The devil turn'd casuist, or, The cheats of Rome laid open, in the exorcism of a despairing devil, at the house of Thomas Pennington in Orrel in the parish of Wigan and county of Lancaster / By Zachary Taylor.

  • Taylor, Zachary, 1653-1705.
Date:
1696
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The devil turn'd casuist, or, The cheats of Rome laid open, in the exorcism of a despairing devil, at the house of Thomas Pennington in Orrel in the parish of Wigan and county of Lancaster / By Zachary Taylor. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The Epiftle Dtd 1j* Damned f Which the Devil {that U the Title, and they the Demoniack, And therefore I muft :<fe it) wi thing no doubt but that they all might, avouched that they were •, this feverai will aver, but becaufe the PrieJI I hear denies it, and thereby intimates as if he had feme Charity.left for Poor Proteflants, I am willing by way of Return to his Civility, to pafs it by, with fome others. I know of what moment it is.in order to fatisfabfion. in matters of this na- tnre, to dir eel the Reader per finally to the Deponents thenfehe s, that by fome Friend or other he may inquire of it from their Alouths 1 therefore once had defign d to have affixed to the Relation the names of thofe that, gave me they account, but confdering what manner of Spirit the Romifh Zealots, their neighbours are of, I buffered my felf to be diffwaded from it • but if Curiofity on the one hand, or Scepticifm on the other, lead any to be Inqmfitive after it, the C ire urn ft antes oj time and Place, when and where the.Game was a fled , the names of the Parties concerned, together with the Managers of it, will dirdl him where he may find amplef at ffaction. As for the order of it, I have methodised it according to the Rules op their Proceedings at Exvrcifms \ but I do not pretend to be rejponfible for the place that every paffage is ranked in : for in fo tedious a Procefis as this was, it miifl be above the Capacity of mean Per Jons to charge their Me¬ mory with every Punctilio. It is fir file it nt that there is Truth, as to matter of Fall \ it is not at all neceffary that there fiiould be the funllAs of exalt order in the relation of it. What the Papifis defign was in this Exploit is cafily unfolded, we are not Ignorant of there Devices nor the Anificies they make ufe of to cajole fimple well meaning people to their Party. It is not thefirfi tune, nor I fear like to be the Laft, that they have had to do with the Devil on this fie or evenly according to Circumflances they play a different game, and turn the Tables as occafion offers. Sometimes they chance to fumble on the opportunity of a natural Difeafie, and that is their Great Advantage, for Phyfical operati¬ ons are not wanting to be aficribed to a miraculous Energy. But generally the whole bufnefs vs Intrigue, Colluf on, and Combination. I might produce infiances of both forts of thefe their prallices from learned Authors. The Mofi Reverend his Grace 0/Canterbury, in his Excellent Dificourfie of Idolatry, takes notice of the venues of the Antimonial Cup, and what life they make of it to promote then holy Cheats The Right Reverend the Eifljop of Worcefter and others f apply us with \nfiances of the Latter kind. But I will confine my felf to your Lord ftps Dioccfi, becaufeI meet in Our Neighbourhood with firtfh Examples of both kinds, which as they are new, fio perhaps will not be unacceptable to the Reader.. For the firfi, be pleas'd