Of the Continuing
of the Torture, and of the Devices and Signs by which
the Judge can Recognize a Witch; and how he ought to
Protect himself from their Spells. Also how they are to
be Shaved in Parts where they use to Conceal the Devil's
Masks and Tokens; together with the due Setting Forth of
Various Means of Overcoming the Obstinacy in Keeping
Silence and Refusal to Confess. And it is the Tenth
Action
THE
Judge should act as follows in the continuation of the
torture. First he should bear in mind that, just as the
same medicine is not applicable to all the members, but
there are various and distinct salves for each several
member, so not all heretics or those accused of heresy
are to be subjected to the same method of questioning,
examination and torture as to the charges laid against
them; but various and different means are to be employed
according to their various natures and persons. Now a
surgeon cuts off rotten limbs; and mangy sheep are
isolated from the healthy; but a prudent Judge will not
consider it safe to bind himself down to one invariable
rule in his method of dealing with a prisoner who is
endowed with a witch's power of taciturnity, and whose
silence he is unable to overcome. For if the sons of
darkness were to become accustomed to one general rule
they would provide means of evading it as a well-known
snare set for their destruction.
Therefore a
prudent and zealous Judge should seize his opportunity
and choose his method of conducting his examination
according to the answers or depositions of the
witnesses, or as his own previous experience or native
wit indicates to him, using the following precautions.
If he wishes
to find out whether she is endowed with a witch's power
of preserving silence, let him take note whether she is
able to shed tears when standing in his presence, or
when being tortured. For we are taught both by the words
of worthy men of old and by our own experience that this
is a most certain sign, and it has been found that even
if she be urged and exhorted by solemn conjurations to
shed tears, if she be a witch she will not be able to
weep: although she will assume a tearful aspect and
smear her cheeks and eyes with spittle to make it appear
that she is weeping; wherefore she must be closely
watched by the attendants.
In passing
sentence the Judge or priest may use some such method as
the following in conjuring her to true tears if she be
innocent, or in restraining false tears. Let him place
his hand on the head of the accused and say: I conjure
you by the bitter tears shed on the Cross by our Saviour
the Lord JESUS Christ for the salvation of the world,
and by the burning tears poured in the evening hour over
His wounds by the most glorious Virgin MARY, His Mother,
and by all the tears which have been shed here in this
world by the Saints and Elect of God, from whose eyes He
has now wiped away all tears, that if you be innocent
you do now shed tears, but if you be guilty that you
shall by no means do so. In the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.
And it is
found by experience that the more they are conjured the
less are they able to weep, however hard they may try to
do so, or smear their cheeks with spittle. Nevertheless
it is possible that afterwards, in the absence of the
Judge and not at the time or in the place of torture,
they may be able to weep in the presence of their
gaolers.
And as for
the reason for a witch's inability to weep, it can be
said that the grace of tears is one of the chief gifts
allowed to the penitent; for S. Bernard tells us that
the tears of the humble can penetrate to heaven and
conquer the unconquerable. Therefore there can be no
doubt that they are displeasing to the devil, and that
he uses all his endeavour to restrain them, to prevent a
witch from finally attaining to penitence.
But it may be
objected that it might suit with the devil's cunning,
with God's permission, to allow even a witch to weep;
since tearful grieving, weaving and deceiving are said
to be proper to women. We may answer that in this case,
since the judgements of God are a mystery, if there is
no other way of convicting the accused, by legitimate
witnesses or the evidence of the fact, and if she is not
under a strong or grave suspicion, she is to be
discharged; but because she rests under a slight
suspicion by reason of her reputation to which the
witnesses have testified, she must be required to abjure
the heresy of witchcraft, as we shall show when we deal
with the second method of pronouncing sentence.
A second
precaution is to be observed, not only at this point but
during the whole process, by the Judge and all his
assessors; namely, that they must not allow themselves
to be touched physically by the witch, especially in any
contract of their bare arms or hands; but they must
always carry about them some salt consecrated on Palm
Sunday and some Blessed Herbs. For these can be enclosed
together in Blessed Wax and worn round the neck, as we
showed in the Second Part when we discussed the remedies
against illnesses and diseases caused by witchcraft; and
that these have a wonderful protective virtue is known
not only from the testimony of witches, but from the use
and practice of the Church, which exorcizes and blesses
such objects for this very purpose, as is shown in the
ceremony of exorcism when it is said, For the banishing
of all the power of the devil, etc.
But let it
not be thought that physical contact of the joints or
limbs is the only thing to be guarded against; for
sometimes, with God's permission, they are able with the
help of the devil to bewitch the Judge by the mere sound
of the words which they utter, especially at the time
when they are exposed to torture.
And we know
from experience that some witches, when detained in
prison, have importunately begged their gaolers to grant
them this one thing, that they should be allowed to look
at the Judge before he looks at them; and by so getting
the first sight of the Judge they have been able so to
alter the minds of the Judge or his assessors that they
have lost all their anger against them and have not
presumed to molest them in any way, but have allowed
them to go free. He who knows and has experienced it
gives this true testimony; and would that they were not
able to effect such things!
Let judges
not despise such precautions and protections, for by
holding them in little account after such warning they
run the risk of eternal damnation. For our Saviour said:
If I had not come, and spoken to them, they would not
have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.
Therefore let the judges protect themselves in the above
manner, according to the provisions of the Church.
And if it can
conveniently be done, the witch should be led backward
into the presence of the Judge and his assessors. And
not only at the present point, but in all that has
preceded or shall follow it, let him cross himself and
approach her manfully, and with God's help the power of
that old Serpent will be broken. And no one need think
that it is superstitious to lead her in backwards; for,
as we have often said, the Canonists allow even more
than this to be done for the protections against
witchcraft, and always say that it is lawful to oppose
vanity with vanity.
The third
precaution to be observed in this tenth action is that
the hair should be shaved from every part of her body.
The reason for this is the same as that for stripping
her of her clothes, which we have already mentioned; for
in order to preserve their power of silence they are in
the habit of hiding some superstitious object in their
clothes or in their hair, or even in the most secret
parts of the their bodies which must not be named.
But it may be
objected that the devil might, without the use of such
charms, so harden the heart of a witch that she is
unable to confess her crimes; just as it is often found
in the case of other criminals, no matter how great the
tortures to which they are exposed, or how much they are
convicted by the evidence of the facts and of witnesses.
We answer that it is true that the devil can affect such
taciturnity without the use of such charms; but he
prefers to use them for the perdition of souls and the
greater offence to the Divine Majesty of God.
This can be
made clear from the example of a certain witch in the
town of Hagenau, whom we have mentioned in the Second
Part of this work. She used to obtain this gift of
silence in the following manner: she killed a newly-born
first-born male child who had not been baptized, and
having roasted it in an oven together with other matters
which it is not expedient to mention, ground it to
powder and ashes; and if any witch or criminal carried
about him some of this substance he would in no way be
able to confess his crimes.
Here it is
clear that a hundred thousand children so employed could
not of their own virtue endow a person with such a power
of keeping silence; but any intelligent person can
understand that such means are used by the devil for the
perdition of souls and to offend the Divine Majesty.
Again, it may
be objected that very often criminals who are not
witches exhibit the same power of keeping silence. In
answer to this it must be said tat this power of
taciturnity can proceed from three causes. First, from a
natural hardness of heart; for some are soft-hearted, or
even feeble-minded, so that at the slightest torture
they admit everything, even some things which are not
true; whereas others are so hard that however much they
are tortured the truth is not to be had from them; and
this is especially the case with those who have been
tortured before, even if their arms are suddenly
stretched or twisted.
Secondly, it
may proceed from some instrument of witchcraft carried
about the person, as has been said, either in the
clothes or in the hairs of the body. And thirdly, even
if the prisoner has no such object secreted about her
person, they are sometimes endowed with this power by
other witches, however far they may be removed from
them. For a certain witch at Issbrug used to boast that,
if she had no more than a thread from the garments of
any prisoner, she could so work that however much that
prisoner were tortured, even to death, she would be
unable to confess anything. So the answer to this
objection is clear.
But what is
to be said of a case that happened in the Diocese of
Ratisbon? Certain heretics were convicted by their own
confession not only as impenitent but as open advocates
of that perfidy; and when they were condemned to death
it happened that they remained unharmed in the fire. At
length their sentence was altered to death by drowning,
but this was no more effective. All were astonished, and
some even began to say that their heresy must be true;
and the Bishop, in great anxiety for his flock, ordered
a three days' fast. When this had been devoutly
fulfilled, it came to the knowledge of someone that
those heretics had a magic charm sewed between the skin
and the flesh under one arm; and when this was found and
removed, they were delivered to the flames and
immediately burned. Some say that a certain necromancer
learned this secret during a consultation with the
devil, and betrayed it; but however it became known, it
is probably that the devil, who is always scheming for
the subversion of faith, was in some way compelled by
Divine power to reveal the matter.
From this it
may be seen what a Judge ought to do when such a case
happens to him: namely, that he should rely upon the
protection of God, and by the prayers and fasting of
devout persons drive away this sort of devil's work from
witches, in those cases where they cannot be made to
confess under torture even after their clothes have been
changed and all their hair has been shaved off and
abraded.
Now in the
parts of Germany such shaving, especially of the secret
parts, is not generally considered delicate, and
therefore we Inquisitors do not use it; but we cause the
hair of their head to be cut off, and placing a morsel
of Blessed Wax in a cup of Holy Water and invoking the
most Holy Trinity, we give it them to drink three times
on a fasting stomach, and by the grace of God we have by
this means caused many to break their silence. But in
other countries the Inquisitors order the witch to be
shaved all over her body. And the Inquisitor of Como has
informed us that last year, that is, in 1485, he ordered
forty-one witches to be burned, after they had been
shaved all over. And this was in the district and county
of Burbia, commonly called Wormserbad, in the territory
of the Archduke of Austria, towards Milan.
But it may be
asked whether, in a time of need, when all other means
of breaking a witch's silence have failed, it would be
lawful to ask the advice in this matter of sorceresses
who are able to cure those who are bewitched. We answer
that, whatever may have been doe in that matter at
Ratisbon, it is our earnest admonition in the Lord that
no one, no matter how great may be the need, should
consult with sorceresses on behalf of the State; and
this because of the great offence which is thereby
caused to the Divine Majesty, when there are so many
other means open to us which we may use either in their
own proper form or in some equivalent form, so that the
truth will be had from their own mouths and they can be
consigned to the flames; or failing this, God will in
the meantime provide some other death for the witch.
For there
remain to us the following remedies against this power
of silence. First, let a man do all that lies in his own
power by the exercise of his qualities, persisting often
with the methods we have already mentioned, and
especially on certain days, as will be shown in the
following Question. See II. Corinthians ix: That
ye may abound in all good works.
Secondly, if
this should fail, let him consult with other persons;
for perhaps they may think of some means which has not
occurred to him, since there are various methods of
counteracting witchcraft.
Thirdly, if
these two fail, let him have recourse to devout persons,
as it is said in Ecclesiasticus xxxvii: Be
continually with a godly man, whom thou knowest to keep
the commandments of the Lord. Also let him invoke the
Patron Saints of the country. But if all these fail, let
the Judge and all the people at once put their trust in
God with prayers and fasting, that the witchcraft may be
removed by reason of their piety. For so Josaphat prayed
in II. Paralipomenon xx: When we know no what we
should do, we have this one refuge, that we should turn
our eyes to Thee. And without doubt God will not fail us
in our need.
To this
effect also S. Augustine speaks (26, q. 7, non obseruabitis):
Whosoever observes any divinations or auguries, or
attends to or consents to such as observe them, or gives
credit to such by following after their works, or goes
into their houses, or introduces them into his own
house, or asks questions of them, let him know that he
has perverted the Christian faith and his baptism and is
a pagan and apostate and enemy of God, unless he is
corrected by ecclesiastical penances and is reconciled
with God. Therefore let the Judge not fail always to use
the lawful remedies, as we have said, together with
these following final precautions.
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