Were the reality of sorcery dependent upon a referendum of our universities--or, for that matter, of our…
- Date of account
- Published 1908
- Source
- The book of witches
- Reference
- The book of witches · selected passage 3
- Rights
- public_domain
- Language
- English
- Record updated
- 2026-08-24
Record summary
Were the reality of sorcery dependent upon a referendum of our universities--or, for that matter, of our elementary school mistresses--it were at once proclaimed a clamant imposture
Published source text
Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.
Source passage
Source text · mention onlyWere the reality of sorcery dependent upon a referendum of our universities--or, for that matter, of our elementary school mistresses--it were at once proclaimed a clamant imposture. Fortunately for the witch, and incidentally for a picturesque aspect of the human intellect, the Enlightened, even if we include among them those who accept their dogma as the New Gospel, are but a small--a ridiculously small--item of the human race. Compared with the whole population of the world, their numbers are so insignificant as to be for all practical purposes nonexistent. There are villages but a few miles beyond the boundary of the Metropolitan Police District, where the witch is as firmly enthroned in the imaginations of the mobility as in those of their ancestors three centuries ago. There are many British legislators who would refuse to start an electioneering campaign upon a Friday. I myself have known a man--and know him still--a Romney Marshlander, who, within the last decade, has suffered grievously--himself and through his children--at the hands of witches whose names and whereabout he can detail.
Historical context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyThis is a historical account assembled under the reporting and publishing conventions of its period. It may preserve testimony, hearsay, retelling and editorial interpretation together.
Modern context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyA modern comparison can identify recurring descriptions and possible explanations, but the account is not treated as independently verified evidence merely because it appeared in print.
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