Here
was the repetition of that which had set men thinking in the
German bishoprics when those under trial for witchcraft there had
at last, in their desperation or madness, charged the very
bishops and the judges upon the bench with sorcery. The party of
reason grew stronger. The Rev. Mr. Parris was soon put upon the
defensive: for some of the possessed began to confess that they
had accused people wrongfully. Herculean efforts were made by
certain of the clergy and devout laity to support the declining
belief, but the more thoughtful turned more and more against it;
jurymen prominent in convictions solemnly retracted their
verdicts and publicly craved pardon of God and man. Most striking
of all was the case of Justice Sewall. A man of the highest
character, he had in view of authority deduced from Scripture and
the principles laid down by the great English judges,
unhesitatingly condemned the accused; but reason now dawned upon
him. He looked back and saw the baselessness of the wliole
proceedings, and made a public statement of his errors.
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