Dr Adequate
10th March 2006, 05:10 PM
Thomas Ady was a physician who lived in the reign of James I, and apart from his books, little else is known of him. His books show that he was intelligent, skeptical, had a sense of humor --- and feared no man.
His books, A Perfect Discovery of Witches, A Candle in the Dark and The Doctrine of Devils, are masterpieces of skepticism concerning the witch-hunting craze of his times.
Amongst other items of interest, he explains how the conjurers of his time(whom he calls "juglers") used to work their tricks.
I hope this post doesn't fall under the prohibition of "giving away secrets" --- in my defense I will say that this information has been in the public domain for nearly half a millenium, OK?
Start here (http://racerel.library.cornell.edu:8090/cgi-bin/cul.witch/docviewer?did=002&seq=40&frames=0&view=100):
Here I am compelled (for the satisfaction of some that are so weak in capacity that they will rather stand to cavil in a disputative way, than to understand things that are not in themselves disputative, but demonstrative) to demonstrate some few of the most admired Tricks of common Jugling.
Note the early use of the phrases "hocus pocus" and a sort of ancestral form of "hey presto" in the patter.
Say, does this remind you of anyone?
And yet sometimes it hapneth, that if here have been any University Schollars at the beholding, or at the acting of these common Tricks, they have gone out and fallen into a dispute upon the matter, some saying, Sensus nunquam fallitur circa proprium objectum, some have said that the Jugler by his Familiar doth thicken the Air, some again that he hurteth the Eye-sight, and so deceiveth the beholders; and in all their discourse they shew themselves very Philosophical, but very little capacious.
He mentions that there's more information to be found on these tricks in Reginald Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft, which is also on the Wonderful Wonderful Internet.
It would be nice to see a recreation of this stuff, with authentic tricks, methods, and patter, don't you think?
His books, A Perfect Discovery of Witches, A Candle in the Dark and The Doctrine of Devils, are masterpieces of skepticism concerning the witch-hunting craze of his times.
Amongst other items of interest, he explains how the conjurers of his time(whom he calls "juglers") used to work their tricks.
I hope this post doesn't fall under the prohibition of "giving away secrets" --- in my defense I will say that this information has been in the public domain for nearly half a millenium, OK?
Start here (http://racerel.library.cornell.edu:8090/cgi-bin/cul.witch/docviewer?did=002&seq=40&frames=0&view=100):
Here I am compelled (for the satisfaction of some that are so weak in capacity that they will rather stand to cavil in a disputative way, than to understand things that are not in themselves disputative, but demonstrative) to demonstrate some few of the most admired Tricks of common Jugling.
Note the early use of the phrases "hocus pocus" and a sort of ancestral form of "hey presto" in the patter.
Say, does this remind you of anyone?
And yet sometimes it hapneth, that if here have been any University Schollars at the beholding, or at the acting of these common Tricks, they have gone out and fallen into a dispute upon the matter, some saying, Sensus nunquam fallitur circa proprium objectum, some have said that the Jugler by his Familiar doth thicken the Air, some again that he hurteth the Eye-sight, and so deceiveth the beholders; and in all their discourse they shew themselves very Philosophical, but very little capacious.
He mentions that there's more information to be found on these tricks in Reginald Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft, which is also on the Wonderful Wonderful Internet.
It would be nice to see a recreation of this stuff, with authentic tricks, methods, and patter, don't you think?