An Examen of Witches/Chapter 6
Chapter VI.
Whether One Witch can Harm Another.
We have said that Groz-Jacques sent two devils into the body of the witch Rollande; and out of this arises the question whether one witch can harm another, to which I propose to devote a few words. It appears that the answer must be in the affirmative for several reasons, chiefly because, just as there are grades in the angelic Hierarchy, so among devils there is a sort of disordered order, which I would rather call a Cacarchy, whereby some are more potent than others. v. Peter Lombard, Sent. II., distinc. 6. Thyr.
Job 41.
Matth. 12.
Mark 5.
Luke 11.
Matth. 12.This may be verified by several passages of Holy Scripture; for in Job, speaking of Behemoth, it is said; “He is a king over all the children of pride.” And in another place Beelzebub is called the Prince of the Devils; for the Jews reproached Jesus Christ because he cast out devils by Beelzebub the Prince of the Devils. But, more than this, our Lord clearly shows in St. Matthew that all devils have not the same power or might, in these words: “If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself.”
v. Flagell. Dæmon. Docum., 4.Our exorcists are well aware of this; for they sometimes command Lucifer and the other more potent devils to torment those which are inferior to them, when the latter prove stubborn in refusing to come out of the bodies of those whom they have possessed.
St. August., Cass., St. Thomas., Perer., Binsfeld. de confession. malefic., dub. princip., conclusio 10.If, then, it be true that one devil is more potent than another, as we have just shown, and as the Theologians are agreed, it follows that it will be easy for one witch to harm another, provided that he has control over a more powerful devil than that other; for a witch’s power is governed by that of the devil which is his familiar.
Let us take some examples to confirm this statement. Mall. Malefic. II. 2.Sprenger tells that an old witch caused a younger witch to die, that she might heal a Bishop who had been stricken sick by the young witch. Formic. 3.Nider writes that in Germany when a man is bewitched, he goes to an old witch, who pours molten lead into water until, with the help of the Devil, an image is formed of the lead; on which the old woman asks the sick man in which part of the body he wishes her to torture the witch who has cast the spell on him; and if he agrees to her harming the witch, she takes a knife and strikes the image with it; and at the same instant the witch receives as many blows as were given to the image. I remember also that, when Antoine Tornier was confronted with Jaquema Paget, Jaquema accused her of having threatened her several times, and even of having often said that she would prevent her cows from yielding milk, although her own cows should yield abundantly. In this manner, therefore, it appears that one witch can harm another.