of their ancestors, would have men firmly believe that there are no witches in the world. Yet this is not a matter of such small moment as many people think; for it is a cause of the frequent immunity of witches, greatly to the mischief of the public and to the prejudice of the honour of God, which we should in all things have as our object, not allowing Satan to enlarge his kingdom further, as he does by means of the damnable plots of these his subjects.
Now I do not gainsay that the stories told of witches are very strange; for there is matter for much wonder in the form taken by Satan when he accosts them; their transvection to the Sabbat is astounding; we can but marvel at their oblations, their dances, their obscene kisses, their feasts, and their carnal couplings with their Master; it is beyond comprehension how they cause hail and tempests to spoil the fruits of the earth, and again how they cause the death of a man or the sickness of an animal; it would
