A certain Bohemian …brought his only son, a secular priest
to Rome to be delivered, because he was possessed.
I [an inquisitor] went into a refectory, and that the priest and his
father came and sat down at the same table with me. …the father kept sighing
and praying Almight God that his journey might prove to have been successful.
I felt great pity for him, and began to ask what was the reason of
his journey and of his sorrow.
Then he, in the hearing of his son… answered:"Alas! I have a son possessed
by a devil and with great trouble and
expense I have brought him here to be delivered."
…I was a little frightened and looked at [the son] closely; and because
he took his food with such modesty, and
answered pioulsy to all questions, I began to doubt that he was not possessed,
but that some infirmity
had happened to him.
Then the son himself told what had happened…saying: A certain witch
brought this evil upon me. for I was rebuking
her on some matter concernined with the discipline of the Church, upbraiding
her rather strongly since
she was of an obstinate disposition, when she said that after a few days
that would happen to me which
has happened. And
the devil which possess me has told me that a charm was placed by the witchunder
a certain tree, and that until it was remeoved I could not be delivered;
but he would not tell me which
was the tree."
But I would not in the least have believed his words if he had not
at once informed me of the facts of the case.
For when I asked about the length of the intervals during which he
had the use of his reason more than is usual in the
case of persons possessed he answered:" I am only deprived of the use of
my reason when i wish to
contemplate holy things or to visit sacred places. For the devil specifically
told me this in his own words
uttered through my mouth that, because he had up to that time been much
offended by my sermons to the
people, he would in no way allow me to preach."
…according to the father he was a preaacher full of grace and loved
by all.
But I, the Inquisitor, wishing for proofs, had him taken for a fortnight
and more to various holy places…and in these
places he uttered horrible cries while he was being exorcised, now saying
that he wished to come forth,
and after a little maintaining the contrary.
…as we have said before, in all his behaviour he remained a sobeer
priest without any eccentricity, except during the
process of any exorcisms; and when these were finished…he showed no sign
of madness or any immoderate
action.
But when he passed any church, and genuflected in honour of the Glorious
Virgin, the devil made him thrust his
tongue far out of his mouth; and when he was asked whether he could not
restrain himself from doing this,
he answered: "I
cannot help myself at all, for so he uses all my limbs and organs,
my neck, my tongue, and
my lungs, whenever he pleases, causing me to speak or to cry out; and i
hear the words as if they were
spoken by myself, but I am altogether unable to restrain them; and when
I try to engage in prayer he
attackes me more violently, thrusting out my tongue."…
And there was in the Church of S. Peter a column brought from Solomon's
Temple, by virtue of which many who are
obsessed with devils are liberated…but even here he could not be delivered,
owing to the hidden purpose
of God which reserved another method for his liberation.
What
was the method reserved for his liberation?
Eventually it proved that this domoniac was
of that sort of which the Saviour spoke in the Gospel saying: This sort
goeth not out save by prayer and fasting. For a venerable Bishop, who had
been driven from his see by the Turks, piously took compassion on him,
and by fasting on bread and water for forty days, and by prayers and exorcisms,
at last through the grace of God delivered him and sent him back to his
home rejoicing.
Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, The
Malleus Maleficarum, [Dover Publications, 1971]pp.131-2