A system of magick; or, a history of the black art: Being an historical account of mankind's most early dealing with the Devil; and how the acquaintance on both sides first begun.

A SYSTEM of MAGICK.

INTRODUCTION.

Of the Meaning of the Terms; who and what kind of People the Magicians were, and how the Words Magick or Magician were originally understood.

_BEFORE I come to the main End of this Undertaking, which is plainly laid down in my Title, 'tis necessary to explain the Terms, and to determine fully what is and is not to be under|stood by Magick, the Black Art, and such like hard Words as we shall be oblig'd to make frequent Use of as we go along.

I am willing to suppose my Readers not so un|acquainted with the ancient Usage, as not to know that the Word Magick had a quite different Signi|fication in former Times from what it is now apply'd to, and that the People who studied or profess'd that which we now call Magick, were quite another sort of Folk, than those worthy Gentlemen who now apply themselves to that Profession.

In a Word, a Magician was no more or less in the ancient Chaldean Times, than a Mathematician, a

Man of Science, who stor'd with Knowledge and Learning, as Learning went in those Days, was a kind of walking Dictionary to other People, and instructed the rest of Mankind in any Niceties and Difficulties which occur'd to them, and which they wanted to be inform'd about; and in this Sense we are to be understood when we speak of the Magicians in Egypt, in Persia, in Babylon, &c.

Thus when any Omens, ill Signs and Tokens, Dreams, or other strange things happen'd in those Times, whether publickly in the Air, or particu|lar to Persons and Families, we find not only the ordinary People, but even Kings and Princes sent im|mediately for the Magicians and the wise Men, the Southsayers, &c. to tell them what the Meaning o•• such things was.

These Magicians are explain'd on many Occa|sions by the term of wise Men, and that Term again by Men of Knowledge, and more than ordinary Understanding. Men, in a word, who studied Na|ture, look'd up into, and made Observations from the Motions of the Stars and other heavenly Bo|dies, and who, as 'tis said in the Scriptures, under|stood the Signs of the Times, the Face of the Hea|vens, and the Influences of the Superior Luminarie there; who searched into the Arcana of Nature, an•• were Masters of perhaps a little experimental Philo+sophy; I say a little, for Reasons which I shall re|peat presently.

It was no Impropriety in Speech to call such a•• these wise Men at that time, tho' perhaps the utmos•• of their Knowledge might arrive to no more tha•• what we would now justly call superficial. Be|cause at that time the Knowledge of Nature wa•• very green and young in the World; and the Phi|losopher of those times, if he was to be rated by th•• Rules Men are pleased to judge by at this time, woul•• be something like our Learned Friend Sir Tho. J...

whose particular Honour it was to be a Doctor among Fools, and a Fool among Doctors.

To these Magicians Men went on the several Oc|casions hinted as above for the Solution of doubt|ful Questions; to be resolved and directed in difficult and intricate Undertakings; to be advised in things of Moment; and these were therefore called Sages first, and for a long time; and afterwards Magi, from the greatness of their Wisdom. Hence the wise Statesmen to whom the Government of the Median Interregnum was committed were called Magi; as wise Men to whom alone it was fit to intrust so important an Article as that of the Go|vernment of an Empire.

Thus afterwards in the Israelites times, their wise Men were called by another but very signifi|cant Name or Term (viz.) SEERS, a Word after|wards held in such Veneration, that they thought fit to bestow it upon their Prophets, who also were called Seers, tho' afterwards they obtained a supe|rior Title, namely that of Man of God. But before that I say the wiser Men were called Seers; and this is most expresly signified in that eminent Text, 1 Sam. ix.9. where 'tis said that before time they used to say when they wanted to enquire of God, that is to enquire about any thing difficult, come and let us go to the SEER, that is to the Magician, the wise Man, the Prophet, or what else you please to call him.

It is plain from the same Text also that they sometimes went to those People called SEERS upon meaner Enquiries; for they took it for grant|ed that those Seers dealt in all secret Matters; Thus Ahaziah sent to Baal-zebub when he was sick, to know if he should live or dye, 2 Kings i.2, 3. and so the King of Syria's Captains told their Master, that Elisha the Prophet told the King of Israel what he did in his Bed-chamber, 2 Kings vi.12. And to bring it down to a meaner Case still;

even when Saul wanted but to find his Father's lost Asses or Cattle, his Servant said to him, let us go and enquire of the SEER; and so they did, and found News of them.

Likewise it appears by the same Text, that those Seers, or Prophets, or Magi, made an Employment of it, that it was their Business to tell Men of their lost Goods, direct them in their Way, foretel of their Health, and the like; and that they made a Livelyhood or Trade of it; therefore when Saul's Servant proposed to him to go to the SEER, Saul made a Difficulty of it because he had nothing to give him; as if he should have said, I have no Money in my Pocket, and not a Loaf of Bread to give the cun|ning Man or SEER, and how should I expect that he should give me any Account of my Cattle for nothing? Then when the Servant told him he had a fourth-part of a Shekle of Silver in his Purse, (which by the way was not above seven Pence half-penny, or thereabouts) Saul was mighty glad, re|solving to give the low-priz'd Magician or Prophet that vast Fee, to tell him what was become of his Father's Asses.

It seems the Lawyers Fees were not so high in those Days as they have been since; for if he had not had that Piece of Silver, perhaps about as big as an En|glish Groat, I say, if he had not had that, a couple of half-penny Barly Loaves it seems would have been as good, and have done as well; those Loaves being not usually bigger than our Half-penny, or at best than our Penny Wheaten brown Bread Loaves are now.

Again you find when Benhadad King of Da|mascus sent to Elisha the Prophet to know if h•• should live or dye, he sent the Prophet a Present forty Camels loaden with all the good things o•• Damascus, 2 Kings viii. 9. A large Fee! But 'tis t•• be supposed the Gift sent, was not suited to th••

Prophet so much as to the Sender; he gave as a King; but still we find the SEERS were suppos'd to make the Gain their Business.

That it was the same thing with the Magi before that, we have no reason to doubt, tho' we have no Particular in Story relating to that part. But we find those Southsayers, Magicians, and wise Men, who were sent for by Pharaoh King of Egypt to interpret his Dream, were to have receiv'd great Rewards, if they had given Satisfaction to the King; and Joseph we see did receive great Rewards, as well as Honour, on that Account.

Again afterwards in the Case of Nebuchadnez|zar's Dream, there is a sufficient Testimony that those wise Men, Astrologers, Magicians, &c. were esteemed not to be Wizards and Dealers with the Devil, but only (as I have explain'd the Word a|bove) meer Philosophers, or wise Men, Men of Lear|ning and Knowledge, Men of Science and of Skill in the works of Nature; for when the King demanded of them to tell him not only the Interpretation of the Dream, but the Dream it self, and threaten'd them with Death in case they fail'd to perform it, they expo|stulate with the King upon the unreasonableness of the Proposal, as a thing that no King in the World would expect from them, and that was not in the power of Nature to perform:

As if they had said, does your Majesty think we deal with the Devil, that you should expect such a Piece of Work as this from us? it is not in the Power of any, or of all the wise Men, or Philosophers, in the World; and therefore it cannot be imagined we should do it; but let the King tell us the Dream, and then we will interpret it, and that's as much as Man can do.

'Tis plain from hence, not only that the Magi or Magicians in those Days were not really Conju|rers and Dealers with the Devil, but that they were understood to be what we may call Scholars, Men

of Learning, of Wisdom, and of a superior Un|derstanding: So when the King calls for Daniel to prefer him, it is said he did it because an excellent Spirit was found in him; and in another Place 'tis said, that the Spirit of the Holy Gods was in him; whereas at the same time 'tis certain that the King esteemed him as one of the Magicians; nay, and he was set over them, as the Chief and Governor of all the rest. Certainly then they did not take those Magicians to be what we have since under|stood of ours, (viz.) Dealers with the Devil, and Sorcerers, such as ought to be punished for having or using unlawful Arts, and Practices with evil Spi|rits and the like.

Had this been the common Opinion of them, they would have been treated after another man|ner, both then and in after-Ages; for not only a|mong the Jews, but in other Nations, such as we call now Magicians were punished as Criminals.

But to go back a little to Originals, and to fetch up Knowledge from the Fountain: Man born igno|rant arrives to very little Knowledge but what comes by one of these two Channels.

First, Long Experience, Study and Application.

Secondly, Teaching and Instruction from those that went before.

I shall insist only upon the last, and that parti|cularly for the sake of what was Antediluvean. The most early Knowledge which Mankind obtain'd in those Days, is suppos'd to be by Teaching imme|diately from Heaven; for Example. Adam and Eve's Mouths were open'd at the same time with their Eyes, and they could speak, and knew what Language to speak, as soon as they were made. But 'tis most certain also, that all the speaking World since Adam and Eve learnt it successively from them, by mere Imitation of Sounds, teaching of Parents and Nurses, and the like.

After Adam, his Posterity having learnt to speak immediately from him, and so to converse with one another, a consummate acquir'd Knowledge in several other things quickly follow'd; particular Arts and Sciences were either taught by Inspira|tion from Heaven, or attain'd by the exquisite Ca|pacities of their Minds; One having a Genius to this, Another to that kind of Knowledge; as one to Music, another to working in and finding out Metals and Minerals in the Earth, then melting, refining, casting, and other Operations and Im|provements, as Knowledge came in by the Door of Experiment.

Adam's Posterity (I mean his particular House or Family) learnt to speak more immediately from him and Eve their Mother by meer imitation of Sounds, as we do to this day from one an|other.

But having thus obtained Speech from their im|mediate Parents, all other acquir'd Knowledge men|tion'd above, such as of their Improvement of Culture, Discoveries in Nature, and the like, seem'd to be the Consequence, 1. Of a vehement and in|flam'd Desire after Knowledge, planted in their Minds by Nature it self; an inquiring Disposi|tion; being sensible of a vast Treasure hidden in Nature apt for Discovery, and which as it were waited only for the Search, in order to open it self to their View for the general Good. 2. A vast capacious Understanding fitted for that Search, and which we have reason to believe the Antediluvean Fathers were more than ordinarily furnished with, guiding them directly to the Search after, and into all the Arcana of Nature, with a Readiness and Accuracy so pointed, as if they had been before-hand instructed what to search for, how to search for it, and where to find it. 3. A secret In|spiration from Heaven, filling them with, or at

least directing them to the Knowledge of things in a more than ordinary manner.

N.B. We cannot doubt but were there now to ap|pear a Man perfectly untaught, not having con|verst at all with Men taught and instructed before him, and yet should have a Treasure of such Knowledge in his Mind, exerting it self in Action to such a degree as was ordinary to the Patriarchs of the Antediluvean Age, we should presently give him up for a Magician in the grossest Acceptation of the Word, and say in short that he deals with the Devil.

But be it so or not, and let the consummate Knowledge of those Patriarchs, come which way it will, and, be as great as it will, or as you will suppose it to be, this is certain, it died with them; 'twas all drown'd in the Flood, the Post-diluvean Age inherited very little of it; or if they did, it was drown'd again in the Flood of Vice and Wick|edness, which almost as soon overspread the World, as the People did the Plains of Shinaar, and much sooner than they spread the rest of the Earth with their Posterity, however fast they multiplied.

Nor do I wrong the People of those first Ages after the Flood in the least, when I say they seem'd to have lost all that fund of Knowledge, all that capa|cious Understanding, and all that sacred Inspiration, which their Predecessors the Antediluveans were Masters of; I need go no further for an Ex|ample of it than the building of Babel. For was it possible that any thing so absurd and ridiculous could have entred into the Thoughts of Men, if they had not been sunk into an unexpressible Dege|neracy as to Sense, a meer Stupidity of Understan|ding? To say nothing of their having lost all Pre|tence to Inspiration; so far were they from any Share of sacred Light in it, that they could not be said to

have acted with common Sense. Bless us! to build a House to reach up to Heaven! or as we may with more Propriety express it, to build a Stair-case to go up into Heaven by; and that in case of an|other Flood too, which adds to the Madness of the design many ways.

• 1. They had certainly no Notion of Heaven it self; not to speak of religious Notions of Heaven, they must be entirely dark and stupid as to the Phi|losophy of it; The immense Distance, the differing Regions, the Alteration of things in their natural Circumstances and Situation by the Way, or in the Passage.
• 2. They had no Understanding of their own Constitution, or at least they must have very gross and absurd Conceptions about it; as particularly of their breathing and subsisting in the Regions above the Atmosphere, and in the pure unmix'd Aether, (or what else it should be called) which they who mounted up to such Height would be sure to meet with, and in which they might as easily conceive an Impossibility of breathing, as they could con|ceive of the Impossibility of living without Breath.
• 3. They must have had no Notion of the Na|ture of the Flood it self; as that of the Power, Force, and Weight of the Waters, when moving in such a collected Body; how unable any thing they could build would be to resist the Force, and not be presently blown up and driven away by the Stream.
• 4. They must be utterly ignorant of the Nature of the Earth on which their Building stood; how no Foundation could be laid so deep or so firm in it, but what by the Violence of such an immense Ocean of Water would be loosen'd and overwhelm'd, and the Fabrick by consequence be brought down; the Earth which upheld it being wash'd away.
• ...

• 5. They must be wholly ignorant of what our learned Theory Men insist to have been the Causes of the Deluge, namely an Absorption or breaking in of the Surface of that Earth which was before a known Cavity or Hollow fill'd up with Water, in|to which the Earth fell with a Violence equal to the Fall of the highest Mountain that could be supposed to fall into the lowest Subterranean Deep; and in which case the Height, and Strength, and Magnitude of their Building could only serve to make its Fall more violent, more certain, and more terrible.

All these things, and many more, which Nature, had they been capable of consulting it, would have dictated to them, they must be perfectly ignorant of; otherwise they could never, with a Delibera|tion and long consulting one another, as the Rela|tion of the Story implies, have gone about so ridi|culous a piece of Work as that of Babel, than which nothing attempted by the grossest and dull|est Fancies on Earth was ever more abominably foolish and ignorant.

Were these the Posterity of the wise Antedilu|vean Age! whose Minds were inspired from Hea|ven, and whose Understandings were so eminently large and capacious, whose Genius led them to the inventing the most useful Arts, and to exalt them in quest of the noblest parts of Science, (such as Musick in particular;) and to make the most refin'd Experiments, such as the melting, mixing, separa|ting, and refining of Metals; and which was still as much as all the rest, the finding those Metals in the Oar, as the Iron, the Copper, the Silver, and the Gold, of which we find they had a compleat Knowledge, and carried it on no doubt to the most useful Experiments? Thus Jabal and Jubal for Ex|ample, the Sons of Lamech, who severally apply|ing themselves to useful Arts, became Instructors

of their Posterity in Culture of the Earth, Hus|bandry, breeding of Cattle, &c. Others we find were Proficients in Philosophy, and the study of Nature; for the Doctrine of Sounds is one of the nicest Parts of philosophical Study, and we find them im|mediately Masters of Musick, and inventing and instructing others in making the Instruments of Mu|sick; and particularly those Nicest and most Dif|ficult of all the rest, the Harp, and the Organ, that is to say Wind-Musick, which is Vocal; and Musick by Vibration, which we call Instrumental; likewise Tubal-Cain their Brother, who was the first Artificer, of whom we may say that he was a true natural Mechanick, and the first and best Tinker in the World.

In the room of this capacious Understanding, and this inquiring and applying Temper in those Ages, behold a stupid Generation risen up in Suc|cession; stript as naked of the natural Glories of their Ancestors, as the Earth was of its natural Fruitfulness after the Curse in Paradise; and instead of applying themselves to useful Arts, and to the acquiring of Knowledge, grown as indolent as they were ignorant, having, like Solomon's Fool, no de|light in Understanding.

Instead of qualifying themselves to instruct their Posterity, we see no marks of Wisdom left behind them fit for Imitation; nothing that could recom|mend them to their Children for any thing but a Race of brutish, unpolish'd, unfinish'd Creatures, that neither understood Heaven or Earth, themselves, or any thing about them; that seem'd qualified for nothing but meerly, as the rest of the Brutal World were, to propagate their Kind, and overspread the Earth.

Nor in their Multiplying their Species did they seem to promise any thing but to people the World with a Race of Fools, as ignorant and sor|did

as their Antediluvean Progenitors had been out rageously wicked; a Race that threaten'd to make Heaven as sick of them for their Folly, as it was of those that went before them for their Corrup|tions and abominable Vices; and that might be a likely to have brought a Deluge upon them for thei•• obstinate untractable Ignorance, as the other had been for their Rebellion and Looseness, ha•• not God's Promise not to destroy the World any more, been their Security.

Nor indeed were they less corrupt, their Capa|cities consider'd, than the old World, whose flagrant Crimes had involv'd them in a general Destruction and if they fell short in any thing, it was fo•• want of Wit, not for want of Wickedness.

This appears in all their subsequent Conduct, from the first peopling of the World after Noah to that foolish Babel-Building-Age I speak of: In the old World we found, that, at least for a time, Men began to call on the Name of the Lord; and the Patriarchs of that Age were famous for Piety, of whom 'tis said, as particularly of Enoch, that he walked with God: an emphatic significant Expression, which our learned Commentators have spent a great deal of Time in expatiating upon and explain|ing. The Scripture again expresses this walking with God to be an Act of Faith, and quotes it, Heb. xi. ver. 5. as a glorious Example of such Faith as was rewarded with an immediate Translation of the Person into Heaven. He was not, for GOD took him; and from which the most exquisitely and ac|complishtly whimsical Mr. Asgill form'd his new System of going the nearest way (Home) to Hea|ven by the farthest way about, a fiery Chariot in|stead of dying; as if the former were not a Change as well as the latter, and as if Heaven had not al|ready made the best Choice for us: But tho' he suf|fer'd Martyrdom for his Scheme (having been ex|pell'd

the Parliament of two Kingdoms for it) we do not find he has yet had the Benefit of his Pro|ject, so we must wait till he is pleased to make the Experiment.

But to return to the Antediluveans: The old World, I say, as wicked as they were, had some shadow of Good in them, and for some Years, nay some hun|dreds of Years, they maintain'd the Character of the Sons of God, before they were debauched by the Daughters of Men; that is to say, before they blended the Race with the corrupt Seed of Cain, and mingled Blood with Idolaters. Where, by the way, we have an accurate Description of the Times, I mean in those early Days, of the Race; 'tis evident 'twas just then as 'tis now, the Ladies were the Devils of the Age; the Beauties, the Toasts, the fine Faces were the Baits; the Hell lay concealed in the Smiles of the charming Sex, They were the Magicians, taking the Word in its present Accepta|tion and its grossest Sense: There lay the Witch|craft, and its Force was so irresistible, that it drew in even the Sons of God, just, in a word, as it does now, and of which I shall have Occasion to speak again at large as we go on.—In the mean time, I descend with the Story to the next Gene|ration.

The Antediluveans might have something of Re|ligion in them, however fatally mix'd with Crime; but as for the new Good-for-nothing Race, we hardly read of any thing that ever was to be found among them that may be called valuable, from Noah himself downward; and even Noah himself, we all know, fell into the Debaucheries of Wine, and if you will believe Tradition, continued in it a hundred Years. Now from him, and from his immediate Race, Nature seem'd prepared for the utmost De|generacy, for they fell into all manner of Crimes, nay into the worst Crimes first; for they did not

begin low and sin gradually, but immediately afte•• the Drunkenness of Noah himself, his Posterity de+generated into Idolatry, or rather return'd to it, fo•• some think, and that not without Probability e+nough, that Noah's Sons were Idolaters before th•• Flood, and were saved in the Ark, such was the Wi•• of God, meerly for being the Posterity or Progen•• of a righteous Father; if so, then they only returned to the Idolatry which they had been practis'd it before.

But be that as it will, 'tis certain that the Poste|rity of Noah fell immediately into Idolatry, and tha•• all his wise Dictates which he gave to his Chil|dren, which for so many Ages were preserved by oral Traduction, and were called the Precepts of Noah, had no sufficient Effect upon them to prevent that hated Sin of Idolatry, no not even while he was alive.

It is worth observing here indeed, were it not too grave for your Reading, how effectually Noah by the horrid Defection of his own Morals in that One Act of Drunkenness, I say how effectually he shut the Door against the Force of all his Own future In|structions: He was till then indeed a Preacher of Righteousness, and had been so to the Antediluvean World for near six hundred Years; but after that, he might preach indeed if he would, but what Re|gard would he obtain, when the debauch'd Instructor had expos'd himself by his Drunkenness to the Ri|dicule instead of the Reverence of his Posterity, and when the drunken Monitor by his own Pra|ctice had render'd his Instructions fruitless and ridi|culous?

How justly might they bid him hold his Tongue, and go and reform his Life, before he pretended to instruct them? bid him first learn the Precepts he taught, and show them by his Example what it was he would have them practise? How might they

upbraid him with exhorting them to be sober, while he went drunk to bed? exhorting them to Modesty and Virtue, while he appear'd in the most scandalous manner, lying drunk in his Tent, and his Nakedness expos'd to the Banter and im|pious Jest of his Grandson Ham?

How must it cover his Face with Blushes, to find he had dishonoured by his Example the Doctrine of Sobriety which he had preached to his Children, who were thereby brought to mock him, rather than to listen to him, and to make Ballads of him, rather than copy his Precept for their Imitation?

But I say this is a Subject too solemn for the Age, and you will presently tell me I am going to write a Comment upon the ninth Chapter of Ge|nesis. So I leave it for you to consider of, and re|turn to the Chronology of early Wickedness in the Post-diluvean World.

Noah being thus disabled, by his own falling into Crime, from instructing his Posterity, what was the Consequence? he liv'd to see them run headlong into that worst of all Crimes, Idolatry, and the Worship of GOD sunk as it were out of the World, even in his own time, and before his Eyes.

This is evident from Abraham, whom the Scripture acknowledges to have been not an Idolater only, but even bred up in Idolatry while he lived in Me|sopotamia; and 'tis certain Abraham was born above fifty Years before Noah died: So that Noah liv'd to see his Posterity degenerated into Idolatry, not all his Preaching or Practice being able to pre|vent it.

Having thus seen all the Wickedness of the old World revived in its new Inhabitants, without the Wit and Capacities which they had before; and the Race being thus entirely degenerated, we must be|gin all our historical Account of them with taking them just as we find them, and that will bring us directly to the Subject I propose.

The Race being thus, as I have said, stript naked of the Beauties of their Ancestors, whether in Mat|ters of Sense and Understanding, or in Matters of Piety and Religion, and running on into all man|ner of foolish and simple as well as wicked Excesses, it is not at all wonderful if when any particular Per|son appeared more than ordinary knowing, or but a Lover of and Searcher after Knowledge and Wisdom, such a Person was honoured in a more than ordinary manner, was reverenced as an extra|ordinary Man, exalted in the common Esteem when alive, and perhaps placed among the Stars after his Death; that he who shined in their Esteem when living, might be supposed to be made immor|tal at his Death, and to be exalted to shine in a higher Orbit.

Hence it became a vulgar Error among the first Ages, but was riveted so fast in the Minds of Men, that nothing could perswade them not to believe it, (viz.) that the Stars were all the transparent bright Souls of their wise Ancestors, who for their Virtue and Wisdom were exalted by the immortal Powers to a Station of Glory, and were made to shine in that manner for the farther enlightning the World, to whom they had been so beneficent when they were here; and from hence it came at last that all their great Men, and especially their Kings, were thus reverenced and exalted, whether they were good Men or no.

It could not be, but that in Process of Time, as the World grew populous, tho' they had none of the rare Parts and exalted Understandings of the Antediluvean Patriarchs, yet there would be some Men of a more refined Genius, and of more capacious Souls than others. Surely the World would not be all Fools, or not all equally and alike so; nor can I doubt but that while the gross of the People went about that hare-brain'd preposterous

piece of Work which we call Babel, there were some wiser Heads who tho' they might not care to oppose themselves to the popular Humour, or per|haps to their Resentment, and did not ridicule and mock the Undertaking, yet look'd on it with a different View, and entertain'd wiser Notions of Things, and consequently (when by the Confu|sions which afterwards happened among the Buil|ders on Account of their Speech, they were oblig'd to give over their Work) might take the Liberty to expostulate with them upon the Weakness of the Design, and convince them afterwards that it was an unlikely impracticable thing: Or perhaps those Men had calmly argued that Part with them be|fore, and had, as far as the times would bear it, declared their Sentiments about it; these Men would certainly obtain the Character of wise Men upon this Occasion, and be valued by them as such upon all subsequent Events.

As upon the Confusion of Languages the several Families who understood one anothers Speech kept together, so 'tis very probable they did not separate singly, every one running his own way, but by Families and Tribes, or by Nations, as their Speech was or was not understood by one another; and this was directed by Providence no doubt, for it is said in the Text, God scatter'd them upon the Face, or over the Face, of the whole Earth.

It is not unlikely but that when they left off Building, and found they were not able to pursue the Design, with that Impossibility they began also to see into the Folly and Absurdity of the Undertaking; and began more and more every day to reflect upon their Stupidity in going about it; that being withal ashamed of the Work, they were ashamed of the Place too, and went every Man, or Tribe of Men at least, their own Way, to get as far out of the sight of it as they could: I

grant indeed that this is but my Conjecture, but I think 'tis a very just Conjecture, and 'tis made on Supposition that all wise Men look back with Re|gret upon those Actions of their Lives which they have been drawn into, and in which they have reason to see themselves mistaken.—In short, a•• no Man loves to see himself a Fool, and if he ha•• done a foolish thing, does not care to have the Re|membrance of it always in his View; so generally if he cannot get the Object removed and put ou•• of his sight, he will remove himself from it, if he can.

Upon this foot I cannot doubt, but that all the People quitted the Plain of Shinaar as fast as they could, and run away from the hated Monument o•• their Shame; we would have done so our selves and I cannot doubt, I say, but they did so too.

Suppose then the People to be upon their March and going to the several Quarters of the World, whi|ther they were directed to settle; and let that b•• where you and Sir Walter Raleigh please; for tha•• learned Author following Scripture-light has really marshall'd them, and laid out their several Routs a•• exactly and authenticly as if he had been Com|missary-General, and had gone before to provide them Quarters.

Wherever, I say, these several Nations went, and in what Country soever they settled and fixed their Abode, tho' the Government and Monarchy of each Division was Patriarchal and Hereditary, yet we shall find upon several Occasions afterward, that they had among them many particular Men famous for their Wisdom and Knowledge, and for their Search into the Secrets of Nature, whose consummate Wisdom by degrees not only obtained for them a more than ordinary Reverence among the People; but, in short brought the People to subject themselves to their Government, and make some of them Kings.

Thus Cadmus, a Phoenician born, became King of Thebes in Greece, by having obtain'd the Fame of a wise Man, and one who dedicated himself to the common Good of Mankind; So Prometheus obtain'd the Government of a Part of Armenia, and Atlas the like in Africa; and thus several others, by their Wis|dom and earnest Search after Knowledge, obtain'd the Empire and Government of those Countries where their Wisdom was so conspicuous. But pray take this with you as you go, that those Days are over, that Wisdom crowns no Man Now, except it be with the Rage and Malice of Enemies, with Po|verty and Insult.

Probitas laudatur & Alget.

Honesty shall be prais'd and starv'd; Wisdom and Knowledge are Marks for the Men of Power to shoot at; to be High and Great, is to be Wise and Good.

He that is Rich is Wise, And all Men learned Poverty despise.

But this is but an Excursion, I come back re|proved: The Magi were not always Kings or Em|perors; the Wise Men and the Southsayers, the Magicians and Astrologers (who by the way were all but one sort of People) were often times in mean Cir|cumstances as to Money, even in those graver Days; they acted for the publick Good indeed, but it was in Conjunction with their own Interest too, they had their Rewards for Southsaying and Divining; and when the King of Syria asked his Servants to go to Elisha the Prophet to enquire for him about his Health, he bad them take a Present in their Hand for the Man of God.

I cannot indeed say how high priz'd things went in those Days, and whether Wisdom was not un|der-rated

then, as it is now; whether there was due Encouragement given for the Search, or whe|ther Wit went threadbare and in Rags, as it does since; Authors are not agreed upon it indeed, and it may be hard to bring them to a Point: It is true, later and more modern Philosophers learned to de|spise Money, and Solon preferred Wisdom and a retired Life to the Wealth of Croesus; but in the more early Times of the World, the Knowledge of Nature and the Study of Wisdom as it went then, seemed to be a communicative Good, which therefore as they that reaped the Benefit of it ought to pay for and did so, so their wise Men grew (in time) mercenary and mean, as in other Places.

This leads me to the Times when the primitive Wisdom of those early Days beginning, as I said, to be more common, and that the Magi had com|municated much of their Knowledge to the com|mon People. Those then who still pretended to be something beyond the rest of the World, were obliged to go higher in their Studies, and enquire into Nature, view the Aspect of the Heavens, cal|culate the Motions of the Stars, and especially dwell upon their Influences in human Affairs, which is since called Astrology.

By this Study they obtained the Name of South|sayers and Astrologers, added to that of Magicians, which they had before: and on the foot of these Studies they interpreted Dreams, explain'd good and bad Omens, foretold Events, and perhaps play'd some Leger-de-main Tricks too, to impose upon the World, as their worthy Successors do to this Day; and in a word, 'tis likely they did all those things then, which these People do now, of whom we say with more Freedom perhaps than Truth, that they deal with the Devil.

Not that those People were charged, at least not yet, with any criminal Conversation with the

old Gentleman; nor, if I understand how the Case stood with Satan at that time, had he any man|ner of Occasion for them, but did his Business quite another way; for the Devil had Altars and Temples of his own, was another kind of a King in those Days than he has appeared to be since: THEN he gave Audience in form of a Deity, and saw himself worshipped like a God almost throughout the whole World: Here, under the Name of Baal; there, Mo|loch; here in one manner, there in another: Nor had the GOD of Heaven One Temple in the World, when the Devil had a great many scatter'd here and there, almost in every Nation. I assure you, however modern Writers think fit to repre|sent him, he scorn'd in those days to go about like a poor shabby Out-at-heels Devil, as he has done since, and may perhaps do now. No, He appeared in State, and as he usurped divine Honours, so he made a Figure suitable to his Usurpation, and had his Shrines and his Votaries, his Priests and his Places of Worship, in whatever Shapes or Places he pleas'd to be worshipp'd in: Thus as Dagon he had a House of solemn Worship at Ashdod, 1 Sam. v.2. and as Baalzebub at Ekron, and the like.

Now as the Devil had thus the Government of the whole World in his own Hand, and that he was almost in the very Letter of it the God of the World, so he had no need at that time to employ secret Agents, and work by way of Familiars or private Intelligence, as he does since; nor, to do the ho|nest Men Justice, had any of the Southsayers and Magicians, and those which were at first called their wise Men, any Conversation with the Devil at all, no, or with any of his Works, they carried on no Business for him.

But they were Men of Thought, or if you please, Men of deeper thinking than the ordinary sort: They studied the Sciences, and enquired into useful

things, searched the Works of Nature and Provi|dence, studied the Meaning and End of things, the Causes and Events, and consequently were able to see farther into the ordinary Course and Causes both of things about them, and things above them, than other Men.

In the study of Astronomy, they soon found the secret Influences of the Stars upon the Surface of the Earth, upon Plants and Animals, nay, upon both Man and Beast: as for Example, How the Growth and Virtues of earthly Bodies were guided and govern'd by the heavenly, and how even the Events of the greatest moment on Earth often|times obey'd the Force of those heavenly Bodies; their Conjunctions, Oppositions, near or remote Positions, Revolutions and Appearances; and ac|cordingly they were capable of making such pro|bable Conjectures of things not yet come to pass, as were amazing and surprizing to the rest of the World; and by which they took them, either for Men fill'd with sacred Knowledge, and that those things were communicated to them immediately from Heaven; or that, however they got it, they had a prophetick Knowledge of what should come to pass, and could foretel Events even before the apparent Causes were ordinarily known.

This gave the common People an extraordinary Veneration for the Persons of those Magicians and wise Men, as they had an awful Notion of their exceeding Wisdom and Knowledge. Thus Nebu|chadnezzar, after he had exalted the Prophet Daniel to be the chief of his wise Men, stoopt to him with a kind of Reverence, and begins his Address not like that of a Tyrant, the Terror of the World, as he at that time really was, but as One that had an Awe upon his Mind of the great Respect he ought to show to a Person divinely inspir'd as Daniel was. See the Text Dan. iv.9. O Belteshazzar, Masier

of the Magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the holy Gods is in thee, &c.—And so in the 8th Verse of the same Chapter. At last Daniel came in before me, whose Name is Belteshazzar, after the Name of my GOD, and in whom is the Spirit of the holy Gods.

These were the Magicians of the first Ages of the World, and such was the Opinion which the People had of them in those days; not that they were Conjurers, or cunning Men, or such sort of People as we now call them; but were Men, who at that time knew more than the ordinary rate of Knowledge instructed others to know; and were endued from Heaven with extraordinary Degrees of Wisdom above other Men. Nor was the Re|spect paid to them equal, but more or less in de|gree, according to the particular Degrees of sa|cred Inspiration which they were supposed to have. Thus in the Case of the Prophet Daniel (as above) the King treats him not as a Magician only, nor as the Chief of the Magicians only, but as a Man fill'd with higher degrees of Wisdom and Knowledge than any, nay than all the rest of the Magicians of the Age put together, as appears Dan. iv.18. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the Interpretation thereof, (that is of the Dream) for as much as all the wise Men of my Kingdom are not able to make known unto me the Interpretation, but thou art able, for the Spirit of the holy Gods is in thee.

This is still further explain'd in the next Chap|ter, and in the Transactions of the next Reign: I say it is farther and fully explain'd to my Purpose, (viz.) as to what was the People's Opinion of these Magicians, as well as their King. The Story is very particular. It was in the Reign of Belshazzar, the Son and Successor, according to some, of the Great Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon; when the King saw a Hand come out, and writing Words upon

the Wall, (see the Text) Dan. v.7. The King crye•• aloud to bring in the Astrologers, the Chaldeans, an•• the Southsayers to read the Writing. Why were these call'd, but as they were Men of Fame, for thei•• Learning in reading strange Characters, Men o•• Skill in Languages and Books, which in those Days the common People knew little or no|thing of.

Well, all the learned Men of the Kingdom were accordingly call'd together, but none of them could answer the End; no, notwithstanding all the great Rewards promis'd them. Ver. 8. Then came in a•• the King's wise Men, that is to say, the Flamsteads, the Sir Isaacs, the Halleys, the Whistons, &c. o•• the Age, but they could not read the Writing, &c. And what follows? Then was King Belshazzar great|ly troubled, and his Countenance was chang'd in him. Nor is that all, but the Text adds, and his Lords were astonied.

It seems they thought those wise Men knew e|very thing, that they had been able to understand all the Languages in the World, and that there|fore if they could not read it, it must be some|thing supernatural, something from above, or some|thing from below, which was worse; And in those Cases indeed they did not expect the wise Men should read it, for they did not suppose those wise Men corresponded with the Devil, or had an evil Spirit. They thought indeed, if it depended upon human Understanding, they could do it, but as to higher things than those they did not expect them; so the King and his Lords began to be the more surpriz'd at it. But now see the 10th Verse. The Queen directs them to enquire out Daniel, and send for him, and tells them he would certainly read the Writing, and tell them the Meaning or Inter|pretation of it. See the Words at large.

Now the Queen, by reason of the words of the King and his Lords, came to the banquet-house; and the Queen spake and said, O King, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed.

There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy Gods, and in the days of thy father, light and understanding, and wisdom, like the wisdom of the Gods, was found in him; whom the King Nebuchadnezzar thy Father, the King I say, thy Father, made Master of the Magicians, Astrologers, Chaldeans, and Soothsayers;

Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shew|ing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts were found in the same Daniel, whom the King named Bel|teshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the Interpretation.

After this Story no Man need enquire what the World understood by the Magicians and Astrologers, and wise Men of those Days; But 'tis plain they were look'd upon not as dealers with the De|vil, but as Men inspir'd from Heaven, fill'd with inspir'd Knowledge, Light and Understanding, and excellent Wisdom, that they could make Interpre|tations, resolve Doubts, &c. as ver. 15, 16. of the same 5th Chapter. And as such, the Princes and Lords of the Country apply'd to them in all diffi|cult and extraordinary Cases.

Now 'tis true, we have only Examples of the Kings and Princes making use of these People in difficult Cases, as Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Bel|shazzar. But 'tis not to be doubted, that the Peo|ple in general, of all Qualities and Conditions, went to them to be resolv'd in their Doubts, and to have Questions answer'd them in difficult Cases; in short this was their general Employment, and they made a Trade of it.

On this Account we find in several ancient Wri|tings, that the Southsayers were made use of to interpret Dreams, and foretel things to come; to represent good or bad Omens, and give their Opi|nions upon the Appearances of any extraordinary Phaenomena in Nature; Thus you have Julian the Apostate reproach'd with encouraging such Men, and listning to them, some Ages after this, when their Reputation was sunk to a lower degree by far, than it was at in former Times.

This being then the Case, we are not to talk of the Magick of those Ages, or of the People call'd Magicians, in the present vulgar Acceptation of the Word; but they are to be understood to be what Solon, Plato, Seneca, Aristotle, or any of the best and brightest of the Philosophers of after-Ages were known to be, namely Men of Learning; who had apply'd themselves to the study of Virtue, and to the Knowledge of and Search into the most hid|den treasures of Nature; who understood the Rea|sons of things, the Causes and Originals of the most retir'd and difficult Accidents in Nature, that search'd into, and calculated all Astronomical Diffi|culties; the Motions and Revolutions of heavenly Bodies; and, as I said before, their Influences on things below; that studied and found out the phy|sical Virtues of Plants, Metals, Minerals, and in a word every difficult thing, either in natural or experimental Philosophy.

These were the Magicians of those Days, and to write a System of Magick as it was then practis'd, and is to this Day understood to be the first mean|ing of it, would be to write a System of natural Philosophy; only with this specifick Difference, namely, that with the utmost of their Search, the highest of their Reach, and the greatest of their Understandings, they knew so little of every thing, or indeed of any thing, that the wisest of their

wise Men, the most accomplished Magician or Chaldean, in all the Egyptian or Chaldean Courts, could not pretend to know what our present Pu|pils in Science come to the understanding of in the first Lectures of Philosophy, which they go thro' in a Course of Academick Study.

Their Conceptions of things were rough and rude; what they entertain'd was either receiv'd by the Instruction of others, as by oral Tradition from the like wise Men that went before them, or from the dark Conjectures of their own reasoning and enquiring Dispositions, join'd perhaps to some few, and those but very mean, Experiments of their own making, from Observation and Reflection.

These first Lights burnt very dim in their Un|derstandings, and gave but little helps to them in their Search after Knowledge; but still as the rest of the World was infinitely darker, and more ig|norant also than they are now, so this dim Light, and these glimmerings of Knowledge, appear'd to them, (in proportion to the Light they had to judge by) as bright and shining, as the greatest and most consummate Knowledge does now to us in the Heads of a Boyle, a Newton, or the most ex|quisite and best accomplish'd Philosophers of the Age.

All things in Nature are great or little in their Appearances, in Proportion to those proper Ob|jects which they are to be consider'd with, or measur'd by. The Earth it self is consider'd as a vast Globe of solid Substances, form'd into one Body by an infinitely powerful Hand; when on the one hand it is measur'd by any particular Bodies, either Part of it self, or of any other Body, which are small, and as it may be said inconsiderable in Bulk compar'd to it: Whereas on the other hand, that very Globe or vast Body which we call this Earth, is but as a Point, a Mote, or a grain of

Dust, when consider'd with and measur'd by the immense Bodies of the Comets, the Sun, the fix'd Stars, or other those glorious Luminaries which we see rang'd above us, and out of the reach even almost of our Conceptions.

Thus the Knowledge and Acquirement of the Magicians and wise Men in the first Ages of Time, and of whom I have been now speaking, tho' mean and trifling, superficial, and of little Worth, when compar'd with the accomplish'd, and con|summate Wisdom of the Moderns, their experi|mental Philosophy, their Knowledge in Astronomy, their Improvement of Nature and Art; yet it was Great, and worthy of Admiration, when compar'd in those Days, to what the rest of Mankind knew, and look'd upon by, and compar'd with an ignorant Age such as that was; and therefore the King tells Da|niel, that an Excellent Spirit of Wisdom was found in him. Dan. v. 14. And doubtless the People look'd upon Daniel to be inspir'd with Wisdom and Know|ledge from the holy Gods, that is to say from Hea|ven, as indeed he was, tho' not from their dumb Idols, whom they called by the Name of the Holy Gods.

In like manner, tho' perhaps not with so strong a Conviction, they had an Opinion of all those they call'd the Chaldeans and Southsayers, Magici|cians and Astrologers, that they had secret Commu|nication with their Gods, and that they receiv'd all the Knowledge with which they were inspir'd, and in which they so much excell'd the rest of Mankind, from the several Deities which they wor|shipp'd. I will not deny but that those Magicians might endeavour by many Subtilties and Arts, to confirm and preserve the delusion (for they knew it to be so) in the Minds of the People; that they might also work up the Veneration of the deluded Multitude to a due Height, and preserve the Opi|nion

both of their Persons and of their Capacities; and this perhaps will appear, when further enquir'd into, to be the Foundation of all the wicked things which follow'd, as I shall demonstrate in its Order.

It was really a Temptation to those wise Men, as they were called, to see that the World had a vast Opinion of them; while the World was blind, and in the Infancy of their own Understanding, a little matter would impose upon them; but in pro|cess of things the World grew wiser, and the light Nature began to receive Illuminations from the light of Reason, and then it behov'd the wise Men to see that their Knowledge also encreased in Pro|portion; for still they were obliged to keep the Reputation of their Understandings, by passing from one Study to another, and aspiring still high|er and higher in their several Classes of Improve|ment.

Now this it was easie to do, in all those early Days of Knowledge. Nay, they had a thousand Years before them still, in which a moderate Com|petence of acquir'd Knowledge would keep up their Characters; what Course was taken afterwards we shall see by and by.

To sum it up then in few Words; a Magician in the first Ages of the World was nothing more or less than a Man of Learning; only you must take this with you as you go, that by the Word Learning is to be understood not a Man of Letters and Books, for the World knew little of either in the first Days of those Acquirements. Nay, we have rea|son to be assur'd, that the Knowledge of Letters was not arriv'd in the World, at the time when Pharaoh summon'd the wise Men, and the South|sayers, and Magicians to interpret his Dream; and as they had no Letters, they had no Books; and therefore when 'tis said that Moses was learned in

all the Wisdom of the Aegyptians, it must be un+derstood of oral Learning, Wisdom convey'd to hi•• by Observation, or Instruction, or Inspiration, a•• afterwards he really receiv'd it from Heaven.

The Magicians, I say, were Men of Learning that is to say Men of Study, Men of Observation busy in the search after Knowledge; and if we wil•• take Pains to enquire into it, we shall find thei•• Observations chiefly respected the Motions of the heavenly Bodies, the Aspects and Influences of the Planets and fix'd Stars; and considering that they were absolutely without the help of Instrument and Glasses to make their Observations by, an•• without Books, by which to communicate the Knowledge of one Age, or of one Person, to an|other; I say, considering these things were want|ing, 'tis a wonderful thing that they arriv'd to such a Degree of astronomical Knowledge as they did.

Others studied the Knowledge of Nature, in the Constitution and Contexture of human Bodies; the Originals, the Progress, and the causes of Diseases and Distempers, both in Men and Women; and also the physical or medicinal Virtue of Drugs and Plants, for Cure and Ease of those Diseases; the qualities of the several Herbs and Trees, and Pro|ductions of the Earth; and as in these things they made daily Discoveries in Nature, which the World was till then ignorant of, and by which they perform'd surprizing Cures, and deliver'd the distressed People in divers Maladies, they were on that Account, and deservedly too, had in great Esteem, were reve|renc'd, and even worship'd by the People.

I could give many Examples in History from the most ancient Times, when their Physicians and A|stronomers were, after their Decease, rank'd among their Gods, and doubtless were had in a profound Veneration, while they were living.

In a word, Science and useful Knowledge being young in the World, those Men who gave them|selves up to the first Searches after those things, were thought worthy of the greatest Honours, and were had in the greatest Esteem; indeed they very well deserv'd of Mankind, since they gave such noble Testimonies of their being devoted to the Publick good. Thus Prometheus, who is said to be chain'd down to Mount Caucasus, with a Vulture preying upon his Bowels, the Substance or Meaning of which was no more than this: That he gave himself so entirely up to the Study of A|stronomy, and to search after the Knowledge of the heavenly Motions, that the eager Desire after the Knowledge of them gnaw'd into his very Vitals, consum'd his Natural Strength, and proved fatal to his Health; and that this was upon Mount Caucasus, intimated only, that he chose a high Hill, or a Summit among those Moun|tains, where he used to lye on his Back whole Nights together, to make his Observations more exactly of the revolving Motions of the Stars, till he contracted Distempers by the Colds and Damps of the Air; so that he was as it were chain'd down to those Mountains, till the Diseases he contracted eat out his very Bowels.

This is that Prometheus, who for his exquisite Knowledge, is feign'd by the Poets to have first form'd Man, that is to say, form'd the Model of a Man by the help of Water and Earth; and then stole Fire from the Sun to animate the Model, and to give him Life and Motion.

The Meaning of which is no more than this, that by his Wisdom he instructed and form'd the Minds of Men in true Notions and right Know|lege of the most sublime Objects.

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Prometheus first, as ancient Authors say, First made the Model of a Man in Clay; Form'd all the beauteous Parts, and when he'd done Stole vital Heat from the prolific Sun.

And here, by the way, the first Atheists, the E|picureans and others, who shew'd their mighty Willingness to deny a First Cause, a Being Prior, and therefore Superior, to all Beings, would make Man to be the Author of his own Form and Life; and that Prometheus having thus form'd the Mo|del, and by borrowing Fire from the Sun, given it Life, the new-form'd Creatures had ever since communicated that Life by Generation. But this empty Notion stands confuted most effectually, by only joyning the following four Lines to those above.

But not an Author tells us, to this Day, Who made Prometheus first, and who the Clay, Who gave the Great Prolific to the Sun, And where the first Productive Power begun.

But to leave Moralizing, which my merry Rea|ders seem to have an Aversion to, I go on with my Story.

The learned Sir Walter Raleigh says, they are greatly mistaken who think that the Thing as well as the Word Magick is derived from Simon Magus. He adds, that Simon's Name was not Magus, a Ma|gician, but Goes, a Person familiar with evil Spirits, and that he only usurp'd the Title of Simon the Magician, because the Title of a Magician was honou|rable and good; and my Opinion is thus strengthen'd by his Authority, viz. that there is a manifest dif|ference between Magick, which is Wisdom and

supernatural Knowledge, and the Witchery and Con|juring by which we now understand the Word, and use it accordingly.

I join with this Exposition of the Word Magick, and shall therefore carefully distinguish as I go a|long betwixt the several differing Persons known in History for Magi, Magicians, and Professors or Practisers of Magick; and those Magicians by which we are to understand Sorcerers, and Enchanters, and Dealers with the Devil, of whom nevertheless I shall have occasion frequently to speak in this Work; because, though I shall let you know that the Magicians were not all Sorcerers and Devil-Dealers, yet I must also let you know too, that I am to point the main of this Discourse to such as are so.

Nor is this previous determining the Point any thing less than necessary at this time, with respect to the Variety of worthy Gentlemen, our present Contemporaries in fashionable Wisdom; who, how|ever willing they are to be taken for Magicians, even in the very worst Sense of the Word, rather than not to pass for Conjurers, must be vindicated even against their Wills, if it be only upon the single Consideration of Incapacity; since as none of the Magi of the World were famed for want|ing Brains, so the Devil having no occasion for Fools in the natural Sense, will always disown them, in spite of the strongest Pretences they make to his Service.

In justice therefore to those Wou'd-be-witches, I must clear the way as I go, and openly distinguish between Magicians, understanding them as wise and learned Men; or Magicians, understanding them as Black-Art Men; and FOOLS, that are only not Sor|cerers because the Devil does not think it worth his while to employ them; and in short, that they are incapable of being as wicked as they would be.

The Word Magus, from whence the Words Magick and Magician are derived, is a Persian or perhaps Chaldean Term, used originally to signify a Student in Divinity, a Man conversant in divine Studies; and Plato says the Art of Magick is nothing but the Knowledge of the Worship of the Gods, and the Persians called their Gods 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉; which Ex|position of the Word is agreeable to that of Mat. ii.2. there came wise Men of the East, who having seen the Star of him that was born King of the Jews, came so far to worship him.

These wise Men the Greeks afterwards called Phi|losophers, that is, Lovers of Wisdom; and the same is understood in the Indian Language by Brachmans, and now Bramines; by the Babylonians, Chaldeans; by the Hebrews, Seers; and among the Persians, Magicians.

It is true, as King James I. says in his Book of Dae|monologie, that under the name of Magick all other unlawful Arts are comprehended; but that is only as we Moderns understand it, not that it was un|derstood so by the Ancients; and even in that the King distinguishes between Magick in its worst Sense, and the Arts or Practices of Witchcraft and Sorcery; which, with his Majesty's Leave, I think a needless Distinction: Nor shall I be so nice; but all those Dealings which we call Necromancy, Sor|cery, Witchcraft, and all kinds of diabolical doings, shall pass with me for Magick and the Black-Art, and in this Sense I shall afterwards use the Word.

The wise Men of Babylon are distinguish'd in the Prophecy of Daniel, into four Classes; the Magi|cians, that is, the wise Men, in the Sense as above, I mean Philosophers; the Astrologers, which are understood the same with our Astronomers, and with them Southsayers; the third sort are the Sorce|rers, who were called Malefici or Workers of Evil or

Mischief, as some call them; these are the kind I am to treat of, who are Workers of Evil by the Assistance of an evil Spirit; and the last are called Chaldaeans, by which are understood Foretellers of things to come, who understand their hidden and secret Causes.

This Exposition brings us down to the Case in hand, where by the Word or Term of Magick is understood the two last sorts, who working Evil of several kinds, do it also by the Assistance of an evil Spirit; that is in English, by the Help of the Devil, by Inchantment, Conjurations, and corrupt Methods.

The Practices of these People were many ways Diabolical, even in those days; and if we may cre|dit King James's Account of them, they were ra|ther worse in those latter Ages of the World than in former times; but of that in its Place.

Philo Judaeus carries it further than any of the most antient Writers and Sages, and says that by this kind of Magick, that is by Astrology, and Observation of the heavenly Bodies, their Motions, and Revolutions, Abraham, who was certainly a very great Magician, arriv'd to the Knowledge of the true GOD; even be|fore he came out from UR of the Chaldees; that is to say, he gather'd from the wise Government, the won|derful Order and Motion, and the immovable De|crees and Revolutions of the heavenly Bodies, that there must be an infinite, wise, and intelli|gent Being, who, as he was the first Cause of their Beings, so he was likewise the great Director of their Motions, and by his Appointment every thing in the whole System of their Operations was guid|ed and appointed: In short, that Abraham learn'd to know the Creator, by the Contemplation of the Creature. And doubtless as this study of Nature directly leads us to the great Author of Nature, so Abraham by his sincere Application to the first,

and his sincere Desire to be led into the Number of the last; GOD, who knew those Desires of his Heart to be sincere, and aiming at a right end, was plea|sed to make a more clear Discovery of himself to him by Vision and Revelation; teaching him more than he could ever have obtain'd by all the Study and Application imaginable.

It is not doubted however that Abraham was the first teacher of Astronomy and of Arithmetick in the World, and perhaps of the several Branches of the Mathematicks; The Ancients affirm, that he taught the Phoenicians, that is to say the Cana|anites among whom he liv'd, and the Egyptians also, all the Knowledge they had, whether Philosophi|cal or Divine.

Thus then, whatever Notions we have now en|tertain'd of Magick as Diabolical, yet certainly, as our Saviour says in another Case, in the beginning it was not so. In the first Ages of the World, the Know|ledge of Magick was the Wisdom of Nature; and nothing but Ignorance brought Men to prostitute themselves to the Devil for the encrease of their Understandings.

And this indeed is the way by which Magick, and the Knowledge of the most excellent things, has been abus'd in the World; when Men seeking be|yond themselves for Knowledge, and ignorant of the way to increase true Knowledge, have been impos'd upon to make use of wicked and diabo|lical Methods to obtain it; the Devil not only readily concurring to assist them, but openly acting with them by Concert, to encourage the De|lusion.

Hence the weakest and most impotent of all Capacities, meer Fools excepted, have been found sufficient to make Tools for the Devil; who hard+ening them for his own Work, trains them up to his Hand, with such an unwearied Diligence, tha••

nothing can prevent their improving in his Ser|vice.

Thus while Magick is the Wisdom of Nature, and the Magicians of those Ages were the wisest and best of Men; the Magicians of our times, and of this new kind, improve from nothing, begin with the vilest of Ignorance, and proceed to the vilest of Wickedness, till they come to be the most Diabolical Creatures in the World.

Magick being therefore nothing in those Times, but, as I have said, a degree of useful Knowledge, and the Magicians being a Race of honest studious Men, searching after Wisdom, and blest with greater Shares of it, than the ordinary Race of Men were arriv'd to; we must look farther, and come down lower into Time, for the present vulgar Ac|ceptation of the Word: In which Inquiry, it will not be sufficient to jump at once from the beginning of things to the present times, and from what the Magicians were in Egypt and Chaldea, to what they are now in a Christian Age: But we must a little enquire into the Gradations of the Change, and see by what several Progressions of Art the useful Magicians of those Ages have come on, from meer Philosophy, to all the Extraordi|naries of Mystery, Cunning, Trick, Cheat, Star|gazing, Fortune-telling, Conjuring, Witchcraft, and the Devil; and if this be not an Enquiry, both profitable and diverting, I must be mistaken in my Subject, or in my Readers. Let us enter into it gradually, and with Caution, lest we raise the Devil, before we come at him.

CHAP. II.

How Wisdom and Learning advanc'd Men in the First Ages to Royalty and Government, and How Many of the Magicians were made Kings on that Account; as Zoroaster, Cad|mus, and many others.

IT was not many Ages that the World conti|nued in a state of Dullness, equal to that at the first scattering the Nations. We do not find them building any more Babels, or entertaining them|selves with such gross Notions any more.

As they travell'd abroad they learned Experience; they saw farther into Nature, and into the Reason of Things: instead of building Ladders and Babels to reach up to Heaven, and keep them from drowning, they soon learnt to build Cities to keep out their Enemies, and Ships to sail upon the Water; they baffled the Fears of another Deluge not by their Faith, that God would not drown the World again, so much as by the belief of this Whymsy, that seeing they could swim in Ships and Boats, he could not do it; or that knowing they could live upon the Water, they might seem not to care whether he did or no.

In this travelling Circumstance they grew in Knowledge, as I say, and at least some of them being of a brighter Genius than others, advanc'd beyond their Neighbours in Wisdom and Under|standing both speculative and practical; and these, as they gain'd every Day more Knowledge, even by knowing, so that Knowledge gain'd them infinite Applause and Esteem among the People.

Hence every aspiring Genius among them get|ting the start of the rest, either in real or affected Knowledge of things, and thereby gaining Ad|mirers and Dependents, took little differing Routs

in their Wanderings; and wherever they thought fit to plant and settle, they built Houses, call'd it a City, and the Leader made himself be call'd their particular King.

This petty Royalty, as it was rais'd upon the foot of Chance, rather than Blood, and upon the mean Circumstance of a bold aspiring Head, which a small share of Brains above its Neighbours gave a Title to, so it seem'd to subsist on the foot of the same Chance; those Kings being as easily, and as often depos'd, as they were either over-power'd by their Neighbours, or as any Decay and Defect of the bright Part that rais'd them, caus'd them to sink in the Opinion of their Subjects, and gave the King of the next City a better Place in their Favour.

Yet this Diminutive Rank of Soveraignty re|main'd many Ages in the World; and we find, not only in Abraham's Time, when the five Cities of the Lake or Valley, where Sodom stood, had five Kings over them; and afterwards in Jacob's time, the City of Sichem had a King over it; but even at the coming of the Israelites into Canaan, almost every City had its King; and we have a great deal of room to judge, that these Kings did not derive from a patriarchal Succession, for then there would have been many thousands of Kings more than there were; but from the exalted Merit of the Under|standings and Genius of such and such a Person, whom the People thought fit to admire and follow, and consequently subject themselves to: and we have abundance of Examples in History to prove, that this was the practice of those first Ages. But this is a dry Study, and the Search after their Names would be as needless, as the List, when obtain'd, would be tedious to read; so I leave it, and go on.

The reason of my naming this Part, is not to show the Veneration the most early Ages of the World had for Wisdom and Virtue; for, God knows, these Magi, tho' they had the Merit of some

Knowledge above the rest, yet we do not find they had a much greater Share of Virtue than o|ther People: But even as we find it now, the most knowing Men are not the best Men; even so it was then, every wise Man, much less every great Man, was not a good Man: and as in our Age it may be fear'd, we have more Clergy than Chri|stians; so there were in those Days more Sages than Saints: till at last their wise Men turn'd whimsical, their Kings Madmen, their Southsayers meer Conjurers, and their Magicians Devils: Of all which I shall give a farther Account presently.

I'll suppose now, that the Magicians of those Ages were, as I have describ'd them in the Chapter before, nothing but Men fam'd for extraordinary Knowledge; meer Astrologers, Philosophers, Men of Study, and the like. You will next see how those Men frequently rais'd their Fortunes by their Wisdom, or rather by the Opinion which the ignorant World had of their Wisdom and Ca|pacities.

Zoroaster was a famous Magician, in the Sense which I have already given of the word. History tells us, he was a great Astrologer, and foretold things by his Art, which were to come; that by his wonderful Predictions, he obtain'd such a Vene|ration among the People, that the Bactrians ador'd him as a Man sent down from the Gods, or if you like it as well in Scripture Terms, as a Man of GOD; and by this mighty Opinion which they had of him, he obtain'd the Empire of the Bactrians. This must be at the time when Ninus was Monarch of Assyria; for he was afterwards conquer'd, dis|possess'd of his Dominions, and slain by Semiramis, that warlike Widow Queen of Assyria.

They report that he foretold he should be slain by Lightning, or by the Fire of Heaven; and that he told the Assyrians, that if they could find his Ashes, they should carefully preserve them, for

that their Empire should continue no longer than while his Ashes should remain in Being; that after|ward it fell out accordingly, that he was kill'd by Lightning, and that the Assyrians did so preserve his Ashes, but that they were afterwards taken from them by the Persians, who overthrew their Empire.

N.B. All this is summ'd up thus in fact; That Zoroaster left behind him wholsome Rules of Virtue and good Government, which as long as the Assyrians kept in Memory, and wor|thily follow'd, they were prosperous, as he foretold them they would be; but when af|terwards they degenerated into Vice, and ceased to obey the Rules which he had set them, they fell into Divisions and Factions, Civil Wars and Devastations, which at length ended in the Ruin of their Empire.

Cadmus, mention'd before, was a Phoenician, but went from his own Country and settled in Greece, where, as they say, he built the City of Thebes, and was made King of it, in consequence of the Performance, and in Veneration of his Learning, having brought sixteen Letters of the Greek Alpha|bet among them; not that he invented those Let|ters, tho' he has the Fame of it to this Day: the Letters were these; α, β, γ, δ, ε, ι, η, κ, λ, ν, ο, π, ζ, σ, τ, υ; the other four θ, ξ, φ, χ, they tell us were afterwards supply'd by Palamedes during the Siege of Troy.

But the Moral of the Story is this, that Cadmus came from Phoenicia into Greece, where by his Learning he instructed the People, civiliz'd and polish'd their Manners, and taught them the Knowldge of Letters; directed them to build Houses, and inhabit together in Towns and Vil|lages, which they then called Cities; and, in a word, introduc'd among them Discipline and good

Government: in Recompence for which the made him their King, and call'd their first Tow•• Thebes, in Honour of Cadmus, who was originall of the Great Egyptian Thebes, a City much mo•••• ancient than the Nation of the Graecians.

Atlas (also mention'd before) was an Africa conspicuous for his Excellence in all human Wi••+dom and Knowledge; by this he was raised to suc•• a height in the Affection of the People, that the made him King of Mauritania in the Norther•• Part of Afric. He was one of the most learne•• Magicians of the Time, and by his Knowledge i•• the Motions of the Stars, and his excellent Judg+ment in the good Government of Nations, he •• feign'd by the Ancients to carry the World upo•• his Shoulders; that is to say, his Precepts of Govern+ment supported the Nations, and preserv'd Ord•••• and Discipline in the World; and for this he wa•• as he well deserv'd, chosen by the People of A•••••••• to be their King.

I have done with my Examples of wise Men be+ing made Kings, especially being made so for the Wisdom too; and indeed to what purpose shoul•• I go on with the Account? 'tis not pretended th•• Example should move the World in this Age, o•• in the next: the World at present has no gre•••• occasion for more wise Kings than they have; an•• besides, as there is a right wise Generation risin•• up to supply the Place of Power, as fast as Natu•••• wears off the Incumbents, and we see no Danger o•• wanting a suitable Succession; so I leave that pa•••• of the Subject, and shall talk of another Class.

The Magicians or wise Men being, as I have th•• describ'd, Men of Worth, and justly valued in th•• World, let us see how long they held it, and ho•• they lost that Character.

The first step which I meet with, which lesse•• their Figure in my Account, was when the Ma••

or wise Men were called in to support the Govern|ment of the Persian Empire: And here they shew'd indeed, that Wisdom is not the only Qualification of a Prince; that there is another thing requisite, which tho' it is but trifling indeed among the Moderns, was an Essential among the Ancients, who found, that to make a good Governor, it was requisite, that he should not only be a Wise Man, but an Honest Man; and in defect of this Qualification, the Persians cut the Throats of all the Magi, to whom they had committed the Government of the Country; for tho' they were all Philosophers, and wise Men, yet, as Fame hands it down to us, they did not find one honest Man among them.

These Magi are called by some Priests, by others Philosophers, by others Astrologers; it is certain they foretold things to come, or at least made the People believe so; as in the Case of the Queen of Persia Mother of King Sapores. The Persians it seems were in great Perplexity for want of a King, (there were no Pretenders at that time to put in their Claim) a thing which very seldom happens in our times: The Nobility being assem|bled, in order to consider of a Nomination, the Magi sent them word that they should not pro|ceed, for that the Queen Dowager was with Child, and would bring forth a Prince, who should be a mighty King, and do great things for the Honour of his Country.

Upon this their Consultations broke off, and with great Joy they sent for the Queen, and laying the Crown upon her Belly, they solemnly crown'd the Embrio, gave it the Title of King, and saluted it King by the Name of Sapor, or Sapores; all which came to pass: And yet I may say all this might come to pass, and no great matter owing to the Pro|phetic Knowledge of the Magi; for the Queen, loth to have a King chosen too soon, before she knew how

it was with her, might venture to say she was with Child; or at least get the Priests, the Magi, to say so for her, and leave the rest all to Fate; for if it had not prov'd so, no body was injur'd, and it would only have been said that the Magi were mistaken.

But we are, if you please, to suppose, that as I said, this did not last long; the low-priz'd Learn|ing of the Magicians answer'd very well, while the World was ignorant in Proportion; but as the World encreased in People, and as Years went over their Heads, Knowledge had its Gradations too, and tho' it must be confess'd it was at a very slow Rate, yet some advances they did make; and as Princes severally were lovers of Learning, so they encouraged Men of Learning too, and their Num|bers encereas'd, as well as their Knowledge.

As the common People became more knowing and intelligent, so it behov'd the Magicians to advance their Studies, and seek farther into the more sub|lime Parts of Learning, to preserve the Distance they stood in, from the lower Class of their Coun|trymen, and to maintain the Respect and Venera|tion which as I said the People had for them; i•• they had not done this, they had soon been upo•• a Level with the rest of Mankind; the Rabbl•• had been their Equals in Wisdom, and they ha•• lost themselves in the superior Station of Magici+ans, which they enjoy'd before.

This put them presently upon searching farthe•• and farther into the Arcana of Nature, pursuing the highest and most elevated Studies, with th•• utmost Diligence and Application; advancin•• from one thing to another, still to keep up th•• Figure and Character of wise Men which they ha•• before; that is to say, being still as many degree above the common sort, however the common for might be improv'd in Knowledge, as they were be+fore.

Nor was this difficult to do; for as Knowledge was then, and even is still, an unexhausted Mine and Store-house of unvaluable Treasure, and which still the deeper it is dug into, discovers more and more Riches, and an infinite variety of Rarities and cu|rious things, as well natural as artificial; so the farther these Men of Application search'd into the Arcana, or conceal'd Treasures of Wisdom; and the farther and greater Experiments they made, the more they found the Search answer their utmost Ambition; the more they knew, the more they discover'd yet to know; and all their Enquiries made good the modern Distich made upon a like Subject.

What's yet discover'd, only serves to show How little's known, to what there's left to know.

This was not only an Encouragement to the wise Men of the Ages we speak of, to go on in their Studies, and in their making new Discoveries in the hidden and most retir'd parts of Nature; but it shew'd that they were still able to maintain the Characters they bore in the World, and to make good the Distinction which was formely made between them and the common People; so that they still pass'd for Magicians, wise Men, and Astrologers, as they really at last were; and for Men qualify'd to in|struct the ignorant World in a superior Knowledge.

Take them then in this new Situation, that is to say, pushing on in the commendable search after Wisdom and Knowledge, till, as Solomom says, they dug for it as for hid Treasures; yet the common People follow'd them close at their Heels; the Na|tions grew wiser and wiser, as well as the Magi; till in short Art began to fail, or rather the Num|bers of the Men of Art began to encrease; that so wise Men were not such Rarities, or so high-priz'd

as they had been, and grew daily less and less it the ordinary Rate and Esteem of the World.

Thus in short, the wise Men, and the improving World, seem'd like Men running a Race, in the pursuit after Knowledge; the Magi or Southsayers, or what you please to call them, had gotten the Start, and were a great way a-head, a great way before the rest, but the People follow'd and ad|vanc'd at a great Rate.

And this brings me down to the Point.

The Men of Wit and Learning being hard pu•• to it in their new Discoveries, had but three ways to preserve the Dignity of their Profession, and keep up their Credit as wise Mine, that is as Philo|sophers, Magi, and the like.

• 1. The first was to pursue vigorously the Study of Philosophy, that is to say of Nature, the several Branches of Astronomy, Astrology, Geometry, and the like.
• 2. The second was to push into the Study of Art, that is to say Experimental Philosophy.
• 3. The last was the Study of Reason (viz.) Natu|ral Homage, and the Worship of the Gods.

In the first of these they went on with great Success; nor were they to be follow'd by the com|mon People, whose Understandings could never come up to any uncommon degrees of Science, or indeed to make any Pretensions to it; and therefore those that apply'd to this Study, kept up their Credit longer than any of the rest.

Thus the three wise Men of the East are said to come into Judaea from a far Country, by observing an unusual and surprizing Phaenomenon, (viz.) a Star at Noon-day, moving in a particular Orbit, and pointing to them in a very particular Manner, by which they were as it seems directed to follow it, in order to make an extraordinary Discovery of some great Birth, and of some wonderful Prince,

whom therefore they ought to come and pay Ho|mage to. Some Authors tell us, these three wise Men, or Magi, were three of the Posterity of Abraham, by Keturah his last Wife, that they dwelt in Ara|bia Felix, and that they had it revealed to them, that they should see this Star, and that they should be guided by it to see the Great Messiah, who was to come into the World to unite the Posterity of Abraham, and to establish them in one Kingdom, which should rule over the whole World. But I take this as it is, viz. a Chimney corner Tale, fit for a Legend, and not capable of any manner of Improvement.

But thus far 'tis to my Purpose, namely, that the Credit of the wise Men of the East was not yet quite sunk in the World; that they maintain'd a Correspondence with the Stars; that they por'd upon the heavenly Motions, and knew more of that kind than all that ever went before them.

As the Astronomers, and Star-gazing Magi kept up the Dignity of their Characters, and out-did all the rest of Mankind in those Ages; so the second sort too apply'd themselves to the Study of lower Life, observing the Mechanism of Nature, and introducing the helps of Art, even to perform things surprising. Among these, some studied the Microcosm of human Bodies, and searcht both Distemper and Medicin; and these (that is to say, the Physicians, and Naturalists,) obtain'd a noble Ascendant in the Esteem of the Vulgar, being able by the Knowledge of Drugs and Plants, and their Vertues, to apply proper Remedies in Cases of the greatest Distress and Disaster; and this indeed could not but obtain for them a fix'd and large Esteem in the Minds of the People, whom on so many Oc|casions they reliev'd. Thus the first search'd into the Curiosities of Nature, the second into the Art of Physick.

But the third were a very particular kind indeed, and these apply'd themselves to the Arcana of things Divine; and at this Door came in all the wicked things, which have since, with so much Justice too, given a black Character to the very Name of a Magician; for under the shelter of Religion, the worst and most Diabolical things were practis'd; and in a few Ages more, we find that all the Magi|cians were Priests in Aegypt, or according to some, all the Priests were Magicians. Some have offer'd a•• drawing a Paralel from this to our times, and i•• some Sense it may be true, but in others doubtful•• For if by Magicians we are to understand Philoso|phers, and wise Men, I shall never be brought to acknowledge that all our Priests are Magicians, fo•• I abhor all Slander. But to go back to the Case as it is before me, certain it is, that the wise Me•• finding, as above, that they must take new Mea|sures, that they must have Recourse to some new Art, if they would keep up the Reputation of thei•• Wisdom; I say, finding it thus, they apply'd them|selves to three sorts of Study.

The first was to innocent Art, secret and cun+ning Contrivances to delude the Sight; this w•• call Juggling, Legerdemain, or philosophical Delu+sion, such as I shall mention in its Place; but thi•• would go but a little way.

A second sort, as above, apply'd to religious Frauds, and set up for Coelestial Delusions, mixing thei•• Magical Performances with religious Rites; so de|ceiving the People with the Opinion of Sanctity, and with the Belief that they had the Assistance o•• the Gods.

In Nomine Domini incipit omne malum.

These last studied indeed Divinity, such as it was and how unhappily did they pursue the Mysterie

they profess'd! for first we find they invoked the Gods, and not finding that would do, they chang'd Hands and invoked the Devil.

Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.

From hence it is that I suppose our wise De|scribers of the Magick of the Ancients tell us there were three sorts of Magick; 1. Natural, which consisted of the Parts already mentioned, namely, the Knowledge of the Stars, the Motions of the Heavenly Bodies, and their Revolutions and Influences; that is to say, the Study of Nature, of Philosophy, and Astronomy. 2. Artificial or ratio|nal Magick, in which they included the Know|ledge of all judicial Astrology, the casting or cal|culating Nativities, curing Diseases by Charms, by particular Figures placed in this or that Position; by Herbs gather'd at this or that particular Crisis of Time, and by saying such and such Words over the Patient, repeated so many times, and by such and such Gestures, stroking the Flesh in such and such a manner, and innumerable such like Pieces of Mimickry; working not upon the Disease it self, but upon the Imagination of the distemper'd Peo|ple, and so effecting the Cures by the Power of Nature, tho' that Nature were set on work by the weakest and simplest methods imaginable. But, 3dly, the last is truly called Diabolical and hellish Magick, which was operated by and with the Concurrence of the Devil, carried on by a Cor|spondence with evil Spirits, with their Help, Presence, and personal Assistance, and chiefly practised by their Priests. And thus you have the general System of Magick, according to my Title: But I must enter a little into the Parti|culars.

The first Sort of this Magick I have alrea|dy described; and I am still of this Opinion, that in all the first Ages of the World, there was very little other Magick than this known among Men; That, all the Diabolical Practices of the third Sort, or the Art and Legerdemain of the second Sort of Magick, was perfectly unknown to the Ma|gicians of Aegypt or Arabia, or afterwards of Chal|dea, at least for a great while.

As for the Magicians of Chaldea, I have named them already, and we find nothing Diabolical among them: as to those of Aegypt, especially such as were ordinarily called so, 'tis evident also they were gene|rally the same; for when Pharaoh King of Aegypt dreamed his first Dream of the seven fat, and the seven lean Kine, Gen. xli. the Words are express, ver. 8. He sent for all the Magicians and all the wise Men of Aegypt; and what followed? there was none that could interpret his Dream. Upon which, Joseph was sent for; where by the way you may observe the difference between Joseph and the wise Men or Magicians, let them be what they will. The wise Men came when they were sent for, and they put the King to the trou|ble of telling them his Dream, and, as we may be|lieve, went away to consult and consider of an An|swer. If they could have amused the King with any sham Answer, so as to have quieted his Thoughts, which were disturbed with the Oddness of the Ap|pearance, they would certainly have done it; whence I conclude they were not either of the second sort of Magicians, who by Trick and Charm, muttering of Words, drawing Figures, and such empty and simple Formalities, did their Work; if they had, they would certainly have cheated the King with some of their Impostures and Legerdemain, and have made him accept of this or that wild Story for an Interpretation.

Nor were they diabolical Magicians, such as by a real and immediate Conversation with the Devil, or some of his invisible Agents which we call evil Spirits, wrought their usual Wonders, or Delusions like Wonders; and such as perhaps those after|wards made use of by another Pharaoh King of Aegypt really were; who mimick'd the Miracles of Moses in the sight of the King and his Court: If they had been such, the Devil would not have suffer'd them to be so disgraced before their Lord, as to go away and say they could make nothing of it, nor give him the Interpretation; the Devil would certainly have furnished them with some kind of Interpretation, true or false, at least such as should have satisfied the King for the pre|sent.

N.B. It is very reasonable to suggest here, that these Magicians and wise Men of Aegypt, and so those afterwards at Babylon, had been usually called together before, upon such Occasions as those; that they had often interpreted Dreams, perhaps for the King himself, as well as for other People; that sometimes they did perhaps make such Interpretations as came to pass, by which, they maintained much of their Reputation a|mong the People, as wise Men and as Magi|cians: the same we see practised among us to this day by many an ignorant old Woman, without the least Claim to the venerable Name of Magician, much less of Wise; also we cannot doubt but that the Kings of Aegypt and of Ba|bylon did expect and believe those Magicians could interpret if they would; it had been else a preposterous piece of Cruelty in Nebu|chadnezzar to put all the Magicians and wise Men to death, because they did not tell him his Dream and the Interpretation, if he did really believe they were not able to do it; for

'tis certain they did not pretend to be able t•• tell the Dream, tho' they did pretend to te•• the Interpretation; but he certainly believe they were able to do both.

But when Pharaoh comes to talk with Joseph, honestly tells the King it was not in him; modest divesting himself of all Claim to the Honour whic•• he foresaw was going to be put upon him, an•• giving up the Praise to the supream Agent, t•• whom it was due. v. 16. It is not in me, but G•• shall give Pharaoh an Answer of Peace; and then goes on to interpret the Dream.

I give you this as an Evidence of the Diffe+rence in the Kinds of Magick practised in tho•••• times; the first Sort, 'tis plain, were, as has bee•• described, meer Men of Learning, Masters of Sc••+ence, namely, the Knowledge of Nature, studyi•••• Philosophy, Astronomy, and the like; some pract••+sing one way, some another; some looking up ••+mong the Stars, others down among the Plant some into the Microcosm of Man, and practisi•••• Medicine for the Cure of Diseases; some judgi•••• of Dreams and Omens, others of Signs and Appe+rances, and all according to their several Studie•• and the several Branches of Science which they a••+plied themselves to; but not any Sorcery or Dev•••• work among them at that time, or for some hu••+dreds of Years after.

But come now to the same Country, viz. Aegyp•• for here, it seems, the Devil began first to convert with Mankind, or Mankind with him rather, •• this familiar manner; I say, come to the same Cou••+try at the distance of less than two hundred Year•• or thereabout, and there you find the Magicia•• turned into another sort of People, or rather anoth•••• sort of People mix'd with them; for when Moses an•• Aaron go to Pharaoh to demand the Liberty 〈◊〉〈◊〉

the Israelites, and show Miracles or Signs before him, 'tis said Pharaoh sent for the Magicians, &c. and they did the like.

But then let us see how the Text distin|guishes the kinds, and you will find 'tis exactly according to my present distinction: Before, 'tis said Pharaoh sent for the Magicians and wise Men of Aegypt. See Gen. xli.8. But now the Style is changed, as the People were also, Exod. vii.11. Pha|raoh called the Sorcerers and Magicians of Aegypt; and see then how they acted, ver. 22. and the Magi|cians did the same with their Inchantments; and the like in several other Places: so that here the Magicians and wise Men were of another sort, for they acted by a Diabolical Practice, as Sorcerers and Dealers with the Devil; besides 'tis every where said, they did it by their Inchantments, which we never find so much as mentioned before; no, nor afterwards a|mong the Chaldeans and the Magicians of Persia and Assyria; but they acted by the meer Force of their Wisdom and Learning, viz. the Study of Nature; and when that failed them, they acknowledged they had no other Power, and could go no farther.

Now, as I said before, having pass'd thro' the best of the Art, and the first and only honest Part of the Practice, it follows, that we con|sider the Subsequent Progressions of the People called Magicians, what they have been understood to be, what they now are in the World, and what we are to understand by the Word when we say Magick or a Magician; and this is,

First, A Jugler or Shower of Tricks by Legerde|main and Slight of hand; which I call only a sham Magick, and which the World has been indeed de|luded with for many Ages.

Secondly, A real Sorcerer or Wizard that deals with the Devil, who converses familiarly with the

old Gentleman, has him at his Call, fetches him sends him of Errands, raises him, lays him, use him, upon all Occasions and in all Disguises, as he finds Occasion.

That there have been such as these in the World must be true, or History must be one universal Le|gend of Lies, and we must have been deluded an•• imposed upon by all the Writers and Register•• keepers that ever have been, were, or are in Being; nay even the sacred Writings confirm it, and there|fore, with the Pardon of all our modern Unbelievers, who deny there is such a thing as a Devil or evi•• Spirit in Being, either in the World or out of it. I say with their good Leave, I must take it fo•• granted.

Now tho' I could bring many Examples among the Moderns, where 'tis most certain that som•• walking Gentlemen among us, who have look'd a•• if they had nothing in them more than other People•• have really been a Cage of Devils, and as the Tex•• calls them Unclean Spirits, yet I must at presen•• look a little higher, because I am resolved to bring such Evidence as cannot be denied.

First, The Scripture says of Judas, that with o•• after the Sop the Devil enter'd into him, John xiii 27. And after the sop Satan enter'd into him, that is, into Judas; and in the same Chap. v. 2. the Devi•• having put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's Son, to betray him: and again, St. Paul speaking to Elymas, whom the Text calls in totidem verbis the Sorcerer, calls him thou Child of the Devil. This, and all the Testimonies of the Devil's being miracu|lously dispossess'd by our Saviour, and by his Disciples and Apostles, will put it out of question, not only that there is such a thing as a Devil, but also that he has Possession of several of his Servants in hu|man Shape.

But this is not the case at all, for I am not now upon the Proof of the Reality and Existence of the Devil; that has been worthily undertaken, and hi|storically, mathematically, and enthusiastically e|nough Perform'd by a late Writer in another Place: But I am now talking of a Set of People who were not possess'd BY, but rather, as it may be called, are possess'd OF the Devil; have him in their keeping and Custody; where, by the way, I do not find but that the Devil seems to be very much in Subjection to them; whether it be volun|tarily, and so perhaps, like an obsequious Dog, that fawns for what he can get; He (the Devil) creeps and cringes, in order the better to carry on his own Designs, which indeed is not at all improbable; or whether there were Ways and Means which these antient People had found out, by what superiour Power I know not, to subject the Devil to their Orders, and make him their humble Servant upon all Occasions, to run and go, fetch and carry, at their whistle: All these critical Enquiries may per|haps come in my way, when I come to talk more particularly of the Magick of our present times, and the Management of our modern Cunning Men, who pretend to have the Devil in a String, make him jump over a Broomstick, dance and show Tricks, as the Mountebanks and Merry-Andrews do with a Bear and a Monkey.

I must confess, if I can but, in my further Search after those things, find out the Method the antient Magicians had to manage the Devil thus, and bring him to their hand, and can convey the Art to Posterity, or at least set up a Scheme for the present Improvement of it, I shall not doubt but I shall meet with Encouragement; and if the eminent Mr. Wh—on will but stoop to join in with my Design (as I doubt not he will, if there be but Money to be got by it) we may publish our Read|ings,

and set up Lectures for the Instruction of young Magicians, and that with extraordinary good Success; nor do I think the reverend Mr. Em—in would stick out: for why should we doubt but they who have already levell'd their Saviour with a Class infinitely below the Devil, and made a meer Devil or Apparition of the great Teacher and Sanctifier of the World, would willingly set up Lectures in Favour of the Devil himself, if they can find their account in it.

Besides, when we are thus engaged in Satan's Service, and in Conjunction with his Friends and Favourites, we cannot doubt but the Devil him|self will be so much obliged, that he may come frankly and Voluntier, and let us into the Secret, bind himself Apprentice to us for a Term of Years, and enable us to play the Devil with him for the Time to come, as he had played the De|vil with us for so many Years past. Nor, if he be a grateful Devil, can he do less; for no Men in the World seem better qualified to advance his In|terest in the main, however for the present we may seem to keep him in a little Subjection.

On the other hand, if he should prove an un|grateful Spirit, and hang an A—, as the Modest call it, being unwilling to come into Bondage; then, I say, we must try if we can't find the way to do it without him, and, by our Black-Art, play the Devil with him, and force him to come when he's called, go when he is sent, and do as he is bid; as our Predecessors the antient Magicians of Aegypt did before us, who made him assist Moses and Aaron, and make Frogs, and Snakes, just as they directed him: tho' it seems when they commanded him to make Lice, the least and lousiest Creature of 'em all, the honest Devil confess'd it was out of his Power, that God was above the Devil, and that (in a Word) he could not do it; by which (however)

he lost a great deal of his Credit with his Em|ployers, and perhaps with the King himself.

That the Devil assisted the Magicians of Aegypt to do those things, or in short, that they made use of him as their Instrument, is plain from the Text, viz. that they did it by their Inchantments: What manner of Conjurings or Inchantments they were that they made use of, we have no particular light into from the sacred Text; but perhaps some Guess may be made at it, from what happen'd frequently in those Countries in after-Ages.

Also we find that whatever the Magicians in Persia, and in Media, and in those Eastern Countries were, (for their Credit continued many Ages) yet in Aegypt they were (after that) chiefly Sorcerers and Dealers with the Devil; and in a word, Aegypt seem'd to be the Nursery of human Devils for all the World. Hence Baalim is called a Witch, and hence in the Roman times the Aegyptian Sorcerers were brought to Antioch for the Assistance of Ju|lian the Apostate, to utter Predictions, and to flat|ter the Emperor with their good Omens and their Prognostications; in which he was so superstitious, that they put the grossest Delusions upon him, 'till the Citizens of Antioch made a jest of him, and ex|posed his Inchantments to Ridicule; for which, had he lived to come back from the War in Persia, he had vowed a severe Revenge.

Hence also the Aegyptians, are to this day, the common Strollers of the World, and are succeeded by a Race of Vagabonds who pretend to the Art, without the real Wickedness of it, and would be thought to deal with the Devil, when the Truth is, they know little or nothing of him.

I suppose I need not tell you that the Word Gypsie is derived from these strolling Magicians, which really came out of Aegypt, and wandering over the World, got Money by their pretending

to Magick, telling Fortunes, predicting Events, and Mountebanking the World with their Inchant|ments; 'till at last having tired the Devil with following them, and the Drudgery of their Ser|vice being not worth his while, Satan left them; and they have been since that, for some time, in the Class of the well-known Cardinal — who pretending to an Acquaintance with the Devil, and to have three inferior Daemons appointed to wait on him, the Devil sent those three Daemons to tell his Neighbours 'twas all a Cheat, and that he, Satan, had nothing to do with him.

'Tis very strange Men should be so fond of being thought wickeder than they are; that they cannot forbear, but that they must abuse the very Devil, and claim Kindred of him, whether he has any Knowledge of them or no: But thus it is, and we need not go to Aegypt for Examples, when we have so many pieces of dull Witchcraft among our selves.

It is true the Devil does not often decline an Acquaintance where he can find his Account in it; and therefore the eminent Doctor — may hope, that after a little farther Application to Heresy and Blasphemy, he may be thought worthy of Admit|tance into Satan's Favour, at least so much as to settle a Correspondence, that so they may act in concert for the future.

I am told some have thought it a particular Re|putation to them to have it supposed they maintain a Correspondence of this kind, which must be up|on the foot of Satan's Credit, supposing that he knows who is fit for his Business, and who not, and that they must be all capable Heads that he thinks fit to be concerned with in this manner; for as wise Princes always chuse wise Councellors, the Devil understands the Capacities of his Friends so well, that he is never mistaken in his choice;

but they that are concerned with him must at least be of the Cunning Class, for he has no Incli|nation at all to Fools.

This brought some just Reflections into my Thought upon the Conduct of our Times, and im|mediately cleared up the Characters of some of the greatest Politicians of our Age, at least in my Opi|nion, seeing 'tis evident they either have too much Brains, or too little, for the infernal Correspondence; let the World judge which of the two is their Case.

I say it cleared up the Character of some great Men to me, and I concluded they were no Ma|gicians, that they neither practised Magick in the first Sense, as Philosophers; or in the last Sense, as Conjurers; what they might do in the middle Sense, as Jugglers, that remains to be enquired into as Op|portunity may present.

Indeed I run over in my Reflections the present Situation of most of the publick Affairs in Europe, the Prime Ministers, grand Viziers, the Statesmen, the Counsellors, Generals, Admirals; the Clergy, whether Popish or Protestant, Greek Church, or Roman Church, Christian or Mahometan; and I must speak it to their Honour, that except, as a late Writer taught me to except, our own People, our own Country and Country Worthies, I can see no reason to think any of the present Managers to be Ma|gicians; whether, as above, we consider the Magi|cians to be Philosophers, or as Jannes and Jambres, Inchanters and Conjurers.

But having spoken of the two several sorts of Magick, 1. Honest Magick, which I have proved to be only the Study of natural Philosophy and Astronomy, and such useful Parts of Knowledge, which the Learned call Natural Magick; and, 2dly, Diabolical or infernal Magick, which is a practising by the Help of Daemons or evil Spi|rits;

It remains then, that I should at least mention the third, or which before I placed as second in Order, which is Artificial Magick, that is to say, a meer Legerdemain or Juggling with Nature: This is managed by the Wit and Dexterity of Man, with the Advantages of concealed, occult Powers, known in Nature, but unknown and unseen by vulgar Heads and Eyes; and such Fame tells us have been carried to extraordinary heights, such as

• 1. The Glass Sphere of Archimedes.
• 2. The wooden Pidgeon of Architas.
• 3. The golden Birds of the Emperor Leo, which sung.
• 4. The brazen Birds of Boetius, which did both sing and fly; and his brazen Serpent, which could hiss.

To which we may add, Fryar Bacon's brazen Head, which spoke.

These were all Impositions upon the Sight or Hearing of the People; as no doubt the Phosphorus would have been, which makes Fire burn without Heat, and without consuming the Matter; and had a Man in those days of Invention found out a Load-stone, what Wonders might he not have performed by it? what would have been said, to see him make a piece of Iron dance round a Table, while the Agent held the Magnet underneath; make another piece of Iron touched with it, suspend a third in the Air, and the like; make it draw one End of a Needle to it, and then drive it from it again, as the Poles of the Magnet were turned and directed? Will any Man believe but he that first shewed these unac|countable things, would have passed for a Magician, a Dealer with the Devil, nay, or rather for a real Devil in human Shape?

Whoever had first brought such a wonderful Stone into view as our ordinary Chalk-stone, calcin'd and turned into Lime, supposing it never to have been

heard of before, and shown with it the Rarity of its Operation, viz. that if you threw it into the Fire, it would put the Fire out, and if you put it into Water it would burn.

These are some of the Delusions of Artificial Magicians, and such as these the World has been full of, till now we begin to be too Wise to be cheated any longer that way; but as to State-jug|glers, the Magick of the Party-mongers, Religious-jugglers, and the Magick of the Pulpit, with divers other less fatal Kinds, I believe they are at this time in the Meridian of their Practice and Success, or near it; what height they may go farther we do not indeed certainly know, it must be left to Time.

And thus you have an honest System of the Sci|ence called Magick, according to the Title of this Undertaking.

CHAP. III.

Of the Reason and Occasion which brought the ancient honest Magi, whose original Study was Philosophy, Astronomy, and the Works of Nature, to turn Sorcerers and Wizzards, and deal with the Devil; and how their Conversation began.

HAVING thus stated the Fact, and given you what I call a System of Magick, 'tis necessary now, that in pursuance of my Title, I should in|sist more particularly upon the third and last sort of Magick I mention'd, and which is call'd Diabolical, or according to the vulgar Acceptation, the Black-art, and bring it out to you from its very foun|dation.

This must be deduced Historically from the o|ther two, or else I cannot lead you regularly into its Original, or give you its true Description; be|sides, a great many useful and agreeable Specula|tions offer themselves in the rise and progress of the thing it self, which will be most necessary to speak to, as we go along.

Magick did not jump at once into Being, as to the thing it self; it was not a Revelation from Hell, made at once to Mankind, to tell them what they might do: The Devil did not come and offer his Service Gratis to us, and representing how useful a Slave he would be, solicit us to take him into Pay, and this at once without Ceremony or Introduction.

No, no, it was a long Progression of Studies, and Improvement in wicked and mischievous Schemes, that brought Mankind to have recourse to the In|fernals, to seek the Aid of the dark Agents below, and to sollicit a Commerce of that kind: Nor was this done till after finding many Diffi|culties in their other way, they saw evidently they could not do without him, could not accomplish their mischievous Desires by other Methods, and that this way it was to be done.

Not but that the Devil was very ready, when he found himself made necessary; I say, he was very ready to come into the Schemes when propos'd, and to serve us in our Occasion, and that with a Wil|lingness which was extreamly obliging; which shew'd him to be a Person of abundance of Complaisance, and mighty willing to engage us whatever it cost him; as much as to say, he was glad he could serve us, was ready to do his utmost for us, and the like.

Now to go back briefly to the Occasion which brought the Magicians to the Necessity of seeking to him for Assistance, and to take him into the Ma|nagement of their Affairs; the Case was in short

this: The World, as I have said already, began to be wiser than the Ages before them; the ordinary Magick of the former Ages would not pass any longer for Wisdom; and if the wise Men, as they were called, did not daily produce some new Dis|coveries, 'twas evident the Price and Rate of Southsaying would come down to nothing.

If this put them upon Stratagem and Art, in or|der to keep up their Credit, and maintain the Di|stance between them and the inferior Rank of Men, it is not to be wonder'd at; and these Strata|gems were of several kinds, as the Occasion and the Wit of the Undertakers presented; for you are to suppose the inquiring Temper of the common Peo|ple to be arriv'd to such a Height, that nothing could pass with them for True, at least nothing which had any Novelty in it, unless it was con|firm'd by some strange thing, some Sign, some Miracle to be wrought, by which the Mind re|ceiving a due Impression, entertain'd the rest of the propos'd Wonder with the more Satisfaction.

At first the Magicians satisfy'd the Curiosity of the People by Juggle and Trick, by framing ar|tificial Voices and Noises; foretelling strange Events, by mechanical Appearances, and all the Cheats which we find put upon the ignorant Peo|ple to this Day; and it would be tedious to enu|merate the Particulars by which they impos'd upon one another. You may guess at them by such as are mention'd before; but principally those who studied the heavenly Motions, had great Opportu|nities of recommending themselves for Men of Craft, pretending to tell Fortunes, calculate Nati|vities, resolve Doubts, read the Lines of Nature drawn in the Face, Palms of the Hand, Symetry of the Body, Moles and Marks on the Flesh, and the like.

These things they carry'd to a due Length, and we find the Success was so much to their Ad|vantage, that the whole World, or great Part of it, has been Gypsey-ridden by them, even to this Day.

It would fill a Volume larger than I propose this shall be, to give an Account of the several Stratagems those People had Recourse to, in the early Days of Sorcery and Magick, in order to main|tain their Character in the World as extraordinary. For I must do them so much Justice as I go, to observe, that they did not immediately run to the Devil for Help; or at least, if some among them dealt in the Dark, and corresponded below, they did not all do so; perhaps they were not harden'd enough at first for the carrying on such a Traffick. 'Twas a new Commerce, and had something a little shocking at first, till the necessity of their South|saying Circumstances brought them to comply with any thing rather than lose their Trade.

The Aegyptians, you must know, were a People originally attended with two things, which natu|rally made way for these Magical Studies.

1. Most impertinently Inquisitive, grosly Igno|rant in the main, (as Ignorance would be called now, but mighty Wise, as things were rated at that time) and prying into every thing with an irre|sistible Passion for what they call'd Knowledge; on this Account they pass'd for the wisest Nation on Earth, and Aegypt was esteem'd the Center of Learning and Knowledge. Hence Moses was said to be learned in all the Wisdom of the Aegyptians. It is true, and they are upbraided with it by the Ethiopians of Arabia Felix, which they call the South; and who, tho' Arabians, are call'd Ethiopi|ans in Scripture; I say, it is true, that the Aegyp|tians learned all their Magick, that is, their Astro|nomy and Astrology, from the Arabians; and they

tell us that Abraham instructed his Son Ishmael, in all the superior Knowledge in which his Posterity afterwards grew so famous.

2. With this inquisitive Temper of the Aegypti|ans, they were also most ridiculously Superstitious; I say, most ridiculously, because it shew'd it self in that sordid and most simple Idolatry which they had mong them, in which they sunk below the com|mon Notions of Worship practis'd by the most ignorant Nations in the World; for they wor|ship'd, or made a God of, almost every thing that came in their way; as the Ox, the Calf, the Wa|ter of Nile, nay the River it self, the Sand, the Crocodiles, and numberless things as senseless as those.

As these things were peculiar to them as a Na|tion, so they particularly qualify'd them to be im|pos'd upon by their Southsayers and Magicians, with all manner of Delusions; nor did the subtle Magicians fail to make their Advantage, upon all Occasions, of this superstitious and inquiring Hu|mour of the People, but used all possible Stratagem and Art to delude and impose upon them.

To this purpose, they soon mixt their Religion and their Magick together, their Philosophy and their Idolatry were made Assistant to the general Fraud, and to raise a due Veneration in the Minds of the People: To this or that particular Tale advanc'd by their Priests, they brought always along with them some extraordinary Revelation from the Gods, some wonderful Discovery in Nature, or something strange and miraculous.

How strangely does religious Enthusiasm keep its hold of Mankind, and how exactly do past things and present correspond! As the End is the same, so are the Means: pious Frauds got ground from the Beginning, and pious Frauds get ground to the End. As no Cheats are so fatal as those which

come prefac'd with Introductions of Religion, so no Cheats are so easy to prevail, so soon make Im|pressions upon the People, or stamp those Impres|sions deeper.

The Priests among the Aegyptians, when they turn'd Magicians, (or rather, I should have said, the Magicians, when they turn'd Priests,) set up for Re|velation, Inspiration, and a Conversation with their Gods; and for this purpose they withdrew into the Desarts and Wastes, of which the Country is known to be full; and where to their Glory (Shame) be it spoken, the Religious of the Romish Church play'd the same Game over again, some Ages afterward.

Hither the Aegyptian Priests, I say, retir'd for Conversation with their Gods, from whence they were sure to come back inspir'd, that is to say, fill'd with some new Delusion to impose upon the People. Here they cut sacred Marks upon the Trees, and then brought them back as the Lan|guage taught them from the Gods; and by which they pretended, after muttering over them some unsignifying Significations, to utter some Answers to any Difficulties proposed to them; and then sending their Votaries into the Wilderness, they would set them to search for the same Divine Cha|racters; which after long looking for, they would find upon some Stone, or Post, or Tree, and come home in Raptures for the Discovery.

Others of these Divine Magicians, or Diviners rather, would clamber up to the top of the Pyra|mids, whose immense Height we have such certain Accounts of, as may make the climbing up seem incredible, whatever else may not be so. Yet here they went to make Observations, and Calculations of the heavenly Motions, some say; but according to others, to make their Conjurations, their sacred Retreats, and to carry on the Delusion of conversing with the Gods.

Here also they cut their Diabolical Marks, which the Aegyptians call the Sacred Characters, which they left behind them indeed in the Stone upon the upper flat of the Pyramid; for according to the learned Greaves, the Summit of the Pyramid was not a Point as the top of a Spire, or as represent|ing a Flame, and which by its great Height it seem'd to be; but the uppermost Part form'd a Plain, which Stephanus in his Comment, supplying the Defect in Herodotus, makes to be eight Orgyiae, which again, according to Suidas, is a Fathom, or six Foot; so that the Plain on the top of the Pyra|mid must be eight Fathom square: Others report it to be nine Foot only, tho' I think the former more probable.

But be that as it will, here 'tis certain they made, or found made by others, certain dark, Mystick, and as they pretended sacred Characters, whose Sig|nifications were represented by the Priests just as they pleas'd; for we have reason to believe they had not then the use of Letters; and as some think, these mystick Characters were the Original of all the Hyeroglyphick Writing, which was afterwards the ordinary Practice of the Aegyptians, till the Hebrew Characters were handed to them by Moses, from the Writing of God deliver'd him at Mount Sinai.

It is very well observ'd by the learned Author just now nam'd, that had not the Priests stood in need of something extraordinary, to make their coelestial Converse seem more Weighty and Impor|tant, all their Astronomical Observations might as well have been made from the plain of the Rock upon which those Pyramids are built, and which support the Foundation; which, as he takes notice, is it self so elevated, that in a Country which is all a low, flat and level Surface, for near fifty Miles every way, and affords a fair Horison, is as well suited for all

such Observations as require a large extended Pro|spect, as it would be if it were seven or eight hun|dred Foot higher, which is supposed to be the Height of the Pyramid.

But the Reason is evident; the mounting the Steps or Degrees of the Pyramid on the out-side, was a work of vast Labour, and some Hazard; Every Head could not bear the Elevation; every Mind could not have Resolution to undertake it; few would venture up to examine the Truth of the Characters, or bring down Copies of them, much less examine into the Nature of them. And if they had gone up it was enough, the cunning Priest•• had imprest them there, and left the Originals up|on the top Stone of the wonderful Building, magi|cal and awful in it self; and as it was really so, that there the Characters were to be seen, it was no hard matter to persuade the credulous supersti|tious People,

• 1. That they were written there by the Finger of the Gods:
• 2. That the Interpretation of them was given by Inspiration to the same Priests, or wise Men, who first discover'd, and brought down the Characters themselves.

How far these Delusions have prevail'd, and do to this Day prevail among the Aegyptians, I need not tell you; 'tis enough to say it has gone such 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Length, as has encouraged Enthusiastic Pretenders, and made Aegypt the Nursery of Witchcraft to the whole World.

But why should we think it strange to have Di|vinity and Magick thus blended together in a Coun|try so superstitious as Aegypt? Has there not been a stranger Mixture of Magick and Witchcraft, not omitting Priestcraft, in all kinds of Religions ever since, and is it less among the Politer Religions now in Vogue, than it was in those Days?

To begin at the very Pinnacle of the Church, and to leave Judaical Magick all behind us, tho' they had the Devil almost in every Synagogue; I say, to begin at the Pinnacle of the Church, How many Popes in particular does History give us an Account of, who have been Sorcerers and Conjurers, and who have dealt with the Devil in the most open and avow'd manner? How has the Romish Church been establisht upon the Artificial Magick of the Clergy? and how justly may we say to her, as Jehu to the King of Israel, What Peace, while the Whoredoms of thy Mother Jezebel and her Witchcrafts are so many?

But not to make our Enquiries a Satyr upon our selves, in falling upon Popery, where we are equally guilty; let us recommend it to our Most Reve|rend, and Right Reverend, to put our own Ecclesi|astick Affairs into such a good Posture, that we may have no Magick among us; that while we pull down the formal Magicians, we may not set up the cunning Men upon the Fall of the wise Men, and erect Heresy in the room of Schism.

Some People pretend our Modern Divinity is so Magical in its own Nature, that it is not easy to separate them; that is, in a word, the Devil has so far encroach'd upon the Church, that it is impossible to cast him out: the Truth is, if it was not so, we should hardly have such a struggle as has now been among us to keep the true Lord in Possession. And since the Church has but one true and rightful King and Sovereign, there would never have been such a bold Attempt to depose him, if the Devil, the ancient Usurper of his Throne, had not been at work again to step up in his Room. But we shall have occasion to speak of this Part more plainly by and by.

It was with great Success, that the Aegyptian Priests went on in the manner as above, and their Artificial Magick went a great way in all the

Eastern World; they were counted the best and wisest Men, who, Mountebank like, could show most Tricks, and invent the most surprizing things to take with the Vulgar, so as to give their Words the Force of an Oracle, and entitle them to the Character of Divine and Prophetick: And thus we may suppose the World going on for many Ages, till at length, to come nearer our own Times, and indeed nearer to the Practice of our own Times too, their Mimickry was exhausted; they had no more Tricks to play, the juggling Trade grew stale and dull, the World began to look beyond them, and expected something more; and so the last, I do not say the Church Jugglers, went to the Devil for Help. I had rather tell you that another Generation, who had always been true Magicians, true Practicers of the Diabolical Part, came in play of course, and succeeded the first, who gradually deposed themselves by their meer Impotency; and just as Darkness is a deprivation of Light, and suc|ceeds it by the meer Consequence of things, so the honest Ignorance of the innocent Magician being unable to keep the Expectation of the People up, and answer the Importunities of the Age, dealing with the Devil succeeded, even by the meer Con|sequence of things.

The new Magick coming thus in Play, let us see how it made its first Entrance in the World, and in what Shapes it began to appear; in which Search we shall find, in short, that Religion still open'd the Door. For as the Devil aspir'd at nothing more from the Beginning than to be set up for a God, so he always built his Chappel close by God's Church; it was in the Consequence of this, that the Priests were always his more immediate Correspon|dents. How long they continued so, but especially when the Correspondence ceas'd, would be a Dis|covery worth making to the World: but O how difficult!

It is indeed to be observ'd, and the Devil has done us Christians that Justice, that Satan has dis|cover'd his Attachment to the Pagan Rites in Di|stinction from, and Opposition to, the Christian Worship on many Occasions, and that particularly as perhaps the latter is more fitted to introduce Devil-worship in the World; we have some Instan|ces of his making this Distinction, particularly when the Emperor Julian, while he was only Caesar, and had not declar'd himself Apostate, (nay, was perhaps more inclin'd to be a Christian than a Pagan, for he was Educated a Christian,) I say, it was observ'd, that he was perverted from Chri|stianity, and confirm'd a Pagan, by Maximus a Ma|gician.

N.B. This Maximus was a Magician, when the Word Magician signified no more a wise Man, or a Southsayer, but a down-right Conjurer, a Master of the Black-art, or One who dealt with the Devil.

Nor was it that the Magicians were Favourers of Paganism only, but such was the Subtilty of the Devil, that indeed the Pagan Worship consisted much in Sorcery and Magick, Conjurings, Invo|cation of Devils, and raising evil Spirits; by These the Rites and Ceremonies of Paganism were suppor|ted. 'Tis said of the famous Champion of the Chri|stian Religion, Athanasius, that he understood all the Mysteries of the Pagan Theology; but we are not come to that Length in our Enquiries yet.

The Devil had a great many good Reasons to befriend the Pagan Worship, rather than the Chri|stian; for that indeed the Substance of Paganism was a Diabolical System in it self, and to worship the Heathen Gods, was Essentially to worship the Devil, as we shall see in its Place.

We must observe here, that the Curiosity of Man in the most early Times was never fully grati|fied, but when his Understanding was as it were confounded, when he was under some Astonishment and Surprize, at seeing or hearing some strange thing. The Pharisees, when they were attacking our Saviour, as they almost were always, and when as they thought they insulted him, ask'd him what Sign doest thou show, that thou doest such things as these?

And in other Places 'tis said, when he did per|form some miraculous Things they were astonish'd at him; Astonishment introduces Silence, Men are first amaz'd, and have nothing to say, and then Nature dictates Credulity as the Consequence, viz. that when they are thus surpriz'd with Wonder, they should consequently believe the Person who so asto|nish'd them with his Miracles: tho', by the way, it was not always so with the Jews, for they were amaz'd, and yet did not believe neither; in which they were something of Kin to an unbelieving Christian in our Town, of Ecclesiastic Fame too; who says he, wonders and is astonish'd at the Ma|jesty of the Scripture Style, and yet does not be|lieve a Word they say. A bolder Infidel I have not met with since I was last at the Pagan Circle, near old Charing, where God was own'd, sworn by, imprecated, blasphem'd, and deny'd, all in a Breath.

But to go on: The Curiosity of Mankind I say was never fully satisfy'd, but when something won|derful was offer'd, and therefore Miracle was im|mediately call'd for, when any new System was offer'd, or any thing difficult proposed.

Thus when God sent Moses and Aaron to Pha|raoh, he supposes the very Case; Moses and Aaron were to assure Pharaoh that God sent them, and they were in his Name to demand Liberty for the

Children of Israel. The Demand was surprizing: 'twas an insolent thing indeed, for a couple of Slaves to come, and ask the King to release six hundred thousand Men, Slaves like themselves, from their Captivity, and from the King's Service, whose Subjects, or rather Servants, they were; and Pharaoh 'tis to be suppos'd began to resent it; nay we may suppose without any Presumption that Pha|raoh's Courtiers made Game at 'em, and his Mini|sters of State perhaps propos'd to punish them for their Impudence, and for putting such Notions into the People's Heads, which might be dangerous, and might excite Tumults and Rebellion; and therefore it was Prudence to suppress the Insolence, and make Examples of the two pretended Ambas|sadors.

But hold! says Moses, we do not come to affront your Majesty, nor are the People we come to speak for inclin'd to revolt or rebel; but we come from God; the People of Israel whom we represent are God's chosen favourite Nation, tho' they are your Servants, and they are commanded to go three days Journey into the Wilderness, to perform a great Sacrifice, and make a great Feast to him; and therefore we come to desire your Leave, that we may go peaceably and do the Duty of our Wor|ship; assuring your Majesty, that God himself, who has thus commanded us out, has sent me to you to demand your Assent.

God sent you! says the King: a fine Story for you to put into the People's Heads to make them idle, and hinder my Business; go, get you gone to your Work, and to your Task, or I shall find a way to drive these Whymsies out of your Heads again.

But still Moses and Aaron, with other the Heads of the Israelites, (for there were many more with them) insisted, that they were sent by the immediate Direction of God himself. And how do you prove

that, says the King, what Sign do you give me that you come with such an Authority?

With this Moses replies to Pharaoh, I shall soon convince your Majesty that I am sent by the Great King, and God of Heaven and Earth: and with that turning to Aaron, he says to him, Brother, Throw down the Staff, or Rod, that is in your Hand, upon the Ground before the King.

Aaron does so, throws down his white Staff, and immediately it was turn'd into a Serpent.

The Learned have spent some Thought upon what kind of Serpent this should be; but that is not to my Purpose; nor are their Conjectures of any Weight, especially that foolish Notion, that it was the same kind of Serpent as appear'd and talk'd to Eve in Paradise, and that it walk'd erect in Pha|raoh's Presence, so that it frighted the King.

But Pharaoh recovering the Surprise, tells them, What does this signifie? you shall see I have Peo|ple of my own can do as much as this. Upon which his two chief Conjurers or Magicians were call'd in; 'tis suppos'd they were at hand, for the Devil is seldom out of call when he is wanted fo•• any Mischief.

Upon this comes Jannes and Jambres, so St. Pa•• call'd them, and the Text says they were two Ma|gicians, and perhaps there might be a great man•• more of that sort; for it seems the King's Cour•• was not then without a sufficient Number of Cler+gy in daily waiting. And the Text adds, Pharaoh call'd the wise Men, and the Sorcerers; and the nex•• Word calls them Magicians, and not only Magi|cians in common, as the Word was used Personally, but as it was used Nationally, The Magicians o•• Aegypt: whence 'tis inferr'd, that there were some Magicians not only more Eminent than others, bu•• such as were in publick Office there; as the Emi|nent Dr. H. . . . . may be call'd the King's Astro|nomer,

or as the more Eminent Mr. Flamstead usu|ally call'd himself the King's Star-gazer; and if it was not so that these Men were in ordinary At|tendance, and in Pay, how should they be brought in so soon, while Moses and Aaron were in the Presence?

Well, these Men being call'd in, Pharaoh, in Contempt of Moses and Aaron, and the Sign or Miracle they had shewn, ask'd them if they could not do that as well as Aaron?

They readily answer Yes, and fall to Paw-waw|ing, as the Americans call it, and using their Inchant|mens, invoking or whispering their Daemons, or what other Diabolical Arts they might use we know not; but upon this, and their Staves or Rods being cast down, they were turn'd into Serpents too.

This was enough to make Pharaoh triumph over Moses and Aaron, and their Company, and deriding their Mirale, tell them insultingly, this did not at all testifie their Mission from God, for they might see his wise Men could turn Rods into Serpents as well as they. Nor did the Distinction which God was pleas'd to show, by suffering Aaron's Serpent to de|vour or swallow up the Serpents of the Aegyptian Sorcerers, alter the Case with Pharaoh; for that, as an Accident, did not import any thing at all in the Case. And thus he sent them, or rather drove them, away with Contempt, and immediately sent Taskmasters among the People to double their Afflictions, encrease their Labours, and force them to make Brick without Straw.

Well, Moses and Aaron come again with the same Message, and it had the same Event, they are Banter'd and ridicul'd: As if the King had call'd to them thus; Well, you are come again, and you say God has sent you, pray has he furnish'd you with any better Testimony than you had before, have you any other Miracle to show?

The sacred Ambassadors gravely tell him they had, and if he would still refuse to grant their De|mands, he should see it; nay, they tell him be|fore-hand what it should be, namely, that they would turn the Waters of Nile, the great River of their Country, into Blood.

Pharaoh, as may be supposed, not believing they could do it, treats them still in the same manner, and refuses still to receive them as Messengers from God; upon which, Moses calls to Aaron, and bids him stretch out his Rod and smite the Waters of the River, and they were immediately turned into Blood, and all the Waters, Ponds, and Pools be|sides; for Aegypt is full of Pits and Ponds, wherein they preserve the Water of Nile after the annual In|undation.

The King, frighted at this sudden Change of the Water, is a little calmer than he was before; but considering the matter, he calls his Magicians to see if they could not do this also, as well as Moses; when they came they did the same, by which still the blinded Mind of the Prince continued obsti|nate.

I might run through the rest of the Miracles wrought there, and shew you how the Magicians brought Frogs, but could not bring Lice; but this is not to the Case; the Story is known.

Only one thing I must note for your Direction in the reading this Part of the Story, viz. that the Magicians could bring Plagues, at least some of them, as well as Moses and Aaron; but the Magi|cians could not remove them again, as Moses did; so that the King might have perceived that which the Magicians themselves acknowledged in the Plague of the Lice, that it was the Finger of God which only could remove the Plagues he brought.

The whole Design of this Remark is to shew, that it was always the Temper of Mankind to de|mand

a Sign or a Miracle, to confirm any new ad|vanced Doctrine, or any extraordinary Mission, and to take those Miracles when produced for a full Confirmation.

This Temper of the People, as it drove the Ma|gicians to their Shifts how to supply Miracles to obtain Credit with the People, so it drove them beyond their Shifts too at last, and brought them to a Confederacy with the Devil for a Supply of Wonderfuls to delude the People. They tell us of a certain Sorcerer at Antioch, who for the Confir|mation of some particular thing, which he had af|firmed to the People, to keep up his Credit with them, told them, that such an Evening he would cause Fire to come down from Heaven, and that it should rest on the Top of such a certain Hill, in the Sight of all the City.

Whether the cunning Artist had found out any Composition by which to make artificial Fireworks, agreeable to what is done at this time or not, is not certain; tho' 'tis most certain the Art of ma|king Gunpowder was not then known, nor for above a thousand Years afterwards: But for certain he caused such a Machine to mount in the Air, unseen in the dark of the Evening, which then bursting, came down again in a Shower of Fire, like the Stars (as we call them) which spread themselves and fall down upon the bursting of the Tail of a Rocket; and this so amazed the People, that they believed afterwards every thing he said.

Thus Simon the Sorcerer is said, by his Diabolical Inchantments, to fly up in the Air, and perform so many surprizing things, that 'tis said the Peo|ple called him the Great Power of God, or the Appearance of the great Power of God, Acts viii.••0.

Indeed the Description the Scripture gives there of this Simon is very remarkable to the case in hand; first 'tis said, ver. 9. That he used Sorcery and bewitched

the People, that is, the People of Samaria; then 'tis added, all the People gave heed to him, and said, This Man is the great Power of God; the meaning i•• evident, this Man has done such great and strange things, shewed such Miracles, such Wonders, that none but the great Power of God could enable him to do; and therefore 'tis certain that he is aided and assisted by the great Power of God; and this he held a long time. ver. 11. To him they had re|gard, because for a long time he had bewitched them with his Sorceries.

The Case of Simon and the People at Samaria was just as it was with Pharaoh and his Magicians, when Moses and Aaron came to him. Pharaoh and all his Courtiers gave heed to Jannes and Jambres, for that of a long time they had bewitched them with their Sorceries.

It remains a Question here, by what Power and by whose Hand it must be, that the Magicians of Aegypt turned their Rods into Serpents; smote the Waters, and turned them into Blood; brought up Frogs, &c. that is, in short, mimicked or imi|tated the Miracles of Moses and Aaron. If I am asked by whose Permission it was done, I know how to answer; but if you ask who was the Instru|ment, I must say it was the Devil; for the Text says expresly, they did it by their Inchantments.

On the other hand, when they were baffled in their Paw-wawing for Lice, and could not per|form it, 'tis said expresly, they acknowledged that they could not do it, for that was the Finger of God, Exod. viii.19.

Now whether the Magicians meant, it is the Fin|ger of God that hinders us from doing now as we did before, so that we cannot bring up Lice as we did Frogs; or whether they seemed to acknow|ledge, that the Plague of Lice was the Finger of God, tho' they did not grant that the Blood and

the Frogs were so, because the Devil could do it also; this, I say, is a Doubt which Commentators do not resolve, or at least do not agree about.

But take it which way you will, 'tis an Acknow|ledgment, that what they did by their Sorcery and Inchantments, was not done by the Finger of God; and also that when the Finger of God was in the Work, their Sorcery and Inchantments were impotent and could do nothing.

It is not to be questioned but as this Correspon|dence began between these Magicians and the in|fernal Spirits, they did also upon all Occasions, and with the utmost of their Power, as well as with the greatest Artifice and Cunning, endeavour to make the People believe, that what they did was by the great Power of God, by the Finger of Heaven; for this alone answer'd the End, which was Deluding, and Imposing upon Mankind. 'Twas the Unhappiness of that Age, as it is of ours, when a more modern and indeed more fatal kind of Ma|gick is practised in the World; I say, it was their Unhappiness that the Minds of the People seemed prepared for their Delusions, by being more easily imposed upon than usual.

The Eastern World had for many Ages been led and guided by the Juggles and Legerdemain of their Southsayers and wise Men, as they were called; and when they by the Degeneracy of the Times were, as I have said, brought so low as to submit to Sor|cery and Inchantment, they had a vast Advantage over the People, by the good Opinion which the People had of their Sincerity and Honesty, and that they would not by any means cheat and impose upon them.

Thus when Errors and damnable Doctrines in Religion are broached and set on foot among us by Men of apparent Sanctity in Conversation, Men of severe Morals, of rigid and austere Lives, blameless

and mortified Manners, strictly practising the good things which they preach, and who by that Strict|ness of Conversation have obtained a Reputation in the World, as Men that do not willingly deceive the People, or that at least have not a wicked De|sign to deceive; In such case, I say, Error comes armed with a fatal and double Power, and its in|fluence is much more likely to do Mischief, the Hypocrisy is the more dangerous, and the People more easily abused.

Who could, in our Days expect, that Men of Morals, Men of unspotted Lives, and whose Characters would be such as never to suffer any Reproach, should blemish all their Reputation, which that commendable Rectitude of Life had obtained for them, with harbouring a horrid and detestable Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost it self, robbing the Son of God of the Equality which he thought it no Robbery to assume, and de|nying the Godhead of him who is God blessed for ever▪

But this is still too solemn, and I am not also come on far enough in Order of time to talk of those People; we shall meet with them again in our Way: for the present I must be content to go back to the South and to the East, visit the pri|mitive Times of Sorcery and Witchcraft, and see if we can find it out, how the Devil and Mankind came to be so well acquainted as we find they have been; for certainly it was not all done at once. Satan, whose Region is the Air, and whose Business is in the Dark, was not immediately corresponded with in an open, publick, and avowed manner; he did not walk about in Person, undisguis'd and open•• cloathed in the Shapes and Figures of a Devil, and acting like himself; he certainly made his court to Mankind by some particular Applications, or they to him; for the Learned are not fully agreed who made the first Advances towards the new Acquain|tance,

and whether the Devil made love first, or how Mankind found him out. I must confess it is an Enquiry of Moment, and the History of it would take up some Room in our Speculations, perhaps very much to your Satisfaction; I mean, if we could give a true and particular Account how the Devil and Mankind came first acquainted.

And first, it would be particularly improving to our Understandings, if we could tell where the first Occasion of the Correspondence lay; that is to say, 1. Whether the Devil in the Administration of his Affairs found it absolutely necessary to settle a Cor|respondence among Mankind, and therefore, as Mr. Milton has it, travelled to this Globe upon the foot of new Discoveries, and improved upon those Discoveries afterwards by the dexterity of his Ma|nagement, making his Acquaintance with Mankind his own way, and as he found proper for his Occa|sions: or,

2. Whether Mankind finding their Desires to be wicked, infinitely greater than their Capacities, and being under an absolute Necessity of some ex|otick Helps, some Assistances farther and other than they found natural Powers would supply, made their Application to him; according to the laudable Example of my old Friend and good Pa|tron in every wicked Contrivance, the late Ho|nourable Mr. M—g M— who (saving that I can|not say I believed him) told me, that being in an extraordinary Streight, and wanting an infallible Agent in a particular Piece of Revenge where a certain Female had jilted and insulted him, went out into his Garden, three Nights together, just at the moment of Twelve, (that it seems was the cri|tical time for Satan to be spoke with) and called him aloud by his Name, telling him he wanted his immediate Attendance in an Affair of the utmost Importance.

Now, I say, which of these two was the Case at the Beginning of the Intercourse between Man and his Master, is hard to determine, and would be a most admirable Discovery if the Certainty could be come at, in a manner agreeable to the nature of the thing, so as it might be depended upon. For my own Part, if I might give my Opinion, I should determine it in Favour of the Devil, and that Mankind were the Agressors, first sought the Acquaintance, implored his infernal Majesty's As|sistance, proposed a League or Confederacy with him offensive and defensive, and vowed themselves to be his faithful Allies, and to serve him to the utmost of their Power; upon which Application, Satan, as powerful Princes often do, yielded to their Im|portunities, granted their Petition, took them into his Protection, and has been their constant Friend and Confederate, on all wicked Occasions, eve•• since.

But there is one Difficulty in the way of thi•• Opinion, which indeed gives me a shock in the Faith of it, and seems to intimate that it cannot be so, at least that it cannot be absolutely and fully s•• in the largest Sense; and that is, How did Man|kind come first to know that there was such 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Creature as a Devil in Being? that he was capable of giving them Assistance in the Agency of such black Designs as they really wanted his Help in? that he was a Spirit qualified for his Correspondence, and that he would upon Application give him the Assi|stance he wanted? And again, if he did know, o•• that any traditional Memoirs remained with him from the Records of Past Ages, of the Agency of the Devil with old Eve, or with any of the Antedi|luvean Race, and how Satan had managed things in those Times; yet it does not appear how he found the Way to correspond, whether he had any Instru|ctions for his Application, and in a word, how he

knew where to find the Devil out, and to come to the Speech of him. These Difficulties indeed lie in the way of my last Hypothesis; and 'till they can be solved to the general Satisfaction, I doubt I must quit the supposed Application of Man to the Devil, and allow that Satan himself first pickt Ac|quaintance with him, that the Correspondence be|gan that way, that the Devil offer'd his Service to him, and let him know before-hand how ready he would be to come at his Call, and to assist him upon all Occasions.

I must confess this Supposition lays the Devil a little low in your thoughts, depreciates his Cha|racter, and places him beneath the Dignity of his Se|raphick Original: But it cannot be helped; if the Devil will make himself a Slave, he must; and if he will be, according to the happy Title of the Chief of his Confederates, Servus Servorum, who can help it? The thing explains it self: Whatever he was at first, he certainly has been, is, and is like to be the most obsequious, humble, diligent Devil that ever Mankind could have had to do with.

I must acknowledge that I did not enquire of my Friend just now named, whether the Devil gave his Attendance immediately, and with his usual Alacrity, upon his calling out so Audibly to him; not that I ever doubted but that the Devil did wait upon him, because 'tis visible that he has acted as if the Devil had been in him ever since; but, I say, I should have enquired whether he came at the first Call, for without doubt he called loud enough for him to hear; for, as Voice always ascends, the Vibration moving most naturally upward, and that Satan's particular Residence is said to lie that way, there is no room to question but he could hear him; unless, as Elijah said to the Priests of Baal, he might be busy, or asleep, or gone a Journey; which seldom happens to him, so as to be out of the way of Mischief.

N.B. Here indeed I ought to make some small Apology for what I happen'd to say of the Honourable Person I just now mentioned, and who I seemed to suggest was not to be believed; which Expression (he being a Per|son of Honour) I ought to explain, as I do by these Presents, and in Manner and Form fol|lowing, that is to say; that he is always to be believed, in all Cases, and relating to all Persons, but himself; but he claiming a Right and Privilege of slandering himself, and being ex|ceeding fond of being thought wickeder than he is, I ventur'd, by way of Observation, to suspect his Veracity, when he talks of his Father's only Son; knowing that as he has so constantly boasted of Sins he was never able to commit, and that every thing must be false which cannot be true, so there is no Credit to be given to him in that Particular.

But in all other Cases you must understand me to acknowledge him for a Man of as nice a Taste, and as strict an Observer of Truth and Decency, as ever Satan corresponded with; which publick Acknowledgment I hope he wil•• take for ample Satisfaction.

Now, with Pardon for the needful Digression above, I go on with repeating in Substance what I concluded before, viz. that this Difficulty is so great, that I cannot easily get over it, viz. to resolve who began the Acquaintance between Satan and our Ancestors of the East, for there it seems they first corresponded.

Nor can I proceed Historically in my present Un|dertaking, without coming to a Certainty in this Point, and 'till it is determined one way or other; and for that Reason, I think I must for the pre|sent, 'till the Devil thinks fit to clear himself of the Charge, leave it at his Door, and grant that he

found the Correspondence so much to his Advan|tage, that is to say, so much for the Interest of his present Undertakings of another kind, that he made no Scruple of being first in the Application; that he stooped without Ceremony to make the first Visit, and so began the Treaty afterwards in his own Name.

Nor has the Devil been very nice in his subse|quent Intimacies, or in the Management of the Correspondence after it was begun; but has on so many Occasions testified his Resolution to culti|vate the Friendship so (happily for him) begun, that they found him ever after at their Elbow when they had Occasion for him, and sometimes whether they had Occasion for him or no; whe|ther he is less kind to their Posterity, let his Friends and Confederates of the present Age testify.

It is true that sometimes we find, or at least they tell us so, that he is too cunning for his Corre|spondents; and that when he has drawn them into Bargains, he is not so just to his Word as he should be, or as they expected; and this brings some Scan|dal upon the Acquaintance, as if he was not a faith|ful Confederate, and that he leaves his Friends of|ten in the Lurch, as he did the late famous Car|touch in France, Jonathan Wild in England, and as he has done the poor Trooper lately at Dresden, who, they say, he ought to have secured from the Officers of Justice; and that when he had killed Mon|sieur Halm the Lutheran Minister, the Devil should have given him an invisible Cloak to have carried him off, and not have left him to the Mercy of the Protestants, after he had done him such an eminent Piece of Service.

But let us bring things to a right Understanding, do Satan Justice, and set the Saddle upon the right Devil. In these Cases, the Question is not, whether the Devil, after having made Bargains with these People, did not perform, and was not so just to his

Word as they expected; but whether he was not as just to his Word as they ought to have expected? For Example, perhaps in making their Bargains with the Devil, they expect things to be performed which it is not in his Power to perform; the Mi|stake lies not in Satan himself, but in them who make a God of him, and will have him be able to do every thing.

Now 'tis true that Satan, as he is a Spirit, is Magnipotent, but he never was Omnipotent; and therefore there may be, and are, abundance of fine things which such People expect of him, which he really not only never promises, but is not in any Condition to perform; and if People will have him do what he is not able to do, that is their Fault, not his; all they can blame him for in that case is, that he does not tell them how far he can, or can|not, serve them; and that truly, to give him his Due, seems to be none of his Business; but like a cunning Artificer, who is loth to tell you what he cannot do, but enlarges and expatiates upon his real Abili|ties; so the Devil, if you are willing to believe he can do thus and thus for you, 'tis enough if he does but equivocate, and tacitly grant it, without engaging to perform; but he is not bound to con|fess his Impotence, and own he cannot do it: So these People pretend to blame him, whereas in truth they ought only to blame themselves for expecting things of him, that even the Devil himself is not able to perform.

Thus our late Friend Jonathan, while he kept within Bounds, had, no doubt, a faithful and friend|ly Correspondence with him.

'But, said the Devil, What would Jonathan have me do? did he ex|pect I could save him, when he committed a Felo|ny even with his Fetters on, and while he was in Newgate? I had been his Protector in a thou|sand Rogueries, Things, which if I had not stood by him, he could never have got over: I had

hang'd a hundred and fifty honest Rogues to save him; every one of which, if I had not help'd him to be too cunning for them, and stopt their Mouths till 'twas too late to open them, could have hang'd him and saved themselves; but he was come to such a Pitch at last, and push'd his Fate so far, that not I, no not the Devil himself, could save him.

The like Plea the Devil made for himself, no doubt, in the case of his French Favourite Car|touch;

'Had he thought fit, after a thousand au|dacious Villanies successfully committed, and an infinite Stock of Treasure amass'd, for he was grown rich by the Trade; had he thought fit to have left Paris, and march'd off, either out of the Kingdom, or at least out of the City where he was so well known, and so diligently pursued, I had carried him safe off.'

But he was obstinately and inconsiderately bold; and the Devil is not bound to save those that resolve they will be hang'd. Nay, if am not misinformed, the Devil himself told him, he would be taken if he staid in Paris; and added, that the Search after him was so hot, and such Rewards promised, and he so well known, that if he, Satan himself, was so perfectly described, and so hotly pursued, he should certainly be discover'd. Tho' by the way, I would have you take that Part only ad referendum, as the Men of Business call it.

Now it is an unreasonable thing that Men should make a Bargain with either Man or Devil for more than they are able to perform, and then pretend to blame them for Non-Performance; and therefore a certain noble Lord, now in Exile, (whom they charge with contracting with Satan for some Parti|cular, in favour of his late Dumblane Enterprise, and which the Devil has, it seems, fail'd him in) ought not, as they say he does, to blame the De|vil, who really could do no more for him than he did.

Having then brought it to this Conclusion, that the Devil has been really first in the Confederacy, that Satan made the Acquaintance, and that Man neither knew how to come at the Devil, nor so much as knew originally that there was any such thing as a Devil in Being, it would add to our more perfect understanding of the whole Matter, if we could be informed in what manner the Acquain|tance begun.

The first Attack the Devil made upon our Mo|ther Eve, we have had fully described. Sacred Hi|story relates the Fact; and honest, grave Mr. Milton has given us the Particulars as distinctly, and in as lively Colours, as if he had been at the Conference, heard the Courtship, and how cunningly the Devil managed; with what Address he insinuated into her weakest Part, and how entirely he conquer'd her Virtue, her Obedience, her Sense of Religion, brought her to forget the Command that she had but just learned to remember; and to sacrifice her Soul, and all her Posterity, to her Appetite: I say, Mr. Milton has done it in so lively a manner, that it seem•• plain, that tho' Solomon could not under|stand the way of a Man with a Maid, but placed it among the things that were too wonder|ful for him; Milton seems not to be at a Loss to describe the way of the Devil with a Woman.

Now, I say, we have a distinct Account how the Devil made the first Attack upon Eve in Pa|radise; but how he pick'd Acquaintance with the Sons of Noah after the Deluge, and in what man|ner, or upon what Occasion that was begun, we are utterly at a loss about.

Nor have we any historical Account who were the Persons who entertained the first Correspon|dence with him, or upon what Occasion; nothing appears upon Record to give us the least Light into it, other than this, that we find the Effects of

an invisible Devil in Ham or Cham, one of Noah's Sons, and in Canaan his Grandson; but it is not the invisible Devil that I am enquiring after, but an appearing conversible Daemon or Evil Spirit, who assuming human Shape, or at least Voice, and in|telligible Operations, could supply the Office of the Devil in assisting Mankind in the several Exigencies of their Affairs, when any kind of infernal Work was upon their Hands.

This, I say, is the Devil I am enquiring after; and as I would fain bring Mankind and him to be acquainted together in a decent and regular man|ner, I must confess I am at a great Loss for want of the Particulars, as well of Persons, as of the Cir|cumstances in which those Persons were concerned.

However since that Part cannot be entred any farther into, or at least not so far as to make a full Discovery, we must take up with so much as we find upon Record, and this may perhaps be enough to satisfy us that so it was.

The Story of Job, according to the sacred Chro|nology, and by comparing it with other Accounts of things, appears to be very antient; even so old as to be in a very few Years after Abraham; for Eliphaz the Temanite could not, by Calculation, be many Removes from Esau, and Ishmael; and Job be|ing at that Time an old Man, no less than a hundred Years old, he might probably be alive within the time of Japhet, one of the Sons of Noah; for 'tis thought Job was above a hundred Years old when his first Sorrows came upon him.

Now in the time of Job, 'tis evident the Devil had made his visible Appearances upon Earth, and among the Sons of GOD too; for he appeared before the Lord at the time, as is supposed, of a solemn Service or Sacrifice. What his Business was there, and on what Occasion he came, does not lie before me on the present Occasion.

In the next place, the Devil not only had per|sonally appeared, but it seems plain from the Text, when God had given Job into his Hands, that is to say, had given him Commission to fall upon and af|flict him, and that he was gone out from the Pre|sence of God, that he immediately set his human as well as elementary Instruments at work; that he raised a Storm of Wind, from or in the Wilder|ness, and blew the House down upon Job's Sons and Daughters; that he brought Thunder and Lightning upon the Flocks, and burnt up the poo•• Sheep, and the Servants that look'd after them This was nothing but what, as a Devil and a Prince of the Air, might be expected from him: but that was not all; he raised War upon him; the Chaldean•• from one side, (the North) and the Sabeans from ano|ther side, (the East) made out their Armies and came upon him, and plunder'd him; the first carried away the Camels, and the other the Oxen.

'Tis certain those Nations were at Peace with Job before, and his Servants fed unmolested by them and in their Neighbourhood, 'till the Devil took upon him to break the Peace, and excite them to Insult Job and fall upon his Substance. How came this to pass; and what had Job done to any o•• them, to move them to use Violence with him? I make no question but the Devil went to them, and told them God had sent him to order them in his Name to ravage the Lands and carry away the Goods of Job; that God had destined him to Mi|sery and Poverty, and had given his Estate to them, and therefore it was lawful for them to fall upon and destroy him and his Family; and to give them a Sign, as I said before, and that they might know he came with a Commission, they should see he would go and send down Fire from Heaven and de|stroy his Sheep; and if they would not carry off the Camels and the Oxen, he would do the like by those also.

This, and the Bait of Plunder, was enough to ani|mate those Nations against poor Job, and so they came immediately and did as the Devil directed.

This seems to me to be the first visible Appea|rance of the Devil among the Sons of Noah, in the Post-diluvean Ages. I will not say his Acquaintance begun here, tho' if I should suppose it did, I do not see that I could be contradicted by any authentick Vouchers from History. Indeed it was a plausible Occasion enough, for it was apparently a Favour bestowed on the Sabeans and on the Chaldeans, to give them Job's Goods meerly for fetching: and this, for ought we know, may be the Reason that the first Magicians that we read of any where, were among those two Nations, viz. Chaldeans and (Arabians) Sabeans; nor can I doubt but that the Devil having made his Acquaintance first here, kept his Hold and Interest amongst them upon account of the good Offices he had done them, and perhaps might do them on many other Occasions.

Now, tho' I would not be positive where there is the least Uncertainty, being mighty cautious (as I am at present acting in the Capacity of an Hi|storian) of doing the Devil any Wrong or Injury; so I enter my Caveat too against an Objection here, viz. that if this be not the first time that any Man gives an Account of Satan's Appearance, and that this was not the first of his Pranks which he played upon Mankind after the Flood, let them shew us another before it, if they can; nay, I believe the Devil himself cannot tell us any one Time or Place, or any other Occasion, on which he ever showed himself, or perhaps durst show himself, in a visible Appearance in the World, I mean after the De|luge.

Nor is it easie to be determined, what Shape, what Case of Flesh and Blood, or (as I might say with more Propriety) what seeming Flesh and

Blood he appear'd dress'd in at that time; nor will I take upon me to guess what Figure he made, when he appear'd among the Sons of God, and whether they knew him or not; that is to say, knew who he was, and on what occasion he ap|pear'd there; whether Job was among them or not, (for he was doubtless one of the Sons of God, and the Text owns him as such; my Servant Job; for Son and Servant I take there to have the same Sig|nification;) and whether the short Discourse which it is said there the Lord held with the Arch-Ene|my of his Servant was audible and articulate, and whether the rest, heard it or no; all these Difficul|ties I leave, as the Learned say, to another Oppor|tunity, that is to say, because I am not able to say one Word to them at this.

CHAP. IV.

Of what Shapes the Devil assum'd in his first Appearances to the Magicians, and others, in the First Ages of the World; and whe|ther He is, or has been, allow'd to assume a Human Shape, or no.

AS I have ingenuously acknowledg'd in my last Chapter, that I can give you no Account of what Dress or Shape the Devil appear'd in, when he presented himself among the Sons of God, as noted in the first Chapter of Job, or whether he was visible to any else but his Maker; so I am equally uncertain in what Figure he made his first Appearances afterwards, among his own Acquain|tance and Servants, when he was introduc'd.

It must therefore suffice to tell you, that how|ever it was manag'd, we find there was certainly

an Intelligence carry'd on, a Correspondence main|tain'd, and what was not perfo••••••d ••••••onally, was done by Inchantments, which we call Sorcery; by Voices and by Dreams, or by Apparition in such Shapes and Postures, as Satan, for Reasons of State, thought fit to take upon himself for the Occasion.

Some have doubted, whether the Devil is em|power'd to take up any human Shape, or to appear in the Figure of a Man; and they argue that it does not seem consistent with the Goodness of the great Father of Mankind, to suffer the Arch-Enemy of his Creatures to go about in such a Disguise, so dangerous, and that might be so fatal to him; for that he would be always in danger of being de|ceiv'd to his Hurt, that he could never be safe; but that as the Scripture directs us to be courteous to Strangers, because some by being so had enter|tain'd Angels; so it would make us be shy, and a|fraid of Strangers, for that we should be always afraid we might receive the Devil into our Houses, and especially into our Friendship, and Familiarity. And hence I believe came the foolish empty No|tion, tho' such as it is impossible to root out of the Fancies of Men, viz. that the Devil cannot ap|pear without his cloven Foot; of which I shall say nothing here, but that it is a thing so ridiculous as to merit no Notice, either now or at any other time.

Tho' there may be many things said for this Opi|nion, and particularly to that Part which relates to the Safety of Mankind, in case of the several Dis|guises that the Devil may appear in, yet I cannot exclude the Devil from the Privilege of putting on our Clothes sometimes, and that too perhaps oft|ner than we may think he does; and that he appears in such a Shape too, oftner than we may believe he does. As to the Danger of it I may speak of that by it self.

I have taken it for granted in my last Chapter, that in the first Acquaintance between Mankind and the Evil Spirit, after the Deluge, Satan was the Aggressor; that he made his Application to them first, made his Proposals of Assistance and Help, in the Cases wherein he knew they wanted his Cor|respondence; and I shall add, that he perhaps rais'd difficult perplex'd Cases in the World, on purpose to prepare the Way for his rendring him|self useful.

We are come now to the Manner, I mean How, and in What Way the cunning Manager made his first Address to Mankind. It is true, we are something deficient in the History of this first Transaction, because we do not yet know, nor can easily find out, who was his first Correspon|dent in the World; but if you will take what has been, by what is, and judge of his first Method, by his subsequent Practice, I think I may give you room to make a fair Judgment. Nor do I think 'tis an improper way of determining the Point, since as Satan found the first Step successful, 'tis pro|bable he found no occasion to alter his Measures; and tho' differing Circumstances of Place and Per|sons may make him vary a little as he sees Occa|sion, yet I have I think a great deal of reason to suppose that the general rule of his Practice is much the same, and that he proceeds upon the same foot with Mankind in all Ages, and on all Occasions, mutatis mutandis, as he finds the Circumstances of the People the same, or not the same.

Take then the Devil's first Method with Man|kind to be grounded upon his own Experience in his Antediluvean Practices with their Ancestors; upon his Knowledge of their Present Circum|stances, I mean Present at the time after the Flood, you must allow Satan to have so much Cunning in him, as to be able, without the least Hesitation, to

know what was the best Method to come about the Man, and how to compass him; and for that reason, I say, I do not allow him to have made any Change in his Measures.

The first Method then, that I suppose the Devil took to make his Acquaintance with Man|kind was by the way of Dreams; and here I shall go back so far as to suggest, that he put Canaan, Noah's Grandson, upon intoxicating the good Patri|arch his Grandfather with Wine: for I join with a late Opinion, that it was Canaan, not Ham, that was the Occasion of it; tho' Ham was guilty of trium|phing over the old Man, when he was overcome, and exposing him, as far as lay in him, to his mode|ster Brethren.

Suppose then young Canaan very busy, helping and assisting his Grandfather, in planting and dressing the Vines after the Flood, and in gathering the Fruit; take then the following Observations upon those Circumstances in particular.

First, I cannot come into that foolish Notion, that Noah did not understand the Nature of the Vine, or the Strength of the Juice, when the Grapes were press'd, and the Wine ran out, and that he drank it ignorantly; I say, I cannot come into that Opinion: For Noah, who had no doubt preach'd against the Vices of the Antediluvian World, and against Drunkenness among the rest, must certainly know the Use of the Vine, and the Abuse of it too; how else did he come to plant it at all, and to press the Juice out for Drinking it at all?

Gen. ix.20. Noah began to be an Husbandman, and he planted a Vineyard.

21. And he drank of the Wine, and was drunken.

Secondly, It does not seem, that the time of Noah's Drunkenness was upon the pressing of the Grapes, or the pressing the first Grapes of his new Planta|tion; it must certainly be a considerable time after

his planting them, and after his first making of Wine. For tho' 'tis very probable that he planted the Vines immediately after the Flood, and the Text seems to intimate as much; yet 'tis evident it must be many Years after that, when he fell into the snare of Drunkenness. For Canaan, who was the•• a Man grown, was not Born at the coming out of the Ark, and there must be at least twenty or thirty Years between that time and the Fact For if Canaan had not been Major, had not been at Man's Estate, he would not in probability have been curs'd by his Grandfather, as a Principal in the Crime, as it is evident he was: For it does not seem that he was cursed so particularly, as an Ac|cessary only, or for the meer Offence of his Fa|ther, nor would it have been Righteous in Noah to have done so. But as he is so warmly fallen up|on, and so particularly by the old Patriarch, in hi•• Anathema, 'tis very probable he was a Principal in the Fact of abusing him.

Suppose then, I say, young Canaan busy in as|sisting his Grandfather in planting and dressing the Vines, and in pressing the Fruit; the Devil takes this for a Handle, and subtly makes Canaa•• dream. (For I'll grant, with Mr. Milton, that the Devil had, from the Beginning, the Art of whis|pering to him in his Sleep, as that Author makes him do to Eve in Paradise, and thereby making him dream of any thing he pleas'd.) Take him the•• whispering to Canaan, that he should make his Grandfather drunk with the Wine, and that he should be able to do what he pleas'd with him ever after; insinuating, that the Effect of it would be to make his Grandfather have a greater Affecti|on to him than to any of the rest of his Grand|children. This is not improbable, because the De|vil always Tempts with the Expectation of some apparent Good.

Others suggest, that Noah having reprov'd and reproach'd Canaan for some Crime, and perhaps caus'd him to be corrected for it, the Devil took hold of his Resentment, (which, by the way, is not much unlike a Devil,) and propos'd this method of Revenge to him in a Dream; as if he had dream'd that he had prevail'd over his Grandfather, by per|suading him to drink himself drunk, and had there|by made him expose himself in a beastly manner, 'till he became the Ridicule and Jest of the whole Family, which by that time was very numerous; and that Canaan, pleased with the lively Representation of his Grandfather's Shame, resolv'd (the Devil prompting him to it in other subsequent Dreams) if possible, to give himself the Satisfaction of bringing it to pass, and to persuade the old Man to drink himself Drunk, the next time he came to assist him in the Business; and that accordingly he did so, and prevail'd.

Whether Satan did it thus, or by any other me|thod of Insinuation, we are not sure; but it is very probable it was by a Dream: Nor is it clear to me, that the Devil had ever any other way but by Dream or Apparition, to come at the intelligent Faculties of Man. 'Tis evident he does suggest Evil; now he must do it sleeping, or waking; if sleeping, it must be by a Dream, in which he does but imitate the good Spirit, which, as the Scripture says plainly, and gives a multitude of Instances of it, opens the Understandings of Men in the Night Visions, and seals their Instructions: Nor is it a new Practice of Satan to mimick and imitate his Maker, in the Measures and Operations of his Wisdom with Mankind.

But be that as it will, we are sure the Devil does communicate his malicious Proposals of Mischief to Mankind; you have two eminent Examples of

it in Scripture, which are too plain, and too direct to my purpose here, to admit any Dispute; first, in the Case of David, and his Project of numbring the Poeple, 'tis said expresly, 1 Chron. xxi 1. Satan moved David to number the People. Where, by the way, tho' it was his Sin, yet by it we gain a piece of Information, how prodigiously populous the Tribes were at that time, viz. that there were fifteen hundred and seventy thousand fighting Men in only ten of the Tribes; an incredible Number to inhabit so small a Spot of Ground as the Land of Canaan, besides Women and Children: But that by the way.

The second Example, which renders it out of all doubt that Satan has Access to the Thoughts of Men, is that of Judas, John xiii.2. Satan put it into the Heart of Judas to betray Christ. Now, I say as above▪ this must be done sleeping, or waking; if sleeping▪ it must be by Dreams; if waking, it must be by Voice, Possession, or Apparition. We shall consider them all in their Place.

It is probable that the first Method the Devi•• took in the World was by Dream; as for Posse••+sion, we do not meet with it very early; as to Voic•• and Apparition, we take them to be all subsequen•• and the Effect of a long Acquaintance: as amon•• Men there are several degrees of Communicatio•• with one another, after Men have a Personal Know+ledge and Acquaintance, before it comes up to Inti+macy and Friendship.

Dream then being the first way of Access, or by which the Devil found the way into the Man▪ there is no room to doubt but by this Method h•• found means also to infuse into his Mind an infi+nite Variety of corrupt Imaginations, wicked De+sires, and abhorred Conclusions and Resolutions▪ with some ridiculous, foolish, and absurd things 〈◊〉〈◊〉 the same time.

Thus I cannot think but the Devil first put it into the Hearts of the Men of the old World to go about that ridiculous piece of Work (as I observ'd it to be before) of building of Babel; first by fill|ing their Thoughts with daily Terrors and Appre|hensions of another Inundation, thronging their sleeping Imaginations with Fancies of new Rains to overflow them; by which, every time they had any hasty Showers which rais'd the Water of the Rivers or Brooks to what we call a Land-Flood, they would be immediately alarm'd as if another Deluge was a coming upon them, and that they were immediately to be drown'd.

Thus raising the Vapours in their Hypocon|drias, they were every Night dreaming that they heard it Thunder, that they saw heavy Rains, and that the Brooks and Rivers swell'd, or as we say in our common Discourse on such Occasions, the Waters were out; in Consequence of this, he puts them upon considering of Means for their own Se|curity, and then they dream every Night of Me|thods: One while they are for building another Ark, another time for building a Thousand, that is to say, an Ark for every Family, or Patriarchate, or Tribe; one time this foolish thing, and ano|ther time that; and perhaps many Men dreaming on many several Methods, till at last they bring their sleeping Cogitations to a waking Consultation; and there they resolve upon the meanest, emptyest, and most inconsistent Project, that ever any Body of Men form'd in their Heads: And which, if the Devil had not been in them, and drawn them into it, as I say, meerly to impose upon, and expose them even to their own Ridicule, could never have come into their Heads, I mean the Building of Babel.

If the Devil did excite that foolish Imagination, he must do it as he was a meer Devil, to show his Malice, to put them upon doing some|thing extremely Ridiculous, and which should at last expose them to their own Resentments on the Madness and Folly of it; or, which I rather think, he bewilder'd their Imaginations, without any im|mediate Prospect, other than this, that he knew it would end in some ridiculous Undertaking, either very foolish, or very wicked; not knowing which it would be, and perhaps not much caring, so it would be but provoking to their Maker, and what might any way bring his Displeasure upon them.

And here, by the way, I cannot but observe, that the Method, God in his Providence was pleas'd to take with Mankind, upon their entring upon that foolish Piece of Work, was the mildest and kindest that could be imagin'd, and the most to their In|terest, calculated for their Good, evidently issuing so; and that much more than letting them go on in their Madness would have been.

Had Heaven thought, fit to have wink'd at the audacious Attempt, and to have let them go on with it, as far as their own Ignorance and Obsti|nacy would have guided them, 'till by the immense Circle of the first Stages of the Building they had form'd an Ascent higher than any thing of its kind could be suppos'd to stand; yet they must have stop'd at last, it must have ended somewhere; the time would have come at length, that as they had call'd a Council about the first Building of it, they would have call'd another, with a go to now, shall we leave off this mad Piece of Work? that as they had ad|vis'd with one another, saying Go to, let us Build, Gen. xi.4. so they would have said, Go to, let us leave off Building.

Suppose them to have found the Way up to the Regions above the Atmosphere, or where else you can imagine; and that they then found themselves as much remote from Heaven, whither they had propos'd the Tower should reach, as they were at first; and that among the other Mischiefs they had met with, such as the Difficulty of carrying Ma|terials so high, and the Difficulty of breathing, &c. they had also begun to discover that their Work was fruitless, and would be endless, as must have been the Case, they would certainly have given it over at last, and with Indignation at themselves, perhaps at one another, have laid it aside.

What a piece of Folly would the fruitless Toil have been, how would they have reproach'd them|selves, and perhaps falling out, and going together by the Ears about it, the Victors would have made the Vanquish'd pull it down, and carry away the Materials, that the Monument of their Shame might be removed out of their Sight. The first, that is, leaving off the Work, I say, must have hap|pen'd at last; the other it was very likely would have happen'd; so that 'tis out of doubt Heaven acted the kindest Part for them, by confounding their Speech, to make the going on with it im|practicable, so bringing them to a Necessity of laying it aside, before they had carried it on too far.

Having thus, with a rational Prospect, propos'd the first Method of Satan's making his Acquain|tance with Mankind, and so brought him to a Scene of Action; 'tis very rational to suggest, that he began the Method very early; and therefore those two Experiments of Canaan and the Builders of Babel, are not improper to mention, as they seem to be things which Mankind had never attempted, if the Devil had not put them upon it; nor had

the Devil at that time any other way to bring it to pass but by Dreams, at least not as we know of.

It may also be observ'd, that the first Converse of Mankind with the invisible World, whether with the evil Spirits, or with the Good, or even with their Maker himself, was by Dreams; and therefore it is not improbable that Satan made his Applica|tion to them the same way: We have it very early mention'd, Gen. xv.1. The Word of the Lord came to Abram in a Vision, that is a Dream; and again, A deep sleep fell upon Abram, and lo a horrour of great Darkness fell upon him, and he said unto him—ver. 12, 13.

It is in some particular Texts said the Lord appeared to Abram, which if interpreted by other Places, must be understood to be in a Dream; for in those Places, when God convers'd by Apparition with Abram, or call'd to him by Voice, it is distinguish'd expresly in so many Words, that God said; and God•• went up from talking with Abram; and the Lord appeared to him in the Door of his Tent; and the like.

As God himself took this Method with Abram, and so with Moses, and so with many others, both before and since; so the Devil found means to make his Address to Mankind by the same way. Hence we find a mighty great Stress laid upon some of the Dreams of the Ancients in those Days; and much ado was made about the Interpretation of them: For when once a Man of Note had dream'd any Important Dream, any Dream which seem'd to have something extraordinary in it, away they went to their Cunning Men, their Southsayers and Magicians, to enquire of them the Meaning and Interpretation of these Dreams.

Now bring all these Circumstances together, and you will find the Devil subtily insinuating Dreams

into the Heads of Princes and Great Men, and then by like Dreams communicating to his Cor|respondents those very Dreams, and what Interpre|tations they should make of them.

This was a particular Favour done in Aid of those Magicians, who were more than ordinarily in his good Graces; and no doubt it gave them a particu|lar Reputation at Court, and in the Opinion of the People; as having a more than ordinary Understanding in hidden Matters, or having a very particular In|telligence in the secret and reserv'd Part of Nature, or a Correspondence in the World of Spirits.

Ali Albrahazen, a Persian Wizard, had doubtless this Intercourse with the Devil, if what I have to say of him is true. He was, it seems, a Sabian by Birth, and had obtain'd a wonderful Reputation for his Witchcraft; the same which I suppose the Scripture calls Inchantments, in the Case of the Magicians of Aegypt, when Moses and Aaron came to work Miracles before Pharaoh; he, you may suppose, was sent for by the King of Persia upon some ex|traordinary Occasion, such as the Interpretation of a Dream, or of some Apparition like that of Bel|shazzar's Hand-writing, or some Meteor or Eclypse, and he never fail'd to give them great Satisfaction on such Occasions. For whether his Accounts were true or false, he always deliver'd them in such ambiguous Terms, that something of what he pre|dicted might be sure to be deduc'd from his Words, and so seem to Import that he had effectually re|veal'd it, whether he had really done so or not.

This Ali, (so Fame tells you,) being in the Desart wandering by himself, and musing much upon the Appearance of a certain Fiery Meteor, which had, to the great Terror of all the Country, been seen every Night for twenty or thirty Nights successively; was mighty desirous

to understand the Meaning of it, and what it should Portend to the World; but being utterly incapable to make the least probable Guess at the Thing, the Reason or Nature of it, much less its Import or Meaning; he sat him down under a Palm-tree, weary with his Travelling, and his Mind also tyr'd and weary'd with fruitless and unper|forming Imaginations; Here he vehemently wish'd that some attending Spirit would be so assisting to his Fancy, that he might at least make some probable Conjectures at the true Meaning of that strange Phaenomenon; and also at what might probably be the Issue and Event of it to the World.

With this very warm and importuning Desire he fell asleep, and being in a deep Sleep he dream'd that a tall Man came to him, of a venerable maje|jestic Aspect, but with a pleasing and chearful Smile on his Face; and calling him by his Name, told him, that he was come at his Request to an|swer his Importunities; and that he would tell him the Signification of the Great and Terrible Fire in the Air, which was seen in his City, and in all Arabia and Persia.

And now, says he, you shall understand that these fiery Appearances are nothing but certain Collecti|ons of Matter exhaled by the Influence of the Sun from the Earth or Sea, or perhaps from other solid Bodies in the Compass of the Solar System, such as the Planets and other Bodies, which you in this Earth know nothing of.

These being set on Fire, in their wandering Mo|tion appear like Stars or Comets for a time, being driven about in the Expanse by the Impetuosity of their own Motion, and become visible in this He|misphere to the infinite Terror of the People, as thou seest it now is; tho' those Apprehensions and that Amazement of the People are very ground|less,

and raised only from their own Folly and Ig|norance.

For as to the Importance of them to human Af|fairs, the truth is, Ali, and you are to be undeceiv'd in that Point, they have no Import or Significa|tion at all, other than that sometimes by their near Approach to the Earth, and by their Attraction, or by their Dissipation of moist Vapours they oc|casion sometimes great Drought, and insupportable Heat; and at other times distilling great and un|usual Rains, by condensing in an extraordinary manner the Vapours, which by their acquir'd Heat they have exhal'd.

Ali was surpriz'd at this Account; and being en|courag'd to speak, he reply'd, But what shall I an|swer to my People, who expect great things from me? I have often satisfy'd them in like Difficulties, but when I shall come to tell them that it signifies nothing at all, that it is only the effect of a natural Cause, and is of no Import more than an ordinary Star; they will stone me, and say, that Heaven never hangs out such Signals, without some Significa|tion; that I only impose upon them, because I am Ignorant, and do not understand the Motions and Intimations of the Heavenly Bodies, or how the Affairs of this World are influenc'd by them.

O Ali, O Albrahazen, highly favour'd! said the Ap|parition; I will instruct thee then how to prevent thy being despis'd by the Elders of thy People, on Condition that thou wilt now, and on all Occasi|ons, give ear to my Instructions, and follow those Rules that I shall set thee.

To this he readily assented, and made such Assu|rances as were satisfactory to the Spectre. Go then, says the Vision, and warn thy Nation, that this Fiery Meteor Portends an excessive Drought and Famine; for know thou, that by the strong exhal|ing

the Vapours of the Earth, which is occasion'd by the Meteor's unusual nearness to this Hemi|sphere, the necessary Rains will be withheld, and by a long Drought thou knowest Famine and Scarcity of Corn succeeds of course. Thus by judging ac|cording to the Rules of Natural Causes, thou shalt predict what shall certainly come to pass, and shalt obtain the Reputation which thou so earnestly de|sirest, to wit, of a Sage Magician and wise Man.

But, says Ali, and what shall I say to the Lords of the Persian Court, wh•• have sent for me, to en|quire of me on the same Phaenomenon? what shall it Portend to that Nation? will the same Fate be the Consequence to their Country, as is portended to this?

To this the subtle Devil answers: This Inquiry is to thee of the utmost Consequence. Fiery Me••eo•• sometimes from the same Natural Causes produc•• just contrary Events; and whereas these Bodies, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 I said, exhale an infinite Quantity and Bulk of Va|pours, which they ra••ifie by their Heat, and 〈◊〉〈◊〉 cause immoderate Drought and Heat in such an•• such Climates, and particular Countries, where they approach too near; so on the other hand the•• are in themselves vast Collections of humid and wa|tery Vapours, which if hastily condens'd wou'•• be sufficient to deluge the World, and drown Man|kind; and sometimes they condense in so conside|rable Quantities, as to descend upon the Earth, an•• cause excessive Rains and Floods, and great Deso|lations of the Country. Go then fearless, says he to the Persian Court, and Predict to them exces|sive Rains and Floods, which shall greatly hurt the Fruits of the Earth, and occasion great Dearth also Thus, if either of these succeed, as it is most pro|ba••le, thou shalt be assuredly receiv'd as a Sage Ma|gician in one Country, if not in the other: Also 〈◊〉〈◊〉

both these thou mayst suggest, as a Probability only, the Consequence of these to be a Plague, or In|fection among the People, which is ordinarily the Effect as well of excessive Wet, as of excessive Heat; if this happens, thou shalt gain the Re|putation thou desirest; and if not, seeing thou didst not positively foretel it, thou shalt not incur the Ig|nominy of a false Predictor.

This was very obliging in the Devil, it must be confess'd, if the Story be true; and Ali was very sensible of the Help it was to him, and fail'd not to ask the Vision how he should obtain his pro|mis'd Assistance in the like Cases of Difficulty. Upon which the Vision told him, that whenever he wanted his Help, he should come again to the Palm-tree, and that surrounding the Tree fifteen times, he should call him aloud by his Name three times, every time he went round the Tree; and at the end of the fifteenth time he should find Sleepi|ness come upon him, when he should lay himself down as he did now, with his Face to the South; and if he fell asleep, he should be sure to receive a Visit from him in Vision: and with this he gives him the Magick Name which he was to call him by.

Ali was infinitely exalted with the thoughts of this Information, which let him so much into the Secret of Nature, as to enable him to speak in a Dialect infinitely superior to the common Under|standing, and in particular to make a Judgment of things, out of the reach of the most Pretending of the rest of his fellow Magicians. When he went home among the People, he fail'd not to give his Judgment of the terrible Appearance in the Air, and told them positively it portended a great Drought and Heat in the approaching Summer; to which he added, as a Suggestion only, that he had great reason to believe it would be attended

with a Famine, and perhaps the Famine might be follow'd with a Plague; insinuating, that if the Famine was not attended with a Plague among his own Countrymen, as he had said it would, it was then likely it would appear first in Persia, their Neighbouring Kingdom, and perhaps it might af|terwards spread among them.

This terrible Prediction, deliver'd with the Au|thority of one whom they had the Venerable Opi|nion of before as a Magician, and one that could foretel Events of things, gave the People an Alarm, and also their King with them, to whom the News of the Prediction was soon carry'd; but the Magician conceal'd entirely from their Knowledge the Manner of his obtaining his Information, so that it came to them on the single Authority of his own Judgment.

It happen'd as a Confirmation of his Prediction, that after the Meteor ceas'd to appear, and the Spring Season advanc'd, an extreme hot Season came on, with a long Drought following for seve|ral Weeks, which began very much to burn up the Fruits of the Earth; immediately the People remembring the Words of the Magician, and find|ing so much of what he had said prove true, it put them in a great Consternation from the Ap|prehension of what, according to his Account, was yet to follow.

It happen'd some time after this, that the King of the Country dreamed a Dream, which much perplex'd him, and all the Magicians and Astrolo|gers were sent for, to interpret the said Dream; but Ali was not sent for, which grieved him much, thinking that he was not esteem'd enough among the Princes of the Country, and that he fear'd his having foretold the portentous Events of the late Meteor, which were not yet determin'd by the time that he

predicted, he was neglected, as a Person that would not give any good Interpretation of the King's Dream. However, when Ali saw that the Magi|cians and Southsayers, who were sent for, gave the King no Satisfaction; for they were confounded in their Accounts, and differ'd one from another, and the King was so angry, that he was about to command them all to be put to Death; with this he was comforted again, and resolv'd to apply him|self to the Palm-tree, to see if he could furnish him|self with any Intelligence suitable to what he de|sir'd; in which Case he would soon let the King know, that though the rest of the Magicians could not answer his Desire, he could supply that Defect; and so he should gain more Reputation, than if he had been sent for with the rest.

Upon this, he retires himself as usual into the Desart as before, and comes to the Spot where he had the first Vision. Here he surrounds the Tree fifteen times, and every time calls the Spectre by his appointed Name three times over, and as loud as his utmost extended Voice would admit; when, according to Direction, he laid himself down with his Face to the South, shut his Eyes, and obsequiously waited till he fell asleep, which was not long: No sooner had his Senses forsaken him, whether doz'd with any infernal Charm or otherwise, the Account does not specify: But, I say, no sooner was he asleep, but the Vision appeared to his Fancy, and asked him what was the Occasion of his coming.

He answer'd, That the King had dreamed a Dream, and had told it to the Magicians, whom he sent for in order to have them interpret his Dream, but that he had not been sent for, which was at first very grieving to him; but that upon further En|quiry he found that the Magicians had given the

King no Satisfaction; and that it had highly pro|voked him, so that he was going once to have killed them all, and that now he was glad he was not called; but that if he could now put him into a Condition to interpret the King's Dream, it would establish his Reputation for ever, not with the King only, but with the whole Country, for that he was sure to be exalted to the highest Pitch of Honour that the King could give; and besides, all the People would adore him as one that had Intelligence among the Gods; so that he should be had in the highest Reverence imaginable.

The Vision assured him that he could not only qualify him to interpret the King's Dream, but that he had made the King dream it on set Purpose to to give him Occasion to interpret and explain it; and so he let him into the Particulars of what it was the King had dreamed; and that the Dream being thus directed by him, he likewise could di|rect him to such an Interpretation as none but himself could put upon it; and so he at once told him both what the King dreamed, and what Interpretation he should give of it; adding, that he would yet do greater things for him than those; for that if he had Occasion to recommend himself to the King, or to any other Person of Note, he would put it into his Power at any time, not only to tell the King what his Dream signified, but should make the King Dream any thing that he thought fit; so that he should be able to say to the King, To-morrow Night a deep Sleep shall come upon you, and you shall dream so and so, which Dream shall portend such and such things to you and your People.

Ali was exceedingly raised in his Thoughts upon such a Motion as this, and you will not wonder

that he expressed, tho' in his Sleep or Vision, his high Satisfaction at such a Favour; and from that time he entertained a constant Correspondence with this Vision or Apparition, not being aware, or per|haps not concerned, that he was all this while con|versing with the Devil, and that the new Friend|ship he had engaged in, was neither less or more than an immediate Correspondence with Hell.

We have a Parallel Story to this, and almost of the same kind, of the Devil and an old Arabian in the Court of a Pharaoh King of Aegypt, upon the Appearance of a Comet or Blazing Star, and of which I shall give an Account in its Place.

Nor was this any thing extraordinary in those Times; 'twas natural to Satan's way of conver|sing with Mankind, who had frequently midnight Thoughts injected to them by a supernatural Power, that is, by the evil Spirit, without their knowing by what Hand they were injected; and the Devil was able most certainly to give the In|terpretation of those Thoughts which he had been the Occasion of.

This whole Affair, tho' remote in Time, I give this Account of, to suggest from it the proba|ble Method which Satan has taken from the Be|ginning to insinuate himself into Mankind; and, as I said before, to begin the Acquaintance; which, when once begun, he took particular Care to cultivate to all the degrees of Intimacy possible; so that in few Years, such People have been as in|timate with the Devil, tho' perhaps not thoroughly knowing who it was they conversed with, as they could desire to be.

By this Method he found Opportunities, upon all Occasions, to bring Men to converse freely and fully with him; and as he often furnished them with Materials and Subjects to amuse the rest of the

World with, he was always able to oblige them in the utmost manner: seeing nothing could be more to the Satisfaction of such People than the raising their Reputation in their Profession, and giving a Sanction or Confirmation to their Predictions.

I know it is doubted by many among the Learn|ed, whether the Devil has himself any Knowledge of Futurity, and whether he can predict or fore|tell Events, or any thing future and to come; and this very Vision or Apparition, supposing it to be true, verifies the Opinion; for he put the Alter|native several times upon him, that so if he miss'd giving a right Interpretation in one thing, he might be sure in another; and if one Conjecture should miss, another might hit, as you see in the Construction of the appearing Body of Fire.

But the Question is needless here; for if it be in the Devil's Power to inject the Subject of a Dream, and put Thoughts into the Heads of those that are asleep, 'tis then most certainly so far in his Power to give the Interpretation of those Thoughts to whom he pleases to grant such a Favour; seeing the whole Scheme may be a meer Cheat and De|lusion of the evil Spirit, on purpose to form another Delusion, namely, that of bringing in a Conjurer or Dreamer of Dreams to interpret it. This is in|deed a true Piece of the Legerdemain of Hell, and it may be called, the Devil turned Juggler; for 'tis so in the very Abstract, and nothing else.

All this is no great matter for Satan to do, if we grant him only the Power of infusing Midnight Thoughts into the Mind, which we have good reason to believe he is able enough to perform, and yet have no great matter of Craft in him neither, not so much as we are ordinarily willing to suppose the Devil is Master of. The Variety is in|finite, that I might suppose the Devil is capable to

act among his Disciples by this piece of Cunning, if we do but allow him so much; and I cannot but say 'tis very clear to me, that the Devil has a secret Power to inject innumerable things into our Heads by Dream, and to make us dream almost what, and when he pleases, so as may best serve his Occasions, and Ours too.

And his Advantages are very great by this Fraud, for he gives his Instrument such an undoubted Re|putation for a Revealer of Secrets and an Interpre|ter of Dreams, that nothing can be like it. Not Daniel himself, who they said had an excellent Spi|rit, and that the Spirit of the Holy Gods was in him, could do more; for by this Means, the South|sayer would be able to tell the Dreamer what it was he dreamed of, as well as what it signified.

If any Man doubt that the Devil can, as I say, infuse midnight Thoughts, and whisper Suggesti|ons by Dream of any kind to the Mind, I refer him to Mr. Milton, who shews us the Devil in the Shape of a Toad crept close to Eve's Ear in her deepest Slumbers, and injecting lustful or loose and wandering Thoughts into her chaste Mind, (I say chaste, for such it was without doubt before) and making her dream with Pleasure of the Sin which he resolved to allure her to commit the next Day, and so prepare her for the Crime, which till then her very Soul ab|horred.

This granted, and the Devil being allowed such an Advantage over Mankind, whether good or bad; I cannot wonder either that he makes use of it at all, or that he makes use of it in such a frequent and extraordinary manner as to bewitch and in|spire his Friends and Favourites: Nor that those Friends or Favourites of his, whom he does thus assist, make such corrupt uses of it as we find they do, for insinuating an Opinion of themselves into the World: for we find presently, when this Fami|liarity

is once obtained with the Evil Spirit, and they begin to act by his Instruction, the first thing they do is, to put a Fraud upon Mankind, and make the World believe that all they did was from Heaven; that they spoke by Inspiration and Reve|lation, and that their Intelligence was immediately from the Gods; to speak in the Language of thos•• Times.

Thus Balaam tells the King of Moab, he can speak nothing but as God shall command him; wherea•• 'tis plain, had not the Devil been restrained from directing him at that time, he would as heartily have cursed Israel as he blessed them, and so have gained the Rewards of his Office, which was the Wages of Divination; but he confesses the Impo|tency of his Art, when he found a Lock put upon hi•• Tongue, and the Key in the Hand of a supream Power; I say, he confesses the good Will he ha•• to the Reward, but the Weakness of his Black-A•••• where Heaven interposed its Power, Numb. xxiii. 23. Surely there is no Inchantment against Jacob, nei|ther is there any Divination against Israel: intimating, that he had tryed the utmost of his Skill, but could do nothing; and in ver. 20. Behold I have receive•• commandment to bless, and he hath blessed, and I can|not reverse it: Nothing can be plainer, He would, but the Devil and he together were not able to re|verse the Blessing. The only thing strange in this Story of Balaam is, that God should thus suffer a Sorcerer and Inchanter, a Witch or Dealer with the Devil, to receive Commands from himself, and to bid him go and do thus and thus, and to meet him, and put into his Mouth what he should say on that Occasion; from whence some might insi|nuate, that the Wizards and Magicians of those Days had a mutual or alternate Converse, some|times really with God himself, and at other times with the Devil; as if the Wretch were to day a

Man of God, and to-morrow a Sorcerer, Conjurer, and an Instrument of the Devil; and as if God would stoop to employ those who had so far stooped below the Dignity of reasonable Creatures, as to converse with the Devil.

By this means the People also were the more easily subjected to the Abuse of the Conjurer, and exposed to the Delusions of an evil Spirit, not being able to know when he spoke from One or from the Other; no doubt the Deluder would always pretend he spoke by the immediate Illumi|nation of Heaven, as he had sometimes really done so, it would not be difficult to obtain the Opi|nion that he did always so.

Now 'tis most certain that nothing can more assist the Delusions of the Devil in such cases as these, than to have it entertained among the Peo|ple, that all the Inspiration is from Heaven; even the Devil himself cannot desire a stronger Auxi|liar; it is an Assistance so natural to the Delusions which he is carrying on among Men, that all his infernal Art cannot form an Equivalent to it. And hence it came to pass, at least I believe so, that the Devil chose always that way of coming at the Senses of Mankind, I mean by Vision and Dream, by Voices in the Night, and by Injections of Mid|night Thoughts; because God himself had made use of the same Means to inspire the Minds of Men with divine Ideas; and the Devil, by imitating the superior Revelations, could not only enable his Magicians and Southsayers, and such other Instru|ments of Delusion, to impose their Cheats upon the People, but could even delude, and impose upon those Dreamers themselves too, perswading them to believe their Inspirations were from Heaven, and that they had such and such things revealed to them from the immediate Spirit of God, when it was only a Flatus from Hell, throwing them into Ec|stasies,

and as Balaam said, being in a Trance but with his Eyes open, that is to say, possess'd with the Witch|craft of an evil Spirit, as is said of the Maid in the Acts, c. xvi. ver. 16. who had a Spirit of Divination, and brought to her Master great Gain by Southsaying, that is to say, by speaking as the Devil dictated to her; nay, and the Text is plain in acknowledging that it was the Devil that pos|sessed her, for in the Original you have his Name what Devil it was; and if you want a farther Ex|planation of him, you may have it too; his Name is called PYTHON, and some of your Bibles (supposing for once that you read any) has it in their Margins; what particular Devil Python was, whe|ther an avaritious, a treacherous, a deceiving Devil; but some think it was the first, because she hired out herself, and her Devil with her, to a Master, and what she got by her Devil, her Master was to make the best of; the Terms much the same as a late Irish Mar—s married two Wives for, then let them out again at so much a Year, and took the Income of both their Devils for his Jointure. A rare Bargain indeed, and something a-kin, I believe, to the Devil Python!

How much were it to be wish'd, that some of our Southsaying Wits, who are really neither wise Men or Southsayers, Magicians or Conju|rers, and who will have us, in spite of our Senses, believe that they are really inspired, could but tell us too, with any moderate Cer|tainty, whether those Inspirations are from God or the Devil; Whether the F••ghts of their Insipids are Ecstasies of the Adored, or of the Horrid; whe|ther when they rail at Heaven, and burlesque their Maker, we may not really believe they are over|rul'd by a divine Influence, to do it with so ill a Grace, and so little common Sense, that it may be directed to exalt the All-wise, by the very

means used to expose him, and to make them mix Im|pudence with so much Ignorance, that others equal|ly wicked, but of better Judgment, may grow sick of the Crime for the meer Deficiency of the Wit.

Doubtless, He that knows how to serve the best Ends by the worst Means, can leave the meanest Heads and the most brainless Wits to be thus wicked, to intimate to others the Weak|ness of the Crime, and the gross Absurdity of Atheism. I don't therefore think it at all pro|phane, at least if not so intended, to say Such a Fellow is one of God-a-mighty's simple One's; by which I would be always understood, that he is one to whom Heaven has denied the Gift of Brains, and suffer'd the Devil to fill up the empty Spaces in his Head with a Share of glaring Im|pudence, such as will pass for Wit with those that have none, and for the worst of Folly with all the rest of Mankind.

This sort of wise Men, of whom the Age is plentifully stored at this time, are doubtless plac'd up and down in proper Stations by the Allowance of Providence, for the Conviction of Mankind in their particular Spheres; just as the Devil himself has, in many cases, been a Preacher of Truth, and will be so to the End of the World, tho' sore against his Will.

Of so much Force is Ironical Righteousness, that the blackest Agents are fittest to be made the brightest Examples of it; since also the greatest and best Principles are often illustrated by their most infamous, and consequently, by their compleat|est Contraries.

But to go back where I left off. The Devil, who has always had the Impudence to mimick his Ma|ker, and sometimes to personate him too, in his Applications to Mankind, has made, I say, his first Acquaintance with him by this Method of

Dream and Midnight Vision, for that very Reason, viz. because it is the Method by which God him|self often used to reveal himself to the Prophets and other his most eminent Servants of old, as instanc'd before in Abraham, and of which the Scripture has many Examples. (I hope that Book, when 'tis taken as a History only, may obtain Credit enough to be brought in Evidence.) I have mentioned Abraham already, and perhaps it may be offer'd that this is not sufficient, because God conversed, as the Text says in another Place, Face to Face with Abraham; but take it then with his Grandson Jacob: God ap|peared to Jacob, Gen. xxviii.13. in his Dream of the Ladder reaching up to Heaven. And behold the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy Father. But if this will not do neither, then take it with one who it might be as likely should have the Devil appear to him as God himself, but still 'twas the same thing, Gen. xx.3. God came to Abimelech in a Dream; So might the Devil too, for Abimelech was an Idolater: And again, ver. 6. And God said unto him in a Dream. Now Abimelech was a Philistin of the cursed Race destined to Destruction by the Posterity of Abraham, and yet God appeared to him, or came to him in a Dream, and spoke to him in a Dream.

From hence the Devil, who is cunning enough to imitate all those Methods of Access to the Minds of Man, which 'tis possible for him to come at him by, and which his Maker has used for the like Communications, has always made use of this Method; and when he has designed the Delusion, or the perplexing of Mankind, or any other of his infernal Infatuations, he has brought them to pass by the Injection of evil Thoughts or other dark Means, moving his Passions and Affections, instilling all the hellish Imaginations that are requisite to the Mischiefs he designs. And thus you have the Cir|cumstances,

and the Reason too, of the Devil's way of working with Mankind.

It remains a Question, tho' of no extraordinary Importance, what Shape or Form the Devil made use of in his first acquainting himself with Man|kind. It is Satan's Misfortune, to say no worse of him, that he cannot appear in his own Figure, cloathed with any of his native Beauties; but that it would render him so frightful to his Emissaries, and even his best Friends and most useful Ser|vants would be terrified, and would run away from him instead of conversing with him; and the most accurate Magician or Southsayer in Arabia would, instead of going into the Deserts and Wilderness to meet him, abhor the very Place, and tremble at the Thought of seeing him.

Hence, to whisper to them in the Night, and only talk in Vision and Appearance, is the kindest thing the Devil can do to them, as well as the wisest way for himself; for was he ever to appeal, I say, in his own Cloaths, none of his Friends would ever come to receive his second Visit. Now his coming in the Night, or in Dream, as is hinted in the Story of the Magician above, is certainly needful; for as in a Dream the Voice without the Vision is sufficient, so if a Shape is represented to the Imagination in the Sleep it sooner wears off, and the Impressions are sooner raz'd out of the Mind, than if the Apparition was visible with open Eyes, and in the Light of the Day; there's a great deal of difference between what we really see, and what we only dream we did see.

We have indeed some of Balaam's Dreamers, that is to say, who dream with their Eyes open; indeed some of them may be said to be always in a Dream, they are scarce any thing but Apparition themselves; their whole Lives are a kind of moral Delusion; and as they live in a Dream, so we

must dream too, to make any thing of them, for they never are what they seem to be, or seem to be what they are. But as I may perhaps endeavour to discover those People to the World, a little plainer than I can discover them to themselves, I say no mor•• of them in this Place, leaving the De|vil and them to act in Concert a-while, that they may illustrate, and be Foils to one another.

It is true that by this way of dealing in Dreams, the Devil has infinite Advantage, for the making C••n|jurers, that is to say, Magicians and Southsayers, in the World: Whether that sort of People have been of any Use to him for the propagating his Interest in the World, is a Question by it self.

That the Devil took this Method for the first establishing himself in the World, and, as I call'd it, making his Acquaintance with Mankind, I have ta|ken Notice of already: How useful he has found his new-made Friends, and how apt to carry on his Bu|siness, and especially for the farther extending his Power, and propagating the Delusions of others, Hi|story will inform us; and we cannot doubt but he has found his Advantage in it: But it remains a Question of Importance still undecided, whether are best pleased in these nocturnal Operations, the Devil or the Magician; my Opinion is for the first. I believe indeed the Devil has got the better of them in the main, and whereas he at first was mighty eager to make his Acquaintance among them, and glad of the Means; he seems now to have over-reached them, and to have worked them up to a Desire after the Correspon|dence in such a manner, that the subtle Manager is not so cheap to be had since, but makes Bargains, nay, brings them up to his own Terms, and sometimes tells them plainly, he has no Occasion for them; but on the other hand, if they want him, they must give him his own Price, and do what he con|ditions with them for, or else he has no more to say to them, tho' he is a Cheat in that too.

Thus like a cunning Chap, he turns his Back and is gone, knowing very well that they will call him again, and give him his Price; yield to his Demand, and rather sell themselves to him Soul and Body, as we are told is now very frequent, than go without his Assistance. This is all owing to his Subtilty, and Mankind's Folly and Fondness; for had they stood as they did at first, he must have come to their Conditions; but he found the way to make himself necessary to them, and to please them, and he managed accordingly.

It is indeed an Evidence how shrewdly the Devil over-reached Mankind in the most early Ages of the World: For, First, as I mentioned before, this was to come to them with some Authority, and with the Magnificence of a God, and it always gave them an Awe and kind of Reverence of his Appearance; Secondly, it really so far prevail'd with them, that we have a great deal of Reason to believe they did not always know whether their Intelligence was from Above or from Below, and whether they were conversing with God or with the Devil; If this is true, as I have no Reason to question, I have less Reason to doubt that he of|ten deluded them to think the former. And thus perhaps many false Prophets in former times came to the poor People, and began their Predictions with the usual Preface, Thus saith the Lord; when in Justice they ought to have begun with, Thus saith the Devil, as they might easily have seen after|wards, by the Consequence of it, and by the nature of their Prediction; for I believe that way it is most easily discovered.

The Discovery seems indeed to be directed by this very Method, where the Scripture says. If a Prophet comes, shews Signs and Wonders, and then adds, go serve other Gods, his very Doctrine proves him to be an Impostor, and on that very Account

he is to be rejected: God's Prophets will always teach God's Truths, a false Prophet is easily known by his Teachings; the Devil may deceive for a while, but even the Devil himself cannot hold it long, the cloven Principle will appear, which I suppose the Fable of the cloven Foot to be an Em|blem of, and no more.

But to come back to the Example of the Magi|cian going into the Desart; why, the very Place was a Branch of that Complication of Fraud which constituted all the rest: The Man went thither first casually, fell asleep by the natural Consequence of his Weariness, and under the Palm-tree, as cu|stomary, to preserve him by its Shade; the rest was all a Cheat; the Devil could as well have made him dream and see the Vision in his Cham|ber at Susa, or where else he dwelt in Persia, or Arabia, as in the Wilderness; but he catch'd him there, and took that Advantage, to introduce the Ceremony of his future corresponding; and therefore he appoints him to come again to the same Place, and there gives him the Formality of Measures to be observed; he must make his Tour fifteen times round the Tree; he must call him by what infernal Title he was pleased to give himself; and this to be done three times every Circuit he made about the Tree; and when all this was done, as he might well be inclined to do, he was to lie down and go to sleep. And what need all this Cookery, but to dish up the Delusion with a due Form, give a Sanction to the Vision itself, and command a suitable Regard to the Audience which he had the Honour to be admitted to?

If this had not been the case, it might as well have all been transacted any where else; but Satan finds his Account in these things: For during many Ages after this, and perhaps in other Places, the Southsayers and Magicians of Arabia, went out in the

Night, and into the Wilderness, and Solitary Places, to meet with their Inspirations, and to dream Dreams, and then came back, stor'd and qualify'd to make their Predictions; as much as to say, they go to their Palm-trees, to meet Visions; there they met their Devil, and then came back, and spread their Delusions, as their Instructor had furnish'd them.

Semiramis it seems, and we may suppose her Suc|cessors in the Babylonian Monarchy, kept several Sets of these People; and as they had their several Denominations, so they had their several Offices and Employments under her: As particularly her wise Men or Magicians; these were to explain to her the Aspect of the Heavens, the pro|bable Effects of all surprizing Phaenomena in Na|ture: her Astrologers and Southsayers; and these were employ'd to consult their private Devils, and were Revealers of Secrets, Interpreters of Dreams, &c. and then they had Wizards, and Sorcerers, and such as used Inchantments; and these foretold the Success of her Military Enterprizes, expounded Omens, the Signs and Circumstances of Creatures, the flying of Birds, Voices, Apparitions, and all such things as were particularly uneasy or disturbing to the Queen, or to her Court, and wanted their Explaining: The first of these I have voted already to be honest Men, but the last two I make no doubt consulted with the Devil, and the Devil with them, upon all Oc|casions. Nor do I doubt at all but that they made Prodigies, and then explain'd their Meaning, as I said before; that they appointed Dreams on pur|pose, and for the sake of interpreting them; of which I shall give you another Account hereafter.

Sometimes it seems, these conjuring, enchanting People, were so far from explaining things to the Queen's Mind, or interpreting things after the man|ner that she expected, that her Majesty was pleas'd to dispatch them out of her way, and hang them

by Dozens. And thus Nebuchadnezzar commanded all the wise Men of Babylon to be put to Death, tho' it does not appear that his Commands were ex|ecuted, nor are we certain they were not; but 'tis evident it was very much the Custom to do so.

Hence I suppose they were generally inclin'd, like the Prophets in the case of King Ahab, to take care, and prophesy nothing but what should please the King. And when Micaiah, a true Prophet, or Prophet of God, came to tell the King what really came to pass, we see what his Fate had been, if the King had out-liv'd the Battle.

Nor to this Day do the Princes of the East make any scruple to truss up their Conjurers and Southsayers, when they find them juggle with them, and find they cheat and impose upon them; an admirable Method to deal with the Broachers of Atheistical, Deistical, and Enthusiastic Whymsies in our Age, where we have a more sure Word of Pro|phesy, which we are commanded to take heed to, and which the modern Agents of the Devil are only employ'd to counter-act, and drive out of the World, if possible, that the old Oracles of Devil-worship, and other Delusions, might be again in|troduc'd.

But I am loth to seem vindictive in my Notions, nor would I set up Fire and Faggot; no, not a|gainst the Devil and his Agents; they may have enough of that hereafter, with the Devil and his Angels: And besides, such a Persecution must ne|cessarily at this time be so bloody, that I know not what City, or Town, Inns of Court, Palace, College, or University, (our own excepted) which it would not almost lay waste, desolate, and make void of Inha|bitants. Mercy on us! persecute and punish Men for being Atheists, and Deists; for dividing the Trinity, and unsanctifying the Holy Ghost, who is the Sancti|fier of the World, and such difficult Trifles as these?

where would it end! and what would become of all the religious Part of the World! what a Schism, in the most literal Sense, would this make among us? and where is there a Church, Chappel, Meeting-house or Congregation, that would not be divided against it self, and set up a new Body of Dissenters? Truly so, as dissenting not from this, or that Opi|nion of Religion, but from all Religion, and all Opinions in Religion whatsoever.

Well, let the Church of Rome send Protestants to Heaven by the Rack and the Gibbet, I would not be instrumental to send all the Atheists and Arians to the Devil; no, not for the sake of my Native Country, for fear of laying waste the Glebe, and leaving Posterity no body to instruct them better.

CHAP. V.

A Farther Account of the Devil's Conduct in Imitating Divine Inspirations; Something of the Difference between them; and particu|larly of Signs and Wonders, False as well as True, and the Cheats of the Former.

HAVING observ'd how the Devil, in the In|fancy of his Correspondence with Mankind, came to him, and made his Acquaintance by the same Method that God was pleas'd to reveal himself on Occasions of the greatest Importance; it would be very much to the Advantage of our present Enquiry, if we could come at some more Particulars in the respective Appearances, and know something of the Difference in them, that so for the Future we might distinguish our Modern Inspirations, and not oblige the Devil so much, or his Favourites either, as to flatter their Vanity with thinking they are di|vinely

inspired, when, as I said before, they are on•• deluded with the Enthusiasms of Hell, and impos'd upon by Mother Eve's Toad at their Ears, that 〈◊〉〈◊〉 to say, by the Whispers of the Devil.

That God was pleas'd to reveal himself to h•• Servants of old by Vision and Dream is eviden•• besides the Examples mention'd before, from h•• own Declaration, that this was the way he resolv'•• to transact with them, Numb. xii.6. If there be 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Prophet among you, I the LORD will make my se•• known to him in a Vision, and will speak unto him i•• a Dream. My Servant Moses is not so, (that is to say, was more than so,) with him will I speak Mouth 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Mouth, even apparently, and not in dark Speeches, &c.

This is a noted Declaration of the Manner how God would discover himself to his Servants; and we cannot doubt but the Devil, who knew it very well, did quickly imitate the like Method, and bring in a thousand Delusions at the same Door: It being in his Power, as I have said, to inject Midnight Thoughts and Amusements, and make his Appearances in Vision and Dream as he pleas'd; how near he might come to imitate the Visions and Revelations of God, is what I cannot under|take to determine: I am sure 'tis more than pro|bable that he might do so, in a manner as might deceive those unguarded Persons, to whom he often thus appear'd, and whose Ends in seeking him out might be almost as wicked as his that appear'd to them.

It may be something too much in the Favour of the Pretenders to new Light and Prophesies, and to the ancient Revelations and Discoveries made by false Prophets, properly so call'd in the holy sacred Writings; but I cannot answer it to my own Reason, if I should say, that I believe they all knew, and every time too when they said, thus saith the Lord, that it was false, that they told a wilful preme|ditated Lye, and that they ought to have said, Thus saith our sovereign Lord the Devil.

Nor will I venture to say, that all the Modern Heathens, the Druids among the Britains, the Priests of the Heathen Temples, who uttered the Oracles of the Devil, however they came by them, or the Bramans and strictest Recluses of the Indi|ans, the Dervises of Mahomet, and the like, do all actually know, that is to say, by immediate Commu|nications from Hell, and the Instrumentality of its Agents, that they really are Confederate with the great Enemy of Mankind, and carrying on a Cor|respondence with the Devil. I have so much Opi|nion of the Power of common Sense in Man, as a human Creature, and so much Charity for the good Meaning of those, who we do not find immediately vile, profligate, and immoral, as to think they would not act with Satan upon that foot.

I have much more Reason to think the four Ec|clesiasticks of Switzerland, in the Story Jetzer, acted with Satan open-ey'd, and open-fac'd, when they propos'd to the poor foolish Creature to renounce God and Jesus Christ, and so to carry on the Fraud they had begun, with a kind of Sanction in|stead of an Oath of Secresy, and it appear'd indeed to be so at last.

But certainly, as in other Cases, abundant Para|lels might be brought. The Devil, who generally acts in Disguse, has carry'd those Disguises so art|fully, that I doubt not but many of his false Pro|phets, long before our times, have said, thus saith the Lord, with a good Grace; that is, with a real Belief, that God had spoken to them, or, as was the Language of the Scripture Times, had spoken by them, when really it was the Voice of the De|vil, and of no body else: And let not our Modern Enthusiasticks take this to be said only in Favour of themselves; I am not come so far down in the course of my Work, so much as to think of them, no not of St. Dunstan, St. Francis, or of the more

eminent Deceiver St. Ignatius, the greatest Enthu|siastick of the last ten Centuries: when I come to them, we shall reckon as we meet.

But I am yet talking of the specifick Difference between the Inspirations of false Prophets, the Dreams whisper'd and suggested by the Devil; and those on the other hand from the contrary Appear|ances of the good Spirit, that is to say, of God himself. I am in the first place to intimate, that they are not always to be discern'd, no nor easy to be discern'd; if they were, there would not be so many Delusions in the World as have been; for the Men are not all Devils before they come to him, they don't come to him resolving to be deceiv'd, and intending to deceive every Body they are con|cern'd with. I must own, I do not think that all the four hundred Priests of Baal, whom Elijah sum|mon'd together to the great Sacrifice at Mount Carmel, would have shew'd so many antick Tricks, leaping upon the Altar, cutting themselves with Knives, and crying O Baal hear us! if they had believ'd they were under a Delusion of the Devil all the while, and that Baal was no Body but a dead Stock, a lifeless Image, without Sense to hear, much more without Power to answer. They must certainly believe, that Baal was a Something, or a Somebody, whom it was their Duty to pay a Ho|mage and Reverence to; or that they paid that Homage to the true God, through the Medium of an Image, a sort of a Model of that meaner and more ignorant Idolatry call'd Popery.

But to look forward beyond this Image of Idol-worship, we have the old false Prophets coming much nearer to the true, and the Inspirations bear|ing an Affinity in a more significant Point; and that is, in Signs and Wonders, or what we call Mircales, which yet may be all from the Devil; so hard it is for the deceiv'd false Prophet

to know when he is right and when he is wrong; and so easy is it for him to be impos'd upon him|self, and consequently to delude the People he con|verses with.

The Devil, as far as his Agency of this kind will reach, must certainly be mightily pleas'd with it; for by thus inspiring his Tools, not only to the de|gree of false Prophets, but to an Ability of work|ing Miracles, showing Signs and Wonders, whe|ther Real or Imaginary, he not only the more ef|fectually imposes upon his false Prophets, but gives or deputes so much of Devil to them, as to make them able to delude and deceive others, nay to de|ceive the whole World; or as the Text expresses it Matt. xxiii.24. to deceive (if it were possible) the very Elect.

'Tis remarkable in this same Text, that it is pre|dicted there shall come false Christs, and false Pro|phets, (Devils, or Devil's Agents) and shall shew great Signs and Wonders.

There is also another Text, which gives us a Caution against such, tho' I do confess I can't see how it can be made use of till the Delusion has gone some Length; and that is in Deut. xiii.1, 2. If there arise among you a Prophet, or a Dreamer of Dreams, and giveth thee a Sign, or a Wonder, and the Sign, or the Wonder come to pass. Now this, I say, requires so much time, as to the fulfilling the Token or Prediction of the false Prophets, till when, and till the false Doctrine which he preaches shall detect him, the People are manifestly in dan|ger of the Delusion; for as in all such Cases in those ancient Times, every Novelty was confirm'd by Signs and Wonders, What could be more de|luding, and more apt to impose upon the People, than to have the Shewer of those Signs and Won|ders confirm his Teachings by a Miracle, and that the Miracle should come to pass? Yet all this may at|tend

the lying Wonders of a Magician, a false Pro|phet, nay of a Devil; That such Wonders ma•• be wrought as are justly term'd false and lying Wonders, we have again predicted 2 Thes. ii.•• which Text I doubt touches a little our holy Fa|ther the Pope, whose coming is said to be after the working of Satan, with all Power and Signs, and lying Wonders; intimating that there are Wonders which are Delusive; said to be wrought, but not wrought a la Mode the Legend, the Fables of Monkery, the De|vil of London, and the like. Wonders indeed c•••• scarce be called lying upon any other Foundation for if they were real, and actually perform'd, ho•• can they then be lying? but if promis'd to be per|form'd, and not done; or said to be really perform•• and done, but were not, then they are inde•••• Lyes, or lying Wonders; and take them which wa•• we will, I doubt as before, and leave my Master•• the Jesuites to bring his Holiness off their ow•• way.

But I come on upon modern Time too fast; H••+story demands that we advance by just degrees, an•• to that purpose I must look a little more particu|larly into the Antiquity of these things. SATAN, to give the Devil his due, did not manage with so little Dexterity, his first Acquaintances with Mankind, as to suffer his secret Methods to be dis|cover'd and detected, or his Instruments to be ex|pos'd; On the contrary, he put innumerable Wonders upon Mankind, acted with inextricable Stratagem and Art; from which Dexterity, and the difficulty of explaining his Management, the common Operations of his Favourites obtain'd the Sanction of Devilish; and the ART they used, ob|tain'd the honourable Title of BLACK; and this, according to my Title, is what I am now to describe.

The World was now so much improv'd in Know|legde, that, as I hinted above, nothing new could be

started, but a Miracle was presently enquir'd after to confirm it; and he that could do the most eminent things of that kind, was the most famous in their Opinion. Mopsus was a Southsayer, and said to be the Son of Apollo: He was in such Credit and E|steem in his time, that it grew into a Proverb, to be as infallible as Mopsus.

This Mopsus meeting one Chalchas, a Man like|wise eminent in the same devilish Profession, they fell into Dispute about some things relating to their ART. Mopsus ask'd Chalchas, how many Figs such a wild Fig-tree, as he pointed out to him, had upon it; the Southsayer Chalchas would not answer him, but alledg'd, that it was not a fair Question. Upon which Mopsus told him the Number, and upon counting them up, it was found true to a Fig; upon which Chalchas was so confounded, not being able to conceive how it was perform'd, that tho' the thing was trifling, he died for Grief.

It seems, Chalchas had his Fortune told him by the Oracle, (viz.) that he should dye when he found out a better Southsayer than himself; all which I can resolve into nothing but this, that Mopsus had more Favour with the Devil than Chal|chas, at least at that time, and that he whisper'd the Number of the Figs in his Ear; or to clear up the Juggle, Mopsus had counted them before, and so the Question was a Juggle in it self; which in|deed was the most likely of the two.

The Humour of the Times being, as I said, to require Miracles and Wonders, the Southsayers and Dreamers of Dreams bestirr'd themselves, and sought out (every Man his own Way) for secret In|spirations and Illuminations, and the Devil was very useful to them on many Occasions, till at last he found the Work encreas'd upon his Hands, and he was oblig'd to set up Delusion-Offices, as I may call them, and give out Answers at the

Shrines of the People's Idols, and in the Names of their Gods.

These were so far from crying down the Office or Dignity of a Southsayer in the World, that it rather encreast their Fame. For as the Number of those Oracles were but few, not above twelve or fourteen, great and small; so the wise Men, the Ma|gicians and Southsayers, were often sent by their re|spective Princes, whose Favourites they were, to those Oracles on extraordinary Occasions, and to be resolved in their Doubts; whence they fre|quently brought such Answers, as they knew would please and oblige the Prince that sent them; per|haps as best suited the Circumstances of those Prin|ces, and which those so sent best knew, whether the Oracle gave such Answers or no, the latter being not always necessary.

This working by Miracle seldom or never fail'd; it confounded the Understandings of Men; and when any of their Southsayers had once obtain'd an Esteem by such a Performance, he never wanted any thing more to continue his Character, and to gain him Admittance into the Favour and Court of the greatest Princes. Hence Joseph's telling Pha|raoh's Chief Butler and Chief Baker their Dreams, and those Dreams exactly coming to pass, open'd the Doors of the Prison for him; as his adding to it that of telling the Interpretation of Pharaoh's Dream advanc'd him to the second Chariot, and to the crying Abrek before him, that is Bow the Knee.

'Tis the Opinion of some Learned in the Wis|dom of the Aegyptians, that Joseph continued the Art of Southsaying (for in that the Wisdom of the Aegyptians chiefly consisted) for a great while after; and I acknowledge my self to be of that O|pinion, whether I am learned in the Wisdom of the Aegyptians or no, and that he had never been con|tinued in such a high Post so long, if he had not.

For this Reason those Words he used afterwards to his Brethren, Wot you not that such a Man as I can Divine? are a kind of Admiration; that is to say, Are you so ignorant in the Customs of this Country, as not to know that a Man in my Post must be able certainly to divine? Gen. xliv.15.

And indeed, without putting any strain'd or con|strain'd Meaning upon the Sacred Text, I cannot doubt but that the People of Aegypt took Joseph to be what they call'd the Prince of the Magicians of the East; that is to say, one of the Chief of them, and extraordinarily qualify'd by the Gods for the Understanding deep Mysteries, for diving into hard Questions, interpreting Dreams, and resolving Doubts. In a word, in the same Sense that Daniel, almost a thousand Years after, was esteem'd at Baby|lon, viz. that the Spirit of the Holy Gods was in him; whether they meant by their Gods the Crocodile, or the River Nile, or the Great Calf at the Aegyp|tian Thebes, or Isys, or Osyris, that I shall not en|quire into here, but they doubted not that some of the best and brightest of their Deities inspir'd Joseph with an Excellent Spirit.

Nor was it unreasonable for the poor People un|der the dark Circumstances of that Age to believe so of him; for how else should he have the Fore|knowledge of the dreadful Famine seven Years be|fore it came? how that Sagacity to gather such im|mense Quantities of Corn in the plentiful Years be|fore it; and lay it up in such Places, and in such Proportions, and so secur'd, as to supply suitably the whole Country of Aegypt, so vastly extended, and so populous as it was at that time?

How Joseph came by all this Knowledge and Wisdom, they (as we have like reason to believe) were as ignorant of, as they were positive that it was so, by some means or other; and therefore it was no Absurdity for them to suggest that he did all

by Divination, that is to say, by Enchantment, or secret Converse with the Spirits of another World; or as we call it, with more Propriety at least in our Opinion, that he dealt with the Devil; and that this was done by the Charm of the Silver Cup which was put in the Mouth of Benjamin's Sack.

That they believ'd so is evident from the Words of the same Chap. Gen. xliv.5. Is not this it in which my Lord drinketh, and whereby he divineth? The Words are fully explain'd by the Customs and Usage of the Magicians and Devil-hunters in those Days; who used strange Gestures, and clanging Sounds, such, or not much unlike such as our old Women now use to hive their Bees; by these they call'd the familiar Devils, the Pythons and Apollyons of their Acquaintance about them, whatever Occasions made it necessary for them to speak with them.

That Joseph knew better, and that he certainly neither used such Methods, or convers'd with any such kind of Foreigners or Infernals, was most cer|tain; but his Steward was directed to speak in the Language of the Country; nor would he have talk'd to have been understood, if he had not: and this confirms the Conjecture as above, and makes it most reasonable; namely, that all Aegypt took him (Joseph) to be a Southsayer or wise Man, and that certainly he could Divine.

This Part of Joseph's Story is useful to explain by what manner of Communication the Diviners of those days used to maintain their Acquaintance with the Infernals, and how mean and scandalous Methods the Devil contriv'd to settle his Corre|pondence; that in short, by the clanging of an old Kettle, or Brass-pot, the whole Hive of Devils should be alarm'd, be told that some of their Ma|sters on Earth had occasion for them, or as we

call it, wanted to speak with them, and that they should immediately fly to hand, and mount to the Place to know the Business.

This will be a very material Point to discuss more fully, and to explain the Philosophy of, if we should come to examine the most accurate and polite Me|thods of that particular Art, which we call raising the Devil, of which so many valiant old Women have been compleatly Mistresses; and that so emi|nently, that Satan durst no more refuse to attend the Call, or fail of his Duty when he heard the Summons, than a School-boy that has been well lash'd for playing Truant, dares do it again, before his Back-side has done smarting: For doubtless, the Scolding of an old Woman, and upon such a Disappointment too, would be enough to terrifie the Devil himself, if he has any Sense of that out|rageous Animal, call'd an old Witch, upon his Mind.

But I leave that Part to a particular Dissertation upon the Species, when I shall learnedly and po|litely examine, and, if practicable, determine for the good of Mankind, the two following Wehigty and Important Difficulties.

First, Whether upon an immergent and sudden Occasion, the Musick also being the same, old Mo|ther Anthony of — in the County of — could not be as effectual with her Voice to hive a Swarm of Bees, as any Brass Kettle or Warming-pan in all the Village; and so both frugally save her Neighbours from the risque of bruising their Houshold-stuff; and the said Mother Anthony, in|stead of being liable to the Ducking-stool for a common Disturber, become a useful Servant to her King and Country, and enjoy a Pension for her good Offices.

Secondly, Whether the same Mother Anthony, ac|cording to the Hypothesis of Joseph's Cup of Divi|nation,

might not be also made useful in her Ge|neration upon like extraordinary Occasions, to lay the Devil, and that too by the same Rules that others raise him; since the Bees in their greatest Hur|ries and Tumults are quieted, as above, by the same Noise, which at another time would fret and dis|order them; the Philosophy of which is not yet understood, nor can the Reason of it be discover'd in all the Philosophical Transactions or Transactors who have so long studied it. From whence they say, the Tinkers beating their Pans when they publish their Occupations, or as we call it vul|garly in England, Cry their Trades, are extreamly uneasy to all the old Women above their ninth Climacteric, and unsufferable to those who are en|gaged in the Article of Circle-making, and Paw-wawing; insomuch that if a Tinker should have stop'd in a Village and beat his Kettle above a certain li|mited time, at, or within hearing of the Town of ••pswich, in Mother Lackland's time, she would have been obliged to have raised the Devil for her Assi|stance. But this I leave to Experiment.

As, I say, these two important Questions may take up a large Tract by themselves, and as they must needs be of vast Consequence to the Readers, I doubt not the Booksellers, who are generally Publick-spi|rited Gentlemen, will embrace the Opportunity of publishing such a valuable Piece for the Good of the Nation; so I shall adjourn it for the pre|sent.

Come we next in order, according to the Con|tents of this Chapter, to the particular Question in what Shape the Devil appeared to the first Magi|cians, or the Inchanters of the most early Times; and the Answer is, as far as we can yet learn, that he did ••ot assume any Shape or visible Appearance at all: whether it was his Modesty or his Policy is a Que|stion has been a little, tho' not fully discuss'd, and

those that speak most favourably of Satan, think it was the first; for in the early Times of his Inti|macy he might be loth perhaps to expose himself to his new Acquaintance; whereas afterwards, when he became really a familiar Spirit, in the litteral Sense of the Word, he made no Difficulty to converse with his Favourites more openly, see and be seen; of which in its Place.

But if this was not the Case, it seems to me, that at first, and while being only a Night Visiter he communicated himself by Vision and Dream only, there was no manner of Occasion for the Lo|cality of his Person, and for a real Appearance; nor, if his Business was done, was it material whe|ther he deliver'd it by his own Mouth, or by the Voice of any of his trusty and well-beloved Angels and Agents, who are certainly as capable to officiate in his Place as if he was there in Person.

Besides, as much a Spirit as the Devil is, we have Reason to believe he is so far from being Omnipresent, that he would not be able to dispatch a thousandth Part of the Business he has upon his hands, if he had not a•• innumerable number of Deputy Representa|tive Devils always at his hand, to execute his Com|missions, and make their Appearance for him, when and as often as the meanest of the Southsaying In|chanting Race calls him.

And for this Reason it might be, that Ali Albrahazen, as is said above, in the first Intimacies betwixt him and the Favourite Spirit who spoke to him in Dream, had a Name given, by which he was to be called three times at every Round of the Palm-tree Circle; which when he had rehearsed, the Devil, (that is to say, that particular Deputy Devil which was appointed to wait upon him) was always to attend and be ready. Whether that said parti|cular Spirit was bound to his due and daily Atten|dance for that one Occasion, History has not yet

determined: I have only to say, that if it was so, Friend Ali must be a Magician of some Quality, that had a whole Devil to attend him personally and singly, who was allowed to do no other Business, but just wait to receive his Orders, and give back the Instructions which Ali might stand in need of, unless perhaps now and then he might go upon some other Errands, where the Occasion was extraordinary.

We are told, that in America, and in some Na|tions in Africa, the Magicians or Wizards and Pawaws found Ways and Means to converse with Satan Face to Face, as particular Occasions requir'd; and that from the Beginning of Time: for per|haps his Conversation in those remote Countries might be as antient as it was any where, Aegypt and Arabia excepted.

It is said also that, he does appear in those Coun|tries, and upon certain Times or Occasions, in hu|man Shape, sometimes in one Posture, sometimes in another, as Circumstances may vary; as sometimes he appears angry and frightful, surrounded with Fire, pr••ceded with Tempest, and the like terrify|ing Objects, to let the People know that he can hurt them; sometimes in Smiles, and sweet spicey Perfumes, and preceded by Music and Melody in the Air, to let them know he is pleased.

'Tis true, it was late in the World before we, in these Parts, knew any thing of it; and it might be so also before he begun those Practices there: they were too gross to go down with the first Ages, when the Knowledge of God was not so entirely obliterated from the Minds of Men as it was af|terwards; But Idolatry had prevailed to such a de|gree in America, that the Devil was perhaps the only God they had heard any thing of for some thousands of Years. But I return to my Subject.

Except in those and such like remote and unac|quainted Parts of the World, we do not find much Evidence of the Magicians seeing or conversing with evil Spirits, of whatever Kind or Quality, in the Shapes of Men or Women: Gods Angels indeed, who are in sacred Text called the Heaven|ly Host, are and have been frequently allowed to make their Appearance, and have been sent hither on immediate and special Business, as to Abraham, to Jacob, to Moses, to the Father of John the Bap|tist, to the Virgin Mary, to the Shepherds at the Birth, to our Saviour himself on divers Occasions, and to the Women at the Sepulcher, at the Re|surrection, and at the Ascension.

Perhaps this may be the Reason why the Devil has kept his distance; he remembers no doubt his former Rencounters with Uriel and with Gabriel, or other Angels, no matter who, mentioned by Name in Mr. Milton, and how they drove him about from one Part of the Waste to another, out of Heaven, out of Paradise, and every where else, where they and he happen'd to meet; and doubt|less he does not much care to rencounter them.

What Shape or Figure he appeared in when he came to tempt his Maker and our Saviour, at that time himself in a State of Personality as Flesh and Blood, as it is not expressed, so I will not pre|tend to make a Guess at it: 'Tis plain when he was at any time cast out of the poor distemper'd People by our Saviour, or by his Disciples, tho' he came evidently out of the Demoniac or Possessed, yet he did not come out visibly and in Shape, but walking off like a detected Thief in the dark, and imperceptible, he always play'd out of sight.

The same Method I believe he took with all sorts of People in the World for some Ages, espe|cially at the Beginning of Time; and would all our possessed or professed Dealers with this cunning

Manager act in the Dark, and keep him to them|selves, that we might not see their Instructor, or be acquainted with the Instructions, their Witchery and Craft of Hell would, I believe, be much less hurt|ful to the World than it is.

But now it seems as if our modern Magicians acted upon another foot; that they do not go to the Devil, but the Devil comes to them; they do not go to him in the Desarts and Retreats of the Dark for Directions and Instructions, but he acts with them in Concert, and there is a kind of mu|tual Cohabitation, they go on hand in hand, and are Fellow-Agents, both Principals and both Ac|cessaries, only with this usual difference on the De|vil's side, viz. if they happen to do any capital Mischief, so as to bring them to the Gallows, he always leaves the Hanging Part to them, there he, as we say, slips his Neck out of the Collar, and is gone.

This subtle Agreement in Mischief between the Magician and the Spirit that acts with him, is not at all for the Advantage of Mankind; and the Magicians of the former Mould seem to have been much the less hurtful kind, for they generally were known to be what they pretended, and were only made use of by People when they wanted 'em, and for what was requir'd of them; so they had their Pay and Wages of Unrighteousness, and you had done with them.

But here we converse with the Men, knowing nothing of what they are, and do not see the Devil that is within them; so we deal with the Devil at second hand, as we may call it, that is, we talk to him in disguise, make Bargains and Contracts with him, and that some of the worst kind, by the Agency of these Magicians, and see not the evil Spirit who is all the while both Di|rector and Principal in all the Affair. Thus far for

those Magicians who really deal in secret with him, and this is that Magick which we call the Black Art, that is to say a secret undiscover'd Conspiracy between Satan and those Agents of his which apply to him for Direction, and then their acting again by those Directions, to abuse, impose upon, and deceive Mankind.

CHAP. VI.

Of who were the first Practicers of Magick, as a Diabolical Art, and how it was handed on to the Aegyptians and Phoenicians, where it was first openly encouraged.

THE Writers upon this Subject before me seem to have all been at a loss to six the O|riginal of Magick as an Art Diabolical, and they would fain have us believe it was in Practice in the Antediluvean World. This I have not denied, nor shall I deny it still; but granting the Devil to have a Conquest upon the first Woman, and by her Weakness and Treachery drawing her Husband in|to the same Snare, we may give up all their Race for as black as Hell could make them: And indeed the sacred Text describes them in Terms as black as can well be expressed, Gen. vi.12. God looked upon the Earth and behold it was corrupt, for all Flesh had corrupted his way upon the Earth; and ver. 13. The Earth is filled with Violence; and ver. 5. speaking of Man, the Imagination of the Thought of his Heart was only Evil continually; and the Wick|edness of Man was great upon the Earth: upon this Account, I say, I gave up all that Race in the Be|ginning of this Work; and be it so, or be it only supposed to be so, 'tis much the same, nor is it

〈◊〉〈◊〉 disputing with any Body; if the Devil had the ••agement of them, as 'tis evident he had, much ••ess could not be expected, let that part go.

But my Question has been all along, not what was done before but since the Deluge, and how did Satan introduce himself to the post-diluvean Ages, when and where, with whom, and in what man|ner did he make his first Acquaintance and break|ing in upon Mankind for a second Possession, or Management of Art?

I mention'd Zoroaster slain in Battle by Semirami••, and Prometheus and others, and very early they were; and I stand by my Account of them, that they were the first Magicians, as the Word or Term Magician imply'd a Man of Learning, of Wit, and more than common Understanding, searching after Knowledge, studying the Rudiments and first Pre|cepts and Principles of Philosophy. But we are now in Search after another sort of People, who, tho' they were Searchers into Knowledge too, yet look'd into it in another manner, and for other Purposes, namely, who searched deeper into things, and into deeper things, I mean searching into HELL it self; who began first to enter upon Diabolical Enquiries into the infernal Mysteries and Arts of the Devil, and where those begun it is not so easy to find out.

Some Authors, as Serenus, and Cassianus from him, and the learned Sir Walter Raleigh from both, hand down this fabulous Original for our Speculation, viz. that Ham or Cham the Son of Noah having practised those superstitious and sacrilegious Arts (I take their own Words) before the Flood, and knowing that he could bring no Book or Memorial of that nature into the holy Vessel where his Life was to be secured by the goodness of his Maker, and wherein he was to remain with his righteous and godly Father, caused the Rules and Precepts to

be graved in Metal, and in hard Stone, which should receive no Impression from the Water.

But this is such an evident Fiction, and full of so many Absurdities and Contradictions, as well as Falshoods, that 'tis not only unlikely it should, but impossible it can be true.

For First, Where were those Plates left? If they were to be preserved in the Ark, 'tis certain Noah who had the Superintendency of the whole Build|ing, and of every thing that was brought into it, or to be admitted, would much less have admitted copper Plates to be brought in there, or Tables of Stone with such Abominations engraven on them, than he would have taken in written Books, if such had been then in use.

Secondly, Had Cham been such a Person, so far engaged in a Correspondence with Hell, we may reasonably suppose God, who for the Reasons taken from the Sins of the rest of Mankind destroyed the whole World, would never have spared him, and so by him laid the Foundation of the Devil's second Kingdom, and of his debauching the World with Sorcery and Witchcraft: nor do we read that Cham or Ham was cursed by his Father on any such Account, but for Sins actually committed af|ter the Deluge, and after their coming out of the Ark; but to charge Ham with Sorcery and Diabo|lical Practices before the Flood, is a gross begging the Question, and by no means to be admitted without good Evidence.

And again, the Writing and Graving upon hard Stones, Metal, &c. requires a Proof that there was any such thing as the Knowledge and Use of Letters among Men before the Flood; which after the strictest Enquiry is not yet ascertained, much less agreed upon by Men of Learning; the same having not been preserved to Mankind after the Deluge, which 'tis highly probable would have

been, if such a thing had been in use, the Know|ledge having been both innocent and useful.

Thirdly, If such Writing or Engravement were made by Cham, or any one else, where were they laid, and how found again? when, by the uni|versal Convulsions suffer'd during the Flood, not the least Vestiges, Ruins or Remains of Cities or Towns were to be seen upon the Surface of the Earth, but all was huddled together in the gene|ral Confusion of the Parts, and either buried and overwhelmed in the Body of the Earth, or driven down by the rapid Currents which followed at the going off of the Flood; and it seems strange that these Stones or Plates could be found, when every thing else was lost and overthrown; when the Surface being perfectly new, no one Part of the World could be known from another, much less any Place be known by the Situation which it had before.

There are many more Absurdities in the Case as it is proposed; but I must not dwell too long in a Place, that have so long a Journey to go.

Zoroaster is the next to whom they would a|scribe the Magick Art; but I have proved him to be a very honest Man, and a wise Man, pro|perly speaking, in my former Chapters, and that he was employed in a much better and honester Study, such as in discovering the Nature of Herbs and Plants, Metals and Minerals, precious Stones and Jewels; that he invented the Doctrines and first Principles of natural and moral Philosophy; and many useful and beneficial Parts of Know|ledge for the Good of Mankind; the Power of Simpathies and Antipathies, and their various Work|ings and Objects; in all which I take Abraham also, who was still before him, to have been especially famous; and that 'tis probable Abraham was parti|cularly instructed by Noah himself, for 'tis evident

that Abraham was upwards of fifty Years old when Noah died.

To come off of all this, there are others who make another Zoroaster, a real and Diabolical Magi|cian, who was not slain by Semiramis, as that wise Prince Zoroaster was; but on the other hand, ha|ving been teaching his Disciples the Art of raising and conversing with Spirits, was by one of them taken away out of his School, all his Scho|lars looking on; or, if you will have it in a modern Style, he raised the Devil, to shew his Disciples a Test of his Art; and the Devil carried him away in the face of them all, to give them a Test of his Power: which (by the way) was but poor Encou|ragement at that time, for any one of them to turn Magician; and for that Reason, and knowing the Devil to be no Fool, makes me give the less heed to that Part of the Story.

Other Writers, of whom Josephus is one, (whose Credit, I must always premise, goes but a very lit|tle way with me) tells us, that Seth the Son of Adam first discover'd the Planets or wandering Stars with their Motions, Influences, Revolutions, &c. that those with several other useful Branches of Astronomic Knowledge were handed down by Tra|dition to Noah, and by him to the new World, and that then coming from Noah immediately to Abraham, to Zoroaster and others, they were hand|ed from them to Posterity, as we find it at this Day.

But all this is nothing to the purpose, that is to say, nothing to our Diabolick Magick, nor does it give any Light into the grand Question, Who was the first Author of that kind of Study; who was Satan's first Correspondent in the new World, or first dealt with the Devil after the Flood? I cannot think indeed that the Devil suffered Man|kind to live long unmolested by him, or that Man|kind

could go on long without some Business be|tween them: they would be both eager to renew the Acquaintance, and restore the ancient Familia|rity; and it could not be long before they found some means or other to bring it to pass; for Lovers you know will meet, whatever are the Difficulties which first obstruct: and especially the great Artist on his Side had many dark Designs in view, and new Foundations to lay for the Overthrow of a rising Generation, which required to be laid deep and strong, and the sooner they were begun, the better for him.

As to Cham being the Author of Magick in the new World, that indeed I cannot grant, that is to say, not as the Ancients bring in the Story; namely, that he invented the Seven liberal Sciences, and wrote them in fourteen Pillars of Brass or Stone, &c as above; that Cham, as he was, notwithstand|ing the Curse he incurred by his ill Behaviour to his Father, one of the immediate Progenitors of the new Race, and particularly of those great and mighty Nations the Aegyptians, Arabians, Africans, and Phoenicians, among whom all human Wisdom and Learning first flourished, and indeed first be|gan; so I doubt not but he was capable to instruct them in much of the antediluvean Knowledge, and that of even the best things, and did so: That he reigned afterward in Aegypt a very long while, is confirmed by all the antient Writers; particularly in the Catalogue of the Aegyptian Kings, of which Cham was certainly the first, they are said to reign and succeed one another thus,

• Cham peopled Egypt the Year of the World 1847, 191 Years after the Flood. Osyris or Mizraim the Son of Cham 2008, 352 Years after the Flood.

N.B. This was the King who elevated Joseph, and who built the Pyramids, not for Tombs

and Monuments only, but for Magick, that is, Astronomick Observations, as Semiramis did the great Tower of Babylon.

From hence it appears that Cham came to Aegypt when he was near three hundred Years old; sup|pose him to be an hundred Years old when he came out of the Ark, which was the most, for his elder Brother Sem was no more, and that he reign'd in Aegypt one hundred and sixty one Years, in which time he made the Aegyptians and the Ara|bians, and also the Phoenicians, for they were all his Offspring, very polite Nations.

• The Arabians were his Posterity by his Son Chus. The Phoenicians by his Son Canaan whom Noah cursed. The Aegyptians by his Son Mizraim, which was the King Osyris above. The Libyans and Aethiopians by his Sons Phut and Lud.

So that in short, Cham was so exceeding fruitful, that he peopled all Africa, and since that, from Africa all America, and those particularly populous Parts of Asia called Arabia and Syria.

I expect my light-headed Readers, whose Wits are too volatile for this remote Story, will call this a dry Subject, tho' to me I confess 'tis just the contrary; but as it is too grave for them, I will endeavour it shall not be too long for them; so to oblige Folly, and I am sure to the Dislike of the truly wise and solid Heads, I leave off before I have done, that I may not abate that most fashionable Custom of writing most of that which is pleasant, and least of that which is profitable; so willing is your humble Servant to be a Man of Mode, and such a Weight does he put on those who have real|ly no Weight in themselves.

In favour then of the Usage of the Times, and especially of the Genius and Temper I mention

above, I am to leave off those grave tho' useful Di|gressions, and come back to the Progress of Ma|gick, the particular Subject before me.

That the Devil was the Aggressor in his new Correspondence with Mankind is not to be doubted, but that is not so much our Business; as to know when this Correspondence began, who was the first among Men that carried on the clandestine Deal|ing, and how it was managed on both Sides.

We have cleared Cham of the Charge, as far as Probabilities will go in his Favour; and the Truth is, Cham grew quickly too great, was above the Occasion for it, and being the first, and perhaps the greatest Monarch upon Earth, even before Ninus or Bell (Baal) he had no need of turning Conjurer and Magician, which became presently the Work of a meaner Race of Men than Cham; for the Magicians, especially speaking of them now as Witches and Inchanters, were not Kings and Emperors, but the Servants of Kings and Empe|rors; kept and maintained for the wicked Works and Services which they did for them.

Indeed the Magicians which I mentioned at first, were Worshippers of the divine Being, or eminent Examples of the Homage Men owed to the true God; nay, and even after some time were Teachers of divine things too, tho' under the mistaken Mediums of Idols and Images; These Magi, or Magicians, as I have observed, were at first so reverenced and honoured by the Nations they served, as often to be made Go|vernours of the Common-wealth; Publick Be|nefactors having the most Right to the publick Honours and Advancements in those Countries where they had been accepted for their Merits.

Hence it seems most natural, that all Kings should be Patriots, seeing the very Name and Dig|nity, much more the Office, began in the Thing;

but that by the way; how far the Patriot and the Royalty go together in these Days, how the Name and the Dignity correspond, let the Kings of the Earth examine, whose Business it is to mend it where it is not so, and to let it be more known where it is.

It is then pretty hard to find out who were the first Magicians, taking the Word Magick as I now understand it, viz. in the worst Sense; and yet it does not seem to be very long after the Flood be|fore we shall find some of them at work; for in the immediate Reign after Cham, that is, in the Reign of Mizraim or Osyris, which History makes to be the Pharaoh whose Dream Joseph interpreted, and who reigned two hundred sixty one Years; in his Reign 'tis evident there were such People. See the Place, Gen. xli.8. He sent and called for all the Ma|gicians of Aegypt, and all the wise Men thereof.

It is true it does not appear positively that these were Magicians of the worst Sort, but it seems to be so, because Heaven reserved from them the re|vealing to Pharaoh the Interpretation of his Dreams; which however might be to preserve the Honour to Joseph, and to make way for all the great Events which followed; but still, I say, we do not know that here were none of the present kind of wicked Magicians, and we have much reason to believe there were.

But within the Space of about two hundred Years after, we are sure to find them; nay, the Text is plain, they were there when Moses and Aaron stood before the last Pharaoh who held the People in Captivity; for then they imitated the Miracles of Moses and Aaron by their Inchantments, that is, by Sorcery and Witchcraft; now even this was but a little above eight hundred Years from the Flood; and thus much may suffice for the Chronology of of Witchcraft and Sorcery.

Being thus come to a tolerable Certainty as to Time, when this Art was first practised, we shall be led more directly to the Persons, by entring a little into an Enquiry after the Practice, that is, the Manner made use of in those early Times of the Art; for by discovering what they did, we shall dis|cover also who did it: They acted certainly from the Beginning, by certain Mystick or concealed Conjurations, such as uncouth Noises and Sounds, strange Gestures, Postures, and barbarous Magick Noises, of which we shall say more in their Place.

But what, say our Enquirers, were those things called Inchantments, which constitute what is called the Black Art, or the Craft Magical? The Text says the Magicians did so and so, by their Inchant|ments; that is, whatever Wonders or Miracles the two Prophets of God wrought by the Finger and Power of God, these Men imitated by the Power of the Devil.

Those Inchantments I take to consist of certain agreed Gestures and Noises, certain barbarous Names and Words, and such inexplicable Terms of hellish Art, which upon Concert between Hell and the hellish Agent, are to be so and so understood between them; on expressing of which, and mak|ing such Circles and Figures on the Ground as is agreed, the evil Spirit with whom they have con|certed the Affair beforehand, shall appear, and ap|pear too in such and such Form as they appoint to bring him out in; and this I give as a brief Defini|tion of what they call Inchantment.

And here, not to preach upon the Point, or to insist that even what is thus acted must be by the Power of Heaven concurring, for this is what all that are not Atheists acknowledge; but, I say, not to dwell on this Part, I make so free with our Fellow-Conjurers as to say, they put a great deal of Cheat upon the World, in pretending to act by

supernatural Powers in those Inchantments, let them be of what sort they will, whereas they really acted much by Cheat and Trick, Lege••demain or Slight of Hand, and pretended the Prince of the Air, when he had nothing to do in it; that how|ever some of those things were certainly by his, the Devil's Aid and Assistance, as it was with Ali Albrahazen, and has been with others to this Day, which we shall not and cannot deny, yet 'ti•• appa|rent much of it has been, as I said, meer juggling and deceiving.

As the Devil has not tied himself up to Methods in his acting with Mankind, so neither hav•• the Magicians of the World kept to any certain Me|thods, as to a stated Rule in their Actings among us, but have, on many Occasions, made use of dif|fering Methods; I mean as to their Management between the Devil and them; and also as to their apparent putting the Belief of it upon us.

How we shall do to know and distinguish when the Magician puts the Devil upon us, and when he only acts the Juggler, would be worth while to find out; and did either the Devil or the Magician act by any stated Rules and Methods, we might make some Judgment about it; but on the other hand, they are so much and so often both Devils and both Jugglers, that 'tis very difficult to fix them.

For Example, in their coming to Audience, ob|taining Admittance, or call it what you will, the great Question is, How do they let the Devil know they want to speak with him? either he is always at their Elbow, and can hear them whenever they call, where-ever they are, and on whatever Occa|sion; and that would be to ascribe either great things to him, as a Person, or a great Number to him, as an Host.

Be that as it will, 'tis certain these People have certain concerted Terms agreed, as I said above, up|on repeating which he is to appear to them, and

act for them as they shall agree, and those I call Inchantments. There are also other agreed Signals, upon making which, the Devil, according to the Terms agreed on between them, shall act in such and such a manner without appearing; and those I call Charms.

Thus, it seems, the Devil and Dr. B••reman agreed the Matter; the good Doctor having a mind to pay home an old Jest upon a young Gentleman that had abused a poor Girl, a ••lient of his; the Doctor, it seems, told her, that if she could perswade him to get into her Smock upon their n••x•• Intimacy, he would certainly agree to marry her; upon which the poor Girl makes herself a new one, and very large for the Purpose, and getting the young Fel|low into it, the Doctor, as was said, laid such a Charm upon it, or the Devil by his Order, that the Fellow could never get out of it till he gave the Girl a Note under his Hand to marry her the next Morning, and accordingly did it.

If the Story be Fact, as is loudly affirm'd, the Devil acted upon the honest side it seems; which I do not however charge upon him as a thing that he is often guilty of; but now and then, for the Credit of his Employers, he may be allowed to go out of his Way a little.

What those things called Charms are, and how made use of, may occasion some Speculation as we go on, and when we come to speak of Charms as they are used between the Magicians and the Peo|ple; but I am now upon the Subject of Charms and Inchantments, as they relate to the proper In|tercourse between the Magician and the Devil, or the Spirit whom he acts with, or by or for whom he acts, for 'tis not easy to express it right.

I say, 'tis not easy to say in what Capacity the Ma|gician is to be understood to act. 1. Whether WITH (that is) in Concert and Agreement, or, 2. as we might say, in Partnership with the Devil; or whe|ther

in a superior Orb, as a Magician of Quality, making use of an attendant, obsequious, commanded Devil, always at his call, to do what he bids him, jump over his Stick, run and go, fetch and carry like a Dog, as some eminent Magicians of State have been said to act; or as St. Dunstan, St. Francis, the Abbot of Crowland, and others did by him, who they tell us set him to work, sent him of Errands, made him ring the Bell to Vespers, sweep the Church, and a thousand good things the ser|viceable Devil did for them, if his good Hu|mour is not bely'd by the Priests knavery, and Satan charg'd with more Complaisance for 'em, than ever he was guilty of: Or, 3. Whether the Devil is Master, which I must own is more likely, and the Magician Servant; and then he does not act the Devil, but the Devil acts him, and makes him do every thing he bids him; I say all these are doubtful Points, and not yet fully understood by us, or at least not easily.

But be it which of these it will, there must be some concerted Terms of come and call between the Devil and his Correspondents; like Ships at Sea, they must converse by Signals, they must know when to meet, and when to summons for a meeting; when to appear, and when to disappear; and to do this, is one of the constituting Parts of Magick; for without it the Magician is as good as no body, and the Devil in short would appear of no use to him.

In some Parts of India they alledge to this Day, that he is talk'd with in the apparent Shape of a Man, and in the Habit of their Priests; but that is not the Business; they add that whenever they want to speak with him, they go up to such and such Mountains in Troops or Assemblies; such as ours at New-Hall perhaps, only with some specifick Differences, which I might mention but that they are too

trifling to trouble you with. When they are all together, they call him with a little Kettle-Drum, just as I told you the good old Wives hive their Bees, save that they beat it on the wrong side; then they pronounce some Words which they call Charms, and the Devil comes without fail.

It is hard to find out in History, what Words those were, that were us'd for Charms in Aegypt, and Arabia, between the Devil and the Magicians for so many Ages; it is certain they differ'd in dif|fering Countries, and 'tis as certain they differ'd as the several Persons acted together or apart; but I am as much at a loss to find out what the Devil should mean by suffering those Words, or any Words at all, to charm, call, awaken or alarm him, as I am to know what the Words were; but at present let us think of the Words.

The Greeks have left us a Word, which was us'd by the Magicians of Antiquity among them, upon these and many more such Occasions. This is that famous Trine, or Triangular Word call'd Abraca|dabra, which drawn out in its Equilateral Sides stands thus.

[figure]

ABRACADABRA

There is abundance of learned Puzzle among the Ancients to find out the Signification of this Word; the subtle Position of the Letters gave a

••ind of Reverence to them, because they read it ••s it were every way, upwards and downwards, ••ackwards and forwards, and many will have it still ••hat the Devil put them together: Nay, they be|••an at last to think it was old Legion's Sirname, and whenever he was call'd by that Name, he used to come very readily; for which reason the old Wo|men in their Chimney-corners would be horribly ••fraid of saying it often over together, for if they should say it a certain number of times, they had a Notion it would certainly raise the Devil.

They say on the contrary, that it was invented by one Basilides a learned Greek, that it con|tain'd the great and awful Name of the Divinity, and that it was used for many Years for the opposing the Spells and Charms of the Pagans; that is, the Diabolical Spells and Charms of the Pagan Magi|cians.

But be this as it will, it fell into Contempt in after-Ages, and was used by the Magicians them|selves; so that its containing, or being intended to contain the Name of God, seems to me to be a Pretence only, to add a kind of Veneration to the Word; whereas it it now drop'd, only that some of our old Women, and quack Magicians, use it for a Spell or Charm, as they would have it call'd, to cure Agues, being written on a piece of Parch|ment, and hang'd about the Neck of the afflicted Person.

It would be nothing but crowding our Work with old Stories, to collect together what they call Spells and Charms, which our People here make use of, (where-ever they had them) to cure Distem|pers. I know an old Book-ridden Bunyanist, that is to say, a Baptist Preacher in Bedfordshire, who cur'd Agues, by only saying some Words, while he gave the Patient a piece of Paper to put into his Pocket; others I have known cur'd by saying

some Words only, and giving them nothing at all I could give you many Examples, and you will find many more in the learned Collections of Mr. Aubery, and others, where in particular there is the Que|stion answer'd, Why saying some Words which have no Signification, and which neither the Per|son to whom they are said, or the Person himself who says them, can understand, should work a Cure; and the Answer is, because the Gods understood what the Person meant, who first implor'd their Aid in those Words, and to which they have still regard.

This shews a little, what I am bringing all these things to; namely, that this was the Remains of the old Pagan Magick, and is all deriv'd from it, tho' perhaps it is practis'd with less crimi|nal Correspondence than it was then, the People that now do these things not knowing what they say, or to whom they say it, yet certainly the thing is the same.

And this too gives us a light into the ancint Pra|ctices of the Magicians in Arabia, and Aegypt, and the Nature of those things which the Scripture call•• Inchantments; and how, and to what uses those Inchantments were obtain'd and apply'd. take The whole in this summary Account, which I gather from the exactest Observation of the usage of those Times, and of the behaviour of the People in the following Ages.

Of the Nature and Original of Inchant|ments.

The Story of the Devil and Ali Albrahazen the Sa|bean or Persian, stands as a good Foundation; we have another without a Name, an Aegyptian, I will not add a Name by way of Invention, because I will not

put my Sanction to the Truth of all the Particulars, ••ut the Story is of the same Use, whether one Word of the Fact be true or no. And so, tho' I might take up some time with Vouchers for the Relation, I leave it upon your Hands as a current Tradition, for those things are too ancient for Quotation of any sort.

N.B. There is no room to question, but that in Arabia, Aegypt, Syria, and those Countries, where so much Magick was at first practis'd, and where the Devil's Correspondence with Mankind was begun, where Magick was in its Perfection for so many Ages, and practis'd with such apparent Success, there are a great many strange Stories current to this Day, and the Mouths of the People are still fill'd with Traditional Accounts of the Wonders of the Ancients; their strange Perfomances, and the Effects of their Magical Skill; the People are full of them, and even our Europeans, when they travel into those Countries, bring away innu|merable Tales of this kind, which lose little in the coming, as perhaps this among the rest.

The Account I am now going to give, relates to a Magician of great Note it seems, tho', as I have said, I have not his Name, whom the Devil, if it was the Devil, managed much in the same way as the other, and 'tis of like use in the Case before us. For as it confirms the Devil's Conduct to be much the same with Mankind, tho' in different Places, so it shews us that the same occasions suit him to make use of: Before, he frighted the Sabeans with a Meteor or Ball of Fire in the Air; Now he alarms Aegypt with a Comet; either of them things of no Signification in themselves, and which we in those days can look on without running to Conjurers for their Interpretation: But in those younger

days they were surprising and terrifying, and there|fore very proper to amuse the World with, and to make even Kings, as well as People, send for their Magicians, to enquire after the Events of them.

In like manner we find in both these Accounts, the Devil not only making use of Dreams for di|sturbing the Fancies of the People, as well their Kings as others; but we find him in both using that Power peculiar to him as a Spirit, namely, of causing People to Dream of this, or that, (whatever he pleases) on purpose to furnish a Counterfeit In|terpretation to his Favourite Southsayer, and raise his Reputation at Court, in order to serve his (Satan's) Interest in other subsequent Delusions: But I refer to the Story.

An Arabian of Ancient Fame, and Eminent in the Aegyptian Court for his great Skill in South-say|ing, having long studied the Knowledge of hidden and secret things, and arriv'd to great Skill in the Motions and Revolutions of the Stars and Planets, had made himself famous on that Account: Having also much studied the Appearances and Nature of the Planets, Vapours, Meteors, and other the Phaenomena of the upper Regions, from whence he made great and accurate Improvements in Natural and Experimental Philosophy; he also studied and understood the nature of Plants, Flowers, Drugs, Gums, &c. and the Influences of the Hea|venly Bodies upon them, giving them Virtue, Co|lour, Aromatick Flavour, and most healing and comforting Powers; and by this Knowledge, our Learned Arabian obtain'd the Fame of a most excel|lent Physician, as well as of a wise Man, and Southsayer, and was had in universal Esteem, but especially I say in the Court of Pharaoh King of Aegypt.

N.B. They do not tell us which Pharaoh this was, so that the Chronology of this Ara|bian is something defective in that Part; but neither is this very material, because much of it will be discover'd by the other Circumstances.

Unwearied in his Diligence and Studies, and eaten up with the Desire of Knowledge, this Arabian Doctor (for such we shall now call him) not at all abating his Search after Wisdom by the Fame al|ready obtain'd; but seeing daily that there was an Abyss of Knowledge yet behind, and that all he knew was as nothing, compar'd to what he was still ignorant of, he pursued his Search into Nature with the utmost Application: All Night, yea many Nights together, he continued upon the Hills, and in the Desarts, whither he wandered; for Aegypt is a plain Country for many Leagues together, from Memphis where he resided. I say, all Night he spent in looking up into Heaven, and all Day in poring upon the Earth, searching into the Secrets of Na|ture, and trying and proving the Virtues of the Plants and Fruits, and other Rarities, the Product of that rich and fertile Soil: And thus he wasted and exhausted his vital and animal Strength, to feed and nourish the Strength of his Mind, and fill his Head and Heart with Divine Wisdom and Understanding. Thus far it must be acknowleg'd he was a true Original Magician, and a Man of Merit as well as Fame.

It happened in his wandering through the De|sart, to the Station where he usually fix'd his Place of Astronomick Observations, that he saw rise up out of the Sea, Northward from his Situation, a Body of Fire, which at first seem'd to him one plain Flame, making an oblong Square, of an im|mense Length and Breadth. But as it ascended with the ordinary Motion of the Heavens, or rather ac|cording

to the new Systems, the ordinary Motion of the Earth, it lessen'd in its apparent Dimensions, and also came to bear a more regular Form than be|fore; till coming to its full Height it appear'd af|ter some time to be a Comet or Blazing-star, which was visible above the Horizon, as is usual in such Bodies, for about twenty six Days (or Nights rather) successively, and then was seen no more.

This Appearance being entirely new, surmount|ed all the powers of his Understanding, and extreme|ly perplex'd him; and being one Night more than ordinarily afflicted about it, he broke out into Words to this purpose, tho' not directed to any of the Gods, not knowing it seems which of them were able to inform him, and which not. O! that some of the blessed Inhabitants of the UNSEEN WORLD would assist me in searching out the Mystery of this strange Phaenomenon.

He was the more anxious about it, because, at his return to his own House at Memphis, he had an Account, that Pharaoh had summon'd all the Ma|gicians and wise Men of Aegypt, to give him their several Opinions of the meaning of this strange Ap|pearance; for the King had either seen it, or heard of it from others. The Appearance of it, as I have said, being constant for about twenty six days after the Arabian had first discover'd it; and the wise Men differing very much in their Accounts of it, their Judgment had encreas'd the King's Curiosity very much; besides, the Arabian South|sayer had notice given him, that he would receive a Summons or Order to come to the King's Palace upon the same Occasion.

Being thus, as is said, extremely puzzled with this Affair, and believing perhaps that he should do no more when he came to the King, than dis|cover his Ignorance, as the rest of the Southsayers and the Magicians had done, he was very uneasy,

and resolv'd to retire into Aethiopia for some time, till the Enquiry might be over; and as he was not sent for to the King, when the rest of the Magici|cians were, it would be no Impeachment of his Fame, that he was gone abroad for some time.

One Day, while this publick Uneasiness lasted, as he was walking towards his usual Observatory as above, there joyn'd him a grave and venerable old Man, who saluting him with the usual Blessing of the Times, and in the Arabick Tongue, falls into Dis|course with him upon divers Subjects, such as seem'd to shew that the Stranger was, like himself, an En|quirer after Knowledge. Among the rest of their Discourse, the Arabian particularly gave the Stran|ger an Account of the late Appearance which he had seen, as above.

They walk'd together till they came to the Foot of a gently rising Mount, on the Top of which the Arabian had erected for himself a little Hut, or Bower of Palm-tree Leaves; here the Stranger seeing him ready to go up to the Hill, offer'd to take his Leave, but he entreated him to go up to his Observatory (as he call'd it) with him, and to stay with him that Night, that he might shew him the said Appearance, and that in the Morning he should go whither he pleas'd.

When they were come up to the Ascent of the Hill, the Day being shut in, and the time for Ob|servation of the Stars come on, the Heavens being clear, and the Moon absent under the Horizon, leaving them a fair View of the Stars, perfectly bright and clear; the Stranger ask'd him, in what part of the Hemisphere he had seen the Comet rise and set, and what was the particular Sphere of its Motion; all which he shew'd him most exactly, and at last the Comet it self, not forgetting at the same time to let the Stranger know, how anxious and concern'd he had been to understand the Na|ture

and Reason, as well as the Import of the Ap|pearance of such a Body, and to what particular Na|tion it had a Reference; and at last told him, how vehemently he had call'd out to the Gods, to give him some wise Interpreter, to instruct him in the Nature of such Appearances, and of that in parti|cular.

The Stranger took no notice of his knowing that he had done so, but began with a Philosophical Discourse of Comets; as of Stars, which, in their ordinary Revolutions, are but seldom visible; and therefore when they do appear, says he, it is generally supposed that they import great Changes and Trou|bles among Men, which, says he, may in one Sense be true, because they frequently are very much the occasion of them.

But, says the Arabian, how shall we know when they have Important Significations, and when not, and to what Nations and Countries their Significa|tions are directed, and which are not concern'd in them?

Says the Stranger, There are Methods to know these things also; and the Gods, when they are minded to communicate these things, do it their own way. But Father, says the Arabian, if you can relieve my Thought in the Signification of the present Difficulty, pray be so kind; for I acknow|ledge my Ignorance, and that which perplexes me the more about it, is, that I expect to be call'd be|fore Pharaoh to-morrow, whom I reverence in the highest manner. I beseech you inform me what I am to call this strange new Appearance, and what are its Consequences to the World.

Here the Stranger looking upon him with a smiling Aspect, reply'd; I have great Regard for your be|ing esteem'd by Pharaoh, and shall let you into the Knowledge of what you desire, for your farther good Fortune. Know then, added he, with an

Aspect all shining and pleasant,

'The Appearance we now see, is a Comet or Blazing-star, the like of which has not been seen in Aegypt in the Memory of the most ancient Man in the Kingdom, which makes the wise Men entirely at a loss about it; neither have they receiv'd any traditional Account of such a Phaenomena from their Fathers.

'Comets, continued he, are not, as fix'd Stars, Bodies of Fire, burning in the same manner as the Sun; but Bodies of a different Nature, compos'd either of prepar'd created Matter, suited from the begin|ning for Inflamation, or of vast Collections of ex|hal'd and condens'd Matter, subject to Inflama|tion, and more or less inflam'd according to the Po|sition of their Orbits and Motion; and therefore the Eruption of their Flame is but on one side, or on one side chiefly, (as we see this burning) with a continued and vehement Eruption: They move in the utmost Extent of the Waste or Ex|pance of Space, which you call the Aether or Air, and their Distance is so great, and their Revolu|tions so tedious, that they sometimes do not come so near this Globe as to be visible, no not in five hundred or a thousand Years; and this is the se|cond that was ever seen in this Hemisphere, since the great Deluge of the Earth, in the Years of Pharaoh's Great Grandfather's Father, being now above eight hundred Years past.

'The long Tail, or extended Flame which you see at one side of the Star, is the Eruption of Flame, which, as I say, continually burns with great Violence, and is sometimes extended to an immense and unmeasurable Length, even to that of many hundred thousand Millions of Stadia, and blazes out for ever.

The Arabian heard this with a surprise of Plea|sure, and was even ready to kneel down and wor|ship him; which you will say 'tis much the Devil

should refuse: But when he was just going to en|quire of him what Import this Appearance was to the World, and to Aegypt more especially, and a|bove all to the King in particular, he was not only disappointed to the last degree, but most miserably afflicted and surpris'd; for that turning his Head casually from him, or rather his Head being turn'd, or his Eyes turn'd from him, he in that very Mo|ment disappeared, and was gone.

It was in vain that the Arabian Doctor ran out of the Hut or Bower, and down the Hill after him, to his two Servants, who always attended him at the Foot of the Hill, enquiring of them if the Father, the venerable Stranger, came not to them; they constantly and faithfully affirm'd that they had watch'd, as was their Duty, against wild Beasts for his Security, and that nothing had passed by them.

It was in vain also, that he went back lamenting, and calling aloud upon the Stranger, whom he styl'd Father, to return. How is it, said he, that you could thus far illuminate my Understanding, and reveal the secret of Wisdom but in part; promising to me a clear and perfect Knowledge, and then leave me uninstructed, and in the dark, in the main and grand Inquiry? But no Voice, no Appearance return'd, which afflicted him sore; and the Day appearing, he resolv'd to con|tinue there the next Night, in hopes he might see him again in the Evening, as he had done before. After resolving on this, and having been waking (as is said) all Night, he laid him down to sleep. He was no sooner fallen into a deep Sleep, but he dream'd that he saw, (or, to speak it in the Language of the East,) the ancient Father, the venerable Stranger, appear'd to him again in a Dream.

He was most agreeably surpriz'd with the Sight of him, and according to the Eastern Custom fell at his Feet, embracing his Knees, and with all the

passionate Expressions which he had used before, ex|postulated with him, that he should leave him so in the dark, and half inform'd, after having assur'd him that he would fully let him into the Know|ledge of that most important Secret.

The Vision on the contrary seem'd displeas'd, and look'd at him with a less smiling and pleasant Countenance than he had done before, when he was awake; and with a stern Voice ask'd him wherefore he call'd after him so importunately, when he had staid so long with him, and had so fully inform'd him of all things he could desire.

O my Father! says the Arabian, (tho' himself a hundred and fifty Years old) did not you put me in Expectation, that you would likewise inform me of what mighty Importance this frightful Comet should be to Pharaoh, and to his Kingdom, and to the Country where we are, that I might obtain the Favour of the King, and be accepted for my extra|odinary Wisdom and Knowledge among the People?

'Thou Fool! says the Vision harshly: O thou of weak and empty Judgment! was it not sufficient to thee, that I had let thee know it was no new thing, nothing out of the Course of Nature, but a Comet or Star of a different kind from, and remoter Position than the rest; that it came to be visible here only in the Course of its ordinary Revolution, and may perhaps appear just in the same Manner, and in the same Place again, about seven or eight hundred Years hence?

'Can any thing be more natural, than that when I had told thee this, thou should'st know also that there are no extraordinary things portended in Nature's common and ordinary Events; no Por|tentous Threatning; no ill Omens or Bodings in the common Appearances of the Heavens; no more in one Star than in another? When I had therefore told thee, that it was only an ordinary

Revolution of a Comet, I in effect told thee that it imported nothing, either to Pharaoh or to thee, or to any Person or Place whatever.

The Arabian, surpris'd, and yet inform'd by this Discourse, stood justly reprov'd, and for a while an|swer'd not a Word; which the Vision as it were observing, spoke again as follows.

'Tho' I have given thee sufficient Light, where|by to expose the Ignorance of the wise Men, who have been call'd before Pharaoh, yet there are many things which thou mayst say to the King, which are of great Importance to him and his Kingdom to know, which thou shalt be enabled by me to give him the Knowledge of, and which, if thou diligently listen to my Instru|ctions, shall set thee at the right Hand of the King in all his Councils, and cause thee to be e|steem'd the wisest Man in his Kingdom: But then thou must be very careful to observe all the Rules which I shall give thee, and to act in ex|act Obedience to them.

The Doctor awaking, and the Vision being end|ed, he now began to understand who it was he had been conversing with, namely an Angel of the invisible World, (I suppose the Word Devil was not known among them at that time,) and that for the future he had a fair Opportunity of good In|telligence from the other World, upon all neces|sary Occasions, and upon the most important En|quiries.

Comforted exceedingly with this Intelligence, he hastens back to the City, and being sent for to appear before the King, as he expected, Pharaoh told him the Occasion of his sending for him, and how the Southsayers and wise Men were puzzl'd and perplex'd about it, but could give him no Ra|tional Account of it.

Upon this the Arabian told the King, that he was sorry to find him, Pharaoh, made so uneasy by the Apprehensions of a thing, which tho' above the Reach and Understanding of the Magicians, had yet in it nothing Extraordinary, nothing out of the Course of Nature; that there was nothing in it more than the necessity of its own Motion occasion'd, and that it had therefore no portentous Import or Signification to Pharaoh, or to any of his People, or of his Dominions; and that this he might be assur'd of.

Then he went on, and gave the King an Ac|count of the Nature of the thing, as a Comet or Blazing-star; and that Word for Word as the an|cient Stranger or Spirit had deliver'd it; and this he did too in the Audience, not of Pharaoh only, but of his whole Court; and that with such a ge|neral Applause, that all the other Magicians and Southsayers acknowledged the Justice and Reason of what he said, and the King was made perfectly easy upon that Account. From whence they tell us, that the Aegyptians, tho' in other Cases the most superstitious People in the World, and that used formerly to be the most concern'd upon all new Phaenomena in the Heavens, or upon any un|usual Appearances, flying immediately to the Divi|nations, and to their Southsayers, and Magicians, to interpret and account for such things to them, are yet, ever since this Discovery by the Arabian South|sayer so long ago, under no Concern at all upon the Appearance of Comets or Blazing-stars, on any Account whatsoever.

But I return to the Arabian. It was no small Fame which he gain'd by the Solution he had given of this Appearance of a Comet; Pharaoh preferr'd him before all the Magicians of Aegypt, and exalt|ed him to divers Honours, but particularly to that of being near his Person, to counsel and advise

him upon all extraordinary Occasions, as well in Matters of State and Politicks, as Matters of Dif|ficulty: Nor did the rest of the Magicians envy him the Honours he enjoy'd, for they were convinc'd he merited all the King had done for him; and which was more, they did not find they could come at any Part of the extraordinary Intel|ligence or Understanding in things, which he was Master of.

In the mean time, as he was too wise to commu|nicate to any body the source of his Information, so he was too well satisfied with his new Intelligence, to neglect the Part he was directed to act, which was frequently to meet with the Vision, which had once been so favourable to him: In a word, he fol|low'd with the greatest Assiduity the begun Inti|macy, and sail'd not to attend the very next Night in particular, after he had made his Speech con|cerning the Comet before the King.

On that occasion, going towards his Observatory as usual, he was encounter'd by a Man, in the Ha|bit of an Aethiopian, riding upon a Mule, and having a Bow hanging over his Shoulder, a Sheaf of Ar|rows at his Side, and a Lance in his Hand; the Man seem'd to shun him, and offer'd to go forward, but presently turn'd back, and with a kind of Compli|ment to the Arabian Doctor, enquir'd of him, if there were any way for him to Foord through the River Nilus, which at that time of the Year was so low, as to be in some Places almost dry, and easily pas|sable on Horse-back. The Arabian courteously an|swer'd him, that there was not any Place near the Road or Track which he was going in, and that he being as he perceiv'd a Stranger and alone, it would be hazardous for him to venture; but that if he would be pleas'd to stay, and go with him to a little Hut which he had hard by, for his Retreat in the Night, he would guide him in the Morning

to a Place where he should pass the River with Safety.

The Traveller thank'd him for the kind Offer, but seem'd rather inclin'd to go on; Sir, says the Arabian, the Night approaches, and you may meet with o|ther Dangers in the way from Crocodiles, Lions, &c. pressing him again to stay; but he declin'd it again, and as to the Dangers he laugh'd at and despis'd them; Well then, says the kind hospi|table Arabian, let me send one of my Servants with you to guide you. He seem'd at first inclin'd to accept so kind an Offer as that was, but falling a lit|tle farther into Discourse, the Arabian perceiv'd the Stranger began to look pleas'd, and fancying he would accept the first Offer, viz. of staying all Night, mov'd it again, and with a little additional entreating, the Stranger consented to that Part, and turn'd back with them.

The Arabian, tho' with two Servants with him, was always on foot; he had himself no Weapons, be|ing without fear but of wild Beasts, against which his two Servants were his Security, who were armed with Swords and Lances; but the Stranger, well arm'd as above, turning back, they went on fearless together towards the Hill, which was about the Distance of two Miles.

In the Way, the Arabian was a little shock'd with the unusual Civility which a great over-grown Crocodile shew'd them; who rushing out of a marshy kind of Bog near the Way, came forward towards them, but on a sudden turn'd back, and very obsequiously crept into the lurking Place, where it had just before come out from, and lay still there as quiet as if it had been hush'd by its own Fears, as perhaps it was.

At a small Distance farther they met two She Lions, or as some call them Lionesses; and as they heard them growling at some Distance, before they

were seen; they, that is, the Arabian and his two Servants, began to show some Concern about it; but behold, when the Lions appeared, they imme|diately turned about, and fled with the utmost Pre|cipitation.

After a little farther walking, the Arabian turn|ing to his Guest, told him, There, pointing to the Hill which was close at hand, was his little Re|treat, to which he had invited him, and desired him to leave his Mule with his Servants, and to walk up the little Mount with him; which the Traveller very readily did, bidding his new Land|lord go before to shew him the way, and he would follow him, as also he did; but what a Surprise think you was the poor Arabian in between Joy and Fright, when turning about at the Top of the Ascent to receive his Guest, he saw nobody but the ancient venerable Stranger, who had at first ap|peared to him, and from whom he ••ad received so much kind Instruction and Assistance before.

The Apparition (for such I suppose it should be now called) perceiving him in some Confusion, bid him not be surprised, for he was still his Friend, and in the same Disposition to serve him as before, and asked him whether he came that Night in Ex|pectation of meeting him or not; to which the A|rabian replyed, He did, hoping to see him in Person or in Vision, having something to offer, which he hoped he would be so kind as to comply with him in.

Upon asking what it was, he told him, That Pharaoh had a great Difficulty upon him, and had asked him his Opinion therein, and he knew not what Answer to give.

What is this Difficulty? says the Apparition.

Why, says the Arabian, he has a private Account from his Spies, that Thermesbus, the General of the Armies of Aethiopia, designs to invade him in the

Beginning of the Year, with an infinite Number of Troops; and as the King is in greater Readiness to begin the War, than the other, he wants my Opinion whether he shall make War upon Aethi|opia forthwith, or stay till he is obliged to do it in his own Defence.

Go you back, says the Spectre to him, and wait till the King sends for you to interpret his Dream or Dreams.

What Dream? says the Arabian.

Why to-morrow Night, says the Spectre, the King shall dream, that a black Elephant came up to the Gates of his Palace, and that with his mighty Tusks or Teeth he broke down the Gates, and was entring in to make farther Spoil; when the Gates being, as I say, broken down first, the Tower which was over the Gates being shaken with the Fall, fell down soon after upon the Ele|phant, and well-nigh crush'd him to death; but that, tho' by his great Strength he bore up the Weight, yet he was so terrified with the Fall of the Tower upon him, that he withdrew into the Desart and went quite away.

And what Interpretation shall I give of this Dream? says the Arabian.

You shall tell him, says the Spectre, That the black Elephant is the King of Aethiopia; that he shall send his General to invade him, even to the Gates of his Frontier City of Zaba, and shall enter the Gates thereof; but that the Aegyptians in Garrison within shall break out and fall upon him, and tho' by the great Power of their Troops they shall escape, yet that they shall retire and go back into the Desarts of Aethiopia, and not dare to look upon him any more.

But what then shall I advise to be done? says the Arabian.

You will find it most rational, says the Spectre, to advise him to begin the War; and may promise him Success, without Fear; but if not, let him place very great Garrisons in all the Frontier Towns of his Dominions, South, and especially in Zaba or Zabda; and let him wait in a good Posture of De|fence, till the Aethiopian Army advances to the Siege of that Place; and so his Dream will come to pass.

This was all wonderful; the Arab was surprised with being thus furnished for ingratiating himself with his Master the King of Aegypt; he knew well enough, that to be able to make Pharaoh dream what he pleased, and then to interpret it how he pleased, must needs make him pass for a great Man, in a Country too so superstitiously addicted to Dreams, and so uneasie to have those Dreams interpreted, as the People of Aegypt were.

Thus furnished, he goes back to the City, where he heard nothing till the third Day in the Morn|ing, when the whole Court was in Disorder, all Faces seem'd cloudy, and every Mind disturbed: The News was soon spread into all Parts of the City, that the King had had a frightful and terrible Dream, which had so distracted his Mind, ('tis supposed they did not call him His Majesty) that he could not rest.

The wise Men and the Southsayers, Magicians and Astrologers were immediately sent for in a great hurry to give their Opinion, and interpret Pharaoh's Dream: The Circumstances of the Dream were much the same with those already mentioned with this Addition, that at the Beginning, Pharaoh be|ing in a deep Sleep, heard as he thought a sudden great Noise, that it alarm'd the whole City, and that his Guards, as we call them, or Soldiers which were about him, were awaken'd, but all fled away, and that the City was even left without Defence, only that the Gates were shut.

That in the midst of this Hurry, a monstrous black Elephant, breaking down all before him, and even overthrowing the Houses and Buildings which were without the City, came on, no one resisting him, to the Gates of the City or Castle where Pharaoh slept; that with the Force of his mighty Tusks, or Teeth, he beat down the Gates thereof; but that the Tower being shaken also, Part of the Building fell down upon the Back of the Elephant, and, as the King thought at first, had crushed him to Death.

But that notwithstanding the Weight of the Building which fell down was very great, yet that the Elephant by his mighty Strength bore it self up and received no Injury by it; but being made afraid by the great Blow it received, it withdrew, and retired into the Desart towards the South.

None of the Magicians could interpret this Dream, or rather, they could not agree in their In|terpretations of it; some said one thing, some ano|ther, so that Pharaoh received no Satisfaction from their Interpretations; whereupon the Arab, who appeared at Court purposely to be called in, was summon'd, the King being told that he was there.

He came without any Hesitation at the first Call; and the King, with great Appearance of Distur|bance, tells him what a strange Dream he had had, how it had disturbed him, and the like, and added, that none of the Interpretations which the wise Men had given of it, were satisfactory to him, or agreeing with one another. The Arab ha|ving then demanded a Particular of the King's Dream, had it related to him as above; then he de|sired to know what Account the Magicians had given of it, and how they had interpreted it; which when he was told, he express'd some Wonder that they should all amuse the King in such a manner, and should say nothing but what was perfectly remote from the Case.

But turning to the King,

'Let not Pharaoh (says he) be any more disturbed about the Inter|pretation of his Dream, seeing the Event shall redound to the Honour of the King and Prospe|rity of his Dominions; for that the Dream being interpreted, is a Representation of what shall im|mediately come to pass:'

and then he went on to interpret boldly the Dream thus.

'The Noise, O King, says he, which thou wast alarm'd with in the City, and which thy Soldiers were intimidated with, so as to run out of the City; this is nothing else but a Rumour of War from the South, and a certain Alarm upon the Approach of an Army upon the Borders, at whose Approach all the Inhabitants of the Country shall fly into the Mountains and Cities for fear of the Invaders.

'The black Elephant assaulting the Gates of the King's Palace is the General of the Armies of Aethiopia, who shall make War upon Pharaoh, and shall invade his Kingdoms with a great Ar|my, and shall break down the Gates of his strong Cities; but let not the King be dismayed at the Strength of this Enemy which is so great, for the Power of Pharaoh shall fall upon him, and shall strike him with Terror and Amazement; so that he shall flee away with all his Army into the Wilderness, and into the Desart Country, and shall be seen no more.

He had no sooner delivered his Interpretation, but Pharaoh embraced him with Joy, and told him, That he had indeed given him a right Interpre|tation of the Dream; and that he fully believed it would come to pass in the same manner: Where|upon Pharaoh forthwith caused Preparations of War to be made, and sent Ambassadors into Aethiopia to denounce War.

The same Year that the Arabian had given this Interpretation of the King's Dream, the Aethiopians

with a great Army invaded the Coasts of Aegypt, wasting the Country and slaying the People, even to the Gates of Zaba or Zabda, a fortified City on the Frontiers of the Country, which they besieged, but in vain; and the King of Aegypt marching a|gainst them with all his Chariots and Horses, at their Approach the Aethiopians fled, and retired in|to the Desart Country, and were seen no more.

This Story, supposing it, or the Substance of it, to be true, lets us into the Manner and Method in and by which the Devil first introduced a Correspon|dence with Mankind, and how he transacted the same with the Magicians of Aegypt, which was cer|tainly continued by him for many Ages afterwards, in the very same manner, and by which the Magi|cians of Aegypt obtained so much in the Opinion of Mankind, that they passed for the wisest Men in the World; whereas all this Knowledge, if we may believe Tradition, was neither more or less than a meer dealing with the Devil, a plain down|right Hellish Correspondence, managed by a magi|cal Scheme, dictated by the Devil himself, and ob|served by the Magicians with but too much Exact|ness on all Occasions.

By this Diabolical Magick the Devil conversed freely with the Magicians, and they with him; and whatever some may pretend, that the Devil cannot assume a human Shape for his Correspondence with Mankind, 'tis most certain that he did appear in divers Shapes, and on many Occasions, or else all the Accounts of such things which Tradition has handed down to the succeeding Ages must be false and fabulous, made up by the Invention of the Ages in which they were written.

But that this was not so, is apparent from the Scripture, as also from the first Writers of the Aegyptian and Phoenician Histories, by all which we read of the Wickedness of the Magicians; as parti|cularly

in the Story of the Wonders wrought by Aaron and Moses in the Presence of Pharaoh, where it is allowed that the Magicians wrought by Inchant|ment, which I always understood to mean by In|voking the Assistance of the evil Spirit, and by re|ceiving Help and Secret Powers as well as Intelli|gence from those evil Spirits; and besides the work|ing by Inchantment or Sorcery, so taken Notice of there, we see it mentioned again in the Book of Wisdom, Chap. xvii. speaking of the Plague of Darkness, he says, They were scatter'd under a dark Veil of Forgetfulness, being horribly astonished and troubled with (strange) Apparitions, Noises as of Waters falling down, sounded about them, and sad Visions appeared unto them with heavy Countenances. Ver. 6. Only there appeared to them a Fire kindled of it self very dread|ful; for being much terrified, they thought the things which they saw more terrible than the Things they saw not.

Ver. 7. As for the Illusions of Art Magick, they were put down, and their vaunting in Wisdom was reproved with Disgrace: For they that promised to drive away Terrors and Troubles from a sick Soul, were sick them|selves with Fear, and worthy to be laughed at.

This whole Quotation is a Description of the Darkness of Aegypt, in which, according to this Text, there were strange Apparitions, being evi|dently the Devil and evil Spirits with human Shapes, horrible Appearances and heavy Counte|nances.

I think this is so plain, as to need no Confir|mation from other Opinions: Magick was reproved, that is to say, disgraced, because the Devil could not assist the Magician, so as to make any Abate|ment of the Darkness, which was wrought by Hea|ven; for even the Fire could not be made to give any Light, so the Power of Art, nay even of Ma|gick it self, was at an End.

In this terrible Case, the Devil or rather Devils were, it seems, permitted to appear in horrible and frightful Shapes, with heavy Countenances, &c.

In like manner I cannot doubt but he appeared to the Magicians when he and they had Occasion to meet and converse, and carry on their Hellish Combinations, and Confederacies for doing Mischief; and this brings me of course to speak of the Man|ner of the Magicians conversing with the Devil, for hitherto we have only spoken of his con|versing with them.

The Case is this: Whenever the Devil had an Oc|casion to speak with the old Arab, or in Ages af|ter that (for the Arab was first) with Ali Albrahazen the Magician of Saba in Arabia, he knew well how to find them out, and could go to them, meet them in Apparition, or speak to them in Vision; But what was to be done when they wanted his Assistance upon any Emergency?

The Story of Ali, mentioned already, stated the Matter for him, namely, that he was to go into the Desart to a certain Palm-tree, surround it so many times, call the Devil so many times in every Circle by such and such a Name, and then he would come.

Here was indeed a great deal of Ceremony, be|fore his Worship would be spoken with; and I cannot but think our Friend Roger M— (Ac|cepted Free Mason, &c.) speaks with him sometimes upon much easier Terms; for the World is grown much nicer of late, than they were then, and the Devil is obliged to treat with them on Terms of less Ceremony.

But the rest of the Story of the old Arabian will state this Matter much clearer, and to the Under|standing of every Reader; and will let us see a little what Methods they took to raise the Devil in King Pharaoh's time, and before our modern Experiments were in use.

The Arab was now a great Person, all Aegypt re|ceived him as a wonderful Man; his Words were the Oracle of the Day, for whatever he said came to pass; he was sent to far and wide, and Mes|sengers came from Persia, from Phoenicia, nay from Aethiopia, for him to come thither, and give the Interpretation of their Visions, and explain to them every doubtful Case; but he would not leave the Court of Pharaoh, and he was in the right, for the King highly honoured him.

All this while his Reputation wholly depended upon the constant Intelligence which he kept up with his familiar Spirit (so I may now call it) I mean the Apparition which came to him in the Desart; but as this Appearing was arbitrary, and when it pleased, and might not be at hand when he might have a more than ordinary Occasion for it, it occurr'd to him one Night to propose Methods of a more constant and less difficult Correspondence, and that the Apparition might be brought to a greater Familiarity, so as that when any Exigence was upon him, he might be sure of his Aid, might be able to call him to his Assistance, and that he would not sail to appear.

Story does not record what Condition the Devil might make with the old Arab; as for selling Souls, signing Contracts, and the like, it seems to me there was little need of these things in those Days, if there had, and the Devil had insisted on it, I doubt not the Arabian would have made no more Scruple of it, than our Brother of the Trowel, who adorns so often his blue Ribband with the most honour|able Badge of the Leather Apron; and being first incorporated, as above, in the ancient Society of free Th—s may, for ought we know, build two or three Churches abroad, seeing the Devil and he are known to be upon their Travels together.

You have thus a Sketch of Satan's profess'd Correspondence with his Agents in the first and most early Days of the Magick Art; if by those Subtilties he brought them into great Re|putation among the People, and in the Courts of Princes, you are not to doubt but he found his Account in it; for by gaining a Reputation to his Agents, and at the same time keeping them at his Command, for the sake of the Illuminations which they gained from him, he had them always at his hand, ready to do or undertake any thing how|ever black, which in the course of their Witch|crafts came in their way. We shall find some fla|ming Examples of this kind very quickly.

But for the present let us keep to our Arab as a Sample or Instance of the ordinary way of such People in their future Correspondences; hitherto you see the Devil very assistant, and, in his way, obliging to the last degree, to his new Acquain|tance the Arab. I will for the present suppose he had no other Correspondent, at least not in Pha|raoh's Court, nor was there any need of another; but you are to suppose he had more such, or such like, in other Places.

He had, it seems, found out the Way to make him|self necessary to the Arab, so that the Doctor could not bear the Thoughts of wanting his constant Assistance: The Sense of this puts the Arab upon proposing to him, that for the future the Devil should be so favourable to him as always to come to him whenever he had Occasion, and this with|out obliging him to go into the Desart and up the Hill, in search of him, which many times the ex|traordinary Demands of the Court would not admit, nor allow him time for.

If the Devil did concede this Favour, which was more than he granted to Ali Albrahazen, (for he obliged him to come to the Palm-tree, walk so

many times about it, call aloud so many times upon him every Circle he made) before he would come; I say, if he yielded to this at the Desire of his Ac|quaintance the Arab, it was certainly for the great Ends which were to follow.

Upon his new Proposal, Measures were stated be|tween them that upon such and such formal ma|naging, (for there was some Reason, it seems, to make it a Piece of great Formality,) the Devil should always, that is some of the innumerable Le|gions, should always appear; whether Satan himself, or some of his Messengers, Servants, or Gentlemen in waiting, History indeed is not so particular as that I should be able to give you the Names of them, whether Christian Name or Sirname, as in other Cases might be expected.

The Forms of his appearing, the Occasion, the Conditions, &c. being thus left to the Arab to de|termine as should be for his Occasion; let us see how near we can come to the Particulars.

Circles and Figures visible to others, with some needful Cant or hard Words which might be made use of audibly, as there might be Occasion; these seem to have been appointed as the Pomp and Ce|remony of the thing called Conjuring and Magick, and might be found necessary for many Reasons: and in several Ages these were varied and changed, as the Magician and the Devil might agree about it between themselves.

It was no doubt a great Condescention that the Devil would stoop to be always at hand, and to come when he was called; but he found his Ac|count in it: the Arab now had him at his Beck, and whenever Pharaoh had any difficult thing to pro|pose, the old Arab could as they call it raise the Devil, when he pleased, to assist in it.

This is what After-times called having a Familiar, and a familiar Spirit, and is acknowledged to this

time to be frequently practis'd by Witches and Warlocks, and what we find mention'd in Scripture. Menasseh in particular, tho' one of the Kings of Judah, the Scripture is express in it, That he used Inchantments and dealt with familiar Spirits and Wizards, 2 Kings xxi.6.

Several hundred Years before this 'tis apparent, by the Laws against such as these, that such were; and that doubtless while they were in Aegypt, nay it must be there; the Law is very express, and reckons up several Sorts, Deut. xviii.10, 11. There shall not be found among you, (mark the Kinds,)

• 1. One that uses Divination.
• 2. An Observer of Times.
• 3. An Inchanter.
• 4. A Witch.
• 5. A Charmer.
• 6. A Consulter with familiar Spirits.
• 7. A Wizard.
• 8. A Necromancer.

then follows the just Character of those Practices, ver. 12. For all that do such things are an Abomi|nation to the Lord.

Now from the same Text we shall prove that these were Practices in the Nations of that Part of the World, even long before the Children of Israel came into the Land of Canaan. See the same Chapter, Verse 12. And because of those Abominations the LORD thy GOD doth drive them out from before thee. And again, Ver. 14. For these Nations which thou shalt possess hearkened unto Observers of Times, and un|to Diviners.

Now such a one was this Arab; let him act as he did, and be that how it will, 'tis evident he had a Familiar; the meaning is, he was in or under a Covenant with the Devil; he had made an Agree|ment with the Apparition for continuing the Cor|respondence, and for attending him constantly, to

furnish him for his Predictions, foretelling Events, and acquainting them with secret and hidden things.

These are the known Interpretations of these seve|ral Expressions, having a Familiar, using Divination, Inchantments, &c. All imply a Correspondence with the Devil, to help them in such extraordinary Cases.

Such a sort of People it seems there was among the Canaanites, that is to say the Phoenicians; and the Abomination was come to such a height, and God had born with it so many Ages, that now he was resolved to drive out those Nations, for this very Crime: Now, as there were such People among the Phoenicians, no doubt but there were such a|mong the Aegyptians too, from whom these People of Israel came out, and who, tho' with the first-born of their Children slain in Aegypt, the Loss of their Army and King in the Waters of the Red-Sea and other Calamities, they were reduced low enough at the Time that we read of them, yet were a strong and powerful Nation, even from the time of Mizraim their greatest Monarch after Cham.

As they were a powerful and great People, so they were a wise and learned Nation, as Wisdom and Knowledge went then in the World, and there|fore we find, that however the Chaldeans and Ara|bians boast that they were the first Searchers into the Mysteries of Wisdom and Knowledge, and that the first Rudiments of the celestial Studies were conceiv'd among them, which yet does not appear other than in their Pretences; yet suppose it, or suppose we were to grant it, we still find that they went to Aegypt for their Practice and Encou|ragement; that perhaps in Arabia they might drink in the first Knowledge and Principles of things; But Arabia, a Country always poor, and not able to give Encouragement to Learning, as we

say of a Neighbouring Country, afforded Nothing but the dry Study, they must go farther for the Im|provement of it; in short they might stay at home, and get Knowledge, but they must go abroad if they would get Money.

This was the Reason that, as it is at this time some|where else, as soon as the Poor Wretches had got a little smattering of Arabian, Mountain Wit, and a little Star-gazing Knowledge, away they went to Aegypt, and there they set up immediately for wise Men and Conjurers, and we scarce know what of Philosophers.

The Aegyptians, a wealthy but from the very Be|ginning a superstitious kind of People, always hunt|ing after secret Interpretations, and hidden reserved Events, poring upon rather than understanding myste|rious things, and loving to have strange Stories told them by any one, especially Foreigners, gaped eagerly after the fine Tales of these second-sighted Ara|bians, dr••nk in their Magick as it was then called, and freely parted with their Money to have their Fortunes told them, and the Lines in their Palms explain'd to them by the crafty wandering Arabs.

On the contrary, the cunning Artists, that, tho' they knew nothing of the matter at first, yet see|ing plainly that even that little was esteemed a great deal, while the People they talked with knew less, and finding the Aegyptians easie to be imposed upon, willing to be cheated, and particularly con|tented to have their Pockets pick'd for the Satis|fying their simple Curiosity; I say, the cunning wandering Strangers made a good Market of them, grew rich and famous among them, and kept up the Reputation of their Craft by all the Subtilties of Wit and Invention.

This Success encouraging their Studies, we may easily suppose they pushed into all manner of na|tural Enquiries, and as far as they were able im|proved

themselves, and furnish'd their Heads with the Knowledge of human Things, such as Reason, Philosophy, and natural Experiments might sup|ply; and at length pushing at every thing, they found the way, or he found it out for them, as I have already observ'd, to deal with the Devil. And thus we are come at the Original of Magick, as we now understand the Word, that is to say of Diabo|lical Practices, or a certain spreading of Delusions by the Assistance of the Devil.

CHAP. VII.

Of the Practice and Progress of Magick, as it is now explain'd to be a Diabolical Art; how it spread it self in the World, and by what Degrees it grew up to the Height which it has since arriv'd to.

WE have pitch'd upon Aegypt to be the Spot where the first hellish Artists study'd this that I now call Diabolical Magick. I shall not keep you long upon the cold Scent. It was practis'd there very early, and very long, before we heard much of it any where else; but when it took a run, when it started from thence, we shall soon hear of it a|broad: For however secret the Black Part may be, and however private the Magicians and their great Master the Devil manag'd their Correspondence, yet the Practice of it, and the Game they play'd upon Mankind by it, was always publick and open, as we shall have reason to say, among other Nations, as well as among our own.

As to the Chronology of it, and when it began, in what Ages of the World those Arabians began to practise as above, when they first dealt in this

Craft, when the Aegyptians began to be their Scho|lars, and they the Devil's, it is not (however ancient) so difficult to come at the Knowledge of in ge|neral, as some other things in the World, which yet we think our selves very certain of.

The Scripture, whether our good Friends that read Books in this Age will bear with our quoting it in Matters of Religion or no, yet is generally allow'd to be a tolerable good History. Nay, if we may believe some good Authors, it must be al|low'd to be the most ancient History, and the Writing from which all other Authorities take their Rise; that Moses was long before Berosus, Homer, Hesiod, or in a word, any of the Writers on Earth. Nor could it be well otherwise, if what is lately advanc'd is true, that the first Knowledge of Let|ters to write by, and to read upon, was dictated to Moses from Mount Sinai, by the immediate Re|velation of Heaven. I say it could not be otherwise. For how should they write before they had Letters, and knew how to form the sound of Words upon the Tables, where they were imprest?

As Moses had the first Knowledge of Letters, so he had the first Knowledge of Things too, and was therefore the best qualified to be a Collector of Antiquities; nor was it so difficult a Matter for Mo|ses to write a History of the Creation, and of all the material Events of things that had happen'd before his time, as some may imagine: Since by the Cal|culations of Time, Moses might easily have an Ac|count of those things by a successive Supply of Oral Tradition from Noah himself, as you may ga|ther from the Times wherein he liv'd, and the Persons with whom he had convers'd; of which take the following short Sketch, as a leading Thread or Chain of things directly confirming my Argument.

If Moses then had the most early Knowledge of things by a short Succession of the Persons relating them, and that even from Adam and Noah in a right Line; and if Moses had the first Knowledge of Letters, even immediately from a superior Hand, then at least you must allow me, that Moses was certainly the best qualify'd to form a History of the first things ••ran••••cted in the World; and was the first Man, or at least the Man best able to write that History down. For who could form a History of things they did not know? and who could write before they had Letters to form the Words he was to write by? and who could read what was written, unless those Letters had been known, and made publick in the World?

Hence I infer that Moses was the first Historian, and the Books of Moses are the first History in the World; and if the first, consequently most likely to be the best Authority; at least, as I have said a|bove (and that my Readers may not be push'd upon too hard, to believe those Books which they have so ill a relish of) I say at least, they will allow that the Scripture or Pentateuch is a tolerable good Hi|story, and that is all I ask of them as a Favour.

Now to begin with the Chronology of things:

The Law given to the Jews from the Mouth of the Oracle upon Mount Sinai, of which Moses gives us the History, was, according to Sir Walter Raleigh, publishedAnno Mundi	2514.
Joseph died	2370.
Moses was born	2433.
The Children of Israel came out of Aegypt	2513.

But we find in the History of Joseph, and we find by the Commands to extirpate Witches and Sorcerers, mention'd in the first Law given the Israelites; I say, we find the Practice of Diaboli|cal Magick was much more ancient than Moses, nay than Joseph, and that it was practis'd so long

ago, not only in Aegypt, but in Phoenicia also; and perhaps in the last, as soon as in the first.

First, It seems that God resolv'd to drive out the Phoenicians, that is the Canaanites, before the Chil|dren of Israel, even for this very Offence among others; and I cannot come up to the modern rate of Scepticism, as to believe God would have driven them out of their Country, for a Crime which they were not guilty of; and especially too, that he would have assign'd that for a Reason of it, which the poor People could have stood up and clear'd themselves of, and have said they did not under|stand what it was.

This goes far to a Suggestion, that the Canaa|nites were guilty of it even four hundred Years be|fore, and before God's Promise to Abram to give him that Country; or else we must suppose the Ca|naanites condemned to an Explusion before the Crime for which they were to be expell'd was committed; and I can no more come into that than the other.

Certainly, GOD's Promise to turn out the Inha|bitants for Abram's Posterity must be allow'd to be a Sentence of Condemnation upon the Canaa|nites even at that time; and he would not have con|demned them to Banishment, I mean as a Nation, for Crimes which they were not even then guilty of; especially that very Crime being assign'd as the Cause of their said Condemnation and Sentence.

If this Argument is just, as I think it must be, then I have gain'd the Point as to the Antiquity; for then this Crime of Diabolical Magick is as ancient as Abram; and 'tis evident Abram was born above fifty six Years before Noah died. How long this wicked Trade was known before Abram, we can|not determine, but may grant it might be some considerable time.

It is certain however that in the Reign of Miz|raim, who was but the Grandson of Noah, they were grown very considerable, I mean as to their Reputation, in the Aegyptian Court; and I am wil|ling to suppose my old Arab was one of the Chief, if not one of the first of them in Mizraim's Reign, and perhaps near the Beginning of it: For as the Devil introduc'd himself as it were Voluntier to him, it should seem that he had no Correspondents of that kind there before, and took that Method to begin his Acquaintance; perhaps allowing his Correspondents to convey the same Method of In|telligence from one to another, and perhaps to re|new the Contract as often as he their Instructor thought fit.

But be that how it will, 'tis certain the Devil must be Aggressor, in all Ages, of this Art. He knew well enough how to break in upon them, how to show himself, and make his Appearances to them as often as he thought fit; and could begin it, or renew it, how, and whenever he pleas'd. But the Case was quite different on their Side, for no body knew how to come at him, they did not so much as know him when they saw him, or know where he liv'd, where he kept his Residence; how to go to him, or send to him; or, in a word, to have any Correspondence with him, but just as he thought fit to enter into a Familiarity with them, and give them Methods and Rules by which they should ob|tain Audience of him, when, and as often us they had occasion.

This being the case, it is not to be wonder'd that the Devil, and those Men of Craft, became ac|quainted very soon in the World; for the Devil is too diligent to neglect his own Affairs any longer than till they were ripe for his Agitation.

Having then brought all the Southsaying and Ma|gick of the first Ages as it were within his own

Management, and establish'd a Correspondence with the wise Men of the most early Times, we are next to examine how it proceeded, and what Pro|gress it made: And in making this Inquiry, it comes directly in my way to tell you a very unhappy Truth; namely, that the Clergy of those times seem to me to be the first Conjurers, and Dealers with the Devil; and so in all the subsequent Times, and in all or most of the Distant Nations of the World; I mean next immediately after those Aegyptian Pro|ficients.

I hope our Most Reverend, and Right Reverend of the sacerdotal Order in these Days, and in this wise Magical Age, will take no Offence at me for this, at least till I have farther and fully explain'd my self. Far be it from us (and sad would be our Circumstances should I venture) to suggest that any of our Clergy should be Conjurers, and deal in Magick: no, no; plenty of Grace, and paucity of Brains, I hope, is our establish'd Protection from such a dismal Eruption as that would be upon us.

In order therefore to explain my self fully upon this Subject, I must go back to the early Ages of the World, even just where I was before. The Devil, after the Flood, observing the World begin to fill, and that the People spreading themselves over it, began to People it again, and form them|selves into Nations, and Governments; one of his first Cares was to debauch their Principles as to Religion, to dictate false Notions of Homage and Worship to them, and, in a word, to introduce Ido|latry.

As he knew perfectly well the End he aim'd at, so he was not at a loss to find out the Means. It would be too long a Story to tell you, in what manner he found out Gods for them to worship, and how he canoniz'd their Heroes for them. The

Tale of Ninus or Nimrod appearing to the wise Men in a Flame of Fire, and telling them, he was going just then up into Heaven, from whence he would always shine upon them in the Shape of a Star, and that they should build a Temple to the glory of his Memory; that he should be call'd Baal or Bell, which is as much as to say a great God, and that he would be always ready to help them against their Enemies, as he was to fight for them while he was alive;

I say, this Tale, suppose it but a Tale, was not at all unlikely to take with the People, who had the Memory of their dead Hero-King fresh in their Thought, and who were ready to idolize the very empty Sound of his Name. Suppose the wise Men as they call'd them, only feign'd, or forg'd this Story, and reported it to the People as a Vision which they had really seen, tho' they had not seen it at all, yet it was not unlikely to make Impressions upon them, in their first Ignorance of things.

But suppose, on the other hand, the Devil, who is always awake, should have really shown himself in such an Appearance, and then have drawn in the wise Magicians of that Age, upon seeing such a Sight frightful and horrid like the Devil, that form'd it, to relate (as they might with Truth,) the Fact to the People: It was not at all strange, that the wise Men mention'd should go to the King with that Story also; and that he the King, bi|gotted by the Magicians, and terrify'd as they were, should immediately order a Temple to be erected, Sacrifices to be appointed, and a formal Worship set on foot, to the Honour of this great God Bell, whose Memory was so high in their Esteem be|fore.

History is very full of the first Fury of idola|trous Zeal, and of the extravagant Branches of their Devotion, I mean in their Princes. Ninus

built a House for the Worship of Bell, the Walls and Towers are a Prodigy in themselves; what the manner of Worship was we do not read, tho' af|terwards we have the Description of their abomi|nable Rites, as the Sacrifices to Moloch, viz. making their Children to pass through the Fire; whether they were burnt to Death, or horribly scorcht, Au|thors do not yet resolve us. The King of Moab sacrific'd his Son, the Heir Apparent of his Throne, upon the Walls of the City, only to obtain Delive|rance from the Siege by the help of his Idol, at the Price of his Son's Blood.

As those Idols were introduc'd by the Art of the Devil, so it must be that the Direction came from him; I mean as to the manner of the Idol-worship, and that he certainly held an immediate Correspon|dence with the Institutors and Managers of the Idol Rites.

These were the Magicians and Astrologers, who by his Directions were instructed what Cere|monies, what Rites, what manner of Worship to offer to their Gods; and as they consulted the Ma|gicians for the Institution of their Worship, so in a few Ages after the Magicians or Southsayers were their Priests, and their Priests were all Ma|gicians and Southsayers. Hence the Auruspices, the Sacrificers, and the Priests of the several Tem|ples, where Answers were given to Questions, E|vents predicted, and the like, were the Givers of those Answers from the Oracle; that is in plain English, the Priests were Magicians, and the Magi|cians were the Priests, and the Devil brought Witchcraft and Idolatry to be at last but one Sci|ence.

As he corresponded personally with Ali Albraha|zen, and the old Arab, in the Infancy of time, and when his Kingdom was, as it were, but just erecting and setting up in the World, so when that Personal

Correspondence appear'd successful in setting up I|dolatry, he made it equally useful for the Propa|gating it, and the Magicians became Priests in the Temples of their Gods.

Nothing could be more agreeable to the Priests of their Idols, than this Intimacy with the Infer|nal Spirits; for the Devil, who was always his Craft's Master, fail'd not as well to delude the Priests themselves, as by them to impose upon the World; nor could he have carry'd on his Game upon Mankind without it. For if the Priests had not believ'd that they convers'd with the Gods, when really they convers'd with the Devil; if they had been all let into the Secret, and made to pro|pagate their Religion as a Cheat upon the World, to which they were to have been privy; if it had all been known to be, as it really was, a Conspiracy against Heaven in Favour of the Devil, and with real De|sign to impose upon and damn the World, they would never have been brought universally to have kept the Devil's Council, and have come into the Plot, at the Price of their eternal Felicity, and the Souls of all their Friends.

The Devil's Plot would certainly have been blown long before it was, and the Priests of the Oracles would most certainly have first or last have betray'd their Master, and expos'd the whole Cheat. But the Case was evidently this, the Devil found the way to delude and impose upon the very Priests themselves; and not only suggested to them, but made them really believe, that the Gods convers'd with them, that the Voices they heard, the Answers dictated by their Oracles, the Apparitions, &c. were all the real Appearances of their Gods, those in particular whose Servants and Priests they were; when in Truth it was no more than a gross Delusion, and an Appearance of the Devil.

I make no doubt, but that the Tumult rais'd by the Silversmiths at Ephesus, tho' they in particular were touch'd with the sense of their Interest, and the loss of their Craft and Trade, yet was carry'd on in the Sincerity of their Ignorance by those who call'd her the Great Goddess Diana, whom they and all the World worshipp'd; that they who cry'd Great is DIANA of the Ephesians, believ'd her to be so, and had not the least Notion of their worshipping the Devil.

I doubt not but the Priests of Apollo at Delphos, who waited there to give out the Answers to the several Enquirers that came with their Gifts to the Oracle, believ'd that the said Oracles were issued by the GODS, and especially by Apollo himself; and little thought that they (the Priests) were Tools of the Devil, to cheat and amuse the World, and propa|gate Idolatry; for which the true God, who was highly affronted in the Fraud, would one Day put them all to Silence.

Thus far, I think the Clergy are beholden to me very much, for establishing their Honesty at the Expence of their Heads, and telling you they were all Fools, rather than Knaves. At the same time it holds still, and this part can never be deny'd, that as the Devil carry'd on his Kingdom by the Art Magick, or what we call the Black Art, so the Priests were the Instruments both of the Witchcraft and the Idolatry.

How far the two Infernal Juggles are still car|ried on, and whether the Priests in most Parts of the World (our own, God bless us! always excepted) are not Magicians, and Dealers with the Devil, even in their Sacreds, and by the meer Conse|quence of their Office; let the Padres and Men of the Tonsure tell us, and give us Satisfaction if they can.

We have now brought the Magicians of Aegypt, and the Priests of the Pagan Temples to be some|thing a-kin; at least we may say, I have brought them to be all of a Trade; and I believe 'tis not very dif|ficult to show you, that as they serv'd the same Master, so they had their Instructions by the very same Channel, and from the same Original: In a word, that the Worship of the Gods, which was indeed the Worship of the Devil, was dictated in the very same way, namely, by an immediate Correspon|dence with the Devil, and with all the Circumstan|ces mention'd in the Text before quoted; (viz.) Divination, Inchantment, Conjuration, Appariti|on, Vision, Dream, Familiar Spirits, observing Times, observing Seasons, and flying of Birds, En|trails of Beasts, and the like.

It may seem a little difficult to bring all the Schemes of Idol or Pagan Worship down to a Level with Witchcraft and Diabolical Magick; and some will tell us, that several Parts of the Pagan Worship, or even Paganism in general, was establish'd upon pure and just Principles, an exact and regular Virtue, the height of Morals, prin|ciples of Truth, and of natural Religion, of good Government, and of Dedication to the publick Welfare of Mankind; nay even upon Principles of Piety, and a Homage to be paid to the Divine Be|ing, as the first moving Cause of Life, and as a Debt due to that Being, for all the good attending Hu|man Life; that nothing has been wanting in some Pagans but a Revelation from Heaven, and an open|ing the Eyes of the Soul by Divine Inspiration, to know the Only True God.

Those that are of this Opinion, support it by the Example of Numa Pompilius, the Founder of the Roman Rites, and to whom the establishing the greater part of the Pagan Ceremonies is justly as|sign'd; who, they tell us, acted upon the highest

Principles of Morality and Virtue, and even of Piety; that he went even to the utmost length that Nature and Reason could go; that he not only acknowledg'd a Supreme Power, to whom Man|kind ow'd his Homage for the good receiv'd, and who would not fail, in a Life to come, to distribute Rewards and Punishments, agreeable to the Life and Conduct of every Man here: But own'd also that Worship as a Natural Debt, to be paid by all Man|kind; hence upon the Door of the Temple of the several Gods he caus'd to be written, as a Direction to all Mankind, this short Precept, à Jove princi|pium; intimating that every Action of Man's Life should be begun with Application to the Gods. They add, that Numa had a profound sincere Ve|neration for the Creator of all things, as the Author of Life, and the supreme God of Heaven and Earth, and that he wanted nothing to be a sincere Worshipper of the true God, but a true Revelation from Heaven, inlightning his Mind, and guiding him to know what way of Worship that God would be pleased to accept.

They give us several other Examples of Great and Illustrious Men, who tho' profess'd Heathens in the manner of Worship, and the immediate Ob|ject, yet form'd their Notions upon just and noble Principles, strictly adhering to the natural Princi|ples of Religion, closely pursuing Justice in Go|vernment, Impartiality in matters of Right, pre|serving Virtue and Honour in the People, and ma|king wholsom Laws for their better Government, upon all Occasions; such are Lycurgus the Lacedaemo|nian, Confucius the Chinese, Solon the wise Philoso|pher, and sundry others.

They also name to us the Books of the Sybils, which, so far as they are discover'd, they say are fill'd with summary Rules for well-governing Man|kind, and directing a due Homage to the great God.

But let us look thro' all this. God for wise Ends did not think fit to accept these little Ema|nations of Natural Light, or to reveal himself to the Persons; however sincere they may be said to be in the pursuit of Divine Light; as then they were left to the dim and dusky Shadows of natu|ral Reasonings only, so it appear'd that those natural Reasonings were not sufficient to inform the Mind of Man concerning God; But that when they had done all, for want of farther Illuminations, the Devil was suffer'd to chop in, and confound all their brightest Ideas of Worship, with a horrid Rhap|sody of complicated Idolatry.

This very Observation is sufficient, or at least it might be expected that it should be sufficient, to crush the Notions which our more Polite Gentle|men now advance, in favour of the study of Ma|gick, as an Art or Science only; They con|tend that the Word Magick is greatly mistaken, and that we do not understand what we speak of; that Magick is nothing else but a receiv'd well-guided way of thinking and acting; that it is truly the Science of Reflection, and the Art of making a right Judgment of things, by giving every Object, however distant, its due Weight; thinking of things according to the true Rate of them; that the hu|mane Judgment is in its self infallible, and therefore in some manner equal to the divine Being; a Light issued from Heaven, and darted by Emanation into the Souls of Men; which, if rightly cultivated and improv'd, and especially if sincerely follow'd, ad|her'd to, and obey'd, guides the Soul to understand things in a superior way; This they say is Magick: the very Word which intimates a superior and di|vine Knowledge, leads to understand what it means; and this, say they, duly follow'd, would from the Beginning have made Men be, as the Ser|pent told them they should be, viz. like Gods, knowing Good and Evil.

Now these fine-spun Notions or Imaginations, I say, are fully answer'd, by taking Notice, that there is apparently no such Infallibility in Man's Judg|ment, unless assisted by a yet higher and superior degree of Illumination; that is to say, unless GOD, the Author of all perfect and compleat Illumina|tion, should add to it the Revelation of himself, and of his Mind and Will, giving the Man Rules and Laws for his farther Illumination, and for the Direction of himself.

This appears in the Particular mention'd above, namely, that notwithstanding Man's infallible Judg|ment led him to the Knowledge of a Divine Be|ing, and that there was a great first Cause, Infi|nite, Eternal and Superior, because Prior to all Be|ing, and that this first Being had a Right to the Homage and Obedience of his Creatures; yet 'till God by Revelation directed it, all the Perfection of human Judgment could never lead Mankind to a right Knowledge of the Worship and Homage this Great Being requir'd. But they sunk down in|to Idolatry, worshipping many Gods, and Images, the Representations of Gods; and in a word, into the grossest and dullest Conceptions of things re|lating to their Deities, such as one would think it was impossible humane Judgment, under any manner of Improvement, could fall into; things unworthy of GOD, nay unworthy of Men. Hence they made their Jupiter, tho' they call'd him the Father of Gods and Men, a horrid Picture of ungovern'd Lust, a Ravager of the World, ravishing Innocence and Virtue, transforming himself into divers Shapes, to obtain his vicious Desires; as into a white Bull, to carry away Europa; into a golden Shower, to fall into the Lap of Danaae, and the like. Here is the Picture of infallible humane Judgment! Wonder no more that at last it carry'd them all headlong into the Arms of the Devil, and not only to be ignorant

of the Worship of the true God, but to pay the Homage they ow'd to their Maker, to him who was their Destroyer and Enemy.

Thus Numa, with all his Sincerity and Piety, re|solv'd all his Ideas into a confus'd Mass of idola|trous Ceremonies, adorning the Priests, forming new Orders and Degrees of his Clergy; and, in a word, drawing a Scheme of pompous Paganism; establishing Games, and inhumane Fightings of Gladiators, Races and Exercises for Sport, in Ho|nour of the Gods: Besides crowding the City with Temples and Altars, to innumerable and unknown Deities; so that, in a word, after he had acknowledg'd that there was a supreme Power, a GOD of all the Earth, a great first Cause of Life, and to whom all Homage was due, I say, after all these sublime Ideas, he yet sunk down into the grossest of all Ido|latries, the worshipping imaginary Gods, deifying the Stars of Heaven, and offering Sacrifices, build|ing Temples, dedicating Priests, and making Vows to Stocks and Stones, the Work of their own Fingers, and the Idols of their own Brain.

Will any one think we wrong the Pagan Institu|tions, much less the Institutors, to say, that the Devil had a Finger in all this? does not Satan in Policy suffer an Appearance of Virtue and Piety to be set up, to mock the World into true Devil-worship? How could he set himself up to be worship'd as a God, and how could he make himself truly the God of this World, if he did not enjoin to his Worshippers, at least seemingly, some Forms of Life, and appearing Principles, agreeable to the Rules of Virtue and Honour? 'Tis by this that in general he has carry'd on the Delusion, and this, as I may say, has been the Magick of his Art, as well as the Art of his Magick.

The Romans were the most civiliz'd Heathens that the World ever saw; their Government had

in it all the Appearance of Justice and Moderation; they honour'd and rewarded Virtue and Honour, Love to our Country, Courage, Gallantry: How did they crown those that sav'd a Citizen, give Triumphs to those that had conquer'd their Ene|mies, give Prizes to those who excell'd in the most commendable Things? How did they honour Cha|stity in their Vestal Virgins; Temperance, Elo|quence, Learning and Philosophy in the Persons of those that excelled, and erect Statues to their Me|mory when dead?

Yet all this while their Religion was Devil-wor|ship; their Augurs and Southsayers, and the Priests of their Temples and Oracles, were Diviners, Ma|gicians, Wizards, and in the very Letter of it Deal|ers with the Devil, and that in the worst Sense; all their Sacrifices, and their Institution of Games, for appeasing the angry Gods, were the most horrid and barbarous Pieces of Ignorance, or hellish Cru|elty and Brutality, that could be imagin'd, even sometimes to human Sacrifices; and in all those ex|cesses of their Devotion, the Devil led them on blinded by strong Delusions to such Performances, in order to appease the Wrath of Heaven, as were unworthy of God, inconsistent with his Nature, as a bountiful beneficent Being, as a fountain of Good|ness and Mercy, infinitely Compassionate to his Creatures; and who could not take Pleasure in those things which were injurious to Mankind, in order to be reconcil'd to them, or be pacify'd by destroying those, whom it was his glory to save and protect.

All the while that they erected Temples to Ju|stice, to Honour, to Virtue, and to Peace, they studied all possible ways, by War, and Blood, to a|mass Treasures, and enlarge their Empire, 'till, as the Roman Histories confess, they left no Na|tion unsubdued, except such as they found it not in

their Power, or worth their while to Conquer; that is to say, such as the Parthians, who were too powerful for them to conquer, and so poor when conquer'd, as not to be worth the Attempt; or the Indians and Aethiopians, who tho' rich, yet were so remote and fenc'd by wide unpassable Desarts, and protected by the excessive Heat of the Climate, so that it was not in their Power to assault them. Their Armies were not able to endure the March thro' the Libyan Sands, or over the Mountains and vast Waters of India, under or near the Equinox, and where there was nothing to shelter or relieve them under the excessive and violent Force of the Sun.

All the rest of the World, as I have said, they continually invaded and subdued, and matter'd not the Reason and Justice of the War, if the Reward of their Treasures, and the Advantage of Govern|ing them, was apparent.

Thus Caesar invaded the Gauls, the Helvetians, the Germans, without any just Pretence of making War, except only that of Conquest, Plunder and Dominion. What Pretence of War had the Romans against a quiet, a remote, an inoffensive Nation, as the Britains certainly were? They neither offer'd to disturb the Roman Government, or were in Condition to do it; having no Knowledge of Arms equal to any such Attempt, no Alliances or Cor|respondence with any of the Romans Enemies, no Ships to traverse the Ocean, and make them ter|rible.

Nothing call'd Caesar over hither to invade the innocent Britains, but thirst of Glory, and enlarg|ing Dominion; a Principle imbib'd from the tyrannick Nature of the Devil; to raise humane Glory, not by Deeds truly Great, not by virtuous Actions, but by destroying and insulting the Weak in Presumption of Strength, and by shedding

Blood to triumph over the Wrongs and Oppres|sion of their Fellow-Creatures.

And what was the Reward of Caesar's Ambition and Thirst of Glory? A Conquest indeed he gain'd; but of what, and for whom? a Conquest of Inno|cence, and a Conquest for the Devil; the fruit of which was thus to be summ'd up: They, first and last, destroyed two Millions, some think five or six Millions, of the Inhabitants; they spilt also an Ocean Roman Blood; eighty thousand Romans were killed at one time by the gallant Queen Boadicia at Ca|molodinum, now Malden in Essex; and after a Pos|session of above six hundred Years, they were forc'd to abandon it with Infamy and Scandal, and so end|ed just, where they began.

Whence was all this, but from the Devil? whose Government of the World had this Magick in|deed always in it, that it spread Cruelty and Ty|ranny in all Parts, founded Dominion in Blood, and made the World a Theatre of Rapin and Vio|lence.

This was the secret Magick of his Government, and yet this was always carried on under the Mask of Justice, Peace and Religion; that is to say, Ava|rice was Justice, and to gain the Plunder of a Na|tion was a sufficient Pretence to quarrel with and subdue it: Conquest then brought Peace; that is to say, when Rapin or Slaughter had impoverish'd or extirpated a People, then the Romans gave them Peace, and protected the Remnant; and as to Reli|gion, the Substance of it was, as above, Cruelty and Superstition.

This is the Sum of the Roman Polity, and of the Methods taken in a Government and by a People who, as above, are said to be the most civilized of all the Pagan Nations and Governments in the World; and this, in a word, serves to open the Eyes of Posterity, and betrays the Devil's Conspi|racy

against Mankind in the openest manner pos|sible. The Magick of Hell discovers it self here, that under the specious Pretence of just Govern|ment, and under the Fame of a civiliz'd Nation, governing themselves and the World by the Rules of Justice and Virtue, a Loose was given to all man|der of Barbarisms, Cruelty, Blood and Oppression.

It is clear in so many Examples, that I need say no more to explain it, that the Roman Govern|ment and the Roman Religion was all founded on a Diabolical Regimen, and was maintained by the Magick and Ar••ifice of the Devil and his Instru|ments; which Instruments were chiefly the Priests of the Idol Temples and Worship, who by the Subtilty of their Arts (Religious Art, the worst sort of Magick) made such deep Impressions on the Minds of the deluded World, that not the com|mon sort only, not the Vulgar, or as we say the Canaile, the Mobb and Rabble of the People came into it, and believed the lying Wonders; but the learned World, the Philosophers, the Poets, Men of the most exquisite Parts, and the most polite Know|ledge, nay of the noblest Principles of Virtue, and who had the most refined Ideas of Justice and Honour, even these all came into the Delusions of this Black Art, believed, and, as I may say, relished the Witch|craft and Delusions of the Magicians and Sorcerers, and were taken with their lying Wonders; even the Cato's, the Tully's, the great and the greatest He|roes, Philosophers, Scholars, 'twas all one, they were swallowed up by the Arts of the Magicians and Southsayers; nay, their Kings stooped to deal in this Black Art themselves. Romulus the Founder of the City of Rome, and the first Father even of the Roman Name, was himself a Southsayer; that is to say, a Magician, a Diviner or Inchanter; in plain English a Dealer with the Devil, and the great Pro|pagator of the infernal Art; I say, the great Pro|pagator

of it, for he was the first that instituted the Augurs in the Pagan Worship, and, as I said, Hook'd in the Magicians into their Religion, making all the Wizards and Conjurers, Priests; tho' I must insist upon it, not Romulus, Numa, or the Devil himself, could make all the Priests Conjurers, no not to this Day.

Some have been of Opinion that Numa Pompilius, who I have said was sincerely inclin'd to Religion, ••s it was simply understood to be a meer Homage due from Man a Creature, to God the Creator; that he acted from a sincere Principle, and that he went farther towards establishing the true Religion, than any Pagan in the World ever did before him.

But they add, he was lost for want of revealed Light: that having determined by the Light of his Reason that there was a God, and that he was to be worshipped, but not knowing how or in what manner that Worship was to be directed, and not being able to find out by his utmost Search what Worship would be acceptable, He sunk into Idolatry and Polytheism, as the only Pattern that was before him; with this Addition, that having thus taken his Rise from a wrong Beginning, his devout Temper hurried him on into all the Ex|tremes of Idolatry and Paganism, 'till at length he came into this very Mischief I am speaking of, I mean, Magick, Sorcery, and dealing with familiar Spirits, that is, the Devil.

This is just what I had said already; but it is most certain, that though at first they acted up|on some Foundation of natural Principles, or if you please, Principles of Natural Religion: Yet they afterwards run farther into this Sorcery and Southsaying, and that with such an universal Gust of Inclination, that it became a chief Part of their Religion; and there were very few of their great Men, nay even of their Kings and Empe|rors,

but what were Magicians themselves; and some of them, if not all of them, took it for a Part of their Imperial Titles, and a Badge of their Honour, to be called Pontifex Maximus, and some|times appeared in the Robes of a Sacrificer, and of this or that Order of the Priests, as they thought fit; 'till at length unsufferable Pride and Insolence led them to accept of divine Honours themselves, to lay aside the Priest, and assume that of a God; placing themselves so above the Sacrificer, as to suffer them|selves to be sacrificed to: But this went but a little Way.

At length the Christian Religion, in spite of Persecution and obstinate Resistance, both from the Jews as well as the Pagans, began to spread it self in the World: and as Christ himself says, that he came to destroy the Works of the Devil, so it ap|peared; for immediately the Glories of the Pagan Su|perstition began to fade, their Oracles ceas'd, the Priests became dumb; and the Devil, not able to car|ry on the Cheat any farther, threw it up; the Au|gurs and Southsayers fled from the Face of the Chri|stian Doctrine, and from the Preaching of the A|postles and their Successors, as not able to exercise their Sorceries and Divinations, no not so much as in the Presence of the Christian Ministers.

We have two remarkable Instances of this in the sacred Text; one is Acts xiii.7. when being at the Isle of Cyprus, Elymas the Sorcerer ventured to withstand St. Paul, when he preached the Word of God to Sergius Paulus the Governour; but for the audacious Attempt was struck blind by the miraculous Word of the blessed Apostle, so being made an Instrument to confirm the Governour in his Faith, and compleat the Conversion which the conjuring Wretch sought to oppose, ver. 12. The Deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the Doctrine of the LORD.

The other Instance is in Acts xix.19. where indeed there is a double Evidence; First, of the Power of the Christian Doctrine prevailing over the Magick and Diabolick Arts then in Practice; and, Secondly, of the prodigious Encrease of those Magical Delu|sions among the Romans, however wise and polite a People they were; the Story is short, and fully to the purpose. St. Paul, preaching at Ephesus, made a wonderful Progress in converting the Pagans of that great City, to the Christian Faith. Some Hi|stories tell us, he converted one hundred thousand People there and in the Country adjacent; but that by the way: In a word, the Text says, ver. 17. the Name of the Lord Jesus was magnify'd. And how, but by this eminent Victory over the Devil? For (besides the Conquest of the Exorcists who went a|bout to cast out a Devil by their Conjurings and Spells) the Magicians themselves were converted by Paul's preaching, and that to a prodigious Number of them, ver. 19. Many also of them which used cu|rious Arts, brought their Books together, and burned them before all Men: and they counted the Price of them, and found it fifty thousand Pieces of Silver. What a height must the Black Art of the Devil be come to at that time, that the Books which were to be found in that one City should amount to such a Sum of Money? I give this Account, as I have said, to let you see to what an extravagant height the Devil had carried this Matter; and how and in what manner he supported his Interest in the World. But I must go back to the Beginning of things, where I left off, viz. at the Institution of the Augurs, who were for some Ages the Engrossers of all these Delusions in the Roman Empire.

The Augurs were a sort of Roman Priests, who pretended to foretell Events by Omens, by the chattering of Birds, howling of Dogs, and other uncouth Noises of any kind in the Air: They were

erected into a Society, and formed in a College of Hall by the King's special Order; the Number at first was but three, one being taken from every Roman Tribe; and while they were thus few, the Dignity was very valuable, and it was highly esteemed among even the Patricii and Nobility. Servius Tullius encreas'd their Number to Four, and caused them to be taken only from the Nobility: Afterwards Quintus and Caeneus Agellinus obtained that Five more should be added to their Number, and should be chosen out of the Plebeii or Common People. So ambitious were the Romans of this Diabolical Preferment, and so much Honour had the Devil's immediate Servants in the World; nay, upon this Increase of their Number to Nine, the Government was so resolute against lowering the Price of that Reverence and Esteem they had among the People, that they passed a Decree a|gainst encreasing their Number any more.

However Sylla, one of the most bloody and cruel Tyrants of his Time, that he might, accord|ing to Custom, join his Care of Religion to his Thirst of Blood, added six more; so that now their Number was fifteen. The eldest, whether in Years of longest standing in Order, (I am not positive which) was made Father or President of the College, and had the immediate Direction of all the rest.

Their Privileges, like their Institution, were ex|orbitant; for they were never to be deposed or ex|pelled, no not for any Crime how great soever, nor their Places filled up by another.

N.B. Crime did not render the Devil's Agents scandalous in their Profession, but rather the wickeder they were, the fitter for the Priest|hood or Augurate. How far the same Max|im may hold in some of the sacred Order in the World at this time, if I was of their Number, I should not vote to have it examined.

And now for the Ceremonies of the Augurs Trade; for we must note, that the Art Magick had always abundance of dark and uncouth Usages attending it, as it has to this Day; raising the Devil was not done with a Whistle, like calling a Dog; or with a Beck of the Head or Hand, as we beckon to Servants when we call them silently to come near us; the Devil knew very well that his Affair must be clothed with Ceremony, or it would not take with the World, or at least would not hold long in it.

The Pagan Rites were indeed loaded with Bur|thensome Ceremonies; all the Devil's Worship was filled with Conjurings and Mutterings, strange Ge|stures, Agitations, Ecstasies, and I know not how many Distortings of the Limbs and Countenances, wild Practices and frightful Noises, that filled the People with Terror, and with a kind of awful Horrour at the Majesty of their Gods.

The Augurs Observations were attended with a great Variety of those things, as the Apparatus to their Visions, or whatever else they were to be called. The Augur first placed himself upon a high Tower like one of our Observatories, and perhaps the Tower erected upon a high Hill, as upon the Mons Palatinus in Rome: Here he seated himself in the clearest Day, or in a Star-light Night, to ob|serve what came by him, or in his Sight, by Day, or what he might hear or see by Night.

He held in his Hand a Lituus, that is, a crooked Staff, with which he used a great many wild Ge|stures and Motions; and he had on, his grave Laena, that is, his Southsaying Gown or Mantle: He placed himself always with his Face to the East, and at his first fixing his Station he utter'd cer|tain Sentences and exotic barbarous Words, which none knew the Meaning of but the Devil and himself.

Being thus seated and fix'd, as I have said, he quarters out the Heavens, or Hemisphere rather, into four Parts or Regions, each Quarter having before|hand such and such Predictions assign'd to it: If it was Day, then he was to mark every Bird that rose up, or came flying by, or towards him; which of the said four Quarters he first appear'd in, and then killing his Sacrifices, and muttering over cer|tain Sentences, joyning some petitionary Speeches to such or such a Deity, or Daemon rather, (which Speeches were call'd Effata) he then proceeded to Divination.

If it was in the Night, he observ'd in the like manner any fiery Meteor, any flying or shooting Fires, any sudden Vapour, (as the Nights are full of such things,) or any Cloud eclipsing the Light of any particular Planet or Star of the first Magni|tude; and then he proceeded in the same manner, only with some particular Words and Mutterings, as regarded the several Appearances respectively.

In the Night, it was said, they had the Company of several Spirits assisting them, and communica|ting to them the Knowledge of the Things they de|sir'd. Their Divinations were arbitrary and posi|tive, nor durst any Man ask or enquire of them the Reason of what they predicted, or how they came to know that it would or should be so and so. A Provision, I must confess, very prudent in the Priests, and which, as the case has stood with some of them, would be very much to their Convenience to this Day, as I shall show in its Place.

By this taking such a kind of State upon them, they politickly preserv'd the Reverence and Esteem of their Order, and imprinted a kind of Awe in the Minds of the People, concerning not the Holiness of their Persons only, (tho' that went a great way,) but concerning the divine Mysteries, as they were call'd, which were put into their Hands; and they

were look'd upon as Persons to whom the Gods had committed the most secret Things that were otherwise known only to themselves, and were com|municated to the Augurs, Favourites of the Gods, for the good of Mankind.

A Learned Author, speaking of this Mystery of Southsaying, says, it came first from the Chaldeans, who taught it to the Greeks, of whom Amphiaraus was an eminent Proficient; but he mentions no|thing of who taught it the Chaldeans, in which I believe my Account is the most authentick; name|ly, that the Devil taught it to the Arab I have mention'd, or to some other, if any was before him; that these gave it to the Aegyptians, and Chal|deans, and Phoenicians, much about the same time; and that the Phoenicians taught it the Greeks; their Prince Cadmus being an eminent Southsayer: and so you see its blessed Original.

In a word, as it is a particular Familiarity with the Devil, and depends entirely upon his Assistance, so no body can contend that he was not the first Introducer of it as an Art; since, as I observed, he might easily begin a Correspondence with Man; but it was utterly impossible that Men should be|gin a Correspondence with him; or know where to find him, and how to call him to their Assistance, whatever the Occasion might be, without his Di|rection, Assistance, and Consent.

As to the Introducing it from one Nation to a|nother, it may indeed be something difficult to assign the manner; But as to the meer divining upon the flying of Birds, upon Noises, and Appearances in the Air, the Chattering of Pyes, the Croak|ing of Frogs and Ravens, and the like, I take much of that to be meer Juggle and Legerdemain of the Priests and Augurs; and they have carry'd on the juggling Trade to a great Perfection in the same

Country to this Day; (stand clear DOMINICANS:) of which hereafter.

But now for a downright Converse with the De|vil, I don't understand that Satan ever ty'd himself down by Articles, that not only such and such a Man as my Arab, or Ali Albrahazen, of whom I have spoken, should be able to call him up when they pleas'd, by such and such Forms, Ceremonies, Voices and Sounds; but that to whomsoever they should communicate the same Tokens, or Watch|words, they should have the same Power, and that the very Words should call him or his Agents up to an Appearance, whoever made use of them.

This would have been to have the Devil bind himself Prentice to them and their Heirs for ever; and to have chain'd himself down, Gallyslave like, to the sound of the Words, which I take to be quite wide of the Case; nor would it serve his Designs, for the Devil loves to know his Agents, and not be at the call of every Boy, because perhaps his Grand|mother told him the Words which she used to raise the Devil with, or because the Devil and she had a|greed upon the Matter. But no doubt Satan, who is certainly the Author of all this kind of Magick, and which therefore and for that very Reason is call'd by his Name, Diabolick; I say, no doubt, as he is the only Teacher of the Art, so he teaches it immediately by himself; that is, he make•• Men Magicians, and Wizards, and makes old Wo|men Witches (ay and young too) by an immediate Converse and Contract with them only, and between them and himself. Nor does he stick at the Pains of beginning a-new with every Person, and in e|very Country; and this is the Reason why the Black Art, as we righteously entitle it, is not the same in all Countries, nor is the Devil talk'd to in the same Words, for then all the Witches and Ma|gicians

of every Nation must learn the same Lan|guage; but on the contrary, as the Devil talks all Languages when he pleases, so he talks to every one of his Disciples in their own Mother Tongue, and directs them to do the same to him; so that a Roman Wizard calls him up in Latin; a Tuscan Conjurer in Italian; a High German Doctor makes his Circles, and casts his Figures, and talks Ma|gick to him in the suitable Tongue call'd High Dutch; the second-sighted Highlander in Irs, and the Lancashire Lady in English.

So propitious, so civil, so well-manner'd is Satan to all his Drudges and Devotees, that he, to put them to as little trouble as possible, stoops to hear|ken to their Summons, as they think fit to express themselves in their own, or any Language. Nay, tho' the Magicians sometimes form a Cant of their own, by which they amuse their Clients, yet their familiar Friend takes it in good part, and on|verses with them in their own way.

Even the poor Indians, Pawaw with him in the Language of the most Northern America, the Ba|nians in the Language of the East Indians, the Islanders of Amboyna in the Language of the Celebes and Mo|luccos, and the Chinese in that of Grand Tartary.

The Magicians seem to act in this Part, as if the Devil condescended to them, not they to him; but then this makes it evident, that he converses Per|sonally with them all, that he makes his Bar|gains and Agreements with them always separately, in all Places, and in all Languages; whereas, if he gave them a general Commission to empower others to divine, inchant, and raise the Devil, or evil Spirits, they must all understand one universal Language.

The sum of the Matter is this; the Devil, as a Learned Author says, has three ways by which he carries on his Kingdom in the World, and by

which he works all his Wonders, which amuse and deceive them.

• 1. By moving the Affections and Thoughts of Men, whether sleeping or waking; and this, as it respects his causing them to dream on any Occasion as he thinks fit, is one very considerable Branch of his Power.
• 2. By his exquisite Knowledge of Nature, by which he turns the Causes of things to his own Purposes, and often brings to pass such Events as suit with his particular Occasions.
• 3. By Illusion and Fraud, imposing upon the Senses, binding and blinding the Understanding and the Eyes, both of the Body and of the Minds of willingly-deceiv'd Men.

N.B. And I may add a fourth, which perhaps he was not acquainted with in former times; namely, by familiar Agreement, Compact and Contract with the Bright Men of the Times, who he brings over to converse and corre|spond with him, and who he acts by, and allows them to play their Game and his own together; and this is Magick.

Having then establish'd a Correspondence with Man, we are not to wonder if, to gratify his new Correspondents, he empowers them to act abun|dance of strange and unaccountable things in the World, that they may by that means obtain a Re|putation of being wiser and craftier than their Neighbours, and may also be admir'd and esteem'd first, and consequently believ'd.

These Wonders they work by his immediate Hand, by his Power and Assistance, as well as Di|rection; and this I call Magick, and it is so in the worst Sense.

To this he subjoins a Power, as it may be call'd, over himself; authorizing the Magicians or Con|jurers

to summon him in to their Aid whenever they have Occasion for him, to demand his Pre|sence and Assistance whenever they please. It was said of Hamed an Aegyptian Sorcerer, that he had the Devil so at his Command, that if he did but draw a Circle upon the Ground, and stamp with his Foot in the middle of it, the Devil would ap|pear, and bring as many Devils with him, as the Magician stampt several times on the Ground; and that upon their so appearing, he could again send them of such Errands, and for the Dispatch of such Bu|siness as he requir'd; whether to do good or evil, to bring on Mischief, or to prevent Mischief, as he that so call'd him up pleas'd to direct; but I do not vouch the Truth of the Devil's Complaisance in this Particular, nor see the Reason of it.

If the Magicians in those ancient Days had such Influence upon him, 'tis undoubtedly true that they did him great and signal Services, for, and by it; or else Satan, who does not use to dispence his Fa|vours gratis, must have some secret View in it, which they or we have not yet discover'd.

This great Use which the Devil makes of Magicians and Conjurers, is a certain Discovery that he is con|fin'd by a superior Hand in his Workings, and that he can only act by Stratagem, by Cunning, and Craft, not by Force and Power.

It is reported of a Sorcerer in Rome, that he could call for Lightning and Thunder whenever he pleased, and that the Devil would produce it for him; but that calling him up once to procure Thunder, that should burn a House, and do great Mischief, to gratifie the wicked Design of the Conjurer; he told him No, he could not gratifie his Revenge so far, at least not at that time; and that the same Sorcerer did at last confess, that the Spirit which he convers'd with, could show his Power

many ways in a miraculous manner, but could not do any Mischief by it.

It may be true, and no doubt is so, that the Ma|gicians, were they fully empower'd, and at Liberty, would really do more Mischief than the Devil him|self, had he the same Power; not that their Malice can be greater, but their Policy is certainly less; and as they do not see so far before them as he does, so they do not always see into the Reason of things, and whether it would be for the common Interest or no: for Example; were the Devil empower'd to fire Houses, destroy Families, lay waste King|doms, he might encline to do it; but his Pru|dentials and Politicks might sometimes tell him, that it would be more for his Interest to let it a|lone; and so the Magicians likewise find it, I say, for their common Interest, to act by Craft and Subtilty as their Master the Devil has done before them, rather than by open Rage and Fury; I mean for their common Interest as Magicians. The Devil, could without doubt, in the ordinary Exercise of his Power as a Spirit, burn, kill, destroy, and in some sense put an end to God's Creation: But this would not answer his End; he knows his Maker is his Go|vernour, and could if he pleas'd punish him imme|diately, even as he expresses it in the Scripture, be|fore his time: And he knows likewise, that when he had destroy'd, and made havock of Mankind, God could, with the Breath of his Mouth, form a new Species, and that such a Kind as he should have no Power over; and therefore 'tis not in short the Devil's Interest to make that Spoil in the World, which as an Angel, as a powerful Spirit, he might do; and especially if we suppose him not to be chain'd and fetter'd down to superior Limitations, which however we know to our infinite Satisfa|ction that he is.

In a word, the Devil's Business, and all his Aim, is not to destroy, but to damn Mankind; not to cut him off, and put his Maker to the trouble of a new Creation, but to make him a Rebel, like himself; and even this he is fain to bring to pass by Subtilty and Art, making use of Man against Man, arming Flesh against Spirit, and setting Nature in Defiance of the God of Nature; and this by se|cretly corresponding with some of the worst and vilest abandon'd Wretches that he can find; in|structing them, and teaching them his own Methods, and so making them Traytors to their own Kind; drawing them in to engage with him in ruining the Souls and Bodies of others, and concerting Mea|sures with these corrupted Instruments, whose Principles he has first debauch'd, that they may act and do for him, and in his Name, all the Mischief which he finds it is not for his Purpose to do him|self.

While he thus lies behind the Curtain himself, and is not seen, or at least not publickly, he cor|responds most punctually with these Agents, em|powering and directing them by a great variety of hellish Arts and Contrivances to work Wonders, amuse and impose upon Mankind, and carry on all his Affairs for him. And this is that we call the Black Art, and so I am come back to my Text.

If it be true that the Devil is the Prince of the Air, then he can form Tempests in it, can poison and infect it so, as that all Creatures, Humane as well as sensitive and vegetable, should perish in it; But as he is yet a Prince under Limitations and Re|strictions, so he can exert no more Power than he has; and when his humane Agents, who are there|in worse Devils than himself, would be for Con|flagrations, and general Destruction; He wisely, or rather cunningly, puts them off, and diverts them, without telling them, or giving them room to

think, that he really has not Power himself to en|able them.

It is impossible to close this Article of the Magi|cians Power being limited, without an agree|able Reflection upon the modern Furies of our Age, your Party Leaders, and Politick Scheme-Makers; what merry work they would make in the World, if the Devil, their Head Engineer, was not limited, and not in Condition to trust them with the Power of doing Mischief as they desire it.

Perhaps the Sense of this Limitation in the Pow|er of their chief Correspondent is one Reason, that however studious they are to do Mischief, yet they have not so much studied the Diabolical Art as they would otherwise have done; in a word, they are not compleat Magicians, because they see the Black Art is not wicked enough for them, and they can|not obtain a Power by it to out-sin the Devil.

But I come back to the Art it self. The Artists are certainly very helpful to the Devil, as well as the Devil to them: For as he is oblig'd to work by Stratagem, not by Force, all his Cunning is em|ploy'd to carry on his Kingdom and Government in the World; and this brings me to the Reason why the Devil does not care to act in Person, in most cases of his Administration; but to employ those People, whom we call Magicians, that they may act with his full Directions, and tho' with Art, yet with Power also sufficient to stand his Ground against all humane Opposition.

Under the Cover of these Agents he acts with infinite Success, by their Influence he carries on all his Affairs, and especially those of Kingdom and Dominion, in which it is not for want of Im|pudence if he does not rival or indeed dethrone his Maker. By his secret Correspondence with them it is that he fills the World with sham Won|ders, and false Stories, which being detected and

exposed, reflects upon the Magicians, not upon the Devil; neither indeed ought it to affect him, for that it is not for want of his Assistance if any of them miscarry, but from their expecting more from him than it is fit he should grant, or than perhaps it is in his Power to grant. No wonder then he is so officious, and so willing, that he runs and goes, and dances Attendance upon a set of ignorant Ma|gicians; I say ignorant, except only as he instructs them; 'tis evidently, because he makes his Advan|tage of them, and they act for his Account.

'Tis then apparent, that the Magicians are Instruments by which the Devil carries on his Po|litick Affairs in the World. It is time then, in the next Place, to enquire in what manner they per|form it, and from what Principles they act; and then we shall come to some Historical Account of their merry Proceedings in the World.