The Magic of The Middle Ages

C ON TEN T S .
P A GE .
I TH E C O SM IC P H IL O S OP HY
. OF TH E M ID DLE A G ES ,
AND ITS H IS T O R I CAL D EVE L O P M EN T
TH E M A GIQ OF T HE C HU R C H
TH E M AGIC OF T HE L EARN ED
TH E M A G I C OF T HE P EOPL E A ND T HE S TRU G GLE
OF T HE C HU R C H A GAINS T IT 1 58
T H E C O S M IC P H ILOS O P H Y O F T H E M ID D LE A G ES ,
A N D IT S H IS TO R IC A L D EVELO PM ENT .
O
IN TR OD U CT RY .
It was the b elie f o f E urope d uring the

M i d d l e A ges that our glo b e was the centre
,
O f the univer s e
'
T he earth itself fixe d an d immovab le was

, ,
encompasse d b y ten heavens successively e n

circlin g one another an d all o f these except
,
the highest in constant rotation ab o u t their

centre .
T his highest an d immovab l e heaven envel ,
O ping all the others an d constituting the

b oundary b etween creat ed things an d t h e
void infinite sp ace b eyond is the E mpyrean
, , ,
the heaven Of fire named also b y the Platon

,
i zing philosophers the worl d o f archetypes .
H ere in a light which no one Can enter ”

,
G od in triune maj esty is S itting on his throne ,
W h ile the tones O f harmony from the n ine

2 TH E AIA GJC OF TH E M I D D LE ES
A G .
revolving heavens b eneath ascend to him ,
like a hymn of glory from t h e universe

to its Creator .
N ext in order b elow the E mpyrean is the

heaven o f crystal or the sphere of the fi r s t
,
m o v a b le (p ri ma m m o b i le) B eneath th is re
.
volves t h e h eaven of fixed stars wh i ch forme d , ,
from the most sub tile elements in t h e uni

verse are devoid of weight If now an angel
,
.
were imagined to descend from this heaven

s trai ght to earth t h e centre
,
where the ,
coarsest particles of creation are collected ,
he would still S i nk throu gh seven vaulted

spaces which form t h e planetary world In
, .
t he first of th ese remaining heavens is foun d
t h e planet S aturn in the second Jupiter

, ,
in t h e third M ars ; to the fourth and middle

heaven b elongs t h e S un q ueen of the planets
, ,
whi le in t h e remaining three are t h e path s

of V enus M ercury and finally t he moon
, , ,
measuring time with its wanin g and i n cre a s

ing disk Beneath this h eaven of the moon
.
is t h e enveloping atmosp here of the earth ,
and earth itself with its lands and seas .

M ED IE VA L C OSMIC P H IL O S O P H Y . 3
T here are four prime elements in the struct

u re o f the universe : fire air W ater and earth ,
.
E very thing existing i n the material world is

a peculiar c ompound of these elements an d ,
possesses as such an energy Of its own ; b ut

ma t ter in itsel f is devoid Of quality an d force .
A ll power is S piritu a l an d flows from a spir ,
i t u al source ,
from G od an d is comm unicate d
-
to the earth and the heavens ab ove the earth

and all things in them b y S piritual agents , ,
personal b ut b odiless T hese b eings fill the .
universe Even the prime elements derive

.
their energy from them T hey are calle d i n .
t e lli g e n c e s or angels ; an d the p ri m am m o b i le

as well as the heaven of fixe d stars is hel d
in motion b y them T he planets are guide d
'
in their orb its b y an gels A ll the energies .
o f plants metals stones an d all other O bj ects

, , ,
are derive d from those intelligences whom

G od ha s ordained to b e the guardians an d
” 2
leaders of his works G od as the sourc e
.
‘
,
and end O f all po wer lends the Seal of ideas ,
H enri cus Cornelius A gripp a ab N ettesh ei m : “

De o cculta
P hi l osophia —I m
. .
, a .
4 TH E MA GIC OF TH E MIDDL E A GE S .
to his ministering spirits w h o faithfully exe , ,
c ut i n g hi s divine will stamp with a vi t al e

,
n
”
e rgy all th i n gs committed to their care .
N O inevitab le causation is a dmitted E very .
thing is produced b y the will O f G od and ,
u p h eld b y it T he laws of nature are noth

.
ing b ut the precepts in accordance with wh ich

t h e angels execute their charge T h ey Ob ey .
from love and fear ; b ut should they in a r e

fractory spirit transgress the given command
ments or cease th eir activity which t h ey
, ,
h ave t h e power to do th en the order O f na ,
ture would b e changed and t h e great mech ,
a n i sm of t h e universe fall asunder unless G od ,
“
s a w fit to interpose Sometimes G od s u s
.
pends their agency and is himself t h e imme,
diate actor everywhere ; or he gives unusual

commandments to his angels and th en th eir ,
“
operations are called miracle s ?
A knowled g e O f t h e nature O f th in g s is
conse q uently in the main a knowledge O f the
H enricus Cornelius A g ippa ab N ettesh eim

r :
‘
De occult a
P h i losoph i a —I m u
.
”
.
, .
1 I b id em.
M EDIA ? VA L C OSMIC P H IL O S OP H Y . 5
angels T heir innumerab le hosts form nine

.
choirs or orders divide d into three hi e rar

,
chies correspon d in g to the three worl d s : the

,
empyreal that Of the revolving he avens an d

, ,
t h e terrestrial T he orders of S eraphim Cher

.
,
ub im an d T hrones which c onstitute the first

hierarchy are nearest G od T hey surroun d
,
.
his throne like a train of attendants r e ,
j oice in the light O f his countenance feel the ,
ab undant inspiration of his wisdom lo v e an d ,
power ,and chant eternal praises to his glory .
T he order o f the T hrones which is the lo w est

,
’
in this empyreal hierarchy proclaims G o d s,
will to the middle hierarchy to which is given

,
the rule O f the movab le heavens It is the .
order of D ominion which thus re c eives the

comman ds Of G od ; that O f P ower which
guides the stars and planets in their or b its ,
and b ri n gs to pass all other celestial phenom

ena carries them into exe c ution while a
, ,
third of E mpire wards o ff e v ery thing w hic h

could interfere with th eir ac c omplishment .
T he third and lowest hierarchy em b racing the ,
orders of Principalities A r changels and A n

,
6 TH E M A 6 16 OF TH E MIDDL E A GE S .
gels holds suprem acy over terrestrial things

,
.
Principalities as the name implies are the

, ,
g uardian spirits of nations and kingdoms ;

Arch angels protect religion and b ear the ,
prayers of saints on high to the throne o f

G o d ; A n g e l s finally have the care o f every
,
, ,
mortal and impart to b easts plants stone s

, , ,
and metals their peculiar nature T ogether .
t h ese hierarchies and orders form a continu
ous ch ain of intermingling activities and thus ,
t h e structure O f t h e universe resem b les a Ja

’
co b s ladder upon whi ch ,
“
C elestialpow e s mounting an d d escen ding
r ,
T heir gol d en buckets cea eless interchange

s .
A ll terrestrial thin g s are images O f the c e

l e st i al ; and all celestial have th eir arch etype s
in the E mpyrean Things on earth are com
.
posed O f the coarsest of all matter ; thin g s

in t h e surrounding heavens O f a finer s ub
stan ce accessible to t he in fluence of intel
,
~
l ig en c e S A rchetypes are immaterial ; and as

.
such m ay b e filled without resistance with

spiritual fo rc e s and give O f their plenitude t o
,
IVE D IzE VA L C OSM IC P HIL OSOP H Y . 7
their correspon d ing e ffi gi e s in the worlds o f

s tars and planets T hese again through thei r
.
rays sen d fo rth of the ab undance O f their

power to those o bj ects on e arth b y which
t hey are represented E very thin g on earth
.
is conse q uently not only under the g uidance

of its own angel b ut also under the influence
,
o f stars ,
planets an d archetypes T he u n i
,
.
verse is a v a st lyre whose strings struck no

~
matter where are sure to vi b rate througho ut

,
their length .
It was fo r man that G o d c alle d forth the

four elements from nothing b y his fl at and it
/
was for man that he fashione d this wonderful

earth from those elements in S i x days M a n .
is the crown O f creation its master piece an d,

-
,
w i t hi n t h e narrow limits O f his nature an epit

‘
o m e O f all things existing — a microcosm and, ,
the im age Of the supreme G od himself .
But since m an as a microcosm must par

, ,
take also Of the coarsest matter his dwell ,
i n g place could not b e within t h e E mpyrean

-
,
b ut must b e fi x e d on e arth In order that .
it migh t b e worthy to re c eive him it w a s ,

adorned with all the b eauty Of a paradise ,
and angels gazed from heaven with deligh t

u pon its vales and mountains its lakes an d ,
groves which in chan ging lights an d shadows

,
sh one now with the purple of morning now ,
with the gold O f the sun and again with the ,
silver Of t h e moon A nd this place o f hab

.
i t at i o n explains symb olically b y i t s very posi

tion the destiny of man and his place in the
kingdom Of G od ; for wherever he wanders ,
t h e zenith s t ill lingers over his hea d and all ,
t h e revolving heavens have his hab itation for
their centre Th e dance of the stars is b ut a

.
fete in honor Of him the su n and moon exist

,
b ut to Shine upon hi s pathway and fill his

heart with gladness .
Th e first human b eings lived in this their

p aradise in a state of highest happiness T heir .
will was undepraved ; th eir understanding filled

w ith t h e immediate light of intuition O ften .
when t h e angel Of t he su n s ank with his

“
gleaming orb towards the horizon and day
”
was g rowing cool G O d himself d escended
,
‘
from his E mpyrean to wander under the love

M E D I/fi VA L
’
C OSMIC P HIL OSOP H Y .
ly trees Of p aradise in the c ompany o f his

,
fav ored o nes .
T he world was an unb roken harmony .
T here was ; to b e sure a contrast b etween ,
spirit and matter b ut as yet none b etwee n

,
goo d and evil It was not long to remain

.
thus .
L ucifer that is the L ight b ringe r or M orn

,
-
,
ing S tar was the highest O f all angels the

, ,
prince Of serap h im the favorite o f the Ore

,
ator an d in purity maj esty and power i n

, ,
fe ri o r only to the H oly T rinity Pride an d .
envy took possession it is not known how , ,
of this migh t y spirit H e conceive d the plan

.
O f overthrowing the power O f G od and seat

,
i n g himself upon the throne O f O mnipotence .
A ngels O f all orders were won over to his

treason A t the fi rst b eck Of the reckless
.
S pirit num b erless intelligences from the lowe r

heavens and from earth assailed the E mpy
rean and j oined themselves to the re b ellious
seraphim ch erub im and thron es who had
,
flocked to the standard Of revolt In heaven .
raged a mighty contest the vicissitu d es o f ,

which are covered b y the veil Of mystery .
S t John however in his Book of R evela

.
, ,
tion lifts a S ingle fold of it and Shows u s

, ,
M ichael at the h ead O f the legions O f G od

b attlin g against L ucifer T he contest ended .
with the overthrow Of the re b el and his fol

lo w ers Th e b eautiful M orning S tar fell from
.
*
heaven Christ b eheld the once faithful s e r
.
aph hurled from its ramparts like a thunder

b olt from the cl o u d s fi ‘
Th e con q uered was not annihilate d Calm .
in t h e consciousness Of omnipotence G od i n ,
sc ru t ab l
y determined that L ucifer C h anged ,
b y his re b ellion into a spirit wholly evil ,
Sh ould enj oy lib erty of action within certain

limits The activity of the fallen spirit c o n
.
sists in desperate and incessant warfare against

G od ; and he gains in the b egi nni n g a v i c t O
r
y O f immeasura b le conse q uence H e tempts .
man and b rings him under his dominion

, .
This passage ; di recte d against the rul e r Of A ssyria was l , a
read y interprete d b y the early fathers as h aving reference to

S atan T hus Luci fer the Lati n translation f M orning S tar
.
, or ,
came to be a nam e f r the prince of d arkness

o .
1 Luke x 1 8 . .
M E D IzE VA L C OSMIC P HIL OSOP H Y. 11
H umani t y as well as the b eautiful earth

,
.
which is its ab o d e is under the curse Of

,
G od.
T he worl d is no longer an unb roken har

mony a moral unity It is divi d e d forever
,
.
into two antagonistic kingdoms those O f G oo d ,
and E vil T hat G o d S O wills an d permits

.
,
the inevitab le c onse q uences is c onfirme d b y,
an immediate change In the structure Of the

universe D eath is sent forth commissione d
.
to destroy all life H ell opens its j aws i n

.
the once pe aceful re alms Of earth s b oso m

’
,
an d is filled w ith a fire which b urns every

thing b ut consumes nothi n g
,
.
Th e b att le fi e l d is the whole creation ex

-
c ept the sp aces O f the E mpyrean ; fo r into i t s

pure domain nothing corrupt can enter Lu .
cifer still adheres to his claims upon its throne ,
an d in every thing seeks to imitate G od T he .
fallen seraphim cherub im a n d thrones consti

,
tute his princely retinue and his council O f .
war T he re b el intelligences Of the middle

.
hier archy now transforme d into demons still

, ,
lo v e to rove among the same stars an d plan

ets which were once confi d e d to their care ,
and war against the good angels who n o w

guide the movements of the heavens O ther .
demons float upon the atmosphere causing ,
s t or m and thunder hail and sno w drouth

, ,
and awful omens (whence it is said the devil

!
is a prince who controls the wea ther ) O th ers .
again fill the earth ; its seas lakes fountains , ,
and rivers ; its woods groves meadows and

, ,
mountains T hey pervade the elements ; they

.
are everywhere .
M an the chie f occasion o f the strife is in

, ,
a sad condition Th e b odily pains and suf

.
fe ri n g s which the ear t h S ince its curse heaps

upon the path that successive generations ,
’
all partakers of A dam s si n must tread are , ,
as nothin g compared with the perils which

on all S ides assail and threate n their i m
mortal souls A nd h o w can these dangers
.
b e averted ? E ach mortal is indee d followed

from his b irth b y a guardian an gel ; b ut how
c an his promptin g s b e distinguished from those
th at issue from t h e t h ousand hidden agents of

the E vil L ucifer can transform himself into
.
L uci fer triumphs H is kingdom increases ;

.
b ut the poor mortal has no right to complain .
T he vessel must not b lame the potter W hen i

.
man looks into his own h e art h e discovers a

S infulness and depravity as infinite as are his
punishments H owever severe the law O f the
.
universe appears it still b ears the imp ress O f

,
divine j us t ice .
It is therefore b ut an act o f pure grace

, , ,
when G o d determines the salvation Of man

kind T he Church prepare d for b y the elec
.
,
tion Of the Jewish people and fo unded b y ,
Jesus Christ t h e S on O f G od who O ffere d ,
himself for crucifixion to atone fo r the S ins

O f men has grown up and disseminated its
,
influences throu ghout regions where once de

mons the gods Of the heathen possessed
, ,
temples idols and altars T he Church is the

, .
ma gic circle within which alone is salvation

possib le (Extra ecolesi a m D a lla s sata s) W ith /
.
in h e r walls the S on of G od Offers himself

daily as a sacrifice for the transgressions of
humanity ; the Communion wine is b y a mir
acle ch an ged into his b lood and the b read ,
MEDIE VA L CO S MIC P HIL OSOP H Y . 15
into his flesh which e aten b y the memb ers

, ,
O f the Church promote their growth in holi

,
ness and their power of resistance to the

T empter T he Church is one b ody anima
.
,
ted b y t h e H o ly S pirit O f G od ; and thus one

/
memb er compensate d b y surplus O f virtue

for the d eficiencies O f another H oly men .
,
resigning all sensual delights and devoting ,
their lives to the practice Of penanc e and se

verities the contemplation O f S piritual things
, ,
and doing good accumulate there b y a wealth

,
O f superero gatory works which deposite d in

, ,
t h e t re a su ry of t h e Church enab les her to

/
compound for the S ins Of less sel f denying

memb ers W ith lib eral hand S he grants r e
.
mission O f S ins not to the living merely b ut ,
also to the dead T hus the race o f m en may

.
b reathe more freely and the multitude attach

,
themselves again to the transient j oys and

pleasures o f a wretched life on earth ; and
when a mortal plucks the flowers Of p l easure
which b loom in this vale O f sorr ows he nee d ,
not fear so much its hid d e n poison fo r the ,
remedy is near at hand T he knight in the .

16 TH E MA GIC OF TIIE MIDDL E A GE S .
castle yonder on the summit o f the crag or ,
the b urgh er b eneath him in the valley m ay ,
without scruple take a wife rear ch ildren an d

,
live in conviviality according to his means ;

t h e h appy student may S ing and realize his
Ga a fi a ma s i gi tur the undaunted soldier

may seek a recompense for the hardships Of
his campaign b y a merry life in taverns and
’
i n women s company ; even the followers of
M ary M agdalene S inning in expectation O f
,
g race may
,
O b tain a t the feet O f the Church
t h e same a b solution which was g iven to their
model at the feet of Jesus provide d only ,
th at grateful for t he mercy of C hrist who

, ,
h a s made th em mem b ers of his Church they ,
venerate it as th eir mother partake Of its ,
sacraments and seek its aid T he continu

, .
ally increasin g numb er Of Cloisters the homes ,
O f ri orous self denial uninterrupted penance

g
-
, ,
and m ysterious contemplation is a guarantee ,
O f the inexhaustib leness of those works of

supererogation which t h e Ch urch possesses .
In these Cloisters youn g maide n s who have ,
consecra t ed themselves to Ch ris t after a S pirit

MEDIE VA L C OSMIC P HIL OSOP HY . 17
ual em b ra c e fo r which t h e most intense i m

pulses Of their nature have b een suppressed ,
yearn away their lives H ere in prayer an d

.
t oil the pious recluse S pends h i s days an d
n i ghts T hose men also who going forth

.
,
b arefooted covere d with coarse mantles and

, ,
wearing ropes ab out their wai sts d evote ,
themsel v es like the apostles to poverty an d

the preaching o f the gospel who receive char
,
i t y at the door of the layman giving him in

,
exchan ge the food Of the word of G o d ,
th ese all issue from the same Cloisters .
Th us is the Church a mole against the tide

O f S in
. T he Christian has some reason to ex
claim : O hell where is thy victory ? for al
,
though the place O f torment is c ontinually

fille d with lost spirits there are thousands
,
u pon thousands of ransome d souls that wing
—
their fligh t to the Empyrean whether i m
,
mediately or b y the way o f Purgatory F irst .
among the b e at ifi e d who min gling with an

gels surround the throne O f G o d are those ,
called saints T heir intercession is more e ffi

.
c ac i o us even than that O f seraphim an d their

,
18 TIIE MA GIC OF TH E MIDDL E A GE S .
power in the contest against the demons s ur

passes that O f cherub im T herefore kin g .
doms communities orders corporations and

, , ,
guilds yea even lawless an d disreputab le

,
professions (so needing grace and i n t e rc es

sion more than others ) have their patron
saints T he individual fin ally is protected b y
.
t h e saint in whose name he has b een b aptized .
T he C hurch is the kingdom O f G o d o n

earth ; her ecclesiastical hierarchy is an i m
age O f the heavenly ; her highest ruler the ,
’
Pope is G od s vicar H er destiny which Is
,
.
,
extension over t he whole earth S O as to include

all lands and nations within her magic circle ,
could not b e realized unless She possessed

t h e power to command the kings an d armies
O f C hristendom It is evident moreov er ,th at

.
,
S piritual power is ab ove secular : the former

protects t h e soul the latter t h e b ody only
, .
T hey stand related to one another as S pirit is

related to matter T herefore it must b e the
.
Pope who sh all invest with the highest secu

l a r dignity — that of the R oman C aesars H e
, .
i s the feudal lord O f the emperors as the e m ,

MEDIE VA L C O S MIC P HIL O S OP H Y . 19
pe ro r is
,
or shoul d b e o f the kings
,
d ukes ,
an d free cities W ere it not thus i f the

.
—
,
various rulers W ere in d ependent Of the guar

dians o f religion — then woe to the great
,
mass O f their su bjects ! TO b e sure these

m ultitu d es are place d on e arth to b e disci
li n e d b y humanity an d O b e dience they have
p ;
indee d no rights upon which they may insist ,
since they stand outside the pale o f freedom ;

b ut on the other hand the O ppression e x e r
, ,
c i se d upon them would have no limit unless
t h e Church who is the common mother of

,
all reminde d those in authority O f their duty

,
t o love and cherish the lowly : indeed all S O ,
C i a l order would crum b le into dust did not a ,
higher power than that dependent upon the

swor d compel the stronger to ful fi l those vows
to protect the weaker which he made in the
presence Of the H oly T rinity F or the only .
existing rights are those o f privilege and

investiture founde d ab so lutely upon seale d
,
stipulations .
A ccording to the d octrines O f the Church ,
whi ch are the o nly key to salvation man ,

has received as a gift what he never coul d

—
have attained b y science a knowledge O f ,
the highest truths Possessed O f this kn owl

.
edge he must no longer allo w himself to b e

temp t ed b y the devil to engage in e fforts to
penetrate the mysteries Of the universe with
nothing to ai d him b ut his darkene d intellect ;
for such attempts generally end in error and
apostasy S till the allurement is strong b e
.
cause the hi ghest truth s when clothe d in ,
t h e gar b of human conceptions sometimes ,
appear self contradictory and ab surd T hey

-
.
must therefore b e sub mitted not to the de ,
c i si o n s of reason b ut the ar b itratio n of faith

,
.
F aith alone is ab le to penetrate and a ppre

h end the m T he doctrines wh ich the C hurch
.
,
assisted b y the H oly S pirit promulgates , ,
since they alone are true Offer to t h e b e li e v

,
ing i n v e st i g at o r a mine O f infinite treasures

r .
T here is conse quently possib le with in the

C hurch a system O f philosoph y provided that ,
its processes always postulating t h e i n falli

,
b i l i t y O f t h e do gmas b e confined to devou t

,
analy sis and hum ble contemplation O f relig

22 TH E MA GIC ‘
OF TH E MIDDL E A GES .
T he world grows worse T he Church c an .
pardon si n b u t can not hinder its increase

,
.
E very generation inherits from the preceding

a b urden o f evil d i spo si t i o n s h ab i t s and ex
‘
amples which it lays in its turn still heavier

,
on the shoulders O f posterity E very so n .
has b etter reason for sighing than his father .
H appy those w h o died ere b eholding the

li ght Of day ! w h o tasted death ere the ex
p e ri e n c e O f life ! T he hosts of S ata n assail
t h e Church on every S ide F rom his tower

.
the watchman O f Z ion looks out over the

w orld and b eholds the b illows o f history
, ,
now lashed fiercely b y t h e demons roll ,
a g a In st t h e rock upon which Christ has
b uilt his temple W ith great difficulty the

.
cross adorned hosts of E urope repel the i n

-
v as i o n O f the S aracens whose coming has

,
b een pre fi gure d b y pestilences and portents .
Th e emb lem of t h e Church is an ark tosse d

ab out on a stormy se a amid a te m pest o f
“
un di S iv e d e
D e C o n t e m pt u M M ise ia H uman Con di
r as
t i ni
o s, a li ttle book written about 1 200 b y t h e afte rw ds
, ar
P ope Innocent III .

M EDIE VA L C OSMIC P HIL O S OP H Y . 23
rain an d lightning H istory is a S piritual

.
c omedy enac t e d on a sta ge O f which the

,
b roa d foregroun d like that o f the m yst e

,
ries is a thea trum di a b o lo ra m; while in the

,
narro w b ackgroun d the Church o f G o d like ,
a b eleaguere d citadel p oints its pinnacles ,
ab ove the turmoil towar d s t he gloomy sk y ,
from whi c h its de fenders expect Jesu s an d

hi s angels to c ome to their relie f .
B ut b e fore this relie f arrives ini q uity shall ,
have reache d its height It is at work already .
w ithin the s a Cre d precincts O f the Church i t

’
self It is with greater diffi culty that G od s
.
'
v icar su b dues the inner than the outer ene
mies O n the one hand many a man b elieves

.
that he has found in his own reason and con

science leading truths which he arrays with , ,
out any authority outside O f himself against ,
those commandments wh i ch have come from

ab ove an d the divine origin O f which is con
,
firmed b y the faith O f a hundre d generations .
H e places himself in an attitude O f O pposition

’
to the c ommon faith T hus originate the her

.
e si e s — those cancers on the b ody o f the con

,
2 4: TH E MA GIC OF TH E MID D LE A GE S .
re
g g which
at i o n must b e cure d b y the iron ,
when salves will not restore and b y fire when ,
the iron is ine ffective O n the other han d .
men are s o overpowered b y their passions

that they ab andon the G od who re b ukes them ,
and b ecome the b ondsmen of another go d who

shows them favor Pride fettered b y o b scure
.
,
des c ent and keen appetite fo r pleasure chaine d

,
from gratification b y penury and privation ,
shake their Shackles in despair ; and finally

call the M orning S tar O f Ol d to their assist
ance T he archfi e n
. d promises pleasures with
out stint and power without limitation T he
, .
p oor mortal for dread O f the pains which af

fli c t his b ody is urged on to his destruction .
H is b ody formed from the dust of the accurse d

earth and always a centre of sensual desires
, ,
is ab andoned b y G o d a prey to t h e assaults

“
of t h e devil H ere s ome b ody loses an eye
.
,
some b ody th ere a hand ; On e falls into the fire

and is b urned to death one into the water ,
and is drowned ; anoth er climb s a ladder an d

b reaks his neck another again stumb les on
,
the even ground an d b re ak s a leg A ll such

'
.
M E D IE VA L C OSMIC P IIIL OS OPH Y . 25
unforeseen acc i dents occurring daily are b ut

, ,
’
the devil s t humps and strokes which he inflicts
”
upon us from sheerest malice S till more .
:
the demon is ab le to take possess i on so thor

oughly of the human b ody that he b ecomes ,
as it were its secon d soul moves its lim b s

, , ,
u tters b lasphe mies with its tongue at which

'
even their fien dish author can not b ut trem b le .
But though the G o d fearing man like pious -

,
Jo b is b enefite d b y such afflictions an d al

, ,
though prayer is a powerful refuge still there ,
is a continually growing num b er o f those who ,
drive n b y cowardly d read o f the might of the

Prince o f E vil seek their safety in a league
,
with him ; so much the more as he len d s the m

a partial con t rol o f the elements an d thus a ,
m eans o f employment and O f doing harm to

others T hus the dire pestilence o f sorcery
.
multiplies its victims ; and i n the b lack hours

O f midnight hundreds O f thousands who b ear
the name o f Christian on mountains and i n ,
Th e wo d s o f Luthe who
r r, , In dd ition t o his d u listi c
a a
belief was a genuine son f

, O this s m e M i ddl e A g tho ug h
a e,
th e d estroyer of its auto cratic faith .

deserts perform clandestine rites in honor Of

th eir S atanic master T ime ripens for the .
advent of A ntich rist for the D ay Of Judg m ent ,
and the final c o n fl a grat i o n .
In the flames of this last day the revolving

heavens and the earth are destroyed M o .
—
tion activity strife history all are at an
, , , ,
end T he E mpyrean and H ell alone remain

.
,
as the antipodal extremes of the for m er uni

verse T his c o n fl a grat i o n is not a universal
.
purifier annihilating what has no existence

,
in It only separates forever the gold
AS such perishable an d unreal are all evil thi ngs

,
— as ,
re
gard e d by an unknown author in the M i ddle A ges In his .
beautiful opuscule D eutsche T heologie he says among other

“
,
”
thi ngs Now some one may ask S i nce we must lov e ev ery
:
“
,
‘
th i ng must we also lov e sin ? T h answer is no ; for when we

,
’
e ,
say ev ery thi ng we only mean e v ery thing that is goo d E v ery
, .
thing that exists is goo d by v irtue of i t s exi stence T h d e vi l . e
is goo d in so far as he exists In this sense there i nothing .

, s
evi l in e xi stence B ut it is a sin to wi sh d esi re or lov e any thing

.
,
else than G d Now all things are essentially i n G d an d more

o . o ,
essentially in G d than in themselv es ; therefore are they all

o
goo d the r real essence Th l i ttle work from whi ch the

i n i — .
”
e
abov e is q uote d i the expression f a d eep an d pious soul

, s O ,
stru ggli ng t m aster the d ualism whi ch fettere d his age It i

o . s
remarkable that Luther was not more strongly infl uence d by i t s

MEDD E VA L c o S M JC P HIL OSOP H Y
. 27
from the dross T he kingdom o f the devil

.
continues to exist an d its prey is i t s own for

,
evermore But it exists thus only b ecause an

.
eternal existence means an eternal punish

ment fo r its ruler as well as fo r his subj ects .
F rom the new heavens an d the new earth

w hich the fl at O f G o d has created to b e the
dwelling place Of those who have escape d de
-
s truction these ransome d spirits perceive the

,
gnashing o f teeth an d lamentation o f their

doome d b rethren an d look d ow n upon their
,
tortures an d m i se ry not with c ompassion b ut

‘
with j oy b ecause they recogni ze in their pun

,
,
i shm e n t the vindication of divine j ustice ; not

with pain b ut del ight b ecause the sight o f ,
their wretchedness doub les their own felicity .
F rom the depths of that gulf o f misery ascen d

without ceasing to the E mpyrean c ries of de
, ,
S pair b lasphemies o f d efiance

,
and curses of ,
rage yet do they not distur b the hymns which

,
saints and angels sing ever aroun d the throne
spirit although he confesses th at N ext to the B ible an d S t

,
“
.
A ugustine I h a e foun d no book fro m w h ich I hav e lea ne d

v r
mo e
”
r .
of G od and o f the L am b ; they only intensify

*
the solemnity of the worship .
S uch in its chief features was the c osmic

p h ilosophy of the M iddle A ge s ; n o t a b stractly m
co nsidered b ut such as existed in reality dur

,
ing many centuries among C hristian people ,
g uiding their thoughts imagination and feel ,
ings and governing their actions R emains

,
.
of it are still ap parent in the systems of ex

i st i n g sects though incompati ble with the,
n e w philosophy which the human mind has
the work S umm a Th l gi

S ee “
( pp
u l m n t um a d t eo o ca s e e er
tiam partem q u st 9 4) by the m ost prominent an d m t i n

, ee . os
'
fl u n t i l among the theologians of the M i dd le A ges Thomas

e a ,
A q uinas It is there sai d

. Ut b ti tud sanctorum i ma :
“
ea o e s
gis m pl t t d e ea ub i
co a c ea egratias D g n t d t u eis
er o re s eo a a ,
a r
u t p nam i m pi
oe um p f t i d ntor B eati q ui un t
er e c e v ea , er
in glo ia n ull m m p i n m a d d m n t h b b un t
r , a co ass o e a a os a e .
S ncti d e p n i i m pi u m g u d b u n t consi d er n d o in eis d i

a ee s or a e ,
a
v i n e j usti ti
e d i n m t su m l i b
ae o r t i n m d e q u g u d b un t
e e a era o e a a e .
”
— With thi s may be compare d the following ex ecrable e ffusi on

o f another theolog i an B eati l i t non tantum non c gna
:
“
c oe es o
torum se d n p n t um m pi t ni u ppl i i i a d u ll m miser

ee a re se er s s c s a
a ti n m fl t ntu
o e Im v ero l t b un t u justi cum i d i n t
ec e r . o ee a r , v er
v i n di t m ; m anus l
c a b un t i n s nguine pec cato rum
av a a .
”
30 TH E ‘
MA GIC OF TH E MIDDL E A GE S .
eccentri c figures an d des crib es them in its

legends as saintly models It is not a mere
.
accident that the art of Greece mirrors a

b eautiful humanity while that of the M iddle
,
A ges loves to dwell upon monstrosities an d

throws itself b etween the extremes O f awful
earnestness an d wil d b urles q ue ; not an acci
dent only that the science o f the C re e k is
—
rational that he discovers the categories in
L ogic and rears a most p erfect structure of
,
ri gid demonstration in his G eometry while ,
t h e science of the M iddle A ges on the con
t r ary is m ag i c — i s a doctrine of correspond

,
e n c i es
,
A strology A lchemy and S orcery
, ,
.
T o the C re e k the universe w as a b armo

n i o u s unity . T he law of reason veiled under ,
the n ame of fate ruled the gods themsel v es

, .
T he variegated events Of the m yth lay far

away in t h e distan ce ; they did not even warp
the imagination O f the poet when he o cc u ,
pied himself with them ; still less the faith of

t h e multitude and least O f all the investi
,
at i o n s of the th inker T he uninterrupted

g .
s e q uen c e o f events invite d to c ontempla t io n

,
I TS HIS TORICA L DE VEL OPM ENT 31
which coul d b e in d ulged in the more readily ,
as no one pretende d to have receive d a s a

gift a com p lete system o f reveale d truth and ,
the more freely as no authority force d the

,
indivi dual to choose b etween such a system

and perdition In gener al no d oub t was e n
.
t e rt ai n e d c oncerning the a b ility o f R easo n to
penetrate to the i nn er essen c e Of things since ,
no knowle dge o f the fall o f man which an ,
n i h il a t e d t hi s ab i li t y had re ache d the G reeks

,
.
In regard to knowledge the G reek c o n se

q uently b uilt on evidence an d inner author
ity T he same was the case i n regard to
“
morality T hey were convince d that those

.
impulses which promoted the happiness o f

d omestic life were good ; an d that thos e
,
which did not c ounteract it were at least

j ustified ; and thus they enj oye d with moder
ation the gifts Of nature without suspicion
,
that the b ountiful giver was accursed T he .
ideal of wisdom which t hey h a d framed was ,
”
b ased on their i nner experience whether it,
had the j oyous features of E picurus the se ,
verer lineaments of Z eno or the mil d an d

,
32 TH E MA GIC OF TH E MIDD L E A GE S .
resigne d expression O f E pictetus ; an d when

they exerted themselves to realize it i n their
lives they always proceeded upon the suppo
,
s i t i o n that this woul d b e possi b le b y a daily
strengthening o f the will T he exertion put .
forth b y the G reeks to attain to purity an d

virtue was as it were a system o f gym n as
, ,
tics for developing the muscles o f the b rain .
T he same power and self c o n fi d e n c e were dis

-
played i n these endeavors as in the palaestra .
S ighs an d anguish were strangers to this kin d

of reformatory e ffort Yet was it not alto
.
gether fruitless T he Ol d adage that G od

.
helps those who help themselves can b e here

applied T hat it developed great powerful
.
, ,
and no b le natures was S O undeniab le that

even one of the Christian fathers upon con ,
s i d e ri n g their achievements b egan to doub t

,
if his way of attaining perfection was really

t h e o n ly one until he succeeded in convin e
,
ing h imself th at The virtues of the G entiles

’
are shining vices T he harmonious person
.
ali t y of t he Greek and the rationality of G re

c i an s cien c e depende d on the unity the har
,
I TS HIS TORICA L D E VE L OP M E N T . 33
mon y o f their c osmic views —

upon this that ,
the y con c eive d of the whole as a unity in its

diversity not as an irreconcilable disunion
,
of two ab so hi t ely antagonistic principles .
If on the contrary the highest ruling pow

“
, ,
er i n nature is an arb itrary d ivine caprice i f ,
the world whi ch lies open b e fore mankind is

’
rule d b y another s purely fortuitous d e c rees ,
themselves interfered with continually b y hos

tile influences from an infernal kingdom ; if ,
moreover this struggle rages not merely i n

,
the external W orld b ut also in the very core

~
of human n ature vitiating her reason feel

, ,
ings and will S o to employ them withou t

,
her agency as means to her exaltation or

perdi t ion then is there indee d no causality
,
to b e sought for and conse q uently no field

,
anywhere for scientific investigation W ere .
there even any such thing as scien c e it would ,
lie far b eyond the powers of m an S i nce reason , ,
a mere playthin g for de moniac powers c a n ,
n o t b e tr usted N either has hi s pe rso n ali t y

.
’
any lo n ger its c entre o f gravity within itself .
T hen is man in e x cessive nee d o f such an i n

3
34 TH E MA GIC OF TH E MIDDL E A G E S .
st i t ut i o nof deliverance as the Church which ,
teaches him what the divine authority has

arb itrarily decided to b e good or evil ; while
the supernatural means of gr ace the sacra ,
ments afford him power of resisting evil and

, ,
ab solve him from his failings In this way e x.
ternal authority supplants the inner which is ,
torn up b y the roots T hat ideal O f human

.
perfection which is possib le un d er such con

d i t i o n s and which actually arises b ecause the
,
native activity o f the mind constantly e n

d e av o rs to b ring all a c cepted notions into
union places itself on the doctrine of author
,
ity as its foundation and accepts its super

,
natural character T hat the ideal Of the M i d

.
dle A ges is ascetic and its science magical is ,
directly conse quent upon its dualistic c o n c e p

tion of the universe and of its peculiar nature .
T he dualism of the M iddle A ges was de

rived fro m Persia It is the essential idea
.
of the Z oroastrian doctrine which finally , ,
after a long struggle against the unitarian

notions of the Greeks penetrates the Oc c i
,
dent and completely c on quers it T his vi c .

I TS HIS TORICA L D E VEL OPMEN T
. 35
t o ri o us com b at the O rient against E urope

of
is the sum o f history b etween Cyrus an d

Constantine T he external events which fill
.
those centuries O b tain their true significance

when within and b ehin d them one p erceives
the struggle b etween the two conflicting sys
tems of ideas L ike c oncealed chess play
.
-
e rs they move their unconscious champions
against each other on the b oard of history .
W hen Cyru s sends home the Jewish pris

oners from the rivers O f B ab ylon to t h e
mountains o f Jerusalem he gains for dual,
i sm th a t important fl an k position on the M e d

-
i t e rr an e an the signifi c ance o f which is shown

centuries after in the progress o f the b attle .
“ ”
T he A dversary (S atan ) wh o sometimes
appears i n the most recent portions Of the
O ld T estament wr i tten under Persian i n fl u
,
ence and plays a continually widening role

,
in the R abb inical literature is the J u d ai ze d

,
A hriman ; the demoniacs who in the time O f

Christ ab ounde d in P alestine testify that the
demon b elief of Persian dualism had pene
-
t rat e d into the imagination and feeling o f the

36 TIIE MA GIC OF TH E MIDDL E A GE S .
Jews an d there b orne fruit By the si d e o f

,
.
this p eaceful c on q uest the great war drama -
b etween Greece and Persia is enacte d A l .
though this is not recognize dly a religious

war it is nevertheless O rmuzd and A hriman
,
who Ere repelled at M arathon S alamis an d ,
Platae a i t is the G recian unitarianism wh i ch

,
i s saved in these b attles to develop itself fo r ,
a season undisturb ed into a radiant an d b eau

,
tiful culture A s h as b een shown already

.
,
magic and b elie f upon authority are the nec

, ,
essary conse quences of a dualistic religion

the restriction and annihilation o f free per
s o n al i t
y are e q ually necessary conse q uences
of b elief b y authority Can any one regard .
ing t h e conflict which raged on the field of

M arathon fail to recognize the clash o f two
,
S piritual O pposites two different systems of

,
ideas whe n he sees the b ands of G reeks

, ,
drawn from their agorai (places for political

discussion ) and gymnasiums advance Cheer ,
fully and garlanded b ut without deprecia t ing

,
the danger to meet the innumerab le hosts of

,
the O rient driven on b y the scourge O f th eir

most extraordinary way T he victory o f .
A lexander was th at o f the warrior and not ,
’
that of so b er A ris t otle s pupil T he J u d ai c o
.
A lexandrian philosophy b loom s and gn o st i ,
c i sm —that monstrous b astard of specifically

,
different cosmical systems is already b egot ,
ten when Christianity springs u p in Palestine

, ,
and unites itself with the Jewish dualism de

rived from Z oroaster and thus proceeds to
,
c on q uer the world b y the weapons of b elief .
In the mean time R ome has extended and

established its empire T he nationaliti es 1 n
.
cluded i n it have b een mingled together ;

th eir various gods have b een carried into t h e
same Pantheon ; and their ideas have b ee n
b rou ght face to face T he universal empire
.
,
to maintain i t s existence has b een forced to

,
centralize itself into a despotism of the O rien

tal type the free forms of state have per
,
i sh e d pli i lO S O ph i c al S kepticism and eudemon

,
ism have ab olished among the cultured classes

the inherited notions of religion A ll this .
,
with its accompaniments of moral depravity

and material necessity have prepared the soil
,
I TS HIS TORICA L D E VEL OPMENT
. 39
of the O cci d ent fo r receiving the see d of the

new religi on E mptiness and misery make
.
the difference b etween ideality an d reality ,
b etween good an d evil all the more pe rc e pt i

,
b le even to unitarian nations D ualism thus

'
prepare d fo r in the realms o f thought and

feeling spreads in Christi an form with ir
,
resistib l e force over the R oman provinces .
Innumerab le masses o f the poor and o p .
pressed devote themselves to the phi l o so

h
p y of the B ar b arians and the O rie nt
( as
a Greek thinker c alled Christianity ) b ecause
they recognize in it their own experience of
life an d have full assurance in their hop e
,
of relief .
T he H elle n i c o R oman paganism O ffers a

-
fr uitle ss resistance T he persecutions on the

.
part of the state o n ly hasten the spread of

Christianity W hat the state can not do
.
,
perhaps the H ellenic culture and philosophy

may do T hese once mutually hostile are
.
, ,
reconciled in the face of com m on dan ger .
T he dying lamp of anti quity flares an d

b rightens when pure hearts an d pro fo un d
minds otherwise d espising the myths as su

,
p e r st i t i o n
,
now grasp them as sym b ols of
higher truths Philosophy goes forth in the
.
,
form of N e Opl at o n i sm .
But N eoplatonism h as itself apostatize d

from the rational an d u n itarian Plotinus .
and A m m o n i u s S a c c a s try in vain to restore

it It only unwittin gly helps its adversary
.
especially when to gain the masses it con

, ,
sents to compete with hi m in miracles Jam .
b li ch u s and others practice secret arts i n .
order to outri v al the C hristian magi and ,
th ey glorify Pythagoras and A ppo ll o n i u s of

T yana as fit to rank with Jesus of N azareth
in miraculous gift s By this they only con
.
trib ute to the spread of magic and the prin

c i l e s of dualism T he current of O riental
p .
notions proceeds all the more rapidly on its

course of triumph .
Christian dualism already feels itself strong

enough to b attle n o t only against its declared
enemies b ut also those O ccidental element s of
,
culture which in its b eginnings it had receive d

into its b osom and which ha d procured its
I TS III S T OR I CA L D E VE L OP M E N T . 41
entrance among the more intelligent classes .
It feels instinctively that eve n the school

.
o f thought which has sprung up within t h e
Church is far too unitarian an d rationalistic

to b e tolerate d in the long run S uch men .
as Clemens o f A lexan dria an d O rigen who ,
are struck b y what is e x ternal an d imperish

ab le i n Christianity an d know how to sepa
,
rate this from i t s dualistic form fight a tragi ,
c al b attle fo r the union o f b elief and thought .
A dmitting that Chris t i s all in all the imme ,
diate power an d wisdom o f G od they never ,
t h e l e ss wish to save the H ellenic philosophy
from the d estruction which a fanaticism rev ,
elling in the certainty an d all sufficiency of -
revelation d irects against every expression

,
o f an occi d ental culture whether in national

,
life or art or science T hey point out that

, ,
.
philosophy i f it can do nothing else that is

,
good can furnish rational weapons against

,
those who assail faith an d that it c an an d,
ought to b e the real wall o f d e fen c e ab o ut

“
”
the v in eyard T heir argument is without
e ffe c t Philosophy is o f the d evil : yea every
.
,
thing true and good in life and doctrine which

heathendom has possessed is declared b y one ,
of the fathers to b e the imposture of S at an

( g
i n en i a di a b o li
g i
a ced a m d e d i e i r
fi i s
); a ecta rt d i s
and faith is so far independent of thought

“
that it is b etter to say I b elieve b eca us e
”
it i s impro b ab le ab surd impossib le
, ,
In .
“
vain the dying Clemens exclaims : E ven if
philosophy were o f the devil S atan could ,
deceive men only in the gar b of an an gel

of light : he must allure men b y the appear
ance of truth b y the i ntermixture of truth
,
and falsehood ; we ought therefore to seek

and recognize the truth from whatever source
it come . A nd even this gift to the pa
g ans can have b een theirs only b y the will
of G od and must conse q uently b e included
,
i n the divine plan of e ducating humanity .
If si n and disorder are attrib utab le to

the devil how ab surd to make him the a u
,
thor and giver of so good a thing as phi

l o so phy ! G od gave the L aw to
the Jews an d philosophy to the G entiles
, ,
T ertu lli an .
I TS HIS TORICA L DE VEL OPMENT 43
”
only to prep are fo r the c oming o f Christ .
S uch are the words that ring out the last

dying echo o f H ellenic culture an d human
ity ! It is not a mere accident that with
p hilosophy Clemens and O rigen also sought
to save the unitarian principles in so far as
to rej ect t h e d octrine o f eternal punishment
in hell an d maintain that the devil will fi
,
'
n all
y b e c o m e goo d an d G o d
,
b e all in all .
B ut such a view coul d not comman d atten

tion at a time when Christianity only b e ,
cause i t was n o t S harply an d c onsistently d u

a li st i c
,
felt itself endangere d b y that wholly
consistent an d thorough going d ualism which -
u nder the name o f M anicheism on c e more
advance d against E urop e from the Pe rsian

b order A lthough M anicheism seemed to i n
.
c ur de feat nevertheless one o f its former

,
adherents A ugustine infuse d its spirit into

, ,
the Church D urin g the century which fo l

.
lowed him the G ermanic migration d estroyed ,
along with the last sch o ols the last vestiges ,
of Gr es co R omaic culture T he B ar b arians

-
.
w ere pers u a d e d to re c ei v e b aptism O ften b y ,

means o f pomp an d deceit ; their divinities ,
as formerly the d enizens of O lympus were ,
degraded to evil demons E very thing an .
t e c e d e n t to their union with the Church or

disconnected with i t —the old experiences
,
and traditions o f these converte d nations ,
all was c ondemned an d referred to the world

of evil T he dominion o f O riental dualism
.
in E urope was ab solutely estab lished an d ,
the long n i ght of the D ark A ges had se t in .
Si x cent uries separate Proclus the last N eo ,
p l a t o n i c an o f any note and A ugustine

,
the
last of the F athers educate d in philosophy ,
from A nselm the founder o f scholasticism !

B etween them lies an expanse in which
Gregory the G reat and S cotus E rigena are
almost the only stars and these b y n e means
,
of t h e first magnitude T here are deserts

.
in time a s well as space says B acon

, . .
W h en again a fee b le attempt at scientific

activity was possi b le the monkish scholar
,
was happy enough to possess a few mac u

lated leaves of A ristotle O b tained b ut not , ,
dire ctly from the A rab s U pon these leaves

, .
MIDDL E
‘
46 TH E M A 01 0 OF TH E A 0E s .
T he dualistic noti on was not modified after

entering Christianity b ut intensified T he ,
.
religion o f Z oroaster which presupposes a ,
good first pri n c i pl e fi allows the evil which

"
has in time arisen in the course of time to

,
disappear ; and it ends with the doctrine

which S hines out faintly even in the N ew
T estament of the final restoration of all
,
”
things ( m m e m mg d
a
’
ra
’
w
) and i n c o n se E i /r o
,
u e n c e reduces evil to somethi n g merely phe

q
n o m e n al In the doctrines of the Church
.
,
however as they were estab lishe d through

,
the influence of A ugustine t h e M an i c h e i an , ,
evil though arisen in time is made eternal

, , .
T his di fference is of great practical S i gni fi

cance and explains why dualism did not b ear
the same terrib le fruits in its home i n the
O rient as in the O ccident T he awful sepa .
ration and Contrast with which the divina

—
comedia of the M iddle A ges ends the wails ,
and curses that arise from hell to intensify the
his has been d enie d in s o f as th e original teachings

T ar
of Z oroaster are concerne d but is confi rme d by a p assage in

, (
A risto tle ( M etaph ys I x1v c

, .
, .
, .
I TS HIS TORICA L D E VE L OP IL
IE IVT .
7
b liss o f the re d eemed form a conception so

,
-
revolting that it could not b e incorporate d

with thought and feeling without ren d ering
them savage C ompassion b enevolence love
.
, , ,
— those q ualities through which man feels a
kinship with t he divine lose their S ignificanc e

,
an d are despoile d o f their eternal seal whe n ,
they are foun d no longer in his M aker ex

cept as limite d or rather suspen d e d b y the
action o f another q uality which the pious man
will force him self to call j ustice b ut which ,
an irrepressi b l e v oice from the innermost re

c e s se s o f his soul calls cruelty T o this must
.
b e adde d a further important consideration .
T he servant o f O rmuzd is no more the prop

e rt o f the d evil than the earth he treads
y
upon T o b e sure he is surrounde d on every
.
side b y the treachery o f A hriman and all the

demons b ut this only b ecause he is calle d
,
and already endowed with power to b e the

champion o f the G oo d upon the earth It is .
as such that he i s placed in the tumult o f the

b attle T he power for goo d once imparted to
.
him and consta ntly renewe d thr o ugh prayer

, ,
is withal also hi s own ; he may use i t with

out losing himself in the perplexing q ues
tion where lib erty c eases and grac e b egins .
E very one a dhering to the d octrine o f light

stands on his own feet T his is true of every
.
servant o f O rmuzd ; Z oroaster has made i n

this respec t no distinction b etween priest an d
layman E ven b elie f upon authority in i t
.
,
self an encroachment upon free personality ,
preserves fo r it in this form o f religion a free

and inviolab le arena
In the Church o f the M id dle A ges the c ase
is different and it cannot b e presented b etter
,
th an i n the following words of the N e o Lu -
th eran V ilmar when he would preserve ah

,
“
s o l u t e ly to the clergy the power to k eep
the c ongregation t ogether b y the word the ,
sacraments and ecclesiastical authority the ,
power to cleave the head of si n with a single

word the power to descend into a soul in
,
which t h e enemy has sprea d the gloom o f

insanity and force the defiant knees of the
maniac to b end and his frenzied fists to fold
in prayer yea the power [her e we have t h e
, ,
I TS HIS TORICA L D E VEL OPMENT .
climax which is rather tame aft er the fore

,
goin g! to des c end into a soul in which t he

ancient enemy has estab lishe d his a b o d e an d ,
there fight the insolent giant from the realms

o f darkness fa c e t o face an d eye to eye A ll .
this — continues V ilmar himself not unlike

,
a frantic c onj urer wishing to summon the

ghost o f the D ark A ges from its grave all
this is not in the power o f the congregation
n o r o f the ministry who are not endowe d
,
with the re q uisite authority c ommission , ,

x
mandate an d po w e r T he congregation (i e
. . .
,
the laymen ) is not a b le to look into the furi

ous eyes o f the d evil ; fo r what i s p rophes i e d
o f the last days that even the ele c t were
, ,
it p ossib le shoul d b e seduced a p plies with

, ,
greater force to the especial apparition of S a

tan in this world : b efore it the congregation
is scattere d like flakes o f snow not seduce d ,
b ut terrifie d to d eath O nly we (the clergy )

.
are u nt e rri fi e d and fearless ; fo r he who has

'
rej ected the prince o f this w o rld h as place d

u s b efore the aw ful serpent eye o f the arch -
fi e n d b e fore his b lasphemous and scornful

,
’
mouth b e fore his in fernally distorted face
,
.
T hese words from the pen of a fanatical d u

alist o f our own time well represent as i n ,
d i c a t e d a b ove the c ommonly received vie w

,
s
o f the M iddle A ges ; and it is not therefore to
b e wondered at that the me d i aeval genera

tions surren d ering personality threw them
, ,
selves precipitately in order to b e saved into

, ,
the arms of the magical institution o f deliver

ance T he phenomena which are d elineate d
.
in the following pages will not seem s o ar

b i t rary and strange after this introductory
glance at the middle age philosophy as they -
,
m ight otherwise at first S ight E ven they are .
a product of an inner ne c essity W ere it po s .
—
sib le and deplorab le attempts are n o t want
—
ing to revive in the thoughts feelings an d ,
imagination of humanity the dogmas O f medi

ee v al times we S hould then witness a partial
,
r e enactment of their terri b le scenes

-
T o de .
pict them has not only a purely historic inter

est b ut a cautionary and practical as well
, .
A . lmar : Theologie d
F f Ch Vi
.
“
er Th at sach en wi d e r di e
T he o logie d er Rhetori k ( M arbu g
”
r ,
II .
T H E M A G IC O F T H E C H U RC H .
M agic is the har b inger of S cience . In the

history of human d ev el Opni e n t the d i m pe r
,
c e pt i o n precedes the clear and the dominion

,
o f imag i nation that of reason B efore the lat

.
ter c oul d take upon itself the lab orious task

o f connecting together b y its own laws the
facts of external and internal experience ,
b efore there w as any philosop h y or natural

s cience,
imagination w a s b estirring itself i n
the creation o f magic .
L ike science magic in its original form is

,
b ased u pon the pri nc i ple that all things e x

i st i n g are concatenate d . S cience s earches
for the links of union b oth ded u ctively an d
inductively ; magic seekin g its support i n
,
the e x ternal resemb lan c es b etween exis t in g

*
things ,
and in a vague assurance o f the
power o f the will and of words estab lishes ,
this connec t ion freely b y means o f arb itra

r
y associations b etween incon gruous o bj ects .
M a n engaged in a struggle for physical exist

ence aims in it less at theoretical kn o wi ng
,
tha n at practical b ei ng a b le T he knowledge .
of myste ries will furnish m eans of b ecoming

acceptab le to his G od inaccessi b le to inj urious
,
influences and master of his present an d fu

,
ture existence and destiny .
T he m agical usages which exist among

every people present an almost infinite v a
,
ri e t y of forms In the end however they

.
, ,
c a n all b e redu ced to a single type .
D aily experience has taught that there ex

i st s b etween every c ause and its e ffect a cer
tain proportionate amount of force N ow .
since the e ffect aimed at in resorting to mag

i c is of an extraordinary nature the means ,
which the magical art prescrib es must possess
T hus for instance the d lustre of coppe was supp o se d to

, , re r
in dicate that it was connecte d w ith M a s which shines w ith a r ,
re dd is h lig h t .
ceremony etc ; and thirdly the i n c o m pre

,
.
,
”
h e n si b l e supernatural ) power which this
m eans appropriated b y the will (or faith )
, ,
p ossesses in the magical act .
A b elief in magic is found among all na

tions W ith those o f unitarian views it was
.
destined to b e forced more an d more into the

b ackground b y the growth of spe culation an d
natural science W ith th em there was also
.
b ut one form o f magic although those i n

,
possession of its secret were considered ab le

to exerci se i t for a useful or an inj urious pur
pose alike O nly among nations holding d u
.
a l i st i c views do we meet with mag i c In two
forms : with the priests a whi te and a b la ck ,
the former as the good gift of O rmuzd the ,

,
latter as the evil gift o f A hriman ; with the

Christians of the M iddle A ges a celesti a l magic
—
and a di a b o li ca l the former a privilege o f
,
the Church and conferred b y G od as a w e ap

on to aid in the con q uest o f S atan ; the latter
an infernal art t o further unb elief and wick
e d n e ss
. U nder a unitarian theory magi c is
only a preparation fo r natural philo s ophy an d
TH E MA GIC OF TH E CH UR CH '
. 55
gra d ually giv es pla c e to it until it is c onfine d

,
to the lowest classes as a relic of a past stage

o f d evelopment . T he d ualisti c religious sys
tems on th e contrary b len d in an intimate
, ,
union with magic give to it the same uni

,
v e rs a ll
y an d eternally vali d power which they
ascrib e to themselves an d place it on their
,
own throne in the form of a divine and sacra

mental secret O nly thus c an faith in magic
.
stamp whole ages and periods o f culture with

i t s peculiar seal ; only thus — after its separa
tion into cel estial and diab olical and in that ,
caus al relation to the temporal or eternal

weal or woe o f man in which it is place d
does it b ecome possesse d o f an ab solute s o v
e re i g n t over the imagination an d emotions of
y
a people .
O ur consideration o f the middle age magic -
m a y c o mm e n c e with a description o f the c e

‘
l e st i al or privileged ma g ic that is to say tha t

, ,
o
f th e C hu r ch; in order t hat we may procee d
in natural order to the ill reputed magic o f -
the lea rned (astrology alchemy sorcery ) an d

, , ,
the p ers e c uted p op ula r magic (in which the

56 TIIE MA GIC OF TIIE MIDDL E A GE S .
Church saw the really diab olical form ) ; an d

end with an account of the terrib le catastro
phe which was cause d b y the contest which
raged b etween them .
It is not the faul t o f the writer i f t h e

reader finds in the magic of the Chu rch a
caricature of what is holy in which the comi,
c al element is over b alanced b y the repulsive .
Th e more o bj ective the representation is to

b e made the more unpleasant its features b e
,
come W e will then b e b rief

.
, ,
.
L ike a thoughtful mother the Church cher

ishes and cares for man and surrounds him
,
from the cradle to the grav e with its safe

guards o f magic S hortly after the b irth of
.
a ch ild the priest must b e ready to S prinkle

it with holy water which b y prayer and con
,
j uration has b een purified from the pollution

of the demons inhab iting even this element .
F or the fee b le b eing b egotten in si n an d b y

’
nature L ucifer s pro p erty witho ut the gr a c e
,
TH E MA GIC OF TH E CH UR CH 7
of b aptism woul d b e eternally los t to heaven

, ,
and eternally d oomed to the torments o f

1
hell .
T here fore more than one c onscientious s e r

vant o f the Church essaye d to devise some
means b y which the saving water might b e
b rought in contact with the child b efore it
s aw the light S till this precautionary meas.
u re never b ecame o fficially a d opted T he e f .
fi c a c y of the b aptism al water exceeds that

of the pool Bethesda which remove d only ,
b odily i n fi rm it i e s B aptism saves millions o f .
souls from hell F oreseeing this the devil

/
.
,
filled with evil d evices had determined al , ,
ready b efore the rise o f Chri stianity to de ,
b ase and s c orn this sacrament b y making i n ,
anticipation a copy of it in the M ithras mys ,
1 “ N on nemo p m i t t t inte d amnati on

b apt i sat i s parv u li s ro a r
em gn u m q u
re l u m q u i t i v el f l i i t t i
e c oe o r uju li b t at q ue
e s e c a s c s e
u b i l i b t q uasi me d iu m locum ; hoc enim eis etiam h

e i P ee re s s e
l g i n p m i i t ( A ugustinus D A nima t Eju Origine l I

a a a ro s : e e s , . .
,
0 .x) 1 In one of h is letters A ugustine d eclares that e v en if the

.
parents hurry to the priest an d he likewise hasten to bapti ze the ,
child but fi n d it d ea d before it has obtaine d the sac am ent it is

, r ,
ne v e thel ess then d oome d to be eternally tormente d w ith t h e

r
d amne d an d to blasph em e th e nam e of Go d

, .
58 TH E M A 01 0 OF TH E MID DL E A GE S .
t e ri es instituted b y him which insolently i m ,
i t a t e in other respects the mysteries o f the

Church .
In b aptism other means c onse c rate d b y ,
the priest c o O perate with the w ater : v i z

,
-
.
,
the oil the spittle (which the priest after

,
b aptism lets fall upon the child and the ,
e fficacy o f which is derive d from M ark

vii . the salt the milk an d the honey
,
2
.
B esides there are the S ign o f the cross

,
and the co nj uration which drive the te m pt ,
e r out of the child and prepare room for

t h e H oly G host W ith these magic cere
.
monies the child is received into the Church

and from thenceforth b ecomes a S harer i n
the prote ction which it gives against the
evil .
B aptismal or holy water when drunk b y

.
,
the S ick and infirm heals and strengthens ; ,
if sprinkled upo n the fields promotes fer

t ili t y or given to the d omestic animals
, ,
a ffords them protection against witchcraft .
2
th ese
A ll are foun d in connection w ith baptism in h e ath en
, ,
m yste ies r .
TH E MA G IC OF TH E CH UR CH '
.
59
A s b aptism is t h e first saving an d sanc

t i fy i n g sacrament o ffere d to man so the ,
unction with holy O i l which is administere d

to the dying is the last B etween them ,
.
the eucharist is a perennial source o f power

and sa n c t i fi c at i o n the eucharist in which,
“
Bread an d wine place d up o n the altar , ,
’
after performe d consecration are G od s true ,
flesh and b lood which flesh perceptib ly to ,
the senses (sensua li ter ) i s touche d b y the

hands o f the priest and masticated b y the
\
”3
teeth o f t h e b eli e v e r W hen t h e priest .
has pronounce d the formula o f transforma

4
tion he elevates the host now no longer
, ,
b read b ut the b o dy o f Christ the congrega ,
tion kneels an d the ringing o f b ells proclaims

to the neighb orhood t hat the greatest of all
the works of magic is accomplishe d E aten .
b y the faithful the flesh o f Christ enters into,
their own flesh and b lood and wonder fully

E xtract fro m t h e formula gi v en t t h e counci l o f R o m e
3 a
1 059 to B ereng r of T o urs t o w hich h e w fo c e d t o

,
A . D .
, e , as r
s wea un d e penalty o f d eath

r r .
T h wafe substitute d in t h t w lfth c entu y f

4 e r b e dw e e r or r a as
c all e d th e host .
5
stre n gthens b oth soul an d b ody H ereti c s .
in A rras who b elieved that righteo usness was

necessary to salvation and doub te d the doc
trine o f transub stantiation W ere c onverte d ,
as soon as Bishop G erhard tol d them that ,
in the time o f G regory the G reat the c o n ,
5 Th e d iscov ery m a d e in d ays by th e D anish t h eologian

o ur
M art e n s e n s that the foo d o btaine d in the S upper of our L or d

is not fo r the soul only but also f th e bo dy — f the nour
, or , or
i sh m e n t of our ascension bo d y is not really new ; the pagan

-
,
ini tiate d into the M ithras mysteries was taught that the con
t d brea d an d wine being assimilate d into his fl esh an d
s e cra e ,
bloo d gav e immortality to his corporeal being L ike p u p

, . re s
po sitions pro d uce in d ifferent times li ke i d eas .
A n important q uestion in the M i dd le A ges an d one whic h

h a d been alrea dy argue d with great heat from the time of P e
trus L m b d u unti l the sev enteenth century is propoun d e d

o ar s ,
as follows H a rat which has eaten of the h ost thereby par

: as
taken of Christ s bo dy ? In connection with this it was fur

’
ther aske d H w is a rat which has eaten of C hrist s bo d y to

: o
’
be treate d —ought i t to be killed or h onore d ? Ought the

,
‘
sacrament to be v enerate d e v en in the stomach of the rat ?

If some of the consecrate d brea d is foun d in the sto m ach of
a rat is it a duty to eat it ? What must be d one if i m m d i

,
e
ately after partaki ng of the sacram ent one is attacke d by v omit

ing ? When a rat can eat the host can not the d ev il also d o ,
it On f the last pro d ucts of these import ant inv estigati ons
— e O
is a book publi she d in T ub i ngen in 1 59 3 entitled M u w ,

:
“
s e ~
ent era tus , ho e es t tra ctatus v a ld e magi s tra li s s up er quoe s ti o ne qua

”
d a m theo lo g i c a sp i no s a et m ultum s ub ti li , etc .
62 TH E MA GIC OF TH E MIDDL E A G E S .
If the eucharist is a partaking of food

which strengthens the faithful in th eir strug
gle against S in the S ign of the cross i s to b e
,
considered a s his sword and t h e sacred amule t ,
as his armor T he cross is the S ign in which

.
the Christian Shall c on q uer ho c si gn o .
o i n ces W ith it he must commence every

.
act ; with it he repels every attack o f the

“
demons H e who wishes to b e convince d
.
” “
concerning this says S t A thanasius nee d s ,
.
,
only to make the S ign o f the cross which ,
has b ecome S O ridic ulous to the pagan s b e ,
fore the mocking delusions O f the demons ,
the deceits of the oracles an d the magi ; and

immediately he shall se e the devil flee the ,
oracles con founded and all magic and sorcery

”
revenged T he amulets employed b y the
.
Church are various : medals b earing the i m

age O f M ary c onsecrated images especially
, ,
the fl esh an d bloo d of A lmighty G d S hould serv e the u n n

o co
s t d laity
e cra e Th famous orator B u d l u e e q ueste d that
. e o r a o r
greate hom ge shoul d be pai d to the pri est than to the holy
r a
Vi rgin because G d ha d been i ncarnate d in her bosom only

, o
once but was in the han d s of the priest d aily as o ften as the
, ,
m ass was rea d .

TH E MA GIC OF TH E CH UR CII . 63
7
the so c alle d lam b s o f G o d (agnus D ei ) the
-
,
manufacture and sale o f which a papal b ull

of 1 47 1 reserves fo r the hea d o f the R oman
Church If these b ring the clergy immense
.
sums o f money they also p ossess gre at

‘
7 o ld est Ch ristian t in which the dyi ng spirit o f anti q

The ar
u i t y yet e v eals i tself represente d Jesus as hephe d youth

r ,
a S r
c a ying a lamb upon his boso m M any a one coul d only tu n

rr . r
away sa dly from the beaming worl d o f Olympus to the new

C hristian i d eal an d when the y must nee d s s o d o they woul d
, ,
fain transfe t o the new pu r d mp t the m il d beauty “

er re e or
”
of the former youthful me diator D ionysus Z ag eus In the ,

r .
h ymns still pres erv e d t o us of S yn i u s who c ombine d in

, ,
es ,
one person the bishop an d the G reek w h o still longs for wis
d om an d beauty ( d oubtless known to many of our rea d ers by
[
! i ngsley s no v e l of H ypatia ) this sa d ness is in won d erful har

’
,
mony wi th Christian d ev otion With the ruin of the anti q ue .
worl d this longing as well as the capability of satisfying it

,
cease d T h material sym bo l btaine d thereafte a more prom

. e O r
i n n t place
e If the P h enicians an d C anaanites represente d
. o
thei r go d corporeally as t h powerful steer the Christians chose e ,
the patient an d inoffensiv e lamb as the type of thei s Th r . e
C ouncil of C onstantinople in A 69 2 con fi rme d this lamb sym . D .

-
bol A A aron ha d ma d e a gol d en calf P pe S ergius III pro

. s , e .
c u e d a lam b to be ma d e of gol d an d i v o y Al l wh o rebelle d

r r .
against its wo ship were treate d as disord erly an d he etical In

r r .
the time f Charlemagne one of them B ishop Clau d ius of T urin

O ,
from whom the Wal d enses d eri v e their origin complaine d I t , :

“
s i
p erv ers orum d o gma tum a ucto res a gno s e i o os v o lunt v orare cl in
”
pari eto p i c to s ad o ra re .
64 TH E
“
MA GIC OF TH E MIDDL E A GE S .
power T hey protect against dangers from

.
fire or water against storm and hail sick

, ,
ness and witchcraft 8

A long with the amu .
lets the s o calle d c o n c e pt i o n b i lle t s which

- A
,
the Carmelite monks sell for a small sum ,
are of manifold use T hese b illets are m a de .
Of consecrated pa p er and heal if s w allowed , , ,
diseases natural and supernatural ; laid in a

cradle guard the child against witchcraft ;
b uried in the corner of a field pr o tect it
a g ainst b ad weat her and destr uctive insects .
Conception b illets are put under the thresh

-
olds of houses and b arns are attached to ,
b eer casks and b utter dishes to avert sor

cery T h ey are fab ricate d b y t h e monks a o
.
8 ope U rban Vitus presente d an gnu D i to the B yzantine

P a s e
E mperor A n accompanying note d escribe d its won d erful

.
powers in the following monkish L atin hexameters -
B a ls a mus et mund a c era c um c hri s ma ti s unda
Co nfi ci unt a gnum, qu o d munus d o ti b i ma g num

Fo nt e v elut na tum mys t i ca s a n ct ifi ca tum
p er .
F ulgura d es urs um d ep elli t , et o mne mali gna m

P ec c a tum f ra ngi t, ui Chri s ti s a ngui s et a ngi t .
P roe gna ns s erv a tur, s i mul cl pa rtus li b eratur .
D o na f
re eri d i gni s , v i rtut em d es trui t i gni s .
P o rtatus mund e d e fl ucti b us crip ti und oe .

TH E MA GIC OF TIIE CH UR CH 65
cording to an authenticate d formulary which

as character i stic and comparatively b rief de ,
serves citation
a eenjnre t hee, paper (or narehment ) then whi eh ,
aerii eet the needs et hnmani t g eerreat as t he depos i

,
’
i na s wennert ni need s hni g laws, an al ien
’
t erg at G and
awardi ng t o ri i ri ne eemmanr
i t he marri age ennt raet he
'
t ween Catri na anti S arah was wri tten m i en thee, the

g n
eri t nrea i
r ngi ng : when t nuh a
p per and ai gneri t hei r
marri age eerenant .Chrungh t hee, onpaper, hath al so
t he neni i heen enngneren hg t he anget 5 ari jnre t hee .
hg at ed , the M erit of t he nni rerae (s i gn at t he t rues t) ,

t he S en ( s i gn at t he t rees
( and the g ai n Qi huet
( g
si n at t he eras e I
) wh e arr e
,a na n nt t he h ea rena as
a n
.
arehment en whi t h he n eeeri hea as wi th r h ei ne ehar

art ere hi s magni t i eenee m
es a (si gn at t he t rees I)
. ,
C ( i ed,
l aanet i t g (s i gn at t he ernaa! ) t hi s paper t hat
man t rnat rat e t he were
”
an i t at the <E
j eri i !
h e w
ho nnen hi s neraen carri ee thi s paper wri tten
wi th t wi n warns , er at t i ree it i n a henae, shalt he
freed from t he ri ai t at i ena of S at an threngh hi m whe
eumeth t n jnnge t he gni eh and ti enti .
gt et na m ag .
g g g
ii i ht and re s i sti es et han t he (t ea at
, vengeance,
th an of ear fathers . whe haet rereai eri t hrnngh a

s na
u
and the prophet s the h i ghs of thg anci ent eerenant

5
anti mang seeret s at thg hi nnness. ann e

li ti st eanse the
(As s ert at i hn fimr t o he wri tten hg the evangeli s t s
“
anti apo stles , hi ess
s
( gi n at t he t ru ss I) and saneti t g
s
( i gn at the eress I) t hi s paper that i hn meren man
he made hnnwn nnt e what sherer sent shalt hear wi th
hi m t hi s sarren t hi ng and thes e huhn letters ; ann that
all perseent i nns agai ns t hi m t ram t he n eri t and hg
t he st nrms at S atani c wi teherat t man he frus trated

“
t hrengh Chri s t enr i t em g men . .
”
( Ehe pp
a er t o he spri nhi en wi t h hei g wat er )
W ith the amulets and these conception b il -
lets b elo n g also i n the armory o f the Church ,
t h e won d er working relics and images o f the

-
,
saints G o d has ordaine d graciously that the

.
Church shall not give up its b attle against

the powers of sin for want o f weapons Its o f .
fensive and defensive appliances are manifold .
Its warriors the priests are like knights e u

, ,
cased i n mail from head to foot and arme d ,
with lance sword dagger and morning star

, , .
A lmost every district has its treasure of relics ,
wh ich preserved i n shri n es and ex hib i t ed on

,
solemn occasio n s to the pious people consti ,
t u t e s its palladium impedes or preve nts the

,
at t ack of hostile forces and assuages or averts ,

TH E MA GIC OF T HE CH UR CH
t he ra v ages of plagues N ot only co rporeal.
relics of saints an d martyrs b ut also every ,
thing they m ay have touche d during thei r

lifetime yea even the very dew drops upon
, ,
-
their graves are a terror to the fiends and a

,
means o f spiritual an d b o dily strength unto

the faith ful T he miraculous properties o f
.
the images are re c ounte d in a hundre d l e

e n ds By the direct agen c y of d ivine power
g .
,
there exists uninterruptedly b etween them

an d the persons they represent a mystical
relation Upon this S t H ieronymus throws
. .
s ome light when he exclaims against V igilan
tius who had b lindly O ppose d the wor ship of

,
“
images : You d are prescrib e law s to G od '
You presume to put the apostles in chains so

that they are kept even to the D ay O f J u d g
ment in their prison and are denied the priv
,
ilege of b eing with their L ord although it is ,
written that they shall b e with H im wherever .
t hey go ! If the L am b is omnipresent we ,
must b elieve that those who are with the

L am b are omnipresent also If the devi l s .
an d the demons rove thro ugh the world and

68
“
TH E MA GIC OF TH E MIDDL E A GE S .
b y their inconceiva b le rapidity of motion are

present everywhere should then t h e m art yrs
'
, ,
after shedding their b lood remain confined in ,
their co ffins and never b e a b l eto leave them ! ”
A S old age an d death are conse q uences of

’
A dam s fall so are almost all ailments pro
,
’
d uce d b y that power over m an s corporeal
nature conceded to S atan when G o d pro ,
?
n o u n c e d his curse upon the race S o als o are .

"
the remaining diseases and i n fi rm i t i e s of man ,
calle d either rightly or wrongly natural Cured ,
with greatest certainty b y invoking the help

of G od T herefore the mediator b e t w e e HG o d
.
and men the Church throu gh its servants is

, ,
t h e on ly sure and only legitimate p hysician .
Op era ti o s a n a n di es t in eccles i a e erb a ,

p er
r i tu s , ewo rci sm o s , a
gua m , sa lem , herb a s , i d gu e
neda m f
co n tr a di a b o lo s et e ectu s m agi co s , s ed
et m o rb o s T he priest e ffects cures
in b ehalf of t h e Church and in the name of
G od b y means of prayer the layi n g on of ,
hands exorcism relics and co nsecrated natu

, ,
ral means especially water ,salt and oil I n

,
.
doing this he a cts as the visib le d ele gate o f an

hot to the wound

,
S imilar curative agen
.
9
cies migh t b e mentioned b y hundreds .
A mong all afflictions the state of b e i n g pos

,
s essed b y devils occupies the most remarka b le
place in the annals of the Church an d is se e n ,
to have re quired the most powerful exorcisms

fo r i t s c ure T he ecclesiastical pathology de
.
clares that in this disease the devil i s unhi d

den while in all others he is concealed T he
,
.
ex e rciser who is to expel the fiend appears in

full priestly vesture ; incense and consecrate d
wa x tapers are lighted all the O bj ects sur ,
ro unding the d emoniac are sprinkled with

holy water the air around is purified b y t h e
,
pronunciation o f certain formulas ; th en follow

fervent prayers and finally the desperate and
awful struggle b etwee n the demon n o w c o n ,
v ul si v e l distorting the lim b s o f his victi m and

y
uttering b y his lips the m ost harrowing b las
phemies an d the priest who employs mor e
, ,
9 late as 1 7 8 4 a statute w issue d b y Carl Theo d o E lect o r

As as r,
of P falz referring to the magi c powe o f S t H ube t re li

, r an d. r -
es ,
forb i dd i ng the employment of w orl dly em e di es agai nst t h

“
r e
bite of m d d og s
a .
TIIE MA GIC OF TH E CH UR CH 71
an d more powerful adj uratio n s until the vi c

tory finally is his .
—
T he secular medical art that relyin g up
—
on natural means as either superfluous or ,
as s t rongly tainte d with heresy m ust b e de

-
,
S pi se d
. D issection i n order to investigate
,
the str ucture o f the huma n b o dy is pre ,
sumption ; it can even b e aske d with reaso n

if it does not argue contempt fo r the d o c
trine o f the final resurrection T he secular .
art o f healing was c onse q uently fo r a long

time confined to the infidel Jews But whe n .
princes and the O pulent weakly apprehend

,
i n g the insu ffi ciency of the wor d the relics ,
and the consecrate d remedies ha d b egun to ,
keep physicians the p rofane art o f medicine

,
b ecame a lucrative professi on and schools for,
its cultivation were estab lished under royal

protection S uch is that of S alerno which
.
,
the warders of Z ion c an not regar d without

suspicion It is a school which pres c ri b es
.
’
pedantic rules for diet as if one s diet could
,
protect against the attacks o f the d evil ' T he

G reek pagan H ippocrates who for a long ,
72 TH E M A 01 0 OF TH E M IDDL E A 0E s .
time wandere d ab o ut with Jews and A ra b s ,
thus finds at last a settled a b ode within its

—
walls H ippocrates who had to assert of
,
d emonianism (m o rb u s s a cer ) itself that it is

n owise more divine nowise more infernal
, ,
”
t han any oth er disease ! W hen the teacher
is such wh at must t h e disciples b e
,
? T he
Church will not for b id ab solutely the pra e
tice of medicine since it may do some g o o d
,
i n the case of external inj ury or i n time of

‘
pestilence ; b ut sh e must keep strict wa t ch

over the orthodo x y of th ose who cultivate
.
this art A t several councils (as at Rheims

.
in 1 1 3 1 the second L ateran in 1 1 3 9 a n d at

, ,
T ours 1 1 6 3 ) sh e has strenuously pro h ib ited

,
her servants from having any thin g to do

with this suspected profession E xperience .
has taught however not to exaggerate the

, ,
d angers attending it Th e secular p hysicians

.
must fre q uently concede that such and such

a sickness is caused b y witchcraft and c o n ,
se q uently is of superna t ural origin S lan .
d e re rs mi gh t alle g e that such a declaration

i s more conv e nient th an an investigation i nto
TH E M A 01 0 OF TH E CH UR CH .
73
the causes of the d isease in the natur al way ,
’
and less unpleasant than acknowledging one s
ignorance But b e this as it may : the conces
.
sio n implies a recognition of the supe rn at u

r al i sm of the Church and may there fore b e
”
rather recommende d than reprehende d .
“ ” “
It is says T homas Aq uinas
,
a d ogm a ,
of faith that the demons can produce win d ,
storms and rain of fire from heaven T he

,
.
a t m o s h e r e i s a b attle h eld b etween angels

p
-
'
and devils T he latter work the c onstant i n

.
j ury o f mai f the former hi s melioration ; an d

,
the c o n se q u e n c e is that changeab leness o f

s
weather which threatens to frustrate the

hopes of hus b andry A nd when L ucifer is .
ab le to b estow e v en upon man o n sorcerers -
—
and wizards the power to des t roy the fiel d s ,
the vineyards and dwellings of man b y rain ,
hail and lightning is it to b e wondered at i f

,
’
the Church which is man s protection against
,
the devil and whose especial calling it is to

,
fi ght him should in this sphere also b e his

,
c ounterpoise and should seek from the treas

,
ury of its divine power me ans a d e qu ate to ,

frustrate his atmospheric mischiefs ? T o these

means b elong the church b ells provided th ey ,
have b een duly consecrated and b aptized .
T he aspiring steeples around which cluster

the low dwellings of men are to b e likened , ,
when the b ells in th em are ringing to the ,
hen S preading its protecting wings over i t s

chickens ; for the tones of the consecrated
metal repel the demons and avert storm and
”
ligh tning Vi ne s e o co m o rtu o s p la ng e S U L
, ,
”
P H UEA FRA N C O a common inscription on
,
church b ells ) T illers of the soil w h o desire

.
especial protection from the Church fo r thei r

harvests pay it tith es for a b lessi n g D ur
,
.
i n g protracted d rought the priests make i n

t e rc e ssi o n a n d inaugurate rain processions in -
,
which images of the V irgin are b orne into

t h e fiel d s which are sprinkled with holy
,
water while the weather collect is chanted 10 -

.
10
the year 1 240 a large rain pro c essi on was hel d in Lut
In -
tich T hree ti mes epeate d it faile d of all e ffe ct becau se i n

. r ,
“
the Supplication of all saints G o d s m othe ha d been forgotten

’
r .
”
In a new procession S l gi na was

“
therefore
a v e re sung n d
”
, a
the rai n imme di ately came d own with such violence that the d e
v u t procession w as d isperse d — Th
o cl ergy someti m s in or d e
e e ,
r
If the fields are V i s i te d b y hurtf u l insects ,
the Church has remedies again st them also .
I t comman d s them in the name o f G o d to

depart and i f they do not o b ey a regular
, ,
process is institute d against them which ends ,
in th eir exemplary punishment ; fo r they are

excommunicated b y the Church S uch pro .
cesses were very fre q uently resorte d to in

‘
the M iddle A ges and a couple o f such i n

,
stances will b e c i ted .
'
F In the year 1 47 4 the may b

,
ug c ommitte d -
great depred ations in the neighb orho od of

B erne W hen the authorities o f the city
.
had sought relief from the b ishop of L au

s anne Benoit de M ontferran d against this
, ,
scourge he determine d to issue a letter O f ex

,
communication which was solemnly read b y

,
“
a p riest in the churchyard of B erne T hou .
”
irra t ional imperfect creature thou may b ug
, ,
-
,
“
thus the letter commenc ed thou whose kind ,
’
was never enclosed in N oah s ark ! i n the
to pro duce ain woul d l ea d a d onkey before the gate of the

r ,
church hang th e litany about his neck put w fer in his

, , a a
m outh an d t h en bury th e ani m a l ali v e

, .
76 TH E MA GIC OE TH E MIDDL E A GE S .
n ame Of my gracious lord the b ishop of L au ,
sanne b y the power of the glorified T rinity

,
through the merits of Jesus Christ and b y ,
the O b edience you owe t h e H oly Church I ,
command you may b ugs all in common and

-
,
e ach one in particular to depart from all

,
places where nou rishment for m e n and cat

”
tle germinates and grows T he letter ends
.
with a summons to t h e i n sects to present ,
themselves on the sixth day thereafter if ,
th ey do not disappear b efore that time at ,
’
one O clock P M at W i v el sb urg an d assume
,
. .
, ,
the responsib ility b efore t h e court o f the

g racious lord of L ausanne T his letter was
.
like w ise read from the pulpit while the con

“
r e at i o n
g g ,
kneeli ng repeated
,
three P ater
”
n osters and three A ve M arias A rran ge .
ments were made b eforehand fo r a legal trial

with strict attenti o n to all professional form s .
A mong these was of course that the accused

sho u ld have a lawyer But when no ad y o
.
cate i n Berne would consent to appear in b e

half O f t h e insects the b ish op devised t h e
,
plan of summoning fr om hell the shade of an

78 TH E M A 01 0
“
OF TH E MIDDL E A GE S .
recurring processes against may b ugs grass -

,
hoppers cabb age worms fi e ld rats and other

,
-
,
-
noxious vermin T here is ye t extant a de

.
tailed and luminous document b y the lear n e d

B artholomeus Ch ass an eeu s (b orn in
which the q uestion if and how such pests , ,
S hould b e proceeded against in the courts is

carefully considered : whether they Should ap
pear personally o r b y deputy ; whether they
are subj ect to a S piritual or a secular trib u
nal and if the penalty of excommunication
,
c an b e app l ied to them H e proves on many

.
g rounds that the j urisdiction to which they

are accountab le is the spiritual and that th ey ,
m ay properly b e excommunicated ; S till the

q uestion o f j urisdiction remained unsettled
and a civil prosecutio n of the fi eld rats in -
T yrol 1 5 1 9 2 0 proves among other things

,
—
,
that a secular trib unal sometimes c onsidere d

itself j ustifie d in deciding such suit s T he .
peasant S imon F liss appeared b efore W il

liam of H asslin gen j udg e in Glurns and M als
,
( O b er I n-
valley-
) as plainti ff
,
against the
fi e l d rats which were committing great dep
-
T HE MA G IC OF TH E CH UR CH 79
re d a t i o n s his parish T he court then a p

in .
o m t e d H ans G ri n e b n e r a citizen of G lurns

p , ,
to b e the advocate of the accused and fur ,
n i sh e d him b efore witnesses with the re

, ,
q u i si t e Com m ission T hereu p o.n the plain

ti ff chos e as his advocate S chwarz M i n i g an d ,
o b taine d from the trib unal upon demand a

warrant of authority for him likew i se O n .
the day of trial the W ednesday after S t

,
.
’ ’
Philip s and S t James s day many witnesses
.
,
were examined estab lish ing that the rats

,
had cause d great destruction S chwarz M i n i g .
then made his final plea that the noxious an

i m al s S hould b e charged to withdraw fro m
mischief as other w ise the people of S t i lf
,
could not pay the ann ual tithes to their high

patron Gri n e b ne r counsel for the defence
.
, ,
could not and would not make exception to

the testimony b ut tried to convince the court
,
“ \
that his clients enj oyed a c e rt ai n ri ght of
usufruct which could h ardly b e denie d them .
If the court were of another op i ni on and c o n

si d e re d it b est to ej ect them he yet hope d ,
they woul d first b e granted another place

80 TH E MA GIC OF TH E IlII D D
/ LE A GE S .
where they could suppor t themselves Be .
s ides there should b e given them at their de
p arture a su fli c i e n t escort to protect them

against their enemies whe ther cat dog or
“
, , ,
other adversaries ; and he also hoped that if ,
any o f the rats were pregnant time might b e ,
allowed them to b e delivere d and afterwards

depart in safety with their progeny T he de .
c i s i o n was rendere d in the following terms
“
A fter accusation and defence after state ,
ment and contradiction and after due con

,
sideration o f all that pertains to j ustice it is ,
b y this sentence determined that those nox

ious animals which are called fi e ld rats must -
,
wi t hin two weeks after the promulgation of

this j u d gment depart and forever remain far
,
aloof from the fields and the meadows of S t i lf .
But if one or several of the animals are preg

nant or unab le on account of their yout h to
,
follow then S hall they enj oy dur i ng furth er

,
two weeks safety and protection from every

”
b ody and after these two weeks depart
,
.
W e can form some impression of the i m

mense power of prayer and exorcism whe n
we consi d er that the influence o f the will an d

the i de a expresse d in the word c o operate i n -
.
them with the power o f the word itself as a

mere form F or the material word the sound
.
,
ca u ght b y the e ar the formula as such e x e r

, , ,
’
cises a magical e ffect without one s knowing
its meaning T he mass o f the pe ople with
.
their ignorance of the o ffi cial language of the

C hurch and of le arning would b e b adly o ff ,
“ ” “
if th ose P aternosters and A ve M arias ,
committe d to memory without understan d ing

—
th em should b e spiritually ine ffectual i f the
, ,
L atin mass to which the congregation listens

should b e wanting in edi fying and sanctifying
power b ecause it is not comprehende d T he .
formularies O f the Church e stab lishe d at dif

fo rent time s and for various purposes are for
-
this reason of high i mportance and must b e

followe d conscientiously 11
A single proof o f .
11 Especially was the C hurch of th e M i ddl e A g es rich in awful

fo mularies of male dict i on testifying to an enormous b utali za
r , r
ti on of thought an d feeli ng A si ngle speci m en of these f m u

.
or
laries wi ll be more than suffi cient to illustrate :

“
B y the m ight power an d authori ty of G d the A lm i ghty
, o ,
F ath er o f th e S o n an d o f th e H o ly G ho st an d in t h e n am e of
,
6
their extraordinary power may b e instance d

here In the ye ar 1 5 3 2 the devil b rought
.
into the he avens a huge comet which threat ,
the H oly Virg n the mother of our L or d Jesus Christ by the

i ,
h oly angels archangels S t M ichael an d S t John the B apti st in

, , . .
,
the name of the holy apostle P eter n d all the apostles in the a ,
name of the holy S tephen an d all the holy martyrs an d S t , .
A d l g u n d an d all the holy v irgins an d f all the saints in

e a , O
heav en an d on ea th to whom power is gi v en to bin d an d r
loose w curse e x ecrate an d ex clu d e from the mother C hurch

— , e ,
through the bon d of male di ction ( here follows the name of the
persons ) M y their chi l dren be orphane d ; may they be curse d
. a
upon the fi el d curs e d i n the city in the forest in their houses

, , ,
an d barns in their chamber an d their be d in the town hall in

, ,
-
,
the v illage on lan d an d sea ; may they be cu se d in the church

, r ,
in the churchyar d in the court room on the public s q uare an d ,

-
,
in war ; whether they be talking sleeping waking eating or , , ,
d ri nking whether they be going or resti ng or d oing any other

, ,
thing let them be accurse d in soul an d bo d y reason an d all

, ,
the i r senses curse d be their progeny curse d be the fruit of

: ,
the i r lan d curse d be all their limbs h ea d nose mouth teeth

, , , , , ,
throat eyes an d eyelashes brain larynx tongue breast lungs

, , , , , , , ,
li v er legs an d arms skin an d hai r ; curse d be e v ery thi ng l i

, , ,
'
ing an d mov ing in them from hea d to foot etc I conjure thee , .
,
L uci fer an d all your crew b yt h F ather the S n an d the H oly

, ,
e , o
G host by the incarnat i on an d bi r t h of C hrist ; I c njure thee by

,
o
the power an d the virtue of all saints that thou ne v er leav e them ,
in q uiet night d ay unti l thou hav e brought them to ruin

,
or , ,
d estroye d them by water or le d them to the gallows or cause d , ,
them to be torn by wil d beasts or their throat to be cut b y ene ,
m ies or thei r b o dies t o be d est oye d by

,
et c r .
TH E MA GIC OF TH E CH UR CH . 83
ene d e arth and man with drought an d pesti

lence ; b ut the pO pe solemnly b anishe d t h e
—
for b iddin g omen an d b ehold ! in a short time
,
it disappe are d having day b y day d iminishe d

,
through the power o f the papal anathema .
W hat a holy wor d may avail b y virtue of its

soun d (fl a tus r o oi s ) alone is indicate d in the,
legend of the tame starling which was save d ,
from the claws o f the hawk j ust at the mo

ment its de ath ago n y had force d from it the
-
”
words it had le arne d to repe at A ve M aria .
U pon t h e power of the word as i ts fo u n d a

tion , rests the papal custom of consecrating
b read wine oil salt tapers water b ells
, , , , , , ,
fields meadows houses standards and we e p

, , ,
“
ons. W ith such ab uses such superstition , ,
and diab olical arts was the priesthoo d fille d

”
durin g papal ascendency thus complains -
an old Protestant theologian who had an eye

to that surplus of magic wh ich the Catholic
Church possesse d over and ab ove that of the
L utheran b ut who was b lind t o the co rn
,
mon welfare and therefore such things

”
are in vog ue even among common men .

84 TH E MA GIC OF TH E MIDDLE A GE S .
W hat was the chief thing in the mass i f n o t

the wonder working words of b lessing wh en
-
,
the priest pronounced the four words or the

’
s i x sylla b les H o c es t co rp u s m eu m (this is
‘
m y b ody ) over the b read b re athed upon ,
it and made the sig n o f the cross three

,
times over it pretending that the b read was

,
there b y converte d into the flesh of Christ ?
In the same way he transformed the wine in

the chalice into the b loo d of Christ though ,
n O such power is given to sylla b les and

words H e b ound the H oly Ghost in the
.
water the salt the oil the tapers the S pices

,
.
, , ,
the stone woo d or earth when he c o n s e

, ,
crated church es altars churchyards when

, , ,
he b lesse d t h e meat t h e eggs and the like

, , ,
and when on E aster E ve he consecrated the

fire th at it S hould do no damage (though I ,
G o d save me have found out that our vil

,
la g e was utterly consume d four days after

such consecration ) when he b aptized and
,
sanctified b ells th at th eir rin g ing might dis

pel evil influen c es q uiet tempests and the
, ,
”
like .
an d S e ek no further expedients than these

’
constantly at hand But alas ! a pe e ple s .
,
magic of infernal origin is ab road and ram ,
pant b y the side o f the h ely magic of the

Church ; and b y it S atan tempts the careless ,
the curious and the irresol ute E ven many .
priests are tainte d with it T he holy Boni .
face and many pO pe S and monkish chron

,
i c l e rs after him b itterly lament that the

,
lower clergy compound love potions and -
practice divinatory arts using even t h e holy ,
appurtenances of t h e Church as t h e hos t to , ,
fortify the e fficacy of their dia b olical charms .
S ince the Church tr i es to reduce all con

d i t i o n s of life to harmony with itself it nat ,
u r a lly follows that it sets its se al also to
human j urisprudence T he ordeals which it .
has found employe d b y some of the nations

it has converte d exactly suit its system It
,
.
receives them conse q uently as resting on a

, ,
ri ght idea makes them what they were not

12
,
b efore a common practice and gives de

, ,
12 A biblical g oun d for or d eals

r w as foun d in N um bers v.
—
1 2 28 .
TH E MA GIC OF T HE CH UR CH 87
tailed rules concerning the chants pr ayers , ,
conj urations and masses with which they

S hould b e accompanied W hen a person u n
.
der accusation or suspicion is to under g o the

ordeal b y water for exam ple the priest is to
, ,
lead him to t h e churc h and cause him kneel

,
ing to pronounce th ree formulas in which

G od is implore d for protection T h en follo w .
mass and t h e holy communion W hen the .
accuse d receives the wafer t h e priest says

“
Be this flesh of our L ord t hy test to day -
.
T h en in sol emn procession the throng of wit

n esses repair to the spot w h ere the test is to
take place T he priest conj ures the water

.
,
expelling the demons common to this ele

m ent and commands it to b e an o b edient
,
instrument of G od for revealing innocence

or crime T he accuse d is dresse d in clean
.
garments kisses the cross and the gospel

, ,
recites a Paternoster and makes the S ig n of

the cross T h en (in t h e ordeal b y hot water )
.
his hand i s held in a b oiling cauldron : or he

is thrown with his hands pinioned and a
r e pe ab out his waist into a river If he
,
.
88 TH E M A 01 0 OF TH E MID DL E "
A GE S .
does not then sink his guilt is prove d T he

,
.
ordeal b y fire consists in walking over glow

i n g coals or carrying red hot iron or in
,
-
,
b eing dragge d through flames clad in a shirt

saturate d with wax By the test of fire the .
genuineness of relics is also sometimes tested .
W he n in A D 1 01 0 some monks who had

. .
returne d from Jerusal em exhi b ited t h e towel

with w hich the disciples had wiped the fe et
of Christ some doub ts of its genuine charac
,
ter were raised b ut were all remove d b y

,
this test O ne o f the most common of all

.
orde als is the duel .
G od invo k ed b y the servants of the

,
Church keeps his protecting hand over i n

,
nocence E very doub t of th is truth argues

.
faint heartedness b ordering on atheism T his

-
.
th ought li es at the foun d ation not only of the

different kinds of ordeals b ut also of the t e r ,
ture which constantly extended and intensi

, ,
fi e d under the auspices of the C h urch was a ,
form of trial sparin g t h e j udge much lab or ,
a n d leadin to t h e oal more surely than t h e

g g
collation of testimony which b esides b eing , ,
TH E MA G IC OF TH E CH UR CH 89
irksome hardly ever b rings full assurance

,
.
S hadrach M eshach an d Ab ednego felt no

,
p ain in the fiery furnace G od gives to ln .
n ocence upon t h e rack if not insensib ility ,
to pain at least s trength to endure it But

,
.
even the arch fi e n d to a certain e xtent can

-
, ,
protect his subj e c ts In the case of heretics

.
and witches it is therefo re needful to resort

to the in t ens e st torture ; to exhaust so to ,
speak to the last drop the springs of pain

, ,
in human nerves under the h and of skille d

,
t o rm e n t o rsf If then the instruments of tor
ture are previously conj ured and sanc t i fied

b y the priest and if he stands at the side of
,
the accuse d ready to interrupt with constant

q uestion t h e d iab olic formulas of alleviation
wh ich undou b tedly the su fferer murmurs i n
w ar d ly th en a candid and reliab le confessio n
,
may reasonab ly b e expected in spite of all ,
e fforts t o t h e contrary b y the devil In the .
W itc h h ammer (M alle us M al i fi c arum ) the

-
ecclesiastical and magical plan of j ustice cele

b rat es its triumph T his work b earing the
.
,
s an c tion of t h e pope c ontains full directions ,

fo r the j udge presiding in witch trials It is -

.
,
in fact a hammer which crushes whatever

,
it falls upon T he j udge who carefully fol

.
lows th ese directio n s may b e confident that

’
S atan himself can not save any one who is

u nder accusation ; only G od and his holy an
gels can rescue him b y direct miracle from , ,
death in the flames 13

.
H e who finds a j udicial system which ap

peals constantly to the intercession of G od
of q uestionab le value may consider that the ,
history of the Church the experiences of its ,
saints and servants are a succession of divine

miracles G od is not chary of his miracles
.
when recognized and the servants of the

,
C hurch are in possessio n of the apos t olic

power and mandate to perform them
A nother q uestion is how are t h e divine ,
m iracles to b e distinguished from the infer

nal 7 A ll attempts of the acutest scholastics
‘
13
Th eWitch hamm er will be more fully d escribe d here
“ -
after T h stu d ent of history houl d not neglect thi s v olume

. e S ,
which is the ripe st fruit of C atho li c dualism an d clearly S h ows

,
the esults to which it ten ds

r .
T HE MA GIC OF TH E CH UR CH 91
to estab lish a rule o f definite separation for

t hese two kinds o f miracles have failed .
T hey are reveale d under identical forms

and even t h e m o ral perceptions can detect
no di fference S ince S atan is able to trans
,
form himself into an angel of light R e a .
so n must also acknowledge its incapacity

even i n this respect and rely on the H oly
,
Ghost ever active in t h e Church and e s

p e c i a ll
y in its head
. T he power of divine
truth and inspiration which was poured out
upon the ap ostles on t h e day of Pentecost ,
h a s b een transmitted like a magnetic stre a m

from P eter the first b ishop o f R ome to his
, ,
successors b y the laying on of hands and ,
is in a certain measure imparted b y the ,
s acrament o f ordination to eve ry memb er

,
o f the clerical hierarchy .
T he s u rvey of the magic o f the Church

”
w hich has b e en presente d ab ove ought per ,
haps to b e completed not b y pursuing the

,
te dious path which lies b efore us through

cont in ue d description of ecclesiastical customs

and opinion b ut b y sim ply fo rmulating the
,
general truth : M erg sym b o l ev ery ewtern a l to ,
ken , to whi ch i s a ttr i b u ted i n d epen d en t p o wer

an
o r s a n ctr i ca ti o n a n d a n i mm edi a te m o ra l i nflu

f g
‘
en ce , i s M agi c . M ay the Protestant re ader

fo r whom we are here writi n g examine with
’
this maxim in how far the R eformation which ,
—
aims to restore to internal author i ty the rea
s o n and free will of the individual
- — its rights ,
has succe ede d in i t s task L uther and Calvin .
assailed many magical usages an d prune d ,
many b ranches from the tree of dualism b ut ,
s till allowe d its vigorous trunk to remain

unscathed But a dual istic religious sy stem
.
must on account o f the unreasonab le cosmi

,
cal the ory O n which it rests sooner or later ,
attack again the inner authority and make

.
itself the sole and ab solute external one It .
must of necessity degenerate to a statuary

fetichism or fall b efore a complete unitarian
reformation O ur day witnesses the conflic t
.
b etween th ese O pposite ideas O n t he one .
s ide ,
the b elief in a personal S piritual a d v e r
94 TH E M A 01 0 OF TH E M IDDL E A GE S .
sence the symb ol and t h e external work the

,
inner a c t and co n science wh ere t h e su pe rfi c i e s

,
i s taken for the content the outer monotony

,
fo r life S un i formity and app earances for truth

,
.
T here a luckless future is in waiting what ,
”
ever b e the aspect o f the present .
III .
T H E M A G IC O F T H E LEA R N ED .
W e fi n d ourselves in a dismal lab yrinth o f

n arrow winding stre ets n e w and then issu
, ,
ing into some O pen space b efore a guild hal l -
or a church T he o bj ects which me et our

.
gaze in t h iS strange city do not solicit pause

or re fl e c t i On ; for we have seen essentially the
same type of homes and humanity in many an
other city which we have wandere d through
in our search fo r the stone of wisdom W e .
there fore continue on our way T he b uild .
in g s of the university are said to b e in the

neigh b orhood and we turn the corner to the
,
right and again to the left until we come upon

, ,
it T he lecture hour approaches Pro fessors

.
-
.
drape d in stiff mantles and we aring the scholas

tic cap on their supremely wi s e forehe ads ,
wend their way t o the temples of knowle dge

96 TH E [M A GIC OF TIIE MIDDL E A GE S .
at the portals o f which flocks o f students

wait W e recognize their v arious and familiar
.
types : the new matriculate d look as usual

-
,
their cheeks still retaining th e glow of e arly

youth their he arts still hum b le perhaps still
, ,
held captive b y the sweet delusion that the

walls b y which they wait are the propylae a to
all the secrets of e arth and he aven Just as .
re adily re cognize d are the parchment worms -

,
destine d one day to S hine as l ights in the

Church and in the domain of science whether ,
they n e w toil t hemselves pale and melancholic

o v er t heir ca tenae their summ te and sen ten ti oe
, ,
or b e ar with unfeigned self satisfaction the -
precious weight of term s which lifts th em S O

co n spicuously a b ove the i gnorant m ass o f
morta ls A nd among the throng of the first
.
name d still fresh with youth and th ese alre ady ,
drie d pedants we find also the far fame d third

,
-
class of students adventurers assemb le d from

,
all q uarters under the protection O f univer

si t y privileges
- — those gent lemen with b e ard
,
e d ch eek and faces swelle d b y d ri nk i n g a n d

,
s carre d b y com b at wi t h terri bly lo n g an d

,
one o f the dim m ysteries of the Church b y

ventilating t h e q uestion wha t P eter would
have done with the b re ad and wine had he ,
distri b ute d the elements while the b ody of

C hrist in unchanged reality was yet hangin g
*
on the c rOS S A litt le farther on in this
.
m ouldy vault we find the workshop of phi

l O S O phy where a master in the art o f a b
,
strac t reasoning deduces the distinction b e

tween un i e ersa li a a n te rem and un i o ersa li a i n ,
re. In yonder furthest room a j urisconsult

expounds a passage in the p andects Or per — .
haps you would rather not choose at all ?

You smile sadly A las ! like myself you have
.
good reason fo r complaining with F aust

I hav e alas ! P h i losophy
, ,
M d i e
’
an d Jurispru d ence to o
c n e, ,
And to my cost T heology ,
Wi th ar d ent labor stu die d through .
A n d here I stan d with all my l ore

, ,
P o or f l no wiser than befo e

ee , r .
and if you add like him ,
H ence hav e I now applie d myself t o m agi c ,
in the d ays of Erasmus of Rotterd am the theologians

Ye t
w ere making g eat ad ov er this knotty problem
r o .
TH E MA GIC OF TH E L E A RN E D . 99
we shall b ring b ack to our minds the O b

e c t o f our b urning desires the hope which
j ,
ch e ers us that finally the veil will b e torn

frb in the face of the Isis image and that we -
,
s hall b ehold the unspe akab le face to face ,
even though her look s b urn us to ashes .
L et us turn our b ack upon this tragi comic -
se at O f le arning where as everywhere else

, , ,
hoary he ade d fools are te achin g young chick

-
e n h e ads to admire nonsense

-
and you n g e a ,
gle souls to despair of knowledge It i s not

-
.
far hence direct as direct as the winding

-
—
lanes permit to that gre at magician w h o
has taken up hi s ab ode in this city A t the .
feet o f that m aster let us se at ourselves .
W e shall there slake our b urnin g th irst with

at le ast a fe w drops o f th at knowledge which
through b y gone ages has b een flowing in a
-
sub terranean channel though from the same ,
sour ces as the streams of Paradise A nd if .
we are disappointe d th ere well then yo u ,

-
, ,
if you so choose c an q uench your longing

,
'
for truth in the whirlpool o f pleasure an d

adventure I Shall go i nto a monastery
.
,
1 00 TIIE MA GIC OF TH E [M I D D LE A GE S .
seek the narrowest of its cells watch pray , ,
scourge forth my b lood in streams ; or I shall

go to India S it down upon the ground and
,
—
stare at the tip of my nose stare at it and ,
never cease year out and year in u ntil all

, ,
consciousness is extinguished A greed then .

, ,
is it not ?
W e are arrived in the very loneliest q uar
ter of t h e town and t h e most dreary limits
,
of the q uarter where old crumb ling houses

,
group themselves in inextricab le confusion

along the city wall and from their gab le
,
windows fix their vacant hypochondriacal ,
looks upon the open fields b eyond A tow .
er c ro w n n the wall of the fort upon this

,
side now serves the great scientist a s an

,
o b servatory and dwelling given him b y the ,
b urgomaster and the council of t h e city .
H e was for a long time private physician to

the Q ueen of F rance b ut has now retired ,
to th is lonely place from the pleas ures the ,
distinctions and the dangers of life at court

, ,
in order to devote himself q uietly t o re s e a rc h

'
and study H e has a protector i n the prince

.
1 O2 TH E M A GI C OF TH E MIDDL E A GE S .
S pirits of h ell compare d with t h e capacity to

,
summon b y the me ans of lustrations seals , ,
characters and exorcisms the an gels hover

ing in t h e high er sp h eres or tame to o b e di
,
ence the demons which fill t h e immensity o f

space ? A nd what again is this power com
pare d with the pure celestial knowledg e to
which magic delivers the key ? a knowle d ge
as much transcending the w i s m of an gels as
’ ’
the son s place in his father s house is supe
’
rior to a servant s ! P erchance the magician
at this v e ry m o m e n t is de eply ab sor b e d i n
'
some investigation and within a h air s b re adth

,
’
of the revelation of some new and dazzlin g

truth L et us consider b e fore we venture to
.
ask admittance L et us pause a moment b e

.
fore this iron b ound d o o r and recover our

-
,
b re ath .
Ye men of science i n this ninete enth cen

tury how miserab le you would b e had you
,
not once for all determine d t o limit yo u r

hopes to a minimum ! T o die when you have
gleane d and contrib ute d b ut a S ingle straw to
the harvest of s cience is the fate to which
,
TH E MA GIC OF TH E L EA RN ED . 1 03
you subj ect yourselves T he one among you

.
who has b rought to notice a hitherto unknow n

snail or flower de ems himself not to have
,
live d in vain To have discovere d a formul a

.
under which a group of phenomena can b e
arranged is alre ady a triumph T his re si g

,
.
nation which makes each one amo n g you ,
even t h e gre atest only an insignificant detail

,
worker upon the immense lab or whose com

l e t i o n you contemplate at an infinit e remove
p ,
and the very outlines of which you ignore ,
this resignation is sub lime though supremely ,
painful to the aspiring soul T he i ndividual .
lab orer for his part ab stains from all h e pe of

seeing the whole tr uth and works for his gen
,
c ration and futurity E ven t h e philosopher

.
who undertakes to explain the framework o f

the macrocosm does not se e in his system a
,
final solution of the pro b lem of cosmical ex

”
planation b ut only a link in the long chain
,
of de v elopment H e fore sees the fall of his

.
theories satisfied perhaps if the traces of his

, , ,
error keep his successor on a straighter pat h .
It i s the race an d not t he in dividual which

1 04 TH E MA GIC OF TH E MIDDL E A GE S
.
works in your work ; which c ontinues it when

you have grown weary an d b een forgotten .
It is a collective activity like that of ants an d

b ees But the magician stands alone ! T o
.
b e sure he receives what the past may o ffer ,
—b ut only to enclose himsel f with this t reas
ure and improve it b y the immense wealth

,
of his own mind H e b elieves in this immen

.
si t y .H e b elieves that t h e powers of all t h e

gen erations are store d up in the b osom of the
individual and he hopes to accomplish alone
,
what you faint heartedly leave to the multi

-
tude of incalculab le centuries !
W e knocke d upon the d oor ponderous

with its b olts of iron It O pened as b y an .
u nseen hand N o servant interposed either

.
welcome or remonstrance as we mounted t h e

dark S piral S t airs U nannounced we entered
.
t h e hall of the great magician A long t h e .
arched ceiling O f the rooms wh ose green lead

faste n ed window panes admitted b ut a scanty
light fl oated a fra grant vapor from the cell
,
in the e xtreme b ackground where we could ,

1 06 TH E MA GIC OF TIIE MIDDL E A GE S .
T hese images you S hall Show me It is fo r .
this that I have summoned you for I wish ,
to cast a glance into the future .
I was seized with a strange almost horrid ,
feeling I now remem b ered that I and my

.
companions had transporte d ourselves b y the ,
use of means which stirs up the entire re

prod uctive forces O f the imagination from ,
the actual nineteenth century b ack to the ,
long past fift een t h that we might s e e it li v e

-
,
b efore our eye s not i n dissevered trai t s as

,
a past age is wont to b e preser v ed in b ooks ,
b ut i n the completeness of i t s o w n m ulti

fo ri n i t y W ho was right t h e magician or
.
,
myself ? W hich was t h e one only seemingly

living he or I
,
? A t what hour did t h e hand
on the clock of time point at that moment ?
G ranted that time i s ab solutely nothing b u t
a conceptual form with out independent re
ality ; as long as I live in time I b elieve in
its ordered course and do n o t w ish to see
,
its g olden thread entangled I did not wish .
th at t h e S pirit which I h a d summoned should

b e my master an d degrade me to a p ro duct
TH E M A 01 0 OF TH E L E A RNED . 1 07
of his own imagination I summone d cour .
age an d exclai med :

W e have wandere d through many cities ,
great magician to find you W e finally

,
.
s t and in th i s your sanctuary W e se e these .
gloomy G othic arches over our heads ; we

s e e your venerab le figure b efore us ; we b e
hol d these folios and strange instrum ents

which surround you ; w e l o o k out through
these windows and b ehold on one S ide towers
and house tops on the other fields meadows
-
, ,
and the huts o f serfs and yonder in the dis

,
tanc e the castle of a knight who i s suspecte d

of n ight attacks up on the trains o f the mer
-
chants as they approach the city A ll these .
things stand real and present b efore our eyes :

b ut nevertheless great magician it is all
, , .
yourself included a product of o ur magic of

, ,
the power of our own imagination not o f ,
o ur magic It is in o rder to make some

y . a c
q uai ntance with the latter that we are come .
It is not we who are to answer your q ues

”
tio n s b ut you ours
,
.
T he magician smiled H e persiste d in his.

1 08 TH E MA GIC OF TH E MIDDL E A GE S .
V iew and I in m ine T he contested q ues

,
.
tion could not b e decided and it was laid ,
aside But along with my consciousness of

.
b elonging to a perio d of critical activity my ,
—
doub ts had awakened m y v ivid h e pe a mo
me n t ago o f finding in magic the key o f all
secrets was fast fading away
,
.
I looke d around in this home o f the ma

g i c i a n
. O n his writing desk lay a p archmen
-
t
on which he ha d commenced to write do w n

t h e horoscope o f the following year Be .
side the desk was a celestial glo b e with

figures p ainted in various colors In a win .
d o w looking towards the south hung an as

‘
t r o l ab e to whose alidade a long telescope (o f

,
course without lenses ) was attached T he .
b ook ease containe d a not inconsiderab le

-
num b er of folios : V ersio V ulgata some v o l ,
umes o f the fathers V ir g il D ionysius A re

, ,
o a it a
p g Ptolemy
,
the hymns
,
of O rpheus ,
’
H ermes T rismegistus J am b li ch us Pliny s
, ,
N atural H istory a large numb er o f works

,
p artly i n A rab ic upon astrolo gy and alchemy ,
also a fe w H e b rew manuscripts and s o on ,

.
1 10 TH E M A 0I 0 OF TH E MIDDL E A GE S .
*
the experiment In spite of this however
.
, ,
he worked daily b efore his oven melting and ,
purifying such metals as he n eeded for his

planet medallions amulets and magical rings
-
, ,
and a b ove all in prepari ng that e ffective alloy

which is called electrum .
F rom his lab oratory our host conducted us

Into two other apartments with arched ceil
ings fo rm i n g a sort o f museum of most ex

,
t r a o rd i n ary curiosities —Skeletons and drie d ,
limb s of various animals : fishes b irds liz , ,
ards frogs snakes etc ; herb s and di fferently

, , ,
.
colored stones ; whole and b roken swords ;

nails extracte d from co ffi ns and gallows ;
flasks containing I know not what all ar ,
-
ran g ed i n groups under the signs of the

different planets W e b eheld b efo re us the
.
wonde rf ul and rich apparatus of practical

magic arran ged accordin g to rules of wh ich
—
we were enti rely ignorant rules which we ,
had vainly sought in all the treatises of
T his confession Cornelius A grippa m akes in his Occult “
P hilosophy T he o phrastus P aracelsus an d o the s w e e less

.
”
r r
m o d est .
TH E MA GIC OF TH E L EA RNED . 1 11
modern times upon the occult sciences o f

the M iddle A ges rules which might per
,
haps contain the S imple principles un d erly

i n g their confusion
E vening was drawing on T he sun was .
S inking b ehind the western hills It was .
b eginning to grow dark among the arches

wher e the great m agician had imprisone d
himself among dead and withered relics ,
fragments b roken from the great and living

world without W e returned to his o b se rv
.
at o r
y
. H e opene d a windo w and contem
plate d with dreamy glances the S tars which
were kindling one after another in the b eav
ens T he twilight is a favorab le time for
.
conversation o f the kind for which we had

b een preparing ourselves W e were soon .
settled in comfortab le roo m y arm chairs and

,
-
—
discoursing earnestly w e t h e man of the
, ,
fi fteenth century and the un b orn souls o f

,
the nineteenth whom he had summoned that

,
he might look into the future and who now ,
used him to look b ack into the past H e .
S poke t o us o f his scien c e .

M y knowledge is not o f myself F ar .
far away b ehind these hills b ehind the snowy ,
summits of the Alps b ehind the mountains

,
’
of the farth est dwelling G aram an t e s on
‘
-
,
nameless heights which disappear among

the clouds the temple of truth was b uilt
,
lo n g a g e over the fountain from which

life flows T hat this temple i s demolished
.
we well know ; only the first human pair

has wandered through i t s sacre d halls But .
he who desires who yearns and has pa

,
t i e n c e c an S i t d own b y the m argin of the

,
stream of T ime an d gra sp and draw ashore

some of the cedar b eams from the ruine d
-
temple drifting upon the b illows and fro m ,
the form o f the fragments may determine

the structure of the whole A ll wisdom has
its roots in the past and the farther we ,
penetrate anti quity the richer the remains

,
we find of a hi ghest human wisdom W hat .
is A lb ertus M agnus with his profound knowl

ed g e i n comparison with the angelic wisdom
of D ionysi u s A reopagita and what i s the ,
l atter c ompared w ith that o f the prophet

1 14 TH E M A 01 0 OF TH E MIDDL E A 0E S .
into c onstantly b lacker depths T he individ .
u al seeker after truth may gain enlighten
m ent b ut fo r himself alone not for h u

, ,
man ity T here fore a magi ci an confines the

.
w isdom he ac q uires to his own b osom or ,
imparts it to a single pupil or b uries it ,
u n der o b scure expressions which he commits
to parchment ; b ut he neither can nor will

impart it witho u t reserve to humani t y whose
path appears to lead downwar d into a c o n
st an t ly deeper night .
“
E ven the th eologi ans speak O f the pris
—
tine wisdom the th eologians with w hom
,
we who practice t h e occult scie n ce agree far

, ,
more than the S imple and suspicious amo n g

them think W hat remained i n the time of
.
,
N oah of pris t ine wisdom was saved with

h i m in t h e ark H is fi rst b orn O b tained as
.
-
h i s portion the fairest wisdom Prophecy .

,
t he Cab ala and t h e G ospel b elong to the

,
s ons of S he m the Jews But even H am

,
.
and J aph e t were not left destitute It was .
t h e priest of the sons of H am th at guarded

—
the secrets o f Isis se c rets b efore which even
,
TH E MA GIC OF TH E L E A RN E D . 115
we Christians must b ow in the dust ; fo r the

O ld T estament does not hesitate to exal t
the wisdom of the E gyptians and recognize
M oses as a pupil from their school H ermes .
T rismegi stus was an E gyptian an d we ma ,
i c i a n s who know that he transmuted what

g
ever he chose into gol d and precious stones ,
are not astonishe d when the apostle P aul

speaks of the treasures o f E gypt or at what ,
travellers relate of its pyramids and other

giant works or when Pliny estimates the
,
num b er o f its cities at twenty thousand or ,
when M arcellinus is amaze d at the immense

treasures which Cam b yses carried away fro m
it for all this was a creation o f the art of
,
*
H ermes T rismegistus E ven the portion o f
.
the children of J a ph e t was not insignificant .
It was divided b etween t h e treasury of Z o ~
ro aster and that of t h e E leusinian mysteries .
S ome coins of this treasure fell into t h e
hus reasone d as late a th e m i ddl e of th e sixteenth

T , s
century B i h i u ( Olaf Borch ) who was professo r in chemis

,
o rr c s ,
try at the U ni v e sity of C openhagen an d w ote a bo o k upon

r r
the w is do m o f th e E gyptian H e m es r .
hands o f Plato and A ristotle and have from

them co m e into t h e possession of P orphyrius ,
J am b li c hu s and the th eosophists an d scho

,
l a st i c s
.
—
It is this diffuse d illumina t ion that
of the Bib le (its inner secret meaning ) the
,
C ab ala and fragments o f E gyptian Persian ,
—
and G recian wisdom W hich are collecte d
and united in the magic of learning T hese .
are the ancestors of my science H as it not

.
a pedi g ree more no b le than that o f any royal

family ?
I heard you mention somethin g ab out the
necessity for a science of investigation with
out presupposition W ould you then really
.
presume to b e the j udge of all that past

generations have thought b elieved and trans
,
m i t t e d as a sacred inheritance to those that

follow ? D o you n o t Shrink b efore the idea
th at human hunger for truth must have b een
satisfied from A dam to our own days b y
noth ing b ut illusions ? that you are the c h il
’
dren and ch ildren s children of mere idiots
who have fixed th eir hopes th eir faith and
, ,
their convictions on b aseless falsehoo d s ? Put

m arka b le texture s o it is also b ut a few

,
simple thoughts which support all the doc

trines and products of magic .
T hat the universe is a triple harmony ,
as the G odhead is a T rinity you are aware ,

.
W e live in the elemental world ; over our

head the celestial space with its various ,
S p h eres revolves ; and ab ove this finally

, , ,
G od is enthroned in the purely spiritual

world of ideas T he unh appy scientists of
.
your century have in their narrow prej udice

(
s eparated these worlds from one another b u t
b y crowding together the celestial and the

elementary ) Your s e called students of na
.
-
ture investigate only the elementary world ,
and your S O called philosophers only the

-
ideal ; b ut the former with all th eir delvi n g

in the various forms of matter n ever reach ,
t h e realm of t h e spiritu al b ut are rather

,
led to disavow its existence ; and the latter

can never from the dim world of ideas sum
mon up the concrete wealth of nature In .
vain your students of nature imagine th at in

physiology or your philosophers that in an
,
TH E MA GIC OF TH E L EA RNED . 119
they shall fin d the tran sitio n

t hr o po l o gy ,
from one world to the other W e magi .
e ia u s
,
on the contrary study t hese worlds
,
as a unit W e find them co m b ine d b y

‘
two mighty b onds : those of correspondence

and causality All things in the elementary
.
world have their antit ype in the c elestial ,
and all celestial things have their Corre

sp e nding ideas T hese correspondences are
.
s t rung from ab ove downwards as strin gs on

the harp o f the universe and on that harp ,
the causalities move up and down like the

fi ngers of a player W hile your students o f
.
n ature seek the chains of causality i n only
one direction the horizontal that which runs

, ,
th rough th ings on the same level that which ,
conne cts thin g s in one and t h e same elemen

tary world ; we t h e students o f ma g ic search
, ,
with still gre ater diligence th ose pe rpe n d i c u

lar ch ains of causality wh ich run through and
comb ine corresponding o bj ects in the three
worl d s O ur manner of inves tigating this
.
perpendicular series resem b les your meth od

of examinin g the hori zontal b ut Slightly i f ,
at all W hat unnecessary trou b le your i n

.
duction causes you ! You wish to investigate

the nature of some manifestation of force ,
for instance ; you analyze it With great pains

taking into different factors you strive to ,
isolate each of these factors and to cause

th em to act each its own part to find out ,
wh at each has contrib ute d to the common

expression of force W e meet with no such
.
hin d rances A secret tradition has presente d

.
to us our perpendicular lines of causality

almost entire and we are a b le to fill up the
,
lacun ae o f this tradition b y an investigatio n

which is not impeded with any great di ffi
c ult i e s
. T his investigation relies on t h e re
sem b lances of things for this S imilarity is
,
derived from a correspondence and causality ,
is interwoven with correspondence T hus .

,
for instance we j udge from the resem b lance

,
b etween the S plendor of gold and that of t h e

s u n that gold has its celestial correspondence
in th at luminary and sustains to it a causal

,
relation A nother example : the two h orne d

.
-
b eetle b ears a causal relation to the moon ,

the work of nature and of man has its cause

and its e ffect W e can not make a ges t ure
.
,
nor s ay a word with ou t imparting vi b rations

,
to the w h ole universe upward and down

,
—
ward vi b rations which may b e stro n g or
,
fee b le perceptib le or impercep t ib le T his

,
.
princip le runs through the whole of our cos

m ical system and this th o u gh t must b e true
,
even for you an alyzers .
“
B efore explain i n g more fully the magi
c al use O f our series of correspondence and
causality I w ish to Sho w you a couple of

,
th em I shall ch oose the S implest b ut at

.
,
the same time the most importan t I com .
mence with
TH E MA GIC OF TH E L EA RN E D . 1 23
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. .
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—
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a e
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. .
o
m D
d
1 24 TH E M A 01 0 OF TH E MIDDLE A GE S .
H ere you see one o f the nets w hi ch magic

has stretched from the E mpyrean down into
the ab yss For each of the sacred num b ers
.
there is a separate scale of the same kind

’
‘
T he universe says P ythagoras is founded
, ,
‘
’
upon num b ers and Bo ethius asserts that
,
E very thing created in the b eginning of

‘
time was formed according to the relations

of certain num b ers which were lying as,
’
types in the mind of the C reator I t is .
conse q uently a settled fact wit h u s that num

b ers contain greater and more e ffective forces
than material t hin gs ; for the former are not
a mixture of su b stances b ut may as purely , ,
formal entities stand in immediate connec

,
tion with the ideas of divine reason T his .
is recognized also b y the fathers : b y Hie

ro n m u s
y A ugust
,
i ne A m b rosius A,
thanasius , ,
B ede and others and underlies these words

, ,
in the b ook of R evelation : L et hi m who ‘
hath understanding count the num b er of the

’
b east . T hose varied and relatively discord
ant o bj ects which form a unity in the same
world are arranged side b y side in the
,
126 THE MA GIC OF THE A GE S .
things in the elementary world and micr o

c o sm are subj ect to the planets I n show .
ing this to you I will remind you o f the

v erse
A s tm
’
‘
regunt
'
ho mi nem s ed regi t a stra D eus .
( fl he s tars gui d e ma n b ut Go d gui d es the s tars .

)
TH E MA GIC OF TH E LEA RNED . 1 27
d
e o
m
.
g c
D ?
Z
fi
g m
> £ a
d
4 a
m
1 28 THE M A 01 0 OF THE MIDDLE A GE S .
T he v alue of thes e as of many other ta ,
b les w ill b e clear to you when I now pro

,
nounce the fi rst practical principle of magic

“
A the d i fiu ses
f
the Crea to r u n i v er s e
s f
o u
p on
by els , s ta r s , elem ents , a n i m a ls , la nt s ,

us , an
g p
m eta ls a nd s to n es , the p o wer s f
o hi s o m ni
p o
ten ce, so a ls o the m ag i ci a n , b y co llecti n

g tho se
o bj ects i n the elem en ta l wo r ld whi ch b ea r a re
la ti o n m utua l a cti v i t o the sa m e en ti t

f
o
y t y ( an
an el o r a la n et) i n the hi her wo rld s , a nd by

g p g
co m b i ni ng thei r p o wer s a cco rdi ng to s ci en ti
fi c
r u les a n d i n ten s i i hem b m s a cred

, fy gn t y ea n s
f
o
a nd r eli i o us cer em o n i es , is a b le to i nflu en ce

g
thi s h i gher b ei ng a nd a tt r a ct to hi m s elf i ts
o wers
p .
“
T his principle sufficiently explains why I
have collected around me all the strange
things you here see H ere for instance is .
, ,
a plate of lead on which is engraved the

symb ol of a planet ; and b es i de it a leaden
flask containin g gall I f I now take a piece .
of fine onyx marked with the same planet

sym b ol and this dried cypress b ranch and
,
-
,
add to them the ski n of a snake and the

1 30 THE M A 01 6 OF THE MIDDLE A GE S .
tic in its aims and in its depths dwells a

,
thought which i s terri b le b ecause it threat ,
ens t o crush that very cosmic p hilosophy on

which our faith is founded W e occupy our .
s elves with the elements until the idea steals ,
upon u s that every thing is dependent on

them ; that every thing C reator and c reated , ,
is included in them ; that every thing arises

b y necessity and passes away b y necessity .
I f you can only collect in the crucib le those

elements and life germs which were stirri n g
-
in chaos then you can also produce i n

, ,
t h e cruci b le the six days of creation and

, ,
find the spirit which formed the universe I .
have ab andoned alchemy only to escape this

thought ; b ut a parchment will sealed with
-
.
,
seven seals and hidden in the most secret

,
corner of my vaults contains the re m ark a ,
b le experiences I have had when experiment

*
ing for the p erp etuum m o b i le and ho mun cu lus .
We have found in a M gi D i i na th e followi ng d i

a a v rec
tions for accomplishing a p p tuum m b i l n tu the e ffi cacy

er e o e a res ,
of which w leave for the reader to decide

e .
“
D uri ng the tw e lv e ni ghts afte r Chr ist ma s 1 5 m e asure s of
THE MA GIC OE TH E L E A RN E D . 1 31
to the prep arations fo r our con

B ut
j uration ! First we are met with the q ues
tion : I s the hour favorab le ? D o the aspects
dew are c oll e c ted from fru it trees an d pres erved well e nclosed
-
,
.
I the month of M ar c h dew is again c o ll ected from bo t h fru it

n
trees and meadows and i s preserved in another phi a! D w . e
c oll ected in M y i s poured in a third and rain of a thunder

a
storm during the summ e r i n a fourth Thereupon t he contents .
of the four phials a mixed and one measur e of it i s poured i n t o

re
a great transparen t glass r eto rt where wel l c overed it must , , re
mai n month un til it be c omes foul Put i t then over fire and
a .
s ubjec t to heat of t h se c ond degree When sufficiently dis tilled

e .
a substance thi ck as honey i s left In this residue are poured.
fo ur grai s of as tr l tin c ture Th mixture is exposed to a heat

n a . e
of the first degree by which i t is c onvert ed into a thick j et

, ,
black lump wh i ch again is dissolved forming below an ink like ,

-
flu id and above a vapor in which many colors and fig ures

, , ar e
seen T hese soon disappear and every thing is changed in t o

.
,
wa t er which begins t o turn green and green palaces constan tly

, , ,
enlarging and mountains and lo vely pas tures appear while the
, ,
water is diminished more and more When now y u find that . o
no more d w rises from the earth wi th i n the glass tak e the

e ,
water which you re c eived from the di s tillation mix wi th it a ,
drachm of astral tincture and pour an oun c e of this mix ture

i t o the glass bulb T hen every thing begi ns again to live and
n .
gro w A d d every month an oun c e f this mixture If then the

. o
—
.
glass ball is well closed and is not s tirred a v apor gradu lly
, , a
arises and is condensed into two shining stars like the sun
, ,
and the moon and like the latter one of these stars waxes and
, ,
wanes ; and all the phenomena of natur e thunder li ghtning , , ,
hail rain snow and de w will appear in yo ur glass b all as i n

, , ,
1 32 TH E MA GIC OF TIIE MIDDLE A GE S .
oppose A spect is the relative po si t i o n o f

? '
two planets to each other E very calendar .
from the centuries which lie b etween you
the real world around you A ll thi s will happen if you k ee p .
the grea t C reator before your eyes and i n your h eart and if ,
you conceal from the wicked world this great secre t .

”
F rom the seco n d part of G oethe s F aust the re ader may

’
re
member D octor Wagner Faust s former f mul u busily engaged

,
’
a s,
at the alchemic furnace in preparing a ho mun ulu an artificial c s,
man T h same M gi a D i i
.
“
e from whi ch we have quoted
a v na
”
the pre c eding dire ctions allo ws us also t tra c e the secret of the
, o
learned Wagner the art of producing ho mun ul phi l phi

:
“
c os os o
In a retort of the most beautiful c rys tal glass is po u red

”
co s .
one measure of the purest M y dew c ollected when the moon a -

,
is crescen t and two measures of blood from a you th or three

, ,
measures from a girl B oth the boy and the girl mus t be
.
h ale and if possible chas te When this mixture has f

“
, , . o
m en t d during a mon th and been transformed in t o a reddish

e ,
clay the m t uum which is formed on the top is d raw

, ens r n ff o
by means of tubes herme tically at t ached to th re tort ga thered e ,
i nt o a clean glass vessel mixed wi th one drachm animal tinc

,
ture a d the mixture is again poured into the ret ort where i t is
,
n
kept duri g a mon th in gentle heat A sort of bladder will have

n .
then formed which is soon gradually covered wi th an organic

ne t of lit tle veins and nerves S pri nkled every fourth wee k .
wi th the m t uum above quoted the bl adder grows duri ng four

ens r ,
mon ths When if you no tic e a peeping sound and move

. no v
ments of vi tali ty in the glass look into i t and y u will discover ,

o
to your joy and amazement a mos t beautiful pair a b y and a , o
gi rl which you can con t empla t e with heart felt admiration for
,
-
this l o vely work f nature though their height i s but six inches
o ,
.
1 34 TH E M A GJC OE TH E MIDDLE A GE S .
’
and Mars itse lf b eing in the first face of ‘
*
its own house is conse q uently even kindly ,
disposed E ve n the moon whose assistance i s

.
,
Every planet h ad among the twelve signs of th e Z odia c i t s

own house and it was especially propi tious when i n any of
,
those abodes T h following table shows the order

. e
S aturn dwells in Capri c ornus .
Jupite r P isces and S gittari us a .
M ars A ries and Sc orpio .
T h S un L eo e .
V enus T au rus and U rsa M ajo r .
M ercurius Virgo and G emini .
T h M oon C ancer
e .
E ach of t h twel v e signs ( t hir t y degrees o n th e ar c of the

e
heavens ) was divided into three faces ( ten degrees ) T h e “ ”

.
posi tion of the planet was mos t ausp i cious when in the first
face of the house ; if in the third it s favorable influen ce w as
doub tful .
A the rea d er will see from the firs t table gi v en above th e

s ,
signs of the Z odiac were supposed to sustain a relation to the

elemen t s a d t o temperaments A ries L and S agittariu
n .
, eo s
were warm dry fiery and chole ic M ars entering these signs
, ,
r .
— excepting tha t of A ries which w a his wn house i n which s o ,
h e was auspicious — mus t therefore bode draught fl g ti n , co n a ra o
and pes tilence T aurus Virgo a d Capricornus were cold dry

.
,
n , , ,
ea thy melancholi c S aturn in t h second sig n of Taurus migh t

r , . e
consequen tly betoken a severe winter Th igns of Cancer . e s ,
S corpio and P isces were cold damp watery and sanguine , Th , . e
dominion of the Z odiacal cons tella tions over the human body
was di ided as follows A ries presided over the head and face
v : ,
T aurus over the neck and throat G emin i o v e r the shoulders , ,

THE MA GIC OE TH E LEA RNED . 1 35
neede d is in the house o f a friendly star and

, ,
in a favorab le q uadrature to J upiter H ere .
we meet conse q uently with no hindrances I t .
remains however on the side o f A strology

, ,
to find out what p l anets are the regents of

the present year I n other words what .
,
p l a n e t s fo rm the first'
aspect o f the year .
L ook here in my c al e n d ari u m Mars was .
one of them T his suits us all the b etter .
’
as t o day is T uesday Mars own day and
-
, ,
as the hour will soon b e here which on ,
*
this day h e presides over ab sol utely
,
It .
a rms a d hands Cancer over the breast ribs lungs and spleen
n , , , ,
L eoo v er the upper part of the stomach back and side Virgo , ,
over the lower part of the stomach and intestines S corpio over ,
the generativ e organs S agit tarius over the anus C apricornus

, ,
over the knees A quarius over th e thighs P isces over the feet
, , .
T h planets exercised t he same i nfluen c e as their houses and all

e ,
elementary things subord i nated to a planet were c onsidered t o

be during auspicious aspe ct s ex c ellen t re medies for affec tions
, ,
i n the limbs pres i ded over by that planet T h series of analo . e
gies of which we have given an example abo e were there fore

, v ,
i nexhaustible mines even for the physicians of the M iddle A ges .
S ince for instance Capricornus whic h presided over the knees i s

, , ,
the house of S a turn and ll crawling animals are c onnected wi th

, a
this planet the fat of snakes i s an e ffective remedy agai ns t gout

,
i n the knees especially on S aturday the day of S aturn

, , .
Th e d ays b e ar yet in m any l ang uag e s the nam e s of t h e

, ,
1 35 TH E MA GIC OF TH E MIDDLE A GE S .
is therefore o f importance that we use i n

our incantation the martial part o f my m agi
cal apparatus A mong the elements fire is .
planets whi ch wer e a ssigned to th e m i n gray antiq uity by

A strology .
Sunday dies S oli s is th e day of t h Sun

, , e .
M onday dies L un is the day f the M oon

, ae , o .
T uesday dies M ar t is i s the day of M ars i

, Ti w , , . e .
, .
~
Wednesday dies M u i i is the day of M ercury , erc r , .
T hursday dies J ovis i the day of J upiter i e T hor

, , s ,
. .
, .
F riday di es V eneris i s th e d y of V enus i

, F j , a , . e .
, rc a .
S a turday di es S aturni is t he day of S aturn

, , .
T h o i ginal names seem to hav e been introd uced by th e R

e r 0
mans d uring the la t er p eriod of the republic T hat the idea is .
derived from E gypt is shown by a passage in D ion C assius [L

XL III c 2 6 ; compare E R oth
.
, . G eschichte u
-
aben d lan d .
, s e re r
P hilosophie pag ques tion when and

”
i h
sc er I Th ,
.
, . e
h w they were in troduced by our forefathers will p rhaps

o e re
main forev r m att er onl y of conjec ture It has caus ed as

e a .
t o i h m n t tha t the order i n which the days were n med

n s e a
aft er the planets though the same wi th all natio s is not, n ,
the order in which they were supposed t o be placed in the

universe ( S aturn Jupi ter M ars the S u Venus M erc ury and
, , ,
n, ,
the M oon ) This riddle is solve d by the passage in D ion C assius

.
referred t o in a manner such that the astrological gm of thi s

,
on
nomenclature must be undoubted H rela tes namely that the . e , ,
E gyp t ians devo t ed every one of the t wen ty fou r hours to a cer -
t ai plane t
n T h first hour of the first week day ( S atu day ) was
. e -
r
given to the uppermos t plane t S a turn the second to Jupi t er , , ,
the third t o M ars and so on according to the order of the plan ,
t
e s .T h 2 4t h h our of S at ur day c o n e qu e ntly fell al s o to M ar s
e s ,
1 38
“
TIIE MA GIC OF TH E MIDDLE A GE S .
with these stones and are furnish ed with the

,
signs and signatures o f our planet H ere .
you have three iron staves marked with the

same signs : we must b ear them in our hands .
T hese b reast plates studded with amethysts

-
,
w hose H e b rew inscriptions and characters r e

fer to the same stars we must wear over o ur
,
hearts o n the outside of the whit e clothing

which we shall put on b efore our incantation
b egins H ere agai n you will notice three
.
diamond rings : we shall wear them on our

middle finger during the solemn and awful
moment for which we are preparing T hese .
two b ells we place on the tab le ; one of a red

dish alloy and furnish ed with iron rings sum ,
mons the martial spirit hither the other made ,
of electrum m agi cum (i e a proportional al

. .
,
loy of all metals with some astral tincture

add ed ) serves to call celestial reserve forces
,
-
of all kinds if needed Further we re q uire

,
.
,
these b reast plates and these rings of elec

-
trum which do not b ear the name of any

,
planet b u t the glorious and b lessed name of

,
G od himself as a protection fo r the c o nj u r ers

,
TH E M A OTC OE TH E LEA RNED . 1 39
against the conj ure d spirit W ho he i s we .
s hall soon find O b ser v e here further a ter

.
, ,
ri b le arsenal which is also n ecessary fo r our -
purpose Mars is the star o f war murder

.
,
an d p assion T he demons of Mars have a

.
corresponding nature and there exists b e

,
tween them and the tools b y which their

work on earth is acco m plished a powe r ,
o f attraction T here fore we have here this

.
heavy sword wi th whi ch the magic circle is

to b e drawn ; we there fore place in rows
these skulls and b ones which hav e b een col
lect ed in places o f executi o n these nails ex , ,
tracte d from gallows these daggers knives

, ,
and axes rusty with stains o f b lo o d W e .
must not forget the incense which was kindle d

on the altar shortly b efore the first citat ion .
T here is a di fferent kind o f incense for e v ery

planet and its demons T hat appropriate for
.
Mars is composed o f euphor b ia b dellium am , ,
moniac magnet sulphur b rains o f a rav e n

, , , ,
*
human b lood and the b lood o f a b la ck cat .
Th e pres c riptions for these perfumes are found i n Co rnelius

A g rippa s Occ ulta I c 44
’
. .
, .
14 5 A GE S
"
TH E M A OTC OE TH E M TD D L E .
I t is hi ghly import ant that the q uality of

'
this incense sh o uld b e genuine I m ight .
q uote what P orphyrius says upon this point ;

b ut confine myself to pointing out that it
has an influence on t h e co nj urer as well as
upon s urrounding o bj ects I t saturates b oth .
the air and the b reast o f the conj urer with

s ub stances that are connected wit h the planet
and its demons I t draws down the co nj ured
.
b eing and intoxicates him as it were with , ,
divine influences which act o n his min d,
and imagination A s a ma tter of course we

.
must prepare b esides such implements as are ,
n eeded in every incantation without b earing
an y relation to any certai n planet T o th em .
b elong amulets inscri b ed with the names o f

seraphs cherub s and thrones and with sen
, ,
t e n c e s from the B i b le and the sacred b ook s
o f Z or oa ste r T o them b elong further the

'
‘
magical candlestick of electrum with seven

b ranches every b ranch b earin g the sign of
,
a planet ; and ab ov e all the pentagrams ,
those figures with fine points which no de

mon can o v erstep W e shall place the latte r
.
1 42 TH E MA GIC OF TIIE IDDLE
[M A GE S .
implore their assistance T he orders of D o

.
minions P owers and E mpires are the only in

,
t e ll i g e n c es connected wi t h the stars A mong.
them we must ad d ress ourselv es to the spirits

of Mars since Mars is the rege nt of this year
, ,
this day and o f the in t ended incantation .
T he choice b etween the g o o d and the ev i l spir

its ruled b y Mars is still open ; b ut since i t
is not our purpose to invoke b y supplica
tion b ut to compel b y conj uration we must ,
choose the wicked T his is n o sin : it is only

.
danger I t gives j oy to the goo d angels to

.
’
see the power o f G od s image over their a d
v e rs a r i e s. But we can not force the whole
’
host of Mars demons to appear in our circle .
W e must select o n e o n ly among their legion

and this one must b e well chosen I t is .
there fore necessary to know his n ame fo r ,
with spirits far more than men and terres

,
trial things the n ame implies the essence

,
and the q ualities of the named T he C ab ala .
teaches u s the infinite significance of words

and names I t proclaims and demonstrates
.
the mysteries which dwell in all t he holy

names of G od ; it re v eals to us the mysteries

in the appellations o f angels ; i t shows us
\
that even the names o f men are intimately
related to the place in creation and the tem
poral desti ny o f those who b ear them E ve n .
names of material things show though less ,
distinc tly a connection b etween the sound

,
and the thing itself o r its nature W ho can .
hear fo r instance the words wi n d o r swi ng

, , , ,
without perceiving i n the v ery sound some

thing airy or oscillating W ho can hea r 0
;
s ta nd and s tr o n without perception o f some

, g ,
thing st ab l e and firm ?
“
L et us hasten to find the n ame o f the
demon who is to b e summoned A strology .
as well as the C ab ala gives various methods

"
for this pu rpo se f L et us choose the sim
p l e st which is perhaps also the most e fficie n t
, .
“
I must commence our work b y point
ing o u t the significance o f num b er 7 2 T o ’
.
this numb er c o rre spo n d t he seventy two lan -
gu ages the seventy two elders o f the syn

,
-
T hey are fo und in A gripp s a

’
O ccult Phil osophi a
a , 1 III
. .
cc . 25 , 2 6 , 2 7 , 2 8 .
144 TH E M A OTC OE TH E M TD D L E A C ES .
agogue the seventy two interpreters of the

,
-
O ld T estament and the seventy two disciples -
o f our L ord T his num b er is also closely

.
connected with the sacred numb er t w elve .
I f the twelve signs o f the Z odiac are divided

in to six parts we o b tain the seventy two so
,
-
called celestial q uinaries into which the se v ,
two mystical names f G od his s chem

‘
e nt o
y
-
,
’
ha mp ho ra s infuse their power and which
,
are each o f them presided over b y an angel

prince T he same num b er also corresponds
.
to the j oints of the human frame ; and t here

are many other correspondences .
W e ll w h ile the C ab alists were searching

r
out the sacred inn e r meaning o f the Bib le ;

while they proceeded slowly starting with the ,
’
‘
I n the b egin n i n g an d stoppi n g at every ,
word every letter and found in every wor d

, ,
*
and every letter a mine of secrets they finally , ,
M any pages co uld b e filled wi th sub tle spe culations over

the word B hi t the first word in the Ol d T estament That
eres ,
.
the sensual world is only a s e c ond ary world a reflex of the ,
i deal world the C abalis t s proved by showing that H oly Writ

,
c ommences not with the first but wi th the seco n d letter of t h e
A lphabet namely 3 ( b ) which i n its form i s hal f a s qu ar e

, ,
TH E MA GIC OF TH E MIDDLE A GE S .
w ere seventy two letters in the verse (in the

-
H e b re w text) S till more surprised were

.
they when they found that even the follow

ing v erse t he 2 0t h contained exactly se v
, ,
ent t w o letters ; and then surprise grew into

y
-
awe when even the 2 1 st v erse showed the

same num b e r I n the Bib le there is no fo r
.
t u i t y : a great secret was hidden here Fi

nally b y placing the three verses lett e r b y
,
letter (the middle v erse written from left

to right th e others conv ersely ) ab ove one
, ,
’
another G o d s seventy two mystical names
,
-
’
s chem ha m ho r a s each c o nsisting of thre e
‘
p
letters from the three v erses was di sc o v
, ,
ered T hese names provided with the suf

.
,
’
fi x el or j a h are also the names o f the sev

,
e nt
y
-
two q uinary a n gels o f which G od has ,
s aid that his name is in them .
H ere in this cab alistic manuscript these

names are preserved L et us select one of .
them at random My eye happens to fall .
upon M izra el first W e will take that T his . .
high n ame of an angel which we may not

in v oke will gi v e us the key to the name o f
,
t he demon which is t o appear presently .
H ere is the tab le that will help us T he .
three root consonants of the word M i zr a ( el)

-
.
correspond to three others in the planet Mars ,
—
which c ontain the name let us pronounce it
silently let us merely whisper it for it is the
, ,
—
name of the desired demon T lcf a el ! e
“
T he sum o f the n umerical v alue o f the
letters in this name is 48 8 A remarkab le .
n um b er every figure reminding us o f the

,
mystical f o ur of the elements and o f their

,
correspon dences ! W e shall commune with

one of the mightiest and most terri b le among
the demons O n the waxen tab let with an
.
iron frame I now inscrib e the name of the

,
demon adding the numb er 48 8 and these pe

, ,
c uli ar strokes which make up hl S S i gnature .
T ime does not allow me to tell you now the

rules b y which the signature is formed from
the name d ‘
Th e table from which th e autho r h as amused himself in ex

tracting according to the rules this nam e is found i n C
,
“
, , c
c ul ta P hilosophia 1 III 2 6 , . . 0 . .
f A grippa s book gi v es the sub tle rules fo r finding the signs

’
“
o r the signature s of t he d e mon s — Th e re ad er m ust r em e mbe r

1 48 THE M A OTC OE TH E M TD D L E A OE S .
T he preparations are now completed it ,
only remains to order the apparatus and ,
to array ourselves W hen we have put our

.
implements in order co n secrated the room , ,
cleansed ourselves b y a b ath put on the ,
white ro b e wrapped a red m antle around (for

,
red is the color of Mars ) b uckled the girdle o f ,
Mars ab out our waists assumed the diadem , ,
the b reast plate s and the rings I kin d le on

-
,
the altar my magical light and the fire for ,
incense and draw the magical circle T hen

,
.
an intense prayer for the protection o f G o d ,
then the incantation .
“ —
H ere is the co nj uration b ook the so called ,
-
C onj urer of H ell I Open at the page on which

.
the martial incantations b egin T he b ook .
is placed within the circle W hen needed I ,
grasp it with the left hand ; I hold the staff

”
with my right .
T he G othic room in which the incant ation

was to take place presented a strange and at
,
the same time solemn and aw ful aspect T he .
the part played b ythe igns of mi c ro c osmos

“
s an d the e arth
s p i rit i n G oe t he s F aust
’
.
1 50 TIIE [M A GIC OF TH E [M ID D L E A GE S
.
t at i o nW e were allowe d to answer nothing

. .
I tried to b e courageous b ut my soul was sha

,
ken b y a dreadful expectation T he prayer .
and religious ceremonies which we had per

formed after the b ath and change of dress ,
had not diminished b ut only intensified this

feeling .
T he night wind shook the windows hidden

b ehind the heavy draperies I t seemed as if .
ghosts from another world had b een lurkin g

b ehind the gently waving curtains .
E v en the skulls appeared t o me to b ode

from their sunken vacant eyes the arrival
, ,
of something appalling O ne o f the m at .
tracted my attention for a long time or ,
rather exercised on me the same influence

which the eye o f the rattle snake is said to -
have upon the b ird which he approaches to

devour I noti ce d in the eye a metallic lus
.
tre I t was t h e gleam of the light reflected

.
from a martial stone fastened in the skull .
I n the mean time the magician had seized

the b lood stained sword and drew murmur
-
, ,
ing a prayer the while a threefold magical ,

TH E MA GIC OF TH E LEA RNED . 151
circle around the p entagram B etween the .
circumferences he wrote the names o f the an

gels o f the year the season the day and the
, ,
hour T owards the east he made the sign

.
o f A lp ha towards the w est o f Om eg a

,
T hen .
he d ivided the circle b y a cross into four

fields H e assigned two of t hem t hose b e
.
,
hind him to me and my compan ions T hey

,
.
were large enough to kneel upon W e were .
strictly enj oined not to leave them not to ,
allow even a fold of our mantles to wave

outside the circle Forgetfulness i n this re
.
spect would cost us our li v es T he magician .
put aside his sword in a triangle outside o f

the circle H e sprinkled himself and us with
.
holy water read formularies o v er the incense

,
and the thorn twigs an d kindled them T his ,

.
was t h e sign for us to give ourselves to

.
prayer W e must not cease praying until

.
we h a d heard the first word of the incanta

tion T he incense spread as it were a d i m
.
, ,
transparent v eil over the room H ere and .
there it was condensed in t o strange figures :

now human n o w fantastic animal shapes
,
1 52 TH E MA GIC OF TH E MIDDLE A GE S .
arose against the v aulted wall and sank

again .
T here must have b een something n arc o t

ical in those vapory clouds I looked at .
them in a half dreaming state while my lips

r epeated ina udib ly the enj oined prayers .
I was aroused from this condition b y the

first word o f the incantation which struck my
soul like a thunder b olt and awakened me -
,
to full consciousness of my position and o f

the S i gn i ficance of the hour T he b lood in .
my veins seemed changed to ice .
T he magician stood b efore m e tall erect

V
, ,
a n d commanding H e had taken the incan

.
t a t i o n b ook and now read from it with a hol

-
low voice t h e first citation which b egins with ,
a long formulary invoking the different mys

tical names of G od .
I can not repeat the q uotation T he high .
est and the lowest the divine and the infer

,
nal that for whose sacredness we feel an

,
irrepressib le reverence and that fo r whose

impiety we experience the deepest horror ,
were united here in the most solemn and the

1 54
: TH E MA GIC OF TH E MIDDLE A GE S .
staff as i f he had wished to stop it H e

,
.
raised his voice ane w strong and powerful,
amidst the continued peals of thunder T he .
smoke grew t hin again ; from its wreaths

there appeared b efore the magician in the
i mmediate vicini ty of the c i fcl e and at the ,
opposite end of his staff a dim apparition a , ,
figure whose first aspect b ereft me of my

reason I felt as if I had fallen to the floor
.
,
—as if I had b een lost

I awakened with the perspiration of agony
on my forehead b ut fortunately in m y own
,
b ed and in the n ineteenth century T he .
view from my window is cheerful and e n

live n ing I see a river wh ich b ears proud
.
ships q uays swarming with men and b road

, ,
streets with houses in a graceful and light

r en a i s s a n ce style I lived again in the pres
.
ent which pleased me the b est next to ,
dreaming of the future .
T hey strove for something great however , ,
those learn ed magicians of the Middle A ges .
T heirs was a mighty imaginative creation .
I t lies in ruins never to arise again ; b ut the

crum b led deb ri s testify to the b elie f in an

all em b racing human power and knowledge
-
.
T hese learned magicians were likewise rest

less Faust natures as distinct from the usual
-
,
type of the learned o f their time as Faust from

the pedantic g lo s s proud unas piring milk sop
-
,
-
W agner W hile they paid their tri b ute o f

.
weakness to tradition and formed their sys ,
tem on received dicta it was among them ,
that presentiments of the future b egan to

stir and a longing for a clearer light than
,
that wi t h which the scholastics and do ctors

a ng eli ci et s era hi ci felt themselves well con
p
tented W hen the study of ancient G reece
.
was recommencing when the dawn of the ,
ren a i s s a n ce appeared it was these en t hu si

,
a st i c natures still groping among t he dreams

,
of magic art that first b egan to awake and

,
think I t was a feeling o f the i n su ffi c i e n

.
c y of the ruling theology and s c holasti c i sm
which had driven them into the temple o f

“ ”
secret philosophy S ince i t s pi ll ars w e re
. x
b rought from diverse spheres of culture dis ,
trust and fear o f magic had b ecome more

1 56 TH E M A OTC OE TH E M TD D LE A OE S .
universal than directly ecclesiastical ; they had

drunk as deeply from profane tradition as
from C hristian considering them b oth to fl o w
,
from the s ame divine source : their w riters

q u o te P orphyrius b y the si d e of J ohn an d ,
the pretender H ermes b y the side o f P aul .
T he courage with which they tried to b urst

O p e n the portals of the spirit world se rv ed
-
them afterwards when from the shor es of

’
their childhood s b elief they were to venture
out on the ocean of thought C ampanella .
,
Vanini G iordano Bruno and C ardanus stand

, ,
on the dividing line b etween dogmatico fan -
t a st i c al magic and a philosophy in the sense
of the old G reeks and of modern times I f .
already previously some magicians of the old

type had died from persecution it w as not ,
“
to b e wondered at that such atheists as
V anini and Bruno must now ascend the pile .
T he occult sciences of the Middle A ges

with their origi n not from p aradise and
’
N oah s ark as b eli eved b y their adherents
, ,
b ut from an ancient O riental culture and

with their power ove r even the str o ngest
IV
THE M A G IC OF THE PEOPLE A ND T HE ST R UG GLE

OF T H E CH UR C H A G A IN S T 1T .
W herever religious thought d i v i d e s t h e em

pire of the world and humanity into two ab
so l u t e l
y O pposed powers a good
,
and an evil ,
there it also distin guishes two kinds of magic

the divine and the infernal S o with the .
P ersian s who kn ew a white and a b lack

magic S o also in the Middle A ge s of
.
C hristianity T he G reeks on the contrary

.
, ,
knew nothing of this distinction T he world .
b eing to them a harmonious whole b oth in ,
moral and physical respects magic was with ,
the m only a means of finding out and u sm g

t h e secret powers in the harmonious cosmos ;
and the wonder worker who could not b e

-
thought of as derivi n g his po w ers from an

evil source was undoub tedly a favorite of
,
TH E M A GI C OF TH E PE OPLE . 1 59
the gods and an e q ual with the heroes not ,
unworthy o f statues and temples i f he u sed ,
his art for the b enefit o f humanity For the .
rest magical speculation was with the Greeks

,
m ore and more pushed aside b y philosophy ,
b y scepticism and rational investigation ,
until on account o f the n earer contact b e

tween E urope and A sia after the death of ,
A lexander it b egan again to exercise its i n

,
fl u e n c e and finally cel e b rated its triumph in

,
t hat dualistic form o f religion which b y the
name o f Christianity took possession of the

O ccident .
T he struggle which the spirit o f oriental

ism waged on its march through E urope ,
first against the H elle nic p a ganism and then ,
against t h e C hristian paganism which had

penetrated into the C h urch itself has b een ,
b rie fl y sketched ab ove W hen C hristianity

.
had spread later among the G ermanic and .
S lavic nations there arose a n e w process o f

,
attraction and repulsion b e tween it and the

natural religions of the b arb arians the ele ,
ments o f which we r e partly b len d ed with i t

1 60 TH E M A GI C OF TII E MIDDLE A GE S .
and partly repelled b y it T he gods were .
transformed into devils b ut their attrib utes ,
and the festivities in their honor were trans

ferred to the saints P ope G regory the G reat .
ordained that the pagan festivities should b e

changed only gradually to C hristian and that ,
they were to b e imitated in many respects *

.
I n the time of Boniface there were many

C hristian priests in G ermany who sacrificed to
T hor and b aptized in t h e name of J esus at
the same time Of especial influence on the .
rapid spread of C hrist ianity was the maxim

of G regory not to b e particular in the choice
of proselytes b ecause hope was to b e placed ,
in the b etter generations of the future T o .

’
Since they (the newly converted A ng lo Saxons) e accus -

ar
t m d to slaughter many oxe n and horses in their fe sts to the

o e a
honor of the devils (their anci ent gods ) it is necessary to allow

this custom to r main but based upon ano ther principle
e ,
.
T hus there mu t likewise be celebrated on the feast days of t he

s
C hurch n d of the H oly M artyrs whose relics are kept in the

a
churches built in heathen sacrificial g oves a perfectly similar r ,
festival by enclosing a place with green trees and preparing a

,
r ligious banquet S till the animals must not be sacrificed to

e .
Satan s h’
b u t slaughtered to the praise of G d and for the
o n o r, '
sake Of food for which the Gi v e r of al l good gifts must be

,
th anked .
1 62 TH E M A OTC OE TH E M TD D L E A CE S .
matter o f eternal b liss to b elieve in them .
T here was no superstitious idea gross enough

n o t t o receive the signet of the Church nay
; ,
the grosser it was the more likely was it to b e ,
appropriated E ven so cultured an intellect as

.
A ugustine the most prominent o f the fathers

,
and authors of his time d eclared it to b e in ,
sole nt to doub t the existence o f fauns satyrs ,
and other demoniac b eings which li e in wait

fo r women have intercourse with them and
,
children b y them ? T hus was laid the foun

dation o f that immense lab yrinth o f su pe rst i
tion in the darkness of which humanity has
groped durin g the thousand years of the Mid
dle A ges .
I n the rupture b etween the C hurch and the

natural religion of the n orthern peoples we
find in a cert ain sense the same spectacle
, ,
Creb erri ma f ama es t mult i que s e exp ert o s v el a b ei s qui eap erti
ess ent, d e quo rum fi d e d u b i ta nd u m no n es t, a ud i s s e c o n rma nt, s i l

fi
v a no s et f a un o s , q uo s i n cub o s uo c a nt, i mpro b o s s oep e ews ti ti s s e mu
l i eri b us et ea rum app eti s s e a c p eregi s s e c o n cub i tum , et q uo s d a m
d oe mo nes quo s D us i o s Ga lli
,
nun cup a nt, ha n c a s i d ue
s i mmund i t i a m
et t enta re et efii c ere p lures t a les qu e a s s ev era nt, ut ho c n ega re i mpu
d ent i oe v i d ea tur .
”
( D e ci vitate D ei . lib . 1 5, cap .
TH E M A GI C OF TH E PE OPLE . 1 63
repeated which we have seen in the struggle

b etween the C hristian and the Greco R oman -
culture I f the N e Opl a t o n i c i an s held up their

A ppolonius o f T yana as a type o f the C hris
tian sorcerers C elts G ermans and N o rt hm e n
, ,
had also their soothsayers endowed with su

e rn a t u ra l powers whom the C hristian mis
p
si o n a ri e s must excel in the power o f working
miracles i f they would gain consideration for

,
the new religion T here are many accounts

.
of b ishops and priests who have worn gloves

,
—
of fire walked on white hot iron and so forth , ,
b efore the eyes of the ast onished heathen .
I f the miracles worked b y the apostles o f

C hristianity had their source in divine agen
cies then those performed b y its o pponents
,
must have their o ri gi ni n the assistance of the

'
devil A lr eady here the white magic stoo d

.
opposed to the b lack magic the immediate ,
and supernatural power o f G od in H is agents

to the de v il : and if the chief significance o f
the C hurch was to b e an institut ion fo r de
li v erance from the devil ; if all her magical
usages from the sacrament to the amul e t
1 64 TH E M A OTC OE TH E M TD D L E A OE S .
were so many weapons again st his attacks ;

if the pagan religions which had succum b ed
’
to C hristianity were nothing b ut v aried kinds

of the same dev i l wo rship and their priests
-
, ,
seers and physicians b ut tools o f S atan ; then

it was natural for all traditions from the pagan
time which the C hurch had not transformed
and appro priated should b e b anished within
the pale of devil worship and partly also that
-
,
every act to which supernatural effects were

ascrib ed b ut which was not performed b y a
,
C hristian priest or in the name of J esus should

, ,
b e referred to a b lack magic partly in fine that

,
the possib ility of an immediate c o Operation -

,
a conscious league b et w een the devil and men

should b e elevated to a dogma .
A struggle b etween goo d and evil b etween ,
G od and S atan b etween church and pagan

,
ism which is carrie d on with the weapons of

,
m iracles b y two directly opposed human rep

r e se n t a t i v e s of these principles was a theme ,
which mus t b y necessity urge the power of

creative imagination into activity and we find ,
also i n one of the o lde st monuments of C hris

1 66 TH E M A GI C OF TH E MIDDLE A GE S .
had o b tained fr o m a heathen sorcerer a let

ter of recommendation to S atan Wh en the .
young m an according to the precept of the

,
m agi c i an had gone to a heathen grave and

,
there taken out the letter he was suddenly ,
taken up and b orne t o the place where S atan ,
s urrounded b y his angels sat on a throne ,

.
T he youth abj ured in writin g his b aptism and

s wore allegiance to his new master But .
after some time the apostate repente d and

confessed t o the holy B asilius what he had
done T he b ishop prayed for him forty days
. .
W hen at length the day had come that S atan

according to the compact should b ear away
hi s victim the b ishop had the young m a n
,
placed in t h e midst of his congregation S a .
tan arrived : a b attle b etween him and the

b ishop followed a b attle which was carried
—
on with the people stre t ching forth their

hands imploring G od for assistance and was ,
ended whe n the compact fell from the claws

of the fiend and was torn b y the b ishop
,
.
T he b efore men tioned T heophilus had like

-
wise pawne d his so ul to the devil b ut the ,

TH E M A OTC OE TH E PE OPLE . 1 67
contr a ct w as restored to him afte r urgent

supplication b y the holy Virgin afte r which
, , ,
warne d b y his experience he led a holy life , ,
and b ecame S aint T heophilus b e fore he closed

his eyes T hese early legends o f compac t s
.
b etwee n the devil an d men end as we se e , ,
’
with the sinner s salvation ; not so the later .
I f we now remem b er that it was one o f

the dogmas proclaimed b y the C hurch that
all magical and miraculous arts not p er
formed b y the priests i n the name o f J esus
were wrought b y the devil ; that he gives his
adh erents power over nature and that the
“ ” ”
de m o ns as i n cub i and succub i seek and
w
o b t a in carnal intercourse with human b e

I
i n gs we discover already in the ideas o f
><
This vi ew i s expressed lr eady i n H enoch s book and in

a
’
the wri tings of the R abbi L ike them even the fathers i n
.
t p t d the
er re e S ons of G d mentioned i n G enesis who
“
o were “
fascinated by the daughters of men as falle n angels T hus ”

.
C yrillus A n t h n g
, I ren eus L a t n t i u
e a o ras ,T u t u l l i n u s and
a , c a s, r a ,
others We have j ust instanced above a quotation from A ugu

. s
tine T h G reek mythology wi t h its amours between gods

. e
and men was destined to give support to this superstition .
L uther who could n ot free himself from the superstition of

,
his ti me tells us often in hi s Tis chre de n that the d e vi l

,
“ ”
1 68 TH E M A OTC OE TH E M TD D L E A OE S .
the first C hristian centuries the elements o f

the sorcery of the Middle A ges A nd when .
we read further the accusations which the

first C hristian sects hurled against one anoth
er —when we learn that the party which was
,
raised b y the C ouncil of N ice to the orthodox

position accused the G nostics Marc ionites ,
and A rians of devil worship confederacy -

,
W i th S atan and sorcery we me et already ,

.
here that union of heresy and sorcery b y

fl
which the C h urch of the Middle A g e s a c

q uired such a fearful weapon against dis
—
senters a un ion which must not b e looked
,
u pon as a mere casual invention o f wicked
ness and theological hatred b ut as the n e c ,
essary conse q uence of the whole dualisti c

theory of morals as the necessary fruit o f
,
the b elief in devils .
A long t i m e must have b een re q uired fo r

the festival s common to the natural religion s
can beget childre n by co nn ectio n with human beings E .

“
s
i st wahrlich ein graulich schrecklich Exempel he says in

'
, ,
one place dass der T eufel ka nn di e L e ute p lagen d ss er

,
“
, a
a uch ki n der z ug t
e e .
”
170 TH E M A GI C OF TH E IDDLE
TW A GE S .
profane authorities to extirpate it a n d as ,
s u m i n g more a n d m ore in the popular mind
that ch aracter of devil worship with which

-
the C hurch has b ran ded these rem i niscences ,
from h eathen times A nd when fi n ally it

.
ceased entirely or was chan ged into seasons

,
of popular festi v ity which had no dan gerous

suggestiveness even in the eyes of t h e C hurch ,
still the remem b rance of the demoniacal festi

vals of mountain and grove must have b een
inherited from generatio n to generation and ,
then it was b ut another step to b elieve that

they still continued and were participated in
b y persons who practiced m agical arts and ,
h a d b een investe d with the suspic ious wis d om

—
of the ancient valas and druids the female
s ee r s and phy sicians of the pagans T hat .
’
the notion of the W itches S abb ath which ,
was cele b rated on the night b efore the first

of M a , y and of the paschal j ourney of t h e
witches to Bl o k ull a have this historical origin

is very pro b ab le T he ecclesiastical litera
.
ture from the first half of the Middle A ges

does not leave us without significant hints ap
TH E M A OTC OE TH E PE OPLE . 171
p corro
a r e n t ly b orating this O pinion S t E g i d . .
i us who died in 6 5 9 A D sp eaks fre q uent

,
. .
,
l y against the fi re wo rship pr acticed during

-
,
midsum mer nights which as inherited fro m,
p agan forefathers was accompanied with danc

i n g and against the invoc ation o f the sun
,
“
and moon (which he calls the demo n s H er
cules and and against worshipping
in groves and b y trees springs and cross ,
r oads T he apostle o f the A llemans S t Fir

.
,
.
minus who died in 7 5 4 A D preaches against

,
. .
,
the same customs and especially dwells on ,
the pertinacity with which old women adhere

‘
to the infernal festivals with their magical

so n gs and dances Modern authors on the
.
subj ect in q uestion speak of a syn o da l d ecree

which is said to date b ack to the council of
A ncyra in 3 1 4 A D and which enj oins the
. . .
,
b ishops especially to watch the godless wome n

wh o deceive d b y the delusions of the demons
, ,
i m agine that they traverse in the night in the ,
company of D i ana and H erodi as and riding

on certain animals wide tracts o f country , ,
and are re quired to assem b le fo r a c ertai n

n umb er o f nights b y the command o f their

mistress But although this synodal decree
.
is spurious and b elo n gs to a far later period

and a different locality (it is referred to for
the first time in the ninth century in a work ,
composed b y the A bb ot B egino it is old

eno u gh to deserve our attention here T o .
t h e decree is appended a num b er o f q uestions
which the b ishops must put to such women i n

confession A mong them are the following
.
-
w hich connect immediately the witch j ourney -
with heathen traditions

“
H ave you followed the practice inherited
from the heathen of co n sidering the course
o f the stars the moon and the eclipses of
,
the n ew moon ? A nd have you imagined

’
that b y the exclamation C on quer moon ‘
,
( s i n ce Lun a
, ) you could reproduce ,
its light ?
W he n you wished to pray have you resorted ,
to other places than the church as for i n , ,
s tance to springs stones trees or cross

, , ,
R e gi n o n i s lib i duo de y d l i b u cansi s t d i i pl i n i s

r s no a s e sc
e c c l e si a s t i c i s . T h work was republi shed i n L eipzig i n th e

e
y ear 1 8 40 .
1 74 TH E M A OTC OE TH E M TD D LE A C ES .
though not all sorcerers and witches were

n ecessarily heretics T he C hurch at this ti me
.
threatened b y several newly arisen sec t s had ,
recourse to every expedient t o uphold its

hierarchy and the unity o f confession In .
the year 1 2 2 3 G regory IX promulgated a .
letter which exhorted to a crusade against

the S t e d i ngh s a sect which had spread
,
themselves in Friesland and L ower S axony .
H e accused them of worshipping and havi n g

secret communion with the prince of dark
n ess . A ccording to the papal edict the S ted
i n gh s considered the devil as the real and t h e
goo d deity expelled b y the other and the
,
evil from heaven b ut returning thither in

,
the fulness of ti me when the usurper on a c

,
count o f his extreme tyranny cruelty and i n ,
j ustice had made h imself hated b y the race o f

men and had finally b ecome convinced of his
own incapab ility and powerlessness I n truth .
if such a b elief had sprun g up it would not

have b een strange E verywhere the power
.
and the influence of the devil w a s seen b ut ,
’
n o where G od s i f not in the b loody and ter
,
TH E M A GI C OF TH E PE OPLE . 175
rib le laws and oppressive social syste m which

were declared b y spiritual and pro fane au
t h o ri t i e s to b e divine T he v ery theory b y
.
which the C hurch sought to save for G o d

his attrib ute of omnipotence the theory of —
consent according to which the devil e x e r

,
cise s such po w er only b y G o d s permission

this v ery theory was suited to augment
the confusion and the terror N ever says
.
,
“
B unsen ,
*
has the re b een a time when a
divine and universal government was so
”
much despaired of as in the Middle A ges
”
Bunsen inclin es to the view o f the Frenc h

‘
historian Michelet that fro m the thirteenth

,
to the fifteenth century after the W aldenses ,
and A lb igenses in France had b een e x t e rm i

n at e d b y R omish persec ution and the lowe r ,
classes had b een reduce d to ser fs a religi o n ,
of despair a real S atanic c ultu s sprang up

, ,
’
and that the W itches S abb ath was in fact
founded upon n ightly co n gregations in whic h ,
thousands of b rutalized men drive n b y misery

and O ppression gathered themselves together
G “i n de r G es ch i ch te III
“
a.
0 :
,
176 TH E M A GI C OF TH E M ID D LE A GE S .
in order to wor ship the devil and invoke his

aid But there exists no a b solutely certain
.
historical fact to prove that such meetings

hav e really taken place W e consider it .
more pro b ab le as pointed out ab ove that

, ,
’
the W i tches S abb ath was as it were the
lingering twilight constantly deepenin g and
, ,
cons t antly painted in more monstrous colors ,
aft er the day o f the degraded festivals i n

—
the religion of nature a n incub us of imagi ,
nation which Oppressed the b osom of h u

manity b uried in a w orld o f dreams ; and
that nothing more than the b elie f in i ts
reality which the C hurch sanctioned was
, ,
n ecessary to produce the phenomena we de
s cri b e T he W aldenses and the A lb igenses

.
were treate d like the St e d i n gh s L et the .
“
j udges know writes an in quisitor that the
, ,
sorcerers the witches and the devil workers

,
-
are almost all W aldenses T he W aldenses .
are b y profession essentially and form ally

, ,
devil workers ; and though not all conj urers

-
,
still co nj ura tion and W a l d e n s e i sm have much

”
in c o mmon T he highest authorities of the
.
178 TH E M A GI C OF TIJE MIDDLE A GE S
the b ull of P op e I nnocent VI II A d fo rt u ,
”
ran rei memoriam appeared T his b ull with ,
.
“ ”
its companion the W itch hammer (Malleus ,
-
M a li fi c a r um ) composed b y the monk and i n

,
q ui si t o r S prenger b rought the evil to

,
its
climax H ell was no longer a mere product
.
of the imagination : we see it estab lished on

ear t h in dread reality and stretching its do
minion o v e r all C hristendom .
O ur sp ace does not allo w us to reprod uce

i n a literal translation this b ull o f P ope I nno
cent written in b arb arous L atin worthy of
,
*
its subj ect W e must however give some
.
, ,
“ ’
account of its contents T he serf of G od s.
x
”
serfs b egins b y testifying t h e c are wh ich
as the guardian of souls he must exercise in
promoting the growth of the C atholic faith
and driving the infamy o f heresy far from
”
the proximity o f the faithful But he .
,
“
continues it is not without profound grief
,
that I have learned recently that pers o ns f

p
b oth sexes forgettin g their own eternal wel
,
It is found c omplet e i n i ts origi nal form in H o rst s

’ “
De
”
m o n o m ag i e , II .
fare and erring from the C atholic faith m i x ,
with devils w ith i ncub i and succub i and i h

, ,
j ure b y witch so n gs conj urations and other

,
shameful practices re v elries and cr i mes the

, , ,
unb orn children o f women the young o f ani ,
mals the har v ests o f the fields the grapes o f

, ,
the v ineyards and the fruit o f the trees ; that

they als o destr o y suffocate and annihilate
,
m e n women sheep and cattle v ineyards

, , , ,
orchards meadows and the like ; v isit men

, , ,
women cattle and other animals w ith inter

,
n al and exte r nal pains and sickness ; prevent

m e n fro m procreati o n and wo m en from con
/
c e pt i o n,
and rende r them entir ely unfit fo r
their mutual duties and cause th em to re
,
cant b esides with sacrilegious lips the v ery

, , ,
faith which they hav e received in b aptism .
T he pope therefore appoints his b eloved

sons the professors of theology H enry In
,
stitor and J aco b S prenger to b e prime i n ,
u i si t o rs with a b solute power o v er all dis

q
t ri c t s which are contaminated w ith those
diseases ; and since he knows that there are
persons who are not ashamed to insist upo n
18 0 TH E M A GI C OF TH E MIDDLE
.
'
A GE S .
their p erverse assertion that such crimes are

only imaginary and should not b e punished
, ,
he threate n s them whatever b e their position

,
or dignity with the severes t punishments in

, ,
case they dare to counteract in any way the

in q uisitors or interfere in b ehalf o f the a o
,
c u se d
. Finally he proclaims that no appeal
,
from the tri b unals of the in q uisitors to other

courts not even to the pope himself will
, ,
b e allowed T he in q uisitors and their assist

.
ants are invested with unlimited power over

life and d eath and are exhorted to fulfil
,
their commission with zeal and severity .
T he b ull contains no further indications as

to h o w the j udges should proceed in the trial
of witches T he W itch hammer was al
.
-
lowed to estab lish its o wn norm of procedure .
I t is of importance here to give a r esum e of

the contents of this b ook since it b ecame a ,
j uridical authority which wa s followed in all

countries even in the P rotestant until after
, ,
.
the b eginning of the eighteenth century .
T he spi rit of the time can not b e b etter char

a c t e ri ze d than b y this b ook ; in no clearer or
man y demoniacs spoken o f in the N ew T es

tament proves that S atan can dwell in man
and use the human b ody as his implement .
“ ” “
But says the W itch hammer constan tly
,
-
,
aiming to deduce all its conclusions oste nsi

“
b ly according to logic there must b e no
,
confusion b etween demoniacs an d witches .
T he existence of the former does not prove

the existence o f the latter ; this must b e
demonstrated in a di fferent way A nd this .
is the proof : T he devil as a spiritual b eing

is not capab le of a real corporeal contact .
H e must therefore make use of an i n st ru

ment to which he imparts his power ; for
every b odily e ffect is produced b y contact .
T hese instruments are the sorcerers and the

witches I t b eing the n incontestab le on the
.
one side that the power of t h e devil is

great and on the other that he can a c
,
complish nothing without the aid o f sorcer

e rs and w i tches the necessary conclusion is
,
that these must exist T his conclusion is

.
for the rest most decisively confirmed b y

the Bib le Moses ordains that witches should
.
TH E M A OTC OE TH E EE OELE . 18 3
b e put to death a command which would b e

,
entirely superfluous i f witches had not ex

i st e d
. H e who asserts that there are no
witches must therefore righ tly b e accounted
”
a heretic .
”
T he W itch hammer then b roaches the
-
q uestion why it is that women are esp ecially

,
addicte d to sorcery and answers it as fol ,
lo ws : T he holy fathers have often said that

there are three thin gs which ha v e no mod
e r a t i o n in good or evil : the to ngue a p ri es t , ,
and a wo m a n C oncerning woma n this is

.
evident A ll ages have made complaints

.
against her T he wise S olomon who was

.
,
himself tempted to idolatry b y women has ,
often in his writings given the fem i n i ne sex

a sad ,
b ut true testimonial ; a n d the holy
,
“
C hrysostom says : W hat is woman b ut an
enemy of friendship an unavoidab le punish ,
ment a necessary coil a n atural t e m pt a

, ,
tion a desirab le affliction a constantly fl o w

, ,
ing source of tears a wicked work o f nature,
”
covered with a shining varnish ? A lready
had the first w o man entered int o a s o rt o f
184 TH E M A OTC OE TH E M TD D L E A OE S .
compact with the devil ; should not then her

daughters do it also ? T he very w ord f em i n a
(woman ) means o ne wa n ti n
g i n f a i th ; for
f e
“ ”
means faith and m i n us ,
S ince
she was formed o f a crooked ri b her entire ,
S piritual nature has b een distorted and i n

c l i n e d more towards sin than v irtue I f we .
here co m pare the words of S eneca Wo ,
man either lo ves o r hates ; there is no third

”
possib ility it is easy t o see that when she
,
does not love G od she must resort to the

O pposite extreme and hate him I t i s thus .
clear why women especially are addicted to

the practice of so rc e ry b l ‘
I t m ight now b e asked : H ow is it possib le

that G od permits sorcery ? T he W itch ham -
”
mer answers that G od has allowed without ,
M any etymologies as profou n d occur i n the Witch ham “ -
mer T h word di b lu ( devil ) i deri v ed from d u

. e a o s two
s o,
“
,
”
and b lu o morsel which is thus explai ned that the devil

s,
“
,
”
,
fishes at the same time after two mo rsels th e s oul an d the ,
body .
T T hi s deduction r eplete with in de c en ci es which c an not be

,
handled occupies thirty three pages of the Witch hammer

,
-
“ -
.
”
I t pre t ends to be v ery convincing It has also se nt wome n by

.
h undreds of th ousan ds to d e ath .

18 6 TH E M A OTC OE TH E M TD D L E A C ES .
the air from one place to another ; they can

make themselves insensib le on the rack ; they
’
often sub due the j udge s mind b y charms and ,
co n u se hi m thr o u h co m a s s i o n; they deprive

f g p
m e n and animals of reproductive power ; they
can see the ab sent an d predict coming events ;
,
they can fill at their pleasure human hearts

, ,
with relentless hatred and passionate love ;

they destroy the foetus in the wom b ca use ,
miscarriages change themselves and others

,
into cat s and were wolfs ; nay they are ab le

-
,
to enchant and kill men and b easts b y their

very looks T heir strongest passion is to
.
eat the flesh of children ; still they eat only

unchristene d children : if at any time a b ap
t i ze d child is taken b y them it happens b y ,
special divine concession .
T heir compact with the devil is of two

kinds : either a solemn one entered into with
all formalities or a mere private contract
,
.
T he former i s concluded as follows : T he

witches assem b le upon a day set apart b y the
devil H e appears in the assem b ly exhorts
.
,
them to fa i thfulness and promises them glory

, ,
h appiness and long life and orders the o lder ,
witches to intro duce the novices whom he

pu t s to the test and causes to take the oath
o f allegiance ; where upon he teaches them to
prepare from the lim b s o f new b orn b ab es -
witch potions and witch salv es and presents

- -
,
them with a powder in structin g them how it ,
*
is to b e used to the inj ury o f men and b easts .
W hen the n the novice has renewed the cere

mony of allegiance on the next W itch S abb ath
she is a genuine witch T he children neede d .
’
fo r the witches kettles and the sabb ath b an
To give the reader a clearer i dea of the r eally d i aboli cal

bli ndness n d brutality which characterizes the terrible book we
a
are giving an account of we qu te the foll owing statem ent fro m

, o
the Witch hammer p 22 3 We ( the in quisitors Sprenger and

“ -
, . :
“
hi s colleagues) find that of all women that we hav e condemned

to the flames very few have volu ntari ly done harm by sorc ery .
T hey have generally been forced by the de v i l to do it A fte r .
h av i ng confessed every thing ( o n the rack ) they generally t a
temp t suicide b fore being taken to the stake It i s the dev i l

e .
w h tempts them thus for he i s afraid that by repentance and

o ,
confessi on they will receive the pardon of G d If thi s wily o .
trick is not successf ul and if th ey, prevented from destroy

a re
i ng themselves he knows how to rob t hem of the cha n ce of

,
grace by other means namely by smiting them w ith fury mad

, , ,
n ess or sudden death B ehold a sample of how theological

—
a rgum en ts found e d o n s up e ri o r n atu ral in fl u ence s an b e u sed ! c

188 TH E M A OTC OE TH E M TD D LE A CES .
quc ts are o b tained as follows : T he v ictims are
killed b y looks or b y the ab ove mentione d -
powder when they lie in their cradle or i n

,
b ed with their mothers S imple people will.
then b elieve that they have died from some

—
natural cause from sickness or suffocation .
,
T hen when b uried the witches steal them

from the grave I t h as happened that j udges
.
have O pened after similar con fessions the

, ,
grave and found the child in it ; b ut in such

cas es the j udge must consider that the devil
is a great taskmaster who may have cheated
the eyes of the ser v ants of j ustice in order to ,
protect his ser v ants and in such a case the

,
confessio n of the witch (forced from he r b y

torture ) should prove more than the easily
del u ded vision of the j udge [W hat a tri .
umph o f supernaturalistic argumentation

T he witch accomplishes her aerial voyages ,
”
says the W itch hammer b y smearing a
-
,
v essel a b room and a rake a b roomstick and

, ,
a piece of linen with the witch salv e ; then

,
-
rising she moves fo rth through the air visib le ,
or invisib le accordin g to her choice T he

,
.
190 TH E M A GI C OF TH E IV
I I D D LE A GE S .
suspected of the least con n ection with the

practice o f witchcraft or o therwise of b ad
,
repute T he informers may b e rewarde d i f

.
the in q uisitor thinks it well b y the b lessing ,
of t h e C hurch and with mon e y A b ox to

,
.
receive the statements o f such in formers as

wish to b e u nknown should b e placed in the
C hurch .
T wo or thre e witnesses are su ffi cient to

prove guilt I n case so many do not present
.
themselves then the j udge may take means

,
to find and summon them and force them ,
to tell the truth under oath H e has also .
the right to examine witnesses previous to

the actual trial A s for the q u alific ations
.
“
necessary to appear as witnesses the W itch ,
”
hammer declares that the excommunicate ,
accomplices outlawed runaway and disso

, ,
lute women are irreproachab le witnesses in

cases where the faith is involved A witch .
is allowed to testify against a witch wife ,
against husb and husb and against wife chil

, ,
dren against parents and so on b ut if the ,
testimonies of accompli ces o r relatives are

TH E M A GI C OE TIJE PE OPLE . 191
to the advantage of the accused then they ,
are of no validity ; f o r b lo o d i s of co urs e thi cker

tha n wa ter and one raven does not willingly
,
pick out the eyes of ano ther .
”
T he W itch hammer allows an accused
-
to have an advocate b ut adds : If the coun

,
s e l l o r defends his suspecte d client too warmly ,
it is right and re asonab le that he should b e

considere d as far more criminal than the sor
cerer or the witch herself; that is to say as the ,
protector of witches and heretics he is more ,
dangerous th an the sorcerer H e should b e .
lo oke d upon with suspicion in the same de

”
gree as he makes a zealous defence But a .
trial may b e di ffi cult enough without b eing

clogged and hampered b y a cunning a d v o
cate I n order to confuse such a one and
.
ensnare the accuse d it is necessary says t h e

, ,
“ ”
W itch hammer
-
,
that a j udge should r e
“
m em b er the words of the apostle B ei ng ,
”
I ca u ht o u w i th ui le and show him
fy
cr a t
g y g ,
“ ”
s elf crafty . T he W itch hammer informs
-
“
the j udge of five honest and apostolical
”
tricks (these are the v ery words o f the
19 2 TH E IlIA GI C OF TH E MIDDLE A GE S .
b ook ) ; one of them cons i sts in emb odying in

the copy of the proce edings which is given
t o the defending lawyer a num b er of facts ,
that have not occurred in the trial and in ,
“
m ixing the names of the witnesses By .
that means the accused and their lawye r

may b e so confused tha t they nowise kno w
who has said any thing or what has b e en ,
said .
A mong the q uestions to b e put to a per

”
son under accusation the W itch hammer ,
-
recommends a numb er the q uality of which ,
may b e appreciated b y reading the following

“
examples : D o you know that people hold
you to b e a witch ? W hy have y o u b e e n '
o b serve d upon the precincts o f N N ? W hy . .
’
have you touched N N s child (or cow ) ? . .
H o w did it happe n that the child (or the

cow ) s oon after fell sick ? W hat was your
b usiness out side o f your house when the
.
storm b roke forth ? H ow can you explain

that your cow yields thre e times as much
”
m ilk as the cows of others ?
’
S pre n g e r s work gives a detailed acc o unt o f
194 TH E M A C TC OE TH E M TD D LE A C ES .
tending priest shall read the following adj u

“
ration : I adj ure the e N N in the n ame o f
,
. .
,
the H oly T rinity b y the b itter te ars of J esus

,
C hrist which he shed upon the cross

’
b y the te ars of G o d s saints and elect which
they have shed o v er the world that ,
if thou art innocent thou pour forth i m

,
mediately ab undant tears ; b ut if thou art ,
guilty no te ars at all I n the name of G od

,
.
our Father the S on and the H o ly Ghost

, .
”
A men .
T he person thus adj ured seldom weeps .
But i f this should occur the j udge should ,
see that it b e not saliva or some other fluid

that moistens the eye of the witch T he .
’
witch must b e le d in t o the court room b ack -
wards that the j udge may see her b efore she

,
sees him O therwise she may enchant him

.
and move him to cri m i nal compassion .
B efore the examination of witnesses the a o ,
c u s e d must b e stripped of all her clothing and
have all t h e hair on her b ody shave d o ff and ,
her limb s must b e carefully exam i ned to as

certain i f they b ear marks for the devil ,
TH E M A C TC OE TH E PE OPLE . 195
marks his own I t must b e further asc e r

.
t ai n e d b y pricking w i th a needle if any p art
o f the b ody is devoid o f fe eling fo r tha t is a ,
sure sign o f a witch S till the ab sence o f .
such a sign nowise proves innocence .
I f the witch can n o t b e made to confess b y

any means then the j udge must send her to
,
a distant prison T he j anitor some friend

.
,
and chaste women are t o b e persuade d t o

v isit the prisoner and promise to help her to
,
escape i f she will only in form them of some

,
of her arts I n this way remarks the author

.
,
“
of the W itch hammer many a one has
-
,
b e en ensnare d b y us .
W e conclude here our account o f S preu

’
ger s dreadful b ook T he re ader has contem
.
plated su ffi ciently this fruit on the tree of the

—
devil It may fill us with lo athing to con
.
sider it b ut its teachings are instructive

,
.
May we know the tre e from the fruit and ,
m a y we te ar it up with its roots with those -
roots y e t so ab undantly watered b y men who

know not what they are doing T he fires .
w hich the b ull o f P op e I nn o cent kindled al l

196 TH E M A GI C OF TH E MIDDLE A GE S .
over E urope threw their weird light far into

,
the times which have b een calle d the modern ,
-
far in the eighteenth century T o count .
these victims o f the stake would b e i m po ssi

b le I t is however sometimes attempted in
.
, ,
our days ; archives are searched through and

discoveries are made which surpass every an
t i c i pat i o n
. T he victims amount to millions .
N 0 age was spared C hildren were b rought

.
to the stake with their mothers A silent .

,
gloomy presentiment seized every community

when the proclamation on the church doors
announced that the in q uisitor had arrived .
A ll work in the shops and fields ceased and ,
all the evil passions flared up into greater

activity H e who had an open enemy or
.
,
suspected secret envy knew b eforehand that ,
he was lost I t was considered b e tter to

.
anticipate than to b e anticipated in d e n o u n c

ing ; and the tri b unal had hardly commenced
its activity ere it was overcrowded with i n
,
formers . W hen they had commenced in

”
one place to b urn witches says an author ,
“
o f the seventeenth century m o re w e r e fo und ,
198 TH E M A C TC OE TH E M TD D L E A CE S .
Bi ble in their hands the theologians sanc

,
t i o n e d these b ar b arous proceedings and the ,
learned defended them with reasons drawn

from the fathers and with su b tle argumenta
tion T he P rotestant theologians v ied with
.
the C atholic in learnin g E ven L uther and

.
the first reformers did not check b ut pro ,
m o ted the b elief in devils I f p aganism had

,
.
’
b een descri b ed b y the fathers as S atan s w ork
and empire L uther referred the preceding
,
life of the C hurch from the b eginning of

papacy to the same sphere and change d ,
the whole history of humankind to a d i ab o l

ical drama T he struggle b etween the R e fo r
.
mation and C atholicism con trib uted in still

another way to intensify the faith in devils .
T he religious contest stirred the mind of t h e

age in its innermost depths Many who o e .
c u i e d m iddle ground b etween the reformi n g

p
preacher on the one hand and the C atholic
priest on the other were hesitating b etween
,
the old a n d the new and many consciences

,
which had already emb raced the n e w were

agitated b y uneasiness and do ub t T he C ath .
TH E M A GI C OF TH E PE OPLE . 199
olic divine saw in these dou b ts the b eginning

of the v ictory o v er S atan i c error ; the P rotest
ant theologian declared the same dou b ts to
b e inspired b y the originato r o f p apacy the ”
devil W e can appreciate th i s state o f things

.
’ “
b y reading L uther s T ischreden Men ter
ri fi e d
,
fo r instance b y a dream o r a stran ge
,
n oise i n the night (nothing more than this
w as re q uired for such an e ffect) hurried to

their pastor to lay their trou b les b efore him .
T hey were then informed on the one hand ,
that the dream or the v oice was caused b y

t h e devil to whom their apostacy had b ound
,
them o v er or on the o ther that S atan was

, , ,
trying to frighten them b ack int o the err ors

which they had ab andoned I n b oth cases .
“
the archfi e n d was the agent H e was in .
the castle of the knight the palaces of the,
mighty the lib rarie s o f the learned o n every

, ,
page of the Bib le in the churches in the

, ,
’
halls of j us t ice in the lawyer s chamb ers i n
, ,
the lab oratories of phys i c i ans and naturalists ,
—
in cottages farmyards stalls e v erywhere ”
, , , .
H o rst I
“ ”
D m
: m gi e ono a e, .
2 00 TH E M A C TC OE TH E M TD D L E A CE S .
H e was indeed e v erywhere and C hristen ,
dom had b ecome a hell T he b elief in the

.
” “
devil says a British a u t h o r f speakin g upon
,
“
this subj ect had had the e ffect that all ra
, ,
t i o n al knowledge had disappeared that all ,
sound philosophy was denounced that the ,
morality o f the people was poisoned and hu

manity sunk in a whirlpool of folly godless ,
ness and b rutality All classes were carried

away b y this whirlpool T he G od o f nature
.
and R evelation had no longer the reins o f

the world in his hand T he powers of hell
.
and darkness b orn of a diseased imagination

, ,
”
reig n ed upon the earth .
T hrowing its gloomy shadow even into the

e ighteenth cent ury it was howe v er during
, , ,
the M iddle A ges that the b elief in sorcery

sen t down its deep and mighty roots T his .
is not to b e wondered at T he m e n of the .
Middle A ges lived less in the real than in a

world of magic in a world resemb ling more
,
C o l quh o un .
2 02 TH E M A GI C OF TH E MIDDLE A GE S .
the motley procession T he mandrake has a .
place in it also T his b eing deserves a few .
lines here inasmuch as it has now faded from

,
the popular sup erstitions .
*
T he man d ragora or alrun is ori ginally a
v ery rare her b which can hardly b e found ,
excep t b elow the gallows where a pure youth

has b een h an g e d f l H e who se eks the her b ”
should know that its lower part has the

S hap e of a human b eing and that i t s upper ,
p art consists of b road leaves an d yellow flow

ers W hen it is torn from the soil it S ighs
.
,
shrieks and moans so piteously that he who ,
M fi la
/ M ari / Op a é
y p o v ( i n H ebrew d ud a i m ) i s in the S ep
a name for the love apples with which L eah regaled her
t u agi n t -
h usband ( G n x e P liny speaks of the man d ragora as a

. xx .
poisonous herb dangerous to dig ; now already C olumella

,
knows the mandragora as a half human being — mi h m -

“
se o o
”
ma nd ra go ra s .
1 M sagt wenn ein E b d i b dem wie den Z i g u n n

an : r e , , e er
das S tehlen angeboren ist oder dessen M utter als sie mit i hm
, ,
schwanger ging gestohlen od r doch gross G l ii t n dazu

, ,
e e s e
gehabt — nach E inigen ; auch ein U nschuldiger welcher i n der ,
T ortur sich fli r einen D ieb b k n t u n d der ein reiner Jung e e n w
gesell ist g h an k t wird und das Wasser l asst oder sei n S ame
,
e , ,
auf die E rde fallt so w achst an solchem O t der A lraun

,
‘
r .
Sitten u n d G ebrauch e der D eutsche n un d ihrer N h b

”
ti l k
’
ac arv er .
TH E M A GI C OF TH E P E OP L E . 2 03
'
hears i t must die T o find it one should go .
out b efore sunrise on a Friday morni n g ,
after having filled his e ars carefully with

cotton wax or pitch and b ring with him a
, ,
b lack dog without one white hair T he S ig n .
of the cross must b e made thre e times over

the mandrake and the soil dug up carefully
,
a l l around it so that it b e attache d only b y

,
the fine rootlets I t is then tied b y a string

.
to the tail of the do g and he is attracted for

.
ward b y a piece of b re ad T he dog pulls .
the plant out of the earth b ut falls dead , ,
struck b y the terrib le shriek o f the mandra

gora I t is then b rought home washe d in
.
,
red wine wrappe d in re d and white silk

, ,
laid in a Shr ine washed again every Friday

, ,
and dresse d in a white frock T he mandra .
gora re v eals hidden things and future e vents

and procures for the owner the friendship
of all men A sil v er coin deposited with it
.
in the e v ening is doub led in the morning .
S till the coin mus t not b e too large i n S i ze .
I f you b uy the mandragora it remains with

you throw it where v er you will until you
, ,
2 04 TH E M A C TC OE TH E M TD D LE A CE S .
sell it again If you keep it till yo ur death

.
you must depart with it to hell But it can b e .
sold only for a lower price than it was b ought .
T herefore is he who has b ought it with the

smallest existing coin irretrievab ly lost
, .
T he b eing calle d mandrag ora was as we ,
“ ”
see a kind o f Sp i ri tu s f a m i li a ri s
,
But it .
appeared in still another form I t happened .
that adventurers represente d themselves as

mandragoras and on accoun t o f this mystical
,
origin had gaine d succes s at court having first ,
b een spiritually made human b y C hristian

b aptism But they lost b y b aptism their won
.
der working power greatly to th eir own and

-
,
others pecuniary disadvantage Still greater

’
.
was the num b er of those adventurers during

the Middle A ges who asserte d themselves or
others to b e the b astards of devils and hu
man b eings But if they led a b lameless life
.
,
evincing a firm b elief in the dogmas o f the

C hurch the danger o f s uch a pedigre e was
,
n o t greater than the h o n or T he son of a

.
fallen angel did not ne ed to b end his head

b efore a man of no b le b irth .
2 06 TH E M A OTC OE TH E M TD D LE A CE S .
—
to do s o found it worthy of a S adducean or
,
a pagan philosopher alone to deny the exist

ence of so well known a phenomenon as the -
were wolf T he e mperor S igismund ha d t h e

-
.
'
“ ”
q uestion investigate d scientifically in his
presence b y theologians and they came to ,
the general agreement that the were wolf is -
“ ”
a positive and constant fact ; for the ex
i st e n c e of the devil b eing accepted there is ,
no reason to deny that of the were wolf sup -

,
ported as i t is b y the authority of the father s

*
of the C hurch a n d b y general experience .
“ ”
T his general experience finally b ecame
’
l ike the b el i ef in sorcery a ragin g mental ,
“
disease an epidemic ( i n sa m a zo a nthrop i ca
,
infecting whole districts in various parts of

E urope and sendin g many insane persons
who had confessed b efore the courts their
imagined sin to the place of executio n ? ,
M l th
e an c who firmly beli eved i n the were wolf reasoned
on, -
,
in the same way .
late as 1 8 04 a g b n d n m d M ar é chal was accused by

f
TA s va a o a e
the pea ants in L ongueville as a sorcerer an d were wolf A t

s -
.
his trial the mysteri ous were wolf excursions were resolved into
-
thi evm g rambles an d M ar é chal was c o n demned for burglary to

,
the galleys .
TH E M A C TC OE TH E PE OPLE . 2 07
N early relate d to th is lycan thropy is the

m ore horrib le vampirism T he vampires a c .
,
cording to the b elie f o f the Middle A ges are ,
disem b odied souls which clothe themselves

again in their b uried b odies steal at night ,
into houses and suck from the nipple of the

,
sleeping all their b lood H e who is thu s b e .
r eft o f the vital fluid is i n his turn cha n ge d

i nto a vampire and v isits prefera b ly his own
r elatives I f t h e corpse of a person suspect
.
ed o f vampi rism is dug up and its stomach ,
p ressed an ab undance o f fresh b lood flows

,
from the m outh T he corpse is well pre

.
served T he b elie f in v ampires has likewise

.
prod uced a kind o f psychical pestilence which

yet in the eighteenth century spread terror i n
*
the A ustrian provinces .
’
I f sorcery was an imaginary people s magic ,
D ur ing the restauratio n i n 1 8 1 5 w h e n all th e dead rose

,
i n thei r sepulchres the famous n Go ,

sought to revive the
vo rres
belief in v ampirism H has written about it a work of migh t y

. e
l earning w herein he discourses profusely of the veg etative

,
“
sourc es of the body which he asserts continue their activity

,
after death and thus enable the soul of the deceased t o

,
re
o ccupy an d for a whi l e r eoperat e i ts old m achi ne y r .

2 08 TH E M A GI C OE TII E M ID D L E A GE S .
there existed also a real and it consisted i n ,
an infinite variety of usages Ob ser v ances and ,
r ules for all conditions of life N ot to speak .
’
of the astrologers extensive hand written cal -
e n d a rs which pointed out which constellations

,
seasons and days are auspicious fo r b athing ,
b leeding hair cutting sha ving house b uild

,
-
, ,
-
ing wooing engagi ng ser v ants setting out on

, , ,
travels and s o on there existed among the

,
people an incredib ly large mass of rules for

living which any b ody that would av oid the
constant danger of b ringing mis fortune on
himself and his family must know ,
.
From waking up in the morning t o going

asleep at night such maxims were to b e o h
,
served : putting the wrong foot first out of

b ed in the morning was as sure to b e fol
lowed b y annoyances i n the course o f the day
as a neglect to place the shoes with the heels
toward the b ed at night w a s certain to cause
the visit o f ghosts o r evil dreams W hen .
children are b orn no one must go out or in

, ,
or open the door without b ringing fire with

him that the tr olls may not find their way in
,
2 10 TH E M A OTC OE TH E M TD D L E A C ES .
dr en punished on S unday b ecome d i so b e d i

[
ent ; b ut a child whipped on G ood Friday

b efore sunset will b ecome o b edient and well
,
b ehaved I f the child walks ab out in one

.
sho e the mother will have a sore b ack I f a

,
.
child walks or r uns b ackwards it dri v es its ,
p arents so many steps into hell A child .
e ating and reading at the same time gets a

’
b ad memory I f a suitor s first gift to his
.
b etrothed consists of shoes sh e w i ll b e n u ,

.
fai thful i f of stockings S h e will b e j ealous

, ,
.
N u pt i als on Mondays W ednesdays and S at ,
u r d a s are unfortunate
y I f a b ridal p ro c e s .
sion comes to a stop for an y reason the m ar ,
ried pair will meet with dissensions I f the .
marriage rin g i s t o o small misfortune is in

‘ -
,
store O f the b ridal pair that one dies firs t

.
,
who first kneels down or rises from kneeling .
T hose who hold the can opy must not change

hands or touch the b ride s crown fo r that ’
prognosticates misfortune an d e n n u i I f in ~
goi ng out an old woman or o n e c arryi n g

water is met the room should b e r e entered
,
-
.
W hen the tab le is set the b re ad mus t b e laid

,
TH E M A C TC OE TH E R E ORT E . 211
upon i t immediately Bread mus t ne v er b e

.
placed with the upper crust down G reat .
care must b e taken to remove all sub stances

separated from the b ody as hair nails b lood ;
, , ,
they must b e b uried in the soil so as not to

come in contact with diseased persons or fall ,
into the han ds o f witches .
W e have selected the preceding o b se rv

au ces and rules as examples of those tho u
sands of pre cepts for all conditions of life
i
which have b een co llected b y investigations

in this field from the mouths of the people .
'
A fu ll collection would re q uire a large vol

ume . I n all o f them is seen a servile fear
of mysterious evil influences lurking on all ,
sides and whose power or impotency as re

,
gards man nowise depends on his morality ,
b ut only on t he w ay in which he o b serves

certain ethically indi fferent acts Many o f .
them seem to have arisen only b y faulty

application of the theory o f causality ; others
depend on a symb olical method o f contem
plating nature W hat a di ffer ence b e tween
this popular wisdom and that stored up i n
2 12 T IIE M A GI C OF TH E M ID D L E A GE S .
the gnomes the Greeks or i n the heathen

of
H a v am al ! P art of the former may b e like

wise an heirloom b ut h o w exub erantly these
,
s uperstitions grew during the centuries o f

r ipe and glaring b elie f in personified evil ;
how deeply they str u ck root among the peo
ple while H av am al has b een saved from
,
the flood o f time only b y the hand o f the

student !
A mong the superstitions are to b e counte d
the magical prognosis o f diseases and death .
Many were the t okens o f the approaching

S keleton fi g ur e
-
with h i s scythe and glass .
T hey were heard in the cawing of crows

and ravens in the howling of dogs i n the
,
‘
chirping of the cri cket and the regular tick

,
ing o f the wood worm concealed in the wall

-
.
I f the horse of a priest ridin g to v isit a sick

p erson in his parish lowe re d its head upon
arriving at a house if a gnat was caught,
gnawi n g any clothing if a light suddenly ,
went out if an image fell down if a glass

, ,
or a mirror was b roken it indicated an ap ,
p ro a c h i n
g de a th in the hous e T o deter m ine
.
2 1 4: TH E M A GI C OF TH E M ID D L E A G ES .
undoub tedly deserves at least from a hi st o ri

,
cal point of view T here was at the end of

.
,
the Middle A ges among the devotees of the

,
G alenic a rt a man of genius who despair ,
ing to find i n the folios o f the medical scho

l ast i c s any traces of truth a b andoned the ,
lecture room and went forth int o the world

-
without in order as he himself said to read

, ,
the b ook o f nature and learn something of

that medical instinct with which G od as he ,
b elie v ed must have endowed men as well

,
as animals and which m ust fi n d a true ex

,
pressio n only in the people living i n i m

m ediate reciprocity with nature T his man .
was P aracelsus H e who despised and Over

.
w helmed with mockery t h e c o ry ph e i of his

days in the medical faculties did not disdain ,
“
to listen to the experience of peasants old ,
”
wo men night wanderers and vagab onds and
,
-
, ,
the magnetical syste m which he constructed

“ ’
b y the illumination of nature s light and ,
’
not b y the lamp fl are of an apothecary s-
shop rest in all pro b ab ility on the gene

,
ra l principles which he found in the plural

TH E IIIA GI C OF TII E P E OP L E . 21 5
i ty sympathetic cures practice d amo n g

of
.
the people I n the reading b y which

.
l ‘
these cures were acco m panied P aracelsus ,
saw rightly nothing b ut a su bj ective mo

ment and means of making faith and i m
,
a g i n at i o n the allies of the physician A .
mass o f these conj uration fo rmul ae in differ -
ent diseases hav e b een co llected and pub

li sh e d in v arious countries o f E urope T hey .
*
o ffer the reader little or nothing o f interest .
A v ery common usage during the Middle

A ges was to measure the sick perso n at one ,
Someof the popular forms of c onjurati o n ar e i n L atin ,
though corrupte d so as to be almost beyond recognit ion A .
c ouple of restored examples may be gi v e n T his i s the formula .
a gainst bloody fl u -
x
Sanguis mane i n n i s ve
S i ut Christus i n p eni s
e o ,
S angui s mane fi u s x
Si ut C hristus fuit u i fi xu s
e cr c .
A gai nst fe v er
D eus v os l t sambuco panem
so v e t sal e go v ob i s addu c o
, e ,
f b m t ti
e re m t qu t i d i
er an a m ei pi t v os qu i n olo eam
o an a a cc e , .
A gainst epilepsy
M elchior B l t h p
, t n h aec nom i
a s er,n a C aspa r
or a s a ,
S l i t u e morbo D omini pietate caduco

o v r .
P p t t t ternas d fu n t i p l l
er e re e missas e c s sa ere .
B a h un ar c B a ch g i m . D est ru ra S u b al g at
a . o . .
2 16 TH E M A GI C OF T HE M ID D L E A GE S .
time to cure him at an other to find out i f ,
the disease was decreasin g or increasin g .
A nother means was to drag him through a

hole S ick children were pulled through
.
holes dug in t h e earth or through a cleft

cherry tree S ick sheep were forced t o creep
-
.
through the cleft o f an oak and so on A n ,

.
other r emedy against many kinds o f suffer

ings was the b indin g o f a thread or a b and
which had b een read o v er around the neck o r ,
some limb o f the sick C onnected wi th this .
is the tying o f witch knots used only with -

,
evil intent B ands of different colors and

.
m aterial *
wer e re q uired fo r these T hey .
were b uried near the dwellin g of t h e person

to b e inj ured I t was thought that b y this
.
mean s any lim b or b odily power of an enemy

could b e im paired A French j urist and .
.
witch j udge P ierre D e l an c r e complains that

-
, ,
i n his days there were few married couples
Compare Virg il E l VIII ,

c .
T erna tib i h e c pri mum trip li ci di v e rs a c o l o re

a
L i c ia i u m dc rc o .
N t tribus n d i ternos A m yll i colores

ec e o s , ar ,
N t Am yl l i modo : t V e n eris dic v in c u l a

e c e, ar , c , ,
n ect o .
218 TH E [MA GI C OF TIIE M ID D L E A GE S .
the peop l e T he . W itch hammer com -
pl ains b itterly against the criminal pra c

tice of the soldiers in mutilating c ru ci fi x e s
i n order to harden t hemselves against the
sword and b ullets T he execu tioner in P as
.
’
sau gained durin g the T hirty Y ears W ar
, ,
a wide reputati o n for his skill in hardening

the human frame which he did b y means,
of scraps o f paper wi th cab alistic fig ures

(P assauer H enkers Z ettel ) which were
-
eaten , .
T he b elie f that hunters procured b y means ,
“ ” “
o f conj urations free arrows
,
and free
-
”
b ullets was very common T he W itch .
’ 7
hammer accuses v arious potentates of hav
“
ing in their pay diab olical archers who
hit their m ark from a long distance with
out aiming It was customary at fires to
.
throw into the flames so called shields o f -
—
D avid plates with two intersecting tria n
,
”
gles and the motto A gla (the initials of
“
four H e b rew words meaning : T hou art
‘
“
strong eternally O ,
and co nsum
”
m a tum es t A s late as i n the middle of the
.
last century the m a gistrate of L eipzig

dered that such plates should b e laid up i n

the ra t hh au s t o b e used in case o f fires .
I n C atholic countries the clergy took the

employment o f magical appliances against
fires into their own hands ; processions S i n g
i n g and b earing relics went around the b urn
ing house three times and i f this had no
,
sal utary e ffect it was a sure S ign that G o d

,
had allowed the devil to wield the c o n sum

ing element u n to d estr uction .
T he ex t ent of this treatise does not al

low a detailed exposition of the many di
v i n at o ry arts which had their adepts among
the people T he C hurch preaching mightily

.
agains t those arts and representing them as

devices o f the devil the father o f lies and
,
founder of oracles did not however deny

, , , ,
b ut could confirm b y b i b lical q uotation their ,
po w er to unveil futurity .
E very thing that we have here descri b ed

w a s to the C hurch b lack magic : all mystical
!
practices among the people whether resorted,
to for good or evil purposes to heal or cure , ,
w ere looked upon as implying contempt for

2 20 TH E M A C TC OE TH E M TD D LE A C ES .
the div ine magic o f the C hurch itself and ,
also a leag ue with the devil if not a formal ,
“ ”
one at any rate a p a ctum i mp li ci tum
,
It .
was there fore the possessors o f the traditional

popular art o f healing who were first sent
to the stake wherever the in q uisition com
m e n c e d its trials But no terrori sm could
.
eradicate the popular magic so long as the

persecutors themselves b elieved in its e ffi
c i en c
y and
,
fought only for a consecrated
superstition again st its ou t lawed counterfeit .
T he struggle against the superstition of the

C hurch as well as of the people was r e ,
served fo r another time and fer another the

or
y of the universe and of morals .
T he s o called wandering scholastics (s cho la s

-
ti ci uag a n tes s cho la res err a ti ci ) formed a kind

,
of connecti n g link b et w e en the magic of the

learned and that of t h e common people .
T hey we re r uined and adventuro u s st ude n ts ,
priests and monks who wandered ab out in

the r ural districts of most o f the E uropean
states especially G ermany representi n g t h em
, ,
selves as treas ure diggers selling sp i ri tus f a

-
,
2 22 TH E M A C TC OE TH E M TD D L E A CE S .
to the world in the hour o f its intensest need .
T he H ellenic spirit b orn again from the

,
study o f classic literature and classic ar t was ,
a new Messias putting his h eel on the head

of the old serpent and savin g humanity from
the power of death and of the devil T he \ .
p eople sittin g in dark n ess illumined only b y

the lurid flames kin d led b y the in q uisition
s aw a great light and stretched thei r hands
towar d s the n ewdawn T he study of the.
ancients h a d an immense influence all the ,
more as the actual world was so di fferent

from the an ti q ue world T he exhume d mon
.
u m e n t s of H ellas reve aled other state systems
than the feudal of the Middle A ges states — ‘
w hich were organizations not mere mechan ,
ical conglomerates of con q uerors and con

quered and were founded upon a no b ler b a
,
sis than given or assume d privileges T hese .
mo numents revealed an independent search

for truth which had placed itself ab ove tra
—
dition a novel spectacle to the people of
the Middle A ges ! T hey reveale d an art i n
which harmony reigned b etwe en spirit and
nature b etwe en the higher life an d sensu

,
o u sn e s s b etwe en the relative O pp osites which

,
the Middle A ges had conceive d as ab solute ,
placing them against one another in a strug

gle which wrecked b eauty an d morality .
T hey revealed large symmetrical cha r acters

as free from t h e asceticism of the Middle
A ges as from the w ild se n suality of that
time A ll these ideas haile d with e n t hu s i
.
,
a sm ,
could not b ut transform the app earance
of the world T hey overthre w the darkness
. ,
of the Mid dle A ges put the devil and hell ,
to flight and drove them into th at lum b er

.
,
corner of the S p i ri tual kingdom where they

are at presen t b ut from which at any po ,
l i t i c al reaction they peer out eagerly watch

,
ing w h ether they may not once more b rin g

t h e great wide world into th eir power But .
t hey shall scarce l y succeed in this as long ,
as free dom o f thought and scientifi c ind e

e n d e n c e are guarded as the foremost con
p
d i t i o n s of the spiritual health o f mankind ;
”
and they S hall utterly fail when an all ex -
tended intelligence has taught the people

224 TH E M A GI C OF TH E [M I D D L E A GE S .
that t h e premises o f the devil dogma if they -

,
could b e again inoculated into the popular

m ind would S how anew the same results
,
which have b e en depicte d ab ove and lead ,
u s b ack to the terri b le times o f the in q uisi
tion and the b urni n g o f witches T his no .

,
doub t e v en the orthodox defenders o f b e

,
l ief in an impersonated evil principle do n o t

desire ; b ut they do not o b serve that history
acts more consistently than they and cures ,
e n e ra l e rr o r s only b y maki n g long genera

g
'
tions d i aw from them the last conse q uences

and s uffer their full e ffect .
THE EN D .
2 26
Bishop G erh ard c onverts th e , for th e unio n of bel ief and

heretics of A rras 60 , . thought 41 ; quote d on the,
B ethius on th e basi s of c re a
o , mission of philosophy ,
tion 1 2 4 , . rejec ts the do c trine of ete rnal

B i h i u ( Ol f B or ch ) ci t e d
o rr c s a , punishment 43 , .
1 15 .
C olquhoun quoted 2 00 , .
B unsen s G ott i n de r G
’
es c hi c h C on c eption b i ll ets des c rib e d
-
,
te quoted 9 3 9 4 1 7 5
, , , , . 4—
6 66 .
C onjurer of H ell 1 48 , .
C abalists method of sea rching

’
C ont ras t between state f S o ci o
out the inner meani ng of the ety in M iddle A ges and H l e
B ible 1 44 ; discover the se v

, len c i and later E uropean civ
en t y two mysti c al names of
-
i li z t ia due to differen t the
o ns
G o d , 1 46 . i
o r es of the universe 2 9 , .
C hris tian f thers one of doubts

a , , C osmic P hilosophy of M iddl e
if his way of attai ni ng pert e e A ges 1 — 28
, .
tion i s the only one 3 2 ; one , Cyp i u and others enter i nto
r an s
of decl ares every thing in

, league wi th S a tan 1 6 5 , .
h ea then thought to be of the

devil 42 , . D elrio asc i bes th e ori gin of
, r
C hurch the prepar ed fo r by , wi t ch c raft to Z oroaster 45 , .
election of the J ews and ,

D emonianism cured by th e ,
founde d by Chri st 1 4 ; is one ,

C hur c h 7 0 , .
body ; accumulates a weal th D emons fall en intelligen c es of

,
of supereroga t ory works and ,

the mi d dl e hierarchy 1 1 ; war ,
gra ts r emissi on of gui l t also

n a gainst the good angels ; cause
to dead 1 5 ; a mole a gains t

,
s t orm s and drouth ; pervade
the tide of i 1 6 ; the king s n, the elements 1 2 ; en tice man , ,
dom of G d on ear th ; her o 1 3 ; able to t ake full posses

destiny universal extension ,
sion of men 25 , .
1 8 ; a not che c k the grow th

c n D eu t sche T heol ogie quoted o n ,
of sin ; h r em b lem an a k e r ,
the nature of evil 26 , .
2 2 ; the onl y legitimate bodily D i fferences b e tween the d ualism

physician 68 ; forbids at , s ev of Z oroaster and the Chris
eral councils the secular p ra c tian 46 48 —
, .
tice of medicine 7 2 , . D issection prohibited 7 1 , .
C hurchbells theirpow e r agai nst ,

D ominion order of angels , e , r
the demons 7 4 , . i s th e c o mm ands of G o d

ce ve ,
Cl m e ns of A lexan d i a figh ts
e r , 5 .
IN D EX . 22 7
D uali sm of th e M i ddle A g e s
,
E mpyr ean the heaven of fire ,
affirm ed t o have b een derived world of arche ty pes 1 ; , re
from P ersia 34 ; i ts confli c t

, mains aft er the final fl co n a
wi th the unitarian no tions of g ra t i o n , 26 .
G ree c e the sum of hi story Europe bel i ef of in M iddle

, ,
between Cyrus and C onstan A ges 1 ; d efeats dualism 3 6 ;

, ,
tine ; wins a fl k posi tion on an -

goes i nto th e en emy s c oun ’
the M e di terranean upon th e try 3 7 , .
return of t h J ews from c ape Eu c harist pe re nni l sour c of , a e
t i i t y ; it s demon belief testi

v -
power an d san c t i fl at i n 5 9 c o , .
fl d to b y the many demo ni

e
acs in the ti m e of Ch rist ,

F aust quoted 9 8 109
, , , .
3 5 ; magi c a d b e li ef upo n n F aust legend at first proposed

-
,
a u thori t y its ne c essary c on to employ H C A grippa as . .
se quen c es 3 6 ; d eri ved from

,
it s c hi ef chara cter 2 2 1 , .
Z oroast er 38 ; spreads over

,
F ield rats prosecu t ed 7 8 —8 0
-
, .
the Roman provinces 39 ; ad ,

F ormula ag inst bloody fl ux a -
,
v an ce s ag ins t E urop e a
a , s 2 1 5 ; against ep i lepsy 2 1 5 , .
M anicheism 43 ; i s finally h , a F ormulary of maledi ct ion used

solute a d bri ngs on the D ark
n by priests 8 1 8 2 , , .
A ges 44 ; i s in t ensified after

,
entering C hris tiani ty 46 an d , ,

Gnosti cism S prings up 38 , .
u ndergo e s c hanges 4 7 48 G d e nthroned i n t h E mpy

”
t , , a o , e
ta cks the inne r authori ty 9 2 , . re an 1 ; asso ciates wi th man

, ,
8 —9 .
E a rth enc ompa ssed b y ten

, G regory IX exh orts to a u . cr
h eavens 1 ; made a parad is e

, sad e agai nst the S t d i n gh e s,
f or man ; explains ymb li s o 1 74 .
cally man s des tiny 8 ’

, . G regory the G reat m entioned , ,
E gi d i us pposes fi e worship
, O r -
,
44 60; forbade th e abroga
,
171 . tion of p agan festivities 1 60 , .
E l ec trum ma gi cum, 1 38 .
E lemen t s four prim e i n the

, H eav en of c rystal ne xt b eneath ,
cons tituti on of all things 3 , . E mpyre an —p i mum mo b i l ; , r e
E leusinian mysteries fragmen t s ,

of fixed st rs dev o i d of a ,
of preserved i magi c of the

, n weight 2 , .
l earned 1 1 7 , . H ell be c omes a pl a ce of pun

,
E mpire third order f ang e ls

, o ,
i hm
s t 1 1 ; remains afte r
en ,
ward ff al l hi n dran ce s 5
o , . final c n fl g t i n 2 6
o a ra o , .
2 28 IIVD E X .
H enri cus C o rn elius A grippa ab J m b li h u s pra c tic es se cret a c ,
N e t tesheim on G d as t he art s to ou trival Christian

, o ,
source of all power 3 4 ; i magi 40 , , s , .
n o t chosen to represent the J ean B odin as c ribes i tch craft , W
magician in th e F aust l egend to Z oroaster 45 -

, , .
221 . J ohn of S alisbu y upo n witch r
H ereti cs of A rr as their bel i ef festivals 1 7 3 , , , .
60 . Judai c o A lexandri a n ph i l o -
os
H ermes T ri smegi stus trans phy blooms 38 , , .
m u t ed whatever he ch ose to Jupiter belonging to the s ec ond

gold 1 1 5 , of th e pi n t y spa c es 2
. e e ar , .
Hi m nc hb of Rheims
a r, arc .
,
propounds a remedy against ! nowledge of h ighest t ruths

witch kno t s 2 1 6 re ve aled to man 20
, .
, .
H ippocrates mentioned 7 1 7 2 , , , .
H istorical development of M i d L uc i fer prin c e of S e raphim 9 ; , ,
dle age C osmi c Philosophy

-
r evolts and wars wi th M i , ,
—
28 5 1 . chael 1 0; is c onquered i , ,
s
H istory a spiritual c om e dy 2 3
, permitted to temp t man 1 0 , .
,
H mun ulu p hi l
o pchi u how s t ransformed
‘
into an
oso angel of c s,
pro d uced 1 32 1 33 light 1 2 ; triumphs 1 4

, , .
, , .
H orst s D m n m gi quoted L u ther on S atanic malice a

’
e o o a e , , s
199 . the cause of accidents 24,25 ; ,
H ouses of the p l anets 1 34 esteems highly D eu tsche , .

“
H uber t us bands and fl u T heologie 26 ; T ischreden

“ ” ”
- .
bertus keys 69 - quo ted 1 68 ; referred to 1 9 9

,
”
. , , .
L y c anthropy of the M iddle

I mages th ei r m ira culou s p r op
,
A ges 2 05 2 07
— , .
e rt i e s , 67 , 6 8 .
Incense appropri at e for M ars ,

“
M agi a D ivin a, quoted 1 30
1 39 . 1 33 .
“
I nc ub iand u ub i 1 67 “
s cc ,
”
. M agic f th e C hurch 5 1 9 4 ;
, O ,
-
Inevitab l e causa t ion not d , a what e ters into all em ploy

n
m i t t d in the M iddle A g
e e ment f it 5 3 54 ; whi t e and
o , ,
C osmic philosophy 4 , . black magic c eles tial and di ,
I sis secrets of en trusted t o the

, ab li l 5 4 ; of the C hurch
o ca ,
sons of H m 1 1 4 a , . defined 9 2 M agic of the , .

-
Jaco b s ladder structure of the L earned 9 5 1 58 ; is de rived

—
’
, ,
universe likene d to 6 , . from various sources 1 1 6 ; ,

2 30 IN D E X .
P hilosophy system of possible , P ythagoras glorified as fit to ,
wi thin the C hurch 2 0; adhe , rank wi th Chris t in m i u rac
ren ts of the scholastic may lous gifts 40; believed the ,
use A risto tle s dialec tics 2 1 ’

, . universe founded o n num
Planetary world next beneath , bers 1 24 ,
‘
that of fixed stars 2 ; cons i st ,
ing of seven heavens 2 , . R ain pro ce ssi ons in th e M iddle

-
Plane t s guided by angels 3 ; , A ges 7 4 , .
influence the elements and R eason darkened by aposta c y

, ,
m an , 1 3 4 1 3 5 , .
13 .
Plo tinus tries to re sto re, Ne o “ divi Clementis

R e c o g n i t i o n es
pl a t i n i s m , 4 0 .
ad Jacob quo t ed 1 65 ,
”
, .
P ope feudal lord of emp erors

, , R eforma t ion re tains somewhat ,
1 8 ; d etermines t he true indu c of the Church magic 9 2 -

, .
tions of philosophy 2 1 ; S er , R elics th eir m agical use 66

, , .
g iu s I II 63 ; U rban V i tus
.
, , R emigi u s ascribes witchcraft ,
65 . to Z oroaster 45 , .
P o pe J ohn XXII c omplains .

, R enai ssan c e overthrew the ,
that his life is en d angered by darkness and supers ti tion of

sorcerers 1 7 7 , . th e M iddl e A ges 222 —2 2 3 , .
P ope I nocen t VIII puts forth

n .
,
a bull against the spread of S aints i n t n of more f , e rc e ss1 o , e
sorcery 1 7 8 , f ti than tha t of S eraphim

. ec ve .
P opular maxims of supersti ti on 1 7 ; n o t dis t urbed by misery ,
2 08 —2 1 1 . of the damned 27 ; have con ,
P ower from a spiritual so urc e trol over various disease 69

, s, .
only 3 ; communica t d to the S atan th e Ju d aized A hri m an

, e ,
h eavens and the earth by n 35 a .
gels 3 , . S aturn belonging t the fi rst ,

o
P ower order of angels gui de of t h plane tary s paces 2

, , e , .
the stars and planets 5 S cale f the H oly T etrad ( T ,

. o a
Pri ncipalities A rchangels and ble , 1 23 , .
A gels t he third and Io wes t S h mh mph or G od s mys ’

n , c e a o ra s ,
hierarchy hold supremacy tical n ames 1 44 146

, , , .
over terrestri al thin gs 5 6 S h l ti i nt 220 , , . c o as c erra es , .
Principali ties p rt of the low S ,the of the Greeks i s

a c1en c e ,
est hierarchy of angels gu r a tional originates logi c and , a r ,
di an sp i ri t s of na tions 6 geome try ; of the M i ddle A ge , . s
Proclus last N eoplatoni c ian 44

, i s magi 30 , . c, .
IN D E X . 2
Sc otus Erig ena m enti on ed 44 Th om as A quin a o n the q ui

, ,
. s, ac v
S eraphi m C herubim and of t h saints in t h e es c enc e e
T hrones the first h i

,
p unishment of the lost 2 8 ; erar ,
chy and n earest G d 5

,
on th e pow er of demons 7 3 o ,
.
, .
S imon M agus l gend of his ,

e
di m fi t u by S t P e t er 1 65 U nivers e a v ast l yre 7 ; a n u n

sc o re .
,
.
, ,
S prenger a uthor,
of M alleus b r ok e n harmony 9 ; di vi ded ,
M li fi
a u m ascribes t he
c ar b etw en G ood an d E vil 1 1
,
or e , .
i gin of wi tchcraft to Z o o as U niversity of 1 5 t h century d e r
ter 45
,
. s c ribed 9 6 9 8
— , .
S t d i g h pers ec u t e d 1 7 4
e n s , .
S umm er
.Th l g i quoted o n Vam pm m 207
eo o ca, s , .
the delec ta tion of the V enus p ath of in planetary re ,
deemed upon seeing the m i s world 2 , .
cr y of t he damned 2 8 V ilmar N o L uthe ra n

,
would .
,
e -
,
Su n, belonging to t h middl e r estor e to the c lergy their e
spa c e of planetary world 2 me d i val prerogatives 8 50 4 — , . ae , .
S up t i t i n p ognosti cs of di s
e rs o s Virgil quoted 205 2 1 6
r , , .
ease and death 2 1 2—2 1 6 V C orres, attemp t s to re . on

‘
S ynoda l de c r ee of A ncy ra 1 7 1 s t ore the b eli ef in vampi ri sm , .

,
207 .
a
T b le of c orr espondence s b e
tween micro c osmos an d things Witch h amm er c ontain s di ec

- r
on e arth and the planets 1 2 7

, ,
. tions for the judge i n witch
T k f l name of th e demon
e ae , trials 9 0; 1 7 8 1 9 5
,
-
.
summoned 1 47 1 5 3 , , . Witches S abbath suppo se d o r

’
,
T errestrial things i mages of th e , igin of 1 7 0 , .
celes tial 6 ; are c om posed of

, Wi tch knots 2 1 6
-
, .
the coarsest matter 6 ; are all , Z oroaster the reput e d founde r

,
under the control of sp ecial of magi c science ; and by some

a ngels 7 ; a e also influenced
, r believed the author of wi tch
by s tars planets a d arc he , n c raft 45 ; his religion allows
,
types 7 , . e vil to disappear in course of

T heologie der T h t a h n wi der a s c e time and promises a fi al
,
n
di T heologie der Rhetorik

e r estora tio nof all things 46 , .
( A .F C H Vilm ar 1 8 57 )
. . .
, Z oroaster and Plato s system s ’
quote d 48 50
— , . blended 3 7 , .

The Magic of The Middle Ages

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C ON TEN T S .

It was the b elie f o f E urope d uring the

T he earth itself ﬁxe d an d immovab le was

encompasse d b y ten heavens successively e n

the highest in constant rotation ab o u t their

T his highest an d immovab l e heaven envel ,

O ping all the others an d constituting the

the heaven Of ﬁre named also b y the Platon

i zing philosophers the worl d o f archetypes .

H ere in a light which no one Can enter ”

G od in triune maj esty is S itting on his throne ,

W h ile the tones O f harmony from the n ine

revolving heavens b eneath ascend to him ,

like a hymn of glory from t h e universe

N ext in order b elow the E mpyrean is the

volves t h e h eaven of ﬁxed stars wh i ch forme d , ,

from the most sub tile elements in t h e uni

were imagined to descend from this heaven

coarsest particles of creation are collected ,

he would still S i nk throu gh seven vaulted

t he ﬁrst of th ese remaining heavens is foun d

t h e planet S aturn in the second Jupiter

in t h e third M ars ; to the fourth and middle

whi le in t h e remaining three are t h e path s

measuring time with its wanin g and i n cre a s

is t h e enveloping atmosp here of the earth ,

and earth itself with its lands and seas .

T here are four prime elements in the struct

E very thing existing i n the material world is

possesses as such an energy Of its own ; b ut

A ll power is S piritu a l an d ﬂows from a spir ,

to the earth and the heavens ab ove the earth

personal b ut b odiless T hese b eings ﬁll the .

universe Even the prime elements derive

their energy from them T hey are calle d i n .

t e lli g e n c e s or angels ; an d the p ri m am m o b i le

in their orb its b y an gels A ll the energies .

o f plants metals stones an d all other O bj ects

are derive d from those intelligences whom

and end O f all po wer lends the Seal of ideas ,

H enri cus Cornelius A gripp a ab N ettesh ei m : “

to his ministering spirits w h o faithfully exe , ,

c ut i n g hi s divine will stamp with a vi t al e

N O inevitab le causation is a dmitted E very .

thing is produced b y the will O f G od and ,

u p h eld b y it T he laws of nature are noth

ing b ut the precepts in accordance with wh ich

from love and fear ; b ut should they in a r e

h ave t h e power to do th en the order O f na ,

ture would b e changed and t h e great mech ,

a n i sm of t h e universe fall asunder unless G od ,

pends their agency and is himself t h e imme,

diate actor everywhere ; or he gives unusual

H enricus Cornelius A g ippa ab N ettesh eim

angels T heir innumerab le hosts form nine

choirs or orders divide d into three hi e rar

chies correspon d in g to the three worl d s : the

empyreal that Of the revolving he avens an d

t h e terrestrial T he orders of S eraphim Cher

ub im an d T hrones which c onstitute the ﬁrst

his throne like a train of attendants r e ,

j oice in the light O f his countenance feel the ,

ab undant inspiration of his wisdom lo v e an d ,