A Treatise of Witchcraft | Page 3

confesse her confederacy with the Diuell, cursing,
banning, and enuy towards her neighbours, and hurts done to then,
expressing euery one by name, so many as be in the following
discourse, nominated, and how she craued mercy of God, and pardon
for her offences, with other more specialties afterward expressed. And
thus I end, taking my leaue, and commending thee to the gracious
guidance and preseruation of our good God in our blessed Sauiour
Christ Iesus._
Thine euer in the Lord,
A. ROBERTS.
* * * * *
A TREATISE OF THE CONFESSION AND EXECVTION OF
_MARY SMITH, CONVICTED OF WITCHCRAFT_, and condemned
for the same: of her contract vocally & in solemne tearmes made with
the Diuell; by whose meanes she hurt sundry persons whom she enuied,
with some necessary Propositions added thereunto, discouering the
wickednesse of that damnable Art, and diuers other speciall poynts, not
impertinent vnto the same, such as ought diligently of euery Christian
to bee considered.
There is some diuersitie of iudgement among the learned, who should

be the first Author and Inuenter of Magicall and curious Arts. The most
generall occurrence of opinion is, that they fetch their pedigree from
the [a]Persians, who searching more deeply into the secrets of Nature
then others, and not contented to bound themselues within the limits
thereof, fell foule of the Diuell, and were insnared in his nets.
[Footnote a: _Augustinus de diuinatione Dæmonum: & de Ciuitate Dei.
lib. 7. cap. 35. Plinius historia naturalis lib. 30. cap. 1._]
And among these, the publisher vnto the world was Zoroaster, who so
soone as he by birth[b] entred the world, contrary to the vsuall
condition of other men, laughed (whereas the beginning of our life is a
sob, the end a sigh) and this was ominous to himselfe, no warrantise for
the enioying of the pleasures of this life, ouercome in battell by
_Ninus_[c] King of the Assirians, and ending his dayes by the stroake
of a thunder-bolt, and could not, though a famous Sorcerer, either
fore-see, or preuent his owne destinie. And because he writ many
bookes of this damnable Art, and left them to posterity, may well be
accounted a chiefe maister of the same. But the Diuell[d] must haue the
precedencie, whose schollers both he and the rest were, who followed
treading in his steps. For he taught them South-saying, Auguration,
Necromancie, and the rest, meere delusions, aiming therein at no other
marke, then to with draw men from the true worshipping of God. And
all these pernitious practises are fast tied together by the tailes, though
their faces looke sundry wayes; and therefore the Professors thereof are
stiled by sundry names, as Magitians, Necromancers, Inchanters,
Wisards, Hagges, Fortune-tellers, Diuiners, Witches, Cunning Men,
and Women, &c. Whose Art is such a hidden mystery of[e]
wickednesse, and so vnsearchable a depth of Sathan, that neither the
secrets of the one can be discouered, nor the bottome of the other
further sounded, then either the practisers thereof themselues by their
owne voluntary confessions made, or procured by order of Iustice
(according to the manner of that Countrey where they be questioned)
haue acknowledged, or is manifested by the sundry mischiefes done of
them vnto others, proued by impartiall testimonies vpon oath, and by
vehement presumptions confirmed, or else communicated vnto vs in
the learned Treatises, and discourses of ancient and late Writers

gathered from the same grounds. And[f] although this Hellish Art be
not now so frequent as heretofore, since the Pagans haue beene
conuerted vnto Christianity, and the thick fogges of Popery
ouer-mantling the bright shining beames of the Gospel of Iesus Christ
(who came to dissolue the workes of the Diuell _.1. Ioh. 3. 8._) and
were by the sincere and powerfull preaching therof dispersed; yet
considering these bee the last times, dayes euill & dangerous, fore-told
that should come, _2. Tim. 3. 1._ in which iniquity must abound, _Mat.
24. 12._ and as a raging deluge ouer-runne all, so that Faith shall scarce
be found vpon earth, _Luk. 18. 8._ and the Diuell loosed from his
thousand yeares imprisonment, [g]_Reuel. 20. 3._ enraged with great
wrath walketh about, and seeketh whom he may deuoure _.1. Pet. 5. 8_.
Because he knoweth hee hath but a short time, _Reu. 12. 12._ Before I
enter into the particularity of the narration intended, it shall be materiall
to set downe some generall propositions, as a handfull of gleanings
gathered in the plentifull haruest of such learned men, who haue written
of this argument, whereby the erronious may be recalled, the weake
strengthened, the ignorant informed, and such as iudge aright already,
confirmed: and among many other these as chiefe, all which you shall
see exemplified in the following Discourse.
[Footnote b: _Augustinus de Ciuitate Dei. lib. 21. cap. 14._]
[Footnote