These phantoms have indeed appeared more frequently, in proportion as the darkness of ignorance has been more grofs; but it cannot be fhown, that the brightest gleams of knowledge have at any time been fufficient to drive them out of the world. The time in which this kind of credulity was at its height, feems to have been that of the holy war, in which the Chriftians imputed all their defeats to enchantment or diabolical oppofition, as they afcribe their fuccefs to the affiftance of their military faints; and the learned Mr. Warburton appears to believe (Suppl. to the Introduction to Don Quixote) that the first accounts of enchantments were brought into this part of the world by those who returned from their eastern expeditions. But there is always fome distance between the birth and maturity of folly as of wickedness: this opinion had long exifted, though perhaps the application of it had in no foregoing age been fo frequent, nor the reception fo general. Olympiodorus, in Photius's Extracts, tells us of one Libanius, who practifed this kind of military magick, and having promifed χώρις ὁπλιτῶν κατὰ βαρβάρων ενεργειν, το perform great things against the Barbarians without foldiers, was, at the instances of the emprefs Placidia, put to death, when he was about to have given proofs of his abilities. The emprefs fhewed fome kindness in her anger by cutting him off at a time fo convenient for his reputation. But a more remarkable proof of the antiquity of this notion may be found in St. Chryfoftom's book de Sacerdotio, which exhibits a fcene of enchantments not exceeded by any romance of the middle age; he fuppofes a spectator, overlooking a field of battle, attended by one that points out all the various objects of horror, the engines of deftruction, and the arts of flaughter. Δεικνύτο δέ ἔτι παρὰ τοῖς ἐναντίος καὶ πειομένες ἵππες διά τινΘμαγγανείαι, καὶ ὁπλίτας δι αέρῳ φερομένες, καὶ πάσην γοητείας δύναμιν καὶ ἰδέαν. Let him then proceed to how him in the oppofite armies horfes flying by enchantment, armed men tranfported through the air, and every power and form of magick. Whether St. Chryfoftom believed that fuch performances were really to be seen in a day of battle, or only endeavoured to enliven his description, by adopting the notions of the vulgar, it is equally certain, that fuch notions were in his time received, and that therefore they were not imported from the Saracens in a later age; the wars with the Saracens, however, gave occafion to their propagation, not only as bigotry naturally difcovers prodigies, but as the scene of action was removed to a greater distance, and distance either of time or place is fufficient to reconcile weak minds to wonderful relations. The reformation did not immediately arrive at its meridian, and though day was gradually encreafing upon us, the goblins of witchcraft ftill continued to hover in the twilight. In the time of Queen Elizabeth was the remarkable trial of the witches of Warbois, whose conviction is still commemorated in an annual Sermon at Huntingdon. But in the reign of King James, in which this tragedy was written, many circumstances concurred to propagate and confirm this opinion. The king, who was much celebrated for his knowledge, had, before his arrival in England, not only examined in perfon a woman for } woman accused of witchcraft, but had given a very mal account of the practices and illufions of evil fpirits, the compacts of witches, the ceremonies ufed by them, the manner of detecting them, and the justice of punishing them, in his dialogues of Damonologie, written in the Scottish dialect, and published at Edinburgh. This book was, foon after his acceffion, reprinted at London and as the ready way to gain King James's favour was to flatter his fpeculations, the system of Dæmonologie was immediately adopted by all who defired either to gain preferment or not to lofe it. Thus the doctrine of witchcraft was very powerfully inculcated, and as the greatest part of mankind have no other reason for their opinions than that they are in fashion, it cannot be doubted but this perfuafion made a rapid progrefs, fince vanity and credulity co-operated in its favour, and it had a tendency to free cowardice from reproach. The infection foon reached the parliament, who, in the first year of King James, made a law, by which it was enacted, ch. xii, That if any person shall use any invocation or con 66 -- juration of any evil or wicked fpirit; 2. Or shall "confult, covenant with, entertain, employ, feed, or "reward any evil or curfed fpirit to or for any intent or purpose; 3. Or take up any dead man, woman, or "child out of the grave, or the skin, bone, or any part of the dead perfon, to be employed or used in any manner of witchcraft, forcery, charm, or enchantment; 4. Or fhall ufe, practise or exercise any fort "of witchcraft, forcery, charm, or enchantment; 5. Whereby any person shall be destroyed, killed, wafted, confumed, pined, or lamed in any part of the body; "6. That 66 G 3 "6. That every fuch perfon, being convicted, shall "fuffer death." Thus, in the time of Shakespeare, was the doctrine of witchcraft at once established by law and by the fashion, and it became not only unpolite, but criminal, to doubt it; and as prodigies are always feen in proportion as they are expected, witches were every day discovered, and multiplied fo faft in fome places, that bishop Hall mentions a village in Lancashire, where their number was greater than that of the houses. The Jefuits and Sectaries took advantage of this univerfal error, and endeavoured to promote the interest of their parties by pretended cures of perfons afflicted by evil fpirits, but they were detected and expofed by the clergy of the established church. Upon this general infatuation Shakespeare might be eafily allowed to found a play, especially fince he has followed with great exactness fuch hiftories as were then thought true; nor can it be doubted that the fcenes of enchantment, however they may now be ridiculed, were both by himfelf and his audience thought awful and affecting. NOTE II. SCENE II.. -THE merciless Macdonel,-from the Western Ifles Of Kerns and Gallow-glaffes was fupply'd, Kerns Kerns are light-armed, and Gallow-glaffes heavyarmed foldiers. The word quarry has no fenfe that is properly applicable in this place, and therefore it is neceffary to read, And fortune on his damned quarrel fmiling, Quarrel was formerly used for caufe, or for the occafion of a quarrel, and is to be found in that fenfe in Hollingfhead's account of the ftory of Macbeth, who, upon the creation of the prince of Cumberland, thought, fays the historian, that he had a just quarrel to endeavour after the crown. The fenfe therefore is fortune fmiling on his execrable caufe, &c, IF ΝΟΤΕ III. F I fay footh, I must report they were Mr. Theobald has endeavoured to improve the fenfe of this paffage by altering the punctuation thus: They As cannons overcharg'd, with double cracks So they redoubled ftrokes He declares, with fome degree of exultation, that he has no idea of a cannon charged with double cracks; but |