It were, of course, impossible to include within the limits of such a volume as is this--or of a hundred like…
- Date of account
- Published 1908
- Source
- The book of witches
- Reference
- The book of witches · selected passage 72
- Rights
- public_domain
- Language
- English
- Record updated
- 2026-08-24
Record summary
It were, of course, impossible to include within the limits of such a volume as is this--or of a hundred like it--one tithe of the great store of spells, charms, and miscellaneous means towards enchantment gathered together in the long centuries since the birth of the first witch
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 onlyIt were, of course, impossible to include within the limits of such a volume as is this--or of a hundred like it--one tithe of the great store of spells, charms, and miscellaneous means towards enchantment gathered together in the long centuries since the birth of the first witch. So also it is impossible to select any particular stage in her long evolution as the most characteristic, as regards her manners and customs, of all that we imply by the word "witch." On the other hand, she has definitely crystallised in the minds of those of us who have ever been children, in the shape of the "horrid old witch" of fairy lore; and just as, in a preceding chapter, I have endeavoured to reproduce one of her working days--as imaged in the popular mind--so the witch of the Middle Ages may best be chosen when we would reconstruct her more human aspect.
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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