No one can read his book
without feeling that he insinuates much more than he positively affirms
or denies. He would have weakened his cause if he had seemed to
disbelieve in demoniacal possession, since that had the supposed warrant
of Scripture; but it may be questioned whether he uses the words _Satan_
and _Demon_ in any other way than that in which many people still use the
word _Nature_. He was forced to accept certain premises of his opponents
by the line of his argument. When he recites incredible stories without
comment, it is not that he believes them, but that he thinks their
absurdity obvious. That he wrote under a certain restraint is plain from
the Colophon of his book, where he says: "Nihil autem hic ita assertum
volo, quod aequiori judicio Catholicae Christi Ecclesiae non omnino
submittam, palinodia mox spontanea emendaturus, si erroris alicubi
convincar." A great deal of latent and timid scepticism seems to have
been brought to the surface by his work. Many eminent persons wrote to
him in gratitude and commendation. In the Preface to his shorter treatise
_De Lamiis_ (which is a mere abridgment), he thanks God that his labors
had "in many places caused the cruelty against innocent blood to
slacken," and that "some more distinguished judges treat more mildly and
even absolve from capital punishment the wretched old women branded with
the odious name of witches by the populace.
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