CHAPTER VI

The Devil Wishes to Perpetuate the Race of Witches. Argument.
HE infection of witchcraft is often spread through a sort of contagion to children by their fallen
COMPENDIUM
BK. II. CH. Ve.
parents, when these study to find favour with their Cacodemons by so doing. For the greed of Satan was ever infinite and insatiable: thus, when once he has gotten a foothold in any family, he is never known to relinquish it except with the greatest difficulty. And it is one among many sure and certain proofs against those who are charged and accused of witchcraft, if it be found that their parents before them were guilty of this crime. There are daily examples of this inherited taint in children, for the devil is always busy to increase the number of his own. And there can be no more fruit- ful means of attaining this end than by urging and compelling those who are already in his power to cor- rupt their children.
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Examples.
Nicole Mo- relle con- fessed at Barr in January 1587 that her father had taken her to the demon’s assemblies at night before she had reached puberty. There was another who, although she was not yet of marriageable age, was taken by her mother far into a dense wood, being promised that she would meet a handsome young man, whom she might easily take to husband: and it happened as her mother had said; but as soon as she was embraced by him she felt herself deceived, for she seemed to be embraced by some statue of marble, he lay so stiff and heavy upon her.
At Gebweiler, in July 1568, Henry and Catharine gave their son Hanzel a Succuba for wife. As far as he could
BK. II. CH. VI.
see at his first approach, her hair and garments were black, and her feet de- formed like horse’s hooves; yet he did not on that account repulse her, but immediately lay with her in greedy pleasure, having abjured all holy thoughts: but it was as if he had entered an icy cavern, and he went away ashamed and sorrowful without accomplishing his purpose.
At Girancourt, in October 1586, Domenico Petronius said that before he was twelve years old he had been taken by his mother to those abomin- able meetings that he might marry a wife. For marriages are often per- formed at the Sabbat. Colette the Fisher’s wife and many others have confessed this. And Bertrande the Barber’s wife, and Synchen May re- ported that they had witnessed a wed- ding of this sort, when they happened to be present there one night, and that in place of the customary wedding gifts the couple were only required to stoop down and blow upon each other’s fundaments.
Near Ribeauville Domenique Falvet was picking rushes with her mother for binding up the vines, and they lay on the ground to rest. After they had talked a little, the mother began to warn her not to be frightened if by any chance she saw something strange, for there would be no danger to her in it. When she had said this, there sud- denly appeared something in human form which looked like a shoe-maker, for he was girt round the middle with twine rubbed with pitch. The girl was made to swear an oath to this man, and he marked her on the brow with his nail as a sign of her new allegiance, and then he lay with her in the sight of her mother. The mother in her turn offered herself to be defiled by him in her daughter’s presence. Then they joined hands and danced round in a ring for a while; after which he gave them what seemed to be money (but afterwards it crumbled to dust), and disappeared into air and returned to his own place.
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MALEFICARUM
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At Jouy-aux-Arches, in 1581, Fran- coise Hacquart, in order to free herself from persecution by a demon, de- livered up to the demon her daughter Jeanne, who was not yet seven years old. This was the chief of her many confessions at her trial. Now since there was evidence that the child had consented to this thing, and this was largely substantiated by her own clear statements concerning the witches’ Sabbats at which she had been present, it began to be commonly thought that she should be held equally guilty with her mother. But she seemed too young to be tried as a criminal, and no evil act of witchcraft could be proved against her; so a lady of that place took her into her own house to try to wean her from that execrable way of life with every holy means in her power. After her mother had been put to death, therefore, she was kept in the matron’s house for some time and urged to lead a good life, and they all thought that she had verily shaken off the demon’s yoke and won back her former liberty. But alas! one night as she was sleeping as usual with the serving maids, the demon seized her and lifted her up as if he were about to carry her away with him: and it is believed that he would have done so, if the maids had not prevented him by calling often upon the Name of Jesus. Thus cheated of his prey, he left her hanging between the boards of the roofing and went away. And this was no hysterical vain report of the servant maids, for it was seen by all the neighbours who ran there upon hearing of it. The girl then fell into a sort of stupor, fasting and keeping silent and awake for eight days and nights together; and that this was not as- sumed by her through fraud or malice was sufficiently indicated by the fact that, according to Pliny, no one can with safety fast for more than seven days, and if anyone should continue to fast up to the eleventh day it must be confessed to be something preter- natural.
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Remy says that he has read, in the accounts of such trials, of those who have confessed that they had hidden beneath their nails a poison given them by their parents, and that by this means they had often scratched and killed their companions while playing.
In the same place he writes of a child not yet seven years old named Laurent d’Arsonval, who lived at Barr in 1591, and who clearly proved by his own evidence that he had been taken by his parents to the execrable assemblies of demons, where he was set to'turn the! 20 spit and tend the flesh that was to be eaten; also the presiding Little Master, who had given him the name of Verd Joli, had more than once given him poison with which he afterwards = fa) ORS killed the b= cattle of those who did him even the very smallest injury. This was proved by the actual event.
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