PNEUMATOLOGY 111 



and the spirits of night can therefore not use it for their 

 purposes." 



"If women have passed beyond the age of fertility 

 and are unchaste and of a vivid imagination, they often 

 call such things into existence. If persons of either 

 sex have lewd desires and an active imagination, or if 

 they are passionately in love with another person of the 

 opposite sex, and unable to obtain the object of their 

 desire and fancy, then an Incubus or Succubus may take 

 the place of the absent object, and in this way sorcerers 

 call Succubi, and witches Incubi, into existence." ^ " To 

 prevent such unfortunate occurrences, it is necessary 

 to be chaste, honest, and pure, in thought and desire, 

 and whoever is unable to remain so should not remain 

 single.^ Imagination is a great power, and if the world 

 knew what strange things can be produced by the power 

 of the imagination, the public authorities would cause all 

 idle persons to go to work and to employ their time in 

 some useful manner, and they would take care of those 

 who are unable to control their own imagination, in order 

 that such evil results should be avoided " {Morb. Invis, iv.). 



^ Mediaeval occult literature and that of Modern Spiritualism contain 

 many examples of Incubi and Succubi, some having appeared visibly and 

 tangibly ; others, though unseen, were touched and felt. Such cases are 

 at the present day much more numerous than is commonly believed, but 

 they can only "materialise" if the necessary conditions are given. They 

 are therefore only felt during a state of sickness, and after the recovery of 

 the patient they disappear, because they cannot draw the elements neces- 

 sary for materialisation out of a healthy constitution. Such Incubi and 

 Succubi are the products of a physically and morally diseased state. The 

 morbid imagination creates an image, the will of the person objectifies it, 

 and the nerve aura can render it substantial to sight and touch. More- 

 over, having once been created, they attract to themselves corresponding 

 influences from the astral soul of the world. 



2 Animal instincts cannot be suppressed, and the ** flesh" cannot be 

 "mortified," except by awakening a higher psychical activity in the place 

 of the lower ones, or by an exaltation of the spiritual nature over the 

 animal principle in man. Abstinence in acts is useless for spiritual 

 development, unless it is followed by abstinence in thought. Enforced 

 celibacy does not make a priest ; a true j-riest is a saint, and saints are 

 persons who have outgrown their carnal desires. 



