y were to inquire, first, whether the
several acts of witchcraft mentioned in the indictment had been
committed; and, secondly, if they had, it was for them to say whether
the prisoners were the guilty persons. The jurors, he said, could not
doubt that there were such creatures as witches; for history affirmed
it, and the wisdom of all nations had provided laws against such
persons. He prayed that the hearts of the jury might be directed in
the mighty thing they had in hand; for to condemn the innocent and let
the guilty go free were alike an abomination. The jury brought in a
verdict of guilty. The judge then passed sentence of death against the
culprits, and they were executed.

A general belief in the existence of witches prevailed in every
country, and stringent measures were adopted for their extirpation. If
the punishment of witchcraft was not at first countenanced by the
Church, the clergy subsequently, and for centuries, played a prominent
part in the detection and condemnation of the so-called witches. Pope
John stated in a bull of 1317 that several of his courtiers and his
physician had given themselves up to superstition, and that their
rings and mirrors contained evil spirits. Pope Innocent VIII. issued a
bull against witchcraft in 1484. Thousands of innocent persons were
burned, and others killed by the tests applied to them. Twenty-seven
articles were issued in France in the fourteenth century against
sorcery, the use of images, and the invocation of evil spirits. Many
Templars were burned in Paris for witchcraft in 1309.

Referring to witches and sorcerers, Bishop Jewell, when preaching
before his sovereign in 1598, said: "Witches and sorcerers, within the
last four years, are marvellously increased within your Grace's realm.
Your Grace's subjects pine away, even unto the death; their colour
fadeth--their flesh rotteth--their speech is benumbed--their senses
are bereft. I pray they may never practise further than upon your
Majesty's subjects." Mr. Glanvil, chaplain to Charles II., was of
opinion that "the disbeliever in witchcraft must believe the devil
gratis;" and Wesley said that "giving up witchcraft was, in fact,
giving up the Bible." The learned Lord Bacon, Lord Coke, and twelve
bishops had a voice in the legislation of the country when the act of
James I. of England against witchcraft became law.

Five hundred witches were burned at Geneva during three months of
1515. In the diocese of Como, one