The History of Witchcraft and Demonology

Abstract

ANY anthropologist into whose hands this book may come will rub his eyes to find himself translated to an atmosphere of theological controversy which might well be that of the seventeenth century. Indeed, he may even go further and ask why a series entitled “L'Evolution de l'Humanité,” or, in translation, “A History of Civilisation,” in which an impersonally objective treatment of its subject matter might reasonably be expected, should include a book so subjective in outlook as Dr. Summers' “History of Witchcraft and Demonology.” It is surely not the function of the student of the development of thought and belief to inquire into the truth or validity of the tenets he examines, or to obtrude his own beliefs; his interest lies in the process of development and its product; he may legitimately be expected to regard them as objective matters of fact, the truth or falsity of their content being irrelevant to his purpose.

The History of Witchcraft and Demonology.

By Montague Summers. (The History of Civilisation Series.) Pp. xv + 353 + 8 plates. (London: Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd.; New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926.) 12s. 6d. net.