In several
countries of Europe, these statutes still subsist; they were not
abolished in Britain till a period still at no great distance. Since the
abolition of persecution, the faith of witchcraft has disappeared even
among the vulgar. It was long found inconsistent with any considerable
progress in philosophy.
For these reasons we read, with some degree of astonishment, a treatise
on this exploded subject, by a philosopher, an eminent physician, a
privy counseller of the then Empress Queen, and a professor in the
university of Vienna. It was long doubted whether the professor was in
earnest, but the world was at length forced to admit, that the great
Antonius de Haen certainly believed in witchcraft, and reckoned the
knowledge of it, in treating a disease, of great importance to a
physician--to the acquisition of which useful knowledge, he dedicated a
great part of his time. In the year 1758, three old women, condemned to
death for witchcraft, were brought by order of the Empress from Croatia
to Vienna, to undergo an examination, with regard to the equity of the
sentence pronounced against them.
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