Concerning
the enormity of crimes, it is asked whether the crimes of witches
exceed, both in guilt, in pain, and in loss, all the evils which God
allows and has permitted from the beginning of the world up till now.
And it seems that they do not, especially as regards guilt. For the
sin which a man commits when he could easily avoid it is greater than
the sin which another man commits when he could not so easily avoid
it. This is shown by S. Augustine, de Ciuit. Dei: There is
great wickedness in sinning when it is so easy not to sin. But Adam,
and others who have sinned when in a state of perfection or even of
grace, could more easily because of the help of grace have avoided
their sins — especially Adam who was created in grace —
than many witches, who have not shared in such gifts. Therefore the
sins of such are greater than all the crimes of witches.
And again in respect of punishment: the greatest
punishment is due to the greater blame. But Adam's sin was the most
heavily punished, as is plainly proved by the fact that both his
guilt and his punishment are shown in all his posterity by the
inheritance of original sin. Therefore his sin is greater than all
other sins.
And again, the same is
argued in respect of loss. For according to S. Augustine: A thing is
evil in that it takes away from the good; therefore where there is
the more good lost, there the greater evil has gone before. But the
sin of our first parent brought the greatest loss both to nature and
to grace, since it deprived us of innocence and immortality; and no
subsequent sin has brought such loss, therefore, etc.
But the contrary side: that which includes the most
causes of evil is the greater evil, and such are the sins of witches.
For they can, with God's permission, bring every evil upon that which
is good by nature and in form, as is declared in the Papal Bull.
Besides, Adam sinned only in doing that which was wrong in one of two
ways; for it was forbidden, but was not wrong in itself: but witches
and other sinners sin in doing that which is wrong in both ways,
wrong in itself, and forbidden, such as murders and many other
forbidden things. Therefore their sins are heavier than other sins.
Besides, sin which comes from definite malice is
heavier than sin which comes from ignorance. But witches, out of
great malice, despise the Faith and the sacraments of the Faith, as
many of them have confessed.
Answer.
The evils which are perpetrated by modern witches exceed all other
sin which God has ever permitted to be done, as was said in the title
of this Question. And this can be shown in three ways, in so far as
they are sins involving perversity of character, though it is
different with the sins that contravene the other Theological
virtues. First in general, by comparing their works indifferently
with any other worldly crimes. Secondly in particular, by considering
the species of the superstition and into what pact they have entered
with the devil. And thirdly, by comparing their sins with the sins of
the bad Angels and even with that of our first parents.
And first, sin is threefold, involving guilt,
punishment, and loss. Good also is correspondingly threefold,
involving righteousness, felicity, and use. And righteousness
corresponds with the guilt, felicity with punishment, and use with
loss.
That the guilt of witches
exceeds all other sins is apparent in this way. For according to the
teaching of S. Thomas (II, 22, art. 2), there is in the matter of sin
much that may be considered whereby the gravity or lightness of the
sin may be deduced; and the same sin may be found heavy in one and
light in another. For example, we can say that in fornication a young
man sins, but an old man is mad. Yet those sins are, simply speaking,
the heavier which are not only attended by the more extensive and
more powerful circumstances, but are in their nature and quantity of
a more essentially serious sort.
And
so we can say that, though the sin of Adam was in some respects
heavier than all other sins, inasmuch as he fell to the instigation
of a smaller temptation, since it came only from within; and also
because he could more easily have resisted on account of the original
justice in which he was created: nevertheless in the form and
quantity of sin, and in other respects which aggravate the sin the
more in that it is the cause of many yet heavier sins, the sins of
witches exceed all other sins. And this will be made still clearer in
two ways.
For one sin is said to be
greater than another in one or other of the following respects: in
causality, as was the sin of Lucifer; in generality, as Adam's sin;
in hideousness, as was the sin of Judas; in the difficulty of
forgiving it, as is the sin against the Holy Ghost; in danger, as in
the sin of covetousness; in inclination, as is the sin of the flesh;
in the offending of the Divine Majesty, as is the sin of idolatry and
infidelity; in the difficulty of combating it, as the sin of pride;
in blindness of mind, as the sin of anger. Accordingly, after the sin
of Lucifer, the works of witches exceed all other sins, in
hideousness since they deny Him crucified, in inclination since the
commit nastiness of the flesh with devils, in blindness of mind since
in a pure spirit of malignity the rage and bring every injury upon
the souls and bodies of men and beasts, as has been shown from what
has been said before.
And this,
indeed, is indicated, according to S. Isidore, by the word. For they
are called witches (maleficae) on account of the enormity of
their crimes, as has been said above.
Our contention is also deduced from the following. There are two
gradations in sin, a turning away, and a change of heart. See our
quotation from S. Augustine: Sin is to reject the incommutable good,
and to cleave to things that are variable. And the turning away from
God is as it were formal, just as the change of heart is as it were
material. Therefore the more a man is separated from God by it, the
heavier is the sin. And since infidelity is the chief cause of man's
separation from God, the infidelity of witches stands out as the
greatest of sins. And this is given the name of Heresy, which is
Apostasy from the Faith; and in this witches sin throughout their
whole lives.
For the sin of infidelity
consists in opposing the Faith; and this may come about in two ways,
by opposing a faith which has not yet been received, or by opposing
it after it has been received. Of the first sort is the infidelity of
the Pagans or Gentiles. In the second way, the Christian Faith may be
denied in two ways: either by denying the prophecies concerning it,
or by denying the actual manifestation of its truth. And the first of
these is the infidelity of the Jews, and the second the infidelity of
Heretics.
It is clear from this that
the heresy of witches is the most heinous of the three degrees of
infidelity; and this fact is proved both by reason and authority. For
it is said in II. S. Peter ii: It has been better for them not
to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known
it, to turn from it. And it is reasonable to suppose that, just as he
who does not perform what he has promised commits a greater sin than
he who does not perform what he never promised, so the infidelity of
the heretics, who while professing the faith of the Gospel fight
against it by corrupting it, is a greater sin than that of the Jews
and Pagans.
And again, the Jews sin
more greatly than the Pagans; for they received the prophecy of the
Christian Faith in the Old Law, which they corrupt through badly
interpreting it, which is not the case with the Pagans. Therefore
their infidelity is a greater sin than that of the Gentiles, who
never received the Faith of the Gospel. But concerning Apostasy, S.
Thomas says in the Second of the Second, question 12: Apostasy
means a turning away from God and religion, and this may happen
according to the different ways by which man is joined to God; that
is, by faith, or by the subjection of the will to obedience, or by
religion and Holy Orders. S. Raymund and Hostiensis say that Apostasy
is a rash departure from the state of faith or obedience or Religion.
Now if that which precedes is removed, that which follows from it is
also removed; but the converse proposition is not true. Therefore
Apostasy from the Faith is a greater sin than the other two forms of
infidelity, since in its case a precedent Religion has been
removed.
But according to S. Raymund,
a man is not to be judged an Apostate or deserter, however far and
long he may have strayed, unless he shows by his subsequent life that
he has not though of returning to the Faith. And this would be shown
in the case of a cleric if he were to marry a wife, or commit some
similar crime. In the same way it is an Apostasy of disobedience when
a man wilfully spurns the teaching of the Church and the Bishops. And
such a man must be convicted of his infamy, and be excommunicated.
Now when we speak of the Apostasy of witches, we
mean the Apostasy of perfidy; and this is so much the more heinous,
in that it springs from a pact made with the enemy of the Faith and
the way of salvation. For witches are bound to make this pact, which
is exacted by that enemy either in part or wholly. For we Inquisitors
have found some witches who have denied all the articles of Faith,
and others who have denied only a certain number of them; but they
are all bound to deny true and sacramental confession. And so, even
the Apostasy of Julian does not seem to have been so great, although
in other respects he did more harm against the Church; but we cannot
speak of that here.
But it may be
incidentally objected that it is possible that they may keep the
Faith in the thoughts of their hearts, which God alone, and not even
any Angel, can see into; but do reverence and obedience to the devil
only in outward form. The answer to this seems to be that there are
two degrees of the Apostasy of perfidy. One consists in outward acts
of infidelity, without the formation of any pact with the devil, as
when one lives in the lands of the infidels and conforms his life to
that of the Mohammedans. The other consists in a pact made with the
devil by one who lives in Christian lands, In the first case, men who
keep the Faith in their hearts but deny it in their outward acts,
though they are not Apostates or Heretics, are guilty of deadly sin.
For in this way Solomon showed reverence to the gods of his wives.
And no one can be excused on the ground that he does this through
fear; for S. Augustine says: It is better to die of hunger than to be
fed by Idolaters. But however much witches may retain the Faith in
their hearts while denying it with their lips, they are still to be
judged Apostates, since they have made a treaty with death and a
compact with hell. Wherefore S. Thomas (II, 4), speaking of such
magic works, and of those who in any way seek help from devils, says:
They are all Apostates from the Faith, by reason of a pact made with
the Devil, either in word, when some invocation is used, or by some
deed, even if there is no actual sacrifice. For no man can serve two
masters.
To the same effect writes
Blessed Albertus Magnus, where he asks whether the sin of Magicians
and Astrologers is an Apostasy from the Faith. And he answers: In
such there is always Apostasy either of word or of deed. For if any
invocations are made, then there is an open pact made with the devil,
and it is plainly Apostasy in word. But if their magic is simply a
matter of action, then it is Apostasy in deed. And since in all these
there is abuse of the Faith, seeing that they look for from the devil
what they ought to look for from God, therefore they are always to be
judged Apostates. See how clearly they set forth two degrees of
Apostasy, understanding a third, namely, that of thought. And even if
this last is lacking, yet witches are judged to be Apostates in word
and deed. Therefore, as will be shown, they must be subject to the
punishment of Heretics and Apostates.
And there is in them a third enormity of crime, exceeding all other
heresies. For S. Augustine (XXVIII, 1 and 2) tells us that the whole
life of infidels is a sin; and the gloss on Romans xiv says
that everything which comes not of faith is sin. What then is to be
thought of the whole life of witches, that is, of all their other
actions which are not pleasing to the devil, such as fasting,
attending church, communicating, and other things? For in all these
things they commit deadly sin, as is shown as follows. So far have
they fallen in sin that, although they have not lost all power of
amendment (since sin does not corrupt the whole good of their nature,
and a natural light yet remains in them); yet, because of their
homage given to the devil, and unless they be absolved from it, all
their works, even when they appear to be good, are rather of an evil
nature. And this is not seen to be the case with other infidels.
For according to S. Thomas in the Second of
the Second, question 10, Whether every action of an infidel is a
sin; he says that the deeds of the unfaithful which are, of
themselves, good, such as fasting, almsgiving, and deeds of that
sort, are no merit to them because of their infidelity, which is a
most grievous sin. Yet sin does not corrupt the whole good of their
nature, and there remains in them a natural light. Therefore not ever
deed of theirs is mortal sin, but only those which proceed from their
very infidelity, or are related to it. For example, a Saracen fasts,
to observe the law of Mohammed as to fasting, and a Jew observes his
Feast days; but in such things he is guilty of mortal sin. And in
this way is to be understood the above dictum of S. Augustine, that
the whole life of infidels is sin.
That Witches Deserve the heaviest Punishment above All the Criminals of the World.
The crimes
of witches, then, exceed the sins of all others; and we now declare
what punishment they deserve, whether as Heretics or as Apostates.
Now Heretics, according to S. Raymund, are punished in various ways,
as by excommunication, deposition, confiscation of their goods, and
death. The reader can be fully informed concerning all these by
consulting the law relating to the sentence of excommunication.
Indeed even their followers, protectors, patrons and defenders incur
the heaviest penalties. For, besides the punishment of
excommunication inflicted upon them, Heretics, together with their
patrons, protectors and defenders, and with their children to the
second generation on the father's side, and to the first degree on
the mother's side, are admitted to no benefit or office of the
Church. And if a Heretic have Catholic children, for the heinousness
of his crime they are deprived of their paternal inheritance. And if
a man be convicted, and refuse to be converted and abjure his heresy,
he must at once be burned, if he is a layman. For if they who
counterfeit money are summarily put to death, how much more must they
who counterfeit the Faith? But if he is a cleric, after solemn
degradation he is handed over to the secular Court to be put to
death. But if they return to the Faith, they are to be imprisoned for
life. But in practice they are treated more leniently after
recantation than they should be according to the judgement of the
Bishops and Inquisition, as will be shown in the Third Part, where
the various methods of sentencing such are treated of; that is to
say, those who are arrested and convicted and have recanted their
error.
But to punish witches in these
ways does not seem sufficient, since they are not simple Heretics,
but Apostates. More than this, in their very apostasy they do not
deny the Faith for any fear of men or for any delight of the flesh,
as has been said before; but, apart from their abnegation, even give
homage to the very devils by offering them their bodies and souls. Is
is clear enough from this that, however much they are penitent and
return to the Faith, they must not be punished like other Heretics
with lifelong imprisonment, but must be made to suffer the extreme
penalty. And because of the temporal injury which they do to men and
beasts in various ways, the laws demand this. Is is even equally
culpable to learn as it is to teach such iniquities, say the laws
concerning Soothsayers. Then how much more emphatically do they speak
concerning witches, where they say that the penalty for them is the
confiscation of their goods and decapitation. The laws also say much
concerning those who by witchcraft provoke a woman to lust, or,
conversely, cohabit with beasts. But these matters were touched upon
on the First Question.