copulates with men or women from whom he receives none of the
sacrifices, homage or offerings which he is wont to exact from Wizards
or Witches, as aforesaid. He is then but a passionate lover, having
only one desire: the carnal possession of the loved ones. Of this
there are numerous instances to be found in the authors, amongst
which the case of Menippus Lycius, who, after frequent coition with a
woman, was by her entreated to marry her; but a certain philosopher,
who partook of the wedding entertainment, having guessed what that
woman was, told Menippus that he had to deal with a _Compusa_, that
is a Succuba Demon; whereupon the bride vanished bewailing: such is
the narrative given by Cœlius Rhodiginus, _Antiq._, book 29, chapt.
5. Hector Boethius (_Hist. Scot._) also relates the case of a young
Scot, who, during many months, with closed doors and windows, was
visited in his bed-room by a Succuba Demon of the most bewitching
beauty; caresses, kisses, embraces, entreaties, she resorted to every
blandishment _ut secum coiret_: but she could not prevail on the chaste
young man.
26. Similiter, multas fœminas legimus ab Incubo Dæmone expetitas ad
coitum, ipsisque repugnantibus facinus admittere, precibus, fletibus,
blanditiis, non secus ac perditissimus amasius, procurasse animum
ipsarum demulcere, et ad congressum inclinare; et quamvis aliquoties
hoc eveniat ob maleficium, ut nempe Dæmon missus a maleficis hoc
procuret: tamen non raro Dæmon ex se hoc agit, ut scribit Guaccius,
=Comp. Mal.= lib. 3. c. 8., et non solum hoc evenit cum mulieribus,
sed etiam cum equabus, cum quibus commiscetur; quæ si libenter coitum
admittunt, ab eo curantur optime, ac ipsarum jubæ varie artificiosis
et inextricabilibus nodis texuntur; si autem illum adversentur, eas
male tractat, percutit, macras reddit, et tandem necat, ut quotidiana
constat experientia.
26. We read likewise of numerous women incited to coition by the
Incubus Demon, and who, though reluctant at first of yielding to
him, are soon moved by his entreaties, tears and endearments; he is
a desperate lover and must not be denied. And although this comes
sometimes of the craft of some Wizard who avails himself of the agency
of the Demon, yet the Demon not infrequently acts on his own account;
and it happens not merely with women, but also with mares; if they
readily comply with his desire, he pets them, and plaits their mane in
elaborate and inextricable tresses; but if they resist, he ill-treats
and strikes them, smites them with the glanders, and finally puts them
to death, as is shown by daily experience.
27. Et quod mirum est, et pene incapabile, tales Incubi, qui Italice
vocantur =Folletti=, Hispanice =Duendes=, Gallice =Follets=, nec
Exorcistis obediunt, nec exorcismos pavent, nec res sacras reverentur
ad earum approximationem timorem ostendendo, sicuti faciunt Dæmones,
qui obsessos vexant; quantumvis enim maligni Spiritus sint obstinati,
nec parere velint Exorcistæ præcipienti, ut exeant a corporibus quæ
obsident, tamen ad prolationem Sanctissimi Nominis Jesu, aut Mariæ, aut
aliquorum versuum Sacræ Scripturæ, impositionem Reliquiarum, maxime
Ligni Sanctæ Crucis, approximationem Sacrarum Imaginum, ad os obsessi
rugiunt, strident, frendent, concutiuntur, et timorem ac horrorem
ostendunt. Folletti vero nihil horum, ut dictum est, ostendunt, nec
a divexatione, nisi post longum tempus, cessant. Hujus rei testis
sum oculatus, et historiam recito quæ reipsa humanam fidem superat:
sed testis mihi sit Deus quod puram veritatem multorum testimonio
comprobatam describo.
27. A most marvellous and well nigh incomprehensible fact: the Incubi
whom the Italians call _Folletti_, the Spaniards _Duendes_, the French
_Follets_, do not obey the Exorcists, have no dread of exorcisms, no
reverence for holy things, at the approach of which they are not in the
least overawed; very different in that respect from the Demons who vex
those whom they possess; for, however obstinate those evil Spirits may
be, however restive to the injunctions of the Exorcist who bids them
leave the body they possess, yet, at the mere utterance of the most
holy name of Jesus or Mary, or of some verses of Holy Writ, at the mere
imposition of relics, especially of a piece of the wood of the Holy
Cross, or the sight of the holy images, they roar at the mouth of the
possessed person, they gnash, shake, quiver, and display fright and
awe. But the Folletti show none of those signs, and leave off their
vexations but after a long space of time. Of this I was an eye-witness,
and shall relate a story which verily passes human belief: but I take
God to witness that I tell the precise truth, corroborated by the
testimony of numerous persons.
28. Viginti quinque abhinc annis, plus minusve, dum essem Lector
Sacræ Theologiæ in Conventu Sanctæ Crucis Papiæ, reperiebatur in illa
civitate honesta quædam fœmina maritata optimæ conscientiæ, et bonum
habens ab omnibus eam agnoscentibus, maxime Religiosis, testimonium,
quæ vocabatur Hieronyma; et habitabat in parochia Sancti Michaelis. Hæc
quadam die domi suæ panem pinserat, et per furnarium miserat ad illum
decoquendum. Reportat panes coctos furnarius, et cum illis grandem
quamdam placentam curiose elaboratam, conditam butyro, et pastulis
Venetis, ut in ea civitate solent fieri placentæ hujusmodi. Renuit illa
placentam recipere, dicens se talem nullam fecisse. Replicat furnarius,
se illa die alium panem coquendum non habuisse, nisi illum quem ab ea
habuerat; oportere proinde, etiam placentam a se fuisse factam, licet
minime de illa recordaretur. Acquievit fœmina, et placentam cum viro
suo, filia quam habebat triennem, et famula comedit. Sequenti nocte
dum cubaret mulier cum viro suo, et ambo dormirent, expergefacta est
a quadam tenuissima voce, velut acutissimi sibili ad ipsius aures
susurrante, verbis tamen distinctis: interrogavit autem fœminam, =num
placenta illi placuisset?= Pavens fœmina cœpit se munire signo Crucis,
et invocare sæpius nomina Jesu et Mariæ. Replicabat vox, ne paveret,
se nolle illi nocere, immo quæcumque illi placerent paratum exsequi,
esse filo captum pulchritudinis suæ, et nil amplius desiderare, quam
ejus amplexu frui. Tum fœmina sensit aliquem suaviantem ipsius genas,
sed tactus ita levis, ac mollis, ac si esset gossipium subtilissime
carminatum id a quo tacta fuit. Respuit illa invitantem, nec ullum
responsum illi dedit: sed jugiter nomen Jesu et Mariæ repetebat, et se
Crucis signo muniebat; et sic per spatium quasi horæ dimidiæ tentata
fuit, et postea abscessit tentator.
Sequenti mane fuit mulier ad confessarium virum prudentem ac doctum,
a quo fuit in fide confirmata et exhortata, ut viriliter, sicut
fecerat, resisteret, et sacris Reliquiis se muniret. Sequentibus
noctibus par priori fuit tentatio, et verbis, et osculis, et par etiam
in muliere constantia. Hæc pertæsa talem ac tantam molestiam, ad
Confessarii consultationem, et aliorum gravium virorum, per Exorcistas
peritos fecit se exorcizare ad sciendum num esset obsessa; et cum
invenissent a nullo malo spiritu possideri, benedixerunt domui,
cubiculo, lecto, et præceptum Incubo fecerunt, ne auderet molestiam
amplius mulieri inferre. Sed omnia incassum: siquidem tentationem
inceptam prosequebatur, ac si præ amore langueret, ploratus et ejulatus
emittebat ad mulierem demulcendam, quæ tamen gratia Die adjuta semper
viriliter restitit. Renovavit Incubus tentationem, ipsi apparens
interdiu in forma pusionis, seu parvi homunculi pulcherrimi, cæsariem
habens rutilam et crispam, barbamque fulvam ac splendentem velut
aurum, glaucosque oculos, ut flos lini, incedebatque indutus habitu
Hispanico. Apparebat autem illi quamvis cum ea alii morarentur; et
questus, prout faciunt amantes, exercens, et jactando basia, solitasque
preces repetendo tentabat mulierem, ut ad illius amplexus admitteretur.
Videbatque, et audiebat illa sola præsentem ac loquentem, minime autem
cæteri adstantes.
Perseverabat in illa constantia mulier, donec contra eam iratus
Incubus, post aliquos menses blanditiarum novum persecutionis genus
adortus est. Primo abstulit ab ea crucem argenteam plenam Reliquiis
Sanctorum, et ceram benedictam, sive Agnum papalem B. Pontificis Pii
V, quæ secum semper portabat; mox etiam annulos et alia jocalia aura
et argentea ipsius, intactis seris sub quibus custodiebantur, in arca
suffuratus est. Exinde cœpit illam acriter percutere, et apparebant
post verbera contusiones, et livores in facie, brachiis, aliisque
corporis partibus, quæ per diem unum vel alterum perdurabant, mox in
momento disparebant contra ordinem contusionis naturalis, quæ sensim
paulatimque decrescit. Aliquoties ipsius infantulam lactentem cunis
eripiebat, et illam, nunc super tecta in limine præcipitii locabat,
nunc occultabat, nihil tamen mali in illa apparuit. Aliquoties totam
domus supellectilem evertebat; aliquoties ollas, paropsides, et alia
vasa testea minutatim frangebat, subinde fracta restituebat integra.
Semel dum ipsa cum viro cubaret, apparens Incubus in forma solita
enixe deprecabatur ab ea concubitum, et dum ipsa de more constans
resisteret, in furorem actus Incubus abscessit, et infra breve temporis
spatium reversus est, secum ferens magnam copiam laminarum saxearum,
quibus Genuenses in civitate sua et universa Liguria domos tegunt,
et ex ipsis fabricavit murum circa lectum tantæ altitudinis, ut ejus
conopeum adæquaret, unde necesse fuit scalis uti, si debuerunt de
cubili surgere. Murus autem fuit absque calce, et ipso destructo, saxa
in angulo seposita, quæ ibi per duos dies remanserunt visa a multis,
qui ad spectaculum convenerant; et post biduum disparuerunt.
Invitaverat maritus ejus in die S. Stephani quosdam amicos viros
militares ad prandium, et pro hospitum dignitate dapes paraverat; dum
de more lavantur manus ante accubitum, disparet in momento mensa parata
in triclinio; disparent obsonia cuncta, olla, caldaria, patinæ, ac
omnia vasa in coquina; disparent amphoræ, canthari, calices parati ad
potum. Attoniti ad hoc stupent commensales, qui erant octo, inter quos
Dux peditum Hispanus ad alios conversus ait: “Ne paveatis, ista est
illusio, sed pro certo mensa in loco in quo erat, adhuc est, et modo
modo eam tactu percipiam.” Hisque dictis circuibat cœnaculum manibus
extentis, tentans mensam deprehendere, sed cum post multos circuitus
incassum laborasset, et nil præter aerem tangeret, irrisus fuit a
cæteris; cumque jam grandis esset prandii hora, pallium proprium eorum
unusquisque sumpsit propriam domum petiturus. Jam erant omnes prope
januam domus in procinctu eundi, associati a marito vexatæ mulieris,
urbanitatis causa, cum grandem quendam strepitum in cœnaculo audiunt.
Subsistunt parumper ad cognoscendum causam strepitus, et accurrens
famula nuntiat in coquina vasa nova obsoniis plena apparuisse,
mensamque in cœnaculo jam paratam esse restitutam. Revertuntur in
cœnaculum, et stupent mensam mappis et manutergiis insolitis, salino,
et lancibus insolitis argenteis, salsamentis, ac obsoniis, quæ domi
parata non fuerant, instructam. A latere magna erecta erat credentia,
supra quam optimo ordine stabant calices crystallinis, argentini et
aurei, cum variis amphoris, lagenis, cantharis plenis vinis exteris,
puta Cretensi, Campano, Canariensi, Rhenano, etc. In coquina pariter
in ollis, et vasis itidem in ea domo nunquam visis, varia obsonia.
Dubitarunt prius nonnulli ex iis eas dapes gustare, sed confirmati
ab aliis accubuerunt, et exquisitissime omnia condita repererunt;
ac immediate a prandio, dum omnes pro usu illius tempores ad ignem
sedent, omnia ustensilia cum reliquiis ciborum disparuere, et repertæ
sunt antiquæ domus supellectiles simul cum dapibus, quæ prius paratæ
fuerant; et quod mirum est, convivæ omnes saturati sunt, ita ut nullus
eorum cœnam sumpserit præ prandii lautitia. Quo convincitur cibos
appositos reales fuisse, et non ex præstigio repræsentatos.
Interea effluxerant multi menses, ex quos cœperat hujusmodi persecutio:
et mulier votum fecit B. Bernardino Feltrensi, cujus sacrum corpus
veneratur in Ecclesia S. Jacobi prope murum illius urbis, incedendi
per annum integrum indutam panno griseo, et chordulato, quo utuntur
Fratres Minores, de quorum ordine fuit B. Bernardinus, ut per ipsius
patrocinium a tanta Incubi vexatione liberaretur. Et de facto die 28
Septembris, qui est pervigilium Dedicationis S. Michaelis Archangeli,
et festum B. Bernardini, ipsa veste votiva induta est. Mane sequenti,
quod est festum S. Michaelis, ibat vexata ad ecclesiam S. Michaelis,
quæ ut diximus erat parochialis ipsius, circa medium mane, dum frequens
populus ad illam confluebat; et cum pervenisset ad medium plateæ
ecclesiæ, omnia ipsius indumenta et ornamenta ceciderunt in terram et
rapta vento statim disparuerunt, ipsa relicta nuda. Adfuerunt sorte
inter alios duo equites viri longævi, qui factum videntes, dejectis ab
humero propriis palliis mulieris nuditatem, ut potuerunt, velarunt,
et rhedæ impositam ad propriam domum duxerunt. Vestes et jocalia quæ
rapuerat Incubus, non restituit nisi post sex menses.
Multa alia, et quidem stupenda operatus est contra eam Incubus, quæ
tædet exscribere, et per multos annos in ea tentatione permansit;
tandemque Incubus videns operam in ea perdere, destitit a tam importuna
et insolita vexatione.
28. About twenty five years ago, when I was a lecturer on Sacred
Theology in the convent of the Holy Cross, in Pavia, there was living
in that city a married woman of unimpeachable morality, and who was
most highly spoken of by all such as knew her, especially by the
Friars; her name was Hieronyma, and she lived in the parish of S.
Michael. One day, this woman had kneaded bread at home and given it out
to bake. The oven-man brought her back her loaves when baked, and with
them a large cake of a peculiar shape, and made of butter and Venetian
paste, as is usual in that city. She declined to take it in, saying
she had not made any thing of the kind.--“But”, said the oven-man, “I
had no other bread but yours to bake to-day, therefore this cake also
must have come from your house; your memory is at fault”. The good
lady allowed herself to be persuaded, and partook of the cake with
her husband, her little girl three years old, and the house servant.
The next night, whilst in bed with her husband, and both asleep, she
suddenly woke up at the sound of a very slender voice, something like
a shrill hissing, whispering in her ears, yet with great distinctness,
and inquiring whether “the cake had been to her taste?” The good lady,
frightened, set about guarding herself with a sign of the cross and
repeatedly calling the names of Jesus and Mary. “Be not afraid,” said
the voice, “I mean you no harm; quite, the reverse: I am prepared to
do any thing to please you; I am captivated by your beauty, and desire
nothing more than to enjoy your embraces”. And she felt somebody
kissing her cheeks, so lightly, so softly, that she might have fancied
being grazed by the finest down. She resisted without giving any
answer, merely repeating over and over again the names of Jesus and
Mary, and crossing herself; the tempter kept on thus for nearly half an
hour, when he withdrew.
The next morning the dame called on her Confessor, a discreet and
learned man, who confirmed her in her faith, exhorted her to maintain
her energetic resistance and to provide herself with some holy relics.
On the ensuing nights, like temptation with the same language and
kisses, like constancy also on the part of the woman. Weary however
of such painful and persistent molestation, taking the advice of
her Confessor and other grave men, she had herself exorcised by
experienced Exorcists, in order to ascertain whether perchance she was
not possessed. Having found in her no trace of the evil Spirit, they
blessed the house, the bed-room, the bed, and enjoined on the Incubus
to discontinue his molestations. All to no purpose: he kept on worse
than ever, pretending to be love-sick, weeping and moaning in order to
melt the heart of the lady, who however, by the grace of God, remained
unconquered. The Incubus then went another way to work: he appeared in
the shape of a lad or little man of great beauty, with golden locks, a
flaxen beard that shone like gold, sea-green eyes calling to mind the
flax-flower, and arrayed in a fancy Spanish dress. Besides he appeared
to her even when in company, whimpering, after the fashion of lovers,
kissing his hand to her, and endeavouring by every means to obtain her
embraces. She alone saw and heard him: for every body else, he was not
to be seen.
The good lady kept persevering in her admirable constancy till, at
last, after some months of courting, the Incubus, incensed at her
disdain, had recourse to a new kind of persecution. First, he took away
from her a silver cross filled with holy relics, and a holy wax or
papal lamb of the blessed Pontiff Pius V, which she always carried on
her person; then, leaving the locks untouched, he purloined her rings
and other gold and silver jewelry from the casket wherein they were
put away. Next, he began to strike her cruelly, and after each beating
bruises and marks were to be seen on her face, her arms or other parts
of her body, which lasted a day or two, then suddenly disappeared,
the reverse of natural bruises which decrease slowly and by degrees.
Sometimes, while she was nursing her little girl, he would snatch the
child away from on her breast and lay it upon the roof, on the edge
of the gutter, or hide it, but without ever harming it. Sometimes he
would upset all the furniture, or smash to pieces saucepans, plates
and other earthenware which, in the twinkling of an eye, he restored
to their former state. One night that she was lying with her husband,
the Incubus, appearing in his customary shape, vehemently urged his
demand which she resisted as usual. The Incubus withdrew in a rage,
and shortly came back with a large load of those flag stones which the
Genoese, and the inhabitants of Liguria in general, use for roofing
their houses. With those stones he built around the bed a wall so high
that it reached the tester, and that the couple could not leave their
bed without using a ladder. This wall however was built up without
lime; when pulled down, the flags were laid by in a corner where,
during two days, they were seen by many who came to look at them; they
then disappeared.
On S. Stephen’s day, the husband had asked some military friends to
dinner, and, to do honour to his guests, had provided a substantial
repast. Whilst they were, as customary, washing their hands before
taking their seats, suddenly vanished the table dressed in the
dining-room; all the dishes, saucepans, kettles, plates and crockery
in the kitchen vanished likewise, as well as the jugs, bottles and
glasses. You may imagine the surprise, the stupor of the guests, eight
in number; amongst them was a Spanish Captain of infantry, who,
addressing the company, said to them: “Do not be frightened, it is but
a trick: the table is certainly still where it stood, and I shall soon
find it by feeling for it”. Having thus spoken, he paced round the room
with outstretched arms, endeavouring to lay hold of the table; but
when, after many circuitous perambulations, it was apparent that he
laboured in vain and grasped at nought but thin air, he was laughed at
by his friends; and it being already high time for having dinner, each
guest took up his cloak and set about to return home. They had already
reached the street-door with the husband, who, out of politeness, was
attending them, when they heard a great noise in the dining-room: they
stood to ascertain the cause thereof, and presently the servant came up
to announce that the kitchen was stocked with new vessels filled with
food, and that the table was standing again in its former place. Having
gone back to the dining-room, they were stupefied to see the table
was laid, with cloths, napkins, salt-cellars, and trays that did not
belong to the house, and with food which had not been cooked there. On
a large sideboard all were arrayed in perfect order crystal, silver and
gold chalices, with all kind of amphoras, decanters and cups filled
with foreign wines, from the Isle of Crete, Campania, the Canaries,
the Rhine, etc. In the kitchen there was also an abundant variety of
meats in saucepans and dishes that had never been seen there before. At
first, some of the guests hesitated whether they should taste of that
food; however, encouraged by others, they sat down, and soon partook of
the meal, which was found exquisite. Immediately afterwards, as they
were sitting before a seasonable fire, every thing vanished at once,
the dishes and the leavings, and in their stead reappeared the cloth of
the house and the victual which had been previously cooked; but, for a
wonder, all the guests were satisfied, so that no one thought of supper
after such a magnificent dinner. A clear proof that the substituted
viands were real and nowise fictitious.
This kind of persecution had been going on some months, when the
lady betook herself to the blessed Bernardine of Feltri, whose body
is worshipped in the church of St James, a short distance from the
walls of the city. She made a vow to him that she would wear, during a
whole twelve-month, a grey frock, tied round her waist with a piece of
cord, and such as is worn by the Minor Brethren, the order to which
had belonged the blessed Bernardine; this she vowed, in the hope of
being, through his intercession, at last rid of the persecution of the
Incubus. And accordingly, on the 28^{th} of September, the vigil of the
Dedication of the Archangel S. Michael, and the festival of the blessed
Bernardine, she assumed the votive robe. The next morning, which was S.
Michael’s festival, the afflicted woman proceeded to the church of St
Michael, her own parish, already mentioned; it was about ten o’clock, a
time when a crowd of people were going to mass. She had no sooner set
foot on the threshold of the church, than her clothes and ornaments
fell off to the ground, and disappeared in a gust of wind, leaving
her stark naked. There happened fortunately to be among the crowd two
cavaliers of mature age, who, seeing what had taken place, hastened to
divest themselves of their cloaks with which they concealed, as well
as they could, the woman’s nudity, and having put her into a vehicle,
accompanied her home. The clothes and trinkets taken by the Incubus
were not restored by him before six months had elapsed.
I might relate many other most surprising tricks which that Incubus
played on her, were it not wearisome. Suffice it to say that, for
a number of years he persevered in his temptation of her, but that
finding at last that he was losing his pains, he desisted from his
vexatious importunities.
29. In hoc casu, et similibus qui passim audiuntur et leguntur,
Incubus ad nullum actum contra Religionem tentat, sed solum contra
castitatem. Hinc fit quod ipsi consentiens non peccat irreligiositate,
sed incontinentia.
29. In the above case, as well as in others that may be heard or read
of occasionally, the Incubus attempts no act against Religion; he
merely assails chastity. In consequence, consent is not a sin through
ungodliness, but through incontinence.