Apprehension. In some form or another, we’ve all had it. The word means different things, depending on where you are standing.
From that good old dictionary:
Apprehension.
1. anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen
2. understanding; grasp
3. the action of arresting someone
The next story from history contains all three. It was on this date, January 27, 1591, when a Scottish schoolmaster named Dr. John Fian was put to death. Horribly, he was burned at the stake for witchcraft at Castle Hill, Edinburgh. This came by order of his Royal Highness, King James VI. It was a part of the Berwick Witch Trials.
John Fian was a purported sorcerer. He confessed to having a pact with the Devil. That’s quite a thing. It was said that he led a group of people into mayhem, teaching them and registering them as witches. I am not sure how one registers as a witch. Could there be a BMV for witchcraft, I wonder?
He was accused of bewitching townsfolk and preaching witchcraft. In addition to that, he, and Agnes Sampson (and some others), were blamed for raising storms to sink the fleet of King James VI of Scotland and his wife Anne of Denmark. The royals were returning from Copenhagen, having just been married. The terrible storms nearly sank the ship. So John Fian, along with several other witches, were arrested.
They underwent intense examinations and were put to torture. Eventually, they were burned at the stake — the North Berwick Witch Trials.
Fian’s “apprehension” — being taken into custody — was caused by a confession from a guy named Gillis Duncan. I don’t know if I’d trust a guy named Gillis. Fian confessed to many things, but mostly he revealed that he made that contact with Satan. He turned it right around, though, and said he would renounce Satan and vow to lead the life of a Christian.
So, the next morning, he woke in his cell, and everyone what had happened. During the previous night, the Devil came to him in his locked cell, completely dressed in black and carrying a white wand. That Devil demanded that Fian would continue his faithful service.
Fian had an “apprehension” of the contract. He understood its meaning. But, he claimed he renounced Satan during the night. Right to the Devil’s face. They argued, I’m sure. Blah, blah, blah. You hear one devil argument….
At any rate, the Devil said Fian was going downstairs after his death. Period. He then dramatically broke the white wand and immediately vanished from his sight. Somehow, after the blowup, Fian got a hold of a key to his cell and escaped. He was eventually captured and tortured until his execution.
The next part tells the details. Skip, if your willy, for I feel “apprehension” when I read it:
“He endured the torture of having his fingernails forcibly extracted, then having iron pins thrust therein, the pilliwinks, and the boot to crush his feet until they were so small that they were no longer usable. He was reported to have endured the torture without expressing pain. He was finally taken to Castlehill in Edinburgh, placed in a cart, strangled, and burnt on January 27, 1591. The cost of his execution was £5 18s 2d.”
So, here we are, back to apprehension.
1. anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen
2. understanding; grasp
3. the action of arresting someone
So there it is — apprehension and so much more.
Sometimes life gives us different meanings. We just have to decide “witch” one the Universe might be speaking to.
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“We live in wonder, blaze in a cycle of passion and apprehension.”
― Carolyn Kizer
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“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
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“Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
― Corrie Ten Boom
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Witch one is it. Apprehsion or apprehension?
