MIDDLE-AGE SPIRITUALISM. 



357 



and other noxious vermin, for any neglect of these forms was supposed 

 to deprive a judgment of its magical power. The question whether 

 they were subject to a spiritual or legal tribunal was much agitated, 

 but without being definitely settled. A civil prosecution of the field- 

 rats in the Tyrol, 1519-'20, proves that sometimes such suits were de- 

 cided by secular tribunals. 



The peasant, Simon Fliss, made complaint to the judge, William of 

 Hasslingen, that the field-rats were committing great depredations in 

 his parish. The court then appointed Hans Grinebner advocate for 

 the accused, and the plaintiff chose as his advocate Schwarz Minig. 

 Numerous witnesses established the fact that the rats had committed 

 great destruction, and the decision was rendered against them in the 

 following terms : " After accusation and defense, after statement and 

 contradiction, and after due consideration of all that pertains to justice, 

 it is by this sentence determined that those noxious animals which are 

 called field-rats must, within two weeks after the promulgation of this 

 judgment, depart and for ever remain far aloof from the fields and the 

 meadows of Stilf. But if one or several of the animals are pregnant, 

 or unable on account of their youth to follow, then shall they enjoy, 

 during further two weeks, safety and protection from everybody, and 

 after these two weeks depart." 



Nothing was too absurd, nothing too superstitious, for the credulity 

 of this period. The consecrated machinery was so various and com- 

 plete that, if one explanation did not serve the purpose of the Church, 

 another could usually be found. One question, however, did not read- 

 ily find an answer, namely : How are the divine miracles to be dis- 

 tinguished from the infernal ones ? Attempts of the acutest scholas- 

 tics failed to establish a rule of definite separation ; for the two kinds 

 of miracles were revealed under identical forms, and Satan could 

 transform himself into an angel of light. The grossest doctrines re- 

 ceived the sanction of the Church, and thus was laid the foundation of 

 that labyrinth of superstitions among the people in the darkness of 

 which humanity groped for a thousand years. If the miracles worked 

 by the apostles of the Church had their source in divine agencies, then 

 those performed by its opponents must have been instigated by the 

 devil. The white magic stood opposed to the black, and the idea of a 

 conscious league between the devil and man became a well-established 

 dogma. 



In the fifteenth century there came a terrible crisis. This was pre- 

 ceded by the trial of the Templars and by several local witch-processes 

 with subsequent executions, until finally, December 5, 1484, the bull 

 of Pope Innocent VIII. appeared. This, with its companion, a book 

 called " The Witch-hammer," brought the evil to a climax. Some idea 

 of this bull may be gathered from the following extract. The Pope 

 begins by asserting that, as the guardian of souls, he must exercise 

 care in promoting the growth of the Catholic faith and driving her- 



