the Devil ſome new and more accurate ways of managing them, and the reſt of the World too, than ever he knew before. In a word, inſtead of enquiring at the Devil's Oracle, and learning from him, I think the Devil muſt even come to School to them; for as Alphonſus of Caſtilo ſaid, If God Almighty had conſulted with him when he made the World, he could have ſhewed him how to mend it: So certainly, if the Devil had conſulted theſe Gentlemen in his firſt Rebellion, they might as well tell us, they would have ſhewn him how to have martial'd his Army better, and perhaps not have loſt the Day as he did; at leaſt they would take upon them to give him new Meaſures for his preſent and future Conduct, that ſo he may rebell againſt Heaven again whenever he pleaſes, and ſhall be ſure to carry on the War (at leaſt defenſively) with better Succeſs than ever he did before.
We have alſo ſome modern Sects of Helliſh Di⯑vinity not formerly known, no not to the Devil himſelf; which ſeem to partake of the Black Art in a peculiar manner, and which, tho' not con⯑tain'd under any of the eight Heads already mention'd, yet the Profeſſors claim to be incorporated among the Devil's Graduates, and may be juſtly eſteemed Members of the Society of Deceivers; and that [228] they have practiſed the Black Art in a more exqui⯑ſite Method than any that ever went before them; of whom, and of their Art and Management, if I may obtain a Freedom of Thinking in an Article of ſuch Importance as this, I may give you a very profitable Deſcription in the Proceſs of this Hi⯑ſtory.
There remains a Vacancy too for our Friends of the Legend and Calendar, among whom we ſhall find certain Red Letter Black-Art Men who deal with the Devil under the ſanctify'd Vizor of the red Hat, the Coul, and the Tonſure; among whom, I ſay, many have been, and many ſtill may be A⯑gents of Hell in the moſt abſtracted Senſe, and therefore cannot be denied to be Practitioners in the Black Art, as effectually, and to all Intents and Purpoſes, as fully as ever the Monks of Loudon, or the Patrons of Father Jetzer, and the Maid of Kent; of all which in their Order.
CHAP. I.
Of Modern Magick, or the Black Art as now in its Practice and Perfection.
THE antient Magick having by a long Succeſſion of Art and Time been handed down to the Grecians, and from them to the Ro⯑mans, we cannot but acknowledge that they went a great way to the improving it, for they mingled the Black Art ſo entirely among their religious Worſhip that it is not to this day poſſible to diſtin⯑guiſh between the Rites and Ceremonies of their Gods, and the Inchantments and Charms, Conju⯑rations and Divinations immediately directed by the Devil.
[229]I have mentioned ſomething of this already in their Augurs, and the ſeveral Inſtitutions of Romu⯑lus, Numa Pompilius, and others; but nothing ſo effectually diſcover'd the Black Art to be blended with their Religious Rites, and the Craft of the Devil with the Worſhip of their Gods, as the ſet⯑ting up Oracles, giving Reſponſes, and ſolving Doubts, as if by Enquiry of the Gods; whereas in⯑deed it was all managed by the Craft of the De⯑vil, and the Agency of thoſe ſolemn Knaves the Prieſts; and this I call Eccleſiaſtick Magick.
There was not a little Knavery in the ſetting up the Augurs, in the Divinations and Predictions from the flying and chattering of Birds; and be⯑fore that, in the Prieſts poring upon the Intrails of the Beaſts ſacrificed to their Gods: Here this Art went ſuch a length, that the Truth is, the Devil ſaw himſelf outdone by the Prieſts, and the Witchcraft of Superſtition went beyond all that Satan himſelf ever pretended to in the firſt In⯑ſtitution: So far did the crafty and avaritious Prieſts engroſs the Devil's Buſineſs, that they really ſeem'd to take the very Trade out of his Hand, or as we ſay of an invading Tradeſman that ſets up under his Maſter's Noſe, he takes the Bread out of his Mouth.
The Greeks were the moſt ſuperſtitious of all the Devil-Worſhippers in the World, worſe than the Perſians and Chaldeans, from whom they borrowed all the Fundamentals of their Idolatry, and far worſe than the Romans, who were afterwards their Scholars: Image and Idol Worſhip were Eſſentials in all their Temples, which the Romans at firſt re⯑jected with Diſdain; even Numa Pompilius, the moſt devout and ſuperſtitious of all the Romans, deſpis'd it; and many of the moſt learned of the Roman Authors exclaim againſt it as abſurd and ridiculous; however they came into it afterwards alſo.
[230]But the Greeks, I ſay, from their particular Love to Superſtition, were the firſt that worſhipped the Images of their Gods: thus you read of the Ephe⯑ſians having the Image of Jupiter which came down from Heaven; in like manner they had particular Images in every Temple, and Temples almoſt in every Corner; and being the fitteſt People to be thus impoſed upon and deluded, the Prieſts who were equally ſubtle there as in other Places, invented (or the Devil directed them to) that groſſeſt of all Cheats, the Oracles of their Gods; to whoſe Temples they conſtantly repair'd for Anſwers in the moſt difficult and doubtful Caſes; and the Romans took it from them.
Theſe Oracles were indeed the Devil's Maſter⯑piece, for here the Prieſts and himſelf juggled to⯑gether in ſo notorious a manner, that no Contri⯑vance for putting a publick Cheat upon the World ever met with the like Succeſs: The Devil aſſiſt⯑ing the Prieſts gave Anſwers in the moſt ſubtle, doubtful and ambiguous Terms imaginable, ſo that they frequently poſſeſſed the People with a Belief of the Things predicted being come to paſs; where⯑as it was all owing to the Double Entendre of the Anſwers, which left things to be underſtood any way the Prieſts thought fit, and left the Prieſts room to ſuggeſt a Correſpondence between the O⯑racle and the Event, when indeed there was no manner of Similitude, no Coherence, or any thing like it.
Hiſtory gives ſeveral Examples of the ambiguous doubtful Anſwers of the Oracles, and yet ſo bigot⯑ted were the Greeks to their Notions of them, that on the Day of the great Battle at Plataea with the Perſians they would not give Battle, tho' the Ene⯑my was upon them, and began to trample down their Infantry with the Horſe, till they knew the Will of the Gods, as they expreſs'd it, and had a [231] full Anſwer from the Oracle; the Soldiers ſitting ſtill upon the Ground, and letting the Enemies cut them in Pieces. But as ſoon as they had underſtood that the Oracle had given its Anſwer, and that their Sacrifices for Victory were favourable, their Commanders aſſuring them that the Gods were propitious, and that they had a Promiſe of Victory, they immediately rous'd up from their Seats, form'd their Battalia or Phalanx, and fell on with ſuch Fury, that the Perſians and the other Greeks that were confederate with them, were ut⯑terly overthrown, and cut in Pieces.
It will not be amiſs, in order to ſhow the World how great the Powers of religious Infatuations were, and how far Mankind may be impos'd upon, to give a ſhort Account of but that one Day's Ac⯑tion between the Grecian Army under their Ge⯑neral Pauſanias, and Mardonius Leader of the Army of Xerxes the King of Perſia.
The Perſian Army conſiſted of three hundred thouſand Perſians, the Flower of Xerxes's Army; and fifty thouſand Greeks; Thebans, Macedonians and Theſſalians, Auxiliaries or Confederates with Xerxes. The Athenians and Lacedemonians conſiſted of no more than forty thouſand Grecians, but old Soldiers, and well arm'd, commanded by Pauſanias, to whom they had join'd indeed ſeventy thouſand Auxiliar Militia, but theſe were only raw and unexperi⯑enc'd People; nor had they any Dependance on them for their Valour or Diſcipline, only for making Excurſions, plundering, and the like.
'The Greeks had ſent to enquire of the Oracle at Delphos, to know the Succeſs of the War, and were anſwer'd, that they ſhould certainly have the Victory, provided they fought the Battel up⯑on Athenian Ground, or in the Plains of Ceres and Proſerpina, and made their Prayers to ſuch and ſuch GODS, Demy Gods and NYMPHS, (Ex⯑cellent [232] Conjuring and Magick to patch up Religion with!)
'This Anſwer of the Oracle was an apparent Cheat, for no body knew where this Piece of Ground could be: The Plain of Ceres was indeed on Athenian Ground, but then it was not near where the Armies lay, and they being inferiour in Force, could not chuſe their Ground, or fight where they pleas'd; But there was an old Temple of Ceres and Proſerpina, near their Camp, and likewiſe ſome dedicated Places ſacred to thoſe Nymphs and Demy Gods ſpoken of upon Mount Ctihaeron; but then the Land belong'd to the Ci⯑tizens of Plataea, and not to the Athenians, and this perplex'd them much.
'While they were in this Uneaſineſs, the Pla⯑taeans, to ſhew their good will, and encourage the Army, beſtow'd all the Lands which thoſe Temples and dedicated Places ſtood on, and for a large Space round, by Deed of Gift on the Athenians, ſo to cauſe them to fight on Athe⯑nian Ground.
'All things being thus clear'd up, and the Ar⯑mies juſt ready to engage, the Grecian General cauſed Sacrifices to the Gods for Victory to be brought to the head of the Troops; nor would the Athenians ſtir, or ſtrike a Stroke, till they were ended, and that the Prieſts gave Signals of the Fortunate Omens. The Perſian Army ad⯑vanc'd, the Horſemen charg'd in upon the fore⯑moſt Troops, the Arrows flew in Clouds, and many were ſlain; but 'twas all one, the Soldiers ſat upon the Ground, and would not ſtir a Foot.
'But as ſoon as Pauſanias had Notice that the Sacrifices were happily ended, and that he found thoſe Tokens in the Entrails of the Beaſts, which the Superſtition of the Age eſteemed Fortunate, and Signals of Succeſs; he immediately caus'd the [233] Army to raiſe a Shout, and gave the Signal of Battel: Upon which the Soldiers ſuddenly riſe up upon their Feet, with Acclamations, and re⯑ceiv'd the Charge of the Barbarians in ſuch excel⯑lent Order, and with ſuch undaunted Bravery, that notwithſtanding the Enemy came pouring in upon them with their Multitudes, expecting to bear all down before them, yet the Perſians were repulſed, and utterly overthrown, and Mardonius with above three hundred thouſand Men kill'd upon the Spot.
What Eccleſiaſtick Magick was this! what Super⯑ſtition, without ground! The Sacrifices would have gone on, tho' the Armies had engag'd; or if not, why were they not brought ſooner to the Place, and how in a few Moments more might the whole Army have been cut in Pieces without Reſiſtance, for want of the Ceremony of a timely Sacrifice? But ſuch is the Power of Superſtition, and to ſuch a degree of Poſſeſſion or Infatuation had the Devil, by the means of his Inſtruments the Magicians, brought Mankind.
This I take to be the Meridian of the Devil's Influence, and when the Magick Diabolical was at its greateſt Height. The Romans were ſuperſtitious enough, but not ſo groſly given up: and yet the Gre⯑cians were a wiſe Nation; the Athenians were fam'd for Wiſdom and Knowledge; for Philoſophy; Art and Science flouriſh'd among them to a degree be⯑yond all the reſt of the World. Nay they deſpis'd the Wiſdom of all the World in compariſon of their own; yet ſwallow'd up with the Magick of Superſtition, they were in ſhort bewitch'd by a religious Sorcery, and run into Superſtition to an exceſs equal to Madneſs and Diſtraction.
The Romans, as I ſaid above, follow'd them at the Hells; and tho' at firſt the wiſeſt of their Leaders rejected the Image Worſhip of the Greeks, nay [234] ſtood out one hundred and ſeventy Years from Nu⯑ma Pompilius, eſteeming it abſurd and impious to re⯑preſent things glorious, by things baſe or mean; yet Tarquinius Priſcus following the Uſage of the Greeks, (who, I ſay, of all the Nations of the World were the moſt deluded by the Devil,) brought in the Cuſtom of ſetting up the Images of their Gods in their Temples; and in ſome Ages after, this Uſe of Images came up to ſuch a height, and multi⯑plied to ſuch an infinite Number, that it was next to impoſſible to know them one from another, but they were oblig'd to write their Names over their Statues and Images; and the Numbers of their Gods, and Demy-Gods, grew up to ſuch a Multi⯑tude, that they were oblig'd to marſhal them into Regiments and Claſſes, Degrees and Orders, and even of them too many to repeat. Such as Dii Conſentes Select [...], Dii Patritii, Dii Medii Inſigniores, Dii Mediorum or common Gods, Terreſtial and Coe⯑leſtial Heroes, Gods and Demy-Gods, Nymphs, and in a word, an infinite Throng of Gods.
Happy Art! however Infernal and Diabolick, that could furniſh Gods from the Street to the Capi⯑tol; nay Dung [...]il Gods, Door-keeping Gods, and Senate-Houſe Gods, Dii Conſcripti, and above all the reſt, as the Learned Lactantius ſays, the Rabble of Gods beatify'd by Men. Epimenides Cretenſis erected in the Athenian Plains the famous Altar to the Dii Ignatii, the Unknown Gods, of which St. Paul took Notice, for it remain'd there to his time, when he made that fam'd Oration, Inimitable for its Eloquence and Beauty of Language, as well as Excellence and Strength of Argument, when he ſtood upon Mars-Hill at Athens, confuting the Wiſdom of the Philoſophers, and perhaps Magi⯑cians.
And whence now came all this Ignorance and Superſtition? but from the early Deluſions of the [235] Devil, carry'd on among Men by the help of this we call Magick of Black Art, and in all its ſeveral Compoſitions? that is to ſay, as above, Divining Southſaying, Inchantment, Whitchcraft, Sorcery, and dealing with Familiar Spirits, Necromancy, and the Devil.
Theſe things introduc'd Enthuſiaſm, Enthu⯑ſiaſm brought up Idolatry, and then Witchcraft and Magick brought down the Minds of Men to a Meanneſs fit to be deluded by them.
It may not be improper to obſerve here, that the Black Art, as thus explain'd, may be leſs needful in thoſe Days, when the deluded World was more eaſy to be impoſed upon and cheated, than now, when the World ſeem to have their Eyes open, and re⯑quire more Artifice to impoſe upon them with.
In the Grecian and Roman Times, the Minds of Men untaught, and without the Aſſiſtance of Di⯑vine Illuminations, were eaſily impos'd upon, given up to ſtrong Deluſions, and to believe Lies; they were bigotted by the Prieſts, and by their own Native Superſtitions, and were eaſily deluded to worſhip any Gods, every bodies Gods, and even as above, Unknown Gods. Happy Ignorance! com⯑par'd to our Age, who by their Exceſs of Know⯑ledge and Senſe are arriv'd to a degree of Liberty, from the Slavery and Bondage of all Religion; that eſteem themſelves wiſe, in having found out a new Happineſs for Mankind, freeing him from the Chains of Doctrine and Principle, triumphing in a State of compleat Atheiſm and Irreligion, and in⯑ſtead of worſhipping many Gods, ſave them⯑ſelves the trouble of Idolatry, and worſhip no God at all.
It muſt be confeſs'd it has coſt the Devil ſome Pains, he has employ'd a world of Agents, and beſtow'd a great deal of Magick, to bring this to paſs; nay, in my Opinion it ſeems that he never [236] was able to bring it to paſs, no, not by all his A⯑gents, and whatever Pains and Expence he had been at; but on the contrary, it came into his Manage⯑ment by an unforeſeen, and, even to the Devil him⯑ſelf, an unexpected turn of his Affairs: For firſt it ſeem'd to be a new Diſcovery in its very Nature, and what Satan had no Notion of for many thou⯑ſands of Years; and I do not find the moſt Learned in theſe Matters are agreed yet about it, as whe⯑ther it is immediately from Hell, a new Invention of the Place, and ſo introduc'd by the Devil as a Favour and Advantage to Mankind; or whether the Caſe is inverted, and as Man has in this Pra⯑ctice out-ſinn'd the Devil, ſo he has been the Devil's Inſtructor in it, and brought the thing to him, as a Projector does a Scheme to the Perſon whom he would have to manage it for him.
Indeed I muſt do the Devil the Juſtice to ſay I think it was the latter; that it never enter'd into Satan's Head, as cunning as he is, to imagin any thing ſo groſs would go down with the World; that tho' it is true he had begun early in ſetting up himſelf in the place of God, and had gotten himſelf to be worſhip'd as a GOD, yet he never of⯑fer'd to ſuggeſt to Mankind that there was no God to be ador'd at all; no Supreme Being exiſting, to whom the Homage of the World was due, as to its Creator and Preſerver.
The Devil knew the early Principles, and whence they were infus'd; he knew that it was a Fire kindled with the Life, and that could not be ex⯑tinguiſh'd but with the ſame Life; that it was the Work of Nature in Man, twiſted with his Reaſon, and as he thought it impoſſible to be erac'd and ob⯑literated, ſo he never attempted it. Not to believe a God! All Hell acknowledg'd the Mighty Truth, and the Devil himſelf could never imagine Mankind could be brought to queſtion it.
This Attainment is indeed a new Invention; but like our late South-Sea Stock it is run up, and has gain'd upon Mankind by a general Infatuation, and may well be call'd Magick in its very Abſtract. Nothing indeed but a kind of thinking rightly call'd FREE, and founded on Schemes of the moſt re⯑fin'd Infidelity, could act upon ſuch a Syſtem as this: What Magick muſt there be to work up the Mind of Man to a Poſſibility of receiving ſuch a Principle, without Aſtoniſhment. No God! what a Shock it gives to the Soul, what a Blow to the reaſoning Powers!
It muſt be a moſt exquiſite Piece of Magical Work, and Magick in it ſelf muſt be a moſt exqui⯑ſite Art, more refin'd and more ſuperior in Wick⯑edneſs, than the moſt ſuperlative Craft of Hell ever arriv'd to, that ſhould raze out the Impreſſions of a GOD from the Soul of Man, where they were firſt riveted by the very ſame Hand of Power that created him; that could harden the Soul againſt the Ter⯑rors of his Maker, and blot out all the Repreſen⯑tations of God, which the light of Nature and of Reaſon had printed upon his Mind.
It is beyond even the lofty Theme I am upon, and as the Power of Magick cannot reach it, ſo it is alſo beyond me to conceive of it, either what Power it is wrought by, or from what ſtrange corrupted Fountain it flows. I confeſs, I cannot find in my [238] Heart to charge Satan with it, for I would not ſlander the Devil; nor do I find any Footſteps of it in all the Devil's Story, or in all the Accounts of his Management in the World: I leave it therefore to the Learned Searchers into the Antiquity of theſe Times, to find out, if it be poſſible, its Original, and tell us from whence it proceeds; promiſing in the mean time, that if they will but tell me where it begun, I'll take care to give them an Account where it will end, and that from very good Au⯑thority.
The bringing Mankind to deny the Being of their Maker, is a thing in it ſelf ſo ſurpriſing, ſo ſhock⯑ing to Nature and to common Senſe, that it can⯑not but raiſe our Curioſity, if poſſible, to find out its Original; I acknowledge my ſelf to have loſt a great deal of Labour in the Search, nor have all the Methods I have hitherto taken been able to give me any conſiderable Light into the Matter. I am loth I confeſs to go to Satan himſelf to en⯑quire about it, and ſo deal with the Devil my ſelf, while I am exploding the Practice in others. Be⯑ſides, I am very doubtful, whether, if I did, he could give me a true, or at leaſt, a full Ac⯑count of it; for I am under a full Perſwaſion that it is beyond him, that the Original was from the Nature of Man, arriv'd by his own Improvement to a height beyond his firſt Inſtructor. How the Heart of Man became receptive of Wickedneſs be⯑yond the Power of Hell and Devils to infuſe, is a Point too curious to dwell upon here, we may meet with it again in our way.
It may be true, and we have good reaſon to ſay we find it ſo, that the Devil greedily embrac'd the Propoſal; and like the King of Spain, when Colum⯑bus brought him the firſt News of a new World in America offer'd to his Government, and adding a new Empire to his Dominiom; He whoſe Ambi⯑tion [239] had before graſp'd the whole World in Ima⯑gination, yet greedily accepted the Diſcovery, how mean ſoever the Diſcoverer was. Thus Satan, however out-witted and out-ſinn'd by the Dexte⯑rity of Men, being ſhew'd a way of inſulting his Maker, (his darling Sin, and the height of his Am⯑bition) which he never thought of before, tho' perhaps ſecretly diſdaining to be out-ſhot in his own Bow, yet greedily embrac'd the Diſcovery, embarks in the Scheme, and prompts the wicked Contrivers to go on with it, with the utmoſt Ap⯑plication.
It may be ask'd of me, why I will Inſiſt upon this matter in a Treatiſe of Magick; that this re⯑lates to the Atheiſts, not to Magicians, and that by the ſame Rule, all Enthuſiaſms, Hereſies and myſte⯑rious things in Religion, as well as in Science, may be rated in the ſame Claſs, and be call'd by the ſame Name, and ſo we ſhall make a Magick of Re⯑ligion at laſt.
But let a ſhort Anſwer ſuffice to this weak Obje⯑ction; All Errors in Religion are not equally Diabo⯑lic, no, nor equally miſchievous; and as I have ſaid above, that this ſeems to be of an Original deeper than Hell, and out of the Reach of the Devil; ſo, as far as it is a Crime which derives from the Man as an Independent, and acting the Devil by himſelf, I think it muſt have the Height of human Imagina⯑tion and Invention in it, and ſo may be call'd Magical, as Magick is a Sicence or Art of doing Superlative Evil.
If then it ſhall be allow'd at leaſt to be, as it really is, an Extreme of human Wickedneſs, it muſt have the Eſſence of Magick in it, as Magick is now conſider'd; and therefore when I mention it in the Title of this Chapter, I call it MAGICK in its Practice and Perfection. What myſterious Power muſt it be, or as 'tis uſual to expreſs it, what Ma⯑gick [240] muſt there be in it, that Mankind can be harden'd to a Pitch, capable of denying the POWER that made them, capable of arguing againſt the Re⯑ality of that Being, which gave them Being?
Nor does the Magick conſiſt in the Fact, nei⯑ther do I lay the Streſs of it there; or upon the Sin againſt Reaſon, againſt common Senſe, the Ingrati⯑tude to their Maker, the open Inſult of Heaven, the Venture of provoking that Being whoſe Power it inſults, and many other things of like Impor⯑tance; theſe are things the People I am talking to, and the Age I am talking in, can ridicule, and make a Jeſt of, and laugh at the mention of them; not ſhall I dwell upon them, the Divines are equal to this Task, and their proper Work it is. I leave it with them.
But my Enquiry looks another way, and there the Magick diſcovers it ſelf; viz. by what ſtrange Influence, by what ſecret Wonder in Nature it is brought about, that Men who ſay they have Souls, that have a Capacity of reaſoning and judging, and whoſe univerſal Paſſion is to be vain of that Judg⯑ment, proud of their reaſoning Powers, and of their being capable of cenſuring the Defects of o⯑thers, that Theſe ſhould ever be capable of being thus impos'd upon, of receiving ſuch a Notion, and even of deſiring it ſhould be true. This is indeed aſtoniſhing! and here I confeſs there muſt be ſome Magick, ſome ſecret prevailing Artifice, whether of the Devil, or of what elſe, who can tell? Here muſt be ſome Wheels and Springs, able, when ſet a going, to give a Progreſſion to the whole Move⯑ment; and here muſt be ſome ſecret Hand turning thoſe Wheels and Springs; be it Internal, Exter⯑nal, or Infernal, I leave it as I find it; only I think, as I thought before, my Judgment dictates to me, that the Devil is not in the Plot, that he had no hand in it, at leaſt not at firſt; what he may have [241] done ſince I know nothing of yet, and I do not ſee how I ſhall, at leaſt not till I have made farther Inquiry.
In looking into this Abſurdity, which ſo many Men of Parts, and who ſcorn Abſurdities in other things, are pleas'd to come into, I cannot but ob⯑ſerve how buſy they are; how many Arts and Tricks truly Magical, do they find out, to reaſon them⯑ſelves into the belief of that horrid Inconſiſtency? What ſubterfuges do they fly to, what Arguments, weak as they are, do they uſe; and how do they cleave and cling about them, loading every Word that can be offer'd againſt them with innumerable Cavils, and with the moſt apparent Sophiſtry!
One ſort will have a God of one kind, One of an⯑other. The Sceptick forms the Notion of a God in his Mind, but ſtrips him of all his governing Pow⯑er, diveſts him of Knowledge and Wiſdom, Holy⯑neſs and Juſtice, and all thoſe glorious Attributes for which he is worthy to be ador'd, and which make him juſtly the Object of our Homage, and of our Affection too.
The Deiſt ſtrips him of the very conſtituting Part of the Deity, and brings him down to a Level with our Reaſoning; diveſting him of all Govern⯑ing, Protecting and Preſerving Providence, and parti⯑cularly of all Reſentment againſt the vileſt Offences; robbing him of the Power of Rewards and Puniſh⯑ments, and making him ſo good, ſo kind and graci⯑ous, that they do not leave him room to be Juſt, or allow him any Reſentment let the caſes be what they will.
The Atheiſt out-goes them all, and not able in⯑deed to reconcile their Notions to common Senſe, much leſs to reaſon himſelf into their Opinions, audaciouſly ſhuts his Eyes againſt Reaſon and Senſe alſo, and tells you there is NO GOD at all.
[242]Now Magick puts an end to all this Difficulty; for by conſulting the dark Oracle, and entring a little into the Secrets of the ſacred Science, as they wickedly tell you it is; they come out transform'd into a new kind of Species, they tell you that they are arriv'd to a compleat Knowledge of the Eternal Myſteries; that GOD is nothing but the Sum of human Deſires, the Ecſtaſy of an exalted Spirit, carry'd up into the Regions of eternal Calm and Quiet, where the Soul is in Raptures of Joy and Love. This they reſolve by the Light of the re⯑fin'd ſublime Judgment to be the Perfection of Hap⯑pineſs, and that is God. Amor DEUS eſt JUPITER quodcunque cupis.
They tell your farther, to deſcend to the Perſona⯑lity of a GOD, is talking wildly and immethodically, and what is inconſiſtent with Nature; that GOD is a Quality, rather than a Being, that cannot be de⯑ſcrib'd by Words, any more than it can be limited by Space; that the ſupreme Eſſence is an in⯑conceiveable Spirit of Light and Glory, and the Soul receives an aſſimulating Light and Knowledge, even by the Contemplation of it, by the Rays of a communicable Effulgence; ſo that having been once illuminated, it continues enjoying a full Luſtre of eminent Glory for ever after.
This unintelligible Stuff is all Magick to me, and I believe we may truly ſay it is ſo to us all; it is ſome of the Cant of the Trade, the Terms of Art in that Profeſſion; and if this be the Diſcovery that Magick makes to the Mind, the Magicians will have ſmall cauſe to boaſt of their Improvement, I preſume it ſhall leave the Mind darker than it finds it.
Now that this makes room for Atheiſm, or Deiſm, or Polytheiſm in the Mind, it is very evident; for, next to the denying the divine Being, our enter⯑taining falſe and corrupt Notions unworthy of [243] God, and of the reaſoning human Soul, are fatal to Religion.
Yet, what Impreſſions have theſe things made upon ſome of the politeſt Men in this Age, who pretending to extirpate all the Notions of Religion in their Souls, begin it with denying the Being of the God that evidently made them; if you pretend to argue from Reaſon, from Nature, from viſible Things, to inviſible, they reject it all, and call for Demonſtration; they will have Heaven meaſur'd Mathematically and Geographically, as it were by Scale and Compaſs, and will judge of things invi⯑ſible according to Gunter; they will allow of no⯑thing but what they can ſee with their Eyes, and feel with their Hands, nor will they believe any ſuch thing as an Incomprehenſible. They will have all Heaven reſolv'd into Nature, all Religion into Reaſon, and all God into Philoſophy. They are not thus diffi⯑cult in other things; leſs Evidence will ſerve them in Crime, and they will make ſhift with the weak⯑eſt Arguments in the World, to perſwade them⯑ſelves into the Lawfulneſs and Juſtice of the vileſt things that they allow the Practice of; ſo partial are they to their corrupt Inclinations, ſo prejudic'd againſt every thing that looks like a ſuperior and legal Reſtraint to their Vices; is not this juſtly call'd Magick? is it not with the utmoſt Propriety brought into a Syſtem of Magick? is it not really a Black Art, a Piece of Conjuration and Witchcraft? is it not all Necromancy and the Devil?
[245]The bringing Mankind then into theſe Abſurdi⯑ties, I ſay, is the height of Magick; 'tis making them capable of entertaining Atheiſtic Notions, and on Pretence of reaſoning to receive Principles incon⯑ſiſtent with Reaſon; and becauſe things Divine are in ſome Particulars incomprehenſible, they run into Notions neither comprehenſible or rational.
This is infinitely beyond all the Enthuſiaſm and religious Frenzy in the World; 'tis brought about by a Poſſeſſion, a meer Rapture of the Imagina⯑tion, which, in a word, forms in the Mind a new Scheme of Nature, new Notions of Being, of Life, of Motion, of paſt, preſent, and future; nay, they tell you as much; they tell you the common Con⯑ceptions of things are only calculated to keep the World blind and dark, that wrap'd up in their own Ignorance, they may be eaſy.
That if by a ſupernatural Light, and by the Study of ſacred Science, (that is to ſay of Magick) a few of the more enlightned part of Mankind have attain'd to a clearer View of things, and that View or Knowledge is communicated to the Souls of thoſe Few, by a ſublime Influence; yet it is not ſo in the main, that the reſt of the World underſtand nothing of it, and that Mankind remain blind and ignorant, for want meerly of Application to, and Study of a true Knowledge.
Theſe are the Things which they tell us of them⯑ſelves, and which they talk in a kind of Cant par⯑ticular to their own ſort; repreſenting themſelves as a kind of angelick People, that live above the reſt of the World, and that act in a higher Sphere, are endow'd with ſuperior Light, that live beyond the ordinary Rate of their Fellow-Creatures. What Reality there is in theſe things, what Attainments they have, and how they have exerciſed them, we ſhall diſcover more plainly, when we look a little into the reſt of it; when we ſee what angelick [246] things they do, and in what manner they exerciſe their extraordinary Faculties; whether they appear to be Illuminations from Heaven, or Deluſions of Hell; whether Emanations of the Realms of Light, or Miſts and Vapours from the Regions of Dark⯑neſs; in a word, whether they are Revelations and Inſpiration from the good Spirit above, or Enthu⯑ſiaſms, Witchcraft, and Sorcery, prompted and aſſiſted by the Devil.
How low-priz'd are all their Undertakings, how mean and contemptible the Methods they take to exert theſe noble and ſuperior Faculties? How do they practiſe upon Mankind by Conjurations, Spells and Enchantments, by the moſt pitiful and ſcanda⯑lous Deluſions, pretending to divine and ſuperior Knowledge? One part of their Performances conſiſts in juggling and ſlight of Hand, another part in Fraud and Falſhood, another in the moſt ignorant Pretences; and the laſt, and as I may ſay, the only real Part, in a meer Necromancy and Deal⯑ing with familiar Spirits.
In their Operations, were their Acquirements Divine, was their Power from Heaven, were the extraordinary Accompliſhments which they boaſt of, truly and as they ſay Seraphick and Heavenly, it would appear in this, that like their heavenly Origi⯑nal they would be exerted in doing good; they would be ſhewn in acts of Charity, of Beneficence to Mankind, moving the World to reform, and in a word, in bringing a Glory to Religion, and to every laudable thing; whereas on the contrary we ſee, the Magicians of the latter Ages of the World are, and always have been, employed in the extreme of Wickedneſs, in the blackeſt Crimes, in protecting and encouraging the worſt and moſt deviliſh Pra⯑ctices in the World, prompting confederated Miſ⯑chiefs, joyning in with Murder, Treaſon, Aſſaſſina⯑tion, and all manner of wicked things.
[247]Thus they tell us of the Magicians among the Germans, who fomented the Rebellion of thoſe En⯑thuſiaſts call Anabaptiſts, which brought ſo many thouſands to their Grave by War and Treaſon. Some will tell us, that Count Walleſtine, the Great General under the Emperor Ferdinand II, and who fought the great Battel of Lutzen, againſt the King of Sweden, us'd Magick, and that ſeveral of the German Officers had Charms and Spells about them, to render them invulnerable, ſo that no Sword would cut them, no Bullets wound them; but that they were deluded by the Magicians, for that many of them were found among the Slain, with Charms hanging about their Necks; and that Wallenſtine himſelf, notwithſtanding his Magick Art, was overthrown, and ſhamefully bea⯑ten by the Swedes in that great Battel, and was him⯑ſelf afterwards aſſaſſinated and kill'd by an Iriſh Captain in the Caſtle of Egra in Bohemia, though ſurrounded with his Guards.
Many Inſtances have been given, and Hiſtory is full of them, where the Pretenders to this Art have been abandon'd to Ruin, either deluded by the Daemon they truſted, or through the real Defici⯑ency of the Art it ſelf; the latter of which I inſiſt upon has been chiefly the Reaſon of it; for what Operation could they expect from the help of Ma⯑gick, to counter-act the Determinations of Provi⯑dence? even Balaam himſelf could declare it thus; Surely there is no Enchantment againſt JACOB, neither is there any Divination againſt ISRAEL. Numb. xxiii.23.
CHAP. II.
[248]The Scene, chang'd; That as the Devil acted at Firſt with his Black Art without the Ma⯑gicians, ſo the Magicians ſeem to carry it on now without the Devil.
HItherto I have made the Devil the Aggreſſor in all the Tranſactions between himſelf and Man⯑kind, but now we muſt turn the Tables; for whe⯑ther it be, that finding things go on currently, and to his Mind, he only ſits ſtill and looks on, like an En⯑gineer who has with infinite Art and great Fa⯑tigue form'd a new Machine, then ſets it at Work, and ſeeing it perform according to Expectation, ſits down with Satisfaction, and lets it go round of it ſelf: Or whether the Nature of Man, corrupt, and prompt to all the fooliſh and foul things the Devil could put into his Head, does really run on faſter than the Devil can drive him: This as a Doubt, which either Philoſophy or Divinity have not yet reſolv'd, I muſt leave it to Time and Expe⯑rience to explain.
That thus it is, the Fact is plain; if the Black or Diabolick Art was at firſt a Machine of the Devil, or let it be whoſe it will, it works now of it ſelf, it performs to the Devil's Satisfaction; he has little to do but to ſit ſtill, and ſee the Wheels go round.
Nay, we may ſay, the Scholars teach the Ma⯑ſter, the Magician ſeems to guide, nay to command the Devil, whoſe Art it is that he profeſſes, and according to the Lines in my Title,
[249]'Tis worth obſerving here, how remarkable the Turn is that ſeems to be given to the working of theſe Infernal Machines. At firſt, the Devil had ſome Difficulty with Mankind, was oblig'd to act with great Craft and Subtilty, to make his Acquaintance among them, as I have obſerv'd at large; after this he got the Aſcendant to ſuch a degree, that he (as the Devil you know is apt to encroach where he finds room for it) ſet himſelf up for a Guide, then a Governor, then a God; was firſt follow'd as a Director or Adviſer, next obey'd and ſubmitted to as a Governor and Commander; and then (for he never reſts) worſhipp'd as a God; which no doubt was his firſt, and of Neceſſity muſt be his higheſt Aim and Ambition.
But now, by we know not what Fate, Mankind ſeems to have got the better of him; inſtead of be⯑ing waited upon in Form, and humbly expected, as in his firſt Appearances; inſtead of being Paw-wa'd, and great Aſſemblies and Ceremonies us'd to ob⯑tain an Audience of him, he comes now at every old Woman's Call, and upon the moſt trifling Oc⯑caſion; inſtead of being a Counſellor or an Advi⯑ſer, much leſs a Governor, now he's a meer Er⯑rand Boy, runs and goes, will do any Drudgery, work like a Horſe, fetch and carry like a Dog, dig Ditches, carry Burthens, build Churches, or any thing the Prieſts and the Conjurers bid him do; witneſs New-Market Heath, Stone-henge, Crowland Abbey, and a thouſand more things, which to be ſure the Devil did, becauſe we don't know how elſe they could be done.
The Magicians were formerly the Devil's Ser⯑vants, but now they are his Maſters, and that to ſuch a degree, that 'tis but drawing a Circle, caſting a few Figures, muttering a little Ara⯑bick, and up comes the Devil, as readily as the Drawer at a Tavern, with a d'ye call Sir? or like a [250] Scots Caude, with What's your Honour's Wull Sir? Nay, and as the learned in the Art ſay, He muſt come, he can't help it: Then as to tempting, he's quite out of Doors. And I think, as the old Parliament did by the Biſhops, we may e'en vote him uſeleſs: In a word, there's no manner of Occaſion for him; Mankind are as forward as he can wiſh and deſire of them: Nay, ſome cunning Men tell us we ſin fa⯑ſter than the Devil can keep Pace with us; as wit⯑neſs the late witty and moderately wicked Lady — who bleſs'd her Stars, that the Devil never tempted her to any thing, he underſtood himſelf better, for ſhe knew well enough how to ſin without him, and that it would be loſing his time to talk to her.
Likewiſe our happy Friend the much honoured Sir H—, who values himſelf upon this particu⯑lar Accompliſhment, that he is able to SIN like a Gentleman; nay he merits much from Satan, in that, if he may be believed when he ſpeaks the worſt of himſelf, he is alſo able to teach him (the Devil) to be more refinedly wicked than he is: This Sir H— certainly gives the Devil very little Trouble about him: and tho' I don't hear that the old Gentleman is yet come to School to the Ba⯑ronet; yet as the Baronet don't come to learn of him, ſo he (the Devil) need not come to teach him, for that he is certainly as well accompliſhed in the horrid Art as the Devil can make him.
The Age we live in, fruitful in Black Arts (whe⯑ther in that which by way of Eminence we call Black Art or no, is yet undetermined) affords us many, I dare not ſay bright, Examples of flaming Wickedneſs: 'Tis no new thing to hear the Right Honourable my Lord — tho' his Lordſhip is known to be no Necromancer neither, rate himſelf above the low, mechanick, poor-headed Rabble (as he juſtly calls them) who dare be Devils, but don't [251] underſtand it; have Impudence enough, but not a Genius to be truly flagrant: It is indeed a modern Accompliſhment, and requires ſome Additions of Art and Practice to be able to ſin like a Lord. And tho' the great Man juſt now mentioned may, per⯑haps, have reaſon to exalt his own Acquirement, and to boaſt of accumulated Crime; inſomuch that he would take it for an Affront, if the Devil ſhould pretend to prompt him; and that perhaps Satan, who underſtands good Breeding, has had more Man⯑ners than to diſturb his Lordſhip that way, ſeeing him go on ſo happily without him; yet it may be acknowledged the watchful Seraph does find a little Buſineſs ſometimes among ſome of his Lordſhip's Imitators, being at ſome happy Pains to form them, as the Moderns expreſs it, and make them as finiſh'd Devils of Quality as his Lordſhip; ſo that we may be ſatisfied there is no great Fear we ſhall want a Succeſſion of human Infernals, no not among Men of Rank.
Wonder not then that the Devil growing ſo much out of Buſineſs in the World, and Men grow⯑ing, as I ſaid, ſuch Proficients in the Science of the Abominables, is in proportion humble as to his Con⯑duct, and allows himſelf to be the obedient Servant of every Star-gazer and Figure-caſter; that he comes when he is called, goes when he is ſent, nay ſome⯑times comes before he is called, and is the moſt di⯑ligent Devil imaginable. He would be very ungrate⯑ful, it muſt be allowed, if he ſhould not, where the Age is ſo obliging to him; but beſides that, he finds it for his Intereſt too, and he is too cunning not to puſh his Game where-ever it will go.
I have heard of a Magician, that, when the Devil and he had made a Bargain that he ſhould always come when he was called, that is to ſay, that when⯑ever the Magician drew ſuch and ſuch Circles, and made ſuch and ſuch Figures, and then called him [252] by Name, that then he ſhould be ſure to appear, had a mind to try whether the Devil would be honeſt to him or no; and for making this Experi⯑ment performed all his Exerciſes, as I may call them, by himſelf, and when he had no manner of Occaſion for it: However, the punctual Devil kept his Word, and came to a Tittle, which the Necro⯑mancer was mightily pleaſed with. After this he thought he might make a little Game with the Devil; ſo he calls him up again, and when he came, the Spirit ask'd him, what was the Buſineſs; he told him, he had no Buſineſs, only called him for his Company, and to be better acquainted. Ve⯑ry well, ſays Satan, or Beelzebub, or who you will call him, for I don't remember that he knew what his Name was; but it ſeems the patient Devil anſwer'd him 'Twas very well, and ſhewed no man⯑ner of Reſentment; but after ſome Converſation left him again very quietly.
The fooliſh Fellow, it ſeems, went on with the Sport, making a Fool of the Devil ſo often and ſo long, 'till at laſt the Devil asking him, as before, what he called him up for, and he telling him he had no Buſineſs, but only that he liked his Con⯑verſation, and called him up for the ſake of his Company: Very well, ſays the Devil, not at all diſpleaſed, I am glad to hear it; then go along with me, and you ſhall have enough of my Company, with⯑out giving me the Trouble to come ſo far: and with that the Conjurer felt himſelf lifted up in the Air a little from the Ground, which made him cry out horribly.
I don't know what Argument, and Entrea⯑ties he uſed, ſo as to move Compaſſion in him that is known not to be furniſhed with any thing of that kind; but perhaps the Devil was not quite ready for him, and knew that he might do him more Service in the Station he was newly entred [235] into; ſo it ſeems he did not take him quite away that time: However it was, the Magician was ef⯑fectually cured of trying Experiments, and never offer'd to make a Jeſt of the Devil any more.
If I ſhould tell you the Name of this bold Spark of a Conjurer, and that he lived not far off of one of our Temples; you would perhaps wonder at the Man, who indeed no body ever took to have Wit enough to banter the Devil; but I muſt not bring my Characters too near home; beſides, who knows but the Devil may charge me with diſcovering his Secrets, and betraying Converſation; ſo I ſay no more: If any body finds me out, and gueſſes at the Man by the Story, I ſhall be only ſorry for the Perſon, not for the Picture.
As I was muſing of theſe things the other day, and having a great many merry Stories of this ſort in my Budget, was conſidering which was fit to be told, and which not, it came into my Thoughts, how travelling ſome time ſince, from Daventry to⯑wards Leiceſter, I met on the Road with a Coun⯑tryman, of whom, being my ſelf a Stranger to the Road, I asked the Way to Northampton; the Coun⯑tryman told me, but with a Tone of Melancholy and Dejection, that he was going to Northampton, and if I pleaſed, and I would not over-ride him, he would ſhow me the Way.
I was very glad of his offer'd Service, and ſo ſuiting my Pace to his, for he had but a very poor Horſe, we went on together; I ſtill perceived the Man to be penſive and ſad, ſpoke little, and never but when I asked him ſome Queſtion which oblig'd him to an Anſwer; often ſigh'd and lifted up his Hands, and ſometimes his Eyes, and minded his Way ſo little, that if his Horſe had not been more ſagacious than he, the Man would have run againſt a Poſt, or into a Ditch; and two or three times he did get into a Hole or ſome other ill Place in the [252] [...] [235] [...] [254] Way, which he might have ſhunn'd. Country⯑man, ſays I, what's the matter with you? and ſo we begun the ſhort Diſcourſe as follows:
Why, Sir?
Why, you don't ſeem to mind your Feet, or your Horſe's Feet; you may lead me to Nor⯑thampton, but I think you want ſomebody to lead you too, or elſe you will be in a Ditch.
I care not much indeed, where I go, or what becomes of me.
So I think truly; why, if you were in ſome Roads that I know, you would have found a Stable for your Horſe by this time.
A Stable for my Horſe! what, in a Ditch, I ſuppoſe?
Yes, I mean ſo indeed; you'll be but an odd Guide to me if you can't keep your ſelf out of Harms-way.
As I ſaid before, I care not what becomes of me; but however, Maſter, I'll guide you well enough the Way to Northampton. And * then—
* N.B. Here he ſtopt and fetch'd a Sigh, and I thought I ſaw Tears ſtand in his Eyes.
And then! what then? what will you do with your ſelf then?
Nay, I don't know, not I; hang my ſelf, I think, I don't know any thing I can do better.
Pr'ythee, Friend, what's the matter? is it ſuch a Secret you dare not tell it? I hope you have not committed Murther.
No, no Murther; I have committed nei⯑ther Murther nor Robbery; 'tis no ſuch great matter neither.
No great matter, and yet talk of hanging your ſelf!
It is a great matter to me, tho' it may be it would be nothing in the Eyes of others.
Well, Friend, if it be not too much a Se⯑cret, let me ask you what it is; perhaps I may help you.
Ay, you or fifty more may ask me; but I am a Fool if I tell you.
Well, Countryman, if it be a Secret, pray keep it to your ſelf; I don't deſire to know any of your Affairs.
Nay, 'tis no great Secret neither; and yet 'tis a Secret too, or elſe I ſhould not have gone to Northampton to-day.
You're a merry Fellow, Countryman; what, a Secret and no Secret! that's a Secret indeed of it ſelf. I don't underſtand you.
Why Maſter, if you muſt have it, you muſt; the matter is this: I am a Cuckold, and my Wife's a Whore, that's no Secret; But I can't tell who does it for me; that's a Secret, and that's what I want to find out; ſo there's the Secret and no Secret made out at once. An't I right now, Maſter?
Poor Man! I think thou haſt made it out indeed; but why ſo melancholy at it? Sure you would not hang your ſelf to find it out?
No, Maſter, not to find it out; but I am fit to hang my ſelf becauſe I can't find it out. Would not any Man hang himſelf to be a Cuckold, and can't find out the Man?
And what if you did find out the Man? what would you be the better for that, unleſs you could prevent it?
O, I'd prevent it, I warrant ye; I would not hang my ſelf, I aſſure you; but I'd hang the Dog, I'd ſoon prevent their whoring.
Well, but Countryman, that's wrong again, that has the Gallows at the end of it; and that would be but poor Work for you to bring your ſelf to the Devil, becauſe your Wife's a Whore.
Nay, I don't care where I go, rather than be a Cuckold.
Is that ſuch a frightful thing to you! would you commit Murther and be hang'd, rather than be a Cuckold?
Why Maſter, what muſt I do?
Do! Be contented, if you can't help it, as many an honeſt Man is forc'd to do.
No, no, that won't do; I can't be con⯑tented; I muſt and will find it out.
Well, but do you think hanging your ſelf will diſcover it to you, or being hang'd for Mur⯑ther about it; d'ye think you ſhall know the Se⯑cret when you're hang'd?
No doubt of it.
Well, but what if you did?
Did? why, d'ye think I could not get Leave to come again and plague them?
Who do you think could give you Leave? As for Heaven, I ſuppoſe you don't think much about that, eſpecially upon the foot you ſpeak of, I mean Murther; and as for the Devil, I don't think he would part with you, if he once had you faſt; ſo I would not have you depend upon it too much.
Well, but the Devil, it may be, would tell me who 'tis.
And what would you be the better if he did?
Why I would get him to come and plague them a little, and that would do as well another way; for I am reſolved they ſhall have no Reſt.
You are a terrible revengeful Fellow, that you would be content to go to the Devil to be re⯑venged of the Man that cuckolds you.
And of the Whore too; you ſhould have put that in, Maſter.
I wonder indeed you han't been reveng'd of her already, conſidering your furious Spirit: why [257] you are a Madman, I ſhould be afraid you ſhould murther your Wife.
Ay Maſter, ſhe's afraid o' that too; but ſhe has been too cunning for me, for ſhe is run for it, and got out of my Clutches.
She's in the right of it: can you blame her?
Ay, but ſhe has robb'd me too.
Robb'd you! ay, what could you expect? why if you would have murther'd her, ſhe muſt have been a Fool to have ſtaid; and if ſhe was forced to fly, you could not think ſhe would go away empty, could you?
Well, I will find them out, if they are a⯑bove Ground.
If you can, you mean; but pray are they gone together?
Nay, if I knew that, then I ſhould know who the Rogue is, which is one of the main things I want to be informed of.
And which you would be content to go to the Devil to diſcover?
If I was ſure he or any one elſe could but tell me, I didn't care where I went.
Why, do you think if the Devil did know, that he would tell you?
Why not, Maſter?
Why do you think the Devil is more your Friend than theirs? do you think he cares how ma⯑ny Whores and Cuckolds there are?
Nay that's true indeed, I did not think of that; but however, I ſhall be informed where I am going, whether the Devil knows any thing of it or no; and if he does—
What then, what if he does?
Why then I believe I ſhall get it out of him.
What, d'ye mean, out of the Devil? why, where are you going?
To one of his Acquaintance, Maſter, that will tell me, I dare ſay, for a Piece of Money; and tho' the Jade han't left me a Shirt to my Back, I have borrow'd a little Money for this Work, and I will have it out, if Money will do it.
What do you mean, Countryman, are you really going to the Devil?
Why to tell you the Truth, I am going to a Cunning Man, Maſter, hard by Northampton, that I am told will diſcover it all to me.
Well, but do you call that going to the De⯑vil?
Yes certainly, for he deals with the Devil, or elſe he could never do ſuch ſtrange things.
What ſtrange things does he do?
Why he can caſt a Figure, tell Folks where their loſt Cattle are, tell who robs them, and oftentimes helps them to get their Goods again.
And ſo you think he can tell who has cuck⯑olded you, don't you?
To be ſure he can, Maſter; why ſhould not he tell one thing as well as another?
He'll take your Money to be ſure, that's all you can be ſure of. I tell thee, Countryman, 'tis all a Cheat; they are only Rogues and Jugglers, they know nothing of the matter.
Why that can't be, Maſter; they ſay he will ſhew me the Man's Face in a Looking-glaſs.
And what if he does ſhew you a Man's Face and you don't know him, where are you then?
Nay, that's none of his Fault.
'Twill be his Fault to put a Cheat upon you, and ſhew you a Face you don't know, pretending that's the Man, and you ne'er the wiſer.
Well, but he will make me dream of the Man, and ſee him in my Sleep.
Very well, and ſo if you chance to dream of an honeſt Man, you will go and murther him will you, for making you a Cuckold? I tell you your Cunning [259] Man is a Cheat; he no more deals with the Devil than you do.
Well then, I'll go to Oundle, there's a Man that deals in Magick, and he'll raiſe the De⯑vil for me if I deſire it, and I ſhall ſee him and talk with him my ſelf.
And you believe it, do you?
I ſhall believe it ſure when I ſee it, ſhan't I? why d'ye think I won't believe my own Eyes?
Why, do you know the Devil when you ſee him? how will you be ſure 'tis the Devil?
I ſhall know him by his cloven Foot, ſhan't I, Maſter?
I believe not; did you ever ſee the Devil in your Life?
No not I, but I have heard of a great ma⯑ny that have; why is that ſuch a ſtrange thing, Maſter?
'Tis ſuch a ſtrange thing, that I don't believe one Word of it.
What, don't you believe that a Magician can raiſe the Devil?
I do not know, Countryman, but the Devil may be called up upon extraordinary Occaſions; but hardly by your three-half-penny Conjurer, nor upon ſuch a Buſineſs as yours is.
Why, won't the Devil come when he is called? why, the Magician at Oundle can make him come, they ſay, whether he will or no: if he does but draw a Circle and turn round five times in it, the Devil can't help appearing, no more than if we ſaid the Lord's Prayer backward.
Why, will he come if we ſay our Prayers backward?
Ay, certainly, Maſter; Why, you don't doubt that, d'ye?
Nay, I don't ſay I doubt it; but did you ever try it your ſelf?
No, I never try'd it, that's true; but I have heard an old Woman at Dav'ntry uſed to raiſe the Devil that Way very often.
I wonder you ſhould not try it, when you have ſuch Occaſion to talk with him.
Ay, I want to talk with him, that I do, but I dare not talk with him by my ſelf neither.
Why not? you know well enough what to ſay to him.
Ay, that's true, but I don't know how to manage him as they do; they are uſed to him; 'tis their Trade to deal between him and us.
But it would ſave you the Charges, and I fancy the Devil and you are no Strangers.
What d'ye mean, Maſter? I never ſaw him in my Life.
Well, if you ha'nt been in his Company, I dare ſay he has been in yours.
Why ſo, Maſter?
You would never talk of hanging your ſelf, and of being hanged for Murther, ſo familiarly as you do, if he had not been at work with you.
Why, I am half mad, Sir; What would you have me do? I muſt be revenged on 'em.
Ay, I told you the Devil had been with you, 'tis he makes you talk of Revenge; that's all the Devil, and ends in Damnation; for if he is a Spirit which waits to devour, and that does all he can to deſtroy us, we may very well think all evil Motions come from him.
I don't underſtand thoſe things, Maſter, not I; but I am ſure the Devil has had nothing to do with me, either in that or any thing elſe.
I tell thee, honeſt Friend, thou doeſt not know when the Devil is working in thee, and when not; all ſuch horrid Thoughts as thou haſt had about Self-murther, Revenge, and doing Miſchief to others, muſt be from the Devil.
Well, Maſter, let's talk no more of that, my Head runs another way at preſent.
Why, will you really go to enquire of the Devil about who has made you a Cuckold?
No, not to the Devil, I only go to the Cunning Man.
Yes, and to the Conjurer at Oundle, you ſay, and he can raiſe the Devil, it ſeems.
Well then, he deals with the Devil, not I.
And do you think, as I ſaid before, the De⯑vil would befriend you ſo far as to hinder your Wife's Wickedneſs? do think he would not rather make her wickeder than ſhe is?
Nay, that's true; but however, I'd try what I can do; I am reſolv'd I'll go to him.
When I found he was ſo poſitive, I bad him e'en go and try the Experiment; but depend upon it, ſaid I, the Devil won't betray the Secret to you; he is too much o' t'other Side.
By this time we were come to Queen's-Croſs, a little of this ſide Northampton,; and ſeeing the Town from the Hill, I offer'd to go on faſter, ſeeing I knew the Way was before me: but he be⯑ſpoke me to keep him Company; for, Maſter, ſays he, if you lye in the Town all Night, I'll cer⯑tainly come and tell you what the cunning Man ſays to me.
I was not unwilling to hear the Reſult of the Story, but was particularly curious to hear what the Magician at Oundle could do; ſo I reſolved to ſtay at Northampton that Night, and we kept Com⯑pany together to the Town. When we came to the Town, I put up at the George Inn, and thought he would have gone in with me; but when we came to the Door, he bad me Good-by for the preſent, for the Cunning Man, he ſaid, liv'd two Miles out of the Town, and he would talk with him, and come to me at Night.
[262]I went into my Inn and ſtaid there all Night, but heard no more of my poor Cuckold the Coun⯑tryman all that Evening. The next Morning I was indiſpoſed, which made me ſtay longer at the Inn than I intended, and indeed was obliged to ſtay there all that Day and Night too, but ſtill I had no News of my Countryman, which made me a little chagreen; but at laſt he came back again, and comes to me, but not 'till the next Day about eleven a-Clock.
Then as I had been waiting before very patient⯑ly, I began, and ſpoke a little angrily; What's the Buſineſs now, ſays I, what's the matter with you, that you dodge about ſo?
O Sir, ſays he, let me come in, and I'll tell you the ſtrangeſt things—
Well, come in then, ſays I, and ſit down; I thought you had been loſt, or had forgot your Promiſe. So he came in, and we begun another ſhort Diſcourſe, as follows:
O Maſter, I have had a hard Night's Work on't.
What do you mean of a Night's Work, where have you been?
Why firſt, Maſter, I went to my cunning Man, and gave him a Shilling, which it ſeems he takes before he will ſpeak a Word.
Ay, ay, they are in the right, 'tis the only thing I can call them cunning Men for.
Why are they cunning in that?
Becauſe they know if they did not take the Money before-hand, no body would give it them afterwards, becauſe they can tell nothing, nor ſay any thing to the purpoſe.
Well, I gave him the Shilling; he de⯑manded Half a Crown, but I told him I was a poor Man, and ſo he condeſcended in Charity to take a Shilling.
That is to ſay, he ſaw there was no more to be had, ſo he took what he could get; and ſo they all do. But come, what did he do for it, what did he tell thee?
O he examined me very ſtrictly, I aſſure you.
Examine you, about what?
Why, how long my Wife had been gone, what ſhe carried with her, what a-Clock ſhe went at, what file ſaid at parting; and took every thing down in Figures.
Very well, this was all Grimace, to put a Countenance upon things.
Then he bid me hold my Tongue, and he fell to making Figures and mutt'ring to himſelf; and on a ſudden he ſtarts up; Well, ſays he, I find your Wife is gone away, and that you beat her very ſeverely before ſhe went. Now, I could not deny that Part, Maſter, becauſe I knew it was true; but how ſhould he know that, Maſter, if he wan't a cunning Man?
Well enough: when he had examined you ſo ſtrictly before in all the Particulars, he might eaſi⯑ly gueſs you had uſed her hardly, by the Rage you were in, when you came to him; and when you talk'd of hanging your ſelf and murthering her, he might eaſily judge that you had talked the ſame to her, which had frighted the Woman, and ſhe was run away for fear of you; there's no great cunning in all that. I was a going to ſay ſo to you my ſelf once, for I really thought of it before.
Why then you are as much a cunning Man as he.
Well, what elſe did he ſay to you?
Nothing to the purpoſe, only to vex me and make me mad.
Nay that he could not do, for I verily think you were mad before; but what was it? come, tell me.
Why, Maſter, he fell to ſcribbling and ſcrawling again upon a Piece of Paper, and then he riſes and walks up and down, and round and round, as I thought, he made Circles three or four times, and talk'd to himſelf all the while.
Well, and that frighted you, I warrant you; did not you think he was going to raiſe the De⯑vil?
Why you know every thing, Maſter, afore⯑hand, I think you are as cunning as he; I was ſo frighted I trembled like an Aſpen Leaf, Maſter.
Why, didn't you ſay you wanted to ſee the Devil, to tell you all?
Ay, that's true, Maſter, but I was deadly fraid for all that, eſpecially when I thought he was juſt a coming.
Well, and how then, what came of it?
Came on it! why, Maſter, the Man's a Rogue, a meer Cheat; he had got my Money, and when all come to all, he told me nothing, at leaſt nothing that ſignified any thing to me.
Well, but what was it? for I find he told you ſomething, tho' you don't like it: did he bid you go home and be quiet and eaſie, and not trou⯑ble your ſelf about it?
Hang him, Rogue; when he had made all his Turns, and his Circles, and ſaid all his Witch⯑craft over to himſelf, he ſits down and calls me to him, and very civilly bad me ſit down, and begun his ugly Story.
I find he has not pleaſed ye: I really fancy the Man has given thee good honeſt Advice, and bid thee go home and mind thy Buſineſs, and be eaſie; did not I ſay the ſame to thee?
I'll tell it you all, Maſter, if you'll have Patience; he's a Rogue; a Rogue, Maſter. I told you he would have my Money beforehand, and ſo he had, or he ſhould never ha' had a Farthing; and he knew that well enough.
No, no, he knew Folks never pay when they don't like the Story; but go on, what did he ſay?
Why, as grave as a Judge, he takes me by the Hand, felt my Pulſe, holding his conjuring Paper in t'other Hand, all the while; Heark thee, Friend, ſays he, I have calculated the Times and the Seaſons, I have brought your Names in a direct Oppoſition, I have done every thing to ſatisfy you, that can be done, and all my Numbers and Accounts agree, and this is the Sum of your Caſe; You are a poor, honeſt, fretful, paſſionate Fellow that ſtands here on one Side; and then he ſhewed me his damned Figures, and Croſſes and Circles, on one ſide; and here's your poor Wiſe a t'other ſide, ſays he; and then he ſhewed me his Figures again; ſhe has anger'd you, and ſcolded at you for your ill Uſage of her, and you have fallen upon her and beaten her un⯑mercifully, and threaten'd to murther her, and ſhe is run away for fear of it; and now you call her Whore, and come to me to tell you who has made a Cuckold of you.
And did the Man ſay all this to you, Friend?
Yes, Maſter, and a great deal more, like a Rogue as he is. He a cunning Man! he's a Block⯑head; why, I knew all that before.
Ay, and he might eaſily gather it from your Diſcourſe.
No, Maſter, that he could not, I'm ſure.
Well then, you'll make him a cunning Man indeed, at the ſame time that you call him a Block⯑head and a Fool. I tell you I gather'd as much be⯑fore from you, and you can't help it; you are too full of your own Story. But go on, what did he ſay then?
Why, then he fell to preaching, and giv⯑ing me Advice; Go home, Friend, ſays the Toad, and be eaſie and quiet, and tell your Friends you are [266] ſorry you have been in ſuch a Heat, and that you hope your Wife will come home again, for you won't do her any Hurt; and then your Neigh⯑bours will tell her, and ſhe'll come lovingly again to you; For I tell thee Friend, ſays he, thou art in the Wrong, the poor Woman is no Whore, I can ſhow it you in black and white here; and then he pointed to his curſed Conjuring Paper; ſhe's a very honeſt Woman, thou haſt only a Whymſie come in thy Head becauſe ſhe is gone, I tell thee thou art no Cuckold, go home and be quiet.
And did he ſay all this to thee?
Yes, to be ſure Maſter, and a great deal more ſuch Stuff; what ſhould I be in ſuch a Paſ⯑ſion with him for elſe?
Upon my Word, Friend, whether he be a cunning Man or no, that I have nothing to ſay to; he may make thee believe ſo, that's for his Ad⯑vantage; but o'my Conſcience I think he's a wiſe Man, and an honeſt Man, and I would adviſe thee to follow his Counſel; for I do tell thee, I firmly believe 'tis thy Caſe to a Tittle, and I tell thee thy whole Diſcourſe diſcover'd it; he might have ſaid it all without his Figures and Circles; that was done to amuſe you, but 'tis plain from all you have ſaid, that's thy very Caſe.
Ay, ay, Maſter, 'tis no matter for that, let him be as cunning and as wiſe as he will, I have had another gueſs Account of it, and better Advice ſince; for I have been at Oundle, Maſter, ſince that, and there I have met with a cunning Man indeed.
Why, have you really been conſulting with the Devil then?
I believe I have indeed.
Nay, then 'tis like you have had good Ad⯑vice indeed; mayn't a body know what you have met with there too?
Truly Maſter, I don't know whether I can tell it you or no, for I have been frighted out of my Wits. I'm ſure if my Hat had been on, my Hair would have lifted it off, tho' I had had a good Basket of Apples upon my Head.
Come let me hear it however, as well as you can.
Why Maſter, when I came to the Man's Houſe, ('tis within two Mile of Oundle I think, or thereabout,) it was almoſt dark, and that made it the worſe. I knock'd at the Door, and out came a tall black frightful old Man. I begun to be fright⯑ed at the very firſt Sight, for I thought it had been the Devil was come before I ask'd for him.
And are you ſure it was not?
Yes, I think he was not the Devil, for he ſpoke very civilly to me; and when I ask'd him if he was the cunning Man, he ſmil'd, and bad me come in; ſo he carry'd me into a large Room, which had but one dim burning Candle in it, and I trembl'd every Inch of me, for I thought the Candle burnt blue as ſoon as I look'd at it.
Very well, ſo you thought you were come into good Company, did not you?
Indeed, I wiſh'd my ſelf out of the Houſe again, that I did; but the old Gentleman whiſtled, and in came a young Fellow that look'd like a Ser⯑vant, and he bad him go ſnuff the Candle, and bring in another, and that comforted me a little; then he ſat him down in a great Elbow-Chair, with a little Table before it, and upon the Table was a great many Books, and a Pen and Ink, and Paper. Come Friend, ſays he, let me know thy Buſineſs, for tho' I am none of thoſe ignorant Fel⯑lows you call Cunning Men, yet perhaps I may tell you what you want to know, upon a better foot.
Well, he begun pretty high: what could he pretend to?
I reply'd, Sir, I was told you was one that dealt in ſecret things, that underſtood the Black Art, and thoſe we call Cunning Men; if I am mi⯑ſtaken, I am very ſorry: and ſo made as if I would go away again, but he ſtopp'd me, and ſaid, Look you Friend, I am none of thoſe Fellows you call cunning Men, I look upon them to be all Cheats; my Practice is all Divine, of a ſuperior Nature, I ſtudy things in a higher Sphere, I deal in the My⯑ſteries of an inviſible World, and converſe with the World of Spirits unembody'd, who are beneficent and kind to us, who are Spirits embody'd, and not only converſe with us below, but are helpful and ſerviceable to us on all Occaſions. I can't remem⯑ber all his hard Words, Maſter, but he ſaid a deal more to that purpoſe.
Well, did not he ask for your Money be⯑fore hand too, as t'other did?
No indeed, but when he bad me tell him my Caſe, I put my Hand in my Pocket, and pull'd out two half Crowns, and went to offer him the Money, for I found he was not an ordinary Fel⯑low, and ſo I thought he would not be very low-priz'd.
But he took the Money, I ſuppoſe?
No, he ſaid he did not do theſe things for Money, as he found I believ'd he did; but he ſaid, you may put what you pleaſe in there, poin⯑ting to a Box that ſtood upon the Table; I ſhall diſpoſe of it charitably, and to better Uſes, it may be, than you would do your ſelf; ſo I put the Money into his Box, which had a ſlit like a Tradeſman's Till.
Very well, this look'd great indeed.
Then he bad me tell him my Caſe; for, ſays he, I perceive you are a Man of a troubled [269] Countenance, your Mind is oppreſs'd, the Paſſions of your Soul have been in a Perturbation, your Spirits are fluttering ſtill, and in a Storm, tho' ſomething abated of what they have been; pray be very free, and tell me your whole Caſe, as fully and plainly as you can.
Well, I aſſure you, he ſpoke in ſtate with a great deal of Majeſty.
Yes, and yet he ſpoke very courteouſly too, and I began to like him mightily; ſo I began, and told him my Caſe at large, juſt as I did you, Maſter.
That is to ſay, that you wanted to be re⯑veng'd of your Wife, and to find out the Man that had cuckolded you, and the like; ſo you expected preſently he ſhould tell you who it was.
Yes, ſo I did; but he brought me to un⯑derſtand things better, and I found he was in Ear⯑neſt, and that he was not to be cheated. He ex⯑amin'd me too as t'other had done, and ask'd me abundance of Queſtions.
And, I doubt not, gather'd your Caſe in e⯑very Part of it from the weak inconſiſtent Account you gave him of it.
I don't know that; but after he had done asking me all his Queſtions, he took his Pen and Ink too, and wrote down a great many things upon his Paper, and made Lines with a ſhort braſs Rule and a Pencil, and then took out a pair of Compaſſes, and drew ſeveral Figures and Marks, but I under⯑ſtood nothing of them, neither could I ſee them diſtinctly by the Candle Light; then he ask'd me my Chriſtian Name, which I told him was Edward, and he ſet it down in great Letters, but ſuch as tho' I can read Maſter, I am ſure that I never ſaw ſuch Before. Then he ask'd my Wife's Chriſtian Name too, which I told him was Abigal, and he ſet that down in the ſame kind of Letters as before; [270] then he ask'd my Age, and my Wife's Age, and the Age of my two Children; of all which I gave him a full Account.
I ſuppoſe you had told him that you had two Children; he did not conjure out that, did he?
Yes, he had ask'd me that before, and I told him; ſo when he had done all, and I believe we had talk'd together above an Hour, he roſe up, and offer'd to go away, and I roſe up too, but he laid his Hand upon my Arm, Do you ſit ſtill, ſays he, and I'll come to you again; at which I was a little frighted to be left alone, and he perceiv'd it. Don't be afraid, ſays he, there ſhall nothing hurt you, nor ſpeak to you; and if you hear any Noiſe don't you ſtir, but ſit ſtill here. So he took up one of the Candles, and went into another Room by a little Door like a Cloſet-Door, and when he ſhu [...] the Door after him, I perceiv'd a little Window of one broad Square of Glaſs only, that look'd into the Room which he was gone into.
I warrant ye, you wanted to peep, did not ye?
Yes, I did, but I durſt not ſtir for my Life, becauſe he had charg'd me I ſhould not.
Well, but you was to hear ſome Noiſes, was you not?
But I did not, except once that I heard a Noiſe like the drawing of a Chair upon the Floor, which being nothing but what was ordinary, did not diſturb me.
Well, how long did he ſtay?
About half an Hour, and came in again, looking very well pleas'd, and ask'd me how I did, and then ſat down as before. Well, ſays he, I have been conſulting on your Caſe, and I find things not ſo threatning to you as I expected; perhaps you may not be in ſo ill a Caſe as you imagine; how⯑ever, I am order'd to tell you, that ſome Days af⯑ter your return, your Wife ſhall come to a Houſe [271] near you, and ſend to know if you will receive her again kindly; if the Perſon ſhe ſends is a Woman, you may conclude your Wife has abus'd you; but if ſhe ſends a Man, then ſhe is innocent, and you are miſtaken.
This was point-blank, I aſſure you.
I did not like it however, and that he might ſee well enough; for I can't allow any if's or and's. Tell me of being miſtaken! ſaid I to him, I can't be miſtaken. Well, ſays he, I'll go again and conſult farther about you; and ſeeing me be⯑gin to get up too, he turns again; You are not afraid, ſays he, are you? No, not at all, ſaid I? Well, nor you won't be afraid, will you, if you ſee nothing frightful? No, not at all, ſaid I again. But I ly'd, Maſter, for I was almoſt frighted to Death, when he ſpoke of my ſeeing ſomething; but as I had ſaid No twice, and ſpoke it pretty heartily too, he ſaid, Well then, come along with me into the next Room.
I doubt you were afraid then indeed.
Ay, ſo I was heartily, and he perceiv'd it too again; Well, ſays he, if you are afraid to go into my Room of Practice, I'll ſtay here with you; only, whatever you ſee or hear ſit you ſtill, and neither ſpeak or ſtir out of your Chair.
Well, did you obſerve his Direction?
No, indeed Maſter, my Heart fail'd me; I durſt neither go nor ſtay, but I'll tell you what I did when he was gone into the next Room, I went to the Window and peep'd.
And what did you ſee? 'tis odd peeping at the Devil, I muſt tell you.
I ſaw my old Gentleman in a great Chair, and two more in Chairs at ſome Diſtance, and three great Candles, and a great Sheet of white Paper upon the Floor between them; every one of them had a long white Wand in their Hands, the lower end of which touch'd the Sheet of Paper.
And were the Candles upon the Ground too?
Yes, all of them.
There was a great deal of Ceremony about you, I aſſure you.
I think ſo too, but it is not done yet; immediately I heard the little Door ſtir, as if it was opening, and away I skipp'd as ſoftly as I could tread, and got into my Chair again, and ſat there as gravely as if I had never ſtirr'd out of it. I was no ſooner ſet but the Door open'd indeed, and the old Gentleman came out as before, and turning to me, ſaid, Sit ſtill, don't ye ſtir; and at that Word, the other two that were with him in the Room walk'd out after him, one after another croſs the Room, as if to go out at the other Door where I came in; but at the farther end of the Room they ſtop'd, and turn'd their Faces to one another and talk'd; but it was ſome Devil's Language of their own, for I could underſtand nothing of it.
And now I ſuppoſe you were frighted in earneſt?
Ay, ſo I was; but it was worſe yet, for they had not ſtood long together, but the great Elbow-Chair which the old Gentleman ſat in at the little Table juſt by me began to ſtir of it ſelf; at which the old Gentleman knowing I ſhould be afraid, came to me and ſaid, Sit ſtill, don't you ſtir, all will be well, you ſhall have no harm; at which he gave his Chair a kick with his Foot, and ſaid, Go, with ſome other Words, and of other Language, and away went the obedient Chair ſliding two of its Legs on the Ground, and the other two off, as if ſome body had dragg'd it by that Part.
And ſo no doubt they did, tho' you could not ſee it.
As ſoon as the Chair was dragg'd or mov'd to the end of the Room, where the three, I know [273] not what to call 'em, were, two other Chairs did the like from the other ſide of the Room, and ſo they all ſat down, and talk'd together a good while; at laſt the Door at that end of the Room open'd too, and they all were gone in a Moment without riſing out of their Chairs; for I am ſure they did not riſe to go out, as other Folks do.
What did you think of your ſelf, when you ſaw the Chair ſtir ſo near you?
Think! nay, I did not think; I was dead, to be ſure I was dead, with the Fright, and expected I ſhould be carry'd away, Chair and all, the next Moment. Then it was, I ſay, that my Hair would have lifted off my Hat, if it had been on I am ſure it would.
Well, but when they were all gone, you came to your ſelf again, I ſuppoſe?
To tell you the truth Maſter, I am not come to my ſelf yet.
But go on, let me know how it ended.
Why, after a little while my old Man came in again, call'd his Man to ſet the Chairs to rights, and then ſat him down at the Table, ſpoke chearfully to me, and ask'd me if I would drink, which I refus'd, tho' I was a-dry indeed. I believe the fright had made me dry; but as I never had been us'd to drink with the Devil, I didn't know what to think of it, ſo I let it alone.
But you might e'en have ventur'd, for the old Necromancer was but a Man, whatever Cor⯑reſpondence he might have, and his Ale would not have hurt you. But what elſe did he ſay about your Buſineſs?
Why, he told me the inviſible Agents were favourable in their Anſwers; that there ap⯑pear'd nothing but well; that he was aſſur'd by the Aſpects which any way concern'd me; that I was more concern'd about this Matter, than [274] there was reaſon for; that I ſhould go home and wait, till by the Signals he had given me, I might judge for my ſelf, and till I heard from my Wife as before; and that if I could make any plain Diſco⯑very, that there was real Guilt, I ſhould come to him again, and he would endeavour to point ou [...] the Man. But if I could not, I ſhould reſt ſatiſ⯑fy'd that I had been wrong inform'd of things it my Family, and might make my ſelf eaſy.
This is an odd Story, why this Man is only a Cheat like all the reſt; he bids you go home, and if you can find out any real Guilt, then come to him and he will tell you what to do; that is to ſay, he knows nothing: Is this your Necromancer pray where does he dwell?
Nay, Maſter, the Man has done me n [...] wrong. I was directed to the Houſe, but I can' [...] find it again, if I was to be hang'd for miſſing it; however I won't betray him neither, let him b [...] what he will.
Well, but it ſeems you are not fully ſatisfy'd yet, becauſe he does not confirm your Notion that your Wife is a Whore; I fancy you have a Mind i [...] ſhould be ſo.
I don't care what ſhe is, ſo I could bu [...] find it out.
But you ſee, neither the honeſt Man a [...] Northampton, nor the Devil at Oundle, would give you any reaſon to think ſo. I would have you go home, as the firſt Man advis'd you, and be quiet. I verily believe there's nothing at all in it, but you have been a cruel Husband, have us'd your Wife like a Dog, and frighted her with worſe, and ſh [...] is fled from you, as a poor naked defenceleſs Sheep would from a Lion or a Wolf.
And you would have me go home and ſub⯑mit to my Wife? no, I'll hang my ſelf firſt.
I don't ſay ſubmit to your Wife; tho' if you have wrong'd your Wife, as I doubt you have, I [...]ee no reaſon why you ſhould not make a Wife Sa⯑tisfaction for the Injury done her Character, as well as you would to a Man that was able to cudgel you into it. But I ſay go home, and mend your Wife's Husband, and that will in all probability mend your Wife, and you may live comfortably again to⯑gether.
I can't promiſe, Maſter, to take any of their Advices, or your's either.
This Story is not told ſo much to give an Ac⯑count of the Man, who was nothing as I could underſtand by it all, but a baſe paſſionate Fellow to an honeſt Woman his Wife; but 'tis a kind of a Hiſtory of modern Magick, or of the Craft which is at this time in Practice in the World. Nor is it a ſingular Example, for we have many more Peo⯑ple among us, who are Pretenders to the ſacred Sciences, as they call them; who yet do not level their Knowledge of them to ſuch mean Uſes, as to go Mountebanking with them, to get a Crown or two for petty Diſcoveries, and ſet up for what they call cunning Men; which is indeed the loweſt Step of this kind that a Spirit of the inviſible World could well be ſuppos'd to take.
It is true, 'tis ſomething hard to deſcribe what this thing we call Magick is, and how it is to be underſtood now; what it was formerly we know ſomething of, and yet even then no great things were perform'd by it; ſomething they did, whether by the thing it ſelf as an Art, or by the Devil being preſent to aſſiſt them, we know not; that which would be call'd wonderful is, that they did then, as they pretend to do ſtill, ſeveral things which the Devil really has no Power to do; and particularly that of foretelling things to come, which we do not, ge⯑nerally ſpeaking, grant the Devil to have in his [276] Power; he can indeed make better Judgment of things than we can, but that the Knowledge of Futurity is given him, I deny.
For the Augurs and Southſayers, they did ſtrange things formerly; by whoſe Power, is not in my reach, nor any ones elſe to determine: For Exam⯑ple; In the latter end of the Life of Auguſtus Caeſar, while the Ceremonies were performing in the Cam⯑pus Martius, the Emperor and a vaſt Concourſe of People being preſent, an Eagle came into the Place, and hover'd over the Emperor ſome time, flying round and round him in the Air, and then flying towards a ſmall Temple or Oratory, it ſet⯑tled upon a little Pinacle, juſt over the Statue of Agrippa.
This was taken as a Preſage or Omen to the Emperor, whether of Good or Evil was hard to determine; but the Augurs being conſulted, they determin'd it to be Evil, and that it betoken'd the Death of the Emperor in a ſhort time.
Another Accident happened the very next Day, viz. a Flaſh of Lightning broke upon the Statue of the Emperor, over the Senate-Houſe, and ſtruck out the Letter C, from the Word Caeſar, in the Inſcription upon the Capital of the Work over the Statue. The Augurs were again conſulted, and they again conſulting with one another, and by the ordinary Obſervations, declar'd the Emperor would dye within a hundred Days; ſignify'd by the Numeral Letter C being ſtruck out, and that he ſhould then be reckon'd among the GODS, becauſe the Word AESAR in the Hetrurian Tongue ſignifies a GOD.
Now it fell out according to this Prediction; the Emperor, and Tiberius his Heir Apparent, went as far as Beneventum, he was taken Sick there of a Diarrhaea, and cauſing himſelf to be carry'd to Nola near Capua, he expired ninety nine Days after the Stroke [277] of the Thunder-Bolt or Lightning as above. If then the Devil has no Knowledge of Futurity, but that the Study of the Intellectual World, or World of Spirits, be a ſacred Science, as the Profeſ⯑ſors of it contend; then thoſe Augurs who acted upon the foot of the ancient Magick, were illumi⯑nated from thoſe Intellectual Beings, and had con⯑verſe with Spirits of a differing kind from thoſe which we call Devils or Diabolical.
Now, as 'tis hard, to diſtinguiſh theſe Illumina⯑tions, otherwiſe than by the Events and Con⯑ſequences of the Intelligence they bring; ſo I think, that if firſt of all, the Diſtinction be allow'd between good and evil Spirits, then 'tis a juſt way of determining, viz. that ſuch Intelligence as tends to the good of Mankind, to the Propag [...]tion of Virtue, and preſerving Honour, Chaſtity, Pro⯑perty and Religion, may be ſuppo [...]'d to proceed from good Spirits, whether Angels or other Spirits unembodyed; on the con [...]ray, where the Correſ⯑pondence has a general Tendency to Miſchief, to encourage Crime, to the hu [...]t of Mankind in gene⯑ral, to diſcourage Virtue and Religion, to inſult Heaven, and in a word, where the Tenour and Bent of the Illumination is to do Evil, or to direct to the doing it, there we may without Injury to Perſons, or to the Devil himſelf, ſay it is from him, or by his Agency, and that he (the Devil) is prin⯑cipally concern'd in it; for we know it is his Nature and particular Property to be propagating Evil, and that he is apparently known to ha [...]e Mankind, and abhor, envy, and malign the Holy Nature of the Eternal Being.
It may be a very juſt Diſtinction between the bleſſed eternal Being, and the curſ [...]d exil'd con⯑demn'd Species of Evil Angels, in [...] word, be⯑tween God and the Devil, to ſay o [...] them thus:
- GOD is the Perfection of Good.
- The Devil is the Extreme of Corruption.
- God the Perfection of Purity and Holineſs.
- The Devil a Compoſition of the utmoſt Im⯑purity.
From theſe two Contraries derive [...] [...]xecu⯑tive Power of Good and Evil [...] can no m [...] be the Genuine Par [...] [...] actions, than an ev [...] Tree can bring [...] good Frui [...] [...] Darkneſs, which is a Privation of [...] [...]us Light, can be a Conſequence or Pro [...] of it.
GOD can no more be the [...] of Evil, than he can Annhilate himſelf, and Ceaſe to be; and he cannot Ceaſe to be, becauſe, he that Exiſts from Eternity is Eternal, and Exiſts neceſſarily, as well as from himſelf.
If then the Intelligence given, or the Illumina⯑tions receiv'd by the Art which theſe Men pre⯑tend to, is found to have theſe eſſential Qualifications of Goodneſs; viz. Beneficent to Mankind, directing Men to the preſerving Virtue, Honour, Pro⯑perty and Piety; then I ſhould be tempted to think they have an Acquaintance with the Intelle⯑ctual World, a Converſe with good Spirits, and a Preſcience communicated from the good Angels, thoſe Guardians of Mankind, waking Centinels, ſet to guard the World from Evil, and to counter-act the Malice and Rage of Hell, but not elſe.
Here then is a Teſt of the Magicians Art, and let us not be amus'd and impos'd upon by the Preten⯑ces to the ſacred Sciences, and to the ſtudy of exalted Myſteries, Incantations Divine and Sub⯑lime, and many other lofty Expreſſions; ſignificant in themſelves, but not ſo in the caſe before us, un⯑leſs teſtify'd by the Virtue and juſt Productions which appear in their Practice. I ſay, let us not be amus'd with theſe to embrace Hell in the Diſguiſe [279] of Heaven, and converſe with a Deceiver in the Robes of an Angel of Light.
If there are ſuch glorious things attain'd to by Art, and by the Study of theſe ſacred Sciences, where ſhall we find the Practice of them? I think we muſt be referr'd back to the Augurs and Diviners among the more honeſt Heathens; for we may almoſt anſwer for it, that nothing of this kind is ſeen among us; or at leaſt if it is found in Theory, and there is in Nature a Reality of Art, ſuch as I have men⯑tion'd above; that Magick is a Science laudable in its Study, juſtifiable in its Practice, ſublime in its Attainment; it is yet ſo blended with the wicked Part, by the Corruption of its Profeſſors, that we ſcarce know where to find one, either in Being or in Story, in the whole Chriſtian Time, whoſe Pra⯑ctice can be allow'd to be ſacred, whatever can be ſaid of the Science.
It is true, there was a fam'd Magician in Kent, who pretended to this, and of whom I ſhall ſpeak at large in the next Chapters; and he ſeem'd to act wholly upon the Principle of doing good, de⯑tecting, puniſhing, and expoſing Crime: but I ſhall give my Exceptions to it when I come to his Story.
At preſent therefore the World are to be excus'd the Miſtake, if they run into it even with a kind of general Conſent, taking the Word Magick and Magician in the worſt Senſe, underſtanding them all as practiſing the Diabolical Part of it, viz. a Converſe with Evil Spirits, and a Dealing with the Devil; incluſive alſo of all thoſe ſeveral Claſſes into which I have diſtinguiſh'd it before.
Hence perhaps it is, that in our Diſcourſing with even the moſt Learned Men upon this Subject, a few, a very few excepted, it is very hard to bring them to any Notions of a Difference between Ma⯑gick and Witchcraft, between a Magician and a [280] Sorcerer, between a Student in the exalted Scien⯑ces, a Converſer with the Intellectual World, and a Wretch that has a Familiar, a Wizzard or Ne⯑cromancer; but they will, tho' they may be wrong in it too, have them be reckon'd all in a Claſs, that they are all Practitioners in the Diabolical Part, and in a word, that they all deal with the Devil. Indeed the Difference is not eaſily preceptible, becauſe of the Pretences which the worſt of them make to the high Illumination, when they are really acting the vileſt Part, and that in the ordi⯑nary courſe of their Practice; 'tis therefore by the Conſequences only, that they are to be known. Witchcraft and Sorcery may in one Reſpect be juſtly ſaid to be all Magick; but I muſt not allow that all Magick is Witchcraft, as I diſtinguiſh'd before between a Witch and a Wizzard. But ſee⯑ing it is ſo hard to know them aſunder, and that the Impoſture is ſo great, the beſt Method I can take is, where Hiſtory or Converſation will ſupply Materials, to give you as many Examples of the ſeveral Practices and Practiſers in theſe laſt Ages of the World as we can meet with, as well for your Diverſion as Inſtruction.
I muſt here enter a Caution too againſt a weak, but vulgar Miſtake, which to the Reproach of hu⯑man Underſtanding the World has been very much poſſeſs'd with; and that is, to aſcribe every difficult unaccountable Performance to the Art Ma⯑gick; and every ſuperior Genius, every Man of a ſublime Thought, and more than ordinary Capa⯑city, to be a Magician. Archimedes was a moſt ac⯑compliſh'd Genius, and an excellent Mathema⯑tician, but we will have him be a Magician too. Fryar Bacon, who by his Skill in the Mathema⯑ticks, and the Doctrine of Motion, and of Sounds, made a Brazen-Head to ſpeak; of which by the way there are many Examples in Hiſtory, more [281] ancient than Father Bacon, yet we will have this honeſt Friar be a Witch, a Magician, a Conjurer, only becauſe the thing was beyond the ordinary Conception.
Men of Thought and Head, who have a Genius a little above their Neighbours, have on all Occa⯑ſions been liable to be thus treated; even our Savi⯑our himſelf, when he acted ſuch Wonders as the like had not been ſeen, and caſt out Devils; what ſaid the amaz'd World? The more weak and ad⯑miring and innocent Thoughts were amaz'd, the Text ſays they were aſtoniſh'd; and at another time they were fill'd with Wonder, and the like; but the ſelf-wiſe Heads, the pretending Phariſees, having neither Knowledge to reach the Divine Power by which he wrought, and too much Pride to ſubmit to Faith, reproach'd him with dealing with the Devil; He caſteth out Devils by Belzeebub the Prince of Devils. Mat. xii.24.
This Miſtake may therefore take place in the Caſe before me; and Men who have ſtudied, in the moſt exquiſite manner, any of the Sciences which are lawful and commendable, and are arriv'd to a degree of Knowledge beyond others, may be ſuſpected of Magick, and of the Diabolick Magick too, which I have been ſpeaking of.
I will not venture to ſtate the Bounds, critically ſpeaking, between the lawful Study of Magick as a Science, and the unlawful Part of its Practice as a Diabolick or a Black Art, any more than between the noble Study of Aſtronomy, including the Motions of the heavenly Bodies, and that corrupt and horrid Impoſitio [...], that worſt of Juggle, the moſt ſimple and ſcandalous of all Cheats, call'd judicial Aſtro⯑logy.
That Magick may be a handle to Witchcraft, that one may begin where the other ends, this I will not deny; but I muſt be allowed to ſay, that if [282] there is an inviſible World, a World of Spirits, if there is a Converſe between the Spirits unem⯑bodied, and our Spirits embodied, which alſo I can⯑not deny, whatever lawful way there can be found, if ſuch can be found, to form an Intelligence between them, muſt be a ſublime and heavenly Attainment, at the ſame time, I will not venture to ſay ſuch an Intelligence can be form'd.
Nor will I venture to ſay, that there can be any ſettled Method found out to call up any of thoſe inviſible Inhabitants of the World of Spirits, to a viſible Appearance in this World, and to an audible and vocal Converſation, ſo as to receive In⯑telligence of things preſent, or Directions in things to come, to be adviſed, counſelled or informed by them, or to any ſuch Purpoſe; it does not ſeem pro⯑bable; If at any time they do or can appear, which yet I do not grant, it muſt be ſpontaneous and ar⯑bitrary, how, when, where, and on what Occaſi⯑on they think fit: But as to our calling them up by Art, except it be by a Diabolical Magick, and by the immediate Aſſiſtance of the Devil, and perhap [...] too it may be only a Deluſion of Satan's, who pre⯑tending to viſit us by the good Spirits we want to converſe with, conſtitutes a miſſionary Devil to per⯑ſonate the Spirit expected, and ſo put a Cheat up⯑on the Enquirer, as the Witch of Endor raiſed [...] Spectre or Sham Samuel in the room of the tru [...] Prophet Samuel; who we may without Preſumption believe knew nothing of the matter.
To pretend by Art to bring thoſe good Spirit from their State of Felicity, wherever it is, to a [...] Appearance for our private Concerns, ſeems to have no Conſiſtence in the Nature of a future State that there may be an inviſible and imperceptibl [...] Converſe of Spirits which we cannot deſcribe, an [...] appointed by Providence for Ends which we do no [...] fully underſtand, I believe is poſſible; But it is the [283] done their own way, and we know nothing of the manner.
There is much ſaid of Guardian Angels, and ſome ſeeming Ground from Scripture, but not enough to be called an Authority from whence to ground an Hypotheſis of the manner; nor will the greateſt Ma⯑gician that ever was, how much ſoever he pretends to the ſacred Science, takes upon him to ſay he can call up or cauſe to appear one of thoſe guardian Angels; no not by the utmoſt and moſt exquiſite Art that was ever attained to; ſo that all that Part of calling up good Spirits or Guardian Angels to a viſible Appearance, ſeems to be fictitious and groundleſs. As to calling up evil Angels or evil Spi⯑rits, that is to ſay Devils as it is to be done by the Aſſiſtance of the Devil, and that he has given his Aſſiſtance to the doing it, and therefore can do it, I make no Queſtion; and therefore when the Ma⯑gicians do at any time bring up Appearances and frightful Apparitions by their Art, I ſhall always ſuppoſe it to be the Devil, that is to ſay, the Devil raiſed by Conſent of the Devil; the Devil coming up at their Call, who he had before conſented ſhould have Leave to call him; for he muſt come Volun⯑tier too, nor can he be called up or diſturbed with⯑out his Conſent; but he bargains with thoſe wick⯑ed People upon ſuch Conditions as they agree be⯑tween them, that he ſhall obſequiouſly attend whenever they uſe ſuch and ſuch Methods to call him, and this is Witchcraft, and this is Magick; This Magick is Witchcraft, and this Witchcraft is Magick: let any one diſtinguiſh between them if they can.
CHAP. III.
[284]Of the preſent Pretences of the Magicians: How they defend themſelves; and ſome Ex⯑amples of their Practice.
THE Magicians, ſuch as acknowledge them⯑ [...]e [...]es [...] acquainted with the Black Art, as we call i [...], are not dumb and ſpeechleſs in their own Caſe; on [...]he contrary, they defend themſelves with the utmoſt Artifice; have their hiſtorical Accounts of their Practice, and give the moſt fair and plauſible Sketches of the Art it ſelf that can be imagin'd.
They inſiſt that it is a general Miſtake, a vulgar Error, and injurio [...]s to all the Practiſers of this Science, to ſay they have a Familiar, as we under⯑ſtand the Word, th [...] is, an evil Spirit, or that they deal with the Devil; they own they have Acceſs to, and an Intercourſe with ſuperiour Beings, and converſe with the World of Spirits; but that they are the good and well-diſpoſed Spirits, who are al⯑ways beneficent, kind, and ready to do all poſ⯑ſible Offices of Love to Mankind; that they are certainly influenc'd from above, and that conſe⯑quently it is ſo far from being true, that they are Diabolick and wicked Spirits, that on the contrary they are always employed in Matters ſuperiour to the Nature of the Infernal Spirits; that they do not amuſe the World with Fictions, and deceive and abuſe the People, that come to them with their Enquiries; that they do not, like the Devil's Ora⯑cles of old, give ambiguous and doubtful Anſwers in the Caſes and Enquiries that are brought before them, to cheat and delude the innocent En⯑quirer; but that they, on the contrary, tell them the Truth of every thing, be it for Good or Evil [285] to them; that they often detect Criminals, expoſe Vice, prevent Miſchief, and promote Virtue; Things no body will pretend are in the Intent and Meaning of evil Spirits; that they do not impoſe upon the ignorant to cheat and defraud them, or make unjuſt Advantages of them.
In diſcourſing many Years ſince upon this Subject with a particular Friend, a judicious and learned Man, and one that was not eaſily impoſed upon, I ſeemed to be doubtful of the Reality of the thing in general, and whether there was indeed ſuch a thing as that of Men having Intercourſe with the World of Spirits, and whether we might diſtin⯑guiſh between that and Witchcraft, inſiſting that I thought it was all Witchcraft, Sorcery, and the Devil.
He told me he was of my Mind 'till ſome Years before, that he had Occaſion to converſe with the famous Magician called Dr. Boreman in Kent, who he aſſured me was a very grave judicious Man, and, as he believed, a good Man. I had once, ſaid he, above all the reſt, a long Conference with him on a particular Occaſion; but 'tis too long to tell you the Particulars. If 'tis not too long for you to tell, ſaid I, it will not be too long for me to hear, for I am really impatient to know what is to be known of that Kind; and the more, becauſe I am at a loſs to paſs a Judgment about it. Well, ſaid he, if I tire you then with the length of it tell me, and I will leave off: So he began his Story thus:
'I had, ſaid he, a Friend, a young Man, who deſired me, upon an extraordinary Occaſion to go with him (as he called it) to a Cunning Man.
'I asked him, What was the Buſineſs?
'He ſaid, It was Buſineſs of Conſequence to him, and tho' he did not care to tell it juſt then, yet I ſhould know it afterward.
[286]'I told him, I had no Faith at all in thoſe ſort of People whom they called Cunning Men.
'Nay, ſays he, I believe they deal with the De⯑vil, but I don't care for that, if I can but have Sa⯑tisfaction in what I go about.
'I told him, I differ'd from him in that too, for I neither believed that they dealt with the Devil, or the Devil with them; or that they could ſay any thing to him that was to the Purpoſe.
'Why, they do tell ſtrange things, ſays he.
'I told him, I believed nothing of it; but that it was all a Cheat; and ſo I ſeem'd loth to have him go to the Cunning Man at all.
N.B. You muſt underſtand here, that my Friend was not ſo really doubtful as he made the young Man believe he was; but, as he had told me before, he believ'd there was ſome⯑thing in it, but he could never come at the Speech of one of the Pretenders to the Art, and ſo was entirely ignorant of what they did, or how they proceeded, and therefore (as he told me) he was mighty willing to go with him, tho' he made ſome Shew of being back-backwards; ſo he went on with his Diſ⯑courſe.
'I was not only loth to let him go, ſays my Friend, but I told him I did not care for it, and therefore deſired he would excuſe me going with him; but when he told me who the cunning Man was, and that he would go to the famous Dr. Boreman, my Curioſity prevail'd with me, not only not to perſwade him againſt going, but to reſolve to go with him my ſelf.
'In a word, we appointed a Day, and I went with him, for I had a great mind to talk with the Doctor.
[287] 'When we came to the Houſe (it was in Kent, not far from Maidſtone, where the Doctor liv'd at that time; I don't remember the Place exactly) but, I ſay, when we came to the Place, a Ser⯑vant came to the Door, and very civilly led us in⯑to the Houſe, and bad us ſit down; leaving us in a large Hall, where we walk'd about, looking on his Magical Pictures, of which we ſaw a great many, whoſe meaning I did not at all underſtand, and the Servant went away, as I ſuppoſe, to call his Maſter.
'After a while the Doctor came in with a Staff in his Hand like a Crutch, as I thought; and I thought alſo he was lame, having lately had the Gout: He was a grave old Man, with a long black Velvet Gown on, his Beard long, and the upper Lip of it trimm'd into a kind of Muſchato, a Cap on his Head with a Border of Hair within it, as was the Cuſtom in thoſe Days.
'After uſual Civilities, he began to enquire our Buſineſs; and directing his Speech to me, as the Senior in appearance, I told him, that young Man (pointing to him that came with me) my Friend, had ſomething of Importance to commu⯑nicate to him, and which he wanted his Advice in; and ſo, ſays he, I bid the young Man give the Doctor an Account of his Buſineſs.
'This young Man had; it ſeems, a particular Caſe which he went to him about; and tho' he had deſired me to go with him, as I have ſaid, yet he had not told me his Caſe; ſo I was oblig'd to direct him to tell it himſelf.
'Then the Doctor deſir'd the young Man to give him his Caſe in writing; but he told him, he could not write well enough, or explain his Caſe ſo intelligibly to him in writing.'
'Well then, ſays the Doctor, tell it me in Words at length, and I'll write it down from your own [288] Mouth: However, I perſwaded him to write it down as well as he could; upon which, he de⯑ſired a Pen, Ink and Paper, which the Doctor or⯑der'd his Man to give him; and in the mean time, the Doctor ask'd me to walk into another Room; come, ſays he, we will leave him to do it, that we may not diſturb him. So we went in⯑to the next Room.
'Then he began a Diſcourſe, by asking me if I knew any thing of the young Man's Caſe; which I really did not, and therefore told him ſo; but if I had known it, I ſhould hardly have given him any Account, for I took that to be a Piece of his Art, to pick as much of the Circum⯑ſtance of the Caſe out privately as he could, ſo to guide his Anſwers; but I quite miſtook the Man. From that we fell into ſeveral other Diſcourſes, and among the reſt, I asked the Doctor, if it would be no Offence to him to let us talk a lit⯑tle about the Study of thoſe things which he was ſo fam'd for.
'He ſaid, No not at all, if I was diſpoſed to talk of them in a ſerious and friendly manner.
'I told him, I hoped he did not think I had any ill Deſign, tho' a Stranger; if he did, I would not deſire to ſay any more; and that as I did not know what he might underſtand by the Word Friendly, I would not move it any farther.
'He ſaid, He did not apprehend any thing dan⯑gerous; for he uſed no unlawful Arts, but he ſaid ſeveral Perſons made a Jeſt of thoſe things which he eſteemed ſacred, and that he did not care for thoſe Diſcourſes or thoſe People who buf⯑foon'd things becauſe they did not underſtand them.
'I told him, that whatever I thought, he ſhould find I would neither treat him, or the Subject we might diſcourſe of, with any Diſreſpect.
[289] 'He told me he would take my Word for it; ſo we fell into ſeveral Diſcourſes about Science in general, particularly of the Study of Magick and the Practice of it, and when firſt it was known in the World.
'He told me, I ſeem'd Ignorant in the thing it ſelf, and to what purpoſe, ſays he, ſhould I go to ſpeak of the Original of a thing which you have not right Notions of? So we diſcours'd a little farther upon it, thus:
What Notions would you have me enter⯑tain of it? I ſcarce know what you mean by the thing itſelf.
Why, Sir, you ſeem neither to know what I mean, or what you mean your ſelf.
That is to ſay, I do not expreſs my ſelf per⯑haps right; then you may ſet me to rights, and it would be very kind to do ſo.
You ſpeak of my practiſing as an Art; now I practiſe no Art, nor uſe any Art; I am no Juggler, Sir; you don't ſee me ſhew Tricks.
I wou'd not offend you, Sir; will you tell me then what it is you do practiſe?
Neither will I be offended; but if you will give me leave to ask you a previous Queſtion or two, I ſhall be the better able to anſwer your other Queſtion afterwards.
Any Queſtion you pleaſe.
Why then, will you tell me what brought you hither to me?
Why really, Sir, my Anſwer muſt be, I can⯑not well tell; my Friend who is writing there in the other Room, will tell you that better than I.
Why then ſhall I tell you what you come for? perhaps you'll think that ſomething odd.
So indeed I ſhould, if I did not conſider you as a Man of Art.
No, no, not a Man that deals with the Devil, as you fancy I do.
Nay, you muſt deal with ſome body, if you tell me my Buſineſs here, when I don't know it my ſelf.
Why, I will tell you in few Words then; your Friend comes about Buſineſs, you to ſatisfy your Curioſity.
Upon my Word I think you are in the right.
Well, I have uſed no great matter of ART you ſee yet.
Nay, I don't know that; I ſuppoſe wh [...] you do is pretty much in the dark, and impercep⯑tible; ſo you might uſe Art, and I know nothing of it.
That's true, or elſe it would be no Art.
But is my Curioſity any Offence to you Doctor? if it is, I'll ha' done and ſay no mo [...] but leave you and my Friend together, for I don' [...] come to affront you, far from it, I aſſure you.
No, no, 'tis no Offence at all to me; on⯑ly ſince you ſeem to talk friendly and freely, gi [...] me leave to ask you ſome Queſtions firſt, and th [...] I'll ſtate yours for you, and anſwer them directly and I hope to your Satisfaction.
With all my Heart; ask me what y [...] pleaſe.
What did you ſuppoſe me to be, what did your Friend tell you I was, before y [...] came?
And you will promiſe me not to take it if I ſpeak plain Engliſh?
Not in the leaſt; I'll put it into yo [...] Mouth, for I know what you took me for, as w [...] as you do your ſelf.
I doubt you do, Sir; and that looks as if [...] were in the right.
Not at all neither, but of that afterwards; you and your Friend took me for a Necromancer, a Magician, one that deals with the Devil, can raiſe the Devil, converſes with him, and by his Help can reſolve difficult Queſtions, give Anſwers in doubtful Caſes; and, in ſhort, that I am a Con⯑jurer.
And ſo you muſt be, I think, or elſe how do you know all this?
How I know it, is not the Queſtion; but whether it is true or no?
Exactly true to a tittle.
And if I am no ſuch Perſon, have I not then a great deal of wrong done me?
You know, Sir, 'tis natural for People to ſay, a Man deals with the Devil, when he tells People their Thoughts, foretells to them what comes to paſs, and reſolves ſuch Doubts as no body but the Devil could reſolve.
And perhaps the Devil himſelf could not do thoſe things if he was to appear and do his ut⯑moſt, for he knows no more of things to come than you or I do, and perhaps not ſo much.
Nay, do not join me to your ſelf, pray, for you may know more than the Devil himſelf can tell you.
Or elſe I would burn my Books, and pre⯑tend no more to the ſacred Sciences which I have ſo much Veneration for, and which you call my Practice.
If I was ſure of that, I ſhould have another kind of Notion of you and your Practice than I have yet, I aſſure you.
If you was ſure of what?
Why, that you do not perform theſe things by the Help of a familiar Spirit.
Nay hold, I don't ſay that neither; but are there no Spirits but what are Devils?
I don't know indeed as to that; but we underſtand no other; when we talk of a familiar Spirit we always underſtand (by it) the Devil.
Then you miſunderſtand it, Sir, that's certain: unſufferable Ignorance! why, are there no good Spirits?
I can ſay nothing to that.
And perhaps are not deſirous to be in⯑formed.
Nay there you wrong me, and take me for a Fool into the Bargain; for there are none but Fools that have no Delight in underſtanding; I would be inform'd of every thing that I do not know.
There would be no ſuch things as Fools, Sir, if they were willing to be inform'd.
Well, I am very willing to learn, I aſſure you, and of you too, whatever you pleaſe to in⯑form me; perhaps I may be in the wrong as to what you ſay of good Spirits; but I never heard of any.
That's ſtrange indeed! you have been much out of their Care, ſure.
I don't know that neither; I hope not. If they have any of us in Charge for Good, I may be under their Care I hope, and yet know no⯑thing of it my ſelf.
At leaſt it ſeems you have been out of their Acquaintance, but that is not much to the Caſe; the Loſs has been yours to be ſure, and the Fault too.
The Loſs may have been mine; but how does it appear that the Fault has been mine too?
It ſeems evident to me; and perhaps I may convince you of it, if you allow me to ask you a few more ſuch innocent Queſtions as theſe.
With all my Heart, eſpecially if they are innocent.
If you have any Reaſon to ſuſpect them, do not anſwer.
And you give me Leave to uſe my Liberty, Sir, without Offence?
Ay, your utmoſt Liberty, Sir; why ſhould I be offended? I think you ought rather to be offended, if I ask any thing that does not become me: The firſt Queſtion I would ask you is, whe⯑ther you think there is an inviſible World.
That's no unfair Queſtion at all; and you ſhall find, Sir, I won't cavil, I'll anſwer directly. I make no doubt but there is.
But let my Queſtion be direct too; by an inviſible World, I don't mean, as the Aſtronomers ſuggeſt, that there are Planetary Worlds, made in⯑viſible only to us by their Diſtance.
No, no, I do not take you ſo; I believe there is a World of Spirits, and that I ſuppoſe is what you mean by inviſible; alſo that this World you ſpeak of is inhabited by Spirits only, and there⯑fore juſtly called inviſible.
You are kind, nay generous in Argument, for you grant faſter than I ask.
I do that to ſave Circumlocutions, and giv⯑ing you Trouble.
Well Sir, where do you ſuppoſe this World of Spirits is? for there muſt be a Locality for the dwelling even of Spirits; how elſe do we call it a World? and Heaven itſelf is a Place, ac⯑cording to the common underſtanding of the Word.
It is hard to ſay where it is, at leaſt 'tis hard to me; ſo I cannot anſwer that Queſtion, at leaſt not directly as I would do.
It is true, the infinite Spaces above are not eaſily deſcribed, as they are not to be mathemati⯑cally lin'd out; but we have Reaſon to know the Inhabitants of it are not very remote from us, and that brings on another Queſtion.
I know ſome People think the Regions of the Air, even within the Compaſs of the Atmo⯑ſphere, are full of Spirits, and that of divers kinds, ſome good, and ſome evil.
I have nothing to ſay to that Notion; I can't allow they inhabit promiſcuouſly the ſame Regions, and dwell together; as good and bad People live here among one another without Di⯑ſtinction.
I don't pretend to reſolve that Queſtion in⯑deed.
Neither did I propoſe it, Sir: but my Que⯑ſtion is this; As you grant a World of Spirits, and that you do not know where it is; ſo that for ought you know it may be very near, as well as very remote; nor to a Spirit is diſtance of Place any thing worth conſidering, if I may ſpeak my Opinion: But my Queſtion, I ſay, is this: Do you believe that the Spirits inhabiting the inviſible World have any Converſe with us, or with our embodied Spirits, in this World?
Truly it is a nice Queſtion, and what I have often conſidered very ſeriouſly; I am of Opinion there is a certain ſecret Converſe of Spi⯑rits, tho' I cannot underſtand any thing of the manner.
Well, Sir, your Conceptions are much the ſame with mine, only that you believe there is, and I am ſure of it.
That's carrying it a great way; and I think this brings me to turn the Tables, and to demand Leave to ask you ſome Queſtions in my turn, if you have done, or when you have done.
With all my Heart, Sir; pray ask what you pleaſe.
My firſt Queſtion will be, Sir, how you can ſay you are ſure there is ſuch a Converſe with the Spirits of the inviſible World?
Becauſe I have actually convers'd with them my ſelf.
Now you come to the Point indeed. But what then do you call Converſing?
Why, I call ſeeing them, ſpeaking to them, and hearing them ſpeak, Converſing; is not that as clear as the other?
The Expreſſion is clear, but the thing ex⯑preſs'd is not ſo, at leaſt not to me: How do you reconcile ſeeing, and ſpeaking, to the thing call'd Spirits?
Why, therein you and I differ in our Cir⯑cumſtances, and this is the ſublime Quality of the Sciences which we profeſs; that being under the Operation of a higher and exalted Mind, the Eyes of the Soul, which is a Spirit, can operate upon immaterial Objects, and ſee what to common Sight is call'd inviſible.
This is all myſterious, and if you will allow me the Freedom, we ſhould call it all Cant and unintelligible.
I know it very well; and we on the other hand call your Diſcourſe empty and inſignificant; for that you neither underſtand what you ſay, nor ſay what you might eaſily be taught to un⯑derſtand; and if a Man enlightned in this ſuperior Manner comes to talk with you, and would in⯑ſtruct you a little, you preſently fly out, and cry a Magician, a Conjurer, that he has a Familiar, and deals with the Devil; this was not always ſo.
This brings me to my firſt Queſtion Sir ex⯑actly, namely, Whence is the Orignal of what you [296] call your ſublime Practice, and where and when did it begin?
I could run you back, Sir, to its Original, and give you the Hiſtory of it, but 'twould be too long. I doubt your want of Patience.
My Curioſity is too great to let me want Patience.
Well, I'll give you an Abridgement then of it thus; Before the Deluge, when the Ante⯑diluveans had the Bleſſing of Longevity, to the Number of almoſt a thouſand Years, we have many Teſtimonies of their converſing, not only with the Spirits of the inviſible World, but with the great Life of Spirit, the Being of Beings; and if we can deduce any thing from Con⯑ſequences, divine Spirits daily illuminated the Minds of Mankind, and convey'd all uſeful Science to them, and that to ſuch a degree as has never been attain'd to ſince, by which all the moſt exalted Parts of both natural and ſuperna⯑tural Knowledge were convey'd into their Under⯑ſtandings.
They had, without queſtion, a ſuperior Ge⯑nius in the Antediluvean State, far above what we have now; and your Notions of that kind are very clear to me, I agree with you in that.
They had not ſo much a ſuperior Genius, as they had a ſuperior Illumination; what ſhould you and I have, if we had liv'd three or four hundred Years, and had convers'd all that while in an angelick Society, and with an inviſible Spe⯑cies of Creatures, in whom compleat Knowledge was but meer Nature, and who had the Good⯑neſs to be always communicating the moſt perfect Ideas, the moſt ſublime Images to our Thoughts? what ſhould we be capable of?
Nay, I think you might ſay, what ſhould we not be capable of.
Then conſidering that at the end of that three or four hundred Years we were but in the Prime of our Age, in full Strength of Judg⯑ment, and Vigour of Mind, capable to receive the moſt divine Impreſſions of ſacred Knowledge, what ſhould we not learn with ſuch Teachers?
But how do we know that they were thus bleſs'd?
Why, does not all your Accounts of thoſe Times bring in the People converſing thus? Nay, do you not ſay that GOD, or that Inconceivable Something (which you call ſo) the King, and Go⯑vernor, and Maker of Spirits, convers'd among them, talk'd with and to them?
Yes, we believe GOD himſelf convers'd with them, particularly with Adam the firſt of them, and with Noah [...]he laſt of them, and no doubt with many others between.
Well, and did the great Being of Beings converſe with Man, and not the ſmaller and lower degrees of Spirit? do you think the Servants did not converſe, if the Maſter did?
Why, that indeed I never conſider'd be⯑fore, I confeſs.
But where elſe had they the Knowledge of ſome things, which nothing but Spirit and ſpiri⯑tuous Converſe could poſſibly convey?
What things were they? I do not rightly underſtand you.
Why, firſt for Example, MUSICK, that Heavenly Science, the Doctrine of Sounds; mea⯑ſur'd and divided ſo as by Diſſonance to make Harmony, to be admir'd by every Ear, to move the Paſſions, and agitate the Soul, to be read by Notes, underſtood by the differing Key of Sounds, the only univerſal Character in the [298] World. Could the Genius of Man invent it? No: it came from the inviſible World, and was cer⯑tainly communicated from the Fountain of Know⯑ledge, by the Agency of the good Spirits, with which they ſo freely converſed.
You advance boldly, Doctor.
That may fairly be aſſerted, which is im⯑poſſible to be otherwiſe.
I won't venture to ſay it is impoſſible.
But I dare ſay it, and with good Reaſon; then there is the Doctrine of NUMBERS, which we call vulgarly Arithmetick; this with Muſick ſeem to be two Infinites, the Bounds of them and the Variety is not to be meaſur'd, or conceiv'd of, and how could human Genius meaſure them out?
What do you inferr from thence?
Nothing but this; that thoſe good beneficent Spirits, with whom Mankind had then the Bleſ⯑ſing of a daily Society, fill'd their Minds, and inſpir'd their Thoughts with theſe noble and uſe⯑ful Diſcoveries, and qualify'd them daily to im⯑prove upon them.
You talk above me now indeed.
You cannot ſay but I talk plainly, and in⯑telligible.
So you conclude, that the good Spirits in⯑ſtructed them in theſe ſublimer Parts of Know⯑ledge? Pray, why did they not teach them A⯑ſtronomy, natural Philoſophy, and all the uſefu [...] Branches of the Mathematicks?
And ſo no doubt they did. There's th [...] Ark for Example; you ſay, GOD ſpoke to Noah and told him in general what kind of Veſſel [...] ſhould be; by which I ſuppoſe you may under⯑ſtand, GOD told him that the World ſhould b [...] drown'd, and that he ſhould be ſav'd in a Ship which he ſhould build? But can you think Noa [...] [299] could do all this without the more particular Dire⯑ction of theſe good and beneficent Spirits, inſtru⯑cting him how to perform the Work? How the Beams, and the Timbers, the Planks and all the Parts were to be put together; how the Bottom was to be ſhap'd for ſwimming, the Head and the Stern for breaking off the Force of the Water, in that truly unbounded Ocean the Flood; all theſe things I make no Queſtion he was inſtructed in by the daily Aſſiſtance of the good Inhabitants of the inviſible Regions, who freely had at that time an Intercourſe with the embodyed, that is, impriſon'd, Spirits of Men; and theſe are the ſame that we converſe with now: ſo that I have fairly brought it down to our own Times.
Sir, your Diſcourſe is very well laid toge⯑ther I confeſs; but you make a long leap, and ſome of it in the dark too; from Noah, and the Year of the World 1576, or thereabouts, to our time, which is about three thouſand Years after. How is it that thoſe good Spirits left off their Good-will towards Men, and ſeem to ſhun us as much now as they courted us before?
I do not find it ſo, I rather ſay they do and would converſe with us ſtill, if we either ſaw the Bleſſing of it, or knew how to value it, and made it appear we deſir'd it.
But when did it break off? what, did the Flood put an end to it?
It ſeems, that Men, by a differing Con⯑duct, and a way of Life too groſs for ſo excellent and ſublime a Converſe, have render'd themſelves unworthy and unqualify'd ſince the Flood; ſo that the angelick Train ſeem to have forſaken the Earth, and only communicate themſelves to ſuch as render themſelves acceptable and worthy by a Life of earneſt Application to the Study of di⯑vine [300] Science, and who ſeek after the high Illu⯑mination.
So that there are ſome who enjoy this ex⯑traordinary Society ſtill?
Why not, pray? The good Spirits are the ſame; they change not, neither is their Good⯑will towards Men abated; but the cuſtom of the World has been, and ſtill is, to be ſhy and a⯑fraid of them, take them to be evil Spirits, and, as the World calls them, Devils; ſo that a good Spirit cannot now offer its Aſſiſtance to Man, or go about to do any good to Mankind, but they are frighted and terrify'd, and cry out the Devil, fly from it, and refuſe to accept the Benefit offer'd.
But it ſeems all do not treat them ſo.
No. But how then are they treated who act after another manner?
Why, how are they treated?
Are we not treated as Daemoniacks, as Ma⯑gicians and Conjurers, Necromancers, and that deal with the Devil. Did not you take me for ſuch?
It is very true, I did.
Ay, and are you not under ſome ſort of Fright, even all the while you are talking with me, as if you were talking with the Devil, and leſt I ſhould raiſe the Devil while you are here?
I cannot ſay but it is in ſome meaſure true.
And yet we know no more of the Devil than you do, nor converſe any more with him than other Folks do, nor ſo much neither.
'Having carried on our Converſation thus far, my Companion, who was all this while a writing his Caſe, came to the Door, and calling to the Doctor, told him he had done; Well, ſays the Doctor to him, pray give me the Paper then, and let me read it over; ſo he gave him his Paper, which was a long one indeed, and very cloſe writ⯑ten, [301] containing all his Caſe, which it ſeems was very particular, and requir'd abundance of better Advice than I thought the grave Doctor was able to give him, but I was really miſtaken.
I was far from being tir'd with this Account, and believe I ſhall not tire the Reader with ſetting it down. Indeed I interrupted him here, with ask⯑ing him if he did not yet know his Man's Caſe, and if he did not read the Paper; but he told me he did not, ſo I deſir'd him to let me have the reſt of the Story, and he went on thus.
'My Man, ſaid he, who was with me, told me little or nothing of his Caſe, as I hinted before, except that he ſaid it was very Difficult and Intricate; and that if it could not be reſolv'd, and brought to a Concluſion, he was ſure he ſhould never get over it, but ſhould be undone, and that therefore he came to this Man.
'Why, ſays I, what do you take the Man to be?
'Why, what ſhould I take him for, ſays he?
'Nay, I ſuppoſe, ſaid I, you take him for a Conjurer, and one that deals with the Devil.
'I care not who he is, or who he deals with, ſays the Man, ſo I do but get my Buſineſs done by him, find out a Man or two that I look for, and have ſome ſatisfaction in my other Affairs.
'I don't know who you look for, ſaid I, and I doubt you don't know who 'tis you ſeek to.
'Why, the Devil, ſays he; who d'ye think I ſeek to, when I come to a Cunning Man?
'This Diſcourſe was before we came to the Doctor's Houſe, and was the Occaſion indeed that I was at firſt ſo ſhy of him, and made ſo many round-about Cautions when I firſt ſpoke to him.
'When he had written his Caſe down, and given it to the Magician, the Doctor ask'd him if he could not leave the Paper with him, and [300] [...] [301] [...] [302] come again in two or three Days? The Enquirer ſeem'd uneaſy at that, tho' he did not directly ſay No; but the Doctor perceiv'd it; Well then, ſaid he, are you willing to ſtay here with me about eleven or twelve Hours, and ſit up all Night? The Man look'd earneſtly at me, as if it had been to ask me whether he ſhould venture to ſtay all Night, but withal look'd a little fright⯑ed too.
'The Doctor ſeeing him look at me, as if he would ask my Advice, turn'd to me, ſmiling at the Man's Backwardneſs.
'Sir, ſays he, I perceive you muſt decide it; he ſeems a little frighted, I don't know at what.
'Sir, ſays I, ſmiling, I believe he is afraid the Candles will burn blue.
'Ay, ſays he, you ſee the Reaſon why the good Spirits have left off converſing with Mankind; and you ſee how we that are Men of Art, and who have ſtudied the ſacred Sciences, ſuffer by the Errors of common Fame; they take us all for Devil-Mongers, damn'd Rogues, and Con⯑jurers.
'It is very true, Sir, ſaid I, I ſee it now; he is afraid in ſhort that you will raiſe the Devil. With that he turns to the Man; Hark ye Friend, ſays he, are you afraid to ſtay all Night? ſpeak honeſtly, if you are, and tell me ſo.
'Why, Sir, ſays the Man, I can't ſay but I am a little uneaſy about it, tho' I don't know at what, for I an't very apt to be afraid of Sights, not I. With that I put in a Word to my Compa⯑nion; Why Couſin, ſays I, if you are uneaſy about ſeeing any ſtrange Sight, or hearing any thing un⯑common, what did you come to this Gentleman for? you know very well what you told me you underſtood him to be, and what you expected of him.
[303] 'Nay, ſays the Conjurer, I muſt needs ſay, he that is afraid to the ſee Devil, ſhould never come to ſee US.
'Why, you don't always deal with the Devil, do ye? ſays the Man.
'Nay, ſays he, I han't told you yet that I deal with him at all; but I ſay, you ſhould not be afraid of him, when you come of theſe Errands; for it ſeems you ſuppoſe we talk with him for you.
'Why, that is as much as to tell me, ſays the young Man, you can raiſe the Devil for me, if you pleaſe.
'Well, come be plain with me, and tell me; have you have a Mind to ſee him or no? ſays the Doctor laughing.
'No, not I, ſays he, not at all, and that made me uneaſy.
'Well, well, ſays he, you ſhall not ſee the Devil then.
'But ſhall I ſee nothing elſe, Sir? ſays he. I would ſee none of your Spirits, whether they are Devils or no.
'I tell you, ſays the Doctor, you ſhall ſee no⯑thing to hurt you.
'But, ſays the Man again, I don't know what to ſay, you ſpeak in generals; pray don't fright me, any more than hurt me.
'I tell thee again, ſays the Doctor, I'll neither hurt thee, nor fright thee; but if you will have nothing done for you, what do you give me your Caſe for? and if you are afraid to ſee, or hear any thing, why do you not care to leave your Caſe with me, and come again?
'This was ſuch a reaſonable Propoſal, that I could not but tell my young Man, that I thought he was playing the Fool with the Doctor; if you ſtay, you muſt be content to ſee what is to be ſeen; and if you don't care to venture that, can't [304] you go, and come again? ſo in a word, I advis'd him to leave his Caſe with the Doctor, and go away, and come for an Anſwer when he ſhould appoint him.
'As we were going away, the Doctor takes me by the Hand, the young man being gone out of the Door; You ſee, Sir, the Notions the poor innocent well-meaning People have of all the good Spirits of the inviſible World; and tho' in their Diſtreſſes they will come to us, and we make ſome Search for them, yet they give the Devil all the Praiſe of it; nay tho' they receive good from it; and yet they acknowledge the Devil to be the Author of nothing but Miſchief.
'But Sir, ſaid I, you could I ſuppoſe give this honeſt Man what Anſwer you ſhall purpoſe to give him, without letting him ſee any Appearan⯑ces to fright or terrifie him?
'I have nothing about me, ſays he, or that con⯑verſes with me, that need to fright or terrifie any one, much leſs that will do him any hurt. I do not ſay, but as the good Spirits are beneficent and kind, and may meet and converſe upon any Occa⯑ſions, and in any Place from their own happy In⯑clination, to ſerve and aſſiſt the oppreſs'd or indigent Creatures, may come and go, paſs and repaſs in or near my Houſe, which would be to me the greateſt Feli⯑city of Life. On this Occaſion the Man might have heard ſome little Noiſes, and perhaps have ſeen ſome Motions rather than Bodies, which he might call Spectres and Apparitions, or Devils, or what he would; yet theſe, as they would take no Notice of him, or do any thing to terrify or diſorder him, ſo he would have nothing to do but to ſit ſtill, and not offer to ſtir, or ſpeak, and be under no Concern at all.
'Well, Sir, ſaid I, were the Caſe mine, as it is not, I aſſure you I would have truſted you, for [305] I do not think, let the Caſe be what it will, that it is your Buſineſs to ſuffer your Clients to receive any Hurt in your Houſe, or to be frighted, ſo as to bring any evil Report upon you.
'Sir, ſays the Doctor, my Buſineſs is to do good to all Men, and to hurt none, as is the Deſire of thoſe ſuperior Beings, which I have the Happi⯑neſs to converſe with; and therefore it only is wanting to us, that the poor People were a little leſs afraid of us, and that they came to us for meer Neceſſity only, and not meerly to ſatisfie their Curioſity, as is often their Caſe. However, added he, as to the young Man your Friend, let him go home, to-morrow you will ſee he will come back to me in a great Hurry, tho' I han't order'd him to come till Friday, as you heard; but I warrant ye he will dream ſome ſtrange Dream to-night, his very Fright will make him do it, and then he will come and deſire me to interpret his Dream for him; and then you may hear farther.
'Well, Sir, ſaid I, I ſhall obſerve him, and per⯑haps he will ask me to come along with him; if he does, I ſhall venture to come.
'No, ſays the Doctor, I don't think he will ask you to come, I believe he will be in better Heart to-morrow; and it may be he'll offer to ſtay all Night with me, and all Day too, if I deſire him, let him ſ [...]e what he will.
'I think, ſaid I, he's a Fool, he don't ſtay now; indeed if it had been my Caſe, I would have truſted you.
'Well, Sir, ſays he, if you have any Occa⯑ſion in which I can render you any Service, I ſhall be always ready to anſwer your Expectations in the beſt manner I am able; and in the mean time, I hope you will no more have thoſe weak Notions, as if all the Intelligence Mankind can attain to from the inviſible World muſt be with [306] the Devil, or the evil Spirits. I hope you will ſee, that there are Caſes come before me, which the Devil would no more be a Devil if he ſhould give any Satisfaction in, or any Relief to the Inquirer.
'I gave him an Anſwer in as obliging Terms as I could, and ſo we parted, and I came to the young Man, who waited for me with the utmoſt Impatience, and with ſome kind of Terror; for I found he was in a Sweat, tho' it was a cold Evening too.
'When I came up to him, I ask'd him how he did.
'Pretty well, ſays he, but I'm glad I am got away.
'Why ſo? ſaid I. No body offer'd to detain you, I thought the Doctor ſpoke very civilly to you; and I'm ſure he did ſo to me.
'Ay, ſays he, he did ſo, and I had a mind to have ventur'd once to ſtay all Night, but I am heartily glad I didn't; I ſhould have been fright⯑ed out of my Wits, if I had ſeen the Devil.
'Why, I can aſſure you, that he ſays poſitively he has nothing to do with the Devil, and if you had ſeen any Appearance, it would have not been an evil Spirit, or Devil, but a good Spirit; that it would have come to render you Service, and do you good, rather than have hurt you, and that you would have had no need to be frighted.
'No matter for that, ſays he, all Spirits are Devils to me; if I had ſeen a Spirit, or an Ap⯑parition, all he could have ſaid to me, would not have perſwaded me to believe it had not been the Devil.
'Why, would you not have believ'd the Doctor, if he had told you ſo?
'No, ſays he, nor a hundred conjuring Doctors more, not I.
[307] 'But what is it you go to him for then? ſaid I. If you won't believe what he ſays, what ſignifies your going to him? you had better have kept it to your ſelf, and never have troubled him.
'Nay, that's true, ſaid he, and that was the rea⯑ſon I was loth to leave my Caſe with him.
'But you have left it with him, ſays I, han't you?
'Yes, ſays he, and let him make the beſt of it, and the worſt of it, I never intend to go to him again.
'What, ſays I, won't you go to him for an An⯑ſwer?
'No, not I, ſaid he, I have enough of him; come away. I am ſo frighted already, I am almoſt dead; don't you ſee what a Sweat I am in? for all 'tis ſuch cold Weather, the Sweat runs down my Face in Drops.
'Why, what d'ye ſweat for now? ſaid I. You are far enough out of his way here, an't you?
'No, no, ſays he. Why, if he has his Devil within Doors, d'ye think he has not his Devil without Doors too? Why, all the while I have ſtood here for you, I fancy every Tree is a Man, and every Man a Shadow, and every Shadow a Spirit.
'You ſee, ſaid I, 'tis Evening, and the Light begins to be Dusky, and ſo you ſee double: Why, ſure you an't ſo frighted as you ſeem to be?
'Indeed I am, ſays he, I don't know what's the matter, I don't uſe to be ſo; I us'd to laugh at People when they talk'd of ſeeing Apparitions, and being frighted with Spirits.
'Well, well, you'll come again, for all that, ſaid I, I warrant you.
'No, if the Devil catches me there again, I'll forgive him, ſays he.
[308]'You don't know your own Mind, ſaid I. Why, he will anſwer all your Queſtions.
'Ay, ſo he ſhall, when I come again, ſays he.
'I warrant you'll come again to him, ſays I, for an Anſwer to-morrow.
'Nay, ſays he, I am not appointed till Friday.
'Ay, ſays I, tis no matter for that, I dare ſay you won't have Patience to ſtay ſo long. Why, you'll dream of it all Night: I don't doubt but you'll be with him again alſo, for Satisfa⯑ction to your Enquiries; I know you han't the Patience, tho' I don't know your Caſe.
'You may ſay what you will, ſays he, but I aſſure you, I'll go near him no more.
'This kind of Diſcourſe held us to a Town hard by, where we lodg'd that Night, for it was too late to go any farther. And in the Morning I happen'd to over-ſleep my ſelf; For, in ſhort, my Head ran ſo much upon the Doctor, and his inviſible World, that it kept me awake almoſt all Night; ſo that in the Morning, when I got up, 'twas near ten a Clock.
'When I call'd for my young Man, the Maſter of the Houſe told me he was gone. Gone! ſaid I; what, and never ſtay for me, nor to ſpeak to me?
'Nay, Sir, ſays the Man of the Houſe, I be⯑lieve he is mad. Why, he has made ſuch a Noiſe and a Diſturbance, he has frighted all the Houſe two of my People have been fain to ſit up with him all Night; he ſays he has ſeen the Devil.
'Seen the Devil! ſays I: does he know the Devil when he ſees him? I believe he never ſaw him i [...] his Life. I ſuppoſe it was ſome Dream.
'Nay, ſays the Man, I don't know how h [...] ſhould ſee the Devil here, I'm ſure my Houſ [...] is not haunted. I fancy he has been at Dr. Bore⯑man's lately.
[309]'Dr. Boreman, (ſays I) who's that?
'O, Sir, ſays my Landlord, did you never hear of Dr. Boreman? Why, he's the moſt famous Man in all this Country, he does a thouſand ſtrange things.
'What, ſays I, is he a Conjurer, does he deal with the Devil?
'I don't know for that, ſays my Landlord, I can't fancy he deals with the Devil neither; for he is a very honeſt Gentleman, and does a great many good things. Folks that deal with the Devil don't uſe to do any thing that's good.
'Pr'ythee, ſays I, what good does he do?
'Why, Maſter, ſays my Landlord, they ſay, he lays the Devil, when other Folks raiſe him; he can cure a Houſe when it's haunted. Here was a Houſe in our Town ſo plagu'd with evil Spi⯑rits, that no body could lie in it; and when the Doctor was ſent for, he went and ſat up all Night in it; what he did there no body knows, but he ſo frighted the Devil to be ſure, that the Houſe has never been haunted any more ſince; and the poor Wenches are ſo afraid of him all round the Coun⯑try, that they dare not ſee him.
'Why, ſays I, what does he do to them?
'Why, Sir, ſays he, a poor Girl can't let a young Fellow kiſs her, but the Docter will TELL; and if they prove with Child, he'll tell the Father of it preſently; nay he'll diſcover all the little whoreing Intrigues in the Country. Now, Ma⯑ſter, adds he, this is not Devil's Work; you know the Devil didn't care if they were all Whores, not he.
'That's very true, indeed, ſays I; but what then muſt the Doctor be call'd? is he a Magician?
'I ſuppoſe he is, Maſter, ſays he, tho' I don't know what that means. But he charms Folks, and ſets Spells, and a young Fellow dares not [310] come near an honeſt Girl, for fear of him. Why, they ſay, he drew a Circle the other Day round a young Laſs's Bed that was ſuſpected; and when the Fellow, that they thought had to do with her, came to her, truly he could not get away till the Doctor was ſent for to releaſe him.
'And do you believe all this? ſaid I.
'Believe it, Sir! ſays he. Why, all the Country believes it, and the young People are kept in ſuch Awe by it, that I don't think there will be one Baſtard got this Year, no, not in twenty Pariſhes hereabout; and that's very hard, Maſter, ſays he, this War time too, when the King is like to want Soldiers.
'This Diſcourſe was diverting, but ſtill I wanted to hear of my Man. I was loth to go back to the Doctor to ſeek him there; ſo I was oblig'd to go away without him.
Thus far I have entertain'd you with my Friend's Relation, as I had it from him in a continu'd Diſ⯑courſe, and this laſt Part is merry enough; nor is it more than I have heard by many other Hands, I mean of the Doctor's Exploits; and particularly 'twas certainly true of him, that he kept all the young People, I mean the wicked part of 'em, in Awe; whether by Spells or Charms, and what thoſe Spell or Charms were, that I could never come to a Certainty about.
The Story of his perſwading a young Fellow and his Wench to get both into her Smock, and that when he was in, the Doctor ſet his Spell upon him, ſo that he could never get out till the Doctor was ſent for to releaſe him; and that he would not re⯑leaſe him till the Fellow oblig'd himſelf to marry the Girl; this Story, I ſay, is ſo firmly believ'd all o⯑ver that Part of the Country, that no body doubts of it.
[311]But to come back a little to my Friend, and the Story of the young Fellow that was with him, which I ſhall give you now in a more ſummary way, it being too long for my Work; The Short of the Caſe was this: The Fellow being heartily frighted, as you have heard, was no ſooner got to Bed, and fell faſt aſleep, but he dreamed that the Doctor came into his Chamber and to his Bed-ſide, with two Devils or Spirits with him; that he was at firſt ſo terrified, that he was not able to ſpeak; but that the Doctor ſpoke kindly to him, and bad him not be afraid, for that here was a good Angel come to him, to give him a full Anſwer, happy, and for his Satisfaction, to all his Difficulties; and that he had nothing to do but to hear and receive his Meſſage, and be eaſy; and that upon this, the Spirit advanced cloſe to the Bed-ſide; but that he cry'd out, and refuſed to hear him; at which the Doctor ſpoke angrily to him, and ſaid, Well, ſince you refuſe the Advice and Direction of a good Spi⯑rit, we ſhall leave you to the ſame diſturbing Devil which poſſeſs'd you before: and upon this the Doctor and the good Spirit vaniſhed out of his Sight, and an ugly frightful Devil remain'd in the Place, which grinn'd and threaten'd him in a ter⯑rible manner, but ſaid nothing to him: that the Horrour of the laſt Spectre frighted him ſo terri⯑bly, that he waked out of his Sleep, knock'd up the People of the Houſe, and told them the Devil was in the Room, and, in a word, diſturb'd the whole Family; the Hoſtler and a Maid-Servant ſat up with him, but ſaw nothing; and in the Morn⯑ing as ſoon as it was light, he took his Horſe and went away.
As the Doctor had told my Friend, and as he ſaid to the young Man, ſo it was; for being terrified to the laſt Degree with this courſe Appearance, away he went to the Doctor's Houſe in hurry enough. [312] It happen'd that when he came to the Houſe, the Doctor was at his Door, ſpeaking to ſomebody that he was juſt diſmiſſing, and the Party went away juſt as the young Man came up.
'Well, ſays the Doctor, what's the matter now? why, I did not bid you come till Friday.
'O Sir, ſays the young Man, but let me ſpeak with you a little upon another Occaſion that has hap⯑pen'd ſince, and I'll wait upon you again about t'other Buſineſs on Friday, as you appointed.
'Come, come in then, ſays the Doctor, I believe I know your Buſineſs; I warrant ye you have been dreaming ſome frightful thing or other to-night: what, have you ſeen the Devil in your Sleep? you had e'en as good ha' let me have ſhewn him you.
'Why ſo you have, Sir, ſays he, han't you? pray have not you been abroad to-night?
'Abroad, ſays the Doctor, what do'ſt thou mean by that? I am but juſt out of Bed.
'Why, Maſter, ſays he, han't you been at Wroo⯑tham to-night?
'At Wrootham! why, thou art mad; I tell thee I am but juſt up.
'It's no matter for that, ſays the Man, ſtill ſtaring and wild; I am ſure I ſaw you there, and ſpoke to you, and you to me.
'Come Friend, ſays the Doctor, I ſee you are fright⯑ed, and you have dreamt waking; you have dreamt of the Devil, or of Spirits, all Night; why, thou art not come to thy ſelf yet; come, let me know the whole Story.
'Nay, Sir, ſays the young Man, 'tis a plain Caſe you know the whole Story already, as well as I.
'Not a Word, not I, ſays the Doctor, I aſſure you.
'Why, Sir, ſays he, han't you told me the very Caſe, han't you told me I have been dreaming [313] of the Devil, and ſeen the Devil? how can you ſay, you know nothing of it?
'Truly, ſays the Doctor, any one that ſaw what a Fright you were in laſt Night, without the leaſt Reaſon, and ſees how bewilder'd you look now, might gueſs you have been terrify'd in a Dream, and that without any Witchcraft or Con⯑juring in the leaſt: But, adds the Doctor, what ſignifies telling me I know it already? If you think fit to tell me the Caſe, well and good; if not, pr'ythee go about your Buſineſs, I deſire not to meddle with it.
'With that he begg'd the Doctor's Pardon, and told him, if he did not know his Caſe already, he hoped he would not be angry with him for what he had ſaid, at leaſt he was ſure he would not, when he had told him. So he gave him the whole Story at large as I have told it you, with a great many more Particulars.
'Well, ſays the Doctor, you ſee there are good and beneficent Spirits in Being, who are willing to relieve and extricate us out of Difficulties, at leaſt by their good Counſel and Advice; and if thou hadſt had Courage and Patience to have heard it, no doubt you would have had all your Doubts explained, and your Queſtions anſwer'd; and would have had no need to come to me: But the Devil, who you ſay ſtood behind, and who af⯑terwards appeared terrible and frightful to you, prevented your accepting the good Counſel, and the Anſwers which you would have had from the firſt Appearance: and as for my appearing to you, depend upon it your Imagination ſupplied that Part, for I have not ſtirr'd out from home all Night; beſides, a good Spirit might aſſume a Shape and Appearance like me, that it might be more familiar to you.
[314] 'But, Sir, ſays the young Man, what muſt I do now? if I have rejected this good Offer, it may be the ſame good Spirit will not now reſolve me, or do any thing for me.
'Perhaps it may, ſays the Doctor, or perhaps I may obtain a Reſolution for you; are you willing to ſtay with me now, by Day-light?
'Ay Sir, with all my Heart; I'll wait all Day, and all Night too now, if you pleaſe; for I am ſatisfied now, that you will do me no hurt.
'In ſhort, the Fellow's Caſe was thus: (Take it in my Friend's own Words again;) He was de⯑ſperately in love with a young Gentlewoman in the Country, had courted her a long time, and gain'd her Good-will ſo far at laſt, that they had agreed to be married; but on a ſudden, ſome other Object had preſented to her Friends, who had a better Eſtate than this young Man; and he found his Miſtreſs was at firſt kept up from him; and at laſt, that tho' ſhe was at Liberty, ſhe was grown cold and indifferent to him, and he was half mad with the Diſappointment: That after this ſhe ſeem'd a little kinder, and told him the Reaſon of her Coldneſs; but after all that, ano⯑ther thing perplexed him, and that was; That three Nights together he dreamt that he ſaw a Neighbouring Gentleman kiſſing his Miſtreſs, and in downright Engliſh, lying with her.
'This laſt tormented him, and he was ſo per⯑plex'd between his Love and his Jealouſy, that he could not reſt; to this was to be added, that tho' his Miſtreſs was kinder to him than before, yet her Father had given him a poſitive Denial, and he knew not what to do; and for a Direction in this Difficulty he went to the Cunning Man.
'Upon theſe things, the Doctor, after all the intervening Circumſtances which have taken up your time, gave him this very good Advice; whe⯑ther [315] by his Art, conſulting of Spirits, or by what other Method I know not, but he deliver'd it to him in this Form, or to this Purpoſe.
'Friend, ſays the Doctor, the Intelligence which I have had relating to thy Affairs from the invi⯑ſible Regions, and by the Aid of thoſe good Spi⯑rits which thou art ſo afraid to receive it from, is very kind and favourable to thee, if thou art diſpoſed to hearken to good Advice.
'The young Woman that thou art ſo deeply in love with, is not diſhoneſt; thoſe Dreams thou hadſt in Prejudice of thy Affection are injurious, and proceed from the grinning, angry Spirit, which, as thou ſaidſt, appeared to thee in thy laſt Night's Diſturbance: However, it would be wiſely done, if thou wouldſt withdraw thy Af⯑fection from this Object, for I am well aſſured her Parents, who are reſolved to diſpoſe of her another way, will never favour thee; and if thou takeſt her againſt their Conſent, will neither give thee Portion or Bleſſing, nor will thy Marriage be happy.
'Ask me not by what Rules I obtain this Infor⯑mation; quiet thy Mind in the view of other Offers which may preſent; preſerve thy Virtue and Temperance; there ſeems ſomething in View, tho' yet at a Diſtance, which ſhall be more to thy Satisfaction even than this, had it gone for⯑ward; and I ſee a Light of moderate Happineſs glancing towards thee from a remote Part, inti⯑mating that thou ſhalt be very happy, and live comfortably, if the Exerciſe of a patient and quiet Temper prevail over Raſhneſs and Paſſion; but if the latter prevail, expect Miſery and diſtracted Circumſtances may be thy Lot.
'The Youth went away better inſtructed than I ſhould have expected from an Art which I have ſo very bad an Opinion of: But this [316] Dr. Boreman was a ſtrange Man, according to all the Reports of the Country about him, and did abundance of things, even by the Methods of his Art, which carried a Face of Good with them, as is ſaid before, Pag. 309; if it was deluſive and came from the Devil, it was ſo much the more dangerous, as it came cover'd and coloured with a Miſt of Virtue, and a religious Character, and with a Mouth always full of a lofty Cant, as if talking from a divine Oracle, and directed by Spirits always employed for the Good of Mankind in general, and to do Acts of Charity and Beneficence to afflicted or perplexed Perſons in particular.
Thus far from my Friend who converſed with Dr. Boreman: He gave me ſeveral other Accounts of him, which, notwithſtanding all the good things pretended to, and the fine canting Words of the Doctor, convince me ſtill that he muſt have had ſome unlawful Converſation with ſuch Spirits or ſuch Beings as I ſhould ſtill call Devils: That he uſed Spells, and Charms, and Familiars; that he did not diſown the Appearance of Spirits to him, aſ⯑ſuming viſible Bodies, was, it ſeems, well known; and that he had ſeveral Books of Magical Experi⯑ments I have heard it alſo well atteſted; whether there were any wicked Magical Performances in thoſe Books, or not, I cannot tell.
It is true, or elſe general Report muſt lye moſt unuſually, that he did perform ſeveral ſtrange things; yet they ſay he was never known to do, or direct the doing any Miſchief, or to encourage any injurious thing: It was uſual, as they report of him, to ſet Spells for the Country People for the preſerving their Cherry-Gardens from being plunder'd, and their Orchards from being robb'd: Take ſome of the Tales which paſs for creditable, as follows.
[317]That three young Fellows being gotten into an Orchard, which I ſuppoſe was under his particu⯑lar Care, he cauſed a large Bell to hang to the Heel of their Shoes behind, like a Heel-ſpur, by which they alarm'd the Houſe and raiſed the Peo⯑ple, who ſurrounding the Orchard, took them all; when they were taken, the Bells being to be pull'd off, could not be ſeen, and yet the Sound of them was heard all the Way they went to the Juſtice of the Peace, till he committed them, and then ceaſed.
Another time, ſome Boys being gotten into a Cherry-Garden, and one of them being up a Cherry-Tree, he made the Boy ſee a great Maſtif Dog ſitting at the bottom of the Tree, waiting for his coming, looking him full in the Face, and grinning and ſnarling at him if he offer'd to ſtir; ſo that the poor Boy not daring to come down, was oblig'd to ſit in the Tree 'till he cry'd out for Help; by which means, the People of the Houſe came and found him in the Tree; and as ſoon as they were come, he could ſee no more of the Dog, neither could any body ſee it but himſelf.
The Methods he took with lewd People of thoſe Times, were, it ſeems, exceeding many, and ſuch that, as the Landlord told my Friend, the young Wenches ſtood in awe of him, and were terrified with the very Name of him.
No petty Thefts but he would diſcover them, even after they were committed; and if we may believe common Fame, if People's Cattle were gone aſtray, he would tell them which Way to look for them. Whether he could ha' told Saul how to find his Father's Aſſes, I cannot ſay; But I dare affirm he could not have told him of the Kingdom, as Samuel did.
[318]And yet this Dr. Boreman, as they ſay, would not ſuffer any ſuch thing as a Witch to live in the Country, but expoſed and detected them on all oc⯑caſions; and the wicked Spirits on all occaſions fled from him, as was reported of the Houſe which they ſaid was haunted.
How to reconcile this to a Correſpondence of Devils only, I cannot ſay; and yet that Magick Powers are communicated by good Angels, and by divine Ap⯑pointment, I can ſee no Reaſon to ſuggeſt; but the contrary ſeems to be evident by the People of Epheſus, coming and bringing their conjuring Books, and burning them, upon receiving the Chriſtian Faith by the preaching of the Apoſtle Paul, to the Value of fifty thouſand Pieces of Silver.
There are abundance of Books upon this Subject left by this Dr. Boreman; and ſome, as they ſay, with Rules of Art, as they are called; but they are kept ſo up in private Hands, that I do not find they are to be come at, by any means. The Works of the right famous Enthuſiaſt Jacob Behemen ſeem to be of the ſame kind, tho' ſomething more refin'd, and leſs ra⯑tional, being all in the Clouds and Confuſion.
This Jacob Behemen took it very ill to be called a Magician; but he was a kind of a Viſioniſt. He pretended to ſee things inviſible, and hear things unutterable; and I might add, he ſeemed to have ſome Truth in it, for he publiſhed things unintelli⯑gible.
His Writings are either Magick or Enthuſiaſtick, or rather both, for I never met with many that would pretend to underſtand them, and never with one that was the better for them; except it was one very particular Man among his Admirers, who declared himſelf to be the better for them, only, and for that very Reaſon, namely, becauſe he did not underſtand them.
[319]Now that I may not ſeem to paſs my Cenſure raſhly, I deſire that my more intelligent Readers will pleaſe to reduce the following things into Meaning, if they can, and favour us with the In⯑terpretation; being ſome particular Account of the Life of this famous, religious Ingineer, for I know not what elſe to call him, and the Titles of ſome of his Books.
By the Differences and Controverſies in Re⯑ligion which he knew not how to ſatisfy him⯑ſelf in, he was ſtir'd up and moved to ask, ſeek and knock, that he might know the Truth.
Upon which by the Divine Drawing and Will he was in Spirit wrapt up into the Holy Sabbath, in which he remained ſeven whole Days by his own Confeſſion in higheſt Joy: Af⯑ter he came to himſelf, he laid aſide the Folly of Youth, and was driven by divine Zeal ear⯑neſtly to reprehend impudent, ſcandalous, and blaſphemous Speeches, and did forbear in all his Actions the leaſt Appearance of Evil, and con⯑tinued to get his Living by the Labour of his Hands, 'till the Beginning of the Sixth Seculum, which was the Year 1600, when he was the ſecond time poſſeſs'd with a Divine Light, and by the Sight of a ſudden Object was brought to the inward Ground or Center of the hidden Na⯑ture.
Yet ſomewhat doubting, he went out into an open Field, and there beheld the miracu⯑l'us Works of the Creator in the Signatures and Figures of all created things manifeſtly laid open; whereupon he was taken with an exceeding Joy, yet held his Peace, in Silence praiſing GOD.
But ten Years after, in the Year 1610, thro' the over-ſhadowing of the holy Spirit, he was a third time touched by GOD, and renewed, [320] and became ſo enlighten'd, that leaſt ſo great Grace beſtowed upon him ſhould ſlip out of his Memory, and he reſiſt his God, he wrote privately for himſelf (without the Help of any Books but the holy Scriptures) many Books, ſuch as theſe:
- A Book of the Signature of all things.
- A Conſolatory Book of the Four Complexions.
- A Miſterium magnum upon Geneſis.
- A Book of 177 Theoſophick Queſtions.
- Certain Letters to divers Perſons at certain times, with certain Keys for ſome hidden Words.
Theſe learned Labours of this right learned En⯑thuſiaſt may, for ought I know, be ſtill extant; they are recommended here for their extraordinary Titles, and I believe are much about as intelligible as the above Rhapſody of his Life; to all which I recommend the curious Reader, if he has a mind to embarraſs his Underſtanding for an Age or two, and come out as wiſe as he went in. The Speci⯑men I think to be much of a Piece with the good Dr. Boreman, only with this ſpecifick Difference, viz. that Friend Jacob carries us up into the Clouds to underſtand things there, if any body there may be found to teach us; and Dr Boreman was for bringing the Clouds down to us, to reach us what we could underſtand nothing of, when we were taught.
Thus you have the two inviſible and unintelligi⯑ble Brothers together; whether they have left any to carry on the unmeaning Magick, I know not.
There have been ſome Pretenders to the Art who have ſucceeded the Doctor, but we ſee nothing of their Performance, at leaſt not equal to his: Let us look a little higher.
CHAP. IV.
[321]Of the Doctrine of Spirits as it is under⯑ſtood by the Magicians; How far it may be ſuppoſed there may be an Intercourſe with Superior Beings, without any Familiarity with the Devil, or evil Spirits; with ae Tranſition to the preſent Times.
WHEN the ſeven Sons of Scaeva the Jew pretended to Exorciſm, and to caſt the Devil out of a poſſeſs'd Perſon, the Devil taking it in ſcorn to be affronted by meer Pretenders, and diſdaining thoſe that had no Authority to make uſe of the Names which he was ſubjected to the Terror of, flew upon them, as the Text ſays, in a Rage, Jeſus I know, and Paul I know, ſays he, but who are ye? and he never left them till they fled away from him naked and wounded.
Now in what Name or by what Authority Dr. Boreman or any of theſe Magicians diſmiſſed the Devil from haunted Houſes, chaſed away Spi⯑ [...]its from the Places where they had made any Ap⯑pearance, and kept the Devil in ſuch Awe as is re⯑ [...]orted, I cannot yet learn. Had the Doctor really caſt the Devil out of any Demoniack or poſſeſs'd Perſon, and openly have exerciſed ſuch an abſolute Power over him, and had it been well vouch'd by Perſons of known Integrity and ſound Judgment, we muſt then have believ'd that there were ſome good Spirits, ſome ſuperior intelligent Beings, whom the Doctor was ſo favoured by, that know⯑ [...]ng his good Intentions, they would aſſiſt him with their Aid againſt the evil Spirits.
[322]But there are innumerable Difficulties in the Way; the Words of our Saviour are expreſs, that this Kind goeth not out but by Prayer and Faſting, and I do not read much of the Doctor being a Per⯑ſon ſo pious and ſo religious as to exerciſe himſelf that way at all; what he might do in private I know not, but by all I can learn, he acted as by the immediate Deputation of thoſe good Spirits; in⯑timating, that they brought him Intelligence, that they acquainted him with the Circumſtances of every enquiring Perſon; that they directed him what Anſwers to give; that he was but, as i [...] were, their Meſſenger to evil Spirits, ordering them to remove from ſuch and ſuch Places; tha [...] they empower'd him by ſpeaking ſuch and ſuch Words, to charm and bind down ſuch People a [...] he was directed to operate upon, to ſuch a Limit [...] and within ſuch a Circle of Ground.
But all this is ſtill attended with this Doubt, viz▪ That the Fact is not proved; let us ſee therefor [...] what it is likely theſe good Spirits can do; an [...] what they really are believ'd to do in any Part o [...] the World, for the general Good of Mankind.
That there are ſome Appearances in the World and that of ſuch Spirits as we may call Good, [...] will not deny here, whether I grant it at preſen [...] or no. The People in Norway tell you of a goo [...] Spirit which at all times gives People Notice o [...] things fatal and deſtructive; that it appears in [...] flying Ball of a yellowiſh green; and is ſeen in th [...] Air, and will knock at their Doors before approach⯑ing Tempeſts and deep Snows, that they may ſa [...] their Fiſhing-Boats by hauling them up upon th [...] Shores, or into narrow ſafe Creeks where they w [...] receive no Damage, and that on Shore they m [...] bring home their Cattle and ſecure them from tho [...] deep Snows and ſevere Colds.
[323]In Laponia we are told of ſeveral Spirits which they converſe with, not by way of Witchcraft and Sorcery, but which they call their good Spirits, and whom they conſult with upon every urgent Occa⯑ſion for Relief and Aſſiſtance, and who never do any Hurt to them or to their Cattle. What the Lapland Witches may do I know not, neither is it my preſent Inquiry.
Whether theſe good Spirits are not thoſe, who at the Requeſt of ſome certain People on all the Coaſts of Norway, are ſaid to procure fair Winds for Ships going to Sea, I will not undertake to ſay; But this I have upon ſtrict Enquiry learnt.
Firſt, That it really is ſo in Fact; that upon go⯑ing to certain People there, and upon paying them a ſmall Conſideration (not above two Dollars) they have been aſſured of a fair Wind, exactly at ſuch a Time, from ſuch a certain Point of the Compaſs, and to laſt ſo many Hours as has been agreed for.
Secondly, That this has been agreed for when the Winds have been, as the Seamen call it, ſet in to blow Trade from a directly contrary Point, and for a conſiderable time before; and that when they have gone away and declined the Agreement, they have lain a long time without a fair Wind, till com⯑plying; and again, that upon ſo complying they have never ſailed.
Thirdly, That if you offer to deſire, or give Mo⯑ney to them to raiſe a high Wind, that is, a Storm, they will be very angry, refuſe your Money with Diſdain, and ask you in their Language, if you think they deal with the Devil? that their Power comes from a good Spirit, that never does any Hurt in the World, but always does things kind and good, and for the Benefit of Mankind.
All our Accounts, Hiſtories and Relations con⯑cerning the Northern Parts of Britain are full of he Appearance of Spirits to the Inhabitants on [322] [...] [323] [...] [324] ſundry Occaſions, and yet none of thoſe Spirits are hurtful to them, or join in any hurtful things.
Either theſe Spirits inhabit in the Regions of the Air, and ſo are near us and take Cognizance of our Perſons and Affairs, or they do not: if they do not, what do they appear for? if they take cognizance of us and of our Affairs, and yet do None Hurt, then they are not Devils tho' Spirits, for the Devil would certainly do the utmoſt Miſchief he could; on the contrary, thoſe Spirits do eminent good Ser⯑vices on ſundry Occaſions to Mankind; they muſt therefore be ſuppoſed at leaſt to be good and bene⯑ficent Beings, inhabiting ſomewhere in the vaſt Ex⯑panſe of Space which we call the Habitation of Spi⯑rits, or the inviſible World.
And this leads us by the Hand to that hitherto unintelligible thing called the Second-ſight; that is to ſay, that thoſe good Spirits make themſelves viſible to ſome particular Perſons, and repreſent to them the Form or Shadow of this or that Perſon that they have a mind to have ſeen; and even thoſe Perſons are repreſented not to do them Hurt, but oftentimes to warn of approaching Miſchief, Death or Danger.
To what purpoſe ſhould the Devil, who is never guilty of doing Good, except with deſign of Evil, I ſay to what purpoſe ſhould he foretell Evils a⯑waiting this or that Man, who cares not what Evil may or can befall him? to repreſent to him things in Effigie, which ſhall yet come to paſs in Reality? to give him warnings of Evils in time, that he may avoid it? This is not like the Devil, who is always ſeeking Man's Deſtruction. For Example:
The Second-ſighted Highlander ſees a young Lady with three Gentlemen ſtanding at her right Hand, intimating that they ſhould every one of them in their Turn, be her Husband and, however unlikely, this comes to paſs: He ſees the like [325] number of Women ſtanding on the left hand of a Man, and he is directed by this to know they ſhall all be his Wives; the very Faces and Habits of them are deſcribed, and that ſo as to have them known; and this, tho' ſeeming at firſt ridiculous, comes to paſs. A Second-ſight Man travelling on the Road, ſees a Man on Horſeback at a great di⯑ſtance coming towards him; a great River being between them; He ſays to his Friend that was with him, Ride forward to the River Bank and you may chance ſave the Man's Life, for he will paſs the Ford, but will be driven away by the Water, and you may chance aſſiſt him to get out.
The Man to whom it was ſaid, gallop'd up to the River's Brink and calls to the Man on the other Side, bidding him not come forward, for the River at the Ford was newly riſen, and the Water or the Current would be too ſtrong for his Horſe, adding that he would be in Danger: I know the Ford, ſays he, better than you, mind your own Affairs, and with that comes on and enters the River, and was accordingly driven away with the Current, and in great Danger; but the Man ſent to warn him was ſo careful, that running on the other ſide of the River, he had an Opportunity to throw a Rope to him, which at laſt he took hold of, and with great Difficulty is drawn to the Shore: and in that manner his Life was ſaved.
Now, tho' it is true, that the Intelligence which this Man gave, was the ſaving the Man's Life, yet they will have it, that this Man dealt with the Devil: How elſe, ſay they, ſhould this Man know that the other Man, a Stranger to him, ſhould be in Danger? But I anſwer, that the Devil has no Knowledge of Futurity, and therefore this could not be the Devil, or from the Devil.
[326]Beſides, why ſhould the Devil tell the Man, and warn him of the Danger of paſſing the River? would he not much rather that the Man ſhould have been drown'd, and as many more as he could?
'Tis evident that in Witchcrafts and familiar Spirits, where the Devil acts by the Agency of the Witch or Wizard, they are always fam'd for doing Miſchief, prompting to all manner of Evil, torment⯑ing the particular People they are empower'd to act upon; murthering others, deſtroying Cattle, ſetting Fire to Houſes, Ships, Stacks of Corn or Hay; and in a word every thing hurtful, and every thing hateful.
There is ſome Reaſon therefore certainly to di⯑ſtinguiſh between thoſe Spirits who are kind, and careful, and aſſiſtant to Mankind, and thoſe that are miſchievous, deſtructive, and declare themſelves Enemies to the comm [...]n Good: The Laſt are evi⯑dently of Hell, the very Na [...]ure of the Devil ap⯑pears in all their Actions, and in the Ends and Aims of all the Emiſſaries they employ. What contrary Judgment is to be made from contrary Effects, re⯑mains to be conſider'd.
They both act, at leaſt we underſtand them to act, by the Aſſiſtance of ſome inviſible Spirit; or, as it may be more properly expreſſed, the inviſible Spirits act in them and by them.
As to Witchcraft and Poſſeſſion, that I thi [...]k is plain, and needs no Diſcourſe upon it; 'tis known to be all from an evil Spirit, or in [...] Engliſh, from the Devil: There is no Room to diſpute i [...]; the Wretches employed acknowledge it, [...]d the Helliſh things they do diſcover it; ſo w [...] [...]ed ſay no more of that, nor is it the Buſineſs [...] ⯑fore me.
But who is it that acts theſe other ſorts of Peo⯑ple? what Spirits inform them? what ſecret Power opens their Eyes, to ſee things hid from the reſt of [327] Mankind? I meet with many that have examined into this Matter of the Second-ſight, and who have diſcourſed with the People who are, what ſhall I call it? I can hardly ſay, Bleſſed with it; neither do they call it ſo themſelves; and all that I have enquired of about it, ſeem only to hold up their Hands with a kind of Aſtoniſhment at the thing, but can give no Account of it; they wonder at, but do not underſtand it.
To me 'tis more a Wonder that it ſhould not be underſtood; for it ſeems to be nothing more or leſs than this: That ſuppoſing an inviſible World, or World of Spirits, as we have already been diſ⯑courſing, and have in part granted; I ſay, ſuppoſing there are ſuch Spirits, and that they inhabit the in⯑viſible Regions; how near to or remote from us, we know not, and that the Reality of their Exiſtence is certain, this Second-ſight then is accounted for thus:
Two Ways thoſe Spirits find to converſe with Mankind; be it for Good or Evil, that's a Queſtion by it ſelf; I ſay, they maintain an Intercourſe with Mankind two Ways.
Firſt, By immediate, perſonal, and particular Con⯑verſe with this or that Man, and by ſuch particular Methods as is only known to the Perſon; whether by the Means of any Science, or Art, or otherwiſe, we know not; this we call Magick, and the Man ſo converſing with them, we call a Magician.
Secondly, Or theſe Spirits, acting at a diſtance, render themſelves viſible, and their Tranſactions per⯑ceptible to ſuch and ſuch particular Perſons, and on ſuch Occaſions as they think fit, and as they find needful; without any farther Concern or Ac⯑quaintance with the Perſon, or communicating to him or them any thing of the Reaſon or Nature of the Diſcovery, or any Knowledge of the Perſon ſo making the Diſcovery; and this is what we fooliſh⯑ly enough call the Second-ſight.
[328]Nor is this Notion in any thing inconſiſtent ei⯑ther with Reaſon or the Nature of the thing; the Angel that ſtood with the flaming Sword in his Hand was ſeen by the Aſs of Balaam, and not ſeen by his Maſter. Our Saviour in his glorified State af⯑ter his Reſurrection was ſeen and converſed with in the openeſt and freeſt manner imaginable by the two Diſciples going to Emaus, and yet they knew not who it was; and as ſoon as they knew him he became inviſible to them again.
Now, ſuppoſe one of theſe inviſible Inhabitants deſigns to make itſelf viſible, either to diſcover ſuch or ſuch an Evil at hand, to particular Men, or to warn this or that Perſon of Miſchief attending another; ſo that he may immediately go and pre⯑vent it: Can we think it difficult for that Spirit to make itſelf viſible to this or that particular Man, and not to another? I think there is nothing ſtrange at all in it.
A Second-ſighted Man going towards a Gentle⯑man's Houſe in Bradalbin, ſees the Gentleman, towards whoſe Houſe he was going, riding on the Road with a neighbouring Gentleman, whom he alſo knew, attended with three Servants on Foot and one on Horſeback, ſix in all; then he ſuddenly ſees a Troop of Highland Robbers, forty or fifty in Number, ruſhing out of a Wood or ſome other Place where they lay in Ambuſh, who ſurrounded the Gentlemen, diſmounted and robb'd them, wounded the firſt Gentleman in the Arm, and killed one of the Servants.
The Man going forward to the Gentleman's Houſe, juſt in the Court or Entry before his Houſe ſees the Gentleman, with the other Gentleman his Friend, mounting his Horſe to ride abroad, and the Servants attending, juſt three in Number, beſides the Gentleman's Steward on Horſeback.
[329]He immediately ſpeaking to one of the Servants, enquires which way their Maſter was travelling; they anſwer him, that he is going to Innerlochy, upon ſuch and ſuch Buſineſs. Which Way does the Laird intend to take? ſays the Man. Such a Gat, ſays the Servant. I beſeech his Honour, ſays the Man, that he go not by that Gat, (that is to ſay, by that Road) for if he does, he will fall into bad Hands.
The Servant tells his Maſter, and he calls the Stranger, and asks him what he meant by telling him ſo. Sir, ſays he, I tell it for good, if your Honour pleaſe to hearken to it. For if you go by that Gat, (mentioning the Road which his Servant had nam'd) you will fall in with the Robbers, who haunt thoſe Hills, and will be overpower'd and miſchiev'd.
What, ſays the other Gentleman that was to go with him, mocking at the ſecond-ſighted Man, are ye one of thoſe Fool-Bodies (a Scots Expreſſion) that they call SEERS? ha' ye been ſeeing a Vi⯑ſion this Morning? Pr'ythee, how many were they, and what did they ſay to you?
An your Honour will gang, ſays the Man, gang your wa: But you will remember what I have told you, when ye find it true.
The firſt Gentleman anſwer'd, Were they a Troop, ſay you? Yes, and't pleaſe your Honour, ſays the Man.
Well, well, ſays the Gentleman, I ſhall go an a Troop of Devils were in the Way. So the Man was flouted on all Hands, and went his way back; the two Gentlemen went on, as they ſaid they would, and were attack'd and robb'd; one Servant kill'd, and one of the Gentlemen had his Arm broke with a Piſtol-Bullet, and was brought back the ſame Day to his own Houſe.
[330]What Spirit it muſt be, that could thus form an Appearance of things that would come to paſs, that we cannot determine; but ſuppoſing this Story to be true in Fact, as many ſuch have been, this had certainly one Token of a good Spirit in it; namely, that it gave the Gentleman fair Warning to ſhun the Danger that awaited him, and as it were, ſent an Expreſs to him from the inviſible World, which if he had not deſpiſed, he might have eſcaped, and a⯑voided the Danger.
Now, had this been the Devil, if I have any Notion of the Devil and of his Nature, as well as Deſigns, his Part w [...]uld rather have been to have ſent an Agent of his [...] the Troop of Robbers his Friends, to give them Notice, that ſuch a Gentle⯑man, and ſuch another with him, was coming up⯑on the Way, and that in ſuch a Place they ſhould be ſure to meet and ſurprize them. He would have been ſo far from warning the Gentlemen of their Danger, that he would have run them into it with all the Artifice he was Maſter of; and I will not ſay that he did not prompt the two Gentlemen a⯑bove, to ſcoff and flout at the poor ſecond-ſighted Man, and make a Jeſt of his Intelligence, as you have heard; that ſo they might go on, and fall into the Danger they were warned againſt, rather than go another Way, and avoid it.
Some of theſe informing Spirts think fit to appear themſelves to theſe ſecond-ſighted Peo⯑ple, and not to others; and if the Author of the Deſcription of the Weſtern Iſlands of Scot⯑land may be credited, who alſo names not the Circumſtances only, but the Perſons, they have not only abundance of theſe ſecond-ſighted People there, but they have abundance of things diſcover'd to them in this Manner, and eſpecially upon the ap⯑proaching Death or Diſaſters of any Perſon or Fa⯑mily. It is true, the Examples he brings are moſt [33] of them trifling, but we have many Relations in that Country generally received for Truth, which are conſiderable; and divers Examples are to be had, which are new, and without Precedent; nothing is more frequent among them than that of Foretelling the Death of any Perſon, ſome Exam⯑ples of which I can give of my own Knowledge.
I was at a Gentleman's Houſe in this Town, near St. James's, and he happen'd to have ſome Friends invited to his Houſe that Day upon an Entertain⯑ment, the Occaſion of which I do not juſt now remember. Among the Gueſts at his Table was an ancient Gentlewoman, and her Daughter a fine beau⯑tiful young Lady, and was I think to be marry'd the next Week, or within a very few Days: There ſat oppoſite to her another Lady, of what Coun⯑try I do not remember, but ſhe was a Foreigner, and I think was a Dutch Woman, but appear'd as a Perſon of good Figure.
This Foreigner it ſeems came to the Gentleman's Houſe, not as invited to the Entertainment, but upon ſome Buſineſs of Conſequence; Dinner being juſt ready he ask'd her to ſtay, and told her they would diſpatch their Buſineſs afterwards, and ſo led her in among the Ladies.
After Dinner, the Gentleman and this Foreign Lady withdrew to diſpatch their Affair, which was ſomething relating to the Exchequer, where he had an Employ; and in Diſcourſe, ſhe ſaid to him, Pray Mr. — who is that elderly Lady that ſat op⯑poſite to me? ſo he told her the Lady's Name; and that young charming Lady is her Daughter, I ſup⯑poſe? ſays ſhe. Yes, ſays the Gentleman. Poor Lady, ſays ſhe, I am very ſorry for her, for that her Daugh⯑ter is a moſt beautiful Creature indeed, and I ſee ſhe is very fond of her, 'tis a ſad thing! What d'ye mean? ſays the Gentleman. Why, ſays ſhe, the young Lady won't live above a Fortnight, and the [332] poor Lady her Mother will almoſt break her Heart for her: I am very ſorry.
The Gentleman (who told me Story with his own Mouth) was extreamly ſurpris'd at what ſhe ſaid, and would fain have underſtood it as if ſhe jeſted with him; but ſhe affirm'd it ſeriouſly, and ſhew'd ſo much Concern at it, that he could not carry it off for a Jeſt; then he ask'd her how ſhe knew it? I ſee it upon her, ſays ſhe, I wiſh I could ſhow it you, I tell you ſhe is a dead Woman, all the World can't ſave her, for her Hour is come, ask me no more Queſtions. My Friend told me the Story immediately; the Concern about it had almoſt frighted him, and the Event anſwer'd it all; in a⯑bout three Days the young Lady was taken very ill, which turn'd to a Vomiting, and that to a Fever, and ſhe dy'd on the very fourteenth Day afterward.
Another time walking in a Friend's Garden near London, there was a young Gentlewoman walking in the next Garden, and there being but a low Wall between, and a Mount on that Side where we were, we could ſee her walking with her Father on one ſide of her, and a Siſter on the other; ſaid one Gentleman that was with me, Who is the mid⯑dlemoſt Perſon of thoſe three? we told him ſhe was the Gentleman's Daughter who walk'd by her.
Has ſhe been ſick? ſaid he. Now it was true, that the Lady had been very ill, and was come into the Country for Air, and we told him how it was. Well, ſays he, the Air won't recover her, for ſhe will dye within a very few Days. I earneſtly preſs'd him to tell us how he knew it; he anſwer'd am⯑biguouſly a good while, but as I preſs'd him with great Importunity, he told me ſeriouſly: Said he, you cannot ſee it as I do, I wiſh I could not ſee things ſo as I do, but her Face now at this Inſtant is to me exactly what you call a Death's Head; [333] that is, the Skeleton of a Head or Scull, and no other.
The thing was right, and the young Woman died within a Week after.
But to return to the Subject: As theſe Spirits we may ſuppoſe can make any Repreſentations of things viſible, and that to whom they pleaſe, ſo it may be ſuppoſed they can make themſelves viſible alſo, when, and to whom they pleaſe; and this is at⯑teſted by many Witneſſes, and evidenced by ſeve⯑ral differing Circumſtances, of which I have by En⯑quiry met with a great many in my time.
In the Highlands and Iſlands, they tell you of a Spirit, which the poor ignorant Country People call Browny, or Bronne, as it ſeems was the more an⯑cient Name they gave it, as the Norwegians have another, whom they call Bielke.
Much Pains has been taken to examine who this Browny is, and whether he is a good Spirit or a bad; but moſt of the Stories I meet with are ſo fabulous, or trifling, or ridiculous, that I rather take the Appearance to be imaginary than real; If it be real, it muſt be ſome low-priz'd Spirit, employed among the meaneſt of People, and on the meaneſt Occaſions, ſcarce worth naming, and yet moſt of them rather for evil than good.
It is worth obſerving, that where theſe frequent Appearances are, and theſe ſecond-ſighted Viſioniſts, we rarely hear of any Paw-wawing or Conjuring, no Black-Art-Men, very little Magick. I fancy it ſeems rather, that what Buſineſs theſe inviſible A⯑gents have to do, and what Intercourſe they carry on with this World, they generally do it them⯑ſelves, they are not manag'd by Art, or call'd in to the Aid and Aſſiſtance of the Artiſts. But as they make things viſible at Pleaſure, they want no A⯑gents, they do their own Buſineſs their own way; and in a word, they have no Magicians among them, [334] none of thoſe they call Cunning Men, or that con⯑ſult with the inviſible World in behalf of others; it ſeems they have no Occaſion of ſuch Men, they are not ſo fanciful, or over-run with Vapours, as we are in this Part of the World.
Yet they have ſome Remains of Sorcery among them too, and particularly they are ſtrangely ad⯑dicted to Charms. In the Iſles of Orkney they uſe a Charm to ſtop Bleeding, and they tell you it is as effectual as the ſtrongeſt Stiptick, be the Bleed⯑ing outward by a Wound, or inward by any break⯑ing the Veſſels, Wrench or Strain, or by Diſtem⯑per; and for this they have particular People, whom they call Charmers. What Part of the Black Art or Magick theſe Charmers practiſe, I know not, but it ſeems they perform it at a Diſtance, and without ſeeing or knowing the Perſons; only the Perſon who is in Diſtreſs by Bleeding, ſends his Name to the Charmer, and he ſends the good Spirit he talks of, and (as the Magicians ſay) converſes with, and the Bleeding is ſtopt in a Moment. This the Charmer, as they call him does, by repeating the Name of the Perſon afflicted, to which he always adds ſome barbarous unintelligible Language of his own; upon repeating which he ſends the Meſſen⯑ger away, and the Cure is perfected. Now this is much the ſame with the Magick of other Practi⯑ſers; for this they tell you is the Charmer's ſpeaking to the good Spirit he converſes with, who imme⯑diately flyes inviſible to the poor diſtreſs'd Patient, and works the Cure.
Theſe Charms are alſo of ſeveral Kinds, and for ſeveral Purpoſes; ſome to cure humane Bodies, ſome to cure Cattle, ſome to quiet great Dogs, and prevent their falling upon People as they go along, and ſome perhaps to prevent their Barking when a Thief may attempt the Houſe; that Part I ſup⯑poſe they won't call the Work of a good Spirit. [335] They have ſuch a Variety of thoſe things in other Parts, as well as in our own Country, and eſpeci⯑ally in Ireland, in Norway, and in ſome Parts of Germany, that it would be needleſs to give an Ac⯑count of them, and a little out of the way too in ſuch a Work as this.
But I muſt come a little nearer home. Theſe Arts are uſed more on this ſide the World, as the ren⯑dring darker things viſible, ſeems to be more the caſe on that ſide; and as I am enquiring rather what our Magicians practiſe without the Devil, than what the Devil or any other Spirit practiſes without the Magician; I come to bring all theſe things down to your immediate Underſtanding.
We have been diving into Myſteries long e⯑nough, and been ſerious till perhaps you are tir'd; for a little grave doings wearies us at this time of day; let us ſee if the Subject will afford us any Diverſion. The Age is witty beyond meaſure, and not a little wicked too; but whence is it that we have no Magick in our Wit? It is not many Years ago, ſince the ſprightly Part of human Wit re⯑liſh'd with Mankind, and Men were bright by meer Inſpiration; the good Spirits, if ſuch there are, dictated things of Value to the Minds of Men, they convers'd in the very Confines of the myſterious World, but without Raptures and Agitations; they had the Sublime without the Infernal, the Humid without the Horrid; they had the Fire without the Brimſtone; they could laugh without Baudy, and jeſt without Blaſphemy; talk without Buffoonry, and vote without Bribery; write with⯑out Pedantry, and read without Party.
But now, bleſs us all! how ſtrangely is the Courſe of things chang'd; what with good Spirits and bad Spirits, we do every thing without Spirit; we are all Magick, and no Witchcraft, the Devil with⯑out the Devil; we laugh without a Jeſt, and jeſt [336] without Wit; we write without Senſe, and read without Taſte; we are lewd beyond Whoredom, and devout beyond Religion; we preach without Doctrine, are religious without Principles; pray without Doxology, and worſhip without a God.
Now, how ſhall we do to find out the Magick of all this? 'tis certainly brought about by ſome ſtrange Faſcination, ſome Deviliſme that we feel, and don't ſee. Here muſt be ſome Intercourſe be⯑tween us and the inviſible World, tho' I doubt 'tis ſome of the darker Part of it. Every Man ſeems to me to have his Daemon of a particular kind, pro⯑per and ſeparate to himſelf, by which he either go⯑verns himſelf, or is govern'd, I know not well which to call it; and ſo he walks on in his own way, follows no body, and leads no body; but is a Principle, a Doctrine, a Governor, nay a God to himſelf.
Formerly the Broachers of Errors, and particular Notions, had always their Diſciples and Followers; and they judged pretty much of the goodneſs or badneſs of the Doctrine, whether Religious, Philo⯑ſophic or Moral, by the Number and Quality of the Followers they had; even the Jews did thus of our Saviour, Have any of the Elders or of the Rulers believed on him?
But now, God ſave us! ſo many Men, ſo many Maggots, Tot Homines, Tot Di . . . s; every Man broaches his own Opinions, preaches them to him⯑ſelf, is his own Convert; his Soul is the Diſciple of his Fancy, and his Senſes the Pulpit of his Hu⯑mour; as for other People, as he teaches no body, ſo he ſcorns to be taught by any body, and bids God da . . . him, if he had not rather go to the Devil, than not go to Heaven his own way.
Thus we live in a general Diſguiſe, and like the Maſquerades, every Man dreſſes himſelf up in a par⯑ticular Habit, not two appear a-like in the whole [337] Place; and that the Simily may be perfect, the Humour carries it on to the minuteſt Part; as the Habits are not alike, ſo they are always particularly remarkable for being directly oppoſite to the Per⯑ſon they cover; the Phlegmatic dreſſes à la San⯑guine, the Sober mimicks the Drunkard, the Chaſte chuſes to dreſs à la Courtiſane, the Atheiſt puts on the Religieuſe, the Chriſtian has the Veſt and the Turban, and the Quaker a Habit from the Theatre.
In the Appearance of the ſuperior Part it is much the ſame: Mimickry, and oppoſite Capacities engroſs Converſation; the Beau turns Polemic, the Atheiſt diſputes Principles, the Actreſs practiſes Modeſty, and the Pedant panegyricks upon Wit: Fools write Satyr, as Clowns teach Manners; the Fops are the Men of Weight; and ſince, by Acci⯑dent, Wit and Senſe appear'd under the Title of the TATTLERS, the eternal Clang of Tea-Table TATTLE has rung the Changes upon Scandal, and ſet up for the univerſal Cenſors of Converſation.
And need we go any farther now for our Enqui⯑ries after Magick? could things take ſuch a Turn as this, without a general Converſe with the World of Spirits? will any Man tell me this could happen by the Nature of things, or even by the Things of Nature? No, no: inviſible Operations are acted from an inviſible World; the Magicians are in the right, all the great things they do could never be done without an Intercourſe with a ſuperior Rank of Beings, be they Infernal, or what other Devils you pleaſe to call 'em.
Take a few bright Doings for Examples. Upon what foot does the bright Lord — ſit every Morning over his Chocolate, talking upon all the Works of the Learned, himſelf Unlearned to a Scandal? And how good-natur'd and well-manner'd is the Age, [...]hat no body laughs at him till he is gone, or for⯑bears [338] it afterwards? How wiſe are his Remarks! how juſt his Reflections! when he talks ſo much, and underſtands ſo little, that it may be truly ſaid, no wiſe Man talks like him. In which however his Lordſhip had this Happineſs, that he choſe to take it for a Compliment, inſtead of a Satyr.
Sir Timothy Title-Page is an admirable Gentleman; his Knowledge of the firſt Leaf of every thing, compleatly covers his Ignorance of the Inſide of any thing. His juſt Character is ſo true a Picture of the Age, that you need go no farther for a Rea⯑ſon why Nonſenſe bears ſuch a Price, and the Bookſellers Trade is ſo much improv'd; ſeeing they buy moſt Books that read leaſt, and that, according to the famous Dr. Salmon, the having a good Li⯑brary makes a Man a Doctor. However, Sir Timo⯑thy no doubt underſtood the Names of Authors, and had as good a local Memory as to the Editions of Books, as moſt Men that could not read Latin. Nor was he ever out in his Judgment, that I have heard of, till an unlucky Linnen-Draper ask'd him once concerning the Learned Author called (a) Crocus upon Hinderlands, who the Knight preſently own'd, but unluckily forgot that the Impreſſion was made in Germany, and that the Books came over not in Quires, but in Rolls, from Bremen and Ham⯑burgh.
The Happy, Miſerable, Generous, Cynical, Good-natured, out of Humour Bart. Sir — would be approv'd by Somebody, if he was not laught at by Every body; he might ſometimes paſs for pleaſant, if he was not always ſurly, and to like ſome⯑thing, only that he diſlikes every thing. He ſets up for a Critick, with this unhappy Addition to his Profeſſion, that he alters every thing, and mends [339] nothing. How unanſwerable a Demonſtration is this extraordinary Genius of the Influence of the Invi⯑ſible World upon the Affairs of Mortals here? ſee⯑ing if he had leſs than a hundred thouſand Devils in him, he could never carry on the Practice of an univerſal Pedant, without being whip'd out of Human Society for a Scandal to the very ABC; and, to turn the Poet's Words a little awry for him,
The Ladies afford us an infinite Variety, and to inſpect their Share in the Magick of this Age's Management, would take up a Volume by it ſelf; In a word, they are all Magicians, and I won't take upon me to ſay, that as Witchcraft, generally ſpeak⯑ing, has for ſome Ages been engroſs'd by the Sex, and the Poſſeſſion chiefly lay among the Matrons; [...]hat is to ſay, that none but old Women were Witches: So now the ſame Sex ſeem to have en⯑groſſed the ſacred Sciences, and the Magick lies in [...]hort all among the Ladies. Who ſhall enter into [...]he Deſcription of it? The Magick of their Wit, O how Subtle! the Magick of their Beauty, how [...]xquiſitely New-faſhion'd! and the Magick of their Tongues, how charmingly Loud! not to ſay Sono⯑ [...]us and Muſical.
To make theſe Beauties of the Sex the more dif⯑ [...]uſive in their brighteſt Qualifications, and infi⯑ [...]itely more ſo than was poſſible in former Ages, we have three new invented Colleges of Wit and [...]ood Manners, where the Ladies receive daily Ad⯑ [...]ition to their Ordinary Acquirements; and which [...]e them infinite Advantage over the paſt Days of [...]eir Anceſtors, (Grandmothers) and in the fre⯑ [...]ent Acceſs to which they muſt neceſſarily [340] excel all that went before them. Theſe are the Tea-Table, the Aſſembly, and the Maſquerade; at the firſt they learn to be Light-headed, at the ſecond to be Light-hearted, and if at the third they don't learn to be Light-heel'd, the Defect muſt lie ſomewhere elſe than in the laudable En⯑deavours of thoſe that ſet them up in ſo many Parts of this newly-reform'd Nation; whoſe Endeavours for the publick Good can never be enough com⯑mended, either in Print or in Manuſcript.
I have had ſome Thought to enquire among al [...] the real Magicians of the Times, and eſpecially o [...] the more Eminent Pretenders about Baldwin's-Gar⯑dens, White-Croſs-Alley, Old-Street, White-Chappel &c. and to get Intelligence from the inviſibl [...] World concerning this Important Queſtion; Whe⯑ther any of the good Spirits or bad Spirits, th [...] white Devils or black Devils, or whatever Spi⯑rits they were which formerly inſpir'd the Roch [...] ⯑ſters, the Dorſets and Drydens of the laſt Ages, an [...] yet in Being? And if they are, what has been the Occa⯑ſion that they have withdrawn the Spirit of Poetr [...] from the Engliſh World? That not only the Fire extinguiſh'd, and the genial Inſpiration decay'd but that the reliſh of true Poeſy is loſt? That there is nothing perform'd that will bear readin [...] ſo no Readers that can taſte a Performance! eve [...] the exalted Merit of the greateſt Men is ſung Notes without Muſick, Lines without Meanin [...] Words without Energy, Verſe without Poetr [...] and Poetry without Spirit.
I wonder ſometimes that the great Men, or M [...] ⯑rather, who we ſee daily Perſecuted by the horr [...] Jingle (I think I ſhould ſay Jangle) of their Rhi [...] ⯑ing Expectants and Dependents, do not conſider paying their Debts (I mean their poetical Debts) kind, and give the poor verſifying Devils now and th [...] a Diſtich (at leaſt) in Ballance of their volumino [...] [341] Labours: if they paid but after the rate of publick Intereſt, but three per Cent. it would at leaſt in time reduce the Debt, and might in the mean time lay the Foundation of a good Sinking Fund.
If they do not think of this or ſome other way, (for Penſions will rather encreaſe the Number, and like Sweat-meats draw the Flyes about them) I ſay, if they do not think of ſome ſuch way, they may I think juſtly ſwear the Peace againſt the Aſſailants, and ſafely affirm that they go in Danger of being Panegyrick'd to death by 'em. For in ſhort, ſuch writing is little leſs in my Opinion than a poetical Aſſaſſination, and the Miniſters are in Danger of dying the Death of Edward V. and being ſmother'd with Feather-beds.
Heavens deliver every honeſt Stateſman from the inſupportable Burthen of Panegyrick, eſpecially where 'tis attended with two Negatives, want of Money, and want of Wit; the laſt makes the firſt lamentable, but the firſt makes the laſt unſufferable; the firſt is piteous, the laſt is pitiful; the firſt is af⯑flicting, the laſt tormenting; the firſt importunate, but the laſt impertinent: and as a wiſe Giver would give any thing to be deliver'd from them, ſo a wiſe Receiver would rather decently ſtarve, than to re⯑ceive at the Price of being a Plague to the boun⯑tiful Hand, and of being reliev'd, as the unjuſt Judge reliev'd the Widow, to be rid of her.
As for the poetical Gentlemen themſelves, I think it may be ſaid of them with reſpect to their Magick, as was ſaid of a late Author of a Qua⯑druple Performance with reſpect to his Merit; namely, that there might be ſome in his Poverty, but there was none at all in his Poetry.
In my Opinion, however, there is a great deal of Magick or Black Art, or call it dealing with the Devil if you will, that Poetical Dregs ſhould re⯑gale [342] the Age. If they were ſent to the Druggiſts, and ſold there for Emeticks, or made up in Lotions, and given for Gliſters, I ſhould not doubt their effectual Operation: But that they ſhould be paum'd upon us for Wit, (By Jove, and all the Hell-born Clan of Deities!) I think the Au⯑thors, like Coiners of Counterfeit Money, ſhould be drawn, hang'd and quarter'd, for High-Treaſon againſt the Peace of their Sovereign Lord King Drama, his Crown and Dignity.
Where's the Cadence, the Propriety, the Plot, the Genius, not to ſay any thing of the Wit, in any one Play, written for theſe two, or three, or four laſt Reigns? The Drums and Trumpets of the War, the Broad-ſides of the Fleets at Barfleur and La Hogue, together with the more terrible Cla⯑mours of the Street Mobs, and all the & ceteras of Parties, Rabbles, Riots and Rebellions, quite ſi⯑lenc'd the Muſes, ſtruck them Dumb, and I am told they could never make any Muſick ſince, no not all Nine of them put together.
Now we talk of the Black Art, of Magick, of raiſing Spirits, of having an Intercourſe with ſu⯑perior Beings and the like; I think the Art of our Days, the Magick of this Age, has been exercis'd to lay the Spirits, not raiſe them; to ſink the Devil of Wit, not lift him up; and if they have any In⯑tercourſe with the inviſible World, it muſt be among the inferior Beings, not the Superior, if they know any Degrees among the Seraphick Train: Certain it is, the Impetuoſity of our Wit has for ſome Years been all let off in Squibs and Crackers, and ſo like the leſſer Volcano's of Lipary and Strombolo, have given Vent to the Subterraneans of Sulphur and Nitre, while the Quantity was moderate. Where⯑as when the luxuriance of Wit over-power'd thoſe ſmaller Eruptions, then Mount Gibello (Aetna) and Veſſuvius roar'd aloud, and over-run all the Coun⯑try [343] with a Torrent of liquid Fire. Where then is the Fire which once flam'd in this Hemiſphere! Thoſe Comets in Wit which blaz'd in their ſeveral Orbits are diſappear'd, and when the Revolution of their Spirits ſhall be viſible again, what Aſtronomer, what Calculator can inform us? not all the Newtons, the Whiſtons, or Halleys in the Nation can ſolve this Difficulty.
What Magician now can bring us to an Inter⯑courſe with thoſe departed Wits, or aſſiſt us in the bringing them to converſe with us again? If there is an Acquaintance with this World of Spirits, let us call upon the Sons of Art to exert their Ut⯑moſt, and bring thoſe good Spirits again in play; and to reſtore the Commonwealth of Wit, that the new-faſhion'd Ribaldry, which the World now re⯑liſhes for Wit, and the Dogmatick, which, upon the ſtricteſt View of our other Performances, the utmoſt Perfection of them, may receive their due Cenſure, to the Satisfaction of all the true Maſters of common Senſe, and the due Mortification of the voluminous Scriblers of the Age.
Pardon me then, from the ſtrange turn of Affairs in theſe Times of ours; I ſay, pardon me to look back again a little to the Conjurings and Black Art of the middle Ages of Time, eſpecially among thoſe of them who did not pretend to deal with the Devil, and it will preſently bring us to an under⯑ſtanding of things among our ſelves.
After the ancient Magicians had tir'd the World with their Tricks, and the Devil began to fail them, except to thoſe who kept an immediate Correſpon⯑dence with him by way of Familiar, there came up a new ſort of Magick, as well as a new ſort of Magicians; the Caſe was this.
The People it ſeems began to diſcover that the Magicians having left off that uſeful and valuable Study of Science, call'd the Knowledge of Nature, the [344] Improvement of Art, and the Inſtruction of Man⯑kind in Wiſdom and Virtue, had turn'd their Hands to a new and inferiour Study; that they conſulted Daemons and Evil Spirits, that they qualify'd them⯑ſelves by helliſh Correſpondences to do Miſchief, in⯑ſtead of doing Good; and that in ſhort they dealt with the Devil, making themſelves the Terror inſtead of the Bleſſing of Mandind.
When this came to be their Character, no won⯑der the People began to be afraid of them, to ſhun and avoid them as a kind of Devils themſelves; ſo that except a few, who kept up their Reputation by a cloſer and cunninger Manage, the People withdrew their Reverence from the Magicians, till at laſt the Devil was fain to ſhift Hands too, and act by other Inſtruments, or he would have endanger'd his Kingdom in the World.
Upon this Change of the Devil's Meaſures, he frequently found Reaſons to change ſome of his In⯑ſtruments too, and thus from the Magi, he turn'd over to the Clergy; and ſo, as I hinted in its Place, the Augurs, the Auruſpices, and the Oracles came in play.
Now it happen'd to Satan, as it has frequently happens to other mighty Princes and Tyrants in the World; that finding his Servants and Stateſ⯑men ceaſe to be Popular, ceaſe to be the dar⯑lings of the People, as they uſed formerly to be; he found alſo a neceſſity to ſhift Hands, diſmiſs his Tools and Inſtruments, and take up with others. So Philip II. had, as was ſaid, eleven new Mini⯑ſters and Governors in the Netherlands; but no new Management; if any of his Agents and prime Miniſters grew odious to the People, he valued not diſgracing them, recalling them, expoſing [345] them, and turning them out; but took care, that when another Governor came, the Government ſhould be the ſame. And when the Prince of Par⯑ma, who by his Conduct recover'd the whole Low-Country Poſſeſſions to the Crown of Spain, would have preſerv'd them by his Prudence, when he had gain'd 'em by his Valour; the Spaniſh Councils, which were all for Tyranny and for Cruelty, choſe to diſcourage that gallant Prince, rather than not car⯑ry on their old abſolute Dominion. So every Governor there, if the People complain'd, was ſure to be turn'd out, and yet the next was oblig'd to purſue the ſame Tyranny, 'till they were peti⯑tion'd out, as others had been before them.
By this Method, as I ſay, the Devil purſued his Intereſt in the World; When one Generation grew out of Uſe, out of Faſhion, and ſtale, he took to another; when the Augurs grew ſtale, when the Cheats of the Oracles were expos'd, when the Prieſts could no more predict by the Entrails, he ſets his Wits to work to find out other Ways and Means, for the carrying on his Game: as,
1. By a kind of Aſtrological Magick, in which he manag'd with a great deal of Subtilty and Art, bringing the Stars and planetary Influences into Play; and by an unpractis'd Subtilty, the Art was then carried on with Spell and Charm, by Words cut in Metals, and in Stones, divining by the Byril, by the Amathyſt, by the Luſtre of the Emerald, and the Ruby, and by all the old Superſtitions brought [346] into a new Rule of Practice. This was call'd the Taliſmans; or the Sympathetick Conjuring-ſtone.
It would be too tedious for this Work, to give a long Hiſtory of the Deluſions and Cheats which the Devil put upon Mankind for three or four hundred Years Practice of this kind in the World. I ſhall ſatisfy my ſelf only to let you ſee, by way of Abrigment, what theſe Taliſ⯑mans were, and what the Authors of them pre⯑tended; take the Deſcription of them, as collected from the beſt Authors, thus.
'Taliſmans, or Muthalſans, was the Name of cer⯑tain Magical Figures graved upon Stones or Me⯑tals, whereof the Anonymous Author of a Book, entitled, the Taliſmans Juſtified, gives this De⯑ſcription. The Taliſmans, ſays he, is the Seal, the Figure, the Character or Image of a Celeſtial Sign, Conſtellation, or Planet, graved on a Sym⯑pathetick Stone, or on Metal correſpondent to the Star. The Effects which were attributed to theſe Figures are altogether marvellous; 'tis ſaid, for Example, that the Figure of a Lion ingraven on Gold, while the Sun is in Leo, preſerves thoſe from the Stone that carry this Taliſman about them; and that that of a Scorpion made under the Sign Scorpio, ſecures from the Wounds of that Animal. For to give Beauty and Strength of Body, they grave the Figure of Venus, on the firſt Face of Libra, Piſces or Taurus: to purchaſe Honours and Dignities eaſily, they grave the I⯑mage of Jupiter, that is, a Man having the Head of a Ram, on Silver, or on a white Stone; and he that carries this Taliſman about him will ſee (ſay they) ſurprizing Effects: To be ſucceſsful in Merchandize and Gaming, they repreſent Mer⯑cury on Silver; to be courageous and victorious, they engrave the Figure of Mars on the firſt Face of Scorpio; to procure the Favour of Kings, [347] they repreſent the Sun in Likeneſs of a King, ſit⯑ting on a Throne, with a Lion at his Side, in very fine Gold, in the firſt Face of Leo. In the Number of Taliſmans are ranked the Palladium of Troy; The Roman Bucklers call'd Ancilia; The fatal Statues of Conſtantinople, for the Preſerva⯑tion of that City: The Statue of Memnon in Aegypt, which moved and gave Oracles, as ſoon as the Sun was riſen: The Statue of the Goddeſs Fortune, that Sejanus had, which brought good Luck to thoſe that poſſeſs'd it: The brazen Fly: Virgil's golden Leach, which hinder'd the Flies from entering Naples, and deſtroy'd all the Leaches of a Well in that City: The Figure of a Stork, which Apollonius ſet up in Conſtantino⯑ple, to drive away theſe Animals: The Statue of a Knight, which ſerv'd that City as a Preſervative againſt the Plague: The Figure of a Serpent in Braſs, which hinder'd all Serpents from entering into the ſame Place; whence it happen'd, that Mahomet, ſoon after the taking of Conſtantinople, having broken the Teeth of that Serpent, a pro⯑digious Number of Serpents came upon the In⯑habitants of that City, but without doing them any hurt, becauſe all their Teeth were broke, as were thoſe of the brazen Serpent.
'Taliſmans are diſtinguiſh'd into three ſorts, viz. Aſtronomical, Magical, and Mix'd: The Aſtro⯑nomical are referred to Signs of Celeſtial Con⯑ſtellations, which are ingraven with other Fi⯑gures, and ſome intelligible Characters: The Ma⯑gical have extraordinary Figures with Superſtiti⯑ous Words, and the Names of unknown Angels: The Mix'd are compos'd of Signs and barbarous Names, but which are neither ſuperſtitious, or of unknown Angels. They bury them in the Earth, or in the Squares of publick Places, or they may carry them about them. Some have [348] believ'd that Apollonius Tyanaeus was the firſt Au⯑thor of the Taliſmans, but others are of Opinion that the Aegyptians were the Inventers of them, which Herodotus ſeems to inſinuate in the ſecond Book of his Hiſtory, when he ſays, this People having firſt of all given Names to the twelve Celeſtial Gods, did likewiſe engrave Animals on Stones. The Inhabitants of the Iſland of Samo⯑thracia made Taliſmans with Gold Rings, which had Iron ſet in them inſtead of Precious Stones: Petronius ſpeaks of it, when he ſays, that Trimal⯑cio carried a Gold Ring ſet with Stars of Iron. The Gods, which they call'd the Gods of Samo⯑thracia, were thoſe that preſided over the Science of the Taliſmans, which is confirmed by the In⯑ſcriptions of thoſe three Altars whereof Tertullian ſpeaks. Before the Pillars, ſaith he, there are three great Altars, dedicated to three ſorts of Gods, which they call Great, and Mighty, and Strong, and which are believed to be thoſe of Sa⯑mothracia. Apollonius makes mention of three Divinities, to whom he joineth Mercury, and re⯑lateth the barbarous Names of thoſe Gods, which it was prohibited to reveal, (viz.) Axierus, Axiocerſo, Axiocerſus and Caſmilus, which he ſays, are Ceres, Proſerpina, Pluto and Mercury. The Aegyptians, from whom the greateſt Part of other People have learned the Secret of thoſe Rings, had alſo other Taliſmans for all Parts of the Body. And perhaps 'tis for this that we find ſo many little Figures of Gods, Men and Animals, in the ancient Tombs of this Country. The moſt an⯑cient Taliſmans are made upon Plants, Branches of Trees, or Roots. Joſephus ſpeaks of them in the eighth Book of his Antiquities, and attributes the Invention of them to Solomon. They ap⯑ply, ſays he, to the Noſe of the Sick poſſeſſed by the Devil, a Ring, wherein a Root was ſet [349] inſtead of a Stone: Solomon had taught it in his Works. This Hiſtorian ſays, that he has even ſeen the Effects; and that a Jew, Eleazer by Name, cured many poſſeſſed in this manner, in the Preſence of the Emperor Veſpaſian. The an⯑cient Aegyptians believed, that certain Stones cut out into Beetles, had conſiderable Virtues to pro⯑cure Strength and Courage for thoſe that carried them about with them; becauſe, ſays Aelian, this Animal has no Female, and is an Image of the Sun. They put likewiſe ſometimes the Figures of Frogs in Taliſmans, and Pliny teſtifies that if we believe thoſe that improve that Science, a parcel of Frogs ought to be eſteemed more ſig⯑nificant in a Commonwealth, than a body of Laws. Aelian ſays, that thoſe of Aegypt took a Reed, which preſerved them from being devoured by Adders or Crocodiles of the Nile, and that they are the Emblem of Wiſdom and Prudence.
'Tzetzes relateth, that a Philoſopher put a Stop to a Plague at Antioch, by a Taliſman of Stone, wherein there was the Head of Charon graved. Apollonius made uſe of the Figures of Storks and Serpents, and the Aegyptians commonly made uſe of the Figures of Serapis, of Canopus, God of the Aegyptians, of the Spar-Hawk and Aſp, againſt the Evils which might come from the four Elements, Earth, Water, Air and Fire.
The modern Taliſmans are not ſo curious as the ancient, and we may know them by the Characters, which are purely Arabick, Turkiſh, or of other Oriental Tongues. The principal Authors that have treated on this Subject in the latter Ages, are Camilli Leonardi, who has writ the Mirror of Stones. Geber, Bacon, and Paracelſus, who have treated of Aſtrological Magick, and of the Sym⯑pathy of Stones, Metals and Planets. Gaffarel has compos'd a Book on this Subject; intitled, Unheard-of [350] Curioſities. And Agrippa has treated of it in his Occult Philoſophy. Gregory of Tours relateth, that the City of Paris had been built under a Con⯑ſtellation, which preſerved it from Conflagration, Serpents and Mice; and that a little before the Fire that happen'd in the Year 588, they had found in raking up an Arch of a Bridge, the two Taliſmans Preſervers of that City, which were a Serpent and a Mouſe of Braſs. Some have de⯑rived the Arabick Name Taliſman from the Greek [...], which ſignifies Preſervation. We will not ſpend time to ſhew the Vanity of the Taliſ⯑mans, for we live in an Age that is not much ad⯑dicted to ſuch Superſtitions.
But theſe things went but a little way, com⯑pared to what followed; for now the Pagan Wor⯑ſhip declining, the World began to ſee with o⯑ther Eyes; the Devil loſt Ground every where, and the Chriſtian Religion ſpread it ſelf inſenſibly, and in a ſurpriſing manner, eſpecially over all the Eaſtern and Northern Parts, as into Aſia, and into Germany and France; and now it behoved the Devil to take new Meaſures alſo.
Nor was he at all at a Loſs, for he knew his Method preſently, and that was to put on the Face of Religion, rank in with the ſanctifyed Part of the People, to wit, the Clergy, and draw them into his Scheme, as he had done the Pagan Prieſts before.
Upon this he took up the Tonſure, ſhaved him⯑ſelf for a Monk, or a Monkey, which you pleaſe, dreſs'd himſelf up in the Habit, put on the ſacred Veſtments, and got preſently into Orders. The Popes quickly fell in with him: Pope Sylveſter II. gave him Inſtitution and Induction, and from this time for⯑ward he quitted the Aſtrologick, and ſet up an Eccleſiaſtic Magick in the World: The Succeſs [351] has been wonderful, beyond even his own Expecta⯑tion; for it muſt be confeſſed, when the Prieſts firſt began a Correſpondence with him, they out-ſtript him in their Speed, for they run even before they were ſent. St. Francis and St. Ignatius out-did all the Arts of infernal Magick that ever were known, or in uſe in the World, and with his Aſſiſtance did more to eſtabliſh a Race of Inchanters and Church Magicians in the World, than the Devil himſelf could have expected.
This ſerved his Intereſt effectually on one Side of the World, that is to ſay, for Europe eſpecially, and all the Weſtern World: And Confucius drew out another Plan of Eccleſiaſtick or rather Philo⯑ſophick Magick for him in China and Japan. But he was ſtill at a Loſs for all the reſt of Aſia and Africa, which we might then call the middle Part of the World; and which at that time was ripe for any kinds of Enthuſiaſm or Church Magick, let it be almoſt what it would.
Satan, who always ſees his Opportunity, and has no want of Vigilance to lay hold of it, ſaw the Occaſion, but could not readily find out a Handle. He could not preſently think of a Method, 'till at length the induſtrious Devil found out the Contri⯑vance of ſetting up the Unity againſt the Trinity, the Houſe of Iſhmael againſt the Houſe of Iſaac, the Race of the Bond-woman againſt the Race of the Free-woman; the Circumciſion againſt the Bap⯑tiſm; and the Magick of Mahomet's Pidgeon to mi⯑mick the Chriſtian Dove.
Having thus ſettled the Scheme, he found out a Tool fit for his Purpoſe; a fierce ignorant Arabian, bold, ſubtle, cruel, and mercileſs; to Men inſolent, and audacious to Heaven; who by this meer Ma⯑gick of Enthuſiaſm, back'd by the Sword and Spear, ſet up the boldeſt, the groſſeſt, and the moſt ſenſeleſs of all Impoſtures that ever was in the [352] World; and which yet at this Time, and for above a thouſand Years paſt, has ſtrangely triumph'd over the Chriſtian World, has ſpread itſelf over Aſia and Africa, from the utmoſt Iſlands of India Eaſt, to the utmoſt Corner of Africa to the Weſt; and it was, 'till within a few Years paſt, Maſter of a fourth Part of Europe beſides.
Such is the Force of Eccleſiaſtic Magick, and how far it is gone beſides this to break into the Eccle⯑ſiaſtic Affairs of the Chriſtian World, is not hard to deſcribe, tho' it would take up too much Room, eſpecially at the Cloſe of this Work, to enquire into the Particulars.
What a continued Series of Eccleſiaſtic Magick has been acted among the Romiſh Clergy, and in the whole Papal Hierarchy! Even Popery itſelf ſeems to me to be one entire Syſtem of Antechri⯑ſtian Magick; its Conſtitutions are all Sorcery and Witchcraft; they prevail upon Senſe by Nonſenſe, upon the Head by the Tail, upon Zeal by Enthu⯑ſiaſm; and upon the Chriſtian Doctrine by the Do⯑ctrine of the Devil.
How could it be poſſible that Mankind, blinded by their own Obſtinacy, could ſink their Reaſon to erect Notion; eſtabliſh Fraud and Cheat, againſt Chriſtian Sincerity and Plainneſs; make Men re⯑fuſe to ſee when their Eyes are open; worſhip Prieſts in the Name of God, and ſet up Darkneſs in the room of Light; if they were not bewitched with the Magick of Hell, and under the entire Management of the Devil?
It would be worth while here to draw a Table of Proportions, and let us ſee how much more fatal to the World this Eccleſiaſtic Magick of Po⯑pery, incluſive of a few other ſpiritual Deluſions and Enthuſiaſms, has been, than all the Magick of Paganiſm, and all the Conjurations of Hell were before.
[353]That Men ſhould renounce the Idols, and then worſhip the Prieſt; condemn Oracles, and enquire of the Devil; caſt off the Baals, the Jupiters, and the Saturns of the Pagans, and ſet up a Breaden God that they ſhould firſt Worſhip and then devour!
That whole Nations ſhould relinquiſh the glorious Hoſt of Heaven, the much more rational Gods of their Fore-fathers, and empower every Prieſt to make a God for 'em with half an Ounce of Meal! The Clergy were indeed in the right of it ſo far, that they, like the Silver-ſmiths of Epheſus, when they had once drawn the People into this Magick of a Worſhip, took care to engroſs the Art of ma⯑king Gods all to themſelves.
Nor was it the leaſt Part of the Magick of this Contrivance, that they ſhould make eating their God be a Part of their moſt ſolemn Idolatry, I can⯑not call it Worſhip; that when they had made a Buſhel or two of Gods, and been paid for 'em, the People that came to Church might eat 'em up, and the Prieſts be richly ſet to work to make more.
If ever the Taliſmans of the Greeks, the Augurs and Auruſpices of the Romans, the Lap-dog of Ve⯑nutius, or Mahomet's Pidgeon could out-do theſe Deluſions of Church Magick, I am quite miſtaken and ſhall be ready to acknowledge it.
That Men ſhould ſin againſt God, and then ask the Prieſt Pardon for it; as if a Man ſhould commit Treaſon in England againſt the King, and then go to a Chimny-ſweeper, or a Black-guard-boy, to be pardon'd for it: That a Man ſhall go to a Shop⯑keeper in Cheapſide to buy a Licenſe to commit Whoredom, or to rob upon the Highway, and ſtock-job Heaven in Exchange-Alley by Puts and Refuſal.
[354]If ever there was any Magick in Aegypt or Ara⯑bia like this, Hiſtory is entirely ſilent in it, nor had the Devil ever Craft enough to teach his Diſciples any ſuch Art. What Sums of Money would the Heathen Prieſts have raiſed if their Gods had took Bribes as ours do, and Pardons for Sin, and Licenſe to ſin, had been to be bought and ſold at the Church Doors, as it is with us?
But theſe are merry Times, and the Church Ma⯑gick out-does all the Conjurings of the Antients, as much as Madam Violante out-does a common Stage-Tumbler, or as an Hoſpital thorough-bred Surgeon does a Mountebank Tooth-drawer.
As to our religious Magick, the Enthuſiaſms and Hereſies that reign among us, I think we muſt deal with them juſt as their Maker ſeems to have done, let them alone, give them up to their own Magick, and to their own Deluſions, to believe the Lies of their own making. For as thoſe holy Cheats are the eaſieſt to be diſcover'd, they are the hardeſt to be cur'd, becauſe they are generally ſup⯑ported from this inviſible World of Spirits, theſe mighty good ſuperior Beings, that is to ſay, the Devil, with whom the Fathers of theſe religious Frauds have ſo intimate Acquaintance, that the Miſ⯑chiefs they ſpread, and the Confuſions which they bring every Day into all our religious Eſtabliſh⯑ment, are too deep rooted for all the Skill and Ap⯑plication of the more religious World to cure.
But I muſt obſerve one thing here, which is neceſſary to your Illumination, and tho' it ſhould bring me back and draw me in again to the Sin of Gravity, which the Town hates; yet ven⯑turing the general Diſpleaſure, I ſay 'tis neceſſary to take Notice here, that theſe religious Effluvia of Hell, which at preſent make ſuch Confuſion of Principles among us, are ſo demonſtrably embrac'd by the preſent Magi, the Sages, the Converſers [355] with good Spirits, the Roſicrucians, and Maſters of the Occult Sciences, and all the other Preten⯑ders to Supernaturals, and ſecret Illuminations; that they leave us no more room to doubt but they are all Natives of the ſame Climate, bred up in the ſame Country, carrying on the ſame Intereſt, and will ſhare at laſt in the ſame Deſtruction; when the Tares and the Wheat ſhall be skilfully and criti⯑cally ſeparated, as we are well aſſur'd they will be.
This indeed ſtands fair againſt all the modern Teachers of the Roſicrucian Whimſies, and the Doctrine of Spirits, viz. that None of them apply to the Eſtabliſhment of true Religion. On the contrary, they eſtabliſh, or ſtrive to eſtabliſh, old Errors, and continually broach new; they preach another Doctrine, and their Notions, were they not expos'd by their own Extravagancies, and En⯑thuſiaſtic Brains, would expoſe themſelves, being a kind of religious Ramble, a confus'd and a con⯑founding Heap of Nonſenſe: The poor People would otherwiſe be in Danger of being wheedled into their Deluſions, but this unravels all their dark Schemes, and tends to ſhow us the Cheat of all the reſt, and to convince us that 'tis all a Black Art, all a Diabolick, a meer Emanation of Hell.
Thus all their Magick detects and expoſes it ſelf, all the high and bluſtring Bombaſt of Sacred, Di⯑vine, Excellent, and ſuch like, diſcover whence they come; the Pretences to Illuminations, Com⯑munication, or Intercourſe with Spirits, and an invi⯑ſible World, appear to be Pretences, and no more; Their Dreams of Aerial Subſtances and Spirituous Bo⯑dies, the Inhabitants of the Elements, the refin'd incor⯑poreal Eſſences; their Abſtracts of Quinteſſence, and a thouſand more which they put upon the World; I ſay, they all ſmell of the Fire and Brimſtone, are born of Hell, their inviſible World is evidently to be underſtood the Infernal World, and their Study of [356] the Sacred Sciences, is neither more or leſs, to ſpeak in the common Dialect, than dealing with the Devil; there it begins, and there it muſt and will end.
What elſe means their Philoſophick Cant of mingling the ſupernatural Eſſences, their confound⯑ing the Terms of Religion and things Divine, with the Dreams and the Jargon of their unſigni⯑fying Language? looſing the Name of GOD, De⯑vil, HEAVEN, Hell, in the Cant of their Trade, and the labour'd Expreſſions of ſacred Flame, men⯑tal Fire, immortal Spirit, Perfection, Corruption, illuminating Genius, and a vaſt Throng of Words, tending to amuſe the Fooliſh, and diſtract the Wiſe; tending to deſtroy Religion and all the ſolid Eſtabliſhment of Heaven, whether for the Fe⯑licity of the Juſt, or Puniſhment of the Wicked?
Had their Magick any Tokens of a truly Divine Inſtitution, of a heavenly Original, and was this de⯑monſtrated by its confirming, and conforming to the Principles of either Natural or Reveal'd Religion, ſomething might be ſaid for it; or was its Tendency to eſtabliſh, not bewilder the Underſtanding, and to fix the Knowledge of the true God in the Minds of Men; was it qualify'd to eſtabliſh our Faith in divine Illuminations, and truly to direct our Worſhip and Homage to Him, encouraging at the ſame time Peace, Juſtice, Humility, and every Chriſtian Virtue; Were this the Caſe, we ſhould not diſpute with them the Converſe of Spirits between us and the inviſible World, the Spirits uncas'd and fled from hence, with the Spirits yet embodyed, by an inviſible and inconceivable Communication. But leave it as it is, a Matter indifferent to us at preſent, till it comes to be underſtood better when we arrive there.
CHAP. V.
[357]Of the Magick of the preſent Time, as it ſtands ſtrip'd in the laſt Chapter, from all the Pretences of the Magicians, and the De⯑luſions of Hell; of what Length it has gone, or is like to go, in deluding Mankind; what the Magicians can do, and that they really have now no Converſe with the Devil at all: So that the Art being at an End, the Hiſtory comes to an End of courſe.
HAVING, in the laſt Chapter, brought down this Idol call'd Magick to its true Original, ſtrip'd it of all the Maſquerade Dreſſes, jeſted a little about it, and at laſt laid the Baſtard at the Devil's Door, who is the true Father of it; One would think ſo Bare-fac'd an Impoſture ſhould be able to appear no longer in the World, that it would be hiſs'd off the Stage, and that the very Boys and Girls would throw Stones and Dirt at it in the Street.
But the Caſe is quite otherwiſe, and in ſpight of Contradiction the Devil goes on his own way; if this or that Nation, or Country, or People drop him, and refuſe him, he goes to another; like a true Pedlar, if he is anſwer'd No at one Door, he knocks at the next. If he ſells Counterfeits, and is call'd Cheating Knave at one Houſe, he calls him⯑ſelf honeſt Man at another. The Devil is never baulk'd, but carries on his Game, in ſpight of all the Repulſes he meets with, nay in ſpite of Heaven i [...] ſelf.
Beſides, he is never at a loſs for Diſguiſes, and like a Lady at the Ball, if ſhe happens to have been known in her Maſquerade Habit Yeſterday, to-morrow [358] ſhe gets another that ſhall be a more per⯑fect Diſguiſe. If he happens to be blown here, he is conceal'd there. If he is diſcover'd and known for a Devil to-day, you ſhall miſtake him again, and take him for a Saint or Magician of another kind to-morrow.
Nay, and after all, even where he is known to be the Devil, and finds he cannot be diſguis'd any longer; yet he has his ways with him, to win and pleaſe you, and draw you in, at leaſt to bear with him, ſeeing he does you no harm. Thus, do you not ſee the Crowd about the Puppet-Show, and do they not laugh, and halloo, and appear infinitely pleas'd with the groſſeſt and ſimpleſt of all Cheats; and that tho' they know them to be Cheats and Deluſions, and that they are but meer Puppets?
So our Magicians, tho' you know them to be Cheats, tho' you know that notwithſtanding all their Pretences, they really deal with the Devil; yet we have People among us that would be con⯑tent, and deal with them upon that very Score. I want to know, ſays the jealous-headed Country⯑man, who has made me a Cuckold, and don't tell me of the Cunning Man going to the Devil for In⯑formation. Why, I'd go to the Devil my ſelf, if I knew where he was, rather than not find it out.
Nay, tho' you convince them, that even in the worſt of it all, the Fellow is not ſo wicked as they think he is, or as he makes of himſelf, that he knows nothing of the Devil any more than they do, but only cheats them, and perſwades them to believe he knows ſomething, when indeed he knows nothing of the matter, yet ſtill they will go to him; Such an old Woman, or ſuch a young Fool, told 'em, that they had been with the Cun⯑ning Man, and they will go too; nor is it poſſible to perſwade them againſt it, till they have thrown their Money away, and come back aſham'd.
[359]So that the Deluſion ſtill goes on. A young Girl has two Sweet-hearts, and ſhe goes to the Cun⯑ning Man to know which of thoſe two ſhall have her. A young Fellow has loſt his Miſtreſs, and muſt know who Courts her. Another has loſt a Cow, and away he goes to the Cunning Man to know who has ſtole her. The crafty Sh [...]er, like the Devil's Oracles of old, gives doubtful An⯑ſwers, ſatisfies no Body, and yet pleaſes every Body. He ſends the Girl home with an old Wife's Tale; bids her lay two Sticks a-croſs under her Pillow, and the firſt ſhe dreams on will be the Man. The poor Girl's Head runs upon the Affair of a Husband, 'tis no wonder ſhe ſhould dream of one of them, and it may be the right, as well the wrong, ſo that 'tis an even Lay. But the Con⯑jurer is right; and to be once right, ſecures him the Cuſtom of all the young People in the Country; whereas, if he is out, that's forgotten, and does him no Harm.
This is the Devil's low-priz'd Game, and he carries it on a great way; and as the Mountebank oftentimes gets more Money than a licenſed Phy⯑ſician, and the Quack than the Doctor; ſo the Devil gets more Clients than the Counſellor, and his Agents have as much Practice as the Lawyers, and perhaps upon as honeſt a foot too as ſome of them.
I ſhould enquire a little here, and expoſe the weak Doings of thoſe Cunning Men, and how they delude the poor People; but 'tis of no great Uſe. For as 'tis one of the ſimpleſt things of its kind in the World, and by which the poor Peo⯑ple are the moſt impos'd upon, yet 'tis perhaps one of the laſt Deluſions in the World that they will be cur'd of; nor can all the Cunning Men of a higher Kind in the whole World reaſon them out of it. They will leave the Surgeon for the Moun⯑tebank, [360] the Phyſician for the Quack, the Parſon for the Conjurer, and God for the Devil. A few ſhort Tales upon this Part may perhaps illuſtrate the Speculation, and ſhow you the Force of Fraud, tho' I doubt it will not do much towards a Cure.
A Magician giving out his Bills, and boaſting of his mighty Perfomances, went down in the way of his Calling, as other Tradeſmen do, to Briſtol Fair, and there he did Wonders, told Fortunes, calcu⯑lated Nativities, look'd in the Girls Hands, peep'd in their Eyes, talk'd broad things to them to make them bluſh; and then gueſſing from their Colour how things ſtood with them, and by a thouſand croſs Queſtions, firſt crept into their Caſes, and then told them for a mighty Diſcovery, what they had diſcover'd to him with their own fooliſh Tongues that very Minute.
Among the reſt of the young Laſſes that came to him with their Grievances, there comes one with that laudable Queſtion; if in Love, whether I ſhall marry the Man or no? She was ſo Modeſt that ſhe could not tell the Doctor her Caſe her ſelf, but ſhe brings it him in Writing; and in⯑ſtead of ſtating the Queſtion as above, If in Love, ſhe had written it, if Courted.
The Doctor (for they are all Doctors) looks upon the Paper, and ſeeing it a Woman's Hand; 'Tis your own Writing, Child, ſays he, I ſuppoſe, you would not truſt any body elſe with it; ſhe curtiſy'd, and ſaid Yes: ſo he reads it out, If in Love, whether the Man will marry me or no? The Girl colour'd and ſaid, 'tis not ſo, you don't read it right, Sir. Well Child, ſays he, I'll read it right, by and by; come hither Sweet-heart, pull off thy Glove, let me ſee thy Hand; ſo he takes her by the Hand, looks in the Palm, cries Hum, very well, all's right there; then he feels her Pulſe, Ha! ſays he, with a kind of Start, is it ſo? well, come Child, ſays he, ſit down in this [361] Chair, I'll tell thee a Story: ſo the Girl, after a few Curteſies and ſlight Refuſes, ſits down; and the Do⯑ctor begins his Story: There was, ſays he, a young Woman, a very pretty cleaver Girl, as you are, my Dear, (and with that he feels her Pulſe again) came to me t'other Day juſt with ſuch a Queſtion as this, and after I had a little Talk with her, and feeling her Pulſe, as I do yours, my Dear, (and then he felt her Pulſe again, and ſtarted again Ha, ſays he, 'tis ſo indeed, and then goes on) I by the Help of my Art, which is the moſt certain Line for the Diſcovery of hidden Truth directed by Nature, and by the Intercourſe of inviſible Beings, which inform me of every thing proper to be known, and for the Service of thoſe who come to be aſſiſted with my exalted Genius, I ſay by my infallible Judgment I found the poor Girl had concealed ſomething from me, which indeed ſhe ought not to have done.
For by giving me a wrong Account of her Caſe, how ſhould I give a direct Anſwer? were it not that I, who am aſſiſted by the good Spirits, the Inhabi⯑tants of the ſuperior World, am not to be deceived.
So I ſaid to her, Sweet-heart, thou haſt con⯑cealed the chief Part of thy Caſe; is there not ſomething more in this Queſtion than thou haſt acknowledg'd? She made me no Anſwer at firſt, till I being illuminated by the bright Spirit of the fifth Region of Alahamed irwiſhah, and by all the aſſiſting Lights of the high exalted Atmoſphere, (Here the Doctor run over a great many Greek Words, which almoſt frighted the poor Girl whom he held faſt by the Hand or Wriſt all the while) I, ſaid he, that could not be deceived, told her in plain Words, Why thou haſt concealed from me that thou art with Child; at which, continues he, the guilty poor Girl having nothing to ſay, and be⯑ing not able to deny what ſhe found was reveal'd to me by my never-failing Intelligence, confeſs'd [362] to me, that it was ſo; and I having Compaſſion for her Circumſtances (for ſhe had been deluded) pro⯑mis'd her my powerful Aſſiſtance to bring the Knave to marry her, which is now happily done to her in⯑finite Satisfaction. All this while he held her by the Wriſt, and look'd frequently in her Face.
By the firſt he diſcern'd an unuſual Fluttering and ſudden Diſorder in her Pulſe, occaſioned by the Story being well enough told, and the firſt Girl's Behaviour mimick'd to the Life; by looking in her Face, he ſaw her Colour come and go; and when he talked of his knowing every thing from the ſuperior Beings and the inviſible Word, he ſaw ſhe was in the utmoſt Confuſion.
Now my Dear, ſays the Doctor, raiſing her by the Hand out of the Chair, give me Leave to look a little farther; ſo leading her to the Window, he gently lifted up one of her Eye-lids, then he gave two Hums and ſaid, Pretty well there. The Girl all the while bluſht and colour'd, and chang'd now red, and then pale; a little Conjuration indeed would tell the Doctor how it was with her.
Now, my Dear, ſays he to the Girl, you would do well to be ſo free with me as to let me know your whole Caſe, if you think fit to truſt me with it, and for that, I am as ſecret as Death; you need not be under the leaſt Concern about that, for 'tis my Buſineſs, I am truſted with the Secrets of Princes, and am a Counſellor of Counſellors; and if I ſhould betray any body, it would be a double Offence, neither would the inviſible Spirits com⯑municate the Secrets of People's Affairs to me if they did not judge me faithful, therefore you may truſt me with the utmoſt Safety, Child, adds he, I ſhall never divulge any thing that you commit to me.
The Girl was as mute as a Fiſh, and ſaid not one Word to him, but bluſh'd and colour'd as red as the Gills of a Turkey-Cock when he is angry.
[363]Come, my Dear, ſays he, perhaps you can't ex⯑preſs your ſelf freely, ſo I won't preſs you any far⯑ther; but ſit down till I conſult the good Spirits again, who, as I told thee, are always ready to aſſiſt di⯑ſtreſſed Innocence; and who will not fail to give me a full Information of your Caſe, and Directions alſo for your Good; ſo that I do not need you ſhould make any kind of Confeſſion of your Caſe to me. I ſhall be able preſently to tell it you di⯑rectly without your Help; ſo pray ſit but two or three Minutes, and I'll come to you again.
Having ſaid this to her, he offer'd to go away, at which the Girl fell a crying vehemently; and the Doctor, too cunning not to take hold of it, and ſatisfied that he had hit the Mark, ſtopt, and came back to her: Well, my Dear, ſays he, I ſee how 'tis, and I had partly Intelligence of it before, as you may eaſily perceive; But, come Child, adds he, let's ſee, what is to be done for thee? She cried all the while; but when he ſaid, What's to be done, ſhe ſaid, but could not ſpeak it plain for crying, That Thomas would — and there ſhe ſtopp'd. I underſtand thee Child, ſays he, that I ſhould make Thomas marry thee, is it not? YES, ſays ſhe, and blubber'd moſt ſadly.
Well, ſays the Doctor, but how far are you gone with Child? let me know that, and then I'll tell thee whether I can bring it to paſs or no. With that he laid his Hand gently upon her Belly. I doubt thou art far gone, ſays he: About four Months, ſays the Girl. Well, Child, ſays he, come to me again To-morrow in the Afternoon, and I'll tell thee what is reſolved in thy Caſe by the Powers who aſſiſt my never-failing Art. So taking a Crown of the Poor Girl for letting him pump the Truth out of her own Mouth, and getting the Reputation of a moſt eminent Magician and Man of Art, he diſmiſs'd her for that time, letting her know [364] that if he undertook to bring Thomas to marry her, he ſhould expect a more conſiderable Acknow⯑ledgement.
In a word, he took Thomas's Name, and where he liv'd, and found Ways to manage Thomas ſo well, that Thomas came to him in two or three Days to get rid of a Ghoſt, that haunted him. The Caſe was this: The Doctor had an Implement which he carried with him upon the Occaſion of his Bu⯑ſineſs; a ſub [...]le, oily-tongu'd, young Fellow, who was a Jack-of-all-Trades, here he was a Juggler, there a Tumbler, To-day a Conjurer, at one time a Ghoſt or Apparition, at another a Devil or Spirit, and ſo acted all Shapes and Poſtures that could be deſired.
The Doctor having had his Intelligence from the Girl where Thomas liv'd, and finding very happily that he lodg'd in a publick Houſe not far off, being Servant to a Tradeſman, who not having Room for him in his Houſe, paid for a Lodging for him in the Ale-houſe; I ſay, having gotten this Handle, he ſends his Ingineer to lodge in the ſame Houſe.
This Fellow finds an Opportunity to come ſo far acquainted with Thomas, as always to know whither he went, and upon what Errands and Bu⯑ſineſs: and the firſt Time that Thomas was ſent of an Errand (very happily for him) was to a Vil⯑lage, about a Mile out of the City, and in the Evening.
As Thomas was going to this Village, this ſubtle Rogue gets behind a Wall in his Way, and with a hollow dead kind of Voice calls him three times by his Name; and immediately convey'd himſelf away into a Field of Corn, where, had Thomas ſu⯑ſpected him, he could not have found him; and get⯑ting out of the Corn, he runs round by another Way, and puts himſelf juſt in the Way that Thomas [365] was to come, and as if he had been farther that Way, and was returning, meets Thomas full-but, as they call it, one going from the City, and the o⯑there coming to it.
They ſalute as uſual, and as Acquaintance, and fall into a ſhort Diſcourſe upon the Occaſion of the Voice that Thomas had heard.
George, ſays Thomas, I am very glad to ſee you; I wiſh you would go back with me to yon' Town there, I'd be much beholden to you for your Com⯑pany.
I am in great Haſte, ſays George; I can't go now.
O Pray do, if you can, for I'm terribly frighted, ſays Thomas.
Frighted, ſays George, at what?
Why, as I came along by the ſtone Wall there, ſays Thomas, at the Bottom of the Hill, I heard a Voice call me three Times by my Name, aloud.
Why, what does that ſignify, ſays George? 'twas ſomebody behind the Wall, to be ſure, that knew you; what ſhou'd you be frighted at that for?
No, no, 'twas not behind the Wall, 'twas rather on t'other ſide of the Road, ſays Thomas; but the Voice was up in the Air, to be ſure it muſt be ſome Spirit.
Nay, if it was up in the Air indeed, ſays George, there may be ſomething in it; thoſe Voices are ſad things; my Maſter now would tell you exactly what it meant.
Why ay, ſays Thomas, ſo they ſay; your Maſter can tell Folks all ſuch things, but can't you tell a-body ſomething of it too? come, do, go back with me a little.
Nay, ſays George, ſince you are ſo concern'd, I will go 'till I ſee you ſafe at the next Town, or ſo, but I muſt run Home then, for 'tis almoſt Night, and my Maſter will want me.
[366][So in ſhort, George goes along with him, which was all he wanted.
But George, ſays Thomas, what can this Voice mean?
How many Times did it call you? ſays George.
Three Times, ſays Thomas.
And was it very loud and diſtinct? ſays George. Are you ſure you are not deceived? for ſometimes People fancy Voices when there are none.
Ay, that may be, ſays Thomas, but I an't ſo fancy⯑ful; I am very ſure I heard it three Times; it call'd my Chriſtian Name and Sirname, Thomas firſt, then Thomas Saunders, and Thomas Saunders again; 'twas a Devil's Voice to be ſure, 'twas harſh and hollow as the Devil.
Nay, I don't like it, I confeſs, ſays George; it ſeems to ſignify Death when People are called ſo, and it may be in three Days, three Weeks, or three Months, or three Years.
Can't you tell me which? ſays Thomas.
No really, ſays George, I can't go ſo far as that. If my Maſter was to know the Caſe, he would tell you exactly; but I dare ſay 'tis Death, or ſomething very bad.
They had not gone far after this, but George watching a convenient Place, gives a little Start, and ſtops, looking as if he ſaw ſomething: Hold a little, ſays he to Thomas.
What's the matter? ſays Thomas.
Matter, ſays George; Nay you beſt know what's the matter; have you committed Murther, Thomas? have you kill'd any body?
I kill'd any body! Mercy upon me! ſays Thomas, what do you mean?
Why, do you ſee nothing, ſays George, do ye ſee nothing * there?
He points to a great Tree which ſtood on the Com⯑mon which they were going over.
[367]No, not I, ſays Thomas; don't fright me; you know, George, I am frighted enough already.
Nay, ſays George, I don't deſire to fright you, Thomas; but you would be worſe frighted than I if you ſaw it; I'm glad you don't.
But what is it? ſays Thomas. Dear George, tell me, is it the Devil?
No, no, not the Devil, ſays George, but 'tis a Spi⯑rit, 'tis a Ghoſt to be ſure; that made me ask if you had kill'd any body.
Well, I ſhall die, ſays Thomas; I'm e'en dead with the F [...]ight; Why how ſhould you ſee it and not I, George?
O, there's a Reaſon for that, ſays George; my Ma⯑ſter gave me a particular Sight; that I can ſee Ap⯑paritions when others can't, it belongs to our Bu⯑ſineſs; but you'll ſee it preſently, for it will come nearer, I ſee that.
O, ſays Thomas, what ſhall I do, George? will it ſpeak to me?
I don't know yet, ſays George, it may be not, I'll tell you preſently.
They continued going forward all this while, and began to come pretty near the Town; when by-and-by, ſays George, I don't know what to think of it, Thomas; it threatens and makes Signs as if it would come up to you and ſtrike you.
Strike me! ſays Thomas: nay then 'twill kill me to be ſure.
No, no, they never kill any body; beſides, I ſee you are in ſuch a Fright, I'll ſee if I can ſpeak to it, and keep it off; if my Maſter were here, he'd ſend it away with a Word ſpeaking. With that George goes three Steps forward; bids Thomas ſtand ſtill, draws a Circle with his Stick upon the Ground, and puts Thomas into it: Stand there, ſays George, and you ſhall be ſafe, and don't be afraid, I'll ſee what I can do for thee.
[368] Thomas ſtands ſtill as he was bid, but quaking and trembling in the utmoſt Confuſion; and George goes forward a little out of the Way and talks aloud, but ſo that Thomas could hear only the Voice, not underſtand the Words; and George makes a great many Motions and Croſſes in the Air, and this he held a good while, when he comes back to Thomas.
Well, Thomas, ſays he, I believe I have deliver'd you for this time, but ſomething is the matter; this Apparition threatens you ſtrangely; I fancy you'll hear of it again.
But is it gone now? ſays Thomas.
Stand ſtill, ſays George, a little, I think 'tis a going.
So George and he ſtand ſtill a little: Ay, there, ſays George, it goes off that Way (pointing North) and now 'tis gone up in the Air, ſays George, come now we'll go on. So away they went to the Town, and George tells him he muſt take his Leave of him, and run home as hard as he can drive.
Dear George, ſays Thomas, don't leave me; why, I could not go back in the dark if you would give me a thouſand Pounds.
I can't poſſibly ſtay, ſays George; if you are ſo frighted, you had beſt lie there all Night, and come Home in the Morning.
I dare not do that neither, ſays Thomas, my Ma⯑ſter will be ſo angry, 'tis as much as my Place is worth.
Why then you muſt get ſomebody to come with you at the Town, ſays George, for indeed I can't ſtay now. So away comes George and leaves him, and ſets up a Run, as if he was bound to be back again with the utmoſt Expedition.
When George had got away and was out of ſight, he alter'd himſelf, as he knew very well how to do by his Skill in Poſtures and Tumbling, which, as before, was a Part of his Trade; and having a linnen Habit in his great Pocket, dreſſes himſelf up in the [369] Habit of a Ghoſt or an Apparition, not in a Shrowd like a dead Body, but all in white, down to the Feet, and a Woman's Head-dreſs upon his Head; and in this Poſture he places himſelf where he knew Thomas would come. But before this, covering his Habit with his great Coat, he plac'd himſelf at the Village in ſight of the Door where Thomas went in, that he might be ſure to know when he came out, and which Way he went, leſt he ſhould take ſome other Way; and alſo to know who and how many he got to come with him.
He ſoon found Thomas on his Way, for he came out of the Houſe and two Fellows with him in about an Hour: So George follow'd 'em at a di⯑ſtance, 'till he ſaw them in a little Lane leading into the Common as before, and when he knew they could go no other Way; upon which, he run by another Way over the Fields, and got into the Common before them.
The firſt thing he did was to get into a little Thicket, where lying flat on the Ground, and out of Sight, he lay and hiſs'd like a Serpent moſt frightfully; This had its immediate Effect, for it frighted them all, and he heard one of them ſay, It was the Devil, and that he was come for Thomas to be ſure: and the other ſaid ſo too, adding that he would go no further; this was enough for George, for by this he knew they were no Champions that Thomas had brought along with him; ſo removing and getting to another Place a little behind them, that they might not run back again, there he chang'd his Note, and then growl'd like a great Dog, and that frighted them again. Now having made this Beginning, he leaves off a little, and goes into the Common, and ſtands in the middle of the Road juſt where the Lane open'd into the Heath; ſo that he might be ſure to be ſeen all in white, a little be⯑fore they came out of the Lane.
[370]The Night was not very dark, but no Moon⯑light; ſome Stars, not many, were ſeen; when co⯑ming to the Lane's end, they ſaw the Spectre, and no ſooner ſaw it, but all three run away and cry'd out moſt terribly. George had now his End, for he didn't deſire to carry it on any farther; ſo he kept his Poſt 'till he found by their Noiſe they croſs'd the Common farther off and out of Sight; then he put off his Habit, and made the beſt of his Way to their Lodging; where when Thomas came, he found George very ſedately ſtanding at the Door ſmoaking his Pipe.
He bad Thomas well-come Home, but ſaid no more, not taking the leaſt notice of any thing; but found that Thomas went immediately up Stairs, and threw himſelf down upon the Bed; and the next Morning Thomas was very ſick.
George in the mean time went home to his Ma⯑ſter, and gave him an Accoun [...] of the whole Tranſ⯑action, who finding his Engines work to his Mind, gave George farther Inſtructions; which were in ſhort, to haunt the poor Fellow Night and Day, and give him no Quiet, 'till he had manag'd him up to a Neceſſity of coming to him (the Doctor) for Help, which was not long firſt.
I ſhould have obſerved that the Doctor or Cun⯑ning Man finding he ſhould compaſs his Ends upon Thomas, ſent now for the poor Girl, and told her, that he had employed the utmoſt of his Art and Skill in her Behalf; And upon my Word, adds he, my Child, I have had a fatherly Concern for you; and I have engaged ſo many of the good Spirits of the ſuperior Regions in your Favour, that they (always ready to do Acts of Beneficence and Kindneſs to diſtreſs'd Mortals) have aſſured me that Thomas ſhall marry you; ay, and ſhall come and court you to have him too, as much as if he had not gotten this unjuſt Advantage of you, or he [371] ſhall have no Reſt in this Life, nay he ſhall have no Reſt in this Life 'till he does.
The poor Girl [...]mil'd, and was mightily pleas'd, as you may well ſuppoſe, and puts her Hand in her Pocket, and gives the Doctor half a Guinea for the good News. The Doctor took the Money, but told her modeſtly, that if he did her ſuch a great piece of Service as this, ſhe muſt conſider, &c. She underſtood him, and told him, ſhe had not a great deal of Money, but yet ſhe had a rich Aunt, and other good Friends; and Thomas need not ha' us'd her ſo; for, that if—and then ſhe cry'd again, ſhe would have ſcorn'd to ha' marry'd him, but—I underſtand you, Child, ſays the Doctor; now you muſt not only take him, but muſt be glad he will take you? Yes, Sir, ſays ſhe.
Well, ſays the Doctor, and does your Aunt know this unlucky Story?
Yes Sir, ſays the Girl, and ſhe bid me tell you, ſhe will make a handſome Preſent to you, if you can bring it about.
Well Child, ſays the Doctor, tell your Aunt, I will undertake to do it, if ſhe will be as good as her Word.
Indeed ſhe will, Sir. I will bring it you, ſays ſhe; and nam'd the Sum, which was no leſs than twenty Pounds; and the Doctor, with an unuſual Modeſty, not craving any more, told her generouſly, that if he fail'd, he would have nothing more than ſhe had given him already.
This Treaty took up two or three Days, and in the mean time George haunted Thomas, upon ſeve⯑ral Occaſions: Nay, he could hardly ſtir out of Doors in the Night, but he ſhow'd himſelf, ſome⯑times all in White, ſometimes all in Black; till at laſt Thomas comes to him one Evening: George, ſays he, dear George, if you don't help me, I know not what to do. I am harraſs'd out of my Wits. [372] This Devil, if it is the Devil, haunts me ſo, that it gives me no Reſt. Laſt Night it call'd me again three times at my Chamber Window, the very ſame Voice, and three times over, juſt as it did at the long Wall.
N.B. George had cunningly got a Ladder in the Night, and ſet it up to the Fellow's Window, and went up, and call'd him aloud, with the ſame hollow dead Sound, as he did before.
Well, ſays George, I am ſorry for it, Thomas; I would have you ſend for a Miniſter, and prepare for another World, for I doubt you are not very long for this World.
But did not you tell me, ſays Thomas, your Maſter could do ſomething for me?
Yes indeed, ſays George, I did ſo; and I believe he could, if you han't let it run too far, and if you han't done ſome ſad thing, Thomas; For the Spi⯑rits of the inviſible World, which my Maſter knows and converſes with, are all good Spirits, Thomas, and they will do no nothing for you, adds he, if you have committed Murder or Robbery, or any ſuch thing; and therefore if that be your Caſe, do not let me carry you to my Maſter, for he can do you no good.
Thomas ſtar'd as if he had been bewitch'd. Mer⯑cy upon me! what do you mean, Brother George, ſays he, I am as Innocent as the Child unborn. I never did any ſuch thing in my Life.
Well, Thomas, ſays George, if you ſpeak honeſtly, I'll let my Maſter know your Caſe, and if you will come to our Office to-morrrow Morning, you ſhall have his Anſwer.
Good George, ſays Thomas, don't put it off till to-morrow; what ſhall I do? Why George, the Devil will murder me to-night.
What would you have me do? ſays George. I'll go immediately, if you will, but I doubt he is not at home.
[373]However, Thomas preſſing him, away they go to the Doctor together; which was indeed what George wanted. When they came to him, George intro⯑duces the young Man; and, in a word, tells him the whole Story at Large, and implores his high ſuperior Aſſiſtance to the poor diſtreſs'd young Man, who was daily terrify'd and harraſs'd, to the danger of his Wits
But, ſays the Doctor, (juſt as George had been taught to do before) I fear this Man has commit⯑ted ſome flagrant Crime, and ſo the evil Sprits have a right to purſue him. Hark thee Friend, come hither to me, let me ſee thy Hand; haſt thou not committed Murder, or Treaſon? No indeed, Sir, ſays Thomas, never in my Life.
Well, pull of thy Glove, ſays the Doctor.
Here, Sir, ſays Thomas, you may ſee I an't burnt in the Hand.
Pr'ythee, young Man, ſays the Doctor, I don't look for that; ſo he examines his Palm. Well, ſays the Doctor, all's well here. Nor you have com⯑mitted no Robbery or Felony? don't come to me if you are Guilty of any ſuch Crimes as you ought to be hang'd for.
No, indeed, I han't, and't pleaſe you, ſays Thomas.
Then the Doctor feels his Pulſe, and looks him full in the Face: Here is ſome Diſorder, ſome Guilt here. Look ye young Man, aſſure your ſelf, if you have ſtole any Thing, or committed any Crime, the good Spirits, Inhabitants of the inviſible World, whoſe ſublime Influences I ſhall apply to them for in your Behalf, and to deliver you from the Power of the evil Spirits which haunt you thus, will do nothing for you, if you are a Criminal; and more than that, they will certainly inform me of it, as ſoon as I make my Application for your Relief, and tell it me as the Reaſon why they can do nothing [374] for you; ſo you had better let me know it before⯑hand.
Indeed, Sir, and pleaſe you, ſays Thomas, I have never done any ſuch thing in my Life.
Haſt thou ever done any Injury, ſays the Doctor, to any, for which thou can'ſt be thus plagu'd?
No indeed, Sir, not I, ſays Thomas.
Well, Friend, ſays the Doctor, I enquire for your Service only; for I don't care what you have done, nor do I care to know it. But let me ask you one Queſtion more, and then I ſhall be able to ſpeak for you in general, as a very innocent, honeſt Perſon. Are you willing to make Satisfaction, or Reparation, to any Body, or to every Body that you have done any Injury to?
Yes, Sir, with all my Heart, ſays Thomas; and Sir, adds he, I have never done any Hurt in all my Life.
All this while the Doctor holds him by the Hand, and every now and then feels his Pulſe. Look you, Friend, ſays he, here is ſome little Diſorder here in your Blood, your Conſcience flutters, and is a lit⯑tle diſturb'd. Come, don't ſend me of a Fool's Er⯑rand, for if thou doeſt, I cannot only do thee no good, but theſe evil Spirits will tear thee to Pieces, when they know, as they will do, that I have ſpoke for thee. Come, I'll ask thee but one Que⯑ſtion more: Has there been no Love- [...]uſineſs be⯑tween any young Girl and you, and ſhe has b [...]oke her Heart, and is dead for you, and now pays you home for it, and plagues you? for it ſeems you ſay the Apparition had a Woman's Head-dreſs on.
No, indeed, Sir, ſays Thomas, I ne'er had any Fancy, but for one, and ſhe is alive; I am ſure I ſaw her ſeveral times ſince this happen'd.
Now the Doctor had him faſt. Well, is there any thing between you, is ſhe your Sweet-heart ſtill?
[375]No, and't pleaſe you, ſays Thomas, we have done.
Done! ſays the Doctor, What have you done? you han't lain with her, have you? But however; come, Thomas, ſays the Doctor, I muſt own that is not a fair Queſtion, ſo I don't preſs you to anſwer me. I hope you have done the Girl no Wrong, if you have, you ſay you will make Reparation. Come, ſit down there, till I go into my Study, and if you have been Honeſt, I ſhall ſerve you, I don't doubt; but if you han't, I ſhall come back, and tell you all you have conceal'd, without giving my ſelf the Trouble of asking you.
Here Thomas began to ſtare, and look frighted. Why, Sir, and't pleaſe you, ſays he, muſt I con⯑feſs every thing?
No, no, Thomas, ſays the Doctor, I don't ask you to confeſs any thing; I'll come back preſently, and tell you, as well as if you told me your ſelf.
Ay, but then, Sir, ſays Thomas, you ſay, if I don't tell you every thing firſt, then I ſhall get no Help afterwards?
That's very true, Thomas, ſays the Doctor gravely, I do ſay ſo; and therefore, if you have any thing to tell me before I go, let me know it; but I don't oblige you to tell, you may do as you will; if you have any thing to ſay, tell me; if not, tell me.
Why, nothing, Sir, but about the Girl, a little.
Why, there now, I thought ſo, when I felt your Pulſe: didn't I almoſt tell you ſo? ſays the Doctor. I warrant you, ye have lain with the poor Girl now, and it may be got her with Child: is that it?
I'm afraid ſo, indeed, Sir, ſays Thomas; but it was but twice.
Well, ſays the Doctor, you drew her in, I dare ſay, by promiſing to marry her, didn't you?
I think you know every thing, ſays Thomas; in⯑deed, 'tis ſo, Sir.
[376]And then, ſays the Doctor, when you found the poor Girl was with Child, you diſappointed her, I ſuppoſe?
Yes, Sir, ſays Thomas; there's no hiding any thing from you, I think.
Well, Thomas, ſays the Doctor, but what ſhall I do for you now? for unleſs you make this poor Girl ſome Satisfaction, there's no ſaving you. Where is ſhe? you ſay ſhe's alive, it ſeems.
Yes, and't pleaſe you, ſhe's alive, ſays Thomas, ſhe don't live far off.
Well, what muſt be done, Thomas? ſays the Do⯑ctor. What, would you marry her? will that give her Satisfaction, Thomas?
Yes, and't pleaſe you, I'll marry her; and I'll ſend for her juſt now, ſays Thomas.
What, and marry her in the Dark? ſays the Do⯑ctor: that won't do, Thomas.
Why, Sir, ſays Thomas, I'll marry her over a⯑gain, by Day-light.
No, no, Thomas, ſays the Doctor, we won't break through the Laws neither. I'll tell you what you ſhall do. Send for the Girl, and let me hear her Story, and what ſhe demands; if marrying her will do, Thomas, and that will ſatisfie her, you ſhall ſign a Bond here to her, to marry her to-morrow Morning; and then to protect you from the Devil that haunted you, you ſhall lie here with my other Man Will. to-night, and I will anſwer none of them will dare to haunt you in my Houſe.
With all my Heart, an't pleaſe you, ſays Thomas, if you will promiſe me, I ſhall not be haunted any more afterwards.
Why, Thomas, ſays the Doctor, to ſecure you, I'll caſt a Figure for you to-night, and I will know if thoſe Voices and Spectres were upon her Account, or no; and if they were, I will anſwer for it, you ſhall hear no more of them after you have marry'd [377] her; and if they were not, you ſhan't be oblig'd to take her; that's a fair Propoſal, Thomas.
Nay, Maſter, an't pleaſe you, ſays Thomas, I think I ſhould take her, that's the Truth on't; and I'll e'en have her, I think, whether I am deliver'd or no, ſince you ſay 'tis juſt, and I ſhould do it. And, beſides Maſter, ſays Thomas, ſhe is a good honeſt Girl, and loves me too mainly, and ſhe'll be a good Wife: I'll e'en take her, Maſter, for better for worſe.
Now you ſpeak honeſtly, ſays the Doctor. Now I like you, Thomas. I warrant you the Devil will haunt you no more, if you take her; but you have been but a kind of a Rogue to her before, I under⯑ſtand.
Upon the whole, the Doctor heartens him on, the young Fellow is eaſy, and the young Woman is ſent for; and in the Morning they were marry'd, and had a great Wedding-Dinner near the Doctor's Houſe; ſo that all was done to the Girl's Mind, and the Conjurer's too. For the Doctor had two Gunieas of Thomas, for delivering him from the Devil, (Who could do it cheaper!) and twenty of the good Wife's Friends, and the Lady that gave the Money thought it very well be⯑ſtow'd.
This Management of the Magician, ſerves to let you ſee, with what Art and Dexterity theſe Men play the Doctor with our ignorant People; and well they deſerve the Name of Cunning Men; and as this is the greateſt Part of the Magick they are Maſters of, ſo this is the chief End and Aim of this Relation, to let the Reader into the Cheat of it. Here were two Fools manag'd by one cunning Knave; yet both of them are ſerv'd. The Know⯑ledge of their Story, and the way to do them both Juſtice, is pick'd out of their own Mouths; yet they are brought to do one another Juſtice, and [378] believe 'tis all done by the Magick of the Cunning Man; he gets their Money, and they come both off thankful into the Bargain. And here's not an Ounce of Magick in it all; here's no deal⯑ing with the Devil in all this. 'Tis nothing but a Bite, a kind of a Juggle; a Devil and no Devil, a Doctor no Conjurer, a Viſion without a Spirit, a Dance without a Fiddle; and in a word, here was Craft, but no Knavery neither: For what he did, ended in doing a poor injur'd Wench Juſtice, and bringing a young impudent Fellow upon his Knees, making him take the Woman, not indeed for the Fear of God, but for Fear of the Devil.
This Account of the Doctor, or Cunning Man, may ſtand upon Record, as a Specimen of the Ma⯑gick which we have now generally practis'd among us; or if you pleaſe to take it as a Specimen of what is at preſent put upon the World for Magick. For as to the Real Black Art, or Dealing with the Devil by way of Compact, Intercourſe, Witchcraft, and ſuch like, we find ſo little of it left, that we have ſome reaſon to ſay 'tis quite out of Uſe, and we have heard very little of it in this Part of the World for many Years.
Not that we are much better than our Anceſtors, nor have we ſeen any thing in the Manners of the People leſs addicted to Sorcery than formerly; but Cuſtom has made Men turn Magicians to them⯑ſelves, we ſeem to carry on our Correſpondence with Hell ſingle handed, and by a kind of immedi⯑ate Intercourſe; ſo that we want no more the Help of the Magician, whatever we do of the Magick. And here I think the Magick it ſelf being as it were brought to a Concluſion, the Hiſtory of it is juſtly at a Concluſion alſo. The Arts of Hell are now no more carry'd on by particular Inſtruments, and by way of Profeſſion; the Black Art is at End; the Devil having no more need of the Magicians, [379] has drop'd them, and manages his Affairs himſelf; and the Magicians having no other Acceſs to the Devil, than what is Imaginary, and carry'd on by meer Legerdemain, whatever it was formerly, their Number is decreas'd, and in a manner worn off by Time; ſo that you have now nothing left but a few Jugglers, Cunning Men, Gypſies and Fortun-tellers. In ſhort the Trade is decay'd, and we may ſuppoſe the Managers of the Black Negotiation have turn'd their Hands to other Employments.
CHAP. VI.
Of raiſing the Devil by Magical Operations; whether the Magicians really have ſuch a Power or no, and if they have, whether it is perform'd as an Art, and by the Conſe⯑quence of Magical Experiments, or whether it is by Concert and mutual Conſent, be⯑tween Satan and the Magicians.
RAiſing the Devil has been thought by ſome to be a Branch of Witchcraft rather than Ma⯑gick; and then it ſhould not be mention'd in this Place; but the Point is not fully decided. It ſeems both the Worthy Profeſſions have pretended to it, and perhaps both have attain'd to practiſe it, and ſo it may be reckon'd among the Occult Sciences, in common to the Practitioners of both Kinds, and then may be properly treated of in which part of our Undertaking we pleaſe.
It is a kind of a vulgar Expreſſion, and has not much Propriety in it, I mean that of raiſing the Devil; for the Devil is not rais'd, he is rather brought down. As his Abode is expreſly ſaid to be in the [380] upper Regions, and his Principality is in the Air, he is not fetch'd out of the Earth; and as ſome have thought with the ſtamp of a Foot, as if he lodg'd under us, and we knock'd for him, as the ſick Body knocks upon the Floor for the Nurſe to come up Stairs, and ſpeak to him.
Satan certainly is not far out of Call, tho' 'tis ſtill ſometing doubtful in what particular Element he inhabits.
1. Not in the Earth, (ſay I) becauſe then he would be impower'd to ſhake the World with Earthquakes, overturn Cities and Towns, and give Mankind perpetual Diſturbances, and perhaps would be oblig'd to do ſo as often as he mov'd from Place to Place. Nay, it would ſeem neceſſary that the Earth, notwithſtanding his ſpirituous Nature, muſt ſuffer ſome Convulſions, Diſlocations, and Openings, or ſome or other Diſtortions, every time an old Woman had Occaſion to ſpeak with him.
2. Not in the Sea: this is apparent by the Devils of Gadarene, who beſought Chriſt not to ſend them away into the Deep. It ſeems they have an Averſion to the Water, and that therefore Inſtinct led the Herd of Swine to run into the Sea, to deliver themſelves from the Devil, ſuppoſing he would leave them when they came there. But the Hogs it ſeems were not ſagacious enough to find their Way out again, or to conſider that before they went in. Luke viii.31, 33.
3. Not in the Fire; Becauſe that Element is ap⯑propriated for their final State, is to be their Pri⯑ſon, and the Place of their Puniſhment; and as they have at preſent an Interval for Action, ſo they muſt have a Medium of Space for their Reſidence during the time of Action.
4. It muſt then be in the Air, or airy Regions; and as we have reaſon to believe that they are not confin'd to the Atmoſphere of this Globe the [381] Earth, which compar'd to them, their Numbers, and the Extent of their Operations, would be by much too narrow a Place for them, too much pre⯑ſcrib'd and limited, and give them no room for Action in proportion to themſelves; ſo I am wil⯑ling to [...]llow Satan to be in Capacity, (at leaſt able) to viſit all the Atmoſpheres and Spaces in the im⯑menſe Waſte, whether of habited, habitable, or uninhabited Bodies; and whether in thoſe we call Planets, or ſuch Bodies as we have no Name for, becauſe no Knowledge of.
Thus the Devil cannot complain that I have not given him room enough, ſince I have deny'd his Locality to no Place but Heaven, where he cannot come, and perhaps does not now deſire it, and the other groſs Elements which could not contain him.
The Devil being Reſident, chiefly at leaſt, in that inviſible Wo [...]d, the Air, and which we particularly call the World of Spirits, our bringing him out into Company is very unworthily call'd raiſing the Devil; for how can that be rais'd up, which is already not below?
However, if we will talk intelligibly, we muſt call things as other People call them, and ſpeak of them as other People underſtand them, that they may know what we talk of, and know how to think upon what we ſpeak to them about. Having therefore no other way of expreſſing it, you muſt be content to hear me ſpeak of raiſing the Devil, tho' at the ſame time I tell you 'tis Nonſenſe in the very Terms, and contrary to Nature.
But to hold you no longer upon ſettling Preli⯑minaries, the Point in hand is, Can the Magicians who we are now ſpeaking of, raiſe the Devil, or can they not? Can the Magick Art perform this high Operation, is it in the reach of the Profeſſion, and is Satan ſubjected to it? is he obliged to come [382] when he is call'd, when ſuch and ſuch Words of Command are given out, ſuch and ſuch Methods us'd, ſuch and ſuch Words repeated? is he rous'd, as the Keeper rouzes the Lions in the Tower, di⯑ſturb'd from his Abode, and oblig'd to come away? or as the Huntſman unharbours a Deer, by his Horn and his Hallow?
If the Devil is under this Neceſſity, and is thus at the Summons of every Glaſs Trumpet, as we may call it, that every Scoundrel raſcally Figure caſter and Circle-maker can fetch him up, when they think fit; I muſt ſay, I think Satan is no free Agent; He is very far from being a Prince, and a Prince of the Power of the Air. Nay, there are ſo many rational Objections againſt it, ſo many Difficulties, Abſurdities, and even Impoſſibilities in it, that I think there is hardly room for any farther Diſpute about it; the thing has nothing in it rational, or agreeing to common Senſe.
But how is it done then? for that it is ſo, and that the Devil does appear, when they call, does come, when he is ſent for, and that by the meaneſt of thoſe Creatures who have thoſe Dealings with him, is not to be deny'd; nor never has been deni⯑able ſince the Witch of Endor's Days, nor will it want Confirmation on many Occaſions ſince that: Did not ſhe put it to Saul, who he would have her bring up? intimating that ſhe could bring up whom ſhe pleas'd, even the Devil himſelf, if he wanted him.
It muſt be then by Concert and Agreement; for if the Devil can't be forc'd out of his Den, if he is not conjur'd up, as we call it; he muſt be invited in a friendly manner, and prevail'd upon by En⯑treaties, or expected by Agreement; and in both theſe Caſes 'tis much more ageeeable to our Under⯑ſtanding, and we can conceive of things with much more Propriety.
[383]Either he is invited by Entreaties and Petitions, importun'd and earneſtly deſir'd to come; and this is a kind of Peculiar; for that it is a Reality we have no room to doubt. I ſay, 'tis peculiar to thoſe Countries where the Devil is worſhip'd as a God, where they bow the Knee, and, as the Indians call it, ſay O to him as a ſupreme Power. That he willingly obſerves theſe Summons, and comes when they deſire him, is eaſy to ſuppoſe; as he is a poli⯑tick Devi [...] and willing to preſerve his Poſſeſſion a⯑mong [...]m, willing to be worſhip'd and ador'd, as he moſt obſequiouſly as upon thoſe Occaſions, and which he in a manner triumphs over his Maker by, as if he [...]d gain'd a Victory, had conquer'd thoſe Parts of his Dominions, and taken them from him by Force.
Or on the other hand, he is oblig'd by Contract, between h [...]mſelf and thoſe Infernal Merchants that trade with him. I ſay, he is oblig'd to come when they have Occaſion for him; and in this caſe he muſt perform his Promiſe, or elſe he would not maintain his Credit, and would not be truſted again. Thus, in one, he is bound to come as he is a cun⯑ning Devil, and knows his Intereſt; and in the o⯑ther Caſe, as he is an honeſt Devil, and keeps his Word; tho' the laſt is ſubject to many Breaches and F [...]lſifications, and he is not always as good as his Word neither.
All the Difficulty that lies before us here, is, how he makes his Bargains. Witches and Wizards, they tell us, ſign Contracts, let him prick their Hands, and ſign with their Blood; Helliſh Doings! but I do not tell you I give any Credit to them. But the Magicians, who, it is ſuppos'd, are Perſons of a ſu⯑p [...]ur Dignity, ſeem to act upon a better foot, and by the Help of what they call Art; have to do with him in a ſuperior Way; what that Way is, and what Art it is to be call'd, that brings the [384] Affairs of Hell into ſuch a Management, is the great Queſtion before me.
It is true, the Magicians deny it, and Dr. Boreman would have told you he ſcorn'd your Words; he raiſed no Devil, he had to do with no evil Spirits, he dealt with no ſuch Cattle; but on the contrary, that he laid the Devil when other People raiſed him; that he cured Houſes that were haunted, and turned the Devil out of Doors when he was got in; all which I believe as ſtedfaſtly as I do that St. Dunſtan took him by the Noſe with a pair of red hot Tongs; or that St. Francis would have nothing to do with him, when he appeared to him in the Shape of a Bag of Money; or that St. Ignatius reſiſted him, when he tempted him in the Shape of a naked beautiful Lady.
Where, by the way, if the Legend Makers of the Romiſh Church could prove thoſe two Paſſages to be true in Fact, ſo that we could no more doubt them, we ſhould have much more Reaſon to take thoſe two Perſons for Saints than ever I thought we had. It muſt be confeſs'd, the thing would be rare in itſelf, to ſee a Prieſt kick a Purſe of Gold out of his Way upon the Road, and not think it worth his while to take it up: So, to ſee a young Lady, beautiful and charming, offer herſelf to a Prieſt, and he turn from her, as Joſeph from his Miſtreſs, look'd a little more Saint-like than I muſt own I ſhould expect from any of the Tribe, eſpecially on the Roman Side of the Queſtion. I hope our own Church has abundance of ſuch Saints among the Clergy, tho' I may not have the Honour to be acquainted with many of them.
But theſe Men of Art can raiſe him; that ſeems to be a Truth too ſolid to be deny'd; and I muſt not hazard my Reputation ſo much as to oppoſe all the old Women that have ſeen him, or dream'd they ſaw him: So that I muſt take it for granted, [385] that they can raiſe him; tho' I believe it no more than I do that Dr. Boreman could lay him when other People had raiſed him, which I take to be whimſical and ridiculous.
But ſuppoſing then, for Diſcourſe ſake, that they can raiſe him, as they call it; What is it, and how is it done?
As to what it is, I take it to be no more than this; that the Devil is pleaſed, at their Deſire ſigni⯑fy'd to him in ſuch manner as to the Magician in his great Wiſdom ſeems meet, to aſſume a Viſibility, and pu [...] on ſuch a Shape or Perſon as he and the Ma⯑gician agrees upon for the preſent Purpoſe. This being granted, two Things neceſſarily follow:
- 1. That the Devil and the Magician really cor⯑reſpond.
- 2. That the Devil was preſent before, only not viſibly.
Firſt, That the Devil and the Magician corre⯑ſpond: By Correſponding muſt I think be under⯑ſtood that the Magician knows where Satan is; that Meaſures are concerted between them, how to converſe; as was the [...]aſe between him and Al⯑brahazen, o [...] whom already; and that by theſe con⯑certed Meaſures, he can ask the Favour of Satan as often as he pleaſes, to make himſelf viſible for ſuch or ſuch an Occaſion, as at [...]hat time pre⯑ſents
2. By this it ſhould ſeem, according to the Opinion of Some learned in this Wiſdom, that thoſe Magi⯑cians that are eminent in their Practice, have ſome Devil or other always with them, viſible to them⯑ſelves, tho' inviſible to others; and that they both ſee and converſe with them continually. This is very rational to believe, and is what I take to be that which the Scripture means by having a Familiar Spirit; and that Menaſſeh had ſuch, the Text is po⯑ſitive [386] in. Now that theſe Men or Women, whe⯑ther Magicians or what you pleaſe to call them, can deſi [...]e the Favour of their Familiar or Seconda⯑ry Devil, to aſſume a Shape and put on Viſibility, I make no queſtion of; it ſeems to be no great matter, and to have no great Difficulty in it. On the other hand, theſe ſeem to be the only People that can raiſe the Devil; for how ſhould any body elſe do it upon ſuch common and ordinary Occa⯑ſions, if he was not at their Elbow? how could they call him with muttering over a little Gib⯑beriſh, and talking it in Whiſper too? The Devil is not Omniſcient; he cannot, at the Diſtance of his airy Dwelling, know the Thoughts of the Agent, or ſee the Circles and Figures he draws; he muſt therefore be inviſibly preſent with him, can ſee his Circles, Croſſes and Figures, and all his Motions, whe⯑ther publick or private; and I inſiſt upon it, that none can raiſe the Devil in this manner but ſuch Men as thoſe, that have a certain and conſtant In⯑tercourſe with him. I do not ſay that the Ma⯑gicians have this Correſpondence with him, nor do I ſay or believe that all of them can bring Satan into Apparition when they pleaſe; but this I do both ſay and believe, that thoſe that can or do thus raiſe him, as we call it, do it by this Means, and have ſuch a Correſpondence and Intimacy with him, and that it can be done by no other.
All the Notions which we can have of the Devil, founded upon the Scripture, or upon Reaſon, ſeem to juſtify this Opinion; for unleſs we ſhall allow him to be Infinite, Omniſcient and Omnipreſent, (and that would be to make him a God) we cannot make it rational that he ſhould be commanded into Viſi⯑bility and Action juſt when we pleaſe.
If he is confin'd to Locality, if he is any-where, and that Any-where is Some-where, then he muſt [387] have ſome ſettled Intelligence eſtabliſhed between him and Mankind for the carrying on his Buſineſs; and this muſt be carried on by the Agency of ſome Spirits, it cannot be by Voice only, by meer Whi⯑ſper and Suggeſtion, if he be not preſent; for tho' it may be true that Spirits converſe without the Help of Voice, yet infernal Spirits cannot act, as the Infinite Eternal Being acts, namely, by infinite ex⯑tenſive Knowledge; they muſt converſe by the In⯑ſtrumentality and Agency of their Perſons: it is true it may be imperceptible to human Sight, and it is ſo; but there is not the leſs Reality in their Agency, for that there is not the leſs Perſonality nor Agency of Perſons or Places on that account; for That may as really be that cannot be perceived to exiſt, as That which is viſible.
Now ſtand clear Magick, and ſtand clear Magi⯑cians; for if the Magician can raiſe the Devil, he muſt correſpond with the Devil; and if he corre⯑ſponds with the Devil, he muſt have a Familiar; or how does he do it? The Devil muſt either be al⯑ways by him, or have an Agent Devil in Com⯑miſſion always attending him, and always ready to act [...]s he ſhall direct; a Deputy Devil under Orders, and [...]nſtructed to act for him, and to perſonate either Devil, or other Shape, as Occaſion preſents, or as the Magician pleaſes to direct. It can be no otherwiſe, [...]ot the Devil himſelf can act upon any other foot.
All we have to ſay for our Magicians is, to hope [...]hat what they have to ſay for themſelves may have [...]ome Truth in it; namely, that they deal with Spi⯑ [...]its, but that it is with good Spirits, not with the Devil, or with evil Spirits; and this we have only [...]heir own Words for; we cannot be ſure it is ſo, [...]or will I venture to ſay that we have a great [...]eal of Reaſon to believe them; at leaſt there may [...]e room to doubt the Truth of it.
[388]I would rather advance for them what I have much more Reaſon to believe, and that is, that they deal with no Spirits at all, either good or bad; for if I ſhould once entertain a Belief that they really conſulted with any Spirits at all, I ſhould be afraid they were Devils; becauſe, as I have ſaid that I believe the Devil would not be at their Book at every Turn, ſo often as they have Occaſion for him; ſo I am leſs of the Opinion that the good Spirits would be called backward and forward on their trivial and frivolous Errands, nor is it rational to believe they ſhould.
If then they have any Spirits, I doubt they are Devils, not good Spirits; but my more juſtifiable Opinion, and which I think is really well-grounded, is, that moſt, if not all of them, who pretend to this Converſe with Spirits, have no Knowledge of, or Correſpon⯑dence with, any Spirits at all; but that all the Cant of their good Spirits, the Inhabitants o [...] the inviſible World, and their Intelligence with them is a Cheat, a meer Cheat and Deluſion, to abuſe the ignorant world, impoſe upon the weak, and i [...] poſſible gain themſelves a Character and a Fame o [...] Knowledge and Wiſdom, in order to pick Pockets and get Money.
How many Tricks do they play with Mankind how many Frauds do they put upon us! under how many Sham-Appearances do they juggle with us 'Tis plain, when any ſublime Doctrine comes to b [...] diſcuſs'd by them, they are all in the dark; the neither can conceive right themſelves, or teach u [...] how to make a right Judgment of any thing, bu [...] appear to be empty ignorant Creatures themſelves who have, like Jacob Behemen, got a high Cant o [...] myſtick Language, Words without Meaning, and as I ſaid before, valued only for their being u [...] intelligible, and that entirely ſo; and very part [...] ⯑cularly [389] too, for that they are ſo put together, that not only no body that hears them can under⯑ſtand them, but that they do not underſtand 'em themſelves.
This certainly is the juſt Character of moſt of the Magicians we meet with in our Times; what may have been formerly, or what may yet be, where the Devil has really a Correſpondence with any of theſe People, and if there are any Albrahazens alive, I will not determine; but then, I ſay, either theſe muſt have a more than intimate Converſe with the De⯑vil perſonally, as Ali had, or they muſt do it by way of Familiar, by a conſtant attending Agent; and then they are no more Magicians, but Necroman⯑cers, and downright Dealers with the Devil; and this is not what we are talking of, it not what they pretend to, nor is it really in them.
To bring it then down to the Caſe in hand, I mean about raiſing the Devil; the preſent Queſtion is of two Parts, Firſt, Whether the Magicians have a Power to raiſe the Devil, that is, to produce an Appearance or Apparition of the Devil. This, I ſay, I will not deny; only that then I ſay, they are no more Magicians, but Witches, Wizards, Necromancers, or what elſe you pleaſe to call thoſe People that have an immediate Converſation with the Devil.
Secondly, Whether, if they can do it at all, 'tis done as an Art, a Syſtem, for the Practice of which there are Rules and Methods, which being learned by others, enables them to perform the ſame thing, as an Operation, whether mathematical or other⯑wiſe? and this I think I may venture to deny; becauſe I think it ſubjects Satan to ſuch a Situation of Circumſtances, as are inconſiſtent with all the No⯑tions we have of him as a Spirit; as a powerful unlimited Seraph, a Prince of the Air, and who (except where his Maker has limited and preſcribed [390] him) is placed in a Station inconceivably ſuperior to all human Influence or Operation.
To talk of ſcrewing the Devil up into an En⯑gine, that like a Jack in a Box he may be brought out and ſhewn for a Sight to the People whenever a Conjurer thinks fit, or to be ſhewn like a Puppet-Show for Two-pence a-piece, I muſt needs ſay, this is really diſhonouring the Devil himſelf.
What may be done by Concert and Agreement between the Devil and them, is one thing; but to talk of bringing him out by an Art or Invention, ſo that, as I ſaid before, the Artiſts may call him in, or call him up, when they [...], this wou [...] be raiſing him indeed, in the very litteral Senſe of the Word; and may be, for ought I know, what was the true Meaning of the Expreſſion at fir [...] [...]nd I muſt ob⯑ſerve here, this raiſing the Devil is an old way of ſpeaking, and was formerly much more in uſe a⯑mong us than it is now; for I am not yet deter⯑mined in the matter fully, whether it be a Fact or a meer proverbial Speech: My Opinion at preſent muſt neceſſarily be for the latter; for as to raiſing him, 'tis, as I have ſaid already, a piece of Nonſenſe, becauſe (1) it intimates that he is fetch'd up ab in⯑feris, from Below; whereas I have given many good Reaſons to move you to believe he is already rather Above than Below: and, (2) Becauſe I can give you many more to prove, that if he was Be⯑low, that is to ſay, in Hell, in the bottomleſs Pit it ſelf, as we have too much fancy'd he is; all the old Women and old Witches, and all the Prayers in the Pariſh, read backward, all the Circles and Figures, all the Paw-waws and Conjurings in the World, could never fetch him out again; 'till He comes, who has the Key of the Bottomleſs Pit, and who ſhuts, and no Man can open.
[391]We are told that St. Peter gave our holy Father of St. Angelo the Keys of Heaven; but I doubt he has not the Keys of t'other Place too; if he has, he has been but a ſorry Jaylor, for the Devil has been abroad theſe four thouſand Years to our Knowledge, and continues ſtill at large; not a Conſtable can take him up, even a Scape Warrant cannot apprehend him.
As he is then at large, tho' he is a Priſoner too in one Senſe, but as I ſay the Devil is at large, he is then a free Agent as to us, he goes to and fro, in or throughout the Earth, and walks up and down therein, Job. i.7. He has free Liberty of Egreſs and Regreſs, can go and come, when, where and how he pleaſes.
I muſt plead for Liberty, you ſee, tho' it be for the Devil. It has pleaſed his Maker to give this roaring Lion Liberty to go up and down, ſeeking, &c. and how came he to ſell or loſe that Liberty? How came the Magician to be the Devil's Jaylor, that he ſhould have him in his Cuſtody, to call him out when he thinks fit? If it is ſo, 'tis a voluntary Confinement, and the Devil finds his Account in it, or he would never ſubmit to it; ſo that it muſt be by a Conſent of Parties, and then we come into the Road of things again; that is to ſay, that the Devil may conſent to appear when he is ſo and ſo, and for ſuch and ſuch Purpoſes, required; but this is quite another thing than what the Magicians are ſaid to do; I muſt therefore give it againſt them. The Devil is not to be raiſed by Art; no Magick, no Conjuring, no Circles or Squares, no Prayers read backward, no, or forward either, will bring him out, unleſs he pleaſes, and finds it for his Purpoſe. If he comes at all, he comes of himſelf, and about his own Buſineſs, or by Agreement with his own Domeſticks, ſuch as old Mother — of Endor, [392] or Mother Lackland of Ipſwich, or ſuch as he is in actual Confederacy with; but as for your Preten⯑ders to Art, that they can raiſe him, and lay him, [...]etch him in or ſend him out, 'tis all a Cheat, and the Magician has this to be ſaid in his Favour, that he really is not ſo intimate with the Devil as he ſays he is.
CHAP. VII.
Seeing, as the Magicians pretend, they do not Deal with the Devil, o [...] raiſe the Devil, Who it is they do De [...] with, how is their Correſpondence managed, and why do they Deal with Good Spirits, by Conju⯑rings and the Black Art?
THERE remain but two Queſtions then, which have any Difficulty in them, to ſpeak to in this Affair of Magick; the firſt is the natural Conſequence of what is ſaid before; If the Magi⯑cian cannot raiſe the Devil, who and what it is he does raiſe? for we will have it that he has Spirits about him: If they are not evil Spirits, as he will aſſert in his own Defence, what Spirits are they, and by what Power or Influence does he maintain ſuch a Correſpondence among the Intelligent Beings of the inviſible World, as to procure thoſe ſuperior Angelick Creatures to appear upon Earth, either at his Requeſt, or upon ſuch Occaſions as he repre⯑ſents to them?
There is too much Difficulty, I had almoſt ſaid Abſurdity, in this Part, for us to come into it, as the Magicians pretend to deſire; they would [393] have us believe that all they do is by the Aid and Aſſiſtance of theſe happy Intelligent Beings, that they, upon the meer Principle of Affection to Mankind, and meerly from their Beneficent Na⯑ture and Diſpoſition, are ready at all times to aſ⯑ſiſt their faithful Agent or Servant the Magician, in doing acts of Charity, Kindneſs and Benevolence to their Fellow-Creatures.
It is true, the Magician by this puts a great Compliment upon himſelf, and ſuggeſts that he is himſelf a general Bleſſing to Mankind; and that as ſuch theſe Generous and Beneficent BEINGS ſin⯑gle out them (the Magicians) as the proper Inſtru⯑ments of their Kindneſs to their Fellow-Creatures; and that they even could not act, at leaſt not ſo fully and effectually, without them.
That therefore it is, thoſe ſuperior Beings are pleas'd to converſe with theſe Magicians, and com⯑municate to them a ſuperior Knowledge of things, making them uſeful to Mankind, and giving them a Reputation for their Wiſdom, that ſo the di⯑ſtreſſed People may apply to them for Aſſiſtance, Direction and Counſel.
But then the ſecond Queſtion is, How do they converſe with them, by what means do thoſe good Spirits come to know when the Magician has any thing to be aſſiſted in, and in what manner do they claim or deſire their Aſſiſtance? Now the Diffi⯑culty of this Queſtion raiſes a Doubt almoſt un⯑anſwerable againſt the Truth of the Magician's An⯑ſwer to the firſt.
They tell us they converſe with the good Spi⯑rits of the inviſible World: That they would have us take as a firſt Principle, a Poſtulatum that ſhould be granted; tho' 'tis pretty much to ask too: but to oblige them as far as with any colour of com⯑mon Senſe can be done, let us ſuppoſe it, tho' I can by no means grant it.
[394]But how then is it manag'd? How is this Con⯑verſe carry'd on? In a word, how do they come together? It muſt be either,
- 1. By the Magicians applying to theſe Spirits for Advice when they want it.
- 2. Or by the Spirits officiouſly coming to them upon ſuch Occaſions, of their own meer Good⯑neſs.
- 3. Or thoſe good Spirits muſt be always preſent, and to be ſeen, ſpoken to, and converſed with, with⯑out calling, or without ſeeking to be call'd.
I muſt be ſo plain with our Magicians, as to ſay, that I do not ſee how either of theſe three can be made out by them; nor yet how they can defend them⯑ſelves from the Charge of Diabolick Magick, un⯑leſs they make out all the three, and that very clearly too.
1. As to Magicians applying to theſe Spirits for Advice and Intelligence; this I know is their Pre⯑tence, this they all alledge; and when the poor ignorant People apply to them, they make a great deal of Ceremony with their Circles and Figures, with Magical Books, Hebrew or Arabick Chara⯑cters, muttering of hard Words, and other Barba⯑riſms innumerable; Juſt, in a word, as the old Necromancers do, when they conſult with the Devil.
Now, is there any thing of all this requiſite in order to converſe with a good Spirit? did the Prophets of old uſe any thing of this Mimickry, when they went to enquire of the Lord? If they would have their Art be call'd the Sacred Science, and we muſt believe that they converſe with Hea⯑venly Beings, what need of all theſe Amuſements, theſe Conjurings and Paw-wawings?
Will they make us believe that the good Spi⯑rits are to be us'd as the Wizards and Witches uſe [395] the Devil? that they are to be brought down by Mutterings and Conjurings, by Poſtures and Diſtor⯑tions, or (as our Dancing-Maſters talk) by Gro⯑teſque Characters? This would do very little to oblige our Reverence, Nor to me, would it look like any thing but talking to the Devil.
If it is done to put an Amuſement upon the ignorant People that come to them, and to give a Soleminity (as they call it) to the thing, then 'tis evident it is done to cheat them. For what Oc⯑caſion could there be for ſuch things, if they were really about to converſe with the exalted Spirits of a heavenly Kind, and Inhabitants of the inviſible Regions?
It is manifeſt they apply to their inviſible an⯑gelick Spirits, juſt as the other ſort of People do to the Devil. Their Ceremonies of Ad⯑dreſs are much the ſame, and when the poor ig⯑norant Stranger ſeems ſurpriz'd at it, they tell him he ſhould not fear, for they are not going to raiſe the Devil; granting clearly that there was good reaſon to ſuſpect it.
If they are Honeſt, why then will they not tell us the reaſon of all theſe Barbariſms? What Cauſe, and what Neceſſity, when they are apply⯑ing to Heaven, to act juſt as thoſe do who apply to Hell? Let them examine Hiſtory or An⯑tiquity, nay let them examine Nature; are the Application to God and Idols the ſame? The Devil may mimick the Methods of the beſt Ser⯑vice, and ſeek to be ſerved in the ſame manner as his Maker; but we no where read that ever the Servants of God mimick'd the Devil; 'till now.
Let them look at that eminent Time, when the Prophet Elijah brought himſelf and the Prieſts of Baal to a Teſt for the Truth of their Wor⯑ſhip, [396] and the Reality of the GOD they wor⯑ſhip'd: The Idolatrous Prieſts began their Pagan Rites, their Sacrifices were alike; that was ap⯑pointed by the Prophet, becauſe they ſhould not ſay but their Idol Devil had equal Honour done him, as the true God had, in a Proportion. But when they came to the Service of the Prieſts, the Idol-Prieſts us'd their Exorciſms, their Conjurings, their Ecſtaſies and their Barbariſms, leaping up upon their Altars, and dancing to their God, then cutting themſelves with Knives, and the like.
But when the truly reverend Prophet came to be [...]n the ſacred Office, and the Apparatus of lay⯑ing the Sacrifice upon the Wood was ſimply per⯑formed; what did Elijah? nothing, but in a ſolemn manner, and in the Audience of all the People, and in the Vulgar Tongue, that they might all underſtand what was ſaid, and with a loud Voice, call upon the True God to hear him, and to glorifie himſelf in the Sight of the People; and God did hear him, and magnified his Power ac⯑cordingly, to the Conviction of the People, even to the Conviction of their Senſes.
Bring this down to our Caſe now. Here is a ſet of Men pretending to conſult the good Spi⯑rits, Inhabitants of the ſuperior Regions, and who dwell in the angelick World, where-ever that is. To theſe they give all the adorable Names they can deviſe, in ſtrange and Outlandiſh Terms, and advance them in their Notions, that they may raiſe the Regard of their wondering, but ignorant Admirers.
When they have done all this, they apply to them juſt after the Pattern of the Wizards and Necromancers in their enquiring of the Devil, with Mutterings and Whiſpers, with hard and [397] exotick Words, and unintelligible Speeches; as if the good Spirits did not underſtand Engliſh, [...]s well as Arabick and Hebrew, or as well as their unmeaning, unſignifying Devil-Language; a Jargon of their own forming, without any real Uſage among Men, h [...] ſuch as they pleaſe to put up⯑on it.
How can this be reconcil'd to the converſing with Good Spirits? Intelligent and Beneficent Beings, who partake of the Heavenly Nature, and are always inclined to do good to Mankind, who aſſiſt the Indigent and Diſtreſſed, and protect thoſe that are in Danger, direct in Difficulties, and are ready on all Occaſions to do good Offices and Acts of Kindneſs to every one?
How are they thus ready and beneficent, if they are thus to be call'd out of their happy Abodes, like Devils, with Spells and Conjurations, with Necromancy and Wizardiſm? Were they ſuch bleſſed, bountiful, and beneficent Beings, and ſo ready to help and aſſiſt Mankind in times of Dif⯑ficulties, protect them from Evil, and from evil Spirits, 'twould be but reaſonable to ſuppoſe they ſhould give ſome Directions to Mankind, how to obtain and procure their Aſſiſtance, when they want it.
It is ſuppoſed, if theſe Spirits are ſuch good, ſuch beneficent, compaſſionate Beings, and ſo par⯑ticularly inclined to do good to Mankind; I ſay, it is to be ſuppoſed they are ſo, by the determinate Appointment of their Creator; their Heavenly Fa⯑ther, from whoſe inherent Goodneſs all good Deſires, and all good Thoughts do proceed, as well in Heaven as in Earth, as well in Angels and Spirits, as in humane Creatures. Theſe good Spi⯑rits then, if they were ſuch as is pretended, would certainly direct Mankind to obtain their Aid, by [398] praying to the Supreme Being, under whoſe Com⯑mand and Direction they immediately are, that they (the ſaid good Spirits) might be ſent to di⯑rect, aſſiſt, and protect thoſe that ſo deſire their Aſſiſtance.
It is a ſhrewd Sign to me, that theſe Spirits are of another Claſs, and that they do not proceed from Him who is the Author of all Good; that they muſt be apply'd to in ſuch a ſcandalous manner, juſt as the Devil is apply'd to; that they take the Honour to themſelves of being apply'd to di⯑rectly and immediately, as God himſelf is, and without giving the Honour to God, the firſt Cauſe and Original Author of all Good; and that they at the ſame time ſtoop ſo low, as to accept of the like mean and baſe Methods of being call'd to for Help, which are uſed when we want to raiſe the Devil.
What do the Magicians mean by this uncouth Jargon, I'll go and conſult with the good Spirits which I converſe with, and I'll bring you an An⯑ſwer? Where are theſe good Spirits, and how do they converſe with them? If they would ſay, I will pray to God that he may ſend his Angels, or ſome of his Angels, or good Spirits, to adviſe and aſſiſt you; this had ſome Senſe in it; ſome⯑thing like the uſual Method: then when we came to the Magician or Cunning Man, our Language would be, we pray you Enquire of the Lord for us; and thus it was when God had his good Prophets, and his good Spirits to act between his People and him, as much as can be ſuppos'd now.
But now the Magician, inſtead of ſaying I will enquire of the Lord for you, ſays I will con⯑ſult with the good Spirits of the inviſible World, who I have the Honour to converſe with, and I will tell you what they ſay in your Caſe. Here's [399] not a Word of God, or of what he pleaſes to do, or not to do, to direct or not to direct; but theſe good Spirts are to teach and direct; as if he that made theſe good Spirits was out of the Queſtion, and had nothing to do, either with them or us.
Theſe things, I ſay, render it very ſuſpicious that there are no ſuch things as good Spirts in the Caſe, eſpecially when they are join'd with the ſcandalous manner of their being apply'd to; and if there are no good Spirits, and they diſ⯑own all Converſation with bad Spirits, it may be ſaid without Offence, (tho' in the vulgar way) not, What the Devil are they doing? but, What Devils are they doing with?
2. But here is a ſecond Suggeſtion to help them out, and this is, that they do not go to converſe with theſe good Spirits, by a ſpecial In⯑fluence, calling them to their Aſſiſtance; but the good Spirits (thereby ſhowing themſelves to be good and beneficent, as has been ſaid,) condeſcend to come Voluntier, to help and aſſiſt, counſel and direct, in caſe of the Diſtreſs of thoſe helpleſs Creatures called Men; and that they do this offi⯑ciouſly by the Aſſiſtance of their choſen Ser⯑vants the Magicians; who, like the Almoners of a great Prince, are always laying before their Eyes Suitable Objects for their Help and Benevo⯑lence.
This is a formal Story, and might have ſome Weight in it, if it were not that it wanted Truth of Fact to ſupport it; and that this is ſo, we muſt believe, 'till we get the following Diffi⯑culties removed. The firſt is, How do they know the Condition and Circumſtances of thoſe that want to be aſſiſted? That theſe good Spirits muſt either know it by an infinite Preſcience, [400] by which they muſt every one of them know every thing, and that not every thing that is vi⯑ſible to human Eyes and Real, but every invi⯑ſible and imaginary Thing, the Thoughts, the Anguiſh of the Soul, the Deſires, Wiſhes, Fears, Terrors, and Hopes of, not only the par⯑ticular Perſons they are to aſſiſt, but of all Peo⯑ple whatever, in all Places and Times, and on every particular Occaſion whatever; and to do ſo would be to be abſolutely and eſſentially God, and every one of them ſeparately ſo; a Thought attended with a Heap of horrid Confuſions, and forming diſtracted Images in the Mind, ſuch as tend to all manner of Blaſphemies on one hand, or groſs Abſurdities on the other.
The next thing is, if the good Spirits cannot by their own Preſcience know the Condition and Circumſtances of thoſe that may want their Aſſi⯑ſtance; how, or by whom muſt they be, or are they informed of it?
Now here is the only Criſis in which the Magi⯑cian makes himſelf neceſſary; for if the good Spirits had, joined to ſo univerſal Beneficence in their Diſ⯑poſition, an infinite Knowledge of all the Perſons and their Circumſtances who ſtood in any need of their Help, they would then certainly, in conſe⯑quence of the general good Diſpoſition of their Na⯑ture, immediately apply themſelves to the proper Objects, and in Compaſſion to them would relieve and aſſiſt them of their own free Goodneſs and Be⯑neficence, not needing the Interpoſition of any o⯑ther Agent whatſoever.
But now this we do not find: but theſe good Spirits, with all the Good-will which they bear to us, yet ſit paſſively ſtill, and ſee all the Miſeries of Mankind, and all the Diſtreſſes which this or that particular Perſon labours under, and perhaps lan⯑guiſhes [401] in, and at laſt lets him periſh without the leaſt Help or Aſſiſtance.
This, I think, deſtroys the very Notion of their Preſcience, or elſe it muſt deſtroy the Notion of their Beneficence; one or other muſt drop: they muſt either not know of the miſerable Wretch and his Diſtreſſes, who wants their Aſſiſtance; or knowing it, they muſt want a Will or Power to aſſiſt and de⯑liver him.
But here comes in the Magician, and he truly, to make himſelf a neceſſary Man in his Generation, is to be made acquainted with our Diſtreſſes and our Complaints, and he is to lay them before theſe good Spirits, and procure their Anſwers; in which Caſe it follows moſt naturally,
Firſt, That thoſe good Spirits are ſhort-ſighted, ignorant and uninform'd Beings, 'till they receive Information from ſome inferior Hand: Thus in ſhort, the Counſellor at Law; he is ready to give his Advice in the moſt difficult Caſe, and perfectly qua⯑lifyed and able to direct what you ſhould do; but he ſits in his Chambers in the Temple or in Lincolns-Inn, and waits (perfectly paſſive in all Buſineſs) 'till the Client, brought by the Attorney or Sollicitor, comes to him with his Brief; and if the Client does not come, he may ſit ſtill and be ruined for any Advice or Aſſiſtance the Lawyer will give him, 'till he is asked: Or as the Phyſician; he is Maſter of his Buſineſs, able to direct and adviſe, able to pre⯑ [...]cribe a Specifick, a certain Cure, for ſuch or ſuch Diſtempers; but ſits in his Study, and ſtirs not out of his eaſie Chair, to do the diſtreſs'd People in his Neighbourhood any good, or to help them in their greateſt Diſtreſs, 'till he is ſent for, and the Caſe laid [...]efore him, and then he ſhews his beneficent good Diſpoſition: If they have ſtaid 'till the Diſtemper is [...]o far gone, he pities them and ſhews his Con⯑cern [402] for them; but adds, Why did not you let me know his Condition ſooner? I could ha' ſav'd his Life if you had ſent to me in time; but how ſhould I do him any good, when you did not ſo much as let me know he was ſick? and thus the poor Patient languiſhes and dies, and the Phyſician is not blam'd by any body, for how ſhould he help him, when they did not ſend to him for Advice, or ſo much as let him know he was ſick?
Secondly, That the Magicians are a moſt neceſſary Generation of Men, that without them the miſerable World would be robb'd of the Aſſiſtance of all thoſe beneficent good Spirits in the inviſible World, which wait to do us good, but cannot apply them⯑ſelves to exert the good Diſpoſitions they are filled with, for want of knowing the Condition and Circumſtances of thoſe diſtreſſed Creatures which ſtand in need of their Help; and that thoſe Magi⯑ans being the only Men that converſe in that invi⯑ſible World, and hold any Correſpondence with the Spirits that are diſpoſed to aſſiſt us, they alone can hand that Aſſiſtance to us, being the only Peo⯑ple that can acquaint the ſaid good Spirits with our Condition.
Thirdly, That therefore 'tis our only Buſineſs to cheriſh and encourage theſe uſeful Men called Magi⯑cians, and to take care that the Race be not extinct, and the World deprived of their extraordinary Per⯑formances.
This would be a noble Doctrine for the Men o [...] Figures and Circles, a Magician would out-do al [...] the Mountebanks, Quacks and Pretenders to infal⯑lible Remedies in the World; they would bring Law, Phyſick and Divinity into one Head of Pra⯑ctice, and, good Spirits inſpiring, they would cur [...] the Age of all its Diſtempers both of Soul an [...] Body, they would reſolve all Caſes of Con⯑ſcience [403] Jure divino, cure all the Incurables in Guy's Hoſpital, and make that old —'s Cha⯑rity as uſeleſs as his —s. They would abridge the Practice of the Law to Perfection, and bring all the Pleadings at Bar to Chamber Practice; the good Spirits would all be Peace-makers, and Ma⯑gicians be general Arbitrators.
But this not being at preſent our Caſe, from hence I venture to conclude, that theſe good Spirits, if ſuch there be, are not ſo intimate with our modern Magicians as the latter pretend they are; and 'tis to be doubted theſe carry on their Intelligence with a different ſort of Spirits, and in a Manage ſavouring a little more of the Diabolick than the Angelick; or, as I ſaid before, with no Spirits at all.
- Zitationsvorschlag für dieses Objekt
- TextGrid Repository (2020). TEI. 4508 A system of magick or a history of the black art Being an historical account of mankind s most early dealing with the Devil and how the acquaintance on both sides first begun. University of Oxford Text Archive. . https://hdl.handle.net/21.T11991/0000-001A-6013-2