Those centuries, so poor in tradition, which lie between the Homeric period and the sixth century B.C. witnessed the first blossoming of divine enthusiasm.1 Presumably the phenomena of possession in the sense in which we use the words here were not infrequent during this period, but no evidence appears to have been handed down, so that we are reduced to draw psychological inferences by analogy.
In the fifth century B.C. the intensification of man’s inner life in relation to divine passions seems to have been reduced to normal proportions.1 (Moreover, divine inspiration when it is complete exceeds the bounds of the “purely human.”) In this respect Plato’s attitude towards ecstasy is characteristic: he knows it, even recognizes it, but has never himself been in that state. The which he experienced and which is imparted and preached in his writings never exceeds reasonable limits. This is consistent with the fact that Plato was in perfect health,2 while Plotinus, the true ecstatic, had a completely pathological temperament.3
As states of divine possession are generally of a voluntary nature, or at least desired, we shall deal with them first.
The nearer antiquity draws to its close the more the picture alters. A completely different conception of life replaces the classical one. The spiritual element, still conceived as acting in the world externally to man, loses its divine character more and more, or else this latter ceases to remain predominant. In the Hellenic period spirits begin to come forth from every corner and the clearness of the sky is darkened by their swarming. The air is filled with a horde of demons; they besiege man and take possession of his inner life. Anguish, fear and horror now lay hold on the soul which was formerly drunk with the divine Eros; it was as if the Olympians forsook the earth for the second time. For the educated of early Christian times to fall gradually and increasingly under the power of these dark ideas they must already have been widely spread among the lower classes. Nevertheless faith in divine possession did not disappear, as we shall see later; but belief in a world swarming with evil spirits stands out in strong relief as the chief characteristic of the period. It finally made its way into philosophy, even although on this pinnacle of life the conception of the reality of the gods and the possibility of their filling the human soul kept its predominance until the end.
Harnack1 characterizes as follows the situation in the second century A.D.:
The distinguishing trait of belief in demons in the second century consists first of all in the fact that it spreads from the obscure and lower strata of society to the upper ones, and even finds its way into literature, becoming far more important than before; secondly in that it no longer has beside it a strong, simple, and open religion to keep it under; furthermore in that the power of the demon, hitherto considered as morally indifferent, is now conceived as evil; finally in the individual application of the new religion which at that time numbered the mental affections also among its consequences. If all these causes are taken into consideration, the extraordinary spread of belief in demons and the numerous outbursts of demoniacal affections must be attributed to the combined effects of the well-known facts that in imperial times faith in the ancient religions was disappearing, the individual began to feel himself free and independent, and to realise his own essential being and responsibility. Being no longer held and bound by any tradition, he wandered amongst the heaped-up ruins of the traditions, now reduced to lifeless fragments, of a fast disappearing world, seeking out first one, then another, only in many cases to end, driven by fear and hope, in finding a deceitful support in the most ridiculous of them or else falling ill over it.
May we not also see in the close contact established from the time of Alexander the Great onwards with the civilization of the Euphrates and Tigris, the very home of demonology, another essential cause of the spread of belief in demons?
Jacob Burckhardt expresses himself thus on the subject of further development in the third and fourth centuries, during which belief in demons gradually and completely destroyed the monotheism built up by the influence of philosophy:
It is a humiliating testimony to. the slavishness of the human spirit where the great forces of history are concerned that the philosophy of the period, professed in part by persons of real worth and armed with all the learning of the old world, here (as regards monotheism) wandered into the most obscure byways. Although it marks an advance in the moral domain we have no choice, so far as the early fourth century is concerned, but to rank it among the superstitions.2
There were still, of course, pure hearts and clear intellects who held fast to the unity of God in the spirit of earlier, better times; but in most cases this conviction was beclouded by demoniacal elements.3
Pagans, Jews, and Christians were alike convinced that spirits and the dead could be conjured. We are not dealing, moreover, with a forcibly imposed belief like that in the existence of witches in the last centuries, but with a hundred unequivocal declarations, spontaneous and consequently very various, made by writers, some of whom are circumspect and generally of high moral tone.1
Two particularly good descriptions of possessed persons taken from pagan Greek literature (Lucian and Philostratus) have already been reproduced above (p. 6).
A very interesting light is thrown on the theoretical consequences of possession by a passage from the Christian author Clement of Alexandria. Referring to Plato he writes (erroneously) that the latter deduced from the observation of cases of possession certain theories as to the language of the gods which seems to be spoken by the mouths of the possessed:
Plato attributes a dialect also to the gods, forming this conjecture mainly from dreams and oracles, and especially from demoniacs, who do not speak their own language of dialect but that of the demons who have taken possession of them. He thinks also that the irrational creatures have dialects, which those that belong to the same genus understand…. But the first and generic barbarous dialects have terms by nature, since also men confess that prayers uttered in a barbarian tongue are more powerful.2
Nevertheless, pagan antiquity is not the main source to which we owe our knowledge of possession in the ancient world, It is rather derived from Christian literature, the New Testament and Patristic writings, from which it appears that possession has been of very frequent occurrence in the Mediterranean basin since the time of Christ.
It would be entirely false to believe that possession was confined to the Jews; it was common throughout the world of late antiquity, and the cure of demoniacal affections was a distinguishing characteristic of all the religious and magic-working prophets of the time. If the most important information comes from Christian literature, this is certainly because it has survived in relatively much greater quantities than non-Christian writings. How few fragments of the copious Hellenic literature have come down to us! With what difficulty do we reconstruct the richly developed religious life of Hellas! and how often we have nothing but the information involuntarily preserved in the polemical works of the Christians to serve as basis for conclusions a posteriori on lost writings! The invasion of the barbarians who conquered the Roman Empire has destroyed infinitely less than did the Christian hatred and persecution of the heathen. Never in the world’s history has so vast a literature been so radically given over to destruction. Nor is its historical value the only thing involved: the influence of antiquity on the present would have been still greater had more of the literature of its later times been preserved.
From whence comes the greatly increased importance which belief in demons assumed at that time amongst the Greeks and Romans? “This has not yet been explained,” says Harnack.1 But at least he feels safe in saying that there is “a strong presumption that very widespread ideas may have represented the course and events of the world as subject to the influence of demons who ruled the air. Astrology also came into play.” It cannot be admitted that Jewish and Christian influences were solely responsible for the spread of belief in demons, as it had permeated the whole Empire before the second century; but these two, like other easte
rn religions, especially that of Egypt, may have contributed to it.
The extent to which possession must have spread is attested by the fact that there was a whole body of exorcists, as to-day “bone-setters” practise side by side with learned physicians.2 Possession existed not only in the provinces, but, according to the evidence of Justin Martyr, in the Roman metropolis also. That the number of energumens became very great is evidenced by the frequency with which possession is mentioned by the Fathers of the Church, but above all by the existence of general rules for its treatment. We find, for instance, in Dionysius the Areopagite that possessed persons should be excluded from the holy sacraments and ordinations, but admitted to interments.3
The description of Sulpicius Severus also shows (assuming it not to be exaggerated) that the number of possessed persons had become very considerable. Of a monk particularly successful in exorcism he says:
He, therefore, was to a wonderful degree visited by people who came to him from every part of the world. I say nothing about those of humbler rank; but prefects, courtiers and judges of various ranks often lay at his doors. Most holy bishops also, laying aside their priestly dignity, and humbly imploring him to touch and bless them, believed with good reason that they were sanctified, and illumined with a divine gift, as often as they touched his hand and garment.1
This last sentence, however, throws doubt on whether the persons referred to were always possessed in the true sense of the word.
No information concerning epidemics of possession appears to be available.
The identity of the states of that period with better-known modern ones is evident, not merely from the general description of single cases, but also from numerous details.
Thus we already find related by Gregory the Great a multiple possession of one and the same individual:
… And forasmuch as she was by the enemy continually and cruelly tormented, her kinsfolk that carnally loved her, and with their love did persecute her, caused her to be carried for help to certain witches; so utterly to cast away her soul, whose body they went about by sorcery to relieve. Coming into their hands she was by them brought to a river and there washed in the water, the sorcerers labouring a long time by their enchantments to cast out the devil that had possessed her body: but by the wonderful judgment of Almighty God, it fell out that while one by unlawful act was expelled, suddenly a whole legion did enter in. And from that time forward she began to be tossed with so many varieties of motions, to shriek out in so many sundry tunes, as there were devils in her body. Then her parents, consulting together, and confessing their own wickedness, carried her to the venerable Bishop Fortunatus, and with him they left her: who, having taken her to his charge, fell to his prayers many days and nights, and he prayed so much the more earnestly, because he had against him, in one body, an whole army of devils; and many days passed not, before he made her so safe and sound, as though the devil had never had any power or interest in her body.2
Apparent possession by animal demons seems also to have occurred. Jerome reports in his biography of St. Paula that she met in the neighbourhood of Samaria possessed persons whose behaviour was in some respects that of animals:
She heard how men howled like wolves, barked like dogs, roared like lions, hissed like serpents, bellowed like bulls.1
An example of the infection of a priest by a demoniac is found in Gregory the Great:
And behold, straight upon the bringing of the relics of St. Sebastian the martyr into the oratory, a wicked spirit possessed the aforesaid matron’s daughter-in-law, and pitifully tormented her before all the people. The priest of the oratory, beholding her so terribly vexed and lifted up, took a white linen cloth and cast upon her; and forthwith the devil also entered into him, and because he presumed above his strength, enforced also he was by his own vexation, to know what himself was.2
The autosuggestive genesis of possession is also very evident in certain cases. Thus the extreme fear of demons led to the onset of possession as a consequence of past sins. Amongst numerous examples we will again quote a case related by Gregory the Great:
… To relate only a small part of what the abbot and prior of this convent told me. One day two brethren were sent to buy something for the needs of the convent. One was younger and seemed cleverer; the other was older and should have supervised the first. As they went on their way he who should have looked after the younger man committed a larceny, unwittingly, with the money which had been given to them. As soon as they had returned to the convent and on the very threshold of the house of piety, he who had committed the theft fell to the earth, seized by the evil spirit, and suffered great torments. When the evil spirit had left him he was questioned by all the monks who had hastened to the spot; he was asked if he had not misappropriated the money received. He denied it and was tormented a second time. When the evil spirit had again left him he was again questioned but again denied and was once more given over to torment. He denied eight times and eight times was tormented. At the eighth falsehood he confessed the sum of money which he had stolen. He did penance, prostrated himself, admitted his sin and the evil spirit returned no more as soon as he had accomplished the expiation.3
Another case is handed down by Sulpicius Severus. A monk renowned as an exorcist became himself possessed.
But in the meantime, just as honour accrued to the holy man from his excellence, so vanity began to steal upon him from the honour which was paid him. When first he perceived that this evil was growing upon him, he struggled long and earnestly to shake it off, but it could not be thoroughly got rid of by all his efforts…. Betaking himself, therefore, with fervent supplication to God, he is said to have prayed that, power being given to the devil over him for five months, he might become like to those whom he himself had cured…. That most powerful man—he, renowned for his miracles and virtues through all the East, he, to whose threshold multitudes had gathered, and at whose door the highest dignitaries of that age had prostrated themselves—laid hold of by a demon, was kept fast in chains. It was only after having suffered all these things which the possessed are wont to endure, that at length in the fifth month he was delivered, not only from the demon, but (what was to him more useful and desirable) from the vanity which had dwelt within him.1
Early Christian testimonies must, as always, be accepted with a certain reserve. It certainly does not appear that all maladies were considered as forms of demoniacal possession, but the conception of possession was nevertheless much wider than our own.
Whereas Plato considered sin to be a sickness of the soul, Christianity regarded it as possession and of a nature even graver than the usual form, inasmuch as in the latter the possessed realizes his state, while in sin the contrary obtains. Cassian remarks:
Although it is a fact that those men are more grievously and severely troubled, who, while they seem to be very little affected by them in the body, are yet possessed in spirit in a far worse way, as they are entangled in their sins and lusts. For as the Apostle says: “Of whom a man is overcome, of him he is also the servant.” Only that in this respect they are more dangerously ill, because though they are their slaves, yet they do not know that they are assaulted by them, and under their dominion.2
There is an irreconcilable contradiction in Cassian’s express and emphatic statement that the possessed may be neither execrated nor despised,3 when he cannot be said to adopt this point of view as regards the immoral, although he conceives that they should be given credit for the fact that they are unaware of their possession.
As for the moral judgement to be passed on the possessed, there seems to have been no unanimity whatever. A Father of the Church, the Syrian Rabbulas, writes that “priests should not give the Host to possessed persons lest the Most Holy Thing be profaned by contact with demons.”1 Cassian, on the contrary, was of the opinion that they should receive communion every day if possible as a spiritual remedy.2 It would be unjust to withhold it from them on the strength of the saying that pearls shoul
d not be cast before swine, that the communion should not become the devil’s food. There does not appear to have been any general relationship between the morality of the individual and the genesis of possession; it came on as an autosuggestive consequence of sin, but occurred also amongst the saints. Cassian says:
But we know that even saintly men have been given over in the flesh to Satan and to great afflictions for some very slight faults, since the divine mercy will not suffer the very least spot or stain to be found in them on the day of judgment, and purges away in this world every spot of their filth, as the prophet, or rather God himself says, in order that he may commit them to eternity as gold or silver refined and needing no final purification.3
Christianity had the greatest share in the use of exorcism as a means of cure:
The Christians made their appearance throughout the whole world as exorcists of demons, and exorcism was a very powerful missionary and propagandist weapon. They were concerned not merely with exorcising the demons which inhabit man, but also with purging them from the atmosphere and the whole of public life. For the century (the second) was under the dominion of the spirit of darkness and his legions…. The whole world and the atmosphere surrounding it was peopled with devils; all the formalities of life—not only the worship of idols—were governed by them. They sat upon thrones and surrounded the infant’s cradle. The earth, God’s creation though it is now and for ever, became in very truth a hell.4
It is very interesting that Christianity, engaged in combat with possession, should have professed to have a greater power of overcoming it than exorcists of any other persuasion.
For numberless demoniacs throughout the whole world, and in your city (Rome) many of our Christian men exorcising them in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, have healed and do heal, rendering helpless and driving the possessing devils out of the men, though they could not be cured by all the other exorcists and those who used incantations and drugs.1
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