A Discourse of the Damned Art of Witchcraft

by Perkins, William

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London: Printed for Iames Boler. Good+ with no dust jacket 1631. Hardcover. This tract on Witchcraft is part of the Third Volume of the works of William Perkins. The whole third volume is being offered. There are several works by Perkins collected in this volume, of which the one on witchcraft is perhaps of the most interest. The whole volume is paginated continuously, the part on Witchcraft has [x] preliminary leaves, followed by pages numbered from 607-652, making a total of 56 pages on the subject. The full title of the part on Witchcraft is: "A Discouse of the Damned Art of Witchcraft. So Farre Forth as it is Revealed in the Scriptures, and manifested by true experience. Framed and Delivered by Master William Perkins, in his ordinary course of Preaching, and published by Thomas Pickering [...]", with the imprint "London: Printed for Iames Boler. 1631". The verso of the title leaf is blank. The title leaf is followed by a 5 page "Epistle Dedicatory", followed by 2 page of "A Table of the Contents", followed by one blank page. The title leaf to the part on Witchcraft has a 1 1/2" tear at the lower margin. The complete title at the beginning of the the whole volume is: "The Workes of That Famous and Worthy Minister of Christ in the Universitie of Cambridge, M. W. Perkins. The third and last Volume. Newly corrected and amended. Containing his learned Expositions of sundry choice places of Scripture, With some little Tractages. The particulars whereof thou maist see in the next Page, with the order of their placing. Hereto is adjoyned a two-fold Table, one of the chiefe Points and Questions, the other of choice places of Scripture." The imprint of this general title page is: "London: Printed by Iohn Haviland. 1631." The entire volume has 264, 700 pages + preliminary leaves to each part + at the rear 2 leaves only of 7. The two leaves at the rear are part of an index, "An Alphabeticall Table of the chiefe points and questions handled in this Volume". These two leaves cover alphabetical entries from "Abase our selves for Gods glory" through to "Fathers of the old Testament were Gods witnesses", with the remaining leaves covering up to the end of the alphabet lacking. The whole volume is in a contemporary full calf binding with 6 raised bands on the spine. The page dimensions are 333 x 214mm. There are woodcut initial letters and ornamental headers at the beginning of each part. There is a 2 1/2" split to the leather at the tail of the rear joint, and several smaller 1/2" splits to the leather in the rear joint. There are couple of large chips to the leather 2" and 2 1/2" long at the head of the spine. A 2" split to leather at tail of front joint. There are 1" chips to the leather at the tail of the spine and at the corners of the boards. There are no pastedown endpapers or free endpapers. The front free endpaper has been torn out. The blank intial leaf has the signature of "Mary Lye" of "Weston Ba[?ylde", dated 1820. The boards are exposed at the inside of the covers, so that one can see where the cords of the binding have been woven into them. "The Power of this Prince of darknesse, being above the might of all sensible Creatures, and every way seconded by the greatness of his knowledge and experience, manifesteth it selfe herein, for the most part, by workes of wonder, transcendent in regard of ordinary capacitie, and diversly dispensed by his chosen instruments of both sexes, sometime in matter of Divination, sometime by Inchantment, sometime by rare sleights and delusions; otherwhiles by hurting, by curing, by raising of Tempests, by speedy conveyance and transportation from place to place." - from the Epistle Dedicatory to "A Discourse of the Damned Art of Witchcraft". "Quest. Whether the Witches of our age are to be punished with death, and that by vertue of this Law of Moses? // I doubt not, but in this last age of the world, among us also, this sinne of Witchcraft ought as sharply to be punished as in the former times: and all Witches being thorowly convicted by the Magistrate, ought according to the Law of Moses to be put to death. For proofe hereof, consider these reasons [...]" - page 650. William Perkins lived from 1558 to 1602, a contemporary of William Shakespeare, who created some famous literary witches in his play "Macbeth", which is believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606.; Folio .

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