him cause him to ratifie it by putting his paw to it if he can When he hath so done and that he finds the Devil ready to march Iet the Priest be sure not to give him leave till he hath got an absolute promise from him to take all his ragged Regiment with him and never to return again Above all things let the Priest be careful never to let the Devil rest a quiet minute but be sure to worry him with continual importunity reading and imperious Commands and let him never enter into disputes with him or fall to talk of stories with him especially amorous for by that means the Priest wastes his Spirits and the Devil recovers his strength The ninth Document IN the ninth place let the Priest beware of exorcising the Devil in private Houses but in the Church or some other place dedicated to God or some Saint For such are the Houses of Prayer But in private Houses the Priest will meet with Women whose company is to be avoided with all care imaginable by all Exorcisers lest they fall into the snare of the Devil As for the time the work of Exorcising may be performed upon any day but the better day the better deed therefore Our Lady-day Christmas-day Easter-day Whitsunday the several Holy days dedicated to the Apostles and their Eves are most proper And for the time of the day betimes in the morning after early Mattins Thus you see as cunning as the Devil is he may meet with his match Set a Knave to catch a Knave is a Proverb will never be out of date Were it not better then for the Devil to turn Lutheran than thus to lye at the lash of these merciless Exorcisers who command him with such petty Formalities If it may not rather be thought that he gives way now and then to these little pieces of Superstition that they may the more easily delude greater numbers The Conjurers Rubrick The First Exorcism AND now the Exorciser being thus instructed has no more to do but to prepare himself by Confession of his sins three days fasting and humbling himself before God Which done he shall go to the Church with the party possessed and there being clad in all the Formalities of his Order and Degree and kneeling before the Holy Altar he shall make the sign of the Cross upon his Forehead his Mouth and his Breast and then say as follows Let the sign of the Cross be upon my Forehead the Word of Christ in my Mouth the Arms of Christ in my Breast By the sign of the Cross defend us O Lord from our enemies Let the power of the Father strengthen me the wisdom of the Son teach me and the love of the Holy Spirit enlighten me Blessed be the day and hour wherein our Lord Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin MARY In the Name of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost Amen May the Virgin MARY with her holy Off-spring bless us Then shall the Priest sign the party possessed with the sign of the Cross upon the Forehead Breast and Mouth saying The power of the Father comfort thee the wisdom of the Son teach thee the love of the Holy Ghost enlighten thee Blessed be the day and hour wherein our Lord Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary In the Name of the Father the Son and Holy Ghost Amen After this say the whole Consiteor quite thorow and give Confession to the possessed party and the standers by saying Be merciful c. Indulgence and Absolution c. These you are to understand are parts of the Mass. Then pronounce the following Commands I command you O Devils who came to the assistance of those Devils that vex this Creature of God in the Name of the Sacred Trinity the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost and under the penalty of Excommunication and under the penalty of being plunged into the Lake of Fire and Sulphur and of being condemned to the Lake of Fire and Sulphur for a thousand years that you give no farther aid or assistance to those Devils that vex the body of this Creature of God but that you depart immediately to the places appointed for you by God Behold the Cross of the Lord fly Mankind's enemies hence the Lion of the Tribe of Juda the Root of David has overcome I also command you O Devils who vex this Creature of God that departing from his body you leave him free without any harm or detriment either to his body or Soul Also I command all your Enemies in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost that they compel you to yield obedience to my Orders and Commands And under the same penalties I command you that you neither say or do any thing which may displease either those who are present or absent but what shall be demanded by me In the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost Amen Then the Priest binding his Stole to the neck of the possessed party shall say O all you most abominable Spirits and Rebels to God I conjure adjure call to call forth compel constrain defy and duel ye in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost and by the most powerful Name of God Eloi in whatever part of this man ye are I exorcise Thee and adjure You O unclean Spirits and command Ye by the authority which belongs to me by the power of God and the most wise Creator who created all things and keeps you under his Power from which you are not able to fly that ye take immediate notice of the words and power of my Conjuration and that you confess your selves vanquished by the command laid upon ye that ye do not now presume to depart from this Creature of God and Image of Christ without absolute leave given by my command and that you be thereby bound and chained seeing that as the Saints of God bound the Devils in chains so I bind you with that same Stole of gladsomness In the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost Amen Before he bid him be gone now he commands him to stay What must he neither stay nor go No marry must he there 's something more to be done that will make him remember possessing of Mankind as long as he lives as thus Then the Priest putting his hands upon the Head of the Demoniac shall say Let the power of the Devil be extinguished in Thee by the imposition of our hands yea by the Invocation of all the Saints Archangels Angels Patriarchs Prophets Apostles Martyrs Confessors Virgins and all the Saints together Amen Behold the Conjurers Posse Comitatus And must the Devil stay till it be raised upon him There 's no remedy He is bound with three knots and all the Devils in Hell can't help him Well go on then Then shall the Priest say the following words signing the Demoniac with the sign of the Cross upon the Forehead which he shall always observe
be betrayed by Judas with a kiss and as a Lamb to be led to the slaughter to be accused by false witnesses and to be nailed to the Cross to be despised and spit upon and crowned with Thorns to be mocked with Gall and Vinegar to be wounded with a Lance and crucified between two Thieves by these thy most holy Sufferings which I most unworthy and miserable sinner lay hold of and by thy holy Cross I beseech thee that thou wouldst not look upon my sins nor the sins of this thy Creature but according to the multitude of thy Mercy free him from the Devil that vexes him And grant to me thy unworthy servant power that I may expel the Evil Spirits that vex him to the bottom of the Abyss by virtue of thy most holy Words Then follows Ecce Crucem c. Then again The Cross is good the Cross is worthy the wood above all woods By the sign of this Cross all Evil is repelled Then a little scrap of Rhyme Lest they seduce the mind Get Fantomes all behind For no stone must be left unturn'd against the Devil whether Rhyme or Reason Sense or Nonsence Then Ecce Crucem Domini c. Then an Ejaculation or two as thus Hear my prayer O Lord and let my cry come unto thee Bow down thine ear to the voice of my supplication Be my tower of defence against all evil spirits Let them be as the wheel or as chaff before the wind Then follows another Prayer OMnipotent Lord God the Author of invincible Power King of an insuperable Empire always magnificently triumphing who dost potently suppress the power of hostile Domination who didst expel Lucifer and his Angels from Heaven for their pride and rebellion who desirest not the death of a sinner nor the destruction of those that die be merciful to this thy Creature N not regarding his sins but thy own clemency and free him from all the snares of Evil Spirits wherein he is daily intangled and from all trouble and vexation wherewith he is infested and as thou didst free Mary Magdalen from seven unclean Spirits and the daughter of the Canaanite from the vexation of the Devil so now vouchsafe to free thy Creature N from all those Evil Spirits that infest him and as thou didst free Jonas from the Whale's belly Susanna from false accusation and the Three Children from the fiery Furnace Daniel from the Lions den and Joseph from Pharaoh's prison so now vouchsafe to free this thy Creature N redeemed with the Blood of thy Son and washed with the Water of Baptism from all vexation of Evil Spirits and Devils And as thou didst give power to thy Apostles over Evil Spirits to cast them out of the bodies of men so now grant to thy unworthy servant regenerate by Baptism and consecrated to thy Holy Name by the gift of thy Grace to put to flight all malignant Spirits possessing this poor Creature N by virtue of thy Power and the Invocation of thy Holy Name Amen Then Ecce Crucem c. Then another short Prayer OMnipotent Eternal God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ we thy Suppliants beseech thee that thou wouldst command these Evil Spirits that possess thy servant N to depart and be gone and to free him because he believes in his true Saviour our Lord Jesu Christ thy Son who liveth and reigneth with thee world without end Amen Then Ecce Crucem c. again All 's well that ends well says the Proverb but it does not thence follow that all 's well that begins well These Conjurers borrow their first Positions from very good Prayers but then they do so blind 'um with their superstitious admiration of the Cross that it utterly spoils all again There 's nothing to be done without the Cross The Cross is all in all The Cross is this and the Cross is that as if the Cross were more to be adored than the person who was crucified upon the Wood. Ecce Crucem is the burden of their Song and the Chorus to their Prayers And then again what an impertinent Dunce was this Conjurer to pray so zealously to God and the Cross to command the Devils departure when he knew how hard he had tied his Nose to the Grindstone with his Cool in three knots and had commanded him not to stir till he himself should give him leave But stay a little their Devilships have not been whipped about the Pig-market enough yet and therefore the Conjurer proceeds Here the Priest rises from his Prayers and before he begins to adjure the Devils he must Exorcise the Party possessed after this manner The EXORCISM I Exorcise thee N in the Name of the Father Omnipotent and in the Name of Jesus Christ his Son and in the power of the Holy Ghost that thou become a clean holy and purified Vessel from all spot of iniquity and from all Witchcrafts Incantations Contracts Signatures and Actions done and committed in or about thy body Farther also I the unworthy servant of God though a sinner by the Authority to me committed in the Name of the said Omnipotent God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Ghost dissolve all those Ties Ligatures and evil Actions and command thee most accursed Devil that thou presume no longer to have power in this body from the sole of the foot to the crown of the head but that thou depart with all thy Witchcrafts and Incantations And all this through him that shall come to judge the quick and the dead and the world by fire Amen Then must be said this Prayer GOD of pity and compassion who according to the multitude of thy mercies correctest whom thou lovest we invoke thee O Lord that thou wouldst be pleased to grant thy Grace to thy Servant N who suffers weakness of his members in his body and that what is corrupted by earthly frailty or disordered by diabolical fraud thou wouldst unite to the Body of thy Church Pity his crys have pity on his tears and admit him to the Sacrament of thy Reconciliation having no other confidence than in thy mercy through Jesus Christ. A very good Prayer were it upon a better occasion and not accompanied with the following piece of Superstition For now the party possessed must be washed with a showre of Holy Water and then follows the ensuing Exorcism I Exorcise thee N weak in body yet regenerate by the Water of Baptism by the living God by the true God by the holy God by the God who redeemed thee with his most precious Blood that thou become a man exorcised that all fancy and fraud of diabolical wickedness may depart from thee and every adjured unclean Spirit through him who shall come to judge the quick and the dead Then this short Ejaculation O God who governest thy handy work with a pious care incline thine ear to our supplications and look upon thy servant N labouring under extreme weakness of body Visit
Who made Heaven and Earth The Exorcism of Salt I Exorcise thee O thou Creature Salt bythe living God by the true God by the holy God by the God who commanded thee to be thrown into the Water by Elisha the Prophet that thou mayst become Salt Exorcised to the Salvation of Believers and mayst be to all that take thee health of body and soul and to the end that all wickedness and subtilty of Diabolical fraud and every unciean Spirit conjured by him that shall come to judge the quick and the dead may avoid the place where-ever thou shalt be strewed The Prayer OMnipotent Eternal God we humbly implore thy insinite Clemency and Goodness that thou wouldst be pleased to bless and sanctisie this Creature Salt which thou hast given to the Use of Mankind that it may be health of body and mind to all that take it and that whatever is touched or strewed with it may be free from all uncleanness and corruption mortal or spiritual What would not our Butchers give for this Salt to preserve their Meat that lies upon their hands in Summer not a Fly would dare to blow upon their Stalls The Exorcism of Water I Exorcise thee O Creature Water in the Name c. that thou mayst become Water exorcised to expel all Power of the Enemy and to root out and supplant the Enemy himself with all his Apostate Angels through the Power of Him who shall come to judge the quick and the dead The Prayer THou who hast made Water the substance of some of our Sacraments be propitious to our Invocations and to this Element prepared by many purifications that this Water may be effectual to the casting out of Devils and expelling noxious diseases and that in whatever Houses or places it shall be sprinkled they may be free from all uncleanness from all harm from all corrupt and pestilent Air from all the snares of the lurking Enemy and that nothing offensive or that may disturb the quiet and health of the Inhabitants may presume to approach the sprinklings of this Water Let the Operators have a care here 's a Plot upon the Queen of Hungary's Rosemary flowers and all the Book-sellers Scurvygrass Glasses Quaere whether the French disease be a Devil or no if it be here 's a present Expulsion to cure the Patient The Salt and the Water thus far prepared the Salt must be put into the Water in the form of a Cross and so both mixed together of each q. s. the Priest at the same time saying Versicle The Lord be with you Respons And with thy Spirit After which must be said the following Prayer THou who suppressest the power of Satanical dominion who subduest the fury of the roaring Lion we trembling and suppliant implore and beseech thee to look upon these thy Creatures of Salt and Water thus mixed together and to sanctifie them with the dew of thy pity that where-ever they shall be sprinkled they may be prevalently efficacious to expel all unclean Spirits and Terror of the venomous Serpent A surpassing piece of Magic which if it will not prevail against the Devil may be of excellent use to expel Worms out of young Children Therefore put it up in a clean Vessel and reserve it for use A most Approved Benediction of Oyl against all sorts of Incantations Sorceries Diabolical Ligaments and Contracts and of all evil Operations of the Devil upon the Body of Man Which Receipt is by some ascribed to St. Cyprian As also the manner of using the said Oyl The Priest must have a large Vessel of Oyl ready and then putting on his Sacerdotal Robes it behoves him to bless it in this manner In the Name c. Amen Vers. Our help is in the Lord. Resp. Who made Heaven and Earth Vers. Lord shew us thy Mercy Resp. And grant us thy Salvation Vers. Lord be thou our Helper Resp. And for the Glory of thy Name preserve us Vers. Let not the Enemy prevail against us Resp. Nor let the Son of Iniquity approach to hurt us Vers. Lord shew thy mercy to us Resp. As we do put our trust in thee Why but two Ejaculations apiece for Water and Salt and ten for the Consecration of Oyl The reason 's plain Oyl is ten times more worthy than Water and will stick ten times longer upon the Devil's Skirts therefore Oyl requires ten times more devotion than Water and it is requisite that there should be a distinction and difference in the Formalities of pious Cheats The EXORCISM I Exorcise thee unclean Spirit every assault of Satan and every evil Apparition in the Name c. that ye depart from this Oyl that it may be an efficacious spiritual Diet-drink to cleanse and cure the Infirm to the end the Holy Spirit may dwell in them through God the Father and his most beloved Son Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead and the World by fire Amen The Prayer O God send down thy Holy Spirit upon this Oyl which thou hast produced from green wood for the refreshment of mind and body that through thy blessing it may be to whoever touches it the preservation of mind and body by evacuating all melancholy humors all pains all infirmities and distempers of mind and body with which thou hast therefore anointed Kings Prophets and Martyrs let it be blessed in the Bowels of thy Servants in the Name c. who liveth and reigneth c. Now what is this Oyl a Quart In truth I can't tell dear enough you may be sure for you see 't is got into Hucksters hands Here the Priest having send for the Demoniac let him lay his hands upon the Party possessed and then adjure the Devil in this manner The Adjuration I Adjure thee O Satan and all Evil Spirits by the Name of the living true and holy God by the Name and Merits of the Virgin Mary by the Power of all the Celestial Spirits and the Nine Celestial Hierarchies to thy confusion and the augmentation of thy torments to be increased an hundred-fold from day to day to the last day of Judgment if thou dost not depart accursed Satan from this same Servant of God By him that shall come to judge the quick and the dead c. The Conjuration AGain I conjure thee O Satan to remove out of this same person both thy own and all malignant Fascination Sorceries infirmities and pains of body and mind by the words of the foregoing Adjuration cursed be thy name O Satan and thy works accursed and confounded to Eternity Cursed be thou by the Omnipotent God and by me through the power committed to me not only in Baptism and the administration of other Sacraments but also by the administration of the real Body and Blood of Christ by the authority of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and if ye prove rebellious contumacious and disobedient I conjure against thee and against ye all all the infernal Spirits to drag ye forth
Let this blessing be upon this place and upon all that dwell therein Or thus HEar us O holy Father Omnipotent and Eternal god that whatever Evil Spirits or mischievous Devils be in this house they may be expelled through the Authority of thy Name Then rehearse the several Psalms In my affliction I cryed c. I lifted up my eyes to the mountains To thee I lifted up my eyes Concluding with a Gloria Patri then water the House and sprinkle the People with Holy Water Then say Kyrie Eleyson c. Pater noster And lead us not into temptation Resp. But deliver us from evil Vers. Lord hear our prayer Resp. And let our cry come unto thee Vers. The Lord be with us Resp. And with thy Spirit Then pray MErcifully O Lord enter into this thy House that no malice or wickedness of the Devil may reign therein Then throwing Holy Water about the House as before repeat the following Psalms They who trust in the Lord. Unless the Lord build the house Blessed are they that fear the Lord. Then Kyrse Eleyson c. and what follows as before Then cast the Holy Water as before and read the following Psalms Out of the deep c. Remember David Lord c. Behold how good and joyful c. Then Kyrie Eleyson c. and what follows as above This profusion of Holy Water is done out of a belief that Devils are Cats as Cats are supposed to be Devils and that neither can endure to wet their feet I will not trouble my self whether Cats be Devils or Devils Cats but sure it can never be that the Devil should be so terribly afraid of Holy Water when he stands in so much need of a Cooler Men that are not half so hot as he nor come out of half so hot a place drink Snow in their Wine and shall the Devil be afraid of a little cold water Afterwards read the following Gospels in the principal parts of the House When Christ was born in Bethlehem of Juda the Wise-men came from c. And this other At that time the Angel gabriel c. And In that time Jesus went to Jericho and behold a man whose name was Zacheus c. Afterwards bless the Incense after this manner By the Intercession of the blessed Archangel St. Michael who stands at the Altar of Incense and of all his Elect vouchsafe O God to bless this Incense and accept it as an Odor of sweetness Vers. Lord be merciful unto us Resp. And shew us thy salvation Vers. Lord hear our prayer Resp. And let our cry come unto thee Vers. The Lord be with you Resp. And with thy Spirit Then sign the House and all that dwell in it saying at the same time Lord set the sign of Security upon this House and suffer not the destroying Angel to enter in In the Name c. Thus you shall find in Homer and Ovid's Art of Wooing that the Heathens consecrated their Carousing Bowls with Sulphur and the Old women charmed the young peoples Beds with Sulphur and Eggs. If a man had committed any Villany or Murder he was purified by washing his hands in the blood of a Pig And for the lustration or purification of any place they used to fume the said place with the smoke of burnt Brimstone at what time it was the custom to cast a quantity of Salt into a Vessel of Water and with an Olive-branch or any other convenient bough to sprinkle the room or field with the said water as now the Priests water haunted Houses with Holy Water which sprinkling was to be done three times together Thus you find in Ovid's Metamorphosis that Juno returning from Earth to Heaven being the Devil of a Scold was sprinkled three times with water by the Rainbow to fetch the Devil out of her before Jupiter would admit her into his presence fearing a Peal in his Ears They also said several Prayers likewise at the same time as our Priests do For so says Ovid He sprinkled his Locks with Laurel dipped in water and then poured forth his earnest prayers with usual zeal And thus Heathens taught our Popish Priest to purifie haunted Houses and charm the Devil A Most terrible Thundring EXORCISM TO Expel the Devil not only out of Men but Women Which if a Man could be assured of were worth its weight in Gold THE Exorcist coming to eject the Devil must in the first place sign himself with the sign of the Cross and say In the Name of the Father c. Then let him go to the Party possessed and sprinkle him with Holy Water saying at the same time Through the Sprinkling of this Water with the help of God let the Evil Spirit depart from thee and let the power of the Holy Ghost enter and remain with thee for now is the Judgment of this World now shall the Prince of this World be cast forth In the Name c. Pointing to the Body of Christ in the Cup or in the Shrine the Priest must say these words O wicked Spirit here is true Piety Here is he who suffered for our Salvation Now faith he shall the Prince of this World be cast forth This is that Body which was taken from the Body of the Virgin which was stretched out upon the Cross which lay in the Grave which rose from Death and which ascended into Heaven in the sight of his Disciples by the terrible Power of this Majesty I command thee wicked Devil to depart from this Image of God to fly from it and never more to molest it But the Devil 's a true Jailor he seldom takes notice of the first Ha Cor And therefore the Exorcist must fall to his Prayers and say Vers. Our help is in the Lord. Resp. Who made Heaven and Earth Vers. Lord shew us thy mercy Resp. And grant us thy Salvation Vers. Lord hear our crys Resp. And let our cry come unto thee Then follow the Prayers O Eternal and Omnipotent God who mad'st Heaven and Earth and all that therein is save and deliver this thy Servant from these Evil Spirits and from all Diabolical Power that all men may know how great is thy mercy and how infinite is thy power The second Prayer LOrd Jesus Christ Son of the living God free this thy Servant from all his languishings and from all the disturbances of Ghosts and Evil Spirits through thy most holy compassion The God Sabaoth the God Emmanuel the God Elohim the God Agla free and deliver him by virtue of the Prayers and Merits of the blessed Virgin Mary thy Mother and of all the Saints and by virtue of the Intercession of the blessed Michael the Archangel and all the Angels of St. John Baptist and the holy Apostles Peter Paul Andrew James John Thomas James Philip Bartholomew Simon Thaddeus Barnaby and all the rest of the He-Saints and She-Saints by the Mediation of the Cherubims and Seraphims who continually praise thee saying Holy
times prove not to be real Reliques which is a great disparagement to the credit and honour of the Sacraments of the Roman Catholick Church which have done wonders Nor are all Devils alike for some are more desperate and can brook affronts reproaches and injuries with more resolution than others Sometimes also divine power leaves it to the Devils discretion whether he will depart at the first bidding or no for several concealed reasons and they are often excused for a time from yielding obedience to our Imperative Moods because the means we use are not seasonable or not proper But then again if after long perseverance the Devil remain obdurate and dally and play the fool against the positive command of Holy Words and Applications then the Exorcist is to make use of Goads and Spurs which are Exorcisms and Charms by which the Devils are tormented in their spiritual Entities as men are pained in their corporeal bodies with Whips and Scourges You 'l say this is a sort of nonsence I can't help that 'T is such as Father Mengo dedicates to no less a person than a Cardinal and which Father Mengo looked upon to be as good sence as any was in the World or else he spent his time very ill to cloath his work in such good competent Latin as he has done But you must understand that Conjurers deal in Mysteries which for want of knowledge are esteemed nonsence There 's the Conjurer that hangs out his face against Ludgate-Church Why discourse that Mysterious Mortal that has the Devil in a string a whole year together and if you hear him talk three words of sence together of his own Art which he professes and can make it out you may win many a fair wager And therefore pray be not such Enemies to Nonsence especially when it treats of Mysterious Matters The Sixth Document WHat opinion others may have of the Popish Eucharist is left to their consideration but Father Minorite Fryer Mengo advises it should be frequently given those that are possessed with the Devil Nay saith he it was never forbidden by our Forefathers to the Spirits of Wickedness to whom they rather thought it was to be administred every day for that being taken by a Demoniac it drove him from roosting in his body and made his Mansion too hot for him by burning him with a certain kind of Fire And so the Abbot Andronicus was cured For the Devil will insult over his Landlord if he once find him denied the Heavenly Remedy and will attack him with greater violence and swagger like a Hector when he finds him deprived of his Spiritual Physic. If you object That no person is to receive unworthily which Demoniacs cannot do because they want the use of their reason St. Thomas Aquinas replies That men may be said to have lost their reason in a twofold sence for take a Jesuit without a Salvo and hang him he may be said to have lost his reason that has but a weak use of it and thus they are said not to see who see but weakly Others are said to have lost the use of reason as being born Idiots As to the first if it appear that they have any devotion for the Eucharist it may be given them As to the second they are denied the Priviledge In another place the same St. Thomas like a good man advises the giving the Eucharist to Demoniacs unless they are possessed for any crime by them committed But then there arises another Question whether they may be said to be possessed who want their reason For the Devils in them if they want reason that keep company every day with the Devil who was ever so far from being counted a fool that he was always thought to be fuperiour in Reason to Thomas Aquinas himself though one of the nicest Splitters of a distinction in the World And then again it behoves the Exorcist to charm and give his Benediction to the Eucharist as well as to all other things which are to be applied to the Demoniac his Victuals his Drink his Pottages Unctions and the like and all other things requisite to conjure the Devil out of humane Bodies Moreover the Exorcist is to make diligent Inquisition in the Bed-cloaths in the Mats under the Bed over the Tester behind the door and in every corner of the house for all the instruments of mischief and diabolical Treachery that he can find and presently to throw them into the fire Nay it would do well for the party to change his Bed nay his Cloaths nay his very House and remove to another habitation for it would put the Devil to his Trumps to find out the meaning of such sudden alterations It would be to him just like the finding out of a Plot for the Devil knows himself always guilty and unsettle him in all his Methods of proceeding The Seventh Document BY no means the Exorcist must make use of unknown names as being of dangerous consequence so to do according to the Opinion of St. Chrysostome And therefore Father Mengo is careful to give a List of the most necessary to the end the well-minded Exorcist may proceed the more boldly and securely in his Conjurations and therefore take 'em in their order El Elion Jah Elohim Esereheieh Tetragrammaton Sabaot Adonai Sadai Hagios Ischyros Athanatos Soter Jehovah Homousion Eheieh Moreover the Exorcist is to make use of certain Billets or Notes containing these or some other holy Names or Words and apply them to the parties under the Devil's Oppression but with respect however to the following Conditions First That those holy Words do not contain any thing which pertains to the Invocation of Devils either Express or Tacit. Secondly That the Exorcisms do not contain any unknown Names for the avoiding of Superstition that is to say the Popish Conjurers do forbid all persons whatever to make use of the Names of the Indian Pagods or any of the Mahometan Saints nor of the Pinner of Wakefield nor of the Names of Adam Bell Climm of the Clough or William of Cloudeslee and yet these were Fellows that would have fought with the Devil himself But because the Devil was not so well acquainted with them as not being in the Popish Legend therefore it would be a great piece of Superstition to make use of their Names But you may make use of the Names of Saturn Jupiter Venus Bell and the Dragon Mars Neptune Mercury St. George and all your Gaming Ordinary Oaths of which the Devil cannot be so much the Devil of a Dunce as to be ignorant because they are so frequently in use Thirdly Great care must be taken lest the matter of the Words contain any thing of falshood for that would frustrate the expectation of the Operator For the Devil would never be afraid of a Lye who is the Father of them himself Which is the reason that Old women fail so often in their Charms because they are stufft so full of idle vanities and
him and afford him the healing relief of thy salvation and heavenly grace through Christ our Lord. Here ends the last Scene of the fourth Act and 't is greatly to be feared the Devil will be vengeance-weary before the Play be done 'T is no matter for that he 'l be the more glad to be gone 't was done to that intent and purpose And yet one would think the Devil should laugh in his sleeve to see how his Adversary does and undoes For in his Incantations he assumes a power committed to him already to remove the vexation and arbitrarily commands the removal In his prayers he desires that to be done which he declares he had power to do before Nor does the Priest complain of any limited Commission neither This therefore must certainly be a very great comfort to the Devil under his affliction of Three Knots For you may be sure that the Devil listens like a Sow in the Beans to every word that is said and if there be any hole to creep out of his misery he 'l never strain a point of Curtesie with the Priest But till the Exorcist has quite done he knows not what to think on 't Only he 's sure there 's a dismal storm coming by the great bundle of Hyssop in the Holy Water Bason And now the first Act being begun the Priest spares for no Holy Water which he plentifully bestows upon the Party possessed The showre being over and the Devil's courage as he thinks being sufficiently cool'd the Exorcist full of hope and faith falls briskly to work that is to conjure all the Devils remaining in the Demoniac's Body after this bold manner HEar unclean Spirit and infamous Devil I admonish thee I exorcise thee and command thee O Tempter vain hare-brain'd false heretical wicked drunkard mad man thrown from the grace of God and Christ. By him I exorcise thee who for our sakes descended to Earth who was named by the Angels incarnate by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary and growing in years and wisdom in the twelfth year of his Age disputed with high understanding in the midst of the greatest Doctors I conjure thee by him who was baptized by John the Baptist in the River of Jordan tempted by the Devil sold and betrayed by Judas his Disciple fed with Gall made to drink Vinegar crowned with Thorns despoiled of his garments upon which they cast lots I conjure thee by him who was crucified dead and buried and rose from the dead the third day ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father from whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead and the World by fire that thou immediately go forth and fly from this Vessel and Creature of God without any damage to him or hurt to me or any of the standers by I exorcise thee by him of whom the Angel Gabriel declared that he should be born of the Virgins womb and John saluted in the womb of Elizabeth and by him I conjure thee to answer me to all and every such questions which I shall ask thee and that thou answer me the truth what is thy Master's and thy own name and whether thou beest in this body or without it whether thou art alone or one or more Legions with thee Here the Exorcist ought to examine the name of the Devil Possessor what Companions he has under what Order of Devils he is for what cause he possest the Party whether he be bound there by any Art of Witchcraft how that tye may be dissolved how long he had lived there by what Saint or person he may be expelled who are his greatest enemies in Heaven and who in Hell and what signs he will give of his departure Then command him that he do no harm to the Patient and that from thence forward he never presume to return But let the Exorcist be prudent and circumspect in his Interrogatories lest he be deceived Rather let him endeavour to free the poor man from his vexation than stand prating with the Devil At last having sufficiently examined the Spirit if he neither depart nor answer or whether he do or no he shall prosecute his Conjuration The Conjuration THou therefore O Homicide Reprobate Son of Perdition I conjure thee by his sign that appeared in the Heavens which the Shepherds saw and the Wise-men adored by him whom Angels and Archangels praise that thou presently depart from that Vessel and Creature of Christ that thou go to the bottom of the Sea or into some old Trees or into some Desarts where no Christians inhabit and where the Lightning from Heaven may consume thee May the Son and Holy Ghost and true Majesty of God compel thee to go forth I conjure thee wicked Devil by him whose Name is Jesus of Nazareth that thou presently depart at the first word of the Lord from this Servant of God I conjure thee by him at whose Birth the Holy Angels sang Glory be to God c. Whom the Wise-men coming from the East adored offering to him Gold Frankincense and Myrrh I conjure thee by him at whose Birth a Star appeared in Heaven of whom Isaiah prophesied saying A Star shall arise in Jacob and by him whom the mute Animals knew as it is written The ox knows his owner and the ass his masters crib I conjure thee by him whom Herod would have slain but could not and for whom the holy Innocents were martyred with whose blood the holy Jerusalem is adorned I conjure thee by him who fled with his mother into Egypt and at Canaan in Galilee turnedwater into wine whom Pilate crowned with a Crown of Thorns whom Longinus pierced with a Lance and who upon the Cross cryed out Eli Eli Lammasabachtani I conjure thee by him who was found in the Temple disputing with the Doctors was crucified upon the Cross between two Thieves and in the midst of the Air. And by him who after his Resurrection stood in the midst of his Disciples saying Peace be unto you fear not 't is I. I conjure thee by him who died and was buried who descended into Hell and delivered his own from the Devil particularly Adam the first Man and rose again the third day and forty days after ascended into Heaven May he eject thee and compel thee to depart this body and the joynts of the members of this Creature of God N He that cast thee from Heaven let him compel thee to declare the name of thy Master and whether thou art alone or not or whether any Legion be with thee I conjure thee by him that built Paradise encompassing it in with the four Rivers Gyon Physion Tigris and Euphrates whom thou wouldst have tempted saying If thou art the Son of God command these stones to be made bread and then shewing him all the Kingdoms of the World wentest on All these will I give thee if thou
Holy Holy Lord God of Sabaoth Father Omnipotent who desirest the Salvation of all Mankind and that they should attain to the knowledge of thee be merciful to this thy Servant a Sinner and hear my prayer which I now pour out before thee in the behalf of this poor Creature who is molested by the Devil and flies to thy compassion Here the Exorcist rising up and laying his hand upon the Head of the Demoniac shall proceed and say Let all power of the Devil be extinguished in thee through the Imposition of our Hands as also by virtue of our Invocation of all the Saints Angels Archangels Patriarchs Prophets Apostles Martyrs Confessors and Holy Virgins Then read the following words out of St. Matthew In those days Jesus was led by the Spirit into the Wilderness to be tempted c. Then Vers. The Lord be with you Resp. And with thy Spirit Then Pray VIsit O Lord we beseech thee this Habitation and Creature of thine and remove far away from him all the snares and assaults of the Devil Let thy Angels Michael Raphael and Gabriel dwell therein to preserve it in peace and from all unclean Spirits and let thy blessing be always upon us Let the Exorcist here begin to conjure the Devils abiding in the body to depart But let him take heed of answering to any words of theirs without urgent necessity For that they being subtle and deceiving Spirits will seek all ways to entrap the Exorcist and hinder the progress of his Art and many time ignominiously threaten the Exorcist and command him to let them alone therefore let the Exorcist boldly proceed and say The Conjuration I Conjure ye O accursed Devils abiding in this body from whatever part of the world ye come to whom Power is given by God over this Creature of God and all you Ethereal Powers and Infernal Spirits and all you general and special sorts of evil Demons of whatsoever kind ye are or whether sent from the East or from any other point of the Compass I conjure ye all I say by the Power of God the Father by the Wisdom of God the Son and the virtual Efficacy of God the Son by virtue of the Authority granted me by our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth who was crucified Son of the most Potent Creator who made all things out of nothing that ye may not have any power of keeping silence or of abiding or remaining in this Creature of God But I constrain and command you whether ye will or no that laying aside all fallacy fraud or deceit you declare unto me your Names and through the Merits of the Virgin Mary and all the Saints I discharge all you unclean and wicked Spirits from this Body and send you to the lowest depths of the profound Abyss Therefore be gone accursed into everlasting fire prepared for ye and all your Companions And if ye rebel or prove contumacious and disobedient I again by the same Authority conjure constrain and command all the Devils your Enemies all the Princes in Hell and all the Infernal Spirits to come and punish and torment and moreover to carry ye away in the Name of Jesus to the aforesaid place of infernal Torture and there to chain you fast by these most holy Names of God El Elion Eloa Sabaoth Elohim Eserejeh Adonai Jehova Jah Tetragrammaton Sadai Messias Hagios Ischyros Ho Theos Athanatos Soter Emmanuel Agla and Jesus who is Alpha and Omega send ye headlong into the deepest depth of the Abyss to the end that from henceforth ye may have no power to abide remain or inhabit in this Creature of God c. and Image of Christ nor that you take up or possess this place or any other place through the virtue and by the virtue of the aforesaid Names And let the Angel Michael bind ye in the depth of the Abyss This done read the following words out of Luke And he was casting out a Devil c. concluding with a Laus tibi Christe Then go on with the following words of St. Matthew Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the Wilderness c. Then pray again after this manner OMnipotent Lord God who didft create all things by thy Word who wert from the beginning before any Images were made or Prayers ever said Preserve us and confirm the work which thou hast wrought in us Stretch forth unto us thy right hand and preserve and defend us thy unworthy Servants from all adversity and send thy Angels from Heaven to preserve strengthen help and corroborate us and this thy Creature and to render us more stout and couragious by virtue of thy Names of Jehova Agla El Adonai Sadai Tetragrammaton Elohim Most holy and merciful God be thou our Protector and Defender and our buckler of defence For thou art God alone and there is no other besides thee Upon the strength of which Prayer follows a swinging Conjuration I Conjure you O Devils and unclean Spirits from all parts of the World to whom power has been given to hurt this Creature of God c. and all you Aereal Spirits and Powers Infernal Princes and all you special and general sorts of Devils of what sort or condition soever sent from the South or any other point of the Compass by the Father Son and Holy Ghost and by virtue of the Function and Authority by which I act from crucified Christ Jesus of Nazareth Son of the living God and most potent Creator who created me and you and all the Creatures of nothing by all this I say I conjure ye O Devils that ye pretend to have no farther power or authority to stay or abide in this Creature c. For that I sentence ye by virtue of the Sentence given by the most high Creator I constrain compel and command ye that laying aside all fraud fallacy and deceit you tell me directly your Names that we may be able to find out and know your Names certainly truly and without any hesitation or Equivocation And by the same authority and by virtue of the same Sentence I discharge you from this Body and send every one of you Devils aforesaid to the bottom of the Abyss into eternal fire And therefore go ye cursed into eternal fire prepared for you and your servants for that by virtue of these most holy Names I send you to the bottom of the Abyss Hel Heloim Eloa Sabaoth Elion Esereheje Adonai Jehova Jah Tetragrammaton Sadai Messias Hagios Ischyros Otheos Athanatos Soter Emmanuel Agla Jesus Alpha and Omega I send you to the bottom of the Abyss into eternal Fire that ye may not have any longer power or pretence of staying abiding or inhabiting in this Creature of God and Image of Christ nor in this place nor in any other place nor in any other Creature by and through the virtue of the Names abovewrit And let the Angel Gabriel bind ye in the depth of the Abyss by virtue of the
Master Tormenter of Mankind himself than any of those his small Officers And indeed what trust can be given to Exorcism or how can we be made believe that these Exorcisers can eject a Grand Devil when they cannot move so much as the Gout or the Stone or the Spleen which are but petty Tormenters to the Saucer-ey'd Satan himself Here it is to be noted That if the Devil in any Exorcism make answer and say That he is the Soul of any person deceased you are not to believe him because it is a Heresie but urge him to tell his proper Name which he had from the beginning when he was expelled out of Heaven Ask him also of what Order and Quality he is of and the Name of his Superior and for what cause he entred into the body of such or such a party and conjure him not to depart without leave and to give notice of his departure and cause him also to leave his habitation in the same condition as when the party was first baptized There is great reason that the Exorcist should know the Devils proper Name for otherwise the Devil might bring his Action against the Exorciser for suing him in a wrong Name But why should the Devil be so loth to for sake this or that single habitation of a pitiful poor mans Body when so many Monasteries Colledges Frieries Nunneries nay the Popes own Palace and the very Colledge of Cardinals are all so much at his devotion that he may take up there what Lodgings he pleases and be welcome And it were to be wished that it were not the Popish Exorcisers fault that the Devil has so much power over men as he has For he is forced to seek for shelter among men because they will not let him be any where else The Air must not hold him though he be Prince of it Thence they thus expel him The Air Conjured I Conjure and exorcise thee O Air in the Name c. by him that commands the Winds and the Sea by all the Angels and Archangels c. by the whole Court of Heaven c. not to entertain in any place this accursed wicked and malicious Transgressor of a Devil nor any of his Confederates but to refuse reject and turn him out of doors as the Virgin Mary rejected all contamination of sin They exterminate him from the Earth and will not let him have so much as a rotten Nut-shell to rest in The Earth Exorcised I Exorcise thee O Earth in the Name c. and by all the Prayers and heavenly sollicitations which are daily made in thee and upon thee not to give any harbour or entertainment to this wicked Spirits nor to any of his Accomplices c. They will not suffer him to live in the water nor to have so much as the benefit of a Menows belly The Water Exorcised I Exorcise ye O Waters both great and small by the power of Moses's Rod by the water that issued from the side of Christ by the Virgin Mary by all the Angels and Archangels c. by all the Prophets Patriarchs Doctors Saints and holy Hermits not to harbour or entertain the wicked Spirit or any that belong to him but to chase him from all your boundless Territories with all the zeal imaginable as the Devils were cast out of Mary Magdalen They expel him out of the Fire so that there is never a Glass-house in the World dares to admit him The Fire Exorcised I Conjure thee O Element of Fire in whatever place or part of the World thou art by him that appeared to Moses in the burning Bush by him that freed the Three Children out of the fiery Furnace and by all the Sacred Holocausts which were made by thee and by all the Angels and Archangels c. not to entertain this Evil Spirit nor any of his Confederates but to send him with all speed upon the receipt and sight of these Presents to the infernal dismal Lake of ever burning Flames and that you do not let him stir from thence till the day of Judgment Again I exorcise all things that live in thee or by thee to the same effect c. But now having thus chased the Devil out of all the four Elements they command Lucifer to take him into custody and give him no Quarter as if they were the sole Commanders of that Infernal Bridewel Hell Exorcised O Hell and thou Fire Infernal all you infornal Torments and all you infernal Devils hear hearken and understand the words of my mouth I conjure ye by him who raised Lazarus after he had been three days dead when the Devil trembled and all his Ministers were in a Pannic fear O Hell and Fire Infernal c. I conjure ye by his Power that subdued ye to his Dominion that ye obey us in all things and fulfil our Commands in whatever we shall impose upon ye O Hell the Holy Trinity commands thee to obey us The whole Host of Angels and Archangels c. commands thee I conjure thee therefore O Hell and ye infernal Fires and Torments and all you Devils of what quality or condition soever ye be by him that brake down your Gates and took from ye all the Holy Fathers by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist and by the terrible day of Judgment and by all the words by which you infernal Fires and Devils infernal may be constrained compelled and forced I conjure thee O Lucifer Prince of Hell not to let this wicked Spirit rest any where in quiet but to send thy special Warrant for him and all his Accomplices with all speed and when thou hast him in thy clutches to cast him into the burning Lake where I conjure you O infernal Torments to plague him a thousand thousand times more than according to the usual rate of Tormenting Thus the World may see what sorts of Whips and Scourges the Papists pretend to have for the Devil what a Power they challenge to have over him and how unmercifully they exercise it while to shew their Authority they command one Devil to punish another not for any misdemeanours committed one among another but for doing his Duty and his Office which is to do Mankind as much mischief as he can And this Authority they assume from the Repetition of holy Names and the Cooperations of Saints some of which were as ignominious as the Devil himself the assistance of the Cross and Holy Water dablings Whereas there never was any such power given them which the Devil well knows and therefore 't is no wonder he gives no more credit to their counterfeit Warrants To display therefore to the full the Folly Superstition and Ignorance of these Exorcists let us consider what true Divinity says concerning these Exorcisms first when they began and secondly whether they are still to be retained and made use of among Christians As to the first we do not find in all the Old Testament any mention made of Exorcisms to