understood those rational Creatures or animals of whom we have been
treating hitherto. They being, as we have said, capable of beatitude
and damnation, and Jesus-Christ being the mediator between God and
man, as also every rational Creature (for rational creatures attain
to beatitude in consideration of the merits of Christ, through the
grace he confers upon them, without which beatitude is impossible
of attainment), every rational creature must have cherished, at the
same time as the faith in one God, the hope of the advent of Christ,
and have had the revelation of his nativity in the flesh and of the
principles of the law of grace. Those were therefore the sheep which
were not _of that human fold_, and which Christ had to bring; the sheep
which were to hear His voice, that is, the announcement of His advent
and of the evangelical doctrine, either directly through Himself, or
through the Apostles; the sheep which, partaking with men of heavenly
beatitude, were to realize _one fold and one shepherd_.
101. Huic expositioni quam incongruam non puto, vim addit id quod
supra nº 77. ex D. Hieronymo retulimus de homunculo illo qui rogavit
D. Antonium, ut communem Deum, quem in carne humana esse passum
cognoverat, pro se et suis =deprecaretur=. Innuitur enim ex his, quod
illi notitiam habuerunt de adventu et morte Christi, quem tamquam Deum
optabant sibi propitium, ut proinde ad hoc intercessionem D. Antonii
expostularent.
101. To this interpretation, which I hold to be in no way improper,
force is added by what we related, according to St Hieronymus, of that
little man who requested St Anthony to _pray_, for him and his fellows,
unto the common God, whom he knew to have suffered in human flesh.
For, it implies that they were aware of the advent and of the death
of Christ, whom, as God, they were anxious to propitiate, since they
sought, to that effect, the intercession of St Anthony.
102. Facit ad idem id, quod ex Eusebio de =Præparat. Evang.= l. 5. c.
9., et Plutarcho l. de =Defectu Oracul.=, refert Cardinalis Baronius,
=Appar. Annal.= nº 129., et recenset inter prodigia, quæ tempore
mortis Christi evenere. Recitat igitur ex citatis Aucthoribus quod
Tiberii Imperatoris, sub quo passus est Christus, tempore, navigantibus
nonnullis a Græcia in Italiam, circa Insulas Echinades, cessatis
ventis, noctu navigium appulit prope terram. Audita fuit ab omnibus vox
magna quæ vocavit Tramnum. Erat is Nauclerus navigii, quo respondente
=Adsum=, replicavit vox: “=Quando perveneris prope quandam paludem,
annunciabis MAGNUM PANA MORTUUM ESSE=”: quod cum Tramnus fecisset,
auditi sunt repente multorum, imo multitudinis prope infinitæ gemitus,
et ululatus. Profecto isti fuerunt Dæmones, seu Angeli corporei, seu
animalia rationalia prope paludem degentia, utpote aquea, quæ audita
morte Christi, qui nomine magni Pan efferebatur, in lacrymas et
lamenta effusa sunt; prout etiam Hebræi nonnulli visa Christi morte
percutientes pectora sua revertebantur (=Luc.= c. 23. v. 48.). Ex
hucusque igitur deductis patet, quod dantur hujusmodi Dæmones, succubi
et incubi, constantes sensu, et ipsius passionibus obnoxii, ut probatum
est; qui generantur, corrumpuntur, et capaces sunt beatitudinis, et
damnationis, et ratione corporis subtilioris, nobiliores homine sunt,
et qui si cum hominibus, maribus aut fœminis, carnaliter commiscentur,
peccant, et eo peccato, quo peccat homo jungendo se cum bruto, quod
est homine ignobilius; proinde non raro hi Dæmones consuetudinem
habentes cum homine, aut equabus, post longam habitam communicationem
eos interficiunt. Causa porro hujus est, quod si inter tales datur
peccatum, cum sint in via, dari etiam debet pœnitentia; sicut ergo
homini peccanti consuetudinaliter cum bruto, ad tollendam occasionem
recidivandi, Confessarius injungit, ut brutum tollat de medio, ita
tali Dæmoni consuetudinario in peccato, et tandem pœnitenti accidit,
ut animal cum quo peccavit, sive homo, sive brutum fuerit, occidat;
nec enim tali Dæmoni mors data homini peccatum erit, sicut mors data
bruto non imputatur tamquam peccatum homini: ratione enim essentialis
differentiæ inter Dæmonem hujusmodi, et hominem, idem erit homo Dæmoni,
quod est homini brutum.
102. Thereto tends also the fact mentioned by Cardinal Baronius
(_Appar. Annal._ nº 129), after Eusebius and Plutarch, as being one
of the prodigies which took place at the time of the death of Christ.
He relates that in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, when Christ
suffered, whilst mariners bound from Greece to Italy, were by night,
and during a calm, in the vicinity of the Echinade Isles, their ship
was brought close to land. All the crew heard a loud voice calling
Tramnus, the master of the ship. He having answered to his name, the
voice replied: “When near such a marsh, announce that _the great Pan
is dead_.” Which Tramnus having done, there arose suddenly, as from
a numberless multitude, groans and shrieks. Doubtless, they were
Demons, or corporeal Angels, or rational animals living near the marsh
on account of their aqueous nature, and who, hearing of the death
of Christ, described by the name of Great Pan, burst into tears and
bewailing, like some of the Jews who, after witnessing the death of
Christ, went home smiting their breasts (_Luke_, ch. 23, v. 48). From
all that has been deduced above, it is therefore clear that there are
such Demons, succubi and incubi, endowed with senses and subject to the
passions thereof, as has been shown; who are born through generation
and die through corruption, are capable of beatitude and damnation,
more noble than man, by reason of the greater subtilty of their bodies,
and who, when having intercourse with man, male or female, fall into
the same sin as man when copulating with a beast, which is inferior to
him. Also, it not unfrequently occurs that those Demons slay the men,
women or mares with whom they have had protracted intercourse; and the
reason is that, being liable to sin whilst on the way to salvation,
_in via_, they must likewise be open to repentance; and, in the same
manner as a man, who habitually sins with a beast, is enjoined by
his confessor to destroy that beast, with a view to suppressing the
occasion of relapsing, it may likewise happen that the penitent demon
should slay the animal with which it sinned, whether man or beast; nor
will death thus occasioned to a man be reckoned a sin to the Demon, any
more than death inflicted on a beast is imputed as a sin to man; for,
considering the essential difference between a Demon of that kind and
man, the man will be the same thing to the Demon as the beast is to man.
103. Scio multos, et forte plerosque, qui hæc legerent, dicturos de me,
quod Epicurei et Stoici Philosophi nonnulli dixerunt de Divo Paulo,
=Actor.= c. 17. v. 18.: =Novorum Dæmoniorum videtur annunciator=, et
datam doctrinam exsibillabunt. Sed isti tenebuntur solvere argumenta
supra posita, et dicere quinam sint Dæmones isti Incubi, vulgo
=Folletti=, qui exorcismos, res sacras, et Christi Crucem non pavent, ac
alios effectus istorum, ac phænomena salvare, quæ nos ex data doctrina
ostendimus.
103. I am aware that many, perhaps most of my readers, will say of me
what the Epicureans and some Stoic Philosophers said of St Paul (_Acts
of the Apostles_, ch. 17, v. 18). “_He seemeth to be a setter forth of
strange gods_”, and will deride my doctrine. But they will none the
less have to answer the foregoing arguments, to show what are those
Incubi Demons, commonly called _Goblins_, who dread neither exorcisms,
nor the holy things, nor the Cross of Christ, and to explain the
various effects and phenomena related when propounding that doctrine.
104. Solvitur ergo ex his, quæ hucusque deducta sunt, quæstio, quam
proposuimus supra nº 30 et nº 34: resolutive innuimus, quomodo
mulier potest ingravidari a dæmone Incubo. Non enim hoc præstare potest
ex semine sumpto ab homine, ut fert communis opinio, quam confutavimus
nº 31 et 32: sequitur ergo, quod ipsa imprægnatur a semine Incubi, cum
enim animal sit, et generet, proprio pollet semine: et hoc modo optime
salvatur generatio Gigantum secuta ex commixtione Filiorum Dei cum
Filiabus hominum; nati siquidem sunt ex tali concubitu Gigantes, qui
licet homini essent similes, corpore tamen erant majores: et quamvis a
Dæmonibus geniti, viribus proinde pollerent, non tamen Dæmonum vires
et potentiam æquabant, ut sequitur in mulis, hinnis et burdonibus, qui
medii quodammodo sunt inter eas species animalium, a quibus promiscue
generantur, et superant quidem imperfectiorem, non attingunt autem
perfectiorem speciem generantium: mulus enim superat asinum, sed non
æquat perfectionem equæ, a quibus generatur.
104. What we have hitherto deduced accordingly solves the question
laid down N^{rs} 30 and 34, to wit: how a woman can be got with
child by an Incubus Demon? In fact, it cannot be brought about by
sperm assumed from a man, agreeably to the common opinion which we
confuted, N^{rs} 31 and 32; it follows, therefore, that she is directly
impregnated by the sperm of the Incubus, which, being an animal and
capable of breeding, has sperm of its own. And thus is fully explained
the begetting of Giants from the intercourse of the Sons of God with
the Daughters of men: for that intercourse gave birth to Giants who,
although like unto men, were of higher stature, and, though begotten
by Demons, and consequently of great strength, yet equalled them
neither in might nor in power. It is the same with mules, which are
intermediate, as it were, between the kinds of animals from whose
promiscuousness they are sprung, and which excel indeed the most
imperfect, but never equal the most perfect: thus, the mule excels
the ass, but does not attain the perfection of the mare, which have
begotten it.
105. Confirmat autem hanc sententiam consideratio, quod animalia
genita ex commixtione diversarum specierum non generant; sed sunt
sterilia, ut patet in mulis. Gigantes autem non leguntur Gigantes
generasse, sed natos a Filiis Dei, puta Incubis, et Filiabus hominum:
cum enim concepti fuerint ex semine Dæmoniaco mixto cum humano, non
potuerunt, tamquam mediæ speciei inter Dæmonem et hominem, generare.
105. In confirmation of the above inference, we observe that animals
sprung from the mixing of different kinds do not breed, but are
barren, as is seen with mules. Now we do not read of Giants having been
begotten by other Giants, but of their having been born of the Sons
of God, that is Incubi, and the Daughters of men: being thus begotten
of the Demoniac sperm mixed with the human sperm, and being, as it
were, an intermediate species between the Demon and man, they had no
generative power.
106. Dicetur fortasse contra hoc, non posse, ex semine Dæmonum, quod
pro sui natura opportet esse tenuissimum, fieri mixturam cum semine
humano, quod crassum est; unde nec generatio sequi possit.
106. It may be objected that the sperm of Demons, which must, by
nature, be most fluid, could not mix with the human sperm, which is
thick, and that, consequently, no generation would ensue.
107. Respondeo quod, ut dictum fuit supra nº 32: virtus generandi
consistit in spiritu, qui simul cum materia spumosa et viscida
deciditur a generante; sequitur ex hoc, quod semen Dæmonis quantumvis
tenuissimum, quia tamen materiale, optime potest commisceri cum spiritu
materiali seminis humani, ac fieri generatio.
107. I reply that, as has been said above, N^r 32, the generative power
lies in the spirit that comes from the generator at the same time as
the spumy and viscous matter; it follows that, although most liquid,
the sperm of the Demon, being nevertheless material, can very well mix
with the material spirit of the human sperm, and bring about generation.
108. Replicabitur adhuc contra conclusionem, quod si vere fuisset
Gigantum generatio ex semine Incuborum et Mulierum, nunc quoque
Gigantes nascerentur: non desunt enim mulieres coeuntes cum Incubis,
ut patet ex gestis SS. Bernardi et Petri de Alcantara, et aliarum
historiarum, quæ passim ab auctoribus recitantur.
108. It will be retorted that, if the generation of Giants had really
come from the combined sperms of Incubi and Women, Giants would
still be born in our time, since there is no lack of women who have
intercourse with Incubi, as is shown by the Acts of St Bernard and
Peter of Alcantara, and other stories related by various authors.
109. Respondeo, quod prout ex Guaccio dictum fuit supra nº 81: alii
sunt hujusmodi Dæmones terrei, alii aquei, aerei alii, et alii ignei,
qui respective in propriis eorum elementis habitant. Videmus autem
animalia eo majora esse quo majus est elementum in quo degunt, ut patet
in piscibus, inter quos licet multi sint minuti, ut etiam sunt plura
animalia terrestria minutissima, et tamen quia elementum aquæ majus
est elemento terræ (utpote continens majus semper est contento), ideo
pisces a tota specie superant in magnitudine molis animalia terrestria,
ut patet in balenis, orcynis, pistis seu pistricibus, thynnis, ac
aliis piscibus cetaceis, seu viviparis, qui quodvis animal terrestre
longe superant. Porro cum Dæmones hujusmodi animalia sint, ut hucusque
probatum est, eo erunt majores in magnitudine quo elementum majus
pro sui natura inhabitabunt. Et cum aer excedat aquam, et ignis aere
major sit, sequitur, quod Dæmones ætherei ac ignei longe superabunt
terrestres et aqueos, tum in mole corporis, tum in virtute. Nec
contra hoc facit instantia de avibus, qui licet incolant aerem, qui
major est aqua, tamen corpore minores sunt a tota specie piscibus et
quadrupedibus, quia aves, licet per aerem volatu spatientur, revera
tamen pertinent ad elementum terræ, in qua quiescunt; aliter enim
pisces nonnulli qui volant, ut hirundo marina, et alii, dici deberent
animalia aerea, quod falsum est.
109. I reply that, as has been said above, N^r 81, from Guaccius, some
of those Demons are earthly, some aqueous, some aerial, some igneous,
and they all dwell in their respective element. Now, it is well known
that animals are of larger size, according to the element they live in;
thus with fishes, many of which are diminutive, it is true, as happens
with animals that live on land; but, the element water being larger
than the element earth, since the container is always larger than the
contents, fishes as a species, surpass in size the animals that dwell
on land, as shown by whales, tunnies, cachalots, and other cetaceous
and viviparous fish which surpass by far all animals that live on land.
Consequently, these Demons being animals, as has been shown, their
size will be proportionate to the extent of the element they dwell in,
according to their nature. And, air being more extensive than water,
and fire than air, it follows that ethereal and igneous Demons will
by far surpass their earthly and aqueous fellows, both in stature and
might. It would be to no purpose to instance, as an objection, birds
which, although inhabitants of the air, a more extensive element than
water, are smaller, as a species, than fishes and quadrupeds; for, if
birds do indeed travel through the air by means of their wings, they
no less belong to the element earth, where they rest; otherwise, some
fishes that fly, such as the sea swallow, would have to be classed
among aerial animals, which is not.
110. Advertendum autem, quod post diluvium aer iste terraqueo globo
citissimus magis incrassatus est ex humiditate aquarum, quam fuerit
ante diluvium, et hinc forte est, quod ex tali humido, quod est
principium corruptionis, fiat, quod homines non ætatem ita producant,
ut faciebant ante diluvium. Ex ista autem aeris crassitie fit, quod
Dæmones ætherei, ac ignei, cæteris corpulentiores, nequeunt diutius
manere in hoc aere crasso, et si descendunt aliquando hoc fit
violenter, et eo modo quo urinatores ad ima maris descendunt.
110. Now, it must be observed that, after the flood, the air which
surrounds our earthy and aqueous globe, became, from the damp of the
waters, thicker than it had been before; and, damp being the principle
of corruption, that may be the reason why men do not live as long as
they did before the flood. It is also on account of that thickness
of the air that ethereal and igneous Demons, more corpulent than the
others, can no longer dwell in that thick atmosphere, and if they do
descend into it occasionally, do so only by force, much as divers
descend into the depths of the sea.
111. Ante diluvium autem, cum adhuc aer non ita crassus erat, veniebant
Dæmones, et cum mulieribus miscebantur, et gigantes procreabant, qui
magnitudinem corpoream Dæmonum generantium æmulabantur. Nunc vero
ita non est: Dæmones enim Incubi, qui fœminas incessunt, sunt aquei
quorum corporis moles magna non est: et proinde in forma homuncionum
apparent, et quia aquei etiam salacissimi sunt; luxuria enim in humido
est: ut proinde Venerem e mari natam Poetæ finxerint, quod Mythologi
explicant de libidine, quæ oritur ab humiditate. Cum ergo Dæmones, qui
corpore parvi sunt his temporibus mulieres imprægnent, non gigantes,
sed staturæ ordinariæ filii nascuntur. Sciendum porro quod si miscentur
corporaliter cum mulieribus Dæmones in sua ipsorum corpulentia
naturali, nulla facta immutatione aut artificio, mulieres illos non
vident, nisi tanquam umbram pæne incertam, ac quasi insensibilem, ut
patet in muliere illa, de qua diximus supra nº 28., quæ osculabatur
ab incubo, cujus tactus vix ab ea sentiebatur. Quando vero volunt se
visibiles amasiis reddere, atque ipsis delectationem in congressu
carnali afferre, sibi indumentum visibile assumunt, et corpus crassum
reddunt. Qua vero hoc arte fiat, ipsi norunt. Nobis curta nostra
Philosophia hoc non pandit. Unum scire possumus, et est, quod tale
indumentum seu corpus ex solo aere concreto constare nequiret, hoc enim
esse deberet per condensationem, et proinde per frigus; unde oporteret,
quod corpus illud ad tactum esset veluti glacies, et ita in coitu
mulieres non delectaret, sed torqueret, cum tamen contrarium eveniat.
111. Before the flood, when the air was not yet so thick, Demons came
upon earth and had intercourse with women, thus procreating Giants
whose stature was nearly equal to that of the Demons, their fathers.
But now it is not so; the Incubi Demons who approach women are aqueous
and of small stature; that is why they appear in the shape of little
men, and, being aqueous, they are most lecherous. Lust and damp go
together: Poets have depicted Venus as born of the sea, in order to
show, as explained by Mythologists, that lust takes its source in damp.
When, therefore, Demons of short stature impregnate women nowadays,
the children that are born are not giants, but men of ordinary size.
It should, moreover, be known that when Demons have carnal intercourse
with women in their own natural body, without having recourse to any
disguise or artifice, the women do not see them, or if they do, see but
an almost doubtful, barely sensible shadow, as was the case with the
female we spoke of, N^r 28, who, when embraced by an Incubus, scarcely
felt his touch. But, when they want to be seen by their mistresses,
_atque ipsis delectationem in congressu carnali afferre_, they assume a
visible disguise and a palpable body. By what means this is effected,
is their secret, which our short-sighted Philosophy is unable to
discover. The only thing we know is that such disguise or body could
not consist merely in concrete air, since this must take place through
condensation, and therefore by the influence of cold; a body thus
formed would feel like ice, _et ita in coitu mulieres non delectaret_,
but would give them pain; and it is the reverse that takes place.
112. Visa igitur differentia Dæmonum spiritualium, qui cum sagis
coeunt, et Incuborum, qui cum fœminis minime sagis rem habent,
perpendenda est gravitas hujus criminis in utroque casu.
112. Being admitted the distinction between spiritual Demons, which
have intercourse with witches, and Incubi, who have to do with women
that are nowise witches, we have to weigh the grievousness of the crime
in both cases.
113. In coitu sagarum cum Dæmonibus, eo quia non fit nisi cum
apostasia a Fide, et Diaboli cultu, et tot aliis impietatibus quas
recensuimus supra a nº 12. ad 24., est maximum quorumque peccatorum,
quæ ab hominibus fieri possunt: et ratione tantæ enormitatis contra
Religionem, quæ præsupponitur coitu cum Diabolo, profecto Dæmonialitas
maximum est criminum carnalium. Sed spectato delicto carnis ut sic,
et ut abstracto a peccatis contra Religionem, Dæmonialitas redigenda
est ad simplicem pollutionem. Ratio, et quidem convincentissima, est
quia Diabolus, qui rem habet cum sagis, purus spiritus est, et est
in termino ac damnatus ut dictum supra fuit; proinde si cum sagis
coit, hoc facit in corpore assumpto, aut a se formato, ut sentiunt
communiter Theologi. Porro corpus illud quamvis moveatur, non tamen
vivens est; sequitur ergo quod coiens cum tali corpore, sive mas sive
fœmina fuerit, idem delictum committit, ac si cum corpore inanimato aut
cadavere coiret, quod esset simplex mollities, ut alias demonstravimus.
Verum est, quod, ut observavit etiam Cajetanus, talis coitus effective
potest habere deformitates aliorum criminum juxta corpus a Diabolo
assumptum, et vas: si enim assumeret corpus virginis consanguineæ, aut
sacræ, effective esset tale crimen incestus aut sacrilegium, et si in
figura bruti coiret, aut in vase præpostero, evaderet Bestialitas aut
Sodomia.
113. The intercourse of witches with Demons, from its accompanying
circumstances, apostasy from the Faith, worshipping of the Devil, and
so many other ungodly things related above, N^{rs} 12 to 24, is the
greatest of all sins which can be committed by man; and, considering
the enormity against Religion which is presupposed by coition with the
Devil, Demoniality is assuredly the most heinous of all carnal crimes.
But, taking the sin of the flesh as such, exclusive of the sins
against Religion, Demoniality should be reduced to simple pollution.
The reason is, and a most convincing one, that the Devil who has to do
with witches is a pure spirit, has reached the goal and is damned, as
has been said above; if, therefore, he copulates with witches, it is
in a body assumed or made by himself, according to the common opinion
of Theologians. Though set in motion, that body is not a living one;
and it follows that the human being, male or female, _coiens cum tali
corpore_, is guilty of the same offence as if copulating with an
inanimate body or a corpse, which would be simple pollution, as we have
shown elsewhere. It has, moreover, been truly observed by Cajetanus,
that such intercourse can very well carry with it the disgraceful
characteristics of other crimes, according to the body assumed by the
Devil, and the part used: thus, if he should assume the body of a
kinswoman or of a nun, such a crime would be incest or sacrilege; if
coition took place in the shape of a beast, or _in vase præpostero_, it
would be Bestiality or Sodomy.
114. In coitu autem cum Incubo, in quo nulla habetur qualitas, vel
minima, criminis contra Religionem, difficile est rationem invenire,
per quam tale delictum Bestialitate et Sodomia gravior esset. Siquidem
gravitas Bestialitatis præ Sodomia, prout supra diximus, consistit
in hoc, quod homo vilificat dignitatem suæ speciei jungendo se cum
bruto quod est speciei longe inferioris sua. In coitu autem cum
Incubo diversa est ratio: nam Incubus ratione spiritus rationalis,
ac immortalis, æqualis est homini; ratione vero corporis nobilioris,
nempe subtilioris, est perfectior, et dignior homine; et hoc modo
homo jungens se Incubo non vilificat, immo dignificat suam naturam,
et ita, juxta hanc considerationem, Dæmonialitas nequit esse gravior
Bestialitate.