CHAPTER 10.

Clement, Book 2 of the Recognitions. Augustine, Book 2 of On Christian Doctrine, chapter 14.

...is moved either by internal forces or by the specter of a demon, such that their appetite is tempted by its suggestion; through a false induction, they easily offer themselves as an instrument not unsuited to the demon's will. Of this kind are the melancholic In the 16th century, "melancholy" was a medical diagnosis involving an excess of "black bile," believed to cause depression and hallucinations., and those who are sad due to loss or any other cause; likewise those who distrust God, the impious, the illicitly curious, those perversely instructed in the Christian religion, the envious, those with uncontrollable hatred, the malicious, those barely in control of their minds, and those of "slippery faith" (for he who believes easily, also withdraws easily) or women of notable malice, exhausted, stupid, and wavering in their senses.

The deceitful old schemer A traditional epithet for the Devil. primarily attacks this sex; for this reason, he approached Eve as a more convenient instrument for his persuasion, rather than Adam, at the very beginning of things when only two humans existed; he conquered her with even a light skirmish of disputation. Therefore, St. Peter also rightly calls woman the "weaker vessel." original: "infirmius vasculum" — 1 Peter 3:7 Hence, according to the institutions of the ancient Greeks, we read that it was very providently established by law that guardians and caretakers should be given to women, without whose judgment and authority they were permitted to do nothing, as Harpocration Valerius Harpocration, a Greek grammarian who wrote on Athenian legal terms. has related.

1. chapter 3.

The devil lies in wait for such people as fitting instruments in whatever ways he can, in his own time and place. As he recognizes the pursuits and affections of each person's mind from certain signs, he attacks, pursues, and entices them in some peculiar way—either by assuming a plausible form or by variously agitating and corrupting their thoughts and imagination—until at last they consent to his purpose and surrender themselves to his persuasion. They believe whatever he thrusts into their minds, as if bound by a treaty A "pact" with the devil., hanging upon his every nod and obeying him, thinking all the things he suggests are true. They trust most holily meaning with absolute, unwavering conviction that the forms implanted by him in their imaginative or fantastic power The "phantastica" was thought to be the part of the brain that processed sensory images and dreams. exist substantially in reality (if I may put it that way).

...nor are they able to do otherwise, once he has corrupted their minds with empty images following their first assent. For this work, the bodily humors and spirits are either lulled to sleep or stirred up, so that in this way he may introduce certain appearances to the appropriate organs, just as if they were truly occurring from the outside—not only to those who are sleeping, but also to those who are awake. In this manner, some things are thought to either exist or happen externally which, in truth, neither exist nor happen, and often do not even exist in the nature of things. Such is the nearly incomprehensible subtlety and untiring fraud of these unclean spirits, eluding the senses of men. St. Peter teaches in the writings of Clement that the demon besieged the senses of the ancient Egyptians in this same way.

Book 5.

HOW THE DEVIL CORRUPTS THE IMAGINATIVE POWER. Chapter 10.

Furthermore, lest it seem so very absurd that the organs of the imaginative power are corrupted in these poor women in this way, and the sharpness of their eyes dimmed (as has been said), observe the thoughts, voices, visions, and actions of the melancholic. You will understand how all their senses are often depraved by a single melancholic humor occupying the brain and changing the mind. Indeed, some of these believe they are wild animals, and they imitate their voices and gestures. Some think they have been made into clay vessels; for this reason, they give way to those they meet lest they be shattered. Others fear death, yet sometimes inflict it upon themselves. Many imagine themselves guilty of crimes, so that in their terror they shudder at anyone they see entering, fearing that they will be seized, led away as captives, and dragged to tribunals to be punished. There are those whom a conscience full of scruples exercises so miserably that—seeking "knots in a smooth reed" An ancient proverb (nodum in scirpo quaerere) meaning to find difficulty where there is none or to be unnecessarily paranoid.—they imagine guilt where there is none, and distrusting divine mercy, they lament that they are destined for the underworld...