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46 bodyes, when hands & feet are tyed, not to Sinke under ye water. Besides, they yt plead for this Superstition, Say, yt if Witches happen to be Condemned for Some other Crime & not for witchcraft, they will not Swim Like a Corke above water, which Sheweth that ye Cause of this Natation is not Physical. And if not, then Either it must proceed from a divine miracle, but no man can thinke yt Heaven will worke a miracle to Save a Witch fro[m] drowneing, or Lastly it must be a Diabolicall wonder. This Superstitious Experiment is Comonly knowne by the Name of ye Vulgar Probation, because it was never appointed by any Lawful Authority, but by ye Suggestion of the Devill taken up by ye rude Rabble. And Some (d) Learned Men are of Opinio[n], yt ye first Explorator ^being a white witch did Explicitly Covenant w^th ye Devill that he should discover Latent Crimes in this way. And yt is i by vertue of yt first Contract yt ye Devill goeth to works to keep his servants fro[m] Sinkeing. W^n ys Ceremony of his ordaining is used. Moreover, we know, yt Diabolus est Dei simia, ye Devill seeks to imitate divine miracles. We read in Ecclesiastical History, yt some of ye Martyrs, w^n they were by their Persecutors ordered to be drowned proved im[m]ersible. This miracle would ye Devill imitate in causeing witches who are his Martyrs not to Sinke, w^n they are cast into ye water. 3. This way of Purgatio[n] is of ye same Nature w^th ye old Ordeals of ye Pagans. If men were accused w^th any Crime, to cleare their Innocency they were to take a hot iro[n] into their hands or to Suffer Scalding water to be poured downe their throats, & if they received no hurt thereby, They were acquitted. This was ye Devills In- vention, & many times (as ye Devill would have it) they yt Sub- mitted to these Tryalls Suffered no Inconvience. Neverthelesse it is astonishing to thinke w[ha]t Innocent blood hath bin shed in ye world by this Satanicall device. Witches have often (as (e) Sprenger observes) desired yt they might stand or fall by this Tryall of hot Iron & have somtimes Come of well. Indeed this Ordeal was used in other Cases & not in Cases of witchcraft only

[Margin notes:] (d) Delrio, et Mald[e]r[u]s (e) In Mallio Maleficaru[m] p. 421