Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 48.djvu/84

74 upon the exorcist to pay heed to what the energumen has eaten. He was also right in believing what the devil said on this point, for "if the devil is the father of lies, he can nevertheless be compelled by the Church to tell the truth; that he was forced in this case to bow to ecclesiastical authority, is proved by the result."

Dr. Schneidt indorsed the opinion of his colleague, adding a few remarks from a "philosophical-psychological" point of view and denouncing the scientific materialism of the day, which denies the existence of spirits and their influence on corporeal substances. He admitted that the symptoms of Saint Vitus's dance and hysteria are very similar to those of demoniacal possession, but can be readily distinguished by two tests, both of which were applied by Father Aurelian: the boy Zilk raged and fumed when sprinkled with holy water, but remained quiet if ordinary water was used; the utterance of a benediction in ecclesiastical Latin rendered him extremely^ violent, whereas he was wholly unaffected by the recitation of a passage from a Latin classic. Dr. Schneidt thought Father Aurelian was right in laying great stress upon these two criteria, and in regarding the manner of their "reaction" as conclusive proof of diabolic agency.

That learned doctors of theology and high Church dignitaries should be willing to appear before a court of justice at the present day with such expert testimony as this, is a curious psychological phenomenon and a remarkable instance of superstitious survival. It would also be a greater miracle than any wrought by the holy coat of Trier, if the inculcation and dissemination of these mediseval notions by the bishops and other clergy should not produce a benighting and degrading effect upon the masses intrusted to their instruction and guidance in spiritual things. A few examples may be cited to show to what extent the popular belief in witchcraft, demoniacal possession, and the efficacy of conjurations still prevails. In the spring of 1894 a Hungarian named Jordan started on a bicycle from Bucharest, with the intention of making a tour through the Balkan peninsula to Constantinople. Not far from Philipoppel, in Roumelia, he was overtaken by night and obliged to stop at a hovel which served as a public hoase, and after confiding his "wheel" to the care of the innkeeper, who took charge of it with considerable distrust, went to bed. Very soon the news spread abroad that a sorcerer had arrived riding on a magic car drawn by invisible spirits, and a crowd of excited peasants filled the inn under the direction of the pope, or village priest, who sprinkled the bicycle with holy water and adjured the demon to depart. The "magic car" of the itinerant sorcerer was then taken out of doors and demolished. On the next morning, when Mr. Jordan wished to continue his journey, he found