| “But against this. It is impossible to produce an effect without its cause; and the deeds of witches are such that they cannot be done without the help of devils, as is shown by the description of witches in S. Isidore, Ethics VIII. Witches are so called from the enormity of their magic spells; for they disturb the elements and confound the minds of men, and without any venomous draught, but merely by virtue of incantations, destroy souls, etc. But this sort of effects cannot be caused by the influence of the stars through the agency of a man.” (15) Now we learn the true reason women are so susceptible to the devil’s influence. It’s because they are the “weaker sex”: “Question VI: Concerning Witches who copulate with Devils. Why is it that Women are chiefly addicted to Evil superstitions?” In the explanation we read that the reason devils can copulate with women so easily is because they are the weaker sex, therefore, they are vulnerable. “Therefore, let us now chiefly consider women; and first, why this kind of perfidy is found more in so fragile a sex than in men. And our inquiry will first be general, as to the general conditions of women; secondly, particular, as to which sort of women are found to be given to superstition and witchcraft; and thirdly, specifically with regard to midwives, who surpass all others in wickedness.” (16) Next, we see how the “sexless” men used to perceive women, and therefore desired them to be portrayed to the populace. Now we have the serpent compared to the woman as well: “Now the wickedness of women is spoken of in Ecclesiasticus xxv: There is no head above the head of a serpent: and there is no wrath above the wrath of a woman. I had rather dwell with a lion and a dragon than to keep house with a wicked woman. And among much which in that place precedes and follows about a wicked woman, he concludes: All wickedness is but little to the wickedness of a woman. Wherefore S. John Chrysostom says on the text, It is not good to marry (S. Matthew xix): What else is woman but a foe to friendship, an unescapable punishment, a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, a domestic danger, a delectable detriment, an evil of nature, painted with fair colours! Therefore, if it be a sin to divorce her when she ought to be kept, it is indeed a necessary torture; for either we commit adultery by divorcing her, or we must endure daily strife. Cicero in his second book of The Rhetorics says: The many lusts of men lead them into one sin, but the lust of women leads them into all sins; for the root of all woman's vices is avarice. And Seneca says in his Tragedies: A woman either loves or hates; there is no third grade. And the tears of woman are a deception, for they may spring from true grief, or they may be a snare. When a woman thinks alone, she thinks evil.” (17) We can’t have married folk being tempted by the unmarried and licentious, can we? How would society ever deal with that? It appears to be a problem the church was happy to help people deal with though: |
“And truly the most powerful cause which contributes to the increase of witches is the woeful rivalry between married folk and unmarried women and men.” “And when the philosopher Socrates was asked if one should marry a wife, he answered: If you do not, you are lonely, your family dies out, and a stranger inherits; if you do, you suffer perpetual anxiety, querulous complaints, reproaches concerning the marriage portion, the heavy displeasure of your relations, the garrulousness of a mother-in-law, cuckoldom, and no certain arrival of an heir. This he said as one who knew.” “Justly we may say with Cato of Utica: If the world could be rid of women, we should not be without God in our intercourse. For truly, without the wickedness of women, to say nothing of witchcraft, the world would still remain proof against innumerable dangers. Hear what Valerius said to Rufinus: You do not know that woman is the Chimaera, but it is good that you should know it; for that monster was of three forms; its face was that of a radiant and noble lion, it had the filthy belly of a goat, and it was armed with the virulent tail of a viper. And he means that a woman is beautiful to look upon, contaminating to the touch, and deadly to keep.” (18) Now, I don’t think we can blame the inquisitors completely, for being men. Some men prefer the company of other men. It would have been better if they came out of the closet early on and just had their all male parties, and everyone would have probably left them alone. But instead, they had to rid the world of anyone who might be a threat to their homosexual pederasty and private social club. In the next paragraph we learn about a relatively new phenomenon in history being applied by women to their advantage, namely “hypnotism.” Though very well understood at the time by the inquisitors and church fathers, the superstition was played out to the fullest, preying on the fears of an uneducated populace: “Question 8: Whether Witches can Hebetate the Powers of Generation or Obstruct the Venereal Act. Thirdly, he can also disturb a man's perception and imagination as to make the woman appear loathsome to him: since he can, as had been said, influence the imagination. Fourthly, he can directly prevent the erection of that member which is adapted to fructification, just as he can prevent local motion. Fifthly, he can prevent the flow of the vital essence to the members in which lie the motive power; by closing as it were the seminary ducts, so that it does not descend to the generative channels, or falls back from them, or does not project from them, or in any of many ways fails in its function.” (15) p. 31-32 (16) p. 41 (17) p. 43 (18) p. 46 |