element, not even the least, of an offence against Religion, it is hard
to discover a reason why it should be more grievous than Bestiality and
Sodomy. For, as we have said above, if Bestiality is more grievous than
Sodomy, it is because man degrades the dignity of his kind by mixing
with a beast, of a kind much inferior to his own. But, when copulating
with an Incubus, it is quite the reverse: for the Incubus, by reason
of his rational and immortal spirit, is equal to man; and, by reason
of his body, more noble because more subtile, he is more perfect and
more dignified than man. Consequently, when having intercourse with an
Incubus, man does not degrade, but rather dignifies his nature; and,
taking that into consideration, Demoniality cannot be more grievous
than Bestiality.
115. Tamen gravior communiter censetur, et ratio, meo videri, potest
esse: quia peccatum contra Religionem est, quævis communicatio cum
Diabolo, sive ex pacto, sive non; puta habendo cum eo consuetudinem
aut familiaritatem, seu ab eo petendo auxilium, consilium, favorem,
aut ab ipso quærendo revelationem futurorum, relationem præteritorum,
absentium aut alias occultorum. Hujusmodi autem homines, seu mulieres,
concumbendo cum Incubis, quos nesciunt animalia esse, sed putant esse
diabolos, contra conscientiam erroneam delinquunt; et hoc modo ex
conscientia erronea ita peccant cum Incubis se jungendo, ac si cum
diabolis coirent: unde et gravitatem ejusdem criminis incurrunt.
115. It is, however, commonly held to be more grievous, and the
reason I take to be this: that it is a sin against Religion to hold
any communication with the Devil, either with or without compact, for
instance by being habitually or familiarly connected with him, by
asking his assistance, counsel or favor, or by seeking from him the
revelation of things to be, the knowledge of things gone by, absent,
or otherwise hidden. Thus, men and women, by mixing with Incubi, whom
they do not know to be animals but believe to be devils, sin through
intention, _ex conscientia erronea_, and their sin is intentionally the
same, when having intercourse with Incubi, as if such intercourse took
place with devils; in consequence, the grievousness of their crime is
exactly the same.
FINIS
[Illustration: Decoration]
APPENDIX
The manuscript of _Demoniality_ breaks off with the conclusion just
given. In a purely philosophical and theoretical acception, the work is
complete: for it was enough that the author should define, in general
terms, the grievousness of the crime, without concerning himself with
the proceedings which were to make out the _proof_, nor with the
_penalty_ to be inflicted. Both those questions, on the contrary, had,
as a matter of course, a place assigned to them in the great work _De
Delictis et Pœnis_, which is a veritable _Code for the Inquisitor_; and
Father Sinistrari of Ameno could not fail to treat them there with all
the care and conscientiousness he has so amply shown in the foregoing
pages.
The reader will be happy to find here that practical conclusion to
_Demoniality_.
(_Note by the Editor._)
[Illustration: Decoration]
PROBATIO DÆMONIALITATIS
=SUMMARIUM
1. De probatione criminis Dæmonialitatis, distinguendum est.
2. Indicia probantia coitum Sagæ cum Diabolo.
3. Requiritur confessio ipsius malefici ad plenam probationem.
4. Historia de Moniali habente consuetudinem cum Incubo.
5. Si adsint indicia visa in recitata historia, potest ad torturam
deveniri.=
PROOF OF DEMONIALITY
SUMMARY
1. _Distinctions to be made in the proof of the crime of Demoniality._
2. _Signs proving the intercourse of a Witch with the Devil._
3. _The confession of the Sorcerer himself is requisite for a full
eviction._
4. _Tale of a Nun who had an intimacy with an Incubus._
5. _If the indictment is supported by the recitals of eye-witnesses,
torture may be resorted to._
_1. Quantum ad probationem hujus criminis attinet, distinguendum est
de Dæmonialitate, puta, vel ejus, quæ a Sagis seu Maleficis fit cum
Diabolis; sive de ea, quæ ab aliis fit cum Incubis._
1. As regards the proof of that crime, a distinction must be made of
the kind of Demoniality, to wit: whether it is that which is practiced
by Witches or Wizards with the Devil, or that which other persons
perpetrate with Incubi.
2. Quoad primam, probato crimine pacti facti cum Diabolo, probata
remanet =Dæmonialitas= ex consequentia necessaria; nam scopus
tum Sagarum, tum Maleficorum in ludis nocturnis, ultra convivia, et
choreas, est hujusmodi infamis congressus: aliter, illius criminis
nullus potest esse testis, quia Diabolus, qui Sagæ visibilis est,
aliorum oculos effugit. Verum est, quod aliquoties visæ sunt mulieres
in sylvis, agris, et nemoribus, supinæ jacentes, ad umbilicum tenus
denudatæ, et juxta dispositionem actus venerei, divaricatis et adductis
cruribus, clunes agitare, prout scribit Guacc., lib. 1, cap. 12, v.
=Sciendum est sæpius, fol. 65.= Tali casu emergeret suspicio
vehemens talis criminis, dummodo esset aliunde adminiculata, et
crederem talem actum per testes sufficienter probatum, sufficere Judici
ad indagandam tormentis veritatem; et hoc maxime, si post aliqualem
moram in illo actu, visus fuisset a muliere elevari quasi fumus niger,
et tunc mulierem surgere, prout ibidem scribit Guaccius; talis enim
fumus, aut umbra, Dæmonem fuisse concumbentem cum fœmina inferre
potest. Sicut etiam, si mulier visa fuisset concumbere cum homine,
qui post actum de repente evanuit, ut non semel accidisse idem auctor
ibidem narrat.
2. In the first case, the compact entered into with the Devil
being proved, the evidence of _Demoniality_ follows as a necessary
consequence; for, the purpose, both of Witches and Wizards, in the
nightly revels that take place after feasting and dancing, is none
other but that infamous intercourse; otherwise there can be no witness
of that crime, since the Devil, visible to the Witch, escapes the sight
of others. Sometimes, it is true, women have been seen in the woods, in
the fields, in the groves, lying on their backs, _ad umbilicum tenus
nudatæ, et juxta dispositionem actus venerei_, their legs _divaricatis
et adductis, clunes agitare_, as is written by Guaccius, book I, chap.
12, v. _Sciendum est sæpius_, fol. 65. In such a case there would be
a very strong suspicion of such a crime, if supported by other signs;
and I am inclined to believe that such action, sufficiently proved by
witnesses, would justify the Judge in resorting to torture in order
to ascertain the truth; especially if, shortly after that action, a
sort of black smoke had been seen to issue from the woman, and she had
been noticed to rise, as is also written by Guaccius; for it might
be inferred that that smoke or shadow had been the Devil himself,
_concumbens cum fœmina_. Likewise if, as has more than once happened,
according to the same author, a woman had been seen _concumbere cum
homine_, who, the action over, suddenly disappeared.
3. Cæterum ad probandum concludenter aliquem esse Maleficum, seu
Maleficam, requiritur propria confessio; nullus enim haberi potest de
hoc testis, nisi forte sint alii Malefici, qui in judicio deponunt de
complicibus; sed quia socii criminis sunt, eorum dictum non concludit,
nec etiam ad torturam sufficit, nisi alia existent indicia, puta,
sigillum Diaboli impressum in eorum corpore, prout diximus supra
=num. 23.=; et in eorum domibus, facta perquisitione, inveniant
signa, ac instrumenta artis diabolicæ, ut ossa mortuorum, præsertim
calvariam; crines artificiose contextos; nodos plumarum intricatos;
alas, aut pedes, aut ossicula vespertilionum, aut bufonum, aut
serpentium; ignotas seminum species; figuras cereas; vasculos plenos
incognito pulvere, aut oleo, aut unguentis minime notis, etc., ut
ordinarie contingit reperiri a Judicibus, qui, accepta accusatione
de hujusmodi Sagis, ad capturam, et domus visitationem deveniunt, ut
scribit Delbene, =de Off. S. Inquis., par. 2. dub. 206, num. 7.=
3. Moreover, in order to prove conclusively that a person is a Wizard
or a Witch, the own confession of such person is requisite: for there
can be no witnesses to the fact, unless perhaps other Sorcerers giving
evidence at the trial against their accomplices; from their being
confederates in the crime, their statement is not conclusive and does
not justify the recourse to torture, should not other indications be
forthcoming, such as the seal of the Devil stamped on their body, as
aforesaid, N^r 23, or the finding in their dwelling, after a search,
of signs and instruments of the diabolic art: for instance, bones
and, especially, a skull, hair artfully plaited, intricate knots of
feathers, wings, feet or bones of bats, toads or serpents, unfamiliar
seeds, wax figures, vessels filled with unknown powder, oil or
ointments, etc., as are usually detected by Judges who, upon a charge
being brought against Sorcerers, proceed to their apprehension and the
search of their houses.
4. Quantum vero ad probationem congressus cum Incubo, par est
difficultas; non minus enim Incubus, ac alii Diaboli effugiunt, quando
volunt, visum aliorum, ut videri se faciunt a sola amasia. Tamen non
raro accidit, quod etiam visi sint Incubi modo sub una, modo sub alia
specie in actu carnali cum mulieribus.
In quodam Monasterio (nomen ejus et urbis taceo, ne veterem ignominiam
memoriæ refricem) quædam fuit Monialis, quæ cum alia Moniali, quæ
cellam habebat suæ contiguam, simultatem ex levibus causis, ut
assolet inter mulieres, maxime Religiosas, habebat. Hæc sagax in
observando quascumque actiones Monialis sibi adversæ, per plures dies
vidit, quod ista in diebus æstivis, statim a prandio non spatiabatur
per viridarium cum aliis, sed ab iis sequestra, se retrahebat in
cellam, quam sera obserabat. Observatrix igitur æmula curiositate
investigans, quid tali tempore illa facere posset, etiam ipsa in
propriam cellam se recipiebat; cœpit autem audire submissam quasi
duorum insimul colloquentium vocem (quod facile erat, nam cella parvo
simplicis, scilicet lateris unius, disterminio dividebatur), mox
sonitum poppysmatum[4], concussionis lecti, gannitus, ac anhelitus,
quasi duorum concubentium; unde aucta in æmula curiositate stetit
in observatione, ut sciret, quinam in illa cella essent. Postquam
autem per tres vices vidit, nullam aliam Monialem egressam e cella
illa, præter æmulam, dominam cellæ, suspicata est Monialem in camera
absconditum aliquem virum, clanculum introductum, retinere; unde
et rem detulit ad Abbatissam, quæ consilio habito cum discretis,
voluit audire sonitus, et observare indicia relata ab accusatrice, ne
præcipitanter et inconsiderate ageret. Abbatissa igitur cum discretis
se receperunt in cellam observatricis, et audierunt strepitus, et
voces, quas accusatrix detulerat. Facta igitur inquisitione, an ulla
Monialium potuisset secum in illa cella clausa esse, et reperto quod
non, Abbatissa cum discretis fuit ad ostium cellæ clausæ; et pulsato
frustra pluries ostio, cum Monialis nec respondere, nec aperire vellet,
Abbatissa minata est, se velle ostium prosterni facere, et vecte
aggredi opus fecit a quadam conversa. Tunc aperuit ostium Monialis,
et facta perquisitione, nullus inventus est in camera. Interrogata
Monialis cum quonam loqueretur, et de causa concussionis lecti,
anhelituum, etc., omnia negavit.
Cum vero res perseveraret, accuratior, ac curiosior reddita Monialis
æmula perforavit tabulas lacunaris, ut posset cellam introspicere; et
vidit elegantem quemdam juvenem cum Moniali concumbentem, quem etiam
eodem modo ab aliis Monialibus videndum curavit. Delata mox accusatione
ad Episcopum, ipsaque Moniali omnia negante, tandem metu tormentorum
comminatorum adacta, confessa est se cum Incubo consuetudinem habuisse.
4. The proof of intimacy with an Incubus offers the same difficulty;
for, no less than other Demons, the Incubus is, at will, invisible to
all but his mistress. Yet, it has not seldom happened that Incubi have
allowed themselves to be surprised in the act of carnal intercourse
with women, now in one shape, now in another.
In a Monastery (I mention neither its name nor that of the town where
it lies, so as not to recall to memory a past scandal), there was
a Nun, who, about trifles, as is usual with women and especially
with nuns, had quarrelled with one of her mates who occupied a cell
adjoining to hers. Quick at observing all the doings of her enemy, this
neighbour noticed, several days in succession, that instead of walking
with her companions in the garden after dinner she retired to her cell,
where she locked herself in. Anxious to know what she could be doing
there all that time, the inquisitive Nun betook herself also to her
cell. Soon she heard a sound, as of two voices conversing in subdued
tones, which she could easily do, since the two cells were divided but
by a slight partition), then a peculiar friction[4], the cracking of
a bed, groans and sighs, _quasi duorum concumbentium_; her curiosity
was raised to the highest pitch, and she redoubled her attention
in order to ascertain who was in the cell. But having, three times
running, seen no other nun come out but her rival, she suspected that
a man had been secretly introduced and was kept hidden there. She went
and reported the thing to the Abbess, who, after holding counsel with
discreet persons, resolved upon hearing the sounds and observing the
indications that had been denounced her, so as to avoid any precipitate
or inconsiderate act. In consequence, the Abbess and her confidents
repaired to the cell of the spy, and heard the voices and other noises
that had been described. An inquiry was set on foot to make sure
whether any of the Nuns could be shut in with the other one; and the
result being in the negative, the Abbess and her attendants went to the
door of the closed cell, and knocked repeatedly, but to no purpose: the
Nun neither answered, nor opened. The Abbess threatened to have the
door broken in, and even ordered a convert to force it with a crow-bar.
The Nun then opened her door: a search was made and no one found. Being
asked with whom she had been talking, and the why and wherefore of the
bed cracking, of the sighs, etc., she denied every thing.
But, matters going on just the same as before, the rival Nun, become
more attentive and more inquisitive than ever, contrived to bore a hole
through the partition, so as to be able to see what was going on inside
the cell; and what should she see but an elegant youth lying with the
Nun, and the sight of whom she took care to let the others enjoy by the
same means. The charge was soon brought before the bishop: the guilty
Nun endeavoured still to deny all; but, threatened with the torture,
she confessed having had an intimacy with an Incubus.
[4] _Poppysmatum._--That word being but little used, it may be useful
to record here the definition given of it by the _Glossarium eroticum
linguæ latinæ_ (auctore P. P., Paris, 1826):
POPPYSMA.--Oris pressi sonus, similis illi quo permulcentur equi et
canes. Obscene vero de susurro cunni labiorum, quum frictu madescunt.
Father Sinistrari, well versed in classical literature, had turned to
account the following epigram of Martial (book VII, 18):
IN GALLAM
Quum tibi sit facies, de qua nec fœmina possit
Dicere, quum corpus nulla litura notet;
Cur te tam rarus cupiat, repetatque fututor,
Miraris? Vitium est non leve, Galla, tibi.
Accessi quoties ad opus, mixtisque movemur
Inguinibus, cunnus non tacet, ipsa taces.
Di facerent, ut tu loquereris, et ipse taceret!
Offendor cunni garrulitate tui.
Pedere te mallem: namque hoc nec inutile dicit
Symmachus, et risum res movet ista simul.
Quis ridere potest fatui =poppysmata= cunni?
Quum sonat hic, cui non mentula mensque cadit
Dic aliquid saltem, clamosoque obstrepe cunno:
Et si adeo muta es, disce vel inde loqui.
(_Editorial Note._)
5. Quando igitur adessent talia indicia, sicut in recitata historia
intervenerunt, posset utique in rigoroso examine rea constitui; sine
tamen ejus confessione, non censendum est delictum plene probatum,
quantumvis a testibus visus fuisset congressus; siquidem aliquando
accidit, quod Diabolus, ut infamiam alicui innocenti pararet,
præstigiose talem concubitum repræsentaverit. Unde in his casibus debet
Judex Ecclesiasticus esse perfecte oculatus.
5. When, therefore, indications are forthcoming, such as those
recited above, a charge might be brought after a searching inquiry;
yet, without the confession of the accused, the offence should not
be regarded as fully proved, even if the intercourse were testified
by eye-witnesses; for it sometimes happens that, in order to undo an
innocent female, the Devil feigns such intercourse by means of some
delusion. In those cases, the Ecclesiastical Judge must consequently
trust but his own eyes.
[Illustration: Decoration]
PŒNÆ
Quantum ad pœnas =Dæmonialitatis=, nulla lex civilis, aut
canonica, quam legerim, reperitur, quæ pœnam sanciat contra crimen
hujusmodi. Tamen, quia crimen hoc supponit pactum, ac societatem cum
Dæmone, ac apostasiam a fide, ultra veneficia, atque alia infinita
propemodum damna, quæ a Maleficis inferuntur, regulariter, extra
Italiam, suspendio et incendio punitur. In Italia autem, rarissime
traduntur hujusmodi Malefici ab Inquisitoribus Curiæ sæculari.
PENALTIES
As regards the penalties applicable to _Demoniality_, there is no law
that I know of, either civil or canonical, which inflicts a punishment
for a crime of that kind. Since, however, such a crime implies a
compact and fellowship with the Demon, and apostasy of the faith,
not to speak of the malefices and other almost numberless outrages
perpetrated by Sorcerers, as a rule it is punished, out of Italy, by
the gallows and the stake. But, in Italy, it is but very seldom that
offenders of that kind are delivered up by the Inquisitors to the
secular power.
[Illustration: Decoration]
[Illustration: Decoration]
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE[5]
[5] This Notice is an extract from tome 1 of the complete works of
Father Sinistrari, _Romæ_, 1753.
Father Ludovico Maria Sinistrari, of the Order of Reformed Minors of
the strict Observance of St. Francis, was born in Ameno, a small town
of the district of St. Julius, in the diocese of Novara, on the 26^{th}
of February 1622. He received a liberal education and went through a
course of humanities in Pavia, where, in the year 1647, he entered the
Order of Franciscans. Devoting himself henceforward to tuition, he was
first a professor of Philosophy; he then, during fifteen successive
years, taught Theology in the same town, amidst a numerous concourse
of students attracted from all parts of Europe by his high repute. His
sermons preached in the principal cities of Italy, at the same time as
they caused his eloquence to be admired, were productive of the most
happy results for piety. Equally endeared to the World and to Religion,
he had been favoured by nature with the most brilliant gifts: square
frame, high stature, open countenance, broad forehead, sparkling eyes,
high-coloured complexion, pleasant conversation replete with sallies
of wit[6]; more valuable still, he was in possession of the gifts of
grace, through which he was enabled to sustain, with unconquerable
resignation, the assaults of an arthritical disease he was subject to;
he was, moreover, remarkable for his meekness, candour and absolute
submission to the rules of his Order. A man of all sciences[7], he had
learnt foreign languages without any master, and often, in the general
Meetings of his Order, held in Rome, he supported, in public, theses
_de omni scibili_. He, however, addicted himself more particularly to
the study of Civil and Canon laws. In Rome he filled the appointment
of Consulter to the supreme Tribunal of the Holy-Inquisition; was some
time Vicar general of the Archbishop of Avignon, and then Theologian
attached to the Archbishop of Milan. In the year 1688, charged by the
general Meeting of Franciscans with the compilation of the statutes of
the Order, he performed this task in his treatise entitled _Practica
criminalis Minorum illustrata_. He died in the year of our Lord 1701,
on the 6th of March, at the age of seventy-nine[8].
[6] Quadrato corpore, statura procera, facie liberali, fronte
spatiosa, oculis rutilantibus, colore vivido, jucundæ conversationis,
ac lepidorum salium.
[7] Omnium scientiarum vir.
[8] The complete works of P. Sinistrari (_Rome, Giannini_, 1753-1754,
3 vol. in-folio) include the following books: _Practica criminalis
Minorum illustrata_,--_Formularium criminale_,--_De incorrigibilium
expulsione ab Ordinibus Regularibus_,--_De Delictis et Pœnis_, to
which should be added the present work: _De Dæmonialitate_, published
for the first time in the year 1875.
[Illustration: Decoration]
[Illustration: Decoration]
INDEX
Pages
Preface. v
Demoniality: origin of the word.--Wherein
that crime differs from those
of Bestiality and Sodomy.--Opinion
of St Thomas. N^{rs} 1 to 8. 1
Material intercourse with Incubi and
Succubi is not a thing of imagination;
testimony of St Austin. N^{rs} 9 and 10. 15
Wizards and Witches; their relations
with the Devil; ceremonials of their
profession. N^{rs} 11 to 23. 21
Artifices resorted to by the Devil for the
assumption of a body. N^r 24. 31
Incubi do not assail but women. N^r 26. 35
_Goblins_ have no dread of exorcisms. N^r 27. 37
Humorous story of signora Hieronyma:
the enchanted repast. N^r 28. 37
Men begotten by Incubi: Romulus and
Remus, Plato, Alexander the Great,
Cæsar-Augustus; Merlin the Enchanter,
Martin Luther.--The Antechrist
to be born of an Incubus. N^r 30. 53
Incubi are not pure spirits: they beget,
and therefore have a body of their own.--Remark
concerning Giants. N^{rs} 31
to 33. 57
Angels are not all pure spirits: decision
to that effect of the second Council of
Nicea N^r 37. 71
Existence of rational creatures or animals
other than man, and endowed,
like him, with a body and a soul. N^{rs} 38
to 43. 85
Wherein do those animals differ from
man? What their origin? Do they all
descend from one individual, as men
descend from Adam? Is there between
them a distinction of the sexes? What
are their manners, laws, social customs?
N^{rs} 44 to 50. 87
What are the shape and organisation of
their body? A comparison drawn from
the composition of wine. N^{rs} 51 to 56. 95
Are those animals subject to diseases,
to physical and moral infirmities, to
death? N^{rs} 57 and 58. 107
Are they born in the original sin? Have
they been redeemed by Jesus-Christ,
and are they capable of beatitude and
damnation? N^{rs} 61 and 62. 119
Proofs of their existence. N^{rs} 65 to 70. 123
Story of an Incubus and of a young
Nun. N^r 71. 139
Story of a young deacon. N^r 72. 145
Incubi are affected by material substances:
they therefore participate of the
matter of those substances. N^r 73. 149
Instance drawn from the history of Tobit;
ejection of the Incubus which
vexed Sarah; cure of old Tobias.
N^{rs} 74 to 76. 151
St Anthony falls in with a Faun in the
wilderness: their conversation. N^r 77
to 84. 161
Other proofs of the corporeity of Incubi,
especially the Manna of the Hebrews
or Bread of Angels. N^{rs} 90 to 95. 179
In what sense are to be understood the
words of Christ: “_Other sheep I have
which are not of this fold?_” Apollo’s
address to the Emperor Augustus:
the end of the Gods. N^{rs} 96 to 101. 191
“THE GREAT PAN IS DEAD”, or the death
of Christ announced to Fauns, Sylvans
and Satyrs: their bewailing. N^r 102. 203
Solving of the problem: How can a
woman be impregnated by an Incubus?--Comparison
of Giants with
mules. N^{rs} 104 and 105. 207
Wherein lies the generating virtue;
why no more Giants are born. _Luxuria
in humido._ N^{rs} 106 to 111. 211
Appreciation of the crime of Demoniality:
1º committed with the Devil;
2º committed with an Incubus. N^{rs} 112
to 114. 219
Is Demoniality more grievous than Bestiality?--Conclusion.
N^r 115. 223
APPENDIX 227
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE 245
[Illustration: Decoration]
LETTER
OF THE
_REV. FATHER PROVINCIAL OF CAPUCHINS_
FOR THE PROVINCE OF P....
_P..., Friday (8 October 1875)._
†
Pax
MONS. ISIDORE LISEUX,
Paris.