elieve that what they regard
with so much horror, and what they so vigorously prosecute, is
anything but a punishable crime, or at least a crime deserving of
punishment.

We must then prove the reality of magic by the Holy Scriptures, by the
authority of the Church, and by the testimony of the most grave and
sensible writers; and, lastly, show that it is not true that the most
famous parliaments acknowledge neither sorcerers nor magicians.

The teraphim which Rachael, the wife of Jacob, brought away secretly
from the house of Laban, her father,[116] were doubtless superstitious
figures, to which Laban's family paid a worship, very like that which
the Romans rendered to their household gods, _Penates_ and _Lares_,
and whom they consulted on future events. Joshua[117] says very
distinctly that Terah, the father of Abraham, adored strange gods in
Mesopotamia. And in the prophets Hosea and Zechariah,[118] the Seventy
translate _teraphim_ by the word _oracles_. Zechariah and Ezekiel[119]
show that the Chaldeans and the Hebrews consulted these _teraphim_ to
learn future events.

Others believe that they were talismans or preservatives; everybody
agrees as to their being superstitious figures (or idols) which were
consulted in order to find out things unknown, or that were to come to
pass.

The patriarch Joseph, speaking to his own brethren according to the
idea which they had of him in Egypt, says to them:[120] "Know ye not
that in all the land there is not a man who equals me in the art of
divining and predicting things to come?" And the officer of the same
Joseph, having found in Benjamin's sack Joseph's cup which he had
purposely hidden in it, says to them:[121] "It is the cup of which my
master makes use to discover hidden things."

By the secret of their art, the magicians of Pharaoh imitated the true
miracles of Moses; but not being able like him to produce gnats
(English version _lice_), they were constrained to own that the finger
of God was in what Moses had hitherto achieved.[122]

After the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, God expressly forbids
his people to practice any sort of magic or divination.[123] He
condemns to death magicians, and those who make use of charms.

Balaam, the diviner, being invited by Balak, the king, to come and
devote the Israelites to destruction, God put blessings into his mouth
instead of curses;[124] and this bad prophet, amongst the blessings
which he bestows on Israel, sa