The Enormity of Witches is Considered, and it is shown that the Whole
Matter should be rightly Set Forth and Declared.
Concerning the enormity of crimes,
it is asked whether the crimes of witches exceed, both in guilt, in pain, and
in loss, all the evils which God allows and has permitted from the beginning
of the world up till now. And it seems that they do not, especially as regards
guilt. For the sin which a man commits when he could easily avoid it is
greater than the sin which another man commits when he could not so easily
avoid it. This is shown by S. Augustine, de Ciuit. Dei: There is great
wickedness in sinning when it is so easy not to sin. But Adam, and others who
have sinned when in a state of perfection or even of grace, could more easily
because of the help of grace have avoided their sins — especially Adam who
was created in grace — than many witches, who have not shared in such gifts.
Therefore the sins of such are greater than all the crimes of witches.
And again in respect of punishment:
the greatest punishment is due to the greater blame. But Adam's sin was the
most heavily punished, as is plainly proved by the fact that both his guilt
and his punishment are shown in all his posterity by the inheritance of
original sin. Therefore his sin is greater than all other sins.
And again, the same is argued in
respect of loss. For according to S. Augustine: A thing is evil in that it
takes away from the good; therefore where there is the more good lost, there
the greater evil has gone before. But the sin of our first parent brought the
greatest loss both to nature and to grace, since it deprived us of innocence
and immortality; and no subsequent sin has brought such loss, therefore, etc.
But the contrary side: that which
includes the most causes of evil is the greater evil, and such are the sins of
witches. For they can, with God's permission, bring every evil upon that which
is good by nature and in form, as is declared in the Papal Bull. Besides, Adam
sinned only in doing that which was wrong in one of two ways; for it was
forbidden, but was not wrong in itself: but witches and other sinners sin in
doing that which is wrong in both ways, wrong in itself, and forbidden, such
as murders and many other forbidden things. Therefore their sins are heavier
than other sins.
Besides, sin which comes from
definite malice is heavier than sin which comes from ignorance. But witches,
out of great malice, despise the Faith and the sacraments of the Faith, as
many of them have confessed. Answer. The evils which are
perpetrated by modern witches exceed all other sin which God has ever
permitted to be done, as was said in the title of this Question. And this can
be shown in three ways, in so far as they are sins involving perversity of
character, though it is different with the sins that contravene the other
Theological virtues. First in general, by comparing their works indifferently
with any other worldly crimes. Secondly in particular, by considering the
species of the superstition and into what pact they have entered with the
devil. And thirdly, by comparing their sins with the sins of the bad Angels
and even with that of our first parents.
And first, sin is threefold,
involving guilt, punishment, and loss. Good also is correspondingly threefold,
involving righteousness, felicity, and use. And righteousness corresponds with
the guilt, felicity with punishment, and use with loss.
That the guilt of witches exceeds
all other sins is apparent in this way. For according to the teaching of S.
Thomas (II, 22, art. 2), there is in the matter of sin much that may be
considered whereby the gravity or lightness of the sin may be deduced; and the
same sin may be found heavy in one and light in another. For example, we can
say that in fornication a young man sins, but an old man is mad. Yet those
sins are, simply speaking, the heavier which are not only attended by the more
extensive and more powerful circumstances, but are in their nature and
quantity of a more essentially serious sort.
And so we can say that, though the
sin of Adam was in some respects heavier than all other sins, inasmuch as he
fell to the instigation of a smaller temptation, since it came only from
within; and also because he could more easily have resisted on account of the
original justice in which he was created: nevertheless in the form and
quantity of sin, and in other respects which aggravate the sin the more in
that it is the cause of many yet heavier sins, the sins of witches exceed all
other sins. And this will be made still clearer in two ways.
For one sin is said to be greater
than another in one or other of the following respects: in causality, as was
the sin of Lucifer; in generality, as Adam's sin; in hideousness, as was the
sin of Judas; in the difficulty of forgiving it, as is the sin against the
Holy Ghost; in danger, as in the sin of covetousness; in inclination, as is
the sin of the flesh; in the offending of the Divine Majesty, as is the sin of
idolatry and infidelity; in the difficulty of combating it, as the sin of
pride; in blindness of mind, as the sin of anger. Accordingly, after the sin
of Lucifer, the works of witches exceed all other sins, in hideousness since
they deny Him crucified, in inclination since the commit nastiness of the
flesh with devils, in blindness of mind since in a pure spirit of malignity
the rage and bring every injury upon the souls and bodies of men and beasts,
as has been shown from what has been said before.
And this, indeed, is indicated,
according to S. Isidore, by the . For they are called witches (maleficae)
on account of the enormity of their crimes, as has been said above.
Our contention is also deduced from
the following. There are two gradations in sin, a turning away, and a change
of heart. See our quotation from S. Augustine: Sin is to reject the
incommutable good, and to cleave to things that are variable. And the turning
away from God is as it were formal, just as the change of heart is as it were
material. Therefore the more a man is separated from God by it, the heavier is
the sin. And since infidelity is the chief cause of man's separation from God,
the infidelity of witches stands out as the greatest of sins. And this is
given the name of Heresy, which is Apostasy from the Faith; and in this
witches sin throughout their whole lives.
For the sin of infidelity consists
in opposing the Faith; and this may come about in two ways, by opposing a
faith which has not yet been received, or by opposing it after it has been
received. Of the first sort is the infidelity of the Pagans or Gentiles. In
the second way, the Christian Faith may be denied in two ways: either by
denying the prophecies concerning it, or by denying the actual manifestation
of its truth. And the first of these is the infidelity of the Jews, and the
second the infidelity of Heretics.
It is clear from this that the
heresy of witches is the most heinous of the three degrees of infidelity; and
this fact is proved both by reason and authority. For it is said in II. S. Peter
ii: It has been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness,
than, after they have known it, to turn from it. And it is reasonable to
suppose that, just as he who does not perform what he has promised commits a
greater sin than he who does not perform what he never promised, so the
infidelity of the heretics, who while professing the faith of the Gospel fight
against it by corrupting it, is a greater sin than that of the Jews and Pagans.
And again, the Jews sin more
greatly than the Pagans; for they received the prophecy of the Christian Faith
in the Old Law, which they corrupt through badly interpreting it, which is not
the case with the Pagans. Therefore their infidelity is a greater sin than
that of the Gentiles, who never received the Faith of the Gospel. But
concerning Apostasy, S. Thomas says in the Second of the Second,
question 12: Apostasy means a turning away from God and religion, and this may
happen according to the different ways by which man is joined to God; that is,
by faith, or by the subjection of the will to obedience, or by religion and
Holy Orders. S. Raymund and Hostiensis say that Apostasy is a rash departure
from the state of faith or obedience or Religion. Now if that which precedes
is removed, that which follows from it is also removed; but the converse
proposition is not true. Therefore Apostasy from the Faith is a greater sin
than the other two forms of infidelity, since in its case a precedent Religion
has been removed.
But according to S. Raymund, a man
is not to be judged an Apostate or deserter, however far and long he may have
strayed, unless he shows by his subsequent life that he has not though of
returning to the Faith. And this would be shown in the case of a cleric if he
were to marry a wife, or commit some similar crime. In the same way it is an
Apostasy of disobedience when a man wilfully spurns the teaching of the Church
and the Bishops. And such a man must be convicted of his infamy, and be
excommunicated.
Now when we speak of the Apostasy
of witches, we mean the Apostasy of perfidy; and this is so much the more
heinous, in that it springs from a pact made with the enemy of the Faith and
the way of salvation. For witches are bound to make this pact, which is
exacted by that enemy either in part or wholly. For we Inquisitors have found
some witches who have denied all the articles of Faith, and others who have
denied only a certain number of them; but they are all bound to deny true and
sacramental confession. And so, even the Apostasy of Julian does not seem to
have been so great, although in other respects he did more harm against the
Church; but we cannot speak of that here.
But it may be incidentally objected
that it is possible that they may keep the Faith in the thoughts of their
hearts, which God alone, and not even any Angel, can see into; but do
reverence and obedience to the devil only in outward form. The answer to this
seems to be that there are two degrees of the Apostasy of perfidy. One
consists in outward acts of infidelity, without the formation of any pact with
the devil, as when one lives in the lands of the infidels and conforms his
life to that of the Mohammedans. The other consists in a pact made with the
devil by one who lives in Christian lands, In the first case, men who keep the
Faith in their hearts but deny it in their outward acts, though they are not
Apostates or Heretics, are guilty of deadly sin. For in this way Solomon
showed reverence to the gods of his wives. And no one can be excused on the
ground that he does this through fear; for S. Augustine says: It is better to
die of hunger than to be fed by Idolaters. But however much witches may retain
the Faith in their hearts while denying it with their lips, they are still to
be judged Apostates, since they have made a treaty with death and a compact
with hell. Wherefore S. Thomas (II, 4), speaking of such magic works, and of
those who in any way seek help from devils, says: They are all Apostates from
the Faith, by reason of a pact made with the Devil, either in , when some
invocation is used, or by some deed, even if there is no actual sacrifice. For
no man can serve two masters.
To the same effect writes Blessed
Albertus Magnus, where he asks whether the sin of Magicians and Astrologers is
an Apostasy from the Faith. And he answers: In such there is always Apostasy
either of or of deed. For if any invocations are made, then there is an
open pact made with the devil, and it is plainly Apostasy in . But if
their magic is simply a matter of action, then it is Apostasy in deed. And
since in all these there is abuse of the Faith, seeing that they look for from
the devil what they ought to look for from God, therefore they are always to
be judged Apostates. See how clearly they set forth two degrees of Apostasy,
understanding a third, namely, that of thought. And even if this last is
lacking, yet witches are judged to be Apostates in and deed. Therefore,
as will be shown, they must be subject to the punishment of Heretics and
Apostates.
And there is in them a third
enormity of crime, exceeding all other heresies. For S. Augustine (XXVIII, 1
and 2) tells us that the whole life of infidels is a sin; and the gloss on Romans
xiv says that everything which comes not of faith is sin. What then is to be
thought of the whole life of witches, that is, of all their other actions
which are not pleasing to the devil, such as fasting, attending church,
communicating, and other things? For in all these things they commit deadly
sin, as is shown as follows. So far have they fallen in sin that, although
they have not lost all power of amendment (since sin does not corrupt the
whole good of their nature, and a natural light yet remains in them); yet,
because of their homage given to the devil, and unless they be absolved from
it, all their works, even when they appear to be good, are rather of an evil
nature. And this is not seen to be the case with other infidels.
For according to S. Thomas in the Second
of the Second, question 10, Whether every action of an infidel is a sin;
he says that the deeds of the unfaithful which are, of themselves, good, such
as fasting, almsgiving, and deeds of that sort, are no merit to them because
of their infidelity, which is a most grievous sin. Yet sin does not corrupt
the whole good of their nature, and there remains in them a natural light.
Therefore not ever deed of theirs is mortal sin, but only those which proceed
from their very infidelity, or are related to it. For example, a Saracen fasts,
to observe the law of Mohammed as to fasting, and a Jew observes his Feast
days; but in such things he is guilty of mortal sin. And in this way is to be
understood the above dictum of S. Augustine, that the whole life of infidels
is sin.
That Witches Deserve the heaviest Punishment above All the
Criminals of the World.
The crimes of witches, then,
exceed the sins of all others; and we now declare what punishment they deserve,
whether as Heretics or as Apostates. Now Heretics, according to S. Raymund,
are punished in various ways, as by excommunication,