quadrare potest contra malos Dæmones obsidentes corpora, aut per
maleficia inferentes ipsis ægritudines, aut alia incommoda, sed
nullo modo facit ad propositum de Incubis: siquidem isti nec corpora
obsident, nec ipsis officiunt per ægritudines habituales, sed ad plus
ictibus et percussionibus torquent. Quod si equas coitum adversantes
macras reddunt, hoc faciunt subducendo illis cibum, et hoc modo
macrescere, et tandem interire eas faciunt. Ad hæc autem patranda
non eget Incubus alicujus rei naturalis applicatione (qua tamen eget
malus Dæmon inferens agritudinem habitualem), ea enim potest ex sua
vi organica naturali. Pariter Dæmon malus plerumque obsidet corpora,
et infert ægritudines ad signa cum ipso conventa et posita a Saga aut
Malefico, quæ signa multoties res naturales sunt præditæ vi nativa
nocendi, quibus naturaliter resistunt alia pariter naturalia contrariæ
virtutis. Incubus vero non sic; quia ex se, et nulla concurrente aut
Saga, aut Malefico, suas vexationes infert. Præterea res naturales
fugantes Incubos suam virtutem exercent, ac effectum sortiuntur absque
interventu alicujus exorcismi aut sacræ benedictionis; ut proinde
dici non possit, quod fuga Incubi inchoative sit a virtute naturali,
completive autem a vi divina, quia ibi nulla particularis intervenit
divini nominis invocatio, sed est purus effectus rei naturalis, ad quem
non concurrit Deus, nisi concursu universali, tanquam auctor naturæ, et
causa universalis, et prima in ordine efficientium.
70. But that explanation, however plausible the facts upon which it
rests, can at most be received as regards the Evil Spirits which
possess bodies or, through malefice, infect them with diseases or other
infirmities; it does not at all meet the case of Incubi. For, these
neither possess bodies nor infect them with diseases; they, at most,
molest them by blows and ill-treatment. If they cause the mares to grow
lean because of their not yielding to coition, it is merely by taking
away their provender, in consequence of which they fall off and finally
die. To that purpose the Incubus need not use a natural agent, as the
Evil Spirit does when imparting a disease: it is enough that it should
exert its own native organic force. Likewise, when the Evil Spirit
possesses bodies and infects them with diseases, it is most frequently
through signs agreed upon with himself, and arranged by a witch or a
wizard, which signs are usually natural objects, indued with their own
noxious virtue, and of course opposed by other equally natural objects
endowed with a contrary virtue. But not so the Incubus: it is of his
own accord, and without the cooperation of either witch or wizard, that
he inflicts his molestations. Besides, the natural things which put the
Incubi to flight exert their virtue and bring about a result without
the intervention of any exorcism or blessing; it cannot therefore be
said that the ejection of the Incubus is initiated by natural, and
completed by divine virtue, since there is in this case no particular
invocation of the divine name, but the mere effect of a natural object,
in which God cooperates only as the universal agent, the author of
nature, the first of efficient causes.
71. Duas circa hoc historias do, quarum primam habui a Confessario
Monialium, viro gravi, ac fide dignissimo. Alterius vero sum testis
oculatus.
In quodam Sanctimonalium monasterio degebat ad educationem Virgo
quædam nobilis tentata ab Incubo, qui diu noctuque ipsi apparebat,
ipsam ad coitum sollicitando eniximis precibus, tamquam amasius præ
amore dementatus; ipsa tamen semper restitit tentanti gratia Dei, ac
sacramentorum frequentia roborata. Incassum abiere plures devotiones,
jejunia et vota facta a puella vexata, exorcismi, benedictiones, et
præecepta ab exorcistis facta Incubo, ut desisteret a molestia illa;
nec quidquam proficiebatur multitudo reliquiarum, aliarumque rerum
benedictarum disposita in camera virginis tentatæ, nec benedictæ
candelæ noctu ibidem ardentes impediebant, quominus juxta consuetum
appareret ad tentandum in forma speciosissimi juvenis. Consultus
inter alios viros doctos fuit quidam Theologus magnæ eruditionis:
iste advertens virginem tentatam esse temperamenti phlegmatici
a toto, conjectavit Incubum esse dæmonem aqueum (dantur enim ut
scribit Guaccius, =Comp. Malefic.= l. 1. c. 19. fol. 129., Dæmones
ignei, aerei, phlegmatici, terrei, subterranei, et lucifugi), et
consului, quod in camera virginis tentatæ continue fieret suffimentum
vaporosum sequens. Requirunt ollam novam figulinam vitreatam; in hac
ponitur calami aromatici, cubebarum seminis, aristolochiæ utriusque
radicum, cardamomi majoris et minoris, gingiberis, piperis longi,
caryophyllorum, cinnamomi, canellæ caryophyllatæ, macis, nucum
myristicarum, styracis calamitæ, benzoini, ligni ac radicis rodiæ,
ligni aloes, triasantalorum una uncia, semiaquæ vitæ libræ tres;
ponitur olla supra cineres calidas ut vapor suffimenti ascendat, et
cella clausa tenetur. Facto suffimento advenit denuo Incubus, sed
ingredi cellam nunquam ausus est: sed si tentata extra eam ibat, et
per viridarium ac claustra spatiabatur, aliis invisibilis sibi visus
apparebat Incubus, et puellæ collo injectis brachiis violenter, ac
quasi furtive oscula rapiebat: quod molestissimum honestæ virgini erat.
Consultus denuo Theologus ille ordinavit puellæ, ut deferret pixidulas
unguentarias exquisitorum odorum, ut moschi, ambræ, zibetti, balsami
Peruviani, ac aliorum compositorum; quod cum fecisset, deambulanti per
viridarium puellæ apparuit Incubus faci minaci, ac furenti; non tamen
ad illam approximavit, sed digitum sibi momordit tanquam meditans
vindictam; tandem disparuit, nec amplius ab ea visus fuit.
71. To illustrate this subject, I give two stories, the first of which
I have from a Confessor of Nuns, a man of weight, and most worthy of
credit; the second I was eye-witness to.
In a certain monastery of holy Nuns there lived, as a boarder, a young
maiden of noble birth, who was tempted by an Incubus that appeared to
her by day and by night, and with the most earnest entreaties, the
manners of a most passionate lover, incessantly incited her to sin;
but she, supported by the grace of God and the frequent use of the
sacraments, stoutly resisted the temptation. But, all her devotions,
fasts and vows notwithstanding, despite the exorcisms, the blessings,
the injunctions showered by exorcists on the Incubus that he should
desist from molesting her; in spite of the crowd of relics and other
holy objects collected in the maiden’s room, of the lighted candles
kept burning there all night, the Incubus none the less persisted in
appearing to her as usual, in the shape of a very handsome young man.
At last, among other learned men, whose advice had been taken on the
subject, was a very erudite Theologian who, observing that the maiden
was of a thoroughly phlegmatic temperament, surmised that that Incubus
was an aqueous Demon (there are in fact, as is testified by Guaccius,
igneous, aerial, phlegmatic, earthly, subterranean demons who avoid the
light of day), and prescribed an uninterrupted fumigation in the room.
A new vessel, made of glass-like earth, was accordingly brought in,
and filled with sweet cane, cubeb seed, roots of both aristolochies,
great and small cardamon, ginger, long-pepper, caryophylleæ, cinnamon,
cloves, mace, nutmegs, calamite storax, benzoin, aloes-wood and
roots, one ounce of triasandalis, and three pounds of half brandy
and water; the vessel was then set on hot ashes in order to force up
the fumigating vapour, and the cell was kept closed. As soon as the
fumigation was done, the Incubus came, but never dared enter the cell;
only, if the maiden left it for a walk in the garden or the cloister,
he appeared to her, though invisible to others and throwing his arms
round her neck, stole or rather snatched kisses from her, to her
intense disgust. At last, after a new consultation, the Theologian
prescribed that she should carry about her person pills made of the
most exquisite perfumes, such as musk, amber, chive, Peruvian balsam,
and others. Thus provided, she went for a walk in the garden, where
the Incubus suddenly appeared to her with a threatening face, and in a
rage. He did not approach her, however, but, after biting his finger as
if meditating revenge, disappeared and was never more seen by her.
72. Alia historia est, quod in Conventu Magnæ Cartusiæ Ticinensis,
fuit quidam Diaconus, nomine dictus Augustinus, maximas, ac inauditas,
et pene incredibiles sustinens a quodam Dæmone vexationes; quæ tolli
nullo remedio spirituali (quamvis plura juxta plures exorcistas, qui
liberationem, sed incassum tentarunt, fuissent adhibita) potuerunt.
Me consuluit illius Conventus vicarius, qui curam divexati, utpote
Clerici, ex officio habebat. Ego videns frustranea fuisse consueta
exorcismorum remedia, exemplo historiæ suprarecensitæ consului
suffimentum simile superiori, utque divexatus pixidulas odoramentorum
supradictas deferret; et quia tabacchi usum habebat, et aqua vitæ
delectabatur, suasi ut et tabaccho et aqua vitæ moschata uteretur.
Dæmon illi apparebat diu noctuque ultra alias species, puta scheleti,
suis, asini, Angeli, avis, modo in forma unius, modo alterius ex suis
Religiosis, et semel in forma sui Prælati, nempe Prioris, qui hortatus
est vexatum ad puritatem conscientiæ, ad confidentiam in Deum, et ad
frequentiam confessionis; suasit ut sibi sacramentalem confessionem
faceret, quod etiam fecit; et expost Psalmos =Exsurgat Deus= et =Qui
habitat=, et mox Evangelium S. Joannis simul cum vexato recitavit, et
ad ea verba =Verbum caro factum est= genuflexit, et accepta stola,
quæ in cella erat, et aspergillo aquæ benedictæ benedixit cellæ, ac
lecto vexati, et ac si revera fuisset ipsius Prior præceptum fecit
Dæmoni, ne auderet illum suum subditum amplius divexare, et post hæc
disparuit, sicque prodidit quisnam esset: aliter vexatus illum suum
Prælatum esse reputaverat. Postquam igitur suffimentum, ac odores,
ut supra dictum est, consulueram, non destitit Dæmon juxta solitum
apparere; imo assumpta figura vexati fuit ad cameram Vicarii, et ab
eo petiit aquam vitæ, ac tabaccum moschatum, dicens sibi talia valde
placere. Vicarius utrumque illi dedit: quibus acceptis disparuit in
momento, quo facto cognovit Vicarius se fuisse illusum a Dæmone tali
pacto: quod magis confirmavit assertum vexati, qui cum juramento
affirmavit, se illa die nullo modo fuisse in cella Vicarii. Iste mihi
totum retulit, et ex tali facto conjeci Dæmonem illum non fuisse
aqueum, ut erat Incubus, qui virginem ad coitum sollicitabat, ut
dictum supra est, sed igneum, vel ad minus aereum, ex quo gaudebat
vaporibus, ac odoribus, tabacco, et aqua vitæ, quæ calida sunt. Et
conjecturæ vim addidit temperamentum divexati, quod erat colericum quo
ad prædominium cum subdominio, tamen sanguineo. Dæmones enim tales non
accedunt nisi ad eos, qui secum in temperamento symbolizant; ex quo
validatur opinio mea de illorum corporeitate. Unde suasi Vicario, ut
acciperet herbas natura frigidas, ut nymphæam, hepaticam, portulacam,
mandragoram, sempervivam, plantaginem, hyoscyamum, et alias similes, et
ex iis compositum fasciculum fenestræ, alium ostio cellæ suspenderet;
similibusque herbis, tum cameram, tum lectum divexati sterneret. Mirum
dictu! comparuit denuo Dæmon, manens tamen extra cameram, nec ingredi
voluit, et cum divexatus illum interrogasset, quare de more intrare
non auderet, multis verbis injuriosis jactatis contra me, qui talia
consulueram, disparuit, nec amplius reversus est.
72. Here is the other story. In the great Carthusian Friary of Pavia
there lived a Deacon, Austin by name, who was subjected by a certain
Demon to excessive, unheard of and scarcely credible vexations;
although many exorcists had made repeated endeavours to secure his
riddance, all spiritual remedies had proved unavailing. I was consulted
by the Vicar of the convent, who had the cure of the poor clerk.
Seeing the inefficacy of all customary exorcisms, and remembering the
above-related instance, I advised a fumigation like unto the one that
has been detailed, and prescribed that the Deacon should carry about
his person fragrant pills of the same kind; moreover, as he was in the
habit of using tobacco, and was very fond of brandy, I advised tobacco
and brandy perfumed with musk. The Demon appeared to him by day and by
night, under various shapes, as a skeleton, a pig, an ass, an Angel,
a bird; with the figure of one or other of the Friars, once even with
that of his own Abbot or Prior, exhorting him to keep his conscience
clean, to trust in God, to confess frequently; he persuaded him to
let him hear his sacramental confession, recited with him the psalms
_Exsurgat Deus_ and _Qui habitat_, and the Gospel according to St John:
and when they came to the words _Verbum caro factum est_, he bent his
knee, and taking hold of a stole which was in the cell, and of the
Holy-water sprinkle, he blessed the cell and the bed, and, as if he had
really been the Prior, enjoined on the Demon not to venture in future
to molest his subordinate; he then disappeared, thus betraying what
he was, for otherwise the young deacon had taken him for his Prior.
Now, notwithstanding the fumigations and perfumes I had prescribed,
the Demon did not desist from his wonted apparitions; more than that,
assuming the features of his victim, he went to the Vicar’s room, and
asked for some tobacco and brandy perfumed with musk, of which, said
he, he was extremely fond. Having received both, he disappeared in the
twinkling of an eye, thus showing the Vicar that he had been played
with by the Demon; and this was amply confirmed by the Deacon, who
affirmed upon his oath that he had not gone that day to the Vicar’s
cell. All that having been related to me, I inferred that, far from
being aqueous like the Incubus who was in love with the maiden above
spoken of, this Demon was igneous, or, at the very least, aerial, since
he delighted in hot substances such as vapours, perfumes, tobacco
and brandy. Force was added to my surmises by the temperament of the
young deacon, which was choleric and sanguine, choler predominating
however; for, those Demons never approach but those whose temperament
tallies with their own: another confirmation of my sentiment regarding
their corporeity. I therefore advised the Vicar to let his penitent
take herbs that are cold by nature, such as water-lily, liver-wort,
spurge, mandrake, house-leek, plantain, henbane, and others similar,
make two little bundles of them and hang them up, one at his window,
the other at the door of his cell, taking care to strow some also on
the floor and on the bed. Marvellous to say! The Demon appeared again,
but remained outside the room, which he would not enter; and, on the
Deacon inquiring of him his motives for such unwonted reserve, he burst
out into invectives against me for giving such advice, disappeared, and
never came again.
73. Ex his duabus historiis apparet tales odores, et herbas respective
sua naturali virtute, nullaque interveniente vi supernaturali Dæmones
propulisse; unde convincitur quod Incubi patiuntur a qualitatibus
materialibus, ut proinde concludi debeat, quod communicant in materia
cum iis rebus naturalibus, a quibus fugantur, et ex consequenti corpore
sint præditi, quod est intentum.
73. The two stories I have related make it clear that, by their
native virtue alone, perfumes and herbs drove away Demons without the
intervention of any supernatural force; Incubi are therefore subject to
material conditions, and it must be inferred that they participate of
the matter of the natural objects which have the power of putting them
to flight, and consequently they have a body; that is what was to be
shown.
74. Et magis conclusio firmatur, si impugnetur sententia Doctorum
supracitatorum, dicentium, Incubum abactum a Sara fuisse vi Angeli
Raphaelis, non vero jecoris piscis callionymi, qualis fuit piscis a
Tobia apprehensus ad ripam Tigris, ut cum Vallesio, =Sacr. Philos.=, c.
42., scribit Cornelius a Lap. =in Tob.= c. 6. v. 2., =§ Quarto ergo=:
salva enim tantorum Doctorum reverentia, talis expositio manifeste
adversatur sensui patenti Textus, a quo nullo modo recedendum est
dummodo non sequantur absurda. En verba Angeli ad Tobiam: “=Cordis ejus
particulam, si super carbones ponas, fumus ejus extricat omne genus
Dæmoniorum, sive a viro, sive a muliere, ita ut ultra non accedant ad
eos, et fel valet ad unguendos oculos, in quibus fuerit albugo, et
sanabuntur=.” (=Tob.=, c. 6. v. 8. et 9.) Notetur, quæso, assertio
Angeli absoluta, et universalis de virtute cordis, seu jecoris, et
fellis illius piscis: non enim dicit: =Si pones particulas cordis
ejus super carbones, fugabis omne genus Dæmoniorum, et si felle unges
oculos, in quibus fuerit albugo, sanabuntur=: si enim ita dixisset,
congrua esset expositio, quod nempe Raphael supernaturali sua virtute
illos effectus patrasset, ad quos perficiendos inepta esset applicatio
fumi, et fellis: sed non ita loquitur, sed ait talem esse virtutem
fumi, et fellis absolute.
74. But, the better to establish our conclusion, it behoves to impugn
the mistake into which have fallen the Doctors above-quoted, such as
Vallesius and Cornelius a Lapide, when they say that Sarah was rid from
the Incubus by the virtue of the Angel Raphael, and not by that of the
callionymous fish caught by Tobit on the banks of the Tigris. Indeed,
saving the reverence due to such great doctors, such a construction
manifestly clashes with the clear meaning of the Text, from which it
is never justifiable to deviate, so long as it does not lead to absurd
consequences. Here are the words spoken by the Angel to Tobias: “_If
thou puttest on coals a particle of its heart, the smoke thereof will
expel all kinds of Demons, whether from man or woman, so that they
shall never return, and its gall is good for anointing eyes that have
whiteness, and healing them._” (Tobit, c. 6, v. 8 and 9). Pray notice
that the Angel’s assertion respecting the virtue of the heart or liver
and gall of that fish is absolute, universal; for, he does not say:
“_If thou puttest on coals particles of its heart, thou wilt put to
flight all kinds of Demons, and if thou anointest with its gall eyes
that have a whiteness, they shall be healed._” If he had thus spoken,
I could agree with the construction that Raphael had brought about, by
his own supernatural virtue, the effects which the mere application of
the smoke and the gall might not have sufficed to produce: but he does
not speak thus, and, on the contrary, says absolutely, that such is the
virtue of the smoke and the gall.
75. Quæro modo, an Angelus veritatem puram dixerit de virtute rerum, an
mentiri potuerit; pariter an albugo ab oculis Tobiæ senioris ablata sit
vi naturali fellis piscis, aut virtute supernaturali Angeli Raphaelis?
Angelum mentiri potuisse blasphemia hæreticalis est; sequitur igitur
puram veritatem fuisse ab eo assertam; talis autem non esset, si omne
genus Dæmoniorum non extricaretur a fumo jecoris piscis nisi addita
vi supernaturali Angeli, maxime, si hæc esset causa principalis talis
effectus, quemadmodum scribunt de hoc casu Doctores. Mentiretur absque
dubio medicus qui diceret: talis herba curat taliter pleuritidem,
sive epilepsiam, ut amplius non revertatur: si herba illa non curaret
illas ægritudines nisi inchoate, et perfecta illarum sanatio esset
ab alia herba conjuncta priori; sic pari modo mentitus fuisset
Raphael, asserens fumum jecoris extricare omne genus Dæmoniorum ita
ut ultra non accedant, si talis effectus esset a fumo solum inchoate,
principaliter vero, et perfecte a virtute Angeli. Præterea talis fuga
Dæmonis, vel secutura erat universaliter, et semper posito jecore
piscis super carbones a quoquam, vel debebat sequi in illo solummodo
casu particulari, jecore incusso a juniore Tobia. Si primum, ergo
oportet, quod cuicumque talem fumum per accensionem jecoris paranti,
assistat Angelus qui supernaturali virtute Dæmonem miraculose abigat
regulariter; et hoc est absurdum; ad positionem enim rei naturalis
deberet regulariter sequi miraculum, quod est incongruum, et si absque
Angeli operatione fuga Dæmonis non sequeretur, mentitus fuisset Raphael
asserens eam esse virtutem jecoris. Si autem effectus ille sequi
non debeat, nisi in illo casu particulari, mentitus fuisset Angelus
enuncians universaliter virtutem piscis, in fugando omni Dæmoniorum
genere, quod non est dicendum.
75. It may be asked whether the Angel spoke the precise truth regarding
the virtue of those things, or whether he might have lied; and
likewise, whether the whiteness was withdrawn from the eyes of the
elder Tobit by the native force of the gall of the fish, or by the
supernatural virtue of the Angel Raphael? To say that the Angel could
have lied would be an heretical blasphemy; he therefore spoke the
precise truth; but it would no longer be so if all kinds of Demons were
not expelled by the smoke of the liver of the fish, unless aided by the
supernatural force of the Angel, and especially, if such aid was the
principal cause of the effect produced, as the Doctors assert in the
present case. It would doubtless be a lie if a physician should say:
such an herb radically cures pleurisy or epilepsy, and if it should
only begin the cure, the completion of which required the addition of
another herb to the one first used; in the same manner, Raphael would
have lied when averring that the smoke of the liver expelled all kinds
of demons, so that they should not return, if that result had been only
begun by the smoke, and its completion had been principally due to the
virtue of the Angel. Besides, that flight of the demon was either to
take place universally and by any one whomsoever putting the liver of
the fish on the coals, or else it was only to occur in that particular
case, the younger Tobit putting the liver on. In the first hypothesis,
any person making that smoke by burning the liver should be assisted by
an Angel, who, through his supernatural virtue should expel the Demons
miraculously and regularly at the same time; which is absurd; for,
either words have no meaning, or a natural fact cannot be regularly
followed by a miracle; and, if the Demon was not put to flight without
the assistance of the Angel, Raphael would have lied when ascribing
that virtue to the liver. If, on the contrary, that effect was only to
be brought about in that particular case, Raphael would again have lied
when assigning to that fish, universally and absolutely, the virtue of
expelling the Demon: now, to say that the Angel lied is not possible.
76. Ulterius albugo oculorum detracta est ab oculis Tobiæ senioris,
et ipsius cæcitas sanata est a virtute naturali fellis piscis illius,
ut Doctores affirmant (Liran. Dyonisius; et Seraci. =apud Cornel. in
Tobi.=, c. 6. v. 9). Piscis enim Callionymus, qui vocatur Italice
=bocca in capo=, et quo usus est Tobias, fel habet pro celeberrimo
remedio ad detegendas albugines oculorum, ut scribunt concorditer
Dioscorides, l. 1. c. 96., Galenus, =De Simpl. Medicam.=, Plinius, l.
32. c. 7., Aclanius, =De Ver. Histor.=, l. 13. c. 14., et Vallesius,
=De Sacr. Philos.=, c. 47. Textus Græcus =Tobiæ=, c. 11. v. 13., habet:
“=Inspersit fel super oculos patris sui, dicens: Confide, Pater; ut
autem erosi sunt, detrivit oculos suos, et disquamatæ sunt ab angulis
oculorum albugines=.” Cum igitur eodem contextu Angelus aperuerit
Tobiæ virtutem jecoris, et fellis piscis, et hoc sua naturali virtute
cæcitatem Tobiæ senioris curaverit, concludendum est, quod etiam
fumus jecoris sua naturali vi Incubum fugaverit: quod concludenter
confirmatur a Textu Græco, qui ad =Tobiæ= c. 8. v. 2., ubi Vulgata
habet: “=Partem jecoris posuit super carbones vivos=”, sic habet:
“=Accepit cinerem, sive prunam thimiamatum, et imposuit cor piscis, et
hepar, fumumque fecit, et quando odoratus est Dæmon odores, fugit=.” Et
Textus Hebraicus ita cantat: “=Percepit Asmodeus odorem, et fugit=.” Ex
quibus textibus apparet, quod Dæmon fugit ad perceptionem fumi, sibi
contrarii, ac nocentis, non autem a virtute Angeli supernaturali. Quod
si in tali liberatione Saræ ab impetitione Incubi Asmodei, ultra fumum
jecoris intervenit operatio Raphaelis, hoc fuit in alligatione Dæmonis
in deserto superioris Ægypti, ut dicitur c. 8. v. 3. =Tobiæ=; fumus
quippe jecoris nequibat in tanta distantia agere in Dæmonem, aut illum
alligare. Quod inservire potest pro concordia supracitatorum Doctorum
(qui voluerunt Saram perfecte liberatam a Dæmone virtute Raphaelis) cum
sententia, quam tuemur: dico enim, quod ipsi senserint quod perfecta
curatio Saræ a Dæmone fuerit in alligatione ejus in deserto, quæ fuit
ab Angelo, quod et nos concedimus; sed extricatio, sive fugatio ejusdem
a cubiculo Saræ fuerit a vi innativa jecoris piscis, quod nos tuemur.