Читать книгу The Discovery of Witchcraft - Reginald Scot - Страница 28

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By what meanes the name of witches becommeth so famous, and how diverslie people be opinioned concerning them and their actions.

URELIE the naturall power of man or woman cannot be so inlarged, as to doo anie thing beyond the power and vertue given and ingraffed by God. But it is the will and mind of man, which is vitiated and depraved by the divell: neither dooth God permit anie more,⁸⁴ than that which the naturall order appointed by/15. him dooth require. Which naturall order is nothing else, but the ordinarie power of God, powred into everie creature, according to his state and condition. But hereof more shall be said in the title of witches confessions. Howbeit you shall understand, that few or none are throughlie persuaded, resolved, or satisfied, that witches can indeed accomplish all these impossibilities: but some one is bewitched in one point, and some is coosened in another, untill in fine, all these impossibilities, and manie mo, are by severall persons affirmed to be true.

And this I have also noted,⁸⁵ that when anie one is coosened with a coosening toie of witchcraft, and maketh report thereof accordinglie verifieng a matter most impossible and false as it were upon his owne knowledge, as being overtaken with some kind of illusion or other (which illusions are right inchantments) even the selfe-same man will deride the/snp like lie proceeding out of another mans mouth, as a fabulous matter unworthie of credit. It is also to be woondered, how men (that have seene some part of witches coosenages detected, and see also therein the impossibilitie of their owne presumptions, & the follie and falsehood of the witches confessions) will not suspect, but remaine unsatisfied, or rather obstinatelie defend the residue of witches supernaturall actions: like as when a juggler hath discovered the slight and illusion of his principall feats, one would fondlie continue to thinke, that his other petie juggling knacks of legierdemaine are done by the helpe of a familiar: and according to the follie of some papists, who seeing and confessing the popes absurd religion, in the erection and maintenance of idolatrie and superstition, speciallie in images, pardons, and relikes of saints, will yet persevere to thinke, that the rest of his doctrine and trumperie is holie and good.

Finallie, manie mainteine and crie out for the execution of witches, that particularlie beleeve never a whit of that which is imputed unto them; if they be therein privatelie dealt withall, and substantiallie opposed and tried in argument./16.