Malleus Maleficarum quotes

And the same procedure is allowable in a charge of heresy. When such an accusation is brought, any witness may come forward to give evidence, just as he may in a case of lese-majesty.

For witchcraft is high treason against God’s Majesty.

And so they are to be put to the torture in order to make them confess.

As Lucan says:

A mind which has not been corrupted by any noxious drink perishes forspoken by some evil charm.

For having summoned devils to their aid they actually dare to heap harms upon mankind, and even to destroy their enemies by their evil spells. And it is certain that in operations of this kind the witch works in close conjunction with the devil.

All this is borne out of the commentators upon the Psalm, Qui timent te uidebunt me. There is a great power in the eyes, and this appears even in natural things.

For if a wolf see a man first, the man is struck dumb.

Moreover, if a basilisk see a man first its look is fatal; but if he see it first he may be able to kill it;

All this is borne out of the commentators upon the Psalm, Qui timent te uidebunt me.

There is a great power in the eyes, and this appears even in natural things.

For if a wolf see a man first, the man is struck dumb. Moreover, if a basilisk see a man first its look is fatal; but if he see it first he may be able to kill it;

secondly, to devote themselves body and soul to all evil; thirdly, to offer up unbaptized children to Satan; fourthly, to indulge in every kind of carnal lust with Incubi and Succubi and all manner of filthy delights.

Would to God that we might suppose all this to be untrue and merely imaginary, if only our Holy Mother the Church were free from the leprosy of such abomination.

Alas, the judgement of the Apostolic See, who is alone the Mistress and the Teacher of all truth, that judgement, I say, which has been expressed in the Bull of our Holy Father the Pope, assures us and makes us aware that amongst us, and …

Moreover, S. Thomas speaks of this (I, 25 and II, 8, and elsewhere; also on Esaias 12 and 14). Therefore he says that it is rash to deny such things.

For that which appears true to many cannot be altogether false, according to Aristotle

(at the end of the De somno et uigilia, and in the 2nd Ethics). I say nothing of the many authentic histories, both Catholic and heathen, which openly affirm the existence of Incubi.

for the devil does not make it void by violence, since he has no power at all in the matter except as he is permitted by God.

Therefore it would be better to argue from this that he is powerless.

Secondly, it is true that to procreate a man is the act of a living body. But when it is said that devils cannot give life, because that flows formally from the soul, it is true;

Now the motive of the will is something perceived through the senses or the intellect, both of which are subject to the power of the devil. For S. Augustine says in Book 83:

This evil, which is of the devil, creeps in by all the sensual approaches; he places himself in figures, he adapts himself to colours, he attaches himself to sounds, he lurks in angry and wrongful conversation, he abides in smells, he impregnates with flavours and fills with certain exhalations all the channels of the understanding.

Therefore it is seen that it is in the devil’s power to influence the will, which is directly the cause of sin.

Nevertheless the learned Saints refused to use this name, on account of those who twisted its meaning to force of the position of the stars. Wherefore S. Augustine (De Ciuitate Dei, V) says:

If anyone attributed human affairs to Fate, meaning by Fate the Will and Power of God, let him keep his opinion but amend his tongue.

It is clear, then, that what has been said provides a sufficient answer to the question whether all things, including works of witchcraft, are subject to Fate.

So one day when they were complaining against him, he went out of the house to escape their plaguing, and sat down before the house; and the women then threw filthy water over him. But the philosopher was not disturbed by this, saying, “

I knew the rain would come after the thunder.

”

But it is not possible to treat of such matters in detail, on account of the great number of instances both among the clergy and among the laity.

For how many adulterers have put away the most beautiful wives to lust after the vilest of women!

We know of an old woman who, according to the common account of the brothers in that monastery even up to this day, in this manner not only bewitched three successive Abbots, but even killed them, and in the same way drove the fourth out …

Therefore it is not God’s purpose to prevent all evil, lest the universe should lack the cause of much good. Wherefore S. Augustine says in the Enchiridion:

So merciful is Almighty God, that He would not allow any evil to be in His works unless He were so omnipotent and good that He can bring good even out of evil.

And we have an example of this in the actions of natural things.

And to create is to make something out of nothing, and this, if left to itself, perishes, but endures so long as it preserves the influence of its cause.

You may take, if you wish, an example from a candle, which burns only so long as it has wax.

This being so, it is to be noted that God created man, and left him in the hand of his own counsel (Ecclesiasticus 17). And so also He created the Angels in the beginning of Creation.

And all this is clearly shown as follows. For it is a part of Divine providence that each single thing should be left to its own nature, and not be altogether impeded in its natural works. For, as Dionysius says (De Diuinis Nominibus, IV),

Providence is not a destroyer, but a preserver of nature.

This being so, it is manifest that, just as the good of the race is better than the good of the individual (Aristotle, Ethics, I), so also the good of the universe takes precedence over the good of any particular creature.

As it is said: Their plagues were multiplied, and they turned them to God, etc. And that all punishment is inflicted by God for sin is shown by what follows; for according to S. Jerome:

Whatever we suffer, we deserve for our sins.

Now it is declared that the sins of witches are more grievous than those of the bad angels and our first parents.

For the sin which a man commits when he could easily avoid it is greater than the sin which another man commits when he could not so easily avoid it. This is shown by S. Augustine, De Ciuitate Dei:

There is great wickedness in sinning when it is so easy not to sin.

But Adam, and others who have sinned when in a state of perfection or even of grace, could more easily because of the help of grace have avoided their sins—especially Adam who was created in grace—than many witches, who have not shared in such gifts.

And if a man be convicted, and refuse to be converted and abjure his heresy, he must at once be burned, if he is a layman.

For if they who counterfeit money are summarily put to death, how much more must they who counterfeit the Faith?

But if he is a cleric, after solemn degradation he is handed over to the secular Court to be put to death. But if they return to the Faith, they are to be imprisoned for life.

And the other said: Wretch! How were you so bold as not to flee from the presence of your Creator? Then the devil said:

Anyone may hide under a bridge while a holy man is crossing, as long as he does not pause in his walk.

But with the help of Divine grace the priest was delivered, whether he told the truth or not; for both he and his father are liars.

Yet they should not always be preached in this way; for the secular mind pays more attention to temporal losses, being more concerned with earthly than spiritual matters; therefore when witches can be accused of inflicting temporal loss, judges are more zealous to punish them.

But who can fathom the cunning of the devil?

I know of some men in a certain city who wished to eat some May butter one May time. And as they were walking along they came to a meadow and sat down by a stream;

This one remedy appears to be left; that judges should, by various penalties, keep such wickedness as far as possible in check by punishing the witches who are the cause of it; that so they may deprive the sick of the opportunity of consulting witches.

But, alas! no one understands this in his heart; but they all seek for their own gain instead of that of Jesus Christ.

For so many people used to go to be freed from spells to that witch in Reichshofen, whom we have already mentioned, that the Count of the castle set up a tollbooth, and all who were bewitched in their own persons or in their possessions …

Second, that everything which God permits to happen to us, whether it seem to be sorrow or gladness, is sent for our good as from a pitying Father and merciful Physician.

For the devils are, as it were, schoolmasters of humility

, so that they who descend from this world may either be purged for the eternal life or be sentenced to the pain of their punishment; and such, according to S.

The sick man then felt himself at once cured, and, that he might have a remedy for the future, asked the virgin what charms she had used. But she answered:

You are of little faith and do not hold to the holy and lawful practices of the Church, and you often apply forbidden charms and remedies for your infirmities; therefore you are rarely healthy in your body, because you are always sick in your soul.

But if you would put your trust in prayer and in the efficacy of lawful symbols, you will often be very easily cured. For I did nothing but repeat the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed, and you are now cured.

But if only one or the other of these hold good, let that one only be put in the sentence. But let the sentence be soon put into execution, or let them make as if to execute it.

Nevertheless let not the Judge be too willing to subject a person to torture, for this should only be resorted to in default of other proofs.

Therefore let him seek for other proofs;

… probable that the accused is guilty, but denied the truth out of fear, let him use other approved methods, always with due precautions, and by using the persuasions of the friends of the accused do his utmost to extract the truth from his own lips.

And let him not hasten the business; for very often meditation, and the ordeal of imprisonment, and the repeated persuasion of honest men will induce the accused to discover the truth.

But if, after keeping the accused in suspense, and after due and decent postponements of the time, and many exhortations of the accused, the Bishop and the Judge are well persuaded that, all circumstances considered, the accused is denying the truth, let them torture him …

… of the time, and many exhortations of the accused, the Bishop and the Judge are well persuaded that, all circumstances considered, the accused is denying the truth, let them torture him slightly, without shedding blood, bearing in mind that torture is often fallacious and ineffective.

For some are so softhearted and feebleminded that at the least torture they will confess anything, whether it be true or not.

Others are so stubborn that, however much they are tortured, the truth is not to be had from them.