Читать книгу The Witchcraft in New England - Calef Robert - Страница 11
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Author's Defence.
TIS, as I remember, the Learned Scribonius,[35] who reports, that One of his Acquaintance, devoutly making his Prayers on the behalf of a Person molested by Evil Spirits, received from those Evil Spirits an horrible Blow over the Face: And I may my self expect not few or small Buffetings from Evil Spirits, for the Endeavours wherewith I am now going to encounter them. I am far from Insensible that at this extraordinary Time of the Devils coming down in great Wrath upon us, there are too many Tongues and Hearts thereby set on fire of Hell; that the various Opinions about the Witchcrafts which of later Time have troubled us, are maintained by some with so much cloudy Fury, as if they could never be sufficiently stated, unless written in the Liquor wherewith Witches use to write their Covenants; and that he who becomes an Author at such a time, had need be fenced with Iron, and the Staff of a Spear. The unaccountable Frowardness, Asperity, Untreatableness, and Inconsistency of many Persons, every Day gives a visible Exposition of that passage, An evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul; and Illustration of that Story, There met him two possessed with Devils, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. To send abroad a Book, among such Readers, were a very unadvised thing, if a Man had not such Reasons to give, as I can bring, for such an Undertaking. Briefly, I hope it cannot be said, They are all so; No, I hope the Body of this People, are yet in such a Temper, as to be capable of applying their Thoughts, to make a Right Use of the stupendous and prodigious Things that are happening among us: And because I was concern'd, when I saw that no abler Hand emitted any Essays to engage the Minds of this People, in such holy, pious, fruitful Improvements, as God would have to be made of his amazing Dispensations now upon us. THEREFORE it is, that One of the Least among the Children of New-England, has here done, what is done. None, but the Father, who sees in secret, knows the Heart-breaking Exercises, wherewith I have composed what is now [vi] going to be exposed, lest I should in any one thing miss of doing my designed Service for his Glory, and for his People; but I am now somewhat comfortably assured of his favourable acceptance; and, I will not fear; what can a Satan do unto me![36]
Having performed something of what God required, in labouring to suit his Words unto his Works, at this Day among us, and therewithal handled a Theme that has been sometimes counted not unworthy the Pen, even of a King,[37] it will easily be perceived, that some subordinate Ends have been considered in these Endeavours.
I have indeed set myself to countermine the whole PLOT of the Devil, against New-England, in every Branch of it, as far as one of my darkness, can comprehend such a Work of Darkness. I may add, that I have herein also aimed at the Information and Satisfaction of Good Men in another Country, a thousand Leagues off, where I have, it may be, more, or however, more considerable Friends, than in My Own; And I do what I can to have that Country, now, as well as always, in the best Terms with My Own. But while I am doing these things, I have been driven a little to do something likewise for myself; I mean, by taking off the false Reports, and hard Censures about my Opinion in these Matters, the Parters Portion which my pursuit of Peace has procured me among the Keen. My hitherto unvaried Thoughts are here published; and I believe, they will be owned by most of the Ministers of God in these Colonies; nor can amends be well made me, for the wrong done me, by other sorts of Representations.
In fine; For the Dogmatical[38] part of my Discourse, I want no Defence; for the Historical part of it, I have a very Great One; the Lievtenant-Governour of New-England[39] having perused it, has done me the Honour of giving me a Shield, under the Umbrage whereof I now dare to walk Abroad.
FOOTNOTES:
[35] The only known Work of "Learned Scribonius" is that entitled De Compositione Medicamentorum Liber," the best Edition of which is said to be that of Padua, 1655, in 4to, with Notes by Rhodius. He was of Rome in the Time of Claudius. His Book is a Sort of Repository of Prescriptions, which Prescriptions were of about as much value, in a medical Point of View, as later ones were for determining what Persons were Witches. Nouveau Dict. Hist. a Lyon, 1804.
[36] This Self Complacency is somewhat surprising, considering this Record was made while above an hundred poor Wretches were lying in the Jails of Boston and Salem!
[37] The Author doubtless has Reference to the Dæmonology of James I. See Introduction.
[38] It is said that the learned Joseph Glanvil was made a "Fellow of the Royal Society" for an elaborate Treatise which he wrote on "The Vanity of Dogmatizing." If that entitled the said Joseph to be thus distinguished, no one ought any longer to question our Author's Claim to the same Distinction. Glanvil was as earnest a Defender of Witchcraft in his Time as Doctor Mather was a few Years later; and his Books, like this of the Doctor's, are entirely neglected except by the curious Investigators of the Progress of Society.
[39] Thus speaking of New England was strictly correct then, though it reminds us of what our English Brethren used to say at a much later Period in Reference to Boston—speaking of it as "the Colony of Boston," "the Colony of New England," &c.
