The Discoverie of WitchcraftFolk Magic / White MagicScholarly ReconstructionEarly Modern EnglishShareThe Discoverie of Witchcraft 5.81886 reprint of 1584 edition - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 available1886 reprint of 1584 editionLanguageEnglishEspañol‹The Discoverie of Witchcraft 1.1The Discoverie of Witchcraft 1.2The Discoverie of Witchcraft 1.3The Discoverie of Witchcraft 1.4The Discoverie of Witchcraft 1.5The Discoverie of Witchcraft 1.6The Discoverie of Witchcraft 1.7The Discoverie of Witchcraft 1.8The Discoverie of Witchcraft 1.9The Discoverie of Witchcraft 2.1The Discoverie of Witchcraft 2.2The Discoverie of Witchcraft 2.3The Discoverie of Witchcraft 2.4The Discoverie of Witchcraft 2.5The Discoverie of Witchcraft 2.6The Discoverie of Witchcraft 2.7The Discoverie of Witchcraft 2.8The Discoverie of Witchcraft 2.9The Discoverie of Witchcraft 2.10The Discoverie of Witchcraft 2.11The Discoverie of Witchcraft 2.12The Discoverie of Witchcraft 3.1The Discoverie of Witchcraft 3.2The Discoverie 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Witchcraft 16.28The Discoverie of Witchcraft 16.29The Discoverie of Witchcraft 16.30The Discoverie of Witchcraft 16.31The Discoverie of Witchcraft 16.32The Discoverie of Witchcraft 16.33The Discoverie of Witchcraft 16.34›Book 5, Chapter 8: The witchmongers objection concerning the historie of Job answeredThe Discoverie of Witchcraft 5.8ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1These witchmongers, for lacke of better arguments, doo manie times object Job against me; although there be never a word in that storie, which either maketh for them, or against me: in so much as there is not the name of a witch mentioned in the whole booke. But (I praie you) what witchmonger now seeing one so afflicted as Job, would not saie he were bewitched, as Job never saith? For first there came a messenger unto him, and said; Thy oxen were plowing, and thy asses were feeding in their places, and the Sabeans came violentlie and tooke them; yea they have slaine thy servants with the edge of the sword; but I onelie am escaped to tell thee. And whilest he was yet speaking, another came, and said; The fier of God is fallen from the heaven, & hath burnt up thy sheepe and thy servants, and devoured them; but I onlie am escaped to tell thee. And while he was yet speaking, another came, and said; The Chaldæans set out their bands, and fell upon thy camels, and have taken them, and have slaine thy servants with the edge of the sword; but I onelie am escaped alone to tell thee. And whilest he was yet speaking, came another, and said; 2Thy sonnes and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their elder brothers house, and behold there came a great wind from beyond the wildernesse, and smote the foure corners of the house, which fell upon thy children, and they are dead; and I onlie am escaped alone to tell thee. Besides all this, he was smitten with biles, from the sole of his foote to the crowne of his head. If anie man in these daies called Job should be by the appointment or hand of God thus handled, as this Job was; I warrant you that all the old women in the countrie would be called Coram nobis: warrants would be sent out on everie side, publike and private inquirie made what old women latelie resorted to Jobs house, or to anie of those places, where these misfortunes fell. If anie poore old woman had chanced within two or three moneths to have borrowed a curtsie of seasing, or to have fetcht from thence a pot of milke, or had she required some almes, and not obteined it at Jobs hand; there had beene argument enough to have brought hir to confusion: and to be more certeine to have the right witch apprehended, figures must have beene cast, the sive and sheares must have beene set on worke; yea rather than the witch should escape, a conjuror must have earned a little monie, a circle must have beene made, and a divell raised to tell the truth: 3mother Bungie must have been gon unto, and after she had learned hir name, whom Job most suspected, she would have confirmed the suspicion with artificiall accusations: in the end, some woman or other must have beene hanged for it. But as Job said; Dominus dedit: so said he not; Diabolus vel Lamia sed Dominus abstulit. Which agreeth with the tenor of the text, where it is written, that the divell at everie of Jobs afflictions desired God to laie his hand upon him. Insomuch as Job imputed no part of his calamitie unto divels, witches, nor yet unto conjurors, or their inchantments; as we have learned now to doo. Neither sinned he, or did God any wrong, when he laid it to his charge: but we dishonour God greatlie, when we attribute either the power or proprietie of God the creator unto a creature. 4Calvine saith; We derogate much from Gods glorie and omnipotencie, when we saie he dooth but give sathan leave to doo it: which is (saith he) to mocke Gods justice; and so fond an assertion, that if asses could speake, they would speake more wiselie than so. For a temporall judge saith not to the hangman; I give thee leave to hang this offender, but commandeth him to doo it. But the mainteiners of witches omnipotencie, saie; Doo you not see how reallie and palpablie the divell tempted and plagued Job? I answer first, that there is no corporall or visible divell named nor seene in any part of that circumstance; secondlie, that it was the hand of God that did it; thirdlie, that as there is no communitie betweene the person of a witch, and the person of a divell, so was there not any conference or practise betwixt them in this case. 5And as touching the communication betwixt God and the divell, behold what Calvine saith, writing or rather preaching of purpose upon that place, wherupon they thinke they have so great advantage; When sathan is said to appeere before God, it is not doone in some place certeine, but the scripture speaketh so to applie it selfe to our rudenes. Certeinlie the divell in this and such like cases is an instrument to worke Gods will, and not his owne: and therefore it is an ignorant and an ungodlie saieng (as Calvine judgeth it) to affirme, that God dooth but permit and suffer the divell. For if sathan were so at his owne libertie (saith he) we should be overwhelmed at a sudden. And doubtlesse, if he had power to hurt the bodie, there were no waie to resist: for he would come invisiblie upon us, and knocke us on the heads; yea hee would watch the best and dispatch them, whilest they were about some wicked act. If they saie; God commandeth him, no bodie impugneth them: but that God should give him leave, I saie with Calvine, that the divell is not in such favour with God, as to obteine any such request at his hands. 6And wheras by our witchmongers opinions and arguments, the witch procureth the divell, and the divell asketh leave of God to plague whom the witch is disposed: there is not (as I have said) any such corporall communication betweene the divell and a witch, as witchmongers imagine. Neither is God mooved at all at sathans sute, who hath no such favour or grace with him, as to obteine any thing at his hands. 7But M. Mal. and his friends denie, that there were any witches in Jobs time: yea the witchmongers are content to saie, that there were none found to exercise this art in Christs time, from his birth to his death, even by the space of thirtie three yeares. If there had beene anie (saie they) they should have beene there spoken of. As touching the authoritie of the booke of Job, there is no question but that it is verie canonicall and authentike. Howbeit, manie writers, both of the Jewes and others, are of opinion, that Moses was the author of this booke; and that he did set it as a looking glasse before the people: to the intent the children of Abraham (of whose race he himselfe came) might knowe, that God shewed favour to others that were not of the same line, and be ashamed of their wickednesse: seeing an uncircumcised Painime had so well demeaned himselfe. Upon which argument Calvine (though he had written upon the same) saith, that Forsomuch as it is uncerteine, whether it were Res gesta or Exempli gratia, we must leave it in suspense. Nevertheles (saith he) let us take that which is out of all doubt; namelie, that the Holy-ghost hath indited the booke, to the end that the Jewes should knowe that God hath had a people alwaies to serve him throughout the world, even of such as were no Jewes, nor segregated from other nations. 8Howbeit, I for my part denie not the veritie of the storie; though indeed I must confesse, that I thinke there was no such corporall enterlude betweene God, the divell, and Job, as they imagine: neither anie such reall presence and communication as the witchmongers conceive and mainteine; who are so grosse herein, that they doo not onlie beleeve, but publish so palpable absurdities concerning such reall actions betwixt the divell and man, as a wise man would be ashamed to read, but much more to credit: as that S. Dunstan lead the divell about the house by the nose with a paire of pinsors or tongs, and made him rore so lowd, as the place roong thereof, &c: with a thousand the like fables, without which neither the art of poperie nor of witchcraft could stand. But you may see more of this matter else-where, where in few words (which I thought good here to omit, least I should seeme to use too manie repetitions) I answer effectuallie to their cavils about this place. ‹Previous chapterThe Discoverie of Witchcraft 5.7Next chapterThe Discoverie of Witchcraft 5.9›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the United States via Project Gutenberg