Here we declare the truth as to
whether and how witches transform men into beasts. And it is argued that this
is not possible, from the following passage of Episcopus (XXVI, 5):
Whoever believes that it is possible for any creature to be changed for the
better or for the worse, or to be transformed into any other shape or likeness,
except by the Creator Himself, Who made all things, is without doubt an
infidel, and worse than a pagan.
And we will quote the arguments of
S. Thomas in the 2nd Book of Sentences, VIII: Whether devils can affect
the bodily sense by the delusion of a glamour. There he argues first that they
cannot. For though that shape of a beast which is seen must be somewhere, it
cannot exist only in the senses; for the sense perceive no shape that is not
received from actual matter, and there is no actual beast there; and he
adduces the authority of the Canon. And again, that which seems to be, cannot
really be; as in the case of a woman who seems to be a beast, for two
substantial shapes cannot exist at one and the same time in the same matter.
Therefore, since that shape of a beast which appears cannot exist anywhere, no
glamour or illusion can exist in the eye of the beholder; for the sight must
have some object in which it terminates.
And if it is argued that the shape
exists in the surrounding atmosphere, this is not possible; both because the
atmosphere is not capable of taking any shape or form, and also because the
air around that person is not always constant, and cannot be so on account of
its fluid nature, especially when it is moved. And again because in that case
such a transformation would be visible to everyone; but this is not so,
because the devils seem to be unable to deceive the sight of Holy Men in the
least.
Besides, the sense of sight, or the
faculty of vision, is a passive faculty, and every passive faculty is set in
motion by the active agent that corresponds to it. Now the active agent
corresponding to sight is twofold: one is the origin of the act, or the object;
the other is the carrier, or medium. But that apparent shape cannot be the
object of the sense, neither can it be the medium through which it is carried.
First, it cannot be the object, since it cannot be taken hold of by anything,
as was shown in the foregoing argument, since it does not exist in the senses
received from an object, neither is it in the actual object, nor even in the
air, as in a carrying medium, as was treated of above in the third argument.
Besides, if the devil moves the
inner consciousness, he does so either by projecting himself into the
cognitive faculty, or by changing it. But he does not do so by projecting
himself; for he would either have to assume a body, and even so could not
penetrate into the inner organ of imagination; for two bodies cannot be at the
same time in the same place; or he would assume a phantasmal body; and this
again would be impossible, since no phantasm is quite without substance.
Similarly also he cannot do it by
changing the cognition. For he would either change it by alteration, which he
does not seem able to do, since all alteration is caused by active qualities,
in which the devils are lacking; or he would change it by transformation or
local motion; and this does not seem feasible for two reasons. First, because
a transformation or an organ cannot be effect without a sense of pain.
Secondly, because in this case the devil would only make things of a known
shape appear; but S. Augustine says that he creates shapes of this sort, both
known and unknown. Therefore it seems that the devils can in no way deceive
the imagination or senses of a man.
But against this, S.
Augustine says (de Ciuitate Dei, XVIII) that the transmutations of men
into brute animals, said to be done by the art of devils, are not actual but
only apparent. But this would not be possible if devils were not able to
transmute the human senses. The authority of S. Augustine is again to the
point in Book LXXXIII, which has already been quoted: This evil of the devil
creeps in through all the sensual approaches, etc.
Answer. If the reader wishes
to refer to the method of transmutation, he will find in the Second Part of
this work, chapter VI, various methods. But proceeding for the present in a
scholastic manner, let us say in agreement with the opinions of the three
Doctors, that the devil can deceive the human fancy so that a man really seems
to be an animal. The last of those opinions, which is that of S. Thomas, is
more subtle than the rest. But the first is that of S. Antoninus in the first
part of his Summa, V, 5, where he declares that the devil at times
works to deceive a man's fancy, especially by an illusion of the senses; and
he proves this by natural reasoning, by the authority of the Canon, and by a
great number of examples.
And at first as follows: Our bodies
naturally are subject to and obey the angelic nature as regards local motion.
But the bad angels, although the have lost grace, have not lost their natural
power, as has often been said before. And since the faculty of fancy or
imagination is corporeal, that is, allied to a physical organ, it also is
naturally subject to devils, so that they can transmute it, causing various
phantasies, by the flow of the thoughts and perceptions to the original image
received by them. So says S. Antoninus, and adds that it is proved by the
following Canon (Episcopus, XXVI, 5): It must not be omitted that
certain wicked women, perverted by Satan and seduced by the illusions and
phantasms of devils, believe and profess that they ride in the night hours on
certain beasts with Diana, the heathen goddess, or with Herodias, and with a
countless number of women, and that in the untimely silence of night they
travel over great distances of land. And later: Wherefore priests ought to
preach to the people of God that they should know this to be altogether false,
and that when such phantasms afflict the minds of the faithful, it is not of
God, but of an evil spirit. For Satan himself transforms himself into the
shape and likeness of different persons, and in dreams deluding the mind which
he holds captive, leads it through devious ways.
Indeed the meaning of this Canon
has been treated of in the First Question, as to the four things which are to
be preached. But it would be to misunderstand its meaning to maintain that
witches cannot be so transported, when they wish and God does not prevent it;
for very often men who are not witches are unwillingly transported bodily over
great distances of land.
But that these transmutations can
be effected in both ways will be shown by the aforesaid Summa, and in
the chapter where S. Augustine relates that it is read in the books of the
Gentiles that a certain sorceress named Circe changed the companions of
Ulysses into beasts; but that this was due to some glamour or illusion, rather
than an actual accomplishment, by altering the fancies of men; and this is
clearly proved by several examples.
For we read in the Lives of the
Fathers, that a certain girl would not consent to a young man who was
begging her to commit a shameful act with him. And the young man, being angry
because of this, caused a certain Jew to work a charm against her, by which
she was changed into a filly. But this metamorphosis was not an actual fact,
but an illusion of the devil, who changed the fancy and sense of the girl
herself, and of those who looked at her, so that she seemed to be a filly, who
was really a girl. For when she was led to the Blessed Macarius, the devil
could not so work as to deceive his senses as he had those of other people, on
account of his sanctity; for to him she seemed a true girl, not a filly. And
at length by his prayer she was set free from that illusion, and it is said
that this had happened to her because she did not give her mind to holy things,
or attend the Sacraments as she ought; therefore the devil had power over her,
although she was in other respects honest.
Therefore the devil can, by moving
the inner perceptions and humours, effect changes in the actions and faculties,
physical, mental, and emotional, working by means of any physical organ soever;
and this accords with S. Thomas, I, 91. And of this sort we may believe to
have been the acts of Simon Magus in the incantations which are narrated of
him. But the devil can do none of these things without the permission of God,
Who with His good Angels often restrains the wickedness of him who seeks to
deceive and hurt us. Wherefore S. Augustine, speaking of witches, says: These
are they who, with the permission of God, stir up the elements, and confuse
the minds of those who do not trust in God (XXVI, 5).
Also devils can by witchcraft cause
a man to be unable to see his wife rightly, and the converse. And this comes
from an affectation of the fancy, so that she is represented to him as an
odious and horrible thing. The devil also suggests representations of
loathsome things to the fancy of both the waking and the sleeping, to deceive
them and lead them to son. But because sin does not consist in the imagination
but in the will, therefore man does not sin in these fancies suggested by the
devil, and these various transformations, unless of his own will he consents
to sin.
The second opinion of the modern
Doctors is to the same effect, when they declare what is glamour, and how many
ways the devil can cause such illusions. Here we refer to what has already
been said concerning the arguments of S. Antoninus, which there is no need to
repeat.
The third opinion is that of S.
Thomas, and is an answer to the argument where it is asked, Wherein lies the
existence of the shape of a beast that is seen; in the senses, or in reality,
or in the surrounding air? And his opinion is that the apparent shape of a
beast only exists in the inner perception, which, through the force of
imagination, sees it in some way as an exterior object. And the devil has two
ways of effecting such a result.
In one way we may say that the
forms of animals which are conserved in the treasury of the imagination pass
by the operation of the devil into the organs of inner senses; and in this way
it happens in dreams, as has been declared above. And so, when these forms are
impressed on the organs of the outer senses, such as sight, they appear as if
they were present as outer objects, and could actually be touched.
The other way results from a change
in the inner organs of perception, through which the judgement is deceived; as
is shown in the case of him who has his taste corrupted, so that everything
sweet seems bitter; and this is not very different from the first method.
Moreover, even men can accomplish this by the virtue of certain natural things,
as when in the vapour of a certain smoke the beams of a house appear to be
serpents; and many other instances of this are found, as had been mentioned
above.
Solutions of the Arguments.
As to the first argument, that
text is often quoted, but it is badly understood. For as to where it speaks of
transformation into another shape or likeness, it has been made clear how this
can be done by prestidigitatory art. And as to where it says that no creature
can be made by the power of the devil, this is manifestly true if Made is
understood to mean Created. But if the word Made is taken to refer to natural
production, it is certain that devils can make some imperfect creatures. And
S. Thomas shows how this may be done. For he says that all transmutations of
bodily matters which can be effected by the forces of nature, in which the
essential thing is the semen which is found in the elements of this world, on
land or in the waters (as serpents and frogs and such things deposit their
semen), can be effected by the work of devils who have acquired such semen. So
also it is when anything is changed into serpents or frogs, which can be
generated by putrefaction.
But those transmutations of bodily
matters which cannot be effected by the forces of nature can in no way be
truly effected by the work of the devils. For when the body of a man is
changed into the body of a beast, or a dead body is brought to life, such
things only seem to happen, and are a glamour or illusion; or else the devil
appears before men in an assumed body.
These arguments are substantiated.
For Blessed Albertus in his book On Animals, where he examines whether
devils, or let us even say witches, can really make animals, says that they
can, with God's permission, make imperfect animals. But they cannot do so in
an instant, as God does, but by means of some motion, however sudden, as is
clear in the case of witches. And touching the passage in Exodus vii,
where Pharao called his wise men, he says: The devils run throughout the world
and collect various germs, and by using them can evolve various species. And
the gloss thereon says: When witches attempt to effect anything by the
invocation of devils, they run about the world and bring the semen of those
things which are in question, and by its means, with the permission of God,
they produce new species. But this has been spoken of above.
Another difficulty may arise,
whether such devils' works are to be deemed miraculous. The answer was made
clear in the preceding arguments, that even the devils can perform certain
miracles to which their natural powers are adapted. And although such things
are true in fact, they are not done with a view to the knowledge of the truth;
and in this sense the works of Antichrist may be said to be deceptions, since
they are done with a view to the seduction of men.
The answer to the other argument,
that concerning the shape, is also clear. The shape of a beast which is seen
does not exist in the air, but only in the perception of the senses, as has
been demonstrated above from the opinion of S. Thomas.
For the argument that every passive
is set in motion by its corresponding active, this is granted. But when it is
inferred that the shape which is seen cannot be the original object which sets
in motion the act of sight, since it arises from none of the sense, it is
answered that it does not arise, since it originates from some sensible image
conserved in the imagination, which the devil can draw out and present to the
imagination or power of perception, as has been said above.
For the last argument, it is to be
said that the devil does not, as has been shown, change the perceptive and
imaginative powers by projecting himself into them, but by transmuting them;
not indeed by altering them, except in respect of local motion. For he cannot
of himself induce new appearances, as has been said. But he changes them by
transmutation, that is, local motion. And this again he does, not by dividing
the substance of the organ of perception, since that would result in a sense
of pain, but by a movement of the perceptions and humours.
But it may be further objected as follows: that according to this the devil
cannot present to a man the appearance of anything new in respect of things
seen. It is to be said that a new thing can be understood in two ways. In once
way it may be entirely new both in itself and its beginnings; and in this
sense the devil cannot present anything new to a man's sense of vision: for he
cannot cause one who is born blind to imagine colours, or a deaf man to
imagine sounds. In another sense, a thing may be new as to the composition of
its whole; as we may say that it is an imaginatively new thing if a man
imagines that he sees mountain of gold, which he never saw; for he has seen
gold, and he has seen a mountain, and can by some natural operation imagine
the phantasm of a mountain of gold. And in this way the devil can present a
new thing to the imagination.
What is to be Thought of Wolves which sometimes Seize and Eat
Men and Children out of their Cradles: whether this also is a Glamour caused
by Witches.
There is incidentally a question
concerning wolves, which sometimes snatch men and children out of their houses
and eat them, and run about with such astuteness that by no skill or strength
can they be hurt or captured. It is to be said that this sometimes has a
natural cause, but is sometimes due to a glamour, when it is effected by
witches. And as to the first, Blessed Albertus in his book On Animals
says that it can arise from five causes. Sometimes on account of great famine,
when stags and other beasts have come near to men. Sometimes on account of the
fierceness of their strength, as in the case of dogs in cold regions. But this
is nothing to the point; and we say that such things are caused by an illusion
of devils, when God punishes some nation for sin. See Leviticus xxvi:
If ye do not my commandments, I will send the beasts of the field against you,
who shall consume you and your flocks. And again Deuteronomy xxxii: I
will also send the teeth of beast upon them, etc.
As to the question whether they are
true wolves, or devils appearing in that shape, we say that they are true
wolves, but are possessed by devils; and they are so roused up in two ways. It
may happen without the operation of witches: and so it was in the case of the
two-and-forty boys who were devoured by two bears coming out of the woods,
because they mocked the prophet Elisaus, saying, Go up, thou bald head, etc.
Also in the case of the lion which slew the prophet who would not perform the
commandment of God (III. Kings xiii). And it is told that a Bishop of
Vienna ordered the minor Litanies to be solemnly chanted on certain days
before the Feast of the Ascension, because wolves were entering the city and
publicly devouring men.
But in another way it may be an
illusion caused by witches. For William of Paris tells of a certain man who
thought that he was turned into a wolf, and at certain times went hiding among
the caves. For there he went at a certain time, and though he remained there
all the time stationary, he believed that he was a wolf which went about
devouring children; and though the devil, having possessed a wolf, was really
doing this, he erroneously thought that he was prowling about in his sleep.
And he was for so long thus out of his senses that he was at last found lying
in the wood raving. The devil delights in such things, and caused the illusion
of the pagans who believed that men and old women were changed into beasts.
From this it is seen that such things only happen by the permission of God
along and through the operation of devils, and not through any natural defect;
since by no art or strength can such wolves be injured or captured. In this
connexion also Vincent of Beauvais (in Spec. Hist., VI, 40) tells that
in Gaul, before the Incarnation of Christ, and before the Punic War, a wolf
snatched a sentry's sword out of its sheath.