{"id":"01KG8AKQYT2MA7TSHCK7QCAJPJ","cid":"bafkreibzja5k5v24irsbuurmlbl2kjjmo7nhsyqgyugivlw27hp5tbc47e","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":5568,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:09.927Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 2","source_file":"01KG89J1954N2G0NAERBNJXEX9","start_line":5494,"text":"of them were as ready to undertake the perdition of one man as another;\r\ngood, bad, or indifferent, it made little matter.\r\n\r\nWhat wonder, then, that such abominable mercenaries should cause a\r\nmighty deal of mischief in Minda; privately going about, inciting\r\npeaceable folks to enmities with their neighbors; and with marvelous\r\nalacrity, proposing themselves as the very sorcerers to rid them of the\r\nannoyances suggested as existing.\r\n\r\nIndeed, it even happened that a sorcerer would be secretly retained to\r\nwork spells upon a victim, who, from his bodily sensations, suspecting\r\nsomething wrong, but knowing not what, would repair to that self-same\r\nsorcerer, engaging him to counteract any mischief that might be\r\nbrewing. And this worthy would at once undertake the business; when,\r\nhaving both parties in his hands, he kept them forever in suspense;\r\nmeanwhile seeing to it well, that they failed not in handsomely\r\nremunerating him for his pains.\r\n\r\nAt one time, there was a prodigious excitement about these sorcerers,\r\ngrowing out of some alarming revelations concerning their practices. In\r\nseveral villages of Minda, they were sought to be put down. But\r\nfruitless the attempt; it was soon discovered that already their spells\r\nwere so spread abroad, and they themselves so mixed up with the\r\neveryday affairs of the isle, that it was better to let their vocation\r\nalone, than, by endeavoring to suppress it, breed additional troubles.\r\nAh! they were a knowing and a cunning set, those sorcerers; very hard\r\nto overcome, cajole, or circumvent.\r\n\r\nBut in the name of the Magi, what were these spells of theirs, so\r\npotent and occult? On all hands it was agreed, that they derived their\r\ngreatest virtue from the fumes of certain compounds, whose\r\ningredients—horrible to tell—were mostly obtained from the human heart;\r\nand that by variously mixing these ingredients, they adapted their\r\nmultifarious enchantments.\r\n\r\nThey were a vain and arrogant race. Upon the strength of their dealing\r\nin the dark, they affected even more mystery than belonged to them;\r\nwhen interrogated concerning their science, would confound the inquirer\r\nby answers couched in an extraordinary jargon, employing words almost\r\nas long as anacondas. But all this greatly prevailed with the common\r\npeople.\r\n\r\nNor was it one of the least remarkable things, that oftentimes two\r\nsorcerers, contrarily employed upon a Mindarian,—one to attack, the\r\nother to defend,—would nevertheless be upon the most friendly terms\r\nwith each other; which curious circumstance never begat the slightest\r\nsuspicions in the mind of the victim.\r\n\r\nAnother phenomenon: If from any cause, two sorcerers fell out, they\r\nseldom exercised their spells upon each other; ascribable to this,\r\nperhaps,—that both being versed in the art, neither could hope to get\r\nthe advantage.\r\n\r\nBut for all the opprobrium cast upon these sorcerers, part of which\r\nthey deserved, the evils imputed to them were mainly, though\r\nindirectly, ascribable to the very persons who abused them; nay, to the\r\nvery persons who employed them; the latter being by far the loudest in\r\ntheir vilifyings; for which, indeed, they had excellent reason.\r\n\r\nNor was it to be denied, that in certain respects, the sorcerers were\r\nproductive of considerable good. The nature of their pursuits leading\r\nthem deep into the arcana of mind, they often lighted upon important\r\ndiscoveries; along with much that was cumbersome, accumulated valuable\r\nexamples concerning the inner working of the hearts of the Mindarians;\r\nand often waxed eloquent in elucidating the mysteries of iniquity.\r\n\r\nYet was all this their lore graven upon so uncouth, outlandish, and\r\nantiquated tablets, that it was all but lost to the mass of their\r\ncountrymen; and some old sachem of a wise man is quoted as having said,\r\nthat their treasures were locked up after such a fashion, that for old\r\niron, the key was worth more than the chest and its contents.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 2"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJSXQJSFA54DV177XKGV2","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1954N2G0NAERBNJXEX9","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AKQYT9PV1MEMJATEA3FVJ","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"prev"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:14.298Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:23.004Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}