Chapter IV: Part 4

70. But that explanation, however plausible the facts upon which it rests, can at most be received as regards the Evil Spirits which possess bodies or, through malefice, infect them with diseases or other infirmities; it does not at all meet the case of Incubi. For, these neither possess bodies nor infect them with diseases; they, at most, molest them by blows and ill-treatment. If they cause the mares to grow lean because of their not yielding to coition, it is merely by taking away their provender, in consequence of which they fall off and finally die. To that purpose the Incubus need not use a natural agent, as the Evil Spirit does when imparting a disease: it is enough that it should exert its own native organic force. Likewise, when the Evil Spirit possesses bodies and infects them with diseases, it is most frequently through signs agreed upon with himself, and arranged by a witch or a wizard, which signs are usually natural objects, indued with their own noxious virtue, and of course opposed by other equally natural objects endowed with a contrary virtue. But not so the Incubus: it is of his own accord, and without the cooperation of either witch or wizard, that he inflicts his molestations. Besides, the natural things which put the Incubi to flight exert their virtue and bring about a result without the intervention of any exorcism or blessing; it cannot therefore be said that the ejection of the Incubus is initiated by natural, and completed by divine virtue, since there is in this case no particular invocation of the divine name, but the mere effect of a natural object, in which God cooperates only as the universal agent, the author of nature, the first of efficient causes.

71. Duas circa hoc historias do, quarum primam habui a Confessario Monialium, viro gravi, ac fide dignissimo. Alterius vero sum testis oculatus.

In quodam Sanctimonalium monasterio degebat ad educationem Virgo quædam nobilis tentata ab Incubo, qui diu noctuque ipsi apparebat, ipsam ad coitum sollicitando eniximis precibus, tamquam amasius præ amore dementatus; ipsa tamen semper restitit tentanti gratia Dei, ac sacramentorum frequentia roborata. Incassum abiere plures devotiones, jejunia et vota facta a puella vexata, exorcismi, benedictiones, et præecepta ab exorcistis facta Incubo, ut desisteret a molestia illa; nec quidquam proficiebatur multitudo reliquiarum, aliarumque rerum benedictarum disposita in camera virginis tentatæ, nec benedictæ candelæ noctu ibidem ardentes impediebant, quominus juxta consuetum appareret ad tentandum in forma speciosissimi juvenis. Consultus inter alios viros doctos fuit quidam Theologus magnæ eruditionis: iste advertens virginem tentatam esse temperamenti phlegmatici a toto, conjectavit Incubum esse dæmonem aqueum (dantur enim ut scribit Guaccius, =Comp. Malefic.= l. 1. c. 19. fol. 129., Dæmones ignei, aerei, phlegmatici, terrei, subterranei, et lucifugi), et consului, quod in camera virginis tentatæ continue fieret suffimentum vaporosum sequens. Requirunt ollam novam figulinam vitreatam; in hac ponitur calami aromatici, cubebarum seminis, aristolochiæ utriusque radicum, cardamomi majoris et minoris, gingiberis, piperis longi, caryophyllorum, cinnamomi, canellæ caryophyllatæ, macis, nucum myristicarum, styracis calamitæ, benzoini, ligni ac radicis rodiæ, ligni aloes, triasantalorum una uncia, semiaquæ vitæ libræ tres; ponitur olla supra cineres calidas ut vapor suffimenti ascendat, et cella clausa tenetur. Facto suffimento advenit denuo Incubus, sed ingredi cellam nunquam ausus est: sed si tentata extra eam ibat, et per viridarium ac claustra spatiabatur, aliis invisibilis sibi visus apparebat Incubus, et puellæ collo injectis brachiis violenter, ac quasi furtive oscula rapiebat: quod molestissimum honestæ virgini erat. Consultus denuo Theologus ille ordinavit puellæ, ut deferret pixidulas unguentarias exquisitorum odorum, ut moschi, ambræ, zibetti, balsami Peruviani, ac aliorum compositorum; quod cum fecisset, deambulanti per viridarium puellæ apparuit Incubus faci minaci, ac furenti; non tamen ad illam approximavit, sed digitum sibi momordit tanquam meditans vindictam; tandem disparuit, nec amplius ab ea visus fuit.

71. To illustrate this subject, I give two stories, the first of which I have from a Confessor of Nuns, a man of weight, and most worthy of credit; the second I was eye-witness to.

In a certain monastery of holy Nuns there lived, as a boarder, a young maiden of noble birth, who was tempted by an Incubus that appeared to her by day and by night, and with the most earnest entreaties, the manners of a most passionate lover, incessantly incited her to sin; but she, supported by the grace of God and the frequent use of the sacraments, stoutly resisted the temptation. But, all her devotions, fasts and vows notwithstanding, despite the exorcisms, the blessings, the injunctions showered by exorcists on the Incubus that he should desist from molesting her; in spite of the crowd of relics and other holy objects collected in the maiden’s room, of the lighted candles kept burning there all night, the Incubus none the less persisted in appearing to her as usual, in the shape of a very handsome young man. At last, among other learned men, whose advice had been taken on the subject, was a very erudite Theologian who, observing that the maiden was of a thoroughly phlegmatic temperament, surmised that that Incubus was an aqueous Demon (there are in fact, as is testified by Guaccius, igneous, aerial, phlegmatic, earthly, subterranean demons who avoid the light of day), and prescribed an uninterrupted fumigation in the room. A new vessel, made of glass-like earth, was accordingly brought in, and filled with sweet cane, cubeb seed, roots of both aristolochies, great and small cardamon, ginger, long-pepper, caryophylleæ, cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmegs, calamite storax, benzoin, aloes-wood and roots, one ounce of triasandalis, and three pounds of half brandy and water; the vessel was then set on hot ashes in order to force up the fumigating vapour, and the cell was kept closed. As soon as the fumigation was done, the Incubus came, but never dared enter the cell; only, if the maiden left it for a walk in the garden or the cloister, he appeared to her, though invisible to others and throwing his arms round her neck, stole or rather snatched kisses from her, to her intense disgust. At last, after a new consultation, the Theologian prescribed that she should carry about her person pills made of the most exquisite perfumes, such as musk, amber, chive, Peruvian balsam, and others. Thus provided, she went for a walk in the garden, where the Incubus suddenly appeared to her with a threatening face, and in a rage. He did not approach her, however, but, after biting his finger as if meditating revenge, disappeared and was never more seen by her.

72. Alia historia est, quod in Conventu Magnæ Cartusiæ Ticinensis, fuit quidam Diaconus, nomine dictus Augustinus, maximas, ac inauditas, et pene incredibiles sustinens a quodam Dæmone vexationes; quæ tolli nullo remedio spirituali (quamvis plura juxta plures exorcistas, qui liberationem, sed incassum tentarunt, fuissent adhibita) potuerunt. Me consuluit illius Conventus vicarius, qui curam divexati, utpote Clerici, ex officio habebat. Ego videns frustranea fuisse consueta exorcismorum remedia, exemplo historiæ suprarecensitæ consului suffimentum simile superiori, utque divexatus pixidulas odoramentorum supradictas deferret; et quia tabacchi usum habebat, et aqua vitæ delectabatur, suasi ut et tabaccho et aqua vitæ moschata uteretur. Dæmon illi apparebat diu noctuque ultra alias species, puta scheleti, suis, asini, Angeli, avis, modo in forma unius, modo alterius ex suis Religiosis, et semel in forma sui Prælati, nempe Prioris, qui hortatus est vexatum ad puritatem conscientiæ, ad confidentiam in Deum, et ad frequentiam confessionis; suasit ut sibi sacramentalem confessionem faceret, quod etiam fecit; et expost Psalmos =Exsurgat Deus= et =Qui habitat=, et mox Evangelium S. Joannis simul cum vexato recitavit, et ad ea verba =Verbum caro factum est= genuflexit, et accepta stola, quæ in cella erat, et aspergillo aquæ benedictæ benedixit cellæ, ac lecto vexati, et ac si revera fuisset ipsius Prior præceptum fecit Dæmoni, ne auderet illum suum subditum amplius divexare, et post hæc disparuit, sicque prodidit quisnam esset: aliter vexatus illum suum Prælatum esse reputaverat. Postquam igitur suffimentum, ac odores, ut supra dictum est, consulueram, non destitit Dæmon juxta solitum apparere; imo assumpta figura vexati fuit ad cameram Vicarii, et ab eo petiit aquam vitæ, ac tabaccum moschatum, dicens sibi talia valde placere. Vicarius utrumque illi dedit: quibus acceptis disparuit in momento, quo facto cognovit Vicarius se fuisse illusum a Dæmone tali pacto: quod magis confirmavit assertum vexati, qui cum juramento affirmavit, se illa die nullo modo fuisse in cella Vicarii. Iste mihi totum retulit, et ex tali facto conjeci Dæmonem illum non fuisse aqueum, ut erat Incubus, qui virginem ad coitum sollicitabat, ut dictum supra est, sed igneum, vel ad minus aereum, ex quo gaudebat vaporibus, ac odoribus, tabacco, et aqua vitæ, quæ calida sunt. Et conjecturæ vim addidit temperamentum divexati, quod erat colericum quo ad prædominium cum subdominio, tamen sanguineo. Dæmones enim tales non accedunt nisi ad eos, qui secum in temperamento symbolizant; ex quo validatur opinio mea de illorum corporeitate. Unde suasi Vicario, ut acciperet herbas natura frigidas, ut nymphæam, hepaticam, portulacam, mandragoram, sempervivam, plantaginem, hyoscyamum, et alias similes, et ex iis compositum fasciculum fenestræ, alium ostio cellæ suspenderet; similibusque herbis, tum cameram, tum lectum divexati sterneret. Mirum dictu! comparuit denuo Dæmon, manens tamen extra cameram, nec ingredi voluit, et cum divexatus illum interrogasset, quare de more intrare non auderet, multis verbis injuriosis jactatis contra me, qui talia consulueram, disparuit, nec amplius reversus est.

72. Here is the other story. In the great Carthusian Friary of Pavia there lived a Deacon, Austin by name, who was subjected by a certain Demon to excessive, unheard of and scarcely credible vexations; although many exorcists had made repeated endeavours to secure his riddance, all spiritual remedies had proved unavailing. I was consulted by the Vicar of the convent, who had the cure of the poor clerk. Seeing the inefficacy of all customary exorcisms, and remembering the above-related instance, I advised a fumigation like unto the one that has been detailed, and prescribed that the Deacon should carry about his person fragrant pills of the same kind; moreover, as he was in the habit of using tobacco, and was very fond of brandy, I advised tobacco and brandy perfumed with musk. The Demon appeared to him by day and by night, under various shapes, as a skeleton, a pig, an ass, an Angel, a bird; with the figure of one or other of the Friars, once even with that of his own Abbot or Prior, exhorting him to keep his conscience clean, to trust in God, to confess frequently; he persuaded him to let him hear his sacramental confession, recited with him the psalms _Exsurgat Deus_ and _Qui habitat_, and the Gospel according to St John: and when they came to the words _Verbum caro factum est_, he bent his knee, and taking hold of a stole which was in the cell, and of the Holy-water sprinkle, he blessed the cell and the bed, and, as if he had really been the Prior, enjoined on the Demon not to venture in future to molest his subordinate; he then disappeared, thus betraying what he was, for otherwise the young deacon had taken him for his Prior. Now, notwithstanding the fumigations and perfumes I had prescribed, the Demon did not desist from his wonted apparitions; more than that, assuming the features of his victim, he went to the Vicar’s room, and asked for some tobacco and brandy perfumed with musk, of which, said he, he was extremely fond. Having received both, he disappeared in the twinkling of an eye, thus showing the Vicar that he had been played with by the Demon; and this was amply confirmed by the Deacon, who affirmed upon his oath that he had not gone that day to the Vicar’s cell. All that having been related to me, I inferred that, far from being aqueous like the Incubus who was in love with the maiden above spoken of, this Demon was igneous, or, at the very least, aerial, since he delighted in hot substances such as vapours, perfumes, tobacco and brandy. Force was added to my surmises by the temperament of the young deacon, which was choleric and sanguine, choler predominating however; for, those Demons never approach but those whose temperament tallies with their own: another confirmation of my sentiment regarding their corporeity. I therefore advised the Vicar to let his penitent take herbs that are cold by nature, such as water-lily, liver-wort, spurge, mandrake, house-leek, plantain, henbane, and others similar, make two little bundles of them and hang them up, one at his window, the other at the door of his cell, taking care to strow some also on the floor and on the bed. Marvellous to say! The Demon appeared again, but remained outside the room, which he would not enter; and, on the Deacon inquiring of him his motives for such unwonted reserve, he burst out into invectives against me for giving such advice, disappeared, and never came again.

73. Ex his duabus historiis apparet tales odores, et herbas respective sua naturali virtute, nullaque interveniente vi supernaturali Dæmones propulisse; unde convincitur quod Incubi patiuntur a qualitatibus materialibus, ut proinde concludi debeat, quod communicant in materia cum iis rebus naturalibus, a quibus fugantur, et ex consequenti corpore sint præditi, quod est intentum.

73. The two stories I have related make it clear that, by their native virtue alone, perfumes and herbs drove away Demons without the intervention of any supernatural force; Incubi are therefore subject to material conditions, and it must be inferred that they participate of the matter of the natural objects which have the power of putting them to flight, and consequently they have a body; that is what was to be shown.

74. Et magis conclusio firmatur, si impugnetur sententia Doctorum supracitatorum, dicentium, Incubum abactum a Sara fuisse vi Angeli Raphaelis, non vero jecoris piscis callionymi, qualis fuit piscis a Tobia apprehensus ad ripam Tigris, ut cum Vallesio, =Sacr. Philos.=, c. 42., scribit Cornelius a Lap. =in Tob.= c. 6. v. 2., =§ Quarto ergo=: salva enim tantorum Doctorum reverentia, talis expositio manifeste adversatur sensui patenti Textus, a quo nullo modo recedendum est dummodo non sequantur absurda. En verba Angeli ad Tobiam: “=Cordis ejus particulam, si super carbones ponas, fumus ejus extricat omne genus Dæmoniorum, sive a viro, sive a muliere, ita ut ultra non accedant ad eos, et fel valet ad unguendos oculos, in quibus fuerit albugo, et sanabuntur=.” (=Tob.=, c. 6. v. 8. et 9.) Notetur, quæso, assertio Angeli absoluta, et universalis de virtute cordis, seu jecoris, et fellis illius piscis: non enim dicit: =Si pones particulas cordis ejus super carbones, fugabis omne genus Dæmoniorum, et si felle unges oculos, in quibus fuerit albugo, sanabuntur=: si enim ita dixisset, congrua esset expositio, quod nempe Raphael supernaturali sua virtute illos effectus patrasset, ad quos perficiendos inepta esset applicatio fumi, et fellis: sed non ita loquitur, sed ait talem esse virtutem fumi, et fellis absolute.

74. But, the better to establish our conclusion, it behoves to impugn the mistake into which have fallen the Doctors above-quoted, such as Vallesius and Cornelius a Lapide, when they say that Sarah was rid from the Incubus by the virtue of the Angel Raphael, and not by that of the callionymous fish caught by Tobit on the banks of the Tigris. Indeed, saving the reverence due to such great doctors, such a construction manifestly clashes with the clear meaning of the Text, from which it is never justifiable to deviate, so long as it does not lead to absurd consequences. Here are the words spoken by the Angel to Tobias: “_If thou puttest on coals a particle of its heart, the smoke thereof will expel all kinds of Demons, whether from man or woman, so that they shall never return, and its gall is good for anointing eyes that have whiteness, and healing them._” (Tobit, c. 6, v. 8 and 9). Pray notice that the Angel’s assertion respecting the virtue of the heart or liver and gall of that fish is absolute, universal; for, he does not say: “_If thou puttest on coals particles of its heart, thou wilt put to flight all kinds of Demons, and if thou anointest with its gall eyes that have a whiteness, they shall be healed._” If he had thus spoken, I could agree with the construction that Raphael had brought about, by his own supernatural virtue, the effects which the mere application of the smoke and the gall might not have sufficed to produce: but he does not speak thus, and, on the contrary, says absolutely, that such is the virtue of the smoke and the gall.

75. Quæro modo, an Angelus veritatem puram dixerit de virtute rerum, an mentiri potuerit; pariter an albugo ab oculis Tobiæ senioris ablata sit vi naturali fellis piscis, aut virtute supernaturali Angeli Raphaelis? Angelum mentiri potuisse blasphemia hæreticalis est; sequitur igitur puram veritatem fuisse ab eo assertam; talis autem non esset, si omne genus Dæmoniorum non extricaretur a fumo jecoris piscis nisi addita vi supernaturali Angeli, maxime, si hæc esset causa principalis talis effectus, quemadmodum scribunt de hoc casu Doctores. Mentiretur absque dubio medicus qui diceret: talis herba curat taliter pleuritidem, sive epilepsiam, ut amplius non revertatur: si herba illa non curaret illas ægritudines nisi inchoate, et perfecta illarum sanatio esset ab alia herba conjuncta priori; sic pari modo mentitus fuisset Raphael, asserens fumum jecoris extricare omne genus Dæmoniorum ita ut ultra non accedant, si talis effectus esset a fumo solum inchoate, principaliter vero, et perfecte a virtute Angeli. Præterea talis fuga Dæmonis, vel secutura erat universaliter, et semper posito jecore piscis super carbones a quoquam, vel debebat sequi in illo solummodo casu particulari, jecore incusso a juniore Tobia. Si primum, ergo oportet, quod cuicumque talem fumum per accensionem jecoris paranti, assistat Angelus qui supernaturali virtute Dæmonem miraculose abigat regulariter; et hoc est absurdum; ad positionem enim rei naturalis deberet regulariter sequi miraculum, quod est incongruum, et si absque Angeli operatione fuga Dæmonis non sequeretur, mentitus fuisset Raphael asserens eam esse virtutem jecoris. Si autem effectus ille sequi non debeat, nisi in illo casu particulari, mentitus fuisset Angelus enuncians universaliter virtutem piscis, in fugando omni Dæmoniorum genere, quod non est dicendum.

75. It may be asked whether the Angel spoke the precise truth regarding the virtue of those things, or whether he might have lied; and likewise, whether the whiteness was withdrawn from the eyes of the elder Tobit by the native force of the gall of the fish, or by the supernatural virtue of the Angel Raphael? To say that the Angel could have lied would be an heretical blasphemy; he therefore spoke the precise truth; but it would no longer be so if all kinds of Demons were not expelled by the smoke of the liver of the fish, unless aided by the supernatural force of the Angel, and especially, if such aid was the principal cause of the effect produced, as the Doctors assert in the present case. It would doubtless be a lie if a physician should say: such an herb radically cures pleurisy or epilepsy, and if it should only begin the cure, the completion of which required the addition of another herb to the one first used; in the same manner, Raphael would have lied when averring that the smoke of the liver expelled all kinds of demons, so that they should not return, if that result had been only begun by the smoke, and its completion had been principally due to the virtue of the Angel. Besides, that flight of the demon was either to take place universally and by any one whomsoever putting the liver of the fish on the coals, or else it was only to occur in that particular case, the younger Tobit putting the liver on. In the first hypothesis, any person making that smoke by burning the liver should be assisted by an Angel, who, through his supernatural virtue should expel the Demons miraculously and regularly at the same time; which is absurd; for, either words have no meaning, or a natural fact cannot be regularly followed by a miracle; and, if the Demon was not put to flight without the assistance of the Angel, Raphael would have lied when ascribing that virtue to the liver. If, on the contrary, that effect was only to be brought about in that particular case, Raphael would again have lied when assigning to that fish, universally and absolutely, the virtue of expelling the Demon: now, to say that the Angel lied is not possible.

76. Ulterius albugo oculorum detracta est ab oculis Tobiæ senioris, et ipsius cæcitas sanata est a virtute naturali fellis piscis illius, ut Doctores affirmant (Liran. Dyonisius; et Seraci. =apud Cornel. in Tobi.=, c. 6. v. 9). Piscis enim Callionymus, qui vocatur Italice =bocca in capo=, et quo usus est Tobias, fel habet pro celeberrimo remedio ad detegendas albugines oculorum, ut scribunt concorditer Dioscorides, l. 1. c. 96., Galenus, =De Simpl. Medicam.=, Plinius, l. 32. c. 7., Aclanius, =De Ver. Histor.=, l. 13. c. 14., et Vallesius, =De Sacr. Philos.=, c. 47. Textus Græcus =Tobiæ=, c. 11. v. 13., habet: “=Inspersit fel super oculos patris sui, dicens: Confide, Pater; ut autem erosi sunt, detrivit oculos suos, et disquamatæ sunt ab angulis oculorum albugines=.” Cum igitur eodem contextu Angelus aperuerit Tobiæ virtutem jecoris, et fellis piscis, et hoc sua naturali virtute cæcitatem Tobiæ senioris curaverit, concludendum est, quod etiam fumus jecoris sua naturali vi Incubum fugaverit: quod concludenter confirmatur a Textu Græco, qui ad =Tobiæ= c. 8. v. 2., ubi Vulgata habet: “=Partem jecoris posuit super carbones vivos=”, sic habet: “=Accepit cinerem, sive prunam thimiamatum, et imposuit cor piscis, et hepar, fumumque fecit, et quando odoratus est Dæmon odores, fugit=.” Et Textus Hebraicus ita cantat: “=Percepit Asmodeus odorem, et fugit=.” Ex quibus textibus apparet, quod Dæmon fugit ad perceptionem fumi, sibi contrarii, ac nocentis, non autem a virtute Angeli supernaturali. Quod si in tali liberatione Saræ ab impetitione Incubi Asmodei, ultra fumum jecoris intervenit operatio Raphaelis, hoc fuit in alligatione Dæmonis in deserto superioris Ægypti, ut dicitur c. 8. v. 3. =Tobiæ=; fumus quippe jecoris nequibat in tanta distantia agere in Dæmonem, aut illum alligare. Quod inservire potest pro concordia supracitatorum Doctorum (qui voluerunt Saram perfecte liberatam a Dæmone virtute Raphaelis) cum sententia, quam tuemur: dico enim, quod ipsi senserint quod perfecta curatio Saræ a Dæmone fuerit in alligatione ejus in deserto, quæ fuit ab Angelo, quod et nos concedimus; sed extricatio, sive fugatio ejusdem a cubiculo Saræ fuerit a vi innativa jecoris piscis, quod nos tuemur.

76. The whiteness was withdrawn from the eyes of the elder Tobit, and his blindness healed, through the native virtue of the gall of that same fish, as Doctors aver. In fact, that the gall of the callionymous fish, which the Italians call _bocca in capo_, and of which Tobias made use, is a highly renowned remedy for removing the whiteness from the eyes, all are agreed, Dioscorides, Galen, Pliny, Aclanius, Vallesius, etc. The Greek Text of _Tobit_, c. 11, v. 13, says: “_He poured the gall on his father’s eyes, saying: Have confidence, father; but, there being erosion, the old man rubbed his eyes, and the scales of the whiteness came out at the corners._” Now, since, according to the same text, the Angel had disclosed to Tobias the virtue of the liver and gall of the fish, and since, through its native virtue, the gall cured the elder Tobit’s blindness, it must be inferred that it was likewise through its native force that the smoke of the liver put the Incubus to flight; which inference is conclusively confirmed by the Greek text, which, _Tobit_, c. 8, v. 2, instead of the reading in the Vulgate: “_He laid a part of the liver on burning coals_”, says explicitly: _“He took the ashes of the perfumes, and put the heart and the liver of the fish thereupon, and made a smoke therewith; the which smell when the evil spirit had smelled, he fled._” The Hebrew text says: “_Asmodeus smelled the smell, and fled._” From all those texts it appears that the Demon took to flight on smelling a smoke which was prejudicial and hurtful to himself, and nowise from the supernatural virtue of the Angel. If, in ridding Sarah from the assaults of the Incubus Asmodeus, the operation of the smoke of the liver was followed by the intervention of Raphael, it was in order to bind the Demon in the wilderness of High-Egypt, as related, _Tobit_, c. 8, v. 3; for, at such a distance, the smoke of the liver could neither operate on the Demon, nor bind him. And here we have the means of reconciling our opinion with that of the above-mentioned Doctors, who ascribe to Raphael’s power Sarah’s complete riddance from the Demon: for, I say with them, that the cure of Sarah was completed by the binding of the Demon in the wilderness, the deed of the Angel; which I concede; but I maintain that the deliverance properly called, that is to say, the ejection from Sarah’s bed-room, was the direct effect of the virtue of the liver of the fish.

77. Probatur tertio principaliter nostra conclusio de existentia talium animalium, seu de Incuborum corporeitate, ex auctoritate D. Hieronymi, =in vita S. Pauli primi Eremitæ=. Refert is D. Antonium iter per desertum arripuisse, ut ad visendum D. Paulum perveniret, et post nonnullas diætas itineris Centaurum reperiisse, a quo cum fuisset percontatus mansionem D. Pauli, et ille barbarum quid infrendens potius, quam proloquens, dextræ protensione manus iter D. Antonio demonstrasset, in sylvam se abdidit cursu concitatissimo. Prosecutus iter S. Abbas in quadam valle invenit haud grandem quemdam homunculum, aduncis manibus, fronte cornibus asperata, cujus extrema pars corporis in caprarum pedes desinebat. Ad ejus aspectum substitit Antonius, et timens Diaboli artes signo Sanctæ Crucis se munivit. Ad tale signum nec fugit, nec metuit homuncio ille, immo ad sanctum senem actu humili appropinquans, palmarum fructus ad viaticum quasi pacis obsides illi offerebat. Tum B. Antonius quisnam esset interrogans, hoc ab eo responsum accepit: “=Mortalis ego sum, et unus ex accolis Eremi, quos vario errore delusa Gentilitas Faunos, Satyros, et Incubos vocans colit; legatione fungor gregis mei; precamur, ut pro nobis communem Deum depreceris, quem pro salute mundi venisse cognovimus, et universam terram exiit sonus ejus=.” Ad quæ gaudens D. Antonius de gloria Christi, conversus ad Alexandriam, et baculo terram percutiens, ait: “=Veh tibi, Civitas meretrix, quæ pro diis animalia veneraris!=” Hæc D. Hieronymus, qui late prosequitur hoc factum, ipsius virtutem longo comprobans sermone.

77. A third principal proof of our conclusion regarding the existence of those animals, in other words, respecting the corporeity of Incubi, is adduced by the testimony of St Hieronymus, in his _Life of St Paul, the first Hermit_. St Anthony, says he, set on a journey to visit St Paul. After travelling several days, he met a Centaur, of whom he inquired the hermit’s abode; whereupon the Centaur, growling some uncouth and scarcely intelligible answer, shew the way with his out-stretched hand, and fled with the utmost speed into a wood. The Holy Abbot kept on his way, and, in a dale, met a little man, almost a dwarf, with crooked hands, horned brow, and his lower extremities ending with goat’s feet. At the sight of him, St Anthony stood still, and fearing the arts of the Devil, comforted himself with a sign of the Cross. But, far from running away, or even seeming frightened at it, the little fellow respectfully approached the old man, and tendered him, as a peace offering, dates for his journey. The blessed St Anthony having then inquired who he was: “_I am a mortal_,” replied he, “_and one of the inhabitants of the Wilderness, whom Gentility, under its varied delusions, worships under the names of Fauns, Satyrs and Incubi; I am on a mission from my flock: we request thee to pray for us unto the common God, whom we know to have come for the salvation of the world, and whose praises are sounded all over the earth_.” Rejoicing at the glory of Christ, St Anthony, turning his face towards Alexandria, and striking the ground with his staff, cried out: “_Woe be unto thee, thou harlot City, who worshipest animals as Gods!_” Such is the narrative of St Hieronymus, who expatiates at length on the fact, explaining its import in a long discourse.

78. De hujus historiæ veritate dubitare temerarium est, cum eam constanter referat SS. Ecclesiæ Doctorum maximus D. Hieronymus, de cujus auctoritate nullus Catholicus dubitabit. Addit =fol. 21. 25=. Notandæ proinde veniunt illius circumstantiæ, quæ sententiam nostram evidentissime confirmant.

78. It were indeed rash to doubt the truth of the above recital, constantly referred to by the greatest of the Doctors of the Holy Church, St Hieronymus, whose authority no Catholic will ever deny. Let us therefore investigate the circumstances thereof which most clearly confirm our opinion.

79. Primo notandum est, quod si ullus Sanctorum artibus Dæmonis impetitus fuit; si ullus diversas ejus artes nocendi calluit; si ullus victorias, ac illustria de eodem trophea reportavit, is fuit D. Antonius, ut constat ex ejus vita a D. Athanasio descripta. Dum igitur D. Antonius homunculum illum non tanquam Diabolum agnovit, sed animal intitulavit, dicens: =Veh tibi, Civitas meretrix, quæ pro Diis animalia veneraris!= convincitur, quod ille nullo modo fuit Diabolus, seu purus spiritus de cœlo dejectus, ac damnatus, sed aliquod aliud animal. Et confirmatur, quia D. Antonius erudiens suos monachos, eosque animans ad metuendas Dæmonis violentias, aiebat, prout habetur in lectionibus Breviarii Romani in festo =S. Antonii Abb.= l. 1., quæ recitantur in festo ipsius: “=Mihi credite, Fratres, pertimescit Satanas piorum vigilias, orationes, jejunia, voluntariam paupertatem, misericordiam, et humilitatem; maxime vero ardentem amorem in Christum Dominum, cujus unico Sanctissimæ Crucis signo debilitatus fugit=.” Dum igitur homunculus ille, contra quem D. Antonius Crucis signo se munivit, ad ejus aspectum nec pavit, nec fugit, immo confidenter, humiliter que accessit ad eum dactalos illi offerens, signum est, illum nullo modo Diabolum fuisse.

79. Firstly, we must observe that if ever a Saint was assailed by the arts of the Demon, saw through his infernal devices, and carried off victories and trophies from the contest, that Saint was St Anthony, as is shown by his life written by St Athanasius. Now, since in that little man St Anthony did not recognize a devil but an animal, saying: “_Woe be unto thee, thou harlot City, who worshipest animals as Gods!_”, it is clear that it was no devil or pure spirit ejected from heaven and damned, but some kind of animal. Still more: St Anthony, when instructing his friars and cautioning them against the assaults of the Demon, said to them, as related in the Roman Breviary (_Festival of St Anthony, Abbot_, b. I): “_Believe me, my brethren, Satan dreads the vigils of pious men, their prayers, fasts, voluntary poverty, compassion and humility; but, above all, he dreads their burning love of our Lord Christ, at the mere sign of whose most Holy Cross he flies disabled._” As the little man, against whom St Anthony guarded himself with a sign of the Cross, neither took fright nor fled, but approached the Saint confidently and humbly, offering him some dates, it is a sure sign that he was no Devil.

80. Secundo notandum, quod homunculus ille dixit: =Mortalis et ego sum=; ex quibus verbis docemur, quod ille erat animal morti obnoxium, et proinde, quod per generationem esse accepit: spiritus enim immaterialis immortalis est, quia simplex, et ideo non accipit esse per generationem ex præjacente materia, sed per creationem; unde nec amittit esse per corruptionem, quæ dicitur mors, sed per annihilationem tantum potest desinere esse. Quod si ille se mortalem esse dixit, professus est se esse animal.

80. Secondly, we must observe that the little man said: “_I also am a mortal_”, whence it follows that he was an animal subject to death, and consequently called into being through generation; for, an immaterial spirit is immortal, because simple, and consequently is not called into being through generation from preexistent matter, but through creation, and, consequently also, cannot lose it through the corruption called death; its existence can only come to an end through annihilation. Therefore, when saying he was mortal, he professed himself an animal.

81. Tertio notandum, quod ait se cognovisse communem Deum in carne humana fuisse passum. Ex his verbis convincitur illud fuisse animal rationale: siquidem bruta nihil agnoscunt, nisi sensibile et præsens, unde ab ipsis Deus nullo modo cognosci potest. Quod si homunculus ille ait, se cum aliis suis cognovisse Deum in carne humana passum, hoc probat, quod aliquo revelante habuit notitiam de Deo, sicut etiam nos habemus de illo fidem revelatam; pariter que Deum carnem humanam assumpsisse, et in ea passum: quæ duo sunt articuli nostræ Fidei principales, nempe Dei unius, et trini existentia, et ipsius Incarnatio, Passio, et Resurrectio; ex quibus omnibus habetur, ut dicebam, illud fuisse animal rationale capax divinæ cognitionis, per revelationem, ut nos, et proinde pollens anima rationali, et ex consequenti immortali.

81. Thirdly, we must observe that he said he knew that the common God had suffered in human flesh. Those words show him to have been a rational animal, for brutes know nothing but what is sensible and present, and can therefore have no knowledge of God. If that little man said that he and his fellows were aware of God having suffered in human flesh, it shows that, by means of some revelation, he had acquired the notion of God, as we have ourselves the revealed faith. That God assumed human flesh and suffered in it, is the essence of the two principal articles of our Faith: the existence of God one and threefold, His Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection. All that shows, as I said, that it was a rational animal, capable of the knowledge of God through revelation, like ourselves, and endowed with a rational, and consequently, immortal soul.

82. Quarto notandum, quod oraverit nomine omnium gregis sui, cujus legatione fungi se profitebatur, D. Antonium, ut communem Deum pro illis deprecaretur. Ex his deducitur, quod homunculus ille capax erat beatitudinis, et damnationis, et quod non erat in termino, sed in via: ex hoc enim, quod, ut supra probatum est, se prodidit rationalem, et anima immortali consequenter donatum, consequens est, quod et beatitudinis, et damnationis capax sit: hæc enim propria passio est Creaturæ rationalis, ut constat ex natura angelica, et humana. Item deducitur, quod ipse erat in via, et proinde capax meriti, et demeriti: si enim fuisset in termino, fuisset vel beatus, vel damnatus; neutrum autem potuit esse, quia orationes D. Antonii, quibus se commendabat, ipsi nullo modo prodesse potuissent, si fuisset finaliter damnatus; et si beatus fuisset, illis non eguisset. Quod ipsi se commendavit, signum est eas sibi prodesse potuisse, et proinde ipsum fuisse in statu viæ, et meriti.

82. Fourthly, we must observe that, in the name of his whole flock whose delegate he professed to be, he besought St Anthony to pray for them to the common God. Wherefrom I infer that that little man was capable of beatitude and damnation, and that he was not _in termino_ but _in via_; for, from his being, as has been shown above, rational and consequently endowed with an immortal soul, it flows that he was capable of beatitude and damnation, the proper share of every rational Creature, Angel or man. I likewise infer that he was on the way, _in via_, that is, capable of merit and demerit; for, if he had been at the goal, _in termino_, he would have been either blessed or damned. Now, he could be neither the one nor the other; for, St Anthony’s prayers, to which he commended himself, could have been of no assistance to him, if finally damned, and, if blessed, he stood in no need of them. Since he commended himself to those prayers, it shows they could be of avail to him, and, consequently, that he was on the way to salvation, _in statu viæ et meriti_.

83. Quinto notandum, quod homunculus ille professus est, se esse legatum aliorum suæ speciei, dum dixit =legatione fungor gregis mei=, ex quibus verbis plura deducuntur. Unum est, quod homunculus ille non solus erat, unde potuisset credi monstrum raro contingens, sed quod plures erant ejusdem speciei; tum quia simul congregati gregem faciebant; tum quia nomine omnium veniebat: quod esse non posset si multorum voluntates in illum non convenissent. Aliud est, quod isti profitentur vitam socialem: ex quo nomine multorum unus ex ipsis missus est. Aliud est, quod quamvis dicantur habitare in Eremo, non tamen in eo fixa est eorum permanentia: siquidem cum D. Antonius in illa eremo alias non fuisset (distabat enim illa per multas dietas ab eremo D. Antonii), scire non potuerunt quisnam ille esset cujusve sanctitatis; necessarium igitur fuit, quod alibi eum cognoverint, et ex consequenti extra desertum illum vagaverint.

83. Fifthly, we must observe that the little man professed to be delegated by others of his kind, when saying: “_I am on a mission from my flock_”, words from which many inferences may be deduced. One is, that the little man was not alone of his kind, an exceptional and solitary monster, but that there were many of the same species, since congregating they made up a flock, and that he came in the name of all; which could not have been, had not the will of many centred in him. Another is, that those animals lead a social life, since one of them was sent in the name of many. Another again is, that, although living in the Wilderness, it is not assigned to them as a permanent abode; for St Anthony having never previously been in that desert, which was far distant from his hermitage, they could not have known who he was nor what his degree of sanctity; it was therefore necessary that they should have become acquainted with him elsewhere, and, consequently, that they should have travelled beyond that wilderness.

84. Ultimo notandum, quod homunculus ille ait esse ex iis, =quos cæco errore delusa Gentilitas Faunos, Satyros et Incubos= appellant; et ex his verbis convincitur nostrum intentum principale, Incubos nempe esse animalia rationalia beatitatis, et damnationis capacia.

84. Lastly, we must observe that the little man said he was one of those whom _the Gentiles, blinded by error, call Fauns, Satyrs and Incubi_: and by these words is shown the truth of our principal proposition: that Incubi are rational animals, capable of beatitude and damnation.

85. Talium homuncionum frequens est apparitio in metallorum fodinis, ut scribit Gregorius Agricola, lib. =De Animal. subterran.=, prope finem. Isti nempe coram fossoribus minerarum comparent induti habitu, qualem habent fossores ipsi, et jocantur inter se, tripudiantque, ac rident et cachinnantur, parvosque lapides joco mittunt in metallarios, et tunc signum est, ait Auctor prædictus, optimi proventus, ac inventionis alicujus rami, aut trunci principalis arboris mineralis.

85. The apparition of such little men is of frequent occurrence in metallic mines, as is written by Gregorius Agricola in his book _De Animal. subterran._ They appear to the miners, clothed like themselves, play and caper together, laugh and titter, and throw little stones at them for the sake of amusement: a sign, says the above-named Author, of excellent success, and of the finding of some branch or body of a mineral tree.

86. Tales homunculos subterraneos negat Petrus Thyræus Novesianus, lib. =De Terrificatio. Noctur.=, c. 2., =per totum=, nixus argumentis sane puerilibus, quæ sunt hæc: si darentur hujusmodi homunciones, ubinam degunt, et quænam, et ubi habent sua domicilia, qua ratione genus suum conservant, si per generationem, aut quomodo? si oriantur, et intereant, quo cibo vitam suam sustentent; si beatitudinis, et damnationis capaces sint, et quibus mediis propriam salutem consequantur? Hæc sunt argumenta Thyræi, quibus permotus negat talem existentiam.

86. Peter Thyræus, of Neuss, in his book _De Terrification. nocturn._, denies the existence of such little men, and supports his denial upon the following truly puerile arguments: given such little men, says he, where do they live, how and where do they dwell? How do they keep up their kind, through generation or otherwise? Are they born, do they die, with what food do they sustain themselves? Are they capable of beatitude and damnation, and by what means do they procure their salvation? Such are the arguments upon which Thyræus relies for denying that existence.

87. Sed viri parum cordati est negare id, quod graves Auctores, fideque digni scribunt, quodque quotidiana constat experientia. Argumenta Thyræi nec minimum cogunt, ac ea solvimus supra a nº 45. et seq. Remanet solum satisfacere quæstioni ubinam locorum habitent hujusmodi homunculi, seu Incubi? Ad quod dico, quod ut supra dedimus nº 71. ex Guaccio, istorum alii sunt terrei, alii aquei, alii aerei, alii ignei, quorum nempe corpora, aut constant ex talium elementorum subtiliori parte, sive licet ex pluribus constent elementis, prævalet tamen in iis, aut aqua, aut aer pro ipsorum natura. Mansiones igitur, et domicilia eorum erunt in elemento illo cujus natura in eorum corporibus prævalet: ignei enim nisi violenter, et forte nullomodo in aquis aut locis palustribus morabuntur, cum hæc sint sibi contraria, nec aquei ad superiorem ætheris partem ascendere poterunt ob sibi repugnantem regionis illius subtilitatem, quod etiam videmus accidere hominibus, qui ad quorumdam Alpium summa juga pervenire nequeunt præ summa aeris subtilitate, quæ homines crassiori aeri assuetos nutrire nequit.

87. But it really shows little judgment in a man, to deny that which has been written by grave and credible Authors, and confirmed by every day experience. Thyræus’s arguments are worthless and have been already refuted, N^{rs} 45 and following. The only question which remains to be answered is this: where do those little men, or Incubi, dwell? To that I reply: as has been shown above (N^r 71), according to Guaccius, some are earthly, some aqueous, some aerial, some igneous, that is to say, that their bodies are made of the most subtle part of one of the elements, or, if of the combination of many elements, that yet there is one which predominates, either water or air, according to their nature. Their dwellings will consequently be found in that element which is prevalent in their bodies: igneous Incubi, for instance, will only stay forcibly, may be will not stay at all, in water or marshes, which are adverse to them; and aqueous Incubi will not be able to rise into the upper part of ether, the subtlety of which region is repugnant to them. We see the like happen to men who, accustomed to thicker air, cannot reach certain lofty ridges of the Alps where the air is too subtle for their lungs.

88. Pluribus sanctorum Patrum auctoritatibus, quas congerit Molina in p. p. D. Thom., q. 50., ar. 1. circa med., probare possemus Dæmonum corporeitatem; quæ tamen stante determinatione Concilii Lateranensis de incorporeitate Angelorum, ut dictum fuit supra nº 37., exponi debent de Dæmonibus istis Incubis, ac viatoribus adhuc, non autem de Damnatis. Tamen ne nimis longus sim, solius D. Augustini, summi Ecclesiæ Doctoris, auctoritates damus, quibus evidenter convincitur illum fuisse in sententia, quam nos docemus.

88. Many testimonies of Holy Fathers, gathered by Molina, in his _Commentary of St Thomas_, would go to prove the corporeity of Demons; but, taking into account the above-quoted decision of the Council of Lateran (N^r 37), concerning the incorporeity of Angels, we must understand that the Holy Fathers had in view those Incubi Demons which are still on the way to salvation, and not those that are damned. However, to make matters short, we merely give the authority of St Austin, that eminent Doctor of the Church, and it will be clearly seen how thoroughly his doctrine harmonizes with ours.

89. D. Augustinus igitur, lib. 2. =super Genesim= ad litteram c. 17. =de Dæmonibus=, sic habet: “=Quædam vera nosse, partim quia subtiliore sensus acumine, partim quia subtilioribus corporibus vigent=,” et lib. 3. c. 1., “=etsi Dæmones aerea sunt animalia, quoniam corporum aereorum natura vigent=.” Et Epistola 115. ad Hebridium affirmat, eos esse “=animantia aerea, seu ætherea acerrimi sensus=.” Et =de Civit. Dei= lib. 11. c. 23., affirmat “=Dæmonem pessimum habere corpus aereum=.” Et lib. 21. c. 10. scripsit: “=Sunt sua quædam etiam Dæmonibus corpora, sicut doctis hominibus visum est, ex isto aere crasso et humido=.” Et lib. 17. c. 23. ait “=se non audere definire, an Angeli corpore aereo, ita corporati possint etiam hanc pati libidinem, ut quomodo possint, sentientibus fœminis misceantur=.” Et in Enarrat. in Psal. 85. ait “=corpora beatorum futura post resurrectionem, qualia sunt corpora Angelorum=;” et in Enarrat. in Psal. 45. ait “=corpus Angelicum inferius esse anima=.” Et lib. =De Divinit. Dæmonum=, passim per totum, maxime c. 23., docet “=Dæmones subtilia habere corpora=.”

89. St Austin, then, in his _Commentary on Genesis_, book 2, ch. 17, writes as follows concerning Demons: “_They have the knowledge of some truths, partly through the more subtle acumen of their senses, partly through the greater subtilty of their bodies_”, and, book 3, ch. 1: “_Demons are aerial animals, because they partake of the nature of aerial bodies._” In his Epistle 115 to Hebridius, he affirms that they are “_aerial or ethereal animals, endowed with very sharp senses_.” In the _City of God_, book 11, ch. 13, he says that “_the worst Demon has an aerial body_”. Book 21, ch. 10, he writes: “_The bodies of certain Demons, as has been believed by some learned men, are even made of the thick and damp air which we breathe._” Book 15, ch. 23: _“He dares not define whether Angels, with an aerial body, could feel the lust which would incite them to communicate with women._” In his commentary on Psalm 85, he says that “_the bodies of the blessed will, after resurrection, be like unto the bodies of Angels_;” Psalm 14, he observes that “_the body of Angels is inferior to the soul_.” And, in his book _De Divinit. Dæmonum_, he every-where, and especially ch. 23, teaches that “_Demons have subtle bodies_”.

90. Potest etiam sententia nostra auctoritatibus Sacræ Scripturæ comprobari, quæ licet ab Expositoribus aliter declarentur, non incongrue tamen ad nostrum intentum possunt aptari. Prima est Psalmi 77., v. 24. et 25., ubi habetur: =panem Angelorum manducavit homo, panem cœli dedit eis=. Hic loquitur David de Manna, qua cibatus fuit Populus Israel toto tempore quo peregrinus fuit in deserto. Quærendum ergo venit, quo sensu Manna dici possit =panis Angelorum=. Scio quidem plerosque Doctores exponere hunc passum in sensu mystico, aientes in Manna figuratam esse =Sacram Eucharistiam=, quæ vocatur =panis Angelorum=, quia Angeli fruuntur visione Dei, qui per concomitantiam in Eucharistia reperitur.

90. Our doctrine can also be confirmed by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures, which, however diversely construed by commentators, are yet capable of adaptation to our proposition. First, Psalm 77, v. 24 and 25, it is said: “_The Lord had given them of the bread of heaven; man did eat angels’ food._” David here alludes to Manna, which fed the People of Israel during the whole time that they wandered in the wilderness. It will be asked in what sense it can be said of Manna that it is the _Bread of Angels_. I am aware that most Doctors construe this passage in a mystical sense, saying that Manna figures the Holy Eucharist, which is styled the _bread of Angels_, because Angels enjoy the sight of God who, by concomitance, is found in the Eucharist.

91. Sed hæc expositio aptissima est quidem, et quam amplectitur Ecclesia in officio =Sanctissimi Corporis Christi=, sed in sensu spirituali est. Ego autem quæro sensum litteralem: neque enim in illo Psalmo David loquitur prophetice de futuris, sicut facit in aliis locis, ut proinde facile non sit sensum litteralem habere; sed loquitur historice de præteritis. Ille enim Psalmus, ut patet legenti, est pura anacephalestis, seu compendium omnium beneficiorum, quæ contulit Deus Populo Hebræo ab egressu ipsius de Ægypto, usque ad tempus Davidis, et in eo versu loquitur de Manna Deserti, ut proinde quæratur quomodo, et quo sensu Manna vocetur Panis Angelorum.

91. A most proper construction assuredly, and which is adopted by the Church in the office of the _Most Holy Body of Jesus-Christ_; but it is in a spiritual sense. Now, what I want, is the literal sense; for, in that Psalm, David does not speak, as a prophet, of things to be, as he does in other places where a literal sense is not easily to be gathered; he speaks here as a historian, of things gone by. That Psalm, as is evident to whoever reads it, is a pure anacephalæosis, or summing up of all the benefits conferred by God on the Hebrew People from the exodus from Egypt to the days of David, and the Manna of the Wilderness is spoken of in it; how, and in what sense is it styled the Bread of Angels? that is the question.

92. Scio alios, Lyran., Euthim., Bellarm., Titelman., Genebrard., in Psal. 77. v. 24. et 25., interpretari Panem Angelorum Panem ab Angelis paratum, seu Angelorum ministerio a Cœlo demissum; Hugonem autem Cardinalem Panem Angelorum exponere: quia ille cibus hoc efficiebat in Judæis, quod in Angelis efficit cibus illorum, pro parte: Angeli enim non incurrunt infirmitatem. Voluerunt enim expositores Hebræi, ut etiam asseverat Josephus, quod Judæi in Deserto vescentes manna, nec senescerent, nec ægrotarent, nec lassarentur; proinde illa esset tanquam panis, quo vescuntur Angeli, qui nec senio, nec ægritudine, nec lassitudine unquam laborant.

92. I am aware that others look upon the Bread of Angels as bread prepared by Angels, or sent down from Heaven by the ministry of Angels. But Cardinal Hugo explains that qualification by saying that that food partly produced the same effect upon the Jews, which the food of Angels produces upon the latter. Angels, in fact, are not liable to any infirmity; on the other hand Hebrew commentators, and Josephus himself, assert that whilst in the Wilderness, living upon Manna, the Jews neither grew old, nor sickened, nor tired; so that Manna was like unto the bread that Angels feed upon, who know neither old age, nor sickness, nor fatigue.

93. Istas quidem expositiones recipere æquum est, utpote tantorum Doctorum aucthoritate suffultas. Facessit tamen difficultatem, quod ministerio Angelorum Hebræis non minus parata fuere columna nubis, et ignis, coturnices, et aqua de petra, quam manna; nec tamen ista dicta fuere columna, aqua, aut potus Angelorum. Cur ergo potius vocari deberet manna, quia parata ministerio Angelorum, =Panis Angelorum=, quam =Potus Angelorum= aqua eorumdem ministerio saxo educta? Insuper in sacra Scriptura panis dum dicitur =panis alicujus=, dicitur =panis ejus= qui illo vescitur, non ejus qui illum parat, aut fabricat, et de hoc infinita habemus exempla in sacra Scriptura: ut =Exod.= c. 23. v. 25. =Benedicam panibus tuis, et aquis=; lib. 2. =Reg.= c. 12. v. 3. =De pane illius comedens=; =Tob.= c. 4, v. 17. =Panem tuum cum egenis comede=; et v. 18. =Panem tuum super sepulturam Justi constitue=; =Ecclesiast.= c. 11. v. 1. =Mitte panem tuum super transeuntes aquas=; =Isai.= c. 58. v. 7. =Frange esurienti panem tuum=; =Jerem.= c. 11. v. 19. =Mittamus lignum in panem ejus=; =Matth.= c. 15. v. 26. =Non est bonum sumere panem filiorum=; =Luc.= c. 11. v. 3. =Panem nostrum quotidianum.= Ex quibus locis patenter habetur, quod panis dicitur ejus qui eo vescitur, non vero, qui ipsum conficit, affert, aut parat. Commode igitur in loco citato Psalmi accipi potest =Panis Angelorum=, cibus quo vescuntur Angeli non quidem incorporei (isti enim materiali cibo non egent), sed corporei, ista nempe rationalia animalia, de quibus hucusque disseruimus, degentia in aere, et quæ ratione tenuitatis suorum corporum, ac rationalis naturæ, quam maxime ad Angelos immateriales accedunt, ut proinde nuncupentur.

93. These interpretations should indeed be received with the respect due to the authority of such eminent Doctors. There is however one difficulty in this: that, by the ministry of Angels, the pillars of the cloud and fire, the quails, and the water from the rock were provided for the Hebrews, no less than the Manna; and yet they were not styled the pillar, the water or the beverage of Angels. Why therefore should Manna be called _Bread of Angels_, because provided by their ministry, when the qualification _Beverage of Angels_ is not given to the water drawn from the rock likewise by their ministry? Besides, in Holy Scripture, when it is said of bread that it is the _bread of somebody_, it is always the _bread of him_ who feeds on it, not of him who provides or makes it. Of this there are numberless instances: thus, _Exodus_, ch. 23, v. 25: “_That I may bless thy bread and thy water_;” _Kings_, book 2, ch. 12, v. 3: “_Eating of his bread_;” _Tobit_, ch. 4, v. 17: “_Give of thy bread to the hungry_,” and v. 18: “_Pour out thy bread on the burial of the Just_;” _Ecclesiasticus_, ch. 11, v. 1: “_Scatter thy bread over the flowing waters_;” _Isaiah_, ch. 58, v. 7: “_Deal thy bread to the hungry_;” _Jeremiah_, ch. 11, v. 19: “_Let us put wood into his bread_;” _Matthew_, ch. 15, v. 26: “_It is not meet to take the children’s bread_;” _Luke_, ch. 11, v. 3: “_Our daily bread_.” All those passages clearly show that, in Scripture, the bread of somebody is the bread of him who feeds upon it, not of him who makes, brings or provides it. In the passage of the Psalm we have quoted, _Bread of Angels_ may therefore easily be taken to mean the food of Angels, not incorporeal indeed, since these require no material food, but corporeal, that is to say of those rational animals we have discoursed of, who live in the air, and, from the subtlety of their bodies and their rationality, approximate so closely to immaterial Angels as to fall under the same denomination.