Stitch #36: -- RULES
As I did Promise, Good City, if belated due to My Highest and most Strenuous Efforts in the Apprehension and Contemplation of the Wicked. I do Present An Abstract of My Way for THE DISCOVERY OF WITCHES:
There are Presumptions which Do at least probably and conjecturally note One to be a Witch. These give occasion to Examine, yet they are no sufficient Causes of Conviction.
I. If any Man or Woman be notoriously defamed for a Witch this yields a strong Suspition. Yet the Judge ought carefully look, that the Report be made by Men of Honesty and Credit.
II. If a Fellow-Witch, or Magician, give Testimony of any Person to be a Witch; this indeed is not sufficient for Condemnation; but it is a fit Presumption to cause a strait Examination.
III. If after Cursing there follow Death, or at least some mischief: for Witches are wont to practice their mischievous Facts, by Cursing and Banning: This also is a sufficient matter of Examination, tho’ not of Conviction.
IV. If after Enmity, Quarreling, or Threatening, a present mischief does follow; that also is a great Presumption.
V. If the party suspected be the Sun or Daughter, the man-servant or maid-servant, the Familiar Friend, near Neighbor, or old Companion, of a known and convicted Witch; this may be likewise a Presumption; for Witchcraft is often an Art that may be learned, and conveyed from man to man.
VI. Some add for this a Presumption: If the Party suspected be found to have the Devil’s mark; for it is commonly thought, when the Devil makes his Covenant with them, he alwaies leaves his mark behind them, whereby he knows them for his own: - a mark whereof no evident Reason in Nature can be given.
VII. Lastly, If the party examined be Unconstant, or contrary to himself, in his deliberate Answers, it argueth a Guilty Conscience, which stops the freedom of Utterance. And yet there are causes of Astonishment, which may befall the Good, as well as the Bad.
But then there is a Conviction, discovering the Witch, which must proceed from just and sufficient proofs, and not from bare presumptions.
I. Scratching of the suspected party, and Recovery thereupon, with several other such weak Proofs; as also, the fleeting of the suspected Party, thrown upon the Water; these Proofs are so far from being sufficient, that some of them are, after a sort, practices of Witchcraft.
II. The Testimony of some Wizzard, tho’ offering to shew the Witches Face in a Glass: This, I grant, may be a good Presumption, to cause a strait Examination; but a sufficient Proof of Conviction it cannot be. If the Devil tell the Grand Jury, that the person in question is a Witch, and offers withal to confirm the same by Oath, should the inquest receive his Oath or Accusation to condemn the man? Assuredly no. And yet, that is as much as the Testimony of another Wizzard, who only by the Devil’s help reveals the Witch.
III. If a man, being dangerously sick, and like to dye, upon Suspicion, will take it on his Death, that such a one hath bewitched him, it is an Allegation of same nature, which may move the Judge to examine the Party, but it is of no moment for Conviction.
IV. Among the sufficient means of Conviction, the first is, the free and voluntary Confession of the Crime, made by the party suspected and accused, after Examination. I say not, that a bare confession is sufficient, but a Confession after due Examination, taken upon pregnant presumptions. What needs now more witness or further Enquiry?
V. There is a second sufficient Conviction, by the Testimony of two Witnesses, of good and honest Report, avouching before the Magistrate, upon their own Knowledge, these two things: either that the party accused hath made a League with the Devil, or hath done some known practice of Witchcraft. And, all Arguments that do necessarily prove either of these, being brought by two sufficient Witnesses, are of force fully to convince the party suspected.
VI. If it can be proved, that the party suspected hath called upon the Devil, or desired his Help, this is a pregnant proof of a League formerly made between them.
And, Finally, the most Damning of the Evidence to bring against our Witches:
VII. If it can be proved, that the party hath entertained a Familiar Spirit, and had Conference with it, in the likeness of some visible Creatures; here is Evidence of Witchcraft.
VIII. If the witnesses affirm upon Oath, that the suspected person hath done any action of work which necessarily infers a Covenant made, as, that he hath used Enchantments, divined things before they come to pass, and that peremptorily, raised Tempests, caused the Form of a dead man to appear; it proveth sufficiently, that he or she is a Witch.
On the force of these and other Presumptions and Proofs, I do Accuse the Following, with Reasons to be given at Trial or on certain Request:***
Cho Hakkai
Radu
Urara
Zorin
Cirucci Thunderwitch
Inoue Orihime
Kimihiro Watanuki
Szyael Aporro
Meryl Stryfe
Nill
Zaheela
Dark
Envy
Kinomoto Sakura
Ptolemy of Alexandria
Kurosaki Hisoka
Tatsumi Seiichirou
Furthermore, these Who pretend that Shinigami does not mean Witch, when any Informed Person of the Lord would know that their Conferences with their Zanpakutou do submit them to the Skepticism of the Seventh Proof:
Abarai Renji
Aizen Sousuke
Kurosaki Ichigo
Kuchiki Rukia
Kyouraku Shunsui
Senna
Sentarou
Ukitake Jyuushirou
(*)
***[ooc: OKAY, um, because I’ve been really busy I have not been able to keep up with who has been accused already or not. I run off of the list given to me by Ky, and also, the simple fact that these people made themselves suspicious in his last post. IF I HAVE LISTED A NAME ALREADY ACCUSED OR SLATED TO BE ACCUSED BY ANOTHER, PLEASE DISREGARD IT AND LET ME KNOW. yeah i continue to love Cotton Mather. ]
(*)[insert name of any shinigami not ostensibly on the inquisition’s side? IF THAT’S OKAY WITH THE MUNS ]
[EDIT: you-you guys kill me. I'LL TRY TO CATCH UP, BUT IN THE MEANTIME: NEMU DRUGGED ISHIDA. Just for the night. So he won't get himself killed with the Curse Stupid. :D ]
There are Presumptions which Do at least probably and conjecturally note One to be a Witch. These give occasion to Examine, yet they are no sufficient Causes of Conviction.
I. If any Man or Woman be notoriously defamed for a Witch this yields a strong Suspition. Yet the Judge ought carefully look, that the Report be made by Men of Honesty and Credit.
II. If a Fellow-Witch, or Magician, give Testimony of any Person to be a Witch; this indeed is not sufficient for Condemnation; but it is a fit Presumption to cause a strait Examination.
III. If after Cursing there follow Death, or at least some mischief: for Witches are wont to practice their mischievous Facts, by Cursing and Banning: This also is a sufficient matter of Examination, tho’ not of Conviction.
IV. If after Enmity, Quarreling, or Threatening, a present mischief does follow; that also is a great Presumption.
V. If the party suspected be the Sun or Daughter, the man-servant or maid-servant, the Familiar Friend, near Neighbor, or old Companion, of a known and convicted Witch; this may be likewise a Presumption; for Witchcraft is often an Art that may be learned, and conveyed from man to man.
VI. Some add for this a Presumption: If the Party suspected be found to have the Devil’s mark; for it is commonly thought, when the Devil makes his Covenant with them, he alwaies leaves his mark behind them, whereby he knows them for his own: - a mark whereof no evident Reason in Nature can be given.
VII. Lastly, If the party examined be Unconstant, or contrary to himself, in his deliberate Answers, it argueth a Guilty Conscience, which stops the freedom of Utterance. And yet there are causes of Astonishment, which may befall the Good, as well as the Bad.
But then there is a Conviction, discovering the Witch, which must proceed from just and sufficient proofs, and not from bare presumptions.
I. Scratching of the suspected party, and Recovery thereupon, with several other such weak Proofs; as also, the fleeting of the suspected Party, thrown upon the Water; these Proofs are so far from being sufficient, that some of them are, after a sort, practices of Witchcraft.
II. The Testimony of some Wizzard, tho’ offering to shew the Witches Face in a Glass: This, I grant, may be a good Presumption, to cause a strait Examination; but a sufficient Proof of Conviction it cannot be. If the Devil tell the Grand Jury, that the person in question is a Witch, and offers withal to confirm the same by Oath, should the inquest receive his Oath or Accusation to condemn the man? Assuredly no. And yet, that is as much as the Testimony of another Wizzard, who only by the Devil’s help reveals the Witch.
III. If a man, being dangerously sick, and like to dye, upon Suspicion, will take it on his Death, that such a one hath bewitched him, it is an Allegation of same nature, which may move the Judge to examine the Party, but it is of no moment for Conviction.
IV. Among the sufficient means of Conviction, the first is, the free and voluntary Confession of the Crime, made by the party suspected and accused, after Examination. I say not, that a bare confession is sufficient, but a Confession after due Examination, taken upon pregnant presumptions. What needs now more witness or further Enquiry?
V. There is a second sufficient Conviction, by the Testimony of two Witnesses, of good and honest Report, avouching before the Magistrate, upon their own Knowledge, these two things: either that the party accused hath made a League with the Devil, or hath done some known practice of Witchcraft. And, all Arguments that do necessarily prove either of these, being brought by two sufficient Witnesses, are of force fully to convince the party suspected.
VI. If it can be proved, that the party suspected hath called upon the Devil, or desired his Help, this is a pregnant proof of a League formerly made between them.
And, Finally, the most Damning of the Evidence to bring against our Witches:
VII. If it can be proved, that the party hath entertained a Familiar Spirit, and had Conference with it, in the likeness of some visible Creatures; here is Evidence of Witchcraft.
VIII. If the witnesses affirm upon Oath, that the suspected person hath done any action of work which necessarily infers a Covenant made, as, that he hath used Enchantments, divined things before they come to pass, and that peremptorily, raised Tempests, caused the Form of a dead man to appear; it proveth sufficiently, that he or she is a Witch.
On the force of these and other Presumptions and Proofs, I do Accuse the Following, with Reasons to be given at Trial or on certain Request:***
Cho Hakkai
Radu
Urara
Zorin
Cirucci Thunderwitch
Inoue Orihime
Kimihiro Watanuki
Szyael Aporro
Meryl Stryfe
Nill
Zaheela
Dark
Envy
Kinomoto Sakura
Ptolemy of Alexandria
Kurosaki Hisoka
Tatsumi Seiichirou
Furthermore, these Who pretend that Shinigami does not mean Witch, when any Informed Person of the Lord would know that their Conferences with their Zanpakutou do submit them to the Skepticism of the Seventh Proof:
Abarai Renji
Aizen Sousuke
Kurosaki Ichigo
Kuchiki Rukia
Kyouraku Shunsui
Senna
Sentarou
Ukitake Jyuushirou
(*)
***[ooc: OKAY, um, because I’ve been really busy I have not been able to keep up with who has been accused already or not. I run off of the list given to me by Ky, and also, the simple fact that these people made themselves suspicious in his last post. IF I HAVE LISTED A NAME ALREADY ACCUSED OR SLATED TO BE ACCUSED BY ANOTHER, PLEASE DISREGARD IT AND LET ME KNOW. yeah i continue to love Cotton Mather. ]
(*)[insert name of any shinigami not ostensibly on the inquisition’s side? IF THAT’S OKAY WITH THE MUNS ]
[EDIT: you-you guys kill me. I'LL TRY TO CATCH UP, BUT IN THE MEANTIME: NEMU DRUGGED ISHIDA. Just for the night. So he won't get himself killed with the Curse Stupid. :D ]