SCAPEGOAT AND SAINT
According to the tradition of the scapegoat, the evil or lower side of
man can be transferred from him to an animal. In this process of
removing disease or sin, the bad spirit is expelled from the human
being and enters the form of some beast. In India the scape-animal may
be a pig, buffalo, a goat or a black cock.
The Jews had the custom of bringing a goat to the door of the Tabernacle
and the high priest laid the sins of the people upon the animal, sending
it thereafter away with its burden into the wilderness.
In Thibet a human scapegoat, dressed in goat's skin, is kicked out of
the community as soon as the people have confessed their sins, and
wealthy Moors keep a wild boar in their stables as a vehicle for the
evil spirits to enter into which might otherwise injure their horses.
The Kaffirs sometimes take a goat in the presence of a sick man and
confess sins over him. Then a few drops of the patient's blood are
allowed to fall on the animal's head and the sickness is thought to be
transferred, the animal being turned loose over the veld. The
medicine-men of the Baganda races perform a similar operation, taking
hold of the animal and tying upon it some herbs they have passed over
the patient's body. Then the animal is driven away to waste land, and
the sick man is supposed to recover. The Baganda people transmit the
sins of a dead man to a calf, the animal being led three times round
the bier and the hand of the dead man being placed on its head, by
which act the calf takes upon itself the evil done by the deceased.
Then the scapegoat is driven on to waste land, where it cannot
contaminate anybody.
Thus Christ, in the country of the Gadarenes, permitted devils to use
swine as scapegoats when driving them out of two men possessed. The
unclean spirits besought the favour of Him, and the whole herd of
swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in
the waters.
St. Regulus, archbishop of Arles and Senlis, was once confronted by a
man possessed of a devil. The devil besought him, saying, "If you cast
me out suffer me to enter into the body of this ass," and the bishop
said, "Go!" When the devil was about to enter into the ass, the
animal, aware of his intention, made the sign of the cross on the
ground with his fore-foot and the devil found it impossible to obtain
his body and had to pass on, leaving the ass unmolested.
In another scapegoat story the devil leaves the possessed man in the
form of two worms:
Jean de la Roque was a young nobleman of vicious habits. St. Francis of
Paula hearing of the youth's evil ways sent a messenger to arrest him
and had him locked up in a monastery. Roque was furious at this manner
of tampering with his liberty and, vowing vengeance on those who
detained him, beat on the door of his cell and uttered loud cries. At
last, exhausted by passion, he lay down on the floor and slept. Then St.
Francis entered the cell and, waking the young sinner, said to him
coldly, "How now, friend, what thinkest thou? Pull from thine ear that
which torments thee so." The young man, still half asleep, put his hand
to his right ear and drew forth a hideous hairy worm of monstrous size.
Then putting his hand to his left ear he drew forth another similar
worm. Thus the devil by which he had been possessed came forth in the
form of two worms, and the young man, returning to himself, threw
himself at the saint's feet and prayed for pardon. He was formally
admitted to the monastery and remained there as a monk until 1520.
Birds, too, have been employed to carry away any evil,--from leprosy
to freckles.
The idea of the scapegoat is closely bound up with, and typifies the
substitution of the Christ for sinners and His eternal removal of
their transgressions.
In the legends of the saints, also, animals take upon themselves the
burden of sins committed and no human beings are more closely related to
the brute creation than the holy men, who frequently treated them as
though they were brothers. St. Francis of Assisi spoke to birds and
animals in the same tone that he used to his friends, and he often went
into solitudes and preached to the cattle of the field, the fishes of
the sea, the birds of the air, and the beasts of the forest; dumb
creatures which listened attentively to the words of wisdom which fell
from his lips. One day when he was preaching at Alviano, the swallows
were twittering so loudly that he grew annoyed. Breaking off suddenly in
his discourse, he said, "My sisters, the swallows, please keep peace
while I am preaching." After that they disturbed him no more.
There are many stories in which saints are assisted in their work by
animals. St. Gentius made a wolf which had eaten one of his oxen help
him with the ploughing. St. Maidoc, having neither ox, horse nor ass,
ordered a sea-cow to come from the ocean, which she did and, being
harnessed to the plough, she furrowed his fields. When St. Malo
settled down near Saintes, the neighbours made him a present of an
ass, which was one day killed by a wolf. St. Malo said to the wild
beast, "Since you have killed my ass you must serve me instead." The
wolf performed his duties admirably for many years without a grumble.
A similar story is told about St. Santes of Urbino.
When St. Ronan was accused of being a vampire, Grallo, King of
Quimper, horrified to hear of such a monster, set dogs upon him to
prove the truth of the statement. As the savage animals rushed towards
him the saint raised his right hand, made the sign of the cross, and
said, "Stop! in the name of the Lord." The animals became gentle at
once and fawned on the saint.
There are legends of the souls of saints being borne away by animals,
of the souls of saints taking flight in the shape of birds, of saints
changing from one animal form to another, of saints being approached
by the devil in the form of animals, and of saints being worshipped in
animal shape.
At the moment of the death of St. Vincent Ferrer, the windows of his
bedchamber opened of their own accord and a number of winged creatures
no larger than butterflies, white in colour and very beautiful, flew
into the house. As the saint drew his last breath these winged
creatures disappeared suddenly, leaving a delightful perfume behind
them. Everyone was convinced that the butterflies were angels who had
come to carry away the pure soul of the saint to paradise.
The same saint was said to be able to assume wings, whenever he
wished, and, in the form of a bird-angel, to fly through the air in
the hope of consoling and comforting anyone who was in trouble and
required his assistance.
St. Benedict (A.D. 480-543) was tempted by the devil in the form of a
blackbird. The saint had retired to a cavern in Subiaco, about fifty
miles west of Rome, and the evil one resolved to do away with a holy
man who might prove a great enemy to his kingdom upon earth. Taking
the form of a bird, he hovered around the hermit's dwelling-place,
sometimes approaching so close that the saint had only to put out his
hand to touch the bird. Becoming suspicious of the bird's motives,
however, St. Benedict made the sign of the cross and the evil spirit
vanished instantly.
St. Peter of Verona was also set upon by the devil, this time in the
shape of a horse. The holy man attracted large crowds to his church,
and the devil, growing jealous, rushed into the midst of the
congregation in the form of a black horse, stamping upon many present
and causing a panic of fear among the rest. The saint made the sign of
the cross and the phantom vanished in a cloud of smoke.
Sometimes the devil appears to saints in the form of a bull, and can
work serious bodily harm, as in the case of St. Catherine of Sweden,
daughter of prince Ulpho, who was brought up in the convent of
Risburgh. The abbess was at matins one morning and the devil, assuming
the form of a bull, tossed the child out of its cradle and left her
half-dead in the middle of the floor. The abbess found her in this
condition on her return, and the bull, addressing the holy woman,
cried, "I should certainly have finished my work if God had permitted
it," and then he vanished. The devil, according to tradition, has
often been seen in the form of a dog,[28] and some of the saints were
annoyed by such phantoms.
Simon Magus, the sorcerer, sent unto Peter the Apostle certain devils
in the likeness of dogs to devour him. St. Peter, "not looking for
such currish guests, consecrates certain morsels of bread and throws
them to the dog-devils, and by the power of that bread they are all
put to flight."[29]
When St. Stanislaus Kostka was preparing for admission into the society
of Jesus he was taken ill and the devil appeared to him in the guise of
a great black dog. The demon took the sick man three times by the throat
and tried to throttle him, but Stanislaus after some difficulty
succeeded in driving him away by making the sign of the cross.
Devils in the guise of rooks or crows annoyed St. Agnes of Mount
Pulciano by attacking her with beaks, claws, and wings. The young girl
with great presence of mind invoked the name of the Saviour and the
whole flock flew off.
St. Pascal Baylon, who lived from 1540-1592, was assailed by devils in
the guise of various animals. Sometimes they rushed upon him in the form
of lions and tigers seeking to devour him. As he withstood their attacks
with wonderful courage they tried to get at him in another way, and
offered to impress upon his body the marks of divine wounds, making
crosses of blood on various parts of his body. Then Pascal, horrified at
this form of deception, cried out to the evil one, "You ravening wolf,
how dare you take upon yourself the clothing of a lamb? Away with you!"
This speech acted as an exorcism, and the devil vanished.
The evil one has often been likened to a ravening wolf, which has led
to the symbolic form of transformation from a wolf to a lamb being
found in many legends--a mental change as extreme in its effects as
any physical change could be. Andrew Corcini, afterwards Bishop of
Fiesole, was converted in this figurative sense from a wolf into a
lamb. He was the son of wealthy parents in Florence, and, shortly
after his birth, in 1302, his mother dreamt that she had brought forth
a wolf and that her wolfish offspring ran into a church and became
transformed into a lamb. As the boy grew, his wolfish character was
clearly apparent; he was cruel, selfish, and untamable. One day his
mother said to him, "Andrew, you are in very truth the child of my
dream," and then she told him what she thought of him. He was greatly
struck by her story and spent the night in solitude and prayer. The
next day he went to the church of the Carmelites and, prostrating
himself before the image of the Virgin, he said, "Glorious Virgin, see
the wolf full of iniquity at thy feet. Thy offspring, oh mother, was a
Lamb without blemish. Make me also a lamb of God, and receive me into
the fold." For three hours he prayed without ceasing, and then the
prior found him and acceded to his request to be taken into the
Carmelite order, when he became a changed man.[30] He died in 1373.
St. William of Acquitaine was also "converted from a wolf to a lamb"
(A.D. 1157). He was Count of Poitou and Duke of Guyenne, a giant in
stature and a wild beast in disposition. Through the holy offices of
St. Bernard he became changed, and calling himself "the chief of
sinners" repented of his evil ways in sackcloth and ashes.[31]
These cases of spiritual transformation from animal-man to man-animal,
though interesting psychologically, do not awaken the intense
curiosity which material metamorphosis arouses, and which centres
especially in the subject of the wer-wolf.
Bodin[32] accumulated a large amount of evidence in favour of actual
transformation. He quotes one Pierre Mamor, who, whilst in Savoy,
deposed to having seen a man change into a wolf and described how he
did it. Henry of Cologne, author of a treatise, "de Lamys," vouched
for the truth of similar statements. Ulrich le Meusnier, who dedicated
a treatise to the Emperor Sigismund, gave numerous examples of the
veritability of transformation, and swore to having seen a wer-wolf at
Constance, who was accused of and executed for this crime. Germany,
Greece, and Asia were much infested by these pests. In 1542, under the
rule of Sultan Suleiman, a number of wer-wolves were found at
Constantinople. The Emperor called out the guard and, marching forth
at its head, freed the city of one hundred and fifty of these terrors
in full view of the people.
Paracelsus, one of the greatest occultists the world has known, was
positive that men could change into animals. Gaspar Peucerus, who had
long been sceptical and thought such ideas were a fable, was
constrained to believe there was truth in certain stories brought to
him by merchants trading in Livonia, who had seen victims of
lycanthropia executed for their misdeeds.
In the history of Johannus Trithemius, it may be read that in the year
970 there was a Jew called Baian, son of Simeon, who was not only able
to turn into a wolf at pleasure, but could also render himself
invulnerable, and Sigebertus, the historian, wrote that one of the Kings
of Bulgaria was able to transform himself into all kinds of animals.
Boguet, if anything, erred on the side of credulity. He asserted that in
1148 a huge man-wolf was seen at Geneva, which killed thirty people.[33]
In July, 1603, in the district of Douvres and Jeurre a great storm of
hail fell and damaged all the fruit trees, and three mysterious wolves
were seen. They had no tails, and they passed harmlessly through a
herd of cows and goats, touching none of them except one kid, which
one of the wolves carried to a distance without in any way injuring
it. This unnatural conduct made it fairly evident that these were not
real wolves, but sorcerers who had brought about the hail-storm and
wished to visit the scene of the disaster. It was said that the
biggest wolf that led the pack must be the evil one himself.
The two stories which follow show that transformation was sometimes
regarded as an instrument of divine punishment for sins committed.
Albertus Pericofcius in Muscovy treated his subjects with gross
cruelty, and extorted herds and flocks from them. One night he was
away from home and all his cattle were killed. When informed of his
loss he swore a round oath, saying, "Let him who has slain, eat; if
the Lord chooses, let him devour me as well."
At his words some drops of blood fell to the ground, he was
transformed into a wild dog, and rushing upon his dead cattle began to
devour the carcases.
Another gentleman in the vicinity of Prague who had robbed his tenants
right and left took the last cow from a widow who had five children
to support. As a judgment he lost all his cattle, at which misfortune
he broke into horrible curses. He was there and then transformed into
a dog which had a human head.
These incidents, however, throw no light on the real nature of the
wer-wolf or wer-dog, which remains as much a mystery as that of the
vampire. In some points a similarity may be said to exist between
them, both being destructive forces, of an evil and self-seeking
character. Those afflicted become subject to trance-like states and
hysterical phenomena.
A certain kind of vampire (which is really a bloodsucking ghost) is
said to have the power of assuming animal shape, and Bulgarian
vampires appear to be especially gifted with this peculiarity.
It is believed in a certain district of Germany that unless money is
placed in the mouth of a corpse at the time of burial, or if the dead
man's name is not cut from his shirt, he will become a vampire and his
ghost will issue from his grave in the form of a pig.
A gruesome story is told of a witch who chose to wander in animal
shape. She died in 1345 and her body was cast rudely into a ditch, but
instead of resting quietly she roamed at night in the form of various
unclean beasts, leaving havoc and death in her tracks. On exhumation
she was found to be a vampire, and a stake was driven through her
breast, which, however, failed to have the desired effect. She still
prowled around in the dark, using the stake as a weapon with which to
slay her victims, nor did she cease her nefarious deeds until her body
had been reduced to ashes.
Camden says that jilted maidens or deserted wives used to bribe witches
to get their faithless men consigned to prison for lycanthropy, the
usual term being seven years, but, judging from the trials which are on
record, death by burning was more frequently resorted to.
FOOTNOTES:
[28] _See_ Chapter XXI on Animal Ghosts.
[29] Harsnet, Samuel, "Popish Impostures," 1603, pp. 97, 98.
[30] Surius, "Lives of the Saints."
[31] Thibault, "Life of Guillaume of Acquitaine."
[32] "De la Démonomanie des Sorciers," 1593, Book II, pp. 195-6.
[33] "Discours des Sorciers," 1610.