Читать книгу The Discoverie of Witchcraft - Reginald Scot - Страница 41

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The opinion of Cornelius Agrippa concerning witches, of his pleading for a poore woman accused of witchcraft, and how he convinced the inquisitors.

ORNELIUS AGRIPPA saith, that while he was in Italie, manie inquisitors in the dutchie of Millen troubled divers most honest & noble matrones, privilie wringing much monie from them, untill their knaverie was detected. Further he saith, that being an advocate or councellor in the Commonwelth of Maestright in Brabant, he had sore contention with an inquisitor, who through un/just36. accusations drew a poore woman of the countrie into his butcherie, and to an unfit place; not so much to examine hir, as to torment hir. Whom when C. Agrippa had undertaken to defend, declaring that in the things doone, there was no proofe, no signe or token that could cause hir to be tormented; the inquisitor stoutlie denieng it, said; One thing there is, which is proofe and matter sufficient: for hir mother was in times past burned for a witch. Now when Agrippa replied, affirming that this article was impertinent, and ought to be refused by the judge, as being the deed of another; alledging to the inquisitor, reasons and lawe for the same: he replied againe that this was true, bicause they used to sacrifice their children to the divell, as soone as they were borne; and also bicause they usuallie conceived by spirits transformed into mans shape, and that thereby witchcraft was naturallie ingraffed into this child, as a disease that commeth by inheritance./33.

C. Agrippa repliengA bitter invective against a cruell inquisitor. against the inquisitors follie & superstitious blindnesse, said; O thou wicked preest! Is this thy divinitie? Doost thou use to drawe poore guiltlesse women to the racke by these forged devises? Doost thou with such sentences judge others to be heretikes, thou being a more heretike than either Faustus or Donatus? Be it as thou saiest, dooest thou not frustrate the grace of Gods ordinance; namelie baptisme? Are the words in baptisme spoken in vaine? Or shall the divell remaine in the child, or it in the power of the divell, being there and then consecrated to Christ Jesus, in the name of the father, the sonne, and the holie ghost? And if thou defend their false opinions, which affirm, that spirits accompanieng with women, can ingender; yet dotest thou more than anie of them, which never beleeved that anie of those divels, togither with their stolne seed, doo put part of that their seed or nature into the creature. But though indeed we be borne the children of the divell and damnation, yet in baptisme, through grace in Christ, sathan is cast out, and we are made new creatures in the Lord, from whome none can be separated by another mans deed. The inquisitor being hereat offended, threatened the advocate to proceed against him, as a supporter of heretikes or witches; yet neverthelesse he ceased not to defend the seelie woman, and through the power of the lawe he delivered hir/37. from the clawes of the bloodie moonke, who with hir accusers, were condemned in a great summe of monie to the charter of the church of Mentz, and remained infamous after that time almost to all men.

But by the waie you must understand, that this was but a petie inquisitor, and had not so large a commission as Cumanus, Sprenger, and such other had; nor yet as the Spanish inquisitors at this daie have. For these will admit no advocats now unto the poore soules, except the tormentor or hangman may be called an advocate. You may read the summe of this inquisition in few words set out by M. John Fox John Fox in the acts and monuments. in the Acts and monuments. For witches and heretikes are among the inquisitors of like reputation; saving that the extremitie is greater against witches, bicause through their simplicitie, they may the more boldlie tyrannize upon them, and triumph over them.