THE FIRST PART TREATING OF THE THREE NECESSARY
CONCOMITANTS OF WITCHCRAFT, WHICH ARE THE DEVIL, A WITCH, AND THE PERMISSION OF
ALMIGHTY GOD
PART I.
QUESTION I.
Here beginneth auspiciously the first part
of this work. Question the First.
Whether the belief that there are
such beings as witches is so essential a part of the Catholic faith that
obstinately to maintain the opposite opinion manifestly savours of heresy. And
it is argued that a firm belief in witches is not a Catholic doctrine: see
chapter 26, question 5, of the work of Episcopus. Whoever believes that any
creature can be changed for the better or the worse, or transformed into another
kind or likeness, except by the Creator of all things, is worse than a pagan and
a heretic. And so when they report such things are done by witches it is not
Catholic, but plainly heretical, to maintain this opinion.
Moreover, no operation of witchcraft
has a permanent effect among us. And this is the proof thereof: For if it were
so, it would be effected by the operation of demons. But to maintain that the
devil has power to change human bodies or to do them permanent harm does not
seem in accordance with the teaching of the Church. For in this way they could
destroy the whole world, and bring it to utter confusion.
Moreover, every alteration that takes
place in a human body - for example, a state of health or a state of sickness -
can be brought down to a question of natural causes, as Aristotle has shown in
his 7th book of Physics. And the greatest of these is the influence of
the stars. But the devils cannot interfere with the stars. This is the opinion
of Dionysius in his epistle to S. Polycarp. For this alone God can do. Therefore
it is evident the demons cannot actually effect any permanent transformation in
human bodies; that is to say, no real metamorphosis. And so we must refer the
appearance of any such change to some dark and occult cause.
And the power of God is stronger than
the power of the devil, so divine works are more true than demoniac operations.
Whence inasmuch as evil is powerful in the world, then it must be the work of
the devil always conflicting with the work of God. Therefore as it is unlawful
to hold that the devil's evil craft can apparently exceed the work of God, so it
us unlawful to believe that the noblest works of creation, that is to say, man
and beast, can be harmed and spoiled by the power of the devil.
Moreover, that which is under the
influence of a material object cannot have power over corporeal objects. But
devils are subservient to certain influences of the stars, because magicians
observe the course of certain stars in order to evoke the devils. Therefore they
have not the power of effecting any change in a corporeal object, and it follows
that witches have even less power than the demons possess.
For devils have no power at all save
by a certain subtle art. But an art cannot permanently produce a true form. (And
a certain author says: Writers on Alchemy know that there is no hope of any real
transmutation.) Therefore the devils for their part, making use of the utmost of
their craft, cannot bring about any permanent cure - or permanent disease. But
if these states exist it is in truth owing to some other cause, which may be
unknown, and has nothing to do with the operations of either devils or witches.
But according to the Decretals (33)
the contrary is the case. “If by witchcraft or any magic art permitted by the
secret but most just will of God, and aided by the power of the devil, etc . . .
. ” The reference here is to any act of witchcraft which may hinder the end of
marriage, and for this impediment to take effect three things can concur, that
is to say, witchcraft, the devil, and the permission of God. Moreover, the
stronger can influence that which is less strong. But the power of the devil is
stronger than any human power (Job xl). There is no power upon earth
which can be compared to him, who was created so that he fears none. Answer. Here are three
heretical errors which must be met, and when they have been disproved the truth
will be plain. For certain writers, pretending to base their opinion upon the
words of S. Thomas (iv, 24) when he treats of impediments brought about by magic
charms, have tried to maintain that there is not such a thing as magic, that it
only exists in the imagination of those men who ascribe natural effects, the
cause whereof are not known, to witchcraft and spells. There are others who
acknowledge indeed that witches exist, but they declare that the influence of
magic and the effects of charms are purely imaginary and phantasmical. A third
class of writers maintain that the effects said to be wrought by magic spells
are altogether illusory and fanciful, although it may be that the devil does
really lend his aid to some witch.
The errors held by each one of these
persons may thus be set forth and thus confuted. For in the very first place
they are shown to be plainly heretical by many orthodox writers, and especially
by S. Thomas, who lays down that such an opinion is altogether contrary to the
authority of the saints and is founded upon absolute infidelity. Because the
authority of the Holy Scriptures says that devils have power over the bodies and
over the minds of men, when God allows them to exercise this power, as is plain
from very many passages in the Holy Scriptures. Therefore those err who say that
there is no such thing as witchcraft, but that it is purely imaginary, even
although they do not believe that devils exist except in the imagination of the
ignorant and vulgar, and the natural accidents which happen to a man he wrongly
attributes to some supposed devil. For the imagination of some men is so vivid
that they think they see actual figures and appearances which are but the
reflection of their thoughts, and then these are believed to be the apparitions
of evil spirits or even the spectres of witches. But this is contrary to the
true faith, which teaches us that certain angels fell from heaven and are now
devils, and we are bound to acknowledge that by their very nature they can do
many wonderful things which we cannot do. And those who try to induce others to
perform such evil wonders are called witches. And because infidelity in a person
who has been baptized is technically called heresy, therefore such persons are
plainly heretics.
As regards those who hold the other
two errors, those, that is to say, who do not deny that there are demons and
that demons possess a natural power, but who differ among themselves concerning
the possible effects of magic and the possible operations of witches: the one
school holding that a witch can truly bring about certain effects, yet these
effects are not real but phantastical, the other school allowing that some real
harm does befall the person or persons injured, but that when a witch imagines
this damage is the effect of her arts she is grossly deceived. This error seems
to be based upon two passages from the Canons where certain women are condemned
who falsely imagine that during the night they ride abroad with Diana or
Herodias. This may read in the Canon. Yet because such things often happen by
illusion are merely in the imagination, those who suppose that all the effects
of witchcraft are mere illusion and imagination are very greatly deceived.
Secondly, with regard to a man who believes or maintains that a creature can be
made, or changed for better or for worse, or transformed into some other kind or
likeness by anyone save by God, the Creator of all things, alone, is an infidel
and worse than a heathen. Wherefore on account of these words “changed for the
worse” they say that such an effect if wrought by witchcraft cannot be real
but must be purely phantastical.
But inasmuch as these errors savour
of heresy and contradict the obvious meaning of the Canon, we will first prove
our points by the divine law, as also by ecclesiastical and civil law, and first
in general.
To commence, the expressions of the
Canon must be treated of in detail (although the sense of the Canon will be even
more clearly elucidated in the following question). For the divine in many
places commands that witches are not only to be avoided, but also they are to be
put to death, and it would not impose the extreme penalty of this kind if
witches did not really and truly make a compact with devils in order to bring
about real and true hurts and harms. For the penalty of death is not inflicted
except for some grave and notorious crime, but it is otherwise with death of the
soul, which can be brought about by the power of a phantastical illusion or even
by the stress of temptation. This is the opinion of S. Thomas when he discusses
whether it be evil to make use of the help of devils (ii. 7). For in the 18th
chapter of Deuteronomy it is commanded that all wizards and charmers are
to be destroyed. Also the 19th chapter of Leviticus says: The soul which
goeth to wizards and soothsayers to commit fornication with them, I will set my
face against that soul, and destroy it out of the midst of my people. And again,
20: A man, or woman, in whom there is a pythonical or divining spirit dying, let
them die: they shall stone them. Those persons are said to be pythons in whom
the devil works extraordinary things.
Moreover, this must be borne in mind,
that on account of this sin Ochozias fell sick and died, IV. Kings I.
Also Saul, I Paralipomenon, 10. We have, moreover, the weighty opinions
of the Fathers who have written upon the scriptures and who have treated at
length of the power of demons and of magic arts. The writings of many doctors
upon Book 2 of the Sentences may be consulted, and it will be found that they
all agree, that there are wizards and sorcerers who by the power of the devil
can produce real and extraordinary effects, and these effects are not imaginary,
and God permits this to be. I will not mention those very many other places
where S. Thomas in great detail discusses operations of this kind. As, for
example, in his Summa contra Gentiles, Book 3, c. 1 and 2, in part one,
question 114, argument 4. And in the Second of the Second, questions 92
and 94. We may further consult the Commentators and the Exegetes who have
written upon the wise men and the magicians of Pharao, Exodus vii. We may
also consult what S. Augustine says in The City of God, Book 18, c. 17.
See further his second book On Christian Doctrine. Very many other
doctors advance the same opinion, and it would be the height of folly for any
man to contradict all these, and he could not be held to be clear of the guilt
of heresy. For any man who gravely errs in an exposition of Holy Scripture is
rightly considered to be a heretic. And whosoever thinks otherwise concerning
these matters which touch the faith that the Holy Roman Church holds is a
heretic. There is the Faith.
That to deny the existence of witches is contrary to the obvious sense of the
Canon is shown by ecclesiastical law. For we have the opinions of the
commentators on the Canon which commences: If anyone by magic arts or witchcraft
. . . And again, there are those writers who speak of men impotent and bewitched,
and therefore by this impediment brought about by witchcraft they are unable to
copulate, and so the contract of marriage is rendered void and matrimony in
their cases has become impossible. For they say, and S. Thomas agrees with them,
that if witchcraft takes effect in the event of a marriage before there has been
carnal copulation, then if it is lasting it annuls and destroys the contract of
marriage, and it is quite plain that such a condition cannot in any way be said
to be illusory and the effect of imagination.
Upon this point see what Blessed
Henry of Segusio has so fully written in his Summa: also Godfrey of
Fontaine and S. Raymond of Peñafort, who have discussed this question in detail
very clearly, not asking whether such a physical condition could be thought
imaginary and unreal, but taking it to be an actual and proven fact, and then
they lay down whether it is to be treated as a lasting or temporary infirmity if
it continued for more than the space of three years, and they do not doubt that
it may be brought about by the power of witchcraft, although it is true that
this condition may be intermittent. But what is a fact beyond dispute is that
such impotency can be brought about through the power of the devil by means of a
contract made with him, or even by the devil himself without the assistance of
any witch, although this most rarely happens in the Church, since marriage is a
most excellent sacrament. But amongst Pagans this actually does happen, and this
is because evil spirits act as if they had a certain legitimate dominion over
them, as Peter of Palude in his fourth book relates, when he tells of the young
man who had pledged himself in wedlock to a certain idol, and who nevertheless
in the Church the devil prefers to operate through the medium of witches and to
bring about such effects for his own gain, that is to say, for the loss of souls.
And in what manner he is able to do this, and by what means, will be discussed a
little later, where we shall treat of the seven ways of doing harm to men by
similar operations. And of the other questions which Theologians and Canonists
have raised with reference to these points, one is very important, since they
discuss how such impotence can be cured and whether it is permissible to cure it
by some counter-charm, and what is to be done if the witch who cast the spell is
dead, a circumstance of which Godfrey of Fontaines treats in his Summa.
And these questions will be amply elucidated in the Third Part of this work.
This then is the reason why the
Canonists have so carefully drawn up a table of the various differing penalties,
making a distinction between private and open practice of witchcraft, or rather
of divination, since this foul superstition has various species and degrees, so
that anyone who is notoriously given to it must be refused Communion. If it be
secretly practised the culprit must do penance for forty days. And if he be a
cleric he is to be suspended and confined in a monastery. If he be a layman he
shall be excommunicated, wherefore all such infamous persons must be punished,
together with all those who resort to them, and no excuse at all is to be
allowed.
The same penalty too is prescribed by
the civil law. For Azo, in his Summa upon Book 9 of the Codex, the rubric
concerning sorcerers, 2 after the lex Cornelia, concerning assassins and
murderers, lays down: Let it be known that all those who are commonly called
sorcerers, and those too who are skilled in the art of divination, incur the
penalty of death. The same penalty is enforced yet again. For this is the exact
sentence of these laws: It is unlawful for any man to practise divination; and
is he does so his reward shall be death by the sword of the executioner. There
are others too who by their magic charms endeavour to take the lives of innocent
people, who turn the passions of women to lusts of every kind, and these
criminals are to be thrown to the wild beasts. And the laws allow that any
witness whatsoever is to be admitted as evidence against them. This the Canon
treating of the defence of the Faith explicitly enjoins. And the same procedure
is allowable in a charge of heresy. When such an accusation is brought, any
witness may come forward to give evidence, just as he may in a case of
lese-majesty. For witchcraft is high treason against God's Majesty. And so they
are to be put to the torture in order to make them confess. Any person,
whatsoever his rank or position, upon such an accusation may be put to the
torture, and he who is found guilty, even if he confesses his crime, let him be
racked, let him suffer all other tortures prescribed by law in order that he may
be punished in proportion to his offences.
Note: In days of old such criminals
suffered a double penalty and were often thrown to wild beast to be devoured by
them. Nowadays they are burnt at the stake, and probably this is because the
majority of them are women.
The civil law also forbids any
conniving at or joining in such practices, for it did not allow a diviner even
to enter another person's house; and often it ordered that all their possessions
should be burnt, nor was anyone allowed to patronize or to consult them; very
often they were deported to some distant and deserted island and all their goods
sold by public auction. Moreover, those who consulted or resorted to witches
were punished with exile and the confiscation of all their property. These
penalties were set in operation by the common consent of all nations and rulers,
and they have greatly conduced to the suppression of the practice of such
forbidden arts.
It should be observed that the laws
highly commend those who seek to nullify the charms of witches. And those who
take great pains that the work of man shall not be harmed by the force tempests
or by hailstorms are worthy of a great reward rather than of any punishment. How
such damage may lawfully be prevented will be discussed in full below.
Accordingly, how can it be that the denial or frivolous contradiction of any of
these propositions can be free from the mark of some notable heresy? Let every
man judge for himself unless indeed his ignorance excuse him. But what sort of
ignorance may excuse him we shall very shortly proceed to explain. From what has
been already said we draw the following conclusion; It is a most certain and
most Catholic opinion that there are sorcerers and witches who by the help of
the devil, on account of a compact which they have entered into with him, are
able, since God allows this, to produce real and actual evils and harm, which
does not render it unlikely that they can also bring about visionary and
phantastical illusions by some extraordinary and peculiar means. The scope of
the present inquiry, however, is witchcraft, and this very widely differs from
these other arts, and therefore a consideration of them would be nothing to the
purpose, since those who practise them may with greater accuracy be termed
fortune-tellers and soothsayers rather than sorcerers.
It must particularly be noticed that
these two last errors are founded upon a complete misunderstanding of the words
of the Canon (I will not speak of the first error, which stands obviously
self-condemned, since it is clean contrary to the teaching of Holy Scripture).
And so let us proceed to a right understanding of the Canon. And first we will
speak against the first error, which says that the mean is mere illusion
although the two extremes are realities.
Here it must be noticed that there
are fourteen distinct species which come under the genus superstition, but these
for the sake of brevity it is hardly necessary to detail, since they have been
most clearly set out by S. Isidore in his Etymologiae, Book 8, and by S.
Thomas in his Second of the Second, question 92. Moreover, there will be
explicit mention of these rather lower when we discuss the gravity of this
heresy, and this will be in the last question of our First Part.
The category in which women of this
sort are to be ranked is called the category of Pythons, persons in or by whom
the devil either speaks or performs some astonishing operation, and this is
often the first category in order. But the category under which sorcerers come
is called the category of Sorcerers.
And inasmuch as these persons differ
greatly one from another, it would not be correct that they should not be
comprised in that species under which so many others are confined: Wherefore,
since the Canon makes explicit mention of certain women, but does not in so many
words speak of witches; therefore they are entirely wrong who understand the
Canon only to speak of imaginary voyages and goings to and fro in the body and
who wish to reduce every kind of superstition to this illusion: for as those
women are transported in their imagination, so are witches actually and bodily
transported. And he who wishes to argue from this Canon that the effects of
witchcraft, the infliction of disease or any sickness, are purely imaginary,
utterly mistakes the tenor of the Canon, and errs most grossly.
Further, it is to be observed that
those who, whilst they allow the two extremes, that is to say, some operation of
the devil and the effect, a sensible disease, to be actual and real, at the same
time deny that any instrument is the means thereof; that is to say, they deny
that any witch could have participated in such a cause and effect, these, I say,
err most gravely: for, in philosophy, the mean must always partake of the nature
of the two extremes.
Moreover, it is useless to argue that
any result of witchcraft may be a phantasy and unreal, because such a phantasy
cannot be procured without resort to the power of the devil, and it is necessary
that there should be made a contract with the devil, bu which contract the witch
truly and actually binds herself to be the servant of the devil and devotes
herself to the devil, and this is not done in any dream or under any illusion,
but she herself bodily and truly co-operates with, and conjoins herself to, the
devil. For this indeed is the end of all witchcraft; whether it be the casting
of spells by a look or by a formula of words or by some other charm, it is all
of the devil, as will be made clear in the following question.
In truth, if anyone cares to read the
words of the Canon, there are four points which must particularly strike him.
And the first point is this: It is absolutely incumbent upon all who have the
cure of souls, to teach their flocks that there is one, only, true God, and that
to none other in Heaven or earth may worship by given. The second point is this,
that although these women imagine they are riding (as they think and say) with
Diana or with Herodias, in truth they are riding with the devil, who calls
himself by some such heathen name and throws a glamour before their eyes. And
the third point is this, that the act of riding abroad may be merely illusory,
since the devil has extraordinary power over the minds of those who have given
themselves up to him, so that what they do in pure imagination, they believe
they have actually and really done in the body. And the fourth point is this:
Witches have made a compact to obey the devil in all things, wherefore that the
words of the Canon should be extended to include and comprise every act of
witchcraft is absurd, since witches do much more than these women, and witches
actually are of a very different kind.
Whether witches by their magic arts
are actually and bodily transported from place to place, or whether this merely
happens in imagination, as is the case with regard to those women who are called
Pythons, will be dealt with later in this work, and we shall also discuss how
they are conveyed. So now we have explained two errors, at least, and we have
arrived at a clear understanding of the sense of the Canon.
Moreover, a third error, which
mistaking the words of the Canon says that all magic arts are illusions, may be
corrected from the very words of the Canon itself. For inasmuch as it says that
he who believes any creature can be made or transformed for the better or the
worse, or metamorphosed into some other species or likeness, save it be by the
Creator of all things Himself, etc . . . . he is worse than an infidel. These
three propositions, if they are thus understood as they might appear on the bare
face of them, are clean contrary to the sense of Holy Scripture and the
commentaries of the doctors of the Church. For the following Canon clearly says
that creatures can be made by witches, although they necessarily must be very
imperfect creatures, and probably in some way deformed. And it is plain that the
sense of the Canon agrees with what S. Augustine tells us concerning the
magicians at the court of Pharao, who turned their rods into serpents, as the
holy doctor writes upon the 7th chapter of Exodus, ver. II, - and Pharao called
the wise men and the magicians . . . . We may also refer to the commentaries of
Strabo, who says that devils hurry up and down over the whole earth, when by
their incantations witches are employing them at various operations, and these
devils are able to collect various species to grow. We may also refer to Blessed
Albertus Magnus, De animalibus. And also S. Thomas, Part I, question 114,
article 4. For the sake of conciseness we will not quote them at length here,
but this remains proven, that it is possible for certain creatures to be created
in this way.
With reference to the second point,
that a creature may be changed for better or worse, it is always to be
understood that this can only be done by the permission and indeed by the power
of God, and that this is only done in order to correct or to punish, but that
God very often allows devils to act as His ministers and His servants, but
throughout all it is God alone who can afflict and it is He alone who can heal,
for “I kill and I make alive” (Deuteronomy xxxii, 39). And so evil
angels may and do perform the will of God. To this also S. Augustine bears
witness when he says: There are in truth magic spells and evil charms, which not
only often afflict men with diseases but even kill them outright. We must also
endeavour clearly to understand what actually happens when nowadays by the power
of the devil wizards and witches are changed into wolves and other savage beasts.
The Canon, however, speaks of some bodily and lasting change, and does not
discuss those extraordinary things which may be done by glamour of which S.
Augustine speaks in the 18th book and the 17th chapter of Of the City of God,
when he reports many strange tales of that famous witch Circe, and of the
companions of Diomedes and of the father of Praestantius. This will be discussed
in detail in the Second Part.
Whether it be a Heresy to Maintain that Witches Exist.
The second part of our
inquiry is this, whether obstinately to maintain that witches exist is heretical.
The questions arises whether people who hold that witches do not exist are to be
regarded as notorious heretics, or whether they are to be regarded as gravely
suspect of holding heretical opinions. It seems that the first opinion is
the correct one. For this is undoubtedly in accordance with the opinion of the
learned Bernard. And yet those persons who openly and obstinately persevere in
heresy must be proved to be heretics by unshaken evidence, and such
demonstration is generally one of three kinds; either a man has openly preached
and proclaimed heretical doctrines; or he is proved to be a heretic by the
evidence of trustworthy witnesses; or he is proved to be a heretic by his own
free confession. And yet there are some who rashly opposing themselves to all
authority publicly proclaim that witches do not exist, or at any rate that they
can in no way afflict and hurt mankind. Wherefore, strictly speaking those who
are convicted of such evil doctrine may be excommunicated, since they are openly
and unmistakably to be convicted of false doctrine. The reader may consult the
works of Bernard, where he will find that this sentence is just, right, and true.
Yet perhaps this may seem to be altogether too severe a judgement mainly because
of the penalties which follow upon excommunication: for the Canon prescribes
that a cleric is to be degraded and that a layman is to be handed over to the
power of the secular courts, who are admonished to punish him as his offence
deserves. Moreover, we must take into consideration the very great numbers of
persons who, owing to their ignorance, will surely be found guilty of this error.
And since the error is very common the rigor of strict justice may be tempered
with mercy. And it is indeed our intention to try to make excuses for those who
are guilty of this heresy rather than to accuse them of being infected with the
malice of heresy. It is preferable then that if a man should be even gravely
suspected of holding this false opinion he should not be immediately condemned
for the grave crime of heresy. (See the gloss of Bernard upon the Condemned.)
One may in truth proceed against such a man as against a person who is gravely
suspect, but he is not to be condemned in his absence and without a hearing. And
yet the suspicion may be very grave, and we cannot refrain from suspecting these
people, for their frivolous assertions do certainly seem to affect the purity of
the faith. For there are three kinds of suspicion - a light suspicion, a serious
suspicion, and a grave suspicion. These are treated of in the chapter on
Accusations and in the chapter on Contumacy, Book 6, on Heretics. And
these things come under the cognizance of the archidiaconal court. Reference may
also be made to the commentaries of Giovanni d'Andrea, and in particular to his
glosses upon the phrases Accused; Gravely suspect; and his note
upon a presumption of heresy. It is certain too that some who lay down the law
on this subject do not realize that they are holding false doctrines and errors,
for there are many who have no knowledge of the Canon law, and there are some
who, owing to the fact that they are badly informed and insufficiently read,
waver in their opinions and cannot make up their minds, and since an idea merely
kept to oneself is not heresy unless it be afterwards put forward, obstinately
and openly maintained, it should certainly be said that persons such as we have
just mentioned are not to be openly condemned for the crime of heresy. But let
no man think he may escape by pleading ignorance. For those who have gone astray
through ignorance of this kind may be found to have sinned very gravely. For
although there are many degrees of ignorance, nevertheless those who have the
cure of souls cannot plead invincible ignorance, as the philosophers call it,
which by the writers on Canon law and by the Theologians is called Ignorance of
the Fact. But what is to be blamed in these persons is Universal ignorance, that
is to say, an ignorance of the divine law, which, as Pope Nicholas has laid
down, they must and should know. For he says: The dispensation of these divine
teachings is entrusted to our charge: and woe be unto us if we do not sow the
good seed, woe be unto us if we do not teach our flocks. And so those who have
the charge of souls are bound to have a sound knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures.
It is true that according to Raymond of Sabunde and S. Thomas, those who have
the cure of souls are certainly not bound to be men of any extraordinary
learning, but they certainly should have a competent knowledge, that is to say,
knowledge sufficient to carry out the duties of their state.
And yet, and this may be some small
consolation to them, the theoretical severity of law is often balanced by the
actual practice, and they may know that this ignorance of the Canon law,
although sometimes it may be culpable and worthy of blame, is considered from
two points of view. For sometimes persons do not know, they do not wish to know,
and they have no intention of knowing. For such persons there is no excuse, but
they are to be altogether condemned. And of these the Psalmist speaks: He would
not understand in order that he might do good. But secondly, there are those who
are ignorant, yet not from any desire not to know. And this diminishes the
gravity of the sin, because there is no actual consent of the will. And such a
case is this, when anyone ought to know something, but cannot realize that he
ought to know it, as S. Paul says in his 1st Epistle to Timothy (i.13): But I
obtained the mercy of God, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And this is
technically said to be an ignorance, which indirectly at least is the fault of
the person, insomuch as on account of many of occupations he neglects to inform
himself of matters which he ought to know, and he does not use any endeavour to
make himself acquainted with them, and this ignorance does not entirely excuse
him, but it excuses him to a certain degree. So S. Ambrose, writing upon that
passage in the Romans (ii, 4): Knowest thou not, that the benignity of
God leadeth thee to penance? says, If thou dost not know through thine own fault
then thy sin is very great and grievous. More especially then in these days,
when souls are beset with so many dangers, we must take measures to dispel all
ignorance, and we must always have before our eyes that sever judgement which
will be passed upon us if we do not use, everyone according to his proper
ability, the one talent which has been given. In this way our ignorance will be
neither thick nor stupid, for metaphorically we speak of men as thick and stupid
who do not see what lies directly in their very way.
And in the Flores regularum
moralium the Roman Chancellor commenting upon the second rule says: A
culpable ignorance of the Divine law does not of necessity affect the ignorant
person. The reason is this: the Holy Spirit is able directly to instruct a man
in all that knowledge essential to salvation, if these things are too difficult
for him to grasp unaided by his own natural intellect.
The answer to the first objection
then is a clear and correct understanding of the Canon. To the second objection
Peter of Tarentaise (Blessed Innocent V) replies: No doubt the devil, owing to
his malice which he harbours against the human race, would destroy mankind if he
were allowed by God to do so. The fact that God allows him sometimes to do harm
and that sometimes God hinders and prevents him, manifestly brings the devil
into more open contempt and loathing, since in all things, to the manifestation
of His glory, God is using the devil, unwilling though he be, as a servant and
slave. With regard to the third objection, that the infliction of sickness or
some other harm is always the result of human effort, whereby the witch submits
her will to evil, and so actually as any other evil-doer, by the volition of her
will can afflict some person or bring about some damage or perform some
villainous act. If it be asked whether the movement of material objects from
place to place by the devil may be paralleled by the movement of the spheres,
the answer is No. Because material objects are not thus moved by any natural
inherent power of their own, but they are only moved by a certain obedience to
the power of the devil, who by the virtue of his own nature has a certain
dominion over bodies and material things; he has this certain power, I affirm,
yet he is not able to add to created material objects any form or shape, be it
substantial or accidental, without some admixture of or compounding with another
created natural object. But since, by the will of God, he is able to move
material objects from place to place, then by the conjunction of various objects
he can produce disease or some circumstance such as he will. Wherefore the
spells and effects of witchcraft are not governed by the movement of the spheres,
nor is the devil himself thus governed, inasmuch as he may often make use of
these conditions to do him service.
The answer to the
fourth objection. The work of God can be destroyed by the work of the devil in
accordance with what we are now saying with reference to the power and effects
of witchcraft. But since this can only be by the permission of God, it does not
at all follow that the devil is stronger than God. Again, he cannot use so much
violence as he wishes to harm the works of God, because if he were unrestricted
he would utterly destroy all the works of God.
The answer to the fifth objection may
be clearly stated thus: The planets and stars have no power to coerce and compel
devils to perform any actions against their will, although seemingly demons are
readier to appear when summoned by magicians under the influence of certain
stars. It appears that they do this for two reasons. First, because they know
that the power of that planet will aid the effect which the magicians desire.
Secondly, They do this in order to deceive men, thus making them suppose that
the stars have some divine power or actual divinity, and we know that in days of
old this veneration of the stars led to the vilest idolatry.
With reference to the
last objection, which is founded upon the argument that gold is made by
alchemists, we may put forward the opinion of S. Thomas when he discusses the
power of the devil and how he works: Although certain forms having a substance
may be brought about by art and the power of a natural agent, as, for example,
the form fire is brought about by art employed on wood: nevertheless, this
cannot be done universally, because art cannot always either find or yet mix
together the proper proportions, and yet it can produce something similar. And
thus alchemists make something similar to gold, that is to say, in so far as the
external accidents are concerned, but nevertheless they do not make true gold,
because the substance of gold is not formed by the heat of fire which alchemists
employ, but by the heat of the sun, acting and reacting upon a certain spot
where mineral power is concentrated and amassed, and therefore such gold is of
the same likeness as, but is not of the same species as, natural gold. And the
same argument applies to all their other operations.
This then is our
proposition: devils by their act do bring about evil effects through witchcraft,
yet it is true that without the assistance of some agent they cannot make any
form, either substantial or accidental, and we do not maintain that they can
inflict damage without the assistance of some agent, but with such an agent
diseases, and any other human passions or ailments, can be brought about, and
these are real and true. How these agents or how the employment of such means
can be rendered effective in co-operation with devils will be made clear in the
following chapters.
