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you see as cunning as the Devil is he may meet with his match Set a Knave to catch a Knave is a Proverb will never be out of date Were it not better then for the Devil to turn Lutheran than thus to lye at the lash of these merciless Exorcisers who command him with such petty Formalities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
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
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
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
The Manner of y e Preist Whipping out y e Devill London Printed for Thomas Malthus at the Sun in the Poultry 1683. A Whip for the Devil OR THE Roman Conjurer DISCOVERING The intolerable Folly Profaneness and Superstition of the Papists in endeavouring to cast the Devil out of the Bodies of Men and Women by Him possest Containing an Account of 1. Several Documents and Rules to be observed by a Popish Exorcist 2. The Conjurers Rubrick 3. Their several inward and outward Remedies for Expelling Evil Spirits 4. Their Methods of making Holy Water for that Vse 5. Their Methods of Clearing Houses Haunted by Evil Spirits c. All faithfully Collected from their own Authors with pleasant Notes and Observations intermixt LONDON Printed for Tho. Malthus at the Sun in the Poultry 1683. A WHIP FOR THE DEVIL Several Documents requisite for a Popish Exorciser of the Devil Right Worshipful and dearly Beloved YOu have all heard of the cunning of Sathan and how that by his extraordinary craft he has and does not only daily insinuate into the Affections of men but that he actually possesses the very bodies of several Mortals and turning the Soul out of her Office makes use of all the passions and senses of the party possessed at his own arbitrary will and pleasure You are also to understand that there is no Religion in the World which the Devil so much affects as that of the Papists For among them you shall frequently hear of several in whose bodies Belzebub takes up his Lodging without paying any Rent and yet so unruly that many times you would think he would throw the whole house out at window On the other side the Papists are the only persons in the World among whom there are several who by long study and industry have found out ways and means to ferrit him out of his Buroughs without the tedious formality of a Lease of Ejectment These People are called Exorcisers such as by the virtue of Charms and Prayers and hard Words so terrifie the Devils nestling within the bodies of Mortals that he is forced to cry Beso los manos and march off Nay many times he is so put to 't that he cannot stay to complement Now though it be a thing well known that the Devil is generally hated and as true that it is an easie thing to find a stick to beat a dog yet is it not so easie to find a Rod to whip the Devil But we have found one out at length by the help of Monsieur Jerome Mengus unhappy was the day for poor Sathan that ever he was born which if men will but apply themselves to make use of it is impossible that from hence forward the Devil should live a quiet hour in the World He then that intends to have the Devil at his beck must be so and so qualified You 'l say how Why I 'le tell ye if you 'l have a little patience Lessons and Documents to be followed by him that intends to be an Exorciser of Evil Spirits The first Document WHoever he be that desires gentilely neatly and after the true manner to tread upon the necks of the Infernal Spirits must abstain from all unlawful vain and superstitious Actions For as Hornets never hurt Hornets nor Serpents sting Serpents so one Devil will never hurt another Therefore an Exorciser must be a man of a pure conscience make frequent Confession of his sins and by as frequent Repentance make his peace with Heaven For the Exorciser's sins being forgiven through repentance are concealed from the Devil whereby he is utterly disabled from casting them in his Masters dish so that when he commands him to be silent the Devil must of necessity hold his tongue But above all things it behoves an Exorciser to be very humble for the Devil cannot endure so much as the smell of Humility What sort of smell humility has I cannot so well tell but the Devil has it seems a very quick Nose and you must take Father Mengo's word for it Neither is it improbable but that there may be some smells which the Devil cannot endure for we find that when that Devil of a disease called the Mother afflicts a Woman she is presently brought to her self again by holding Assa foetida and stinking Feathers to her Nose and so it is not unlikely but that Humility may have a certain smell which the Devils pride is not able to suffer The second Document AN Exorcist ought to be very diligent to discern whether the Party be really possessed by the Devil or no and whether it be not a fallacy For it would be a very great blur to the Credit of an Exorciser to be baffled in his attempt for want of Judgment Not only the Friends of the Party but the Devil himself would laugh at him for his pains Now an Exorcist shall certainly know whether the Party be possessed or no if he hears him speak and understand those things which it would be otherwise impossible for the person afflicted to understand or discourse without the Devils Instruction Another way to try this Experiment is by touching the party with some Religious Relick or by reading Holy words out of the Four Evangelists to the party concerned Thus a Demoniac being brought to the Bishop of Anger 's in France he caused the Wenches Coats to be taken up to her bare knee and then pulling a Key out of his pocket laid it upon her naked skin You cannot imagine how the poor Wench screamed and roared drew her mouth a one side and foamed and fumed so soon as she perceived the cold Key upon her flesh Then the Bishop pulled out of his pocket a piece of Petronius Arbiter and read to the Demoniac these words There was a certain Ephesian Matron But then the Devil was ten thousand times madder than before the Wench raved and tore and stampt and stared and it was a million to six pence but that the Devil had split her into two parts as he took his leave he flew away in such a violent rage as if he had resolved to demolish the Tenement of which he could not keep the Possession So that if you can privately and without the parties knowledge do it 't is a most excellent way to tye some holy Relique or a piece of paper full of Godly Names to some part of the Demoniac's body For then if the party be troubled and tormented with strange Convulsions or utter furious and raging Expressions 't is a sign of a Diabolical Presence But you are to observe for the sake of those who detract from this Art that the Devils entring into humane bodies very rarely speak Latin first because the Devil is too polite to speak the Language of the Beast secondly because it would lay him too open to discovery if he should use any other than the natural Instruments of those whom he possesses And therefore the Devil possessing an illiterate Idiot never speaks Latin or if he
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
three handfuls Dill Ashes of Olive-wood Holy Water of each a sufficient quantity Boil all these in Oyl then bless them with the following Benediction Vers. Our help c. Resp. Who made Heaven and Earth The EXORCISM I Exorcise thee O unclean Spirit by the living true and holy God who made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that therein is to the end that all the Power of the Adversary all the Armies of the Devil all the assaults and Apparitions of the Enemy may be utterly rooted out and made to fly from this creature composed of Oyl and the Herbs that are in it that it may be a burning fire to consume all the snares of the Enemy and that whoever shall be anointed with this Oyl may enjoy health and sincerity and that all Evil Spirits and Diabolical Visions may be separated from him Then anoint the Patient as hath been already shewn A way to free any person from all manner of Sorceries operated in the body of man by the Devil First of all it behoves the Exorcist to observe in what part of the infested Body the pain lies For generally Demoniacs are chiefly tormented in three parts the Belly Stomach and Heart If the pain lye in any lower part of the body give him the Holy Oyl of the first Benediction as hath been already shewn And every day that the party drinks the foresaid Oyl he ought to be exorcised for three or four hours together But if the pain lye in the Stomach or Heart then give him the following Medicine Take White Ellebore St. Johns-wort of each an ounce and an half Sugar of Roses Frankincese of each a dram One would think this were a Bolus rather for a possessed Horse than a possessed Man Boil all these together in a pint of the best white Wine to the consumption of one half afterwards the Priest having strained blessed and exorcised the remainder with an Adjutorium nostrum c. give it the Patient at a convenient hour twice a day for three days if need require And every day notwithstanding the Patients vomiting let the Patient be confessed and exorcised for three or four hours together A Medicine for persons possessed by the Devil Take Broom-flowers St. Johns-wort Horehound Ivy and Rue of each two ounces Make a Decoction in water to the consumption of half then let the Priest strain it and bless the remainder with an Adjutorium nostrum and give it the Patient at a convenient hour Then let the Priest pray with the Patient in this manner Vouchsafe c. to bless this Medicine and to pour upon it thy most plentiful blessing that by the virtue and efficacy which thou shalt give unto it it may be able to vex teaze torment the Devil infesting and vexing this thy Servant and being delivered from the troubles of Satan to preserve him so delivered through thy goodness Amen Then let him be well sprinkled with Holy Water For it is a greater trouble to the Devil to sleep in a wet skin than in any other skin he cares not so much whether his skin be whole or no as that it be dry A Benediction of Water to expel the Devil and all his Works The EXORCISM I Exorcise thee O Water by the four Rivers that watered Paradise by him that purified Nahman from his Leprosie I exorcise thee by him that turned water into Wine I exorcise thee by all the Sacraments of the Holy Church I exorcise thee by the Virgin Mary and the Milk of the same Virgin and by all the Angels Archangels c. that thou mayst become holy and healthful and a burning fire to destroy the Devil and all his works and all the snares of Satan c. Then blow three times upon the Water saying I puff and blow ye all ye Legions of Satan In the Name c. The Benediction of Rue Vers. Our help is in the Lord. Resp. Who made Heaven and Earth Vers. The Lord be with you Resp. And with thy Spirit Then pray That where-ever it be laid it may have power to terrifie and put the Devil to flight and that whoever be fumed with it may be free from all assaults of the Devil c. The Benediction of Fire to burn the Instruments of Sorcery Vers. Our help is in the Name of the Lord. Resp. Who made Heaven and Earth Then say I bless exorcise and conjure thee O Creature Fire by him who causes the Earth to tremble that thou dost not fail to be my aid against these Infernal Thieves and Robbers to crucifie asflict and torment them an hundred times more than all the Sulphur in Hell Then sprinkle the Fire with Holy Water but not so as to put it out and cast the Devils Tools into it saying Let God arise and let his Enemies be scattered The Benediction of an Incense to fume Demoniacs Vers. Our help c. Resp. Who made c. Vers. The Lord be with you Resp. And with thy Spirit The Pomander Take Galbanum Sulphur of each three drams Roots of Assa foetida Birthwort St. Johns-wort and Rue of each three drams Let all these be blest and conjur'd with the following Conjuration I exorcise conjure thee O Creature called Incense by all the holy Names of God that thou mayst become an exorcised blessed and consecrated Fumigation to the Salvation of Vs and all faithful Christians and a perpetual punishment to all Evil Spirits and a fire to torment and burn them beyond the Sulphur of Hell-fire c. What merciless Fellows these Exorcists are to desire a more heavy punishment for the Devil than God has thought fit to ordain them Then throw the Pomander into the fire and hold the Demoniac's Nose over the smoke whether he will or no. Certainly it had been much better to have made a Pomander to fright the Devil of Gelsomy-flowers and Orange-flowers Lignum Aloes and such like for he is so used to ill smells that he cares not a f t for ' em Besides if the Devil has no head as they say he has not then he has no Nose and then what will all the nasty scents in the world signifie If ill smells operate so strongly upon the Devil these Exorcists were extremely overseen that they did not set down a Form for the Benediction and Exorcising a House of Office and for setting the Demoniac up to the neck in the consecrated Ordure for three or four days together But Bernardus non videt omnia 'T is easie to add to invention but not to invent A Benediction of Gold Frankincense and Myrrh against the Devils called Incubi and Succubi and against the assaults of Evil Spirits First be sure to have the Gold Frankincense and Myrrh ready Then bless them as follows Vers. Our help is in the Lord. Resp. Who made c. Then read the Psalm Lord give thy Judgments to the King quite through Then cry Lord have mercy upon us Then sing the following Anthem And the Wise-men who were
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
cast out Devils And Adjuration or charging by an Oath we find in the fifth of Numbers by which the Woman was not adjured by the Priest to the end he might cast out Devils out of her only he wished her good or evil as she had behaved her self in the point of Chastity or Uncleanness upon which he charged her with an Oath and either absolved or cursed her Joshua also adjured Achan not to cast out the Devil out of him but to make him confess the concealment of the Spoils Some are of Opinion however That David exorcised Saul which is not to be believed For he only played upon his Harp before him and the Songs he sang were only the Praises of God But that he made no use of Exorcisms may be confirmed from hence first for that he did not perfectly cure Saul only when David play'd Saul was refreshed and the Evil Spirit departed for a time Neither did David use any form of Conjuration but only certain Musical Verses which were delightful to the ear and therefore not unfit to recreate the heavy Hypochondriacal humor of Saul As for the Jews it is plain there were certain Pretenders to Exorcism among them as appears by the twelfth of Matthew If I by Beelzebub cast out Devils by whom do your sons cast them out By which words your sons St. Jerome understands certain Exorcists that ran about the Country conjuring unclean Spirits in the Name of God But it does not hence follow that the Pope has power to erect Colledges and Societies of Exorcists as if it were in the power of man to bind and tye the Grace of God to Institutions and humane Elections Afterwards Christ renewed this power of casting out Devils and was himself the Head and Chief of those that did and acted with great Command and Authority against Unclean Spirits He also bequeathed this Gift to his Disciples who nevertheless were not always obeyed by those Evil Spirits as appears by the seventeenth of Matthew and Christ tells them the reason why because of their unbelief How then can these Popish Priests and Exorcists presume to such a miraculous Gift who give greater credit to fictitious Saints and Images than to that Jesus in whose only Name they ought to perform that great work which they pretend to undertake How long then this Gift of adjuring Evil Spirits remained in the Church is uncertain Justin Martyr who lived in the time of Antoninus Pius affirms That several Christians performed great Cures of this nature which other Enchanters Exorcists and Charmers could not do and Tertullian that the same Gift of expelling Devils continued in the time of Severus and numbers himself among the rest but he adds withal We cast out Devils not for reward or hire as the Popish Exorcists do meerly to pick the pockets of the deluded people But though it be not so clear how long this great Gift continued in the Church most certain it is that Superstition and Prophaneness soon trod upon the heels of primitive Piety and the Devil tyred and curbed with the commands of entire Sanctity soon found out a way to rid himself out of those bonds and to be at more liberty Therefore St. Austin tells us of a certain Roman Tribune in his time that having his House haunted was presented by his Friend with a piece of the Earth taken from the Grave where Christ was buried and out of which he rose again which the Tribune hung up in his Bed-Chamber to terrifie the Devil Afterwards when the ancient Bishops and Parochial Priests were so far from correcting these Errors that as they call it out of a good intention they rather increased and added to them they augmented to a prodigious number And then it was that the mercenary Exorcisers minding more their profit than the good of the people not only called upon Christ but invoked an hundred sorts of Saints not minding the saying of St. Paul How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed But the Popish Exorcisers call upon the Saints in whom they believe how then shall they call upon Christ in whom they do not believe while they adore the Saved before the Saviour Others believed the mumbling of Ave Mary to be of special force against the Devil whenas it is certain that that Angelical Salutation was no Prayer but an Angelical relation of the happy Tidings which he brought the Virgin for so the following words full of Grace explain denoting that God had at that time conferred his Grace upon her and not that she is the Fountain of Grace as the Papists would thence collect Now there is a great difference between the person that confers the favour and the person upon whom the favour is conferred But now adays the Papists all implore the Virgin Mary as expecting from her more favour and assistance than from Christ himself Afterwards as Superstition increased they fell to exorcising and consecrating Water Salt Herbs Candles and an hundred more such sort of things and gave them to silly people to keep in their houses as Preservatives against the Devil But the Sign of the Cross out-did all so that about the year 1098. when the Cestertian Order first begun to appear in the World several Armies being seen in the Air near Wormes for many nights and days together and at such a certain time being observed to retire to a Mountain not far distant and there to vanish a certain Cestertian Monk of Limburgh was resolved to know their business To which purpose he first fortified and armed himself and his Companions with the Sign of the Holy Cross and so going to the Mountain when they appeared again he conjured and adjured them in the Name of the holy Trinity so terribly that one of the Troop made answer That they were the Souls of Souldiers that had been slain in or near that place some time before The Monk asked them Whether they expected any assistance or succour from men The Spirit answered Yes by their Fasting and Prayers but more especially by the Oblation of the Body and Blood of Christ and so saying the whole Host cryed out three times Orate pro nobis Pray for us And thus you see the great Virtue of the holy Cross and a Popish Tale to confirm it And thousands there are at this day who deceived by their Priests most stedfastly believe That if they do but sign their Foreheads with the Sign of the Cross the Devil has no power to come near them nor to hurt them From whence it is apparent That in the primitive Times for the Confirmation of the Divine Truth of the Gospel there was a heavenly Bequest to several holy Persons to excel in Miracles who by the Imposition of hands did deliver many Demoniacs from the vexation of Evil Spirits Which extraordinary Gift then ceased when those other extraordinary Gifts that accompanied it were at a period So that the Herd of Popish Exorcisers that fill the