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Chap. XIII. supposed Witchcraft.

CHAP. XIII.

That the instance of the power of Art and Nature anlike things , bath much advanced these foolish and impi-ous opinions, .

vulgarly accounted Witches, make a visible and corporeal contract

T HE opinions that we reject as foolish and impious are thosewe have often nansed before, to wit, that those that are

with the Devil, that he fucks upon their bodies,, that he hath car-nal copulation with them, that they are transubstantiated intoCats, Dogs, Squirrels, and the like, or that they raise tempests*and fly in the air. Other powers we grant unto them, to operateand effect whatsoever the force of natural imagination joyned with£nvy, malice and vehement desire of revenge, can perrorm or per-petrate, or whatsoever hurt may be done by secret poysons andsuch like wayes that work by tneer natural means.

And here we are to shew the chief causes that do and have ad-vanced these opinions, and this principally we ascribe to mens ig-norance of the power of-Nature and Art* as we shall manifest inthese following particulars.

1. There is nothing more certain than, that how great soeverthe knowledge of Men be taken to be* yet the ultimate Sphere ofnatures activity or ability is not perfectly known, which is mademost manifest in this, that every day there are made new discove-ries of her secrets, which c prove plaiply that her store is not yet to-tally exhausted, nor her utmost efficiency known. And thereforethose Men must needs beprecipicious,and build upon a sandy founda-tion, that will ascribe corporeal effects unto Devils, and yet knownot the extent of nature-, for no Man can rationally assign a begin-ning for supernatural agents and actions, that does not certainlyknow where. the power and operation qf nature ends.

2, And as it is thus jn general, so in many particulars, as espe-cially in being ignorant of many natural agents that do work atagreat distance,, and very occultly, both to help, and to hurt, as inthe. weapon solve, the. Sympathetick powder, the curing of dis-eases by mutnial applications, by Amulets, Appensions and Trans-plantions, which* all have^been, and commonly are ascribed untoSatan, when. they are t,ruly wrought by natural.operations., Andso, (4$ we; ihave'' sufficiently manifested before j by many strange,and secret-tPEfons both-qatural ; gnd f artificial, itjhat have ty>. be-

. witching power i-n them. At all, butMprk naturally, and only mayHe hurtful i.n-their use chrough the. devilifhness .of some personsthat use them, to d!yeFse-;evilends.t}b* .

Z. There is nothing that doth moreclearly manifest pur scanted. • Mm 2 knowledge

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