ower of God be not so
abridged and abased, as to be thrust into the hand or lip of a lewd
old woman: whereby the worke of the Creator should be attributed to
the power of a creature. Secondlie, that the religion of the gospell
may be seene to stand without such peeuish trumperie. Thirdlie, that
lawfull fauour and christian compassion be rather vsed towards these
poore soules, than rigor and extremitie. Bicause they, which are
commonlie accused of witchcraft, are the least sufficient of all other
persons to speake for themselues; as hauing the most base and simple
education of all others; the extremitie of their age giuing them leaue
to dote, their pouertie to beg, their wrongs to chide and threaten (as
being void of anie other waie of reuenge) their humor melancholicall
to be full of imaginations, from whence cheefelie proceedeth the
vanitie of their confessions; as that they can transforme themselues
and others into apes, owles, asses, dogs, cats, &c: that they can flie
in the aire, kill children with charmes, hinder the comming of butter,
&c.

"And for so much as the mightie helpe themselues together, and the
poore widowes crie, though it reach to heauen, is scarse heard here
vpon earth: I thought good (according to my poore abilitie) to make
intercession, that some part of common rigor, and some points of
hastie iudgement may be aduised vpon. For the world is now at that
stay (as Brentius in a most godlie sermon in these words affirmeth)
that euen as when the heathen persecuted the christians, if anie were
accused to beleeue in Christ, the common people cried _Ad leonem_: so
now, if anie woman, be she neuer so honest, be accused of witchcraft,
they crie _Ad ignem_."]

[Footnote 19: In the intervening period between the publication of
Soot's work and the advertisement of Filmer, several books came out on
the subject of witchcraft. Amongst them it is right to notice "A
Dialogue concerning Witches and Witchcraft, by George Giffard,
Minister of God's Word in Maldon," 1593, 4to. This tract, which has
been reprinted by the Percy Society, is not free from the leading
fallacies which infected the reasonings of almost all the writers on
witchcraft. It is, nevertheless, exceedingly entertaining, and well
deserves a perusal, if only as transmitting to us, in their full
freshness, the racy colloquialisms of the age of Elizabeth. It is to
be hoped that the other works of Giffard, all of which are deserving
of attention, indepe