ON

DEMONOLOGY AND WITCHCRAFT,

ADDRESSED TO

J. G. LOCKHART, ESQ.

BY

SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART.

LONDON:

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.

MDCCCXXX.

- B

LIBR

MAR 5 1941

CONTENTS.

LETTER I.

Origin of the general opinions respecting Demonology
among Mankind-The Belief in the Immortality of
the Soul is the main inducement to credit its occa-
sional re-appearance-The Philosophical Objections
to the Apparition of an Abstract Spirit little un-
derstood by the Vulgar and Ignorant-The situa
tions of excited Passion incident to Humanity,
which teach Men to wish or apprehend Supernatu-
ral Apparitions-They are often presented by the
Sleeping Sense-Story of Somnambulism-The In-
fluence of Credulity contagious, so that Individuals
will trust the Evidence of others in despite of their
own Senses-Examples from the Historia Verda-
dera of Bernal Dias del Castillo, and from the Works
of Patrick Walker-The apparent Evidence of In-
tercourse with the Supernatural World is sometimes
owing to a depraved State of the bodily Organs-
Difference between this Disorder and Insanity, in
which the Organs retain their tone, though that of
the Mind is lost-Rebellion of the Senses of a Lu-
natic against the current of his Reveries-Narra-
tives of a contrary nature, in which the Evidence
of the Eyes overbore the Conviction of the Under-
standing-Example of a London Man of Pleasure

a

Page

-Of Nicolai, the German Bookseller and Philoso-
pher-Of a Patient of Dr Gregory-Of an Emi-
nent Scottish Lawyer deceased-Of this same fal-
lacious Disorder are other instances, which have but
sudden and momentary Endurance-Apparition of
Maupertuis-Of a late illustrious modern Poet-
The Cases quoted chiefly relating to false Impres-
sions on the Visual Nerve, those upon the Ear next
considered-Delusions of the Touch chiefly experi-
enced in Sleep-Delusions of the Taste-and of the
Smelling-Sum of the Argument,

LETTER II.

Page

Consequences of the Fall on the communication be
tween Men and the Spiritual World-Effects of
the Flood-Wizards of Pharaoh-Text in Exodus
against Witches-The word Witch is by some said
to mean merely Poisoner-Or, if in the Holy Text
it also means a Divineress, she must, at any rate,
have been a character very different to be identified
with it-The original, Chasaph, said to mean a per-
son who dealt in Poisons, often a traffic of those
who dealt with familiar Spirits-But different from
the European Witch of the Middle Ages-Thus a
Witch is not accessary to the temptation of Job-
The Witch of the Hebrews probably did not rank
higher than a Divining Woman-Yet it was a
crime deserving the doom of death, since it inferred
the disowning of Jehovah's Supremacy-Other texts
of Scripture, in like manner, refer to something cor-
responding more with a Fortune-teller or Divining
Woman, than what is now called a Witch-Ex-
ample of the Witch of Endor-Account of her meet-
ing with Saul-Supposed by some a mere Impostor
-By others a Sorceress powerful enough to raise
the Spirit of the Prophet by her own art-Difficul-
ties attending both positions-A middle course adopt-

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