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-nam- ed Author, of excellent success, and of the finding of some branch or body of a mineral tree.
86. Peter Thyraeus, of Neuss, in his book De Terrijicalion. nocturn., denies the exist- ence of such little men , and supports his denial upon the following truly puerile ar-
i5.
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sunt hcec : si darentur hujusmodi homun- ciones, iibinam degunt, et qucenam, et ubi habent sua domicilia, qua ratione genus suum conservant, si per gemrationem, aut quomodo? si oriantur, et intereant, quo cibo vitam suam sustentent ; si beatitudi- nis, et damnationis capaces sint, et quibus mediis propriam salutem consequantur? Hcec sunt argumenta Thyrcei, quibus per- motus negat talem existentiam.
87. Sed viri parum cordati est negate id, quod graves Auctores, fdeque digni scribunt, quodque quotidiana constat expe~ rientia. Argumenta Thyrcei nec minimum cogunt, ac ea solvimus supra a «®45. et seq. Remanet solum satisfacere quacstioni ubinam locorum habitent hujusmodi ho- munculi, seu Incubi? Ad quod dico, quod ut supra dedimus n'^ ji. ex Guaccio, isto- rum alii sunt terrei, alii aquei, alii aerei, alii ignei, quorum nempe corpora, aut constant ex talium elementorum subtiliori parte, sive licet ex pluribus constent ele- mentis, prccvalet tamen in Us, aut aqua, aut aer pro ipsorum natura. Mansiones igitur, et domicilia eorum erunt in ele- mento illo cujus natura in eorum corpori- bus prcevalet : ignei enim nisi violenter, et forte nullomodo in aquis aut locis palustri-
Demoniality 17 5
guments : 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 Thy- reeus relies for denying that existence.
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. Thy- raeus’s arguments are worthless and have been already refuted, N''® 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^ 71), according to Guaccius, some are earthly, some aque- ous, 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 dw’ellings will consequently be found in that element which is prevalent in their
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bus morabuntur, cum hcec sint sibi contra- ria, nec aquei ad superiorem celheris par- tem ascendere poterunt ob sibi repugnan- tem regionis illius subtilitatem , quod etiam videmus accidere hominibus, qui ad quo- rumdam Alpium summa juga pervenire nequeunt prce summa aeris subtilitate, quce homines crassiori aeri assuetos nutrire nequit.
88. Pluribus sanctorum Patrum auctori- tatibus, quas congerit Molina in p, p. D. Thom., q. So., ar. 1. circa med., probare possemus Dcttnonum corporeitatem ; qua’ tamen stante determinatione Concilii Late- ranensis de incorporeitate Angelorum, ut dictum fuit supra n° Sy., exponi debent de Dcemonibiis istis Incubis, ac viatoribus adhuc, non autem de Damnatis. Tamen ne nimis longus sim, solius D. Augustini, summi Ecclesice Doctoris, auctoritates damus, quibus evidenter convincitur ilium ftiisse in sententia, quam nos docemus.
89. D. Augustinus igitur, lib. 2. super Genesim ad litteram c. 17. de Daemoni-
Demoniality 1 77
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. Many testimonies of Holy Fathers, gathered by Molina, in his Commentary of St Thomas, would go to prove the corpor- eity of Demons; but, taking into account the above-quoted decision of the Council of Lateran (N*’ Sy), concerning the incorpor- eity of Angels, we must understand that the Holy Fathers had in view those Incubi Demons which are still on the way to sal- vation, and not those that are damned. However, to make matters short, we merely give the authority of St Austin, that emi- nent Doctor of the Church, and it will be clearly seen how thoroughly his doctrine harmonizes with ours.
89. St Austin, then, in his Commentary on Genesis, book 2, ch. 17, writes as fol-
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bus, sic habet : « Quffidam vera nosse, par- tim quia subtiliore sensus acumine, partim quia subtilioribus corporibus vigent, » et lib. 3. c. I., ({ etsi Dasmones aerea sunt animalia, quoniam corporum aereorum natura vigent. » Et Epistola ii5. ad He- bridiurn affirmat , eos esse « animantia aerea, seu tetherea acerrimi sensus. » Et de Civit. Dei lib. ii. c. 23., affirmat * Dtemonem pessimum habere corpus aereum. » Et lib. 21. c. 10. scripsit : « Sunt sua quajdam etiam Dasmonibus corpora, sicut doctis hominibus visum est, ex isto aere crasso et humido. » Et lib. 17. c. 23. ait « se non audere definite, an Angeli cor- pore aereo, ita corporati possint etiam hanc pati libidinem, ut quomodo possint, sentientibus foeminis misceantur. » Et in Enarrat in Psal. 85. ait « corpora beato- rum futura post resurrectionem, qualia sunt corpora Angclorum; « et in Enarrat. in Psal. 4S.ait « corpus Angelicum inferius esse anima. » Et lib. De Divinit. Dtemo- num, passim per totum, maxime c. 23., docet « Daemones subtilia habere corpora.®
90. Potest etiam sententia nostra auc-
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lows 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. i : « Demons are aerial animals, because they partake of the nature of aerial bodies. » In his Epistle ii5 to Hebridius, he affirms that they are « aerial or ethereal animals, endowed with very sharp senses. » In the City of God,