EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK: The following pages may be regarded as a
contribution towards that ‘History of Human Error’ which was undertaken
by Mr. Augustine Caxton. I fear that many minds will have to devote all
their energies to the work, if it is ever to be brought to completion;
and, indeed, it may plausibly be argued that its completion would be an
impossibility, since every generation adds something to the melancholy
record—‘pulveris exigui parva munera.’ However this may be, little more
remains to be said on the subjects which I have here considered from the
standpoint of a sympathetic though incredulous observer. Alchemy,
Magic, Witchcraft—how exhaustively they have been investigated will
appear from the list of authorities which I have drawn up for the
reader’s convenience. They have been studied by ‘adepts,’ and by
critics, as realities and as delusions; and almost the last word would
seem to have been said by Science—though not on the side of the adepts,
who still continue to dream of the Hermetic philosophy, to lose
themselves in fanciful pictures, theurgic and occult, and to write about
the mysteries of magic with a simplicity of faith which we may wonder
at, but are bound to respect. It has not been my purpose, in the present
volume, to attempt a general history of magic and alchemy, or a
scientific inquiry into their psychological aspects. I have confined
myself to a sketch of their progress in England, and to a narrative of
the lives of our principal magicians. This occupies the first part. The
second is devoted to an historical review of witchcraft in Great
Britain, and an examination into the most remarkable Witch-Trials, in
which I have endeavoured to bring out their peculiar features,
presenting much of the evidence adduced, and in some cases the so-called
confessions of the victims, in the original language. I believe that
the details, notwithstanding the reticence imposed upon me by
considerations of delicacy and decorum, will surprise the reader, and
that he will readily admit the profound interest attaching to them,
morally and intellectually. I have added a chapter on the ‘Literature of
Witchcraft,’ which, I hope, is tolerably exhaustive, and now offer the
whole as an effort to present, in a popular and readable form, the
result of careful and conscientious study extending over many years. W.
H. D. A.
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